The Irish standard., 1900-08-18
"or behind a counter" suggested


"Or behind counter" suggested
Thurston quizzically.
mo. Your hypothesis is untenable.
A clerk behind counter occasionally,
it is true, leans upon his forearms. But
incessant contact with the counter
leaves across the front of his trousers
an unmistakable line of wear, at
level varying according to the height
of the individual. This line was not
present in the case of the man in the
cab. On the other hand, his waistcoat
is frayed at the level of the fourth but
ton from the top. Therefore main
tain that he was in the habit of work.
ing at q desk. Now the trousers, al
though not new, are not baggy at the
knees, though free from the seams
which would suggest the effect of press
ing or of a trouser stretcher. Conclu.
sion, the desk is high one; for the
man stood at his work. Most men who
work standing at high desks are book
keepers of one kind or another. There
fore, as said before, this man was
probably bookkeepcr. Now, as to his
fsalary; L do Tot pretend to know the
exact amount of it, of course. But
when a man, who was evidently not a
dude, has his clothes made to order,
of imported material, and when his
linen, his hat and his shoes are of good
quality, it is fair to infer that the mans
income was comfortable.
II proceed with the ARRANGEMENT of
my data:
Secondly: the man in the cab died
of a wound caused by bullet fired at
very close quarters. Indeed, the weap-
on must have been held either against
the victims body, or, at any rate, very
near to it; for the coat is badly burned
by the powder"
"On these points at least" assented
DR.. Thurston, II can agree with you.
The bullet probably penetrated the
upper lobe of the left lung
YES" added Sturgis, "and it passed
out at the back, far below where it
went in"
What makes you think it passed
out? The wound in the back may
have been caused by another bullet
fired from the rear"
THAT hypothesis might be tenable
were it'not for this"
With these words the reporter pulled
out his watch, opened the case, and
with the blade of q penknife took from
the surface of the crystal a minute OBJ
ject, which he handed to the physician.
Look at it," said he, pushing over
Il magnifying glass.
DR.. Thurston examined the object
carefully.
"a splinter of bone," he said, at last.
eyes. l found it on the surface of
the wound in the back. How did itget
| there?"
you are right" admitted the physi-
clan; sit must have come from with
! in, Clipped from rib and carried out
by the bullet which entered from the
'front.'
| II think there can be no doubt as to
| that. Now, the bullet does not seem
to have been DETECTED in its course by
its contact with the rib, for, as far asI
have been able to judge by probing
the two wounds with my pencil, their
direction is the same. This is impor-
tant and brings me to point three,
which is illustrated by these diagrams,
drawn to scale from the measurements
took this afternoon"
AS he said these words, the reporter
handed to his friend a sheet of paper
upon which he had drawn some ge-
ometrical figures.
"The first of these diagrams shows
the angle which the course of the bull
let made with horizontal plane; the
second represents the inclination from
right to left. The former of these an
giles is nearly and the latter not far
from fortyfve degrees. The inclina-
ton from right to left shows that the
shot was fired from the right side OF
the dead man. Now then, one of two
things: Either it was fired by the man
himself, the weapon being held in his
right hand; or else it was fired by an
assassin who stood close to the vic
TINS right side. The first of these n.y.
| potheses, considered by itself, is ad.
missible; but it involves the assump-
ton of an extremely awkward and un-
usual position of the suicides hand
while firing. On the other hand, the
dead man is tall-six feet one inch
and to fire down, at an angle of sixty
degrees, upon Il man of his height, his
assailant would have to be colossus
or else to stand upona chair or in some
equally elevated position, unless the
victim happened to be seated when the
shot was fired"
"Happcned to be seated" exclaimed
Thurston, astounded, "why, of course
he was seated, since he was in the
cab"
"That brings up point four, which
is not the least puzzling of this in.
teresting case" said Sturgis, impress.
lively; "the shooting was not done in
the cab"
Not done in the cab!"
mo; otherwise the bullet would have
| remained in the cushions; and it was
not there"
st might have fallen out into the
street at the time of the collision" sug.
gested Thurston.
mo; l searched every inch of space
in which it might have fallen. If ii
had been there 1 should have found
it, for the spot was brilliantly lighted
by an electric light, as you remem.
ber."
The physician Wondered in silence for