Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1900-09-06
.'Or behind counter" euggesttd
Thurston quizzicaliy.

Ihurston qulzzlcAliy.
''No. Your hypothesis is untenable.
A clerk behind counter occasionally.
it is true, leans upon his fcrearms. 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 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 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 bookkeeper. Now, as to his
salary; do lot pretend to know the
exact amount of it, of course. But
when a man, who was evidently not
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 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 % it; for the coat is badly burned
by the powder
"On these points at least" assented
DR.. Thurston, Il can agree with you.
The bullet probably penetrated the
upper lobe of the left lung"
YES" added Sturgis, land 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 a penknife took from
the surface of the crystal a minute OBJ
iect, which he handed to the physician.
"Look at it," said he, pushing over
a magnifying glass.
Nv, Frh,,rc+ny, mined tho object
carefully.
"a splinter of bone," he said, at last.
eyes. 1 found it on the surface of
the wound in the back. How did it get
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.'
81 think there can be No doubt as to
that. Now, the bullet does not seem
to have been DETECTED in its course by
it's contact with the rib, for, as far as
have been able to judge by probing
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
I took this afternoon"
AS he said these words, the reporter
handed to his friend sheet of paper
upon which he had drawn some &c.
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 forty-fve degrees. The incline.
| 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 81
assassin who stood close to the VIC
TINS right side. The first of these by"
potheses, considered by itself, is 3D.
missible; but it involves the assumll
ton of an extremely awkward and U.s-
usual position of the suicides hand
while firing. On the other hand, TIE
dead man is tall-six feet one inch
and to fire down, at an angle of sixty
degrees, upon man of his height, bis
assai!ant would have to be colossus,
or else to stand upon chair or in soroe
equally elevated position, unless the
victim happened to be seated when TIE
shot was fired"
"Happened 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"
mot done in the cab!"
mo; otherwise the bullet would have
remained in the cushions; and it was
not there"
.It might have fallen out into the
street at the time of the collision" sug-
gested Thurston.
''No; I searched every inch of space
in which it might have fallen. If 1t
had been there should have found
it, for the spot was brilliantly lighted
by an electric light, as you remem-
ber."
The physician pondered in silence for
a few minutes.
"With all due respect for the accu
racy Of your observations, and for the