The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-08-17

"Well," SAID the banker, 'if you can
make anything out of that gibberish,
your Imagination is more active than
mine"
at is not a question of imagination"
said Sturgis; "let us proceed systemat-
ical1y. Here is telegram blank de-
tached from pad found on Arbo-
CASTS desk. Compare its size with the
outline of the marks on the blotter,
and you will see, in the first place, that
the message would just fit snugly on
this sheet Next, you will probably
admit that the first line of marks on the
blotter probably contain a date; the
second. q name; the third, an address;
the last, a signature, and the interme-
date lines, a message"
81 am quite willing To concede so
much; for no business man would be
likely to write telegram differently"
Every well. Now, then, let me hold
this blank so that the reflection of its
vertical rulings may appear just above
the image of the message. These lines,
remember, separate the words of the
message. Extend them mentally, and
note how they divide the letters of the
blotter. viii you hold these sheets
while transcribe the resultY'
In few minutes more the reporter
had drawn several lines on his copy of
the reflection in the mirror.
81 don't see that you are any better
off now than you were before" re-
marked Dunlap, examining the result.
"Wait n minute. These vertical lines,
we say, divide the words of the message.
There are five words to the line; only
two on the last line before the sig
nature; that is to say, ~ words in
the message. Now, consider the first
word. Evidently the C. begins this
word since il is capital; and the flour
ish on the tail of the e tells us plain
ly enough whore the word ends. Note
the space between the &C. and the e.
Have you ever taken the trouble to as
certain how constant in any giyeD
handwriting is the space occupied by
the different letters? Try it some time.
Count the characters which you have
written in a number Of different lines.
reckoning spaces and punctuation
marks each as one character, and OBJ
serve how closely the results will
| tally. Basing my conclusions on this
fact, may safely affirm that the
| first word of the message is Game
| Gave Give or some other word of
four letters beginning with Sc and
ending with e. l shall proceed to fill
PUP the balance of the message as l
read it between the letters"
Sturgis wrote slowly and carefully
| for few minutes.
"There; behold the result"
The message had now assumed this
form;
Dec. 81. 1896.
Thomas Chatham,
corner South and Wan streets
j. W. Arbogast.
Compare this with the reflection of
the original and tell me if you do not
now detect various isolated marks and
incomplete letters, all of which tally
with the text have inserted here"
Dunlap made the comparison.
81 am obliged to admit that your con-
illusions now appear plausible" he re-
luctantly admitted.
Sturgis shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, call them plausible, and let us
proceed. Chatham kept the appoint
ment yesterday; but for some reason
Arbogast was delayed in leaving the
bank. Perhaps the necessary prepare
tions for his flight took longer than he
expected"
"You think he intended 10 abscondT'
"Why should he have changed the