Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-08-21

nave raised his arm in self-defense, and
thus detected the weapon upward ?''
"Evidcntly."
We'll. it is idle to speculate on this
line for the present. Let us come to
point six. You remember I called
your particular attention to the cab
man. DO you still think he was only
drunk ?"
No. replied Thurston; while he
had unquestionably been drinking
heavily, he also showed symptoms Of
narcotic poisoning"
Then the presumption is that he
had been drugged by those who wished
to place the wounded man in his cab.
l observed him closely and / am salts
fled that he knows as little about his
dead passenger as we do. He prob
ably knows less about him, at all
events, than the young man in the
sealskin cap who gave the police the
slip during the excitement which fol-
lowed the overturning of the cab"
Sturgis paused moment
"This, l think" he continued, Gov
ers all the evidence we have thus far
collected in the Cab Mystery. 1t is
quite satisfactory, as far as it goes,
for 1t is circumstantial evidence, and,
therefore absolutely truthful. In the
Knickerboclser bank mystery we have
as yet no satisfactory data whatever;
for everything we have heard concern
ing 1T has its origin in the fallible evil
dence of witnesses, and has, more
over, reached us third or fourth hand.
There is, however, one fact that may,
or may not, prove to be important. Have
you noticed that these two mysteries
are contemporaneous, and, therefore,
that they may be related?"
DO you think there is any connec-
ton between the 2"inquired Thurs
ton, interested.
II do not allow myself to think about
1t at all as yet" replied Sturgis; II
simply note the fact, that, so far as time
is concerned, the Cab Mystery could be
the sequel to the Knickerbocker Bank
Mystery-that is all. Facts, my dear
boy, are like words. A word is only
an assemblage of meaningless letters
until 1T becomes pregnant with sense
by context. So, fact, which, stand
ing by itself, has no meaning, may,
when correlated with other facts, be-
come fraught with deep significance.
"And now" he continued, after
pause, 81 think our work is concluded
for the present. l shall be able to lay
it aside for the night. Let Inc offer
you glass of sherry. Pleasant evening
we spent at Sprague's tonight. have
great admiration for him as an artist,
and great fondness for him as man.
Most of his friends are strangers to
me, though. You know L have very
little time to indulge in social dissipa-
ton. By the way, who is that DR..
Murdoch with whom l have made this
bet?"
oh! he is q physician, though now
retired from practice. He devotes him
self entirely to scientific research. es-
pecially in the domain of chemistry.
He has made some important discov-
cries in organic chemistry, and they
say he has succeeded in proving some
OF the supposed elementary metals to
be compounds. He has quite an envi-
able reputation in the scientific world.
1 understand he is remarkable man."
THAT is evident at glance. Ha
showed himself this evening to be a
clear thinker and brilliant speaker.
i should say he was something of a
genius, and should jsdge, moreover,
that he was 1uan of magnificent nerve,
capable of the most heroic actions,
Sturgis nesrre..-.
"Or-?" asked Thurston.
"Or of the most infamous cruelty
and crime. 1t all depends upon wheth.
er or not his great mental attributes
are under the control of heart;
point upon which l am somewhat in
doubt"
GiTp no portin11a6I