The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1901-11-05
CHAPTER ri.
A REcoNsTRTrcTED DRAMA.

A RECONSTRUCTED DRAMA.
AS he spoke, Sturgis handed Dunlap
the sheet of paper upon which he had
traced a plan of the Knickerbocker
bank.
From this point on" he continued,
81 have indicated the various trails on
the diagram. The dotted lines repre-
sent A~rbogast's footprints; the con-
tinuous lines show Chatham's trail"
How can you distinguish between
the two?" inquired Dunlap.
There is no difficulty about that"
replied Sturgis. 1.-The differences are
very marked. l know Arbogast's foot
because L have seen it; and | know
that the other II is Chatham's be-
cause you recognized the man from
the description l gave OF. him."
YES, l know. But how could you
describe him SO accurately when you
have never seen him?"
81 shall come to that presently" said
Sturgis, smiling; 'you must let me
tell my story in my w way, if ] an
to tell it connectedly"
Every WE'LL" said the banker. resign
edly. Hold on, though" he eN-
claimed; you speak of two sets of
trails; but what is this third set of
lines, marked by alternate dots and
dashes?"
"They represent the traces of a third
individual, who will appear upon the
scene later on. He has not yet re-
ceived his cue. But, since you mention
him, we may put him down in the cast
as x the unknown quantity of the
problem; for 1 do not yet know his
name. Now, then; let m see. Where
was l? Your interruption has made
me lose the thread. Oh, yes; the men
We're in this room. Arbogast, nervous
and excited, paced back and forth,
like a Gagged animal. Chatham was
more collected. 1t was warm in the
bank, as compared with the intense
cold outside; he removed his overcoat
and threw it over the back of hat
chair in the corner. This fact is
shown by The direction of the footsteps
toward the chair, and by a mark di-
rectly below the arm of the chair
NlISiN III SoI idliSo upon ~
wet floor. Chatham'S careleSsness was
fraught with serious consequences;
for, as luck would have it, there was,
in one of the pockets of his coat, an
important letter, which slipped out
and fell upon the floor superscription
uppermost. Here is the envelope it
self, which | have pieced together.
You will see that it is soiled only upon
Ele back, and here near the chair is
the faint oblong mark which is left
| upon the floor. Chatham went to the
telephone in the cashiers Office. He
probably did not see the letter fall,
1t caught Arbogast's eye, however;
he saw that it was addressed to his
wife. What had his accomplice tic
write to his wife? Arbogast evidently
was not restrained by any feelings OF
delicacy in the matter, or else he was
already suspicious of Chatham; fol
he picked up the envelope, tore it open
and read the letter which lies before
you, as l have pieced it together. II
makes interesting reading. / do not
wonder that Arbogast lost his heaC
when he saw it. Read it for YOURSELF
"Why,'eXclaimed Dunlap, after read
ing the letter, this his in
t~ention of committing suicide"
Precisely; and yet Arbogast did not
commit suicide; probably never had
any intention Of doing so; and, at any
rate, did not write that letter. You
will observe that it is not signed: the
name is typewriter, like the rest of the
letter, Which, moreover. was not writ
ten here. as the superscription would
seem to Indicate. l have tried YOU
typewriter, and although it is of the
Same make as the n upon which this
| letter was written, there are severa.
characteristic differences in the align.
ment and in the imperfections of tbs
type.
Besides" continued Sturgis
thoughtfully, 1.-The letter itself bears
evidence, on its face, that it could no;
have been written by Arbogast. Youl
bookkeeper was of a weak, nervous, ex.
citab.e temperament, as all his actions
plainly show. Before such IA man is
brought to the point of taking his owr
life, he must have passed through a
more or less protracted period of ago
! nizing nervous tension, of which you
and | can hardly form any adequate
conception. Under the circumstances
if he loved his wife, conscious that by
his guilt he was about to plunge hel
into the depths of grief and shame, he
might have written her an incoherent
and hysterical letter, OF a tender and
repentant letter, but never this frigid
| matter-of-fact statement of a suprem,