Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-21

compared with the consideration that here,
at this point, terminated the clew. There
must be something wrong I said, about
the nail I touched 1t, and the head, with
about quarter of an inch of the shank.
came off in my fingers. The rest of the
shank was in the gimlet hole, where it had
been broken off. The fracture was an old
one, for its edges were incrusted with rust
and had apparently been accomplished by
the blow Of a hammer, which had partially
imbedded, in the top of the bottom sash,
the head portion of the nail. 1 now care
fully replaced this head portion in the in
dentation whence 1 had taken 1t, and the
resemblance to a perfect nail was COM
plete-the fissure was invisible Pre- ssing
the spring, 1 gently raised the sash for a
few inches; the head went up with 1t, re-
naming firm In its bed. 1 closed the WIN
dow and the sembance of the whole nail
was again perfect.
The riddle SO far, was now unriddled
The assassin had escaped through the WIN
dow which looked upon the bed Dropping
of its own accord upon his exit Cor perhaps
purposely closed), it had become fastened
by the spring; and 1t was the retention of
this spring which had been mistaken by the
police for that of the nail-further inquiry
being thus considered unnecessary.
THE next question is that OF the mode of
descent. Upon this point had been salts
fled in my walk with you around the
the easement in question there runs a
lightning rod. From this rod it would have
been impossible for any one to reach the
window itself, to say nothing of entering
it I observed, however, that the shutters
of the fourth story were of the peculiar
kind called by Partisan carpenters ferrades
"a kind rarely employed at the present day,
but frequently seen upon very old mansions
at Lyons and Bordeaux. They are in the
form of an ordinary door "a single, not a
folding door, except that the upper half is
latticed or worked in open trellis-thus af
fording excellent hold for the hands. IN
the present instance these shutters are
fully three feet and a half broad. When
we saw them from the rear of the house.
they were both about half open-that Is to
say, they stood off at right angles from the
wall. 1t is probable that the police, as well
as myself, examined the back of the tene-
ment but, If so, in looking at these ferrades
in the line of their breadth Gas they must
have done), they did not perceive this great
breadth itself, or, at all events, failed 20
take it into due consideration. In fact, hav-
irg once satisfied themselves that no egress
could have been made in this quarter, they
would naturally bestow here a very cur
sorry examination. 1t was clear to me-
however, that the shutter belonging to the
window at the head of the bed, would, II
swung fully back to the wall. reach to
within two feet of the lightning-rod. 1t was
also evident that, by exertion of very un-
usual degree of activity and courage, an en-
trance into the window, from the rod.
might have been thus effected. By reach
ing to the distance of two feet and a half
1--WE now suppose the shutter open to its
whole extent robber might have taken a
firm grasp upon the treihs-work. Letting
go, then, his hold upon the rod, placing his
feet securely against the wall, and spring
III Boiling from it. he might have swung
the shutter so as to close it, and, if we
imagine the window open at the time.
might have swung himself into the room.
IT wish you to bear especially In mind
that have spoken of very unusual de-
gree of activity as requisite to success In