The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-12-10
THE EPISODE OF RAMA
RABOGAH
CHAPTER II.

at our end of the line seemed entirely !
useless, and nothing was left us but to |
quietly await whatever developments
Maitland should disclose. We were not |
kept long in suspense, for in less than
q week his next letter arrived. / |
broke its seal in the presence Of Gwen
and my sister who, if possible, were
even moro excited than I myself. Is il
to be wondered at9 Here was the let
ter which was to tell us whether or not
the murderer of John barrow had been
caught. We felt that if Ragobah hao
returned to India, according to his ex-
pressed intention, there could be no
doubt upon this point. But had he SC
returneds I read as follows:
My Dear Doctor: The Dalmatia ar
rived as I expected Thursday and on
her came Ragobah. I had him arrested
as he stepped from the boat. When ex-
amined he did not seem in the least dis
concerted at the charges I preferred
against him. This did not surprise me,
however, as I had expected that a man
who could roll his na4>ed body over the
burning sands from Mahajan to the
Ganges, and who could rise from the
Valsyan to the Brahman caste-albeit he
fell again-would not be likely to betray
his case by exhibiting either fear or ex-
element. He acknowledged his &C
quaintance with Mr. Darrow and the ILL
feeling existing between them. When
charged with his murder at Dorchester
on the night Of the 22d Of April he coolly
asked If were aware when and how he
had left India. I had not "a elected to
look this matter UP and told him he had
left on the same steamer which had
brought him back--the Dalmatia--which
should have arrived at New York on the
2lst Of April, thus leaving him ample
time to get to Boston before the night Of
the ed. To this he replied with the ut
most assurance. Il give you the exact
gist Of what he said Since I was not
able to Immediately commit his language
to writing, you will, of course, hardly
pect me to remember those peculiar ORR
entail idioms which an Indian, however
great his command OF English, never
drops. What I say here Is. Of course,
true Of all conversations put before you
except such as I practically reported.)
But to return to our muttons. AS I was
saying, he replied with the utmost as
surance:
THE sahib Is right. did sail upon the
Dalmatia, due at New York on the 21st
of April. This steamer, as you are per-
haps aware, is propelled by twin screws.
On the trip In question she broke one of
her propellers In mid-Atlantic and in con-
sequence arrived in New York on the
Oath Of April, three days late, without the
transference of any Of her passengers to
other boats. If you will take the trouble
to at once verify this statement at the
steamship office, you will be able to re-
lieve me Of the annoyance Of further de-
tentiOn."
All this was said with a rare COM
mand Of language, and a cold. cynical
politeness which cut like a knife. I at
first thought 1t was merely ruse to
gain time, but the steamship officials
substantiated every word uttered by Rag
obah relative to their vessel. The Dali
malta had steamed into New York at II
o'clock on the morning Of the Oath Of
April with q broken screw.
Imagine my amazement The net o.
circumstantial evidence wound around
Ragobah seemed to be such as to leave
possibility of escape, and yet, the very
first effort made to draw it tighter abou
him had resulted in his walking, with the
utmost ease, right thru its meshes
There Is no gainsaying such an alibi, an(
am, therefore, forced to acknowledg
that Rama Ragobah could not by an!
possibility, have murdered John barrow
That he may have planned the dec
and that he may have INTENDED
to be present at it's execution Is quite pos
sible, but may at once dismiss tn
idea Of his having personally committe
the act. You will Immediately appreciat
that nearly all Of the evidence which "
secured against Ragobah was directe
against him as the assassin. and Is of III
an affair committed by another. In h
hatred Of Mr.. Darrow we have, believ
q sufficient motive for the act, but whe
evidence have wo to support the theor
that the murder was committed by any
one acting in his interests? / must cor
fess my inability to detect, at prese1
writing, the slightest evidence that Rage
bah acted thru an accomplish. SO, hel
the matter rests.
1 may state In closing that Ragobah hs
requested the pleasure" Of private II
terview with me on Malabar hill tomorro
night AS there Is a bare possibility
may let fall something which may she
some light upon the accomplish hypoth
sis, have agreed to meet him at tt
entrance to the little cave at o'cloc
He has requested that I come alone al
shall do SO, but, lest you fear for II
safety, let me assure you that kno
very we'll the INSCRIPTIONS nature OF Il
man with whom I am to deal and that
shall take good care not to afford him al
opportunity to catch mo unawares "
will hear from me again after I me
Ragobah.
Remember me kindly to Miss Darro
The failure Of my enterprise will, kno
be a bitter disappointment to her. a.
you must temper this ackrowledgeme
of it with such hope Of ultimate succe
as you may enjoy. Tell her shall new
cease my efforts to solve this mystery
long as T am able to find a. clue, howev
slight, to follow. At present l am all
sea, and 1t looks II I should have to
clear back and start all over again. Rag
bah, as a point Of departure, has T
proved a success. With my kind regar
to you all, remain, cordially yours,
George Maitland
T read this thru aloud, despite t
fact that knew some parts of it we
Intended only for my perusal. CIV
did not speak until some minutes aft
I had finished, and then only to EXPIRE
q fear that, despite his caution, hal
might come to Maitland at his int
view with Ragobah. She seemed to
far less disappointed at Maitland
failure to convict Ragobah than she "
fearful for her friend g personal safe
She was restless and i'll at ease for
next two or three days-in fact, |
til the arrival Of Maitland IS next lett
This came during my absence on a p
A. fessional call, and when returned hol
she met me with it at the door with
expression of relief upon her COZ
tenance so plain as not to be misc
. Btrued. We went into the sitting-roc
where my sister was awaiting the ne'
and I read as follows:
My Dear Doctor: kept my appoi
ment last night with Rama Ragobah a
altho nothing TRANSFERRED at all likely
assist me In locating Mr.. Darrow's ass
sin, yet the interview, tho short, was
lI...- IL -. n.