Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-09
PROBLEM OF THE MOTOR BOAT
Continued from page 4

The scientist uncorked the bottle and per-
mitted single drop of green liquid to fall
on his handkerchief He allowed minute or
more for evaporation, then handed it to
Detective Mallory, who shifted at it from a
respectful distance. Then The Thinking
Machine produced the bit of court plaster he
had taken from the dead mans arm, and again
the detective shifted.
"The same" the scientist resumed as he
touched lighted match to the handkerchief
and watched it crumbe to ashes, and so
powerful that in its pure state mere inhalation
is fatal. l permitted DR.. Clough to make
public his opinion, heart failure, after the
autopsy for obvious reasons. 1t would re-
assure the murderer, for instance, if he saw
it printed and besides Dudley. did die from
heart failure-the poison caused it.
Next came Identification. Mr.. Hatch
learned that no French war ship had been
within hundreds of miles of Boston in months.
The one seen by Captain Barber might have
been one of our own. This man was supposed
to be French naval officer, and had been
dead less than eight hours. Obviously he did
not come from ship of his own country.
"Then what? There were several posi-
bi1ities; fancy dress ball seemed probable.
Absolute accuracy would not be essential
there. Where had there been fancy dress
ball? / trusted to the newspapers to tell me
that They did A short despatch from place
on the north shore showed that the night be-
fore the man was found dead there had been
fancy dress ball at the Langham Dudley estate.
Now it is necessary to remember every
fact in solving problem as it IS to consider
every figure in arithmetic. Dudley! Here was
the D tattooed on the dead mans hand. All
Americans showed that Langham Dudley
married Edith Marston Belding Here was the
E. NJ. B. on the handkerchief in the boat.
Langham Dudley was ship owner, had been
a sailor, was millionaire. Possibly this was
his own boat, built in France"
1--WE went to the Dudley place. The Japan
csc opened the door. Japanese poison! Two
told me frankly that she placed the court
plaster on her husbands arm. From her
manner was convinced that she was innocent.
"And then3 The Japanese Osaka here.
could see the door of the boat house from the
Osaka if Dudley's boat was in the house He
said he didn't know. Then she sent him to
see. He returned and said the boat was not
there, yet he had not gone to the boat house
at all. Ergo, he knew the boat was not there.
crously simple expedient," The Thinking
Machine went on steadily. "On the train |
asked if he knew just how Mrs Dudley got
the body of her husband into the boat Re-
member, at this point he was not supposed to
know that the body had been in boat at all.
He said he didn't know, and by that very
answer admitted that he knew the body had
been placed in the boat. He knew because he
put it there himself; just as he put the poison
on the court plaster when he went to get IT..
"After the slight injury Dudley evidently
wandered out toward the boat house. The
poison was working, and perhaps he fell. Then
this man, removing all identifying marks even
to the name in the shoes, put the body in the
boat, and turned on full power. He had a right
to assume that the boat would be lost or that
the dead man would be thrown out. Wind and
tide and loose rudder brought it into Boston
Harbor l do not attempt to account for the
presence of Mrs. Dudley's handkerchief in the
boat. 1t might have got there in either one
of hundred ways"
"How did you know husband and wife had
quarreled?" asked Hatch.
"Surmise to account for her not knowing
where he was" replied The Thinking Machine.
If they had had a violent disagreement it
was possible that he would have gone away
without telling her, and she would not have
been particularly worried, at least up to the
time saw her.
And the motive?" asked Detective NAL
Twill you tell us just why you killed Mr..
Dudley?" asked The Thinking Machine of
the Japanese.
II will not!' exclaimed Osaka suddenly. 1t
was the first time he had spoken.
=" 1t probably had to do with girl in Japan,
explained The Thinking Machine easily The
murder had been long cherished project,
such one as revenge through love would have
inspired"
A day or so later Hutchinson Hatch called