The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-26


sign, as did his visit to me upon such
a pretext. But it is an old dodge. Jim
mic, that of aVerting suspicion by APP
pearing to confide in the police or de-
tective. SO / decided that I would let
Dickson have what rope he wanted,
and so discover to what it led
II see now"
Next came the supposed burglary"
continued Boyd. MY Investigations in
Dicksons store soon convinced me that
he alone was the burglar. He held
large consignments of diamonds. upon
which. IL he could invent a plausible
robbery, he could subsequently realize"
Surely, But how did he accomplish
it?'
ut was quite plain to me. He en-
ployed no help, hence he easily con-
trived to drill and charge the safe with
out being observed. Next he planned
his day away, and what should occur
during his absence. which would free
him Of subsequent suspicion. Ordin-
arily, a man could not blow open
safe from which he is miles away.
Dickson's chief difficulty lay in firing
the fuse at a certain time. Yet he ac-
complished it i'm a most original ana
remarkable way
How SOP"
He used HIS reading-glass. Jimmie
which he so placed on the sill of the
rear window that il reached the beam
of sunlight through the round hole I'm
the iron shutter and focused the rays
at certain point on the floor The in
tense heat at the focal point was sufii-
cfent not only to ignite the end of the
fuse, but even TO slightly scOrch the
pine floor The two curved lines which
l showed you gave my clue to the mys-
terry"
I'm what way?"
lA
slightly I'm its course each day. The
day before the trick was to be turned
Dickson experimental with his lens TO
determine the precise spot on which the
suns rays would focus at a certain
time. In so doing one of the tiny
| scorched curves was inscribed on the
| floor, as the intense focal point followed
the motion of the sun. Next day, how
| ever. the sun was a little higher i'm the
| heavens, and the corresponding curved
line came parallel, and Just the least bit
/ removed from the other: but near
enough 10 fire the fuse Dickson had left
/ for it in his closed store, Jimmie
BY Jove, Felix, you're WONDER
mot at all" laughed Boyd You
saw as much as I did, only you did not
see through it,
Plainly not"
! Dickson had so carefully planned all
this continued Boyd, that the read
ing glass would fall over upon the sill
with any jar and the explosion was
sufficient for that Further convincing
me that my theory was correct. the
aperture in the shutter was unusually
/ low. nearly at the still. condition ne
cessary for one wishing TO look in the
rear yard being considerably below the
| window. So l put this and that to-
gether, Jimmie. and felt sure of my
! man"
And then. Felix"
Then l required absolute proofs.
Jimmie. since theories do not always
impress juries," responded Bovd 'Tbe
fact that Dickson hac gone to his shore
house after rifling his safe before ex-
ploding it, led me to think that ne
might conceal the diamonds I'm that To-
cality. So I slipped down there early
next morning and investigated his sta
bic. / did not find the diamonds but I
found the cOntrivance for firing the
| stable"
Il see"
Dickson evidently intended to give
the impression that he had secret foes.
who were maliciously prosecuting him.
and thus arouse public sympathy and
that of his foreign cOnsignees. SO he
lplanned also to burn his own stable
in such a way as to evade persor al
I suspicion The candle was burning
when / got there, and was still good
for several hours before reaching the
loose hay. OF course / extinguished
il. and at once decided that when his
scheme failed. Dickson would again at
| tempt it. / was not mistaken, for he
came promptly to time"
Coleman smiled and nodded.
But his violent death, and the three
men who murdered him?" he cried in
quiringly. "WhO are they?"
Il. IL. IL.
pinehes," said Boyd gravely. ut now
is obvious enough, yet 1 had not sus-
pected it. Plainly those two crimes did
not originate i'm Dicksons brain.
have learned that he has lost heavily
on the curb. jimmie. which doubtless
drove him to these felOnius designs
I'm the hope of keeping above water
But Dickson's brain never conceived
those two mastery schemes"
you believe"
II believe, Jimmie, that some master
knave about here suggested them to
him. and showed him the way, yet
craftily kept himself in the back
ground Dickson did the work, and
probably his advisers were promised
a part Of the profits. 1t may have
become Dickson's design to keep the
whole, however, the work being sue
cessfully done. Hence he must have
on his first visit. probably concealing
them i'm the shed from which we saw
him emerge"
Surely Surely"
That his advisers distrusted and
subsequently watched him, plainly APP
pears in that they must have followed
him down there last night. He must
have removed the diamonds from the
shed, intending to carry them back to
town. Instead he was viciously as
sailed by the men who had Swallowed
him, who doubtless meant TO end him
as they did, and make off with the en-
tire lot of stones. My shouts alarmed
them, and drove them to flight, before
they could accomplish their object
That we found Dickson clutching the
diamonds in his death-grip confirms
this theory"
Indeed, vest But what do you think
he tried to say at the finish? We
caught one word, Felix. II sounded
like whY-or wyr'
| eft NAV "a typ Fs1pa uf--xUhy tho baoriY,.