Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1907-08-30

|1O relate the full experiences Of
the next few days would be to
cucumber my narrative with
~ unnecessary detail.
did not see Mr.. Durand again. My
uncle so amenable in most matters,
proved inexorable on this point. Till
Mr.. Durands good name should be
restored by the coroner's verdict or
such evidence brought to light as
should effectually place him beyond all
suspicion l was to hold no communi-
cation with him of any sort whatever.
l remember the very words with
which my uncle ended the one ex-
haustive conversation we had on the
subject. They were these:
"You have fully expressed to Mr..
Durand your entire confidence In his
innocence. That must suffice him for
the present. If he is the honest gen.
tleman you think him, 1t will"
AS uncle seldom asserted himself,
and as he is very much in earnest
when he does, I made no attempt to
combat this resolution, especially as 1t
met the approval of my better judg-
ment. But, though my power to con-
vey sympathy fell thus under a yoke,
my thoughts and feelings remained
free, and these were all consecrated to
the man struggling under an imputa-
ton the disgrace and humiliation of
which he was but poorly prepared by
his former easy life of social and bust
ness prosperity TO meet.
For Mr.. Durand, in spite OF the few
facts which came up from time to
time in confirmation of his story, con-
tinued to be almost universally re-
garded as suspect.
This seemed to be very unjust. What
II no other clew ofPered-no other clew,
/ mean, recognized as such by police
or pubIicl Was he not to have the
benefit of whatever threw doubt on
his own culpa ability? For instance,
that splash Of blood on his shirt front,
which l had seen and the shape Of
which 1 knew. Why did not the fact
that 1t was splash and not a spatter
land spatter it would have been had
1t spurted there, instead of falling
from above, as he stated count for
more In the minds of those whose
business 1t was to probe into the very
heart Of this crime? To me, 1t told
such tale of innocence that l won
dered how a man like the inspector
could pass over 1t. But later l under
stood. A single word enlightened me.
The STAIN 1t was true, was In the form
Of splash and not a squirt. but a
splash would have been the result Of
drop falling from the reeklng end of
the stiletto, whether 1t dislodged It.
self early or late. And what was there
to prove that this drop had not fallen
at the instant the stiletto was being
thrust into the lantern, instead OF after
the escape Of the criminal. and the
entrance OF another man?
But the mystery of the broken coffee
cups. For that no explanation seemed
to be forthcoming
And still the unsolved one Of the
written warning found in the MUIR
dered woman's banda warning which
had been deciphered to read: BE
warned, He means to be at the ball,
Expect trouble if"- Was that to be
looked upon as directed against a man
who, from the nature of his projected
attempt. would take no one into his
confidence?
Then the stiletto, a Photographic re-
production of which was in all the
papers, was that the kind of instru-
ment which plain New York gentle
ha 20 In, ri,
of this nature? 1t was marked and
unique article, capable, as one would
think, of being easily traced to its own
er. Had it been claimed by Mr.. Rams
dell, had 1t been recognized as one OF
the many works of art scattered about
the highly decorated alcove, its en-
ployment as means of death would
have gone only to prove the possibly
unprecedented nature of the crime,
and so been valueless as the basis of
an argument in favor of Mr. Durand' S
innocence. But Mr. Ramsdell had dis
claimed from the first all knowledge of
1t; consequently one could but feel
justified in asking whether a man OF
Mr.. Durand's judgment would choose
tating so startling a crime-a crime
which from it's nature and circum
stance could not fail to attract the at
tention OF the whole civilized world.
Another argument, advanced by him
self and subscribed to by all his
friends, was this: That a dealer In
precious stones would be the last mar
to seek by any unlawful means to pos
sess so conspicuous a jewel, for he
better than any one else, would know
the impOssibility Of disposing of q
gem of this distinction in any market
short of the orient. To which the un
answerabe reply was made that nc
one attributed to him any such folly
that If he had planned to possess him
self of this great diamond 1t was fol