Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1907-09-06

This seemed to be very unjust. What
Il no other clew offered-no other clew,
| mean, recognized as such by police
or public! Was he not to have the
benefit of whatever threw a doubt on
his own culpability? For instance,
that splash of blood on his shirt front,
which / had seen and the shape of
which knew. Why did not the fact
that it was splash and not spatter
land gpatter 1t would have been had
It spurted there, instead of falling
from above, as he stated count for
more In the minds of those whose
business it was to probe into the very
heart of this crime? To me, it 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, it was true, was In the form
OF a splash and not squirt, but
splash would have been the result Of a
drop falling from the reeking 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, Photographic re-
production of which was In all the
papers, was that the kind of instru-
ment which a plain New York gentle
man would be likely to use In a crime
of this nature? 1t was a marked and
unique article, capable, as one would
think, Of being easily traced to it's own
er. Had 1t been claimed by Mr. Rams
dell, had it 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
it; consequently one could but feel
justified in asking whether a man of
Mr.. Durand's judgment would choose
such an extraordinary weapon in medi-
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 man
to seek by any unlawful means to pos
sess SO conspicuous jewel, for he,
better than any one else, would know
the impossibility of disposing of
gem of this distinction in any market
short of the orient. To which the I'M
answerable reply was made that no
one attributed to him any such folly;
that If he had planned to possess him
self of this great diamond 1t was for
the purpose of eliminating it from
competition with the one he had pro-
cured for Mr.. Smythe, an argument,
certainly, which drove US back on the
only plea we had at our command-his
hitherto unblemished reputation and
the confidence which was felt In him
by those who knew him.
But the one circumstance which af-
fected me most at the time and which
undoubtedly was the source of the
greatest confusion to all minds, wheth
er official or otherwise, was the unex-
pected confirmation by experts Of Mr..
Grey's opinion In regard to the dia
mond. His name was not used-in-
deed, it had been kept out of the pa
pers with the greatest unanimity, but
the hint he had given the inspector at
Mr.. Ramsdells ball had been acted
upon and, the proper tests having been
made, the stone, for which so many
believed life to have been risked and
another taken, was declared to be an
imitation, fine and successful beyond
oil parallel, but still an imitation, of
the great and renowned gem which
had passed through Tiffany's hands a
tweivemonth before, a decision which
fell like a thunderbolt on all such as
had seen the diamond blazing In unap-
proachable brilliancy on the breast of
the unhappy Mrs Fairbrother only an
hour or two before her death.
On me the effect was such that for
days / lived in dream, condition
that nevertheless did not prevent me
from starting a certain little inquiry OF
my own, of which more hereafter.