The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-11-23
CHAPTER VIII.

LIZ. mason, III his sdSltdliOH, uAoPPSN
the penknife and the magnifying glass
and rushed to the bedside.
where is the wound?'' he calculated.
Nj. Cassagne, cool, calm and collected,
still held one tell-tale finger, which, like
living eye, had detected a slight in
equality in the surface of the flesh, firm
ly pressed down upon spot mo larger
than plus head.
'.Take it easy, DOCTOR" he said, smil-
ing at the agitation Of the physician,
land if the magnifying glass is still UNI
broken, 1 will trouble you for it. The
penknife also, if you please, doctor.
Now" after he had gently pushed back
the flesh with the point of the knife, look
through the glass, and tell me what you
see."
II see rough, glistening surface"
'aTry it with the point of the penknife. /"
The doctor took the knife, and scraped
upon the hard surface thus exposed to
view.
1T is glass; he exclaimed. II haven't
a doubt of it,
''It is the wound which caused death.
You see it has penetrated the lumbar re-
gion. Death has been caused by two
things. Shock and internal bleeding.
Have you a small pair of pincers here
No? Well, then l must use my fingers.
M. Cassagne having enlarged the open
ing of the wound by Utilization, plunged
his finger and thumb into the orifice and
drew out, though not without much din
Guilty and after repeated failures, the
broken piece of small, sharpened glass
stiletto. Its withdrawal from the wound
was followed by a few drops OF blood,
which the doctor, who notwithstanding
his professional experiences was greatly
affected by the spectacle, was about to
wipe reverently away, when he was stop
ped by the detective.
Don't do that. That blood has a tale
of it's own to tell. wish to examine
it through the glass"
He took up some on the point OF the
knife. and the two men as before went to
the window. notwithstanding that 1t
had not been exposed to the outer air,
the blood was strongly crystallized.
Zone thing is proved, and almost con-
clusively," exclaimed Cassagne. 1T is
the wound which caused her death. See
how the blood is crystallized. Now to
discover the assassin. The projects the
ory is that Madame Roupell was sitting
at her desk writing, when the crime was
committed. In support of that, he points
to the scattered papers and the overturn-
ed chair. Now notice which way the
chair has fallen"
at has fallen toward the desk" said
Dr. Mason.
Precisely and that proves to me that
it was the murderer, not Madame Rou-
pell, who was engaged in the examina-
ton of the papers"
"Why"
Because, had Madame Roupell been
surprised from behind and stabbed, as we
now believe to be the case, she would
have fallen forward, and the chair would
have been thrown backward or away
from the desk, not toward it. Madame
Roupell surprised this unknown person,
perhaps while he was rifling the contents
Of her desk; springing to his feet he
overthrow the chair, drew his stiletto,
and advanced toward her. She doubt
less turned to fee, too frightened to
scream, and he then stabbed her in the
back"
II see and having no other weapon
than the stiletto, and that having been
broken off short in the body. he fired at
her to make sure of his work"
Ito be continued.)