Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-01-31
CHAPTER ".
THE STORY OF MONDAY NIGHT

THE STORY OF MONDAY NIGHT
Not until the regular click-click Of
the wheels told me that we were well
under way did | open my mind to Cod
frey; then I spoke with what / deemed
a necessary frankness.
My lear Godfrey" | began, I've
watched you all day, smelling bottles,
examining scratches, trying to read
faint ink marks on q blotter. puzzling
over = broken cane. and doing var
ious other eccentric things from which
you seemed to draw conclusions utterly
Invisible to me. I've heard you assure
both Drysdale and Miss Croydon that
the former will be cleared Of suspicion
at tOmorrow'S inquest, and that the
real culprit will be pointed out. You'll
pardon me if | confess to some curl
osity as TO how all this is TO be ac-
complished."
Did you see her face as she came
through that door, Lester" he asked,
staring absently at the seat in front Of
us. II tell you ii warmed the heart
of even an old ~reprobate like me. And
to think that we did It," he added. ITO
think hat we did it,"
You did it," l corrected. Il was in
the chorus today-you had the center
Of the stage"
But you don't mind, Lester? I
COuiul l N6lp IL, you hIlOW.
"Of course you couldn't-that's
where you belong. But now that the
curtains down, and were alone to-
gether with plenty OF time to talk, I'd
like to understand -
And you Shutdown to the min
utest detail. Let's see-this is the
smoker, isn't 1t? Well, suppose we
light up-I can think more clearly
when I'm smoking"
''An ripht. fro n n - I coiI oc soon
as the cigars were going.
Well" began Godfrey, las l pointed
out TO you this morning, for good n
sufficient reasons, l started out I'm this
investigation with the assumption OF
Tremaine's guilt"
'Of course" l observed, you know
t. is the duty of every jury to start out
with exactly the contrary assump-
ton"
Certainly | NOW that; but a detec-
tive has to work with some definite
end in view. or he never gets any
where. In other words, a detective.
after carefully studying the details OF
any crime, must form a theory con-
corning il, and must work along that
theory. As soon as he discovers any
fact hat fails to tit with his theory,
he must modify it or form another;
and he must keep on doing this until
he finds the theory which agrees with
all the facts-nOt all but one or two,
but with every one. A good many de-
t~ectives fall into the mistake of being
satisfied with the theory which fits
most OF the facts-a serious error. for
the right theory must, of course, in
eyitably fit them all. That's the scien-
tifiC method and the only safe one.
When a detective hits upon a theory
which fits all the known facts, he's got
as much right to assume It's truth as
an astronomer has or q physicist, who
builds up the universe in just the same
way"
But that's q difficult thing to do"
| remarked. TO find a theory that fits
all the facts"
Exceedingly difficult sometimes"
assented my companion, because the
facts often appear to be entirely con-
Trajectory. Really, facts are never
ContradictOry-truth Is always truth
the trouble is we can't always tell
what is fact and what is fiction. The
hardest part of a detectives work is
to sift the wheat from the chaff-to
get at the meaty, essential facts.
We'll, as you know, / started out
with the theory of Tremaine's guilt.
More han that, l was morally GER
tain that he was guilty, knowing what
/ knew OF the man And first IF all.
IL was evident to me hat no criminal
as careful as he is would run the risk
Of going through that ~boathouse and
committing a murder on the pier out-
side with young Graham sleeping on
a cot 4 few feet away. l therefore
deduced this bottle. Smell Of it,"
He unCorSed il and held il under
my nose.
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