The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-10-21

then been cleared up By the Eyeglasses
Ny suspicious were the outcome Of my
reasoning only. and the Idea Of Larsan
being the murderer seemed 50 extraor-
dfnary that I resolved 10 wait for
actual evidence before veururing TO
act Nevertheless the suspicion wOr-
Red me. and I sometimes spoke TO the
detective IN a way that ought 10 have
opened your eyes. I spoke disparag-
ingly Of his methods. But until l
found the eyeglasses ! could but look
upon my suspicion Of him in the light
Of an absurd hypothesis only. You
can imagine my elation after had ex-
planned Larsan's movements. re-
member well rushing into my room
like a mailman and crying to you: I'll
get the better Of the great Fred! III
get the better OF him in a way tha1
win make a sensation
But one important point escaped rs
both. 1t was one which ought to have
opened our eyes to Larsan. Do you re-
member the bamboo cane? was sur
prised to find Larsan had made no use
Of that evidence against Robert Oar
FAC. Had II not been purchased by a
man whose description tailed exactly
with that of Darzac? Well, just be-
fore i saw him on at the train after
the recess during the trial l asked him
why he hadn't used the cane evidence.
he told me he had never had any In
tention Of doing so; that our discov-
cry Of 1t in the little inn at Epinay
had much embarrassed him. If you
win remember. he told us then that
the cane had been given him in Lon
don. Why did we not Immediately
say to ourselves Fred is lying; he
could not have had this cane In Lon
don; he was not in London; he bought
II In Parish Then you found out on
inquiry at Cassette's that the cane had
been bought by person dressed very
like Robert Darzac, though, as we
learned later from Darzac himself, 1t
was not he who had made the pur-
chase. Couple this with the fact we
already knew from the letter at the
poste restante that there was actually
Robert Darzac. Why did we not Inn
mediately fix on Fred himself?
''0f course his position was against |
as, but when we saw the evident |
on his part to find convict
ing evidence against Darzac-nay, even
the passion he displayed in his pur-
suit of the mantle lie about the cane
should have had a new meaning for ,
as. II you ask why Larsan bought the
cane If he had no intention Of manu-
featuring evidence against Darzac by
means of 1t, the answer is quite SIM
pie. He had been wounded in the
hand by Mile. Stangerson, so that the
zane was useful to enable him to close
his hand In carrying it. You remem-
Der / noticed that he always car
lied it.
"All these details came back to my
mind when had once fixed on Larsan
Is the criminal. But they were too
ate then to be of any use to me- On
he evening when he pretended to be
rugged looked at his hand and saw
thin silk bandage covering the signs
# a slight healing wound. Had we
AIKEN quicker initiative at the time
4arsan told US that lie about the cane, |;
am certain he would have gone Off
o avoid suspicion. All the same, we
Worried Larcan. or Ballmeyer, without
ur knowing it." ;
But" interrupted. IF Larsan had /
20 intention of using the cane as evil 3
ence against Darzac. why had he I
made himself up to look like the man
vhen he went In to buy itT' I
"He had not specially made up as t
'arzac to buy the cane; he had come
traight to Cassette's Immediately aft l.
r he had attacked Mile. Stangerson." !
(To be continued.) r