The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-01-14

a T Gas Chanler Rao, with contentcd |
smile on his handsome features andia
substantial cheque in his pocket, was seated !,
opposite to me in reserved compartment h
Ct the train back to town 4n
Il trust my noble preserver is satisfied" /
he said, in his lazy Eastern fashion. -
Quite satisfied as to the result" re-
piled; "but rather puzzled about tie !.
process"
"And yet it is so simple, he said It's !
method praotsed in lndia for generations
past As thus: Suppose you arc great
sdhib over there. One Of your many sery-
ants has committed crime You qtr stion
them closely with all your skill. But, alasl
no good-servants everywhere, cvelsln
in my own dear country, are ready liars.
They all say No! with protests most in
dignant Then what sEall you dor You
send for the Magic Man, whom they fear. :
He comes and calls for rice He bids each
servant fill his mouth with the rice, hold it
for moment, and then spit il out. New,
at single glance, he can point out the cul-
prt. y,
For why2 Fcar-the fear of the inpend-V I
ing detection-has parched the tongue Of
tie guilty one. The other portions OF riceA
when spit out are wet--very wet; but not =
so that from the mouth Of him who is guilty
of the crime. His mouthlul of rice is almost
as dry as when it went in.
II had to prepare means more delicate
and fine. The little cachets-they are
celluloid, perforated filed with a special :
material very drawing what you call abb
sorbent to moisture. Most accurately 10 i,
they register which mouth is dry. SO is the
marvel explained"
But" | said. at last running in the
objection that was in my mind, surely tie 4
test is very risky one. With nervous peo-
pie mere excitement and fright will check
the flow of saliva quite as effectively as the !,
consciousness of real guilt.
In the East, neverl" said Chanler.
No Hindu is ever afraid unless ke has
reason to be-why should he? But in the
West it is different What you call your
nerves are overstraired and liable to all
sorts of fits and starts. One never knows.
And it makes difiieulties-it did to-day.
There were trco dry cachets."
The pale under-housemaid2" " / sug-
gested
Yes" said Rao; Louise. She gave
me much alarm, for she furnished the second
dry cachet For moment | was up the
tree, and feared the method had failed; then
| bethought mc-perchance she is a con-
federate. 1t was only the interference of
your sister, the lady of the house, that
showed me how, since Louise had been away
till this very day, she could not be con
cerned. From that point all was perfectly
plain and cock-sure; my man was marked"
And the explosion limited. -
Rao smiled ndulgently. VI
"Ah-that," he said, "was perhaps what
you would call little trick. Yet, again, not
without purpose. | do not choose that
everyone should know the how; the explo-
sion covered up the method, and put specta-
tors on the wrong scent. And ii had a
further object. When once your man is
seriously disturbed and anxious, with the
nerves, as one says, on the stretch and qui-
yer, there is nothing like sudden bang and
flash to throw him altogether off the balance
and self-control. And it was so here. You
noted-did you not1-that the guilty one
was trembling and almost on his knees even
before had time to point him out"
And yet there is one thing that seens.o
me quite incxplicable," | said "How did
you get to know Of the robbery at alp 1t
was so extraordinary-your writing N ne
like that, just when we were ab0rt tn send
for detective"
My noble physician has the .igh, 10
learn the whole truth" said Cha-ler Rae.
He wrote my prescription on the back ei
his gracious sisters letter."