davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Dupin and His Friend

K XAUGUSTE DUPIN and his friend NH whose name is not revealed by M MT. Poe-were as curious couple as could be found even in Paris. The friend was a temp6rary resident of the French capital, and, apparently, an Amer ican of means
 They met first quite by accident In the rue Montmarte, where they were poth Ill search of a certain rare book-for both were of that singular genus of the human species known as collectors They struck up friendship at once and at'er tbev had met again it was decided ;hat they should take up their abode together during the Americans stay in Paris.
 A curious life the two lived together giving free rein to all their eccentrici- ties and indulging their common tastes to their utmost, entirely unhampereo by conventionalities.
 As the Americans means were ann ple it was agreed that he should pc nermitted to hire and furnish at ms own expense such a house as would suit their fancy.
 He hired and furnished in a style which fitted the rather fantastic gloom of their common temper time eaten and grotesaue mansion, long deserted because of superstitions into which they did not inquire and tottering to US fall, situated in deso1ate street or the Faubdourg St. Germain.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
By EDGAR ALLAN POE

hand I disentangled this little tuft from the rigidly closed fingers of Mime. LES panaye."
 The friend looked at the tuft and srs~rd back in horror-completely unnerved. "Dupin," he cried this Is not human hairl"
 'I have not asserted that 1t is," coolly replied Dupin, "but before we decide this point I wish you would glance at this lit- tie sketch have made. It is a facsimile drawing of the bruises and fluctuations which I found upon the throat of Mile. l. Espanaye. You will recollect that examined the bodies of the mother and daughter.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Pupin's Pet Theory

One of Dupin's pet theories ran prac- tIcallv as follows The mental fea- lures discoursed of as analytical are, In themselves, but little susceptible Of an alysis. We appreciate them only in their effects.
 we know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. As the strong man exults in his physi- cal ability, delighting to call into play all his muscles. so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disen- tangles.
 "Ie. derives pleasure from even the most trivial occupations which can bring his talents into play. He Is fond of epigrams, conundrums, hieroglyphics, exhibiting in his solutions of each degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary mortal apprehension pre- ternatural.
 His results, brought about by the very soul and essence of method, nave in truth, the very air of intuition.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Windows in Their Bosoms

Dup:n used to boast to his friend with a chucklng laugh that most men to him wore windows in their bosoms and was wont to follow up such assertion with very startling proofs of its truth.
 His manner at such moments was fri gid and abstract His eyes wore vacant expression, while his voice-usually rich tenor-rose into a treble which woull have sounded petulant but for. the deltber- \ateness and entire distinctness Of enuacia- Hon.
 His friend, when observing him in one of these moods. often amused himself by imagining that Dupln had "bi-part soul; that he was double" Dupin-one part creative and one part resolvent.
 As an example of what Dupin could do In the way of reading the thoughts
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Putting Himself in His Place

No orang-outang had escaped from tfe jardin des Plantes It must have been brought to Paris by some one who broughs 1t for sale.
 At the foot Of the lightning rod he had picked up a piece of greasy ribbon, such as sailors in those days used to tic tho queues of which they were so fond. It was tied in knot such as few sailors can tie, and is peculiar to the Maltese. One of the voices had spoken in French the man who had dropped this ribbon was evidently a French sailor who had been on voyage in Maltese vessel. He, | therefore, put the advertisement in tho paper
 '"fhe sailor" said Dupin. twill reason
 thus: "The beast was caught in the Bois
 de Boulogne, a long distance from the
 scene of the murder. How can it be sus- | pected that q brute beast has done this deed? The police have got no clue. The | orang- -outang is a small fortune to me. Above all. l am known. The advertise
 ment designates me as the possessor of
 the beast. Should avoid claiming prop | erty of such value. when it is known that 1 1t is mine, it will at least excite suspicion. I will get the animal and keep 1t close un- | til this matter has blown over.'"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Likely to Afford Amusement

"There Is such thss5 as being too profound. Truth is not always in the bottom of a well. In fact, as regards the more important knowledge, 1 truly believe that she is invariably super ficial. The depths lie In the valleys where we seek her. and not upon the mountain tops where she is found"
 And so he went on elaborating his theories, talking In most original ant most entertaining way until, suddenly he reverted again to the murder, ant said:
 "As for these murders. let us enter into some examinations for ourselves before we make up our opinions re- specting them an inquiry will afford some amusement"
 This was a singular word-"amuse- ment"-to apply to the case. but Dupri was a singular man with singular Ideas.
 And there Is Le Bon" continued Dupin; he once rendered me some service, for which I am not ungrate- ful.p
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
What the Neiehbors Found

The neighbors hastily Hooked to the gateway of the house and two gen. darnes appeared. The gateway was fastened, but it was broken open and the csowd rushed up the stairs.
 By the time the entrance had beer forced the cries had ceased, but as the people ran up the first flight of stairs they distinctly heard two voices i,i angry contention. The voices seem- irgly proceeded from the back room on the fourth floor occupied by Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter as 9 sleeping apartment.i
 By the time the people had reached the second landing even, those voices had ceased and when they broke open the door of the bedroom-which was locked with the key on the inside-the chamber was vacant.
 But an awful and astonishing scene resented itself. There was every evi- dence of desperate struggle. The fur niture was broken and thrown about in the widest disorder There was but enc bedstead and from this the bed had been dragged and thrown into the middle of the room.
 On a chair lay razor besmeared with blood, and on the hearth were three long gray trcsses of human hair. evidently pulled out by the roots and dabbIed with blood.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
The Decoy Advertisement

It is stated that on the morning of certain date-the date of the murder-a very large, tawny orang-outang of tho Bornese species had been captured in the bois de Boulogne. That the owner had been ascertained to be a sailor belonging to Maltese vessel, and that he could have the animal again upon Identifying it and paying. a trifiing charge arising from it's capture and keeping
 He was directed to apply at a number and street, which was the number and street where the two friends now sat. The advertisement was snare, Dupin explained. He said that. having satisfied himself that the orang-outang had been concerned in the murder. he next asked himself how such an animal happened to be at large in Paris.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Without Power to Comprehend

Tt Is clear that if the shutter of the window at the head of the bed were swung fully back to the wall it would come with In two feet of the lightning ro6, and per- son by the exercise of an unusual degree Of strength, agility and courage. might thus have effected an entrance and exit from the window.
 , T wish to impress upon you the almost preternatural agility which could have ac- complshed this.
 As also wish you to bear in mind the peculiarity of that voice whose nationality no two persons agree upon and in whose utterances no syllabication could be de- tected''
 A vague horror seemed to creep over Dupin's friend and he seemed to be upon the verge of comprehension without the power to comprehend.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Along the Tangled Line

"I knew you could not think of stere- otomy without being led to think of other 'atomies,' and thus of the theories of Epicurus, subject which we were discussing not long ago. and in that discussion. I remembered. you were much impressed by what I said con- corning how singulary that vague guess of the Crock had met with con-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Not From Human Head

Then Dupin went on emphasizing the more strange and apparently inexplicable circumstance of the murder-such as the thrusting of the corpse up the chimney and the more than enormous strength which must have been exerted in the act; the odd disorder of the chamber; the ap- parent lack of motive and the ferocity with which the old woman had been killed
 What impression have I made upon your fancy?" said the friend, Ia mantac Sante must have done this deed.''
 'The hair of madman,' said Dupin, lis not such as that l now hold in my
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Unusual Not Always Abstruse

Next day at noon he suddenly broke out with: Well. did you notice any thing peculiar at the scene of the mur- der?"
 No his friend had not observed any thing but what had been stated already in the papers.
 Well. 1t appears to me-" said Dupin, that the very things about this mur- der-lts unusual horror and absence of niotive for instance, the wild disorder of the room the corpse thrust into the chimney, the frightful multilation of the old woman, the seeming impossibility of anyone having escaped from the room, the voices heard as the people came up the stairs, in short, all the outre charac- ter of its features. which seem to have paralyzed the police, should make 1t the easier of solution.
 They have fallen into the gross hut common errer of confounding the m usual with the abstruse. In pursuing such an investigation as this we should not ask what has occurred, but what has occurred that has never occurred before?"
 "Now l shall arrive at the solution of this mystery with facility which is in direct ratio to It's apparent insolubility in the eyes of the police"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Ingenuity and Analysis

But the analytical power should not be confounded with simple ingenuity. For while the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man Is often remarkably incapable of analysis
 ''rhe constructive, or combining power, by which ingenuity is usually manifested, and to which the prenologists-wrong- fully. believe-have assigned q separate organ. supposng it primitive faculty, have so often been seen in those whose intellect borlered otherwise upon idiocy as to have attracted general observation among writers on morals.
 Between ingenuity and the analytic ability there exists a difference far great CT than between fancy and imagination, but of character strictly analogous It will be found, in fact, that the ingenious are always fanciful and the truly imagi- native never otherwise than analytic"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Examining the Premises

Dupin was acquainted with the pre- feet of police and easily got permission to view the premises in the rue Morgue He and his friend went there.
 The house was at great distance from the one where Dupin made his home, and it was late afternoon wher the friends arrived at the scene of the murder. The examination told the American nothing that he had not al ready learned from the newspapers.
 But Dupin examined, not only the house, but the whole neighborhood, with @ minuteness of attention for which his friends could see no possible reason.
 Dupin made no comment. It now be. came his whim. on the contrary. to de. cline all conversation on the subject oi the murder.
 On his way home Dupin stopped at 8 newspaper office and left an advertise ment. His friends did not know why oi what the advertisement was about. Du pin was mum.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Startling the Sailor

A step was heard upon the stairs. a knock came at the door-Dupin said. Come in," and there entered tall, stout. hardy, good-lookng man, evidently a sailor He bowed awkwardly and oaie them good evening in French, which be- trayed a Paris origin.
 Dupin at once entered upon the subject of the orang- -outang. He skillfully lulled the fears and natural suspicious of the man to rest.
 But when the sailor said: 'TIow much do you want for the capture and keep of the beast?" Dupin startled him by re- plying, Let me see. o, my reward shall be this You shall give me all the infor- nation in your power concerning the murders In the Rue Morgue." The sailors face flushed up as if ha were struggling with suffocation. He started to his feet and grasped a stout cudgel he carried. Then he fell back into his chair trembling violently. He spoke not word.
 Dupin quietly locked the door. put the key in his pocket and, taking his pistol | from his bosom, placed 1t on the table within easy reach.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Completely Baffled

But how? The two windows of the bedroom were closed when the party entered and apparently held fast by nails driven into the sashes and the win dow castings. The poor old womans throat hau been cut, her head severed from the bDiy.
 Upon tE; shasty mystery the news papers anl the police at once set to work, but were completely baffled.
 They found that the house was the property of the old lady who, besides, had considerable sums in the bank. She and her daughter had lived an exceed- ingly retired life. receiving no visitors.
 On the day before the murder Madame I.'Espanaye had gone to her bank and drawn out 4O00 francs in gold. A bank clerk had carried the money in two bags for her to the door of her house.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Dupin Begins to Think

There was not single inch of the house that was not carefully searched bv the police. The chimneys were all too small for any one to have escaped through them.
 The mystery remained as great as ever-in fact, deepened as the case was Investigated. The police had to do something-so they arersted Adolph ie Bon the bank clerk, who had carried the four thousand francs to the, door of Mme. LEspanaye's house, though there was nothing in the world to connect him with the murder. f f What could have been the motive Tor this horrible murder? Evidently not rob- bery, as the money and jewels were not taken.
 Dupin's friend saw that he was much interested in the affair-for he read the papers and said nothing. But after le Bon had been arrested Dupin said ..What do you think of this murder in the rue Morgue?"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
In What Language?


 At the inquest several witnesses testl- fled to having heard two voices, in angry contention as they ascended the stairs. All agreed that one voice--an exceed inRly gruff one-was that of French man. They had heard him say "sacre, "Giable'' and use other explosives.
 As to the second voice. it was high pitched one, very shrill, and what it said was understood of no one. Neither voice was the voice of either of the murdered women.
 Isidore Muset, one of the gendarmes. thought the highpitched voice spoke In Sranish. But he was unfamiliar with Spanish he was not sure.
 A German restaurant keeper who did not speak French thought it the voice of a Frenchman. William Bird. an English tailor, thought the shril voice spoke in German, but was unfamiliar with German himself. Henri Duval. a neighbor, deposed that he was wholly ignorant of Italian, but thought the hish-pitched voice spoke m that language; while an Italian thought it spoke inS Russian.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

and on the floor were two bags contain ing nearly 4o0O francs In gold. 1here was small iron safe Its door open and the key in the lock- It had no con- tents except few old letters and other papers.
 Of Mime. LEspanaye there was no trace, but, an unusual quantity of soot being observed in the fireplace. they looked up the chimney-a small, narrow one-and there found the body of her de ughter, which had been forced up the narrow aperture to considerable dis tance and was hanging head down. It required the united force of several persons to haul the body back into the room. It was still warm, and upon the face were several scratches.
 Upon the throat were dark bruises and deep indentations, apparently caused by finger nails as if the young woman had been strangled to death.
 They found the body of Mime. L Es- panaye in the area back of the house under a window, where it had evidently been thrown.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

Of others he was, one night, strolling with his friend down a long, dirty street in the vicinity of the palais royal and suddenly remarked: "1e is very little fellow, that is true, and would do better for the theatre des varieties
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
That Mysterious Voice


 Dupin's friend began to think that the Frenchman was getting a little crazy over the murder, and when Dupin re- marked, in an offhand manner, .I am now waiting for the arrival of a person who. though probably not the pcrpetrator of these butcheries, must have been in some manner implicated in their perpetra- tion,', his friend stared in blank amaze ment.
 q shall learn from this man in this room what l want to know. Here are pis- tols-if he comes it may be necessary to detain him. The friend took one of tine pistols as if in dream. While they waited Dupn called atten- tion to the fact that at the inquest all the witnesses agreed in supposing that the gruff voice heard by the party on the stairs at the time of the murder was that of q Frenchman. But in regard to the shrill voice an Italian, a Frenchman, a German, a Spaniard Hollander and an Englshman each spoke of it as the voice of foreigner"
 Each was sure that it was not the voice of one of his own countrymen. And each likened it to tho voice of an individual of 0 nation with whose language he was not familiar
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

soc, perhaps, one or two points with unusual clearness, but in so doing he naturally lost sight of the matter as whole.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Ginning Without Method

Tine American could only agree with all Paris that It. was an unsolvable e mystery q can see no means said he, "by which the murderer can be traced g, .Means!" said Dupin, I've must not fudge of the means by this shell of an exa II. .tnatien.- The police of Paris are cunnirlg--but no more. The results which they, achieve are sometimes sur nrising, {: but as a rule are. merely brought about by simple diligence and activity. IN g
 "Thcre is no method ,in their proceedl fngs. Where diligence and activity fail where they have to apply the analyti- acl--they are failures.
 : "Vidocq, for instance, was a good euesser and a persevering man. But be- ing without education. thought he erred continually. He impaired his vision by holding the object too close. He might
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
What the Police Had Missed

'I felt of the nail, and the head, with about a quarter of an inch of the shank, came off in my hand-the rest of the shank was in the gimlet hole where 1t had been broken off.
 So, you see, that window had not been held down by the nail. The assassin had escaped through this window.
 Dropping of its own accord Cor per- haps closed purposely) behind him. it had become fastened by the secret spring, and the retention of this spring had been niIs- taken by the police for the retention of the nail
 ''The next question Is the mode of as- cent and descent In walking with you at the back of the house I noticed a light ming rod running up the wall From this lightning rod it would have been impossi- ble for anyone to have reached the win dow, to say nothing of entering it.
 "But the shutters of the two windows, I noticed were of peculiar kind, being in the form of a door, not double door, except that the lower half is of lattice work, affording an excellent hold for the hands.
 'The shutters of both windows when I saw them, were half open-that Is, they stood off at right angles from the wall of the house.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

tives of the five great divisions of Europe recognized nuothing familiar. No words no sounds resembling words-were by any witness mentioned as distinguishable," continued Dupin; this led to legitimate deductions.
 "Just what they are will not say. But they were sufficient to give definite form to my examinatio of the chamber.
 "There was no way in which the mur- derers could have escaped except through one of the windows of the back room. But it was seemingly impossible for them to have done so. It is only left for us to prove that these apparent impossibilitles are, in reality, not such.
 "rhere are two windows in the bec chamber. one of which is unobstructed bA furniture and in plain view. The othel is partly concealed by the head of, the un wieldy bedstead.
 "The former was found securely fast ened from within and resisted all attempts to raise it. A gimlet hole had been pierced in its frame to the left and a stout nail fitted therein nearly to the head.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
The Secret of the Escape

"In the other window was @ similar nail similarly fitted. Vigorous attempts to raise this sash also failed. The police were satisfied it was impossible for any one to have escaped that way.
 Now I know that the murderers must have gone out that way. This being so they could not have fastened the sashes from the inside as they were found fast ened Yet the sashes were fastened; therefore they must have the power of fastening themselves.
 'I withdrew the nail from the unob- structed window and attempted to raise 1t, but could not. It must be held down by a concealed sprng-that was clear. found the spring. touched it and was sat- isfed with my discovery.
 ''Tl}en went to the other window and found the concealed spring which held that down.
 "A person passing through this window might have closed 1t behind him and the spring would have held 1t down. But he could not have replaced the nail There fore, the nail could not be like the nail In the other window.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
The Two Windows

Flow strange voice 1t must have been that could have elicited such testimony a voice in whose tones even, representa-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

The Two VIctlmS Some 1ewelry was scattered about.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24
Confession at Last

Then in a kind tone he assured the sailor that they intended him no harm: that they perfectly well knew that the sailor was innocent of the atrocities in the Rue Morgue. That he had not been guilty even of robbery. That he had nothing to conceal; but, on the other hand, was bound by every principle of honor to con fess all, as an innocent man, Le Bon, had been arrested for the murder.
 At last the sailor did confess.
 He had brought the orang-outang from Borneo to Paris. expecting to sell it for large sum.
 Returning home one night, or rather the morning of the murder, he had caught the beast sitting before looking glass with a razor in it's hand, initiating the act of shaving, which it had often seen It's master perform. It had, in some man. ner, escaped from the closet where the sailor had confined 1t.
 When the sailor grabbed 6 whip with which he was accustomed to subdue the beast, the orang-outang sprang through the door and then through an open win dow to the street The streets were de- serted at that hour and the sailor chased the animal for a long time without meet ing any human being.