The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1912-07-26

produced brandy and gave her Q few
drops. She came to In q couple Of
minutes, and began to moan feebly.
After little while she became calm
and finally fell into a deep slumber.
Then left her and FASTENED back to
the laboratory. intent on trying an ex-
pertinent which had occurred to me ON
my last visit there.
Meanwhile Frost and his men had
not been idle. Convinced that Digby
or Digby's dead body was concealed
somewhere around the premises. they
began q systematic search Of the en-
tire house from roof to basement.
Pick and crowbar were ruthlessly ap-
piled. hoorings were torn up and raft
ers cut through. Walls were pierced
and bored through. closets and cup
boards ransacked. The very backs OF
the old-fashioned fireplaces were torn
out. and the chimneys explored. At
last Frost called me upstairs. He was
leaning against the wall. looking be-
wildered.
This Is beyond me altogether, doc
tor" he said. There Is absolutely no
trace Of Digby, alive or dead"
Look here. Frost" I said, this
thing has to be worked out logically.
II Digby left this house he went up.
down. or horizontally. Up is out OF
the question. II he disappeared In a
balloon or was shot on the roof he
must have been seen by US. for the
house was surrounded. He certainly
did not pass through the Gordon of
men. He did not go down. for every
cubic foot OF basement and cellar has
been accounted for. as well as every
cubic foot OF space In the house. So
We come to the chemical change OF
matter. Dissipation into gas by heat.
There are no furnaces, no ashes, no
gas cylinders, nor dynamos, nor car.
bon points. The time when We lost
sight Of him to the time of entrance
was exactly two hours and threequar.
tiers. II you come with me, I think ]
can throw some light on the problem"
went down to the laboratory again,
followed by Frost. When we reached
the basement pointed to the machine
with steel blocks and the great metal
tank.
There is the explanation Of Digby's
disappearance" I said. He is dead.
Frost, and We will never see his body.
No inquest can be held, for there II
nothing to hold 1t on. The winds have
taken him and scattered him In dust
on the surrounding grounds. arrived
at my present conclusion by a process
OF elimination. Into that tank which
contained liquid air, Digby, gagged
and bound, must have been placed VIC
lently. probably after he had given
away the chart. Death would have
been instantaneous, and he would have
been frozen into complete solidity In
something like 40 minutes. The ordi
nary laboratory experiment is TO
freeze a rabbit, which can be then
powdered into mortar like any other
friable stone. The operation here has
been the same. 1t Is only a question
OF size. Remember We are dealing
with 312 degrees below Fahrenheit
That big machine over there is a stone
breaker. and on the blocks of steel be.
longing 10 II I found this"
held up test tube containing O
blue liquid.
This iS the Guiacum test, Frost. In
other words, blood. This fact taken
with thG facts We already know, that
Digby never left the house; that the
only other agent Of destruction of O
body. fire. is out Of the question; that
this tank is the receptacle of that
enormous machine for making liquid
air In very large quantities; and above
all. the practical possibility of the CD.
Grafton being conducted by the men
who are at present in the house. afford
me conclusive proof beyond a pos.
sibility Of doubt as to what has hap
pened. The body Of that unfortunate
man Is as II II never had been"
You have proved your case, doc
tor" said Frost. fetching deer
breath when I had finished. at is by
long odds the most extraordinary
crime I ever heard Of. Well. there's
nothing to do but take these parties
along. and see II We can't get some
thing in the way of confession out OF
them"
Before I left that awful house
made arrangements to have Muriel
Seattle conveyed to a private hospital.
This was done, and for many weeks
she lowered between life and death.
Meanwhile Mrs. Seattle, her brother
and their servants were detained by
the police. In the long run, the negro
servant weakened and confessed his
completely In the crime. to the extent
Of fetching the senseless body OF Diesy
! to the laboratory. after the latter had
been drugged. Through the evidence
| given by this witness for the state Tho
brother and sister were convicted fer
Digby's murder. but owing to the a.
sence OF the murdered mans body, q
technical plea by their lawyers resRst-
ed In a sentence Of imprisonment for
life, instead Of capital punishment.
Senior Merello. however, managed 70
commit suicide In his cell at the
Tombs prison the day before he vas to
have been removed to Sing Sing pen.
itentiary, and his sister died within
six months after she begas serving
her sentence, Of typhoid feEer. The