The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-04-14

as clew, with the left-handed stamp
as evidence, and with CrandalPs move
mcnts to watch, felt certain that we
could quickly solve the whole mystery"
But how about the morphine
syringe" | asked again.
Il hardly gave il second thought.
For all | knew, it may have come there
by accident, yet Crandall quickly ex-
planned its presence in the talk that /
have just had with him. He kept this
chap Young there in his rooms for
two weeks, trying to worm out of him
the secret with which Young had been
trying to blackniail the old general.
When Young. disappeared he left the
syringe behind him"
SO" | exclaimed in excitement. "the
mystery Of the yellow letter was black
mailing plot against Gen. Parrish"
No" said Davis, Il don't think the
Parrish case had anything to do with
the other chain of suicides, unless it
was that both deyilish plots originated
in the drug-fevered, malevolent brain
Of the poor fellow in yonder. Ii is true
that Gen. Perish got yellow letters.
Once week for months and months he
has found one in his mail, each more
threatening, more menacing, than its
predecessors. He has for long, long
time been living in daily dread that the
anonymous writer of these letters
might at any moment carry out his
threats and expose him to public shame,
and disgrace him in the eyes of his be-
loved daughters"
But how did you learn all this?" I
asked
Young boasted to Crandall about the
weekly. letters So sure did he feel that
Gen. Perish would not dare openly TO
prosecute him that with fiendish ma
Lightly he took delight in retailing ito
Crandall the dread-inspiring phrases he
had employed and in dilating on the
terror they undoubtedly were causing
the general. 1t is small wonder that
the sight Of you and Louise examining
scrap of one of the yellow letters,
coming as il did right on top of Kath-
arine's desperate act, brought on a
stroke of paralysis"
Poor old man." / said, how he must
have sufferedP
Far more than we can imagine" said
Davis. II do not think any one but
half-crazed drug hend, either, could
have conceived OF such refinement of
torture as of always using the same pc
culiar yellow stationery. Think what
shock Il must have given Gen. Fer
IRISH each time he saw one of those yell
low envelopes lurking among his morn
ing mail Think what horrible specters
i'll yellow must have haunted his brain
as he tried to sleepl No wonder he
collapsed when he did"
1T must have been terrible" said as
] tried to picture to myself tho agony
that had been Gen. Farrish's for months
and months. No one but a mad drug
fiend would have thought of it. | Won
der why he chose yellow"
There is perhaps a scientific reason
why yellow appeals to the criminal and
the insane" said Davis thoughtfully,
but the higher significance of color has
not yet been satisfactorily explained. A
crazy woman often delights TO deck her
self in yellow. The color appeals, too,
TO the lower orders of the human race,
an illiterate negro, for instance. 1t is
the color of gold, over which thousands
and thousands have gone mad II is
the color Of the moon, which the am
clients believed to have a peculiar influ-
ence on mad persons.N Some day, |
hope. some scientist will be able to tab
ulate the psychic effect OF the spectrum
on the human race II would be we'll
worth doing Everybody realizes, even
now, in general way, that colors do
directly affect the senses. What a jar
discordant combinations give us
But are you sure Young wrote all
the yellow lettersp
Certainly" said the inspector, get
ting up from the bench and entering
the cottage.
When he returned few minutes later
he had in his hand a bundle of yellow
paper and envelopes. As examined
them | saw that they were of exactly
the color and texture of all the frag-
ments of yellow letters that had seen.
Where did you find them7" | asked.
in cupboard over there by the fire.
place. don't know whether you no.
ticed il or not, but over there, too, is
the typewriter on which Young wrote
the letters he gave Rouser to mail for
him."
What makes you think Rouser mailed
them?"
There are six different things that
prove Rousers connection with Young's
4. ~