The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-10-08

The quick glance which all OF us
cast about the room OF course,
as involuntary as the chill which ran
UP u spines; yet Godfrey and r.
yes. and Simmonds-had h excuse
that, once upon a time, we had had
an encounter with a deadly snake
which none Of us was likely ever to
forget. We all smiled a little sheepish-
ly as We caught each others eyes
mo. I don't think 1t was a snake"
said Godfrey, and again BENT close
above the hand. Smell 1t, Mr.. Gold
berger" he added.
The corone put his nose close to the
hand and sniffed.
Bitter almondsl" he said.
Which ean prussic acid" said
Godfrey, and not snake poison" He
fell silent q moment his eyes on the
swollen hand. The rest OF us stared
at 1t. too; ind I suppose all the others
were laboring as / was with the effort
to find some thread OF theory amid this
chaos. 1T might, of course, have been
self-inficted." Godfrey added, quite TO
himself.
aoldberger sneered a little. No
doubt he found the incomprehensibility
Of the problem rather trying to his
"A man doesn't usually commit sui
eide by sticking himself in the hand
with q fork" he said.
NO" agreed Godfrey blandly;
but I would point out that we
case Of suicide; and I'm quite sure that,
whatever 1t may be. it isn't usual"
Goldbergers sneer deepened.
Ibid any reporter for the Record ever
find q case that was usual 2" he queried.
It was q shrewd thrust, and one that
Godfrey might well have WINGED under.
For the Record theory was that moth
Il t.
startling, and the inevitable result was
that the Record reporters endeavored
to make everything strange and start
ling, to play up the outer details at the
expense OF the rest OF the story. and
even, I fear, to invent such details when
none existed.
Godfrey himself had been accused
more thar once OF O too luxuriant
imagination. 1t was, perhaps, a realiza-
ton Of this which had persuaded him,
years before, to gut the detective force
and take service with the Record. What
might have been a weakness In the first
position, was a mighty asset in the lat
ter one, n he had won an immense
success.
Please understand that I set this
down in no spirit OF criticism. / had
known Godfrey rather intimately since
the days when we were thrown togeth-
err In solving the Holiday case, and
1 admired sincerely his ready wit, his
quick insight, and his unsuitable
aplomb. He used his imagination in a
way which often caused me to reflect
that the police would be a more ef-
ficient IL they possessed a dash OF the
same quality; n / had noticed that
they were usually glad OF his assist
ance, while his former connection with
the force and his careful maintenance
of the friendships formed at that time
i en va hNwa nm lAvNkHAA 20 ~laAA. 1AnaAI 20
less fortunate reporters. ] had never
known him to do a dishonorable thing
to fight for a cause he thought unjust,
to print a fact given him In confidence,
or to make statement which he knew
to be untrue. Moreover, a lively sense
OF humor made him an admirable com
panion, m It was this quality, per-
haps, which enabled him to receive
Goldberger,s thrust with a good ma
tured smile.
we've got our livings to make. you
know" he said. I'VE make It as hon-
estly as we can. What do you think,
| Simmonds7"
'T think" said Simmonds, who, II he
possessed an Imagination, never per-
mitted 1t to be suspected, that those
little cuts on the hand are merely an
accident. They might have been caused
in half a dozen ways. Maybe he hit
his hand on something when he fell;
maybe he jabbed 1t on a buckle; maybe
he had a boil on his hand and lanced
1t with his knife"
What killed him. then7" Godfrey
demanded.
"Poison-and it's in his stomach.
| Well find It there g..
"How about the odorT" Godfrey per-
sisted.
'He spilled some of the poison on
his hand as he lifted II to his mouth.
Maybe he had those cuts on his hand
and the poison inflamed them. Dr. may
be he's got some kind OF blood disease"
Goldberger nodded his approval, and
Godfrey smiled az he looked at him.
TITS easy to- lind explanations, isn't
TITS a blamed sight easier to find a
natural and simple explanation" re-
torted Goldberger holly, than IT is to
find an unnatural and far fetched one
such as how one man could kill another
by scratching him on the hand. i sup
pose you think this fellow was
dered7 That's what you said q minute
ago."
Perhaps I was a trife hasty," Cod
frey admitted, and I suspected that,
whatever his thoughts, he had made
up his mind to keep them to himself.
I'm not going to theorize until I've got
something to start with. The facts seem
to point to suicide; but IL he swallowed
prussic acid, where's the bother He
didn't swallow that too, did he?"
Maybe we'll find 1t In his clothes"
suggested Simmonds.
Thus reminded, Golberger fell to
work looking through the dead mans
pockets. The clothes were OF q cheap
material and not very new, so that, in
life, he must have presented a appear
ance somewhat shabby. There was a
purse in the inside coat pocket contain
ing two bills, one for $40 and one for
IS, and there We're 50 or SO In. silver and
four ~five-centime pieces in a small coin
purse. which he carried in his trousers
pocket. The larger purse had four or
five calling cards In one of Its COM
partments, each bearing q different
name, none OF them his. On the back
OF one OF them, Vantine's address was
written In pencil.
There were no letters, no papers, no
written documents OF any kind in the
pockets, the remainder OF whose con-
tents consisted OF such odds ana ends
as any many might carry about with
him-a cheap watch, a pen knife
a half empty packet OF French to-
bacco. O sheaf of cigaret paper,
four or five keys on a ring, a silk hand
kerchief, and perhaps some other arti-
cles which / have fo-rgotten-but not
q thing to assist In establishing his
identity.
Wen have to cable over to Paris
remarked Simmonds. Hes French
all right-that silk handkerchief proves
IT."
"Yes-and his best girl proves It