Tombstone epitaph., 1915-09-05

had garroted Poe; even now the silk cord was cutting closer into Poe's neck. He saw 1t all in the dizzy sec ond that he reeled before all grew black. Then he felt himself falling. falling through the trapdoor in the wall that had slid back s,iently be- hind him when Horton had signaled for assistance. and enabled the cat like servant with his y cord to take him unaware.
 With the first ray of light that came with returning consciousness Chris topher Poe dimly saw Burns's face anxiously peering into his own. He couldn't remember what had happened. he couldn't place himself. All that be- came evident to him in the following five minutes, as he lay with eyelids was the fact that he was lying on . heavy silk rug and somebody strange was working over him. But Burns was present.
 Suddenly . wiry black form skulked through the room. q blue-coated officer clutching the thin black neck. Then Poe suddenly remembered. and looked around to make certain that he was still in the strange apartment belong. ing to Horton.
 He moistened his throat with a great effort. and managed to articulate:
 Well? Did you get"
 Yes, we got him" Burns voice came clearly. as he kneeled beside the silk rug. We got him right. Just in time, too. He and his black minion were trying to destroy the counter. feiting plates when we managed to break through that heavy front door We got him with the goods: he was just jumping through the window. bu. we had a man below. Hes confessed 1t all-bully for you, Horton used to be an engraver on bonds for the Brit. ish Government; he was located tn Calcutta"
 So they found the plates and" Better not talk" put in a voic. strange to Poe, and he suddenly real ized the stranger was physician. A strained silence ensued. In ten minutes time Christopher Poe had be come quite himself, though he still passed his hand over his bruised neck mechanically, a curious haltsmile il. luminating his otherwise drawn face. He finally reached into his vest-pock. ct, and brought out the bit of prepared paper (evidently overlooked by Hor. | toni containing the counterfeiter's right forefnger imprint. He handed 1t to Burns, and watched him musingly. In answer to his friends anxious questioning and enthusiastic praise ] over the capture. Poe finally managed to sketch the whole thing to him, just what had happened when he was alone with Horton.
 How the devil did you spot the | fellow?" burst out Burns. Tt was easy from the minute no ticed that misspelled 'labour.' and saw the duplicate of that fnger-print you | hold in your hand" he explained. If you'll stop to think. you'll remember that Englishmen stick to the old form of spelling honor armor,' labor and the like. They always put in the letter 'u;' making it honour armour l and l-a-b-ou-r'
 Well, the minute l saw that word spelled 'Ea-b-o-u-r' I knew an English
 man had done the work, and evidently I had been an engraver on English stamps or securities Of some sort in which the word labor also appeared, and that the spelling of 1t had become second-nature to him
 Then I came across the finger. print | on the bill; you and Mitchell didn't ! seem to take account of the fact that the fingerprint showed in light green 1 ink. identical with the ink used on the back Of the note. That proved | that the counterfeiter himself haG | touched IL while it was still wet. or | while he had little of the fresh ink ! on his finger; he smeared his light mark on it without noticing. On ex. | amining that finger-mark under the l counterfeiter was the one who had | left his mark, for I found that the ridges on the finger-print, which were | loops approximating tented arches. as | they classify them in the print identt | heavy calluses. AS these were or | fication system, showed calluses the forefinger of the right hand, i'm
 mediately knew that the man was an engraver. for only the continuous use of the graver could have left such a | mark"
 Poe paused for breath, and Burns suggested:
 But that didn't give you the identi ty Of the man."
 | No. Then I found the two scars close together on the finger-print- ! figured out, by the process of elim, ination, about the only thing they could have been caused by. Then l suddenly recalled seeing twin scars on the finger of a snake-charmer. left ty a cobra's fangs. l immediately felt these must have originated the same way. Having the facts that the man was English, had been bitten by a cobra, and that the snake was a tame one with his poison sacks removed, or the man would have died before the