Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1916-04-20
quired Mallet, somewhat ill at ease.

mot at all, Dual returned. So
mean, however, that on the very face
of the case your cousin could not
have possibly shot himself"
He picked up Conrad's gun and
handed it to Bryce.
"Break that and take out all the
loads" he directed. "Then hold the
the barrel to your nose."
Without remark the Inspector com.
piled.
"Can you smell fresh powder? ?" in
quired Dual.
Bryce, shifting, lowered the gun and
looked him full in the face.
"No, can't" he admitted in shame
faced accents. "No, Dual, 1 can't
Dual waved him to give the gun to
johnson.
"And you, detective?" he asked.
johnson shook hishead. A dull red
crept into his cheeks.
"Yet," said Dual, reaching for the
revolver, "a weapon discharged less
than twenty-four hours ago should
show evidences of powder sediment,
should it not? Now, to make sure,
suppose we look further"
He took small, stiff wire and
wound some cotton about it and gen.
tly swabbed the barrel. 1t came out
very slightly blackened and showing
evidences of slight quantity of oil.
Dual exhibited it and smiled.
"There is the first blunder of the
assassin" he remarked. "He should
have discharged the gun so as to have
fouled it's barrel and made it plain
that it had been recently used"
"We ought to have thought of that,
Bryce" declared Johnson.
"Shut up; we're going to school
yeti" growled the inspector. "We're
outofit. Let Dual talk"
Semi turned Immediately to Bryce.
"Now, Inspector" he requested,
'look at the bullets which you re-
meoved from this revolver just now
and tell me what sort of loads they
are"
"That's easy" returned Bryce.
"They're thirty-twos, ordinary center
fire, soft nose"
"Then they would fit any ordinary
thirty-two caliber revolver"
"Yes, Mr.. Dual"
at is fact that standard caliber
cartridges can be used in all standard
weapons, is it not?" Semi continued
"Yes."
"Now''-Semi picked up the bullet
l had brought from the hospital
"what sort of a bullet is that, in
spector?"
Bryce took it and opened his eyes
as he turned it in his hand.
Its a thirty-two, steel-jacketed
ball. Dual"
"Yet that is the bullet which Som
mers dug out of Gustav Conrad's
brain, inspector"
Bryce and Johnson both nodded.
"Now," Dual went on, ''look at the
mark on the cartridges you hold and
tell me what make they are"
They're Remingtons," announced
Bryce.
"And"-Dual took up the revolver
and broke it, displaying the back of
the empty shell-"this is a Reming
ton, too; only those you have held
soft nosed slugs, and this one contain
ed the bullet l just handed to you.
Now is it prbable that man con-
templating suicide would load his
weapon with four soft-nosed bullets
and one steel bullet, and then care
fully select the latter to fire into his
brain ?"
at doesn't seem likely" admitted
johnson.
''In fact, isn't it true that he would
have stood better chance of killing
himself at close range with the soft
nosed bullet"
"Yes, it is," said Bryce.
Dual nodded and laid down the gun.
IAN this" he resumed, "is merely
leading up to the establishment OF a
doubt as to the wounds having been
self-inflicted. 1t is necessary to prove
the suicide theory intenable before
we can confidently declare that the
murder was attempted, and that is
what ! am now trying to do.
'Supposing that suicide was not
other conclusion to fall back upon.
After the murderer had shot Con-
rad he must have taken one of the
loaded shells from Conrad's own gun
and replaced it with the empty shell
from his own, and then have laid the
weapon beside Conrad's hand"
A match cracked in the room.
i glanced up at the sound. Mallet
had drawn cigar from his pocket