Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1916-05-04
SYNOPSIS


awakened by telephone summons to
visit the residece of Anthony Conrad,
retired broker, who has been found
dead on his couch.
Suspicion points to Gustav Conrad,
his nephew, with whom he had quar-
relied the night before and who to all
appearances tried to commit suicide
after killing his uncle.
Physicians find that Gustav has a
chance to recover. The will leaves
$4,000 to Gustav and the balance of
the estate to George Mallet, another
nephew.
Not satisfied with the apparent So
luton of the case, Semi Dual, the old
man of mystery, takes hand in the
'e of human life.
Dual asks Gordon to 60 with John
son of the detective force and search
the Conrad premises thoroughly for
other evidence.
They find footprint beneath
window and finger print on the sill
and also secure the will itself, for in
spection and comparison with the two
nephews' handwritings, which Miss
Burton aids in getting.
Gordon, the detectives and Mallet
are summoned before Semi Dual to
learn his deductions from the evil
dence secured.
He made a solution of the acid and,
using another glass rod, touched the
loop of the small "g" in George"
AS before, we bent to watch the re-
suit, without avail. Dual lifted his
face to johnson and me.
"There is still no change" said he.
(Which means" began the detec-
tive.
"That these two words were writ
ten in carbon or India ink" replied
Semi. "That, as l told you,, is the
only ink which will not react to an
reagent."
"But just where does that bring
us?" Johnson questioned. "Didn't
we already have pretty clear case?"
"We started to find motive, if l
remember" said Dual in answer. eff
Anthony Conrad had actually made
Gustav his heir, and Mallet, whom we
know to have needed money badly, and
to have hated his cousin for, as he
believed, winning woman whom he
himself was in love with, had changed
the will to read as it does, we would
have found it, think"
"oh, my God!" Mallet half started
from his chair and sank back, gasping
Dual turned his eyes slowly upon
him and held them for moment while
over his face fled an expression of
what 1 felt was pity, a great, en-
bracing compassion for the man.
Every line of his noble face in that
moment spoke of the sympathy of the
pure soul. / thought of what he had
said to me of the painful duty which
was to be his, and knew that he was
suffering, too, in the pain he caused.
Suddenly his voice came deep and
full as a bell.
Patience! The end is soon."
"The fact that iron ink was used
by Conrad" he went on in moment,
"enables us to follow the case to the
end. All iron inks penetrate the pa
per upon which they are used, sink
ing through the surface into the
very fibre of the substance, so that,
once applied, there will always be
some trace remaining. We have a
photograph of the present form OF the
will for future reference, so that now
I may properly remove the trans
posed names"
He set some water to warming over
the alcohol-lamp, crossed and took the
large metal plate from the smaller
table, together with a couple of the
rubber rings and short rubber tube
equipped with spray nozzle.
Bringing these back to the desk, he
laid the will upon the plate, face
downward, placed one of the rings
around each of the names in question,
and fastened them in place with rub
ber bands.
Taking the now boiling water, he
poured it into an atomizer and fitted
the spray-tipped tube to its spout
With this he sprayed the paper sur
rounded by the rings.
Presently he set down the atomizer
took piece of blotting-paper, and alb
sorbed the eecess moisture from the
back of the will, unfastened the rings
and turned the will over.
The two names had disappeared!
He picked up fresh vial from the
desk and took out the stopper.
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