Evening star., 1925-02-01
THE PERFECT CRIME A Story by Austin Small
81 Worked Mny1o to It

cession of signatures went crawling
along under long succession of
Yours faithfully"
Pogarty's was rather a neat sigma
ture. he thought. II looked well. The
quaint little flourish to the initial ~"
and the trim little pull-back loop OF the
ness about q signature that was known
and honored throughout banking circles
all over the city.
While he was writing he began to
visualize the absurd simplicity OF the
idea that had lain dormant at the back
of his mind ever since he first detected
the weaknesses In the banks system.
mo banking system can be perfect"
he assured himself for the simple rea-
son that the final balance is struck in
figures instead of actual gold weight in
the opposite scale-pan. And figures
will always be open to jugglery."
He began to toy with his idea. He
fondled 1t as would a connoisseur some
priceless old art treasure. All the
week end he pondered It, turning it
this way and that, testing odd little
bits of it, working out minor little de-
tails OF It with the analytical delicacy
of chess master proving out a prob
lem game. He studied it, inspected IT.
examined it piece by piece, put it under
the microscope OF his meticulous brain.
turned 1t upside down and inside out.
reassembled the whole scheme and
mentally rehearsed the final working
out of each incident. Then he as
cended to the pinnacle of intentional
criminality. He made it his hobby.
* X y X
HIS perfect idea became his pastime
III ~; l.. n
only love. He reveled in It. His hours
of ease were spent in sublimating it to
the highest pitch of perfection. His
plan deserved it, for he had found the
means of effectually eliminating that
bugbear Of all criminals, the hue and
cry. He wanted to live his subsequent
life at his ease, without having TO ex-
perience the slightest qualm or fear.
And he knew that it could be done.
He decided on the most suitable
amount to negotiate.
Forty thousand pounds" he mur-
INJURED, speculativeIy. THAT Is the ideal
figure. It is the lowest 1 shall re-
quIre and the highest I can utilize
without making a bulge in the market
elsewhere. Most decidedly, forty thou
sand is the ideal figure"
Having arrived at this decision, he
took a prolonged look at himself in
the glass. Certainly that young
blighter Of a junior had been trifle
premature. Mr.. Jerold Pogarty did
not look old. He was dapper, neat,
natty and as straight as back
board. His complexion was clear and
his eyes as bright and keen as steel.
Admittedly he was semi bald and his
teeth were bit groggy, but he
wore his clothes exceptionally well,
and there was not a trace Of what
one might call elderly-spread below
his waistcoat He had a small sandy
buff mustache which suited him ad-
mirably. The wee touch Of POM
posity in his manner became him as
naturally as did his morning coat
and white spats.
Mr.. Jerold Pogarty decided that
that particular identity should slowly
wane in Threadneedle Street and be
transported bodily. except the mus
tache, to his future home, which he
decided would be St. Adams. as be-
ing a quiet, exclusive little place
and within half an hour of town.
That was only one brilliant facet of
his idea. He was to manufacture a
false identity right under the boards
nose and live an artificial life before
their eyes. His real self he pro-
posed to efface and reserve for his
own subsequent use later on in st.
Adams. The next morning he turned
up at the bank, wearing Spectacles
They were plain glass lenses, but his
friends were not to know that. So
they just looked at him and shook
their sympathetic heads.
From that moment Mr.. Jerold Po-
garty of Norwood and Threadneedle
street became half of himself - that
is, he became one of two entirely
separate and distinct personalities.
The one went to the bank regularly
every morning, performed his duties
in the same suave, faultless manner,
lunched at the same table with the
same friends, went home at the same
time, and never lapsed from punctu-
ality again The only notable change
in him was that slowly but surely
his eyesight failed. Strength by
strength he found 1t necessary to in
crease the magnifying power of his
lenses until, before many months had
sped, he blinked wistfully at the di-
rectorate from behind a couple of
pebbles a quarter OF an inch thick.
But when he was alone he pushed
them up on his forehead, and at
other times, unless he was being ad-
dressed personally, he closed his
eyes, for Mr.. Pogarty was proudly
jealous of his vision.
Later on other changes appeared
in him, or became noticeable for the
first time. His knees had lost their
spring. He was apt to stand just a
trifie bent, as though his tendons
were feeling the years, and he
shuffled ever such a trifie when he
walked. These were the most
marked of the other perfectly por-