Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-31

American. constable 1872, he eX
planned. lis one of our most depend
able officers. She has never been as
signed to dangerous duties, although
she has asked repeatedly for such
work. ! shall be glad if you will as
sociate with her and do whatever YOU
wish to do in this extraordinary af-
fair
The commissioner handed Constable
1872 the yellow report slips and dis
missed her. Agent Markham. fighting
down his establishment followed her
out the door in response to the shy
nod with which she had acknowledged
the partnership established by her
commander. In the corridor Mark
ham asked her name.
'Mura Vidal" she replied. simply
She added: Il am mostly Russian, but
with a little of the Oriental in me. My
home was at Nladivostok." 1t was
quite as if she We're telling him only
that some ordinary chance had
brought her down from Siberia to a
constable's duties in China. Most
Russian refugees. wherever they are,
speak of their changing adventures in
just such casual manner. Later.
Agent Markham learned that her
father had been Il governor of the
eastern province of Siberia, under the
Car. and that she was the only one
of the family who had escaped the
Reds when they abolished the Siberian
republic and took it for Moscow
x ::
IHEY went together, then. about
their task of discovering the
dangerous slayer. whose methods had
remained an unsolved secret who left
no traces and who chose for his vic
tins, not inconsequential residents of
the native quarters, but foreigners
who held important posts-and who,
evidently. did not kill for robbery.
How the girl-constab BILE led her Ameri-
can associate along the trail TO a
garden of murder flowers is one of
the dramatic records of China's in
ternational police.
In all. there had been seven deaths.
The circumstances of each had been
similar. The absence "of any marks
Of violence indicated poison imne
diately, and surgeons were convinced
that some drug had been used but
one that could not be identified. The
particularly battling mystery was how
any drug could have been admins
tered. and with such care and knowl-
edge that invariably it brought death
in the night. Other agents of the
police had failed to connect any of
the victims with any one, native or
foreign, who might be brought under
suspicion. And none of those who
died had been involved in any of the
native squabbles. between tongs, or
political families. which lead to as
81 sSination.
yet it will have been a Chinese"
Constable 1872 declared firmly. "As
we have no motive we must suppose
one"
Agent Markham agreed that the
policeman who cannot find a motive
for a crime created one in his mind
and begins his work from that point.
BY disproving one motive another,
and sometimes the right one, usually
reveals itself.
Between them the American and
the Russian girl-policeman decided
upon revenge. "A Chinese will go far
to- avenge himself of even fancied
wrong If he has a mind for murder
he will slay with clear conscience
No. 1872 explained. This trait was
familiar to Markham. who had been
detailed to Shanghai once before. SO
they decided that Chinese. some one
of the millions herded in the vicini-
ties of the neutral port, or a band of
them. was taking a toll of vengeance.
1t had already been established by
other members Of the police forces
that there had been a thread of mu-
tual acquaintance linking all the
seven victims of the unknown slayer
Each one of them had known some of
the others. Four of them had been
married and We're accompanied to
China by their wives. These wives
knew each other. All lived in the
typical two story houses which are
built for the accommodation of the
foreign residents. and each main
tanned the usual staff of servants
Chinese boys" who sometimes are
ancient men. The servants in each
household had been investigated as
the deaths We're reported. Con-
stable 1872 and Agent Markham de-
cided to examine them again, and.
this time, systematically. Nearly all
Of them were still available. for 1t
Is the custom in China for the serv-
ant to become attached to the house
more than to the family. A new
mistress customarily finds her serv-
ants already living in her new home.
The third degree" as it exists in
rule, in the Orient. The Oriental,
particularly the Chinese, does not
answer questions if he has the whim
to be silent. The Oriental policeman
will blandly explain that little tor
/ ture will go a long way farther than
much inquiry. Neither Constable
1912 nor Agent Markham We're of the
mind, however, to resort to forbid
den methods of torture. The serv-
ants gave useless information freely,
but none other.
X x !: X
SUDDENLY, during one of the
- many days devoted to futile
| questioning of the Chinese boys"
| who had served the stricken families,