Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-04
CHAPTER XIII.
The Missing Fact.

fSaturday, December 4; PM
Saturday was the district attorneys
sssialf-day'' at the Office, and Markham
had invited Vance and me to lunch
nj the Bankers Club. But when we
reached the Criminal Courts Building
he was swamped with an accumulation
of work. and we had q tray-service meal
In his private conference room. Before
leaving the house that noon Vance nae
nut several sheets OF closely written
paper in his pocket, and Surmlseo-
correctly. as 1t turned out-that they
were what he had been working on the
night before.
W1er lunch was over Vance lay back
In his chair languidly and lit . cigar
cite
Markham old dear" he said. Il
accepted your invitation today for the
sole purpose OF discussing arr, Trust
You are in receptive mood"
Markham looked at him with frank
annoyance.
Damn 1t, vance, I'm too COMPOUNDED
busy TO be bothered with your irrele-
varcies. II YOU feel artistically In
cIined. take Van here TO the letropoii-
tan Museum But leave me alone.
Vance sighed and wagged his head
Teproacnluuy .,
pam along and play with your esthetic
aoYs If suen silly things amuSe you; but
lei me attend 70 my serious affairs It's
very sad. In the present instance, how
ever I refuse 10 run along.
Arhen don't talk TOO loud" said
Markham. rising: FOR I'll be in the
next room working"
But my lecture has TO do with the
Greene case. And really you shouldn't
MSS it,"
merely one of your yordY prologues,
eh?s He sat down again. Well, II
YOU have any helpful suggestions %
make. I'll listen
Vance smoked moment.
s-Narkhara, we've been looking at
.l4s various occurrences in the Greene
Csc As though they were the unrelated
objects Of q photograph. We've IN
Snected each fact as 1t came up; but we
nave failed to analyze sufileientiy It's
r0nnecti0n With all the other known
Fse1s we've regarded this whole affair
IS though It were a series. or collection,
N violated integers. And we've missed
t1e sIgY1ifcauce Of everything because
We haven't yet determined the shape
Of the basic pattern of which each OF
these incidents Is but q part--Do you
follow me2"
my dear feliow;"
VERY welI-Eow, It goes WITHOUT say
ing that there is design at the Dot
tom Of this whole amaztn' business.
Nothing has happened haphazarcly:
There has been premeditatlon pehifin
each act--a salbtIy and carefuIiy con
eocted composition as it were. In snort.
the Greene case IL a painting, not q
PHOTOGRAPH. And when we have STUDIED
il in that Itgi1t-when we have deter
mined the interrelationship OF all tle
external factors, and have traced tne
visual forms 10 their generating lines
then, Markham We win know tkie COM
position OF the picture; we VIII see &C
design on which the perverted painter
mas erected his docunentgg maternal
And once we hsge discovered the under
lying shape 81 this hioeous picture s
pattern, wen know its creator"
II see your point said Markham
slowly But nov does II help us2 We
know all the external facts. and they
certainly don't 1T into any ineligible
conception Of o united whole"
mot yet perhaps" agreed Vance
But that's because We haven't gone
about il systematically We've done
too much investigating end too little
thinking We've been sidetFacked by
what the modern painters call docu-
suentstion that Is by the objective
appeal Of the pictures recognizable
EsrtA We haven't sought for the ab-