The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1935-05-02

"Konrad," Vance explained, "was a
truck driver in Berlin nearly fifty
years ago. His wife and five children
were found dead in their cellar room;
and the door-a ponderous affair
without even keyhole or space
around the molding-was securely
bolted on the inside. The case was at
once pronounced one of murder and
suicide on the part of the mother; and
Konrad would have been free to mar
ry his inamorata (whom he had in
the offing) had it not been for an
examining magistrate of the criminal
court, named Holman. Holman, for
no tangible reason, did not believe in
the suicide theory, and set to work to
figure out how Konrade could have
bolted the door from without. :.
Here's the revealt'ry passage-if you
will forgive my rather sketchy sight
translation of the German: "Holl-
mann determined, as last resort, to
give the entire door, both, inside and
outside, microscopic examination. It
required hours of labor, but in the
end he was rewarded. Just above the
bolt he found on the inside, close to
the edge of the door, very small
hole which was barely discernible.
| Opening the door he inspected the
outside surface directly opposite to
the hole on the inside. But there was
no corresponding hole visible. Holl-
mann did find on the outside of the
door, however, a small spot on which
the paint seemed fresher than that
on the rest of the door. He borrowed
a hatpin from one of the tenants in
the building and heating it, ran it
through the hole on the inside. With
but little pressure the heated hatpin
penetrated the door, coming out on
the outside exactly in the center of
the newly painted spot. Moreover,
when Holman withdrew the hatpin
a piece of tough horsehair adhered to
the pin; and on the pin was also dis
cernible slight film of wax. ). It
was obvious then how Konrad had
bolted the door from without. He had
first bored tiny hole through the
door above the bolt, Topped piece of
horsehair over the bolts knob, and
slipped the two ends through the
hole. He had then pulled the bolt-knob
upward until the horsehair loop was
dsengaged, Withdrawing tie horsehair
through the hole. A piece Of the
horsehair had, however, caught in the
hole and remained there Korrad had
then filled up the hole with wax and
painted it on the outside, thereby
eliminating practically every trace of
his criminal device. He was later con-
victed of the murder of his family,
sentenced to death, and hanged :"
Heath, as Vance finished reading,
leaped to his feet.
"Thats new one on me-" He went
swiftly to the door and bent over.
Vance smiled.
"There's no hole in the door above
the bolt, Sergeant" he said. "No
need, don't y know. There's a key
hole"
Heath squared off and looked at
the door.
"Still and all, the keyhole's only
halfway over the bolt, and eight
inches below it. No string fastened
to the bolt and run through that key
hole would lock the room from the
outside"
"True, Sergeant" Vance nodded.
"But that's where the modification of
the trick comes in. The person who
planned boiling this door carried the
idea to a few more decimal points.
Don't forget we have two pieces of
string and two pins"
"Well, I don't get it." Heath still
stood scowling at the door. "The
cases in those two books are easy
enough to understand but neither of
'em will work here"
maybe the two together will
work" suggested Vance. "Look at the
wall just to the right of the jamb and
opposite to the bolt. Do you see any
thing?"
81 don't see much" he grumbled.
Fright in the crack of the jamb and
wall there's what might be a pin
hole"
"That's it Sergeant" Vance rose
and went to the door; and Markham
and followed him. 81 think I'll try
the experiment I have in mind"