THE RED THUMB MARK

BY R. AUSTIN FREEMAN

PREFACE

In writing the following story, the author has had in view no purposeother than that of affording entertainment to such readers as areinterested in problems of crime and their solutions; and the storyitself differs in no respect from others of its class, excepting in thatan effort has been made to keep within the probabilities of ordinarylife, both in the characters and in the incidents. 

Nevertheless it may happen that the book may serve a useful purpose indrawing attention to certain popular misapprehensions on the subject offinger-prints and their evidential value; misapprehensions the extent ofwhich may be judged when we learn from the newspapers that severalContinental commercial houses have actually substituted finger-printsfor signed initials. 

The facts and figures contained in Mr. Singleton's evidence, includingthe very liberal estimate of the population of the globe, are, ofcourse, taken from Mr. Galton's great and important work onfinger-prints; to which the reader who is interested in the subject isreferred for much curious and valuable information. 

In conclusion, the author desires to express his thanks to his friendMr. Bernard E. Bishop for the assistance rendered to him in certainphotographic experiments, and to those officers of the Central CriminalCourt who very kindly furnished him with details of the procedure incriminal trials. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER IMY LEARNED BROTHER

CHAPTER IITHE SUSPECT

CHAPTER IIIA LADY IN THE CASE

CHAPTER IVCONFIDENCES

CHAPTER VTHE "THUMBOGRAPH"

CHAPTER VICOMMITTED FOR TRIAL

CHAPTER VIISHOALS AND QUICKSANDS

CHAPTER VIIIA SUSPICIOUS ACCIDENT

CHAPTER IXTHE PRISONER

CHAPTER XPOLTON IS MYSTIFIED

CHAPTER XITHE AMBUSH

CHAPTER XIIIT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

CHAPTER XIIIMURDER BY POST

CHAPTER XIVA STARTLING DISCOVERY

CHAPTER XVTHE FINGER-PRINT EXPERTS

CHAPTER XVITHORNDYKE PLAYS HIS CARD

CHAPTER XVIIAT LAST

CHAPTER I

MY LEARNED BROTHER

"Conflagratam An° 1677. Fabricatam An° 1698. Richardo Powell ArmigerThesaurar. " The words, set in four panels, which formed a frieze beneaththe pediment of a fine brick portico, summarised the history of one ofthe tall houses at the upper end of King's Bench Walk and as I, somewhatabsently, read over the inscription, my attention was divided betweenadmiration of the exquisitely finished carved brickwork and the quietdignity of the building, and an effort to reconstitute the dead and goneRichard Powell, and the stirring times in which he played his part. 

I was about to turn away when the empty frame of the portico becameoccupied by a figure, and one so appropriate, in its wig and obsoletehabiliments, to the old-world surroundings that it seemed to completethe picture, and I lingered idly to look at it. The barrister had haltedin the doorway to turn over a sheaf of papers that he held in his hand, and, as he replaced the red tape which bound them together, he looked upand our eyes met. For a moment we regarded one another with theincurious gaze that casual strangers bestow on one another; then therewas a flash of mutual recognition; the impassive and rather severe faceof the lawyer softened into a genial smile, and the figure, detachingitself from its frame, came down the steps with a hand extended incordial greeting. 

"My dear Jervis, " he exclaimed, as we clasped hands warmly, "this is agreat and delightful surprise. How often have I thought of my oldcomrade and wondered if I should ever see him again, and lo! here he is, thrown up on the sounding beach of the Inner Temple, like the proverbialbread cast upon the waters. "

"Your surprise, Thorndyke, is nothing to mine, " I replied, "for yourbread has at least returned as bread; whereas I am in the position of aman who, having cast his bread upon the waters, sees it return in theform of a buttered muffin or a Bath bun. I left a respectable medicalpractitioner and I find him transformed into a bewigged and begownedlimb of the law. "

Thorndyke laughed at the comparison. 

"Liken not your old friend unto a Bath bun, " said he. "Say, rather, thatyou left him a chrysalis and come back to find him a butterfly. But thechange is not so great as you think. Hippocrates is only hiding underthe gown of Solon, as you will understand when I explain mymetamorphosis; and that I will do this very evening, if you have noengagement. "

"I am one of the unemployed at present, " I said, "and quite at yourservice. "

"Then come round to my chambers at seven, " said Thorndyke, "and we willhave a chop and a pint of claret together and exchange autobiographies. I am due in court in a few minutes. "

"Do you reside within that noble old portico?" I asked. 

"No, " replied Thorndyke. "I often wish I did. It would add severalinches to one's stature to feel that the mouth of one's burrow wasgraced with a Latin inscription for admiring strangers to ponder over. No; my chambers are some doors further down--number 6A"--and he turnedto point out the house as we crossed towards Crown Office Row. 

At the top of Middle Temple Lane we parted, Thorndyke taking his waywith fluttering gown towards the Law Courts, while I directed my stepswestward towards Adam Street, the chosen haunt of the medical agent. 

The soft-voiced bell of the Temple clock was telling out the hour ofseven in muffled accents (as though it apologised for breaking thestudious silence) as I emerged from the archway of Mitre Court andturned into King's Bench Walk. 

The paved footway was empty save for a single figure, pacing slowlybefore the doorway of number 6A, in which, though the wig had now givenplace to a felt hat and the gown to a jacket, I had no difficulty inrecognising my friend. 

"Punctual to the moment, as of old, " said he, meeting me half-way. "Whata blessed virtue is punctuality, even in small things. I have just beentaking the air in Fountain Court, and will now introduce you to mychambers. Here is my humble retreat. "

We passed in through the common entrance and ascended the stone stairsto the first floor, where we were confronted by a massive door, abovewhich my friend's name was written in white letters. "Rather aforbidding exterior, " remarked Thorndyke, as he inserted the latchkey, "but it is homely enough inside. "

The heavy door swung outwards and disclosed a baize-covered inner door, which Thorndyke pushed open and held for me to pass in. 

"You will find my chambers an odd mixture, " said Thorndyke, "for theycombine the attractions of an office, a museum, a laboratory and aworkshop. "

"And a restaurant, " added a small, elderly man, who was decanting abottle of claret by means of a glass syphon: "you forgot that, sir. "

"Yes, I forgot that, Polton, " said Thorndyke, "but I see you have not. "He glanced towards a small table that had been placed near the fire andset out with the requisites for our meal. 

"Tell me, " said Thorndyke, as we made the initial onslaught on theproducts of Polton's culinary experiments, "what has been happening toyou since you left the hospital six years ago?"

"My story is soon told, " I answered, somewhat bitterly. "It is not anuncommon one. My funds ran out, as you know, rather unexpectedly. When Ihad paid my examination and registration fees the coffer was absolutelyempty, and though, no doubt, a medical diploma contains--to useJohnson's phrase--the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams ofavarice, there is a vast difference in practice between the potentialand the actual. I have, in fact, been earning a subsistence, sometimesas an assistant, sometimes as a _locum tenens_. Just now I've got nowork to do, and so have entered my name on Turcival's list ofeligibles. "

Thorndyke pursed up his lips and frowned. 

"It's a wicked shame, Jervis, " said he presently, "that a man of yourabilities and scientific acquirements should be frittering away histime on odd jobs like some half-qualified wastrel. "

"It is, " I agreed. "My merits are grossly undervalued by a stiff-neckedand obtuse generation. But what would you have, my learned brother? Ifpoverty steps behind you and claps the occulting bushel over your thirtythousand candle-power luminary, your brilliancy is apt to be obscured. "

"Yes, I suppose that is so, " grunted Thorndyke, and he remained for atime in deep thought. 

"And now, " said I, "let us have your promised explanation. I ampositively frizzling with curiosity to know what chain of circumstanceshas converted John Evelyn Thorndyke from a medical practitioner into aluminary of the law. "

Thorndyke smiled indulgently. 

"The fact is, " said he, "that no such transformation has occurred. JohnEvelyn Thorndyke is still a medical practitioner. "

"What, in a wig and gown!" I exclaimed. 

"Yes, a mere sheep in wolf's clothing, " he replied. "I will tell you howit has come about. After you left the hospital, six years ago, I stayedon, taking up any small appointments that were going--assistantdemonstrator--or curatorships and such like--hung about the chemical andphysical laboratories, the museum and post mortem room, and meanwhiletook my M. D. And D. Sc. Then I got called to the bar in the hope ofgetting a coronership, but soon after this, old Stedman retiredunexpectedly--you remember Stedman, the lecturer on medicaljurisprudence--and I put in for the vacant post. Rather to my surprise, I was appointed lecturer, whereupon I dismissed the coronership from mymind, took my present chambers and sat down to wait for anything thatmight come. " "And what has come?" I asked. 

"Why, a very curious assortment of miscellaneous practice, " he replied. "At first I only got an occasional analysis in a doubtful poisoningcase, but, by degrees, my sphere of influence has extended until it nowincludes all cases in which a special knowledge of medicine or physicalscience can be brought to bear upon law. "

"But you plead in court, I observe, " said I. 

"Very seldom, " he replied. "More usually I appear in the character ofthat _bęte noir_ of judges and counsel--the scientific witness. But inmost instances I do not appear at all; I merely direct investigations, arrange and analyse the results, and prime the counsel with facts andsuggestions for cross-examination. "

"A good deal more interesting than acting as understudy for an absentg. P. , " said I, a little enviously. "But you deserve to succeed, for youwere always a deuce of a worker, to say nothing of your capabilities. "

"Yes, I worked hard, " replied Thorndyke, "and I work hard still; but Ihave my hours of labour and my hours of leisure, unlike you poor devilsof general practitioners, who are liable to be dragged away from thedinner table or roused out of your first sleep by--confound it all! whocan that be?"

For at this moment, as a sort of commentary on his self-congratulation, there came a smart rapping at the outer door. 

"Must see who it is, I suppose, " he continued, "though one expectspeople to accept the hint of a closed oak. "

He strode across the room and flung open the door with an air of by nomeans gracious inquiry. 

"It's rather late for a business call, " said an apologetic voiceoutside, "but my client was anxious to see you without delay. "

"Come in, Mr. Lawley, " said Thorndyke, rather stiffly, and, as he heldthe door open, the two visitors entered. They were both men--onemiddle-aged, rather foxy in appearance and of a typically legal aspect, and the other a fine, handsome young fellow of very prepossessingexterior, though at present rather pale and wild-looking, and evidentlyin a state of profound agitation. 

"I am afraid, " said the latter, with a glance at me and the dinnertable, "that our visit--for which I am alone responsible--is a mostunseasonable one. If we are really inconveniencing you, Dr. Thorndyke, pray tell us, and my business must wait. "

Thorndyke had cast a keen and curious glance at the young man, and henow replied in a much more genial tone--

"I take it that your business is of a kind that will not wait, and as toinconveniencing us, why, my friend and I are both doctors, and, as youare aware, no doctor expects to call any part of the twenty-four hourshis own unreservedly. "

I had risen on the entrance of the two strangers, and now proposed totake a walk on the Embankment and return later, but the young maninterrupted me. 

"Pray don't go away on my account, " he said. "The facts that I am aboutto lay before Dr. Thorndyke will be known to all the world by this timeto-morrow, so there is no occasion for any show of secrecy. "

"In that case, " said Thorndyke, "let us draw our chairs up to the fireand fall to business forthwith. We had just finished our dinner and werewaiting for the coffee, which I hear my man bringing down at thismoment. "

We accordingly drew up our chairs, and when Polton had set the coffee onthe table and retired, the lawyer plunged into the matter withoutpreamble. 

CHAPTER II

THE SUSPECT

"I had better, " said he, "give you a general outline of the case as itpresents itself to the legal mind, and then my client, Mr. ReubenHornby, can fill in the details if necessary, and answer any questionsthat you may wish to put to him. 

"Mr. Reuben occupies a position of trust in the business of his uncle, John Hornby, who is a gold and silver refiner and dealer in preciousmetals generally. There is a certain amount of outside assay workcarried on in the establishment, but the main business consists in thetesting and refining of samples of gold sent from certain mines in SouthAfrica. 

"About five years ago Mr. Reuben and his cousin Walter--another nephewof John Hornby--left school, and both were articled to their uncle, withthe view to their ultimately becoming partners in the house; and theyhave remained with him ever since, occupying, as I have said, positionsof considerable responsibility. 

"And now for a few words as to how business is conducted in Mr. Hornby'sestablishment. The samples of gold are handed over at the docks to someaccredited representative of the firm--generally either Mr. Reuben orMr. Walter--who has been despatched to meet the ship, and conveyedeither to the bank or to the works according to circumstances. Of courseevery effort is made to have as little gold as possible on the premises, and the bars are always removed to the bank at the earliest opportunity;but it happens unavoidably that samples of considerable value have oftento remain on the premises all night, and so the works are furnished witha large and powerful safe or strong room for their reception. This safeis situated in the private office under the eye of the principal, and, as an additional precaution, the caretaker, who acts as night-watchman, occupies a room directly over the office, and patrols the buildingperiodically through the night. 

"Now a very strange thing has occurred with regard to this safe. Ithappens that one of Mr. Hornby's customers in South Africa is interestedin a diamond mine, and, although transactions in precious stones form nopart of the business of the house, he has, from time to time, sentparcels of rough diamonds addressed to Mr. Hornby, to be eitherdeposited in the bank or handed on to the diamond brokers. 

"A fortnight ago Mr. Hornby was advised that a parcel of stones had beendespatched by the _Elmina Castle_, and it appeared that the parcel wasan unusually large one and contained stones of exceptional size andvalue. Under these circumstances Mr. Reuben was sent down to the docksat an early hour in the hope the ship might arrive in time for thestones to be lodged in the bank at once. Unfortunately, however, thiswas not the case, and the diamonds had to be taken to the works andlocked up in the safe. "

"Who placed them in the safe?" asked Thorndyke. 

"Mr. Hornby himself, to whom Mr. Reuben delivered up the package on hisreturn from the docks. " "Yes, " said Thorndyke, "and what happenednext?"

"Well, on the following morning, when the safe was opened, the diamondshad disappeared. "

"Had the place been broken into?" asked Thorndyke. 

"No. The place was all locked up as usual, and the caretaker, who hadmade his accustomed rounds, had heard nothing, and the safe was, outwardly, quite undisturbed. It had evidently been opened with keys andlocked again after the stones were removed. "

"And in whose custody were the keys of the safe?" inquired Thorndyke. 

"Mr. Hornby usually kept the keys himself, but, on occasions, when hewas absent from the office, he handed them over to one of hisnephews--whichever happened to be in charge at the time. But on thisoccasion the keys did not go out of his custody from the time when helocked up the safe, after depositing the diamonds in it, to the timewhen it was opened by him on the following morning. "

"And was there anything that tended to throw suspicion upon anyone?"asked Thorndyke. 

"Why, yes, " said Mr. Lawley, with an uncomfortable glance at his client, "unfortunately there was. It seemed that the person who abstracted thediamonds must have cut or scratched his thumb or finger in some way, forthere were two drops of blood on the bottom of the safe and one or twobloody smears on a piece of paper, and, in addition, a remarkably clearimprint of a thumb. " "Also in blood?" asked Thorndyke. 

"Yes. The thumb had apparently been put down on one of the drops andthen, while still wet with blood, had been pressed on the paper intaking hold of it or otherwise. "

"Well, and what next?"

"Well, " said the lawyer, fidgeting in his chair, "to make a long storyshort, the thumb-print has been identified as that of Mr. ReubenHornby. "

"Ha!" exclaimed Thorndyke. "The plot thickens with a vengeance. I hadbetter jot down a few notes before you proceed any further. "

He took from a drawer a small paper-covered notebook, on the cover ofwhich he wrote "Reuben Hornby, " and then, laying the book open on ablotting-pad, which he rested on his knee, he made a few brief notes. 

"Now, " he said, when he had finished, "with reference to thisthumb-print. There is no doubt, I suppose, as to the identification?"

"None whatever, " replied Mr. Lawley. "The Scotland Yard people, ofcourse, took possession of the paper, which was handed to the directorof the finger-print department for examination and comparison with thosein their collection. The report of the experts is that the thumb-printdoes not agree with any of the thumb-prints of criminals in theirpossession; that it is a very peculiar one, inasmuch as theridge-pattern on the bulb of the thumb--which is a remarkably distinctand characteristic one--is crossed by the scar of a deep cut, renderingidentification easy and infallible; that it agrees in every respect withthe thumb-print of Mr. Reuben Hornby, and is, in fact, his thumb-printbeyond any possible doubt. "

"Is there any possibility, " asked Thorndyke, "that the paper bearing thethumb-print could have been introduced by any person?"

"No, " answered the lawyer. "It is quite impossible. The paper on whichthe mark was found was a leaf from Mr. Hornby's memorandum block. He hadpencilled on it some particulars relating to the diamonds, and laid iton the parcel before he closed up the safe. "

"Was anyone present when Mr. Hornby opened the safe in the morning?"asked Thorndyke. 

"No, he was alone, " answered the lawyer. "He saw at a glance that thediamonds were missing, and then he observed the paper with thethumb-mark on it, on which he closed and locked the safe and sent forthe police. "

"Is it not rather odd that the thief did not notice the thumb-mark, since it was so distinct and conspicuous?"

"No, I think not, " answered Mr. Lawley. "The paper was lying facedownwards on the bottom of the safe, and it was only when he picked itup and turned it over that Mr. Hornby discovered the thumb-print. Apparently the thief had taken hold of the parcel, with the paper on it, and the paper had afterwards dropped off and fallen with the markedsurface downwards--probably when the parcel was transferred to the otherhand. "

"You mentioned, " said Thorndyke, "that the experts at Scotland Yard haveidentified this thumb-mark as that of Mr. Reuben Hornby. May I ask howthey came to have the opportunity of making the comparison?"

"Ah!" said Mr. Lawley. "Thereby hangs a very curious tale ofcoincidences. The police, of course, when they found that there was sosimple a means of identification as a thumb-mark, wished to takethumb-prints of all the employees in the works; but this Mr. Hornbyrefused to sanction--rather quixotically, as it seems to me--saying thathe would not allow his nephews to be subjected to such an indignity. Nowit was, naturally, these nephews in whom the police were chieflyinterested, seeing that they alone had had the handling of the keys, andconsiderable pressure was brought to bear upon Mr. Hornby to have thethumb-prints taken. 

"However, he was obdurate, scouting the idea of any suspicion attachingto either of the gentlemen in whom he had reposed such completeconfidence and whom he had known all their lives, and so the matterwould probably have remained a mystery but for a very odd circumstance. 

"You may have seen on the bookstalls and in shop windows an appliancecalled a 'Thumbograph, ' or some such name, consisting of a small book ofblank paper for collecting the thumb-prints of one's friends, togetherwith an inking pad. "

"I have seen those devices of the Evil One, " said Thorndyke, "in fact, Ihave one, which I bought at Charing Cross Station. "

"Well, it seems that some months ago Mrs. Hornby, the wife of JohnHornby, purchased one of these toys--" "As a matter of fact, "interrupted Reuben, "it was my cousin Walter who bought the thing andgave it to her. "

"Well, that is not material, " said Mr. Lawley (though I observed thatThorndyke made a note of the fact in his book); "at any rate, Mrs. Hornby became possessed of one of these appliances and proceeded to fillit with the thumb-prints of her friends, including her two nephews. Nowit happened that the detective in charge of this case called yesterdayat Mr. Hornby's house when the latter was absent from home, and took theopportunity of urging her to induce her husband to consent to have thethumb-prints of her nephews taken for the inspection of the experts atScotland Yard. He pointed out that the procedure was really necessary, not only in the interests of justice but in the interests of the youngmen themselves, who were regarded with considerable suspicion by thepolice, which suspicion would be completely removed if it could be shownby actual comparison that the thumb-print could not have been made byeither of them. Moreover, it seemed that both the young men hadexpressed their willingness to have the test applied, but had beenforbidden by their uncle. Then Mrs. Hornby had a brilliant idea. Shesuddenly remembered the 'Thumbograph, ' and thinking to set the questionat rest once for all, fetched the little book and showed it to thedetective. It contained the prints of both thumbs of Mr. Reuben (amongothers), and, as the detective had with him a photograph of theincriminating mark, the comparison was made then and there; and you mayimagine Mrs. Hornby's horror and amazement when it was made clear thatthe print of her nephew Reuben's left thumb corresponded in everyparticular with the thumb-print that was found in the safe. 

"At this juncture Mr. Hornby arrived on the scene and was, of course, overwhelmed with consternation at the turn events had taken. He wouldhave liked to let the matter drop and make good the loss of the diamondsout of his own funds, but, as that would have amounted practically tocompounding a felony, he had no choice but to prosecute. As a result, awarrant was issued for the arrest of Mr. Reuben, and was executed thismorning, and my client was taken forthwith to Bow Street and chargedwith the robbery. "

"Was any evidence taken?" asked Thorndyke. 

"No. Only evidence of arrest. The prisoner is remanded for a week, bailhaving been accepted in two sureties of five hundred pounds each. "

Thorndyke was silent for a space after the conclusion of the narrative. Like me, he was evidently not agreeably impressed by the lawyer'smanner, which seemed to take his client's guilt for granted, a positionindeed not entirely without excuse having regard to the circumstances ofthe case. 

"What have you advised your client to do?" Thorndyke asked presently. 

"I have recommended him to plead guilty and throw himself on theclemency of the court as a first offender. You must see for yourselfthat there is no defence possible. "

The young man flushed crimson, but made no remark. 

"But let us be clear how we stand, " said Thorndyke. "Are we defending aninnocent man or are we endeavouring to obtain a light sentence for a manwho admits that he is guilty?"

Mr. Lawley shrugged his shoulders. 

"That question can be best answered by our client himself, " said he. 

Thorndyke directed an inquiring glance at Reuben Hornby, remarking--

"You are not called upon to incriminate yourself in any way, Mr. Hornby, but I must know what position you intend to adopt. " Here I againproposed to withdraw, but Reuben interrupted me. 

"There is no need for you to go away, Dr. Jervis, " he said. "My positionis that I did not commit this robbery and that I know nothing whateverabout it or about the thumb-print that was found in the safe. I do not, of course, expect you to believe me in the face of the overwhelmingevidence against me, but I do, nevertheless, declare in the most solemnmanner before God, that I am absolutely innocent of this crime and haveno knowledge of it whatever. "

"Then I take it that you did not plead 'guilty'?" said Thorndyke. 

"Certainly not; and I never will, " replied Reuben hotly. 

"You would not be the first innocent man, by very many, who has enteredthat plea, " remarked Mr. Lawley. "It is often the best policy, when thedefence is hopelessly weak. "

"It is a policy that will not be adopted by me, " rejoined Reuben. "I maybe, and probably shall be, convicted and sentenced, but I shall continueto maintain my innocence, whatever happens. Do you think, " he added, turning to Thorndyke, "that you can undertake my defence on thatassumption?"

"It is the only assumption on which I should agree to undertake thecase, " replied Thorndyke. 

"And--if I may ask the question--" pursued Reuben anxiously, "do youfind it possible to conceive that I may really be innocent?"

"Certainly I do, " Thorndyke replied, on which I observed Mr. Lawley'seyebrows rise perceptibly. "I am a man of facts, not an advocate, andif I found it impossible to entertain the hypothesis of your innocence, I should not be willing to expend time and energy in searching forevidence to prove it. Nevertheless, " he continued, seeing the light ofhope break out on the face of the unfortunate young man, "I must impressupon you that the case presents enormous difficulties and that we mustbe prepared to find them insuperable in spite of all our efforts. "

"I expect nothing but a conviction, " replied Reuben in a calm andresolute voice, "and can face it like a man if only you do not take myguilt for granted, but give me a chance, no matter how small, of makinga defence. "

"Everything shall be done that I am capable of doing, " said Thorndyke;"that I can promise you. The long odds against us are themselves a spurto endeavour, as far as I am concerned. And now, let me ask you, haveyou any cuts or scratches on your fingers?"

Reuben Hornby held out both his hands for my colleague's inspection, andI noticed that they were powerful and shapely, like the hands of askilled craftsman, though faultlessly kept. Thorndyke set on the table alarge condenser such as is used for microscopic work, and taking hisclient's hand, brought the bright spot of light to bear on each fingerin succession, examining their tips and the parts around the nails withthe aid of a pocket lens. 

"A fine, capable hand, this, " said he, regarding the member approvingly, as he finished his examination, "but I don't perceive any trace of ascar on either the right or left. Will you go over them, Jervis? Therobbery took place a fortnight ago, so there has been time for a smallcut or scratch to heal and disappear entirely. Still, the matter isworth noting. "

He handed me the lens and I scrutinised every part of each hand withoutbeing able to detect the faintest trace of any recent wound. 

"There is one other matter that must be attended to before you go, " saidThorndyke, pressing the electric bell-push by his chair. "I will takeone or two prints of the left thumb for my own information. "

In response to the summons, Polton made his appearance from some lairunknown to me, but presumably the laboratory, and, having received hisinstructions, retired, and presently returned carrying a box, which helaid on the table. From this receptacle Thorndyke drew forth a brightcopper plate mounted on a slab of hard wood, a small printer's roller, atube of finger-print ink, and a number of cards with very white andrather glazed surfaces. 

"Now, Mr. Hornby, " said he, "your hands, I see, are beyond criticism asto cleanliness, but we will, nevertheless, give the thumb a finalpolish. "

Accordingly he proceeded to brush the bulb of the thumb with awell-soaked badger-hair nail-brush, and, having rinsed it in water, dried it with a silk handkerchief, and gave it a final rub on a piece ofchamois leather. The thumb having been thus prepared, he squeezed out adrop of the thick ink on to the copper plate and spread it out with theroller, testing the condition of the film from time to time by touchingthe plate with the tip of his finger and taking an impression on one ofthe cards. 

When the ink had been rolled out to the requisite thinness, he tookReuben's hand and pressed the thumb lightly but firmly on to the inkedplate; then, transferring the thumb to one of the cards, which hedirected me to hold steady on the table, he repeated the pressure, whenthere was left on the card a beautifully sharp and clear impression ofthe bulb of the thumb, the tiny papillary ridges being shown withmicroscopic distinctness, and even the mouths of the sweat glands, whichappeared as rows of little white dots on the black lines of the ridges. This manoeuvre was repeated a dozen times on two of the cards, each ofwhich thus received six impressions. Thorndyke then took one or tworolled prints, _i. E. _ prints produced by rolling the thumb first on theinked slab and then on the card, by which means a much larger portion ofthe surface of the thumb was displayed in a single print. 

"And now, " said Thorndyke, "that we may be furnished with all thenecessary means of comparison, we will take an impression in blood. "

The thumb was accordingly cleansed and dried afresh, when Thorndyke, having pricked his own thumb with a needle, squeezed out a good-sizeddrop of blood on to a card. 

"There, " said he, with a smile, as he spread the drop out with theneedle into a little shallow pool, "it is not every lawyer who iswilling to shed his blood in the interests of his client. "

He proceeded to make a dozen prints as before on two cards, writing anumber with his pencil opposite each print as he made it. 

"We are now, " said he, as he finally cleansed his client's thumb, "furnished with the material for a preliminary investigation, and if youwill now give me your address, Mr. Hornby, we may consider our businessconcluded for the present. I must apologise to you, Mr. Lawley, forhaving detained you so long with these experiments. "

The lawyer had, in fact, been viewing the proceedings with hardlyconcealed impatience, and he now rose with evident relief that theywere at an end. 

"I have been highly interested, " he said mendaciously, "though I confessI do not quite fathom your intentions. And, by the way, I should like tohave a few words with you on another matter, if Mr. Reuben would notmind waiting for me in the square just a few minutes. "

"Not at all, " said Reuben, who was, I perceived, in no way deceived bythe lawyer's pretence. "Don't hurry on my account; my time is my own--atpresent. " He held out his hand to Thorndyke, who grasped it cordially. 

"Good-bye, Mr. Hornby, " said the latter. "Do not be unreasonablysanguine, but at the same time, do not lose heart. Keep your wits aboutyou and let me know at once if anything occurs to you that may have abearing on the case. "

The young man then took his leave, and, as the door closed after him, Mr. Lawley turned towards Thorndyke. 

"I thought I had better have a word with you alone, " he said, "just tohear what line you propose to take up, for I confess that your attitudehas puzzled me completely. "

"What line would you propose?" asked Thorndyke. 

"Well, " said the lawyer, with a shrug of his shoulders, "the positionseems to be this: our young friend has stolen a parcel of diamonds andhas been found out; at least, that is how the matter presents itself tome. "

"That is not how it presents itself to me, " said Thorndyke drily. "Hemay have taken the diamonds or he may not. I have no means of judginguntil I have sifted the evidence and acquired a few more facts. This Ihope to do in the course of the next day or two, and I suggest that wepostpone the consideration of our plan of campaign until I have seenwhat line of defence it is possible to adopt. " "As you will, " repliedthe lawyer, taking up his hat, "but I am afraid you are encouraging theyoung rogue to entertain hopes that will only make his fall theharder--to say nothing of our own position. We don't want to makeourselves ridiculous in court, you know. "

"I don't, certainly, " agreed Thorndyke. "However, I will look into thematter and communicate with you in the course of a day or two. "

He stood holding the door open as the lawyer descended the stairs, andwhen the footsteps at length died away, he closed it sharply and turnedto me with an air of annoyance. 

"The 'young rogue, '" he remarked, "does not appear to me to have beenvery happy in his choice of a solicitor. By the way, Jervis, Iunderstand you are out of employment just now?"

"That is so, " I answered. 

"Would you care to help me--as a matter of business, of course--to workup this case? I have a lot of other work on hand and your assistancewould be of great value to me. "

I said, with great truth, that I should be delighted. 

"Then, " said Thorndyke, "come round to breakfast to-morrow and we willsettle the terms, and you can commence your duties at once. And now letus light our pipes and finish our yarns as though agitated clients andthick-headed solicitors had no existence. "

CHAPTER III

A LADY IN THE CASE

When I arrived at Thorndyke's chambers on the following morning, I foundmy friend already hard at work. Breakfast was laid at one end of thetable, while at the other stood a microscope of the pattern used forexamining plate-cultures of micro-organisms, on the wide stage of whichwas one of the cards bearing six thumb-prints in blood. A condenserthrew a bright spot of light on the card, which Thorndyke had beenexamining when I knocked, as I gathered from the position of the chair, which he now pushed back against the wall. 

"I see you have commenced work on our problem, " I remarked as, inresponse to a double ring of the electric bell, Polton entered with thematerials for our repast. 

"Yes, " answered Thorndyke. "I have opened the campaign, supported, asusual, by my trusty chief-of-staff; eh! Polton?"

The little man, whose intellectual, refined countenance and dignifiedbearing seemed oddly out of character with the tea-tray that he carried, smiled proudly, and, with a glance of affectionate admiration at myfriend, replied--

"Yes, sir. We haven't been letting the grass grow under our feet. There's a beautiful negative washing upstairs and a bromide enlargementtoo, which will be mounted and dried by the time you have finished yourbreakfast. "

"A wonderful man that, Jervis, " my friend observed as his assistantretired. "Looks like a rural dean or a chancery judge, and was obviouslyintended by Nature to be a professor of physics. As an actual fact hewas first a watchmaker, then a maker of optical instruments, and now heis mechanical factotum to a medical jurist. He is my right-hand, isPolton; takes an idea before you have time to utter it--but you willmake his more intimate acquaintance by-and-by. "

"Where did you pick him up?" I asked. 

"He was an in-patient at the hospital when I first met him, miserablyill and broken, a victim of poverty and undeserved misfortune. I gavehim one or two little jobs, and when I found what class of man he was Itook him permanently into my service. He is perfectly devoted to me, andhis gratitude is as boundless as it is uncalled for. "

"What are the photographs he was referring to?" I asked. 

"He is making an enlarged _facsimile_ of one of the thumb-prints onbromide paper and a negative of the same size in case we want the printrepeated. "

"You evidently have some expectation of being able to help poor Hornby, "said I, "though I cannot imagine how you propose to go to work. To mehis case seems as hopeless a one as it is possible to conceive. Onedoesn't like to condemn him, but yet his innocence seems almostunthinkable. "

"It does certainly look like a hopeless case, " Thorndyke agreed, "and Isee no way out of it at present. But I make it a rule, in all cases, toproceed on the strictly classical lines of inductive inquiry--collectfacts, make hypotheses, test them and seek for verification. And Ialways endeavour to keep a perfectly open mind. 

"Now, in the present case, assuming, as we must, that the robbery hasactually taken place, there are four conceivable hypotheses: (1) thatthe robbery was committed by Reuben Hornby; (2) that it was committed byWalter Hornby; (3) that it was committed by John Hornby, or (4) that itwas committed by some other person or persons. 

"The last hypothesis I propose to disregard for the present and confinemyself to the examination of the other three. "

"You don't think it possible that Mr. Hornby could have stolen thediamonds out of his own safe?" I exclaimed. 

"I incline at present to no one theory of the matter, " repliedThorndyke. "I merely state the hypotheses. John Hornby had access to thediamonds, therefore it is possible that he stole them. "

"But surely he was responsible to the owners. "

"Not in the absence of gross negligence, which the owners would havedifficulty in proving. You see, he was what is called a gratuitousbailee, and in such a case no responsibility for loss lies with thebailee unless there has been gross negligence. "

"But the thumb-mark, my dear fellow!" I exclaimed. "How can you possiblyget over that?"

"I don't know that I can, " answered Thorndyke calmly; "but I see you aretaking the same view as the police, who persist in regarding afinger-print as a kind of magical touchstone, a final proof, beyondwhich inquiry need not go. Now, this is an entire mistake. Afinger-print is merely a fact--a very important and significant one, Iadmit--but still a fact, which, like any other fact, requires to beweighed and measured with reference to its evidential value. "

"And what do you propose to do first?" "I shall first satisfy myselfthat the suspected thumb-print is identical in character with that ofReuben Hornby--of which, however, I have very little doubt, for thefinger-print experts may fairly be trusted in their own speciality. "

"And then?"

"I shall collect fresh facts, in which I look to you for assistance, and, if we have finished breakfast, I may as well induct you into yournew duties. "

He rose and rang the bell, and then, fetching from the office foursmall, paper-covered notebooks, laid them before me on the table. 

"One of these books, " said he, "we will devote to data concerning ReubenHornby. You will find out anything you can--anything, mind, no matterhow trivial or apparently irrelevant--in any way connected with him andenter it in this book. " He wrote on the cover "Reuben Hornby" and passedthe book to me. "In this second book you will, in like manner, enteranything that you can learn about Walter Hornby, and, in the third book, data concerning John Hornby. As to the fourth book, you will keep thatfor stray facts connected with the case but not coming under either ofthe other headings. And now let us look at the product of Polton'sindustry. "

He took from his assistant's hand a photograph ten inches long by eightbroad, done on glazed bromide paper and mounted flatly on stiff card. Itshowed a greatly magnified _facsimile_ of one of the thumb-prints, inwhich all the minute details, such as the orifices of the sweat glandsand trifling irregularities in the ridges, which, in the original, couldbe seen only with the aid of a lens, were plainly visible to the nakedeye. Moreover, the entire print was covered by a network of fine blacklines, by which it was divided into a multitude of small squares, eachsquare being distinguished by a number. 

"Excellent, Polton, " said Thorndyke approvingly; "a most admirableenlargement. You see, Jervis, we have photographed the thumb-print incontact with a numbered micrometer divided into square twelfths of aninch. The magnification is eight diameters, so that the squares are hereeach two-thirds of an inch in diameter. I have a number of thesemicrometers of different scales, and I find them invaluable in examiningcheques, doubtful signatures and such like. I see you have packed up thecamera and the microscope, Polton; have you put in the micrometer?"

"Yes, sir, " replied Polton, "and the six-inch objective and thelow-power eye-piece. Everything is in the case; and I have put 'specialrapid' plates into the dark-slides in case the light should be bad. "

"Then we will go forth and beard the Scotland Yard lions in their den, "said Thorndyke, putting on his hat and gloves. 

"But surely, " said I, "you are not going to drag that great microscopeto Scotland Yard, when you only want eight diameters. Haven't you adissecting microscope or some other portable instrument?"

"We have a most delightful instrument of the dissecting type, ofPolton's own make--he shall show it to you. But I may have need of amore powerful instrument--and here let me give you a word of warning:whatever you may see me do, make no comments before the officials. Weare seeking information, not giving it, you understand. "

At this moment the little brass knocker on the inner door--the outeroak being open--uttered a timid and apologetic rat-tat. 

"Who the deuce can that be?" muttered Thorndyke, replacing themicroscope on the table. He strode across to the door and opened itsomewhat brusquely, but immediately whisked his hat off, and I thenperceived a lady standing on the threshold. 

"Dr. Thorndyke?" she inquired, and as my colleague bowed, she continued, "I ought to have written to ask for an appointment but the matter israther urgent--it concerns Mr. Reuben Hornby and I only learned from himthis morning that he had consulted you. "

"Pray come in, " said Thorndyke. "Dr. Jervis and I were just setting outfor Scotland Yard on this very business. Let me present you to mycolleague, who is working up the case with me. "

Our visitor, a tall handsome girl of twenty or thereabouts, returned mybow and remarked with perfect self-possession, "My name is Gibson--MissJuliet Gibson. My business is of a very simple character and need notdetain you many minutes. "

She seated herself in the chair that Thorndyke placed for her, andcontinued in a brisk and business-like manner--

"I must tell you who I am in order to explain my visit to you. For thelast six years I have lived with Mr. And Mrs. Hornby, although I am norelation to them. I first came to the house as a sort of companion toMrs. Hornby, though, as I was only fifteen at the time, I need hardlysay that my duties were not very onerous; in fact, I think Mrs. Hornbytook me because I was an orphan without the proper means of getting alivelihood, and she had no children of her own. 

"Three years ago I came into a little fortune which rendered meindependent; but I had been so happy with my kind friends that I askedto be allowed to remain with them, and there I have been ever since inthe position of an adopted daughter. Naturally, I have seen a great dealof their nephews, who spend a good part of their time at the house, andI need not tell you that the horrible charge against Reuben has fallenupon us like a thunderbolt. Now, what I have come to say to you is this:I do not believe that Reuben stole those diamonds. It is entirely out ofcharacter with all my previous experience of him. I am convinced that heis innocent, and I am prepared to back my opinion. "

"In what way?" asked Thorndyke. 

"By supplying the sinews of war, " replied Miss Gibson. "I understandthat legal advice and assistance involves considerable expense. "

"I am afraid you are quite correctly informed, " said Thorndyke. 

"Well, Reuben's pecuniary resources are, I am sure, quite small, so itis necessary for his friends to support him, and I want you to promiseme that nothing shall be left undone that might help to prove hisinnocence if I make myself responsible for any costs that he is unableto meet. I should prefer, of course, not to appear in the matter, if itcould be avoided. "

"Your friendship is of an eminently practical kind, Miss Gibson, " saidmy colleague, with a smile. "As a matter of fact, the costs are noaffair of mine. If the occasion arose for the exercise of yourgenerosity you would have to approach Mr. Reuben's solicitor through themedium of your guardian, Mr. Hornby, and with the consent of theaccused. But I do not suppose the occasion will arise, although I amvery glad you called, as you may be able to give us valuable assistancein other ways. For example, you might answer one or two apparentlyimpertinent questions. "

"I should not consider any question impertinent that you considerednecessary to ask, " our visitor replied. 

"Then, " said Thorndyke, "I will venture to inquire if any specialrelations exist between you and Mr. Reuben. "

"You look for the inevitable motive in a woman, " said Miss Gibson, laughing and flushing a little. "No, there have been no tender passagesbetween Reuben and me. We are merely old and intimate friends; in fact, there is what I may call a tendency in another direction--WalterHornby. "

"Do you mean that you are engaged to Mr. Walter?"

"Oh, no, " she replied; "but he has asked me to marry him--he has askedme, in fact, more than once; and I really believe that he has a sincereattachment to me. "

She made this latter statement with an odd air, as though the thingasserted were curious and rather incredible, and the tone was evidentlynoticed by Thorndyke as well as me for he rejoined--

"Of course he has. Why not?"

"Well, you see, " replied Miss Gibson, "I have some six hundred a year ofmy own and should not be considered a bad match for a young man likeWalter, who has neither property nor expectations, and one naturallytakes that into account. But still, as I have said, I believe he isquite sincere in his professions and not merely attracted by my money. "

"I do not find your opinion at all incredible, " said Thorndyke, with asmile, "even if Mr. Walter were quite a mercenary young man--which, Itake it, he is not. "

Miss Gibson flushed very prettily as she replied--

"Oh, pray do not trouble to pay me compliments; I assure you I am by nomeans insensible of my merits. But with regard to Walter Hornby, Ishould be sorry to apply the term 'mercenary' to him, and yet--well, Ihave never met a young man who showed a stronger appreciation of thevalue of money. He means to succeed in life and I have no doubt hewill. "

"And do I understand that you refused him?"

"Yes. My feelings towards him are quite friendly, but not of such anature as to allow me to contemplate marrying him. "

"And now, to return for a moment to Mr. Reuben. You have known him forsome years?"

"I have known him intimately for six years, " replied Miss Gibson. 

"And what sort of character do you give him?"

"Speaking from my own observation of him, " she replied, "I can say thatI have never known him to tell an untruth or do a dishonourable deed. Asto theft, it is merely ridiculous. His habits have always beeninexpensive and frugal, he is unambitious to a fault, and in respect tothe 'main chance' his indifference is as conspicuous as Walter'skeenness. He is a generous man, too, although careful and industrious. "

"Thank you, Miss Gibson, " said Thorndyke. "We shall apply to you forfurther information as the case progresses. I am sure that you will helpus if you can, and that you can help us if you will, with your clearhead and your admirable frankness. If you will leave us your card, Dr. Jervis and I will keep you informed of our prospects and ask for yourassistance whenever we need it. "

After our fair visitor had departed, Thorndyke stood for a minute ormore gazing dreamily into the fire. Then, with a quick glance at hiswatch, he resumed his hat and, catching up the microscope, handed thecamera case to me and made for the door. "How the time goes!" heexclaimed, as we descended the stairs; "but it hasn't been wasted, Jervis, hey?"

"No, I suppose not, " I answered tentatively. 

"You suppose not!" he replied. "Why here is as pretty a little problemas you could desire--what would be called in the jargon of the novels, apsychological problem--and it is your business to work it out, too. "

"You mean as to Miss Gibson's relations with these two young men?"

Thorndyke nodded. 

"Is it any concern of ours?" I asked. 

"Certainly it is, " he replied. "Everything is a concern of ours at thispreliminary stage. We are groping about for a clue and must let nothingpass unscrutinised. "

"Well, then, to begin with, she is not wildly infatuated with WalterHornby, I should say. "

"No, " agreed Thorndyke, laughing softly; "we may take it that the cannyWalter has not inspired a grand passion. "

"Then, " I resumed, "if I were a suitor for Miss Gibson's hand, I think Iwould sooner stand in Reuben's shoes than in Walter's. "

"There again I am with you, " said Thorndyke. "Go on. "

"Well, " I continued, "our fair visitor conveyed to me the impressionthat her evident admiration of Reuben's character was tempered bysomething that she had heard from a third party. That expression ofhers, 'speaking from my own observation, ' seemed to imply that herobservations of him were not in entire agreement with somebody else's. "

"Good man!" exclaimed Thorndyke, slapping me on the back, to theundissembled surprise of a policeman whom we were passing; "that is whatI had hoped for in you--the capacity to perceive the essentialunderneath the obvious. Yes; somebody has been saying something aboutour client, and the thing that we have to find out is, what is it thathas been said and who has been saying it. We shall have to make apretext for another interview with Miss Gibson. "

"By the way, why didn't you ask her what she meant?" I asked foolishly. 

Thorndyke grinned in my face. "Why didn't you?" he retorted. 

"No, " I rejoined, "I suppose it is not politic to appear too discerning. Let me carry the microscope for a time; it is making your arm ache, Isee. "

"Thanks, " said he, handing the case to me and rubbing his fingers; "itis rather ponderous. "

"I can't make out what you want with this great instrument, " I said. "Acommon pocket lens would do all that you require. Besides, a six-inchobjective will not magnify more than two or three diameters. "

"Two, with the draw-tube closed, " replied Thorndyke, "and the low-powereye-piece brings it up to four. Polton made them both for me forexamining cheques, bank-notes and other large objects. But you willunderstand when you see me use the instrument, and remember, you are tomake no comments. "

We had by this time arrived at the entrance to Scotland Yard, and werepassing up the narrow thoroughfare, when we encountered a uniformedofficial who halted and saluted my colleague. 

"Ah, I thought we should see you here before long, doctor, " said hegenially. "I heard this morning that you have this thumb-print case inhand. "

"Yes, " replied Thorndyke; "I am going to see what can be done for thedefence. "

"Well, " said the officer as he ushered us into the building, "you'vegiven us a good many surprises, but you'll give us a bigger one if youcan make anything of this. It's a foregone conclusion, I should say. "

"My dear fellow, " said Thorndyke, "there is no such thing. You mean thatthere is a _prima facie_ case against the accused. "

"Put it that way if you like, " replied the officer, with a sly smile, "but I think you will find this about the hardest nut you ever triedyour teeth on--and they're pretty strong teeth too, I'll say that. Youhad better come into Mr. Singleton's office, " and he conducted us alonga corridor and into a large, barely-furnished room, where we found asedate-looking gentleman seated at a large writing table. 

"How-d'ye-do, doctor?" said the latter, rising and holding out his hand. "I can guess what you've come for. Want to see that thumb-print, eh?"

"Quite right, " answered Thorndyke, and then, having introduced me, hecontinued: "We were partners in the last game, but we are on oppositesides of the board this time. "

"Yes, " agreed Mr. Singleton; "and we are going to give you check-mate. "

He unlocked a drawer and drew forth a small portfolio, from which heextracted a piece of paper which he laid on the table. It appeared to bea sheet torn from a perforated memorandum block, and bore the pencilledinscription: "Handed in by Reuben at 7. 3 p. M. , 9. 3. 01. J. H. " At one endwas a dark, glossy blood-stain, made by the falling of a good-sizeddrop, and this was smeared slightly, apparently by a finger or thumbhaving been pressed on it. Near to it were two or three smaller smearsand a remarkably distinct and clean print of a thumb. 

Thorndyke gazed intently at the paper for a minute or two, scrutinisingthe thumb-print and the smears in turn, but making no remark, while Mr. Singleton watched his impassive face with expectant curiosity. 

"Not much difficulty in identifying that mark, " the official at lengthobserved. 

"No, " agreed Thorndyke; "it is an excellent impression and a verydistinctive pattern, even without the scar. "

"Yes, " rejoined Mr. Singleton; "the scar makes it absolutely conclusive. You have a print with you, I suppose?"

"Yes, " replied Thorndyke, and he drew from a wide flap-pocket theenlarged photograph, at the sight of which Mr. Singleton's facebroadened into a smile. 

"You don't want to put on spectacles to look at that, " he remarked; "notthat you gain anything by so much enlargement; three diameters is amplefor studying the ridge-patterns. I see you have divided it up intonumbered squares--not a bad plan; but ours--or rather Galton's, for weborrowed the method from him--is better for this purpose. "

He drew from the portfolio a half-plate photograph of the thumb-printwhich appeared magnified to about four inches in length. The print wasmarked by a number of figures written minutely with a fine-pointed pen, each figure being placed on an "island, " a loop, a bifurcation or someother striking and characteristic portion of the ridge-pattern. 

"This system of marking with reference numbers, " said Mr. Singleton, "isbetter than your method of squares, because the numbers are only placedat points which are important for comparison, whereas your squares orthe intersections of the lines fall arbitrarily on important orunimportant points according to chance. Besides, we can't let you markour original, you know, though, of course, we can give you a photograph, which will do as well. "

"I was going to ask you to let me take a photograph presently, " saidThorndyke. 

"Certainly, " replied Mr. Singleton, "if you would rather have one ofyour own taking. I know you don't care to take anything on trust. Andnow I must get on with my work, if you will excuse me. Inspector Johnsonwill give you any assistance you may require. "

"And see that I don't pocket the original, " added Thorndyke, with asmile at the inspector who had shown us in. 

"Oh, I'll see to that, " said the latter, grinning; and, as Mr. Singletonreturned to his table, Thorndyke unlocked the microscope case and drewforth the instrument. 

"What, are you going to put it under the microscope?" exclaimed Mr. Singleton, looking round with a broad smile. 

"Must do something for my fee, you know, " replied Thorndyke, as he setup the microscope and screwed on two extra objectives to the triplenose-piece. "You observe that there is no deception, " he added to theinspector, as he took the paper from Mr. Singleton's table and placed itbetween two slips of glass. 

"I'm watching you, sir, " replied the officer, with a chuckle; and he didwatch, with close attention and great interest, while Thorndyke laid theglass slips on the microscope stage and proceeded to focus. 

I also watched, and was a good deal exercised in my mind by mycolleague's proceedings. After a preliminary glance with the six-inchglass, he swung round the nose-piece to the half-inch objective andslipped in a more powerful eye-piece, and with this power he examinedthe blood-stains carefully, and then moved the thumb-print into thefield of vision. After looking at this for some time with deepattention, he drew from the case a tiny spirit lamp which was evidentlyfilled with an alcoholic solution of some sodium salt, for when he litit I recognised the characteristic yellow sodium flame. Then he replacedone of the objectives by a spectroscopic attachment, and having placedthe little lamp close to the microscope mirror, adjusted thespectroscope. Evidently my friend was fixing the position of the "D"line (or sodium line) in the spectrum. 

Having completed the adjustments, he now examined afresh theblood-smears and the thumb-print, both by transmitted and reflectedlight, and I observed him hurriedly draw one or two diagrams in hisnotebook. Then he replaced the spectroscope and lamp in the case andbrought forth the micrometer--a slip of rather thin glass about threeinches by one and a half--which he laid over the thumb-print in theplace of the upper plate of glass. 

Having secured it in position by the clips, he moved it about, comparingits appearance with that of the lines on the large photograph, which heheld in his hand. After a considerable amount of adjustment andreadjustment, he appeared to be satisfied, for he remarked to me--

"I think I have got the lines in the same position as they are on ourprint, so, with Inspector Johnson's assistance, we will take aphotograph which we can examine at our leisure. "

He extracted the camera--a quarter-plate instrument--from its case andopened it. Then, having swung the microscope on its stand into ahorizontal position, he produced from the camera case a slab of mahoganywith three brass feet, on which he placed the camera, and which broughtthe latter to a level with the eye-piece of the microscope. 

The front of the camera was fitted with a short sleeve of thin blackleather, and into this the eye-piece end of the microscope was nowpassed, the sleeve being secured round the barrel of the microscope by astout indiarubber band, thus producing a completely light-tightconnection. 

Everything was now ready for taking the photograph. The light from thewindow having been concentrated on the thumb-print by means of acondenser, Thorndyke proceeded to focus the image on the ground-glassscreen with extreme care and then, slipping a small leather cap over theobjective, introduced the dark slide and drew out the shutter. 

"I will ask you to sit down and remain quite still while I make theexposure, " he said to me and the inspector. "A very little vibration isenough to destroy the sharpness of the image. "

We seated ourselves accordingly, and Thorndyke then removed the cap, standing motionless, watch in hand, while he exposed the first plate. 

"We may as well take a second, in case this should not turn out quiteperfect, " he said, as he replaced the cap and closed the shutter. 

He reversed the dark slide and made another exposure in the same way, and then, having removed the micrometer and replaced it by a slip ofplain glass, he made two more exposures. 

"There are two plates left, " he remarked, as he drew out the second darkslide. "I think I will take a record of the blood-stain on them. "

He accordingly made two more exposures--one of the larger blood-stainand one of the smaller smears. 

"There, " said he, with an air of satisfaction, as he proceeded to packup what the inspector described as his "box of tricks. " "I think we haveall the data that we can squeeze out of Scotland Yard, and I am verymuch obliged to you, Mr. Singleton, for giving so many facilities toyour natural enemy, the counsel for the defence. "

"Not our natural enemies, doctor, " protested Mr. Singleton. "We work fora conviction, of course, but we don't throw obstacles in the way of thedefence. You know that perfectly well. "

"Of course I do, my dear sir, " replied Thorndyke, shaking the officialby the hand. "Haven't I benefited by your help a score of times? But Iam greatly obliged all the same. Good-bye. "

"Good-bye, doctor. I wish you luck, though I fear you will find it 'nogo' this time. "

"We shall see, " replied Thorndyke, and with a friendly wave of the handto the inspector he caught up the two cases and led the way out of thebuilding. 

CHAPTER IV

CONFIDENCES

During our walk home my friend was unusually thoughtful and silent, andhis face bore a look of concentration under which I thought I coulddetect, in spite of his habitually impassive expression, a certainsuppressed excitement of a not entirely unpleasurable kind. I forbore, however, from making any remarks or asking questions, not only because Isaw that he was preoccupied, but also because, from my knowledge of theman, I judged that he would consider it his duty to keep his own counseland to make no unnecessary confidences even to me. 

On our arrival at his chambers he immediately handed over the camera toPolton with a few curt directions as to the development of the plates, and, lunch being already prepared, we sat down at the table withoutdelay. 

We had proceeded with our meal in silence for some time when Thorndykesuddenly laid down his knife and fork and looked into my face with asmile of quiet amusement. 

"It has just been borne in upon me, Jervis, " said he, "that you are themost companionable fellow in the world. You have the heaven-sent gift ofsilence. "

"If silence is the test of companionability, " I answered, with a grin, "I think I can pay you a similar compliment in even more emphaticterms. "

He laughed cheerfully and rejoined--

"You are pleased to be sarcastic, I observe; but I maintain my position. The capacity to preserve an opportune silence is the rarest and mostprecious of social accomplishments. Now, most men would have plied mewith questions and babbled comments on my proceedings at Scotland Yard, whereas you have allowed me to sort out, without interruption, a mass ofevidence while it is still fresh and impressive, to docket each item andstow it away in the pigeonholes of my brain. By the way, I have made aridiculous oversight. "

"What is that?" I asked. 

"The 'Thumbograph. ' I never ascertained whether the police have it orwhether it is still in the possession of Mrs. Hornby. "

"Does it matter?" I inquired. 

"Not much; only I must see it. And perhaps it will furnish an excellentpretext for you to call on Miss Gibson. As I am busy at the hospitalthis afternoon and Polton has his hands full, it would be a good planfor you to drop in at Endsley Gardens--that is the address, I think--andif you can see Miss Gibson, try to get a confidential chat with her, andextend your knowledge of the manners and customs of the three MessieursHornby. Put on your best bedside manner and keep your weather eyelifting. Find out everything you can as to the characters and habits ofthose three gentlemen, regardless of all scruples of delicacy. Everything is of importance to us, even to the names of their tailors. "

"And with regard to the 'Thumbograph'?"

"Find out who has it, and, if it is still in Mrs. Hornby's possession, get her to lend it to us or--what might, perhaps, be better--get herpermission to take a photograph of it. "

"It shall be done according to your word, " said I. "I will furbish up myexterior, and this very afternoon make my first appearance in thecharacter of Paul Pry. "

About an hour later I found myself upon the doorstep of Mr. Hornby'shouse in Endsley Gardens listening to the jangling of the bell that Ihad just set in motion. 

"Miss Gibson, sir?" repeated the parlourmaid in response to my question. "She _was_ going out, but I am not sure whether she has gone yet. If youwill step in, I will go and see. "

I followed her into the drawing-room, and, threading my way amongst thelitter of small tables and miscellaneous furniture by which ladiesnowadays convert their special domain into the semblance of a broker'sshop, let go my anchor in the vicinity of the fireplace to await theparlourmaid's report. 

I had not long to wait, for in less than a minute Miss Gibson herselfentered the room. She wore her hat and gloves, and I congratulatedmyself on my timely arrival. 

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Dr. Jervis, " she said, holding out her hand with a frank and friendly manner, "but you are verywelcome all the same. You have come to tell me something?"

"On the contrary, " I replied, "I have come to ask you something. "

"Well, that is better than nothing, " she said, with a shade ofdisappointment. "Won't you sit down?"

I seated myself with caution on a dwarf chair of scrofulous aspect, andopened my business without preamble. 

"Do you remember a thing called a 'Thumbograph'?"

"Indeed I do, " she replied with energy. "It was the cause of all thistrouble. "

"Do you know if the police took possession of it?"

"The detective took it to Scotland Yard that the finger-print expertsmight examine it and compare the two thumb-prints; and they wanted tokeep it, but Mrs. Hornby was so distressed at the idea of its beingused in evidence that they let her have it back. You see, they reallyhad no further need of it, as they could take a print for themselveswhen they had Reuben in custody; in fact, he volunteered to have a printtaken at once, as soon as he was arrested, and that was done. "

"So the 'Thumbograph' is now in Mrs. Hornby's possession?"

"Yes, unless she has destroyed it. She spoke of doing so. "

"I hope she has not, " said I, in some alarm, "for Dr. Thorndyke isextremely anxious, for some reason, to examine it. "

"Well, she will be down in a few minutes, and then we shall know. I toldher you were here. Have you any idea what Dr. Thorndyke's reason is forwanting to see it?"

"None whatever, " I replied. "Dr. Thorndyke is as close as an oyster. Hetreats me as he treats every one else--he listens attentively, observesclosely, and says nothing. "

"It doesn't sound very agreeable, " mused Miss Gibson; "and yet he seemedvery nice and sympathetic. "

"He _is_ very nice and sympathetic, " I retorted with some emphasis, "buthe doesn't make himself agreeable by divulging his clients' secrets. "

"I suppose not; and I regard myself as very effectively snubbed, " saidshe, smiling, but evidently somewhat piqued by my not very tactfulobservation. 

I was hastening to repair my error with apologies and self-accusations, when the door opened and an elderly lady entered the room. She wassomewhat stout, amiable and placid of mien, and impressed me (to beentirely truthful) as looking rather foolish. 

"Here is Mrs. Hornby, " said Miss Gibson, presenting me to her hostess;and she continued, "Dr. Jervis has come to ask about the 'Thumbograph. 'You haven't destroyed it, I hope?"

"No, my dear, " replied Mrs. Hornby. "I have it in my little bureau. Whatdid Dr. Jervis wish to know about it?"

Seeing that she was terrified lest some new and dreadful surprise shouldbe sprung upon her, I hastened to reassure her. 

"My colleague, Dr. Thorndyke, is anxious to examine it. He is directingyour nephew's defence, you know. "

"Yes, yes, " said Mrs. Hornby. "Juliet told me about him. She says he isa dear. Do you agree with her?"

Here I caught Miss Gibson's eye, in which was a mischievous twinkle, andnoted a little deeper pink in her cheeks. 

"Well, " I answered dubiously, "I have never considered my colleague inthe capacity of a dear, but I have a very high opinion of him in everyrespect. "

"That, no doubt, is the masculine equivalent, " said Miss Gibson, recovering from the momentary embarrassment that Mrs. Hornby's artlessrepetition of her phrase had produced. "I think the feminine expressionis more epigrammatic and comprehensive. But to return to the object ofDr. Jervis's visit. Would you let him have the 'Thumbograph, ' aunt, toshow to Dr. Thorndyke?" "Oh, my dear Juliet, " replied Mrs. Hornby, "Iwould do anything--anything--to help our poor boy. I will never believethat he could be guilty of theft--common, vulgar theft. There has beensome dreadful mistake--I am convinced there has--I told the detectivesso. I assured them that Reuben could not have committed the robbery, andthat they were totally mistaken in supposing him to be capable of suchan action. But they would not listen to me, although I have known himsince he was a little child, and ought to be able to judge, if anyoneis. Diamonds, too! Now, I ask you, what could Reuben want with diamonds?and they were not even cut. "

Here Mrs. Hornby drew forth a lace-edged handkerchief and mopped hereyes. 

"I am sure Dr. Thorndyke will be very much interested to see this littlebook of yours, " said I, with a view to stemming the tide of herreflections. 

"Oh, the 'Thumbograph, '" she replied. "Yes, I will let him have it withthe greatest pleasure. I am so glad he wishes to see it; it makes onefeel hopeful to know that he is taking so much interest in the case. Would you believe it, Dr. Jervis, those detective people actually wantedto keep it to bring up in evidence against the poor boy. My'Thumbograph, ' mind you. But I put my foot down there and they had toreturn it. I was resolved that they should not receive any assistancefrom me in their efforts to involve my nephew in this horrible affair. "

"Then, perhaps, " said Miss Gibson, "you might give Dr. Jervis the'Thumbograph' and he can hand it to Dr. Thorndyke. "

"Of course I will, " said Mrs. Hornby; "instantly; and you need notreturn it, Dr. Jervis. When you have finished with it, fling it into thefire. I wish never to see it again. "

But I had been considering the matter, and had come to the conclusionthat it would be highly indiscreet to take the book out of Mrs. Hornby'scustody, and this I now proceeded to explain. 

"I have no idea, " I said, "for what purpose Dr. Thorndyke wishes toexamine the 'Thumbograph, ' but it occurs to me that he may desire to putit in evidence, in which case it would be better that it should not goout of your possession for the present. He merely commissioned me to askfor your permission to take a photograph of it. "

"Oh, if he wants a photograph, " said Mrs. Hornby, "I could get one donefor him without any difficulty. My nephew Walter would take one for us, I am sure, if I asked him. He is so clever, you know--is he not, Juliet, dear?"

"Yes, aunt, " replied Miss Gibson quickly, "but I expect Dr. Thorndykewould rather take the photograph himself. "

"I am sure he would, " I agreed. "In fact, a photograph taken by anotherperson would not be of much use to him. "

"Ah, " said Mrs. Hornby in a slightly injured tone, "you think Walter isjust an ordinary amateur; but if I were to show you some of thephotographs he has taken you would really be surprised. He is remarkablyclever, I assure you. "

"Would you like us to bring the book to Dr. Thorndyke's chambers?" askedMiss Gibson. "That would save time and trouble. "

"It is excessively good of you--" I began. 

"Not at all. When shall we bring it? Would you like to have it thisevening?"

"We should very much, " I replied. "My colleague could then examine itand decide what is to be done with it. But it is giving you so muchtrouble. "

"It is nothing of the kind, " said Miss Gibson. "You would not mindcoming with me this evening, would you, aunt?"

"Certainly not, my dear, " replied Mrs. Hornby, and she was about toenlarge on the subject when Miss Gibson rose and, looking at her watch, declared that she must start on her errand at once. I also rose to makemy adieux, and she then remarked--

"If you are walking in the same direction as I am, Dr. Jervis, we mightarrange the time of our proposed visit as we go along. "

I was not slow to avail myself of this invitation, and a few secondslater we left the house together, leaving Mrs. Hornby smiling fatuouslyafter us from the open door. 

"Will eight o'clock suit you, do you think?" Miss Gibson asked, as wewalked up the street. 

"It will do excellently, I should say, " I answered. "If anything shouldrender the meeting impossible I will send you a telegram. I could wishthat you were coming alone, as ours is to be a business conference. "

Miss Gibson laughed softly--and a very pleasant and musical laugh itwas. 

"Yes, " she agreed. "Dear Mrs. Hornby is a little diffuse and difficultto keep to one subject; but you must be indulgent to her littlefailings; you would be if you had experienced such kindness andgenerosity from her as I have. "

"I am sure I should, " I rejoined; "in fact, I am. After all, a littlediffuseness of speech and haziness of ideas are no great faults in agenerous and amiable woman of her age. "

Miss Gibson rewarded me for these highly correct sentiments with alittle smile of approval, and we walked on for some time in silence. Presently she turned to me with some suddenness and a very earnestexpression, and said--

"I want to ask you a question, Dr. Jervis, and please forgive me if Ibeg you to put aside your professional reserve just a little in myfavour. I want you to tell me if you think Dr. Thorndyke has any kind ofhope or expectation of being able to save poor Reuben from the dreadfulperil that threatens him. "

This was a rather pointed question, and I took some time to consider itbefore replying. 

"I should like, " I replied at length, "to tell you as much as my duty tomy colleague will allow me to; but that is so little that it is hardlyworth telling. However, I may say this without breaking any confidence:Dr. Thorndyke has undertaken the case and is working hard at it, and hewould, most assuredly, have done neither the one nor the other if he hadconsidered it a hopeless one. "

"That is a very encouraging view of the matter, " said she, "which, had, however, already occurred to me. May I ask if anything came of yourvisit to Scotland Yard? Oh, please don't think me encroaching; I am soterribly anxious and troubled. "

"I can tell you very little about the results of our expedition, for Iknow very little; but I have an idea that Dr. Thorndyke is notdissatisfied with his morning's work. He certainly picked up some facts, though I have no idea of their nature, and as soon as we reached home hedeveloped a sudden desire to examine the 'Thumbograph. '"

"Thank you, Dr. Jervis, " she said gratefully. "You have cheered me morethan I can tell you, and I won't ask you any more questions. Are yousure I am not bringing you out of the way?"

"Not at all, " I answered hastily. "The fact is, I had hoped to have alittle chat with you when we had disposed of the 'Thumbograph, ' so I canregard myself as combining a little business with a great deal ofpleasure if I am allowed to accompany you. "

She gave me a little ironical bow as she inquired--

"And, in short, I may take it that I am to be pumped?"

"Come, now, " I retorted. "You have been plying the pump handle prettyvigorously yourself. But that is not my meaning at all. You see, we areabsolute strangers to all the parties concerned in this case, which, ofcourse, makes for an impartial estimate of their characters. But, afterall, knowledge is more useful to us than impartiality. There is ourclient, for instance. He impressed us both very favourably, I think; buthe might have been a plausible rascal with the blackest of records. Thenyou come and tell us that he is a gentleman of stainless character andwe are at once on firmer ground. "

"I see, " said Miss Gibson thoughtfully; "and suppose that I or some oneelse had told you things that seemed to reflect on his character. Wouldthey have influenced you in your attitude towards him?"

"Only in this, " I replied; "that we should have made it our business toinquire into the truth of those reports and ascertain their origin. "

"That is what one should always do, I suppose, " said she, still with anair of deep thoughtfulness which encouraged me to inquire--

"May I ask if anyone to your knowledge has ever said anything to Mr. Reuben's disadvantage?"

She pondered for some time before replying, and kept her eyes bentpensively on the ground. At length she said, not without some hesitationof manner--

"It is a small thing and quite without any bearing on this affair. Butit has been a great trouble to me since it has to some extent put abarrier between Reuben and me; and we used to be such close friends. AndI have blamed myself for letting it influence me--perhaps unjustly--inmy opinion of him. I will tell you about it, though I expect you willthink me very foolish. 

"You must know, then, that Reuben and I used, until about six monthsago, to be very much together, though we were only friends, youunderstand. But we were on the footing of relatives, so there wasnothing out of the way in it. Reuben is a keen student of ancient andmediaeval art, in which I also am much interested, so we used to visitthe museums and galleries together and get a great deal of pleasure fromcomparing our views and impressions of what we saw. 

"About six months ago, Walter took me aside one day and, with a veryserious face, asked me if there was any kind of understanding betweenReuben and me. I thought it rather impertinent of him, but nevertheless, I told him the truth, that Reuben and I were just friends and nothingmore. 

"'If that is the case, ' said he, looking mighty grave, 'I would adviseyou not to be seen about with him quite so much. '

"'And why not?' I asked very naturally. 

"'Why, the fact is, ' said Walter, 'that Reuben is a confounded fool. Hehas been chattering to the men at the club and seems to have given themthe impression that a young lady of means and position has been settingher cap at him very hard, but that he, being a high-souled philosopherabove the temptations that beset ordinary mortals, is superior both toher blandishments and her pecuniary attractions. I give you the hint foryour own guidance, ' he continued, 'and I expect this to go no farther. You mustn't be annoyed with Reuben. The best of young men will oftenbehave like prigs and donkeys, and I have no doubt the fellows havegrossly exaggerated what he said; but I thought it right to put you onyour guard. '

"Now this report, as you may suppose, made me excessively angry, and Iwanted to have it out with Reuben then and there. But Walter refused tosanction this--'there was no use in making a scene' he said--and heinsisted that the caution was given to me in strict confidence; so whatwas I to do? I tried to ignore it and treat Reuben as I always had done, but this I found impossible; my womanly pride was much too deeply hurt. And yet I felt it the lowest depth of meanness to harbour such thoughtsof him without giving him the opportunity to defend himself. Andalthough it was most unlike Reuben in some respects, it was very likehim in others; for he has always expressed the utmost contempt for menwho marry for a livelihood. So I have remained on the horns of a dilemmaand am there still. What do you think I ought to have done?"

I rubbed my chin in some embarrassment at this question. Needless tosay, I was most disagreeably impressed by Walter Hornby's conduct, andnot a little disposed to blame my fair companion for giving an ear tohis secret disparagement of his cousin; but I was obviously not in aposition to pronounce, offhand, upon the merits of the case. 

"The position appears to be this, " I said, after a pause, "either Reubenhas spoken most unworthily and untruthfully of you, or Walter has lieddeliberately about him. "

"Yes, " she agreed, "that is the position; but which of the twoalternatives appears to you the more probable?"

"That is very difficult to say, " I answered. "There is a certain kind ofcad who is much given to boastful rhodomontade concerning his conquests. We all know him and can generally spot him at first sight, but I mustsay that Reuben Hornby did not strike me as that kind of man at all. Then it is clear that the proper course for Walter to have adopted, ifhe had really heard such rumours, was to have had the matter out withReuben, instead of coming secretly to you with whispered reports. Thatis my feeling, Miss Gibson, but, of course, I may be quite wrong. Igather that our two young friends are not inseparable companions?"

"Oh, they are very good friends, but you see, their interests and viewsof life are quite different. Reuben, although an excellent worker inbusiness hours, is a student, or perhaps rather what one would call ascholar, whereas Walter is more a practical man of affairs--decidedlylong-headed and shrewd. He is undoubtedly very clever, as Mrs. Hornbysaid. "

"He takes photographs, for instance, " I suggested. 

"Yes. But not ordinary amateur photographs; his work is more technicaland quite excellent of its kind. For example, he did a most beautifulseries of micro-photographs of sections of metalliferous rocks which hereproduced for publication by the collotype process, and even printedoff the plates himself. "

"I see. He must be a very capable fellow. "

"He is, very, " she assented, "and very keen on making a position; but Iam afraid he is rather too fond of money for its own sake, which is nota pleasant feature in a young man's character, is it?"

I agreed that it was not. 

"Excessive keenness in money affairs, " proceeded Miss Gibson oracularly, "is apt to lead a young man into bad ways--oh, you need not smile, Dr. Jervis, at my wise saws; it is perfectly true, and you know it. The factis, I sometimes have an uneasy feeling that Walter's desire to be richinclines him to try what looks like a quick and easy method of makingmoney. He had a friend--a Mr. Horton--who is a dealer on the StockExchange and who 'operates' rather largely--'operate' I believe is theexpression used, although it seems to be nothing more than commongambling--and I have more than once suspected Walter of being concernedin what Mr. Horton calls 'a little flutter. '"

"That doesn't strike me as a very long-headed proceeding, " I remarked, with the impartial wisdom of the impecunious, and therefore untempted. 

"No, " she agreed, "it isn't. But your gambler always thinks he is goingto win--though you mustn't let me give you the impression that Walter isa gambler. But here is my destination. Thank you for escorting me sofar, and I hope you are beginning to feel less like a stranger to theHornby family. We shall make our appearance to-night at eightpunctually. "

She gave me her hand with a frank smile and tripped up the steps leadingto the street door; and when I glanced back, after crossing the road, she gave me a little friendly nod as she turned to enter the house. 

CHAPTER V

THE 'THUMBOGRAPH'

"So your net has been sweeping the quiet and pleasant waters of feminineconversation, " remarked Thorndyke when we met at the dinner table and Igave him an outline of my afternoon's adventures. 

"Yes, " I answered, "and here is the catch cleaned and ready for theconsumer. "

I laid on the table two of my notebooks in which I had entered suchfacts as I had been able to extract from my talk with Miss Gibson. 

"You made your entries as soon as possible after your return, Isuppose?" said Thorndyke--"while the matter was still fresh?"

"I wrote down my notes as I sat on a seat in Kensington Gardens withinfive minutes after leaving Miss Gibson. "

"Good!" said Thorndyke. "And now let us see what you have collected. "

He glanced quickly through the entries in the two books, referring backonce or twice, and stood for a few moments silent and abstracted. Thenhe laid the little books down on the table with a satisfied nod. 

"Our information, then, " he said, "amounts to this: Reuben is anindustrious worker at his business and, in his leisure, a student ofancient and medieval art; possibly a babbling fool and a cad or, on theother hand, a maligned and much-abused man. "Walter Hornby isobviously a sneak and possibly a liar; a keen man of business, perhaps aflutterer round the financial candle that burns in Throgmorton Street;an expert photographer and a competent worker of the collotype process. You have done a very excellent day's work, Jervis. I wonder if you seethe bearing of the facts that you have collected. "

"I think I see the bearing of some of them, " I answered; "at least, Ihave formed certain opinions. "

"Then keep them to yourself, _mon ami_, so that I need not feel as if Iought to unbosom myself of my own views. "

"I should be very much surprised if you did, Thorndyke, " I replied, "andshould have none the better opinion of you. I realise fully that youropinions and theories are the property of your client and not to be usedfor the entertainment of your friends. "

Thorndyke patted me on the back playfully, but he looked uncommonlypleased, and said, with evident sincerity, "I am really grateful to youfor saying that, for I have felt a little awkward in being so reticentwith you who know so much of this case. But you are quite right, and Iam delighted to find you so discerning and sympathetic. The least I cando under the circumstances is to uncork a bottle of Pommard, and drinkthe health of so loyal and helpful a colleague. Ah! Praise the gods!here is Polton, like a sacrificial priest accompanied by a sweet savourof roasted flesh. Rump steak I ween, " he added, sniffing, "food meet forthe mighty Shamash (that pun was fortuitous, I need not say) or aravenous medical jurist. Can you explain to me, Polton, how it is thatyour rump steak is better than any other steak? Is it that you havecommand of a special brand of ox?"

The little man's dry countenance wrinkled with pleasure until it was asfull of lines as a ground-plan of Clapham Junction. 

"Perhaps it is the special treatment it gets, sir, " he replied. "Iusually bruise it in the mortar before cooking, without breaking up thefibre too much, and then I heat up the little cupel furnace to about 600C, and put the steak in on a tripod. "

Thorndyke laughed outright. "The cupel furnace, too, " he exclaimed. "Well, well, 'to what base uses'--but I don't know that it is a base useafter all. Anyhow, Polton, open a bottle of Pommard and put a couple often by eight 'process' plates in your dark slides. I am expecting twoladies here this evening with a document. "

"Shall you bring them upstairs, sir?" inquired Polton, with an alarmedexpression. 

"I expect I shall have to, " answered Thorndyke. 

"Then I shall just smarten the laboratory up a bit, " said Polton, whoevidently appreciated the difference between the masculine and feminineview as to the proper appearance of working premises. 

"And so Miss Gibson wanted to know our private views on the case?" saidThorndyke, when his voracity had become somewhat appeased. 

"Yes, " I answered; and then I repeated our conversation as nearly as Icould remember it. 

"Your answer was very discreet and diplomatic, " Thorndyke remarked, "andit was very necessary that it should be, for it is essential that weshow the backs of our cards to Scotland Yard; and if to Scotland Yard, then to the whole world. We know what their trump card is and canarrange our play accordingly, so long as we do not show our hand. "

"You speak of the police as your antagonists; I noticed that at the'Yard' this morning, and was surprised to find that they accepted theposition. But surely their business is to discover the actual offender, not to fix the crime on some particular person. "

"That would seem to be so, " replied Thorndyke, "but in practice it isotherwise. When the police have made an arrest they work for aconviction. If the man is innocent, that is his business, not theirs; itis for him to prove it. The system is a pernicious one--especially sincethe efficiency of a police officer is, in consequence, apt to beestimated by the number of convictions he has secured, and an inducementis thus held out to him to obtain a conviction, if possible; but it isof a piece with legislative procedure in general. Lawyers are notengaged in academic discussions or in the pursuit of truth, but each istrying, by hook or by crook, to make out a particular case withoutregard to its actual truth or even to the lawyer's own belief on thesubject. That is what produces so much friction between lawyers andscientific witnesses; neither can understand the point of view of theother. But we must not sit over the table chattering like this; it hasgone half-past seven, and Polton will be wanting to make this roompresentable. "

"I notice you don't use your office much, " I remarked. 

"Hardly at all, excepting as a repository for documents and stationery. It is very cheerless to talk in an office, and nearly all my business istransacted with solicitors and counsel who are known to me, so there isno need for such formalities. All right, Polton; we shall be ready foryou in five minutes. "

The Temple bell was striking eight as, at Thorndyke's request, I threwopen the iron-bound "oak"; and even as I did so the sound of footstepscame up from the stairs below. I waited on the landing for our twovisitors, and led them into the room. 

"I am so glad to make your acquaintance, " said Mrs. Hornby, when I haddone the honours of introduction; "I have heard so much about you fromJuliet--"

"Really, my dear aunt, " protested Miss Gibson, as she caught my eye witha look of comical alarm, "you will give Dr. Thorndyke a most erroneousimpression. I merely mentioned that I had intruded on him without noticeand had been received with undeserved indulgence and consideration. "

"You didn't put it quite in that way, my dear, " said Mrs. Hornby, "but Isuppose it doesn't matter. "

"We are highly gratified by Miss Gibson's favourable report of us, whatever may have been the actual form of expression, " said Thorndyke, with a momentary glance at the younger lady which covered her withsmiling confusion, "and we are deeply indebted to you for taking so muchtrouble to help us. "

"It is no trouble at all, but a great pleasure, " replied Mrs. Hornby;and she proceeded to enlarge on the matter until her remarks threatened, like the rippling circles produced by a falling stone, to spread outinto infinity. In the midst of this discourse Thorndyke placed chairsfor the two ladies, and, leaning against the mantelpiece, fixed a stonygaze upon the small handbag that hung from Mrs. Hornby's wrist. 

"Is the 'Thumbograph' in your bag?" interrupted Miss Gibson, in responseto this mute appeal. 

"Of course it is, my dear Juliet, " replied the elder lady. "You saw meput it in yourself. What an odd girl you are. Did you think I shouldhave taken it out and put it somewhere else? Not that these handbags arereally very secure, you know, although I daresay they are safer thanpockets, especially now that it is the fashion to have the pocket at theback. Still, I have often thought how easy it would be for a thief or apickpocket or some other dreadful creature of that kind, don't you know, to make a snatch and--in fact, the thing has actually happened. Why, Iknew a lady--Mrs. Moggridge, you know, Juliet--no, it wasn't Mrs. Moggridge, that was another affair, it was Mrs. --Mrs. --dear me, howsilly of me!--now, what was her name? Can't you help me, Juliet? Youmust surely remember the woman. She used to visit a good deal at theHawley-Johnsons'--I think it was the Hawley-Johnsons', or else it wasthose people, you know--"

"Hadn't you better give Dr. Thorndyke the 'Thumbograph'?" interruptedMiss Gibson. 

"Why, of course, Juliet, dear. What else did we come here for?" With aslightly injured expression, Mrs. Hornby opened the little bag andcommenced, with the utmost deliberation, to turn out its contents on tothe table. These included a laced handkerchief, a purse, a card-case, avisiting list, a packet of _papier poudré_, and when she had laid thelast-mentioned article on the table, she paused abruptly and gazed intoMiss Gibson's face with the air of one who has made a startlingdiscovery. 

"I remember the woman's name, " she said in an impressive voice. "It wasGudge--Mrs. Gudge, the sister-in-law of--"

Here Miss Gibson made an unceremonious dive into the open bag and fishedout a tiny parcel wrapped in notepaper and secured with a silk thread. 

"Thank you, " said Thorndyke, taking it from her hand just as Mrs. Hornbywas reaching out to intercept it. He cut the thread and drew from itswrappings a little book bound in red cloth, with the word "Thumbograph"stamped upon the cover, and was beginning to inspect it when Mrs. Hornbyrose and stood beside him. 

"That, " said she, as she opened the book at the first page, "is thethumb-mark of a Miss Colley. She is no connection of ours. You see it isa little smeared--she said Reuben jogged her elbow, but I don't think hedid; at any rate he assured me he did not, and, you know--"

"Ah! Here is one we are looking for, " interrupted Thorndyke, who hadbeen turning the leaves of the book regardless of Mrs. Hornby's ramblingcomments; "a very good impression, too, considering the rather roughmethod of producing it. "

He reached out for the reading lens that hung from its nail above themantelpiece, and I could tell by the eagerness with which he peeredthrough it at the thumb-print that he was looking for something. Amoment later I felt sure that he had found that something which he hadsought, for, though he replaced the lens upon its nail with a quiet andcomposed air and made no remark, there was a sparkle of the eye and ascarcely perceptible flush of suppressed excitement and triumph which Ihad begun to recognise beneath the impassive mask that he presented tothe world. 

"I shall ask you to leave this little book with me, Mrs. Hornby, " hesaid, breaking in upon that lady's inconsequent babblings, "and, as Imay possibly put it in evidence, it would be a wise precaution for youand Miss Gibson to sign your names--as small as possible--on the pagewhich bears Mr. Reuben's thumb-mark. That will anticipate any suggestionthat the book has been tampered with after leaving your hands. "

"It would be a great impertinence for anyone to make any suchsuggestion, " Mrs. Hornby began; but on Thorndyke's placing his fountainpen in her hand, she wrote her signature in the place indicated andhanded the pen to Miss Gibson, who signed underneath. 

"And now, " said Thorndyke, "we will take an enlarged photograph of thispage with the thumb-mark; not that it is necessary that it should bedone now, as you are leaving the book in my possession; but thephotograph will be wanted, and as my man is expecting us and has theapparatus ready, we may as well despatch the business at once. "

To this both the ladies readily agreed (being, in fact, devoured bycuriosity with regard to my colleague's premises), and we accordinglyproceeded to invade the set of rooms on the floor above, over which theingenious Polton was accustomed to reign in solitary grandeur. 

It was my first visit to these mysterious regions, and I looked about mewith as much curiosity as did the two ladies. The first room that weentered was apparently the workshop, for it contained a smallwoodworker's bench, a lathe, a bench for metal work and a number ofmechanical appliances which I was not then able to examine; but Inoticed that the entire place presented to the eye a most unworkmanlikeneatness, a circumstance that did not escape Thorndyke's observation, for his face relaxed into a grim smile as his eye travelled over thebare benches and the clean-swept floor. 

From this room we entered the laboratory, a large apartment, one side ofwhich was given up to chemical research, as was shown by the shelves ofreagents that covered the wall, and the flasks, retorts and otherapparatus that were arranged on the bench, like ornaments on adrawing-room mantelpiece. On the opposite side of the room was a large, massively-constructed copying camera, the front of which, carrying thelens, was fixed, and an easel or copyholder travelled on parallel guidestowards, or away, from it, on a long stand. 

This apparatus Thorndyke proceeded to explain to our visitors whilePolton was fixing the "Thumbograph" in a holder attached to the easel. 

"You see, " he said, in answer to a question from Miss Gibson, "I have agood deal to do with signatures, cheques and disputed documents ofvarious kinds. Now a skilled eye, aided by a pocket-lens, can make outvery minute details on a cheque or bank-note; but it is not possible tolend one's skilled eye to a judge or juryman, so that it is often veryconvenient to be able to hand them a photograph in which themagnification is already done, which they can compare with the original. Small things, when magnified, develop quite unexpected characters; forinstance, you have handled a good many postage stamps, I suppose, buthave you ever noticed the little white spots in the upper corner of apenny stamp, or even the difference in the foliage on the two sides ofthe wreath?"

Miss Gibson admitted that she had not. 

"Very few people have, I suppose, excepting stamp-collectors, " continuedThorndyke; "but now just glance at this and you will find theseunnoticed details forced upon your attention. " As he spoke, he handedher a photograph, which he had taken from a drawer, showing a pennystamp enlarged to a length of eight inches. 

While the ladies were marvelling over this production, Polton proceededwith his work. The "Thumbograph" having been fixed in position, thelight from a powerful incandescent gas lamp, fitted with a parabolicreflector, was concentrated on it, and the camera racked out to itsproper distance. 

"What are those figures intended to show?" inquired Miss Gibson, indicating the graduation on the side of one of the guides. 

"They show the amount of magnification or reduction, " Thorndykeexplained. "When the pointer is opposite 0, the photograph is the samesize as the object photographed; when it points to, say, x 4, thephotograph will be four times the width and length of the object, whileif it should point to, say, ÷ 4, the photograph will be one-fourth thelength of the object. It is now, you see, pointing to x 8, so thephotograph will be eight times the diameter of the original thumb-mark. "

By this time Polton had brought the camera to an accurate focus and, when we had all been gratified by a glimpse of the enlarged image on thefocussing screen, we withdrew to a smaller room which was devoted tobacteriology and microscopical research, while the exposure was made andthe plate developed. Here, after an interval, we were joined by Polton, who bore with infinite tenderness the dripping negative on which couldbe seen the grotesque transparency of a colossal thumb-mark. 

This Thorndyke scrutinised eagerly, and having pronounced itsatisfactory, informed Mrs. Hornby that the object of her visit wasattained, and thanked her for the trouble she had taken. 

"I am very glad we came, " said Miss Gibson to me, as a little later wewalked slowly up Mitre Court in the wake of Mrs. Hornby and Thorndyke;"and I am glad to have seen these wonderful instruments, too. It hasmade me realise that something is being done and that Dr. Thorndykereally has some object in view. It has really encouraged me immensely. "

"And very properly so, " I replied. "I, too, although I really knownothing of what my colleague is doing, feel very strongly that he wouldnot take all this trouble and give up so much valuable time if he hadnot some very definite purpose and some substantial reasons for takinga hopeful view. "

"Thank you for saying that, " she rejoined warmly; "and you will let mehave a crumb of comfort when you can, won't you?" She looked in my faceso wistfully as she made this appeal that I was quite moved; and, indeed, I am not sure that my state of mind at that moment did not fullyjustify my colleague's reticence towards me. 

However, I, fortunately, had nothing to tell, and so, when we emergedinto Fleet Street to find Mrs. Hornby already ensconced in a hansom, Icould only promise, as I grasped the hand that she offered to me, to seeher again at the earliest opportunity--a promise which my innerconsciousness assured me would be strictly fulfilled. 

"You seem to be on quite confidential terms with our fair friend, "Thorndyke remarked, as we strolled back towards his chambers. "You arean insinuating dog, Jervis. "

"She is very frank and easy to get on with, " I replied. 

"Yes. A good girl and a clever girl, and comely to look upon withal. Isuppose it would be superfluous for me to suggest that you mind youreye?"

"I shouldn't, in any case, try to cut out a man who is under a cloud, " Ireplied sulkily. 

"Of course you wouldn't; hence the need of attention to the ophthalmicmember. Have you ascertained what Miss Gibson's actual relation is toReuben Hornby?"

"No, " I answered. 

"It might be worth while to find out, " said Thorndyke; and then herelapsed into silence. 

CHAPTER VI

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

Thorndyke's hint as to the possible danger foreshadowed by my growingintimacy with Juliet Gibson had come upon me as a complete surprise, andhad, indeed, been resented by me as somewhat of an impertinence. Nevertheless, it gave me considerable food for meditation, and Ipresently began to suspect that the watchful eyes of my observant friendmight have detected something in my manner towards Miss Gibsonsuggestive of sentiments that had been unsuspected by myself. 

Of course it would be absurd to suppose that any real feeling could havebeen engendered by so ridiculously brief an acquaintance. I had only metthe girl three times, and even now, excepting for business relations, was hardly entitled to more than a bow of recognition. But yet, when Iconsidered the matter impartially and examined my own consciousness, Icould not but recognise that she had aroused in me an interest whichbore no relation to the part that she had played in the drama that wasso slowly unfolding. She was undeniably a very handsome girl, and herbeauty was of a type that specially appealed to me--full of dignity andcharacter that gave promise of a splendid middle age. And herpersonality was in other ways not less attractive, for she was frank andopen, sprightly and intelligent, and though evidently quiteself-reliant, was in nowise lacking in that womanly softness that sostrongly engages a man's sympathy. 

In short, I realised that, had there been no such person as ReubenHornby, I should have viewed Miss Gibson with uncommon interest. 

But, unfortunately, Reuben Hornby was a most palpable reality, and, moreover, the extraordinary difficulties of his position entitled him tovery special consideration by any man of honour. It was true that MissGibson had repudiated any feelings towards Reuben other than those ofold-time friendship; but young ladies are not always impartial judges oftheir own feelings, and, as a man of the world, I could not but have myown opinion on the matter--which opinion I believed to be shared byThorndyke. The conclusions to which my cogitations at length brought mewere: first, that I was an egotistical donkey, and, second, that myrelations with Miss Gibson were of an exclusively business character andmust in future be conducted on that basis, with the added considerationthat I was the confidential agent, for the time being, of Reuben Hornby, and in honour bound to regard his interests as paramount. 

"I am hoping, " said Thorndyke, as he held out his hand for my teacup, "that these profound reflections of yours are connected with the Hornbyaffair; in which case I should expect to hear that the riddle is solvedand the mystery made plain. "

"Why should you expect that?" I demanded, reddening somewhat, I suspect, as I met his twinkling eye. There was something rather disturbing inthe dry, quizzical smile that I encountered and the reflection that Ihad been under observation, and I felt as much embarrassed as I shouldsuppose a self-conscious water-flea might feel on finding itself on theilluminated stage of a binocular microscope. 

"My dear fellow, " said Thorndyke, "you have not spoken a word for thelast quarter of an hour; you have devoured your food with the relentlessregularity of a sausage-machine, and you have, from time to time, madethe most damnable faces at the coffee-pot--though there I'll wager thecoffee-pot was even with you, if I may judge by the presentment that itoffers of my own countenance. "

I roused myself from my reverie with a laugh at Thorndyke's quaintconceit and a glance at the grotesquely distorted reflection of my facein the polished silver. 

"I am afraid I _have_ been a rather dull companion this morning, " Iadmitted apologetically. 

"By no means, " replied Thorndyke, with a grin. "On the contrary, I havefound you both amusing and instructive, and I only spoke when I hadexhausted your potentialities as a silent entertainer. "

"You are pleased to be facetious at my expense, " said I. 

"Well, the expense was not a very heavy one, " he retorted. "I have beenmerely consuming a by-product of your mental activity--Hallo! that'sAnstey already. "

A peculiar knock, apparently delivered with the handle of awalking-stick on the outer door, was the occasion of this exclamation, and as Thorndyke sprang up and flung the door open, a clear, musicalvoice was borne in, the measured cadences of which proclaimed at oncethe trained orator. 

"Hail, learned brother!" it exclaimed. "Do I disturb you untimely atyour studies?" Here our visitor entered the room and looked roundcritically. "'Tis even so, " he declared. "Physiological chemistry andits practical applications appears to be the subject. A physico-chemicalinquiry into the properties of streaky bacon and fried eggs. Do I seeanother learned brother?"

He peered keenly at me through his pince-nez, and I gazed at him in someembarrassment. 

"This is my friend Jervis, of whom you have heard me speak, " saidThorndyke. "He is with us in this case, you know. "

"The echoes of your fame have reached me, sir, " said Anstey, holding outhis hand. "I am proud to know you. I should have recognised youinstantly from the portrait of your lamented uncle in GreenwichHospital. "

"Anstey is a wag, you understand, " explained Thorndyke, "but he haslucid intervals. He'll have one presently if we are patient. "

"Patient!" snorted our eccentric visitor, "it is I who need to bepatient when I am dragged into police courts and other sinks of iniquityto plead for common thieves and robbers like a Kennington Laneadvocate. "

"You've been talking to Lawley, I see, " said Thorndyke. 

"Yes, and he tells me that we haven't a leg to stand upon. "

"No, we've got to stand on our heads, as men of intellect should. ButLawley knows nothing about the case. "

"He thinks he knows it all, " said Anstey. 

"Most fools do, " retorted Thorndyke. "They arrive at their knowledge byintuition--a deuced easy road and cheap travelling too. We reserve ourdefence--I suppose you agree to that?"

"I suppose so. The magistrate is sure to commit unless you have anunquestionable _alibi_. "

"We shall put in an _alibi_, but we are not depending on it. "

"Then we had better reserve our defence, " said Anstey; "and it is timethat we wended on our pilgrimage, for we are due at Lawley's athalf-past ten. Is Jervis coming with us?"

"Yes, you'd better come, " said Thorndyke. "It's the adjourned hearing ofpoor Hornby's case, you know. There won't be anything done on our side, but we may be able to glean some hint from the prosecution. "

"I should like to hear what takes place, at any rate, " I said, and weaccordingly sallied forth together in the direction of Lincoln's Inn, onthe north side of which Mr. Lawley's office was situated. 

"Ah!" said the solicitor, as we entered, "I am glad you've come; I wasgetting anxious--it doesn't do to be late on these occasions, you know. Let me see, do you know Mr. Walter Hornby? I don't think you do. " Hepresented Thorndyke and me to our client's cousin, and as we shookhands, we viewed one another with a good deal of mutual interest. 

"I have heard about you from my aunt, " said he, addressing himself moreparticularly to me. "She appears to regard you as a kind of legalMaskelyne and Cooke. I hope, for my cousin's sake, that you will be ableto work the wonders that she anticipates. Poor old fellow! He lookspretty bad, doesn't he?"

I glanced at Reuben, who was at the moment talking to Thorndyke, and ashe caught my eye he held out his hand with a warmth that I found verypathetic. He seemed to have aged since I had last seen him, and waspale and rather thinner, but he was composed in his manner and seemed tome to be taking his trouble very well on the whole. 

"Cab's at the door, sir, " a clerk announced. 

"Cab, " repeated Mr. Lawley, looking dubiously at me; "we want anomnibus. "

"Dr. Jervis and I can walk, " Walter Hornby suggested. "We shall probablyget there as soon as you, and it doesn't matter if we don't. "

"Yes, that will do, " said Mr. Lawley; "you two walk down together. Nowlet us go. "

We trooped out on to the pavement, beside which a four-wheeler was drawnup, and as the others were entering the cab, Thorndyke stood closebeside me for a moment. 

"Don't let him pump you, " he said in a low voice, without looking at me;then he sprang into the cab and slammed the door. 

"What an extraordinary affair this is, " Walter Hornby remarked, after wehad been walking in silence for a minute or two; "a most ghastlybusiness. I must confess that I can make neither head nor tail of it. "

"How is that?" I asked. 

"Why, do you see, there are apparently only two possible theories of thecrime, and each of them seems to be unthinkable. On the one hand thereis Reuben, a man of the most scrupulous honour, as far as my experienceof him goes, committing a mean and sordid theft for which no motive canbe discovered--for he is not poor, nor pecuniarily embarrassed nor inthe smallest degree avaricious. On the other hand, there is thisthumb-print, which, in the opinion of the experts, is tantamount to theevidence of an eye-witness that he did commit the theft. It ispositively bewildering. Don't you think so?"

"As you put it, " I answered, "the case is extraordinarily puzzling. "

"But how else would you put it?" he demanded, with ill-concealedeagerness. 

"I mean that, if Reuben is the man you believe him to be, the thing isincomprehensible. "

"Quite so, " he agreed, though he was evidently disappointed at mycolourless answer. 

He walked on silently for a few minutes and then said: "I suppose itwould not be fair to ask if you see any way out of the difficulty? Weare all, naturaly anxious about the upshot of the affair, seeing whatpoor old Reuben's position is. "

"Naturally. But the fact is that I know no more than you do, and as toThorndyke, you might as well cross-examine a Whitstable native as putquestions to him. "

"Yes, so I gathered from Juliet. But I thought you might have gleanedsome notion of the line of defence from your work in the laboratory--themicroscopical and photographic work I mean. "

"I was never in the laboratory until last night, when Thorndyke took methere with your aunt and Miss Gibson; the work there is done by thelaboratory assistant, and his knowledge of the case, I should say, isabout as great as a type-founder's knowledge of the books that he ishelping to produce. No; Thorndyke is a man who plays a single-handedgame and no one knows what cards he holds until he lays them on thetable. "

My companion considered this statement in silence while I congratulatedmyself on having parried, with great adroitness, a rather inconvenientquestion. But the time was not far distant when I should have occasionto reproach myself bitterly for having been so explicit and emphatic. 

"My uncle's condition, " Walter resumed after a pause, "is a prettymiserable one at present, with this horrible affair added to his ownpersonal worries. "

"Has he any special trouble besides this, then?" I asked. 

"Why, haven't you heard? I thought you knew about it, or I shouldn'thave spoken--not that it is in any way a secret, seeing that it ispublic property in the city. The fact is that his financial affairs area little entangled just now. "

"Indeed!" I exclaimed, considerably startled by this new development. 

"Yes, things have taken a rather awkward turn, though I think he willpull through all right. It is the usual thing, you know--investments, orperhaps one should say speculations. He appears to have sunk a lot ofcapital in mines--thought he was 'in the know, ' not unnaturally; but itseems he wasn't after all, and the things have gone wrong, leaving himwith a deal more money than he can afford locked up and the possibilityof a dead loss if they don't revive. Then there are these infernaldiamonds. He is not morally responsible, we know; but it is a questionif he is not legally responsible, though the lawyers think he is not. Anyhow, there is going to be a meeting of the creditors to-morrow. "

"And what do you think they will do?"

"Oh, they will, most probably, let him go on for the present; but, ofcourse, if he is made accountable for the diamonds there will be nothingfor it but to 'go through the hoop, ' as the sporting financierexpresses it. "

"The diamonds were of considerable value, then?"

"From twenty-five to thirty thousand pounds' worth vanished with thatparcel. "

I whistled. This was a much bigger affair than I had imagined, and I waswondering if Thorndyke had realised the magnitude of the robbery, whenwe arrived at the police court. 

"I suppose our friends have gone inside, " said Walter. "They must havegot here before us. "

This supposition was confirmed by a constable of whom we made inquiry, and who directed us to the entrance to the court. Passing down a passageand elbowing our way through the throng of idlers, we made for thesolicitor's box, where we had barely taken our seats when the case wascalled. 

Unspeakably dreary and depressing were the brief proceedings thatfollowed, and dreadfully suggestive of the helplessness of even aninnocent man on whom the law has laid its hand and in whose behalf itsinexorable machinery has been set in motion. 

The presiding magistrate, emotionless and dry, dipped his pen whileReuben, who had surrendered to his bail, was placed in the dock and thecharge read over to him. The counsel representing the police gave anabstract of the case with the matter-of-fact air of a house-agentdescribing an eligible property. Then, when the plea of "not guilty" hadbeen entered, the witnesses were called. There were only two, and whenthe name of the first, John Hornby, was called, I glanced towards thewitness-box with no little curiosity. 

I had not hitherto met Mr. Hornby, and as he now entered the box, I sawan elderly man, tall, florid, and well-preserved, but strained and wildin expression and displaying his uncontrollable agitation by continualnervous movements which contrasted curiously with the composed demeanourof the accused man. Nevertheless, he gave his evidence in a perfectlyconnected manner, recounting the events connected with the discovery ofthe crime in much the same words as I had heard Mr. Lawley use, though, indeed, he was a good deal more emphatic than that gentleman had been inregard to the excellent character borne by the prisoner. 

After him came Mr. Singleton, of the finger-print department at ScotlandYard, to whose evidence I listened with close attention. He produced thepaper which bore the thumb-print in blood (which had previously beenidentified by Mr. Hornby) and a paper bearing the print, taken byhimself, of the prisoner's left thumb. These two thumb-prints, hestated, were identical in every respect. 

"And you are of opinion that the mark on the paper that was found in Mr. Hornby's safe, was made by the prisoner's left thumb?" the magistrateasked in dry and business-like tones. 

"I am certain of it. "

"You are of opinion that no mistake is possible?"

"No mistake is possible, your worship. It is a certainty. "

The magistrate looked at Anstey inquiringly, whereupon the barristerrose. "We reserve our defence, your worship. "

The magistrate then, in the same placid, business-like manner, committedthe prisoner for trial at the Central Criminal Court, refusing to acceptbail for his appearance, and, as Reuben was led forth from the dock, thenext case was called. 

By special favour of the authorities, Reuben was to be allowed to makehis journey to Holloway in a cab, thus escaping the horrors of thefilthy and verminous prison van, and while this was being procured, hisfriends were permitted to wish him farewell. 

"This is a hard experience, Hornby, " said Thorndyke, when we three were, for a few moments, left apart from the others; and as he spoke thewarmth of a really sympathetic nature broke through his habitualimpassivity. "But be of good cheer; I have convinced myself of yourinnocence and have good hopes of convincing the world--though this isfor your private ear, you understand, to be mentioned to no one. "

Reuben wrung the hand of this "friend in need, " but was unable, for themoment, to speak; and, as his self-control was evidently strained to thebreaking point, Thorndyke, with a man's natural instinct, wished him ahasty good-bye, and passing his hand through my arm, turned away. 

"I wish it had been possible to save the poor fellow from this delay, and especially from the degradation of being locked up in a jail, " heexclaimed regretfully as we walked down the street. 

"There is surely no degradation in being merely accused of a crime, " Ianswered, without much conviction, however. "It may happen to the bestof us; and he is still an innocent man in the eyes of the law. "

"That, my dear Jervis, you know, as well as I do, to be mere casuistry, "he rejoined. "The law professes to regard the unconvicted man asinnocent; but how does it treat him? You heard how the magistrateaddressed our friend; outside the court he would have called him _Mr_. Hornby. You know what will happen to Reuben at Holloway. He will beordered about by warders, will have a number label fastened on to hiscoat, he will be locked in a cell with a spy-hole in the door, throughwhich any passing stranger may watch him; his food will be handed to himin a tin pan with a tin knife and spoon; and he will be periodicallycalled out of his cell and driven round the exercise yard with a mobcomposed, for the most part, of the sweepings of the London slums. If heis acquitted, he will be turned loose without a suggestion ofcompensation or apology for these indignities or the losses he may havesustained through his detention. "

"Still I suppose these evils are unavoidable, " I said. 

"That may or may not be, " he retorted. "My point is that the presumptionof innocence is a pure fiction; that the treatment of an accused man, from the moment of his arrest, is that of a criminal. However, " heconcluded, hailing a passing hansom, "this discussion must be adjournedor I shall be late at the hospital. What are you going to do?"

"I shall get some lunch and then call on Miss Gibson to let her know thereal position. "

"Yes, that will be kind, I think; baldly stated, the news may seemrather alarming. I was tempted to thrash the case out in the policecourt, but it would not have been safe. He would almost certainly havebeen committed for trial after all, and then we should have shown ourhand to the prosecution. "

He sprang into the hansom and was speedily swallowed up in the traffic, while I turned back towards the police court to make certain inquiriesconcerning the regulations as to visitors at Holloway prison. At thedoor I met the friendly inspector from Scotland Yard, who gave me thenecessary information, whereupon with a certain homely little Frenchrestaurant in my mind I bent my steps in the direction of Soho. 

CHAPTER VII

SHOALS AND QUICKSANDS

When I arrived at Endsley Gardens, Miss Gibson was at home, and to myunspeakable relief, Mrs. Hornby was not. My veneration for that lady'smoral qualities was excessive, but her conversation drove me to theverge of insanity--an insanity not entirely free from homicidaltendencies. 

"It is good of you to come--though I thought you would, " Miss Gibsonsaid impulsively, as we shook hands. "You have been so sympathetic andhuman--both you and Dr. Thorndyke--so free from professional stiffness. My aunt went off to see Mr. Lawley directly we got Walter's telegram. "

"I am sorry for her, " I said (and was on the point of adding "and him, "but fortunately a glimmer of sense restrained me); "she will find himdry enough. "

"Yes; I dislike him extremely. Do you know that he had the impudence toadvise Reuben to plead 'guilty'?"

"He told us he had done so, and got a well-deserved snubbing fromThorndyke for his pains. "

"I am so glad, " exclaimed Miss Gibson viciously. "But tell me what hashappened. Walter simply said 'Transferred to higher court, ' which weagreed was to mean, 'Committed for trial. ' Has the defence failed? Andwhere is Reuben?"

"The defence is reserved. Dr. Thorndyke considered it almost certainthat the case would be sent for trial, and that being so, decided thatit was essential to keep the prosecution in the dark as to the line ofdefence. You see, if the police knew what the defence was to be theycould revise their own plans accordingly. "

"I see that, " said she dejectedly, "but I am dreadfully disappointed. Ihad hoped that Dr. Thorndyke would get the case dismissed. What hashappened to Reuben?"

This was the question that I had dreaded, and now that I had to answerit I cleared my throat and bent my gaze nervously on the floor. 

"The magistrate refused bail, " I said after an uncomfortable pause. 

"Well?"

"Consequently Reuben has been--er--detained in custody. "

"You don't mean to say that they have sent him to prison?" she exclaimedbreathlessly. 

"Not as a convicted prisoner, you know. He is merely detained pendinghis trial. "

"But in prison?"

"Yes, " I was forced to admit; "in Holloway prison. "

She looked me stonily in the face for some seconds, pale and wide-eyed, but silent; then, with a sudden catch in her breath, she turned away, and, grasping the edge of the mantel-shelf, laid her head upon her armand burst into a passion of sobbing. 

Now I am not, in general, an emotional man, nor even especiallyimpulsive; but neither am I a stock or a stone or an effigy of wood;which I most surely must have been if I could have looked without beingdeeply moved on the grief, so natural and unselfish, of this strong, brave, loyal-hearted woman. In effect, I moved to her side and, gentlytaking in mine the hand that hung down, murmured some incoherent wordsof consolation in a particularly husky voice. 

Presently she recovered herself somewhat and softly withdrew her hand, as she turned towards me drying her eyes. 

"You must forgive me for distressing you, as I fear I have, " she said;"for you are so kind, and I feel that you are really my friend andReuben's. "

"I am indeed, dear Miss Gibson, " I replied, "and so, I assure you, is mycolleague. "

"I am sure of it, " she rejoined. "But I was so unprepared for this--Icannot say why, excepting that I trusted so entirely in Dr. Thorndyke--and it is so horrible and, above all, so dreadfullysuggestive of what may happen. Up to now the whole thing has seemed likea nightmare--terrifying, but yet unreal. But now that he is actually inprison, it has suddenly become a dreadful reality and I am overwhelmedwith terror. Oh! poor boy! What will become of him? For pity's sake, Dr. Jervis, tell me what is going to happen. "

What could I do? I had heard Thorndyke's words of encouragement toReuben and knew my colleague well enough to feel sure that he meant allhe had said. Doubtless my proper course would have been to keep my owncounsel and put Miss Gibson off with cautious ambiguities. But I couldnot; she was worthy of more confidence than that. 

"You must not be unduly alarmed about the future, " I said. "I have itfrom Dr. Thorndyke that he is convinced of Reuben's innocence, and ishopeful of being able to make it clear to the world. But I did not havethis to repeat, " I added, with a slight qualm of conscience. 

"I know, " she said softly, "and I thank you from my heart. "

"And as to this present misfortune, " I continued, "you must not let itdistress you too much. Try to think of it as of a surgical operation, which is a dreadful thing in itself, but is accepted in lieu ofsomething which is immeasurably more dreadful. "

"I will try to do as you tell me, " she answered meekly; "but it is soshocking to think of a cultivated gentleman like Reuben, herded withcommon thieves and murderers, and locked in a cage like some wildanimal. Think of the ignominy and degradation!"

"There is no ignominy in being wrongfully accused, " I said--a littleguiltily, I must own, for Thorndyke's words came back to me with alltheir force. But regardless of this I went on: "An acquittal willrestore him to his position with an unstained character, and nothing butthe recollection of a passing inconvenience to look back upon. "

She gave her eyes a final wipe, and resolutely put away herhandkerchief. 

"You have given me back my courage, " she said, "and chased away myterror. I cannot tell you how I feel your goodness, nor have I anythank-offering to make, except the promise to be brave and patienthenceforth, and trust in you entirely. "

She said this with such a grateful smile, and looked withal so sweet andwomanly that I was seized with an overpowering impulse to take her in myarms. Instead of this I said with conscious feebleness: "I am more thanthankful to have been able to give you any encouragement--which you mustremember comes from me second-hand, after all. It is to Dr. Thorndykethat we all look for ultimate deliverance. "

"I know. But it is you who came to comfort me in my trouble, so, yousee, the honours are divided--and not divided quite equally, I fear, forwomen are unreasoning creatures, as, no doubt, your experience hasinformed you. I think I hear my aunt's voice, so you had better escapebefore your retreat is cut off. But before you go, you must tell me howand when I can see Reuben. I want to see him at the earliest possiblemoment. Poor fellow! He must not be allowed to feel that his friendshave forgotten him even for a single instant. "

"You can see him to-morrow, if you like, " I said; and, casting my goodresolutions to the winds, I added: "I shall be going to see him myself, and perhaps Dr. Thorndyke will go. "

"Would you let me call at the Temple and go with you? Should I be muchin the way? It is rather an alarming thing to go to a prison alone. "

"It is not to be thought of, " I answered. "If you will call at theTemple--it is on the way--we can drive to Holloway together. I supposeyou are resolved to go? It will be rather unpleasant, as you areprobably aware. "

"I am quite resolved. What time shall I come to the Temple?"

"About two o'clock, if that will suit you. "

"Very well. I will be punctual; and now you must go or you will becaught. "

She pushed me gently towards the door and, holding out her hand, said-- "I haven't thanked you half enough and I never can. Good-bye!"

She was gone, and I stood alone in the street, up which yellowishwreaths of fog were beginning to roll. It had been quite clear andbright when I entered the house, but now the sky was settling down intoa colourless grey, the light was failing and the houses dwindling intodim, unreal shapes that vanished at half their height. Nevertheless Istepped out briskly and strode along at a good pace, as a young man isapt to do when his mind is in somewhat of a ferment. In truth, I had agood deal to occupy my thoughts and, as will often happen both to youngmen and old, those matters that bore most directly upon my own life andprospects were the first to receive attention. 

What sort of relations were growing up between Juliet Gibson and me? Andwhat was my position? As to hers, it seemed plain enough; she waswrapped up in Reuben Hornby and I was her very good friend because I washis. But for myself, there was no disguising the fact that I wasbeginning to take an interest in her that boded ill for my peace ofmind. 

Never had I met a woman who so entirely realised my conception of what awoman should be, nor one who exercised so great a charm over me. Herstrength and dignity, her softness and dependency, to say nothing of herbeauty, fitted her with the necessary weapons for my complete and uttersubjugation. And utterly subjugated I was--there was no use in denyingthe fact, even though I realised already that the time would presentlycome when she would want me no more and there would remain no remedy forme but to go away and try to forget her. 

But was I acting as a man of honour? To this I felt I could fairlyanswer "yes, " for I was but doing my duty, and could hardly actdifferently if I wished to. Besides, I was jeopardising no one'shappiness but my own, and a man may do as he pleases with his ownhappiness. No; even Thorndyke could not accuse me of dishonourableconduct. 

Presently my thoughts took a fresh turn and I began to reflect upon whatI had heard concerning Mr. Hornby. Here was a startling development, indeed, and I wondered what difference it would make in Thorndyke'shypothesis of the crime. What his theory was I had never been able toguess, but as I walked along through the thickening fog I tried to fitthis new fact into our collection of data and determine its bearings andsignificance. 

In this, for a time, I failed utterly. The red thumb-mark filled myfield of vision to the exclusion of all else. To me, as to everyone elsebut Thorndyke, this fact was final and pointed to a conclusion that wasunanswerable. But as I turned the story of the crime over and over, there came to me presently an idea that set in motion a new and verystartling train of thought. 

Could Mr. Hornby himself be the thief? His failure appeared sudden tothe outside world, but he must have seen difficulties coming. There, indeed, was the thumb-mark on the leaf which he had torn from hispocket-block. Yes! but who had seen him tear it off? No one. The factrested on his bare statement. 

But the thumb-mark? Well, it was possible (though unlikely)--stillpossible--that the mark might have been made accidentally on someprevious occasion and forgotten by Reuben, or even unnoticed. Mr. Hornbyhad seen the "Thumbograph, " in fact his own mark was in it, and so wouldhave had his attention directed to the importance of finger-prints inidentification. He might have kept the marked paper for future use, and, on the occasion of the robbery, pencilled a dated inscription on it, andslipped it into the safe as a sure means of diverting suspicion. Allthis was improbable in the highest degree, but then so was every otherexplanation of the crime; and as to the unspeakable baseness of thedeed, what action is too base for a gambler in difficulties?

I was so much excited and elated by my own ingenuity in having formed anintelligible and practicable theory of the crime, that I was nowimpatient to reach home that I might impart my news to Thorndyke and seehow they affected him. But as I approached the centre of the town thefog grew so dense that all my attention was needed to enable me tothread my way safely through the traffic; while the strange, deceptiveaspect that it lent to familiar objects and the obliteration oflandmarks made my progress so slow that it was already past six o'clockwhen I felt my way down Middle Temple Lane and crept through CrownOffice Row towards my colleague's chambers. 

On the doorstep I found Polton peering with anxious face into the blankexpanse of yellow vapour. 

"The Doctor's late, sir, " said he. "Detained by the fog, I expect. Itmust be pretty thick in the Borough. "

(I may mention that, to Polton, Thorndyke was The Doctor. Other inferiorcreatures there were, indeed, to whom the title of "doctor" in a way, appertained; but they were of no account in Polton's eyes. Surnames weregood enough for them. )

"Yes, it must be, " I replied, "judging by the condition of the Strand. "

I entered and ascended the stairs, glad enough of the prospect of a warmand well-lighted room after my comfortless groping in the murky streets, and Polton, with a final glance up and down the walk reluctantlyfollowed. 

"You would like some tea, sir, I expect?" said he, as he let me in(though I had a key of my own now). 

I thought I should, and he accordingly set about the preparations in hisdeft methodical way, but with an air of abstraction that was unusualwith him. 

"The Doctor said he should be home by five, " he remarked, as he laid thetea-pot on the tray. 

"Then he is a defaulter, " I answered. "We shall have to water his tea. "

"A wonderful punctual man, sir, is the Doctor, " pursued Polton. "Keepshis time to the minute, as a rule, he does. "

"You can't keep your time to a minute in a 'London Particular, '" I saida little impatiently, for I wished to be alone that I might think overmatters, and Polton's nervous flutterings irritated me somewhat. He wasalmost as bad as a female housekeeper. 

The little man evidently perceived my state of mind, for he stole awaysilently, leaving me rather penitent and ashamed, and, as I presentlydiscovered on looking out of the window, resumed his vigil on thedoorstep. From this coign of vantage he returned after a time to takeaway the tea-things; and thereafter, though it was now dark as well asfoggy, I could hear him softly flitting up and down the stairs with agloomy stealthiness that at length reduced me to a condition asnervously apprehensive as his own. 

CHAPTER VIII

A SUSPICIOUS ACCIDENT

The Temple clock had announced in soft and confidential tones that itwas a quarter to seven, in which statement it was stoutly supported byits colleague on our mantelpiece, and still there was no sign ofThorndyke. It was really a little strange, for he was the soul ofpunctuality, and moreover, his engagements were of such a kind asrendered punctuality possible. I was burning with impatience to impartmy news to him, and this fact, together with the ghostly proceedings ofPolton, worked me up to a state of nervous tension that rendered eitherrest or thought equally impossible. I looked out of the window at thelamp below, glaring redly through the fog, and then, opening the door, went out on to the landing to listen. 

At this moment Polton made a silent appearance on the stairs leadingfrom the laboratory, giving me quite a start; and I was about to retireinto the room when my ear caught the tinkle of a hansom approaching fromPaper Buildings. 

The vehicle drew nearer, and at length stopped opposite the house, onwhich Polton slid down the stairs with the agility of a harlequin. A fewmoments later I heard his voice ascending from the hall--

"I do hope, sir, you're not much hurt?"

I ran down the stairs and met Thorndyke coming up slowly with his righthand on Polton's shoulder. His clothes were muddy, his left arm was in asling, and a black handkerchief under his hat evidently concealed abandage. 

"I am not really hurt at all, " Thorndyke replied cheerily, "though verydisreputable to look at. Just came a cropper in the mud, Jervis, " headded, as he noted my dismayed expression. "Dinner and a clothes-brushare what I chiefly need. " Nevertheless, he looked very pale and shakenwhen he came into the light on the landing, and he sank into hiseasy-chair in the limp manner of a man either very weak or veryfatigued. 

"How did it happen?" I asked when Polton had crept away on tip-toe tomake ready for dinner. 

Thorndyke looked round to make sure that his henchman had departed, andsaid--

"A queer affair, Jervis; a very odd affair indeed. I was coming up fromthe Borough, picking my way mighty carefully across the road on accountof the greasy, slippery mud, and had just reached the foot of LondonBridge when I heard a heavy lorry coming down the slope a good deal toofast, considering that it was impossible to see more than a dozen yardsahead, and I stopped on the kerb to see it safely past. Just as thehorses emerged from the fog, a man came up behind and lurched violentlyagainst me and, strangely enough, at the same moment passed his foot infront of mine. Of course I went sprawling into the road right in frontof the lorry. The horses came stamping and sliding straight on to me, and, before I could wriggle out of the way, the hoof of one of themsmashed in my hat--that was a new one that I came home in--andhalf-stunned me. Then the near wheel struck my head, making a dirtylittle scalp wound, and pinned down my sleeve so that I couldn't pullaway my arm, which is consequently barked all the way down. It was amighty near thing, Jervis; another inch or two and I should have beenrolled out as flat as a starfish. "

"What became of the man?" I asked, wishing I could have had a briefinterview with him. 

"Lost to sight though to memory dear: he was off like a lamplighter. Analcoholic apple-woman picked me up and escorted me back to the hospital. It must have been a touching spectacle, " he added, with a dry smile atthe recollection. 

"And I suppose they kept you there for a time to recover?"

"Yes; I went into dry dock in the O. P. Room, and then old Langdaleinsisted on my lying down for an hour or so in case any symptoms ofconcussion should appear. But I was only a trifle shaken and confused. Still, it was a queer affair. "

"You mean the man pushing you down in that way?"

"Yes; I can't make out how his foot got in front of mine. "

"You don't think it was intentional, surely?" I said. 

"No, of course not, " he replied, but without much conviction, as itseemed to me; and I was about to pursue the matter when Poltonreappeared, and my friend abruptly changed the subject. 

After dinner I recounted my conversation with Walter Hornby, watching mycolleague's face with some eagerness to see what effect this newinformation would produce on him. The result was, on the whole, disappointing. He was interested, keenly interested, but showed nosymptoms of excitement. 

"So John Hornby has been plunging in mines, eh?" he said, when I hadfinished. "He ought to know better at his age. Did you learn how long hehad been in difficulties?"

"No. But it can hardly have been quite sudden and unforeseen. "

"I should think not, " Thorndyke agreed. "A sudden slump often provesdisastrous to the regular Stock Exchange gambler who is payingdifferences on large quantities of unpaid-for stock. But it looks as ifHornby had actually bought and paid for these mines, treating them asinvestments rather than speculations, in which case the depreciationwould not have affected him in the same way. It would be interesting toknow for certain. "

"It might have a considerable bearing on the present case, might itnot?"

"Undoubtedly, " said Thorndyke. "It might bear on the case in more waysthan one. But you have some special point in your mind, I think. "

"Yes. I was thinking that if these embarrassments had been growing upgradually for some time, they might have already assumed an acute format the time of the robbery. "

"That is well considered, " said my colleague. "But what is the specialbearing on the case supposing it was so?"

"On the supposition, " I replied, "that Mr. Hornby was in actualpecuniary difficulties at the date of the robbery, it seems to mepossible to construct a hypothesis as to the identity of the robber. "

"I should like to hear that hypothesis stated, " said Thorndyke, rousinghimself and regarding me with lively interest. 

"It is a highly improbable one, " I began with some natural shyness atthe idea of airing my wits before this master of inductive method; "infact, it is almost fantastic. "

"Never mind that, " said he. "A sound thinker gives equal considerationto the probable and the improbable. "

Thus encouraged, I proceeded to set forth the theory of the crime as ithad occurred to me on my way home in the fog, and I was gratified toobserve the close attention with which Thorndyke listened, and hislittle nods of approval at each point that I made. 

When I had finished, he remained silent for some time, lookingthoughtfully into the fire and evidently considering how my theory andthe new facts on which it was based would fit in with the rest of thedata. At length he spoke, without, however, removing his eyes from thered embers--

"This theory of yours, Jervis, does great credit to your ingenuity. Wemay disregard the improbability, seeing that the alternative theoriesare almost equally improbable, and the fact that emerges, and thatgratifies me more than I can tell you, is that you are gifted withenough scientific imagination to construct a possible train of events. Indeed, the improbability--combined, of course, with possibility--reallyadds to the achievement, for the dullest mind can perceive theobvious--as, for instance, the importance of a finger-print. You havereally done a great thing, and I congratulate you; for you haveemancipated yourself, at least to some extent, from the greatfinger-print obsession, which has possessed the legal mind ever sinceGalton published his epoch-making monograph. In that work I remember hestates that a finger-print affords evidence requiring nocorroboration--a most dangerous and misleading statement which has beenfastened upon eagerly by the police, who have naturally been delightedat obtaining a sort of magic touchstone by which they are saved thelabour of investigation. But there is no such thing as a single factthat 'affords evidence requiring no corroboration. ' As well might oneexpect to make a syllogism with a single premise. " "I suppose theywould hardly go so far as that, " I said, laughing. 

"No, " he admitted. "But the kind of syllogism that they do make isthis--

"'The crime was committed by the person who made this finger-print. 

"'But John Smith is the person who made the finger-print. 

"'Therefore the crime was committed by John Smith. '"

"Well, that is a perfectly good syllogism, isn't it?" I asked. 

"Perfectly, " he replied. "But, you see, it begs the whole question, which is, 'Was the crime committed by the person who made thisfinger-print?' That is where the corroboration is required. "

"That practically leaves the case to be investigated without referenceto the finger-print, which thus becomes of no importance. "

"Not at all, " rejoined Thorndyke; "the finger-print is a most valuableclue as long as its evidential value is not exaggerated. Take ourpresent case, for instance. Without the thumb-print, the robbery mighthave been committed by anybody; there is no clue whatever. But theexistence of the thumb-print narrows the inquiry down to Reuben or someperson having access to his finger-prints. "

"Yes, I see. Then you consider my theory of John Hornby as theperpetrator of the robbery as quite a tenable one?" "Quite, " repliedThorndyke. "I have entertained it from the first; and the new facts thatyou have gathered increase its probability. You remember I said thatfour hypotheses were possible: that the robbery was committed either byReuben, by Walter, by John Hornby, or by some other person. Now, puttingaside the 'some other person' for consideration only if the first threehypotheses fail, we have left, Reuben, Walter, and John. But if we leavethe thumb-print out of the question, the probabilities evidently pointto John Hornby, since he, admittedly, had access to the diamonds, whereas there is nothing to show that the others had. The thumb-print, however, transfers the suspicion to Reuben; but yet, as your theorymakes evident, it does not completely clear John Hornby. As the casestands, the balance of probabilities may be stated thus: John Hornbyundoubtedly had access to the diamonds, and therefore might have stolenthem. But if the thumb-mark was made after he closed the safe and beforehe opened it again, some other person must have had access to them, andwas probably the thief. 

"The thumb-mark is that of Reuben Hornby, a fact that establishes a_prima facie_ probability that he stole the diamonds. But there is noevidence that he had access to them, and if he had not, he could nothave made the thumb-mark in the manner and at the time stated. 

"But John Hornby may have had access to the previously-made thumb-markof Reuben, and may possibly have obtained it; in which case he is almostcertainly the thief. 

"As to Walter Hornby, he may have had the means of obtaining Reuben'sthumb-mark; but there is no evidence that he had access either to thediamonds or to Mr. Hornby's memorandum block. The _prima facie_probabilities in his case, therefore, are very slight. "

"The actual points at issue, then, " I said, "are, whether Reuben had anymeans of opening the safe, and whether Mr. Hornby ever did actually havethe opportunity of obtaining Reuben's thumb-mark in blood on hismemorandum block. "

"Yes, " replied Thorndyke. "Those are the points--with some others--andthey are likely to remain unsettled. Reuben's rooms have been searchedby the police, who failed to find any skeleton or duplicate keys; butthis proves nothing, as he would probably have made away with them whenhe heard of the thumb-mark being found. As to the other matter, I haveasked Reuben, and he has no recollection of ever having made athumb-mark in blood. So there the matter rests. "

"And what about Mr. Hornby's liability for the diamonds?"

"I think we may dismiss that, " answered Thorndyke. "He had undertaken noliability and there was no negligence. He would not be liable at law. "

After my colleague retired, which he did quite early, I sat for a longtime pondering upon this singular case in which I found myself involved. And the more I thought about it the more puzzled I became. If Thorndykehad no more satisfactory explanation to offer than that which he hadgiven me this evening, the defence was hopeless, for the court was notlikely to accept his estimate of the evidential value of finger-prints. Yet he had given Reuben something like a positive assurance that therewould be an adequate defence, and had expressed his own positiveconviction of the accused man's innocence. But Thorndyke was not a manto reach such a conviction through merely sentimental considerations. The inevitable conclusion was that he had something up his sleeve--thathe had gained possession of some facts that had escaped my observation;and when I had reached this point I knocked out my pipe and betookmyself to bed. 

CHAPTER IX

THE PRISONER

On the following morning, as I emerged from my room, I met Polton comingup with a tray (our bedrooms were on the attic floor above thelaboratory and workshop), and I accordingly followed him into myfriend's chamber. 

"I shan't go out to-day, " said Thorndyke, "though I shall come downpresently. It is very inconvenient, but one must accept the inevitable. I have had a knock on the head, and, although I feel none the worse, Imust take the proper precautions--rest and a low diet--until I see thatno results are going to follow. You can attend to the scalp wound andsend round the necessary letters, can't you?"

I expressed my willingness to do all that was required and applauded myfriend's self-control and good sense; indeed, I could not helpcontrasting the conduct of this busy, indefatigable man, cheerfullyresigning himself to most distasteful inaction, with the fussy behaviourof the ordinary patient who, with nothing of importance to do, canhardly be prevailed upon to rest, no matter how urgent the necessity. Accordingly, I breakfasted alone, and spent the morning in writing anddespatching letters to the various persons who were expecting visitsfrom my colleague. 

Shortly after lunch (a very spare one, by the way, for Polton appearedto include me in the scheme of reduced diet) my expectant ear caughtthe tinkle of a hansom approaching down Crown Office Row. 

"Here comes your fair companion, " said Thorndyke, whom I had acquaintedwith my arrangements, "Tell Hornby, from me, to keep up his courage, and, for yourself, bear my warning in mind. I should be sorry indeed ifyou ever had cause to regret that you had rendered me the very valuableservices for which I am now indebted to you. Good-bye; don't keep herwaiting. "

I ran down the stairs and came out of the entry just as the cabman hadpulled up and flung open the doors. 

"Holloway Prison--main entrance, " I said, as I stepped up on to thefootboard. 

"There ain't no back door there, sir, " the man responded, with a grin;and I was glad that neither the answer nor the grin was conveyed to myfellow-passenger. 

"You are very punctual, Miss Gibson, " I said. "It is not half-past oneyet. "

"Yes; I thought I should like to get there by two, so as to have as longa time with him as is possible without shortening your interview. "

I looked at my companion critically. She was dressed with rather morethan her usual care, and looked, in fact, a very fine lady indeed. Thiscircumstance, which I noted at first with surprise and then with decidedapprobation, caused me some inward discomfort, for I had in my mind avery distinct and highly disagreeable picture of the visitingarrangements at a local prison in one of the provinces, at which I hadacted temporarily as medical officer. 

"I suppose, " I said at length, "it is of no use for me to re-open thequestion of the advisability of this visit on your part?"

"Not the least, " she replied resolutely, "though I understand andappreciate your motive in wishing to do so. "

"Then, " said I, "if you are really decided, it will be as well for me toprepare you for the ordeal. I am afraid it will give you a terribleshock. "

"Indeed?" said she. "Is it so bad? Tell me what it will be like. "

"In the first place, " I replied, "you must keep in your mind the purposeof a prison like Holloway. We are going to see an innocent man--acultivated and honourable gentleman. But the ordinary inmates ofHolloway are not innocent men; for the most part, the remand cases onthe male side are professional criminals, while the women are eitherpetty offenders or chronic inebriates. Most of them are regularcustomers at the prison--such is the idiotic state of the law--who comeinto the reception-room like travellers entering a familiar hostelry, address the prison officers by name and demand the usual privileges andextra comforts--the 'drunks, ' for instance, generally ask for a dose ofbromide to steady their nerves and a light in the cell to keep away thehorrors. And such being the character of the inmates, their friends whovisit them are naturally of the same type--the lowest outpourings of theslums; and it is not surprising to find that the arrangements of theprison are made to fit its ordinary inmates. The innocent man is anegligible quantity, and no arrangements are made for him or hisvisitors. "

"But shall we not be taken to Reuben's cell?" asked Miss Gibson. 

"Bless you! no, " I answered; and, determined to give her everyinducement to change her mind, I continued: "I will describe theprocedure as I have seen it--and a very dreadful and shocking sight Ifound it, I can tell you. It was while I was acting as a prison doctorin the Midlands that I had this experience. I was going my round onemorning when, passing along a passage, I became aware of a strange, muffled roar from the other side of the wall. 

"'What is that noise?' I asked the warder who was with me. 

"'Prisoners seeing their friends, ' he answered. 'Like to have a look atthem, sir?'

"He unlocked a small door and, as he threw it open, the distant, muffledsound swelled into a deafening roar. I passed through the door and foundmyself in a narrow alley at one end of which a warder was sitting. Thesides of the alley were formed by two immense cages with stout wirebars, one for the prisoners and the other for the visitors; and eachcage was lined with faces and hands, all in incessant movement, thefaces mouthing and grimacing, and the hands clawing restlessly at thebars. The uproar was so terrific that no single voice could bedistinguished, though every one present was shouting his loudest to makehimself heard above the universal din. The result was a very strange andhorrid illusion, for it seemed as if no one was speaking at all, butthat the noise came from outside, and that each one of the faces--low, vicious faces, mostly--was silently grimacing and gibbering, snappingits jaws and glaring furiously at the occupants of the opposite cage. Itwas a frightful spectacle. I could think of nothing but themonkey-house at the Zoo. It seemed as if one ought to walk up the alleyand offer nuts and pieces of paper to be torn to pieces. "

"Horrible!" exclaimed Miss Gibson. "And do you mean to say that we shallbe turned loose into one of these cages with a herd of other visitors?"

"No. You are not turned loose anywhere in a prison. The arrangement isthis: each cage is divided by partitions into a number of small boxes orapartments, which are numbered. The prisoner is locked in one box andhis visitor in the corresponding box opposite. They are thus confronted, with the width of the alley between them; they can see one another andtalk but cannot pass any forbidden articles across--a very necessaryprecaution, I need hardly say. "

"Yes, I suppose it is necessary, but it is horrible for decent people. Surely they ought to be able to discriminate. "

"Why not give it up and let me take a message to Reuben? He wouldunderstand and be thankful to me for dissuading you. "

"No, no, " she said quickly; "the more repulsive it is the greater thenecessity for me to go. He must not be allowed to think that a triflinginconvenience or indignity is enough to scare his friends away. Whatbuilding is that ahead?"

We had just swung round from Caledonian Road into a quiet andprosperous-looking suburban street, at the end of which rose the towerof a castellated building. 

"That is the prison, " I replied. "We are looking at it from the mostadvantageous point of view; seen from the back, and especially from theinside, it is a good deal less attractive. " Nothing more was saiduntil the cab drove into the courtyard and set us down outside the greatfront gates. Having directed the cabman to wait for us, I rang the belland we were speedily admitted through a wicket (which was immediatelyclosed and locked) into a covered court closed in by a second gate, through the bars of which we could see across an inner courtyard to theactual entrance to the prison. Here, while the necessary formalitieswere gone through, we found ourselves part of a numerous and very motleycompany, for a considerable assemblage of the prisoners' friends wasawaiting the moment of admission. I noticed that my companion wasobserving our fellow-visitors with a kind of horrified curiosity, whichshe strove, however, and not unsuccessfully, to conceal; and certainlythe appearance of the majority furnished eloquent testimony to thefailure of crime as a means of worldly advancement. Their presentposition was productive of very varied emotions; some were silent andevidently stricken with grief; a larger number were voluble and excited, while a considerable proportion were quite cheerful and even inclined tobe facetious. 

At length the great iron gate was unlocked and our party taken in chargeby a warder, who conducted us to that part of the building known as "thewing"; and, in the course of our progress, I could not help observingthe profound impression made upon my companion by the circumstance thatevery door had to be unlocked to admit us and was locked again as soonas we had passed through. 

"It seems to me, " I said, as we neared our destination, "that you hadbetter let me see Reuben first; I have not much to say to him and shallnot keep you waiting long. "

"Why do you think so?" she asked, with a shade of suspicion. 

"Well, " I answered, "I think you may be a little upset by the interview, and I should like to see you into your cab as soon as possibleafterwards. "

"Yes, " she said; "perhaps you are right, and it is kind of you to be sothoughtful on my account. "

A minute later, accordingly, I found myself shut into a narrow box, likeone of those which considerate pawnbrokers provide for their morediffident clients, and in a similar, but more intense, degree, pervadedby a subtle odour of uncleanness. The woodwork was polished to anunctuous smoothness by the friction of numberless dirty hands and soiledgarments, and the general appearance--taken in at a glance as Ientered--was such as to cause me to thrust my hands into my pockets andstudiously avoid contact with any part of the structure but the floor. The end of the box opposite the door was closed in by a strong gratingof wire--excepting the lower three feet, which was of wood--and lookingthrough this, I perceived, behind a second grating, Reuben Hornby, standing in a similar attitude to my own. He was dressed in his usualclothes and with his customary neatness, but his face was unshaven andhe wore, suspended from a button-hole, a circular label bearing thecharacters "B. 31"; and these two changes in his exterior carried withthem a suggestiveness as subtle as it was unpleasant, making me morethan ever regretful that Miss Gibson had insisted on coming. 

"It is exceedingly good of you, Dr. Jervis, to come and see me, " he saidheartily, making himself heard quite easily, to my surprise, above thehubbub of the adjoining boxes; "but I didn't expect you here. I was toldI could see my legal advisers in the solicitor's box. "

"So you could, " I answered. "But I came here by choice because I havebrought Miss Gibson with me. " "I am sorry for that, " he rejoined, withevident disapproval; "she oughtn't to have come among these riff-raff. "

"I told her so, and that you wouldn't like it, but she insisted. "

"I know, " said Reuben. "That's the worst of women--they will make abeastly fuss and sacrifice themselves when nobody wants them to. But Imustn't be ungrateful; she means it kindly, and she's a deuced goodsort, is Juliet. "

"She is indeed, " I exclaimed, not a little disgusted at his cool, unappreciative tone; "a most noble-hearted girl, and her devotion to youis positively heroic. "

The faintest suspicion of a smile appeared on the face seen through thedouble grating; on which I felt that I could have pulled his nose withpleasure--only that a pair of tongs of special construction would havebeen required for the purpose. 

"Yes, " he answered calmly, "we have always been very good friends. "

A rejoinder of the most extreme acidity was on my lips. Damn the fellow!What did he mean by speaking in that supercilious tone of the loveliestand sweetest woman in the world? But, after all, one cannot trample on apoor devil locked up in a jail on a false charge, no matter how greatmay be the provocation. I drew a deep breath, and, having recoveredmyself, outwardly at least, said--

"I hope you don't find the conditions here too intolerable?" "Oh, no, "he answered. "It's beastly unpleasant, of course, but it might easily beworse. I don't mind if it's only for a week or two; and I am reallyencouraged by what Dr. Thorndyke said. I hope he wasn't being merelysoothing. "

"You may take it that he was not. What he said, I am sure he meant. Ofcourse, you know I am not in his confidence--nobody is--but I gatherthat he is satisfied with the defence he is preparing. "

"If he is satisfied, I am, " said Reuben, "and, in any case, I shall owehim an immense debt of gratitude for having stood by me and believed inme when all the world--except my aunt and Juliet--had condemned me. "

He then went on to give me a few particulars of his prison life, andwhen he had chatted for a quarter of an hour or so, I took my leave tomake way for Miss Gibson. 

Her interview with him was not as long as I had expected, though, to besure, the conditions were not very favourable either for the exchange ofconfidences or for utterances of a sentimental character. Theconsciousness that one's conversation could be overheard by theoccupants of adjacent boxes destroyed all sense of privacy, to saynothing of the disturbing influence of the warder in the alley-way. 

When she rejoined me, her manner was abstracted and very depressed, acircumstance that gave me considerable food for reflection as we madeour way in silence towards the main entrance. Had she found Reuben ascool and matter-of-fact as I had? He was assuredly a very calm andself-possessed lover, and it was conceivable that his reception of thegirl, strung up, as she was, to an acute pitch of emotion, might havebeen somewhat in the nature of an anticlimax. And then, was it possiblethat the feeling was on her side only? Could it be that the pricelesspearl of her love was cast before--I was tempted to use the colloquialsingular and call him an "unappreciative swine!" The thing was almostunthinkable to me, and yet I was tempted to dwell upon it; for when aman is in love--and I could no longer disguise my condition frommyself--he is inclined to be humble and to gather up thankfully thetreasure that is rejected of another. 

I was brought up short in these reflections by the clank of the lock inthe great iron gate. We entered together the gloomy vestibule, and amoment later were let out through the wicket into the courtyard; and asthe lock clicked behind us, we gave a simultaneous sigh of relief tofind ourselves outside the precincts of the prison, beyond the domain ofbolts and bars. 

I had settled Miss Gibson in the cab and given her address to thedriver, when I noticed her looking at me, as I thought, somewhatwistfully. 

"Can't I put you down somewhere?" she said, in response to ahalf-questioning glance from me. 

I seized the opportunity with thankfulness and replied--

"You might set me down at King's Cross if it is not delaying you;" andgiving the word to the cabman, I took my place by her side as the cabstarted and a black-painted prison van turned into the courtyard withits freight of squalid misery. 

"I don't think Reuben was very pleased to see me, " Miss Gibson remarkedpresently, "but I shall come again all the same. It is a duty I owe bothto him and to myself. "

I felt that I ought to endeavour to dissuade her, but the reflectionthat her visits must almost of necessity involve my companionship, enfeebled my will. I was fast approaching a state of infatuation. 

"I was so thankful, " she continued, "that you prepared me. It was ahorrible experience to see the poor fellow caged like a wild beast, withthat dreadful label hanging from his coat; but it would have beenoverwhelming if I had not known what to expect. "

As we proceeded, her spirits revived somewhat, a circumstance that shegraciously ascribed to the enlivening influence of my society; and Ithen told her of the mishap that had befallen my colleague. 

"What a terrible thing!" she exclaimed, with evidently unaffectedconcern. "It is the merest chance that he was not killed on the spot. Ishe much hurt? And would he mind, do you think, if I called to inquireafter him?"

I said that I was sure he would be delighted (being, as a matter offact, entirely indifferent as to his sentiments on the subject in mydelight at the proposal), and when I stepped down from the cab at King'sCross to pursue my way homewards, there already opened out before me theprospect of the renewal of this bitter-sweet and all too dangerouscompanionship on the morrow. 

CHAPTER X

POLTON IS MYSTIFIED

A couple of days sufficed to prove that Thorndyke's mishap was not to beproductive of any permanent ill consequences; his wounds progressedfavourably and he was able to resume his ordinary avocations. 

Miss Gibson's visit--but why should I speak of her in these formalterms? To me, when I thought of her, which I did only too often, she wasJuliet, with perhaps an adjective thrown in; and as Juliet I shallhenceforth speak of her (but without the adjective) in this narrative, wherein nothing has been kept back from the reader--Juliet's visit, then, had been a great success, for my colleague was really pleased bythe attention, and displayed a quiet geniality that filled our visitorwith delight. 

He talked a good deal of Reuben, and I could see that he wasendeavouring to settle in his own mind the vexed question of herrelations with and sentiments towards our unfortunate client; but whatconclusions he arrived at I was unable to discover, for he was by nomeans communicative after she had left. Nor was there any repetition ofthe visit--greatly to my regret--since, as I have said, he was able, ina day or two, to resume his ordinary mode of life. 

The first evidence I had of his renewed activity appeared when Ireturned to the chambers at about eleven o'clock in the morning, to findPolton hovering dejectedly about the sitting-room, apparentlyperpetrating as near an approach to a "spring clean" as could bepermitted in a bachelor establishment. 

"Hallo, Polton!" I exclaimed, "have you contrived to tear yourself awayfrom the laboratory for an hour or two?"

"No, sir, " he answered gloomily. "The laboratory has torn itself awayfrom me. "

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"The Doctor has shut himself in and locked the door, and he says I amnot to disturb him. It will be a cold lunch to-day. "

"What is he doing in there?" I inquired. 

"Ah!" said Polton, "that's just what I should like to know. I'm faireaten up with curiosity. He is making some experiments in connectionwith some of his cases, and when the Doctor locks himself in to makeexperiments, something interesting generally follows. I should like toknow what it is this time. "

"I suppose there is a keyhole in the laboratory door?" I suggested, witha grin. 

"Sir!" he exclaimed indignantly. "Dr. Jervis, I am surprised at you. "Then, perceiving my facetious intent, he smiled also and added: "Butthere _is_ a keyhole if you'd like to try it, though I'll wager theDoctor would see more of you than you would of him. "

"You are mighty secret about your doings, you and the Doctor, " I said. 

"Yes, " he answered. "You see, it's a queer trade this of the Doctor's, and there are some queer secrets in it. Now, for instance, what do youmake of this?"

He produced from his pocket a leather case, whence he took a piece ofpaper which he handed to me. On it was a neatly executed drawing of whatlooked like one of a set of chessmen, with the dimensions written on themargin. 

"It looks like a pawn--one of the Staunton pattern, " I said. 

"Just what I thought; but it isn't. I've got to make twenty-four ofthem, and what the Doctor is going to do with them fairly beats me. "

"Perhaps he has invented some new game, " I suggested facetiously. "Heis always inventing new games and playing them mostly in courts of law, and then the other players generally lose. But this is a puzzler, and nomistake. Twenty-four of these to be turned up in the best-seasonedboxwood! What can they be for? Something to do with the experiments heis carrying on upstairs at this very moment, I expect. " He shook hishead, and, having carefully returned the drawing to his pocket-book, said, in a solemn tone--"Sir, there are times when the Doctor makes mefairly dance with curiosity. And this is one of them. "

Although not afflicted with a curiosity so acute as that of Polton, Ifound myself speculating at intervals on the nature of my colleague'sexperiments and the purpose of the singular little objects which he hadordered to be made; but I was unacquainted with any of the cases onwhich he was engaged, excepting that of Reuben Hornby, and with thelatter I was quite unable to connect a set of twenty-four boxwoodchessmen. Moreover, on this day, I was to accompany Juliet on her secondvisit to Holloway, and that circumstance gave me abundant mentaloccupation of another kind. 

At lunch, Thorndyke was animated and talkative but not communicative. He"had some work in the laboratory that he must do himself, " he said, butgave no hint as to its nature; and as soon as our meal was finished, hereturned to his labours, leaving me to pace up and down the walk, listening with ridiculous eagerness for the sound of the hansom that wasto transport me to the regions of the blest, and--incidentally--toHolloway Prison. 

When I returned to the Temple, the sitting-room was empty and hideouslyneat, as the result of Polton's spring-cleaning efforts. My colleaguewas evidently still at work in the laboratory, and, from thecircumstance that the tea-things were set out on the table and a kettleof water placed in readiness on the gas-ring by the fireplace, Igathered that Polton also was full of business and anxious not to bedisturbed. 

Accordingly, I lit the gas and made my tea, enlivening my solitude byturning over in my mind the events of the afternoon. 

Juliet had been charming--as she always was--frank, friendly andunaffectedly pleased to have my companionship. She evidently liked meand did not disguise the fact--why should she indeed?--but treated mewith a freedom, almost affectionate, as though I had been a favouritebrother; which was very delightful, and would have been more so if Icould have accepted the relationship. As to her feelings towards me, Ihad not the slightest misgiving, and so my conscience was clear; forJuliet was as innocent as a child, with the innocence that belongs tothe direct, straightforward nature that neither does evil itself norlooks for evil motives in others. For myself, I was past praying for. The thing was done and I must pay the price hereafter, content toreflect that I had trespassed against no one but myself. It was amiserable affair, and many a heartache did it promise me in the lonelydays that were to come, when I should have said "good-bye" to the Templeand gone back to my old nomadic life; and yet I would not have had itchanged if I could; would not have bartered the bitter-sweet memoriesfor dull forgetfulness. 

But other matters had transpired in the course of our drive than thosethat loomed so large to me in the egotism of my love. We had spoken ofMr. Hornby and his affairs, and from our talk there had emerged certainfacts of no little moment to the inquiry on which I was engaged. 

"Misfortunes are proverbially sociable, " Juliet had remarked, inreference to her adopted uncle. "As if this trouble about Reuben werenot enough, there are worries in the city. Perhaps you have heard ofthem. "

I replied that Walter had mentioned the matter to me. 

"Yes, " said Juliet rather viciously; "I am not quite clear as to whatpart that good gentleman has played in the matter. It has come out, quite accidentally, that he had a large holding in the mines himself, but he seems to have 'cut his loss, ' as the phrase goes, and got out ofthem; though how he managed to pay such large differences is more thanwe can understand. We think he must have raised money somehow to do it. "

"Do you know when the mines began to depreciate?" I asked. 

"Yes, it was quite a sudden affair--what Walter calls 'a slump'--and itoccurred only a few days before the robbery. Mr. Hornby was telling meabout it only yesterday, and he recalled it to me by a ridiculousaccident that happened on that day. "

"What was that?" I inquired. 

"Why, I cut my finger and nearly fainted, " she answered, with ashamefaced little laugh. "It was rather a bad cut, you know, but Ididn't notice it until I found my hand covered with blood. Then I turnedsuddenly faint, and had to lie down on the hearthrug--it was in Mr. Hornby's study, which I was tidying up at the time. Here I was found byReuben, and a dreadful fright it gave him at first; and then he tore uphis handkerchief to tie up the wounded finger, and you never saw such anawful mess as he got his hands in. He might have been arrested as amurderer, poor boy, from the condition he was in. It will make yourprofessional gorge rise to learn that he fastened up the extemporisedbandage with red tape, which he got from the writing table after rootingabout among the sacred papers in the most ruthless fashion. 

"When he had gone I tried to put the things on the table straight again, and really you might have thought some horrible crime had beencommitted; the envelopes and papers were all smeared with blood andmarked with the print of gory fingers. I remembered it afterwards, whenReuben's thumb-mark was identified, and thought that perhaps one of thepapers might have got into the safe by accident; but Mr. Hornby told methat was impossible; he tore the leaf off his memorandum block at thetime when he put away the diamonds. "

Such was the gist of our conversation as the cab rattled through thestreets on the way to the prison; and certainly it contained mattersufficiently important to draw away my thoughts from other subjects, more agreeable, but less relevant to the case. With a sudden remembranceof my duty, I drew forth my notebook, and was in the act of committingthe statements to writing, when Thorndyke entered the room. 

"Don't let me interrupt you, Jervis, " said he. "I will make myself a cupof tea while you finish your writing, and then you shall exhibit theday's catch and hang your nets out to dry. "

I was not long in finishing my notes, for I was in a fever of impatienceto hear Thorndyke's comments on my latest addition to our store ofinformation. By the time the kettle was boiling my entries werecompleted, and I proceeded forthwith to retail to my colleague thoseextracts from my conversation with Juliet that I have just recorded. 

He listened, as usual, with deep and critical attention. 

"This is very interesting and important, " he said, when I had finished;"really, Jervis, you are a most invaluable coadjutor. It seems thatinformation, which would be strictly withheld from the forbiddingJorkins, trickles freely and unasked into the ear of the genial Spenlow. Now, I suppose you regard your hypothesis as having received verysubstantial confirmation?"

"Certainly, I do. "

"And very justifiably. You see now how completely you were in the rightwhen you allowed yourself to entertain this theory of the crime in spiteof its apparent improbability. By the light of these new facts it hasbecome quite a probable explanation of the whole affair, and if it couldonly be shown that Mr. Hornby's memorandum block was among the papers onthe table, it would rise to a high degree of probability. The obviousmoral is, never disregard the improbable. By the way, it is odd thatReuben failed to recall this occurrence when I questioned him. Ofcourse, the bloody finger-marks were not discovered until he had gone, but one would have expected him to recall the circumstance when I askedhim, pointedly, if he had never left bloody finger-prints on anypapers. "

"I must try to find out if Mr. Hornby's memorandum block was on thetable and among the marked papers, " I said. 

"Yes, that would be wise, " he answered, "though I don't suppose theinformation will be forthcoming. "

My colleague's manner rather disappointed me. He had heard my reportwith the greatest attention, he had discussed it with animation, but yethe seemed to attach to the new and--as they appeared to me--highlyimportant facts an interest that was academic rather than practical. Ofcourse, his calmness might be assumed; but this did not seem likely, forJohn Thorndyke was far too sincere and dignified a character tocultivate in private life the artifices of the actor. To strangers, indeed, he presented habitually a calm and impassive exterior; but thiswas natural to him, and was but the outward sign of his even andjudicial habit of mind. 

No; there was no doubt that my startling news had left him unmoved, andthis must be for one of two reasons: either he already knew all that Ihad told him (which was perfectly possible), or he had some other andbetter means of explaining the crime. I was turning over these twoalternatives, not unobserved by my watchful colleague, when Poltonentered the room; a broad grin was on his face, and a drawing-board, that he carried like a tray, bore twenty-four neatly turned boxwoodpieces. 

Thorndyke at once entered into the unspoken jest that beamed from thecountenance of his subordinate. 

"Here is Polton with a problem for you, Jervis, " he said. "He assumesthat I have invented a new parlour game, and has been trying to work outthe moves. Have you succeeded yet, Polton?"

"No, sir, I haven't; but I suspect that one of the players will be a manin a wig and gown. "

"Perhaps you are right, " said Thorndyke; "but that doesn't take you veryfar. Let us hear what Dr. Jervis has to say. "

"I can make nothing of them, " I answered. "Polton showed me the drawingthis morning, and then was terrified lest he had committed a breach ofconfidence, and I have been trying ever since, without a glimmer ofsuccess, to guess what they can be for. "

"H'm, " grunted Thorndyke, as he sauntered up and down the room, teacupin hand, "to guess, eh? I like not that word 'guess' in the mouth of aman of science. What do you mean by a 'guess'?"

His manner was wholly facetious, but I professed to take his questionseriously, and replied--

"By a guess, I mean a conclusion arrived at without data. "

"Impossible!" he exclaimed, with mock sternness. "Nobody but an utterfool arrives at a conclusion without data. "

"Then I must revise my definition instantly, " I rejoined. "Let us saythat a guess is a conclusion drawn from insufficient facts. "

"That is better, " said he; "but perhaps it would be better still to saythat a guess is a particular and definite conclusion deduced from factswhich properly yield only a general and indefinite one. Let us take aninstance, " he continued. "Looking out of the window, I see a man walkinground Paper Buildings. Now suppose I say, after the fashion of theinspired detective of the romances, 'That man is a stationmaster orinspector, ' that would be a guess. The observed facts do not yield theconclusion, though they do warrant a conclusion less definite and moregeneral. "

"You'd have been right though, sir!" exclaimed Polton, who had steppedforward with me to examine the unconscious subject of the demonstration. "That gent used to be the stationmaster at Camberwell. I remember himwell. " The little man was evidently greatly impressed. 

"I happen to be right, you see, " said Thorndyke; "but I might as easilyhave been wrong. "

"You weren't though, sir, " said Polton. "You spotted him at a glance. "

In his admiration of the result he cared not a fig for the correctnessof the means by which it had been attained. 

"Now why do I suggest that he is a stationmaster?" pursued Thorndyke, disregarding his assistant's comment. 

"I suppose you were looking at his feet, " I answered. "I seem to havenoticed that peculiar, splay-footed gait in stationmasters, now that youmention it. "

"Quite so. The arch of the foot has given way; the plantar ligamentshave become stretched and the deep calf muscles weakened. Then, sincebending of the weakened arch causes discomfort, the feet have becometurned outwards, by which the bending of the foot is reduced to aminimum; and as the left foot is the more flattened, so it is turned outmore than the right. Then the turning out of the toes causes the legs tosplay outward from the knees downwards--a very conspicuous condition ina tall man like this one--and you notice that the left leg splays outmore than the other. 

"But we know that depression of the arch of the foot is brought about bystanding for long periods. Continuous pressure on a living structureweakens it, while intermittent pressure strengthens it; so the man whostands on his feet continuously develops a flat instep and a weak calf, while the professional dancer or runner acquires a high instep and astrong calf. Now there are many occupations which involve prolongedstanding and so induce the condition of flat foot: waiters, hall-porters, hawkers, policemen, shop-walkers, salesmen, and stationofficials are examples. But the waiter's gait is characteristic--aquick, shuffling walk which enables him to carry liquids withoutspilling them. This man walks with a long, swinging stride; he isobviously not a waiter. His dress and appearance in general exclude theidea of a hawker or even a hall-porter; he is a man of poor physique andso cannot be a policeman. The shop-walker or salesman is accustomed tomove in relatively confined spaces, and so acquires a short, brisk step, and his dress tends to rather exuberant smartness; the station officialpatrols long platforms, often at a rapid pace, and so tends to take longstrides, while his dress is dignified and neat rather than florid. Thelast-mentioned characteristics, you see, appear in the subject of ouranalysis; he agrees with the general description of a stationmaster. Butif we therefore conclude that he _is_ a stationmaster, we fall into thetime-honoured fallacy of the undistributed middle term--the fallacy thathaunts all brilliant guessers, including the detective, not only ofromance, but too often also of real life. All that the observed factsjustify us in inferring is that this man is engaged in some mode of lifethat necessitates a good deal of standing; the rest is mere guess-work. "

"It's wonderful, " said Polton, gazing at the now distant figure;"perfectly wonderful. I should never have known he was a stationmaster. "With this and a glance of deep admiration at his employer, he took hisdeparture. 

"You will also observe, " said Thorndyke, with a smile, "that a fortunateguess often brings more credit than a piece of sound reasoning with aless striking result. "

"Yes, that is unfortunately the case, and it is certainly true in thepresent instance. Your reputation, as far as Polton is concerned, is nowfirmly established even if it was not before. In his eyes you are awizard from whom nothing is hidden. But to return to these littlepieces, as I must call them, for the lack of a better name. I can formno hypothesis as to their use. I seem to have no 'departure, ' as thenautical phrase goes, from which to start an inquiry. I haven't even thematerial for guess-work. Ought I to be able to arrive at any opinion onthe subject?"

Thorndyke picked up one of the pieces, fingering it delicately andinspecting with a critical eye the flat base on which it stood, andreflected for a few moments. 

"It is easy to trace a connection when one knows all the facts, " he saidat length, "but it seems to me that you have the materials from which toform a conjecture. Perhaps I am wrong, but I think, when you have hadmore experience, you will find yourself able to work out a problem ofthis kind. What is required is constructive imagination and a rigorousexactness in reasoning. Now, you are a good reasoner, and you haverecently shown me that you have the necessary imagination; you merelylack experience in the use of your faculties. When you learn my purposein having these things made--as you will before long--you will probablybe surprised that their use did not occur to you. And now let us goforth and take a brisk walk to refresh ourselves (or perhaps I shouldsay myself) after the day's labour. 

CHAPTER XI

THE AMBUSH

"I am going to ask for your collaboration in another case, " saidThorndyke, a day or two later. "It appears to be one of suicide, but thesolicitors to the 'Griffin' office have asked me to go down to theplace, which is in the neighbourhood of Barnet, and be present at the_post-mortem_ and the inquest. They have managed to arrange that theinquest shall take place directly after the _post-mortem_, so that weshall be able to do the whole business in a single visit. "

"Is the case one of any intricacy?" I asked. 

"I don't think so, " he answered. "It looks like a common suicide; butyou can never tell. The importance of the case at present arisesentirely from the heavy insurance; a verdict of suicide will mean a gainof ten thousand pounds to the 'Griffin, ' so, naturally, the directorsare anxious to get the case settled and not inclined to boggle over alittle expense. "

"Naturally. And when will the expedition take place?" I asked. 

"The inquest is fixed for to-morrow--what is the matter? Does that fallfoul of any arrangement of yours?"

"Oh, nothing of any importance, " I replied hastily, deeply ashamed ofthe momentary change of countenance that my friend had been so quick toobserve. 

"Well, what is it?" persisted Thorndyke. "You have got something on. "

"It is nothing, I tell you, but what can be quite easily arranged tosuit your plans. "

"_Cherchez la_--h'm?" queried Thorndyke, with an exasperating grin. 

"Yes, " I answered, turning as red as a pickled cabbage; "since you areso beastly inquisitive. Miss Gibson wrote, on behalf of Mrs. Hornby, asking me to dine with them _en famille_ to-morrow evening, and I sentoff an acceptance an hour ago. "

"And you call that 'nothing of any importance'!" exclaimed Thorndyke. "Alas! and likewise alackaday (which is an approximately synonymousexpression)! The age of chivalry is past, indeed. Of course you mustkeep your appointment; I can manage quite well alone. "

"We shouldn't be back early enough for me to go to Kensington from thestation, I suppose?"

"No; certainly not. I find that the trains are very awkward; we shouldnot reach King's Cross until nearly one in the morning. "

"Then, in that case, I shall write to Miss Gibson and excuse myself. "

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, " said Thorndyke; "it will disappoint them, andreally it is not necessary. "

"I shall write forthwith, " I said firmly, "so please don't try todissuade me. I have been feeling quite uncomfortable at the thoughtthat, all the time I have been in your employ, I seem to have donenothing but idle about and amuse myself. The opportunity of doingsomething tangible for my wage is too precious to be allowed to slip. "

Thorndyke chuckled indulgently. "You shall do as you please, my dearboy, " he said; "but don't imagine that you have been eating the bread ofidleness. When you see this Hornby case worked out in detail, you willbe surprised to find how large a part you have taken in unravelling it. Your worth to me has been far beyond your poor little salary, I canassure you. "

"It is very handsome of you to say that, " I said, highly gratified tolearn that I was really of use, and not, as I had begun to suspect, amere object of charity. 

"It is perfectly true, " he answered; "and now, since you are going tohelp me in this case, I will set you your task. The case, as I havesaid, appears to be quite simple, but it never does to take thesimplicity for granted. Here is the letter from the solicitors givingthe facts as far as they are known at present. On the shelves there youwill find Casper, Taylor, Guy and Ferrier, and the other authorities onmedical jurisprudence, and I will put out one or two other books thatyou may find useful. I want you to extract and make classified notes ofeverything that may bear on such a case as the present one may turn outto be. We must go prepared to meet any contingency that may arise. Thisis my invariable practice, and even if the case turns out to be quitesimple, the labour is never wasted, for it represents so much experiencegained. "

"Casper and Taylor are pretty old, aren't they?" I objected. 

"So is suicide, " he retorted drily. "It is a capital mistake to neglectthe old authorities. 'There were strong men before Agamemnon, ' and someof them were uncommonly strong, let me tell you. Give your bestattention to the venerable Casper and the obsolete Taylor and you willnot be without your reward. "

As a result of these injunctions, I devoted the remainder of the day tothe consideration of the various methods by which a man might contriveto effect his exit from the stage of human activities. And a veryengrossing study I found it, and the more interesting in view of theproblem that awaited solution on the morrow; but yet not so engrossingbut that I was able to find time to write a long, rather intimate andminutely explanatory letter to Miss Gibson, in which I even mentionedthe hour of our return as showing the impossibility of my keeping myengagement. Not that I had the smallest fear of her taking offence, forit is an evidence of my respect and regard for her that I cancelled theappointment without a momentary doubt that she would approve of myaction; but it was pleasant to write to her at length and to feel theintimacy of keeping her informed of the details of my life. 

The case, when we came to inquire into it on the spot, turned out to bea suicide of the most transparent type; whereat both Thorndyke and Iwere, I think, a little disappointed--he at having apparently done solittle for a very substantial fee, and I at having no opportunity forapplying my recently augmented knowledge. 

"Yes, " said my colleague, as we rolled ourselves up in our rugs inadjacent corners of the railway carriage, "it has been a flat affair, and the whole thing could have been managed by the local solicitor. Butit is not a waste of time after all, for, you see, I have to do many aday's work for which I get not a farthing of payment, nor even anyrecognition, so that I do not complain if I occasionally find myselfreceiving more payment than my actual services merit. And as to you, Itake it that you have acquired a good deal of valuable knowledge on thesubject of suicide, and knowledge, as the late Lord Bacon remarked withmore truth than originality, is power. "

To this I made no reply, having just lit my pipe and feeling uncommonlydrowsy; and, my companion having followed my example, we smoked insilence, becoming more and more somnolent, until the train drew up inthe terminus and we turned out, yawning and shivering, on to theplatform. 

"Bah!" exclaimed Thorndyke, drawing his rug round his shoulders; "thisis a cheerless hour--a quarter past one. See how chilly and miserableall these poor devils of passengers look. Shall we cab it or walk?"

"I think a sharp walk would rouse our circulation after sitting huddledup in the carriage for so long, " I answered. 

"So do I, " said Thorndyke, "so let us away; hark forward! and also TallyHo! In fact one might go so far as to say Yoicks! That gentleman appearsto favour the strenuous life, if one may judge by the size of hissprocket-wheel. "

He pointed to a bicycle that was drawn up by the kerb in the approach--amachine of the road-racer type, with an enormous sprocket-wheel, indicating a gear of, at least, ninety. 

"Some scorcher or amateur racer, probably, " I said, "who takes theopportunity of getting a spin on the wood pavement when the streets areempty. " I looked round to see if I could identify the owner, but themachine appeared to be, for the moment, taking care of itself. King'sCross is one of those districts of which the inhabitants are slow insettling down for the night, and even at a quarter past one in themorning its streets are not entirely deserted. Here and there theglimmer of a street lamp or the far-reaching ray from a tall electriclight reveals the form of some nocturnal prowler creeping along withcat-like stealthiness, or bursting, cat-like, into unmelodious song. Notgreatly desirous of the society of these roysterers, we crossed quicklyfrom the station into the Gray's Inn Road, now silent and excessivelydismal in aspect, and took our way along the western side. We had turnedthe curve and were crossing Manchester Street, when a series of yelpsfrom ahead announced the presence of a party of merry-makers, whom wewere not yet able to see, however, for the night was an exceptionallydark one; but the sounds of revelry continued to increase in volume aswe proceeded, until, as we passed Sidmouth Street, we came in sight ofthe revellers. They were some half-dozen in number, all of them roughsof the hooligan type, and they were evidently in boisterous spirits, for, as they passed the entrance to the Royal Free Hospital, they haltedand battered furiously at the gate. Shortly after this exploit theycrossed the road on to our side, whereupon Thorndyke caught my arm andslackened his pace. 

"Let them draw ahead, " said he. "It is a wise precaution to give allhooligan gangs a very wide berth at this time of night. We had betterturn down Heathcote Street and cross Mecklenburgh Square. "

We continued to walk on at reduced speed until we reached HeathcoteStreet, into which we turned and so entered Mecklenburgh Square, wherewe mended our pace once more. 

"The hooligan, " pursued Thorndyke, as we walked briskly across thesilent square, "covers a multitude of sins, ranging from highway robberywith violence and paid assassination (technically known as 'bashing')down to the criminal folly of the philanthropic magistrate, who seems tothink that his function in the economy of nature is to secure thesurvival of the unfittest. There goes a cyclist along Guildford Street. I wonder if that is our strenuous friend from the station. If so, he hasslipped past the hooligans. "

We were just entering Doughty Street, and, as Thorndyke spoke, a man ona bicycle was visible for an instant at the crossing of the two streets. When we reached Guildford Street we both looked down the long, lamp-lighted vista, but the cyclist had vanished. 

"We had better go straight on into Theobald's Road, " said Thorndyke, andwe accordingly pursued our way up the fine old-world street, from whosetall houses our footfalls echoed, so that we seemed to be accompanied byan invisible multitude, until we reached that part where itunaccountably changes its name and becomes John Street. 

"There always seems to me something very pathetic about these oldBloomsbury streets, " said Thorndyke, "with their faded grandeur anddignified seediness. They remind me of some prim and aged gentlewoman inreduced circumstances who--Hallo! What was that?"

A faint, sharp thud from behind had been followed instantly by theshattering of a ground-floor window in front. 

We both stopped dead and remained, for a couple of seconds, staring intothe gloom, from whence the first sound had come; then Thorndyke darteddiagonally across the road at a swift run and I immediately followed. 

At the moment when the affair happened we had gone about forty yards upJohn Street, that is, from the place where it is crossed by HenryStreet, and we now raced across the road to the further corner of thelatter street. When we reached it, however, the little thoroughfare wasempty, and, as we paused for a moment, no sound of retreating footstepsbroke the silence. 

"The shot certainly came from here!" said Thorndyke; "come on, " and heagain broke into a run. A few yards up the street a mews turns off tothe left, and into this my companion plunged, motioning me to gostraight on, which I accordingly did, and in a few paces reached the topof the street. Here a narrow thoroughfare, with a broad, smoothpavement, bears off to the left, parallel with the mews, and, as Iarrived at the corner and glanced up the little street, I saw a man on abicycle gliding swiftly and silently towards Little James' Street. 

With a mighty shout of "Stop thief!" I started in hot pursuit, but, though the man's feet were moving in an apparently leisurely manner, hedrew ahead at an astonishing pace, in spite of my efforts to overtakehim; and it then dawned upon me that the slow revolutions of his feetwere due, in reality, to the unusually high gear of the machine that hewas riding. As I realised this, and at the same moment recalled thebicycle that we had seen in the station, the fugitive swung round intoLittle James' Street and vanished. 

The speed at which the man was travelling made further pursuit utterlyfutile, so I turned and walked back, panting and perspiring from theunwonted exertion. As I re-entered Henry Street, Thorndyke emerged fromthe mews and halted on seeing me. 

"Cyclist?" he asked laconically, as I came up. 

"Yes, " I answered; "riding a machine geared up to about ninety. "

"Ah! he must have followed us from the station, " said Thorndyke. "Didyou notice if he was carrying anything?"

"He had a walking-stick in his hand. I didn't see anything else. "

"What sort of walking-stick?"

"I couldn't see very distinctly. It was a stoutish stick--I should say aMalacca, probably--and it had what looked like a horn handle. I couldsee that as he passed a street lamp. "

"What kind of lamp had he?"

"I couldn't see; but, as he turned the corner, I noticed that it seemedto burn very dimly. "

"A little vaseline, or even oil, smeared on the outside of the glasswill reduce the glare of a lamp very appreciably, " my companionremarked, "especially on a dusty road. Ha! here is the proprietor of thebroken window. He wants to know, you know. "

We had once more turned into John Street and now perceived a man, standing on the wide doorstep of the house with the shattered window, looking anxiously up and down the street. 

"Do either of you gents know anything about this here?" he asked, pointing to the broken pane. 

"Yes, " said Thorndyke, "we happened to be passing when it was done; infact, " he added, "I rather suspect that the missile, whatever it was, was intended for our benefit. "

"Oh!" said the man. "Who done it?"

"That I can't say, " replied Thorndyke. "Whoever he was, he made off on abicycle and we were unable to catch him. "

"Oh!" said the man once more, regarding us with growing suspicion. "On abicycle, hay! Dam funny, ain't it? What did he do it with?"

"That is what I should like to find out, " said Thorndyke. "I see thishouse is empty. "

"Yes, it's empty--leastways it's to let. I'm the caretaker. But what'sthat got to do with it?"

"Merely this, " answered Thorndyke, "that the object--stone, bullet orwhatever it may have been--was aimed, I believe, at me, and I shouldlike to ascertain its nature. Would you do me the favour of permittingme to look for it?"

The caretaker was evidently inclined to refuse this request, for heglanced suspiciously from my companion to me once or twice beforereplying, but, at length, he turned towards the open door and grufflyinvited us to enter. 

A paraffin lamp was on the floor in a recess of the hall, and this ourconductor took up when he had elosed the street door. 

"This is the room, " he said, turning the key and thrusting the dooropen; "the library they call it, but it's the front parlour in plainEnglish. " He entered and, holding the lamp above his head, staredbalefully at the broken window. 

Thorndyke glanced quickly along the floor in the direction that themissile would have taken, and then said--

"Do you see any mark on the wall there?"

As he spoke, he indicated the wall opposite the window, which obviouslycould not have been struck by a projectile entering with such extremeobliquity; and I was about to point out this fact when I fortunatelyremembered the great virtue of silence. 

Our friend approached the wall, still holding up the lamp, andscrutinised the surface with close attention; and while he was thusengaged, I observed Thorndyke stoop quickly and pick up something, whichhe deposited carefully, and without remark, in his waistcoat pocket. 

"I don't see no bruise anywhere, " said the caretaker, sweeping his handover the wall. 

"Perhaps the thing struck this wall, " suggested Thorndyke, pointing tothe one that was actually in the line of fire. "Yes, of course, " headded, "it would be this one--the shot came from Henry Street. "

The caretaker crossed the room and threw the light of his lamp on thewall thus indicated. 

"Ah! here we are!" he exclaimed, with gloomy satisfaction, pointing to asmall dent in which the wall-paper was turned back and the plasterexposed; "looks almost like a bullet mark, but you say you didn't hearno report. "

"No, " said Thorndyke, "there was no report; it must have been acatapult. "

The caretaker set the lamp down on the floor and proceeded to gropeabout for the projectile, in which operation we both assisted; and Icould not suppress a faint smile as I noted the earnestness with whichThorndyke peered about the floor in search of the missile that wasquietly reposing in his waistcoat pocket. 

We were deep in our investigations when there was heard anuncompromising double knock at the street door, followed by the loudpealing of a bell in the basement. 

"Bobby, I suppose, " growled the caretaker. "Here's a blooming fuss aboutnothing. " He caught up the lamp and went out, leaving us in the dark. 

"I picked it up, you know, " said Thorndyke, when we were alone. 

"I saw you, " I answered. 

"Good; I applaud your discretion, " he rejoined. The caretaker'ssupposition was correct. When he returned, he was accompanied by a burlyconstable, who saluted us with a cheerful smile and glanced facetiouslyround the empty room. 

"Our boys, " said he, nodding towards the broken window; "they're playfullads, that they are. You were passing when it happened, sir, I hear. ""Yes, " answered Thorndyke; and he gave the constable a brief account ofthe occurrence, which the latter listened to, notebook in hand. 

"Well, " said he when the narrative was concluded, "if those hooliganboys are going to take to catapults they'll make things lively allround. "

"You ought to run some of 'em in, " said the caretaker. 

"Run 'em in!" exclaimed the constable in a tone of disgust; "yes! Andthen the magistrate will tell 'em to be good boys and give 'em fiveshillings out of the poor-box to buy illustrated Testaments. I'dTestament them, the worthless varmints!"

He rammed his notebook fiercely into his pocket and stalked out of theroom into the street, whither we followed. 

"You'll find that bullet or stone when you sweep up the room, " he said, as he turned on to his beat; "and you'd better let us have it. Goodnight, sir. "

He strolled off towards Henry Street, while Thorndyke and I resumed ourjourney southward. 

"Why were you so secret about that projectile?" I asked my friend as wewalked up the street. 

"Partly to avoid discussion with the caretaker, " he replied; "butprincipally because I thought it likely that a constable would pass thehouse and, seeing the light, come in to make inquiries. "

"And then?"

"Then I should have had to hand over the object to him. " "And why not?Is the object a specially interesting one?"

"It is highly interesting to me at the present moment, " repliedThorndyke, with a chuckle, "because I have not examined it. I have atheory as to its nature, which theory I should like to test beforetaking the police into my confidence. "

"Are you going to take me into your confidence?" I asked. 

"When we get home, if you are not too sleepy, " he replied. 

On our arrival at his chambers, Thorndyke desired me to light up andclear one end of the table while he went up to the workshop to fetchsome tools. I turned back the table cover, and, having adjusted the gasso as to light this part of the table, waited in some impatience for mycolleague's return. In a few minutes he re-entered bearing a small vice, a metal saw and a wide-mouthed bottle. 

"What have you got in that bottle?" I asked, perceiving a metal objectinside it. 

"That is the projectile, which I have thought fit to rinse in distilledwater, for reasons that will presently appear. "

He agitated the bottle gently for a minute or so, and then, with a pairof dissecting forceps, lifted out the object and held it above thesurface of the water to drain, after which he laid it carefully on apiece of blotting-paper. 

I stooped over the projectile and examined it with great curiosity, while Thorndyke stood by regarding me with almost equal interest. 

"Well, " he said, after watching me in silence for some time, "what doyou see?"

"I see a small brass cylinder, " I answered, "about two inches long andrather thicker than an ordinary lead pencil. One end is conical, andthere is a small hole at the apex which seems to contain a steel point;the other end is flat, but has in the centre a small square projectionsuch as might fit a watch-key. I notice also a small hole in the side ofthe cylinder close to the flat end. The thing looks like a miniatureshell, and appears to be hollow. "

"It is hollow, " said Thorndyke. "You must have observed that, when Iheld it up to drain, the water trickled out through the hole at thepointed end. "

"Yes, I noticed that. "

"Now take it up and shake it. "

I did so and felt some heavy object rattle inside it. 

"There is some loose body inside it, " I said, "which fits it prettyclosely, as it moves only in the long diameter. "

"Quite so; your description is excellent. And now, what is the nature ofthis projectile?"

"I should say it is a miniature shell or explosive bullet. "

"Wrong!" said Thorndyke. "A very natural inference, but a wrong one. "

"Then what is the thing?" I demanded, my curiosity still furtheraroused. 

"I will show you, " he replied. "It is something much more subtle than anexplosive bullet--which would really be a rather crudeappliance--admirably thought out and thoroughly well executed. We haveto deal with a most ingenious and capable man. "

I was fain to laugh at his enthusiastic appreciation of the methods ofhis would-be assassin, and the humour of the situation then appeared todawn on him, for he said, with an apologetic smile--

"I am not expressing approval, you must understand, but merelyprofessional admiration. It is this class of criminal that creates thenecessity for my services. He is my patron, so to speak; my ultimateemployer. For the common crook can be dealt with quite efficiently bythe common policeman!"

While he was speaking he had been fitting the little cylinder betweentwo pads of tissue-paper in the vice, which he now screwed up tight. Then, with the fine metal saw, he began to cut the projectile, lengthwise, into two slightly unequal parts. This operation took sometime, especially since he was careful not to cut the loose body inside, but at length the section was completed and the interior of the cylinderexposed, when he released it from the vice and held it up before me withan expression of triumph. 

"Now, what do you make it?" he demanded. 

I took the object in my fingers and looked at it closely, but was atfirst more puzzled than before. The loose body I now saw to be acylinder of lead about half an inch long, accurately fitting the insideof the cylinder but capable of slipping freely backwards and forwards. The steel point which I had noticed in the hole at the apex of theconical end, was now seen to be the pointed termination of a slendersteel rod which projected fully an inch into the cavity of the cylinder, and the conical end itself was a solid mass of lead. 

"Well?" queried Thorndyke, seeing that I was still silent. 

"You tell me it is not an explosive bullet, " I replied, "otherwise Ishould have been confirmed in that opinion. I should have said that thepercussion cap was carried by this lead plunger and struck on the end ofthat steel rod when the flight of the bullet was suddenly arrested. "

"Very good indeed, " said Thorndyke. "You are right so far that this is, in fact, the mechanism of a percussion shell. 

"But look at this. You see this little rod was driven inside the bulletwhen the latter struck the wall. Let us replace it in its originalposition. "

He laid the end of a small flat file against the end of the rod andpressed it firmly, when the rod slid through the hole until it projectedan inch beyond the apex of the cone. Then he handed the projectile backto me. 

A single glance at the point of the steel rod made the whole thingclear, and I gave a whistle of consternation; for the "rod" was a finetube with a sharply pointed end. 

"The infernal scoundrel!" I exclaimed; "it is a hypodermic needle. "

"Yes. A veterinary hypodermic, of extra large bore. Now you see thesubtlety and ingenuity of the whole thing. If he had had a reasonablechance he would certainly have succeeded. "

"You speak quite regretfully, " I said, laughing again at the oddity ofhis attitude towards the assassin. 

"Not at all, " he replied. "I have the character of a single-handedplayer, but even the most self-reliant man can hardly make a_post-mortem_ on himself. I am merely appreciating an admirable piece ofmechanical design most efficiently carried out. Observe thecompleteness of the thing, and the way in which all the necessities ofthe case are foreseen and met. This projectile was discharged from apowerful air-gun--the walking-stick form--provided with a force-pump andkey. The barrel of that gun was rifled. "

"How do you know that?" I asked. 

"Well, to begin with, it would be useless to fit a needle to theprojectile unless the latter was made to travel with the point forwards;but there is direct evidence that the barrel was rifled. You notice thelittle square projection on the back surface of the cylinder. That wasevidently made to fit a washer or wad--probably a thin plate of softmetal which would be driven by the pressure from behind into the groovesof the rifling and thus give a spinning motion to the bullet. When thelatter left the barrel, the wad would drop off, leaving it free. "

"I see. I was wondering what the square projection was for. It is, asyou say, extremely ingenious. "

"Highly ingenious, " said Thorndyke, enthusiastically, "and so is thewhole device. See how perfectly it would have worked but for a merefluke and for the complication of your presence. Supposing that I hadbeen alone, so that he could have approached to a shorter distance. Inthat case he would not have missed, and the thing would have been done. You see how it was intended to be done, I suppose?"

"I think so, " I answered; "but I should like to hear your account of theprocess. "

"Well, you see, he first finds out that I am returning by a latetrain--which he seems to have done--and he waits for me at the terminus. Meanwhile he fills the cylinder with a solution of a powerful alkaloidalpoison, which is easily done by dipping the needle into the liquid andsucking at the small hole near the back end, when the piston will bedrawn up and the liquid will follow it. You notice that the upper sideof the piston is covered with vaseline--introduced through the hole, nodoubt--which would prevent the poison from coming out into the mouth, and make the cylinder secure from leakage. On my arrival, he follows meon his bicycle until I pass through a sufficiently secludedneighbourhood. Then he approaches me, or passes me and waits round acorner, and shoots at pretty close range. It doesn't matter where hehits me; all parts are equally vital, so he can aim at the middle of myback. Then the bullet comes spinning through the air point foremost; theneedle passes through the clothing and enters the flesh, and, as thebullet is suddenly stopped, the heavy piston flies down by its own greatmomentum and squirts out a jet of the poison into the tissues. Thebullet then disengages itself and drops on to the ground. 

"Meanwhile, our friend has mounted his bicycle and is off, and when Ifeel the prick of the needle, I turn, and, without stopping to look forthe bullet, immediately give chase. I am, of course, not able toovertake a man on a racing machine, but still I follow him somedistance. Then the poison begins to take effect--the more rapidly fromthe violent exercise--and presently I drop insensible. Later on, my bodyis found. There are no marks of violence, and probably theneedle-puncture escapes observation at the _post-mortem_, in which casethe verdict will be death from heart-failure. Even if the poison and thepuncture are discovered, there is no clue. The bullet lies some streetsaway, and is probably picked up by some boy or passing stranger, whocannot conjecture its use, and who would never connect it with the manwho was found dead. You will admit that the whole plan has been workedout with surprising completeness and foresight. " "Yes, " I answered;"there is no doubt that the fellow is a most infernally cleverscoundrel. May I ask if you have any idea who he is?"

"Well, " Thorndyke replied, "seeing that, as Carlyle has unkindly pointedout, clever people are not in an overwhelming majority, and that, of theclever people whom I know, only a very few are interested in myimmediate demise, I am able to form a fairly probable conjecture. "

"And what do you mean to do?"

"For the present I shall maintain an attitude of masterly inactivity andavoid the night air. "

"But, surely, " I exclaimed, "you will take some measures to protectyourself against attempts of this kind. You can hardly doubt now thatyour accident in the fog was really an attempted murder. "

"I never did doubt it, as a matter of fact, although I prevaricated atthe time. But I have not enough evidence against this man at present, and, consequently, can do nothing but show that I suspect him, whichwould be foolish. Whereas, if I lie low, one of two things will happen;either the occasion for my removal (which is only a temporary one) willpass, or he will commit himself--will put a definite clue into my hands. Then we shall find the air-cane, the bicycle, perhaps a little stock ofpoison, and certain other trifles that I have in my mind, which will begood confirmatory evidence, though insufficient in themselves. And now, I think, I must really adjourn this meeting, or we shall be good fornothing to-morrow. "

CHAPTER XII

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

It was now only a week from the date on which the trial was to open. Ineight days the mystery would almost certainly be solved (if it wascapable of solution), for the trial promised to be quite a short one, and then Reuben Hornby would be either a convicted felon or a free man, clear of the stigma of the crime. 

For several days past, Thorndyke had been in almost constant possessionof the laboratory, while his own small room, devoted ordinarily tobacteriology and microscopical work was kept continually locked; a stateof things that reduced Polton to a condition of the most extreme nervousirritation, especially when, as he told me indignantly, he met Mr. Anstey emerging from the holy of holies, grinning and rubbing his handsand giving utterance to genial but unparliamentary expressions of amusedsatisfaction. 

I had met Anstey on several occasions lately, and each time liked himbetter than the last; for his whimsical, facetious manner covered anature (as it often does) that was serious and thoughtful; and I foundhim, not only a man of considerable learning, but one also of a loftystandard of conduct. His admiration for Thorndyke was unbounded, and Icould see that the two men collaborated with the utmost sympathy andmutual satisfaction. 

But although I regarded Mr. Anstey with feelings of the liveliestfriendship, I was far from gratified when, on the morning of which I amwriting, I observed him from our sitting-room window crossing thegravelled space from Crown Office Row and evidently bearing down on ourchambers. For the fact is that I was awaiting the arrival of Juliet, andshould greatly have preferred to be alone at the moment, seeing thatThorndyke had already gone out. It is true that my fair enslaver was notdue for nearly half-an-hour, but then, who could say how long Ansteywould stay, or what embarrassments might arise from my efforts toescape? By all of which it may be perceived that my disease had reacheda very advanced stage, and that I was unequal to those tactics ofconcealment that are commonly attributed to the ostrich. 

A sharp rap of the knocker announced the arrival of the disturber of mypeace, and when I opened the door Anstey walked in with the air of a manto whom an hour more or less is of no consequence whatever. He shook myhand with mock solemnity, and, seating himself upon the edge of thetable, proceeded to roll a cigarette with exasperating deliberation. 

"I infer, " said he, "that our learned brother is practising parlourmagic upstairs, or peradventure he has gone on a journey?"

"He has a consultation this morning, " I answered. "Was he expectingyou?"

"Evidently not, or he would have been here. No, I just looked in to aska question about the case of your friend Hornby. You know it comes onfor trial next week?"

"Yes; Thorndyke told me. What do you think of Hornby's prospects? Is hegoing to be convicted, or will he get an acquittal?"

"_He_ will be entirely passive, " replied Anstey, "but _we_"--here heslapped his chest impressively--"are going to secure an acquittal. Youwill be highly entertained, my learned friend, and Mr. The Enemy will beexcessively surprised. " He inspected the newly-made cigarette with acritical air and chuckled softly. 

"You seem pretty confident, " I remarked. 

"I am, " he answered, "though Thorndyke considers failurepossible--which, of course, it is if the jury-box should chance to befilled with microcephalic idiots and the judge should prove incapable ofunderstanding simple technical evidence. But we hope that neither ofthese things will happen, and, if they do not, we feel pretty safe. Bythe way, I hope I am not divulging your principal's secrets?"

"Well, " I replied, with a smile, "you have been more explicit thanThorndyke ever has. "

"Have I?" he exclaimed, with mock anxiety; "then I must swear you tosecrecy. Thorndyke is so very close--and he is quite right too. I nevercease admiring his tactics of allowing the enemy to fortify andbarricade the entrance that he does _not_ mean to attack. But I see youare wishing me at the devil, so give me a cigar and I will go--thoughnot to that particular destination. "

"Will you have one of Thorndyke's special brand?" I asked malignantly. 

"What! those foul Trichinopolies? Not while brown paper is to beobtained at every stationer's; I'd sooner smoke my own wig. "

I tendered my own case, from which he selected a cigar with anxious careand much sniffing; then he bade me a ceremonious adieu and departed downthe stairs, blithely humming a melody from the latest comic opera. 

He had not left more than five minutes when a soft and elaboraterat-tat from the little brass knocker brought my heart into my mouth. Iran to the door and flung it open, revealing Juliet standing on thethreshold. 

"May I come in?" she asked. "I want to have a few words with you beforewe start. "

I looked at her with some anxiety, for she was manifestly agitated, andthe hand that she held out to me trembled. 

"I am greatly upset, Dr. Jervis, " she said, ignoring the chair that Ihad placed for her. "Mr. Lawley has been giving us his views of poorReuben's case, and his attitude fills me with dismay. "

"Hang Mr. Lawley!" I muttered, and then apologised hastily. "What madeyou go to him, Miss Gibson?"

"I didn't go to him; he came to us. He dined with us last night--he andWalter--and his manner was gloomy in the extreme. After dinner Waltertook him apart with me and asked him what he really thought of the case. He was most pessimistic. 'My dear sir, ' he said, 'the only advice I cangive you is that you prepare yourself to contemplate disaster asphilosophically as you can. In my opinion your cousin is almost certainto be convicted. ' 'But, ' said Walter, 'what about the defence? Iunderstood that there was at least a plausible case. ' Mr. Lawleyshrugged his shoulders. 'I have a sort of _alibi_ that will go fornothing, but I have no evidence to offer in answer to that of theprosecution, and no case; and I may say, speaking in confidence, that Ido not believe there is any case. I do not see how there can be anycase, and I have heard nothing from Dr. Thorndyke to lead me to supposethat he has really done anything in the matter. ' Is this true, Dr. Jervis? Oh! do tell me the real truth about it! I have been so miserableand terrified since I heard this, and I was so full of hope before. Tellme, is it true? Will Reuben be sent to prison after all?"

In her agitation she laid her hands on my arm and looked up into my facewith her grey eyes swimming with tears, and was so piteous, so trustful, and, withal, so bewitching that my reserve melted like snow before aJuly sun. 

"It is not true, " I answered, taking her hands in mine and speakingperforce in a low tone that I might not betray my emotion. "If it were, it would mean that I have wilfully deceived you, that I have been falseto our friendship; and how much that friendship has been to me, no onebut myself will ever know. "

She crept a little closer to me with a manner at once penitent andwheedling. 

"You are not going to be angry with me, are you? It was foolish of me tolisten to Mr. Lawley after all you have told me, and it did look like awant of trust in you, I know. But you, who are so strong and wise, mustmake allowance for a woman who is neither. It is all so terrible that Iam quite unstrung; but say you are not really displeased with me, forthat would hurt me most of all. "

Oh! Delilah! That concluding stroke of the shears severed the very lastlock, and left me--morally speaking--as bald as a billiard ball. Henceforth I was at her mercy and would have divulged, without ascruple, the uttermost secrets of my principal, but that that astutegentleman had placed me beyond the reach of temptation. 

"As to being angry with you, " I answered, "I am not, like Thorndyke, oneto essay the impossible, and if I could be angry it would hurt me morethan it would you. But, in fact, you are not to blame at all, and I aman egotistical brute. Of course you were alarmed and distressed; nothingcould be more natural. So now let me try to chase away your fears andrestore your confidence. 

"I have told you what Thorndyke said to Reuben: that he had good hopesof making his innocence clear to everybody. That alone should have beenenough. "

"I know it should, " murmured Juliet remorsefully; "please forgive me formy want of faith. "

"But, " I continued, "I can quote you the words of one to whose opinionsyou will attach more weight. Mr. Anstey was here less than half-an-hourago--"

"Do you mean Reuben's counsel?"

"Yes. "

"And what did he say? Oh, do tell me what he said. "

"He said, in brief, that he was quite confident of obtaining anacquittal, and that the prosecution would receive a great surprise. Heseemed highly pleased with his brief, and spoke with great admiration ofThorndyke. "

"Did he really say that--that he was confident of an acquittal?" Hervoice was breathless and unsteady, and she was clearly, as she had said, quite unstrung. "What a relief it is, " she murmured incoherently; "andso very, very kind of you!" She wiped her eyes and laughed a queer, shaky little laugh; then, quite suddenly, she burst into a passion ofsobbing. 

Hardly conscious of what I did, I drew her gently towards me, and restedher head on my shoulder whilst I whispered into her ear I know not whatwords of consolation; but I am sure that I called her "dear Juliet, " andprobably used other expressions equally improper and reprehensible. Presently she recovered herself, and, having dried her eyes, regarded mesomewhat shamefacedly, blushing hotly, but smiling very sweetlynevertheless. 

"I am ashamed of myself, " she said, "coming here and weeping on yourbosom like a great baby. It is to be hoped that your other clients donot behave in this way. "

Whereat we both laughed heartily, and, our emotional equilibrium beingthus restored, we began to think of the object of our meeting. 

"I am afraid I have wasted a great deal of time, " said Juliet, lookingat her watch. "Shall we be too late, do you think?"

"I hope not, " I replied, "for Reuben will be looking for us; but we musthurry. "

I caught up my hat, and we went forth, closing the oak behind us, andtook our way up King's Bench Walk in silence, but with a new anddelightful sense of intimate comradeship. I glanced from time to time atmy companion, and noted that her cheek still bore a rosy flush, and whenshe looked at me there was a sparkle in her eye, and a smiling softnessin her glance, that stirred my heart until I trembled with the intensityof the passion that I must needs conceal. And even while I was feelingthat I must tell her all, and have done with it, tell her that I was herabject slave, and she my goddess, my queen; that in the face of such alove as mine no man could have any claim upon her; even then, therearose the still, small voice that began to call me an unfaithful stewardand to remind me of a duty and trust that were sacred even beyond love. 

In Fleet Street I hailed a cab, and, as I took my seat beside my faircompanion, the voice began to wax and speak in bolder and sterneraccents. 

"Christopher Jervis, " it said, "what is this that you are doing? Are youa man of honour or nought but a mean, pitiful blackguard? You, thetrusted agent of this poor, misused gentleman, are you not planning inyour black heart how you shall rob him of that which, if he is a man atall, must be more to him than his liberty, or even his honour? Shame onyou for a miserable weakling! Have done with these philanderings andkeep your covenants like a gentleman--or, at least, an honest man!"

At this point in my meditations Juliet turned towards me with a coaxingsmile. 

"My legal adviser seems to be revolving some deep and weighty matter, "she said. 

I pulled myself together and looked at her--at her sparkling eyes androsy, dimpling cheeks, so winsome and lovely and lovable. 

"Come, " I thought, "I must put an end to this at once, or I am lost. "But it cost me a very agony of effort to do it--which agony, I trust, may be duly set to my account by those who may sit in judgement on me. 

"Your legal adviser, Miss Gibson, " I said (and at that "Miss Gibson" Ithought she looked at me a little queerly), "has been reflecting that hehas acted considerably beyond his jurisdiction. "

"In what respect?" she asked. 

"In passing on to you information which was given to him in very strictconfidence, and, in fact, with an implied promise of secrecy on hispart. "

"But the information was not of a very secret character, was it?"

"More so than it appeared. You see, Thorndyke thinks it so important notto let the prosecution suspect that he has anything up his sleeve, thathe has kept even Mr. Lawley in the dark, and he has never said as muchto me as Anstey did this morning. "

"And now you are sorry you told me; you think I have led you into abreach of trust. Is it not so?" She spoke without a trace of petulance, and her tone of dignified self-accusation made me feel a veritable worm. 

"My dear Miss Gibson, " I expostulated, "you entirely misunderstand me. Iam not in the least sorry that I told you. How could I have doneotherwise under the circumstances? But I want you to understand that Ihave taken the responsibility of communicating to you what is really aprofessional secret, and that you are to consider it as such. "

"That was how I understood it, " replied Juliet; "and you may rely uponme not to utter a syllable on the subject to anyone. "

I thanked her for this promise, and then, by way of making conversation, gave her an account in detail of Anstey's visit, not even omitting theincident of the cigar. 

"And are Dr. Thorndyke's cigars so extraordinarily bad?" she asked. 

"Not at all, " I replied; "only they are not to every man's taste. TheTrichinopoly cheroot is Thorndyke's one dissipation, and, I must say, hetakes it very temperately. Under ordinary circumstances he smokes apipe; but after a specially heavy day's work, or on any occasion offestivity or rejoicing, he indulges in a Trichinopoly, and he smokes thevery best that can be got. "

"So even the greatest men have their weaknesses, " Juliet moralised; "butI wish I had known Dr. Thorndyke's sooner, for Mr. Hornby had a largebox of Trichinopoly cheroots given to him, and I believe they wereexceptionally fine ones. However, he tried one and didn't like it, so hetransferred the whole consignment to Walter, who smokes all sorts andconditions of cigars. "

So we talked on from one commonplace to another, and each moreconventional than the last. In my nervousness, I overdid my part, andhaving broken the ice, proceeded to smash it to impalpable fragments. Endeavouring merely to be unemotional and to avoid undue intimacy ofmanner, I swung to the opposite extreme and became almost stiff; andperhaps the more so since I was writhing with the agony of repression. 

Meanwhile a corresponding change took place in my companion. At firsther manner seemed doubtful and bewildered; then she, too, grew moredistant and polite and less disposed for conversation. Perhaps herconscience began to rebuke her, or it may be that my coolness suggestedto her that her conduct had not been quite of the kind that would havecommended itself to Reuben. But however that may have been, we continuedto draw farther and farther apart; and in that short half-hour weretraced the steps of our growing friendship to such purpose that, whenwe descended from the cab at the prison gate, we seemed more likestrangers than on the first day that we met. It was a miserable endingto all our delightful comradeship, and yet what other end could oneexpect in this world of cross purposes and things that might have been?In the extremity of my wretchedness I could have wept on the bosom ofthe portly warder who opened the wicket, even as Juliet had wept uponmine; and it was almost a relief to me, when our brief visit was over, to find that we should not return together to King's Cross as was ourwont, but that Juliet would go back by omnibus that she might do someshopping in Oxford Street, leaving me to walk home alone. 

I saw her into her omnibus, and stood on the pavement looking wistfullyat the lumbering vehicle as it dwindled in the distance. At last, with asigh of deepest despondency, I turned my face homeward, and, walkinglike one in a dream, retraced the route over which I had journeyed sooften of late and with such different sensations. 

CHAPTER XIII

MURDER BY POST

The next few days were perhaps the most unhappy that I have known. Mylife, indeed, since I had left the hospital had been one of manydisappointments and much privation. Unfulfilled desires and ambitionsunrealised had combined with distaste for the daily drudgery that hadfallen to my lot to embitter my poverty and cause me to look with gloomydistrust upon the unpromising future. But no sorrow that I had hithertoexperienced could compare with the grief that I now felt incontemplating the irretrievable ruin of what I knew to be the greatpassion of my life. For to a man like myself, of few friends and deepaffections, one great emotional upheaval exhausts the possibilities ofnature; leaving only the capacity for feeble and ineffective echoes. Theedifice of love that is raised upon the ruins of a great passion cancompare with the original no more than can the paltry mosque thatperches upon the mound of Jonah with the glories of the palace that liesentombed beneath. I had made a pretext to write to Juliet and hadreceived a reply quite frank and friendly in tone, by which I knew thatshe had not--as some women would have done--set the blame upon me forour temporary outburst of emotion. And yet there was a subtle differencefrom her previous manner of writing that only emphasised the finality ofour separation. 

I think Thorndyke perceived that something had gone awry, though I wasat great pains to maintain a cheerful exterior and keep myself occupied, and he probably formed a pretty shrewd guess at the nature of thetrouble; but he said nothing, and I only judged that he had observedsome change in my manner by the fact that there was blended with hisusual quiet geniality an almost insensible note of sympathy andaffection. 

A couple of days after my last interview with Juliet, an event occurredwhich served, certainly, to relieve the tension and distract mythoughts, though not in a very agreeable manner. 

It was the pleasant, reposeful hour after dinner when it was our customto sit in our respective easy chairs and, as we smoked our pipes, discuss some of the many topics in which we had a common interest. Thepostman had just discharged into the capacious letter-box an avalancheof letters and circulars, and as I sat glancing through the solitaryletter that had fallen to my share, I looked from time to time atThorndyke and noticed, as I had often done before, with some surprise, acurious habit that he had of turning over and closely scrutinising everyletter and package before he opened it. 

"I observe, Thorndyke, " I now ventured to remark, "that you alwaysexamine the outside of a letter before looking at the inside. I haveseen other people do the same, and it has always appeared to me asingularly foolish proceeding. Why speculate over an unopened letterwhen a glance at the contents will tell you all there is to know?"

"You are perfectly right, " he answered, "if the object of the inspectionis to discover who is the sender of the letter. But that is not myobject. In my case the habit is one that has been deliberatelycultivated--not in reference to letters only, but to everything thatcomes into my hands--the habit of allowing nothing to pass without acertain amount of conscious attention. The observant man is, in reality, the attentive man, and the so-called power of observation is simply thecapacity for continuous attention. As a matter of fact, I have found inpractice, that the habit is a useful one even in reference to letters;more than once I have gleaned a hint from the outside of a letter thathas proved valuable when applied to the contents. Here, for instance, isa letter which has been opened after being fastened up--apparently bythe aid of steam. The envelope is soiled and rubbed, and smells faintlyof stale tobacco, and has evidently been carried in a pocket along witha well-used pipe. Why should it have been opened? On reading it Iperceive that it should have reached me two days ago, and that the datehas been skilfully altered from the thirteenth to the fifteenth. Theinference is that my correspondent has a highly untrustworthy clerk. "

"But the correspondent may have carried the letter in his own pocket, " Iobjected. 

"Hardly, " replied Thorndyke. "He would not have troubled to steam hisown letter open and close it again; he would have cut the envelope andaddressed a fresh one. This the clerk could not do, because the letterwas confidential and was addressed in the principal's handwriting. Andthe principal would have almost certainly added a postscript; and, moreover, he does not smoke. This, however, is all very obvious; buthere is something rather more subtle which I have put aside for moredetailed examination. What do you make of it?"

He handed me a small parcel to which was attached by string atypewritten address label, the back of which bore the printedinscription, "James Bartlett and Sons, Cigar Manufacturers, London andHavana. "

"I am afraid, " said I, after turning the little packet over andexamining every part of it minutely, "that this is rather too subtle forme. The only thing that I observe is that the typewriter has bungled theaddress considerably. Otherwise this seems to me a very ordinary packetindeed. "

"Well, you have observed one point of interest, at any rate, " saidThorndyke, taking the packet from me. "But let us examine the thingsystematically and note down what we see. In the first place, you willnotice that the label is an ordinary luggage label such as you may buyat any stationer's, with its own string attached. Now, manufacturerscommonly use a different and more substantial pattern, which is attachedby the string of the parcel. But that is a small matter. What is muchmore striking is the address on the label. It is typewritten and, as yousay, typed very badly. Do you know anything about typewriters?"

"Very little. "

"Then you do not recognise the machine? Well, this label was typed witha Blickensderfer--an excellent machine, but not the form most commonlyselected for the rough work of a manufacturer's office; but we will letthat pass. The important point is this: the Blickensderfer Company makeseveral forms of machine, the smallest and lightest of which is theliterary, specially designed for the use of journalists and men ofletters. Now this label was typed with the literary machine, or, atleast, with the literary typewheel; which is really a very remarkablecircumstance indeed. "

"How do you know that?" I asked. 

"By this asterisk, which has been written by mistake, the inexpertoperator having pressed down the figure lever instead of the one forcapitals. The literary typewheel is the only one that has an asterisk, as I noticed when I was thinking of purchasing a machine. Here, then, wehave a very striking fact, for even if a manufacturer chose to use a'Blick' in his factory, it is inconceivable that he should select theliterary form in preference to the more suitable 'commercial' machine. "

"Yes, " I agreed; "it is certainly very singular. "

"And now, " pursued Thorndyke, "to consider the writing itself. It hasbeen done by an absolute beginner. He has failed to space in two places, he has written five wrong letters, and he has written figures instead ofcapitals in two instances. "

"Yes; he has made a shocking muddle of it. I wonder he didn't throw thelabel away and type another. "

"Precisely, " said Thorndyke. "And if we wish to find out why he did not, we have only to look at the back of the label. You see that the name ofthe firm, instead of being printed on the label itself in the usualmanner, is printed on a separate slip of paper which is pasted on thelabel--a most foolish and clumsy arrangement, involving an immense wasteof time. But if we look closely at the printed slip itself we perceivesomething still more remarkable; for that slip has been cut down to fitthe label, and has been cut with a pair of scissors. The edges are notquite straight, and in one place the 'overlap, ' which is socharacteristic of the cut made with scissors, can be seen quiteplainly. "

He handed the packet to me with a reading-lens, through which I coulddistinctly make out the points he had mentioned. 

"Now I need not point out to you, " he continued, "that these slipswould, ordinarily, have been trimmed by the printer to the correct sizein his machine, which would leave an absolutely true edge; nor need Isay that no sane business man would adopt such a device as this. Theslip of paper has been cut with scissors to fit the label, and it hasthen been pasted on to the surface that it has been made to fit, whenall this waste of time and trouble--which, in practice, meansmoney--could have been saved by printing the name on the label itself. "

"Yes, that is so; but I still do not see why the fellow should not havethrown away this label and typed another. "

"Look at the slip again, " said Thorndyke. "It is faintly but evenlydiscoloured and, to me, has the appearance of having been soaked inwater. Let us, for the moment, assume that it has been. That would lookas if it had been removed from some other package, which again wouldsuggest that the person using it had only the one slip, which he hadsoaked off the original package, dried, cut down and pasted on thepresent label. If he pasted it on before typing the address--which hewould most probably have done--he might well be unwilling to riskdestroying it by soaking it a second time. "

"You think, then, there is a suspicion that the package may have beentampered with?"

"There is no need to jump to conclusions, " replied Thorndyke. "I merelygave this case as an instance showing that careful examination of theoutside of a package or letter may lead us to bestow a little extraattention on the contents. Now let us open it and see what thosecontents are. "

With a sharp knife he divided the outside cover, revealing a stoutcardboard box wrapped in a number of advertisement sheets. The box, whenthe lid was raised, was seen to contain a single cigar--a largecheroot--packed in cotton wool. 

"A 'Trichy, ' by Jove!" I exclaimed. "Your own special fancy, Thorndyke. "

"Yes; and another anomaly, at once, you see, which might have escapedour notice if we had not been on the _qui vive_. "

"As a matter of fact, I _don't_ see, " said I. "You will think me anawful blockhead, but I don't perceive anything singular in a cigarmanufacturer sending a sample cigar. "

"You read the label, I think?" replied Thorndyke. "However, let us lookat one of these leaflets and see what they say. Ah! here we are:'Messrs. Bartlett and Sons, who own extensive plantations on the islandof Cuba, manufacture their cigars exclusively from selected leaves grownby themselves. ' They would hardly make a Trichinopoly cheroot from leafgrown in the West Indies, so we have here a striking anomaly of an EastIndian cigar sent to us by a West Indian grower. "

"And what do you infer from that?"

"Principally that this cigar--which, by the way, is an uncommonly finespecimen and which I would not smoke for ten thousand pounds--isdeserving of very attentive examination. " He produced from his pocket apowerful doublet lens, with the aid of which he examined every part ofthe surface of the cigar, and finally, both ends. "Look at the smallend, " he said, handing me the cigar and the lens, "and tell me if younotice anything. "

I focussed the lens on the flush-cut surface of closely-rolled leaf, andexplored every part of it minutely. 

"It seems to me, " I said, "that the leaf is opened slightly in thecentre, as if a fine wire had been passed up it. "

"So it appeared to me, " replied Thorndyke; "and, as we are in agreementso far, we will carry our investigations a step further. "

He laid the cigar down on the table, and, with the keen, thin-bladedpenknife, neatly divided it lengthwise into two halves. 

"_Ecce signum_!" exclaimed Thorndyke, as the two parts fell asunder; andfor a few moments we stood silently regarding the dismembered cheroot. For, about half an inch from the small end, there appeared a littlecircular patch of white, chalky material which, by the even manner inwhich it was diffused among the leaf, had evidently been deposited froma solution. 

"Our ingenious friend again, I surmise, " said Thorndyke at length, taking up one of the halves and examining the white patch through hislens. "A thoughtful soul, Jervis, and original too. I wish his talentscould be applied in some other direction. I shall have to remonstratewith him if he becomes troublesome. " "It is your duty to society, Thorndyke, " I exclaimed passionately, "to have this infernal, cold-blooded scoundrel arrested instantly. Such a man is a standingmenace to the community. Do you really know who sent this thing?"

"I can form a pretty shrewd guess, which, however, is not quite the samething. But, you see, he has not been quite so clever this time, for hehas left one or two traces by which his identity might be ascertained. "

"Indeed! What traces has he left?"

"Ah! now there is a nice little problem for us to consider. " He settledhimself in his easy chair and proceeded to fill his pipe with the air ofa man who is about to discuss a matter of merely general interest. 

"Let us consider what information this ingenious person has given usabout himself. In the first place, he evidently has a strong interest inmy immediate decease. Now, why should he feel so urgent a desire for mydeath? Can it be a question of property? Hardly; for I am far from arich man, and the provisions of my will are known to me alone. Can itthen be a question of private enmity or revenge? I think not. To thebest of my belief I have no private enemies whatever. There remains onlymy vocation as an investigator in the fields of legal and criminalresearch. His interest in my death must, therefore, be connected with myprofessional activities. Now, I am at present conducting an exhumationwhich may lead to a charge of murder; but if I were to die to-night theinquiry would be carried out with equal efficiency by Professor Spiceror some other toxicologist. My death would not affect the prospects ofthe accused. And so in one or two other cases that I have in hand; theycould be equally well conducted by someone else. The inference is thatour friend is not connected with any of these cases, but that hebelieves me to possess some exclusive information concerninghim--believes me to be the one person in the world who suspects and canconvict him. Let us assume the existence of such a person--a person ofwhose guilt I alone have evidence. Now this person, being unaware that Ihave communicated my knowledge to a third party, would reasonablysuppose that by making away with me he had put himself in a position ofsecurity. 

"Here, then, is our first point. The sender of this offering is probablya person concerning whom I hold certain exclusive information. 

"But see, now, the interesting corollary that follows from this. I, alone, suspect this person; therefore I have not published mysuspicions, or others would suspect him too. Why, then, does he suspectme of suspecting him, since I have not spoken? Evidently, he too must bein possession of exclusive information. In other words, my suspicionsare correct; for if they were not, he could not be aware of theirexistence. 

"The next point is the selection of this rather unusual type of cigar. Why should he have sent a Trichinopoly instead of an ordinary Havanasuch as Bartletts actually manufacture? It looks as if he were aware ofmy peculiar predilection, and, by thus consulting my personal tastes, had guarded against the chance of my giving the cigar to some otherperson. We may, therefore, infer that our friend probably has someknowledge of my habits. 

"The third point is, What is the social standing of this gentlestranger, whom we will call X? Now, Bartletts do not send theiradvertisements and samples to Thomas, Richard and Henry. They send, chiefly, to members of the professions and men of means and position. Itis true that the original package might have been annexed by a clerk, office boy or domestic servant; but the probabilities are that Xreceived the package himself, and this is borne out by the fact that hewas able to obtain access to a powerful alkaloidal poison--such as thisundoubtedly is. "

"In that case he would probably be a medical man or a chemist, " Isuggested. 

"Not necessarily, " replied Thorndyke. "The laws relating to poisons areso badly framed and administered that any well-to-do person, who has thenecessary knowledge, can obtain almost any poison that he wants. Butsocial position is an important factor, whence we may conclude that Xbelongs, at least, to the middle class. 

"The fourth point relates to the personal qualities of X. Now it isevident, from this instance alone, that he is a man of exceptionalintelligence, of considerable general information, and both ingeniousand resourceful. This cigar device is not only clever and original, butit has been adapted to the special circumstances with remarkableforethought. Thus the cheroot was selected, apparently, for twoexcellent reasons: first, that it was the most likely form to be smokedby the person intended, and second, that it did not require to have theend cut off--which might have led to a discovery of the poison. The planalso shows a certain knowledge of chemistry; the poison was not intendedmerely to be dissolved in the moisture of the mouth. The idea evidentlywas that the steam generated by the combustion of the leaf at thedistal end, would condense in the cooler part of the cigar and dissolvethe poison, and the solution would then be drawn into the mouth. Thenthe nature of the poison and certain similarities of procedure seem toidentify X with the cyclist who used that ingenious bullet. The poisonin this case is a white, non-crystalline solid; the poison contained inthe bullet was a solution of a white, non-crystalline solid, whichanalysis showed to be the most poisonous of all akaloids. 

"The bullet was virtually a hypodermic syringe; the poison in this cigarhas been introduced, in the form of an alcoholic or ethereal solution, by a hypodermic syringe. We shall thus be justified in assuming that thebullet and the cigar came from the same person; and, if this be so, wemay say that X is a person of considerable knowledge, of great ingenuityand no mean skill as a mechanician--as shown by the manufacture of thebullet. 

"These are our principal facts--to which we may add the surmise that hehas recently purchased a second-hand Blickensderfer of the literary formor, at least, fitted with a literary typewheel. "

"I don't quite see how you arrive at that, " I said, in some surprise. 

"It is merely a guess, you know, " he replied, "though a probable one. Inthe first place he is obviously unused to typing, as the numerousmistakes show; therefore he has not had the machine very long. The typeis that which is peculiar to the Blickensderfer, and, in one of themistakes, an asterisk has been printed in place of a letter. But theliterary typewheel is the only one that has the asterisk. As to the ageof the machine, there are evident signs of wear, for some of the lettershave lost their sharpness, and this is most evident in the case of thoseletters which are the most used--the 'e, ' you will notice, for instance, is much worn; and 'e' occurs more frequently than any other letter ofthe alphabet. Hence the machine, if recently purchased, was boughtsecond-hand. "

"But, " I objected, "it may not have been his own machine at all. "

"That is quite possible, " answered Thorndyke, "though, considering thesecrecy that would be necessary, the probabilities are in favour of hishaving bought it. But, in any case, we have here a means of identifyingthe machine, should we ever meet with it. "

He picked up the label and handed it to me, together with his pocketlens. 

"Look closely at the 'e' that we have been discussing; it occurs fivetimes; in 'Thorndyke, ' in 'Bench, ' in 'Inner, ' and in 'Temple. ' Now ineach case you will notice a minute break in the loop, just at thesummit. That break corresponds to a tiny dent in the type--caused, probably, by its striking some small, hard object. "

"I can make it out quite distinctly, " I said, "and it should be a mostvaluable point for identification. "

"It should be almost conclusive, " Thorndyke replied, "especially whenjoined to other facts that would be elicited by a search of hispremises. And now let us just recapitulate the facts which our friend Xhas placed at our disposal. 

"First: X is a person concerning whom I possess certain exclusiveinformation. 

"Second: He has some knowledge of my personal habits. 

"Third: He is a man of some means and social position. 

"Fourth: He is a man of considerable knowledge, ingenuity and mechanicalskill. 

"Fifth: He has probably purchased, quite recently, a second-hand 'Blick'fitted with a literary typewheel. "Sixth: That machine, whether hisown or some other person's property, can be identified by acharacteristic mark on the small 'e. '

"If you will note down those six points and add that X is probably anexpert cyclist and a fairly good shot with a rifle, you may possibly beable, presently, to complete the equation, X = ?"

"I am afraid, " I said, "I do not possess the necessary data; but Isuspect you do, and if it is so, I repeat that it is your duty tosociety--to say nothing of your clients, whose interests would suffer byyour death--to have this fellow laid by the heels before he does anymischief. "

"Yes; I shall have to interfere if he becomes really troublesome, but Ihave reasons for wishing to leave him alone at present. "

"You do really know who he is, then?"

"Well, I think I can solve the equation that I have just offered to youfor solution. You see, I have certain data, as you suggest, which you donot possess. There is, for instance, a certain ingenious gentlemanconcerning whom I hold what I believe to be exclusive information, andmy knowledge of him does not make it appear unlikely that he might bethe author of these neat little plans. "

"I am much impressed, " I said, as I put away my notebook, after havingjotted down the points that Thorndyke had advised me to consider--"I ammuch impressed by your powers of observation and your capacity forreasoning from apparently trivial data; but I do not see, even now, whyyou viewed that cigar with such immediate and decided suspicion. Therewas nothing actually to suggest the existence of poison in it, and yetyou seemed to form the suspicion at once and to search for it as thoughyou expected to find it. "

"Yes, " replied Thorndyke; "to a certain extent you are right. The ideaof a poisoned cigar was not new to me--and thereby hangs a tale. "

He laughed softly and gazed into the fire with eyes that twinkled withquiet amusement. "You have heard me say, " he resumed, after a shortpause, "that when I first took these chambers I had practically nothingto do. I had invented a new variety of medico-legal practice and had tobuild it up by slow degrees, and the natural consequence was that, for along time, it yielded nothing but almost unlimited leisure. Now, thatleisure was by no means wasted, for I employed it in considering theclass of cases in which I was likely to be employed, and in working outtheoretical examples; and seeing that crimes against the person havenearly always a strong medical interest, I gave them special attention. For instance, I planned a series of murders, selecting royal personagesand great ministers as the victims, and on each murder I brought to bearall the special knowledge, skill and ingenuity at my command. I inquiredminutely into the habits of my hypothetical victims; ascertained whowere their associates, friends, enemies and servants; considered theirdiet, their residences, their modes of conveyance, the source of theirclothing and, in fact, everything which it was necessary to know inorder to achieve their deaths with certainty and with absolute safety tothe murderer. "

"How deeply gratified and flattered those great personages would havefelt, " I remarked, "if they had known how much attention they werereceiving. "

"Yes; I suppose it would have been somewhat startling, to the PrimeMinister, for instance, to have learned that he was being watched andstudied by an attentive observer and that the arrangements for hisdecease had been completed down to the minutest detail. But, of course, the application of the method to a particular case was the essentialthing, for it brought into view all the incidental difficulties, inmeeting which all the really interesting and instructive details wereinvolved. Well, the particulars of these crimes I wrote out at length, in my private shorthand, in a journal which I kept for the purpose--andwhich, I need not say, I locked up securely in my safe when I was notusing it. After completing each case, it was my custom to change sidesand play the game over again from the opposite side of the board; thatis to say, I added, as an appendix to each case, an analysis with acomplete scheme for the detection of the crime. I have in my safe at thepresent moment six volumes of cases, fully indexed; and I can assure youthat they are not only highly instructive reading, but are reallyvaluable as works of reference. "

"That I can readily believe, " I replied, laughing heartily, nevertheless, at the grotesqueness of the whole proceeding, "though theymight have proved rather incriminating documents if they had passed outof your possession. "

"They would never have been read, " rejoined Thorndyke. "My shorthand is, I think, quite undecipherable; it has been so made intentionally with aview to secrecy. "

"And have any of your theoretical cases ever turned up in real life?"

"Several of them have, though very imperfectly planned and carried outas a rule. The poisoned cigar is one of them, though, of course Ishould never have adopted such a conspicuous device for presenting it;and the incident of the other night is a modification--for the worse--ofanother. In fact, most of the intricate and artistic crimes with which Ihave had to deal professionally have had their more complete andelaborate prototypes in my journals. "

I was silent for some time, reflecting on the strange personality of mygifted friend and the singular fitness that he presented for the part hehad chosen to play in the drama of social life; but presently mythoughts returned to the peril that overshadowed him, and I came back, once more, to my original question. 

"And now, Thorndyke, " I said, "that you have penetrated both the motivesand the disguise of this villain, what are you going to do? Is he to beput safely under lock and key, or is he to be left in peace and securityto plan some other, and perhaps more successful, scheme for yourdestruction?"

"For the present, " replied Thorndyke, "I am going to put these things ina place of safety. To-morrow you shall come with me to the hospital andsee me place the ends of the cigar in the custody of Dr. Chandler, whowill make an analysis and report on the nature of the poison. After thatwe shall act in whatever way seems best. "

Unsatisfactory as this conclusion appeared, I knew it was useless toraise further objections, and, accordingly, when the cigar with itsaccompanying papers and wrappings had been deposited in a drawer, wedismissed it, if not from our thoughts, at least from our conversation. 

CHAPTER XIV

A STARTLING DISCOVERY

The morning of the trial, so long looked forward to, had at lengtharrived, and the train of events which it has been my business tochronicle in this narrative was now fast drawing to an end. To me thoseevents had been in many ways of the deepest moment. Not only had theytransported me from a life of monotonous drudgery into one charged withnovelty and dramatic interest; not only had they introduced me to arenascence of scientific culture and revived under new conditions myintimacy with the comrade of my student days; but, far more momentousthan any of these, they had given me the vision--all too fleeting--ofhappiness untold, with the reality of sorrow and bitter regret thatpromised to be all too enduring. 

Whence it happened that on this morning my thoughts were tinged with acertain greyness. A chapter in my life that had been both bitter andsweet was closing, and already I saw myself once more an Ishmaelite anda wanderer among strangers. 

This rather egotistical frame of mind, however, was soon dispelled whenI encountered Polton, for the little man was in a veritable twitter ofexcitement at the prospect of witnessing the clearing up of themysteries that had so severely tried his curiosity; and even Thorndyke, beneath his habitual calm, showed a trace of expectancy and pleasurableanticipation. 

"I have taken the liberty of making certain little arrangements on yourbehalf, " he said, as we sat at breakfast, "of which I hope you will notdisapprove. I have written to Mrs. Hornby, who is one of the witnesses, to say that you will meet her at Mr. Lawley's office and escort her andMiss Gibson to the court. Walter Hornby may be with them, and, if he is, you had better leave him, if possible, to come on with Lawley. "

"You will not come to the office, then?"

"No. I shall go straight to the court with Anstey. Besides, I amexpecting Superintendent Miller from Scotland Yard, who will probablywalk down with us. "

"I am glad to hear that, " I said; "for I have been rather uneasy at thethought of your mixing in the crowd without some kind of protection. "

"Well, you see that I am taking precautions against the assaults of thetoo-ingenious X, and, to tell the truth--and also to commit a flagrantbull--I should never forgive myself if I allowed him to kill me before Ihad completed Reuben Hornby's defence. Ah, here is Polton--that man ison wires this morning; he has been wandering in and out of the roomsever since he came, like a cat in a new house. "

"It's quite true, sir, " said Polton, smiling and unabashed, "so it's nouse denying it. I have come to ask what we are going to take with us tothe court. "

"You will find a box and a portfolio on the table in my room, " repliedThorndyke. "We had better also take a microscope and the micrometers, though we are not likely to want them; that is all, I think. "

"A box and a portfolio, " repeated Polton in a speculative tone. "Yes, sir, I will take them with me. " He opened the door and was about topass out, when, perceiving a visitor ascending the stairs, he turnedback. 

"Here's Mr. Miller, from Scotland Yard, sir; shall I show him in?"

"Yes, do. " He rose from his chair as a tall, military-looking manentered the room and saluted, casting, at the same time, an inquiringglance in my direction. 

"Good morning, Doctor, " he said briskly. "I got your letter and couldn'tmake such of it, but I have brought down a couple of plain-clothes menand a uniform man, as you suggested. I understand you want a housewatched?"

"Yes, and a man, too. I will give you the particulars presently--thatis, if you think you can agree to my conditions. "

"That I act entirely on my own account and make no communication toanybody? Well, of course, I would rather you gave me all the facts andlet me proceed in the regular way; but if you make conditions I have nochoice but to accept them, seeing that you hold the cards. "

Perceiving that the matter in hand was of a confidential nature, Ithought it best to take my departure, which I accordingly did, as soonas I had ascertained that it wanted yet half-an-hour to the time atwhich Mrs. Hornby and Juliet were due at the lawyer's office. 

Mr. Lawley received me with stiffness that bordered on hostility. He wasevidently deeply offended at the subordinate part that he had beencompelled to play in the case, and was at no great pains to conceal thefact. 

"I am informed, " said he, in a frosty tone, when I had explained mymission, "that Mrs. Hornby and Miss Gibson are to meet you here. Thearrangement is none of my making; none of the arrangements in this caseare of my making. I have been treated throughout with a lack of ceremonyand confidence that is positively scandalous. Even now, I--thesolicitor for the defence--am completely in the dark as to what defenceis contemplated, though I fully expect to be involved in some ridiculousfiasco. I only trust that I may never again be associated with any ofyour hybrid practitioners. _Ne sutor ultra crepidam_, sir, is anexcellent motto; let the medical cobbler stick to his medical last. "

"It remains to be seen what kind of boot he can turn out on the legallast, " I retorted. 

"That is so, " he rejoined; "but I hear Mrs. Hornby's voice in the outeroffice, and as neither you nor I have any time to waste in idle talk, Isuggest that you make your way to the court without delay. I wish yougood morning!"

Acting on this very plain hint, I retired to the clerks' office, where Ifound Mrs. Hornby and Juliet, the former undisguisedly tearful andterrified, and the latter calm, though pale and agitated. 

"We had better start at once, " I said, when we had exchanged greetings. "Shall we take a cab, or walk?"

"I think we will walk, if you don't mind, " said Juliet. "Mrs. Hornbywants to have a few words with you before we go into court. You see, sheis one of the witnesses, and she is terrified lest she should saysomething damaging to Reuben. "

"By whom was the subpoena served?" I asked. 

"Mr. Lawley sent it, " replied Mrs. Hornby, "and I went to see him aboutit the very next day, but he wouldn't tell me anything--he didn't seemto know what I was wanted for, and he wasn't at all nice--not at all. "

"I expect your evidence will relate to the 'Thumbograph, '" I said. "There is really nothing else in connection with the case that you haveany knowledge of. "

"That is just what Walter said, " exclaimed Mrs. Hornby. "I went to hisrooms to talk the matter over with him. He is very upset about the wholeaffair, and I am afraid he thinks very badly of poor Reuben's prospects. I only trust he may be wrong! Oh dear! What a dreadful thing it is, tobe sure!" Here the poor lady halted to mop her eyes elaborately, to thesurprise and manifest scorn of a passing errand boy. 

"He was very thoughtful and sympathetic--Walter, I mean, you know, "pursued Mrs. Hornby, "and most helpful. He asked me all I knew aboutthat horrid little book, and took down my answers in writing. Then hewrote out the questions I was likely to be asked, with my answers, sothat I could read them over and get them well into my head. Wasn't itgood of him! And I made him print them with his machine so that I couldread them without my glasses, and he did it beautifully. I have thepaper in my pocket now. "

"I didn't know Mr. Walter went in for printing, " I said. "Has he aregular printing press?"

"It isn't a printing press exactly, " replied Mrs. Hornby; "it is a smallthing with a lot of round keys that you press down--Dickensblerfer, Ithink it is called--ridiculous name, isn't it? Walter bought it from oneof his literary friends about a week ago; but he is getting quite cleverwith it already, though he does make a few mistakes still, as you cansee. " She halted again, and began to search for the opening of apocket which was hidden away in some occult recess of her clothing, allunconscious of the effect that her explanation had produced on me. For, instantly, as she spoke, there flashed into my mind one of the pointsthat Thorndyke had given me for the identification of the mysterious X. "He has probably purchased, quite recently, a second-handBlickensderfer, fitted with a literary typewheel. " The coincidence wasstriking and even startling, though a moment's reflection convinced methat it was nothing more than a coincidence; for there must be hundredsof second-hand "Blicks" on the market, and, as to Walter Hornby, hecertainly could have no quarrel with Thorndyke, but would rather beinterested in his preservation on Reuben's account. 

These thoughts passed through my mind so rapidly that by the time Mrs. Hornby had run her pocket to earth I had quite recovered from themomentary shock. 

"Ah! here it is, " she exclaimed triumphantly, producing an obese Moroccopurse. "I put it in here for safety, knowing how liable one is to getone's pocket picked in these crowded London streets. " She opened thebulky receptacle and drew it out after the manner of a concertina, exhibiting multitudinous partitions, all stuffed with pieces of paper, coils of tape and sewing silk, buttons, samples of dress materials andmiscellaneous rubbish, mingled indiscriminately with gold, silver, andcopper coins. 

"Now just run your eye through that, Dr. Jervis, " she said, handing me afolded paper, "and give me your advice on my answers. "

I opened the paper and read: "The Committee of the Society for theProtection of Paralysed Idiots, in submitting this--"

"Oh! that isn't it; I have given you the wrong paper. How silly of me!That is the appeal of--you remember, Juliet, dear, that troublesomeperson--I had, really, to be quite rude, you know, Dr. Jervis; I had totell him that charity begins at home, although, thank Heaven! none of usare paralysed, but we must consider our own, mustn't we? And then--"

"Do you think this is the one, dear?" interposed Juliet, in whose palecheek the ghost of a dimple had appeared. "It looks cleaner than most ofthe others. "

She selected a folded paper from the purse which Mrs. Hornby was holdingwith both hands extended to its utmost, as though she were about toproduce a burst of music, and, opening it, glanced at its contents. 

"Yes, this is your evidence, " she said, and passed the paper to me. 

I took the document from her hand and, in spite of the conclusion atwhich I had arrived, examined it with eager curiosity. And at the veryfirst glance I felt my head swim and my heart throb violently. For thepaper was headed: "Evidence respecting the Thumbograph, " and in everyone of the five small "e's" that occurred in that sentence I could seeplainly by the strong out-door light a small break or interval in thesummit of the loop. 

I was thunderstruck. 

One coincidence was quite possible and even probable; but the twotogether, and the second one of so remarkable a character, were beyondall reasonable limits of probability. The identification did not seem toadmit of a doubt, and yet--

"Our legal adviser appears to be somewhat preoccupied, " remarked Juliet, with something of her old gaiety of manner; and, in fact, though I heldthe paper in my hand, my gaze was fixed unmeaningly on an adjacentlamp-post. As she spoke, I pulled myself together, and, scanning thepaper hastily, was fortunate enough to find in the first paragraphmatter requiring comment. 

"I observe, Mrs. Hornby, " I said, "that in answer to the first question, 'Whence did you obtain the "Thumbograph"?' you say, 'I do not rememberclearly; I think I must have bought it at a railway bookstall. ' Now Iunderstood that it was brought home and given to you by Walter himself. "

"That was what I thought, " replied Mrs. Hornby, "but Walter tells methat it was not so, and, of course, he would remember better than Ishould. "

"But, my dear aunt, I am sure he gave it to you, " interposed Juliet. "Don't you remember? It was the night the Colleys came to dinner, and wewere so hard pressed to find amusement for them, when Walter came in andproduced the 'Thumbograph. '"

"Yes, I remember quite well now, " said Mrs. Hornby. "How fortunate thatyou reminded me. We must alter that answer at once. "

"If I were you, Mrs. Hornby, " I said, "I would disregard this paperaltogether. It will only confuse you and get you into difficulties. Answer the questions that are put, as well as you can, and if you don'tremember, say so. "

"Yes, that will be much the wisest plan, " said Juliet. "Let Dr. Jervistake charge of the paper and rely on your own memory. " "Very well, mydear, " replied Mrs. Hornby, "I will do what you think best, and you cankeep the paper, Dr. Jervis, or throw it away. "

I slipped the document into my pocket without remark, and we proceededon our way, Mrs. Hornby babbling inconsequently, with occasionaloutbursts of emotion, and Juliet silent and abstracted. I struggled toconcentrate my attention on the elder lady's conversation, but mythoughts continually reverted to the paper in my pocket, and thestartling solution that it seemed to offer of the mystery of thepoisoned cigar. 

Could it be that Walter Hornby was in reality the miscreant X? The thingseemed incredible, for, hitherto, no shadow of suspicion had appeared tofall on him. And yet there was no denying that his description talliedin a very remarkable manner with that of the hypothetical X. He was aman of some means and social position; he was a man of considerableknowledge and mechanical skill, though as to his ingenuity I could notjudge. He had recently bought a second-hand Blickensderfer whichprobably had a literary typewheel, since it was purchased from aliterary man; and that machine showed the characteristic mark on thesmall "e. " The two remaining points, indeed, were not so clear. Obviously I could form no opinion as to whether or not Thorndyke heldany exclusive information concerning him, and, with reference to hisknowledge of my friend's habits, I was at first inclined to be doubtfuluntil I suddenly recalled, with a pang of remorse and self-accusation, the various details that I had communicated to Juliet and that she mighteasily, in all innocence, have handed on to Walter. I had, for instance, told her of Thorndyke's preference for the Trichinopoly cheroot, and ofthis she might very naturally have spoken to Walter, who possessed asupply of them. Again, with regard to the time of our arrival at King'sCross, I had informed her of this in a letter which was in no wayconfidential, and again there was no reason why the information shouldnot have been passed on to Walter, who was to have been one of the partyat the family dinner. The coincidence seemed complete enough, in alltruth; yet it was incredible that Reuben's cousin could be soblackhearted a villain or could have any motive for these dastardlycrimes. 

Suddenly a new idea struck me. Mrs Hornby had obtained access to thistypewriting machine; and if Mrs. Hornby could do so, why not JohnHornby? The description would, for the most part, fit the elder man aswell as the younger, though I had no evidence of his possessing anyspecial mechanical skill; but my suspicions had already fastened uponhim, and I remembered that Thorndyke had by no means rejected my theorywhich connected him with the crime. 

At this point, my reflections were broken in upon by Mrs. Hornby, whograsped my arm and uttered a deep groan. We had reached the corner ofthe Old Bailey, and before us were the frowning walls of Newgate. Withinthose walls, I knew--though I did not mention the fact--that ReubenHornby was confined with the other prisoners who were awaiting theirtrial; and a glance at the massive masonry, stained to a dingy grey bythe grime of the city, put an end to my speculations and brought me backto the drama that was so nearly approaching its climax. 

Down the old thoroughfare, crowded with so many memories of hideoustragedy; by the side of the gloomy prison; past the debtors' door withits forbidding spiked wicket; past the gallows gate with its festoonsof fetters; we walked in silence until we reached the entrance to theSessions House. 

Here I was not a little relieved to find Thorndyke on the look-out forus, for Mrs. Hornby, in spite of really heroic efforts to control heremotion, was in a state of impending hysteria, while Juliet, thoughoutwardly calm and composed, showed by the waxen pallor of her cheeksand a certain wildness of her eyes that all her terror was reviving; andI was glad that they were spared the unpleasantness of contact with thepolicemen who guarded the various entrances. 

"We must be brave, " said Thorndyke gently, as he took Mrs. Hornby'shand, "and show a cheerful face to our friend who has so much to bearand who bears it so patiently. A few more hours, and I hope we shall seerestored, not only his liberty, but his honour. Here is Mr. Anstey, who, we trust, will be able to make his innocence apparent. "

Anstey, who, unlike Thorndyke, had already donned his wig and gown, bowed gravely, and, together, we passed through the mean and grimyportals into a dark hall. Policemen in uniform and unmistakabledetectives stood about the various entries, and little knots of people, evil-looking and unclean for the most part, lurked in the background orsat on benches and diffused through the stale, musty air thatdistinctive but indescribable odour that clings to police vans andprison reception rooms; an odour that, in the present case, waspleasantly mingled with the suggestive aroma of disinfectants. Throughthe unsavoury throng we hurried, and up a staircase to a landing fromwhich several passages diverged. Into one of these passages--a sort of"dark entry, " furnished with a cage-like gate of iron bars--we passedto a black door, on which was painted the inscription, "Old Court. Counsel and clerks. "

Anstey held the door open for us, and we passed through into the court, which at once struck me with a sense of disappointment. It was smallerthan I had expected, and plain and mean to the point of sordidness. Thewoodwork was poor, thinly disguised by yellow graining, and slimy withdirt wherever a dirty hand could reach it. The walls were distempered apale, greenish grey; the floor was of bare and dirty planking, and theonly suggestions of dignity or display were those offered by the canopyover the judge's seat--lined with scarlet baize and surmounted by theroyal arms--the scarlet cushions of the bench, and the large, circularclock in the gallery, which was embellished with a gilded border andasserted its importance by a loud, aggressive tick. 

Following Anstey and Thorndyke into the well of the court, we wereushered into one of the seats reserved for counsel--the third from thefront--where we sat down and looked about us, while our two friendsseated themselves in the front bench next to the central table. Here, atthe extreme right, a barrister--presumably the counsel for theprosecution--was already in his place and absorbed in the brief that layon the desk before him. Straight before us were the seats for the jury, rising one above the other, and at their side the witness-box. Above uson the right was the judge's seat, and immediately below it a structuresomewhat resembling a large pew or a counting-house desk, surmounted bya brass rail, in which a person in a grey wig--the clerk of thecourt--was mending a quill pen. On our left rose the dock--suggestivelylarge and roomy--enclosed at the sides with high glazed frames; andabove it, near the ceiling, was the spectators' gallery. 

"What a hideous place!" exclaimed Juliet, who separated me from Mrs. Hornby. "And how sordid and dirty everything looks!"

"Yes, " I answered. "The uncleanness of the criminal is not confined tohis moral being; wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of actual, physical dirt. It is not so long ago that the dock and the bench alikeused to be strewn with medicinal herbs, and I believe the custom stillsurvives of furnishing the judge with a nosegay as a preventive ofjail-fever. "

"And to think that Reuben should be brought to a place like this!"Juliet continued bitterly; "to be herded with such people as we sawdownstairs!"

She sighed and looked round at the benches that rose behind us, where ahalf-dozen reporters were already seated and apparently in high spiritsat the prospect of a sensational case. 

Our conversation was now interrupted by the clatter of feet on thegallery stairs, and heads began to appear over the wooden parapet. Several junior counsel filed into the seats in front of us; Mr. Lawleyand his clerk entered the attorney's bench; the ushers took their standbelow the jury-box; a police officer seated himself at a desk in thedock; and inspectors, detectives and miscellaneous officers began togather in the entries or peer into the court through the small glazedopenings in the doors. 

CHAPTER XV

THE FINGER-PRINT EXPERTS

The hum of conversation that had been gradually increasing as the courtfilled suddenly ceased. A door at the back of the dais was flung open;counsel, solicitors, and spectators alike rose to their feet; and thejudge entered, closely followed by the Lord Mayor, the sheriff, andvarious civic magnates, all picturesque and gorgeous in their robes andchains of office. The Clerk of Arraigns took his place behind his tableunder the dais; the counsel suspended their conversation and fingeredtheir briefs; and, as the judge took his seat, lawyers, officials, andspectators took their seats, and all eyes were turned towards the dock. 

A few moments later Reuben Hornby appeared in the enclosure in companywith a warder, the two rising, apparently, from the bowels of the earth, and, stepping forward to the bar, stood with a calm and self-possesseddemeanour, glancing somewhat curiously around the court. For an instanthis eye rested upon the group of friends and well-wishers seated behindthe counsel, and the faintest trace of a smile appeared on his face; butimmediately he turned his eyes away and never again throughout the triallooked in our direction. 

The Clerk of Arraigns now rose and, reading from the indictment whichlay before him on the table, addressed the prisoner--

"Reuben Hornby, you stand indicted for that you did, on the ninth ortenth day of March, feloniously steal a parcel of diamonds of the goodsand chattels of John Hornby. Are you guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty, " replied Reuben. 

The Clerk of Arraigns, having noted the prisoner's reply, thenproceeded--

"The gentlemen whose names are about to be called will form the jury whoare to try you. If you wish to object to any of them, you must do so aseach comes to the book to be sworn, and before he is sworn. You willthen be heard. "

In acknowledgment of this address, which was delivered in clear, ringingtones, and with remarkable distinctness, Reuben bowed to the clerk, andthe process of swearing-in the jury was commenced, while the counselopened their briefs and the judge conversed facetiously with anofficial in a fur robe and a massive neck chain. 

Very strange, to unaccustomed eyes and ears, was the effect of thisfunction--half solemn and half grotesque, with an effect intermediatebetween that of a religious rite and that of a comic opera. Above thehalf-suppressed hum of conversation the clerk's voice arose at regularintervals, calling out the name of one of the jurymen, and, as its ownerstood up, the court usher, black-gowned and sacerdotal of aspect, advanced and proffered the book. Then, as the juryman took the volume inhis hand, the voice of the usher resounded through the court like thatof a priest intoning some refrain or antiphon--an effect that wasincreased by the rhythmical and archaic character of the formula--

"Samuel Seppings!"

A stolid-looking working-man rose and, taking the Testament in his hand, stood regarding the usher while that official sang out in a solemnmonotone--

"You shall well and truly try and true deliverance make between ourSovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at the bar, whom you shall havein charge, and a true verdict give according to the evidence. So helpyou God!"

"James Piper!" Another juryman rose and was given the Book to hold; andagain the monotonous sing-song arose--

"You shall well and truly try and true deliverance make, etc. "

"I shall scream aloud if that horrible chant goes on much longer, "Juliet whispered. "Why don't they all swear at once and have done withit?"

"That would not meet the requirements, " I answered. "However, there areonly two more, so you must have patience. "

"And you will have patience with me, too, won't you? I am horriblyfrightened. It is all so solemn and dreadful. "

"You must try to keep up your courage until Dr. Thorndyke has given hisevidence, " I said. "Remember that, until he has spoken, everything isagainst Reuben; so be prepared. "

"I will try, " she answered meekly; "but I can't help being terrified. "

The last of the jurymen was at length sworn, and when the clerk had oncemore called out the names one by one, the usher counting loudly as eachman answered to his name, the latter officer turned to the Court andspectators, and proclaimed in solemn tones--

"If anyone can inform my Lords the King's justices, the King'sattorney-general, or the King's serjeant, ere this inquest be now takenbetween our Sovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at the bar, of anytreason, murder, felony or misdemeanour, committed or done by him, lethim come forth and he shall be heard; for the prisoner stands at the barupon his deliverance. "

This proclamation was followed by a profound silence, and after a briefinterval the Clerk of Arraigns turned towards the jury and addressedthem collectively--

"Gentlemen of the jury, the prisoner at the bar stands indicted by thename of Reuben Hornby, for that he, on the ninth or tenth of March, feloniously did steal, take and carry away a parcel of diamonds of thegoods of John Hornby. To this indictment he has pleaded that he is notguilty, and your charge is to inquire whether he be guilty or not and tohearken to the evidence. "

When he had finished his address the clerk sat down, and the judge, athin-faced, hollow-eyed elderly man, with bushy grey eyebrows and a verylarge nose, looked attentively at Reuben for some moments over the topsof his gold-rimmed pince-nez. Then he turned towards the counsel nearestthe bench and bowed slightly. 

The barrister bowed in return and rose, and for the first time Iobtained a complete view of Sir Hector Trumpler, K. C. , the counsel forthe prosecution. His appearance was not prepossessing nor--though he wasa large man and somewhat florid as to his countenance--particularlystriking, except for a general air of untidiness. His gown was slippingoff one shoulder, his wig was perceptibly awry, and his pince-nezthreatened every moment to drop from his nose. 

"The case that I have to present to you, my lord and gentlemen of thejury, " he began in a clear, though unmusical voice, "is one the like ofwhich is but too often met with in this court. It is one in which weshall see unbounded trust met by treacherous deceit, in which we shallsee countless benefactions rewarded by the basest ingratitude, and inwhich we shall witness the deliberate renunciation of a life ofhonourable effort in favour of the tortuous and precarious ways of thecriminal. The facts of the case are briefly as follows: The prosecutorin this case--most unwilling prosecutor, gentlemen--is Mr. John Hornby, who is a metallurgist and dealer in precious metals. Mr. Hornby has twonephews, the orphan sons of his two elder brothers, and I may tell youthat since the decease of their parents he has acted the part of afather to both of them. One of these nephews is Mr. Walter Hornby, andthe other is Reuben Hornby, the prisoner at the bar. Both of thesenephews were received by Mr. Hornby into his business with a view totheir succeeding him when he should retire, and both, I need not say, occupied positions of trust and responsibility. 

"Now, on the evening of the ninth of March there was delivered to Mr. Hornby a parcel of rough diamonds of which one of his clients asked himto take charge pending their transfer to the brokers. I need not burdenyou with irrelevant details concerning this transaction. It will sufficeto say that the diamonds, which were of the aggregate value of aboutthirty thousand pounds, were delivered to him, and the unopened packagedeposited by him in his safe, together with a slip of paper on which hehad written in pencil a memorandum of the circumstances. This was on theevening of the ninth of March, as I have said. Having deposited theparcel, Mr. Hornby locked the safe, and shortly afterwards left thepremises and went home, taking the keys with him. 

"On the following morning, when he unlocked the safe, he perceived withastonishment and dismay that the parcel of diamonds had vanished. Theslip of paper, however, lay at the bottom of the safe, and on picking itup Mr. Hornby perceived that it bore a smear of blood, and in addition, the distinct impression of a human thumb. On this he closed and lockedthe safe and sent a note to the police station, in response to which avery intelligent officer--Inspector Sanderson--came and made apreliminary examination. I need not follow the case further, since thedetails will appear in the evidence, but I may tell you that, in effect, it has been made clear, beyond all doubt, that the thumb-print on thatpaper was the thumb-print of the prisoner, Reuben Hornby. "

He paused to adjust his glasses, which were in the very act of fallingfrom his nose, and hitch up his gown, while he took a leisurely surveyof the jury, as though he were estimating their impressionability. Atthis moment I observed Walter Hornby enter the court and take up aposition at the end of our bench nearest the door; and, immediatelyafter, Superintendent Miller came in and seated himself on one of thebenches opposite. 

"The first witness whom I shall call, " said Sir Hector Trumpler, "isJohn Hornby. "

Mr. Hornby, looking wild and agitated, stepped into the witness-box, andthe usher, having handed him the Testament, sang out--

"The evidence you shall give to the court and jury sworn, between ourSovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at the bar shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so help you God!"

Mr. Hornby kissed the Book, and, casting a glance of unutterable miseryat his nephew, turned towards the counsel. 

"Your name is John Hornby, is it not?" asked Sir Hector. 

"It is. "

"And you occupy premises in St. Mary Axe?"

"Yes. I am a dealer in precious metals, but my business consistsprincipally in the assaying of samples of ore and quartz and bars ofsilver and gold. "

"Do you remember what happened on the ninth of March last?"

"Perfectly. My nephew Reuben--the prisoner--delivered to me a parcel ofdiamonds which he had received from the purser of the _Elmina Castle_, to whom I had sent him as my confidential agent. I had intended todeposit the diamonds with my banker, but when the prisoner arrived at myoffice, the banks were already closed, so I had to put the parcel, forthe night, in my own safe. I may say that the prisoner was not in anyway responsible for the delay. "

"You are not here to defend the prisoner, " said Sir Hector. "Answer myquestions and make no comments, if you please. Was anyone present whenyou placed the diamonds in the safe?" "No one was present but myself. "

"I did not ask if you were present when you put them in, " said SirHector (whereupon the spectators sniggered and the judge smiledindulgently). "What else did you do?"

"I wrote in pencil on a leaf of my pocket memorandum block, 'Handed inby Reuben at 7. 3 p. M. , 9. 3. 01, ' and initialled it. Then I tore the leaffrom the block and laid it on the parcel, after which I closed the safeand locked it. "

"How soon did you leave the premises after this?"

"Almost immediately. The prisoner was waiting for me in the outeroffice--"

"Never mind where the prisoner was; confine your answers to what isasked. Did you take the keys with you?"

"Yes. "

"When did you next open the safe?"

"On the following morning at ten o'clock. "

"Was the safe locked or unlocked when you arrived?"

"It was locked. I unlocked it. "

"Did you notice anything unusual about the safe?"

"No. "

"Had the keys left your custody in the interval?"

"No. They were attached to a key-chain, which I always wear. "

"Are there any duplicates of those keys?--the keys of the safe, I mean. "

"No, there are no duplicates. "

"Have the keys ever gone out of your possession?"

"Yes. If I have had to be absent from the office for a considerabletime, it has been my custom to hand the keys to one of my nephews, whichever has happened to be in charge at the time. "

"And never to any other person?"

"Never to any other person. "

"What did you observe when you opened the safe?"

"I observed that the parcel of diamonds had disappeared. "

"Did you notice anything else?"

"Yes. I found the leaf from my memorandum block lying at the bottom ofthe safe. I picked it up and turned it over, and then saw that therewere smears of blood on it and what looked like the print of a thumb inblood. The thumb-mark was on the under-surface, as the paper lay at thebottom of the safe. "

"What did you do next?"

"I closed and locked the safe, and sent a note to the police stationsaying that a robbery had been committed on my premises. "

"You have known the prisoner several years, I believe?"

"Yes; I have known him all his life. He is my eldest brother's son. "

"Then you can tell us, no doubt, whether he is left-handed orright-handed?"

"I should say he was ambidextrous, but he uses his left hand bypreference. "

"A fine distinction, Mr. Hornby; a very fine distinction. Now tell me, did you ascertain beyond all doubt that the diamonds were really gone?"

"Yes; I examined the safe thoroughly, first by myself and afterwardswith the police. There was no doubt that the diamonds had really gone. "

"When the detective suggested that you should have the thumb-prints ofyour two nephews taken, did you refuse?"

"I refused. "

"Why did you refuse?"

"Because I did not choose to subject my nephews to the indignity. Besides, I had no power to make them submit to the proceeding. "

"Had you any suspicions of either of them?"

"I had no suspicions of anyone. "

"Kindly examine this piece of paper, Mr. Hornby, " said Sir Hector, passing across a small oblong slip, "and tell us if you recognise it. "

Mr. Hornby glanced at the paper for a moment, and then said--

"This is the memorandum slip that I found lying at the bottom of thesafe. "

"How do you identify it?"

"By the writing on it, which is in my own hand, and bears my initials. "

"Is it the memorandum that you placed on the parcel of diamonds?"

"Yes. "

"Was there any thumb-mark or blood-smear on it when you placed it in thesafe?"

"No. "

"Was it possible that there could have been any such marks?"

"Quite impossible. I tore it from my memorandum block at the time Iwrote upon it. "

"Very well. " Sir Hector Trumpler sat down, and Mr. Anstey stood up tocross-examine the witness. 

"You have told us, Mr. Hornby, " said he, "that you have known theprisoner all his life. Now what estimate have you formed of hischaracter?"

"I have always regarded him as a young man of the highestcharacter--honourable, truthful, and in every way trustworthy. I havenever, in all my experience of him, known him to deviate ahair's-breadth from the strictest honour and honesty of conduct. "

"You regarded him as a man of irreproachable character. Is that so?"

"That is so; and my opinion of him is unchanged. "

"Has he, to your knowledge, any expensive or extravagant habits?"

"No. His habits are simple and rather thrifty. "

"Have you ever known him to bet, gamble, or speculate?"

"Never. "

"Has he ever seemed to be in want of money?"

"No. He has a small private income, apart from his salary, which I knowhe does not spend, since I have occasionally employed my broker toinvest his savings. "

"Apart from the thumb-print which was found in the safe, are you awareof any circumstances that would lead you to suspect the prisoner ofhaving stolen the diamonds?"

"None whatever. "

Mr. Anstey sat down, and as Mr. Hornby left the witness-box, mopping theperspiration from his forehead, the next witness was called. 

"Inspector Sanderson!"

The dapper police officer stepped briskly into the box, and having beenduly sworn, faced the prosecuting counsel with the air of a man who wasprepared for any contingency. 

"Do you remember, " said Sir Hector, after the usual preliminaries hadbeen gone through, "what occurred on the morning of the tenth of March?"

"Yes. A note was handed to me at the station at 10. 23 a. M. It was fromMr. John Hornby, and stated that a robbery had occurred at his premisesin St. Mary Axe. I went to the premises and arrived there at 10. 31 a. M. There I saw the prosecutor, Mr. John Hornby, who told me that a parcelof diamonds had been stolen from the safe. At his request I examined thesafe. There were no signs of its having been forced open; the locksseemed to be quite uninjured and in good order. Inside the safe, on thebottom, I found two good-sized drops of blood, and a slip of paper withpencil-writing on it. The paper bore two blood-smears and a print of ahuman thumb in blood. "

"Is this the paper?" asked the counsel, passing a small slip across tothe witness. 

"Yes, " replied the inspector, after a brief glance at the document. 

"What did you do next?" "I sent a message to Scotland Yard acquaintingthe Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department with the facts, andthen went back to the station. I had no further connection with thecase. "

Sir Hector sat down, and the judge glanced at Anstey. 

"You tell us, " said the latter, rising, "that you observed twogood-sized drops of blood on the bottom of the safe. Did you notice thecondition of the blood, whether moist or dry?"

"The blood looked moist, but I did not touch it. I left it undisturbedfor the detective officers to examine. "

The next witness called was Sergeant Bates, of the CriminalInvestigation Department. He stepped into the box with the same ready, business-like air as the other officer, and, having been sworn, proceeded to give his evidence with a fluency that suggested carefulpreparation, holding an open notebook in his hand but making noreferences to it. 

"On the tenth of March, at 12. 8 p. M. , I received instructions to proceedto St. Mary Axe to inquire into a robbery that had taken place there. Inspector Sanderson's report was handed to me, and I read it in the cabon my way to the premises. On arriving at the premises at 12. 30 p. M. , Iexamined the safe carefully. It was quite uninjured, and there were nomarks of any kind upon it. I tested the locks and found them perfect;there were no marks or indications of any picklock having been used. Onthe bottom of the inside I observed two rather large drops of a darkfluid. I took up some of the fluid on a piece of paper and found it tobe blood. I also found, in the bottom of the safe, the burnt head of awax match, and, on searching the floor of the office, I found, close bythe safe, a used wax match from which the head had fallen. I also founda slip of paper which appeared to have been torn from a perforatedblock. On it was written in pencil, 'Handed in by Reuben at 7. 3 p. M. 9. 3. 01. J. H. ' There were two smears of blood on the paper and theimpression of a human thumb in blood. I took possession of the paper inorder that it might be examined by the experts. I inspected the officedoors and the outer door of the premises, but found no signs of forcibleentrance on any of them. I questioned the housekeeper, but obtained noinformation from him. I then returned to headquarters, made my reportand handed the paper with the marks on it to the Superintendent. "

"Is this the paper that you found in the safe?" asked the counsel, oncemore handing the leaflet across. 

"Yes; this is the paper. "

"What happened next?"

"The following afternoon I was sent for by Mr. Singleton, of theFinger-print Department. He informed me that he had gone through thefiles and had not been able to find any thumb-print resembling the oneon the paper, and recommended me to endeavour to obtain prints of thethumbs of any persons who might have been concerned in the robbery. Healso gave me an enlarged photograph of the thumb-print for reference ifnecessary. I accordingly went to St. Mary Axe and had an interview withMr. Hornby, when I requested him to allow me to take prints of thethumbs of all the persons employed on the premises, including his twonephews. This he refused, saying that he distrusted finger-prints andthat there was no suspicion of anyone on the premises. I asked if hewould allow his nephews to furnish their thumb-prints privately, towhich he replied, 'Certainly not. '"

"Had you then any suspicion of either of the nephews?"

"I thought they were both open to some suspicion. The safe had certainlybeen opened with false keys, and as they had both had the real keys intheir possession it was possible that one of them might have takenimpressions in wax and made counterfeit keys. "

"Yes. "

"I called on Mr. Hornby several times and urged him, for the sake of hisnephews' reputations, to sanction the taking of the thumb-prints; but herefused very positively and forbade them to submit, although Iunderstood that they were both willing. It then occurred to me to try ifI could get any help from Mrs. Hornby, and on the fifteenth of March Icalled at Mr. Hornby's private house and saw her. I explained to herwhat was wanted to clear her nephews from the suspicion that rested onthem, and she then said that she could dispose of those suspicions atonce, for she could show me the thumb-prints of the whole family: shehad them all in a 'Thumbograph. '"

"A 'Thumbograph'?" repeated the judge. "What is a 'Thumbograph'?"

Anstey rose with the little red-covered volume in his hand. 

"A 'Thumbograph, ' my lord, " said he, "is a book, like this, in whichfoolish people collect the thumb-prints of their more foolishacquaintances. "

He passed the volume up to the judge, who turned over the leavescuriously and then nodded to the witness. 

"Yes. She said she had them all in a 'Thumbograph. '"

"Then she fetched from a drawer a small red-covered book which sheshowed to me. It contained the thumb-prints of all the family and someof her friends. "

"Is this the book?" asked the judge, passing the volume down to thewitness. 

The sergeant turned over the leaves until he came to one which heapparently recognised, and said--

"Yes, m'lord; this is the book. Mrs. Hornby showed me the thumb-printsof various members of the family, and then found those of the twonephews. I compared them with the photograph that I had with me anddiscovered that the print of the left thumb of Reuben Hornby was inevery respect identical with the thumb-print shown in the photograph. "

"What did you do then?"

"I asked Mrs. Hornby to lend me the 'Thumbograph' so that I might showit to the Chief of the Finger-print Department, to which she consented. I had not intended to tell her of my discovery, but, as I was leaving, Mr. Hornby arrived home, and when he heard of what had taken place, heasked me why I wanted the book, and then I told him. He was greatlyastonished and horrified, and wished me to return the book at once. Heproposed to let the whole matter drop and take the loss of the diamondson himself; but I pointed out that this was impossible as it wouldpractically amount to compounding a felony. Seeing that Mrs. Hornby wasso distressed at the idea of her book being used in evidence against hernephew, I promised her that I would return it to her if I could obtain athumb-print in any other way. 

"I then took the 'Thumbograph' to Scotland Yard and showed it to Mr. Singleton, who agreed that the print of the left thumb of Reuben Hornbywas in every respect identical with the thumb-print on the paper foundin the safe. On this I applied for a warrant for the arrest of ReubenHornby, which I executed on the following morning. I told the prisonerwhat I had promised Mrs. Hornby, and he then offered to allow me to takea print of his left thumb so that his aunt's book should not have to beused in evidence. "

"How is it, then, " asked the judge, "that it has been put in evidence?"

"It has been put in by the defence, my lord, " said Sir Hector Trumpler. 

"I see, " said the judge. "'A hair of the dog that bit him. ' The'Thumbograph' is to be applied as a remedy on the principle that_similia similibus curantur_. Well?"

"When I arrested him, I administered the usual caution, and the prisonerthen said, 'I am innocent. I know nothing about the robbery. '"

The counsel for the prosecution sat down, and Anstey rose tocross-examine. 

"You have told us, " said he, in his clear musical voice, "that you foundat the bottom of the safe two rather large drops of a dark fluid whichyou considered to be blood. Now, what led you to believe that fluid tobe blood?"

"I took some of the fluid up on a piece of white paper, and it had theappearance and colour of blood. "

"Was it examined microscopically or otherwise?"

"Not to my knowledge. "

"Was it quite liquid?"

"Yes, I should say quite liquid. "

"What appearance had it on paper?"

"It looked like a clear red liquid of the colour of blood, and wasrather thick and sticky. "

Anstey sat down, and the next witness, an elderly man, answering to thename of Francis Simmons, was called. 

"You are the housekeeper at Mr. Hornby's premises in St. Mary Axe?"asked Sir Hector Trumpler. 

"I am. "

"Did you notice anything unusual on the night of the ninth of March?"

"I did not. "

"Did you make your usual rounds on that occasion?"

"Yes. I went all over the premises several times during the night, andthe rest of the time I was in a room over the private office. "

"Who arrived first on the morning of the tenth?"

"Mr. Reuben. He arrived about twenty minutes before anybody else. "

"What part of the building did he go to?"

"He went into the private office, which I opened for him. He remainedthere until a few minutes before Mr. Hornby arrived, when he went up tothe laboratory. "

"Who came next?"

"Mr. Hornby, and Mr. Walter came in just after him. "

The counsel sat down, and Anstey proceeded to cross-examine the witness. 

"Who was the last to leave the premises on the evening of the ninth?"

"I am not sure. "

"Why are you not sure?"

"I had to take a note and a parcel to a firm in Shoreditch. When Istarted, a clerk named Thomas Holker was in the outer office and Mr. Walter Hornby was in the private office. When I returned they had bothgone. "

"Was the outer door locked?"

"Yes. "

"Had Holker a key of the outer door?"

"No. Mr. Hornby and his two nephews had each a key, and I have one. Noone else had a key. "

"How long were you absent?"

"About three-quarters of an hour. "

"Who gave you the note and the parcel?"

"Mr. Walter Hornby. "

"When did he give them to you?"

"He gave them to me just before I started, and told me to go at once forfear the place should be closed before I got there. "

"And was the place closed?"

"Yes. It was all shut up, and everybody had gone. "

Anstey resumed his seat, the witness shuffled out of the box with an airof evident relief, and the usher called out, "Henry James Singleton. "

Mr. Singleton rose from his seat at the table by the solicitors for theprosecution and entered the box. Sir Hector adjusted his glasses, turnedover a page of his brief, and cast a steady and impressive glance at thejury. 

"I believe, Mr. Singleton, " he said at length, "that you are connectedwith the Finger-print Department at Scotland Yard?"

"Yes. I am one of the chief assistants in that department. "

"What are your official duties?"

"My principal occupation consists in the examination and comparison ofthe finger-prints of criminals and suspected persons. Thesefinger-prints are classified by me according to their characters andarranged in files for reference. "

"I take it that you have examined a great number of finger-prints?"

"I have examined many thousands of finger-prints, and have studied themclosely for purposes of identification. "

"Kindly examine this paper, Mr. Singleton" (here the fatal leaflet washanded to him by the usher); "have you ever seen it before?"

"Yes. It was handed to me for examination at my office on the tenth ofMarch. "

"There is a mark upon it--the print of a finger or thumb. Can you tellus anything about that mark?" "It is the print of the left thumb ofReuben Hornby, the prisoner at the bar. "

"You are quite sure of that?"

"I am quite sure. "

"Do you swear that the mark upon that paper was made by the thumb of theprisoner?"

"I do. "

"Could it not have been made by the thumb of some other person?"

"No; it is impossible that it could have been made by any other person. "

At this moment I felt Juliet lay a trembling hand on mine, and, glancingat her, I saw that she was deathly pale. I took her hand in mine and, pressing it gently, whispered to her, "Have courage; there is nothingunexpected in this. "

"Thank you, " she whispered in reply, with a faint smile; "I will try;but it is all so horribly unnerving. "

"You consider, " Sir Hector proceeded, "that the identity of thisthumb-print admits of no doubt?" "It admits of no doubt whatever, "replied Mr. Singleton. 

"Can you explain to us, without being too technical, how you havearrived at such complete certainty?"

"I myself took a print of the prisoner's thumb--having first obtainedthe prisoner's consent after warning him that the print would be used inevidence against him--and I compared that print with the mark on thispaper. The comparison was made with the greatest care and by the mostapproved method, point by point and detail by detail, and the two printswere found to be identical in every respect. 

"Now it has been proved by exact calculations--which calculations I havepersonally verified---that the chance that the print of a single fingerof any given person will be exactly like the print of the same finger ofany other given person is as one to sixty-four thousand millions. Thatis to say that, since the number of the entire human race is aboutsixteen thousand millions, the chance is about one to four that theprint of a single finger of any one person will be identical with thatof the same finger of any other member of the human race. 

"It has been said by a great authority--and I entirely agree with thestatement--that a complete, or nearly complete, accordance between twoprints of a single finger affords evidence requiring no corroborationthat the persons from whom they were made are the same. 

"Now, these calculations apply to the prints of ordinary and normalfingers or thumbs. But the thumb from which these prints were taken isnot ordinary or normal. There is upon it a deep but clean linearscar--the scar of an old incised wound--and this scar passes across thepattern of the ridges, intersecting the latter at certain places anddisturbing their continuity at others. Now this very characteristic scaris an additional feature, having a set of chances of its own. So that wehave to consider not only the chance that the print of the prisoner'sleft thumb should be identical with the print of some other person'sleft thumb--which is as one to sixty-four thousand millions--but thefurther chance that these two identical thumb-prints should be traversedby the impression of a scar identical in size and appearance, andintersecting the ridges at exactly the same places and producingfailures of continuity in the ridges of exactly the same character. Butthese two chances, multiplied into one another, yield an ultimate chanceof about one to four thousand trillions that the prisoner's left thumbwill exactly resemble the print of some other person's thumb, both as tothe pattern and the scar which crosses the pattern; in other words sucha coincidence is an utter impossibility. "

Sir Hector Trumpler took off his glasses and looked long and steadily atthe jury as though he should say, "Come, my friends; what do you thinkof that?" Then he sat down with a jerk and turned towards Anstey andThorndyke with a look of triumph. 

"Do you propose to cross-examine the witness?" inquired the judge, seeing that the counsel for the defence made no sign. 

"No, my lord, " replied Anstey. 

Thereupon Sir Hector Trumpler turned once more towards the defendingcounsel, and his broad, red face was illumined by a smile of deepsatisfaction. That smile was reflected on the face of Mr. Singleton ashe stepped from the box, and, as I glanced at Thorndyke, I seemed todetect, for a single instant, on his calm and immovable countenance, thefaintest shadow of a smile. 

"Herbert John Nash!"

A plump, middle-aged man, of keen, though studious, aspect, stepped intothe box, and Sir Hector rose once more. 

"You are one of the chief assistants in the Finger-print Department, Ibelieve, Mr. Nash?"

"I am. "

"Have you heard the evidence of the last witness?"

"I have. "

"Do you agree with the statements made by that witness?"

"Entirely. I am prepared to swear that the print on the paper found inthe safe is that of the left thumb of the prisoner, Reuben Hornby. "

"And you are certain that no mistake is possible?"

"I am certain that no mistake is possible. "

Again Sir Hector glanced significantly at the jury as he resumed hisseat, and again Anstey made no sign beyond the entry of a few notes onthe margin of his brief. 

"Are you calling any more witnesses?" asked the judge, dipping his penin the ink. 

"No, my lord, " replied Sir Hector. "That is our case. "

Upon this Anstey rose and, addressing the judge, said--

"I call witnesses, my lord. "

The judge nodded and made an entry in his notes while Anstey deliveredhis brief introductory speech--

"My lord and gentlemen of the jury, I shall not occupy the time of theCourt with unnecessary appeals at this stage, but shall proceed to takethe evidence of my witnesses without delay. "

There was a pause of a minute or more, during which the silence wasbroken only by the rustle of papers and the squeaking of the judge'squill pen. Juliet turned a white, scared face to me and said in a hushedwhisper--

"This is terrible. That last man's evidence is perfectly crushing. Whatcan possibly be said in reply? I am in despair; oh! poor Reuben! He islost, Dr. Jervis! He hasn't a chance now. "

"Do you believe that he is guilty?" I asked. 

"Certainly not!" she replied indignantly. "I am as certain of hisinnocence as ever. "

"Then, " said I, "if he is innocent, there must be some means of provinghis innocence. "

"Yes. I suppose so, " she rejoined in a dejected whisper. "At any rate weshall soon know now. "

At this moment the usher's voice was heard calling out the name of thefirst witness for the defence. 

"Edmund Horford Rowe!"

A keen-looking, grey-haired man, with a shaven face and close-cutside-whiskers, stepped into the box and was sworn in due form. 

"You are a doctor of medicine, I believe, " said Anstey, addressing thewitness, "and lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence at the South LondonHospital?"

"I am. "

"Have you had occasion to study the properties of blood?"

"Yes. The properties of blood are of great importance from amedico-legal point of view. "

"Can you tell us what happens when a drop of blood--say from a cutfinger--falls upon a surface such as the bottom of an iron safe?"

"A drop of blood from a living body falling upon any non-absorbentsurface will, in the course of a few minutes, solidify into a jellywhich will, at first, have the same bulk and colour as the liquidblood. "

"Will it undergo any further change?"

"Yes. In a few minutes more the jelly will begin to shrink and becomemore solid so that the blood will become separated into two parts, thesolid and the liquid. The solid part will consist of a firm, tough jellyof a deep red colour, and the liquid part will consist of a pale yellow, clear, watery liquid. "

"At the end, say, of two hours, what will be the condition of the dropof blood?"

"It will consist of a drop of clear, nearly colourless liquid, in themiddle of which will be a small, tough, red clot. "

"Supposing such a drop to be taken up on a piece of white paper, whatwould be its appearance?"

"The paper would be wetted by the colourless liquid, and the solid clotwould probably adhere to the paper in a mass. "

"Would the blood on the paper appear as a clear, red liquid?"

"Certainly not. The liquid would appear like water, and the clot wouldappear as a solid mass sticking to the paper. "

"Does blood always behave in the way you have described?"

"Always, unless some artificial means are taken to prevent it fromclotting. "

"By what means can blood be prevented from clotting or solidifying?"

"There are two principal methods. One is to stir or whip the fresh bloodrapidly with a bundle of fine twigs. When this is done, the fibrin--thepart of the blood that causes solidification--adheres to the twigs, andthe blood that remains, though it is unchanged in appearance, willremain liquid for an indefinite time. The other method is to dissolve acertain proportion of some alkaline salt in the fresh blood, after whichit no longer has any tendency to solidify. "

"You have heard the evidence of Inspector Sanderson and Sergeant Bates?"

"Yes. "

"Inspector Sanderson has told us that he examined the safe at 10. 31 a. M. And found two good-sized drops of blood on the bottom. Sergeant Bateshas told us that he examined the safe two hours later, and that he tookup one of the drops of blood on a piece of white paper. The blood wasthen quite liquid, and, on the paper, it looked like a clear, red liquidof the colour of blood. What should you consider the condition andnature of that blood to have been?"

"If it was really blood at all, I should say that it was eitherdefibrinated blood--that is, blood from which the fibrin has beenextracted by whipping--or that it had been treated with an alkalinesalt. "

"You are of opinion that the blood found in the safe could not have beenordinary blood shed from a cut or wound?"

"I am sure it could not have been. "

"Now, Dr. Rowe, I am going to ask you a few questions on anothersubject. Have you given any attention to finger-prints made by bloodyfingers?"

"Yes. I have recently made some experiments on the subject. "

"Will you give us the results of those experiments?"

"My object was to ascertain whether fingers wet with fresh blood wouldyield distinct and characteristic prints. I made a great number oftrials, and as a result found that it is extremely difficult to obtain aclear print when the finger is wetted with fresh blood. The usual resultis a mere red blot showing no ridge pattern at all, owing to the bloodfilling the furrows between the ridges. But if the blood is allowed todry almost completely on the finger, a very clear print is obtained. "

"Is it possible to recognise a print that has been made by a nearly dryfinger?"

"Yes; quite easily. The half-dried blood is nearly solid and adheres tothe paper in a different way from the liquid, and it shows minutedetails, such as the mouths of the sweat glands, which are alwaysobliterated by the liquid. "

"Look carefully at this paper, which was found in the safe, and tell mewhat you see. "

The witness took the paper and examined it attentively, first with thenaked eye and then with a pocket-lens. 

"I see, " said he, "two blood-marks and a print, apparently of a thumb. Of the two marks, one is a blot, smeared slightly by a finger or thumb;the other is a smear only. Both were evidently produced with quiteliquid blood. The thumb-print was also made with liquid blood. "

"You are quite sure that the thumb-print was made with liquid blood?"

"Quite sure. "

"Is there anything unusual about the thumb-print?"

"Yes. It is extraordinarily clear and distinct. I have made a greatnumber of trials and have endeavoured to obtain the clearest printspossible with fresh blood; but none of my prints are nearly as distinctas this one. "

Here the witness produced a number of sheets of paper, each of which wascovered with the prints of bloody fingers, and compared them with thememorandum slip. 

The papers were handed to the judge for his inspection, and Anstey satdown, when Sir Hector Trumpler rose, with a somewhat puzzled expressionon his face, to cross-examine. 

"You say that the blood found in the safe was defibrinated orartificially treated. What inference do you draw from that fact?"

"I infer that it was not dropped from a bleeding wound. "

"Can you form any idea how such blood should have got into the safe?"

"None whatever. "

"You say that the thumb-print is a remarkably distinct one. Whatconclusion do you draw from that?"

"I do not draw any conclusion. I cannot account for its distinctness atall. "

The learned counsel sat down with rather a baffled air, and I observed afaint smile spread over the countenance of my colleague. 

"Arabella Hornby. "

A muffled whimpering from my neighbour on the left hand was accompaniedby a wild rustling of silk. Glancing at Mrs. Hornby, I saw her staggerfrom the bench, shaking like a jelly, mopping her eyes with herhandkerchief and grasping her open purse. She entered the witness-box, and, having gazed wildly round the court, began to search themultitudinous compartments of her purse. 

"The evidence you shall give, " sang out the usher--whereat Mrs. Hornbypaused in her search and stared at him apprehensively--"to the court andjury sworn, between our Sovereign Lord the King and the prisoner at thebar shall be the truth, --"

"Certainly, " said Mrs. Hornby stiffly, "I--"

"--the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so help you God!"

He held out the Testament, which she took from him with a trembling handand forthwith dropped with a resounding bang on to the floor of thewitness-box, diving after it with such precipitancy that her bonnetjammed violently against the rail of the box. 

She disappeared from view for a moment, and then rose from the depthswith a purple face and her bonnet flattened and cocked over one ear likean artillery-man's forage cap. 

"Kiss the Book, if you please, " said the usher, suppressing a grin by anheroic effort, as Mrs. Hornby, encumbered by her purse, her handkerchiefand the Testament, struggled to unfasten her bonnet-strings. She clawedfrantically at her bonnet, and, having dusted the Testament with herhandkerchief, kissed it tenderly and laid it on the rail of the box, whence it fell instantly on to the floor of the court. 

"I am really very sorry!" exclaimed Mrs. Hornby, leaning over the railto address the usher as he stooped to pick up the Book, and dischargingon to his back a stream of coins, buttons and folded bills from her openpurse; "you will think me very awkward, I'm afraid. "

She mopped her face and replaced her bonnet rakishly on one side, asAnstey rose and passed a small red book across to her. 

"Kindly look at that book, Mrs. Hornby. "

"I'd rather not, " said she, with a gesture of repugnance. "It isassociated with matters of so extremely disagreeable a character--"

"Do you recognise it?"

"Do I recognise it! How can you ask me such a question when you mustknow--"

"Answer the question, " interposed the judge. "Do you or do you notrecognise the book in your hand?"

"Of course I recognise it. How could I fail to--"

"Then say so, " said the judge. 

"I have said so, " retorted Mrs. Hornby indignantly. 

The judge nodded to Anstey, who then continued--"It is called a'Thumbograph, ' I believe. "

"Yes: the name 'Thumbograph' is printed on the cover, so I suppose thatis what it is called. "

"Will you tell us, Mrs. Hornby, how the 'Thumbograph' came into yourpossession?"

For one moment Mrs. Hornby stared wildly at her interrogator; then shesnatched a paper from her purse, unfolded it, gazed at it with anexpression of dismay, and crumpled it up in the palm of her hand. 

"You are asked a question, " said the judge. 

"Oh! yes, " said Mrs. Hornby. "The Committee of the Society--no, that isthe wrong one--I mean Walter, you know--at least--"

"I beg your pardon, " said Anstey, with polite gravity. 

"You were speaking of the committee of some society, " interposed thejudge. "What society were you referring to?"

Mrs. Hornby spread out the paper and, after a glance at it, replied--

"The Society of Paralysed Idiots, your worship, " whereat a rumble ofsuppressed laughter arose from the gallery. 

"But what has that society to do with the 'Thumbograph'?" inquired thejudge. 

"Nothing, your worship. Nothing at all. "

"Then why did you refer to it?"

"I am sure I don't know, " said Mrs. Hornby, wiping her eyes with thepaper and then hastily exchanging it for her handkerchief. 

The judge took off his glasses and gazed at Mrs. Hornby with anexpression of bewilderment. Then he turned to the counsel and said in aweary voice--"Proceed, if you please, Mr. Anstey. "

"Can you tell us, Mrs. Hornby, how the 'Thumbograph' came into yourpossession?" said the latter in persuasive accents. 

"I thought it was Walter, and so did my niece, but Walter says it wasnot, and he ought to know, being young and having a most excellentmemory, as I had myself when I was his age, and really, you know, itcan't possibly matter where I got the thing--"

"But it does matter, " interrupted Anstey. "We wish particularly toknow. "

"If you mean that you wish to get one like it--"

"We do not, " said Anstey. "We wish to know how that particular'Thumbograph' came into your possession. Did you, for instance, buy ityourself, or was it given to you by someone?"

"Walter says I bought it myself, but I thought he gave it to me, but hesays he did not, and you see--"

"Never mind what Walter says. What is your own impression?"

"Why I still think that he gave it to me, though, of course, seeing thatmy memory is not what it was--"

"You think that Walter gave it to you?"

"Yes, in fact I feel sure he did, and so does my niece. "

"Walter is your nephew, Walter Hornby?"

"Yes, of course. I thought you knew. "

"Can you recall the occasion on which the 'Thumbograph' was given toyou?"

"Oh yes, quite distinctly. We had some people to dinner--some peoplenamed Colley--not the Dorsetshire Colleys, you know, although they areexceedingly nice people, as I have no doubt the other Colleys are, too, when you know them, but we don't. Well, after dinner we were a littledull and rather at a loss, because Juliet, my niece, you know, had cuther finger and couldn't play the piano excepting with the left hand, andthat is so monotonous as well as fatiguing, and the Colleys are notmusical, excepting Adolphus, who plays the trombone, but he hadn't gotit with him, and then, fortunately, Walter came in and brought the'Thumbograph' and took all our thumb-prints and his own as well, and wewere very much amused, and Matilda Colley--that is the eldest daughterbut one--said that Reuben jogged her elbow, but that was only anexcuse--"

"Exactly, " interrupted Anstey. "And you recollect quite clearly thatyour nephew Walter gave you the 'Thumbograph' on that occasion?"

"Oh, distinctly; though, you know, he is really my husband's nephew--"

"Yes. And you are sure that he took the thumb-prints?"

"Quite sure. "

"And you are sure that you never saw the 'Thumbograph' before that?"

"Never. How could I? He hadn't brought it. "

"Have you ever lent the 'Thumbograph' to anyone?"

"No, never. No one has ever wanted to borrow it, because, you see--"

"Has it never, at any time, gone out of your possession?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that; in fact, I have often thought, though I hatesuspecting people, and I really don't suspect anybody in particular, youknow, but it certainly was very peculiar and I can't explain it in anyother way. You see, I kept the 'Thumbograph' in a drawer in my writingtable, and in the same drawer I used to keep my handkerchief-bag--infact I do still, and it is there at this very moment, for in my hurryand agitation, I forgot about it until we were in the cab, and then itwas too late, because Mr. Lawley--"

"Yes. You kept it in a drawer with your handkerchief-bag. "

"That was what I said. Well, when Mr. Hornby was staying at Brighton hewrote to ask me to go down for a week and bring Juliet--Miss Gibson, youknow--with me. So we went, and, just as we were starting, I sent Julietto fetch my handkerchief-bag from the drawer, and I said to her, 'Perhaps we might take the thumb-book with us; it might come in usefulon a wet day. ' So she went, and presently she came back and said thatthe 'Thumbograph' was not in the drawer. Well, I was so surprised that Iwent back with her and looked myself, and sure enough the drawer wasempty. Well, I didn't think much of it at the time, but when we camehome again, as soon as we got out of the cab, I gave Juliet myhandkerchief-bag to put away, and presently she came running to me in agreat state of excitement. 'Why, Auntie, ' she said, ' the "Thumbograph"is in the drawer; somebody must have been meddling with your writingtable. ' I went with her to the drawer, and there, sure enough, was the'Thumbograph. ' Somebody must have taken it out and put it back while wewere away. "

"Who could have had access to your writing table?"

"Oh, anybody, because, you see, the drawers were never locked. Wethought it must have been one of the servants. "

"Had anyone been to the house during your absence?"

"No. Nobody, except, of course, my two nephews; and neither of them hadtouched it, because we asked them, and they both said they had not. "

"Thank you. " Anstey sat down, and Mrs. Hornby having given anothercorrecting twist to her bonnet, was about to step down from the box whenSir Hector rose and bestowed upon her an intimidating stare. 

"You made some reference, " said he, "to a society--the Society ofParalysed Idiots, I think, whatever that may be. Now what caused you tomake that reference?"

"It was a mistake; I was thinking of something else. "

"I know it was a mistake. You referred to a paper that was in yourhand. "

"I did not refer to it, I merely looked at it. It is a letter from theSociety of Paralysed Idiots. It is nothing to do with me really, youknow; I don't belong to the society, or anything of that sort. "

"Did you mistake that paper for some other paper?"

"Yes, I took it for a paper with some notes on it to assist my memory. "

"What kind of notes?"

"Oh, just the questions I was likely to be asked. "

"Were the answers that you were to give to those questions also writtenon the paper?"

"Of course they were. The questions would not have been any use withoutthe answers. "

"Have you been asked the questions that were written on the paper?"

"Yes; at least, some of them. "

"Have you given the answers that were written down?"

"I don't think I have--in fact, I am sure I haven't, because, you see--"

"Ah! you don't think you have. " Sir Hector Trumpler smiled significantlyat the jury, and continued--

"Now who wrote down those questions and answers?"

"My nephew, Walter Hornby. He thought, you know--"

"Never mind what he thought. Who advised or instructed him to write themdown?"

"Nobody. It was entirely his own idea, and very thoughtful of him, too, though Dr. Jervis took the paper away from me and said I must rely on mymemory. "

Sir Hector was evidently rather taken aback by this answer, and sat downsuddenly, with a distinctly chapfallen air. 

"Where is this paper on which the questions and answers are written?"asked the judge. In anticipation of this inquiry I had already handed itto Thorndyke, and had noted by the significant glance that he bestowedon me that he had not failed to observe the peculiarity in the type. Indeed the matter was presently put beyond all doubt, for he hastilypassed to me a scrap of paper, on which I found, when I opened it out, that he had written "X = W. H. "

As Anstey handed the rather questionable document up to the judge, Iglanced at Walter Hornby and observed him to flush angrily, though hestrove to appear calm and unconcerned, and the look that he directed athis aunt was very much the reverse of benevolent. 

"Is this the paper?" asked the judge, passing it down to the witness. 

"Yes, your worship, " answered Mrs. Hornby, in a tremulous voice;whereupon the document was returned to the judge, who proceeded tocompare it with his notes. 

"I shall order this document to be impounded, " said he sternly, aftermaking a brief comparison. "There has been a distinct attempt to tamperwith witnesses. Proceed with your case, Mr. Anstey. "

There was a brief pause, during which Mrs. Hornby tottered across thecourt and resumed her seat, gasping with excitement and relief; then theusher called out--

"John Evelyn Thorndyke!"

"Thank God!" exclaimed Juliet, clasping her hands. "Oh! will he be ableto save Reuben? Do you think he will, Dr. Jervis?"

"There is someone who thinks he will, " I replied, glancing towardsPolton, who, clasping in his arms the mysterious box and holding on tothe microscope case, gazed at his master with a smile of ecstasy. "Polton has more faith than you have, Miss Gibson. "

"Yes, the dear, faithful little man!" she rejoined. "Well, we shall knowthe worst very soon now, at any rate. "

"The worst or the best, " I said. "We are now going to hear what thedefence really is. "

"God grant that it may be a good defence, " she exclaimed in a low voice;and I--though not ordinarily a religious man--murmured "Amen!"

CHAPTER XVI

THORNDYKE PLAYS HIS CARD

As Thorndyke took his place in the box I looked at him with a sense ofunreasonable surprise, feeling that I had never before fully realisedwhat manner of man my friend was as to his externals. I had often notedthe quiet strength of his face, its infinite intelligence, itsattractiveness and magnetism; but I had never before appreciated whatnow impressed me most: that Thorndyke was actually the handsomest man Ihad ever seen. He was dressed simply, his appearance unaided by theflowing gown or awe-inspiring wig, and yet his presence dominated thecourt. Even the judge, despite his scarlet robe and trappings of office, looked commonplace by comparison, while the jurymen, who turned to lookat him, seemed like beings of an inferior order. It was not alone thedistinction of the tall figure, erect and dignified, nor the power andmassive composure of his face, but the actual symmetry and comeliness ofthe face itself that now arrested my attention; a comeliness that madeit akin rather to some classic mask, wrought in the ivory-toned marbleof Pentelicus, than to the eager faces that move around us in the hurryand bustle of a life at once strenuous and trivial. 

"You are attached to the medical school at St. Margaret's Hospital, Ibelieve, Dr. Thorndyke?" said Anstey. 

"Yes. I am the lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology. "

"Have you had much experience of medico-legal inquiries?"

"A great deal. I am engaged exclusively in medico-legal work. "

"You heard the evidence relating to the two drops of blood found in thesafe?"

"I did. "

"What is your opinion as to the condition of that blood?"

"I should say there is no doubt that it had been artificiallytreated--probably by defibrination. "

"Can you suggest any explanation of the condition of that blood?"

"I can. "

"Is your explanation connected with any peculiarities in the thumb-printon the paper that was found in the safe?"

"It is. "

"Have you given any attention to the subject of finger-prints?"

"Yes. A great deal of attention. "

"Be good enough to examine that paper" (here the usher handed toThorndyke the memorandum slip). "Have you seen it before?"

"Yes. I saw it at Scotland Yard. "

"Did you examine it thoroughly?"

"Very thoroughly. The police officials gave me every facility and, withtheir permission, I took several photographs of it. "

"There is a mark on that paper resembling the print of a human thumb?"

"There is. "

"You have heard two expert witnesses swear that that mark was made bythe left thumb of the prisoner, Reuben Hornby?"

"I have. "

"Do you agree to that statement?"

"I do not. "

"In your opinion, was the mark upon that paper made by the thumb of theprisoner?"

"No. I am convinced that it was not made by the thumb of Reuben Hornby. "

"Do you think that it was made by the thumb of some other person?"

"No. I am of opinion that it was not made by a human thumb at all. "

At this statement the judge paused for a moment, pen in hand, and staredat Thorndyke with his mouth slightly open, while the two experts lookedat one another with raised eyebrows. 

"By what means do you consider that the mark was produced?"

"By means of a stamp, either of indiarubber or, more probably, ofchromicized gelatine. "

Here Polton, who had been, by degrees, rising to an erect posture, smotehis thigh a resounding thwack and chuckled aloud, a proceeding thatcaused all eyes, including those of the judge, to be turned on him. 

"If that noise is repeated, " said the judge, with a stony stare at thehorrified offender--who had shrunk into the very smallest space that Ihave ever seen a human being occupy--"I shall cause the person who madeit to be removed from the court. "

"I understand, then, " pursued Anstey, "that you consider thethumb-print, which has been sworn to as the prisoner's, to be aforgery?"

"Yes. It is a forgery. "

"But is it possible to forge a thumb-print or a finger-print?"

"It is not only possible, but quite easy to do. "

"As easy as to forge a signature, for instance?" "Much more so, andinfinitely more secure. A signature, being written with a pen, requiresthat the forgery should also be written with a pen, a process demandingvery special skill and, after all, never resulting in an absolute_facsimile_. But a finger-print is a stamped impression--the finger-tipbeing the stamp; and it is only necessary to obtain a stamp identical incharacter with the finger-tip, in order to produce an impression whichis an absolute _facsimile_, in every respect, of the original, andtotally indistinguishable from it. "

"Would there be no means at all of detecting the difference between aforged finger-print and the genuine original?"

"None whatever; for the reason that there would be no difference todetect. "

"But you have stated, quite positively, that the thumb-print on thispaper is a forgery. Now, if the forged print is indistinguishable fromthe original, how are you able to be certain that this particular printis a forgery?"

"I was speaking of what is possible with due care, but, obviously, aforger might, through inadvertence, fail to produce an absolute_facsimile_ and then detection would be possible. That is what hashappened in the present case. The forged print is not an absolute_facsimile_ of the true print. There is a slight discrepancy. But, inaddition to this, the paper bears intrinsic evidence that thethumb-print on it is a forgery. " "We will consider that evidencepresently, Dr. Thorndyke. To return to the possibility of forging afinger-print, can you explain to us, without being too technical, bywhat methods it would be possible to produce such a stamp as you havereferred to?"

"There are two principal methods that suggest themselves to me. Thefirst, which is rather crude though easy to carry out, consists intaking an actual cast of the end of the finger. A mould would be made bypressing the finger into some plastic material, such as fine modellingclay or hot sealing wax, and then, by pouring a warm solution ofgelatine into the mould, and allowing it to cool and solidify, a castwould be produced which would yield very perfect finger-prints. But thismethod would, as a rule, be useless for the purpose of the forger, as itcould not, ordinarily, be carried out without the knowledge of thevictim; though in the case of dead bodies and persons asleep orunconscious or under an anaesthetic, it could be practised with success, and would offer the advantage of requiring practically no technicalskill or knowledge and no special appliances. The second method, whichis much more efficient, and is the one, I have no doubt, that has beenused in the present instance, requires more knowledge and skill. 

"In the first place it is necessary to obtain possession of, or accessto, a genuine finger-print. Of this finger-print a photograph is taken, or rather, a photographic negative, which for this purpose requires tobe taken on a reversed plate, and the negative is put into a specialprinting frame, with a plate of gelatine which has been treated withpotassium bichromate, and the frame is exposed to light. 

"Now gelatine treated in this way--chromicized gelatine, as it iscalled--has a very peculiar property. Ordinary gelatine, as is wellknown, is easily dissolved in hot water, and chromicized gelatine isalso soluble in hot water as long as it is not exposed to light; but onbeing exposed to light, it undergoes a change and is no longer capableof being dissolved in hot water. Now the plate of chromicized gelatineunder the negative is protected from the light by the opaque parts ofthe negative, whereas the light passes freely through the transparentparts; but the transparent parts of the negative correspond to the blackmarks on the finger-print, and these correspond to the ridges on thefinger. Hence it follows that the gelatine plate is acted upon by lightonly on the parts corresponding to the ridges; and in these parts thegelatine is rendered insoluble, while all the rest of the gelatine issoluble. The gelatine plate, which is cemented to a thin plate of metalfor support, is now carefully washed with hot water, by which thesoluble part of the gelatine is dissolved away leaving the insolublepart (corresponding to the ridges) standing up from the surface. Thusthere is produced a _facsimile_ in relief of the finger-print havingactual ridges and furrows identical in character with the ridges andfurrows of the finger-tip. If an inked roller is passed over thisrelief, or if the relief is pressed lightly on an inked slab, and thenpressed on a sheet of paper, a finger-print will be produced which willbe absolutely identical with the original, even to the little whitespots which mark the orifices of the sweat glands. It will be impossibleto discover any difference between the real finger-print and thecounterfeit because, in fact, no difference exists. "

"But surely the process you have described is a very difficult andintricate one?"

"Not at all; it is very little more difficult than ordinary carbonprinting, which is practised successfully by numbers of amateurs. Moreover, such a relief as I have described--which is practicallynothing more than an ordinary process block--could be produced by anyphoto-engraver. The process that I have described is, in all essentials, that which is used in the reproduction of pen-and-ink drawings, and anyof the hundreds of workmen who are employed in that industry could makea relief-block of a finger-print, with which an undetectable forgerycould be executed. "

"You have asserted that the counterfeit finger-print could not bedistinguished from the original. Are you prepared to furnish proof thatthis is the case?"

"Yes. I am prepared to execute a counterfeit of the prisoner'sthumb-print in the presence of the Court. "

"And do you say that such a counterfeit would be indistinguishable fromthe original, even by the experts?"

"I do. "

Anstey turned towards the judge. "Would your lordship give yourpermission for a demonstration such as the witness proposes?"

"Certainly, " replied the judge. "The evidence is highly material. How doyou propose that the comparison should be made?" he added, addressingThorndyke. 

"I have brought, for the purpose, my lord, " answered Thorndyke, "somesheets of paper, each of which is ruled into twenty numbered squares. Ipropose to make on ten of the squares counterfeits of the prisoner'sthumb-mark, and to fill the remaining ten with real thumb-marks. Ipropose that the experts should then examine the paper and tell theCourt which are the real thumb-prints and which are the false. "

"That seems a fair and efficient test, " said his lordship. "Have you anyobjection to offer, Sir Hector?"

Sir Hector Trumpler hastily consulted with the two experts, who weresitting in the attorney's bench, and then replied, without muchenthusiasm--

"We have no objection to offer, my lord. "

"Then, in that case, I shall direct the expert witnesses to withdrawfrom the court while the prints are being made. "

In obedience to the judge's order, Mr. Singleton and his colleague roseand left the court with evident reluctance, while Thorndyke took from asmall portfolio three sheets of paper which he handed up to the judge. 

"If your lordship, " said he, "will make marks in ten of the squares ontwo of these sheets, one can be given to the jury and one retained byyour lordship to check the third sheet when the prints are made on it. "

"That is an excellent plan, " said the judge; "and, as the information isfor myself and the jury, it would be better if you came up and performedthe actual stamping on my table in the presence of the foreman of thejury and the counsel for the prosecution and defence. "

In accordance with the judge's direction Thorndyke stepped up on thedais, and Anstey, as he rose to follow, leaned over towards me. 

"You and Polton had better go up too, " said he: "Thorndyke will wantyour assistance, and you may as well see the fun. I will explain to hislordship. "

He ascended the stairs leading to the dais and addressed a few words tothe judge, who glanced in our direction and nodded, whereupon we bothgleefully followed our counsel, Polton carrying the box and beaming withdelight. 

The judge's table was provided with a shallow drawer which pulled out atthe side and which accommodated the box comfortably, leaving the smalltable-top free for the papers. When the lid of the box was raised, therewere displayed a copper inking-slab, a small roller and the twenty-four"pawns" which had so puzzled Polton, and on which he now gazed with atwinkle of amusement and triumph. 

"Are those all stamps?" inquired the judge, glancing curiously at thearray of turned-wood handles. 

"They are all stamps, my lord, " replied Thorndyke, "and each is takenfrom a different impression of the prisoner's thumb. "

"But why so many?" asked the judge. 

"I have multiplied them, " answered Thorndyke, as he squeezed out a dropof finger-print ink on to the slab and proceeded to roll it out into athin film, "to avoid the tell-tale uniformity of a single stamp. And Imay say, " he added, "that it is highly important that the experts shouldnot be informed that more than one stamp has been used. "

"Yes, I see that, " said the judge. "You understand that, Sir Hector, " headded, addressing the counsel, who bowed stiffly, clearly regarding theentire proceeding with extreme disfavour. 

Thorndyke now inked one of the stamps and handed it to the judge, whoexamined it curiously and then pressed it on a piece of waste paper, onwhich there immediately appeared a very distinct impression of a humanthumb. "Marvellous!" he exclaimed. "Most ingenious! Too ingenious!" Hechuckled softly and added, as he handed the stamp and the paper to theforeman of the jury: "It is well, Dr. Thorndyke, that you are on theside of law and order, for I am afraid that, if you were on the otherside, you would be one too many for the police. Now, if you are ready, we will proceed. Will you, please, stamp an impression in square numberthree. "

Thorndyke drew a stamp from its compartment, inked it on the slab, andpressed it neatly on the square indicated, leaving there a sharp, clearthumb-print. 

The process was repeated on nine other squares, a different stamp beingused for each impression. The judge then marked the ten correspondingsquares of the other two sheets of paper, and having checked them, directed the foreman to exhibit the sheet bearing the false thumb-printsto the jury, together with the marked sheet which they were to retain, to enable them to check the statements of the expert witnesses. Whenthis was done, the prisoner was brought from the dock and stood besidethe table. The judge looked with a curious and not unkindly interest atthe handsome, manly fellow who stood charged with a crime so sordid andout of character with his appearance, and I felt, as I noted the look, that Reuben would, at least, be tried fairly on the evidence, withoutprejudice or even with some prepossession in his favour. 

With the remaining part of the operation Thorndyke proceeded carefullyand deliberately. The inking-slab was rolled afresh for each impression, and, after each, the thumb was cleansed with petrol and thoroughlydried; and when the process was completed and the prisoner led back tothe dock, the twenty squares on the paper were occupied by twentythumb-prints, which, to my eye, at any rate, were identical incharacter. 

The judge sat for near upon a minute poring over this singular documentwith an expression half-way between a frown and a smile. At length, whenwe had all returned to our places, he directed the usher to bring in thewitnesses. 

I was amused to observe the change that had come over the experts in theshort interval. The confident smile, the triumphant air of laying down atrump card, had vanished, and the expression of both was one of anxiety, not unmixed with apprehension. As Mr. Singleton advanced hesitatingly tothe table, I recalled the words that he had uttered in his room atScotland Yard; evidently his scheme of the game that was to end in aneasy checkmate, had not included the move that had just been made. 

"Mr. Singleton, " said the judge, "here is a paper on which there aretwenty thumb-prints. Ten of them are genuine prints of the prisoner'sleft thumb and ten are forgeries. Please examine them and note down inwriting which are the true prints and which are the forgeries. When youhave made your notes the paper will be handed to Mr. Nash. "

"Is there any objection to my using the photograph that I have with mefor comparison, my lord?" asked Mr. Singleton. 

"I think not, " replied the judge. "What do you say, Mr. Anstey?"

"No objection whatever, my lord, " answered Anstey. 

Mr. Singleton accordingly drew from his pocket an enlarged photograph ofthe thumb-print and a magnifying glass, with the aid of which heexplored the bewildering array of prints on the paper before him; and ashe proceeded I remarked with satisfaction that his expression becamemore and more dubious and worried. From time to time he made an entry ona memorandum slip beside him, and, as the entries accumulated, his frowngrew deeper and his aspect more puzzled and gloomy. 

At length he sat up, and taking the memorandum slip in his hand, addressed the judge. 

"I have finished my examination, my lord. "

"Very well. Mr. Nash, will you kindly examine the paper and write downthe results of your examination?"

"Oh! I wish they would make haste, " whispered Juliet. "Do you think theywill be able to tell the real from the false thumb-prints?"

"I can't say, " I replied; "but we shall soon know. They looked all aliketo me. "

Mr. Nash made his examination with exasperating deliberateness, andpreserved throughout an air of stolid attention; but at length he, too, completed his notes and handed the paper back to the usher. 

"Now, Mr. Singleton, " said the judge, "let us hear your conclusions. Youhave been sworn. "

Mr. Singleton stepped into the witness-box, and, laying his notes on theledge, faced the judge. 

"Have you examined the paper that was handed to you?" asked Sir HectorTrumpler. 

"I have. "

"What did you see on the paper?"

"I saw twenty thumb-prints, of which some were evident forgeries, somewere evidently genuine, and some were doubtful. "

"Taking the thumb-prints _seriatim_, what have you noted about them?"

Mr. Singleton examined his notes and replied--"The thumb-print on squareone is evidently a forgery, as is also number two, though it is apassable imitation. Three and four are genuine; five is an obviousforgery. Six is a genuine thumb-print; seven is a forgery, though a goodone; eight is genuine; nine is, I think, a forgery, though it is aremarkably good imitation. Ten and eleven are genuine thumb-marks;twelve and thirteen are forgeries; but as to fourteen I am verydoubtful, though I am inclined to regard it as a forgery. Fifteen isgenuine, and I think sixteen is also; but I will not swear to it. Seventeen is certainly genuine Eighteen and nineteen I am ratherdoubtful about, but I am disposed to consider them both forgeries. Twenty is certainly a genuine thumb-print. "

As Mr. Singleton's evidence proceeded, a look of surprise began to makeits appearance on the judge's face, while the jury glanced from thewitness to the notes before them and from their notes to one another inundisguised astonishment. 

As to Sir Hector Trumpler, that luminary of British jurisprudence wasevidently completely fogged; for, as statement followed statement, hepursed up his lips and his broad, red face became overshadowed by anexpression of utter bewilderment. 

For a few seconds he stared blankly at his witness and then dropped onto his seat with a thump that shook the court. 

"You have no doubt, " said Anstey, "as to the correctness of yourconclusions? For instance, you are quite sure that the prints one andtwo are forgeries?"

"I have no doubt. "

"You swear that those two prints are forgeries?"

Mr. Singleton hesitated for a moment. He had been watching the judge andthe jury and had apparently misinterpreted their surprise, assuming itto be due to his own remarkable powers of discrimination; and hisconfidence had revived accordingly. 

"Yes, " he answered; "I swear that they are forgeries. "

Anstey sat down, and Mr. Singleton, having passed his notes up to thejudge, retired from the box, giving place to his colleague. 

Mr. Nash, who had listened with manifest satisfaction to the evidence, stepped into the box with all his original confidence restored. Hisselection of the true and the false thumb-prints was practicallyidentical with that of Mr. Singleton, and his knowledge of this fact ledhim to state his conclusions with an air that was authoritative and evendogmatic. 

"I am quite satisfied of the correctness of my statements, " he said, inreply to Anstey's question, "and I am prepared to swear, and do swear, that those thumb-prints which I have stated to be forgeries, areforgeries, and that their detection presents no difficulty to anobserver who has an expert acquaintance with finger-prints. "

"There is one question that I should like to ask, " said the judge, whenthe expert had left the box and Thorndyke had re-entered it to continuehis evidence. "The conclusions of the expert witnesses--manifestly _bonafide_ conclusions, arrived at by individual judgement, without collusionor comparison of results--are practically identical. They are virtuallyin complete agreement. Now, the strange thing is this: their conclusionsare wrong in every instance" (here I nearly laughed aloud, for, as Iglanced at the two experts, the expression of smug satisfaction on theircountenances changed with lightning rapidity to a ludicrous spasm ofconsternation); "not sometimes wrong and sometimes right, as would havebeen the case if they had made mere guesses, but wrong every time. Whenthey are quite certain, they are quite wrong; and when they aredoubtful, they incline to the wrong conclusion. This is a very strangecoincidence, Dr. Thorndyke. Can you explain it?"

Thorndyke's face, which throughout the proceedings had been asexpressionless as that of a wooden figurehead, now relaxed into a drysmile. 

"I think I can, my lord, " he replied. "The object of a forger inexecuting a forgery is to produce deception on those who shall examinethe forgery. "

"Ah!" said the judge; and _his_ face relaxed into a dry smile, while thejury broke out into unconcealed grins. 

"It was evident to me, " continued Thorndyke, "that the experts would beunable to distinguish the real from the forged thumb-prints, and, thatbeing so, that they would look for some collateral evidence to guidethem. I, therefore, supplied that collateral evidence. Now, if tenprints are taken, without special precautions, from a single finger, itwill probably happen that no two of them are exactly alike; for thefinger being a rounded object of which only a small part touches thepaper, the impressions produced will show little variations according tothe part of the finger by which the print is made. But a stamp such as Ihave used has a flat surface like that of a printer's type, and, like atype, it always prints the same impression. It does not reproduce thefinger-tip, but a particular print of the finger, and so, if ten printsare made with a single stamp, each print will be a mechanical repetitionof the other nine. Thus, on a sheet bearing twenty finger-prints, ofwhich ten were forgeries made with a single stamp, it would be easy topick out the ten forged prints by the fact that they would all bemechanical repetitions of one another; while the genuine prints could bedistinguished by the fact of their presenting trifling variations in theposition of the finger. 

"Anticipating this line of reasoning, I was careful to make each printwith a different stamp and each stamp was made from a differentthumb-print, and I further selected thumb-prints which varied as widelyas possible when I made the stamps. Moreover, when I made the realthumb-prints, I was careful to put the thumb down in the same positioneach time as far as I was able; and so it happened that, on the sheetsubmitted to the experts, the real thumb-prints were nearly all alike, while the forgeries presented considerable variations. The instances inwhich the witnesses were quite certain were those in which I succeededin making the genuine prints repeat one another, and the doubtful caseswere those in which I partially failed. "

"Thank you, that is quite clear, " said the judge, with a smile of deepcontent, such as is apt to appear on the judicial countenance when anexpert witness is knocked off his pedestal. "We may now proceed, Mr. Anstey. "

"You have told us, " resumed Anstey, "and have submitted proofs, that itis possible to forge a thumb-print so that detection is impossible. Youhave also stated that the thumb-print on the paper found in Mr. Hornby'ssafe is a forgery. Do you mean that it _may_ be a forgery, or that itactually is one?"

"I mean that it actually is a forgery. "

"When did you first come to the conclusion that it was a forgery?"

"When I saw it at Scotland Yard. There are three facts which suggestedthis conclusion. In the first place the print was obviously producedwith liquid blood, and yet it was a beautifully clear and distinctimpression. But such an impression could not be produced with liquidblood without the use of a slab and roller, even if great care wereused, and still less could it have been produced by an accidental smear. 

"In the second place, on measuring the print with a micrometer, I foundthat it did not agree in dimensions with a genuine thumb-print of ReubenHornby. It was appreciably larger. I photographed the print with themicrometer in contact and on comparing this with a genuine thumb-print, also photographed with the same micrometer in contact, I found that thesuspected print was larger by the fortieth of an inch, from one givenpoint on the ridge-pattern to another given point. I have hereenlargements of the two photographs in which the disagreement in size isclearly shown by the lines of the micrometer. I have also the micrometeritself and a portable microscope, if the Court wishes to verify thephotographs. "

"Thank you, " said the judge, with a bland smile; "we will accept yoursworn testimony unless the learned counsel for the prosecution demandsverification. "

He received the photographs which Thorndyke handed up and, havingexamined them with close attention, passed them on to the jury. 

"The third fact, " resumed Thorndyke, "is of much more importance, sinceit not only proves the print to be a forgery, but also furnishes a verydistinct clue to the origin of the forgery, and so to the identity ofthe forger. " (Here the court became hushed until the silence was soprofound that the ticking of the clock seemed a sensible interruption. Iglanced at Walter, who sat motionless and rigid at the end of the bench, and perceived that a horrible pallor had spread over his face, while hisforehead was covered with beads of perspiration. ) "On looking at theprint closely, I noticed at one part a minute white mark or space. Itwas of the shape of a capital S and had evidently been produced by adefect in the paper--a loose fibre which had stuck to the thumb and beendetached by it from the paper, leaving a blank space where it had been. But, on examining the paper under a low power of the microscope, I foundthe surface to be perfect and intact. No loose fibre had been detachedfrom it, for if it had, the broken end or, at least, the groove in whichit had lain, would have been visible. The inference seemed to be thatthe loose fibre had existed, not in the paper which was found in thesafe, but in the paper on which the original thumb-mark had been made. Now, as far as I knew, there was only one undoubted thumb-print ofReuben Hornby's in existence--the one in the 'Thumbograph. ' At myrequest, the 'Thumbograph' was brought to my chambers by Mrs. Hornby, and, on examining the print of Reuben Hornby's left thumb, I perceivedon it a minute, S-shaped white space occupying a similar position tothat in the red thumb-mark; and when I looked at it through a powerfullens, I could clearly see the little groove in the paper in which thefibre had lain and from which it had been lifted by the inked thumb. Isubsequently made a systematic comparison of the marks in the twothumb-prints; I found that the dimensions of the mark wereproportionally the same in each--that is to say, the mark in the'Thumbograph' print had an extreme length of 26/1000 of an inch and anextreme breadth of 14. 5/1000 of an inch, while that in the redthumb-mark was one-fortieth larger in each dimension, having an extremelength of 26. 65/1000 of an inch and an extreme breadth of 14. 86/1000 ofan inch; that the shape was identical, as was shown by superimposingtracings of greatly enlarged photographs of each mark on similarenlargements of the other; and that the mark intersected the ridges ofthe thumb-print in the same manner and at exactly the same parts in thetwo prints. "

"Do you say that--having regard to the facts which you have stated--itis certain that the red thumb-mark is a forgery?"

"I do; and I also say that it is certain that the forgery was executedby means of the 'Thumbograph. '"

"Might not the resemblances be merely a coincidence?"

"No. By the law of probabilities which Mr. Singleton explained soclearly in his evidence, the adverse chances would run into untoldmillions. Here are two thumb-prints made in different places and atdifferent times--an interval of many weeks intervening. Each of thembears an accidental mark which is due not to any peculiarity of thethumb, but to a peculiarity of the paper. On the theory of coincidencesit is necessary to suppose that each piece of paper had a loose fibre ofexactly identical shape and size and that this fibre came, by accident, in contact with the thumb at exactly the same spot. But such asupposition would be more opposed to probabilities even than thesupposition that two exactly similar thumb-prints should have been madeby different persons. And then there is the further fact that the paperfound in the safe had no loose fibre to account for the mark. " "Whatis your explanation of the presence of defibrinated blood in the safe?"

"It was probably used by the forger in making the thumb-print, for whichpurpose fresh blood would be less suitable by reason of its clotting. Hewould probably have carried a small quantity in a bottle, together withthe pocket slab and roller invented by Mr. Galton. It would thus bepossible for him to put a drop on the slab, roll it out into a thin filmand take a clean impression with his stamp. It must be remembered thatthese precautions were quite necessary, since he had to make arecognisable print at the first attempt. A failure and a second trialwould have destroyed the accidental appearance, and might have arousedsuspicion. "

"You have made some enlarged photographs of the thumb-prints, have younot?"

"Yes. I have here two enlarged photographs, one of the 'Thumbograph'print and one of the red thumb-print. They both show the white mark veryclearly and will assist comparison of the originals, in which the markis plainly visible through a lens. "

He handed the two photographs up to the judge, together with the'Thumbograph, ' the memorandum slip, and a powerful doublet lens withwhich to examine them. 

The judge inspected the two original documents with the aid of the lensand compared them with the photographs, nodding approvingly as he madeout the points of agreement. Then he passed them on to the jury and madean entry in his notes. 

While this was going on my attention was attracted by Walter Hornby. Anexpression of terror and wild despair had settled on his face, which wasghastly in its pallor and bedewed with sweat. He looked furtively atThorndyke and, as I noted the murderous hate in his eyes, I recalled ourmidnight adventure in John Street and the mysterious cigar. 

Suddenly he rose to his feet, wiping his brow and steadying himselfagainst the bench with a shaking hand; then he walked quietly to thedoor and went out. Apparently, I was not the only onlooker who had beeninterested in his doings, for, as the door swung to after him, Superintendent Miller rose from his seat and went out by the other door. 

"Are you cross-examining this witness?" the judge inquired, glancing atSir Hector Trumpler. 

"No, my lord, " was the reply. 

"Are you calling any more witnesses, Mr. Anstey?"

"Only one, my lord, " replied Anstey--"the prisoner, whom I shall put inthe witness-box, as a matter of form, in order that he may make astatement on oath. "

Reuben was accordingly conducted from the dock to the witness-box, and, having been sworn, made a solemn declaration of his innocence. A briefcross-examination followed, in which nothing was elicited, but thatReuben had spent the evening at his club and gone home to his roomsabout half-past eleven and had let himself in with his latchkey. SirHector at length sat down; the prisoner was led back to the dock, andthe Court settled itself to listen to the speeches of the counsel. 

"My lord and gentlemen of the jury, " Anstey commenced in his clear, mellow tones, "I do not propose to occupy your time with a long speech. The evidence that has been laid before you is at once so intelligible, so lucid, and so conclusive, that you will, no doubt, arrive at yourverdict uninfluenced by any display of rhetoric either on my part or onthe part of the learned counsel for the prosecution. 

"Nevertheless, it is desirable to disentangle from the mass of evidencethose facts which are really vital and crucial. 

"Now the one fact which stands out and dominates the whole case is this:The prisoner's connection with this case rests solely upon the policetheory of the infallibility of finger-prints. Apart from the evidence ofthe thumb-print there is not, and there never was, the faintest breathof suspicion against him. You have heard him described as a man ofunsullied honour, as a man whose character is above reproach; a man whois trusted implicitly by those who have had dealings with him. And thischaracter was not given by a casual stranger, but by one who has knownhim from childhood. His record is an unbroken record of honourableconduct; his life has been that of a clean-living, straightforwardgentleman. And now he stands before you charged with a miserable, paltrytheft; charged with having robbed that generous friend, the brother ofhis own father, the guardian of his childhood and the benefactor who hasplanned and striven for his well-being; charged, in short, gentlemen, with a crime which every circumstance connected with him and every traitof his known character renders utterly inconceivable. Now upon whatgrounds has this gentleman of irreproachable character been charged withthis mean and sordid crime? Baldly stated, the grounds of the accusationare these: A certain learned and eminent man of science has made astatement, which the police have not merely accepted but have, inpractice, extended beyond its original meaning. That statement is asfollows: 'A complete, or nearly complete, accordance between two printsof a single finger . .. Affords evidence requiring no corroboration, thatthe persons from whom they were made are the same. '

"That statement, gentlemen, is in the highest degree misleading, andought not to have been made without due warning and qualification. Sofar is it from being true, in practice, that its exact contrary is thefact; the evidence of a finger-print, in the absence of corroboration, is absolutely worthless. Of all forms of forgery, the forgery of afinger-print is the easiest and most secure, as you have seen in thiscourt to-day. Consider the character of the high-class forger--hisskill, his ingenuity, his resource. Think of the forged banknotes, ofwhich not only the engraving, the design and the signature, but even thevery paper with its private watermarks, is imitated with a perfectionthat is at once the admiration and the despair of those who have todistinguish the true from the false; think of the forged cheque, inwhich actual perforations are filled up, of which portions are cut outbodily and replaced by indistinguishable patches; think of these, andthen of a finger-print, of which any photo-engraver's apprentice canmake you a forgery that the greatest experts cannot distinguish from theoriginal, which any capable amateur can imitate beyond detection after amonth's practice; and then ask yourselves if this is the kind ofevidence on which, without any support or corroboration, a gentleman ofhonour and position should be dragged before a criminal court andcharged with having committed a crime of the basest and most sordidtype. "But I must not detain you with unnecessary appeals. I willremind you briefly of the salient facts. The case for the prosecutionrests upon the assertion that the thumb-print found in the safe was madeby the thumb of the prisoner. If that thumb-print was not made by theprisoner, there is not only no case against him but no suspicion of anykind. 

"Now, was that thumb-print made by the prisoner's thumb? You have hadconclusive evidence that it was not. That thumb-print differed in thesize, or scale, of the pattern from a genuine thumb-print of theprisoner's. The difference was small, but it was fatal to the policetheory; the two prints were not identical. 

"But, if not the prisoner's thumb-print, what was it? The resemblance ofthe pattern was too exact for it to be the thumb-print of anotherperson, for it reproduced not only the pattern of the ridges on theprisoner's thumb, but also the scar of an old wound. The answer that Ipropose to this question is, that it was an intentional imitation of theprisoner's thumb-print, made with the purpose of fixing suspicion on theprisoner, and so ensuring the safety of the actual criminal. Are thereany facts which support this theory? Yes, there are several facts whichsupport it very strongly. 

"First, there are the facts that I have just mentioned. The redthumb-print disagreed with the genuine print in its scale or dimensions. It was not the prisoner's thumb-print; but neither was it that of anyother person. The only alternative is that it was a forgery. 

"In the second place, that print was evidently made with the aid ofcertain appliances and materials, and one of those materials, namelydefibrinated blood, was found in the safe. 

"In the third place, there is the coincidence that the print was onewhich it was possible to forge. The prisoner has ten digits--eightfingers and two thumbs. But there were in existence actual prints of thetwo thumbs, whereas no prints of the fingers were in existence; hence itwould have been impossible to forge a print of any of the fingers. So ithappens that the red thumb-print resembled one of the two prints ofwhich forgery was possible. 

"In the fourth place, the red thumb-print reproduces an accidentalpeculiarity of the 'Thumbograph' print. Now, if the red thumb-print is aforgery, it must have been made from the 'Thumbograph' print, sincethere exists no other print from which it could have been made. Hence wehave the striking fact that the red thumb-print is an exactreplica--including accidental peculiarities--of the only print fromwhich a forgery could have been made. The accidental S-shaped mark inthe 'Thumbograph' print is accounted for by the condition of the paper;the occurrence of this mark in the red thumb-print is not accounted forby any peculiarity of the paper, and can be accounted for in no way, excepting by assuming the one to be a copy of the other. The conclusionis thus inevitable that the red thumb-print is a photo-mechanicalreproduction of the 'Thumbograph' print. 

"But there is yet another point. If the red thumb-print is a forgeryreproduced from the 'Thumbograph' print, the forger must at some timehave had access to the 'Thumbograph. ' Now, you have heard Mrs. Hornby'sremarkable story of the mysterious disappearance of the 'Thumbograph'and its still more mysterious reappearance. That story can have left nodoubt in your minds that some person had surreptitiously removed the'Thumbograph' and, after an unknown interval, secretly replaced it. Thusthe theory of forgery receives confirmation at every point, and is inagreement with every known fact; whereas the theory that the redthumb-print was a genuine thumb-print, is based upon a gratuitousassumption, and has not had a single fact advanced in its support. 

"Accordingly, gentlemen, I assert that the prisoner's innocence has beenproved in the most complete and convincing manner, and I ask you for averdict in accordance with that proof. "

As Anstey resumed his seat, a low rumble of applause was heard from thegallery. It subsided instantly on a gesture of disapproval from thejudge, and a silence fell upon the court, in which the clock, withcynical indifference, continued to record in its brusque monotone thepassage of the fleeting seconds. 

"He is saved, Dr. Jervis! Oh! surely he is saved!" Juliet exclaimed inan agitated whisper. "They must see that he is innocent now. "

"Have patience a little longer, " I answered. "It will soon be over now. "

Sir Hector Trumpler was already on his feet and, after bestowing on thejury a stern hypnotic stare, he plunged into his reply with a reallyadmirable air of conviction and sincerity. "My lord and gentlemen ofthe jury: The case which is now before this Court is one, as I havealready remarked, in which human nature is presented in a highlyunfavourable light. But I need not insist upon this aspect of the case, which will already, no doubt, have impressed you sufficiently. It isnecessary merely for me, as my learned friend has aptly expressed it, todisentangle the actual facts of the case from the web of casuistry thathas been woven around them. 

"Those facts are of extreme simplicity. A safe has been opened andproperty of great value abstracted from it. It has been opened by meansof false keys. Now there are two men who have, from time to time, hadpossession of the true keys, and thus had the opportunity of makingcopies of them. When the safe is opened by its rightful owner, theproperty is gone, and there is found the print of the thumb of one ofthese two men. That thumb-print was not there when the safe was closed. The man whose thumb-print is found is a left-handed man; the print isthe print of a left thumb. It would seem, gentlemen, as if theconclusion were so obvious that no sane person could be found to contestit; and I submit that the conclusion which any sane person would arriveat--the only possible conclusion--is, that the person whose thumb-printwas found in the safe is the person who stole the property from thesafe. But the thumb-print was, admittedly, that of the prisoner at thebar, and therefore the prisoner at the bar is the person who stole thediamonds from the safe. 

"It is true that certain fantastic attempts have been made to explainaway these obvious facts. Certain far-fetched scientific theories havebeen propounded and an exhibition of legerdemain has taken place which, I venture to think, would have been more appropriate to some place ofpublic entertainment than to a court of justice. That exhibition has, nodoubt, afforded you considerable amusement. It has furnished a pleasingrelaxation from the serious business of the court. It has even beeninstructive, as showing to what extent it is possible for plain facts tobe perverted by misdirected ingenuity. But unless you are prepared toconsider this crime as an elaborate hoax--as a practical joke carriedout by a facetious criminal of extraordinary knowledge, skill andgeneral attainments--you must, after all, come to the only conclusionthat the facts justify: that the safe was opened and the propertyabstracted by the prisoner. Accordingly, gentlemen, I ask you, havingregard to your important position as the guardians of the well-being andsecurity of your fellow-citizens, to give your verdict in accordancewith the evidence, as you have solemnly sworn to do; which verdict, Isubmit, can be no other than that the prisoner is guilty of the crimewith which he is charged. "

Sir Hector sat down, and the jury, who had listened to his speech withsolid attention, gazed expectantly at the judge, as though they shouldsay: "Now, which of these two are we to believe?"

The judge turned over his notes with an air of quiet composure, writingdown a word here and there as he compared the various points in theevidence. Then he turned to the jury with a manner at once persuasiveand confidential--

"It is not necessary, gentlemen, " he commenced, "for me to occupy yourtime with an exhaustive analysis of the evidence. That evidence youyourselves have heard, and it has been given, for the most part, withadmirable clearness. Moreover, the learned counsel for the defence hascollated and compared that evidence so lucidly, and, I may say, soimpartially, that a detailed repetition on my part would besuperfluous. I shall therefore confine myself to a few comments whichmay help you in the consideration of your verdict. 

"I need hardly point out to you that the reference made by the learnedcounsel for the prosecution to far-fetched scientific theories issomewhat misleading. The only evidence of a theoretical character wasthat of the finger-print experts. The evidence of Dr. Rowe and of Dr. Thorndyke dealt exclusively with matters of fact. Such inferences aswere drawn by them were accompanied by statements of the facts whichyielded such inferences. 

"Now, an examination of the evidence which you have heard shows, as thelearned counsel for the defence has justly observed, that the entirecase resolves itself into a single question, which is this: 'Was thethumb-print that was found in Mr. Hornby's safe made by the thumb of theprisoner, or was it not?' If that thumb-print was made by the prisoner'sthumb, then the prisoner must, at least, have been present when the safewas unlawfully opened. If that thumb-print was not made by theprisoner's thumb, there is nothing to connect him with the crime. Thequestion is one of fact upon which it will be your duty to decide; and Imust remind you, gentlemen, that you are the sole judges of the facts ofthe case, and that you are to consider any remarks of mine as merelysuggestions which you are to entertain or to disregard according to yourjudgement. 

"Now let us consider this question by the light of the evidence. Thisthumb-print was either made by the prisoner or it was not. What evidencehas been brought forward to show that it was made by the prisoner? Well, there is the evidence of the ridge-pattern. That pattern is identicalwith the pattern of the prisoner's thumb-print, and even has theimpression of a scar which crosses the pattern in a particular mannerin the prisoner's thumb-print. There is no need to enter into theelaborate calculations as to the chances of agreement; the practicalfact, which is not disputed, is that if this red thumb-print is agenuine thumb-print at all, it was made by the prisoner's thumb. But itis contended that it is not a genuine thumb-print; that it is amechanical imitation--in fact a forgery. 

"The more general question thus becomes narrowed down to the moreparticular question: 'Is this a genuine thumb-print or is it a forgery?'Let us consider the evidence. First, what evidence is there that it is agenuine thumb-print? There is none. The identity of the pattern is noevidence on this point, because a forgery would also exhibit identity ofpattern. The genuineness of the thumb-print was assumed by theprosecution, and no evidence has been offered. 

"But now what evidence is there that the red thumb-print is a forgery?

"First, there is the question of size. Two different-sized prints couldhardly be made by the same thumb. Then there is the evidence of the useof appliances. Safe-robbers do not ordinarily provide themselves withinking-slabs and rollers with which to make distinct impressions oftheir own fingers. Then there is the accidental mark on the print whichalso exists on the only genuine print that could have been used for thepurpose of forgery, which is easily explained on the theory of aforgery, but which is otherwise totally incomprehensible. Finally, thereis the strange disappearance of the 'Thumbograph' and its strangereappearance. All this is striking and weighty evidence, to which mustbe added that adduced by Dr. Thorndyke as showing how perfectly it ispossible to imitate a finger-print. 

"These are the main facts of the case, and it is for you to considerthem. If, on careful consideration, you decide that the red thumb-printwas actually made by the prisoner's thumb, then it will be your duty topronounce the prisoner guilty; but if, on weighing the evidence, youdecide that the thumb-print is a forgery, then it will be your duty topronounce the prisoner not guilty. It is now past the usual luncheonhour, and, if you desire it, you can retire to consider your verdictwhile the Court adjourns. "

The jurymen whispered together for a few moments and then the foremanstood up. 

"We have agreed on our verdict, my lord, " he said. 

The prisoner, who had just been led to the back of the dock, was nowbrought back to the bar. The grey-wigged clerk of the court stood up andaddressed the jury. 

"Are you all agreed upon your verdict, gentlemen?"

"We are, " replied the foreman. 

"What do you say, gentlemen? Is the prisoner guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty, " replied the foreman, raising his voice and glancing atReuben. 

A storm of applause burst from the gallery and was, for the moment, disregarded by the judge. Mrs. Hornby laughed aloud--a strange, unnatural laugh--and then crammed her handkerchief into her mouth, andso sat gazing at Reuben with the tears coursing down her face, whileJuliet laid her head upon the desk and sobbed silently. 

After a brief space the judge raised an admonitory hand, and, when thecommotion had subsided, addressed the prisoner, who stood at the bar, calm and self-possessed, though his face bore a slight flush--

"Reuben Hornby, the jury, after duly weighing the evidence in this case, have found you to be not guilty of the crime with which you werecharged. With that verdict I most heartily agree. In view of theevidence which has been given, I consider that no other verdict waspossible, and I venture to say that you leave this court with yourinnocence fully established, and without a stain upon your character. Inthe distress which you have recently suffered, as well as in yourrejoicing at the verdict of the jury, you have the sympathy of theCourt, and of everyone present, and that sympathy will not be diminishedby the consideration that, with a less capable defence, the result mighthave been very different. 

"I desire to express my admiration at the manner in which that defencewas conducted, and I desire especially to observe that not you alone, but the public at large, are deeply indebted to Dr. Thorndyke, who, byhis insight, his knowledge and his ingenuity, has probably averted avery serious miscarriage of justice. The Court will now adjourn untilhalf-past two. "

The judge rose from his seat and everyone present stood up; and, amidstthe clamour of many feet upon the gallery stairs, the door of the dockwas thrown open by a smiling police officer and Reuben came down thestairs into the body of the court. 

CHAPTER XVII

AT LAST

"We had better let the people clear off, " said Thorndyke, when the firstgreetings were over and we stood around Reuben in the fast-emptyingcourt. "We don't want a demonstration as we go out. "

"No; anything but that, just now, " replied Reuben. He still held Mrs. Hornby's hand, and one arm was passed through that of his uncle, whowiped his eyes at intervals, though his face glowed with delight. 

"I should like you to come and have a little quiet luncheon with me atmy chambers--all of us friends together, " continued Thorndyke. 

"I should be delighted, " said Reuben, "if the programme would include asatisfactory wash. "

"You will come, Anstey?" asked Thorndyke. 

"What have you got for lunch?" demanded Anstey, who was now disrobed andin his right mind--that is to say, in his usual whimsical, pseudo-frivolous character. 

"That question savours of gluttony, " answered Thorndyke. "Come and see. "

"I will come and eat, which is better, " answered Anstey, "and I must runoff now, as I have to look in at my chambers. "

"How shall we go?" asked Thorndyke, as his colleague vanished throughthe doorway. "Polton has gone for a four-wheeler, but it won't hold usall. "

"It will hold four of us, " said Reuben, "and Dr. Jervis will bringJuliet; won't you, Jervis?"

The request rather took me aback, considering the circumstances, but Iwas conscious, nevertheless, of an unreasonable thrill of pleasure andanswered with alacrity: "If Miss Gibson will allow me, I shall be verydelighted. " My delight was, apparently, not shared by Juliet, to judgeby the uncomfortable blush that spread over her face. She made noobjection, however, but merely replied rather coldly: "Well, as we can'tsit on the roof of the cab, we had better go by ourselves. "

The crowd having by this time presumably cleared off, we all took ourway downstairs. The cab was waiting at the kerb, surrounded by a groupof spectators, who cheered Reuben as he appeared at the doorway, and wesaw our friends enter and drive away. Then we turned and walked quicklydown the Old Bailey towards Ludgate Hill. "Shall we take a hansom?" Iasked. 

"No; let us walk, " replied Juliet; "a little fresh air will do us goodafter that musty, horrible court. It all seems like a dream, and yetwhat a relief--oh! what a relief it is. "

"It is rather like the awakening from a nightmare to find the morningsun shining, " I rejoined. 

"Yes; that is just what it is like, " she agreed; "but I still feel dazedand shaken. "

We turned presently down New Bridge Street, towards the Embankment, walking side by side without speaking, and I could not help comparing, with some bitterness, our present stiff and distant relations with theintimacy and comradeship that had existed before the miserable incidentof our last meeting. 

"You don't look so jubilant over your success as I should haveexpected, " she said at length, with a critical glance at me; "but Iexpect you are really very proud and delighted, aren't you?"

"Delighted, yes; not proud. Why should I be proud? I have only playedjackal, and even that I have done very badly. "

"That is hardly a fair statement of the facts, " she rejoined, withanother quick, inquisitive look at me; "but you are in low spiritsto-day--which is not at all like you. Is it not so?"

"I am afraid I am a selfish, egotistical brute, " was my gloomy reply. "Iought to be as gay and joyful as everyone else to-day, whereas the factis that I am chafing over my own petty troubles. You see, now that thiscase is finished, my engagement with Dr. Thorndyke terminatesautomatically, and I relapse into my old life--a dreary repetition ofjourneying amongst strangers--and the prospect is not inspiriting. Thishas been a time of bitter trial to you, but to me it has been a greenoasis in the desert of a colourless, monotonous life. I have enjoyed thecompanionship of a most lovable man, whom I admire and respect above allother men, and with him have moved in scenes full of colour andinterest. And I have made one other friend whom I am loth to see fadeout of my life, as she seems likely to do. "

"If you mean me, " said Juliet, "I may say that it will be your own faultif I fade out of your life. I can never forget all that you have donefor us, your loyalty to Reuben, your enthusiasm in his cause, to saynothing of your many kindnesses to me. And, as to your having done yourwork badly, you wrong yourself grievously. I recognised in the evidenceby which Reuben was cleared to-day how much you had done, in filling inthe details, towards making the case complete and convincing. I shallalways feel that we owe you a debt of the deepest gratitude, and so willReuben, and so, perhaps, more than either of us, will someone else. "

"And who is that?" I asked, though with no great interest. The gratitudeof the family was a matter of little consequence to me. 

"Well, it is no secret now, " replied Juliet. "I mean the girl whomReuben is going to marry. What is the matter, Dr. Jervis?" she added, ina tone of surprise. 

We were passing through the gate that leads from the Embankment toMiddle Temple Lane, and I had stopped dead under the archway, laying adetaining hand upon her arm and gazing at her in utter amazement. 

"The girl that Reuben is going to marry!" I repeated. "Why, I had alwaystaken it for granted that he was going to marry you. "

"But I told you, most explicitly, that was not so!" she exclaimed withsome impatience. 

"I know you did, " I admitted ruefully; "but I thought--well, I imaginedthat things had, perhaps, not gone quite smoothly and--"

"Did you suppose that if I had cared for a man, and that man had beenunder a cloud, I should have denied the relation or pretended that wewere merely friends?" she demanded indignantly. 

"I am sure you wouldn't, " I replied hastily. "I was a fool, an idiot--byJove, what an idiot I have been!"

"It was certainly very silly of you, " she admitted; but there was agentleness in her tone that took away all bitterness from the reproach. 

"The reason of the secrecy was this, " she continued; "they becameengaged the very night before Reuben was arrested, and, when he heard ofthe charge against him, he insisted that no one should be told unless, and until, he was fully acquitted. I was the only person who was intheir confidence, and as I was sworn to secrecy, of course I couldn'ttell you; nor did I suppose that the matter would interest you. Whyshould it?"

"Imbecile that I am, " I murmured. "If I had only known!"

"Well, if you _had_ known, " said she; "what difference could it havemade to you?"

This question she asked without looking at me, but I noted that hercheek had grown a shade paler. 

"Only this, " I answered. "That I should have been spared many a day andnight of needless self-reproach and misery. "

"But why?" she asked, still keeping her face averted. "What had you toreproach yourself with?"

"A great deal, " I answered, "if you consider my supposed position. Ifyou think of me as the trusted agent of a man, helpless and deeplywronged--a man whose undeserved misfortunes made every demand uponchivalry and generosity; if you think of me as being called upon toprotect and carry comfort to the woman whom I regarded as, virtually, that man's betrothed wife; and then if you think of me as proceedingstraightway, before I had known her twenty-four hours, to fallhopelessly in love with her myself, you will admit that I had somethingto reproach myself with. "

She was still silent, rather pale and very thoughtful, and she seemed tobreathe more quickly than usual. 

"Of course, " I continued, "you may say that it was my own look-out, thatI had only to keep my own counsel, and no one would be any the worse. But there's the mischief of it. How can a man who is thinking of a womanmorning, noon and night; whose heart leaps at the sound of her coming, whose existence is a blank when she is away from him--a blank which hetries to fill by recalling, again and again, all that she has said andthe tones of her voice, and the look that was in her eyes when shespoke--how can he help letting her see, sooner or later, that he caresfor her? And if he does, when he has no right to, there is an end ofduty and chivalry and even common honesty. "

"Yes, I understand now, " said Juliet softly. "Is this the way?" Shetripped up the steps leading to Fountain Court and I followedcheerfully. Of course it was not the way, and we both knew it, but theplace was silent and peaceful, and the plane-trees cast a pleasant shadeon the gravelled court. I glanced at her as we walked slowly towards thefountain. The roses were mantling in her cheeks now and her eyes werecast down, but when she lifted them to me for an instant, I saw thatthey were shining and moist. 

"Did you never guess?" I asked. 

"Yes, " she replied in a low voice, "I guessed; but--but then, " sheadded shyly, "I thought I had guessed wrong. "

We walked on for some little time without speaking again until we cameto the further side of the fountain, where we stood listening to thequiet trickle of the water, and watching the sparrows as they took theirbath on the rim of the basin. A little way off another group of sparrowshad gathered with greedy joy around some fragments of bread that hadbeen scattered abroad by the benevolent Templars, and hard by a moresentimentally-minded pigeon, unmindful of the crumbs and the maraudingsparrows, puffed out his breast and strutted and curtsied before hismate with endearing gurgles. 

Juliet had rested her hand on one of the little posts that support thechain by which the fountain is enclosed and I had laid my hand on hers. Presently she turned her hand over so that mine lay in its palm; and sowe were standing hand-in-hand when an elderly gentleman, of dry andlegal aspect, came up the steps and passed by the fountain. He looked atthe pigeons and then he looked at us, and went his way smiling andshaking his head. 

"Juliet, " said I. 

She looked up quickly with sparkling eyes and a frank smile that was yeta little shy, too. 

"Yes. "

"Why did he smile--that old gentleman--when he looked at us?"

"I can't imagine, " she replied mendaciously. 

"It was an approving smile, " I said. "I think he was remembering his ownspring-time and giving us his blessing. "

"Perhaps he was, " she agreed. "He looked a nice old thing. " She gazedfondly at the retreating figure and then turned again to me. Her cheekshad grown pink enough by now, and in one of them a dimple displayeditself to great advantage in its rosy setting. 

"Can you forgive me, dear, for my unutterable folly?" I asked presently, as she glanced up at me again. 

"I am not sure, " she answered. "It was dreadfully silly of you. "

"But remember, Juliet, that I loved you with my whole heart--as I loveyou now and shall love you always. "

"I can forgive you anything when you say that, " she answered softly. 

Here the voice of the distant Temple clock was heard uttering a politeprotest. With infinite reluctance we turned away from the fountain, which sprinkled us with a parting benediction, and slowly retraced oursteps to Middle Temple Lane and thence into Pump Court. 

"You haven't said it, Juliet, " I whispered, as we came through thearchway into the silent, deserted court. 

"Haven't I, dear?" she answered; "but you know it, don't you? You know Ido. "

"Yes, I know, " I said; "and that knowledge is all my heart's desire. "

She laid her hand in mine for a moment with a gentle pressure and thendrew it away; and so we passed through into the cloisters. 

THE END