The Poisoned Pen(Fiscle Part-3) by Arthur B. Reeve (the little red hen ebook .TXT) 📖
- Author: Arthur B. Reeve
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Speak.
"Before God," He Cried Dramatically, "I Am As Innocent As You Are
Of This Crime, Professor Kennedy."
"Are You Prepared To Swear Before Me," Almost Shouted Kennedy, His
Eyes Blazing, "That You Were Never Served Properly By Your Wife's
Lawyers In That Suit?"
The Man Cringed Back As If A Stinging Blow Had Been Delivered
Between His Eyes. As He Met Craig's Fixed Glare He Knew There Was
No Hope. Slowly, As If The Words Were Being Wrung From Him
Syllable By Syllable, He Said In A Muffled Voice:
"No, I Perjured Myself. I Was Served In That Suit. But--"
"And You Swore Falsely Before Kimmel That You Were Not?" Persisted
Kennedy.
"Yes," He Murmured. "But--"
"And You Are Prepared Now To Make Another Affidavit To That
Effect?"
"Yes," He Replied. "If--"
"No Buts Or Ifs, Thurston," Cried Kennedy Sarcastically. "What Did
You Make That Affidavit For? What Is Your Story?"
"Kimmel Sent For Me. I Did Not Go To Him. He Offered To Pay My
Debts If I Would Swear To Such A Statement. I Did Not Ask Why Or
For Whom. I Swore To It And Gave Him A List Of My Creditors. I
Waited Until They Were Paid. Then My Conscience"--I Could Not Help
Revolting At The Thought Of Conscience In Such A Wretch, And The
Word Itself Seemed To Stick In His Throat As He Went On And Saw
How Feeble An Impression He Was Making On Us--"My Conscience Began
To Trouble Me. I Determined To See Vera, Tell Her All, And Find
Out Whether It Was She Who Wanted This Statement. I Saw Her. When
At Last I Told Her, She Scorned Me. I Can Confirm That, For As I
Left A Man Entered. I Now Knew How Grossly I Had Sinned, In
Listening To Mose Kimmel. I Fled. I Disappeared In Maine. I
Travelled. Every Day My Money Grew Less. At Last I Was Overtaken,
Captured, And Brought Back Here."
He Stopped And Sank Wretchedly Down In A Chair And Covered His
Face With His Hands.
"A Likely Story," Muttered Leland In My Ear.
Kennedy Was Working Quickly. Motioning The Officers To Be Seated
By Thurston, He Uncovered A Jar Which He Had Placed On The Table.
The Colour Had Now Appeared In Alma's Cheeks, As If Hope Had Again
Sprung In Her Heart, And I Fancied That Halsey Post Saw His Claim
On Her Favour Declining Correspondingly.
"I Want You To Examine The Letters In This Case With Me,"
Continued Kennedy. "Take The Letter Which I Read From Miss Lytton,
Which Was Found Following The Strange Disappearance Of The Note
From Thurston."
He Dipped A Pen Into A Little Bottle, And Wrote On A Piece Of
Paper:
What Is Your Opinion About Cross's Headache Cure? Would You
Recommend It For A Nervous Headache?
Burgess Thurston, C/O Mrs. S. Boncour.
Craig Held Up The Writing So That We Could All See That He Had
Written What Dixon Declared Thurston Wrote In The Note That Had
Disappeared. Then He Dipped Another Pen Into A Second Bottle, And
For Some Time He Scrawled On Another Sheet Of Paper. He Held It
Up, But It Was Still Perfectly Blank.
"Now," He Added, "I Am Going To Give A Little Demonstration Which
I Expect To Be Successful Only In A Measure. Here In The Open
Sunshine By This Window I Am Going To Place These Two Sheets Of
Paper Side By Side. It Will Take Longer Than I Care To Wait To
Make My Demonstration Complete, But I Can Do Enough To Convince
You."
For A Quarter Of An Hour We Sat In Silence, Wondering What He
Would Do Next. At Last He Beckoned Us Over To The Window. As We
Approached He Said, "On Sheet Number One I Have Written With
Quinoline; On Sheet Number Two I Wrote With A Solution Of Nitrate
Of Silver."
We Bent Over. The Writing Signed "Thurston" On Sheet Number One
Was Faint, Almost Imperceptible, But On Paper Number Two, In Black
Letters, Appeared What Kennedy Had Written: "Dear Harris: Since We
Agreed To Disagree We Have At Least Been Good Friends."
"It Is Like The Start Of The Substituted Letter, And The Other Is
Like The Missing Note," Gasped Leland In A Daze.
"Yes," Said Kennedy Quickly. "Leland, No One Entered Your Office.
No One Stole The Thurston Note. No One Substituted The Lytton
Letter. According To Your Own Story, You Took Them Out Of The Safe
And Left Them In The Sunlight All Day. The Process That Had Been
Started Earlier In Ordinary Light, Slowly, Was Now Quickly
Completed. In Other Words, There Was Writing Which Would Soon Fade
Away On One Side Of The Paper And Writing Which Was Invisible But
Would Soon Appear On The Other.
"For Instance, Quinoline Rapidly Disappears In Sunlight. Starch
With A Slight Trace Of Iodine Writes A Light Blue, Which
Disappears In Air. It Was Something Like That Used In The Thurston
Letter. Then, Too, Silver Nitrate Dissolved In Ammonia Gradually
Turns Black As It Is Acted On By Light And Air. Or Magenta Treated
With A Bleaching-Agent In Just Sufficient Quantity To Decolourise
It Is Invisible When Used For Writing. But The Original Colour
Reappears As The Oxygen Of The Air Acts Upon The Pigment. I
Haven't A Doubt But That My Analyses Of The Inks Are Correct And
On One Side Quinoline Was Used And On The Other Nitrate Of Silver.
This Explains The Inexplicable Disappearance Of Evidence
Incriminating One Person, Thurston, And The Sudden Appearance Of
Evidence Incriminating Another, Dr. Dixon. Sympathetic Ink Also
Accounts For The Curious Circumstance That The Lytton Letter Was
Folded Up With The Writing Apparently Outside. It Was Outside And
Unseen Until The Sunlight Brought It Out And Destroyed The Other,
Inside, Writing--A Change, I Suspect, That Was Intended For The
Police To See After It Was Completed, Not For The Defence To
Witness As It Was Taking Place."
We Looked At Each Other Aghast. Thurston Was Nervously Opening And
Shutting His Lips And Moistening Them As If He Wanted To Say
Something But Could Not Find The Words.
"Lastly," Went On Craig, Utterly Regardless Of Thurston's Frantic
Efforts To Speak, "We Come To The Note That Was Discovered So
Queerly Crumpled Up In The Jar Of Ammonia On Vera Lytton's
Dressing-Table. I Have Here A Cylindrical Glass Jar In Which I
Place Some Sal-Ammoniac And Quicklime. I Will Wet It And Heat It A
Little. That Produces The Pungent Gas Of Ammonia.
"On One Side Of This Third Piece Of Paper I Myself Write With This
Mercurous Nitrate Solution. You See, I Leave No Mark On The Paper
As I Write. I Fold It Up And Drop It Into The Jar-And In A Few
Seconds Withdraw It. Here Is A Very Quick Way Of Producing
Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Poisoned Pen) Pg 9Something Like The Slow Result Of Sunlight With Silver Nitrate.
The Fumes Of Ammonia Have Formed The Precipitate Of Black
Mercurous Nitrate, A Very Distinct Black Writing Which Is Almost
Indelible. That Is What Is Technically Called Invisible Rather
Than Sympathetic Ink."
We Leaned Over To Read What He Had Written. It Was The Same As The
Note Incriminating Dixon:
This Will Cure Your Headache.
Dr. Dixon.
A Servant Entered With A Telegram From New York. Scarcely Stopping
In His Exposure, Kennedy Tore It Open, Read It Hastily, Stuffed It
Into His Pocket, And Went On.
"Here In This Fourth Bottle I Have An Acid Solution Of Iron
Chloride, Diluted Until The Writing Is Invisible When Dry," He
Hurried On. "I Will Just Make A Few Scratches On This Fourth Sheet
Of Paper--So. It Leaves No Mark. But It Has The Remarkable
Property Of Becoming Red In Vapour Of Sulpho-Cyanide. Here Is A
Long-Necked Flask Of The Gas, Made By Sulphuric Acid Acting On
Potassium Sulpho-Cyanide. Keep Back, Dr. Waterworth, For It Would
Be Very Dangerous For You To Get Even A Whiff Of This In Your
Condition. Ah! See--The Scratches I Made On The Paper Are Red."
Then Hardly Giving Us More Than A Moment To Let The Fact Impress
Itself On Our Minds, He Seized The Piece Of Paper And Dashed It
Into The Jar Of Ammonia. When He Withdrew It, It Was Just A Plain
Sheet Of White Paper Again. The Red Marks Which The Gas In The
Flask Had Brought Out Of Nothingness Had Been Effaced By The
Ammonia. They Had Gone And Left No Trace.
"In This Way I Can Alternately Make The Marks Appear And Disappear
By Using The Sulpho-Cyanide And The Ammonia. Whoever Wrote This
Note With Dr. Dixon's Name On It Must Have Had The Doctor's Reply
To The Thurston Letter Containing The Words, 'This Will Not Cure
Your Headache.' He Carefully Traced The Words, Holding The Genuine
Note Up To The Light With A Piece Of Paper Over It, Leaving Out
The Word 'Not' And Using Only Such Words As He Needed. This Note
Was Then Destroyed.
"But He Forgot That After He Had Brought Out The Red Writing By
The Use Of The Sulpho-Cyanide, And Though He Could Count On Vera
Lytton's Placing The Note In The Jar Of Ammonia And Hence
Obliterating The Writing, While At The Same Time The Invisible
Writing In The Mercurous Nitrate Involving Dr. Dixon's Name Would
Be Brought Out By The Ammonia Indelibly On The Other Side Of The
Note--He Forgot"--Kennedy Was Now Speaking Eagerly And Loudly--
"That The Sulpho-Cyanide Vapours Could Always Be Made To Bring
Back To Accuse Him The Words That The Ammonia Had Blotted Out."
Before The Prosecutor Could Interfere, Kennedy Had Picked Up The
Note Found In The Ammonia-Jar Beside The Dying Girl And Had Jammed
The State's Evidence Into The Long-Necked Flask Of Sulpho-Cyanide
Vapour.
"Don't Fear," He Said, Trying To Pacify The Now Furious
Prosecutor, "It Will Do Nothing To The Dixon Writing. That Is
Permanent Now, Even If It Is Only A Tracing."
When He Withdrew The Note, There Was Writing On Both Sides, The
Black Of The Original Note And Something In Red On The Other Side.
We Crowded Around, And Craig Read It With As Much Interest As Any
Of Us:
"Before Taking The Headache-Powder, Be Sure To Place The Contents
Of This Paper In A Jar With A Little Warm Water."
Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Poisoned Pen) Pg 10
"Hum," Commented Craig, "This Was Apparently Written On The
Outside Wrapper Of A Paper Folded About Some Sal-Ammoniac And
Quicklime. It Goes On:
"'Just Drop The Whole Thing In, Paper And All. Then If You Feel A
Faintness From The Medicine The Ammonia Will Quickly Restore You.
One Spoonful Of The Headache-Powder Swallowed Quickly Is Enough.'"
No Name Was Signed To The Directions, But They Were Plainly
Written, And "Paper And All" Was Underscored Heavily.
Craig Pulled Out Some Letters. "I Have Here Specimens Of Writing
Of Many Persons Connected With This Case, But I Can See At A
Glance Which One Corresponds To The Writing On This Red Death-
Warrant By An Almost Inhuman Fiend. I Shall, However, Leave That
Part Of It To The Handwriting Experts To Determine At The Trial.
Thurston, Who Was The Man Whom You Saw Enter The Boncour Bungalow
As You Left--The Constant Visitor?"
Thurston Had Not Yet Regained His Self-Control, But With Trembling
Forefinger He Turned And Pointed To Halsey Post.
"Yes, Ladies And Gentlemen," Cried Kennedy As He Slapped The
Telegram That Had Just Come From New York Down On The Table
Decisively, "Yes, The Real Client
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