The Poisoned Pen(Fiscle Part-3) - Arthur B. Reeve (best detective novels of all time TXT) 📗

I Proceed Further With The Story I

Should Quote At Least The Important Parts Of The Article In The

Morning Star Which Had Occasioned The Discussion. The Article Had

Been Headed,  "When Personalities Are Lost," And With The Gilbert

Case As A Text Many Instances Had Been Cited Which Had Later Been

Solved By The Return Of The Memory Of The Sufferer. In Part The

Article Had Said:

 

Mysterious Disappearances,  Such As That Of Georgette Gilbert,  Have

Alarmed The Public And Baffled The Police Before This,

Disappearances That In Their Suddenness,  Apparent Lack Of Purpose,

And Inexplicability,  Have Had Much In Common With The Case Of Miss

Gilbert.

 

Leaving Out Of Account The Class Of Disappearances Such As

Embezzlers,  Blackmailers,  And Other Criminals,  There Is Still A

Large Number Of Recorded Cases Where The Subjects Have Dropped Out

Of Sight Without Apparent Cause Or Reason And Have Left Behind

Them Untarnished Reputations. Of These A Small Percentage Are

Found To Have Met With Violence; Others Have Been Victims Of A

Suicidal Mania; And Sooner Or Later A Clue Has Come To Light,  For

The Dead Are Often Easier To Find Than The Living. Of The

Remaining Small Proportion There Are On Record A Number Of

Carefully Authenticated Cases Where The Subjects Have Been The

Victims Of A Sudden And Complete Loss Of Memory.

 

This Dislocation Of Memory Is A Variety Of Aphasia Known As

Amnesia,  And When The Memory Is Recurrently Lost And Restored It

Is An "Alternating Personality." The Psychical Researchers And

Psychologists Have Reported Many Cases Of Alternating Personality.

Studious Efforts Are Being Made To Understand And To Explain The

Strange Type Of Mental Phenomena Exhibited In These Cases,  But No

One Has As Yet Given A Final,  Clear,  And Comprehensive Explanation

Of Them. Such Cases Are By No Means Always Connected With

Disappearances,  But The Variety Known As The Ambulatory Type,

Where The Patient Suddenly Loses All Knowledge Of His Own Identity

And Of His Past And Takes Himself Off,  Leaving No Trace Or Clue,

Is The Variety Which The Present Case Calls To Popular Attention.

 

Then Followed A List Of A Dozen Or So Interesting Cases Of Persons

Who Had Vanished Completely And Had,  Some Several Days And Some

Even Years Later,  Suddenly "Awakened" To Their First Personality,

Returned,  And Taken Up The Thread Of That Personality Where It Had

Been Broken.

 

To Kennedy's Inquiry I Was About To Reply That I Recalled The

Conversation Distinctly,  When Mr. Gilbert Shot An Inquiring Glance

From Beneath His Bushy Eyebrows,  Quickly Shifting From My Face To

Kennedy's,  And Asked,  "And What Was Your Conclusion--What Do You

Think Of The Case? Is It Aphasia Or Amnesia,  Or Whatever The

Doctors Call It,  And Do You Think She Is Wandering About Somewhere

Unable To Recover Her Real Personality?"

Part 3 Chapter 7 (The White Slave) Pg 73

 

"I Should Like To Have All The Facts At First Hand Before

Venturing An Opinion," Craig Replied With Precisely That Shade Of

Hesitancy That Might Reassure The Anxious Father And Mother,

Without Raising A False Hope.

 

Mr. And Mrs. Gilbert Exchanged Glances,  The Purport Of Which Was

That She Desired Him To Tell The Story.

 

"It Was Day Before Yesterday," Began Mr. Gilbert,  Gently Touching

His Wife's Trembling Hand That Sought His Arm As He Began

Rehearsing The Tragedy That Had Cast Its Shadow Across Their

Lives,  "Thursday,  That Georgette--Er--Since We Have Heard Of

Georgette." His Voice Faltered A Bit,  But He Proceeded: "As You

Know,  She Was Last Seen Walking On Fifth Avenue. The Police Have

Traced Her Since She Left Home That Morning. It Is Known That She

Went First To The Public Library,  Then That She Stopped At A

Department Store On The Avenue,  Where She Made A Small Purchase

Which She Had Charged To Our Family Account,  And Finally That She

Went To A Large Book-Store. Then--That Is The Last."

 

Mrs. Gilbert Sighed,  And Buried Her Face In A Lace Handkerchief As

Her Shoulders Shook Convulsively.

 

"Yes,  I Have Read That," Repeated Kennedy Gently,  Though With

Manifest Eagerness To Get Down To Facts That Might Prove More

Illuminating. "I Think I Need Hardly Impress Upon You The

Advantage Of Complete Frankness,  The Fact That Anything You May

Tell Me Is Of A Much More Confidential Nature Than If It Were Told

To The Police. Er--R,  Had Miss Gilbert Any--Love Affair,  Any

Trouble Of Such A Nature That It Might Have Preyed On Her Mind?"

 

Kennedy's Tactful Manner Seemed To Reassure Both The Father And

The Mother,  Who Exchanged Another Glance.

 

"Although We Have Said No To The Reporters," Mrs. Gilbert Replied

Bravely In Answer To The Nod Of Approval From Her Husband,  And

Much As If She Herself Were Making A Confession For Them Both,  "I

Fear That Georgette Had Had A Love Affair. No Doubt You Have Heard

Hints Of Dudley Lawton's Name In Connection With The Case? I Can't

Imagine How They Could Have Leaked Out,  For I Should Have Said

That That Old Affair Had Long Since Been Forgotten Even By The

Society Gossips. The Fact Is That Shortly After Georgette 'Came

Out,' Dudley Lawton,  Who Is Quite On The Road To Becoming One Of

The Rather Notorious Members Of The Younger Set,  Began To Pay Her

Marked Attentions. He Is A Fascinating,  Romantic Sort Of Fellow,

One That,  I Imagine,  Possesses Much Attraction For A Girl Who Has

Been Brought Up As Simply As Georgette Was,  And Who Has Absorbed A

Surreptitious Diet Of Modern Literature Such As We Now Know

Georgette Did. I Suppose You Have Seen Portraits Of Georgette In

The Newspapers And Know What A Dreamy And Artistic Nature Her Face

Indicates?"

 

Kennedy Nodded. It Is,  Of Course,  One Of The Cardinal Tenets Of

Journalism That All Women Are Beautiful,  But Even The Coarse

Screen Of The Ordinary Newspaper Half-Tone Had Not Been Able To

Conceal The Rather Exceptional Beauty Of Miss Georgette Gilbert.

If It Had,  All The Shortcomings Of The Newspaper Photographic Art

Would Have Been Quickly Glossed Over By The Almost Ardent

Descriptions By Those Ladies Of The Press Who Come Along About The

Second Day After An Event Of This Kind With Signed Articles

Analysing The Character And Motives,  The Life And Gowns Of The

Latest Actors In The Front-Page Stories.

 

"Naturally Both My Husband And Myself Opposed His Attentions From

The First. It Was A Hard Struggle,  For Georgette,  Of Course,

Assumed The Much-Injured Air Of Some Of The Heroines Of Her

Favourite Novels. But I,  At Least,  Believed That We Had Won And

That Georgette Finally Was Brought To Respect And,  I Hoped,

Understand Our Wishes In The Matter. I Believe So Yet. Mr. Gilbert

In A Roundabout Way Came To An Understanding With Old Mr. Dudley

Part 3 Chapter 7 (The White Slave) Pg 74

Lawton,  Who Possesses A Great Influence Over His Son,  And--Well,

Dudley Lawton Seemed To Have Passed Out Of Georgette's Life. I

Believed So Then,  At Least,  And I See No Reason For Not Believing

So Yet. I Feel That You Ought To Know This,  But Really I Don't

Think It Is Right To Say That Georgette Had A Love Affair. I

Should Rather Say That She Had Had A Love Affair,  But That It Had

Been Forgotten,  Perhaps A Year Ago."

 

Mrs. Gilbert Paused Again,  And It Was Evident That Though She Was

Concealing Nothing She Was Measuring Her Words Carefully In Order

Not To Give A False Impression.

 

"What Does Dudley Lawton Say About The Newspapers Bringing His

Name Into The Case?" Asked Kennedy,  Addressing Mr. Gilbert.

 

"Nothing," Replied He. "He Denies That He Has Even Spoken To Her

For Nearly A Year. Apparently He Has No Interest In The Case. And

Yet I Cannot Quite Believe That Lawton Is As Uninterested As He

Seems. I Know That He Has Often Spoken About Her To Members Of The

Cosmos Club Where He Lives,  And That He Reads Practically

Everything That The Newspapers Print About The Case."

 

"But You Have No Reason To Think That There Has Ever Been Any

Secret Communication Between Them? Miss Georgette Left No Letters

Or Anything That Would Indicate That Her Former Infatuation

Survived?"

 

"None Whatever," Repeated Mr. Gilbert Emphatically. "We Have Gone

Over Her Personal Effects Very Carefully,  And I Can't Say They

Furnish A Clue. In Fact,  There Were Very Few Letters. She Rarely

Kept A Letter. Whether It Was Merely From Habit Or For Some

Purpose,  I Can't Say."

 

"Besides Her Liking For Dudley Lawton And Her Rather Romantic

Nature,  There Are No Other Things In Her Life That Would Cause A

Desire For Freedom?" Asked Kennedy,  Much As A Doctor Might Test

The Nerves Of A Patient. "She Had No Hobbies?"

 

"Beyond The Reading Of Some Books Which Her Mother And I Did Not

Altogether Approve Of,  I Should Say No--No Hobbies."

 

"So Far,  I Suppose,  It Is True That Neither You Nor The Police

Have Received Even A Hint As To Where She Went After Leaving The

Book-Store?"

 

"Not A Hint. She Dropped Out As Completely As If The Earth Had

Swallowed Her."

 

"Mrs. Gilbert," Said Kennedy,  As Our Visitors Rose To Go,  "You May

Rest Assured That If It Is Humanly Possible To Find Your Daughter

I Shall Leave No Stone Unturned Until I Have Probed To The Bottom

Of This Mystery. I Have Seldom Had A Case That Hung On More

Slender Threads,  Yet If I Can Weave Other Threads To Support It I

Feel That We Shall Soon Find That The Mystery Is Not So Baffling

As The Missing Persons Squad Has Found It So Far."

 

Scarcely Had The Gilberts Left When Kennedy Put On His Hat,

Remarking: "We'll At Least Get Our Walk,  If Not The Show. Let's

Stroll Around To The Cosmos Club. Perhaps We May Catch Lawton In."

 

Luckily We Chanced To Find Him There In The Reading-Room. Lawton

Was,  As Mrs. Gilbert Had Said,  A Type That Is Common Enough In New

York And Is Very Fascinating To Many Girls. In Fact,  He Was One Of

Those Fellows Whose Sins Are Readily Forgiven Because They Are

Always Interesting. Not A Few Men Secretly Admire Though Publicly

Execrate The Lawton Type.

 

I Say We Chanced To Find Him In. That Was About All We Found. Our

Interview Was Most Unsatisfactory. For My Part,  I Could Not

Determine Whether He Was Merely Anxious To Avoid Any Notoriety In

Connection With The Case Or Whether He Was Concealing Something

Part 3 Chapter 7 (The White Slave) Pg 75

That Might Compromise Himself.

 

"Really,  Gentlemen," He Drawled,  Puffing Languidly On A Cigarette

And Turning Slowly Toward The Window To Watch The Passing Throng

Under The Lights Of The Avenue,  "Really I Don't See How I