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

Police Officers In His Eagerness To

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 9

Something 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