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

I Think That Miss Ashton Would Have Made An Excellent Woman

Detective,  That Is,  On A Case In Which Her Personal Feelings Were

Not Involved As They Were Here. She Was Pale And Agitated As She

Appeared In The Corridor,  And Kennedy Hurried Toward Her.

 

"I Can't Believe It. I Won't Believe It," She Managed To Say.

 

"Tell Me,  What Happened?" Urged Kennedy Soothingly.

 

"Oh,  Mr. Kennedy,  Why Did You Ask Me To Do This?" She Reproached.

"I Would Almost Rather Not Have Known It At All."

 

"Believe Me,  Miss Ashton," Said Kennedy,  "You Ought To Know. It Is

On You That I Depend Most. We Saw Hanford Go Up. What Occurred?"

 

She Was Still Pale,  And Replied Nervously,  "Mr. Bennett Came In

About Quarter To Ten. He Stopped To Talk To Me And Looked About

The Room Curiously. Do You Know,  I Felt Very Uncomfortable For A

Time. Then He Locked The Door Leading From The Press Bureau To His

Office,  And Left Word That He Was Not To Be Disturbed. A Few

Minutes Later A Man Called."

 

"Yes,  Yes," Prompted Kennedy. "Hanford,  No Doubt."

 

She Was Racing On Breathlessly,  Scarcely Giving One A Chance To

Inquire How She Had Learned So Much.

 

"Why," She Cried With A Sort Of Defiant Ring In Her Tone,  "Mr.

Travis Is Going To Buy Those Pictures After All. And The Worst Of

It Is That I Met Him In The Hall Coming In As I Was Coming Down

Here,  And He Tried To Act Toward Me In The Same Old Way--And That

After All I Know Now About Him. They Have Fixed It All Up,  Mr.

Bennett Acting For Mr. Travis,  And This Mr. Hanford. They Are Even

Going To Ask Me To Carry The Money In A Sealed Envelope To The

Studio Of This Fellow Hanford,  To Be Given To A Third Person Who

Will Be There At Two O'clock This Afternoon."

 

"You,  Miss Ashton?" Inquired Kennedy,  A Light Breaking On His Face

As If At Last He Saw Something.

 

"Yes,  I," She Repeated. "Hanford Insisted That It Was Part Of The

Compact. They--They Haven't Asked Me Openly Yet To Be The Means Of

Carrying Out Their Dirty Deals,  But When They Do,  I--I Won't----"

 

"Miss Ashton," Remonstrated Kennedy,  "I Beg You To Be Calm. I Had

No Idea You Would Take It Like This,  No Idea. Please,  Please.

Walter,  You Will Excuse Us If We Take A Turn Down The Corridor And

Out In The Air. This Is Most Extraordinary."

 

For Five Or Ten Minutes Kennedy And Miss Ashton Appeared To Be

Discussing The New Turn Of Events Earnestly,  While I Waited

Impatiently. As They Approached Again She Seemed Calmer,  But I

Heard Her Say,  "I Hope You're Right. I'm All Broken Up By It. I'm

Ready To Resign. My Faith In Human Nature Is Shaken. No,  I Won't

Expose Wesley Travis For His Sake. It Cuts Me To Have To Admit It,

But Cadwalader Used Always To Say That Every Man Has His Price. I

Am Afraid This Will Do Great Harm To The Cause Of Reform And

Through It To The Woman Suffrage Cause Which Cast Its Lot With

This Party. I--I Can Hardly Believe----"

 

Kennedy Was Still Looking Earnestly At Her. "Miss Ashton," He

Implored,  "Believe Nothing. Remember One Of The First Rules Of

Politics Is Loyalty. Wait Until----"

 

"Wait?" She Echoed. "How Can I? I Hate Wesley Travis For Giving

In--More Than I Hate Cadwalader Brown For His Cynical Disregard Of

Honesty In Others."

 

She Bit Her Lip At Thus Betraying Her Feelings,  But What She Had

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 147

Heard Had Evidently Affected Her Deeply. It Was As Though The Feet

Of Her Idol Had Turned To Clay. Nevertheless It Was Evident That

She Was Coming To Look On It More As She Would If She Were An

Outsider.

 

"Just Think It Over," Urged Kennedy. "They Won't Ask You Right

Away. Don't Do Anything Rash. Suspend Judgment. You Won't Regret

It."

 

Craig's Next Problem Seemed To Be To Transfer The Scene Of His

Operations To Hanford's Studio. He Was Apparently Doing Some Rapid

Thinking As We Walked Uptown After Leaving Miss Ashton,  And I Did

Not Venture To Question Him On What Had Occurred When It Was So

Evident That Everything Depended On Being Prepared For What Was

Still To Occur.

 

Hanford Was Out. That Seemed To Please Kennedy,  For With A

Brightening Face,  Which Told More Surely Than Words That He Saw

His Way More And More Clearly,  He Asked Me To Visit The Agent And

Hire The Vacant Office Next To The Studio While He Went Uptown To

Complete His Arrangements For The Final Step.

 

I Had Completed My Part And Was Waiting In The Empty Room When He

Returned. He Lost No Time In Getting To Work,  And It Seemed To Me

As I Watched Him Curiously In Silence That He Was Repeating What

He Had Already Done At The Travis Headquarters. He Was Boring Into

The Wall,  Only This Time He Did It Much More Carefully,  And It Was

Evident That If He Intended Putting Anything Into This Cavity It

Must Be Pretty Large. The Hole Was Square,  And As I Bent Over I

Could See That He Had Cut Through The Plaster And Laths All The

Way To The Wallpaper On The Other Side,  Though He Was Careful To

Leave That Intact. Then He Set Up A Square Black Box In The

Cavity,  Carefully Poising It And Making Measurements That Told Of

The Exact Location Of Its Centre With Reference To The Partitions

And Walls.

 

A Skeleton Key Took Us Into Hanford's Well-Lighted But Now Empty

Studio. For Miss Ashton's Sake I Wished That The Photographs Had

Been There. I Am Sure Kennedy Would Have Found Slight Compunction

In A Larceny Of Them,  If They Had Been. It Was Something Entirely

Different That He Had In Mind Now,  However,  And He Was Working

Quickly For Fear Of Discovery. By His Measurements I Guessed That

He Was Calculating As Nearly As Possible The Centre Of The Box

Which He Had Placed In The Hole In The Wall On The Other Side Of

The Dark Wallpaper. When He Had Quite Satisfied Himself He Took A

Fine Pencil From His Pocket And Made A Light Cross On The Paper To

Indicate It. The Dot Fell To The Left Of A Large Calendar Hanging

On The Wall.

 

Kennedy's Appeal To Margaret Ashton Had Evidently Had Its Effect,

For When We Saw Her A Few Moments After These Mysterious

Preparations She Had Overcome Her Emotion.

 

"They Have Asked Me To Carry A Note To Mr. Hanford's Studio," She

Said Quietly,  "And Without Letting Them Know That I Know Anything

About It I Have Agreed To Do So."

 

"Miss Ashton," Said Kennedy,  Greatly Relieved,  "You're A Trump."

 

"No," She Replied,  Smiling Faintly,  "I'm Just Feminine Enough To

Be Curious."

 

Craig Shook His Head,  But Did Not Dispute The Point. "After You

Have Handed The Envelope To The Person,  Whoever It May Be,  In

Hanford's Studio,  Wait Until He Does Something--Er,--Suspicious.

Meanwhile Look At The Wall On The Side Toward The Next Vacant

Office. To The Left Of The Big Calendar You Will See A Light

Pencil Mark,  A Cross. Somehow You Must Contrive To Get Near It,

But Don't Stand In Front Of It. Then If Anything Happens Stick

This Little Number 10 Needle In The Wall Right At The Intersection

Of The Cross. Withdraw It Quickly,  Count Fifteen,  Then Put This

Part 3 Chapter 12 (The Campaign Grafter) Pg 148

Little Sticker Over The Cross,  And Get Out As Best You Can,  Though

We Shan't Be Far Away If You Should Need Us. That's All."

 

We Did Not Accompany Her To The Studio For Fear Of Being Observed,

But Waited Impatiently In The Next Office. We Could Hear Nothing

Of What Was Said,  But When A Door Shut And It Was Evident That She

Had Gone,  Kennedy Quickly Removed Something From The Box In The

Wall Covered With A Black Cloth.

 

As Soon As It Was Safe Kennedy Had Sent Me Posting After Her To

Secure Copies Of The Incriminating Photographs Which Were To Be

Carried By Her From The Studio,  While He Remained To See Who Came

Out. I Thought A Change Had Come Over Her As She Handed Me The

Package With The Request That I Carry It To Mr. Bennett And Get

Them From Him.

 

The First Inkling I Had That Kennedy Had At Last Been Able To

Trace Back Something In The Mysterious Doings Of The Past Two Days

Came The Following Evening,  When Craig Remarked Casually That He

Would Like To Have Me Call On Billy Mcloughlin If I Had No

Engagement. I Replied That I Had None--And Managed To Squirm Out

Of The One I Really Had.

 

The Boss's Office Was Full Of Politicians,  For It Was The Eve Of

"Dough Day," When The Purse Strings Were Loosed And A Flood Of

Potent Argument Poured Forth To Turn The Tide Of Election. Hanford

Was There With The Other Ward Heelers.

 

"Mr. Mcloughlin," Began Kennedy Quietly,  When We Were Seated Alone

With Hanford In The Little Sanctum Of The Boss,  "You Will Pardon

Me If I Seem A Little Slow In Coming To The Business That Has

Brought Me Here To-Night. First Of All,  I May Say,  And You,

Hanford,  Being A Photographer Will Appreciate It,  That Ever Since

The Days Of Daguerre Photography Has Been Regarded As The One

Infallible Means Of Portraying Faithfully Any Object,  Scene,  Or

Action. Indeed A Photograph Is Admitted In Court As Irrefutable

Evidence. For When Everything Else Fails,  A Picture Made Through

The Photographic Lens Almost Invariably Turns The Tide. However,

Such A Picture Upon Which The Fate Of An Important Case May Rest

Should Be Subjected To Critical Examination For It Is An

Established Fact That A Photograph May Be Made As Untruthful As It

May Be Reliable. Combination Photographs Change Entirely The

Character Of The Initial Negative And Have Been Made For The Past

Fifty Years. The Earliest,  Simplest,  And Most Harmless

Photographic Deception Is The Printing Of Clouds Into A Bare Sky.

But The Retoucher With His Pencil And Etching Tool To-Day Is Very

Skilful. A Workman Of Ordinary Skill Can Introduce A Person Taken

In A Studio Into An Open-Air Scene Well Blended And In Complete

Harmony Without A Visible Trace Of Falsity.

 

"I Need Say Nothing Of How One Head Can Be Put On Another Body In

A Picture,  Nor Need I Say What A Double Exposure Will Do. There Is

Almost No Limit To The Changes That May Be Wrought In Form And

Feature. It Is Possible To Represent A Person Crossing Broadway Or

Walking On Riverside Drive,  Places He May Never Have Visited. Thus

A Person Charged With An Offence May Be Able To Prove An Alibi By

The Aid Of A Skilfully Prepared Combination Photograph.

 

"Where,  Then,  Can Photography Be Considered As Irrefutable

Evidence? The Realism May Convince All,  Will Convince All,  Except

The Expert And The Initiated After Careful Study. A Shrewd Judge

Will Insist That In Every Case The Negative Be Submitted And

Examined For Possible Alterations By A Clever Manipulator."

 

Kennedy Bent His Gaze On Mcloughlin. "Now,  I