The Fourth Cigarette Stump.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 103, 2 May 1914, Page 10

The Fourth Cigarette Stump.

T cannot tdl you why it was that I %hose., Brittany for my holiday country some" 1 years, ago; nor why, when I had. teached the goree-clad. plains of America, I selected yannes as my headquarters. To the table-d'hote of the Hotel de la (Paix came^ daily, at the hour of lun(cheon, some dozen or so notaries, advocates, doctors, and high, officials of the . 'Prefecture and the Courts, Among ibhem were two capital fellows with -Whom 'I struck up acquaintance) one a doctor, Pascal Amblemeuse ; the other a "juge '•^'instruction (or investigating majisAndre Cornudet, a bachelor of iorty or bo. Lombroso'a theories of crime were much in the air at the time, and one 'day, -with the coffee, Amblemeuse and Cornudet were at it hammer-and-tongs i acroee me — I eat between them at the , long table— the doctor" all for Lombroso, the magistrate all against. Then Came a. lull. "OetLtlenien," I said, "you are epecialists, and therefore predestined to narrownesg of ontlookr You, doctor, are all for physical signs. You, monsieur le ■ ijuge, you are all for the intangible. , 4 The doctor would condemn a potential ''Saint John, for a prdgnathouis jaw. ■Lacking the evidence, the magistrate , Would, set free Jack the Ripper if he did ;not; not blanch. You are both wrong, gentlemen, because you are eaich half-right. .In- my; «ntall experience as an amateur detective, 1 have been convinced ' 'that-— /j , v Monsieur Cornudet sprang to his feet. "You will pardon me for interrupting, M. Solomon, But M. Amblemeusu and I_ have to conduct an investigation — a simple , suicide. ' ' "Perhaps M. Solomon would like to •accompany us," said the doctor, a/lding . maliciously, "en amateur. We could Vtalk by the way." "I should be charmed," said Cornudet; "but a simple suicide," and as he 1 turned, for his hat> he shrugged his shoulders as if scoffing to offer such „ vulgar fare. "No suicide' ia simple/', said I. The magistrate stopped in the ast of raising his hat, stopped dead for a sec* ond. -and then clapped it on his head as if he had just come to a very definite 1 decision. His sudden, wheel round gave me the same impression, l "Come by all means," he said with > some show of cordiality. And thm he added, "You are not. by some sphndid chance, the Sherlock Holmes ,of renown ?", "Oh, dear trie, no!" I protested. '"I ' am kit a mete, da'tabJer, a theorist more than a, practitioner. This is one' of -i my fa"vditrite truths: 'I ' have always .fpuad, it useful: the general public, as weHas the" established police hierarchy, has- a profound and helpful contempt ion the "theory -man," btfiev1 ing that the journeyman -who has been i through ft regular apprenticeship it the only owe to be feared c* employed, ,- This digression brings us to the" ctebi < of No. 5, Place Henri 'Quatre, thai delightful little square where old France of the' lily-days still sleeps. "I, have some interest in the case," ( said Comudet, 'because the' old fellow was a client of my brother-in-law, le (Masne, the notary.". Toußgaini l'jOit^sHi/'ft retired ship-da*)*,, tain tit seventy /odd, had lived for nearly ten years on .the .second floor of No. 5, Place ', Hesiri ' Quafcre. He tfccSupied/ a small flat of tak>, -rooms j thy first;;; his general lisriflff-roont and bedroofa; ' a Jarge and ctafflotiably ftufiislted cha-fltfer,,-opening into & fedtond and, smaller a'|)4rb«' ment, used as* kitchen ''ana dining-r00M..,* At hall-past nine- e-very morning an &iderJy widow, Madame Veuve Graudet, bought him_his_d«ilx. sousl worki .of miJk, and -attended' 1 'i 6 'Hlie ordinary ! household duties. She was gone regularly by'Mii-pmt:im?AM fotfthe rest 1 of ! the day Tauesatrit i'fliseauydid. 'for Mmself, '-Being;' A mUbt h.* ■««## £obk,- andalways; ptejterwi b!is.'<&wn Itfricheon acid dinoefr; and being 1 absolutely friendless, ' was rarely visited. ; . This was the* man who bad committed ''"fcnkide. ' , At- .ten. o'clock Jdad&me 'veuve Grandet went .to the office) of the Commissary, of Police, andinloriisißd,him-,tb;at on repairing to Capftafne I'Oiseau's"' rooms as usual, she was ho/rifled to see her master hanging." Th* body -had not feeen> cut dowrt because"' it was* already cold when the officers of the law had arrived, It was hanging ah iron coat-peg fixed to the 'tkioftfof communication between the two rooms. The body was, taken down and laid on the feed. Doctor Amblemeuse removed the cbmrnon pair of' braces that had been , used* for a noose, and giving scarce a glance at all that, was left of the sturdy ,whitehaired' old mskirier/ turned ana said to Cornttdet : - "Death by strangulation. I suppose you will have it round to the morgue some time this afternoon for the 1 autopsy?" "Yea, yes," said Cornudet, impatientJy, going on with his interrogation of the occupant of the opposite .floor, who had been summoned. I drew Amblemeuse into One of the two windows. "Pardon me, doctor," said I, "I wish to compliment you on the guarded verdict you have passed," "Eh?" t ' "You said 'death by strangulation.' That's accurate, Forgive an inexperienced layman' — But strangled with .what?" "With his braces, of course," he answered, sharply ; but at the same mo* ment he turned ,to approach the bed again, 1 as if he felt "that his examination had not been, thorough ehdugh, and n6 .wished to confirm his pronouncement. I caught him by the' ami. "One moment, .'I pray you." "Well?" "Have a good> look, and if it is as 1 suspect, strangulating befofe hanging, cay nothing until I ( tell you. I have my ideaV,my amateur'^dea." ' while he went to the bed, I opened the doo r into the kitchen. The table was covered with the remainfc of a dinner, a couple of dirty plates, a fruit-dish with a handful of gooseberries, a litre bottle half-fuH of red wine, a carafe of water, and two glasses, each of which had been used, a crusi or two of . bread,, and a cigarette stump lying among the' gooseberry skins. Why two glasses? Siirely this second glass indicated a •vlsTtdr ; and if Amblemeuse confirmed tny diagnosis of the method of death, thetf the murderer drank with the murdered man Defbfe- the deed, oi* had d glass^afterWaTds* td 1 steady liis nerves. ' On' the carpetless floor was a cigarette stump, I picked it up. I ( t was flat, the tobacco was Turkish) arfd'the marque- de' fabrique 1 in,'' gqfdj Wfl's . "Margoliouth jVereV Smyrna." The flame was new to me/ arid -to be unknotori to'nie it'mustfee verty new indeed* The cigarette among the gooseberry ikinS was of Capofal, and home-made. 'fhe man who would smoke the finest Dubec could, not, os wouW not, smoke the 5 ? fierce 'tntd'at-rasping Caporal— and - the' "converse* ■ I displaced the 'stump on the floor. ' "You are' right, .monsieur," said Amfoleirieuse, wben 1 returned to the larger" room:'' -".l/Oiaeau was strangled by hands— eithej gloved ot wrapped ia a

towel or a piece of cloth. He was attacked from behind, for at the back of the neck there, are distinct impressions', of thudbs." "Ah! . . You have not told M. Cornudet?" " You asked me not to. No." " Well, do so now. I have finished my little eyuhmiation." H Amblemeuso crossed the room to the table at which the juge was sitting, still interrogating neighbours. "That pul«i a new complexion on things,'' said Cornudet. "Clear the room, M. le^ Commissaire. Let me bave a look at this," and adjusting his pincenez critically he stooped over the corpse. " Yes, yes, that is quite clear. What a< pity skin does not record finger prints. If it did, how easily we should have ourcriminal." "Provided you had his prints, Monsieur," said I. " But what if the criminal were a beginner— — -*' " In crime, as you are in the detection of it?" and he laughed a trifle sardonically. " But this is surely the work of a practised hand : the subsequent hanging is a master stroke." " Of clumsiness," said I. /'Eh!" his tone was that of the hiughtiness. which brooks no contradiction, and plucking off his eye-glasses he favoured me with a glare. But the next moment lie shrugged his shoulders with an attempt at good-nature. . " Forgive me for being so positive," said I. He bowed and called the commissary. % " Let us search and see if there has been any theft. You take this room, I will take the other. I happen to know this is very suspicious, M. Solomon ! — ■ I know that l'Oiseau drew a thousand francs yesterday. My brother-in-law told me." I followed M, Cornudet into the kitchen. "Yes," he went On, "l'Oiseau drew just over a thousand franca. He was, a shareholder in a Nantes sardine factory. My brother-in-law remoristrated with him on keeping so much money loose in his house. But you know the French con> mon people : they will not trust banks— perhaps they are right. The oldfashioned coffer at the foot' of the bed is still the Frenchman's bank." I directed attention to the two glasses on the table, pointing' out how they seemed to prove the presence of a visitor. Cornudet agreed, and sitting down began to dictate to his secretary. Drawing the doctor to one side, I pointed to the Margoliouth, and whispered : "Do me a service. I want to get ahead of M. le Juge. He has not noticed that yet. Do you pick it up, note the naw© of the marque de fabrique, and replace it again." 4 , The commissary,' called- us to the • large rooih. ' , , 1 , , i _ " Messieurs'^ '''.l - have' found ihis crumpled serviette," he said, "lying*, on the floor, below the bed.'ancl beside .tlie strong-box." "Ah!" said,/ Cornudet, "that looks as if- it had been used to muffle the assassin's hand, See how it's crumpled ! but not with use at table, for ' it is •clean, and the folds are fresh and wellmarked. I surmise it must haye l jb_een snatched from the table at the critical moment of assault. Put it to one side, Magran." We left the kitchen. Amblemeuse and I first. - t "Now for the strong-box. It is .Ibjfcked— that looks as if it had not been tampered with. We must get the keys. Have you searched the body, Magnan ?" / "No, sir— l '^eff;. that for you." MCfortttfdet' walked "io ,the bed/.; He leaned over ■ the dead ■ l'Oiseauy -thrust h'fe" hand irittf-Jthj&left tr^fftseripdeket, ,&fu£drew but'^ibuHch of Keys. s H"ow did he kiioVthe Ijte'yg were there? it might be iner©,<chance 'tfH&tr he searched that pocket first," but the right pocket was » next him r T and.- one's impulse, is generally to begin with what is nearest. Besides,' ninety-nine 'out, of every hundred men keep their keys on. the right side. Sow, then, did M.-Coi-nudet know that to get Toussaint l'Oiseati's keys he would have to lean across the corpse and— a matter of sdme difficulty— search -the left-hand pocket 1 Or if he did not know, what prompted him to do so? The strong-box -contained. only a few. papers-; certificates from '.shipowners who,,had emplbyed the old Saildr; A testiinOhlal "f?oni the British Board of Trad^ecording- the fact that y Toussaint l'Qis'eau', coftimjtnding the Saint Anne r d*Aui'a,y,, of "St. Nazaire,' had saved the \ lives ;of , tie, crew of the David Evans,, collier, of .Cardiff, etc.,-, etc. ' t one or twofold' 'pjldtdgraphs, and a medal for service in t the ..Crimea. That was all. Not a bank-noteV'not a sou. Search of the bddy < repealed nothing.We found _ tobadco, cigarette papers, briquet (flint and steel),, a' knife, and no more. "Well, M. Solomon,", said Cornudet, Y our simple suicide ,& 'not so simple after all. You were- right.,' 1 must have the neighbours in ''again, and find. , out w"ho were in the' habit of visiting' him. It is among those we must look for the assassin, Don't you think so?" "Perhaps," I replied t doubtfully. "Then you do not think so?" "To be accurate, I cannot say I think anything at all yet. There ie the little germ of a theory here " — I tapped my forehead— " and if you allow me to .withdraw, I will get outside and give it, air and light. i " Have you any really good Turkish , cigarettes?" The garrulous ; gentleman who keeps' 1 tho tobacco-shop in the Place de l'Hotel de Ville ran off his list volubly. " Haven't yon any Margoliouth F,reres?" X,. . ■ ■/ "It is a. new cigarette, ftionsieur. They came to' me from the depot yesterday afternoon for the first time, only a hun- 1 dred, all they had. Inside two hours 1, had sold ,them to M. le Masne, the notary, who bought the lot. Therefore, I haven't any. But I have eighty, because M. le Masne only took twenty away with him. He was in haste to catch the train 'for 4 La Roche' Bernard. ' "You can get some for me soon?" > "Oh ! but with the greatest of plea/ sure. They have to come to me from Paris'; they have.no^more at the depot." "How annoying I I care for no others. "Here comes M. le Masne himself across the square. He returns from La Roche Bernard. I will tell him of your plight, monsieur, and I am sure he will let you have aome." "I could not dream of imposing on hid kindness." "Ah I you do not know M. le Masne, monsieur, or you would not say that:' he is the most perfect of gentlemen, he^ is consideration itself.", -'The notary Was' the' reverse of what tho French country lawyer is generally. He>-was short and stout; with a round, beaming, bearded face that was a harvest moon of contentment and good-numoui 1 . "Demon of -a Santerre !" he cried as he', came in, "what, villain's mixture, of chopped, hay «nd dried cabbage was that you gave 'me last night? The bargain's ofi^-no more'Margoliouths for me. There you ore," and he flung a, packet on the counter. "Oht I have already a cuatome* here> M. le Masne," eaid the tobacconist. We saluted. "Do me the honour, monsieur," said the notary, "to accept what is left .'of this packet. There are only two out of it ; one I tried Ur imoke taytielf, one I

' W. A. MACKENZIE. [All Rights Reserved.] ■ . . . iS

gave to my brother-in-law, M". Cornudefc." "M. Cornudetj the juge d'instruction?" "You know him?" "I have just had the honour of passing an hour 1 wftlT Trim at an investigation — at the house of an old ship-cap-tain : l'Oiseau 1 think the name is." ' "Toussaint FOiseau! Has he been robbed? I always told him he would be. Why, only yesterday I said to him — -" ' "Not only robbed, but murdered," I interrupted. The penial notary was genuinely horrified : concern, sorrow, dismay — all were in his bewildered expression. Murdered ! Toussaint murdered. Poor old fellow ! A man who would not hurt a fly, a. man who — dear, dear ! And only yesterday when he came to draw his dividends I warned him against keeping his money at home. But I had warned him so often. I dare* say he took my advice as so many meaningless words. Oh ! this is dreadful, very dreadful ! Jf I could get my hands on the assassin — ah ! but Cornudet will soon have him in his clutches. Heaven pity him, then ! for he's clever, is my brother-in-law." "M. Cornudet is indeed clever/ I agreed. The investigation was drawing to a .close. The last of the neighbours wat soon dismissed, and Cornudet laid down his pen with a sigh. ".No daylight here .' I foresee this ia going to be one of the unsolved mysteries. Not a trace. by which one can identify the murderer— at least, ac far as I can see. We must send to Paris. Only one of the Surete men will have any chance of unravelling the tangle." Then, as he caught sight of me : "M. Solomon, what do you think of it all? Is this too much for the amateur!" "1 do not know., all yet. For instance, I am ignorant of the.names and occupations of the other tenants in the house." "That is soon remedied." He picked up a list. "Ground floor— left-hand side, Maraon, Charles Henri, rentier, aged 67 ; right-hand, Besse, Claude Hippolyte, advocate, on holiday; first floor :—": — " and so on through the house. "May I have one more look at the kitchen?'* "A hundred, with pleasure." The cigarette stump was gone. "May I have a 'glimpse of your in> ventory, your list of pieces de conviction? . / ran my eye down the paper : no cigarette mentioned there. ' I tapped' the paper with the back of my fingera. "You look thoughtful/ said Amble« metis© j "but if you are not going to say anything very sobn, I shall have; to be off. I must send men to fetch away that to the morgue.-' ,• "No, don't go, send M. Magnan instead. I wanted the commissary out of the way. ( He took his orders and went. "Now/ I eaid, "I am not going to develop any theories. I am just going to tell you a true 4ory, true and strange, based on incontrovertible facts." "You are very sure, monsieur," laughed Cornudet. ■ , ' , "I never speak until I am sure," 2 answered, "but then I g6 straight to the point. ' ' A tap at the door — a messenger for the doctor— somebody's baby in a fit— Maledictions from Amblemeuse. But ha had to go. "One moment !" I caught' him at the, door, and whispered, "Write" on this slip of paper the name you saw on that cigarette." . He wrote. | "Now sign .your name." He signed, bsms" wo.* '>* •_ >-a. •».•'. , Y -h "Thanks, that's all. Au' rev'oir." "What's the joke?" "I'll tell you later/*. I closed the door very carefully and sat down; and as I sat, I made sure that my revolver was handy in my pocket, * . • "If you will let me smoke," I said, "it' will hot hurt ; our friend on the bed. And perhaps you, too- — ■" " Yes/ I shall be glad of a cigarette after all this worry. 1 ' "These are the same," I said, "as one you had last night." And in a few words I told him how I had met his brother-in-law. He smoked on quietly. "But come," he said at last, "when am I tp hear your wonderful story? While we are blowing smoke, and theories as fine as smoke, our criminal is d<jubtles3 putting Vannes leagues behind him." 'I smiled and began. "Last night about .half-past six a tap. came on that door there/ and Toussaint 1 Oiseau, finishing his dessert, rose and came to open it. He saw a visitor whom he knew by sight, but whom he had rtever dreamed of. having in his house. Toussaint invited him to come in. Through the open door of communication the visitor "saw the dinner table, • and apologising for intruding unseasonably, suggested that II 11I 1 Oiseau should Icontinue his meal. The captain proffered a glass of wine— hospitable soul!— and the visitor, accepting it, insisted on sitting in the kitchen— quite good enough for him !— insisted afso on the old man finishing his dessert. ' Talk ensued— talk, I should surmise, turning on the foolishness of keeping large sums of money anywhere but in, a bank. Indeed, the visitor said he had called with the express and disinterested intention of wanning M. l'Oiseau; since, only that day, he had heard ", M. Cornudet uncrossed his legs, shifted in his chair, and recrdssed them. " But all this is moonshine," he said. "Very well— We'll come to facts. Toussaint and his visitor drank together^ The former lit a cigarette, the latter was already smoking. A little more talk, and the old sailor ro3e from the table, and, laying down his cigarette on his plate, turned his back on his Visitor — possibly to attend to the coffee that was simmering dn the stove. "The visitor ' seizes the serviette I'Oiseau has 'just laid down, throws his cigarette to the floor, bounds on his victim, seizes him round the neck from behind, and with a great deal of ease^for the garqueterie shows but little sign of a struggle — slowly but effectually strangles him. " When the captain is quite limp, the murdered lays him down gently on the floor. Undoing the dead man's waistcoat, he uribottons -his (braces in front; turns him over, on his face, undoes the braces behind, and pulls fihem down and out over the shoulders. Then'i making a noose, he hangs' his > victim— surely a mistake; for, if l'Oiseau had hanged himself, the sharp edges of the braces would have in the living flesh left an indelible purple imprint; while on the dead flesh— nothing but a. crease. : "He hangs hinij I' say* ' i " Next, he takes "th,6 keys from the dead man's pocket ; fifids the strong-box ; opens it; ransacks; if; locks it up again; pushes it back below the bed— throws, after it the, napkin that" protected his hands; replaces the keys in POiseau's left-hand trouser pocket ; J ,and, taking a last look around, and being satisfied that he has disarranged nothing — he has not —and that he has left no- clue to his identity— he has— goes quietly out downstairs. ' ■ *• "He goes out. He meets someone who knows him. ' Hola ! ' says this someone. ' And where have you been ? ' 'I went to Gall on Besse, and stood knocking at his door for quite ten minutes before I .remembered,, he was en vacances." That is perfectly plausible, and away they stroll together." M. Cornudet - laughed outright. "If I were not a man of some humour, M.- Solomon, and, indeed, more amused &han I cars to Ist y_ou/ see^ I

should either express in words whose meaning would be unmistakable my contempt ior your reasoning powers, or I should-— how do you say in English? — ' break your damned neck ' for you. But, a3 I say, I have humour, and I laugh." "Laugh as much as you like," I retorted; "but pray wait until I have made an end. " This morning, before dejeuner, Dr. Amhleirieuse and I were discussing lapses of memory. Illustrating how even the most precise and reliable of men experience strange and unaccountable failures of memory, he instanced your case of last night. It is true you had one lapse of memory last night, but it was not forgetting that Besse was holidaymaking ; no, it was forgetting to destroy or carry away with you the stump of the cigarette your brother-in-law had given you, the stump you flung down when you attacked the old sailor." M. Marie-Pierre Cornudet, with famous control over himself, sat in his ■chair, smiling tolerantly, twirling his moustaches, calmly. He was quite patient — he had the air of enduring a fool gladly. "Yesterday, your brother-in-law and yourself visited Santerre, the tobacconist. M. de Masne bought twenty cigarettes, made by Margoliouth Freres, of Smyrna, twenty of the only hundred in Vannes. He gave you one. Another he smoked in the train, going to La Roche Bernard. The remaining eighteen he returned to Santerre to-day, I had them from him. You have smoked one now, I have smoked one now. That leaves sixteen. Here they are. And the remaining eighty are with Santerre. Let us account for the four stumps. Here are two, freshly smoked. Your brother-in-law threw his, in all probability, out of his carriage window. That's three. The fourth was found this morning in Toussaint l'Oiseau's kitchen." ',' Was it, now? Where is it, then?" I slipped out my revolver, and getting up, walked across to him. "Amblemeuse saw it, too," I went on. "He has written the name. See." His eye turned to an old-fashioned pistol, belonging to l'Oiseau, that lay on the table among the heterogeneous collection of pieces. " "No," I said, "the time foil that is not yet." And keeping his eyes fixed on mine, I slipped a couple of fingers into his left waistcoat pocket and pulled out the fourth stump. When Jie had opened his frock-coat, I noted a tiny smear of ash above the pocket-Up. He had picked up the incriminating end when Amblemeuse and I had preceded him out of the kitchen. He made a dash at me, but a- quick curl of my leg behind his knee, a Japanese trick, brought him down and left me standing, his death-warrant safely in my hand. He got up slowly, and, sitting down again, folded, his arms across his chest. I really admired the fellow for his I coolness.. He took a deep breath and ! blew it out again quickly — that was his only sign of emotion. "Your first mistake," said I, "was in leaving this. Your' next you made this morning, when you so quickly found l'Oiseau's keys. You leaned over his body, and went straight away for his left-hand pOcket. That, showed me you ktlevy where to go for them. Toussaint carried his keys on the right, for he waß right-handed; I learned that in the kitchen, t by noting the way he had laid down his cigarette on his plate— quite to the right hand — burning end in. And, further-—*" "Enough," said M. Cornudet. "I daresay it is very pleasurable to you to listen to you own voice. Well, I don't dike it, M. Solomon. But the matter of your, .ponversation ,is .excellent, if expressed in somewhat -"■ prolixv fashion. We'll admit that you are perfectly ac* curatft in your reasoning. ,To fiaisli^-I should liko to know what you' intend doing." "I am going to walk out of this room— is that pistol of l'Oiseau'a loaded?" "Yes." "Very well— l am going out of this room, without asking a single question about motives or anything else——-" "I shouldn't answer you if you did." he was calm as it is possible for man to be. "And—there had better be an accident." There was silence for a moment or two. "Good-bye, M, Cornudet. . . You had better wait until you hear someone coming up." I „"Au revoir," said M. Cornudet. At the door I met Magnan and his men with a stretcher, coming for the , dead sailor. "Gre noni !" cried the commissary, bounding up the" stairs at the dull r'unprt. "And Cornudet had a perfect facial angle," said Amblemeuse to me next day, "simply perfect. May I have another of those excellent Margoliouth cigarettes?" "Have them all," said I, "I don't think I care for them much now."