THE WATERHOUSE MYSTERY; OR, THEORY AND PRACTICE.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2181, 5 November 1897, Page 3

THE WATERHOUSE MYSTERY; OR, THEORY AND PRACTICE.

BY FRED C. SHALE.

It was a boisterous October night, aud . the sleet rattled viciously against the . windows of ihe carriages of the last < mail as it s|>ed dp from the West to- < wards London, in one of the tlurd- : diss compartments sat three men. each wrapped in himself and the daily Press, .lust after leaving Bristol the two weaker pairs of eyes gave up. and the two dailies were cast aside and a pipe and a cigar substituted. The third mau exchanged his daily paper— the last of a huge pile of newspapers—for t»nc of the monthlies with larger type. but after half an hour's blinking lie. too, succumbed, and there seemed to lie nothing for it but sleep or its only alternative—conversation. John Hiatt. the sallow, thin-faced man. with the best pair of eyes, decided for tiie latter. As for a subject, there was probably but ©oe running through, the whole length of the train. fresh as many of the passengers were from the locality made famous* by the great Water House murder of the previous day. ('rime was talked aud discussed from the oscillating guard's van at one end to the mighty, bounding engine at the other, and eager had beeu the demand for late editions at Taunton. "Confound these everlasting shortstory detectives!" exclaimed John Hiatt as he threw Ids magazine testily into a corner and rubbed his sorely-tried eyes. "They seem as Indispensable to editors as advertisements are to proprietors." . '• They crop up pretty often, don't theyV" replied the bright-looking young man who sar opposite hiin. " But I must confess they interest me." This was Frank Stanbury. a bank clerk, returning from a month on the moors. "Oh. they have their fascination, of course." returned Hiatt. "Stories of that kind, if decently done, are always popular, simply because they invariably contain some kind of puzzle. We all jtossess .i certain amount of curiosity. ami are tempted to read on to the end just in order to see how the thing works out. It is the same weakness which the tea-iKijiers were invented to indulge—those things you turn upside dowu or sideways in order to find farmers and doss and so on;" and the speaker leaned back exhausted by his long oratiou. which in truth did not at all coincide with his taciturn expression of conntenance.

That's all very well." said Stanbury. who had imbibed deeply of Sherlock Holmes, "hut I maintain"—he was only twenty-two. and "maintained" at the slightest provocation, being connected with a debating society-*that there is a good deal in the "deduction' method, and that the bovine British policeman would do well to take a few tips from * some of these short-story fellows. Look thlg Water House —" the third" man. who had been dozing in one of the other corners, let down the window for a moment, and peered i-antionsly through the storm. .»-'Xcaring Bath," said he. as he pulled up the window asrain. and re settled himself. He was a curious-looking little man. all Ward *iud coat-collar, with two sharp, twinkling eyes, looking out under a wide-peaked travelling cap. He did not resume his doze. The whiff of keen air had possibly woke him up. and he now sat listening mterestedly to the conversation. •• As 1 was going to say." continued Stanburv. feeling unreasonably angry with the queer tisure in the comer, -look at this Water House business ! See what a deuce of a muddle Scotland Yard is making of that! A murder is eammttted in broad daylight in a pub-lic-house, with a dozen people-includ-ing a policeman—within a few yards of the spot, and yet they haven't even a due. according to this evening's papers." . , ; **?VeH the mystery may possibly bo 'solved to-morrow." *aid Hiatt, sareasticallv "One or two of the monthlies are due then. They will probably issue special leaflets showing exactly how the thing was done. By the way. sir," he added. "I shouldn't wonder if yon did a little 'investigating'—l believe that's the correct term—on your own ac-.-ount occasionally. I fancy that the gentleman in .the comer yonder and myself bad better keep the eupboard doors shut fast on our family ekeletons -eh':"

Frank Stanbury flushed a little under the chaff. A consciousness of sundry amateur " shadowing*,'' subtle «-ross-exa minings of cabmen et hoc genus onme, together with mysterious •studies of footprints with a microscope, which even at that moment reposed in his waistcoat pocket, caused him to fe*'l it* edge. '•Well. I'd lwek myself any day against those poker-backed Johnnies who carry -plain-clothes man' written on every button, and hammer it out in every step they take," he retorted with some asperity. "I can pick 'em out at Liverpool street station every morning »>f my life." John Hiatt laughed loud and long, as thongh vastly amused at something. ••Ah, you would have them disguised, of coarse," said he—'"as navvies or respectable maiden ladies, for instance." "You'd never persuade a member of the force to get up as a female, it's my belief." said Stanbury. contemptuously. "His moustache would have to jro. and he'd sooner resign than take such an extreme step." Then somewhat unexpectedly the third man spoke. He had l>een taking frequent sips at a pocket-flask, which {ad been replenished at Taunton and gain at Bristol, and to a close ob server—like John Hiatt. for instanceshowed signs of having been a trifle injudicious iu this direction. Not that he appeared to l»e intoxicated, hut he was very loquacious when once he commenced to speak, and his words occasionally tried to come in pairs. He spoke in a high treble, and seemed to lie well edueated. "Not necessarily." he chuckled, referring to Stanbury's last remark. "I've known maiden ladies, to copy* whose appearance would not cause the slightest pang o the most heavily-haired pe." The others laughed, each feeling rather relieved to have the other's attention diverted. The last speaker resettled his beard over his closely-but-toned overcoat, and continued. In addition to the peculiarities previously mentioned, he kept making nervous little movements, and glancing impatiently out into the darkness, as though the flying express were not going fast mongb for him. "I go further than you. sir!" said he, jerking his small head towards Hiatt. -I contend that for any man possessed of a fair amount of brains, it is a very simple matter to commit a crime—ahem!—murder, for instance—without any appreciable risk to himself. Some risk there must be. of course.but it need he no more than that which attends the or*inary proceedings of life. The reason that nearly all crimes of violence are traced is tliat they are almos' invariably committed on an impulse, witb*>nt any preparation or thought-out 382

plan to speak of. A man rarely plans a murder. It is almost always commit tin! iu a sodden bnrst of passion or (•motion—snch as jealousy, fear, hate, etc. Thus traces more or l#ss obvious are left—traces which, with suitable precautions, would be entirely absent, and sooner or later the criminal is run to earth Ah. here we are at Bath;" and with an odd. jerky movement, the orator checked the time in a yellowcovered railway guide. "Punctual to a tick," he muttered. "jGood." The others jumped out for a few minutes to stretch their legs, but their fel-low-passenger shrank back in his corner and grumbled to himself until the train resumed its journey. He had apparently forgotten the interrupted discussion, and sat silently watching the vari-eolored signal lights as they.flashed in blurred spots across the streaming windows.

But Frank Stanbury wanted to hear more of this strange theorist, and he took up the thread. "I can't say I quite agree with you," said he. "I can hardly conceive it possible to commit a murder, even according to the most carefully-thought-out scheme, without leaving something of a clue-very slight, possibly, even infinitesimal, perhaps, but still enough for a clever man to start from." •Such as a shadow or an eyelash, for instance." said Hiatt. "Xo. sir, depend upon it. your clever criminal would probably tabi in his sleep, turn coward after the deed, ami give Himself up, or do some such obviously idiotic thing." The man in the corner chuckled, and looked at Stanbury expectantly. Hiatt, however, gave him no chance. "You see." he went on. in a somewhat patronising tone. "in his anxiety to make things absolutely safe, it's ten to one that your intellectual villain would; leave tin"; blind up. or play himself some such dirty trick, and the 'bovine British policeman' on his beat would see all. and calmly wait for him at the front door " "Whilst the criminal calmly escaped by the back." retorted Stanbury. "That is just what a policeman would do. I acree.' The third man burst into a high, crackling laugh. "Ha. ha! Capitalcapital!" he cried. "But you're both

wrong—entirely wrong. 1 could prove it— ha, haP* and off he went into a perfect tit of laughter, the others gazing at him in no little astonishment. What was the joke that so amused the quaint little man. and caused him to twist himself up iuto a hall on the cushions ? Suddenly a fresh idea seemed to strike him. and he became profoundly serious all at onee. "So." said he. \vou both believe it to be next 10 impossible for a man to carry out a thing of this kind without l>eing detected sooner or later, although von differ as to the best method of detection. Xow. I'll give a wrinkle, iu case you should ever have 'casion to do anything of the sort yourselves"—here he chuckled deeply-don't do it personally, and don't employ a confederate. Well, of course, say you, 'How the devil is it to be done at all, then?' I answer, just as a machine in a district railway station delivers you matches automatically." John fliatt settled himself in his corner so as to obtain a better view of the speaker. "Xow this-a—Water House affair is a case in i>oint. I have just been reading the details of the case, and I believe it is done on the system I a'vocate-I do. indeed." (Here came another chuckle, mingled with a hiccough, for the flask was nearly empty once more.) "W hat are the facte, as far as known?" StaHbury opened his mouth to speak, but was checked by a warning pressure of Hiatt's foot and a sharp frown when he looked into his face. The theorist went on : "A man—the landlord of the inn. the Water House Inn—leaves his customers for a few minutes at a busy time, when the bar is crowded, and goes to an inner sittin'-room for some trifling purpose-

it is thought to turn on the gas at the meter, ile does not return, and the noisy talk iu the bar prevents the possibility of any sound of a struggle being heard shou'd there have been anything of the sort. After some ten minutes or so. tie barmaid goes to look for her master, and finds him stretched dead on tbo floor with bis skull battered in." Again Stanbury essayed to speak, when a sharp kick from Hiatt warned him that there was some mysterious reason why he should not do so. What that reason was Frank Stanbury was very much puzzled to guess. Meanwhile the third man continued his recital after a futile attempt to extract a few more drops from the flask. "No one was in the room a moment before, and by the peculiar construction of the house no one could enter the room except through the bar. Twenty people

swear that no one passed after the mur —landlord, and two men above sus-picion-one being the coroner himself, as it happens—are certain that there was no one in the room when the landlord entered it. they having just left it after transacting some business matter therein. The only window is found securely fastened on the inside, besides naving iron bars across it, and the injuries could not by any possibility have been self-inflicted. It's a bit of a puzzle -eh?" he concluded, leering triumphantly at his two listeners and chuckling once more. "You seem to have read the thing up pretty closely," said John Hiatt. Frank Stanbury laughed. "I think the gentleman has made one trifling slip, at any rate." said he. "Made a slip! How? Where?" exclaimed the theorist, uneasily darting shaq) glances at the speaker. "Why, with regard to the way the man met his death." said Stanbury, disregarding John Hiatt's restless feet. "You say he was found with his skull

battered in." "Well, ami so lie was—so be was,*' cried the man i» the corner, excitedly. "He must have been—in fact, lam sure he was." he concluded, lamely. John Hlatt's keen eyes watching him closely. "On the contrary, every account 1 have read gives it that he was found stabbed in the eye. and with a curious weapon—the corkscrew which he had just lteen using. It had pierced his brain through his eye." "Stabbed—stabbed!" muttered the man. passing his hand confusedly over hLs brow. "Oh, well, that's a detail. He was probably holding the corkscrew in his hand, and the spring drove it into his eye." •• Spring!" exclaimed Stanbury. "What" "May I ask in what paper you read the account of his having l>eon found with his skull lettered inV" interposed Hiatt. 'The man is drunk: leave him to me," he whispered hurriedly to Stanbury, grasping his wrist meanwhile. "Eh—what paper? All of them, of course. What the devil are you driving at?" exclaimed the little man. with apparently unreasonable irritation : and curling himself sulkily in his corner, he relapsed into silence, closing his eyes, as though deteraiiued to decline all further conversation. John Hiatt smiled meaningly to himself, and drawing out a small note-book wrote the following:— To Chief. Scotland Yard.—Am coming to Paddington by mail. Have big bird with me. Meet with help. J.H.

He then tore out the page, and folding. it once across, placed it in the ticketpocket of his overcoat; then after gazing musingly at Stanbury, whose eyes met his in some inquiry, he recommenced writing, this time filling two or three pages of his note-book, lie had not finished when the train drew up at Swindon. , t The stoppage awoke Stanbury and the other sleeper. The former threw open the door aud hastily alighted. The, theorist drew out his empty pocketflask, gazed at it hesitatingly, and then replaced it iu his pocket. Hlatt meanwhile moving along the seat until their arms touched. "Coming?" inquired Stanbury. "So; it's hardly worth while struggling through a crowd four deep for bad whisky," said Hiatt. "I'll just stretch my legs on the platform here:" and he strode past the still hesitating man iu the corner aud stepped out. closing the door after him. apparently finding some difficulty in doing so. Stanbury had disappeared to clamor with the crowd of thirsty travellers at the refreshment bar.

Hiatt caught a passing porter by Ihe arm. "Send this wire off for me at once, there's a good fellow. Do you hear—at once?" and he pressed half-a-crown into the man's hand. "Right, sir. Office close by, sir." And John Hiatt smiled contentedly as he saw the porter enter the door of the telegraph office. Suddenly the little man in the carriage behind him appeared to have changed his mind, and decided to refill his flask, lie tried the door, but for some mysterious reason it would not open. John Hiatt came to his aid. and pulled and twisted at the handle in vain.

"Confounded thing is stuck with the damp, I suppose." he grunted. "Take your seats, please—take your sears!" and forth rushed the crowd of hastily-refreshed passengers, spreading like rooks rising from a corn-field. "Call the guard," growled the disappointed pa.-senger. feeling the want of a full pocket -flask more than ever. "No; I think I can manage it. It is stuck up here," said niatt. passing his hand up the side, near the key-hole. "Ah. that's it." he cried: aud the door opened easily as the speaker replaced a railway key iu his pocket, unseen by the man within.

John Hiatt jumped in. followed closely by Staubury. and the train once more resumed its journey Loudon wards. ••Devilish queer!" grumbled the man with the empty flask, looking somewhat suspiciously at John Hiatt. who had resumed his writiug. and took not the slightest notice of his fellow-passen-ger's discontent. \fter n few minutes the writer tore out the two or three leaves upon which he had written, and. under cover of a newspaper, handed them across to Stanbury, "Road," be muttered, "ami say uoth-

Frank Stanbury took the slips of paper with some surprise, which was not decreased when he read as follows: I am a detective, and have been engaged on the Water House business. The murdered man waifcilled by a powerful spring fixed in the cupboard which held the gas-meter, and fixed in such a manner that when the door of the cupboard was tampered with an iron knob would strike the person standing in front of it full in the face. Curiously enough, uo one had thought of examining the interior of the cupboard before I came, it being in a dark recess; and no a.-count of the mechanism has yet appeared iu any paper. You can guess the rest. Our fellow-passenger knows too much. He is, I have no doubt, the man who fixed up the infernal machine. He wears a false beard and wig. but by his talk I believe him to be an ex-school-master named Gules, who bore a deep grudge against the murdered man. and for whom the police are on the look-out. Uo was lodging at the Water House up to the morning before the landlords death, and oddly enough I was on my way 10 Hampstead. where he has a wife and family, and whither he is no doubt bound. lie will never get there. I have four "bovine British policemen" awaiting me at Taddington. and I shall arrest him on the charge of murder. I have taken the trouble to write all this as vou may be interested, in view of our recent discussion, and I could not tell vou by word of mouth, as I don't want ii row' and our friend has bus suspicions in spite of his whisky flask and is I fancy, rather more wide awake than lie pretends to be. John Hiatt; a has often said since that he enjoyed the expression of Stanbury s face as he read the above, even more than the consciousness of having made a lucky capture. The remainder of the journey was nassod in silence, with both Hiatt and his unconscious prey seemingly asleep, and Frank Stanbury gazing from one to the other with wide-open eyes. Vt I'addington John Hiatt fluttered a red handkerchief from the window as the train drew slowly iu. and when the three alighted they wen by four stalwart men. who forthwith took pos.*(wsion of quickly-sobered Mr Henry Gules, charged with the ingenious murder of Thomas Eidgeway, late landlord of the Water House Inn. A superfluous portion of steel spring was found on him, and the fact that it corresponded precisely witli another pieeo—with an iron knob at the end of i r in the possession of John Hiatt, together with the discovery that he had been seen meddling with the gas-meter by the barmaid at the Water House, proved sufficiently that murder, however methodical, is a dangerous and nm certain profession. These things also proved sufficient to hang Mr nenry Gules.-"Weekly Budget."