THE PURPLE SPOT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11604, 19 August 1899, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE PURPLE SPOT.

N.Y.W.

Mr Gilkins, solicitor, sat pondering over a lettar in his solidly ".furnished private office. 4> Mr Gilkins'- nsun' equanimity had been ruilely shattered l»y the news which the document he had just been ! reading contained. His clients had been in the habit of dying in their beds in a respectable manner when their time came to quit this terrestrial sphere, and Mr Gilkins tcok it ns rather a personal affront to himself that two of their number should have gone in a — to say tba least of it — mysterious manner, while the next heir was lying in jail accused of their murder. Mr Gilkins' musing was interrupted by the entry of a slim man approaching forty, who had that indescribable oppparance which a man whose life has been devoted to the hunting of criminals usually possesses. "Mr Feveral, I believe," observed the lawyer, as the gentleman come forward. "At your service, sir," answered the detective. I " Well, I think I can put some business in your way. You have, I presume, heard of the Earl of Tremorlan ?' " Oh, yes. The earl and his only son were loth living at ten o'clock last night, -and at eigbt this morning both were dead," observed the detective, in terse, professional-like tones>. " May I ask how you came by that information ?" asked the lawyer in rather surprised accents. " Nothinjr wonderful in that, Mr Gilkins, seeing that the fourth editions of the evening; papers are full of it." " Indeed !" answered Mr Gilkins, in a tone which conveyed that he was surprised and hurt at the papers' audacity. "I have here a letter from the butler, a most estimable servant of the late earl's, which gives perhaps fuller details than the newspaper reports. Perhaps you wouli like to read it ?" " Thank you," responded Feverel, j and rapidly glanced over the contents, reading aloud anytMog which bore on the case. " Earl retired to bed at usual time, about eleven o'clock. Two hours later his bell was violently rung — valet ran up, and, finding his master lying at full length by the bell cord, at once .gave the alarm. Family doctor fetched, who pronounced life extinct. Earl's body was laid on nod. and his only son left alone by the bedside, overcome by grief. Six hoars later death ! chamber once more approached, and i son fonnd sitting iv the chair cold and stiff." " Yes, that is much about what the papers say. Expect they obtained it from the same source as this." said the detective. " I hardly think that likely. Baignet is a most trustworthy servant." " A half-penny newspaper reporter would worm news out of a discreet lady's maid, let alone a trustworthy old family retainer. However, that is a part from the point. Have you any further iniormation, sir ?'• '* Yes, or I should not have sent for you. I am informed that shortly alter the discovery of the new earl's death the next of kin, the Honorable John Maiden, was arrested by tho police on the charge of having murdered his uncle and censin. The young gentleman in question has sent an urgent message, requesting my presence at Holloway Prison where he has been confined. As I have nevor been connected with a criminal case of this description I thought it as well to send for you to undertake it. I will give you a note to the housekeeper ot (be late eari's town mansion, which will gain you free access to tho scene of the crime, and no doubt she and all the servants 4 will give every assistance in their power to aid in your inquiries. In the meantime I will proceed to see Mr Maiden, and make arrangements for you to have an interview with him later in the day if you wish it." Armed with the portentous document which Mr Gilkins deemed necessary for his introduction, Feverel proceeded to 488 A Grosvcnor Square, i where the dead earl and his son lay. His first movement on arrival wa3 to thoroughly examine every servant in the bouse, but none of them could throw any further light on the cose I beyond what he aheady knew. Having ascertained this he procepded to view the bodies. The only outward appearance of violence was a tiny puncture in the flesh, surrounded by a discoloured purple circle on the brow of each, just above tho left temple. It was as though a hypodermic syringe charged with some virnlent poison had been applied, for he could almost trace in the swollen veins [the course the poison had taken in its :

passoge from tho tiny hole through tho body until its deadly work was completed. Feverel narrowly inspected this mark on both bodies through a microscope, but could find no difference iv either, and evidently the cause of deatli whatever it had beeu, proceeded from absolutely the same cause. Having" ascertained this, bo bent down and smelt round the murdercl men's brows. From ench a very deliIcate sweet odor emanated, unlike any which Feverel had ever met before. He was an authoritative toxicologist, yet the symptoms of this poison puzzled him, and made him at last reluctantly to admit that here was some potent factor of death which was utterly un-' known to any European student of : medicine. His views were fully borne out by the family doctor, with whom he shortly after had an interview. That gentleman freely admitted that he also was puzzltd, and could not name the fluid, if fluid it was, which had caused the death of the two men. It was from Dr. Fowler, M.D., that Feverel learned the full details which had caused suspicion to' rest upon the Honourable John Maiden, and ultimately led to his arrest. When the police had arrived upon the scene soon after the discovery of the second body they had followed precedent by also examining the servants In tne course of their inquiries tho valet of Mr Maiden had made the important admission that his master had a case of poisons which be had collected in South American from the natives while on a tour through that country. Upon examining Mr Maiden's room this identical case was found, just as described by the valet. It was partitioned off in several compartments, each of which were sufficiently large to contain a phial. One of these compartments was empty, and the slight stain which was in evidence upon the woodwork was convulsive proof that it had been occupied at one time by the same shaped and siaed phial as the others. A thorough search of the earl's room led to thu discovery of the missing phial under the bed. It had evidently rolled along the' floor for some little distance, for on close examination a stain which would be made by the liquid escaping from a rolling bottle was found on tho carpet, ia the direct course which the discovered phial would have taken . ' This evidence, together with the fact that Mr Maiden was the next heir, was considered sufficient grounds upon which to demand a warrant for his airest. Having obtained all the information I possible on the spot, Feverel proceeded to Holloway Jail, where Mr Maiden had been remandod after his preliminary examination by the magistrate at Malborough Street. On arrival at the prison the detective was met by Mr Gilkins, who hnd, as promised, obtained an order which would permit Feveral and himself to have an interviaw with the p r isoner. The Honourable John Maiden was, from bis appearance, the very last man in the world to commit a cold-blooded crime such as he was accused off. From top to toe he looked the beau ideal of a young English gentleman. «• Mr Feverel," said Maiden, *' I am the victim of a most awful series of perfectly innocent actions which have been so twisted and distorted by circumstances as to make me appear the author of this crime. I trust that you will bdlieve me when I assure you that I am not capable of such a wickedly wanton act." " I am here to try and prove your innocence, sir," tesponded the detective quietly, " You will greatly assist me ■by telling me exactly what took place on the night that your uncle and cousin met tbeir death. Try not to leave out a single circumstance. What may seem trivial to you may bo of the utmost importance." '• I will try to do exactly as you ask. Upon going down to dinner laßt evening I found that my uncle was suffering from a severe attack of neuralgia. Having at cne time been a martyr to that irritating malady myself, I must at this point digress a little to tell you that I have travelled a good deal in I Mexico and the South American States. This information is necessary to account for what followed. " While there I was given a box of various poisons, the cecret of their manufacture being, 1 was assnred, only known to the Indians from whom they were obtained. Among them was a specific which would absolutely give instantaneous and permanent relief from neuralgia and kindred affections of the nerves. It Bounds like an advertisement for some patent medicine, does it not 2 added the young man with a

wan attempt at a smile. "As I had obtained enormous relief from it myself," he continued, " I at once recommended it to my uncle, and went up to my room to obtain the phial. Returning with it I handed it to my uncle, pointing out at the same time that it was a most virulent poison, and that it should not be used on any spot that had the faintest suspicion of a cut. My cousin and I thoroughly examined his face, nnd weie both fully satisfied that the skin was perfectly Bound, after which my uncle retired for the night, taking the phial with him. That was the last time I saw him alive. •' Three hours later I was awakened j by hearing women's screams and a general commotion in the house. Rapidly dressing, I left my room, and ! traced the noise to my uncle's room. Reaching there. I found his dead body lyiug on the floor near the bell lope, one hand stretched up toward it, as thoagh he had dragged himself from the bed and attempted to alarm the hopsehold. We cleared the women folk out, and sent for the doctor. On his arrival be p/ononnced life quite extinct, probably from the effect of a poison which had been injected into the flesh surrounding the dead man's left temple. "When the shock had ; somewhat subsided my cousin and I made a thorough examination of the room. On his dressing table was a small saucer containing nearly all the poison which had been left in the phial. On going over the affair together quietly we could only assume that we had overlooked some little scratch upon my uncle's forehead when we made the examination previous to his rotirement. . '♦ The earl's body was reverently laid on the bed, and my cousin announced his determination to spend the remainder of the night by his father's Bide alone, I tried to persuade him to allow me to keep the vigil with him, but he so evident'y desired to be quits alone that 1 did not press the point, and once more retired to my room, first, however, taking the fatal saucer and phial by the tonsje and putting their contpnts on the fire, standing by until the flames had sucked up all the moisture." •' You are absolutely sure that you did this at that point, and not after the discovery of your cousin's death ?" interrupted the detective. " Quite flnre." " Then so far as you know there was no more of the fatal poison left in the room ? Had you any more of it in that box you spoke of V* " No." " Well, plea9e tell me what happened afterward." " As soon aa it was light this morning 1 knocked at the door of the death chamber. Receiving no answer I tapped again and then, gently pushing the door open, entered. The gns was still burning, its sickly, yellow rays struggling with the daylight which filtered through the interstices of tho shutter. By this combined light I saw that my cousin was sitting on a chair by the bedside, his head resting on. a pillar of the bed. Going closer to awake him, I started back with horror, for there on his temple was the awful purple spot — and he was dead also. Once more the doctor was called, and this time the police also. I think that is all, for, of course, you know of my arrest." " There are one of two questions I wish to ask you," said Feverel, when Mr Maiden had finished his long account of the crime. "Do you remember if only one side of the bed was disturbed when you first found the earl dead 7" " Let me think for a moment. Yes, I believe only one side." " And which side was that ?" " The left side looking toward the head of the bed." •' Was that the side upou which your cousin afterward sat ?" " Yes." " So that his head would be in practically the same position as the earl's when he lay down to sleep." •' Yoj, I Bupposa it would." | " The dressing-table upon which the j saucer containing the poison was put — where was that ?" "On the same side as my cousin was sitting.'' ♦• So that the earl had only to reach out his hand from where ho was lying to touch the poison ?" " Yes, that would be so." " Had the earl any enemies that you know of?" " No ; 30 far as I know, he was universally beloved." " In your case the application of the poison at once relieved the neuralgia and permanently V " Yes." " So that you do not think it likely that tho earl would experience further twinges and aguin have recourse to the noison 2"

" I should hardly think it likely." " May I look at your fingers ?" " Certainly," answered Mr Maiden, aa he held them up for inspection. Feverel narrowly examined them, and observed that, although aristocratic in shape, the nails were cut remarkably short, and, on inquiry, heard that those of- the deceased man were equally so. As they shook hands at "parting Feverel freely owned that at that moment he could see no light go far as their case was concerned. Once at home Feverel sat down to seriously consider the case in all its bearings. He had at first though s that the cnfortunate gentlemen might have cut their foreheads themselves accidentally and the poison thus entered their blood ; bat the short fingernails went to disprove that idea, and apparently ; there was no person but Maiden who was interested in their death. For two hours he sat with his head buried in his hands, trying to think of a likely theory, but without success. Then he once more visited the death chamber. Again he went through hi 3 former experiments, with no further result ; and at last thoroughly exhausted- and nonplussed, sank down into the chair which the young victim had occupied. Never before had a case so puzzled him. Meditatively he leaned back in the chair with his eye 3 directed toward the ceiling, and then something he saw there caused him to leap from the seat in a state of wild excitement. Hastily he rang the bell and caused a large pair of step 3to be brought. When once more alone he quickly placed these above the chair he had been sitting on. and, mounting them, minutely examined what he had noticed from the floor of the room. Apparently satisfied with his inspection, he had the ladder removed, and made his way to the house of the doctor. Without explaining what he had discovered he asked Dr. Fowler if he could make it convenient to spend an hour or two alone with him in the fatal chamber that night. Dr. Fowler's curiosity was piqued, and he agreed. At ten o'clock that night the two gentlemen entered the room, Feverel impressing upon tho doctor that perfect silence was necessary for his experiment, placed him ia a chair on the same side of the room as the dressingtable, and himself assumed the position he bad occupied that afternoon. Everything had as far as possible been placed in the same position as it had been the night previous, even to the saucer ; this time, however, containing only a little sugared water instead of the deadly poison. The two men sat in solemn silence in the dim light for perhaps half an hour. Then Feverel's head sank down on the pillow by his side, for he had observed a movement above his head. Slowly from the ceiling above something which looked like a black spot dropped — returned from whence it came — then dropped again. Lwer and lower it dropped, came nntil it reached the saucer ; then a slight movement alarmed it and it ran up its silken cords again and dangled half-way between the table and ceiling. It was an enormous spider. Apparently reassured, the insect once more descended, this time toward Feverel's face. When but a quarter of an inch from it the detective swiftly moved his head to one side and the spider scuttled up lo its web again. Then Feverel got up, and, putting on thick gloves, with the doctor's assistance, secured the spider and the best part of its web and placed it in a box. Then he remarked to the doctor :—: — •'My theory is that this insect, deprived of its natural food, which consisted of flies, by the vigor of this wintry weather, dropped on to the two sleeping men, having in the first place explored the saucer containing the poison. It just punctured their foreheads, and the poison from the outside of its body, which it had gathered from the saucer, entered the tiny wounds, with the result we have seen." On examination the - spider wa9 found to have yet traces of the poison on its many hairy legs. Need we add that the evidence of Feverel and the doctor enabled Maiden to cheat the hangman ?