Minute Mysteries [Detectograms] Chapter 14: Part 14

not have seen the bag on the bottom of the lake during a cloudburst. The agitation of even crystal clear water under such conditions would have so disturbed the surface that an object on the bottom could not be seen. A man so lucky is rarer than a white crow. Juvenal. 40. _The Unlucky Elephant_ Holman was lying face down with his topcoat buttoned; therefore, if his watch crystal had been broken by his fall, none of the glass could have been found on the floor. For never, never wicked man was wise. Homer. 41. _The Professor Listens_ The notice of the bank failure, appearing in the _Jacksonville Herald_, was dated July 5th. This could not have reached Delavin at a remote part of Cuba, unserviced by planes, in time for him to get back to New York on the 6th. His alibi, therefore, was completely broken, as he said the newspaper clipping brought him back. Time is the herald of truth. Cicero. 42. _Ten-Fifteen_ The secretary said he heard Waters talking to Fordney over the telephone. As Fordney’s name was not mentioned during the conversation, the secretary could not have known to whom Waters was talking. It’s the little things that count—in crime detection. Take care lest your tongue cut off your head. Persian. 43. _Rapid Transit_ The driver could not possibly have seen from the front seat anyone standing on the tail-gate of the big van. If common sense has not the brilliancy of the sun, it has the fixity of the stars. Fernan Caballero. 44. _The Professor is Disappointed_ Fordney pointed to the raindrops glistening on a leaf in the shoe impression. According to Vi Cargo’s statement, the burglar had jumped from her window after it had stopped raining. The shameless have a brow of brass. Hindu Proverb. 45. _A Dramatic Triumph_ Sibyl Mortimer said Boswell had telephoned her shortly after nine. As he was on the stage continuously for forty-five minutes after the curtain rose, he could not have telephoned her. Obviously she had some reason for stating he did. Fordney was quick to detect the flaw in her alibi. It is not wise to be wiser than is necessary. Quinault. 46. _Murder at the Lake_ A strong east wind blew _off_ the lake; therefore, regardless of the direction in which he was walking, Rice’s hat could not possibly have blown into the lake. The Professor was naturally suspicious of him when he told such a ridiculous lie. Is’t possible? Sits the wind in that corner? Shakespeare. 47. _The Professor Studies a Coat_ As the man had removed his overcoat on entering the Professor’s living-room, it was perfectly patent he had not been handcuffed. He said he ran over to Fordney’s immediately after the bandits left. Truth has not such an urgent air. Boileau. 48. _Too Late_ Fordney doubted Palmer’s innocence because of his statement, ‘I’d got there not more than five minutes behind him.’ There was, of course, no way he could have determined when Frank had arrived at the cabin. In general, treachery, though at first sufficiently cautious, yet in the end betrays itself. Livy. 49. _Sergeant Reynolds’s Theory_ The Professor told Reynolds, ‘There was no blood between the road and the boulder.’ Had the man _rolled_ down the embankment, there would have been some blood on the rocks along the path his body took. How hast thou purchased this experience? By my penny of observation. Shakespeare. 50. _Daylight Robbery_ As no safe locks unless the combination is turned, Shaeffer’s story of _banging_ it closed and then the robbers working on it five minutes was ridiculous! He cometh unto you with a tale which holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner. Sir Philip Sidney. 51. _A Simple Solution_ Had Smith committed suicide, the window through which he jumped would not have been closed as Fordney found it. Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, its own avenging angel. Coleridge. 52. _Who?_ Kelley arrested Weeds, the butler. He said he dropped on the bed the blood-covered towel with which he was trying to arrest the flow from the maid’s wrist as Jones struck at him. Yet Kelley and Fordney found the bed coverlet _immaculate_. Had Weeds done as he said, there would have been blood-stains on the bedcover. Blood follows blood. Defoe. 53. _Murder in the Swamp_ The three sets of Bob’s footprints in the path told Fordney the story. Had Bob been at the house when his friend was shot, as he contended, there would have been _four_ sets of his footprints. That is to be wise to see that which lies before your feet. Terence. 54. _Death by Drowning_ Had the accident occurred as explained by Carroll, the oar of Ridge’s boat could not have been found, as it was, at the dock _opposite_ the point where he jumped in. The current would have deposited it downstream. Therefore, the Professor recommended the detention of the brothers. More water glideth by the mill, than wots the miller of. Shakespeare. 55. _Tragedy at the Convention_ Fordney suspected Pollert because of his own statements that he did not know Hurlenson had returned to the hotel. Yet, when he said he heard a shot, he ran _directly_ to Hurlenson’s room. As his own room was down the corridor, he could not have known from what room the shot came, and he had no reason to assume it came from Hurlenson’s room. Politics, as a trade, finds most and leaves nearly all dishonest. Abraham Lincoln. 56. _A Murderer’s Mistake_ These murderers, like many others, betrayed themselves by a simple oversight. One look at the ladder and Fordney knew no man could have climbed up or down it. The thirty-foot ladder was placed _two_ feet from the house. Any person ascending or descending the ladder in such a position would have fallen backwards before reaching the top or bottom. To all facts there are laws, The effect has its cause, And I mount to the cause. Lord Lytton. 57. _Babe Comes Through_ There is a screen on the grandstand behind the home plate. Fordney had noticed a few seconds before, in the box next to him, the man whom the policeman had caught running down the ramp. As he could not have thrown a bottle through the screen, and, in the time at his disposal, could not have reached either side of the screen, Fordney knew he was innocent. He had noticed the man _after_ two strikes and three balls had been called, and the pitcher delivered the next ball quickly. We must have bloody noses and crack’d crowns, God’s me, my horse! Shakespeare. 58. _A Soldier of Fortune_ Hamilton knew the real Walter Briggs had gone to Africa as a child. So, when this chap said he had shot tigers in Africa, Fordney was very, very skeptical. There are no tigers in Africa. Oh, well—look it up yourself! A traveler without observation is a bird without wings. Saadi. 59. _Number Twenty-Six_ The inconsistency is this: Farrell said he _pushed_ open the door. Yet Bradford, _inside_ the house, _pushed_ the door in Kelley’s face as the Inspector was entering. If Bradford _pushed_ the door in Kelley’s face, Farrell must have _pulled_ the door to open it. The smallest hair throws its shadow. Goethe. 60. _The Pullman Car Murder_ Every piece of baggage had been examined and every inch of the car inspected. All passengers, even the maid, porter, and brakeman, had been searched. The knife was still in the car. Remember?—there was nothing said about the conductor being searched. The knife was found in his pocket. He was in logic a great crytic, Profoundly skilled in analytic; He could distinguish and divide A hair twixt south and south-west side. Butler. 61. _Forgery_ The forged signature was copied from the blotter which Mead had used. Thou strong seducer, opportunity. Dryden. 62. _The Christmas Eve Tragedy_ The Professor said to Brown, ‘Sheriff, look for a man in your community who is skilled or adept in the use of _stilts_. Only a man on stilts could have made the marks in the snow you described.’ P.S. The Professor was right. Be the first to say what is self-evident, And you are immortal. Ebner-Eschenbach. 63. _A Knight of the Bath_ You recall that Leimert was eccentric. No mention of bath _room_ was made. Leimert’s bath had no top, so he climbed out! Silly, what? If anything is spoken in jest, it is not fair to turn it to earnest. Plautus. 64. _Murder in the First Degree_ The fact that _none_ of the suspect’s fingerprints were on the dishes or silver used while eating convicted him of first-degree murder. In wiping his _own_ prints from the things he had handled, he destroyed _all_ prints—those of the waitress, cook, etc. A damning bit of evidence that proved premeditation. The weakest spot in every man is when he thinks himself to be the wisest. Emmons. 65. _A Rendezvous with Death_ No one called at the _Times_ for the answers to the advertisement, yet Stone received a reply to his letter of application. The ad was inserted by Carroll under the fictitious name of Jonathan Gills and answered by Stone at his wife’s suggestion. She acquainted her lover, Carroll, with this fact, and he wrote Stone, arranging the meeting at which he disappeared. When any great design thou dost intend, Think on the means, the manner, and the end. Denham. 66. _A Rum Regatta_ The old sailor whispered to each, ‘Run the other man’s boat.’ As the owner of the _last_ boat to reach Miami was to get the money, each one raced the boat he was driving. By doing so, he hoped to beat his own boat, which was being driven by one of the others. Lookers-on many times see more than gamesters. Bacon. 67. _Who is the Heir?_ John Morgan’s _sister_, of course! Let us consider the reason of the case. For nothing is law that is not reason. Powell. 68. _The Professor Stops a Blunder_ Mundy had been unexpectedly called to Washington. Skidder’s secretary said the note was habitually kept at the office. Mundy, therefore, could not possibly have known of Skidder’s intention of taking it home. That was exactly the weakness in the case of the police. Despite the damning circumstantial evidence, motive could not be proved unless it could be shown that Mundy knew the note would be at Skidder’s house. How little do they see what is, who frame Their hasty judgments upon that which seems. Southey. 69. _The Perfect Crime_ Alas! Peter Johannes had forgotten to remove his mask on leaving the house! Whoever thinks a perfect work to see, Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be. Pope. 70. _The Professor