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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1832-0.txt b/1832-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f572a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/1832-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4940 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lamp That Went Out, by Augusta Groner + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lamp That Went Out + +Author: Augusta Groner + +Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron + +Posting Date: November 17, 2008 [EBook #1832] +Release Date: July, 1999 +Last Updated: October 14, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer + + + + + +THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + +By Augusta Groner + + +Translated by Grace Isabel Colbron + + + + +INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER + +Joseph Muller, Secret Service detective of the Imperial Austrian police, +is one of the great experts in his profession. In personality he differs +greatly from other famous detectives. He has neither the impressive +authority of Sherlock Holmes, nor the keen brilliancy of Monsieur Lecoq. +Muller is a small, slight, plain-looking man, of indefinite age, and of +much humbleness of mien. A naturally retiring, modest disposition, and +two external causes are the reasons for Muller’s humbleness of manner, +which is his chief characteristic. One cause is the fact that in early +youth a miscarriage of justice gave him several years in prison, an +experience which cast a stigma on his name and which made it impossible +for him, for many years after, to obtain honest employment. But the +world is richer, and safer, by Muller’s early misfortune. For it was +this experience which threw him back on his own peculiar talents for +a livelihood, and drove him into the police force. Had he been able to +enter any other profession, his genius might have been stunted to a mere +pastime, instead of being, as now, utilised for the public good. + +Then, the red tape and bureaucratic etiquette which attaches to every +governmental department, puts the secret service men of the Imperial +police on a par with the lower ranks of the subordinates. Muller’s +official rank is scarcely much higher than that of a policeman, although +kings and councillors consult him and the Police Department realises to +the full what a treasure it has in him. But official red tape, and his +early misfortune... prevent the giving of any higher official standing +to even such a genius. Born and bred to such conditions, Muller +understands them, and his natural modesty of disposition asks for no +outward honours, asks for nothing but an income sufficient for his +simple needs, and for aid and opportunity to occupy himself in the way +he most enjoys. + +Joseph Muller’s character is a strange mixture. The kindest-hearted man +in the world, he is a human bloodhound when once the lure of the trail +has caught him. He scarcely eats or sleeps when the chase is on, he does +not seem to know human weakness nor fatigue, in spite of his frail body. +Once put on a case his mind delves and delves until it finds a clue, +then something awakes within him, a spirit akin to that which holds +the bloodhound nose to trail, and he will accomplish the apparently +impossible, he will track down his victim when the entire machinery of +a great police department seems helpless to discover anything. The high +chiefs and commissioners grant a condescending permission when Muller +asks, “May I do this? ... or may I handle this case this way?” + both parties knowing all the while that it is a farce, and that the +department waits helpless until this humble little man saves its honour +by solving some problem before which its intricate machinery has stood +dazed and puzzled. + +This call of the trail is something that is stronger than anything else +in Muller’s mentality, and now and then it brings him into conflict with +the department,... or with his own better nature. Sometimes his unerring +instinct discovers secrets in high places, secrets which the Police +Department is bidden to hush up and leave untouched. Muller is then +taken off the case, and left idle for a while if he persists in his +opinion as to the true facts. And at other times, Muller’s own warm +heart gets him into trouble. He will track down his victim, driven by +the power in his soul which is stronger than all volition; but when he +has this victim in the net, he will sometimes discover him to be a +much finer, better man than the other individual, whose wrong at this +particular criminal’s hand set in motion the machinery of justice. +Several times that has happened to Muller, and each time his heart got +the better of his professional instincts, of his practical common-sense, +too, perhaps,... at least as far as his own advancement was concerned, +and he warned the victim, defeating his own work. This peculiarity of +Muller’s character caused his undoing at last, his official undoing that +is, and compelled his retirement from the force. But his advice is often +sought unofficially by the Department, and to those who know, Muller’s +hand can be seen in the unravelling of many a famous case. + +The following stories are but a few of the many interesting cases that +have come within the experience of this great detective. But they give +a fair portrayal of Muller’s peculiar method of working, his looking on +himself as merely an humble member of the Department, and the comedy +of his acting under “official orders” when the Department is in reality +following out his directions. + + + + + +THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY + + +The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The air was +so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where the city’s +buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the town the rays +of the awakening sun danced in crystalline ether and struck answering +gleams from the dew on grass and shrub in the myriad gardens of the +suburban streets. + +It was still very early. The old-fashioned steeple clock on the church +of the Holy Virgin in Hietzing had boomed out six slow strokes but a +short time back. Anna, the pretty blonde girl who carried out the milk +for the dwellers in several streets of this aristocratic residential +suburb, was just coming around the corner of the main street into a +quiet lane. This lane could hardly be dignified by the name of street as +yet, it was so very quiet. It had been opened and named scarcely a year +back and it was bordered mostly by open gardens or fenced-in building +lots. There were four houses in this street, two by two opposite each +other, and another, an old-fashioned manor house, lying almost hidden in +its great garden. But the quiet street could not presume to ownership of +this last house, for the front of it opened on a parallel street, which +gave it its number. Only the garden had a gate as outlet onto our quiet +lane. + +Anna stopped in front of this gate and pulled the bell. She had to wait +for some little time until the gardener’s wife, who acted as janitress, +could open the door. But Anna was not impatient, for she knew that it +was quite a distance from the gardener’s house in the centre of the +great stretch of park to the little gate where she waited. In a few +moments, however, the door was opened and a pleasant-faced woman +exchanged a friendly greeting with the girl and took the cans from her. + +Anna hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four houses in +that street were already served and she was now bound for the homes of +customers several squares away. Then her step slowed just a bit. She +was a quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace of this bright morning +sank into her heart and made her rejoice in its beauty. All around her +the foliage was turning gently to its autumn glory of colouring and the +dewdrops on the rich-hued leaves sparkled with an unusual radiance. A +thrush looked down at her from a bough and began its morning song. Anna +smiled up at the little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune. + +But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her flushed +cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to the ground. +With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let the burden of the +milk cans drop gently from her shoulder to the ground. In following the +bird’s flight her eyes had wandered to the side of the street, to the +edge of one of the vacant lots, there where a shallow ditch separated +it from the roadway. An elder-tree, the great size of which attested its +age, hung its berry-laden branches over the ditch. And in front of this +tree the bird had stopped suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick +movement of the wild creature surprised by fright. What the bird +had seen was the same vision that halted the song on Anna’s lips and +arrested her foot. It was the body of a man--a young and well-dressed +man, who lay there with his face turned toward the street. And his face +was the white frozen face of a corpse. + +Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, in wide-eyed +terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to pull herself together +again. A few steps and then she turned and broke into a run. When she +reached the end of the street, breathless from haste and excitement, she +found herself in one of the main arteries of traffic of the suburb, but +owing to the early hour this street was almost as quiet as the lane she +had just left. Finally the frightened girl’s eyes caught sight of the +figure of a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet +him and recognised him as the officer of that beat. + +“Why, what is the matter?” he asked. “Why are you so excited?” + +“Down there--in the lane, there’s a dead man,” answered the girl, gasping +for breath. + +“A dead man?” repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the girl. “Are +you sure he’s dead?” + +Anna nodded. “His eyes are all glassy and I saw blood on his back.” + +“Well, you’re evidently very much frightened, and I suppose you don’t +want to go down there again. I’ll look into the matter, if you will go +to the police station and make the announcement. Will you do it?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“All right, then, that will gain time for us. Good-bye, Miss Anna.” + +The man walked quickly down the street, while the girl hurried off in +the opposite direction, to the nearest police station, where she told +what she had seen. + +The policeman reached his goal even earlier. The first glance told him +that the man lying there by the wayside was indeed lifeless. And the icy +stiffness of the hand which he touched showed him that life must have +fled many hours back. Anna had been right about the blood also. The dead +man lay on the farther side of the ditch, half down into it. His right +arm was bent under his body, his left arm was stretched out, and the +stiffened fingers... they were slender white fingers... had sought for +something to break his fall. All they had found was a tall stem of wild +aster with its purple blossoms, which they were holding fast in the +death grip. On the dead man’s back was a small bullet-wound and around +the edges of it his light grey coat was stained with blood. His face was +distorted in pain and terror. It was a nice face, or would have been, +did it not show all too plainly the marks of dissipation in spite of the +fact that the man could not have been much past thirty years old. He was +a stranger to the policeman, although the latter had been on this beat +for over three years. + +When the guardian of the law had convinced himself that there was +nothing more to do for the man who lay there, he rose from his stooping +position and stepped back. His gaze wandered up and down the quiet lane, +which was still absolutely empty of human life. He stood there quietly +waiting, watching over the ghastly discovery. In about ten minutes the +police commissioner and the coroner, followed by two roundsmen with a +litter, joined the solitary watcher, and the latter could return to his +post. + +The policemen set down their litter and waited for orders, while the +coroner and the commissioner bent over the corpse. There was nothing +for the physician to do but to declare that the unfortunate man had been +dead for many hours. The bullet which struck him in the back had killed +him at once. The commissioner examined the ground immediately around +the corpse, but could find nothing that pointed to a struggle. There +remained only to prove whether there had been a robbery as well as a +murder. + +“Judging from the man’s position the bullet must have come from that +direction,” said the commissioner, pointing towards the cottages down +the lane. + +“People who are killed by bullets may turn several times before they +fall,” said a gentle voice behind the police officer. The voice seemed +to suit the thin little man who stood there meekly, his hat in his hand. + +The commissioner turned quickly. “Ah, are you there already, Muller?” + he said, as if greatly pleased, while the physician broke in with the +remark: + +“That’s just what I was about to observe. This man did not die so +quickly that he could not have made a voluntary or involuntary movement +before life fled. The shot that killed him might have come from any +direction.” + +The commissioner nodded thoughtfully and there was silence for a +few moments. Muller--for the little thin man was none other than the +celebrated Joseph Muller, one of the most brilliant detectives in the +service of the Austrian police--looked down at the corpse carefully. +He took plenty of time to do it and nobody hurried him. For nobody ever +hurried Muller; his well-known and almost laughable thoroughness and +pedantry were too valuable in their results. It was a tradition in the +police that Muller was to have all the time he wanted for everything. It +paid in the end, for Muller made few mistakes. Therefore, his superior +the police commissioner, and the coroner waited quietly while the little +man made his inspection of the corpse. + +“Thank you,” said Muller finally, with a polite bow to the commissioner, +before he bent to brush away the dust on his knees. + +“Well?” asked Commissioner Holzer. + +Muller smiled an embarrassed smile as he replied: + +“Well... I haven’t found out anything yet except that he is dead, and +that he has been shot in the back. His pockets may tell us something +more.” + +“Yes, we can examine them at once,” said the commissioner. “I have been +delaying that for I wanted you here; but I had no idea that you would +come so soon. I told them to fetch you if you were awake, but doubted +you would be, for I know you have had no sleep for forty-eight hours.” + +“Oh, I can sleep, at least with one eye, when I’m on the chase,” + answered the detective. “So it’s really only twenty-four hours, you +see.” Muller had just returned from tracking down an aristocratic +swindler whom he had found finally in a little French city and had +brought back to a Viennese prison. He had returned well along in the +past night and Holzer knew that the tired man would need his rest. +Still he had sent for Muller, who lived near the police station, for +the girl’s report had warned him that this was a serious case. And in +serious cases the police did not like to do without Muller’s help. + +And as usual when his work called him, Muller was as wide awake as if +he had had a good night’s sleep behind him. The interest of a new +case robbed him of every trace of fatigue. It was he alone--at his own +request--who raised the body and laid it on its back before he stepped +aside to make way for the doctor. + +The physician opened the dead man’s vest to see whether the bullet had +passed completely through the body. But it had not; there was not the +slightest trace of blood upon the shirt. + +“There’s nothing more for me to do here, Muller,” said the physician, as +he bowed to the commissioner and left the place. + +Muller examined the pockets of the dead man. + +“It’s probably a case of robbery, too,” remarked the commissioner. “A +man as well-dressed as this one is would be likely to have a watch.” + +“And a purse,” added the detective. “But this man has neither--or at +least he has them no longer.” + +In the various pockets of the dead man’s clothes Muller found the +following articles: a handkerchief, several tramway tickets, a penknife, +a tiny mirror, and comb, and a little book, a cheap novel. He wrapped +them all in the handkerchief and put them in his own pocket. The dead +man’s coat had fallen back from his body during the examination, and as +Muller turned the stiffened limbs a little he saw the opening of another +pocket high up over the right hip of the trousers. The detective passed +his hand over the pocket and heard something rattle. Then he put his +hand in the pocket and drew out a thin narrow envelope which he handed +to the commissioner. Holzer looked at it carefully. It was made of very +thin expensive paper and bore no address. But it was sealed, although +not very carefully, for the gummed edges were open in spots. It must +have been hastily closed and was slightly crushed as if it had been +carried in a clenched hand. The commissioner cut open the envelope with +his penknife. He gave an exclamation of surprise as he showed Muller the +contents. In the envelope there were three hundred-gulden notes. + +The commissioner looked at Muller without a word, but the detective +understood and shook his head. “No,” he said calmly, “it may be a case +of robbery just the same. This pocket was not very easy to find, and the +money in it was safer than the dead man’s watch and purse would be. That +is, if he had a watch and purse--and he very probably had a watch,” he +added more quickly. + +For Muller had made a little discovery. On the lower hem of the left +side of the dead man’s waistcoat he saw a little lump, and feeling of it +he discovered that it was a watch key which had slipped down out of +the torn pocket between the lining and the material of the vest. A sure +proof that the dead man had had a watch, which in all probability had +been taken from him by his murderer. There was no loose change or small +bills to be found in any of the pockets, so that it was more than likely +that the dead man had had his money in a purse. It seemed to be a case +of murder for the sake of robbery. At least Muller and the commissioner +believed it to be one, from what they had discovered thus far. + +The police officer gave his men orders to raise the body and to take +it to the morgue. An hour later the unknown man lay in the bare room in +which the only spot of brightness were the rays of the sun that crept +through the high barred windows and touched his cold face and stiffened +form as with a pitying caress. But no, there was one other little spot +of brightness in the silent place. It was the wild aster which the dead +man’s hand still held tightly clasped. The little purple flowers were +quite fresh yet, and the dewdrops clinging to them greeted the kiss of +the sun’s rays with an answering smile. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG + + +As soon as the corpse had been taken away, the police commissioner +returned to the station. But Muller remained there all alone to make a +thorough examination of the entire vicinity. + +It was not a very attractive spot, this particular part of the street. +There must have been a nursery there at one time, for there were still +several ordered rows of small trees to be seen. There were traces of +flower cultivation as well, for several trailing vines and overgrown +bushes showed where shrubs had been grown which do not usually grow +without man’s assistance. Immediately back of the old elder tree Muller +found several fine examples of rare flowers, or rather he found the +shrubs which his experienced eye recognised as having once borne these +unusual blossoms. One or two blooms still hung to the bushes and the +detective, who was a great lover of flowers, picked them and put them in +his buttonhole. While he did this, his keen eyes were darting about the +place taking in all the details. This vacant lot had evidently been used +as an unlicensed dumping ground for some time, for all sorts of odds and +ends, old boots, bits of stuff, silk and rags, broken bottles and empty +tin cans, lay about between the bushes or half buried in the earth. What +had once been an orderly garden was now an untidy receptacle for waste. +The pedantically neat detective looked about him in disgust, then +suddenly he forgot his displeasure and a gleam shot up in his eye. It +was very little, the thing this man had seen, this man who saw so much +more than others. + +About ten paces from where he stood a high wooden fence hemmed in the +lot. The fence belonged to the neighbouring property, as the lot in +which he stood was not protected in any way. To the back it was closed +off by a corn field where the tall stalks rustled gently in the faint +morning breeze. All this could be seen by anybody and Muller had seen it +all at his first glance. But now he had seen something else. Something +that excited him because it might possibly have some connection with +the newly discovered crime. His keen eyes, in glancing along the wooden +fence at his right hand, had caught sight of a little twig which had +worked its way through the fence. This twig belonged to a willow tree +which grew on the other side, and which spread its grey-green foliage +over the fence or through its wide openings. One of the little twigs +which had crept in between the planks was broken, and it had been broken +very recently, for the leaves were still fresh and the sap was oozing +from the crushed stem. Muller walked over to the fence and examined the +twig carefully. He soon saw how it came to be broken. The broken part +was about the height of a man’s knee from the ground. And just at this +height there was quite a space between two of the planks of the fence, +heavy planks which were laid cross-ways and nailed to thick posts. It +would have been very easy for anybody to get a foothold in this open +space between the planks. + +It was very evidently some foot thrust in between the planks which had +broken the little willow twig, and its soft rind had left a green +mark on the lower plank. “I wonder if that has anything to do with the +murder,” thought Muller, looking over the fence into the lot on the +other side. + +This neighbouring plot was evidently a neglected garden. It had once +worn an aristocratic air, with stone statues and artistic arrangement +of flower beds and shrubs. It was still attractive even in its neglected +condition. Beyond it, through the foliage of its heavy trees, glass +windows caught the sunlight. Muller remembered that there was a +handsome old house in this direction, a house with a mansard roof and +wide-reaching wings. He did not now know to whom this handsome old +house belonged, a house that must have been built in the time of Maria +Theresa,... but he was sure of one thing, and that was that he would +soon find out to whom it belonged. At present it was the garden which +interested him, and he was anxious to see where it ended. A few moments’ +further inspection showed him what he wanted to know. The garden +extended to the beginning of the park-like grounds which surrounded +the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron railing separated the +garden from the park, but this railing did not extend down as far as the +quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, well-built wooden fence. +Along the street side of the fence there was a high thick hedge. Muller +walked along this hedge until he came to a little gate. Then crossing +the street, he saw that the house whose windows glistened in the +sunlight was a house which he knew well from its other side, its front +facade. + +Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from this +to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined every +foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that was of any +interest to him--not a footprint, or anything to prove that some one +else had passed that way a short time before. And yet it would have been +impossible to pass that way without leaving some trace, for the ground +was cut up in all directions by mole hills. + +Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would come +into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had been found. +There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller was obliged +to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that would lead to an +understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the broken willow twig +should prove to be a clue. He sprang back across the ditch, turned up +the edges of his trousers where they had been moistened by the dew and +walked slowly along the dusty street. He was no longer alone in the +lane. An old man, accompanied by a large dog, came out from one of the +new houses and walked towards the detective, he was very evidently going +in the direction of the elder-tree, which had already been such a +centre of interest that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, +touched his cap and asked in a confidential tone: “I suppose you’ve been +to see the place already?” + +“Which place?” was Muller’s reserved answer. + +“Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was murdered. They +found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it and told me. I +suppose everybody round here will know it soon.” + +“Was there a man murdered here?” asked Muller, as if surprised by the +news. + +“Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don’t understand why I didn’t hear +the shot. I couldn’t sleep a wink all night for the pain in my bones.” + +“You live near here, then?” + +“Yes, I live in No.1. Didn’t you see me coming out?” + +“I didn’t notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I stooped to turn +up my trousers so that they wouldn’t get dusty--it must have been then +you came out.” + +“Why, then you must have been right near the place I was talking about. +Do you see that elder tree there? It’s the only one in the street, and +the girl who brings the milk found the man under it. The police have +been here already and have taken him away. They discovered him about six +o’clock and now it’s just seven.” + +“And you hadn’t any suspicion that this dreadful thing was happening so +near you?” asked the detective casually. + +“I didn’t know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn’t have been a +fight or I would have heard it. But I don’t know why I didn’t hear the +shot.” + +“Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your pain,” + said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the man back to the +place from which he had just come. + +The old man shook his head. “No, I tell you I didn’t close an eye all +night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two pipes before I +put out the light, and then I heard every hour strike all night long +and it wasn’t until nearly five o’clock, when it was almost dawn, that I +dozed off a bit.” + +“Then it is astonishing that you didn’t hear anything!” + +“Sure it’s astonishing! But it’s still more astonishing that my dog +Sultan didn’t hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I’d have you +know. He’ll growl if anybody passes through the street after dark, and I +don’t see why he didn’t notice what was going on over there last night. +If a man’s attacked, he generally calls for help; it’s a queer business +all right.” + +“Well, Sultan, why didn’t you make a noise?” asked Muller, patting the +dog’s broad head. Sultan growled and walked on indifferently, after he +had shaken off the strange hand. + +“He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into the +country with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on the +way back we stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or two himself +occasionally, and that usually makes him sleep. I had hard work to bring +him home. We got here just a few minutes before half-past nine and I +tell you we were both good and tired.” + +By this time they had come to the elder-tree and the old man’s stream of +talk ceased as he stood before the spot where the mysterious crime had +occurred. He looked down thoughtfully at the grass, now trampled by many +feet. “Who could have done it?” he murmured finally, with a sigh that +expressed his pity for the victim. + +“Hietzing is known to be one of the safest spots in Vienna,” remarked +Muller. + +“Indeed it is, sir; indeed it is. As it would well have to be with the +royal castles right here in the neighbourhood! Indeed it would have to +be safe with the Court coming here all the time.” + +“Why, yes, you see more police here than anywhere else in the city.” + +“Yes, they’re always sticking their nose in where they’re not +necessary,” remarked the old man, not realising to whom he was speaking. +“They fuss about everything you do or don’t do, and yet a man can be +shot down right under our very noses here and the police can’t help it.” + +“But, my dear sir, it isn’t always possible for the police to prevent a +criminal carrying out his evil intention,” said Muller good-naturedly. + +“Well, why not? if they watch out sharp enough?” + +“The police watch out sharper than most people think. But they can’t +catch a man until he has committed his crime, can they?” + +“No, I suppose not,” said the old man, with another glance at the +elder-tree. He bowed to Muller and turned and walked away. + +Muller followed him slowly, very much pleased with this meeting, for +it had given him a new clue. There was no reason to doubt the old man’s +story. And if this story was true, then the crime had been committed +before half-past nine of the evening previous. For the old man--he was +evidently the janitor in No.1--had not heard the shot. + +Muller left the scene of the crime and walked towards the four houses. +Before he reached them he had to pass the garden which belonged to the +house with the mansard roof. Right and left of this garden were vacant +lots, as well as on the opposite side of the street. Then came to the +right and left the four new houses which stood at the beginning of the +quiet lane. Muller passed them, turned up a cross street and then +down again, into the street running parallel, to the lane, a quiet +aristocratic street on which fronted the house with the mansard roof. + +A carriage stood in front of this house, two great trunks piled up on +the box beside the driver. A young girl and an old man in livery were +placing bags and bundles of rugs inside the carriage. Muller walked +slowly toward the carriage. Just as he reached the open gate of the +garden he was obliged to halt, to his own great satisfaction. For at +this moment a group of people came out from the house, the owners of it +evidently, prepared for a journey and surrounded by their servants. + +Beside the old man and the young girl, there were two other women, one +evidently the housekeeper, the other possibly the cook. The latter +was weeping openly and devoutly kissing the hand of her mistress. The +housekeeper discovered that a rug was missing and sent the maid back for +it, while the old servant helped the lady into the carriage. The door +of the carriage was wide open and Muller had a good glimpse of the pale, +sweet-faced and delicate-looking young woman who leaned back in her +corner, shivering and evidently ill. The servants bustled about, making +her comfortable, while her husband superintended the work with anxious +tenderness. He was a tall, fine-looking man with deep-set grey eyes and +a rich, sympathetic voice. He gave his orders to his servants with calm +authority, but he also was evidently suffering from the disease of +our century--nervousness, for Muller saw that the man’s hands clenched +feverishly and that his lips were trembling under his drooping +moustache. + +The maid hastened down with the rug and spread it over her mistress’s +knees, as the gentleman exclaimed nervously: “Do hurry with that! Do you +want us to miss the train?” + +The butler closed the door of the carriage, the coachman gathered up the +reins and raised his whip. The housekeeper bowed low and murmured a few +words in farewell and the other servants followed her example with tears +in their eyes. “You’ll see us again in six weeks,” the lady called +out and her husband added: “If all goes well.” Then he motioned to the +waiting driver and the carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in +a few moments. + +The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind the high +gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to resume his walk, +when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led back through a +flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded it on the sides and +rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She came so quickly that one +might almost call it running. She was evidently excited about something. +Muller imagined what this something might be, and he remained to +hear what she had to say. He was not mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs. +Schmiedler, the gardener’s wife, began her story at once. “Haven’t you +heard yet?” she said breathlessly. “No, you can’t have heard it yet or +you wouldn’t stand there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer.” + +“What’s the matter?” asked the woman whom Muller took to be the +housekeeper. + +“They killed a man last night out here! They found his body just now +in the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told me as I was +going to the store, so I went right back to look at the place, and I +came to tell you, as I didn’t think you’d heard it yet.” + +Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and of an +equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an excited hubbub +of talk while she remained quite indifferent and calm. “One more poor +fellow who had to leave the world before he was ready,” she remarked +calmly, with just the natural touch of pity in her voice that would come +to any warm-hearted human being upon hearing of such an occurrence. She +did not seem at all excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the +crime had been so near. + +The other servants were very much more excited and had already rushed +off, under the guidance of the gardener’s wife, to look at the dreadful +spot. Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to close the front gate in +his excitement, and the housekeeper turned to do it now. + +“The fools, see them run,” she exclaimed half aloud. “As if there was +anything for them to do there.” + +The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to the house. +Muller walked on also, going first to the police station to report what +he had discovered. Then he went to his own rooms and slept until nearly +noon. On his return to the police station he found that notices of the +occurrence had already been sent out to the papers. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE EVENING PAPER + + +The autopsy proved beyond a doubt that the murdered man had been dead +for many hours before the discovery of his body. The bullet which had +struck him in the back had pierced the trachea and death had occurred +within a few minutes. The only marks for identification of the body were +the initials L. W. on his underwear. The evening paper printed an exact +description of the man’s appearance and his clothing. + +It was about ten o’clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a widow +living in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city from Hietzing, +returned from her morning marketing. It was only a few little bundles +that she brought with her and she set about preparing her simple dinner. +Her packages were wrapped in newspapers, which she carefully smoothed +out and laid on the dresser. + +Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and the little +pension which she received from the company, as well as the money she +could earn for herself, did not permit of the indulgence in a daily +newspaper. And yet the reading of the papers was the one luxury for +which the simple woman longed. Her grocer, who was a friend of years, +knew this and would wrap up her purchases in papers of recent date, +knowing that she could then enjoy them in her few moments of leisure. +To-day this leisure came unexpectedly early, for Mrs. Klingmayer had +less work than usual to attend to. + +Her little flat consisted of two rooms and a kitchen with a large closet +opening out from it. She lived in the kitchen and rented the front +rooms. Her tenants were a middle-aged man, inspector in a factory, +who had the larger room; and a younger man who was bookkeeper in an +importing house in the city. But this young man had not been at home +for forty-eight hours, a fact, however, which did not greatly worry his +landlady. The gentleman in question lived a rather dissipated life +and it was not the first time that he had remained away from home over +night. It is true that it was the first time that he had not been home +for two successive nights. But as Mrs. Klingmayer thought, everything +has to happen the first time sometime. “It’s not likely to be the last +time,” the worthy woman thought. + +At all events she was rather glad of it to-day, for she suffered from +rheumatism and it was difficult for her to get about. The young man’s +absence saved her the work of fixing up his room that morning and +allowed her to get to her reading earlier than usual. When she had put +the pot of soup on the fire, she sat down by the window, adjusted her +big spectacles and began to read. To her great delight she discovered +that the paper she held in her hand bore the date of the previous +afternoon. In spite of the good intentions of her friend the grocer, +it was not always that she could get a paper of so recent date, and she +began to read with doubled anticipation of pleasure. + +She did not waste time on the leading articles, for she understood +little about politics. The serial stories were a great delight to +her, or would have been, if she had ever been able to follow them +consecutively. But her principal joy were the everyday happenings of +varied interest which she found in the news columns. To-day she was so +absorbed in the reading of them that the soup pot began to boil over +and send out rivulets down onto the stove. Ordinarily this would have +shocked Mrs. Klingmayer, for the neatness of her pots and pans was the +one great care of her life. But now, strange to relate, she paid no +attention to the soup, nor to the smell and the smoke that arose from +the stove. She had just come upon a notice in the paper which took her +entire attention. She read it through three times, and each time with +growing excitement. This is what she read: + + MURDER IN HIETZING + + This morning at six o’clock the body of a man about 30 years + old was discovered in a lane in Hietzing. The man must have + been dead many hours. He had been shot from behind. The dead + man was tall and thin, with brown eyes, brown hair and moustache. + The letters L. W. were embroidered in his underwear. There was + nothing else discovered on him that could reveal his identity. + His watch and purse were not in his pockets: presumably they had + been taken by the murderer. A strange fact is that in one of + his pockets--a hidden pocket it is true--there was the sum of + 300 guldens in bills. + + +This was the notice which made Mrs. Klingmayer neglect the soup pot. + +Finally the old woman stood up very slowly, threw a glance at the stove +and opened the window mechanically. Then she lifted the pots from the +fire and set them on the outer edge of the range. And then she did +something that ordinarily would have shocked her economical soul--she +poured water on the fire to put it out. + +When she saw that there was not a spark left in the stove, she went into +her own little room and prepared to go out. Her excitement caused her to +forget her rheumatism entirely. One more look around her little kitchen, +then she locked it up and set out for the centre of the city. + +She went to the office of the importing house where her tenant, Leopold +Winkler, was employed as bookkeeper. The clerk at the door noticed the +woman’s excitement and asked her kindly what the trouble was. + +“I’d like to speak to Mr. Winkler,” she said eagerly. + +“Mr. Winkler hasn’t come in yet,” answered the young man. “Is anything +the matter? You look so white! Winkler will probably show up soon, he’s +never very punctual. But it’s after eleven o’clock now and he’s never +been as late as this before.” + +“I don’t believe he’ll ever come again,” said the old woman, sinking +down on a bench beside the door. + +“Why, what do you mean?” asked the clerk. “Why shouldn’t he come again?” + +“Is the head of the firm here?” asked Mrs. Klingmayer, wiping her +forehead with her handkerchief. The clerk nodded and hurried away to +tell his employer about the woman with the white face who came to ask +for a man who, as she expressed it, “would never come there again.” + +“I don’t think she’s quite right in the head,” he volunteered. The head +of the firm told him to bring the woman into the inner office. + +“Who are you, my good woman?” he asked kindly, softened by the evident +agitation of this poorly though neatly dressed woman. + +“I am Mr. Winkler’s landlady,” she answered. + +“Ah! and he wants you to tell me that he’s sick? I’m afraid I can’t +believe all that this gentleman says. I hope he’s not asking your help +to lie to me. Are you sure that his illness is anything else but a case +of being up late?” + +“I don’t think that he’ll ever be sick again--I didn’t come with any +message from him, sir; please read this, sir.” And she handed him the +newspaper, showing him the notice. While the gentleman was reading she +added: “Mr. Winkler didn’t come home last night either.” + +Winkler’s employer read the few lines, then laid the paper aside with a +very serious face. “When did you see him last?” he asked of the woman. + +“Day before yesterday in the morning. He went away about half-past eight +as he usually does,” she replied. And then she added a question of her +own: “Was he here day before yesterday?” + +The merchant nodded and pressed an electric bell. Then he rose from his +seat and pulled up a chair for his visitor. “Sit down here. This thing +has frightened you and you are no longer young.” When the servant +entered, the merchant told him to ask the head bookkeeper to come to the +inner office. + +When this official appeared, his employer inquired: “When did Winkler +leave here day before yesterday?” + +“At six o’clock, sir, as usual.” + +“He was here all day without interruption?” + +“Yes, sir, with the exception of the usual luncheon hour.” + +“Did he have the handling of any money Monday?” + +“No, sir.” + +“Thank you, Mr. Pokorny,” said the merchant, handing his employee the +evening paper and pointing to the notice which had so interested him. + +Pokorny read it, his face, like his employer’s, growing more serious. +“It looks almost as if it must be Winkler, sir,” he said, in a few +moments. + +“We will soon find that out. I should like to go to the police station +myself with this woman; she is Winkler’s landlady--but I think it will +be better for you to accompany her. They will ask questions about the +man which you will be better able to answer than I.” + +Pokorny bowed and left the room. Mrs. Klingmayer rose and was about +to follow, when the merchant asked her to wait a moment and inquired +whether Winkler owed her anything. “I am sorry that you should have had +this shock and the annoyances and trouble which will come of it, but I +don’t want you to be out of pocket by it.” + +“No, he doesn’t owe me anything,” replied the honest old woman, shaking +her head. A few big tears rolled down over her withered cheeks, possibly +the only tears that were shed for the dead man under the elder-tree. But +even this sympathetic soul could find nothing to say in his praise. She +could feel pity for his dreadful death, but she could not assert that +the world had lost anything by his going out of it. As if saddened by +the impossibility of finding a single good word to say about the dead +man, she left the office with drooping head and lagging step. + +Pokorny helped her into the cab that was already waiting before the +door. The office force had got wind of the fact that something unusual +had occurred and were all at the windows to see them drive off. The +three clerks who worked in the department to which Winkler belonged +gathered together to talk the matter over. They were none of them +particularly hit by it, but naturally they were interested in the +discovery in Hietzing, and equally naturally, they tried to find a few +good words to say about the man whose life had ended so suddenly. + +The youngest of them, Fritz Bormann, said some kind words and was about +to wax more enthusiastic, when Degenhart, the eldest clerk, cut in with +the words: “Oh, don’t trouble yourself. Nobody ever liked Winkler here. +He was not a good man--he was not even a good worker. This is the first +time that he has a reasonable excuse for neglecting his duties.” + +“Oh, come, see here! how can you talk about the poor man that way when +he’s scarcely cold in death yet,” said Fritz indignantly. + +Degenhart laughed harshly. + +“Did I ever say anything else about him while he was warm and alive? +Death is no reason for changing one’s opinion about a man who was +good-for-nothing in life. And his death was a stroke of good luck that +he scarcely deserved. He died without a moment’s pain, with a merry +thought in his head, perhaps, while many another better man has to +linger in torture for weeks. No, Bormann, the best I can say about +Winkler is that his death makes one nonentity the less on earth.” + +The older man turned to his desk again and the two younger clerks +continued the conversation: “Degenhart appears to be a hard man,” said +Fritz, “but he’s the best and kindest person I know, and he’s dead right +in what he says. It was simply a case of conventional superstition. I +never did like that Winkler.” + +“No, you’re right,” said the other. “Neither did I and I don’t know why, +for the matter of that. He seemed just like a thousand others. I never +heard of anything particularly wrong that he did.” + +“No, no more did I,” continued Bormann, “but I never heard of anything +good about him either. And don’t you think that it’s worse for a man +to seem to repel people by his very personality, rather than by any +particular bad thing that he does?” + +“Yes. I don’t know how to explain it, but that’s just how I feel about +it. I had an instinctive feeling that there was something wrong about +Winkler, the sort of a creepy, crawly feeling that a snake gives you.” + + + + +CHAPTER IV. SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD + + +Meanwhile Pokorny and Mrs. Klingmayer had reached the police station and +were going upstairs to the rooms of the commissioner on service for the +day. Like all people of her class, Mrs. Klingmayer stood in great awe +and terror of anything connected with the police or the law generally. +She crept slowly and tremblingly up the stairs behind the head +bookkeeper and was very glad when she was left alone for a few minutes +while Pokorny went in to see the commissioner. But as soon as his errand +was known, both the bookkeeper and his companion were led into the +office of Head Commissioner Dr. von Riedau, who had charge of the +Hietzing murder case. + +When Dr. von Riedau heard the reason of their coming, his interest was +immediately aroused, and he pulled a chair to his side for the little +thin man with whom he had been talking when the two strangers were +ushered in. + +“Then you believe you could identify the murdered man?” asked the +commissioner. + +“From the general description and the initials on his linen, I believe +it must be Leopold Winkler,” answered Pokorny. “Mrs. Klingmayer has not +seen him since Monday morning, nor has she had any message from him. He +left the office Monday afternoon at 6 o’clock and that was the last time +that we saw him. The only thing that makes me doubt his identity is that +the paper reports that three hundred gulden were found in his pocket. +Winkler never seemed to have money, and I do not understand how he +should have been in possession of such a sum.” + +“The money was found in the dead man’s pockets,” said the commissioner. +“And yet it may be Winkler, the man you know. Muller, will you order a +cab, please?” + +“I have a cab waiting for me. But it only holds two,” volunteered +Pokorny. + +“That doesn’t matter, I’ll sit on the box,” answered the man addressed +as Muller. + +“You are going with us?” asked Pokorny. + +“Yes, he will accompany you,” replied the commissioner. “This is +detective Muller, sir. By a mere chance, he happened to be on hand to +take charge of this case and he will remain in charge, although it may +be wasting his talents which we need for more difficult problems. If you +or any one else have anything to tell us, it must be told only to me +or to Muller. And before you leave to look at the body, I would like +to know whether the dead man owned a watch, or rather whether he had it +with him on the day of the murder.” + +“Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch,” answered Mrs. Klingmayer. + +Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: “Yes, sir; Winkler +had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was a large watch, very +thick. I happen to have noticed it by chance and also I happen to know +that he had not had the watch for very long.” + +“Can you tell us anything more about the watch?” asked the commissioner +of the landlady. + +“Yes, sir; there was engraving on the outside cover, initials, and a +crown on the other side.” + +“What were the initials?” + +“I don’t know that, sir; at least I’m not sure about it. There were so +many twists and curves to them that I couldn’t make them out. I think +one of them was a W though, sir.” + +“The other was probably an L then.” + +“That might be, sir.” + +“The younger clerks in the office may be able to tell something more +about the watch,” said Pokorny, “for they were quite interested in it +for a while. It was a handsome watch and they were envious of Winkler’s +possession of it. But he was so tactless in his boasting about it that +they paid no further attention to him after the first excitement.” + +“You say he didn’t have the watch long?” + +“Since spring I think, sir.” + +“He brought it home on the 19th of March,” interrupted Mrs. Klingmayer. +“I remember the day because it was my birthday. I pretended that he had +brought it home to me for a present.” + +“Was he in the habit of making you presents?” + +“Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir. + +“Well, perhaps he didn’t have much money to be generous with. Now tell +me about his watch chain. I suppose he had a watch chain?” + +Both the bookkeeper and the landlady nodded and the latter exclaimed: +“Oh, yes, sir; I could recognise it in a minute.” + +“How?” + +“It was broken once and Mr. Winkler mended it himself. I lent him my +pliers and he bent the two links together with them. It didn’t look very +nice after that, but it was strong again. You could see the mark of the +pliers easily.” + +“Why didn’t he take the chain to the jeweler’s to be fixed?” asked the +commissioner. + +The woman smiled. “It wouldn’t have been worth the money, sir; the chain +wasn’t real gold.” + +“But the watch was real, wasn’t it?” + +“Oh, yes, sir; that was real gold. I pawned it once for Mr. Winkler and +they gave me 24 gulden for it.” + +“One question more, did he have a purse? And did he have it with him on +the day of the murder?” + +“Yes, sir; he had a purse, and he must have taken it with him because he +didn’t leave it in his room.” + +“What sort of a purse was it?” + +“A brown leather purse, sir.” + +“Was it a new one?” + +“Oh, no, sir; it was well worn.” + +“How big was it? About like mine?” Riedau took out his own pocketbook. + +“No, sir; it was a little smaller. It had three pockets in it. I mended +it for him once, so I know it well. I didn’t have any brown thread so I +mended it with yellow.” + +Dr. von Riedau nodded to Muller. The latter had been sitting at a little +side-table writing down the questions and answers. When Riedau saw this +he did not send for a clerk to do the work, for Muller preferred to +attend to such matters himself as much as possible. The facts gained in +the examination were impressed upon his mind while he was writing them, +and he did not have to wade through pages of manuscript to get at what +he needed. Now he handed his superior officer the paper. + +“Thank you,” said Riedau, “I’ll send it out to the other police +stations. I will attend to this myself. You go on with these people to +see whether they can identify the corpse.” + +Fifteen minutes later the three stood before the body in the morgue and +both the bookkeeper and his companion identified the dead man positively +as Leopold Winkler. + +When the identification was made, a notice was sent out to all Austrian +police stations and to all pawnshops with an exact description of the +stolen watch and purse. + +Muller led his companions back to the commissioner’s office and they +made their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned further, +Pokorny stated: “I had very little to do with Winkler. We met only when +he had a report to make to me or to show me his books, and we never met +outside the office. The clerks who worked in the same room with him, may +know him better. I know only that he was a very reserved man and very +little liked.” + +“Then I do not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble you further +in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so promptly. It has been of +great assistance.” + +The bookkeeper left the station, but Mrs. Klingmayer, who was now quite +reassured as to the harmlessness of the police, was asked to remain +and to tell what she knew of the private life of the murdered man. Her +answers to the various questions put to her proved that she knew very +little about her tenant. But this much was learned from her: that he +was very close with his money at times, but that again at other times +he seemed to have all he wanted to spend. At such times he paid all his +debts, and when he stayed home for supper, he would send her out for +all sorts of expensive delicacies. These extravagant days seemed to have +nothing whatever to do with Winkler’s business pay day, but came at odd +times. + +Mrs. Klingmayer remembered two separate times when he had received a +postal money order. But she did not know from whom the letters came, +nor even whether they were sent from the city or from some other town. +Winkler received other letters now and then, but his landlady was not of +the prying kind, and she had paid very little attention to them. + +He seemed to have few friends or even acquaintances. She did not know +of any love affair, at least of nothing “regular.” He had remained +away over night two or three times during the year that he had been +her tenant. This was about all that Mrs. Klingmayer could say, and she +returned to her home in a cab furnished her by the kind commissioner. + +About two hours later, a police attendant announced that a gentleman +would like to see Dr. von Riedan on business concerning the murder in +Hietzing. “Friedrich Bormann” was the name on the card. + +“Ask him to step in here,” said the commissioner. “And please ask Mr. +Muller to join us.” + +The good-looking young clerk entered the office bashfully and Muller +slipped in behind him, seating himself inconspicuously by the door. At a +sign from the commissioner the visitor began. “I am an employee of Braun +& Co. I have the desk next to Leopold Winkler, during the year that he +has been with us--the year and a quarter to be exact--” + +“Ah, then you know him rather well?” + +“Why, yes. At least we were together all day, although I never met him +outside the office.” + +“Then you cannot tell us much about his private life?” + +“No, sir, but there was something happened on Monday, and in talking it +over with Mr. Braun, he suggested that I should come to you and tell you +about it. It wasn’t really very important, and it doesn’t seem as if it +could have anything to do with this murder and robbery; still it may be +of some use.” + +“Everything that would throw light on the dead man’s life could be of +use,” said Dr. von Riedau. “Please tell us what it is you know.” + +Fritz Bormann began: “Winkler came to the office as usual on Monday +morning and worked steadily at his desk. But I happened to notice that +he spoiled several letters and had to rewrite them, which showed me +that his thoughts were not on his work, a frequent occurrence with him. +However, everything went along as usual until 11 o’clock. Then Winkler +became very uneasy. He looked constantly toward the door, compared his +watch with the office clock, and sprang up impatiently as the special +letter carrier, who usually comes about 11 with money orders, finally +appeared.” + +“Then he was expecting money you think?” + +“It must have been so. For as the letter carrier passed him, he called +out: ‘Haven’t you anything for me?’ and as the man shook his head +Winkler seemed greatly disappointed and depressed. Before he left to go +to lunch, he wrote a hasty letter, which he put in his pocket. + +“He came in half an hour later than the rest of us. He had often been +reprimanded for his lack of punctuality, but it seemed to do no good. He +was almost always late. Monday was no exception, although he was later +than usual that day.” + +“And what sort of a mood was he in when he came back?” + +“He was irritable and depressed. He seemed to be awaiting a message +which did not come. His excitement hindered him from working, he +scarcely did anything the entire afternoon. Finally at five o’clock a +messenger boy came with a letter for him. I saw that Winkler turned +pale as he took the note in his hand. It seemed to be only a few words +written hastily on a card, thrust into an envelope. Winkler’s teeth were +set as he opened the letter. The messenger had already gone away.” + +“Did you notice his number?” asked Dr. von Riedau. + +“No, I scarcely noticed the man at all. I was looking at Winkler, whose +behaviour was so peculiar. When he read the card his face brightened. +He read it through once more, then he tore both card and envelope into +little bits and threw the pieces out of the open window. + +“Then he evidently did not want anybody to see the contents of this +note,” said a voice from the corner of the room. + +Fritz Bormann looked around astonished and rather doubtful at the little +man who had risen from his chair and now came forward. Without waiting +for an answer from the clerk, the other continued: “Did Winkler have +money sent him frequently?” + +Bormann looked inquiringly at the commissioner, who replied with a +smile: “You may answer. Answer anything that Mr. Muller has to ask of +you, as he is in charge of this case.” + +“As far as I can remember, it happened three times,” was Bormann’s +answer. + +“How close together?” + +“Why--about once in every three or four months, I think.” + +“That looks almost like a regular income,” exclaimed Riedau. His eyes +met Muller’s, which were lit up in sudden fire. “Well, what are you +thinking of?” asked the commissioner. + +“A woman,” answered Muller; and continued more as if thinking aloud than +as if addressing the others: “Winkler was a good-looking man. Might he +not have had a rich love somewhere? Might not the money have come from +her, the money that was found in his pocket?” Muller’s voice trailed +off into indistinctness at the last words, and the fire died out of his +eyes. Then he laughed aloud. + +The commissioner smiled also, a good-natured smile, such as one would +give to a child who has been over-eager. “It doesn’t matter to us where +the money came from. All that matters here is where the bullet came +from--the bullet which prevented his enjoying this money. And it is +of more interest to us to find out who robbed him of his life and his +property, rather than the source from which this property came.” + +The commissioner’s tone was friendly, but Muller’s face flushed red, and +his head dropped. Riedau turned to Bormann and continued: “And because +it is of no interest to us where his money came from--for it can +have nothing whatever to do with his murder and the subsequent +robbery--therefore what you noticed of his behaviour cannot be of any +importance or bearing in the case in any way. Unless, indeed, you should +find out anything more. But we appreciate the thoughtfulness of yourself +and your employer and your readiness to help us.” + +Bormann rose to leave, but the commissioner put out a hand to stop him. +“A few moments more, please; you may know of something else that will +be of assistance to us. We have heard that Winkler boasted of his +belongings--did he talk about his private affairs in any way?” + +“No, sir, I do not think he did.” + +“You say that he destroyed the note at once, evidently realising that no +one must see it--this note may have been a promise for the money which +had not yet come. Did he, however, tell any one later that he expected a +certain sum? Do you think he would have been likely to tell any one?” + +“No, I do not think that he would tell any one. He never mentioned +to any of us that he had received money, or even that he expected to +receive it. None of us knew what outside resources he might have, or +whence they came. If it had not been that the money was paid him by the +carrier in the office two or three times--so, that we could see it--we +would none of us have known of this income, except for the fact that he +was freer in spending after the money came. He would dine at expensive +restaurants, and this fact he would mention to us, whereas at other +times he would go to the cheap cafe.” + +“Do you know anything about the people he was acquainted with outside +the office?” + +“No, sir. I seldom met him outside of the office. One evening it did +happen that I saw him at Ronacher’s. He was there with a lady--that is, +a so-called ‘lady’--and it must have been one of the times that he had +money, for they were enjoying an expensive supper. At other times, some +of the other clerks met him at various resorts, always with the same +sort of woman. But not always with the same woman, for they were +different in appearance.” + +“He was never seen anywhere with other men?” + +“No, sir; at least not by any of us.” + +“He was not liked in the office?” + +“No.” Bormann’s answer was sharp. + +“For what reason?” + +“I don’t know; we just didn’t like him. We had very little to do with +him at first because of this, and soon we noticed that he seemed just as +anxious to avoid us as we were to avoid him.” + +The commissioner rose and Bormann followed his example. “I am very +sorry, sir, if I have taken up your time to no purpose,” said the latter +modestly, as he took up his hat. + +“I am not so sure that what you have said may not be of great value to +us,” said a voice behind them. Muller stood there, looking at Riedau +with a glance almost of defiance. His eyes were again lit up with +the strange fire that shone in them when he was on the trail. The +commissioner shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the departing visitor, and +then turned without an answer to some documents on his desk. There was +silence in the room for a few moments. Finally a gentle voice came from +Muller’s corner again: “Dr. von Riedau?” + +The commissioner raised his head and looked around. “Oh, are you still +there?” he asked with a drawl. + +Muller knew what this drawl meant. It was the manner adopted by the +amiable commissioner when he was in a mood which was not amiable. And +Muller knew also the cause of the mood. It was his own last remark, the +words he addressed to Bormann. Muller himself recognised the fact +that this remark was out of place, that it was almost an impertinence, +because it was in direct contradiction to a statement made a few moments +before by his superior officer. Also he realised that his remark had +been quite unnecessary, because it was a matter of indifference to the +young man, who was only obeying his employer’s orders in reporting what +he had seen, whether his report was of value or not. Muller had simply +uttered aloud the thought that came into his mind, a habit of his which +years of official training had not yet succeeded in breaking. It was +annoying to himself sometimes, for these half-formed thoughts were mere +instinct--they were the workings of his own genius that made him catch +a suspicion of the truth long before his conscious mind could reason it +out or appreciate its value. But that sort of thing was not popular in +official police life. + +“Well,” asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, “your tongue +is not usually so slow--as you have proved just a few moments back--what +were you going to say now?” + +“I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It was unnecessary, +I should not have said it.” + +“Well, I realise that you know better yourself,” said Riedau, now quite +friendly again, “and now what else have you to say? Do you really think +that what the young man has just told us is of any value at all for this +case?” + +“It seems to me as if it might be of value to us.” + +“Oh, it seems to you, eh? Your imagination is working overtime again, +Muller,” said the commissioner with a laugh. But the laugh turned to +seriousness as he realised how many times Muller’s imagination +had helped the clumsy official mind to its proudest triumphs. The +commissioner was an intelligent man, as far as his lights went, and he +was a good-hearted man. He rose from his chair and walked over to where +the detective stood. “You needn’t look so embarrassed, Muller,” he said. +“There is no cause for you to feel bad about it. And--I am quite willing +to admit that my remark just now was unnecessary. You may give your +imagination full rein, we can trust to your intelligence and your +devotion to duty to keep it from unnecessary flights. So curbed, I know +it will be of as much assistance to us this time as it always has been.” + +Muller’s quiet face lit up, and his eyes shone in a happiness that made +him appear ten years younger. That was one of the strange things about +Joseph Muller. This genius in his profession was in all other ways a +man of such simplicity of heart and bearing, that the slightest word of +approval from one of the officials for whom he worked could make him as +happy as praise from the teacher will make a schoolboy. The moments when +he was in command of any difficult case, when these same superiors would +wait for a word from him, when high officials would take his orders or +would be obliged to acknowledge that without him they were helpless, +these moments were forgotten as soon as the problem was solved and +Muller became again the simple subordinate and the obscure member of the +Imperial police force. + +When Muller left the commissioner’s room and walked through the +outer office, one of the clerks looked after him and whispered to his +companion: “Do you think he’s found the Hietzing murderer yet?” The +other answered: “I don’t think so, but he looks as if he had found a +clue. He’ll find him sooner or later. He always does.” + +Muller did not hear these words, although they also would have pleased +him. He walked slowly down the stairs murmuring to himself: “I think I +was right just the same. We are following a false trail.” + + + + +CHAPTER V. BY A THREAD + + +It was on Monday, the 27th of September, that Leopold Winkler was +murdered and robbed, and early on Tuesday, the 28th, his body was found. +That day the evening papers printed the report of the murder and the +description of the dead man, and on Wednesday, the 29th, Mrs. Klingmayer +read the news and went to see Winkler’s employer. By noon of that day +the body was identified and a description of the stolen purse and watch +telegraphed to police headquarters in various cities. A few hours later, +these police stations had sent out notices by messenger to all pawnshops +and dealers in second-hand clothing, and now the machinery of the +law sat waiting for some news of an attempt on the part of the +robber-and-murderer to get rid of his plunder. + +On this same Wednesday, about the twilight hour, David Goldstamm, dealer +in second-hand clothing, stood before the door of his shop in a side +street of the old Hungarian city of Pressburg and watched his assistant +take down the clothes which were hanging outside and carry them into the +store. The old man’s eyes glanced carelessly up and down the street and +caught sight of a man who turned the corner and came hurrying towards +him. This man was a very seedy-looking individual. An old faded overcoat +hung about his thin figure, and a torn and dusty hat fell over his left +eye. He seemed also to be much the worse for liquor and very wobbly +on his feet. And yet he seemed anxious to hurry onward in spite of the +unevenness of his walk. + +Then he slowed up suddenly, glanced across the street to Goldstamm’s +store, and crossed over. + +“Have you any boots for me?” he asked, sticking out his right foot that +the dealer might see whether he had anything the requisite size. + +“I think there’s something there,” answered the old man in his usual +businesslike tone, leading the way into the store. + +The stranger followed. Goldstamm lit the one light in the little place +and groped about in an untidy heap of shoes of all kinds and sizes until +he found several pairs that he thought might fit. These he brought out +and put them in front of his customer. But in spite of his bleary eyes, +the man caught sight of some patches on the uppers of one pair, and +pushed them away from him. + +“Give me something better than that. I can pay for it. I don’t have to +wear patched shoes,” he grunted. + +Goldstamm didn’t like the looks of the man, but he felt that he had +better be careful and not make him angry. “Have patience, sir, I’ll find +you something better,” he said gently, tossing the heap about again, but +now keeping his face turned towards his customer. + +“I want a coat also and a warm pair of trousers,” said the stranger in a +rough voice. He bent down to loosen the shabby boot from his right +foot, and as he did so something fell out of the pocket of his coat. An +unconscious motion of his own raised foot struck this small object and +tossed it into the middle of the heap of shoes close by Goldstamm’s +hand. The old man reached out after it and caught it. It was just an +ordinary brown leather pocketbook, of medium size, old and shabby, like +a thousand others. But the eyes of the little old man widened as if in +terror, his face turned pale and his hands trembled. For he had seen, +hanging from one side of this worn brown leather pocketbook, the end of +a yellow thread, the loosened end of the thread with which one side of +the purse was mended. The thread told David Goldstamm who it was that +had come into his shop. + +He regained his control with a desperate effort of the will. It took him +but a few seconds to do so, and, thanks to his partial intoxication, +the customer had not noticed the shopkeeper’s start of alarm. But he +appeared anxious and impatient to regain possession of his purse. + +“Haven’t you found it yet?” he exclaimed. + +Goldstamm hastened to give it back. The tramp put the purse in his +pocket with a sigh of relief. Goldstamm had regained his calm and his +mind was working eagerly. He put several pairs of shoes before his +customer, with the remark: “You must try them on. We’ll find something +to suit you. And meanwhile I will bring in several pairs of trousers +from those outside. I have some fine coats to show you too.” + +Goldstamm went out to the door, almost colliding there with his +assistant who was coming in with his arm full of garments. The old man +motioned to the boy, who retreated until they were both hidden from the +view of the man within the store. + +“Give me those blue trousers there,” said Goldstamm in a loud voice. +Then in a whisper he said to the boy: “Run to the police station. The +man with the watch and the purse is in there.” + +The boy understood and set off at once at a fast pace, while the old man +returned to his store with a heavy heart. He wondered whether he would +be able to keep the murderer there until the police could come. And he +also wondered what it might cost him, an old and feeble man, who would +be as a weak reed in the hands of the strong tramp in there. But he knew +it was his duty to do whatever he could to help in the arrest of one who +had just taken the life of a fellow creature. The realisation of this +gave the old man strength and calmness. + +“A nice sort of an eye for size you have,” cried the tramp as the old +man came up to him. “I suppose you’ve brought me in a boy’s suit? What +do you take me for? Any girl could go to a ball in the shoes you brought +me to try on here.” + +“Are they so much too small?” asked the dealer in an innocent tone. +“Well, there’s plenty more there. And perhaps you had better be trying +on this suit behind the curtain here while I’m hunting up the shoes.” + +This suggestion seemed to please the stranger, as he was evidently in a +hurry. He passed in behind the curtain and began to undress. Goldstamm’s +keen eyes watched him through a crack. There was not much to be seen +except that the tramp seemed anxious to keep his overcoat within reach +of his hand. He had carefully put the purse in one of its pockets. + +“We’ll get the things all together pretty soon,” said the dealer. “I’ve +found a pair of boots here, fine boots of good quality, and sure to +fit.” + +“Stop your talk,” growled the other, “and come here and help me so that +I can get away.” + +Goldstamm came forward, and though his heart was very heavy within +him, he aided this man, this man about whom so many hundreds were now +thinking in terror, as calmly as he had aided his other poor but honest +customers. + +With hands that did not tremble, the dealer busied himself about his +customer, listening all the while to sounds in the street in the hope +that his tete-e-tete with the murderer would soon be over. But in spite +of all his natural anxiety, the old man’s sharp eyes took cognizance +of various things, one of which was that the man whom he was helping to +dress in his new clothes did not have the watch which was described in +the police notice. This fact, however, did not make the old man’s heart +any lighter, for the purse mended with yellow thread was too clearly the +one stolen from the murdered man found in the quiet street in Hietzing. + +“What’s the matter with you, you’re so slow? I can get along better +myself,” growled the tramp, pushing the old man away from him. Goldstamm +had really begun to tremble now in spite of his control, in the fear +that the man would get away from him before the police came. + +The tramp was already dressed in the new suit, into a pocket of which he +put the old purse. + +“There, now the boots and then we’re finished,” said the dealer with an +attempt at a smile. In his heart he prayed that the pair he now held in +his hand might not fit, that he might gain a few minutes more. But the +shoes did fit. A little pushing and stamping and the man was ready to +leave the store. He was evidently in a hurry, for he paid what was asked +without any attempt to bargain. Had Goldstamm not known whom he had +before him now, he would have been very much astonished at this, and +might perhaps have been sorry that he had not named a higher sum. But +under the circumstances he understood only too well the man’s desire to +get away, and would much rather have had some talk as to the payment, +anything that would keep his customer a little longer in his store. + +“There, now we’re ready. I’ll pack up your old things for you. Or +perhaps we can make a deal for them. I pay the highest prices in the +city,” said Goldstamm, with an apparent eagerness which he hoped would +deceive the customer. + +But the man had already turned towards the door, and called hack over +his shoulder: “You can keep the old things, I don’t want them.” + +As he spoke he opened the door of the store and stood face to face with +a policeman holding a revolver. He turned, with a curse, back into the +room, but the dealer was nowhere to be seen. David Goldstamm had done +his duty to the public, in spite of his fear. Now, seeing that the +police had arrived, he could think of his duty to his family. This duty +was plainly to save his own life, and when the tramp turned again to +look for him, he had disappeared out of the back door. + +“Not a move or I will shoot,” cried the policeman, and now two others +appeared behind him, and came into the store. But the tramp made no +attempt to escape. He stood pale and trembling while they put the +handcuffs on him, and let them take him away without any resistance. +He was put on the evening express for Vienna, and taken to Police +Headquarters in that city. He made no protest nor any attempt to escape, +but he refused to utter a word on the entire journey. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. ALMOST CONVICTED + + +The evening was already far gone when Muller entered Riedau’s office. + +“You’re in time, the man isn’t here yet. The train is evidently late,” + said the commissioner. “We’re working this case off quickly. We will +have the murderer here in half an hour at the latest. He did not have +much time to enjoy the stolen property. He was here in Vienna this +morning, and was arrested in Pressburg this afternoon. Here is the +telegram, read it.” + +Dr. von Riedau handed Muller the message. The commissioner was evidently +pleased and excited. The telegram read as follows: “Man arrested here in +possession of described purse containing four ten gulden notes and +four guldens in silver. Arrested in store of second-hand clothes dealer +Goldstamm. Will arrive this evening in Vienna under guard.” + +The message was signed by the Chief of the Pressburg police. + +Muller laid the paper on the desk without a word. There was a watch on +this desk already; it was a heavy gold watch, unusually thick, with the +initials L. W. on the cover. Just as Muller laid down the telegram, a +door outside was opened and the commissioner covered the watch hastily. +There was a loud knock at his own door and an attendant entered to +announce that the party from Pressburg had arrived He was followed by +one of the Pressburg police force, who brought the official report. + +“Did you have any difficulty with him?” asked the commissioner. + +“Oh, no, sir; it was a very easy job. He made no resistance at all, +and he seems to be quite sober now. But he hasn’t said a word since we +arrested him.” + +Then followed the detailed report of the arrest, and the delivery of the +described pocketbook to the commissioner. + +“Is that all?” asked Dr. von Riedau. + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Then you may go home now, we will take charge of the man.” + +The policeman bowed and left the room. A few moments later the tramp was +brought in, guarded by two armed roundsmen. His guards remained at the +door, while the prisoner himself walked forward to the middle of the +room. Commissioner von Riedau sat at his desk, his clerk beside him +ready to take down the evidence. Muller sat near a window with a paper +on his lap, looking the least interested of anybody in the proceedings. + +For a moment there was complete silence in the room, which was broken +in a rather unusual manner. A deep voice, more like a growl, although +it had a queer strain of comic good-nature in it, began the proceedings +with the remark: “Well now, say, what do you want of me, anyway?” + +The commissioner looked at the man in astonishment, then turned aside +that the prisoner might not notice his smile. But he might have spared +himself the trouble, for Muller, the clerk, and the two policemen at the +door were all on a broad grin. + +Then the commissioner pulled himself together again, and began with his +usual official gravity: “It is I who ask questions here. Is it possible +that you do not know this? You look to me as if you had had experience +in police courts before.” The commissioner gazed at the prisoner with +eyes that were not altogether friendly. The tramp seemed to feel this, +and his own eyes dropped, while the good-natured impertinence in +his bearing disappeared. It was evidently the last remains of his +intoxication. He was now quite sober. + +“What is your name?” asked the commissioner. + +“Johann Knoll.” + +“Where were you born?” + +“Near Brunn.” + +“Your age?” + +“I’m--I’ll be forty next Christmas.” + +“Your religion?” + +“Well, you can see I’m no Jew, can’t you?” + +“You will please answer my questions in a proper manner. This +impertinence will not make things easier for you.” + +“All right, sir,” said the tramp humbly. “I am a Catholic.” + +“You have been in prison before?” This was scarcely a question. + +“No, sir,” said Knoll firmly. + +“What is your business?” + +“I don’t know what to say, sir,” answered Knoll, shrugging his +shoulders. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I’m a cattle drover +and a lumber man, and I--” + +“Did you learn any trade?” + +“No, sir, I never learned anything.” + +“Do you mean to tell me that without having learned any trade you’ve +gotten through life thus far honestly?” + +“Oh, I’ve worked hard enough--I’ve worked good and hard sometimes.” + +“The last few days particularly, eh?” + +“Why, no, sir, not these last days--I was drover on a transport of pigs; +we brought ‘em down from Hungary, 200 of ‘em, to the slaughter house +here.” + +“When was that?” + +“That was--that was Monday.” + +“This last Monday?” + +“Yes, sir. + +“And then you went to Hietzing?” + +“Yes, sir, that’s right.” + +“Why did you go to Hietzing?” + +“Why, see here, sir, if I had gone to Ottakring, then I suppose you +would have asked why did I go to Ottakring. I just went to Hietzing. +A fellow has to go somewhere. You don’t stay in the same spot all the +time, do you?” + +Again the commissioner turned his head and another smile went through +the room. This Hietzing murderer had a sense of humour. + +“Well, then, we’ll go to Hietzing again, in our minds at least,” said +the commissioner, turning back to Knoll when he had controlled his +merriment. “You went there on Monday, then--and the day was coming to an +end. What did you do when you reached Hietzing?” + +“I looked about for a place to sleep.” + +“Where did you look for a place to sleep?” + +“Why, in Hietzing.” + +“That is not definite enough.” + +“Well, in a garden.” + +“You were trespassing, you mean?” + +“Why, yes, sir. There wasn’t anybody that seemed to want to invite me +to dinner or to give me a place to sleep. I just had to look out for +myself.” + +“You evidently know how to look out for yourself at the cost of others, +a heavy cost.” The commissioner’s easy tone had changed to sternness. +Knoll felt this, and a sharp gleam shot out from his dull little eyes, +while the tone of his voice was gruff and impertinent again as he asked: +“What do you mean by that?” + +“You know well enough. You had better not waste any more time, but tell +us at once how you came into possession of this purse.” + +“It’s my purse,” Knoll answered with calm impertinence. “I got it the +way most people get it. I bought it.” + +“This purse?” the commissioner emphasised both words distinctly. + +“This purse--yes,” answered the tramp with a perfect imitation of +Riedau’s voice. “Why shouldn’t I have bought this purse just like any +other?” + +“Because you stole this purse from the man whom you--murdered,” was the +commissioner’s reply. + +There was another moment of dead silence in the room. The commissioner +and Muller watched intently for any change of expression in the face +of the man who had just had such an accusation hurled at him. Even the +clerk and the two policemen at the door were interested to see what +would happen. + +Knoll’s calm impertinence vanished, a deadly pallor spread over his +face, and he seemed frozen to stone. He attempted to speak, but was not +able to control his voice. His hands were clenched and tremors shook his +gaunt but strong-muscled frame. + +“When did I murder anybody?” he gasped finally in a hoarse croak. +“You’ll have to prove it to me that I am a murderer.” + +“That is easily proved. Here is one of the proofs,” said Riedan coldly, +pointing to the purse. “The purse and the watch of the murdered man are +fatal witnesses against you.” + +“The watch? I haven’t any watch. Where should I get a watch?” + +“You didn’t have one until Monday, possibly; I can believe that. But you +were in possession of a watch between the evening of Monday, the 27th, +and the morning of Wednesday, the 29th.” + +Knoll’s eyes dropped again and he did not trust himself to speak. + +“Well, you do not deny this statement?” + +“No, I can’t,” said Knoll, still trying to control his voice. “You must +have the watch yourself now, or else you wouldn’t be so certain about +it.” + +“Ah, you see, I thought you’d had experience with police courts before,” + said the commissioner amiably. “Of course I have the watch already. +The man whom you sold it to this morning knew by three o’clock this +afternoon where this watch came from. He brought it here at once and +gave us your description. A very exact description. The man will be +brought here to identify you to-morrow. We must send for him anyway, to +return his money to him. He paid you fifty-two gulden for the watch. And +how much money was in the purse that you took from the murdered man?” + +“Three gulden eighty-five.” + +“That was a very small sum for which to commit a murder.” + +Knoll groaned and bit his lips until they bled. + +Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the watch and +continued: “You presumably recognised that the chain on which this watch +hung was valueless, also that it could easily be recognised. Did you +throw it away, or have you it still?” + +“I threw it in the river.” + +“That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, we have +quite enough evidence without it. The purse, for instance: you thought, +I suppose, that it was just a purse like a thousand others, but it is +not. This purse is absolutely individual and easily recognised, because +it is mended in one spot with yellow thread. The thread has become +loosened and hangs down in a very noticeable manner. It was this yellow +thread on the purse, which he happened to see by chance, that showed the +dealer Goldstamm who it was that had entered his store.” + +Knoll stood quite silent, staring at the floor. Drops of perspiration +stood out on his forehead, some of them rolling like tears down his +cheek. + +The commissioner rose from his seat and walked slowly to where the +prisoner stood. He laid one hand on the man’s shoulder and said in a +voice that was quite gentle and kind again: “Johann Knoll, do not +waste your time, or ours, in thinking up useless lies. You are almost +convicted of this crime now. You have already acknowledged so much, that +there is but little more for you to say. If you make an open confession, +it will be greatly to your advantage.” + +Again the room was quiet while the others waited for what would happen. +For a moment the tramp stood silent, with the commissioner’s right hand +resting on his shoulder. Then there was a sudden movement, a struggle +and a shout, and the two policemen had overpowered the prisoner and held +him firmly. Muller rose quickly and sprang to his chief’s side. Riedau +had not even changed colour, and he said calmly: “Oh, never mind, +Muller; sit down again. The man had handcuffs on and he is quite quiet +now. I think he has sense enough to see that he is only harming himself +by his violence.” + +The commissioner returned to his desk and Muller went back to his chair +by the window. The prisoner was quiet again, although his face wore a +dark flush and the veins on throat and forehead were swollen thick. He +trembled noticeably and the heavy drops besprinkled his brow. + +“I--I have something to say, sir,” he began, “but first I want to beg +your pardon--” + +“Oh, never mind that. I am not angry when a man is fighting for his +life, even if he doesn’t choose quite the right way,” answered the +commissioner calmly, playing with a lead pencil. + +Knoll’s expression was defiant now. He laughed harshly and began again: +“What I’m tellin’ you now is the truth whether you believe it or not. I +didn’t kill the man. I took the watch and purse from him. I thought he +was drunk. If he was killed, I didn’t do it.” + +“He was killed by a shot.” + +“A shot? Why, yes, I heard a shot, but I didn’t think any more about it, +I didn’t think there was anythin’ doing, I thought somebody was shootin’ +a cat, or else-” + +“Oh, don’t bother to invent things. It was a man who was shot at, the +man whom you robbed. But go on, go on. I am anxious to hear what you +will tell me.” + +Knoll’s hands, clenched to fists and his eyes glowed in hate and +defiance. Then he dropped them to the floor again and began to talk +slowly in a monotonous tone that sounded as if he were repeating a +lesson. His manner was rather unfortunate and did not tend to induce +belief in the truth of his story. The gist of what he said was as +follows: + +He had reached Hietzing on Monday evening about 8 o’clock. He was +thirsty, as usual, and had about two gulden in his possession, his wages +for the last day’s work. He turned into a tavern in Hietzing and ate and +drank until his money was all gone, and he had not even enough left to +pay for a night’s lodging. But Knoll was not worried about that. He was +accustomed to sleeping out of doors, and as this was a particularly fine +evening, there was nothing in the prospect to alarm him. He set +about finding a suitable place where he would not be disturbed by the +guardians of the law. His search led him by chance into a newly opened +street. This suited him exactly. The fences were easy to climb, and +there were several little summer houses in sight which made much more +agreeable lodgings than the ground under a bush. And above all, the +street was so quiet and deserted that he knew it was just the place for +him. He had never been in the street before, and did not know its name. +He passed the four houses at the end of the street--he was on the +left sidewalk--and then he came to two fenced-in building lots. These +interested him. He was very agile, raised himself up on the fences +easily and took stock of the situation. One of the lots did not appeal +to him particularly, but the second one did. It bordered on a large +garden, in the middle of which he could see a little house of some kind. +It was after sunset but he could see things quite plainly yet for the +air was clear and the moon was just rising. He saw also that in the +vacant lot adjoining the garden, a lot which appeared to have been +a garden itself once, there was a sort of shed. It looked very much +damaged but appeared to offer shelter sufficient for a fine night. + +The shed stood on a little raise of the ground near the high iron fence +that protected the large garden. Knoll decided that the shed would make +a good place to spend the night. He climbed the fence easily and walked +across the lot. When he was just settling himself for his nap, he heard +the clock on a near-by church strike nine. The various drinks he had had +for supper put him in a mood that would not allow him to get to sleep +at once. The bench in the old shed was decidedly rickety and very +uncomfortable, and as he was tossing about to find a good position, a +thought came into his mind which he acknowledged was not a commendable +one. It occurred to him that if he pursued his investigations in the +neighbourhood a little further, he might be able to pick up something +that would be of advantage to him on his wanderings. His eyes and his +thoughts were directed towards the handsome house which he could see +beyond the trees of the old garden. + +The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on the +mansard roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the long wing which +stretched out towards the garden glistened in the moonbeams, and the +light coloured wall of the house made a bright background for the dark +mask of trees waving gently in the night breeze. Knoll’s little shed was +sufficiently raised on its hillock for him to have a good view of the +garden. There was no door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring +property clearly from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there +watching, he saw a woman walking through the garden. He could see her +only when she passed back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes. +As far as he could see, she came from the main building and was walking +towards a pretty little house which lay in the centre of the garden. +Knoll had imagined this house to be the gardener’s dwelling and as it +lay quite dark he supposed the inmates were either asleep or out for the +evening. It had been this house which he was intending to honour by a +visit. But seeing the woman walking towards it, he decided it would not +be safe to carry out his plan just yet awhile. + +A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had been a +wise one, for he saw a man come from the main building and walk along +the path the woman had taken. “No, nothing doing there,” thought Knoll, +and concluded he had better go to sleep. He could not remember just how +long he may have dozed but it seemed to him that during that time he +had heard a shot. It did not interest him much. He supposed some one +was shooting at a thieving cat or at some small night animal. He did +not even remember whether he had been really sound asleep, before he was +aroused by the breaking down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of +it more than the shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang up in +alarm and listened intently to hear whether any one had been attracted +by it. His first glance was towards the building behind the garden. +There was no sound nor no light in the garden house but there was a +light in the main building. While the tramp was wondering what hour it +might be, the church clock answered him by ten loud strokes. + +His head was already aching from the wine and he did not feel +comfortable in the drafty old building. He came out from it, crept along +to the spot where he had climbed the fence before, and after listening +carefully and hearing nothing on either side, he climbed back to the +road. The Street lay silent and empty, which was just what he was hoping +for. He held carefully to the shadow thrown by the high board fence over +which he had climbed until he came to its end. Then he remembered that +he hadn’t done anything wrong and stepped out boldly into the moonlight. +The moon was well up now and the street was almost as light as day. +Knoll was attracted by the queer shadows thrown by a big elder tree, +waving its long branches in the wind. As he came nearer he saw that part +of the shadow was no shadow at all but was the body of a man lying in +the street near the bush. “I thought sure he was drunk” was the way +Knoll described it. “I’ve been like that myself often until somebody +came along and found me.” + +When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a long +breath. Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures on the +paper in front of him, then changed the lines until the head of a pretty +woman in a fur hat took shape under his fingers. + +“Well, go on,” he said, looking with interest at his drawing and +improving it with several quick strokes. + +Johann Knoll continued: + +“Then the devil came over me and I thought I better take this good +opportunity--well--I did. The man was lying on his back and I saw a +watch chain on his dark vest. I bent over him and took his watch +and chain. Then I felt around in his pocket and found his purse. And +then--well then I felt sorry for him lying out in the open road like +that, and I thought I’d lift him up and put him somewhere where he could +sleep it off more convenient. But I didn’t see there was a little ditch +there and I stumbled over it and dropped him. ‘It’s a good thing he’s so +drunk that even this don’t wake him up,’ I thought, and ran off. Then I +thought I heard something moving and I was scared stiff, but there was +nothing in the street at all. I thought I had better take to the fields +though and I crossed through some corn and then out onto another street. +Finally I walked into the city, stayed there till this morning, sold the +watch, then went to Pressburg.” + +“So that was the way it was,” said the commissioner, pushing his drawing +away from him and motioning to the policemen at the door. “You may take +this man away now,” he added in a voice of cool indifference, without +looking at the prisoner. + +Knoll’s head drooped and he walked out quietly between his two guards. +The clock on the office wall struck eleven. + +“Dear me! what a lot of time the man wasted,” said the commissioner, +putting the report of the proceedings, the watch and the purse in a +drawer of his desk. “When anybody has been almost convicted of a crime, +it’s really quite unnecessary to invent such a long story.” + +A few minutes later, the room was empty and Muller, as the last of the +group, walked slowly down the stairs. He was in such a brown study that +he scarcely heard the commissioner’s friendly “goodnight,” nor did he +notice that he was walking down the quiet street under a star-gilded +sky. “Almost convicted--almost. Almost?” Muller’s lips murmured while +his head was full of a chaotic rush of thought, dim pictures that came +and went, something that seemed to be on the point of bringing light +into the darkness, then vanishing again. “Almost--but not quite. There +is something here I must find out first. What is it? I must know--” + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE FACE AT THE GATE + + +The second examination of the prisoner brought nothing new. Johann +Knoll refused to speak at all, or else simply repeated what he had said +before. This second examination took place early the next morning, but +Muller was not present. He was taking a walk in Hietzing. + +When they took Johann Knoll in the police wagon to the City Prison, +Muller was just sauntering slowly through the street where the murder +had been committed. And as the door of the cell shut clangingly behind +the man whose face was distorted in impotent rage and despair, Joseph +Muller was standing in deep thought before the broken willow twig, which +now hung brown and dry across the planks of the fence. He looked at it +for a long time. That is, he seemed to be looking at it, but in reality +his eyes were looking out and beyond the willow twig, out into the +unknown, where the unknown murderer was still at large. Leopold +Winkler’s body had already been committed to the earth. How long will +it be before his death is avenged? Or perhaps how long may it even be +before it is discovered from what motive this murder was committed. Was +it a murder for robbery, or a murder for personal revenge perhaps? Were +the two crimes committed here by one and the same person, or were there +two people concerned? And if two, did they work as accomplices? Or is it +possible that Knoll’s story was true? Did he really only rob the body, +not realising that it was a dead man and not merely an intoxicated +sleeper as he had supposed? These and many more thoughts rushed +tumultuously through Muller’s brain until he sighed despairingly under +the pressure. Then he smiled in amusement at the wish that had crossed +his brain, the wish that this case might seem as simple to him as it +apparently did to the commissioner. It would certainly have saved him a +lot of work and trouble if he could believe the obvious as most people +did. What was this devil that rode him and spurred him on to delve +into the hidden facts concerning matters that seemed so simple on the +surface? The devil that spurred him on to understand that there always +was some hidden side to every case? Then the sigh and the smile passed, +and Muller raised his head in one of the rare moments of pride in his +own gifts that this shy unassuming little man ever allowed himself. This +was the work that he was intended by Providence to do or he wouldn’t +have been fitted for it, and it was work for the common good, for the +public safety. Thinking back over the troubles of his early youth, +Muller’s heart rejoiced and he was glad in his own genius. Then the +moment of unwonted elation passed and he bent his mind again to the +problem before him. + +He sauntered slowly through the quiet street in the direction of the +four houses. To reach them he passed the fence that enclosed this end of +the Thorne property. Muller had already known, for the last twenty-four +hours at least, that the owner of the fine old estate was an artist by +the name of Herbert Thorne. His own landlady had informed him of +this. He himself was new to the neighbourhood, having moved out there +recently, and he had verified her statements by the city directory. As +he was now passing the Thorne property, in his slow, sauntering walk, +he had just come within a dozen paces of the little wooden gate in the +fence when this gate opened. Muller’s naturally soft tread was made +still more noiseless by the fact that he wore wide soft shoes. Years +before he had acquired a bad case of chilblains, in fact had been in +imminent danger of having his feet frozen by standing for five hours +in the snow in front of a house, to intercept several aristocratic +gentlemen who sooner or later would be obliged to leave that house. The +police had long suspected the existence of this high-class gambling den; +but it was not until they had put Muller in charge of the case, that +there were any results attained. The arrests were made at the risk of +permanent injury to the celebrated detective. Since then, Muller’s step +was more noiseless than usual, and now the woman who opened the gate +and peered out cautiously did not hear his approach nor did she see him +standing in the shadow of the fence. She looked towards the other end +of the street, then turned and spoke to somebody behind her. “There’s +nobody coming from that direction,” he said. Then she turned her head +the other way and saw Muller. She looked at him for a moment and slammed +the gate shut, disappearing behind it. Muller heard the lock click and +heard the beat of running feet hastening rapidly over the gravel path +through the garden. + +The detective stood immediately in front of the gate, shaking his head. +“What was the matter with the woman? What was it that she wanted to see +or do in the street? Why should she run away when she saw me?” These +were his thoughts. But he didn’t waste time in merely thinking. Muller +never did. Action followed thought with him very quickly. He saw a +knot-hole in the fence just beside the gate and he applied his eyes +to this knot-hole. And through the knot-hole he saw something that +interested and surprised him. + +The woman whose face had appeared so suddenly at the gate, and +disappeared still more suddenly, was the same woman whom he had seen +bidding farewell to Mr. Thorne and his wife on the Tuesday morning +previous, the woman whom he took to be the housekeeper. The old butler +stood beside her. It was undoubtedly the same man, although he had worn +a livery then and was now dressed in a comfortable old house coat. +He stood beside the woman, shaking his head and asking her just the +questions that Muller was asking himself at the moment. + +“Why, what is the matter with you, Mrs. Bernauer? You’re so nervous +since yesterday. Are you ill? Everything seems to frighten you? Why did +you run away from that gate so suddenly? I thought you wanted me to show +you the place?” + +Mrs. Bernauer raised her head and Muller saw that her face looked pale +and haggard and that her eyes shone with an uneasy feverish light. She +did not answer the old man’s questions, but made a gesture of farewell +and then turned and walked slowly towards the house. She realised, +apparently, and feared, perhaps, that the man who was passing the gate +might have noticed her sudden change of demeanour and that he was +listening to what she might say. She did not think of the knot-hole +in the board fence, or she might have been more careful in hiding her +distraught face from possible observers. + +Muller stood watching through this knot-hole for some little time. He +took a careful observation of the garden, and from his point of vantage +he could easily see the little house which was apparently the dwelling +of the gardener, as well as the mansard roof of the main building. There +was considerable distance between the two houses. The detective decided +that it might interest him to know something more about this garden, +this house and the people who lived there. And when Muller made such a +decision it was usually not very long before he carried it out. + +The other street, upon which the main front of the mansard house opened, +contained a few isolated dwellings surrounded by gardens and a number of +newly built apartment houses. On the ground floor of these latter houses +were a number of stores and immediately opposite the Thorne mansion was +a little cafe. This suited Muller exactly, for he had been there before +and he remembered that from one of the windows there was an excellent +view of the gate and the front entrance of the mansion opposite. It was +a very modest little cafe, but there was a fairly good wine to be had +there and the detective made it an excuse to sit down by the window, +as if enjoying his bottle while admiring the changing colours of the +foliage in the gardens opposite. + +Another rather good chance, he discovered, was the fact that the +landlord belonged to the talkative sort, and believed that the +refreshments he had to sell were rendered doubly agreeable when spiced +by conversation. In this case the good man was not mistaken. It was +scarcely ten o’clock in the forenoon and there were very few people in +the cafe. The landlord was quite at leisure to devote himself to this +stranger in the window seat, whom he did not remember to have seen +before, and who was therefore doubly interesting to him. Several +subjects of conversation usual in such cases, such as politics and +the weather, seemed to arouse no particular enthusiasm in his patron’s +manner. Finally the portly landlord decided that he would touch upon the +theme which was still absorbing all Hietzing. + +“Oh, by the way, sir, do you know that you are in the immediate vicinity +of the place where the murder of Monday evening was committed? People +are still talking about it around here. And I see by the papers that the +murderer was arrested in Pressburg yesterday and brought to Vienna last +night.” + +“Indeed, is that so? I haven’t seen a paper to-day,” replied Muller, +awakening from his apparent indifference. + +The landlord was flattered by the success of the new subject, and stood +ready to unloose the floodgates of his eloquence. His customer sat up +and asked the question for which the landlord was waiting. + +“So it was around here that the man was shot?” + +“Yes. His name was Leopold Winkler, that was in the papers to-day too. +You see that pretty house opposite? Well, right behind this house is the +garden that belongs to it and back of that, an old garden which has +been neglected for some time. It was at the end of this garden where +it touches the other street, that they found the man under a big +elder-tree, early Tuesday morning, day before yesterday.” + +“Oh, indeed!” said. Muller, greatly interested, as if this was the first +he had heard of it. The landlord took a deep breath and was about to +begin again when his customer, who decided to keep the talkative man +to a certain phase of the subject, now took command of the conversation +himself. + +“I should think that the people opposite, who live so near the place +where the murder was committed, wouldn’t be very much pleased,” he said. +“I shouldn’t care to look out on such a spot every time I went to my +window.” + +“There aren’t any windows there,” exclaimed the landlord, “for there +aren’t any houses there. There’s only the old garden, and then the large +garden and the park belonging to Mr. Thorne’s house, that fine old house +you see just opposite here. It’s a good thing that Mr. Thorne and his +wife went away before the murder became known. The lady hasn’t been well +for some weeks, she’s very nervous and frail, and it probably would have +frightened her to think that such things were happening right close to +her home.” + +“The lady is sick? What’s the matter with her?” + +“Goodness knows, nerves, heart trouble, something like that. The things +these fine ladies are always having. But she wasn’t always that way, not +until about a year ago. She was fresh and blooming and very pretty to +look at before that.” + +“She is a young lady then?” + +“Yes, indeed, sir; she’s very young still and very pretty. It makes you +feel sorry to see her so miserable, and you feel sorry for her husband. +Now there’s a young couple with everything in the world to make them +happy and so fond of each other, and the poor little lady has to be so +sick.” + +“They are very happy, you say?” asked Muller carelessly. He had no +particular set purpose in following up this inquiry, none but his usual +understanding of the fact that a man in his business can never amass too +much knowledge, and that it will sometimes happen that a chance bit of +information comes in very handy. + +The landlord was pleased at the encouragement and continued: “Indeed +they are very happy. They’ve only been married two years. The lady comes +from a distance, from Graz. Her father is an army officer I believe, and +I don’t think she was over-rich. But she’s a very sweet-looking lady and +her rich husband is very fond of her, any one can see that.” + +“You said just now that they had gone away, where have they gone to?” + +“They’ve gone to Italy, sir. Mrs. Thorne was one of the few people who +do not know Venice. Franz, that’s the butler, sir, told me yesterday +evening that he had received a telegram saying that the lady and +gentleman had arrived safely and were very comfortably fixed in the +Hotel Danieli. You know Danieli’s?” + +“Yes, I do. I also was one of the few people who did not know Venice, +that is I was until two years ago. Then, however, I had the pleasure of +riding over the Bridge of Mestre,” answered Muller. He did not add that +he was not alone at the time, but had ridden across the long bridge in +company with a pale haggard-faced man who did not dare to look to the +right or to the left because of the revolver which he knew was held in +the detective’s hand under his loose overcoat. Muller’s visit to Venice, +like most of his journeyings, had been one of business. This time to +capture and bring home a notorious and long sought embezzler. He did +not volunteer any of this information, however, but merely asked in +a politely interested manner whether the landlord himself had been to +Venice. + +“Yes, indeed,” replied the latter proudly. “I was head waiter at Baner’s +for two years.” + +“Then you must make me some Italian dishes soon,” said Muller. Further +conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Franz, the old butler of +the house opposite. + +“Excuse me, sir; I must get him his glass of wine,” said the landlord, +hurrying away to the bar. He returned in a moment with a small bottle +and a glass and set it down on Muller’s table. + +“You don’t mind, sir, if he sits down here?” he asked. “He usually sits +here at this table because then he can see if he is needed over at the +house.” + +“Oh, please let him come here. He has prior rights to this table +undoubtedly,” said the stranger politely. The old butler sat down +with an embarrassed murmur, as the voluble landlord explained that the +stranger had no objection. Then the boniface hurried off to attend to +some newly entered customers and the detective, greatly pleased at the +prospect, found himself alone with the old servant. + +“You come here frequently?” he began, to open the conversation. + +“Yes, sir, since my master and myself have settled down here--we +travelled most of the time until several years ago--I find this place +very convenient. It’s a cosy little room, the wine is good and not +expensive, I’m near home and yet I can see some new faces occasionally.” + +“I hope the faces that you see about you at home are not so unpleasant +that you are glad to get away from them?” asked Muller with a smile. + +The old man gave a start of alarm. “Oh, dear, no, sir,” he exclaimed +eagerly; “that wasn’t what I meant. Indeed I’m fond of everybody in the +house from our dear lady down to the poor little dog.” + +Here Muller gained another little bit of knowledge, the fact that the +lady of the house was the favourite of her servants, or that she seemed +to them even more an object of adoration than the master. + +“Then you evidently have a very good place, since you seem so fond of +every one.” + +“Indeed I have a good place, sir.” + +“You’ve had this place a long time?” + +“More than twenty years. My master was only eleven years old when I took +service with the family.” + +“Ah, indeed! then you must be a person of importance in the house if you +have been there so long?” + +“Well more or less I might say I am,” the old man smiled and looked +flattered, then added: “But the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernauer, is even more +important than I am, to tell you the truth. She was nurse to our present +young master, and she’s been in the house ever since. When his +parents died, it’s some years ago now, she took entire charge of the +housekeeping. She was a fine active woman then, and now the young master +and mistress couldn’t get along without her. They treat her as if she +was one of the family.” + +“And she is ill also? I say also,” explained Muller, “because the +landlord has just been telling me that your mistress is ill.” + +“Yes, indeed, more’s the pity! our poor dear young lady has been +miserable for nearly a year now. It’s a shame to see such a sweet angel +as she is suffer like that and the master’s quite heart-broken over it. +But there’s nothing the matter with Mrs. Bernauer. How did you come to +think that she was sick?” + +Muller did not intend to explain that the change in the housekeeper’s +appearance, a change which had come about between Tuesday morning and +Thursday morning, might easily have made any one think that she was +ill. He gave as excuse for his question the old man’s own words: “Why, +I thought that she might be ill also because you said yourself that the +housekeeper--what did you say her name was?” + +“Bernauer, Mrs. Adele Bernauer. She was a widow when she came to take +care of the master. Her husband was a sergeant of artillery.” + +“Well, I mean,” continued Muller, “you said yourself that when the +gentleman’s parents died, Mrs. Bernauer was a fine active woman, +therefore I supposed she was no longer so.” + +Franz thought the matter over for a while. “I don’t know just why I put +it that way. Indeed she’s still as active as ever and always fresh and +well. It’s true that for the last two or three days she’s been very +nervous and since yesterday it is as if she was a changed woman. She +must be ill, I don’t know how to explain it otherwise.” + +“What seems to be the matter with her?” asked Muller and then to explain +his interest in the housekeeper’s health, he fabricated a story: “I +studied medicine at one time and although I didn’t finish my course +or get a diploma, I’ve always had a great interest in such things, and +every now and then I’ll take a case, particularly nervous diseases. That +was my specialty.” Muller took up his glass and turned away from the +window, for he felt a slow flush rising to his cheeks. It was another +of Muller’s peculiarities that he always felt an inward embarrassment at +the lies he was obliged to tell in his profession. + +The butler did not seem to have noticed it however, and appeared eager +to tell of what concerned him in the housekeeper’s appearance and +demeanour. “Why, yesterday at dinner time was the first that we began +to notice anything wrong with Mrs. Bernauer. The rest of us, that is, +Lizzie the upstairs girl, the cook and myself. She began to eat her +dinner with a good appetite, then suddenly, when we got as far as the +pudding, she let her fork fall and turned deathly white. She got up +without saying a word and left the room. Lizzie ran after her to ask if +anything was the matter, but she said no, it was nothing of importance. +After dinner, she went right out, saying she was doing some errands. +She brought in a lot of newspapers, which was quite unusual, for she +sometimes does not look at a newspaper once a week even. I wouldn’t have +noticed it but Lizzie’s the kind that sees and hears everything and +she told us about it.” Franz stopped to take a drink, and Muller said +indifferently, “I suppose Mrs. Bernauer was interested in the murder +case. The whole neighbourhood seems to be aroused about it.” + +“No, I don’t think that was it,” answered the old servant, “because then +she would have sent for a paper this morning too.” + +“And she didn’t do that?” + +“No, unless she might have gone out for it herself. There’s a news stand +right next door here. But I don’t think she did because I would have +seen the paper around the house then.” + +“And is that all that’s the matter with her?” asked Muller in a tone of +disappointment. “Why, I thought you’d have something really interesting +to tell me.” + +“Oh, no, that isn’t all, sir,” exclaimed the old man eagerly. + +Muller leaned forward, really interested now, while Franz continued: +“She was uneasy all the afternoon yesterday. She walked up and down +stairs and through the halls--I remember Lizzie making some joke about +it--and then in the evening to our surprise she suddenly began a great +rummaging in the first story.” + +“Is that where she lives?” + +“Oh, no; her room is in the wing out towards the garden. The rooms on +the first floor all belong to the master and mistress. This morning we +found out that Mrs. Bernauer’s cleaning up of the evening before had +been done because she remembered that the master wanted to take some +papers with him but couldn’t find them and had asked her to look for +them and send them right on.” + +“Well, I shouldn’t call that a sign of any particular nervousness, but +rather an evidence of Mrs. Bernauer’s devotion to her duty.” + +“Oh, yes, sir--but it certainly is queer that she should go into +the garden at four o’clock this morning and appear to be looking for +something along the paths and under the bushes. Even if a few of the +papers blew out of the window, or blew away from the summer house, where +the master writes sometimes, they couldn’t have scattered all over the +garden like that.” + +Muller didn’t follow up this subject any longer. There might come a +time when he would be interested in finding out the reason for the +housekeeper’s search in the garden, but just at present he wanted +something else. He remembered some remark of the old man’s about the +“poor little dog,” and on this he built his plan. + +“Oh, well,” he said carelessly, “almost everybody is nervous and +impatient now-a-days. I suppose Mrs. Bernauer felt uneasy because +she couldn’t find the paper right away. There’s nothing particularly +interesting or noticeable about that. Anyway, I’ve been occupying myself +much more these last years with sick animals rather than with sick +people. I’ve had some very successful cures there.” + +“No, really, have you? Then you could do us a great favour,” exclaimed +Franz in apparent eagerness. Muller’s heart rejoiced. He had apparently +hit it right this time. He knew that in a house like that “a poor dog” + could only mean a “sick dog.” But his voice was quite calm as he asked: +“How can I do you a favour?” + +“Why, you see, sir, we’ve got a little terrier,” explained the old man, +who had quite forgotten the fact that he had mentioned the dog before. +“And there’s been something the matter with the poor little chap for +several days. He won’t eat or drink, he bites at the grass and rolls +around on his stomach and cries--it’s a pity to see him. If you’re fond +of animals and know how to take care of them, you may be able to help us +there.” + +“You want me to look at the little dog? Why, yes, I suppose I can.” + +“We’ll appreciate it,” said the old man with an embarrassed smile. But +Muller shook his head and continued: “No, never mind the payment, I +wouldn’t take any money for it. But I’ll tell you what you can do +for me. I’m very fond of flowers. If you think you can take the +responsibility of letting me walk around in the garden for a little +while, and pick a rose or two, I will be greatly pleased.” + +“Why, of course you may,” said Franz. “Take any of the roses you see +there that please you. They’re nearly over for the season now and it’s +better they should be picked rather than left to fade on the bush. +We don’t use so many flowers in the house now when the family are not +there.” + +“All right, then, it’s a bargain,” laughed Muller, signalling to the +landlord. “Are you, going already?” asked the old servant. + +“Yes, I must be going if I am to spend any time with the little dog.” + +“I suppose I ought to be at home myself,” said Franz. “Something’s the +matter with the electric wiring in our place. The bell in the master’s +room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to send us a man out +to fix it. He’s likely to come any minute now.” The two men rose, paid +their checks, and went out together. Outside the cafe Muller hesitated +a moment. “You go on ahead,” he said to Franz. “I want to go in here and +get a cigar.” + +While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for several newspapers, +choosing those which his quick eye had told him were no longer among the +piles on the counter. “I’m very sorry, sir,” said the clerk; “we have +only a few of those papers, just two or three more than we need for our +regular customers, and this morning they are all sold. The housekeeper +from the Thorne mansion took the very last ones.” + +This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store and +caught up with the old butler as the latter was opening the handsome +iron gate that led from the Thorne property out onto the street. + +“Well, where’s our little patient?” asked the detective as he walked +through the courtyard with Franz. + +“You’ll see him in a minute,” answered the old servant. He led the way +through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome old pieces in +empire style, and opened a door at its further end. + +“This is my room.” + +It was a large light room with two windows opening on the garden. Muller +was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall had been such a +short one. However he was in the house, that was something, and he could +afford to trust to chance for the rest. Meanwhile he would look at the +dog. The little terrier lay in a corner by the stove and it did not take +Muller more than two or three minutes to discover that there was nothing +the matter with the small patient but a simple case of over-eating. +But he put on a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and +looking up, asked if he could get some chamomile tea. + +“I’ll go for it, I think there’s some in the house. Do you want it made +fresh?” said Franz. + +“Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do,” was Muller’s answer. +He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to do the dog good and +at the present moment he wanted to be left alone in the room. As soon +as Franz had gone, the detective hastened to the window, placing himself +behind the curtain so that he could not be seen from outside. He himself +could see first a wide courtyard lying between the two wings of the +house, then beyond it the garden, an immense square plot of ground +beautifully cultivated. The left wing of the house was about six windows +longer than the other, and from the first story of it it would be quite +easy to look out over the vacant lot where the old shed stood which had +served as a night’s lodging for Johann Knoll. + +There was not the slightest doubt in Muller’s mind that this part of the +tramp’s story was true, for by a natural process of elimination he knew +there was nothing to be gained by inventing any such tale. Besides +which the detective himself had been to look at the shed. His well-known +pedantic thoroughness would not permit him to take any one’s word for +anything that he might find out for himself. In his investigations on +Tuesday morning he had already seen the half-ruined shed, now he knew +that it contained a broken bench. + +Thus far, therefore, Knoll’s story was proved to be true--but there was +something that didn’t quite hitch in another way. The tramp had said +that he had seen first a woman and then a man come from the main house +and go in the direction of the smaller house which he took to be the +gardener’s dwelling. This Muller discovered now was quite impossible. +A tall hedge, fully seven or eight feet high and very thick, stretched +from the courtyard far down into the garden past the gardener’s little +house. There was a broad path on the right and the left of this green +wall. From his position in the shed, Knoll could have seen people +passing only when they were on the right side of the hedge. But to reach +the gardener’s house from the main dwelling, the shortest way would be +on the left side of the hedge. This much Muller saw, then he heard the +butler’s steps along the hall and he went back to the corner where the +dog lay. + +Franz was not alone. There was some one else with him, the housekeeper, +Mrs. Bernauer. Just as they opened the door, Muller heard her say: +“If the gentleman is a veterinary, then we’d better ask him about the +parrot--” + +The sentence was never finished. Muller never found out what was the +matter with the parrot, for as he looked up with a polite smile of +interest, he looked into a pale face, into a pair of eyes that opened +wide in terror, and heard trembling lips frame the words: “There he is +again!” + +A moment later Mrs. Bernauer would have been glad to have recalled her +exclamation, but it was too late. + +Muller bowed before her and asked: “‘There he is again,’ you said; have +you ever seen me before?” + +The woman looked at him as if hypnotised and answered almost in a +whisper: “I saw you Tuesday morning for the first time, Tuesday morning +when the family were going away. Then I saw you pass through our street +twice again that same day. This morning you went past the garden gate +and now I find you here. What-what is it you want of us?” + +“I will tell you what I want, Mrs. Bernauer, but first I want to speak +to you alone. Mr. Franz doesn’t mind leaving us for a while, does he?” + +“But why?” said the old man hesitatingly. He didn’t understand at all +what was going on and he would much rather have remained. + +“Because I came here for the special purpose of speaking to Mrs. +Bernauer,” replied Muller calmly. + +“Then you didn’t come on account of the dog?” + +“No, I didn’t come on account of the dog.” + +“Then you--you lied to me?” + +“Partly.” + +“And you’re no veterinary?” + +“No--I can help your dog, but I am not a veterinary and never have +been.” + +“What are you then?” + +“I will tell Mrs. Bernauer who and what I am when you are +outside--outside in the courtyard there. You can walk about in the +garden if you want to, or else go and get some simple purgative for this +dog. That is all he needs; he has been over-fed.” + +Franz was quite bewildered. These new developments promised to be +interesting and he was torn between his desire to know more, and his +doubts as to the propriety of leaving the housekeeper with this queer +stranger. He hesitated until the woman herself motioned to him to go. He +went out into the hall, then into the courtyard, watched by the two in +the room who stood silently in the window until they saw the butler pass +down into the garden. Then they looked at each other. + +“You belong to the police?” asked Adele Bernauer finally with a deep +sigh. + +“That was a good guess,” replied Muller with an ironic smile, adding: +“All who have any reason to fear us are very quick in recognising us.” + +“What do you mean by that?” she exclaimed with a start. “What are you +thinking of?” + +“I am thinking about the same thing that you are thinking of--that I +have proved you are thinking of--the same thing that drove you out into +the street yesterday and this morning to buy the papers. These papers +print news which is interesting many people just now, and some people a +great deal. I am thinking of the same thing that was evidently in your +thoughts as you peered out of the garden gate this morning, although you +would not come out into the street. I know that you do not read even one +newspaper regularly. I know also that yesterday and today you bought +a great many papers, apparently to get every possible detail about a +certain subject. Do you deny this?” + +She did not deny it, she did not answer at all. She sank down on +a chair, her wide staring eyes looking straight ahead of her, and +trembling so that the old chair cracked underneath her weight. But this +condition did not last long. The woman had herself well under control. +Muller’s coming, or something else, perhaps, may have overwhelmed her +for a moment, but she soon regained her usual self-possession. + +“Still you have not told me what you want here,” she began coldly, +and as he did not answer she continued: “I have a feeling that you +are watching us. I had this feeling when I saw you the first time and +noticed then--pardon my frankness--that you stared at us sharply while +we were saying goodbye to our master and mistress. Then I saw you pass +twice again through the street and look up at our windows. This morning +I find you at our garden gate and now--you will pardon me if I tell the +exact truth--now you have wormed yourself in here under false pretenses +because you have no right whatever to force an entrance into this house. +And I ask you again, what do you want here?” + +Muller was embarrassed. That did not happen very often. Also it did not +happen very often that he was in the wrong as he was now. The woman +was absolutely right. He had wormed himself into the house under false +pretenses to follow up the new clue which almost unconsciously as yet +was leading him on with a stronger and stronger attraction. He could not +have explained it and he certainly was not ready to say anything about +it at police headquarters, even at the risk of being obliged to continue +to enter this mysterious house under false pretenses and to be told +that he was doing so. Of course this sort of thing was necessary in his +business, it was the only way in which he could follow up the criminals. + +But there was something in this woman’s words that cut into a sensitive +spot and drove the blood to his cheeks. There was something in the +bearing and manner of this one-time nurse that impressed him, although +he was not a man to be lightly impressed. He had a feeling that he had +made a fool of himself and it bothered him. For a moment he did not know +what he should say to this woman who stood before him with so much quiet +energy in her bearing. But the something in his brain, the something +that made him what he was, whispered to him that he had done right, and +that he must follow up the trail he had found. That gave him back his +usual calm. + +He took up his hat, and standing before the pale-faced woman, looking +her firmly in the eyes, he said: “It is true that I have no right as yet +to force my way into your house, therefore I have been obliged to enter +it as best I could. I have done this often in my work, but I do it +for the safety of society. And those who reproach me for doing it are +generally those whom I have been obliged to persecute in the name of +the law. Mrs. Bernauer, I will confess that there are moments in which I +feel ashamed that I have chosen this profession that compels me to +hunt down human beings. But I do not believe that this is one of those +moments. You have read this morning’s papers; you must know, therefore, +that a man has been arrested and accused of the murder which interests +you so much; you must be able to realise the terror and anxiety which +are now filling this man’s heart. For to-day’s papers--I have read them +myself--expressed the public sentiment that the police may succeed in +convicting this man of the crime, that the death may be avenged and +justice have her due. Several of these papers, the papers I know you +have bought and presumably read, do not doubt that Johann Knoll is the +murderer of Leopold Winkler. + +“Now there are at least two people who do not believe that Knoll is the +murderer. I am one of them, and you, Mrs. Bernauer, you are the other. +I am going now and when I come again, as I doubtless will come again, +I will come with full right to enter this house. I acknowledge frankly +that I have no justification in causing your arrest as yet, but you are +quite clever enough to know that if I had the faintest justification I +would not leave here alone. And one thing more I have to say. You may +not know that I have had the most extraordinary luck in my profession, +that in more than a hundred cases there have been but two where the +criminal I was hunting escaped me. And now, Mrs. Bernauer, I will bid +you good day.” + +Muller stepped towards the window and motioned to Franz, who was walking +up and down outside. The old man ran to the door and met the detective +in the hall. + +“You’d better go in and look after Mrs. Bernauer,” said the latter, “I +can find my way out alone.” + +Franz looked after him, shaking his head in bewilderment and then +entered his own room. “Merciful God!” he exclaimed, bending down in +terror over the housekeeper, who lay on the floor. In his shock and +bewilderment he imagined that she too had been murdered, until he +realised that it was only a swoon from which she recovered in a moment. +He helped her regain her feet and she looked about as if still dazed, +stammering: “Has he gone?” + +“The strange man? ... Yes, he went some time ago. But what happened to +you? Did he give you something to make you faint? Do you think he was a +thief?” + +Mrs. Bernauer shook her head and murmured: “Oh, no, quite the contrary.” + A remark which did not enlighten Franz particularly as to the status +of the man who had just left them. There was a note of fear in the +housekeepers’s voice and she added hastily: “Does any one besides +ourselves know that he was here?” + +“No, Lizzie and the cook are in the kitchen talking about the murder.” + +Mrs. Bernauer shivered again and went slowly out of the room and up the +stairs. + +If Franz believed that the stranger had left the house by the front +entrance he was very much mistaken. When Muller found himself alone in +the corridor he turned quickly and hurried out into the garden. None +of the servants had seen him. Lizzie and the cook were engaged in an +earnest conversation in the kitchen and Franz was fully occupied with +Mrs. Bernauer. The gardener was away and his wife busy at her wash +tubs. No one was aware, therefore, that Muller spent about ten minutes +wandering about the garden, and ten minutes were quite sufficient for +him to become so well acquainted with the place that he could have drawn +a map of it. He left the garden through the rear gate, the latch of +which he was obliged to leave open. The gardener’s wife found it that +way several hours later and was rather surprised thereat. Muller walked +down the street rapidly and caught a passing tramway. His mood was +not of the best, for he could not make up his mind whether or no this +morning had been a lost one. His mind sorted and rearranged all that +he knew or could imagine concerning Mrs. Bernauer. But there was hardly +enough of these facts to reassure him that he was not on a false trail, +that he had not allowed himself to waste precious hours all because he +had seen a woman’s haggard face appear for a moment at the little gate +in the quiet street. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE + + +Muller’s goal was the prison where Johann Knoll was awaiting his fate. +The detective had permission to see the man as often as he wished to. +Knoll had been proven a thief, but the accusation of murder against +him had not been strengthened by anything but the most superficial +circumstantial evidence, therefore it was necessary that Muller should +talk with him in the hope of discovering something more definite. + +Knoll lay asleep on his cot as the detective and the warder entered the +cell. Muller motioned the attendant to leave him alone with the prisoner +and he stood beside the cot looking down at the man. The face on +the hard pillow was not a very pleasant one to look at. The skin was +roughened and swollen and had that brown-purple tinge which comes +from being constantly in the open air, and from habitual drinking. The +weather-beaten look may be seen often in the faces of men whose honest +work keeps them out of doors; but this man had not earned his colouring +honestly, for he was one of the sort who worked only from time to time +when it was absolutely necessary and there was no other way of getting +a penny. His hands proved this, for although soiled and grimy they had +soft, slender fingers which showed no signs of a life of toil. But even +a man who has spent forty years in useless idling need not be all bad. +There must have been some good left in this man or he could not have +lain there so quietly, breathing easily, wrapped in a slumber as +undisturbed as that of a child. It did not seem possible that any man +could lie there like that with the guilt of murder on his conscience, or +even with the knowledge in his soul that he had plundered a corpse. + +Muller had never believed the first to be the case, but he had thought +it possible that Knoll knew perfectly well that it was a lifeless body +he was robbing. He had believed it at least until the moment when he +stood looking down at the sleeping tramp. Now, with the deep knowledge +of the human heart which was his by instinct and which his profession +had increased a thousand-fold, Muller knew that this man before him +had no heavy crime upon his conscience--that it was really as he had +said--that he had taken the watch and purse from one whom he believed +to be intoxicated only. Of course it was not a very commendable deed for +which the tramp was now in prison, but it was slight in comparison to +the crimes of which he was suspected. + +Muller bent lower over the unconscious form and was surprised to see a +gentle smile spread over the face before him. It brightened and +changed the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a look of almost +child-like innocence. Somewhere within the coarsened soul there must be +a spot of brightness from which such a smile could come. + +But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and looked up. He +shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller’s hand on his shoulder +and raised himself to a sitting position, grumbling: “Can’t I have any +rest? Are they going to question me again? I’m getting tired of this. +I’ve said everything I know anyhow.” + +“Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of my questions +when I tell you that I believe the story you told us yesterday, and that +I want to be your friend and help you.” + +Knoll’s little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the man +who spoke to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark of +intelligence in them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and he saw +it again now. But he saw also the gleam of distrust in these eyes, a +distrust which found expression in Knoll’s next words. “You think you +can catch me with your good words, but you’re makin’ a mistake. I’ve got +nothin’ new to say. And you needn’t think that you can blind me, I know +you’re one of the police, and I’m not going to say anything at all.” + +“Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I really could +help you. I have just come from Hietzing--but of course if you don’t +want to talk to me--” Muller shrugged his shoulders and turned toward +the door. + +But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. “You really mean to +help me?” he gasped. + +“I do,” said the detective calmly. + +“Then swear, on your mother’s soul--or is your mother still alive?” + +“No, she has been dead some time.” + +“Well, then, will you swear it?” + +“Would you believe an oath like that?” + +“Why shouldn’t I?” + +“With the life you’ve been leading?” + +“My life’s no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those things on +Monday was the worst thing I’ve done yet. Will you swear?” + +“Is it something so very important you have to tell me?” + +“No, I ain’t got nothin’ at all new to tell you. But I’d just like +to know--in this black hole I’ve got into--I’d just like to know that +there’s one human being who means well with me--I’d like to know +that there’s one man in the world who don’t think I’m quite +good-for-nothin’.” + +The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a heart-rending sob. +Deep pity moved the detective’s breast. He led Knoll back to his cot, +and put both hands on his shoulders, saying gravely: “I believe that +this theft was the worst thing you have done. By my mother’s salvation, +Knoll, I believe your words and I will try to help you.” + +Knoll raised his head, looking up at Muller with a glance of unspeakable +gratitude. With trembling lips he kissed the hand which a moment before +had pressed kindly on his shoulder, clinging fast to it as if he could +not bear to let it go. Muller was almost embarrassed. “Oh, come now, +Knoll, don’t be foolish. Pull yourself together and answer my questions +carefully, for I am asking you these questions more for your own sake +than for anything else.” + +The tramp nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He looked almost +happy again, and there was a softness in his eyes that showed there was +something in the man which might be saved and which was worth saving. + +Muller sat beside him on the cot and began: “There was one mistake in +your story yesterday. I want you to think it over carefully. You said +that you saw first a woman and then a man going through the neighbouring +garden. I believe that one or both of these people is the criminal +for whom we are looking. Therefore, I want you to try and remember +everything that you can connect with them, every slightest detail. +Anything that you can tell us may be of the greatest importance. +Therefore, think very carefully.” + +Knoll sat still a few moments, evidently trying hard to put his hazy +recollections into useful form and shape. But it was also evident that +orderly thinking was an unusual work for him, and he found it almost too +difficult. “I guess you better ask me questions, maybe that’ll go,” he +said after a pause. + +Then Muller began to question. With his usual thoroughness he began at +the very beginning: “When was it that you climbed the fence to get into +the shed?” + +“It just struck nine o’clock when I put my foot on the lowest bar.” + +“Are you sure of that?” + +“Quite sure. I counted every stroke. You see, I wanted to know how long +the night was going to be, seein’ I’d have to sleep in that shed. I was +in the garden just exactly an hour. I came out of the shed as it struck +ten and it wasn’t but a few minutes before I was in the street again.” + +“And when was it that you saw the woman in the garden next door?” + +“H’m, I don’t just know when that was. I’d been in on the bench quite a +while.” + +“And the man? When did you see the man?” + +“He came past a few minutes after the woman had gone towards the little +house in the garden.” + +“Ah! there you see, that’s where you made your mistake. It is more than +likely that these two did not go to the little house, but that they went +somewhere else. Did they walk slowly and quietly?” + +“Not a bit of it. They ran almost... Went past as quick as a bat in the +night.” + +“Then they both appeared to be in a hurry?” + +“Yes indeed they did.” + +“Ah, ha, you see! Now when any one’s in a hurry he doesn’t go the +longest way round, as a rule. And it would have been the longest way +round for these two people to go from the big house to the gardener’s +cottage--for the little house you saw was the gardener’s cottage. There +is tall thick hedge that starts from the main building and goes right +down through the garden, quite a distance past the gardener’s cottage. +The vegetable garden is on the left side of this hedge and in the middle +of the vegetable garden is the gardener’s cottage. But you could have +seen the man and the woman only because they passed down the right side +of the hedge, and this would have given them a detour of fifty paces or +more to reach the gardener’s house. Nov do you think that two people +who were very much in a hurry would have gone down the right side of the +hedge, to reach a place which they could have gotten to much quicker on +the left side?” + +“No, that would have been a fool thing to do.” + +“And you are quite sure that these people were in a hurry?” + +“That’s dead sure. I scarcely saw them before they’d gone again.” + +“And you didn’t see them come back?” + +“No, at least I didn’t pay any further attention to them. When I thought +it wouldn’t be any good to look about in there I turned around and dozed +off.” + +“And it was during this dozing that you thought you heard the shot?” + +“Yes, sir, that’s right.” + +“And you didn’t notice anything else? You didn’t hear anything else.” + +“No, nothin’ at all, there was so much noise anyway. There was a high +wind that night and the trees were rattling and creaking.” + +“And you didn’t see anything else, anything that attracted your +attention?” + +“No, nothing--” Knoll did not finish his sentence, but began another +instead. He had suddenly remembered something which had seemed to him of +no importance before. “There was a light that went out suddenly.” + +“Where?” + +“In the side of the house that I could see from my place. There was a +lamp in the last window of the second story, a lamp with a red shade. +That lamp went out all at once.” + +“Was the window open?” + +“Yes.” + +“There was a strong wind that night, might not the wind have blown the +lamp out?” + +“No, that wasn’t it,” said Knoll, rising hastily. + +“Well, how was it?” asked Muller calmly. + +“A hand put out the lamp.” + +“Whose hand?” + +“I couldn’t see that. The light was so low on account of the shade that +I couldn’t see the person who stood there.” + +“And you don’t know whether it was a man or a woman?” + +“No, I just saw a hand, more like a shadow it was.” + +“Well, it doesn’t matter much anyway. It was after nine o’clock and many +people go to bed about that time,” said Muller, who did not see much +value in this incident. + +But Knoll shook his head. “The person who put out that light didn’t go +to bed, at least not right away,” he said eagerly. “I looked over after +a while to the place where the red light was and I saw something else.” + +“Well, what was it you saw?” + +“The window had been closed.” + +“Who closed it? Didn’t you see the person that time? The moonlight lay +full on the house.” + +“Yes, when there weren’t any clouds. But there was a heavy cloud over +the moon just then and when it came out again the window was shut and +there was a white curtain drawn in front of it.” + +“How could you see that?” + +“I could see it when the lamp was lit again.” + +“Then the lamp was lit again?” + +“Yes, I could see the red light behind the curtain.” + +“And what happened then?” + +“Nothing more then, except that the man went through the garden.” + +Muller rose now and took up his hat. He was evidently excited and Knoll +looked at him uneasily. “You’re goin’ already?” he asked. + +“Yes, I have a great deal to do to-day,” replied the detective and +nodded to the prisoner as he knocked on the door. “I am glad you +remembered that,” he added, “it will be of use to us, I think.” + +The warder opened the door, let Muller out, and the heavy iron portal +clanged again between Knoll and freedom. + +Muller was quite satisfied with the result of his visit to the accused. +He hurried to the nearest cab stand and entered one of the carriages +waiting there. He gave the driver Mrs. Klingmayer’s address. It was +about two o’clock in the afternoon now and Muller had had nothing to eat +yet. But he was quite unaware of the fact as his mind was so busy that +no mere physical sensation could divert his attention for a moment. +Muller never seemed to need sleep or food when he was on the trail, +particularly not in the fascinating first stages of the case when it +was his imagination alone, catching at trifles unnoticed by others, +combining them in masterly fashion to an ordered whole, that first led +the seekers to the truth. Now he went over once more all the little +apparently trivial incidents that had caused him first to watch the +Thorne household and then had drawn his attention, and his suspicion, to +Adele Bernauer. It was the broken willow twig that had first drawn his +attention to the old garden next the Thorne property. This twig, this +garden, and perhaps some one who could reach his home again, unseen and +unendangered through this garden--might not this have something to do +with the murder? + +The breaking of the twig was already explained. It was Johann Knoll +who had stepped on it. But he had not climbed the wall at all, had +only crept along it looking for a night’s shelter. And there was no +connection between Knoll and the people who lived in the Thorne house. +Muller had not the slightest doubt that the tramp had told the entire +truth that day and the day preceding. + +Then the detective’s mind went back to the happenings of Tuesday +morning. The little twig had first drawn his attention to the Thorne +estate and the people who lived there. He had seen the departure of +the young couple and had passed the house again that afternoon and the +following day, drawn to it as if by a magnet. He had not been able +then to explain what it was that attracted him; there had been nothing +definite in his mind as he strolled past the old mansion. But his +repeated appearance had been noticed by some one--by one person +only--the housekeeper. Why should she have noticed it? Had she any +reason for believing that she might be watched? People with an uneasy +conscience are very apt to connect even perfectly natural trivial +circumstances with their own doings. Adele Bernauer had evidently +connected Muller’s repeated passing with something that concerned +herself even before the detective had thought of her at all. + +Muller had not noticed her until he had seen her peculiar conduct that +very morning. When he heard Franz’s words and saw how disturbed the +woman was, he asked himself: “Why did this woman want to be shown the +spot of the murder? Didn’t she know that place, living so near it, as +well as any of the many who stood there staring in morbid curiosity? +Did she ask to have it shown her that the others might believe she had +nothing whatever to do with the occurrences that had happened there? Or +was she drawn thither by that queer attraction that brings the criminal +back to the scene of his crime?” + +The sudden vision of Mrs. Bernauer’s head at the garden gate, and its +equally sudden disappearance had attracted Muller’s attention and his +thoughts to the woman. What he had been able to learn about her had +increased his suspicions and her involuntary exclamation when she met +him face to face in the house had proved beyond a doubt that there was +something on her mind. His open accusation, her demeanour, and finally +her swoon, were all links in the chain of evidence that this woman knew +something about the murder in the quiet lane. + +With this suspicion in his mind what Muller had learned from Knoll +was of great value to him, at all events of great interest. Was it the +housekeeper who had put out the light? For now Muller did not doubt for +a moment that this sudden extinguishing of the lamp was a signal. He +believed that Knoll had seen clearly and that he had told truly what he +had seen. A lamp that is blown out by the wind flickers uneasily before +going out. A sudden extinguishing of the light means human agency. And +the lamp was lit again a few moments afterward and burned on steadily +as before. A short time after the lamp had been put out the man had been +seen going through the garden. And it could not have been much later +before the shot was heard. This shot had been fired between the hours +of nine and ten, for it was during this hour only that Knoll was in the +garden house and heard the shot. But it was not necessary to depend upon +the tramp’s evidence alone to determine the exact hour of the shot. It +must have been before half past nine, or otherwise the janitor of No.1, +who came home at that hour and lay awake so long, would undoubtedly +have heard a shot fired so near his domicile, in spite of the noise +occasioned by the high wind. There would have been sufficient time +for Mrs. Bernauer to have reached the place of the murder between the +putting out of the lamp and the firing of the shot. But perhaps she may +have rested quietly in her room; she may have been only the inciter or +the accomplice of the deed. But at all events, she knew something about +it, she was in some way connected with it. + +Muller drew a deep breath. He felt much easier now that he had arranged +his thoughts and marshalled in orderly array all the facts he had +already gathered. There was nothing to do now but to follow up a given +path step by step and he could no longer reproach himself that he might +have cast suspicion on an innocent soul. No, his bearing towards Mrs. +Bernauer had not been sheer brutality. His instinct, which had led him +so unerringly so many times, had again shown him the right way when he +had thrust the accusation in her face. + +Now that his mind was easier he realised that he was very hungry. He +drove to a restaurant and ordered a hasty meal. + +“Beer, sir?” asked the waiter for the third time. + +“No,” answered Muller, also for the third time. + +“Then you’ll take wine, sir?” asked the insistent Ganymede. + +“Oh, go to the devil! When I want anything I’ll ask for it,” growled the +detective, this time effectively scaring the waiter. It did not often +happen that a customer refused drinks, but then there were not many +customers who needed as clear a head as Muller knew he would have to +have to-day. Always a light drinker, it was one of his rules never to +touch a drop of liquor during this first stage of the mental working out +of any new problem which presented itself. But soft-hearted as he was, +he repented of his irritation a moment later and soothed the waiter’s +wounded feelings by a rich tip. The boy ran out to open the cab door for +his strange customer and looked after him, wondering whether the man was +a cranky millionaire or merely a poet. For Joseph Muller, by name and by +reputation one of the best known men in Vienna, was by sight unknown +to all except the few with whom he had to do on the police force. His +appearance, in every way inconspicuous, and the fact that he never +sought acquaintance with any one, was indeed of the greatest possible +assistance to him in his work. Many of those who saw him several times +in a day would pass him or look him full in the face without recognising +him. It was only, as in the case of Mrs. Bernauer, the guilty conscience +that remembered face and figure of this quiet-looking man who was one of +the most-feared servants of the law in Austria. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE ELECTRICIAN + + +When Muller reached the house where Mrs. Klingmayer lived he ordered the +cabman to wait and hurried up to the widow’s little apartment. He had +the key to Leopold Winkler’s room in his own pocket, for Mrs. Klingmayer +had given this key to Commissioner von Riedau at the latter’s request +and the commissioner had given it to Muller. The detective told the good +woman not to bother about him as he wanted to make an examination of the +place alone. Left to himself in the little room, Muller made a thorough +search of it, opening the cupboard, the bureau drawers, every possible +receptacle where any article could be kept or hidden. What he wanted +to find was some letter, some bit of paper, some memoranda perhaps, +anything that would show any connection existing between the murdered +man and Mrs. Bernauer, who lived so near the place where this man had +died and who was so greatly interested in his murder. + +The detective’s search was not quite in vain, although he could not tell +yet whether what he had found would be of any value. Leopold Winkler had +had very little correspondence, or else he had had no reason to keep +the letters he received. Muller found only about a half dozen letters in +all. Three of them were from women of the half-world, giving dates for +meetings. Another was written by a man and signed “Theo.” This “Theo” + appeared to be the same sort of a cheap rounder that Winkler was. And he +seemed to have sunk one grade deeper than the dead man, in spite of the +latter’s bad reputation. For this other addressed Winkler as his +“Dear Friend” and pleaded with him for “greater discretion,” alluding +evidently to something which made this discretion necessary. + +“I wonder what rascality it was that made these two friends?” murmured +Muller, putting Theo’s letter with the three he had already read. +But before he slipped it in his pocket he glanced at the postmark. The +letters of the three women had all been posted from different quarters +of the city some months ago. Theo’s letter was postmarked “Marburg,” and +dated on the 1st of September of the present year. + +Then Muller looked at the postmark of the two remaining letters which +he had not yet read, and whistled softly to himself. Both these letters +were posted from a certain station in Hietzing, the station which was +nearest his own lodgings and also nearest the Thorne house. He looked at +the postmark more sharply. They both bore the dates of the present year, +one of them being stamped “March 17th,” the other “September 24th.” This +last letter interested the detective most. + +Muller was not of a nervous disposition, but his hand trembled slightly +as he took the letter from its envelope. It was clear that this letter +had been torn open hastily, for the edges of the opening were jagged and +uneven. + +When the detective had read the letter--it contained but a few lines and +bore neither address nor signature--he glanced over it once more as if +to memorise the words. They were as follows: “Do not come again. In a +day or two I will be able to do what I have to do. I will send you later +news to your office. Impatience will not help you.”--These words were +written hastily on a piece of paper that looked as if it had been torn +from a pad. In spite of the haste the writer had been at some pains to +disguise the handwriting. But it was a clumsy disguise, done by one not +accustomed to such tricks, and it was evidently done by a woman. All she +had known how to do to disguise her writing had been to twist and turn +the paper while writing, so that every letter had a different position. +The letters were also made unusually long. This peculiarity of the +writing was seen on both letters and both envelopes. The earlier letter +was still shorter and seemed to have been written with the same haste, +and with the same disgust, or perhaps even hatred, for the man to whom +it was written. + +“Come to-morrow, but not before eight o’clock. He has gone away. God +forgive him and you.” This was the contents of the letter of the 17th of +March. That is, the writer had penned the letter this way. But the last +two words, “and you,” had evidently not come from her heart, for she had +annulled them by a heavy stroke of the pen. A stroke that seemed like a +knife thrust, so full of rage and hate it was. + +“So he was called to a rendezvous in Hietzing, too,” murmured Muller, +then he added after a few moments: “But this rendezvous had nothing +whatever to do with love.” + +There was nothing else in Winkler’s room which could be of any value to +Muller in the problem that was now before him. And yet he was very well +satisfied with the result of his errand. + +He entered his cab again, ordering the driver to take him to Hietzing. +Just before he had reached the corner where he had told the man to stop, +another cab passed them, a coupe, in which was a solitary woman. Muller +had just time enough to recognise this woman as Adele Bernauer, and to +see that she looked even more haggard and miserable than she had that +morning. She did not look up as the other cab passed her carriage, +therefore she did not see Muller. The detective looked at his watch and +saw that it was almost half-past four. The unexpected meeting changed, +his plans for the afternoon. He had decided that he must enter the +Thorne mansion again that very day, for he must find out the meaning of +the red-shaded lamp. And now that the housekeeper was away it would be +easier for him to get into the house, therefore it must be done at once. +His excuse was all ready, for he had been weighing possibilities. +He dismissed his cab a block from his own home and entered his house +cautiously. + +Muller’s lodgings consisted of two large rooms, really much too large +for a lone man who was at home so little. But Muller had engaged them +at first sight, for the apartment possessed one qualification which was +absolutely necessary for him. Its situation and the arrangement of its +doors made it possible for him to enter and leave his rooms without +being seen either by his own landlady or by the other lodgers in the +house. The little apartment was on the ground floor, and Muller’s own +rooms had a separate entrance opening on to the main corridor almost +immediately behind the door. Nine times out of ten, he could come and go +without being seen by any one in the house. To-day was the first +time, however, that Muller had had occasion to try this particular +qualification of his new lodgings. + +He opened the street door and slipped into his own room without having +seen or been seen by any one. + +Fifteen minutes later he left the apartment again, but left it such a +changed man that nobody who had seen him go in would have recognised +him. Before he came out, however, he looked about carefully to see +whether there was any one in sight He came out unseen and was just +closing the main door behind him, when he met the janitress. + +“Were you looking for anybody in the house?” said the woman, glancing +sharply at the stranger, who answered in a slightly veiled voice: “No, +I made a mistake in the number. The place I am looking for is two houses +further down.” + +He walked down the street and the woman looked after him until she saw +him turn into the doorway of the second house. Then she went into her +own rooms. The house Muller entered happened to be a corner house with +an entrance on the other street, through which the detective passed +and went on his way. He was quite satisfied with the security of his +disguise, for the woman who knew him well had not recognised him at all. +If his own janitress did not know him, the people in the Thorne house +would never imagine it was he. + +And indeed Muller was entirely changed. In actuality small and thin, +with sparse brown hair and smooth shaven face, he was now an inch or two +taller and very much stouter. He wore thick curly blond hair, a little +pointed blond beard and moustache. His eyes were hidden by heavy-rimmed +spectacles. + +It was just half-past five when he rang the bell at the entrance gate to +the Thorne property. He had spent the intervening time in the cafe, +as he was in no hurry to enter the house. Franz came down the path and +opened the door. “‘What do you want?” he asked. + +“I come from Siemens & Halske; I was to ask whether the other man--” + +“Has been here already?” interrupted Franz, adding in an irritated tone, +“No, he hasn’t been here at all.” + +“Well, I guess he didn’t get through at the other place in time. I’ll +see what the trouble is,” said the stranger, whom Franz naturally +supposed to be the electrician, he opened the gate and asked the other +to come in, leading him into the house. Under a cloudy sky the day +was fading rapidly. Muller knew that it would not occur to the real +electrician to begin any work as late as this, and that he was perfectly +safe in the examination he wanted to make. + +“Well, what’s the trouble here? Why did you write to our firm?” asked +the supposed electrician. + +“The wires must cross somewhere, or there’s something wrong with the +bells. When the housekeeper touches the button in her room to ring for +the cook or the upstairs girl, the bell rings in Mr. Thorne’s room. It +starts ringing and it keeps up with a deuce of a noise. Fortunately the +family are away.” + +“Well, we’ll fix it all right for you. First of all I want to look at +the button in the housekeeper’s room.” + +“I’ll take you up there,” said Franz. + +They walked through the wide corridor, then turned into a shorter, +darker hall and went up a narrow winding stairway. Franz halted before +a door in the second story. It was the last of the three doors in +the hall. Muller took off his hat as the door opened and murmured a +“good-evening.” + +“There’s no one there; Mrs. Bernauer’s out.” + +“Has she gone away, too?” asked the electrician hastily. + +Franz did not notice that there was a slight change in the stranger’s +voice at this question, and he answered calmly as ever: “Oh, no; she’s +just driven to town. I think she went to see the doctor who lives quite +a distance away. She hasn’t been feeling at all well. She took a cab +to-day. I told her she ought to, as she wasn’t well enough to go by the +tram. She ought to be home any moment now.” + +“Well, I’ll hurry up with the job so that I’ll be out of the way when +the lady comes,” said Muller, as Franz led him to the misbehaving bell. + +It was in the wall immediately above a large table which filled the +window niche so completely that there was but scant space left for the +comfortable armchair that stood in front of it. The window was open and +Muller leaned out, looking down at the garden below. + +“What a fine old garden!” he exclaimed aloud. To himself he said: “This +is the last window in the left wing. It is the window where Johann Knoll +saw the red light.” + +And when he turned back into the room again he found the source of this +light right at his hand on the handsome old table at which Mrs. Bernauer +evidently spent many of her hours. A row of books stood against the +wall, framing the back of the table. Well-worn volumes of the classics +among them gave proof that the one-time nurse was a woman of education. +A sewing basket and neat piles of house linen, awaiting repairs, covered +a large part of the table-top, and beside them stood a gracefully shaped +lamp, covered by a shade of soft red silk. + +It took Muller but a few seconds to see all this. Then he set about +his investigation of the electric button. He unscrewed the plate and +examined the wires meeting under it. While doing so he cast another +glance at the table and saw a letter lying there, an open letter half +out of its envelope. This envelope was of unusual shape, long and +narrow, and the paper was heavy and high-glossed. + +“Your housekeeper evidently has no secrets from the rest of you,” Muller +remarked with a laugh, still busy at the wires, “or she wouldn’t leave +her letters lying about like that.” + +“Oh, we’ve all heard what’s in that letter,” replied Franz. “She read it +to us when it came this morning. It’s from the Madam. She sent messages +to all of us and orders, so Mrs. Bernauer read us the whole letter. +There’s no secrets in that.” + +“The button has been pressed in too far and caught down. That seems to +be the main trouble,” said Muller, readjusting the little knob. “I’d +like a candle here if I may have one.” + +“I’ll get you a light at once,” said Franz. But his intentions, however +excellent, seemed difficult of fulfilment. It was rapidly growing dark, +and the old butler peered about uncertainly. “Stupid,” he muttered. “I +don’t know where she keeps the matches. I can’t find them anywhere. I’m +not a smoker, so I haven’t any in my pocket.” + +“Nor I,” said Muller calmly, letting his hand close protectingly over a +new full box of them in his own pocket. + +“I’ll get you some from my own room,” and Franz hurried away, his loose +slippers clattering down the stairs. He was no sooner well out of the +room than Muller had the letter in his hand and was standing close by +the window to catch the fading light. But on the old servant’s return +the supposed electrician stood calmly awaiting the coming of the light, +and the letter was back on the table half hidden by a piece of linen. +Franz did not notice that the envelope was missing. And the housekeeper, +whose mind was so upset by the events of the day, and whose thoughts +were on other more absorbing matters, would hardly be likely to remember +whether she had returned this quite unimportant letter to its envelope +or not. + +Franz brought a lighted candle with him, and Muller, who really did +possess a creditable knowledge of electricity, saw that the wires in +the room were all in good condition. As he had seen at first, there was +really nothing the matter except with the position of the button. But it +did not suit his purpose to enlighten Franz on the matter just yet. + +“Now I’d better look at the wires in the gentleman’s room,” he said, +when he had returned plate and button to their place. + +“Just as you say,” replied Franz, taking up his candle and leading the +way out into the hall and down the winding stair. They crossed the lower +corridor, mounted another staircase and entered a large, handsomely +furnished room, half studio, half library. The wall was covered with +pictures and sketches, several easels stood piled up in the corner, and +a broad table beside them held paint boxes, colour tubes, brushes, all +the paraphernalia of the painter, now carefully ordered and covered for +a term of idleness. Great bookcases towered to the ceiling, and a huge +flat top desk, a costly piece of furniture, was covered with books and +papers. It was the room of a man of brains and breeding, a man of talent +and ability, possessing, furthermore, the means to indulge his tastes +freely. Even now, with its master absent, the handsome apartment bore +the impress of his personality. The detective’s quick imagination called +up the attractive, sympathetic figure of the man he had seen at the +gate, as his quick eye took in the details of the room. All the charm of +Herbert Thorne’s personality, which the keen-sensed Muller had felt so +strongly even in that fleeting glimpse of him, came back again here +in the room which was his own little kingdom and the expression of his +mentality. + +“Well, what’s the trouble here? Where are the wires?” asked the +detective, after the momentary pause which had followed his entrance +into the room. Franz led him to a spot on the wall hidden by a marquetry +cabinet. “Here’s the bell, it rings for several minutes before it +stops.” + +The light of the candle which the butler held fell upon a portrait +hanging above the cabinet. It was a sketch in water-colours, the +life-sized head of a man who may have been about thirty years old, +perhaps, but who had none of the freshness and vigour of youth. The +scanty hair, the sunken temples, and the faded skin, emphasised the look +of dissipation given by the lines about the sensual mouth and the shifty +eyes. + +“Well, say, can’t your master find anything better to paint than a face +like that?” Muller asked with a laugh. + +“Goodness me! you mustn’t say such things!” exclaimed Franz in alarm; +“that’s the Madam’s brother. He’s an officer, I’d have you know. It’s +true, he doesn’t look like much there, but that’s because he’s not in +uniform. It makes such a difference.” + +“Is the lady anything like her brother?” asked the detective +indifferently, bending to examine the wiring. + +“Oh, dear, no, not a bit; they’re as different as day and night. He’s +only her half-brother anyway. She was the daughter of the Colonel’s +second wife. Our Madam is the sweetest, gentlest lady you can imagine, +an angel of goodness. But the Lieutenant here has always been a care +to his family, they say. I guess he’s quieted down a bit now, for his +father--he’s Colonel Leining, retired--made him get exchanged from the +city to a small garrison town. There’s nothing much to do in Marburg, +I dare say--well! you are a merry sort, aren’t you?” These last words, +spoken in a tone of surprise, were called forth by a sudden sharp +whistle from the detective, a whistle which went off into a few merry +bars. + +A sudden whistle like that from Muller’s lips was something that made +the Imperial Police Force sit up and take notice, for it meant that +things were happening, and that the happenings were likely to become +exciting. It was a habit he could control only by the severest effort of +the will, an effort which he kept for occasions when it was absolutely +necessary. Here, alone with the harmless old man, he was not so much +on his guard, and the sudden vibrating of every nerve at the word +“Marburg,” found vent in the whistle which surprised old Franz. One +young police commissioner with a fancy for metaphor had likened this +sudden involuntary whistle of Muller’s to the bay of the hound when he +strikes the trail; which was about what it was. + +“Yes, I am merry sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a habit I have. +Something occurred to me just then, something I had forgotten. Hope you +don’t mind.” + +“Oh, no, there’s no one here now, whistle all you like.” + +But Muller’s whistle was not a continuous performance, and he had now +completely mastered the excitation of his nerves which had called it +forth. He threw another sharp look at the picture of the man who lived +in Marburg, and then asked: “And now where is the button?” + +“By the window there, beside the desk.” Franz led the way with his +candle. + +“Why, how funny! What are those mirrors there for?” asked the +electrician in a tone of surprise, pointing to two small mirrors hanging +in the window niche. They were placed at a height and at such a peculiar +angle that no one could possibly see his face in them. + +“Something the master is experimenting with, I guess. He’s always making +queer experiments; he knows a lot about scientific things.” + +Muller shook his head as if in wonderment, and bent to investigate the +button which was fastened into the wall beneath the window sill. His +quick ear heard a carriage stopping in front of the house, and heard the +closing of the front door a moment later. To facilitate his examination +of the button, the detective had seated himself in the armchair which +stood beside the desk. He half raised himself now to let the light +of the candle fall more clearly on the wiring--then he started up +altogether and threw a hasty glance at the mirrors above his head. A ray +of light had suddenly flashed down upon him--a ray of red light, and it +came reflected from the mirrors. Muller bit his lips to keep back the +betraying whistle. + +“What’s the matter?” asked the butler. “Did you drop anything?” + +“Yes, the wooden rim of the button,” replied Muller, telling the truth +this time. For he had held the little wooden circlet in his hands at the +moment when the red light, reflected down from the mirrors, struck full +upon his eyes. He had dropped it in his surprise and excitement. Franz +found the little ring in the centre of the room where it had rolled, +and the supposed electrician replaced it and rose to his feet, saying: +“There, I’ve finished now.” + +Franz did not recognise the double meaning in the words. “Yes, it’s all +right! I’ve finished here now,” Muller repeated to himself. For now he +knew beyond a doubt that the red light was a signal--and he knew +also for whom this signal was intended. It was a signal for Herbert +Thorne!--Herbert Thorne, whom no single thought or suspicion of Muller’s +had yet connected with the murder of Leopold Winkler. + +The detective was very much surprised and greatly excited. But Franz did +not notice it, and indeed a far keener observer than the slow-witted old +butler might have failed to see the sudden gleam which shot up in the +grey eyes behind the heavy spectacles, might have failed to notice the +tightening of the lips beneath the blond moustache, or the tenseness of +the slight frame under the assumed embonpoint. Muller’s every nerve was +tingling, but he had himself completely in hand. + +“What do we owe you?” asked Franz. + +“They’ll send you a bill from the office. It won’t amount to much. I +must be getting on now.” + +Muller hastened out of the door and down the street to the nearest cab +stand. There were not very many cab stands in this vicinity, and the +detective reasoned that Mrs. Bernauer would naturally have taken her +cab from the nearest station. He had heard her return in her carriage, +presumably the same in which she had started out. + +There was but one cab at the stand. Muller walked to it and laid his +hand on the door. + +“Oh, Jimmy! must I go out again?” asked the driver hoarsely. “Can’t you +see the poor beast is all wet from the last ride? We’ve just come in.” + He pointed with his whip to the tired-looking animal under his blanket. + +“Why, he does look warm. You must have been making a tour out into the +country,” said the blond gentleman in a friendly tone. + +“No, sir, not quite so far as that. I’ve just taken a woman to the main +telegraph office in the city and back again. But she was in a hurry and +he’s not a young horse, sir.” + +“Well, never mind, then; I can get another cab across the bridge,” + replied the stout blond man, turning away and strolling off leisurely +in the direction of the bridge. It was now quite dark, and a few +steps further on Muller could safely turn and take the road to his own +lodging. No one saw him go in, and in a few moments the real Muller, +slight, smooth-shaven, sat down at his desk, looking at the papers that +lay before him. They were three letters and an empty envelope. + +He took up the last, and compared it carefully with the envelope of one +of the letters found in Winkler’s room--the unsigned letter postmarked +Hietzing, September 24th. The two envelopes were exactly alike. They +were of the same size and shape, made of the same cream-tinted, heavy, +glossy paper, and the address was written by the same hand. This any +keen observer, who need not necessarily be an expert, could see. The +same hand which had addressed the envelope to Mrs. Adele Bernauer on +the letter which was postmarked “Venice,” about thirty-six hours +previous--this hand had, in an awkward and childish attempt at disguise, +written Winkler’s address on the envelope which bore the date of +September 24th. + +The writer of the harmless letter to Mrs. Bernauer, a letter which +chatted of household topics and touched lightly on the beauties of +Venice, was Mrs. Thorne. It was Mrs. Thorne, therefore, who, reluctantly +and in anger and distaste, had called Leopold Winkler to Hietzing, to +his death. + +And whose hand had fired the shot that caused his death? The question, +at this stage in Muller’s meditation, could hardly be called a question +any more. It was all too sadly clear to him now. Winkler met his death +at the hand of the husband, who, discovering the planned rendezvous, had +misunderstood its motive. + +For truly this had been no lovers’ meeting. It had been a meeting to +which the woman was driven by fear and hate; the man by greed of gain. +This was clearly proved by the 300 guldens found in the dead man’s +pocket, money enclosed in a delicate little envelope, sealed hastily, +and crumpled as if it had been carried in a hot and trembling hand. + +It was already known that Winkler never had any money except at certain +irregular intervals, when he appeared to have come into possession +of considerable sums. During these days he indulged in extravagant +pleasures and spent his money with a recklessness which proved that he +had not earned it by honest work. + +Leopold Winkler was a blackmailer. + +Colonel Leining, retired, the father of two such widely different +children, was doubtless a man of stern principles, and an army officer +as well, therefore a man with a doubly sensitive code of honour and a +social position to maintain; and this man, morbidly sensitive probably, +had a daughter who had inherited his sensitiveness and his high ideals +of honour, a daughter married to a rich husband. But he had another +child, a son without any sense of honour at all, who, although also an +officer, failed to live in a manner worthy his position. This son was +now in Marburg, where there were no expensive pleasures, no all-night +cafes and gambling dens, for a man to lose his time in, his money, and +his honour also. + +For such must have been the case with Colonel Leining’s son before his +exile to Marburg. The old butler had hinted at the truth. The portrait +drawn by Herbert Thorne, a picture of such technical excellence that it +was doubtless a good likeness also, had given an ugly illustration to +Franz’s remarks. And there was something even more tangible to prove it: +“Theo’s” letter from Marburg pleading with Winkler for “discretion and +silence,” not knowing (“let us hope he did not know!” murmured Muller +between set teeth) that the man who held him in his power because of +some rascality, was being paid for his silence by the Lieutenant’s +sister. + +It is easy to frighten a sensitive woman, so easy to make her believe +the worst! And there is little such a tender-hearted woman will not do +to save her aging father from pain and sorrow, perhaps even disgrace! + +It must have been in this way that Mrs. Thorne came into the power of +the scoundrel who paid with his life for his last attempt at blackmail. + +When Muller reached this point in his chain of thought, he closed his +eyes and covered his face with his hands, letting two pictures stand out +clear before his mental vision. + +He saw the little anxious group around the carriage in front of the +Thorne mansion. He saw the pale, frail woman leaning back on the +cushions, and the husband bending over her in tender care. And then he +saw Johann Knoll in his cell, a man with little manhood left in him, a +man sunk to the level of the brutes, a man who had already committed +one crime against society, and who could never rise to the mental or +spiritual standard of even the most mediocre of decent citizens. + +If Herbert Thorne were to suffer the just punishment for his deed of +doubly blind jealousy, then it was not only his own life, a life full +of gracious promise, that would be ruined, but the happiness of his +delicate, sweet-faced wife, who was doubtless still in blessed ignorance +of what had happened. And still one other would be dragged down by this +tragedy; a respected, upright man would bow his white hairs in disgrace. +Thorne’s father-in-law could not escape the scandal and his own share +in the responsibility for it. And to a veteran officer, bred in the +exaggerated social ethics of his profession, such a disgrace means ruin, +sometimes even voluntary death. + +“Oh, dear, if it had only been Knoll who did it,” said Muller with a +sigh that was almost a groan. + +Then he rose slowly and heavily, and slowly and heavily, as if borne +down by the weight of great weariness, he reached for his hat and coat +and left the house. + +Whether he wished it or not, he knew it was his duty to go on to the +bitter end on this trail he had followed up all day from the moment that +he caught that fleeting glimpse of Mrs. Bernauer’s haggard face at the +garden gate. He was almost angry with the woman, because she chanced to +look out of the gate at just that moment, showing him her face distorted +with anxiety. For it was her face that had drawn Muller to the trail, a +trail at the end of which misery awaited those for whom this woman had +worked for years, those whom she loved and who treated her as one of the +family. + +Muller knew now that the one-time nurse was in league with her former +charge; that Thorne and Adele Bernauer were in each other’s confidence; +that the man sat waiting for the signal which she was to give him, a +signal bringing so much disgrace and sorrow in its train. + +If the woman had not spied upon and betrayed her mistress, this terrible +event, which now weighed upon her own soul, would not have happened. + +“A faithful servant, indeed,” said Muller, with a harsh laugh. + +Then maturer consideration came and forced him to acknowledge that it +was indeed devotion that had swayed Adele Bernauer, devotion to her +master more than to her mistress. This was hardly to be wondered at. But +she had not thought what might come from her revelations, what had come +of them. For now her pet, the baby who had once lain in her arms, the +handsome, gifted man whom she adored with more than the love of many a +mother for the child of her own blood, was under the shadow of hideous +disgrace and doom, was the just prey of the law for open trial and +condemnation as a murderer. + +Muller sighed deeply once more and then came one of those moments +which he had spoken of to the unhappy woman that very day. He felt like +cursing the fatal gift that was his, the gift to see what was hidden +from others, this something within him that forced him relentlessly +onward until he had uncovered the truth, and brought misery to many. + +Muller need not do anything, he need simply do nothing. Not a soul +besides himself suspected the dwellers in the Thorne mansion of any +connection with the murder. If he were silent, nothing could be proven +against Knoll after all, except the robbery which he himself had +confessed. Then the memory of the terror in the tramp’s little reddened +eyes came back to the detective’s mind. + +“A human soul after all, and a soul trembling in the shadow of a great +fear. And even he’s a better man than the blackmailer who was killed. A +miscarriage of justice will often make a criminal of a poor fellow whose +worst fault is idleness.” Muller’s face darkened as the things of the +past, shut down in the depths of his own soul, rose up again. “No; +that’s why I took up this work. Justice must be done--but it’s bitter +hard sometimes. I could almost wish now that I hadn’t seen that face at +the gate.” + + + + +CHAPTER X. MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION + + +It was striking eight as Muller came out of a cafe in the heart of the +city. He had been in there but a few moments, for his purpose was merely +to look through the Army lists of the current year. The result of his +search proved the correctness of his conclusions. + +There was a Lieutenant Theobald Leining in the single infantry regiment +stationed at Marburg. + +Muller took a cab and drove to the main telegraph office. He asked for +the original of the telegram which had been sent that afternoon to the +address; “Herbert Thorne, Hotel Danieli, Venice.” This closed the circle +of the chain. + +The detective re-entered his waiting cab and drove back to Hietzing. He +told the driver to halt at the corner of the street on which fronted the +Thorne mansion and to wait for him there. He himself walked slowly down +the quiet Street and rang the bell at the iron gate. + +“You come to this house again?” asked Franz, starting back in alarm when +he saw who it was that had called him to the door. + +“Yes, my good friend; I want to get into this house again. But not on +false pretenses this time. And before you let me in you can go upstairs +and ask Mrs. Bernauer if she will receive me in her own room--in her own +room, mind. But make haste; I am in a hurry.” The detective’s tone was +calm and he strolled slowly up and down in front of the gate when he had +finished speaking. + +The old butler hesitated a moment, then walked into the house. When he +returned, rather more quickly, he looked alarmed and his tone was very +humble as he asked Muller to follow him. + +When the detective entered Mrs. Bernauer’s room the housekeeper rose +slowly from the large armchair in front of her table. She was very pale +and her eyes were full of terror. She made no move to speak, so Muller +began the conversation. He put down his hat, brought up a chair and +placed it near the window at which the housekeeper had been sitting. +Then he sat down and motioned to her to do the same. + +“You are a faithful servant, all too faithful,” he began. “But you are +faithful only to your master. You have no devotion for his wife.” + +“You are mistaken,” replied the woman in a low tone. + +“Perhaps, but I do not think so. One does not betray the people to whom +one is devoted.” + +Mrs. Bernauer looked up in surprise. “What--what do you know?” she +stammered. + +Muller did not answer the question directly, but continued: “Mrs. +Thorne had a meeting recently with a strange man. It was not their first +meeting, and somehow you discovered it. But before this last meeting +occurred you spoke to the lady’s husband about it, and it was arranged +between you that you should give him a signal which would mean to him, +‘Your wife is going to the meeting.’ Mrs. Thorne did go to the meeting. +This happened on Monday evening at about quarter past nine. Some one, +who was in the neighbourhood by chance, saw a woman’s figure hurrying +through the garden, down to the other street, and a moment after this, +the light of this lamp in your window was seen to go out. A hand had +turned down the wick--it was your hand. + +“This was the signal to Mr. Thorne. The mirrors over his desk reflected +in his eyes the light he could not otherwise have seen as he sat by his +own window. The signal, therefore, told him that the time had come to +act. This same chance watcher, who had seen the woman going through the +garden, had seen the lamp go out, and now saw a man’s figure hurrying +down the path the woman had taken. The man as well as the woman came +from this house and went in the direction of the lower end of the +garden. + +“A little while later a shot was heard, and the next morning Leopold +Winkler was found with a bullet in his back. The crime was generally +taken to be a murder for the sake of robbery. But you and I, and Mr. +Herbert Thorne, know very well that it was not. + +“You know this since Wednesday noon. Then it was that the idea suddenly +came to you, falling like a heavy weight on your soul, the idea that +Winkler might not have been killed for the sake of robbery, but because +of the hatred that some one bore him. Then it was that you lost your +appetite suddenly, that you drove into the city with the excuse of +errands to do, in order to read the papers without being seen by any +one who knew you. When you came home you searched everywhere in your +master’s room: you made an excuse for this search, but what you wanted +to find out was whether he had left anything that could betray him. Your +fright had already confused your mind. You were searching probably for +the weapon from which he had fired the bullet. You did not realise that +he would naturally have taken it with him and thrown it somewhere into +a ravine or river beside the railway track between here and Venice. How +could you think for a moment that he would leave it behind him, here in +his room, or dropped in the garden? But this was doubtless due to the +confusion owing to your sudden alarm and anxiety--a confusion which +prevented you from realising the danger of the two peculiarly hung +mirrors in Mr. Thorne’s room. These should have been taken away at once. +This morning my sudden appearance at the garden gate prevented you from +making an examination of the place of the murder. Your swoon, after I +had spoken to you in the butler’s room, showed me that you were carrying +a burden too heavy for your strength. Finally, this afternoon, you drove +to the main telegraph office in the city, as you thought that it would +be safer to telegraph Mr. Thorne from there. Your telegram was very +cleverly written. But you might have spared the last sentence, the +request that Mr. Thorne should get the Viennese papers of these last +days. Believe me, he has already read these papers. Who could be more +interested in what they have to tell than he?” + +The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller’s long +speech. Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When the +detective ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room for some +time. Finally Muller asked: “Is this what happened?” His voice was +cutting and the glance of his eyes keen and sharp. + +Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller waited a +moment more and then he said quietly: “Then it is true.” + +“Yes, it is true,” came the answer in a low hoarse tone. + +Again there was silence for an appreciable interval. + +“If you had been faithful to your mistress as well, if you had not +spied upon her and betrayed her to her husband, all this might not have +happened,” continued the detective pitilessly, adding with a bitter +smile: “And it was not even a case of sinful love. Your mistress had +no such relations with this Winkler as you--I say this to excuse +you--seemed to believe.” + +Adele Bernauer sprang up. “I do not need this excuse,” she cried, +trembling in excitement. “I do not need any excuse. What I have done +I did after due consideration and in the realisation that it was +absolutely necessary to do it. Never for one moment did I believe that +my mistress was untrue to her husband. Never for one moment could I +believe such an evil thing of her, for I knew her to be an angel of +goodness. A woman who is deceiving her husband is not as unhappy as this +poor lady has been for months. A woman does not write to a successful +lover with so much sorrow, with so many tears. I had long suspected +these meetings before I discovered them, but I knew that these meetings +had nothing whatever to do with love. Because I knew this, and only +because I knew it, did I tell my master about them. I wanted him to +protect his wife, to free her from the wretch who had obtained some +power over her, I knew not how.” + +“Ah! then that was it?” exclaimed Muller, and his eyes softened as he +looked at the sobbing woman who had sunk back into her chair. He laid +his hand on her cold fingers and continued gently: “Then you have really +done right, you have done only what was your duty. I pity you deeply +that you--” + +“That I have brought suspicion upon my master by my own foolishness?” + she finished the sentence with a pitifully sad smile. “If I could have +controlled myself, could have kept calm, nobody would have had a thought +or a suspicion that he--my pet, my darling--that it was he who was +forced, through some terrible circumstance of which I do not know, to +free his wife, in this manner, from the wretch who persecuted her.” + +Mrs. Bernauer wrung her hands and gazed with despairing eyes at the man +who sat before her, himself deeply moved. + +Again there was a long silence. Muller could not find a word to comfort +the weeping woman. There was no longer anger in his heart, nothing but +the deepest pity. He took out his handkerchief and wiped away the drops +that were dimming his own eyes. + +“You know that I will have to go to Venice?” he asked. + +Mrs. Bernauer sprang up. “Officially?” she gasped, pale to her lips. + +He nodded. “Yes, officially of course. I must make a report at once to +headquarters about what I have learned. You can imagine yourself what +the next steps will be.” + +Her deep sigh showed him that she knew as well as he. In the same +second, however, a thought shot through her brain, changing her whole +being. Her pale face glowed, her dulled eyes shot fire, and the fingers +with which she held Muller’s hand tightly clasped, were suddenly +feverishly hot. + +“And you--you are still the only person who knows the truth?” she gasped +in his ear. + +The detective nodded. “And you thought you might silence me?” he asked +calmly. “That will not be easy--for you can imagine that I did not come +unarmed.” + +Adele Bernauer smiled sadly. “I would take even this way to save Herbert +Thorne from disgrace, if I thought that it could be successful, and if +I had not thought of a milder way to silence a man who cannot be a +millionaire. I have served in this house for thirty-two years, I have +been treated with such generosity that I have been able to save almost +every cent of my wages for my old age. With the interest that has rolled +up, my little fortune must amount to nearly eight thousand gulden. I +will gladly give it to you, if you will but keep silence, if you will +not tell what you have discovered.” She spoke gaspingly and sank down on +her knees before she had finished. + +“And Mr. Thorne also--” she continued hastily, as she saw no sign of +interest in Muller’s calm face. Then her voice failed her. + +The detective looked down kindly on her grey hairs and answered: “No, +no, my good woman; that won’t do. One cannot conceal one crime by +committing another. I myself would naturally not listen to your +suggestion for a moment, but I am also convinced that Mr. Thorne, to +whom you are so devoted, and who, I acknowledge, pleased me the very +first sight I had of him--I am convinced that he would not agree for a +moment to any such solution of the problem.” + +“Then I can only hope that you will not find him in Venice,” replied +Mrs. Bernauer, with utter despair in her voice and eyes. + +“I am not at all certain that I will find him in Venice when I leave +here to-morrow morning,” said Muller calmly. + +“Oh! then you don’t want to find him! Oh God! how good, how +inexpressibly good you are,” stammered the woman, seizing at some vague +hope in her distraught heart. + +“No, you are mistaken again, Mrs. Bernauer. I will find Mr. Thorne +wherever he may be. But I may arrive in Venice too late to meet him +there. He may already be on his way home.” + +“On his way home?” cried the housekeeper in terror, staggering where she +stood. + +Muller led her gently to a chair. “Sit down here and listen to me +calmly. This is what I mean. If Mr. Thorne has seen in the papers that a +man has been arrested and accused of the murder of Leopold Winkler, then +he will take the next train back and give himself up to the authorities. +That he makes no such move as long as he thinks there is no suspicion +on any one else, no possibility that any one else could suffer the +consequences of his deed--is quite comprehensible--it is only natural +and human.” + +Adele Bernauer sighed deeply again and heavy tears ran down her cheeks, +in strange contrast to the ghost of a smile that parted her lips and +shone in her dimmed eyes. + +“You know him better than I do,” she murmured almost inaudibly, “you +know him better than I do, and I have known him for so long.” + +A moment later Muller had parted from the housekeeper with a warm, +sincere pressure of the hand. + +“Lieutenant Theobald Leining was here on a visit to his sister last +March, wasn’t he?” the detective asked as Franz led him out of the gate. + +“Yes, sir; the Lieutenant was here just about that time,” answered the +old man. + +“And he left here on the 16th of March?” + +“On the 16th? Why, it may have been--yes, it was the 16th--that is our +lady’s birthday. He went away that day.” Franz bowed a farewell to this +stranger who began to appear uncanny in his eyes, and shutting the gate +carefully he returned to the house. + +“What does the man want anyway?” he murmured to himself, shivering +involuntarily. Without knowing why he turned his steps towards Mrs. +Bernauer’s room. He opened the door hesitatingly as if afraid of what he +might see there. He would not have been at all surprised if he had found +the housekeeper fainting on the floor as before. + +But she was not fainting this time. She was very much alive, for, to +Franz’s great astonishment, she was busied at the packing of a valise. + +“Are you going away too?” asked Franz. Mrs. Bernauer answered in a voice +that was dull with weariness: “Yes, Franz, I am going away. Will you +please look up the time-tables of the Southern railroad and let me know +when the morning express leaves? And please order a cab in time for it. +I will depend upon you to look after the house in my absence. You +can imagine that it must be something very important that takes me to +Venice.” + +“To Venice? Why, what are you going to Venice for?” + +“Never mind about that, Franz, but help me to pray that I may get there +in time.” + +She almost pushed the old man out of the door with these last words and +shut and locked it behind him. + +She wanted to be alone with this hideous fear that was clutching at her +heart. For it was not to Franz that she could tell the thoughts that +came to her lips now as she sank down, wringing her hands, before a +picture of the Madonna: “Oh Holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord, plead for +me! let me be with my dear mistress when the terrible time comes +and they take her husband away from her, or, if preferring death to +disgrace, he ends his life by his own hand!” + + + + +CHAPTER XI. IN THE POLICE COURT + + +Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening, finishing +up some important papers. The quiet of an undisturbed night watch had +settled down on the busy police station. An occasional low murmur of +whispering voices floated up from the guardroom below, but otherwise the +stillness was broken only by the scratching of the commissioner’s pen +and the rustle of the paper as he turned the leaves. It was a silence so +complete that a light step on the stair outside and the gentle turning +of the doorknob was heard distinctly and the commissioner looked up with +almost a start to see who was coming to his room so late. Joseph Muller +stood in the open door, awaiting his chief’s official recognition. + +“Oh! it’s you, Muller. So late? Come in. Anything new?” asked the +commissioner. “Have you succeeded in drawing a confession from that +stubborn tramp yet? You’ve been interviewing him, I take it?” + +“Yes, I had a long talk with Johann Knoll to-day.” + +“Well, that ought to help matters along. Has he confessed? What could +you get out of him?” + +“Nothing, or almost nothing more than he told us here in the station, +sir. + +“The man’s incredibly stubborn,” said the commissioner. “If he could +only be made to understand that a free confession would benefit him more +than any one else! Well, don’t look so down-cast about it, Muller. This +thing is going to take longer than we thought at first for such a simple +affair. But it’s only a question of time until the man comes to his +senses. You’ll get him to talk soon. You always do. And even if you +should fail here, this matter is not so very important, when we think of +all the other things you have done.” Muller, standing front of the desk, +shook his head sadly. + +“But I haven’t failed here, sir. More’s the pity, I had almost said.” + +“What!” The commissioner looked up in surprise. “I thought you just said +that you couldn’t get anything more out of the accused.” + +“Knoll has told us all he knows, sir. He did not murder Leopold +Winkler.” + +“Hmph!” The commissioner’s exclamation had a touch of acidity in it. +“Then, if he didn’t murder him, who did?” + +“Herbert Thorne, painter, living in the Thorne mansion in B. Street, +Hietzing, now in Venice, Hotel Danieli. I ask for a warrant for his +arrest, sir, and orders to start for Venice on the early morning express +to-morrow.” + +“Muller!... what the deuce does all this mean?” The commissioner sprang +up, his face flushing deeply as he leaned over the desk staring at the +sad quiet face of the little man opposite. “What are you talking about? +What does all this mean?” + +“It means, sir, that we now know who committed the murder in Hietzing. +Johann Knoll is innocent of anything more than the theft confessed by +himself. He took the purse and watch from the senseless form of the just +murdered man. The body was warm and still supple and the tramp supposed +the victim to be merely intoxicated. His story was in every respect +true, sir.” + +The commissioner flushed still deeper. “And who do you say murdered this +man?” + +“Herbert Thorne, sir. + +“But Thorne! I know of him... have even a slight personal acquaintance +with him. Thorne is a rich man, of excellent family. Why should he +murder and rob an obscure clerk like this Winkler?” + +“He did not rob him sir, Knoll did that.” + +“Oh, yes. But why should Thorne commit murder on this man who scarcely +touched his life at any point... It’s incredible! Muller! Muller! are +you sure you are not letting your imagination run away with you again? +It is a serious thing to make such an accusation against any man, much +less against a man in Thorne’s position. Are you sure of what you are +saying?” The commissioner’s excitement rendered him almost inarticulate. +The shock of the surprise occasioned by the detective’s words produced a +feeling of irritation... a phenomenon not unusual in the minds of worthy +but pedantic men of affairs when confronted by a startling new thought. + +“I am quite sure of what I am saying, sir. I have just heard the +confession of one who might be called an accomplice of the murderer.” + +“It is incredible... incredible! An accomplice you say?... who is +this accomplice? Might it not be some one who has a grudge against +Thorne--some one who is trying to purposely mislead you?” + +“I am not so easily deceived or misled, sir. Every evidence points to +Thorne, and the confession I have just heard was made by a woman who +loves him, who has loved and cared for him from his babyhood. There is +not the slightest doubt of it, sir.” + +Muller moved a step nearer the desk, gazing firmly in the eyes of the +excited commissioner. The sadness on the detective’s face had given way +to a gleam of pride that flushed his sallow cheek and brightened his +grey eyes. It was one of those rare moments when Muller allowed +himself a feeling of triumph in his own power, in spite of official +subordination and years of habit. His slight frame seemed to grow taller +and broader as he faced the Chief with an air of quiet determination +that made him at once master of the situation. His voice was as low as +ever but it took on a keen incisive note that compelled attention, as he +continued: “Herbert Thorne is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. Now that +he knows an innocent man is under accusation for his deed it is only +a question of time before he will come himself to confess. He will +doubtless make this confession to me, if I go to Venice to see him, and +to bring him back to trial.” + +The commissioner could doubt no longer. Pedantic though he was, +Commissioner von Riedau possessed sufficient insight to know the truth +when it was presented to him with such conviction, and also sufficient +insight to have recognised the gifts of the man before him. “But why... +why?” he murmured, sinking back into his chair, and shaking his head in +bewilderment. + +“Winkler was a miserable scoundrel, sir, a blackmailer. Thorne did only +what any decent man would have felt like doing in his place. But justice +must be done.” + +Muller’s elation vanished and a deep sigh welled up from his heart. The +commissioner nodded slowly, and glanced across the desk almost timidly. +This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly the hidden deeps +of a dark mystery had opened before him, deeps already sounded by +the little man here who had gone so quietly about his work while the +official police, represented in this case by Commissioner von Riedau +himself, had sat calmly waiting for an innocent man to confess to a +crime he had not committed! It was humiliating. The commissioner flushed +again and his eyes sank to the floor. + +“Tell me what you know, Muller,” he said finally. + +Muller told the story of his experiences in the Thorne mansion, told of +the slight clues which led him to take an interest in the house and its +inmates, until finally the truth began to glimmer up out of the depths. +The commissioner listened with eager interest. “Then you believed this +elaborate yarn told by the tramp?” he interrupted once, at the beginning +of the narrative. + +“Why, yes, sir, just because it was so elaborate. A man like Knoll would +not have had the mind to invent such a story. It must have been true, on +the face of it.” + +The commissioner’s eyes sank again, and he did not speak until the +detective had reached the end of his story. Then he opened a drawer in +his desk and took out a bundle of official blank-forms. + +“It is wonderful! Wonderful! Muller, this case will go on record as one +of your finest achievements--and we thought it was so simple.” + +“Oh, indeed, sir, chance favoured me at every turn,” replied Muller +modestly. + +“There is no such thing as chance,” said the commissioner. “We might as +well be honest with ourselves. Any one might have seen, doubtless +did see, all the things you saw, but no one else had the insight +to recognise their value, nor the skill to follow them up to such a +conclusion. But it’s a sad case, a sad case. I never wrote a warrant +with a heavier heart. Thorne is a true-hearted gentleman, while the +scoundrel he killed...” + +“Yes, sir, I feel that way about it myself. I can confess now that there +was one moment when I was ready to--well, just to say nothing. + +“And let us blunder on in our official stupidity and blindness?” + interrupted the commissioner, a faint smile breaking the gravity of his +face. “We certainly gave you every opportunity.” + +“But there’s an innocent man accused--suffering fear of death--justice +must be done. But, sir,” Muller took the warrant the commissioner handed +across the table to him. “May I not make it as easy as I can for Mr. +Thorne--I mean, bring him here with as little publicity as possible? His +wife is with him in Venice.” + +“Poor little woman, it’s terrible! Do whatever you think best, Muller. +You’re a queer mixture. Here you’ve hounded this man down, followed hot +on his trail when not a soul but yourself connected him in any way with +the murder. And now you’re sorry for him! A soft heart like yours is a +dangerous possession for a police detective, Muller. It’s no aid to our +business.” + +“No, sir, I know that.” + +“Well take care it doesn’t run away with you this time. Don’t let +Herbert Thorne escape, however much pity you may feel for him.” + +“I doubt if he’ll want to sir, as long as another is in prison for his +crime. + +“But he may make his confession and then try to escape the disgrace.” + +“Yes, sir, I’ve thought of that. That’s why I want to go to Venice +myself. And then, there’s the poor young wife, he must think of her when +the desire comes to end his own life...” + +“Yes! Yes! This terrible thing has shaken us both up more than a little. +I feel exhausted. You look tired yourself, Muller. Go home now, and get +some rest for your early start. Good-night.” + +“Good-night, sir.” + + + + +CHAPTER XII. ON THE LIDO + + +A wonderfully beautiful night lay over the fair old city of Venice +when the Northern Express thundered over the long bridge to the railway +station. A passenger who was alone in a second-class compartment stood +up to collect his few belongings. Suddenly he looked up as he heard a +voice, a voice which he had learned to know only very recently, calling +to him from the door of the compartment. + +“Why! you were in the train too? You have come to Venice?” exclaimed +Joseph Muller in astonishment as he saw Mrs. Bernauer standing there +before him. + +“Yes, I have come to Venice too. I must be with my dear lady--when--when +Herbert--” She had begun quite calmly, but she did not finish her +sentence, for loud sobs drowned the words. + +“You were in the next compartment? Why didn’t you come in here with me? +It would have made this journey shorter for both of us.” + +“I had to be alone,” said the pale woman and then she added: “I only +came to you now to ask you where I must go.” + +“I think we two had better go to the Hotel Bauer. Let me arrange things +for you. Mrs. Thorne must not see you until she has been prepared for +your coming. I will arrange that with her husband.” + +The two took each other’s hands. They had won respect and sympathy for +each other, this quiet man who went so relentlessly and yet so pityingly +about his duty in the interest of justice--and the devoted woman whose +faithfulness had brought about such a tragedy. + +The train had now entered the railway station. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer +stood a few minutes later on the banks of the Grand Canal and entered +one of the many gondolas waiting there. The moon glanced back from +the surface of the water broken into ripples under the oars of the +gondoliers; it shone with a magic charm on the old palaces that stood +knee-deep in the lagoons, and threw heavy shadows over the narrow +water-roads on which the little dark boats glided silently forward. +In most of the gondolas coming from the station excited voices and +exclamations of delight broke the calm of the moonlit evening as the +tourists rejoiced in the beauty that is Venice. + +But in the gondola in which Muller and Mrs. Bernauer sat there was deep +silence, silence broken only by a sobbing sigh that now and then burst +from the heart of the haggard woman. There were few travellers entering +Venice on one of its world-famous moonlit nights who were so sad at +heart as were these two. + +And there were few travellers in Venice as heavy hearted as was the man +who next morning took one of the earliest boats out to the Lido. + +Muller and Mrs. Bernauer were on the same boat watching him from a +hidden corner. The woman’s sad eyes gazed yearningly at the haggard +face of the tall man who stood looking over the railing of the little +steamer. Her own tears came as she saw the gloom in the once shining +grey eyes she loved so well. + +Muller stood beside Mrs. Bernauer. His eyes too, keen and quick, +followed Herbert Thorne as he stood by the rail or paced restlessly up +and down; his face too showed pity and concern. He also saw that Thorne +held in his hand a bundle of newspapers which were still enclosed in +their mailing wrappers. The papers were pressed in a convulsive grip of +the artist’s long slender fingers. + +Muller knew then that Thorne had not yet learned of the arrest of Johann +Knoll. At the very earliest, Thursday’s papers, which brought the news, +could not reach him before Friday morning. But these newspapers (Muller +saw that they were German papers) were still in their wrappings. They +were probably Viennese papers for which he had telegraphed and which +had just arrived. His anxiety had not allowed him to read them in the +presence of his wife. He had sought the solitude of early morning on the +Lido, that he might learn, unobserved, what terrors fate had in store +for him. + +It was doubtless Mrs. Bernauer’s telegram which caused his present +anxiety, a telegram which had reached him only the night before when he +returned with his wife from an excursion to Torcello. It had caused him +a sleepless night, for it had brought the realisation that his faithful +nurse suspected the truth about the murder in the quiet lane. The +telegram had read as follows: “Have drawn money and send it at once. +Further journey probably necessary, visitor in house to-day. Connected +with occurrence in -- Street. Please read Viennese papers. News and +orders for me please send to address A.B. General Postoffice.” + +This telegram told Herbert Thorne the truth. And the papers which +arrived this morning were to tell him more--what he did not yet know. +But his heart was drawn with terrors which threw lines in his face and +made him look ten years older than on that Tuesday morning when the +detective saw him setting out on his journey with his wife. + +When the boat landed at the Lido, Thorne walked off down the road which +led to the ocean side. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer entered the waiting +tramway that took them in the same direction. They dismounted in front +of the bathing establishment, stepped behind a group of bushes and +waited there for Thorne. In about ten minutes they saw his tall figure +passing on the other side of the road. He was walking down to the beach, +holding the still unopened papers in his hand. + +A narrow strip of park runs along parallel to the beach in the direction +towards Mala Mocco. Muller and Mrs Bernauer walked along through this +park on the path which was nearest the water. The detective watched the +rapidly moving figure ahead of them, while the woman’s tear-dimmed eyes +veiled everything else to her but the path along which her weary feet +hastened. Thorne halted about half way between the bathing establishment +and the customs barracks, looked around to see if he were alone and +threw himself down on the sand. + +He had chosen a good place. To the right and to the left were high sand +dunes, before him was the broad surface of the ocean, and at his back +was rising ground, bare sand with here and there a scraggly bush or +a group of high thistles. Herbert Thorne believed himself to be alone +here... as far as a man can be alone over whom hangs the shadow of a +crime. He groaned aloud and hid his pale face in his hands. + +In his own distress he did not hear the deep sigh--which, just above +him on the edge of the knoll, broke from the breast of a woman who was +suffering scarcely less than he; he did not know that two pair of sad +eyes looked down upon him. And now into the eyes of the watching woman +there shot a gleam of terror. For Herbert Thorne had taken a revolver +from his pocket and laid it quietly beside him. Then he took out a +notebook and a pencil and placed them beside the weapon. Then slowly, +reluctantly, he opened one of the papers. + +A light breeze from the shining sea before him carried off the wrapping. +The paper which he opened shook in his trembling hands, as his eyes +sought the reports of the murder. He gave a sudden start and a tremor +ran through his frame. He had come to the spot which told of the arrest +of another man, who was under shadow of punishment for the crime which +he himself had committed. When he had read this report through, he +turned to the other papers. He was quite calm now, outwardly calm at +least. + +When he had finished reading the papers he laid them in a heap beside +him and reached out for his notebook. As he opened it the two watchers +saw that between its first pages there was a sealed and addressed +letter. Two other envelopes were contained in the notebook, envelopes +which were also addressed although still open. Muller’s sharp eyes could +read the addresses as Thorne took them up in turn, looking long at each +of them. One envelope was addressed in Italian to the Chief of Police of +Venice, the other to the Chief of Police in Vienna. + +The two watchers leaned forward, scarcely three yards above the man in +whom they were interested. Thorne tore out two leaves of his notebook +and wrote several lines on each of them. One note, he placed in the +envelope addressed to the Viennese police and sealed it carefully. Then +he put the sealed letter with the second note in the other envelope, the +one addressed to the Italian police. He put all the letters back in his +notebook, holding it together with a rubber strap, and replaced it in +his pocket. + +Then he stretched out his hand toward the revolver. + +The sand came rattling down upon him, the thistles bent over creakingly +and two figures appeared beside him. + +“There’s time enough for that yet, Mr. Thorne,” said the man at whom the +painter gazed up in bewilderment. And then this man took the revolver +quietly from his hand and hid it in his own pocket. + +Thorne pressed his teeth down on his lips until the blood came. He +could not speak; he looked first at the stranger who had mastered him so +completely, and then, in dazed astonishment, at the woman who had sunk +down beside him in the sand, clasping his hand in both of hers. + +“Adele! Adele! Why are you here?” he stammered finally. + +“I want to be with you--in this hour,” she answered, looking at him with +eyes of worship. “I want to be with my dear lady--to comfort her--to +protect her when--when--” + +“When they arrest me?” Thorne finished the sentence himself. Then +turning to Muller he continued: “And that is why you are here?” + +“Yes, Mr. Thorne. I have a warrant for your arrest in my pocket. But I +think it will be unnecessary to make use of it in the customary official +way through the authorities here. I see that you have written to both +police stations--confessing your deed. This will amount to a voluntary +giving up of yourself to the authorities, therefore all that is +necessary is that I return with you in the same train which takes you to +Vienna. But I must ask you for those two letters, for until you yourself +give them to the police authorities in my presence, it is my duty to +keep them.” + +Muller had seldom found his official duty as difficult as it was now. +His words came haltingly and great drops stood out on his forehead. + +The painter rose from the sand and he too wiped his face, which was +drawn in agony. + +“Herbert, Herbert!” cried Adele Bernauer suddenly. “Oh, Herbert, you +will live, you will! Promise me, you will not think of suicide, it would +kill your wife--” + +She lay on her knees before him in the sand. He looked down at her +gently and with a gesture which seemed to be a familiar one of days long +past, he stroked the face that had grown old and worn in these hours of +fear for him. + +“Yes, you dear good soul, I will live on, I will take upon myself my +punishment for killing a scoundrel. The poor man whom they have arrested +in my place must not linger in the fear of death. I am ready, sir. + +“My name is Muller--detective Muller.” + +“Joseph Muller, the famous detective Muller?” asked Thorne with a sad +smile. “I have had little to do with the police but by chance I have +heard of your fame. I might have known; they tell me you are one from +whom the truth can never remain hidden.” + +“My duty is not always an easy one,” said Muller. + +“Thank you. Dispose of me as you will. I do not wish any privileges that +others would not have, Mr. Muller. Here is my written confession and +here am I myself. Shall we go now?” Herbert Thorne handed the detective +his notebook with its important contents and then walked slowly back +along the road he had come. + +Muller walked a little behind him, while Mrs. Bernauer was at his side. +As in days long past, they walked hand in hand. + +With eyes full of pity Muller watched them, and he heard Thorne give his +old nurse orders for the care of his wife. She was to take Mrs. Thorne +to Graz to her father, then to return herself to Vienna and take care of +the house as usual, until his attorney could settle up his affairs and +sell the property. For Thorne said that neither he nor his wife would +ever want to set foot in the house again. He spoke calmly, he thought of +everything--he thought even of the possibility that he might have to pay +the death penalty for his deed. + +For who could tell how the authorities would judge this murder? + +It had indeed been a murder by merest chance only. Thorne told his old +nurse all about it. When she had given him the signal he had hurried +down into the garden, and walking quietly along the path, he had +found his wife at the garden gate in conversation with a man who was +a stranger to him. That part of their talk which he overheard told him +that the man was a blackmailer, and that he was making money on the fact +that he had caught Theobald Leining cheating at cards. + +This chance had put the officer into Winkler’s power. The clerk knew +that he could get nothing from the guilty man himself, so he had turned +to the latter’s sister, who was rich, and had threatened to bring about +a disgraceful scandal if she did not pay for his silence. For more than +a year he had been getting money from her by means of these threats. +All this was clear from the conversation. The man spoke in tones of +impertinence, or sneering obsequiousness, the woman’s voice showed +contempt and hatred. + +Thorne’s blood began to boil. His fingers tightened about the revolver +which he had brought with him to be ready for any emergency, and he +stepped designedly upon a twig which broke under his feet with a noise. +He wanted to frighten his wife and send her back to the house. This was +what did occur. But the blackmailer was alarmed as well and fled hastily +from the garden when he realised that he was not alone with his victim. +Thorne followed the man’s disappearing figure, calling him to halt. He +did not call loudly for he too wanted to avoid a scandal. His intention +was to force the man to follow him into the house, to get his written +confession of blackmail--then to finish him off with a large sum once +for all and kick him out of the place. + +In this manner Herbert Thorne thought to free himself and his wife from +the persecutions of the rascal. His heart was filled with hatred towards +the man. For since Mrs. Bernauer had told him what she had discovered, +he knew that it was because of this wretch that his once so happy wife +was losing her strength, her health and her peace of mind. + +He followed the fleeing man and called to him several times to halt. +Finally Winkler half turned and called out over his shoulder: “You’d +better leave me alone! Do you want all Vienna to know that your +brother-in-law ought to be in jail?” + +These words robbed Thorne of all control. He pressed the trigger under +his finger and the bullet struck the man before him, who had turned +to continue his flight, full in the back. “And that is how I became a +murderer.” With these words Herbert Thorne concluded his narrative. He +appeared quite calm now. He was really calmer, for the strain of +the deed, which was justified in his eyes, was not so great upon his +conscience as had been the strain of the secret of it. + +In his own eyes he had only killed a beast who chanced to bear the form +of a man. But of course in the eyes of the world this was a murder like +any other, and the man who had committed it knew that he was under the +ban of the law, that it was only a chance that the arm of justice had +not yet reached out for him. And now this arm had reached out for him, +although it was no longer necessary. For Herbert Thorne was not the man +to allow another to suffer in his stead. + +As soon as he knew that another had been arrested and was under +suspicion of the murder, he knew that there was nothing more for him but +open confession. But he wished to avoid a scandal even now. If he +died by his own hand, then the first cause of all this trouble, his +brother-in-law’s rascality, could still be hidden. + +But now his care was all in vain and Herbert Thorne knew that he must +submit to the inevitable. Side by side with his old friend he sat on the +deck of the boat that took them back to the Riva dei Schiavoni. Muller +sat at some distance from them. The pale sad-faced woman, and the pale +sad-faced man had much to say to each other that a stranger might not +hear. + +When the little boat reached the landing stage, there were but a few +steps more to the door of the Hotel Danieli. From a balcony on the first +floor a young woman stood looking down onto the canal. She too was pale +and her eyes were heavy with anxiety. She had been pale and anxious even +then, the day when she left the beautiful old house in the quiet street, +to start on this pleasure trip to Venice. + +It had been no pleasure trip to her. She had seen the change in her +husband, a change that struck deep into his very being and altered him +in everything except in his love and tender care for her. “Oh, why is +it? what is the matter?” she asked her self a thousand times a day. +Could it be possible that he had discovered the secret which tortured +her, the only secret she had ever had from him, the secret she had +longed to confess to him a hundred times but had lacked courage to do +it. + +For she had sinned deeply against her husband, she knew. Her fear and +her confusion had driven her deeper and deeper into the waters of +deceit until it was impossible for her to find the words that would have +brought help and comfort from the man whom she loved more than anything +else in the world. In the very earliest stages of Winkler’s persecution +she had lost her head completely and instead of confessing to her +husband and asking for his aid and protection, she had pawned the rich +jewels which had been his wedding present to get the money demanded +by the blackmailer. In her ignorance she had thought that this one sum +would satisfy him. + +But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved from +her pin money, from her household allowance, thus taking what she had +intended to use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, and her +jewels gone forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a terror which +sapped her strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. Any hour +might bring discovery, a discovery which she feared would shake her +husband’s love for her. The poor weak little woman grew pale and ill. +She wrote finally to her step-brother, but he could think of no way +out; he wrote only that if the matter came to a scandal there would be +nothing for him to do but to kill himself. This was one reason more for +her silence, and Mrs. Thorne faded to a wan shadow of her former sunny +self. + +As she looked down from the balcony, she was like a woman suffering +from a deathly illness. A new terror had come to her heart because her +husband had gone away so early without telling her why or whither he had +gone. When she saw him coming towards the door of the hotel, pale and +drooping, and when she saw Mrs. Bernauer beside him, her heart seemed to +stand still. She crept back from the window and stood in the middle of +the room as Herbert Thorne and his former nurse entered. + +“What has happened?” This was all she could say as she looked into the +distraught face of the housekeeper, into her husband’s sad eyes. + +He led her to a chair, then knelt beside her and told her all. + +“Outside the door stands the man who will take me back to Vienna--and +you, my dearest, you must go to your father.” He concluded his story +with these words. + +She bent down over him and kissed him. “‘No, I am going with you,” she +said softly, strangely calm; “why should I leave you now? Is it not I +who am the cause of this dreadful thing?” + +And then she made her confession, much too late. And she went with him, +back to the city of their home. It seemed to them both quite natural +that she should do so. + +When the Northern Express rolled out of Venice that afternoon, three +people sat together in a compartment, the curtains of which were drawn +close. They were the unhappy couple and their faithful servant. And +outside in the corridor of the railway carriage, a small, slight man +walked up and down--up and down. He had pressed a gold coin into the +conductor’s hand, with the words: “The party in there do not wish to be +disturbed; the lady is ill.” + +Herbert Thorne’s trial took place several weeks later. Every possible +extenuating circumstance was brought to bear upon his sentence. Five +years only was to be the term of his imprisonment, his punishment for +the crime of a single moment of anger. + +His wife waited for him in patient love. She did not go to Graz, but +continued to live in the old mansion with the mansard roof. Her father +was with her. The brother Theobald, the cause of all this suffering to +those who had shielded him at the expense of their own happiness, had at +last done the only good deed of his life--had put an end to his useless +existence with his own hand. + +Father and daughter waited patiently for the return of the man who had +sinned and suffered for their sake. They spoke of him only in terms of +the tenderest affection and respect. + +And indeed, seldom has any condemned murderer met with the respect of +the entire community as Herbert Thorne did. The tone of the newspapers, +and public opinion, evinced by hundreds of letters from friends, +acquaintances, and from strangers, was a great boon to the solitary man +in his cell, and to the three loving hearts in the old house. And at +the end of two years the clemency of the Monarch ended his term of +imprisonment, and Herbert Thorne was set free, a step which met with the +approval of the entire city. + +He returned to the home where love and affection awaited him, ready to +make him forget what he had suffered. But the silver threads in his dark +hair and a certain quiet seriousness in his manner, and in the hearts of +all the dwellers in the old mansion, showed that the occurrence of that +fatal 27th of September had thrown a shadow over them all which was not +to be shaken off. + +Joseph Muller brought many other cases to a successful solution. But for +years after this particular case had been won, he was followed, as by +a shadow, by a man who watched over him, and who, whenever danger +threatened, stood over the frail detective as if to take the blow upon +himself. He is a clever assistant, too, and no one who had seen Johann +Knoll the day that he was put into the cell on suspicion of murder +would have believed that the idle tramp could become again such a useful +member of society. These are the victories that Joseph Muller considers +his greatest. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Lamp That Went Out, by Augusta Groner + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + +***** This file should be named 1832-0.txt or 1832-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/3/1832/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/1832-0.zip b/1832-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..85e10dd --- /dev/null +++ b/1832-0.zip diff --git a/1832-h.zip b/1832-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b044ae3 --- /dev/null +++ b/1832-h.zip diff --git a/1832-h/1832-h.htm b/1832-h/1832-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f16d3e --- /dev/null +++ b/1832-h/1832-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5901 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Case of the Lamp That Went Out, by Grace Isabel Colbron + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lamp That Went Out, by Augusta Groner + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lamp That Went Out + +Author: Augusta Groner + +Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron + +Release Date: November 17, 2008 [EBook #1832] +Last Updated: October 14, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Augusta Groner + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Grace Isabel Colbron + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT</b> </a><br /><br /> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE DISCOVERY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE EVENING PAPER + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + BY A THREAD + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </td> + <td> + ALMOST CONVICTED + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE FACE AT THE GATE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </td> + <td> + JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE ELECTRICIAN + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> + </td> + <td> + MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> + </td> + <td> + IN THE POLICE COURT + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> + </td> + <td> + ON THE LIDO + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER + </h2> + <p> + Joseph Muller, Secret Service detective of the Imperial Austrian police, + is one of the great experts in his profession. In personality he differs + greatly from other famous detectives. He has neither the impressive + authority of Sherlock Holmes, nor the keen brilliancy of Monsieur Lecoq. + Muller is a small, slight, plain-looking man, of indefinite age, and of + much humbleness of mien. A naturally retiring, modest disposition, and two + external causes are the reasons for Muller’s humbleness of manner, which + is his chief characteristic. One cause is the fact that in early youth a + miscarriage of justice gave him several years in prison, an experience + which cast a stigma on his name and which made it impossible for him, for + many years after, to obtain honest employment. But the world is richer, + and safer, by Muller’s early misfortune. For it was this experience which + threw him back on his own peculiar talents for a livelihood, and drove him + into the police force. Had he been able to enter any other profession, his + genius might have been stunted to a mere pastime, instead of being, as + now, utilised for the public good. + </p> + <p> + Then, the red tape and bureaucratic etiquette which attaches to every + governmental department, puts the secret service men of the Imperial + police on a par with the lower ranks of the subordinates. Muller’s + official rank is scarcely much higher than that of a policeman, although + kings and councillors consult him and the Police Department realises to + the full what a treasure it has in him. But official red tape, and his + early misfortune... prevent the giving of any higher official standing to + even such a genius. Born and bred to such conditions, Muller understands + them, and his natural modesty of disposition asks for no outward honours, + asks for nothing but an income sufficient for his simple needs, and for + aid and opportunity to occupy himself in the way he most enjoys. + </p> + <p> + Joseph Muller’s character is a strange mixture. The kindest-hearted man in + the world, he is a human bloodhound when once the lure of the trail has + caught him. He scarcely eats or sleeps when the chase is on, he does not + seem to know human weakness nor fatigue, in spite of his frail body. Once + put on a case his mind delves and delves until it finds a clue, then + something awakes within him, a spirit akin to that which holds the + bloodhound nose to trail, and he will accomplish the apparently + impossible, he will track down his victim when the entire machinery of a + great police department seems helpless to discover anything. The high + chiefs and commissioners grant a condescending permission when Muller + asks, “May I do this? ... or may I handle this case this way?” both + parties knowing all the while that it is a farce, and that the department + waits helpless until this humble little man saves its honour by solving + some problem before which its intricate machinery has stood dazed and + puzzled. + </p> + <p> + This call of the trail is something that is stronger than anything else in + Muller’s mentality, and now and then it brings him into conflict with the + department,... or with his own better nature. Sometimes his unerring + instinct discovers secrets in high places, secrets which the Police + Department is bidden to hush up and leave untouched. Muller is then taken + off the case, and left idle for a while if he persists in his opinion as + to the true facts. And at other times, Muller’s own warm heart gets him + into trouble. He will track down his victim, driven by the power in his + soul which is stronger than all volition; but when he has this victim in + the net, he will sometimes discover him to be a much finer, better man + than the other individual, whose wrong at this particular criminal’s hand + set in motion the machinery of justice. Several times that has happened to + Muller, and each time his heart got the better of his professional + instincts, of his practical common-sense, too, perhaps,... at least as far + as his own advancement was concerned, and he warned the victim, defeating + his own work. This peculiarity of Muller’s character caused his undoing at + last, his official undoing that is, and compelled his retirement from the + force. But his advice is often sought unofficially by the Department, and + to those who know, Muller’s hand can be seen in the unravelling of many a + famous case. + </p> + <p> + The following stories are but a few of the many interesting cases that + have come within the experience of this great detective. But they give a + fair portrayal of Muller’s peculiar method of working, his looking on + himself as merely an humble member of the Department, and the comedy of + his acting under “official orders” when the Department is in reality + following out his directions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY + </h2> + <p> + The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The air was so + pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where the city’s buildings + clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the town the rays of the awakening + sun danced in crystalline ether and struck answering gleams from the dew + on grass and shrub in the myriad gardens of the suburban streets. + </p> + <p> + It was still very early. The old-fashioned steeple clock on the church of + the Holy Virgin in Hietzing had boomed out six slow strokes but a short + time back. Anna, the pretty blonde girl who carried out the milk for the + dwellers in several streets of this aristocratic residential suburb, was + just coming around the corner of the main street into a quiet lane. This + lane could hardly be dignified by the name of street as yet, it was so + very quiet. It had been opened and named scarcely a year back and it was + bordered mostly by open gardens or fenced-in building lots. There were + four houses in this street, two by two opposite each other, and another, + an old-fashioned manor house, lying almost hidden in its great garden. But + the quiet street could not presume to ownership of this last house, for + the front of it opened on a parallel street, which gave it its number. + Only the garden had a gate as outlet onto our quiet lane. + </p> + <p> + Anna stopped in front of this gate and pulled the bell. She had to wait + for some little time until the gardener’s wife, who acted as janitress, + could open the door. But Anna was not impatient, for she knew that it was + quite a distance from the gardener’s house in the centre of the great + stretch of park to the little gate where she waited. In a few moments, + however, the door was opened and a pleasant-faced woman exchanged a + friendly greeting with the girl and took the cans from her. + </p> + <p> + Anna hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four houses in + that street were already served and she was now bound for the homes of + customers several squares away. Then her step slowed just a bit. She was a + quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace of this bright morning sank + into her heart and made her rejoice in its beauty. All around her the + foliage was turning gently to its autumn glory of colouring and the + dewdrops on the rich-hued leaves sparkled with an unusual radiance. A + thrush looked down at her from a bough and began its morning song. Anna + smiled up at the little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune. + </p> + <p> + But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her flushed + cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to the ground. + With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let the burden of the milk + cans drop gently from her shoulder to the ground. In following the bird’s + flight her eyes had wandered to the side of the street, to the edge of one + of the vacant lots, there where a shallow ditch separated it from the + roadway. An elder-tree, the great size of which attested its age, hung its + berry-laden branches over the ditch. And in front of this tree the bird + had stopped suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick movement of the + wild creature surprised by fright. What the bird had seen was the same + vision that halted the song on Anna’s lips and arrested her foot. It was + the body of a man—a young and well-dressed man, who lay there with + his face turned toward the street. And his face was the white frozen face + of a corpse. + </p> + <p> + Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, in wide-eyed + terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to pull herself together + again. A few steps and then she turned and broke into a run. When she + reached the end of the street, breathless from haste and excitement, she + found herself in one of the main arteries of traffic of the suburb, but + owing to the early hour this street was almost as quiet as the lane she + had just left. Finally the frightened girl’s eyes caught sight of the + figure of a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet him + and recognised him as the officer of that beat. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what is the matter?” he asked. “Why are you so excited?” + </p> + <p> + “Down there—in the lane, there’s a dead man,” answered the girl, gasping + for breath. + </p> + <p> + “A dead man?” repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the girl. “Are + you sure he’s dead?” + </p> + <p> + Anna nodded. “His eyes are all glassy and I saw blood on his back.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you’re evidently very much frightened, and I suppose you don’t want + to go down there again. I’ll look into the matter, if you will go to the + police station and make the announcement. Will you do it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, then, that will gain time for us. Good-bye, Miss Anna.” + </p> + <p> + The man walked quickly down the street, while the girl hurried off in the + opposite direction, to the nearest police station, where she told what she + had seen. + </p> + <p> + The policeman reached his goal even earlier. The first glance told him + that the man lying there by the wayside was indeed lifeless. And the icy + stiffness of the hand which he touched showed him that life must have fled + many hours back. Anna had been right about the blood also. The dead man + lay on the farther side of the ditch, half down into it. His right arm was + bent under his body, his left arm was stretched out, and the stiffened + fingers... they were slender white fingers... had sought for something to + break his fall. All they had found was a tall stem of wild aster with its + purple blossoms, which they were holding fast in the death grip. On the + dead man’s back was a small bullet-wound and around the edges of it his + light grey coat was stained with blood. His face was distorted in pain and + terror. It was a nice face, or would have been, did it not show all too + plainly the marks of dissipation in spite of the fact that the man could + not have been much past thirty years old. He was a stranger to the + policeman, although the latter had been on this beat for over three years. + </p> + <p> + When the guardian of the law had convinced himself that there was nothing + more to do for the man who lay there, he rose from his stooping position + and stepped back. His gaze wandered up and down the quiet lane, which was + still absolutely empty of human life. He stood there quietly waiting, + watching over the ghastly discovery. In about ten minutes the police + commissioner and the coroner, followed by two roundsmen with a litter, + joined the solitary watcher, and the latter could return to his post. + </p> + <p> + The policemen set down their litter and waited for orders, while the + coroner and the commissioner bent over the corpse. There was nothing for + the physician to do but to declare that the unfortunate man had been dead + for many hours. The bullet which struck him in the back had killed him at + once. The commissioner examined the ground immediately around the corpse, + but could find nothing that pointed to a struggle. There remained only to + prove whether there had been a robbery as well as a murder. + </p> + <p> + “Judging from the man’s position the bullet must have come from that + direction,” said the commissioner, pointing towards the cottages down the + lane. + </p> + <p> + “People who are killed by bullets may turn several times before they + fall,” said a gentle voice behind the police officer. The voice seemed to + suit the thin little man who stood there meekly, his hat in his hand. + </p> + <p> + The commissioner turned quickly. “Ah, are you there already, Muller?” he + said, as if greatly pleased, while the physician broke in with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “That’s just what I was about to observe. This man did not die so quickly + that he could not have made a voluntary or involuntary movement before + life fled. The shot that killed him might have come from any direction.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner nodded thoughtfully and there was silence for a few + moments. Muller—for the little thin man was none other than the + celebrated Joseph Muller, one of the most brilliant detectives in the + service of the Austrian police—looked down at the corpse carefully. + He took plenty of time to do it and nobody hurried him. For nobody ever + hurried Muller; his well-known and almost laughable thoroughness and + pedantry were too valuable in their results. It was a tradition in the + police that Muller was to have all the time he wanted for everything. It + paid in the end, for Muller made few mistakes. Therefore, his superior the + police commissioner, and the coroner waited quietly while the little man + made his inspection of the corpse. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said Muller finally, with a polite bow to the commissioner, + before he bent to brush away the dust on his knees. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” asked Commissioner Holzer. + </p> + <p> + Muller smiled an embarrassed smile as he replied: + </p> + <p> + “Well... I haven’t found out anything yet except that he is dead, and that + he has been shot in the back. His pockets may tell us something more.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, we can examine them at once,” said the commissioner. “I have been + delaying that for I wanted you here; but I had no idea that you would come + so soon. I told them to fetch you if you were awake, but doubted you would + be, for I know you have had no sleep for forty-eight hours.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I can sleep, at least with one eye, when I’m on the chase,” answered + the detective. “So it’s really only twenty-four hours, you see.” Muller + had just returned from tracking down an aristocratic swindler whom he had + found finally in a little French city and had brought back to a Viennese + prison. He had returned well along in the past night and Holzer knew that + the tired man would need his rest. Still he had sent for Muller, who lived + near the police station, for the girl’s report had warned him that this + was a serious case. And in serious cases the police did not like to do + without Muller’s help. + </p> + <p> + And as usual when his work called him, Muller was as wide awake as if he + had had a good night’s sleep behind him. The interest of a new case robbed + him of every trace of fatigue. It was he alone—at his own request—who + raised the body and laid it on its back before he stepped aside to make + way for the doctor. + </p> + <p> + The physician opened the dead man’s vest to see whether the bullet had + passed completely through the body. But it had not; there was not the + slightest trace of blood upon the shirt. + </p> + <p> + “There’s nothing more for me to do here, Muller,” said the physician, as + he bowed to the commissioner and left the place. + </p> + <p> + Muller examined the pockets of the dead man. + </p> + <p> + “It’s probably a case of robbery, too,” remarked the commissioner. “A man + as well-dressed as this one is would be likely to have a watch.” + </p> + <p> + “And a purse,” added the detective. “But this man has neither—or at + least he has them no longer.” + </p> + <p> + In the various pockets of the dead man’s clothes Muller found the + following articles: a handkerchief, several tramway tickets, a penknife, a + tiny mirror, and comb, and a little book, a cheap novel. He wrapped them + all in the handkerchief and put them in his own pocket. The dead man’s + coat had fallen back from his body during the examination, and as Muller + turned the stiffened limbs a little he saw the opening of another pocket + high up over the right hip of the trousers. The detective passed his hand + over the pocket and heard something rattle. Then he put his hand in the + pocket and drew out a thin narrow envelope which he handed to the + commissioner. Holzer looked at it carefully. It was made of very thin + expensive paper and bore no address. But it was sealed, although not very + carefully, for the gummed edges were open in spots. It must have been + hastily closed and was slightly crushed as if it had been carried in a + clenched hand. The commissioner cut open the envelope with his penknife. + He gave an exclamation of surprise as he showed Muller the contents. In + the envelope there were three hundred-gulden notes. + </p> + <p> + The commissioner looked at Muller without a word, but the detective + understood and shook his head. “No,” he said calmly, “it may be a case of + robbery just the same. This pocket was not very easy to find, and the + money in it was safer than the dead man’s watch and purse would be. That + is, if he had a watch and purse—and he very probably had a watch,” + he added more quickly. + </p> + <p> + For Muller had made a little discovery. On the lower hem of the left side + of the dead man’s waistcoat he saw a little lump, and feeling of it he + discovered that it was a watch key which had slipped down out of the torn + pocket between the lining and the material of the vest. A sure proof that + the dead man had had a watch, which in all probability had been taken from + him by his murderer. There was no loose change or small bills to be found + in any of the pockets, so that it was more than likely that the dead man + had had his money in a purse. It seemed to be a case of murder for the + sake of robbery. At least Muller and the commissioner believed it to be + one, from what they had discovered thus far. + </p> + <p> + The police officer gave his men orders to raise the body and to take it to + the morgue. An hour later the unknown man lay in the bare room in which + the only spot of brightness were the rays of the sun that crept through + the high barred windows and touched his cold face and stiffened form as + with a pitying caress. But no, there was one other little spot of + brightness in the silent place. It was the wild aster which the dead man’s + hand still held tightly clasped. The little purple flowers were quite + fresh yet, and the dewdrops clinging to them greeted the kiss of the sun’s + rays with an answering smile. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG + </h2> + <p> + As soon as the corpse had been taken away, the police commissioner + returned to the station. But Muller remained there all alone to make a + thorough examination of the entire vicinity. + </p> + <p> + It was not a very attractive spot, this particular part of the street. + There must have been a nursery there at one time, for there were still + several ordered rows of small trees to be seen. There were traces of + flower cultivation as well, for several trailing vines and overgrown + bushes showed where shrubs had been grown which do not usually grow + without man’s assistance. Immediately back of the old elder tree Muller + found several fine examples of rare flowers, or rather he found the shrubs + which his experienced eye recognised as having once borne these unusual + blossoms. One or two blooms still hung to the bushes and the detective, + who was a great lover of flowers, picked them and put them in his + buttonhole. While he did this, his keen eyes were darting about the place + taking in all the details. This vacant lot had evidently been used as an + unlicensed dumping ground for some time, for all sorts of odds and ends, + old boots, bits of stuff, silk and rags, broken bottles and empty tin + cans, lay about between the bushes or half buried in the earth. What had + once been an orderly garden was now an untidy receptacle for waste. The + pedantically neat detective looked about him in disgust, then suddenly he + forgot his displeasure and a gleam shot up in his eye. It was very little, + the thing this man had seen, this man who saw so much more than others. + </p> + <p> + About ten paces from where he stood a high wooden fence hemmed in the lot. + The fence belonged to the neighbouring property, as the lot in which he + stood was not protected in any way. To the back it was closed off by a + corn field where the tall stalks rustled gently in the faint morning + breeze. All this could be seen by anybody and Muller had seen it all at + his first glance. But now he had seen something else. Something that + excited him because it might possibly have some connection with the newly + discovered crime. His keen eyes, in glancing along the wooden fence at his + right hand, had caught sight of a little twig which had worked its way + through the fence. This twig belonged to a willow tree which grew on the + other side, and which spread its grey-green foliage over the fence or + through its wide openings. One of the little twigs which had crept in + between the planks was broken, and it had been broken very recently, for + the leaves were still fresh and the sap was oozing from the crushed stem. + Muller walked over to the fence and examined the twig carefully. He soon + saw how it came to be broken. The broken part was about the height of a + man’s knee from the ground. And just at this height there was quite a + space between two of the planks of the fence, heavy planks which were laid + cross-ways and nailed to thick posts. It would have been very easy for + anybody to get a foothold in this open space between the planks. + </p> + <p> + It was very evidently some foot thrust in between the planks which had + broken the little willow twig, and its soft rind had left a green mark on + the lower plank. “I wonder if that has anything to do with the murder,” + thought Muller, looking over the fence into the lot on the other side. + </p> + <p> + This neighbouring plot was evidently a neglected garden. It had once worn + an aristocratic air, with stone statues and artistic arrangement of flower + beds and shrubs. It was still attractive even in its neglected condition. + Beyond it, through the foliage of its heavy trees, glass windows caught + the sunlight. Muller remembered that there was a handsome old house in + this direction, a house with a mansard roof and wide-reaching wings. He + did not now know to whom this handsome old house belonged, a house that + must have been built in the time of Maria Theresa,... but he was sure of + one thing, and that was that he would soon find out to whom it belonged. + At present it was the garden which interested him, and he was anxious to + see where it ended. A few moments’ further inspection showed him what he + wanted to know. The garden extended to the beginning of the park-like + grounds which surrounded the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron + railing separated the garden from the park, but this railing did not + extend down as far as the quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, + well-built wooden fence. Along the street side of the fence there was a + high thick hedge. Muller walked along this hedge until he came to a little + gate. Then crossing the street, he saw that the house whose windows + glistened in the sunlight was a house which he knew well from its other + side, its front facade. + </p> + <p> + Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from this + to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined every foot + of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that was of any interest + to him—not a footprint, or anything to prove that some one else had passed + that way a short time before. And yet it would have been impossible to + pass that way without leaving some trace, for the ground was cut up in all + directions by mole hills. + </p> + <p> + Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would come + into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had been found. + There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller was obliged to + acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that would lead to an + understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the broken willow twig should + prove to be a clue. He sprang back across the ditch, turned up the edges + of his trousers where they had been moistened by the dew and walked slowly + along the dusty street. He was no longer alone in the lane. An old man, + accompanied by a large dog, came out from one of the new houses and walked + towards the detective, he was very evidently going in the direction of the + elder-tree, which had already been such a centre of interest that morning. + When he met Muller, the old man halted, touched his cap and asked in a + confidential tone: “I suppose you’ve been to see the place already?” + </p> + <p> + “Which place?” was Muller’s reserved answer. + </p> + <p> + “Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was murdered. They + found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it and told me. I + suppose everybody round here will know it soon.” + </p> + <p> + “Was there a man murdered here?” asked Muller, as if surprised by the + news. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don’t understand why I didn’t hear + the shot. I couldn’t sleep a wink all night for the pain in my bones.” + </p> + <p> + “You live near here, then?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I live in No.1. Didn’t you see me coming out?” + </p> + <p> + “I didn’t notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I stooped to turn + up my trousers so that they wouldn’t get dusty—it must have been + then you came out.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, then you must have been right near the place I was talking about. Do + you see that elder tree there? It’s the only one in the street, and the + girl who brings the milk found the man under it. The police have been here + already and have taken him away. They discovered him about six o’clock and + now it’s just seven.” + </p> + <p> + “And you hadn’t any suspicion that this dreadful thing was happening so + near you?” asked the detective casually. + </p> + <p> + “I didn’t know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn’t have been a fight + or I would have heard it. But I don’t know why I didn’t hear the shot.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your pain,” + said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the man back to the + place from which he had just come. + </p> + <p> + The old man shook his head. “No, I tell you I didn’t close an eye all + night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two pipes before I put + out the light, and then I heard every hour strike all night long and it + wasn’t until nearly five o’clock, when it was almost dawn, that I dozed + off a bit.” + </p> + <p> + “Then it is astonishing that you didn’t hear anything!” + </p> + <p> + “Sure it’s astonishing! But it’s still more astonishing that my dog Sultan + didn’t hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I’d have you know. + He’ll growl if anybody passes through the street after dark, and I don’t + see why he didn’t notice what was going on over there last night. If a + man’s attacked, he generally calls for help; it’s a queer business all + right.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, Sultan, why didn’t you make a noise?” asked Muller, patting the + dog’s broad head. Sultan growled and walked on indifferently, after he had + shaken off the strange hand. + </p> + <p> + “He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into the country + with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on the way back we + stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or two himself occasionally, + and that usually makes him sleep. I had hard work to bring him home. We + got here just a few minutes before half-past nine and I tell you we were + both good and tired.” + </p> + <p> + By this time they had come to the elder-tree and the old man’s stream of + talk ceased as he stood before the spot where the mysterious crime had + occurred. He looked down thoughtfully at the grass, now trampled by many + feet. “Who could have done it?” he murmured finally, with a sigh that + expressed his pity for the victim. + </p> + <p> + “Hietzing is known to be one of the safest spots in Vienna,” remarked + Muller. + </p> + <p> + “Indeed it is, sir; indeed it is. As it would well have to be with the + royal castles right here in the neighbourhood! Indeed it would have to be + safe with the Court coming here all the time.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes, you see more police here than anywhere else in the city.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, they’re always sticking their nose in where they’re not necessary,” + remarked the old man, not realising to whom he was speaking. “They fuss + about everything you do or don’t do, and yet a man can be shot down right + under our very noses here and the police can’t help it.” + </p> + <p> + “But, my dear sir, it isn’t always possible for the police to prevent a + criminal carrying out his evil intention,” said Muller good-naturedly. + </p> + <p> + “Well, why not? if they watch out sharp enough?” + </p> + <p> + “The police watch out sharper than most people think. But they can’t catch + a man until he has committed his crime, can they?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I suppose not,” said the old man, with another glance at the + elder-tree. He bowed to Muller and turned and walked away. + </p> + <p> + Muller followed him slowly, very much pleased with this meeting, for it + had given him a new clue. There was no reason to doubt the old man’s + story. And if this story was true, then the crime had been committed + before half-past nine of the evening previous. For the old man—he + was evidently the janitor in No.1—had not heard the shot. + </p> + <p> + Muller left the scene of the crime and walked towards the four houses. + Before he reached them he had to pass the garden which belonged to the + house with the mansard roof. Right and left of this garden were vacant + lots, as well as on the opposite side of the street. Then came to the + right and left the four new houses which stood at the beginning of the + quiet lane. Muller passed them, turned up a cross street and then down + again, into the street running parallel, to the lane, a quiet aristocratic + street on which fronted the house with the mansard roof. + </p> + <p> + A carriage stood in front of this house, two great trunks piled up on the + box beside the driver. A young girl and an old man in livery were placing + bags and bundles of rugs inside the carriage. Muller walked slowly toward + the carriage. Just as he reached the open gate of the garden he was + obliged to halt, to his own great satisfaction. For at this moment a group + of people came out from the house, the owners of it evidently, prepared + for a journey and surrounded by their servants. + </p> + <p> + Beside the old man and the young girl, there were two other women, one + evidently the housekeeper, the other possibly the cook. The latter was + weeping openly and devoutly kissing the hand of her mistress. The + housekeeper discovered that a rug was missing and sent the maid back for + it, while the old servant helped the lady into the carriage. The door of + the carriage was wide open and Muller had a good glimpse of the pale, + sweet-faced and delicate-looking young woman who leaned back in her + corner, shivering and evidently ill. The servants bustled about, making + her comfortable, while her husband superintended the work with anxious + tenderness. He was a tall, fine-looking man with deep-set grey eyes and a + rich, sympathetic voice. He gave his orders to his servants with calm + authority, but he also was evidently suffering from the disease of our + century—nervousness, for Muller saw that the man’s hands clenched + feverishly and that his lips were trembling under his drooping moustache. + </p> + <p> + The maid hastened down with the rug and spread it over her mistress’s + knees, as the gentleman exclaimed nervously: “Do hurry with that! Do you + want us to miss the train?” + </p> + <p> + The butler closed the door of the carriage, the coachman gathered up the + reins and raised his whip. The housekeeper bowed low and murmured a few + words in farewell and the other servants followed her example with tears + in their eyes. “You’ll see us again in six weeks,” the lady called out and + her husband added: “If all goes well.” Then he motioned to the waiting + driver and the carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in a few + moments. + </p> + <p> + The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind the high + gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to resume his walk, + when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led back through a + flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded it on the sides and + rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She came so quickly that one + might almost call it running. She was evidently excited about something. + Muller imagined what this something might be, and he remained to hear what + she had to say. He was not mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs. Schmiedler, + the gardener’s wife, began her story at once. “Haven’t you heard yet?” she + said breathlessly. “No, you can’t have heard it yet or you wouldn’t stand + there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer.” + </p> + <p> + “What’s the matter?” asked the woman whom Muller took to be the + housekeeper. + </p> + <p> + “They killed a man last night out here! They found his body just now in + the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told me as I was going + to the store, so I went right back to look at the place, and I came to + tell you, as I didn’t think you’d heard it yet.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and of an + equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an excited hubbub of + talk while she remained quite indifferent and calm. “One more poor fellow + who had to leave the world before he was ready,” she remarked calmly, with + just the natural touch of pity in her voice that would come to any + warm-hearted human being upon hearing of such an occurrence. She did not + seem at all excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the crime had + been so near. + </p> + <p> + The other servants were very much more excited and had already rushed off, + under the guidance of the gardener’s wife, to look at the dreadful spot. + Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to close the front gate in his + excitement, and the housekeeper turned to do it now. + </p> + <p> + “The fools, see them run,” she exclaimed half aloud. “As if there was + anything for them to do there.” + </p> + <p> + The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to the house. + Muller walked on also, going first to the police station to report what he + had discovered. Then he went to his own rooms and slept until nearly noon. + On his return to the police station he found that notices of the + occurrence had already been sent out to the papers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE EVENING PAPER + </h2> + <p> + The autopsy proved beyond a doubt that the murdered man had been dead for + many hours before the discovery of his body. The bullet which had struck + him in the back had pierced the trachea and death had occurred within a + few minutes. The only marks for identification of the body were the + initials L. W. on his underwear. The evening paper printed an exact + description of the man’s appearance and his clothing. + </p> + <p> + It was about ten o’clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a widow living + in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city from Hietzing, returned + from her morning marketing. It was only a few little bundles that she + brought with her and she set about preparing her simple dinner. Her + packages were wrapped in newspapers, which she carefully smoothed out and + laid on the dresser. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and the little + pension which she received from the company, as well as the money she + could earn for herself, did not permit of the indulgence in a daily + newspaper. And yet the reading of the papers was the one luxury for which + the simple woman longed. Her grocer, who was a friend of years, knew this + and would wrap up her purchases in papers of recent date, knowing that she + could then enjoy them in her few moments of leisure. To-day this leisure + came unexpectedly early, for Mrs. Klingmayer had less work than usual to + attend to. + </p> + <p> + Her little flat consisted of two rooms and a kitchen with a large closet + opening out from it. She lived in the kitchen and rented the front rooms. + Her tenants were a middle-aged man, inspector in a factory, who had the + larger room; and a younger man who was bookkeeper in an importing house in + the city. But this young man had not been at home for forty-eight hours, a + fact, however, which did not greatly worry his landlady. The gentleman in + question lived a rather dissipated life and it was not the first time that + he had remained away from home over night. It is true that it was the + first time that he had not been home for two successive nights. But as + Mrs. Klingmayer thought, everything has to happen the first time sometime. + “It’s not likely to be the last time,” the worthy woman thought. + </p> + <p> + At all events she was rather glad of it to-day, for she suffered from + rheumatism and it was difficult for her to get about. The young man’s + absence saved her the work of fixing up his room that morning and allowed + her to get to her reading earlier than usual. When she had put the pot of + soup on the fire, she sat down by the window, adjusted her big spectacles + and began to read. To her great delight she discovered that the paper she + held in her hand bore the date of the previous afternoon. In spite of the + good intentions of her friend the grocer, it was not always that she could + get a paper of so recent date, and she began to read with doubled + anticipation of pleasure. + </p> + <p> + She did not waste time on the leading articles, for she understood little + about politics. The serial stories were a great delight to her, or would + have been, if she had ever been able to follow them consecutively. But her + principal joy were the everyday happenings of varied interest which she + found in the news columns. To-day she was so absorbed in the reading of + them that the soup pot began to boil over and send out rivulets down onto + the stove. Ordinarily this would have shocked Mrs. Klingmayer, for the + neatness of her pots and pans was the one great care of her life. But now, + strange to relate, she paid no attention to the soup, nor to the smell and + the smoke that arose from the stove. She had just come upon a notice in + the paper which took her entire attention. She read it through three + times, and each time with growing excitement. This is what she read: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + MURDER IN HIETZING + + This morning at six o’clock the body of a man about 30 years + old was discovered in a lane in Hietzing. The man must have + been dead many hours. He had been shot from behind. The dead + man was tall and thin, with brown eyes, brown hair and moustache. + The letters L. W. were embroidered in his underwear. There was + nothing else discovered on him that could reveal his identity. + His watch and purse were not in his pockets: presumably they had + been taken by the murderer. A strange fact is that in one of + his pockets—a hidden pocket it is true—there was the sum of + 300 guldens in bills. +</pre> + <p> + This was the notice which made Mrs. Klingmayer neglect the soup pot. + </p> + <p> + Finally the old woman stood up very slowly, threw a glance at the stove + and opened the window mechanically. Then she lifted the pots from the fire + and set them on the outer edge of the range. And then she did something + that ordinarily would have shocked her economical soul—she poured + water on the fire to put it out. + </p> + <p> + When she saw that there was not a spark left in the stove, she went into + her own little room and prepared to go out. Her excitement caused her to + forget her rheumatism entirely. One more look around her little kitchen, + then she locked it up and set out for the centre of the city. + </p> + <p> + She went to the office of the importing house where her tenant, Leopold + Winkler, was employed as bookkeeper. The clerk at the door noticed the + woman’s excitement and asked her kindly what the trouble was. + </p> + <p> + “I’d like to speak to Mr. Winkler,” she said eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Winkler hasn’t come in yet,” answered the young man. “Is anything the + matter? You look so white! Winkler will probably show up soon, he’s never + very punctual. But it’s after eleven o’clock now and he’s never been as + late as this before.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t believe he’ll ever come again,” said the old woman, sinking down + on a bench beside the door. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what do you mean?” asked the clerk. “Why shouldn’t he come again?” + </p> + <p> + “Is the head of the firm here?” asked Mrs. Klingmayer, wiping her forehead + with her handkerchief. The clerk nodded and hurried away to tell his + employer about the woman with the white face who came to ask for a man + who, as she expressed it, “would never come there again.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t think she’s quite right in the head,” he volunteered. The head of + the firm told him to bring the woman into the inner office. + </p> + <p> + “Who are you, my good woman?” he asked kindly, softened by the evident + agitation of this poorly though neatly dressed woman. + </p> + <p> + “I am Mr. Winkler’s landlady,” she answered. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! and he wants you to tell me that he’s sick? I’m afraid I can’t + believe all that this gentleman says. I hope he’s not asking your help to + lie to me. Are you sure that his illness is anything else but a case of + being up late?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t think that he’ll ever be sick again—I didn’t come with any + message from him, sir; please read this, sir.” And she handed him the + newspaper, showing him the notice. While the gentleman was reading she + added: “Mr. Winkler didn’t come home last night either.” + </p> + <p> + Winkler’s employer read the few lines, then laid the paper aside with a + very serious face. “When did you see him last?” he asked of the woman. + </p> + <p> + “Day before yesterday in the morning. He went away about half-past eight + as he usually does,” she replied. And then she added a question of her + own: “Was he here day before yesterday?” + </p> + <p> + The merchant nodded and pressed an electric bell. Then he rose from his + seat and pulled up a chair for his visitor. “Sit down here. This thing has + frightened you and you are no longer young.” When the servant entered, the + merchant told him to ask the head bookkeeper to come to the inner office. + </p> + <p> + When this official appeared, his employer inquired: “When did Winkler + leave here day before yesterday?” + </p> + <p> + “At six o’clock, sir, as usual.” + </p> + <p> + “He was here all day without interruption?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, with the exception of the usual luncheon hour.” + </p> + <p> + “Did he have the handling of any money Monday?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you, Mr. Pokorny,” said the merchant, handing his employee the + evening paper and pointing to the notice which had so interested him. + </p> + <p> + Pokorny read it, his face, like his employer’s, growing more serious. “It + looks almost as if it must be Winkler, sir,” he said, in a few moments. + </p> + <p> + “We will soon find that out. I should like to go to the police station + myself with this woman; she is Winkler’s landlady—but I think it + will be better for you to accompany her. They will ask questions about the + man which you will be better able to answer than I.” + </p> + <p> + Pokorny bowed and left the room. Mrs. Klingmayer rose and was about to + follow, when the merchant asked her to wait a moment and inquired whether + Winkler owed her anything. “I am sorry that you should have had this shock + and the annoyances and trouble which will come of it, but I don’t want you + to be out of pocket by it.” + </p> + <p> + “No, he doesn’t owe me anything,” replied the honest old woman, shaking + her head. A few big tears rolled down over her withered cheeks, possibly + the only tears that were shed for the dead man under the elder-tree. But + even this sympathetic soul could find nothing to say in his praise. She + could feel pity for his dreadful death, but she could not assert that the + world had lost anything by his going out of it. As if saddened by the + impossibility of finding a single good word to say about the dead man, she + left the office with drooping head and lagging step. + </p> + <p> + Pokorny helped her into the cab that was already waiting before the door. + The office force had got wind of the fact that something unusual had + occurred and were all at the windows to see them drive off. The three + clerks who worked in the department to which Winkler belonged gathered + together to talk the matter over. They were none of them particularly hit + by it, but naturally they were interested in the discovery in Hietzing, + and equally naturally, they tried to find a few good words to say about + the man whose life had ended so suddenly. + </p> + <p> + The youngest of them, Fritz Bormann, said some kind words and was about to + wax more enthusiastic, when Degenhart, the eldest clerk, cut in with the + words: “Oh, don’t trouble yourself. Nobody ever liked Winkler here. He + was not a good man—he was not even a good worker. This is the first + time that he has a reasonable excuse for neglecting his duties.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, come, see here! how can you talk about the poor man that way when + he’s scarcely cold in death yet,” said Fritz indignantly. + </p> + <p> + Degenhart laughed harshly. + </p> + <p> + “Did I ever say anything else about him while he was warm and alive? Death + is no reason for changing one’s opinion about a man who was + good-for-nothing in life. And his death was a stroke of good luck that he + scarcely deserved. He died without a moment’s pain, with a merry thought + in his head, perhaps, while many another better man has to linger in + torture for weeks. No, Bormann, the best I can say about Winkler is that + his death makes one nonentity the less on earth.” + </p> + <p> + The older man turned to his desk again and the two younger clerks + continued the conversation: “Degenhart appears to be a hard man,” said + Fritz, “but he’s the best and kindest person I know, and he’s dead right + in what he says. It was simply a case of conventional superstition. I + never did like that Winkler.” + </p> + <p> + “No, you’re right,” said the other. “Neither did I and I don’t know why, + for the matter of that. He seemed just like a thousand others. I never + heard of anything particularly wrong that he did.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no more did I,” continued Bormann, “but I never heard of anything + good about him either. And don’t you think that it’s worse for a man to + seem to repel people by his very personality, rather than by any + particular bad thing that he does?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. I don’t know how to explain it, but that’s just how I feel about it. + I had an instinctive feeling that there was something wrong about Winkler, + the sort of a creepy, crawly feeling that a snake gives you.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD + </h2> + <p> + Meanwhile Pokorny and Mrs. Klingmayer had reached the police station and + were going upstairs to the rooms of the commissioner on service for the + day. Like all people of her class, Mrs. Klingmayer stood in great awe and + terror of anything connected with the police or the law generally. She + crept slowly and tremblingly up the stairs behind the head bookkeeper and + was very glad when she was left alone for a few minutes while Pokorny went + in to see the commissioner. But as soon as his errand was known, both the + bookkeeper and his companion were led into the office of Head Commissioner + Dr. von Riedau, who had charge of the Hietzing murder case. + </p> + <p> + When Dr. von Riedau heard the reason of their coming, his interest was + immediately aroused, and he pulled a chair to his side for the little thin + man with whom he had been talking when the two strangers were ushered in. + </p> + <p> + “Then you believe you could identify the murdered man?” asked the + commissioner. + </p> + <p> + “From the general description and the initials on his linen, I believe it + must be Leopold Winkler,” answered Pokorny. “Mrs. Klingmayer has not seen + him since Monday morning, nor has she had any message from him. He left + the office Monday afternoon at 6 o’clock and that was the last time that + we saw him. The only thing that makes me doubt his identity is that the + paper reports that three hundred gulden were found in his pocket. Winkler + never seemed to have money, and I do not understand how he should have + been in possession of such a sum.” + </p> + <p> + “The money was found in the dead man’s pockets,” said the commissioner. + “And yet it may be Winkler, the man you know. Muller, will you order a + cab, please?” + </p> + <p> + “I have a cab waiting for me. But it only holds two,” volunteered Pokorny. + </p> + <p> + “That doesn’t matter, I’ll sit on the box,” answered the man addressed as + Muller. + </p> + <p> + “You are going with us?” asked Pokorny. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, he will accompany you,” replied the commissioner. “This is detective + Muller, sir. By a mere chance, he happened to be on hand to take charge of + this case and he will remain in charge, although it may be wasting his + talents which we need for more difficult problems. If you or any one else + have anything to tell us, it must be told only to me or to Muller. And + before you leave to look at the body, I would like to know whether the + dead man owned a watch, or rather whether he had it with him on the day of + the murder.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch,” answered Mrs. Klingmayer. + </p> + <p> + Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: “Yes, sir; Winkler + had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was a large watch, very + thick. I happen to have noticed it by chance and also I happen to know + that he had not had the watch for very long.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you tell us anything more about the watch?” asked the commissioner of + the landlady. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; there was engraving on the outside cover, initials, and a crown + on the other side.” + </p> + <p> + “What were the initials?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know that, sir; at least I’m not sure about it. There were so + many twists and curves to them that I couldn’t make them out. I think one + of them was a W though, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “The other was probably an L then.” + </p> + <p> + “That might be, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “The younger clerks in the office may be able to tell something more about + the watch,” said Pokorny, “for they were quite interested in it for a + while. It was a handsome watch and they were envious of Winkler’s + possession of it. But he was so tactless in his boasting about it that + they paid no further attention to him after the first excitement.” + </p> + <p> + “You say he didn’t have the watch long?” + </p> + <p> + “Since spring I think, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “He brought it home on the 19th of March,” interrupted Mrs. Klingmayer. “I + remember the day because it was my birthday. I pretended that he had + brought it home to me for a present.” + </p> + <p> + “Was he in the habit of making you presents?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir. + </p> + <p> + “Well, perhaps he didn’t have much money to be generous with. Now tell me + about his watch chain. I suppose he had a watch chain?” + </p> + <p> + Both the bookkeeper and the landlady nodded and the latter exclaimed: “Oh, + yes, sir; I could recognise it in a minute.” + </p> + <p> + “How?” + </p> + <p> + “It was broken once and Mr. Winkler mended it himself. I lent him my + pliers and he bent the two links together with them. It didn’t look very + nice after that, but it was strong again. You could see the mark of the + pliers easily.” + </p> + <p> + “Why didn’t he take the chain to the jeweler’s to be fixed?” asked the + commissioner. + </p> + <p> + The woman smiled. “It wouldn’t have been worth the money, sir; the chain + wasn’t real gold.” + </p> + <p> + “But the watch was real, wasn’t it?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, sir; that was real gold. I pawned it once for Mr. Winkler and + they gave me 24 gulden for it.” + </p> + <p> + “One question more, did he have a purse? And did he have it with him on + the day of the murder?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; he had a purse, and he must have taken it with him because he + didn’t leave it in his room.” + </p> + <p> + “What sort of a purse was it?” + </p> + <p> + “A brown leather purse, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Was it a new one?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sir; it was well worn.” + </p> + <p> + “How big was it? About like mine?” Riedau took out his own pocketbook. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir; it was a little smaller. It had three pockets in it. I mended it + for him once, so I know it well. I didn’t have any brown thread so I + mended it with yellow.” + </p> + <p> + Dr. von Riedau nodded to Muller. The latter had been sitting at a little + side-table writing down the questions and answers. When Riedau saw this he + did not send for a clerk to do the work, for Muller preferred to attend to + such matters himself as much as possible. The facts gained in the + examination were impressed upon his mind while he was writing them, and he + did not have to wade through pages of manuscript to get at what he needed. + Now he handed his superior officer the paper. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said Riedau, “I’ll send it out to the other police stations. + I will attend to this myself. You go on with these people to see whether + they can identify the corpse.” + </p> + <p> + Fifteen minutes later the three stood before the body in the morgue and + both the bookkeeper and his companion identified the dead man positively + as Leopold Winkler. + </p> + <p> + When the identification was made, a notice was sent out to all Austrian + police stations and to all pawnshops with an exact description of the + stolen watch and purse. + </p> + <p> + Muller led his companions back to the commissioner’s office and they made + their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned further, Pokorny + stated: “I had very little to do with Winkler. We met only when he had a + report to make to me or to show me his books, and we never met outside the + office. The clerks who worked in the same room with him, may know him + better. I know only that he was a very reserved man and very little + liked.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I do not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble you further + in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so promptly. It has been of + great assistance.” + </p> + <p> + The bookkeeper left the station, but Mrs. Klingmayer, who was now quite + reassured as to the harmlessness of the police, was asked to remain and to + tell what she knew of the private life of the murdered man. Her answers to + the various questions put to her proved that she knew very little about + her tenant. But this much was learned from her: that he was very close + with his money at times, but that again at other times he seemed to have + all he wanted to spend. At such times he paid all his debts, and when he + stayed home for supper, he would send her out for all sorts of expensive + delicacies. These extravagant days seemed to have nothing whatever to do + with Winkler’s business pay day, but came at odd times. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Klingmayer remembered two separate times when he had received a + postal money order. But she did not know from whom the letters came, nor + even whether they were sent from the city or from some other town. Winkler + received other letters now and then, but his landlady was not of the + prying kind, and she had paid very little attention to them. + </p> + <p> + He seemed to have few friends or even acquaintances. She did not know of + any love affair, at least of nothing “regular.” He had remained away over + night two or three times during the year that he had been her tenant. This + was about all that Mrs. Klingmayer could say, and she returned to her home + in a cab furnished her by the kind commissioner. + </p> + <p> + About two hours later, a police attendant announced that a gentleman would + like to see Dr. von Riedan on business concerning the murder in Hietzing. + “Friedrich Bormann” was the name on the card. + </p> + <p> + “Ask him to step in here,” said the commissioner. “And please ask Mr. + Muller to join us.” + </p> + <p> + The good-looking young clerk entered the office bashfully and Muller + slipped in behind him, seating himself inconspicuously by the door. At a + sign from the commissioner the visitor began. “I am an employee of Braun + & Co. I have the desk next to Leopold Winkler, during the year that he + has been with us—the year and a quarter to be exact—” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, then you know him rather well?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes. At least we were together all day, although I never met him + outside the office.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you cannot tell us much about his private life?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, but there was something happened on Monday, and in talking it + over with Mr. Braun, he suggested that I should come to you and tell you + about it. It wasn’t really very important, and it doesn’t seem as if it + could have anything to do with this murder and robbery; still it may be of + some use.” + </p> + <p> + “Everything that would throw light on the dead man’s life could be of + use,” said Dr. von Riedau. “Please tell us what it is you know.” + </p> + <p> + Fritz Bormann began: “Winkler came to the office as usual on Monday + morning and worked steadily at his desk. But I happened to notice that he + spoiled several letters and had to rewrite them, which showed me that his + thoughts were not on his work, a frequent occurrence with him. However, + everything went along as usual until 11 o’clock. Then Winkler became very + uneasy. He looked constantly toward the door, compared his watch with the + office clock, and sprang up impatiently as the special letter carrier, who + usually comes about 11 with money orders, finally appeared.” + </p> + <p> + “Then he was expecting money you think?” + </p> + <p> + “It must have been so. For as the letter carrier passed him, he called + out: ‘Haven’t you anything for me?’ and as the man shook his head Winkler + seemed greatly disappointed and depressed. Before he left to go to lunch, + he wrote a hasty letter, which he put in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + “He came in half an hour later than the rest of us. He had often been + reprimanded for his lack of punctuality, but it seemed to do no good. He + was almost always late. Monday was no exception, although he was later + than usual that day.” + </p> + <p> + “And what sort of a mood was he in when he came back?” + </p> + <p> + “He was irritable and depressed. He seemed to be awaiting a message which + did not come. His excitement hindered him from working, he scarcely did + anything the entire afternoon. Finally at five o’clock a messenger boy + came with a letter for him. I saw that Winkler turned pale as he took the + note in his hand. It seemed to be only a few words written hastily on a + card, thrust into an envelope. Winkler’s teeth were set as he opened the + letter. The messenger had already gone away.” + </p> + <p> + “Did you notice his number?” asked Dr. von Riedau. + </p> + <p> + “No, I scarcely noticed the man at all. I was looking at Winkler, whose + behaviour was so peculiar. When he read the card his face brightened. He + read it through once more, then he tore both card and envelope into little + bits and threw the pieces out of the open window. + </p> + <p> + “Then he evidently did not want anybody to see the contents of this note,” + said a voice from the corner of the room. + </p> + <p> + Fritz Bormann looked around astonished and rather doubtful at the little + man who had risen from his chair and now came forward. Without waiting for + an answer from the clerk, the other continued: “Did Winkler have money + sent him frequently?” + </p> + <p> + Bormann looked inquiringly at the commissioner, who replied with a smile: + “You may answer. Answer anything that Mr. Muller has to ask of you, as he + is in charge of this case.” + </p> + <p> + “As far as I can remember, it happened three times,” was Bormann’s answer. + </p> + <p> + “How close together?” + </p> + <p> + “Why—about once in every three or four months, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “That looks almost like a regular income,” exclaimed Riedau. His eyes met + Muller’s, which were lit up in sudden fire. “Well, what are you thinking + of?” asked the commissioner. + </p> + <p> + “A woman,” answered Muller; and continued more as if thinking aloud than + as if addressing the others: “Winkler was a good-looking man. Might he not + have had a rich love somewhere? Might not the money have come from her, + the money that was found in his pocket?” Muller’s voice trailed off into + indistinctness at the last words, and the fire died out of his eyes. Then + he laughed aloud. + </p> + <p> + The commissioner smiled also, a good-natured smile, such as one would give + to a child who has been over-eager. “It doesn’t matter to us where the + money came from. All that matters here is where the bullet came from—the + bullet which prevented his enjoying this money. And it is of more interest + to us to find out who robbed him of his life and his property, rather than + the source from which this property came.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner’s tone was friendly, but Muller’s face flushed red, and + his head dropped. Riedau turned to Bormann and continued: “And because it + is of no interest to us where his money came from—for it can have + nothing whatever to do with his murder and the subsequent robbery—therefore + what you noticed of his behaviour cannot be of any importance or bearing + in the case in any way. Unless, indeed, you should find out anything more. + But we appreciate the thoughtfulness of yourself and your employer and + your readiness to help us.” + </p> + <p> + Bormann rose to leave, but the commissioner put out a hand to stop him. “A + few moments more, please; you may know of something else that will be of + assistance to us. We have heard that Winkler boasted of his belongings —did + he talk about his private affairs in any way?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, I do not think he did.” + </p> + <p> + “You say that he destroyed the note at once, evidently realising that no + one must see it—this note may have been a promise for the money + which had not yet come. Did he, however, tell any one later that he + expected a certain sum? Do you think he would have been likely to tell any + one?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I do not think that he would tell any one. He never mentioned to any + of us that he had received money, or even that he expected to receive it. + None of us knew what outside resources he might have, or whence they came. + If it had not been that the money was paid him by the carrier in the + office two or three times—so, that we could see it—we would + none of us have known of this income, except for the fact that he was + freer in spending after the money came. He would dine at expensive + restaurants, and this fact he would mention to us, whereas at other times + he would go to the cheap cafe.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you know anything about the people he was acquainted with outside the + office?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir. I seldom met him outside of the office. One evening it did + happen that I saw him at Ronacher’s. He was there with a lady—that + is, a so-called ‘lady’—and it must have been one of the times that he had + money, for they were enjoying an expensive supper. At other times, some of + the other clerks met him at various resorts, always with the same sort of + woman. But not always with the same woman, for they were different in + appearance.” + </p> + <p> + “He was never seen anywhere with other men?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir; at least not by any of us.” + </p> + <p> + “He was not liked in the office?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” Bormann’s answer was sharp. + </p> + <p> + “For what reason?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know; we just didn’t like him. We had very little to do with him + at first because of this, and soon we noticed that he seemed just as + anxious to avoid us as we were to avoid him.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner rose and Bormann followed his example. “I am very sorry, + sir, if I have taken up your time to no purpose,” said the latter + modestly, as he took up his hat. + </p> + <p> + “I am not so sure that what you have said may not be of great value to + us,” said a voice behind them. Muller stood there, looking at Riedau with + a glance almost of defiance. His eyes were again lit up with the strange + fire that shone in them when he was on the trail. The commissioner + shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the departing visitor, and then turned + without an answer to some documents on his desk. There was silence in the + room for a few moments. Finally a gentle voice came from Muller’s corner + again: “Dr. von Riedau?” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner raised his head and looked around. “Oh, are you still + there?” he asked with a drawl. + </p> + <p> + Muller knew what this drawl meant. It was the manner adopted by the + amiable commissioner when he was in a mood which was not amiable. And + Muller knew also the cause of the mood. It was his own last remark, the + words he addressed to Bormann. Muller himself recognised the fact that + this remark was out of place, that it was almost an impertinence, because + it was in direct contradiction to a statement made a few moments before by + his superior officer. Also he realised that his remark had been quite + unnecessary, because it was a matter of indifference to the young man, who + was only obeying his employer’s orders in reporting what he had seen, + whether his report was of value or not. Muller had simply uttered aloud + the thought that came into his mind, a habit of his which years of + official training had not yet succeeded in breaking. It was annoying to + himself sometimes, for these half-formed thoughts were mere instinct—they + were the workings of his own genius that made him catch a suspicion of the + truth long before his conscious mind could reason it out or appreciate its + value. But that sort of thing was not popular in official police life. + </p> + <p> + “Well,” asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, “your tongue + is not usually so slow—as you have proved just a few moments back—what + were you going to say now?” + </p> + <p> + “I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It was unnecessary, I + should not have said it.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I realise that you know better yourself,” said Riedau, now quite + friendly again, “and now what else have you to say? Do you really think + that what the young man has just told us is of any value at all for this + case?” + </p> + <p> + “It seems to me as if it might be of value to us.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, it seems to you, eh? Your imagination is working overtime again, + Muller,” said the commissioner with a laugh. But the laugh turned to + seriousness as he realised how many times Muller’s imagination had helped + the clumsy official mind to its proudest triumphs. The commissioner was an + intelligent man, as far as his lights went, and he was a good-hearted man. + He rose from his chair and walked over to where the detective stood. “You + needn’t look so embarrassed, Muller,” he said. “There is no cause for you + to feel bad about it. And—I am quite willing to admit that my remark + just now was unnecessary. You may give your imagination full rein, we can + trust to your intelligence and your devotion to duty to keep it from + unnecessary flights. So curbed, I know it will be of as much assistance to + us this time as it always has been.” + </p> + <p> + Muller’s quiet face lit up, and his eyes shone in a happiness that made + him appear ten years younger. That was one of the strange things about + Joseph Muller. This genius in his profession was in all other ways a man + of such simplicity of heart and bearing, that the slightest word of + approval from one of the officials for whom he worked could make him as + happy as praise from the teacher will make a schoolboy. The moments when + he was in command of any difficult case, when these same superiors would + wait for a word from him, when high officials would take his orders or + would be obliged to acknowledge that without him they were helpless, these + moments were forgotten as soon as the problem was solved and Muller became + again the simple subordinate and the obscure member of the Imperial police + force. + </p> + <p> + When Muller left the commissioner’s room and walked through the outer + office, one of the clerks looked after him and whispered to his companion: + “Do you think he’s found the Hietzing murderer yet?” The other answered: + “I don’t think so, but he looks as if he had found a clue. He’ll find him + sooner or later. He always does.” + </p> + <p> + Muller did not hear these words, although they also would have pleased + him. He walked slowly down the stairs murmuring to himself: “I think I was + right just the same. We are following a false trail.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. BY A THREAD + </h2> + <p> + It was on Monday, the 27th of September, that Leopold Winkler was murdered + and robbed, and early on Tuesday, the 28th, his body was found. That day + the evening papers printed the report of the murder and the description of + the dead man, and on Wednesday, the 29th, Mrs. Klingmayer read the news + and went to see Winkler’s employer. By noon of that day the body was + identified and a description of the stolen purse and watch telegraphed to + police headquarters in various cities. A few hours later, these police + stations had sent out notices by messenger to all pawnshops and dealers in + second-hand clothing, and now the machinery of the law sat waiting for + some news of an attempt on the part of the robber-and-murderer to get rid + of his plunder. + </p> + <p> + On this same Wednesday, about the twilight hour, David Goldstamm, dealer + in second-hand clothing, stood before the door of his shop in a side + street of the old Hungarian city of Pressburg and watched his assistant + take down the clothes which were hanging outside and carry them into the + store. The old man’s eyes glanced carelessly up and down the street and + caught sight of a man who turned the corner and came hurrying towards him. + This man was a very seedy-looking individual. An old faded overcoat hung + about his thin figure, and a torn and dusty hat fell over his left eye. He + seemed also to be much the worse for liquor and very wobbly on his feet. + And yet he seemed anxious to hurry onward in spite of the unevenness of + his walk. + </p> + <p> + Then he slowed up suddenly, glanced across the street to Goldstamm’s + store, and crossed over. + </p> + <p> + “Have you any boots for me?” he asked, sticking out his right foot that + the dealer might see whether he had anything the requisite size. + </p> + <p> + “I think there’s something there,” answered the old man in his usual + businesslike tone, leading the way into the store. + </p> + <p> + The stranger followed. Goldstamm lit the one light in the little place and + groped about in an untidy heap of shoes of all kinds and sizes until he + found several pairs that he thought might fit. These he brought out and + put them in front of his customer. But in spite of his bleary eyes, the + man caught sight of some patches on the uppers of one pair, and pushed + them away from him. + </p> + <p> + “Give me something better than that. I can pay for it. I don’t have to + wear patched shoes,” he grunted. + </p> + <p> + Goldstamm didn’t like the looks of the man, but he felt that he had better + be careful and not make him angry. “Have patience, sir, I’ll find you + something better,” he said gently, tossing the heap about again, but now + keeping his face turned towards his customer. + </p> + <p> + “I want a coat also and a warm pair of trousers,” said the stranger in a + rough voice. He bent down to loosen the shabby boot from his right foot, + and as he did so something fell out of the pocket of his coat. An + unconscious motion of his own raised foot struck this small object and + tossed it into the middle of the heap of shoes close by Goldstamm’s hand. + The old man reached out after it and caught it. It was just an ordinary + brown leather pocketbook, of medium size, old and shabby, like a thousand + others. But the eyes of the little old man widened as if in terror, his + face turned pale and his hands trembled. For he had seen, hanging from one + side of this worn brown leather pocketbook, the end of a yellow thread, + the loosened end of the thread with which one side of the purse was + mended. The thread told David Goldstamm who it was that had come into his + shop. + </p> + <p> + He regained his control with a desperate effort of the will. It took him + but a few seconds to do so, and, thanks to his partial intoxication, the + customer had not noticed the shopkeeper’s start of alarm. But he appeared + anxious and impatient to regain possession of his purse. + </p> + <p> + “Haven’t you found it yet?” he exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + Goldstamm hastened to give it back. The tramp put the purse in his pocket + with a sigh of relief. Goldstamm had regained his calm and his mind was + working eagerly. He put several pairs of shoes before his customer, with + the remark: “You must try them on. We’ll find something to suit you. And + meanwhile I will bring in several pairs of trousers from those outside. I + have some fine coats to show you too.” + </p> + <p> + Goldstamm went out to the door, almost colliding there with his assistant + who was coming in with his arm full of garments. The old man motioned to + the boy, who retreated until they were both hidden from the view of the + man within the store. + </p> + <p> + “Give me those blue trousers there,” said Goldstamm in a loud voice. Then + in a whisper he said to the boy: “Run to the police station. The man with + the watch and the purse is in there.” + </p> + <p> + The boy understood and set off at once at a fast pace, while the old man + returned to his store with a heavy heart. He wondered whether he would be + able to keep the murderer there until the police could come. And he also + wondered what it might cost him, an old and feeble man, who would be as a + weak reed in the hands of the strong tramp in there. But he knew it was + his duty to do whatever he could to help in the arrest of one who had just + taken the life of a fellow creature. The realisation of this gave the old + man strength and calmness. + </p> + <p> + “A nice sort of an eye for size you have,” cried the tramp as the old man + came up to him. “I suppose you’ve brought me in a boy’s suit? What do you + take me for? Any girl could go to a ball in the shoes you brought me to + try on here.” + </p> + <p> + “Are they so much too small?” asked the dealer in an innocent tone. “Well, + there’s plenty more there. And perhaps you had better be trying on this + suit behind the curtain here while I’m hunting up the shoes.” + </p> + <p> + This suggestion seemed to please the stranger, as he was evidently in a + hurry. He passed in behind the curtain and began to undress. Goldstamm’s + keen eyes watched him through a crack. There was not much to be seen + except that the tramp seemed anxious to keep his overcoat within reach of + his hand. He had carefully put the purse in one of its pockets. + </p> + <p> + “We’ll get the things all together pretty soon,” said the dealer. “I’ve + found a pair of boots here, fine boots of good quality, and sure to fit.” + </p> + <p> + “Stop your talk,” growled the other, “and come here and help me so that I + can get away.” + </p> + <p> + Goldstamm came forward, and though his heart was very heavy within him, he + aided this man, this man about whom so many hundreds were now thinking in + terror, as calmly as he had aided his other poor but honest customers. + </p> + <p> + With hands that did not tremble, the dealer busied himself about his + customer, listening all the while to sounds in the street in the hope that + his tete-e-tete with the murderer would soon be over. But in spite of all + his natural anxiety, the old man’s sharp eyes took cognizance of various + things, one of which was that the man whom he was helping to dress in his + new clothes did not have the watch which was described in the police + notice. This fact, however, did not make the old man’s heart any lighter, + for the purse mended with yellow thread was too clearly the one stolen + from the murdered man found in the quiet street in Hietzing. + </p> + <p> + “What’s the matter with you, you’re so slow? I can get along better + myself,” growled the tramp, pushing the old man away from him. Goldstamm + had really begun to tremble now in spite of his control, in the fear that + the man would get away from him before the police came. + </p> + <p> + The tramp was already dressed in the new suit, into a pocket of which he + put the old purse. + </p> + <p> + “There, now the boots and then we’re finished,” said the dealer with an + attempt at a smile. In his heart he prayed that the pair he now held in + his hand might not fit, that he might gain a few minutes more. But the + shoes did fit. A little pushing and stamping and the man was ready to + leave the store. He was evidently in a hurry, for he paid what was asked + without any attempt to bargain. Had Goldstamm not known whom he had before + him now, he would have been very much astonished at this, and might + perhaps have been sorry that he had not named a higher sum. But under the + circumstances he understood only too well the man’s desire to get away, + and would much rather have had some talk as to the payment, anything that + would keep his customer a little longer in his store. + </p> + <p> + “There, now we’re ready. I’ll pack up your old things for you. Or perhaps + we can make a deal for them. I pay the highest prices in the city,” said + Goldstamm, with an apparent eagerness which he hoped would deceive the + customer. + </p> + <p> + But the man had already turned towards the door, and called hack over his + shoulder: “You can keep the old things, I don’t want them.” + </p> + <p> + As he spoke he opened the door of the store and stood face to face with a + policeman holding a revolver. He turned, with a curse, back into the room, + but the dealer was nowhere to be seen. David Goldstamm had done his duty + to the public, in spite of his fear. Now, seeing that the police had + arrived, he could think of his duty to his family. This duty was plainly + to save his own life, and when the tramp turned again to look for him, he + had disappeared out of the back door. + </p> + <p> + “Not a move or I will shoot,” cried the policeman, and now two others + appeared behind him, and came into the store. But the tramp made no + attempt to escape. He stood pale and trembling while they put the + handcuffs on him, and let them take him away without any resistance. He + was put on the evening express for Vienna, and taken to Police + Headquarters in that city. He made no protest nor any attempt to escape, + but he refused to utter a word on the entire journey. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. ALMOST CONVICTED + </h2> + <p> + The evening was already far gone when Muller entered Riedau’s office. + </p> + <p> + “You’re in time, the man isn’t here yet. The train is evidently late,” + said the commissioner. “We’re working this case off quickly. We will have + the murderer here in half an hour at the latest. He did not have much time + to enjoy the stolen property. He was here in Vienna this morning, and was + arrested in Pressburg this afternoon. Here is the telegram, read it.” + </p> + <p> + Dr. von Riedau handed Muller the message. The commissioner was evidently + pleased and excited. The telegram read as follows: “Man arrested here in + possession of described purse containing four ten gulden notes and four + guldens in silver. Arrested in store of second-hand clothes dealer + Goldstamm. Will arrive this evening in Vienna under guard.” + </p> + <p> + The message was signed by the Chief of the Pressburg police. + </p> + <p> + Muller laid the paper on the desk without a word. There was a watch on + this desk already; it was a heavy gold watch, unusually thick, with the + initials L. W. on the cover. Just as Muller laid down the telegram, a door + outside was opened and the commissioner covered the watch hastily. There + was a loud knock at his own door and an attendant entered to announce that + the party from Pressburg had arrived He was followed by one of the + Pressburg police force, who brought the official report. + </p> + <p> + “Did you have any difficulty with him?” asked the commissioner. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sir; it was a very easy job. He made no resistance at all, and he + seems to be quite sober now. But he hasn’t said a word since we arrested + him.” + </p> + <p> + Then followed the detailed report of the arrest, and the delivery of the + described pocketbook to the commissioner. + </p> + <p> + “Is that all?” asked Dr. von Riedau. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you may go home now, we will take charge of the man.” + </p> + <p> + The policeman bowed and left the room. A few moments later the tramp was + brought in, guarded by two armed roundsmen. His guards remained at the + door, while the prisoner himself walked forward to the middle of the room. + Commissioner von Riedau sat at his desk, his clerk beside him ready to + take down the evidence. Muller sat near a window with a paper on his lap, + looking the least interested of anybody in the proceedings. + </p> + <p> + For a moment there was complete silence in the room, which was broken in a + rather unusual manner. A deep voice, more like a growl, although it had a + queer strain of comic good-nature in it, began the proceedings with the + remark: “Well now, say, what do you want of me, anyway?” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner looked at the man in astonishment, then turned aside that + the prisoner might not notice his smile. But he might have spared himself + the trouble, for Muller, the clerk, and the two policemen at the door were + all on a broad grin. + </p> + <p> + Then the commissioner pulled himself together again, and began with his + usual official gravity: “It is I who ask questions here. Is it possible + that you do not know this? You look to me as if you had had experience in + police courts before.” The commissioner gazed at the prisoner with eyes + that were not altogether friendly. The tramp seemed to feel this, and his + own eyes dropped, while the good-natured impertinence in his bearing + disappeared. It was evidently the last remains of his intoxication. He was + now quite sober. + </p> + <p> + “What is your name?” asked the commissioner. + </p> + <p> + “Johann Knoll.” + </p> + <p> + “Where were you born?” + </p> + <p> + “Near Brunn.” + </p> + <p> + “Your age?” + </p> + <p> + “I’m—I’ll be forty next Christmas.” + </p> + <p> + “Your religion?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you can see I’m no Jew, can’t you?” + </p> + <p> + “You will please answer my questions in a proper manner. This impertinence + will not make things easier for you.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, sir,” said the tramp humbly. “I am a Catholic.” + </p> + <p> + “You have been in prison before?” This was scarcely a question. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir,” said Knoll firmly. + </p> + <p> + “What is your business?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know what to say, sir,” answered Knoll, shrugging his shoulders. + “I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I’m a cattle drover and a lumber + man, and I—” + </p> + <p> + “Did you learn any trade?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, I never learned anything.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to tell me that without having learned any trade you’ve + gotten through life thus far honestly?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I’ve worked hard enough—I’ve worked good and hard sometimes.” + </p> + <p> + “The last few days particularly, eh?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, no, sir, not these last days—I was drover on a transport of + pigs; we brought ‘em down from Hungary, 200 of ‘em, to the slaughter house + here.” + </p> + <p> + “When was that?” + </p> + <p> + “That was—that was Monday.” + </p> + <p> + “This last Monday?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir. + </p> + <p> + “And then you went to Hietzing?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, that’s right.” + </p> + <p> + “Why did you go to Hietzing?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, see here, sir, if I had gone to Ottakring, then I suppose you would + have asked why did I go to Ottakring. I just went to Hietzing. A fellow + has to go somewhere. You don’t stay in the same spot all the time, do + you?” + </p> + <p> + Again the commissioner turned his head and another smile went through the + room. This Hietzing murderer had a sense of humour. + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, we’ll go to Hietzing again, in our minds at least,” said the + commissioner, turning back to Knoll when he had controlled his merriment. + “You went there on Monday, then—and the day was coming to an end. + What did you do when you reached Hietzing?” + </p> + <p> + “I looked about for a place to sleep.” + </p> + <p> + “Where did you look for a place to sleep?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, in Hietzing.” + </p> + <p> + “That is not definite enough.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, in a garden.” + </p> + <p> + “You were trespassing, you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes, sir. There wasn’t anybody that seemed to want to invite me to + dinner or to give me a place to sleep. I just had to look out for myself.” + </p> + <p> + “You evidently know how to look out for yourself at the cost of others, a + heavy cost.” The commissioner’s easy tone had changed to sternness. Knoll + felt this, and a sharp gleam shot out from his dull little eyes, while the + tone of his voice was gruff and impertinent again as he asked: “What do + you mean by that?” + </p> + <p> + “You know well enough. You had better not waste any more time, but tell us + at once how you came into possession of this purse.” + </p> + <p> + “It’s my purse,” Knoll answered with calm impertinence. “I got it the way + most people get it. I bought it.” + </p> + <p> + “This purse?” the commissioner emphasised both words distinctly. + </p> + <p> + “This purse—yes,” answered the tramp with a perfect imitation of + Riedau’s voice. “Why shouldn’t I have bought this purse just like any + other?” + </p> + <p> + “Because you stole this purse from the man whom you—murdered,” was + the commissioner’s reply. + </p> + <p> + There was another moment of dead silence in the room. The commissioner and + Muller watched intently for any change of expression in the face of the + man who had just had such an accusation hurled at him. Even the clerk and + the two policemen at the door were interested to see what would happen. + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s calm impertinence vanished, a deadly pallor spread over his face, + and he seemed frozen to stone. He attempted to speak, but was not able to + control his voice. His hands were clenched and tremors shook his gaunt but + strong-muscled frame. + </p> + <p> + “When did I murder anybody?” he gasped finally in a hoarse croak. “You’ll + have to prove it to me that I am a murderer.” + </p> + <p> + “That is easily proved. Here is one of the proofs,” said Riedan coldly, + pointing to the purse. “The purse and the watch of the murdered man are + fatal witnesses against you.” + </p> + <p> + “The watch? I haven’t any watch. Where should I get a watch?” + </p> + <p> + “You didn’t have one until Monday, possibly; I can believe that. But you + were in possession of a watch between the evening of Monday, the 27th, and + the morning of Wednesday, the 29th.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s eyes dropped again and he did not trust himself to speak. + </p> + <p> + “Well, you do not deny this statement?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I can’t,” said Knoll, still trying to control his voice. “You must + have the watch yourself now, or else you wouldn’t be so certain about it.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you see, I thought you’d had experience with police courts before,” + said the commissioner amiably. “Of course I have the watch already. The + man whom you sold it to this morning knew by three o’clock this afternoon + where this watch came from. He brought it here at once and gave us your + description. A very exact description. The man will be brought here to + identify you to-morrow. We must send for him anyway, to return his money + to him. He paid you fifty-two gulden for the watch. And how much money was + in the purse that you took from the murdered man?” + </p> + <p> + “Three gulden eighty-five.” + </p> + <p> + “That was a very small sum for which to commit a murder.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll groaned and bit his lips until they bled. + </p> + <p> + Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the watch and + continued: “You presumably recognised that the chain on which this watch + hung was valueless, also that it could easily be recognised. Did you throw + it away, or have you it still?” + </p> + <p> + “I threw it in the river.” + </p> + <p> + “That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, we have + quite enough evidence without it. The purse, for instance: you thought, I + suppose, that it was just a purse like a thousand others, but it is not. + This purse is absolutely individual and easily recognised, because it is + mended in one spot with yellow thread. The thread has become loosened and + hangs down in a very noticeable manner. It was this yellow thread on the + purse, which he happened to see by chance, that showed the dealer + Goldstamm who it was that had entered his store.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll stood quite silent, staring at the floor. Drops of perspiration + stood out on his forehead, some of them rolling like tears down his cheek. + </p> + <p> + The commissioner rose from his seat and walked slowly to where the + prisoner stood. He laid one hand on the man’s shoulder and said in a voice + that was quite gentle and kind again: “Johann Knoll, do not waste your + time, or ours, in thinking up useless lies. You are almost convicted of + this crime now. You have already acknowledged so much, that there is but + little more for you to say. If you make an open confession, it will be + greatly to your advantage.” + </p> + <p> + Again the room was quiet while the others waited for what would happen. + For a moment the tramp stood silent, with the commissioner’s right hand + resting on his shoulder. Then there was a sudden movement, a struggle and + a shout, and the two policemen had overpowered the prisoner and held him + firmly. Muller rose quickly and sprang to his chief’s side. Riedau had not + even changed colour, and he said calmly: “Oh, never mind, Muller; sit down + again. The man had handcuffs on and he is quite quiet now. I think he has + sense enough to see that he is only harming himself by his violence.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner returned to his desk and Muller went back to his chair by + the window. The prisoner was quiet again, although his face wore a dark + flush and the veins on throat and forehead were swollen thick. He trembled + noticeably and the heavy drops besprinkled his brow. + </p> + <p> + “I—I have something to say, sir,” he began, “but first I want to beg + your pardon—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, never mind that. I am not angry when a man is fighting for his life, + even if he doesn’t choose quite the right way,” answered the commissioner + calmly, playing with a lead pencil. + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s expression was defiant now. He laughed harshly and began again: + “What I’m tellin’ you now is the truth whether you believe it or not. I + didn’t kill the man. I took the watch and purse from him. I thought he was + drunk. If he was killed, I didn’t do it.” + </p> + <p> + “He was killed by a shot.” + </p> + <p> + “A shot? Why, yes, I heard a shot, but I didn’t think any more about it, I + didn’t think there was anythin’ doing, I thought somebody was shootin’ a + cat, or else-” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, don’t bother to invent things. It was a man who was shot at, the man + whom you robbed. But go on, go on. I am anxious to hear what you will tell + me.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s hands, clenched to fists and his eyes glowed in hate and defiance. + Then he dropped them to the floor again and began to talk slowly in a + monotonous tone that sounded as if he were repeating a lesson. His manner + was rather unfortunate and did not tend to induce belief in the truth of + his story. The gist of what he said was as follows: + </p> + <p> + He had reached Hietzing on Monday evening about 8 o’clock. He was thirsty, + as usual, and had about two gulden in his possession, his wages for the + last day’s work. He turned into a tavern in Hietzing and ate and drank + until his money was all gone, and he had not even enough left to pay for a + night’s lodging. But Knoll was not worried about that. He was accustomed + to sleeping out of doors, and as this was a particularly fine evening, + there was nothing in the prospect to alarm him. He set about finding a + suitable place where he would not be disturbed by the guardians of the + law. His search led him by chance into a newly opened street. This suited + him exactly. The fences were easy to climb, and there were several little + summer houses in sight which made much more agreeable lodgings than the + ground under a bush. And above all, the street was so quiet and deserted + that he knew it was just the place for him. He had never been in the + street before, and did not know its name. He passed the four houses at the + end of the street—he was on the left sidewalk—and then he came + to two fenced-in building lots. These interested him. He was very agile, + raised himself up on the fences easily and took stock of the situation. + One of the lots did not appeal to him particularly, but the second one + did. It bordered on a large garden, in the middle of which he could see a + little house of some kind. It was after sunset but he could see things + quite plainly yet for the air was clear and the moon was just rising. He + saw also that in the vacant lot adjoining the garden, a lot which appeared + to have been a garden itself once, there was a sort of shed. It looked + very much damaged but appeared to offer shelter sufficient for a fine + night. + </p> + <p> + The shed stood on a little raise of the ground near the high iron fence + that protected the large garden. Knoll decided that the shed would make a + good place to spend the night. He climbed the fence easily and walked + across the lot. When he was just settling himself for his nap, he heard + the clock on a near-by church strike nine. The various drinks he had had + for supper put him in a mood that would not allow him to get to sleep at + once. The bench in the old shed was decidedly rickety and very + uncomfortable, and as he was tossing about to find a good position, a + thought came into his mind which he acknowledged was not a commendable + one. It occurred to him that if he pursued his investigations in the + neighbourhood a little further, he might be able to pick up something that + would be of advantage to him on his wanderings. His eyes and his thoughts + were directed towards the handsome house which he could see beyond the + trees of the old garden. + </p> + <p> + The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on the mansard + roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the long wing which stretched + out towards the garden glistened in the moonbeams, and the light coloured + wall of the house made a bright background for the dark mask of trees + waving gently in the night breeze. Knoll’s little shed was sufficiently + raised on its hillock for him to have a good view of the garden. There was + no door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring property clearly + from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there watching, he saw a + woman walking through the garden. He could see her only when she passed + back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes. As far as he could see, + she came from the main building and was walking towards a pretty little + house which lay in the centre of the garden. Knoll had imagined this house + to be the gardener’s dwelling and as it lay quite dark he supposed the + inmates were either asleep or out for the evening. It had been this house + which he was intending to honour by a visit. But seeing the woman walking + towards it, he decided it would not be safe to carry out his plan just yet + awhile. + </p> + <p> + A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had been a wise + one, for he saw a man come from the main building and walk along the path + the woman had taken. “No, nothing doing there,” thought Knoll, and + concluded he had better go to sleep. He could not remember just how long + he may have dozed but it seemed to him that during that time he had heard + a shot. It did not interest him much. He supposed some one was shooting at + a thieving cat or at some small night animal. He did not even remember + whether he had been really sound asleep, before he was aroused by the + breaking down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of it more than the + shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang up in alarm and listened + intently to hear whether any one had been attracted by it. His first + glance was towards the building behind the garden. There was no sound nor + no light in the garden house but there was a light in the main building. + While the tramp was wondering what hour it might be, the church clock + answered him by ten loud strokes. + </p> + <p> + His head was already aching from the wine and he did not feel comfortable + in the drafty old building. He came out from it, crept along to the spot + where he had climbed the fence before, and after listening carefully and + hearing nothing on either side, he climbed back to the road. The Street + lay silent and empty, which was just what he was hoping for. He held + carefully to the shadow thrown by the high board fence over which he had + climbed until he came to its end. Then he remembered that he hadn’t done + anything wrong and stepped out boldly into the moonlight. The moon was + well up now and the street was almost as light as day. Knoll was attracted + by the queer shadows thrown by a big elder tree, waving its long branches + in the wind. As he came nearer he saw that part of the shadow was no + shadow at all but was the body of a man lying in the street near the bush. + “I thought sure he was drunk” was the way Knoll described it. “I’ve been + like that myself often until somebody came along and found me.” + </p> + <p> + When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a long breath. + Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures on the paper in + front of him, then changed the lines until the head of a pretty woman in a + fur hat took shape under his fingers. + </p> + <p> + “Well, go on,” he said, looking with interest at his drawing and improving + it with several quick strokes. + </p> + <p> + Johann Knoll continued: + </p> + <p> + “Then the devil came over me and I thought I better take this good + opportunity—well—I did. The man was lying on his back and I + saw a watch chain on his dark vest. I bent over him and took his watch and + chain. Then I felt around in his pocket and found his purse. And then—well + then I felt sorry for him lying out in the open road like that, and I + thought I’d lift him up and put him somewhere where he could sleep it off + more convenient. But I didn’t see there was a little ditch there and I + stumbled over it and dropped him. ‘It’s a good thing he’s so drunk that + even this don’t wake him up,’ I thought, and ran off. Then I thought I + heard something moving and I was scared stiff, but there was nothing in + the street at all. I thought I had better take to the fields though and I + crossed through some corn and then out onto another street. Finally I + walked into the city, stayed there till this morning, sold the watch, then + went to Pressburg.” + </p> + <p> + “So that was the way it was,” said the commissioner, pushing his drawing + away from him and motioning to the policemen at the door. “You may take + this man away now,” he added in a voice of cool indifference, without + looking at the prisoner. + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s head drooped and he walked out quietly between his two guards. The + clock on the office wall struck eleven. + </p> + <p> + “Dear me! what a lot of time the man wasted,” said the commissioner, + putting the report of the proceedings, the watch and the purse in a drawer + of his desk. “When anybody has been almost convicted of a crime, it’s + really quite unnecessary to invent such a long story.” + </p> + <p> + A few minutes later, the room was empty and Muller, as the last of the + group, walked slowly down the stairs. He was in such a brown study that he + scarcely heard the commissioner’s friendly “goodnight,” nor did he notice + that he was walking down the quiet street under a star-gilded sky. “Almost + convicted—almost. Almost?” Muller’s lips murmured while his head was + full of a chaotic rush of thought, dim pictures that came and went, + something that seemed to be on the point of bringing light into the + darkness, then vanishing again. “Almost—but not quite. There is + something here I must find out first. What is it? I must know—” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. THE FACE AT THE GATE + </h2> + <p> + The second examination of the prisoner brought nothing new. Johann Knoll + refused to speak at all, or else simply repeated what he had said before. + This second examination took place early the next morning, but Muller was + not present. He was taking a walk in Hietzing. + </p> + <p> + When they took Johann Knoll in the police wagon to the City Prison, Muller + was just sauntering slowly through the street where the murder had been + committed. And as the door of the cell shut clangingly behind the man + whose face was distorted in impotent rage and despair, Joseph Muller was + standing in deep thought before the broken willow twig, which now hung + brown and dry across the planks of the fence. He looked at it for a long + time. That is, he seemed to be looking at it, but in reality his eyes were + looking out and beyond the willow twig, out into the unknown, where the + unknown murderer was still at large. Leopold Winkler’s body had already + been committed to the earth. How long will it be before his death is + avenged? Or perhaps how long may it even be before it is discovered from + what motive this murder was committed. Was it a murder for robbery, or a + murder for personal revenge perhaps? Were the two crimes committed here by + one and the same person, or were there two people concerned? And if two, + did they work as accomplices? Or is it possible that Knoll’s story was + true? Did he really only rob the body, not realising that it was a dead + man and not merely an intoxicated sleeper as he had supposed? These and + many more thoughts rushed tumultuously through Muller’s brain until he + sighed despairingly under the pressure. Then he smiled in amusement at the + wish that had crossed his brain, the wish that this case might seem as + simple to him as it apparently did to the commissioner. It would certainly + have saved him a lot of work and trouble if he could believe the obvious + as most people did. What was this devil that rode him and spurred him on + to delve into the hidden facts concerning matters that seemed so simple on + the surface? The devil that spurred him on to understand that there always + was some hidden side to every case? Then the sigh and the smile passed, + and Muller raised his head in one of the rare moments of pride in his own + gifts that this shy unassuming little man ever allowed himself. This was + the work that he was intended by Providence to do or he wouldn’t have been + fitted for it, and it was work for the common good, for the public safety. + Thinking back over the troubles of his early youth, Muller’s heart + rejoiced and he was glad in his own genius. Then the moment of unwonted + elation passed and he bent his mind again to the problem before him. + </p> + <p> + He sauntered slowly through the quiet street in the direction of the four + houses. To reach them he passed the fence that enclosed this end of the + Thorne property. Muller had already known, for the last twenty-four hours + at least, that the owner of the fine old estate was an artist by the name + of Herbert Thorne. His own landlady had informed him of this. He himself + was new to the neighbourhood, having moved out there recently, and he had + verified her statements by the city directory. As he was now passing the + Thorne property, in his slow, sauntering walk, he had just come within a + dozen paces of the little wooden gate in the fence when this gate opened. + Muller’s naturally soft tread was made still more noiseless by the fact + that he wore wide soft shoes. Years before he had acquired a bad case of + chilblains, in fact had been in imminent danger of having his feet frozen + by standing for five hours in the snow in front of a house, to intercept + several aristocratic gentlemen who sooner or later would be obliged to + leave that house. The police had long suspected the existence of this + high-class gambling den; but it was not until they had put Muller in + charge of the case, that there were any results attained. The arrests were + made at the risk of permanent injury to the celebrated detective. Since + then, Muller’s step was more noiseless than usual, and now the woman who + opened the gate and peered out cautiously did not hear his approach nor + did she see him standing in the shadow of the fence. She looked towards + the other end of the street, then turned and spoke to somebody behind her. + “There’s nobody coming from that direction,” he said. Then she turned her + head the other way and saw Muller. She looked at him for a moment and + slammed the gate shut, disappearing behind it. Muller heard the lock click + and heard the beat of running feet hastening rapidly over the gravel path + through the garden. + </p> + <p> + The detective stood immediately in front of the gate, shaking his head. + “What was the matter with the woman? What was it that she wanted to see or + do in the street? Why should she run away when she saw me?” These were his + thoughts. But he didn’t waste time in merely thinking. Muller never did. + Action followed thought with him very quickly. He saw a knot-hole in the + fence just beside the gate and he applied his eyes to this knot-hole. And + through the knot-hole he saw something that interested and surprised him. + </p> + <p> + The woman whose face had appeared so suddenly at the gate, and disappeared + still more suddenly, was the same woman whom he had seen bidding farewell + to Mr. Thorne and his wife on the Tuesday morning previous, the woman whom + he took to be the housekeeper. The old butler stood beside her. It was + undoubtedly the same man, although he had worn a livery then and was now + dressed in a comfortable old house coat. He stood beside the woman, + shaking his head and asking her just the questions that Muller was asking + himself at the moment. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what is the matter with you, Mrs. Bernauer? You’re so nervous since + yesterday. Are you ill? Everything seems to frighten you? Why did you run + away from that gate so suddenly? I thought you wanted me to show you the + place?” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer raised her head and Muller saw that her face looked pale and + haggard and that her eyes shone with an uneasy feverish light. She did not + answer the old man’s questions, but made a gesture of farewell and then + turned and walked slowly towards the house. She realised, apparently, and + feared, perhaps, that the man who was passing the gate might have noticed + her sudden change of demeanour and that he was listening to what she might + say. She did not think of the knot-hole in the board fence, or she might + have been more careful in hiding her distraught face from possible + observers. + </p> + <p> + Muller stood watching through this knot-hole for some little time. He took + a careful observation of the garden, and from his point of vantage he + could easily see the little house which was apparently the dwelling of the + gardener, as well as the mansard roof of the main building. There was + considerable distance between the two houses. The detective decided that + it might interest him to know something more about this garden, this house + and the people who lived there. And when Muller made such a decision it + was usually not very long before he carried it out. + </p> + <p> + The other street, upon which the main front of the mansard house opened, + contained a few isolated dwellings surrounded by gardens and a number of + newly built apartment houses. On the ground floor of these latter houses + were a number of stores and immediately opposite the Thorne mansion was a + little cafe. This suited Muller exactly, for he had been there before and + he remembered that from one of the windows there was an excellent view of + the gate and the front entrance of the mansion opposite. It was a very + modest little cafe, but there was a fairly good wine to be had there and + the detective made it an excuse to sit down by the window, as if enjoying + his bottle while admiring the changing colours of the foliage in the + gardens opposite. + </p> + <p> + Another rather good chance, he discovered, was the fact that the landlord + belonged to the talkative sort, and believed that the refreshments he had + to sell were rendered doubly agreeable when spiced by conversation. In + this case the good man was not mistaken. It was scarcely ten o’clock in + the forenoon and there were very few people in the cafe. The landlord was + quite at leisure to devote himself to this stranger in the window seat, + whom he did not remember to have seen before, and who was therefore doubly + interesting to him. Several subjects of conversation usual in such cases, + such as politics and the weather, seemed to arouse no particular + enthusiasm in his patron’s manner. Finally the portly landlord decided + that he would touch upon the theme which was still absorbing all Hietzing. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, by the way, sir, do you know that you are in the immediate vicinity + of the place where the murder of Monday evening was committed? People are + still talking about it around here. And I see by the papers that the + murderer was arrested in Pressburg yesterday and brought to Vienna last + night.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, is that so? I haven’t seen a paper to-day,” replied Muller, + awakening from his apparent indifference. + </p> + <p> + The landlord was flattered by the success of the new subject, and stood + ready to unloose the floodgates of his eloquence. His customer sat up and + asked the question for which the landlord was waiting. + </p> + <p> + “So it was around here that the man was shot?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. His name was Leopold Winkler, that was in the papers to-day too. You + see that pretty house opposite? Well, right behind this house is the + garden that belongs to it and back of that, an old garden which has been + neglected for some time. It was at the end of this garden where it touches + the other street, that they found the man under a big elder-tree, early + Tuesday morning, day before yesterday.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, indeed!” said. Muller, greatly interested, as if this was the first + he had heard of it. The landlord took a deep breath and was about to begin + again when his customer, who decided to keep the talkative man to a + certain phase of the subject, now took command of the conversation + himself. + </p> + <p> + “I should think that the people opposite, who live so near the place where + the murder was committed, wouldn’t be very much pleased,” he said. “I + shouldn’t care to look out on such a spot every time I went to my window.” + </p> + <p> + “There aren’t any windows there,” exclaimed the landlord, “for there + aren’t any houses there. There’s only the old garden, and then the large + garden and the park belonging to Mr. Thorne’s house, that fine old house + you see just opposite here. It’s a good thing that Mr. Thorne and his wife + went away before the murder became known. The lady hasn’t been well for + some weeks, she’s very nervous and frail, and it probably would have + frightened her to think that such things were happening right close to her + home.” + </p> + <p> + “The lady is sick? What’s the matter with her?” + </p> + <p> + “Goodness knows, nerves, heart trouble, something like that. The things + these fine ladies are always having. But she wasn’t always that way, not + until about a year ago. She was fresh and blooming and very pretty to look + at before that.” + </p> + <p> + “She is a young lady then?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, sir; she’s very young still and very pretty. It makes you + feel sorry to see her so miserable, and you feel sorry for her husband. + Now there’s a young couple with everything in the world to make them happy + and so fond of each other, and the poor little lady has to be so sick.” + </p> + <p> + “They are very happy, you say?” asked Muller carelessly. He had no + particular set purpose in following up this inquiry, none but his usual + understanding of the fact that a man in his business can never amass too + much knowledge, and that it will sometimes happen that a chance bit of + information comes in very handy. + </p> + <p> + The landlord was pleased at the encouragement and continued: “Indeed they + are very happy. They’ve only been married two years. The lady comes from a + distance, from Graz. Her father is an army officer I believe, and I don’t + think she was over-rich. But she’s a very sweet-looking lady and her rich + husband is very fond of her, any one can see that.” + </p> + <p> + “You said just now that they had gone away, where have they gone to?” + </p> + <p> + “They’ve gone to Italy, sir. Mrs. Thorne was one of the few people who do + not know Venice. Franz, that’s the butler, sir, told me yesterday evening + that he had received a telegram saying that the lady and gentleman had + arrived safely and were very comfortably fixed in the Hotel Danieli. You + know Danieli’s?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I do. I also was one of the few people who did not know Venice, that + is I was until two years ago. Then, however, I had the pleasure of riding + over the Bridge of Mestre,” answered Muller. He did not add that he was + not alone at the time, but had ridden across the long bridge in company + with a pale haggard-faced man who did not dare to look to the right or to + the left because of the revolver which he knew was held in the detective’s + hand under his loose overcoat. Muller’s visit to Venice, like most of his + journeyings, had been one of business. This time to capture and bring home + a notorious and long sought embezzler. He did not volunteer any of this + information, however, but merely asked in a politely interested manner + whether the landlord himself had been to Venice. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed,” replied the latter proudly. “I was head waiter at Baner’s + for two years.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you must make me some Italian dishes soon,” said Muller. Further + conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Franz, the old butler of + the house opposite. + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, sir; I must get him his glass of wine,” said the landlord, + hurrying away to the bar. He returned in a moment with a small bottle and + a glass and set it down on Muller’s table. + </p> + <p> + “You don’t mind, sir, if he sits down here?” he asked. “He usually sits + here at this table because then he can see if he is needed over at the + house.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, please let him come here. He has prior rights to this table + undoubtedly,” said the stranger politely. The old butler sat down with an + embarrassed murmur, as the voluble landlord explained that the stranger + had no objection. Then the boniface hurried off to attend to some newly + entered customers and the detective, greatly pleased at the prospect, + found himself alone with the old servant. + </p> + <p> + “You come here frequently?” he began, to open the conversation. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, since my master and myself have settled down here—we + travelled most of the time until several years ago—I find this place + very convenient. It’s a cosy little room, the wine is good and not + expensive, I’m near home and yet I can see some new faces occasionally.” + </p> + <p> + “I hope the faces that you see about you at home are not so unpleasant + that you are glad to get away from them?” asked Muller with a smile. + </p> + <p> + The old man gave a start of alarm. “Oh, dear, no, sir,” he exclaimed + eagerly; “that wasn’t what I meant. Indeed I’m fond of everybody in the + house from our dear lady down to the poor little dog.” + </p> + <p> + Here Muller gained another little bit of knowledge, the fact that the lady + of the house was the favourite of her servants, or that she seemed to them + even more an object of adoration than the master. + </p> + <p> + “Then you evidently have a very good place, since you seem so fond of + every one.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed I have a good place, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “You’ve had this place a long time?” + </p> + <p> + “More than twenty years. My master was only eleven years old when I took + service with the family.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, indeed! then you must be a person of importance in the house if you + have been there so long?” + </p> + <p> + “Well more or less I might say I am,” the old man smiled and looked + flattered, then added: “But the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernauer, is even more + important than I am, to tell you the truth. She was nurse to our present + young master, and she’s been in the house ever since. When his parents + died, it’s some years ago now, she took entire charge of the housekeeping. + She was a fine active woman then, and now the young master and mistress + couldn’t get along without her. They treat her as if she was one of the + family.” + </p> + <p> + “And she is ill also? I say also,” explained Muller, “because the landlord + has just been telling me that your mistress is ill.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, indeed, more’s the pity! our poor dear young lady has been miserable + for nearly a year now. It’s a shame to see such a sweet angel as she is + suffer like that and the master’s quite heart-broken over it. But there’s + nothing the matter with Mrs. Bernauer. How did you come to think that she + was sick?” + </p> + <p> + Muller did not intend to explain that the change in the housekeeper’s + appearance, a change which had come about between Tuesday morning and + Thursday morning, might easily have made any one think that she was ill. + He gave as excuse for his question the old man’s own words: “Why, I + thought that she might be ill also because you said yourself that the + housekeeper—what did you say her name was?” + </p> + <p> + “Bernauer, Mrs. Adele Bernauer. She was a widow when she came to take care + of the master. Her husband was a sergeant of artillery.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I mean,” continued Muller, “you said yourself that when the + gentleman’s parents died, Mrs. Bernauer was a fine active woman, therefore + I supposed she was no longer so.” + </p> + <p> + Franz thought the matter over for a while. “I don’t know just why I put it + that way. Indeed she’s still as active as ever and always fresh and well. + It’s true that for the last two or three days she’s been very nervous and + since yesterday it is as if she was a changed woman. She must be ill, I + don’t know how to explain it otherwise.” + </p> + <p> + “What seems to be the matter with her?” asked Muller and then to explain + his interest in the housekeeper’s health, he fabricated a story: “I + studied medicine at one time and although I didn’t finish my course or get + a diploma, I’ve always had a great interest in such things, and every now + and then I’ll take a case, particularly nervous diseases. That was my + specialty.” Muller took up his glass and turned away from the window, for + he felt a slow flush rising to his cheeks. It was another of Muller’s + peculiarities that he always felt an inward embarrassment at the lies he + was obliged to tell in his profession. + </p> + <p> + The butler did not seem to have noticed it however, and appeared eager to + tell of what concerned him in the housekeeper’s appearance and demeanour. + “Why, yesterday at dinner time was the first that we began to notice + anything wrong with Mrs. Bernauer. The rest of us, that is, Lizzie the + upstairs girl, the cook and myself. She began to eat her dinner with a + good appetite, then suddenly, when we got as far as the pudding, she let + her fork fall and turned deathly white. She got up without saying a word + and left the room. Lizzie ran after her to ask if anything was the matter, + but she said no, it was nothing of importance. After dinner, she went + right out, saying she was doing some errands. She brought in a lot of + newspapers, which was quite unusual, for she sometimes does not look at a + newspaper once a week even. I wouldn’t have noticed it but Lizzie’s the + kind that sees and hears everything and she told us about it.” Franz + stopped to take a drink, and Muller said indifferently, “I suppose Mrs. + Bernauer was interested in the murder case. The whole neighbourhood seems + to be aroused about it.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I don’t think that was it,” answered the old servant, “because then + she would have sent for a paper this morning too.” + </p> + <p> + “And she didn’t do that?” + </p> + <p> + “No, unless she might have gone out for it herself. There’s a news stand + right next door here. But I don’t think she did because I would have seen + the paper around the house then.” + </p> + <p> + “And is that all that’s the matter with her?” asked Muller in a tone of + disappointment. “Why, I thought you’d have something really interesting to + tell me.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, that isn’t all, sir,” exclaimed the old man eagerly. + </p> + <p> + Muller leaned forward, really interested now, while Franz continued: “She + was uneasy all the afternoon yesterday. She walked up and down stairs and + through the halls—I remember Lizzie making some joke about it—and + then in the evening to our surprise she suddenly began a great rummaging + in the first story.” + </p> + <p> + “Is that where she lives?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no; her room is in the wing out towards the garden. The rooms on the + first floor all belong to the master and mistress. This morning we found + out that Mrs. Bernauer’s cleaning up of the evening before had been done + because she remembered that the master wanted to take some papers with him + but couldn’t find them and had asked her to look for them and send them + right on.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I shouldn’t call that a sign of any particular nervousness, but + rather an evidence of Mrs. Bernauer’s devotion to her duty.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, sir—but it certainly is queer that she should go into the + garden at four o’clock this morning and appear to be looking for something + along the paths and under the bushes. Even if a few of the papers blew out + of the window, or blew away from the summer house, where the master writes + sometimes, they couldn’t have scattered all over the garden like that.” + </p> + <p> + Muller didn’t follow up this subject any longer. There might come a time + when he would be interested in finding out the reason for the + housekeeper’s search in the garden, but just at present he wanted + something else. He remembered some remark of the old man’s about the “poor + little dog,” and on this he built his plan. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, well,” he said carelessly, “almost everybody is nervous and impatient + now-a-days. I suppose Mrs. Bernauer felt uneasy because she couldn’t find + the paper right away. There’s nothing particularly interesting or + noticeable about that. Anyway, I’ve been occupying myself much more these + last years with sick animals rather than with sick people. I’ve had some + very successful cures there.” + </p> + <p> + “No, really, have you? Then you could do us a great favour,” exclaimed + Franz in apparent eagerness. Muller’s heart rejoiced. He had apparently + hit it right this time. He knew that in a house like that “a poor dog” + could only mean a “sick dog.” But his voice was quite calm as he asked: + “How can I do you a favour?” + </p> + <p> + “Why, you see, sir, we’ve got a little terrier,” explained the old man, + who had quite forgotten the fact that he had mentioned the dog before. + “And there’s been something the matter with the poor little chap for + several days. He won’t eat or drink, he bites at the grass and rolls + around on his stomach and cries—it’s a pity to see him. If you’re + fond of animals and know how to take care of them, you may be able to help + us there.” + </p> + <p> + “You want me to look at the little dog? Why, yes, I suppose I can.” + </p> + <p> + “We’ll appreciate it,” said the old man with an embarrassed smile. But + Muller shook his head and continued: “No, never mind the payment, I + wouldn’t take any money for it. But I’ll tell you what you can do for me. + I’m very fond of flowers. If you think you can take the responsibility of + letting me walk around in the garden for a little while, and pick a rose + or two, I will be greatly pleased.” + </p> + <p> + “Why, of course you may,” said Franz. “Take any of the roses you see there + that please you. They’re nearly over for the season now and it’s better + they should be picked rather than left to fade on the bush. We don’t use + so many flowers in the house now when the family are not there.” + </p> + <p> + “All right, then, it’s a bargain,” laughed Muller, signalling to the + landlord. “Are you, going already?” asked the old servant. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I must be going if I am to spend any time with the little dog.” + </p> + <p> + “I suppose I ought to be at home myself,” said Franz. “Something’s the + matter with the electric wiring in our place. The bell in the master’s + room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to send us a man out + to fix it. He’s likely to come any minute now.” The two men rose, paid + their checks, and went out together. Outside the cafe Muller hesitated a + moment. “You go on ahead,” he said to Franz. “I want to go in here and get + a cigar.” + </p> + <p> + While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for several newspapers, + choosing those which his quick eye had told him were no longer among the + piles on the counter. “I’m very sorry, sir,” said the clerk; “we have only + a few of those papers, just two or three more than we need for our regular + customers, and this morning they are all sold. The housekeeper from the + Thorne mansion took the very last ones.” + </p> + <p> + This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store and caught + up with the old butler as the latter was opening the handsome iron gate + that led from the Thorne property out onto the street. + </p> + <p> + “Well, where’s our little patient?” asked the detective as he walked + through the courtyard with Franz. + </p> + <p> + “You’ll see him in a minute,” answered the old servant. He led the way + through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome old pieces in + empire style, and opened a door at its further end. + </p> + <p> + “This is my room.” + </p> + <p> + It was a large light room with two windows opening on the garden. Muller + was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall had been such a + short one. However he was in the house, that was something, and he could + afford to trust to chance for the rest. Meanwhile he would look at the + dog. The little terrier lay in a corner by the stove and it did not take + Muller more than two or three minutes to discover that there was nothing + the matter with the small patient but a simple case of over-eating. But he + put on a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and looking up, + asked if he could get some chamomile tea. + </p> + <p> + “I’ll go for it, I think there’s some in the house. Do you want it made + fresh?” said Franz. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do,” was Muller’s answer. + He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to do the dog good and + at the present moment he wanted to be left alone in the room. As soon as + Franz had gone, the detective hastened to the window, placing himself + behind the curtain so that he could not be seen from outside. He himself + could see first a wide courtyard lying between the two wings of the house, + then beyond it the garden, an immense square plot of ground beautifully + cultivated. The left wing of the house was about six windows longer than + the other, and from the first story of it it would be quite easy to look + out over the vacant lot where the old shed stood which had served as a + night’s lodging for Johann Knoll. + </p> + <p> + There was not the slightest doubt in Muller’s mind that this part of the + tramp’s story was true, for by a natural process of elimination he knew + there was nothing to be gained by inventing any such tale. Besides which + the detective himself had been to look at the shed. His well-known + pedantic thoroughness would not permit him to take any one’s word for + anything that he might find out for himself. In his investigations on + Tuesday morning he had already seen the half-ruined shed, now he knew that + it contained a broken bench. + </p> + <p> + Thus far, therefore, Knoll’s story was proved to be true—but there was + something that didn’t quite hitch in another way. The tramp had said that + he had seen first a woman and then a man come from the main house and go + in the direction of the smaller house which he took to be the gardener’s + dwelling. This Muller discovered now was quite impossible. A tall hedge, + fully seven or eight feet high and very thick, stretched from the + courtyard far down into the garden past the gardener’s little house. There + was a broad path on the right and the left of this green wall. From his + position in the shed, Knoll could have seen people passing only when they + were on the right side of the hedge. But to reach the gardener’s house + from the main dwelling, the shortest way would be on the left side of the + hedge. This much Muller saw, then he heard the butler’s steps along the + hall and he went back to the corner where the dog lay. + </p> + <p> + Franz was not alone. There was some one else with him, the housekeeper, + Mrs. Bernauer. Just as they opened the door, Muller heard her say: “If the + gentleman is a veterinary, then we’d better ask him about the parrot—” + </p> + <p> + The sentence was never finished. Muller never found out what was the + matter with the parrot, for as he looked up with a polite smile of + interest, he looked into a pale face, into a pair of eyes that opened wide + in terror, and heard trembling lips frame the words: “There he is again!” + </p> + <p> + A moment later Mrs. Bernauer would have been glad to have recalled her + exclamation, but it was too late. + </p> + <p> + Muller bowed before her and asked: “‘There he is again,’ you said; have + you ever seen me before?” + </p> + <p> + The woman looked at him as if hypnotised and answered almost in a whisper: + “I saw you Tuesday morning for the first time, Tuesday morning when the + family were going away. Then I saw you pass through our street twice again + that same day. This morning you went past the garden gate and now I find + you here. What-what is it you want of us?” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell you what I want, Mrs. Bernauer, but first I want to speak to + you alone. Mr. Franz doesn’t mind leaving us for a while, does he?” + </p> + <p> + “But why?” said the old man hesitatingly. He didn’t understand at all what + was going on and he would much rather have remained. + </p> + <p> + “Because I came here for the special purpose of speaking to Mrs. + Bernauer,” replied Muller calmly. + </p> + <p> + “Then you didn’t come on account of the dog?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I didn’t come on account of the dog.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you—you lied to me?” + </p> + <p> + “Partly.” + </p> + <p> + “And you’re no veterinary?” + </p> + <p> + “No—I can help your dog, but I am not a veterinary and never have + been.” + </p> + <p> + “What are you then?” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell Mrs. Bernauer who and what I am when you are outside—outside + in the courtyard there. You can walk about in the garden if you want to, + or else go and get some simple purgative for this dog. That is all he + needs; he has been over-fed.” + </p> + <p> + Franz was quite bewildered. These new developments promised to be + interesting and he was torn between his desire to know more, and his + doubts as to the propriety of leaving the housekeeper with this queer + stranger. He hesitated until the woman herself motioned to him to go. He + went out into the hall, then into the courtyard, watched by the two in the + room who stood silently in the window until they saw the butler pass down + into the garden. Then they looked at each other. + </p> + <p> + “You belong to the police?” asked Adele Bernauer finally with a deep sigh. + </p> + <p> + “That was a good guess,” replied Muller with an ironic smile, adding: “All + who have any reason to fear us are very quick in recognising us.” + </p> + <p> + “What do you mean by that?” she exclaimed with a start. “What are you + thinking of?” + </p> + <p> + “I am thinking about the same thing that you are thinking of—that I + have proved you are thinking of—the same thing that drove you out + into the street yesterday and this morning to buy the papers. These papers + print news which is interesting many people just now, and some people a + great deal. I am thinking of the same thing that was evidently in your + thoughts as you peered out of the garden gate this morning, although you + would not come out into the street. I know that you do not read even one + newspaper regularly. I know also that yesterday and today you bought a + great many papers, apparently to get every possible detail about a certain + subject. Do you deny this?” + </p> + <p> + She did not deny it, she did not answer at all. She sank down on a chair, + her wide staring eyes looking straight ahead of her, and trembling so that + the old chair cracked underneath her weight. But this condition did not + last long. The woman had herself well under control. Muller’s coming, or + something else, perhaps, may have overwhelmed her for a moment, but she + soon regained her usual self-possession. + </p> + <p> + “Still you have not told me what you want here,” she began coldly, and as + he did not answer she continued: “I have a feeling that you are watching + us. I had this feeling when I saw you the first time and noticed then—pardon + my frankness—that you stared at us sharply while we were saying + goodbye to our master and mistress. Then I saw you pass twice again + through the street and look up at our windows. This morning I find you at + our garden gate and now—you will pardon me if I tell the exact truth—now + you have wormed yourself in here under false pretenses because you have no + right whatever to force an entrance into this house. And I ask you again, + what do you want here?” + </p> + <p> + Muller was embarrassed. That did not happen very often. Also it did not + happen very often that he was in the wrong as he was now. The woman was + absolutely right. He had wormed himself into the house under false + pretenses to follow up the new clue which almost unconsciously as yet was + leading him on with a stronger and stronger attraction. He could not have + explained it and he certainly was not ready to say anything about it at + police headquarters, even at the risk of being obliged to continue to + enter this mysterious house under false pretenses and to be told that he + was doing so. Of course this sort of thing was necessary in his business, + it was the only way in which he could follow up the criminals. + </p> + <p> + But there was something in this woman’s words that cut into a sensitive + spot and drove the blood to his cheeks. There was something in the bearing + and manner of this one-time nurse that impressed him, although he was not + a man to be lightly impressed. He had a feeling that he had made a fool of + himself and it bothered him. For a moment he did not know what he should + say to this woman who stood before him with so much quiet energy in her + bearing. But the something in his brain, the something that made him what + he was, whispered to him that he had done right, and that he must follow + up the trail he had found. That gave him back his usual calm. + </p> + <p> + He took up his hat, and standing before the pale-faced woman, looking her + firmly in the eyes, he said: “It is true that I have no right as yet to + force my way into your house, therefore I have been obliged to enter it as + best I could. I have done this often in my work, but I do it for the + safety of society. And those who reproach me for doing it are generally + those whom I have been obliged to persecute in the name of the law. Mrs. + Bernauer, I will confess that there are moments in which I feel ashamed + that I have chosen this profession that compels me to hunt down human + beings. But I do not believe that this is one of those moments. You have + read this morning’s papers; you must know, therefore, that a man has been + arrested and accused of the murder which interests you so much; you must + be able to realise the terror and anxiety which are now filling this man’s + heart. For to-day’s papers—I have read them myself—expressed + the public sentiment that the police may succeed in convicting this man of + the crime, that the death may be avenged and justice have her due. Several + of these papers, the papers I know you have bought and presumably read, do + not doubt that Johann Knoll is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. + </p> + <p> + “Now there are at least two people who do not believe that Knoll is the + murderer. I am one of them, and you, Mrs. Bernauer, you are the other. I + am going now and when I come again, as I doubtless will come again, I will + come with full right to enter this house. I acknowledge frankly that I + have no justification in causing your arrest as yet, but you are quite + clever enough to know that if I had the faintest justification I would not + leave here alone. And one thing more I have to say. You may not know that + I have had the most extraordinary luck in my profession, that in more than + a hundred cases there have been but two where the criminal I was hunting + escaped me. And now, Mrs. Bernauer, I will bid you good day.” + </p> + <p> + Muller stepped towards the window and motioned to Franz, who was walking + up and down outside. The old man ran to the door and met the detective in + the hall. + </p> + <p> + “You’d better go in and look after Mrs. Bernauer,” said the latter, “I can + find my way out alone.” + </p> + <p> + Franz looked after him, shaking his head in bewilderment and then entered + his own room. “Merciful God!” he exclaimed, bending down in terror over + the housekeeper, who lay on the floor. In his shock and bewilderment he + imagined that she too had been murdered, until he realised that it was + only a swoon from which she recovered in a moment. He helped her regain + her feet and she looked about as if still dazed, stammering: “Has he + gone?” + </p> + <p> + “The strange man? ... Yes, he went some time ago. But what happened to + you? Did he give you something to make you faint? Do you think he was a + thief?” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer shook her head and murmured: “Oh, no, quite the contrary.” A + remark which did not enlighten Franz particularly as to the status of the + man who had just left them. There was a note of fear in the housekeepers’s + voice and she added hastily: “Does any one besides ourselves know that he + was here?” + </p> + <p> + “No, Lizzie and the cook are in the kitchen talking about the murder.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer shivered again and went slowly out of the room and up the + stairs. + </p> + <p> + If Franz believed that the stranger had left the house by the front + entrance he was very much mistaken. When Muller found himself alone in the + corridor he turned quickly and hurried out into the garden. None of the + servants had seen him. Lizzie and the cook were engaged in an earnest + conversation in the kitchen and Franz was fully occupied with Mrs. + Bernauer. The gardener was away and his wife busy at her wash tubs. No one + was aware, therefore, that Muller spent about ten minutes wandering about + the garden, and ten minutes were quite sufficient for him to become so + well acquainted with the place that he could have drawn a map of it. He + left the garden through the rear gate, the latch of which he was obliged + to leave open. The gardener’s wife found it that way several hours later + and was rather surprised thereat. Muller walked down the street rapidly + and caught a passing tramway. His mood was not of the best, for he could + not make up his mind whether or no this morning had been a lost one. His + mind sorted and rearranged all that he knew or could imagine concerning + Mrs. Bernauer. But there was hardly enough of these facts to reassure him + that he was not on a false trail, that he had not allowed himself to waste + precious hours all because he had seen a woman’s haggard face appear for a + moment at the little gate in the quiet street. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE + </h2> + <p> + Muller’s goal was the prison where Johann Knoll was awaiting his fate. The + detective had permission to see the man as often as he wished to. Knoll + had been proven a thief, but the accusation of murder against him had not + been strengthened by anything but the most superficial circumstantial + evidence, therefore it was necessary that Muller should talk with him in + the hope of discovering something more definite. + </p> + <p> + Knoll lay asleep on his cot as the detective and the warder entered the + cell. Muller motioned the attendant to leave him alone with the prisoner + and he stood beside the cot looking down at the man. The face on the hard + pillow was not a very pleasant one to look at. The skin was roughened and + swollen and had that brown-purple tinge which comes from being constantly + in the open air, and from habitual drinking. The weather-beaten look may + be seen often in the faces of men whose honest work keeps them out of + doors; but this man had not earned his colouring honestly, for he was one + of the sort who worked only from time to time when it was absolutely + necessary and there was no other way of getting a penny. His hands proved + this, for although soiled and grimy they had soft, slender fingers which + showed no signs of a life of toil. But even a man who has spent forty + years in useless idling need not be all bad. There must have been some + good left in this man or he could not have lain there so quietly, + breathing easily, wrapped in a slumber as undisturbed as that of a child. + It did not seem possible that any man could lie there like that with the + guilt of murder on his conscience, or even with the knowledge in his soul + that he had plundered a corpse. + </p> + <p> + Muller had never believed the first to be the case, but he had thought it + possible that Knoll knew perfectly well that it was a lifeless body he was + robbing. He had believed it at least until the moment when he stood + looking down at the sleeping tramp. Now, with the deep knowledge of the + human heart which was his by instinct and which his profession had + increased a thousand-fold, Muller knew that this man before him had no + heavy crime upon his conscience—that it was really as he had said—that + he had taken the watch and purse from one whom he believed to be + intoxicated only. Of course it was not a very commendable deed for which + the tramp was now in prison, but it was slight in comparison to the crimes + of which he was suspected. + </p> + <p> + Muller bent lower over the unconscious form and was surprised to see a + gentle smile spread over the face before him. It brightened and changed + the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a look of almost child-like + innocence. Somewhere within the coarsened soul there must be a spot of + brightness from which such a smile could come. + </p> + <p> + But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and looked up. He + shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller’s hand on his shoulder + and raised himself to a sitting position, grumbling: “Can’t I have any + rest? Are they going to question me again? I’m getting tired of this. I’ve + said everything I know anyhow.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of my questions + when I tell you that I believe the story you told us yesterday, and that I + want to be your friend and help you.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll’s little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the man who spoke + to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark of intelligence in + them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and he saw it again now. But he + saw also the gleam of distrust in these eyes, a distrust which found + expression in Knoll’s next words. “You think you can catch me with your + good words, but you’re makin’ a mistake. I’ve got nothin’ new to say. And + you needn’t think that you can blind me, I know you’re one of the police, + and I’m not going to say anything at all.” + </p> + <p> + “Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I really could help + you. I have just come from Hietzing—but of course if you don’t want + to talk to me—” Muller shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the + door. + </p> + <p> + But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. “You really mean to help + me?” he gasped. + </p> + <p> + “I do,” said the detective calmly. + </p> + <p> + “Then swear, on your mother’s soul—or is your mother still alive?” + </p> + <p> + “No, she has been dead some time.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, then, will you swear it?” + </p> + <p> + “Would you believe an oath like that?” + </p> + <p> + “Why shouldn’t I?” + </p> + <p> + “With the life you’ve been leading?” + </p> + <p> + “My life’s no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those things on Monday + was the worst thing I’ve done yet. Will you swear?” + </p> + <p> + “Is it something so very important you have to tell me?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I ain’t got nothin’ at all new to tell you. But I’d just like to know—in + this black hole I’ve got into—I’d just like to know that there’s one + human being who means well with me—I’d like to know that there’s one + man in the world who don’t think I’m quite good-for-nothin’.” + </p> + <p> + The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a heart-rending sob. + Deep pity moved the detective’s breast. He led Knoll back to his cot, and + put both hands on his shoulders, saying gravely: “I believe that this + theft was the worst thing you have done. By my mother’s salvation, Knoll, + I believe your words and I will try to help you.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll raised his head, looking up at Muller with a glance of unspeakable + gratitude. With trembling lips he kissed the hand which a moment before + had pressed kindly on his shoulder, clinging fast to it as if he could not + bear to let it go. Muller was almost embarrassed. “Oh, come now, Knoll, + don’t be foolish. Pull yourself together and answer my questions + carefully, for I am asking you these questions more for your own sake than + for anything else.” + </p> + <p> + The tramp nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He looked almost happy + again, and there was a softness in his eyes that showed there was + something in the man which might be saved and which was worth saving. + </p> + <p> + Muller sat beside him on the cot and began: “There was one mistake in your + story yesterday. I want you to think it over carefully. You said that you + saw first a woman and then a man going through the neighbouring garden. I + believe that one or both of these people is the criminal for whom we are + looking. Therefore, I want you to try and remember everything that you can + connect with them, every slightest detail. Anything that you can tell us + may be of the greatest importance. Therefore, think very carefully.” + </p> + <p> + Knoll sat still a few moments, evidently trying hard to put his hazy + recollections into useful form and shape. But it was also evident that + orderly thinking was an unusual work for him, and he found it almost too + difficult. “I guess you better ask me questions, maybe that’ll go,” he + said after a pause. + </p> + <p> + Then Muller began to question. With his usual thoroughness he began at the + very beginning: “When was it that you climbed the fence to get into the + shed?” + </p> + <p> + “It just struck nine o’clock when I put my foot on the lowest bar.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure of that?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite sure. I counted every stroke. You see, I wanted to know how long + the night was going to be, seein’ I’d have to sleep in that shed. I was in + the garden just exactly an hour. I came out of the shed as it struck ten + and it wasn’t but a few minutes before I was in the street again.” + </p> + <p> + “And when was it that you saw the woman in the garden next door?” + </p> + <p> + “H’m, I don’t just know when that was. I’d been in on the bench quite a + while.” + </p> + <p> + “And the man? When did you see the man?” + </p> + <p> + “He came past a few minutes after the woman had gone towards the little + house in the garden.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! there you see, that’s where you made your mistake. It is more than + likely that these two did not go to the little house, but that they went + somewhere else. Did they walk slowly and quietly?” + </p> + <p> + “Not a bit of it. They ran almost... Went past as quick as a bat in the + night.” + </p> + <p> + “Then they both appeared to be in a hurry?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes indeed they did.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, ha, you see! Now when any one’s in a hurry he doesn’t go the longest + way round, as a rule. And it would have been the longest way round for + these two people to go from the big house to the gardener’s cottage—for + the little house you saw was the gardener’s cottage. There is tall thick + hedge that starts from the main building and goes right down through the + garden, quite a distance past the gardener’s cottage. The vegetable garden + is on the left side of this hedge and in the middle of the vegetable + garden is the gardener’s cottage. But you could have seen the man and the + woman only because they passed down the right side of the hedge, and this + would have given them a detour of fifty paces or more to reach the + gardener’s house. Nov do you think that two people who were very much in a + hurry would have gone down the right side of the hedge, to reach a place + which they could have gotten to much quicker on the left side?” + </p> + <p> + “No, that would have been a fool thing to do.” + </p> + <p> + “And you are quite sure that these people were in a hurry?” + </p> + <p> + “That’s dead sure. I scarcely saw them before they’d gone again.” + </p> + <p> + “And you didn’t see them come back?” + </p> + <p> + “No, at least I didn’t pay any further attention to them. When I thought + it wouldn’t be any good to look about in there I turned around and dozed + off.” + </p> + <p> + “And it was during this dozing that you thought you heard the shot?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, that’s right.” + </p> + <p> + “And you didn’t notice anything else? You didn’t hear anything else.” + </p> + <p> + “No, nothin’ at all, there was so much noise anyway. There was a high wind + that night and the trees were rattling and creaking.” + </p> + <p> + “And you didn’t see anything else, anything that attracted your + attention?” + </p> + <p> + “No, nothing—” Knoll did not finish his sentence, but began another + instead. He had suddenly remembered something which had seemed to him of + no importance before. “There was a light that went out suddenly.” + </p> + <p> + “Where?” + </p> + <p> + “In the side of the house that I could see from my place. There was a lamp + in the last window of the second story, a lamp with a red shade. That lamp + went out all at once.” + </p> + <p> + “Was the window open?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “There was a strong wind that night, might not the wind have blown the + lamp out?” + </p> + <p> + “No, that wasn’t it,” said Knoll, rising hastily. + </p> + <p> + “Well, how was it?” asked Muller calmly. + </p> + <p> + “A hand put out the lamp.” + </p> + <p> + “Whose hand?” + </p> + <p> + “I couldn’t see that. The light was so low on account of the shade that I + couldn’t see the person who stood there.” + </p> + <p> + “And you don’t know whether it was a man or a woman?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I just saw a hand, more like a shadow it was.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, it doesn’t matter much anyway. It was after nine o’clock and many + people go to bed about that time,” said Muller, who did not see much value + in this incident. + </p> + <p> + But Knoll shook his head. “The person who put out that light didn’t go to + bed, at least not right away,” he said eagerly. “I looked over after a + while to the place where the red light was and I saw something else.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, what was it you saw?” + </p> + <p> + “The window had been closed.” + </p> + <p> + “Who closed it? Didn’t you see the person that time? The moonlight lay + full on the house.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, when there weren’t any clouds. But there was a heavy cloud over the + moon just then and when it came out again the window was shut and there + was a white curtain drawn in front of it.” + </p> + <p> + “How could you see that?” + </p> + <p> + “I could see it when the lamp was lit again.” + </p> + <p> + “Then the lamp was lit again?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I could see the red light behind the curtain.” + </p> + <p> + “And what happened then?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing more then, except that the man went through the garden.” + </p> + <p> + Muller rose now and took up his hat. He was evidently excited and Knoll + looked at him uneasily. “You’re goin’ already?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I have a great deal to do to-day,” replied the detective and nodded + to the prisoner as he knocked on the door. “I am glad you remembered + that,” he added, “it will be of use to us, I think.” + </p> + <p> + The warder opened the door, let Muller out, and the heavy iron portal + clanged again between Knoll and freedom. + </p> + <p> + Muller was quite satisfied with the result of his visit to the accused. He + hurried to the nearest cab stand and entered one of the carriages waiting + there. He gave the driver Mrs. Klingmayer’s address. It was about two + o’clock in the afternoon now and Muller had had nothing to eat yet. But he + was quite unaware of the fact as his mind was so busy that no mere + physical sensation could divert his attention for a moment. Muller never + seemed to need sleep or food when he was on the trail, particularly not in + the fascinating first stages of the case when it was his imagination + alone, catching at trifles unnoticed by others, combining them in masterly + fashion to an ordered whole, that first led the seekers to the truth. Now + he went over once more all the little apparently trivial incidents that + had caused him first to watch the Thorne household and then had drawn his + attention, and his suspicion, to Adele Bernauer. It was the broken willow + twig that had first drawn his attention to the old garden next the Thorne + property. This twig, this garden, and perhaps some one who could reach his + home again, unseen and unendangered through this garden—might not + this have something to do with the murder? + </p> + <p> + The breaking of the twig was already explained. It was Johann Knoll who + had stepped on it. But he had not climbed the wall at all, had only crept + along it looking for a night’s shelter. And there was no connection + between Knoll and the people who lived in the Thorne house. Muller had not + the slightest doubt that the tramp had told the entire truth that day and + the day preceding. + </p> + <p> + Then the detective’s mind went back to the happenings of Tuesday morning. + The little twig had first drawn his attention to the Thorne estate and the + people who lived there. He had seen the departure of the young couple and + had passed the house again that afternoon and the following day, drawn to + it as if by a magnet. He had not been able then to explain what it was + that attracted him; there had been nothing definite in his mind as he + strolled past the old mansion. But his repeated appearance had been + noticed by some one—by one person only—the housekeeper. Why + should she have noticed it? Had she any reason for believing that she + might be watched? People with an uneasy conscience are very apt to connect + even perfectly natural trivial circumstances with their own doings. Adele + Bernauer had evidently connected Muller’s repeated passing with something + that concerned herself even before the detective had thought of her at + all. + </p> + <p> + Muller had not noticed her until he had seen her peculiar conduct that + very morning. When he heard Franz’s words and saw how disturbed the woman + was, he asked himself: “Why did this woman want to be shown the spot of + the murder? Didn’t she know that place, living so near it, as well as any + of the many who stood there staring in morbid curiosity? Did she ask to + have it shown her that the others might believe she had nothing whatever + to do with the occurrences that had happened there? Or was she drawn + thither by that queer attraction that brings the criminal back to the + scene of his crime?” + </p> + <p> + The sudden vision of Mrs. Bernauer’s head at the garden gate, and its + equally sudden disappearance had attracted Muller’s attention and his + thoughts to the woman. What he had been able to learn about her had + increased his suspicions and her involuntary exclamation when she met him + face to face in the house had proved beyond a doubt that there was + something on her mind. His open accusation, her demeanour, and finally her + swoon, were all links in the chain of evidence that this woman knew + something about the murder in the quiet lane. + </p> + <p> + With this suspicion in his mind what Muller had learned from Knoll was of + great value to him, at all events of great interest. Was it the + housekeeper who had put out the light? For now Muller did not doubt for a + moment that this sudden extinguishing of the lamp was a signal. He + believed that Knoll had seen clearly and that he had told truly what he + had seen. A lamp that is blown out by the wind flickers uneasily before + going out. A sudden extinguishing of the light means human agency. And the + lamp was lit again a few moments afterward and burned on steadily as + before. A short time after the lamp had been put out the man had been seen + going through the garden. And it could not have been much later before the + shot was heard. This shot had been fired between the hours of nine and + ten, for it was during this hour only that Knoll was in the garden house + and heard the shot. But it was not necessary to depend upon the tramp’s + evidence alone to determine the exact hour of the shot. It must have been + before half past nine, or otherwise the janitor of No.1, who came home at + that hour and lay awake so long, would undoubtedly have heard a shot fired + so near his domicile, in spite of the noise occasioned by the high wind. + There would have been sufficient time for Mrs. Bernauer to have reached + the place of the murder between the putting out of the lamp and the firing + of the shot. But perhaps she may have rested quietly in her room; she may + have been only the inciter or the accomplice of the deed. But at all + events, she knew something about it, she was in some way connected with + it. + </p> + <p> + Muller drew a deep breath. He felt much easier now that he had arranged + his thoughts and marshalled in orderly array all the facts he had already + gathered. There was nothing to do now but to follow up a given path step + by step and he could no longer reproach himself that he might have cast + suspicion on an innocent soul. No, his bearing towards Mrs. Bernauer had + not been sheer brutality. His instinct, which had led him so unerringly so + many times, had again shown him the right way when he had thrust the + accusation in her face. + </p> + <p> + Now that his mind was easier he realised that he was very hungry. He drove + to a restaurant and ordered a hasty meal. + </p> + <p> + “Beer, sir?” asked the waiter for the third time. + </p> + <p> + “No,” answered Muller, also for the third time. + </p> + <p> + “Then you’ll take wine, sir?” asked the insistent Ganymede. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, go to the devil! When I want anything I’ll ask for it,” growled the + detective, this time effectively scaring the waiter. It did not often + happen that a customer refused drinks, but then there were not many + customers who needed as clear a head as Muller knew he would have to have + to-day. Always a light drinker, it was one of his rules never to touch a + drop of liquor during this first stage of the mental working out of any + new problem which presented itself. But soft-hearted as he was, he + repented of his irritation a moment later and soothed the waiter’s wounded + feelings by a rich tip. The boy ran out to open the cab door for his + strange customer and looked after him, wondering whether the man was a + cranky millionaire or merely a poet. For Joseph Muller, by name and by + reputation one of the best known men in Vienna, was by sight unknown to + all except the few with whom he had to do on the police force. His + appearance, in every way inconspicuous, and the fact that he never sought + acquaintance with any one, was indeed of the greatest possible assistance + to him in his work. Many of those who saw him several times in a day would + pass him or look him full in the face without recognising him. It was + only, as in the case of Mrs. Bernauer, the guilty conscience that + remembered face and figure of this quiet-looking man who was one of the + most-feared servants of the law in Austria. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. THE ELECTRICIAN + </h2> + <p> + When Muller reached the house where Mrs. Klingmayer lived he ordered the + cabman to wait and hurried up to the widow’s little apartment. He had the + key to Leopold Winkler’s room in his own pocket, for Mrs. Klingmayer had + given this key to Commissioner von Riedau at the latter’s request and the + commissioner had given it to Muller. The detective told the good woman not + to bother about him as he wanted to make an examination of the place + alone. Left to himself in the little room, Muller made a thorough search + of it, opening the cupboard, the bureau drawers, every possible receptacle + where any article could be kept or hidden. What he wanted to find was some + letter, some bit of paper, some memoranda perhaps, anything that would + show any connection existing between the murdered man and Mrs. Bernauer, + who lived so near the place where this man had died and who was so greatly + interested in his murder. + </p> + <p> + The detective’s search was not quite in vain, although he could not tell + yet whether what he had found would be of any value. Leopold Winkler had + had very little correspondence, or else he had had no reason to keep the + letters he received. Muller found only about a half dozen letters in all. + Three of them were from women of the half-world, giving dates for + meetings. Another was written by a man and signed “Theo.” This “Theo” + appeared to be the same sort of a cheap rounder that Winkler was. And he + seemed to have sunk one grade deeper than the dead man, in spite of the + latter’s bad reputation. For this other addressed Winkler as his “Dear + Friend” and pleaded with him for “greater discretion,” alluding evidently + to something which made this discretion necessary. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder what rascality it was that made these two friends?” murmured + Muller, putting Theo’s letter with the three he had already read. But + before he slipped it in his pocket he glanced at the postmark. The letters + of the three women had all been posted from different quarters of the city + some months ago. Theo’s letter was postmarked “Marburg,” and dated on the + 1st of September of the present year. + </p> + <p> + Then Muller looked at the postmark of the two remaining letters which he + had not yet read, and whistled softly to himself. Both these letters were + posted from a certain station in Hietzing, the station which was nearest + his own lodgings and also nearest the Thorne house. He looked at the + postmark more sharply. They both bore the dates of the present year, one + of them being stamped “March 17th,” the other “September 24th.” This last + letter interested the detective most. + </p> + <p> + Muller was not of a nervous disposition, but his hand trembled slightly as + he took the letter from its envelope. It was clear that this letter had + been torn open hastily, for the edges of the opening were jagged and + uneven. + </p> + <p> + When the detective had read the letter—it contained but a few lines + and bore neither address nor signature—he glanced over it once more + as if to memorise the words. They were as follows: “Do not come again. In + a day or two I will be able to do what I have to do. I will send you later + news to your office. Impatience will not help you.”—These words were + written hastily on a piece of paper that looked as if it had been torn + from a pad. In spite of the haste the writer had been at some pains to + disguise the handwriting. But it was a clumsy disguise, done by one not + accustomed to such tricks, and it was evidently done by a woman. All she + had known how to do to disguise her writing had been to twist and turn the + paper while writing, so that every letter had a different position. The + letters were also made unusually long. This peculiarity of the writing was + seen on both letters and both envelopes. The earlier letter was still + shorter and seemed to have been written with the same haste, and with the + same disgust, or perhaps even hatred, for the man to whom it was written. + </p> + <p> + “Come to-morrow, but not before eight o’clock. He has gone away. God + forgive him and you.” This was the contents of the letter of the 17th of + March. That is, the writer had penned the letter this way. But the last + two words, “and you,” had evidently not come from her heart, for she had + annulled them by a heavy stroke of the pen. A stroke that seemed like a + knife thrust, so full of rage and hate it was. + </p> + <p> + “So he was called to a rendezvous in Hietzing, too,” murmured Muller, then + he added after a few moments: “But this rendezvous had nothing whatever to + do with love.” + </p> + <p> + There was nothing else in Winkler’s room which could be of any value to + Muller in the problem that was now before him. And yet he was very well + satisfied with the result of his errand. + </p> + <p> + He entered his cab again, ordering the driver to take him to Hietzing. + Just before he had reached the corner where he had told the man to stop, + another cab passed them, a coupe, in which was a solitary woman. Muller + had just time enough to recognise this woman as Adele Bernauer, and to see + that she looked even more haggard and miserable than she had that morning. + She did not look up as the other cab passed her carriage, therefore she + did not see Muller. The detective looked at his watch and saw that it was + almost half-past four. The unexpected meeting changed his plans for the + afternoon. He had decided that he must enter the Thorne mansion again that + very day, for he must find out the meaning of the red-shaded lamp. And now + that the housekeeper was away it would be easier for him to get into the + house, therefore it must be done at once. His excuse was all ready, for he + had been weighing possibilities. He dismissed his cab a block from his own + home and entered his house cautiously. + </p> + <p> + Muller’s lodgings consisted of two large rooms, really much too large for + a lone man who was at home so little. But Muller had engaged them at first + sight, for the apartment possessed one qualification which was absolutely + necessary for him. Its situation and the arrangement of its doors made it + possible for him to enter and leave his rooms without being seen either by + his own landlady or by the other lodgers in the house. The little + apartment was on the ground floor, and Muller’s own rooms had a separate + entrance opening on to the main corridor almost immediately behind the + door. Nine times out of ten, he could come and go without being seen by + any one in the house. To-day was the first time, however, that Muller had + had occasion to try this particular qualification of his new lodgings. + </p> + <p> + He opened the street door and slipped into his own room without having + seen or been seen by any one. + </p> + <p> + Fifteen minutes later he left the apartment again, but left it such a + changed man that nobody who had seen him go in would have recognised him. + Before he came out, however, he looked about carefully to see whether + there was any one in sight He came out unseen and was just closing the + main door behind him, when he met the janitress. + </p> + <p> + “Were you looking for anybody in the house?” said the woman, glancing + sharply at the stranger, who answered in a slightly veiled voice: “No, I + made a mistake in the number. The place I am looking for is two houses + further down.” + </p> + <p> + He walked down the street and the woman looked after him until she saw him + turn into the doorway of the second house. Then she went into her own + rooms. The house Muller entered happened to be a corner house with an + entrance on the other street, through which the detective passed and went + on his way. He was quite satisfied with the security of his disguise, for + the woman who knew him well had not recognised him at all. If his own + janitress did not know him, the people in the Thorne house would never + imagine it was he. + </p> + <p> + And indeed Muller was entirely changed. In actuality small and thin, with + sparse brown hair and smooth shaven face, he was now an inch or two taller + and very much stouter. He wore thick curly blond hair, a little pointed + blond beard and moustache. His eyes were hidden by heavy-rimmed + spectacles. + </p> + <p> + It was just half-past five when he rang the bell at the entrance gate to + the Thorne property. He had spent the intervening time in the cafe, as he + was in no hurry to enter the house. Franz came down the path and opened + the door. “‘What do you want?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “I come from Siemens & Halske; I was to ask whether the other man—” + </p> + <p> + “Has been here already?” interrupted Franz, adding in an irritated tone, + “No, he hasn’t been here at all.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I guess he didn’t get through at the other place in time. I’ll see + what the trouble is,” said the stranger, whom Franz naturally supposed to + be the electrician, he opened the gate and asked the other to come in, + leading him into the house. Under a cloudy sky the day was fading rapidly. + Muller knew that it would not occur to the real electrician to begin any + work as late as this, and that he was perfectly safe in the examination he + wanted to make. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what’s the trouble here? Why did you write to our firm?” asked the + supposed electrician. + </p> + <p> + “The wires must cross somewhere, or there’s something wrong with the + bells. When the housekeeper touches the button in her room to ring for the + cook or the upstairs girl, the bell rings in Mr. Thorne’s room. It starts + ringing and it keeps up with a deuce of a noise. Fortunately the family + are away.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, we’ll fix it all right for you. First of all I want to look at the + button in the housekeeper’s room.” + </p> + <p> + “I’ll take you up there,” said Franz. + </p> + <p> + They walked through the wide corridor, then turned into a shorter, darker + hall and went up a narrow winding stairway. Franz halted before a door in + the second story. It was the last of the three doors in the hall. Muller + took off his hat as the door opened and murmured a “good-evening.” + </p> + <p> + “There’s no one there; Mrs. Bernauer’s out.” + </p> + <p> + “Has she gone away, too?” asked the electrician hastily. + </p> + <p> + Franz did not notice that there was a slight change in the stranger’s + voice at this question, and he answered calmly as ever: “Oh, no; she’s + just driven to town. I think she went to see the doctor who lives quite a + distance away. She hasn’t been feeling at all well. She took a cab to-day. + I told her she ought to, as she wasn’t well enough to go by the tram. She + ought to be home any moment now.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I’ll hurry up with the job so that I’ll be out of the way when the + lady comes,” said Muller, as Franz led him to the misbehaving bell. + </p> + <p> + It was in the wall immediately above a large table which filled the window + niche so completely that there was but scant space left for the + comfortable armchair that stood in front of it. The window was open and + Muller leaned out, looking down at the garden below. + </p> + <p> + “What a fine old garden!” he exclaimed aloud. To himself he said: “This is + the last window in the left wing. It is the window where Johann Knoll saw + the red light.” + </p> + <p> + And when he turned back into the room again he found the source of this + light right at his hand on the handsome old table at which Mrs. Bernauer + evidently spent many of her hours. A row of books stood against the wall, + framing the back of the table. Well-worn volumes of the classics among + them gave proof that the one-time nurse was a woman of education. A sewing + basket and neat piles of house linen, awaiting repairs, covered a large + part of the table-top, and beside them stood a gracefully shaped lamp, + covered by a shade of soft red silk. + </p> + <p> + It took Muller but a few seconds to see all this. Then he set about his + investigation of the electric button. He unscrewed the plate and examined + the wires meeting under it. While doing so he cast another glance at the + table and saw a letter lying there, an open letter half out of its + envelope. This envelope was of unusual shape, long and narrow, and the + paper was heavy and high-glossed. + </p> + <p> + “Your housekeeper evidently has no secrets from the rest of you,” Muller + remarked with a laugh, still busy at the wires, “or she wouldn’t leave her + letters lying about like that.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, we’ve all heard what’s in that letter,” replied Franz. “She read it + to us when it came this morning. It’s from the Madam. She sent messages to + all of us and orders, so Mrs. Bernauer read us the whole letter. There’s + no secrets in that.” + </p> + <p> + “The button has been pressed in too far and caught down. That seems to be + the main trouble,” said Muller, readjusting the little knob. “I’d like a + candle here if I may have one.” + </p> + <p> + “I’ll get you a light at once,” said Franz. But his intentions, however + excellent, seemed difficult of fulfilment. It was rapidly growing dark, + and the old butler peered about uncertainly. “Stupid,” he muttered. “I + don’t know where she keeps the matches. I can’t find them anywhere. I’m + not a smoker, so I haven’t any in my pocket.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor I,” said Muller calmly, letting his hand close protectingly over a + new full box of them in his own pocket. + </p> + <p> + “I’ll get you some from my own room,” and Franz hurried away, his loose + slippers clattering down the stairs. He was no sooner well out of the room + than Muller had the letter in his hand and was standing close by the + window to catch the fading light. But on the old servant’s return the + supposed electrician stood calmly awaiting the coming of the light, and + the letter was back on the table half hidden by a piece of linen. Franz + did not notice that the envelope was missing. And the housekeeper, whose + mind was so upset by the events of the day, and whose thoughts were on + other more absorbing matters, would hardly be likely to remember whether + she had returned this quite unimportant letter to its envelope or not. + </p> + <p> + Franz brought a lighted candle with him, and Muller, who really did + possess a creditable knowledge of electricity, saw that the wires in the + room were all in good condition. As he had seen at first, there was really + nothing the matter except with the position of the button. But it did not + suit his purpose to enlighten Franz on the matter just yet. + </p> + <p> + “Now I’d better look at the wires in the gentleman’s room,” he said, when + he had returned plate and button to their place. + </p> + <p> + “Just as you say,” replied Franz, taking up his candle and leading the way + out into the hall and down the winding stair. They crossed the lower + corridor, mounted another staircase and entered a large, handsomely + furnished room, half studio, half library. The wall was covered with + pictures and sketches, several easels stood piled up in the corner, and a + broad table beside them held paint boxes, colour tubes, brushes, all the + paraphernalia of the painter, now carefully ordered and covered for a term + of idleness. Great bookcases towered to the ceiling, and a huge flat top + desk, a costly piece of furniture, was covered with books and papers. It + was the room of a man of brains and breeding, a man of talent and ability, + possessing, furthermore, the means to indulge his tastes freely. Even now, + with its master absent, the handsome apartment bore the impress of his + personality. The detective’s quick imagination called up the attractive, + sympathetic figure of the man he had seen at the gate, as his quick eye + took in the details of the room. All the charm of Herbert Thorne’s + personality, which the keen-sensed Muller had felt so strongly even in + that fleeting glimpse of him, came back again here in the room which was + his own little kingdom and the expression of his mentality. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what’s the trouble here? Where are the wires?” asked the detective, + after the momentary pause which had followed his entrance into the room. + Franz led him to a spot on the wall hidden by a marquetry cabinet. “Here’s + the bell, it rings for several minutes before it stops.” + </p> + <p> + The light of the candle which the butler held fell upon a portrait hanging + above the cabinet. It was a sketch in water-colours, the life-sized head + of a man who may have been about thirty years old, perhaps, but who had + none of the freshness and vigour of youth. The scanty hair, the sunken + temples, and the faded skin, emphasised the look of dissipation given by + the lines about the sensual mouth and the shifty eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Well, say, can’t your master find anything better to paint than a face + like that?” Muller asked with a laugh. + </p> + <p> + “Goodness me! you mustn’t say such things!” exclaimed Franz in alarm; + “that’s the Madam’s brother. He’s an officer, I’d have you know. It’s + true, he doesn’t look like much there, but that’s because he’s not in + uniform. It makes such a difference.” + </p> + <p> + “Is the lady anything like her brother?” asked the detective + indifferently, bending to examine the wiring. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear, no, not a bit; they’re as different as day and night. He’s only + her half-brother anyway. She was the daughter of the Colonel’s second + wife. Our Madam is the sweetest, gentlest lady you can imagine, an angel + of goodness. But the Lieutenant here has always been a care to his family, + they say. I guess he’s quieted down a bit now, for his father—he’s + Colonel Leining, retired—made him get exchanged from the city to a + small garrison town. There’s nothing much to do in Marburg, I dare say—well! + you are a merry sort, aren’t you?” These last words, spoken in a tone of + surprise, were called forth by a sudden sharp whistle from the detective, + a whistle which went off into a few merry bars. + </p> + <p> + A sudden whistle like that from Muller’s lips was something that made the + Imperial Police Force sit up and take notice, for it meant that things + were happening, and that the happenings were likely to become exciting. It + was a habit he could control only by the severest effort of the will, an + effort which he kept for occasions when it was absolutely necessary. Here, + alone with the harmless old man, he was not so much on his guard, and the + sudden vibrating of every nerve at the word “Marburg,” found vent in the + whistle which surprised old Franz. One young police commissioner with a + fancy for metaphor had likened this sudden involuntary whistle of Muller’s + to the bay of the hound when he strikes the trail; which was about what it + was. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I am merry sometimes,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a habit I have. + Something occurred to me just then, something I had forgotten. Hope you + don’t mind.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, there’s no one here now, whistle all you like.” + </p> + <p> + But Muller’s whistle was not a continuous performance, and he had now + completely mastered the excitation of his nerves which had called it + forth. He threw another sharp look at the picture of the man who lived in + Marburg, and then asked: “And now where is the button?” + </p> + <p> + “By the window there, beside the desk.” Franz led the way with his candle. + </p> + <p> + “Why, how funny! What are those mirrors there for?” asked the electrician + in a tone of surprise, pointing to two small mirrors hanging in the window + niche. They were placed at a height and at such a peculiar angle that no + one could possibly see his face in them. + </p> + <p> + “Something the master is experimenting with, I guess. He’s always making + queer experiments; he knows a lot about scientific things.” + </p> + <p> + Muller shook his head as if in wonderment, and bent to investigate the + button which was fastened into the wall beneath the window sill. His quick + ear heard a carriage stopping in front of the house, and heard the closing + of the front door a moment later. To facilitate his examination of the + button, the detective had seated himself in the armchair which stood + beside the desk. He half raised himself now to let the light of the candle + fall more clearly on the wiring—then he started up altogether and + threw a hasty glance at the mirrors above his head. A ray of light had + suddenly flashed down upon him—a ray of red light, and it came + reflected from the mirrors. Muller bit his lips to keep back the betraying + whistle. + </p> + <p> + “What’s the matter?” asked the butler. “Did you drop anything?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, the wooden rim of the button,” replied Muller, telling the truth + this time. For he had held the little wooden circlet in his hands at the + moment when the red light, reflected down from the mirrors, struck full + upon his eyes. He had dropped it in his surprise and excitement. Franz + found the little ring in the centre of the room where it had rolled, and + the supposed electrician replaced it and rose to his feet, saying: “There, + I’ve finished now.” + </p> + <p> + Franz did not recognise the double meaning in the words. “Yes, it’s all + right! I’ve finished here now,” Muller repeated to himself. For now he + knew beyond a doubt that the red light was a signal—and he knew also + for whom this signal was intended. It was a signal for Herbert Thorne!—Herbert + Thorne, whom no single thought or suspicion of Muller’s had yet connected + with the murder of Leopold Winkler. + </p> + <p> + The detective was very much surprised and greatly excited. But Franz did + not notice it, and indeed a far keener observer than the slow-witted old + butler might have failed to see the sudden gleam which shot up in the grey + eyes behind the heavy spectacles, might have failed to notice the + tightening of the lips beneath the blond moustache, or the tenseness of + the slight frame under the assumed embonpoint. Muller’s every nerve was + tingling, but he had himself completely in hand. + </p> + <p> + “What do we owe you?” asked Franz. + </p> + <p> + “They’ll send you a bill from the office. It won’t amount to much. I must + be getting on now.” + </p> + <p> + Muller hastened out of the door and down the street to the nearest cab + stand. There were not very many cab stands in this vicinity, and the + detective reasoned that Mrs. Bernauer would naturally have taken her cab + from the nearest station. He had heard her return in her carriage, + presumably the same in which she had started out. + </p> + <p> + There was but one cab at the stand. Muller walked to it and laid his hand + on the door. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Jimmy! must I go out again?” asked the driver hoarsely. “Can’t you + see the poor beast is all wet from the last ride? We’ve just come in.” He + pointed with his whip to the tired-looking animal under his blanket. + </p> + <p> + “Why, he does look warm. You must have been making a tour out into the + country,” said the blond gentleman in a friendly tone. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, not quite so far as that. I’ve just taken a woman to the main + telegraph office in the city and back again. But she was in a hurry and + he’s not a young horse, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, never mind, then; I can get another cab across the bridge,” replied + the stout blond man, turning away and strolling off leisurely in the + direction of the bridge. It was now quite dark, and a few steps further on + Muller could safely turn and take the road to his own lodging. No one saw + him go in, and in a few moments the real Muller, slight, smooth-shaven, + sat down at his desk, looking at the papers that lay before him. They were + three letters and an empty envelope. + </p> + <p> + He took up the last, and compared it carefully with the envelope of one of + the letters found in Winkler’s room—the unsigned letter postmarked + Hietzing, September 24th. The two envelopes were exactly alike. They were + of the same size and shape, made of the same cream-tinted, heavy, glossy + paper, and the address was written by the same hand. This any keen + observer, who need not necessarily be an expert, could see. The same hand + which had addressed the envelope to Mrs. Adele Bernauer on the letter + which was postmarked “Venice,” about thirty-six hours previous—this + hand had, in an awkward and childish attempt at disguise, written + Winkler’s address on the envelope which bore the date of September 24th. + </p> + <p> + The writer of the harmless letter to Mrs. Bernauer, a letter which chatted + of household topics and touched lightly on the beauties of Venice, was + Mrs. Thorne. It was Mrs. Thorne, therefore, who, reluctantly and in anger + and distaste, had called Leopold Winkler to Hietzing, to his death. + </p> + <p> + And whose hand had fired the shot that caused his death? The question, at + this stage in Muller’s meditation, could hardly be called a question any + more. It was all too sadly clear to him now. Winkler met his death at the + hand of the husband, who, discovering the planned rendezvous, had + misunderstood its motive. + </p> + <p> + For truly this had been no lovers’ meeting. It had been a meeting to which + the woman was driven by fear and hate; the man by greed of gain. This was + clearly proved by the 300 guldens found in the dead man’s pocket, money + enclosed in a delicate little envelope, sealed hastily, and crumpled as if + it had been carried in a hot and trembling hand. + </p> + <p> + It was already known that Winkler never had any money except at certain + irregular intervals, when he appeared to have come into possession of + considerable sums. During these days he indulged in extravagant pleasures + and spent his money with a recklessness which proved that he had not + earned it by honest work. + </p> + <p> + Leopold Winkler was a blackmailer. + </p> + <p> + Colonel Leining, retired, the father of two such widely different + children, was doubtless a man of stern principles, and an army officer as + well, therefore a man with a doubly sensitive code of honour and a social + position to maintain; and this man, morbidly sensitive probably, had a + daughter who had inherited his sensitiveness and his high ideals of + honour, a daughter married to a rich husband. But he had another child, a + son without any sense of honour at all, who, although also an officer, + failed to live in a manner worthy his position. This son was now in + Marburg, where there were no expensive pleasures, no all-night cafes and + gambling dens, for a man to lose his time in, his money, and his honour + also. + </p> + <p> + For such must have been the case with Colonel Leining’s son before his + exile to Marburg. The old butler had hinted at the truth. The portrait + drawn by Herbert Thorne, a picture of such technical excellence that it + was doubtless a good likeness also, had given an ugly illustration to + Franz’s remarks. And there was something even more tangible to prove it: + “Theo’s” letter from Marburg pleading with Winkler for “discretion and + silence,” not knowing (“let us hope he did not know!” murmured Muller + between set teeth) that the man who held him in his power because of some + rascality, was being paid for his silence by the Lieutenant’s sister. + </p> + <p> + It is easy to frighten a sensitive woman, so easy to make her believe the + worst! And there is little such a tender-hearted woman will not do to save + her aging father from pain and sorrow, perhaps even disgrace! + </p> + <p> + It must have been in this way that Mrs. Thorne came into the power of the + scoundrel who paid with his life for his last attempt at blackmail. + </p> + <p> + When Muller reached this point in his chain of thought, he closed his eyes + and covered his face with his hands, letting two pictures stand out clear + before his mental vision. + </p> + <p> + He saw the little anxious group around the carriage in front of the Thorne + mansion. He saw the pale, frail woman leaning back on the cushions, and + the husband bending over her in tender care. And then he saw Johann Knoll + in his cell, a man with little manhood left in him, a man sunk to the + level of the brutes, a man who had already committed one crime against + society, and who could never rise to the mental or spiritual standard of + even the most mediocre of decent citizens. + </p> + <p> + If Herbert Thorne were to suffer the just punishment for his deed of + doubly blind jealousy, then it was not only his own life, a life full of + gracious promise, that would be ruined, but the happiness of his delicate, + sweet-faced wife, who was doubtless still in blessed ignorance of what had + happened. And still one other would be dragged down by this tragedy; a + respected, upright man would bow his white hairs in disgrace. Thorne’s + father-in-law could not escape the scandal and his own share in the + responsibility for it. And to a veteran officer, bred in the exaggerated + social ethics of his profession, such a disgrace means ruin, sometimes + even voluntary death. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, dear, if it had only been Knoll who did it,” said Muller with a sigh + that was almost a groan. + </p> + <p> + Then he rose slowly and heavily, and slowly and heavily, as if borne down + by the weight of great weariness, he reached for his hat and coat and left + the house. + </p> + <p> + Whether he wished it or not, he knew it was his duty to go on to the + bitter end on this trail he had followed up all day from the moment that + he caught that fleeting glimpse of Mrs. Bernauer’s haggard face at the + garden gate. He was almost angry with the woman, because she chanced to + look out of the gate at just that moment, showing him her face distorted + with anxiety. For it was her face that had drawn Muller to the trail, a + trail at the end of which misery awaited those for whom this woman had + worked for years, those whom she loved and who treated her as one of the + family. + </p> + <p> + Muller knew now that the one-time nurse was in league with her former + charge; that Thorne and Adele Bernauer were in each other’s confidence; + that the man sat waiting for the signal which she was to give him, a + signal bringing so much disgrace and sorrow in its train. + </p> + <p> + If the woman had not spied upon and betrayed her mistress, this terrible + event, which now weighed upon her own soul, would not have happened. + </p> + <p> + “A faithful servant, indeed,” said Muller, with a harsh laugh. + </p> + <p> + Then maturer consideration came and forced him to acknowledge that it was + indeed devotion that had swayed Adele Bernauer, devotion to her master + more than to her mistress. This was hardly to be wondered at. But she had + not thought what might come from her revelations, what had come of them. + For now her pet, the baby who had once lain in her arms, the handsome, + gifted man whom she adored with more than the love of many a mother for + the child of her own blood, was under the shadow of hideous disgrace and + doom, was the just prey of the law for open trial and condemnation as a + murderer. + </p> + <p> + Muller sighed deeply once more and then came one of those moments which he + had spoken of to the unhappy woman that very day. He felt like cursing the + fatal gift that was his, the gift to see what was hidden from others, this + something within him that forced him relentlessly onward until he had + uncovered the truth, and brought misery to many. + </p> + <p> + Muller need not do anything, he need simply do nothing. Not a soul besides + himself suspected the dwellers in the Thorne mansion of any connection + with the murder. If he were silent, nothing could be proven against Knoll + after all, except the robbery which he himself had confessed. Then the + memory of the terror in the tramp’s little reddened eyes came back to the + detective’s mind. + </p> + <p> + “A human soul after all, and a soul trembling in the shadow of a great + fear. And even he’s a better man than the blackmailer who was killed. A + miscarriage of justice will often make a criminal of a poor fellow whose + worst fault is idleness.” Muller’s face darkened as the things of the + past, shut down in the depths of his own soul, rose up again. “No; that’s + why I took up this work. Justice must be done—but it’s bitter hard + sometimes. I could almost wish now that I hadn’t seen that face at the + gate.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION + </h2> + <p> + It was striking eight as Muller came out of a cafe in the heart of the + city. He had been in there but a few moments, for his purpose was merely + to look through the Army lists of the current year. The result of his + search proved the correctness of his conclusions. + </p> + <p> + There was a Lieutenant Theobald Leining in the single infantry regiment + stationed at Marburg. + </p> + <p> + Muller took a cab and drove to the main telegraph office. He asked for the + original of the telegram which had been sent that afternoon to the + address; “Herbert Thorne, Hotel Danieli, Venice.” This closed the circle + of the chain. + </p> + <p> + The detective re-entered his waiting cab and drove back to Hietzing. He + told the driver to halt at the corner of the street on which fronted the + Thorne mansion and to wait for him there. He himself walked slowly down + the quiet Street and rang the bell at the iron gate. + </p> + <p> + “You come to this house again?” asked Franz, starting back in alarm when + he saw who it was that had called him to the door. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, my good friend; I want to get into this house again. But not on + false pretenses this time. And before you let me in you can go upstairs + and ask Mrs. Bernauer if she will receive me in her own room—in her + own room, mind. But make haste; I am in a hurry.” The detective’s tone was + calm and he strolled slowly up and down in front of the gate when he had + finished speaking. + </p> + <p> + The old butler hesitated a moment, then walked into the house. When he + returned, rather more quickly, he looked alarmed and his tone was very + humble as he asked Muller to follow him. + </p> + <p> + When the detective entered Mrs. Bernauer’s room the housekeeper rose + slowly from the large armchair in front of her table. She was very pale + and her eyes were full of terror. She made no move to speak, so Muller + began the conversation. He put down his hat, brought up a chair and placed + it near the window at which the housekeeper had been sitting. Then he sat + down and motioned to her to do the same. + </p> + <p> + “You are a faithful servant, all too faithful,” he began. “But you are + faithful only to your master. You have no devotion for his wife.” + </p> + <p> + “You are mistaken,” replied the woman in a low tone. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps, but I do not think so. One does not betray the people to whom + one is devoted.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer looked up in surprise. “What—what do you know?” she + stammered. + </p> + <p> + Muller did not answer the question directly, but continued: “Mrs. Thorne + had a meeting recently with a strange man. It was not their first meeting, + and somehow you discovered it. But before this last meeting occurred you + spoke to the lady’s husband about it, and it was arranged between you that + you should give him a signal which would mean to him, ‘Your wife is going + to the meeting.’ Mrs. Thorne did go to the meeting. This happened on + Monday evening at about quarter past nine. Some one, who was in the + neighbourhood by chance, saw a woman’s figure hurrying through the garden, + down to the other street, and a moment after this, the light of this lamp + in your window was seen to go out. A hand had turned down the wick—it + was your hand. + </p> + <p> + “This was the signal to Mr. Thorne. The mirrors over his desk reflected in + his eyes the light he could not otherwise have seen as he sat by his own + window. The signal, therefore, told him that the time had come to act. + This same chance watcher, who had seen the woman going through the garden, + had seen the lamp go out, and now saw a man’s figure hurrying down the + path the woman had taken. The man as well as the woman came from this + house and went in the direction of the lower end of the garden. + </p> + <p> + “A little while later a shot was heard, and the next morning Leopold + Winkler was found with a bullet in his back. The crime was generally taken + to be a murder for the sake of robbery. But you and I, and Mr. Herbert + Thorne, know very well that it was not. + </p> + <p> + “You know this since Wednesday noon. Then it was that the idea suddenly + came to you, falling like a heavy weight on your soul, the idea that + Winkler might not have been killed for the sake of robbery, but because of + the hatred that some one bore him. Then it was that you lost your appetite + suddenly, that you drove into the city with the excuse of errands to do, + in order to read the papers without being seen by any one who knew you. + When you came home you searched everywhere in your master’s room: you made + an excuse for this search, but what you wanted to find out was whether he + had left anything that could betray him. Your fright had already confused + your mind. You were searching probably for the weapon from which he had + fired the bullet. You did not realise that he would naturally have taken + it with him and thrown it somewhere into a ravine or river beside the + railway track between here and Venice. How could you think for a moment + that he would leave it behind him, here in his room, or dropped in the + garden? But this was doubtless due to the confusion owing to your sudden + alarm and anxiety—a confusion which prevented you from realising the + danger of the two peculiarly hung mirrors in Mr. Thorne’s room. These + should have been taken away at once. This morning my sudden appearance at + the garden gate prevented you from making an examination of the place of + the murder. Your swoon, after I had spoken to you in the butler’s room, + showed me that you were carrying a burden too heavy for your strength. + Finally, this afternoon, you drove to the main telegraph office in the + city, as you thought that it would be safer to telegraph Mr. Thorne from + there. Your telegram was very cleverly written. But you might have spared + the last sentence, the request that Mr. Thorne should get the Viennese + papers of these last days. Believe me, he has already read these papers. + Who could be more interested in what they have to tell than he?” + </p> + <p> + The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller’s long speech. + Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When the detective + ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room for some time. Finally + Muller asked: “Is this what happened?” His voice was cutting and the + glance of his eyes keen and sharp. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller waited a + moment more and then he said quietly: “Then it is true.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it is true,” came the answer in a low hoarse tone. + </p> + <p> + Again there was silence for an appreciable interval. + </p> + <p> + “If you had been faithful to your mistress as well, if you had not spied + upon her and betrayed her to her husband, all this might not have + happened,” continued the detective pitilessly, adding with a bitter smile: + “And it was not even a case of sinful love. Your mistress had no such + relations with this Winkler as you—I say this to excuse you—seemed + to believe.” + </p> + <p> + Adele Bernauer sprang up. “I do not need this excuse,” she cried, + trembling in excitement. “I do not need any excuse. What I have done I did + after due consideration and in the realisation that it was absolutely + necessary to do it. Never for one moment did I believe that my mistress + was untrue to her husband. Never for one moment could I believe such an + evil thing of her, for I knew her to be an angel of goodness. A woman who + is deceiving her husband is not as unhappy as this poor lady has been for + months. A woman does not write to a successful lover with so much sorrow, + with so many tears. I had long suspected these meetings before I + discovered them, but I knew that these meetings had nothing whatever to do + with love. Because I knew this, and only because I knew it, did I tell my + master about them. I wanted him to protect his wife, to free her from the + wretch who had obtained some power over her, I knew not how.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! then that was it?” exclaimed Muller, and his eyes softened as he + looked at the sobbing woman who had sunk back into her chair. He laid his + hand on her cold fingers and continued gently: “Then you have really done + right, you have done only what was your duty. I pity you deeply that you—” + </p> + <p> + “That I have brought suspicion upon my master by my own foolishness?” she + finished the sentence with a pitifully sad smile. “If I could have + controlled myself, could have kept calm, nobody would have had a thought + or a suspicion that he—my pet, my darling—that it was he who + was forced, through some terrible circumstance of which I do not know, to + free his wife, in this manner, from the wretch who persecuted her.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer wrung her hands and gazed with despairing eyes at the man + who sat before her, himself deeply moved. + </p> + <p> + Again there was a long silence. Muller could not find a word to comfort + the weeping woman. There was no longer anger in his heart, nothing but the + deepest pity. He took out his handkerchief and wiped away the drops that + were dimming his own eyes. + </p> + <p> + “You know that I will have to go to Venice?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bernauer sprang up. “Officially?” she gasped, pale to her lips. + </p> + <p> + He nodded. “Yes, officially of course. I must make a report at once to + headquarters about what I have learned. You can imagine yourself what the + next steps will be.” + </p> + <p> + Her deep sigh showed him that she knew as well as he. In the same second, + however, a thought shot through her brain, changing her whole being. Her + pale face glowed, her dulled eyes shot fire, and the fingers with which + she held Muller’s hand tightly clasped, were suddenly feverishly hot. + </p> + <p> + “And you—you are still the only person who knows the truth?” she + gasped in his ear. + </p> + <p> + The detective nodded. “And you thought you might silence me?” he asked + calmly. “That will not be easy—for you can imagine that I did not + come unarmed.” + </p> + <p> + Adele Bernauer smiled sadly. “I would take even this way to save Herbert + Thorne from disgrace, if I thought that it could be successful, and if I + had not thought of a milder way to silence a man who cannot be a + millionaire. I have served in this house for thirty-two years, I have been + treated with such generosity that I have been able to save almost every + cent of my wages for my old age. With the interest that has rolled up, my + little fortune must amount to nearly eight thousand gulden. I will gladly + give it to you, if you will but keep silence, if you will not tell what + you have discovered.” She spoke gaspingly and sank down on her knees + before she had finished. + </p> + <p> + “And Mr. Thorne also—” she continued hastily, as she saw no sign of + interest in Muller’s calm face. Then her voice failed her. + </p> + <p> + The detective looked down kindly on her grey hairs and answered: “No, no, + my good woman; that won’t do. One cannot conceal one crime by committing + another. I myself would naturally not listen to your suggestion for a + moment, but I am also convinced that Mr. Thorne, to whom you are so + devoted, and who, I acknowledge, pleased me the very first sight I had of + him—I am convinced that he would not agree for a moment to any such + solution of the problem.” + </p> + <p> + “Then I can only hope that you will not find him in Venice,” replied Mrs. + Bernauer, with utter despair in her voice and eyes. + </p> + <p> + “I am not at all certain that I will find him in Venice when I leave here + to-morrow morning,” said Muller calmly. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! then you don’t want to find him! Oh God! how good, how inexpressibly + good you are,” stammered the woman, seizing at some vague hope in her + distraught heart. + </p> + <p> + “No, you are mistaken again, Mrs. Bernauer. I will find Mr. Thorne + wherever he may be. But I may arrive in Venice too late to meet him there. + He may already be on his way home.” + </p> + <p> + “On his way home?” cried the housekeeper in terror, staggering where she + stood. + </p> + <p> + Muller led her gently to a chair. “Sit down here and listen to me calmly. + This is what I mean. If Mr. Thorne has seen in the papers that a man has + been arrested and accused of the murder of Leopold Winkler, then he will + take the next train back and give himself up to the authorities. That he + makes no such move as long as he thinks there is no suspicion on any one + else, no possibility that any one else could suffer the consequences of + his deed—is quite comprehensible—it is only natural and + human.” + </p> + <p> + Adele Bernauer sighed deeply again and heavy tears ran down her cheeks, in + strange contrast to the ghost of a smile that parted her lips and shone in + her dimmed eyes. + </p> + <p> + “You know him better than I do,” she murmured almost inaudibly, “you know + him better than I do, and I have known him for so long.” + </p> + <p> + A moment later Muller had parted from the housekeeper with a warm, sincere + pressure of the hand. + </p> + <p> + “Lieutenant Theobald Leining was here on a visit to his sister last March, + wasn’t he?” the detective asked as Franz led him out of the gate. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir; the Lieutenant was here just about that time,” answered the old + man. + </p> + <p> + “And he left here on the 16th of March?” + </p> + <p> + “On the 16th? Why, it may have been—yes, it was the 16th—that + is our lady’s birthday. He went away that day.” Franz bowed a farewell to + this stranger who began to appear uncanny in his eyes, and shutting the + gate carefully he returned to the house. + </p> + <p> + “What does the man want anyway?” he murmured to himself, shivering + involuntarily. Without knowing why he turned his steps towards Mrs. + Bernauer’s room. He opened the door hesitatingly as if afraid of what he + might see there. He would not have been at all surprised if he had found + the housekeeper fainting on the floor as before. + </p> + <p> + But she was not fainting this time. She was very much alive, for, to + Franz’s great astonishment, she was busied at the packing of a valise. + </p> + <p> + “Are you going away too?” asked Franz. Mrs. Bernauer answered in a voice + that was dull with weariness: “Yes, Franz, I am going away. Will you + please look up the time-tables of the Southern railroad and let me know + when the morning express leaves? And please order a cab in time for it. I + will depend upon you to look after the house in my absence. You can + imagine that it must be something very important that takes me to Venice.” + </p> + <p> + “To Venice? Why, what are you going to Venice for?” + </p> + <p> + “Never mind about that, Franz, but help me to pray that I may get there in + time.” + </p> + <p> + She almost pushed the old man out of the door with these last words and + shut and locked it behind him. + </p> + <p> + She wanted to be alone with this hideous fear that was clutching at her + heart. For it was not to Franz that she could tell the thoughts that came + to her lips now as she sank down, wringing her hands, before a picture of + the Madonna: “Oh Holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord, plead for me! let me be + with my dear mistress when the terrible time comes and they take her + husband away from her, or, if preferring death to disgrace, he ends his + life by his own hand!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. IN THE POLICE COURT + </h2> + <p> + Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening, finishing up + some important papers. The quiet of an undisturbed night watch had settled + down on the busy police station. An occasional low murmur of whispering + voices floated up from the guardroom below, but otherwise the stillness + was broken only by the scratching of the commissioner’s pen and the rustle + of the paper as he turned the leaves. It was a silence so complete that a + light step on the stair outside and the gentle turning of the doorknob was + heard distinctly and the commissioner looked up with almost a start to see + who was coming to his room so late. Joseph Muller stood in the open door, + awaiting his chief’s official recognition. + </p> + <p> + “Oh! it’s you, Muller. So late? Come in. Anything new?” asked the + commissioner. “Have you succeeded in drawing a confession from that + stubborn tramp yet? You’ve been interviewing him, I take it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I had a long talk with Johann Knoll to-day.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, that ought to help matters along. Has he confessed? What could you + get out of him?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing, or almost nothing more than he told us here in the station, sir. + </p> + <p> + “The man’s incredibly stubborn,” said the commissioner. “If he could only + be made to understand that a free confession would benefit him more than + any one else! Well, don’t look so down-cast about it, Muller. This thing + is going to take longer than we thought at first for such a simple affair. + But it’s only a question of time until the man comes to his senses. You’ll + get him to talk soon. You always do. And even if you should fail here, + this matter is not so very important, when we think of all the other + things you have done.” Muller, standing front of the desk, shook his head + sadly. + </p> + <p> + “But I haven’t failed here, sir. More’s the pity, I had almost said.” + </p> + <p> + “What!” The commissioner looked up in surprise. “I thought you just said + that you couldn’t get anything more out of the accused.” + </p> + <p> + “Knoll has told us all he knows, sir. He did not murder Leopold Winkler.” + </p> + <p> + “Hmph!” The commissioner’s exclamation had a touch of acidity in it. + “Then, if he didn’t murder him, who did?” + </p> + <p> + “Herbert Thorne, painter, living in the Thorne mansion in B. Street, + Hietzing, now in Venice, Hotel Danieli. I ask for a warrant for his + arrest, sir, and orders to start for Venice on the early morning express + to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “Muller!... what the deuce does all this mean?” The commissioner sprang + up, his face flushing deeply as he leaned over the desk staring at the sad + quiet face of the little man opposite. “What are you talking about? What + does all this mean?” + </p> + <p> + “It means, sir, that we now know who committed the murder in Hietzing. + Johann Knoll is innocent of anything more than the theft confessed by + himself. He took the purse and watch from the senseless form of the just + murdered man. The body was warm and still supple and the tramp supposed + the victim to be merely intoxicated. His story was in every respect true, + sir.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner flushed still deeper. “And who do you say murdered this + man?” + </p> + <p> + “Herbert Thorne, sir. + </p> + <p> + “But Thorne! I know of him... have even a slight personal acquaintance with + him. Thorne is a rich man, of excellent family. Why should he murder and + rob an obscure clerk like this Winkler?” + </p> + <p> + “He did not rob him sir, Knoll did that.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes. But why should Thorne commit murder on this man who scarcely + touched his life at any point... It’s incredible! Muller! Muller! are you + sure you are not letting your imagination run away with you again? It is a + serious thing to make such an accusation against any man, much less + against a man in Thorne’s position. Are you sure of what you are saying?” + The commissioner’s excitement rendered him almost inarticulate. The shock + of the surprise occasioned by the detective’s words produced a feeling of + irritation... a phenomenon not unusual in the minds of worthy but pedantic + men of affairs when confronted by a startling new thought. + </p> + <p> + “I am quite sure of what I am saying, sir. I have just heard the + confession of one who might be called an accomplice of the murderer.” + </p> + <p> + “It is incredible... incredible! An accomplice you say?... who is this + accomplice? Might it not be some one who has a grudge against Thorne—some + one who is trying to purposely mislead you?” + </p> + <p> + “I am not so easily deceived or misled, sir. Every evidence points to + Thorne, and the confession I have just heard was made by a woman who loves + him, who has loved and cared for him from his babyhood. There is not the + slightest doubt of it, sir.” + </p> + <p> + Muller moved a step nearer the desk, gazing firmly in the eyes of the + excited commissioner. The sadness on the detective’s face had given way to + a gleam of pride that flushed his sallow cheek and brightened his grey + eyes. It was one of those rare moments when Muller allowed himself a + feeling of triumph in his own power, in spite of official subordination + and years of habit. His slight frame seemed to grow taller and broader as + he faced the Chief with an air of quiet determination that made him at + once master of the situation. His voice was as low as ever but it took on + a keen incisive note that compelled attention, as he continued: “Herbert + Thorne is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. Now that he knows an innocent + man is under accusation for his deed it is only a question of time before + he will come himself to confess. He will doubtless make this confession to + me, if I go to Venice to see him, and to bring him back to trial.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner could doubt no longer. Pedantic though he was, + Commissioner von Riedau possessed sufficient insight to know the truth + when it was presented to him with such conviction, and also sufficient + insight to have recognised the gifts of the man before him. “But why... + why?” he murmured, sinking back into his chair, and shaking his head in + bewilderment. + </p> + <p> + “Winkler was a miserable scoundrel, sir, a blackmailer. Thorne did only + what any decent man would have felt like doing in his place. But justice + must be done.” + </p> + <p> + Muller’s elation vanished and a deep sigh welled up from his heart. The + commissioner nodded slowly, and glanced across the desk almost timidly. + This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly the hidden deeps of a + dark mystery had opened before him, deeps already sounded by the little + man here who had gone so quietly about his work while the official police, + represented in this case by Commissioner von Riedau himself, had sat + calmly waiting for an innocent man to confess to a crime he had not + committed! It was humiliating. The commissioner flushed again and his eyes + sank to the floor. + </p> + <p> + “Tell me what you know, Muller,” he said finally. + </p> + <p> + Muller told the story of his experiences in the Thorne mansion, told of + the slight clues which led him to take an interest in the house and its + inmates, until finally the truth began to glimmer up out of the depths. + The commissioner listened with eager interest. “Then you believed this + elaborate yarn told by the tramp?” he interrupted once, at the beginning + of the narrative. + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes, sir, just because it was so elaborate. A man like Knoll would + not have had the mind to invent such a story. It must have been true, on + the face of it.” + </p> + <p> + The commissioner’s eyes sank again, and he did not speak until the + detective had reached the end of his story. Then he opened a drawer in his + desk and took out a bundle of official blank-forms. + </p> + <p> + “It is wonderful! Wonderful! Muller, this case will go on record as one of + your finest achievements—and we thought it was so simple.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, indeed, sir, chance favoured me at every turn,” replied Muller + modestly. + </p> + <p> + “There is no such thing as chance,” said the commissioner. “We might as + well be honest with ourselves. Any one might have seen, doubtless did see, + all the things you saw, but no one else had the insight to recognise their + value, nor the skill to follow them up to such a conclusion. But it’s a + sad case, a sad case. I never wrote a warrant with a heavier heart. Thorne + is a true-hearted gentleman, while the scoundrel he killed...” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, I feel that way about it myself. I can confess now that there + was one moment when I was ready to—well, just to say nothing. + </p> + <p> + “And let us blunder on in our official stupidity and blindness?” + interrupted the commissioner, a faint smile breaking the gravity of his + face. “We certainly gave you every opportunity.” + </p> + <p> + “But there’s an innocent man accused—suffering fear of death—justice + must be done. But, sir,” Muller took the warrant the commissioner handed + across the table to him. “May I not make it as easy as I can for Mr. + Thorne—I mean, bring him here with as little publicity as possible? + His wife is with him in Venice.” + </p> + <p> + “Poor little woman, it’s terrible! Do whatever you think best, Muller. + You’re a queer mixture. Here you’ve hounded this man down, followed hot on + his trail when not a soul but yourself connected him in any way with the + murder. And now you’re sorry for him! A soft heart like yours is a + dangerous possession for a police detective, Muller. It’s no aid to our + business.” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, I know that.” + </p> + <p> + “Well take care it doesn’t run away with you this time. Don’t let Herbert + Thorne escape, however much pity you may feel for him.” + </p> + <p> + “I doubt if he’ll want to sir, as long as another is in prison for his + crime. + </p> + <p> + “But he may make his confession and then try to escape the disgrace.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, sir, I’ve thought of that. That’s why I want to go to Venice myself. + And then, there’s the poor young wife, he must think of her when the + desire comes to end his own life...” + </p> + <p> + “Yes! Yes! This terrible thing has shaken us both up more than a little. I + feel exhausted. You look tired yourself, Muller. Go home now, and get some + rest for your early start. Good-night.” + </p> + <p> + “Good-night, sir.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. ON THE LIDO + </h2> + <p> + A wonderfully beautiful night lay over the fair old city of Venice when + the Northern Express thundered over the long bridge to the railway + station. A passenger who was alone in a second-class compartment stood up + to collect his few belongings. Suddenly he looked up as he heard a voice, + a voice which he had learned to know only very recently, calling to him + from the door of the compartment. + </p> + <p> + “Why! you were in the train too? You have come to Venice?” exclaimed + Joseph Muller in astonishment as he saw Mrs. Bernauer standing there + before him. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I have come to Venice too. I must be with my dear lady—when—when + Herbert—” She had begun quite calmly, but she did not finish her + sentence, for loud sobs drowned the words. + </p> + <p> + “You were in the next compartment? Why didn’t you come in here with me? It + would have made this journey shorter for both of us.” + </p> + <p> + “I had to be alone,” said the pale woman and then she added: “I only came + to you now to ask you where I must go.” + </p> + <p> + “I think we two had better go to the Hotel Bauer. Let me arrange things + for you. Mrs. Thorne must not see you until she has been prepared for your + coming. I will arrange that with her husband.” + </p> + <p> + The two took each other’s hands. They had won respect and sympathy for + each other, this quiet man who went so relentlessly and yet so pityingly + about his duty in the interest of justice—and the devoted woman + whose faithfulness had brought about such a tragedy. + </p> + <p> + The train had now entered the railway station. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer + stood a few minutes later on the banks of the Grand Canal and entered one + of the many gondolas waiting there. The moon glanced back from the surface + of the water broken into ripples under the oars of the gondoliers; it + shone with a magic charm on the old palaces that stood knee-deep in the + lagoons, and threw heavy shadows over the narrow water-roads on which the + little dark boats glided silently forward. In most of the gondolas coming + from the station excited voices and exclamations of delight broke the calm + of the moonlit evening as the tourists rejoiced in the beauty that is + Venice. + </p> + <p> + But in the gondola in which Muller and Mrs. Bernauer sat there was deep + silence, silence broken only by a sobbing sigh that now and then burst + from the heart of the haggard woman. There were few travellers entering + Venice on one of its world-famous moonlit nights who were so sad at heart + as were these two. + </p> + <p> + And there were few travellers in Venice as heavy hearted as was the man + who next morning took one of the earliest boats out to the Lido. + </p> + <p> + Muller and Mrs. Bernauer were on the same boat watching him from a hidden + corner. The woman’s sad eyes gazed yearningly at the haggard face of the + tall man who stood looking over the railing of the little steamer. Her own + tears came as she saw the gloom in the once shining grey eyes she loved so + well. + </p> + <p> + Muller stood beside Mrs. Bernauer. His eyes too, keen and quick, followed + Herbert Thorne as he stood by the rail or paced restlessly up and down; + his face too showed pity and concern. He also saw that Thorne held in his + hand a bundle of newspapers which were still enclosed in their mailing + wrappers. The papers were pressed in a convulsive grip of the artist’s + long slender fingers. + </p> + <p> + Muller knew then that Thorne had not yet learned of the arrest of Johann + Knoll. At the very earliest, Thursday’s papers, which brought the news, + could not reach him before Friday morning. But these newspapers (Muller + saw that they were German papers) were still in their wrappings. They were + probably Viennese papers for which he had telegraphed and which had just + arrived. His anxiety had not allowed him to read them in the presence of + his wife. He had sought the solitude of early morning on the Lido, that he + might learn, unobserved, what terrors fate had in store for him. + </p> + <p> + It was doubtless Mrs. Bernauer’s telegram which caused his present + anxiety, a telegram which had reached him only the night before when he + returned with his wife from an excursion to Torcello. It had caused him a + sleepless night, for it had brought the realisation that his faithful + nurse suspected the truth about the murder in the quiet lane. The telegram + had read as follows: “Have drawn money and send it at once. Further + journey probably necessary, visitor in house to-day. Connected with + occurrence in — Street. Please read Viennese papers. News and orders + for me please send to address A.B. General Postoffice.” + </p> + <p> + This telegram told Herbert Thorne the truth. And the papers which arrived + this morning were to tell him more—what he did not yet know. But his + heart was drawn with terrors which threw lines in his face and made him + look ten years older than on that Tuesday morning when the detective saw + him setting out on his journey with his wife. + </p> + <p> + When the boat landed at the Lido, Thorne walked off down the road which + led to the ocean side. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer entered the waiting + tramway that took them in the same direction. They dismounted in front of + the bathing establishment, stepped behind a group of bushes and waited + there for Thorne. In about ten minutes they saw his tall figure passing on + the other side of the road. He was walking down to the beach, holding the + still unopened papers in his hand. + </p> + <p> + A narrow strip of park runs along parallel to the beach in the direction + towards Mala Mocco. Muller and Mrs Bernauer walked along through this park + on the path which was nearest the water. The detective watched the rapidly + moving figure ahead of them, while the woman’s tear-dimmed eyes veiled + everything else to her but the path along which her weary feet hastened. + Thorne halted about half way between the bathing establishment and the + customs barracks, looked around to see if he were alone and threw himself + down on the sand. + </p> + <p> + He had chosen a good place. To the right and to the left were high sand + dunes, before him was the broad surface of the ocean, and at his back was + rising ground, bare sand with here and there a scraggly bush or a group of + high thistles. Herbert Thorne believed himself to be alone here... as far + as a man can be alone over whom hangs the shadow of a crime. He groaned + aloud and hid his pale face in his hands. + </p> + <p> + In his own distress he did not hear the deep sigh—which, just above + him on the edge of the knoll, broke from the breast of a woman who was + suffering scarcely less than he; he did not know that two pair of sad eyes + looked down upon him. And now into the eyes of the watching woman there + shot a gleam of terror. For Herbert Thorne had taken a revolver from his + pocket and laid it quietly beside him. Then he took out a notebook and a + pencil and placed them beside the weapon. Then slowly, reluctantly, he + opened one of the papers. + </p> + <p> + A light breeze from the shining sea before him carried off the wrapping. + The paper which he opened shook in his trembling hands, as his eyes sought + the reports of the murder. He gave a sudden start and a tremor ran through + his frame. He had come to the spot which told of the arrest of another + man, who was under shadow of punishment for the crime which he himself had + committed. When he had read this report through, he turned to the other + papers. He was quite calm now, outwardly calm at least. + </p> + <p> + When he had finished reading the papers he laid them in a heap beside him + and reached out for his notebook. As he opened it the two watchers saw + that between its first pages there was a sealed and addressed letter. Two + other envelopes were contained in the notebook, envelopes which were also + addressed although still open. Muller’s sharp eyes could read the + addresses as Thorne took them up in turn, looking long at each of them. + One envelope was addressed in Italian to the Chief of Police of Venice, + the other to the Chief of Police in Vienna. + </p> + <p> + The two watchers leaned forward, scarcely three yards above the man in + whom they were interested. Thorne tore out two leaves of his notebook and + wrote several lines on each of them. One note, he placed in the envelope + addressed to the Viennese police and sealed it carefully. Then he put the + sealed letter with the second note in the other envelope, the one + addressed to the Italian police. He put all the letters back in his + notebook, holding it together with a rubber strap, and replaced it in his + pocket. + </p> + <p> + Then he stretched out his hand toward the revolver. + </p> + <p> + The sand came rattling down upon him, the thistles bent over creakingly + and two figures appeared beside him. + </p> + <p> + “There’s time enough for that yet, Mr. Thorne,” said the man at whom the + painter gazed up in bewilderment. And then this man took the revolver + quietly from his hand and hid it in his own pocket. + </p> + <p> + Thorne pressed his teeth down on his lips until the blood came. He could + not speak; he looked first at the stranger who had mastered him so + completely, and then, in dazed astonishment, at the woman who had sunk + down beside him in the sand, clasping his hand in both of hers. + </p> + <p> + “Adele! Adele! Why are you here?” he stammered finally. + </p> + <p> + “I want to be with you—in this hour,” she answered, looking at him + with eyes of worship. “I want to be with my dear lady—to comfort her—to + protect her when—when—” + </p> + <p> + “When they arrest me?” Thorne finished the sentence himself. Then turning + to Muller he continued: “And that is why you are here?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Mr. Thorne. I have a warrant for your arrest in my pocket. But I + think it will be unnecessary to make use of it in the customary official + way through the authorities here. I see that you have written to both + police stations—confessing your deed. This will amount to a + voluntary giving up of yourself to the authorities, therefore all that is + necessary is that I return with you in the same train which takes you to + Vienna. But I must ask you for those two letters, for until you yourself + give them to the police authorities in my presence, it is my duty to keep + them.” + </p> + <p> + Muller had seldom found his official duty as difficult as it was now. His + words came haltingly and great drops stood out on his forehead. + </p> + <p> + The painter rose from the sand and he too wiped his face, which was drawn + in agony. + </p> + <p> + “Herbert, Herbert!” cried Adele Bernauer suddenly. “Oh, Herbert, you will + live, you will! Promise me, you will not think of suicide, it would kill + your wife—” + </p> + <p> + She lay on her knees before him in the sand. He looked down at her gently + and with a gesture which seemed to be a familiar one of days long past, he + stroked the face that had grown old and worn in these hours of fear for + him. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you dear good soul, I will live on, I will take upon myself my + punishment for killing a scoundrel. The poor man whom they have arrested + in my place must not linger in the fear of death. I am ready, sir. + </p> + <p> + “My name is Muller—detective Muller.” + </p> + <p> + “Joseph Muller, the famous detective Muller?” asked Thorne with a sad + smile. “I have had little to do with the police but by chance I have heard + of your fame. I might have known; they tell me you are one from whom the + truth can never remain hidden.” + </p> + <p> + “My duty is not always an easy one,” said Muller. + </p> + <p> + “Thank you. Dispose of me as you will. I do not wish any privileges that + others would not have, Mr. Muller. Here is my written confession and here + am I myself. Shall we go now?” Herbert Thorne handed the detective his + notebook with its important contents and then walked slowly back along the + road he had come. + </p> + <p> + Muller walked a little behind him, while Mrs. Bernauer was at his side. As + in days long past, they walked hand in hand. + </p> + <p> + With eyes full of pity Muller watched them, and he heard Thorne give his + old nurse orders for the care of his wife. She was to take Mrs. Thorne to + Graz to her father, then to return herself to Vienna and take care of the + house as usual, until his attorney could settle up his affairs and sell + the property. For Thorne said that neither he nor his wife would ever want + to set foot in the house again. He spoke calmly, he thought of everything—he + thought even of the possibility that he might have to pay the death + penalty for his deed. + </p> + <p> + For who could tell how the authorities would judge this murder? + </p> + <p> + It had indeed been a murder by merest chance only. Thorne told his old + nurse all about it. When she had given him the signal he had hurried down + into the garden, and walking quietly along the path, he had found his wife + at the garden gate in conversation with a man who was a stranger to him. + That part of their talk which he overheard told him that the man was a + blackmailer, and that he was making money on the fact that he had caught + Theobald Leining cheating at cards. + </p> + <p> + This chance had put the officer into Winkler’s power. The clerk knew that + he could get nothing from the guilty man himself, so he had turned to the + latter’s sister, who was rich, and had threatened to bring about a + disgraceful scandal if she did not pay for his silence. For more than a + year he had been getting money from her by means of these threats. All + this was clear from the conversation. The man spoke in tones of + impertinence, or sneering obsequiousness, the woman’s voice showed + contempt and hatred. + </p> + <p> + Thorne’s blood began to boil. His fingers tightened about the revolver + which he had brought with him to be ready for any emergency, and he + stepped designedly upon a twig which broke under his feet with a noise. He + wanted to frighten his wife and send her back to the house. This was what + did occur. But the blackmailer was alarmed as well and fled hastily from + the garden when he realised that he was not alone with his victim. Thorne + followed the man’s disappearing figure, calling him to halt. He did not + call loudly for he too wanted to avoid a scandal. His intention was to + force the man to follow him into the house, to get his written confession + of blackmail—then to finish him off with a large sum once for all + and kick him out of the place. + </p> + <p> + In this manner Herbert Thorne thought to free himself and his wife from + the persecutions of the rascal. His heart was filled with hatred towards + the man. For since Mrs. Bernauer had told him what she had discovered, he + knew that it was because of this wretch that his once so happy wife was + losing her strength, her health and her peace of mind. + </p> + <p> + He followed the fleeing man and called to him several times to halt. + Finally Winkler half turned and called out over his shoulder: “You’d + better leave me alone! Do you want all Vienna to know that your + brother-in-law ought to be in jail?” + </p> + <p> + These words robbed Thorne of all control. He pressed the trigger under his + finger and the bullet struck the man before him, who had turned to + continue his flight, full in the back. “And that is how I became a + murderer.” With these words Herbert Thorne concluded his narrative. He + appeared quite calm now. He was really calmer, for the strain of the deed, + which was justified in his eyes, was not so great upon his conscience as + had been the strain of the secret of it. + </p> + <p> + In his own eyes he had only killed a beast who chanced to bear the form of + a man. But of course in the eyes of the world this was a murder like any + other, and the man who had committed it knew that he was under the ban of + the law, that it was only a chance that the arm of justice had not yet + reached out for him. And now this arm had reached out for him, although it + was no longer necessary. For Herbert Thorne was not the man to allow + another to suffer in his stead. + </p> + <p> + As soon as he knew that another had been arrested and was under suspicion + of the murder, he knew that there was nothing more for him but open + confession. But he wished to avoid a scandal even now. If he died by his + own hand, then the first cause of all this trouble, his brother-in-law’s + rascality, could still be hidden. + </p> + <p> + But now his care was all in vain and Herbert Thorne knew that he must + submit to the inevitable. Side by side with his old friend he sat on the + deck of the boat that took them back to the Riva dei Schiavoni. Muller sat + at some distance from them. The pale sad-faced woman, and the pale + sad-faced man had much to say to each other that a stranger might not + hear. + </p> + <p> + When the little boat reached the landing stage, there were but a few steps + more to the door of the Hotel Danieli. From a balcony on the first floor a + young woman stood looking down onto the canal. She too was pale and her + eyes were heavy with anxiety. She had been pale and anxious even then, the + day when she left the beautiful old house in the quiet street, to start on + this pleasure trip to Venice. + </p> + <p> + It had been no pleasure trip to her. She had seen the change in her + husband, a change that struck deep into his very being and altered him in + everything except in his love and tender care for her. “Oh, why is it? + what is the matter?” she asked her self a thousand times a day. Could it + be possible that he had discovered the secret which tortured her, the only + secret she had ever had from him, the secret she had longed to confess to + him a hundred times but had lacked courage to do it. + </p> + <p> + For she had sinned deeply against her husband, she knew. Her fear and her + confusion had driven her deeper and deeper into the waters of deceit until + it was impossible for her to find the words that would have brought help + and comfort from the man whom she loved more than anything else in the + world. In the very earliest stages of Winkler’s persecution she had lost + her head completely and instead of confessing to her husband and asking + for his aid and protection, she had pawned the rich jewels which had been + his wedding present to get the money demanded by the blackmailer. In her + ignorance she had thought that this one sum would satisfy him. + </p> + <p> + But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved from her pin + money, from her household allowance, thus taking what she had intended to + use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, and her jewels gone + forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a terror which sapped her + strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. Any hour might bring + discovery, a discovery which she feared would shake her husband’s love for + her. The poor weak little woman grew pale and ill. She wrote finally to + her step-brother, but he could think of no way out; he wrote only that if + the matter came to a scandal there would be nothing for him to do but to + kill himself. This was one reason more for her silence, and Mrs. Thorne + faded to a wan shadow of her former sunny self. + </p> + <p> + As she looked down from the balcony, she was like a woman suffering from a + deathly illness. A new terror had come to her heart because her husband + had gone away so early without telling her why or whither he had gone. + When she saw him coming towards the door of the hotel, pale and drooping, + and when she saw Mrs. Bernauer beside him, her heart seemed to stand + still. She crept back from the window and stood in the middle of the room + as Herbert Thorne and his former nurse entered. + </p> + <p> + “What has happened?” This was all she could say as she looked into the + distraught face of the housekeeper, into her husband’s sad eyes. + </p> + <p> + He led her to a chair, then knelt beside her and told her all. + </p> + <p> + “Outside the door stands the man who will take me back to Vienna—and + you, my dearest, you must go to your father.” He concluded his story with + these words. + </p> + <p> + She bent down over him and kissed him. “‘No, I am going with you,” she + said softly, strangely calm; “why should I leave you now? Is it not I who + am the cause of this dreadful thing?” + </p> + <p> + And then she made her confession, much too late. And she went with him, + back to the city of their home. It seemed to them both quite natural that + she should do so. + </p> + <p> + When the Northern Express rolled out of Venice that afternoon, three + people sat together in a compartment, the curtains of which were drawn + close. They were the unhappy couple and their faithful servant. And + outside in the corridor of the railway carriage, a small, slight man + walked up and down—up and down. He had pressed a gold coin into the + conductor’s hand, with the words: “The party in there do not wish to be + disturbed; the lady is ill.” + </p> + <p> + Herbert Thorne’s trial took place several weeks later. Every possible + extenuating circumstance was brought to bear upon his sentence. Five years + only was to be the term of his imprisonment, his punishment for the crime + of a single moment of anger. + </p> + <p> + His wife waited for him in patient love. She did not go to Graz, but + continued to live in the old mansion with the mansard roof. Her father was + with her. The brother Theobald, the cause of all this suffering to those + who had shielded him at the expense of their own happiness, had at last + done the only good deed of his life—had put an end to his useless + existence with his own hand. + </p> + <p> + Father and daughter waited patiently for the return of the man who had + sinned and suffered for their sake. They spoke of him only in terms of the + tenderest affection and respect. + </p> + <p> + And indeed, seldom has any condemned murderer met with the respect of the + entire community as Herbert Thorne did. The tone of the newspapers, and + public opinion, evinced by hundreds of letters from friends, + acquaintances, and from strangers, was a great boon to the solitary man in + his cell, and to the three loving hearts in the old house. And at the end + of two years the clemency of the Monarch ended his term of imprisonment, + and Herbert Thorne was set free, a step which met with the approval of the + entire city. + </p> + <p> + He returned to the home where love and affection awaited him, ready to + make him forget what he had suffered. But the silver threads in his dark + hair and a certain quiet seriousness in his manner, and in the hearts of + all the dwellers in the old mansion, showed that the occurrence of that + fatal 27th of September had thrown a shadow over them all which was not to + be shaken off. + </p> + <p> + Joseph Muller brought many other cases to a successful solution. But for + years after this particular case had been won, he was followed, as by a + shadow, by a man who watched over him, and who, whenever danger + threatened, stood over the frail detective as if to take the blow upon + himself. He is a clever assistant, too, and no one who had seen Johann + Knoll the day that he was put into the cell on suspicion of murder would + have believed that the idle tramp could become again such a useful member + of society. These are the victories that Joseph Muller considers his + greatest. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Lamp That Went Out, by Augusta Groner + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + +***** This file should be named 1832-h.htm or 1832-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/3/1832/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer, and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Lamp That Went Out + +Author: Augusta Groner + +Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron + +Posting Date: November 17, 2008 [EBook #1832] +Release Date: July, 1999 +Last Updated: March 17, 2012 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer + + + + + +THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + +By Augusta Groner + + +Translated by Grace Isabel Colbron + + + + +INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER + +Joseph Muller, Secret Service detective of the Imperial Austrian police, +is one of the great experts in his profession. In personality he differs +greatly from other famous detectives. He has neither the impressive +authority of Sherlock Holmes, nor the keen brilliancy of Monsieur Lecoq. +Muller is a small, slight, plain-looking man, of indefinite age, and of +much humbleness of mien. A naturally retiring, modest disposition, and +two external causes are the reasons for Muller's humbleness of manner, +which is his chief characteristic. One cause is the fact that in early +youth a miscarriage of justice gave him several years in prison, an +experience which cast a stigma on his name and which made it impossible +for him, for many years after, to obtain honest employment. But the +world is richer, and safer, by Muller's early misfortune. For it was +this experience which threw him back on his own peculiar talents for +a livelihood, and drove him into the police force. Had he been able to +enter any other profession, his genius might have been stunted to a mere +pastime, instead of being, as now, utilised for the public good. + +Then, the red tape and bureaucratic etiquette which attaches to every +governmental department, puts the secret service men of the Imperial +police on a par with the lower ranks of the subordinates. Muller's +official rank is scarcely much higher than that of a policeman, although +kings and councillors consult him and the Police Department realises to +the full what a treasure it has in him. But official red tape, and his +early misfortune... prevent the giving of any higher official standing +to even such a genius. Born and bred to such conditions, Muller +understands them, and his natural modesty of disposition asks for no +outward honours, asks for nothing but an income sufficient for his +simple needs, and for aid and opportunity to occupy himself in the way +he most enjoys. + +Joseph Muller's character is a strange mixture. The kindest-hearted man +in the world, he is a human bloodhound when once the lure of the trail +has caught him. He scarcely eats or sleeps when the chase is on, he does +not seem to know human weakness nor fatigue, in spite of his frail body. +Once put on a case his mind delves and delves until it finds a clue, +then something awakes within him, a spirit akin to that which holds +the bloodhound nose to trail, and he will accomplish the apparently +impossible, he will track down his victim when the entire machinery of +a great police department seems helpless to discover anything. The high +chiefs and commissioners grant a condescending permission when Muller +asks, "May I do this? ... or may I handle this case this way?" +both parties knowing all the while that it is a farce, and that the +department waits helpless until this humble little man saves its honour +by solving some problem before which its intricate machinery has stood +dazed and puzzled. + +This call of the trail is something that is stronger than anything else +in Muller's mentality, and now and then it brings him into conflict with +the department,... or with his own better nature. Sometimes his unerring +instinct discovers secrets in high places, secrets which the Police +Department is bidden to hush up and leave untouched. Muller is then +taken off the case, and left idle for a while if he persists in his +opinion as to the true facts. And at other times, Muller's own warm +heart gets him into trouble. He will track down his victim, driven by +the power in his soul which is stronger than all volition; but when he +has this victim in the net, he will sometimes discover him to be a +much finer, better man than the other individual, whose wrong at this +particular criminal's hand set in motion the machinery of justice. +Several times that has happened to Muller, and each time his heart got +the better of his professional instincts, of his practical common-sense, +too, perhaps,... at least as far as his own advancement was concerned, +and he warned the victim, defeating his own work. This peculiarity of +Muller's character caused his undoing at last, his official undoing that +is, and compelled his retirement from the force. But his advice is often +sought unofficially by the Department, and to those who know, Muller's +hand can be seen in the unravelling of many a famous case. + +The following stories are but a few of the many interesting cases that +have come within the experience of this great detective. But they give +a fair portrayal of Muller's peculiar method of working, his looking on +himself as merely an humble member of the Department, and the comedy +of his acting under "official orders" when the Department is in reality +following out his directions. + + + + + +THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + + + + +CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY + + +The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The air was +so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where the city's +buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the town the rays +of the awakening sun danced in crystalline ether and struck answering +gleams from the dew on grass and shrub in the myriad gardens of the +suburban streets. + +It was still very early. The old-fashioned steeple clock on the church +of the Holy Virgin in Hietzing had boomed out six slow strokes but a +short time back. Anna, the pretty blonde girl who carried out the milk +for the dwellers in several streets of this aristocratic residential +suburb, was just coming around the corner of the main street into a +quiet lane. This lane could hardly be dignified by the name of street as +yet, it was so very quiet. It had been opened and named scarcely a year +back and it was bordered mostly by open gardens or fenced-in building +lots. There were four houses in this street, two by two opposite each +other, and another, an old-fashioned manor house, lying almost hidden in +its great garden. But the quiet street could not presume to ownership of +this last house, for the front of it opened on a parallel street, which +gave it its number. Only the garden had a gate as outlet onto our quiet +lane. + +Anna stopped in front of this gate and pulled the bell. She had to wait +for some little time until the gardener's wife, who acted as janitress, +could open the door. But Anna was not impatient, for she knew that it +was quite a distance from the gardener's house in the centre of the +great stretch of park to the little gate where she waited. In a few +moments, however, the door was opened and a pleasant-faced woman +exchanged a friendly greeting with the girl and took the cans from her. + +Anna hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four houses in +that street were already served and she was now bound for the homes of +customers several squares away. Then her step slowed just a bit. She +was a quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace of this bright morning +sank into her heart and made her rejoice in its beauty. All around her +the foliage was turning gently to its autumn glory of colouring and the +dewdrops on the rich-hued leaves sparkled with an unusual radiance. A +thrush looked down at her from a bough and began its morning song. Anna +smiled up at the little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune. + +But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her flushed +cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to the ground. +With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let the burden of the +milk cans drop gently from her shoulder to the ground. In following the +bird's flight her eyes had wandered to the side of the street, to the +edge of one of the vacant lots, there where a shallow ditch separated +it from the roadway. An elder-tree, the great size of which attested its +age, hung its berry-laden branches over the ditch. And in front of this +tree the bird had stopped suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick +movement of the wild creature surprised by fright. What the bird +had seen was the same vision that halted the song on Anna's lips and +arrested her foot. It was the body of a man--a young and well-dressed +man, who lay there with his face turned toward the street. And his face +was the white frozen face of a corpse. + +Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, in wide-eyed +terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to pull herself together +again. A few steps and then she turned and broke into a run. When she +reached the end of the street, breathless from haste and excitement, she +found herself in one of the main arteries of traffic of the suburb, but +owing to the early hour this street was almost as quiet as the lane she +had just left. Finally the frightened girl's eyes caught sight of the +figure of a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet +him and recognised him as the officer of that beat. + +"Why, what is the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so excited?" + +"Down there--in the lane, there's a dead man," answered the girl, gasping +for breath. + +"A dead man?" repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the girl. "Are +you sure he's dead?" + +Anna nodded. "His eyes are all glassy and I saw blood on his back." + +"Well, you're evidently very much frightened, and I suppose you don't +want to go down there again. I'll look into the matter, if you will go +to the police station and make the announcement. Will you do it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"All right, then, that will gain time for us. Good-bye, Miss Anna." + +The man walked quickly down the street, while the girl hurried off in +the opposite direction, to the nearest police station, where she told +what she had seen. + +The policeman reached his goal even earlier. The first glance told him +that the man lying there by the wayside was indeed lifeless. And the icy +stiffness of the hand which he touched showed him that life must have +fled many hours back. Anna had been right about the blood also. The dead +man lay on the farther side of the ditch, half down into it. His right +arm was bent under his body, his left arm was stretched out, and the +stiffened fingers... they were slender white fingers... had sought for +something to break his fall. All they had found was a tall stem of wild +aster with its purple blossoms, which they were holding fast in the +death grip. On the dead man's back was a small bullet-wound and around +the edges of it his light grey coat was stained with blood. His face was +distorted in pain and terror. It was a nice face, or would have been, +did it not show all too plainly the marks of dissipation in spite of the +fact that the man could not have been much past thirty years old. He was +a stranger to the policeman, although the latter had been on this beat +for over three years. + +When the guardian of the law had convinced himself that there was +nothing more to do for the man who lay there, he rose from his stooping +position and stepped back. His gaze wandered up and down the quiet lane, +which was still absolutely empty of human life. He stood there quietly +waiting, watching over the ghastly discovery. In about ten minutes the +police commissioner and the coroner, followed by two roundsmen with a +litter, joined the solitary watcher, and the latter could return to his +post. + +The policemen set down their litter and waited for orders, while the +coroner and the commissioner bent over the corpse. There was nothing +for the physician to do but to declare that the unfortunate man had been +dead for many hours. The bullet which struck him in the back had killed +him at once. The commissioner examined the ground immediately around +the corpse, but could find nothing that pointed to a struggle. There +remained only to prove whether there had been a robbery as well as a +murder. + +"Judging from the man's position the bullet must have come from that +direction," said the commissioner, pointing towards the cottages down +the lane. + +"People who are killed by bullets may turn several times before they +fall," said a gentle voice behind the police officer. The voice seemed +to suit the thin little man who stood there meekly, his hat in his hand. + +The commissioner turned quickly. "Ah, are you there already, Muller?" +he said, as if greatly pleased, while the physician broke in with the +remark: + +"That's just what I was about to observe. This man did not die so +quickly that he could not have made a voluntary or involuntary movement +before life fled. The shot that killed him might have come from any +direction." + +The commissioner nodded thoughtfully and there was silence for a +few moments. Muller--for the little thin man was none other than the +celebrated Joseph Muller, one of the most brilliant detectives in the +service of the Austrian police--looked down at the corpse carefully. +He took plenty of time to do it and nobody hurried him. For nobody ever +hurried Muller; his well-known and almost laughable thoroughness and +pedantry were too valuable in their results. It was a tradition in the +police that Muller was to have all the time he wanted for everything. It +paid in the end, for Muller made few mistakes. Therefore, his superior +the police commissioner, and the coroner waited quietly while the little +man made his inspection of the corpse. + +"Thank you," said Muller finally, with a polite bow to the commissioner, +before he bent to brush away the dust on his knees. + +"Well?" asked Commissioner Holzer. + +Muller smiled an embarrassed smile as he replied: + +"Well... I haven't found out anything yet except that he is dead, and +that he has been shot in the back. His pockets may tell us something +more." + +"Yes, we can examine them at once," said the commissioner. "I have been +delaying that for I wanted you here; but I had no idea that you would +come so soon. I told them to fetch you if you were awake, but doubted +you would be, for I know you have had no sleep for forty-eight hours." + +"Oh, I can sleep, at least with one eye, when I'm on the chase," +answered the detective. "So it's really only twenty-four hours, you +see." Muller had just returned from tracking down an aristocratic +swindler whom he had found finally in a little French city and had +brought back to a Viennese prison. He had returned well along in the +past night and Holzer knew that the tired man would need his rest. +Still he had sent for Muller, who lived near the police station, for +the girl's report had warned him that this was a serious case. And in +serious cases the police did not like to do without Muller's help. + +And as usual when his work called him, Muller was as wide awake as if +he had had a good night's sleep behind him. The interest of a new +case robbed him of every trace of fatigue. It was he alone--at his own +request--who raised the body and laid it on its back before he stepped +aside to make way for the doctor. + +The physician opened the dead man's vest to see whether the bullet had +passed completely through the body. But it had not; there was not the +slightest trace of blood upon the shirt. + +"There's nothing more for me to do here, Muller," said the physician, as +he bowed to the commissioner and left the place. + +Muller examined the pockets of the dead man. + +"It's probably a case of robbery, too," remarked the commissioner. "A +man as well-dressed as this one is would be likely to have a watch." + +"And a purse," added the detective. "But this man has neither--or at +least he has them no longer." + +In the various pockets of the dead man's clothes Muller found the +following articles: a handkerchief, several tramway tickets, a penknife, +a tiny mirror, and comb, and a little book, a cheap novel. He wrapped +them all in the handkerchief and put them in his own pocket. The dead +man's coat had fallen back from his body during the examination, and as +Muller turned the stiffened limbs a little he saw the opening of another +pocket high up over the right hip of the trousers. The detective passed +his hand over the pocket and heard something rattle. Then he put his +hand in the pocket and drew out a thin narrow envelope which he handed +to the commissioner. Holzer looked at it carefully. It was made of very +thin expensive paper and bore no address. But it was sealed, although +not very carefully, for the gummed edges were open in spots. It must +have been hastily closed and was slightly crushed as if it had been +carried in a clenched hand. The commissioner cut open the envelope with +his penknife. He gave an exclamation of surprise as he showed Muller the +contents. In the envelope there were three hundred-gulden notes. + +The commissioner looked at Muller without a word, but the detective +understood and shook his head. "No," he said calmly, "it may be a case +of robbery just the same. This pocket was not very easy to find, and the +money in it was safer than the dead man's watch and purse would be. That +is, if he had a watch and purse--and he very probably had a watch," he +added more quickly. + +For Muller had made a little discovery. On the lower hem of the left +side of the dead man's waistcoat he saw a little lump, and feeling of it +he discovered that it was a watch key which had slipped down out of +the torn pocket between the lining and the material of the vest. A sure +proof that the dead man had had a watch, which in all probability had +been taken from him by his murderer. There was no loose change or small +bills to be found in any of the pockets, so that it was more than likely +that the dead man had had his money in a purse. It seemed to be a case +of murder for the sake of robbery. At least Muller and the commissioner +believed it to be one, from what they had discovered thus far. + +The police officer gave his men orders to raise the body and to take +it to the morgue. An hour later the unknown man lay in the bare room in +which the only spot of brightness were the rays of the sun that crept +through the high barred windows and touched his cold face and stiffened +form as with a pitying caress. But no, there was one other little spot +of brightness in the silent place. It was the wild aster which the dead +man's hand still held tightly clasped. The little purple flowers were +quite fresh yet, and the dewdrops clinging to them greeted the kiss of +the sun's rays with an answering smile. + + + + +CHAPTER II. THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG + + +As soon as the corpse had been taken away, the police commissioner +returned to the station. But Muller remained there all alone to make a +thorough examination of the entire vicinity. + +It was not a very attractive spot, this particular part of the street. +There must have been a nursery there at one time, for there were still +several ordered rows of small trees to be seen. There were traces of +flower cultivation as well, for several trailing vines and overgrown +bushes showed where shrubs had been grown which do not usually grow +without man's assistance. Immediately back of the old elder tree Muller +found several fine examples of rare flowers, or rather he found the +shrubs which his experienced eye recognised as having once borne these +unusual blossoms. One or two blooms still hung to the bushes and the +detective, who was a great lover of flowers, picked them and put them in +his buttonhole. While he did this, his keen eyes were darting about the +place taking in all the details. This vacant lot had evidently been used +as an unlicensed dumping ground for some time, for all sorts of odds and +ends, old boots, bits of stuff, silk and rags, broken bottles and empty +tin cans, lay about between the bushes or half buried in the earth. What +had once been an orderly garden was now an untidy receptacle for waste. +The pedantically neat detective looked about him in disgust, then +suddenly he forgot his displeasure and a gleam shot up in his eye. It +was very little, the thing this man had seen, this man who saw so much +more than others. + +About ten paces from where he stood a high wooden fence hemmed in the +lot. The fence belonged to the neighbouring property, as the lot in +which he stood was not protected in any way. To the back it was closed +off by a corn field where the tall stalks rustled gently in the faint +morning breeze. All this could be seen by anybody and Muller had seen it +all at his first glance. But now he had seen something else. Something +that excited him because it might possibly have some connection with +the newly discovered crime. His keen eyes, in glancing along the wooden +fence at his right hand, had caught sight of a little twig which had +worked its way through the fence. This twig belonged to a willow tree +which grew on the other side, and which spread its grey-green foliage +over the fence or through its wide openings. One of the little twigs +which had crept in between the planks was broken, and it had been broken +very recently, for the leaves were still fresh and the sap was oozing +from the crushed stem. Muller walked over to the fence and examined the +twig carefully. He soon saw how it came to be broken. The broken part +was about the height of a man's knee from the ground. And just at this +height there was quite a space between two of the planks of the fence, +heavy planks which were laid cross-ways and nailed to thick posts. It +would have been very easy for anybody to get a foothold in this open +space between the planks. + +It was very evidently some foot thrust in between the planks which had +broken the little willow twig, and its soft rind had left a green +mark on the lower plank. "I wonder if that has anything to do with the +murder," thought Muller, looking over the fence into the lot on the +other side. + +This neighbouring plot was evidently a neglected garden. It had once +worn an aristocratic air, with stone statues and artistic arrangement +of flower beds and shrubs. It was still attractive even in its neglected +condition. Beyond it, through the foliage of its heavy trees, glass +windows caught the sunlight. Muller remembered that there was a +handsome old house in this direction, a house with a mansard roof and +wide-reaching wings. He did not now know to whom this handsome old +house belonged, a house that must have been built in the time of Maria +Theresa,... but he was sure of one thing, and that was that he would +soon find out to whom it belonged. At present it was the garden which +interested him, and he was anxious to see where it ended. A few moments' +further inspection showed him what he wanted to know. The garden +extended to the beginning of the park-like grounds which surrounded +the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron railing separated the +garden from the park, but this railing did not extend down as far as the +quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, well-built wooden fence. +Along the street side of the fence there was a high thick hedge. Muller +walked along this hedge until he came to a little gate. Then crossing +the street, he saw that the house whose windows glistened in the +sunlight was a house which he knew well from its other side, its front +facade. + +Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from this +to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined every +foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that was of any +interest to him--not a footprint, or anything to prove that some one +else had passed that way a short time before. And yet it would have been +impossible to pass that way without leaving some trace, for the ground +was cut up in all directions by mole hills. + +Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would come +into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had been found. +There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller was obliged +to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that would lead to an +understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the broken willow twig +should prove to be a clue. He sprang back across the ditch, turned up +the edges of his trousers where they had been moistened by the dew and +walked slowly along the dusty street. He was no longer alone in the +lane. An old man, accompanied by a large dog, came out from one of the +new houses and walked towards the detective, he was very evidently going +in the direction of the elder-tree, which had already been such a +centre of interest that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, +touched his cap and asked in a confidential tone: "I suppose you've been +to see the place already?" + +"Which place?" was Muller's reserved answer. + +"Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was murdered. They +found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it and told me. I +suppose everybody round here will know it soon." + +"Was there a man murdered here?" asked Muller, as if surprised by the +news. + +"Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don't understand why I didn't hear +the shot. I couldn't sleep a wink all night for the pain in my bones." + +"You live near here, then?" + +"Yes, I live in No.1. Didn't you see me coming out?" + +"I didn't notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I stooped to turn +up my trousers so that they wouldn't get dusty--it must have been then +you came out." + +"Why, then you must have been right near the place I was talking about. +Do you see that elder tree there? It's the only one in the street, and +the girl who brings the milk found the man under it. The police have +been here already and have taken him away. They discovered him about six +o'clock and now it's just seven." + +"And you hadn't any suspicion that this dreadful thing was happening so +near you?" asked the detective casually. + +"I didn't know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn't have been a +fight or I would have heard it. But I don't know why I didn't hear the +shot." + +"Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your pain," +said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the man back to the +place from which he had just come. + +The old man shook his head. "No, I tell you I didn't close an eye all +night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two pipes before I +put out the light, and then I heard every hour strike all night long +and it wasn't until nearly five o'clock, when it was almost dawn, that I +dozed off a bit." + +"Then it is astonishing that you didn't hear anything!" + +"Sure it's astonishing! But it's still more astonishing that my dog +Sultan didn't hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I'd have you +know. He'll growl if anybody passes through the street after dark, and I +don't see why he didn't notice what was going on over there last night. +If a man's attacked, he generally calls for help; it's a queer business +all right." + +"Well, Sultan, why didn't you make a noise?" asked Muller, patting the +dog's broad head. Sultan growled and walked on indifferently, after he +had shaken off the strange hand. + +"He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into the +country with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on the +way back we stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or two himself +occasionally, and that usually makes him sleep. I had hard work to bring +him home. We got here just a few minutes before half-past nine and I +tell you we were both good and tired." + +By this time they had come to the elder-tree and the old man's stream of +talk ceased as he stood before the spot where the mysterious crime had +occurred. He looked down thoughtfully at the grass, now trampled by many +feet. "Who could have done it?" he murmured finally, with a sigh that +expressed his pity for the victim. + +"Hietzing is known to be one of the safest spots in Vienna," remarked +Muller. + +"Indeed it is, sir; indeed it is. As it would well have to be with the +royal castles right here in the neighbourhood! Indeed it would have to +be safe with the Court coming here all the time." + +"Why, yes, you see more police here than anywhere else in the city." + +"Yes, they're always sticking their nose in where they're not +necessary," remarked the old man, not realising to whom he was speaking. +"They fuss about everything you do or don't do, and yet a man can be +shot down right under our very noses here and the police can't help it." + +"But, my dear sir, it isn't always possible for the police to prevent a +criminal carrying out his evil intention," said Muller good-naturedly. + +"Well, why not? if they watch out sharp enough?" + +"The police watch out sharper than most people think. But they can't +catch a man until he has committed his crime, can they?" + +"No, I suppose not," said the old man, with another glance at the +elder-tree. He bowed to Muller and turned and walked away. + +Muller followed him slowly, very much pleased with this meeting, for +it had given him a new clue. There was no reason to doubt the old man's +story. And if this story was true, then the crime had been committed +before half-past nine of the evening previous. For the old man--he was +evidently the janitor in No.1--had not heard the shot. + +Muller left the scene of the crime and walked towards the four houses. +Before he reached them he had to pass the garden which belonged to the +house with the mansard roof. Right and left of this garden were vacant +lots, as well as on the opposite side of the street. Then came to the +right and left the four new houses which stood at the beginning of the +quiet lane. Muller passed them, turned up a cross street and then +down again, into the street running parallel, to the lane, a quiet +aristocratic street on which fronted the house with the mansard roof. + +A carriage stood in front of this house, two great trunks piled up on +the box beside the driver. A young girl and an old man in livery were +placing bags and bundles of rugs inside the carriage. Muller walked +slowly toward the carriage. Just as he reached the open gate of the +garden he was obliged to halt, to his own great satisfaction. For at +this moment a group of people came out from the house, the owners of it +evidently, prepared for a journey and surrounded by their servants. + +Beside the old man and the young girl, there were two other women, one +evidently the housekeeper, the other possibly the cook. The latter +was weeping openly and devoutly kissing the hand of her mistress. The +housekeeper discovered that a rug was missing and sent the maid back for +it, while the old servant helped the lady into the carriage. The door +of the carriage was wide open and Muller had a good glimpse of the pale, +sweet-faced and delicate-looking young woman who leaned back in her +corner, shivering and evidently ill. The servants bustled about, making +her comfortable, while her husband superintended the work with anxious +tenderness. He was a tall, fine-looking man with deep-set grey eyes and +a rich, sympathetic voice. He gave his orders to his servants with calm +authority, but he also was evidently suffering from the disease of +our century--nervousness, for Muller saw that the man's hands clenched +feverishly and that his lips were trembling under his drooping +moustache. + +The maid hastened down with the rug and spread it over her mistress's +knees, as the gentleman exclaimed nervously: "Do hurry with that! Do you +want us to miss the train?" + +The butler closed the door of the carriage, the coachman gathered up the +reins and raised his whip. The housekeeper bowed low and murmured a few +words in farewell and the other servants followed her example with tears +in their eyes. "You'll see us again in six weeks," the lady called +out and her husband added: "If all goes well." Then he motioned to the +waiting driver and the carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in +a few moments. + +The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind the high +gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to resume his walk, +when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led back through a +flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded it on the sides and +rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She came so quickly that one +might almost call it running. She was evidently excited about something. +Muller imagined what this something might be, and he remained to +hear what she had to say. He was not mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs. +Schmiedler, the gardener's wife, began her story at once. "Haven't you +heard yet?" she said breathlessly. "No, you can't have heard it yet or +you wouldn't stand there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer." + +"What's the matter?" asked the woman whom Muller took to be the +housekeeper. + +"They killed a man last night out here! They found his body just now +in the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told me as I was +going to the store, so I went right back to look at the place, and I +came to tell you, as I didn't think you'd heard it yet." + +Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and of an +equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an excited hubbub +of talk while she remained quite indifferent and calm. "One more poor +fellow who had to leave the world before he was ready," she remarked +calmly, with just the natural touch of pity in her voice that would come +to any warm-hearted human being upon hearing of such an occurrence. She +did not seem at all excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the +crime had been so near. + +The other servants were very much more excited and had already rushed +off, under the guidance of the gardener's wife, to look at the dreadful +spot. Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to close the front gate in +his excitement, and the housekeeper turned to do it now. + +"The fools, see them run," she exclaimed half aloud. "As if there was +anything for them to do there." + +The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to the house. +Muller walked on also, going first to the police station to report what +he had discovered. Then he went to his own rooms and slept until nearly +noon. On his return to the police station he found that notices of the +occurrence had already been sent out to the papers. + + + + +CHAPTER III. THE EVENING PAPER + + +The autopsy proved beyond a doubt that the murdered man had been dead +for many hours before the discovery of his body. The bullet which had +struck him in the back had pierced the trachea and death had occurred +within a few minutes. The only marks for identification of the body were +the initials L. W. on his underwear. The evening paper printed an exact +description of the man's appearance and his clothing. + +It was about ten o'clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a widow +living in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city from Hietzing, +returned from her morning marketing. It was only a few little bundles +that she brought with her and she set about preparing her simple dinner. +Her packages were wrapped in newspapers, which she carefully smoothed +out and laid on the dresser. + +Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and the little +pension which she received from the company, as well as the money she +could earn for herself, did not permit of the indulgence in a daily +newspaper. And yet the reading of the papers was the one luxury for +which the simple woman longed. Her grocer, who was a friend of years, +knew this and would wrap up her purchases in papers of recent date, +knowing that she could then enjoy them in her few moments of leisure. +To-day this leisure came unexpectedly early, for Mrs. Klingmayer had +less work than usual to attend to. + +Her little flat consisted of two rooms and a kitchen with a large closet +opening out from it. She lived in the kitchen and rented the front +rooms. Her tenants were a middle-aged man, inspector in a factory, +who had the larger room; and a younger man who was bookkeeper in an +importing house in the city. But this young man had not been at home +for forty-eight hours, a fact, however, which did not greatly worry his +landlady. The gentleman in question lived a rather dissipated life +and it was not the first time that he had remained away from home over +night. It is true that it was the first time that he had not been home +for two successive nights. But as Mrs. Klingmayer thought, everything +has to happen the first time sometime. "It's not likely to be the last +time," the worthy woman thought. + +At all events she was rather glad of it to-day, for she suffered from +rheumatism and it was difficult for her to get about. The young man's +absence saved her the work of fixing up his room that morning and +allowed her to get to her reading earlier than usual. When she had put +the pot of soup on the fire, she sat down by the window, adjusted her +big spectacles and began to read. To her great delight she discovered +that the paper she held in her hand bore the date of the previous +afternoon. In spite of the good intentions of her friend the grocer, +it was not always that she could get a paper of so recent date, and she +began to read with doubled anticipation of pleasure. + +She did not waste time on the leading articles, for she understood +little about politics. The serial stories were a great delight to +her, or would have been, if she had ever been able to follow them +consecutively. But her principal joy were the everyday happenings of +varied interest which she found in the news columns. To-day she was so +absorbed in the reading of them that the soup pot began to boil over +and send out rivulets down onto the stove. Ordinarily this would have +shocked Mrs. Klingmayer, for the neatness of her pots and pans was the +one great care of her life. But now, strange to relate, she paid no +attention to the soup, nor to the smell and the smoke that arose from +the stove. She had just come upon a notice in the paper which took her +entire attention. She read it through three times, and each time with +growing excitement. This is what she read: + + MURDER IN HIETZING + + This morning at six o'clock the body of a man about 30 years + old was discovered in a lane in Hietzing. The man must have + been dead many hours. He had been shot from behind. The dead + man was tall and thin, with brown eyes, brown hair and moustache. + The letters L. W. were embroidered in his underwear. There was + nothing else discovered on him that could reveal his identity. + His watch and purse were not in his pockets: presumably they had + been taken by the murderer. A strange fact is that in one of + his pockets--a hidden pocket it is true--there was the sum of + 300 guldens in bills. + + +This was the notice which made Mrs. Klingmayer neglect the soup pot. + +Finally the old woman stood up very slowly, threw a glance at the stove +and opened the window mechanically. Then she lifted the pots from the +fire and set them on the outer edge of the range. And then she did +something that ordinarily would have shocked her economical soul--she +poured water on the fire to put it out. + +When she saw that there was not a spark left in the stove, she went into +her own little room and prepared to go out. Her excitement caused her to +forget her rheumatism entirely. One more look around her little kitchen, +then she locked it up and set out for the centre of the city. + +She went to the office of the importing house where her tenant, Leopold +Winkler, was employed as bookkeeper. The clerk at the door noticed the +woman's excitement and asked her kindly what the trouble was. + +"I'd like to speak to Mr. Winkler," she said eagerly. + +"Mr. Winkler hasn't come in yet," answered the young man. "Is anything +the matter? You look so white! Winkler will probably show up soon, he's +never very punctual. But it's after eleven o'clock now and he's never +been as late as this before." + +"I don't believe he'll ever come again," said the old woman, sinking +down on a bench beside the door. + +"Why, what do you mean?" asked the clerk. "Why shouldn't he come again?" + +"Is the head of the firm here?" asked Mrs. Klingmayer, wiping her +forehead with her handkerchief. The clerk nodded and hurried away to +tell his employer about the woman with the white face who came to ask +for a man who, as she expressed it, "would never come there again." + +"I don't think she's quite right in the head," he volunteered. The head +of the firm told him to bring the woman into the inner office. + +"Who are you, my good woman?" he asked kindly, softened by the evident +agitation of this poorly though neatly dressed woman. + +"I am Mr. Winkler's landlady," she answered. + +"Ah! and he wants you to tell me that he's sick? I'm afraid I can't +believe all that this gentleman says. I hope he's not asking your help +to lie to me. Are you sure that his illness is anything else but a case +of being up late?" + +"I don't think that he'll ever be sick again--I didn't come with any +message from him, sir; please read this, sir." And she handed him the +newspaper, showing him the notice. While the gentleman was reading she +added: "Mr. Winkler didn't come home last night either." + +Winkler's employer read the few lines, then laid the paper aside with a +very serious face. "When did you see him last?" he asked of the woman. + +"Day before yesterday in the morning. He went away about half-past eight +as he usually does," she replied. And then she added a question of her +own: "Was he here day before yesterday?" + +The merchant nodded and pressed an electric bell. Then he rose from his +seat and pulled up a chair for his visitor. "Sit down here. This thing +has frightened you and you are no longer young." When the servant +entered, the merchant told him to ask the head bookkeeper to come to the +inner office. + +When this official appeared, his employer inquired: "When did Winkler +leave here day before yesterday?" + +"At six o'clock, sir, as usual." + +"He was here all day without interruption?" + +"Yes, sir, with the exception of the usual luncheon hour." + +"Did he have the handling of any money Monday?" + +"No, sir." + +"Thank you, Mr. Pokorny," said the merchant, handing his employee the +evening paper and pointing to the notice which had so interested him. + +Pokorny read it, his face, like his employer's, growing more serious. +"It looks almost as if it must be Winkler, sir," he said, in a few +moments. + +"We will soon find that out. I should like to go to the police station +myself with this woman; she is Winkler's landlady--but I think it will +be better for you to accompany her. They will ask questions about the +man which you will be better able to answer than I." + +Pokorny bowed and left the room. Mrs. Klingmayer rose and was about +to follow, when the merchant asked her to wait a moment and inquired +whether Winkler owed her anything. "I am sorry that you should have had +this shock and the annoyances and trouble which will come of it, but I +don't want you to be out of pocket by it." + +"No, he doesn't owe me anything," replied the honest old woman, shaking +her head. A few big tears rolled down over her withered cheeks, possibly +the only tears that were shed for the dead man under the elder-tree. But +even this sympathetic soul could find nothing to say in his praise. She +could feel pity for his dreadful death, but she could not assert that +the world had lost anything by his going out of it. As if saddened by +the impossibility of finding a single good word to say about the dead +man, she left the office with drooping head and lagging step. + +Pokorny helped her into the cab that was already waiting before the +door. The office force had got wind of the fact that something unusual +had occurred and were all at the windows to see them drive off. The +three clerks who worked in the department to which Winkler belonged +gathered together to talk the matter over. They were none of them +particularly hit by it, but naturally they were interested in the +discovery in Hietzing, and equally naturally, they tried to find a few +good words to say about the man whose life had ended so suddenly. + +The youngest of them, Fritz Bormann, said some kind words and was about +to wax more enthusiastic, when Degenhart, the eldest clerk, cut in with +the words: "Oh, don't trouble yourself. Nobody ever liked Winkler here. +He was not a good man--he was not even a good worker. This is the first +time that he has a reasonable excuse for neglecting his duties." + +"Oh, come, see here! how can you talk about the poor man that way when +he's scarcely cold in death yet," said Fritz indignantly. + +Degenhart laughed harshly. + +"Did I ever say anything else about him while he was warm and alive? +Death is no reason for changing one's opinion about a man who was +good-for-nothing in life. And his death was a stroke of good luck that +he scarcely deserved. He died without a moment's pain, with a merry +thought in his head, perhaps, while many another better man has to +linger in torture for weeks. No, Bormann, the best I can say about +Winkler is that his death makes one nonentity the less on earth." + +The older man turned to his desk again and the two younger clerks +continued the conversation: "Degenhart appears to be a hard man," said +Fritz, "but he's the best and kindest person I know, and he's dead right +in what he says. It was simply a case of conventional superstition. I +never did like that Winkler." + +"No, you're right," said the other. "Neither did I and I don't know why, +for the matter of that. He seemed just like a thousand others. I never +heard of anything particularly wrong that he did." + +"No, no more did I," continued Bormann, "but I never heard of anything +good about him either. And don't you think that it's worse for a man +to seem to repel people by his very personality, rather than by any +particular bad thing that he does?" + +"Yes. I don't know how to explain it, but that's just how I feel about +it. I had an instinctive feeling that there was something wrong about +Winkler, the sort of a creepy, crawly feeling that a snake gives you." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD + + +Meanwhile Pokorny and Mrs. Klingmayer had reached the police station and +were going upstairs to the rooms of the commissioner on service for the +day. Like all people of her class, Mrs. Klingmayer stood in great awe +and terror of anything connected with the police or the law generally. +She crept slowly and tremblingly up the stairs behind the head +bookkeeper and was very glad when she was left alone for a few minutes +while Pokorny went in to see the commissioner. But as soon as his errand +was known, both the bookkeeper and his companion were led into the +office of Head Commissioner Dr. von Riedau, who had charge of the +Hietzing murder case. + +When Dr. von Riedau heard the reason of their coming, his interest was +immediately aroused, and he pulled a chair to his side for the little +thin man with whom he had been talking when the two strangers were +ushered in. + +"Then you believe you could identify the murdered man?" asked the +commissioner. + +"From the general description and the initials on his linen, I believe +it must be Leopold Winkler," answered Pokorny. "Mrs. Klingmayer has not +seen him since Monday morning, nor has she had any message from him. He +left the office Monday afternoon at 6 o'clock and that was the last time +that we saw him. The only thing that makes me doubt his identity is that +the paper reports that three hundred gulden were found in his pocket. +Winkler never seemed to have money, and I do not understand how he +should have been in possession of such a sum." + +"The money was found in the dead man's pockets," said the commissioner. +"And yet it may be Winkler, the man you know. Muller, will you order a +cab, please?" + +"I have a cab waiting for me. But it only holds two," volunteered +Pokorny. + +"That doesn't matter, I'll sit on the box," answered the man addressed +as Muller. + +"You are going with us?" asked Pokorny. + +"Yes, he will accompany you," replied the commissioner. "This is +detective Muller, sir. By a mere chance, he happened to be on hand to +take charge of this case and he will remain in charge, although it may +be wasting his talents which we need for more difficult problems. If you +or any one else have anything to tell us, it must be told only to me +or to Muller. And before you leave to look at the body, I would like +to know whether the dead man owned a watch, or rather whether he had it +with him on the day of the murder." + +"Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch," answered Mrs. Klingmayer. + +Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: "Yes, sir; Winkler +had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was a large watch, very +thick. I happen to have noticed it by chance and also I happen to know +that he had not had the watch for very long." + +"Can you tell us anything more about the watch?" asked the commissioner +of the landlady. + +"Yes, sir; there was engraving on the outside cover, initials, and a +crown on the other side." + +"What were the initials?" + +"I don't know that, sir; at least I'm not sure about it. There were so +many twists and curves to them that I couldn't make them out. I think +one of them was a W though, sir." + +"The other was probably an L then." + +"That might be, sir." + +"The younger clerks in the office may be able to tell something more +about the watch," said Pokorny, "for they were quite interested in it +for a while. It was a handsome watch and they were envious of Winkler's +possession of it. But he was so tactless in his boasting about it that +they paid no further attention to him after the first excitement." + +"You say he didn't have the watch long?" + +"Since spring I think, sir." + +"He brought it home on the 19th of March," interrupted Mrs. Klingmayer. +"I remember the day because it was my birthday. I pretended that he had +brought it home to me for a present." + +"Was he in the habit of making you presents?" + +"Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir. + +"Well, perhaps he didn't have much money to be generous with. Now tell +me about his watch chain. I suppose he had a watch chain?" + +Both the bookkeeper and the landlady nodded and the latter exclaimed: +"Oh, yes, sir; I could recognise it in a minute." + +"How?" + +"It was broken once and Mr. Winkler mended it himself. I lent him my +pliers and he bent the two links together with them. It didn't look very +nice after that, but it was strong again. You could see the mark of the +pliers easily." + +"Why didn't he take the chain to the jeweler's to be fixed?" asked the +commissioner. + +The woman smiled. "It wouldn't have been worth the money, sir; the chain +wasn't real gold." + +"But the watch was real, wasn't it?" + +"Oh, yes, sir; that was real gold. I pawned it once for Mr. Winkler and +they gave me 24 gulden for it." + +"One question more, did he have a purse? And did he have it with him on +the day of the murder?" + +"Yes, sir; he had a purse, and he must have taken it with him because he +didn't leave it in his room." + +"What sort of a purse was it?" + +"A brown leather purse, sir." + +"Was it a new one?" + +"Oh, no, sir; it was well worn." + +"How big was it? About like mine?" Riedau took out his own pocketbook. + +"No, sir; it was a little smaller. It had three pockets in it. I mended +it for him once, so I know it well. I didn't have any brown thread so I +mended it with yellow." + +Dr. von Riedau nodded to Muller. The latter had been sitting at a little +side-table writing down the questions and answers. When Riedau saw this +he did not send for a clerk to do the work, for Muller preferred to +attend to such matters himself as much as possible. The facts gained in +the examination were impressed upon his mind while he was writing them, +and he did not have to wade through pages of manuscript to get at what +he needed. Now he handed his superior officer the paper. + +"Thank you," said Riedau, "I'll send it out to the other police +stations. I will attend to this myself. You go on with these people to +see whether they can identify the corpse." + +Fifteen minutes later the three stood before the body in the morgue and +both the bookkeeper and his companion identified the dead man positively +as Leopold Winkler. + +When the identification was made, a notice was sent out to all Austrian +police stations and to all pawnshops with an exact description of the +stolen watch and purse. + +Muller led his companions back to the commissioner's office and they +made their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned further, +Pokorny stated: "I had very little to do with Winkler. We met only when +he had a report to make to me or to show me his books, and we never met +outside the office. The clerks who worked in the same room with him, may +know him better. I know only that he was a very reserved man and very +little liked." + +"Then I do not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble you further +in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so promptly. It has been of +great assistance." + +The bookkeeper left the station, but Mrs. Klingmayer, who was now quite +reassured as to the harmlessness of the police, was asked to remain +and to tell what she knew of the private life of the murdered man. Her +answers to the various questions put to her proved that she knew very +little about her tenant. But this much was learned from her: that he +was very close with his money at times, but that again at other times +he seemed to have all he wanted to spend. At such times he paid all his +debts, and when he stayed home for supper, he would send her out for +all sorts of expensive delicacies. These extravagant days seemed to have +nothing whatever to do with Winkler's business pay day, but came at odd +times. + +Mrs. Klingmayer remembered two separate times when he had received a +postal money order. But she did not know from whom the letters came, +nor even whether they were sent from the city or from some other town. +Winkler received other letters now and then, but his landlady was not of +the prying kind, and she had paid very little attention to them. + +He seemed to have few friends or even acquaintances. She did not know +of any love affair, at least of nothing "regular." He had remained +away over night two or three times during the year that he had been +her tenant. This was about all that Mrs. Klingmayer could say, and she +returned to her home in a cab furnished her by the kind commissioner. + +About two hours later, a police attendant announced that a gentleman +would like to see Dr. von Riedan on business concerning the murder in +Hietzing. "Friedrich Bormann" was the name on the card. + +"Ask him to step in here," said the commissioner. "And please ask Mr. +Muller to join us." + +The good-looking young clerk entered the office bashfully and Muller +slipped in behind him, seating himself inconspicuously by the door. At a +sign from the commissioner the visitor began. "I am an employee of Braun +& Co. I have the desk next to Leopold Winkler, during the year that he +has been with us--the year and a quarter to be exact--" + +"Ah, then you know him rather well?" + +"Why, yes. At least we were together all day, although I never met him +outside the office." + +"Then you cannot tell us much about his private life?" + +"No, sir, but there was something happened on Monday, and in talking it +over with Mr. Braun, he suggested that I should come to you and tell you +about it. It wasn't really very important, and it doesn't seem as if it +could have anything to do with this murder and robbery; still it may be +of some use." + +"Everything that would throw light on the dead man's life could be of +use," said Dr. von Riedau. "Please tell us what it is you know." + +Fritz Bormann began: "Winkler came to the office as usual on Monday +morning and worked steadily at his desk. But I happened to notice that +he spoiled several letters and had to rewrite them, which showed me +that his thoughts were not on his work, a frequent occurrence with him. +However, everything went along as usual until 11 o'clock. Then Winkler +became very uneasy. He looked constantly toward the door, compared his +watch with the office clock, and sprang up impatiently as the special +letter carrier, who usually comes about 11 with money orders, finally +appeared." + +"Then he was expecting money you think?" + +"It must have been so. For as the letter carrier passed him, he called +out: 'Haven't you anything for me?' and as the man shook his head +Winkler seemed greatly disappointed and depressed. Before he left to go +to lunch, he wrote a hasty letter, which he put in his pocket. + +"He came in half an hour later than the rest of us. He had often been +reprimanded for his lack of punctuality, but it seemed to do no good. He +was almost always late. Monday was no exception, although he was later +than usual that day." + +"And what sort of a mood was he in when he came back?" + +"He was irritable and depressed. He seemed to be awaiting a message +which did not come. His excitement hindered him from working, he +scarcely did anything the entire afternoon. Finally at five o'clock a +messenger boy came with a letter for him. I saw that Winkler turned +pale as he took the note in his hand. It seemed to be only a few words +written hastily on a card, thrust into an envelope. Winkler's teeth were +set as he opened the letter. The messenger had already gone away." + +"Did you notice his number?" asked Dr. von Riedau. + +"No, I scarcely noticed the man at all. I was looking at Winkler, whose +behaviour was so peculiar. When he read the card his face brightened. +He read it through once more, then he tore both card and envelope into +little bits and threw the pieces out of the open window. + +"Then he evidently did not want anybody to see the contents of this +note," said a voice from the corner of the room. + +Fritz Bormann looked around astonished and rather doubtful at the little +man who had risen from his chair and now came forward. Without waiting +for an answer from the clerk, the other continued: "Did Winkler have +money sent him frequently?" + +Bormann looked inquiringly at the commissioner, who replied with a +smile: "You may answer. Answer anything that Mr. Muller has to ask of +you, as he is in charge of this case." + +"As far as I can remember, it happened three times," was Bormann's +answer. + +"How close together?" + +"Why--about once in every three or four months, I think." + +"That looks almost like a regular income," exclaimed Riedau. His eyes +met Muller's, which were lit up in sudden fire. "Well, what are you +thinking of?" asked the commissioner. + +"A woman," answered Muller; and continued more as if thinking aloud than +as if addressing the others: "Winkler was a good-looking man. Might he +not have had a rich love somewhere? Might not the money have come from +her, the money that was found in his pocket?" Muller's voice trailed +off into indistinctness at the last words, and the fire died out of his +eyes. Then he laughed aloud. + +The commissioner smiled also, a good-natured smile, such as one would +give to a child who has been over-eager. "It doesn't matter to us where +the money came from. All that matters here is where the bullet came +from--the bullet which prevented his enjoying this money. And it is +of more interest to us to find out who robbed him of his life and his +property, rather than the source from which this property came." + +The commissioner's tone was friendly, but Muller's face flushed red, and +his head dropped. Riedau turned to Bormann and continued: "And because +it is of no interest to us where his money came from--for it can +have nothing whatever to do with his murder and the subsequent +robbery--therefore what you noticed of his behaviour cannot be of any +importance or bearing in the case in any way. Unless, indeed, you should +find out anything more. But we appreciate the thoughtfulness of yourself +and your employer and your readiness to help us." + +Bormann rose to leave, but the commissioner put out a hand to stop him. +"A few moments more, please; you may know of something else that will +be of assistance to us. We have heard that Winkler boasted of his +belongings--did he talk about his private affairs in any way?" + +"No, sir, I do not think he did." + +"You say that he destroyed the note at once, evidently realising that no +one must see it--this note may have been a promise for the money which +had not yet come. Did he, however, tell any one later that he expected a +certain sum? Do you think he would have been likely to tell any one?" + +"No, I do not think that he would tell any one. He never mentioned +to any of us that he had received money, or even that he expected to +receive it. None of us knew what outside resources he might have, or +whence they came. If it had not been that the money was paid him by the +carrier in the office two or three times--so, that we could see it--we +would none of us have known of this income, except for the fact that he +was freer in spending after the money came. He would dine at expensive +restaurants, and this fact he would mention to us, whereas at other +times he would go to the cheap cafe." + +"Do you know anything about the people he was acquainted with outside +the office?" + +"No, sir. I seldom met him outside of the office. One evening it did +happen that I saw him at Ronacher's. He was there with a lady--that is, +a so-called 'lady'--and it must have been one of the times that he had +money, for they were enjoying an expensive supper. At other times, some +of the other clerks met him at various resorts, always with the same +sort of woman. But not always with the same woman, for they were +different in appearance." + +"He was never seen anywhere with other men?" + +"No, sir; at least not by any of us." + +"He was not liked in the office?" + +"No." Bormann's answer was sharp. + +"For what reason?" + +"I don't know; we just didn't like him. We had very little to do with +him at first because of this, and soon we noticed that he seemed just as +anxious to avoid us as we were to avoid him." + +The commissioner rose and Bormann followed his example. "I am very +sorry, sir, if I have taken up your time to no purpose," said the latter +modestly, as he took up his hat. + +"I am not so sure that what you have said may not be of great value to +us," said a voice behind them. Muller stood there, looking at Riedau +with a glance almost of defiance. His eyes were again lit up with +the strange fire that shone in them when he was on the trail. The +commissioner shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the departing visitor, and +then turned without an answer to some documents on his desk. There was +silence in the room for a few moments. Finally a gentle voice came from +Muller's corner again: "Dr. von Riedau?" + +The commissioner raised his head and looked around. "Oh, are you still +there?" he asked with a drawl. + +Muller knew what this drawl meant. It was the manner adopted by the +amiable commissioner when he was in a mood which was not amiable. And +Muller knew also the cause of the mood. It was his own last remark, the +words he addressed to Bormann. Muller himself recognised the fact +that this remark was out of place, that it was almost an impertinence, +because it was in direct contradiction to a statement made a few moments +before by his superior officer. Also he realised that his remark had +been quite unnecessary, because it was a matter of indifference to the +young man, who was only obeying his employer's orders in reporting what +he had seen, whether his report was of value or not. Muller had simply +uttered aloud the thought that came into his mind, a habit of his which +years of official training had not yet succeeded in breaking. It was +annoying to himself sometimes, for these half-formed thoughts were mere +instinct--they were the workings of his own genius that made him catch +a suspicion of the truth long before his conscious mind could reason it +out or appreciate its value. But that sort of thing was not popular in +official police life. + +"Well," asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, "your tongue +is not usually so slow--as you have proved just a few moments back--what +were you going to say now?" + +"I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It was unnecessary, +I should not have said it." + +"Well, I realise that you know better yourself," said Riedau, now quite +friendly again, "and now what else have you to say? Do you really think +that what the young man has just told us is of any value at all for this +case?" + +"It seems to me as if it might be of value to us." + +"Oh, it seems to you, eh? Your imagination is working overtime again, +Muller," said the commissioner with a laugh. But the laugh turned to +seriousness as he realised how many times Muller's imagination +had helped the clumsy official mind to its proudest triumphs. The +commissioner was an intelligent man, as far as his lights went, and he +was a good-hearted man. He rose from his chair and walked over to where +the detective stood. "You needn't look so embarrassed, Muller," he said. +"There is no cause for you to feel bad about it. And--I am quite willing +to admit that my remark just now was unnecessary. You may give your +imagination full rein, we can trust to your intelligence and your +devotion to duty to keep it from unnecessary flights. So curbed, I know +it will be of as much assistance to us this time as it always has been." + +Muller's quiet face lit up, and his eyes shone in a happiness that made +him appear ten years younger. That was one of the strange things about +Joseph Muller. This genius in his profession was in all other ways a +man of such simplicity of heart and bearing, that the slightest word of +approval from one of the officials for whom he worked could make him as +happy as praise from the teacher will make a schoolboy. The moments when +he was in command of any difficult case, when these same superiors would +wait for a word from him, when high officials would take his orders or +would be obliged to acknowledge that without him they were helpless, +these moments were forgotten as soon as the problem was solved and +Muller became again the simple subordinate and the obscure member of the +Imperial police force. + +When Muller left the commissioner's room and walked through the +outer office, one of the clerks looked after him and whispered to his +companion: "Do you think he's found the Hietzing murderer yet?" The +other answered: "I don't think so, but he looks as if he had found a +clue. He'll find him sooner or later. He always does." + +Muller did not hear these words, although they also would have pleased +him. He walked slowly down the stairs murmuring to himself: "I think I +was right just the same. We are following a false trail." + + + + +CHAPTER V. BY A THREAD + + +It was on Monday, the 27th of September, that Leopold Winkler was +murdered and robbed, and early on Tuesday, the 28th, his body was found. +That day the evening papers printed the report of the murder and the +description of the dead man, and on Wednesday, the 29th, Mrs. Klingmayer +read the news and went to see Winkler's employer. By noon of that day +the body was identified and a description of the stolen purse and watch +telegraphed to police headquarters in various cities. A few hours later, +these police stations had sent out notices by messenger to all pawnshops +and dealers in second-hand clothing, and now the machinery of the +law sat waiting for some news of an attempt on the part of the +robber-and-murderer to get rid of his plunder. + +On this same Wednesday, about the twilight hour, David Goldstamm, dealer +in second-hand clothing, stood before the door of his shop in a side +street of the old Hungarian city of Pressburg and watched his assistant +take down the clothes which were hanging outside and carry them into the +store. The old man's eyes glanced carelessly up and down the street and +caught sight of a man who turned the corner and came hurrying towards +him. This man was a very seedy-looking individual. An old faded overcoat +hung about his thin figure, and a torn and dusty hat fell over his left +eye. He seemed also to be much the worse for liquor and very wobbly +on his feet. And yet he seemed anxious to hurry onward in spite of the +unevenness of his walk. + +Then he slowed up suddenly, glanced across the street to Goldstamm's +store, and crossed over. + +"Have you any boots for me?" he asked, sticking out his right foot that +the dealer might see whether he had anything the requisite size. + +"I think there's something there," answered the old man in his usual +businesslike tone, leading the way into the store. + +The stranger followed. Goldstamm lit the one light in the little place +and groped about in an untidy heap of shoes of all kinds and sizes until +he found several pairs that he thought might fit. These he brought out +and put them in front of his customer. But in spite of his bleary eyes, +the man caught sight of some patches on the uppers of one pair, and +pushed them away from him. + +"Give me something better than that. I can pay for it. I don't have to +wear patched shoes," he grunted. + +Goldstamm didn't like the looks of the man, but he felt that he had +better be careful and not make him angry. "Have patience, sir, I'll find +you something better," he said gently, tossing the heap about again, but +now keeping his face turned towards his customer. + +"I want a coat also and a warm pair of trousers," said the stranger in a +rough voice. He bent down to loosen the shabby boot from his right +foot, and as he did so something fell out of the pocket of his coat. An +unconscious motion of his own raised foot struck this small object and +tossed it into the middle of the heap of shoes close by Goldstamm's +hand. The old man reached out after it and caught it. It was just an +ordinary brown leather pocketbook, of medium size, old and shabby, like +a thousand others. But the eyes of the little old man widened as if in +terror, his face turned pale and his hands trembled. For he had seen, +hanging from one side of this worn brown leather pocketbook, the end of +a yellow thread, the loosened end of the thread with which one side of +the purse was mended. The thread told David Goldstamm who it was that +had come into his shop. + +He regained his control with a desperate effort of the will. It took him +but a few seconds to do so, and, thanks to his partial intoxication, +the customer had not noticed the shopkeeper's start of alarm. But he +appeared anxious and impatient to regain possession of his purse. + +"Haven't you found it yet?" he exclaimed. + +Goldstamm hastened to give it back. The tramp put the purse in his +pocket with a sigh of relief. Goldstamm had regained his calm and his +mind was working eagerly. He put several pairs of shoes before his +customer, with the remark: "You must try them on. We'll find something +to suit you. And meanwhile I will bring in several pairs of trousers +from those outside. I have some fine coats to show you too." + +Goldstamm went out to the door, almost colliding there with his +assistant who was coming in with his arm full of garments. The old man +motioned to the boy, who retreated until they were both hidden from the +view of the man within the store. + +"Give me those blue trousers there," said Goldstamm in a loud voice. +Then in a whisper he said to the boy: "Run to the police station. The +man with the watch and the purse is in there." + +The boy understood and set off at once at a fast pace, while the old man +returned to his store with a heavy heart. He wondered whether he would +be able to keep the murderer there until the police could come. And he +also wondered what it might cost him, an old and feeble man, who would +be as a weak reed in the hands of the strong tramp in there. But he knew +it was his duty to do whatever he could to help in the arrest of one who +had just taken the life of a fellow creature. The realisation of this +gave the old man strength and calmness. + +"A nice sort of an eye for size you have," cried the tramp as the old +man came up to him. "I suppose you've brought me in a boy's suit? What +do you take me for? Any girl could go to a ball in the shoes you brought +me to try on here." + +"Are they so much too small?" asked the dealer in an innocent tone. +"Well, there's plenty more there. And perhaps you had better be trying +on this suit behind the curtain here while I'm hunting up the shoes." + +This suggestion seemed to please the stranger, as he was evidently in a +hurry. He passed in behind the curtain and began to undress. Goldstamm's +keen eyes watched him through a crack. There was not much to be seen +except that the tramp seemed anxious to keep his overcoat within reach +of his hand. He had carefully put the purse in one of its pockets. + +"We'll get the things all together pretty soon," said the dealer. "I've +found a pair of boots here, fine boots of good quality, and sure to +fit." + +"Stop your talk," growled the other, "and come here and help me so that +I can get away." + +Goldstamm came forward, and though his heart was very heavy within +him, he aided this man, this man about whom so many hundreds were now +thinking in terror, as calmly as he had aided his other poor but honest +customers. + +With hands that did not tremble, the dealer busied himself about his +customer, listening all the while to sounds in the street in the hope +that his tete-e-tete with the murderer would soon be over. But in spite +of all his natural anxiety, the old man's sharp eyes took cognizance +of various things, one of which was that the man whom he was helping to +dress in his new clothes did not have the watch which was described in +the police notice. This fact, however, did not make the old man's heart +any lighter, for the purse mended with yellow thread was too clearly the +one stolen from the murdered man found in the quiet street in Hietzing. + +"What's the matter with you, you're so slow? I can get along better +myself," growled the tramp, pushing the old man away from him. Goldstamm +had really begun to tremble now in spite of his control, in the fear +that the man would get away from him before the police came. + +The tramp was already dressed in the new suit, into a pocket of which he +put the old purse. + +"There, now the boots and then we're finished," said the dealer with an +attempt at a smile. In his heart he prayed that the pair he now held in +his hand might not fit, that he might gain a few minutes more. But the +shoes did fit. A little pushing and stamping and the man was ready to +leave the store. He was evidently in a hurry, for he paid what was asked +without any attempt to bargain. Had Goldstamm not known whom he had +before him now, he would have been very much astonished at this, and +might perhaps have been sorry that he had not named a higher sum. But +under the circumstances he understood only too well the man's desire to +get away, and would much rather have had some talk as to the payment, +anything that would keep his customer a little longer in his store. + +"There, now we're ready. I'll pack up your old things for you. Or +perhaps we can make a deal for them. I pay the highest prices in the +city," said Goldstamm, with an apparent eagerness which he hoped would +deceive the customer. + +But the man had already turned towards the door, and called hack over +his shoulder: "You can keep the old things, I don't want them." + +As he spoke he opened the door of the store and stood face to face with +a policeman holding a revolver. He turned, with a curse, back into the +room, but the dealer was nowhere to be seen. David Goldstamm had done +his duty to the public, in spite of his fear. Now, seeing that the +police had arrived, he could think of his duty to his family. This duty +was plainly to save his own life, and when the tramp turned again to +look for him, he had disappeared out of the back door. + +"Not a move or I will shoot," cried the policeman, and now two others +appeared behind him, and came into the store. But the tramp made no +attempt to escape. He stood pale and trembling while they put the +handcuffs on him, and let them take him away without any resistance. +He was put on the evening express for Vienna, and taken to Police +Headquarters in that city. He made no protest nor any attempt to escape, +but he refused to utter a word on the entire journey. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. ALMOST CONVICTED + + +The evening was already far gone when Muller entered Riedau's office. + +"You're in time, the man isn't here yet. The train is evidently late," +said the commissioner. "We're working this case off quickly. We will +have the murderer here in half an hour at the latest. He did not have +much time to enjoy the stolen property. He was here in Vienna this +morning, and was arrested in Pressburg this afternoon. Here is the +telegram, read it." + +Dr. von Riedau handed Muller the message. The commissioner was evidently +pleased and excited. The telegram read as follows: "Man arrested here in +possession of described purse containing four ten gulden notes and +four guldens in silver. Arrested in store of second-hand clothes dealer +Goldstamm. Will arrive this evening in Vienna under guard." + +The message was signed by the Chief of the Pressburg police. + +Muller laid the paper on the desk without a word. There was a watch on +this desk already; it was a heavy gold watch, unusually thick, with the +initials L. W. on the cover. Just as Muller laid down the telegram, a +door outside was opened and the commissioner covered the watch hastily. +There was a loud knock at his own door and an attendant entered to +announce that the party from Pressburg had arrived He was followed by +one of the Pressburg police force, who brought the official report. + +"Did you have any difficulty with him?" asked the commissioner. + +"Oh, no, sir; it was a very easy job. He made no resistance at all, +and he seems to be quite sober now. But he hasn't said a word since we +arrested him." + +Then followed the detailed report of the arrest, and the delivery of the +described pocketbook to the commissioner. + +"Is that all?" asked Dr. von Riedau. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then you may go home now, we will take charge of the man." + +The policeman bowed and left the room. A few moments later the tramp was +brought in, guarded by two armed roundsmen. His guards remained at the +door, while the prisoner himself walked forward to the middle of the +room. Commissioner von Riedau sat at his desk, his clerk beside him +ready to take down the evidence. Muller sat near a window with a paper +on his lap, looking the least interested of anybody in the proceedings. + +For a moment there was complete silence in the room, which was broken +in a rather unusual manner. A deep voice, more like a growl, although +it had a queer strain of comic good-nature in it, began the proceedings +with the remark: "Well now, say, what do you want of me, anyway?" + +The commissioner looked at the man in astonishment, then turned aside +that the prisoner might not notice his smile. But he might have spared +himself the trouble, for Muller, the clerk, and the two policemen at the +door were all on a broad grin. + +Then the commissioner pulled himself together again, and began with his +usual official gravity: "It is I who ask questions here. Is it possible +that you do not know this? You look to me as if you had had experience +in police courts before." The commissioner gazed at the prisoner with +eyes that were not altogether friendly. The tramp seemed to feel this, +and his own eyes dropped, while the good-natured impertinence in +his bearing disappeared. It was evidently the last remains of his +intoxication. He was now quite sober. + +"What is your name?" asked the commissioner. + +"Johann Knoll." + +"Where were you born?" + +"Near Brunn." + +"Your age?" + +"I'm--I'll be forty next Christmas." + +"Your religion?" + +"Well, you can see I'm no Jew, can't you?" + +"You will please answer my questions in a proper manner. This +impertinence will not make things easier for you." + +"All right, sir," said the tramp humbly. "I am a Catholic." + +"You have been in prison before?" This was scarcely a question. + +"No, sir," said Knoll firmly. + +"What is your business?" + +"I don't know what to say, sir," answered Knoll, shrugging his +shoulders. "I've done a lot of things in my life. I'm a cattle drover +and a lumber man, and I--" + +"Did you learn any trade?" + +"No, sir, I never learned anything." + +"Do you mean to tell me that without having learned any trade you've +gotten through life thus far honestly?" + +"Oh, I've worked hard enough--I've worked good and hard sometimes." + +"The last few days particularly, eh?" + +"Why, no, sir, not these last days--I was drover on a transport of pigs; +we brought 'em down from Hungary, 200 of 'em, to the slaughter house +here." + +"When was that?" + +"That was--that was Monday." + +"This last Monday?" + +"Yes, sir. + +"And then you went to Hietzing?" + +"Yes, sir, that's right." + +"Why did you go to Hietzing?" + +"Why, see here, sir, if I had gone to Ottakring, then I suppose you +would have asked why did I go to Ottakring. I just went to Hietzing. +A fellow has to go somewhere. You don't stay in the same spot all the +time, do you?" + +Again the commissioner turned his head and another smile went through +the room. This Hietzing murderer had a sense of humour. + +"Well, then, we'll go to Hietzing again, in our minds at least," said +the commissioner, turning back to Knoll when he had controlled his +merriment. "You went there on Monday, then--and the day was coming to an +end. What did you do when you reached Hietzing?" + +"I looked about for a place to sleep." + +"Where did you look for a place to sleep?" + +"Why, in Hietzing." + +"That is not definite enough." + +"Well, in a garden." + +"You were trespassing, you mean?" + +"Why, yes, sir. There wasn't anybody that seemed to want to invite me +to dinner or to give me a place to sleep. I just had to look out for +myself." + +"You evidently know how to look out for yourself at the cost of others, +a heavy cost." The commissioner's easy tone had changed to sternness. +Knoll felt this, and a sharp gleam shot out from his dull little eyes, +while the tone of his voice was gruff and impertinent again as he asked: +"What do you mean by that?" + +"You know well enough. You had better not waste any more time, but tell +us at once how you came into possession of this purse." + +"It's my purse," Knoll answered with calm impertinence. "I got it the +way most people get it. I bought it." + +"This purse?" the commissioner emphasised both words distinctly. + +"This purse--yes," answered the tramp with a perfect imitation of +Riedau's voice. "Why shouldn't I have bought this purse just like any +other?" + +"Because you stole this purse from the man whom you--murdered," was the +commissioner's reply. + +There was another moment of dead silence in the room. The commissioner +and Muller watched intently for any change of expression in the face +of the man who had just had such an accusation hurled at him. Even the +clerk and the two policemen at the door were interested to see what +would happen. + +Knoll's calm impertinence vanished, a deadly pallor spread over his +face, and he seemed frozen to stone. He attempted to speak, but was not +able to control his voice. His hands were clenched and tremors shook his +gaunt but strong-muscled frame. + +"When did I murder anybody?" he gasped finally in a hoarse croak. +"You'll have to prove it to me that I am a murderer." + +"That is easily proved. Here is one of the proofs," said Riedan coldly, +pointing to the purse. "The purse and the watch of the murdered man are +fatal witnesses against you." + +"The watch? I haven't any watch. Where should I get a watch?" + +"You didn't have one until Monday, possibly; I can believe that. But you +were in possession of a watch between the evening of Monday, the 27th, +and the morning of Wednesday, the 29th." + +Knoll's eyes dropped again and he did not trust himself to speak. + +"Well, you do not deny this statement?" + +"No, I can't," said Knoll, still trying to control his voice. "You must +have the watch yourself now, or else you wouldn't be so certain about +it." + +"Ah, you see, I thought you'd had experience with police courts before," +said the commissioner amiably. "Of course I have the watch already. +The man whom you sold it to this morning knew by three o'clock this +afternoon where this watch came from. He brought it here at once and +gave us your description. A very exact description. The man will be +brought here to identify you to-morrow. We must send for him anyway, to +return his money to him. He paid you fifty-two gulden for the watch. And +how much money was in the purse that you took from the murdered man?" + +"Three gulden eighty-five." + +"That was a very small sum for which to commit a murder." + +Knoll groaned and bit his lips until they bled. + +Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the watch and +continued: "You presumably recognised that the chain on which this watch +hung was valueless, also that it could easily be recognised. Did you +throw it away, or have you it still?" + +"I threw it in the river." + +"That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, we have +quite enough evidence without it. The purse, for instance: you thought, +I suppose, that it was just a purse like a thousand others, but it is +not. This purse is absolutely individual and easily recognised, because +it is mended in one spot with yellow thread. The thread has become +loosened and hangs down in a very noticeable manner. It was this yellow +thread on the purse, which he happened to see by chance, that showed the +dealer Goldstamm who it was that had entered his store." + +Knoll stood quite silent, staring at the floor. Drops of perspiration +stood out on his forehead, some of them rolling like tears down his +cheek. + +The commissioner rose from his seat and walked slowly to where the +prisoner stood. He laid one hand on the man's shoulder and said in a +voice that was quite gentle and kind again: "Johann Knoll, do not +waste your time, or ours, in thinking up useless lies. You are almost +convicted of this crime now. You have already acknowledged so much, that +there is but little more for you to say. If you make an open confession, +it will be greatly to your advantage." + +Again the room was quiet while the others waited for what would happen. +For a moment the tramp stood silent, with the commissioner's right hand +resting on his shoulder. Then there was a sudden movement, a struggle +and a shout, and the two policemen had overpowered the prisoner and held +him firmly. Muller rose quickly and sprang to his chief's side. Riedau +had not even changed colour, and he said calmly: "Oh, never mind, +Muller; sit down again. The man had handcuffs on and he is quite quiet +now. I think he has sense enough to see that he is only harming himself +by his violence." + +The commissioner returned to his desk and Muller went back to his chair +by the window. The prisoner was quiet again, although his face wore a +dark flush and the veins on throat and forehead were swollen thick. He +trembled noticeably and the heavy drops besprinkled his brow. + +"I--I have something to say, sir," he began, "but first I want to beg +your pardon--" + +"Oh, never mind that. I am not angry when a man is fighting for his +life, even if he doesn't choose quite the right way," answered the +commissioner calmly, playing with a lead pencil. + +Knoll's expression was defiant now. He laughed harshly and began again: +"What I'm tellin' you now is the truth whether you believe it or not. I +didn't kill the man. I took the watch and purse from him. I thought he +was drunk. If he was killed, I didn't do it." + +"He was killed by a shot." + +"A shot? Why, yes, I heard a shot, but I didn't think any more about it, +I didn't think there was anythin' doing, I thought somebody was shootin' +a cat, or else-" + +"Oh, don't bother to invent things. It was a man who was shot at, the +man whom you robbed. But go on, go on. I am anxious to hear what you +will tell me." + +Knoll's hands, clenched to fists and his eyes glowed in hate and +defiance. Then he dropped them to the floor again and began to talk +slowly in a monotonous tone that sounded as if he were repeating a +lesson. His manner was rather unfortunate and did not tend to induce +belief in the truth of his story. The gist of what he said was as +follows: + +He had reached Hietzing on Monday evening about 8 o'clock. He was +thirsty, as usual, and had about two gulden in his possession, his wages +for the last day's work. He turned into a tavern in Hietzing and ate and +drank until his money was all gone, and he had not even enough left to +pay for a night's lodging. But Knoll was not worried about that. He was +accustomed to sleeping out of doors, and as this was a particularly fine +evening, there was nothing in the prospect to alarm him. He set +about finding a suitable place where he would not be disturbed by the +guardians of the law. His search led him by chance into a newly opened +street. This suited him exactly. The fences were easy to climb, and +there were several little summer houses in sight which made much more +agreeable lodgings than the ground under a bush. And above all, the +street was so quiet and deserted that he knew it was just the place for +him. He had never been in the street before, and did not know its name. +He passed the four houses at the end of the street--he was on the +left sidewalk--and then he came to two fenced-in building lots. These +interested him. He was very agile, raised himself up on the fences +easily and took stock of the situation. One of the lots did not appeal +to him particularly, but the second one did. It bordered on a large +garden, in the middle of which he could see a little house of some kind. +It was after sunset but he could see things quite plainly yet for the +air was clear and the moon was just rising. He saw also that in the +vacant lot adjoining the garden, a lot which appeared to have been +a garden itself once, there was a sort of shed. It looked very much +damaged but appeared to offer shelter sufficient for a fine night. + +The shed stood on a little raise of the ground near the high iron fence +that protected the large garden. Knoll decided that the shed would make +a good place to spend the night. He climbed the fence easily and walked +across the lot. When he was just settling himself for his nap, he heard +the clock on a near-by church strike nine. The various drinks he had had +for supper put him in a mood that would not allow him to get to sleep +at once. The bench in the old shed was decidedly rickety and very +uncomfortable, and as he was tossing about to find a good position, a +thought came into his mind which he acknowledged was not a commendable +one. It occurred to him that if he pursued his investigations in the +neighbourhood a little further, he might be able to pick up something +that would be of advantage to him on his wanderings. His eyes and his +thoughts were directed towards the handsome house which he could see +beyond the trees of the old garden. + +The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on the +mansard roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the long wing which +stretched out towards the garden glistened in the moonbeams, and the +light coloured wall of the house made a bright background for the dark +mask of trees waving gently in the night breeze. Knoll's little shed was +sufficiently raised on its hillock for him to have a good view of the +garden. There was no door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring +property clearly from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there +watching, he saw a woman walking through the garden. He could see her +only when she passed back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes. +As far as he could see, she came from the main building and was walking +towards a pretty little house which lay in the centre of the garden. +Knoll had imagined this house to be the gardener's dwelling and as it +lay quite dark he supposed the inmates were either asleep or out for the +evening. It had been this house which he was intending to honour by a +visit. But seeing the woman walking towards it, he decided it would not +be safe to carry out his plan just yet awhile. + +A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had been a +wise one, for he saw a man come from the main building and walk along +the path the woman had taken. "No, nothing doing there," thought Knoll, +and concluded he had better go to sleep. He could not remember just how +long he may have dozed but it seemed to him that during that time he +had heard a shot. It did not interest him much. He supposed some one +was shooting at a thieving cat or at some small night animal. He did +not even remember whether he had been really sound asleep, before he was +aroused by the breaking down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of +it more than the shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang up in +alarm and listened intently to hear whether any one had been attracted +by it. His first glance was towards the building behind the garden. +There was no sound nor no light in the garden house but there was a +light in the main building. While the tramp was wondering what hour it +might be, the church clock answered him by ten loud strokes. + +His head was already aching from the wine and he did not feel +comfortable in the drafty old building. He came out from it, crept along +to the spot where he had climbed the fence before, and after listening +carefully and hearing nothing on either side, he climbed back to the +road. The Street lay silent and empty, which was just what he was hoping +for. He held carefully to the shadow thrown by the high board fence over +which he had climbed until he came to its end. Then he remembered that +he hadn't done anything wrong and stepped out boldly into the moonlight. +The moon was well up now and the street was almost as light as day. +Knoll was attracted by the queer shadows thrown by a big elder tree, +waving its long branches in the wind. As he came nearer he saw that part +of the shadow was no shadow at all but was the body of a man lying in +the street near the bush. "I thought sure he was drunk" was the way +Knoll described it. "I've been like that myself often until somebody +came along and found me." + +When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a long +breath. Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures on the +paper in front of him, then changed the lines until the head of a pretty +woman in a fur hat took shape under his fingers. + +"Well, go on," he said, looking with interest at his drawing and +improving it with several quick strokes. + +Johann Knoll continued: + +"Then the devil came over me and I thought I better take this good +opportunity--well--I did. The man was lying on his back and I saw a +watch chain on his dark vest. I bent over him and took his watch +and chain. Then I felt around in his pocket and found his purse. And +then--well then I felt sorry for him lying out in the open road like +that, and I thought I'd lift him up and put him somewhere where he could +sleep it off more convenient. But I didn't see there was a little ditch +there and I stumbled over it and dropped him. 'It's a good thing he's so +drunk that even this don't wake him up,' I thought, and ran off. Then I +thought I heard something moving and I was scared stiff, but there was +nothing in the street at all. I thought I had better take to the fields +though and I crossed through some corn and then out onto another street. +Finally I walked into the city, stayed there till this morning, sold the +watch, then went to Pressburg." + +"So that was the way it was," said the commissioner, pushing his drawing +away from him and motioning to the policemen at the door. "You may take +this man away now," he added in a voice of cool indifference, without +looking at the prisoner. + +Knoll's head drooped and he walked out quietly between his two guards. +The clock on the office wall struck eleven. + +"Dear me! what a lot of time the man wasted," said the commissioner, +putting the report of the proceedings, the watch and the purse in a +drawer of his desk. "When anybody has been almost convicted of a crime, +it's really quite unnecessary to invent such a long story." + +A few minutes later, the room was empty and Muller, as the last of the +group, walked slowly down the stairs. He was in such a brown study that +he scarcely heard the commissioner's friendly "goodnight," nor did he +notice that he was walking down the quiet street under a star-gilded +sky. "Almost convicted--almost. Almost?" Muller's lips murmured while +his head was full of a chaotic rush of thought, dim pictures that came +and went, something that seemed to be on the point of bringing light +into the darkness, then vanishing again. "Almost--but not quite. There +is something here I must find out first. What is it? I must know--" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE FACE AT THE GATE + + +The second examination of the prisoner brought nothing new. Johann +Knoll refused to speak at all, or else simply repeated what he had said +before. This second examination took place early the next morning, but +Muller was not present. He was taking a walk in Hietzing. + +When they took Johann Knoll in the police wagon to the City Prison, +Muller was just sauntering slowly through the street where the murder +had been committed. And as the door of the cell shut clangingly behind +the man whose face was distorted in impotent rage and despair, Joseph +Muller was standing in deep thought before the broken willow twig, which +now hung brown and dry across the planks of the fence. He looked at it +for a long time. That is, he seemed to be looking at it, but in reality +his eyes were looking out and beyond the willow twig, out into the +unknown, where the unknown murderer was still at large. Leopold +Winkler's body had already been committed to the earth. How long will +it be before his death is avenged? Or perhaps how long may it even be +before it is discovered from what motive this murder was committed. Was +it a murder for robbery, or a murder for personal revenge perhaps? Were +the two crimes committed here by one and the same person, or were there +two people concerned? And if two, did they work as accomplices? Or is it +possible that Knoll's story was true? Did he really only rob the body, +not realising that it was a dead man and not merely an intoxicated +sleeper as he had supposed? These and many more thoughts rushed +tumultuously through Muller's brain until he sighed despairingly under +the pressure. Then he smiled in amusement at the wish that had crossed +his brain, the wish that this case might seem as simple to him as it +apparently did to the commissioner. It would certainly have saved him a +lot of work and trouble if he could believe the obvious as most people +did. What was this devil that rode him and spurred him on to delve +into the hidden facts concerning matters that seemed so simple on the +surface? The devil that spurred him on to understand that there always +was some hidden side to every case? Then the sigh and the smile passed, +and Muller raised his head in one of the rare moments of pride in his +own gifts that this shy unassuming little man ever allowed himself. This +was the work that he was intended by Providence to do or he wouldn't +have been fitted for it, and it was work for the common good, for the +public safety. Thinking back over the troubles of his early youth, +Muller's heart rejoiced and he was glad in his own genius. Then the +moment of unwonted elation passed and he bent his mind again to the +problem before him. + +He sauntered slowly through the quiet street in the direction of the +four houses. To reach them he passed the fence that enclosed this end of +the Thorne property. Muller had already known, for the last twenty-four +hours at least, that the owner of the fine old estate was an artist by +the name of Herbert Thorne. His own landlady had informed him of +this. He himself was new to the neighbourhood, having moved out there +recently, and he had verified her statements by the city directory. As +he was now passing the Thorne property, in his slow, sauntering walk, +he had just come within a dozen paces of the little wooden gate in the +fence when this gate opened. Muller's naturally soft tread was made +still more noiseless by the fact that he wore wide soft shoes. Years +before he had acquired a bad case of chilblains, in fact had been in +imminent danger of having his feet frozen by standing for five hours +in the snow in front of a house, to intercept several aristocratic +gentlemen who sooner or later would be obliged to leave that house. The +police had long suspected the existence of this high-class gambling den; +but it was not until they had put Muller in charge of the case, that +there were any results attained. The arrests were made at the risk of +permanent injury to the celebrated detective. Since then, Muller's step +was more noiseless than usual, and now the woman who opened the gate +and peered out cautiously did not hear his approach nor did she see him +standing in the shadow of the fence. She looked towards the other end +of the street, then turned and spoke to somebody behind her. "There's +nobody coming from that direction," he said. Then she turned her head +the other way and saw Muller. She looked at him for a moment and slammed +the gate shut, disappearing behind it. Muller heard the lock click and +heard the beat of running feet hastening rapidly over the gravel path +through the garden. + +The detective stood immediately in front of the gate, shaking his head. +"What was the matter with the woman? What was it that she wanted to see +or do in the street? Why should she run away when she saw me?" These +were his thoughts. But he didn't waste time in merely thinking. Muller +never did. Action followed thought with him very quickly. He saw a +knot-hole in the fence just beside the gate and he applied his eyes +to this knot-hole. And through the knot-hole he saw something that +interested and surprised him. + +The woman whose face had appeared so suddenly at the gate, and +disappeared still more suddenly, was the same woman whom he had seen +bidding farewell to Mr. Thorne and his wife on the Tuesday morning +previous, the woman whom he took to be the housekeeper. The old butler +stood beside her. It was undoubtedly the same man, although he had worn +a livery then and was now dressed in a comfortable old house coat. +He stood beside the woman, shaking his head and asking her just the +questions that Muller was asking himself at the moment. + +"Why, what is the matter with you, Mrs. Bernauer? You're so nervous +since yesterday. Are you ill? Everything seems to frighten you? Why did +you run away from that gate so suddenly? I thought you wanted me to show +you the place?" + +Mrs. Bernauer raised her head and Muller saw that her face looked pale +and haggard and that her eyes shone with an uneasy feverish light. She +did not answer the old man's questions, but made a gesture of farewell +and then turned and walked slowly towards the house. She realised, +apparently, and feared, perhaps, that the man who was passing the gate +might have noticed her sudden change of demeanour and that he was +listening to what she might say. She did not think of the knot-hole +in the board fence, or she might have been more careful in hiding her +distraught face from possible observers. + +Muller stood watching through this knot-hole for some little time. He +took a careful observation of the garden, and from his point of vantage +he could easily see the little house which was apparently the dwelling +of the gardener, as well as the mansard roof of the main building. There +was considerable distance between the two houses. The detective decided +that it might interest him to know something more about this garden, +this house and the people who lived there. And when Muller made such a +decision it was usually not very long before he carried it out. + +The other street, upon which the main front of the mansard house opened, +contained a few isolated dwellings surrounded by gardens and a number of +newly built apartment houses. On the ground floor of these latter houses +were a number of stores and immediately opposite the Thorne mansion was +a little cafe. This suited Muller exactly, for he had been there before +and he remembered that from one of the windows there was an excellent +view of the gate and the front entrance of the mansion opposite. It was +a very modest little cafe, but there was a fairly good wine to be had +there and the detective made it an excuse to sit down by the window, +as if enjoying his bottle while admiring the changing colours of the +foliage in the gardens opposite. + +Another rather good chance, he discovered, was the fact that the +landlord belonged to the talkative sort, and believed that the +refreshments he had to sell were rendered doubly agreeable when spiced +by conversation. In this case the good man was not mistaken. It was +scarcely ten o'clock in the forenoon and there were very few people in +the cafe. The landlord was quite at leisure to devote himself to this +stranger in the window seat, whom he did not remember to have seen +before, and who was therefore doubly interesting to him. Several +subjects of conversation usual in such cases, such as politics and +the weather, seemed to arouse no particular enthusiasm in his patron's +manner. Finally the portly landlord decided that he would touch upon the +theme which was still absorbing all Hietzing. + +"Oh, by the way, sir, do you know that you are in the immediate vicinity +of the place where the murder of Monday evening was committed? People +are still talking about it around here. And I see by the papers that the +murderer was arrested in Pressburg yesterday and brought to Vienna last +night." + +"Indeed, is that so? I haven't seen a paper to-day," replied Muller, +awakening from his apparent indifference. + +The landlord was flattered by the success of the new subject, and stood +ready to unloose the floodgates of his eloquence. His customer sat up +and asked the question for which the landlord was waiting. + +"So it was around here that the man was shot?" + +"Yes. His name was Leopold Winkler, that was in the papers to-day too. +You see that pretty house opposite? Well, right behind this house is the +garden that belongs to it and back of that, an old garden which has +been neglected for some time. It was at the end of this garden where +it touches the other street, that they found the man under a big +elder-tree, early Tuesday morning, day before yesterday." + +"Oh, indeed!" said. Muller, greatly interested, as if this was the first +he had heard of it. The landlord took a deep breath and was about to +begin again when his customer, who decided to keep the talkative man +to a certain phase of the subject, now took command of the conversation +himself. + +"I should think that the people opposite, who live so near the place +where the murder was committed, wouldn't be very much pleased," he said. +"I shouldn't care to look out on such a spot every time I went to my +window." + +"There aren't any windows there," exclaimed the landlord, "for there +aren't any houses there. There's only the old garden, and then the large +garden and the park belonging to Mr. Thorne's house, that fine old house +you see just opposite here. It's a good thing that Mr. Thorne and his +wife went away before the murder became known. The lady hasn't been well +for some weeks, she's very nervous and frail, and it probably would have +frightened her to think that such things were happening right close to +her home." + +"The lady is sick? What's the matter with her?" + +"Goodness knows, nerves, heart trouble, something like that. The things +these fine ladies are always having. But she wasn't always that way, not +until about a year ago. She was fresh and blooming and very pretty to +look at before that." + +"She is a young lady then?" + +"Yes, indeed, sir; she's very young still and very pretty. It makes you +feel sorry to see her so miserable, and you feel sorry for her husband. +Now there's a young couple with everything in the world to make them +happy and so fond of each other, and the poor little lady has to be so +sick." + +"They are very happy, you say?" asked Muller carelessly. He had no +particular set purpose in following up this inquiry, none but his usual +understanding of the fact that a man in his business can never amass too +much knowledge, and that it will sometimes happen that a chance bit of +information comes in very handy. + +The landlord was pleased at the encouragement and continued: "Indeed +they are very happy. They've only been married two years. The lady comes +from a distance, from Graz. Her father is an army officer I believe, and +I don't think she was over-rich. But she's a very sweet-looking lady and +her rich husband is very fond of her, any one can see that." + +"You said just now that they had gone away, where have they gone to?" + +"They've gone to Italy, sir. Mrs. Thorne was one of the few people who +do not know Venice. Franz, that's the butler, sir, told me yesterday +evening that he had received a telegram saying that the lady and +gentleman had arrived safely and were very comfortably fixed in the +Hotel Danieli. You know Danieli's?" + +"Yes, I do. I also was one of the few people who did not know Venice, +that is I was until two years ago. Then, however, I had the pleasure of +riding over the Bridge of Mestre," answered Muller. He did not add that +he was not alone at the time, but had ridden across the long bridge in +company with a pale haggard-faced man who did not dare to look to the +right or to the left because of the revolver which he knew was held in +the detective's hand under his loose overcoat. Muller's visit to Venice, +like most of his journeyings, had been one of business. This time to +capture and bring home a notorious and long sought embezzler. He did +not volunteer any of this information, however, but merely asked in +a politely interested manner whether the landlord himself had been to +Venice. + +"Yes, indeed," replied the latter proudly. "I was head waiter at Baner's +for two years." + +"Then you must make me some Italian dishes soon," said Muller. Further +conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Franz, the old butler of +the house opposite. + +"Excuse me, sir; I must get him his glass of wine," said the landlord, +hurrying away to the bar. He returned in a moment with a small bottle +and a glass and set it down on Muller's table. + +"You don't mind, sir, if he sits down here?" he asked. "He usually sits +here at this table because then he can see if he is needed over at the +house." + +"Oh, please let him come here. He has prior rights to this table +undoubtedly," said the stranger politely. The old butler sat down +with an embarrassed murmur, as the voluble landlord explained that the +stranger had no objection. Then the boniface hurried off to attend to +some newly entered customers and the detective, greatly pleased at the +prospect, found himself alone with the old servant. + +"You come here frequently?" he began, to open the conversation. + +"Yes, sir, since my master and myself have settled down here--we +travelled most of the time until several years ago--I find this place +very convenient. It's a cosy little room, the wine is good and not +expensive, I'm near home and yet I can see some new faces occasionally." + +"I hope the faces that you see about you at home are not so unpleasant +that you are glad to get away from them?" asked Muller with a smile. + +The old man gave a start of alarm. "Oh, dear, no, sir," he exclaimed +eagerly; "that wasn't what I meant. Indeed I'm fond of everybody in the +house from our dear lady down to the poor little dog." + +Here Muller gained another little bit of knowledge, the fact that the +lady of the house was the favourite of her servants, or that she seemed +to them even more an object of adoration than the master. + +"Then you evidently have a very good place, since you seem so fond of +every one." + +"Indeed I have a good place, sir." + +"You've had this place a long time?" + +"More than twenty years. My master was only eleven years old when I took +service with the family." + +"Ah, indeed! then you must be a person of importance in the house if you +have been there so long?" + +"Well more or less I might say I am," the old man smiled and looked +flattered, then added: "But the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernauer, is even more +important than I am, to tell you the truth. She was nurse to our present +young master, and she's been in the house ever since. When his +parents died, it's some years ago now, she took entire charge of the +housekeeping. She was a fine active woman then, and now the young master +and mistress couldn't get along without her. They treat her as if she +was one of the family." + +"And she is ill also? I say also," explained Muller, "because the +landlord has just been telling me that your mistress is ill." + +"Yes, indeed, more's the pity! our poor dear young lady has been +miserable for nearly a year now. It's a shame to see such a sweet angel +as she is suffer like that and the master's quite heart-broken over it. +But there's nothing the matter with Mrs. Bernauer. How did you come to +think that she was sick?" + +Muller did not intend to explain that the change in the housekeeper's +appearance, a change which had come about between Tuesday morning and +Thursday morning, might easily have made any one think that she was +ill. He gave as excuse for his question the old man's own words: "Why, +I thought that she might be ill also because you said yourself that the +housekeeper--what did you say her name was?" + +"Bernauer, Mrs. Adele Bernauer. She was a widow when she came to take +care of the master. Her husband was a sergeant of artillery." + +"Well, I mean," continued Muller, "you said yourself that when the +gentleman's parents died, Mrs. Bernauer was a fine active woman, +therefore I supposed she was no longer so." + +Franz thought the matter over for a while. "I don't know just why I put +it that way. Indeed she's still as active as ever and always fresh and +well. It's true that for the last two or three days she's been very +nervous and since yesterday it is as if she was a changed woman. She +must be ill, I don't know how to explain it otherwise." + +"What seems to be the matter with her?" asked Muller and then to explain +his interest in the housekeeper's health, he fabricated a story: "I +studied medicine at one time and although I didn't finish my course +or get a diploma, I've always had a great interest in such things, and +every now and then I'll take a case, particularly nervous diseases. That +was my specialty." Muller took up his glass and turned away from the +window, for he felt a slow flush rising to his cheeks. It was another +of Muller's peculiarities that he always felt an inward embarrassment at +the lies he was obliged to tell in his profession. + +The butler did not seem to have noticed it however, and appeared eager +to tell of what concerned him in the housekeeper's appearance and +demeanour. "Why, yesterday at dinner time was the first that we began +to notice anything wrong with Mrs. Bernauer. The rest of us, that is, +Lizzie the upstairs girl, the cook and myself. She began to eat her +dinner with a good appetite, then suddenly, when we got as far as the +pudding, she let her fork fall and turned deathly white. She got up +without saying a word and left the room. Lizzie ran after her to ask if +anything was the matter, but she said no, it was nothing of importance. +After dinner, she went right out, saying she was doing some errands. +She brought in a lot of newspapers, which was quite unusual, for she +sometimes does not look at a newspaper once a week even. I wouldn't have +noticed it but Lizzie's the kind that sees and hears everything and +she told us about it." Franz stopped to take a drink, and Muller said +indifferently, "I suppose Mrs. Bernauer was interested in the murder +case. The whole neighbourhood seems to be aroused about it." + +"No, I don't think that was it," answered the old servant, "because then +she would have sent for a paper this morning too." + +"And she didn't do that?" + +"No, unless she might have gone out for it herself. There's a news stand +right next door here. But I don't think she did because I would have +seen the paper around the house then." + +"And is that all that's the matter with her?" asked Muller in a tone of +disappointment. "Why, I thought you'd have something really interesting +to tell me." + +"Oh, no, that isn't all, sir," exclaimed the old man eagerly. + +Muller leaned forward, really interested now, while Franz continued: +"She was uneasy all the afternoon yesterday. She walked up and down +stairs and through the halls--I remember Lizzie making some joke about +it--and then in the evening to our surprise she suddenly began a great +rummaging in the first story." + +"Is that where she lives?" + +"Oh, no; her room is in the wing out towards the garden. The rooms on +the first floor all belong to the master and mistress. This morning we +found out that Mrs. Bernauer's cleaning up of the evening before had +been done because she remembered that the master wanted to take some +papers with him but couldn't find them and had asked her to look for +them and send them right on." + +"Well, I shouldn't call that a sign of any particular nervousness, but +rather an evidence of Mrs. Bernauer's devotion to her duty." + +"Oh, yes, sir--but it certainly is queer that she should go into +the garden at four o'clock this morning and appear to be looking for +something along the paths and under the bushes. Even if a few of the +papers blew out of the window, or blew away from the summer house, where +the master writes sometimes, they couldn't have scattered all over the +garden like that." + +Muller didn't follow up this subject any longer. There might come a +time when he would be interested in finding out the reason for the +housekeeper's search in the garden, but just at present he wanted +something else. He remembered some remark of the old man's about the +"poor little dog," and on this he built his plan. + +"Oh, well," he said carelessly, "almost everybody is nervous and +impatient now-a-days. I suppose Mrs. Bernauer felt uneasy because +she couldn't find the paper right away. There's nothing particularly +interesting or noticeable about that. Anyway, I've been occupying myself +much more these last years with sick animals rather than with sick +people. I've had some very successful cures there." + +"No, really, have you? Then you could do us a great favour," exclaimed +Franz in apparent eagerness. Muller's heart rejoiced. He had apparently +hit it right this time. He knew that in a house like that "a poor dog" +could only mean a "sick dog." But his voice was quite calm as he asked: +"How can I do you a favour?" + +"Why, you see, sir, we've got a little terrier," explained the old man, +who had quite forgotten the fact that he had mentioned the dog before. +"And there's been something the matter with the poor little chap for +several days. He won't eat or drink, he bites at the grass and rolls +around on his stomach and cries--it's a pity to see him. If you're fond +of animals and know how to take care of them, you may be able to help us +there." + +"You want me to look at the little dog? Why, yes, I suppose I can." + +"We'll appreciate it," said the old man with an embarrassed smile. But +Muller shook his head and continued: "No, never mind the payment, I +wouldn't take any money for it. But I'll tell you what you can do +for me. I'm very fond of flowers. If you think you can take the +responsibility of letting me walk around in the garden for a little +while, and pick a rose or two, I will be greatly pleased." + +"Why, of course you may," said Franz. "Take any of the roses you see +there that please you. They're nearly over for the season now and it's +better they should be picked rather than left to fade on the bush. +We don't use so many flowers in the house now when the family are not +there." + +"All right, then, it's a bargain," laughed Muller, signalling to the +landlord. "Are you, going already?" asked the old servant. + +"Yes, I must be going if I am to spend any time with the little dog." + +"I suppose I ought to be at home myself," said Franz. "Something's the +matter with the electric wiring in our place. The bell in the master's +room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to send us a man out +to fix it. He's likely to come any minute now." The two men rose, paid +their checks, and went out together. Outside the cafe Muller hesitated +a moment. "You go on ahead," he said to Franz. "I want to go in here and +get a cigar." + +While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for several newspapers, +choosing those which his quick eye had told him were no longer among the +piles on the counter. "I'm very sorry, sir," said the clerk; "we have +only a few of those papers, just two or three more than we need for our +regular customers, and this morning they are all sold. The housekeeper +from the Thorne mansion took the very last ones." + +This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store and +caught up with the old butler as the latter was opening the handsome +iron gate that led from the Thorne property out onto the street. + +"Well, where's our little patient?" asked the detective as he walked +through the courtyard with Franz. + +"You'll see him in a minute," answered the old servant. He led the way +through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome old pieces in +empire style, and opened a door at its further end. + +"This is my room." + +It was a large light room with two windows opening on the garden. Muller +was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall had been such a +short one. However he was in the house, that was something, and he could +afford to trust to chance for the rest. Meanwhile he would look at the +dog. The little terrier lay in a corner by the stove and it did not take +Muller more than two or three minutes to discover that there was nothing +the matter with the small patient but a simple case of over-eating. +But he put on a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and +looking up, asked if he could get some chamomile tea. + +"I'll go for it, I think there's some in the house. Do you want it made +fresh?" said Franz. + +"Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do," was Muller's answer. +He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to do the dog good and +at the present moment he wanted to be left alone in the room. As soon +as Franz had gone, the detective hastened to the window, placing himself +behind the curtain so that he could not be seen from outside. He himself +could see first a wide courtyard lying between the two wings of the +house, then beyond it the garden, an immense square plot of ground +beautifully cultivated. The left wing of the house was about six windows +longer than the other, and from the first story of it it would be quite +easy to look out over the vacant lot where the old shed stood which had +served as a night's lodging for Johann Knoll. + +There was not the slightest doubt in Muller's mind that this part of the +tramp's story was true, for by a natural process of elimination he knew +there was nothing to be gained by inventing any such tale. Besides +which the detective himself had been to look at the shed. His well-known +pedantic thoroughness would not permit him to take any one's word for +anything that he might find out for himself. In his investigations on +Tuesday morning he had already seen the half-ruined shed, now he knew +that it contained a broken bench. + +Thus far, therefore, Knoll's story was proved to be true--but there was +something that didn't quite hitch in another way. The tramp had said +that he had seen first a woman and then a man come from the main house +and go in the direction of the smaller house which he took to be the +gardener's dwelling. This Muller discovered now was quite impossible. +A tall hedge, fully seven or eight feet high and very thick, stretched +from the courtyard far down into the garden past the gardener's little +house. There was a broad path on the right and the left of this green +wall. From his position in the shed, Knoll could have seen people +passing only when they were on the right side of the hedge. But to reach +the gardener's house from the main dwelling, the shortest way would be +on the left side of the hedge. This much Muller saw, then he heard the +butler's steps along the hall and he went back to the corner where the +dog lay. + +Franz was not alone. There was some one else with him, the housekeeper, +Mrs. Bernauer. Just as they opened the door, Muller heard her say: +"If the gentleman is a veterinary, then we'd better ask him about the +parrot--" + +The sentence was never finished. Muller never found out what was the +matter with the parrot, for as he looked up with a polite smile of +interest, he looked into a pale face, into a pair of eyes that opened +wide in terror, and heard trembling lips frame the words: "There he is +again!" + +A moment later Mrs. Bernauer would have been glad to have recalled her +exclamation, but it was too late. + +Muller bowed before her and asked: "'There he is again,' you said; have +you ever seen me before?" + +The woman looked at him as if hypnotised and answered almost in a +whisper: "I saw you Tuesday morning for the first time, Tuesday morning +when the family were going away. Then I saw you pass through our street +twice again that same day. This morning you went past the garden gate +and now I find you here. What-what is it you want of us?" + +"I will tell you what I want, Mrs. Bernauer, but first I want to speak +to you alone. Mr. Franz doesn't mind leaving us for a while, does he?" + +"But why?" said the old man hesitatingly. He didn't understand at all +what was going on and he would much rather have remained. + +"Because I came here for the special purpose of speaking to Mrs. +Bernauer," replied Muller calmly. + +"Then you didn't come on account of the dog?" + +"No, I didn't come on account of the dog." + +"Then you--you lied to me?" + +"Partly." + +"And you're no veterinary?" + +"No--I can help your dog, but I am not a veterinary and never have +been." + +"What are you then?" + +"I will tell Mrs. Bernauer who and what I am when you are +outside--outside in the courtyard there. You can walk about in the +garden if you want to, or else go and get some simple purgative for this +dog. That is all he needs; he has been over-fed." + +Franz was quite bewildered. These new developments promised to be +interesting and he was torn between his desire to know more, and his +doubts as to the propriety of leaving the housekeeper with this queer +stranger. He hesitated until the woman herself motioned to him to go. He +went out into the hall, then into the courtyard, watched by the two in +the room who stood silently in the window until they saw the butler pass +down into the garden. Then they looked at each other. + +"You belong to the police?" asked Adele Bernauer finally with a deep +sigh. + +"That was a good guess," replied Muller with an ironic smile, adding: +"All who have any reason to fear us are very quick in recognising us." + +"What do you mean by that?" she exclaimed with a start. "What are you +thinking of?" + +"I am thinking about the same thing that you are thinking of--that I +have proved you are thinking of--the same thing that drove you out into +the street yesterday and this morning to buy the papers. These papers +print news which is interesting many people just now, and some people a +great deal. I am thinking of the same thing that was evidently in your +thoughts as you peered out of the garden gate this morning, although you +would not come out into the street. I know that you do not read even one +newspaper regularly. I know also that yesterday and today you bought +a great many papers, apparently to get every possible detail about a +certain subject. Do you deny this?" + +She did not deny it, she did not answer at all. She sank down on +a chair, her wide staring eyes looking straight ahead of her, and +trembling so that the old chair cracked underneath her weight. But this +condition did not last long. The woman had herself well under control. +Muller's coming, or something else, perhaps, may have overwhelmed her +for a moment, but she soon regained her usual self-possession. + +"Still you have not told me what you want here," she began coldly, +and as he did not answer she continued: "I have a feeling that you +are watching us. I had this feeling when I saw you the first time and +noticed then--pardon my frankness--that you stared at us sharply while +we were saying goodbye to our master and mistress. Then I saw you pass +twice again through the street and look up at our windows. This morning +I find you at our garden gate and now--you will pardon me if I tell the +exact truth--now you have wormed yourself in here under false pretenses +because you have no right whatever to force an entrance into this house. +And I ask you again, what do you want here?" + +Muller was embarrassed. That did not happen very often. Also it did not +happen very often that he was in the wrong as he was now. The woman +was absolutely right. He had wormed himself into the house under false +pretenses to follow up the new clue which almost unconsciously as yet +was leading him on with a stronger and stronger attraction. He could not +have explained it and he certainly was not ready to say anything about +it at police headquarters, even at the risk of being obliged to continue +to enter this mysterious house under false pretenses and to be told +that he was doing so. Of course this sort of thing was necessary in his +business, it was the only way in which he could follow up the criminals. + +But there was something in this woman's words that cut into a sensitive +spot and drove the blood to his cheeks. There was something in the +bearing and manner of this one-time nurse that impressed him, although +he was not a man to be lightly impressed. He had a feeling that he had +made a fool of himself and it bothered him. For a moment he did not know +what he should say to this woman who stood before him with so much quiet +energy in her bearing. But the something in his brain, the something +that made him what he was, whispered to him that he had done right, and +that he must follow up the trail he had found. That gave him back his +usual calm. + +He took up his hat, and standing before the pale-faced woman, looking +her firmly in the eyes, he said: "It is true that I have no right as yet +to force my way into your house, therefore I have been obliged to enter +it as best I could. I have done this often in my work, but I do it +for the safety of society. And those who reproach me for doing it are +generally those whom I have been obliged to persecute in the name of +the law. Mrs. Bernauer, I will confess that there are moments in which I +feel ashamed that I have chosen this profession that compels me to +hunt down human beings. But I do not believe that this is one of those +moments. You have read this morning's papers; you must know, therefore, +that a man has been arrested and accused of the murder which interests +you so much; you must be able to realise the terror and anxiety which +are now filling this man's heart. For to-day's papers--I have read them +myself--expressed the public sentiment that the police may succeed in +convicting this man of the crime, that the death may be avenged and +justice have her due. Several of these papers, the papers I know you +have bought and presumably read, do not doubt that Johann Knoll is the +murderer of Leopold Winkler. + +"Now there are at least two people who do not believe that Knoll is the +murderer. I am one of them, and you, Mrs. Bernauer, you are the other. +I am going now and when I come again, as I doubtless will come again, +I will come with full right to enter this house. I acknowledge frankly +that I have no justification in causing your arrest as yet, but you are +quite clever enough to know that if I had the faintest justification I +would not leave here alone. And one thing more I have to say. You may +not know that I have had the most extraordinary luck in my profession, +that in more than a hundred cases there have been but two where the +criminal I was hunting escaped me. And now, Mrs. Bernauer, I will bid +you good day." + +Muller stepped towards the window and motioned to Franz, who was walking +up and down outside. The old man ran to the door and met the detective +in the hall. + +"You'd better go in and look after Mrs. Bernauer," said the latter, "I +can find my way out alone." + +Franz looked after him, shaking his head in bewilderment and then +entered his own room. "Merciful God!" he exclaimed, bending down in +terror over the housekeeper, who lay on the floor. In his shock and +bewilderment he imagined that she too had been murdered, until he +realised that it was only a swoon from which she recovered in a moment. +He helped her regain her feet and she looked about as if still dazed, +stammering: "Has he gone?" + +"The strange man? ... Yes, he went some time ago. But what happened to +you? Did he give you something to make you faint? Do you think he was a +thief?" + +Mrs. Bernauer shook her head and murmured: "Oh, no, quite the contrary." +A remark which did not enlighten Franz particularly as to the status +of the man who had just left them. There was a note of fear in the +housekeepers's voice and she added hastily: "Does any one besides +ourselves know that he was here?" + +"No, Lizzie and the cook are in the kitchen talking about the murder." + +Mrs. Bernauer shivered again and went slowly out of the room and up the +stairs. + +If Franz believed that the stranger had left the house by the front +entrance he was very much mistaken. When Muller found himself alone in +the corridor he turned quickly and hurried out into the garden. None +of the servants had seen him. Lizzie and the cook were engaged in an +earnest conversation in the kitchen and Franz was fully occupied with +Mrs. Bernauer. The gardener was away and his wife busy at her wash +tubs. No one was aware, therefore, that Muller spent about ten minutes +wandering about the garden, and ten minutes were quite sufficient for +him to become so well acquainted with the place that he could have drawn +a map of it. He left the garden through the rear gate, the latch of +which he was obliged to leave open. The gardener's wife found it that +way several hours later and was rather surprised thereat. Muller walked +down the street rapidly and caught a passing tramway. His mood was +not of the best, for he could not make up his mind whether or no this +morning had been a lost one. His mind sorted and rearranged all that +he knew or could imagine concerning Mrs. Bernauer. But there was hardly +enough of these facts to reassure him that he was not on a false trail, +that he had not allowed himself to waste precious hours all because he +had seen a woman's haggard face appear for a moment at the little gate +in the quiet street. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE + + +Muller's goal was the prison where Johann Knoll was awaiting his fate. +The detective had permission to see the man as often as he wished to. +Knoll had been proven a thief, but the accusation of murder against +him had not been strengthened by anything but the most superficial +circumstantial evidence, therefore it was necessary that Muller should +talk with him in the hope of discovering something more definite. + +Knoll lay asleep on his cot as the detective and the warder entered the +cell. Muller motioned the attendant to leave him alone with the prisoner +and he stood beside the cot looking down at the man. The face on +the hard pillow was not a very pleasant one to look at. The skin was +roughened and swollen and had that brown-purple tinge which comes +from being constantly in the open air, and from habitual drinking. The +weather-beaten look may be seen often in the faces of men whose honest +work keeps them out of doors; but this man had not earned his colouring +honestly, for he was one of the sort who worked only from time to time +when it was absolutely necessary and there was no other way of getting +a penny. His hands proved this, for although soiled and grimy they had +soft, slender fingers which showed no signs of a life of toil. But even +a man who has spent forty years in useless idling need not be all bad. +There must have been some good left in this man or he could not have +lain there so quietly, breathing easily, wrapped in a slumber as +undisturbed as that of a child. It did not seem possible that any man +could lie there like that with the guilt of murder on his conscience, or +even with the knowledge in his soul that he had plundered a corpse. + +Muller had never believed the first to be the case, but he had thought +it possible that Knoll knew perfectly well that it was a lifeless body +he was robbing. He had believed it at least until the moment when he +stood looking down at the sleeping tramp. Now, with the deep knowledge +of the human heart which was his by instinct and which his profession +had increased a thousand-fold, Muller knew that this man before him +had no heavy crime upon his conscience--that it was really as he had +said--that he had taken the watch and purse from one whom he believed +to be intoxicated only. Of course it was not a very commendable deed for +which the tramp was now in prison, but it was slight in comparison to +the crimes of which he was suspected. + +Muller bent lower over the unconscious form and was surprised to see a +gentle smile spread over the face before him. It brightened and +changed the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a look of almost +child-like innocence. Somewhere within the coarsened soul there must be +a spot of brightness from which such a smile could come. + +But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and looked up. He +shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller's hand on his shoulder +and raised himself to a sitting position, grumbling: "Can't I have any +rest? Are they going to question me again? I'm getting tired of this. +I've said everything I know anyhow." + +"Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of my questions +when I tell you that I believe the story you told us yesterday, and that +I want to be your friend and help you." + +Knoll's little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the man +who spoke to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark of +intelligence in them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and he saw +it again now. But he saw also the gleam of distrust in these eyes, a +distrust which found expression in Knoll's next words. "You think you +can catch me with your good words, but you're makin' a mistake. I've got +nothin' new to say. And you needn't think that you can blind me, I know +you're one of the police, and I'm not going to say anything at all." + +"Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I really could +help you. I have just come from Hietzing--but of course if you don't +want to talk to me--" Muller shrugged his shoulders and turned toward +the door. + +But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. "You really mean to +help me?" he gasped. + +"I do," said the detective calmly. + +"Then swear, on your mother's soul--or is your mother still alive?" + +"No, she has been dead some time." + +"Well, then, will you swear it?" + +"Would you believe an oath like that?" + +"Why shouldn't I?" + +"With the life you've been leading?" + +"My life's no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those things on +Monday was the worst thing I've done yet. Will you swear?" + +"Is it something so very important you have to tell me?" + +"No, I ain't got nothin' at all new to tell you. But I'd just like +to know--in this black hole I've got into--I'd just like to know that +there's one human being who means well with me--I'd like to know +that there's one man in the world who don't think I'm quite +good-for-nothin'." + +The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a heart-rending sob. +Deep pity moved the detective's breast. He led Knoll back to his cot, +and put both hands on his shoulders, saying gravely: "I believe that +this theft was the worst thing you have done. By my mother's salvation, +Knoll, I believe your words and I will try to help you." + +Knoll raised his head, looking up at Muller with a glance of unspeakable +gratitude. With trembling lips he kissed the hand which a moment before +had pressed kindly on his shoulder, clinging fast to it as if he could +not bear to let it go. Muller was almost embarrassed. "Oh, come now, +Knoll, don't be foolish. Pull yourself together and answer my questions +carefully, for I am asking you these questions more for your own sake +than for anything else." + +The tramp nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He looked almost +happy again, and there was a softness in his eyes that showed there was +something in the man which might be saved and which was worth saving. + +Muller sat beside him on the cot and began: "There was one mistake in +your story yesterday. I want you to think it over carefully. You said +that you saw first a woman and then a man going through the neighbouring +garden. I believe that one or both of these people is the criminal +for whom we are looking. Therefore, I want you to try and remember +everything that you can connect with them, every slightest detail. +Anything that you can tell us may be of the greatest importance. +Therefore, think very carefully." + +Knoll sat still a few moments, evidently trying hard to put his hazy +recollections into useful form and shape. But it was also evident that +orderly thinking was an unusual work for him, and he found it almost too +difficult. "I guess you better ask me questions, maybe that'll go," he +said after a pause. + +Then Muller began to question. With his usual thoroughness he began at +the very beginning: "When was it that you climbed the fence to get into +the shed?" + +"It just struck nine o'clock when I put my foot on the lowest bar." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Quite sure. I counted every stroke. You see, I wanted to know how long +the night was going to be, seein' I'd have to sleep in that shed. I was +in the garden just exactly an hour. I came out of the shed as it struck +ten and it wasn't but a few minutes before I was in the street again." + +"And when was it that you saw the woman in the garden next door?" + +"H'm, I don't just know when that was. I'd been in on the bench quite a +while." + +"And the man? When did you see the man?" + +"He came past a few minutes after the woman had gone towards the little +house in the garden." + +"Ah! there you see, that's where you made your mistake. It is more than +likely that these two did not go to the little house, but that they went +somewhere else. Did they walk slowly and quietly?" + +"Not a bit of it. They ran almost... Went past as quick as a bat in the +night." + +"Then they both appeared to be in a hurry?" + +"Yes indeed they did." + +"Ah, ha, you see! Now when any one's in a hurry he doesn't go the +longest way round, as a rule. And it would have been the longest way +round for these two people to go from the big house to the gardener's +cottage--for the little house you saw was the gardener's cottage. There +is tall thick hedge that starts from the main building and goes right +down through the garden, quite a distance past the gardener's cottage. +The vegetable garden is on the left side of this hedge and in the middle +of the vegetable garden is the gardener's cottage. But you could have +seen the man and the woman only because they passed down the right side +of the hedge, and this would have given them a detour of fifty paces or +more to reach the gardener's house. Nov do you think that two people +who were very much in a hurry would have gone down the right side of the +hedge, to reach a place which they could have gotten to much quicker on +the left side?" + +"No, that would have been a fool thing to do." + +"And you are quite sure that these people were in a hurry?" + +"That's dead sure. I scarcely saw them before they'd gone again." + +"And you didn't see them come back?" + +"No, at least I didn't pay any further attention to them. When I thought +it wouldn't be any good to look about in there I turned around and dozed +off." + +"And it was during this dozing that you thought you heard the shot?" + +"Yes, sir, that's right." + +"And you didn't notice anything else? You didn't hear anything else." + +"No, nothin' at all, there was so much noise anyway. There was a high +wind that night and the trees were rattling and creaking." + +"And you didn't see anything else, anything that attracted your +attention?" + +"No, nothing--" Knoll did not finish his sentence, but began another +instead. He had suddenly remembered something which had seemed to him of +no importance before. "There was a light that went out suddenly." + +"Where?" + +"In the side of the house that I could see from my place. There was a +lamp in the last window of the second story, a lamp with a red shade. +That lamp went out all at once." + +"Was the window open?" + +"Yes." + +"There was a strong wind that night, might not the wind have blown the +lamp out?" + +"No, that wasn't it," said Knoll, rising hastily. + +"Well, how was it?" asked Muller calmly. + +"A hand put out the lamp." + +"Whose hand?" + +"I couldn't see that. The light was so low on account of the shade that +I couldn't see the person who stood there." + +"And you don't know whether it was a man or a woman?" + +"No, I just saw a hand, more like a shadow it was." + +"Well, it doesn't matter much anyway. It was after nine o'clock and many +people go to bed about that time," said Muller, who did not see much +value in this incident. + +But Knoll shook his head. "The person who put out that light didn't go +to bed, at least not right away," he said eagerly. "I looked over after +a while to the place where the red light was and I saw something else." + +"Well, what was it you saw?" + +"The window had been closed." + +"Who closed it? Didn't you see the person that time? The moonlight lay +full on the house." + +"Yes, when there weren't any clouds. But there was a heavy cloud over +the moon just then and when it came out again the window was shut and +there was a white curtain drawn in front of it." + +"How could you see that?" + +"I could see it when the lamp was lit again." + +"Then the lamp was lit again?" + +"Yes, I could see the red light behind the curtain." + +"And what happened then?" + +"Nothing more then, except that the man went through the garden." + +Muller rose now and took up his hat. He was evidently excited and Knoll +looked at him uneasily. "You're goin' already?" he asked. + +"Yes, I have a great deal to do to-day," replied the detective and +nodded to the prisoner as he knocked on the door. "I am glad you +remembered that," he added, "it will be of use to us, I think." + +The warder opened the door, let Muller out, and the heavy iron portal +clanged again between Knoll and freedom. + +Muller was quite satisfied with the result of his visit to the accused. +He hurried to the nearest cab stand and entered one of the carriages +waiting there. He gave the driver Mrs. Klingmayer's address. It was +about two o'clock in the afternoon now and Muller had had nothing to eat +yet. But he was quite unaware of the fact as his mind was so busy that +no mere physical sensation could divert his attention for a moment. +Muller never seemed to need sleep or food when he was on the trail, +particularly not in the fascinating first stages of the case when it +was his imagination alone, catching at trifles unnoticed by others, +combining them in masterly fashion to an ordered whole, that first led +the seekers to the truth. Now he went over once more all the little +apparently trivial incidents that had caused him first to watch the +Thorne household and then had drawn his attention, and his suspicion, to +Adele Bernauer. It was the broken willow twig that had first drawn his +attention to the old garden next the Thorne property. This twig, this +garden, and perhaps some one who could reach his home again, unseen and +unendangered through this garden--might not this have something to do +with the murder? + +The breaking of the twig was already explained. It was Johann Knoll +who had stepped on it. But he had not climbed the wall at all, had +only crept along it looking for a night's shelter. And there was no +connection between Knoll and the people who lived in the Thorne house. +Muller had not the slightest doubt that the tramp had told the entire +truth that day and the day preceding. + +Then the detective's mind went back to the happenings of Tuesday +morning. The little twig had first drawn his attention to the Thorne +estate and the people who lived there. He had seen the departure of +the young couple and had passed the house again that afternoon and the +following day, drawn to it as if by a magnet. He had not been able +then to explain what it was that attracted him; there had been nothing +definite in his mind as he strolled past the old mansion. But his +repeated appearance had been noticed by some one--by one person +only--the housekeeper. Why should she have noticed it? Had she any +reason for believing that she might be watched? People with an uneasy +conscience are very apt to connect even perfectly natural trivial +circumstances with their own doings. Adele Bernauer had evidently +connected Muller's repeated passing with something that concerned +herself even before the detective had thought of her at all. + +Muller had not noticed her until he had seen her peculiar conduct that +very morning. When he heard Franz's words and saw how disturbed the +woman was, he asked himself: "Why did this woman want to be shown the +spot of the murder? Didn't she know that place, living so near it, as +well as any of the many who stood there staring in morbid curiosity? +Did she ask to have it shown her that the others might believe she had +nothing whatever to do with the occurrences that had happened there? Or +was she drawn thither by that queer attraction that brings the criminal +back to the scene of his crime?" + +The sudden vision of Mrs. Bernauer's head at the garden gate, and its +equally sudden disappearance had attracted Muller's attention and his +thoughts to the woman. What he had been able to learn about her had +increased his suspicions and her involuntary exclamation when she met +him face to face in the house had proved beyond a doubt that there was +something on her mind. His open accusation, her demeanour, and finally +her swoon, were all links in the chain of evidence that this woman knew +something about the murder in the quiet lane. + +With this suspicion in his mind what Muller had learned from Knoll +was of great value to him, at all events of great interest. Was it the +housekeeper who had put out the light? For now Muller did not doubt for +a moment that this sudden extinguishing of the lamp was a signal. He +believed that Knoll had seen clearly and that he had told truly what he +had seen. A lamp that is blown out by the wind flickers uneasily before +going out. A sudden extinguishing of the light means human agency. And +the lamp was lit again a few moments afterward and burned on steadily +as before. A short time after the lamp had been put out the man had been +seen going through the garden. And it could not have been much later +before the shot was heard. This shot had been fired between the hours +of nine and ten, for it was during this hour only that Knoll was in the +garden house and heard the shot. But it was not necessary to depend upon +the tramp's evidence alone to determine the exact hour of the shot. It +must have been before half past nine, or otherwise the janitor of No.1, +who came home at that hour and lay awake so long, would undoubtedly +have heard a shot fired so near his domicile, in spite of the noise +occasioned by the high wind. There would have been sufficient time +for Mrs. Bernauer to have reached the place of the murder between the +putting out of the lamp and the firing of the shot. But perhaps she may +have rested quietly in her room; she may have been only the inciter or +the accomplice of the deed. But at all events, she knew something about +it, she was in some way connected with it. + +Muller drew a deep breath. He felt much easier now that he had arranged +his thoughts and marshalled in orderly array all the facts he had +already gathered. There was nothing to do now but to follow up a given +path step by step and he could no longer reproach himself that he might +have cast suspicion on an innocent soul. No, his bearing towards Mrs. +Bernauer had not been sheer brutality. His instinct, which had led him +so unerringly so many times, had again shown him the right way when he +had thrust the accusation in her face. + +Now that his mind was easier he realised that he was very hungry. He +drove to a restaurant and ordered a hasty meal. + +"Beer, sir?" asked the waiter for the third time. + +"No," answered Muller, also for the third time. + +"Then you'll take wine, sir?" asked the insistent Ganymede. + +"Oh, go to the devil! When I want anything I'll ask for it," growled the +detective, this time effectively scaring the waiter. It did not often +happen that a customer refused drinks, but then there were not many +customers who needed as clear a head as Muller knew he would have to +have to-day. Always a light drinker, it was one of his rules never to +touch a drop of liquor during this first stage of the mental working out +of any new problem which presented itself. But soft-hearted as he was, +he repented of his irritation a moment later and soothed the waiter's +wounded feelings by a rich tip. The boy ran out to open the cab door for +his strange customer and looked after him, wondering whether the man was +a cranky millionaire or merely a poet. For Joseph Muller, by name and by +reputation one of the best known men in Vienna, was by sight unknown +to all except the few with whom he had to do on the police force. His +appearance, in every way inconspicuous, and the fact that he never +sought acquaintance with any one, was indeed of the greatest possible +assistance to him in his work. Many of those who saw him several times +in a day would pass him or look him full in the face without recognising +him. It was only, as in the case of Mrs. Bernauer, the guilty conscience +that remembered face and figure of this quiet-looking man who was one of +the most-feared servants of the law in Austria. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE ELECTRICIAN + + +When Muller reached the house where Mrs. Klingmayer lived he ordered the +cabman to wait and hurried up to the widow's little apartment. He had +the key to Leopold Winkler's room in his own pocket, for Mrs. Klingmayer +had given this key to Commissioner von Riedau at the latter's request +and the commissioner had given it to Muller. The detective told the good +woman not to bother about him as he wanted to make an examination of the +place alone. Left to himself in the little room, Muller made a thorough +search of it, opening the cupboard, the bureau drawers, every possible +receptacle where any article could be kept or hidden. What he wanted +to find was some letter, some bit of paper, some memoranda perhaps, +anything that would show any connection existing between the murdered +man and Mrs. Bernauer, who lived so near the place where this man had +died and who was so greatly interested in his murder. + +The detective's search was not quite in vain, although he could not tell +yet whether what he had found would be of any value. Leopold Winkler had +had very little correspondence, or else he had had no reason to keep +the letters he received. Muller found only about a half dozen letters in +all. Three of them were from women of the half-world, giving dates for +meetings. Another was written by a man and signed "Theo." This "Theo" +appeared to be the same sort of a cheap rounder that Winkler was. And he +seemed to have sunk one grade deeper than the dead man, in spite of the +latter's bad reputation. For this other addressed Winkler as his +"Dear Friend" and pleaded with him for "greater discretion," alluding +evidently to something which made this discretion necessary. + +"I wonder what rascality it was that made these two friends?" murmured +Muller, putting Theo's letter with the three he had already read. +But before he slipped it in his pocket he glanced at the postmark. The +letters of the three women had all been posted from different quarters +of the city some months ago. Theo's letter was postmarked "Marburg," and +dated on the 1st of September of the present year. + +Then Muller looked at the postmark of the two remaining letters which +he had not yet read, and whistled softly to himself. Both these letters +were posted from a certain station in Hietzing, the station which was +nearest his own lodgings and also nearest the Thorne house. He looked at +the postmark more sharply. They both bore the dates of the present year, +one of them being stamped "March 17th," the other "September 24th." This +last letter interested the detective most. + +Muller was not of a nervous disposition, but his hand trembled slightly +as he took the letter from its envelope. It was clear that this letter +had been torn open hastily, for the edges of the opening were jagged and +uneven. + +When the detective had read the letter--it contained but a few lines and +bore neither address nor signature--he glanced over it once more as if +to memorise the words. They were as follows: "Do not come again. In a +day or two I will be able to do what I have to do. I will send you later +news to your office. Impatience will not help you."--These words were +written hastily on a piece of paper that looked as if it had been torn +from a pad. In spite of the haste the writer had been at some pains to +disguise the handwriting. But it was a clumsy disguise, done by one not +accustomed to such tricks, and it was evidently done by a woman. All she +had known how to do to disguise her writing had been to twist and turn +the paper while writing, so that every letter had a different position. +The letters were also made unusually long. This peculiarity of the +writing was seen on both letters and both envelopes. The earlier letter +was still shorter and seemed to have been written with the same haste, +and with the same disgust, or perhaps even hatred, for the man to whom +it was written. + +"Come to-morrow, but not before eight o'clock. He has gone away. God +forgive him and you." This was the contents of the letter of the 17th of +March. That is, the writer had penned the letter this way. But the last +two words, "and you," had evidently not come from her heart, for she had +annulled them by a heavy stroke of the pen. A stroke that seemed like a +knife thrust, so full of rage and hate it was. + +"So he was called to a rendezvous in Hietzing, too," murmured Muller, +then he added after a few moments: "But this rendezvous had nothing +whatever to do with love." + +There was nothing else in Winkler's room which could be of any value to +Muller in the problem that was now before him. And yet he was very well +satisfied with the result of his errand. + +He entered his cab again, ordering the driver to take him to Hietzing. +Just before he had reached the corner where he had told the man to stop, +another cab passed them, a coupe, in which was a solitary woman. Muller +had just time enough to recognise this woman as Adele Bernauer, and to +see that she looked even more haggard and miserable than she had that +morning. She did not look up as the other cab passed her carriage, +therefore she did not see Muller. The detective looked at his watch and +saw that it was almost half-past four. The unexpected meeting changed, +his plans for the afternoon. He had decided that he must enter the +Thorne mansion again that very day, for he must find out the meaning of +the red-shaded lamp. And now that the housekeeper was away it would be +easier for him to get into the house, therefore it must be done at once. +His excuse was all ready, for he had been weighing possibilities. +He dismissed his cab a block from his own home and entered his house +cautiously. + +Muller's lodgings consisted of two large rooms, really much too large +for a lone man who was at home so little. But Muller had engaged them +at first sight, for the apartment possessed one qualification which was +absolutely necessary for him. Its situation and the arrangement of its +doors made it possible for him to enter and leave his rooms without +being seen either by his own landlady or by the other lodgers in the +house. The little apartment was on the ground floor, and Muller's own +rooms had a separate entrance opening on to the main corridor almost +immediately behind the door. Nine times out of ten, he could come and go +without being seen by any one in the house. To-day was the first +time, however, that Muller had had occasion to try this particular +qualification of his new lodgings. + +He opened the street door and slipped into his own room without having +seen or been seen by any one. + +Fifteen minutes later he left the apartment again, but left it such a +changed man that nobody who had seen him go in would have recognised +him. Before he came out, however, he looked about carefully to see +whether there was any one in sight He came out unseen and was just +closing the main door behind him, when he met the janitress. + +"Were you looking for anybody in the house?" said the woman, glancing +sharply at the stranger, who answered in a slightly veiled voice: "No, +I made a mistake in the number. The place I am looking for is two houses +further down." + +He walked down the street and the woman looked after him until she saw +him turn into the doorway of the second house. Then she went into her +own rooms. The house Muller entered happened to be a corner house with +an entrance on the other street, through which the detective passed +and went on his way. He was quite satisfied with the security of his +disguise, for the woman who knew him well had not recognised him at all. +If his own janitress did not know him, the people in the Thorne house +would never imagine it was he. + +And indeed Muller was entirely changed. In actuality small and thin, +with sparse brown hair and smooth shaven face, he was now an inch or two +taller and very much stouter. He wore thick curly blond hair, a little +pointed blond beard and moustache. His eyes were hidden by heavy-rimmed +spectacles. + +It was just half-past five when he rang the bell at the entrance gate to +the Thorne property. He had spent the intervening time in the cafe, +as he was in no hurry to enter the house. Franz came down the path and +opened the door. "'What do you want?" he asked. + +"I come from Siemens & Halske; I was to ask whether the other man--" + +"Has been here already?" interrupted Franz, adding in an irritated tone, +"No, he hasn't been here at all." + +"Well, I guess he didn't get through at the other place in time. I'll +see what the trouble is," said the stranger, whom Franz naturally +supposed to be the electrician, he opened the gate and asked the other +to come in, leading him into the house. Under a cloudy sky the day +was fading rapidly. Muller knew that it would not occur to the real +electrician to begin any work as late as this, and that he was perfectly +safe in the examination he wanted to make. + +"Well, what's the trouble here? Why did you write to our firm?" asked +the supposed electrician. + +"The wires must cross somewhere, or there's something wrong with the +bells. When the housekeeper touches the button in her room to ring for +the cook or the upstairs girl, the bell rings in Mr. Thorne's room. It +starts ringing and it keeps up with a deuce of a noise. Fortunately the +family are away." + +"Well, we'll fix it all right for you. First of all I want to look at +the button in the housekeeper's room." + +"I'll take you up there," said Franz. + +They walked through the wide corridor, then turned into a shorter, +darker hall and went up a narrow winding stairway. Franz halted before +a door in the second story. It was the last of the three doors in +the hall. Muller took off his hat as the door opened and murmured a +"good-evening." + +"There's no one there; Mrs. Bernauer's out." + +"Has she gone away, too?" asked the electrician hastily. + +Franz did not notice that there was a slight change in the stranger's +voice at this question, and he answered calmly as ever: "Oh, no; she's +just driven to town. I think she went to see the doctor who lives quite +a distance away. She hasn't been feeling at all well. She took a cab +to-day. I told her she ought to, as she wasn't well enough to go by the +tram. She ought to be home any moment now." + +"Well, I'll hurry up with the job so that I'll be out of the way when +the lady comes," said Muller, as Franz led him to the misbehaving bell. + +It was in the wall immediately above a large table which filled the +window niche so completely that there was but scant space left for the +comfortable armchair that stood in front of it. The window was open and +Muller leaned out, looking down at the garden below. + +"What a fine old garden!" he exclaimed aloud. To himself he said: "This +is the last window in the left wing. It is the window where Johann Knoll +saw the red light." + +And when he turned back into the room again he found the source of this +light right at his hand on the handsome old table at which Mrs. Bernauer +evidently spent many of her hours. A row of books stood against the +wall, framing the back of the table. Well-worn volumes of the classics +among them gave proof that the one-time nurse was a woman of education. +A sewing basket and neat piles of house linen, awaiting repairs, covered +a large part of the table-top, and beside them stood a gracefully shaped +lamp, covered by a shade of soft red silk. + +It took Muller but a few seconds to see all this. Then he set about +his investigation of the electric button. He unscrewed the plate and +examined the wires meeting under it. While doing so he cast another +glance at the table and saw a letter lying there, an open letter half +out of its envelope. This envelope was of unusual shape, long and +narrow, and the paper was heavy and high-glossed. + +"Your housekeeper evidently has no secrets from the rest of you," Muller +remarked with a laugh, still busy at the wires, "or she wouldn't leave +her letters lying about like that." + +"Oh, we've all heard what's in that letter," replied Franz. "She read it +to us when it came this morning. It's from the Madam. She sent messages +to all of us and orders, so Mrs. Bernauer read us the whole letter. +There's no secrets in that." + +"The button has been pressed in too far and caught down. That seems to +be the main trouble," said Muller, readjusting the little knob. "I'd +like a candle here if I may have one." + +"I'll get you a light at once," said Franz. But his intentions, however +excellent, seemed difficult of fulfilment. It was rapidly growing dark, +and the old butler peered about uncertainly. "Stupid," he muttered. "I +don't know where she keeps the matches. I can't find them anywhere. I'm +not a smoker, so I haven't any in my pocket." + +"Nor I," said Muller calmly, letting his hand close protectingly over a +new full box of them in his own pocket. + +"I'll get you some from my own room," and Franz hurried away, his loose +slippers clattering down the stairs. He was no sooner well out of the +room than Muller had the letter in his hand and was standing close by +the window to catch the fading light. But on the old servant's return +the supposed electrician stood calmly awaiting the coming of the light, +and the letter was back on the table half hidden by a piece of linen. +Franz did not notice that the envelope was missing. And the housekeeper, +whose mind was so upset by the events of the day, and whose thoughts +were on other more absorbing matters, would hardly be likely to remember +whether she had returned this quite unimportant letter to its envelope +or not. + +Franz brought a lighted candle with him, and Muller, who really did +possess a creditable knowledge of electricity, saw that the wires in +the room were all in good condition. As he had seen at first, there was +really nothing the matter except with the position of the button. But it +did not suit his purpose to enlighten Franz on the matter just yet. + +"Now I'd better look at the wires in the gentleman's room," he said, +when he had returned plate and button to their place. + +"Just as you say," replied Franz, taking up his candle and leading the +way out into the hall and down the winding stair. They crossed the lower +corridor, mounted another staircase and entered a large, handsomely +furnished room, half studio, half library. The wall was covered with +pictures and sketches, several easels stood piled up in the corner, and +a broad table beside them held paint boxes, colour tubes, brushes, all +the paraphernalia of the painter, now carefully ordered and covered for +a term of idleness. Great bookcases towered to the ceiling, and a huge +flat top desk, a costly piece of furniture, was covered with books and +papers. It was the room of a man of brains and breeding, a man of talent +and ability, possessing, furthermore, the means to indulge his tastes +freely. Even now, with its master absent, the handsome apartment bore +the impress of his personality. The detective's quick imagination called +up the attractive, sympathetic figure of the man he had seen at the +gate, as his quick eye took in the details of the room. All the charm of +Herbert Thorne's personality, which the keen-sensed Muller had felt so +strongly even in that fleeting glimpse of him, came back again here +in the room which was his own little kingdom and the expression of his +mentality. + +"Well, what's the trouble here? Where are the wires?" asked the +detective, after the momentary pause which had followed his entrance +into the room. Franz led him to a spot on the wall hidden by a marquetry +cabinet. "Here's the bell, it rings for several minutes before it +stops." + +The light of the candle which the butler held fell upon a portrait +hanging above the cabinet. It was a sketch in water-colours, the +life-sized head of a man who may have been about thirty years old, +perhaps, but who had none of the freshness and vigour of youth. The +scanty hair, the sunken temples, and the faded skin, emphasised the look +of dissipation given by the lines about the sensual mouth and the shifty +eyes. + +"Well, say, can't your master find anything better to paint than a face +like that?" Muller asked with a laugh. + +"Goodness me! you mustn't say such things!" exclaimed Franz in alarm; +"that's the Madam's brother. He's an officer, I'd have you know. It's +true, he doesn't look like much there, but that's because he's not in +uniform. It makes such a difference." + +"Is the lady anything like her brother?" asked the detective +indifferently, bending to examine the wiring. + +"Oh, dear, no, not a bit; they're as different as day and night. He's +only her half-brother anyway. She was the daughter of the Colonel's +second wife. Our Madam is the sweetest, gentlest lady you can imagine, +an angel of goodness. But the Lieutenant here has always been a care +to his family, they say. I guess he's quieted down a bit now, for his +father--he's Colonel Leining, retired--made him get exchanged from the +city to a small garrison town. There's nothing much to do in Marburg, +I dare say--well! you are a merry sort, aren't you?" These last words, +spoken in a tone of surprise, were called forth by a sudden sharp +whistle from the detective, a whistle which went off into a few merry +bars. + +A sudden whistle like that from Muller's lips was something that made +the Imperial Police Force sit up and take notice, for it meant that +things were happening, and that the happenings were likely to become +exciting. It was a habit he could control only by the severest effort of +the will, an effort which he kept for occasions when it was absolutely +necessary. Here, alone with the harmless old man, he was not so much +on his guard, and the sudden vibrating of every nerve at the word +"Marburg," found vent in the whistle which surprised old Franz. One +young police commissioner with a fancy for metaphor had likened this +sudden involuntary whistle of Muller's to the bay of the hound when he +strikes the trail; which was about what it was. + +"Yes, I am merry sometimes," he said with a laugh. "It's a habit I have. +Something occurred to me just then, something I had forgotten. Hope you +don't mind." + +"Oh, no, there's no one here now, whistle all you like." + +But Muller's whistle was not a continuous performance, and he had now +completely mastered the excitation of his nerves which had called it +forth. He threw another sharp look at the picture of the man who lived +in Marburg, and then asked: "And now where is the button?" + +"By the window there, beside the desk." Franz led the way with his +candle. + +"Why, how funny! What are those mirrors there for?" asked the +electrician in a tone of surprise, pointing to two small mirrors hanging +in the window niche. They were placed at a height and at such a peculiar +angle that no one could possibly see his face in them. + +"Something the master is experimenting with, I guess. He's always making +queer experiments; he knows a lot about scientific things." + +Muller shook his head as if in wonderment, and bent to investigate the +button which was fastened into the wall beneath the window sill. His +quick ear heard a carriage stopping in front of the house, and heard the +closing of the front door a moment later. To facilitate his examination +of the button, the detective had seated himself in the armchair which +stood beside the desk. He half raised himself now to let the light +of the candle fall more clearly on the wiring--then he started up +altogether and threw a hasty glance at the mirrors above his head. A ray +of light had suddenly flashed down upon him--a ray of red light, and it +came reflected from the mirrors. Muller bit his lips to keep back the +betraying whistle. + +"What's the matter?" asked the butler. "Did you drop anything?" + +"Yes, the wooden rim of the button," replied Muller, telling the truth +this time. For he had held the little wooden circlet in his hands at the +moment when the red light, reflected down from the mirrors, struck full +upon his eyes. He had dropped it in his surprise and excitement. Franz +found the little ring in the centre of the room where it had rolled, +and the supposed electrician replaced it and rose to his feet, saying: +"There, I've finished now." + +Franz did not recognise the double meaning in the words. "Yes, it's all +right! I've finished here now," Muller repeated to himself. For now he +knew beyond a doubt that the red light was a signal--and he knew +also for whom this signal was intended. It was a signal for Herbert +Thorne!--Herbert Thorne, whom no single thought or suspicion of Muller's +had yet connected with the murder of Leopold Winkler. + +The detective was very much surprised and greatly excited. But Franz did +not notice it, and indeed a far keener observer than the slow-witted old +butler might have failed to see the sudden gleam which shot up in the +grey eyes behind the heavy spectacles, might have failed to notice the +tightening of the lips beneath the blond moustache, or the tenseness of +the slight frame under the assumed embonpoint. Muller's every nerve was +tingling, but he had himself completely in hand. + +"What do we owe you?" asked Franz. + +"They'll send you a bill from the office. It won't amount to much. I +must be getting on now." + +Muller hastened out of the door and down the street to the nearest cab +stand. There were not very many cab stands in this vicinity, and the +detective reasoned that Mrs. Bernauer would naturally have taken her +cab from the nearest station. He had heard her return in her carriage, +presumably the same in which she had started out. + +There was but one cab at the stand. Muller walked to it and laid his +hand on the door. + +"Oh, Jimmy! must I go out again?" asked the driver hoarsely. "Can't you +see the poor beast is all wet from the last ride? We've just come in." +He pointed with his whip to the tired-looking animal under his blanket. + +"Why, he does look warm. You must have been making a tour out into the +country," said the blond gentleman in a friendly tone. + +"No, sir, not quite so far as that. I've just taken a woman to the main +telegraph office in the city and back again. But she was in a hurry and +he's not a young horse, sir." + +"Well, never mind, then; I can get another cab across the bridge," +replied the stout blond man, turning away and strolling off leisurely +in the direction of the bridge. It was now quite dark, and a few +steps further on Muller could safely turn and take the road to his own +lodging. No one saw him go in, and in a few moments the real Muller, +slight, smooth-shaven, sat down at his desk, looking at the papers that +lay before him. They were three letters and an empty envelope. + +He took up the last, and compared it carefully with the envelope of one +of the letters found in Winkler's room--the unsigned letter postmarked +Hietzing, September 24th. The two envelopes were exactly alike. They +were of the same size and shape, made of the same cream-tinted, heavy, +glossy paper, and the address was written by the same hand. This any +keen observer, who need not necessarily be an expert, could see. The +same hand which had addressed the envelope to Mrs. Adele Bernauer on +the letter which was postmarked "Venice," about thirty-six hours +previous--this hand had, in an awkward and childish attempt at disguise, +written Winkler's address on the envelope which bore the date of +September 24th. + +The writer of the harmless letter to Mrs. Bernauer, a letter which +chatted of household topics and touched lightly on the beauties of +Venice, was Mrs. Thorne. It was Mrs. Thorne, therefore, who, reluctantly +and in anger and distaste, had called Leopold Winkler to Hietzing, to +his death. + +And whose hand had fired the shot that caused his death? The question, +at this stage in Muller's meditation, could hardly be called a question +any more. It was all too sadly clear to him now. Winkler met his death +at the hand of the husband, who, discovering the planned rendezvous, had +misunderstood its motive. + +For truly this had been no lovers' meeting. It had been a meeting to +which the woman was driven by fear and hate; the man by greed of gain. +This was clearly proved by the 300 guldens found in the dead man's +pocket, money enclosed in a delicate little envelope, sealed hastily, +and crumpled as if it had been carried in a hot and trembling hand. + +It was already known that Winkler never had any money except at certain +irregular intervals, when he appeared to have come into possession +of considerable sums. During these days he indulged in extravagant +pleasures and spent his money with a recklessness which proved that he +had not earned it by honest work. + +Leopold Winkler was a blackmailer. + +Colonel Leining, retired, the father of two such widely different +children, was doubtless a man of stern principles, and an army officer +as well, therefore a man with a doubly sensitive code of honour and a +social position to maintain; and this man, morbidly sensitive probably, +had a daughter who had inherited his sensitiveness and his high ideals +of honour, a daughter married to a rich husband. But he had another +child, a son without any sense of honour at all, who, although also an +officer, failed to live in a manner worthy his position. This son was +now in Marburg, where there were no expensive pleasures, no all-night +cafes and gambling dens, for a man to lose his time in, his money, and +his honour also. + +For such must have been the case with Colonel Leining's son before his +exile to Marburg. The old butler had hinted at the truth. The portrait +drawn by Herbert Thorne, a picture of such technical excellence that it +was doubtless a good likeness also, had given an ugly illustration to +Franz's remarks. And there was something even more tangible to prove it: +"Theo's" letter from Marburg pleading with Winkler for "discretion and +silence," not knowing ("let us hope he did not know!" murmured Muller +between set teeth) that the man who held him in his power because of +some rascality, was being paid for his silence by the Lieutenant's +sister. + +It is easy to frighten a sensitive woman, so easy to make her believe +the worst! And there is little such a tender-hearted woman will not do +to save her aging father from pain and sorrow, perhaps even disgrace! + +It must have been in this way that Mrs. Thorne came into the power of +the scoundrel who paid with his life for his last attempt at blackmail. + +When Muller reached this point in his chain of thought, he closed his +eyes and covered his face with his hands, letting two pictures stand out +clear before his mental vision. + +He saw the little anxious group around the carriage in front of the +Thorne mansion. He saw the pale, frail woman leaning back on the +cushions, and the husband bending over her in tender care. And then he +saw Johann Knoll in his cell, a man with little manhood left in him, a +man sunk to the level of the brutes, a man who had already committed +one crime against society, and who could never rise to the mental or +spiritual standard of even the most mediocre of decent citizens. + +If Herbert Thorne were to suffer the just punishment for his deed of +doubly blind jealousy, then it was not only his own life, a life full +of gracious promise, that would be ruined, but the happiness of his +delicate, sweet-faced wife, who was doubtless still in blessed ignorance +of what had happened. And still one other would be dragged down by this +tragedy; a respected, upright man would bow his white hairs in disgrace. +Thorne's father-in-law could not escape the scandal and his own share +in the responsibility for it. And to a veteran officer, bred in the +exaggerated social ethics of his profession, such a disgrace means ruin, +sometimes even voluntary death. + +"Oh, dear, if it had only been Knoll who did it," said Muller with a +sigh that was almost a groan. + +Then he rose slowly and heavily, and slowly and heavily, as if borne +down by the weight of great weariness, he reached for his hat and coat +and left the house. + +Whether he wished it or not, he knew it was his duty to go on to the +bitter end on this trail he had followed up all day from the moment that +he caught that fleeting glimpse of Mrs. Bernauer's haggard face at the +garden gate. He was almost angry with the woman, because she chanced to +look out of the gate at just that moment, showing him her face distorted +with anxiety. For it was her face that had drawn Muller to the trail, a +trail at the end of which misery awaited those for whom this woman had +worked for years, those whom she loved and who treated her as one of the +family. + +Muller knew now that the one-time nurse was in league with her former +charge; that Thorne and Adele Bernauer were in each other's confidence; +that the man sat waiting for the signal which she was to give him, a +signal bringing so much disgrace and sorrow in its train. + +If the woman had not spied upon and betrayed her mistress, this terrible +event, which now weighed upon her own soul, would not have happened. + +"A faithful servant, indeed," said Muller, with a harsh laugh. + +Then maturer consideration came and forced him to acknowledge that it +was indeed devotion that had swayed Adele Bernauer, devotion to her +master more than to her mistress. This was hardly to be wondered at. But +she had not thought what might come from her revelations, what had come +of them. For now her pet, the baby who had once lain in her arms, the +handsome, gifted man whom she adored with more than the love of many a +mother for the child of her own blood, was under the shadow of hideous +disgrace and doom, was the just prey of the law for open trial and +condemnation as a murderer. + +Muller sighed deeply once more and then came one of those moments +which he had spoken of to the unhappy woman that very day. He felt like +cursing the fatal gift that was his, the gift to see what was hidden +from others, this something within him that forced him relentlessly +onward until he had uncovered the truth, and brought misery to many. + +Muller need not do anything, he need simply do nothing. Not a soul +besides himself suspected the dwellers in the Thorne mansion of any +connection with the murder. If he were silent, nothing could be proven +against Knoll after all, except the robbery which he himself had +confessed. Then the memory of the terror in the tramp's little reddened +eyes came back to the detective's mind. + +"A human soul after all, and a soul trembling in the shadow of a great +fear. And even he's a better man than the blackmailer who was killed. A +miscarriage of justice will often make a criminal of a poor fellow whose +worst fault is idleness." Muller's face darkened as the things of the +past, shut down in the depths of his own soul, rose up again. "No; +that's why I took up this work. Justice must be done--but it's bitter +hard sometimes. I could almost wish now that I hadn't seen that face at +the gate." + + + + +CHAPTER X. MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION + + +It was striking eight as Muller came out of a cafe in the heart of the +city. He had been in there but a few moments, for his purpose was merely +to look through the Army lists of the current year. The result of his +search proved the correctness of his conclusions. + +There was a Lieutenant Theobald Leining in the single infantry regiment +stationed at Marburg. + +Muller took a cab and drove to the main telegraph office. He asked for +the original of the telegram which had been sent that afternoon to the +address; "Herbert Thorne, Hotel Danieli, Venice." This closed the circle +of the chain. + +The detective re-entered his waiting cab and drove back to Hietzing. He +told the driver to halt at the corner of the street on which fronted the +Thorne mansion and to wait for him there. He himself walked slowly down +the quiet Street and rang the bell at the iron gate. + +"You come to this house again?" asked Franz, starting back in alarm when +he saw who it was that had called him to the door. + +"Yes, my good friend; I want to get into this house again. But not on +false pretenses this time. And before you let me in you can go upstairs +and ask Mrs. Bernauer if she will receive me in her own room--in her own +room, mind. But make haste; I am in a hurry." The detective's tone was +calm and he strolled slowly up and down in front of the gate when he had +finished speaking. + +The old butler hesitated a moment, then walked into the house. When he +returned, rather more quickly, he looked alarmed and his tone was very +humble as he asked Muller to follow him. + +When the detective entered Mrs. Bernauer's room the housekeeper rose +slowly from the large armchair in front of her table. She was very pale +and her eyes were full of terror. She made no move to speak, so Muller +began the conversation. He put down his hat, brought up a chair and +placed it near the window at which the housekeeper had been sitting. +Then he sat down and motioned to her to do the same. + +"You are a faithful servant, all too faithful," he began. "But you are +faithful only to your master. You have no devotion for his wife." + +"You are mistaken," replied the woman in a low tone. + +"Perhaps, but I do not think so. One does not betray the people to whom +one is devoted." + +Mrs. Bernauer looked up in surprise. "What--what do you know?" she +stammered. + +Muller did not answer the question directly, but continued: "Mrs. +Thorne had a meeting recently with a strange man. It was not their first +meeting, and somehow you discovered it. But before this last meeting +occurred you spoke to the lady's husband about it, and it was arranged +between you that you should give him a signal which would mean to him, +'Your wife is going to the meeting.' Mrs. Thorne did go to the meeting. +This happened on Monday evening at about quarter past nine. Some one, +who was in the neighbourhood by chance, saw a woman's figure hurrying +through the garden, down to the other street, and a moment after this, +the light of this lamp in your window was seen to go out. A hand had +turned down the wick--it was your hand. + +"This was the signal to Mr. Thorne. The mirrors over his desk reflected +in his eyes the light he could not otherwise have seen as he sat by his +own window. The signal, therefore, told him that the time had come to +act. This same chance watcher, who had seen the woman going through the +garden, had seen the lamp go out, and now saw a man's figure hurrying +down the path the woman had taken. The man as well as the woman came +from this house and went in the direction of the lower end of the +garden. + +"A little while later a shot was heard, and the next morning Leopold +Winkler was found with a bullet in his back. The crime was generally +taken to be a murder for the sake of robbery. But you and I, and Mr. +Herbert Thorne, know very well that it was not. + +"You know this since Wednesday noon. Then it was that the idea suddenly +came to you, falling like a heavy weight on your soul, the idea that +Winkler might not have been killed for the sake of robbery, but because +of the hatred that some one bore him. Then it was that you lost your +appetite suddenly, that you drove into the city with the excuse of +errands to do, in order to read the papers without being seen by any +one who knew you. When you came home you searched everywhere in your +master's room: you made an excuse for this search, but what you wanted +to find out was whether he had left anything that could betray him. Your +fright had already confused your mind. You were searching probably for +the weapon from which he had fired the bullet. You did not realise that +he would naturally have taken it with him and thrown it somewhere into +a ravine or river beside the railway track between here and Venice. How +could you think for a moment that he would leave it behind him, here in +his room, or dropped in the garden? But this was doubtless due to the +confusion owing to your sudden alarm and anxiety--a confusion which +prevented you from realising the danger of the two peculiarly hung +mirrors in Mr. Thorne's room. These should have been taken away at once. +This morning my sudden appearance at the garden gate prevented you from +making an examination of the place of the murder. Your swoon, after I +had spoken to you in the butler's room, showed me that you were carrying +a burden too heavy for your strength. Finally, this afternoon, you drove +to the main telegraph office in the city, as you thought that it would +be safer to telegraph Mr. Thorne from there. Your telegram was very +cleverly written. But you might have spared the last sentence, the +request that Mr. Thorne should get the Viennese papers of these last +days. Believe me, he has already read these papers. Who could be more +interested in what they have to tell than he?" + +The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller's long +speech. Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When the +detective ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room for some +time. Finally Muller asked: "Is this what happened?" His voice was +cutting and the glance of his eyes keen and sharp. + +Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller waited a +moment more and then he said quietly: "Then it is true." + +"Yes, it is true," came the answer in a low hoarse tone. + +Again there was silence for an appreciable interval. + +"If you had been faithful to your mistress as well, if you had not +spied upon her and betrayed her to her husband, all this might not have +happened," continued the detective pitilessly, adding with a bitter +smile: "And it was not even a case of sinful love. Your mistress had +no such relations with this Winkler as you--I say this to excuse +you--seemed to believe." + +Adele Bernauer sprang up. "I do not need this excuse," she cried, +trembling in excitement. "I do not need any excuse. What I have done +I did after due consideration and in the realisation that it was +absolutely necessary to do it. Never for one moment did I believe that +my mistress was untrue to her husband. Never for one moment could I +believe such an evil thing of her, for I knew her to be an angel of +goodness. A woman who is deceiving her husband is not as unhappy as this +poor lady has been for months. A woman does not write to a successful +lover with so much sorrow, with so many tears. I had long suspected +these meetings before I discovered them, but I knew that these meetings +had nothing whatever to do with love. Because I knew this, and only +because I knew it, did I tell my master about them. I wanted him to +protect his wife, to free her from the wretch who had obtained some +power over her, I knew not how." + +"Ah! then that was it?" exclaimed Muller, and his eyes softened as he +looked at the sobbing woman who had sunk back into her chair. He laid +his hand on her cold fingers and continued gently: "Then you have really +done right, you have done only what was your duty. I pity you deeply +that you--" + +"That I have brought suspicion upon my master by my own foolishness?" +she finished the sentence with a pitifully sad smile. "If I could have +controlled myself, could have kept calm, nobody would have had a thought +or a suspicion that he--my pet, my darling--that it was he who was +forced, through some terrible circumstance of which I do not know, to +free his wife, in this manner, from the wretch who persecuted her." + +Mrs. Bernauer wrung her hands and gazed with despairing eyes at the man +who sat before her, himself deeply moved. + +Again there was a long silence. Muller could not find a word to comfort +the weeping woman. There was no longer anger in his heart, nothing but +the deepest pity. He took out his handkerchief and wiped away the drops +that were dimming his own eyes. + +"You know that I will have to go to Venice?" he asked. + +Mrs. Bernauer sprang up. "Officially?" she gasped, pale to her lips. + +He nodded. "Yes, officially of course. I must make a report at once to +headquarters about what I have learned. You can imagine yourself what +the next steps will be." + +Her deep sigh showed him that she knew as well as he. In the same +second, however, a thought shot through her brain, changing her whole +being. Her pale face glowed, her dulled eyes shot fire, and the fingers +with which she held Muller's hand tightly clasped, were suddenly +feverishly hot. + +"And you--you are still the only person who knows the truth?" she gasped +in his ear. + +The detective nodded. "And you thought you might silence me?" he asked +calmly. "That will not be easy--for you can imagine that I did not come +unarmed." + +Adele Bernauer smiled sadly. "I would take even this way to save Herbert +Thorne from disgrace, if I thought that it could be successful, and if +I had not thought of a milder way to silence a man who cannot be a +millionaire. I have served in this house for thirty-two years, I have +been treated with such generosity that I have been able to save almost +every cent of my wages for my old age. With the interest that has rolled +up, my little fortune must amount to nearly eight thousand gulden. I +will gladly give it to you, if you will but keep silence, if you will +not tell what you have discovered." She spoke gaspingly and sank down on +her knees before she had finished. + +"And Mr. Thorne also--" she continued hastily, as she saw no sign of +interest in Muller's calm face. Then her voice failed her. + +The detective looked down kindly on her grey hairs and answered: "No, +no, my good woman; that won't do. One cannot conceal one crime by +committing another. I myself would naturally not listen to your +suggestion for a moment, but I am also convinced that Mr. Thorne, to +whom you are so devoted, and who, I acknowledge, pleased me the very +first sight I had of him--I am convinced that he would not agree for a +moment to any such solution of the problem." + +"Then I can only hope that you will not find him in Venice," replied +Mrs. Bernauer, with utter despair in her voice and eyes. + +"I am not at all certain that I will find him in Venice when I leave +here to-morrow morning," said Muller calmly. + +"Oh! then you don't want to find him! Oh God! how good, how +inexpressibly good you are," stammered the woman, seizing at some vague +hope in her distraught heart. + +"No, you are mistaken again, Mrs. Bernauer. I will find Mr. Thorne +wherever he may be. But I may arrive in Venice too late to meet him +there. He may already be on his way home." + +"On his way home?" cried the housekeeper in terror, staggering where she +stood. + +Muller led her gently to a chair. "Sit down here and listen to me +calmly. This is what I mean. If Mr. Thorne has seen in the papers that a +man has been arrested and accused of the murder of Leopold Winkler, then +he will take the next train back and give himself up to the authorities. +That he makes no such move as long as he thinks there is no suspicion +on any one else, no possibility that any one else could suffer the +consequences of his deed--is quite comprehensible--it is only natural +and human." + +Adele Bernauer sighed deeply again and heavy tears ran down her cheeks, +in strange contrast to the ghost of a smile that parted her lips and +shone in her dimmed eyes. + +"You know him better than I do," she murmured almost inaudibly, "you +know him better than I do, and I have known him for so long." + +A moment later Muller had parted from the housekeeper with a warm, +sincere pressure of the hand. + +"Lieutenant Theobald Leining was here on a visit to his sister last +March, wasn't he?" the detective asked as Franz led him out of the gate. + +"Yes, sir; the Lieutenant was here just about that time," answered the +old man. + +"And he left here on the 16th of March?" + +"On the 16th? Why, it may have been--yes, it was the 16th--that is our +lady's birthday. He went away that day." Franz bowed a farewell to this +stranger who began to appear uncanny in his eyes, and shutting the gate +carefully he returned to the house. + +"What does the man want anyway?" he murmured to himself, shivering +involuntarily. Without knowing why he turned his steps towards Mrs. +Bernauer's room. He opened the door hesitatingly as if afraid of what he +might see there. He would not have been at all surprised if he had found +the housekeeper fainting on the floor as before. + +But she was not fainting this time. She was very much alive, for, to +Franz's great astonishment, she was busied at the packing of a valise. + +"Are you going away too?" asked Franz. Mrs. Bernauer answered in a voice +that was dull with weariness: "Yes, Franz, I am going away. Will you +please look up the time-tables of the Southern railroad and let me know +when the morning express leaves? And please order a cab in time for it. +I will depend upon you to look after the house in my absence. You +can imagine that it must be something very important that takes me to +Venice." + +"To Venice? Why, what are you going to Venice for?" + +"Never mind about that, Franz, but help me to pray that I may get there +in time." + +She almost pushed the old man out of the door with these last words and +shut and locked it behind him. + +She wanted to be alone with this hideous fear that was clutching at her +heart. For it was not to Franz that she could tell the thoughts that +came to her lips now as she sank down, wringing her hands, before a +picture of the Madonna: "Oh Holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord, plead for +me! let me be with my dear mistress when the terrible time comes +and they take her husband away from her, or, if preferring death to +disgrace, he ends his life by his own hand!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI. IN THE POLICE COURT + + +Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening, finishing +up some important papers. The quiet of an undisturbed night watch had +settled down on the busy police station. An occasional low murmur of +whispering voices floated up from the guardroom below, but otherwise the +stillness was broken only by the scratching of the commissioner's pen +and the rustle of the paper as he turned the leaves. It was a silence so +complete that a light step on the stair outside and the gentle turning +of the doorknob was heard distinctly and the commissioner looked up with +almost a start to see who was coming to his room so late. Joseph Muller +stood in the open door, awaiting his chief's official recognition. + +"Oh! it's you, Muller. So late? Come in. Anything new?" asked the +commissioner. "Have you succeeded in drawing a confession from that +stubborn tramp yet? You've been interviewing him, I take it?" + +"Yes, I had a long talk with Johann Knoll to-day." + +"Well, that ought to help matters along. Has he confessed? What could +you get out of him?" + +"Nothing, or almost nothing more than he told us here in the station, +sir. + +"The man's incredibly stubborn," said the commissioner. "If he could +only be made to understand that a free confession would benefit him more +than any one else! Well, don't look so down-cast about it, Muller. This +thing is going to take longer than we thought at first for such a simple +affair. But it's only a question of time until the man comes to his +senses. You'll get him to talk soon. You always do. And even if you +should fail here, this matter is not so very important, when we think of +all the other things you have done." Muller, standing front of the desk, +shook his head sadly. + +"But I haven't failed here, sir. More's the pity, I had almost said." + +"What!" The commissioner looked up in surprise. "I thought you just said +that you couldn't get anything more out of the accused." + +"Knoll has told us all he knows, sir. He did not murder Leopold +Winkler." + +"Hmph!" The commissioner's exclamation had a touch of acidity in it. +"Then, if he didn't murder him, who did?" + +"Herbert Thorne, painter, living in the Thorne mansion in B. Street, +Hietzing, now in Venice, Hotel Danieli. I ask for a warrant for his +arrest, sir, and orders to start for Venice on the early morning express +to-morrow." + +"Muller!... what the deuce does all this mean?" The commissioner sprang +up, his face flushing deeply as he leaned over the desk staring at the +sad quiet face of the little man opposite. "What are you talking about? +What does all this mean?" + +"It means, sir, that we now know who committed the murder in Hietzing. +Johann Knoll is innocent of anything more than the theft confessed by +himself. He took the purse and watch from the senseless form of the just +murdered man. The body was warm and still supple and the tramp supposed +the victim to be merely intoxicated. His story was in every respect +true, sir." + +The commissioner flushed still deeper. "And who do you say murdered this +man?" + +"Herbert Thorne, sir. + +"But Thorne! I know of him... have even a slight personal acquaintance +with him. Thorne is a rich man, of excellent family. Why should he +murder and rob an obscure clerk like this Winkler?" + +"He did not rob him sir, Knoll did that." + +"Oh, yes. But why should Thorne commit murder on this man who scarcely +touched his life at any point... It's incredible! Muller! Muller! are +you sure you are not letting your imagination run away with you again? +It is a serious thing to make such an accusation against any man, much +less against a man in Thorne's position. Are you sure of what you are +saying?" The commissioner's excitement rendered him almost inarticulate. +The shock of the surprise occasioned by the detective's words produced a +feeling of irritation... a phenomenon not unusual in the minds of worthy +but pedantic men of affairs when confronted by a startling new thought. + +"I am quite sure of what I am saying, sir. I have just heard the +confession of one who might be called an accomplice of the murderer." + +"It is incredible... incredible! An accomplice you say?... who is +this accomplice? Might it not be some one who has a grudge against +Thorne--some one who is trying to purposely mislead you?" + +"I am not so easily deceived or misled, sir. Every evidence points to +Thorne, and the confession I have just heard was made by a woman who +loves him, who has loved and cared for him from his babyhood. There is +not the slightest doubt of it, sir." + +Muller moved a step nearer the desk, gazing firmly in the eyes of the +excited commissioner. The sadness on the detective's face had given way +to a gleam of pride that flushed his sallow cheek and brightened his +grey eyes. It was one of those rare moments when Muller allowed +himself a feeling of triumph in his own power, in spite of official +subordination and years of habit. His slight frame seemed to grow taller +and broader as he faced the Chief with an air of quiet determination +that made him at once master of the situation. His voice was as low as +ever but it took on a keen incisive note that compelled attention, as he +continued: "Herbert Thorne is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. Now that +he knows an innocent man is under accusation for his deed it is only +a question of time before he will come himself to confess. He will +doubtless make this confession to me, if I go to Venice to see him, and +to bring him back to trial." + +The commissioner could doubt no longer. Pedantic though he was, +Commissioner von Riedau possessed sufficient insight to know the truth +when it was presented to him with such conviction, and also sufficient +insight to have recognised the gifts of the man before him. "But why... +why?" he murmured, sinking back into his chair, and shaking his head in +bewilderment. + +"Winkler was a miserable scoundrel, sir, a blackmailer. Thorne did only +what any decent man would have felt like doing in his place. But justice +must be done." + +Muller's elation vanished and a deep sigh welled up from his heart. The +commissioner nodded slowly, and glanced across the desk almost timidly. +This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly the hidden deeps +of a dark mystery had opened before him, deeps already sounded by +the little man here who had gone so quietly about his work while the +official police, represented in this case by Commissioner von Riedau +himself, had sat calmly waiting for an innocent man to confess to a +crime he had not committed! It was humiliating. The commissioner flushed +again and his eyes sank to the floor. + +"Tell me what you know, Muller," he said finally. + +Muller told the story of his experiences in the Thorne mansion, told of +the slight clues which led him to take an interest in the house and its +inmates, until finally the truth began to glimmer up out of the depths. +The commissioner listened with eager interest. "Then you believed this +elaborate yarn told by the tramp?" he interrupted once, at the beginning +of the narrative. + +"Why, yes, sir, just because it was so elaborate. A man like Knoll would +not have had the mind to invent such a story. It must have been true, on +the face of it." + +The commissioner's eyes sank again, and he did not speak until the +detective had reached the end of his story. Then he opened a drawer in +his desk and took out a bundle of official blank-forms. + +"It is wonderful! Wonderful! Muller, this case will go on record as one +of your finest achievements--and we thought it was so simple." + +"Oh, indeed, sir, chance favoured me at every turn," replied Muller +modestly. + +"There is no such thing as chance," said the commissioner. "We might as +well be honest with ourselves. Any one might have seen, doubtless +did see, all the things you saw, but no one else had the insight +to recognise their value, nor the skill to follow them up to such a +conclusion. But it's a sad case, a sad case. I never wrote a warrant +with a heavier heart. Thorne is a true-hearted gentleman, while the +scoundrel he killed..." + +"Yes, sir, I feel that way about it myself. I can confess now that there +was one moment when I was ready to--well, just to say nothing. + +"And let us blunder on in our official stupidity and blindness?" +interrupted the commissioner, a faint smile breaking the gravity of his +face. "We certainly gave you every opportunity." + +"But there's an innocent man accused--suffering fear of death--justice +must be done. But, sir," Muller took the warrant the commissioner handed +across the table to him. "May I not make it as easy as I can for Mr. +Thorne--I mean, bring him here with as little publicity as possible? His +wife is with him in Venice." + +"Poor little woman, it's terrible! Do whatever you think best, Muller. +You're a queer mixture. Here you've hounded this man down, followed hot +on his trail when not a soul but yourself connected him in any way with +the murder. And now you're sorry for him! A soft heart like yours is a +dangerous possession for a police detective, Muller. It's no aid to our +business." + +"No, sir, I know that." + +"Well take care it doesn't run away with you this time. Don't let +Herbert Thorne escape, however much pity you may feel for him." + +"I doubt if he'll want to sir, as long as another is in prison for his +crime. + +"But he may make his confession and then try to escape the disgrace." + +"Yes, sir, I've thought of that. That's why I want to go to Venice +myself. And then, there's the poor young wife, he must think of her when +the desire comes to end his own life..." + +"Yes! Yes! This terrible thing has shaken us both up more than a little. +I feel exhausted. You look tired yourself, Muller. Go home now, and get +some rest for your early start. Good-night." + +"Good-night, sir." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. ON THE LIDO + + +A wonderfully beautiful night lay over the fair old city of Venice +when the Northern Express thundered over the long bridge to the railway +station. A passenger who was alone in a second-class compartment stood +up to collect his few belongings. Suddenly he looked up as he heard a +voice, a voice which he had learned to know only very recently, calling +to him from the door of the compartment. + +"Why! you were in the train too? You have come to Venice?" exclaimed +Joseph Muller in astonishment as he saw Mrs. Bernauer standing there +before him. + +"Yes, I have come to Venice too. I must be with my dear lady--when--when +Herbert--" She had begun quite calmly, but she did not finish her +sentence, for loud sobs drowned the words. + +"You were in the next compartment? Why didn't you come in here with me? +It would have made this journey shorter for both of us." + +"I had to be alone," said the pale woman and then she added: "I only +came to you now to ask you where I must go." + +"I think we two had better go to the Hotel Bauer. Let me arrange things +for you. Mrs. Thorne must not see you until she has been prepared for +your coming. I will arrange that with her husband." + +The two took each other's hands. They had won respect and sympathy for +each other, this quiet man who went so relentlessly and yet so pityingly +about his duty in the interest of justice--and the devoted woman whose +faithfulness had brought about such a tragedy. + +The train had now entered the railway station. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer +stood a few minutes later on the banks of the Grand Canal and entered +one of the many gondolas waiting there. The moon glanced back from +the surface of the water broken into ripples under the oars of the +gondoliers; it shone with a magic charm on the old palaces that stood +knee-deep in the lagoons, and threw heavy shadows over the narrow +water-roads on which the little dark boats glided silently forward. +In most of the gondolas coming from the station excited voices and +exclamations of delight broke the calm of the moonlit evening as the +tourists rejoiced in the beauty that is Venice. + +But in the gondola in which Muller and Mrs. Bernauer sat there was deep +silence, silence broken only by a sobbing sigh that now and then burst +from the heart of the haggard woman. There were few travellers entering +Venice on one of its world-famous moonlit nights who were so sad at +heart as were these two. + +And there were few travellers in Venice as heavy hearted as was the man +who next morning took one of the earliest boats out to the Lido. + +Muller and Mrs. Bernauer were on the same boat watching him from a +hidden corner. The woman's sad eyes gazed yearningly at the haggard +face of the tall man who stood looking over the railing of the little +steamer. Her own tears came as she saw the gloom in the once shining +grey eyes she loved so well. + +Muller stood beside Mrs. Bernauer. His eyes too, keen and quick, +followed Herbert Thorne as he stood by the rail or paced restlessly up +and down; his face too showed pity and concern. He also saw that Thorne +held in his hand a bundle of newspapers which were still enclosed in +their mailing wrappers. The papers were pressed in a convulsive grip of +the artist's long slender fingers. + +Muller knew then that Thorne had not yet learned of the arrest of Johann +Knoll. At the very earliest, Thursday's papers, which brought the news, +could not reach him before Friday morning. But these newspapers (Muller +saw that they were German papers) were still in their wrappings. They +were probably Viennese papers for which he had telegraphed and which +had just arrived. His anxiety had not allowed him to read them in the +presence of his wife. He had sought the solitude of early morning on the +Lido, that he might learn, unobserved, what terrors fate had in store +for him. + +It was doubtless Mrs. Bernauer's telegram which caused his present +anxiety, a telegram which had reached him only the night before when he +returned with his wife from an excursion to Torcello. It had caused him +a sleepless night, for it had brought the realisation that his faithful +nurse suspected the truth about the murder in the quiet lane. The +telegram had read as follows: "Have drawn money and send it at once. +Further journey probably necessary, visitor in house to-day. Connected +with occurrence in -- Street. Please read Viennese papers. News and +orders for me please send to address A.B. General Postoffice." + +This telegram told Herbert Thorne the truth. And the papers which +arrived this morning were to tell him more--what he did not yet know. +But his heart was drawn with terrors which threw lines in his face and +made him look ten years older than on that Tuesday morning when the +detective saw him setting out on his journey with his wife. + +When the boat landed at the Lido, Thorne walked off down the road which +led to the ocean side. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer entered the waiting +tramway that took them in the same direction. They dismounted in front +of the bathing establishment, stepped behind a group of bushes and +waited there for Thorne. In about ten minutes they saw his tall figure +passing on the other side of the road. He was walking down to the beach, +holding the still unopened papers in his hand. + +A narrow strip of park runs along parallel to the beach in the direction +towards Mala Mocco. Muller and Mrs Bernauer walked along through this +park on the path which was nearest the water. The detective watched the +rapidly moving figure ahead of them, while the woman's tear-dimmed eyes +veiled everything else to her but the path along which her weary feet +hastened. Thorne halted about half way between the bathing establishment +and the customs barracks, looked around to see if he were alone and +threw himself down on the sand. + +He had chosen a good place. To the right and to the left were high sand +dunes, before him was the broad surface of the ocean, and at his back +was rising ground, bare sand with here and there a scraggly bush or +a group of high thistles. Herbert Thorne believed himself to be alone +here... as far as a man can be alone over whom hangs the shadow of a +crime. He groaned aloud and hid his pale face in his hands. + +In his own distress he did not hear the deep sigh--which, just above +him on the edge of the knoll, broke from the breast of a woman who was +suffering scarcely less than he; he did not know that two pair of sad +eyes looked down upon him. And now into the eyes of the watching woman +there shot a gleam of terror. For Herbert Thorne had taken a revolver +from his pocket and laid it quietly beside him. Then he took out a +notebook and a pencil and placed them beside the weapon. Then slowly, +reluctantly, he opened one of the papers. + +A light breeze from the shining sea before him carried off the wrapping. +The paper which he opened shook in his trembling hands, as his eyes +sought the reports of the murder. He gave a sudden start and a tremor +ran through his frame. He had come to the spot which told of the arrest +of another man, who was under shadow of punishment for the crime which +he himself had committed. When he had read this report through, he +turned to the other papers. He was quite calm now, outwardly calm at +least. + +When he had finished reading the papers he laid them in a heap beside +him and reached out for his notebook. As he opened it the two watchers +saw that between its first pages there was a sealed and addressed +letter. Two other envelopes were contained in the notebook, envelopes +which were also addressed although still open. Muller's sharp eyes could +read the addresses as Thorne took them up in turn, looking long at each +of them. One envelope was addressed in Italian to the Chief of Police of +Venice, the other to the Chief of Police in Vienna. + +The two watchers leaned forward, scarcely three yards above the man in +whom they were interested. Thorne tore out two leaves of his notebook +and wrote several lines on each of them. One note, he placed in the +envelope addressed to the Viennese police and sealed it carefully. Then +he put the sealed letter with the second note in the other envelope, the +one addressed to the Italian police. He put all the letters back in his +notebook, holding it together with a rubber strap, and replaced it in +his pocket. + +Then he stretched out his hand toward the revolver. + +The sand came rattling down upon him, the thistles bent over creakingly +and two figures appeared beside him. + +"There's time enough for that yet, Mr. Thorne," said the man at whom the +painter gazed up in bewilderment. And then this man took the revolver +quietly from his hand and hid it in his own pocket. + +Thorne pressed his teeth down on his lips until the blood came. He +could not speak; he looked first at the stranger who had mastered him so +completely, and then, in dazed astonishment, at the woman who had sunk +down beside him in the sand, clasping his hand in both of hers. + +"Adele! Adele! Why are you here?" he stammered finally. + +"I want to be with you--in this hour," she answered, looking at him with +eyes of worship. "I want to be with my dear lady--to comfort her--to +protect her when--when--" + +"When they arrest me?" Thorne finished the sentence himself. Then +turning to Muller he continued: "And that is why you are here?" + +"Yes, Mr. Thorne. I have a warrant for your arrest in my pocket. But I +think it will be unnecessary to make use of it in the customary official +way through the authorities here. I see that you have written to both +police stations--confessing your deed. This will amount to a voluntary +giving up of yourself to the authorities, therefore all that is +necessary is that I return with you in the same train which takes you to +Vienna. But I must ask you for those two letters, for until you yourself +give them to the police authorities in my presence, it is my duty to +keep them." + +Muller had seldom found his official duty as difficult as it was now. +His words came haltingly and great drops stood out on his forehead. + +The painter rose from the sand and he too wiped his face, which was +drawn in agony. + +"Herbert, Herbert!" cried Adele Bernauer suddenly. "Oh, Herbert, you +will live, you will! Promise me, you will not think of suicide, it would +kill your wife--" + +She lay on her knees before him in the sand. He looked down at her +gently and with a gesture which seemed to be a familiar one of days long +past, he stroked the face that had grown old and worn in these hours of +fear for him. + +"Yes, you dear good soul, I will live on, I will take upon myself my +punishment for killing a scoundrel. The poor man whom they have arrested +in my place must not linger in the fear of death. I am ready, sir. + +"My name is Muller--detective Muller." + +"Joseph Muller, the famous detective Muller?" asked Thorne with a sad +smile. "I have had little to do with the police but by chance I have +heard of your fame. I might have known; they tell me you are one from +whom the truth can never remain hidden." + +"My duty is not always an easy one," said Muller. + +"Thank you. Dispose of me as you will. I do not wish any privileges that +others would not have, Mr. Muller. Here is my written confession and +here am I myself. Shall we go now?" Herbert Thorne handed the detective +his notebook with its important contents and then walked slowly back +along the road he had come. + +Muller walked a little behind him, while Mrs. Bernauer was at his side. +As in days long past, they walked hand in hand. + +With eyes full of pity Muller watched them, and he heard Thorne give his +old nurse orders for the care of his wife. She was to take Mrs. Thorne +to Graz to her father, then to return herself to Vienna and take care of +the house as usual, until his attorney could settle up his affairs and +sell the property. For Thorne said that neither he nor his wife would +ever want to set foot in the house again. He spoke calmly, he thought of +everything--he thought even of the possibility that he might have to pay +the death penalty for his deed. + +For who could tell how the authorities would judge this murder? + +It had indeed been a murder by merest chance only. Thorne told his old +nurse all about it. When she had given him the signal he had hurried +down into the garden, and walking quietly along the path, he had +found his wife at the garden gate in conversation with a man who was +a stranger to him. That part of their talk which he overheard told him +that the man was a blackmailer, and that he was making money on the fact +that he had caught Theobald Leining cheating at cards. + +This chance had put the officer into Winkler's power. The clerk knew +that he could get nothing from the guilty man himself, so he had turned +to the latter's sister, who was rich, and had threatened to bring about +a disgraceful scandal if she did not pay for his silence. For more than +a year he had been getting money from her by means of these threats. +All this was clear from the conversation. The man spoke in tones of +impertinence, or sneering obsequiousness, the woman's voice showed +contempt and hatred. + +Thorne's blood began to boil. His fingers tightened about the revolver +which he had brought with him to be ready for any emergency, and he +stepped designedly upon a twig which broke under his feet with a noise. +He wanted to frighten his wife and send her back to the house. This was +what did occur. But the blackmailer was alarmed as well and fled hastily +from the garden when he realised that he was not alone with his victim. +Thorne followed the man's disappearing figure, calling him to halt. He +did not call loudly for he too wanted to avoid a scandal. His intention +was to force the man to follow him into the house, to get his written +confession of blackmail--then to finish him off with a large sum once +for all and kick him out of the place. + +In this manner Herbert Thorne thought to free himself and his wife from +the persecutions of the rascal. His heart was filled with hatred towards +the man. For since Mrs. Bernauer had told him what she had discovered, +he knew that it was because of this wretch that his once so happy wife +was losing her strength, her health and her peace of mind. + +He followed the fleeing man and called to him several times to halt. +Finally Winkler half turned and called out over his shoulder: "You'd +better leave me alone! Do you want all Vienna to know that your +brother-in-law ought to be in jail?" + +These words robbed Thorne of all control. He pressed the trigger under +his finger and the bullet struck the man before him, who had turned +to continue his flight, full in the back. "And that is how I became a +murderer." With these words Herbert Thorne concluded his narrative. He +appeared quite calm now. He was really calmer, for the strain of +the deed, which was justified in his eyes, was not so great upon his +conscience as had been the strain of the secret of it. + +In his own eyes he had only killed a beast who chanced to bear the form +of a man. But of course in the eyes of the world this was a murder like +any other, and the man who had committed it knew that he was under the +ban of the law, that it was only a chance that the arm of justice had +not yet reached out for him. And now this arm had reached out for him, +although it was no longer necessary. For Herbert Thorne was not the man +to allow another to suffer in his stead. + +As soon as he knew that another had been arrested and was under +suspicion of the murder, he knew that there was nothing more for him but +open confession. But he wished to avoid a scandal even now. If he +died by his own hand, then the first cause of all this trouble, his +brother-in-law's rascality, could still be hidden. + +But now his care was all in vain and Herbert Thorne knew that he must +submit to the inevitable. Side by side with his old friend he sat on the +deck of the boat that took them back to the Riva dei Schiavoni. Muller +sat at some distance from them. The pale sad-faced woman, and the pale +sad-faced man had much to say to each other that a stranger might not +hear. + +When the little boat reached the landing stage, there were but a few +steps more to the door of the Hotel Danieli. From a balcony on the first +floor a young woman stood looking down onto the canal. She too was pale +and her eyes were heavy with anxiety. She had been pale and anxious even +then, the day when she left the beautiful old house in the quiet street, +to start on this pleasure trip to Venice. + +It had been no pleasure trip to her. She had seen the change in her +husband, a change that struck deep into his very being and altered him +in everything except in his love and tender care for her. "Oh, why is +it? what is the matter?" she asked her self a thousand times a day. +Could it be possible that he had discovered the secret which tortured +her, the only secret she had ever had from him, the secret she had +longed to confess to him a hundred times but had lacked courage to do +it. + +For she had sinned deeply against her husband, she knew. Her fear and +her confusion had driven her deeper and deeper into the waters of +deceit until it was impossible for her to find the words that would have +brought help and comfort from the man whom she loved more than anything +else in the world. In the very earliest stages of Winkler's persecution +she had lost her head completely and instead of confessing to her +husband and asking for his aid and protection, she had pawned the rich +jewels which had been his wedding present to get the money demanded +by the blackmailer. In her ignorance she had thought that this one sum +would satisfy him. + +But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved from +her pin money, from her household allowance, thus taking what she had +intended to use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, and her +jewels gone forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a terror which +sapped her strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. Any hour +might bring discovery, a discovery which she feared would shake her +husband's love for her. The poor weak little woman grew pale and ill. +She wrote finally to her step-brother, but he could think of no way +out; he wrote only that if the matter came to a scandal there would be +nothing for him to do but to kill himself. This was one reason more for +her silence, and Mrs. Thorne faded to a wan shadow of her former sunny +self. + +As she looked down from the balcony, she was like a woman suffering +from a deathly illness. A new terror had come to her heart because her +husband had gone away so early without telling her why or whither he had +gone. When she saw him coming towards the door of the hotel, pale and +drooping, and when she saw Mrs. Bernauer beside him, her heart seemed to +stand still. She crept back from the window and stood in the middle of +the room as Herbert Thorne and his former nurse entered. + +"What has happened?" This was all she could say as she looked into the +distraught face of the housekeeper, into her husband's sad eyes. + +He led her to a chair, then knelt beside her and told her all. + +"Outside the door stands the man who will take me back to Vienna--and +you, my dearest, you must go to your father." He concluded his story +with these words. + +She bent down over him and kissed him. "'No, I am going with you," she +said softly, strangely calm; "why should I leave you now? Is it not I +who am the cause of this dreadful thing?" + +And then she made her confession, much too late. And she went with him, +back to the city of their home. It seemed to them both quite natural +that she should do so. + +When the Northern Express rolled out of Venice that afternoon, three +people sat together in a compartment, the curtains of which were drawn +close. They were the unhappy couple and their faithful servant. And +outside in the corridor of the railway carriage, a small, slight man +walked up and down--up and down. He had pressed a gold coin into the +conductor's hand, with the words: "The party in there do not wish to be +disturbed; the lady is ill." + +Herbert Thorne's trial took place several weeks later. Every possible +extenuating circumstance was brought to bear upon his sentence. Five +years only was to be the term of his imprisonment, his punishment for +the crime of a single moment of anger. + +His wife waited for him in patient love. She did not go to Graz, but +continued to live in the old mansion with the mansard roof. Her father +was with her. The brother Theobald, the cause of all this suffering to +those who had shielded him at the expense of their own happiness, had at +last done the only good deed of his life--had put an end to his useless +existence with his own hand. + +Father and daughter waited patiently for the return of the man who had +sinned and suffered for their sake. They spoke of him only in terms of +the tenderest affection and respect. + +And indeed, seldom has any condemned murderer met with the respect of +the entire community as Herbert Thorne did. The tone of the newspapers, +and public opinion, evinced by hundreds of letters from friends, +acquaintances, and from strangers, was a great boon to the solitary man +in his cell, and to the three loving hearts in the old house. And at +the end of two years the clemency of the Monarch ended his term of +imprisonment, and Herbert Thorne was set free, a step which met with the +approval of the entire city. + +He returned to the home where love and affection awaited him, ready to +make him forget what he had suffered. But the silver threads in his dark +hair and a certain quiet seriousness in his manner, and in the hearts of +all the dwellers in the old mansion, showed that the occurrence of that +fatal 27th of September had thrown a shadow over them all which was not +to be shaken off. + +Joseph Muller brought many other cases to a successful solution. But for +years after this particular case had been won, he was followed, as by +a shadow, by a man who watched over him, and who, whenever danger +threatened, stood over the frail detective as if to take the blow upon +himself. He is a clever assistant, too, and no one who had seen Johann +Knoll the day that he was put into the cell on suspicion of murder +would have believed that the idle tramp could become again such a useful +member of society. These are the victories that Joseph Muller considers +his greatest. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Lamp That Went Out, by Augusta Groner + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT *** + +***** This file should be named 1832.txt or 1832.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/3/1832/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +This Etext prepared by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer. + + + + +The Case of The Lamp That Went Out + +by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner + + + + + +INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER + +Joseph Muller, Secret Service detective of the Imperial Austrian +police, is one of the great experts in his profession. In +personality he differs greatly from other famous detectives. He +has neither the impressive authority of Sherlock Holmes, nor the +keen brilliancy of Monsieur Lecoq. Muller is a small, slight, +plain-looking man, of indefinite age, and of much humbleness of +mien. A naturally retiring, modest disposition, and two external +causes are the reasons for Muller's humbleness of manner, which +is his chief characteristic. One cause is the fact that in early +youth a miscarriage of justice gave him several years in prison, +an experience which cast a stigma on his name and which made it +impossible for him, for many years after, to obtain honest +employment. But the world is richer, and safer, by Muller's +early misfortune. For it was this experience which threw him +back on his own peculiar talents for a livelihood, and drove him +into the police force. Had he been able to enter any other +profession, his genius might have been stunted to a mere pastime, +instead of being, as now, utilised for the public good. + +Then, the red tape and bureaucratic etiquette which attaches to +every governmental department, puts the secret service men of the +Imperial police on a par with the lower ranks of the subordinates. +Muller's official rank is scarcely much higher than that of a +policeman, although kings and councillors consult him and the +Police Department realises to the full what a treasure it has in +him. But official red tape, and his early misfortune ... prevent +the giving of any higher official standing to even such a genius. +Born and bred to such conditions, Muller understands them, and +his natural modesty of disposition asks for no outward honours, +asks for nothing but an income sufficient for his simple needs, +and for aid and opportunity to occupy himself in the way he most +enjoys. + +Joseph Muller's character is a strange mixture. The +kindest-hearted man in the world, he is a human bloodhound when +once the lure of the trail has caught him. He scarcely eats or +sleeps when the chase is on, he does not seem to know human +weakness nor fatigue, in spite of his frail body. Once put on +a case his mind delves and delves until it finds a clue, then +something awakes within him, a spirit akin to that which holds +the bloodhound nose to trail, and he will accomplish the apparently +impossible, he will track down his victim when the entire machinery +of a great police department seems helpless to discover anything. +The high chiefs and commissioners grant a condescending permission +when Muller asks, "May I do this? ... or may I handle this case +this way?" both parties knowing all the while that it is a farce, +and that the department waits helpless until this humble little +man saves its honour by solving some problem before which its +intricate machinery has stood dazed and puzzled. + +This call of the trail is something that is stronger than anything +else in Muller's mentality, and now and then it brings him into +conflict with the department, ... or with his own better nature. +Sometimes his unerring instinct discovers secrets in high places, +secrets which the Police Department is bidden to hush up and leave +untouched. Muller is then taken off the case, and left idle for +a while if he persists in his opinion as to the true facts. And +at other times, Muller's own warm heart gets him into trouble. He +will track down his victim, driven by the power in his soul which +is stronger than all volition; but when he has this victim in the +net, he will sometimes discover him to be a much finer, better man +than the other individual, whose wrong at this particular criminal's +hand set in motion the machinery of justice. Several times that +has happened to Muller, and each time his heart got the better of +his professional instincts, of his practical common-sense, too, +perhaps, ... at least as far as his own advancement was concerned, +and he warned the victim, defeating his own work. This peculiarity +of Muller's character caused his undoing at last, his official +undoing that is, and compelled his retirement from the force. But +his advice is often sought unofficially by the Department, and to +those who know, Muller's hand can be seen in the unravelling of +many a famous case. + +The following stories are but a few of the many interesting cases +that have come within the experience of this great detective. +But they give a fair portrayal of Muller's peculiar method of +working, his looking on himself as merely an humble member of the +Department, and the comedy of his acting under "official orders" +when the Department is in reality following out his directions. + + + + + +THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT + +by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE DISCOVERY + + +The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The +air was so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where +the city's buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the +town the rays of the awakening sun danced in crystalline ether +and struck answering gleams from the dew on grass and shrub in +the myriad gardens of the suburban streets. + +It was still very early. The old-fashioned steeple clock on the +church of the Holy Virgin in Hietzing had boomed out six slow +strokes but a short time back. Anna, the pretty blonde girl who +carried out the milk for the dwellers in several streets of this +aristocratic residential suburb, was just coming around the corner +of the main street into a quiet lane. This lane could hardly be +dignified by the name of street as yet, it was so very quiet. It +had been opened and named scarcely a year back and it was bordered +mostly by open gardens or fenced-in building lots. There were four +houses in this street, two by two opposite each other, and another, +an old-fashioned manor house, lying almost hidden in its great +garden. But the quiet street could not presume to ownership of +this last house, for the front of it opened on a parallel street, +which gave it its number. Only the garden had a gate as outlet +onto our quiet lane. + +Anna stopped in front of this gate and pulled the bell. She had +to wait for some little time until the gardener's wife, who acted +as janitress, could open the door. But Anna was not impatient, +for she knew that it was quite a distance from the gardener's +house in the centre of the great stretch of park to the little +gate where she waited. In a few moments, however, the door was +opened and a pleasant-faced woman exchanged a friendly greeting +with the girl and took the cans from her. + +Anna hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four houses +in that street were already served and she was now bound for the +homes of customers several squares away. Then her step slowed just +a bit. She was a quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace of +this bright morning sank into her heart and made her rejoice in +its beauty. All around her the foliage was turning gently to its +autumn glory of colouring and the dewdrops on the rich-hued leaves +sparkled with an unusual radiance. A thrush looked down at her +from a bough and began its morning song. Anna smiled up at the +little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune. + +But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her flushed +cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to the +ground. With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let the +burden of the milk cans drop gently from her shoulder to the ground. +In following the bird's flight her eyes had wandered to the side of +the street, to the edge of one of the vacant lots, there where a +shallow ditch separated it from the roadway. An elder-tree, the +great size of which attested its age, hung its berry-laden branches +over the ditch. And in front of this tree the bird had stopped +suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick movement of the wild +creature surprised by fright. What the bird had seen was the same +vision that halted the song on Anna's lips and arrested her foot. +It was the body of a man - a young and well-dressed man, who lay +there with his face turned toward the street. And his face was the +white frozen face of a corpse. + +Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, in +wide-eyed terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to pull +herself together again. A few steps and then she turned and broke +into a run. When she reached the end of the street, breathless +from haste and excitement, she found herself in one of the main +arteries of traffic of the suburb, but owing to the early hour +this street was almost as quiet as the lane she had just left. +Finally the frightened girl's eyes caught sight of the figure of +a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet him +and recognised him as the officer of that beat. + +"Why, what is the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so excited?" + +"Down there-in the lane, there's a dead man," answered the girl, +gasping for breath. + +"A dead man?" repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the girl. +"Are you sure he's dead?" + +Anna nodded. "His eyes are all glassy and I saw blood on his back." + +"Well, you're evidently very much frightened, and I suppose you +don't want to go down there again. I'll look into the matter, if +you will go to the police station and make the announcement. Will +you do it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"All right, then, that will gain time for us. Good-bye, Miss Anna." + +The man walked quickly down the street, while the girl hurried off +in the opposite direction, to the nearest police station, where she +told what she had seen. + +The policeman reached his goal even earlier. The first glance told +him that the man lying there by the wayside was indeed lifeless. +And the icy stiffness of the hand which he touched showed him that +life must have fled many hours back. Anna had been right about the +blood also. The dead man lay on the farther side of the ditch, half +down into it. His right arm was bent under his body, his left arm +was stretched out, and the stiffened fingers ... they were slender +white fingers ... had sought for something to break his fall. All +they had found was a tall stem of wild aster with its purple blossoms, +which they were holding fast in the death grip. On the dead man's +back was a small bullet-wound and around the edges of it his light +grey coat was stained with blood. His face was distorted in pain +and terror. It was a nice face, or would have been, did it not show +all too plainly the marks of dissipation in spite of the fact that +the man could not have been much past thirty years old. He was a +stranger to the policeman, although the latter had been on this +beat for over three years. + +When the guardian of the law had convinced himself that there was +nothing more to do for the man who lay there, he rose from his +stooping position and stepped back. His gaze wandered up and down +the quiet lane, which was still absolutely empty of human life. +He stood there quietly waiting, watching over the ghastly discovery. +In about ten minutes the police commissioner and the coroner, +followed by two roundsmen with a litter, joined the solitary watcher, +and the latter could return to his post. + +The policemen set down their litter and waited for orders, while +the coroner and the commissioner bent over the corpse. There was +nothing for the physician to do but to declare that the unfortunate +man had been dead for many hours. The bullet which struck him in +the back had killed him at once. The commissioner examined the +ground immediately around the corpse, but could find nothing that +pointed to a struggle. There remained only to prove whether there +had been a robbery as well as a murder. + +"Judging from the man's position the bullet must have come from +that direction," said the commissioner, pointing towards the +cottages down the lane. + +"People who are killed by bullets may turn several times before +they fall," said a gentle voice behind the police officer. The +voice seemed to suit the thin little man who stood there meekly, +his hat in his hand. + +The commissioner turned quickly. "Ah, are you there already, +Muller?" he said, as if greatly pleased, while the physician broke +in with the remark: + +"That's just what I was about to observe. This man did not die +so quickly that he could not have made a voluntary or involuntary +movement before life fled. The shot that killed him might have +come from any direction." + +The commissioner nodded thoughtfully and there was silence for a +few moments. Muller - for the little thin man was none other +than the celebrated Joseph Muller, one of the most brilliant +detectives in the service of the Austrian police - looked down at +the corpse carefully.. He took plenty of time to do it and +nobody hurried him. For nobody ever hurried Muller; his well-known +and almost laughable thoroughness and pedantry were too valuable in +their results. It was a tradition in the police that Muller was to +have all the time he wanted for everything. It paid in the end, +for Muller made few mistakes. Therefore, his superior the police +commissioner, and the coroner waited quietly while the little man +made his inspection of the corpse. + +"Thank you," said Muller finally, with a polite bow to the +commissioner, before he bent to brush away the dust on his knees. + +"Well?" asked Commissioner Holzer. + +Muller smiled an embarrassed smile as he replied: + +"Well ... I haven't found out anything yet except that he is dead, +and that he has been shot in the back. His pockets may tell us +something more." + +"Yes, we can examine them at once," said the commissioner. "I +have been delaying that for I wanted you here; but I had no idea +that you would come so soon. I told them to fetch you if you were +awake, but doubted you would be, for I know you have had no sleep +for forty-eight hours." + +"Oh, I can sleep, at least with one eye, when I'm on the chase," +answered the detective. "So it's really only twenty-four hours, +you see." Muller had just returned from tracking down an +aristocratic swindler whom he had found finally in a little French +city and had brought back to a Viennese prison. He had returned +well along in the past night and Holzer knew that the tired man +would need his rest. Still he had sent for Muller, who lived near +the police station, for the girl's report had warned him that this +was a serious case. And in serious cases the police did not like +to do without Muller's help. + +And as usual when his work called him, Muller was as wide awake as +if he had had a good night's sleep behind him. The interest of a +new case robbed him of every trace of fatigue. It was he alone - at +his own request - who raised the body and laid it on its back before +he stepped aside to make way for the doctor. + +The physician opened the dead man's vest to see whether the bullet +had passed completely through the body. But it had not; there was +not the slightest trace of blood upon the shirt. + +"There's nothing more for me to do here, Muller," said the +physician, as he bowed to the commissioner and left the place. + +Muller examined the pockets of the dead man. + +"It's probably a case of robbery, too," remarked the commissioner. +"A man as well-dressed as this one is would be likely to have a +watch." + +"And a purse," added the detective. "But this man has neither - or +at least he has them no longer." + +In the various pockets of the dead man's clothes Muller found the +following articles: a handkerchief, several tramway tickets, a +penknife, a tiny mirror, and comb, and a little book, a cheap +novel. He wrapped them all in the handkerchief and put them in his +own pocket. The dead man's coat had fallen back from his body +during the examination, and as Muller turned the stiffened limbs +a little he saw the opening of another pocket high up over the +right hip of the trousers. The detective passed his hand over the +pocket and heard something rattle. Then he put his hand in the +pocket and drew out a thin narrow envelope which he handed to the +commissioner. Holzer looked at it carefully. It was made of very +thin expensive paper and bore no address. But it was sealed, +although not very carefully, for the gummed edges were open in +spots. It must have been hastily closed and was slightly crushed +as if it had been carried in a clenched hand. The commissioner +cut open the envelope with his penknife. He gave an exclamation +of surprise as he showed Muller the contents. In the envelope +there were three hundred-gulden notes. + +The commissioner looked at Muller without a word, but the detective +understood and shook his head. "No," he said calmly, "it may be a +case of robbery just the same. This pocket was not very easy to +find, and the money in it was safer than the dead man's watch and +purse would be. That is, if he had a watch and purse - and he very +probably had a watch," he added more quickly. + +For Muller had made a little discovery. On the lower hem of the +left side of the dead man's waistcoat he saw a little lump, and +feeling of it he discovered that it was a watch key which had +slipped down out of the torn pocket between the lining and the +material of the vest. A sure proof that the dead man had had a +watch, which in all probability had been taken from him by his +murderer. There was no loose change or small bills to be found +in any of the pockets, so that it was more than likely that the +dead man had had his money in a purse. It seemed to be a case +of murder for the sake of robbery. At least Muller and the +commissioner believed it to be one, from what they had discovered +thus far. + +The police officer gave his men orders to raise the body and to +take it to the morgue. An hour later the unknown man lay in the +bare room in which the only spot of brightness were the rays of +the sun that crept through the high barred windows and touched his +cold face and stiffened form as with a pitying caress. But no, +there was one other little spot of brightness in the silent place. +It was the wild aster which the dead man's hand still held tightly +clasped. The little purple flowers were quite fresh yet, and the +dewdrops clinging to them greeted the kiss of the sun's rays with +an answering smile. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG + + +As soon as the corpse had been taken away, the police commissioner +returned to the station. But Muller remained there all alone to +make a thorough examination of the entire vicinity. + +It was not a very attractive spot, this particular part of the +street. There must have been a nursery there at one time, for +there were still several ordered rows of small trees to be seen. +There were traces of flower cultivation as well, for several +trailing vines and overgrown bushes showed where shrubs had been +grown which do not usually grow without man's assistance. +Immediately back of the old elder tree Muller found several fine +examples of rare flowers, or rather he found the shrubs which his +experienced eye recognised as having once borne these unusual +blossoms. One or two blooms still hung to the bushes and the +detective, who was a great lover of flowers, picked them and put +them in his buttonhole. While he did this, his keen eyes were +darting about the place taking in all the details. This vacant +lot had evidently been used as an unlicensed dumping ground for +some time, for all sorts of odds and ends, old boots, bits of +stuff, silk and rags, broken bottles and empty tin cans, lay about +between the bushes or half buried in the earth. What had once +been an orderly garden was now an untidy receptacle for waste. +The pedantically neat detective looked about him in disgust, then +suddenly he forgot his displeasure and a gleam shot up in his eye. +It was very little, the thing this man had seen, this man who saw +so much more than others. + +About ten paces from where he stood a high wooden fence hemmed in +the lot. The fence belonged to the neighbouring property, as the +lot in which he stood was not protected in any way. To the back +it was closed off by a corn field where the tall stalks rustled +gently in the faint morning breeze. All this could be seen by +anybody and Muller had seen it all at his first glance. But now +he had seen something else. Something that excited him because +it might possibly have some connection with the newly discovered +crime. His keen eyes, in glancing along the wooden fence at his +right hand, had caught sight of a little twig which had worked its +way through the fence. This twig belonged to a willow tree which +grew on the other side, and which spread its grey-green foliage +over the fence or through its wide openings. One of the little +twigs which had crept in between the planks was broken, and it +had been broken very recently, for the leaves were still fresh +and the sap was oozing from the crushed stem. Muller walked over +to the fence and examined the twig carefully. He soon saw how +it came to be broken. The broken part was about the height of a +man's knee from the ground. And just at this height there was +quite a space between two of the planks of the fence, heavy +planks which were laid cross-ways and nailed to thick posts. It +would have been very easy for anybody to get a foothold in this +open space between the planks. + +It was very evidently some foot thrust in between the planks which +had broken the little willow twig, and its soft rind had left a +green mark on the lower plank. "I wonder if that has anything to +do with the murder," thought Muller, looking over the fence +into the lot on the other side. + +This neighbouring plot was evidently a neglected garden. It had +once worn an aristocratic air, with stone statues and artistic +arrangement of flower beds and shrubs. It was still attractive +even in its neglected condition. Beyond it, through the foliage +of its heavy trees, glass windows caught the sunlight. Muller +remembered that there was a handsome old house in this direction, +a house with a mansard roof and wide-reaching wings. He did not +now know to whom this handsome old house belonged, a house that +must have been built in the time of Maria Theresa, ... but he was +sure of one thing, and that was that he would soon find out to +whom it belonged. At present it was the garden which interested +him, and he was anxious to see where it ended. A few moments' +further inspection showed him what he wanted to know. The garden +extended to the beginning of the park-like grounds which surrounded +the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron railing separated +the garden from the park, but this railing did not extend down as +far as the quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, well-built +wooden fence. Along the street side of the fence there was a high +thick hedge. Muller walked along this hedge until he came to a +little gate. Then crossing the street, he saw that the house whose +windows glistened in the sunlight was a house which he knew well +from its other side, its front facade. + +Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away from +this to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He examined +every foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen that +was of any interest to him-not a footprint, or anything to prove +that some one else had passed that way a short time before. And +yet it would have been impossible to pass that way without leaving +some trace, for the ground was cut up in all directions by mole +hills. + +Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as would +come into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse had +been found. There was nothing to be seen there either, and Muller +was obliged to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing that +would lead to an understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, the +broken willow twig should prove to be a clue. He sprang back +across the ditch, turned up the edges of his trousers where they +had been moistened by the dew and walked slowly along the dusty +street. He was no longer alone in the lane. An old man, accompanied +by a large dog, came out from one of the new houses and walked +towards the detective, he was very evidently going in the direction +of the elder-tree, which had already been such a centre of interest +that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, touched his +cap and asked in a confidential tone: "I suppose you've been to +see the place already?" + +"Which place?" was Muller's reserved answer. + +Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was murdered. +They found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it and +told me. I suppose everybody round here will know it soon." + +"Was there a man murdered here?" asked Muller, as if surprised by +the news. + +"Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don't understand why I didn't +hear the shot. I couldn't sleep a wink all night for the pain in +my bones." + +"You live near here, then?" + +"Yes, I live in No.1. Didn't you see me coming out?" + +"I didn't notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I stooped +to turn up my trousers so that they wouldn't get dusty - it must +have been then you came out." + +"Why, then you must have been right near the place I was talking +about. Do you see that elder tree there? It's the only one in +the street, and the girl who brings the milk found the man under it. +The police have been here already and have taken him away. They +discovered him about six o'clock and now it's just seven." + +"And you hadn't any suspicion that this dreadful thing was +happening so near you?" asked the detective casually. + +"I didn't know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn't have +been a fight or I would have heard it. But I don't know why I +didn't hear the shot." + +"Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your +pain," said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the +man back to the place from which he had just come. + +The old man shook his head. "No, I tell you I didn't close an +eye all night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two +pipes before I put out the light, and then I heard every hour +strike all night long and it wasn't until nearly five o'clock, +when it was almost dawn, that I dozed off a bit." + +"Then it is astonishing that you didn't hear anything!" + +"Sure it's astonishing! But it's still more astonishing that my +dog Sultan didn't hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I'd +have you know. He'll growl if anybody passes through the street +after dark, and I don't see why he didn't notice what was going on +over there last night. If a man's attacked, he generally calls for +help; it's a queer business all right." + +"Well, Sultan, why didn't you make a noise?" asked Muller, patting +the dog's broad head. Sultan growled and walked on indifferently, +after he had shaken off the strange hand. + +"He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into the +country with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on the +way back we stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or two +himself occasionally, and that usually makes him sleep. I had hard +work to bring him home. We got here just a few minutes before +half-past nine and I tell you we were both good and tired." + +By this time they had come to the elder-tree and the old man's +stream of talk ceased as he stood before the spot where the +mysterious crime had occurred. He looked down thoughtfully at the +grass, now trampled by many feet. "Who could have done it?" he +murmured finally, with a sigh that expressed his pity for the victim. + +"Hietzing is known to be one of the safest spots in Vienna," +remarked Muller. + +"Indeed it is, sir; indeed it is. As it would well have to be with +the royal castles right here in the neighbourhood! Indeed it would +have to be safe with the Court coming here all the time." + +"Why, yes, you see more police here than anywhere else in the city." + +"Yes, they're always sticking their nose in where they're not +necessary," remarked the old man, not realising to whom he was +speaking. "They fuss about everything you do or don't do, and yet +a man can be shot down right under our very noses here and the +police can't help it." + +"But, my dear sir, it isn't always possible for the police to +prevent a criminal carrying out his evil intention," said Muller +good-naturedly. + +"Well, why not? if they watch out sharp enough?" + +"The police watch out sharper than most people think. But they +can't catch a man until he has committed his crime, can they?" + +"No, I suppose not," said the old man, with another glance at the +elder-tree. He bowed to Muller and turned and walked away. + +Muller followed him slowly, very much pleased with this meeting, for +it had given him a new clue. There was no reason to doubt the old +man's story. And if this story was true, then the crime had been +committed before half-past nine of the evening previous. For the +old man - he was evidently the janitor in No.1 - had not heard the +shot. + +Muller left the scene of the crime and walked towards the four +houses. Before he reached them he had to pass the garden which +belonged to the house with the mansard roof. Right and left of +this garden were vacant lots, as well as on the opposite side +of the street. Then came to the right and left the four new houses +which stood at the beginning of the quiet lane. Muller passed them, +turned up a cross street and then down again, into the street +running parallel, to the lane, a quiet aristocratic street on +which fronted the house with the mansard roof. + +A carriage stood in front of this house, two great trunks piled +up on the box beside the driver. A young girl and an old man in +livery were placing bags and bundles of rugs inside the carriage. +Muller walked slowly toward the carriage. Just as he reached the +open gate of the garden he was obliged to halt, to his own great +satisfaction. For at this moment a group of people came out from +the house, the owners of it evidently, prepared for a journey and +surrounded by their servants. + +Beside the old man and the young girl, there were two other women, +one evidently the housekeeper, the other possibly the cook. The +latter was weeping openly and devoutly kissing the hand of her +mistress. The housekeeper discovered that a rug was missing and +sent the maid back for it, while the old servant helped the lady +into the carriage. The door of the carriage was wide open and +Muller had a good glimpse of the pale, sweet-faced and +delicate-looking young women who leaned back in her corner, +shivering and evidently ill. The servants bustled about, making +her comfortable, while her husband superintended the work with +anxious tenderness. He was a tall, fine-looking man with deep-set +grey eyes and a rich, sympathetic voice. He gave his orders to +his servants with calm authority, but he also was evidently +suffering from the disease of our century - nervousness, for +Muller saw that the man's hands clenched feverishly and that his +lips were trembling under his drooping moustache. + +The maid hastened down with the rug and spread it over her +mistress's knees, as the gentleman exclaimed nervously: "Do +hurry with that! Do you want us to miss the train?" + +The butler closed the door of the carriage, the coachman gathered +up the reins and raised his whip. The housekeeper bowed low and +murmured a few words in farewell and the other servants followed +her example with tears in their eyes. "You'll see us again in +six weeks," the lady called out and her husband added: "If all +goes well." Then he motioned to the waiting driver and the +carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in a few moments. + +The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind the +high gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to resume +his walk, when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led back +through a flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded it +on the sides and rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She came +so quickly that one might almost call it running. She was evidently +excited about something. Muller imagined what this something might +be, and he remained to hear what she had to say. He was not +mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs. Schmiedler, the gardener's wife, +began her story at once. "Haven't you heard yet?" she said +breathlessly. "No, you can't have heard it yet or you wouldn't +stand there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer." + +"What's the matter?" asked the woman whom Muller took to be the +housekeeper. + +"They killed a man last night out here! They found his body just +now in the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told me +as I was going to the store, so I went right back to look at the +place, and I came to tell you, as I didn't think you'd heard it yet." + +Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and of +an equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an +excited hubbub of talk while she remained quite indifferent and +calm. "One more poor fellow who had to leave the world before he +was ready," she remarked calmly, with just the natural touch of +pity in her voice that would come to any warm-hearted human being +upon hearing of such an occurrence. She did not seem at all +excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the crime had been +so near. + +The other servants were very much more excited and had already +rushed off, under the guidance of the gardener's wife, to look at +the dreadful spot. Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to +close the front gate in his excitement, and the housekeeper turned +to do it now. + +"The fools, see them run," she exclaimed half aloud. "As if +there was anything for them to do there." + +The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to the +house. Muller walked on also, going first to the police station +to report what he had discovered. Then he went to his own rooms +and slept until nearly noon. On his return to the police station +he found that notices of the occurrence had already been sent out +to the papers. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE EVENING PAPER + + +The autopsy proved beyond a doubt that the murdered man had been +dead for many hours before the discovery of his body. The bullet +which had struck him in the back had pierced the trachea and +death had occurred within a few minutes. The only marks for +identification of the body were the initials L. W. on his underwear. +The evening paper printed an exact description of the man's +appearance and his clothing. + +It was about ten o'clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a widow +living in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city from +Hietzing, returned from her morning marketing. It was only a few +little bundles that she brought with her and she set about preparing +her simple dinner. Her packages were wrapped in newspapers, which +she carefully smoothed out and laid on the dresser. + +Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and the +little pension which she received from the company, as well as the +money she could earn for herself, did not permit of the indulgence +in a daily newspaper. And yet the reading of the papers was the +one luxury for which the simple woman longed. Her grocer, who was +a friend of years, knew this and would wrap up her purchases in +papers of recent date, knowing that she could then enjoy them in +her few moments of leisure. To-day this leisure came unexpectedly +early, for Mrs. Klingmayer had less work than usual to attend to. + +Her little flat consisted of two rooms and a kitchen with a large +closet opening out from it. She lived in the kitchen and rented +the front rooms. Her tenants were a middle-aged man, inspector +in a factory, who had the larger room; and a younger man who was +bookkeeper in an importing house in the city. But this young man +had not been at home for forty-eight hours, a fact, however, which +did not greatly worry his landlady. The gentleman in question +lived a rather dissipated life and it was not the first time that +he had remained away from home over night. It is true that it was +the first time that he had not been home for two successive nights. +But as Mrs. Klingmayer thought, everything has to happen the first +time sometime. "It's not likely to be the last time," the worthy +woman thought. + +At all events she was rather glad of it to-day, for she suffered +from rheumatism and it was difficult for her to get about. The +young man's absence saved her the work of fixing up his room that +morning and allowed her to get to her reading earlier than usual. +When she had put the pot of soup on the fire, she sat down by the +window, adjusted her big spectacles and began to read. To her +great delight she discovered that the paper she held in her hand +bore the date of the previous afternoon. In spite of the good +intentions of her friend the grocer, it was not always that she +could get a paper of so recent date, and she began to read with +doubled anticipation of pleasure. + +She did not waste time on the leading articles, for she understood +little about politics. The serial stories were a great delight to +her, or would have been, if she had ever been able to follow them +consecutively. But her principal joy were the everyday happenings +of varied interest which she found in the news columns. To-day she +was so absorbed in the reading of them that the soup pot began to +boil over and send out rivulets down onto the stove. Ordinarily +this would have shocked Mrs. Klingmayer, for the neatness of her +pots and pans was the one great care of her life. But now, strange +to relate, she paid no attention to the soup, nor to the smell and +the smoke that arose from the stove. She had just come upon a +notice in the paper which took her entire attention. She read it +through three times, and each time with growing excitement. This +is what she read: + + MURDER IN HIETZING + + This morning at six o'clock the body of a man about 30 years + old was discovered in a lane in Hietzing. The man must have + been dead many hours. He had been shot from behind. The dead + man was tall and thin, with brown eyes, brown hair and moustache. + The letters L. W. were embroidered in his underwear. There was + nothing else discovered on him that could reveal- his identity. + His watch and purse were not in his pockets: presumably they had + been taken by the murderer. A strange fact is that in one of + his pockets - a hidden pocket it is true - there was the sum of + 300 guldens in bills. + + +This was the notice which made Mrs. Klingmayer neglect the soup pot. + +Finally the old woman stood up very slowly, threw a glance at the +stove and opened the window mechanically. Then she lifted the pots +from the fire and set them on the outer edge of the range. And +then she did something that ordinarily would have shocked her +economical soul - she poured water on the fire to put it out. + +When she saw that there was not a spark left in the stove, she went +into her own little room and prepared to go out. Her excitement +caused her to forget her rheumatism entirely. One more look around +her little kitchen, then she locked it up and set out for the centre +of the city. + +She went to the office of the importing house where her tenant, +Leopold Winkler, was employed as bookkeeper. The clerk at the door +noticed the woman's excitement and asked her kindly what the trouble +was. + +"I'd like to speak to Mr. Winkler," she said eagerly. + +"Mr. Winkler hasn't come in yet," answered the young man. "Is +anything the matter? You look so white! Winkler will probably +show up soon, he's never very punctual. But it's after eleven +o'clock now and he's never been as late as this before." + +"I 'don't believe he'll ever come again," said the old woman, +sinking down on a bench beside the 'door. + +"Why, what do you mean?" asked the clerk. "Why shouldn't he come +again?" + +"Is the head of the firm here?" asked Mrs. Klingmayer, wiping her +forehead with her handkerchief. The clerk nodded and hurried away +to tell his employer about the woman with the white face who came +to ask for a man who, as she expressed it, "would never come there +again." + +"I don't think she's quite right in the head," he volunteered. The +head of the firm told him to bring the woman into the inner office. + +"Who are you, my good woman?" he asked kindly, softened by the +evident agitation of this poorly though neatly dressed woman. + +"I am Mr. Winkler's landlady," she answered. + +"Ah! and he wants you to tell me that he's sick? I'm afraid I can't +believe all that this gentleman says. I hope he's not asking your +help to lie to me. Are you sure that his illness is anything else +but a case of being up late?" + +"I don't think that he'll ever be sick again - I didn't come with +any message from him, sir; please read this, sir." And she handed +him the newspaper, showing him the notice. While the gentleman was +reading she added: "Mr. Winkler didn't come home last night either." + +Winkler's employer read the few lines, then laid the paper aside +with a very serious face. "When did you see him last?" he asked of +the woman. + +"Day before yesterday in the morning. He went away about half-past +eight as he usually does," she replied. And then she added a +question of her own: "Was he here day before yesterday?" + +The merchant nodded and pressed an electric bell. Then he rose from +his seat and pulled up a chair for his visitor. "Sit down here. +This thing has frightened you and you are no longer young." When +the servant entered, the merchant told him to ask the head bookkeeper +to come to the inner office. + +When this official appeared, his employer inquired: +"When did Winkler leave here day before yesterday?" + +"At six o'clock, sir, as usual." + +"He was here all day without interruption?" + +"Yes, sir, with the exception of the usual luncheon hour." + +"Did he have the handling of any money Monday?" + +"No, sir." + +"Thank you, Mr. Pokorny," said the merchant, handing his employee +the evening paper and pointing to the notice which had so interested +him. + +Pokorny read it, his face, like his employer's, growing more serious. +"It looks almost as if it must be Winkler, sir," he said, in a few +moments. + +"We will soon find that out. I should like to go to the police +station myself with this woman; she is Winkler's landlady - but I +think it will be better for you to accompany her. They will ask +questions about the man which you will be better able to answer +than I." + +Pokorny bowed and left the room. Mrs. Klingmayer rose and was about +to follow, when the merchant asked her to wait a moment and inquired +whether Winkler owed her anything. "I am sorry that you should have +had this shock and the annoyances and trouble which will come of it, +but I don't want you to be out of pocket by it." + +"No, he doesn't owe me anything," replied the honest old woman, +shaking her head. A few big tears rolled down over her withered +cheeks, possibly the only tears that were shed for the dead man +under the elder-tree. But even this sympathetic soul could find +nothing to say in his praise. She could feel pity for his dreadful +death, but she could not assert that the world had lost anything +by his going out of it. As if saddened by the impossibility of +finding a single good word to say about the dead man, she left the +office with drooping head and lagging step. + +Pokorny helped her into the cab that was already waiting before the +door. The office force had got wind of the fact that something +unusual had occurred and were all at the windows to see them drive +off. The three clerks who worked in the department to which Winkler +belonged gathered together to talk the matter over. They were none +of them particularly hit by it, but naturally they were interested +in the discovery in Hietzing, and equally naturally, they tried to +find a few good words to say about the man whose life had ended so +suddenly. + +The youngest of them, Fritz Bormann, said some kind words and was +about to wax more enthusiastic, when Degenhart, the eldest clerk, +cut in with the words: "Oh, don't trouble yourself. Nobody ever +liked Winkler here. 'He was not a good man - he was not even a +good worker. This is the first time that he has a reasonable excuse +for neglecting his duties." + +"Oh, come, see here! how can you talk about the poor man that way +when he's scarcely cold in death yet," said Fritz indignantly. + +Degenhart laughed harshly. + +"Did I ever say anything else about him while he was warm and alive? +Death is no reason for changing one's opinion about a man who was +good-for-nothing in life. And his death was a stroke of good luck +that he scarcely deserved. He died without a moment's pain, with a +merry thought in his head, perhaps, while many another better man +has to linger in torture for weeks. No, Bormann, the best I can +say about Winkler is that his death makes one nonentity the less on +earth." + +The older man turned to his desk again and the two younger clerks +continued the conversation: "Degenhart appears to be a hard man," +said Fritz, "but he's the best and kindest person I know, and he's +dead right in what he says. It was simply a case of conventional +superstition. I never did like that Winkler." + +"No, you're right," said the other. Neither did I and I don't +know why, for the matter of that. He seemed just like a thousand +others. I never heard of anything particularly wrong that he did." + +"No, no more did I," continued Bormann, "but I never heard of +anything good about him either. And don't you think that it's worse +for a man to seem to repel people by his very personality, rather +than by any particular bad thing that he does?" + +"Yes. I don't know how to explain it, but that's just how I feel +about it. I had an instinctive feeling that there was something +wrong about Winkler, the sort of a creepy, crawly feeling that a +snake gives you." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD + + +Meanwhile Pokomy and Mrs. Klingmayer had reached the police station +and were going upstairs to the rooms of the commissioner on service +for the day. Like all people of her class, Mrs. Klingmayer stood +in great awe and terror of anything connected with the police or +the law generally. She crept slowly and tremblingly up the stairs +behind the head bookkeeper and was very glad when she was left alone +for a few minutes while Pokorny went in to see the commissioner. +But as soon as his errand was known, both the bookkeeper and his +companion were led into the office of Head Commissioner Dr. von +Riedau, who had charge of the Hietzing murder case. + +When Dr. von Riedau heard the reason of their coming, his interest +was immediately aroused, and he pulled a chair to his side for the +little thin man with whom he had been talking when the two strangers +were ushered in. + +"Then you believe you could identify the murdered man?" asked the +commissioner. + +"From the general description and the initials on his linen, I +believe it must be Leopold Winkler," answered Pokorny. "Mrs. +Klingmayer has not seen him since Monday morning, nor has she had +any message from him. He left the office Monday afternoon at 6 +o'clock and that was the last time that we saw him. The only thing +that makes me doubt his identity is that the paper reports that +three hundred gulden were found in his pocket. Winkler never seemed +to have money, and I do not understand how he should have been in +possession of such a sum." + +"The money was found in the dead man's pockets," said the +commissioner. "And yet it may be Winkler, the man you know. +Muller, will you order a cab, please?" + +I have a cab waiting for me. But it only holds two," volunteered +Pokorny. + +"That doesn't matter, I'll sit on the box," answered the man +addressed as Muller. + +"You are going with us?" asked Pokorny. + +"Yes, he will accompany you," replied the commissioner. "This is +detective Muller, sir. By a mere chance, he happened to be on hand +to take charge of this case and he will remain in charge, although +it may be wasting his talents which we need for more difficult +problems. If you or any one else have anything to tell us, it must +be told only to me or to Muller. And before you leave to look at +the body, I would like to know whether the dead man owned a watch, +or rather whether he had it with him on the day of the murder." + +"Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch," answered Mrs. +Klingmayer. + +Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: "Yes, sir; +Winkler had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was a +large watch, very thick. I happen to have noticed it by chance +and also I happen to know that he had not had the watch for very +long." + +"Can you tell us anything more about the watch?" asked the +commissioner of the landlady. + +"Yes, sir; there was engraving on the outside cover, initials, and +a crown on the other side." + +"What were the initials?" + +"I don't know that, sir; at least I'm not sure about it. There +were so many twists and curves to them that I couldn't make them +out. I think one of them was a W though, sir." + +"The other was probably an L then." + +"That might be, sir." + +"The younger clerks in the office may be able to tell something more +about the watch," said Pokorny, "for they were quite interested in +it for a while. It was a handsome watch and they were envious of +Winkler's possession of it. But he was so tactless in his boasting +about it that they paid no further attention to him after the first +excitement." + +"You say he didn't have the watch long?" + +"Since spring I think, sir." + +"He brought it home on the 19th of March," interrupted Mrs. +Klingmayer. "I remember the day because it was my birthday. I +pretended that he had brought it home to me for a present." + +"Was he in the habit of making you presents?" + +"Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir. + +"Well, perhaps he didn't have much money to be generous with. Now +tell me about his watch chain. I suppose he had a watch chain?" + +Both the bookkeeper and the landlady nodded and the latter exclaimed: +"Oh, yes, sir; I could recognise it in a minute." + +"How?" + +"It was broken once and Mr. Winkler mended it himself. I lent him +my pliers and he bent the two links together with them. It didn't +look very nice after that, but it was strong again. You could see +the mark of the pliers easily." + +"Why didn't he take the chain to the jeweler's to be fixed?" asked +the commissioner. + +The woman smiled. "It wouldn't have been worth the money, sir; the +chain wasn't real gold." + +"But the watch was real, wasn't it?" + +"Oh, yes, sir; that was real gold. I pawned it once for Mr. Winkler +and they gave me 24 gulden for it." + +"One question more, did he have a purse? And did he have it with +him on the day of the murder?" + +"Yes, sir; he had a purse, and he must have taken it with him +because he didn't leave it in his room." + +"What sort of a purse was it?" + +"A brown leather purse, sir." + +"Was it a new one?" + +"Oh, no, sir; it was well worn." + +"How big was it? About like mine?" Riedau took out his own +pocketbook. + +"No, sir; it was a little smaller. It had three pockets in it. +I mended it for him once, so I know it well. I didn't have any +brown thread so I mended it with yellow." + +Dr. von Riedau nodded to Muller. The latter had been sitting at a +little side-table writing down the questions and answers. When +Riedau saw this he did not send for a clerk to do the work, for +Muller preferred to attend to such matters himself as much as +possible. The facts gained in the examination were impressed upon +his mind while he was writing them, and he did not have to wade +through pages of manuscript to get at what he needed. Now he handed +his superior officer the paper. + +"Thank you," said Riedau, "I'll send it out to the other police +stations. I will attend to this myself. You go on with these +people to see. whether they can identify the corpse." + +Fifteen minutes later the three stood before the body in the morgue +and both the bookkeeper and his companion identified the dead man +positively as Leopold Winkler. + +When the identification was made, a notice was sent out to all +Austrian police stations and to all pawnshops with an exact +description of the stolen watch and purse. + +Muller led his companions back to the commissioner's office and they +made their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned further, +Pokorny stated: "I had very little to do with Winkler. We met only +when he had a report to make to me or to show me his books, and we +never met outside the office. The clerks who worked in the same +room with him, may know him better.. I know only that he was a very +reserved man and very little liked." + +"Then I do not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble you +further in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so promptly. +It has been of great assistance." + +The bookkeeper left the station, but Mrs. Klingmayer, who was now +quite reassured as to the harmlessness of the police, was asked to +remain and to tell what she knew of the private life of the murdered +man. Her answers to the various questions put to her proved that +she knew very little about her tenant. But this much was learned +from her: that he was very close with his money at times, but that +again at other times he seemed to have all he wanted to spend. At +such times he paid all his debts, and when he stayed home for supper, +he would send her out for all sorts of expensive delicacies. These +extravagant days seemed to have nothing whatever to do with Winkler's +business pay day, but came at odd times. + +Mrs. Klingmayer remembered two separate times when he had received +a postal money order. But she did not know from whom the letters +came, nor even whether they were sent from the city or from some +other town. Winkler received other letters now and then, but his +landlady was not of the prying kind, and she had paid very little +attention to them. + +He seemed to have few friends or even acquaintances. She did not +know of any love affair, at least of nothing "regular." He had +remained away over night two or three times during the year that +he had been her tenant. This was about all that Mrs. Klingmayer +could say, and she returned to her home in a cab furnished her by +the kind commissioner. + +About two hours later, a police attendant announced that a gentleman +would like to see Dr. von Riedan on business concerning the murder in +Hietzing. "Friedrich Bormann" was the name on the card. + +"Ask him to step in here," said the commissioner. "And please ask +Mr. Muller to join us." + +The good-looking young clerk entered the office bashfully and Muller +slipped in behind him, seating himself inconspicuously by the door. +At a sign from the commissioner the visitor began. "I am an +employee of Braun & Co. I have the desk next to Leopold Winkler, +during the year that he has been with us - the year and a quarter to +be exact -" + +"Ah, then you know him rather well?" + +"Why, yes. At least we were together all day, although I never met +him outside the office." + +"Then you cannot tell us much about his private life?" + +"No, sir, but there was something happened on Monday, and in talking +it over with Mr. Braun, he suggested that I should come to you and +tell you about it. It wasn't really very important, and it doesn't +seem as if it could have anything to do with this murder and robbery; +still it may be of some use." + +"Everything that would throw light on the dead man's life could be +of use," said Dr. von Riedau. "Please tell us what it is you know." + +Fritz Bormann began: "Winkler came to the office as usual on Monday +morning and worked steadily at his desk. But I happened to notice +that he spoiled several letters and had to rewrite them, which +showed me that his thoughts were not on his work, a frequent +occurrence with him. However, everything went along as usual until +11 o'clock. Then Winkler became very uneasy. He looked constantly +toward the door, compared his watch with the office clock, and +sprang up impatiently as the special letter carrier, who usually +comes about 11 with money orders, finally appeared." + +"Then he was expecting money you think?" + +"It must have been so. For as the letter carrier passed him, he +called out: 'Haven't you anything for me?' and as the man shook his +head Winkler seemed greatly disappointed and depressed. Before he +left to go to lunch, he wrote a hasty letter, which he put in his +pocket. + +"He came in half an hour later than the rest of us. He had often +been reprimanded for his lack of punctuality, but it seemed to do +no good. He was almost always late. Monday was no exception, +although he was later than usual that day." + +"And what sort of a mood was he in when he came back?" + +"He was irritable and depressed. He seemed to be awaiting a message +which did not come. His excitement hindered him from working, he +scarcely did anything the entire afternoon. Finally at five o'clock +a messenger boy came with a letter for him. I saw that Winkler +turned pale as he took the note in his hand. It seemed to be only +a few words written hastily on a card, thrust into an envelope. +Winkler's teeth were set as he opened the letter. The messenger had +already gone away." + +"Did you notice his number?" asked Dr. von Riedau. + +"No, I scarcely noticed the man at all. I was looking at Winkler, +whose behaviour was so peculiar. When he read the card his face +brightened. He read it through once more, then he tore both card +and envelope into little bits and threw the pieces out of the open +window. + +"Then he evidently did not want anybody to see the contents of this +note," said a voice from the corner of the room. + +Fritz Bormann looked around astonished and rather doubtful at the +little man who had risen from his chair and now came forward. +Without waiting for an answer from the clerk, the other continued: +"Did Winkler have money sent him frequently?" + +Bormann looked inquiringly at the commissioner, who replied with a +smile: "You may answer. Answer anything that Mr. Muller has to ask +of you, as he is in charge of this case." + +"As far as I can remember, it happened three times," was Bormann's +answer. + +"How close together?" + +"Why - about once in every three or four months, I think." + +"That looks almost like a regular income," exclaimed Riedau. His +eyes met Muller's, which were lit up in sudden fire. "Well, what +are you thinking of?" asked the commissioner. + +"A woman," answered Muller; and continued more as if thinking +aloud than as if addressing the others: "Winkler was a good-looking +man. Might he not have had a rich love somewhere? Might not the +money have come from her, the money that was found in his pocket?" +Muller's voice trailed off into indistinctness at the last words, +and the fire died out of his eyes. Then he laughed aloud. + +The commissioner smiled also, a good-natured smile, such as one +would give to a child who has been over-eager. "It doesn't matter +to us where the money came from. All that matters here is where +the bullet came from - the bullet which prevented his enjoying this +money. And it is of more interest to us to find out who robbed him +of his life and his property, rather than the source from which this +property came. + +The commissioner's tone was friendly, but Muller's face flushed red, +and his, head dropped. Riedau turned to Bormann and continued: "And +because it is of no interest to us where his money came from - for +it can have nothing whatever to do with his murder and the subsequent +robbery - therefore what you noticed of his behaviour cannot be of +any importance or bearing in the case in any way. Unless, indeed, +you should find out anything more. But we appreciate the +thoughtfulness of yourself and your employer and your readiness to +help us." + +Bormann rose to leave, but the commissioner put out a hand to stop +him. "A few moments more, please; you may know of something else +that will be of assistance to us. We have heard that Winkler +boasted of his belongings-did he talk about his private affairs in +any way?" + +"No, sir, I do not think he did." + +"You say that he destroyed the note at once, evidently realising +that no one must see it - this note may have been a promise for the +money which had not yet come. Did he, however, tell any one later +that he expected a certain sum? Do you think he would have been +likely to tell any one?" + +"No, I do not think that he would tell any one. He never mentioned +to any of us that he had received money, or even that he expected +to receive it. None of us knew what outside resources he might have, +or whence they came. If it had not been that the money was paid him +by the carrier in the office two or three times - so, that we could +see it - we would none of us have known of this income, except for +the fact that he was freer in spending after the money came. He +would dine at expensive restaurants, and this fact he would mention +to us, whereas at other times he would go to the cheap cafe." + +"Do you know anything about the people he was acquainted with +outside the office?" + +"No, sir. I seldom met him outside of the office. One evening it +did happen that I saw him at Ronacher's. He was there with a +lady - that is, a so-called 'lady '-and it must have been one of +the times that he had money, for they were enjoying an expensive +supper. At other times, some of the other clerks met him at various +resorts, always with the same sort of woman. But not always with +the same woman, for they were different in appearance." + +"He was never seen anywhere with other men?" + +"No, sir; at least not by any of us." + +"He was not liked in the office?" + +"No." Bormann's answer was sharp. + +"For what reason?" + +"I don't know; we just didn't like him. We had very little to do +with him at first because of this, and soon we noticed that he +seemed just as anxious to avoid us as we were to avoid him." + +The commissioner rose and Bormann followed his example. "I am very +sorry, sir, if I have taken up your time to no purpose," said the +latter modestly, as he took up his hat. + +"I am not so sure that what you have said may not be of great value +to us," said a voice behind them. Muller stood there, looking at +Riedau with a glance almost of defiance. His eyes were again lit +up with the strange fire that shone in them when he was on the trail. +The commissioner shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the departing +visitor, and then turned without an answer to some documents on his +desk. There was silence in the room for a few moments. Finally a +gentle voice came from Muller's corner again: "Dr. von Riedau?" + +The commissioner raised his head and looked around. "Oh, are you +still there?" he asked with a drawl. + +Muller knew what this drawl meant. It was the manner adopted by +the amiable commissioner when he was in a mood which was not amiable. +And Muller knew also the cause of the mood. It was his own last +remark, the words he addressed to Bormann. Muller himself recognised +the fact that this remark was out of place, that it was almost an +impertinence, because it was in direct contradiction to a statement +made a few moments before by his superior officer. Also he realised +that his remark had been quite unnecessary, because it was a matter +of indifference to the young man, who was only obeying his employer's +orders in reporting what he had seen, whether his report was of +value or not. Muller had simply uttered aloud the thought that came +into his mind, a habit of his which years of official training had +not yet succeeded in breaking. It was annoying to himself sometimes, +for these half-formed thoughts were mere instinct - they were the +workings of his own genius that made him catch a suspicion of the +truth long before his conscious mind could reason it out or +appreciate its value. But that sort of thing was not popular in +official police life. + +"Well," asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, "your +tongue is not usually so slow - as you have proved just a few +moments back - what were you going to say now?" + +"I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It was +unnecessary, I should not have said it." + +"Well, I realise that you know better yourself," said Riedau, now +quite friendly again, "and now what else have you to say? Do you +really think that what the young man has just told us is of any +value at all for this case?" + +"It seems to me as if it might be of value to us." + +"Oh, it seems to you, eh? Your imagination is working overtime +again, Muller," said the commissioner with a laugh. But the laugh +turned to seriousness as he realised how many times Muller's +imagination had helped the clumsy official mind to its proudest +triumphs. The commissioner was an intelligent man, as far as his +lights went, and he was a good-hearted man. He rose from his chair +and walked over to where the detective stood. "You needn't look so +embarrassed, Muller," he said. "There is no cause for you to feel +bad about it. And - I am quite willing to admit that my remark +just now was unnecessary. You may give your imagination full rein, +we can trust to your intelligence and your devotion to duty to keep +it from unnecessary flights. So curbed, I know it will be of as +much assistance to us this time as it always has been." + +Muller's quiet face lit up, and his eyes shone in a happiness that +made him appear ten years younger. That was one of the strange +things about Joseph Muller. This genius in his profession was in +all other ways a man of such simplicity of heart and bearing, that +the slightest word of approval from one of the officials for whom +he worked could make him as happy as praise from the teacher will +make a schoolboy. The moments when he was in command of any +difficult case, when these same superiors would wait for a word from +him, when high officials would take his orders or would be obliged +to acknowledge that without him they were helpless, these moments +were forgotten as soon as the problem was solved and Muller became +again the simple subordinate and the obscure member of the Imperial +police force. + +When Muller left the commissioner's room and walked through the +outer office, one of the clerks looked after him and whispered to +his companion: "Do you think he's found the Hietzing murderer yet?" +The other answered: "I don't think so, but he looks as if he had +found a clue. He'll find him sooner or later. He always does." + +Muller did not hear these words, although they also would have +pleased him. He walked slowly down the stairs murmuring to himself: +"I think I was right just the same. We are following a false trail." + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BY A THREAD + + +It was on Monday, the 27th of September, that Leopold Winkler was +murdered and robbed, and early on Tuesday, the 28th, his body was +found. That day the evening papers printed the report of the murder +and the description of the dead man, and on Wednesday, the 29th, +Mrs. Klingmayer read the news and went to see Winkler's employer. +By noon of that day the body was identified and a description of +the stolen purse and watch telegraphed to police headquarters in +various cities. A few hours later, these police stations had sent +out notices by messenger to all pawnshops and dealers in +second-hand clothing, and now the machinery of the law sat waiting +for some news of an attempt on the part of the robber-and-murderer +to get rid of his plunder. + +On this same Wednesday, about the twilight hour, David Goldstamm, +dealer in second-hand clothing, stood before the door of his shop +in a side street of the old Hungarian city of Pressburg and watched +his assistant take down the clothes which were hanging outside and +carry them into the store. The old man's eyes glanced carelessly +up and down the street and caught sight of a man who turned the +corner and came hurrying towards him. This man was a very +seedy-looking individual. An old faded overcoat hung about his +thin figure, and a torn and dusty hat fell over his left eye. He +seemed also to be much the worse for liquor and very wobbly on his +feet. And yet he seemed anxious to hurry onward in spite of the +unevenness of his walk. + +Then he slowed up suddenly, glanced across the street to Goldstamm's +store, and crossed over. + +"Have you any boots for me?" he asked, sticking out his right foot +that the dealer might see whether he had anything the requisite size. + +"I think there's something there," answered the old man in his +usual businesslike tone, leading the way into the store. + +The stranger followed. Goldstamm lit the one light in the little +place and groped about in an untidy heap of shoes of all kinds and +sizes until he found several pairs that he thought might fit. These +he brought out and put them in front of his customer. But in spite +of his bleary eyes, the man caught sight of some patches on the +uppers of one pair, and pushed them away from him. + +"Give me something better than that. I can pay for it. I don't +have to wear patched shoes," he grunted. + +Goldstamm didn't like the looks of the man, but he felt that he +had better be careful and not make him angry. "Have patience, sir, +I'll find you something better," he said gently, tossing the heap +about again, but now keeping his face turned towards his customer. + +"I want a coat also and a warm pair of trousers," said the stranger +in a rough voice. He bent down to loosen the shabby boot from his +right foot, and as he did so something fell out of the pocket of +his coat. An unconscious motion of his own raised foot struck +this small object and tossed it into the middle of the heap of +shoes close by Goldstamm's hand. The old man reached out after it +and caught it. It was just an ordinary brown leather pocketbook, +of medium size, old and shabby, like a thousand others. But the +eyes of the little old man widened as if in terror, his face turned +pale and his hands trembled. For he had seen, hanging from one +side of this worn brown leather pocketbook, the end of a yellow +thread, the loosened end of the thread with which one side of the +purse was mended. The thread told David Goldstamm who it was that +had come into his shop. + +He regained his control with a desperate effort of the will. It +took him but a few seconds to do so, and, thanks to his partial +intoxication, the customer had not noticed the shopkeeper's start +of alarm. But he appeared anxious and impatient to regain +possession of his purse. + +"Haven't you found it yet?" he exclaimed. + +Goldstamm hastened to give it back. The tramp put the purse in his +pocket with a sigh of relief. Goldstamm had regained his calm and +his mind was working eagerly. He put several pairs of shoes before +his customer, with the remark: "You must try them on. We'll find +something to suit you. And meanwhile I will bring in several +pairs of trousers from those outside. I have some fine coats to +show you too." + +Goldstamm went out to the door, almost colliding there with his +assistant who was coming in with his arm full of garments. The old +man motioned to the boy, who retreated until they were both hidden +from the view of the man within the store. + +"Give me those blue trousers there," said Goldstamm in a loud voice. +Then in a whisper he said to the boy: "Run to the police station. +The man with the watch and the purse is in there." + +The boy understood and set off at once at a fast pace, while the +old man returned to his store with a heavy heart. He wondered +whether he would be able to keep the murderer there until the +police could come. And he also wondered what it might cost him, +an old and feeble man, who would be as a weak reed in the hands of +the strong tramp in there. But he knew it was his duty to do +whatever he could to help in the arrest of one who had just taken +the life of a fellow creature. The realisation of this gave the +old man strength and calmness. + +"A nice sort of an eye for size you have," cried the tramp as the +old man came up to him. "I suppose you've brought me in a boy's +suit? What do you take me for? Any girl could go to a ball in the +shoes you brought me to try on here." + +"Are they so much too small?" asked the dealer in an innocent tone. +"Well, there's plenty more there. And perhaps you had better be +trying on this suit behind the curtain here while I'm hunting up the +shoes." + +This suggestion seemed to please the stranger, as he was evidently +in a hurry. He passed in behind the curtain and began to undress. +Goldstamm's keen eyes watched him through a crack. There was not +much to be seen except that the tramp seemed anxious to keep his +overcoat within reach of his hand. He had carefully put the purse +in one of its +pockets. + +We'll get the things all together pretty soon," said the dealer. +"I've found a pair of boots here, fine boots of good quality, and +sure to fit." + +"Stop your talk," growled the other, "and come here and help me +so that I can get away." + +Goldstamm came forward, and though his heart was very heavy within +him, he aided this man, this man about whom so many hundreds were +now thinking in terror, as calmly as he had aided his other poor +but honest customers. + +With hands that did not tremble, the dealer busied himself about +his customer, listening all the while to sounds in the street in +the hope that his tete-e-tete with the murderer would soon be over. +But in spite of all his natural anxiety, the old man's sharp eyes +took cognizance of various things, one of which was that the man +whom he was helping to dress in his new clothes did not have the +watch which was described in the police notice. This fact, however, +did not make the old man's heart any lighter, for the purse mended +with yellow thread was too clearly the one stolen from the murdered +man found in the quiet street in Hietzing. + +"What's the matter with you, you're so slow? I can get along +better myself," growled the tramp, pushing the old man away from +him. Goldstamm had really begun to tremble now in spite of his +control, in the fear that the man would get away from him before the +police came. + +The tramp was already dressed in the new suit, into a pocket of +which he put the old purse. + +"There, now the boots and then we're finished," said the dealer +with an attempt at a smile. In his heart he prayed that the pair +he now held in his hand might not fit, that he might gain a few +minutes more. But the shoes did fit. A little pushing and stamping +and the man was ready to leave the store. He was evidently in a +hurry, for he paid what was asked without any attempt to bargain. +Had Goldstamm not known whom he had before him now, he would have +been very much astonished at this, and might perhaps have been sorry +that he had not named a higher sum. But under the circumstances he +understood only too well the man's desire to get away, and would +much rather have had some talk as to the payment, anything that +would keep his customer a little longer in his store. + +"There, now we're ready. I'll pack up your old things for you. Or +perhaps we can make a deal for them. I pay the highest prices in +the city," said Goldstamm, with an apparent eagerness which he hoped +would deceive the customer. + +But the man had already turned towards the door, and called hack +over his shoulder: "You can keep the old things, I don't want them." + +As he spoke he opened the door of the store and stood face to face +with a policeman holding a revolver. He turned, with a curse, back +into the room, but the dealer was nowhere to be seen. David +Goldstamm had done his duty to the public, in spite of his fear. +Now, seeing that the police had arrived, he could think of his duty +to his family. This duty was plainly to save his own life, and +when the tramp turned again to look for him, he had disappeared out +of the back door. + +"Not a move or I will shoot," cried the policeman, and now two +others appeared behind him, and came into the store. But the +tramp made no attempt to escape. He stood pale and trembling while +they put the handcuffs on him, and let them take him away without +any resistance. He was put on the evening express for Vienna, and +taken to Police Headquarters in that city. He made no protest nor +any attempt to escape, but he refused to utter a word on the entire +journey. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +ALMOST CONVICTED + + +The evening was already far gone when Muller entered Riedau's office. + +"You're in time, the man isn't here yet. The train is evidently +late," said the commissioner. "We're working this case off +quickly. We will have the murderer here in half an hour at the +latest. He did not have much time to enjoy the stolen property. He +was here in Vienna this morning, and was arrested in Pressburg this +afternoon. Here is the telegram, read it." + +Dr. von Riedau handed Muller the message. The commissioner was +evidently pleased and excited. The telegram read as follows: "Man +arrested here in possession of described purse containing four ten +gulden notes and four guldens in silver. Arrested in store of +second-hand clothes dealer Goldstamm. Will arrive this evening in +Vienna under guard." + +The message was signed by the Chief of the Pressburg police. + +Muller laid the paper on the desk without a word. There was a watch +on this desk already; it was a heavy gold watch, unusually thick, +with the initials L. W. on the cover. Just as Muller laid down the +telegram, a door outside was opened and the commissioner covered the +watch hastily. There was a loud knock at his own door and an +attendant entered to announce that the party from Pressburg had +arrived He was followed by one of the Pressburg police force, who +brought the official report. + +"Did you have any difficulty with him?" asked the commissioner. + +"Oh, no, sir; it was a very easy job. He made no resistance at all, +and he seems to be quite sober now. But he hasn't said a word since +we arrested him." + +Then followed the detailed report of the arrest, and the delivery of +the described pocketbook to the commissioner. + +"Is that all?" asked Dr. von Riedau. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then you may go home now, we will take charge of the man." + +The policeman bowed and left the room. A few moments later the +tramp was brought in, guarded by two armed roundsmen. His guards +remained at the door, while the prisoner himself walked forward to +the middle of the room. Commissioner von Riedau sat at his desk, +his clerk beside him ready to take down the evidence. Muller sat +near a window with a paper on his lap, looking the least interested +of anybody in the proceedings. + +For a moment there was complete silence in the room, which was +broken in a rather unusual manner. A deep voice, more like a growl, +although it had a queer strain of comic good-nature in it, began the +proceedings with the remark: "Well now, say, what do you want of me, +anyway?" + +The commissioner looked at the man in astonishment, then turned +aside that the prisoner might not notice his smile. But he might +have spared himself the trouble, for Muller, the clerk, and the two +policemen at the door were all on a broad grin. + +Then the commissioner pulled himself together again, and began with +his usual official gravity: "It is I who ask questions here. Is it +possible that you do not know this? You look to me as if you had +had experience in police courts before." The commissioner gazed at +the prisoner with eyes that were not altogether friendly. The tramp +seemed to feel this, and his own eyes dropped, while the good-natured +impertinence in his bearing disappeared. It was evidently the last +remains of his intoxication. He was now quite sober. + +"What is your name?" asked the commissioner. + +"Johann Knoll." + +"Where were you born?" + +"Near Brunn." + +"Your age?" + +"I'm - I'll be forty next Christmas." + +"Your religion?" + +"Well, you can see I'm no Jew, can't you?" + +"You will please answer my questions in a proper manner. This +impertinence will not make things easier for you." + +"All right, sir," said the tramp humbly. "I am a Catholic." + +"You have been in prison before?" This was scarcely a question. + +"No, sir," said Knoll firmly. + +"What is your business?" + +"I don't know what to say, sir," answered Knoll, shrugging his +shoulders. "I've done a lot of things in my life. I'm a cattle +drover and a lumber man, and I -" + +"Did you learn any trade?" + +"No, sir, I never learned anything." + +"Do you mean to tell me that without having learned any trade you've +gotten through life thus far honestly?" + +"Oh, I've worked hard enough - I've worked good and hard sometimes." + +"The last few days particularly, eh?" + +"Why, no, sir, not these last days - I was drover on a transport of +pigs; we brought 'em down from Hungary, 200 of 'em, to the slaughter +house here." + +"When was that?" + +"That was - that was Monday." + +"This last Monday?" + +"Yes, sir. + +"And then you went to Hietzing?" + +"Yes, sir, that's right." + +"Why did you go to Hietzing?" + +"Why, see here, sir, if I had gone to Ottakring, then I suppose you +would have asked why did I go to Ottakring. I just went to Hietzing. +A fellow has to go somewhere. You don't stay in the same spot all +the time, do you?" + +Again the commissioner turned his head and another smile went +through the room. This Hietzing murderer had a sense of humour. + +"Well, then, we'll go to Hietzing again, in our minds at least," +said the commissioner, turning back to Knoll when he had controlled +his merriment. "You went there on Monday, then - and the day was +coming to an end. What did you do when you reached Hietzing?" + +"I looked about for a place to sleep." + +"Where did you look for a place to sleep?" + +"Why, in Hietzing." + +"That is not definite enough." + +"Well, in a garden." + +"You were trespassing, you mean?" + +"Why, yes, sir. There wasn't anybody that seemed to want to invite +me to dinner or to give me a place to sleep. I just had to look +out for myself." + +"You evidently know how to look out for yourself at the cost of +others, a heavy cost." The commissioner's easy tone had changed to +sternness. Knoll felt this, and a sharp gleam shot out from his +dull little eyes, while the tone of his voice was gruff and +impertinent again as he asked: "What do you mean by that?" + +"You know well enough. You had better not waste any more time, but +tell us at once how you came into possession of this purse." + +"It's my purse," Knoll answered with calm impertinence. "I got it +the way most people get it. I bought it." + +"This purse?" the commissioner emphasised both words distinctly. + +"This purse - yes," answered the tramp with a perfect imitation of +Riedau's voice. "Why shouldn't I have bought this purse just like +any other?" + +"Because you stole this purse from the man whom you - murdered," +was the commissioner's reply. + +There was another moment of dead silence in the room. The +commissioner and Muller watched intently for any change of +expression in the face of the man who had just had such an +accusation hurled at him. Even the clerk and the two policemen at +the door were interested to see what would happen. + +Knoll's calm impertinence vanished, a deadly pallor spread over his +face, and he seemed frozen to stone. He attempted to speak, but was +not able to control his voice. His hands were clenched and tremors +shook his gaunt but strong-muscled frame. + +"When did I murder anybody?" he gasped finally in a hoarse croak. +"You'll have to prove it to me that I am a murderer." + +"That is easily proved. Here is one of the proofs," said Riedan +coldly, pointing to the purse. "The purse and the watch of the +murdered man are fatal witnesses against you." + +"The watch? I haven't any watch. Where should I get a watch?" + +"You didn't have one until Monday, possibly; I can believe that. +But you were in possession of a watch between the evening of Monday, +the 27th, and the morning of Wednesday, the 29th." + +Knoll's eyes dropped again and he did not trust himself to speak. + +"Well, you do not deny this statement?" + +"No, I can't," said Knoll, still trying to control his voice. +"You must have the watch yourself now, or else you wouldn't be so +certain about it." + +"Ah, you see, I thought you'd had experience with police courts +before," said the commissioner amiably. "Of course I have the +watch already. The man whom you sold it to this morning knew by +three o'clock this afternoon where this watch came from. He brought +it here at once and gave us your description. A very exact +description. The man will be brought here to identify you to-morrow. +We must send for him anyway, to return his money to him. He paid +you fifty-two gulden for the watch. And how much money was in the +purse that you took from the murdered man?" + +"Three gulden eighty-five." + +"That was a very small sum for which to commit a murder." + +Knoll groaned and bit his lips until they bled. + +Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the watch and +continued: "You presumably recognised that the chain on which this +watch hung was valueless, also that it could easily be recognised. +Did you throw it away, or have you it still?" + +"I threw it in the river." + +"That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, we +have quite enough evidence without it. The purse, for instance: you +thought, I suppose, that it was just a purse like a thousand others, +but it is not. This purse is absolutely individual and easily +recognised, because it is mended in one spot with yellow thread. +The thread has become loosened and hangs down in a very noticeable +manner. It was this yellow thread on the purse, which he happened +to see by chance, that showed the dealer Goldstamm who it was that +had entered his store." + +Knoll stood quite silent, staring at the floor. Drops of +perspiration stood out on his forehead, some of them rolling like +tears down his cheek. + +The commissioner rose from his seat and walked slowly to where the +prisoner stood. He laid one hand on the man's shoulder and said in +a voice that was quite gentle and kind again: "Johann Knoll, do not +waste your time, or ours, in thinking up useless lies. You are +almost convicted of this crime now. You have already acknowledged +so much, that there is but little more for you to say. If you make +an open confession, it will be greatly to your advantage." + +Again the room was quiet while the others waited for what would +happen. For a moment the tramp stood silent, with the commissioner's +right hand resting on his shoulder. Then there was a sudden movement, +a struggle and a shout, and the two policemen had overpowered the +prisoner and held him firmly. Muller rose quickly and sprang to his +chief's side. Riedau had not even changed colour, and he said +calmly: "Oh, never mind, Muller; sit down again. The man had +handcuffs on and he is quite quiet now. I think he has sense enough +to see that he is only harming himself by his violence. + +The commissioner returned to his desk and Muller went back to his +chair by the window. The prisoner was quiet again, although his +face wore a dark flush and the veins on throat and forehead were +swollen thick. He trembled noticeably and the heavy drops +besprinkled his brow. + +"I - I have something to say, sir," he began, "but first I want to +beg your pardon -" + +"Oh, never mind that. I am not angry when a man is fighting for his +life, even if he doesn't choose quite the right way," answered the +commissioner calmly, playing with a lead pencil. + +Knoll's expression was defiant now. He laughed harshly and began +again: "What I'm tellin' you now is the truth whether you believe +it or not. I didn't kill the man. I took the watch and purse +from him. I thought he was drunk. If he was killed, I didn't +do it." + +"He was killed by a shot." + +"A shot? Why, yes, I heard a shot, but I didn't think any more +about it, I didn't think there was anythin' doing, I thought somebody +was shootin' a cat, or else-" + +"Oh, don't bother to invent things. It was a man who was shot at, +the man whom you robbed. But go on, go on. I am anxious to hear +what you will tell me." + +Knoll's hands, clenched to fists and his eyes glowed in hate and +defiance. Then he dropped them to the floor again and began to +talk slowly in a monotonous tone that sounded as if he were +repeating a lesson. His manner was rather unfortunate and did not +tend to induce belief in the truth of his story. The gist of what +he said was as follows: + +He had reached Hietzing on Monday evening about 8 o'clock. He was +thirsty, as usual, and had about two gulden in his possession, his +wages for the last day's work. He turned into a tavern in Hietzing +and ate and drank until his money was all gone, and he had not even +enough left to pay for a night's lodging. But Knoll was not worried +about that. He was accustomed to sleeping out of doors, and as this +was a particularly fine evening, there was nothing in the prospect +to alarm him. He set about finding a suitable place where he would +not be disturbed by the guardians of the law. His search led him +by chance into a newly opened street. This suited him exactly. +The fences were easy to climb, and there were several little summer +houses in sight which made much more agreeable lodgings than the +ground under a bush. And above all, the street was so quiet and +deserted that he knew it was just the place for him. He had never +been in the street before, and did not know its name. He passed +the four houses at the end of the street - he was on the left +sidewalk - and then he came to two fenced-in building lots. These +interested him. He was very agile, raised himself up on the fences +easily and took stock of the situation. One of the lots did not +appeal to him particularly, but the second one did. It bordered +on a large garden, in the middle of which he could see a little +house of some kind. It was after sunset but he could see things +quite plainly yet for the air was clear and the moon was just +rising. He saw also that in the vacant lot adjoining the garden, +a lot which appeared to have been a garden itself once, there was +a sort of shed. It looked very much damaged but appeared to offer +shelter sufficient for a fine night. + +The shed stood on a little raise of the ground near the high iron +fence that protected the large garden. Knoll decided that the +shed would make a good place to spend the night. He climbed the +fence easily and walked across the lot. When he was just settling +himself for his nap, he heard the clock on a near-by church strike +nine. The various drinks he had had for supper put him in a mood +that would not allow him to get to sleep at once. The bench in +the old shed was decidedly rickety and very uncomfortable, and as +he was tossing about to find a good position, a thought came into +his mind which he acknowledged was not a commendable one. It +occurred to him that if he pursued his investigations in the +neighbourhood a little further, he might be able to pick up +something that would be of advantage to him on his wanderings. +His eyes and his thoughts were directed towards the handsome house +which he could see beyond the trees of the old garden. + +The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on the +mansard roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the long +wing which stretched out towards the garden glistened in the +moonbeams, and the light coloured wall of the house made a bright +background for the dark mask of trees waving gently in the night +breeze. Knoll's little shed was sufficiently raised on its +hillock for him to have a good view of the garden. There was no +door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring property clearly +from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there watching, he +saw a woman walking through the garden. He could see her only +when she passed back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes. As +far as he could see, she came from the main building and was walking +towards a pretty little house which lay in the centre of the garden. +Knoll had imagined this house to be the gardener's dwelling and as +it lay quite dark he supposed the inmates were either asleep or out +for the evening. It had been this house which he was intending to +honour by a visit. But seeing the woman walking towards it, he +decided it would not be safe to carry out his plan just yet awhile. + +A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had been +a wise one, for he saw a man come from the main building and walk +along the path the woman had taken. "No, nothing doing there," +thought Knoll, and concluded he had better go to sleep. He could +not remember just how long he may have dozed but it seemed to him +that during that time he had heard a shot. It did not interest him +much. He supposed some one was shooting at a thieving cat or at +some small night animal. He did not even remember whether he had +been really sound asleep, before he was aroused by the breaking +down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of it more than the +shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang tip in alarm and +listened intently to hear whether any one had been attracted by it. +His first glance was towards the building behind the garden. There +was no sound nor no light in the garden house but there was a light +in the main building. While the tramp was wondering what hour it +might be, the church clock answered him by ten loud strokes. + +His head was already aching from the wine and he did not feel +comfortable in the drafty old building. He came out from it, crept +along to the spot where he had climbed the fence before, and after +listening carefully and hearing nothing on either side, he climbed +back to the road. The Street lay silent and empty, which was just +what he was hoping for. He held carefully to the shadow thrown by +the high board fence over which he had climbed until he came to its +end. Then he remembered that he hadn't done anything wrong and +stepped out boldly into the moonlight. The moon was well up now +and the street was almost as light as day. Knoll was attracted by +the queer shadows thrown by a big elder tree, waving its long +branches in the wind. As he came nearer he saw that part of the +shadow was no shadow at all but was the body of a man lying in +the street near the bush. "I thought sure he was drunk" was the +way Knoll described it. "I've been like that myself often until +somebody came along and found me." + +When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a long +breath. Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures on +the paper in front of him, then changed the lines until the head +of a pretty woman in a fur hat took shape under his fingers. + +"Well, go on," he said, looking with interest at his drawing and +improving it with several quick strokes. + +Johann Knoll continued: + +"Then the devil came over me and I thought I better take this good +opportunity - well - I did. The man was lying on his back and I +saw a watch chain on his dark vest. I bent over him and took his +watch and chain. Then I felt around in his pocket and found his +purse. And then - well then I felt sorry for him lying out in the +open road like that, and I thought I'd lift him up and put him +somewhere where he could sleep it off more convenient. But I didn't +see there was a little ditch there and I stumbled over it and +dropped him. 'It's a good thing he's so drunk that even this don't +wake him up,' I thought, and ran off. Then I thought I heard +something moving and I was scared stiff, but there was nothing in +the street at all. I thought I had better take to the fields though +and I crossed through some corn and then out onto another street. +Finally I walked into the city, stayed there till this morning, sold +the watch, then went to Pressburg." + +"So that was the way it was," said the commissioner, pushing his +drawing away from him and motioning to the policemen at the door. +"You may take this man away now," he added in a voice of cool +indifference, without looking at the prisoner. + +Knoll's head drooped and he walked out quietly between his two +guards. The clock on the office wall struck eleven. + +"Dear me! what a lot of time the man wasted," said the commissioner, +putting the report of the proceedings, the watch and the purse in a +drawer of his desk. "When anybody has been almost convicted of a +crime, it's really quite unnecessary to invent such a long story. + +A few minutes later, the room was empty and Muller, as the last of +the group, walked slowly down the stairs. He was in such a brown +study that he scarcely heard the commissioner's friendly "goodnight," +nor did he notice that he was walking down the quiet street under a +star-gilded sky. "Almost convicted - almost. Almost?" Muller's +lips murmured while his head was full of a chaotic rush of thought, +dim pictures that came and went, something that seemed to be on the +point of bringing light into the darkness, then vanishing again. +"Almost - but not quite. There is something here I must find out +first. What is it? I must know -" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE FACE AT THE GATE + + +The second examination of the prisoner brought nothing new. Johann +Knoll refused to speak at all, or else simply repeated what he had +said before. This second examination took place early the next +morning, but Muller was not present. He was taking a walk in +Hietzing. + +When they took Johann Knoll in the police wagon to the City Prison, +Muller was just sauntering slowly through the street where the +murder had been committed. And as the door of the cell shut +clangingly behind the man whose face was distorted in impotent rage +and despair, Joseph Muller was standing in deep thought before the +broken willow twig, which now hung brown and dry across the planks +of the fence. He looked at it for a long time. That is, he seemed +to be looking at it, but in reality his eyes were looking out and +beyond the willow twig, out into the unknown, where the unknown +murderer was still at large. Leopold Winkler's body had already +been committed to the earth. How long will it be before his death +is avenged? Or perhaps how long may it even be before it is +discovered from what motive this murder was committed. Was it a +murder for robbery, or a murder for personal revenge perhaps? Were +the two crimes committed here by one and the same person, or were +there two people concerned? And if two, did they work as +accomplices? Or is it possible that Knoll's story was true? Did +he really only rob the body, not realising that it was a dead man +and not merely an intoxicated sleeper as he had supposed? These +and many more thoughts rushed tumultuously through Muller's brain +until he sighed despairingly under the pressure. Then he smiled +in amusement at the wish that had crossed his brain, the wish that +this case might seem as simple to him as it apparently did to the +commissioner. It would certainly have saved him a lot of work and +trouble if he could believe the obvious as most people did. What +was this devil that rode him and spurred him on to delve into the +hidden facts concerning matters that seemed so simple on the +surface? The devil that spurred him on to understand that there +always was some hidden side to every case? Then the sigh and the +smile passed, and Muller raised his head in one of the rare moments +of pride in his own gifts that this shy unassuming little man ever +allowed himself. This was the work that he was intended by +Providence to do or he wouldn't have been fitted for it, and it was +work for the common good, for the public safety. Thinking back over +the troubles of his early youth, Muller's heart rejoiced and he +was glad in his own genius. Then the moment of unwonted elation +passed and he bent his mind again to the problem before him. + +He sauntered slowly through the quiet street in the direction of +the four houses. To reach them he passed the fence that enclosed +this end of the Thorne property. Muller had already known, for +the last twenty-four hours at least, that the owner of the fine +old estate was an artist by the name of Herbert Thorne. His own +landlady had informed him of this. He himself was new to the +neighbourhood, having moved out there recently, and he had verified +her statements by the city directory. As he was now passing the +Thorne property, in his slow, sauntering walk, he had just come +within a dozen paces of the little wooden gate in the fence when +this gate opened. Muller's naturally soft tread was made still +more noiseless by the fact that he wore wide soft shoes. Years +before he had acquired a bad case of chilblains, in fact had been +in imminent danger of having his feet frozen by standing for five +hours in the snow in front of a house, to intercept several +aristocratic gentlemen who sooner or later would be obliged to +leave that house. The police had long suspected the existence of +this high-class gambling den; but it was not until they had put +Muller in charge of the case, that there were any results attained. +The arrests were made at the risk of permanent injury to the +celebrated detective. Since then, Muller's step was more noiseless +than usual, and now the woman who opened the gate and peered out +cautiously did not hear his approach nor did she see him standing +in the shadow of the fence. She looked towards the other end of +the street, then turned and spoke to somebody behind her. "There's +nobody coming from that direction," he said. Then she turned her +head the other way and saw Muller. She looked at him for a moment +and slammed the gate shut, disappearing behind it. Muller heard +the lock click and heard the beat of running feet hastening rapidly +over the gravel path through the garden. + +The detective stood immediately in front of the gate, shaking his +head. "What was the matter with the woman? What was it that she +wanted to see or do in the street? Why should she run away when +she saw me?" These were his thoughts. But he didn't waste time +in merely thinking. Muller never did. Action followed thought +with him very quickly. He saw a knot-hole in the fence just +beside the gate and he applied his eyes to this knot-hole. And +through the knot-hole he saw something that interested and +surprised him. + +The woman whose face had appeared so suddenly at the gate, and +disappeared still more suddenly, was the same woman whom he had +seen bidding farewell to Mr. Thorne and his wife on the Tuesday +morning previous, the woman whom he took to be the housekeeper. +The old butler stood beside her. It was undoubtedly the same man, +although he had worn a livery then and was now dressed in a +comfortable old house coat. He stood beside the woman, shaking +his head and asking her just the questions that Muller was asking +himself at the moment. + +"Why, what is the matter with you, Mrs. Bernaner? You're so +nervous since yesterday. Are you ill? Everything seems to +frighten you? Why did you run away from that gate so suddenly? I +thought you wanted me to show you the place?" + +Mrs. Bernauer raised her head and Muller saw that her face looked +pale and haggard and that her eyes shone with an uneasy feverish +light. She did not answer the old man's questions, but made a +gesture of farewell and then turned and walked slowly towards the +house. She realised, apparently, and feared, perhaps, that the +man who was passing the gate might have, noticed her sudden change +of demeanour and that he was listening to what she might say. She +did not think of the knot-hole in the board fence, or she might +have been more careful in hiding her distraught face from possible +observers. + +Muller stood watching through this knot-hole for some little time. +He took a careful observation of the garden, and from his point of +vantage he could easily see the little house which was apparently +the dwelling of the gardener, as well as the mansard roof of the +main building. There was considerable distance between the two +houses. The detective decided that it might interest him to know +something more about this garden, this house and the people who +lived there. And when Muller made such a decision it was usually +not very long before he carried it out. + +The other street, upon which the main front of the mansard house +opened, contained a few isolated dwellings surrounded by gardens +and a number of newly built apartment houses. On the ground floor +of these latter houses were a number of stores and immediately +opposite the Thorne mansion was a little cafe. This suited Muller +exactly, for he had been there before and he remembered that from +one of the windows there was an excellent view of the gate and the +front entrance of the mansion opposite. It was a very modest little +cafe, but there was a fairly good wine to be had there and the +detective made it an excuse to sit down by the window, as if +enjoying his bottle while admiring the changing colours of the +foliage in the gardens opposite. + +Another rather good chance, he discovered, was the fact that the +landlord belonged to the talkative sort, and believed that the +refreshments he had to sell were rendered doubly agreeable when +spiced by conversation. In this case the good man was not mistaken. +It was scarcely ten o'clock in the forenoon and there were very +few people in the cafe. The landlord was quite at leisure to +devote himself to this stranger in the window seat, whom he did not +remember to have seen before, and who was therefore doubly +interesting to him. Several subjects of conversation usual in such +cases, such as politics and the weather, seemed to arouse no +particular enthusiasm in his patron's manner. Finally the portly +landlord decided that he would touch upon the theme which was still +absorbing all Hietzing. + +"Oh, by the way, sir, do you know that you are in the immediate +vicinity of the place where the murder of Monday evening was +committed? People are still talking about it around here. And I +see by the papers that the murderer was arrested in Pressburg +yesterday and brought to Vienna last night." + +"Indeed, is that so? I haven't seen a paper to-day," replied +Muller, awakening from his apparent indifference. + +The landlord was flattered by the success of the new subject, and +stood ready to unloose the floodgates of his eloquence. His customer +sat up and asked the question for which the landlord was waiting. + +"So it was around here that the man was shot?" + +"Yes. His name was Leopold Winkler, that was in the papers to-day +too. You see that pretty house opposite? Well, right behind this +house is the garden that belongs to it and back of that, an old +garden which has been neglected for some time. It was at the end +of this garden where it touches the other street, that they found +the man under a big elder-tree, early Tuesday morning, day before +yesterday." + +"Oh, indeed!" said. Muller, greatly interested, as if this was +the first he had heard of it. The landlord took a deep breath and +was about to begin again when his customer, who decided to keep the +talkative man to a certain phase of the subject, now took command +of the conversation himself. + +"I should think that the people opposite, who live so near the +place where the murder was committed, wouldn't be very much pleased," +he said. "I shouldn't care to look out on such a spot every time +I went to my window." + +"There aren't any windows there," exclaimed the landlord, "for +there aren't any houses there. There's only the old garden, and +then the large garden and the park belonging to Mr. Thorne's house, +that fine old house you see just opposite here. It's a good thing +that Mr. Thorne and his wife went away before the murder became +known. The lady hasn't been well for some weeks, she's very nervous +and frail, and it probably would have frightened her to think that +such things were happening right close to her home." + +"The lady is sick? What's the matter with her?" + +"Goodness knows, nerves, heart trouble, something like that. The +things these fine ladies are always having. But she wasn't always +that way, not until about a year ago. She was fresh and blooming +and very pretty to look at before that." + +"She is a young lady then?" + +"Yes, indeed, sir; she's very young still and very pretty. It makes +you feel sorry to see her so miserable, and you feel sorry for her +husband. Now there's a young couple with everything in the world +to make them happy and so fond of each other, and the poor little +lady has to be so sick." + +"They are very happy, you say?" asked Muller carelessly. He had +no particular set purpose in following up this inquiry, none but +his usual understanding of the fact that a man in his business can +never amass too much knowledge, and that it will sometimes happen +that a chance bit of information comes in very handy. + +The landlord was pleased at the encouragement and continued: "Indeed +they are very happy. They've only been married two years. The lady +comes from a distance, from Graz. Her father is an army officer I +believe, and I don't think she was over-rich. But she's a very +sweet-looking lady and her rich husband is very fond of her, any one +can see that." + +"You said just now that they had gone away, where have they gone to?" + +"They've gone to Italy, sir. Mrs. Thorne was one of the few people +who do not know Venice. Franz, that's the butler, sir, told me +yesterday evening that he had received a telegram saying that the +lady and gentleman had arrived safely and were very comfortably +fixed in the Hotel Danieli. You know Danieli's?" + +"Yes, I do. I also was one of the few people who did not know +Venice, that is I was until two years ago. Then, however, I had +the pleasure of riding over the Bridge of Mestre," answered Muller. +He did not add that he was not alone at the time, but had ridden +across the long bridge in company with a pale haggard-faced man who +did not dare to look to the right or to the left because of the +revolver which he knew was held in the detective's hand under his +loose overcoat. Muller's visit to Venice, like most of his +journeyings, had been one of business. This time to capture and +bring home a notorious and long sought embezzler. He did not +volunteer any of this information, however, but merely asked in a +politely interested manner whether the landlord himself had been +to Venice. + +"Yes, indeed," replied the latter proudly. "I was head waiter at +Baner's for two years." + +"Then you must make me some Italian dishes soon," said Muller. +Further conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Franz, the +old butler of the house opposite. + +"Excuse me, sir; I must get him his glass of wine," said the +landlord, hurrying away to the bar. He returned in a moment with +a small bottle and a glass and set it down on Muller's table. + +"You don't mind, sir, if he sits down here?" he asked. "He usually +sits here at this table because then he can see if he is needed over +at the house." + +"Oh, please let him come here. He has prior rights to this table +undoubtedly," said the stranger politely. The old butler sat down +with an embarrassed murmur, as the voluble landlord explained that +the stranger had no objection. Then the boniface hurried off to +attend to some newly entered customers and the detective, greatly +pleased at the prospect, found himself alone with the old servant. + +"You come here frequently?" he began, to open the conversation. + +"Yes, sir, since my master and myself have settled down here - we +travelled most of the time until several years ago - I find this +place very convenient. It's a cosy little room, the wine is good +and not expensive, I'm near home and yet I can see some new faces +occasionally." + +"I hope the faces that you see about you at home are not so +unpleasant that you are glad to get away from them?" asked Muller +with a smile. + +The old man gave a start of alarm. "Oh, dear, no, sir," he +exclaimed eagerly; "that wasn't what I meant. Indeed I'm fond of +everybody in the house from our dear lady down to the poor little +dog." + +Here Muller gained another little bit of knowledge, the fact that +the lady of the house was the favourite of her servants, or that +she seemed to them even more an object of adoration than the master. + +"Then you evidently have a very good place, since you seem so fond +of every one." + +"Indeed I have a good place, sir." + +"You've had this place a long time?" + +"More than twenty years. My master was only eleven years old when +I took service with the family." + +"Ah, indeed! then you must be a person of importance in the house +if you have been there so long?" + +"Well more or less I might say I am," the old man smiled and +looked flattered, then added: "But the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernaner, +is even more important than I am, to tell you the truth. She was +nurse to our present young master, and she's been in the house ever +since. When his parents died, it's some years ago now, she took +entire charge of the housekeeping. She was a fine active woman +then, and now the young master and mistress couldn't get along +without her. They treat her as if she was one of the family." + +"And she is ill also? I say also," explained Muller, "because the +landlord has just been telling me that your mistress is ill." + +"Yes, indeed, more's the pity! our poor dear young lady has been +miserable for nearly a year now. It's a shame to see such a sweet +angel as she is suffer like that and the master's quite heart-broken +over it. But there's nothing the matter with Mrs. Bernaner. How +did you come to think that she was sick?" + +Muller did not intend to explain that the change in the housekeeper's +appearance, a change which had come about between Tuesday morning +and Thursday morning, might easily have made any one think that she +was ill. He gave as excuse for his question the old man's own words: +"Why, I thought that she might be ill also because you said yourself +that the housekeeper - what did you say her name was?" + +"Bernauer, Mrs. Adele Bernauer. She was a widow when she came to +take care of the master. Her husband was a sergeant of artillery." + +"Well, I mean," continued Muller, "you said yourself that when the +gentleman's parents died, Mrs. Bernauer was a fine active woman, +therefore I supposed she was no longer so." + +Franz thought the matter over for a while. "I don't know just why +I put it that way. Indeed she's still as active as ever and always +fresh and well. It's true that for the last two or three days she's +been very nervous and since yesterday it is as if she was a changed +woman. She must be ill, I don't know how to explain it otherwise." + +"What seems to be the matter with her?" asked Muller and then to +explain his interest in the housekeeper's health, he fabricated a +story: "I studied medicine at one time and although I didn't finish +my course or get a diploma, I've always had a great interest in such +things, and every now and then I'll take a case, particularly +nervous diseases. That was my specialty." Muller took up his glass +and turned away from the window, for be felt a slow flush rising +to his cheeks. It was another of Muller's peculiarities that he +always felt an inward embarrassment at the lies he was obliged to +tell in his profession. + +The butler did not seem to have noticed it however, and appeared +eager to tell of what concerned him in the housekeeper's appearance +and demeanour. "Why, yesterday at dinner time was the first that +we began to notice anything wrong with Mrs. Bernauer. The rest of +us, that is, Lizzie the upstairs girl, the cook and myself. She +began to eat her dinner with a good appetite, then suddenly, when +we got as far as the pudding, she let her fork fall and turned +deathly white. She got up without saying a word and left the room. +Lizzie ran after her to ask if anything was the matter, but she +said no, it was nothing of importance. After dinner, she went right +out, saying she was doing some errands. She brought in a lot of +newspapers, which was quite unusual, for she sometimes does not look +at a newspaper once a week even. I wouldn't have noticed it but +Lizzie's the kind that sees and hears everything and she told us +about it." Franz stopped to take a drink, and Muller said +indifferently, "I suppose Mrs. Bernauer was interested in the murder +case. The whole neighbourhood seems to be aroused about it." + +"No, I don't think that was it," answered the old servant, "because +then she would have sent for a paper this morning too." + +"And she didn't do that?" + +"No, unless she might have gone out for it herself. There's a news +stand right next door here. But I don't think she did because I +would have seen the paper around the house then." + +"And is that all that's the matter with her?" asked Muller in a +tone of disappointment. "Why, I thought you'd have something really +interesting to tell me." + +"Oh, no, that isn't all, sir," exclaimed the old man eagerly. + +Muller leaned forward, really interested now, while Franz continued: +"She was uneasy all the afternoon yesterday. She walked up and down +stairs and through the halls - I remember Lizzie making some joke +about it - and then in the evening to our surprise she suddenly began +a great rummaging in the first story." + +"Is that where she lives ?" + +"Oh, no; her room is in the wing out towards the garden. The rooms +on the first floor all belong to the master and mistress. This +morning we found out that Mrs. Bernauer's cleaning up of the evening +before had been done because she remembered that the master wanted +to take some papers with him but couldn't find them and had asked +her to look for them and send them right on." + +"Well, I shouldn't call that a sign of any particular nervousness, +but rather an evidence of Mrs. Bernaner's devotion to her duty." + +"Oh, yes, sir - but it certainly is queer that she should go into +the garden at four o'clock this morning and appear to be looking +for something along the paths and under the bushes. Even if a few +of the papers blew out of the window, or blew away from the summer +house, where the master writes sometimes, they couldn't have +scattered all over the garden like that." + +Muller didn't follow up this subject any longer. There might come +a time when he would be interested in finding out the reason for +the housekeeper's search in the garden, but just at present he +wanted something else. He remembered some remark of the old man's +about the "poor little dog," and on this he built his plan. + +"Oh, well," he said carelessly, "almost everybody is nervous and +impatient now-a-days. I suppose Mrs. Bernauer felt uneasy because +she couldn't find the paper right away. There's nothing particularly +interesting or noticeable about that. Anyway, I've been occupying +myself much more these last years with sick animals rather than with +sick people. I've had some very successful cures there." + +"No, really, have you? Then you could do us a great favour," +exclaimed Franz in apparent eagerness. Muller's heart rejoiced. He +had apparently hit it right this time. He knew that in a house like +that "a poor dog" could only mean a "sick dog." But his voice was +quite calm as he asked: "How can I do you a favour?" + +"Why, you see, sir, we've got a little terrier," explained the old +man, who had quite forgotten the fact that he had mentioned the dog +before. "And there's been something the matter with the poor little +chap for several days. He won't eat or drink, he bites at the grass +and rolls around on his stomach and cries - it's a pity to see him. +If you're fond of animals and know how to take care of them, you may +be able to help us there." + +"You want me to look at the little dog? Why, yes, I suppose I can." + +"We'll appreciate it," said the old man with an embarrassed smile. +But Muller shook his head and continued: "No, never mind the payment, +I wouldn't take any money for it. But I'll tell you what you can +do for me. I'm very fond of flowers. If you think you can take the responsibility of letting me +walk around in the garden for a little +while, and pick a rose or two, I will be greatly pleased." + +"Why, of course you may," said Franz. "Take any of the roses you +see there that please you. They're nearly over for the season now +and it's better they should be picked rather than left to fade on +the bush. We don't use so many flowers in the house now when the +family are not there." + +"All right, then, it's a bargain," laughed Muller, signalling to +the landlord. "Are you, going already?" asked the old servant. + +"Yes, I must be going if I am to spend any time with the little dog." + +"I suppose I ought to be at home myself," said Franz. "Something's +the matter with the electric wiring in our place. The bell in the +master's room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to send us +a man out to fix it. He's likely to come any minute now." The two +men rose, paid their checks, and went out together. Outside the +cafe Muller hesitated a moment. "You go on ahead," he said to Franz. +"I want to go in here and get a cigar." + +While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for several +newspapers, choosing those which his quick eye had told him were no +longer among the piles on the counter. "I'm very sorry, sir," said +the clerk; "we have only a few of those papers, just two or three +more than we need for our regular customers, and this morning they +are all sold. The housekeeper from the Thorne mansion took the very +last ones." + +This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store and +caught up with the old butler as the latter was opening the handsome +iron gate that led from the Thorne property out onto the street. + +"Well, where's our little patient?" asked the detective as he +walked through the courtyard with Franz. + +"You'll see him in a minute," answered the old servant. He led +the way through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome old +pieces in empire style, and opened a door at its further end. + +"This is my room." + +It was a large light room with two windows opening on the garden. +Muller was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall had +been such a short one. However he was in the house, that was +something, and he could afford to trust to chance for the rest. +Meanwhile he would look at the dog. The little terrier lay in a +corner by the stove and it did not take Muller more than two or +three minutes to discover that there was nothing the matter with +the small patient but a simple case of over-eating. But he put on +a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and looking up, +asked if he could get some chamomile tea. + +"I'll go for it, I think there's some in the house. Do you want it +made fresh?" said Franz. + +"Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do," was Muller's +answer. He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to do +the dog good and at the present moment he wanted to be left alone +in the room. As soon as Franz had gone, the detective hastened to +the window, placing himself behind the curtain so that he could +not be seen from outside. He himself could see first a wide +courtyard lying between the two wings of the house, then beyond it +the garden, an immense square plot of ground beautifully cultivated. +The left wing of the house was about six windows longer than the +other, and from the first story of it it would be quite easy to look +out over the vacant lot where the old shed stood which had served +as a night's lodging for Johann Knoll. + +There was not the slightest doubt in Muller's mind that this part +of the tramp's story was true, for by a natural process of +elimination he knew there was nothing to be gained by inventing any +such tale. Besides which the detective himself had been to look at +the shed. His well-known pedantic thoroughness would not permit +him to take any one's word for anything that he might find out for +himself, In his investigations on Tuesday morning he had already +seen the half-ruined shed, now he knew that it contained a broken +bench. + +Thus far, therefore, Knoll's story was proved to be true-but there +was something that didn't quite hitch in another way. The tramp had +said that he had seen first a woman and then a man come from the main +house and go in the direction of the smaller house which he took to +be the gardener's dwelling. This Muller discovered now was quite +impossible. A tall hedge, fully seven or eight feet high and very +thick, stretched from the courtyard far down into the garden past +the gardener's little house. There was a broad path on the right +and the left of this green wall. From his position in the shed, +Knoll could have seen people passing only when they were on the +right side of the hedge. But to reach the gardener's house from +the main dwelling, the shortest way would be on the left side of +the hedge. This much Muller saw, then he heard the butler's steps +along the hall and he went back to the corner where the dog lay. + +Franz was not alone. There was some one else with him, the +housekeeper, Mrs. Bernauer. Just as they opened the door, Muller +heard her say: "If the gentleman is a veterinary, then we'd better +ask him about the parrot- " + +The sentence was never finished. Muller never found out what was +the matter with the parrot, for as he looked up with a polite smile +of interest, he looked into a pale face, into a pair of eyes that +opened wide in terror, and heard trembling lips frame the words: +"There he is again!" + +A moment later Mrs. Bernauer would have been glad to have recalled +her exclamation, but it was too late. + +Muller bowed before her and asked: "'There he is again,' you said; +have you ever seen me before?" + +The woman looked at him as if hypnotised and answered almost in a +whisper: "I saw you Tuesday morning for the first time, Tuesday +morning when the family were going away. Then I saw you pass +through our street twice again that same day. This morning you went +past the garden gate and now I find you here. What-what is it you +want of us?" + +"I will tell you what I want, Mrs. Bernauer, but first I want to +speak to you alone. Mr. Franz doesn't mind leaving us for a while, +does he?" + +"But why?" said the old man hesitatingly. He didn't understand +at all what was going on and he would much rather have remained. + +"Because I came here for the special purpose of speaking to Mrs. +Bernauer," replied Muller calmly. + +"Then you didn't come on account of the dog?" + +"No, I didn't come on account of the dog." + +"Then you - you lied to me?" + +"Partly." + +"And you're no veterinary?" + +"No - I can help your dog, but I am not a veterinary and never have +been." + +"What are you then?" + +"I will tell Mrs. Bernauer who and what I am when you are outside +- outside in the courtyard there. You can walk about in the garden +if you want to, or else go and get some simple purgative for this +dog. That is all he needs; he has been over-fed." + +Franz was quite bewildered. These new developments promised to be +interesting and he was torn between his desire to know more, and +his doubts as to the propriety of leaving the housekeeper with this +queer stranger. He hesitated until the woman herself motioned to +him to go. He went out into the hall, then into the courtyard, +watched by the two in the room who stood silently in the window +until they saw the butler pass down into the garden. Then they +looked at each other. + +"You belong to the police?" asked Adele Bernauer finally with a +deep sigh. + +"That was a good guess," replied Muller with an ironic smile, +adding: "All who have any reason to fear us are very quick in +recognising us." + +"What do you mean by that?" she exclaimed with a start. "What +are you thinking of?" + +"I am thinking about the same thing that you are thinking of - that +I have proved you are thinking of - the same thing that drove you +out into the street yesterday and this morning to buy the papers. +These papers print news which is interesting many people just now, +and some people a great deals. I am thinking of the same thing +that was evidently in your thoughts as you peered out of the garden +gate this morning, although you would not come out into the street. +I know that you do not read even one newspaper regularly. I know +also that yesterday and today you bought a great many papers, +apparently to get every possible detail about a certain subject. +Do you deny this?" + +She did not deny it, she did not answer at all. She sank down on +a chair, her wide staring eyes looking straight ahead of her, and +trembling so that the old chair cracked underneath her weight. But +this condition did not last long. The woman had herself well under +control. Muller's coming, or something else, perhaps, may have +overwhelmed her for a moment, but she soon regained her usual +self-possession. + +"Still you have not told me what you want here," she began coldly, +and as he did not answer she continued: "I have a feeling that you +are watching us. I had this feeling when I saw you the first time +and noticed then - pardon my frankness - that you stared at us +sharply while we were saying goodbye to our master and mistress. +Then I saw you pass twice again through the street and look up at +our windows. This morning I find you at our garden gate and +now - you will pardon me if I tell the exact truth - now you have +wormed yourself in here under false pretenses because you have no +right whatever to force an entrance into this house. And I ask +you again, what do you want here?" + +Muller was embarrassed. That did not happen very often. Also it +did not happen very often that he was in the wrong as he was now. +The woman was absolutely right. He had wormed himself into the +house under false pretenses to follow up the new clue which almost +unconsciously as yet was leading him on with a stronger and stronger +attraction. He could not have explained it and he certainly was not +ready to say anything about it at police headquarters, even at the +risk of being obliged to continue to enter this mysterious house +under false pretenses and to be told that he was doing so. Of +course this sort of thing was necessary in his business, it was +the only way in which he could follow up the criminals. + +But there was something in this woman's words that cut into a +sensitive spot and drove the blood to his cheeks. There was +something in the bearing and manner of this one-time nurse that +impressed him, although he was not a man to be lightly impressed. +He had a feeling that be had made a fool of himself and it bothered +him. For a moment he did not know what he should say to this woman +who stood before him with so much quiet energy in her bearing. But +the something in his brain, the something that made him what he was, +whispered to him that he had done right, and that he must follow +up the trail he had found. That gave him back his usual calm. + +He took up his hat, and standing before the pale-faced woman, +looking her firmly in the eyes, he said: "It is true that I have +no right as yet to force my way into your house, therefore I have +been obliged to enter it as best I could. I have done this often +in my work, but I do it for the safety of society. And those who +reproach me for doing it are generally those whom I have been +obliged to persecute in the name of the law. Mrs. Bernauer, I +will confess that there are moments in which I feel ashamed that I +have chosen this profession that compels me to hunt down human +beings. But I do not believe that this is one of those moments. +You have read this morning's papers; you must know, therefore, that +a man has been arrested and accused of the murder which interests +you so much; you must be able to realise the terror and anxiety +which are now filling this man's heart. For to-day's papers - I +have read them myself - expressed the public sentiment that the +police may succeed in convicting this man of the crime, that the +death may be avenged and justice have her due. Several of these +papers, the papers I know you have bought and presumably read, do +not doubt that Johann Knoll is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. + +"Now there are at least two people who do not believe that Knoll is +the murderer. I am one of them, and you, Mrs. Bernauer, you are +the other. I am going now and when I come again, as I doubtless +will come again, I will come with full right to enter this house. +I acknowledge frankly that I have no justification in causing your +arrest as yet, but you are quite clever enough to know that if I +had the faintest justification I would not leave here alone. And +one thing more I have to say. You may not know that I have had the +most extraordinary luck in my profession, that in more than a +hundred cases there have been but two where the criminal I was +hunting escaped me. And now, Mrs. Bernauer, I will bid you good +day." + +Muller stepped towards the window and motioned to Franz, who was +walking up and down outside. The old man ran to the door and met +the detective in the hall. + +"You'd better go in and look after Mrs. Bernauer," said the +latter, "I can find my way out alone." + +Franz looked after him, shaking his head in bewilderment and then +entered his own room. "Merciful God!" he exclaimed, bending down +in terror over the housekeeper, who lay on the floor. In his shock +and bewilderment he imagined that she too had been murdered, until +he realised that it was only a swoon from which she recovered in +a moment. He helped her regain her feet and she looked about as +if still dazed, stammering: "Has he gone?" + +"The strange man? ... Yes, he went some time ago. But what +happened to you? Did he give you something to make you faint? Do +you think he was a thief?" + +Mrs. Bernauer shook her head and murmured: "Oh, no, quite the +contrary." A remark which did not enlighten Franz particularly +as to the status of the man who had just left them. There was a +note of fear in the housekeepers s voice and she added hastily: +"Does any one besides ourselves know that he was here?" + +No. Lizzie and the cook are in the kitchen talking about the +murder." + +Mrs. Bernauer shivered again and went slowly out of the room and +up the stairs. + +If Franz believed that the stranger had left the house by the +front entrance he was very much mistaken. When Muller found +himself alone in the corridor he turned quickly and hurried out +into the garden. None of the servants had seen him. Lizzie and +the cook were engaged in an earnest conversation in the kitchen +and Franz was fully occupied with Mrs. Bernauer. The gardener +was away and his wife busy at her wash tubs. No one was aware, +therefore, that Muller spent about ten minutes wandering about the +garden, and ten minutes were quite sufficient for him to become so +well acquainted with the place that he could have drawn a map of +it. He left the garden through the rear gate, the latch of which +he was obliged to leave open. The gardener's wife found it that +way several hours later and was rather surprised thereat. Muller +walked down the street rapidly and caught a passing tramway. His +mood was not of the best, for he could not make up his mind whether +or no this morning had been a lost one. His mind sorted and +rearranged all that he knew or could imagine concerning Mrs. +Bernaner. But there was hardly enough of these facts to reassure +him that he was not on a false trail, that he had not allowed +himself to waste precious hours all because he had seen a woman's +haggard face appear for a moment at the little gate in the quiet street. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE + + +Muller's goal was the prison where Johann Knoll was awaiting his +fate. The detective had permission to see the man as often as +he wished to. Knoll had been proven a thief, but the accusation +of murder against him had not been strengthened by anything but +the most superficial circumstantial evidence, therefore it was +necessary that Muller should talk with him in the hope of +discovering something more definite. + +Knoll lay asleep on his cot as the detective and the warder entered +the cell. Muller motioned the attendant to leave him alone with +the prisoner and he stood beside the cot looking down at the man. +The face on the hard pillow was not a very pleasant one to look at. +The skin was roughened and swollen and had that brown-purple tinge +which comes from being constantly in the open air, and from habitual +drinking. The weather-beaten look may be seen often in the faces of +men whose honest work keeps them out of doors; but this man had not +earned his colouring honestly, for he was one of the sort who worked +only from time to time when it was absolutely necessary and there +was no other way of getting a penny. His hands proved this, for +although soiled and grimy they had soft, slender fingers which +showed no signs of a life of toil. But even a man who has spent +forty years in useless idling need not be all bad. There must have +been some good left in this man or he could not have lain there so +quietly, breathing easily, wrapped in a slumber as undisturbed as +that of a child. It did not seem possible that any man could lie +there like that with the guilt of murder on his conscience, or even +with the knowledge in his soul that he had plundered a corpse. + +Muller had never believed the first to be the case, but he had +thought it possible that Knoll knew perfectly well that it was a +lifeless body he was robbing. He had believed it at least until +the moment when he stood looking down at the sleeping tramp. Now, +with the deep knowledge of the human heart which was his by +instinct and which his profession had increased a thousand-fold, +Muller knew that this man before him had no heavy crime upon his +conscience - that it was really as he had said - that he had taken +the watch and purse from one whom he believed to be intoxicated +only. Of course it was not a very commendable deed for which the +tramp was now in prison, but it was slight in comparison to the +crimes of which he was suspected. + +Muller bent lower over the unconscious form and was surprised to +see a gentle smile spread over the face before him. It brightened +and changed the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a look +of almost child-like innocence. Somewhere within the coarsened +soul there must be a spot of brightness from which such a smile +could come. + +But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and looked +up. He shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller's hand +on his shoulder and raised himself to a sitting position, grumbling: +"Can't I have any rest? Are they going to question me again? I'm +getting tired of this. I've said everything I know anyhow." + +"Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of my +questions when I tell you that I believe the story you told us +yesterday, and that I want to be your friend and help you." + +Knoll's little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the man +who spoke to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark of +intelligence in them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and he +saw it again now. But he saw also the gleam of distrust in these +eyes, a distrust which found expression in Knoll's next words. +"You think you can catch me with your good words, but you're makin' +a mistake. I've got nothin' new to say. And you needn't think +that you can blind me, I know you're one of the police, and I'm +not going to say anything at all." + +"Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I really +could help you. I have just come from Hietzing - but of course if +you don't want to talk to me - " Muller shrugged his shoulders and +turned toward the door. + +But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. "You really mean +to help me?" he gasped. + +"I do," said the detective calmly. + +"Then swear, on your mother's soul - or is your mother still alive?" + +"No, she has been dead some time." + +"Well, then, will you swear it?" + +"Would you believe an oath like that?" + +"Why shouldn't I?" + +"With the life you've been leading?" + +"My life's no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those things on +Monday was the worst thing I've done yet. Will you swear?" + +"Is it something so very important you have to tell me?" + +"No, I ain't got nothin' at all new to tell you. But I'd just like +to know - in this black hole I've got into - I'd just like to know +that there's one human being who means well with me - I'd like to +know that there's one man in the world who don't think I'm quite +good-for-nothin'." + +The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a heart-rending +sob. Deep pity moved the detective's breast. He led Knoll back to +his cot, and put both hands on his shoulders, saying gravely: "I +believe that this theft was the worst thing you have done. By my +mother's salvation, Knoll, I believe your words and I will try to +help you." + +Knoll raised his head, looking up at Muller with a glance of +unspeakable gratitude. With trembling lips he kissed the hand +which a moment before had pressed kindly on his shoulder, clinging +fast to it as if he could not bear to let it go. Muller was almost +embarrassed. "Oh, come now, Knoll, don't be foolish. Pull yourself +together and answer my questions carefully, for I am asking you +these questions more for your own sake than for anything else." + +The tramp nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He looked +almost happy again, and there was a softness in his eyes that +showed there was something in the man which might be saved and +which was worth saving. + +Muller sat beside him on the cot and began: "There was one mistake +in your story yesterday. I want you to think it over carefully. +You said that you saw first a woman and then a man going through +the neighbouring garden. I believe that one or both of these +people is the criminal for whom we are looking. Therefore, I want +you to try and remember everything that you can connect with them, +every slightest detail. Anything that you can tell us may be of +the greatest importance. Therefore, think very carefully." + +Knoll sat still a few moments, evidently trying hard to put his +hazy recollections into useful form and shape. But it was also +evident that orderly thinking was an unusual work for him, and he +found it almost too difficult. "I guess you 'better ask me +questions, maybe that'll go," he said after a pause. + +Then Muller began to question. With his usual thoroughness he +began at the very beginning: "When was it that you climbed the +fence to get into the shed?" + +"It just struck nine o'clock when I put my foot on the lowest bar." + +"Are you sure of that?" + +"Quite sure. I counted every stroke. You see, I wanted to know +how long the night was going to be, seein' I'd have to sleep in +that shed. I was in the garden just exactly an hour. I came out +of the shed as it struck ten and it wasn't but a few minutes before +I was in the street again." + +"And when was it that you saw the woman in the garden next door?" + +"H'm, I don't just know when that was. I'd been in on the bench +quite a while." + +"And the man? When did you see the man?" + +"He came past a few minutes after the woman had gone towards the +little house in the garden." + +"Ah! there you see, that's where you made your mistake. It is +more than likely that these two did not go to the little house, but +that they went somewhere else. Did they walk slowly and quietly?" + +"Not a bit of it. They ran almost ... Went past as quick as a bat +in the night." + +"Then they both appeared to be in a hurry?" + +"Yes indeed they did." + +"Ah, ha, you see! Now when any one's in a hurry he doesn't go the +longest way round, as a rule. And it would have been the longest +way round for these two people to go from the big house to the +gardener's cottage - for the little house you saw was the gardener's +cottage. There is tall thick hedge that starts from the main +building and goes right down through the garden, quite a distance +past the gardener's cottage. The vegetable garden is on the left +side of this hedge and in the middle of the vegetable garden is the +gardener's cottage. But you could have seen the man and the woman +only because they passed down the right side of the hedge, and this +would have given them a detour of fifty paces or more to reach +the gardener's house. Nov do you think that two people who were +very much in a hurry would have gone down the right side of the +hedge, to reach a place which they could have gotten to much quicker +on the left side?" + +"No, that would have been a fool thing to do." + +"And you are quite sure that these people were in a hurry?" + +"That's dead sure. I scarcely saw them before they'd gone again." + +"And you didn't see them come back?" + +"No, at least I didn't pay any further attention to them. When I +thought it wouldn't be any good to look about in there I turned +around and dozed off." + +"And it was during this dozing that you thought you heard the shot?" + +Yes, sir, that's right." + +"And you didn't notice anything else? You didn't hear anything +else." + +"No, nothin' at all, there was so much noise anyway. There was a +high wind that night and the trees were rattling and creaking." + +"And you didn't see anything else, anything that attracted your +attention?" + +"No, nothing - " Knoll did not finish his sentence, but began +another instead. He had suddenly remembered something which had +seemed to him of no importance before. "There was a light that +went out suddenly." + +"Where?" + +"In the side of the house that I could see from my place. There +was a lamp in the last window of the second story, a lamp with a +red shade. That lamp went out all at once." + +"Was the window open?" + +"Yes." + +"There was a strong wind that night, might not the wind have blown +the lamp out?" + +"No, that wasn't it," said Knoll, rising hastily. + +"Well, how was it?" asked Muller calmly. + +"A hand put out the lamp." + +"Whose hand?" + +"I couldn't see that. The light was so low on account of the shade +that I couldn't see the person who stood there." + +"And you don't know whether it was a man or a woman?" + +"No, I just saw a hand, more like a shadow it was." + +"Well, it doesn't matter much anyway. It was after nine o'clock +and many people go to bed about that time," said Muller, who did +not see much value in this incident. + +But Knoll shook his head. "The person who put out that light didn't +go to bed, at least not right away," he said eagerly. "I looked +over after a while to the place where the red light was and I saw +something else." + +"Well, what was it you saw?" + +"The window had been closed." + +"Who closed it? Didn't you see the person that time? The moonlight +lay full on the house." + +"Yes, when there weren't any clouds. But there was a heavy cloud +over the moon just then and when it came out again the window was +shut and there was a white curtain drawn in front of it." + +"How could you see that?" + +"I could see it when the lamp was lit again." + +"Then the lamp was lit again?" + +"Yes, I could see the red light behind the curtain." + +"And what happened then?" + +"Nothing more then, except that the man went through the garden." + +Muller rose now and took up his hat. He was evidently excited and +Knoll looked at him uneasily. "You're goin' already?" he asked. + +"Yes, I have a great deal to do to-day," replied the detective and +nodded to the prisoner as he knocked on the door. "I am glad you +remembered that," he added, "it will be of use to us, I think." + +The warder opened the door, let Muller out, and the heavy iron +portal clanged again between Knoll and freedom. + +Muller was quite satisfied with the result of his visit to the +accused. He hurried to the nearest cab stand and entered one of +the carriages waiting there. He gave the driver Mrs. Klingmayer's +address. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon now and Muller +had had nothing to eat yet. But he was quite unaware of the fact +as his mind was so busy that no mere physical sensation could +divert his attention for a moment. Muller never seemed to need +sleep or food when he was on the trail, particularly not in the +fascinating first stages of the case when it was his imagination +alone, catching at trifles unnoticed by others, combining them in +masterly fashion to an ordered whole, that first led the seekers +to the truth. Now he went over once more all the little apparently +trivial incidents that had caused him first to watch the Thorne +household and then had drawn his attention, and his suspicion, +to Adele Bernauer. It was the broken willow twig that had first +drawn his attention to the old garden next the Thorne property. +This twig, this garden, and perhaps some one who could reach his +home again, unseen and unendangered through this garden - might +not this have something to do with the murder? + +The breaking of the twig was already explained. It was Johann +Knoll who had stepped on it. But he had not climbed the wall at +all, had only crept along it looking for a night's shelter. And +there was no connection between Knoll and the people who lived +in the Thorne house. Muller had not the slightest doubt that the +tramp had told the entire truth that day and the day preceding. + +Then the detective's mind went back to the happenings of Tuesday +morning. The little twig had first drawn his attention to the +Thorne estate and the people who lived there. He had seen the +departure of the young couple and had passed the house again that +afternoon and the following day, drawn to it as if by a magnet. +He had not been able then to explain what it was that attracted +him; there had been nothing definite in his mind as he strolled +past the old mansion. But his repeated appearance had been noticed +by some one - by one person only - the housekeeper. Why should she +have noticed it? Had she any reason for believing that she might +be watched? People with an uneasy conscience are very apt to +connect even perfectly natural trivial circumstances with their own +doings. Adele Bernauer had evidently connected Muller's repeated +passing with something that concerned herself even before the +detective had thought of her at all. + +Muller had not noticed her until he had seen her peculiar conduct +that very morning. When he heard Franz's words and saw how +disturbed the woman was, he asked himself: "Why did this woman +want to be shown the spot of the murder? Didn't she know that +place, living so near it, as well as any of the many who stood +there staring in morbid curiosity? Did she ask to have it shown +her that the others might believe she had nothing whatever to do +with the occurrences that had happened there? Or was she drawn +thither by that queer attraction that brings the criminal back to +the scene of his crime?" + +The sudden vision of Mrs. Bernauer's head at the garden gate, and +its equally sudden disappearance had attracted Muller's attention +and his thoughts to the woman. What he had been able to learn +about her had increased his suspicions and her involuntary +exclamation when she met him face to face in the house had proved +beyond a doubt that there was something on her mind. His open +accusation, her demeanour, and finally her swoon, were all links in +the chain of evidence that this woman knew something about the +murder in the quiet lane. + +With this suspicion in his mind what Muller had learned from Knoll +was of great value to him, at all events of great interest. Was +it the housekeeper who had put out the light? For now Muller did +not doubt for a moment that this sudden extinguishing of the lamp +was a signal. He believed that Knoll had seen clearly and that he +had told truly what he had seen. A lamp that is blown out by the +wind flickers uneasily before going out. A sudden extinguishing of +the light means human agency. And the lamp was lit again a few +moments afterward and burned on steadily as before. A short time +after the lamp had been put out the man had been seen going through +the garden. And it could not have been much later before the shot +was heard. This shot had been fired between the hours of nine and +ten, for it was during this hour only that Knoll was in the garden +house and heard the shot. But it was not necessary to depend upon +the tramp's evidence alone to determine the exact hour of the shot. +It must have been before half past nine, or otherwise the janitor +of No.1, who came home at that hour and lay awake so long, would +undoubtedly have heard a shot fired so near his domicile, in spite +of the noise occasioned by the high wind. There would have been +sufficient time for Mrs. Bernauer to have reached the place of the +murder between the putting out of the lamp and the firing of the +shot. But perhaps she may have rested quietly in her room; she +may have been only the inciter or the accomplice of the deed. But +at all events, she knew something about it, she was in some way +connected with it. + +Muller drew a deep breath. He felt much easier now that he had +arranged his thoughts and marshalled in orderly array all the facts +he had already gathered. There was nothing to do now but to follow +up a given path step by step and he could no longer reproach himself +that he might have cast suspicion on an innocent soul. No, his +bearing towards Mrs. Bernauer had not been sheer brutality. His +instinct, which had led him so unerringly so many times, had again +shown him the right way when he had thrust the accusation in her +face. + +Now that his mind was easier he realised that he was very hungry. +He drove to a restaurant and ordered a hasty meal. + +"Beer, sir?' asked the waiter for the third time. + +"No," answered Muller, also for the third time. + +"Then you'll take wine, sir?" asked the insistent Ganymede. + +"Oh, go to the devil! When I want anything I'll ask for it," +growled the detective, this time effectively scaring the waiter. +It did not often happen that a customer refused drinks, but then +there were not many customers who needed as clear, a head as +Muller knew he would have to have to-day. Always a light drinker, +it was one of his rules never to touch a drop of liquor during +this first stage of the mental working out of any new problem +which presented itself. But soft-hearted as he was, he repented +of his irritation a moment later and soothed the waiter's wounded +feelings by a rich tip. The boy ran out to open the cab door for +his strange customer and looked after him, wondering whether the +man was a cranky millionaire or merely a poet. For Joseph +Muller, by name and by reputation one of the best known men in +Vienna, was by sight unknown to all except the few with whom he +had to do on the police force. His appearance, in every way +inconspicuous, and the fact that he never sought acquaintance with +any one, was indeed of the greatest possible assistance to him in +his work. Many of those who saw him several times in a day would +pass him or look him full in the face without recognising him. It +was only, as in the case of Mrs. Bernauer, the guilty conscience +that remembered face and figure of this quiet-looking man who was +one of the most-feared servants of the law in Austria. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE ELECTRICIAN + + +When Muller reached the house where Mrs. Klingmayer lived he ordered +the cabman to wait and hurried up to the widow's little apartment. +He had the key to Leopold Winkler's room in his own pocket, for +Mrs. Klingmayer had given this key to Commissioner von Riedau at +the latter's request and the commissioner had given it to Muller. +The detective told the good woman not to bother about him as he +wanted to make an examination of the place alone. Left to himself +in the little room, Muller made a thorough search of it, opening +the cupboard, the bureau drawers, every possible receptacle where +any article could be kept or hidden. What he wanted to find was +some letter, some bit of paper, some memoranda perhaps, anything +that would show any connection existing between the murdered man +and Mrs. Bernauer, who lived so near the place where this man had +died and who was so greatly interested in his murder. + +The detective's search was not quite in vain, although he could not +tell yet whether what he had found would be of any value. Leopold +Winkler had had very little correspondence, or else he had had no +reason to keep the letters he received. Muller found only about a +half dozen letters in all. Three of them were from women of the +half-world, giving dates for meetings. Another was written by a +man and signed "Theo." This "Theo" appeared to be the same sort +of a cheap rounder that Winkler was. And he seemed to have sunk +one grade deeper than the dead man, in spite of the latter's bad +reputation. For this other addressed Winkler as his "Dear Friend" +and pleaded with him for "greater discretion," alluding evidently +to something which made this discretion necessary. + +"I wonder what rascality it was that made these two friends?" +murmured Muller, putting "Theo's letter with the three he had +already read. But before he slipped it in his pocket he glanced at +the postmark. The letters of the three women had all been posted +from different quarters of the city some months ago. Theo's letter +was postmarked "Marburg," and dated on the 1st of September of +the present year. + +Then Muller looked at the postmark of the two remaining letters +which he had not yet read, and whistled softly to himself. Both +these letters were posted from a certain station in Hietzing, the +station which was nearest his own lodgings and also nearest the +Thorne house. He looked at the postmark more sharply. They both +bore the dates of the present year, one of them being stamped "March +17th," the other "September 24th." This last letter interested +the detective most. + +Muller was not of a nervous disposition, but his hand trembled +slightly as he took the letter from its envelope. It was clear +that this letter had been torn open hastily, for the edges of the +opening were jagged and uneven. + +When the detective had read the letter - it contained but a few +lines and bore neither address nor signature - he glanced over +it once more as if to memorise the words. They were as follows: +"Do not come again. In a day or two I will be able to do what I +have to do. I will send you later news to your office. Impatience +will not help you." - These words were written hastily on a piece +of paper that looked as if it had been torn from a pad. In spite +of the haste the writer had been at some pains to disguise the +handwriting. But it was a clumsy disguise, done by one not +accustomed to such tricks, and it was evidently done by a woman. +All she had known how to do to disguise her writing had been to +twist and turn the paper while writing, so that every letter had +a different position. The letters were also made unusually long. +This peculiarity of the writing was seen on both letters and both +envelopes. The earlier letter was still shorter and seemed to have +been written with the same haste, and with the same disgust, or +perhaps even hatred, for the man to whom it was written. + +"Come to-morrow, but not before eight o'clock. He has gone away. +God forgive him and you." This was the contents of the letter of +the 17th of March. That is, the writer had penned the letter this +way. But the last two words, "and you," had evidently not come +from her heart, for she had annulled them by a heavy stroke of the +pen. A stroke that seemed like a knife thrust, so full of rage +and hate it was. + +"So he was called to a rendezvous in Hietzing, too," murmured +Muller, then he added after a few moments: "But this rendezvous had +nothing whatever to do with love." + +There was nothing else in Winkler's room which could be of any value +to Muller in the problem that was now before him. And yet he was +very well satisfied with the result of his errand. + +He entered his cab again, ordering the driver to take him to +Hietzing. Just before he had reached the corner where he had told +the man to stop, another cab passed them, a coupe, in which was a +solitary woman. Muller had just time enough to recognise this woman +as Adele Bernauer, and to see that she looked even more haggard and +miserable than she had that morning. She did not look up as the +other cab passed her carriage, therefore she did not see Muller. +The detective looked at his watch and saw that it was almost +half-past four. The unexpected meeting changed, his plans for the +afternoon. He had decided that he must enter the Thorne mansion +again that very day, for he must find out the meaning of the +red-shaded lamp. And now that the housekeeper was away it would +be easier for him to get into the house, therefore it must be done +at once. His excuse was all ready, for he had been weighing +possibilities. He dismissed his cab a block from his own home and +entered his house cautiously. + +Muller's lodgings consisted of two large rooms, really much too +large for a lone man who was at home so little. But Muller had +engaged them at first sight, for the apartment possessed one +qualification which was absolutely necessary for him. Its +situation and the arrangement of its doors made it possible for +him to enter and leave his rooms without being seen either by his +own landlady or by the other lodgers in the house. The little +apartment was on the ground floor, and Muller's own rooms had a +separate entrance opening on to the main corridor almost immediately +behind the door. Nine times out of ten, he could come and go +without being seen by any one in the house. To-day was the first +time, however, that Muller had had occasion to try this particular +qualification of his new lodgings. + +He opened the street door and slipped into his own room without +having seen or been seen by any one. + +Fifteen minutes later he left the apartment again, but left it +such a changed man that nobody who had seen him go in would have +recognised him. Before he came out, however, he looked about +carefully to see whether there was any one in sight He came out +unseen and was just closing the main door behind him, when he met +the janitress. + +"Were you looking for anybody in the house?" said the woman, +glancing sharply at the stranger, who answered in a slightly veiled +voice: "No, I made a mistake in the number. The place I am looking +for is two houses further down." + +He walked down the street and the woman looked after him until she +saw him turn into the doorway of the second house. Then she went +into her own rooms. The house Muller entered happened to be a +corner house with an entrance on the other street, through which +the detective passed and went on his way. He was quite satisfied +with the security of his disguise, for the woman who knew him well +had not recognised him at all. If his own janitress did not know +him, the people in the Thorne house would never imagine it was he. + +And indeed Muller was entirely changed. In actuality small and +thin, with sparse brown hair and smooth shaven face, he was now an +inch or two taller and very much stouter. He wore thick curly blond +hair, a little pointed blond beard and moustache. His eyes were +hidden by heavy-rimmed spectacles. + +It was just half-past five when he rang the bell at the entrance +gate to the Thorne property. He had spent the intervening time in +the cafe, as he was in no hurry to enter the house. Franz came down +the path and opened the door. "'What do you want?" he asked. + +"I come from Siemens & Halske; I was to ask whether the other man - " + +"Has been here already?" interrupted Franz, adding in an irritated +tone, "No, he hasn't been here at all." + +"Well, I guess he didn't get through at the other place in time. +I'll see what the trouble is," said the stranger, whom Franz +naturally supposed to be the electrician, lie opened the gate and +asked the other to come in, leading him into the house. Under a +cloudy sky the day was fading rapidly. Muller knew that it would +not occur to the real electrician to begin any work as late as this, +and that he was perfectly safe in the examination he wanted to make. + +"Well, what's the trouble here? Why did you write to our firm?" +asked the supposed electrician. + +"The wires must cross somewhere, or there's something wrong with +the bells. When the housekeeper touches the button in her room to +ring for the cook or the upstairs girl, the bell rings in Mr. Thorne's +room. It starts ringing and it keeps up with a deuce of a noise. +Fortunately the family are away." + +"Well, we'll fix it all right for you. First of all I want to look +at the button in the housekeeper's room." + +"I'll take you up there," said Franz. + +They walked through the wide corridor, then turned into a shorter, +darker hall and went up a narrow winding stairway. Franz halted +before a door in the second story. It was the last of the three +doors in the hall." Muller took off his hat as the door opened +and murmured a "good-evening." + +"There's no one there; Mrs. Bernaner's out." + +"Has she gone away, too?" asked the electrician hastily. + +Franz did not notice that there was a slight change in the stranger's +voice at this question, and he answered calmly as ever: "Oh, no; +she's just driven to town. I think she went to see the doctor who +lives quite a distance away. She hasn't been feeling at all well. +She took a cab to-day. I told her she ought to, as she wasn't well +enough to go by the tram. She ought to be home any moment now." + +"Well, I'll hurry up with the job so that I'll be out of the way +when the lady comes," said Muller, as Franz led him to the +misbehaving bell. + +It was in the wall immediately above a large table which filled the +window niche so completely that there was but scant space left for +the comfortable armchair that stood in front of it. The window was +open and Muller leaned out, looking down at the garden below. + +"What a fine old garden!" he exclaimed aloud. To himself he said: +"This is the last window in the left wing. It is the window where +Johann Knoll saw the red light." + +And when he turned back into the room again he found the source of +this light right at his hand on the handsome old table at which Mrs. +Bernauer evidently spent many of her hours. A row of books stood +against the wall, framing the back of the table. Well-worn volumes +of the classics among them gave proof that the one-time nurse was a +woman of education. A sewing basket and neat piles of house linen, +awaiting repairs, covered a large part of the table-top, and beside +them stood a gracefully shaped lamp, covered by a shade of soft red +silk. + +It took Muller but a few seconds to see all this. Then he set about +his investigation of the electric button. He unscrewed the plate +and examined the wires meeting under it. While doing so he cast +another glance at the table and saw a letter lying there, an open +letter half out of its envelope. This envelope was of unusual shape, +long and narrow, and the paper was heavy and high-glossed. + +"Your housekeeper evidently has no secrets from the rest of you," +Muller remarked with a laugh, still busy at the wires, "or she +wouldn't leave her letters lying about like that." + +"Oh, we've all heard what's in that letter," replied Franz. "She +read it to us when it came this morning. It's from the Madam. She +sent messages to all of us and orders, so Mrs. Bernauer read us the +whole letter. There's no secrets in that." + +"The button has been pressed in too far and caught down. That seems +to be the main trouble," said Muller, readjusting the little knob. +"I'd like a candle here if I may have one." + +"I'll get you a light at once," said Franz. But his intentions, +however excellent, seemed difficult of fulfilment. It was rapidly +growing dark, and the old butler peered about uncertainly. "Stupid," +he muttered. "I don't know where she keeps the matches. I can't +find them anywhere. I'm not a smoker, so I haven't any in my pocket." + +"Nor I," said Muller calmly, letting his hand close protectingly +over a new full box of them in his own pocket. + +"I'll get you some from my own room," and Franz hurried away, his +loose slippers clattering down the stairs. He was no sooner well +out of the room than Muller had the letter in his hand and was +standing close by the window to catch the fading light. But on the +old servant's return the supposed electrician stood calmly awaiting +the coming of the light, and the letter was back on the table half +hidden by a piece of linen. Franz did not notice that the envelope +was missing. And the housekeeper, whose mind was so upset by the +events of the day, and whose thoughts were on other more absorbing +matters, would hardly be likely to remember whether she had returned +this quite unimportant letter to its envelope or not. + +Franz brought a lighted candle with him, and Muller, who really did +possess a creditable knowledge of electricity, saw that the wires +in the room were all in good condition. As he had seen at first, +there was really nothing the matter except with the position of +the button. But it did not suit his purpose to enlighten Franz on +the matter just yet. + +"Now I'd better look at the wires in the gentleman's room," he +said, when he had returned plate and button to their place. + +"Just as you say," replied Franz, taking up his candle and leading +the way out into the hail and down the winding stair. They crossed +the lower corridor, mounted another staircase and entered a large, +handsomely furnished room, half studio, half library. The wall was +covered with pictures and sketches, several easels stood piled up +in the corner, and a broad table beside them held paint boxes, +colour tubes, brushes, all the paraphernalia of the painter, now +carefully ordered and covered for a term of idleness. Great +bookcases towered to the ceiling, and a huge flat top desk, a +costly piece of furniture, was covered with books and papers. It +was the room of a man of brains and breeding, a man of talent and +ability, possessing, furthermore, the means to indulge his tastes +freely. Even now, with its master absent, the handsome apartment +bore the impress of his personality. The detective's quick +imagination called up the attractive, sympathetic figure of the +man he had seen at the gate, as his quick eye took in the details +of the room. All the charm of Herbert Thorne's personality, which +the keen-sensed Muller had felt so strongly even in that fleeting +glimpse of him, came back again here in the room which was his own +little kingdom and the expression of his mentality. + +"Well, what's the trouble here? Where are the wires?" asked the +detective, after the momentary pause which had followed his entrance +into the room. Franz led him to a spot on the wall hidden by a +marquetry cabinet. "Here's the bell, it rings for several minutes +before it stops." + +The light of the candle which the butler held fell upon a portrait +hanging above the cabinet. It was a sketch in water-colours, the +life-sized head of a man who may have been about thirty years old, +perhaps, but who had none of the freshness and vigour of youth. +The scanty hair, the sunken temples, and the faded skin, emphasised +the look of dissipation given by the lines about the sensual mouth +and the shifty eyes. + +"Well, say, can't your master find anything better to paint than a +face like that?" Muller asked with a laugh. + +"Goodness me! you mustn't say such things!" exclaimed Franz in +alarm; "that's the Madam's brother. He's an officer, I'd have you +know. It's true, he doesn't look like much there, but that's +because he's not in uniform. It makes such a difference." + +"Is the lady anything like her brother?" asked the detective +indifferently, bending to examine the wiring. + +"Oh, dear, no, not a bit; they're as different as day and night. +He's only her half-brother anyway. She was the daughter of the +Colonel's second wife. Our Madam is the sweetest, gentlest lady +you can imagine, an angel of goodness. But the Lieutenant here +has always been a care to his family, they say. I guess he's +quieted down a bit now, for his father - he's Colonel Leining, +retired - made him get exchanged from the city to a small garrison +town. There's nothing much to do in Marburg, I dare say - well! +you are a merry sort, aren't you?" These last words, spoken in a +tone of surprise, were called forth by a sudden sharp whistle from +the detective, a whistle which went off into a few merry bars. + +A sudden whistle like that from Muller's lips was something that +made the Imperial Police Force sit up and take notice, for it meant +that things were happening, and that the happenings were likely to +become exciting. It was a habit he could control only by the +severest effort of the will, an effort which he kept for occasions +when it was absolutely necessary. Here, alone with the harmless +old man, he was not so much on his guard, and the sudden vibrating +of every nerve at the word "Marburg," found vent in the whistle +which surprised old Franz. One young police commissioner with a +fancy for metaphor had likened this sudden involuntary whistle of +Muller's to the bay of the hound when he strikes the trail; which +was about what it was. + +"Yes, I am merry sometimes," he said with a laugh. "It's a habit +I have. Something occurred to me just then, something I had +forgotten. Hope you don't mind." + +"Oh, no, there's no one here now, whistle all you like." + +But Muller's whistle was not a continuous performance, and he had +now completely mastered the excitation of his nerves which had +called it forth. He threw another sharp look at the picture of the +man who lived in Marburg, and then asked: "And now where is the +button?" + +"By the window there, beside the desk." Franz led the way with +his candle. + +"Why, how funny! What are those mirrors there for?" asked the +electrician in a tone of surprise, pointing to two small mirrors +hanging in the window niche. They were placed at a height and at +such a peculiar angle that no one could possibly see his face +in them. + +"Something the master is experimenting with, I guess. He's always +making queer experiments; he knows a lot about scientific things." + +Muller shook his head as if in wonderment, and bent to investigate +the button which was fastened into the wall beneath the window sill. +His quick ear heard a carriage stopping in front of the house, and +heard the closing of the front door a moment later. To facilitate +his examination of the button, the detective had seated himself in +the armchair which stood beside the desk. He half raised himself +now to let the light of the candle fall more clearly on the wiring +- then he started up altogether and threw a hasty glance at the +mirrors above his head. A ray of light had suddenly flashed down +upon him - a ray of red light, and it came reflected from the +mirrors. Muller bit his lips to keep back the betraying whistle. + +"What's the matter?" asked the butler. "Did you drop anything?" + +"Yes, the wooden rim of the button," replied Muller, telling the +truth this time. For he had held the little wooden circlet in his +hands at the moment when the red light, reflected down from the +mirrors, struck full upon his eyes. He had dropped it in his +surprise and excitement. Franz found the little ring in the centre +of the room where it had rolled, and the supposed electrician +replaced it and rose to his feet, saying: "There, I've finished now." + +Franz did not recognise the double meaning in the words. "Yes, it's +all right! I've finished here now," Muller repeated to himself. +For now he knew beyond a doubt that the red light was a signal - and +he knew also for whom this signal was intended. It was a signal for +Herbert Thorne! - Herbert Thorne, whom no single thought or suspicion +of Muller's had yet connected with the murder of Leopold Winkler. + +The detective was very much surprised and greatly excited. But +Franz did not notice it, and indeed a far keener observer than the +slow-witted old butler might have failed to see the sudden gleam +which shot up in the grey eyes behind the heavy spectacles, might +have failed to notice the tightening of the lips beneath the blond +moustache, or the tenseness of the slight frame under the assumed +embonpoint. Muller's every nerve was tingling, but he had himself +completely in hand. + +"What do we owe you?" asked Franz. + +"They'll send you a bill from the office. It won't amount to much. +I must be getting on now." + +Muller hastened out of the door and down the street to the nearest +cab stand. There were not very many cab stands in this vicinity, +and the detective reasoned that Mrs. Bernauer would naturally have +taken her cab from the nearest station. He had heard her return in +her carriage, presumably the same in which she had started out. + +There was but one cab at the stand. Muller walked to it and laid +his hand on the door. + +"Oh, Jimmy! must I go out again?" asked the driver hoarsely. +"Can't you see the poor beast is all wet from the last ride? We've +just come in." He pointed with his whip to the tired-looking animal +under his blanket. + +"Why, he does look warm. You must have been making a tour out into +the country," said the blond gentleman in a friendly tone. + +"No, sir, not quite so far as that. I've just taken a woman to the +main telegraph office in the city and back again. But she was in a +hurry and he's not a young horse, sir." + +"Well, never mind, then; I can get another cab across the bridge," +replied the stout blond man, turning away and strolling off leisurely +in the direction of the bridge. It was now quite dark, and a few +steps further on Muller could safely turn and take the road to his +own lodging. No one saw him go in, and in a few moments the real +Muller, slight, smooth-shaven, sat down at his desk, looking at the +papers that lay before him. They were three letters and an empty +envelope. + +He took up the last, and compared it carefully with the envelope of +one of the letters found in Winkler's room - the unsigned letter +postmarked Hietzing, September 24th. The two envelopes were exactly +alike. They were of the same size and shape, made of the same +cream-tinted, heavy, glossy paper, and the address was written by +the same hand. This any keen observer, who need not necessarily be +an expert, could see. The same hand which had addressed the +envelope to Mrs. Adele Bernauer on the letter which was postmarked +"Venice," about thirty-six hours previous - this hand had, in an +awkward and childish attempt at disguise, written Winkler's address +on the envelope which bore the date of September 24th. + +The writer of the harmless letter to Mrs. Bernauer, a letter which +chatted of household topics and touched lightly on the beauties of +Venice, was Mrs. Thorne. It was Mrs. Thorne, therefore, who, +reluctantly and in anger and distaste, had called Leopold Winkler +to Hietzing, to his death. + +And whose hand had fired the shot that caused his death? The +question, at this stage in Muller's meditation, could hardly be +called a question any more. It was all too sadly clear to him now. +Winkler met his death at the hand of the husband, who, discovering +the planned rendezvous, had misunderstood its motive. + +For truly this had been no lovers' meeting. It had been a meeting +to which the woman was driven by fear and hate; the man by greed of +gain. This was clearly proved by the 300 guldens found in the dead +man's pocket, money enclosed in a delicate little envelope, sealed +hastily, and crumpled as if it had been carried in a hot and +trembling hand. + +It was already known that Winkler never had any money except at +certain irregular intervals, when he appeared to have come into +possession of considerable sums. During these days he indulged in +extravagant pleasures and spent his money with a recklessness which +proved that he had not earned it by honest work. + +Leopold Winkler was a blackmailer. + +Colonel Leining, retired, the father of two such widely different +children, was doubtless a man of stern principles, and an army +officer as well, therefore a man with a doubly sensitive code of +honour and a social position to maintain; and this man, morbidly +sensitive probably, had a daughter who had inherited his +sensitiveness and his high ideals of honour, a daughter married to +a rich husband. But he had another child, a son without any sense +of honour at all, who, although also an officer, failed to live in +a manner worthy his position. This son was now in Marburg, where +there were no expensive pleasures, no all-night cafes and gambling +dens, for a man to lose his time in, his money, and his honour also. + +For such must have been the case with Colonel Leining's son before +his exile to Marburg. The old butler had hinted at the truth. The +portrait drawn by Herbert Thorne, a picture of such technical +excellence that it was doubtless a good likeness also, had given an +ugly illustration to Franz's remarks. And there was something even +more tangible to prove it: "Theo's" letter from Marburg pleading +with Winkler for "discretion and silence," not knowing ("let us +hope he did not know!" murmured Muller between set teeth) that the +man who held him in his power because of some rascality, was being +paid for his silence by the Lieutenant's sister. + +It is easy to frighten a sensitive woman, so easy to make her +believe the worst! And there is little such a tender-hearted woman +will not do to save her aging father from pain and sorrow, perhaps +even disgrace! + +It must have been in this way that Mrs. Thorne came into the power +of the scoundrel who paid with his life for his last attempt at +blackmail. + +When Muller reached this point in his chain of thought, he closed +his eyes and covered his face with his hands, letting two pictures +stand out clear before his mental vision. + +He saw the little anxious group around the carriage in front of the +Thorne mansion. He saw the pale, frail woman leaning back on the +cushions, and the husband bending over her in tender care. And +then he saw Johann Knoll in his cell, a man with little manhood left +in him, a man sunk to the level of the brutes, a man who had already +committed one crime against society, and who could never rise to the +mental or spiritual standard of even the most mediocre of decent +citizens. + +If Herbert Thorne were to suffer the just punishment for his deed +of doubly blind jealousy, then it was not only his own life, a life +full of gracious promise, that would be ruined, but the happiness of +his delicate, sweet-faced wife, who was doubtless still in blessed +ignorance of what had happened. And still one other would be dragged +down by this tragedy; a respected, upright man would bow his white +hairs in disgrace. Thorne's father-in-law could not escape the +scandal and his own share in the responsibility for it. And to a +veteran officer, bred in the exaggerated social ethics of his +profession. such a disgrace means ruin, sometimes even voluntary +death. + +"Oh, dear, if it had only been Knoll who did it," said Muller with +a sigh that was almost a groan. + +Then he rose slowly and heavily, and slowly and heavily, as if borne +down by the weight of great weariness, he reached for his hat and +coat and left the house. + +Whether he wished it or not, he knew it was his duty to go on to the +bitter end on this trail he had followed up all day from the moment +that he caught that fleeting glimpse of Mrs. Bernauer's haggard face +at the garden gate. He was almost angry with the woman, because she +chanced to look out of the gate at just that moment, showing him her +face distorted with anxiety. For it was her face that had drawn +Muller to the trail, a trail at the end of which misery awaited those +for whom this woman had worked for years, those whom she loved and +who treated her as one of the family. + +Muller knew now that the one-time nurse was in league with her +former charge; that Thorne and Adele Bernauer were in each other's +confidence; that the man sat waiting for the signal which she was +to give him, a signal bringing so much disgrace and sorrow in its +train. + +If the woman had not spied upon and betrayed her mistress, this +terrible event, which now weighed upon her own soul, would not have +happened. + +"A faithful servant, indeed," said Muller, with a harsh laugh. + +Then maturer consideration came and forced him to acknowledge that +it was indeed devotion that had swayed Adele Bernauer, devotion to +her master more than to her mistress. This was hardly to be +wondered at. But she had not thought what might come from her +revelations, what had come of them. For now her pet, the baby who +had once lain in her arms, the handsome, gifted man whom she adored +with more than the love of many a mother for the child of her own +blood, was under the shadow of hideous disgrace and doom, was the +just prey of the law for open trial and condemnation as a murderer. + +Muller sighed deeply once more and then came one of those moments +which he had spoken of to the unhappy woman that very day. He felt +like cursing the fatal gift that was his, the gift to see what was +hidden from others, this something within him that forced him +relentlessly onward until he had uncovered the truth, and brought +misery to many. + +Muller need not do anything, he need simply do nothing. Not a soul +besides himself suspected the dwellers in the Thorne mansion of any +connection with the murder. If he were silent, nothing could be +proven against Knoll after all, except the robbery which he himself +had confessed. Then the memory of the terror in the tramp's little +reddened eyes came back to the detective's mind. + +"A human soul after all, and a soul trembling in the shadow of a +great fear. And even he's a better man than the blackmailer who +was killed. A miscarriage of justice will often make a criminal +of a poor fellow whose worst fault is idleness." Muller's face +darkened as the things of the past, shut down in the depths of his +own soul, rose up again. "No; that's why I took up this work. +Justice must be done - but it's bitter hard sometimes. I could +almost wish now that I hadn't seen that face at the gate." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION + + +It was striking eight as Muller came out of a cafe in the heart of +the city. He had been in there but a few moments, for his purpose +was merely to look through the Army lists of the current year. The +result of his search proved the correctness of his conclusions. + +There was a Lieutenant Theobald Leining in the single infantry +regiment stationed at Marburg. + +Muller took a cab and drove to the main telegraph office. He asked +for the original of the telegram which had been sent that afternoon +to the address; "Herbert Thorne, Hotel Danieli, Venice." This +closed the circle of the chain. + +The detective re-entered his waiting cab and drove back to Hietzing. +He told the driver to halt at the corner of the street on which +fronted the Thorne mansion and to wait for him there. He himself +walked slowly down the quiet Street and rang the bell at the iron +gate. + +"You come to this house again?" asked Franz, starting back in +alarm when he saw who it was that had called him to the door. + +"Yes, my good friend; I want to get into this house again. But not +on false pretenses this time. And before you let me in you can go +upstairs and ask Mrs. Bernauer if she will receive me in her own +room - in her own room, mind. But make haste; I am in a hurry." +The detective's tone was calm and he strolled slowly up and down in +front of the gate when he had finished speaking. + +The old butler hesitated a moment, then walked into the house. +When he returned, rather more quickly, he looked alarmed and his +tone was very humble as he asked Muller to follow him. + +When the detective entered Mrs. Bernauer's room the housekeeper +rose slowly from the large armchair in front of her table. She was +very pale and her eyes were full of terror. She made no move to +speak, so Muller began the conversation. He put down his hat, +brought up a chair and placed it near the window at which the +housekeeper had been sitting. Then he sat down and motioned to +her to do the same. + +"You are a faithful servant, all too faithful," he began. "But +you are faithful only to your master. You have no devotion for +his wife." + +"You are mistaken," replied the woman in a low tone. + +"Perhaps, but I do not think so. One does not betray the people +to whom one is devoted." + +Mrs. Bernauer looked up in surprise. "What - what do you know?" +she stammered. + +Muller did not answer the question directly, but continued: "Mrs. +Thorne had a meeting recently with a strange man. It was not their +first meeting, and somehow you discovered it. But before this last +meeting occurred you spoke to the lady's husband about it, and it +was arranged between you that you should give him a signal which +would mean to him, 'Your wife is going to the meeting.' Mrs. Thorne +did go to the meeting. This happened on Monday evening at about +quarter past nine. Some one, who was in the neighbourhood by +chance, saw a woman's figure hurrying through the garden, down to +the other street, and a moment after this, the light of this lamp +in your window was seen to go out. A hand had turned down the +wick - it was your hand. + +"This was the signal to Mr. Thorne. The mirrors over his desk +reflected in his eyes the light he could not otherwise have seen +as he sat by his own window. The signal, therefore, told him that +the time had come to act. This same chance watcher, who had seen +the woman going through the garden, had seen the lamp go out, and +now saw a man's figure hurrying down the path the woman had taken. +The man as well as the woman came from this house and went in the +direction of the lower end of the garden. + +"A little while later a shot was heard, and the next morning Leopold +Winkler was found with a bullet in his back. The crime was +generally taken to be a murder for the sake of robbery. But you and +I, and Mr. Herbert Thorne, know very well that it was not. + +"You know this since Wednesday noon. Then it was that the idea +suddenly came to you, falling like a heavy weight on your soul, the +idea that Winkler might not have been killed for the sake of robbery, +but because of the hatred that some one bore him. Then it was that +you lost your appetite suddenly, that you drove into the city with +the excuse of errands to do, in order to read the papers without +being seen by any one who knew you. When you came home you searched +everywhere in your master's room: you made an excuse for this search, +but what you wanted to find out was whether he had left anything +that could betray him. Your fright had already confused your mind. +You were searching probably for the weapon from which he had fired +the bullet. You did not realise that he would naturally have taken +it with him and thrown it somewhere into a ravine or river beside +the railway track between here and Venice. How could you think for +a moment that he would leave it behind him, here in his room, or +dropped in the garden? But this was doubtless due to the confusion +owing to your sudden alarm and anxiety - a confusion which prevented +you from realising the danger of the two peculiarly hung mirrors in +Mr. Thorne's room. These should have been taken away at once. This +morning my sudden appearance at the garden gate prevented you from +making an examination of the place of the murder. Your swoon, after +I had spoken to you in the butler's room, showed me that you were +carrying a burden too heavy for your strength. Finally, this +afternoon, you drove to the main telegraph office in the city, as +you thought that it would be safer to telegraph Mr. Thorne from +there. Your telegram was very cleverly written. But you might have +spared the last sentence, the request that Mr. Thorne should get the +Viennese papers of these last days. Believe me, he has already read +these papers. Who could be more interested in what they have to tell +than he?" + +The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller's long +speech. Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When the +detective ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room for +some time. Finally Muller asked: "Is this what happened?" His voice +was cutting and the glance of his eyes keen and sharp. + +Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller waited +a moment more and then he said quietly: "Then it is true." + +"Yes, it is true," came the answer in a low hoarse tone. + +Again there was silence for an appreciable interval. + +"If you had been faithful to your mistress as well, if you had not +spied upon her and betrayed her to her husband, all this might not +have happened," continued the detective pitilessly, adding with a +bitter smile: "And it was not even a case of sinful love. Your +mistress had no such relations with this Winkler as you - I say +this to excuse you - seemed to believe." + +Adele Bernauer sprang up. "I do not need this excuse," she cried, +trembling in excitement. "I do not need any excuse. What I have +done I did after due consideration and in the realisation that it +was absolutely necessary to do it. Never for one moment did I +believe that my mistress was untrue to her husband. Never for one +moment could I believe such an evil thing of her, for I knew her to +be an angel of goodness. A woman who is deceiving her husband is +not as unhappy as this poor lady has been for months. A woman does +not write to a successful lover with so much sorrow, with so many +tears. I had long suspected these meetings before I discovered +them, but I knew that these meetings had nothing whatever to do +with love. Because I knew this, and only because I knew it, did I +tell my master about them. I wanted him to protect his wife, to +free her from the wretch who had obtained some power over her, I +knew not how." + +"Ah! then that was it?" exclaimed Muller, and his eyes softened +as he looked at the sobbing woman who had sunk back into her chair. +He laid his hand on her cold fingers and continued gently: "Then +you have really done right, you have done only what was your duty. +I pity you deeply that you - " + +"That I have brought suspicion upon my master by my own foolishness?" +she finished the sentence with a pitifully sad smile. "If I could +have controlled myself, could have kept calm, nobody would have had +a thought or a suspicion that he - my pet, my darling - that it was +he who was forced, through some terrible circumstance of which I do +not know, to free his wife, in this manner, from the wretch who +persecuted her." + +Mrs. Bernauer wrung her hands and gazed with despairing eyes at the +man who sat before her, himself deeply moved. + +Again there was a long silence. Muller could not find a word to +comfort the weeping woman. There was no longer anger in his heart, +nothing but the deepest pity. He took out his handkerchief and +wiped away the drops that were dimming his own eyes. + +"You know that I will have to go to Venice?" he asked. + +Mrs. Bernauer sprang up. "Officially?" she gasped, pale to her +lips. + +He nodded. "Yes, officially of course. I must make a report at +once to headquarters about what I have learned. You can imagine +yourself what the next steps will be." + +Her deep sigh showed him that she knew as well as he. In the same +second, however, a thought shot through her brain, changing her +whole king. Her pale face glowed, her dulled eyes shot fire, and +the fingers with which she held Muller's hand tightly clasped, were +suddenly feverishly hot. + +"And you - you are still the only person who knows the truth?" she +gasped in his ear. + +The detective nodded. "And you thought you might silence me?" he +asked calmly. "That will not be easy - for you can imagine that I +did not come unarmed." + +Adele Bernauer smiled sadly. "I would take even this way to save +Herbert Thorne from disgrace, if I thought that it could be +successful, and if I had not thought of a milder way to silence a +man who cannot be a millionaire. I have served in this house for +thirty-two years, I have been treated with such generosity that I +have been able to save almost every cent of my wages for my old +age. With the interest that has rolled up, my little fortune must +amount to nearly eight thousand gulden. I will gladly give it to +you, if you will but keep silence, if you will not tell what you +have discovered." She spoke gaspingly and sank down on her knees +before she had finished. + +"And Mr. Thorne also - " she continued hastily, as she saw no sign +of interest in Muller's calm face. Then her voice failed her. + +The detective looked down kindly on her grey hairs and answered: +"No, no, my good woman; that won't do. One cannot conceal one +crime by committing another. I myself would naturally not listen +to your suggestion for a moment, but I am also convinced that Mr. +Thorne, to whom you are so devoted, and who, I acknowledge, pleased +me the very first sight I had of him - I am convinced that he would +not agree for a moment to any such solution of the problem." + +"Then I can only hope that you will not find him in Venice," +replied Mrs. Bernauer, with utter despair in her voice and eyes. + +"I am not at all certain that I will find him in Venice when I +leave here to-morrow morning," said Muller calmly. + +"Oh! then you don't want to find him! Oh God! how good, how +inexpressibly good you are," stammered the woman, seizing at some +vague hope in her distraught heart. + +"No, you are mistaken again, Mrs. Bernauer. I will find Mr. Thorne +wherever he may be. But I may arrive in Venice too late to meet +him there. He may already be on his way home." + +"On his way home?" cried the housekeeper in terror, staggering +where she stood. + +Muller led her gently to a chair. "Sit down here and listen to me +calmly. This is what I mean. If Mr. Thorne has seen in the papers +that a man has been arrested and accused of the murder of Leopold +Winkler, then he will take the next train back and give himself up +to the authorities. That he makes no such move as long as he thinks +there is no suspicion on any one else, no possibility that any one +else could suffer the consequences of his deed - is quite +comprehensible - it is only natural and human." + +Adele Bernauer sighed deeply again and heavy tears ran down her +cheeks, in strange contrast to the ghost of a smile that parted +her lips and shone in her dimmed eyes. + +"You know him better than I do," she murmured almost inaudibly, +"you know him better than I do, and I have known him for so long." + +A moment later Muller had parted from the housekeeper with a warm, +sincere pressure of the hand. + +"Lieutenant Theobald Leining was here on a visit to his sister last +March, wasn't he?" the detective asked as Franz led him out of the +gate. + +"Yes, sir; the Lieutenant was here just about that time," answered +the old man. + +And he left here on the 16th of March?" + +"On the 16th? Why, it may have been - yes, it was the 16th - that +is our lady's birthday. He went away that day." Franz bowed a +farewell to this stranger who began to appear uncanny in his eyes, +and shutting the gate carefully he returned to the house. + +"What does the man want anyway?" he murmured to himself, shivering +involuntarily. Without knowing why he turned his steps towards Mrs. +Bernauer s room. He opened the door hesitatingly as if afraid of +what he might see there. He would not have been at all surprised if +he had found the housekeeper fainting on the floor as before. + +But she was not fainting this time. She was very much alive, for, +to Franz's great astonishment, she was busied at the packing of a +valise. + +"Are you going away too?" asked Franz. Mrs. Bernauer answered in +a voice that was dull with weariness: "Yes, Franz, I am going away. +Will you please look up the time-tables of the Southern railroad +and let me know when the morning express leaves? And please order +a cab in time for it. I will depend upon you to look after the +house in my absence. You can imagine that it must be something +very important that takes me to Venice." + +"To Venice? Why, what are you going to Venice for?" + +"Never mind about that, Franz, but help me to pray that I may get +there in time." + +She almost pushed the old man out of the door with these last +words and shut and locked it behind him. + +She wanted to be alone with this hideous fear that was clutching +at her heart. For it was not to Franz that she could tell the +thoughts that came to her lips now as she sank down, wringing her +hands, before a picture of the Madonna: "Oh Holy Virgin, Mother +of our Lord, plead for me! let me be with my dear mistress when +the terrible time comes and they take her husband away from her, +or, if preferring death to disgrace, he ends his life by his own +hand!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +IN THE POLICE COURT + + +Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening, +finishing up some important papers. The quiet of an undisturbed +night watch had settled down on the busy police station. An +occasional low murmur of whispering voices floated up from the +guardroom below, but otherwise the stillness was broken only by +the scratching of the commissioner's pen and the rustle of the +paper as he turned the leaves. It was a silence so complete that +a light step on the stair outside and the gentle turning of the +doorknob was heard distinctly and the commissioner looked up +with almost a start to see who was coming to his room so late. +Joseph Muller stood in the open door, awaiting his chief's official +recognition. + +"Oh ! it's you, Muller. So late? Come in. Anything new?" asked +the commissioner. "Have you succeeded in drawing a confession from +that stubborn tramp yet? You've been interviewing him, I take it?" + +"Yes, I had a long talk with Johann Knoll to-day." + +"Well, that ought to help matters along. Has he confessed? What +could you get out of him?" + +"Nothing, or almost nothing more than he told us here in the station, +sir. + +"The man's incredibly stubborn," said the commissioner. "If he +could only be made to understand that a free confession would benefit +him more than any one else! Well, don't look so down-cast about it, +Muller. This thing is going to take longer than we thought at first +for such a simple affair. But it's only a question of time until the +man comes to his senses. You'll get him to talk soon. You always +do. And even if you should fail here, this matter is not so very +important, when we think of all the other things you have done." +Muller, standing front of the desk, shook his head sadly. + +"But I haven't failed here, sir. More's the pity, I had almost +said." + +"What!" The commissioner looked up in surprise. "I thought you +just said that you couldn't get anything more out of the accused." + +"Knoll has told us all he knows, sir. He did not murder Leopold +Winkler." + +"Hmph!" The commissioner's exclamation had a touch of acidity in +it. "Then, if he didn't murder him, who did?" + +"Herbert Thorne, painter, living in the Thorne mansion in B. Street, +Hietzing, now in Venice, Hotel Danieli. I ask for a warrant for +his arrest, sir, and orders to start for Venice on the early morning +express to-morrow." + +"Muller! ... what the deuce does all this mean?" The commissioner +sprang up, his face flushing deeply as he leaned over the desk +staring at the sad quiet face of the little man opposite. "What +are you talking about? What does all this mean?" + +"It means, sir, that we now know who committed the murder in +Hietzing. Johann Knoll is innocent of anything more than the theft +confessed by himself. He took the purse and watch from the +senseless form of the just murdered man. The body was warm and +still supple and the tramp supposed the victim to be merely +intoxicated. His story was in every respect true, sir." + +The commissioner flushed still deeper. "And who do you say murdered +this man?" + +"Herbert Thorne, sir. + +"But Thome! I know of him ... have even a slight personal +acquaintance with him. Thorne is a rich man, of excellent family. +Why should he murder and rob an obscure clerk like this Winkler?" + +"He did not rob him sir, Knoll did that." + +"Oh, yes. But why should Thorne commit murder on this man who +scarcely touched his life at any point ... It's incredible! +Muller! Muller! are you sure you are not letting your imagination +run away with you again? It is a serious thing to make such an +accusation against any man, much less against a man in Thorne's +position. Are you sure of what you are saying?" The commissioner's +excitement rendered him almost inarticulate. The shock of the +surprise occasioned by the detective's words produced a feeling of +irritation ... a phenomenon not unusual in the minds of worthy but +pedantic men of affairs when confronted by a startling new thought. + +"I am quite sure of what I am saying, sir. I have just heard the +confession of one who might be called an accomplice of the murderer." + +"It is incredible ... incredible! An accomplice you say? ... who +is this accomplice? Might it not be some one who has a grudge +against Thorne - some one who is trying to purposely mislead you ?" + +"I am not so easily deceived or misled, sir. Every evidence points +to Thorne, and the confession I have just heard was made by a woman +who loves him, who has loved and cared for him from his babyhood. +There is not the slightest doubt of it, sir." + +Muller moved a step nearer the desk, gazing firmly in the eyes of +the excited commissioner. The sadness on the detective's face had +given way to a gleam of pride that flushed his sallow cheek and +brightened his grey eyes. It was one of those rare moments when +Muller allowed himself a feeling of triumph in his own power, in +spite of official subordination and years of habit. His slight +frame seemed to grow taller and broader as he faced the Chief with +an air of quiet determination that made him at once master of the +situation. His voice was as low as ever but it took on a keen +incisive note that compelled attention, as he continued: "Herbert +Thorne is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. Now that he knows an +innocent man is under accusation for his deed it is only a question +of time before he will come himself to confess. He will doubtless +make this confession to me, if I go to Venice to see him, and to +bring him back to trial." + +The commissioner could doubt no longer. Pedantic though he was, +Commissioner von Riedau possessed sufficient insight to know the +truth when it was presented to him with such conviction, and also +sufficient insight to have recognised the gifts of the man before +him. "But why ... why?" he murmured, sinking back into his chair, +and shaking his +head in bewilderment. + +"Winkler was a miserable scoundrel, sir, a blackmailer. Thorne did +only what any decent man would have felt like doing in his place. +But justice must be done." + +Muller's elation vanished and a deep sigh welled up from his heart. +The commissioner nodded slowly, and glanced across the desk almost +timidly. This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly the +hidden deeps of a dark mystery had opened before him, deeps already +sounded by the little man here who had gone so quietly about his +work while the official police, represented in this case by +Commissioner von Riedau himself, had sat calmly waiting for an +innocent man to confess to a crime he had not committed! It was +humiliating. The commissioner flushed again and his eyes sank to +the floor. + +"Tell me what you know, Muller," he said finally. + +Muller told the story of his experiences in the Thorne mansion, +told of the slight clues which led him to take an interest in the +house and its inmates, until finally the truth began to glimmer up +out of the depths. The commissioner listened with eager interest. +"Then you believed this elaborate yarn told by the tramp?" he +interrupted once, at the beginning of the narrative. + +"Why, yes, sir, just because it was so elaborate. A man like Knoll +would not have had the mind to invent such a story. It must have +been true, on the face of it." + +The commissioner's eyes sank again, and he did not speak until the +detective had reached the end of his story. Then he opened a drawer +in his desk and took out a bundle of official blank-forms. + +"It is wonderful! Wonderful! Muller, this case will go on record +as one of your finest achievements - and we thought it was so simple + +"Oh, indeed, sir, chance favoured me at every turn," replied Muller +modestly. + +"There is no such thing as chance," said the commissioner. "We +might as well be honest with ourselves. Any one might have seen, +doubtless did see, all the things you saw, but no one else had the +insight to recognise their value, nor the skill to follow them up +to such a conclusion. But it's a sad case, a sad case. I never +wrote a warrant with a heavier heart. Thorne is a true-hearted +gentleman, while the scoundrel he killed..." + +"Yes, sir, I feel that way about it myself. I can confess now that +there was one moment when I was ready to-well, just to say nothing. + +"And let us blunder on in our official stupidity and blindness?" +interrupted the commissioner, a faint smile breaking the gravity of +his face. "We certainly gave you every opportunity." + +"But there's an innocent man accused - suffering fear of death +- justice must be done. But, sir," Muller took the warrant the +commissioner handed across the table to him. "May I not make it +as easy as I can for Mr. Thorne - I mean, bring him here with as +little publicity as possible? His wife is with him in Venice." + +"Poor little woman, it's terrible! Do whatever you think best, +Muller. You're a queer mixture. Here you've hounded this man down, +followed hot on his trail when not a soul but yourself connected +him in any way with the murder. And now you're sorry for him! A +soft heart like yours is a dangerous possession for a police +detective, Muller. It's no aid to our business." + +"No, sir, I know that." + +"Well take care it doesn't run away with you this time. Don't let +Herbert Thorne escape, however much pity you may feel for him." + +"I doubt if he'll want to sir, as long as another is in prison for +his crime. + +"But he may make his confession and then try to escape the disgrace." + +"Yes, sir, I've thought of that. That's why I want to go to Venice +myself. And then, there's the poor young wife, he must think of her +when the desire comes to end his own life..." + +"Yes! Yes! This terrible thing has shaken us both up more than a +little. I feel exhausted. You look tired yourself, Muller. Go home +now, and get some rest for your early start. Good-night." + +"Good-night, sir." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ON THE LIDO + + +A Wonderfully beautiful night lay over the fair old city of Venice +when the Northern Express thundered over the long bridge to the +railway station. A passenger who was alone in a second-class +compartment stood up to collect his few belongings. Suddenly he +looked up as he heard a voice, a voice which he had learned to know +only very recently, calling to him from the door of the compartment. + +"Why! you were in the train too? You have come to Venice?" +exclaimed Joseph Muller in astonishment as he saw Mrs. Bernauer +standing there before him. + +"Yes, I have come to Venice too. I must be with my dear lady - when +- when Herbert - " She had begun quite calmly, but she did not +finish her sentence, for loud sobs drowned the words. + +"You were in the next compartment? Why didn't you come in here +with me? It would have made this journey shorter for both of us." + +"I had to be alone," said the pale woman and then she added: "I +only came to you now to ask you where I must go." + +"I think we two had better go to the Hotel Bauer. Let me arrange +things for you. Mrs. Thorne must not see you until she has been +prepared for your coming. I will arrange that with her husband." + +The two took each other's hands. They had won respect and sympathy +for each other, this quiet man who went so relentlessly and yet so +pityingly about his duty in the interest of justice - and the devoted +woman whose faithfulness had brought about such a tragedy. + +The train had now entered the railway station. Muller and Mrs. +Bernauer stood a few minutes later on the banks of the Grand Canal +and entered, one of the many gondolas waiting there. The moon +glanced back from the surface of the water broken into ripples under +the oars of the gondoliers; it shone with a magic charm on the old +palaces that stood knee-deep in the lagoons, and threw heavy shadows +over the narrow water-roads on which the little dark boats glided +silently forward. In most of the gondolas coming from the station +excited voices and exclamations of delight broke the calm of the +moonlit evening as the tourists rejoiced in the beauty that is +Venice. + +But in the gondola in which Muller and Mrs. Bernauer sat there was +deep silence, silence broken only by a sobbing sigh that now and +then burst from the heart of the haggard woman. There were few +travellers entering Venice on one of its world-famous moonlit nights +who were so sad at heart as were these two. + +And there were few travellers in Venice as heavy hearted as was the +man who next morning took one of the earliest boats out to the Lido. + +Muller and Mrs. Bernauer were on the same boat watching him from a +hidden corner. The woman's sad eyes gazed yearningly at the haggard +face of the tall man who stood looking over the railing of the little +steamer. Her own tears came as she saw the gloom in the once shining +grey eyes she loved so well. + +Muller stood beside Mrs. Bernauer. His eyes too, keen and quick, +followed Herbert Thorne as he stood by the rail or paced restlessly +up and down; his face too showed pity and concern. He also saw that +Thorne held in his hand a bundle of newspapers which were still +enclosed in their mailing wrappers. The papers were pressed in a +convulsive grip of the artist's long slender fingers. + +Muller knew then that Thorne had not yet learned of the arrest of +Johann Knoll. At the very earliest, Thursday's papers, which brought +the news, could not reach him before Friday morning. But these +newspapers (Muller saw that they were German papers) were still in +their wrappings. They were probably Viennese papers for which he had +telegraphed and which had just arrived. His anxiety had not allowed +him to read them in the presence of his wife. He had sought the +solitude of early morning on the Lido, that he might learn, +unobserved, what terrors fate had in store for him. + +It was doubtless Mrs. Bernauer's telegram which caused his present +anxiety, a telegram which had reached him only the night before +when he returned with his wife from an excursion to Torcello. It +had caused him a sleepless night, for it had brought the realisation +that his faithful nurse suspected the truth about the murder in the +quiet lane. The telegram had read as follows: "Have drawn money and +send it at once. Further journey probably necessary, visitor in +house to-day. Connected with occurrence in -Street. Please read +Viennese papers. News and orders for me please send to address A.B. +General Postoffice." + +This telegram told Herbert Thorne the truth. And the papers which +arrived this morning were to tell him more - what he did not yet +know. But his heart was drawn with terrors which threw lines in his +face and made him look ten years older than on that Tuesday morning +when the detective saw him setting out on his journey with his wife. + +When the boat landed at the Lido, Thorne walked off down the road +which led to the ocean side. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer entered the +waiting tramway that took them in the same direction. They +dismounted in front of the bathing establishment, stepped behind a +group of bushes and waited there for Thorne. In about ten minutes +they saw his tall figure passing on the other side of the road. He +was walking down to the beach, holding the still unopened papers in +his hand. + +A narrow strip of park runs along parallel to the beach in the +direction towards Mala Mocco. Muller and Mrs Bernauer walked along +through this park on the path which was nearest the water. The +detective watched the rapidly moving figure ahead of them, while the +woman's tear-dimmed eyes veiled everything else to her but the path +along which her weary feet hastened. Thorne halted about half way +between the bathing establishment and the customs barracks, looked +around to see if he were alone and threw himself down on the sand. + +He had chosen a good place. To the right and to the left were high +sand dunes, before him was the broad surface of the ocean, and at +his back was rising ground, bare sand with here and there a scraggly +bush or a group of high thistles. Herbert Thorne believed himself +to be alone here ... as far as a man can be alone over whom hangs +the shadow of a crime. He groaned aloud and hid his pale face in +his hands. + +In his own distress he did not hear the deep sigh - which, just +above him on the edge of the knoll, broke from the breast of a woman +who was suffering scarcely less than he; he did not know that two +pair of sad eyes looked down upon him. And now into the eyes of the +watching woman there shot a gleam of terror. For Herbert Thorne had +taken a revolver from his pocket and laid it quietly beside him. +Then he took out a notebook and a pencil and placed them beside the +weapon. Then slowly, reluctantly, he opened one of the papers. + +A light breeze from the shining sea before him carried off the +wrapping. The paper which he opened shook in his trembling hands, +as his eyes sought the reports of the murder. He gave a sudden +start and a tremor ran through his frame. He had come to the spot +which told of the arrest of another man, who was under shadow of +punishment for the crime which he himself had committed. When he +had read this report through, he turned to the other papers. He was +quite calm now, outwardly calm at least. + +When he had finished reading the papers he laid them in a heap +beside him and reached out for his notebook. As he opened it the +two watchers saw that between its first pages there was a sealed and +addressed letter. Two other envelopes were contained in the +notebook, envelopes which were also addressed although still open. +Muller's sharp eyes could read the addresses as Thorne took them up +in turn, looking long at each of them. One envelope was addressed +in Italian to the Chief of Police of Venice, the other to the Chief +of Police in Vienna. + +The two watchers leaned forward, scarcely three yards above the man +in whom they were interested. Thorne tore out two leaves of his +notebook and wrote several lines on each of them. One note, he +placed in the envelope addressed to the Viennese police and sealed +it carefully. Then he put the sealed letter with the second note in +the other envelope, the one addressed to the Italian police. He put +all the letters back in his notebook, holding it together with a +rubber strap, and replaced it in his pocket. + +Then he stretched out his hand toward the revolver. + +The sand came rattling down upon him, the thistles bent over +creakingly and two figures appeared beside him. + +"There's time enough for that yet, Mr. Thorne," said the man at whom +the painter gazed up in bewilderment. And then this man took the +revolver quietly from his hand and hid it in his own pocket. + +Thorne pressed his teeth down on his lips until the blood came. He +could not speak; he looked first at the stranger who had mastered +him so completely, and then, in dazed astonishment, at the woman who +had sunk down beside him in the sand, clasping his hand in both of +hers. + +"Adele! Adele! 'Why are you here?" he stammered finally. + +"I want to be with you - in this hour," she answered, looking at +him with eyes of worship. "I want to be with my dear lady - to +comfort her - to protect her when - when - " + +"When they arrest me?" Thorne finished the sentence himself. Then +turning to Muller he continued: "And that is why you are here?" + +"Yes, Mr. Thorne. I have a warrant for your arrest in my pocket. +But I think it will be unnecessary to make use of it in the +customary official way through the authorities here. I see that +you have written to both police stations - confessing your deed. +This will amount to a voluntary giving up of yourself to the +authorities, therefore all that is necessary is that I return with +you in the same train which takes you to Vienna. But I must ask +you for those two letters, for until you yourself give them to the +police authorities in my presence, it is my duty to keep them." + +Muller had seldom found his official duty as difficult as it was +now. His words came haltingly and great drops stood out on his +forehead. + +The painter rose from the sand and he too wiped his face, which was +drawn in agony. + +"Herbert, Herbert!" cried Adele Bernauer suddenly. "Oh, Herbert, +you will live, you will! Promise me, you will not think of suicide, +it would kill your wife - " + +She lay on her knees before him in the sand. He looked down at her +gently and with a gesture which seemed to be a familiar one of days +long past, he stroked the face that had grown old and worn in these +hours of fear for him. + +"Yes, you dear good soul, I will live on, I will take upon myself my +punishment for killing a scoundrel. The poor man whom they have +arrested in my place must not linger in the fear of death. I am +ready, sir. + +"My name is Muller - detective Muller." + +"Joseph Muller, the famous detective Muller?" asked Thorne with a +sad smile. "I have had little to do with the police but by chance +I have heard of your fame. I might have known; they tell me you +are one from whom the truth can never remain hidden." + +"My duty is not always an easy one," said Muller. + +"Thank you. Dispose of me as you will. I do not wish any +privileges that others would not have, Mr. Muller. Here is my +written confession and here am I myself. Shall we go. now?" +Herbert Thorne handed the detective his notebook with its important +contents and then walked slowly back along the road he had come. + +Muller walked a little behind him, while Mrs. Bernauer was at his +side. As in days long past, they walked hand in hand. + +With eyes full of pity Muller watched them, and he heard Thorne +give his old nurse orders for the care of his wife. She was to take +Mrs. Thorne to Graz to her father, then to return herself to Vienna +and take care of the house as usual, until his attorney could settle +up his affairs and sell the property. For Thorne said that neither +he nor his wife would ever want to set foot in the house again. He +spoke calmly, he thought of everything - he thought even of the +possibility that he might have to pay the death penalty for his deed. + +For who could tell how the authorities would judge this murder? + +It had indeed been a murder by merest chance only. Thorne told his +old nurse all about it. When she had given him the signal he had +hurried down into the garden, and walking quietly along the path, +he had found his wife at the garden gate in conversation with a man +who was a stranger to him. That part of their talk which he +overheard told him that the man was a blackmailer, and that he was +making money on the fact that he had caught Theobald Leining cheating +at cards. + +This chance had put the officer into Winkler's power. The clerk +knew that he could get nothing from the guilty man himself, so he +had turned to the latter's sister, who was rich, and had threatened +to bring about a disgraceful scandal if she did not pay for his +silence. For more than a year he had been getting money from her +by means of these threats. All this was clear from the conversation. +The man spoke in tones of impertinence, or sneering obsequiousness, +the woman s voice showed contempt and hatred. + +Thorne's blood began to boil. His fingers tightened about the +revolver which he had brought with him to be ready for any emergency, +and he stepped designedly upon a twig which broke under his feet +with a noise. He wanted to frighten his wife and send her back to +the house. This was what did occur. But the blackmailer was alarmed +as well and fled hastily from the garden when he realised that he was +not alone with his victim. Thorne followed the man's disappearing +figure, calling him to halt. He did not call loudly for he too wanted +to avoid a scandal. His intention was to force the man to follow him +into the house, to get his written confession of blackmail - then to +finish him off with a large sum once for all and kick him out of the +place. + +In this manner Herbert Thorne thought to free himself and his wife +from the persecutions of the rascal. His heart was filled with +hatred towards the man. For since Mrs. Bernauer had told him what +she had discovered, he knew that it was because of this wretch that +his once so happy wife was losing her strength, her health and her +peace of mind. + +He followed the fleeing man and called to him several times to halt. +Finally Winkler half turned and called out over his shoulder: "You'd +better leave me alone! Do you want all Vienna to know that your +brother-in-law ought to be in jail?" + +These words robbed Thorne of all control. He pressed the trigger +under his finger and the bullet struck the man before him, who had +turned to continue his flight, full in the back. "And that is how +I became a murderer." With these words Herbert Thorne concluded his +narrative. He appeared quite calm now. He was really calmer, for +the strain of the deed, which was justified in his eyes, was not so +great upon his conscience as had been the strain of the secret of it. + +In his own eyes he had only killed a beast who chanced to bear the +form of a man. But of course in the eyes of the world this was a +murder like any other, and the man who had committed it knew that +he was under the ban of the law, that it was only a chance that the +arm of justice had not yet reached out for him. And now this arm +had reached out for him, although it was no longer necessary. For +Herbert Thorne was not the man to allow another to suffer in his +stead. + +As soon as he knew that another had been arrested and was under +suspicion of the murder, he knew that there was nothing more for +him but open confession. But he wished to avoid a scandal even now. +If he died by his own hand, then the first cause of all this trouble, +his brother-in-law's rascality, could still be hidden. + +But now his care was all in vain and Herbert Thorne knew that he +must submit to the inevitable. Side by side with his old friend +he sat on the deck of the boat that took them back to the Riva dei +Schiavoni. Muller sat at some distance from them. The pale +sad-faced woman, and the pale sad-faced man had much to say to each +other that a stranger might not hear. + +When the little boat reached the landing stage, there were but a +few steps more to the door of the Hotel Danieli. From a balcony on +the first floor a young woman stood looking down onto the canal. +She too was pale and her eyes were heavy with anxiety. She had been +pale and anxious even then, the day when she left the beautiful old +house in the quiet street, to start on this pleasure trip to Venice. + +It had been no pleasure trip to her. She had seen the change in her +husband, a change that struck deep into his very being and altered +him in everything except in his love and tender care for her. "Oh, +why is it? what is the matter?" she asked her self a thousand times +a day. Could it be possible that he had discovered the secret which +tortured her, the only secret she had ever had from him, the secret +she had longed to confess to him a hundred times but had lacked +courage to do it. + +For she had sinned deeply against her husband, she knew. Her fear +and her confusion had driven her deeper and deeper into the waters +of deceit until it was impossible for her to find the words that +would have brought help and comfort from the man whom she loved more +than anything else in the world. In the very earliest stages of +Winkler's persecution she had lost her head completely and instead +of confessing to her husband and asking for his aid and protection, +she had pawned the rich jewels which had been his wedding present to +get the money demanded by the blackmailer. In her ignorance she had +thought that this one sum would satisfy him. + +But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved from +her pin money, from her household allowance, thus taking what she +had intended to use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, and +her jewels gone forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a terror +which sapped her strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. Any +hour might bring discovery, a discovery which she feared would shake +her husband's love for her. The poor weak little woman grew pale and +ill. She wrote finally to her step-brother, but he could think of no +way out; he wrote only that if the matter came to a scandal there +would be nothing for him to do but to kill himself. This was one +reason more for her silence, and Mrs. Thome faded to a wan shadow of +her former sunny self. + +As she looked down from the balcony, she was like a woman suffering +from a deathly illness. A new terror had come to her heart because +her husband had gone away so early without telling her why or whither +he had gone. When she saw him coming towards the door of the hotel, +pale and drooping, and when she saw Mrs. Bernauer beside him, her +heart seemed to stand still. She crept back from the window and +stood in the middle of the room as Herbert Thorne and his former +nurse entered. + +"What has happened?" This was all she could say as she looked into +the distraught face of the housekeeper, into her husband's sad eyes. + +He led her to a chair, then knelt beside her and told her all. + +"Outside the door stands the man who will take me back to Vienna +- and you, my dearest, you must go to your father." He concluded his +story with these words. + +She bent down over him and kissed him. "'No, I am going with you," + she said softly, strangely calm; "why should I leave you now? Is +it not I who am the cause of this dreadful thing?" + +And then she made her confession, much too late. And she went with +him, back to the city of their home. It seemed to them both quite +natural that she should do so. + +When the Northern Express rolled out of Venice that afternoon, three +people sat together in a compartment, the curtains of which were +drawn close. They were the unhappy couple and their faithful +servant. And outside in the corridor of the railway carriage, a +small, slight man walked up and down - up and down. He had pressed +a gold coin into the conductor's hand, with the words: "The party +in there do not wish to be disturbed; the lady is ill." + +Herbert Thorne's trial took place several weeks later. Every +possible extenuating circumstance was brought to bear upon his +sentence. Five years only was to be the term of his imprisonment, +his punishment for the crime of a single moment of anger. + +His wife waited for him in patient love. She did not go to Graz, +but continued to live in the old mansion with the mansard roof. +Her father was with her. The brother Theobald, the cause of all +this suffering to those who had shielded him at the expense of +their own happiness, had at last done the only good deed of his +life - had put an end to his useless existence with his own hand. + +Father and daughter waited patiently for the return of the man +who had sinned and suffered for their sake. They spoke of him +only in terms of the tenderest affection and respect. + +And indeed, seldom has any condemned murderer met with the respect +of the entire community as Herbert Thorne did. The tone of the +newspapers, and public opinion, evinced by hundreds of letters from +friends, acquaintances, and from strangers, was a great boon to +the solitary man in his cell, and to the three loving hearts in the +old house. And at the end of two years the clemency of the Monarch +ended his term of imprisonment, and Herbert Thorne was set free, a +step which met with the approval of the entire city. + +He returned to the home where love and affection awaited him, ready +to make him forget what he had suffered. But the silver threads in +his dark hair and a certain quiet seriousness in his manner, and in +the hearts of all the dwellers in the old mansion, showed that the +occurrence of that fatal 27th of September had thrown a shadow over +them all which was not to be shaken off. + +Joseph Muller brought many other cases to a successful solution. +But for years after this particular case had been won, he was +followed, as by a shadow, by a man who watched over him, and who, +whenever danger threatened, stood over the frail detective as if +to take the blow upon himself. He is a clever assistant, too, and +no one who had seen Johann Knoll the day that he was put into the +cell on suspicion of murder would have believed that the idle tramp +could become again such a useful member of society. These are the +victories that Joseph Muller considers his greatest. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext: The Case of The Lamp That Went Out + diff --git a/old/tltwo10.zip b/old/tltwo10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..906cdb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/tltwo10.zip diff --git a/old/tltwo10h.htm b/old/tltwo10h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a93d27b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/tltwo10h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8177 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>The Case of The Lamp That Went Out</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= +"text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner +by The Lamp That Went Out + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner + +Author: The Lamp That Went Out + +Release Date: July, 1999 [EBook #1832] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on February 26, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLBURN AND GRONER *** + + + +This eBook was produced by Walter Debeuf + + + + + +</pre> + +<h2><br> + The Case of The Lamp That Went Out</h2> + +<p>INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER</p> + +<p>Joseph Muller, Secret Service detective of the Imperial +Austrian<br> + police, is one of the great experts in his profession. In<br> + personality he differs greatly from other famous detectives. +He<br> + has neither the impressive authority of Sherlock Holmes, nor +the<br> + keen brilliancy of Monsieur Lecoq. Muller is a small, +slight,<br> + plain-looking man, of indefinite age, and of much humbleness +of<br> + mien. A naturally retiring, modest disposition, and two +external<br> + causes are the reasons for Muller's humbleness of manner, +which<br> + is his chief characteristic. One cause is the fact that in +early<br> + youth a miscarriage of justice gave him several years in +prison,<br> + an experience which cast a stigma on his name and which made +it<br> + impossible for him, for many years after, to obtain honest<br> + employment. But the world is richer, and safer, by Muller's<br> + early misfortune. For it was this experience which threw him<br> + back on his own peculiar talents for a livelihood, and drove +him<br> + into the police force. Had he been able to enter any other<br> + profession, his genius might have been stunted to a mere +pastime,<br> + instead of being, as now, utilised for the public good.</p> + +<p><br> + Then, the red tape and bureaucratic etiquette which attaches +to<br> + every governmental department, puts the secret service men of +the<br> + Imperial police on a par with the lower ranks of the +subordinates.<br> + Muller's official rank is scarcely much higher than that of +a<br> + policeman, although kings and councillors consult him and +the<br> + Police Department realises to the full what a treasure it has +in<br> + him. But official red tape, and his early misfortune ... +prevent<br> + the giving of any higher official standing to even such a +genius.<br> + Born and bred to such conditions, Muller understands them, +and<br> + his natural modesty of disposition asks for no outward +honours,<br> + asks for nothing but an income sufficient for his simple +needs,<br> + and for aid and opportunity to occupy himself in the way he +most<br> + enjoys.</p> + +<p>Joseph Muller's character is a strange mixture. The<br> + kindest-hearted man in the world, he is a human bloodhound +when<br> + once the lure of the trail has caught him. He scarcely eats +or<br> + sleeps when the chase is on, he does not seem to know human<br> + weakness nor fatigue, in spite of his frail body. Once put +on<br> + a case his mind delves and delves until it finds a clue, +then<br> + something awakes within him, a spirit akin to that which +holds<br> + the bloodhound nose to trail, and he will accomplish the +apparently<br> + impossible, he will track down his victim when the entire +machinery<br> + of a great police department seems helpless to discover +anything.<br> + The high chiefs and commissioners grant a condescending +permission<br> + when Muller asks, "May I do this? ... or may I handle this +case<br> + this way?" both parties knowing all the while that it is a +farce,<br> + and that the department waits helpless until this humble +little<br> + man saves its honour by solving some problem before which +its<br> + intricate machinery has stood dazed and puzzled.</p> + +<p>This call of the trail is something that is stronger than +anything<br> + else in Muller's mentality, and now and then it brings him +into<br> + conflict with the department, ... or with his own better +nature.<br> + Sometimes his unerring instinct discovers secrets in high +places,<br> + secrets which the Police Department is bidden to hush up and +leave<br> + untouched. Muller is then taken off the case, and left idle +for<br> + a while if he persists in his opinion as to the true facts. +And<br> + at other times, Muller's own warm heart gets him into trouble. +He<br> + will track down his victim, driven by the power in his soul +which<br> + is stronger than all volition; but when he has this victim in +the<br> + net, he will sometimes discover him to be a much finer, better +man<br> + than the other individual, whose wrong at this particular +criminal's<br> + hand set in motion the machinery of justice. Several times +that<br> + has happened to Muller, and each time his heart got the better +of<br> + his professional instincts, of his practical common-sense, +too,<br> + perhaps, ... at least as far as his own advancement was +concerned,<br> + and he warned the victim, defeating his own work. This +peculiarity<br> + of Muller's character caused his undoing at last, his +official<br> + undoing that is, and compelled his retirement from the force. +But<br> + his advice is often sought unofficially by the Department, and +to<br> + those who know, Muller's hand can be seen in the unravelling +of<br> + many a famous case.</p> + +<p>The following stories are but a few of the many interesting +cases<br> + that have come within the experience of this great +detective.<br> + But they give a fair portrayal of Muller's peculiar method +of<br> + working, his looking on himself as merely an humble member of +the<br> + Department, and the comedy of his acting under "official +orders"<br> + when the Department is in reality following out his +directions.</p> + +<h2>THE CASE OF THE LAMP THAT WENT OUT</h2> + +<h3>by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner</h3> + +<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>THE DISCOVERY</h3> + +<p><br> + The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. +The<br> + air was so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even +where<br> + the city's buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of +the<br> + town the rays of the awakening sun danced in crystalline +ether<br> + and struck answering gleams from the dew on grass and shrub +in<br> + the myriad gardens of the suburban streets.</p> + +<p><br> + It was still very early. The old-fashioned steeple clock on +the<br> + church of the Holy Virgin in Hietzing had boomed out six +slow<br> + strokes but a short time back. Anna, the pretty blonde girl +who<br> + carried out the milk for the dwellers in several streets of +this<br> + aristocratic residential suburb, was just coming around the +corner<br> + of the main street into a quiet lane. This lane could hardly +be<br> + dignified by the name of street as yet, it was so very quiet. +It<br> + had been opened and named scarcely a year back and it was +bordered<br> + mostly by open gardens or fenced-in building lots. There were +four<br> + houses in this street, two by two opposite each other, and +another,<br> + an old-fashioned manor house, lying almost hidden in its +great<br> + garden. But the quiet street could not presume to ownership +of<br> + this last house, for the front of it opened on a parallel +street,<br> + which gave it its number. Only the garden had a gate as +outlet<br> + onto our quiet lane.</p> + +<p>Anna stopped in front of this gate and pulled the bell. She +had<br> + to wait for some little time until the gardener's wife, who +acted<br> + as janitress, could open the door. But Anna was not +impatient,<br> + for she knew that it was quite a distance from the +gardener's<br> + house in the centre of the great stretch of park to the +little<br> + gate where she waited. In a few moments, however, the door +was<br> + opened and a pleasant-faced woman exchanged a friendly +greeting<br> + with the girl and took the cans from her.</p> + +<p>Anna hastened onward with her usual energetic step. The four +houses<br> + in that street were already served and she was now bound for +the<br> + homes of customers several squares away. Then her step slowed +just<br> + a bit. She was a quiet, thoughtful girl and the lovely peace +of<br> + this bright morning sank into her heart and made her rejoice +in<br> + its beauty. All around her the foliage was turning gently to +its<br> + autumn glory of colouring and the dewdrops on the rich-hued +leaves<br> + sparkled with an unusual radiance. A thrush looked down at +her<br> + from a bough and began its morning song. Anna smiled up at +the<br> + little bird and began herself to sing a merry tune.</p> + +<p></p> + +<p><br> + But suddenly her voice died away, the colour faded from her +flushed<br> + cheeks, her eyes opened wide and she stood as if riveted to +the<br> + ground. With a deep breath as of unconscious terror she let +the<br> + burden of the milk cans drop gently from her shoulder to the +ground.<br> + In following the bird's flight her eyes had wandered to the side +of<br> + the street, to the edge of one of the vacant lots, there where +a<br> + shallow ditch separated it from the roadway. An elder-tree, +the<br> + great size of which attested its age, hung its berry-laden +branches<br> + over the ditch. And in front of this tree the bird had +stopped<br> + suddenly, then fluttered off with the quick movement of the +wild<br> + creature surprised by fright. What the bird had seen was the +same<br> + vision that halted the song on Anna's lips and arrested her +foot.<br> + It was the body of a man - a young and well-dressed man, who +lay<br> + there with his face turned toward the street. And his face was +the<br> + white frozen face of a corpse.</p> + +<p>Anna stood still, looking down at him for a few moments, +in<br> + wide-eyed terror: then she walked on slowly as if trying to +pull<br> + herself together again. A few steps and then she turned and +broke<br> + into a run. When she reached the end of the street, +breathless<br> + from haste and excitement, she found herself in one of the +main<br> + arteries of traffic of the suburb, but owing to the early +hour<br> + this street was almost as quiet as the lane she had just +left.<br> + Finally the frightened girl's eyes caught sight of the figure +of<br> + a policeman coming around the next corner. She flew to meet +him<br> + and recognised him as the officer of that beat.</p> + +<p>"Why, what is the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so +excited?"</p> + +<p>"Down there-in the lane, there's a dead man," answered the +girl,<br> + gasping for breath.</p> + +<p>"A dead man?" repeated the policeman gravely, looking at the +girl.<br> + "Are you sure he's dead?"</p> + +<p>Anna nodded. "His eyes are all glassy and I saw blood on his +back."</p> + +<p>"Well, you're evidently very much frightened, and I suppose +you<br> + don't want to go down there again. I'll look into the matter, +if<br> + you will go to the police station and make the announcement. +Will<br> + you do it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"All right, then, that will gain time for us. Good-bye, Miss +Anna."</p> + +<p>The man walked quickly down the street, while the girl hurried +off<br> + in the opposite direction, to the nearest police station, where +she<br> + told what she had seen.</p> + +<p>The policeman reached his goal even earlier. The first glance +told<br> + him that the man lying there by the wayside was indeed +lifeless.<br> + And the icy stiffness of the hand which he touched showed him +that<br> + life must have fled many hours back. Anna had been right about +the<br> + blood also. The dead man lay on the farther side of the ditch, +half<br> + down into it. His right arm was bent under his body, his left +arm<br> + was stretched out, and the stiffened fingers ... they were +slender<br> + white fingers ... had sought for something to break his fall. +All<br> + they had found was a tall stem of wild aster with its purple +blossoms,<br> + which they were holding fast in the death grip. On the dead +man's<br> + back was a small bullet-wound and around the edges of it his +light<br> + grey coat was stained with blood. His face was distorted in +pain<br> + and terror. It was a nice face, or would have been, did it not +show<br> + all too plainly the marks of dissipation in spite of the fact +that<br> + the man could not have been much past thirty years old. He was +a<br> + stranger to the policeman, although the latter had been on +this<br> + beat for over three years.</p> + +<p>When the guardian of the law had convinced himself that there +was<br> + nothing more to do for the man who lay there, he rose from +his<br> + stooping position and stepped back. His gaze wandered up and +down<br> + the quiet lane, which was still absolutely empty of human +life.<br> + He stood there quietly waiting, watching over the ghastly +discovery.<br> + In about ten minutes the police commissioner and the +coroner,<br> + followed by two roundsmen with a litter, joined the solitary +watcher,<br> + and the latter could return to his post.</p> + +<p>The policemen set down their litter and waited for orders, +while<br> + the coroner and the commissioner bent over the corpse. There +was<br> + nothing for the physician to do but to declare that the +unfortunate<br> + man had been dead for many hours. The bullet which struck him +in<br> + the back had killed him at once. The commissioner examined +the<br> + ground immediately around the corpse, but could find nothing +that<br> + pointed to a struggle. There remained only to prove whether +there<br> + had been a robbery as well as a murder.</p> + +<p>"Judging from the man's position the bullet must have come +from<br> + that direction," said the commissioner, pointing towards the<br> + cottages down the lane.</p> + +<p>"People who are killed by bullets may turn several times +before<br> + they fall," said a gentle voice behind the police officer. +The<br> + voice seemed to suit the thin little man who stood there +meekly,<br> + his hat in his hand.</p> + +<p>The commissioner turned quickly. "Ah, are you there +already,<br> + Muller?" he said, as if greatly pleased, while the physician +broke<br> + in with the remark:</p> + +<p>"That's just what I was about to observe. This man did not +die<br> + so quickly that he could not have made a voluntary or +involuntary<br> + movement before life fled. The shot that killed him might +have<br> + come from any direction."</p> + +<p>The commissioner nodded thoughtfully and there was silence for +a<br> + few moments. Muller - for the little thin man was none other<br> + than the celebrated Joseph Muller, one of the most brilliant<br> + detectives in the service of the Austrian police - looked down +at<br> + the corpse carefully.. He took plenty of time to do it and<br> + nobody hurried him. For nobody ever hurried Muller; his +well-known<br> + and almost laughable thoroughness and pedantry were too valuable +in<br> + their results. It was a tradition in the police that Muller was +to<br> + have all the time he wanted for everything. It paid in the +end,<br> + for Muller made few mistakes. Therefore, his superior the +police<br> + commissioner, and the coroner waited quietly while the little +man<br> + made his inspection of the corpse.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Muller finally, with a polite bow to the<br> + commissioner, before he bent to brush away the dust on his +knees.</p> + +<p>"Well?" asked Commissioner Holzer.</p> + +<p>Muller smiled an embarrassed smile as he replied:</p> + +<p>"Well ... I haven't found out anything yet except that he is +dead,<br> + and that he has been shot in the back. His pockets may tell +us<br> + something more."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we can examine them at once," said the commissioner. +"I<br> + have been delaying that for I wanted you here; but I had no +idea<br> + that you would come so soon. I told them to fetch you if you +were<br> + awake, but doubted you would be, for I know you have had no +sleep<br> + for forty-eight hours."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I can sleep, at least with one eye, when I'm on the +chase,"<br> + answered the detective. "So it's really only twenty-four +hours,<br> + you see." Muller had just returned from tracking down an<br> + aristocratic swindler whom he had found finally in a little +French<br> + city and had brought back to a Viennese prison. He had +returned<br> + well along in the past night and Holzer knew that the tired +man<br> + would need his rest. Still he had sent for Muller, who lived +near<br> + the police station, for the girl's report had warned him that +this<br> + was a serious case. And in serious cases the police did not +like<br> + to do without Muller's help.</p> + +<p>And as usual when his work called him, Muller was as wide +awake as<br> + if he had had a good night's sleep behind him. The interest of +a<br> + new case robbed him of every trace of fatigue. It was he alone - +at<br> + his own request - who raised the body and laid it on its back +before<br> + he stepped aside to make way for the doctor.</p> + +<p>The physician opened the dead man's vest to see whether the +bullet<br> + had passed completely through the body. But it had not; there +was<br> + not the slightest trace of blood upon the shirt.</p> + +<p>"There's nothing more for me to do here, Muller," said the<br> + physician, as he bowed to the commissioner and left the +place.</p> + +<p>Muller examined the pockets of the dead man.</p> + +<p>"It's probably a case of robbery, too," remarked the +commissioner.<br> + "A man as well-dressed as this one is would be likely to have +a<br> + watch."</p> + +<p>"And a purse," added the detective. "But this man has neither +- or<br> + at least he has them no longer."</p> + +<p>In the various pockets of the dead man's clothes Muller found +the<br> + following articles: a handkerchief, several tramway tickets, +a<br> + penknife, a tiny mirror, and comb, and a little book, a +cheap<br> + novel. He wrapped them all in the handkerchief and put them in +his<br> + own pocket. The dead man's coat had fallen back from his +body<br> + during the examination, and as Muller turned the stiffened +limbs<br> + a little he saw the opening of another pocket high up over +the<br> + right hip of the trousers. The detective passed his hand over +the<br> + pocket and heard something rattle. Then he put his hand in +the<br> + pocket and drew out a thin narrow envelope which he handed to +the<br> + commissioner. Holzer looked at it carefully. It was made of +very<br> + thin expensive paper and bore no address. But it was sealed,<br> + although not very carefully, for the gummed edges were open +in<br> + spots. It must have been hastily closed and was slightly +crushed<br> + as if it had been carried in a clenched hand. The +commissioner<br> + cut open the envelope with his penknife. He gave an +exclamation<br> + of surprise as he showed Muller the contents. In the +envelope<br> + there were three hundred-gulden notes.</p> + +<p>The commissioner looked at Muller without a word, but the +detective<br> + understood and shook his head. "No," he said calmly, "it may be +a<br> + case of robbery just the same. This pocket was not very easy +to<br> + find, and the money in it was safer than the dead man's watch +and<br> + purse would be. That is, if he had a watch and purse - and he +very<br> + probably had a watch," he added more quickly.</p> + +<p>For Muller had made a little discovery. On the lower hem of +the<br> + left side of the dead man's waistcoat he saw a little lump, +and<br> + feeling of it he discovered that it was a watch key which +had<br> + slipped down out of the torn pocket between the lining and +the<br> + material of the vest. A sure proof that the dead man had had +a<br> + watch, which in all probability had been taken from him by +his<br> + murderer. There was no loose change or small bills to be +found<br> + in any of the pockets, so that it was more than likely that +the<br> + dead man had had his money in a purse. It seemed to be a +case<br> + of murder for the sake of robbery. At least Muller and the<br> + commissioner believed it to be one, from what they had +discovered<br> + thus far.</p> + +<p>The police officer gave his men orders to raise the body and +to<br> + take it to the morgue. An hour later the unknown man lay in +the<br> + bare room in which the only spot of brightness were the rays +of<br> + the sun that crept through the high barred windows and touched +his<br> + cold face and stiffened form as with a pitying caress. But +no,<br> + there was one other little spot of brightness in the silent +place.<br> + It was the wild aster which the dead man's hand still held +tightly<br> + clasped. The little purple flowers were quite fresh yet, and +the<br> + dewdrops clinging to them greeted the kiss of the sun's rays +with<br> + an answering smile.</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE BROKEN WILLOW TWIG</h3> + +<p><br> + As soon as the corpse had been taken away, the police +commissioner<br> + returned to the station. But Muller remained there all alone +to<br> + make a thorough examination of the entire vicinity.</p> + +<p>It was not a very attractive spot, this particular part of +the<br> + street. There must have been a nursery there at one time, +for<br> + there were still several ordered rows of small trees to be +seen.<br> + There were traces of flower cultivation as well, for several<br> + trailing vines and overgrown bushes showed where shrubs had +been<br> + grown which do not usually grow without man's assistance.<br> + Immediately back of the old elder tree Muller found several +fine<br> + examples of rare flowers, or rather he found the shrubs which +his<br> + experienced eye recognised as having once borne these +unusual<br> + blossoms. One or two blooms still hung to the bushes and the<br> + detective, who was a great lover of flowers, picked them and +put<br> + them in his buttonhole. While he did this, his keen eyes +were<br> + darting about the place taking in all the details. This +vacant<br> + lot had evidently been used as an unlicensed dumping ground +for<br> + some time, for all sorts of odds and ends, old boots, bits +of<br> + stuff, silk and rags, broken bottles and empty tin cans, lay +about<br> + between the bushes or half buried in the earth. What had +once<br> + been an orderly garden was now an untidy receptacle for +waste.<br> + The pedantically neat detective looked about him in disgust, +then<br> + suddenly he forgot his displeasure and a gleam shot up in his +eye.<br> + It was very little, the thing this man had seen, this man who +saw<br> + so much more than others.</p> + +<p><br> + About ten paces from where he stood a high wooden fence hemmed +in<br> + the lot. The fence belonged to the neighbouring property, as +the<br> + lot in which he stood was not protected in any way. To the +back<br> + it was closed off by a corn field where the tall stalks +rustled<br> + gently in the faint morning breeze. All this could be seen +by<br> + anybody and Muller had seen it all at his first glance. But +now<br> + he had seen something else. Something that excited him +because<br> + it might possibly have some connection with the newly +discovered<br> + crime. His keen eyes, in glancing along the wooden fence at +his<br> + right hand, had caught sight of a little twig which had worked +its<br> + way through the fence. This twig belonged to a willow tree +which<br> + grew on the other side, and which spread its grey-green +foliage<br> + over the fence or through its wide openings. One of the +little<br> + twigs which had crept in between the planks was broken, and +it<br> + had been broken very recently, for the leaves were still +fresh<br> + and the sap was oozing from the crushed stem. Muller walked +over<br> + to the fence and examined the twig carefully. He soon saw +how<br> + it came to be broken. The broken part was about the height of +a<br> + man's knee from the ground. And just at this height there +was<br> + quite a space between two of the planks of the fence, heavy<br> + planks which were laid cross-ways and nailed to thick posts. +It<br> + would have been very easy for anybody to get a foothold in +this<br> + open space between the planks.</p> + +<p>It was very evidently some foot thrust in between the planks +which<br> + had broken the little willow twig, and its soft rind had left +a<br> + green mark on the lower plank. "I wonder if that has anything +to<br> + do with the murder," thought Muller, looking over the fence<br> + into the lot on the other side.</p> + +<p>This neighbouring plot was evidently a neglected garden. It +had<br> + once worn an aristocratic air, with stone statues and +artistic<br> + arrangement of flower beds and shrubs. It was still +attractive<br> + even in its neglected condition. Beyond it, through the +foliage<br> + of its heavy trees, glass windows caught the sunlight. +Muller<br> + remembered that there was a handsome old house in this +direction,<br> + a house with a mansard roof and wide-reaching wings. He did +not<br> + now know to whom this handsome old house belonged, a house +that<br> + must have been built in the time of Maria Theresa, ... but he +was<br> + sure of one thing, and that was that he would soon find out +to<br> + whom it belonged. At present it was the garden which +interested<br> + him, and he was anxious to see where it ended. A few +moments'<br> + further inspection showed him what he wanted to know. The +garden<br> + extended to the beginning of the park-like grounds which +surrounded<br> + the old house with the mansard roof. A tall iron railing +separated<br> + the garden from the park, but this railing did not extend down +as<br> + far as the quiet lane. Where it ended there was a light, +well-built<br> + wooden fence. Along the street side of the fence there was a +high<br> + thick hedge. Muller walked along this hedge until he came to +a<br> + little gate. Then crossing the street, he saw that the house +whose<br> + windows glistened in the sunlight was a house which he knew +well<br> + from its other side, its front facade.</p> + +<p>Now he went back to the elder tree and then walked slowly away +from<br> + this to the spot where he found the broken willow twig. He +examined<br> + every foot of the ground, but there was nothing to be seen +that<br> + was of any interest to him-not a footprint, or anything to +prove<br> + that some one else had passed that way a short time before. +And<br> + yet it would have been impossible to pass that way without +leaving<br> + some trace, for the ground was cut up in all directions by +mole<br> + hills.</p> + +<p>Next the detective scrutinised as much of the surroundings as +would<br> + come into immediate connection with the spot where the corpse +had<br> + been found. There was nothing to be seen there either, and +Muller<br> + was obliged to acknowledge that he had discovered nothing +that<br> + would lead to an understanding of the crime, unless, indeed, +the<br> + broken willow twig should prove to be a clue. He sprang back<br> + across the ditch, turned up the edges of his trousers where +they<br> + had been moistened by the dew and walked slowly along the +dusty<br> + street. He was no longer alone in the lane. An old man, +accompanied<br> + by a large dog, came out from one of the new houses and +walked<br> + towards the detective, he was very evidently going in the +direction<br> + of the elder-tree, which had already been such a centre of +interest<br> + that morning. When he met Muller, the old man halted, touched +his<br> + cap and asked in a confidential tone: "I suppose you've been +to<br> + see the place already?"</p> + +<p>"Which place?" was Muller's reserved answer.</p> + +<p>Why, I mean the place where they found the man who was +murdered.<br> + They found him under that elder-tree. My wife just heard of it +and<br> + told me. I suppose everybody round here will know it soon."</p> + +<p>"Was there a man murdered here?" asked Muller, as if surprised +by<br> + the news.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he was shot last night. Only I don't understand why I +didn't<br> + hear the shot. I couldn't sleep a wink all night for the pain +in<br> + my bones."</p> + +<p>"You live near here, then?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I live in No.1. Didn't you see me coming out?"</p> + +<p>"I didn't notice it. I came across the wet meadows and I +stooped<br> + to turn up my trousers so that they wouldn't get dusty - it +must<br> + have been then you came out."</p> + +<p>"Why, then you must have been right near the place I was +talking<br> + about. Do you see that elder tree there? It's the only one +in<br> + the street, and the girl who brings the milk found the man under +it.<br> + The police have been here already and have taken him away. +They<br> + discovered him about six o'clock and now it's just seven."</p> + +<p>"And you hadn't any suspicion that this dreadful thing was<br> + happening so near you?" asked the detective casually.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know a thing, sir, not a thing. There couldn't +have<br> + been a fight or I would have heard it. But I don't know why +I<br> + didn't hear the shot."</p> + +<p>"Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of +your<br> + pain," said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside +the<br> + man back to the place from which he had just come.</p> + +<p>The old man shook his head. "No, I tell you I didn't close +an<br> + eye all night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked +two<br> + pipes before I put out the light, and then I heard every +hour<br> + strike all night long and it wasn't until nearly five +o'clock,<br> + when it was almost dawn, that I dozed off a bit."</p> + +<p>"Then it is astonishing that you didn't hear anything!"</p> + +<p>"Sure it's astonishing! But it's still more astonishing that +my<br> + dog Sultan didn't hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, +I'd<br> + have you know. He'll growl if anybody passes through the +street<br> + after dark, and I don't see why he didn't notice what was going +on<br> + over there last night. If a man's attacked, he generally calls +for<br> + help; it's a queer business all right."</p> + +<p>"Well, Sultan, why didn't you make a noise?" asked Muller, +patting<br> + the dog's broad head. Sultan growled and walked on +indifferently,<br> + after he had shaken off the strange hand.</p> + +<p>"He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into +the<br> + country with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on +the<br> + way back we stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or +two<br> + himself occasionally, and that usually makes him sleep. I had +hard<br> + work to bring him home. We got here just a few minutes +before<br> + half-past nine and I tell you we were both good and tired."</p> + +<p>By this time they had come to the elder-tree and the old +man's<br> + stream of talk ceased as he stood before the spot where the<br> + mysterious crime had occurred. He looked down thoughtfully at +the<br> + grass, now trampled by many feet. "Who could have done it?" +he<br> + murmured finally, with a sigh that expressed his pity for the +victim.</p> + +<p>"Hietzing is known to be one of the safest spots in +Vienna,"<br> + remarked Muller.</p> + +<p>"Indeed it is, sir; indeed it is. As it would well have to be +with<br> + the royal castles right here in the neighbourhood! Indeed it +would<br> + have to be safe with the Court coming here all the time."</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, you see more police here than anywhere else in the +city."</p> + +<p>"Yes, they're always sticking their nose in where they're +not<br> + necessary," remarked the old man, not realising to whom he +was<br> + speaking. "They fuss about everything you do or don't do, and +yet<br> + a man can be shot down right under our very noses here and +the<br> + police can't help it."</p> + +<p>"But, my dear sir, it isn't always possible for the police +to<br> + prevent a criminal carrying out his evil intention," said +Muller<br> + good-naturedly.</p> + +<p>"Well, why not? if they watch out sharp enough?"</p> + +<p>"The police watch out sharper than most people think. But +they<br> + can't catch a man until he has committed his crime, can +they?"</p> + +<p>"No, I suppose not," said the old man, with another glance at +the<br> + elder-tree. He bowed to Muller and turned and walked away.</p> + +<p>Muller followed him slowly, very much pleased with this +meeting, for<br> + it had given him a new clue. There was no reason to doubt the +old<br> + man's story. And if this story was true, then the crime had +been<br> + committed before half-past nine of the evening previous. For +the<br> + old man - he was evidently the janitor in No.1 - had not heard +the<br> + shot.</p> + +<p>Muller left the scene of the crime and walked towards the +four<br> + houses. Before he reached them he had to pass the garden +which<br> + belonged to the house with the mansard roof. Right and left +of<br> + this garden were vacant lots, as well as on the opposite +side<br> + of the street. Then came to the right and left the four new +houses<br> + which stood at the beginning of the quiet lane. Muller passed +them,<br> + turned up a cross street and then down again, into the +street<br> + running parallel, to the lane, a quiet aristocratic street +on<br> + which fronted the house with the mansard roof.</p> + +<p>A carriage stood in front of this house, two great trunks +piled<br> + up on the box beside the driver. A young girl and an old man +in<br> + livery were placing bags and bundles of rugs inside the +carriage.<br> + Muller walked slowly toward the carriage. Just as he reached +the<br> + open gate of the garden he was obliged to halt, to his own +great<br> + satisfaction. For at this moment a group of people came out +from<br> + the house, the owners of it evidently, prepared for a journey +and<br> + surrounded by their servants.</p> + +<p>Beside the old man and the young girl, there were two other +women,<br> + one evidently the housekeeper, the other possibly the cook. +The<br> + latter was weeping openly and devoutly kissing the hand of +her<br> + mistress. The housekeeper discovered that a rug was missing +and<br> + sent the maid back for it, while the old servant helped the +lady<br> + into the carriage. The door of the carriage was wide open +and<br> + Muller had a good glimpse of the pale, sweet-faced and<br> + delicate-looking young women who leaned back in her corner,<br> + shivering and evidently ill. The servants bustled about, +making<br> + her comfortable, while her husband superintended the work +with<br> + anxious tenderness. He was a tall, fine-looking man with +deep-set<br> + grey eyes and a rich, sympathetic voice. He gave his orders +to<br> + his servants with calm authority, but he also was evidently<br> + suffering from the disease of our century - nervousness, for<br> + Muller saw that the man's hands clenched feverishly and that +his<br> + lips were trembling under his drooping moustache.</p> + +<p>The maid hastened down with the rug and spread it over her<br> + mistress's knees, as the gentleman exclaimed nervously: "Do<br> + hurry with that! Do you want us to miss the train?"</p> + +<p>The butler closed the door of the carriage, the coachman +gathered<br> + up the reins and raised his whip. The housekeeper bowed low +and<br> + murmured a few words in farewell and the other servants +followed<br> + her example with tears in their eyes. "You'll see us again +in<br> + six weeks," the lady called out and her husband added: "If +all<br> + goes well." Then he motioned to the waiting driver and the<br> + carriage moved off swiftly, turning the corner in a few +moments.</p> + +<p>The little group of servants returned to the courtyard behind +the<br> + high gates. Muller, whom they had not noticed, was about to +resume<br> + his walk, when he halted again. The courtyard of the house led +back<br> + through a flagged walk to the park-like garden that surrounded +it<br> + on the sides and rear. Down this walk came a young woman. She +came<br> + so quickly that one might almost call it running. She was +evidently<br> + excited about something. Muller imagined what this something +might<br> + be, and he remained to hear what she had to say. He was not<br> + mistaken. The woman, it was Mrs. Schmiedler, the gardener's +wife,<br> + began her story at once. "Haven't you heard yet?" she said<br> + breathlessly. "No, you can't have heard it yet or you +wouldn't<br> + stand there so quietly, Mrs. Bernauer."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked the woman whom Muller took to be +the<br> + housekeeper.</p> + +<p>"They killed a man last night out here! They found his body +just<br> + now in the lane back of our garden. The janitor from No.1 told +me<br> + as I was going to the store, so I went right back to look at +the<br> + place, and I came to tell you, as I didn't think you'd heard it +yet."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer was evidently a woman of strong constitution and +of<br> + an equable mind. The other three servants broke out into an<br> + excited hubbub of talk while she remained quite indifferent +and<br> + calm. "One more poor fellow who had to leave the world before +he<br> + was ready," she remarked calmly, with just the natural touch +of<br> + pity in her voice that would come to any warm-hearted human +being<br> + upon hearing of such an occurrence. She did not seem at all<br> + excited or alarmed to think that the scene of the crime had +been<br> + so near.</p> + +<p>The other servants were very much more excited and had +already<br> + rushed off, under the guidance of the gardener's wife, to look +at<br> + the dreadful spot. Franz, the butler, had quite forgotten to<br> + close the front gate in his excitement, and the housekeeper +turned<br> + to do it now.</p> + +<br> +"The fools, see them run," she exclaimed half aloud. "As if<br> +there was anything for them to do there." + +<p>The gate closed, Mrs. Bernauer turned and walked slowly to +the<br> + house. Muller walked on also, going first to the police +station<br> + to report what he had discovered. Then he went to his own +rooms<br> + and slept until nearly noon. On his return to the police +station<br> + he found that notices of the occurrence had already been sent +out<br> + to the papers.</p> + +<p><br> +</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>THE EVENING PAPER</h3> + +<p><br> + The autopsy proved beyond a doubt that the murdered man had +been<br> + dead for many hours before the discovery of his body. The +bullet<br> + which had struck him in the back had pierced the trachea and<br> + death had occurred within a few minutes. The only marks for<br> + identification of the body were the initials L. W. on his +underwear.<br> + The evening paper printed an exact description of the man's<br> + appearance and his clothing.</p> + +<p>It was about ten o'clock next morning when Mrs. Klingmayer, a +widow<br> + living in a quiet street at the opposite end of the city +from<br> + Hietzing, returned from her morning marketing. It was only a +few<br> + little bundles that she brought with her and she set about +preparing<br> + her simple dinner. Her packages were wrapped in newspapers, +which<br> + she carefully smoothed out and laid on the dresser.</p> + +<p><br> + Mrs. Klingmayer was the widow of a street-car conductor and +the<br> + little pension which she received from the company, as well as +the<br> + money she could earn for herself, did not permit of the +indulgence<br> + in a daily newspaper. And yet the reading of the papers was +the<br> + one luxury for which the simple woman longed. Her grocer, who +was<br> + a friend of years, knew this and would wrap up her purchases +in<br> + papers of recent date, knowing that she could then enjoy them +in<br> + her few moments of leisure. To-day this leisure came +unexpectedly<br> + early, for Mrs. Klingmayer had less work than usual to attend +to.</p> + +<p>Her little flat consisted of two rooms and a kitchen with a +large<br> + closet opening out from it. She lived in the kitchen and +rented<br> + the front rooms. Her tenants were a middle-aged man, +inspector<br> + in a factory, who had the larger room; and a younger man who +was<br> + bookkeeper in an importing house in the city. But this young +man<br> + had not been at home for forty-eight hours, a fact, however, +which<br> + did not greatly worry his landlady. The gentleman in +question<br> + lived a rather dissipated life and it was not the first time +that<br> + he had remained away from home over night. It is true that it +was<br> + the first time that he had not been home for two successive +nights.<br> + But as Mrs. Klingmayer thought, everything has to happen the +first<br> + time sometime. "It's not likely to be the last time," the +worthy<br> + woman thought.</p> + +<p>At all events she was rather glad of it to-day, for she +suffered<br> + from rheumatism and it was difficult for her to get about. +The<br> + young man's absence saved her the work of fixing up his room +that<br> + morning and allowed her to get to her reading earlier than +usual.<br> + When she had put the pot of soup on the fire, she sat down by +the<br> + window, adjusted her big spectacles and began to read. To +her<br> + great delight she discovered that the paper she held in her +hand<br> + bore the date of the previous afternoon. In spite of the +good<br> + intentions of her friend the grocer, it was not always that +she<br> + could get a paper of so recent date, and she began to read +with<br> + doubled anticipation of pleasure.</p> + +<p>She did not waste time on the leading articles, for she +understood<br> + little about politics. The serial stories were a great delight +to<br> + her, or would have been, if she had ever been able to follow +them<br> + consecutively. But her principal joy were the everyday +happenings<br> + of varied interest which she found in the news columns. To-day +she<br> + was so absorbed in the reading of them that the soup pot began +to<br> + boil over and send out rivulets down onto the stove. +Ordinarily<br> + this would have shocked Mrs. Klingmayer, for the neatness of +her<br> + pots and pans was the one great care of her life. But now, +strange<br> + to relate, she paid no attention to the soup, nor to the smell +and<br> + the smoke that arose from the stove. She had just come upon +a<br> + notice in the paper which took her entire attention. She read +it<br> + through three times, and each time with growing excitement. +This<br> + is what she read:</p> + +<p>MURDER IN HIETZING</p> + +<p>This morning at six o'clock the body of a man about 30 +years<br> + old was discovered in a lane in Hietzing. The man must have<br> + been dead many hours. He had been shot from behind. The dead<br> + man was tall and thin, with brown eyes, brown hair and +moustache.<br> + The letters L. W. were embroidered in his underwear. There +was<br> + nothing else discovered on him that could reveal- his +identity.<br> + His watch and purse were not in his pockets: presumably they +had<br> + been taken by the murderer. A strange fact is that in one of<br> + his pockets - a hidden pocket it is true - there was the sum +of<br> + 300 guldens in bills.</p> + +<p><br> + This was the notice which made Mrs. Klingmayer neglect the soup +pot.</p> + +<p><br> + Finally the old woman stood up very slowly, threw a glance at +the<br> + stove and opened the window mechanically. Then she lifted the +pots<br> + from the fire and set them on the outer edge of the range. +And<br> + then she did something that ordinarily would have shocked +her<br> + economical soul - she poured water on the fire to put it +out.</p> + +<p>When she saw that there was not a spark left in the stove, she +went<br> + into her own little room and prepared to go out. Her +excitement<br> + caused her to forget her rheumatism entirely. One more look +around<br> + her little kitchen, then she locked it up and set out for the +centre<br> + of the city.</p> + +<p>She went to the office of the importing house where her +tenant,<br> + Leopold Winkler, was employed as bookkeeper. The clerk at the +door<br> + noticed the woman's excitement and asked her kindly what the +trouble<br> + was.</p> + +<p>"I'd like to speak to Mr. Winkler," she said eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Winkler hasn't come in yet," answered the young man. +"Is<br> + anything the matter? You look so white! Winkler will +probably<br> + show up soon, he's never very punctual. But it's after +eleven<br> + o'clock now and he's never been as late as this before."</p> + +<p>"I 'don't believe he'll ever come again," said the old +woman,<br> + sinking down on a bench beside the 'door.</p> + +<p>"Why, what do you mean?" asked the clerk. "Why shouldn't he +come<br> + again?"</p> + +<p>"Is the head of the firm here?" asked Mrs. Klingmayer, wiping +her<br> + forehead with her handkerchief. The clerk nodded and hurried +away<br> + to tell his employer about the woman with the white face who +came<br> + to ask for a man who, as she expressed it, "would never come +there<br> + again."</p> + +<p>"I don't think she's quite right in the head," he volunteered. +The<br> + head of the firm told him to bring the woman into the inner +office.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, my good woman?" he asked kindly, softened by +the<br> + evident agitation of this poorly though neatly dressed +woman.</p> + +<p>"I am Mr. Winkler's landlady," she answered.</p> + +<p>"Ah! and he wants you to tell me that he's sick? I'm afraid I +can't<br> + believe all that this gentleman says. I hope he's not asking +your<br> + help to lie to me. Are you sure that his illness is anything +else<br> + but a case of being up late?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think that he'll ever be sick again - I didn't come +with<br> + any message from him, sir; please read this, sir." And she +handed<br> + him the newspaper, showing him the notice. While the gentleman +was<br> + reading she added: "Mr. Winkler didn't come home last night +either."</p> + +<p>Winkler's employer read the few lines, then laid the paper +aside<br> + with a very serious face. "When did you see him last?" he asked +of<br> + the woman.</p> + +<p>"Day before yesterday in the morning. He went away about +half-past<br> + eight as he usually does," she replied. And then she added a<br> + question of her own: "Was he here day before yesterday?"</p> + +<p>The merchant nodded and pressed an electric bell. Then he rose +from<br> + his seat and pulled up a chair for his visitor. "Sit down +here.<br> + This thing has frightened you and you are no longer young." +When<br> + the servant entered, the merchant told him to ask the head +bookkeeper<br> + to come to the inner office.</p> + +<p>When this official appeared, his employer inquired:<br> + "When did Winkler leave here day before yesterday?"</p> + +<p>"At six o'clock, sir, as usual."</p> + +<p>"He was here all day without interruption?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, with the exception of the usual luncheon hour."</p> + +<p>"Did he have the handling of any money Monday?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mr. Pokorny," said the merchant, handing his +employee<br> + the evening paper and pointing to the notice which had so +interested<br> + him.</p> + +<p>Pokorny read it, his face, like his employer's, growing more +serious.<br> + "It looks almost as if it must be Winkler, sir," he said, in a +few<br> + moments.</p> + +<p>"We will soon find that out. I should like to go to the +police<br> + station myself with this woman; she is Winkler's landlady - but +I<br> + think it will be better for you to accompany her. They will +ask<br> + questions about the man which you will be better able to +answer<br> + than I."</p> + +<p>Pokorny bowed and left the room. Mrs. Klingmayer rose and was +about<br> + to follow, when the merchant asked her to wait a moment and +inquired<br> + whether Winkler owed her anything. "I am sorry that you should +have<br> + had this shock and the annoyances and trouble which will come of +it,<br> + but I don't want you to be out of pocket by it."</p> + +<p>"No, he doesn't owe me anything," replied the honest old +woman,<br> + shaking her head. A few big tears rolled down over her +withered<br> + cheeks, possibly the only tears that were shed for the dead +man<br> + under the elder-tree. But even this sympathetic soul could +find<br> + nothing to say in his praise. She could feel pity for his +dreadful<br> + death, but she could not assert that the world had lost +anything<br> + by his going out of it. As if saddened by the impossibility +of<br> + finding a single good word to say about the dead man, she left +the<br> + office with drooping head and lagging step.</p> + +<p>Pokorny helped her into the cab that was already waiting +before the<br> + door. The office force had got wind of the fact that +something<br> + unusual had occurred and were all at the windows to see them +drive<br> + off. The three clerks who worked in the department to which +Winkler<br> + belonged gathered together to talk the matter over. They were +none<br> + of them particularly hit by it, but naturally they were +interested<br> + in the discovery in Hietzing, and equally naturally, they tried +to<br> + find a few good words to say about the man whose life had ended +so<br> + suddenly.</p> + +<p>The youngest of them, Fritz Bormann, said some kind words and +was<br> + about to wax more enthusiastic, when Degenhart, the eldest +clerk,<br> + cut in with the words: "Oh, don't trouble yourself. Nobody +ever<br> + liked Winkler here. 'He was not a good man - he was not even +a<br> + good worker. This is the first time that he has a reasonable +excuse<br> + for neglecting his duties."</p> + +<p>"Oh, come, see here! how can you talk about the poor man that +way<br> + when he's scarcely cold in death yet," said Fritz +indignantly.</p> + +<p>Degenhart laughed harshly.</p> + +<p>"Did I ever say anything else about him while he was warm and +alive?<br> + Death is no reason for changing one's opinion about a man who +was<br> + good-for-nothing in life. And his death was a stroke of good +luck<br> + that he scarcely deserved. He died without a moment's pain, with +a<br> + merry thought in his head, perhaps, while many another better +man<br> + has to linger in torture for weeks. No, Bormann, the best I +can<br> + say about Winkler is that his death makes one nonentity the less +on<br> + earth."</p> + +<p>The older man turned to his desk again and the two younger +clerks<br> + continued the conversation: "Degenhart appears to be a hard +man,"<br> + said Fritz, "but he's the best and kindest person I know, and +he's<br> + dead right in what he says. It was simply a case of +conventional<br> + superstition. I never did like that Winkler."</p> + +<p>"No, you're right," said the other. Neither did I and I +don't<br> + know why, for the matter of that. He seemed just like a +thousand<br> + others. I never heard of anything particularly wrong that he +did."</p> + +<p>"No, no more did I," continued Bormann, "but I never heard +of<br> + anything good about him either. And don't you think that it's +worse<br> + for a man to seem to repel people by his very personality, +rather<br> + than by any particular bad thing that he does?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I don't know how to explain it, but that's just how I +feel<br> + about it. I had an instinctive feeling that there was +something<br> + wrong about Winkler, the sort of a creepy, crawly feeling that +a<br> + snake gives you."</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>SPEAK WELL OF THE DEAD</h3> + +<p><br> + Meanwhile Pokomy and Mrs. Klingmayer had reached the police +station<br> + and were going upstairs to the rooms of the commissioner on +service<br> + for the day. Like all people of her class, Mrs. Klingmayer +stood<br> + in great awe and terror of anything connected with the police +or<br> + the law generally. She crept slowly and tremblingly up the +stairs<br> + behind the head bookkeeper and was very glad when she was left +alone<br> + for a few minutes while Pokorny went in to see the +commissioner.<br> + But as soon as his errand was known, both the bookkeeper and +his<br> + companion were led into the office of Head Commissioner Dr. +von<br> + Riedau, who had charge of the Hietzing murder case.</p> + +<p><br> + When Dr. von Riedau heard the reason of their coming, his +interest<br> + was immediately aroused, and he pulled a chair to his side for +the<br> + little thin man with whom he had been talking when the two +strangers<br> + were ushered in.</p> + +<p>"Then you believe you could identify the murdered man?" asked +the<br> + commissioner.</p> + +<p>"From the general description and the initials on his linen, +I<br> + believe it must be Leopold Winkler," answered Pokorny. "Mrs.<br> + Klingmayer has not seen him since Monday morning, nor has she +had<br> + any message from him. He left the office Monday afternoon at +6<br> + o'clock and that was the last time that we saw him. The only +thing<br> + that makes me doubt his identity is that the paper reports +that<br> + three hundred gulden were found in his pocket. Winkler never +seemed<br> + to have money, and I do not understand how he should have been +in<br> + possession of such a sum."</p> + +<p>"The money was found in the dead man's pockets," said the<br> + commissioner. "And yet it may be Winkler, the man you know.<br> + Muller, will you order a cab, please?"</p> + +<p>I have a cab waiting for me. But it only holds two," +volunteered<br> + Pokorny.</p> + +<p>"That doesn't matter, I'll sit on the box," answered the +man<br> + addressed as Muller.</p> + +<p>"You are going with us?" asked Pokorny.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he will accompany you," replied the commissioner. "This +is<br> + detective Muller, sir. By a mere chance, he happened to be on +hand<br> + to take charge of this case and he will remain in charge, +although<br> + it may be wasting his talents which we need for more +difficult<br> + problems. If you or any one else have anything to tell us, it +must<br> + be told only to me or to Muller. And before you leave to look +at<br> + the body, I would like to know whether the dead man owned a +watch,<br> + or rather whether he had it with him on the day of the +murder."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; he did have a watch, a gold watch," answered +Mrs.<br> + Klingmayer.</p> + +<p>Riedau looked at the bookkeeper, who nodded and said: "Yes, +sir;<br> + Winkler had a watch, a gold watch with a double case. It was +a<br> + large watch, very thick. I happen to have noticed it by +chance<br> + and also I happen to know that he had not had the watch for +very<br> + long."</p> + +<p>"Can you tell us anything more about the watch?" asked the<br> + commissioner of the landlady.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; there was engraving on the outside cover, initials, +and<br> + a crown on the other side."</p> + +<p>"What were the initials?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know that, sir; at least I'm not sure about it. +There<br> + were so many twists and curves to them that I couldn't make +them<br> + out. I think one of them was a W though, sir."</p> + +<p>"The other was probably an L then."</p> + +<p>"That might be, sir."</p> + +<p>"The younger clerks in the office may be able to tell +something more<br> + about the watch," said Pokorny, "for they were quite interested +in<br> + it for a while. It was a handsome watch and they were envious +of<br> + Winkler's possession of it. But he was so tactless in his +boasting<br> + about it that they paid no further attention to him after the +first<br> + excitement."</p> + +<p>"You say he didn't have the watch long?"</p> + +<p>"Since spring I think, sir."</p> + +<p>"He brought it home on the 19th of March," interrupted +Mrs.<br> + Klingmayer. "I remember the day because it was my birthday. +I<br> + pretended that he had brought it home to me for a present."</p> + +<p>"Was he in the habit of making you presents?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir; he was very close with his money, sir.</p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps he didn't have much money to be generous with. +Now<br> + tell me about his watch chain. I suppose he had a watch +chain?"</p> + +<p>Both the bookkeeper and the landlady nodded and the latter +exclaimed:<br> + "Oh, yes, sir; I could recognise it in a minute."</p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"It was broken once and Mr. Winkler mended it himself. I lent +him<br> + my pliers and he bent the two links together with them. It +didn't<br> + look very nice after that, but it was strong again. You could +see<br> + the mark of the pliers easily."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't he take the chain to the jeweler's to be fixed?" +asked<br> + the commissioner.</p> + +<p>The woman smiled. "It wouldn't have been worth the money, sir; +the<br> + chain wasn't real gold."</p> + +<p>"But the watch was real, wasn't it?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir; that was real gold. I pawned it once for Mr. +Winkler<br> + and they gave me 24 gulden for it."</p> + +<p>"One question more, did he have a purse? And did he have it +with<br> + him on the day of the murder?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; he had a purse, and he must have taken it with +him<br> + because he didn't leave it in his room."</p> + +<p>"What sort of a purse was it?"</p> + +<p>"A brown leather purse, sir."</p> + +<p>"Was it a new one?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir; it was well worn."</p> + +<p>"How big was it? About like mine?" Riedau took out his own<br> + pocketbook.</p> + +<p>"No, sir; it was a little smaller. It had three pockets in +it.<br> + I mended it for him once, so I know it well. I didn't have +any<br> + brown thread so I mended it with yellow."</p> + +<p>Dr. von Riedau nodded to Muller. The latter had been sitting +at a<br> + little side-table writing down the questions and answers. +When<br> + Riedau saw this he did not send for a clerk to do the work, +for<br> + Muller preferred to attend to such matters himself as much +as<br> + possible. The facts gained in the examination were impressed +upon<br> + his mind while he was writing them, and he did not have to +wade<br> + through pages of manuscript to get at what he needed. Now he +handed<br> + his superior officer the paper.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Riedau, "I'll send it out to the other +police<br> + stations. I will attend to this myself. You go on with these<br> + people to see. whether they can identify the corpse."</p> + +<p>Fifteen minutes later the three stood before the body in the +morgue<br> + and both the bookkeeper and his companion identified the dead +man<br> + positively as Leopold Winkler.</p> + +<p>When the identification was made, a notice was sent out to +all<br> + Austrian police stations and to all pawnshops with an exact<br> + description of the stolen watch and purse.</p> + +<p>Muller led his companions back to the commissioner's office +and they<br> + made their report to Dr. von Riedau. Upon being questioned +further,<br> + Pokorny stated: "I had very little to do with Winkler. We met +only<br> + when he had a report to make to me or to show me his books, and +we<br> + never met outside the office. The clerks who worked in the +same<br> + room with him, may know him better.. I know only that he was a +very<br> + reserved man and very little liked."</p> + +<p>"Then I do not need to detain you any longer, nor to trouble +you<br> + further in this affair. I thank you for coming to us so +promptly.<br> + It has been of great assistance."</p> + +<p>The bookkeeper left the station, but Mrs. Klingmayer, who was +now<br> + quite reassured as to the harmlessness of the police, was asked +to<br> + remain and to tell what she knew of the private life of the +murdered<br> + man. Her answers to the various questions put to her proved +that<br> + she knew very little about her tenant. But this much was +learned<br> + from her: that he was very close with his money at times, but +that<br> + again at other times he seemed to have all he wanted to spend. +At<br> + such times he paid all his debts, and when he stayed home for +supper,<br> + he would send her out for all sorts of expensive delicacies. +These<br> + extravagant days seemed to have nothing whatever to do with +Winkler's<br> + business pay day, but came at odd times.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Klingmayer remembered two separate times when he had +received<br> + a postal money order. But she did not know from whom the +letters<br> + came, nor even whether they were sent from the city or from +some<br> + other town. Winkler received other letters now and then, but +his<br> + landlady was not of the prying kind, and she had paid very +little<br> + attention to them.</p> + +<p><br> + He seemed to have few friends or even acquaintances. She did +not<br> + know of any love affair, at least of nothing "regular." He +had<br> + remained away over night two or three times during the year +that<br> + he had been her tenant. This was about all that Mrs. +Klingmayer<br> + could say, and she returned to her home in a cab furnished her +by<br> + the kind commissioner.</p> + +<p>About two hours later, a police attendant announced that a +gentleman<br> + would like to see Dr. von Riedan on business concerning the +murder in<br> + Hietzing. "Friedrich Bormann" was the name on the card.</p> + +<p>"Ask him to step in here," said the commissioner. "And please +ask<br> + Mr. Muller to join us."</p> + +<p>The good-looking young clerk entered the office bashfully and +Muller<br> + slipped in behind him, seating himself inconspicuously by the +door.<br> + At a sign from the commissioner the visitor began. "I am an<br> + employee of Braun & Co. I have the desk next to Leopold +Winkler,<br> + during the year that he has been with us - the year and a +quarter to<br> + be exact -"</p> + +<p>"Ah, then you know him rather well?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes. At least we were together all day, although I never +met<br> + him outside the office."</p> + +<p>"Then you cannot tell us much about his private life?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, but there was something happened on Monday, and in +talking<br> + it over with Mr. Braun, he suggested that I should come to you +and<br> + tell you about it. It wasn't really very important, and it +doesn't<br> + seem as if it could have anything to do with this murder and +robbery;<br> + still it may be of some use."</p> + +<p>"Everything that would throw light on the dead man's life +could be<br> + of use," said Dr. von Riedau. "Please tell us what it is you +know."</p> + +<p>Fritz Bormann began: "Winkler came to the office as usual on +Monday<br> + morning and worked steadily at his desk. But I happened to +notice<br> + that he spoiled several letters and had to rewrite them, +which<br> + showed me that his thoughts were not on his work, a frequent<br> + occurrence with him. However, everything went along as usual +until<br> + 11 o'clock. Then Winkler became very uneasy. He looked +constantly<br> + toward the door, compared his watch with the office clock, +and<br> + sprang up impatiently as the special letter carrier, who +usually<br> + comes about 11 with money orders, finally appeared."</p> + +<p>"Then he was expecting money you think?"</p> + +<p>"It must have been so. For as the letter carrier passed him, +he<br> + called out: 'Haven't you anything for me?' and as the man shook +his<br> + head Winkler seemed greatly disappointed and depressed. Before +he<br> + left to go to lunch, he wrote a hasty letter, which he put in +his<br> + pocket.</p> + +<p>"He came in half an hour later than the rest of us. He had +often<br> + been reprimanded for his lack of punctuality, but it seemed to +do<br> + no good. He was almost always late. Monday was no exception,<br> + although he was later than usual that day."</p> + +<p>"And what sort of a mood was he in when he came back?"</p> + +<p>"He was irritable and depressed. He seemed to be awaiting a +message<br> + which did not come. His excitement hindered him from working, +he<br> + scarcely did anything the entire afternoon. Finally at five +o'clock<br> + a messenger boy came with a letter for him. I saw that +Winkler<br> + turned pale as he took the note in his hand. It seemed to be +only<br> + a few words written hastily on a card, thrust into an +envelope.<br> + Winkler's teeth were set as he opened the letter. The messenger +had<br> + already gone away."</p> + +<p>"Did you notice his number?" asked Dr. von Riedau.</p> + +<p>"No, I scarcely noticed the man at all. I was looking at +Winkler,<br> + whose behaviour was so peculiar. When he read the card his +face<br> + brightened. He read it through once more, then he tore both +card<br> + and envelope into little bits and threw the pieces out of the +open<br> + window.</p> + +<p>"Then he evidently did not want anybody to see the contents of +this<br> + note," said a voice from the corner of the room.</p> + +<p>Fritz Bormann looked around astonished and rather doubtful at +the<br> + little man who had risen from his chair and now came +forward.<br> + Without waiting for an answer from the clerk, the other +continued:<br> + "Did Winkler have money sent him frequently?"</p> + +<p>Bormann looked inquiringly at the commissioner, who replied +with a<br> + smile: "You may answer. Answer anything that Mr. Muller has to +ask<br> + of you, as he is in charge of this case."</p> + +<p>"As far as I can remember, it happened three times," was +Bormann's<br> + answer.</p> + +<p>"How close together?"</p> + +<p>"Why - about once in every three or four months, I think."</p> + +<p>"That looks almost like a regular income," exclaimed Riedau. +His<br> + eyes met Muller's, which were lit up in sudden fire. "Well, +what<br> + are you thinking of?" asked the commissioner.</p> + +<p>"A woman," answered Muller; and continued more as if +thinking<br> + aloud than as if addressing the others: "Winkler was a +good-looking<br> + man. Might he not have had a rich love somewhere? Might not +the<br> + money have come from her, the money that was found in his +pocket?"<br> + Muller's voice trailed off into indistinctness at the last +words,<br> + and the fire died out of his eyes. Then he laughed aloud.</p> + +<p>The commissioner smiled also, a good-natured smile, such as +one<br> + would give to a child who has been over-eager. "It doesn't +matter<br> + to us where the money came from. All that matters here is +where<br> + the bullet came from - the bullet which prevented his enjoying +this<br> + money. And it is of more interest to us to find out who robbed +him<br> + of his life and his property, rather than the source from which +this<br> + property came.</p> + +<p>The commissioner's tone was friendly, but Muller's face +flushed red,<br> + and his, head dropped. Riedau turned to Bormann and continued: +"And<br> + because it is of no interest to us where his money came from - +for<br> + it can have nothing whatever to do with his murder and the +subsequent<br> + robbery - therefore what you noticed of his behaviour cannot be +of<br> + any importance or bearing in the case in any way. Unless, +indeed,<br> + you should find out anything more. But we appreciate the<br> + thoughtfulness of yourself and your employer and your readiness +to<br> + help us."</p> + +<p>Bormann rose to leave, but the commissioner put out a hand to +stop<br> + him. "A few moments more, please; you may know of something +else<br> + that will be of assistance to us. We have heard that Winkler<br> + boasted of his belongings-did he talk about his private affairs +in<br> + any way?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I do not think he did."</p> + +<p>"You say that he destroyed the note at once, evidently +realising<br> + that no one must see it - this note may have been a promise for +the<br> + money which had not yet come. Did he, however, tell any one +later<br> + that he expected a certain sum? Do you think he would have +been<br> + likely to tell any one?"</p> + +<p>"No, I do not think that he would tell any one. He never +mentioned<br> + to any of us that he had received money, or even that he +expected<br> + to receive it. None of us knew what outside resources he might +have,<br> + or whence they came. If it had not been that the money was paid +him<br> + by the carrier in the office two or three times - so, that we +could<br> + see it - we would none of us have known of this income, except +for<br> + the fact that he was freer in spending after the money came. +He<br> + would dine at expensive restaurants, and this fact he would +mention<br> + to us, whereas at other times he would go to the cheap +cafe."</p> + +<p>"Do you know anything about the people he was acquainted +with<br> + outside the office?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir. I seldom met him outside of the office. One evening +it<br> + did happen that I saw him at Ronacher's. He was there with a<br> + lady - that is, a so-called 'lady '-and it must have been one +of<br> + the times that he had money, for they were enjoying an +expensive<br> + supper. At other times, some of the other clerks met him at +various<br> + resorts, always with the same sort of woman. But not always +with<br> + the same woman, for they were different in appearance."</p> + +<p>"He was never seen anywhere with other men?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir; at least not by any of us."</p> + +<p>"He was not liked in the office?"</p> + +<p>"No." Bormann's answer was sharp.</p> + +<p>"For what reason?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know; we just didn't like him. We had very little to +do<br> + with him at first because of this, and soon we noticed that +he<br> + seemed just as anxious to avoid us as we were to avoid him."</p> + +<p>The commissioner rose and Bormann followed his example. "I am +very<br> + sorry, sir, if I have taken up your time to no purpose," said +the<br> + latter modestly, as he took up his hat.</p> + +<p>"I am not so sure that what you have said may not be of great +value<br> + to us," said a voice behind them. Muller stood there, looking +at<br> + Riedau with a glance almost of defiance. His eyes were again +lit<br> + up with the strange fire that shone in them when he was on the +trail.<br> + The commissioner shrugged his shoulders, bowed to the +departing<br> + visitor, and then turned without an answer to some documents on +his<br> + desk. There was silence in the room for a few moments. Finally +a<br> + gentle voice came from Muller's corner again: "Dr. von +Riedau?"</p> + +<p>The commissioner raised his head and looked around. "Oh, are +you<br> + still there?" he asked with a drawl.</p> + +<p>Muller knew what this drawl meant. It was the manner adopted +by<br> + the amiable commissioner when he was in a mood which was not +amiable.<br> + And Muller knew also the cause of the mood. It was his own +last<br> + remark, the words he addressed to Bormann. Muller himself +recognised<br> + the fact that this remark was out of place, that it was almost +an<br> + impertinence, because it was in direct contradiction to a +statement<br> + made a few moments before by his superior officer. Also he +realised<br> + that his remark had been quite unnecessary, because it was a +matter<br> + of indifference to the young man, who was only obeying his +employer's<br> + orders in reporting what he had seen, whether his report was +of<br> + value or not. Muller had simply uttered aloud the thought that +came<br> + into his mind, a habit of his which years of official training +had<br> + not yet succeeded in breaking. It was annoying to himself +sometimes,<br> + for these half-formed thoughts were mere instinct - they were +the<br> + workings of his own genius that made him catch a suspicion of +the<br> + truth long before his conscious mind could reason it out or<br> + appreciate its value. But that sort of thing was not popular +in<br> + official police life.</p> + +<p>"Well," asked the commissioner, as Muller did not continue, +"your<br> + tongue is not usually so slow - as you have proved just a +few<br> + moments back - what were you going to say now?"</p> + +<p>"I was about to ask your pardon for my interruption. It +was<br> + unnecessary, I should not have said it."</p> + +<p>"Well, I realise that you know better yourself," said Riedau, +now<br> + quite friendly again, "and now what else have you to say? Do +you<br> + really think that what the young man has just told us is of +any<br> + value at all for this case?"</p> + +<p>"It seems to me as if it might be of value to us."</p> + +<p>"Oh, it seems to you, eh? Your imagination is working +overtime<br> + again, Muller," said the commissioner with a laugh. But the +laugh<br> + turned to seriousness as he realised how many times Muller's<br> + imagination had helped the clumsy official mind to its +proudest<br> + triumphs. The commissioner was an intelligent man, as far as +his<br> + lights went, and he was a good-hearted man. He rose from his +chair<br> + and walked over to where the detective stood. "You needn't look +so<br> + embarrassed, Muller," he said. "There is no cause for you to +feel<br> + bad about it. And - I am quite willing to admit that my +remark<br> + just now was unnecessary. You may give your imagination full +rein,<br> + we can trust to your intelligence and your devotion to duty to +keep<br> + it from unnecessary flights. So curbed, I know it will be of +as<br> + much assistance to us this time as it always has been."</p> + +<br> +Muller's quiet face lit up, and his eyes shone in a happiness +that<br> +made him appear ten years younger. That was one of the +strange<br> +things about Joseph Muller. This genius in his profession was +in<br> +all other ways a man of such simplicity of heart and bearing, +that<br> +the slightest word of approval from one of the officials for +whom<br> +he worked could make him as happy as praise from the teacher +will<br> +make a schoolboy. The moments when he was in command of any<br> +difficult case, when these same superiors would wait for a word +from<br> +him, when high officials would take his orders or would be +obliged<br> +to acknowledge that without him they were helpless, these +moments<br> +were forgotten as soon as the problem was solved and Muller +became<br> +again the simple subordinate and the obscure member of the +Imperial<br> +police force. + +<p>When Muller left the commissioner's room and walked through +the<br> + outer office, one of the clerks looked after him and whispered +to<br> + his companion: "Do you think he's found the Hietzing murderer +yet?"<br> + The other answered: "I don't think so, but he looks as if he +had<br> + found a clue. He'll find him sooner or later. He always +does."</p> + +<p>Muller did not hear these words, although they also would +have<br> + pleased him. He walked slowly down the stairs murmuring to +himself:<br> + "I think I was right just the same. We are following a false +trail."</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>BY A THREAD</h3> + +<p><br> + It was on Monday, the 27th of September, that Leopold Winkler +was<br> + murdered and robbed, and early on Tuesday, the 28th, his body +was<br> + found. That day the evening papers printed the report of the +murder<br> + and the description of the dead man, and on Wednesday, the +29th,<br> + Mrs. Klingmayer read the news and went to see Winkler's +employer.<br> + By noon of that day the body was identified and a description +of<br> + the stolen purse and watch telegraphed to police headquarters +in<br> + various cities. A few hours later, these police stations had +sent<br> + out notices by messenger to all pawnshops and dealers in<br> + second-hand clothing, and now the machinery of the law sat +waiting<br> + for some news of an attempt on the part of the +robber-and-murderer<br> + to get rid of his plunder.</p> + +<p>On this same Wednesday, about the twilight hour, David +Goldstamm,<br> + dealer in second-hand clothing, stood before the door of his +shop<br> + in a side street of the old Hungarian city of Pressburg and +watched<br> + his assistant take down the clothes which were hanging outside +and<br> + carry them into the store. The old man's eyes glanced +carelessly<br> + up and down the street and caught sight of a man who turned +the<br> + corner and came hurrying towards him. This man was a very<br> + seedy-looking individual. An old faded overcoat hung about +his<br> + thin figure, and a torn and dusty hat fell over his left eye. +He<br> + seemed also to be much the worse for liquor and very wobbly on +his<br> + feet. And yet he seemed anxious to hurry onward in spite of +the<br> + unevenness of his walk.</p> + +<p><br> + Then he slowed up suddenly, glanced across the street to +Goldstamm's<br> + store, and crossed over.</p> + +<p>"Have you any boots for me?" he asked, sticking out his right +foot<br> + that the dealer might see whether he had anything the requisite +size.</p> + +<p>"I think there's something there," answered the old man in +his<br> + usual businesslike tone, leading the way into the store.</p> + +<p>The stranger followed. Goldstamm lit the one light in the +little<br> + place and groped about in an untidy heap of shoes of all kinds +and<br> + sizes until he found several pairs that he thought might fit. +These<br> + he brought out and put them in front of his customer. But in +spite<br> + of his bleary eyes, the man caught sight of some patches on +the<br> + uppers of one pair, and pushed them away from him.</p> + +<p>"Give me something better than that. I can pay for it. I +don't<br> + have to wear patched shoes," he grunted.</p> + +<p>Goldstamm didn't like the looks of the man, but he felt that +he<br> + had better be careful and not make him angry. "Have patience, +sir,<br> + I'll find you something better," he said gently, tossing the +heap<br> + about again, but now keeping his face turned towards his +customer.</p> + +<p>"I want a coat also and a warm pair of trousers," said the +stranger<br> + in a rough voice. He bent down to loosen the shabby boot from +his<br> + right foot, and as he did so something fell out of the pocket +of<br> + his coat. An unconscious motion of his own raised foot +struck<br> + this small object and tossed it into the middle of the heap +of<br> + shoes close by Goldstamm's hand. The old man reached out after +it<br> + and caught it. It was just an ordinary brown leather +pocketbook,<br> + of medium size, old and shabby, like a thousand others. But +the<br> + eyes of the little old man widened as if in terror, his face +turned<br> + pale and his hands trembled. For he had seen, hanging from +one<br> + side of this worn brown leather pocketbook, the end of a +yellow<br> + thread, the loosened end of the thread with which one side of +the<br> + purse was mended. The thread told David Goldstamm who it was +that<br> + had come into his shop.</p> + +<p>He regained his control with a desperate effort of the will. +It<br> + took him but a few seconds to do so, and, thanks to his +partial<br> + intoxication, the customer had not noticed the shopkeeper's +start<br> + of alarm. But he appeared anxious and impatient to regain<br> + possession of his purse.</p> + +<p>"Haven't you found it yet?" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>Goldstamm hastened to give it back. The tramp put the purse in +his<br> + pocket with a sigh of relief. Goldstamm had regained his calm +and<br> + his mind was working eagerly. He put several pairs of shoes +before<br> + his customer, with the remark: "You must try them on. We'll +find<br> + something to suit you. And meanwhile I will bring in several<br> + pairs of trousers from those outside. I have some fine coats +to<br> + show you too."</p> + +<p>Goldstamm went out to the door, almost colliding there with +his<br> + assistant who was coming in with his arm full of garments. The +old<br> + man motioned to the boy, who retreated until they were both +hidden<br> + from the view of the man within the store.</p> + +<p>"Give me those blue trousers there," said Goldstamm in a loud +voice.<br> + Then in a whisper he said to the boy: "Run to the police +station.<br> + The man with the watch and the purse is in there."</p> + +<p>The boy understood and set off at once at a fast pace, while +the<br> + old man returned to his store with a heavy heart. He +wondered<br> + whether he would be able to keep the murderer there until +the<br> + police could come. And he also wondered what it might cost +him,<br> + an old and feeble man, who would be as a weak reed in the hands +of<br> + the strong tramp in there. But he knew it was his duty to do<br> + whatever he could to help in the arrest of one who had just +taken<br> + the life of a fellow creature. The realisation of this gave +the<br> + old man strength and calmness.</p> + +<p>"A nice sort of an eye for size you have," cried the tramp as +the<br> + old man came up to him. "I suppose you've brought me in a +boy's<br> + suit? What do you take me for? Any girl could go to a ball in +the<br> + shoes you brought me to try on here."</p> + +<p>"Are they so much too small?" asked the dealer in an innocent +tone.<br> + "Well, there's plenty more there. And perhaps you had better +be<br> + trying on this suit behind the curtain here while I'm hunting up +the<br> + shoes."</p> + +<p>This suggestion seemed to please the stranger, as he was +evidently<br> + in a hurry. He passed in behind the curtain and began to +undress.<br> + Goldstamm's keen eyes watched him through a crack. There was +not<br> + much to be seen except that the tramp seemed anxious to keep +his<br> + overcoat within reach of his hand. He had carefully put the +purse<br> + in one of its<br> + pockets.</p> + +<p>We'll get the things all together pretty soon," said the +dealer.<br> + "I've found a pair of boots here, fine boots of good quality, +and<br> + sure to fit."</p> + +<p>"Stop your talk," growled the other, "and come here and help +me<br> + so that I can get away."</p> + +<p>Goldstamm came forward, and though his heart was very heavy +within<br> + him, he aided this man, this man about whom so many hundreds +were<br> + now thinking in terror, as calmly as he had aided his other +poor<br> + but honest customers.</p> + +<p>With hands that did not tremble, the dealer busied himself +about<br> + his customer, listening all the while to sounds in the street +in<br> + the hope that his tete-e-tete with the murderer would soon be +over.<br> + But in spite of all his natural anxiety, the old man's sharp +eyes<br> + took cognizance of various things, one of which was that the +man<br> + whom he was helping to dress in his new clothes did not have +the<br> + watch which was described in the police notice. This fact, +however,<br> + did not make the old man's heart any lighter, for the purse +mended<br> + with yellow thread was too clearly the one stolen from the +murdered<br> + man found in the quiet street in Hietzing.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with you, you're so slow? I can get +along<br> + better myself," growled the tramp, pushing the old man away +from<br> + him. Goldstamm had really begun to tremble now in spite of +his<br> + control, in the fear that the man would get away from him before +the<br> + police came.</p> + +<p>The tramp was already dressed in the new suit, into a pocket +of<br> + which he put the old purse.</p> + +<p>"There, now the boots and then we're finished," said the +dealer<br> + with an attempt at a smile. In his heart he prayed that the +pair<br> + he now held in his hand might not fit, that he might gain a +few<br> + minutes more. But the shoes did fit. A little pushing and +stamping<br> + and the man was ready to leave the store. He was evidently in +a<br> + hurry, for he paid what was asked without any attempt to +bargain.<br> + Had Goldstamm not known whom he had before him now, he would +have<br> + been very much astonished at this, and might perhaps have been +sorry<br> + that he had not named a higher sum. But under the circumstances +he<br> + understood only too well the man's desire to get away, and +would<br> + much rather have had some talk as to the payment, anything +that<br> + would keep his customer a little longer in his store.</p> + +<p>"There, now we're ready. I'll pack up your old things for you. +Or<br> + perhaps we can make a deal for them. I pay the highest prices +in<br> + the city," said Goldstamm, with an apparent eagerness which he +hoped<br> + would deceive the customer.</p> + +<p>But the man had already turned towards the door, and called +hack<br> + over his shoulder: "You can keep the old things, I don't want +them."</p> + +<p>As he spoke he opened the door of the store and stood face to +face<br> + with a policeman holding a revolver. He turned, with a curse, +back<br> + into the room, but the dealer was nowhere to be seen. David<br> + Goldstamm had done his duty to the public, in spite of his +fear.<br> + Now, seeing that the police had arrived, he could think of his +duty<br> + to his family. This duty was plainly to save his own life, +and<br> + when the tramp turned again to look for him, he had disappeared +out<br> + of the back door.</p> + +<p>"Not a move or I will shoot," cried the policeman, and now +two<br> + others appeared behind him, and came into the store. But the<br> + tramp made no attempt to escape. He stood pale and trembling +while<br> + they put the handcuffs on him, and let them take him away +without<br> + any resistance. He was put on the evening express for Vienna, +and<br> + taken to Police Headquarters in that city. He made no protest +nor<br> + any attempt to escape, but he refused to utter a word on the +entire<br> + journey.</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>ALMOST CONVICTED</h3> + +<p><br> + The evening was already far gone when Muller entered Riedau's +office.</p> + +<p>"You're in time, the man isn't here yet. The train is +evidently<br> + late," said the commissioner. "We're working this case off<br> + quickly. We will have the murderer here in half an hour at +the<br> + latest. He did not have much time to enjoy the stolen property. +He<br> + was here in Vienna this morning, and was arrested in Pressburg +this<br> + afternoon. Here is the telegram, read it."</p> + +<p>Dr. von Riedau handed Muller the message. The commissioner +was<br> + evidently pleased and excited. The telegram read as follows: +"Man<br> + arrested here in possession of described purse containing four +ten<br> + gulden notes and four guldens in silver. Arrested in store +of<br> + second-hand clothes dealer Goldstamm. Will arrive this evening +in<br> + Vienna under guard."</p> + +<p>The message was signed by the Chief of the Pressburg +police.</p> + +<p>Muller laid the paper on the desk without a word. There was a +watch<br> + on this desk already; it was a heavy gold watch, unusually +thick,<br> + with the initials L. W. on the cover. Just as Muller laid down +the<br> + telegram, a door outside was opened and the commissioner covered +the<br> + watch hastily. There was a loud knock at his own door and an<br> + attendant entered to announce that the party from Pressburg +had<br> + arrived He was followed by one of the Pressburg police force, +who<br> + brought the official report.</p> + +<p><br> + "Did you have any difficulty with him?" asked the +commissioner.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir; it was a very easy job. He made no resistance at +all,<br> + and he seems to be quite sober now. But he hasn't said a word +since<br> + we arrested him."</p> + +<p>Then followed the detailed report of the arrest, and the +delivery of<br> + the described pocketbook to the commissioner.</p> + +<p>"Is that all?" asked Dr. von Riedau.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then you may go home now, we will take charge of the +man."</p> + +<p>The policeman bowed and left the room. A few moments later +the<br> + tramp was brought in, guarded by two armed roundsmen. His +guards<br> + remained at the door, while the prisoner himself walked forward +to<br> + the middle of the room. Commissioner von Riedau sat at his +desk,<br> + his clerk beside him ready to take down the evidence. Muller +sat<br> + near a window with a paper on his lap, looking the least +interested<br> + of anybody in the proceedings.</p> + +<p>For a moment there was complete silence in the room, which +was<br> + broken in a rather unusual manner. A deep voice, more like a +growl,<br> + although it had a queer strain of comic good-nature in it, began +the<br> + proceedings with the remark: "Well now, say, what do you want of +me,<br> + anyway?"</p> + +<p>The commissioner looked at the man in astonishment, then +turned<br> + aside that the prisoner might not notice his smile. But he +might<br> + have spared himself the trouble, for Muller, the clerk, and the +two<br> + policemen at the door were all on a broad grin.</p> + +<p>Then the commissioner pulled himself together again, and began +with<br> + his usual official gravity: "It is I who ask questions here. Is +it<br> + possible that you do not know this? You look to me as if you +had<br> + had experience in police courts before." The commissioner gazed +at<br> + the prisoner with eyes that were not altogether friendly. The +tramp<br> + seemed to feel this, and his own eyes dropped, while the +good-natured<br> + impertinence in his bearing disappeared. It was evidently the +last<br> + remains of his intoxication. He was now quite sober.</p> + +<p>"What is your name?" asked the commissioner.</p> + +<p>"Johann Knoll."</p> + +<p>"Where were you born?"</p> + +<p>"Near Brunn."</p> + +<p>"Your age?"</p> + +<p>"I'm - I'll be forty next Christmas."</p> + +<p>"Your religion?"</p> + +<p>"Well, you can see I'm no Jew, can't you?"</p> + +<p>"You will please answer my questions in a proper manner. +This<br> + impertinence will not make things easier for you."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir," said the tramp humbly. "I am a +Catholic."</p> + +<p>"You have been in prison before?" This was scarcely a +question.</p> + +<p>"No, sir," said Knoll firmly.</p> + +<p>"What is your business?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know what to say, sir," answered Knoll, shrugging +his<br> + shoulders. "I've done a lot of things in my life. I'm a +cattle<br> + drover and a lumber man, and I -"</p> + +<p>"Did you learn any trade?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I never learned anything."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean to tell me that without having learned any trade +you've<br> + gotten through life thus far honestly?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I've worked hard enough - I've worked good and hard +sometimes."</p> + +<p>"The last few days particularly, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Why, no, sir, not these last days - I was drover on a +transport of<br> + pigs; we brought 'em down from Hungary, 200 of 'em, to the +slaughter<br> + house here."</p> + +<p>"When was that?"</p> + +<p>"That was - that was Monday."</p> + +<p>"This last Monday?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir.</p> + +<p>"And then you went to Hietzing?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, that's right."</p> + +<p>"Why did you go to Hietzing?"</p> + +<p>"Why, see here, sir, if I had gone to Ottakring, then I +suppose you<br> + would have asked why did I go to Ottakring. I just went to +Hietzing.<br> + A fellow has to go somewhere. You don't stay in the same spot +all<br> + the time, do you?"</p> + +<p>Again the commissioner turned his head and another smile +went<br> + through the room. This Hietzing murderer had a sense of +humour.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, we'll go to Hietzing again, in our minds at +least,"<br> + said the commissioner, turning back to Knoll when he had +controlled<br> + his merriment. "You went there on Monday, then - and the day +was<br> + coming to an end. What did you do when you reached +Hietzing?"</p> + +<p>"I looked about for a place to sleep."</p> + +<p>"Where did you look for a place to sleep?"</p> + +<p>"Why, in Hietzing."</p> + +<p>"That is not definite enough."</p> + +<p>"Well, in a garden."</p> + +<p>"You were trespassing, you mean?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, sir. There wasn't anybody that seemed to want to +invite<br> + me to dinner or to give me a place to sleep. I just had to +look<br> + out for myself."</p> + +<p>"You evidently know how to look out for yourself at the cost +of<br> + others, a heavy cost." The commissioner's easy tone had changed +to<br> + sternness. Knoll felt this, and a sharp gleam shot out from +his<br> + dull little eyes, while the tone of his voice was gruff and<br> + impertinent again as he asked: "What do you mean by that?"</p> + +<p>"You know well enough. You had better not waste any more time, +but<br> + tell us at once how you came into possession of this purse."</p> + +<p>"It's my purse," Knoll answered with calm impertinence. "I got +it<br> + the way most people get it. I bought it."</p> + +<p>"This purse?" the commissioner emphasised both words +distinctly.</p> + +<p>"This purse - yes," answered the tramp with a perfect +imitation of<br> + Riedau's voice. "Why shouldn't I have bought this purse just +like<br> + any other?"</p> + +<p>"Because you stole this purse from the man whom you - +murdered,"<br> + was the commissioner's reply.</p> + +<p>There was another moment of dead silence in the room. The<br> + commissioner and Muller watched intently for any change of<br> + expression in the face of the man who had just had such an<br> + accusation hurled at him. Even the clerk and the two policemen +at<br> + the door were interested to see what would happen.</p> + +<p>Knoll's calm impertinence vanished, a deadly pallor spread +over his<br> + face, and he seemed frozen to stone. He attempted to speak, but +was<br> + not able to control his voice. His hands were clenched and +tremors<br> + shook his gaunt but strong-muscled frame.</p> + +<p>"When did I murder anybody?" he gasped finally in a hoarse +croak.<br> + "You'll have to prove it to me that I am a murderer."</p> + +<p>"That is easily proved. Here is one of the proofs," said +Riedan<br> + coldly, pointing to the purse. "The purse and the watch of +the<br> + murdered man are fatal witnesses against you."</p> + +<p>"The watch? I haven't any watch. Where should I get a +watch?"</p> + +<p>"You didn't have one until Monday, possibly; I can believe +that.<br> + But you were in possession of a watch between the evening of +Monday,<br> + the 27th, and the morning of Wednesday, the 29th."</p> + +<p>Knoll's eyes dropped again and he did not trust himself to +speak.</p> + +<p>"Well, you do not deny this statement?"</p> + +<p>"No, I can't," said Knoll, still trying to control his +voice.<br> + "You must have the watch yourself now, or else you wouldn't be +so<br> + certain about it."</p> + +<p>"Ah, you see, I thought you'd had experience with police +courts<br> + before," said the commissioner amiably. "Of course I have +the<br> + watch already. The man whom you sold it to this morning knew +by<br> + three o'clock this afternoon where this watch came from. He +brought<br> + it here at once and gave us your description. A very exact<br> + description. The man will be brought here to identify you +to-morrow.<br> + We must send for him anyway, to return his money to him. He +paid<br> + you fifty-two gulden for the watch. And how much money was in +the<br> + purse that you took from the murdered man?"</p> + +<p>"Three gulden eighty-five."</p> + +<p>"That was a very small sum for which to commit a murder."</p> + +<p>Knoll groaned and bit his lips until they bled.</p> + +<p>Commissioner von Riedau raised the paper that covered the +watch and<br> + continued: "You presumably recognised that the chain on which +this<br> + watch hung was valueless, also that it could easily be +recognised.<br> + Did you throw it away, or have you it still?"</p> + +<p>"I threw it in the river."</p> + +<p>"That will not make any difference. We do not need the chain, +we<br> + have quite enough evidence without it. The purse, for instance: +you<br> + thought, I suppose, that it was just a purse like a thousand +others,<br> + but it is not. This purse is absolutely individual and +easily<br> + recognised, because it is mended in one spot with yellow +thread.<br> + The thread has become loosened and hangs down in a very +noticeable<br> + manner. It was this yellow thread on the purse, which he +happened<br> + to see by chance, that showed the dealer Goldstamm who it was +that<br> + had entered his store."</p> + +<p>Knoll stood quite silent, staring at the floor. Drops of<br> + perspiration stood out on his forehead, some of them rolling +like<br> + tears down his cheek.</p> + +<p>The commissioner rose from his seat and walked slowly to where +the<br> + prisoner stood. He laid one hand on the man's shoulder and said +in<br> + a voice that was quite gentle and kind again: "Johann Knoll, do +not<br> + waste your time, or ours, in thinking up useless lies. You +are<br> + almost convicted of this crime now. You have already +acknowledged<br> + so much, that there is but little more for you to say. If you +make<br> + an open confession, it will be greatly to your advantage."</p> + +<p>Again the room was quiet while the others waited for what +would<br> + happen. For a moment the tramp stood silent, with the +commissioner's<br> + right hand resting on his shoulder. Then there was a sudden +movement,<br> + a struggle and a shout, and the two policemen had overpowered +the<br> + prisoner and held him firmly. Muller rose quickly and sprang to +his<br> + chief's side. Riedau had not even changed colour, and he +said<br> + calmly: "Oh, never mind, Muller; sit down again. The man had<br> + handcuffs on and he is quite quiet now. I think he has sense +enough<br> + to see that he is only harming himself by his violence.</p> + +<p>The commissioner returned to his desk and Muller went back to +his<br> + chair by the window. The prisoner was quiet again, although +his<br> + face wore a dark flush and the veins on throat and forehead +were<br> + swollen thick. He trembled noticeably and the heavy drops<br> + besprinkled his brow.</p> + +<p>"I - I have something to say, sir," he began, "but first I +want to<br> + beg your pardon -"</p> + +<p>"Oh, never mind that. I am not angry when a man is fighting +for his<br> + life, even if he doesn't choose quite the right way," answered +the<br> + commissioner calmly, playing with a lead pencil.</p> + +<p>Knoll's expression was defiant now. He laughed harshly and +began<br> + again: "What I'm tellin' you now is the truth whether you +believe<br> + it or not. I didn't kill the man. I took the watch and purse<br> + from him. I thought he was drunk. If he was killed, I didn't<br> + do it."</p> + +<p>"He was killed by a shot."</p> + +<p>"A shot? Why, yes, I heard a shot, but I didn't think any +more<br> + about it, I didn't think there was anythin' doing, I thought +somebody<br> + was shootin' a cat, or else-"</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't bother to invent things. It was a man who was shot +at,<br> + the man whom you robbed. But go on, go on. I am anxious to +hear<br> + what you will tell me."</p> + +<p>Knoll's hands, clenched to fists and his eyes glowed in hate +and<br> + defiance. Then he dropped them to the floor again and began +to<br> + talk slowly in a monotonous tone that sounded as if he were<br> + repeating a lesson. His manner was rather unfortunate and did +not<br> + tend to induce belief in the truth of his story. The gist of +what<br> + he said was as follows:</p> + +<p>He had reached Hietzing on Monday evening about 8 o'clock. He +was<br> + thirsty, as usual, and had about two gulden in his possession, +his<br> + wages for the last day's work. He turned into a tavern in +Hietzing<br> + and ate and drank until his money was all gone, and he had not +even<br> + enough left to pay for a night's lodging. But Knoll was not +worried<br> + about that. He was accustomed to sleeping out of doors, and as +this<br> + was a particularly fine evening, there was nothing in the +prospect<br> + to alarm him. He set about finding a suitable place where he +would<br> + not be disturbed by the guardians of the law. His search led +him<br> + by chance into a newly opened street. This suited him +exactly.<br> + The fences were easy to climb, and there were several little +summer<br> + houses in sight which made much more agreeable lodgings than +the<br> + ground under a bush. And above all, the street was so quiet +and<br> + deserted that he knew it was just the place for him. He had +never<br> + been in the street before, and did not know its name. He +passed<br> + the four houses at the end of the street - he was on the +left<br> + sidewalk - and then he came to two fenced-in building lots. +These<br> + interested him. He was very agile, raised himself up on the +fences<br> + easily and took stock of the situation. One of the lots did +not<br> + appeal to him particularly, but the second one did. It +bordered<br> + on a large garden, in the middle of which he could see a +little<br> + house of some kind. It was after sunset but he could see +things<br> + quite plainly yet for the air was clear and the moon was +just<br> + rising. He saw also that in the vacant lot adjoining the +garden,<br> + a lot which appeared to have been a garden itself once, there +was<br> + a sort of shed. It looked very much damaged but appeared to +offer<br> + shelter sufficient for a fine night.</p> + +<p>The shed stood on a little raise of the ground near the high +iron<br> + fence that protected the large garden. Knoll decided that +the<br> + shed would make a good place to spend the night. He climbed +the<br> + fence easily and walked across the lot. When he was just +settling<br> + himself for his nap, he heard the clock on a near-by church +strike<br> + nine. The various drinks he had had for supper put him in a +mood<br> + that would not allow him to get to sleep at once. The bench +in<br> + the old shed was decidedly rickety and very uncomfortable, and +as<br> + he was tossing about to find a good position, a thought came +into<br> + his mind which he acknowledged was not a commendable one. It<br> + occurred to him that if he pursued his investigations in the<br> + neighbourhood a little further, he might be able to pick up<br> + something that would be of advantage to him on his +wanderings.<br> + His eyes and his thoughts were directed towards the handsome +house<br> + which he could see beyond the trees of the old garden.</p> + +<p>The moon was now well up in the sky and it shone brightly on +the<br> + mansard roof of the fine old mansion. The windows of the +long<br> + wing which stretched out towards the garden glistened in the<br> + moonbeams, and the light coloured wall of the house made a +bright<br> + background for the dark mask of trees waving gently in the +night<br> + breeze. Knoll's little shed was sufficiently raised on its<br> + hillock for him to have a good view of the garden. There was +no<br> + door to the shed and he could see the neighbouring property +clearly<br> + from where he lay on his bench. While he lay there watching, +he<br> + saw a woman walking through the garden. He could see her +only<br> + when she passed back of or between the lower shrubs and bushes. +As<br> + far as he could see, she came from the main building and was +walking<br> + towards a pretty little house which lay in the centre of the +garden.<br> + Knoll had imagined this house to be the gardener's dwelling and +as<br> + it lay quite dark he supposed the inmates were either asleep or +out<br> + for the evening. It had been this house which he was intending +to<br> + honour by a visit. But seeing the woman walking towards it, +he<br> + decided it would not be safe to carry out his plan just yet +awhile.</p> + +<br> +A few moments later he was certain that this last decision had +been<br> +a wise one, for he saw a man come from the main building and +walk<br> +along the path the woman had taken. "No, nothing doing +there,"<br> +thought Knoll, and concluded he had better go to sleep. He +could<br> +not remember just how long he may have dozed but it seemed to +him<br> +that during that time he had heard a shot. It did not interest +him<br> +much. He supposed some one was shooting at a thieving cat or +at<br> +some small night animal. He did not even remember whether he +had<br> +been really sound asleep, before he was aroused by the +breaking<br> +down of the bench on which he lay. The noise of it more than +the<br> +shock of the short fall, awoke him and he sprang tip in alarm +and<br> +listened intently to hear whether any one had been attracted by +it.<br> +His first glance was towards the building behind the garden. +There<br> +was no sound nor no light in the garden house but there was a +light<br> +in the main building. While the tramp was wondering what hour +it<br> +might be, the church clock answered him by ten loud strokes. + +<p>His head was already aching from the wine and he did not +feel<br> + comfortable in the drafty old building. He came out from it, +crept<br> + along to the spot where he had climbed the fence before, and +after<br> + listening carefully and hearing nothing on either side, he +climbed<br> + back to the road. The Street lay silent and empty, which was +just<br> + what he was hoping for. He held carefully to the shadow thrown +by<br> + the high board fence over which he had climbed until he came to +its<br> + end. Then he remembered that he hadn't done anything wrong +and<br> + stepped out boldly into the moonlight. The moon was well up +now<br> + and the street was almost as light as day. Knoll was attracted +by<br> + the queer shadows thrown by a big elder tree, waving its +long<br> + branches in the wind. As he came nearer he saw that part of +the<br> + shadow was no shadow at all but was the body of a man lying +in<br> + the street near the bush. "I thought sure he was drunk" was +the<br> + way Knoll described it. "I've been like that myself often +until<br> + somebody came along and found me."</p> + +<p>When he came to this spot in his story, he halted and drew a +long<br> + breath. Commissioner von Riedau had begun to make some figures +on<br> + the paper in front of him, then changed the lines until the +head<br> + of a pretty woman in a fur hat took shape under his fingers.</p> + +<p>"Well, go on," he said, looking with interest at his drawing +and<br> + improving it with several quick strokes.</p> + +<p>Johann Knoll continued:</p> + +<p>"Then the devil came over me and I thought I better take this +good<br> + opportunity - well - I did. The man was lying on his back and +I<br> + saw a watch chain on his dark vest. I bent over him and took +his<br> + watch and chain. Then I felt around in his pocket and found +his<br> + purse. And then - well then I felt sorry for him lying out in +the<br> + open road like that, and I thought I'd lift him up and put +him<br> + somewhere where he could sleep it off more convenient. But I +didn't<br> + see there was a little ditch there and I stumbled over it +and<br> + dropped him. 'It's a good thing he's so drunk that even this +don't<br> + wake him up,' I thought, and ran off. Then I thought I heard<br> + something moving and I was scared stiff, but there was nothing +in<br> + the street at all. I thought I had better take to the fields +though<br> + and I crossed through some corn and then out onto another +street.<br> + Finally I walked into the city, stayed there till this morning, +sold<br> + the watch, then went to Pressburg."</p> + +<p>"So that was the way it was," said the commissioner, pushing +his<br> + drawing away from him and motioning to the policemen at the +door.<br> + "You may take this man away now," he added in a voice of +cool<br> + indifference, without looking at the prisoner.</p> + +<p>Knoll's head drooped and he walked out quietly between his +two<br> + guards. The clock on the office wall struck eleven.</p> + +<p>"Dear me! what a lot of time the man wasted," said the +commissioner,<br> + putting the report of the proceedings, the watch and the purse +in a<br> + drawer of his desk. "When anybody has been almost convicted of +a<br> + crime, it's really quite unnecessary to invent such a long +story.</p> + +<p>A few minutes later, the room was empty and Muller, as the +last of<br> + the group, walked slowly down the stairs. He was in such a +brown<br> + study that he scarcely heard the commissioner's friendly +"goodnight,"<br> + nor did he notice that he was walking down the quiet street +under a<br> + star-gilded sky. "Almost convicted - almost. Almost?" +Muller's<br> + lips murmured while his head was full of a chaotic rush of +thought,<br> + dim pictures that came and went, something that seemed to be on +the<br> + point of bringing light into the darkness, then vanishing +again.<br> + "Almost - but not quite. There is something here I must find +out<br> + first. What is it? I must know -"</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>THE FACE AT THE GATE</h3> + +<p><br> + The second examination of the prisoner brought nothing new. +Johann<br> + Knoll refused to speak at all, or else simply repeated what he +had<br> + said before. This second examination took place early the +next<br> + morning, but Muller was not present. He was taking a walk in<br> + Hietzing.</p> + +<p>When they took Johann Knoll in the police wagon to the City +Prison,<br> + Muller was just sauntering slowly through the street where +the<br> + murder had been committed. And as the door of the cell shut<br> + clangingly behind the man whose face was distorted in impotent +rage<br> + and despair, Joseph Muller was standing in deep thought before +the<br> + broken willow twig, which now hung brown and dry across the +planks<br> + of the fence. He looked at it for a long time. That is, he +seemed<br> + to be looking at it, but in reality his eyes were looking out +and<br> + beyond the willow twig, out into the unknown, where the +unknown<br> + murderer was still at large. Leopold Winkler's body had +already<br> + been committed to the earth. How long will it be before his +death<br> + is avenged? Or perhaps how long may it even be before it is<br> + discovered from what motive this murder was committed. Was it +a<br> + murder for robbery, or a murder for personal revenge perhaps? +Were<br> + the two crimes committed here by one and the same person, or +were<br> + there two people concerned? And if two, did they work as<br> + accomplices? Or is it possible that Knoll's story was true? +Did<br> + he really only rob the body, not realising that it was a dead +man<br> + and not merely an intoxicated sleeper as he had supposed? +These<br> + and many more thoughts rushed tumultuously through Muller's +brain<br> + until he sighed despairingly under the pressure. Then he +smiled<br> + in amusement at the wish that had crossed his brain, the wish +that<br> + this case might seem as simple to him as it apparently did to +the<br> + commissioner. It would certainly have saved him a lot of work +and<br> + trouble if he could believe the obvious as most people did. +What<br> + was this devil that rode him and spurred him on to delve into +the<br> + hidden facts concerning matters that seemed so simple on the<br> + surface? The devil that spurred him on to understand that +there<br> + always was some hidden side to every case? Then the sigh and +the<br> + smile passed, and Muller raised his head in one of the rare +moments<br> + of pride in his own gifts that this shy unassuming little man +ever<br> + allowed himself. This was the work that he was intended by<br> + Providence to do or he wouldn't have been fitted for it, and it +was<br> + work for the common good, for the public safety. Thinking back +over<br> + the troubles of his early youth, Muller's heart rejoiced and +he<br> + was glad in his own genius. Then the moment of unwonted +elation<br> + passed and he bent his mind again to the problem before him.</p> + +<p></p> + +<p><br> + He sauntered slowly through the quiet street in the direction +of<br> + the four houses. To reach them he passed the fence that +enclosed<br> + this end of the Thorne property. Muller had already known, +for<br> + the last twenty-four hours at least, that the owner of the +fine<br> + old estate was an artist by the name of Herbert Thorne. His +own<br> + landlady had informed him of this. He himself was new to the<br> + neighbourhood, having moved out there recently, and he had +verified<br> + her statements by the city directory. As he was now passing +the<br> + Thorne property, in his slow, sauntering walk, he had just +come<br> + within a dozen paces of the little wooden gate in the fence +when<br> + this gate opened. Muller's naturally soft tread was made +still<br> + more noiseless by the fact that he wore wide soft shoes. +Years<br> + before he had acquired a bad case of chilblains, in fact had +been<br> + in imminent danger of having his feet frozen by standing for +five<br> + hours in the snow in front of a house, to intercept several<br> + aristocratic gentlemen who sooner or later would be obliged +to<br> + leave that house. The police had long suspected the existence +of<br> + this high-class gambling den; but it was not until they had +put<br> + Muller in charge of the case, that there were any results +attained.<br> + The arrests were made at the risk of permanent injury to the<br> + celebrated detective. Since then, Muller's step was more +noiseless<br> + than usual, and now the woman who opened the gate and peered +out<br> + cautiously did not hear his approach nor did she see him +standing<br> + in the shadow of the fence. She looked towards the other end +of<br> + the street, then turned and spoke to somebody behind her. +"There's<br> + nobody coming from that direction," he said. Then she turned +her<br> + head the other way and saw Muller. She looked at him for a +moment<br> + and slammed the gate shut, disappearing behind it. Muller +heard<br> + the lock click and heard the beat of running feet hastening +rapidly<br> + over the gravel path through the garden.</p> + +<p>The detective stood immediately in front of the gate, shaking +his<br> + head. "What was the matter with the woman? What was it that +she<br> + wanted to see or do in the street? Why should she run away +when<br> + she saw me?" These were his thoughts. But he didn't waste +time<br> + in merely thinking. Muller never did. Action followed +thought<br> + with him very quickly. He saw a knot-hole in the fence just<br> + beside the gate and he applied his eyes to this knot-hole. +And<br> + through the knot-hole he saw something that interested and<br> + surprised him.</p> + +<p>The woman whose face had appeared so suddenly at the gate, +and<br> + disappeared still more suddenly, was the same woman whom he +had<br> + seen bidding farewell to Mr. Thorne and his wife on the +Tuesday<br> + morning previous, the woman whom he took to be the +housekeeper.<br> + The old butler stood beside her. It was undoubtedly the same +man,<br> + although he had worn a livery then and was now dressed in a<br> + comfortable old house coat. He stood beside the woman, +shaking<br> + his head and asking her just the questions that Muller was +asking<br> + himself at the moment.</p> + +<p>"Why, what is the matter with you, Mrs. Bernaner? You're +so<br> + nervous since yesterday. Are you ill? Everything seems to<br> + frighten you? Why did you run away from that gate so suddenly? +I<br> + thought you wanted me to show you the place?"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer raised her head and Muller saw that her face +looked<br> + pale and haggard and that her eyes shone with an uneasy +feverish<br> + light. She did not answer the old man's questions, but made +a<br> + gesture of farewell and then turned and walked slowly towards +the<br> + house. She realised, apparently, and feared, perhaps, that +the<br> + man who was passing the gate might have, noticed her sudden +change<br> + of demeanour and that he was listening to what she might say. +She<br> + did not think of the knot-hole in the board fence, or she +might<br> + have been more careful in hiding her distraught face from +possible<br> + observers.</p> + +<p>Muller stood watching through this knot-hole for some little +time.<br> + He took a careful observation of the garden, and from his point +of<br> + vantage he could easily see the little house which was +apparently<br> + the dwelling of the gardener, as well as the mansard roof of +the<br> + main building. There was considerable distance between the +two<br> + houses. The detective decided that it might interest him to +know<br> + something more about this garden, this house and the people +who<br> + lived there. And when Muller made such a decision it was +usually<br> + not very long before he carried it out.</p> + +<p>The other street, upon which the main front of the mansard +house<br> + opened, contained a few isolated dwellings surrounded by +gardens<br> + and a number of newly built apartment houses. On the ground +floor<br> + of these latter houses were a number of stores and +immediately<br> + opposite the Thorne mansion was a little cafe. This suited +Muller<br> + exactly, for he had been there before and he remembered that +from<br> + one of the windows there was an excellent view of the gate and +the<br> + front entrance of the mansion opposite. It was a very modest +little<br> + cafe, but there was a fairly good wine to be had there and +the<br> + detective made it an excuse to sit down by the window, as if<br> + enjoying his bottle while admiring the changing colours of +the<br> + foliage in the gardens opposite.</p> + +<p>Another rather good chance, he discovered, was the fact that +the<br> + landlord belonged to the talkative sort, and believed that +the<br> + refreshments he had to sell were rendered doubly agreeable +when<br> + spiced by conversation. In this case the good man was not +mistaken.<br> + It was scarcely ten o'clock in the forenoon and there were +very<br> + few people in the cafe. The landlord was quite at leisure to<br> + devote himself to this stranger in the window seat, whom he did +not<br> + remember to have seen before, and who was therefore doubly<br> + interesting to him. Several subjects of conversation usual in +such<br> + cases, such as politics and the weather, seemed to arouse no<br> + particular enthusiasm in his patron's manner. Finally the +portly<br> + landlord decided that he would touch upon the theme which was +still<br> + absorbing all Hietzing.</p> + +<p>"Oh, by the way, sir, do you know that you are in the +immediate<br> + vicinity of the place where the murder of Monday evening was<br> + committed? People are still talking about it around here. And +I<br> + see by the papers that the murderer was arrested in +Pressburg<br> + yesterday and brought to Vienna last night."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, is that so? I haven't seen a paper to-day," +replied<br> + Muller, awakening from his apparent indifference.</p> + +<p>The landlord was flattered by the success of the new subject, +and<br> + stood ready to unloose the floodgates of his eloquence. His +customer<br> + sat up and asked the question for which the landlord was +waiting.</p> + +<p>"So it was around here that the man was shot?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. His name was Leopold Winkler, that was in the papers +to-day<br> + too. You see that pretty house opposite? Well, right behind +this<br> + house is the garden that belongs to it and back of that, an +old<br> + garden which has been neglected for some time. It was at the +end<br> + of this garden where it touches the other street, that they +found<br> + the man under a big elder-tree, early Tuesday morning, day +before<br> + yesterday."</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed!" said. Muller, greatly interested, as if this +was<br> + the first he had heard of it. The landlord took a deep breath +and<br> + was about to begin again when his customer, who decided to keep +the<br> + talkative man to a certain phase of the subject, now took +command<br> + of the conversation himself.</p> + +<p>"I should think that the people opposite, who live so near +the<br> + place where the murder was committed, wouldn't be very much +pleased,"<br> + he said. "I shouldn't care to look out on such a spot every +time<br> + I went to my window."</p> + +<p>"There aren't any windows there," exclaimed the landlord, +"for<br> + there aren't any houses there. There's only the old garden, +and<br> + then the large garden and the park belonging to Mr. Thorne's +house,<br> + that fine old house you see just opposite here. It's a good +thing<br> + that Mr. Thorne and his wife went away before the murder +became<br> + known. The lady hasn't been well for some weeks, she's very +nervous<br> + and frail, and it probably would have frightened her to think +that<br> + such things were happening right close to her home."</p> + +<p>"The lady is sick? What's the matter with her?"</p> + +<p>"Goodness knows, nerves, heart trouble, something like that. +The<br> + things these fine ladies are always having. But she wasn't +always<br> + that way, not until about a year ago. She was fresh and +blooming<br> + and very pretty to look at before that."</p> + +<p>"She is a young lady then?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, sir; she's very young still and very pretty. It +makes<br> + you feel sorry to see her so miserable, and you feel sorry for +her<br> + husband. Now there's a young couple with everything in the +world<br> + to make them happy and so fond of each other, and the poor +little<br> + lady has to be so sick."</p> + +<p>"They are very happy, you say?" asked Muller carelessly. He +had<br> + no particular set purpose in following up this inquiry, none +but<br> + his usual understanding of the fact that a man in his business +can<br> + never amass too much knowledge, and that it will sometimes +happen<br> + that a chance bit of information comes in very handy.</p> + +<p>The landlord was pleased at the encouragement and continued: +"Indeed<br> + they are very happy. They've only been married two years. The +lady<br> + comes from a distance, from Graz. Her father is an army officer +I<br> + believe, and I don't think she was over-rich. But she's a +very<br> + sweet-looking lady and her rich husband is very fond of her, any +one<br> + can see that."</p> + +<p>"You said just now that they had gone away, where have they +gone to?"</p> + +<p>"They've gone to Italy, sir. Mrs. Thorne was one of the few +people<br> + who do not know Venice. Franz, that's the butler, sir, told +me<br> + yesterday evening that he had received a telegram saying that +the<br> + lady and gentleman had arrived safely and were very +comfortably<br> + fixed in the Hotel Danieli. You know Danieli's?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I do. I also was one of the few people who did not +know<br> + Venice, that is I was until two years ago. Then, however, I +had<br> + the pleasure of riding over the Bridge of Mestre," answered +Muller.<br> + He did not add that he was not alone at the time, but had +ridden<br> + across the long bridge in company with a pale haggard-faced man +who<br> + did not dare to look to the right or to the left because of +the<br> + revolver which he knew was held in the detective's hand under +his<br> + loose overcoat. Muller's visit to Venice, like most of his<br> + journeyings, had been one of business. This time to capture +and<br> + bring home a notorious and long sought embezzler. He did not<br> + volunteer any of this information, however, but merely asked in +a<br> + politely interested manner whether the landlord himself had +been<br> + to Venice.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed," replied the latter proudly. "I was head waiter +at<br> + Baner's for two years."</p> + +<p>"Then you must make me some Italian dishes soon," said +Muller.<br> + Further conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Franz, +the<br> + old butler of the house opposite.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, sir; I must get him his glass of wine," said +the<br> + landlord, hurrying away to the bar. He returned in a moment +with<br> + a small bottle and a glass and set it down on Muller's +table.</p> + +<p>"You don't mind, sir, if he sits down here?" he asked. "He +usually<br> + sits here at this table because then he can see if he is needed +over<br> + at the house."</p> + +<p>"Oh, please let him come here. He has prior rights to this +table<br> + undoubtedly," said the stranger politely. The old butler sat +down<br> + with an embarrassed murmur, as the voluble landlord explained +that<br> + the stranger had no objection. Then the boniface hurried off +to<br> + attend to some newly entered customers and the detective, +greatly<br> + pleased at the prospect, found himself alone with the old +servant.</p> + +<p>"You come here frequently?" he began, to open the +conversation.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, since my master and myself have settled down here - +we<br> + travelled most of the time until several years ago - I find +this<br> + place very convenient. It's a cosy little room, the wine is +good<br> + and not expensive, I'm near home and yet I can see some new +faces<br> + occasionally."</p> + +<p>"I hope the faces that you see about you at home are not +so<br> + unpleasant that you are glad to get away from them?" asked +Muller<br> + with a smile.</p> + +<p>The old man gave a start of alarm. "Oh, dear, no, sir," he<br> + exclaimed eagerly; "that wasn't what I meant. Indeed I'm fond +of<br> + everybody in the house from our dear lady down to the poor +little<br> + dog."</p> + +<p>Here Muller gained another little bit of knowledge, the fact +that<br> + the lady of the house was the favourite of her servants, or +that<br> + she seemed to them even more an object of adoration than the +master.</p> + +<p>"Then you evidently have a very good place, since you seem so +fond<br> + of every one."</p> + +<p>"Indeed I have a good place, sir."</p> + +<p>"You've had this place a long time?"</p> + +<p>"More than twenty years. My master was only eleven years old +when<br> + I took service with the family."</p> + +<p>"Ah, indeed! then you must be a person of importance in the +house<br> + if you have been there so long?"</p> + +<p>"Well more or less I might say I am," the old man smiled +and<br> + looked flattered, then added: "But the housekeeper, Mrs. +Bernaner,<br> + is even more important than I am, to tell you the truth. She +was<br> + nurse to our present young master, and she's been in the house +ever<br> + since. When his parents died, it's some years ago now, she +took<br> + entire charge of the housekeeping. She was a fine active +woman<br> + then, and now the young master and mistress couldn't get +along<br> + without her. They treat her as if she was one of the +family."</p> + +<p>"And she is ill also? I say also," explained Muller, "because +the<br> + landlord has just been telling me that your mistress is +ill."</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, more's the pity! our poor dear young lady has +been<br> + miserable for nearly a year now. It's a shame to see such a +sweet<br> + angel as she is suffer like that and the master's quite +heart-broken<br> + over it. But there's nothing the matter with Mrs. Bernaner. +How<br> + did you come to think that she was sick?"</p> + +<p>Muller did not intend to explain that the change in the +housekeeper's<br> + appearance, a change which had come about between Tuesday +morning<br> + and Thursday morning, might easily have made any one think that +she<br> + was ill. He gave as excuse for his question the old man's own +words:<br> + "Why, I thought that she might be ill also because you said +yourself<br> + that the housekeeper - what did you say her name was?"</p> + +<p>"Bernauer, Mrs. Adele Bernauer. She was a widow when she came +to<br> + take care of the master. Her husband was a sergeant of +artillery."</p> + +<p>"Well, I mean," continued Muller, "you said yourself that when +the<br> + gentleman's parents died, Mrs. Bernauer was a fine active +woman,<br> + therefore I supposed she was no longer so."</p> + +<p>Franz thought the matter over for a while. "I don't know just +why<br> + I put it that way. Indeed she's still as active as ever and +always<br> + fresh and well. It's true that for the last two or three days +she's<br> + been very nervous and since yesterday it is as if she was a +changed<br> + woman. She must be ill, I don't know how to explain it +otherwise."</p> + +<p>"What seems to be the matter with her?" asked Muller and then +to<br> + explain his interest in the housekeeper's health, he fabricated +a<br> + story: "I studied medicine at one time and although I didn't +finish<br> + my course or get a diploma, I've always had a great interest in +such<br> + things, and every now and then I'll take a case, +particularly<br> + nervous diseases. That was my specialty." Muller took up his +glass<br> + and turned away from the window, for be felt a slow flush +rising<br> + to his cheeks. It was another of Muller's peculiarities that +he<br> + always felt an inward embarrassment at the lies he was obliged +to<br> + tell in his profession.</p> + +<p>The butler did not seem to have noticed it however, and +appeared<br> + eager to tell of what concerned him in the housekeeper's +appearance<br> + and demeanour. "Why, yesterday at dinner time was the first +that<br> + we began to notice anything wrong with Mrs. Bernauer. The rest +of<br> + us, that is, Lizzie the upstairs girl, the cook and myself. +She<br> + began to eat her dinner with a good appetite, then suddenly, +when<br> + we got as far as the pudding, she let her fork fall and +turned<br> + deathly white. She got up without saying a word and left the +room.<br> + Lizzie ran after her to ask if anything was the matter, but +she<br> + said no, it was nothing of importance. After dinner, she went +right<br> + out, saying she was doing some errands. She brought in a lot +of<br> + newspapers, which was quite unusual, for she sometimes does not +look<br> + at a newspaper once a week even. I wouldn't have noticed it +but<br> + Lizzie's the kind that sees and hears everything and she told +us<br> + about it." Franz stopped to take a drink, and Muller said<br> + indifferently, "I suppose Mrs. Bernauer was interested in the +murder<br> + case. The whole neighbourhood seems to be aroused about it."</p> + +<p>"No, I don't think that was it," answered the old servant, +"because<br> + then she would have sent for a paper this morning too."</p> + +<p>"And she didn't do that?"</p> + +<p>"No, unless she might have gone out for it herself. There's a +news<br> + stand right next door here. But I don't think she did because +I<br> + would have seen the paper around the house then."</p> + +<p>"And is that all that's the matter with her?" asked Muller in +a<br> + tone of disappointment. "Why, I thought you'd have something +really<br> + interesting to tell me."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, that isn't all, sir," exclaimed the old man +eagerly.</p> + +<p>Muller leaned forward, really interested now, while Franz +continued:<br> + "She was uneasy all the afternoon yesterday. She walked up and +down<br> + stairs and through the halls - I remember Lizzie making some +joke<br> + about it - and then in the evening to our surprise she suddenly +began<br> + a great rummaging in the first story."</p> + +<p>"Is that where she lives ?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; her room is in the wing out towards the garden. The +rooms<br> + on the first floor all belong to the master and mistress. +This<br> + morning we found out that Mrs. Bernauer's cleaning up of the +evening<br> + before had been done because she remembered that the master +wanted<br> + to take some papers with him but couldn't find them and had +asked<br> + her to look for them and send them right on."</p> + +<p>"Well, I shouldn't call that a sign of any particular +nervousness,<br> + but rather an evidence of Mrs. Bernaner's devotion to her +duty."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, sir - but it certainly is queer that she should go +into<br> + the garden at four o'clock this morning and appear to be +looking<br> + for something along the paths and under the bushes. Even if a +few<br> + of the papers blew out of the window, or blew away from the +summer<br> + house, where the master writes sometimes, they couldn't have<br> + scattered all over the garden like that."</p> + +<p>Muller didn't follow up this subject any longer. There might +come<br> + a time when he would be interested in finding out the reason +for<br> + the housekeeper's search in the garden, but just at present +he<br> + wanted something else. He remembered some remark of the old +man's<br> + about the "poor little dog," and on this he built his plan.</p> + +<p>"Oh, well," he said carelessly, "almost everybody is nervous +and<br> + impatient now-a-days. I suppose Mrs. Bernauer felt uneasy +because<br> + she couldn't find the paper right away. There's nothing +particularly<br> + interesting or noticeable about that. Anyway, I've been +occupying<br> + myself much more these last years with sick animals rather than +with<br> + sick people. I've had some very successful cures there."</p> + +<p>"No, really, have you? Then you could do us a great +favour,"<br> + exclaimed Franz in apparent eagerness. Muller's heart rejoiced. +He<br> + had apparently hit it right this time. He knew that in a house +like<br> + that "a poor dog" could only mean a "sick dog." But his voice +was<br> + quite calm as he asked: "How can I do you a favour?"</p> + +<p>"Why, you see, sir, we've got a little terrier," explained the +old<br> + man, who had quite forgotten the fact that he had mentioned the +dog<br> + before. "And there's been something the matter with the poor +little<br> + chap for several days. He won't eat or drink, he bites at the +grass<br> + and rolls around on his stomach and cries - it's a pity to see +him.<br> + If you're fond of animals and know how to take care of them, you +may<br> + be able to help us there."</p> + +<p>"You want me to look at the little dog? Why, yes, I suppose I +can."</p> + +<p>"We'll appreciate it," said the old man with an embarrassed +smile.<br> + But Muller shook his head and continued: "No, never mind the +payment,<br> + I wouldn't take any money for it. But I'll tell you what you +can<br> + do for me. I'm very fond of flowers. If you think you can take +the responsibility of letting me<br> + walk around in the garden for a little<br> + while, and pick a rose or two, I will be greatly pleased."</p> + +<p>"Why, of course you may," said Franz. "Take any of the roses +you<br> + see there that please you. They're nearly over for the season +now<br> + and it's better they should be picked rather than left to fade +on<br> + the bush. We don't use so many flowers in the house now when +the<br> + family are not there."</p> + +<p>"All right, then, it's a bargain," laughed Muller, signalling +to<br> + the landlord. "Are you, going already?" asked the old +servant.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I must be going if I am to spend any time with the +little dog."</p> + +<p>"I suppose I ought to be at home myself," said Franz. +"Something's<br> + the matter with the electric wiring in our place. The bell in +the<br> + master's room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to +send us<br> + a man out to fix it. He's likely to come any minute now." The +two<br> + men rose, paid their checks, and went out together. Outside +the<br> + cafe Muller hesitated a moment. "You go on ahead," he said to +Franz.<br> + "I want to go in here and get a cigar."</p> + +<p>While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for +several<br> + newspapers, choosing those which his quick eye had told him were +no<br> + longer among the piles on the counter. "I'm very sorry, sir," +said<br> + the clerk; "we have only a few of those papers, just two or +three<br> + more than we need for our regular customers, and this morning +they<br> + are all sold. The housekeeper from the Thorne mansion took the +very<br> + last ones."</p> + +<p>This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store +and<br> + caught up with the old butler as the latter was opening the +handsome<br> + iron gate that led from the Thorne property out onto the +street.</p> + +<p><br> + "Well, where's our little patient?" asked the detective as +he<br> + walked through the courtyard with Franz.</p> + +<p>"You'll see him in a minute," answered the old servant. He +led<br> + the way through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome +old<br> + pieces in empire style, and opened a door at its further +end.</p> + +<p>"This is my room."</p> + +<p>It was a large light room with two windows opening on the +garden.<br> + Muller was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall +had<br> + been such a short one. However he was in the house, that was<br> + something, and he could afford to trust to chance for the +rest.<br> + Meanwhile he would look at the dog. The little terrier lay in +a<br> + corner by the stove and it did not take Muller more than two +or<br> + three minutes to discover that there was nothing the matter +with<br> + the small patient but a simple case of over-eating. But he put +on<br> + a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and looking +up,<br> + asked if he could get some chamomile tea.</p> + +<p>"I'll go for it, I think there's some in the house. Do you +want it<br> + made fresh?" said Franz.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do," was +Muller's<br> + answer. He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to +do<br> + the dog good and at the present moment he wanted to be left +alone<br> + in the room. As soon as Franz had gone, the detective hastened +to<br> + the window, placing himself behind the curtain so that he +could<br> + not be seen from outside. He himself could see first a wide<br> + courtyard lying between the two wings of the house, then beyond +it<br> + the garden, an immense square plot of ground beautifully +cultivated.<br> + The left wing of the house was about six windows longer than +the<br> + other, and from the first story of it it would be quite easy to +look<br> + out over the vacant lot where the old shed stood which had +served<br> + as a night's lodging for Johann Knoll.</p> + +<p>There was not the slightest doubt in Muller's mind that this +part<br> + of the tramp's story was true, for by a natural process of<br> + elimination he knew there was nothing to be gained by inventing +any<br> + such tale. Besides which the detective himself had been to look +at<br> + the shed. His well-known pedantic thoroughness would not +permit<br> + him to take any one's word for anything that he might find out +for<br> + himself, In his investigations on Tuesday morning he had +already<br> + seen the half-ruined shed, now he knew that it contained a +broken<br> + bench.</p> + +<p>Thus far, therefore, Knoll's story was proved to be true-but +there<br> + was something that didn't quite hitch in another way. The tramp +had<br> + said that he had seen first a woman and then a man come from the +main<br> + house and go in the direction of the smaller house which he took +to<br> + be the gardener's dwelling. This Muller discovered now was +quite<br> + impossible. A tall hedge, fully seven or eight feet high and +very<br> + thick, stretched from the courtyard far down into the garden +past<br> + the gardener's little house. There was a broad path on the +right<br> + and the left of this green wall. From his position in the +shed,<br> + Knoll could have seen people passing only when they were on +the<br> + right side of the hedge. But to reach the gardener's house +from<br> + the main dwelling, the shortest way would be on the left side +of<br> + the hedge. This much Muller saw, then he heard the butler's +steps<br> + along the hall and he went back to the corner where the dog +lay.</p> + +<p>Franz was not alone. There was some one else with him, the<br> + housekeeper, Mrs. Bernauer. Just as they opened the door, +Muller<br> + heard her say: "If the gentleman is a veterinary, then we'd +better<br> + ask him about the parrot- "</p> + +<p>The sentence was never finished. Muller never found out what +was<br> + the matter with the parrot, for as he looked up with a polite +smile<br> + of interest, he looked into a pale face, into a pair of eyes +that<br> + opened wide in terror, and heard trembling lips frame the +words:<br> + "There he is again!"</p> + +<p>A moment later Mrs. Bernauer would have been glad to have +recalled<br> + her exclamation, but it was too late.</p> + +<p>Muller bowed before her and asked: "'There he is again,' you +said;<br> + have you ever seen me before?"</p> + +<p>The woman looked at him as if hypnotised and answered almost +in a<br> + whisper: "I saw you Tuesday morning for the first time, +Tuesday<br> + morning when the family were going away. Then I saw you pass<br> + through our street twice again that same day. This morning you +went<br> + past the garden gate and now I find you here. What-what is it +you<br> + want of us?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell you what I want, Mrs. Bernauer, but first I want +to<br> + speak to you alone. Mr. Franz doesn't mind leaving us for a +while,<br> + does he?"</p> + +<p>"But why?" said the old man hesitatingly. He didn't +understand<br> + at all what was going on and he would much rather have +remained.</p> + +<p>"Because I came here for the special purpose of speaking to +Mrs.<br> + Bernauer," replied Muller calmly.</p> + +<p>"Then you didn't come on account of the dog?"</p> + +<p>"No, I didn't come on account of the dog."</p> + +<p>"Then you - you lied to me?"</p> + +<p>"Partly."</p> + +<p>"And you're no veterinary?"</p> + +<p>"No - I can help your dog, but I am not a veterinary and never +have<br> + been."</p> + +<p>"What are you then?"</p> + +<p>"I will tell Mrs. Bernauer who and what I am when you are +outside<br> + - outside in the courtyard there. You can walk about in the +garden<br> + if you want to, or else go and get some simple purgative for +this<br> + dog. That is all he needs; he has been over-fed."</p> + +<p>Franz was quite bewildered. These new developments promised to +be<br> + interesting and he was torn between his desire to know more, +and<br> + his doubts as to the propriety of leaving the housekeeper with +this<br> + queer stranger. He hesitated until the woman herself motioned +to<br> + him to go. He went out into the hall, then into the +courtyard,<br> + watched by the two in the room who stood silently in the +window<br> + until they saw the butler pass down into the garden. Then +they<br> + looked at each other.</p> + +<p>"You belong to the police?" asked Adele Bernauer finally with +a<br> + deep sigh.</p> + +<p>"That was a good guess," replied Muller with an ironic +smile,<br> + adding: "All who have any reason to fear us are very quick +in<br> + recognising us."</p> + +<p>"What do you mean by that?" she exclaimed with a start. +"What<br> + are you thinking of?"</p> + +<p>"I am thinking about the same thing that you are thinking of - +that<br> + I have proved you are thinking of - the same thing that drove +you<br> + out into the street yesterday and this morning to buy the +papers.<br> + These papers print news which is interesting many people just +now,<br> + and some people a great deals. I am thinking of the same +thing<br> + that was evidently in your thoughts as you peered out of the +garden<br> + gate this morning, although you would not come out into the +street.<br> + I know that you do not read even one newspaper regularly. I +know<br> + also that yesterday and today you bought a great many +papers,<br> + apparently to get every possible detail about a certain +subject.<br> + Do you deny this?"</p> + +<p>She did not deny it, she did not answer at all. She sank down +on<br> + a chair, her wide staring eyes looking straight ahead of her, +and<br> + trembling so that the old chair cracked underneath her weight. +But<br> + this condition did not last long. The woman had herself well +under<br> + control. Muller's coming, or something else, perhaps, may +have<br> + overwhelmed her for a moment, but she soon regained her +usual<br> + self-possession.</p> + +<p>"Still you have not told me what you want here," she began +coldly,<br> + and as he did not answer she continued: "I have a feeling that +you<br> + are watching us. I had this feeling when I saw you the first +time<br> + and noticed then - pardon my frankness - that you stared at +us<br> + sharply while we were saying goodbye to our master and +mistress.<br> + Then I saw you pass twice again through the street and look up +at<br> + our windows. This morning I find you at our garden gate and<br> + now - you will pardon me if I tell the exact truth - now you +have<br> + wormed yourself in here under false pretenses because you have +no<br> + right whatever to force an entrance into this house. And I +ask<br> + you again, what do you want here?"</p> + +<p>Muller was embarrassed. That did not happen very often. Also +it<br> + did not happen very often that he was in the wrong as he was +now.<br> + The woman was absolutely right. He had wormed himself into +the<br> + house under false pretenses to follow up the new clue which +almost<br> + unconsciously as yet was leading him on with a stronger and +stronger<br> + attraction. He could not have explained it and he certainly was +not<br> + ready to say anything about it at police headquarters, even at +the<br> + risk of being obliged to continue to enter this mysterious +house<br> + under false pretenses and to be told that he was doing so. +Of<br> + course this sort of thing was necessary in his business, it +was<br> + the only way in which he could follow up the criminals.</p> + +<p>But there was something in this woman's words that cut into +a<br> + sensitive spot and drove the blood to his cheeks. There was<br> + something in the bearing and manner of this one-time nurse +that<br> + impressed him, although he was not a man to be lightly +impressed.<br> + He had a feeling that be had made a fool of himself and it +bothered<br> + him. For a moment he did not know what he should say to this +woman<br> + who stood before him with so much quiet energy in her bearing. +But<br> + the something in his brain, the something that made him what he +was,<br> + whispered to him that he had done right, and that he must +follow<br> + up the trail he had found. That gave him back his usual +calm.</p> + +<p>He took up his hat, and standing before the pale-faced +woman,<br> + looking her firmly in the eyes, he said: "It is true that I +have<br> + no right as yet to force my way into your house, therefore I +have<br> + been obliged to enter it as best I could. I have done this +often<br> + in my work, but I do it for the safety of society. And those +who<br> + reproach me for doing it are generally those whom I have +been<br> + obliged to persecute in the name of the law. Mrs. Bernauer, +I<br> + will confess that there are moments in which I feel ashamed that +I<br> + have chosen this profession that compels me to hunt down +human<br> + beings. But I do not believe that this is one of those +moments.<br> + You have read this morning's papers; you must know, therefore, +that<br> + a man has been arrested and accused of the murder which +interests<br> + you so much; you must be able to realise the terror and +anxiety<br> + which are now filling this man's heart. For to-day's papers - +I<br> + have read them myself - expressed the public sentiment that +the<br> + police may succeed in convicting this man of the crime, that +the<br> + death may be avenged and justice have her due. Several of +these<br> + papers, the papers I know you have bought and presumably read, +do<br> + not doubt that Johann Knoll is the murderer of Leopold +Winkler.</p> + +<p>"Now there are at least two people who do not believe that +Knoll is<br> + the murderer. I am one of them, and you, Mrs. Bernauer, you +are<br> + the other. I am going now and when I come again, as I +doubtless<br> + will come again, I will come with full right to enter this +house.<br> + I acknowledge frankly that I have no justification in causing +your<br> + arrest as yet, but you are quite clever enough to know that if +I<br> + had the faintest justification I would not leave here alone. +And<br> + one thing more I have to say. You may not know that I have had +the<br> + most extraordinary luck in my profession, that in more than +a<br> + hundred cases there have been but two where the criminal I +was<br> + hunting escaped me. And now, Mrs. Bernauer, I will bid you +good<br> + day."</p> + +<p>Muller stepped towards the window and motioned to Franz, who +was<br> + walking up and down outside. The old man ran to the door and +met<br> + the detective in the hall.</p> + +<p>"You'd better go in and look after Mrs. Bernauer," said +the<br> + latter, "I can find my way out alone."</p> + +<p>Franz looked after him, shaking his head in bewilderment and +then<br> + entered his own room. "Merciful God!" he exclaimed, bending +down<br> + in terror over the housekeeper, who lay on the floor. In his +shock<br> + and bewilderment he imagined that she too had been murdered, +until<br> + he realised that it was only a swoon from which she recovered +in<br> + a moment. He helped her regain her feet and she looked about +as<br> + if still dazed, stammering: "Has he gone?"</p> + +<p>"The strange man? ... Yes, he went some time ago. But what<br> + happened to you? Did he give you something to make you faint? +Do<br> + you think he was a thief?"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer shook her head and murmured: "Oh, no, quite +the<br> + contrary." A remark which did not enlighten Franz +particularly<br> + as to the status of the man who had just left them. There was +a<br> + note of fear in the housekeepers s voice and she added +hastily:<br> + "Does any one besides ourselves know that he was here?"</p> + +<p>No. Lizzie and the cook are in the kitchen talking about +the<br> + murder."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer shivered again and went slowly out of the room +and<br> + up the stairs.</p> + +<p>If Franz believed that the stranger had left the house by +the<br> + front entrance he was very much mistaken. When Muller found<br> + himself alone in the corridor he turned quickly and hurried +out<br> + into the garden. None of the servants had seen him. Lizzie +and<br> + the cook were engaged in an earnest conversation in the +kitchen<br> + and Franz was fully occupied with Mrs. Bernauer. The +gardener<br> + was away and his wife busy at her wash tubs. No one was +aware,<br> + therefore, that Muller spent about ten minutes wandering about +the<br> + garden, and ten minutes were quite sufficient for him to become +so<br> + well acquainted with the place that he could have drawn a map +of<br> + it. He left the garden through the rear gate, the latch of +which<br> + he was obliged to leave open. The gardener's wife found it +that<br> + way several hours later and was rather surprised thereat. +Muller<br> + walked down the street rapidly and caught a passing tramway. +His<br> + mood was not of the best, for he could not make up his mind +whether<br> + or no this morning had been a lost one. His mind sorted and<br> + rearranged all that he knew or could imagine concerning Mrs.<br> + Bernaner. But there was hardly enough of these facts to +reassure<br> + him that he was not on a false trail, that he had not +allowed<br> + himself to waste precious hours all because he had seen a +woman's<br> + haggard face appear for a moment at the little gate in the quiet +street.</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>JOHANN KNOLL REMEMBERS SOMETHING ELSE</h3> + +<p><br> + Muller's goal was the prison where Johann Knoll was awaiting +his<br> + fate. The detective had permission to see the man as often +as<br> + he wished to. Knoll had been proven a thief, but the +accusation<br> + of murder against him had not been strengthened by anything +but<br> + the most superficial circumstantial evidence, therefore it +was<br> + necessary that Muller should talk with him in the hope of<br> + discovering something more definite.</p> + +<p>Knoll lay asleep on his cot as the detective and the warder +entered<br> + the cell. Muller motioned the attendant to leave him alone +with<br> + the prisoner and he stood beside the cot looking down at the +man.<br> + The face on the hard pillow was not a very pleasant one to look +at.<br> + The skin was roughened and swollen and had that brown-purple +tinge<br> + which comes from being constantly in the open air, and from +habitual<br> + drinking. The weather-beaten look may be seen often in the faces +of<br> + men whose honest work keeps them out of doors; but this man had +not<br> + earned his colouring honestly, for he was one of the sort who +worked<br> + only from time to time when it was absolutely necessary and +there<br> + was no other way of getting a penny. His hands proved this, +for<br> + although soiled and grimy they had soft, slender fingers +which<br> + showed no signs of a life of toil. But even a man who has +spent<br> + forty years in useless idling need not be all bad. There must +have<br> + been some good left in this man or he could not have lain there +so<br> + quietly, breathing easily, wrapped in a slumber as undisturbed +as<br> + that of a child. It did not seem possible that any man could +lie<br> + there like that with the guilt of murder on his conscience, or +even<br> + with the knowledge in his soul that he had plundered a +corpse.</p> + +<p></p> + +<p><br> + Muller had never believed the first to be the case, but he +had<br> + thought it possible that Knoll knew perfectly well that it was +a<br> + lifeless body he was robbing. He had believed it at least +until<br> + the moment when he stood looking down at the sleeping tramp. +Now,<br> + with the deep knowledge of the human heart which was his by<br> + instinct and which his profession had increased a +thousand-fold,<br> + Muller knew that this man before him had no heavy crime upon +his<br> + conscience - that it was really as he had said - that he had +taken<br> + the watch and purse from one whom he believed to be +intoxicated<br> + only. Of course it was not a very commendable deed for which +the<br> + tramp was now in prison, but it was slight in comparison to +the<br> + crimes of which he was suspected.</p> + +<p>Muller bent lower over the unconscious form and was surprised +to<br> + see a gentle smile spread over the face before him. It +brightened<br> + and changed the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a +look<br> + of almost child-like innocence. Somewhere within the +coarsened<br> + soul there must be a spot of brightness from which such a +smile<br> + could come.</p> + +<p>But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and +looked<br> + up. He shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller's +hand<br> + on his shoulder and raised himself to a sitting position, +grumbling:<br> + "Can't I have any rest? Are they going to question me again? +I'm<br> + getting tired of this. I've said everything I know anyhow."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of +my<br> + questions when I tell you that I believe the story you told +us<br> + yesterday, and that I want to be your friend and help you."</p> + +<p>Knoll's little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the +man<br> + who spoke to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark +of<br> + intelligence in them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and +he<br> + saw it again now. But he saw also the gleam of distrust in +these<br> + eyes, a distrust which found expression in Knoll's next +words.<br> + "You think you can catch me with your good words, but you're +makin'<br> + a mistake. I've got nothin' new to say. And you needn't +think<br> + that you can blind me, I know you're one of the police, and +I'm<br> + not going to say anything at all."</p> + +<p>"Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I +really<br> + could help you. I have just come from Hietzing - but of course +if<br> + you don't want to talk to me - " Muller shrugged his shoulders +and<br> + turned toward the door.</p> + +<p>But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. "You really +mean<br> + to help me?" he gasped.</p> + +<p>"I do," said the detective calmly.</p> + +<p>"Then swear, on your mother's soul - or is your mother still +alive?"</p> + +<p>"No, she has been dead some time."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, will you swear it?"</p> + +<p>"Would you believe an oath like that?"</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't I?"</p> + +<p>"With the life you've been leading?"</p> + +<p>"My life's no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those +things on<br> + Monday was the worst thing I've done yet. Will you swear?"</p> + +<p>"Is it something so very important you have to tell me?"</p> + +<p>"No, I ain't got nothin' at all new to tell you. But I'd just +like<br> + to know - in this black hole I've got into - I'd just like to +know<br> + that there's one human being who means well with me - I'd like +to<br> + know that there's one man in the world who don't think I'm +quite<br> + good-for-nothin'."</p> + +<p>The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a +heart-rending<br> + sob. Deep pity moved the detective's breast. He led Knoll back +to<br> + his cot, and put both hands on his shoulders, saying gravely: +"I<br> + believe that this theft was the worst thing you have done. By +my<br> + mother's salvation, Knoll, I believe your words and I will try +to<br> + help you."</p> + +<p>Knoll raised his head, looking up at Muller with a glance +of<br> + unspeakable gratitude. With trembling lips he kissed the +hand<br> + which a moment before had pressed kindly on his shoulder, +clinging<br> + fast to it as if he could not bear to let it go. Muller was +almost<br> + embarrassed. "Oh, come now, Knoll, don't be foolish. Pull +yourself<br> + together and answer my questions carefully, for I am asking +you<br> + these questions more for your own sake than for anything +else."</p> + +<p>The tramp nodded and wiped the tears from his face. He +looked<br> + almost happy again, and there was a softness in his eyes +that<br> + showed there was something in the man which might be saved +and<br> + which was worth saving.</p> + +<p>Muller sat beside him on the cot and began: "There was one +mistake<br> + in your story yesterday. I want you to think it over +carefully.<br> + You said that you saw first a woman and then a man going +through<br> + the neighbouring garden. I believe that one or both of these<br> + people is the criminal for whom we are looking. Therefore, I +want<br> + you to try and remember everything that you can connect with +them,<br> + every slightest detail. Anything that you can tell us may be +of<br> + the greatest importance. Therefore, think very carefully."</p> + +<p>Knoll sat still a few moments, evidently trying hard to put +his<br> + hazy recollections into useful form and shape. But it was +also<br> + evident that orderly thinking was an unusual work for him, and +he<br> + found it almost too difficult. "I guess you 'better ask me<br> + questions, maybe that'll go," he said after a pause.</p> + +<p>Then Muller began to question. With his usual thoroughness +he<br> + began at the very beginning: "When was it that you climbed +the<br> + fence to get into the shed?"</p> + +<p>"It just struck nine o'clock when I put my foot on the lowest +bar."</p> + +<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> + +<p>"Quite sure. I counted every stroke. You see, I wanted to +know<br> + how long the night was going to be, seein' I'd have to sleep +in<br> + that shed. I was in the garden just exactly an hour. I came +out<br> + of the shed as it struck ten and it wasn't but a few minutes +before<br> + I was in the street again."</p> + +<p>"And when was it that you saw the woman in the garden next +door?"</p> + +<p>"H'm, I don't just know when that was. I'd been in on the +bench<br> + quite a while."</p> + +<p>"And the man? When did you see the man?"</p> + +<p>"He came past a few minutes after the woman had gone towards +the<br> + little house in the garden."</p> + +<p>"Ah! there you see, that's where you made your mistake. It +is<br> + more than likely that these two did not go to the little house, +but<br> + that they went somewhere else. Did they walk slowly and +quietly?"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it. They ran almost ... Went past as quick as a +bat<br> + in the night."</p> + +<p>"Then they both appeared to be in a hurry?"</p> + +<p>"Yes indeed they did."</p> + +<p>"Ah, ha, you see! Now when any one's in a hurry he doesn't go +the<br> + longest way round, as a rule. And it would have been the +longest<br> + way round for these two people to go from the big house to +the<br> + gardener's cottage - for the little house you saw was the +gardener's<br> + cottage. There is tall thick hedge that starts from the main<br> + building and goes right down through the garden, quite a +distance<br> + past the gardener's cottage. The vegetable garden is on the +left<br> + side of this hedge and in the middle of the vegetable garden is +the<br> + gardener's cottage. But you could have seen the man and the +woman<br> + only because they passed down the right side of the hedge, and +this<br> + would have given them a detour of fifty paces or more to +reach<br> + the gardener's house. Nov do you think that two people who +were<br> + very much in a hurry would have gone down the right side of +the<br> + hedge, to reach a place which they could have gotten to much +quicker<br> + on the left side?"</p> + +<p>"No, that would have been a fool thing to do."</p> + +<p>"And you are quite sure that these people were in a +hurry?"</p> + +<p>"That's dead sure. I scarcely saw them before they'd gone +again."</p> + +<p>"And you didn't see them come back?"</p> + +<p>"No, at least I didn't pay any further attention to them. When +I<br> + thought it wouldn't be any good to look about in there I +turned<br> + around and dozed off."</p> + +<p>"And it was during this dozing that you thought you heard the +shot?"</p> + +<p>Yes, sir, that's right."</p> + +<p>"And you didn't notice anything else? You didn't hear +anything<br> + else."</p> + +<p>"No, nothin' at all, there was so much noise anyway. There was +a<br> + high wind that night and the trees were rattling and +creaking."</p> + +<p>"And you didn't see anything else, anything that attracted +your<br> + attention?"</p> + +<p>"No, nothing - " Knoll did not finish his sentence, but +began<br> + another instead. He had suddenly remembered something which +had<br> + seemed to him of no importance before. "There was a light +that<br> + went out suddenly."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"In the side of the house that I could see from my place. +There<br> + was a lamp in the last window of the second story, a lamp with +a<br> + red shade. That lamp went out all at once."</p> + +<p>"Was the window open?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"There was a strong wind that night, might not the wind have +blown<br> + the lamp out?"</p> + +<p>"No, that wasn't it," said Knoll, rising hastily.</p> + +<p>"Well, how was it?" asked Muller calmly.</p> + +<p>"A hand put out the lamp."</p> + +<p>"Whose hand?"</p> + +<p>"I couldn't see that. The light was so low on account of the +shade<br> + that I couldn't see the person who stood there."</p> + +<p>"And you don't know whether it was a man or a woman?"</p> + +<p>"No, I just saw a hand, more like a shadow it was."</p> + +<p>"Well, it doesn't matter much anyway. It was after nine +o'clock<br> + and many people go to bed about that time," said Muller, who +did<br> + not see much value in this incident.</p> + +<p>But Knoll shook his head. "The person who put out that light +didn't<br> + go to bed, at least not right away," he said eagerly. "I +looked<br> + over after a while to the place where the red light was and I +saw<br> + something else."</p> + +<p>"Well, what was it you saw?"</p> + +<p>"The window had been closed."</p> + +<p>"Who closed it? Didn't you see the person that time? The +moonlight<br> + lay full on the house."</p> + +<p>"Yes, when there weren't any clouds. But there was a heavy +cloud<br> + over the moon just then and when it came out again the window +was<br> + shut and there was a white curtain drawn in front of it."</p> + +<p>"How could you see that?"</p> + +<p>"I could see it when the lamp was lit again."</p> + +<p>"Then the lamp was lit again?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I could see the red light behind the curtain."</p> + +<p>"And what happened then?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing more then, except that the man went through the +garden."</p> + +<p>Muller rose now and took up his hat. He was evidently excited +and<br> + Knoll looked at him uneasily. "You're goin' already?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have a great deal to do to-day," replied the detective +and<br> + nodded to the prisoner as he knocked on the door. "I am glad +you<br> + remembered that," he added, "it will be of use to us, I +think."</p> + +<p>The warder opened the door, let Muller out, and the heavy +iron<br> + portal clanged again between Knoll and freedom.</p> + +<p>Muller was quite satisfied with the result of his visit to +the<br> + accused. He hurried to the nearest cab stand and entered one +of<br> + the carriages waiting there. He gave the driver Mrs. +Klingmayer's<br> + address. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon now and +Muller<br> + had had nothing to eat yet. But he was quite unaware of the +fact<br> + as his mind was so busy that no mere physical sensation +could<br> + divert his attention for a moment. Muller never seemed to +need<br> + sleep or food when he was on the trail, particularly not in +the<br> + fascinating first stages of the case when it was his +imagination<br> + alone, catching at trifles unnoticed by others, combining them +in<br> + masterly fashion to an ordered whole, that first led the +seekers<br> + to the truth. Now he went over once more all the little +apparently<br> + trivial incidents that had caused him first to watch the +Thorne<br> + household and then had drawn his attention, and his +suspicion,<br> + to Adele Bernauer. It was the broken willow twig that had +first<br> + drawn his attention to the old garden next the Thorne +property.<br> + This twig, this garden, and perhaps some one who could reach +his<br> + home again, unseen and unendangered through this garden - +might<br> + not this have something to do with the murder?</p> + +<p>The breaking of the twig was already explained. It was +Johann<br> + Knoll who had stepped on it. But he had not climbed the wall +at<br> + all, had only crept along it looking for a night's shelter. +And<br> + there was no connection between Knoll and the people who +lived<br> + in the Thorne house. Muller had not the slightest doubt that +the<br> + tramp had told the entire truth that day and the day +preceding.</p> + +<p><br> + Then the detective's mind went back to the happenings of +Tuesday<br> + morning. The little twig had first drawn his attention to +the<br> + Thorne estate and the people who lived there. He had seen +the<br> + departure of the young couple and had passed the house again +that<br> + afternoon and the following day, drawn to it as if by a +magnet.<br> + He had not been able then to explain what it was that +attracted<br> + him; there had been nothing definite in his mind as he +strolled<br> + past the old mansion. But his repeated appearance had been +noticed<br> + by some one - by one person only - the housekeeper. Why should +she<br> + have noticed it? Had she any reason for believing that she +might<br> + be watched? People with an uneasy conscience are very apt to<br> + connect even perfectly natural trivial circumstances with their +own<br> + doings. Adele Bernauer had evidently connected Muller's +repeated<br> + passing with something that concerned herself even before +the<br> + detective had thought of her at all.</p> + +<p>Muller had not noticed her until he had seen her peculiar +conduct<br> + that very morning. When he heard Franz's words and saw how<br> + disturbed the woman was, he asked himself: "Why did this +woman<br> + want to be shown the spot of the murder? Didn't she know +that<br> + place, living so near it, as well as any of the many who +stood<br> + there staring in morbid curiosity? Did she ask to have it +shown<br> + her that the others might believe she had nothing whatever to +do<br> + with the occurrences that had happened there? Or was she +drawn<br> + thither by that queer attraction that brings the criminal back +to<br> + the scene of his crime?"</p> + +<p>The sudden vision of Mrs. Bernauer's head at the garden gate, +and<br> + its equally sudden disappearance had attracted Muller's +attention<br> + and his thoughts to the woman. What he had been able to +learn<br> + about her had increased his suspicions and her involuntary<br> + exclamation when she met him face to face in the house had +proved<br> + beyond a doubt that there was something on her mind. His +open<br> + accusation, her demeanour, and finally her swoon, were all links +in<br> + the chain of evidence that this woman knew something about +the<br> + murder in the quiet lane.</p> + +<p>With this suspicion in his mind what Muller had learned from +Knoll<br> + was of great value to him, at all events of great interest. +Was<br> + it the housekeeper who had put out the light? For now Muller +did<br> + not doubt for a moment that this sudden extinguishing of the +lamp<br> + was a signal. He believed that Knoll had seen clearly and that +he<br> + had told truly what he had seen. A lamp that is blown out by +the<br> + wind flickers uneasily before going out. A sudden extinguishing +of<br> + the light means human agency. And the lamp was lit again a +few<br> + moments afterward and burned on steadily as before. A short +time<br> + after the lamp had been put out the man had been seen going +through<br> + the garden. And it could not have been much later before the +shot<br> + was heard. This shot had been fired between the hours of nine +and<br> + ten, for it was during this hour only that Knoll was in the +garden<br> + house and heard the shot. But it was not necessary to depend +upon<br> + the tramp's evidence alone to determine the exact hour of the +shot.<br> + It must have been before half past nine, or otherwise the +janitor<br> + of No.1, who came home at that hour and lay awake so long, +would<br> + undoubtedly have heard a shot fired so near his domicile, in +spite<br> + of the noise occasioned by the high wind. There would have +been<br> + sufficient time for Mrs. Bernauer to have reached the place of +the<br> + murder between the putting out of the lamp and the firing of +the<br> + shot. But perhaps she may have rested quietly in her room; +she<br> + may have been only the inciter or the accomplice of the deed. +But<br> + at all events, she knew something about it, she was in some +way<br> + connected with it.</p> + +<p>Muller drew a deep breath. He felt much easier now that he +had<br> + arranged his thoughts and marshalled in orderly array all the +facts<br> + he had already gathered. There was nothing to do now but to +follow<br> + up a given path step by step and he could no longer reproach +himself<br> + that he might have cast suspicion on an innocent soul. No, +his<br> + bearing towards Mrs. Bernauer had not been sheer brutality. +His<br> + instinct, which had led him so unerringly so many times, had +again<br> + shown him the right way when he had thrust the accusation in +her<br> + face.</p> + +<p>Now that his mind was easier he realised that he was very +hungry.<br> + He drove to a restaurant and ordered a hasty meal.</p> + +<p>"Beer, sir?' asked the waiter for the third time.</p> + +<p>"No," answered Muller, also for the third time.</p> + +<p>"Then you'll take wine, sir?" asked the insistent +Ganymede.</p> + +<p>"Oh, go to the devil! When I want anything I'll ask for +it,"<br> + growled the detective, this time effectively scaring the +waiter.<br> + It did not often happen that a customer refused drinks, but +then<br> + there were not many customers who needed as clear, a head as<br> + Muller knew he would have to have to-day. Always a light +drinker,<br> + it was one of his rules never to touch a drop of liquor +during<br> + this first stage of the mental working out of any new +problem<br> + which presented itself. But soft-hearted as he was, he +repented<br> + of his irritation a moment later and soothed the waiter's +wounded<br> + feelings by a rich tip. The boy ran out to open the cab door +for<br> + his strange customer and looked after him, wondering whether +the<br> + man was a cranky millionaire or merely a poet. For Joseph<br> + Muller, by name and by reputation one of the best known men +in<br> + Vienna, was by sight unknown to all except the few with whom +he<br> + had to do on the police force. His appearance, in every way<br> + inconspicuous, and the fact that he never sought acquaintance +with<br> + any one, was indeed of the greatest possible assistance to him +in<br> + his work. Many of those who saw him several times in a day +would<br> + pass him or look him full in the face without recognising him. +It<br> + was only, as in the case of Mrs. Bernauer, the guilty +conscience<br> + that remembered face and figure of this quiet-looking man who +was<br> + one of the most-feared servants of the law in Austria.</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>THE ELECTRICIAN</h3> + +<p><br> + When Muller reached the house where Mrs. Klingmayer lived he +ordered<br> + the cabman to wait and hurried up to the widow's little +apartment.<br> + He had the key to Leopold Winkler's room in his own pocket, +for<br> + Mrs. Klingmayer had given this key to Commissioner von Riedau +at<br> + the latter's request and the commissioner had given it to +Muller.<br> + The detective told the good woman not to bother about him as +he<br> + wanted to make an examination of the place alone. Left to +himself<br> + in the little room, Muller made a thorough search of it, +opening<br> + the cupboard, the bureau drawers, every possible receptacle +where<br> + any article could be kept or hidden. What he wanted to find +was<br> + some letter, some bit of paper, some memoranda perhaps, +anything<br> + that would show any connection existing between the murdered +man<br> + and Mrs. Bernauer, who lived so near the place where this man +had<br> + died and who was so greatly interested in his murder.</p> + +<p><br> + The detective's search was not quite in vain, although he could +not<br> + tell yet whether what he had found would be of any value. +Leopold<br> + Winkler had had very little correspondence, or else he had had +no<br> + reason to keep the letters he received. Muller found only about +a<br> + half dozen letters in all. Three of them were from women of +the<br> + half-world, giving dates for meetings. Another was written by +a<br> + man and signed "Theo." This "Theo" appeared to be the same +sort<br> + of a cheap rounder that Winkler was. And he seemed to have +sunk<br> + one grade deeper than the dead man, in spite of the latter's +bad<br> + reputation. For this other addressed Winkler as his "Dear +Friend"<br> + and pleaded with him for "greater discretion," alluding +evidently<br> + to something which made this discretion necessary.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what rascality it was that made these two +friends?"<br> + murmured Muller, putting "Theo's letter with the three he +had<br> + already read. But before he slipped it in his pocket he glanced +at<br> + the postmark. The letters of the three women had all been +posted<br> + from different quarters of the city some months ago. Theo's +letter<br> + was postmarked "Marburg," and dated on the 1st of September +of<br> + the present year.</p> + +<p>Then Muller looked at the postmark of the two remaining +letters<br> + which he had not yet read, and whistled softly to himself. +Both<br> + these letters were posted from a certain station in Hietzing, +the<br> + station which was nearest his own lodgings and also nearest +the<br> + Thorne house. He looked at the postmark more sharply. They +both<br> + bore the dates of the present year, one of them being stamped +"March<br> + 17th," the other "September 24th." This last letter +interested<br> + the detective most.</p> + +<p>Muller was not of a nervous disposition, but his hand +trembled<br> + slightly as he took the letter from its envelope. It was +clear<br> + that this letter had been torn open hastily, for the edges of +the<br> + opening were jagged and uneven.</p> + +<p>When the detective had read the letter - it contained but a +few<br> + lines and bore neither address nor signature - he glanced +over<br> + it once more as if to memorise the words. They were as +follows:<br> + "Do not come again. In a day or two I will be able to do what +I<br> + have to do. I will send you later news to your office. +Impatience<br> + will not help you." - These words were written hastily on a +piece<br> + of paper that looked as if it had been torn from a pad. In +spite<br> + of the haste the writer had been at some pains to disguise +the<br> + handwriting. But it was a clumsy disguise, done by one not<br> + accustomed to such tricks, and it was evidently done by a +woman.<br> + All she had known how to do to disguise her writing had been +to<br> + twist and turn the paper while writing, so that every letter +had<br> + a different position. The letters were also made unusually +long.<br> + This peculiarity of the writing was seen on both letters and +both<br> + envelopes. The earlier letter was still shorter and seemed to +have<br> + been written with the same haste, and with the same disgust, +or<br> + perhaps even hatred, for the man to whom it was written.</p> + +<p>"Come to-morrow, but not before eight o'clock. He has gone +away.<br> + God forgive him and you." This was the contents of the letter +of<br> + the 17th of March. That is, the writer had penned the letter +this<br> + way. But the last two words, "and you," had evidently not +come<br> + from her heart, for she had annulled them by a heavy stroke of +the<br> + pen. A stroke that seemed like a knife thrust, so full of +rage<br> + and hate it was.</p> + +<p>"So he was called to a rendezvous in Hietzing, too," +murmured<br> + Muller, then he added after a few moments: "But this rendezvous +had<br> + nothing whatever to do with love."</p> + +<p>There was nothing else in Winkler's room which could be of any +value<br> + to Muller in the problem that was now before him. And yet he +was<br> + very well satisfied with the result of his errand.</p> + +<p>He entered his cab again, ordering the driver to take him +to<br> + Hietzing. Just before he had reached the corner where he had +told<br> + the man to stop, another cab passed them, a coupe, in which was +a<br> + solitary woman. Muller had just time enough to recognise this +woman<br> + as Adele Bernauer, and to see that she looked even more haggard +and<br> + miserable than she had that morning. She did not look up as +the<br> + other cab passed her carriage, therefore she did not see +Muller.<br> + The detective looked at his watch and saw that it was almost<br> + half-past four. The unexpected meeting changed, his plans for +the<br> + afternoon. He had decided that he must enter the Thorne +mansion<br> + again that very day, for he must find out the meaning of the<br> + red-shaded lamp. And now that the housekeeper was away it +would<br> + be easier for him to get into the house, therefore it must be +done<br> + at once. His excuse was all ready, for he had been weighing<br> + possibilities. He dismissed his cab a block from his own home +and<br> + entered his house cautiously.</p> + +<p>Muller's lodgings consisted of two large rooms, really much +too<br> + large for a lone man who was at home so little. But Muller +had<br> + engaged them at first sight, for the apartment possessed one<br> + qualification which was absolutely necessary for him. Its<br> + situation and the arrangement of its doors made it possible +for<br> + him to enter and leave his rooms without being seen either by +his<br> + own landlady or by the other lodgers in the house. The +little<br> + apartment was on the ground floor, and Muller's own rooms had +a<br> + separate entrance opening on to the main corridor almost +immediately<br> + behind the door. Nine times out of ten, he could come and go<br> + without being seen by any one in the house. To-day was the +first<br> + time, however, that Muller had had occasion to try this +particular<br> + qualification of his new lodgings.</p> + +<p>He opened the street door and slipped into his own room +without<br> + having seen or been seen by any one.</p> + +<p>Fifteen minutes later he left the apartment again, but left +it<br> + such a changed man that nobody who had seen him go in would +have<br> + recognised him. Before he came out, however, he looked about<br> + carefully to see whether there was any one in sight He came +out<br> + unseen and was just closing the main door behind him, when he +met<br> + the janitress.</p> + +<p>"Were you looking for anybody in the house?" said the +woman,<br> + glancing sharply at the stranger, who answered in a slightly +veiled<br> + voice: "No, I made a mistake in the number. The place I am +looking<br> + for is two houses further down."</p> + +<p>He walked down the street and the woman looked after him until +she<br> + saw him turn into the doorway of the second house. Then she +went<br> + into her own rooms. The house Muller entered happened to be +a<br> + corner house with an entrance on the other street, through +which<br> + the detective passed and went on his way. He was quite +satisfied<br> + with the security of his disguise, for the woman who knew him +well<br> + had not recognised him at all. If his own janitress did not +know<br> + him, the people in the Thorne house would never imagine it was +he.</p> + +<p>And indeed Muller was entirely changed. In actuality small +and<br> + thin, with sparse brown hair and smooth shaven face, he was now +an<br> + inch or two taller and very much stouter. He wore thick curly +blond<br> + hair, a little pointed blond beard and moustache. His eyes +were<br> + hidden by heavy-rimmed spectacles.</p> + +<p>It was just half-past five when he rang the bell at the +entrance<br> + gate to the Thorne property. He had spent the intervening time +in<br> + the cafe, as he was in no hurry to enter the house. Franz came +down<br> + the path and opened the door. "'What do you want?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I come from Siemens & Halske; I was to ask whether the +other man - "</p> + +<p>"Has been here already?" interrupted Franz, adding in an +irritated<br> + tone, "No, he hasn't been here at all."</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess he didn't get through at the other place in +time.<br> + I'll see what the trouble is," said the stranger, whom Franz<br> + naturally supposed to be the electrician, lie opened the gate +and<br> + asked the other to come in, leading him into the house. Under +a<br> + cloudy sky the day was fading rapidly. Muller knew that it +would<br> + not occur to the real electrician to begin any work as late as +this,<br> + and that he was perfectly safe in the examination he wanted to +make.</p> + +<p>"Well, what's the trouble here? Why did you write to our +firm?"<br> + asked the supposed electrician.</p> + +<p>"The wires must cross somewhere, or there's something wrong +with<br> + the bells. When the housekeeper touches the button in her room +to<br> + ring for the cook or the upstairs girl, the bell rings in Mr. +Thorne's<br> + room. It starts ringing and it keeps up with a deuce of a +noise.<br> + Fortunately the family are away."</p> + +<p>"Well, we'll fix it all right for you. First of all I want to +look<br> + at the button in the housekeeper's room."</p> + +<p>"I'll take you up there," said Franz.</p> + +<p>They walked through the wide corridor, then turned into a +shorter,<br> + darker hall and went up a narrow winding stairway. Franz +halted<br> + before a door in the second story. It was the last of the +three<br> + doors in the hall." Muller took off his hat as the door +opened<br> + and murmured a "good-evening."</p> + +<p>"There's no one there; Mrs. Bernaner's out."</p> + +<p>"Has she gone away, too?" asked the electrician hastily.</p> + +<p>Franz did not notice that there was a slight change in the +stranger's<br> + voice at this question, and he answered calmly as ever: "Oh, +no;<br> + she's just driven to town. I think she went to see the doctor +who<br> + lives quite a distance away. She hasn't been feeling at all +well.<br> + She took a cab to-day. I told her she ought to, as she wasn't +well<br> + enough to go by the tram. She ought to be home any moment +now."</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll hurry up with the job so that I'll be out of the +way<br> + when the lady comes," said Muller, as Franz led him to the<br> + misbehaving bell.</p> + +<p>It was in the wall immediately above a large table which +filled the<br> + window niche so completely that there was but scant space left +for<br> + the comfortable armchair that stood in front of it. The window +was<br> + open and Muller leaned out, looking down at the garden +below.</p> + +<p>"What a fine old garden!" he exclaimed aloud. To himself he +said:<br> + "This is the last window in the left wing. It is the window +where<br> + Johann Knoll saw the red light."</p> + +<p>And when he turned back into the room again he found the +source of<br> + this light right at his hand on the handsome old table at which +Mrs.<br> + Bernauer evidently spent many of her hours. A row of books +stood<br> + against the wall, framing the back of the table. Well-worn +volumes<br> + of the classics among them gave proof that the one-time nurse +was a<br> + woman of education. A sewing basket and neat piles of house +linen,<br> + awaiting repairs, covered a large part of the table-top, and +beside<br> + them stood a gracefully shaped lamp, covered by a shade of soft +red<br> + silk.</p> + +<p>It took Muller but a few seconds to see all this. Then he set +about<br> + his investigation of the electric button. He unscrewed the +plate<br> + and examined the wires meeting under it. While doing so he +cast<br> + another glance at the table and saw a letter lying there, an +open<br> + letter half out of its envelope. This envelope was of unusual +shape,<br> + long and narrow, and the paper was heavy and high-glossed.</p> + +<p>"Your housekeeper evidently has no secrets from the rest of +you,"<br> + Muller remarked with a laugh, still busy at the wires, "or +she<br> + wouldn't leave her letters lying about like that."</p> + +<p>"Oh, we've all heard what's in that letter," replied Franz. +"She<br> + read it to us when it came this morning. It's from the Madam. +She<br> + sent messages to all of us and orders, so Mrs. Bernauer read us +the<br> + whole letter. There's no secrets in that."</p> + +<p>"The button has been pressed in too far and caught down. That +seems<br> + to be the main trouble," said Muller, readjusting the little +knob.<br> + "I'd like a candle here if I may have one."</p> + +<p>"I'll get you a light at once," said Franz. But his +intentions,<br> + however excellent, seemed difficult of fulfilment. It was +rapidly<br> + growing dark, and the old butler peered about uncertainly. +"Stupid,"<br> + he muttered. "I don't know where she keeps the matches. I +can't<br> + find them anywhere. I'm not a smoker, so I haven't any in my +pocket."</p> + +<p>"Nor I," said Muller calmly, letting his hand close +protectingly<br> + over a new full box of them in his own pocket.</p> + +<p>"I'll get you some from my own room," and Franz hurried away, +his<br> + loose slippers clattering down the stairs. He was no sooner +well<br> + out of the room than Muller had the letter in his hand and +was<br> + standing close by the window to catch the fading light. But on +the<br> + old servant's return the supposed electrician stood calmly +awaiting<br> + the coming of the light, and the letter was back on the table +half<br> + hidden by a piece of linen. Franz did not notice that the +envelope<br> + was missing. And the housekeeper, whose mind was so upset by +the<br> + events of the day, and whose thoughts were on other more +absorbing<br> + matters, would hardly be likely to remember whether she had +returned<br> + this quite unimportant letter to its envelope or not.</p> + +<p>Franz brought a lighted candle with him, and Muller, who +really did<br> + possess a creditable knowledge of electricity, saw that the +wires<br> + in the room were all in good condition. As he had seen at +first,<br> + there was really nothing the matter except with the position +of<br> + the button. But it did not suit his purpose to enlighten Franz +on<br> + the matter just yet.</p> + +<p>"Now I'd better look at the wires in the gentleman's room," +he<br> + said, when he had returned plate and button to their place.</p> + +<p>"Just as you say," replied Franz, taking up his candle and +leading<br> + the way out into the hail and down the winding stair. They +crossed<br> + the lower corridor, mounted another staircase and entered a +large,<br> + handsomely furnished room, half studio, half library. The wall +was<br> + covered with pictures and sketches, several easels stood piled +up<br> + in the corner, and a broad table beside them held paint +boxes,<br> + colour tubes, brushes, all the paraphernalia of the painter, +now<br> + carefully ordered and covered for a term of idleness. Great<br> + bookcases towered to the ceiling, and a huge flat top desk, +a<br> + costly piece of furniture, was covered with books and papers. +It<br> + was the room of a man of brains and breeding, a man of talent +and<br> + ability, possessing, furthermore, the means to indulge his +tastes<br> + freely. Even now, with its master absent, the handsome +apartment<br> + bore the impress of his personality. The detective's quick<br> + imagination called up the attractive, sympathetic figure of +the<br> + man he had seen at the gate, as his quick eye took in the +details<br> + of the room. All the charm of Herbert Thorne's personality, +which<br> + the keen-sensed Muller had felt so strongly even in that +fleeting<br> + glimpse of him, came back again here in the room which was his +own<br> + little kingdom and the expression of his mentality.</p> + +<p>"Well, what's the trouble here? Where are the wires?" asked +the<br> + detective, after the momentary pause which had followed his +entrance<br> + into the room. Franz led him to a spot on the wall hidden by +a<br> + marquetry cabinet. "Here's the bell, it rings for several +minutes<br> + before it stops."</p> + +<p>The light of the candle which the butler held fell upon a +portrait<br> + hanging above the cabinet. It was a sketch in water-colours, +the<br> + life-sized head of a man who may have been about thirty years +old,<br> + perhaps, but who had none of the freshness and vigour of +youth.<br> + The scanty hair, the sunken temples, and the faded skin, +emphasised<br> + the look of dissipation given by the lines about the sensual +mouth<br> + and the shifty eyes.</p> + +<p>"Well, say, can't your master find anything better to paint +than a<br> + face like that?" Muller asked with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"Goodness me! you mustn't say such things!" exclaimed Franz +in<br> + alarm; "that's the Madam's brother. He's an officer, I'd have +you<br> + know. It's true, he doesn't look like much there, but that's<br> + because he's not in uniform. It makes such a difference."</p> + +<p>"Is the lady anything like her brother?" asked the +detective<br> + indifferently, bending to examine the wiring.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear, no, not a bit; they're as different as day and +night.<br> + He's only her half-brother anyway. She was the daughter of +the<br> + Colonel's second wife. Our Madam is the sweetest, gentlest +lady<br> + you can imagine, an angel of goodness. But the Lieutenant +here<br> + has always been a care to his family, they say. I guess he's<br> + quieted down a bit now, for his father - he's Colonel +Leining,<br> + retired - made him get exchanged from the city to a small +garrison<br> + town. There's nothing much to do in Marburg, I dare say - +well!<br> + you are a merry sort, aren't you?" These last words, spoken in +a<br> + tone of surprise, were called forth by a sudden sharp whistle +from<br> + the detective, a whistle which went off into a few merry +bars.</p> + +<p>A sudden whistle like that from Muller's lips was something +that<br> + made the Imperial Police Force sit up and take notice, for it +meant<br> + that things were happening, and that the happenings were likely +to<br> + become exciting. It was a habit he could control only by the<br> + severest effort of the will, an effort which he kept for +occasions<br> + when it was absolutely necessary. Here, alone with the +harmless<br> + old man, he was not so much on his guard, and the sudden +vibrating<br> + of every nerve at the word "Marburg," found vent in the +whistle<br> + which surprised old Franz. One young police commissioner with +a<br> + fancy for metaphor had likened this sudden involuntary whistle +of<br> + Muller's to the bay of the hound when he strikes the trail; +which<br> + was about what it was.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am merry sometimes," he said with a laugh. "It's a +habit<br> + I have. Something occurred to me just then, something I had<br> + forgotten. Hope you don't mind."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, there's no one here now, whistle all you like."</p> + +<p>But Muller's whistle was not a continuous performance, and he +had<br> + now completely mastered the excitation of his nerves which +had<br> + called it forth. He threw another sharp look at the picture of +the<br> + man who lived in Marburg, and then asked: "And now where is +the<br> + button?"</p> + +<p>"By the window there, beside the desk." Franz led the way +with<br> + his candle.</p> + +<p>"Why, how funny! What are those mirrors there for?" asked +the<br> + electrician in a tone of surprise, pointing to two small +mirrors<br> + hanging in the window niche. They were placed at a height and +at<br> + such a peculiar angle that no one could possibly see his +face<br> + in them.</p> + +<p>"Something the master is experimenting with, I guess. He's +always<br> + making queer experiments; he knows a lot about scientific +things."</p> + +<p>Muller shook his head as if in wonderment, and bent to +investigate<br> + the button which was fastened into the wall beneath the window +sill.<br> + His quick ear heard a carriage stopping in front of the house, +and<br> + heard the closing of the front door a moment later. To +facilitate<br> + his examination of the button, the detective had seated himself +in<br> + the armchair which stood beside the desk. He half raised +himself<br> + now to let the light of the candle fall more clearly on the +wiring<br> + - then he started up altogether and threw a hasty glance at +the<br> + mirrors above his head. A ray of light had suddenly flashed +down<br> + upon him - a ray of red light, and it came reflected from +the<br> + mirrors. Muller bit his lips to keep back the betraying +whistle.</p> + +<p><br> + "What's the matter?" asked the butler. "Did you drop +anything?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, the wooden rim of the button," replied Muller, telling +the<br> + truth this time. For he had held the little wooden circlet in +his<br> + hands at the moment when the red light, reflected down from +the<br> + mirrors, struck full upon his eyes. He had dropped it in his<br> + surprise and excitement. Franz found the little ring in the +centre<br> + of the room where it had rolled, and the supposed +electrician<br> + replaced it and rose to his feet, saying: "There, I've finished +now."</p> + +<p>Franz did not recognise the double meaning in the words. "Yes, +it's<br> + all right! I've finished here now," Muller repeated to +himself.<br> + For now he knew beyond a doubt that the red light was a signal - +and<br> + he knew also for whom this signal was intended. It was a signal +for<br> + Herbert Thorne! - Herbert Thorne, whom no single thought or +suspicion<br> + of Muller's had yet connected with the murder of Leopold +Winkler.</p> + +<p>The detective was very much surprised and greatly excited. +But<br> + Franz did not notice it, and indeed a far keener observer than +the<br> + slow-witted old butler might have failed to see the sudden +gleam<br> + which shot up in the grey eyes behind the heavy spectacles, +might<br> + have failed to notice the tightening of the lips beneath the +blond<br> + moustache, or the tenseness of the slight frame under the +assumed<br> + embonpoint. Muller's every nerve was tingling, but he had +himself<br> + completely in hand.</p> + +<p>"What do we owe you?" asked Franz.</p> + +<p>"They'll send you a bill from the office. It won't amount to +much.<br> + I must be getting on now."</p> + +<p>Muller hastened out of the door and down the street to the +nearest<br> + cab stand. There were not very many cab stands in this +vicinity,<br> + and the detective reasoned that Mrs. Bernauer would naturally +have<br> + taken her cab from the nearest station. He had heard her return +in<br> + her carriage, presumably the same in which she had started +out.</p> + +<p>There was but one cab at the stand. Muller walked to it and +laid<br> + his hand on the door.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Jimmy! must I go out again?" asked the driver +hoarsely.<br> + "Can't you see the poor beast is all wet from the last ride? +We've<br> + just come in." He pointed with his whip to the tired-looking +animal<br> + under his blanket.</p> + +<p>"Why, he does look warm. You must have been making a tour out +into<br> + the country," said the blond gentleman in a friendly tone.</p> + +<p>"No, sir, not quite so far as that. I've just taken a woman to +the<br> + main telegraph office in the city and back again. But she was in +a<br> + hurry and he's not a young horse, sir."</p> + +<p>"Well, never mind, then; I can get another cab across the +bridge,"<br> + replied the stout blond man, turning away and strolling off +leisurely<br> + in the direction of the bridge. It was now quite dark, and a +few<br> + steps further on Muller could safely turn and take the road to +his<br> + own lodging. No one saw him go in, and in a few moments the +real<br> + Muller, slight, smooth-shaven, sat down at his desk, looking at +the<br> + papers that lay before him. They were three letters and an +empty<br> + envelope.</p> + +<p>He took up the last, and compared it carefully with the +envelope of<br> + one of the letters found in Winkler's room - the unsigned +letter<br> + postmarked Hietzing, September 24th. The two envelopes were +exactly<br> + alike. They were of the same size and shape, made of the +same<br> + cream-tinted, heavy, glossy paper, and the address was written +by<br> + the same hand. This any keen observer, who need not necessarily +be<br> + an expert, could see. The same hand which had addressed the<br> + envelope to Mrs. Adele Bernauer on the letter which was +postmarked<br> + "Venice," about thirty-six hours previous - this hand had, in +an<br> + awkward and childish attempt at disguise, written Winkler's +address<br> + on the envelope which bore the date of September 24th.</p> + +<p>The writer of the harmless letter to Mrs. Bernauer, a letter +which<br> + chatted of household topics and touched lightly on the beauties +of<br> + Venice, was Mrs. Thorne. It was Mrs. Thorne, therefore, who,<br> + reluctantly and in anger and distaste, had called Leopold +Winkler<br> + to Hietzing, to his death.</p> + +<p>And whose hand had fired the shot that caused his death? +The<br> + question, at this stage in Muller's meditation, could hardly +be<br> + called a question any more. It was all too sadly clear to him +now.<br> + Winkler met his death at the hand of the husband, who, +discovering<br> + the planned rendezvous, had misunderstood its motive.</p> + +<p>For truly this had been no lovers' meeting. It had been a +meeting<br> + to which the woman was driven by fear and hate; the man by greed +of<br> + gain. This was clearly proved by the 300 guldens found in the +dead<br> + man's pocket, money enclosed in a delicate little envelope, +sealed<br> + hastily, and crumpled as if it had been carried in a hot and<br> + trembling hand.</p> + +<p>It was already known that Winkler never had any money except +at<br> + certain irregular intervals, when he appeared to have come +into<br> + possession of considerable sums. During these days he indulged +in<br> + extravagant pleasures and spent his money with a recklessness +which<br> + proved that he had not earned it by honest work.</p> + +<p>Leopold Winkler was a blackmailer.</p> + +<p>Colonel Leining, retired, the father of two such widely +different<br> + children, was doubtless a man of stern principles, and an +army<br> + officer as well, therefore a man with a doubly sensitive code +of<br> + honour and a social position to maintain; and this man, +morbidly<br> + sensitive probably, had a daughter who had inherited his<br> + sensitiveness and his high ideals of honour, a daughter married +to<br> + a rich husband. But he had another child, a son without any +sense<br> + of honour at all, who, although also an officer, failed to live +in<br> + a manner worthy his position. This son was now in Marburg, +where<br> + there were no expensive pleasures, no all-night cafes and +gambling<br> + dens, for a man to lose his time in, his money, and his honour +also.</p> + +<p>For such must have been the case with Colonel Leining's son +before<br> + his exile to Marburg. The old butler had hinted at the truth. +The<br> + portrait drawn by Herbert Thorne, a picture of such +technical<br> + excellence that it was doubtless a good likeness also, had given +an<br> + ugly illustration to Franz's remarks. And there was something +even<br> + more tangible to prove it: "Theo's" letter from Marburg +pleading<br> + with Winkler for "discretion and silence," not knowing ("let +us<br> + hope he did not know!" murmured Muller between set teeth) that +the<br> + man who held him in his power because of some rascality, was +being<br> + paid for his silence by the Lieutenant's sister.</p> + +<p>It is easy to frighten a sensitive woman, so easy to make +her<br> + believe the worst! And there is little such a tender-hearted +woman<br> + will not do to save her aging father from pain and sorrow, +perhaps<br> + even disgrace!</p> + +<p>It must have been in this way that Mrs. Thorne came into the +power<br> + of the scoundrel who paid with his life for his last attempt +at<br> + blackmail.</p> + +<p>When Muller reached this point in his chain of thought, he +closed<br> + his eyes and covered his face with his hands, letting two +pictures<br> + stand out clear before his mental vision.</p> + +<p>He saw the little anxious group around the carriage in front +of the<br> + Thorne mansion. He saw the pale, frail woman leaning back on +the<br> + cushions, and the husband bending over her in tender care. +And<br> + then he saw Johann Knoll in his cell, a man with little manhood +left<br> + in him, a man sunk to the level of the brutes, a man who had +already<br> + committed one crime against society, and who could never rise to +the<br> + mental or spiritual standard of even the most mediocre of +decent<br> + citizens.</p> + +<p>If Herbert Thorne were to suffer the just punishment for his +deed<br> + of doubly blind jealousy, then it was not only his own life, a +life<br> + full of gracious promise, that would be ruined, but the +happiness of<br> + his delicate, sweet-faced wife, who was doubtless still in +blessed<br> + ignorance of what had happened. And still one other would be +dragged<br> + down by this tragedy; a respected, upright man would bow his +white<br> + hairs in disgrace. Thorne's father-in-law could not escape +the<br> + scandal and his own share in the responsibility for it. And to +a<br> + veteran officer, bred in the exaggerated social ethics of +his<br> + profession. such a disgrace means ruin, sometimes even +voluntary<br> + death.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear, if it had only been Knoll who did it," said Muller +with<br> + a sigh that was almost a groan.</p> + +<p>Then he rose slowly and heavily, and slowly and heavily, as if +borne<br> + down by the weight of great weariness, he reached for his hat +and<br> + coat and left the house.</p> + +<p>Whether he wished it or not, he knew it was his duty to go on +to the<br> + bitter end on this trail he had followed up all day from the +moment<br> + that he caught that fleeting glimpse of Mrs. Bernauer's haggard +face<br> + at the garden gate. He was almost angry with the woman, because +she<br> + chanced to look out of the gate at just that moment, showing him +her<br> + face distorted with anxiety. For it was her face that had +drawn<br> + Muller to the trail, a trail at the end of which misery awaited +those<br> + for whom this woman had worked for years, those whom she loved +and<br> + who treated her as one of the family.</p> + +<p>Muller knew now that the one-time nurse was in league with +her<br> + former charge; that Thorne and Adele Bernauer were in each +other's<br> + confidence; that the man sat waiting for the signal which she +was<br> + to give him, a signal bringing so much disgrace and sorrow in +its<br> + train.</p> + +<p>If the woman had not spied upon and betrayed her mistress, +this<br> + terrible event, which now weighed upon her own soul, would not +have<br> + happened.</p> + +<p>"A faithful servant, indeed," said Muller, with a harsh +laugh.</p> + +<p>Then maturer consideration came and forced him to acknowledge +that<br> + it was indeed devotion that had swayed Adele Bernauer, devotion +to<br> + her master more than to her mistress. This was hardly to be<br> + wondered at. But she had not thought what might come from +her<br> + revelations, what had come of them. For now her pet, the baby +who<br> + had once lain in her arms, the handsome, gifted man whom she +adored<br> + with more than the love of many a mother for the child of her +own<br> + blood, was under the shadow of hideous disgrace and doom, was +the<br> + just prey of the law for open trial and condemnation as a +murderer.</p> + +<p>Muller sighed deeply once more and then came one of those +moments<br> + which he had spoken of to the unhappy woman that very day. He +felt<br> + like cursing the fatal gift that was his, the gift to see what +was<br> + hidden from others, this something within him that forced +him<br> + relentlessly onward until he had uncovered the truth, and +brought<br> + misery to many.</p> + +<p>Muller need not do anything, he need simply do nothing. Not a +soul<br> + besides himself suspected the dwellers in the Thorne mansion of +any<br> + connection with the murder. If he were silent, nothing could +be<br> + proven against Knoll after all, except the robbery which he +himself<br> + had confessed. Then the memory of the terror in the tramp's +little<br> + reddened eyes came back to the detective's mind.</p> + +<p>"A human soul after all, and a soul trembling in the shadow of +a<br> + great fear. And even he's a better man than the blackmailer +who<br> + was killed. A miscarriage of justice will often make a +criminal<br> + of a poor fellow whose worst fault is idleness." Muller's +face<br> + darkened as the things of the past, shut down in the depths of +his<br> + own soul, rose up again. "No; that's why I took up this +work.<br> + Justice must be done - but it's bitter hard sometimes. I +could<br> + almost wish now that I hadn't seen that face at the gate."</p> + +<p><br> +</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>MULLER RETURNS TO THE THORNE MANSION</h3> + +<p><br> + It was striking eight as Muller came out of a cafe in the heart +of<br> + the city. He had been in there but a few moments, for his +purpose<br> + was merely to look through the Army lists of the current year. +The<br> + result of his search proved the correctness of his +conclusions.</p> + +<p>There was a Lieutenant Theobald Leining in the single +infantry<br> + regiment stationed at Marburg.</p> + +<p>Muller took a cab and drove to the main telegraph office. He +asked<br> + for the original of the telegram which had been sent that +afternoon<br> + to the address; "Herbert Thorne, Hotel Danieli, Venice." +This<br> + closed the circle of the chain.</p> + +<p><br> + The detective re-entered his waiting cab and drove back to +Hietzing.<br> + He told the driver to halt at the corner of the street on +which<br> + fronted the Thorne mansion and to wait for him there. He +himself<br> + walked slowly down the quiet Street and rang the bell at the +iron<br> + gate.</p> + +<p>"You come to this house again?" asked Franz, starting back +in<br> + alarm when he saw who it was that had called him to the +door.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my good friend; I want to get into this house again. But +not<br> + on false pretenses this time. And before you let me in you can +go<br> + upstairs and ask Mrs. Bernauer if she will receive me in her +own<br> + room - in her own room, mind. But make haste; I am in a +hurry."<br> + The detective's tone was calm and he strolled slowly up and down +in<br> + front of the gate when he had finished speaking.</p> + +<p>The old butler hesitated a moment, then walked into the +house.<br> + When he returned, rather more quickly, he looked alarmed and +his<br> + tone was very humble as he asked Muller to follow him.</p> + +<p>When the detective entered Mrs. Bernauer's room the +housekeeper<br> + rose slowly from the large armchair in front of her table. She +was<br> + very pale and her eyes were full of terror. She made no move +to<br> + speak, so Muller began the conversation. He put down his +hat,<br> + brought up a chair and placed it near the window at which +the<br> + housekeeper had been sitting. Then he sat down and motioned +to<br> + her to do the same.</p> + +<p>"You are a faithful servant, all too faithful," he began. +"But<br> + you are faithful only to your master. You have no devotion +for<br> + his wife."</p> + +<p>"You are mistaken," replied the woman in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, but I do not think so. One does not betray the +people<br> + to whom one is devoted."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer looked up in surprise. "What - what do you +know?"<br> + she stammered.</p> + +<p>Muller did not answer the question directly, but continued: +"Mrs.<br> + Thorne had a meeting recently with a strange man. It was not +their<br> + first meeting, and somehow you discovered it. But before this +last<br> + meeting occurred you spoke to the lady's husband about it, and +it<br> + was arranged between you that you should give him a signal +which<br> + would mean to him, 'Your wife is going to the meeting.' Mrs. +Thorne<br> + did go to the meeting. This happened on Monday evening at +about<br> + quarter past nine. Some one, who was in the neighbourhood by<br> + chance, saw a woman's figure hurrying through the garden, down +to<br> + the other street, and a moment after this, the light of this +lamp<br> + in your window was seen to go out. A hand had turned down +the<br> + wick - it was your hand.</p> + +<p>"This was the signal to Mr. Thorne. The mirrors over his +desk<br> + reflected in his eyes the light he could not otherwise have +seen<br> + as he sat by his own window. The signal, therefore, told him +that<br> + the time had come to act. This same chance watcher, who had +seen<br> + the woman going through the garden, had seen the lamp go out, +and<br> + now saw a man's figure hurrying down the path the woman had +taken.<br> + The man as well as the woman came from this house and went in +the<br> + direction of the lower end of the garden.</p> + +<p>"A little while later a shot was heard, and the next morning +Leopold<br> + Winkler was found with a bullet in his back. The crime was<br> + generally taken to be a murder for the sake of robbery. But you +and<br> + I, and Mr. Herbert Thorne, know very well that it was not.</p> + +<p>"You know this since Wednesday noon. Then it was that the +idea<br> + suddenly came to you, falling like a heavy weight on your soul, +the<br> + idea that Winkler might not have been killed for the sake of +robbery,<br> + but because of the hatred that some one bore him. Then it was +that<br> + you lost your appetite suddenly, that you drove into the city +with<br> + the excuse of errands to do, in order to read the papers +without<br> + being seen by any one who knew you. When you came home you +searched<br> + everywhere in your master's room: you made an excuse for this +search,<br> + but what you wanted to find out was whether he had left +anything<br> + that could betray him. Your fright had already confused your +mind.<br> + You were searching probably for the weapon from which he had +fired<br> + the bullet. You did not realise that he would naturally have +taken<br> + it with him and thrown it somewhere into a ravine or river +beside<br> + the railway track between here and Venice. How could you think +for<br> + a moment that he would leave it behind him, here in his room, +or<br> + dropped in the garden? But this was doubtless due to the +confusion<br> + owing to your sudden alarm and anxiety - a confusion which +prevented<br> + you from realising the danger of the two peculiarly hung mirrors +in<br> + Mr. Thorne's room. These should have been taken away at once. +This<br> + morning my sudden appearance at the garden gate prevented you +from<br> + making an examination of the place of the murder. Your swoon, +after<br> + I had spoken to you in the butler's room, showed me that you +were<br> + carrying a burden too heavy for your strength. Finally, this<br> + afternoon, you drove to the main telegraph office in the city, +as<br> + you thought that it would be safer to telegraph Mr. Thorne +from<br> + there. Your telegram was very cleverly written. But you might +have<br> + spared the last sentence, the request that Mr. Thorne should get +the<br> + Viennese papers of these last days. Believe me, he has already +read<br> + these papers. Who could be more interested in what they have to +tell<br> + than he?"</p> + +<p>The housekeeper had sat as if frozen to stone during Muller's +long<br> + speech. Her face was ashen and her eyes wild with horror. When +the<br> + detective ceased speaking, there was dead silence in the room +for<br> + some time. Finally Muller asked: "Is this what happened?" His +voice<br> + was cutting and the glance of his eyes keen and sharp.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer trembled. Her head sank on her breast. Muller +waited<br> + a moment more and then he said quietly: "Then it is true."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is true," came the answer in a low hoarse tone.</p> + +<p>Again there was silence for an appreciable interval.</p> + +<p>"If you had been faithful to your mistress as well, if you had +not<br> + spied upon her and betrayed her to her husband, all this might +not<br> + have happened," continued the detective pitilessly, adding with +a<br> + bitter smile: "And it was not even a case of sinful love. +Your<br> + mistress had no such relations with this Winkler as you - I +say<br> + this to excuse you - seemed to believe."</p> + +<p>Adele Bernauer sprang up. "I do not need this excuse," she +cried,<br> + trembling in excitement. "I do not need any excuse. What I +have<br> + done I did after due consideration and in the realisation that +it<br> + was absolutely necessary to do it. Never for one moment did +I<br> + believe that my mistress was untrue to her husband. Never for +one<br> + moment could I believe such an evil thing of her, for I knew her +to<br> + be an angel of goodness. A woman who is deceiving her husband +is<br> + not as unhappy as this poor lady has been for months. A woman +does<br> + not write to a successful lover with so much sorrow, with so +many<br> + tears. I had long suspected these meetings before I +discovered<br> + them, but I knew that these meetings had nothing whatever to +do<br> + with love. Because I knew this, and only because I knew it, did +I<br> + tell my master about them. I wanted him to protect his wife, +to<br> + free her from the wretch who had obtained some power over her, +I<br> + knew not how."</p> + +<p>"Ah! then that was it?" exclaimed Muller, and his eyes +softened<br> + as he looked at the sobbing woman who had sunk back into her +chair.<br> + He laid his hand on her cold fingers and continued gently: +"Then<br> + you have really done right, you have done only what was your +duty.<br> + I pity you deeply that you - "</p> + +<p>"That I have brought suspicion upon my master by my own +foolishness?"<br> + she finished the sentence with a pitifully sad smile. "If I +could<br> + have controlled myself, could have kept calm, nobody would have +had<br> + a thought or a suspicion that he - my pet, my darling - that it +was<br> + he who was forced, through some terrible circumstance of which I +do<br> + not know, to free his wife, in this manner, from the wretch +who<br> + persecuted her."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer wrung her hands and gazed with despairing eyes +at the<br> + man who sat before her, himself deeply moved.</p> + +<p>Again there was a long silence. Muller could not find a word +to<br> + comfort the weeping woman. There was no longer anger in his +heart,<br> + nothing but the deepest pity. He took out his handkerchief +and<br> + wiped away the drops that were dimming his own eyes.</p> + +<p>"You know that I will have to go to Venice?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Bernauer sprang up. "Officially?" she gasped, pale to +her<br> + lips.</p> + +<p>He nodded. "Yes, officially of course. I must make a report +at<br> + once to headquarters about what I have learned. You can +imagine<br> + yourself what the next steps will be."</p> + +<p>Her deep sigh showed him that she knew as well as he. In the +same<br> + second, however, a thought shot through her brain, changing +her<br> + whole king. Her pale face glowed, her dulled eyes shot fire, +and<br> + the fingers with which she held Muller's hand tightly clasped, +were<br> + suddenly feverishly hot.</p> + +<p>"And you - you are still the only person who knows the truth?" +she<br> + gasped in his ear.</p> + +<p>The detective nodded. "And you thought you might silence me?" +he<br> + asked calmly. "That will not be easy - for you can imagine that +I<br> + did not come unarmed."</p> + +<p>Adele Bernauer smiled sadly. "I would take even this way to +save<br> + Herbert Thorne from disgrace, if I thought that it could be<br> + successful, and if I had not thought of a milder way to silence +a<br> + man who cannot be a millionaire. I have served in this house +for<br> + thirty-two years, I have been treated with such generosity that +I<br> + have been able to save almost every cent of my wages for my +old<br> + age. With the interest that has rolled up, my little fortune +must<br> + amount to nearly eight thousand gulden. I will gladly give it +to<br> + you, if you will but keep silence, if you will not tell what +you<br> + have discovered." She spoke gaspingly and sank down on her +knees<br> + before she had finished.</p> + +<p>"And Mr. Thorne also - " she continued hastily, as she saw no +sign<br> + of interest in Muller's calm face. Then her voice failed +her.</p> + +<p>The detective looked down kindly on her grey hairs and +answered:<br> + "No, no, my good woman; that won't do. One cannot conceal +one<br> + crime by committing another. I myself would naturally not +listen<br> + to your suggestion for a moment, but I am also convinced that +Mr.<br> + Thorne, to whom you are so devoted, and who, I acknowledge, +pleased<br> + me the very first sight I had of him - I am convinced that he +would<br> + not agree for a moment to any such solution of the problem."</p> + +<p>"Then I can only hope that you will not find him in +Venice,"<br> + replied Mrs. Bernauer, with utter despair in her voice and +eyes.</p> + +<p>"I am not at all certain that I will find him in Venice when +I<br> + leave here to-morrow morning," said Muller calmly.</p> + +<p>"Oh! then you don't want to find him! Oh God! how good, +how<br> + inexpressibly good you are," stammered the woman, seizing at +some<br> + vague hope in her distraught heart.</p> + +<p>"No, you are mistaken again, Mrs. Bernauer. I will find Mr. +Thorne<br> + wherever he may be. But I may arrive in Venice too late to +meet<br> + him there. He may already be on his way home."</p> + +<p>"On his way home?" cried the housekeeper in terror, +staggering<br> + where she stood.</p> + +<p>Muller led her gently to a chair. "Sit down here and listen to +me<br> + calmly. This is what I mean. If Mr. Thorne has seen in the +papers<br> + that a man has been arrested and accused of the murder of +Leopold<br> + Winkler, then he will take the next train back and give himself +up<br> + to the authorities. That he makes no such move as long as he +thinks<br> + there is no suspicion on any one else, no possibility that any +one<br> + else could suffer the consequences of his deed - is quite<br> + comprehensible - it is only natural and human."</p> + +<p>Adele Bernauer sighed deeply again and heavy tears ran down +her<br> + cheeks, in strange contrast to the ghost of a smile that +parted<br> + her lips and shone in her dimmed eyes.</p> + +<p>"You know him better than I do," she murmured almost +inaudibly,<br> + "you know him better than I do, and I have known him for so +long."</p> + +<p>A moment later Muller had parted from the housekeeper with a +warm,<br> + sincere pressure of the hand.</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant Theobald Leining was here on a visit to his sister +last<br> + March, wasn't he?" the detective asked as Franz led him out of +the<br> + gate.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; the Lieutenant was here just about that time," +answered<br> + the old man.</p> + +<p>And he left here on the 16th of March?"</p> + +<p>"On the 16th? Why, it may have been - yes, it was the 16th - +that<br> + is our lady's birthday. He went away that day." Franz bowed +a<br> + farewell to this stranger who began to appear uncanny in his +eyes,<br> + and shutting the gate carefully he returned to the house.</p> + +<p>"What does the man want anyway?" he murmured to himself, +shivering<br> + involuntarily. Without knowing why he turned his steps towards +Mrs.<br> + Bernauer s room. He opened the door hesitatingly as if afraid +of<br> + what he might see there. He would not have been at all surprised +if<br> + he had found the housekeeper fainting on the floor as +before.</p> + +<p>But she was not fainting this time. She was very much alive, +for,<br> + to Franz's great astonishment, she was busied at the packing of +a<br> + valise.</p> + +<p>"Are you going away too?" asked Franz. Mrs. Bernauer answered +in<br> + a voice that was dull with weariness: "Yes, Franz, I am going +away.<br> + Will you please look up the time-tables of the Southern +railroad<br> + and let me know when the morning express leaves? And please +order<br> + a cab in time for it. I will depend upon you to look after +the<br> + house in my absence. You can imagine that it must be +something<br> + very important that takes me to Venice."</p> + +<p>"To Venice? Why, what are you going to Venice for?"</p> + +<p>"Never mind about that, Franz, but help me to pray that I may +get<br> + there in time."</p> + +<p>She almost pushed the old man out of the door with these +last<br> + words and shut and locked it behind him.</p> + +<p>She wanted to be alone with this hideous fear that was +clutching<br> + at her heart. For it was not to Franz that she could tell +the<br> + thoughts that came to her lips now as she sank down, wringing +her<br> + hands, before a picture of the Madonna: "Oh Holy Virgin, +Mother<br> + of our Lord, plead for me! let me be with my dear mistress +when<br> + the terrible time comes and they take her husband away from +her,<br> + or, if preferring death to disgrace, he ends his life by his +own<br> + hand!"</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>IN THE POLICE COURT</h3> + +<p><br> + Commissioner Von Riedau sat at his desk late that evening,<br> + finishing up some important papers. The quiet of an +undisturbed<br> + night watch had settled down on the busy police station. An<br> + occasional low murmur of whispering voices floated up from +the<br> + guardroom below, but otherwise the stillness was broken only +by<br> + the scratching of the commissioner's pen and the rustle of +the<br> + paper as he turned the leaves. It was a silence so complete +that<br> + a light step on the stair outside and the gentle turning of +the<br> + doorknob was heard distinctly and the commissioner looked up<br> + with almost a start to see who was coming to his room so +late.<br> + Joseph Muller stood in the open door, awaiting his chief's +official<br> + recognition.</p> + +<p><br> + "Oh ! it's you, Muller. So late? Come in. Anything new?" +asked<br> + the commissioner. "Have you succeeded in drawing a confession +from<br> + that stubborn tramp yet? You've been interviewing him, I take +it?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I had a long talk with Johann Knoll to-day."</p> + +<p>"Well, that ought to help matters along. Has he confessed? +What<br> + could you get out of him?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing, or almost nothing more than he told us here in the +station,<br> + sir.</p> + +<p>"The man's incredibly stubborn," said the commissioner. "If +he<br> + could only be made to understand that a free confession would +benefit<br> + him more than any one else! Well, don't look so down-cast about +it,<br> + Muller. This thing is going to take longer than we thought at +first<br> + for such a simple affair. But it's only a question of time until +the<br> + man comes to his senses. You'll get him to talk soon. You +always<br> + do. And even if you should fail here, this matter is not so +very<br> + important, when we think of all the other things you have +done."<br> + Muller, standing front of the desk, shook his head sadly.</p> + +<p>"But I haven't failed here, sir. More's the pity, I had +almost<br> + said."</p> + +<p>"What!" The commissioner looked up in surprise. "I thought +you<br> + just said that you couldn't get anything more out of the +accused."</p> + +<p>"Knoll has told us all he knows, sir. He did not murder +Leopold<br> + Winkler."</p> + +<p>"Hmph!" The commissioner's exclamation had a touch of acidity +in<br> + it. "Then, if he didn't murder him, who did?"</p> + +<p>"Herbert Thorne, painter, living in the Thorne mansion in B. +Street,<br> + Hietzing, now in Venice, Hotel Danieli. I ask for a warrant +for<br> + his arrest, sir, and orders to start for Venice on the early +morning<br> + express to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Muller! ... what the deuce does all this mean?" The +commissioner<br> + sprang up, his face flushing deeply as he leaned over the +desk<br> + staring at the sad quiet face of the little man opposite. +"What<br> + are you talking about? What does all this mean?"</p> + +<p>"It means, sir, that we now know who committed the murder +in<br> + Hietzing. Johann Knoll is innocent of anything more than the +theft<br> + confessed by himself. He took the purse and watch from the<br> + senseless form of the just murdered man. The body was warm +and<br> + still supple and the tramp supposed the victim to be merely<br> + intoxicated. His story was in every respect true, sir."</p> + +<p>The commissioner flushed still deeper. "And who do you say +murdered<br> + this man?"</p> + +<p>"Herbert Thorne, sir.</p> + +<p>"But Thome! I know of him ... have even a slight personal<br> + acquaintance with him. Thorne is a rich man, of excellent +family.<br> + Why should he murder and rob an obscure clerk like this +Winkler?"</p> + +<p>"He did not rob him sir, Knoll did that."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes. But why should Thorne commit murder on this man +who<br> + scarcely touched his life at any point ... It's incredible!<br> + Muller! Muller! are you sure you are not letting your +imagination<br> + run away with you again? It is a serious thing to make such +an<br> + accusation against any man, much less against a man in +Thorne's<br> + position. Are you sure of what you are saying?" The +commissioner's<br> + excitement rendered him almost inarticulate. The shock of +the<br> + surprise occasioned by the detective's words produced a feeling +of<br> + irritation ... a phenomenon not unusual in the minds of worthy +but<br> + pedantic men of affairs when confronted by a startling new +thought.</p> + +<p>"I am quite sure of what I am saying, sir. I have just heard +the<br> + confession of one who might be called an accomplice of the +murderer."</p> + +<p>"It is incredible ... incredible! An accomplice you say? ... +who<br> + is this accomplice? Might it not be some one who has a +grudge<br> + against Thorne - some one who is trying to purposely mislead you +?"</p> + +<p>"I am not so easily deceived or misled, sir. Every evidence +points<br> + to Thorne, and the confession I have just heard was made by a +woman<br> + who loves him, who has loved and cared for him from his +babyhood.<br> + There is not the slightest doubt of it, sir."</p> + +<p>Muller moved a step nearer the desk, gazing firmly in the eyes +of<br> + the excited commissioner. The sadness on the detective's face +had<br> + given way to a gleam of pride that flushed his sallow cheek +and<br> + brightened his grey eyes. It was one of those rare moments +when<br> + Muller allowed himself a feeling of triumph in his own power, +in<br> + spite of official subordination and years of habit. His +slight<br> + frame seemed to grow taller and broader as he faced the Chief +with<br> + an air of quiet determination that made him at once master of +the<br> + situation. His voice was as low as ever but it took on a +keen<br> + incisive note that compelled attention, as he continued: +"Herbert<br> + Thorne is the murderer of Leopold Winkler. Now that he knows +an<br> + innocent man is under accusation for his deed it is only a +question<br> + of time before he will come himself to confess. He will +doubtless<br> + make this confession to me, if I go to Venice to see him, and +to<br> + bring him back to trial."</p> + +<p>The commissioner could doubt no longer. Pedantic though he +was,<br> + Commissioner von Riedau possessed sufficient insight to know +the<br> + truth when it was presented to him with such conviction, and +also<br> + sufficient insight to have recognised the gifts of the man +before<br> + him. "But why ... why?" he murmured, sinking back into his +chair,<br> + and shaking his<br> + head in bewilderment.</p> + +<p>"Winkler was a miserable scoundrel, sir, a blackmailer. Thorne +did<br> + only what any decent man would have felt like doing in his +place.<br> + But justice must be done."</p> + +<p>Muller's elation vanished and a deep sigh welled up from his +heart.<br> + The commissioner nodded slowly, and glanced across the desk +almost<br> + timidly. This case had appeared to be so simple, and suddenly +the<br> + hidden deeps of a dark mystery had opened before him, deeps +already<br> + sounded by the little man here who had gone so quietly about +his<br> + work while the official police, represented in this case by<br> + Commissioner von Riedau himself, had sat calmly waiting for +an<br> + innocent man to confess to a crime he had not committed! It +was<br> + humiliating. The commissioner flushed again and his eyes sank +to<br> + the floor.</p> + +<p>"Tell me what you know, Muller," he said finally.</p> + +<p>Muller told the story of his experiences in the Thorne +mansion,<br> + told of the slight clues which led him to take an interest in +the<br> + house and its inmates, until finally the truth began to glimmer +up<br> + out of the depths. The commissioner listened with eager +interest.<br> + "Then you believed this elaborate yarn told by the tramp?" +he<br> + interrupted once, at the beginning of the narrative.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes, sir, just because it was so elaborate. A man like +Knoll<br> + would not have had the mind to invent such a story. It must +have<br> + been true, on the face of it."</p> + +<p>The commissioner's eyes sank again, and he did not speak until +the<br> + detective had reached the end of his story. Then he opened a +drawer<br> + in his desk and took out a bundle of official blank-forms.</p> + +<p>"It is wonderful! Wonderful! Muller, this case will go on +record<br> + as one of your finest achievements - and we thought it was so +simple</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed, sir, chance favoured me at every turn," replied +Muller<br> + modestly.</p> + +<p>"There is no such thing as chance," said the commissioner. +"We<br> + might as well be honest with ourselves. Any one might have +seen,<br> + doubtless did see, all the things you saw, but no one else had +the<br> + insight to recognise their value, nor the skill to follow them +up<br> + to such a conclusion. But it's a sad case, a sad case. I +never<br> + wrote a warrant with a heavier heart. Thorne is a +true-hearted<br> + gentleman, while the scoundrel he killed..."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I feel that way about it myself. I can confess now +that<br> + there was one moment when I was ready to-well, just to say +nothing.</p> + +<p>"And let us blunder on in our official stupidity and +blindness?"<br> + interrupted the commissioner, a faint smile breaking the gravity +of<br> + his face. "We certainly gave you every opportunity."</p> + +<p>"But there's an innocent man accused - suffering fear of +death<br> + - justice must be done. But, sir," Muller took the warrant +the<br> + commissioner handed across the table to him. "May I not make +it<br> + as easy as I can for Mr. Thorne - I mean, bring him here with +as<br> + little publicity as possible? His wife is with him in +Venice."</p> + +<p>"Poor little woman, it's terrible! Do whatever you think +best,<br> + Muller. You're a queer mixture. Here you've hounded this man +down,<br> + followed hot on his trail when not a soul but yourself +connected<br> + him in any way with the murder. And now you're sorry for him! +A<br> + soft heart like yours is a dangerous possession for a police<br> + detective, Muller. It's no aid to our business."</p> + +<p>"No, sir, I know that."</p> + +<p>"Well take care it doesn't run away with you this time. Don't +let<br> + Herbert Thorne escape, however much pity you may feel for +him."</p> + +<p>"I doubt if he'll want to sir, as long as another is in prison +for<br> + his crime.</p> + +<p>"But he may make his confession and then try to escape the +disgrace."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir, I've thought of that. That's why I want to go to +Venice<br> + myself. And then, there's the poor young wife, he must think of +her<br> + when the desire comes to end his own life..."</p> + +<p>"Yes! Yes! This terrible thing has shaken us both up more than +a<br> + little. I feel exhausted. You look tired yourself, Muller. Go +home<br> + now, and get some rest for your early start. Good-night."</p> + +<p>"Good-night, sir."</p> + +<h2><br> + CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>ON THE LIDO</h3> + +<p><br> + A Wonderfully beautiful night lay over the fair old city of +Venice<br> + when the Northern Express thundered over the long bridge to +the<br> + railway station. A passenger who was alone in a second-class<br> + compartment stood up to collect his few belongings. Suddenly +he<br> + looked up as he heard a voice, a voice which he had learned to +know<br> + only very recently, calling to him from the door of the +compartment.</p> + +<p>"Why! you were in the train too? You have come to Venice?"<br> + exclaimed Joseph Muller in astonishment as he saw Mrs. +Bernauer<br> + standing there before him.</p> + +<p><br> + "Yes, I have come to Venice too. I must be with my dear lady - +when<br> + - when Herbert - " She had begun quite calmly, but she did +not<br> + finish her sentence, for loud sobs drowned the words.</p> + +<p>"You were in the next compartment? Why didn't you come in +here<br> + with me? It would have made this journey shorter for both of +us."</p> + +<p>"I had to be alone," said the pale woman and then she added: +"I<br> + only came to you now to ask you where I must go."</p> + +<p>"I think we two had better go to the Hotel Bauer. Let me +arrange<br> + things for you. Mrs. Thorne must not see you until she has +been<br> + prepared for your coming. I will arrange that with her +husband."</p> + +<p>The two took each other's hands. They had won respect and +sympathy<br> + for each other, this quiet man who went so relentlessly and yet +so<br> + pityingly about his duty in the interest of justice - and the +devoted<br> + woman whose faithfulness had brought about such a tragedy.</p> + +<p>The train had now entered the railway station. Muller and +Mrs.<br> + Bernauer stood a few minutes later on the banks of the Grand +Canal<br> + and entered, one of the many gondolas waiting there. The +moon<br> + glanced back from the surface of the water broken into ripples +under<br> + the oars of the gondoliers; it shone with a magic charm on the +old<br> + palaces that stood knee-deep in the lagoons, and threw heavy +shadows<br> + over the narrow water-roads on which the little dark boats +glided<br> + silently forward. In most of the gondolas coming from the +station<br> + excited voices and exclamations of delight broke the calm of +the<br> + moonlit evening as the tourists rejoiced in the beauty that +is<br> + Venice.</p> + +<p>But in the gondola in which Muller and Mrs. Bernauer sat there +was<br> + deep silence, silence broken only by a sobbing sigh that now +and<br> + then burst from the heart of the haggard woman. There were +few<br> + travellers entering Venice on one of its world-famous moonlit +nights<br> + who were so sad at heart as were these two.</p> + +<p>And there were few travellers in Venice as heavy hearted as +was the<br> + man who next morning took one of the earliest boats out to the +Lido.</p> + +<p>Muller and Mrs. Bernauer were on the same boat watching him +from a<br> + hidden corner. The woman's sad eyes gazed yearningly at the +haggard<br> + face of the tall man who stood looking over the railing of the +little<br> + steamer. Her own tears came as she saw the gloom in the once +shining<br> + grey eyes she loved so well.</p> + +<p>Muller stood beside Mrs. Bernauer. His eyes too, keen and +quick,<br> + followed Herbert Thorne as he stood by the rail or paced +restlessly<br> + up and down; his face too showed pity and concern. He also saw +that<br> + Thorne held in his hand a bundle of newspapers which were +still<br> + enclosed in their mailing wrappers. The papers were pressed in +a<br> + convulsive grip of the artist's long slender fingers.</p> + +<p>Muller knew then that Thorne had not yet learned of the arrest +of<br> + Johann Knoll. At the very earliest, Thursday's papers, which +brought<br> + the news, could not reach him before Friday morning. But +these<br> + newspapers (Muller saw that they were German papers) were still +in<br> + their wrappings. They were probably Viennese papers for which he +had<br> + telegraphed and which had just arrived. His anxiety had not +allowed<br> + him to read them in the presence of his wife. He had sought +the<br> + solitude of early morning on the Lido, that he might learn,<br> + unobserved, what terrors fate had in store for him.</p> + +<p>It was doubtless Mrs. Bernauer's telegram which caused his +present<br> + anxiety, a telegram which had reached him only the night +before<br> + when he returned with his wife from an excursion to Torcello. +It<br> + had caused him a sleepless night, for it had brought the +realisation<br> + that his faithful nurse suspected the truth about the murder in +the<br> + quiet lane. The telegram had read as follows: "Have drawn money +and<br> + send it at once. Further journey probably necessary, visitor +in<br> + house to-day. Connected with occurrence in -Street. Please +read<br> + Viennese papers. News and orders for me please send to address +A.B.<br> + General Postoffice."</p> + +<p>This telegram told Herbert Thorne the truth. And the papers +which<br> + arrived this morning were to tell him more - what he did not +yet<br> + know. But his heart was drawn with terrors which threw lines in +his<br> + face and made him look ten years older than on that Tuesday +morning<br> + when the detective saw him setting out on his journey with his +wife.</p> + +<p>When the boat landed at the Lido, Thorne walked off down the +road<br> + which led to the ocean side. Muller and Mrs. Bernauer entered +the<br> + waiting tramway that took them in the same direction. They<br> + dismounted in front of the bathing establishment, stepped behind +a<br> + group of bushes and waited there for Thorne. In about ten +minutes<br> + they saw his tall figure passing on the other side of the road. +He<br> + was walking down to the beach, holding the still unopened papers +in<br> + his hand.</p> + +<p>A narrow strip of park runs along parallel to the beach in +the<br> + direction towards Mala Mocco. Muller and Mrs Bernauer walked +along<br> + through this park on the path which was nearest the water. +The<br> + detective watched the rapidly moving figure ahead of them, while +the<br> + woman's tear-dimmed eyes veiled everything else to her but the +path<br> + along which her weary feet hastened. Thorne halted about half +way<br> + between the bathing establishment and the customs barracks, +looked<br> + around to see if he were alone and threw himself down on the +sand.</p> + +<p>He had chosen a good place. To the right and to the left were +high<br> + sand dunes, before him was the broad surface of the ocean, and +at<br> + his back was rising ground, bare sand with here and there a +scraggly<br> + bush or a group of high thistles. Herbert Thorne believed +himself<br> + to be alone here ... as far as a man can be alone over whom +hangs<br> + the shadow of a crime. He groaned aloud and hid his pale face +in<br> + his hands.</p> + +<p>In his own distress he did not hear the deep sigh - which, +just<br> + above him on the edge of the knoll, broke from the breast of a +woman<br> + who was suffering scarcely less than he; he did not know that +two<br> + pair of sad eyes looked down upon him. And now into the eyes of +the<br> + watching woman there shot a gleam of terror. For Herbert Thorne +had<br> + taken a revolver from his pocket and laid it quietly beside +him.<br> + Then he took out a notebook and a pencil and placed them beside +the<br> + weapon. Then slowly, reluctantly, he opened one of the +papers.</p> + +<p>A light breeze from the shining sea before him carried off +the<br> + wrapping. The paper which he opened shook in his trembling +hands,<br> + as his eyes sought the reports of the murder. He gave a +sudden<br> + start and a tremor ran through his frame. He had come to the +spot<br> + which told of the arrest of another man, who was under shadow +of<br> + punishment for the crime which he himself had committed. When +he<br> + had read this report through, he turned to the other papers. He +was<br> + quite calm now, outwardly calm at least.</p> + +<p>When he had finished reading the papers he laid them in a +heap<br> + beside him and reached out for his notebook. As he opened it +the<br> + two watchers saw that between its first pages there was a sealed +and<br> + addressed letter. Two other envelopes were contained in the<br> + notebook, envelopes which were also addressed although still +open.<br> + Muller's sharp eyes could read the addresses as Thorne took them +up<br> + in turn, looking long at each of them. One envelope was +addressed<br> + in Italian to the Chief of Police of Venice, the other to the +Chief<br> + of Police in Vienna.</p> + +<p>The two watchers leaned forward, scarcely three yards above +the man<br> + in whom they were interested. Thorne tore out two leaves of +his<br> + notebook and wrote several lines on each of them. One note, +he<br> + placed in the envelope addressed to the Viennese police and +sealed<br> + it carefully. Then he put the sealed letter with the second note +in<br> + the other envelope, the one addressed to the Italian police. He +put<br> + all the letters back in his notebook, holding it together with +a<br> + rubber strap, and replaced it in his pocket.</p> + +<p>Then he stretched out his hand toward the revolver.</p> + +<p>The sand came rattling down upon him, the thistles bent +over<br> + creakingly and two figures appeared beside him.</p> + +<p>"There's time enough for that yet, Mr. Thorne," said the man +at whom<br> + the painter gazed up in bewilderment. And then this man took +the<br> + revolver quietly from his hand and hid it in his own pocket.</p> + +<p>Thorne pressed his teeth down on his lips until the blood +came. He<br> + could not speak; he looked first at the stranger who had +mastered<br> + him so completely, and then, in dazed astonishment, at the woman +who<br> + had sunk down beside him in the sand, clasping his hand in both +of<br> + hers.</p> + +<p>"Adele! Adele! 'Why are you here?" he stammered finally.</p> + +<p>"I want to be with you - in this hour," she answered, looking +at<br> + him with eyes of worship. "I want to be with my dear lady - +to<br> + comfort her - to protect her when - when - "</p> + +<p>"When they arrest me?" Thorne finished the sentence himself. +Then<br> + turning to Muller he continued: "And that is why you are +here?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Mr. Thorne. I have a warrant for your arrest in my +pocket.<br> + But I think it will be unnecessary to make use of it in the<br> + customary official way through the authorities here. I see +that<br> + you have written to both police stations - confessing your +deed.<br> + This will amount to a voluntary giving up of yourself to the<br> + authorities, therefore all that is necessary is that I return +with<br> + you in the same train which takes you to Vienna. But I must +ask<br> + you for those two letters, for until you yourself give them to +the<br> + police authorities in my presence, it is my duty to keep +them."</p> + +<p>Muller had seldom found his official duty as difficult as it +was<br> + now. His words came haltingly and great drops stood out on +his<br> + forehead.</p> + +<p>The painter rose from the sand and he too wiped his face, +which was<br> + drawn in agony.</p> + +<p>"Herbert, Herbert!" cried Adele Bernauer suddenly. "Oh, +Herbert,<br> + you will live, you will! Promise me, you will not think of +suicide,<br> + it would kill your wife - "</p> + +<p>She lay on her knees before him in the sand. He looked down at +her<br> + gently and with a gesture which seemed to be a familiar one of +days<br> + long past, he stroked the face that had grown old and worn in +these<br> + hours of fear for him.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you dear good soul, I will live on, I will take upon +myself my<br> + punishment for killing a scoundrel. The poor man whom they +have<br> + arrested in my place must not linger in the fear of death. I +am<br> + ready, sir.</p> + +<p>"My name is Muller - detective Muller."</p> + +<p>"Joseph Muller, the famous detective Muller?" asked Thorne +with a<br> + sad smile. "I have had little to do with the police but by +chance<br> + I have heard of your fame. I might have known; they tell me +you<br> + are one from whom the truth can never remain hidden."</p> + +<p>"My duty is not always an easy one," said Muller.</p> + +<p>"Thank you. Dispose of me as you will. I do not wish any<br> + privileges that others would not have, Mr. Muller. Here is +my<br> + written confession and here am I myself. Shall we go. now?"<br> + Herbert Thorne handed the detective his notebook with its +important<br> + contents and then walked slowly back along the road he had +come.</p> + +<p>Muller walked a little behind him, while Mrs. Bernauer was at +his<br> + side. As in days long past, they walked hand in hand.</p> + +<p>With eyes full of pity Muller watched them, and he heard +Thorne<br> + give his old nurse orders for the care of his wife. She was to +take<br> + Mrs. Thorne to Graz to her father, then to return herself to +Vienna<br> + and take care of the house as usual, until his attorney could +settle<br> + up his affairs and sell the property. For Thorne said that +neither<br> + he nor his wife would ever want to set foot in the house again. +He<br> + spoke calmly, he thought of everything - he thought even of +the<br> + possibility that he might have to pay the death penalty for his +deed.</p> + +<p>For who could tell how the authorities would judge this +murder?</p> + +<p>It had indeed been a murder by merest chance only. Thorne told +his<br> + old nurse all about it. When she had given him the signal he +had<br> + hurried down into the garden, and walking quietly along the +path,<br> + he had found his wife at the garden gate in conversation with a +man<br> + who was a stranger to him. That part of their talk which he<br> + overheard told him that the man was a blackmailer, and that he +was<br> + making money on the fact that he had caught Theobald Leining +cheating<br> + at cards.</p> + +<p>This chance had put the officer into Winkler's power. The +clerk<br> + knew that he could get nothing from the guilty man himself, so +he<br> + had turned to the latter's sister, who was rich, and had +threatened<br> + to bring about a disgraceful scandal if she did not pay for +his<br> + silence. For more than a year he had been getting money from +her<br> + by means of these threats. All this was clear from the +conversation.<br> + The man spoke in tones of impertinence, or sneering +obsequiousness,<br> + the woman s voice showed contempt and hatred.</p> + +<p>Thorne's blood began to boil. His fingers tightened about +the<br> + revolver which he had brought with him to be ready for any +emergency,<br> + and he stepped designedly upon a twig which broke under his +feet<br> + with a noise. He wanted to frighten his wife and send her back +to<br> + the house. This was what did occur. But the blackmailer was +alarmed<br> + as well and fled hastily from the garden when he realised that +he was<br> + not alone with his victim. Thorne followed the man's +disappearing<br> + figure, calling him to halt. He did not call loudly for he too +wanted<br> + to avoid a scandal. His intention was to force the man to follow +him<br> + into the house, to get his written confession of blackmail - +then to<br> + finish him off with a large sum once for all and kick him out of +the<br> + place.</p> + +<p>In this manner Herbert Thorne thought to free himself and his +wife<br> + from the persecutions of the rascal. His heart was filled +with<br> + hatred towards the man. For since Mrs. Bernauer had told him +what<br> + she had discovered, he knew that it was because of this wretch +that<br> + his once so happy wife was losing her strength, her health and +her<br> + peace of mind.</p> + +<p>He followed the fleeing man and called to him several times to +halt.<br> + Finally Winkler half turned and called out over his shoulder: +"You'd<br> + better leave me alone! Do you want all Vienna to know that +your<br> + brother-in-law ought to be in jail?"</p> + +<p>These words robbed Thorne of all control. He pressed the +trigger<br> + under his finger and the bullet struck the man before him, who +had<br> + turned to continue his flight, full in the back. "And that is +how<br> + I became a murderer." With these words Herbert Thorne concluded +his<br> + narrative. He appeared quite calm now. He was really calmer, +for<br> + the strain of the deed, which was justified in his eyes, was not +so<br> + great upon his conscience as had been the strain of the secret +of it.</p> + +<p>In his own eyes he had only killed a beast who chanced to bear +the<br> + form of a man. But of course in the eyes of the world this was +a<br> + murder like any other, and the man who had committed it knew +that<br> + he was under the ban of the law, that it was only a chance that +the<br> + arm of justice had not yet reached out for him. And now this +arm<br> + had reached out for him, although it was no longer necessary. +For<br> + Herbert Thorne was not the man to allow another to suffer in +his<br> + stead.</p> + +<p>As soon as he knew that another had been arrested and was +under<br> + suspicion of the murder, he knew that there was nothing more +for<br> + him but open confession. But he wished to avoid a scandal even +now.<br> + If he died by his own hand, then the first cause of all this +trouble,<br> + his brother-in-law's rascality, could still be hidden.</p> + +<p>But now his care was all in vain and Herbert Thorne knew that +he<br> + must submit to the inevitable. Side by side with his old +friend<br> + he sat on the deck of the boat that took them back to the Riva +dei<br> + Schiavoni. Muller sat at some distance from them. The pale<br> + sad-faced woman, and the pale sad-faced man had much to say to +each<br> + other that a stranger might not hear.</p> + +<p>When the little boat reached the landing stage, there were but +a<br> + few steps more to the door of the Hotel Danieli. From a balcony +on<br> + the first floor a young woman stood looking down onto the +canal.<br> + She too was pale and her eyes were heavy with anxiety. She had +been<br> + pale and anxious even then, the day when she left the beautiful +old<br> + house in the quiet street, to start on this pleasure trip to +Venice.</p> + +<p>It had been no pleasure trip to her. She had seen the change +in her<br> + husband, a change that struck deep into his very being and +altered<br> + him in everything except in his love and tender care for her. +"Oh,<br> + why is it? what is the matter?" she asked her self a thousand +times<br> + a day. Could it be possible that he had discovered the secret +which<br> + tortured her, the only secret she had ever had from him, the +secret<br> + she had longed to confess to him a hundred times but had +lacked<br> + courage to do it.</p> + +<p>For she had sinned deeply against her husband, she knew. Her +fear<br> + and her confusion had driven her deeper and deeper into the +waters<br> + of deceit until it was impossible for her to find the words +that<br> + would have brought help and comfort from the man whom she loved +more<br> + than anything else in the world. In the very earliest stages +of<br> + Winkler's persecution she had lost her head completely and +instead<br> + of confessing to her husband and asking for his aid and +protection,<br> + she had pawned the rich jewels which had been his wedding +present to<br> + get the money demanded by the blackmailer. In her ignorance she +had<br> + thought that this one sum would satisfy him.</p> + +<p><br> + But he came again and again, demanding money which she saved +from<br> + her pin money, from her household allowance, thus taking what +she<br> + had intended to use to redeem her jewels. The pledge was lost, +and<br> + her jewels gone forever. From now on, Mrs. Thorne lived in a +terror<br> + which sapped her strength and drank her life blood drop by drop. +Any<br> + hour might bring discovery, a discovery which she feared would +shake<br> + her husband's love for her. The poor weak little woman grew pale +and<br> + ill. She wrote finally to her step-brother, but he could think +of no<br> + way out; he wrote only that if the matter came to a scandal +there<br> + would be nothing for him to do but to kill himself. This was +one<br> + reason more for her silence, and Mrs. Thome faded to a wan +shadow of<br> + her former sunny self.</p> + +<p>As she looked down from the balcony, she was like a woman +suffering<br> + from a deathly illness. A new terror had come to her heart +because<br> + her husband had gone away so early without telling her why or +whither<br> + he had gone. When she saw him coming towards the door of the +hotel,<br> + pale and drooping, and when she saw Mrs. Bernauer beside him, +her<br> + heart seemed to stand still. She crept back from the window +and<br> + stood in the middle of the room as Herbert Thorne and his +former<br> + nurse entered.</p> + +<p>"What has happened?" This was all she could say as she looked +into<br> + the distraught face of the housekeeper, into her husband's sad +eyes.</p> + +<p>He led her to a chair, then knelt beside her and told her +all.</p> + +<p>"Outside the door stands the man who will take me back to +Vienna<br> + - and you, my dearest, you must go to your father." He concluded +his<br> + story with these words.</p> + +<p>She bent down over him and kissed him. "'No, I am going with +you,"<br> + she said softly, strangely calm; "why should I leave you now? +Is<br> + it not I who am the cause of this dreadful thing?"</p> + +<p>And then she made her confession, much too late. And she went +with<br> + him, back to the city of their home. It seemed to them both +quite<br> + natural that she should do so.</p> + +<p>When the Northern Express rolled out of Venice that afternoon, +three<br> + people sat together in a compartment, the curtains of which +were<br> + drawn close. They were the unhappy couple and their faithful<br> + servant. And outside in the corridor of the railway carriage, +a<br> + small, slight man walked up and down - up and down. He had +pressed<br> + a gold coin into the conductor's hand, with the words: "The +party<br> + in there do not wish to be disturbed; the lady is ill."</p> + +<p>Herbert Thorne's trial took place several weeks later. +Every<br> + possible extenuating circumstance was brought to bear upon +his<br> + sentence. Five years only was to be the term of his +imprisonment,<br> + his punishment for the crime of a single moment of anger.</p> + +<p>His wife waited for him in patient love. She did not go to +Graz,<br> + but continued to live in the old mansion with the mansard +roof.<br> + Her father was with her. The brother Theobald, the cause of +all<br> + this suffering to those who had shielded him at the expense +of<br> + their own happiness, had at last done the only good deed of +his<br> + life - had put an end to his useless existence with his own +hand.</p> + +<p>Father and daughter waited patiently for the return of the +man<br> + who had sinned and suffered for their sake. They spoke of +him<br> + only in terms of the tenderest affection and respect.</p> + +<p>And indeed, seldom has any condemned murderer met with the +respect<br> + of the entire community as Herbert Thorne did. The tone of +the<br> + newspapers, and public opinion, evinced by hundreds of letters +from<br> + friends, acquaintances, and from strangers, was a great boon +to<br> + the solitary man in his cell, and to the three loving hearts in +the<br> + old house. And at the end of two years the clemency of the +Monarch<br> + ended his term of imprisonment, and Herbert Thorne was set free, +a<br> + step which met with the approval of the entire city.</p> + +<p>He returned to the home where love and affection awaited him, +ready<br> + to make him forget what he had suffered. But the silver threads +in<br> + his dark hair and a certain quiet seriousness in his manner, and +in<br> + the hearts of all the dwellers in the old mansion, showed that +the<br> + occurrence of that fatal 27th of September had thrown a shadow +over<br> + them all which was not to be shaken off.</p> + +<p>Joseph Muller brought many other cases to a successful +solution.<br> + But for years after this particular case had been won, he +was<br> + followed, as by a shadow, by a man who watched over him, and +who,<br> + whenever danger threatened, stood over the frail detective as +if<br> + to take the blow upon himself. He is a clever assistant, too, +and<br> + no one who had seen Johann Knoll the day that he was put into +the<br> + cell on suspicion of murder would have believed that the idle +tramp<br> + could become again such a useful member of society. These are +the<br> + victories that Joseph Muller considers his greatest.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner +by The Lamp That Went Out + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLBURN AND GRONER *** + +This file should be named tltwo10h.htm or tltwo10h.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, tltwo11h.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, tltwo10ha.txt + +This eBook was produced by Walter Debeuf + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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