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+Project Gutenberg’s The Case of the Registered Letter, 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 Case of the Registered Letter
+
+Author: Augusta Groner
+
+Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron
+
+Posting Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1833]
+Release Date: July, 1999
+Last Updated: October 14, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER
+
+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 REGISTERED LETTER
+
+
+“Oh, sir, save him if you can--save my poor nephew! I know he is
+innocent!”
+
+The little old lady sank back in her chair, gazing up at Commissioner
+von Riedau with tear-dimmed eyes full of helpless appeal. The
+commissioner looked thoughtful. “But the case is in the hands of the
+local authorities, Madam,” he answered gently, a strain of pity in his
+voice. “I don’t exactly see how we could interfere.”
+
+“But they believe Albert guilty! They haven’t given him a chance!”
+
+“He cannot be sentenced without sufficient proof of his guilt.”
+
+“But the trial, the horrible trial--it will kill him--his heart is
+weak. I thought--I thought you might send some one--some one of your
+detectives--to find out the truth of the case. You must have the best
+people here in Vienna. Oh, my poor Albert--”
+
+Her voice died away in a suppressed sob, and she covered her face to
+keep back the tears.
+
+The commissioner pressed a bell on his desk. “Is Detective Joseph Muller
+anywhere about the building?” he asked of the attendant who appeared at
+the door.
+
+“I think he is, sir. I saw him come in not long ago.”
+
+“Ask him to come up to this room. Say I would like to speak to him.” The
+attendant went out.
+
+“I have sent for one of the best men on our force, Madam,” continued the
+commissioner, turning back to the pathetic little figure in the chair.
+“We will go into this matter a little more in detail and see if it is
+possible for us to interfere with the work of the local authorities in
+G----------.”
+
+The little old lady gave her eyes a last hasty dab with a dainty
+handkerchief and raised her head again, fighting for self-control. She
+was a quaint little figure, with soft grey hair drawn back smoothly from
+a gentle-featured face in which each wrinkle seemed the seal of some
+loving thought for others. Her bonnet and gown were of excellent
+material in delicate soft colours, but cut in the style of an earlier
+decade. The capable lines of her thin little hands showed through the
+fabric of her grey gloves. Her whole attitude bore the impress of one
+who had adventured far beyond the customary routine of her home circle,
+adventured out into the world in fear and trembling, impelled by the
+stress of a great love.
+
+A knock was heard at the door, and a small, slight man, with a kind,
+smooth-shaven face, entered at the commissioner’s call. “You sent for
+me, sir?” he asked.
+
+“Yes, Muller, there is a matter here in which I need your advice, your
+assistance, perhaps. This is Detective Muller, Miss--” (the commissioner
+picked up the card on his desk) “Miss Graumann. If you will tell us now,
+more in detail, all that you can tell us about this case, we may be able
+to help you.”
+
+“Oh, if you would,” murmured Miss Graumann, with something more of hope
+in her voice. The expression of sympathetic interest on the face of
+the newcomer had already won her confidence for him. Her slight figure
+straightened up in the chair, and the two men sat down opposite her,
+prepared to listen to her story.
+
+“I will tell you all I know and understand about this matter,
+gentlemen,” she began. “My name is Babette Graumann, and I live with my
+nephew, Albert Graumann, engineering expert, in the village of Grunau,
+which is not far from the city of G----------. My nephew Albert, the dearest,
+truest--” sobs threatened to overcome her again, but she mastered them
+bravely. “Albert is now in prison, accused of the murder of his friend,
+John Siders, in the latter’s lodgings in G------.”
+
+“Yes, that is the gist of what you have already told me,” said the
+commissioner. “Muller, Miss Graumann believes her nephew innocent,
+contrary to the opinion of the local authorities in G------. She has come
+to ask for some one from here who could ferret out the truth of this
+matter. You are free now, and if we find that it can be done without
+offending the local authorities--”
+
+“Who is the commissioner in charge of the case in G------?” asked Muller.
+
+“Commissioner Lange is his name, I believe,” replied Miss Graumann.
+
+“H’m!” Muller and the commissioner exchanged glances.
+
+“I think we can venture to hear more of this,” said the commissioner,
+as if in answer to their unspoken thought. “Can you give us the details
+now, Madam? Who is, or rather who was, this John Siders?”
+
+“John Siders came to our village a little over a year ago,” continued
+Miss Graumann. “He came from Chicago; he told us, although he was
+evidently a German by birth. He bought a nice little piece of property,
+not far from our home, and settled down there. He was a quiet man and
+made few friends, but he seemed to take to Albert and came to see us
+frequently. Albert had spent some years in America, in Chicago, and
+Siders liked to talk to him about things and people there. But one day
+Siders suddenly sold his property and moved to G------. Two weeks later he
+was found dead in his lodgings in the city, murdered, and now--now they
+have accused Albert of the crime.”
+
+“On what grounds?--oh, I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean--”
+
+“That’s all right, Muller,” said the commissioner. “As you may have to
+undertake the case, you might as well begin to do the questioning now.”
+
+“They say”--Miss Graumann’s voice quavered--“they say that Albert was
+the last person known to have been in Siders’ room; they say that it was
+his revolver, found in the room. That is the dreadful part of it--it was
+his revolver. He acknowledges it, but he did not know, until the police
+showed it to him, that the weapon was not in its usual place in his
+study. They tell me that everything speaks for his guilt, but I cannot
+believe it--I cannot. He says he is innocent in spite of everything. I
+believe him. I brought him up, sir; I was like his own mother to him. He
+never knew any other mother. He never lied to me, not once, when he was
+a little boy, and I don’t believe he’d lie to me now, now that he’s a
+man of forty-five. He says he did not kill John Siders. Oh, I know, even
+without his saying it, that he would not do such a thing.”
+
+“Can you tell us anything more about the murder itself?” questioned
+Muller gently. “Is there any possibility of suicide? Or was there a
+robbery?”
+
+“They say it was no suicide, sir, and that there was a large sum of
+money missing. But why should Albert take any one else’s money? He has
+money of his own, and he earns a good income besides--we have all that
+we need. Oh, it is some dreadful mistake! There is the newspaper account
+of the discovery of the body. Perhaps Mr. Muller might like to read
+that.” She pointed to a sheet of newspaper on the desk. The commissioner
+handed it to Muller. It was an evening paper, dated G------, September
+24th, and it gave an elaborate account, in provincial journalese, of the
+discovery that morning of the body of John Siders, evidently murdered,
+in his lodgings. The main facts to be gathered from the long-winded
+story were as follows:
+
+John Siders had rented the rooms in which he met his death about ten
+days before, paying a month’s rent in advance. The lodgings consisted of
+two rooms in a little house in a quiet street. It was a street of simple
+two-story, one and two family dwellings, occupied by artisans and small
+tradespeople. There were many open spaces, gardens and vacant lots in
+the street. The house in which Siders lodged belonged to a travelling
+salesman by the name of Winter. The man was away from home a great deal,
+and his wife, with her child and an old servant, lived in the lower
+part of the house, while the rooms occupied by Siders were in the upper
+story. Siders lived very quietly, going out frequently in the afternoon,
+but returning early in the evening. He had said to his landlady that he
+had many friends in G------. But during the time of his stay in the house he
+had had but one caller, a gentleman who came on the evening of the 23rd
+of September. The old maid had opened the door for him and showed him
+to Mr. Siders’ rooms. She described this visitor as having a full black
+beard, and wearing a broad-brimmed grey felt hat. Nobody saw the man
+go out, for the old maid, the only person in the house at the time, had
+retired early. Mrs. Winter and her little girl were spending the night
+with the former’s mother in a distant part of the city. The next morning
+the old servant, taking the lodger’s coffee up to him at the usual hour,
+found him dead on the floor of his sitting-room, shot through the heart.
+The woman ran screaming from the house and alarmed the neighbours. A
+policeman at the corner heard the noise, and led the crowd up to the
+room where the dead man lay. It was plain to be seen that this was not
+a case of suicide. Everywhere were signs of a terrible struggle. The
+furniture was overturned, the dressing-table and the cupboard were open
+and their contents scattered on the floor, one of the window curtains
+was torn into strips, as if the victim had been trying to escape by way
+of the window, but had been dragged back into the room by his murderer.
+An overturned ink bottle on the table had spattered wide, and added to
+the general confusion. In the midst of the disorder lay the body of the
+murdered man, now cold in the rigour of death.
+
+The police commissioner arrived soon, took possession of the rooms, and
+made a thorough examination of the premises. A letter found on the desk
+gave another proof, if such were needed, that this was not a case of
+suicide. This letter was in the handwriting of the dead man, and read as
+follows:
+
+Dear Friend:
+
+I appreciate greatly all the kindness shown me by yourself and your good
+wife. I have been more successful than I thought possible in overcoming
+the obstacles you know of. Therefore, I shall be very glad to join you
+day after to-morrow, Sunday, in the proposed excursion. I will call for
+you at 8 A.M.--the cab and the champagne will be my share of the trip.
+We’ll have a jolly day and drink a glass or two to our plans for the
+future.
+
+With best greetings for both of you,
+
+Your old friend,
+
+John
+
+G--------, Friday, Sept. 23rd.
+
+
+An envelope, not yet addressed, lay beside this letter. It was clear
+that the man who penned these words had no thought of suicide. On
+the contrary, he was looking forward to a day of pleasure in the near
+future, and laying plans for the time to come. The murderer’s bullet had
+pierced a heart pulsing with the joy of life.
+
+This was the gist of the account in the evening paper. Muller read
+it through carefully, lingering over several points which seemed to
+interest him particularly. Then he turned to Miss Babette Graumann. “And
+then what happened?” he asked.
+
+“Then the Police Commissioner came to Grunau and questioned my nephew.
+They had found out that Albert was Mr. Siders’ only friend here. And
+late that evening the Mayor and the Commissioner came to our house with
+the revolver they had found in the room in G------, and they--they--” her
+voice trembled again, “they arrested my dear boy and took him away.”
+
+“Have you visited him in prison? What does he say about it himself?”
+
+“He seems quite hopeless. He says that he is innocent--oh, I know he
+is--but everything is against him. He acknowledges that it was he who
+was in Mr. Siders’ room the evening before the murder. He went there
+because Siders wrote him to come. He says he left early, and that John
+acted queerly. He knows they will not believe his story. This worry and
+anxiety will kill him. He has a serious heart trouble; he has suffered
+from it for years, and it has been growing steadily worse. I dare not
+think what this excitement may do for him.” Miss Graumann broke down
+again and sobbed aloud. Muller laid his hands soothingly on the little
+old fingers that gripped the arm of the chair.
+
+“Did your nephew send you here to ask for help?” he inquired very
+gently.
+
+“Oh, no!” The old lady looked up at him through her tears. “No, he would
+not have done that. I’m afraid that he’ll be angry if he knows that I
+have come. He seemed so hopeless, so dazed. I just couldn’t stand it.
+It seemed to me that the police in G-------- were taking things for granted,
+and just sitting there waiting for an innocent man to confess, instead
+of looking for the real murderer, who may be gone, the Lord knows where,
+by now!” Miss Graumann’s faded cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she
+straightened up in her chair again, while her eyes snapped defiance
+through the tears that hung on their lashes.
+
+A faint gleam twinkled up in Muller’s eyes, and he did not look at his
+chief. Doctor von Riedau’s own face glowed in a slowly mounting flush,
+and his eyes drooped in a moment of conscious embarrassment at some
+recollection, the sting of which was evidently made worse by Muller’s
+presence. But Commissioner von Riedau had brains enough to acknowledge
+his mistakes and to learn from them. He looked across the desk at Miss
+Graumann. “You are right, Madam, the police have made that mistake more
+than once. And a man with a clear record deserves the benefit of the
+doubt. We will take up this case. Detective Muller will be put in charge
+of it. And that means, Madam, that we are giving you the very best
+assistance the Imperial Police Force affords.”
+
+Miss Babette Graumann did not attempt to speak. In a wave of emotion she
+stretched out both little hands to the detective and clasped his warmly.
+“Oh, thank you,” she said at last. “I thank you. He’s just like my own
+boy to me; he’s all the child I ever had, you know.”
+
+“But there are difficulties in the way,” continued the commissioner in
+a business-like tone. “The local authorities in G-------- have not asked for
+our assistance, and we are taking up the case over their heads, as it
+were. I shall have to leave that to Muller’s diplomacy. He will come to
+G-------- and have an interview with your nephew. Then he will have to use
+his own judgment as to the next steps, and as to how far he may go in
+opposition to what has been done by the police there.”
+
+“And then I may go back home?” asked Miss Graumann. “Go home with the
+assurance that you will help my poor boy?”
+
+“Yes, you may depend on us, Madam. Is there anything we can do for you
+here? Are you alone in the city?”
+
+“No, thank you. There is a friend here who will take care of me. She
+will put me on the afternoon express back to G------.”
+
+“It is very likely that I will take that train myself,” said Muller. “If
+there is anything that you need on the journey, call on me.”
+
+“Oh, thank you, I will indeed! Thank you both, gentlemen. And now
+good-bye, and God bless you!”
+
+The commissioner bowed and Muller held the door open for Miss Graumann
+to pass out. There was silence in the room, as the two men looked after
+the quaint little figure slowly descending the stairs.
+
+“A brave little woman,” murmured the commissioner.
+
+“It is not only the mother in the flesh who knows what a mother’s love
+is,” added Muller.
+
+Next morning Joseph Muller stood in the cell of the prison in G--------
+confronting Albert Graumann, accused of the murder of John Siders.
+
+The detective had just come from a rather difficult interview with
+Commissioner Lange. But the latter, though not a brilliant man, was at
+least good-natured. He acknowledged the right of the accused and his
+family to ask for outside assistance, and agreed with Muller that it was
+better to have some one in the official service brought in, rather than
+a private detective whose work, in its eventual results, might bring
+shame on the police. Muller explained that Miss Graumann did not want
+her nephew to know that it was she who had asked for aid in his behalf,
+and that it could only redound to his, Lange’s, credit if it were
+understood that he had sent to Vienna for expert assistance in this
+case. It would be a proof of his conscientious attention to duty,
+and would insure praise for him, whichever way the case turned out.
+Commissioner Lange saw the force of this argument, and finally gave
+Muller permission to handle the case as he thought best, rather relieved
+than otherwise for his own part. The detective’s next errand was to the
+prison, where he now stood looking up into the deep-set, dark eyes of a
+tall, broad-shouldered, black-bearded man, who had arisen from the cot
+at his entrance. Albert Graumann had a strong, self-reliant face and
+bearing. His natural expression was somewhat hard and stern, but it
+was the expression of a man of integrity and responsibility. Muller had
+already made some inquiries as to the prisoner’s reputation and business
+standing in the community, and all that he had heard was favourable.
+A certain hardness and lack of amiability in Graumann’s nature made it
+difficult for him to win the hearts of others, but although he was not
+generally loved, he was universally respected. Through the signs of
+nagging fear, sorrow, and ill-health, printed clearly on the face before
+him, Muller’s keen eyes looked down into the soul of a man who might
+be overbearing, pitiless even, if occasion demanded, but who would not
+murder--at least not for the sake of gain. This last possibility Muller
+had dismissed from his mind, even before he saw the prisoner. The man’s
+reputation was sufficient to make the thought ridiculous. But he had
+not made up his mind whether it might not be a case of a murder after
+a quarrel. Now he began to doubt even this when he looked into the
+intelligent, harsh-featured face of the man in the cell. But Muller had
+the gift of putting aside his own convictions, when he wanted his mind
+clear to consider evidence before him.
+
+Graumann had risen from his sitting position when he saw a stranger.
+His heavy brows drew down over his eyes, but he waited for the other to
+speak.
+
+“I am Detective Joseph Muller, from Vienna,” began the newcomer, when he
+had seen that the prisoner did not intend to start the conversation.
+
+“Have you come to question me again?” asked Graumann wearily. “I can
+say no more than I have already said to the Police Commissioner. And no
+amount of cross-examination can make me confess a crime of which I
+am not guilty--no matter what evidence there may be against me.”
+ The prisoner’s voice was hard and determined in spite of its note of
+physical and mental weariness.
+
+“I have not come to extort a confession from you, Mr. Graumann,” Muller
+replied gently, “but to help you establish your innocence, if it be
+possible.”
+
+A wave of colour flooded the prisoner’s cheek. He gasped, pressed his
+hand to his heart, and dropped down on his cot. “Pardon me,” he said
+finally, hesitating like a man who is fighting for breath. “My heart is
+weak; any excitement upsets me. You mean that the authorities are not
+convinced of my guilt, in spite of the evidence? You mean that they will
+give me the benefit of the doubt--that they will give me a chance for
+life?”
+
+“Yes, that is the reason for my coming here. I am to take this case in
+hand. If you will talk freely to me, Mr. Graumann, I may be able to help
+you. I have seen too many mistakes of justice because of circumstantial
+evidence to lay any too great stress upon it. I have waited to hear your
+side of the story from yourself. I did not want to hear it from others.
+Will you tell it to me now? No, do not move, I will get the stool
+myself.”
+
+Graumaun sat back on the cot, his head resting against the wall. His
+eyes had closed while Muller was speaking, but his quieter breathing
+showed that he was mastering the physical attack which had so shaken
+him at the first glimpse of hope. He opened his eyes now and looked at
+Muller steadily for a moment. Then he said: “Yes, I will tell you: my
+life and my work have taught me to gauge men. I will tell you everything
+I know about this sad affair. I will tell you the absolute truth, and I
+think you will believe me.”
+
+“I will believe you,” said Muller simply.
+
+“You know the details of the murder, of course, and why I was arrested?”
+
+“You were arrested because you were the last person seen in the company
+of the murdered man?”
+
+“Exactly. Then I may go back and tell you something of my connection
+with John Siders?”
+
+“It would be the very best thing to do.”
+
+“I live in Grunau, as you doubtless know, and am the engineering expert
+of large machine works there. My father before me held an important
+position in the factory, and my family have always lived in Grunau.
+I have traveled a great deal myself. I am forty-five years old, a
+childless widower, and live with my old aunt, Miss Babette Graumann,
+and my ward, Miss Eleonora Roemer, a young lady of twenty-two.” Muller
+looked up with a slight start of surprise, but did not say anything.
+Graumann continued:
+
+“A little over a year ago, John Siders, who signed himself as coming
+from Chicago, bought a piece of property in our town and came to live
+there. I made his acquaintance in the cafe and he seemed to take a fancy
+to me. I also had spent several years in Chicago, and we naturally
+came to speak of the place. We discovered that we had several mutual
+acquaintances there, and enjoyed talking over the old times. Otherwise I
+did not take particularly to the man, and as I came to know him better I
+noticed that he never mentioned that part of his life which lay back of
+the years in Chicago. I asked a casual question once or twice as to
+his home and family, but he evaded me every time, and would not give a
+direct answer. He was evidently a German by birth and education, a
+man with university training, and one who knew life thoroughly. He had
+delightful manners, and when he could forget his shyness for a while, he
+could be very agreeable. The ladies of my family came to like him, and
+encouraged him to call frequently. Then the thing happened that I should
+not have believed possible. My ward, Miss Roemer, a quiet, reserved
+girl, fell in love with this man about whom none of us knew anything, a
+man with a past of which he did not care to speak.
+
+“I was not in any way satisfied with the match, and they seemed
+to realise it. For Siders managed to persuade the girl to a secret
+engagement. I discovered it a month or two ago, and it made me very
+angry. I did not let them see how badly I felt, but I warned Lora not to
+have too much to do with the boy, and I set about finding out something
+regarding his earlier life. It was my duty to do this, as I was the
+girl’s guardian. She has no other relative living, and no one to turn to
+except my aunt and myself. I wrote to Mr. Richard Tressider in Chicago,
+the owner of the factory in which I had been employed while there. John
+had told me that Tressider had been his client during the four years in
+which he practiced law in Chicago. I received an answer about the middle
+of August. Mr. Tressider had been able to find out only that John was
+born in the town of Hartberg in a certain year. This was enough. I took
+leave of absence for a few days and went to Hartberg, which, as you
+know, is about 140 miles from here. Three days later I knew all that I
+wanted to know. John Siders was not the man’s real name, or, rather, it
+was only part of his name. His full name was Theodor John Bellmann, and
+his mother was an Englishwoman whose maiden name was Siders. His father
+was a county official who died at an early age, leaving his widow and
+the boy in deepest poverty. Mrs. Bellmann moved to G--------to give music
+lessons. Theodor went to school there, then finally to college, and was
+an excellent pupil everywhere. But one day it was discovered that he
+had been stealing money from the banker in whose house he was serving
+as private tutor to the latter’s sons. A large sum of money was missing,
+and every evidence pointed to young Bellmann as the thief. He denied
+strenuously that he was guilty, but the District Judge (it was the
+present Prosecuting Attorney Schmidt in G------) sentenced him. He spent
+eight months in prison, during which time his mother died of grief at
+the disgrace. There must have been something good in the boy, for he
+had never forgotten that it was his guilt that struck down his only
+relative, the mother who had worked so hard for him. He had atoned for
+this crime of his youth, and during the years that have passed since
+then, he had been an honest, upright man.”
+
+Graumann paused a moment and pressed his hand to his heart again. His
+voice had grown weaker, and he breathed hard. Finally he continued: “I
+commanded my ward to break off her engagement, as I could not allow her
+to marry a man who was a freed convict. Siders sold his property
+some few weeks after that and moved to G------. Eleonora acquiesced in my
+commands, but she was very unhappy and allowed me to see very little of
+her. Then came the events of the evening of September 23rd, the events
+which have turned out so terribly. I will try to tell you the story just
+as it happened, so far as I am concerned. I had seen nothing of John
+since he left this town. He had made several attempts before his
+departure for G-------- to change my opinion, and my decision as to his
+marriage to my ward. But I let him see plainly that it was impossible
+for him to enter our family with such a past behind him. He asserted
+his innocence of the charges against him, and declared that he had been
+unjustly accused and imprisoned. I am afraid that I was hard towards
+him. I begin to understand now, as I never thought I should, what it
+means to be accused of crime. I begin to realise that it is possible for
+every evidence to point to a man who is absolutely innocent of the deed
+in question. I begin to think now that John may have been right, that
+possibly he also may have been accused and sentenced on circumstantial
+evidence alone. I have thought much, and I have learned much in these
+terrible days.”
+
+The prisoner paused again and sat brooding, his eyes looking out into
+space. Muller respected his suffering and sat in equal silence, until
+Graumann raised his eyes to his again. “Then came the evening of the
+23rd of September?”
+
+“Yes, that evening--it’s all like a dream to me.” Graumann began again.
+“John wrote me a letter asking me to come to see him on that evening. I
+tore up the letter and threw it away--or perhaps, yes, I remember now, I
+did not wish Eleonora to see that he had written me. He asked me to come
+to see him, as he had something to say to me, something of the greatest
+importance for us both. He asked me not to mention to any one that I was
+to see him, as it would be wiser no one should know that we were
+still in communication with each other. There was a strain of nervous
+excitement visible in his letter. I thought it better to go and see
+him as he requested; I felt that I owed him some little reparation for
+having denied him the great wish of his heart. It was my duty to make up
+to him in other ways for what I had felt obliged to do. I knew him for
+a nervous, high-strung man, overwrought by brooding for years on what he
+called his wrongs, and I did not know what he might do if I refused his
+request. It was not of myself I thought in this connection, but of the
+girl at home who looked to me for protection.
+
+“I had no fear for myself; it never occurred to me to think of taking a
+weapon with me. How my revolver--and it is undoubtedly my revolver, for
+there was a peculiar break in the silver ornamentation on the handle
+which is easily recognisable--how this revolver of mine got into his
+room, is more than I can say. Until the Police Commissioner showed it to
+me two or three days ago, I had no idea that it was not in the box in
+my study where it is ordinarily kept.” Graumann paused again and looked
+about him as if searching for something. He rose and poured himself out
+a glass of water. “Let me put some of this in it,” said Muller. “It will
+do you good.” From a flask in his pocket he poured a few drops of brandy
+into the water. Graumann drank it and nodded gratefully. Then he took up
+his story again.
+
+“I never discovered why Siders had sent for me. When I arrived at the
+appointed time I found the door of the house closed. I was obliged to
+ring several times before an old servant opened the door. She seemed
+surprised that it had been locked. She said that the door was always
+unlatched, and that Mr. Siders himself must have closed it, contrary to
+all custom, for she had not done it, and there was no one else in the
+house but the two of them. Siders was waiting for me at the top of the
+stairs, calling down a noisy welcome.
+
+“When I asked him finally what it was so important that he wanted to
+say to me, he evaded me and continued to chatter on about commonplace
+things. Finally I insisted upon knowing why he had wanted me to come,
+and he replied that the reason for it had already been fulfilled, that
+he had nothing more to say, and that I could go as soon as I wanted to.
+He appeared quite calm, but he must have been very nervous. For as I
+stood by the desk, telling him what I thought of his actions, he moved
+his hand hastily among the papers there and upset the ink stand. I
+jumped back, but not before I had received several large spots of ink on
+my trousers. He was profuse in his apologies for the accident, and tried
+to take out the spots with blotting paper. Then at last, when I insisted
+upon going, he looked out to see whether there was still a light on the
+stairs, and led me down to the door himself, standing there for some
+time looking after me.
+
+“I was slightly alarmed as well as angry at his actions. I believe
+that he could not have been quite in his right mind, that the strain of
+nervousness which was apparent in his nature had really made him ill.
+For I remember several peculiar incidents of my visit to him. One
+of these was that he almost insisted upon my taking away with me,
+ostensibly to take care of them, several valuable pieces of jewelry
+which he possessed. He seemed almost offended when I refused to do
+anything of the kind. Then, as I parted from him at the door, not in a
+very good humour I will acknowledge, he said to me: ‘You will think of
+me very often in the future--more often than you would believe now!’
+
+“This is all the truth, and nothing but the truth, about my visit to
+John Siders on the evening of September 23rd. As it had been his wish
+I said nothing to the ladies at home, or to any one else about the
+occurrence. And as I have told you, I destroyed his letter asking me to
+come to him.
+
+“The following day about noon, the Commissioner of Police from G--------
+called at my office in the factory, and informed me bluntly that John
+Siders had been found shot dead in his lodgings that morning. I was
+naturally shocked, as one would be at such news, in spite of the fact
+that I had parted from the man in anger, and that I had no reason to
+be particularly fond of him. What shocked me most of all was the sudden
+thought that John had taken his own life. It was a perfectly natural
+thought when I considered his nervousness, and his peculiar actions of
+the evening before. I believe I exclaimed, ‘It was a suicide!’ almost
+without realising that I was doing so. The commissioner looked at me
+sharply and said that suicide was out of the question, that it was an
+evident case of murder. He questioned me as to Siders’ affairs, of which
+I told only what every one here in the village knew. I did not consider
+it incumbent upon me to disclose to the police the disgrace of the man’s
+early life. I had been obliged to hurt him cruelly enough because of
+that, and I saw no necessity for blackening his name, now that he was
+dead. Also, as according to what the commissioner said, it was a case
+of murder for robbery, I did not wish to go into any details of our
+connection with Siders that would cause the name of my ward to be
+mentioned. After a few more questions the commissioner left me. I was
+busy all the afternoon, and did not return to my home until later than
+usual. I found my aunt somewhat worried because Miss Roemer had left the
+house immediately after our early dinner, and had not yet returned. We
+both knew the girl to be still grieving over her broken engagement,
+and we dreaded the effect this last dreadful news might have on her.
+We supposed, however, that she had gone to spend the afternoon with a
+friend, and were rather glad to be spared the necessity of telling her
+at once what had happened. I had scarcely finished my supper, when
+the door bell rang, and to my astonishment the Mayor of Grunau was
+announced, accompanied by the same Police Commissioner who had visited
+me in my office that morning. The Mayor was an old friend of mine and
+his deeply grave face showed me that something serious had occurred. It
+was indeed serious! and for some minutes I could not grasp the meaning
+of the commissioner’s questions. Finally I realised with a tremendous
+shock that I--I myself was under suspicion of the murder of John Siders.
+The description given by the old servant of the man who had visited
+Siders the evening before, the very clothes that I wore, my hat and the
+trousers spotted by the purple ink, led to my identification as this
+mysterious visitor. The servant had let me in but she had not seen me go
+out.
+
+“Then I discovered--when confronted suddenly with my own revolver which
+had been found on the floor of the room, some distance from the body of
+the dead man, that this same revolver had been identified as mine by my
+ward, Eleonora Roemer, who had been to the police station at G-------- in
+the early afternoon hours. Some impulse of loyalty to her dead lover,
+some foolish feminine fear that I might have spoken against him in my
+earlier interviews with the commissioner had driven the girl to this
+step. A few questions sufficed to draw from her the story of her secret
+engagement, of its ending, and of my quarrel with John. I will say for
+her that I am certain she did not realise that all these things were
+calculated to cast suspicion on me. The poor girl is too unused to the
+ways of police courts, to the devious ways of the law, to realise what
+she was doing. The sight of my revolver broke her down completely
+and she acknowledged that it was mine. That is all. Except that I was
+arrested and brought here as you see. I told the commissioner the story
+of my visit to John Siders exactly as I told it to you, but it was plain
+to be seen that he did not believe me. It is plain to be seen also, that
+he is firmly convinced of my guilt and that he is greatly satisfied with
+himself at having traced the criminal so soon.”
+
+“And yet he was not quite satisfied,” said Muller gently. “You see that
+he has sent to the Capital for assistance on the case.” Muller felt this
+little untruth to be justified for the sake of the honour of the police
+force.
+
+“Yes, I’m surprised at that,” said Graumann in his former tone of
+weariness. “What do you think you will be able to do about it?”
+
+“I must ask questions here and there before I can form a plan of
+campaign,” replied Muller. “What do you think about it yourself? Who do
+you think killed Siders?”
+
+“How can I know who it was? I only know it is not I,” answered Graumann.
+
+“Did he have any enemies?”
+
+“No, none that I knew of, and he had few friends either.”
+
+“You knew there was a sum of money missing from his rooms?”
+
+“Yes, the sum they named to me was just about the price that he had
+received for the sale of his property here. They did me the honour to
+believe that if I had taken the money at all, I had done so merely as a
+blind. At least they did not take me for a thief as well as a murderer.
+If the money is really missing, it was for its sake he was murdered I
+suppose.”
+
+“Yes, that would be natural,” said Muller. “And you know nothing of any
+other relations or connections that the man may have had? Anything that
+might give us a clue to the truth?”
+
+“No, nothing. He stood so alone here, as far as I knew. Of course, as I
+told you, his actions of the evening before having been so peculiar--and
+as I knew that he was not in the happiest frame of mind--I naturally
+thought of suicide at once, when they told me that he had been found
+shot dead. Then they told me that the appearance of the room and many
+other things, proved suicide to have been out of the question. I know
+nothing more about it. I cannot think any more about it. I know only
+that I am here in danger of being sentenced for the crime that I never
+committed--that is enough to keep any man’s mind busy.” He leaned back
+with an intense fatigue in every line of his face and figure.
+
+Muller rose from his seat. “I am afraid I have tired you, Mr. Graumann,”
+ he said, “but it was necessary that I should know all that you had to
+tell me. Try and rest a little now and meanwhile be assured that I am
+doing all I can to find out the truth of this matter. As far as I can
+tell now I do not believe that you have killed John Siders. But I must
+find some further proofs that will convince others as well as myself. If
+it is of any comfort to you, I can tell you that during a long career as
+police detective I have been most astonishingly fortunate in the cases I
+have undertaken. I am hoping that my usual good luck will follow me here
+also. I am hoping it for your sake.”
+
+The man on the cot took the hand the detective offered him and
+pressed it firmly. “You will let me know as soon as you have found
+anything--anything that gives me hope?”
+
+“I will indeed. And now save your strength and do not worry. I will help
+you if it is in my power.”
+
+After leaving the prison, Muller took the train for the village of
+Grunau, about half an hour distant from the city. He found his way
+easily to Graumann’s home, an attractive old house set in a large garden
+amid groups of beautiful old trees. When he sent up his card to Miss
+Graumann, the old lady tripped down stairs in a flutter of excitement.
+
+“Did you see him?” she asked. “You have been to the prison? What do you
+think? How does he seem?”
+
+“He seems calm to-day,” replied Muller, “although the confinement and
+the anxiety are evidently wearing on him.”
+
+“And you heard his story? And you believe him innocent?”
+
+“I am inclined to do so. But there is more yet for me to investigate in
+this matter. It is certainly not as simple as the police here seem to
+believe. May I speak to your ward, Miss Roemer? She is at home now?”
+
+“Yes, Lora is at home. If you will wait here a moment I will send her
+in.”
+
+Muller paced up and down the large sunny room, casting a glance over the
+handsome old pieces of furniture and the family portraits on the wall.
+It was evidently the home of generations of well-to-do, well-bred
+people, the narrow circle of whose life was made rich by congenial
+duties and a comfortable feeling of their standing in the community.
+
+While he was studying one of the portraits more carefully, he became
+aware that there was some one in the room. He turned and saw a tall
+blond girl standing by the door. She had entered so softly that even
+Muller’s quick ear had not heard the opening of the door.
+
+“Do you wish to speak to me?” she said, coming down into the room. “I am
+Eleonora Roemer”
+
+Her face, which could be called handsome in its even regularity of
+feature and delicate skin, was very pale now, and around her eyes were
+dark rings that spoke of sleepless nights. Grief and mental shock were
+preying upon this girl’s mind. “She is not the one to make a confidant
+of those around her,” thought Muller to himself. Then he added aloud:
+“If it does not distress you too much to talk about this sad affair, I
+will be very grateful if you will answer a few questions.”
+
+“I will tell you whatever I can,” said the girl in the same low even
+tone in which she had first spoken. “Miss Graumann tells me that you
+have come from Vienna to take up this case. It is only natural that we
+should want to give you every assistance in our power.”
+
+“What is your opinion about it?” was Muller’s next remark, made rather
+suddenly after a moment’s pause.
+
+The directness of the question seemed to shake the girl out of her
+enforced calm. A slow flush mounted into her pale cheeks and then died
+away, again leaving them whiter than before. “I do not know--oh, I do
+not know what to believe.”
+
+“But you do not think Mr. Graumann capable of such a crime, do you?”
+
+“Not of the robbery, of course not; that would be absurd! But has
+it been clearly proven that there is a robbery? Might it not have
+been--might they not have--”
+
+“You mean, might they not have quarreled? Of course there is that
+possibility. And that is why I wanted to speak to you. You are the one
+person who could possibly throw light on this subject. Was there any
+other reason beyond the dead man’s past that would render your guardian
+unwilling to have you marry him?”
+
+Again the slow flush mounted to Eleonora Roemer’s cheeks and her head
+drooped.
+
+“I fear it may be painful for you to answer this,” said Muller gently,
+“and yet I must insist on it in the interest of justice.”
+
+“He--my guardian--wished to marry me himself,” the girl’s words came
+slowly and painfully.
+
+Muller drew in his breath so sharply that it was almost like a whistle.
+“He did not tell me that; it might make a difference.”
+
+“That... that is... what I fear,” said the girl, her eyes looking keenly
+into those of the man who sat opposite. “And then, it was his revolver.”
+
+“Then you do believe him guilty?”
+
+“It would be horrible, horrible--and yet I do not know what to think.”
+
+There was silence in the room for a moment. Miss Roemer’s head drooped
+again and her hands twisted nervously in her lap. Muller’s brain was
+very busy with this new phase of the problem. Finally he spoke.
+
+“Let us dismiss this side of the question and talk of another phase of
+it, a phase of which it is necessary for me to know something. You would
+naturally be the person nearest the dead man, the one, the only one,
+perhaps, to whom he had given his confidence. Do you know of any enemies
+he might have had in the city?”
+
+“No, I do not know of any enemies, or even of any friends he had there.
+When the terrible thing happened that clouded his past, when he had
+regained his freedom, after his term of imprisonment, there was no one
+left whom he cared to see again. He does not seem to have borne any
+malice towards the banker who accused him of the theft. The evidence
+was so strong against him that he felt the suspicion was justified. But
+there was hatred in his heart for one man, for the Justice who sentenced
+him, Justice Schmidt, who is now Attorney General in G------.”
+
+“The man who, in the name of the State, will conduct this case?” asked
+Muller quickly.
+
+“Yes, I believe it is so. Is it not an irony that this man, the only one
+whom John really hated, should be the one to avenge him now?”
+
+“H’m! yes. But did you know of any friends in G------?”
+
+“No, none at all.”
+
+“No friends whom he might have made while he was in America and then met
+again in Germany?”
+
+“No, he never spoke of any such to me. He told me that he made few
+friends. He did not seek them for he was afraid that they might find out
+what had happened and turn from him. He was morbidly sensitive and could
+not bear the disappointment.”
+
+“Why did he return to Germany?”
+
+“He was lonely and wanted to come home again. He had made money in
+America--John was very clever and highly educated--but his heart longed
+for his own tongue and his own people.”
+
+Muller took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Do you know this
+handwriting?”
+
+Miss Roemer read the few lines hastily and her voice trembled as she
+said: “This is John’s handwriting. I know it well. This is the letter
+that was found on the table?”
+
+“Yes, this letter appears to be the last he had written in life. Do you
+know to whom it could have been written? The envelope, as I suppose you
+know from the newspaper reports, was not addressed. Do you know of any
+friends with whom he could have been on terms of sufficient intimacy to
+write such a letter? Do you know what these plans for the future could
+have been? It would certainly be natural that he should have spoken to
+you first about them.”
+
+“No; I cannot understand this letter at all,” replied the girl. “I have
+thought of it frequently these terrible days. I have wondered why it was
+that if he had friends in the city, he did not speak to me of them. He
+repeatedly told me that he had no friends there at all, that his life
+should begin anew after we were married.”
+
+“And did he have any particular plans, in a business way, perhaps?”
+
+“No; he had a comfortable little income and need have no fear for the
+future. John was, of course, too young a man to settle down and do
+nothing. But the only definite plans he had made were that we should
+travel a little at first, and then he would look about him for a
+congenial occupation. I always thought it likely he would resume a law
+practice somewhere. I cannot understand in the slightest what the plans
+are to which the letter referred.”
+
+“And do you think, from what you know of his state of mind when you saw
+him last, that he would be likely so soon to be planning pleasures like
+this?”
+
+“No, no indeed! John was terribly crushed when my guardian insisted on
+breaking off our engagement. Until my twenty-fourth birthday I am
+still bound to do as my guardian says, you know. John’s life and early
+misfortune made him, as I have already said, morbidly sensitive and the
+thought that it would be a bar to anything we might plan in the future,
+had rendered him so depressed that--and it was not the least of my
+anxieties and my troubles--that I feared... I feared anything might
+happen.”
+
+“You feared he might take his own life, do you mean?”
+
+“Yes, yes, that is what I feared. But is it not terrible to think that
+he should have died this way--by the hand of a murderer?”
+
+“H’m! And you cannot remember any possible friend he may have
+found--some schoolboy friend of his youth, perhaps, with whom he had
+again struck up an acquaintance.”
+
+“Oh, no, no, I am positive of that. John could not bear to hear the
+names even of the people he had known before his misfortune. Still, I do
+remember his once having spoken of a man, a German he had met in Chicago
+and rather taken a fancy to, and who had also returned to Germany.”
+
+“Could this possibly have been the man to whom the letter is addressed?”
+
+“No, no. This friend of John’s was not married; I remember his
+saying that. And he lived in Germany somewhere--let me think--yes, in
+Frankfort-on-Main.”
+
+“And do you remember the man’s name?”
+
+“No, I cannot, I am sorry to say. John only mentioned it once. It was
+only by a great effort that I could remember the incident at all.”
+
+“And has it not struck you as rather peculiar that this friend, the one
+to whom the cordial letter was addressed, did not come forward and make
+his identity known? G-------- is a city, it is true, but it is not a very
+large city, and any man being on terms of intimate acquaintance with one
+who was murdered would be apt to come forward in the hope of throwing
+some light on the mystery.”
+
+“Why, yes, I had not thought of that. It is peculiar, is it not? But
+some people are so foolishly afraid of having anything to do with the
+police, you know.”
+
+“That is very true, Miss Roemer. Still it is a queer incident and
+something that I must look into.”
+
+“What do you believe?” asked the girl tensely.
+
+“I am not in a position to say as yet. When I am, I will come to you and
+tell you.”
+
+“Then you do not think that my guardian killed John--that there was a
+quarrel between the men?”
+
+“There is, of course, a possibility that it may have been so. You know
+your guardian better than I do, naturally. Our knowledge of a man’s
+character is often a far better guide than any circumstantial evidence.”
+
+“My guardian is a man of the greatest uprightness of character. But he
+can be very hard and pitiless sometimes. And he has a violent temper
+which his weak heart has forced him to keep in control of late years.”
+
+“All this speaks for the possibility that there may have been a quarrel
+ending in the fatal shot. But what I want to know from you is this--do
+you think it possible, that, this having happened, Albert Graumann would
+not have been the first to confess his unpremeditated crime? Is not
+this the most likely thing for a man of his character to do? Would he so
+stubbornly deny it, if it had happened?”
+
+The girl started. “I had not thought of that! Why, why, of course, he
+might have killed John in a moment of temper, but he was never a man to
+conceal a fault. He is as pitiless towards his own weakness, as towards
+that of others. You are right, oh, you must be right. Oh, if you could
+take this awful fear from my heart! Even my grief for John would be
+easier to bear then.”
+
+Muller rose from his chair. “I think I can promise you that this load
+will be lifted from your heart, Miss Roemer.”
+
+“Then you believe--that it was just a case of murder for robbery? For
+the money? And John had some valuable jewelry, I know that.”
+
+“I do not know yet,” replied Muller slowly, “but I will find out, I
+generally do.”
+
+“Oh, to think that I should have done that poor man such an injustice!
+It is terrible, terrible! This house has been ghastly these days.
+His poor aunt knows that he is innocent--she could never believe
+otherwise--she has felt the hideous suspicion in my mind--it has made
+her suffering worse--will they ever forgive me?”
+
+“Her joy, if I can free her nephew, will make her forget everything. Go
+to her now, Miss Roemer, comfort her with the assurance that you also
+believe him to be innocent. I must hasten back to G-------- and go on with
+this quest.”
+
+The girl stood at the doorway shaded by the overhanging branches of
+two great trees, looking down the street after the slight figure of the
+detective. “Oh, it is all easier to hear, hard as it is, easier now that
+this horrible suspicion has gone from my mind--why did I not think of
+that before?”
+
+Alone in the corner of the smoking compartment in the train to G------,
+Muller arranged in his mind the facts he had already gathered. He had
+questioned the servants of John Siders’ former household, had found
+that the dead man received very few letters, only an occasional business
+communication from his bank. Of the few others, the servants knew
+nothing except that he had always thrown the envelopes carelessly in the
+waste paper basket and had never seemed to have any correspondence which
+he cared to conceal. No friend from elsewhere had ever visited him in
+Grunau, and he had made few friends there except the Graumann family.
+
+The facts of the case, as he knew them now, were such as to make it
+extremely doubtful that Graumann was the murderer. Muller himself had
+been inclined to believe in the possibility of a quarrel between the two
+men, particularly when he had heard that Graumann himself was in love
+with his handsome ward. But the second thought that came to him then,
+impelled by the unerring instinct that so often guided him to the truth,
+was the assurance that in a case of this kind, in a case of a quarrel
+terminating fatally, a man like Albert Graumann would be the very first
+to give himself up to the police and to tell the facts of the case.
+Albert Graumann was a man of honour and unimpeachable integrity. Such
+a man would not persist in a foolish denial of the deed which he had
+committed in a moment of temper. There would be nothing to gain from it,
+and his own conscience would be his severest judge. “The disorder in the
+room?” thought Muller. “It’ll be too late for that now. I suppose they
+have rearranged the place. I can only go by what the local detectives
+have seen, by the police reports. But I do not understand this extreme
+disorder. There is no reason why there should be a struggle when the
+robber was armed with a pistol. If Siders was supposed to have been
+interrupted when writing a letter, interrupted by a thief come with
+intent to steal, a thief armed with a revolver, the sight of this weapon
+alone would be sufficient to insure his not moving from his seat. I
+can understand the open drawers and cupboard; that is explained by the
+thief’s hasty search for booty. But the torn window curtain and the
+overturned chairs are peculiar.
+
+“Of course there is always a possibility that the thief might have
+entered one room while Siders was in the other; that the latter might
+have surprised the robber in his search for money or valuables, and that
+there might have been a hand-to-hand struggle before the intruder could
+pull out his revolver. Oh, if I could only have seen the body! This
+is working under terrific difficulties. The marks of a hand-to-hand
+struggle would have been very plain on the clothes and on the person of
+the murdered man. But this letter? I do not understand this letter at
+all. It is the dead man’s handwriting, that we know, but why did not the
+friend to whom it was addressed come forward and make himself known? As
+far as I can learn from the police reports in G------, there was no personal
+interest shown, no personal inquiries made about the dead man. There was
+only the natural excitement that a murder would create. Now a family,
+expecting to make a pleasure excursion with a friend in a day or two
+and suddenly hearing that this friend had been found murdered in his
+lodgings, would be inclined to take some little personal interest in
+the matter. These people must have been in town and at home, for the
+excursion spoken of in the letter was to occur two days after the
+murder. Miss Roemer’s remark about the dread that some people have as to
+any connection with the police, is true to a limited extent only. It is
+true only of the ignorant mind, not of a man presumably well-to-do and
+properly educated. I do not understand why the man to whom this letter
+was addressed has not made himself known. The only explanation
+is--that there was no such man!” A sudden sharp whistle broke from the
+detective’s lips.
+
+“I must examine the dead man’s personal effects, his baggage, his
+papers; there may be something there. His queer letter to Graumann--his
+desire that the latter’s visit should be kept secret--a visit which
+apparently had no cause at all, except to get Graumann to the house, to
+get him to the house in a way that he should be seen coming, but should
+not be seen going away. What does this mean?
+
+“Graumann was the only person against whom Siders had an active cause of
+quarrel for the moment. There was one other man whom he hated, and this
+other man was the prosecuting attorney who would conduct any case of
+murder that came up in the town of G------.
+
+“Now John Siders is found murdered--is found killed, in his lodgings,
+the morning after he has arranged things so that his antagonist, his
+rival in love, Albert Graumann, shall come under suspicion of having
+murdered him.
+
+“What evidence have we that this man did not commit suicide? We have the
+evidence of the disorder in the room, a disorder that could have been
+made just as well by the man himself before he ended his own life. We
+have the evidence of a letter to some unknown, making plans for
+pleasure during the next days, and speaking of further plans, presumably
+concerning business, for the future. In a town the size of G------, where
+every one must have read of the murder, no one has come forward claiming
+to be the friend for whom this letter was written. Until this Unknown
+makes himself known, the letter as an evidence points rather to
+premeditated suicide than to the contrary. Oh, if I could only have seen
+the body! They tell me the pistol was found some little distance from
+the body. Is it at all likely that a murderer would go away leaving such
+evidence behind him? If Graumaun had killed Siders in a hasty quarrel,
+he might possibly, in his excitement, have left his revolver. But I have
+already disposed of this possibility. A man of sufficient brains to
+so carefully plan his suicide as to conceal every trace of it and cast
+suspicion upon the man who had made him unhappy, such a one would be
+quite clever enough to throw the pistol far away from his body and to
+leave no traces of powder on his coat or any such other evidence.
+
+“If I were to say now what I think, I would say that John Siders
+deliberately took his own life and planned it in such a way as to cast
+suspicion upon Albert Graumann. But that would indeed be a terrible
+revenge. And I must have some tangible proof of it before any court will
+accept my belief. This proof must be hidden somewhere. The thing for me
+to do is to find it.”
+
+The evidence gathered at the time of the death went to show that Siders
+had been paid a considerable sum in cash for the sale of his property at
+Grunau. And there was no trace of his having deposited this sum in any
+bank in G-------- or in Grunau, in both of which places he had deposited
+other securities. Therefore the money had presumably been in his room
+at the time of his death. A search had been made for this money in every
+possible place of concealment among the dead man’s belongings, and it
+had not been found. Muller asked the Police Commissioner to give him the
+key to the rooms, which were still officially closed, and also the keys
+to the dead man’s pieces of baggage. Commissioner Lange seemed to think
+all this extra search quite unnecessary, as it did not occur to him that
+anything else was to be looked for except the money.
+
+It was quite late when Muller began his examination of the dead man’s
+effects. He was struck by the fact that there was scarcely a bit of
+paper to be found anywhere, no letters, no business papers, except bank
+books showing the amount of his securities in the bank in G-------- and in
+Grunau, and giving facts about some investments in Chicago. There was
+nothing of more recent date and no personal correspondence whatever. The
+same was true of the pockets of the suit Siders had been wearing at the
+time of his death. A man of any property or position at all in the world
+gathers about him so much of this kind of material that its absence
+shows premeditation. The suit Siders had been wearing when he was killed
+was lying on the table in the room. It was a plain grey business suit
+of good cut and material. The body had been prepared for burial in
+a beseeming suit of black. Muller made a careful examination of the
+clothes, and found only what the police reports showed him had already
+been found by the examination made by the local authorities. Upon a
+second careful examination, however, he found that in one of the vest
+pockets there was a little extra pocket, like a change pocket, and in
+it he found a crumpled piece of paper. He took it out, smoothed and read
+it. It was a post office receipt for a registered letter. The date was
+still clear, but the name of the person to whom the letter had been
+addressed was illegible. The creases of the paper and a certain
+dampness, as if it had been inadvertently touched by a wet finger, had
+smeared the writing. But the letter had been sent the day before the
+death of John Siders, and it had been registered from the main post
+office in G------. This was sufficient for Muller. Then he turned to the
+desk. Here also there was nothing that could help him. But a sudden
+thought, came to him, and he took up the blotting pad. This, to his
+delight, was in the form of a book with a handsome embroidered cover. It
+looked comparatively new and was, as Muller surmised, a gift from Miss
+Roemer to her betrothed. But few of the pages had been used, and on two
+of them a closely written letter had been blotted several times, showing
+that there had been several sheets of the letter. Muller held it up to
+the looking-glass, but the repeated blotting had blurred the writing
+to such an extent that it was impossible to decipher any but a few
+disconnected words, which gave no clue. On a page further along on
+the blotter, however, he saw what appeared to be the impression of an
+address. He held it up to the glass and gave a whistle of delight. The
+words could be plainly deciphered here:
+
+                      “MR. LEO PERNBURG,
+                      “FRANKFURT AM MAIN,
+                      “MAINZER LANDSTRASSE.”
+
+and above the name was a smear which, after a little study, could be
+deciphered as the written word “Registered.”
+
+With this page of the blotter carefully tucked away in his pocketbook,
+Muller hurried to the post office, arriving just at closing hour. He
+made himself known at once to the postmaster, and asked to be shown
+the records of registered letters sent on a certain date. Here he found
+scheduled a letter addressed to Mr. Leo Pernburg, Frankfurt am Main,
+sent by John Siders, G------, Josef Street 7.
+
+Muller then hastened to the telegraph office and despatched a lengthy
+telegram to the postal authorities in Frankfurt am Main. When the answer
+came to him next morning, he packed his grip and took the first express
+train leaving G------. He first made a short visit, however, to Albert
+Graumann’s cell in the prison. Muller was much too kind-hearted not to
+relieve the anxiety of this man, to whom such mental strain might easily
+prove fatal. He told Graumann that he was going in search of evidence
+which might throw light on the death of Siders, and comforted the
+prisoner with the assurance that he, Muller, believed Graumann innocent,
+and believed also that within a day or two he would return to G-------- with
+proofs that his belief was the right one.
+
+Three days later Muller returned to Grunau and went at once to the
+Graumann home. It was quite late when he arrived, but he had already
+notified Miss Roemer by telegram as to his coming, with a request that
+she should be ready to see him. He found her waiting for him, pale and
+anxious-eyed, when he arrived. “I have been to Frankfurt am Main,” he
+said, “and I have seen Mr. Pernburg--”
+
+“Yes, yes, that is the name; now I remember,” interrupted the girl
+eagerly. “That is the name of John’s friend there.”
+
+“I have seen Mr. Pernburg and he gave me this letter.” Muller laid a
+thick envelope on the girl’s lap.
+
+She looked down at it, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
+“That--that is John’s writing,” she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper.
+“Where did it come from?”
+
+“Pernburg gave it to me. The day before his death John Siders sent him
+this letter, requesting that Pernburg forward it to you before a certain
+date. When I explained the circumstances to Mr. Pernburg, he gave me the
+letter at once. I feel that this paper holds the clue to the mystery.
+Will you open it?”
+
+With trembling hands the girl tore open the envelope. It enclosed still
+another sealed envelope, without an address. But there was a sheet of
+paper around this letter, on which was written the following:
+
+
+My beloved Eleonore:
+
+Before you read what I have to say to you here I want you to promise
+me, in memory of our love and by your hope of future salvation, that you
+will do what I ask you to do.
+
+I ask you to give the enclosed letter, although it is addressed to you,
+to the Judge who will preside in the trial against Graumann. The letter
+is written to you and will be given back to you. For you, the beloved of
+my soul, you are the only human being with whom I can still communicate,
+to whom I can still express my wishes. But you must not give the letter
+to the Judge until you have assured yourself that the prosecuting
+attorney insists upon Graumann’s guilt. In case he is acquitted, which I
+do not think probable, then open this letter in the presence of Graumann
+himself and one or two witnesses. For I wish Graumann, who is innocent,
+to be able to prove his innocence.
+
+You will know by this time that I have determined to end my life by my
+own hand. Forgive me, beloved. I cannot live on without you--without
+the honour of which I was robbed so unjustly.
+
+God bless you.
+
+One who will love you even beyond the grave, Remember your promise. It
+was given to the dead.
+
+JOHN.
+
+
+“Oh, what does it all mean?” asked Eleonora, dropping the letter in her
+lap.
+
+“It is as I thought,” replied Muller. “John Siders took his own life,
+but made every arrangement to have suspicion fall upon Graumann.”
+
+“But why? oh, why?”
+
+“It was a terrible revenge. But perhaps--perhaps it was just
+retribution. Graumaun would not understand that Siders could have been
+suspected of, and imprisoned for, a theft he had not committed. He must
+know now that it is quite possible for a man to be in danger of sentence
+of death even, for a crime of which he is innocent.”
+
+“Oh, my God! It is terrible.” The girl’s head fell across her folded
+arms on the table. Deep shuddering sobs shook her frame.
+
+Muller waited quietly until the first shock had passed. Finally her sobs
+died away and she raised her head again. “What am I to do?” she asked.
+
+“You must open this letter to-morrow in the presence of the Police
+Commissioner and Graumaun.”
+
+“But this promise? This promise that he asks of me--that I should wait
+until the trial?”
+
+“You have not given this promise. Would you take it upon yourself to
+endanger your guardian’s life still more? Every further day spent in his
+prison, in this anxiety, might be fatal.”
+
+“But this promise? The promise demanded of me by the man to whom I had
+given my love? Is it not my duty to keep it?”
+
+Muller rose from his chair. His slight figure seemed to grow taller,
+and the gentleness in his voice gave way to a commanding tone of firm
+decision.
+
+“Our duty is to the living, not to the dead. The dead have no right to
+drag down others after them. Believe me, Miss Roemer, the purpose
+that was in your betrothed’s mind when he ended his own life, has been
+fulfilled. Albert Graumann knows now what are the feelings of a man
+who bears the prison stigma unjustly. He will never again judge his
+fellow-men as harshly as he has done until now. His soul has been
+purged in these terrible days; have you the right to endanger his life
+needlessly?”
+
+“Oh, I do not know! I do not know what to do.”
+
+“I have no choice,” said Muller firmly. “It is my duty to make known
+the fact to the Police Commissioner that there is such a letter in
+existence. The Police Commissioner will then have to follow his duty in
+demanding the letter from you. Mr. Pernburg, Sider’s friend, saw this
+argument at once. Although he also had a letter from the dead man,
+asking him to send the enclosure to you, registered, on a certain date,
+he knew that it was his duty to give all the papers to the authorities.
+Would it not be better for you to give them up of your own free will?”
+ Muller took a step nearer the girl and whispered: “And would it not be
+a noble revenge on your part? You would be indeed returning good for
+evil.”
+
+Eleonora clasped her hands and her lips moved as if in silent prayer.
+Then she rose slowly and held out the letters to Muller. “Do what you
+will with them,” she said. “My strength is at an end.”
+
+The next day, in the presence of Commissioner Lange and of the accused
+Albert Graumann, Muller opened the letter which he had received from
+Miss Roemer and read it aloud. The girl herself, by her own request, was
+not present. Both Muller and Graumann understood that the strain of this
+message from the dead would be too much for her to bear. This was the
+letter:
+
+
+G-------- September 21st.
+
+My beloved:
+
+When you put this letter in the hands of the Judge, I will have found in
+death the peace that I could never find on earth. There was no chance
+of happiness for me since I have realised that I love you, that you love
+me, and that I must give you up if I am to remain what I have always
+been--in spite of everything--a man of honour.
+
+Albert Graumann would keep his word, this I know. Wherever you might
+follow me as my wife, there his will would have been before us, blasting
+my reputation, blackening the flame which you were to bear.
+
+I could not have endured it. My soul was sick of all this secrecy, sick
+at the injustice of mankind. In spite of worldly success, my life was
+cold and barren in the strange land to which I had fled. My home called
+to me and I came back to it.
+
+I kissed the earth of my own country, and I wept at my mother’s grave. I
+was happy again under the skies which had domed above my childhood. For
+I am an honest man, beloved, and I always have been.
+
+One day I sat at table beside the man--the Judge who condemned me, here
+in G-------- in those terrible days. He naturally did not know me again.
+I, myself, brought the conversation around to a professional subject.
+I asked him if it were not possible that circumstantial evidence could
+lie; if the entire past, the reputation of the accused would not be a
+factor in his favour. The Judge denied it. It was his opinion, beyond a
+doubt, that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict anyone.
+
+My soul rose within me. This infallibility, this legal arrogance,
+aroused my blood. “That man should have a lesson!” I said to myself.
+
+But I had forgotten it all--all my anger, all my hatred and bitterness,
+when I met you. I dare not trust myself to think of you too much, now
+that everything is arranged for the one last step. It takes all my
+control to keep my decision unwavering while I sit here and tell you how
+much your love, your great tenderness, your sweet trust in me, meant to
+me.
+
+Let me talk rather of Albert Graumann. I will forgive him for believing
+in my guilt, but I cannot forgive him that he, the man of cultivation
+and mental grasp, could not believe it possible for a convicted thief
+to have repented and to have lived an honest life after the atonement of
+his crime. I still cannot believe that this was Graumann’s opinion. I
+am forced to think that it was an excuse only on his part, an excuse to
+keep us apart, an excuse to keep you for himself.
+
+You are lost to me now. There is nothing more in life for me. If the
+injustice of mankind has stained my honour beyond repair, has robbed me
+of every chance of happiness at any time and in any place, then I die
+easily, beloved, for there is little charm in such a life as would be
+mine after this.
+
+But I do not wish to die quite in vain. There are two men who have
+touched my life, who need the lesson my death can teach them. These men
+are Albert Graumann and the prosecuting attorney Gustav Schmidt, the man
+who once condemned me so cruelly. His present position would make
+him the representative of the state in a murder trial, and I know his
+opinions too well not to foresee that he would declare Graumann guilty
+because of the circumstantial evidence which will be against him. My
+letter, given to the Presiding Judge after the Attorney has made his
+speech, will cause him humiliation, will ruin his brilliant arguments
+and cast ridicule upon him.
+
+Do not think me hard or revengeful. I do not hate anyone now that death
+is so near. But is it inhuman that I should want to teach these two men
+a lesson? a lesson which they need, believe me, and it is such a slight
+compensation for the torture these last eight years have been to me!
+
+And now I will explain in detail all the circumstances. I have arranged
+that Albert Graumann shall come to me on the evening of September 23rd
+between 7 and 8 o’clock. I asked him to do so by letter, asking him
+also to keep the fact of his visit to me a secret. To-night, the 22nd of
+September, I received his answer promising that he would come. Therefore
+I can look upon everything that is to happen, as having already
+happened, for now there need be no further change in my plans. I will
+send this letter this evening to my friend Pernburg in Frankfurt am
+Main. In case anything should happen that would render impossible for
+me to carry out my plans, I will send Pernburg another letter asking him
+not to carry out the instructions of the first.
+
+I can now proceed to tell you what will happen here to-morrow evening,
+the 23rd of September.
+
+Albert Graumann will come to me, unknown to his family or friends, as I
+have asked him to come. I will so arrange it that the old servant will
+see him come in but will not see him go out. My landlady will not be in
+my way, for she has already told me that she will spend the night of
+the 23rd with her mother, in another part of the city. It is to be a
+birthday celebration I believe, so that I can be certain her plans will
+not be changed.
+
+Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses
+near. I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace
+conversation, for I have nothing to say to him. If he moves near the
+desk I will upset the inkbottle. The spots on his clothes will be
+another evidence against him. I will endeavour to get him to keep my
+jewelry which is, as you know, of considerable value. I will tell him
+that I am going away for a while and ask him to take charge of it for
+me. I, myself, will take him down to the door and let him out, when I
+have satisfied myself that the old servant is in bed or at least at the
+back of the house. The revolver which shall end my misery is Graumann’s
+property. I took it from its place without his knowledge.
+
+The 10,000 gulden which I told my landlady were still in the house,
+and which would therefore be thought missing after my death, I have
+deposited in a bank in Frankfort in your name. Here is the certificate
+of deposit.
+
+I will endeavour not to hold the revolver sufficiently close to have the
+powder burn my clothes. And I will exert every effort of mind and body
+to throw it far from me after I have fired the fatal shot. I think that
+I will be able to do this, for I am a very good shot and I have no
+fear of death. One thing more I will do, to turn aside all suspicion
+of suicide. I will write a letter to some person who does not exist, a
+letter which will make it appear as if I were in excellent humour and
+planning for the future.
+
+And now, good-bye to life. People have called me eccentric, they may be
+right. This last deed of mine at least, is out of the ordinary. No one
+will say now that ended my life in a moment of darkened mind, in a rush
+of despair. My brain is perfectly clear, my heart beats calmly, now that
+I have arranged everything for my departure from this world of falsehood
+and unreality. My last deed shall go to prove to the world how little
+actual, apparent facts can be trusted.
+
+The one thing real, the one thing true in all this world of falsehood
+was your love and your trust. I thank you for it.
+
+                                                 THEODOR BELLMANN,
+                                                 known as
+                                                 JOHN SIDERS.
+
+Joseph Muller refuses to take any particular credit for this case. The
+letter would have come in time to prevent Graumann’s conviction without
+his assistance, he says. The only person whose gratitude he has a right
+to is Prosecuting Attorney Gustav Schmidt. He managed to have the Police
+Commissioner in G-------- read the letter in detail to the attorney. But
+Muller himself knows that it failed of its effect, so far as that
+dignitary was concerned. For nothing but open ridicule could ever
+convince a man of such decided opinions that he is not the one
+infallible person in the world.
+
+But Albert Graumann had learned his lesson. And he told Muller himself
+that the few days of life which might remain to him were a gift to him
+from the detective. He felt that his weak heart would not have stood the
+strain and the disgrace of an open trial, even if that trial ended in
+acquittal. Two months later he was found dead in his bed, a calm smile
+on his lips.
+
+Before he died he had learned that it was the undaunted courage of his
+timid little old aunt that had brought Muller to take charge of the case
+and to free her beloved nephew from the dreaded prison. And the last
+days that these two passed together were very happy.
+
+But as aforesaid, Muller refuses to have this case included in the
+list of his successes. He did not change the ultimate result, he merely
+anticipated it, he says.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Case of the Registered Letter, by
+Augusta Groner
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+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Case of the Registered Letter, by Augusta Groner
+    </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">
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Case of the Registered Letter, 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 Case of the Registered Letter
+
+Author: Augusta Groner
+
+Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron
+
+Release Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1833]
+Last Updated: October 14, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER
+    </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>
+    <h3>
+      Contents
+    </h3>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION TO JOE MULLER </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER </a>
+          </p>
+        </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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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, &ldquo;May I do this? ... or may I handle this case this way?&rdquo; 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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s peculiar method of working, his looking on
+      himself as merely an humble member of the Department, and the comedy of
+      his acting under &ldquo;official orders&rdquo; 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 REGISTERED LETTER
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, sir, save him if you can&mdash;save my poor nephew! I know he is
+      innocent!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The little old lady sank back in her chair, gazing up at Commissioner von
+      Riedau with tear-dimmed eyes full of helpless appeal. The commissioner
+      looked thoughtful. &ldquo;But the case is in the hands of the local authorities,
+      Madam,&rdquo; he answered gently, a strain of pity in his voice. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t
+      exactly see how we could interfere.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But they believe Albert guilty! They haven&rsquo;t given him a chance!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He cannot be sentenced without sufficient proof of his guilt.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But the trial, the horrible trial&mdash;it will kill him&mdash;his heart
+      is weak. I thought&mdash;I thought you might send some one&mdash;some one
+      of your detectives&mdash;to find out the truth of the case. You must have
+      the best people here in Vienna. Oh, my poor Albert&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her voice died away in a suppressed sob, and she covered her face to keep
+      back the tears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The commissioner pressed a bell on his desk. &ldquo;Is Detective Joseph Muller
+      anywhere about the building?&rdquo; he asked of the attendant who appeared at
+      the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think he is, sir. I saw him come in not long ago.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ask him to come up to this room. Say I would like to speak to him.&rdquo; The
+      attendant went out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have sent for one of the best men on our force, Madam,&rdquo; continued the
+      commissioner, turning back to the pathetic little figure in the chair. &ldquo;We
+      will go into this matter a little more in detail and see if it is possible
+      for us to interfere with the work of the local authorities in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The little old lady gave her eyes a last hasty dab with a dainty
+      handkerchief and raised her head again, fighting for self-control. She was
+      a quaint little figure, with soft grey hair drawn back smoothly from a
+      gentle-featured face in which each wrinkle seemed the seal of some loving
+      thought for others. Her bonnet and gown were of excellent material in
+      delicate soft colours, but cut in the style of an earlier decade. The
+      capable lines of her thin little hands showed through the fabric of her
+      grey gloves. Her whole attitude bore the impress of one who had adventured
+      far beyond the customary routine of her home circle, adventured out into
+      the world in fear and trembling, impelled by the stress of a great love.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A knock was heard at the door, and a small, slight man, with a kind,
+      smooth-shaven face, entered at the commissioner&rsquo;s call. &ldquo;You sent for me,
+      sir?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Muller, there is a matter here in which I need your advice, your
+      assistance, perhaps. This is Detective Muller, Miss&mdash;&rdquo; (the
+      commissioner picked up the card on his desk) &ldquo;Miss Graumann. If you will
+      tell us now, more in detail, all that you can tell us about this case, we
+      may be able to help you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, if you would,&rdquo; murmured Miss Graumann, with something more of hope in
+      her voice. The expression of sympathetic interest on the face of the
+      newcomer had already won her confidence for him. Her slight figure
+      straightened up in the chair, and the two men sat down opposite her,
+      prepared to listen to her story.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will tell you all I know and understand about this matter, gentlemen,&rdquo;
+       she began. &ldquo;My name is Babette Graumann, and I live with my nephew, Albert
+      Graumann, engineering expert, in the village of Grunau, which is not far
+      from the city of G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. My nephew Albert, the dearest, truest&mdash;&rdquo;
+       sobs threatened to overcome her again, but she mastered them bravely.
+      &ldquo;Albert is now in prison, accused of the murder of his friend, John
+      Siders, in the latter&rsquo;s lodgings in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that is the gist of what you have already told me,&rdquo; said the
+      commissioner. &ldquo;Muller, Miss Graumann believes her nephew innocent,
+      contrary to the opinion of the local authorities in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. She has come
+      to ask for some one from here who could ferret out the truth of this
+      matter. You are free now, and if we find that it can be done without
+      offending the local authorities&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is the commissioner in charge of the case in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo; asked Muller.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Commissioner Lange is his name, I believe,&rdquo; replied Miss Graumann.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;H&rsquo;m!&rdquo; Muller and the commissioner exchanged glances.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think we can venture to hear more of this,&rdquo; said the commissioner, as
+      if in answer to their unspoken thought. &ldquo;Can you give us the details now,
+      Madam? Who is, or rather who was, this John Siders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;John Siders came to our village a little over a year ago,&rdquo; continued Miss
+      Graumann. &ldquo;He came from Chicago; he told us, although he was evidently a
+      German by birth. He bought a nice little piece of property, not far from
+      our home, and settled down there. He was a quiet man and made few friends,
+      but he seemed to take to Albert and came to see us frequently. Albert had
+      spent some years in America, in Chicago, and Siders liked to talk to him
+      about things and people there. But one day Siders suddenly sold his
+      property and moved to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. Two weeks later he was found dead in his
+      lodgings in the city, murdered, and now&mdash;now they have accused Albert
+      of the crime.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On what grounds?&mdash;oh, I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all right, Muller,&rdquo; said the commissioner. &ldquo;As you may have to
+      undertake the case, you might as well begin to do the questioning now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They say&rdquo;&mdash;Miss Graumann&rsquo;s voice quavered&mdash;&ldquo;they say that
+      Albert was the last person known to have been in Siders&rsquo; room; they say
+      that it was his revolver, found in the room. That is the dreadful part of
+      it&mdash;it was his revolver. He acknowledges it, but he did not know,
+      until the police showed it to him, that the weapon was not in its usual
+      place in his study. They tell me that everything speaks for his guilt, but
+      I cannot believe it&mdash;I cannot. He says he is innocent in spite of
+      everything. I believe him. I brought him up, sir; I was like his own
+      mother to him. He never knew any other mother. He never lied to me, not
+      once, when he was a little boy, and I don&rsquo;t believe he&rsquo;d lie to me now,
+      now that he&rsquo;s a man of forty-five. He says he did not kill John Siders.
+      Oh, I know, even without his saying it, that he would not do such a
+      thing.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Can you tell us anything more about the murder itself?&rdquo; questioned Muller
+      gently. &ldquo;Is there any possibility of suicide? Or was there a robbery?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They say it was no suicide, sir, and that there was a large sum of money
+      missing. But why should Albert take any one else&rsquo;s money? He has money of
+      his own, and he earns a good income besides&mdash;we have all that we
+      need. Oh, it is some dreadful mistake! There is the newspaper account of
+      the discovery of the body. Perhaps Mr. Muller might like to read that.&rdquo;
+       She pointed to a sheet of newspaper on the desk. The commissioner handed
+      it to Muller. It was an evening paper, dated G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, September 24th, and
+      it gave an elaborate account, in provincial journalese, of the discovery
+      that morning of the body of John Siders, evidently murdered, in his
+      lodgings. The main facts to be gathered from the long-winded story were as
+      follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John Siders had rented the rooms in which he met his death about ten days
+      before, paying a month&rsquo;s rent in advance. The lodgings consisted of two
+      rooms in a little house in a quiet street. It was a street of simple
+      two-story, one and two family dwellings, occupied by artisans and small
+      tradespeople. There were many open spaces, gardens and vacant lots in the
+      street. The house in which Siders lodged belonged to a travelling salesman
+      by the name of Winter. The man was away from home a great deal, and his
+      wife, with her child and an old servant, lived in the lower part of the
+      house, while the rooms occupied by Siders were in the upper story. Siders
+      lived very quietly, going out frequently in the afternoon, but returning
+      early in the evening. He had said to his landlady that he had many friends
+      in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. But during the time of his stay in the house he had had but
+      one caller, a gentleman who came on the evening of the 23rd of September.
+      The old maid had opened the door for him and showed him to Mr. Siders&rsquo; 
+      rooms. She described this visitor as having a full black beard, and
+      wearing a broad-brimmed grey felt hat. Nobody saw the man go out, for the
+      old maid, the only person in the house at the time, had retired early.
+      Mrs. Winter and her little girl were spending the night with the former&rsquo;s
+      mother in a distant part of the city. The next morning the old servant,
+      taking the lodger&rsquo;s coffee up to him at the usual hour, found him dead on
+      the floor of his sitting-room, shot through the heart. The woman ran
+      screaming from the house and alarmed the neighbours. A policeman at the
+      corner heard the noise, and led the crowd up to the room where the dead
+      man lay. It was plain to be seen that this was not a case of suicide.
+      Everywhere were signs of a terrible struggle. The furniture was
+      overturned, the dressing-table and the cupboard were open and their
+      contents scattered on the floor, one of the window curtains was torn into
+      strips, as if the victim had been trying to escape by way of the window,
+      but had been dragged back into the room by his murderer. An overturned ink
+      bottle on the table had spattered wide, and added to the general
+      confusion. In the midst of the disorder lay the body of the murdered man,
+      now cold in the rigour of death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The police commissioner arrived soon, took possession of the rooms, and
+      made a thorough examination of the premises. A letter found on the desk
+      gave another proof, if such were needed, that this was not a case of
+      suicide. This letter was in the handwriting of the dead man, and read as
+      follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dear Friend:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I appreciate greatly all the kindness shown me by yourself and your good
+      wife. I have been more successful than I thought possible in overcoming
+      the obstacles you know of. Therefore, I shall be very glad to join you day
+      after to-morrow, Sunday, in the proposed excursion. I will call for you at
+      8 A.M.&mdash;the cab and the champagne will be my share of the trip. We&rsquo;ll
+      have a jolly day and drink a glass or two to our plans for the future.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With best greetings for both of you,
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Your old friend,
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      John
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, Friday, Sept. 23rd.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An envelope, not yet addressed, lay beside this letter. It was clear that
+      the man who penned these words had no thought of suicide. On the contrary,
+      he was looking forward to a day of pleasure in the near future, and laying
+      plans for the time to come. The murderer&rsquo;s bullet had pierced a heart
+      pulsing with the joy of life.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was the gist of the account in the evening paper. Muller read it
+      through carefully, lingering over several points which seemed to interest
+      him particularly. Then he turned to Miss Babette Graumann. &ldquo;And then what
+      happened?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then the Police Commissioner came to Grunau and questioned my nephew.
+      They had found out that Albert was Mr. Siders&rsquo; only friend here. And late
+      that evening the Mayor and the Commissioner came to our house with the
+      revolver they had found in the room in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, and they&mdash;they&mdash;&rdquo;
+       her voice trembled again, &ldquo;they arrested my dear boy and took him away.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you visited him in prison? What does he say about it himself?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He seems quite hopeless. He says that he is innocent&mdash;oh, I know he
+      is&mdash;but everything is against him. He acknowledges that it was he who
+      was in Mr. Siders&rsquo; room the evening before the murder. He went there
+      because Siders wrote him to come. He says he left early, and that John
+      acted queerly. He knows they will not believe his story. This worry and
+      anxiety will kill him. He has a serious heart trouble; he has suffered
+      from it for years, and it has been growing steadily worse. I dare not
+      think what this excitement may do for him.&rdquo; Miss Graumann broke down again
+      and sobbed aloud. Muller laid his hands soothingly on the little old
+      fingers that gripped the arm of the chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did your nephew send you here to ask for help?&rdquo; he inquired very gently.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no!&rdquo; The old lady looked up at him through her tears. &ldquo;No, he would
+      not have done that. I&rsquo;m afraid that he&rsquo;ll be angry if he knows that I have
+      come. He seemed so hopeless, so dazed. I just couldn&rsquo;t stand it. It seemed
+      to me that the police in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; were taking things for granted,
+      and just sitting there waiting for an innocent man to confess, instead of
+      looking for the real murderer, who may be gone, the Lord knows where, by
+      now!&rdquo; Miss Graumann&rsquo;s faded cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she
+      straightened up in her chair again, while her eyes snapped defiance
+      through the tears that hung on their lashes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A faint gleam twinkled up in Muller&rsquo;s eyes, and he did not look at his
+      chief. Doctor von Riedau&rsquo;s own face glowed in a slowly mounting flush, and
+      his eyes drooped in a moment of conscious embarrassment at some
+      recollection, the sting of which was evidently made worse by Muller&rsquo;s
+      presence. But Commissioner von Riedau had brains enough to acknowledge his
+      mistakes and to learn from them. He looked across the desk at Miss
+      Graumann. &ldquo;You are right, Madam, the police have made that mistake more
+      than once. And a man with a clear record deserves the benefit of the
+      doubt. We will take up this case. Detective Muller will be put in charge
+      of it. And that means, Madam, that we are giving you the very best
+      assistance the Imperial Police Force affords.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Miss Babette Graumann did not attempt to speak. In a wave of emotion she
+      stretched out both little hands to the detective and clasped his warmly.
+      &ldquo;Oh, thank you,&rdquo; she said at last. &ldquo;I thank you. He&rsquo;s just like my own boy
+      to me; he&rsquo;s all the child I ever had, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there are difficulties in the way,&rdquo; continued the commissioner in a
+      business-like tone. &ldquo;The local authorities in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; have not
+      asked for our assistance, and we are taking up the case over their heads,
+      as it were. I shall have to leave that to Muller&rsquo;s diplomacy. He will come
+      to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; and have an interview with your nephew. Then he will
+      have to use his own judgment as to the next steps, and as to how far he
+      may go in opposition to what has been done by the police there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And then I may go back home?&rdquo; asked Miss Graumann. &ldquo;Go home with the
+      assurance that you will help my poor boy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, you may depend on us, Madam. Is there anything we can do for you
+      here? Are you alone in the city?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, thank you. There is a friend here who will take care of me. She will
+      put me on the afternoon express back to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is very likely that I will take that train myself,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;If
+      there is anything that you need on the journey, call on me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, thank you, I will indeed! Thank you both, gentlemen. And now
+      good-bye, and God bless you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The commissioner bowed and Muller held the door open for Miss Graumann to
+      pass out. There was silence in the room, as the two men looked after the
+      quaint little figure slowly descending the stairs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A brave little woman,&rdquo; murmured the commissioner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not only the mother in the flesh who knows what a mother&rsquo;s love
+      is,&rdquo; added Muller.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Next morning Joseph Muller stood in the cell of the prison in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+      confronting Albert Graumann, accused of the murder of John Siders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The detective had just come from a rather difficult interview with
+      Commissioner Lange. But the latter, though not a brilliant man, was at
+      least good-natured. He acknowledged the right of the accused and his
+      family to ask for outside assistance, and agreed with Muller that it was
+      better to have some one in the official service brought in, rather than a
+      private detective whose work, in its eventual results, might bring shame
+      on the police. Muller explained that Miss Graumann did not want her nephew
+      to know that it was she who had asked for aid in his behalf, and that it
+      could only redound to his, Lange&rsquo;s, credit if it were understood that he
+      had sent to Vienna for expert assistance in this case. It would be a proof
+      of his conscientious attention to duty, and would insure praise for him,
+      whichever way the case turned out. Commissioner Lange saw the force of
+      this argument, and finally gave Muller permission to handle the case as he
+      thought best, rather relieved than otherwise for his own part. The
+      detective&rsquo;s next errand was to the prison, where he now stood looking up
+      into the deep-set, dark eyes of a tall, broad-shouldered, black-bearded
+      man, who had arisen from the cot at his entrance. Albert Graumann had a
+      strong, self-reliant face and bearing. His natural expression was somewhat
+      hard and stern, but it was the expression of a man of integrity and
+      responsibility. Muller had already made some inquiries as to the
+      prisoner&rsquo;s reputation and business standing in the community, and all that
+      he had heard was favourable. A certain hardness and lack of amiability in
+      Graumann&rsquo;s nature made it difficult for him to win the hearts of others,
+      but although he was not generally loved, he was universally respected.
+      Through the signs of nagging fear, sorrow, and ill-health, printed clearly
+      on the face before him, Muller&rsquo;s keen eyes looked down into the soul of a
+      man who might be overbearing, pitiless even, if occasion demanded, but who
+      would not murder&mdash;at least not for the sake of gain. This last
+      possibility Muller had dismissed from his mind, even before he saw the
+      prisoner. The man&rsquo;s reputation was sufficient to make the thought
+      ridiculous. But he had not made up his mind whether it might not be a case
+      of a murder after a quarrel. Now he began to doubt even this when he
+      looked into the intelligent, harsh-featured face of the man in the cell.
+      But Muller had the gift of putting aside his own convictions, when he
+      wanted his mind clear to consider evidence before him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Graumann had risen from his sitting position when he saw a stranger. His
+      heavy brows drew down over his eyes, but he waited for the other to
+      speak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am Detective Joseph Muller, from Vienna,&rdquo; began the newcomer, when he
+      had seen that the prisoner did not intend to start the conversation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you come to question me again?&rdquo; asked Graumann wearily. &ldquo;I can say
+      no more than I have already said to the Police Commissioner. And no amount
+      of cross-examination can make me confess a crime of which I am not guilty&mdash;no
+      matter what evidence there may be against me.&rdquo; The prisoner&rsquo;s voice was
+      hard and determined in spite of its note of physical and mental weariness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have not come to extort a confession from you, Mr. Graumann,&rdquo; Muller
+      replied gently, &ldquo;but to help you establish your innocence, if it be
+      possible.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A wave of colour flooded the prisoner&rsquo;s cheek. He gasped, pressed his hand
+      to his heart, and dropped down on his cot. &ldquo;Pardon me,&rdquo; he said finally,
+      hesitating like a man who is fighting for breath. &ldquo;My heart is weak; any
+      excitement upsets me. You mean that the authorities are not convinced of
+      my guilt, in spite of the evidence? You mean that they will give me the
+      benefit of the doubt&mdash;that they will give me a chance for life?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that is the reason for my coming here. I am to take this case in
+      hand. If you will talk freely to me, Mr. Graumann, I may be able to help
+      you. I have seen too many mistakes of justice because of circumstantial
+      evidence to lay any too great stress upon it. I have waited to hear your
+      side of the story from yourself. I did not want to hear it from others.
+      Will you tell it to me now? No, do not move, I will get the stool myself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Graumaun sat back on the cot, his head resting against the wall. His eyes
+      had closed while Muller was speaking, but his quieter breathing showed
+      that he was mastering the physical attack which had so shaken him at the
+      first glimpse of hope. He opened his eyes now and looked at Muller
+      steadily for a moment. Then he said: &ldquo;Yes, I will tell you: my life and my
+      work have taught me to gauge men. I will tell you everything I know about
+      this sad affair. I will tell you the absolute truth, and I think you will
+      believe me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will believe you,&rdquo; said Muller simply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You know the details of the murder, of course, and why I was arrested?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You were arrested because you were the last person seen in the company of
+      the murdered man?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Exactly. Then I may go back and tell you something of my connection with
+      John Siders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be the very best thing to do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I live in Grunau, as you doubtless know, and am the engineering expert of
+      large machine works there. My father before me held an important position
+      in the factory, and my family have always lived in Grunau. I have traveled
+      a great deal myself. I am forty-five years old, a childless widower, and
+      live with my old aunt, Miss Babette Graumann, and my ward, Miss Eleonora
+      Roemer, a young lady of twenty-two.&rdquo; Muller looked up with a slight start
+      of surprise, but did not say anything. Graumann continued:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little over a year ago, John Siders, who signed himself as coming from
+      Chicago, bought a piece of property in our town and came to live there. I
+      made his acquaintance in the cafe and he seemed to take a fancy to me. I
+      also had spent several years in Chicago, and we naturally came to speak of
+      the place. We discovered that we had several mutual acquaintances there,
+      and enjoyed talking over the old times. Otherwise I did not take
+      particularly to the man, and as I came to know him better I noticed that
+      he never mentioned that part of his life which lay back of the years in
+      Chicago. I asked a casual question once or twice as to his home and
+      family, but he evaded me every time, and would not give a direct answer.
+      He was evidently a German by birth and education, a man with university
+      training, and one who knew life thoroughly. He had delightful manners, and
+      when he could forget his shyness for a while, he could be very agreeable.
+      The ladies of my family came to like him, and encouraged him to call
+      frequently. Then the thing happened that I should not have believed
+      possible. My ward, Miss Roemer, a quiet, reserved girl, fell in love with
+      this man about whom none of us knew anything, a man with a past of which
+      he did not care to speak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was not in any way satisfied with the match, and they seemed to realise
+      it. For Siders managed to persuade the girl to a secret engagement. I
+      discovered it a month or two ago, and it made me very angry. I did not let
+      them see how badly I felt, but I warned Lora not to have too much to do
+      with the boy, and I set about finding out something regarding his earlier
+      life. It was my duty to do this, as I was the girl&rsquo;s guardian. She has no
+      other relative living, and no one to turn to except my aunt and myself. I
+      wrote to Mr. Richard Tressider in Chicago, the owner of the factory in
+      which I had been employed while there. John had told me that Tressider had
+      been his client during the four years in which he practiced law in
+      Chicago. I received an answer about the middle of August. Mr. Tressider
+      had been able to find out only that John was born in the town of Hartberg
+      in a certain year. This was enough. I took leave of absence for a few days
+      and went to Hartberg, which, as you know, is about 140 miles from here.
+      Three days later I knew all that I wanted to know. John Siders was not the
+      man&rsquo;s real name, or, rather, it was only part of his name. His full name
+      was Theodor John Bellmann, and his mother was an Englishwoman whose maiden
+      name was Siders. His father was a county official who died at an early
+      age, leaving his widow and the boy in deepest poverty. Mrs. Bellmann moved
+      to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;to give music lessons. Theodor went to school there,
+      then finally to college, and was an excellent pupil everywhere. But one
+      day it was discovered that he had been stealing money from the banker in
+      whose house he was serving as private tutor to the latter&rsquo;s sons. A large
+      sum of money was missing, and every evidence pointed to young Bellmann as
+      the thief. He denied strenuously that he was guilty, but the District
+      Judge (it was the present Prosecuting Attorney Schmidt in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;)
+      sentenced him. He spent eight months in prison, during which time his
+      mother died of grief at the disgrace. There must have been something good
+      in the boy, for he had never forgotten that it was his guilt that struck
+      down his only relative, the mother who had worked so hard for him. He had
+      atoned for this crime of his youth, and during the years that have passed
+      since then, he had been an honest, upright man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Graumann paused a moment and pressed his hand to his heart again. His
+      voice had grown weaker, and he breathed hard. Finally he continued: &ldquo;I
+      commanded my ward to break off her engagement, as I could not allow her to
+      marry a man who was a freed convict. Siders sold his property some few
+      weeks after that and moved to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. Eleonora acquiesced in my
+      commands, but she was very unhappy and allowed me to see very little of
+      her. Then came the events of the evening of September 23rd, the events
+      which have turned out so terribly. I will try to tell you the story just
+      as it happened, so far as I am concerned. I had seen nothing of John since
+      he left this town. He had made several attempts before his departure for G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+      to change my opinion, and my decision as to his marriage to my ward. But I
+      let him see plainly that it was impossible for him to enter our family
+      with such a past behind him. He asserted his innocence of the charges
+      against him, and declared that he had been unjustly accused and
+      imprisoned. I am afraid that I was hard towards him. I begin to understand
+      now, as I never thought I should, what it means to be accused of crime. I
+      begin to realise that it is possible for every evidence to point to a man
+      who is absolutely innocent of the deed in question. I begin to think now
+      that John may have been right, that possibly he also may have been accused
+      and sentenced on circumstantial evidence alone. I have thought much, and I
+      have learned much in these terrible days.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The prisoner paused again and sat brooding, his eyes looking out into
+      space. Muller respected his suffering and sat in equal silence, until
+      Graumann raised his eyes to his again. &ldquo;Then came the evening of the 23rd
+      of September?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that evening&mdash;it&rsquo;s all like a dream to me.&rdquo; Graumann began
+      again. &ldquo;John wrote me a letter asking me to come to see him on that
+      evening. I tore up the letter and threw it away&mdash;or perhaps, yes, I
+      remember now, I did not wish Eleonora to see that he had written me. He
+      asked me to come to see him, as he had something to say to me, something
+      of the greatest importance for us both. He asked me not to mention to any
+      one that I was to see him, as it would be wiser no one should know that we
+      were still in communication with each other. There was a strain of nervous
+      excitement visible in his letter. I thought it better to go and see him as
+      he requested; I felt that I owed him some little reparation for having
+      denied him the great wish of his heart. It was my duty to make up to him
+      in other ways for what I had felt obliged to do. I knew him for a nervous,
+      high-strung man, overwrought by brooding for years on what he called his
+      wrongs, and I did not know what he might do if I refused his request. It
+      was not of myself I thought in this connection, but of the girl at home
+      who looked to me for protection.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had no fear for myself; it never occurred to me to think of taking a
+      weapon with me. How my revolver&mdash;and it is undoubtedly my revolver,
+      for there was a peculiar break in the silver ornamentation on the handle
+      which is easily recognisable&mdash;how this revolver of mine got into his
+      room, is more than I can say. Until the Police Commissioner showed it to
+      me two or three days ago, I had no idea that it was not in the box in my
+      study where it is ordinarily kept.&rdquo; Graumann paused again and looked about
+      him as if searching for something. He rose and poured himself out a glass
+      of water. &ldquo;Let me put some of this in it,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;It will do you
+      good.&rdquo; From a flask in his pocket he poured a few drops of brandy into the
+      water. Graumann drank it and nodded gratefully. Then he took up his story
+      again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I never discovered why Siders had sent for me. When I arrived at the
+      appointed time I found the door of the house closed. I was obliged to ring
+      several times before an old servant opened the door. She seemed surprised
+      that it had been locked. She said that the door was always unlatched, and
+      that Mr. Siders himself must have closed it, contrary to all custom, for
+      she had not done it, and there was no one else in the house but the two of
+      them. Siders was waiting for me at the top of the stairs, calling down a
+      noisy welcome.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;When I asked him finally what it was so important that he wanted to say
+      to me, he evaded me and continued to chatter on about commonplace things.
+      Finally I insisted upon knowing why he had wanted me to come, and he
+      replied that the reason for it had already been fulfilled, that he had
+      nothing more to say, and that I could go as soon as I wanted to. He
+      appeared quite calm, but he must have been very nervous. For as I stood by
+      the desk, telling him what I thought of his actions, he moved his hand
+      hastily among the papers there and upset the ink stand. I jumped back, but
+      not before I had received several large spots of ink on my trousers. He
+      was profuse in his apologies for the accident, and tried to take out the
+      spots with blotting paper. Then at last, when I insisted upon going, he
+      looked out to see whether there was still a light on the stairs, and led
+      me down to the door himself, standing there for some time looking after
+      me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was slightly alarmed as well as angry at his actions. I believe that he
+      could not have been quite in his right mind, that the strain of
+      nervousness which was apparent in his nature had really made him ill. For
+      I remember several peculiar incidents of my visit to him. One of these was
+      that he almost insisted upon my taking away with me, ostensibly to take
+      care of them, several valuable pieces of jewelry which he possessed. He
+      seemed almost offended when I refused to do anything of the kind. Then, as
+      I parted from him at the door, not in a very good humour I will
+      acknowledge, he said to me: &lsquo;You will think of me very often in the future&mdash;more
+      often than you would believe now!&rsquo; 
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is all the truth, and nothing but the truth, about my visit to John
+      Siders on the evening of September 23rd. As it had been his wish I said
+      nothing to the ladies at home, or to any one else about the occurrence.
+      And as I have told you, I destroyed his letter asking me to come to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The following day about noon, the Commissioner of Police from G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+      called at my office in the factory, and informed me bluntly that John
+      Siders had been found shot dead in his lodgings that morning. I was
+      naturally shocked, as one would be at such news, in spite of the fact that
+      I had parted from the man in anger, and that I had no reason to be
+      particularly fond of him. What shocked me most of all was the sudden
+      thought that John had taken his own life. It was a perfectly natural
+      thought when I considered his nervousness, and his peculiar actions of the
+      evening before. I believe I exclaimed, &lsquo;It was a suicide!&rsquo; almost without
+      realising that I was doing so. The commissioner looked at me sharply and
+      said that suicide was out of the question, that it was an evident case of
+      murder. He questioned me as to Siders&rsquo; affairs, of which I told only what
+      every one here in the village knew. I did not consider it incumbent upon
+      me to disclose to the police the disgrace of the man&rsquo;s early life. I had
+      been obliged to hurt him cruelly enough because of that, and I saw no
+      necessity for blackening his name, now that he was dead. Also, as
+      according to what the commissioner said, it was a case of murder for
+      robbery, I did not wish to go into any details of our connection with
+      Siders that would cause the name of my ward to be mentioned. After a few
+      more questions the commissioner left me. I was busy all the afternoon, and
+      did not return to my home until later than usual. I found my aunt somewhat
+      worried because Miss Roemer had left the house immediately after our early
+      dinner, and had not yet returned. We both knew the girl to be still
+      grieving over her broken engagement, and we dreaded the effect this last
+      dreadful news might have on her. We supposed, however, that she had gone
+      to spend the afternoon with a friend, and were rather glad to be spared
+      the necessity of telling her at once what had happened. I had scarcely
+      finished my supper, when the door bell rang, and to my astonishment the
+      Mayor of Grunau was announced, accompanied by the same Police Commissioner
+      who had visited me in my office that morning. The Mayor was an old friend
+      of mine and his deeply grave face showed me that something serious had
+      occurred. It was indeed serious! and for some minutes I could not grasp
+      the meaning of the commissioner&rsquo;s questions. Finally I realised with a
+      tremendous shock that I&mdash;I myself was under suspicion of the murder
+      of John Siders. The description given by the old servant of the man who
+      had visited Siders the evening before, the very clothes that I wore, my
+      hat and the trousers spotted by the purple ink, led to my identification
+      as this mysterious visitor. The servant had let me in but she had not seen
+      me go out.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then I discovered&mdash;when confronted suddenly with my own revolver
+      which had been found on the floor of the room, some distance from the body
+      of the dead man, that this same revolver had been identified as mine by my
+      ward, Eleonora Roemer, who had been to the police station at G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+      in the early afternoon hours. Some impulse of loyalty to her dead lover,
+      some foolish feminine fear that I might have spoken against him in my
+      earlier interviews with the commissioner had driven the girl to this step.
+      A few questions sufficed to draw from her the story of her secret
+      engagement, of its ending, and of my quarrel with John. I will say for her
+      that I am certain she did not realise that all these things were
+      calculated to cast suspicion on me. The poor girl is too unused to the
+      ways of police courts, to the devious ways of the law, to realise what she
+      was doing. The sight of my revolver broke her down completely and she
+      acknowledged that it was mine. That is all. Except that I was arrested and
+      brought here as you see. I told the commissioner the story of my visit to
+      John Siders exactly as I told it to you, but it was plain to be seen that
+      he did not believe me. It is plain to be seen also, that he is firmly
+      convinced of my guilt and that he is greatly satisfied with himself at
+      having traced the criminal so soon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And yet he was not quite satisfied,&rdquo; said Muller gently. &ldquo;You see that he
+      has sent to the Capital for assistance on the case.&rdquo; Muller felt this
+      little untruth to be justified for the sake of the honour of the police
+      force.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;m surprised at that,&rdquo; said Graumann in his former tone of
+      weariness. &ldquo;What do you think you will be able to do about it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must ask questions here and there before I can form a plan of
+      campaign,&rdquo; replied Muller. &ldquo;What do you think about it yourself? Who do
+      you think killed Siders?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can I know who it was? I only know it is not I,&rdquo; answered Graumann.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did he have any enemies?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, none that I knew of, and he had few friends either.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You knew there was a sum of money missing from his rooms?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, the sum they named to me was just about the price that he had
+      received for the sale of his property here. They did me the honour to
+      believe that if I had taken the money at all, I had done so merely as a
+      blind. At least they did not take me for a thief as well as a murderer. If
+      the money is really missing, it was for its sake he was murdered I
+      suppose.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, that would be natural,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;And you know nothing of any
+      other relations or connections that the man may have had? Anything that
+      might give us a clue to the truth?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, nothing. He stood so alone here, as far as I knew. Of course, as I
+      told you, his actions of the evening before having been so peculiar&mdash;and
+      as I knew that he was not in the happiest frame of mind&mdash;I naturally
+      thought of suicide at once, when they told me that he had been found shot
+      dead. Then they told me that the appearance of the room and many other
+      things, proved suicide to have been out of the question. I know nothing
+      more about it. I cannot think any more about it. I know only that I am
+      here in danger of being sentenced for the crime that I never committed&mdash;that
+      is enough to keep any man&rsquo;s mind busy.&rdquo; He leaned back with an intense
+      fatigue in every line of his face and figure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller rose from his seat. &ldquo;I am afraid I have tired you, Mr. Graumann,&rdquo;
+       he said, &ldquo;but it was necessary that I should know all that you had to tell
+      me. Try and rest a little now and meanwhile be assured that I am doing all
+      I can to find out the truth of this matter. As far as I can tell now I do
+      not believe that you have killed John Siders. But I must find some further
+      proofs that will convince others as well as myself. If it is of any
+      comfort to you, I can tell you that during a long career as police
+      detective I have been most astonishingly fortunate in the cases I have
+      undertaken. I am hoping that my usual good luck will follow me here also.
+      I am hoping it for your sake.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The man on the cot took the hand the detective offered him and pressed it
+      firmly. &ldquo;You will let me know as soon as you have found anything&mdash;anything
+      that gives me hope?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will indeed. And now save your strength and do not worry. I will help
+      you if it is in my power.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      After leaving the prison, Muller took the train for the village of Grunau,
+      about half an hour distant from the city. He found his way easily to
+      Graumann&rsquo;s home, an attractive old house set in a large garden amid groups
+      of beautiful old trees. When he sent up his card to Miss Graumann, the old
+      lady tripped down stairs in a flutter of excitement.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you see him?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;You have been to the prison? What do you
+      think? How does he seem?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He seems calm to-day,&rdquo; replied Muller, &ldquo;although the confinement and the
+      anxiety are evidently wearing on him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And you heard his story? And you believe him innocent?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am inclined to do so. But there is more yet for me to investigate in
+      this matter. It is certainly not as simple as the police here seem to
+      believe. May I speak to your ward, Miss Roemer? She is at home now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Lora is at home. If you will wait here a moment I will send her in.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller paced up and down the large sunny room, casting a glance over the
+      handsome old pieces of furniture and the family portraits on the wall. It
+      was evidently the home of generations of well-to-do, well-bred people, the
+      narrow circle of whose life was made rich by congenial duties and a
+      comfortable feeling of their standing in the community.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While he was studying one of the portraits more carefully, he became aware
+      that there was some one in the room. He turned and saw a tall blond girl
+      standing by the door. She had entered so softly that even Muller&rsquo;s quick
+      ear had not heard the opening of the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you wish to speak to me?&rdquo; she said, coming down into the room. &ldquo;I am
+      Eleonora Roemer&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her face, which could be called handsome in its even regularity of feature
+      and delicate skin, was very pale now, and around her eyes were dark rings
+      that spoke of sleepless nights. Grief and mental shock were preying upon
+      this girl&rsquo;s mind. &ldquo;She is not the one to make a confidant of those around
+      her,&rdquo; thought Muller to himself. Then he added aloud: &ldquo;If it does not
+      distress you too much to talk about this sad affair, I will be very
+      grateful if you will answer a few questions.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will tell you whatever I can,&rdquo; said the girl in the same low even tone
+      in which she had first spoken. &ldquo;Miss Graumann tells me that you have come
+      from Vienna to take up this case. It is only natural that we should want
+      to give you every assistance in our power.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is your opinion about it?&rdquo; was Muller&rsquo;s next remark, made rather
+      suddenly after a moment&rsquo;s pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The directness of the question seemed to shake the girl out of her
+      enforced calm. A slow flush mounted into her pale cheeks and then died
+      away, again leaving them whiter than before. &ldquo;I do not know&mdash;oh, I do
+      not know what to believe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you do not think Mr. Graumann capable of such a crime, do you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not of the robbery, of course not; that would be absurd! But has it been
+      clearly proven that there is a robbery? Might it not have been&mdash;might
+      they not have&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mean, might they not have quarreled? Of course there is that
+      possibility. And that is why I wanted to speak to you. You are the one
+      person who could possibly throw light on this subject. Was there any other
+      reason beyond the dead man&rsquo;s past that would render your guardian
+      unwilling to have you marry him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Again the slow flush mounted to Eleonora Roemer&rsquo;s cheeks and her head
+      drooped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I fear it may be painful for you to answer this,&rdquo; said Muller gently,
+      &ldquo;and yet I must insist on it in the interest of justice.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&mdash;my guardian&mdash;wished to marry me himself,&rdquo; the girl&rsquo;s words
+      came slowly and painfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller drew in his breath so sharply that it was almost like a whistle.
+      &ldquo;He did not tell me that; it might make a difference.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That... that is... what I fear,&rdquo; said the girl, her eyes looking keenly
+      into those of the man who sat opposite. &ldquo;And then, it was his revolver.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you do believe him guilty?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would be horrible, horrible&mdash;and yet I do not know what to
+      think.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was silence in the room for a moment. Miss Roemer&rsquo;s head drooped
+      again and her hands twisted nervously in her lap. Muller&rsquo;s brain was very
+      busy with this new phase of the problem. Finally he spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let us dismiss this side of the question and talk of another phase of it,
+      a phase of which it is necessary for me to know something. You would
+      naturally be the person nearest the dead man, the one, the only one,
+      perhaps, to whom he had given his confidence. Do you know of any enemies
+      he might have had in the city?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I do not know of any enemies, or even of any friends he had there.
+      When the terrible thing happened that clouded his past, when he had
+      regained his freedom, after his term of imprisonment, there was no one
+      left whom he cared to see again. He does not seem to have borne any malice
+      towards the banker who accused him of the theft. The evidence was so
+      strong against him that he felt the suspicion was justified. But there was
+      hatred in his heart for one man, for the Justice who sentenced him,
+      Justice Schmidt, who is now Attorney General in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The man who, in the name of the State, will conduct this case?&rdquo; asked
+      Muller quickly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, I believe it is so. Is it not an irony that this man, the only one
+      whom John really hated, should be the one to avenge him now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;H&rsquo;m! yes. But did you know of any friends in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, none at all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No friends whom he might have made while he was in America and then met
+      again in Germany?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, he never spoke of any such to me. He told me that he made few
+      friends. He did not seek them for he was afraid that they might find out
+      what had happened and turn from him. He was morbidly sensitive and could
+      not bear the disappointment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why did he return to Germany?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He was lonely and wanted to come home again. He had made money in America&mdash;John
+      was very clever and highly educated&mdash;but his heart longed for his own
+      tongue and his own people.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. &ldquo;Do you know this
+      handwriting?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Miss Roemer read the few lines hastily and her voice trembled as she said:
+      &ldquo;This is John&rsquo;s handwriting. I know it well. This is the letter that was
+      found on the table?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, this letter appears to be the last he had written in life. Do you
+      know to whom it could have been written? The envelope, as I suppose you
+      know from the newspaper reports, was not addressed. Do you know of any
+      friends with whom he could have been on terms of sufficient intimacy to
+      write such a letter? Do you know what these plans for the future could
+      have been? It would certainly be natural that he should have spoken to you
+      first about them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; I cannot understand this letter at all,&rdquo; replied the girl. &ldquo;I have
+      thought of it frequently these terrible days. I have wondered why it was
+      that if he had friends in the city, he did not speak to me of them. He
+      repeatedly told me that he had no friends there at all, that his life
+      should begin anew after we were married.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And did he have any particular plans, in a business way, perhaps?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; he had a comfortable little income and need have no fear for the
+      future. John was, of course, too young a man to settle down and do
+      nothing. But the only definite plans he had made were that we should
+      travel a little at first, and then he would look about him for a congenial
+      occupation. I always thought it likely he would resume a law practice
+      somewhere. I cannot understand in the slightest what the plans are to
+      which the letter referred.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And do you think, from what you know of his state of mind when you saw
+      him last, that he would be likely so soon to be planning pleasures like
+      this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no indeed! John was terribly crushed when my guardian insisted on
+      breaking off our engagement. Until my twenty-fourth birthday I am still
+      bound to do as my guardian says, you know. John&rsquo;s life and early
+      misfortune made him, as I have already said, morbidly sensitive and the
+      thought that it would be a bar to anything we might plan in the future,
+      had rendered him so depressed that&mdash;and it was not the least of my
+      anxieties and my troubles&mdash;that I feared... I feared anything might
+      happen.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You feared he might take his own life, do you mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes, that is what I feared. But is it not terrible to think that he
+      should have died this way&mdash;by the hand of a murderer?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;H&rsquo;m! And you cannot remember any possible friend he may have found&mdash;some
+      schoolboy friend of his youth, perhaps, with whom he had again struck up
+      an acquaintance.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no, no, I am positive of that. John could not bear to hear the names
+      even of the people he had known before his misfortune. Still, I do
+      remember his once having spoken of a man, a German he had met in Chicago
+      and rather taken a fancy to, and who had also returned to Germany.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Could this possibly have been the man to whom the letter is addressed?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no. This friend of John&rsquo;s was not married; I remember his saying
+      that. And he lived in Germany somewhere&mdash;let me think&mdash;yes, in
+      Frankfort-on-Main.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And do you remember the man&rsquo;s name?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, I cannot, I am sorry to say. John only mentioned it once. It was only
+      by a great effort that I could remember the incident at all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And has it not struck you as rather peculiar that this friend, the one to
+      whom the cordial letter was addressed, did not come forward and make his
+      identity known? G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; is a city, it is true, but it is not a
+      very large city, and any man being on terms of intimate acquaintance with
+      one who was murdered would be apt to come forward in the hope of throwing
+      some light on the mystery.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, yes, I had not thought of that. It is peculiar, is it not? But some
+      people are so foolishly afraid of having anything to do with the police,
+      you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That is very true, Miss Roemer. Still it is a queer incident and
+      something that I must look into.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you believe?&rdquo; asked the girl tensely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am not in a position to say as yet. When I am, I will come to you and
+      tell you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you do not think that my guardian killed John&mdash;that there was a
+      quarrel between the men?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is, of course, a possibility that it may have been so. You know
+      your guardian better than I do, naturally. Our knowledge of a man&rsquo;s
+      character is often a far better guide than any circumstantial evidence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My guardian is a man of the greatest uprightness of character. But he can
+      be very hard and pitiless sometimes. And he has a violent temper which his
+      weak heart has forced him to keep in control of late years.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All this speaks for the possibility that there may have been a quarrel
+      ending in the fatal shot. But what I want to know from you is this&mdash;do
+      you think it possible, that, this having happened, Albert Graumann would
+      not have been the first to confess his unpremeditated crime? Is not this
+      the most likely thing for a man of his character to do? Would he so
+      stubbornly deny it, if it had happened?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl started. &ldquo;I had not thought of that! Why, why, of course, he
+      might have killed John in a moment of temper, but he was never a man to
+      conceal a fault. He is as pitiless towards his own weakness, as towards
+      that of others. You are right, oh, you must be right. Oh, if you could
+      take this awful fear from my heart! Even my grief for John would be easier
+      to bear then.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller rose from his chair. &ldquo;I think I can promise you that this load will
+      be lifted from your heart, Miss Roemer.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then you believe&mdash;that it was just a case of murder for robbery? For
+      the money? And John had some valuable jewelry, I know that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I do not know yet,&rdquo; replied Muller slowly, &ldquo;but I will find out, I
+      generally do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, to think that I should have done that poor man such an injustice! It
+      is terrible, terrible! This house has been ghastly these days. His poor
+      aunt knows that he is innocent&mdash;she could never believe otherwise&mdash;she
+      has felt the hideous suspicion in my mind&mdash;it has made her suffering
+      worse&mdash;will they ever forgive me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her joy, if I can free her nephew, will make her forget everything. Go to
+      her now, Miss Roemer, comfort her with the assurance that you also believe
+      him to be innocent. I must hasten back to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; and go on with
+      this quest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The girl stood at the doorway shaded by the overhanging branches of two
+      great trees, looking down the street after the slight figure of the
+      detective. &ldquo;Oh, it is all easier to hear, hard as it is, easier now that
+      this horrible suspicion has gone from my mind&mdash;why did I not think of
+      that before?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Alone in the corner of the smoking compartment in the train to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;,
+      Muller arranged in his mind the facts he had already gathered. He had
+      questioned the servants of John Siders&rsquo; former household, had found that
+      the dead man received very few letters, only an occasional business
+      communication from his bank. Of the few others, the servants knew nothing
+      except that he had always thrown the envelopes carelessly in the waste
+      paper basket and had never seemed to have any correspondence which he
+      cared to conceal. No friend from elsewhere had ever visited him in Grunau,
+      and he had made few friends there except the Graumann family.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The facts of the case, as he knew them now, were such as to make it
+      extremely doubtful that Graumann was the murderer. Muller himself had been
+      inclined to believe in the possibility of a quarrel between the two men,
+      particularly when he had heard that Graumann himself was in love with his
+      handsome ward. But the second thought that came to him then, impelled by
+      the unerring instinct that so often guided him to the truth, was the
+      assurance that in a case of this kind, in a case of a quarrel terminating
+      fatally, a man like Albert Graumann would be the very first to give
+      himself up to the police and to tell the facts of the case. Albert
+      Graumann was a man of honour and unimpeachable integrity. Such a man would
+      not persist in a foolish denial of the deed which he had committed in a
+      moment of temper. There would be nothing to gain from it, and his own
+      conscience would be his severest judge. &ldquo;The disorder in the room?&rdquo;
+       thought Muller. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be too late for that now. I suppose they have
+      rearranged the place. I can only go by what the local detectives have
+      seen, by the police reports. But I do not understand this extreme
+      disorder. There is no reason why there should be a struggle when the
+      robber was armed with a pistol. If Siders was supposed to have been
+      interrupted when writing a letter, interrupted by a thief come with intent
+      to steal, a thief armed with a revolver, the sight of this weapon alone
+      would be sufficient to insure his not moving from his seat. I can
+      understand the open drawers and cupboard; that is explained by the thief&rsquo;s
+      hasty search for booty. But the torn window curtain and the overturned
+      chairs are peculiar.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course there is always a possibility that the thief might have entered
+      one room while Siders was in the other; that the latter might have
+      surprised the robber in his search for money or valuables, and that there
+      might have been a hand-to-hand struggle before the intruder could pull out
+      his revolver. Oh, if I could only have seen the body! This is working
+      under terrific difficulties. The marks of a hand-to-hand struggle would
+      have been very plain on the clothes and on the person of the murdered man.
+      But this letter? I do not understand this letter at all. It is the dead
+      man&rsquo;s handwriting, that we know, but why did not the friend to whom it was
+      addressed come forward and make himself known? As far as I can learn from
+      the police reports in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, there was no personal interest shown, no
+      personal inquiries made about the dead man. There was only the natural
+      excitement that a murder would create. Now a family, expecting to make a
+      pleasure excursion with a friend in a day or two and suddenly hearing that
+      this friend had been found murdered in his lodgings, would be inclined to
+      take some little personal interest in the matter. These people must have
+      been in town and at home, for the excursion spoken of in the letter was to
+      occur two days after the murder. Miss Roemer&rsquo;s remark about the dread that
+      some people have as to any connection with the police, is true to a
+      limited extent only. It is true only of the ignorant mind, not of a man
+      presumably well-to-do and properly educated. I do not understand why the
+      man to whom this letter was addressed has not made himself known. The only
+      explanation is&mdash;that there was no such man!&rdquo; A sudden sharp whistle
+      broke from the detective&rsquo;s lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I must examine the dead man&rsquo;s personal effects, his baggage, his papers;
+      there may be something there. His queer letter to Graumann&mdash;his
+      desire that the latter&rsquo;s visit should be kept secret&mdash;a visit which
+      apparently had no cause at all, except to get Graumann to the house, to
+      get him to the house in a way that he should be seen coming, but should
+      not be seen going away. What does this mean?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Graumann was the only person against whom Siders had an active cause of
+      quarrel for the moment. There was one other man whom he hated, and this
+      other man was the prosecuting attorney who would conduct any case of
+      murder that came up in the town of G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now John Siders is found murdered&mdash;is found killed, in his lodgings,
+      the morning after he has arranged things so that his antagonist, his rival
+      in love, Albert Graumann, shall come under suspicion of having murdered
+      him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What evidence have we that this man did not commit suicide? We have the
+      evidence of the disorder in the room, a disorder that could have been made
+      just as well by the man himself before he ended his own life. We have the
+      evidence of a letter to some unknown, making plans for pleasure during the
+      next days, and speaking of further plans, presumably concerning business,
+      for the future. In a town the size of G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, where every one must have
+      read of the murder, no one has come forward claiming to be the friend for
+      whom this letter was written. Until this Unknown makes himself known, the
+      letter as an evidence points rather to premeditated suicide than to the
+      contrary. Oh, if I could only have seen the body! They tell me the pistol
+      was found some little distance from the body. Is it at all likely that a
+      murderer would go away leaving such evidence behind him? If Graumaun had
+      killed Siders in a hasty quarrel, he might possibly, in his excitement,
+      have left his revolver. But I have already disposed of this possibility. A
+      man of sufficient brains to so carefully plan his suicide as to conceal
+      every trace of it and cast suspicion upon the man who had made him
+      unhappy, such a one would be quite clever enough to throw the pistol far
+      away from his body and to leave no traces of powder on his coat or any
+      such other evidence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If I were to say now what I think, I would say that John Siders
+      deliberately took his own life and planned it in such a way as to cast
+      suspicion upon Albert Graumann. But that would indeed be a terrible
+      revenge. And I must have some tangible proof of it before any court will
+      accept my belief. This proof must be hidden somewhere. The thing for me to
+      do is to find it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The evidence gathered at the time of the death went to show that Siders
+      had been paid a considerable sum in cash for the sale of his property at
+      Grunau. And there was no trace of his having deposited this sum in any
+      bank in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; or in Grunau, in both of which places he had
+      deposited other securities. Therefore the money had presumably been in his
+      room at the time of his death. A search had been made for this money in
+      every possible place of concealment among the dead man&rsquo;s belongings, and
+      it had not been found. Muller asked the Police Commissioner to give him
+      the key to the rooms, which were still officially closed, and also the
+      keys to the dead man&rsquo;s pieces of baggage. Commissioner Lange seemed to
+      think all this extra search quite unnecessary, as it did not occur to him
+      that anything else was to be looked for except the money.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was quite late when Muller began his examination of the dead man&rsquo;s
+      effects. He was struck by the fact that there was scarcely a bit of paper
+      to be found anywhere, no letters, no business papers, except bank books
+      showing the amount of his securities in the bank in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; and in
+      Grunau, and giving facts about some investments in Chicago. There was
+      nothing of more recent date and no personal correspondence whatever. The
+      same was true of the pockets of the suit Siders had been wearing at the
+      time of his death. A man of any property or position at all in the world
+      gathers about him so much of this kind of material that its absence shows
+      premeditation. The suit Siders had been wearing when he was killed was
+      lying on the table in the room. It was a plain grey business suit of good
+      cut and material. The body had been prepared for burial in a beseeming
+      suit of black. Muller made a careful examination of the clothes, and found
+      only what the police reports showed him had already been found by the
+      examination made by the local authorities. Upon a second careful
+      examination, however, he found that in one of the vest pockets there was a
+      little extra pocket, like a change pocket, and in it he found a crumpled
+      piece of paper. He took it out, smoothed and read it. It was a post office
+      receipt for a registered letter. The date was still clear, but the name of
+      the person to whom the letter had been addressed was illegible. The
+      creases of the paper and a certain dampness, as if it had been
+      inadvertently touched by a wet finger, had smeared the writing. But the
+      letter had been sent the day before the death of John Siders, and it had
+      been registered from the main post office in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. This was sufficient
+      for Muller. Then he turned to the desk. Here also there was nothing that
+      could help him. But a sudden thought, came to him, and he took up the
+      blotting pad. This, to his delight, was in the form of a book with a
+      handsome embroidered cover. It looked comparatively new and was, as Muller
+      surmised, a gift from Miss Roemer to her betrothed. But few of the pages
+      had been used, and on two of them a closely written letter had been
+      blotted several times, showing that there had been several sheets of the
+      letter. Muller held it up to the looking-glass, but the repeated blotting
+      had blurred the writing to such an extent that it was impossible to
+      decipher any but a few disconnected words, which gave no clue. On a page
+      further along on the blotter, however, he saw what appeared to be the
+      impression of an address. He held it up to the glass and gave a whistle of
+      delight. The words could be plainly deciphered here:
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+                      &ldquo;MR. LEO PERNBURG,
+                      &ldquo;FRANKFURT AM MAIN,
+                      &ldquo;MAINZER LANDSTRASSE.&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      and above the name was a smear which, after a little study, could be
+      deciphered as the written word &ldquo;Registered.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      With this page of the blotter carefully tucked away in his pocketbook,
+      Muller hurried to the post office, arriving just at closing hour. He made
+      himself known at once to the postmaster, and asked to be shown the records
+      of registered letters sent on a certain date. Here he found scheduled a
+      letter addressed to Mr. Leo Pernburg, Frankfurt am Main, sent by John
+      Siders, G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;, Josef Street 7.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller then hastened to the telegraph office and despatched a lengthy
+      telegram to the postal authorities in Frankfurt am Main. When the answer
+      came to him next morning, he packed his grip and took the first express
+      train leaving G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;. He first made a short visit, however, to Albert
+      Graumann&rsquo;s cell in the prison. Muller was much too kind-hearted not to
+      relieve the anxiety of this man, to whom such mental strain might easily
+      prove fatal. He told Graumann that he was going in search of evidence
+      which might throw light on the death of Siders, and comforted the prisoner
+      with the assurance that he, Muller, believed Graumann innocent, and
+      believed also that within a day or two he would return to G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;
+      with proofs that his belief was the right one.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Three days later Muller returned to Grunau and went at once to the
+      Graumann home. It was quite late when he arrived, but he had already
+      notified Miss Roemer by telegram as to his coming, with a request that she
+      should be ready to see him. He found her waiting for him, pale and
+      anxious-eyed, when he arrived. &ldquo;I have been to Frankfurt am Main,&rdquo; he
+      said, &ldquo;and I have seen Mr. Pernburg&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, yes, that is the name; now I remember,&rdquo; interrupted the girl
+      eagerly. &ldquo;That is the name of John&rsquo;s friend there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have seen Mr. Pernburg and he gave me this letter.&rdquo; Muller laid a thick
+      envelope on the girl&rsquo;s lap.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She looked down at it, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost. &ldquo;That&mdash;that
+      is John&rsquo;s writing,&rdquo; she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. &ldquo;Where did it come
+      from?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pernburg gave it to me. The day before his death John Siders sent him
+      this letter, requesting that Pernburg forward it to you before a certain
+      date. When I explained the circumstances to Mr. Pernburg, he gave me the
+      letter at once. I feel that this paper holds the clue to the mystery. Will
+      you open it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      With trembling hands the girl tore open the envelope. It enclosed still
+      another sealed envelope, without an address. But there was a sheet of
+      paper around this letter, on which was written the following:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My beloved Eleonore:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before you read what I have to say to you here I want you to promise me,
+      in memory of our love and by your hope of future salvation, that you will
+      do what I ask you to do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I ask you to give the enclosed letter, although it is addressed to you, to
+      the Judge who will preside in the trial against Graumann. The letter is
+      written to you and will be given back to you. For you, the beloved of my
+      soul, you are the only human being with whom I can still communicate, to
+      whom I can still express my wishes. But you must not give the letter to
+      the Judge until you have assured yourself that the prosecuting attorney
+      insists upon Graumann&rsquo;s guilt. In case he is acquitted, which I do not
+      think probable, then open this letter in the presence of Graumann himself
+      and one or two witnesses. For I wish Graumann, who is innocent, to be able
+      to prove his innocence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You will know by this time that I have determined to end my life by my own
+      hand. Forgive me, beloved. I cannot live on without you&mdash;without the
+      honour of which I was robbed so unjustly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      God bless you.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One who will love you even beyond the grave, Remember your promise. It was
+      given to the dead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      JOHN.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, what does it all mean?&rdquo; asked Eleonora, dropping the letter in her
+      lap.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is as I thought,&rdquo; replied Muller. &ldquo;John Siders took his own life, but
+      made every arrangement to have suspicion fall upon Graumann.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But why? oh, why?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was a terrible revenge. But perhaps&mdash;perhaps it was just
+      retribution. Graumaun would not understand that Siders could have been
+      suspected of, and imprisoned for, a theft he had not committed. He must
+      know now that it is quite possible for a man to be in danger of sentence
+      of death even, for a crime of which he is innocent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, my God! It is terrible.&rdquo; The girl&rsquo;s head fell across her folded arms
+      on the table. Deep shuddering sobs shook her frame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller waited quietly until the first shock had passed. Finally her sobs
+      died away and she raised her head again. &ldquo;What am I to do?&rdquo; she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must open this letter to-morrow in the presence of the Police
+      Commissioner and Graumaun.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But this promise? This promise that he asks of me&mdash;that I should
+      wait until the trial?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have not given this promise. Would you take it upon yourself to
+      endanger your guardian&rsquo;s life still more? Every further day spent in his
+      prison, in this anxiety, might be fatal.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But this promise? The promise demanded of me by the man to whom I had
+      given my love? Is it not my duty to keep it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Muller rose from his chair. His slight figure seemed to grow taller, and
+      the gentleness in his voice gave way to a commanding tone of firm
+      decision.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our duty is to the living, not to the dead. The dead have no right to
+      drag down others after them. Believe me, Miss Roemer, the purpose that was
+      in your betrothed&rsquo;s mind when he ended his own life, has been fulfilled.
+      Albert Graumann knows now what are the feelings of a man who bears the
+      prison stigma unjustly. He will never again judge his fellow-men as
+      harshly as he has done until now. His soul has been purged in these
+      terrible days; have you the right to endanger his life needlessly?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I do not know! I do not know what to do.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have no choice,&rdquo; said Muller firmly. &ldquo;It is my duty to make known the
+      fact to the Police Commissioner that there is such a letter in existence.
+      The Police Commissioner will then have to follow his duty in demanding the
+      letter from you. Mr. Pernburg, Sider&rsquo;s friend, saw this argument at once.
+      Although he also had a letter from the dead man, asking him to send the
+      enclosure to you, registered, on a certain date, he knew that it was his
+      duty to give all the papers to the authorities. Would it not be better for
+      you to give them up of your own free will?&rdquo; Muller took a step nearer the
+      girl and whispered: &ldquo;And would it not be a noble revenge on your part? You
+      would be indeed returning good for evil.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Eleonora clasped her hands and her lips moved as if in silent prayer. Then
+      she rose slowly and held out the letters to Muller. &ldquo;Do what you will with
+      them,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;My strength is at an end.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The next day, in the presence of Commissioner Lange and of the accused
+      Albert Graumann, Muller opened the letter which he had received from Miss
+      Roemer and read it aloud. The girl herself, by her own request, was not
+      present. Both Muller and Graumann understood that the strain of this
+      message from the dead would be too much for her to bear. This was the
+      letter:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; September 21st.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My beloved:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When you put this letter in the hands of the Judge, I will have found in
+      death the peace that I could never find on earth. There was no chance of
+      happiness for me since I have realised that I love you, that you love me,
+      and that I must give you up if I am to remain what I have always been&mdash;in
+      spite of everything&mdash;a man of honour.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Albert Graumann would keep his word, this I know. Wherever you might
+      follow me as my wife, there his will would have been before us, blasting
+      my reputation, blackening the flame which you were to bear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I could not have endured it. My soul was sick of all this secrecy, sick at
+      the injustice of mankind. In spite of worldly success, my life was cold
+      and barren in the strange land to which I had fled. My home called to me
+      and I came back to it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I kissed the earth of my own country, and I wept at my mother&rsquo;s grave. I
+      was happy again under the skies which had domed above my childhood. For I
+      am an honest man, beloved, and I always have been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One day I sat at table beside the man&mdash;the Judge who condemned me,
+      here in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; in those terrible days. He naturally did not know
+      me again. I, myself, brought the conversation around to a professional
+      subject. I asked him if it were not possible that circumstantial evidence
+      could lie; if the entire past, the reputation of the accused would not be
+      a factor in his favour. The Judge denied it. It was his opinion, beyond a
+      doubt, that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict anyone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My soul rose within me. This infallibility, this legal arrogance, aroused
+      my blood. &ldquo;That man should have a lesson!&rdquo; I said to myself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I had forgotten it all&mdash;all my anger, all my hatred and
+      bitterness, when I met you. I dare not trust myself to think of you too
+      much, now that everything is arranged for the one last step. It takes all
+      my control to keep my decision unwavering while I sit here and tell you
+      how much your love, your great tenderness, your sweet trust in me, meant
+      to me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Let me talk rather of Albert Graumann. I will forgive him for believing in
+      my guilt, but I cannot forgive him that he, the man of cultivation and
+      mental grasp, could not believe it possible for a convicted thief to have
+      repented and to have lived an honest life after the atonement of his
+      crime. I still cannot believe that this was Graumann&rsquo;s opinion. I am
+      forced to think that it was an excuse only on his part, an excuse to keep
+      us apart, an excuse to keep you for himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You are lost to me now. There is nothing more in life for me. If the
+      injustice of mankind has stained my honour beyond repair, has robbed me of
+      every chance of happiness at any time and in any place, then I die easily,
+      beloved, for there is little charm in such a life as would be mine after
+      this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But I do not wish to die quite in vain. There are two men who have touched
+      my life, who need the lesson my death can teach them. These men are Albert
+      Graumann and the prosecuting attorney Gustav Schmidt, the man who once
+      condemned me so cruelly. His present position would make him the
+      representative of the state in a murder trial, and I know his opinions too
+      well not to foresee that he would declare Graumann guilty because of the
+      circumstantial evidence which will be against him. My letter, given to the
+      Presiding Judge after the Attorney has made his speech, will cause him
+      humiliation, will ruin his brilliant arguments and cast ridicule upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Do not think me hard or revengeful. I do not hate anyone now that death is
+      so near. But is it inhuman that I should want to teach these two men a
+      lesson? a lesson which they need, believe me, and it is such a slight
+      compensation for the torture these last eight years have been to me!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now I will explain in detail all the circumstances. I have arranged
+      that Albert Graumann shall come to me on the evening of September 23rd
+      between 7 and 8 o&rsquo;clock. I asked him to do so by letter, asking him also
+      to keep the fact of his visit to me a secret. To-night, the 22nd of
+      September, I received his answer promising that he would come. Therefore I
+      can look upon everything that is to happen, as having already happened,
+      for now there need be no further change in my plans. I will send this
+      letter this evening to my friend Pernburg in Frankfurt am Main. In case
+      anything should happen that would render impossible for me to carry out my
+      plans, I will send Pernburg another letter asking him not to carry out the
+      instructions of the first.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I can now proceed to tell you what will happen here to-morrow evening, the
+      23rd of September.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Albert Graumann will come to me, unknown to his family or friends, as I
+      have asked him to come. I will so arrange it that the old servant will see
+      him come in but will not see him go out. My landlady will not be in my
+      way, for she has already told me that she will spend the night of the 23rd
+      with her mother, in another part of the city. It is to be a birthday
+      celebration I believe, so that I can be certain her plans will not be
+      changed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses near.
+      I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace conversation,
+      for I have nothing to say to him. If he moves near the desk I will upset
+      the inkbottle. The spots on his clothes will be another evidence against
+      him. I will endeavour to get him to keep my jewelry which is, as you know,
+      of considerable value. I will tell him that I am going away for a while
+      and ask him to take charge of it for me. I, myself, will take him down to
+      the door and let him out, when I have satisfied myself that the old
+      servant is in bed or at least at the back of the house. The revolver which
+      shall end my misery is Graumann&rsquo;s property. I took it from its place
+      without his knowledge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The 10,000 gulden which I told my landlady were still in the house, and
+      which would therefore be thought missing after my death, I have deposited
+      in a bank in Frankfort in your name. Here is the certificate of deposit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I will endeavour not to hold the revolver sufficiently close to have the
+      powder burn my clothes. And I will exert every effort of mind and body to
+      throw it far from me after I have fired the fatal shot. I think that I
+      will be able to do this, for I am a very good shot and I have no fear of
+      death. One thing more I will do, to turn aside all suspicion of suicide. I
+      will write a letter to some person who does not exist, a letter which will
+      make it appear as if I were in excellent humour and planning for the
+      future.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And now, good-bye to life. People have called me eccentric, they may be
+      right. This last deed of mine at least, is out of the ordinary. No one
+      will say now that ended my life in a moment of darkened mind, in a rush of
+      despair. My brain is perfectly clear, my heart beats calmly, now that I
+      have arranged everything for my departure from this world of falsehood and
+      unreality. My last deed shall go to prove to the world how little actual,
+      apparent facts can be trusted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The one thing real, the one thing true in all this world of falsehood was
+      your love and your trust. I thank you for it.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+                                                 THEODOR BELLMANN,
+                                                 known as
+                                                 JOHN SIDERS.
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      Joseph Muller refuses to take any particular credit for this case. The
+      letter would have come in time to prevent Graumann&rsquo;s conviction without
+      his assistance, he says. The only person whose gratitude he has a right to
+      is Prosecuting Attorney Gustav Schmidt. He managed to have the Police
+      Commissioner in G&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash; read the letter in detail to the attorney.
+      But Muller himself knows that it failed of its effect, so far as that
+      dignitary was concerned. For nothing but open ridicule could ever convince
+      a man of such decided opinions that he is not the one infallible person in
+      the world.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Albert Graumann had learned his lesson. And he told Muller himself
+      that the few days of life which might remain to him were a gift to him
+      from the detective. He felt that his weak heart would not have stood the
+      strain and the disgrace of an open trial, even if that trial ended in
+      acquittal. Two months later he was found dead in his bed, a calm smile on
+      his lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he died he had learned that it was the undaunted courage of his
+      timid little old aunt that had brought Muller to take charge of the case
+      and to free her beloved nephew from the dreaded prison. And the last days
+      that these two passed together were very happy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But as aforesaid, Muller refuses to have this case included in the list of
+      his successes. He did not change the ultimate result, he merely
+      anticipated it, he says.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg's The Case of the Registered Letter, 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 Case of the Registered Letter
+
+Author: Augusta Groner
+
+Translator: Grace Isabel Colbron
+
+Posting Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1833]
+Release Date: July, 1999
+Last Updated: June 28, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER
+
+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 REGISTERED LETTER
+
+
+"Oh, sir, save him if you can--save my poor nephew! I know he is
+innocent!"
+
+The little old lady sank back in her chair, gazing up at Commissioner
+von Riedau with tear-dimmed eyes full of helpless appeal. The
+commissioner looked thoughtful. "But the case is in the hands of the
+local authorities, Madam," he answered gently, a strain of pity in his
+voice. "I don't exactly see how we could interfere."
+
+"But they believe Albert guilty! They haven't given him a chance!"
+
+"He cannot be sentenced without sufficient proof of his guilt."
+
+"But the trial, the horrible trial--it will kill him--his heart is
+weak. I thought--I thought you might send some one--some one of your
+detectives--to find out the truth of the case. You must have the best
+people here in Vienna. Oh, my poor Albert--"
+
+Her voice died away in a suppressed sob, and she covered her face to
+keep back the tears.
+
+The commissioner pressed a bell on his desk. "Is Detective Joseph Muller
+anywhere about the building?" he asked of the attendant who appeared at
+the door.
+
+"I think he is, sir. I saw him come in not long ago."
+
+"Ask him to come up to this room. Say I would like to speak to him." The
+attendant went out.
+
+"I have sent for one of the best men on our force, Madam," continued the
+commissioner, turning back to the pathetic little figure in the chair.
+"We will go into this matter a little more in detail and see if it is
+possible for us to interfere with the work of the local authorities in
+G----------."
+
+The little old lady gave her eyes a last hasty dab with a dainty
+handkerchief and raised her head again, fighting for self-control. She
+was a quaint little figure, with soft grey hair drawn back smoothly from
+a gentle-featured face in which each wrinkle seemed the seal of some
+loving thought for others. Her bonnet and gown were of excellent
+material in delicate soft colours, but cut in the style of an earlier
+decade. The capable lines of her thin little hands showed through the
+fabric of her grey gloves. Her whole attitude bore the impress of one
+who had adventured far beyond the customary routine of her home circle,
+adventured out into the world in fear and trembling, impelled by the
+stress of a great love.
+
+A knock was heard at the door, and a small, slight man, with a kind,
+smooth-shaven face, entered at the commissioner's call. "You sent for
+me, sir?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, Muller, there is a matter here in which I need your advice, your
+assistance, perhaps. This is Detective Muller, Miss--" (the commissioner
+picked up the card on his desk) "Miss Graumann. If you will tell us now,
+more in detail, all that you can tell us about this case, we may be able
+to help you."
+
+"Oh, if you would," murmured Miss Graumann, with something more of hope
+in her voice. The expression of sympathetic interest on the face of
+the newcomer had already won her confidence for him. Her slight figure
+straightened up in the chair, and the two men sat down opposite her,
+prepared to listen to her story.
+
+"I will tell you all I know and understand about this matter,
+gentlemen," she began. "My name is Babette Graumann, and I live with my
+nephew, Albert Graumann, engineering expert, in the village of Grunau,
+which is not far from the city of G----------. My nephew Albert, the dearest,
+truest--" sobs threatened to overcome her again, but she mastered them
+bravely. "Albert is now in prison, accused of the murder of his friend,
+John Siders, in the latter's lodgings in G------."
+
+"Yes, that is the gist of what you have already told me," said the
+commissioner. "Muller, Miss Graumann believes her nephew innocent,
+contrary to the opinion of the local authorities in G------. She has come
+to ask for some one from here who could ferret out the truth of this
+matter. You are free now, and if we find that it can be done without
+offending the local authorities--"
+
+"Who is the commissioner in charge of the case in G------?" asked Muller.
+
+"Commissioner Lange is his name, I believe," replied Miss Graumann.
+
+"H'm!" Muller and the commissioner exchanged glances.
+
+"I think we can venture to hear more of this," said the commissioner,
+as if in answer to their unspoken thought. "Can you give us the details
+now, Madam? Who is, or rather who was, this John Siders?"
+
+"John Siders came to our village a little over a year ago," continued
+Miss Graumann. "He came from Chicago; he told us, although he was
+evidently a German by birth. He bought a nice little piece of property,
+not far from our home, and settled down there. He was a quiet man and
+made few friends, but he seemed to take to Albert and came to see us
+frequently. Albert had spent some years in America, in Chicago, and
+Siders liked to talk to him about things and people there. But one day
+Siders suddenly sold his property and moved to G------. Two weeks later he
+was found dead in his lodgings in the city, murdered, and now--now they
+have accused Albert of the crime."
+
+"On what grounds?--oh, I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean--"
+
+"That's all right, Muller," said the commissioner. "As you may have to
+undertake the case, you might as well begin to do the questioning now."
+
+"They say"--Miss Graumann's voice quavered--"they say that Albert was
+the last person known to have been in Siders' room; they say that it was
+his revolver, found in the room. That is the dreadful part of it--it was
+his revolver. He acknowledges it, but he did not know, until the police
+showed it to him, that the weapon was not in its usual place in his
+study. They tell me that everything speaks for his guilt, but I cannot
+believe it--I cannot. He says he is innocent in spite of everything. I
+believe him. I brought him up, sir; I was like his own mother to him. He
+never knew any other mother. He never lied to me, not once, when he was
+a little boy, and I don't believe he'd lie to me now, now that he's a
+man of forty-five. He says he did not kill John Siders. Oh, I know, even
+without his saying it, that he would not do such a thing."
+
+"Can you tell us anything more about the murder itself?" questioned
+Muller gently. "Is there any possibility of suicide? Or was there a
+robbery?"
+
+"They say it was no suicide, sir, and that there was a large sum of
+money missing. But why should Albert take any one else's money? He has
+money of his own, and he earns a good income besides--we have all that
+we need. Oh, it is some dreadful mistake! There is the newspaper account
+of the discovery of the body. Perhaps Mr. Muller might like to read
+that." She pointed to a sheet of newspaper on the desk. The commissioner
+handed it to Muller. It was an evening paper, dated G------, September
+24th, and it gave an elaborate account, in provincial journalese, of the
+discovery that morning of the body of John Siders, evidently murdered,
+in his lodgings. The main facts to be gathered from the long-winded
+story were as follows:
+
+John Siders had rented the rooms in which he met his death about ten
+days before, paying a month's rent in advance. The lodgings consisted of
+two rooms in a little house in a quiet street. It was a street of simple
+two-story, one and two family dwellings, occupied by artisans and small
+tradespeople. There were many open spaces, gardens and vacant lots in
+the street. The house in which Siders lodged belonged to a travelling
+salesman by the name of Winter. The man was away from home a great deal,
+and his wife, with her child and an old servant, lived in the lower
+part of the house, while the rooms occupied by Siders were in the upper
+story. Siders lived very quietly, going out frequently in the afternoon,
+but returning early in the evening. He had said to his landlady that he
+had many friends in G------. But during the time of his stay in the house he
+had had but one caller, a gentleman who came on the evening of the 23rd
+of September. The old maid had opened the door for him and showed him
+to Mr. Siders' rooms. She described this visitor as having a full black
+beard, and wearing a broad-brimmed grey felt hat. Nobody saw the man
+go out, for the old maid, the only person in the house at the time, had
+retired early. Mrs. Winter and her little girl were spending the night
+with the former's mother in a distant part of the city. The next morning
+the old servant, taking the lodger's coffee up to him at the usual hour,
+found him dead on the floor of his sitting-room, shot through the heart.
+The woman ran screaming from the house and alarmed the neighbours. A
+policeman at the corner heard the noise, and led the crowd up to the
+room where the dead man lay. It was plain to be seen that this was not
+a case of suicide. Everywhere were signs of a terrible struggle. The
+furniture was overturned, the dressing-table and the cupboard were open
+and their contents scattered on the floor, one of the window curtains
+was torn into strips, as if the victim had been trying to escape by way
+of the window, but had been dragged back into the room by his murderer.
+An overturned ink bottle on the table had spattered wide, and added to
+the general confusion. In the midst of the disorder lay the body of the
+murdered man, now cold in the rigour of death.
+
+The police commissioner arrived soon, took possession of the rooms, and
+made a thorough examination of the premises. A letter found on the desk
+gave another proof, if such were needed, that this was not a case of
+suicide. This letter was in the handwriting of the dead man, and read as
+follows:
+
+Dear Friend:
+
+I appreciate greatly all the kindness shown me by yourself and your good
+wife. I have been more successful than I thought possible in overcoming
+the obstacles you know of. Therefore, I shall be very glad to join you
+day after to-morrow, Sunday, in the proposed excursion. I will call for
+you at 8 A.M.--the cab and the champagne will be my share of the trip.
+We'll have a jolly day and drink a glass or two to our plans for the
+future.
+
+With best greetings for both of you,
+
+Your old friend,
+
+John
+
+G--------, Friday, Sept. 23rd.
+
+
+An envelope, not yet addressed, lay beside this letter. It was clear
+that the man who penned these words had no thought of suicide. On
+the contrary, he was looking forward to a day of pleasure in the near
+future, and laying plans for the time to come. The murderer's bullet had
+pierced a heart pulsing with the joy of life.
+
+This was the gist of the account in the evening paper. Muller read
+it through carefully, lingering over several points which seemed to
+interest him particularly. Then he turned to Miss Babette Graumann. "And
+then what happened?" he asked.
+
+"Then the Police Commissioner came to Grunau and questioned my nephew.
+They had found out that Albert was Mr. Siders' only friend here. And
+late that evening the Mayor and the Commissioner came to our house with
+the revolver they had found in the room in G------, and they--they--" her
+voice trembled again, "they arrested my dear boy and took him away."
+
+"Have you visited him in prison? What does he say about it himself?"
+
+"He seems quite hopeless. He says that he is innocent--oh, I know he
+is--but everything is against him. He acknowledges that it was he who
+was in Mr. Siders' room the evening before the murder. He went there
+because Siders wrote him to come. He says he left early, and that John
+acted queerly. He knows they will not believe his story. This worry and
+anxiety will kill him. He has a serious heart trouble; he has suffered
+from it for years, and it has been growing steadily worse. I dare not
+think what this excitement may do for him." Miss Graumann broke down
+again and sobbed aloud. Muller laid his hands soothingly on the little
+old fingers that gripped the arm of the chair.
+
+"Did your nephew send you here to ask for help?" he inquired very
+gently.
+
+"Oh, no!" The old lady looked up at him through her tears. "No, he would
+not have done that. I'm afraid that he'll be angry if he knows that I
+have come. He seemed so hopeless, so dazed. I just couldn't stand it.
+It seemed to me that the police in G-------- were taking things for granted,
+and just sitting there waiting for an innocent man to confess, instead
+of looking for the real murderer, who may be gone, the Lord knows where,
+by now!" Miss Graumann's faded cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she
+straightened up in her chair again, while her eyes snapped defiance
+through the tears that hung on their lashes.
+
+A faint gleam twinkled up in Muller's eyes, and he did not look at his
+chief. Doctor von Riedau's own face glowed in a slowly mounting flush,
+and his eyes drooped in a moment of conscious embarrassment at some
+recollection, the sting of which was evidently made worse by Muller's
+presence. But Commissioner von Riedau had brains enough to acknowledge
+his mistakes and to learn from them. He looked across the desk at Miss
+Graumann. "You are right, Madam, the police have made that mistake more
+than once. And a man with a clear record deserves the benefit of the
+doubt. We will take up this case. Detective Muller will be put in charge
+of it. And that means, Madam, that we are giving you the very best
+assistance the Imperial Police Force affords."
+
+Miss Babette Graumann did not attempt to speak. In a wave of emotion she
+stretched out both little hands to the detective and clasped his warmly.
+"Oh, thank you," she said at last. "I thank you. He's just like my own
+boy to me; he's all the child I ever had, you know."
+
+"But there are difficulties in the way," continued the commissioner in
+a business-like tone. "The local authorities in G-------- have not asked for
+our assistance, and we are taking up the case over their heads, as it
+were. I shall have to leave that to Muller's diplomacy. He will come to
+G-------- and have an interview with your nephew. Then he will have to use
+his own judgment as to the next steps, and as to how far he may go in
+opposition to what has been done by the police there."
+
+"And then I may go back home?" asked Miss Graumann. "Go home with the
+assurance that you will help my poor boy?"
+
+"Yes, you may depend on us, Madam. Is there anything we can do for you
+here? Are you alone in the city?"
+
+"No, thank you. There is a friend here who will take care of me. She
+will put me on the afternoon express back to G------."
+
+"It is very likely that I will take that train myself," said Muller. "If
+there is anything that you need on the journey, call on me."
+
+"Oh, thank you, I will indeed! Thank you both, gentlemen. And now
+good-bye, and God bless you!"
+
+The commissioner bowed and Muller held the door open for Miss Graumann
+to pass out. There was silence in the room, as the two men looked after
+the quaint little figure slowly descending the stairs.
+
+"A brave little woman," murmured the commissioner.
+
+"It is not only the mother in the flesh who knows what a mother's love
+is," added Muller.
+
+Next morning Joseph Muller stood in the cell of the prison in G--------
+confronting Albert Graumann, accused of the murder of John Siders.
+
+The detective had just come from a rather difficult interview with
+Commissioner Lange. But the latter, though not a brilliant man, was at
+least good-natured. He acknowledged the right of the accused and his
+family to ask for outside assistance, and agreed with Muller that it was
+better to have some one in the official service brought in, rather than
+a private detective whose work, in its eventual results, might bring
+shame on the police. Muller explained that Miss Graumann did not want
+her nephew to know that it was she who had asked for aid in his behalf,
+and that it could only redound to his, Lange's, credit if it were
+understood that he had sent to Vienna for expert assistance in this
+case. It would be a proof of his conscientious attention to duty,
+and would insure praise for him, whichever way the case turned out.
+Commissioner Lange saw the force of this argument, and finally gave
+Muller permission to handle the case as he thought best, rather relieved
+than otherwise for his own part. The detective's next errand was to the
+prison, where he now stood looking up into the deep-set, dark eyes of a
+tall, broad-shouldered, black-bearded man, who had arisen from the cot
+at his entrance. Albert Graumann had a strong, self-reliant face and
+bearing. His natural expression was somewhat hard and stern, but it
+was the expression of a man of integrity and responsibility. Muller had
+already made some inquiries as to the prisoner's reputation and business
+standing in the community, and all that he had heard was favourable.
+A certain hardness and lack of amiability in Graumann's nature made it
+difficult for him to win the hearts of others, but although he was not
+generally loved, he was universally respected. Through the signs of
+nagging fear, sorrow, and ill-health, printed clearly on the face before
+him, Muller's keen eyes looked down into the soul of a man who might
+be overbearing, pitiless even, if occasion demanded, but who would not
+murder--at least not for the sake of gain. This last possibility Muller
+had dismissed from his mind, even before he saw the prisoner. The man's
+reputation was sufficient to make the thought ridiculous. But he had
+not made up his mind whether it might not be a case of a murder after
+a quarrel. Now he began to doubt even this when he looked into the
+intelligent, harsh-featured face of the man in the cell. But Muller had
+the gift of putting aside his own convictions, when he wanted his mind
+clear to consider evidence before him.
+
+Graumann had risen from his sitting position when he saw a stranger.
+His heavy brows drew down over his eyes, but he waited for the other to
+speak.
+
+"I am Detective Joseph Muller, from Vienna," began the newcomer, when he
+had seen that the prisoner did not intend to start the conversation.
+
+"Have you come to question me again?" asked Graumann wearily. "I can
+say no more than I have already said to the Police Commissioner. And no
+amount of cross-examination can make me confess a crime of which I
+am not guilty--no matter what evidence there may be against me."
+The prisoner's voice was hard and determined in spite of its note of
+physical and mental weariness.
+
+"I have not come to extort a confession from you, Mr. Graumann," Muller
+replied gently, "but to help you establish your innocence, if it be
+possible."
+
+A wave of colour flooded the prisoner's cheek. He gasped, pressed his
+hand to his heart, and dropped down on his cot. "Pardon me," he said
+finally, hesitating like a man who is fighting for breath. "My heart is
+weak; any excitement upsets me. You mean that the authorities are not
+convinced of my guilt, in spite of the evidence? You mean that they will
+give me the benefit of the doubt--that they will give me a chance for
+life?"
+
+"Yes, that is the reason for my coming here. I am to take this case in
+hand. If you will talk freely to me, Mr. Graumann, I may be able to help
+you. I have seen too many mistakes of justice because of circumstantial
+evidence to lay any too great stress upon it. I have waited to hear your
+side of the story from yourself. I did not want to hear it from others.
+Will you tell it to me now? No, do not move, I will get the stool
+myself."
+
+Graumaun sat back on the cot, his head resting against the wall. His
+eyes had closed while Muller was speaking, but his quieter breathing
+showed that he was mastering the physical attack which had so shaken
+him at the first glimpse of hope. He opened his eyes now and looked at
+Muller steadily for a moment. Then he said: "Yes, I will tell you: my
+life and my work have taught me to gauge men. I will tell you everything
+I know about this sad affair. I will tell you the absolute truth, and I
+think you will believe me."
+
+"I will believe you," said Muller simply.
+
+"You know the details of the murder, of course, and why I was arrested?"
+
+"You were arrested because you were the last person seen in the company
+of the murdered man?"
+
+"Exactly. Then I may go back and tell you something of my connection
+with John Siders?"
+
+"It would be the very best thing to do."
+
+"I live in Grunau, as you doubtless know, and am the engineering expert
+of large machine works there. My father before me held an important
+position in the factory, and my family have always lived in Grunau.
+I have traveled a great deal myself. I am forty-five years old, a
+childless widower, and live with my old aunt, Miss Babette Graumann,
+and my ward, Miss Eleonora Roemer, a young lady of twenty-two." Muller
+looked up with a slight start of surprise, but did not say anything.
+Graumann continued:
+
+"A little over a year ago, John Siders, who signed himself as coming
+from Chicago, bought a piece of property in our town and came to live
+there. I made his acquaintance in the cafe and he seemed to take a fancy
+to me. I also had spent several years in Chicago, and we naturally
+came to speak of the place. We discovered that we had several mutual
+acquaintances there, and enjoyed talking over the old times. Otherwise I
+did not take particularly to the man, and as I came to know him better I
+noticed that he never mentioned that part of his life which lay back of
+the years in Chicago. I asked a casual question once or twice as to
+his home and family, but he evaded me every time, and would not give a
+direct answer. He was evidently a German by birth and education, a
+man with university training, and one who knew life thoroughly. He had
+delightful manners, and when he could forget his shyness for a while, he
+could be very agreeable. The ladies of my family came to like him, and
+encouraged him to call frequently. Then the thing happened that I should
+not have believed possible. My ward, Miss Roemer, a quiet, reserved
+girl, fell in love with this man about whom none of us knew anything, a
+man with a past of which he did not care to speak.
+
+"I was not in any way satisfied with the match, and they seemed
+to realise it. For Siders managed to persuade the girl to a secret
+engagement. I discovered it a month or two ago, and it made me very
+angry. I did not let them see how badly I felt, but I warned Lora not to
+have too much to do with the boy, and I set about finding out something
+regarding his earlier life. It was my duty to do this, as I was the
+girl's guardian. She has no other relative living, and no one to turn to
+except my aunt and myself. I wrote to Mr. Richard Tressider in Chicago,
+the owner of the factory in which I had been employed while there. John
+had told me that Tressider had been his client during the four years in
+which he practiced law in Chicago. I received an answer about the middle
+of August. Mr. Tressider had been able to find out only that John was
+born in the town of Hartberg in a certain year. This was enough. I took
+leave of absence for a few days and went to Hartberg, which, as you
+know, is about 140 miles from here. Three days later I knew all that I
+wanted to know. John Siders was not the man's real name, or, rather, it
+was only part of his name. His full name was Theodor John Bellmann, and
+his mother was an Englishwoman whose maiden name was Siders. His father
+was a county official who died at an early age, leaving his widow and
+the boy in deepest poverty. Mrs. Bellmann moved to G--------to give music
+lessons. Theodor went to school there, then finally to college, and was
+an excellent pupil everywhere. But one day it was discovered that he
+had been stealing money from the banker in whose house he was serving
+as private tutor to the latter's sons. A large sum of money was missing,
+and every evidence pointed to young Bellmann as the thief. He denied
+strenuously that he was guilty, but the District Judge (it was the
+present Prosecuting Attorney Schmidt in G------) sentenced him. He spent
+eight months in prison, during which time his mother died of grief at
+the disgrace. There must have been something good in the boy, for he
+had never forgotten that it was his guilt that struck down his only
+relative, the mother who had worked so hard for him. He had atoned for
+this crime of his youth, and during the years that have passed since
+then, he had been an honest, upright man."
+
+Graumann paused a moment and pressed his hand to his heart again. His
+voice had grown weaker, and he breathed hard. Finally he continued: "I
+commanded my ward to break off her engagement, as I could not allow her
+to marry a man who was a freed convict. Siders sold his property
+some few weeks after that and moved to G------. Eleonora acquiesced in my
+commands, but she was very unhappy and allowed me to see very little of
+her. Then came the events of the evening of September 23rd, the events
+which have turned out so terribly. I will try to tell you the story just
+as it happened, so far as I am concerned. I had seen nothing of John
+since he left this town. He had made several attempts before his
+departure for G-------- to change my opinion, and my decision as to his
+marriage to my ward. But I let him see plainly that it was impossible
+for him to enter our family with such a past behind him. He asserted
+his innocence of the charges against him, and declared that he had been
+unjustly accused and imprisoned. I am afraid that I was hard towards
+him. I begin to understand now, as I never thought I should, what it
+means to be accused of crime. I begin to realise that it is possible for
+every evidence to point to a man who is absolutely innocent of the deed
+in question. I begin to think now that John may have been right, that
+possibly he also may have been accused and sentenced on circumstantial
+evidence alone. I have thought much, and I have learned much in these
+terrible days."
+
+The prisoner paused again and sat brooding, his eyes looking out into
+space. Muller respected his suffering and sat in equal silence, until
+Graumann raised his eyes to his again. "Then came the evening of the
+23rd of September?"
+
+"Yes, that evening--it's all like a dream to me." Graumann began again.
+"John wrote me a letter asking me to come to see him on that evening. I
+tore up the letter and threw it away--or perhaps, yes, I remember now, I
+did not wish Eleonora to see that he had written me. He asked me to come
+to see him, as he had something to say to me, something of the greatest
+importance for us both. He asked me not to mention to any one that I was
+to see him, as it would be wiser no one should know that we were
+still in communication with each other. There was a strain of nervous
+excitement visible in his letter. I thought it better to go and see
+him as he requested; I felt that I owed him some little reparation for
+having denied him the great wish of his heart. It was my duty to make up
+to him in other ways for what I had felt obliged to do. I knew him for
+a nervous, high-strung man, overwrought by brooding for years on what he
+called his wrongs, and I did not know what he might do if I refused his
+request. It was not of myself I thought in this connection, but of the
+girl at home who looked to me for protection.
+
+"I had no fear for myself; it never occurred to me to think of taking a
+weapon with me. How my revolver--and it is undoubtedly my revolver, for
+there was a peculiar break in the silver ornamentation on the handle
+which is easily recognisable--how this revolver of mine got into his
+room, is more than I can say. Until the Police Commissioner showed it to
+me two or three days ago, I had no idea that it was not in the box in
+my study where it is ordinarily kept." Graumann paused again and looked
+about him as if searching for something. He rose and poured himself out
+a glass of water. "Let me put some of this in it," said Muller. "It will
+do you good." From a flask in his pocket he poured a few drops of brandy
+into the water. Graumann drank it and nodded gratefully. Then he took up
+his story again.
+
+"I never discovered why Siders had sent for me. When I arrived at the
+appointed time I found the door of the house closed. I was obliged to
+ring several times before an old servant opened the door. She seemed
+surprised that it had been locked. She said that the door was always
+unlatched, and that Mr. Siders himself must have closed it, contrary to
+all custom, for she had not done it, and there was no one else in the
+house but the two of them. Siders was waiting for me at the top of the
+stairs, calling down a noisy welcome.
+
+"When I asked him finally what it was so important that he wanted to
+say to me, he evaded me and continued to chatter on about commonplace
+things. Finally I insisted upon knowing why he had wanted me to come,
+and he replied that the reason for it had already been fulfilled, that
+he had nothing more to say, and that I could go as soon as I wanted to.
+He appeared quite calm, but he must have been very nervous. For as I
+stood by the desk, telling him what I thought of his actions, he moved
+his hand hastily among the papers there and upset the ink stand. I
+jumped back, but not before I had received several large spots of ink on
+my trousers. He was profuse in his apologies for the accident, and tried
+to take out the spots with blotting paper. Then at last, when I insisted
+upon going, he looked out to see whether there was still a light on the
+stairs, and led me down to the door himself, standing there for some
+time looking after me.
+
+"I was slightly alarmed as well as angry at his actions. I believe
+that he could not have been quite in his right mind, that the strain of
+nervousness which was apparent in his nature had really made him ill.
+For I remember several peculiar incidents of my visit to him. One
+of these was that he almost insisted upon my taking away with me,
+ostensibly to take care of them, several valuable pieces of jewelry
+which he possessed. He seemed almost offended when I refused to do
+anything of the kind. Then, as I parted from him at the door, not in a
+very good humour I will acknowledge, he said to me: 'You will think of
+me very often in the future--more often than you would believe now!'
+
+"This is all the truth, and nothing but the truth, about my visit to
+John Siders on the evening of September 23rd. As it had been his wish
+I said nothing to the ladies at home, or to any one else about the
+occurrence. And as I have told you, I destroyed his letter asking me to
+come to him.
+
+"The following day about noon, the Commissioner of Police from G--------
+called at my office in the factory, and informed me bluntly that John
+Siders had been found shot dead in his lodgings that morning. I was
+naturally shocked, as one would be at such news, in spite of the fact
+that I had parted from the man in anger, and that I had no reason to
+be particularly fond of him. What shocked me most of all was the sudden
+thought that John had taken his own life. It was a perfectly natural
+thought when I considered his nervousness, and his peculiar actions of
+the evening before. I believe I exclaimed, 'It was a suicide!' almost
+without realising that I was doing so. The commissioner looked at me
+sharply and said that suicide was out of the question, that it was an
+evident case of murder. He questioned me as to Siders' affairs, of which
+I told only what every one here in the village knew. I did not consider
+it incumbent upon me to disclose to the police the disgrace of the man's
+early life. I had been obliged to hurt him cruelly enough because of
+that, and I saw no necessity for blackening his name, now that he was
+dead. Also, as according to what the commissioner said, it was a case
+of murder for robbery, I did not wish to go into any details of our
+connection with Siders that would cause the name of my ward to be
+mentioned. After a few more questions the commissioner left me. I was
+busy all the afternoon, and did not return to my home until later than
+usual. I found my aunt somewhat worried because Miss Roemer had left the
+house immediately after our early dinner, and had not yet returned. We
+both knew the girl to be still grieving over her broken engagement,
+and we dreaded the effect this last dreadful news might have on her.
+We supposed, however, that she had gone to spend the afternoon with a
+friend, and were rather glad to be spared the necessity of telling her
+at once what had happened. I had scarcely finished my supper, when
+the door bell rang, and to my astonishment the Mayor of Grunau was
+announced, accompanied by the same Police Commissioner who had visited
+me in my office that morning. The Mayor was an old friend of mine and
+his deeply grave face showed me that something serious had occurred. It
+was indeed serious! and for some minutes I could not grasp the meaning
+of the commissioner's questions. Finally I realised with a tremendous
+shock that I--I myself was under suspicion of the murder of John Siders.
+The description given by the old servant of the man who had visited
+Siders the evening before, the very clothes that I wore, my hat and the
+trousers spotted by the purple ink, led to my identification as this
+mysterious visitor. The servant had let me in but she had not seen me go
+out.
+
+"Then I discovered--when confronted suddenly with my own revolver which
+had been found on the floor of the room, some distance from the body of
+the dead man, that this same revolver had been identified as mine by my
+ward, Eleonora Roemer, who had been to the police station at G-------- in
+the early afternoon hours. Some impulse of loyalty to her dead lover,
+some foolish feminine fear that I might have spoken against him in my
+earlier interviews with the commissioner had driven the girl to this
+step. A few questions sufficed to draw from her the story of her secret
+engagement, of its ending, and of my quarrel with John. I will say for
+her that I am certain she did not realise that all these things were
+calculated to cast suspicion on me. The poor girl is too unused to the
+ways of police courts, to the devious ways of the law, to realise what
+she was doing. The sight of my revolver broke her down completely
+and she acknowledged that it was mine. That is all. Except that I was
+arrested and brought here as you see. I told the commissioner the story
+of my visit to John Siders exactly as I told it to you, but it was plain
+to be seen that he did not believe me. It is plain to be seen also, that
+he is firmly convinced of my guilt and that he is greatly satisfied with
+himself at having traced the criminal so soon."
+
+"And yet he was not quite satisfied," said Muller gently. "You see that
+he has sent to the Capital for assistance on the case." Muller felt this
+little untruth to be justified for the sake of the honour of the police
+force.
+
+"Yes, I'm surprised at that," said Graumann in his former tone of
+weariness. "What do you think you will be able to do about it?"
+
+"I must ask questions here and there before I can form a plan of
+campaign," replied Muller. "What do you think about it yourself? Who do
+you think killed Siders?"
+
+"How can I know who it was? I only know it is not I," answered Graumann.
+
+"Did he have any enemies?"
+
+"No, none that I knew of, and he had few friends either."
+
+"You knew there was a sum of money missing from his rooms?"
+
+"Yes, the sum they named to me was just about the price that he had
+received for the sale of his property here. They did me the honour to
+believe that if I had taken the money at all, I had done so merely as a
+blind. At least they did not take me for a thief as well as a murderer.
+If the money is really missing, it was for its sake he was murdered I
+suppose."
+
+"Yes, that would be natural," said Muller. "And you know nothing of any
+other relations or connections that the man may have had? Anything that
+might give us a clue to the truth?"
+
+"No, nothing. He stood so alone here, as far as I knew. Of course, as I
+told you, his actions of the evening before having been so peculiar--and
+as I knew that he was not in the happiest frame of mind--I naturally
+thought of suicide at once, when they told me that he had been found
+shot dead. Then they told me that the appearance of the room and many
+other things, proved suicide to have been out of the question. I know
+nothing more about it. I cannot think any more about it. I know only
+that I am here in danger of being sentenced for the crime that I never
+committed--that is enough to keep any man's mind busy." He leaned back
+with an intense fatigue in every line of his face and figure.
+
+Muller rose from his seat. "I am afraid I have tired you, Mr. Graumann,"
+he said, "but it was necessary that I should know all that you had to
+tell me. Try and rest a little now and meanwhile be assured that I am
+doing all I can to find out the truth of this matter. As far as I can
+tell now I do not believe that you have killed John Siders. But I must
+find some further proofs that will convince others as well as myself. If
+it is of any comfort to you, I can tell you that during a long career as
+police detective I have been most astonishingly fortunate in the cases I
+have undertaken. I am hoping that my usual good luck will follow me here
+also. I am hoping it for your sake."
+
+The man on the cot took the hand the detective offered him and
+pressed it firmly. "You will let me know as soon as you have found
+anything--anything that gives me hope?"
+
+"I will indeed. And now save your strength and do not worry. I will help
+you if it is in my power."
+
+After leaving the prison, Muller took the train for the village of
+Grunau, about half an hour distant from the city. He found his way
+easily to Graumann's home, an attractive old house set in a large garden
+amid groups of beautiful old trees. When he sent up his card to Miss
+Graumann, the old lady tripped down stairs in a flutter of excitement.
+
+"Did you see him?" she asked. "You have been to the prison? What do you
+think? How does he seem?"
+
+"He seems calm to-day," replied Muller, "although the confinement and
+the anxiety are evidently wearing on him."
+
+"And you heard his story? And you believe him innocent?"
+
+"I am inclined to do so. But there is more yet for me to investigate in
+this matter. It is certainly not as simple as the police here seem to
+believe. May I speak to your ward, Miss Roemer? She is at home now?"
+
+"Yes, Lora is at home. If you will wait here a moment I will send her
+in."
+
+Muller paced up and down the large sunny room, casting a glance over the
+handsome old pieces of furniture and the family portraits on the wall.
+It was evidently the home of generations of well-to-do, well-bred
+people, the narrow circle of whose life was made rich by congenial
+duties and a comfortable feeling of their standing in the community.
+
+While he was studying one of the portraits more carefully, he became
+aware that there was some one in the room. He turned and saw a tall
+blond girl standing by the door. She had entered so softly that even
+Muller's quick ear had not heard the opening of the door.
+
+"Do you wish to speak to me?" she said, coming down into the room. "I am
+Eleonora Roemer"
+
+Her face, which could be called handsome in its even regularity of
+feature and delicate skin, was very pale now, and around her eyes were
+dark rings that spoke of sleepless nights. Grief and mental shock were
+preying upon this girl's mind. "She is not the one to make a confidant
+of those around her," thought Muller to himself. Then he added aloud:
+"If it does not distress you too much to talk about this sad affair, I
+will be very grateful if you will answer a few questions."
+
+"I will tell you whatever I can," said the girl in the same low even
+tone in which she had first spoken. "Miss Graumann tells me that you
+have come from Vienna to take up this case. It is only natural that we
+should want to give you every assistance in our power."
+
+"What is your opinion about it?" was Muller's next remark, made rather
+suddenly after a moment's pause.
+
+The directness of the question seemed to shake the girl out of her
+enforced calm. A slow flush mounted into her pale cheeks and then died
+away, again leaving them whiter than before. "I do not know--oh, I do
+not know what to believe."
+
+"But you do not think Mr. Graumann capable of such a crime, do you?"
+
+"Not of the robbery, of course not; that would be absurd! But has
+it been clearly proven that there is a robbery? Might it not have
+been--might they not have--"
+
+"You mean, might they not have quarreled? Of course there is that
+possibility. And that is why I wanted to speak to you. You are the one
+person who could possibly throw light on this subject. Was there any
+other reason beyond the dead man's past that would render your guardian
+unwilling to have you marry him?"
+
+Again the slow flush mounted to Eleonora Roemer's cheeks and her head
+drooped.
+
+"I fear it may be painful for you to answer this," said Muller gently,
+"and yet I must insist on it in the interest of justice."
+
+"He--my guardian--wished to marry me himself," the girl's words came
+slowly and painfully.
+
+Muller drew in his breath so sharply that it was almost like a whistle.
+"He did not tell me that; it might make a difference."
+
+"That... that is... what I fear," said the girl, her eyes looking keenly
+into those of the man who sat opposite. "And then, it was his revolver."
+
+"Then you do believe him guilty?"
+
+"It would be horrible, horrible--and yet I do not know what to think."
+
+There was silence in the room for a moment. Miss Roemer's head drooped
+again and her hands twisted nervously in her lap. Muller's brain was
+very busy with this new phase of the problem. Finally he spoke.
+
+"Let us dismiss this side of the question and talk of another phase of
+it, a phase of which it is necessary for me to know something. You would
+naturally be the person nearest the dead man, the one, the only one,
+perhaps, to whom he had given his confidence. Do you know of any enemies
+he might have had in the city?"
+
+"No, I do not know of any enemies, or even of any friends he had there.
+When the terrible thing happened that clouded his past, when he had
+regained his freedom, after his term of imprisonment, there was no one
+left whom he cared to see again. He does not seem to have borne any
+malice towards the banker who accused him of the theft. The evidence
+was so strong against him that he felt the suspicion was justified. But
+there was hatred in his heart for one man, for the Justice who sentenced
+him, Justice Schmidt, who is now Attorney General in G------."
+
+"The man who, in the name of the State, will conduct this case?" asked
+Muller quickly.
+
+"Yes, I believe it is so. Is it not an irony that this man, the only one
+whom John really hated, should be the one to avenge him now?"
+
+"H'm! yes. But did you know of any friends in G------?"
+
+"No, none at all."
+
+"No friends whom he might have made while he was in America and then met
+again in Germany?"
+
+"No, he never spoke of any such to me. He told me that he made few
+friends. He did not seek them for he was afraid that they might find out
+what had happened and turn from him. He was morbidly sensitive and could
+not bear the disappointment."
+
+"Why did he return to Germany?"
+
+"He was lonely and wanted to come home again. He had made money in
+America--John was very clever and highly educated--but his heart longed
+for his own tongue and his own people."
+
+Muller took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Do you know this
+handwriting?"
+
+Miss Roemer read the few lines hastily and her voice trembled as she
+said: "This is John's handwriting. I know it well. This is the letter
+that was found on the table?"
+
+"Yes, this letter appears to be the last he had written in life. Do you
+know to whom it could have been written? The envelope, as I suppose you
+know from the newspaper reports, was not addressed. Do you know of any
+friends with whom he could have been on terms of sufficient intimacy to
+write such a letter? Do you know what these plans for the future could
+have been? It would certainly be natural that he should have spoken to
+you first about them."
+
+"No; I cannot understand this letter at all," replied the girl. "I have
+thought of it frequently these terrible days. I have wondered why it was
+that if he had friends in the city, he did not speak to me of them. He
+repeatedly told me that he had no friends there at all, that his life
+should begin anew after we were married."
+
+"And did he have any particular plans, in a business way, perhaps?"
+
+"No; he had a comfortable little income and need have no fear for the
+future. John was, of course, too young a man to settle down and do
+nothing. But the only definite plans he had made were that we should
+travel a little at first, and then he would look about him for a
+congenial occupation. I always thought it likely he would resume a law
+practice somewhere. I cannot understand in the slightest what the plans
+are to which the letter referred."
+
+"And do you think, from what you know of his state of mind when you saw
+him last, that he would be likely so soon to be planning pleasures like
+this?"
+
+"No, no indeed! John was terribly crushed when my guardian insisted on
+breaking off our engagement. Until my twenty-fourth birthday I am
+still bound to do as my guardian says, you know. John's life and early
+misfortune made him, as I have already said, morbidly sensitive and the
+thought that it would be a bar to anything we might plan in the future,
+had rendered him so depressed that--and it was not the least of my
+anxieties and my troubles--that I feared... I feared anything might
+happen."
+
+"You feared he might take his own life, do you mean?"
+
+"Yes, yes, that is what I feared. But is it not terrible to think that
+he should have died this way--by the hand of a murderer?"
+
+"H'm! And you cannot remember any possible friend he may have
+found--some schoolboy friend of his youth, perhaps, with whom he had
+again struck up an acquaintance."
+
+"Oh, no, no, I am positive of that. John could not bear to hear the
+names even of the people he had known before his misfortune. Still, I do
+remember his once having spoken of a man, a German he had met in Chicago
+and rather taken a fancy to, and who had also returned to Germany."
+
+"Could this possibly have been the man to whom the letter is addressed?"
+
+"No, no. This friend of John's was not married; I remember his
+saying that. And he lived in Germany somewhere--let me think--yes, in
+Frankfort-on-Main."
+
+"And do you remember the man's name?"
+
+"No, I cannot, I am sorry to say. John only mentioned it once. It was
+only by a great effort that I could remember the incident at all."
+
+"And has it not struck you as rather peculiar that this friend, the one
+to whom the cordial letter was addressed, did not come forward and make
+his identity known? G-------- is a city, it is true, but it is not a very
+large city, and any man being on terms of intimate acquaintance with one
+who was murdered would be apt to come forward in the hope of throwing
+some light on the mystery."
+
+"Why, yes, I had not thought of that. It is peculiar, is it not? But
+some people are so foolishly afraid of having anything to do with the
+police, you know."
+
+"That is very true, Miss Roemer. Still it is a queer incident and
+something that I must look into."
+
+"What do you believe?" asked the girl tensely.
+
+"I am not in a position to say as yet. When I am, I will come to you and
+tell you."
+
+"Then you do not think that my guardian killed John--that there was a
+quarrel between the men?"
+
+"There is, of course, a possibility that it may have been so. You know
+your guardian better than I do, naturally. Our knowledge of a man's
+character is often a far better guide than any circumstantial evidence."
+
+"My guardian is a man of the greatest uprightness of character. But he
+can be very hard and pitiless sometimes. And he has a violent temper
+which his weak heart has forced him to keep in control of late years."
+
+"All this speaks for the possibility that there may have been a quarrel
+ending in the fatal shot. But what I want to know from you is this--do
+you think it possible, that, this having happened, Albert Graumann would
+not have been the first to confess his unpremeditated crime? Is not
+this the most likely thing for a man of his character to do? Would he so
+stubbornly deny it, if it had happened?"
+
+The girl started. "I had not thought of that! Why, why, of course, he
+might have killed John in a moment of temper, but he was never a man to
+conceal a fault. He is as pitiless towards his own weakness, as towards
+that of others. You are right, oh, you must be right. Oh, if you could
+take this awful fear from my heart! Even my grief for John would be
+easier to bear then."
+
+Muller rose from his chair. "I think I can promise you that this load
+will be lifted from your heart, Miss Roemer."
+
+"Then you believe--that it was just a case of murder for robbery? For
+the money? And John had some valuable jewelry, I know that."
+
+"I do not know yet," replied Muller slowly, "but I will find out, I
+generally do."
+
+"Oh, to think that I should have done that poor man such an injustice!
+It is terrible, terrible! This house has been ghastly these days.
+His poor aunt knows that he is innocent--she could never believe
+otherwise--she has felt the hideous suspicion in my mind--it has made
+her suffering worse--will they ever forgive me?"
+
+"Her joy, if I can free her nephew, will make her forget everything. Go
+to her now, Miss Roemer, comfort her with the assurance that you also
+believe him to be innocent. I must hasten back to G-------- and go on with
+this quest."
+
+The girl stood at the doorway shaded by the overhanging branches of
+two great trees, looking down the street after the slight figure of the
+detective. "Oh, it is all easier to hear, hard as it is, easier now that
+this horrible suspicion has gone from my mind--why did I not think of
+that before?"
+
+Alone in the corner of the smoking compartment in the train to G------,
+Muller arranged in his mind the facts he had already gathered. He had
+questioned the servants of John Siders' former household, had found
+that the dead man received very few letters, only an occasional business
+communication from his bank. Of the few others, the servants knew
+nothing except that he had always thrown the envelopes carelessly in the
+waste paper basket and had never seemed to have any correspondence which
+he cared to conceal. No friend from elsewhere had ever visited him in
+Grunau, and he had made few friends there except the Graumann family.
+
+The facts of the case, as he knew them now, were such as to make it
+extremely doubtful that Graumann was the murderer. Muller himself had
+been inclined to believe in the possibility of a quarrel between the two
+men, particularly when he had heard that Graumann himself was in love
+with his handsome ward. But the second thought that came to him then,
+impelled by the unerring instinct that so often guided him to the truth,
+was the assurance that in a case of this kind, in a case of a quarrel
+terminating fatally, a man like Albert Graumann would be the very first
+to give himself up to the police and to tell the facts of the case.
+Albert Graumann was a man of honour and unimpeachable integrity. Such
+a man would not persist in a foolish denial of the deed which he had
+committed in a moment of temper. There would be nothing to gain from it,
+and his own conscience would be his severest judge. "The disorder in the
+room?" thought Muller. "It'll be too late for that now. I suppose they
+have rearranged the place. I can only go by what the local detectives
+have seen, by the police reports. But I do not understand this extreme
+disorder. There is no reason why there should be a struggle when the
+robber was armed with a pistol. If Siders was supposed to have been
+interrupted when writing a letter, interrupted by a thief come with
+intent to steal, a thief armed with a revolver, the sight of this weapon
+alone would be sufficient to insure his not moving from his seat. I
+can understand the open drawers and cupboard; that is explained by the
+thief's hasty search for booty. But the torn window curtain and the
+overturned chairs are peculiar.
+
+"Of course there is always a possibility that the thief might have
+entered one room while Siders was in the other; that the latter might
+have surprised the robber in his search for money or valuables, and that
+there might have been a hand-to-hand struggle before the intruder could
+pull out his revolver. Oh, if I could only have seen the body! This
+is working under terrific difficulties. The marks of a hand-to-hand
+struggle would have been very plain on the clothes and on the person of
+the murdered man. But this letter? I do not understand this letter at
+all. It is the dead man's handwriting, that we know, but why did not the
+friend to whom it was addressed come forward and make himself known? As
+far as I can learn from the police reports in G------, there was no personal
+interest shown, no personal inquiries made about the dead man. There was
+only the natural excitement that a murder would create. Now a family,
+expecting to make a pleasure excursion with a friend in a day or two
+and suddenly hearing that this friend had been found murdered in his
+lodgings, would be inclined to take some little personal interest in
+the matter. These people must have been in town and at home, for the
+excursion spoken of in the letter was to occur two days after the
+murder. Miss Roemer's remark about the dread that some people have as to
+any connection with the police, is true to a limited extent only. It is
+true only of the ignorant mind, not of a man presumably well-to-do and
+properly educated. I do not understand why the man to whom this letter
+was addressed has not made himself known. The only explanation
+is--that there was no such man!" A sudden sharp whistle broke from the
+detective's lips.
+
+"I must examine the dead man's personal effects, his baggage, his
+papers; there may be something there. His queer letter to Graumann--his
+desire that the latter's visit should be kept secret--a visit which
+apparently had no cause at all, except to get Graumann to the house, to
+get him to the house in a way that he should be seen coming, but should
+not be seen going away. What does this mean?
+
+"Graumann was the only person against whom Siders had an active cause of
+quarrel for the moment. There was one other man whom he hated, and this
+other man was the prosecuting attorney who would conduct any case of
+murder that came up in the town of G------.
+
+"Now John Siders is found murdered--is found killed, in his lodgings,
+the morning after he has arranged things so that his antagonist, his
+rival in love, Albert Graumann, shall come under suspicion of having
+murdered him.
+
+"What evidence have we that this man did not commit suicide? We have the
+evidence of the disorder in the room, a disorder that could have been
+made just as well by the man himself before he ended his own life. We
+have the evidence of a letter to some unknown, making plans for
+pleasure during the next days, and speaking of further plans, presumably
+concerning business, for the future. In a town the size of G------, where
+every one must have read of the murder, no one has come forward claiming
+to be the friend for whom this letter was written. Until this Unknown
+makes himself known, the letter as an evidence points rather to
+premeditated suicide than to the contrary. Oh, if I could only have seen
+the body! They tell me the pistol was found some little distance from
+the body. Is it at all likely that a murderer would go away leaving such
+evidence behind him? If Graumaun had killed Siders in a hasty quarrel,
+he might possibly, in his excitement, have left his revolver. But I have
+already disposed of this possibility. A man of sufficient brains to
+so carefully plan his suicide as to conceal every trace of it and cast
+suspicion upon the man who had made him unhappy, such a one would be
+quite clever enough to throw the pistol far away from his body and to
+leave no traces of powder on his coat or any such other evidence.
+
+"If I were to say now what I think, I would say that John Siders
+deliberately took his own life and planned it in such a way as to cast
+suspicion upon Albert Graumann. But that would indeed be a terrible
+revenge. And I must have some tangible proof of it before any court will
+accept my belief. This proof must be hidden somewhere. The thing for me
+to do is to find it."
+
+The evidence gathered at the time of the death went to show that Siders
+had been paid a considerable sum in cash for the sale of his property at
+Grunau. And there was no trace of his having deposited this sum in any
+bank in G-------- or in Grunau, in both of which places he had deposited
+other securities. Therefore the money had presumably been in his room
+at the time of his death. A search had been made for this money in every
+possible place of concealment among the dead man's belongings, and it
+had not been found. Muller asked the Police Commissioner to give him the
+key to the rooms, which were still officially closed, and also the keys
+to the dead man's pieces of baggage. Commissioner Lange seemed to think
+all this extra search quite unnecessary, as it did not occur to him that
+anything else was to be looked for except the money.
+
+It was quite late when Muller began his examination of the dead man's
+effects. He was struck by the fact that there was scarcely a bit of
+paper to be found anywhere, no letters, no business papers, except bank
+books showing the amount of his securities in the bank in G-------- and in
+Grunau, and giving facts about some investments in Chicago. There was
+nothing of more recent date and no personal correspondence whatever. The
+same was true of the pockets of the suit Siders had been wearing at the
+time of his death. A man of any property or position at all in the world
+gathers about him so much of this kind of material that its absence
+shows premeditation. The suit Siders had been wearing when he was killed
+was lying on the table in the room. It was a plain grey business suit
+of good cut and material. The body had been prepared for burial in
+a beseeming suit of black. Muller made a careful examination of the
+clothes, and found only what the police reports showed him had already
+been found by the examination made by the local authorities. Upon a
+second careful examination, however, he found that in one of the vest
+pockets there was a little extra pocket, like a change pocket, and in
+it he found a crumpled piece of paper. He took it out, smoothed and read
+it. It was a post office receipt for a registered letter. The date was
+still clear, but the name of the person to whom the letter had been
+addressed was illegible. The creases of the paper and a certain
+dampness, as if it had been inadvertently touched by a wet finger, had
+smeared the writing. But the letter had been sent the day before the
+death of John Siders, and it had been registered from the main post
+office in G------. This was sufficient for Muller. Then he turned to the
+desk. Here also there was nothing that could help him. But a sudden
+thought, came to him, and he took up the blotting pad. This, to his
+delight, was in the form of a book with a handsome embroidered cover. It
+looked comparatively new and was, as Muller surmised, a gift from Miss
+Roemer to her betrothed. But few of the pages had been used, and on two
+of them a closely written letter had been blotted several times, showing
+that there had been several sheets of the letter. Muller held it up to
+the looking-glass, but the repeated blotting had blurred the writing
+to such an extent that it was impossible to decipher any but a few
+disconnected words, which gave no clue. On a page further along on
+the blotter, however, he saw what appeared to be the impression of an
+address. He held it up to the glass and gave a whistle of delight. The
+words could be plainly deciphered here:
+
+                      "MR. LEO PERNBURG,
+                      "FRANKFURT AM MAIN,
+                      "MAINZER LANDSTRASSE."
+
+and above the name was a smear which, after a little study, could be
+deciphered as the written word "Registered."
+
+With this page of the blotter carefully tucked away in his pocketbook,
+Muller hurried to the post office, arriving just at closing hour. He
+made himself known at once to the postmaster, and asked to be shown
+the records of registered letters sent on a certain date. Here he found
+scheduled a letter addressed to Mr. Leo Pernburg, Frankfurt am Main,
+sent by John Siders, G------, Josef Street 7.
+
+Muller then hastened to the telegraph office and despatched a lengthy
+telegram to the postal authorities in Frankfurt am Main. When the answer
+came to him next morning, he packed his grip and took the first express
+train leaving G------. He first made a short visit, however, to Albert
+Graumann's cell in the prison. Muller was much too kind-hearted not to
+relieve the anxiety of this man, to whom such mental strain might easily
+prove fatal. He told Graumann that he was going in search of evidence
+which might throw light on the death of Siders, and comforted the
+prisoner with the assurance that he, Muller, believed Graumann innocent,
+and believed also that within a day or two he would return to G-------- with
+proofs that his belief was the right one.
+
+Three days later Muller returned to Grunau and went at once to the
+Graumann home. It was quite late when he arrived, but he had already
+notified Miss Roemer by telegram as to his coming, with a request that
+she should be ready to see him. He found her waiting for him, pale and
+anxious-eyed, when he arrived. "I have been to Frankfurt am Main," he
+said, "and I have seen Mr. Pernburg--"
+
+"Yes, yes, that is the name; now I remember," interrupted the girl
+eagerly. "That is the name of John's friend there."
+
+"I have seen Mr. Pernburg and he gave me this letter." Muller laid a
+thick envelope on the girl's lap.
+
+She looked down at it, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
+"That--that is John's writing," she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper.
+"Where did it come from?"
+
+"Pernburg gave it to me. The day before his death John Siders sent him
+this letter, requesting that Pernburg forward it to you before a certain
+date. When I explained the circumstances to Mr. Pernburg, he gave me the
+letter at once. I feel that this paper holds the clue to the mystery.
+Will you open it?"
+
+With trembling hands the girl tore open the envelope. It enclosed still
+another sealed envelope, without an address. But there was a sheet of
+paper around this letter, on which was written the following:
+
+
+My beloved Eleonore:
+
+Before you read what I have to say to you here I want you to promise
+me, in memory of our love and by your hope of future salvation, that you
+will do what I ask you to do.
+
+I ask you to give the enclosed letter, although it is addressed to you,
+to the Judge who will preside in the trial against Graumann. The letter
+is written to you and will be given back to you. For you, the beloved of
+my soul, you are the only human being with whom I can still communicate,
+to whom I can still express my wishes. But you must not give the letter
+to the Judge until you have assured yourself that the prosecuting
+attorney insists upon Graumann's guilt. In case he is acquitted, which I
+do not think probable, then open this letter in the presence of Graumann
+himself and one or two witnesses. For I wish Graumann, who is innocent,
+to be able to prove his innocence.
+
+You will know by this time that I have determined to end my life by my
+own hand. Forgive me, beloved. I cannot live on without you--without
+the honour of which I was robbed so unjustly.
+
+God bless you.
+
+One who will love you even beyond the grave, Remember your promise. It
+was given to the dead.
+
+JOHN.
+
+
+"Oh, what does it all mean?" asked Eleonora, dropping the letter in her
+lap.
+
+"It is as I thought," replied Muller. "John Siders took his own life,
+but made every arrangement to have suspicion fall upon Graumann."
+
+"But why? oh, why?"
+
+"It was a terrible revenge. But perhaps--perhaps it was just
+retribution. Graumaun would not understand that Siders could have been
+suspected of, and imprisoned for, a theft he had not committed. He must
+know now that it is quite possible for a man to be in danger of sentence
+of death even, for a crime of which he is innocent."
+
+"Oh, my God! It is terrible." The girl's head fell across her folded
+arms on the table. Deep shuddering sobs shook her frame.
+
+Muller waited quietly until the first shock had passed. Finally her sobs
+died away and she raised her head again. "What am I to do?" she asked.
+
+"You must open this letter to-morrow in the presence of the Police
+Commissioner and Graumaun."
+
+"But this promise? This promise that he asks of me--that I should wait
+until the trial?"
+
+"You have not given this promise. Would you take it upon yourself to
+endanger your guardian's life still more? Every further day spent in his
+prison, in this anxiety, might be fatal."
+
+"But this promise? The promise demanded of me by the man to whom I had
+given my love? Is it not my duty to keep it?"
+
+Muller rose from his chair. His slight figure seemed to grow taller,
+and the gentleness in his voice gave way to a commanding tone of firm
+decision.
+
+"Our duty is to the living, not to the dead. The dead have no right to
+drag down others after them. Believe me, Miss Roemer, the purpose
+that was in your betrothed's mind when he ended his own life, has been
+fulfilled. Albert Graumann knows now what are the feelings of a man
+who bears the prison stigma unjustly. He will never again judge his
+fellow-men as harshly as he has done until now. His soul has been
+purged in these terrible days; have you the right to endanger his life
+needlessly?"
+
+"Oh, I do not know! I do not know what to do."
+
+"I have no choice," said Muller firmly. "It is my duty to make known
+the fact to the Police Commissioner that there is such a letter in
+existence. The Police Commissioner will then have to follow his duty in
+demanding the letter from you. Mr. Pernburg, Sider's friend, saw this
+argument at once. Although he also had a letter from the dead man,
+asking him to send the enclosure to you, registered, on a certain date,
+he knew that it was his duty to give all the papers to the authorities.
+Would it not be better for you to give them up of your own free will?"
+Muller took a step nearer the girl and whispered: "And would it not be
+a noble revenge on your part? You would be indeed returning good for
+evil."
+
+Eleonora clasped her hands and her lips moved as if in silent prayer.
+Then she rose slowly and held out the letters to Muller. "Do what you
+will with them," she said. "My strength is at an end."
+
+The next day, in the presence of Commissioner Lange and of the accused
+Albert Graumann, Muller opened the letter which he had received from
+Miss Roemer and read it aloud. The girl herself, by her own request, was
+not present. Both Muller and Graumann understood that the strain of this
+message from the dead would be too much for her to bear. This was the
+letter:
+
+
+G-------- September 21st.
+
+My beloved:
+
+When you put this letter in the hands of the Judge, I will have found in
+death the peace that I could never find on earth. There was no chance
+of happiness for me since I have realised that I love you, that you love
+me, and that I must give you up if I am to remain what I have always
+been--in spite of everything--a man of honour.
+
+Albert Graumann would keep his word, this I know. Wherever you might
+follow me as my wife, there his will would have been before us, blasting
+my reputation, blackening the flame which you were to bear.
+
+I could not have endured it. My soul was sick of all this secrecy, sick
+at the injustice of mankind. In spite of worldly success, my life was
+cold and barren in the strange land to which I had fled. My home called
+to me and I came back to it.
+
+I kissed the earth of my own country, and I wept at my mother's grave. I
+was happy again under the skies which had domed above my childhood. For
+I am an honest man, beloved, and I always have been.
+
+One day I sat at table beside the man--the Judge who condemned me, here
+in G-------- in those terrible days. He naturally did not know me again.
+I, myself, brought the conversation around to a professional subject.
+I asked him if it were not possible that circumstantial evidence could
+lie; if the entire past, the reputation of the accused would not be a
+factor in his favour. The Judge denied it. It was his opinion, beyond a
+doubt, that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to convict anyone.
+
+My soul rose within me. This infallibility, this legal arrogance,
+aroused my blood. "That man should have a lesson!" I said to myself.
+
+But I had forgotten it all--all my anger, all my hatred and bitterness,
+when I met you. I dare not trust myself to think of you too much, now
+that everything is arranged for the one last step. It takes all my
+control to keep my decision unwavering while I sit here and tell you how
+much your love, your great tenderness, your sweet trust in me, meant to
+me.
+
+Let me talk rather of Albert Graumann. I will forgive him for believing
+in my guilt, but I cannot forgive him that he, the man of cultivation
+and mental grasp, could not believe it possible for a convicted thief
+to have repented and to have lived an honest life after the atonement of
+his crime. I still cannot believe that this was Graumann's opinion. I
+am forced to think that it was an excuse only on his part, an excuse to
+keep us apart, an excuse to keep you for himself.
+
+You are lost to me now. There is nothing more in life for me. If the
+injustice of mankind has stained my honour beyond repair, has robbed me
+of every chance of happiness at any time and in any place, then I die
+easily, beloved, for there is little charm in such a life as would be
+mine after this.
+
+But I do not wish to die quite in vain. There are two men who have
+touched my life, who need the lesson my death can teach them. These men
+are Albert Graumann and the prosecuting attorney Gustav Schmidt, the man
+who once condemned me so cruelly. His present position would make
+him the representative of the state in a murder trial, and I know his
+opinions too well not to foresee that he would declare Graumann guilty
+because of the circumstantial evidence which will be against him. My
+letter, given to the Presiding Judge after the Attorney has made his
+speech, will cause him humiliation, will ruin his brilliant arguments
+and cast ridicule upon him.
+
+Do not think me hard or revengeful. I do not hate anyone now that death
+is so near. But is it inhuman that I should want to teach these two men
+a lesson? a lesson which they need, believe me, and it is such a slight
+compensation for the torture these last eight years have been to me!
+
+And now I will explain in detail all the circumstances. I have arranged
+that Albert Graumann shall come to me on the evening of September 23rd
+between 7 and 8 o'clock. I asked him to do so by letter, asking him
+also to keep the fact of his visit to me a secret. To-night, the 22nd of
+September, I received his answer promising that he would come. Therefore
+I can look upon everything that is to happen, as having already
+happened, for now there need be no further change in my plans. I will
+send this letter this evening to my friend Pernburg in Frankfurt am
+Main. In case anything should happen that would render impossible for
+me to carry out my plans, I will send Pernburg another letter asking him
+not to carry out the instructions of the first.
+
+I can now proceed to tell you what will happen here to-morrow evening,
+the 23rd of September.
+
+Albert Graumann will come to me, unknown to his family or friends, as I
+have asked him to come. I will so arrange it that the old servant will
+see him come in but will not see him go out. My landlady will not be in
+my way, for she has already told me that she will spend the night of
+the 23rd with her mother, in another part of the city. It is to be a
+birthday celebration I believe, so that I can be certain her plans will
+not be changed.
+
+Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses
+near. I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace
+conversation, for I have nothing to say to him. If he moves near the
+desk I will upset the inkbottle. The spots on his clothes will be
+another evidence against him. I will endeavour to get him to keep my
+jewelry which is, as you know, of considerable value. I will tell him
+that I am going away for a while and ask him to take charge of it for
+me. I, myself, will take him down to the door and let him out, when I
+have satisfied myself that the old servant is in bed or at least at the
+back of the house. The revolver which shall end my misery is Graumann's
+property. I took it from its place without his knowledge.
+
+The 10,000 gulden which I told my landlady were still in the house,
+and which would therefore be thought missing after my death, I have
+deposited in a bank in Frankfort in your name. Here is the certificate
+of deposit.
+
+I will endeavour not to hold the revolver sufficiently close to have the
+powder burn my clothes. And I will exert every effort of mind and body
+to throw it far from me after I have fired the fatal shot. I think that
+I will be able to do this, for I am a very good shot and I have no
+fear of death. One thing more I will do, to turn aside all suspicion
+of suicide. I will write a letter to some person who does not exist, a
+letter which will make it appear as if I were in excellent humour and
+planning for the future.
+
+And now, good-bye to life. People have called me eccentric, they may be
+right. This last deed of mine at least, is out of the ordinary. No one
+will say now that ended my life in a moment of darkened mind, in a rush
+of despair. My brain is perfectly clear, my heart beats calmly, now that
+I have arranged everything for my departure from this world of falsehood
+and unreality. My last deed shall go to prove to the world how little
+actual, apparent facts can be trusted.
+
+The one thing real, the one thing true in all this world of falsehood
+was your love and your trust. I thank you for it.
+
+                                                 THEODOR BELLMANN,
+                                                 known as
+                                                 JOHN SIDERS.
+
+Joseph Muller refuses to take any particular credit for this case. The
+letter would have come in time to prevent Graumann's conviction without
+his assistance, he says. The only person whose gratitude he has a right
+to is Prosecuting Attorney Gustav Schmidt. He managed to have the Police
+Commissioner in G-------- read the letter in detail to the attorney. But
+Muller himself knows that it failed of its effect, so far as that
+dignitary was concerned. For nothing but open ridicule could ever
+convince a man of such decided opinions that he is not the one
+infallible person in the world.
+
+But Albert Graumann had learned his lesson. And he told Muller himself
+that the few days of life which might remain to him were a gift to him
+from the detective. He felt that his weak heart would not have stood the
+strain and the disgrace of an open trial, even if that trial ended in
+acquittal. Two months later he was found dead in his bed, a calm smile
+on his lips.
+
+Before he died he had learned that it was the undaunted courage of his
+timid little old aunt that had brought Muller to take charge of the case
+and to free her beloved nephew from the dreaded prison. And the last
+days that these two passed together were very happy.
+
+But as aforesaid, Muller refuses to have this case included in the
+list of his successes. He did not change the ultimate result, he merely
+anticipated it, he says.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Case of the Registered Letter, by
+Augusta Groner
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Case of the Registered Letter
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of A Joe Muller Detective Story:
+#3 in our series by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner
+
+Being the Account of Some Adventures in the Professional
+Experience of a Member of the Imperial Austrian Police
+
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+The Case of the Registered Letter
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+by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner
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+July, 1999  [Etext #1833]
+[Date last updated: March 20, 2005]
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+
+The Case of the Registered Letter
+
+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 REGISTERED LETTER
+
+by Grace Isabel Colbron and Augusta Groner
+
+
+
+"Oh, sir, save him if you can--save my poor nephew!  I know he is
+innocent!"
+
+The little old lady sank back in her chair, gazing up at Commissioner
+von Riedau with tear-dimmed eyes full of helpless appeal.  The
+commissioner looked thoughtful.  "But the case is in the hands of
+the local authorities, Madam," he answered gently, a strain of pity
+in his voice.  "I don't exactly see how we could interfere."
+
+"But they believe Albert guilty!  They haven't given him a chance!"
+
+"He cannot be sentenced without sufficient proof of his guilt."
+
+"But the trial, the horrible trial--it will kill him--his heart
+is weak.  I thought--I thought you might send some one--some one
+of your detectives--to find out the truth of the case.  You must
+have the best people here in Vienna.  Oh, my poor Albert--"
+
+Her voice died away in a suppressed sob, and she covered her face
+to keep back the tears.
+
+The commissioner pressed a bell on his desk.  "Is Detective Joseph
+Muller anywhere about the building?" he asked of the attendant who
+appeared at the door.
+
+"I think he is, sir.  I saw him come in not long ago."
+
+"Ask him to come up to this room.  Say I would like to speak to him."
+The attendant went out.
+
+"I have sent for one of the best men on our force, Madam," continued
+the commissioner, turning back to the pathetic little figure in the
+chair.  "We will go into this matter a little more in detail and see
+if it is possible for us to interfere with the work of the local,
+authorities in G--."
+
+The little old lady gave her eyes a last hasty dab with a dainty
+handkerchief and raised her head again, fighting for self-control.
+She was a quaint little figure, with soft grey hair drawn back
+smoothly from a gentle-featured face in which each wrinkle seemed
+the seal of some loving thought for others.  Her bonnet and gown
+were of excellent material in delicate soft colours, but cut in the
+style of an earlier decade.  The capable lines of her thin little
+hands showed through the fabric of her grey gloves.  Her whole
+attitude bore the impress of one who had adventured far beyond the
+customary routine of her home circle, adventured out into the world
+in fear and trembling, impelled by the stress of a great love.
+
+A knock was heard at the door, and a small, slight man, with a kind,
+smooth-shaven face, entered at the commissioner's call.  "You sent
+for me, sir?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, Muller, there is a matter here in which I need your advice,
+your assistance, perhaps.  This is Detective Muller, Miss--" (the
+commissioner picked up the card on his desk) "Miss Graumann.  If
+you will tell us now, more in detail, all that you can tell us about
+this case, we may be able to help you."
+
+"Oh, if you would," murmured Miss Graumann, with something more of
+hope in her voice.  The expression of sympathetic interest on the
+face of the newcomer had already won her confidence for him.  Her
+slight figure straightened up in the chair, and the two men sat down
+opposite her, prepared to listen to her story.
+
+"I will tell you all I know and understand about this matter,
+gentlemen," she began.  "My name is Babette Graumann, and I live
+with my nephew, Albert Graumann, engineering expert, in the village
+of Grunau, which is not far from the city of G--.  My nephew Albert,
+the dearest, truest--" sobs threatened to overcome her again, but
+she mastered them bravely.  "Albert is now in prison, accused of
+the murder of his friend, John Siders, in the latter's lodgings
+in G--."
+
+"Yes, that is the gist of what you have already told me," said the
+commissioner.  "Muller, Miss Graumann believes her nephew innocent,
+contrary to the opinion of the local authorities in G--.  She has
+come to ask for some one from here who could ferret out the truth
+of this matter.  You are free now, and if we find that it can be
+done without offending the local authorities--"
+
+"Who is the commissioner in charge of the case in G--?" asked Muller.
+
+"Commissioner Lange is his name, I believe," replied Miss Graumann.
+
+"H'm!" Muller and the commissioner exchanged glances.
+
+"I think we can venture to hear more of this," said the commissioner,
+as if in answer to their unspoken thought.  "Can you give us the
+details now, Madam?  Who is, or rather who was, this John Siders?"
+
+"John Siders came to our village a little over a year ago," continued
+Miss Graumann.  "He came from Chicago; he told us, although he was
+evidently a German by birth.  He bought a nice little piece of
+property, not far from our home, and settled down there.  He was a
+quiet man and made few friends, but he seemed to take to Albert and
+came to see us frequently.  Albert had spent some years in America,
+in Chicago, and Siders liked to talk to him about things and people
+there.  But one day Siders suddenly sold his property and moved to G--.
+Two weeks later he was found dead in his lodgings in the city,
+murdered, and now--now they have accused Albert of the crime."
+
+"On what grounds?--oh, I beg your pardon, sir; I did not mean--"
+
+"That's all right, Muller," said the commissioner.  "As you may
+have to undertake the case, you might as well begin to do the
+questioning now."
+
+"They say"--Miss Graumann's voice quavered--"they say that Albert
+was the last person known to have been in Siders' room; they say that
+it was his revolver, found in the room.  That is the dreadful part
+of it--it was his revolver.  He acknowledges it, but he did not
+know, until the police showed it to him, that the weapon was not in
+its usual place in his study.  They tell me that everything speaks
+for his guilt, but I cannot believe it--I cannot.  He says he is
+innocent in spite of everything.  I believe him.  I brought him up,
+sir; I was like his own mother to him.  He never knew any other
+mother.  He never lied to me, not once, when he was a little boy,
+and I don't believe he'd lie to me now, now that he's a man of
+forty-five.  He says he did not kill John Siders.  Oh, I know, even
+without his saying it, that he would not do such a thing."
+
+"Can you tell us anything more about the murder itself?" questioned
+Muller gently.  "Is there any possibility of suicide?  Or was there
+a robbery?"
+
+"They say it was no suicide, sir, and that there was a large sum of
+money missing.  But why should Albert take any one else's money?
+He has money of his own, and he earns a good income besides--we
+have all that we need.  Oh, it is some dreadful mistake!  There is
+the newspaper account of the discovery of the body.  Perhaps Mr.
+Muller might like to read that."  She pointed to a sheet of newspaper
+on the desk.  The commissioner handed it to Muller.  It was an
+evening paper, dated G--, September 24th, and it gave an elaborate
+account, in provincial journalese, of the discovery that morning of
+the body of John Siders, evidently murdered, in his lodgings.  The
+main facts to be gathered from the long-winded story were as follows:
+
+John Siders had rented the rooms in which he met his death about
+ten days before, paying a month's rent in advance.  The lodgings
+consisted of two rooms in a little house in a quiet street.  It was
+a street of simple two-story, one and two family dwellings, occupied
+by artisans and small tradespeople.  There were many open spaces,
+gardens and vacant lots in the street.  The house in which Siders
+lodged belonged to a travelling salesman by the name of Winter.  The
+man was away from home a great deal, and his wife, with her child
+and an old servant, lived in the lower part of the house, while the
+rooms occupied by Siders were in the upper story.  Siders lived
+very quietly, going out frequently in the afternoon, but returning
+early in the evening.  He had said to his landlady that he had many
+friends in G--.  But during the time of his stay in the house he had
+had but one caller, a gentleman who came on the evening of the 23rd
+of September.  The old maid had opened the door for him and showed
+him to Mr. Siders' rooms.  She described this visitor as having a
+full black beard, and wearing a broad-brimmed grey felt hat.  Nobody
+saw the man go out, for the old maid, the only person in the house
+at the time, had retired early.  Mrs. Winter and her little girl
+were spending the night with the former's mother in a distant part
+of the city.  The next morning the old servant, taking the lodger's
+coffee up to him at the usual hour, found him dead on the floor of
+his sitting-room, shot through the heart.  The woman ran screaming
+from the house and alarmed the neighbours.  A policeman at the
+corner heard the noise, and led the crowd up to the room where the
+dead man lay.  It was plain to be seen that this was not a case of
+suicide.  Everywhere were signs of a terrible struggle.  The
+furniture was overturned, the dressing-table and the cupboard were
+open and their contents scattered on the floor, one of the window
+curtains was torn into strips, as if the victim had been trying to
+escape by way of the window, but had been dragged back into the
+room by his murderer.  An overturned ink bottle on the table had
+spattered wide, and added to the general confusion.  In the midst
+of the disorder lay the body of the murdered man, now cold in the
+rigour of death.
+
+The police commissioner arrived soon, took possession of the rooms,
+and made a thorough examination of the premises.  A letter found
+on the desk gave another proof, if such were needed, that this was
+not a case of suicide.  This letter was in the handwriting of the
+dead man, and read as follows:
+
+Dear Friend:
+
+I appreciate greatly all the kindness shown me by yourself and your
+good wife.  I have been more successful than I thought possible in
+overcoming the obstacles you know of.  Therefore, I shall be very
+glad to join you day after to-morrow, Sunday, in the proposed
+excursion.  I will call for you at 8 A.M.--the cab and the
+champagne will be my share of the trip.  We'll have a jolly day
+and drink a glass or two to our plans for the future.
+
+With best greetings for both of you,
+Your old friend,
+                                                     John
+G--, Friday, Sept.  23rd.
+
+An envelope, not yet addressed, lay beside this letter.  It was
+clear that the man who penned these words had no thought of suicide.
+On the contrary, he was looking forward to a day of pleasure in the
+near future, and laying plans for the time to come.  The murderer's
+bullet had pierced a heart pulsing with the joy of life.
+
+This was the gist of the account in the evening paper.  Muller
+read it through carefully, lingering over several points which
+seemed to interest him particularly.  Then he turned to Miss Babette
+Graumann.  "And then what happened?" he asked.
+
+"Then the Police Commissioner came to Grunau and questioned my
+nephew.  They had found out that Albert was Mr. Siders' only friend
+here.  And late that evening the Mayor and the Commissioner came
+to our house with the revolver they had found in the room in G--,
+and they--they--" her voice trembled again, "they arrested my dear
+boy and took him away."
+
+"Have you visited him in prison?  What does he say about it himself?"
+
+"He seems quite hopeless.  He says that he is innocent--oh, I know
+he is--but everything is against him.  He acknowledges that it was
+he who was in Mr. Siders' room the evening before the murder.  He
+went there because Siders wrote him to come.  He says he left early,
+and that John acted queerly.  He knows they will not believe his
+story.  This worry and anxiety will kill him.  He has a serious heart
+trouble; he has suffered from it for years, and it has been growing
+steadily worse.  I dare not think what this excitement may do for
+him."  Miss Graumann broke down again and sobbed aloud.  Muller laid
+his hands soothingly on the little old fingers that gripped the arm
+of the chair.
+
+"Did your nephew send you here to ask for help?" he inquired very
+gently.
+
+"Oh, no"  The old lady looked up at him through her tears.  "No, he
+would not have done that.  I'm afraid that he'll be angry if he
+knows that I have come.  He seemed so hopeless, so dazed.  I just
+couldn't stand it.  It seemed to me that the police in G-- were
+taking things for granted, and just sitting there waiting for an
+innocent man to confess, instead of looking for the real murderer,
+who may be gone, the Lord knows where, by now!"  Miss Graumann's
+faded cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she straightened up in
+her chair again, while her eyes snapped defiance through the tears
+that hung on their lashes.
+
+A faint gleam twinkled up in Muller's eyes, and he did not look at
+his chief.  Doctor von Riedau's own face glowed in a slowly mounting
+flush, and his eyes drooped in a moment of conscious embarrassment
+at some recollection, the sting of which was evidently made worse
+by Muller's presence.  But Commissioner von Riedau had brains enough
+to acknowledge his mistakes and to learn from them.  He looked across
+the desk at Miss Graumann.  "You are right, Madam, the police have
+made that mistake more than once.  And a man with a clear record
+deserves the benefit of the doubt.  We will take up this case.
+Detective Muller will be put in charge of it.  And that means, Madam,
+that we are giving you the very best assistance the Imperial Police
+Force affords."
+
+Miss Babette Graumann did not attempt to speak.  In a wave of
+emotion she stretched out both little hands to the detective and
+clasped his warmly.  "Oh, thank you," she said at last.  "I thank
+you.  He's just like my own boy to me; he's all the child I ever
+had, you know."
+
+"But there are difficulties in the way," continued the commissioner
+in a business-like tone.  "The local authorities in G-- have not
+asked for our assistance, and we are taking up the case over their
+heads, as it were.  I shall have to leave that to Muller's diplomacy.
+He will come to G-- and have an interview with your nephew.  Then he
+will have to use his own judgment as to the next steps, and as to
+how far he may go in opposition to what has been done by the police
+there."
+
+"And then I may go back home?" asked Miss Graumann.  "Go home with
+the assurance that you will help my poor boy?"
+
+"Yes, you may depend on us, Madam.  Is there anything we can do for
+you here?  Are you alone in the city?"
+
+"No, thank you.  There is a friend here who will take care of me.
+She will put me on the afternoon express back to G--."
+
+"It is very likely that I will take that train myself," said Muller.
+"If there is anything that you need on the journey, call on me."
+
+"Oh, thank you, I will indeed!  Thank you both, gentlemen.  And now
+good-bye, and God bless you!"
+
+The commissioner bowed and Muller held the door open for Miss
+Graumann to pass out.  There was silence in the room, as the two men
+looked after the quaint little figure slowly descending the stairs.
+
+"A brave little woman," murmured the commissioner.
+
+"It is not only the mother in the flesh who knows what a mother's
+love is," added Muller.
+
+Next morning Joseph Muller stood in the cell of the prison in G--
+confronting Albert Graumann, accused of the murder of John Siders.
+
+The detective had just come from a rather difficult interview with
+Commissioner Lange.  But the latter, though not a brilliant man, was
+at least good-natured.  He acknowledged the right of the accused and
+his family to ask for outside assistance, and agreed with Muller
+that it was better to have some one in the official service brought
+in, rather than a private detective whose work, in its eventual
+results, might bring shame on the police.  Muller explained that
+Miss Graumann did not want her nephew to know that it was she who
+had asked for aid in his behalf, and that it could only redound to
+his, Lange's, credit if it were understood that he had sent to
+Vienna for expert assistance in this case.  It would be a proof of
+his conscientious attention to duty, and would insure praise for
+him, whichever way the case turned out.  Commissioner Lange saw the
+force of this argument, and finally gave Muller permission to handle
+the case as he thought best, rather relieved than otherwise for his
+own part.  The detective's next errand was to the prison, where he
+now stood looking up into the deep-set, dark eyes of a tall,
+broad-shouldered, black-bearded man, who had arisen from the cot at
+his entrance.  Albert Graumann had a strong, self-reliant face and
+bearing.  His natural expression was somewhat hard and stern, but it
+was the expression of a man of integrity and responsibility.  Muller
+had already made some inquiries as to the prisoner's reputation and
+business standing in the community, and all that he had heard was
+favourable.  A certain hardness and lack of amiability in Graumann's
+nature made it difficult for him to win the hearts of others, but
+although he was not generally loved, he was universally respected.
+Through the signs of nagging fear, sorrow, and ill-health, printed
+clearly on the face before him, Muller's keen eyes looked down into
+the soul of a man who might be overbearing, pitiless even, if
+occasion demanded, but who would not murder--at least not for the
+sake of gain.  This last possibility Muller had dismissed from
+his mind, even before he saw the prisoner.  The man's reputation
+was sufficient to make the thought ridiculous.  But he had not made
+up his mind whether it might not be a case of a murder after a
+quarrel.  Now he began to doubt even this when he looked into the
+intelligent, harsh-featured face of the man in the cell.  But Muller
+had the gift of putting aside his own convictions, when he wanted
+his mind clear to consider evidence before him.
+
+Graumann had risen from his sitting position when he saw a stranger.
+His heavy brows drew down over his, eyes, but he waited for the
+other to speak.
+
+"I am Detective Joseph Muller, from Vienna," began the newcomer,
+when he had seen that the prisoner did not intend to start the
+conversation.
+
+"Have you come to question me again?" asked Graumann wearily.  "I
+can say no more than I have already said to the Police Commissioner.
+And no amount of cross-examination can make me confess a crime of
+which I am not guilty--no matter what evidence there may be against
+me."  The prisoner's voice was hard and determined in spite of its
+note of physical and mental weariness.
+
+"I have not come to extort a confession from you, Mr. Graumann,"
+Muller replied gently, "but to help you establish your innocence,
+if it be possible."
+
+A wave of colour flooded the prisoner's cheek.  He gasped, pressed
+his hand to his heart, and dropped down on his cot.  "Pardon me,"
+he said finally, hesitating like a man who is fighting for breath.
+"My heart is weak; any excitement upsets me.  You mean that the
+authorities are not convinced of my guilt, in spite of the evidence?
+You mean that they will give me the benefit of the doubt--that they
+will give me a chance for life?"
+
+"Yes, that is the reason for my coming here.  I am to take this
+case in hand.  If you will talk freely to me, Mr. Graumann, I may
+be able to help you.  I have seen too many mistakes of justice
+because of circumstantial evidence to lay any too great stress
+upon it.  I have waited to hear your side of the story from
+yourself.  I did not want to hear it from others.  Will you tell it
+to me now?  No, do not move, I will get the stool myself."
+
+Graumaun sat back on the cot, his head resting against the wall.
+His eyes had closed while Muller was speaking, but his quieter
+breathing showed that he was mastering the physical attack which
+had so shaken him at the first glimpse of hope.  He opened his eyes
+now and looked at Muller steadily for a moment.  Then he said: "Yes,
+I will tell you: my life and my work have taught me to gauge men.
+I will tell you everything I know about this sad affair.  I will
+tell you the absolute truth, and I think you will believe me."
+
+"I will believe you," said Muller simply.
+
+"You know the details of the murder, of course, and why I was
+arrested?"
+
+"You were arrested because you were the last person seen in the
+company of the murdered man?"
+
+"Exactly.  Then I may go back and tell you something of my
+connection with John Siders?"
+
+"It would be the very best thing to do."
+
+"I live in Grunau, as you doubtless know, and am the engineering
+expert of large machine works there.  My father before me held an
+important position in the factory, and my family have always lived
+in Grunau.  I have traveled a great deal myself.  I am forty-five
+years old, a childless widower, and live with my old aunt, Miss
+Babette Graumann, and my ward, Miss Eleonora Roemer, a young lady
+of twenty-two." Muller looked up with a slight start of surprise,
+but did not say anything.  Graumann continued:
+
+"A little over a year ago, John Siders, who signed himself as coming
+from Chicago, bought a piece of property in our town and came to
+live there.  I made his acquaintance in the cafe and he seemed to
+take a fancy to me.  I also had spent several years in Chicago, and
+we naturally came to speak of the place.  We discovered that we had
+several mutual acquaintances there, and enjoyed talking over the
+old times.  Otherwise I did not take particularly to the man, and
+as I came to know him better I noticed that he never mentioned that
+part of his life which lay back of the years in Chicago.  I asked a
+casual question once or twice as to his home and family, but he
+evaded me every time, and would not give a direct answer.  He was
+evidently a German by birth and education, a man with university
+training, and one who knew life thoroughly.  He had delightful
+manners, and when he could forget his shyness for a while, he could
+be very agreeable.  The ladies of my family came to like him, and
+encouraged him to call frequently.  Then the thing happened that I
+should not have believed possible.  My ward, Miss Roemer, a quiet,
+reserved girl, fell in love with this man about whom none of us
+knew anything, a man with a past of which he did not care to speak.
+
+"I was not in any way satisfied with the match, and they seemed to
+realise it.  For Siders managed to persuade the girl to a secret
+engagement.  I discovered it a month or two ago, and it made me very
+angry.  I did not let them see how badly I felt, but I warned Lora
+not to have too much to do with the boy, and I set about finding
+out something regarding his earlier life.  It was my duty to do this,
+as I was the girl's guardian.  She has no other relative living, and
+no one to turn to except my aunt and myself.  I wrote to Mr. Richard
+Tressider in Chicago, the owner of the factory in which I had been
+employed while there.  John had told me that Tressider had been his
+client during the four years in which he practiced law in Chicago.
+I received an answer about the middle of August.  Mr. Tressider had
+been able to find out only that John was born in the town of Hartberg
+in a certain year.  This was enough.  I took leave of absence for a
+few days and went to Hartberg, which, as you know, is about 140 miles
+from here.  Three days later I knew all that I wanted to know.  John
+Siders was not the man's real name, or, rather, it was only part of
+his name.  His full name was Theodor John Bellmann, and his mother
+was an Englishwoman whose maiden name was Siders.  His father was a
+county official who died at an early age, leaving his widow and the
+boy in deepest poverty.  Mrs. Bellmann moved to G-- to give music
+lessons.  Theodor went to school there, then finally to college, and
+was an excellent pupil everywhere.  But one day it was discovered
+that he had been stealing money from the banker in whose house he
+was serving as private tutor to the latter's sons.  A large sum of
+money was missing, and every evidence pointed to young Bellmann as
+the thief.  He denied strenuously that he was guilty, but the
+District Judge (it was the present Prosecuting Attorney Schmidt in
+G--) sentenced him.  He spent eight months in prison, during which
+time his mother died of grief at the disgrace.  There must have been
+something good in the boy, for he had never forgotten that it was
+his guilt that struck down his only relative, the mother who had
+worked so hard for him.  He had atoned for this crime of his youth,
+and during the years that have passed since then, he had been an
+honest, upright man."
+
+Graumann paused a moment and pressed his hand to his heart again.
+His voice had grown weaker, and he breathed hard.  Finally he
+continued: "I commanded my ward to break off her engagement, as I
+could not allow her to marry a man who was a freed convict.  Siders
+sold his property some few weeks after that and moved to G--.
+Eleonora acquiesced in my commands, but she was very unhappy and
+allowed me to see very little of her.  Then came the events of the
+evening of September 23rd, the events which have turned out so
+terribly.  I will try to tell you the story just as it happened,
+so far as I am concerned.  I had seen nothing of John since he left
+this town.  He had made several attempts before his departure for
+G-- to change my opinion, and my decision as to his marriage to my
+ward.  But I let him see plainly that it was impossible for him to
+enter our family with such a past behind him.  He asserted his
+innocence of the charges against him, and declared that he had been
+unjustly accused and imprisoned.  I am afraid that I was hard
+towards him.  I begin to understand now, as I never thought I
+should, what it means to be accused of crime.  I begin to realise
+that it is possible for every evidence to point to a man who is
+absolutely innocent of the deed in question.  I begin to think now
+that John may have been right, that possibly he also may have been
+accused and sentenced on circumstantial evidence alone.  I have
+thought much, and I have learned much in these terrible days."
+
+The prisoner paused again and sat brooding, his eyes looking out
+into space.  Muller respected his suffering and sat in equal
+silence, until Graumann raised his eyes to his again.  "Then came
+the evening of the 23rd of September?"
+
+"Yes, that evening--it's all like a dream to me."  Graumann began
+again.  "John wrote me a letter asking me to come to see him on that
+evening.  I tore up the letter and threw it away--or perhaps, yes,
+I remember now, I did not wish Eleonora to see that he had written
+me.  He asked me to come to see him, as he had something to say to
+me, something of the greatest importance for us both.  He asked me
+not to mention to any one that I was to see him, as it would be
+wiser no one should know that we were still in communication with
+each other.  There was a strain of nervous excitement visible in his
+letter.  I thought it better to go and see him as he requested; I
+felt that I owed him some little reparation for having denied him
+the great wish of his heart.  It was my duty to make up to him in
+other ways for what I had felt obliged to do.  I knew him for a
+nervous, high-strung man, overwrought by brooding for years on what
+he called his wrongs, and I did not know what he might do if I
+refused his request.  It was not of myself I thought in this
+connection, but of the girl at home who looked to me for protection.
+
+"I had no fear for myself; it never occurred to me to think of
+taking a weapon with me.  How my revolver--and it is undoubtedly
+my revolver, for there was a peculiar break in the silver
+ornamentation on the handle which is easily recognisable--how this
+revolver of mine got into his room, is more than I can say.  Until
+the Police Commissioner showed it to me two or three days ago, I
+had no idea that it was not in the box in my study where it is
+ordinarily kept."  Graumann paused again and looked about him as
+if searching for something.  He rose and poured himself out a glass
+of water.  "Let me put some of this in it," said Muller.  "It will
+do you good."  From a flask in his pocket he poured a few drops of
+brandy into the water.  Graumann drank it and nodded gratefully.
+Then he took up his story again.
+
+"I never discovered why Siders had sent for me.  When I arrived at
+the appointed time I found the door of the house closed.  I was
+obliged to ring several times before an old servant opened the door.
+She seemed surprised that it had been locked.  She said that the
+door was always unlatched, and that Mr. Siders himself must have
+closed it, contrary to all custom, for she had not done it, and
+there was no one else in the house but the two of them.  Siders
+was waiting for me at the top of the stairs, calling down a noisy
+welcome.
+
+"When I asked him finally what it was so important that he wanted
+to say to me, he evaded me and continued to chatter on about
+commonplace things.  Finally I insisted upon knowing why he had
+wanted me to come, and he replied that the reason for it had already
+been fulfilled, that he had nothing more to say, and that I could go
+as soon as I wanted to.  He appeared quite calm, but he must have
+been very nervous.  For as I stood by the desk, telling him what I
+thought of his actions, he moved his hand hastily among the papers
+there and upset the ink stand.  I jumped back, but not before I had
+received several large spots of ink on my trousers.  He was profuse
+in his apologies for the accident, and tried to take out the spots
+with blotting paper.  Then at last, when I insisted upon going, he
+looked out to see whether there was still a light on the stairs, and
+led me down to the door himself, standing there for some time
+looking after me.
+
+"I was slightly alarmed as well as angry at his actions.  I believe
+that he could not have been quite in his right mind, that the strain
+of nervousness which was apparent in his nature had really made him
+ill.  For I remember several peculiar incidents of my visit to him.
+One of these was that he almost insisted upon my taking away with me,
+ostensibly to take care of them, several valuable pieces of jewelry
+which he possessed.  He seemed almost offended when I refused to do
+anything of the kind.  Then, as I parted from him at the door, not
+in a very good humour I will acknowledge, he said to me: 'You will
+think of me very often in the future--more often than you would
+believe now!'
+
+"This is all the truth, and nothing but the truth, about my visit
+to John Siders on the evening of September 23rd.  As it had been
+his wish I said nothing to the ladies at home, or to any one else
+about the occurrence.  And as I have told you, I destroyed his
+letter asking me to come to him.
+
+"The following day about noon, the Commissioner of Police from
+G-- called at my office in the factory, and informed me bluntly that
+John Siders had been found shot dead in his lodgings that morning.
+I was naturally shocked, as one would be at such news, in spite of
+the fact that I had parted from the man in anger, and that I had no
+reason to be particularly fond of him.  What shocked me most of all
+was the sudden thought that John had taken his own life.  It was a
+perfectly natural thought when I considered his nervousness, and his
+peculiar actions of the evening before.  I believe I exclaimed,
+'It was a suicide!' almost without realising that I was doing so.
+The commissioner looked at me sharply and said that suicide was out
+of the question, that it was an evident case of murder.  He
+questioned me as to Siders' affairs, of which I told only what every
+one here in the village knew.  I did not consider it incumbent upon
+me to disclose to the police the disgrace of the man's early life.
+I had been obliged to hurt him cruelly enough because of that, and
+I saw no necessity for blackening his name, now that he was dead.
+Also, as according to what the commissioner said, it was a case of
+murder for robbery, I did not wish to go into any details of our
+connection with Siders that would cause the name of my ward to be
+mentioned.  After a few more questions the commissioner left me.
+I was busy all the afternoon, and did not return to my home until
+later than usual.  I found my aunt somewhat worried because Miss
+Roemer had left the house immediately after our early dinner, and
+had not yet returned.  We both knew the girl to be still grieving
+over her broken engagement, and we dreaded the effect this last
+dreadful news might have on her.  We supposed, however, that she
+had gone to spend the afternoon with a friend, and were rather
+glad to be spared the necessity of telling her at once what had
+happened.  I had scarcely finished my supper, when the door bell
+rang, and to my astonishment the Mayor of Grunau was announced,
+accompanied by the same Police Commissioner who had visited me
+in my office that morning.  The Mayor was an old friend of mine
+and his deeply grave face showed me that something serious had
+occurred.  It was indeed serious!  and for some minutes I could
+not grasp the meaning of the commissioner's questions.  Finally I
+realised with a tremendous shock that I--I myself was under
+suspicion of the murder of John Siders.  The description given by
+the old servant of the man who had visited Siders the evening
+before, the very clothes that I wore, my hat and the trousers
+spotted by the purple ink, led to my identification as this
+mysterious visitor.  The servant had let me in but she had not
+seen me go out.
+
+"Then I discovered--when confronted suddenly with my own revolver
+which had been found on the floor of the room, some distance from
+the body of the dead man, that this same revolver had been identified
+as mine by my ward, Eleonora Roemer, who had been to the police
+station at G-- in the early afternoon hours.  Some impulse of loyalty
+to her dead lover, some foolish feminine fear that I might have
+spoken against him in my earlier interviews with the commissioner
+had driven the girl to this step.  A few questions sufficed to draw
+from her the story of her secret engagement, of its ending, and of
+my quarrel with John.  I will say for her that I am certain she did
+not realise that all these things were calculated to cast suspicion
+on me.  The poor girl is too unused to the ways of police courts, to
+the devious ways of the law, to realise what she was doing.  The
+sight of my revolver broke her down completely and she acknowledged
+that it was mine.  That is all.  Except that I was arrested and
+brought here as you see.  I told the commissioner the story of my
+visit to John Siders exactly as I told it to you, but it was plain
+to be seen that he did not believe me.  It is plain to be seen also,
+that he is firmly convinced of my guilt and that he is greatly
+satisfied with himself at having traced the criminal so soon."
+
+"And yet he was not quite satisfied," said Muller gently.  "You see
+that he has sent to the Capital for assistance on the case."  Muller
+felt this little untruth to be justified for the sake of the honour
+of the police force.
+
+"Yes, I'm surprised at that," said Graumann in his former tone of
+weariness.  "What do you think you will be able to do about it?"
+
+"I must ask questions here and there before I can form a plan of
+campaign," replied Muller.  "What do you think about it yourself?
+Who do you think killed Siders?"
+
+"How can I know who it was?  I only know it is not I," answered
+Graumann.
+
+"Did he have any enemies?"
+
+"No, none that I knew of, and he had few friends either."
+
+"You knew there was a sum of money missing from his rooms?"
+
+"Yes, the sum they named to me was just about the price that he
+had received for the sale of his property here.  They did me the
+honour to believe that if I had taken the money at all, I had done
+so merely as a blind.  At least they did not take me for a thief
+as well as a murderer.  If the money is really missing, it was for
+its sake he was murdered I suppose."
+
+"Yes, that would be natural," said Muller.  "And you know nothing
+of any other relations or connections that the man may have had?
+Anything that might give us a clue to the truth?"
+
+"No, nothing.  He stood so alone here, as far as I knew.  Of course,
+as I told you, his actions of the evening before having been so
+peculiar--and as I knew that he was not in the happiest frame of
+mind--I naturally thought of suicide at once, when they told me
+that he had been found shot dead.  Then they told me that the
+appearance of the room and many other things, proved suicide to have
+been out of the question.  I know nothing more about it.  I cannot
+think any more about it.  I know only that I am here in danger of
+being sentenced for the crime that I never committed--that is
+enough to keep any man's mind busy."  He leaned back with an intense
+fatigue in every line of his face and figure.
+
+Muller rose from his seat.  "I am afraid I have tired you, Mr.
+Graumann," he said, "but it was necessary that I should know all
+that you had to tell me.  Try and rest a little now and meanwhile
+be assured that I am doing all I can to find out the truth of this
+matter.  As far as I can tell now I do not believe that you have
+killed John Siders.  But I must find some further proofs that will
+convince others as well as myself.  If it is of any comfort to you,
+I can tell you that during a long career as police detective I have
+been most astonishingly fortunate in the cases I have undertaken.
+I am hoping that my usual good luck will follow me here also.  I am
+hoping it for your sake."
+
+The man on the cot took the hand the detective offered him and
+pressed it firmly.  "You will let me know as soon as you have found
+anything--anything that gives me hope?"
+
+"I will indeed.  And now save your strength and do not worry.  I
+will help you if it is in my power."
+
+After leaving the prison, Muller took the train for the village of
+Grunau, about half an hour distant from the city.  He found his way
+easily to Graumann's home, an attractive old house set in a large
+garden amid groups of beautiful old trees.  When he sent up his card
+to Miss Graumann, the old lady tripped down stairs in a flutter of
+excitement.
+
+"Did you see him?" she asked.  "You have been to the prison?  What
+do you think?  How does he seem?"
+
+"He seems calm to-day," replied Muller, "although the confinement
+and the anxiety are evidently wearing on him."
+
+"And you heard his story?  And you believe him innocent?"
+
+"I am inclined to do so.  But there is more yet for me to investigate
+in this matter.  It is certainly not as simple as the police here
+seem to believe.  May I speak to your ward, Miss Roemer?  She is at
+home now?"
+
+"Yes, Lora is at home.  If you will wait here a moment I will send
+her in."
+
+Muller paced up and down the large sunny room, casting a glance
+over the handsome old pieces of furniture and the family portraits
+on the wall.  It was evidently the home of generations of well-to-do,
+well-bred people, the narrow circle of whose life was made rich by
+congenial duties and a comfortable feeling of their standing in the
+community.
+
+While he was studying one of the portraits more carefully, he became
+aware that there was some one in the room.  He turned and saw a tall
+blond girl standing by the door.  She had entered so softly that
+even Muller's quick ear had not heard the opening of the door.
+
+"Do you wish to speak to me?" she said, coming down into the room.
+"I am Eleonora Roemer"
+
+Her face, which could be called handsome in its even regularity of
+feature and delicate skin, was very pale now, and around her eyes
+were dark rings that spoke of sleepless nights.  Grief and mental
+shock were preying upon this girl's mind.  "She is not the one to
+make a confidant of those around her," thought Muller to himself.
+Then he added aloud: "If it does not distress you too much to talk
+about this sad affair, I will be very grateful if you will answer
+a few questions."
+
+"I will tell you whatever I can," said the girl in the same low
+even tone in which she had first spoken.  "Miss Graumann tells me
+that you have come from Vienna to take up this case.  It is only
+natural that we should want to give you every assistance in our
+power."
+
+"What is your opinion about it?" was Muller's next remark, made
+rather suddenly after a moment's pause.
+
+The directness of the question seemed to shake the girl out of her
+enforced calm.  A slow flush mounted into her pale cheeks and then
+died away, again leaving them whiter than before.  "I do not know
+--oh, I do not know what to believe."
+
+"But you do not think Mr. Graumann capable of such a crime, do you?"
+
+"Not of the robbery, of course not; that would be absurd! But has
+it been clearly proven that there is a robbery?  Might it not have
+been--might they not have--"
+
+"You mean, might they not have quarreled?  Of course there is
+that possibility.  And that is why I wanted to speak to you.  You
+are the one person who could possibly throw light on this subject.
+Was there any other reason beyond the dead man's past that would
+render your guardian unwilling to have you marry him?"
+
+Again the slow flush mounted to Eleonora Roemer's cheeks and her
+head drooped.
+
+"I fear it may be painful for you to answer this," said Muller
+gently, "and yet I must insist on it in the interest of justice."
+
+"He--my guardian--wished to marry me himself," the girl's words
+came slowly and painfully.
+
+Muller drew in his breath so sharply that it was almost like a
+whistle.  "He did not tell me that; it might make a difference."
+
+"That ... that is ... what I fear," said the girl, her eyes
+looking keenly into those of the man who sat opposite.  "And then,
+it was his revolver."
+
+"Then you do believe him guilty?"
+
+"It would be horrible, horrible--and yet I do not know what to
+think."
+
+There was silence in the room for a moment.  Miss Roemer's head
+drooped again and her hands twisted nervously in her lap.  Muller's
+brain was very busy with this new phase of the problem.  Finally
+he spoke.
+
+"Let us dismiss this side of the question and talk of another phase
+of it, a phase of which it is necessary for me to know something.
+You would naturally be the person nearest the dead man, the one, the
+only one, perhaps, to whom he had given his confidence.  Do you know
+of any enemies he might have had in the city?"
+
+"No, I do not know of any enemies, or even of any friends he had
+there.  When the terrible thing happened that clouded his past,
+when he had regained his freedom, after his term of imprisonment,
+there was no one left whom he cared to see again.  He does not seem
+to have borne any malice towards the banker who accused him of the
+theft.  The evidence was so strong against him that he felt the
+suspicion was justified.  But there was hatred in his heart for one
+man, for the Justice who sentenced him, Justice Schmidt, who is now
+Attorney General in G--."
+
+"The man who, in the name of the State, will conduct this case?"
+asked Muller quickly.
+
+"Yes, I believe it is so.  Is it not an irony that this man, the
+only one whom John really hated, should be the one to avenge him
+now?"
+
+"H'm! yes.  But did you know of any friends in G--?"
+
+"No, none at all."
+
+"No friends whom he might have made while he was in America and
+then met again in Germany?"
+
+"No, he never spoke of any such to me.  He told me that he made few
+friends.  He did not seek them for he was afraid that they might
+find out what had happened and turn from him.  He was morbidly
+sensitive and could not bear the disappointment."
+
+"Why did he return to Germany?"
+
+"He was lonely and wanted to come home again.  He had made money
+in America--John was very clever and highly educated--but his
+heart longed for his own tongue and his own people."
+
+Muller took a folded piece of paper from his pocket.  "Do you know
+this handwriting?"
+
+Miss Roemer read the few lines hastily and her voice trembled as
+she said: "This is John's handwriting.  I know it well.  This is
+the letter that was found on the table?"
+
+"Yes, this letter appears to be the last he had written in life.
+Do you know to whom it could have been written?  The envelope, as
+I suppose you know from the newspaper reports, was not addressed.
+Do you know of any friends with whom he could have been on terms
+of sufficient intimacy to write such a letter?  Do you know what
+these plans for the future could have been?  It would certainly be
+natural that he should have spoken to you first about them."
+
+"No; I cannot understand this letter at all," replied the girl.  "I
+have thought of it frequently these terrible days.  I have wondered
+why it was that if he had friends in the city, he did not speak to
+me of them.  He repeatedly told me that he had no friends there at
+all, that his life should begin anew after we were married."
+
+"And did he have any particular plans, in a business way, perhaps?"
+
+"No; he had a comfortable little income and need have no fear for
+the future.  John was, of course, too young a man to settle down
+and do nothing.  But the only definite plans he had made were that
+we should travel a little at first, and then he would look about
+him for a congenial occupation.  I always thought it likely he
+would resume a law practice somewhere.  I cannot understand in the
+slightest what the plans are to which the letter referred."
+
+"And do you think, from what you know of his state of mind when
+you saw him last, that he would be likely so soon to be planning
+pleasures like this?"
+
+"No, no indeed!  John was terribly crushed when my guardian insisted
+on breaking off our engagement.  Until my twenty-fourth birthday I
+am still bound to do as my guardian says, you know.  John's life and
+early misfortune made him, as I have already said, morbidly sensitive
+and the thought that it would be a bar to anything we might plan in
+the future, had rendered him so depressed that--and it was not the
+least of my anxieties and my troubles--that I feared ... I feared
+anything might happen."
+
+"You feared he might take his own life, do you mean?"
+
+"Yes, yes, that is what I feared.  But is it not terrible to think
+that he should have died this way--by the hand of a murderer?"
+
+"H'm!  And you cannot remember any possible friend he may have
+found--some schoolboy friend of his youth, perhaps, with whom he
+had again struck  up an acquaintance."
+
+"Oh, no, no, I am positive of that.  John could not bear to hear
+the names even of the people he had known before his misfortune.
+Still, I do remember his once having spoken of a man, a German he
+had met in Chicago and rather taken a fancy to, and who had also
+returned to Germany."
+
+"Could this possibly have been the man to whom the letter is
+addressed?"
+
+"No, no.  This friend of John's was not married; I remember his
+saying that.  And he lived in Germany somewhere--let me think--yes,
+in Frankfort-on-Main."
+
+"And do you remember the man's name?"
+
+"No, I cannot, I am sorry to say.  John only mentioned it once.  It
+was only by a great effort that I could remember the incident at all."
+
+"And has it not struck you as rather peculiar that this friend, the
+one to whom the cordial letter was addressed, did not come forward
+and make his identity known?  G-- is a city, it is true, but it is
+not a very large city, and any man being on terms of intimate
+acquaintance with one who was murdered would be apt to come forward
+in the hope of throwing some light on the mystery."
+
+"Why, yes, I had not thought of that.  It is peculiar, is it not?
+But some people are so foolishly afraid of having anything to do
+with the police, you know."
+
+"That is very true, Miss Roemer.  Still it is a queer incident and
+something that I must look into."
+
+"What do you believe?" asked the girl tensely.
+
+"I am not in a position to say as yet.  When I am, I will come to
+you and tell you."
+
+"Then you do not think that my guardian killed John--that there
+was a quarrel between the men?"
+
+"There is, of course, a possibility that it may have been so.  You
+know your guardian better than I do, naturally.  Our knowledge of
+a man's character is often a far better guide than any circumstantial
+evidence."
+
+"My guardian is a man of the greatest uprightness of character.  But
+he can be very hard and pitiless sometimes.  And he has a violent
+temper which his weak heart has forced him to keep in control of
+late years."
+
+"All this speaks for the possibility that there may have been a
+quarrel ending in the fatal shot.  But what I want to know from
+you is this--do you think it possible, that, this having happened,
+Albert Graumann would not have been the first to confess his
+unpremeditated crime?  Is not this the most likely thing for a man
+of his character to do?  Would he so stubbornly deny it, if it had
+happened?"
+
+The girl started.  "I had not thought of that!  Why, why, of course,
+he might have killed John in a moment of temper, but he was never
+a man to conceal a fault.  He is as pitiless towards his own
+weakness, as towards that of others.  You are right, oh, you must
+be right.  Oh, if you could take this awful fear from my heart!
+Even my grief for John would be easier to bear then."
+
+Muller rose from his chair.  "I think I can promise you that this
+load will be lifted from your heart, Miss Roemer."
+
+"Then you believe--that it was just a case of murder for robbery?
+For the money?  And John had some valuable jewelry, I know that."
+
+"I do not know yet," replied Muller slowly, "but I will find out,
+I generally do."
+
+"Oh, to think that I should have done that poor man such an
+injustice!  It is terrible, terrible!  This house has been ghastly
+these days.  His poor aunt knows that he is innocent--she could
+never believe otherwise--she has felt the hideous suspicion in my
+mind--it has made her suffering worse--will they ever forgive me?"
+
+"Her joy, if I can free her nephew, will make her forget everything.
+Go to her now, Miss Roemer, comfort her with the assurance that you
+also believe him to be innocent.  I must hasten back to G-- and go
+on with this quest."
+
+The girl stood at the doorway shaded by the overhanging branches of
+two great trees, looking down the street after the slight figure of
+the detective.  "Oh, it is all easier to hear, hard as it is, easier
+now that this horrible suspicion has gone from my mind--why did I
+not think of that before?"
+
+Alone in the corner of the smoking compartment in the train to G--,
+Muller arranged in his mind the facts he had already gathered.  He
+had questioned the servants of John Siders' former household, had
+found that the dead man received very few letters, only an
+occasional business communication from his bank.  Of the few others,
+the servants knew nothing except that he had always thrown the
+envelopes carelessly in the waste paper basket and had never seemed
+to have any correspondence which he cared to conceal.  No friend
+from elsewhere had ever visited him in Grunau, and he had made few
+friends there except the Graumann family.
+
+The facts of the case, as he knew them now, were such as to make it
+extremely doubtful that Graumann was the murderer.  Muller himself
+had been inclined to believe in the possibility of a quarrel
+between the two men, particularly when he had heard that Graumann
+himself was in love with his handsome ward.  But the second thought
+that came to him then, impelled by the unerring instinct that so
+often guided him to the truth, was the assurance that in a case of
+this kind, in a case of a quarrel terminating fatally, a man like
+Albert Graumann would be the very first to give himself up to the
+police and to tell the facts of the case.  Albert Graumann was a
+man of honour and unimpeachable integrity.  Such a man would not
+persist in a foolish denial of the deed which he had committed in
+a moment of temper.  There would be nothing to gain from it, and
+his own conscience would be his severest judge.  "The disorder in
+the room?" thought Muller.  "It'll be too late for that now.  I
+suppose they have rearranged the place.  I can only go by what the
+local detectives have seen, by the police reports.  But I do not
+understand this extreme disorder.  There is no reason why there
+should be a struggle when the robber was armed with a pistol.  If
+Siders was supposed to have been interrupted when writing a letter,
+interrupted by a thief come with intent to steal, a thief armed
+with a revolver, the sight of this weapon alone would be sufficient
+to insure his not moving from his seat.  I can understand the open
+drawers and cupboard; that is explained by the thief's hasty search
+for booty.  But the torn window curtain and the overturned chairs
+are peculiar.
+
+"Of course there is always a possibility that the thief might have
+entered one room while Siders was in the other; that the latter
+might have surprised the robber in his search for money or valuables,
+and that there might have been a hand-to-hand struggle before the
+intruder could pull out his revolver.  Oh, if I could only have seen
+the body!  This is working under terrific difficulties.  The marks
+of a hand-to-hand struggle would have been very plain on the clothes
+and on the person of the murdered man.  But this letter?  I do not
+understand this letter at all.  It is the dead man's handwriting,
+that we know, but why did not the friend to whom it was addressed
+come forward and make himself known?  As far as I can learn from the
+police reports in G--, there was no personal interest shown, no
+personal inquiries made about the dead man.  There was only the
+natural excitement that a murder would create.  Now a family,
+expecting to make a pleasure excursion with a friend in a day or
+two and suddenly hearing that this friend had been found murdered
+in his lodgings, would be inclined to take some little personal
+interest in the matter.  These people must have been in town and at
+home, for the excursion spoken of in the letter was to occur two
+days after the murder.  Miss Roemer's remark about the dread that
+some people have as to any connection with the police, is true to
+a limited extent only.  It is true only of the ignorant mind, not
+of a man presumably well-to-do and properly educated.  I do not
+understand why the man to whom this letter was addressed has not
+made himself known.  The only explanation is--that there was no
+such man!"  A sudden sharp whistle broke from the detective's lips.
+
+"I must examine the dead man's personal effects, his baggage, his
+papers; there may be something there.  His queer letter to Graumann
+--his desire that the latter's visit should be kept secret--a visit
+which apparently had no cause at all, except to get Graumann to the
+house, to get him to the house in a way that he should be seen
+coming, but should not be seen going away.  What does this mean?
+
+"Graumann was the only person against whom Siders had an active
+cause of quarrel for the moment.  There was one other man whom he
+hated, and this other man was the prosecuting attorney who would
+conduct any case of murder that came up in the town of G--.
+
+"Now John Siders is found murdered--is found killed, in his
+lodgings, the morning after he has arranged things so that his
+antagonist, his rival in love, Albert Graumann, shall come under
+suspicion of having murdered him.
+
+"What evidence have we that this man did not commit suicide?  We
+have the evidence of the disorder in the room, a disorder that
+could have been made just as well by the man himself before he ended
+his own life.  We have the evidence of a letter to some unknown,
+making plans for pleasure during the next days, and speaking of
+further plans, presumably concerning business, for the future.  In
+a town the size of G--, where every one must have read of the murder,
+no one has come forward claiming to be the friend for whom this
+letter was written.  Until this Unknown makes himself known, the
+letter as an evidence points rather to premeditated suicide than to
+the contrary.  Oh, if I could only have seen the body!  They tell
+me the pistol was found some little distance from the body.  Is it
+at all likely that a murderer would go away leaving such evidence
+behind him?  If Graumaun had killed Siders in a hasty quarrel, he
+might possibly, in his excitement, have left his revolver.  But I
+have already disposed of this possibility.  A man of sufficient
+brains to so carefully plan his suicide as to conceal every trace
+of it and cast suspicion upon the man who had made him unhappy, such
+a one would be quite clever enough to throw the pistol far away
+from his body and to leave no traces of powder on his coat or any
+such other evidence.
+
+"If I were to say now what I think, I would say that John Siders
+deliberately took his own life and planned it in such a way as to
+cast suspicion upon Albert Graumann.  But that would indeed be a
+terrible revenge.  And I must have some tangible proof of it before
+any court will accept my belief.  This proof must be hidden
+somewhere.  The thing for me to do is to find it."
+
+The evidence gathered at the time of the death went to show that
+Siders had been paid a considerable sum in cash for the sale of
+his property at Grunau.  And there was no trace of his having
+deposited this sum in any bank in G-- or in Grunau, in both of
+which places he had deposited other securities.  Therefore the
+money had presumably been in his room at the time of his death.
+A search had been made for this money in every possible place of
+concealment among the dead man's belongings, and it had not been
+found.  Muller asked the Police Commissioner to give him the key
+to the rooms, which were still officially closed, and also the
+keys to the dead man's pieces of baggage.  Commissioner Lange
+seemed to think all this extra search quite unnecessary, as it
+did not occur to him that anything else was to be looked for
+except the money.
+
+It was quite late when Muller began his examination of the dead
+man's effects.  He was struck by the fact that there was scarcely
+a bit of paper to be found anywhere, no letters, no business papers,
+except bank books showing the amount of his securities in the bank
+in G-- and in Grunau, and giving facts about some investments in
+Chicago.  There was nothing of more recent date and no personal
+correspondence whatever.  The same was true of the pockets of the
+suit Siders had been wearing at the time of his death.  A man of
+any property or position at all in the world gathers about him so
+much of this kind of material that its absence shows premeditation.
+The suit Siders had been wearing when he was killed was lying on
+the table in the room.  It was a plain grey business suit of good
+cut and material.  The body had been prepared for burial in a
+beseeming suit of black.  Muller made a careful examination of the
+clothes, and found only what the police reports showed him had
+already been found by the examination made by the local authorities.
+Upon a second careful examination, however, he found that in one of
+the vest pockets there was a little extra pocket, like a change
+pocket, and in it he found a crumpled piece of paper.  He took it
+out, smoothed and read it.  It was a post office receipt for a
+registered letter.  The date was still clear, but the name of the
+person to whom the letter had been addressed was illegible.  The
+creases of the paper and a certain dampness, as if it had been
+inadvertently touched by a wet finger, had smeared the writing.
+But the letter had been sent the day before the death of John
+Siders, and it had been registered from the main post office in
+G--.  This was sufficient for Muller.  Then he turned to the desk.
+Here also there was nothing that could help him.  But a sudden
+thought, came to him, and he took up the blotting pad.  This, to
+his delight, was in the form of a book with a handsome embroidered
+cover.  It looked comparatively new and was, as Muller surmised, a
+gift from Miss Roemer to her betrothed.  But few of the pages had
+been used, and on two of them a closely written letter had been
+blotted several times, showing that there had been several sheets
+of the letter.  Muller held it up to the looking-glass, but the
+repeated blotting had blurred the writing to such an extent that it
+was impossible to decipher any but a few disconnected words, which
+gave no clue.  On a page further along on the blotter, however, he
+saw what appeared to be the impression of an address.  He held it
+up to the glass and gave a whistle of delight.  The words could be
+plainly deciphered here:
+
+                       MR.  LEO PERNBURG,
+                      "FRANKFURT AM MAIN,
+                      "MAINZER LANDSTRASSE."
+
+and above the name was a smear which, after a little study, could
+be deciphered as the written word "Registered."
+
+With this page of the blotter carefully tucked away in his
+pocketbook, Muller hurried to the post office, arriving just at
+closing hour.  He made himself known at once to the postmaster, and
+asked to be shown the records of registered letters sent on a
+certain date.  Here he found scheduled a letter addressed to Mr.
+Leo Pernburg, Frankfurt am Main, sent by John Siders, G--, Josef
+Street 7.
+
+Muller then hastened to the telegraph office and despatched a
+lengthy telegram to the postal authorities in Frankfurt am Main.
+When the answer came to him next morning, he packed his grip and
+took the first express train leaving G--.  He first made a short
+visit, however, to Albert Graumann's cell in the prison.  Muller
+was much too kind-hearted not to relieve the anxiety of this man,
+to whom such mental strain might easily prove fatal.  He told
+Graumann that he was going in search of evidence which might throw
+light on the death of Siders, and comforted the prisoner with the
+assurance that he, Muller, believed Graumann innocent, and believed
+also that within a day or two he would return to G-- with proofs
+that his belief was the right one.
+
+Three days later Muller returned to Grunau and went at once to the
+Graumann home.  It was quite late when he arrived, but he had
+already notified Miss Roemer by telegram as to his coming, with a
+request that she should be ready to see him.  He found her waiting
+for him, pale and anxious-eyed, when he arrived.  "I have been to
+Frankfurt am Main," he said, "and I have seen Mr. Pernburg--"
+
+"Yes, yes, that is the name; now I remember," interrupted the girl
+eagerly.  "That is the name of John's friend there."
+
+"I have seen Mr. Pernburg and he gave me this letter."  Muller laid
+a thick envelope on the girl's lap.
+
+She looked down at it, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
+"That--that is John's writing," she exclaimed in a hoarse whisper.
+"Where did it come from?"
+
+"Pernburg gave it to me.  The day before his death John Siders sent
+him this letter, requesting that Pernburg forward it to you before
+a certain date.  When I explained the circumstances to Mr. Pernburg,
+he gave me the letter at once.  I feel that this paper holds the
+clue to the mystery.  Will you open it?"
+
+With trembling hands the girl tore open the envelope.  It enclosed
+still another sealed envelope, without an address.  But there was
+a sheet of paper around this letter, on which was written the
+following:
+
+
+My beloved Eleonore:
+
+Before you read what I have to say to you here I want you to promise
+me, in memory of our love and by your hope of future salvation, that
+you will do what I ask you to do.
+
+I ask you to give the enclosed letter, although it is addressed to
+you, to the Judge who will preside in the trial against Graumann.
+The letter is written to you and will be given back to you.  For
+you, the beloved of my soul, you are the only human being with whom
+I can still communicate, to whom I can still express my wishes.
+But you must not give the letter to the Judge until you have assured
+yourself that the prosecuting attorney insists upon Graumann's guilt.
+In case he is acquitted, which I do not think probable, then open
+this letter in the presence of Graumann himself and one or two
+witnesses.  For I wish Graumann, who is innocent, to be able to
+prove his innocence.
+
+You will know by this time that I have determined to end my life by
+my own hand.  Forgive me, beloved.  I cannot live on without you
+--without the honour of which I was robbed so unjustly.
+
+God bless you.
+
+One who will love you even beyond the grave,
+Remember your promise.  It was given to the dead.
+                                                       JOHN.
+
+"Oh, what does it all mean?" asked Eleonora, dropping the letter
+in her lap.
+
+"It is as I thought," replied Muller.  "John Siders took his own
+life, but made every arrangement to have suspicion fall upon
+Graumann."
+
+"But why?  oh, why?"
+
+"It was a terrible revenge.  But perhaps--perhaps it was just
+retribution.  Graumaun would not understand that Siders could have
+been suspected of, and imprisoned for, a theft he had not committed.
+He must know now that it is quite possible for a man to be in danger
+of sentence of death even, for a crime of which he is innocent."
+
+"Oh, my God!  It is terrible."  The girl's head fell across her
+folded arms on the table.  Deep shuddering sobs shook her frame.
+
+Muller waited quietly until the first shock had passed.  Finally
+her sobs died away and she raised her head again.  "What am I to
+do?" she asked.
+
+"You must open this letter to-morrow in the presence of the Police
+Commissioner and Graumaun."
+
+"But this promise?  This promise that he asks of me--that I should
+wait until the trial?"
+
+"You have not given this promise.  Would you take it upon yourself
+to endanger your guardian's life still more?  Every further day
+spent in his prison, in this anxiety, might be fatal."
+
+"But this promise?  The promise demanded of me by the man to whom
+I had given my love?  Is it not my duty to keep it?"
+
+Muller rose from his chair.  His slight figure seemed to grow
+taller, and the gentleness in his voice gave way to a commanding
+tone of firm decision.
+
+"Our duty is to the living, not to the dead.  The dead have no right
+to drag down others after them.  Believe me, Miss Roemer, the
+purpose that was in your betrothed's mind when he ended his own
+life, has been fulfilled.  Albert Graumann knows now what are the
+feelings of a man who bears the prison stigma unjustly.  He will
+never again judge his fellow-men as harshly as he has done until
+now.  His soul has been purged in these terrible days; have you
+the right to endanger his life needlessly?"
+
+"Oh, I do not know!  I do not know what to do."
+
+"I have no choice," said Muller firmly.  "It is my duty to make
+known the fact to the Police Commissioner that there is such a
+letter in existence.  The Police Commissioner will then have to
+follow his duty in demanding the letter from you.  Mr. Pernburg,
+Sider's friend, saw this argument at once.  Although he also had
+a letter from the dead man, asking him to send the enclosure to
+you, registered, on a certain date, he knew that it was his duty
+to give all the papers to the authorities.  Would it not be better
+for you to give them up of your own free will?"  Muller took a
+step nearer the girl and whispered: "And would it not be a noble
+revenge on your part?  You would be indeed returning good for evil."
+
+Eleonora clasped her hands and her lips moved as if in silent
+prayer.  Then she rose slowly and held out the letters to Muller.
+"Do what you will with them," she said.  "My strength is at an end."
+
+The next day, in the presence of Commissioner Lange and of the
+accused Albert Graumann, Muller opened the letter which he had
+received from Miss Roemer and read it aloud.  The girl herself,
+by her own request, was not present.  Both Muller and Graumann
+understood that the strain of this message from the dead would
+be too much for her to bear.  This was the letter:
+
+                                              G.-- September 21st.
+
+My beloved:
+
+When you put this letter in the hands of the Judge, I will have
+found in death the peace that I could never find on earth.  There
+was no chance of happiness for me since I have realised that I love
+you, that you love me, and that I must give you up if I am to remain
+what I have always been--in spite of everything--a man of honour.
+
+Albert Graumann would keep his word, this I know.  Wherever you
+might follow me as my wife, there his will would have been before
+us, blasting my reputation, blackening the flame which you were to
+bear.
+
+I could not have endured it.  My soul was sick of all this secrecy,
+sick at the injustice of mankind.  In spite of worldly success, my
+life was cold and barren in the strange land to which I had fled.
+My home called to me and I came back to it.
+
+I kissed the earth of my own country, and I wept at my mother's
+grave.  I was happy again under the skies which had domed above my
+childhood.  For I am an honest man, beloved, and I always have been.
+
+One day I sat at table beside the man--the Judge who condemned me,
+here in G-- in those terrible days.  He naturally did not know me
+again.  I, myself, brought the conversation around to a professional
+subject.  I asked him if it were not possible that circumstantial
+evidence could lie; if the entire past, the reputation of the
+accused would not be a factor in his favour.  The Judge denied it.
+It was his opinion, beyond a doubt, that circumstantial evidence was
+sufficient to convict anyone.
+
+My soul rose within me.  This infallibility, this legal arrogance,
+aroused my blood.  "That man should have a lesson!"  I said to
+myself.
+
+But I had forgotten it all--all my anger, all my hatred and
+bitterness, when I met you.  I dare not trust myself to think of
+you too much, now that everything is arranged for the one last
+step.  It takes all my control to keep my decision unwavering while
+I sit here and tell you how much your love, your great tenderness,
+your sweet trust in me, meant to me.
+
+Let me talk rather of Albert Graumann.  I will forgive him for
+believing in my guilt, but I cannot forgive him that he, the man
+of cultivation and mental grasp, could not believe it possible for
+a convicted thief to have repented and to have lived an honest life
+after the atonement of his crime.  I still cannot believe that this
+was Graumann's opinion.  I am forced to think that it was an excuse
+only on his part, an excuse to keep us apart, an excuse to keep you
+for himself.
+
+You are lost to me now.  There is nothing more in life for me.  If
+the injustice of mankind has stained my honour beyond repair, has
+robbed me of every chance of happiness at any time and in any place,
+then I die easily, beloved, for there is little charm in such a
+life as would be mine after this.
+
+But I do not wish to die quite in vain.  There are two men who have
+touched my life, who need the lesson my death can teach them.  These
+men are Albert Graumann and the prosecuting attorney Gustav Schmidt,
+the man who once condemned me so cruelly.  His present position
+would make him the representative of the state in a murder trial,
+and I know his opinions too well not to foresee that he would declare
+Graumann guilty because of the circumstantial evidence which will be
+against him.  My letter, given to the Presiding Judge after the
+Attorney has made his speech, will cause him humiliation, will ruin
+his brilliant arguments and cast ridicule upon him.
+
+Do not think me hard or revengeful.  I do not hate anyone now that
+death is so near.  But is it inhuman that I should want to teach
+these two men a lesson?  a lesson which they need, believe me, and
+it is such a slight compensation for the torture these last eight
+years have been to me!
+
+And now I will explain in detail all the circumstances.  I have
+arranged that Albert Graumann shall come to me on the evening of
+September 23rd between 7 and 8 o'clock.  I asked him to do so by
+letter, asking him also to keep the fact of his visit to me a secret.
+To-night, the 22nd of September, I received his answer promising
+that he would come.  Therefore I can look upon everything that is
+to happen, as having already happened, for now there need be no
+further change in my plans.  I will send this letter this evening
+to my friend Pernburg in Frankfurt am Main.  In case anything should
+happen that would render impossible for me to carry out my plans,
+I will send Pernburg another letter asking him not to carry out
+the instructions of the first.
+
+I can now proceed to tell you what will happen here to-morrow
+evening, the 23rd of September.
+
+Albert Graumann will come to me, unknown to his family or friends,
+as I have asked him to come.  I will so arrange it that the old
+servant will see him come in but will not see him go out.  My
+landlady will not be in my way, for she has already told me that
+she will spend the night of the 23rd with her mother, in another
+part of the city.  It is to be a birthday celebration I believe,
+so that I can be certain her plans will not be changed.
+
+Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses
+near.  I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace
+conversation, for I have nothing to say to him.  If he moves near
+the desk I will upset the inkbottle.  The spots on his clothes will
+be another evidence against him.  I will endeavour to get him to
+keep my jewelry which is, as you know, of considerable value.  I
+will tell him that I am going away for a while and ask him to take
+charge of it for me.  I, myself, will take him down to the door and
+let him out, when I have satisfied myself that the old servant is
+in bed or at least at the back of the house.  The revolver which
+shall end my misery is Graumann's property.  I took it from its
+place without his knowledge.
+
+The 10,000 gulden which I told my landlady were still in the house,
+and which would therefore be thought missing after my death, I have
+deposited in a bank in Frankfort in your name.  Here is the
+certificate of deposit.
+
+I will endeavour not to hold the revolver sufficiently close to have
+the powder burn my clothes.  And I will exert every effort of mind
+and body to throw it far from me after I have fired the fatal shot.
+I think that I will be able to do this, for I am a very good shot
+and I have no fear of death.  One thing more I will do, to turn
+aside all suspicion of suicide.  I will write a letter to some
+person who does not exist, a letter which will make it appear as if
+I were in excellent humour and planning for the future.
+
+And now, good-bye to life.  People have called me eccentric, they
+may be right.  This last deed of mine at least, is out of the
+ordinary.  No one will say now that ended my life in a moment of
+darkened mind, in a rush of despair.  My brain is perfectly clear,
+my heart beats calmly, now that I have arranged everything for my
+departure from this world of falsehood and unreality.  My last deed
+shall go to prove to the world how little actual, apparent facts
+can be trusted.
+
+The one thing real, the one thing true in all this world of
+falsehood was your love and your trust.  I thank you for it.
+
+                                                 THEODOR BELLMANN,
+                                                 known as
+                                                 JOHN SIDERS.
+
+Joseph Muller refuses to take any particular credit for this case.
+The letter would have come in time to prevent Graumann's conviction
+without his assistance, he says.  The only person whose gratitude he
+has a right to is Prosecuting Attorney Gustav Schmidt.  He managed
+to have the Police Commissioner in G-- read the letter in detail to
+the attorney.  But Muller himself knows that it failed of its effect,
+so far as that dignitary was concerned.  For nothing but open
+ridicule could ever convince a man of such decided opinions that he
+is not the one infallible person in the world.
+
+But Albert Graumann had learned his lesson.  And he told Muller
+himself that the few days of life which might remain to him were a
+gift to him from the detective.  He felt that his weak heart would
+not have stood the strain and the disgrace of an open trial, even
+if that trial ended in acquittal.  Two months later he was found
+dead in his bed, a calm smile on his lips.
+
+Before he died he had learned that it was the undaunted courage of
+his timid little old aunt that had brought Muller to take charge of
+the case and to free her beloved nephew from the dreaded prison.
+And the last days that these two passed together were very happy.
+
+But as aforesaid, Muller refuses to have this case included in the
+list of his successes.  He did not change the ultimate result, he
+merely anticipated it, he says.
+
+
+
+
+
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Case of the Registered Letter
+
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