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diff --git a/1833.txt b/1833.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6d171c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/1833.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1894 @@ +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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF THE REGISTERED LETTER *** + +***** This file should be named 1833.txt or 1833.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/3/1833/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Project Gutenberg Volunteer + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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