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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..55bd79c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66601 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66601) diff --git a/old/66601-0.txt b/old/66601-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 824a810..0000000 --- a/old/66601-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1135 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Point of Testimony, by Carolyn Wells - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: A Point of Testimony - -Author: Carolyn Wells - -Release Date: October 23, 2021 [eBook #66601] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Roger Frank and Sue Clark - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A POINT OF TESTIMONY *** - - -[Illustration] - - A Point of Testimony - - by Carolyn Wells - - - - - I - - -Bert Bayliss was the funniest detective you ever saw. He wasn’t the -least like Vidocq, Lecoq or Sherlock, either in personality or -mentality. And perhaps the chief difference lay in the fact that he -possessed a sense of humor, and that not merely an appreciative sense, -either. He had an original wit and a spontaneous repartee that made it -well-nigh impossible for him to be serious. - -Not quite, though, for he had his thinking moments; and when he did -think, he did it so deeply yet rapidly that he accomplished wonders. - -And so he was a detective. Partly because it pleased his sense of -humor to pursue a calling so incongruous with his birth and station, -and partly because he couldn’t help it, having been born one. He was a -private detective, but none the less a professional; and he accepted -cases only when they seemed especially difficult or in some way -unusual. - -As is often the case with those possessed of a strong sense of humor, -Bayliss had no very intimate friends. A proneness to fun always seems -to preclude close friendships, and fortunately precludes also the -desire for them. But as every real detective needs a Dr. Watson as a -sort of mind-servant, Bert Bayliss invented one, and his Harris (he -chose the name in sincere flattery of Sairey Gamp) proved competent -and satisfactory. To Harris Bayliss propounded his questions and -expounded his theories, and being merely a figment of Bayliss’ brain, -Harris was always able to give intelligent replies. Physically, too, -young Bayliss was far from the regulation type of the prevalent -detective of fiction. - -No aquiline nose was his, no sinister eyebrows, no expression of -omniscience and inscrutability. Instead, he was a stalwart, -large-framed young man, with a merry, even debonair face, and a -genial, magnetic glance. He was a man who inspired confidence by his -frankness, and whose twinkling eyes seemed to see the funny side of -everything. - -Though having no close friendships, Bayliss had a wide circle of -acquaintances, and was in frequent demand as a week-end visitor or a -dinner guest. Wherefore, not being an early riser, the telephone at -his bedside frequently buzzed many times before he was up of a -morning. - -Every time that bell gave its rasping whir Bayliss felt an involuntary -hope that it might be a call to an interesting case of detective work, -and he was distinctly disappointed if it proved to be a mere social -message. One morning just before nine o’clock the bell wakened him -from a light doze, and taking the receiver, he heard the voice of his -old friend Martin Hopkins talking to him. - -“I want you at once,” the message came; “I hope nothing will prevent -your coming immediately. I am in Clearbrook. If you can catch the -nine-thirty train from the City, I will meet you here at the station -at ten o’clock. There has been murder committed and we want your help. -Will you come?” - -“Yes,” replied Bayliss. “I will take the nine-thirty. Who is the -victim?” - -“Richard Hemmingway, my lifelong friend. I am a guest at his house. -The tragedy occurred last night, and I want you to get here before -anything is touched.” - -“I’ll be there! good-by,” and hanging up the receiver, Bayliss -proceeded to keep his word. - -“You see, Harris,” he said, silently, to his impalpable friend, -“Martin Hopkins is a gentleman of the old school and a man whom I -greatly admire. If he calls me to a case requiring detective -investigation, you may be sure it’s an interesting affair and quite -worthy of our attention. Eh, Harris?” The imaginary companion having -agreed to this, Bayliss went calmly and expectantly on his way. - -At the Clearbrook station he was met by Mr. Hopkins, who proposed that -they walk to the house in order that he might tell Bayliss some of the -circumstances. - -“Mr. Hemmingway was my oldest and best friend,” began Mr. Hopkins, -“and, with my wife and daughter, I’ve been spending a few days at his -home. He was a widower, and his household includes his ward, Miss -Sheldon, his nephew, Everett Collins, a housekeeper, butler, and -several under-servants. This morning at six o’clock, the butler -discovered the body of Mr. Hemmingway in his library, where the poor -man had been strangled to death. Clapham, that’s the butler, raised an -alarm, at once, and ever since then the house has been full of -doctors, detectives and neighbors. We are almost there now, so I’ll -tell you frankly, Bayliss, that I sent for you to look after my own -interests. You and I are good friends, and you’re the best detective I -know. The evidence seems, so far, to point to some one in the house, -and among those addle-pated, cocksure detectives now on the case it is -not impossible that I may myself be suspected of the crime.” - -“What!” cried Bert Bayliss in amazement. - -“Just that,” went on the old man, almost smiling. “Hemmingway and I -have had large business transactions of late, and as a big bundle of -securities has disappeared from his safe, it may look as if I had a -hand in the matter.” - -“I can’t quite take that seriously, Mr. Hopkins, but I’ll be glad to -look into the case and perhaps I can give justice a boost in the right -direction. You’ve no further hints to give me?” - -“No, the hints all point one way, and you’ll discover that for -yourself soon enough.” They walked together up the short path that led -to the house of the late Richard Hemmingway. - - * * * * * - -Clearbrook was a small settlement of well-to-do society people, who -wished to live near but not in New York. The houses were rather -pretentious, with well-kept grounds, and picturesque flower-beds, but -Bert Bayliss paid little attention to the landscape as he hurried to -the Hemmingway mansion. Once in the drawing-room, Bayliss was -presented by Mr. Hopkins to his wife and daughter, also to Miss -Sheldon and Mr. Collins. - -It was surely a tribute to the young man that all these people, who -were fully prepared to treat the detective with a supercilious -hauteur, were won at once by his affable and easy demeanor and -involuntarily greeted him as a man of their own class and standing. - -Mrs. Estey, the housekeeper, was also in the room, and at the moment -of Bayliss’ arrival, Coroner Spearman was about to begin his -preliminary queries of investigation. Quite content to gain his -knowledge of the case in this way, Bayliss settled himself to listen. - -“Harris,” he said silently to his faithful friend, “these are all -refined and sensitive people, but, excepting Mr. Hopkins, not one -shows a deep or abiding grief at the death of this gentleman. -Therefore I deduce that with most of them the loss is fully covered by -inheritance.” - -“Marvelous, my dear Bayliss, marvelous!” replied Harris correctly. - -At the command of the coroner, Clapham, the butler, was summoned to -give his account of the discovery of the body. - -“I came down-stairs at twenty to six, sir,” said the pompous but -deferential Englishman, “and it would be about six when I reached the -master’s library. The door was closed, and when I opened it I was -surprised to find one of the lamps still burning, the one by the desk, -sir. By its light I could see the master still sitting in his chair. -At first I thought he had come down-stairs early, to do some work; -then I thought he had been working there all night; and then I thought -maybe something was wrong. These thoughts all flew through my mind in -quick succession, sir, and, even as I thought them, I was raising the -blinds. The daylight poured in, and I saw at once my master was dead, -strangled, sir.” - -“How did you know he was strangled?” asked the coroner. - -“Because, sir, his head was thrown back and I could see black marks on -his throat.” - -“What did you do then?” - -“First I called Mrs. Estey, who was already in the dining-room, and -then, at her advice, I went to Mr. Collins’ door and knocked him -awake. He hurried down-stairs, sir, and he said—” - -“Never mind that. Mr. Collins will be questioned later.” - -“Harris,” said Bayliss silently to his friend, “that coroner is no -fool.” - -“No,” said Harris. - -“If that is all the account of your finding of Mr. Hemmingway’s body,” -continued Mr. Spearman, “tell us now what you know of Mr. Hemmingway’s -movements of last evening.” - -“He was in his library all the evening,” said Clapham. “He went there -directly after dinner, and gave me orders to admit three gentlemen -that he expected to call. He told me, sir, that I need not wait up to -let them out, as they would stay late, and he would see them to the -door himself. The three gentlemen came, sir, between nine and ten -o’clock. They came separately, and after I had shown the last one into -Mr. Hemmingway’s library I did not go to the room again—until this -morning. I went to bed, sir, at about eleven o’clock, and at that time -they were still there, as I heard them talking when I left the -dining-room, sir.” - -“Good servant, Harris,” commented Bayliss; “if this household is -broken up, he’ll have no trouble in finding a new situation and yet—is -he just a trifle too fluent?” - -“Perhaps,” said Harris agreeably. - -Mrs. Estey simply corroborated Clapham’s story, and was followed by -Everett Collins, who had been the next to appear upon the scene of the -tragedy. - -Bayliss looked at this young man with interest. He was not of an -attractive personality, though handsome and well set up. He had the -physical effects of an athlete, but his face was weak and his glance -was not straightforward. - -“He impresses me as untrustworthy,” Bayliss confided to Harris, “and -yet, confound the fellow, there’s something about him I like.” - -“Yes,” said Harris. - -Mr. Collins had little to say. He had been wakened by Clapham from a -sound sleep and had hastily run down-stairs to find his uncle indeed -dead, and evidently strangled. As to his own movements the night -before, he had spent the evening out, had returned at about half-past -eleven, had let himself in with his latchkey and had gone to bed. He -had noticed that the library door was closed, and he could not say -whether any one was in the room or not. - -Miss Ruth Sheldon testified to the effect that she had played bridge -with Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins and Miss Ethel Hopkins until about eleven, -when they had all retired. The Hopkins family corroborated this, and -all agreed that they had heard no sound of any sort down-stairs after -reaching their rooms. - -“It was Mr. Hemmingway’s habit,” volunteered Miss Sheldon, “if he had -late callers, to let them out himself, to close the front door quietly -after them, and then to go up to his room with great care in order not -to disturb any of us who might be asleep. He was most thoughtful of -others’ comfort, always.” - - * * * * * - -The members of the household having been heard, Mr. Spearman turned -his attention to some others who sat in a group at a small table. One -of these was the lawyer, Mr. Dunbar. He simply stated that he had full -charge of Mr. Hemmingway’s legal affairs, and was prepared to make an -accounting when required. But he added that his client’s business with -him was not extensive, as the late financier was accustomed personally -to look after all such matters as did not require actual legal -offices. - -Mr. Hemmingway’s private secretary, George Fiske, testified that he -was in the habit of coming to Mr. Hemmingway’s home every day from ten -o’clock to four. He had left as usual the day before, at four o’clock, -and knew of nothing unusual regarding his employer or his business -matters at that time. Fiske had been sent for earlier than usual on -this particular morning but could throw no light on the affair. He -knew the three men who called, and they were three of the richest and -most influential citizens of Clearbrook, who were more or less -associated with Mr. Hemmingway in some large financial interests. As a -confidential secretary, Mr. Fiske courteously but firmly declined to -go into details of these matters at present. - -There seemed to be no reason to suspect any one whose name had been -mentioned so far, and the coroner next turned his attention to the -possibility of an intruder from outside, who had forced an entrance -after the three gentlemen had departed and before Mr. Hemmingway could -have left his library. - -But investigation proved that the windows were all securely fastened -and that the front door shut with a spring lock which could be opened -only from the outside by a latchkey. No one, save those who were -already accounted for, possessed a latchkey, and as no doors or -windows had been forced, it began to look to the coroner as if the -evidence pointed to some one inside the house as the criminal. - -The doctor declared that Mr. Hemmingway had died between twelve and -one o’clock and the three men who had called, being asked over the -telephone, asserted that they left the house about midnight. One of -these, Mr. Carston, had tarried after the others and had talked a few -moments with Mr. Hemmingway at his door, but though this would seem to -make Mr. Carston the last person known to have had speech with the -dead man, nobody dreamed for a moment of suspecting him. Bayliss’ eyes -traveled over the assembled listeners. - -“Pshaw,” he said silently to Harris, “there are too many suspects. -Granting the criminal was in the house, it might have been any of the -servants, any of the guests, the ward or the nephew. Every one of them -had opportunity, for, apparently, after midnight the callers were gone -and every one in the house was sound asleep except the victim and the -criminal. But the fact of strangulation lets out Mrs. and Miss -Hopkins, who are too slender and delicate for such a deed. That big, -athletic Miss Sheldon might have done it, had she been inclined; that -gaunt, muscular housekeeper could have accomplished it; and as to the -men, young Collins, old Mr. Hopkins and that complacent butler are all -capable of the deed, physically. So, Harris, as we’ve heard the facts -of the case, we’ll now hunt for clues and theories.” - -“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” breathed Harris with deep admiration. - - - - - II - - -Reaching the library, Bayliss found the Precinct Inspector busily -going through the papers in Mr. Hemmingway’s desk. Inspector Garson -had heard of the clever Bert Bayliss and was glad to meet him, though -a little embarrassed lest the city detective should look upon his own -methods as crude. - -With the coroner’s permission the body of the dead man had been -removed, but otherwise no changes had been made in the room. Bayliss -glanced interestedly about. There were no signs of a struggle. The -position of several chairs showed the presence of callers who had -evidently sat around in conversation with their host. The desk, though -not especially tidy, showed only the usual paraphernalia of a man of -business. - -By themselves, in an open box, had been laid the articles taken from -the dead man’s pockets. Bayliss looked at, without touching, the -watch, the bunch of keys, the knife, the pencil, the pile of small -coins and the handkerchiefs, which, together with a few papers, -comprised the contents of the box. - -Then Bayliss looked swiftly but minutely at the desk. The fittings of -handsome bronze were of uniform design and rather numerous. Every -convenience was there, from pen-rack to paste-pot. There were a great -variety of pens, pencils and paper-cutters, while many racks and files -held a profusion of stationery, cards and letters. - -Yet everything was methodical; the plainly labeled packets of letters, -the carefully sorted bills and the neat memoranda here and there, all -betokened a systematic mind and a sense of orderly classification. - -“The motive was, of course, robbery,” said the Inspector, as several -others followed Bayliss into the library, “for though everything else -seems intact, a large bundle of securities, which Mr. Dunbar knows -were in Mr. Hemmingway’s safe last Friday, are now gone.” - -“Oh, those,” said George Fiske; “I didn’t know you looked on those as -missing. I have them at my own rooms.” - -“You have?” said the surprised Inspector. “Why did you not state that -fact when interviewed by Mr. Spearman?” - -“Because,” said the young man frankly, “I didn’t consider that the -time or place to discuss Mr. Hemmingway’s finances. I was his -confidential secretary, and though required to render an account at -any time, I am careful not to do so prematurely. The bonds in question -are at my home because Mr. Hemmingway gave them to me last Saturday to -keep for him temporarily. Here is a list of them.” - - * * * * * - -Fiske took a card of figures from his pocket-book and handed it to the -Inspector, who glanced at it with satisfaction and approval. - -“You did quite right, Mr. Fiske,” he said, “and I’m glad the -securities are safe. But then what in your opinion could have been the -motive for the deed of last night?” - -Fiske made no reply, but the expression on his face seemed to imply, -against his will, that he could say something pertinent if he chose. - -“Might it not be, Harris,” whispered Bayliss, “that that young man -overestimates the confidentialness of his secretaryship at this -crisis?” - -“H’m,” said Harris. - -Meanwhile the Inspector was rapidly looking over a sheaf of opened -letters, each of which bore at its top the rubber-stamped date of -receipt. - -“Whew!” he whistled, as he read one of these documents. He then looked -furtively at George Fiske, who was occupied with some clerical work -which had to be done at once. Without a word Inspector Garson handed -the letter to Bert Bayliss, signifying by a gesture that he was to -read it. - -After a glance at signature and date, Bayliss read the whole letter: - - Sunday Afternoon, - September 9th. - - My Dear Mr. Hemmingway: - - After our talk of yesterday morning, I feel that I must - express more fully my appreciation of your declaration of - confidence in me, and my gratitude therefor. I was to - surprised when you asked me to act as executor of your - will that I fear I was awkward and disappointing in my - response. But, believe me, dear sir. I am deeply grateful - for your trust in me and I want to assure you that I will - perform all the duties of which you told me to the very - best of my ability, though I hope and pray the day is far - off when such need shall arise. I am not a fluent talker - and so take this means of telling you that a chord of my - nature was deeply touched when you asked me to assume such - a grave responsibility. I am, of course, at your service - for further discussion of these matters, but I felt I must - formally assure you of my gratitude for your kindness and - of my loyalty to your interests. As to the revelation you - made to me, it was so sudden and such a surprise, I can - not bear to think your suspicions are founded on the - truth; but as you requested, I will observe all I can - without seeming intrusive or curious. I have in safe - keeping the papers you entrusted to my care, and I hope - our present relations may continue for many happy years. - - Faithfully yours, - George Fiske. - -With his usual quick eye for details, Bayliss noted that the letter -was dated two days before (that is, the day before the murder, which -occurred Monday night); it was postmarked at the Clearbrook -post-office Sunday-evening, and had therefore, been delivered to Mr. -Hemmingway by the first post Monday morning. This was corroborated by -the rubber-stamped line at the top of the first page, which read: -“Received, September 10.” - -The letter was among a lot labeled “To be answered,” and it seemed to -Bayliss a very important document. - -“I think,” he said aloud to the Inspector, “that we would be glad to -have Mr. Fiske tell us the circumstances that led to the writing of -this manly and straightforward letter.” - -George Fiske looked up at the sound of his name. “Has that come to -light?” he said, blushing a little at being thus suddenly brought into -prominence. “I supposed it would, but somehow I didn’t want to refer -to it until some one else discovered it.” - -“Tell us all about it,” said Bayliss, in his pleasant, chummy way, and -at once Fiske began. - -“Last Saturday morning,” he said, “Mr. Hemmingway had a long talk with -me. He expressed his satisfaction with my work as his secretary and -kindly avowed his complete trust and confidence in my integrity. He -then asked me if I would be willing to act as executor of his estate, -when the time should come that such a service was necessary. He said -it was his intention to bring the whole matter before his lawyer in a -few days, but first he wished to be assured of my willingness to act -as executor. He told me, too, that he would add a codicil to his will, -leaving me a moderate sum of money. All of this was on Saturday -morning, and when I left at noon, as I always do on Saturdays, he gave -me a large bundle of securities, and also his will, asking me to keep -them for him for a few days.” - -“You have his will, then?” asked Inspector Garson quickly. - -“I have; and also the bonds of which I have given you a memorandum. -They are all at your disposal at any time.” - -“Then Mr. Hemmingway died without adding the codicil to his will in -your favor,” observed Bayliss. - -“Yes,” replied Fiske, “but that is a minor matter in the face of the -present tragedy.” - -Bayliss felt slightly rebuked, but he couldn’t help admiring the manly -way in which Fiske had spoken. - - * * * * * - -“And this conversation occurred on Saturday,” went on Mr. Garson. “You -took occasion to write to Mr. Hemmingway on Sunday?” - -“I did,” agreed Fiske. “I was so surprised at the whole thing that I -was unable to express myself at our interview. I am always tongue-tied -under stress of great surprise or excitement. So I sat down Sunday -afternoon and wrote to Mr. Hemmingway. I mailed the letter Sunday -evening and he had already received it when I reached here on Monday -morning, at ten o’clock, as usual.” - -“Did he refer to your letter?” asked Bayliss. - -“Yes; he said he was glad I wrote it, and that he would answer it on -paper that I might also have his sentiments in black and white. Then -he said we would discuss the matter more fully after a day or two, and -we then turned our attention to other matters.” - -“And this revelation he made to you?” queried Inspector Garson, -running his eyes over the letter. - -Mr. Fiske hesitated and looked not only embarrassed but genuinely -disturbed. - -“That, Mr. Garson, I want to be excused from telling.” - -“Excused from telling! Why, man, it may help to elucidate the mystery -of Mr. Hemmingway’s death!” - -“Oh, I hope not, I hope not!” said Fiske, so earnestly that both -Bayliss and the Inspector looked at him in surprise. - -“You _do_ know something,” said Mr. Garson quickly, “that may have a -bearing on the mystery, and I must insist that you tell it.” - -“It is because it may _seem_ to have a bearing that I hesitate,” said -Mr. Fiske gravely. “But, to put it boldly, as I told you I am not -fluent under stress of excitement; in a word, then, Mr. Hemmingway -implied to me, that—that he had a half-defined fear that sometime his -life might—might end suddenly.” - -“In the way it did?” - -“Yes, in that way. He feared that some one desired his death, and that -was the reason he asked me to care for his will and his valuable -securities for a few days.” - -“Why were these things not in a safety deposit vault?” asked Bert -Bayliss. - -“They have been; but a few days ago Mr. Hemmingway had them brought -home to make some records and changes, and as it was Saturday he could -not send them back then, so he gave them to me. I have a small safe at -home, and of course I was willing to keep them for him.” - -“Then Mr. Hemmingway feared both robbery and murder,” said Bayliss, -and Mr. Fiske shuddered at this cold-blooded way of putting it. - -“Yes, he did,” said the secretary frankly. - -“And whom did he suspect as his enemy?” - -“That I hope you will allow me not to answer.” - -“I’m sorry, Mr. Fiske,” broke in the Inspector, “but you have -knowledge possessed by no one else. You must, therefore, in the -interests of justice, tell us the name of the man whom Mr. Hemmingway -feared.” - -“The man,”said George Fiske slowly, “is the one who inherits the bulk -of Mr. Hemmingway’s fortune.” - -“Everett Collins, his nephew?” - -“His wife’s nephew,” corrected George Fiske. “Yes, since I am forced -to tell it, Mr. Hemmingway feared that Mr. Collins was in haste to -come into his inheritance, and—and——” - -“You have done your duty, Mr. Fiske,” said Inspector Garson, “and I -thank you. I quite appreciate your hesitancy, but a crime like this -must be punished, if possible, and you need not appear further in the -matter. After your evidence the law can take the whole affair into its -own hands, and justice will be swift and certain.” - - - - - III - - -The law took its course. Although circumstantial evidence was lacking, -the statement of George Fiske and the undoubted opportunity and -evident motive, combined, caused the arrest of Everett Collins. - -The will, when produced, left nearly all the estate to him, and as he -was known to be a thriftless, improvident young man, the majority of -those interested felt convinced that he was indeed the villain. - -The property of the late Mr. Hemmingway, however, was of far less -amount than was generally supposed, and also, the large fortune which -he had in trust for his ward, Miss Sheldon, had dwindled surprisingly. -But this, of course, was in no way the fault of the nephew, and it was -thought that Mr. Hemmingway had perhaps been unfortunate in his -investments. George Fiske became executor, as desired by the late -millionaire, but probate of the will was deferred until after Everett -Collins should have been tried at the bar of justice. - -Collins himself was stubbornly quiet. He seemed rather dazed at the -position in which he found himself, but had nothing to say except a -simple assertion of his innocence. - -“And he _is_ innocent, Harris,” declared Bert Bayliss soundlessly. “No -villain ever possessed that simple straightforward gaze. Villains are -complex. That man may be a spendthrift and a ne’er-do-well, but I’ll -swear he’s no murderer, and I’ll prove it!” - -“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” said Harris. - -Bayliss had come to Clearbrook on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Collins -was arrested. - -On Wednesday afternoon Bayliss shut himself up alone in the library to -clue-hunt, as he called it. Acting on his conviction that Collins was -innocent, he eagerly sought for evidence in some other direction. -Seating himself at Mr. Hemmingway’s desk, he jotted down a few notes, -using for the purpose a pencil from the pen-tray in front of him. - - * * * * * - -He looked at the pencil abstractedly, and then he suddenly stared at -it intently. - -“A clue!” he said mentally to Harris. “Hush, don’t speak,” though -Harris hadn’t. “I sure have a clue, but such a dinky one!” - -He looked at the pencil as at a valuable curio. He glanced about the -desk for others, and found several. In a drawer he found many more. -They were all of the same make and same number, and while those on the -desk were all more or less well sharpened, those in the drawer had -never yet been cut. - -“Oh!” said Bayliss, and putting carefully into his pocket the pencil -he had used in making his notes, he began scrutinizing the -waste-basket. - -There were not many torn papers in it, but the top ones were letters, -envelopes or circulars, each torn once across. On top of these were -some chips of pencil cedar and a trifle of black dust. - -As if collecting precious treasure, Bayliss, with extreme care, lifted -out the top layer of torn envelopes and, without disarranging the tiny -wooden chips and black lead scrapings, laid all in a box, which he -then put in a small cupboard and, locking its door, put the key in his -pocket. Then he returned to the desk and picked up the packet of -letters which had been received on Monday and from which Mr. Fiske’s -letter had been taken. There were about a dozen of them and he looked -with interest at each one. Every one was cut open the same way, not by -a letter-opener, but with shears—a quick clean cut, which took off a -tiny edge along the right-hand end. Each was stamped at the top with -the rubber “Received” stamp in red ink. - -“Clever, clever villain!” mused Bayliss. “I say, Harris, he’s the -slickest ever! And nobody could have found him but Yours Truly.” - -“Marvelous!” murmured Harris. - -Then straight to Inspector Garson Bayliss marched and asked to see the -letter that Mr. Fiske wrote to Mr. Hemmingway. - -Receiving it, he stared at it steadily for a moment, then, going to -the window, scrutinized it through a lens. - -Moved by an excitement which he strove not to show, he returned it to -Mr. Garson, saying: “You’ve no doubt, I suppose, as to the genuineness -of that letter and all that it means and implies.” - -“No, I haven’t,” said Mr. Garson, looking straight at the young man. -“I have wondered whether there could be anything wrong about Fiske, -but that letter is incontrovertible evidence of his veracity.” - -“Why couldn’t it be faked?” persisted Bayliss. - -“I’ve thought of that,” said Mr. Garson patiently, “but it’s too real. -Whether it was written Sunday or not, it was positively posted Sunday -evening and it was positively delivered to Mr. Hemmingway Monday -morning. The postmark proves that. Then Mr. Hemmingway opened it, for -it is cut open precisely the way he cuts open all his letters, and he -dated it with his own dating-stamp, and put it with his lot ‘To be -answered.’ Can anything be more convincing of Fiske’s good faith?” - -“And yet,” said Bert Bayliss, “it _is_ a faked letter, and George -Fiske’s the murderer of Richard Hemmingway!” - -“My dear sir, what _do_ you mean?” - -“Just what I say. Richard Hemmingway never saw this letter!” - -“Can you prove that?” - -“I can. Look at the envelope closely with this lens, in a strong -light. What do you see between the letters of Mr. Hemmingway’s name?” - -“I see”—the Inspector peered closer—“I see faint pencil-marks.” - -“Can you make out what they spell?” - -“No—yes—‘G-e-o’— _is_ it ‘George Fiske’?” - -“It is, though not all the letters are discernible. Fiske wrote this -letter on Sunday and mailed it on Sunday, _but_ —he addressed it to -himself, _not_ to his employer.” - -“Why?” exclaimed Mr. Garson in amazement. - -“Listen. He addressed it with a very soft pencil to himself, and -traced the address very lightly. It reached his boarding-house Monday -morning, of course, and then he erased the pencil-marks and boldly -wrote Mr. Hemmingway’s name in ink. Then he cut off the end, in -precisely the way Mr. Hemmingway opens his letters, and put the whole -thing in his pocket. All day he carried it in his pocket (I am -reconstructing this affair as it must have happened), and at four -o’clock he went home with the missive still there. - -“Late Monday night he returned. After the three visitors had left, he -strangled Mr. Hemmingway. You know he’s an athlete, and his employer -was a frail old man. - -“And _then_ he used the rubber stamp on his own letter and tucked it -into the bunch of ‘To be answered.’ Then he rifled the safe, with Mr. -Hemmingway’s own keys, turned off all the lights but one and swiftly -and silently went home to bed. The rest you know.” - -“Mr. Bayliss, I can scarcely believe this!” said Inspector Garson, -fairly gasping for breath. - -“What, you can’t believe it when the villain has written his own name -as damning evidence against himself?” - -“It must be,” said the inspector, again scrutinizing the faint trace -of pencil-marks. “But why did he do it?” - -“Because he wanted to be executor and thus be able to convert into -cash the securities he has stolen.” - -“He returned those.” - -“Only a few. Oh, it was a clever and deep-laid scheme! Fiske has -quantities of bonds and other valuable papers entirely unaccounted for -and which, as sole executor, he can cash at his leisure, all unknown -to any one.” - -“How did you discover this?” - -“By the simplest clue. I chanced to notice on Mr. Hemmingway’s desk a -pencil, freshly sharpened, but sharpened in a totally different way -from those sharpened by the man himself. I looked at all the other -pencils on his desk, at the one taken from his pocket and at one in -his bedroom—they are all sharpened in exactly the same way, with -numerous long careful shaves, producing a whittled pyramid. The pencil -I spoke of—here it is—is sharpened by only five strong, clean cuts, -making a short exposure of cut wood, quite different from the long -point of wood in the others. Then I looked in the waste-basket, which -at your orders had not been touched since the discovery of the crime, -and _on top_ I found the chips and lead-dust of this very pencil. They -were _on top_ of some torn envelopes whose postmarks proved they had -come in Monday evening’s mail, which reaches the Hemmingway house -about six-thirty. Hence, whoever sharpened that pencil did it _after_ -six-thirty o’clock Monday night, and _before_ the discovery of Mr. -Hemmingway’s dead body.” - -Mr. Garson listened breathlessly. “And then?” he said. - -“And then,” went on Bayliss, “I looked around for some pencils -sharpened like that, and found several on and in Fiske’s desk in the -library. The pencil might have been borrowed from Fiske’s desk, but it -was sharpened right there at Mr. Hemmingway’s desk after half-past six -o’clock. Fiske, as you know, testified that he left at four and did -not return until Tuesday morning.” - - * * * * * - -Bayliss’ deductions were true. Confronted suddenly with the story and -with the traced envelope, Fiske broke down completely and confessed -all. He had been planning it for weeks, and had the decoy letter ready -to use when Mr. Hemmingway should have a large amount of bonds in his -own home safe. The whole story of the Saturday morning interview was a -figment of Fiske’s fertile brain, and of course Mr. Hemmingway had no -suspicions of his nephew. Fiske had known of the expected callers, had -watched outside the house until the last one went away and then, -running up the steps, had stopped Mr. Hemmingway just as he was -closing the door and requested a short interview. Innocently enough -Mr. Hemmingway took his secretary into the library, and, while waiting -for his fell opportunity, Fiske talked over some business matters. -While making a memorandum, Mr. Hemmingway broke his pencil point, and, -unthinkingly, Fiske obligingly sharpened it. - -“And to think,” murmured Bayliss to Harris, “that little act of -ordinary courtesy proved his undoing!” - -“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” said Harris. - - THE END - -[Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the October 1911 issue of -Adventure magazine.] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A POINT OF TESTIMONY *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: A Point of Testimony</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Carolyn Wells</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: October 23, 2021 [eBook #66601]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Roger Frank and Sue Clark</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A POINT OF TESTIMONY ***</div> -<div id='i001' class='mt01 mb01 wi001'> - <img src='images/illus-001.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%' /> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<h1 style='font-size:1.4em;'>A Point of Testimony</h1> -<div style='margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:2em;'>by Carolyn Wells </div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='margin-top:1.8em;margin-bottom:1.4em;'>I</div> -</div> - -<p>Bert Bayliss was the funniest detective you ever saw. He wasn’t the -least like Vidocq, Lecoq or Sherlock, either in personality or -mentality. And perhaps the chief difference lay in the fact that he -possessed a sense of humor, and that not merely an appreciative sense, -either. He had an original wit and a spontaneous repartee that made it -well-nigh impossible for him to be serious.</p> - -<p>Not quite, though, for he had his thinking moments; and when he did -think, he did it so deeply yet rapidly that he accomplished wonders.</p> - -<p>And so he was a detective. Partly because it pleased his sense of -humor to pursue a calling so incongruous with his birth and station, -and partly because he couldn’t help it, having been born one. He was a -private detective, but none the less a professional; and he accepted -cases only when they seemed especially difficult or in some way -unusual.</p> - -<p>As is often the case with those possessed of a strong sense of humor, -Bayliss had no very intimate friends. A proneness to fun always seems -to preclude close friendships, and fortunately precludes also the -desire for them. But as every real detective needs a Dr. Watson as a -sort of mind-servant, Bert Bayliss invented one, and his Harris (he -chose the name in sincere flattery of Sairey Gamp) proved competent -and satisfactory. To Harris Bayliss propounded his questions and -expounded his theories, and being merely a figment of Bayliss’ brain, -Harris was always able to give intelligent replies. Physically, too, -young Bayliss was far from the regulation type of the prevalent -detective of fiction.</p> - -<p>No aquiline nose was his, no sinister eyebrows, no expression of -omniscience and inscrutability. Instead, he was a stalwart, -large-framed young man, with a merry, even debonair face, and a -genial, magnetic glance. He was a man who inspired confidence by his -frankness, and whose twinkling eyes seemed to see the funny side of -everything.</p> - -<p>Though having no close friendships, Bayliss had a wide circle of -acquaintances, and was in frequent demand as a week-end visitor or a -dinner guest. Wherefore, not being an early riser, the telephone at -his bedside frequently buzzed many times before he was up of a -morning.</p> - -<p>Every time that bell gave its rasping whir Bayliss felt an involuntary -hope that it might be a call to an interesting case of detective work, -and he was distinctly disappointed if it proved to be a mere social -message. One morning just before nine o’clock the bell wakened him -from a light doze, and taking the receiver, he heard the voice of his -old friend Martin Hopkins talking to him.</p> - -<p>“I want you at once,” the message came; “I hope nothing will prevent -your coming immediately. I am in Clearbrook. If you can catch the -nine-thirty train from the City, I will meet you here at the station -at ten o’clock. There has been murder committed and we want your help. -Will you come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Bayliss. “I will take the nine-thirty. Who is the -victim?”</p> - -<p>“Richard Hemmingway, my lifelong friend. I am a guest at his house. -The tragedy occurred last night, and I want you to get here before -anything is touched.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be there! good-by,” and hanging up the receiver, Bayliss -proceeded to keep his word.</p> - -<p>“You see, Harris,” he said, silently, to his impalpable friend, -“Martin Hopkins is a gentleman of the old school and a man whom I -greatly admire. If he calls me to a case requiring detective -investigation, you may be sure it’s an interesting affair and quite -worthy of our attention. Eh, Harris?” The imaginary companion having -agreed to this, Bayliss went calmly and expectantly on his way.</p> - -<p>At the Clearbrook station he was met by Mr. Hopkins, who proposed that -they walk to the house in order that he might tell Bayliss some of the -circumstances.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hemmingway was my oldest and best friend,” began Mr. Hopkins, -“and, with my wife and daughter, I’ve been spending a few days at his -home. He was a widower, and his household includes his ward, Miss -Sheldon, his nephew, Everett Collins, a housekeeper, butler, and -several under-servants. This morning at six o’clock, the butler -discovered the body of Mr. Hemmingway in his library, where the poor -man had been strangled to death. Clapham, that’s the butler, raised an -alarm, at once, and ever since then the house has been full of -doctors, detectives and neighbors. We are almost there now, so I’ll -tell you frankly, Bayliss, that I sent for you to look after my own -interests. You and I are good friends, and you’re the best detective I -know. The evidence seems, so far, to point to some one in the house, -and among those addle-pated, cocksure detectives now on the case it is -not impossible that I may myself be suspected of the crime.”</p> - -<p>“What!” cried Bert Bayliss in amazement.</p> - -<p>“Just that,” went on the old man, almost smiling. “Hemmingway and I -have had large business transactions of late, and as a big bundle of -securities has disappeared from his safe, it may look as if I had a -hand in the matter.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t quite take that seriously, Mr. Hopkins, but I’ll be glad to -look into the case and perhaps I can give justice a boost in the right -direction. You’ve no further hints to give me?”</p> - -<p>“No, the hints all point one way, and you’ll discover that for -yourself soon enough.” They walked together up the short path that led -to the house of the late Richard Hemmingway.</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>Clearbrook was a small settlement of well-to-do society people, who -wished to live near but not in New York. The houses were rather -pretentious, with well-kept grounds, and picturesque flower-beds, but -Bert Bayliss paid little attention to the landscape as he hurried to -the Hemmingway mansion. Once in the drawing-room, Bayliss was -presented by Mr. Hopkins to his wife and daughter, also to Miss -Sheldon and Mr. Collins.</p> - -<p>It was surely a tribute to the young man that all these people, who -were fully prepared to treat the detective with a supercilious -hauteur, were won at once by his affable and easy demeanor and -involuntarily greeted him as a man of their own class and standing.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Estey, the housekeeper, was also in the room, and at the moment -of Bayliss’ arrival, Coroner Spearman was about to begin his -preliminary queries of investigation. Quite content to gain his -knowledge of the case in this way, Bayliss settled himself to listen.</p> - -<p>“Harris,” he said silently to his faithful friend, “these are all -refined and sensitive people, but, excepting Mr. Hopkins, not one -shows a deep or abiding grief at the death of this gentleman. -Therefore I deduce that with most of them the loss is fully covered by -inheritance.”</p> - -<p>“Marvelous, my dear Bayliss, marvelous!” replied Harris correctly.</p> - -<p>At the command of the coroner, Clapham, the butler, was summoned to -give his account of the discovery of the body.</p> - -<p>“I came down-stairs at twenty to six, sir,” said the pompous but -deferential Englishman, “and it would be about six when I reached the -master’s library. The door was closed, and when I opened it I was -surprised to find one of the lamps still burning, the one by the desk, -sir. By its light I could see the master still sitting in his chair. -At first I thought he had come down-stairs early, to do some work; -then I thought he had been working there all night; and then I thought -maybe something was wrong. These thoughts all flew through my mind in -quick succession, sir, and, even as I thought them, I was raising the -blinds. The daylight poured in, and I saw at once my master was dead, -strangled, sir.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know he was strangled?” asked the coroner.</p> - -<p>“Because, sir, his head was thrown back and I could see black marks on -his throat.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do then?”</p> - -<p>“First I called Mrs. Estey, who was already in the dining-room, and -then, at her advice, I went to Mr. Collins’ door and knocked him -awake. He hurried down-stairs, sir, and he said—”</p> - -<p>“Never mind that. Mr. Collins will be questioned later.”</p> - -<p>“Harris,” said Bayliss silently to his friend, “that coroner is no -fool.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Harris.</p> - -<p>“If that is all the account of your finding of Mr. Hemmingway’s body,” -continued Mr. Spearman, “tell us now what you know of Mr. Hemmingway’s -movements of last evening.”</p> - -<p>“He was in his library all the evening,” said Clapham. “He went there -directly after dinner, and gave me orders to admit three gentlemen -that he expected to call. He told me, sir, that I need not wait up to -let them out, as they would stay late, and he would see them to the -door himself. The three gentlemen came, sir, between nine and ten -o’clock. They came separately, and after I had shown the last one into -Mr. Hemmingway’s library I did not go to the room again—until this -morning. I went to bed, sir, at about eleven o’clock, and at that time -they were still there, as I heard them talking when I left the -dining-room, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Good servant, Harris,” commented Bayliss; “if this household is -broken up, he’ll have no trouble in finding a new situation and yet—is -he just a trifle too fluent?”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps,” said Harris agreeably.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Estey simply corroborated Clapham’s story, and was followed by -Everett Collins, who had been the next to appear upon the scene of the -tragedy.</p> - -<p>Bayliss looked at this young man with interest. He was not of an -attractive personality, though handsome and well set up. He had the -physical effects of an athlete, but his face was weak and his glance -was not straightforward.</p> - -<p>“He impresses me as untrustworthy,” Bayliss confided to Harris, “and -yet, confound the fellow, there’s something about him I like.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Harris.</p> - -<p>Mr. Collins had little to say. He had been wakened by Clapham from a -sound sleep and had hastily run down-stairs to find his uncle indeed -dead, and evidently strangled. As to his own movements the night -before, he had spent the evening out, had returned at about half-past -eleven, had let himself in with his latchkey and had gone to bed. He -had noticed that the library door was closed, and he could not say -whether any one was in the room or not.</p> - -<p>Miss Ruth Sheldon testified to the effect that she had played bridge -with Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins and Miss Ethel Hopkins until about eleven, -when they had all retired. The Hopkins family corroborated this, and -all agreed that they had heard no sound of any sort down-stairs after -reaching their rooms.</p> - -<p>“It was Mr. Hemmingway’s habit,” volunteered Miss Sheldon, “if he had -late callers, to let them out himself, to close the front door quietly -after them, and then to go up to his room with great care in order not -to disturb any of us who might be asleep. He was most thoughtful of -others’ comfort, always.”</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>The members of the household having been heard, Mr. Spearman turned -his attention to some others who sat in a group at a small table. One -of these was the lawyer, Mr. Dunbar. He simply stated that he had full -charge of Mr. Hemmingway’s legal affairs, and was prepared to make an -accounting when required. But he added that his client’s business with -him was not extensive, as the late financier was accustomed personally -to look after all such matters as did not require actual legal -offices.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hemmingway’s private secretary, George Fiske, testified that he -was in the habit of coming to Mr. Hemmingway’s home every day from ten -o’clock to four. He had left as usual the day before, at four o’clock, -and knew of nothing unusual regarding his employer or his business -matters at that time. Fiske had been sent for earlier than usual on -this particular morning but could throw no light on the affair. He -knew the three men who called, and they were three of the richest and -most influential citizens of Clearbrook, who were more or less -associated with Mr. Hemmingway in some large financial interests. As a -confidential secretary, Mr. Fiske courteously but firmly declined to -go into details of these matters at present.</p> - -<p>There seemed to be no reason to suspect any one whose name had been -mentioned so far, and the coroner next turned his attention to the -possibility of an intruder from outside, who had forced an entrance -after the three gentlemen had departed and before Mr. Hemmingway could -have left his library.</p> - -<p>But investigation proved that the windows were all securely fastened -and that the front door shut with a spring lock which could be opened -only from the outside by a latchkey. No one, save those who were -already accounted for, possessed a latchkey, and as no doors or -windows had been forced, it began to look to the coroner as if the -evidence pointed to some one inside the house as the criminal.</p> - -<p>The doctor declared that Mr. Hemmingway had died between twelve and -one o’clock and the three men who had called, being asked over the -telephone, asserted that they left the house about midnight. One of -these, Mr. Carston, had tarried after the others and had talked a few -moments with Mr. Hemmingway at his door, but though this would seem to -make Mr. Carston the last person known to have had speech with the -dead man, nobody dreamed for a moment of suspecting him. Bayliss’ eyes -traveled over the assembled listeners.</p> - -<p>“Pshaw,” he said silently to Harris, “there are too many suspects. -Granting the criminal was in the house, it might have been any of the -servants, any of the guests, the ward or the nephew. Every one of them -had opportunity, for, apparently, after midnight the callers were gone -and every one in the house was sound asleep except the victim and the -criminal. But the fact of strangulation lets out Mrs. and Miss -Hopkins, who are too slender and delicate for such a deed. That big, -athletic Miss Sheldon might have done it, had she been inclined; that -gaunt, muscular housekeeper could have accomplished it; and as to the -men, young Collins, old Mr. Hopkins and that complacent butler are all -capable of the deed, physically. So, Harris, as we’ve heard the facts -of the case, we’ll now hunt for clues and theories.”</p> - -<p>“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” breathed Harris with deep admiration.</p> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='margin-top:1.8em;margin-bottom:1.4em;'>II</div> -</div> - -<p>Reaching the library, Bayliss found the Precinct Inspector busily -going through the papers in Mr. Hemmingway’s desk. Inspector Garson -had heard of the clever Bert Bayliss and was glad to meet him, though -a little embarrassed lest the city detective should look upon his own -methods as crude.</p> - -<p>With the coroner’s permission the body of the dead man had been -removed, but otherwise no changes had been made in the room. Bayliss -glanced interestedly about. There were no signs of a struggle. The -position of several chairs showed the presence of callers who had -evidently sat around in conversation with their host. The desk, though -not especially tidy, showed only the usual paraphernalia of a man of -business.</p> - -<p>By themselves, in an open box, had been laid the articles taken from -the dead man’s pockets. Bayliss looked at, without touching, the -watch, the bunch of keys, the knife, the pencil, the pile of small -coins and the handkerchiefs, which, together with a few papers, -comprised the contents of the box.</p> - -<p>Then Bayliss looked swiftly but minutely at the desk. The fittings of -handsome bronze were of uniform design and rather numerous. Every -convenience was there, from pen-rack to paste-pot. There were a great -variety of pens, pencils and paper-cutters, while many racks and files -held a profusion of stationery, cards and letters.</p> - -<p>Yet everything was methodical; the plainly labeled packets of letters, -the carefully sorted bills and the neat memoranda here and there, all -betokened a systematic mind and a sense of orderly classification.</p> - -<p>“The motive was, of course, robbery,” said the Inspector, as several -others followed Bayliss into the library, “for though everything else -seems intact, a large bundle of securities, which Mr. Dunbar knows -were in Mr. Hemmingway’s safe last Friday, are now gone.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, those,” said George Fiske; “I didn’t know you looked on those as -missing. I have them at my own rooms.”</p> - -<p>“You have?” said the surprised Inspector. “Why did you not state that -fact when interviewed by Mr. Spearman?”</p> - -<p>“Because,” said the young man frankly, “I didn’t consider that the -time or place to discuss Mr. Hemmingway’s finances. I was his -confidential secretary, and though required to render an account at -any time, I am careful not to do so prematurely. The bonds in question -are at my home because Mr. Hemmingway gave them to me last Saturday to -keep for him temporarily. Here is a list of them.”</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>Fiske took a card of figures from his pocket-book and handed it to the -Inspector, who glanced at it with satisfaction and approval.</p> - -<p>“You did quite right, Mr. Fiske,” he said, “and I’m glad the -securities are safe. But then what in your opinion could have been the -motive for the deed of last night?”</p> - -<p>Fiske made no reply, but the expression on his face seemed to imply, -against his will, that he could say something pertinent if he chose.</p> - -<p>“Might it not be, Harris,” whispered Bayliss, “that that young man -overestimates the confidentialness of his secretaryship at this -crisis?”</p> - -<p>“H’m,” said Harris.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Inspector was rapidly looking over a sheaf of opened -letters, each of which bore at its top the rubber-stamped date of -receipt.</p> - -<p>“Whew!” he whistled, as he read one of these documents. He then looked -furtively at George Fiske, who was occupied with some clerical work -which had to be done at once. Without a word Inspector Garson handed -the letter to Bert Bayliss, signifying by a gesture that he was to -read it.</p> - -<p>After a glance at signature and date, Bayliss read the whole letter:</p> - -<blockquote> -<div style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'>Sunday Afternoon,</div> -<div style='text-align:right; margin-bottom:0.5em;'>September 9th.</div> - -<p style='text-indent:0'>My Dear Mr. Hemmingway:</p> - -<p>After our talk of yesterday morning, I feel that I must express more -fully my appreciation of your declaration of confidence in me, and my -gratitude therefor. I was to surprised when you asked me to act as -executor of your will that I fear I was awkward and disappointing in -my response. But, believe me, dear sir. I am deeply grateful for your -trust in me and I want to assure you that I will perform all the -duties of which you told me to the very best of my ability, though I -hope and pray the day is far off when such need shall arise. I am not -a fluent talker and so take this means of telling you that a chord of -my nature was deeply touched when you asked me to assume such a grave -responsibility. I am, of course, at your service for further -discussion of these matters, but I felt I must formally assure you of -my gratitude for your kindness and of my loyalty to your interests. As -to the revelation you made to me, it was so sudden and such a -surprise, I can not bear to think your suspicions are founded on the -truth; but as you requested, I will observe all I can without seeming -intrusive or curious. I have in safe keeping the papers you entrusted -to my care, and I hope our present relations may continue for many -happy years.</p> - -<div style='text-align:right;margin-right:2em;'>Faithfully yours,</div> -<div style='text-align:right;font-variant:small-caps;'>George Fiske.</div> -</blockquote> - -<p>With his usual quick eye for details, Bayliss noted that the letter -was dated two days before (that is, the day before the murder, which -occurred Monday night); it was postmarked at the Clearbrook -post-office Sunday-evening, and had therefore, been delivered to Mr. -Hemmingway by the first post Monday morning. This was corroborated by -the rubber-stamped line at the top of the first page, which read: -“Received, September 10.”</p> - -<p>The letter was among a lot labeled “To be answered,” and it seemed to -Bayliss a very important document.</p> - -<p>“I think,” he said aloud to the Inspector, “that we would be glad to -have Mr. Fiske tell us the circumstances that led to the writing of -this manly and straightforward letter.”</p> - -<p>George Fiske looked up at the sound of his name. “Has that come to -light?” he said, blushing a little at being thus suddenly brought into -prominence. “I supposed it would, but somehow I didn’t want to refer -to it until some one else discovered it.”</p> - -<p>“Tell us all about it,” said Bayliss, in his pleasant, chummy way, and -at once Fiske began.</p> - -<p>“Last Saturday morning,” he said, “Mr. Hemmingway had a long talk with -me. He expressed his satisfaction with my work as his secretary and -kindly avowed his complete trust and confidence in my integrity. He -then asked me if I would be willing to act as executor of his estate, -when the time should come that such a service was necessary. He said -it was his intention to bring the whole matter before his lawyer in a -few days, but first he wished to be assured of my willingness to act -as executor. He told me, too, that he would add a codicil to his will, -leaving me a moderate sum of money. All of this was on Saturday -morning, and when I left at noon, as I always do on Saturdays, he gave -me a large bundle of securities, and also his will, asking me to keep -them for him for a few days.”</p> - -<p>“You have his will, then?” asked Inspector Garson quickly.</p> - -<p>“I have; and also the bonds of which I have given you a memorandum. -They are all at your disposal at any time.”</p> - -<p>“Then Mr. Hemmingway died without adding the codicil to his will in -your favor,” observed Bayliss.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Fiske, “but that is a minor matter in the face of the -present tragedy.”</p> - -<p>Bayliss felt slightly rebuked, but he couldn’t help admiring the manly -way in which Fiske had spoken.</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>“And this conversation occurred on Saturday,” went on Mr. Garson. “You -took occasion to write to Mr. Hemmingway on Sunday?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” agreed Fiske. “I was so surprised at the whole thing that I -was unable to express myself at our interview. I am always tongue-tied -under stress of great surprise or excitement. So I sat down Sunday -afternoon and wrote to Mr. Hemmingway. I mailed the letter Sunday -evening and he had already received it when I reached here on Monday -morning, at ten o’clock, as usual.”</p> - -<p>“Did he refer to your letter?” asked Bayliss.</p> - -<p>“Yes; he said he was glad I wrote it, and that he would answer it on -paper that I might also have his sentiments in black and white. Then -he said we would discuss the matter more fully after a day or two, and -we then turned our attention to other matters.”</p> - -<p>“And this revelation he made to you?” queried Inspector Garson, -running his eyes over the letter.</p> - -<p>Mr. Fiske hesitated and looked not only embarrassed but genuinely -disturbed.</p> - -<p>“That, Mr. Garson, I want to be excused from telling.”</p> - -<p>“Excused from telling! Why, man, it may help to elucidate the mystery -of Mr. Hemmingway’s death!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hope not, I hope not!” said Fiske, so earnestly that both -Bayliss and the Inspector looked at him in surprise.</p> - -<p>“You _do_ know something,” said Mr. Garson quickly, “that may have a -bearing on the mystery, and I must insist that you tell it.”</p> - -<p>“It is because it may _seem_ to have a bearing that I hesitate,” said -Mr. Fiske gravely. “But, to put it boldly, as I told you I am not -fluent under stress of excitement; in a word, then, Mr. Hemmingway -implied to me, that—that he had a half-defined fear that sometime his -life might—might end suddenly.”</p> - -<p>“In the way it did?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, in that way. He feared that some one desired his death, and that -was the reason he asked me to care for his will and his valuable -securities for a few days.”</p> - -<p>“Why were these things not in a safety deposit vault?” asked Bert -Bayliss.</p> - -<p>“They have been; but a few days ago Mr. Hemmingway had them brought -home to make some records and changes, and as it was Saturday he could -not send them back then, so he gave them to me. I have a small safe at -home, and of course I was willing to keep them for him.”</p> - -<p>“Then Mr. Hemmingway feared both robbery and murder,” said Bayliss, -and Mr. Fiske shuddered at this cold-blooded way of putting it.</p> - -<p>“Yes, he did,” said the secretary frankly.</p> - -<p>“And whom did he suspect as his enemy?”</p> - -<p>“That I hope you will allow me not to answer.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry, Mr. Fiske,” broke in the Inspector, “but you have -knowledge possessed by no one else. You must, therefore, in the -interests of justice, tell us the name of the man whom Mr. Hemmingway -feared.”</p> - -<p>“The man,”said George Fiske slowly, “is the one who inherits the bulk -of Mr. Hemmingway’s fortune.”</p> - -<p>“Everett Collins, his nephew?”</p> - -<p>“His wife’s nephew,” corrected George Fiske. “Yes, since I am forced -to tell it, Mr. Hemmingway feared that Mr. Collins was in haste to -come into his inheritance, and—and——”</p> - -<p>“You have done your duty, Mr. Fiske,” said Inspector Garson, “and I -thank you. I quite appreciate your hesitancy, but a crime like this -must be punished, if possible, and you need not appear further in the -matter. After your evidence the law can take the whole affair into its -own hands, and justice will be swift and certain.”</p> - -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; '> -<div style='margin-top:1.8em;margin-bottom:1.4em;'>III </div> -</div> - -<p>The law took its course. Although circumstantial evidence was lacking, -the statement of George Fiske and the undoubted opportunity and -evident motive, combined, caused the arrest of Everett Collins.</p> - -<p>The will, when produced, left nearly all the estate to him, and as he -was known to be a thriftless, improvident young man, the majority of -those interested felt convinced that he was indeed the villain.</p> - -<p>The property of the late Mr. Hemmingway, however, was of far less -amount than was generally supposed, and also, the large fortune which -he had in trust for his ward, Miss Sheldon, had dwindled surprisingly. -But this, of course, was in no way the fault of the nephew, and it was -thought that Mr. Hemmingway had perhaps been unfortunate in his -investments. George Fiske became executor, as desired by the late -millionaire, but probate of the will was deferred until after Everett -Collins should have been tried at the bar of justice.</p> - -<p>Collins himself was stubbornly quiet. He seemed rather dazed at the -position in which he found himself, but had nothing to say except a -simple assertion of his innocence.</p> - -<p>“And he _is_ innocent, Harris,” declared Bert Bayliss soundlessly. “No -villain ever possessed that simple straightforward gaze. Villains are -complex. That man may be a spendthrift and a ne’er-do-well, but I’ll -swear he’s no murderer, and I’ll prove it!”</p> - -<p>“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” said Harris.</p> - -<p>Bayliss had come to Clearbrook on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Collins -was arrested.</p> - -<p>On Wednesday afternoon Bayliss shut himself up alone in the library to -clue-hunt, as he called it. Acting on his conviction that Collins was -innocent, he eagerly sought for evidence in some other direction. -Seating himself at Mr. Hemmingway’s desk, he jotted down a few notes, -using for the purpose a pencil from the pen-tray in front of him.</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>He looked at the pencil abstractedly, and then he suddenly stared at -it intently.</p> - -<p>“A clue!” he said mentally to Harris. “Hush, don’t speak,” though -Harris hadn’t. “I sure have a clue, but such a dinky one!”</p> - -<p>He looked at the pencil as at a valuable curio. He glanced about the -desk for others, and found several. In a drawer he found many more. -They were all of the same make and same number, and while those on the -desk were all more or less well sharpened, those in the drawer had -never yet been cut.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Bayliss, and putting carefully into his pocket the pencil -he had used in making his notes, he began scrutinizing the -waste-basket.</p> - -<p>There were not many torn papers in it, but the top ones were letters, -envelopes or circulars, each torn once across. On top of these were -some chips of pencil cedar and a trifle of black dust.</p> - -<p>As if collecting precious treasure, Bayliss, with extreme care, lifted -out the top layer of torn envelopes and, without disarranging the tiny -wooden chips and black lead scrapings, laid all in a box, which he -then put in a small cupboard and, locking its door, put the key in his -pocket. Then he returned to the desk and picked up the packet of -letters which had been received on Monday and from which Mr. Fiske’s -letter had been taken. There were about a dozen of them and he looked -with interest at each one. Every one was cut open the same way, not by -a letter-opener, but with shears—a quick clean cut, which took off a -tiny edge along the right-hand end. Each was stamped at the top with -the rubber “Received” stamp in red ink.</p> - -<p>“Clever, clever villain!” mused Bayliss. “I say, Harris, he’s the -slickest ever! And nobody could have found him but Yours Truly.”</p> - -<p>“Marvelous!” murmured Harris.</p> - -<p>Then straight to Inspector Garson Bayliss marched and asked to see the -letter that Mr. Fiske wrote to Mr. Hemmingway.</p> - -<p>Receiving it, he stared at it steadily for a moment, then, going to -the window, scrutinized it through a lens.</p> - -<p>Moved by an excitement which he strove not to show, he returned it to -Mr. Garson, saying: “You’ve no doubt, I suppose, as to the genuineness -of that letter and all that it means and implies.”</p> - -<p>“No, I haven’t,” said Mr. Garson, looking straight at the young man. -“I have wondered whether there could be anything wrong about Fiske, -but that letter is incontrovertible evidence of his veracity.”</p> - -<p>“Why couldn’t it be faked?” persisted Bayliss.</p> - -<p>“I’ve thought of that,” said Mr. Garson patiently, “but it’s too real. -Whether it was written Sunday or not, it was positively posted Sunday -evening and it was positively delivered to Mr. Hemmingway Monday -morning. The postmark proves that. Then Mr. Hemmingway opened it, for -it is cut open precisely the way he cuts open all his letters, and he -dated it with his own dating-stamp, and put it with his lot ‘To be -answered.’ Can anything be more convincing of Fiske’s good faith?”</p> - -<p>“And yet,” said Bert Bayliss, “it _is_ a faked letter, and George -Fiske’s the murderer of Richard Hemmingway!”</p> - -<p>“My dear sir, what _do_ you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Just what I say. Richard Hemmingway never saw this letter!”</p> - -<p>“Can you prove that?”</p> - -<p>“I can. Look at the envelope closely with this lens, in a strong -light. What do you see between the letters of Mr. Hemmingway’s name?”</p> - -<p>“I see”—the Inspector peered closer—“I see faint pencil-marks.”</p> - -<p>“Can you make out what they spell?”</p> - -<p>“No—yes—‘G-e-o’— _is_ it ‘George Fiske’?”</p> - -<p>“It is, though not all the letters are discernible. Fiske wrote this -letter on Sunday and mailed it on Sunday, _but_ —he addressed it to -himself, _not_ to his employer.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” exclaimed Mr. Garson in amazement.</p> - -<p>“Listen. He addressed it with a very soft pencil to himself, and -traced the address very lightly. It reached his boarding-house Monday -morning, of course, and then he erased the pencil-marks and boldly -wrote Mr. Hemmingway’s name in ink. Then he cut off the end, in -precisely the way Mr. Hemmingway opens his letters, and put the whole -thing in his pocket. All day he carried it in his pocket (I am -reconstructing this affair as it must have happened), and at four -o’clock he went home with the missive still there.</p> - -<p>“Late Monday night he returned. After the three visitors had left, he -strangled Mr. Hemmingway. You know he’s an athlete, and his employer -was a frail old man.</p> - -<p>“And _then_ he used the rubber stamp on his own letter and tucked it -into the bunch of ‘To be answered.’ Then he rifled the safe, with Mr. -Hemmingway’s own keys, turned off all the lights but one and swiftly -and silently went home to bed. The rest you know.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bayliss, I can scarcely believe this!” said Inspector Garson, -fairly gasping for breath.</p> - -<p>“What, you can’t believe it when the villain has written his own name -as damning evidence against himself?”</p> - -<p>“It must be,” said the inspector, again scrutinizing the faint trace -of pencil-marks. “But why did he do it?”</p> - -<p>“Because he wanted to be executor and thus be able to convert into -cash the securities he has stolen.”</p> - -<p>“He returned those.”</p> - -<p>“Only a few. Oh, it was a clever and deep-laid scheme! Fiske has -quantities of bonds and other valuable papers entirely unaccounted for -and which, as sole executor, he can cash at his leisure, all unknown -to any one.”</p> - -<p>“How did you discover this?”</p> - -<p>“By the simplest clue. I chanced to notice on Mr. Hemmingway’s desk a -pencil, freshly sharpened, but sharpened in a totally different way -from those sharpened by the man himself. I looked at all the other -pencils on his desk, at the one taken from his pocket and at one in -his bedroom—they are all sharpened in exactly the same way, with -numerous long careful shaves, producing a whittled pyramid. The pencil -I spoke of—here it is—is sharpened by only five strong, clean cuts, -making a short exposure of cut wood, quite different from the long -point of wood in the others. Then I looked in the waste-basket, which -at your orders had not been touched since the discovery of the crime, -and _on top_ I found the chips and lead-dust of this very pencil. They -were _on top_ of some torn envelopes whose postmarks proved they had -come in Monday evening’s mail, which reaches the Hemmingway house -about six-thirty. Hence, whoever sharpened that pencil did it _after_ -six-thirty o’clock Monday night, and _before_ the discovery of Mr. -Hemmingway’s dead body.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Garson listened breathlessly. “And then?” he said.</p> - -<p>“And then,” went on Bayliss, “I looked around for some pencils -sharpened like that, and found several on and in Fiske’s desk in the -library. The pencil might have been borrowed from Fiske’s desk, but it -was sharpened right there at Mr. Hemmingway’s desk after half-past six -o’clock. Fiske, as you know, testified that he left at four and did -not return until Tuesday morning.”</p> - -<div style='height:1.5em;'></div> - -<p>Bayliss’ deductions were true. Confronted suddenly with the story and -with the traced envelope, Fiske broke down completely and confessed -all. He had been planning it for weeks, and had the decoy letter ready -to use when Mr. Hemmingway should have a large amount of bonds in his -own home safe. The whole story of the Saturday morning interview was a -figment of Fiske’s fertile brain, and of course Mr. Hemmingway had no -suspicions of his nephew. Fiske had known of the expected callers, had -watched outside the house until the last one went away and then, -running up the steps, had stopped Mr. Hemmingway just as he was -closing the door and requested a short interview. Innocently enough -Mr. Hemmingway took his secretary into the library, and, while waiting -for his fell opportunity, Fiske talked over some business matters. -While making a memorandum, Mr. Hemmingway broke his pencil point, and, -unthinkingly, Fiske obligingly sharpened it.</p> - -<p>“And to think,” murmured Bayliss to Harris, “that little act of -ordinary courtesy proved his undoing!”</p> - -<p>“Marvelous, Bayliss, marvelous!” said Harris.</p> - -<div class='theend'> - THE END -</div> -<div class='tn'> - <p>Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in - the October 1911 issue of <em>Adventure</em> magazine.</p> -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A POINT OF TESTIMONY ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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