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The Parthian shot by Robert peel Noble. The last note of the baritone's impassionate

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song had died away almost before missus
Reynolds had finished the closing bars of the

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accompaniment. She turned from the piano
to the singer. You are in fine

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voice tonight, Charles, she said, but something has given me a headache

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this evening, and it has been
steadily getting worse. You will excuse me,

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I know, she continued as she
arose. A night's rest will make

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me all right. I'm so sorry, Certainly I'll excuse you. Why didn't

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you tell me sooner, said Charles
harding as they walked to the door.

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I'll just have a smoke chat with
John before I go, and perhaps he

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will forgive me for my vocal disturbance. Too bad. He doesn't enjoy music,

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he added, as they went up
the stairs. Yes, isn't it,

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she replied. He's like a blind
man walking over diamonds. The beauty

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of music does not exist for him. She paused before the door of her

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husband's den. Good Night, she
said, as she moved away. Good

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Night. I hope you will feel
better in the morning, said Charles,

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turning to enter John's room. Missus
Reynolds was keenly conscious of her headache as

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she closed the bedroom door behind her, but she was suffering even more from

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the memory of that which had caused
it. She and Charles were to appear

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on the program of a musicale on
the following Friday evening, and had been

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having frequent rehearsals this. It seemed
at dinner that evening was the cause of

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her husband's recent fits of sulkiness and
ill humor. Not that he had been

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a cheerful companion at all times during
the past year, but of late he

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was even worse, and this evening
why it was absurd her husband was apparently

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almost ready to forbid Charles the house. The man was jealous, her husband

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actually jealous. She could laugh even
now, but for the memory of his

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stormy words and self incited anger.
What if she and Charles had been engaged

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at one time the quarrel over nothing. It was true, and her subsequent

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marriage to John had ended all that, and John should realize it and be

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more sensible. If John could only
enjoy music and would be a little more

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companionable. How long she had been
asleep, she did not know, but

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she awoke in terror. Could it
have been the noise of a passing automobile

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tire which had so alarmed her that
she found herself sitting up in bed before

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she was fully awake. With a
fast beating heart and with trembling hands,

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she slipped out of bed and opened
the door. John, she called,

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then again, more loudly, John, Oh, John, and ended with

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a sob. What if, my
god, what if he did? She

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moaned, and ran to the open
doorway of her husband's den. A piteous,

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hard, invading scream came from her
lips. Not Charles, but John

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lay sprawled upon the floor, now
stained with blood. Staggering and clutching the

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banisters. She half ran, half
fell down the stairway and out through the

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door to the sidewalk. Help,
Oh help, she screamed. Won't somebody

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help? She moaned? What's the
matter? Came from the corner across the

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street as the speaker started toward her. My husband, Oh help me,

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she continued to moan. The man
who had responded to her call had almost

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to carry her, half fainting as
she was, as he accompanied her back

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into the house. There he managed
to get her upstairs and to bed,

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which she had left in so great
alarm. Where's the telephone? The words

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were quick, almost curt Passing the
open door of mister Rennol's room, he

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had seen what lay upon the floor
hallway downstairs. Came from the lips whose

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trembling could not be controlled. Get
a doctor, Get a doctor. Feeling

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that she was in greater need of
medical aid than was her husband, he

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ran down the stairs hurriedly called the
nearest physician and obtained his promise to come

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at once. He then called another
number police station. This is when sends

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00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:49,079
somebody here at once, number seven
thirty four Walnut Street. Man killed.

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I think looks like murder. I'll
wait here. Running up the stairs again,

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he found missus Reynold's in the hall, weakly strugg into her kimono and

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walking with uncertain steps towards the doorway
of her husband's room. I must go

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to him, she cried. Wait, he said kindly. If there is

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anything you can do, I will
tell you. But unheedingly she followed him

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into the room and stood pale and
open mouthed, wringing her hands and staring

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00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:29,399
at the form upon the floor over
which Wynd was now stooping. We must

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wait for the doctor, he said
gently, he will be here soon.

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As he finished speaking, doctor Morris
entered do something. Doctor quick, cried

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the frantic woman to the physician,
already making his examination deftly and silently.

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After a brief interval, doctor Morris
arose slowly. He is past my help,

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Missus Rynolds, he said, you
must lie down and let me do

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something for you. Two men,
a policeman who had come up the stairs

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00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,560
while doctor Morris was helping Missus Reynolds
to her room, entered the room of

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tragedy, exchanged words of recognition with
Win, and listened to the latter's account

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of what had followed his chance appearance
upon the scene. Bullet wound, murmured

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the second man, who was evidently
a city detective and who was inspecting the

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body and its surroundings. Clothing must
windows locked, didn't find any gun.

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Guess it's murder. Sure enough?
Were the outside doors locked when missus Rendles

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00:06:34,439 --> 00:06:41,360
ran out? Anybody else in the
house? I don't know, Johnson said

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00:06:41,399 --> 00:06:46,240
to Winn, You'll have to ask
Missus Reynolds. Johnson turned to doctor Morris,

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00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,519
who, after administering a sedative to
Missus Rendols, had left her in

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the care of the maid. What
do you make of it, doctor asked

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Johnson. The bullet, as it
seems to be, has entered a point

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00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,759
a little higher than the heart,
and, judging by the distance to which

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00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:10,199
the blood has spurted, has severed
an artery, probably the aorta. The

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autopsy will determine the matter. One
of you had better notify the coroner at

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once. You do that, dan
requested Johnson, turning to the policeman.

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Then he again bent over the body. Hum came from him in a thoughtful

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surprise as he picked up a half
smoked, broken cigar which had been lying

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under the edge of the dead man's
coat. Portina, he said, reading

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the name of the brand upon the
cigar, band I just wonder. Stepping

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00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,480
over to a rather large humidor at
one side of the room and opening it,

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he examined the contents, three different
brands, but no Portinas, he

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00:07:51,959 --> 00:08:00,319
informed. When I must question Missus
Reynolds, she is very nervous, rejected

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Doctor Morris. Is it necessary to
talk to her now? Just two questions,

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said Johnson, as he went across
the hall to the room which he

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00:08:09,439 --> 00:08:16,079
had seen Missus Randal's enter. Missus
Reynolds, did you find the front door

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locked as you ran out of the
house this evening, he asked. Yes,

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no, I just turned the knob. She replied, who was with

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your husband this evening? Missus Reynolds
was the next question. A look of

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horror swept over her face. He
didn't do it, Charles, wouldn't hurt

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anyone, she protested Charles, who
continued the questioner Charles harding, But I

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know he didn't do it. I
know he didn't, brokenly asserted Missus Reynolds.

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That remains to be seen. I
won't trouble you anymore, though,

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he said, and returned to the
room where the body lay. The doctor

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had gone. Johnson, having completed
his inspection, asked the policeman to await

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the coroner and went to headquarters.
Wynn remained and made an examination on his

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own account. He inspected all parts
of the room, peering into places which

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seemed very unpromising. From under the
couch, he picked up a small brass

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plumb bob attached to a string,
regarded it thoughtfully, and put it into

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his pocket. Quietly. He left
the house. The next morning. As

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he was about to leave his apartments, Wynn received a call from his friend

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Charles Harding. Have you seen the
morning papers? The latter asked excitedly.

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No, why was the reply?
Mister Reynolds has been murdered and I was

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with him last night, exclaimed Harding. I'm sure I was followed on my

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way over here. What shall I
do? What kind of cigar do you

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smoke? Charlie Partinez, said the
other, staring, But why do you

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never mind? You go about your
business just as if you were not being

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followed. You may be arrested,
but don't let that worry you too much.

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I'm going to get busy right away, if that's any comfort to you.

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Harding shook him by the hand.
Thanks, old fellow. I'm glad

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I've got you to count on.
I'll have to go now, Wynn said,

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the sooner I find out about this. If I can, the better

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it will be for your peace of
mind. While Harding was on his way

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to his office, nervously aware that
he was still being shadowed, Wynn was

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00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:52,080
directing his steps up Walnut Street,
absorbed in thought and unconscious of passing acquaintances.

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At the home of Missus Randalls,
he rang the bell. Tell Missus

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Randalls, he said to the maid
as he presented it card that it is

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absolutely necessary for me to see her. For a few moments. As missus

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Reynolds entered, paled and grief stricken, Wynn arose, I am very sorry

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to disturb you just at this time, Missus Reynolds, but in the interest

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of our common friend Charles Harding,
it is necessary for me to learn everything

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I can from you which may have
a bearing upon your husband's death. Charles

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00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,279
couldn't have done such a thing,
mister Wynn. He's incapable of it.

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I agree with you, said Wynn, but if I am to clear him

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before others, I must learn all
the facts possible, even those which look

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damaging. Had you been asleep just
before you ran out of the house last

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night, Yes, I had gone
to bed with a headache after rehearsing some

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music with Charles, and he had
gone to John's room. You heard no

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00:12:00,879 --> 00:12:05,759
quarreling or noise of a struggle.
No, except for the noise that awakened

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me, the shot, I suppose, She added with a shudder. Was

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00:12:11,039 --> 00:12:16,000
there any reason why your husband and
Charlie Harding should have quarreled? Missus Reynolds

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00:12:16,039 --> 00:12:20,960
hesitated, then spoke quickly. There
was no reason mister Wynn, unless you

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should call Charles unreasonable jealousy or reason. Charles and I had to practice together

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a good deal lately, and John
didn't like it. Who was in the

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house last evening beside you and mister
Reynolds and Charlie only the maid the other

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servant. The man doesn't sleep in
the house. Had mister Reynolds any enemies

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00:12:43,639 --> 00:12:50,639
that you know of? Had he
any trouble with anyone? Not that I

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why? Yes, he had.
He had discharged our former servant for drunkenness.

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The man became very angry and abusive
when he left. What was his

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00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:09,440
name, Carl Hansen? Do you
know his address? No, mister Reynolds

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00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:16,399
secured him through an employment agency.
Is anything missing? Money? Jewelry?

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I don't think so. Did you
find the front door locked when you started

149
00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:26,080
out for help last evening? Not
with a key or with the bolt?

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00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,279
I turned only the knob to open
the door. The inside knob works with

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a spring lock, so the door
must have been locked, and the outside

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knob it takes a key to open
the door from the outside. Then how

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could anyone have gained entrance last night? Missus Reynolds? The other outside doors

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and the windows downstairs were all locked, Missus Reynolds became even more pale.

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Did Carl Hanson have a key to
the house house? When asked, he

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00:14:01,879 --> 00:14:05,960
did have, said Missus Reynolds,
breathing more easily, but returned it.

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00:14:07,879 --> 00:14:13,600
Couldn't he have had a duplicate made? Though? Yes, now, Missus

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00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,360
Reynolds, I won't keep you any
longer, but I will ask permission to

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00:14:16,399 --> 00:14:24,080
inspect your husband's room again and perhaps
some other parts of the house. Missus

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Reynolds having acquiesced when first verified her
statements as to the locks on the front

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door and then revisited her husband's room. It was nearly noon before he left

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the house, walking briskly and with
no trace of the absorbed manner which he

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had brought with him. Late in
the afternoon, he learned that the autopsy

164
00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:52,840
performed on mister Reynolds confirmed the opinion
of doctor Morris, and that the bullet

165
00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:58,120
had been found one of thirty two
caliber. He was also informed that his

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00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:03,440
presence as a witness would be required
at the coroner's investigation the next morning.

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00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:11,440
At this investigation, the testimony brought
out the fact that mister Reynolds had died

168
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:16,360
from the effects of a bullet wound, that the condition of his clothes indicated

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a struggle with someone, That no
weapon had been found. That the windows

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of mister Rentol's room were found to
be locked when examined by the officers,

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That all the windows downstairs and the
outside doors except the front door opened by

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00:15:31,919 --> 00:15:37,039
Missus Reynolds, were found to be
locked when examined immediately after the tragedy.

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That this front door was also locked
against any outsider just before it was opened

174
00:15:45,039 --> 00:15:50,080
by Missus Reynolds. That the stub
of a cigar of the kind smoked by

175
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mister Harding had been under mister Renol's
body, That the band of the cigar

176
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was not to be found in mister
Rentol's stock of cigars, and in act

177
00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,320
seemed not to be on sale at
any of the cigar stores in the city.

178
00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,279
That mister Harding was the last person
known to have been with mister Reynolds

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00:16:08,639 --> 00:16:15,360
before the latter's death, And that
mister Reynolds had objected to the frequency of

180
00:16:15,399 --> 00:16:22,600
mister Harding's calls upon Missus Reynolds and
had entertained unfriendly feelings towards mister Harding on

181
00:16:22,679 --> 00:16:29,200
this account. To Harding, who
with pale face sat listening intently. The

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00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:34,679
presentation of these facts had been anything
but reassuring. His only comfort had been

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the expression of assurance upon the face
of Wynn, who now addressed the coroner.

184
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:47,320
I should like to introduce further evidence, proceed, said the deputy.

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00:16:48,759 --> 00:16:52,879
After the officers who had been sent
to the Reynold's house had completed their examination,

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00:16:53,519 --> 00:16:57,840
said Wynn. I made a further
inspection of the room where the body

187
00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:03,799
was found under the couch. I
found this, he continued, holding up

188
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the object. It is, as
you see, a small plumbob, such

189
00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:17,400
as is used by masons and carpenters. What in particular aroused my interest,

190
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:22,039
however, was the fact that the
stout court attached to the bob had a

191
00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:26,480
short piece of thread tied to it
at the loose end, and the fact

192
00:17:26,519 --> 00:17:30,759
that the plumbbob was found under the
davenport on the floor, which the maid

193
00:17:30,839 --> 00:17:36,000
informed me had been swept on the
day that mister Reynolds met his death.

194
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,079
The maid further informed me that she
was positive that the plumbob was not on

195
00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:45,200
the floor at the time when the
floor was swept, and that she had

196
00:17:45,279 --> 00:17:52,680
never seen it before. Although I
was unable to see any connection between this

197
00:17:52,839 --> 00:17:57,000
plumbob and the death of mister Reynold's. I had the feeling that there was

198
00:17:57,039 --> 00:18:02,759
a connection, and returned to the
rentl's house the next morning with the hope

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00:18:02,799 --> 00:18:07,359
of being able to find it.
From what I asked myself, had the

200
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:14,440
plumbbob been suspended, why had it
been fastened as apparently it had been,

201
00:18:15,319 --> 00:18:18,640
by a thread tied to the cord, instead of being fastened directly by the

202
00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:23,920
court itself. And why was it
thrown or left on the floor of the

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room used by a man as orderly
as mister Reynold's was known to be.

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These questions I succeeded in answering.
I found a short piece of thread tied

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to the lower end of the vertical
tube of the electric light chandelier, which

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is in the center of mister Renol's
room. I also found that the plumbbob,

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if it had been attached at this
point, would have cleared the floor

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by about a foot just over the
chandelier. In the attic of this room,

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there was a short section of flooring
which apparently had been removed and replaced

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some time after the flooring had been
laid. This I removed and under it

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I saw the end of a rifle
which had been thrust down into the tube

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of the chandelier below. Harding sank
back in his chair and relaxed with a

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sigh of relief. But the coroner
and the others present continued in their positions

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of rigid attention. The stock of
the rifle continued when had been cut off

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in order to make concealment under the
floor possible. The trigger was connected to

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an electromagnetic device. Also concealed under
the floor. In the floor of mister

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Reynol's room was a pushbuton, supposed
to be no longer in use, but

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that it was connected with the electromagnet
above. I proved when by pressing this

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push button I was able to release
the previously raised gun hammer. Gentlemen,

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in the that rifle I found this, said Wynn impressively, as he held

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up another small object. It is
the empty shell of a thirty two caliber

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cartridge. Your imagination can tell you
the rest. Shortly after Charles Harding had

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left the house, mister Reynolds attached
the plumbbob to the chandelier and lay upon

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the floor so that his heart would
be just under the plumbbob and therefore directly

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in the line of fire. He
pulled the cord, breaking the thread close

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to the chandelier, of course,
concealing the bob and cord by throwing them

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under the couch, but with the
slightest change in his position on the floor,

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pressed the button with an outstretched arm. That any living man is responsible

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for his death, I cannot believe, nor can you, I think,

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in the face of these facts,
it may be more charitable for us to

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believe that mister Reynolds, mentally unbalanced
by the worry over his impending financial difficulties

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known to a few of his friends, sought nothing but relief in death,

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while trying at the same time to
avoid the stigma of suicide. But it

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is difficult not to entertain the idea
that mister Reynolds, actuated by jealousy,

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purposely removed Charles Harding's cigar stub from
the ashtray to the floor, purposely disarranged

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his own clothing, and purposely chose
that time for pressing the push button,

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when the bullet which was discharged into
his own body should serve as a Parthian

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shot at the man who had been
in his room a few minutes before Wind's

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evidence led to an immediate verdict of
suicide, and every one hastened to shake

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Harding's hand. Although Harding held no
one's hand in as long a grasp as

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he held Winds, his eyes rested
upon the black gowned figure of Missus Reynolds,

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whose face expressed relief as well as
grief. Was not something else fleetingly

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expressed there too, gladness, joy. Harding started toward her as she was

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about to leave the room, then
checked himself abruptly. Better wait, he

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thought, and turned away to win
the end of the Parthian shot by Robert pl Noble