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The mysterious Highwayman by Sergeant Ryan,
the inspector in charge of the Detective Bureau

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at Police Headquarters, was talking to
half a dozen reporters and at the same

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time was exchanging a dress coat for
one of dark blue, which was not

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part of a uniform, though suggestive
of it. I don't know any more

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about this case than you do,
he was saying, I've been to the

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theater and was eating supper afterward when
I got word of it. The report

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that came to me was that a
man named Prescott Carroll had been arrested for

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the murder of Oliver Brundage. Oli
Brundage, you all know him, the

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reporters nodded. The name and fame
of Ali Brundage were quite familiar to them.

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He was a young man of good
family, a bachelor, a clubman

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who managed to move in the highest
society without any visible means of support.

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They also knew Carroll, who had
gone out of journalism into literature eight or

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ten years before, and had won
a certain measure of recognition. The arrest

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was made by a patrolman and detective
Hinds of my staff, continued the inspector.

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It seems Carroll knocked Brundage down with
a sand club or something of that

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kind, and was going through his
pockets. It was on West seventy eighth

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Street, just opposite the new Church. The prisoner was taken to the station

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house, but I sent word to
have him brought down here. Brundage's body

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is at the station now, that's
all I know. The reporters exchanged glances,

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then one of them asked, what's
this about a millionaire's pocketbook being found

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in Carroll's pocket. I heard a
rumor to that effect, said the inspector,

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but I am not prepared to a
answer any questions. Isn't it a

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fact, queried one of the reporters, that there have been a good many

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hold ups in the neighborhood, and
that your man Hindes was up there.

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On that account, there have been
some wild stories in the newspapers. The

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inspector began, but checked himself as
he perceived a lieutenant entering by the door

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on the left. The lieutenant executed
a sort of military salute and departed without

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having opened his mouth. You boys
will have to get out of here now,

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said the inspector. I'll see you
later. The reporters filed out like

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so many pall bearers. Every one
of them looked at his watch. Though

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there was a clock in plain sight
on the wall. It was half past

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one in the morning, and minutes
were precious. No one remained in the

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room except the chief and the man
in the dark gray suit, who sat

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against the wall opposite the door where
the lieutenant had appeared. You know him,

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Carter, don't you, asked the
inspector three years ago, replied the

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detective. I knew him as a
brilliant and promising fellow, but he passed

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out of my sight. Writer,
eh, I've read one of his stories.

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It was good too. Why the
devil should he have done this thing?

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Carter answered only with a gesture.
The inspector glanced quickly toward the door,

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then, leaning forward in his chair, with his right elbow on the

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desk and his open hand against the
side of his face, he waited in

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the shadow. The brim of Carter's
hat was nearly level with his eyes,

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and as the principal source of light
was a cluster of lamps against the wall

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and almost directly over his head,
his countenance was scarcely visible. The door

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at the left swung open, and
two officers appeared with the prisoner between them.

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They paused an instant so that the
man seemed to come along into the

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white glare of light and oppressive silence. He was tall and of strong frame,

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but excessively thin. He had wavy, dark brown hair, a high

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forehead painfully wrinkled above the bridge of
the nose, pale blue eyes with that

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faded look that one sees in the
eyes of tired women, a light mustache,

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and a well molded but rather weak
chin with a dimple in it.

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He wore a shabby black overcoat above
what seemed to be expensive and fashionable evening

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dress. Carter, who remembered Preston
Carroll as he had been, was shocked

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at the change in him. He
seemed to have lived a dozen years between

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twenty nine and thirty two. There
was a straight backed wooden chair, which,

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standing alone in the middle of the
big and bare room, had a

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singular effect of isolation. Carol looked
at it, perceived that it was for

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him, and sat down with a
shutter. At that moment, Hines,

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the headquarters man who had assisted in
the arrest, appeared at the door.

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While Carter crossing the room, whispered
to one of the policemen, who immediately

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went out. Well, said the
inspector, addressing Hines at ten minutes past

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twelve, responded the officer. I
was going west along seventy eighth Street toward

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Berkeley Avenue. There was an apartment
house on the southeast corner with an alley

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behind it, which runs half way
down the block and then turns into the

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avenue. There's an iron fence with
a gate on each end. Close by

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this fence, where there wasn't much
light, I saw this man stooping over

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a body that lay on the sidewalk. I ran up, and at the

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same time patrolman Bruce came from the
direction of the avenue. We had the

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man between us, and when he
saw that he surrendered. He seemed to

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be dazed, and we couldn't get
him to say anything to us. I

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recognized the man on the ground as
Oliver Brundage. He was alive then,

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but unconscious. He died before the
ambulance came. There was no weapon.

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Brundage was killed by striking his head
in falling. We had the body taken

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to the station house and took this
man there. He talked to himself on

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the way, he said, don't
worry, don't worry. I'll be all

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right. It's the best thing that
could have happened. He admitted having killed

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Brundage, and that is all we
could get out of him. The inspector

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turned to Carroll and asked him whether
he had anything to say, warning him,

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in accordance with the law, that
whatever he said could be used against

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him on the trial. He remained
silent for perhaps half a minute, during

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which interval Hines laid upon the inspector's
desk a package containing all that had been

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taken from the prisoner when he was
searched at the station house. Denial is

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useless, said Carroll. At last, I was taken in the act.

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His manner was indefinably strange. If
one may attempt description, it was more

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like an invalid's than a criminal's.
This man, of cultured mind and delicately

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sensitive nature, seemed to feel neither
remorse nor shame. There was evidence of

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considerable anxiety, but this state was
repeatedly interrupted by involuntary outbursts of reassurance,

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almost of satisfaction. What was your
motive, asked the inspector. Robbery replied,

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the prisoner cheerfully. I was driven
to it by poverty. The inspector

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looked hastily at Carter, who returned
the glance meaningly. Both men perceived that

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the prisoner's answer was a lie,
and that it covered a mystery. This

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case, which on a casual view
seemed so clear, being the arrest of

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a highway robber beside the body of
his victim, became at once to those

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experienced men, a problem for close
and rigid investigation. I thought you were

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successful in your profession, said the
inspector. I might have been, was

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the reply. But I had bad
luck and many burdens. There were people

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dependent upon me. I never worried
about myself. I suppose nobody does.

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It was about others. He became
excited as he spoke, and his self

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control slipped away. It was obvious
that he did not mean to tell his

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story, but that it told itself, just as the first words he had

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uttered in the room had overridden his
will. It appeared that he had been

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married five years before, and that
his wife had almost immediately begun to lose

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her sight as the result of a
malady. Rare and little understood gradually with

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that steady debilitation which nature commands and
human torturers vainly strived to imitate. The

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shadows had closed around her. Carol
had beggared himself with doctors. He had

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become a borrower under the pressure of
need that could not be postponed. His

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friends had turned from him, and
some of them, for the sake of

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spite that grows out of money,
had raised up other enemies when their own

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power to injure him had seemed inadequate. Meanwhile, his strength had declined,

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and his imagination, too much occupied
with images of his own increasing sorrow,

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had ceased to suggest the pictures which
his art required. His earnings had decreased

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as his needs grew. He had
labored under that enormous disadvantage of visible misfortune.

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He became the lame wolf which the
pack rends. Throughout the latter part

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of this wretched period, his sister
and his brother's widow, with two children,

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had been dependent upon him. His
wife at last had gone to a

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private hospital, where the charges were
excessive and the benefits few. The wonder

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was that the men had not gone
mad laboring with a brain so clogged with

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miserable thoughts. Yet he did not
seem to be insane, though surely on

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the break of it, neither Carter
nor the inspector interrupted Carol's recital, which

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he himself finally broke off with an
exclamation of despair. You see, I

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can't help telling this, he said, though upon my soul, I did

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not mean to do it. The
inspector glanced at Carter and touched his forehead.

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Unperceived by Carrol, the detective made
a negative sign. We'll see what

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we have here, said the inspector, opening the packet which Hines had brought.

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It contained a few trifles, separately
wrapped because they were obviously the prisoners,

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and the things that he was supposed
to have taken from Brundage. The

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latter consisted of a handkerchief, some
letters, a cigarette case, a card

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case, and several keys. Another
handkerchief, a woman's and small coin to

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the value of sixty four cents were
marked as having been found in Brundage's pocket

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by the police. Then you got
no money at all, said the inspector.

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I got a pocket book, said
Carroll, with hesitation. Do you

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mean to say that that you got
this from Brundage? Demanded the inspector,

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holding up the wallet certainly, answered
Carroll, but he did not meet the

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eye of the questioner. Do you
know whose pocketbook it is? They told

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me at the station house, said
Carol, faintly that it was Stanton Ripley's.

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Stanton Ripley was a young man about
town, possessed of great wealth and

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a barnful of wild oats. The
pocketbook bore his initials and the crest of

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his family in gold and enamel.
It was a plain, light Russian leather

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book, of the sort that folds
in the middle, with one large compartment

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on each side. Carter received it
from the chief's hand and discovered that it

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contained three thousand and ten dollars,
one one thousand dollars bill, four of

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five hundred dollars, and two of
five dollars, all new they found in

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the prisoner's coat tail pocket, said
the chief. Were you aware, he

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continued, addressing Carol, that this
was in Brundage's possession when you attacked him.

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Carol pondered upon this question, I
couldn't have known that, he said.

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At last, in a faint voice. Carter observed that he had taken

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hold of the sides of his chair, as if to keep from falling out

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of it, and that a bluish
pallor had overspread his face. He is

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there anything I can do for you, asked the detective kindly. Could I

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have something to eat? Said the
prisoner in an embarrassed tone. Of course,

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if it's too much trouble. I
have already set out for some supper

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for you, said Carter, looking
closely at him. It occurred to me

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that you might like it. I
wonder it hasn't come before this. Carol

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expressed his gratitude, and while he
was doing so, a policeman entered with

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several packages. The detective drew up
a small table and set forth a bottle

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of milk and a loaf of bread, at sight of which the prisoner's eyes

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shone. Behind him, the policeman
was opening a box from which he took

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a steak and potatoes on a wooden
plate, and a knife and fork.

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He held up the knife and looked
inquiringly at Carter, who nodded, and

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the utensils were laid upon the table. The prisoner ate well. Many times

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he spoke aloud in praise of the
food, clearly not meaning to do so,

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for he always checked himself with shame. Now, he said, at

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last, I feel first rate.
Heavens. The exclamation came suddenly. Carrol

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half rose and then sank back.
He pressed his hand across his forehead,

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which had become wet in an instant. My wife and my sister, he

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cried, How shall I tell them? I'm afraid that the newspapers will anticipate

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you unless you telegraph, said Carter. He took a pad of blanks and

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a pencil from the inspector's desk and
laid them before Carol, who, after

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many attempts, wrote this message.
Be prepared for very bad news, yet

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all for the best. Don't try
to understand, don't come here, We'll

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send money. He puzzled a long
time over the last sentence, and finally

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let it stand. The message was
addressed to his sister, missus Hilda Carroll,

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in a small town in Massachusetts.
At the bottom, he wrote a

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request to repeat the telegram to his
wife in care of the physician in charge

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of the hospital where she then was. Carter gave the telegram with money for

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its transmission to one of the policemen, who went out with it immediately.

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The inspector, meanwhile, was answering
a call upon the telephone which stood on

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his desk. He received a long
report at the close of which he ordered

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that the prisoner should be taken into
the adjoining room. Nick, he said,

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as soon as they were alone,
I've just got word from the man

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who was sent to Ripley's rooms when
the pocketbook was found on Carrol Ripley has

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just come home with a bad wound
in the head. He seems to have

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been wandering around the streets dazed for
quite a long time. He was at

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his club until eleven o'clock. Then
he started out for a walk on Fifth

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Avenue, alongside the park at sixty
third Street. He saw a man step

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out from behind a tree. As
he turned to face the fellow, he

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got a wrap on the left side
of his head, and the next thing

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he remembers, he was on the
other side of the park way up at

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eighty first Street, and it was
more than two hours later where he'd been

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in the meantime, he didn't know
his pocketbook was gone and his watch nothing

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else was taken. He said.
He probably could not identify his assailant,

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though the man looked familiar, he
knew Carrol very well. They were in

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college together. He lent him some
money a year or so ago. Then

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they had a falling out, and
he hasn't seen Carrol since he didn't think

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it was Carroll who assaulted him.
What do you make out of this,

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Well, it seems somewhat extraordinary,
said the detective, that a man on

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the verge of starvation should not have
used one of those five dollar bills to

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buy a meal. It occurs to
me that we haven't found Ripley's watch,

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and I am also puzzled to know
why a man who had made a haul

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of three thousand dollars should take the
desperate chance of assaulting Brundage, who is

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well known never to have any money. Perhaps Carol didn't know him, suggested

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the inspector. It's as bad one
way or another, replied the detective.

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He wouldn't have risked three thousand dollars
and his liberty on the chance of what

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might be in the stranger's pockets.
However we might ask him about it.

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Carrol was brought back into the room
and was informed of what had been learned

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00:18:25,839 --> 00:18:30,920
about Ripley. He made a strong
effort to cover his emotions, but Carter

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00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:36,599
was of the opinion that for some
mysterious reason. The prisoner was not only

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surprised but pleased. It is true, he said, I did not take

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00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:48,680
the pocketbook from Brundage. I took
it from Ripley, where demanded the inspector,

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who had not mentioned the place designated
by Ripley in Central Park, was

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the reply, I followed him from
his club. At this point the pri

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00:19:00,319 --> 00:19:04,680
showed his first disinclination to answer questions, yet he consented to hear a few

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00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:12,480
from Carter, and this exchange resulted. Were you acquainted with Brundage? I

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00:19:12,519 --> 00:19:18,319
knew him by sight and by reputation. When did you see him this evening

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00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:23,680
when he turned out of the avenue
on to seventy eighth Street Did you recognize

216
00:19:23,759 --> 00:19:30,279
him? Yes? Did you speak
to him before attacking him? No?

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00:19:30,759 --> 00:19:36,160
Where did you get the dress suit? Ripley gave it to me a year

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00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:38,559
and a half ago when he got
me to go to dinner at a club.

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00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,960
Do you mean that he bought it
for you? No, it was

220
00:19:45,039 --> 00:19:48,960
his. He had just had it
made. It was one of his freaks

221
00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:55,000
to give it to me. What
is that stain? It was a reddish

222
00:19:55,039 --> 00:19:57,799
mark, as if from a blow
with a rusty iron bar, and it

223
00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:03,720
extended across the the back of the
overcoat about the waistline. The garment was

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00:20:03,799 --> 00:20:10,480
lying on a chair. Carol looked
at the stain with mild surprise and said

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00:20:10,519 --> 00:20:15,279
he did not know what it was. Your dress coat was torn in the

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00:20:15,319 --> 00:20:19,279
struggle with brundage, I suppose,
said the detective, indicating a ripped seam

227
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,400
at the back of the left shoulder
and some further damage here and there.

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00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:30,599
Carol nodded. You had your overcoat
on when you were arrested, didn't you.

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00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:37,480
Yes, I just slipped it on
after the struggle. Why didn't you

230
00:20:37,559 --> 00:20:41,440
run through the alley when you saw
the policeman coming. I didn't know there

231
00:20:41,519 --> 00:20:48,680
was any gate in the fence,
replied the prisoner. This closed the examination

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00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:53,359
and Carrol was assigned to a cell. It is a singular coincidence, said

233
00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:57,960
the detective, that I happened to
be very familiar with the spot where this

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00:20:59,079 --> 00:21:04,440
arrest was made. I waited there
some hours on a recent evening. The

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00:21:04,559 --> 00:21:10,079
gate in the fence could not be
overlooked by anyone, and just within it

236
00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,440
there is a rusty iron bar extending
from the gate post to the side of

237
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:18,000
the house. From the appearance of
the mark on Carol's coat, I should

238
00:21:18,039 --> 00:21:22,240
say that he had leaned against that
bar. I came very near to doing

239
00:21:22,279 --> 00:21:27,440
it myself, so Carol had a
neat way of escape and didn't take it.

240
00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,640
The inspector drummed with his fingers on
his desk and gently whistled a little

241
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,839
tune for a case. It opens
with a confession. He said, at

242
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:45,440
last, this is a beautiful muddle
to begin with. The man is such

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00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:52,160
a purposeless liar. I would hardly
say that rejoined Carter. He knows what

244
00:21:52,279 --> 00:21:56,079
he is about. A liar.
He certainly is one of the most perverse

245
00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:02,200
and incalculable that I have ever encountered. But his statements held to a clear

246
00:22:02,319 --> 00:22:07,480
view. Obviously he is willing to
say anything which will tend to show that

247
00:22:07,559 --> 00:22:11,160
he attacked Brundage for the purpose of
robbing him. Now, of course,

248
00:22:11,279 --> 00:22:15,279
this crime is not robbery, though
Carroll tried to give that color to it,

249
00:22:15,799 --> 00:22:21,319
and on a hasty inspiration too,
or he would not have committed the

250
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:26,000
absurdity of taking the man's handkerchief to
say nothing about this rubbish of cigarette and

251
00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:33,480
card cases. You mean that he
killed Brundage for some other reason, asked

252
00:22:33,519 --> 00:22:37,599
the inspector, did you observe the
weather, rejoined Carter with a smile.

253
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:44,279
It has been snowing a little,
and the pavements are a mess. Carol's

254
00:22:44,279 --> 00:22:48,359
coat shows a considerable struggle, and
by all the evidence, the two men

255
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:53,640
must have fallen to the ground,
one gripping the other's throat. It was

256
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:59,720
then that Brundage's head struck the projection
and the iron fence, but the assailant

257
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:04,160
could not have immediately known the result. Without doubt, they rolled there together

258
00:23:04,519 --> 00:23:11,720
in the dirt. Yet there isn't
a mark on Carroll's knees. That is

259
00:23:11,759 --> 00:23:15,759
so. But the elbow and left
sleeve of the coat are soiled, not

260
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:21,319
the overcoat. He taken that off. It is all very singular, said

261
00:23:21,319 --> 00:23:26,200
the detective. I am being gradually
led toward a remarkable conclusion, but I

262
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:30,359
am not ready to talk about it
yet. I suggest that we put the

263
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:36,440
whole thing off until tomorrow. The
case is in your hands, said the

264
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:41,680
inspector, if you will be kind
enough to take charge of it. On

265
00:23:41,799 --> 00:23:45,880
the following day, the detective called
upon Stanton Ripley at his rooms, which

266
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:52,799
have sometimes been mentioned in print as
the most luxurious bachelor apartments in New York.

267
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,599
Ripley was under a doctor's care,
but had almost ceased to require it.

268
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,200
He had a contusion on the left
side of his head behind the ear,

269
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:07,960
but was suffering principally from the mental
strain the result of his adventure of

270
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:14,440
the previous night. It was necessary
to avoid exciting him, and the detective

271
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:21,160
proceeded with the utmost caution. Ripley
declared positively that his assailant was not Carroll,

272
00:24:21,799 --> 00:24:25,880
and after an hour of shrewd questioning, he admitted his belief that it

273
00:24:26,039 --> 00:24:30,920
was Brundage. Then he seemed to
regret having made the statement, and he

274
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:36,920
concluded by asserting his ignorance of the
highwayman's identity. It became necessary, therefore,

275
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,720
to trace Brundage's movements on the previous
evening, and this proved to be

276
00:24:41,799 --> 00:24:47,000
easy. From nine o'clock until a
few minutes before his death. Brundage had

277
00:24:47,039 --> 00:24:51,359
been in the apartments of a young
widow, a Missus Haskell, who lived

278
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:55,920
with her mother and sister in that
building on Berkeley Avenue, behind which ran

279
00:24:55,960 --> 00:25:00,319
the alley that has been referred to. There had been three other guests,

280
00:25:00,839 --> 00:25:04,799
a man and two women, and
Brundage had put them into a cab just

281
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:11,319
before going to meet his fate.
It had, unfortunately been his intention to

282
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:17,160
walk across to his home, which
was on Central Park West. This negated

283
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:22,440
the idea that Carroll could have found
Ripley's pocket book in Brundage's pocket, But

284
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:26,680
where had he obtained it? Since
Ripley was sure he was not the robber,

285
00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:32,039
and what motive could have induced Carroll
to play his singular part in this

286
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:37,039
affair, A study of the locality
could not fail to raise the presumption that

287
00:25:37,079 --> 00:25:41,559
Carroll had been lying in wait for
Brundage. The spot was well chosen,

288
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:47,359
Yet Carroll was unknown to the Haskells
and could hardly have had any means of

289
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:52,400
knowing where Brundage would spend the evening. Indeed, all the evidence that Carter

290
00:25:52,519 --> 00:25:56,279
could collect seemed to show that Carroll
and Brundage had no common interests and no

291
00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:03,400
possible grounds for animosity. There were
rumors of ill feeling between Ripley and Brundage

292
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:07,319
on account of the fascinating Missus Haskell, at whose home both were frequent visitors.

293
00:26:07,839 --> 00:26:12,960
But even upon the wild supposition that
Ripley had been sufficiently jealous to employ

294
00:26:14,079 --> 00:26:18,519
Carroll as his bravo, he would
hardly have paid him with a watch and

295
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,720
pocket book, nor would Carroll have
collected his price with the aid of a

296
00:26:22,759 --> 00:26:30,200
sand club. The newspapers saw in
Carroll a mysterious highwayman. They exaggerated one

297
00:26:30,279 --> 00:26:34,599
or two small robberies in the neighborhood
into a great list of desperate crimes,

298
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:41,240
and the young author was pictured as
one of the famous degenerates of the age.

299
00:26:41,599 --> 00:26:45,640
But the real puzzle of the case
remained unanswered. Nobody could account for

300
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:52,599
Carroll's retention of that pocket book,
for his senseless risk in attacking Brundage while

301
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,519
carrying so great a plunder from another
crime, for his failure to take an

302
00:26:56,519 --> 00:27:03,079
easy chance of escape. In the
evening, Carter called at the headquarters and

303
00:27:03,079 --> 00:27:07,039
found Carrol's sister, his sister in
law, and the latter's two children.

304
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,640
Though women had come to the city
with a vague idea that their presence was

305
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:15,119
required, and without enough money to
take them back again, they and the

306
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:22,000
children were in tears, and the
scene was intensely distressing. It became positively

307
00:27:22,079 --> 00:27:27,240
harrowing when the inspector yielded to their
entreaties and summoned the prisoner from his cell.

308
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,400
Somewhat to Carter's surprise, the man
was greatly improved in appearance. His

309
00:27:33,559 --> 00:27:38,279
bearing was marked by a sad serenity. He beheld the tears and accepted the

310
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:44,200
reproaches of the women with perfect composure, and it was only when they spoke

311
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:49,079
of their immediate need of money that
he showed any considerable anxiety. He referred

312
00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:53,200
them to a lawyer whom he had
retained during the day, saying that he

313
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:59,720
would probably assist them. Otherwise,
he said nothing to them except vaguely reassuring

314
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,279
words, and though they said they
would come again on the following day,

315
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,880
a suggestion which the inspector did not
see fit to contradict, Carroll bade them

316
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:14,200
farewell with an air of finality.
When the prisoner had been removed, Carter

317
00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,920
inquired about his lawyer and learned that
a corporation attorney, practically unknown in criminal

318
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:23,519
courts, had been retained. Carroll
had given the name an address, and

319
00:28:23,599 --> 00:28:29,480
the attorney had been summoned to the
best of by judgment, said the inspector.

320
00:28:30,079 --> 00:28:34,559
He had never seen the prisoner before. Carroll was arraigned and waived examination

321
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,000
as you know. Of course,
during the evening Carter obtained a bit of

322
00:28:41,039 --> 00:28:47,559
evidence not altogether unimportant. He had
appeared that when Ripley left his club on

323
00:28:47,599 --> 00:28:51,920
the night of the crime, a
man answering Carroll's description, who had been

324
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,000
loitering for more than an hour in
the neighborhood, had followed him. Two

325
00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:02,200
cabmen were the witnesses on this point. They were perfectly confident, but they

326
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:07,599
said that Ripley had gone to fifty
ninth Street instead of Fifth Avenue. Carter

327
00:29:07,759 --> 00:29:11,759
called upon Ripley in regard to this
contradiction, and was informed that the young

328
00:29:11,839 --> 00:29:15,039
man had walked a little way up
fifty ninth Street, but had returned.

329
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:22,279
He had not seen Carroll following him. About noon the next day, Carter

330
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,119
called upon the inspector, who began
conversation by stating that he had been devoting

331
00:29:26,119 --> 00:29:32,279
a good deal of thought to the
Brundage case. And you have evolved a

332
00:29:32,319 --> 00:29:34,799
theory, said the detective, with
a smile. Shall I tell you what

333
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:41,599
it is? The inspector shut one
eye and scrutinized Carter closely out of the

334
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,960
other. Go ahead, confound you, he said, you'll tell me what

335
00:29:47,039 --> 00:29:49,160
it is, and then you'll show
me why it isn't good for anything.

336
00:29:51,599 --> 00:29:55,559
On the contrary, replied the detective, it is very near the truth.

337
00:29:56,400 --> 00:30:00,640
In fact, there can hardly be
two theories in this affair. I happened

338
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,359
to know that one of your men
compared the stain on Carrol's overcoat with the

339
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,960
iron bar I spoke of as to
hype from the ground, general appearance,

340
00:30:08,039 --> 00:30:12,720
et cetera. The conclusion that Carol
knew about the gate and the way of

341
00:30:12,839 --> 00:30:18,960
escaping through the alley is thus verified. Why didn't he run? The obvious

342
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:25,839
explanation is that he remained to cover
the retreat of someone else, precisely,

343
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,119
said the inspector. If the snow
hadn't melted so soon, we would have

344
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:34,160
found tracks. You believe, continued
Carter, that this young man, in

345
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:40,160
his half crazed desperation, had formed
an alliance with some thug. That it

346
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,680
was the thug who attacked Ripley.
That the ease with which Ripley was disposed

347
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,119
of sent them both on a mad
career of depredation, with the intent of

348
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:55,079
doing one big night's work and then
quitting the town. Well, something of

349
00:30:55,119 --> 00:30:59,960
that sort, admitted the inspector.
Then it is the pal who has engaged

350
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:07,400
this lawyer and has supplied Carroll's relatives
with money. Have they got some platty,

351
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,039
replied the detective, And they have
gone back to Massachusetts, and I

352
00:31:11,039 --> 00:31:15,440
can tell you something more agreeable.
Two of the leading medical experts in this

353
00:31:15,519 --> 00:31:19,440
city have taken an interest in missus
Carroll, who, by the way,

354
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:25,960
is a very charming woman whose needs, but never her importunities, have burdened

355
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:30,559
our friend, For she is different
from the others. Have you seen her?

356
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:37,599
Yes, this forenoon. She does
not yet know of her husband's misfortune.

357
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,240
It was deemed unwise to tell her. But would you believe it?

358
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:47,119
Those experts, who were so much
interested by the accounts of her case published

359
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:51,720
yesterday in connection with this affair,
tell me that she has a good chance

360
00:31:51,759 --> 00:31:56,839
of recovery, that the treatment hitherto
has been all wrong, and that she

361
00:31:56,000 --> 00:32:00,960
may fully regain her sight. I'm
glad of that, said the inspector.

362
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:07,519
The experts are great men, said
Carter, But they are not philanthropists.

363
00:32:07,119 --> 00:32:10,759
They are sure of their money.
By the way, have you seen Carol

364
00:32:10,839 --> 00:32:16,359
today? Yes? And the change
in the man is wonderful. Upon my

365
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:21,599
word, he has gained pounds of
flesh, and he looks positively handsome.

366
00:32:22,759 --> 00:32:27,559
His mind is relieved, responded Carter. You remember how he never worries about

367
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,920
himself. That is the truest words
he spoke to us. Worry for others

368
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:37,119
has driven him half crazy money worry, and now it is over. He

369
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:43,839
sees the electric chair before him and
is cheerful. I was near forgetting,

370
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,720
he continued, after a brief pause, that I have recovered Ripley's watch.

371
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:52,160
Some of my men searched the west
side of the park from seventy seventh Street

372
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,279
northward this morning, and they found
it where somebody had thrown it over a

373
00:32:55,319 --> 00:33:00,440
wall. A portrait on the inside
of the case at the back has been

374
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:05,680
scratched with a knife, but the
job was done in the dark. The

375
00:33:05,799 --> 00:33:13,160
face is still recognizable. It is
missus Haskell's. Why in blazes, my

376
00:33:13,359 --> 00:33:16,480
friend, it is clear as a
bell match it with my discovery that Carroll's

377
00:33:16,519 --> 00:33:22,759
coat showed every mark of a fight
with brundage, in which singularly enough,

378
00:33:22,319 --> 00:33:28,559
his nether garment seemed not to have
shared. Do you mean that he changed

379
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:34,400
coats with the real assailant? Gasped
the inspector, beyond a doubt, the

380
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,200
inspector sprang up and seized his hat
from the rack on the wall. Let's

381
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:45,079
go down to the tombs, he
said, Carroll, is there in a

382
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:50,240
private room of the famous prison.
The prisoner in the Brandage murder case brought

383
00:33:50,279 --> 00:33:54,000
from his cell. He knew not
why found the inspector and the detective waiting

384
00:33:54,039 --> 00:34:00,559
for him. Mister Carroll said,
Carter kindly, the cat out of the

385
00:34:00,599 --> 00:34:07,239
bag. The prisoner started violently,
and his face flushed. You were in

386
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:13,639
desperate straits, the detective continued.
You knew not where to turn for help.

387
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,719
You had quarreled with Ripley, who
once had befriended you, and yet

388
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:23,039
in your emergency you could think of
no one else. You dressed as well

389
00:34:23,079 --> 00:34:28,119
as you could in a suit that
he had given you, and yet when

390
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:31,360
you came to the club, your
shabby overcoat kept you from asking for the

391
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:36,360
man you wished to see. When
he came out, you followed him,

392
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:42,719
hesitating to speak, for miles along
the street in the winter night. You

393
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,760
kept him in sight, while he, with a foolish burden of jealousy on

394
00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:52,039
his mind, did not see you. At the corner of Berkeley Avenue in

395
00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:57,679
seventy eighth street. He stopped presently, he turned back, and you stepped

396
00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:02,920
within the iron gate to let him
pass. Then Brundage appeared. Before you

397
00:35:04,039 --> 00:35:08,639
realized what was happening. The sharp
struggle was over. Ripley had gratified his

398
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:14,800
jealousy far more fully than he had
planned to do. Brundage lay dead on

399
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:20,599
the sidewalk, and Ripley, bending
over him, groaned in agony. A

400
00:35:20,639 --> 00:35:25,320
sudden, grotesque and terrible thought leapt
into your mind to exchange burdens with Ripley,

401
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:30,960
to take his deadly sin and give
him your care that would rest so

402
00:35:31,159 --> 00:35:37,159
lightly on this crisis. With what
insane relief he accepted your offer, what

403
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:44,320
promises he made in those few thrilling
moments. We can readily imagine he had

404
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,119
taken off his overcoat that he might
be more free to punish his rival.

405
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:53,199
His clothes showed the struggle, as
your two suits were identical. The change

406
00:35:53,199 --> 00:35:59,079
in coats was a natural suggestion.
The purse with the money was forgotten,

407
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,159
but Ripley, after he had escaped
through the alley, remembered it, and

408
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:07,920
his story of robbery was the only
invention that could meet the situation. The

409
00:36:08,119 --> 00:36:15,599
rest comes naturally, including your queer
lawyer that Ripley recommended. Curse you,

410
00:36:15,039 --> 00:36:21,519
cried Carroll, leaping to his feet. You have ruined me in return.

411
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:25,320
Let me promise my help, said
Carter. I pity you. Driven mad

412
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:30,400
by cares as you have been.
There is no reason in the world why

413
00:36:30,440 --> 00:36:35,079
you cannot bear your burdens when you
have had rest with an easy mind.

414
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:40,519
I can promise it to you.
Carroll sank back into a chair and began

415
00:36:40,639 --> 00:36:47,239
to weep hysterically. The inspector viewed
him with professional self control, yet with

416
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:53,440
some signs of sympathy. Shall I
send a man for Ripley, he whispered.

417
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:59,719
I have attended to that, responded
the detective. He is on his

418
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:06,639
way to headquarters by this time.
Manslaughter, I suppose, muttered the detective.

419
00:37:07,599 --> 00:37:15,679
I'll bet a hat he doesn't get
over five years. The end of

420
00:37:15,400 --> 00:37:19,480
The Murderous Highwayman by Sergeant Ryan