WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>The first problem by Jacques Foutrelle. That strange, seemingly inexplicable

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<v Speaker 1>chain of circumstances, which had to do with the mysterious

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<v Speaker 1>disappearance of a famous actress, Irene Wallack, from her dressing

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<v Speaker 1>room in a Springfield theater in the course of a performance,

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<v Speaker 1>while the echo of tumultuous appreciation still rang in her ears.

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<v Speaker 1>Was perhaps the first problem which was not purely scientific

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<v Speaker 1>that the thinking machine was ever asked to solve. The

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<v Speaker 1>scientist's aid was enlisted in this case by Hutchinson Hatch reporter.

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<v Speaker 1>But I am a scientist, a logician, the thinking machine

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<v Speaker 1>had protested, I know nothing whatever of crime. No one

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<v Speaker 1>knows that a crime has been committed. The reporter hastened

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<v Speaker 1>to say, there is something far beyond the ordinary in

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<v Speaker 1>this affair. A woman has disappeared, evaporated into thin air

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<v Speaker 1>in the hearing, almost in sight of her friends. The

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<v Speaker 1>police can make nothing of it. It is a problem

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<v Speaker 1>for a greater mind than theirs. Professor von Duson waived

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<v Speaker 1>the newspaper man to a seat, and himself sank back

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<v Speaker 1>into a great cushioned chair, in which his diminutive figure

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<v Speaker 1>seemed even more childlike than it really was. Tell me

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<v Speaker 1>the story, he said, petulantly, all of it. The enormous

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<v Speaker 1>yellow head rested against the chair back. The blue eyes

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<v Speaker 1>squinted steadily upward. The slender fingers were pressed tip to tip.

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<v Speaker 1>The thinking machine was in a receptive mood. Hatch was triumphant.

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<v Speaker 1>He had had only a vague hope that he could

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<v Speaker 1>interest this man in an affair which was as bizarre

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<v Speaker 1>as it was incomprehensible. Miss Wallack is thirty years old

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<v Speaker 1>and beautiful, the reporter began as an actress. She has

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<v Speaker 1>one high recognition, not only in this country, but in England.

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<v Speaker 1>You may have read something of her in the daily papers.

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<v Speaker 1>And if I never read the papers, the other interrupted, curtly,

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<v Speaker 1>go on. She is unmarried, and, as far as anyone knows,

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<v Speaker 1>had no immediate intention of changing her condition. Hatch resumed

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<v Speaker 1>staring curiously at the thin face of the scientist. I

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<v Speaker 1>presume she had admirers. Most beautiful women of the stage have.

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<v Speaker 1>But she is one whose life has been perfectly clean,

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<v Speaker 1>whose record is an open book. I tell you this

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<v Speaker 1>because it might have a bearing on your conclusion as

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<v Speaker 1>to a possible reason for her disappearance. Now the actual

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<v Speaker 1>circumstances of that disappearance. Miss Wallack has been playing in

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<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare in repertoire. Last week. She was in Springfield on

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday night, which concluded her engagement. There, she appeared as

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<v Speaker 1>Rosalind in As You Like It. The house was crowded.

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<v Speaker 1>She played the first two acts amid great enthusiasm, and

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<v Speaker 1>this despite the fact that she was suffering intensely from headache,

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<v Speaker 1>to which she was subject at times. After the second act,

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<v Speaker 1>she returned to her dressing room, and just before the

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<v Speaker 1>curtain went up for the third the stage manager called her.

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<v Speaker 1>She replied that she would be out immediately. There seems

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<v Speaker 1>no possible shadow of doubt that it was her voice.

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<v Speaker 1>Rosalind does not appear in the third act until the

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<v Speaker 1>curtain has been up for six minutes. When Miss Wallock's

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<v Speaker 1>cue came, she did not answer it. The stage manager

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<v Speaker 1>rushed to her door and again called her. There was

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<v Speaker 1>no answer. Then, fearing that she might have fainted, he

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<v Speaker 1>went in. She was not there. A hurried search was

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<v Speaker 1>made without result, and the stage manager finally was compelled

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<v Speaker 1>to announce to the audience that the sudden illness of

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<v Speaker 1>the star would make it impossible to finish the performance.

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<v Speaker 1>The curtain was lowered and the search resumed. Every nook

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<v Speaker 1>and corner back of the footlights was gone. Over the

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<v Speaker 1>stage door keeper William Meghan had seen no one go out.

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<v Speaker 1>He and a policeman had been standing at the stage

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<v Speaker 1>door talking for at least twenty minutes. It is therefore

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<v Speaker 1>conclusive that miss Wallack did not leave by that exit.

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<v Speaker 1>The only other way it was possible to leave the

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<v Speaker 1>stage was over the footlights. Of course, she didn't go

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<v Speaker 1>that way, yet no trace of her has been found.

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<v Speaker 1>Where is she the windows, asked the Thinking Machine. The

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<v Speaker 1>stage is below the street level, explained Hatch. The window

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<v Speaker 1>of her dressing room, Room A is small and barred

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<v Speaker 1>with iron. It opens into an air shaft that goes

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<v Speaker 1>straight up for ten feet, and that is covered with

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<v Speaker 1>an iron grating fixed in the granite. The other windows

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<v Speaker 1>on the stage are not only inaccessible, but are also

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<v Speaker 1>barred with iron. She could not have approached either of

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<v Speaker 1>these windows without being seen by other members of the

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<v Speaker 1>company or the stage. Chance under this stage, suggested the scientist. Nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>the reporter went on. It is a large cemented basement

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<v Speaker 1>which was vacant. It was searched, because there was, of

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<v Speaker 1>course a chance that miss Wallack might have become temporarily

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<v Speaker 1>unbalanced and wandered down there. There was even a search

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<v Speaker 1>made of the flies, that is, the galleries over the

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<v Speaker 1>stage where the men who work the drop curtains are stationed.

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<v Speaker 1>There was silence for a long time. The thinking machine

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<v Speaker 1>twiddled his fingers and continued to stare upward. He had

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<v Speaker 1>not looked at the reporter. He broke the silence after

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<v Speaker 1>a time. How was miss Wallack dressed at the time

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<v Speaker 1>of her disappearance in doublet and hose, that is tights,

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<v Speaker 1>The newspaper man responded. She wears that costume from the

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<v Speaker 1>second act until practically the end of the play. Was

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<v Speaker 1>all her streak clothing in the room, Yes, everything spread

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<v Speaker 1>across an unopened trunk of costumes. It was all as

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<v Speaker 1>if she had left the room to answer her cue,

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<v Speaker 1>all in order, even to an open box of chocolate

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<v Speaker 1>cream candy on her table. No sign of a struggle,

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<v Speaker 1>nor any noise heard, no nor trace of blood nothing

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<v Speaker 1>her maid did she have one? Oh? Yes, I neglected

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<v Speaker 1>to tell you that the maid, Gertrude Manning, had gone

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<v Speaker 1>home immediately after the first act she grew suddenly ill

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<v Speaker 1>and was excused. The Thinking Machine turned his squint eyes

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<v Speaker 1>on the reporter for the first time. Ill, he repeated,

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<v Speaker 1>What was the matter that I can't say? Replied the reporter.

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<v Speaker 1>Where is she now? I don't know? Everyone forgot all

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<v Speaker 1>about her and the excitement about Miss Wallack? What kind

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<v Speaker 1>of candy was it? I'm afraid I don't know that either.

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<v Speaker 1>Where was it bought? The reporter shrugged his shoulders. That

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<v Speaker 1>was something else he didn't know. The Thinking Machine shot

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<v Speaker 1>out the questions aggressively, staring meanwhile steadily at Hatch, who

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<v Speaker 1>squirmed uncomfortably. Where is the candy now? Demanded the scientist again.

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<v Speaker 1>Hatch shrugged his shoulders. How much does miss Wallack weigh?

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<v Speaker 1>The reporter was willing to guess at this He had

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<v Speaker 1>seen her half a dozen times between one hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>thirty and one hundred and forty. He ventured, does there

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<v Speaker 1>happen to be a hypnotist connected with the company? I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, Hatch replied. The Thinking Machine waved his slender

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<v Speaker 1>hands impatiently. He was annoyed. It is perfectly absurd, mister Hatch,

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<v Speaker 1>he expostulated, to come to me with only a few

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<v Speaker 1>facts and ask advice. If you had all the facts,

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<v Speaker 1>I might be able to do something. But this the

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<v Speaker 1>newspaper man was nettled. In his own profession. He was

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<v Speaker 1>accredited a man of discernment and acumen. He resented the tone,

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<v Speaker 1>the manner, even the seemingly trivial questions which the other asked,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't see. He began that the candy, even if

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<v Speaker 1>it had been poisoned, as I imagine you think possible,

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<v Speaker 1>or a hypnotist, could have had anything to do with

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<v Speaker 1>miss Wallack's disappearance. Certainly neither poison nor hypnotism would have

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<v Speaker 1>made her invisible. Of course, you don't see blazed the

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<v Speaker 1>thinking machine. If you did, you wouldn't have come to me.

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<v Speaker 1>When did this thing happen? Saturday night? As I said,

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<v Speaker 1>the reporter informed him a little more humbly. It closed

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<v Speaker 1>the engagement in Springfield. Miss Wallack was to have appeared

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<v Speaker 1>here in Boston to night. When did she disappear? By

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<v Speaker 1>the clock? I mean? The stage manager's time slip shows

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<v Speaker 1>that the curtain for the third act went up at

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<v Speaker 1>nine forty one. He spoke to her, say, one minute

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<v Speaker 1>before or at nine forty The action of the play

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<v Speaker 1>before she appears in the third act takes six minutes. Therefore,

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<v Speaker 1>in precisely seven minutes, a woman weighing more than a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and thirty pounds, certainly not dressed for the street,

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<v Speaker 1>disappeared completely from her dressing room. It is now five

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen Monday afternoon. I think we may solve this crime

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<v Speaker 1>within a few hours, crime, Patch repeated eagerly. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>imagine there is a crime? Then Professor von Duson didn't

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<v Speaker 1>heed the question. Instead, he rose and paced back and

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<v Speaker 1>forth across the reception room half a dozen times, his

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<v Speaker 1>hands behind his back and his eyes cast down. At last,

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<v Speaker 1>he stopped and faced the reporter, who had also risen

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<v Speaker 1>Miss Wallack's company. I presume with the baggage is now

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<v Speaker 1>in Boston, he said, See every male member of the company.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk to them, and particularly study their eyes. Don't overlook

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<v Speaker 1>any one, however, humble, also find out what became of

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<v Speaker 1>the box of chocolate candy, and, if possible, how many

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<v Speaker 1>pieces are out of it. Then report here to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Miss Wallack's safety may depend upon your speed and accuracy.

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<v Speaker 1>Hatch was frankly startled. How he began, don't stop to talk,

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<v Speaker 1>hurry commanded the Thinking Machine, I will have a cab

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<v Speaker 1>waiting when you come back. We must get to Springfield.

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<v Speaker 1>The newspaper man rushed away to obey orders. He didn't

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<v Speaker 1>understand them at all. Studying men's eyes was not in

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<v Speaker 1>his line, but he obeyed nevertheless. An hour and a

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<v Speaker 1>half later he returned to be thrust unceremoniously into a

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<v Speaker 1>waiting cab by the Thinking Machine. The cab rattled away

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<v Speaker 1>towards South Station, where the two men caught a train

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<v Speaker 1>just about to move out for Springfield. Once settled in

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<v Speaker 1>their seats, the scientists turned to Hatch, who was nearly

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<v Speaker 1>suffocating with suppressed information. Well, he asked, I found out

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<v Speaker 1>several things, The reporter burst out. First. Miss Wallack's leading man,

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<v Speaker 1>Langdon Mason, who has been in love with her for

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<v Speaker 1>three years, bought the candy at Shylers in Springfield early

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday evening before he went to the theater. He told me

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<v Speaker 1>so himself, rather reluctantly. But I I made him say it, Ah,

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<v Speaker 1>exclaimed the Thinking Machine. It was a most unequivocal ejaculation.

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<v Speaker 1>How many pieces of candy are out of the box?

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<v Speaker 1>Only three, explained Hatch. Miss Wallack's things were packed into

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<v Speaker 1>the open trunk in her dressing room. The candy with them,

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<v Speaker 1>I induced the manager. Yes, yes, yes, interrupted the thinking

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<v Speaker 1>machine impatiently. What sort of eyes has Mason? What color blue?

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<v Speaker 1>Frank an expression? Nothing unusual at all, said the reporter

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<v Speaker 1>and the others. I didn't quite know what you meant

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<v Speaker 1>by studying their eyes, so I got a set of photographs.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought perhaps they might help. Excellent, excellent, commented the

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<v Speaker 1>thinking machine. He shuffled the pictures through his fingers, stopping

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<v Speaker 1>now and then to study one and to read the

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<v Speaker 1>name printed below. Is that the leading man? He asked

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<v Speaker 1>at last, and handed one to Hatch. Yes, Professor von

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<v Speaker 1>Duson did not speak again. The train pulled into Springfield

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<v Speaker 1>at nine twenty one. Hatch followed the scientist without a word,

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<v Speaker 1>into a cab. Shyler's Candy Store quickly commanded the Thinking

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<v Speaker 1>Machine hurry. The cab rushed off through the night. Ten

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<v Speaker 1>minutes later, it stopped before a brilliantly lighted candy store.

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<v Speaker 1>The Thinking Machine led the way inside and approached the

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<v Speaker 1>girl behind the chocolate counter. Will you please tell me

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<v Speaker 1>if you remember this man's face, he asked, as he

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<v Speaker 1>produced Mason's photograph. Oh, yes, I remember him, the girl replied.

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<v Speaker 1>He's an actor. Did he buy a small box of

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<v Speaker 1>chocolates of you Saturday evening early? Was the next question. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>I recall it, because he seemed to be in a hurry.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, I believe he said he was anxious to

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<v Speaker 1>get to the theater to pack. And do you recall

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<v Speaker 1>that this man ever bought chocolates? Here, asked the scientist.

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<v Speaker 1>He produced another photograph and handed it to the girl.

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<v Speaker 1>She studied it a moment while Hatch craned his neck

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<v Speaker 1>vainly to see. I don't recall that he ever did,

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<v Speaker 1>the girl answered. Finally, the Thinking Machine turned away abruptly

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<v Speaker 1>and disappeared into a public telephone booth. He remained there

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<v Speaker 1>for five minutes, then rushed out to the cab again,

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<v Speaker 1>with Hatch following closely. Citi Hospital. He commanded again, The

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00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.759
<v Speaker 1>cab dashed away. Hatch was dumb. There seemed to be

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<v Speaker 1>nothing to say. The Thinking Machine was plainly pursuing some

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<v Speaker 1>definite line of inquiry, yet the reporter didn't know what

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<v Speaker 1>the case was getting kaleidoscopic. This impression was strengthened when

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<v Speaker 1>he found himself standing beside the Thinking Machine in city hospital,

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00:14:29.320 --> 00:14:33.759
<v Speaker 1>conversing with the house surgeon, doctor Carlton. Is there a

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<v Speaker 1>miss Gertrude Manning here? Was the scientist's first question. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>replied the surgeon. She was brought here Saturday night suffering

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<v Speaker 1>from strict nine poisoning. Yes, I know, interrupted the other,

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00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:52.000
<v Speaker 1>picked up in the street. Probably, I'm a physician. If

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<v Speaker 1>she is well enough, I should like to ask her

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of questions. Doctor Carlton agreed, and Professor von

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00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:02.840
<v Speaker 1>Duson still followed faithfully by. Hatch was ushered into the

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<v Speaker 1>ward where Miss Wallack's maid lay, pallid and weak. The

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00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.480
<v Speaker 1>Thinking Machine picked up her hand, and his slender fingers

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<v Speaker 1>rested for a minute on her pulse. He nodded and

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<v Speaker 1>seemed satisfied. Miss Manning, can you understand me? He asked.

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<v Speaker 1>The girl nodded weakly. How many pieces of the candy

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<v Speaker 1>did you eat? Two? She replied. She stared into the

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<v Speaker 1>face above her with dull eyes. Did Miss Wallack eat

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<v Speaker 1>any of it up to the time you left the theater? No?

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<v Speaker 1>If the Thinking Machine had been in a hurry previously,

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00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:46.440
<v Speaker 1>he was racing now. Hatch trailed on dutifully behind down

231
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<v Speaker 1>the stairs and into the cab, whence Professor von Dusen

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<v Speaker 1>shouted a word of thanks to Doctor Carlton. This time

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00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.200
<v Speaker 1>their destination was the stage door of the theater from

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<v Speaker 1>which Miss Wallack had disappeared. The reporter was he didn't

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00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:04.679
<v Speaker 1>know anything very clearly, except that three pieces of candy

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00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.559
<v Speaker 1>were missing from the box. Of these, the maid had

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00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:11.679
<v Speaker 1>eaten only two. She had been poisoned. Therefore, it seemed

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<v Speaker 1>reasonable to suppose that if Miss Wallack had eaten the

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00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:18.519
<v Speaker 1>third piece, she also would be poisoned, but poison would

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00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.759
<v Speaker 1>not make her invisible. At this point, the reporter shook

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00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:27.480
<v Speaker 1>his head hopelessly. William Meaghan, the stage doorkeeper, was easily found.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you inform me, please, began the thinking machine. If

243
00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:35.279
<v Speaker 1>mister Mason left a box of candy with you last

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday night for miss Wallack, Yes, Megan replied good naturedly.

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<v Speaker 1>He was amused at the little man. Miss Wallack hadn't rived.

246
00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:47.399
<v Speaker 1>Mason brought a box of candy for nearly every night

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<v Speaker 1>and usually left it here. I put the one Saturday

248
00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:54.120
<v Speaker 1>night on the shelf here did mister Mason come to

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<v Speaker 1>the theater before or after the others on Saturday night before, reply, mean,

250
00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:05.480
<v Speaker 1>he was unusually early, I suppose to pack, and the

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00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:08.319
<v Speaker 1>other members of the company coming in to stop here,

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00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:12.039
<v Speaker 1>I imagine, to get their mail. And the scientists squinted

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00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:16.680
<v Speaker 1>up at the mailbox above the shelf. Sure always, the

254
00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:20.279
<v Speaker 1>thinking Machine drew a long breath. Up to this time

255
00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:23.839
<v Speaker 1>there had been little, perplexed wrinkles in his brow. Now

256
00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:29.440
<v Speaker 1>they disappeared. Now please, he went on, Was any package

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00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.680
<v Speaker 1>or box of any kind taken from the stage on

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00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:39.400
<v Speaker 1>Saturday night between nine and eleven o'clock? No, said Megan, positively,

259
00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:43.480
<v Speaker 1>nothing at all. Until the company's baggage was removed at midnight.

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00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:48.039
<v Speaker 1>Miss Wallach had two trunks in her dressing room. Yes,

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00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.400
<v Speaker 1>two whack and big ones. How do you know? Because

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00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:54.599
<v Speaker 1>I helped put him in and help take him out,

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<v Speaker 1>replied Megan, sharply, what's it to you? Suddenly the Thinking

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<v Speaker 1>Machine turned and ran out to the cab, with Hatch

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00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:07.200
<v Speaker 1>his shadow close behind. Drive, Drive as fast as you

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00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.839
<v Speaker 1>know how to the nearest long distance telephone. The scientist

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00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:15.079
<v Speaker 1>instructed the cabby, A woman's life is at stake. Half

268
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:18.440
<v Speaker 1>an hour later, Professor von Duson and Hutchinson Hatch were

269
00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:21.960
<v Speaker 1>on a train rushing back to Boston. The Thinking machine

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00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.400
<v Speaker 1>had been in a telephone booth for fifteen minutes when

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00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:28.839
<v Speaker 1>he came out. Hatch had asked several questions to which

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<v Speaker 1>the scientists vouchsafed no answer. They were perhaps thirty minutes

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00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:38.640
<v Speaker 1>out of Springfield before the scientist showed any disposition to talk.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he began without preliminary much as he was resuming

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<v Speaker 1>a former conversation. Of course, if miss Wallack didn't leave

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<v Speaker 1>the stage of the theater, she was there, he said,

277
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<v Speaker 1>We will admit that she did not become invisible. The problem,

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00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.160
<v Speaker 1>therefore was to find her on the stack. The fact

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00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:05.839
<v Speaker 1>that no violence was used against her was conclusively proved

280
00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:10.440
<v Speaker 1>by half a dozen instances. No one heard her scream,

281
00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.880
<v Speaker 1>there was no struggle, no trace of blood. Ere Go,

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00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.960
<v Speaker 1>we assume in the beginning that she must have consented

283
00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:23.039
<v Speaker 1>to the first steps which led to her disappearance. Remember,

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00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:27.680
<v Speaker 1>her attire was wholly unsuited to the street. Now, let

285
00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:32.079
<v Speaker 1>us shape a hypothesis which will fit all the circumstances.

286
00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:38.039
<v Speaker 1>Miss Wallack had a severe headache. Hypnotic influence will cure headaches.

287
00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:41.400
<v Speaker 1>Was there a hypnotist to whom Miss Wallack would have

288
00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:47.200
<v Speaker 1>submitted herself. Assume there was, then would that hypnotist take

289
00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.519
<v Speaker 1>advantage of his control to place her in a cataleptic condition?

290
00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:57.039
<v Speaker 1>Assume a motive and he would. Then how would he

291
00:19:57.119 --> 00:20:02.960
<v Speaker 1>dispose of her? From this point questions radiate in all directions.

292
00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:07.119
<v Speaker 1>We will confine ourselves to the probable, granting for the

293
00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:10.960
<v Speaker 1>moment that this hypothesis, the only one which fits all

294
00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:16.400
<v Speaker 1>the circumstances, is correct. Obviously a hypnotist would not have

295
00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:19.400
<v Speaker 1>attempted to get her out of the dressing room. What

296
00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:25.599
<v Speaker 1>remains one of the two trunks in her room, Hatch gasped,

297
00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:29.799
<v Speaker 1>You mean you think it possible that she was hypnotized

298
00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:33.160
<v Speaker 1>and placed in that second trunk, the one that was

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00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:37.559
<v Speaker 1>strapped and locked, he asked. It's the only thing that

300
00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:42.599
<v Speaker 1>could have happened, said the thinking machine emphatically. Therefore, that

301
00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:48.640
<v Speaker 1>was just what did happen. Why, it's horrible, exclaimed Hatch,

302
00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:52.839
<v Speaker 1>a live woman in a trunk for forty eight hours.

303
00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:57.000
<v Speaker 1>Even if she was alive, then she must be dead. Now.

304
00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.880
<v Speaker 1>The reporter shuddered a little and gazed curiously at the

305
00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:05.920
<v Speaker 1>inscrutable face of his companion. He saw no pity, no horror.

306
00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.359
<v Speaker 1>There there was merely the reflection of the workings of

307
00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:14.799
<v Speaker 1>a brain. It does not necessarily follow that she is dead,

308
00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:19.160
<v Speaker 1>explained the thinking machine. If she ate that third piece

309
00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:23.880
<v Speaker 1>of candy before she was hypnotized, she is probably dead.

310
00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.160
<v Speaker 1>If it was placed in her mouth after she was

311
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.000
<v Speaker 1>in a cataleptic condition, the chances are that she is

312
00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:34.680
<v Speaker 1>not dead. The candy would not melt and her system

313
00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.400
<v Speaker 1>could not absorb the poison, but she would be suffocated.

314
00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:42.319
<v Speaker 1>Her bones would be broken by the rough handling of

315
00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:46.839
<v Speaker 1>the trunk. There are a hundred possibilities, the reporter suggested.

316
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:52.319
<v Speaker 1>A person in a cataleptic condition is singularly impervious to injury.

317
00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:57.759
<v Speaker 1>Replied the scientist, there is, of course a chance of suffocation,

318
00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:01.240
<v Speaker 1>but a great deal of air may enter a trunk

319
00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.200
<v Speaker 1>and the candy patch asked, yes, the candy. We know

320
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:11.000
<v Speaker 1>that two pieces of candy nearly killed the maid, Yet

321
00:22:11.319 --> 00:22:15.920
<v Speaker 1>mister Mason admitted having bought it. This admission indicated that

322
00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.240
<v Speaker 1>this poisoned candy is not the candy he bought. Is

323
00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:25.559
<v Speaker 1>mister Mason a hypnotist, No, he hasn't. The eyes his

324
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:29.039
<v Speaker 1>picture tells me that we know that mister Mason did

325
00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:32.680
<v Speaker 1>buy candy for miss Wallack on several occasions. We know

326
00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.079
<v Speaker 1>that sometimes he left it with the stage doorkeeper. We

327
00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:39.920
<v Speaker 1>know that members of the company stopped there for mail.

328
00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:43.440
<v Speaker 1>We instantly see that it is possible for one to

329
00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:48.640
<v Speaker 1>take away that box and substitute poisoned candy. All the

330
00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:53.799
<v Speaker 1>boxes are alike. Madness and the cunning of madness lie

331
00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:57.720
<v Speaker 1>back of all this. It was a deliberate attempt to

332
00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:04.359
<v Speaker 1>murder Miss Wallackwong pondered, and due perhaps to unrequited or

333
00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:09.799
<v Speaker 1>hopeless infatuation. It began with the poisoned candy, and that

334
00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:13.599
<v Speaker 1>failing went to a point immediately following the moment when

335
00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:17.960
<v Speaker 1>the stage manager last spoke to the actress. The hypnotist

336
00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:21.680
<v Speaker 1>was probably in her room. Then you must remember that

337
00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:24.000
<v Speaker 1>it would have been possible for him to ease the

338
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.920
<v Speaker 1>headache and at the same time leave Miss Wallack free

339
00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:31.640
<v Speaker 1>to play. She might have known this from previous experience.

340
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<v Speaker 1>Is Miss Wallack still in the trunk? Asked Hatch. After

341
00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:40.920
<v Speaker 1>a silence, no, replied the thinking machine. She is out

342
00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.000
<v Speaker 1>now dead or alive. I am inclined to believe alive

343
00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.720
<v Speaker 1>and the man I will turn him over to the

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00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:53.160
<v Speaker 1>police in half an hour after we reach Boston from

345
00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:56.880
<v Speaker 1>South Station. The scientist and Hatch were driven immediately to

346
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:02.599
<v Speaker 1>police headquarters. Detective Mallory, whom Hatch knew well, received them.

347
00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.960
<v Speaker 1>We got your phone from Springfield, he began. Was she dead,

348
00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:12.480
<v Speaker 1>interrupted the scientist. No, Mallory replied, she was unconscious when

349
00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:14.920
<v Speaker 1>we took her out of the trunk, but no bones

350
00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:20.039
<v Speaker 1>are broken. She is badly bruised. The doctor says, she's hypnotized.

351
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<v Speaker 1>Was the piece of candy taken from her mouth? Sure?

352
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:29.359
<v Speaker 1>A chocolate cream? It hadn't melted. I'll come back here

353
00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:32.599
<v Speaker 1>in a few minutes and awake her, said the Thinking Machine.

354
00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:36.720
<v Speaker 1>Come with us now and get the man. Wonderingly, the

355
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.599
<v Speaker 1>detective entered the cab and the three were driven to

356
00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:43.160
<v Speaker 1>a big hotel a dozen blocks away. Before they entered

357
00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:46.759
<v Speaker 1>the lobby, the Thinking Machine handed a photograph to Mallory,

358
00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:50.759
<v Speaker 1>who studied it under an electric light. That man is

359
00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:55.559
<v Speaker 1>upstairs with several others, explained the scientist. Pick him out

360
00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:58.640
<v Speaker 1>and get behind him when we enter the room. He

361
00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:02.599
<v Speaker 1>may attempt to shoot. Don't touch him until I say so.

362
00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:07.000
<v Speaker 1>In a large room on the fifth floor, Manager Stanfeld

363
00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:10.160
<v Speaker 1>of the Irone Wallet Company had assembled the men of

364
00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:13.680
<v Speaker 1>her support. This was done at the phoned request of

365
00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:17.680
<v Speaker 1>the Thinking Machine. There were no preliminaries. When Professor von

366
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:22.599
<v Speaker 1>Duson entered, he squinted comprehensively about him, then went straight

367
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.759
<v Speaker 1>to Langdon Mason, were you on the stage in the

368
00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:30.400
<v Speaker 1>third act of your play before miss Wallack was to appear?

369
00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:35.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean the play last Saturday night, he asked, I was,

370
00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:42.119
<v Speaker 1>Mason replied, for at least three minutes. Mister Stanfeld, is

371
00:25:42.160 --> 00:25:47.119
<v Speaker 1>that correct, yes, replied the manager. There was a long,

372
00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:51.400
<v Speaker 1>tense silence, broken only by the heavy footsteps of Mallory

373
00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:54.200
<v Speaker 1>as he walked toward a distant corner of the room.

374
00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:58.759
<v Speaker 1>A faint flush crept into Mason's face as he realized

375
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:02.640
<v Speaker 1>that the questions were on most an accusation. He started

376
00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:05.599
<v Speaker 1>to speak, but the study and passive voice of the

377
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:10.440
<v Speaker 1>Thinking Machine stopped him. Mister Mallory, take your prisoner, it

378
00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:15.039
<v Speaker 1>said instantly. There was a fierce, frantic struggle, and those

379
00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.039
<v Speaker 1>present turned to see the detective with his great arms

380
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:22.000
<v Speaker 1>locked about Stanley Whiteman, the melancholy Jacques of As You

381
00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:26.359
<v Speaker 1>Like It. The actor's face was distorted, Madness blazed in

382
00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:29.519
<v Speaker 1>the eyes, and he snarled like a beast at bay.

383
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:33.880
<v Speaker 1>By a sudden movement, Mallory threw white Man and manacled him.

384
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:37.000
<v Speaker 1>Then looked up to find the Thinking Machine peering over

385
00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:41.200
<v Speaker 1>his shoulder at the prostrate man. Yes, he's a hypnotist,

386
00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:46.839
<v Speaker 1>the scientist remarked in self satisfied conclusion. It always tells

387
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:50.240
<v Speaker 1>in the pupils of the eyes. This, then, was the

388
00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:54.359
<v Speaker 1>beginning and end of the First Problem. Miss Wallack was

389
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:58.000
<v Speaker 1>aroused and told a story almost identical with that of

390
00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:02.440
<v Speaker 1>the Thinking Machine. Stanley Whiteman, whose brooding over a hopeless

391
00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:06.119
<v Speaker 1>love for her made a maniac of him, raves and shrieks.

392
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.480
<v Speaker 1>The lines of Jacques in the Seclusion of a Padded Cell,

393
00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:13.839
<v Speaker 1>End of the First Problem by Jacques Foutrelle