Speaker 1: After midnight by Marta Neville. Good night, mister Lanin. Louise
Speaker 1: Willoughby extended her hand. We breakfast at nine, she said,
Speaker 1: I'll see you then. I hope you sleep well.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: I'm sure I shall. She gathered the folds of an
Speaker 1: embroidered chiffon gown about her and slowly mounted the stairs.
Speaker 1: Lanin stood leaning against the null post and watched her ascend.
Speaker 1: As he turned away, he faced his host. The cold,
Speaker 1: metallic glitter in the older man's black eyes gave him
Speaker 1: a strange, uncomfortable feeling. Well, said Willoughby, She's charming, Andrew.
Speaker 1: You should be proud of her. She's improved wonderfully in
Speaker 1: the three years since I saw her. A slow smile
Speaker 1: crept about the drawn lips of the physician. It did
Speaker 1: not extend to his eyes, but became lost in the
Speaker 1: heavy mustache and van Dyke beard he wore. Lanin again shivered.
Speaker 1: The snaky glitter in his physician friend's eyes fascinated him.
Speaker 1: He wondered if it could be true that the woman
Speaker 1: who had just left him with purity written on every
Speaker 1: curve and line of her could be the wanton thing.
Speaker 1: Her husband fancied that she had so forgotten herself and
Speaker 1: her social position as to stoop to an intrigue with
Speaker 1: her gardener. It seemed impossible of Louise Willoughby, Yet many
Speaker 1: changes had taken place during the three years he had
Speaker 1: been abroad. He had not known her well before his departure.
Speaker 1: Perhaps he did not know her at all. Now, come
Speaker 1: up into my laboratory, Willoughby said.
Speaker 2: Suddenly.
Speaker 1: He closed the windows and switched off all the lights,
Speaker 1: with the exception of one held in a bronze venus
Speaker 1: at the foot of the stairs. Andy Lennon said, as
Speaker 1: they entered the heavily odorous room, I'd rather you said
Speaker 1: nothing more about this to me. Some day you'll be
Speaker 1: sorry for having taken me into your confidence, and then
Speaker 1: our friendship will end. There are some things a man
Speaker 1: has no right to discuss with another. I don't need
Speaker 1: to remind you of that. This is one of them.
Speaker 1: I've got to talk to someone or go mad. You
Speaker 1: think it's my imagination, You think I'm a jealous fool.
Speaker 1: I tell you I know from the day that man
Speaker 1: came here, she's been different.
Speaker 2: I've watched them.
Speaker 1: I've seen his arm around her, I've heard him call
Speaker 1: her Louise. He broke and buried his head on his
Speaker 1: arms he had flung on the table before him. Lanin
Speaker 1: gripped his shoulder and shook him. Why don't you send
Speaker 1: him away? Willoughby raised his bloodshot eyes and admit defeat.
Speaker 1: Give him the pleasure of saying he was fired because
Speaker 1: Andrew Willoughby's wife fell in love with him, never besides.
Speaker 1: He sprang to his feet and paced the little room nervously,
Speaker 1: his long hands with their gnarled, crooked fingers stained with chemicals,
Speaker 1: twitching and pulling at his coat.
Speaker 2: As he walked.
Speaker 1: How do I know she won't go with.
Speaker 2: Him if I send him away?
Speaker 1: Lanin remembered the brief glimpse he'd had of the gardener,
Speaker 1: A slim, tall fellow, little more than a boy, with
Speaker 1: close cropped dark a pale, almost ethereal face, a quiet,
Speaker 1: unassuming manner. How long has he been here? Allery six weeks?
Speaker 1: Willoughby hit the glass topped table nervously. As he did so,
Speaker 1: a tiny vial of amber colored liquid fell over, knocking
Speaker 1: the stopper out of it. A pungent, sickish odor filled
Speaker 1: the room. The doctor gave a startled cry, flinging a
Speaker 1: small rubber blanket over the table. He lifted the vial gingerly.
Speaker 1: He placed the stopper back in it, carefully keeping it
Speaker 1: away from his face. Then he covered it with the rubber.
Speaker 1: He'd become ashen colored as though unable to speak. He
Speaker 1: motioned to Lenin to throw up the windows. Damn careless
Speaker 1: of me, he muttered. A moment later, he placed the
Speaker 1: bottle high up in a cabinet above him. Then he
Speaker 1: locked the door of the chest. Damn careless. It's an
Speaker 1: experiment of buying, Arthur. Do you feel all right, Lennin
Speaker 1: laughed uneasily. I shouldn't care to remain in here along
Speaker 1: with that odor. It's hetty, to say the least. Willoughby
Speaker 1: poured some liquid from another bottle into a small glass
Speaker 1: and handed it to him. Then he took a draft
Speaker 1: of it himself. Drink this, it'll overcome the effects of
Speaker 1: the other. Suddenly he became tense. The glitter in his
Speaker 1: eyes became more pronounced. He seemed to be listening to something.
Speaker 1: The warm, soft air blowing through the window brought a
Speaker 1: hint of the distant sea and something else.
Speaker 2: What is it?
Speaker 1: Lenin gasped, The quivering of Willoughby's wide nostrils. The sudden
Speaker 1: snapping of the glass's stem intrigued him listen. A long
Speaker 1: sort of growl, then a long drawn howl from a
Speaker 1: dog someplace not far off, was all Lenin heard. There
Speaker 1: was another howl, then silence. The color came back to
Speaker 1: the physician's face. He smiled apologetically. Lenin stared at him
Speaker 1: in bewilderment. What is it, he asked again. I I
Speaker 1: thought I heard her come down the stairs. I was
Speaker 1: listening to hear if he met her. The man's tongue
Speaker 1: seemed to be thick. He spoke with difficulty. Buck up,
Speaker 1: old man, Buck up. Lanin gave him a reassuring slap
Speaker 1: on the shoulder, but at the same time he glanced
Speaker 1: apprehensively over his shoulder out of the window toward the
Speaker 1: gardens beyond. Again, the long, rumbling howl of the dog
Speaker 1: penetrated the night air. The older man suddenly lurched forward
Speaker 1: into a chair and began to sob in a broken
Speaker 1: hearted way. At that moment, Lannon fancied he saw a
Speaker 1: face at the open window, but before he could ascertain
Speaker 1: whether it was his imagination or not, it had vanished.
Speaker 1: But to him, it seemed he had seen a young,
Speaker 1: pale face with smoldering dark eyes and close cropped hair, who,
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, what's wrong with me?
Speaker 2: Two?
Speaker 1: The sudden clamor of a clock striking three startled him
Speaker 1: out of a sound sleep.
Speaker 2: At least he thought it was the striking of the
Speaker 2: hour which did it.
Speaker 1: But as he raised himself on one elbow in the darkness,
Speaker 1: the doubled beat of his heart, the damp chill of
Speaker 1: his flesh told him it was something else which had
Speaker 1: awakened him. Stealthy footsteps outside his room, the cautious opening
Speaker 1: and closing of a door down the hall, the rustle
Speaker 1: of garments as of someone moving in the corridor, were
Speaker 1: registered with dark significance on his brain. Poor old Andrew,
Speaker 1: he muttered. He sank back to his pillow, but he
Speaker 1: could not sleep. Though his pulse became normal, he found
Speaker 1: himself striving to make out the objects in his room
Speaker 1: one by one. Out of the hazy gray of the blackness.
Speaker 1: They became outlined, invisible to his straining eyes in an
Speaker 1: irritating fashion. The drawn blind flapped forward and back with
Speaker 1: the wind which had arisen since nightfall. Unable to stand
Speaker 1: the sound of the flapping, he rose and went to
Speaker 1: the window to raise it. The moon was high, unobscured
Speaker 1: by any clouds, and shone down with the dazzling white brilliance,
Speaker 1: which made the grounds in surrounding territory almost as light
Speaker 1: as day. The long row of glass topped greenhouses gleamed
Speaker 1: as though covered with snow. In the distance, far beyond
Speaker 1: the high stone wall which enclosed doctor Willoughby's Long Island estate,
Speaker 1: shone the water near at hand. The wind whistled in
Speaker 1: a sing song manner through the trees. From the darkening
Speaker 1: shelter of the stone wall emerged two figures. The watching
Speaker 1: man knew instantly who they were, even before the moon outlined,
Speaker 1: the slender figure of Willoughby's wife and the broader silhouette
Speaker 1: of the gardener.
Speaker 2: Allering.
Speaker 1: A feeling of nauseus swept over him. He turned away
Speaker 1: from the window, crossing to his bed. He switched on
Speaker 1: a light just over it, determined to while away the
Speaker 1: time until daylight with a current magazine. But the face
Speaker 1: of the woman outside in the garden seemed to mock him.
Speaker 1: From the printed page. Her dark, shadow laden eyes seemed
Speaker 1: to plead with him. Between the lines of printing, as
Speaker 1: though she begged him not to judge her too harshly.
Speaker 1: The magazine slipped from his hand. He closed his eyes
Speaker 1: and lay inert. A moment later, the cry of someone
Speaker 1: in mortal agony penetrated the night air. Then a woman
Speaker 1: shrieked in terror. For a moment, Lannin lay panic stricken.
Speaker 1: Then springing out of bed, he snatched up a dressing
Speaker 1: gown and rushed into the hall. He came face to
Speaker 1: face with Willoughby. His host was pallid. Willoughby's hands trembled
Speaker 1: as he held a tattered silk gown about his emitiated figure.
Speaker 1: A moment later, another door down the hall was thrown open,
Speaker 1: and the corpulent, kimono clad housekeeper burst into their presence.
Speaker 1: You heard it, Willoughby cried in a harsh whisper, clutching
Speaker 1: Lannon's arm. His eyes were glassy, the lids swollen, as
Speaker 1: though from heavy sleep, and being suddenly awakened.
Speaker 2: His chin shook.
Speaker 1: My god, my god, wailed the woman, trying to pull
Speaker 1: the kimono about her.
Speaker 2: Ample bosom, what was it? Doctor? Did you hear it?
Speaker 1: A woman screamed? Lanin said grimly. The cry came from
Speaker 1: some place near the greenhouses. Some one must be injured.
Speaker 1: I heard a man too, This from the butler who
Speaker 1: had joined them. Even partially clad, he retained some of
Speaker 1: the dignity of his position. Oh what do you suppose
Speaker 1: has happened?
Speaker 2: Doctor? Dear? What do you think it is?
Speaker 1: The housekeeper caught her master's arm and clung desperately to him.
Speaker 1: He did not seem to be conscious of her presence.
Speaker 1: He was looking into the lighted corridor below at his
Speaker 1: wife as she stumbled blindly through the outer door into
Speaker 1: the illuminated passageway. She was sobbing convulsively. She started to
Speaker 1: climb the stairs, slowly, dragging herself upward with an effort.
Speaker 1: Her shimmery evening gown was torn and draggled about her.
Speaker 1: Her face was gray, a death color, and her eyes
Speaker 1: terror stricken. At the head of the stairs, she collapsed
Speaker 1: in a heap. When Willoughby started to lift her, she
Speaker 1: gave a shuddering cry and warded off his touch. Her
Speaker 1: husband gave a sucking breath. He looked at Lannin missus.
Speaker 1: Willoughby cried, the latter, dropping on his knees beside her.
Speaker 1: So consciously he wondered what had become of the man
Speaker 1: who had been with her. If it were he who
Speaker 1: had given that cry of terrible torture, Missus Willoughby, what
Speaker 1: is it? What has happened? For a moment, her white
Speaker 1: lips quivered. I. I there's a dead man out there
Speaker 1: by the greenhouses. I I stumbled over him. I touched
Speaker 1: his cold face.
Speaker 2: I a dead man. Yes.
Speaker 1: She suddenly straightened and stared with a fixity into her
Speaker 1: husband's face. A strange expression came over her own. Then
Speaker 1: she allowed Lnin to assist her to rise, and in
Speaker 1: a quiet manner, though with obvious effort, she requested the
Speaker 1: butler to bring her some wine. A dead man, come,
Speaker 1: said Lnin, abruptly, his legal training coming to the foreground.
Speaker 1: She may be mistaken. The man may still be alive.
Speaker 1: He was cold, she answered. The little procession filed out
Speaker 1: toward the greenhouses, a motley, weird looking crowd in bath robes,
Speaker 1: smoking jackets and kimonos. Louise Willoughby walked with Lenin and
Speaker 1: her husband, her hand lightly rested on Lanin's all the way.
Speaker 1: He felt the nervous tremors that shook her. As they
Speaker 1: neared the spot, where she had discovered the dead man.
Speaker 1: Their lights in the greenhouse, Willoughby said, abruptly, I'll turn
Speaker 1: them on. He left them for a moment. Then the
Speaker 1: glass enclosure became illuminated. An exclamation of horror burst from
Speaker 1: the group. Missus Willoughby clung to Lenin's arm in a
Speaker 1: feverish manner, huddled up chest and chin. Meeting laid the
Speaker 1: body of a man unquestionably dead. He was roughly dressed,
Speaker 1: his shoes in tatters, his bare feet showing through the
Speaker 1: gaping soles, while several days growth of beard added to
Speaker 1: the gruesomeness of his appearance. Long yellow teeth were bared
Speaker 1: in a distortion of agony. Bleary eyes stared upward. There
Speaker 1: was no sign of a wound, no indications of foul play,
Speaker 1: but the man had unquestionably died suddenly, any great torture.
Speaker 1: Evidently it had been his death cry they had heard.
Speaker 1: Willoughby knelt beside him. Then, after a second's examination, rose
Speaker 1: abruptly dead heart failure. I think, but it'll be best
Speaker 1: to notify the police. Know him, Lenin asked, No, he looks.
Speaker 2: Like a hobo.
Speaker 1: Are you going to leave him? Cried his wife, hysterically.
Speaker 1: It seems so awful to leave a dead man out
Speaker 1: here on the ground alone.
Speaker 2: It's so heartless.
Speaker 1: He can't be moved until the police arrived, Lenin answered Willoughby,
Speaker 1: take your wife inside. I'll stay here until they come
Speaker 1: and see that nothing happens. Louise Willoughby suddenly gave a
Speaker 1: cry of terror. The police. Must you call the police.
Speaker 2: He's a tramp.
Speaker 1: He died of heart failure. Don't call the police. It'll
Speaker 1: create a scandal. I couldn't stand that. Please, please do
Speaker 1: something else, my dear, my dear, remonstrated her husband quietly.
Speaker 1: This is very unfortunate. I'm sorry the poor devil chose
Speaker 1: to die here. But it may not be heart failure.
Speaker 1: You know, he may have been murdered.
Speaker 2: Murdered.
Speaker 1: She sobbed the word as though it burst from her
Speaker 1: against her will Willoughby ignored her exclamation. He continued suavely,
Speaker 1: as though he enjoyed her hysterical anguish. If the man
Speaker 1: has been murdered, and we placed an obstacle in the
Speaker 1: way of his murderer being apprehended, we will be putting
Speaker 1: ourselves liable for more than a scandal. She suddenly swayed.
Speaker 1: Willoughby placed his hand on her shoulder, but she turned
Speaker 1: on him an almost insane fury. Don't touch me, she cried,
Speaker 1: don't you dare to touch me. The doctor shrugged his shoulders,
Speaker 1: turning quietly to his friend. You take her inside, Lenin,
Speaker 1: she's wrought up, no wonder, poor child. I'll remain here.
Speaker 1: Call headquarters please three. When they reached the house, the
Speaker 1: woman dropped wearily into a great chair. The intense pain
Speaker 1: in her face, the tremulous quiver of her mouth caused
Speaker 1: a wave of pity to sweep over Lenin. Are you
Speaker 1: going to call the police? She whispered, I must. Her
Speaker 1: white hands gripped tighter. In spite of the things he
Speaker 1: had seen, Lanin again had a doubt as to her perfidy.
Speaker 1: Strangely enough, he now felt no sympathy for her husband.
Speaker 1: He lifted the receiver from the hook. As he did so,
Speaker 1: she touched him. Mister Lannin, Yes, are you my friend?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: Why? Yes, of course, missus Willoughby, I mean really truly
Speaker 1: my friend?
Speaker 2: Were his Andrews?
Speaker 1: Yes, I trust I am a friend to you both,
Speaker 1: he evaded. She shook her head impatiently. You can't be that.
Speaker 1: Can't you see he hates me and I I loathe him.
Speaker 1: I despise him. Oh my god, how I hate him.
Speaker 1: And yet Missus Willoughby, I know I horrify you. She laughed,
Speaker 1: and began to pace the length of the room. If
Speaker 1: only I had someone I could turn to, someone to
Speaker 1: aid me, someone in all the world I could trust.
Speaker 1: You seem to be a good man, if only I dared,
Speaker 1: she paused abruptly. Then in a sudden do you think
Speaker 1: I'm a bad woman? Do you think what he thinks? Why,
Speaker 1: my dear lady, I see he's lied to you too,
Speaker 1: poisoned you against me as he has others. And she
Speaker 1: covered her face with her hands. I really I for once,
Speaker 1: he could not find words. Missus Willoughby, I saw you tonight,
Speaker 1: you saw me and her eyes opened wide and him
Speaker 1: as she said nothing. He turned from her and called
Speaker 1: up the police headquarters, making his request for their presence
Speaker 1: in a quiet, professional manner. When he hung up the receiver,
Speaker 1: he turned to her. Missus Willoughby, you found the body
Speaker 1: who was with you at the time. She did not reply.
Speaker 1: After waiting a moment for her to speak, he continued,
Speaker 1: you realize that the police will ask questions of you
Speaker 1: when they arrive. As a lawyer and your friend, I'm
Speaker 1: advising you to tell me everything before they come. I
Speaker 1: may make things easier for you. He'sier for me, She repeated, dully,
Speaker 1: I've done nothing, nothing wrong. I think it is murder,
Speaker 1: Lenin said slowly. She wet her dry lips with the
Speaker 1: tip of her tongue. Yes, it is murder. I know that,
Speaker 1: she whispered. How do you know, he said sharply.
Speaker 2: She shivered.
Speaker 1: I I she gave a little hysterical laugh, just as
Speaker 1: a woman intuitively knows many things.
Speaker 2: Something here.
Speaker 1: It tells me that it is. Did you know the man? No, No,
Speaker 1: of course not. I never saw him before. Didn't you
Speaker 1: hear what Andrew said? He's a tramp, a hobo. Probably
Speaker 1: probably Her voice trailed off, and her dark eyes widened.
Speaker 1: Probably what. Lenin leaned forward and laid his hand on hers.
Speaker 1: Her skin was damp and ice cold. Probably he he
Speaker 1: stopped in the grounds to sleep or for a drink
Speaker 1: of water. And mister Lnnin, I can't talk. I'm I'm
Speaker 1: you'll excuse me. I must go upstairs. I She rose unsteadily,
Speaker 1: and for a moment seemed about to faint. You can
Speaker 1: call me when the when they arrive, perhaps I'll feel better.
Speaker 1: Then he assisted her to the stairs, watched her slowly
Speaker 1: mount them, then turned back into the room, more puzzled
Speaker 1: than before. As he sank into a deep cushioned chair
Speaker 1: before the window, heavy satin draperies behind him were pushed aside.
Speaker 1: A young man wearing mud stained overalls and a dark
Speaker 1: blue shirt stepped into the room. He held one finger
Speaker 1: up to caution Linnin to silence, then motioned him to
Speaker 1: draw the blinds so that their figures could not be
Speaker 1: seen by the men outside who waited by the greenhouses. Well,
Speaker 1: said Lanin. The other slumped into a chair opposite to him.
Speaker 1: He suddenly seemed overcome and unable to speak. Lanin noted
Speaker 1: the way his hands trembled his nostrils quivered. After a
Speaker 1: moment's silence, the lawyer asked, you're the gardener, aren't you, Yes, sir.
Speaker 1: He leaned forward, almost touching Lanin. His eyes glowed in
Speaker 1: his eagerness. You sent for the police, yes. Lanin reached
Speaker 1: for a cigar and lighted it before he answered the boy.
Speaker 1: In that brief moment's survey of the gardener, he felt
Speaker 1: an instinctive liking for him. It might be murder, you know,
Speaker 1: he added, it was murder, mister Lannin. That poor fellow
Speaker 1: out there died the death that was intended for me.
Speaker 2: What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1: Lanin dropped his cigar and quickly rescued it from the carpet.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to hide anything, sir, only only I.
Speaker 1: I can't face the police, not yet, I've I can't
Speaker 1: tell you. But can't you tell them what I say
Speaker 1: and keep me out of their way? Isn't it possible?
Speaker 1: His white face worked convulsively. He spoke as though compelled
Speaker 1: to do so against his will. I don't understand, you,
Speaker 1: said the other man coldly. You say someone desired your death,
Speaker 1: Yet you don't want to inform the police yourself. Don't
Speaker 1: you realize that you'll have to testify you were with
Speaker 1: missus Willoughby when she stumbled over the body. Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: I'm a lawyer, allering. Perhaps you didn't know that. Yes, yes,
Speaker 1: I knew it. That's why I'm asking you to help me.
Speaker 1: To help Louise I. Lennin winced as he used the
Speaker 1: Christian name of his friend's wife. But the gardener did
Speaker 1: not see the movement. You didn't kill the man, did you,
Speaker 1: snapped Lenin suddenly, No, No, good God, No, Well, then
Speaker 1: will you be kind enough to explain just what is
Speaker 1: it all about? He hates me, Allarein? Continued, Who Andrew
Speaker 1: Andrew Willoughby? He hates me as much as he fears me?
Speaker 1: Lennin started angrily to his feet. Willoughby's my friend, the
Speaker 1: younger man laughed stridently. Friend, He's no man's friend. There's
Speaker 1: only one thing in the world of any value to him.
Speaker 2: That's science.
Speaker 1: Didn't you see how he took the death of that
Speaker 1: poor dog out there. I was behind a clump of shrub.
Speaker 1: I heard, heard, and saw him. He gloated over his body.
Speaker 1: He was glad, glad that a man had died and
Speaker 1: proven another one of his damnable poisons efficacious? By God,
Speaker 1: are you insinuating that Andrew Willoughby killed that man out there?
Speaker 2: I am a man.
Speaker 1: He'd never seen a stray tramp. It was intended for me,
Speaker 1: aluring returned wearily. He failed in his purpose so far
Speaker 1: as I was concerned. But he made a sure test
Speaker 1: and it proved successful. You're making an astounding statement. Young man,
Speaker 1: said Lannin, straining to keep his voice calm and uninterested.
Speaker 1: You are accusing a man of murder, your employer, the
Speaker 1: husband of the woman with whom alluring sprang to his feet.
Speaker 1: The veins stood out in great welts on his high,
Speaker 1: thin forehead. His nostrils quivered. When he again sank into
Speaker 1: his chair, he was panting from the struggle. Mister Lannin,
Speaker 1: he said, abruptly, I I met Louise, missus Willoughby outside
Speaker 1: in the grounds. Why I did so as our affair.
Speaker 1: But she is a good woman.
Speaker 2: You must know she is.
Speaker 1: Her husband is more than a scoundrel. He's the vilest, lowest.
Speaker 1: Lannin's gesture interrupted him. He continued in a quieter tone.
Speaker 1: We met by an arbor near the greenhouses. It is
Speaker 1: very dark out there, and in spite of its being moonlight,
Speaker 1: we weren't seen, but we saw the figure of a
Speaker 1: man as he came out of the house. It was
Speaker 1: Andrew Willoughby. At first we thought he had seen Louise
Speaker 1: leave and was following us, but he passed the arbor
Speaker 1: and went on toward the greenhouses in the moonlight, which
Speaker 1: made everything perfectly visible in the open. I could see
Speaker 1: he was carrying something. A little case is medicine case
Speaker 1: he uses when visiting a patient. I was afraid he
Speaker 1: could hear Louise's breathing. He passed so close to us,
Speaker 1: but he was too intent on his wicked thoughts to
Speaker 1: notice anything else. At the greenhouses, he hesitated, He looked
Speaker 1: stealthily around, and then he laughed. That laugh made Louise
Speaker 1: grip my arm. I put my hand over her mouth
Speaker 1: for fear she would cry out. There's a hydrant beside
Speaker 1: one of the houses. I use it every morning to
Speaker 1: attach the hose. To my knowledge, no one else ever
Speaker 1: touches it. No one has occasion to. Willoughby was aware
Speaker 1: of this. It is an old fashioned arrangement, and I've
Speaker 1: protested against it, but the things remain as it is.
Speaker 1: Several times have been drenched by the nozzle slipping as
Speaker 1: we watched. Willoughby went to this hydrant. He carefully unfastened
Speaker 1: the hose. Then he opened the little case he carried.
Speaker 1: He took out something which evidently was a piece of cloth,
Speaker 1: and wiped all the damp off the rusty metal. Then
Speaker 1: he put the cloth back into the case. Next, he
Speaker 1: took a small vial out of it, and with great caution,
Speaker 1: poured it all over the metal. Then, as quietly as
Speaker 1: he had come, he whirled around and went back to
Speaker 1: the house. Allering paused. Then we both stood there in
Speaker 1: the darkness, unable at first to speak or move.
Speaker 2: He went on.
Speaker 1: Then Louise whispered, Charlie, what was it? What was he doing?
Speaker 1: I didn't tell her. I knew he had contrived some
Speaker 1: diabolical way to get rid of me, though just how
Speaker 1: a liquid poison on a piece of metal could do
Speaker 1: that I didn't know. I resolved, under no conditions to
Speaker 1: touch it. Louise became frightened and started to cry. She
Speaker 1: was pent up and nervous before. Now she became hysterical.
Speaker 1: I tried to reassure her and told her she'd best
Speaker 1: go back to the house. Though she tried to control
Speaker 1: her feelings. I felt she knew instinctively what I did,
Speaker 1: that her husband had.
Speaker 2: Planned my murder.
Speaker 1: Just as she braced up and started to leave me,
Speaker 1: a man vaulted the stone wall and lurched into view,
Speaker 1: a pool of moonlight outlining him distinctly. I think he
Speaker 1: was a tramp or a thief. I had never seen
Speaker 1: him before. He wandered about aimlessly until he came to
Speaker 1: the hydrant. Almost before I knew what he was doing,
Speaker 1: he had put his mouth to the socket and turned
Speaker 1: on the water. The next moment he gave that cry
Speaker 1: you heard. We saw him stagger backwards, fling up his arm,
Speaker 1: waving them wildly, then fall over, doubling up and writhing
Speaker 1: as though in horrible pain. It only lasted a moment
Speaker 1: then he was dead. Louise screamed. She started to run.
Speaker 1: She fell twice. I wasn't going to follow her, that
Speaker 1: I knew I mustn't. I crept further back into the
Speaker 1: shadow of the arbor. After you all came back into
Speaker 1: the house, I stole out the other way, climbed the wall,
Speaker 1: and returned through the servant's entrance. Why should Andrew wish
Speaker 1: to kill you, Lanin asked abruptly, alluring rose again. He
Speaker 1: crossed to the lawyer and stood under a stand lamp,
Speaker 1: allowing its light to shine directly on his pallid face.
Speaker 1: The skin over his cheek bones was drawn and tight.
Speaker 1: There was a feverish gleam in his eyes. His young
Speaker 1: mouth was hard and grim. But in spite of everything,
Speaker 1: there was a look of candor and manliness about him,
Speaker 1: which impressed Lanin. Arthur Lanin, don't you know me?
Speaker 2: Why?
Speaker 1: Why? The vague something which had disturbed Lenin resolved itself
Speaker 1: into a memory, the memory of a pink cheeked, red
Speaker 1: haired lad with a sunny smile and almost cherubic cast
Speaker 1: of countenance.
Speaker 2: He gave a gasp.
Speaker 1: Charlie Moore, Not Charlie Moore, Yes, Louise's brother.
Speaker 2: But why?
Speaker 1: An automobile came into the driveway, stopped with a noisy
Speaker 1: pair of the engine CEMENTA lighted, Then the door bell
Speaker 1: gave him metallic clatter. The boy clutched Laddin's arm. For
Speaker 1: God's sake, keep me out of this, he cried, I'll
Speaker 1: explain later. Before the lawyer could answer, he had disappeared
Speaker 1: behind the satin draperies four. Lanin opened the door before
Speaker 1: the servant reached it. The inspector, followed by his medical
Speaker 1: examiner and a couple of officers, strode into the hallway. Well,
Speaker 1: what's the dope, the inspector asked abruptly. He was a
Speaker 1: large man with a twenty four hours crop of blue
Speaker 1: black beard. His eyes were dark and very keen. He
Speaker 1: wore horn rimmed spectacles, which he kept constantly removing and polishing.
Speaker 1: Lannin knew that in that brief second survey of the
Speaker 1: room he had noticed the almost imperceptible swaying of the
Speaker 1: curtains as they fell together behind Charlie Moore. You called me,
Speaker 1: the inspector continued, not waiting for his question to be answered. Yes,
Speaker 1: where's Willoughby? The doctor was well known on the island. Outside,
Speaker 1: a dead man was found on the grounds, some sneak
Speaker 1: thief for hobo. Evidently we thought it best to send
Speaker 1: for you. It may be heart failure, it may be murder.
Speaker 1: All right, take me to 'em. As they stepped outside,
Speaker 1: Lannin realized that morning had arrived. In the hazy light,
Speaker 1: he saw doctor Willoughby seated on a stone bench, his
Speaker 1: shaggy bearded chin cupped in his hand as he stared
Speaker 1: with evident interest at the huddled splotch on the ground
Speaker 1: before him. The servants had grouped themselves some little distance away,
Speaker 1: evidently discussing the gruesome event, but at the sight of
Speaker 1: the officers, they hushed abruptly. Lannin glanced quickly at the hydrant.
Speaker 1: It was open a slow trickle of water resolved itself
Speaker 1: into a little rivulet below it, and wended away into
Speaker 1: a tiny stream toward the greenhouses a trifle below it.
Speaker 1: Willoughby rose leisurely at their appearance and extended his hand
Speaker 1: to the inspector, mister Dwyer. He said, I'm doctor Willoughby.
Speaker 1: This is my home. It's unfortunate, Yes, I know, doctor
Speaker 1: Dwyer interrupted. The man's dead, all right. You don't know him,
Speaker 1: do you. Willoughby shook his head. Now seems to be
Speaker 1: a hobo, doesn't he. I fancy he died of heart failure,
Speaker 1: but I'd rather your examiner passed upon the case. I
Speaker 1: don't think it's advisable for you to depend solely upon
Speaker 1: my decision. It's awkward happening on my grounds, you know.
Speaker 1: He spoke easily. All traces of the strain of the
Speaker 1: evening before seemed to have vanished. The examiner knelt on
Speaker 1: the damp ground and took a brief survey of the body.
Speaker 1: No indication of foul play, he said. He scowled uncertainly,
Speaker 1: then looked from Willoughby's face to the inspectors. He seems
Speaker 1: to have died suddenly with acute aggon rather an unusual
Speaker 1: attitude for a heart failure to assume. Don't you think so,
Speaker 1: doctor Willoughby.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 1: That's why I hesitated to diagnose it as such. And
Speaker 1: yet the physician leaned closer. I I'm not prepared to
Speaker 1: say it isn't look him over, Riley, said Dwyer abruptly
Speaker 1: to a younger man in plain clothes. See if there's
Speaker 1: anything to identify him on his clothes, plain hobo.
Speaker 2: Said the other.
Speaker 1: After a moment's survey, there were no cards, letters, nor
Speaker 1: marks of any kind on the body or clothing to
Speaker 1: lead to any knowledge of the man heart failure. It is,
Speaker 1: I take it, said Dwyer, grimly. Must have caught the
Speaker 1: poor devil suddenly, probably dropped in here to steal a
Speaker 1: night's lodging and having a bum heart keeled over. Lannin
Speaker 1: started to speak hesitated, then turned abruptly to doctor Willoughby.
Speaker 1: There was an enigmatical look on the physician's bearded face.
Speaker 1: Lanin almost fancied. The triumph gleamed through his black eyes.
Speaker 1: You you aren't going to have an inquest, the lawyer queried,
Speaker 1: Not necessary.
Speaker 2: Dwyer replied, these things seem pretty clear. To me.
Speaker 1: He turned deferentially to Willoughby. You passed it as heart failure, also,
Speaker 1: didn't you. Doctor Willoughby bowed his head in assent. We'll
Speaker 1: have the body removed at once. The inspector continued, Riley,
Speaker 1: you could stay here till the wagon comes. If there's
Speaker 1: nothing further, we'll bid you good morning. Something seemed to
Speaker 1: snap in Lannin's brain. The story the young gardener had
Speaker 1: told him, the scream the dead man had given had
Speaker 1: made too deep an impression on the lawyer's mind to
Speaker 1: be dismissed lightly. Doctor, he exclaimed, touching the medical assistant's arm.
Speaker 1: Do persons dying suddenly of heart failure give a cry
Speaker 1: of mortal agony?
Speaker 2: Hey? Lannon repeated the question. No, No, I think not.
Speaker 1: It would be unusual, quite unusual, but not impossible for
Speaker 1: them to cry out death comes too suddenly as a
Speaker 1: rule for them to make any sound death so painful
Speaker 1: as this, Why do you ask this man gave a scream.
Speaker 1: I heard it, so did missus Willoughby, who found the body.
Speaker 1: The inspector dug the blunt toe of his shoe into
Speaker 1: the grass at his feet. He coughed, then looked at Willoughby,
Speaker 1: back to Lannin's expressive face, then to his assistant, a
Speaker 1: slow flush mounted to his forehead. This puts another complexion
Speaker 1: on the matter, He said, quietly, where is missus Willoughby
Speaker 1: in the house. Her husband replied, she was badly upset
Speaker 1: about the matter and is gone in Stay here, Riley,
Speaker 1: come on with me the rest of you. An air
Speaker 1: of alertness had taken hold of Dwyer, as though he
Speaker 1: suddenly sensed something of interest. As the servants huddled together
Speaker 1: did not move, he gave a peremptory gesture toward them
Speaker 1: and repeated the command for them to return to the
Speaker 1: house with him five. Once inside the house, Willoughby became
Speaker 1: a genial host, inquiring of the officers if they desired
Speaker 1: anything to drink, and when Dwyer accepted with alacrity, he
Speaker 1: ordered the butler to serve all present. Dyer wandered about
Speaker 1: the room for a few moments, touching a bit of
Speaker 1: furniture here, a drapery there, and puffing viciously on a
Speaker 1: strong and vile smelling cigar. After he had swallowed a
Speaker 1: large drink of old whiskey, wiped his mouth with the
Speaker 1: back of his hand. He asked that missus Willoughby be called.
Speaker 1: You heard this fellow, scream, he said, turning to Lenin
Speaker 1: while they waited for her appearance.
Speaker 2: Yes, wake you up? No, I was awake.
Speaker 1: How's that insomnia? What time did he scream?
Speaker 2: About?
Speaker 1: Half past four? I should judge now, I don't suffer
Speaker 1: with insomnia. I'm usually a heavy sleeper. Something else wakened you?
Speaker 2: Then? Yes?
Speaker 1: What it's hard to say. Possibly being in a strange
Speaker 1: room in bed. I'm a guest here, you know. Possibly
Speaker 1: the quieter the country after the city, or I fancied
Speaker 1: I heard footsteps outside my door. Willoughby leaned forward, his
Speaker 1: black eyes lightened, the pupils became mere pinpoints. What kind
Speaker 1: of footsteps? Inquired Dwyer. That I can't state. I'm not
Speaker 1: prepared to say that I heard any. I may have
Speaker 1: fancied I did. If I did hear them, they were
Speaker 1: very soft, cautious. I should say man's are a woman's
Speaker 1: I don't know, but I think a man's. Willoughby sank
Speaker 1: back in the chair, gripping the arms of it with
Speaker 1: long stained fingers. How long after you heard these footsteps
Speaker 1: was it that you heard the scream? I should judge
Speaker 1: thirty minutes. I lay in bed some little time, then,
Speaker 1: unable to sleep, I got up and sat by the window.
Speaker 1: Does your window face those greenhouses?
Speaker 2: Yes? Did you see this man enter the grounds?
Speaker 1: No? I'd left the window when he screamed, and you
Speaker 1: saw nothing suspicious out there? Lannin hesitated. He caught the
Speaker 1: glance his hosts directed toward him and coughed. Something impelled
Speaker 1: him to say no. Louise Willoughby came into the room.
Speaker 1: She'd removed her bedraggled evening gown and had replaced it
Speaker 1: with a tea gown of lavender satin and lace. Her
Speaker 1: face was ghastly pale in the morning light, her eyes
Speaker 1: wide and very dark. Lannin suddenly felt a great pity
Speaker 1: for her. Her heavy mass of dark red hair she
Speaker 1: had let down and braided into a great rope which
Speaker 1: hung over one shoulder. It made her look younger, almost girlish.
Speaker 1: At her entrance, Willoughby merely raised his head, looked at
Speaker 1: her a second, then back toward the inspector. She accepted
Speaker 1: the chair. Lannin offered her, you wish to see me?
Speaker 1: She said, yes, missus Willoughby, I'm sorry to disturb you,
Speaker 1: But this unfortunate death on your grounds makes it necessary.
Speaker 1: Dwyer's voice unconsciously softened as he addressed her. I understand,
Speaker 1: Please pardon my appearance.
Speaker 2: I'd gone to bed.
Speaker 1: You were the first to find the dead man's body,
Speaker 1: weren't you, missus Willoughby, Yes, you were alone. No, her
Speaker 1: gaze did not falter, nor did she look at her husband,
Speaker 1: who was with you, A young man, mister Allering. Did
Speaker 1: this young man, mister Allering, see, she interrupted him. We
Speaker 1: both saw him fall fall. The man wasn't dead when
Speaker 1: you first saw him. The woman bit her lip, then
Speaker 1: she shook her head. No, mister Allering and I were
Speaker 1: in the arbor near the greenhouses. We saw a man
Speaker 1: climb over the fence.
Speaker 2: He staggered.
Speaker 1: Then then her eyes shifted and rested on the face
Speaker 1: of her husband. Willoughby was yellow. His black eyes, like beads,
Speaker 1: stared at her with all the fascination of a snake.
Speaker 2: Coiled the spring. She shivered.
Speaker 1: Then he gave a terrible cry, flung up his arms,
Speaker 1: and fell over, writhing. I think he died instantly. I
Speaker 1: screamed too, It was horrible to see a man die.
Speaker 1: Then I started to run he lay in my pathway.
Speaker 2: It was dark.
Speaker 1: The moon went under cloud Right after it happened.
Speaker 2: I fell.
Speaker 1: I touched his cold face. She paused, staring straight ahead
Speaker 1: of her, as if visualizing what had taken place.
Speaker 2: That is all, said Dwyer.
Speaker 1: Yes. Lanin wondered if Dwyer realized the woman was lying.
Speaker 1: Where's this holuring now? The officer inquired, looking about. The
Speaker 1: servants who had come into the room on returning to
Speaker 1: the house shook their heads. I don't know, missus, Willoughby answered,
Speaker 1: probably in his room, snapped her husband, speaking for the
Speaker 1: first time, he's the gardener employed here. Dwyer merely raised
Speaker 1: his eyebrows. He studied the pale, patrician face of the woman,
Speaker 1: then turned to one of his assistants, Riley, go of
Speaker 1: the servant to get him six. Dwyer and his medical
Speaker 1: adviser again traversed the lawn to the greenhouses.
Speaker 2: Lannin went with them.
Speaker 1: The operator, whom Doyer had left in charge of the body,
Speaker 1: grinned a sickly welcome. As they approached again, Lannin noticed
Speaker 1: the dripping hydrant. Dwyer stalked about the grounds. Crossing to
Speaker 1: the greenhouses, he opened a door and stepped inside. He
Speaker 1: was gone but a moment. When he returned, he made
Speaker 1: a survey of the arbor and the stone wall which
Speaker 1: surrounded the grounds. The grass was trampled and crushed, but
Speaker 1: no definite footprints were discernible. Stevens, go back to the
Speaker 1: house and see what's the matter that Riley hasn't found
Speaker 1: that gardener, he said abruptly. The medical examiner, whose attention
Speaker 1: had been centered on the dead man, looked up quickly.
Speaker 1: It's heart failure, all right, Dwyer, he said. Dwyer merely grunted.
Speaker 1: The man who had been with the body, hitched his
Speaker 1: trousers and passed the back of a hairy hand across
Speaker 1: his mouth. He started briskly toward the house, paused abruptly,
Speaker 1: and whirling around, crossed the hydrant. As he stopped to
Speaker 1: drink from the faucet. Lannin cried out in an unnatural voice.
Speaker 2: Don't do that.
Speaker 1: The young officer straightened abruptly. Speaking to me, he asked, Yes,
Speaker 1: what's the matter? Don't touch that hydrant. Stevens came closer.
Speaker 1: I don't understand, he said, wondering if he were making
Speaker 1: a fool of himself, or if what Allering had said
Speaker 1: were true, Lannin has a. The inspector looked at him inquiringly.
Speaker 1: Lannon laughed nervously, Well, said Dwyer. He removed his horn
Speaker 1: rimmed glasses and polished them vigorously. His keen eyes squinted.
Speaker 1: Lannin inwardly squirmed under the scrutiny. I may be mistaken,
Speaker 1: the lawyer said, uneasily, but I'm under the impression that
Speaker 1: the man died after drinking from that faucet. Stevens whistled.
Speaker 1: Lannin realized he had told too much to withhold any more,
Speaker 1: and continued quietly. Allarin came to me after Missus Willoughby retired.
Speaker 1: He said, the dead man took a drink, then fell
Speaker 1: writhing to the ground. He may have imagined it. I
Speaker 1: don't know, but it's well to take no chances. Missus
Speaker 1: Willoughby did not mention this. No where did Alarin go?
Speaker 1: Why hasn't Riley found him? I don't know, well, mused
Speaker 1: the inspector. Stamp queer. We'll get a glass test this water.
Speaker 1: Here's a tin cup, said the younger officer, reaching for one,
Speaker 1: which hung on a nail just below the high Lannin
Speaker 1: suddenly remembered the gardener's words when he had mentioned the
Speaker 1: caution Willoughby had exercised in wiping the moisture from the faucet.
Speaker 1: He stepped forward quietly, and drawing his handkerchief from his pocket,
Speaker 1: he wrapped it about his hand before turning the spicket.
Speaker 1: Then he drew some water and handed it to the
Speaker 1: medical examiner.
Speaker 2: It was clear as crystal.
Speaker 1: Willoughby has a laboratory where he makes tests in chemistry.
Speaker 1: The lawyer said, stay here, Dwyer said to the operator
Speaker 1: he had left with the body before then he turned
Speaker 1: to the others with a curt nod of his head
Speaker 1: toward the house. We'll use the laboratory, though I have
Speaker 1: a hunch there's nothing to this water business, but you
Speaker 1: never can't tell. And we've got to locate this fellow
Speaker 1: Allerin seven. As they entered the house, Willoughby rose abruptly.
Speaker 1: Lannin sensed attention in the air, as though the physician
Speaker 1: and his wife had been quarreling. The woman's face was bloodless,
Speaker 1: the great purple shadows under her eyes and her white
Speaker 1: lips gave her an almost ethereal beauty. She smiled out
Speaker 1: a wand greeting, as though welcoming the interruption of an
Speaker 1: unpleasant scene. Doctor Willoughby said the inspector abruptly, Doctor Graves
Speaker 1: here would like to use your laboratory for a little test,
Speaker 1: if you don't mind test, smiled Willoughby suavely. Yes, of
Speaker 1: the hydrant water. Mister Lenin is under the impression that
Speaker 1: the dead hobo took a drink from your hydrant and
Speaker 1: keeled over. Water looks all right, but we'd like to
Speaker 1: make sure. The smile never left Willoughby's face, though Lenin
Speaker 1: fancied it grew tighter. I'll be very glad to assist
Speaker 1: you in any way, the physician said, though I'm positive
Speaker 1: the water had nothing to do with the poor chap's death.
Speaker 1: We don't use it for drinking purposes, but it's pure. However,
Speaker 1: as you say, it's best to make sure. Come this way,
Speaker 1: if you please. My laboratory is on.
Speaker 2: The top floor.
Speaker 1: He led the way to the odorous room that was
Speaker 1: the scene of as many chemical tests. As they reached
Speaker 1: the door for a second, he hesitated. He drew a
Speaker 1: deep breath and inserted a key in the lock. It
Speaker 1: did not turn. The physician looked puzzled. That's strange, he muttered.
Speaker 1: He rattled the knob. Maybe the lock is sprung, said
Speaker 1: the inspector grimly. Willoughby shook his head. It seems to
Speaker 1: be locked from the inside, he said. The smile left
Speaker 1: his face. He became yellower if possible. There came to
Speaker 1: them the rustle of papers inside the room, the sound
Speaker 1: of someone moving. The men stared at each other. Willoughby
Speaker 1: swayed a trifle and lurched against the door. Dwyer thrust
Speaker 1: a huge fist forward and gave the panel a resounding kick.
Speaker 1: Open this door, he called, open it, or we'll break
Speaker 1: it down. There was silence, then a sound of footsteps,
Speaker 1: and the door was flung open. The gardener stood just
Speaker 1: inside the room. There was silence, then a sound of footsteps,
Speaker 1: and the door was flung open. The gardener stood just
Speaker 1: inside the room. He had discarded his overalls and looked
Speaker 1: very much the gentleman in a dark, well fitting suit.
Speaker 1: Though he was ghastly pale, there was a triumphant gleam
Speaker 1: in his dark eyes and an air of success.
Speaker 2: In his bearing.
Speaker 1: The room was in absolute disorder. Papers were thrown everywhere,
Speaker 1: Bottles lay at random on glass top tables, paper baskets
Speaker 1: were overthrown. Everything indicated a hurried but thorough search. One
Speaker 1: instant Willoughby glared at his ransacked laboratory, then into the
Speaker 1: glowing eyes of the boy, whom he seemed to recognize
Speaker 1: for the first time. Then he flung himself at the
Speaker 1: younger man with an almost animal like snarl. Damn you,
Speaker 1: Aluring stepped aside. At the same moment Dwyer laid a
Speaker 1: heavy hand on his shoulder. Well he smiled, but the
Speaker 1: menace in his cool tones made Lanin shiver. I presume
Speaker 1: you are the gardener Aluring. No wonder you didn't care
Speaker 1: to give your testimony to us. We came out here
Speaker 1: to look into the matter of a heart failure. We
Speaker 1: hardly expected to be so fortunate as to lay our
Speaker 1: hands on Charlie Moore number nine six seven to two.
Speaker 1: The boy flung back his head and looked bravely into
Speaker 1: the cool, hard face of the inspector. Number nine sixty
Speaker 1: seven two, gasped Stevens.
Speaker 2: Sure.
Speaker 1: The escaped khan, sent up two years ago for manslaughter,
Speaker 1: escaped six weeks ago. They say a society woman helped
Speaker 1: him bust out. But I never dreamed. It was missus Willoughby.
Speaker 1: She's my sister, said the boy, proudly.
Speaker 2: Sure.
Speaker 1: Dwyer bit off the end of a cigar and stuck
Speaker 1: it in his mouth, but he didn't light it. He
Speaker 1: looked steadily at the young man, then toward Willoughby. The
Speaker 1: latter's eyes were bloodshot. He seemed to be controlling himself
Speaker 1: with difficulty. What did you know about this, Dwyer asked him. Nothing,
Speaker 1: snapped the doctor. You didn't recognize him, no, young Moore
Speaker 1: laughed unpleasantly. That's a lie, he said. He knew me
Speaker 1: the moment Louise brought me into this house. She knew
Speaker 1: he did, and so did I. But he didn't dare
Speaker 1: admit it. If he had, he would have notified you
Speaker 1: in a minute. He wanted me out of the way,
Speaker 1: but he was afraid, so he chose the cowardly way.
Speaker 1: He made everyone think I was her lover and poisoned
Speaker 1: them against her, and then stop. It was Willoughby who
Speaker 1: exclaimed the boy shrugged his shoulders. You've made some strange statements,
Speaker 1: young man, said Dwyer quietly. And I must say, for
Speaker 1: a man under arrest, an escaped convict you're damned cool.
Speaker 1: A frank smile curled the other's lips. I'm not going back, Inspector,
Speaker 1: he said, And don't you think it for one minute.
Speaker 2: Oh is that so? You bet your life? It is?
Speaker 1: I spent two years in that hellhole. I was clever
Speaker 1: enough to make my escape. You can rest assured I'll
Speaker 1: be clever enough to keep out of it. What do
Speaker 1: you think I came here for? That's what I'm wondering,
Speaker 1: said Dwyer dryly. You might have known sooner or later
Speaker 1: we'd have run you down that we would be certain
Speaker 1: to come to your sisters for you. Not so certain.
Speaker 1: If that poor devil hadn't died out there, I'd still
Speaker 1: be safe here. I've had six weeks start of you, Inspector,
Speaker 1: that was all I needed. Six weeks too much for you, Andrew.
Speaker 1: But you see you didn't get me after all. Dwyer
Speaker 1: flung his cigar from him impatiently and stepped over the
Speaker 1: threshold into the disordered laboratory. He closed the door behind
Speaker 1: him with a snap. Willoughby suddenly swayed and dropped into
Speaker 1: the nearest chair. Now more, said the inspector. No funny business,
Speaker 1: get me, you're going back with me, and you're going
Speaker 1: back to stay. You were sent up on a poison charge.
Speaker 2: Young man.
Speaker 1: There's a dead man out there on those grounds. What
Speaker 1: did you have to do with his death? The boy
Speaker 1: shrugged his shoulders again, then his eyes clouded. A note
Speaker 1: of pathos crept into his voice. Everything he said quietly.
Speaker 1: I suppose if it weren't for me, the poor.
Speaker 2: Devil would be alive.
Speaker 1: At this minute, Willoughby gave an inarticulate cry. Dwyer stared
Speaker 1: at the ex gardener, striving to digest his astounding words.
Speaker 1: Let me get you right, he said, slowly. Are you
Speaker 1: confessing that you killed that bum out there? No, said
Speaker 1: young Moore, But I'm saying that my brother in law,
Speaker 1: Andrew Willoughby did eight. There was dead silence. Then Willoughby laughed.
Speaker 1: He laughed until he shook. Then he staggered to his
Speaker 1: feet and waved a long bony finger at his accuser.
Speaker 2: He tried to.
Speaker 1: Implicate me before you whelp. You tried to shift John
Speaker 1: Gordon's murder on my shoulders. By god, don't you try
Speaker 1: it again. I never saw that man out there before.
Speaker 1: I just a minute. The dignity, the note of authority
Speaker 1: in the boy's voice seemed to impress even Dwyer, hardened
Speaker 1: officer of the law that he was two years ago
Speaker 1: when I came out of college, I came here to
Speaker 1: study chemistry with doctor Willoughby, my brother in law. I
Speaker 1: was interested in science. He'd gone further into some phases
Speaker 1: of it than any other teacher I could secure. I
Speaker 1: became his assistant in numerous tests. John Gordon was another assistant.
Speaker 1: Why rake all that up, snapped Dwyer impatiently. All that
Speaker 1: detail came out at the trial, because you are going
Speaker 1: to know the truth, because I'm going to prove my statements.
Speaker 1: I don't know if Andrew Willoughby is insane or not,
Speaker 1: but I do know that in the interest of science
Speaker 1: he will stop at nothing, not even murder. Please, He continued,
Speaker 1: raising a silencing hand as they would have interrupted him.
Speaker 1: He was making some tests of a new, very strange
Speaker 1: and interest in Eastern poison. It left no trace of
Speaker 1: any kind. A touch of it on a mucous membrane
Speaker 1: would produce instant death. This was not enough for doctor Willoughby.
Speaker 1: He was searching for a poison whose mere contact will
Speaker 1: be deadly. At last, he hit upon one harmless enough
Speaker 1: liquid until combined with metal and moisture. Lanin gave an
Speaker 1: exclamation of surprise. Willoughby had seated himself and now sat
Speaker 1: staring at the speaker with beaded, fascinated eyes. He wet
Speaker 1: his lips with the tip of his tongue, but otherwise
Speaker 1: made no movement. The trouble with this poison, continued Moore,
Speaker 1: was that the victim died in convulsions, the death being
Speaker 1: of several moments duration. Consequently, Willoughby was still dissatisfied. I
Speaker 1: don't know what his desire was in making of poisoning
Speaker 1: a fine art. I don't think that at that time
Speaker 1: murder was his object. He sacrificed numerous animals in his experiments.
Speaker 1: Even Louise's pet Yardale and a Persian cat belonging to
Speaker 1: the housekeeper were destroyed. The brutality of their death, the
Speaker 1: horrible agony they suffered was getting on my nerves. I
Speaker 1: wanted to get away. He did not let John Gordon
Speaker 1: into the secret of these poisons, so Gordon was in
Speaker 1: total ignorance of Willoughby's ambition. I began to fear my
Speaker 1: brother in law. There was an insane glitter in his
Speaker 1: eyes when at work. It dawned upon me that he
Speaker 1: would not endure any obstacle being placed in his way,
Speaker 1: and that because of my knowledge of his tests, he
Speaker 1: hated me, although he needed me. Then John Gordon was
Speaker 1: found dead. His attitude, the tortured expression on his face
Speaker 1: proved conclusively he had been poisoned, though if Willoughby had
Speaker 1: not so painstakingly explained to the nature of that poison,
Speaker 1: no one would have detected it in his system. Whether
Speaker 1: my brother in law deliberately killed him as a test
Speaker 1: or it was an accident, I'm not prepared to state.
Speaker 1: But I had nothing to do with it. The metal
Speaker 1: cup which contained the coffee which Gordon drank I never
Speaker 1: saw before, So help me God. Willoughby swore in court
Speaker 1: to my carelessness that I had deliberately left that cup
Speaker 1: which had been used on a tea table, and young
Speaker 1: Gordon had poured coffee into it and drank it. It
Speaker 1: was a lie, Doctor Willoughby himself did it. I had
Speaker 1: nothing to support my statement. Then I was working for
Speaker 1: a reputable, famous scientist. What was my word against his?
Speaker 1: With every proof in the world against me. But I
Speaker 1: made up my mind that the instant, those prison doors
Speaker 1: closed behind me, and I was once again a free man.
Speaker 1: I would not only prove my innocence, but Andrew Willoughby's guilt,
Speaker 1: and I've done so. He paused abruptly. I escaped the
Speaker 1: papers gave the details. I took a chance in coming here,
Speaker 1: But as Louisa's gardener, I was safe from you. If
Speaker 1: Willoughby did not recognize me. For a long time, he
Speaker 1: never noticed me. One servant was the same as another
Speaker 1: to him. His wife always engaged them. Then he noted
Speaker 1: our friendship, Louise's in mine, and became jealous. Too late,
Speaker 1: we recognized our mistake for the instant. He took a
Speaker 1: good look at me. He knew who I was. As
Speaker 1: I said, he was cowardly. He knew I had something
Speaker 1: more than my liberty at stake. He feared me. He
Speaker 1: was afraid of what I knew of him. He instantly
Speaker 1: sensed that my presence in his household meant I was
Speaker 1: spying upon him. He could not send me away. He
Speaker 1: determined to do away with me. Cleverly, he planted the
Speaker 1: idea in the mind of all his wife's friends that
Speaker 1: she was unfaithful to him, that I was her lover.
Speaker 1: He did this so that if he were discovered as
Speaker 1: my murderer, he would be exonerated for protecting his honor.
Speaker 1: Then he began to study my habits, knowing what he intended.
Speaker 1: I ate all my meals at a nearby road house.
Speaker 1: Everything suspicious I handled with gloves. But in spite of
Speaker 1: all my precautions, if that poor devil had not appeared
Speaker 1: last night this morning I would be a dead man.
Speaker 1: An enigmatical smile curled up the corners of Willoughby's eyes.
Speaker 1: He shifted his position. He glanced in an almost disinterested
Speaker 1: fashion at the papers tossed about the room. He contrived
Speaker 1: my murder in the cleverest most diabolical fashion conceived of
Speaker 1: by man, continued Moore, knowing that what are the plants?
Speaker 1: I must attach that hose Every morning, he carefully saw
Speaker 1: to it that it was unattached. Then, using this poison
Speaker 1: which he had perfected, he placed it on the faucet,
Speaker 1: so that the instant it came into contact with moisture
Speaker 1: and metal, it became deadly, so deadly that the touch
Speaker 1: of it on my bare hand was enough to kill me.
Speaker 1: Very pretty, said Dwyer, with something like a snort. But
Speaker 1: it strikes me like some kind of a fairy tale.
Speaker 1: You can't get away with that stuff, young man Moore smiled.
Speaker 1: I saw him place the poison on the hydrant faucet,
Speaker 1: so did his wife. I saw the tramp touch it
Speaker 1: and fall over dead, so did she. I've been hunting
Speaker 1: the formula and his diary. Dwyer sniffed again, though he
Speaker 1: took the book more extended toward him and turned over
Speaker 1: its pages curiously. We're always getting dope on mysterious poisons
Speaker 1: that leave no trace, he said. But it's going a
Speaker 1: little too far to believe in the existence of one
Speaker 1: that kills by the mere touch of flesh which has
Speaker 1: no abrasion or scratch of any kind. Willoughby suddenly stiffened,
Speaker 1: his nostrils quivered. You don't doubt its existence, he exclaimed,
Speaker 1: in a high pitched, excited voice.
Speaker 2: I do.
Speaker 1: You don't believe what he says is true?
Speaker 2: I do not, well.
Speaker 1: It is true, every word of it. The professional pride
Speaker 1: in the doctor's voice showed he'd clearly forgotten that such
Speaker 1: a statement meant an admission of murder. Are you confessing
Speaker 1: that you attempted your brother in law's life and killed
Speaker 1: that hobo, exclaimed Dwyer, whirling on him. I'm making a
Speaker 1: statement that I've discovered the greatest existing poison, that I've
Speaker 1: proven its potency. You doubt my word.
Speaker 2: Watch.
Speaker 1: Before any of the startled spectators could stop him, he
Speaker 1: had reached for the little vial of amber colored liquid
Speaker 1: lenin so vividly recalled as spilling the night before, and
Speaker 1: pouring a little of it in a metal measuring cup
Speaker 1: half filled with water. He rubbed his hand over the
Speaker 1: surface of the cup for a second. He smiled whimsically
Speaker 1: at the men, who stared in bewilderment at him. Then
Speaker 1: he suddenly stiffened his muscles, gave a convulsive movement, and
Speaker 1: he rolled off the chair on to the floor, dead,
Speaker 1: exclaimed the other physician, bending over him, almost instantaneous. Well
Speaker 1: I'm damped, ejaculated Dwyer. My sister, gasped young Moore. There
Speaker 1: was a horrified expression in his dark eyes. I must
Speaker 1: go to her. You don't want me, do you No?
Speaker 1: But don't try to get away, replied Dwyer, grimly, still
Speaker 1: staring in blank as styles at the stark figure of
Speaker 1: their late host. You'll find everything in his diary, said
Speaker 1: the boy in the doorway. His vainglory prompted him to
Speaker 1: write it up. It prompted his death, said Lannin, turning away,
Speaker 1: heartsick at the thought. Then the knowledge that Louise Willoughby
Speaker 1: was free sent him down into the drawing room, where
Speaker 1: she sat, hands clasped in those of her brother. End
Speaker 1: of After Midnight by Martin Neville