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Speaker 1: The catspaw by Ward Sterling one. The Peck mansion was

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as carefully guarded as a prison. At the front and

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rear doors, armed operatives from the best detective bureau in

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the city. All tried men were posted day and night.

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Others patrolled the grounds. There was not one chance in

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ten million for any one to creep through the network

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of protection we had thrown about the aged millionaire in

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his family. Yet the first murder occurred within twenty four

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hours of the time set by lawn dixby Lanigan. The

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second man did not report for duty in the morning

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as usual. Jenkins, the butler, entering the room when he

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did not respond, found him cold in death. The tragedy

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had taken place some time during the night. The body

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was cold and rigid when we rushed into the chamber

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in response to the butler's frantic calls for help. Bloated

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to nearly double his natural size, blackened, the limbs twisted

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as from convulsions, the face drawn out of shape. The

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unfortunate man presented a terrifying spectacle. Doctor Maxwell Pack's regular physician,

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who was locked up in the house with the remainder

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of us, gave as his opinion after a hurried examination,

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that death was the result of poisoning. Yet Lanigan had

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eaten nothing, to the best of our knowledge and belief,

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that the rest of us had not also eaten That

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had been part of our agreement that we would all

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partake of the same food in order to protect peck

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from poison. Nor had anything in the provision line been

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brought to the house prepared to stand a siege. Everything,

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even the fresh meats, had been purchased in advance and

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stored away in the refrigerating plants downstairs. Doctor Fry, the coroner,

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summoned by telephone as soon as the tragedy was discovered,

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agreed with his colleague that Lannigan had been poisoned. It

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was his belief, however, that the poison had been administered

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by injection into a vein. Both physicians made a careful

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examination of the body just above the knee. They found

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two minute punctures in the skin. Here, too, the swelling

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seemed more aggravated than elsewhere, while the spot had turned

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a darker hue. The body had every symptom of death

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from snake bite. Yet we knew that there was not

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a snake in the house, nor could there have been

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one in the room. Lannigan had, according to my instructions,

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slept with his windows and door locked. They were in

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this condition when the body was found, for it had

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been necessary for the butler to let himself into the

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room with is past key. The other servants had locked

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themselves in in the same way. An alert detective had

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been posted all night in each corridor. In spite of

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the precautions, in order to make certain, we removed every

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piece of furniture from the dead man's room. There was

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no possibility of a reptile having been hidden there, nor

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could a man have in any possible way entered the house.

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To make matters more complicated, we knew that Lannigan had

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not left the house that day nor the day before,

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for this was part of the arrangement we had made.

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Ponder as I would, I could think of no possible

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solution to the puzzle. It was as mysterious as Poe's

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mystery of the room. Orgue Peck the storm Center, the

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man for whom all these precautions were taken, and for

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whom poor Lambagan had died, was the calmest of us.

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All five minutes after the appearance of the coroner. The

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millionaire was summoned to the phone. In accordance with my

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determination not to allow him out of my sight day

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or night. I accompanied him to the library a harsh,

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metallic voice, a voice so loud that it could be

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heard all over the big room. He informed him that

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the death of a member of his household had been

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a warning, a warning, scent to prove to him that

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in spite of all of his precautions, his enemies were

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able to strike when and where they pleased. His own

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death would follow in good time. Shaking slightly, yet gained

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to the core, he motioned to me and handed me

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the instrument. The voice died out in a mirthless, diabolical chuckle.

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Then the receiver at the other end the wire was

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hung up with a click. Jiggling the hook up and down,

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I succeeded in getting central within a few seconds. An

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instant later, I was connected with my friend Armstrong, manager

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of the traffic department, to whom I hurriedly explained the

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situation and requested that the call be traced. Armstrong moved speedily,

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for in spite of the fact that hundreds of calls

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go through the Capitol Hill Exchange, every hour. So thorough

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is their system that inside of five minutes he had

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me back on the wire. The call had originated in

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one of the pay stations at the Pennsylvania Depot, ten

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miles away. Two Perhaps, in my efforts to hold the

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reader's attention, I have not explained matters as thoroughly as

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I should. Then, too, like all detectives, I am a

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poor narrator of my own experience. What seems to the

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average person to be an exciting adventure is to us

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only part of a day's work, an episode to be

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forgotten as speedily as possible after it has been disclosed

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to a judge and jury. Yet the Morgan Peck case

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is so unique in criminal annals as to be worthy

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of being put in a class by itself. The reader

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will recall the sensation in financial circles caused by the

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appearance of Alonzo Bixby, the South African Magnet. For two

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short years he was one of the kingpins of the exchange.

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Then came the battle between Bixby and Peck. It was

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short but memorable. Peck, backed by his years of experience,

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crushed his enemy beneath his heel. As a farmer's scotches

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a harmless worm. Bixby cornered, his fangs bared, showed his

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makeup by turning crook. Timothy Owens, Peck's right hand manned,

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was killed over the body of his friend Morgan Peck

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swore vengeance. One of Bixby's retainers, arrested by the police,

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admitted the murder, charging Bixby with having instigated the crime.

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All of Peck's gigantic fortunes were placed at the disposal

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of the prosecution. The trial lasted for weeks. An army

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of lawyers battled for every point. In the end, the

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jury sent Bixby to the penitentiary for life. The day

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that sentence was pronounced is one that will long be

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remembered in newspaper and legal circles. Bixby, surrounded by his lawyers,

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his beautiful young wife at his side, listened impassively to

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the judge's voice. It was not until the officer seized

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him to part him forever from the woman he loved

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that lie gave way to his emotions. Leaping to his feet,

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his rough hewn face quivered with diabolical rage. He shook

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his huge fist at Morgan Peck, damn you in prison

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or out. I'll get you, he shouted. I'll make you

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suffer as you're making me an. I for an eye,

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a tooth for a tooth, gravening like a madman, that

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dragged him away. Remember, Bixby was still a wealthy man,

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and money will buy almost anything, even liberty. There were

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those among us who predicted that Bixby would not remain

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long behind prison walls. We were correct in our surmise.

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In just eleven months and three days he was at liberty.

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With him disappeared half a dozen guards. How much he

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paid them for his liberty, no one will probably ever know,

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for none of them were ever captured. Some of us

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hold to the theory that after helping Bixby make his escape,

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they were killed at his orders, but that is another story.

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Three weeks after Bixby made his break from prison, an

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effort was made to blow up Peck's office with a bomb. Fortunately,

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the financier was absent when the package was received. The

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secretary who opened it lost his life. A week later,

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some one fired a shot at Peck in the dark.

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Only the fact that the old man moved slightly in

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that instant prevented the assassin's bullet from finding its mark,

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as it was only a slight flesh wound rewarded the attempt.

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Then Peck's colleagues took a hand. He was the center

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around which one of the biggest financial deals ever pulled

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off was being engineered, a deal that involved governments. His

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death would have meant a world panic. In spite of

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his sneers at their fears, for Peck was a battler

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who fought for the sheer love of the sport. They

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finally induced him to obey their commands. He was locked

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in his own house, surrounded by guards. As I have stated,

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the best detective bureau in the city was engaged to

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look after his safety. Half a hundred operatives were put

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to work combing the country for his enemies. Ay, and

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I trust that the reader will pardon the seeming egotism

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displayed as the best men available among all the detectives

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in the city was placed in charge of the guards

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surrounding Morgan Peck. Two hours after we had taken our precautions,

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a special delivery letter mailed from the downtown station was received.

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It read as follows, Peck, I swore I get you

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and I meant it. By cooping yourself up like a

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sick chicken. You have opened the way for my vengeance.

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Inside of forty eight hours, I will strike. God help

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you from now on. Bixby three morgan Peck was said

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by his enemies to be a man without feeling nerves

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or love. A widower, his only daughter dying in childhood,

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having few near relatives, he had schooled himself against emotion.

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Yet that afternoon, after the body of poor Lanigan had

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been removed from the house, we sat together in the

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big library discussing the affair. Two things took place which

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threw a different light on the old man's character. Gladys Peck,

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his niece, an orphan, and his nearest relative, a girl

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whom he had raised from childhood, passed through the room.

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The old face lighted up, and as she passed out

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of hearing, he turned savagely to me. I don't give

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a damn about myself, he growled. I'm old enough to

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cash in. Time's coming sooner or later anyway. But God

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helped Bixby if he harms that girl, and God help

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you if you let him. That was all. Yet in

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his face was an odd light that betrayed the gruffness

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of his voice. I wondered if his enemies knew of

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his love for this orphaned girl. I shuddered as I

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thought of what might happen if they chanced to learn

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and struck him through her. The other incident I mentioned

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was when the cat, an ordinary common variety of feline,

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entered the room and with back arched, rubbed purringly against

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the millionaire's leg. Funny little devil, he grumbled. Picked him

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up five years ago when he was a kitten. Somebody

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turned him out to die, freeze to death. Damn such people.

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Stuck him in my overcoat pocket and brought him home.

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Never cared for cats, Angoras, Persians and the blue blooded

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aristocracy of catdom. But this little cuss made a hit

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with me. Scrap. See that spot of red hair on

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his head that shows it. He'd fight Old nick, intelligent too,

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makes the servants all stand around, got a habit of

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biting him on the ankles. They all like him, though, funny,

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isn't it. Got a lot of human traits in him.

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Reminds me a little bit of myself, he added, with

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a smile, reaching down and rubbing the cat's head affectionately.

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And this was the man whose enemies claimed him to

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be without a heart. The same afternoon, the coffin came.

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An undertaker's wagon stopped at the front door, and two

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solemn faced men brought the casket up the stairs in

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accordance with his orders. The detective on duty refused to

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admit them, but called me cross questioned they knew nothing.

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The coffin had been ordered from Morgan'stern Casket Company, and

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they were here to deliver it. Address was plainly marked.

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Detaining them. After ordering the unsightly reminder of death that

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was constantly in our midst replaced in the wagon, I

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hurried Holdridge, one of the brightest operatives, under my direction,

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over to the offices of the casket company. He returned

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inside thirty minutes. The casket had been ordered by mail.

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A bank draft for four hundred dollars drawn by the

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First National Trust and Savings Bank, one of Peck's own institutions,

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had accompanied the letter. The letter merely stated that a

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death would shortly occur at Peck's home and asked that

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the coffin be delivered immediately. A telephone call to the

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bank proved fruitless. The draft clerk remembered drawing the draft,

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which was paid for in cash, But owing to the

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large number of similar papers which passed through his hands

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daily had no recollection as to who this customer had been.

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In fact, only the number on the draft recalled the

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incidents to mind at all. I released the two men

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from the factory. In my own mind, I was convinced

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that the affair had been pulled off by Bixby merely

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in an effort to break down pex morale. But they

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failed to reckon with the old man's fighting spirit. Four

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The remainder of the afternoon and night passed uneventfully, everyone

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warned by what had happened the night before. Doubling his vigilance,

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I spent the following morning in going over the reports

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of the fifty odd operatives scattered about the city in

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quest of Bixby. Despite the fact that the former haunts

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of the Big South African had been combed by our men.

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Not only could no trace be found of the financier himself,

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but several of his close friends, men who at the

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trial were proven to have done his bidding without question,

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had also disappeared. As for Missus Bixby, it appeared that

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she had left the quiet hotel, where she had remained

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since the trial. Nearly a month before her husband had

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made his escape, and the trail was too old to follow.

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She had dropped out of sight as completely as though

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the earth had opened up and swallowed her. For two hours,

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I sat at the big library table and went over

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the case from every angle. There were a number of

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00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,240
things that puzzled me more than I was willing to admit.

239
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,639
In the first place, who and what had killed Michael Lennigan.

240
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,440
I had proved, to my satisfaction and to that of Peck,

241
00:16:51,039 --> 00:16:53,720
that the second man had not been absent from the

242
00:16:53,799 --> 00:16:56,720
house an instant from the time that he, like the

243
00:16:56,799 --> 00:17:02,039
rest of us, went into seclusion. Trained detectives, each an

244
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:06,799
ex policeman, men with years of service behind them, were

245
00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:09,440
ready to swear that no one had entered the mansion.

246
00:17:10,799 --> 00:17:13,559
These men had taken turns in watching the place and

247
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,079
the grounds in shifts of two hours on and two

248
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,440
hours off during the entire time since we had been

249
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in a state of siege. On the other hand, I

250
00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,400
realized that Bixby had money, and that money will buy

251
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,319
almost anything. Yet I was not ready to condemn these

252
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,720
men on mere conjecture. Then, too there was a matter

253
00:17:35,839 --> 00:17:40,119
of the special delivery letter, who was in such close

254
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,000
touch with the money master that they were able to

255
00:17:43,039 --> 00:17:46,319
find out to the minute when he had driven into

256
00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:51,839
seclusion outside of our own party, only his closest friends

257
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,359
knew of our plans. And had it been a mere

258
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,960
coincidence that the telephone call from the pay station at

259
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,960
the Pennsylvania Deep had come in just after the arrival

260
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,599
of the coroner. Was there some one in the house

261
00:18:06,599 --> 00:18:10,200
who was signaling the happenings inside to our enemies on

262
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,160
the outside. Was one of our own number the murderer?

263
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:19,440
Would he when the time came strike down Peck as

264
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,680
he had struck down Lenigan. I reached for the list

265
00:18:23,759 --> 00:18:26,880
of those who made up our party and checked it over,

266
00:18:27,039 --> 00:18:29,519
in the hope that through it I might arrive at

267
00:18:29,519 --> 00:18:34,440
the truth. In addition to Peck, his niece, and myself,

268
00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:39,279
there was doctor Maxwell, an old friend, a man immensely

269
00:18:39,319 --> 00:18:42,240
wealthy in his own name, and who had been the

270
00:18:42,279 --> 00:18:47,720
millionaire's private physician for thirty years. All of the servants

271
00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:50,519
had been in the old man's employ from periods ranging

272
00:18:50,599 --> 00:18:53,000
from over a quarter of a century of service on

273
00:18:53,079 --> 00:18:56,680
the part of Miss Langry. The housekeeper to ten years

274
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,160
on the part of Lanigan, the murdered second man. Pack

275
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,079
had hired them all and vouched for them. The detectives,

276
00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:08,200
as I stated, were all men with years of service

277
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:12,599
behind them. No, on the face of it, it seemed

278
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,759
like an impossibility. Yet there was the murder of Lanigan

279
00:19:16,839 --> 00:19:20,839
to prove the falsity of my reasoning. It was shortly

280
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,039
after noon that Pack and I, smoking in the library,

281
00:19:24,519 --> 00:19:26,960
were brought to our feet by a shriek of help

282
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,240
from the servants quarters at the rear of the house.

283
00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,680
Drawing my revolver and shoving the millionaire who would have

284
00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,319
taken the lead behind me, I rushed in the direction

285
00:19:37,559 --> 00:19:42,440
that the sound came from. Fred Diets, who acted as

286
00:19:42,519 --> 00:19:45,519
chauffeur and valet for Pack, was lying on his back

287
00:19:45,559 --> 00:19:49,839
in the middle of the kitchen in convulsions. Beside him

288
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,960
stood Missus Mulkahey, the cook, from whose voluminous lungs the

289
00:19:54,039 --> 00:19:58,960
shouts for help were emanating. Coincidentally, with my arrival came

290
00:19:59,039 --> 00:20:01,119
the others, with the ex exception of the two men

291
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,839
stationed at the doors. They, like the veterans, they were

292
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:10,160
remained at their posts in response to my orders. Jenkins

293
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:15,319
summoned doctor Maxwell, who was asleep in his room. Inside

294
00:20:15,319 --> 00:20:18,640
of a minute, the physician, his emergency kid in his hand,

295
00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,759
made his appearance. He shook his head as he bent

296
00:20:22,839 --> 00:20:27,119
over the stricken man and felt his pulse. For a second,

297
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:32,119
there was silence. Then the physician straightened up and shrugged

298
00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:38,079
his shoulders. He's dying, he said quietly, while missus Mulkahee

299
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,119
let out a wail of despair. I turned to the physician.

300
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:47,640
Do you think same as Lanagan? He answered, See for

301
00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,799
yourself how the poor fellow started to bloat. After half

302
00:20:51,799 --> 00:20:55,519
a century of medical experience, it's the first case I

303
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,480
ever failed to diagnose, or at least make a fairly

304
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:05,240
good guest. He stopped. Suddenly, a shudder over the body

305
00:21:05,279 --> 00:21:08,480
of the man on the floor. Then his jaw dropped.

306
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:18,200
Fred Deets was dead. Five. I turned to missus mulcahey,

307
00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:23,559
tell me just what happened? I commanded, Sure, and that's

308
00:21:23,599 --> 00:21:26,720
the worst of it, she sobbed. There is nothing happened

309
00:21:26,759 --> 00:21:29,759
at all. He was sitting there, happy as you please,

310
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:35,680
talking to Teta. When Teta, who's Teta? I demanded? The

311
00:21:35,839 --> 00:21:40,720
cat peck answered grimly. Deats was one of Teta's warmest friends.

312
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,799
The little animal is decidedly empathic in his likes and dislikes,

313
00:21:46,519 --> 00:21:50,440
but poor Fred was one of his favorites. I nodded

314
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:56,359
then to missus mulcahey, go ahead with your story well shore.

315
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,960
As I was saying, he was sitting there talking to Teta,

316
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:00,839
when all of a sudden and I heard him give

317
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,799
a little gasp. My back was turned to him at

318
00:22:03,799 --> 00:22:07,000
the time. I looked around quickly, just in time to

319
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,839
see him slide from the chair with the foam coming

320
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,119
out of his mouth. I yelled for help, and you've

321
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,200
seen the rest. Missus mulcahy had been with Peck for

322
00:22:17,279 --> 00:22:21,359
eighteen years. My record showed that she was not the murderer,

323
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,079
was a certainty. Yet Deats had been killed under her

324
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,839
very eyes. I questioned her for nearly half an hour,

325
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,680
in the hope that she might recall having seen some

326
00:22:31,799 --> 00:22:34,960
other member of the household in or near the kitchen

327
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,920
at or about the time Deats was stricken down. But

328
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,480
she was emphatic she and she alone had been with

329
00:22:42,559 --> 00:22:46,480
the dead chauffeur. There was nothing to do but send

330
00:22:46,519 --> 00:22:50,680
for the coroner again. Meanwhile, the body had been removed

331
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,000
to an upstairs room where doctor Maxwell made an examination.

332
00:22:55,319 --> 00:22:58,720
He called as I passed through the hall. As I

333
00:22:58,839 --> 00:23:01,279
entered the room, he pointed to the naked body of

334
00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,359
the murdered chauffeur, close to the knee of the right leg.

335
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,640
The skin was blacker than elsewhere, and in the center

336
00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,720
of the dark spot was a tiny puncture similar to

337
00:23:12,759 --> 00:23:16,839
the ones we had found on Lannigan's leg. A detective

338
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,839
occasionally gets hunches. If he is a good one, he

339
00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,440
plays them to the limit. I, as I have stated before,

340
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,319
believe and I trust that the reader will not accuse

341
00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:32,599
me of egotism, that I am among the top notchers,

342
00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:35,680
despite the poor opinion he has received of me through

343
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,839
my rambling account of the murders at the Peck mansion.

344
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,480
Just now I got a hunch. I decided to play

345
00:23:43,519 --> 00:23:48,160
it Hardly, taking time to thank my friend the physician

346
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,799
for his courtesy, I hurried downstairs to the library, where

347
00:23:51,799 --> 00:23:55,079
a pack was busy reading. The big cat, curled up

348
00:23:55,079 --> 00:23:59,240
in a ball on the chair opposite the millionaire, looked

349
00:23:59,279 --> 00:24:04,200
up in astonishment at my catapultic entrance. Mister Peck, I

350
00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,799
burst forth, I want to borrow Teta. The millionaire elevated

351
00:24:08,799 --> 00:24:13,480
his brows. You what he demanded. I want to borrow

352
00:24:13,559 --> 00:24:17,160
Teta the cat here. I've an idea that he'd make

353
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,160
a first class detective. I'll promise you that I'll not

354
00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,759
injure him in the least, but I am firm in

355
00:24:23,799 --> 00:24:26,440
the conviction that he can lead us to the murderers

356
00:24:26,599 --> 00:24:29,680
of Lannigan and Deets, the men who are trying to

357
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:34,799
get you, and possibly at Miss Grady through you. As

358
00:24:34,839 --> 00:24:37,720
I spoke, the big cat arched his back and got

359
00:24:37,759 --> 00:24:41,160
on to his feet with a yawn, exercising his digits

360
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,960
by drawing and withdrawing his claws in the padding of

361
00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,039
the chair half a dozen times. The action decided the

362
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:51,640
old man. He looked up at me with a suspicion

363
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:55,160
of a twinkle in his eyes. The little cuss is

364
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,599
a scrapper, as I told you, he chuckled. Look at

365
00:24:58,599 --> 00:25:00,880
the way he girds up his loyal for action at

366
00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,440
the mere mention of taking part in a scrap. Take

367
00:25:04,559 --> 00:25:09,440
him and welcome, but don't let him get hurt. With

368
00:25:09,559 --> 00:25:11,680
a curt knot of thanks, I picked up the cat

369
00:25:11,839 --> 00:25:16,680
and carried him upstairs to my own room. For the

370
00:25:16,759 --> 00:25:20,000
next half hour, the little animal and myself were busily

371
00:25:20,039 --> 00:25:23,839
engaged among the retorts and tubes which doctor Maxwell had

372
00:25:23,839 --> 00:25:28,279
brought from his laboratory for experimental purposes during his enforced attention,

373
00:25:28,839 --> 00:25:32,839
and which I borrowed for my own use. When I

374
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,279
had completed my task, I turned to the furred beauty

375
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:42,079
with a smile of satisfaction. Teta, I whispered, this whole

376
00:25:42,079 --> 00:25:45,680
affair is a secret between the two of us. I

377
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,279
thought that I was on the right track, and now

378
00:25:48,319 --> 00:25:51,640
I know it. You're the boy who will bring home

379
00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,599
the bacon. It's up to you to get the men

380
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,680
who killed your pals, Lannigan and Deets. Will you do it?

381
00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,400
There are some people who claim that cats have no intelligence.

382
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,319
I stand ready to swear that Teta Morgan Peck's cat

383
00:26:09,039 --> 00:26:12,759
understood every word I said, for he rubbed against my

384
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:16,200
leg with a loud purr of satisfaction, and immediately took

385
00:26:16,279 --> 00:26:19,720
up his station close to the door, as if clamoring

386
00:26:19,759 --> 00:26:25,720
for action. We went downstairs together. I stopped at both

387
00:26:25,759 --> 00:26:29,279
the front and rear doors and gave my instructions to

388
00:26:29,319 --> 00:26:33,400
the operatives on watch. I want to be informed the

389
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,119
minute the cat meows to get out, I instructed them

390
00:26:37,559 --> 00:26:40,319
pass this word on to the men who will relieve you.

391
00:26:41,279 --> 00:26:45,480
Remember no excuses go before he is let out. I

392
00:26:45,519 --> 00:26:51,240
am to be called. Fifteen minutes later, Olmsted, on duty

393
00:26:51,279 --> 00:26:54,960
at the rear door, called me. The cat's howling at

394
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,759
my station, he said. I followed the animal to the

395
00:26:58,799 --> 00:27:06,039
door and per personally let him out. Six across the lawn.

396
00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:09,160
I followed the cat with my eyes until he disappeared

397
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,319
around the corner of a nearby garage. Oh Leary and Kin,

398
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,680
the two men on duty on the grounds, had had

399
00:27:16,759 --> 00:27:21,640
their orders. As Teta disappeared down the alley, I saw

400
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,599
O'Leary dodger round a nearby bush and follow him. A

401
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:30,680
second later he reappeared and approached the house, your friend.

402
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,880
The cat went into a barn that's been transformed into

403
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:38,599
a garage at fourteen twenty four North tenth, just five

404
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,279
houses below here, he reported, with a grin. And if

405
00:27:43,319 --> 00:27:46,839
you'll pardon the joke, Chief, I have shadowed darn near

406
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,920
everything that walks, but this is the first time I

407
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,880
ever trailed a cat. Stepping up to the telephone, I

408
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,599
called up my friend Hitchins, chief of detectives, who was

409
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,200
cooperating with us in every way possible. Satisfied with the

410
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,400
results of my conversation, I sat down to spend the

411
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:11,319
remainder of the afternoon among Peck's books. Suddenly, the phone

412
00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:15,119
at my elbow jangled, turning, I picked up the receiver

413
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,440
and answered the call. The same metallic voice that had

414
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:25,119
talked to Peck the day of Lennigan's murder answered my gruff, Hello, Pack,

415
00:28:25,319 --> 00:28:29,559
He asked, I'll call him. I responded, never mind. The

416
00:28:29,599 --> 00:28:33,240
other answered. Then, as I hesitated for words, the voice

417
00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,319
went on, tell your boss he can prepare for another killing.

418
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,920
It may be him, it may be another, but his

419
00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:45,839
time is coming soon. The voice died away in the

420
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:49,559
same harsh laughter that I had heard before. I hung

421
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,160
up the receiver with a bang and jiggled the hook

422
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,920
to attract the attention of Central. An instant later, I

423
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,880
was connected with my friend Armstrong, to whom I again

424
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:03,599
explained matters while Peck looked on, his furrowed face wrinkled

425
00:29:03,599 --> 00:29:09,480
in doubt. This time Armstrong was speedier than before. Scarcely

426
00:29:09,519 --> 00:29:12,000
had I hung up the receiver that he called me back.

427
00:29:14,119 --> 00:29:16,200
The phone call was from a booth in a drug

428
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,279
store in the busiest corner of the city to trace

429
00:29:19,319 --> 00:29:24,039
the person who had called would be impossible. Packard on

430
00:29:24,119 --> 00:29:26,839
duty at the rear door called me at fifteen minutes

431
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,079
past five o'clock. The cat just came in, he yelled.

432
00:29:32,359 --> 00:29:35,720
The afternoon's hunting had evidently been the best, for the

433
00:29:35,799 --> 00:29:39,160
cat was purring contentedly as he passed down the hallway

434
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,799
on his way to the library. But I was taking

435
00:29:42,839 --> 00:29:45,880
no chances of a scratch from his sharp claws, for

436
00:29:46,039 --> 00:29:49,319
I protected my hands with heavy gloves as I tenderly

437
00:29:49,319 --> 00:29:52,319
picked him up and carried him upstairs to my room.

438
00:29:53,559 --> 00:29:55,839
Ten minutes later, I was at the telephone with my

439
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,920
friend Hitchins at the other end. Half an hour afterward,

440
00:30:00,119 --> 00:30:03,319
there came a sudden blast of a police whistle from

441
00:30:03,359 --> 00:30:06,400
a dozen different directions from which they had been stationed.

442
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,759
Hurried policemen and detectives, all centering on the big brick

443
00:30:10,839 --> 00:30:14,920
house at fourteen twenty four North tenth. There was no

444
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:19,079
response to our knocks. A burly policeman hurled his bulk

445
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:23,480
against the door. It refused to give way. He swung

446
00:30:23,519 --> 00:30:27,359
an axe over his head. Came a sound of splintering wood.

447
00:30:28,319 --> 00:30:32,640
A second later we were inside the hallway. A revolver

448
00:30:32,759 --> 00:30:36,680
spit at us from down the corridor. Another flashed from

449
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:40,400
the head of the stairs. We answered them, shot for shot,

450
00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:45,720
bullet for bullet. For five minutes the battle waged. Then

451
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:51,000
our superior numbers told we dashed through the smoke filled rooms,

452
00:30:51,279 --> 00:30:54,839
gathering in our prisoners. Four men were caught in the net,

453
00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,960
and one woman. She was missus Lawn Bixby. Her husband,

454
00:31:01,319 --> 00:31:04,519
suffering from a severe wound in the shoulder, was one

455
00:31:04,559 --> 00:31:13,640
of the four. The remainder was merely his tools. Seven Battersby,

456
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,599
one of Bixby's aides, confronted with the murders of Lanigan

457
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:23,319
and Dets, turned state's evidence and confessed stick. One of

458
00:31:23,319 --> 00:31:28,079
the others backed him up in his statements. Bixby, as

459
00:31:28,119 --> 00:31:31,240
I had figured from the first, was the instigator of

460
00:31:31,279 --> 00:31:36,480
the whole diabolical affair. How he made his escape from prison, however,

461
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,640
is something that he refused to divulge even when he

462
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:44,319
and his confederates were taken to the gallows to answer

463
00:31:44,359 --> 00:31:48,799
for their crimes. How did they kill Lanagan and Deets

464
00:31:49,519 --> 00:31:54,039
by means of teta unwittingly? The little animal was the

465
00:31:54,119 --> 00:31:59,799
indirect cause of both murders. Battersby, according to his own confession,

466
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,519
had been posted by Bixby, who had, while still in prison,

467
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,440
had him engage the place at fourteen twenty four in

468
00:32:07,519 --> 00:32:10,799
North tenth Street under an alias in order that he

469
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:15,400
might watch the pack home in his guise as a servant.

470
00:32:15,759 --> 00:32:19,000
He had gotten acquainted with Deats. While the latter was

471
00:32:19,039 --> 00:32:22,880
working with one of the cars. He had noticed Teta

472
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,519
come out of the barn at fourteen twenty four, which

473
00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,920
having been empty for a number of years, was filled

474
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,400
with rats. As the cat passed Deats, the latter had

475
00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,880
bent over and scratched it, making a chance remark about

476
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:42,160
Peck's affection for the animal. He had also remarked with

477
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,599
a chuckle at the fondness the pet had for drawing

478
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,119
and withdrawing his claws in whatever he chanced to be,

479
00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:56,599
lying on a habit which all cats indulge in at times. Battersby,

480
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,680
alert to give every detail to his employer, had remarked

481
00:33:00,799 --> 00:33:04,839
this fact to Bixby in his report. The latter saw

482
00:33:04,839 --> 00:33:08,440
an opportunity to turn the incident to his own advantage.

483
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,759
Learning that Peck's cat frequented the barn, he had catered

484
00:33:12,759 --> 00:33:16,319
to the animal in every possible way until the animal

485
00:33:16,359 --> 00:33:18,839
passed a great deal of its time in and about

486
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:23,079
the Bixby place. Failing in his attempts to kill Pack,

487
00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:27,279
the instant that he had chased the millionaire to cover Bixby,

488
00:33:27,319 --> 00:33:30,720
seized upon the cat to carry out his own diabolical ends.

489
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,640
Covering the animal's claws with a concentrated extract of venom

490
00:33:36,079 --> 00:33:39,000
made from the poison of the cobra, he had turned

491
00:33:39,039 --> 00:33:42,039
it loose, leaving it to fate as to where death

492
00:33:42,079 --> 00:33:47,119
would strike. Peck was likely to be the first. He

493
00:33:47,319 --> 00:33:49,960
was the cat's master, and the animal would be more

494
00:33:50,079 --> 00:33:53,960
likely to be with him than anyone else. That it

495
00:33:54,039 --> 00:33:57,079
was Lanigan who was the first was simply one of

496
00:33:57,119 --> 00:34:02,519
those peculiar freaks of chance. The cat, purring contentedly on

497
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:07,599
Lenigan's lap, had stuck his claws slightly into the servant's knee.

498
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:12,320
Lenigan had worn thick trousers, and as a result, a

499
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,480
great deal of the poison rubbed off as the claws

500
00:34:15,519 --> 00:34:19,760
went through. He was therefore not strickened until during the night,

501
00:34:20,039 --> 00:34:24,440
when the venom had gone entirely through his system. On

502
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,639
the other hand, deats wearing a pair of thin trousers,

503
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,400
and there might have been more of the poison on

504
00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:33,840
the cat's claws, or it may have been Fresher was

505
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:40,119
strickened almost immediately after the sharp points had penetrated his flesh. Bixby,

506
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:44,119
a native of South Africa, was an adept on poisons,

507
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,880
which led to the fact that he finally selected this

508
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:51,880
subtle method of committing his crimes. Located so close to

509
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,599
the pack house, he was able to see from his

510
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,480
window a great deal of what was going on around

511
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,880
the mansion. As a result, when the the coroner called,

512
00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:05,039
he knew that death through the cat had struck, but

513
00:35:05,119 --> 00:35:09,480
he did not know who. He had a Confederate station downtown,

514
00:35:09,599 --> 00:35:14,159
somewhere close to the Pennsylvania station. It was but the

515
00:35:14,159 --> 00:35:16,639
work of seconds to call the ladder up and instruct

516
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,039
him to call Peck to the phone. When the latter

517
00:35:20,159 --> 00:35:23,559
answered in person, the Confederate knew that death had struck

518
00:35:23,599 --> 00:35:28,599
someone else, and so informed Bixby. The second phone call

519
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:32,360
was sent in a spirit of mere braggadocio. After Tetu's

520
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:36,199
clause had been smeared for a third time with the poison,

521
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,960
the coffin was sent for the same reason, to break

522
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:46,280
down Peck's morale. How do I know these things? Conjecture

523
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:51,440
and conjecture. Only At first I imagined, as did doctor

524
00:35:51,519 --> 00:35:55,800
Maxwell and the coroner, that the two punctures in Lennigan's

525
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:59,360
leg were caused by the fangs of a snake. The

526
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,599
fact that the symptoms where all those of snake bite

527
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,599
led to this deduction. It was not until Deets had

528
00:36:06,599 --> 00:36:10,039
died and missus Mulkaye had told me that Teta had

529
00:36:10,039 --> 00:36:13,159
been on his lap at the time that the idea

530
00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:17,079
suddenly came to me. Coupled with this fact was that

531
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:20,199
of finding a puncture on Deete's legs similar to that

532
00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:23,920
on the leg of Lannigan. I had noticed the cat's

533
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,920
habit of pressing his claws into everything on which he sat.

534
00:36:28,679 --> 00:36:30,800
Pack had told me that the cat was a favorite

535
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:33,519
of the two men who had died. I put two

536
00:36:33,519 --> 00:36:37,239
and two together and made four of them. When I

537
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,320
borrowed the cat, I took him to my room and

538
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,960
with my hands gloved, scraped his claws and submitted the

539
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:50,039
scraping to chemical tests. The result showed snake venom. The

540
00:36:50,119 --> 00:36:53,719
remainder was easy. I had only to disinfect the cat's

541
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:58,119
claws and then turn him loose. When my men reported

542
00:36:58,159 --> 00:37:01,360
where he went, I summoned Chitchens and asked him to

543
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,320
station his men near the house. When the cat returned,

544
00:37:05,639 --> 00:37:08,519
I seized him before he had had an opportunity of

545
00:37:08,639 --> 00:37:13,360
killing any one else, and again scraped his claws. The

546
00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:18,440
chemical tests showed snake venom in great quantities. The raid

547
00:37:18,519 --> 00:37:22,800
on the house at fourteen twenty four followed. I have

548
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,119
often wondered if Teta knows the part he played in

549
00:37:26,199 --> 00:37:29,119
the death of his two friends and the detection of

550
00:37:29,159 --> 00:37:35,039
the murderers. Who knows the end of the cat's paw