Final Proof; Or, The Value of Evidence

by Rodrigues Ottolengui

  V

  A SINGULAR ABDUCTION

  Mr. Barnes was alone in his sanctum when an elderly gentleman ofcultured manners was ushered in. The visitor sank into a seat and beganhis appeal at once.

  "Oh, Mr. Barnes," said he, "I am in great distress. I hardly dared tohope that assistance was possible until I met my friend, Mr. LeroyMitchel. You know him?" Mr. Barnes assented with a smile. "Well,"continued the old gentleman, "Mr. Mitchel said that you could surelyassist me."

  "Certainly. I will do all that is in my power," said the detective.

  "You are very kind. I hope you can aid me. But let me tell you thestory. I am Richard Gedney, the broker. Perhaps you have heard thename?" Mr. Barnes nodded. "I thought so. 'Old Dick,' they call me on thestreet, and sometimes 'Old Nick,' but that is only their joke. I do notbelieve they really dislike me, though I have grown rich. I have nevercheated any one, nor wronged a friend in my life. But that isimmaterial, except that it makes it hard to understand how any onecould have done me the great injury of stealing my daughter."

  "Stealing your daughter?" interrupted the detective. "Abduction?"

  "Abduction I suppose is your technical term. I call it plain stealing.To take a girl of fourteen away from her father's home is stealing,plain and simple."

  "When did this occur?"

  "Two days ago. Tuesday morning we missed her, though she may have beentaken in the night. She was slightly ill on Monday evening, and her maidsent for our doctor, who ordered her to be put to bed and kept there.Next morning, that is, Tuesday, he called early, as he was going out onhis rounds. He was admitted by the butler and went straight up to herroom. He came down a few minutes later, rang the door-bell to call aservant, and reported that the child was not in her room. He left wordthat she must be put back to bed and that he would return in an hour.The butler gave the message to her maid, who became alarmed, as shesupposed her mistress to be in bed. A search was begun, but the childhad vanished."

  "How is it, Mr. Gedney, that the doctor did not speak to you personallyinstead of to the servant?"

  "I cannot too much condemn myself. You see, I am an old whist player,and the temptation to play made me linger so late with some friends onMonday night that I preferred to remain in Newark where I was, and sodid not reach home till ten o'clock Tuesday morning. By that time themisfortune had occurred."

  "Have you made no discoveries as to what has become of her?"

  "None. We have sent to all of our friends in the vain hope that shemight have arisen early and gone out, but no one has seen her. She hasdisappeared as thoroughly as though she had been swallowed by anearthquake. Here, however, is a letter which reached me this morning. Icannot tell whether there is anything in it, or whether it is merely acruel joke perpetrated by some crank who has heard of my loss." Hehanded the letter to the detective, who read as follows:

  "Your daughter is safe if you are sensible. If you want her back all youhave to do is to state your figures. Make them high enough, and she'llbe with you. Put a 'Personal' in the _Herald_ for D. M., and I willanswer."

  "Mr. Gedney," said Mr. Barnes, "I am afraid this is a serious case. Whathas been done has been so thoroughly well accomplished that I believe wehave no fool to deal with. His is a master hand. We must begin our workat once. I will take this up personally. Come, we must go out."

  They proceeded first to the _Herald_ uptown office, and Mr. Barnesinserted the following advertisement:

  "D. M. Communicate at once, stating lowest terms. GEDNEY."

  "Now we will go to your home, Mr. Gedney," said Mr. Barnes, and thitherthey went.

  Seating himself in a comfortable leather chair in the library, Mr.Barnes asked that the butler should be called. The man entered the room,and it was apparent at once that here was a good servant of the Englishtype.

  "Moulton," began Mr. Barnes, "I am a detective. I am going to find outwhere your young mistress has been taken."

  "I hope so, sir," said the butler.

  "Very well," said the detective. "Now answer a few questions explicitly,and you may give me great assistance. On Tuesday morning you admittedthe doctor. At what time was it?"

  "It was about eight o'clock, sir. We had just taken our seats atbreakfast in the servants' hall, when the bell rang. That is how I knowthe hour. We are regular about meals in this house. We eat at eight andthe master at nine."

  "What happened when you admitted the doctor?"

  "He asked for Miss Nora, and I told him she was not down yet. He said hesupposed he could go up, and I said I supposed so, and he went."

  "What did you do next?"

  "I went back to my breakfast."

  "Did you tell the maid that the doctor had called?"

  "Not just then, sir, for she had not come into the breakfast-room."

  "When did you tell her?"

  "After I saw the doctor the second time. I heard the door-bell again andwent up, when, to my surprise, there was the doctor. He said he rangbecause he did not know how else to call me. Then he said that Miss Norahad left her room, which was against the orders he gave the nightbefore, and that I was to tell the maid to have her back to bed, and hewould call again. I went back to the breakfast-room. This time the maidwas there, and frightened she was when I gave her the message."

  "How long was it after you admitted the doctor the first time, when youanswered his second ring?"

  "I should think five minutes, sir; though it might have been ten."

  "And during this five or ten minutes the maid was not in thebreakfast-room?"

  "No, sir."

  "Send her to me." The butler left the room, and, whilst waiting for themaid, Mr. Barnes addressed Mr. Gedney.

  "Mr. Gedney," said he, "you have not told me the name of the doctor."

  "His name is Donaldson. Everybody knows Dr. Donaldson."

  "Has he served you long?"

  "Ever since I came to live in this neighborhood. About two years, Ishould say. He has seemed to be very fond of Elinora. Why, he has beenhere a half-dozen times asking for news of her since her disappearance.He has a curious theory which I can hardly credit. He thinks she mayhave wandered off in the night, asleep. But then he has not seen thisletter from 'D. M.' yet."

  "I would like to speak to him about his somnambulistic idea. Do youthink he will drop in to-day?"

  "He may be in at any moment, as he has not called yet this morning. Hereis my daughter's maid."

  This directed the attention of Mr. Barnes to a young woman who at thatmoment entered. She was evidently dreadfully alarmed at being summonedto meet a detective, and her eyes showed that she had been weeping.

  "Come, my girl," said Mr. Barnes, reassuringly, "you need not befrightened. I am not an ogre. I only wish to ask you a few questions.You are willing to help me find your mistress, are you not?"

  "Oh, indeed, indeed yes, sir!"

  "Then begin by telling me how she was on Monday night when you sent forthe doctor."

  The girl composed herself with an effort, evidently satisfied that adetective was just like any ordinary man, and replied:

  "Miss Nora acted rather odd all Monday, and was melancholy like. Shewould sit and stare out of the window and not answer when she was spokento. I thought perhaps something had bothered her, and so I left heralone, meaning to speak to her father at dinner-time. But he sent atelegram saying he had to go out of town. So when Miss Nora wouldn'tcome down to dinner, and wouldn't answer me, but just kept staring outof the window, I got scared a little, and thought it best to send forDr. Donaldson."

  "What did he say when he came?"

  "He talked to her, but she wouldn't answer him either. He patted her onthe head, and said she was sulky. Then he told me perhaps she was angrybecause her father hadn't come home, but that she must not be allowed tobrood over trifles. He said I must put her to bed, and he gave her somemedicine that he said would put her to sleep."

  "Did you have any trouble to get her to bed?"
>
  "No, sir, though that was strange. She just stood still and let me doeverything. She did not help me or prevent me."

  "When did you see her after that?"

  "I never saw her after that," and she began to cry softly.

  "Come, come, don't cry. Your mistress is all right. I will bring herback. Now tell me why you did not see her again. Is it not your businessto attend her in the morning?"

  "Yes, sir, but she only gets up about eight o'clock, and the doctor toldme he would call the first thing in the morning, and that I must notdisturb her till he came. He said he wanted to wake her himself and seehow she acted."

  "You were not in the breakfast-room at eight o'clock," said thedetective, watching her closely; "where were you?"

  The girl turned crimson, and stammered a few words inaudibly.

  "Come, tell me where you were. You were somewhere, you know. Where wereyou?"

  "I was in the downstairs hallway," she said, slowly.

  "Doing what?"

  "I was talking to the policeman," she replied, more reluctantly.

  "Your beau?" asked Mr. Barnes, significantly.

  "No, sir. He is my husband." She tossed her head defiantly, now that hersecret was divulged.

  "Your husband?" said Mr. Barnes, slightly surprised. "Why, then, did youhesitate to tell me of him?"

  "Because--because,"--she stammered, again much troubled,--"because,maybe, if I hadn't been talking to him, Miss Nora wouldn't have beencarried off. He might have seen the thief."

  "Just so," said Mr. Barnes. "Well, that will do." The girl retired onlytoo gladly.

  Mr. Barnes asked to be shown the room where the missing girl had slept,and made minute examinations of everything. Up in the room a thoughtoccurred to him, and he once more asked for the maid.

  "Can you tell me," he asked, "whether your mistress took any of herclothing with her?"

  "Well, sir," she replied, "I miss the whole suit that she wore onMonday. It looks as though she must have dressed herself."

  Mr. Barnes made a few notes in his memorandum-book, and then with Mr.Gedney returned to the library. Here they found Dr. Donaldson, who hadarrived whilst they were upstairs. Mr. Gedney introduced the doctor, agenial, pleasant man, who shook Mr. Barnes cordially by the hand,saying:

  "I am delighted, Mr. Barnes, that my old friend Gedney has been sensibleenough to engage you to unravel this affair rather than call in thepolice. The police are bunglers anyway, and only make scandal andpublicity. You have looked into the matter, eh? What do you think?"

  "That is precisely the question, Doctor, which I wish to ask you. Whatdo you think? Mr. Gedney says you suggest somnambulism."

  "I only said it might be that. I would not like to be too positive. Youknow that I called to see the dear girl Monday night. Well, I found herin a strange mood. In fact, thinking it over, I have almost convincedmyself that what we took for stubbornness--sulks, I think I calledit--was somnambulism. That, in fact, she was asleep when I saw her. Thatwould account for her not replying to questions, and offering noresistance when her maid removed her clothing to put her to bed. Stillit is merely a guess. It is possible that she got up in the night andwandered out of the house. I only venture it as a possibility, a chanceclue for you to work on."

  "What do you think of this letter?" asked Mr. Barnes, handing the doctorthe anonymous communication from "D. M."

  The doctor read it over twice, and then said:

  "Looks more like somnambulism than ever. Don't you see? She dressedherself in the night, and wandered off. Some scoundrel has found her andtaken her to his home. Knowing that her father has money, he holds herfor ransom."

  "How do you know, Doctor," said Mr. Barnes, quietly, "that 'D. M.' is ahe? The communication is in typewriting, so that nothing can be learnedfrom the chirography."

  "Of course I don't know it," said the doctor, testily. "Still I'll wagerthat no woman ever concocted this scheme."

  "Again, how should her abductor know that her father is rich?"

  "Why, I suppose her name may be on her clothing, and once he discoveredher parentage, he would know that. However he found it out, it is plainthat he does know, or how could they, or he, or she, if you wish me tobe so particular, have written this letter?"

  This was unanswerable, so Mr. Barnes remained silent.

  "What move will you make first?" asked the doctor.

  Mr. Barnes told him of the advertisement which he had inserted, and tookhis departure, requesting that if Mr. Gedney received any answer heshould be notified at once.

  About half-past ten the next morning, Mr. Gedney presented himself tothe detective and handed him the following letter:

  "I am glad you are sensible. Saw your advertisement, and I answer at once. I want twenty thousand dollars. That is my price. Now note what I have to say, and let me emphasize the fact that I mean every word. This is my first offer. Any dickering will make me increase my price, and I will never decrease it. To save time, let me tell you something else. I have no partner in this, so there is no one to squeal on me. No one on earth but myself knows where the girl is. Now for future arrangements. You will want to communicate with me. I don't mean you to have any chance to catch me with decoy letters or anything of that sort. I know already that you have that keen devil Barnes helping you. But he'll meet his match this time. Here is my plan. You, or your detective, I don't care which, must go to the public telephone station in the Hoffman House at two o'clock sharp. I will go to another, never mind where, and will ring you up. When you answer, I will simply say, 'D. M.' You will recognize the signal and can do the talking. I will not answer except by letter, because I won't even run the risk of that detective's hearing my voice, and some time in the future recognizing it. You see, I may need Barnes myself some day and wouldn't like to be deprived of his valuable services. I enclose a piece of the girl's cloth dress and a lock of her hair to show that I am dealing square. "D. M."

  "Mr. Gedney," said Mr. Barnes, "make your mind easy. Your daughter issafe, at all events. I suppose this bit of cloth and the hair satisfyyou that the scoundrel really has her?"

  "Yes, I am convinced of that. But how does that make the girl safe?"

  "The fellow wants the money. It is to his interest to be able to restoreyour daughter. My business shall be to get her without payment ofransom, and to catch the abductor. I'll meet you at the Hoffman House attwo o'clock."

  As soon as Mr. Gedney had gone, Mr. Barnes wrote the following note:

  "DR. DONALDSON:--

  "Dear Sir--I believe that I am on the right track, and all through the clue supplied by yourself. Please aid me a little further. I would like to know the exact size of the missing girl. As a physician, you will supply this even better than the father. Also inform me of any mark or peculiarity by which I might recognize her, alive or dead. Please answer at once. "Yours truly, "J. BARNES."

  This he sent by a messenger, and received the following in reply:

  "MR. BARNES:--

  "Dear Sir--I hope you will succeed. Elinora is small and slim, being rather undersized for her age. I should say about four feet ten inches, or thereabout. I know of no distinctive mark whereby her body could be recognized, and hope that nothing of the sort seemingly suggested may be necessary. "Yours truly, "ROBERT DONALDSON, M.D."

  Mr. Barnes read this, and appeared more pleased than its contents seemedto authorize. At the appointed time he went to the Hoffman House. Hefound Mr. Gedney impatiently walking up and down the lobby.

  "Mr. Gedney," said he, "at the beginning of this case you offered me myown price for recovering your daughter. Now, supposing that you pay thisransom, it would appear that you would have had little need of myservices. If, however, I get your daught
er, and save you the necessityof paying any ransom at all, I suppose you will admit that I have earnedmy reward?"

  "Most assuredly."

  After this, Mr. Gedney was rather startled when he heard what thedetective said to "D. M." through the telephone. They shut themselves upin the little box, and very soon received the call and then the signal"D. M." as agreed. Mr. Barnes spoke to the abductor, who presumably waslistening.

  "We agree to your terms," said he. "That is, we will pay twenty thousanddollars for the return of the girl unharmed. You are so shrewd that wesuppose you will invent some scheme for receiving the money which willprotect you from arrest, but at the same time we must be assured thatthe girl will be returned to us unharmed. In fact, she must be given tous as soon as the money is paid. Notify us immediately, as the father isin a hurry."

  Mr. Barnes put up the instrument and "rang off." Then he turned to Mr.Gedney and said:

  "That may surprise you. But what may astonish you more is that you mustobtain twenty thousand dollars in cash at once. We will need it. Ask noquestions, but depend upon me and trust me."

  On the next day Mr. Gedney received the following letter:

  "You have more sense than I gave you credit for. So has that Barnes fellow, for it was his voice I heard through the 'phone. You accept my terms. Very well. I'll deal square and not raise you, though I ought to have made it twenty-five thousand at least. Come to the 'phone to-day, same hour, and I'll ring you up, from a different station. Then you can tell me if you will be ready to-night, or to-morrow night. Either will suit me. Then here is the plan. You want to be sure the girl is all right. Then let the ambassador be your friend, Doctor Donaldson. He knows the girl and can tell that she is all right. Let him start from his house at midnight, and drive from his office up Madison Avenue rapidly till hailed by the signal 'D. M.' He must go fast enough to prevent being followed on foot. If there is no detective with him or following him, he will be hailed. Otherwise he will be allowed to pass. I will be in hiding with the girl. Warn the doctor that I will be armed, and will have a bead on him all the time. Any treachery will mean death. I will take the cash, give up the girl, and the transaction will be ended."

  When this was shown to the detective, he proposed that he and Mr. Gedneyshould call upon the doctor. This they did, and, after some argument,persuaded him to undertake the recovery of the girl that same night.

  "Mr. Gedney has decided to obtain his child at any sacrifice," said Mr.Barnes, "and this scoundrel is so shrewd that there seems to be no wayto entrap him. No effort will be made to follow you, so you need have nofear of any trouble from the thief. Only be sure that you obtain theright girl. It would be just possible that a wrong one might be given toyou, and a new ransom demanded."

  "Oh, I shall know Elinora," said the doctor. "I will do this, but Ithink we ought to arrest the villain, if possible."

  "I do not despair of doing so," said Mr. Barnes. "Get a glimpse of hisface if you can, and be sure to note where you receive the girl. When weget her she may give me a clue upon which an arrest may be made. We willwait for you at Mr. Gedney's house."

  After midnight that night, Mr. Gedney paced the floor anxiously, whileMr. Barnes sat at a desk looking over some memoranda. Presently he wentinto the hall and had a long talk with the butler. One o'clock passed,and still no news. At half-past, however, horses' hoofs sounded upon theasphalt pavement, and a few minutes later the door-bell jingled. Thedoor was quickly opened, and the doctor entered, bearing little Elinoraasleep in his arms.

  "My daughter!" exclaimed the excited father. "Thank God, she is restoredto me!"

  "Yes," said the doctor, "here she is, safe and sound. I think, though,that she has been drugged, for she has slept ever since I received her."

  "Did you have any trouble?" asked Mr. Barnes, entering at this moment.He had lingered outside in the hall long enough to exchange a word withthe butler.

  "None," said the doctor. "At One Hundred and Second Street I heard thesignal and stopped. A man came out of the shadow of a building, lookedinto the carriage, said 'All right,' and asked if I had the cash. Ireplied affirmatively. He went back to the sidewalk and returned withthe child in his arms, but with a pistol pointed at me. Then he said,'Pass out the money.' I did so, and he seemed satisfied, for he gave methe child, took the package, and ran off. I saw his face, but I fear mydescription will not avail you, for I am sure he was disguised."

  "Very possibly your description will be useless," said Mr. Barnes; "butI have discovered the identity of the abductor."

  "Impossible!" cried the doctor, amazed.

  "Let me prove that I am right," said Mr. Barnes. He went to the door andadmitted the butler, accompanied by the policeman who had been off hisbeat talking with the maid. Before his companions understood what wasabout to happen, Mr. Barnes said:

  "Officer, arrest that man!" Whereupon the policeman seized the doctorand held him as though in a vise.

  "What does this outrage mean?" screamed the doctor, after ineffectuallyendeavoring to release himself.

  "Put on the manacles, officer," said Mr. Barnes; "then we can talk. Heis armed, and might become dangerous." With the assistance of thedetective this was accomplished, and then Mr. Barnes addressed himselfto Mr. Gedney.

  "Mr. Gedney, I had some slight suspicion of the truth after questioningthe butler and the maid, but the first real clue came with the answer tothe 'Personal.' You brought that to me in the morning, and I noted thatit was postmarked at the main office downtown at six A.M. Of course, itwas possible that it might have been written after the appearance of thenewspaper, but if so, the thief was up very early. The doctor, however,knew of the 'Personal' on the day previous, as I told him of it in yourpresence. That letter was written in typewriting, and I observed acurious error in the spelling of three words. I found the words'emphasize,' 'recognize,' and 'recognizing.' In each, instead of the'z,' we have a repetition of the 'i,' that letter being doubled. Ihappen to know something about writing-machines. I felt certain thatthis letter had been written upon a Caligraph. In that machine the barwhich carries the letter 'i' is next to that which carries the letter'z.' It is not an uncommon thing when a typewriter is out of order fortwo bars to fail to pass one another. Thus, in writing 'emphasize' therapid writer would strike the 'z' key before the 'i' had fullydescended. The result would be that the 'z,' rising, would strike the'i' bar and carry it up again, thus doubling the 'i,' instead of writing'iz.' The repetition of the mistake was evidence that it was a faultymachine. I also noted that this anonymous letter was upon paper fromwhich the top had been torn away. I wrote to the doctor here, askingabout the 'size' of the girl, and for any marks whereby we might be ableto 'recognize' the body. I used the words 'size' and 'recognize,' hopingto tempt him to use them also in reply. In his answer I find the word'recognized' and also a similar word, 'undersized.' In both we have arepetition of the double 'i' error. Moreover, the paper of this letterfrom the doctor matched that upon which the anonymous communication hadbeen written, provided I tore off the top, which bore his letterhead.This satisfied me that the doctor was our man. When the last lettercame, proposing that he should be the ambassador, the trick was doublysure. It was ingenious, for the abductor of course assured himself thathe was not followed, and simply brought the girl home. But I set anothertrap. I secretly placed a cyclometer upon the doctor's carriage. He saysthat to-night he drove to One Hundred and Second Street, and back here,a total of ten miles. The cyclometer, which the butler obtained for mewhen the doctor arrived a while ago, shows that he drove less than amile. He simply waited at his house until the proper time to come, andthen drove here, bringing the girl with him."

  The doctor remained silent, but glared venomously at the man who hadoutwitted him.

  "But how did he get Elinora?" asked Mr. Gedney.

  "That queer yarn which he told us about somnambulism first suggested tome that he was possibly less ignorant than he pretended to be. I fear,M
r. Gedney, that your daughter is ill. I judge from the description ofher condition, given by her maid, and admitted by this man, that she wassuffering from an attack of catalepsy when he was summoned. When hecalled the next day, finding the girl still in a trance, he quicklydressed her and took her out to his carriage. Then he coolly returned,announced that she was not in her room, and drove away with her."

  "It seems incredible!" exclaimed Mr. Gedney. "I have known the doctor solong that it is hard to believe that he is a criminal."

  "Criminals," said Mr. Barnes, "are often created by opportunity. Thatwas probably the case here. The case is most peculiar. It is a crimewhich none but a physician could have conceived, and that one fact makespossible what to a casual observer might seem most improbable. Anabduction is rarely successful, because of the difficulties which attendthe crime, not the least of which are the struggles of the victim, andthe story which will be told after the return of the child. Here allthis was obviated. The doctor recognized catalepsy at the first visit.Perhaps during the night the possibility of readily compelling you topay him a large sum of money grew into a tremendous temptation. With theproject half formed, he called the next morning. Circumstances favoredthe design. He found the girl unattended, and unresistant because of hercondition. He likewise knew that when he should have returned her, shecould tell nothing of where she had been, because of her trance. Hestarted downstairs with her. There was no risk. If he had met any one,any excuse for bringing her from her room would have been accepted,because uttered by the family physician. He placed her in the carriageunobserved, and the most difficult part of the affair was accomplished.Many men of high degree are at heart rascals; but through fear, eitherof law or loss of position, they lead fairly virtuous lives. Temptation,accompanied by opportunity, coming to one of these, compasses hisdownfall, as has occurred in this instance. Criminals are recruited fromall classes."

  The ransom money was recovered by searching the apartments of thedoctor, and his guilt was thus indubitably proven. Mr. Mitchel,commenting upon the affair, simply said:

  "I sent you to him, Mr. Gedney, because Mr. Barnes is above his kind. Heis no ordinary detective."