Circumstantial Evidence

Chapter I

It was on the morning of October i 1 89-, that, on taking up the Daily Telegraph, I was startled by reading the following announcement : 'Supposed Mysterious Murder. — Late on Monday evening the body of Mr. G. W. Masters, of Hillside, near Chillingby, was found within a few hundred yards of his own house, and in fact in the pleasure grounds, shot through the head. ' A revolver lay by his side, which weapon has since been proved to be the property of Mr. G. Whitacker, who has been arrested. ' Mr. G. Whitacker is a well-known soli citor in the town, and very much respected. ' Whilst admitting the ownership of the revolver, he states that it was stolen from his room on the day of the crime. ' The inquest takes place to-morrow, when something may transpire that will throw further light on the matter,' I was dumbfounded.

What ! poor old George arrested on a charge of murder ? Impossible! and yet there it was in black and white before me. Now, Whitacker and I were chums ; we had been boys at school together, were at Cambridge, and I thought as much of him as I did of my own brother. Several times I had visited him at Chillingby. In my own heart. I was assured of his innocence, but at a time like the present of what use was idle sympathy ? So, thanking my lucky stars that my father and the well-known private detective, Mr. Walters, of Cockspur Street, were on such intimate terms with each other, I hailed a cab, and at once proceeded to the latter gentleman's office. After exchanging the usual greetings, I, in as few words as possible, told him I wanted to avail myself of his services, and asked him if he would accompany me to Chillingby ; and he being quite willing, we in a very short space of time found ourselves bowling along in an express, bound for the scene of the tragedy. ' Now,' said Mr. Walters, as soon as we were seated in a first-class carriage, which we fortunately had to ourselves, ' I want you to tell me a little about your friend Whitacker — in fact, anything that you think may be of any use to me.' ' Well,' I replied, ' it is now about three years ago since George purchased the business, and since then he has been, vulgarly speaking, going great guns.

Eighteen months ago he was introduced to Mr. Masters, who is, or was, rather, a very large landed proprietor there. He was also what the world calls a self-made man, and had an only daughter, who is spoken of as being a most beautiful young girl. My friend transacted all his business for him, and was soon on visiting terms, with the result that he fell in love with I the charming Ethel, who returned his affection. Unfortunately, however, her father had other views, and wished her to marry a penniless young nobleman, Lord Ollick, who was also fascinated by the charms of the fair Ethel, but who found no favour in her sight. The consequence was that when my friend proposed and asked for her hand in marriage, about two months ago, he was refused by the father, who forbade him to communicate with her in any way whatever, and forthwith took his business to another firm.

Still, as you will see by this letter, my friend did not despair of ultimately winning her for his bride.' The letter ran : ' My dear old Chum, ' No doubt you are wondering at my long silence, but you know what a blow it has been to me, feeling I had lost my darling Ethel ; life appeared to have become a blank, and I seemed to have lost all interest in everything. ' Still, human nature is, after all, a queer combination, and I now have hope again. I accidentally met Ethel last evening, and, needless to say, we put aside all precau tion, and forgot for the time being the gulf that yawns between us and our happiness. ' She told me that no power on earth should induce her to marry his lordship; and as many young couples have (in similar circumstances) done before, we came to the conclusion that we could wait patiently, vowed eternal constancy, and resolved to see if time and perseverance could not re move the obstacle to our union. ' So here I am, still plodding away, and about as busy as I possibly can be. ' Hoping you will find time to run down shortly to spend a day or two with me, and trusting the world is treating you well, ' Believe me, ' Your old chum, ' George.' 'Well,' said Walters, 'before venturing on an opinion I must hear more from the people down there.

Circumstantial evidence very often goes a long way towards hanging a man, and it seems to me there Circumstantial Evidenck is likely to be plenty of it here. That the revolver should be the property of the accused is of itself a very ugly business. Still, looking at it from a common sense point of view, it seems the height of improbability that a man like Whitacker should commit such a crime, and personally I am inclined to believe him innocent, and shall feel only too glad if we can prove it.' But the train having pulled up at the station where we wished to alight, our conversation was at this point interrupted. Calling a cab, we drove to the Grey hound Hotel, where we had lunch, and then started for the deceased's residence, as I felt certain that Miss Masters would be amongst those who believed poor George not guilty, and I relied on her to help us all in her power in the matter.

That it was not a pleasant duty to have to interview a delicate and refined young lady, stricken down with the double sorrow of having her father assassinated and her lover arrested, accused of his murder, I am sure my readers will agree, and I will leave them to imagine my feelings as I rang the bell of the late Mr. Masters' residence. George had introduced me to Ethel on one of my visits, and she was rightly considered handsome. Tall and stately in figure, with a quantity of golden hair, large blue eyes — and what expression they had in them, to be sure ! — rather an aquiline nose, the daintiest of little mouths, and a chin that proved at once that the owner had a will of her own. I am not good, I know, at describing faces, but when I say that every feature was in unison, and that if an artist had wished to portray the goddess Venus he could not have wished for a better model than Miss Masters, my readers can better imagine than my pen can describe her loveliness.

When we were ushered into her pre sence she was dressed in deep mourning, and though I was shocked to see what havoc grief had played with her, and how haggard and worn she looked, yet the most unimpressionable, even at such a time, must have recognised a beauty of no uncommon type. 'Oh, how good of you to come, Mr. Hennicker !' she said, shaking hands. ' I am sure you will do all you can to help George, won't you ?' and here she burst out crying. ' My dear Miss Masters,' was my answer, ' that is exactly the object of my visit ; but I should not have dared to come had I not felt sure that you believed him innocent. And I have brought with me valuable assistance in Mr. Walters, the noted private detective.' Until now she had not noticed that I had a companion, but, bowing to Walters, as she recovered her composure, she ex pressed her pleasure in meeting him, and readiness to answer his questions. ' Will you kindly tell me, as far as you can remember, what transpired on the evening of the crime, and what has been done since ?' said he. ' It was about half-past seven ; we had finished dinner, and father complained of headache, and said he would take a stroll.

He went out, and it was, as near as I can remember, about ten o'clock that Mary, the housemaid, came in to me, saying : ' " Oh, please, miss, something dreadful has happened to master ! Will you please come to the dining-room." ' "What is it?" I said. ' " He has met with a dreadful accident ; in fact, miss — oh, please don't give way ! but he has been shot, and we are afraid it is all over with him !" ' " Have you sent for the doctor ?" ' " Yes, miss ; Jones has gone for him." ' Father was unconscious, but still living, when I reached his side ; however, it needed no second glance to tell me he was mortally wounded, and he expired about a quarter of an hour after I entered the room.' ' Who found him ?' 'Jones, as he was coming back from Chillingby, where he had been to post some letters.' ' Were you not uneasy at his prolonged absence ?' ' No ; because I thought he had probably gone to his club, as he sometimes did.' ' A revolver was found by his side, I believe ?' ■ Yes.' ' Has anything fresh happened that gives the police any clue ?' ' Well, they were here, and searched poor father's rooms, and discovered a letter in his waste-paper basket.' ' Ah !' from the detective, ' and did they show you the letter ?' 'Yes.' ' Then, in that case, you can tell me the contents ?' ' Only that it was to ask father to be at the stile between seven and eight that evening.' ' And who was it from ?' ' That we do not know, as unfortunately the latter portion was torn off, and cannot be found.' ' It was not in the handwriting of anyone you know ?' ' No ' — hesitatingly. ' Miss Masters, you hesitate.

You know, if you wish me to help you, you must not keep anything back.' ' No, I do not know,' answered Ethel ; ' but it was very like George's. Yet I am sure it was not his.' ' That is to say, it was either his or someone had attempted to imitate it ; do I read your thoughts correctly ?' Yes, that is my opinion. Did you tell the police this ?' No.' ' Had your father, do you know, any enemies ?' ' Not to my knowledge. ' He had not been on friendly terms with Mr. Whitacker since the breaking off of your engagement, I believe ; am I correct ?' 'Quite.' ' Excuse the question, but have you ever heard Mr. Whitacker use language at any time which might be construed into a threat towards your father ?' ' Never. The last time I saw him was when we met accidentally about a fortnight ago, and the only thing he said was that he could not understand any man blighting his child's life by selling her, as it were, to satisfy his own whims and ambitions.' ' Your father had said nothing to you about the receipt of that letter ?' ' No ; he very seldom mentioned business matters to me.' ' Was anything missing from your father's person ?' ' No ; his pockets had not been touched, and all the jewellery he wore was intact.' ' Robbery was not, then, the motive,' said the detective to himself, ' but revenge ;' and then aloud : ' Well, young lady, I have no more questions to ask you at present ; but if you will let Jones know I want him, we will go and have a look at the spot where the deed was committed.' The man was soon in attendance, so, wishing Miss Masters 'Good-day,' and bidding her hope for the speedy release of her lover, we started down the drive. To make my readers clearly understand, however, I must give them a short descrip tion of the property.

Chapter II

Hillside was a small but compact man sion of Elizabethan architecture, situated about midway between Chillingby and the village of Newcourt. It stood about half a mile from the main road, and was approached by a carriage - drive, at the entrance of which was the lodge occupied by the coachman. The stabling and kitchen-gardens were in the rear, whilst immediately in front were the commodious and artistically laid-out pleasure-grounds, with their tennis-courts, etc. Then came some meadow-land, and half way down the drive, on the one side were fields, and on the other side was a plantation. It was through this plantation that a footpath ran, the same being a short cut from Chillingby to Newcourt, and it was by the stile at the entrance of the footpath that the crime had been perpe trated. And now to resume my story.

Jones, who was groom in the employ of deceased, could tell us nothing but what we already knew. He was, as we know, returning from the post, when he discovered the unconscious form of his master. He at once gave the alarm, and with assistance carried him to the house. A large blood-stain still marked the spot where the victim had fallen, and the detective, taking in the situation at a glance, said : ' Poor fellow ! he was evidently lured to his doom by the writer of that letter, and I should think that it was from behind this tree that the assassin fired the fatal shot.' The tree spoken of was a large oak, standing on the inner side of the wood, and close to the stile. The undergrowth round it was, comparatively speaking, short, but very thick. Walters, whilst making these observations, had gone round the tree, and we saw him suddenly stoop down, and pick up something which caused him to utter an exclamation of surprise.

What he had found proved to be a dagger, of rather quaint workmanship and peculiar design. It measured quite eighteen inches in length, the blade being about a foot long. The handle was ivory, and exquisitely carved, whilst engraved on the one side of the blade was a skull and cross-bones. It was but slightly rusted, as though by the overnight's dew having fallen upon it. 'Hullo! here is something that may help us,' said the detective ; ' and, Jones, I am glad you are here to witness the finding of it ; but for reasons of my own I wish this discovery for the present to be kept strictly to ourselves.' The man promised secrecy, and then, as there seemed nothing further to be gained by waiting, we left him, and walked back to our hotel. Not a word, however, could I get out of my companion until after dinner, and then, when we had adjourned to our private room and started smoking, he said, in answer to a question from me as to what he thought of it : ' Well, to the outside public matters look very black against your friend, and I guess that they will look blacker still before to-morrow evening.

It is a queer business, and until we found this weapon ' — alluding to the dagger — ' I felt all in the dark.' ' Might I ask why you wish the dis covery to be kept private ?' ' Certainly. You see, if it were known the owner would be doubly on his guard ; as it is, I should imagine that he does not feel quite comfortable about its loss.' ' Then, you do not now — whatever you did at first — think George guilty ?' ' No ; I most assuredly do not.' ' In what way do you connect the weapon we have in our possession with the crime ?' ' Ah ! that is it, of course ; but my theory is this : that the owner of this article is the murderer, and he intended using it to commit the deed. By some means or other, which it is now our business to discover, he became possessed of the revolver now in the hands of the police, and made use of it, as being more sure, in the first place, and then, secondly, he intentionally left it so as to fasten the guilt on your friend, dropping his own dagger by accident.' ' It is strange that the police did not find it, or that the owner did not return to look for it.' ' Not at all.

These fellows are such noodles. Mr. Masters died from the effects of a bullet-wound. They had the revolver from which the fatal shot was undoubtedly fired. It would, therefore, never occur to them to make any further search, and as to the owner of it — well, I euess he would not care to run the risk of being found hanging about the locality. No doubt we have been, to say the least of it, extremely fortunate so soon to hit upon what may prove an invaluable clue, but even now it will need all our brains and energy to bring home the crime to the guilty party.' ' You seem to have no doubt about ultimately succeeding,' said I. 'None whatever,' he answered; 'but, you see, we have only a limited time at our disposal, for if we cannot prove our suspicions by finding our man before the trial, I have very little doubt but that these blockheads will be able to weave a sufficiently strong chain of evidence around Whitacker to hang him.' ' Good heavens !

But do you mean to say that you anticipate his being committed for trial ?' ' Most certainly I do, unless we are wonderfully lucky.' ' What do you propose doing next ?' ' To-morrow morning we must walk over and inspect Whitacker's apartments. You see, if his statement be true, the revolver was stolen from his rooms, and I want to view the place, to form an opinion as to whether this was possible or not ; but, if you don't mind, I shall now wish you "Good-night," as it is not wise for me to make myself too conspicuous, and, besides, I want to think out a plan of action, which of course will be based on the assumption that my theory is right.' George, as I knew, occupied apartments in a pretty little detached, double-fronted villa just outside Newcourt, on the Chil lingby side of the village, and standing close to the road ; and it so happened that at this spot was one end of the footpath which I have before named.

This fact is mentioned en passant as being of importance later on. Two maiden sisters, named Knowles, were the tenants, and, the house being full large for them, they let off a couple of rooms. These, as I say, were occupied by my friend. The one was a commodious sitting room, having large French windows open ing on to the lawn in front of the house, and the other, which was immediately above, was his bedroom. He was in the habit of going backwards and forwards to lunch, unless prevented by stress of weather or business engagements, when he would lunch at his club ; for, as he said, the walk was just what he wanted after the close confinement of his office. When we arrived here the next morning, the door was opened by Miss Knowles senior, who at once recognised me. 2 ' Oh, Mr. Hennicker, isn't this a sad piece of business!

Poor Mr. Whitacker! whoever would have thought that anything so dreadful could have happened !' and then she went off into a perfect eulogy of my friend's good qualities. After the old lady had fairly exhausted herself, I introduced Walters, who then began her cross-examination, as it were. 'This,' he began, 'is the room oc cupied by Mr. Whitacker as a sitting room ?' 'Yes.' ' And he was in the habit of coming home to lunch ?' ' He generally did so.' ' Did he on Monday last ? ' No. He told me in the morning that he would be detained by a business appointment, and that he would not be home until about half-past eight.' ' Was that later than usual ?' 'Yes — two hours.' ' I suppose somebody was in the house all that particular day ?' ' No ; I had sent the maid into Chil lingby to see her mother, who is ill ; and my sister and I went out for a walk in the afternoon.' What time did you go out ?' About three o'clock.' And returned when ?' At five.' This piece of information having been made a careful note of by the detective, he proceeded : ' And did you find all secure when you came in ?' ' Yes.' ' You are sure that this window, for instance, was fastened ?' 'Quite.' ' Absolutely certain of it ?' ' Yes ; because when we got back I came into this room, and, as it seemed rather close, I opened it.' ' Have you ever seen the revolver ' Yes ; it was only the other day that poor Mr. Whitacker bought it.' ' Really !

Did he give you any reasons for so doing ?' ' Oh yes ! There have been several burglaries in the neighbourhood lately, and my sister and I were rather nervous. A few days ago, when he came home, he said : " Look here, Miss Knowles : I have got something that will give those burglar gentry a warm reception if they decide on paying us a visit." ' ' What time did he return on Monday last ?' 'About half-past eight, as he had said he should do when he left in the morning.' Did he seem at all excited ?' No, not in the least.' Was he in his usual spirits ?' ' No ; he seemed very dull and de pressed, and complained of feeling ill ; said he thought he would go to bed, and, after having some hot gruel I made him, did so.' ' When was the revolver first missed ?' ' Next morning, when Mary came in to bring him his breakfast, he said to her : "What has become of my revolver?" and she answered, " I don't know, sir, but I will ask missus," which she did.

Of course, though, I knew nothing of it.' ' Where did he say he left it ?' ' On the bureau there.' ' When was this ?' ' Monday morning.' ' You did not miss it when you came in after he had gone ?' ' No ; and if I had, I certainly should only have thought that he had put it away.' ' Well, Miss Knowles, it does not seem as if you can help us much,' said Walters, ' and, as our time is precious, we will wish you good-morning.' ' Good-morning, sir ; and I am sure that you have the best wishes of my sister and myself in trying to prove his innocence, for a kinder-hearted, nicer gentleman never breathed than he is, and I am sure he would not willingly hurt a fly, much less commit murder.' ' Not much of a morning's work,' said Walters, as we started on our homeward walk. ' I am afraid our friend's evidence will only tend to implicate Whitacker rather than the other thing.

You see, that window is just the place for a fellow to walk in, if by any chance it had been left open, and so far so good ; but, then, the old lady is so positive and clear about its being safely fastened on Monday during their absence, which destroys any hope we might have entertained in that direction. Up to now, the difficulty of proving our supposition only increases.' ' Never mind, don't lose heart ; let us wait for the report of the inquest, and see if we can gather anything fresh from that.'

Chapter III

' Evening Mail ! Paper ! The murder of Mr. Masters ! Full report of the inquest and verdict this day ! Paper !' yelled the newspaper boys, and we were not slow to possess ourselves of a copy. ' Let us retire to our room,' said Walters, ' and read carefully through it.' Starting a cigar, as he always did when he wanted to think, and settling himself down in his easy -chair, he bade me commence. It ran as follows : ' The inquest on the body of the late G. W. Masters, Esq., was held at the Town Hall this morning at 12 o'clock. ' The jury, after having been sworn, proceeded to the residence of the deceased to view the body. It was, therefore, not until about 12.45 that the first witness was called. ' Thomas Jones deposed : ' " I am a groom, and was in the employ of the deceased gentleman. On the even ing of the murder I was returning from Chillingby, where I had been to post some letters for the master, when I discovered him lying mortally wounded in the road way, and on the side close to the stile."

At what time was this ?" ' "As near as I can say, about a quarter to ten." ' " What did you do then ?" ' " Went back to the lodge, and got Smith, the coachman, to assist me in carrying him to the house." ' " When did you notice the revolver ?" ' "When Smith and I lifted him up ; it was lying close to his side." '"You did not hear or see anything going up the drive ?" '"No; I did not hear anything; and although the moon was just rising, it was too dark under the shadow of the wood to see much." ' William Smith was then called, and cor roborated the evidence of the last witness. ' Dr. Lane then deposed that he was summoned by the groom shortly after ten, and immediately proceeded to Hillside. On arriving there he found, however, that he was too late to render any assistance, death having already taken place. ' " Could the wound possibly have been self-inflicted ?" '"No; the bullet had entered behind the right ear, and, taking a slanting and upward direction, had passed out on the other side of the head." ' " At what distance do you suppose the shot was fired ?" ' " I should say that the assassin was within a couple of yards of his victim." ' " How long a time, in your opinion, had elapsed between the crime being com mitted and your arrival ?" ' " It is difficult to say, owing to some men having a greater amount of vitality than others ; but the deceased being a man of robust constitution, and in the best of health, I should say about a couple of hours." ' " If you had arrived earlier, do you think you could possibly have saved the deceased's life ?"

No ; most decidedly not." Constable Brown, 42 X, was then called. ' He stated that he arrived in company of another officer at the residence of the deceased, took possession of the weapon, and together they proceeded to the stile, but failed to find any further clue, and on visiting the spot again early next morning met with a similar result. He also deposed to finding the letter we have already spoken of in the waste-paper basket in Mr. Masters' room. It ran as follows : " Sir, ' " If you will meet me at the plantation stile between seven and eight o'clock this evening, I shall be able to give you some information which will be to your advantage to know. I hope you will not disappoint me, as the matter is " ' Here the remainder of the letter had been torn off, and although every effort had been made to discover the missing portion, they had failed. ' " Have you any idea who the letter was from ?" ' " We believe it to be in the handwriting of the accused."

And here several of his (Mr. Whitacker's) letters were given to the Coroner, who, after perusing and com paring them with the other document, handed both to the jury, saying as he did so : ' " You will notice, gentlemen, the great similarity between the letter which is of such vital importance and those before you, particularly in the peculiar formation of the letter y." ' James Sparrow was then called, and deposed to having met the prisoner at the Newcourt end of the pathway on the preceding Monday evening about a few minutes past eight ; he was walking into Chillingby, and going round by the road, when he met Mr. Whitacker. ' Questioned as to whether he noticed anything unusual in that gentleman's manner, he unhesitatingly said " No." He was a jobbing gardener, and often worked for the Misses Knowles, and it was on this and other ordinary topics of conversation that they talked.' Miss Masters was the next witness, and after her followed Miss Knowles, but as their evidence was simply a repetition of what they told the detective, I will not weary the reader with it. 'George Whitacker, the prisoner, who elected to give evidence, was then sworn. 'The Coroner: "The deceased and yourself were not on good terms, I believe?" ' " No ; but unless it is absolutely neces sary I would rather not go into the details on this painful part of the subject." '" We will not press it.