Evening Star Newspaper, August 14, 1921, Page 58

The McMurray Mystery . Malcolm illing Adventure. ge, Detective, Has Another By Herbert Jenkins. F the many problems upom which Malcolm Sage was en- gaged during the early days of the Malqglm Sage Bureau that concerning the death of: Prof. James McMurray, the eminent phys- fologist, was perhaps the most extraor- dipary. It was possessed of several remarkable features; for one thing, the murderer had disappeared, leaving no clue; for another, the body when found seemed to have undergone & strange change, many of the profes- sor's sixty-five years appearing to have dropped from him in death as leaves from an autumn tree. It was one of those strange crimes for which there is no apparent ex- planation, consequently the strongest weapon the investigator has. that of motive, was absent. As far as could be gathered. the dead professor had not an enemy in the world. He was a semi-recluse, with nothing about him to tempt burglary: vet he had been brutally done to death in his own laboratory, and the murderer had made good h's escape without leav- ing anything likely to prove helpful to the police. % X One day as Gladys Norman, like “panting time.” toiled after her work in vain, striving to tap herself up to date with an accumulation of corre- spondence, two men passed through her room. They formed a striking contrast, Sir John Dene. short, thick- “ set, alert. with the stamp of the West End upon all he wore; Sir Jas- per Chambers, tall, gaunt and dingy. with a forehead like the bulging eaves of an Elizabethan house, and the lower portion of his face a riot of short grizzly gray hair that-seemed to know ne‘ther straint. His neck appeared intent on thrusting itself as far as possible out of the shabby frock coat that hung despairingly from his narrow shoulders. “Mornin. Mr. Sage.” cried Sir John Dene. bers.” “This ‘s Sir Jasper Cham- Sir John Dene turned to his nion. *“You'll be able to place said Sir John Dene. about the murder of his friend- Prof. McMurray. He didn’t want to come; but I told him you'd be tickled to death. and that you'd get it all fig- ured out for h'm in two wags of a chipmunk's tail.” The McMurray murder was the sen- _sation of the hour. Four days pre- viously Prof. James McMurray of Gor- ling. in Essex. had been found dead in his laboratory, his head fearfully battered in by some blunt instru- ment. * 2 ® kK IGHT days later, when the butler took the professor's luncheon down to the Mboratory, he noticed that the breakfast tray had not been removed from the shelf just inside the wicket. s At dinner time the butler was greatly surprised to find that both breakfast and luncheon had remained as he had left them: still. remembering how definite and insistent the professor had been that he was not to be dis- turbed, the butler had, after consult- ing with the housekeeper, decided to do nothing for the moment, and con- tented himself with ringing several times the electric bell that was the signal of another meal. An hour later he went once more to the wicket, only to discover that nothing had been touched. Hurrying back to the nhouse with, gll speed, he had conferred with ' Mrs. n??:}n and telephoned to the police. Sergt. Crudden of the Essex County Constabulary immediately bicycled over to “the Hollows,” Prof. McMurray’'s residence, and_ after hearing the but- Jer's story he had decided to force the door. To the officer's surprise, the door yielded readily, having apparently ‘been previously forced. Entering the laboratory, he was . horrified to dis- cover the body of the professor ly-l. “jng in the center of the floor, his head literally smashed by a terrible blow that had obviously been delivered from behind. ‘The police had made no statement; but there were some extraordinary rumors current in the neighborhood. One was to the effect that it was not Prof. McMurray’s body that had been discovered, but that of a much younger ‘man who bore a striking resemblance to him. “You have seen the accounts of my friend’s terrible end? inquired Sir Jasper, as he took the box of matches Malcolm Sage handed him and pro- ceeded to light his pipe. “He was about to enter upon a series of ex- periments with a serum he had dis- covered, his object being to lengthen human life.” “You were the last to see him alive, 1 understand.” Malcolm Sage picked up his fountain pen and began an elaborate simple design of a serpent upen the blotting pad. “ISight days before he was found I dined with him, said Sir Jasper, Eis voice a little unsteady. 3 happened?’ Malcolm Sage 7 . tinued Sir Jasper. “From then until half past we talked upon things of general interest, after which we dined. Lafer he told me he was about o enter upon & final series of experi- ments, the result of which would, in all probability, either be fatal to himself, or mean the lengthening of himan life.” “Did he seem quite normal?’ in- quired Malcolm Sage, adding a pair of formidable fangs to his reptile. “He was calm and confident. At parting he told me I should be the first to know the result. “He was confident of the success of ‘And you were to be the first to be told of the result of the experiments?” “Those were his last words to me. ¥Can you remember his actual words? “Yes; 1 remember them,” he replied sadly. ‘As we shook hands he said, *Weil, Chambers, you will be the first to know the result. * Kok ¥ HDO you trink the professor had been “I cannot say.” successful.in his experiments?" Again Sir Jasper shook his head slowly and deliberately. Did you see the body?” T did."” “Is there any truth in the rumors that Be looked much younger?” certainly a marked change,” was the Ff¥here was ap article in last month O e aeiea Ao Dangirs of Longey- nti e gers of ngev- R id You read it~ inquired Malcolm T «“It called attention to the danger of any interference with nature’s carefully adjusted balances between life and death,” continued Malcolm Sage, who had returned to the serpent whi¢h now sported a pair of horns, “and was in- stent that the lengthening of human life could result only in harm to the ner that evening. His contention was that science could not be constricted by wtilitarianism, and that nature would adjust her balances to the new condi- tions.” “But,” grumbled Sir John Dene, “it wwouldn’t be until there had been about the tallest kind of financial panic this little globe of misery has ever seen.” “The arti maintained that there would be an rtmmlnc period of chaos,” remarked Malcolm Sage medi- tatively, as he opened a drawer and took coercion mnor re- “I was particularly struck with this pas- sage,” he remarked: ‘It is impossible to exaggerate the extreme delicacy of the machinery of modern ‘eivilization,’ he rgad. ‘Indus- trialism, the food supply, existence itself, are dependent upon. the death rate. Re- duce this ‘materially and it will in- evitably lead to an upheaval of a very grave nature. For instance, it would mean an_addition of something like a willion to the population of the United Kingdom each year, over and above those provided for by the normal excess of births over deaths, and it would be vears befgre nature could readjust her balances.” “I think,” he said presently, with the air of & -man carefully weighing Lis words, “that McMurray was in- clined to undervstimate the extreme delicacy of the machinery of modern civilization. I recall his saying taat the arguments in that article would T e very unlikely event | 5 _with ungualified | by tho dis- ould achieve | apply only in the Y of some one meetin, isuccess. That is to sa jeavery of a serum that | What™ the Spaniards hoped of the [fountain of cternal youth, an in- stantaneous transformation from age to youth.” * %k & % «t'S up-to vou. Mr. Sage to get .1 on the murderer's trail,” said Sir John Dene at length, with the air of a man who has'no doubt as to the result. “You wish me to take up the case, Sir John?" inquired Malcolm Sage. “Sure,” said Sir John Deng as fie rose. “I'll take it as z parifeufir favor if you will. Now I’ “fmusf | vamoose. I've got a date in the city.” | He jerked himself to his feet and extended a hand to_ Malcolm Sage. Then turning to Sir Jasper. who had | also risen, he added, “You leave it to Mr® Sage, Sir Jasper. Before long |you won't see. him for dust. He's about the livest wire this side of the St. Lawrence.’ “Johnnie," said Miss Norman, as |'William Johnson entered her room in response to a peremptory call on {the private telephone, “Inspector Carfon is to honor us with a call Guring the next few minutes. Give him a chair and a copy of the Sun- day at Home, and watch the clues as | they peep out of his pockets. Now | buzz off.” 3 A quarter of an_hour latér he held open the door of Malcom Sage's pr vate room to admit Inspector Carfon. “I got your message, Mr. Sage, he began, as he flopped into a chair on the opposite side of Malcolm Sage's table. “This McMurray case is & be glad to talk It on behalf of Sir Jas- per Chambers.” said Malcolm Sage. “It's very kind of you to come roun-i so_promptly, Carfon.” he added. “Not at all, Mr. Sage,” said Inspec- tor Carfon. “Always glad to do what we can, although we are supposed to be a bit old-fashioned.” “I've seen all there is in the pa. pers,” said Malcolm Sage. “Are there any additional particulars “There’s one thing we haven't_told the papers, and it wasn't emphasSized at the inquest” The inspector leaned forward impressively. “The doctor says that the professor had been dead for about forty-eight hours, whereas we know he'd eaten a dinner aboyt. twenty-six hours be- fore he was found. ou challenged him?” he queried. “Ra-ther,” was the response, “but he got quite ratty. Said he'd stake his prefessional reputation and all that sort of thing. Then there was another thing that struck me as odd. The professor had evidently been de- strdying a lot of old correspondence. The paper-basket was full of turn-up letters and envelopes, and the grate was chock-a-block with charred paper. That also we kept to ourselve: ";fl;:t all I think s0,” was the reply. “There’s not the vestige of a clue that I can see,” said Malcolm Sage, looking at a press-cutting lying before him, that it says there was a remarkable change in the professor's appearance. ll_‘le Seemed to have become rejuve- | } | r i ated. “The doctor said that sometimes ‘death smites with a velvet hand.' He was rather a poetic sort of chap,” the inspector added by way of explana- tion. * ¥ ok ok “WHAT I want to know is what was the professor doing while the door was being.broken open?” “There were no signs of a strug- gle?” inquired Malcolm Sage, drawing & cottage upon his thumbnail. “None. He seems to have been af tacked unexpectedly from behind.” “What do you want me to do, Mr.; Sage?” Inquired the inspector nl length. *. “I was wondering whether you! would run down with me this after noon to Gorling.” “I'd be delighted,” was the hearty response. “The laboratory has been locked: “Yes; and I've sealed the door. othing has been touched. “Thank you, Carfon. Be here at half-past two. That afternoon, accompanied by, In- spector Carfon, Malcolm Sage motored down to the Hollows, which lies at the easternmost end of the village of Gorling. The inspector stopped the car just, as it entered the drive.. Malcolm Sage expressed a - wish to see th¢.lab- oratory first. | - “Did.-you-photograph- the. positio; I {like a garment. of the body?” inquired Malcolm Sage. “l hadn't a photographer hand. said the inspector apologetically, as he closed the door behind him; “but I managed to get a man to photo- graph the wound.” “Put yourself in the position of the body,” said Malcolm Sage. The inspector walked to the cen- ter of the room, near a highly pol- ished table, dropped on to the floor and, after a moment's pause, turned and lay on his left side, with right arm outstretched. “That will do, Carfon sald Mal- colm Sage, as he walked over to the fireplace and, dropping on one knee, carefully examined the ashes, touch- ing them here and there with the poker. He picked up something that glit- tered and held it out to the inspector, who serambled to his feet, and stood | U looking down with keen professional interest.™~ Piece of a test tube.” Malcolm Sage, as he placed the small piece of glass upon the table. “‘Moses' aun gasped the inspec- !nr “I missed that, though I saw a| lot of bits of glass. I thought it was an electric bulb.” “These are not letters,” he continued without looking up. “Not letters \ ‘The paper is all of the same qual- ity. By the way, has any ome dis- turbed it?” He indicated the grate. No one,” was the reply. Presently he picked ‘up the poker, a massive steel affair, and proceeded 10 examine the fire-end with great fminuteness. . “It was done with the other end,” said the inspector. *He must have wiped it afterwards. There was no sign of blood or hair. “The professor did not smoke?" he queried. “No; but the murderer did,” was the rather brusque reply. “Obviously,” was Malcolm Sage's dry retort. “He also left his pipe behind and had to return for it. It was rather a foul pipe, t00.” i} “Left his pipe behind!” cried the in- spector, his irritation dropping from him “How on earth-—' * 2 k% ¢« LJERE, dark stain on the highly polished table, “and here,” he pointed to a few flecks of ash some four or five inches - |aistant, “are indications that pipe has | remained for some considerable time, | long enough for the nicotine to drain through the stem; it was a very foul ipe, Carfon."” PIPHut mightn't that have trickled out in a few minutes, or while the man was = here?” objected Inspector Carfon. “With a wet smoker the saliva might have drained back,” said Malcolm Sage, his eyes upon the stain, “but this nicotine from higher up the stem, which would take time to flow out. As to leaving it on the table, what inveterate smoker would allow a pipe to lie on a table for any length of time unless he left it behind him? The man_smoked like a chimney; look at the tobaeco ash. replace. Now that photogradh, Carfon. Taking a letter-case from his breast- pocket, Inspector Carfon drew out a photograph_ folded in half. This he hlnded] to M’lt Py ;l;la. w;m, Iét:nrms keen glance af im and gru e ploture, put it in-his potket. “I thought s0,” ‘he murmured. “Thought what, Mr. Sage?” the inspector eagerly. +Left-handed, said Malcolm Sage. “Clean through the left side of the occi- pital bone. No right-handed man could have delivered such a blow. That con- firms the poker. “The sockets of the bolts and that of the lock have been loosened from the inside with the poker,” explained Malcolm Sage. “Then the forced door was a blind?"” gasped the inspector. “The murderer was let in by the pro- fessor himself, who was subsequently at- tacked from behind as he stood with his back to the fireplace. You are sure the grate has not been touched’ jome on~ has stirred the ashes about 80 as to break up the charred leaves into small pieces to make identification impossible. This man has a brain,” he added. 8J - taoe-- Malcolm Sage had seated himself at the table, his long thin fingers outspread before him. Suddenly he gave utterance to an exclamation of annoyance. “The pipe,” he murmured. *“I was wrong. He put it down because he was absorbed in something, probably the papers he burnt.” “Then you think the murderer burnt the papers?” inquired the inspector in_surpris “Who else?” ked Malcolm Sage, sing. “Now we'll see the butler. As Malcolm Sage and Inspector Car- fon crossed the lawn from the labor- atory Sir Jasper Chambers was seen coming down tke drive towards them. “There’s Sir Jasper,” cried the in- pector. “We havé just been looking the laboratory.” . D h!” Str J; r nodded his head several times. “The laboratory!” ._ “Will you oblige with your pouch, Carfon,” said Malcolm Sage, drawing his pipe from his pocket. “I've lost mine.’ inquired 2! * k% INEPECTQR CARFON thrust his hand into -his left-hand pocket, then began to go hurriedly through his other pockets with the air of a man who has lost something. “f had it & quarter of an hour ago,” he said. “I must have dropped it in the—"" % “Allow me, sir,” said Sir_ Jasper, tending - 1o -Malcolm.8age «hin-o) f ! A i 77 .””//”1/”77;;‘,/’/7 remarked | ” Malcolm Sage indicated a | A pouch, which he had extracted from his thil pocket whilst the inspector was stilliengaged in his search. Mal- éolm Safe took it and with a nod proceedel to fill his pipe. “Lool like Craven Mixture,” he remarke “No; 's Ormonde Mixture,” was the rep “I always smoke it. It is singularly mellow,” he added. The front door of the Hollows was opened by the butler, a gentle- faced old man, in appearance like a mid-Victorian lawyer. At the sight of the inspector a troubled look came into his eyes. “I want to have a few words with you,” 8aid Malcolm Sage quietly. “I'm @"this has been a great shock to 0! Y0t has indeed, sir.” sald the butler. “8it down,” said Malcolm Sage, “I shall not keep you many minutes. You mustn’t think because the police ask a lot of questions that they mean to be unkind. “I—I believe they think I did it,” the old man quavered, “and—and 1'd’ have done anything—" “I want you to try to help me find out who did kill vour master,” con- tinued Malcolm Sage, “and you can do that b answering my questions. “Did the professor ever have visitors at his laboratory?” . “Only Sir Jasper, sir. He was—" “Just answer my questions,” said Malcolm Sage gently. “He told you, think, never on any account to disturb him?”* Yes, sir.” Did you ever do so?" “Only once, sir.” ‘That was? “When Mrs. Graham—that's the housekeeper, sir—set fire to the cur- “ “ i L | i il il ) W, i . KA i AR il FYING GLASS. tatns of her room. I was afraid for the house, sir, and I ran down and knocked at the laboratory door.” “Did the professor open it? No, sir. “Perhaps he did not hear you “Yes, he did, sir. I knocked and i kicked for a long time; then I ran back to the house and found the fire had been put out. “Did _ Prof. to the matter?” “He was very angry when.I next saw him, sir, three days later.” “What did he say?" “That neither fire nor murder was an excuse for interrupting him, and it 1 did it again I would have to—" “Quite so,”" interrupted Malcolm Sage. #GO you are confident in your own mind that no amount of knocking | at the door would have caused your { master to open it?" { “Quite certein, sir,” the butler said ! with deep conviction. “If he had| [Leard me murdering Mrs. Graham he | wouldn't have come out. P McMurray ever refer * k kX He used to | say that man is for the moment, but | | research -is for all time. He was a| very wonderful man, sir.” he added i “So that to get into the laboratory ! |:om one must have had a duplicate | ey 2" “No, sir,” the professor always bolted the door on the inside. “Then he must have opened it him-! self?” He wouldn't, wouldn't.” “But how did Sir Jasper get {n?" “He was expected, sir, and when he | | went to the laboratory the master al- ways ordered extra food. He was very absent-minded sir, but he always re- membered that. He was very consider- ate, sir, too. He never forgot my birth- |day.” ‘And he broke down completelv, Ihis” frail body shaken by sobs. “He 1 was so kind, sir, so kind and thought- ful,” he quavered. “I don’t know what I shall do without him.” “*You have seen the bod colm Sage. “Yes, si “Did you notice anything remarkable about it?” *He was more like he was some thirty years ago, sir.” {He seemed to have a much younger man? “Yes, sir. I've been with him over thirty years, and he looked very much sir. I'm sure he ¥?" said Mal- . become suddenly upon Malcolm Sage, whom he had come to regard as Infallible, only to be told that there was no news. Suddenly the whole affair flared up anew, -and ‘Fleet street once more de- voted itself and its columns to the death of Prof. James McMurray. A brief announcement that a man of the vagrant class had been ar- rested in London whilst endeavoring to sell a gold watch believed to be that of Prof. McMurray, was the first spark. Later the watch was identified and the man charged with the murder. He protested his inno- cence, saying that he had picked up the watch by the roadside, just out- side Gorling, nearly a month before. There were bloodstains upon his clothes, which he explained by say- ing he had been fighting with another man who bad made his nose bleed. Two weeks later he was found guilty at the assizes and sentenced to death. Then it was that Malcolm Sage had written to Inspector Carfon curtly asking him to call at 11 o’'clock on_the following day. Punctually at 11 on the following morning the Inspector called at the “Sorry, ge,” he said, as he entered Malcolm Sage's room. ‘“I've been so rushed that I havem't been able to get round. “That's_his tobacco box,” said In- spector Carfon. Opening it, and after a swift glance at the contents, Malcolm Sage raised it to his nose: ‘Cigarette ends,” he remarked. “And that's his pipe.” The in- spector laid on the table a black clay pipe, with some two inches of stem attached to_thé bowl. Malcolm Sage scarcely glanced at Pulling out a drawer he produced box, which he toward the in- it. a’ small cardboard opened and pushed spector. * k%o ¢THAT is the tobacco smoked by the murderer. The makers are prepared to swear to it “Where the deuce did you get it?" gasped the inspector. “Grain by grain from the linoleum in the laboratory,” replied Malcolm Sage. “That is why it was necessary to be sure it was swept each day. It also helped me to establish the man as middle or upper elass. This tobac- Co is expensive. What is the man like Who has been condemned?” “A regular wandering Willle," re- plied the inspector. “Oldish chap, gives his age as sixty-one.” Five foot three and a half, thin as_a rake twenty-nine-inch chest. > sort of devil. Says he picked up the watch about a quarter.of & mile from “The Hollows® early one mornin “go:l he elthm‘r i o “Ea the inspector laughed. “He wolfs 1t* L 3 1 Carfon, you've made & fool of your- | ‘But—" began the inspector. He was interrupted by the door being burst violently open and Sir John Dene shot into the room. “Sir Jasper's killed himself,” he cried. “Moses’ aunt!” cried the inspector, starting to his feet. ] “You knew?’ Sir John Dene inter- rogated, his voice a little unsteady. 1 expect it said Malcolm Sage quietly. “Because I wrote to him yesterday saying that I could not al- low the condemned man to be sacri- ficed. It was Sir Jasper Chambers who killed Prof. McMurray. ‘On the Tuesday night,” he began, “it is obviois that Prof. McMur- ray admitted some one to the labora- tory. That man was Sir Jasper Chambers. “When the two had dined together a week before,” proceeded Malcolm Sage, “an appointment was obviously made for a week later. The profes- sor's last words were significant: ‘Anyway, Chambers, you will be the first to know.’ If the experiments had proved fatal, how could Sir Jas- per be the first to know unless an appointment had been made for him to call at the laboratory and discover for himself the result? When Sir Jasper learned of the unqualified suc- cess of the experiments, and saw by the professor's changed appearance proof of his triumph, he remembered the article in the Present Century. He realized that in the lengthening of human life a terrible catastrophe threatened the world. / Humanitarian- ism triumphed over his affection for his friend, and he killed him. “The assailant was clearly a tall, powerful man and left-handed. That was shown by the nature of the blow. That he had some knowledge of physiology is obvious from the fact! that he made no attempt at a second blow to insure death, as a layman most likely would have dome. He knew that he had smashed the occip- ital bone right into the brain. In his_early years Sir Jasper studied medicine. % * X % «THE crime committed, Sir Jasper proceeded. to cover his tracks. With the. r he loosened the sockets of the hoits ‘and that of the lock in Miserable ) order to give an impression that the | ternea. an door had been burs open from with- out. He then left the place and, to suggest robbery as a motive for the crime, he took with him the profes- sor's gold watch, which he threw away. ~ This was found a few hours fater by the tramp whom you, Car- fon, ,want to hang for a crime of which he knows nothing. *J suspect,” continued Malcolm Sage, that_after he had left the labora- tory Sir per suddenly realized that the professor had probably recorded in his book all his processes. He re- dlscovered the manuscript d was for hours absorbed in it, at first smoking continuously, later too interested in his task to think of his pipe. It must be remembered that he had studied medicine. “I rather think that he was aroused from his preoccupation by the ringing of the bell announcing the arrival of the professor's breakfast. He then realized that he could not leave the place until nightfall. He therefore ate that meal, carefully avoiding the marmalade, which he d'sliked, and subsequentiy he consumed the lunch- eon and dinner passed through the wicket. He burned the manuscript, tearing up letters and throwing them into the waste-paper basket to give the mppearance of Prof. McMurray having had a clearing-up. He then destroyed all the test tubes he could find. Finally he left the laboratory late Wednesday night or early Thurs. day morning.” “But how did you find out all this?" It was Sir John Dene who spoke. “First_of all. Sir Jasper and the murderer smoke the same tobacco, ‘Ormonde Mixture.’ I verified that by picking Inspector Carfon's pocket.” Taking a tobacco pouch from a drawer, Malcolm Sage handed it across the table. ou will remember Sir Jasper lent me his pouch. T had picked up some tobacco on the floor on the hearth. ccondly, the murderer was left- handed. and =o is Sir Jasper. “Thirdly. the murderer does not eat marmalude, and Sir Jasper had the same distaste.” “But how- 7" began the inspector. “I telephoned to his housekeeper in the name of the local grocer and asked if it would be Sir Jasper who had ordered some marmalade, as an assistant could not remember. the gentleman’s name. That grocer, 1| suspect, got into trouble, as the| housekeeper seemed to expect him to ' know that Sir Jasper disliked mar- | malade. | * % k% “AS Sir Jasper did not come for- ward, 1 wrote to him yesterday glving him until noon today to make a statement” continued . Malcolm Sage, “otherwise I should* have to ake steps (o save the man con- demned.” Then after a short pause he con- tinued. “In Sir Jasper Chambers you have an fllustration of tae small- ness of a great mind. He has de- voted his vast wealth to philanthropy: yet he was willing to allow another man to be hanged for his crime.” “And this, I take it,” said Sir John Dene, “is his reply.” ‘and he handed a letter across to Malcolm Sage. “Read it out”” he said. Malcolm Sage glanced swiftly through the pages and then read: My Dear Dene: By the time you receive this letter I shall be dead. I have just received a_letter from Mr. Malcolm Sage, which shows him to be a man of re- markable perception and possessed of powers of analysis and deduction that 1 venture to think must be unique. All he says Is correct, but for one detal. I left the laboratory in the first instance with the 4=l erate intention of returning, although I did not realize the significance of the manuscript until after I had tampered with the fastenings of the doors. Had my servants found that my bed had not been slept in. sus- picion might have attached itself to me. I therefore returned to remedy this, and I left a note to say that 1 had gone out early for a long walk, a thing I frequently do. In his experiments McMurray had succeeded beyond his wildest imagin- ings, and I foresaw the horrors that must inevitably follow such a dis- covery as ais. I had to cl tween myself and the welfare of the race, and I chose the race. T did not come forward to mave the man condemned for the crime, as I regarded my life of more value to_the community than his, Will you thank Mr. Sage for the very gentle and humane way in which he had written calling upon me to see that justice be not out- raged. I am sending this letter by hand My body will be found in my study 1 have used morphia as a means of satisfying justice. Very sincerely yours. JASPER CHAMBERS. “It was strange I should have mad. that mistake about the reason for his leaving the laboratory,” said Malcolm Sage meditatively. “I'made two mis- takes—one 1 corrected, but the other was unpardonable.” And he knocked the ashes from his pipe onto the copper tray before him with the air of a man who is far from satisfied. “AMERICA IS NOT DEAD IN THE AIR/) SAYS A FAMOUS AMERICAN AVIATOR MAN of great importance said to me the other day: “*Ameri- cans are queer. They wish nothing which will not yield in- stant profit. They will discover wonders and then let them die if they do not immediately pay. And again, they are queer because they will not learn tre- mendous Jessons which one would think had been branded on their minds by the hot iron of experience. The American may be all that he's cracked up to be. But Americans are queer.” The gradual less of Interest in the air service and what he called the general American loss of interest in fiying, at a time when European nations, and espe- cially. one Asiatic nation, are spending upon aviation all that they can afford, and perhaps much that they gannot af- belief is, is the cheapest transporta- | tion development.” * k¥ * UDO you feel full confidence in the new administration?” was asked. “Yes, I do. I can’t say that it is working very fast, but I believe it understands “the situation and will speed up when conditions make it easier.” s there anything s mind as a suggestion “I might mention several, but hesi- tate at the thought of being quoted. ‘There are so many ways in which the matter might be gone about that one man ought to shrink before the thought of expressing his opinion. “That's why 1 suggest a depart- ment of the air. It could settle de- tails, taking 2l] suggestions under oconsideration. e, as a government, are not idle, even now. The need is to make the effort orderly and fully| | effective. Air development is split up. That always is a losi plan. | cific in your ford, was what stirred him to his pro- test. The writer asked Glenn H.. Curtiss about the matter. Surely no other per- son could be regarded as more certain to have information. His exposition d the situation was less pessimistic. And he made a very firm prediction that, ere this generation of Americans has pags- ed, the wayfarer on Americah streets and rohds will have to keep his t!! aloft, at infervals, to see what way- farers in Anferican air are doing: “Every man who knows the facts and possibilities,” he said, “could wish that the United States had done more iri the !air since the armistice. “But we have not lost our enthusiasm wholly; we are going ahead intelligently and well, it slowly. Some of those Who, ought to be behind the movement are fot, but the people are behind it. In the lend that's what counts in the United Staty 1 hear this from all sorts, many of them folk who would be the last, one * % * % tion. («\\71SE men know now that there are great certainties ahead for travel in the air. above both land and realized quickly, some that they will be slow of realization; personally I strike @n average. “It is sate to say, I think, that be- fore the average healthy man of mid- dle age now living dies air traffic will be well established, and that it will be as well established in America as elsewhere. Of course, mine is a special interest. But I do not deceive myself. Air development has had some set- backs. It will overcome them all. “Air travel over water will be first to reach complete development. It will be developed first and most com- as he did then, except, of course,’ that his hair ‘remained gray.” "Apart from the food not being taken in, you nof Tothing else that struck you as s Ige?"" queried Malcolm Sage. I can't'think of anything, sir,” said Lhe old man at length, apologetically, ‘only the marmalade, and that, of con{zfie. wo\lldn‘ll “The marmalade?’ Malcolm Say turned quickly. e t was nothing, sii said the old man. “Perhaps I oughn’t to have men- tioned it; but the morning before we found him, the master had not eaten any marmalade, and him so fond of it. 1 was rather worried, and I asked Mrs. Graham if it was a new brand, thinking perhaps he didn’t like it; but I found it :l&';a the same he always had." e never smoked?” Malcoim Sage asked at length. > “Neyer, sir, not during the whole thirty years I've been with him.”" ““Who cleaned the laboratory? It did not look as if it had been unswept for g 5 eek. ‘No, indeed, sir,” was the reply, “the professor was very particular. He al- ‘ways swept it up himself each morning. It was cleaned by one of the servants onct'a month.” e *“You're sure about the sweeping-up? Malcolm Sage inquired. . el “‘Quite certain, sir.” “That, I think, will be alL” *Thank you, sir,” said the butler, ris- ing. *Thank you for being so kind—and understanding, sir,” and he walked a little unsteadily f.rom the room. b Cy «1 vz_:is urutd you wouldn’t get any- Ing_out of m, Mr. Sage, Inspector. Carfan. e 0, remarked Malcolm Sage quietly, *“nothing new; but an lmpomntqcog- boration.of the doctor’s evidence.” “That (twas the murd Bs - was the murderer and not Professor McMurray who ate Wednes. luncheon' and dinner. 1 The inspector’s jaw in his astonishment. . “I “suspect that for some reason or other he returned to the laboratory; that accounts for the rough marks upon-the door fastenings as if some one had first torn them off and then sbught to replaca them. After his second visit the mur- derer evidently stayed too lorig, and was afraid of being seen leaving the labora- tory. He: therefore remained until the following night, eating the- professor’'s meals, Incidentally he knew all about his habits. “Well, . E'm blowed if he isn't a cool the inspector. and -there was McMurray mys- tery. pletely because it is most needed. Water travel by present methods is much slower than land travel. It takes four days to cover the 3,000 miles be- tween New York and San Francisco by 1and; 3,000 miles by water requires elght days. So there is greater need for speeding up travel over water than over land. It could be done by @ir in a single day under ideal conditions. “But development of aviation over land will be more rapid, for obvious reasons. It would be very rapid, even now, in the United States, if muniei- palities could but be interested. The great need is of landing places in al} cities. If all cities had them the in- crease in air-traffic volume would be very great and rapid. Without them flying cannot grow. “The provision of such convenien- ces must be made by the municipal- ities, I think. But they will never do it without state and national co-oper- ation. We mneed a federal act, not necessarily to make Uncle Sam pay the bills, but to regulate, plan and co-ordinate. I believe this federal act should create, as a department of the government, a department of air, which should be headed by a secretary of the air, as the War De- partment and the Navy Department are headed by their secretaries— members of the Presiddent’s cabinet. There may be other ways of stimu- lating progress—that, 1 think, woulld be the quickest - It must be stimu- lated, somehow, or we shall lose great opportunities, social and com- mercial, as_well as taking military chances. We, the creators of the airplane, certainly should lead in its development. We should be first of all the nations of the world in the ail ‘But haven't we learned by ex- perjence that to be first in the air will be a very costly achievement?” The writer inquired, thinking asout many dear, departed millions. “The achievement would be c¢asy, said the famous aviator and creator of aircraft, “and woulld be a great economy. For money spent on avia- tion we could get returns larger than those which would come from money spent in any other way.- Afr devel- ‘opmeRts no metter lhl’ F nel The Army, Navy and Post Office all | are working at the problem, and | saw a record number of air passages 1 leadership that is its own both by right of creation and by virtue of opportunity. o * ¥ ¥ % E who are in the game have had qur fingers burned. We have been figuring our losses. But burned fingers will recover, rightly treated. The war, of course, over- stimulated us, but now (to make an Irish bull, which is close to the fact) the American air industry has both feet on the ground. We are principally handicapped by the fact that in times like these it always is hard to get money for good things, although it never seems to be hard to get it for wild-cat schemes. “Splendid things are going on abroad, while we sit without definite accomplishment. One week in May between London and the continént. These, short though the trip ered a taial flying distance of 21. in_more than ninety flights, carrying between 370 and 380 passen- | jthere are @ number of committees would imagine, to be interested in avia- | water. Some believe that they will be| GLEN H. gers, most of them business people. i CURTISS. ———— and investigators all trying but per- | flyving because it was of real advan- special weather condition reports as haps hampering each other. All are working honestly and hard: I have no doubt, but we need a single head and that co-ordination which is pos- sible only when a single head con- trols all. “All -interested now are holding back, waiting for a plan. that one would be secured —most quickly by concentration under a single head. But this is not ab- solutely certain. It would depend I believe | tage to them and not because it had a thrill in it. That's it. They are learning over there what the Ameri- can public so far has doubted. that air travel is a practical iecessity of modern life. “Nearly all the British and French air transport companies would be glad today if they had more, ma chines. “Work on the foundations for the great steel tower, or mast, at which upon the scheme end more than that|dirigibles will be anchored high in upon .the. head selected. The single!air by the nose, so that passengers head idea has been tried abroad with- | 1 think itjplatform and then be taken down . jin lifts, obviating the necessity of needs thought. If{risking the safety of the ship by out invariable success. ‘would succeed here. “But tife thing can walk out of them into a lofty some of us insisted on and won an!letting it near the ground, is com- air minister and then saw- him take: pleted and the tower is partly built. i Bulk ian So before we have a secretary of flying we must have a public which will see to it, whatever 8Secretary of flying we may have, that he believes in and will promote this necessary art.. 1 “No matter what may be believed we are not absolutely at a stand- still. Our engineers are all thinking, even though they have not been con- structing. Theéir pencils have been busy during the perfod of depression. When we get started again we shall go fast enough, perfaps, to make up for lost time. “On. the speed . with. which we travel, in *our air development will depen: t!:‘ .place which. we shall take o : | ! aviation spirits storage is ready d 3,000 gallons at a time now are going into the underground British tanks. Half,a dozen British firms are making flights across the channel and, on occasion, into the ‘interior. “Special ‘one-day air excursions to Paris’ are becoming *popular zmong Londoners and are not too expensive. Leaving at 9 am., the voyagers reach Paris in time to spend three o r huire #anta AeA ~tIY Flenty of time for the retu¥n journeyt The € .Cluolon, Svngle . = awe =8 compared to one between New York and Washington. Imagine making that, going and return, im-a single { "One plane carried ninety-two ngers in a week. Ome firm seven new five-seaters. And the cus- tomhouse- puszzle, which bothered for a time, has been solved. A line also has been established between Lon- gterdam. “Problems are being carefully con. sidesed.. . Some .work, has, begn, per. 'industry employed has | 00 formed upon the fog-dispelling prob- lem, although it must be admitted that the resuits, while complete in a small area, are unsatisfactory and expensive. “Landing places are marked by great white letters made of sione: signaling from earth to air and from airship to airship has been reduced t+ a complete science, and this makes safe flying in fogs possible. * ¥ * % €N AMERICA we have done more than the public dreams, I think ‘We have worked out a system of sig- naling so that directions with regard to landings may be given to air pilots. In this connection let me mention the fact that in England the government is endeuvoring to educate the public with regard to airplanes much as the public had to be taught, in days of old., with regard to railway trains. notice which 1 have here is partly as follows: “It warns every one against crowd- ing around machines. smoking near them, running toward a landing air- plane, standing in front of one about to rise or letting children or animals stray into the path of landing or ris- ing planes. It all is couched in com- monplace official language, but would have seemed a fairy tale to our grandfathers. It ends with a consid- erable list" of directions concerning what to do in case of accident. “American air service is more effi- cient than most people think. Our air mail shows only one forced landing for 16,226 miles operated. I wonder if any 16,000 miles of mail train travel have been marked by so few forced stops. Perhaps do mot know. Another mail record is even bette: Seven forced landings in 113.- 595 miles flown! During six weeks the mail run from New York to Cleve- land was absolutely 100 per cent per- fect—no mishaps, delays or inefficien- cies of any kind. Thz New York to Washington service has been stopped because trains make the trip between business days and therefore seem 1o serve .all necessary purposes. but it was 100 per cent eflicient for eight consecutive weeks. “The Post Office Department is now working the New York to San Fran- cisco route, where lies the greatest opportunity. Time could not be saved on the short New York to Washington run. The New York to San Francisco flight perhaps soon may be made habitually in twenty-four hours. “Interesting problems are arising. Many aviators with small machines wish to carry passengers (usually ex- cursionists). but have only a little land. Emerging from it they may threaten persons beyond its bounds because of insufficient rise. Thus they must interrupt traffic. The mini- mum size necessary for a fiying field must be determined. And another query is: How high is 2 highway? “Incidentally, at the British derby, the year's greatest horse race, traffic on the highways round about was di- jrected from a dirigible in the air. from which a bird's-eye view of earth af- fairs was possible. And Gen. Mait- land, in charge, when this job was over, did not go up to London with his ship and then back to his coun- home. 1t would have made him for dinner. While the ship passed over his place he jumped off with a parachute strapped to his shoulders and landed lightly on his own dooryard, so to speak. Another parachute took down “his valet and others landed their bags. The gen- eral could not have dined at home if he had gone on to the hangar. “The police possibilities of avia- tion may be, perhaps, connected vitally with motor car traffic regula- tion. Air police could solve that prob- lem without effort. +“New York already is considering police aviation. Machines and flyers are bejng checked up as carefully as motorists and motors. At present no license is required and any one can fiy, but that will change. * % % % “THE United States hydrographic office now serves aviators with it Jong has served mariners at sea. After the death of Miss Bromwell the air police made a careful study of her machine and determined what the ac- cldent’s cause was. “Several thousand landing flelds al- ready have been selected in the coun- try, although few have been actually developed. A municipal landing for hydroplanes is located at 76th street, New York, and has been equipped with a landing post. “The Navy is building seaplanes with nine Liberty motors each, giv- ing 3,600 horsepower. Such planes might cross Pacific ocean, and one of them probably will. They will bigger than theN-C planes (N. C., by the way, means Naval Curtiss) and will be of the ‘giant boat’ class. It is estimated that they will have a flying radius of 2500 miles. They will make eighty-five miles an hour taxiing on the surface of the water and 110 miles in the air. The crews will live on board in quarters com- paring favorably with the crew's quarters on a submarine, with ample room for sleep and recreation. “American aviation has declined. At the time of the armistice we had 21,000 officers and 175,000 men in the ‘Army, and in the navai aviation group 3,000 officers and 47,000 men. 4 in the Army we have 1,090 officers and 8,343 men and in the naval avia. tion 624 officers ahd 4,627 men. The s many as 250, at one time and now employs about 2,000. But I believe it has struck bottom and will rise n, It will be to tional develage steadily and healthily. the interest of our nai ment if it does s0.”