The Gloved Hand Read online

  CHAPTER IX

  FIRST STEPS

  We found a little group of men gathered about the chair in which satthe huddled body. Two of them I already knew. One was Detective-sergeantSimmonds, and the other Coroner Goldberger, both of whom I had metin previous cases. Simmonds was a stolid, unimaginative, butindustrious and efficient officer, with whom Godfrey had longago concluded an alliance offensive and defensive. In other words,Godfrey threw what glory he could to Simmonds, and Simmonds suchstories as he could to Godfrey, and so the arrangement was to theirmutual advantage.

  Goldberger was a more astute man than the detective, in that hepossessed a strain of Semitic imagination, a quick wit, and a fairdegree of insight. He was in his glory in a case like this. This wasshown now by his gleaming eyes and the trembling hand which pullednervously at his short, black moustache. Goldberger's moustache was agood index to his mental state--the more ragged it grew, the morebaffling he found the case in hand!

  Both he and Simmonds glanced up at our entrance and nodded briefly.Then their eyes went back to that huddled figure.

  There were three other men present whom I did not know, but I judgedthem to be the plain-clothes-men whom Simmonds had brought along atGodfrey's suggestion. They stood a little to one side until theirsuperiors had completed the examination.

  "I didn't stop to pick up my physician," Goldberger was saying. "Butthe cause of death is plain enough."

  "Doctor Hinman here is a physician," I said, bringing him forward. "Ifhe can be of any service...."

  Goldberger glanced at him, and was plainly favorably impressed byHinman's dark, eager face, and air of intelligence and self-control.

  "I shall be very glad of Dr. Hinman's help," said Goldberger, shakinghands with him. "Have you examined the body, sir?"

  "Only very casually," answered Hinman. "But it is evident that thecause of death was strangulation."

  "How long has he been dead?"

  Hinman lifted the stiff hand again and ran his fingers along themuscles of the arm.

  "About four hours, I should say."

  Goldberger glanced at his watch.

  "That would put his death at a little before midnight. The murderermust have come in from the grounds, crept up behind his victim, thrownthe cord about his neck and drawn it tight before his presence wassuspected. The victim would hardly have remained seated in the chairif he had known his danger. After the cord was round his throat, hehad no chance--he could not even cry out. There's one thing I don'tunderstand, though," he added, after a moment. "Where did that bloodcome from?" and he pointed to the dark spots on the collar of thewhite robe.

  Hinman looked up with a little exclamation.

  "I forgot," he said. "Did you find the handkerchief? No, I see youdidn't," and he pointed to where it lay on the floor. "I noticed itwhen I first looked at the body."

  Without a word, Goldberger bent and picked up the blood-stainedhandkerchief. Then he and Simmonds examined it minutely. Finally thecoroner looked at Godfrey, and his eyes were very bright.

  "There can be only one inference," he said. "The dead man is notbleeding--the cord did not cut the flesh. The blood, then, must havecome from the murderer. He must have been injured in someway--bleeding profusely. Look at this handkerchief--it is fairlysoaked."

  I am sure that, at that instant, the same thought was in Godfrey'smind which flashed through mine, for our eyes met, and there was ashadow in his which I knew my own reflected. Then I glanced at Hinman.He was looking at the handkerchief thoughtfully, his lips tightlyclosed. I could guess what he was thinking, but he said nothing.

  Goldberger laid the handkerchief on the table, at last, and turnedback to the body. He bent close above it, examining the blood spots,and when he stood erect again there was in his face a strangeexcitement.

  "Lend me your glass, Simmonds," he said, and when Simmonds handed hima small pocket magnifying-glass, he unfolded it and bent above thestains again, scrutinising each in turn. At last he closed the glasswith an emphatic little snap. "This case isn't going to be sodifficult, after all," he said. "Those spots are finger-prints."

  With an exclamation of astonishment, Simmonds took the glass andexamined the stains; then he handed it to Godfrey, who finally passedit on to me. Looking through it, I saw that Goldberger was right. Thestains had been made by human fingers. Most of them were meresmudges, but here and there was one on which faint lines could bedimly traced.

  "They seem to be pretty vague," I remarked, passing the glass on toHinman.

  "They're plenty clear enough for our purpose," said Goldberger;"besides they will come out much clearer in photographs. It's luckythis stuff is so smooth and closely-woven," he added, fingering acorner of the robe, "or we wouldn't have got even those. It's as hardand fine as silk."

  "How do you suppose those marks came there, Mr. Goldberger?" Godfreyasked, and there was in his tone a polite scepticism which evidentlyannoyed the coroner.

  "Why, there's only one way they could come there," Goldberger answeredimpatiently. "They were put there by the murderer's fingers as he drewthe cord tight. Do you see anything improbable in that?"

  "Only that it seems too good to be true," Godfrey answered, quietly,and Goldberger, after looking at him a moment, turned away with ashrug of the shoulders.

  "See if you can get the cord loose, Simmonds," he said.

  The cord was in the form of a running noose, which had been knottedto hold it in place after being drawn tight. Although it had not cutthe flesh of the neck, it had sunk deeply into it, and Simmonds workedat the knot for some moments without result. I suspect his fingerswere not quite as steady as they might have been; but it was evidentlyan intricate knot.

  "That's a new one on me," he said, at last. "I can't get it loose."

  Godfrey bent close above it and looked at it.

  "It _is_ a peculiar knot," he agreed. "If you'll permit a suggestion,Mr. Goldberger, you'll cut the cord and leave the knot as it is. Itmay help us to find the man who made it."

  "You're right," agreed Goldberger, promptly. "Cut the cord, Simmonds."

  Simmonds got out his pocket-knife, opened it and slipped the bladeunder the cord, cut it, and pulled it out of the ridge of flesh. Helooked at it a moment, and then handed it to Goldberger. The latterexamined it carefully.

  "It's stained with blood, too," he remarked, and passed it on toGodfrey.

  "It looks like curtain-cord," Godfrey said, and made a little tour ofthe room. "Ah!" he added, after a moment, from the door opening intothe grounds. "See here!"

  He was holding up the end of the cord by which the curtains coveringthe upper part of the double doors were controlled.

  "You were right, Mr. Coroner," he said, "in thinking that the murdererentered by this door, for he stopped here and cut off a piece of thiscord before going on into the room."

  "Then he must also have stopped to make it into a noose," remarkedGoldberger. "If he did that, he was certainly a cool customer. It's awonder his victim didn't hear the noise he made."

  "Making a knot isn't a noisy operation," Godfrey pointed out;"besides, the back of the chair was toward the door. And then, ofcourse, it's possible his victim _did_ hear him."

  "But then he would have jumped from the chair," objected Simmonds.

  "Not necessarily. Suppose you were sitting there, and heard a noise,and looked around and saw me standing here, you wouldn't jump from thechair, would you?"

  "No; I'd have no reason to jump from you."

  "Perhaps Vaughan thought he had no reason to jump from the man _he_saw--if he saw anyone. I'm inclined to think, however, that he didn'tsuspect anyone else was in the room until he felt the cord about histhroat."

  "And, of course," said Goldberger, taking the cord again and lookingat it, "it was while the murderer was making it into a noose with hisblood-stained fingers that he stained it in that way. Don't you agree,Mr. Godfrey?"

  "That is a possible explanation," Godfrey conceded.

  "But why did he make this second k
not?" inquired the coroner; "theknot which holds the noose tight and prevents it from slipping?"

  "If he hadn't knotted it like that he would have had to stand thereholding it until his victim was dead. As it was, he didn't have towait."

  I shivered a little at the thought of the scoundrel calmly tying theknot to secure his noose, and then leaving his victim to twitch hislife out.

  "It's no little trick to tie a knot like that," Godfrey added,thoughtfully. "I should like to study it."

  "All right," agreed Goldberger; "you can have it whenever you wantit," and he got a heavy manila envelope out of his pocket and placedthe cord carefully inside. "Now we must get that robe off. We can'trun any risk of having those finger-prints smeared."

  It was a difficult job and a revolting one, for the body had stiffenedinto its huddled posture, but at last the robe was removed and thebody itself lying at full length on its back on the couch. Seen thus,with the light full on it, the face was horrible, and Goldberger laidhis handkerchief over the swollen and distorted features, while, at asign from him, Simmonds pulled down the portiere from the inner doorand placed it over the body. Then the coroner picked up the robe andheld it out at arms' length.

  "What kind of a freak dress is this, anyway?" he asked.

  "It's a robe," said Godfrey. "Mr. Vaughan was a mystic."

  "A what?"

  "A mystic--a believer in Hinduism or some other Oriental religion."

  "Did he dress this way all the time?"

  "I believe so. It is probably the dress of his order."

  Goldberger rolled the robe up carefully, and said nothing more; but Icould see from his expression that he had ceased to wonder why Vaughanhad come to a strange and violent end. Surely anything might happen toa mystic! Then he placed the blood-stained handkerchief in anotherenvelope, and finally put his hand in his pocket and brought out halfa dozen cigars.

  "Now," he said, "let's sit down and rest awhile. Simmonds tells me itwas you who called him, Mr. Godfrey. How did you happen to discoverthe crime?"

  The question was asked carelessly, but I could feel the alert mindbehind it. I knew that Godfrey felt it, too, from the way in which hetold the story, for he told it carefully, and yet with an air ofkeeping nothing back.

  Of the mysterious light he said nothing, but, starting with my findingof the letter and summoning Swain to receive it, told of thearrangements for the rendezvous, dwelling upon it lightly, as alove-affair which could have no connection with the tragedy. He passedon to his own arrival from the city, to Swain's return from therendezvous, and finally to the screams which had reached us, and tothe discovery we had made when we burst into the house.

  "I summoned Dr. Hinman immediately," he added, "for Miss Vaughanseemed to be in a serious condition; then I called Simmonds, andsuggested that he stop for you, Mr. Coroner, for I knew that the casewould interest you. Dr. Hinman arrived perhaps half an hour ahead ofyou, and had Miss Vaughan put to bed at once. And I guess you know therest," he concluded.

  We had all listened intently. I was pretty sure that Simmonds wouldmake no inferences which Godfrey wished to avoid; but I feared themore penetrating mind of the coroner. His first question proved that Iwas right to do so.

  "Where is this man Swain?" he asked.

  "He was suffering from the shock," said Godfrey, "and Lester and Dr.Hinman took him over to my place and put him to bed. That's where theywere when you got here."

  "He seemed to be suffering from a slight concussion," Hinmanexplained. "There was a swelling on one side of his head, as thoughsome one had struck him, and the pupils of his eyes wereunsymmetrical. He had also a cut on the wrist," he added, after aninstant's hesitation.

  "Ah!" commented Goldberger, with a glance at Godfrey. "Had it beenbleeding?"

  "He cut himself when crossing the wall," Godfrey explained; "a merescratch, but I believe it _did_ bleed a good deal."

  "Ah!" said Goldberger again; and then he turned to the doctor. "Did Iunderstand you to say that he went to sleep?"

  "He certainly did. I gave him a good strong opiate to make sure ofit."

  "Do you think he'll sleep till morning?"

  "He'll sleep nine or ten hours, at least."

  "Then _that's_ all right," said Goldberger, and settled back in hischair again. "But didn't anybody live in this house except that oldman and his daughter? Aren't there any servants?"

  "There must be some somewhere about," answered Godfrey, to whom thequestion was addressed; "but Lester and I looked through the lowerfloor and part of the upper one and didn't find any. There's a bellthere by the door, but nobody answered when I rang. We didn't havetime to go all over the house. We _did_ find one thing, though," headded, as if by an afterthought.

  "What was that?"

  "There's an adept in one of the rooms upstairs."

  Goldberger sat up and stared at him.

  "An adept?" he repeated. "What's that?"

  "An expert in mysticism. I judge that Vaughan was his pupil."

  "Do you mean he's a Hindu?" asked the coroner, as though that wouldexplain everything.

  But Godfrey was having his revenge.

  "I don't know whether he's a Hindu or not," he said, airily. "I didn'tget a very good look at him."

  "What was he doing?" Goldberger demanded.

  "He was just sitting there."

  Again Goldberger stared at him, this time suspiciously.

  "But, good heavens, man!" he cried. "That was three or four hours ago!You don't suppose he's sitting there yet!"

  "Yes," said Godfrey drily, "I think he is."

  Goldberger's face flushed, and he sprang to his feet impatiently.

  "Show me the room," he commanded.

  "Glad to," said Godfrey laconically, and led the way out into thehall.

  The whole crowd tailed along after him. As I rose to follow, I sawthat the outside world was turning grey with the approaching dawn.

  The nurse, hearing our footsteps on the stairs, looked out in alarm,and held up a warning finger. Godfrey paused for a word with her.

  "How is she?" he asked.

  "Sleeping quietly," said the nurse; "but please don't make any morenoise than you can help."

  "We won't," Godfrey promised, and crossed the hall to the door leadinginto the little entry. Then he paused and looked around at Goldberger."Better go slow here," he cautioned. "The adept has a pet cobra."

  "A snake?"

  "The deadliest snake in the world."

  Goldberger drew back a little, as did all the others.

  "I don't think it will bite us, though," added Godfrey, cheerfully,"if we don't crowd it. It's sitting there, too," and he opened theouter door, passed through, and held back the curtain at the fartherend.

  I was just behind Goldberger and Simmonds, and I heard their gasp ofamazement, as they saw what lay beyond.

  The scene had not changed in the slightest detail. The crystal spherestill softly glowed, with intangible shadows flitting across itssurface; the adept still sat cross-legged staring into its depths;opposite him, the cobra, its hood distended, swayed slowly to and fro.

  But as we stood there staring, a single delicate ray of sunlightcoming through a pin-hole in the curtained window, struck the sphereand seemed to extinguish it. The glow within it flickered andfluttered and finally vanished, and it hung there dull and grey. Aninstant later, the motionless figure raised its arms high in air, witha motion somehow familiar; then it got slowly to its feet, crossed tothe window, drew back the curtain and flung wide the shutter.

  The sun was just peeping over the trees to the east, and for a secondits light blinded me. Then I saw the adept bowing low before it, hisarms still extended. Once, twice, thrice he bowed, as before a deity,while we stood there staring. Then he turned slowly toward us.

  "Enter, friends," he said calmly. "The peace of the Holy One be onyou, and his love within your hearts!"