the fifth tuthe fifth tumbler.mbler

8/13/2019 The Fifth TuThe Fifth Tumbler.mbler

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fifth-tuthe-fifth-tumblermbler 1/322 P u b l

i c D o m a i n , G o o g l e - d i g i t i z e d

/ h t t p : / / w w w . h

a t h i t r u s t . o r g / a c c e s s_

u s e # p d - g o o g l e

The fifth tumbler, introducing Professor Theocritus Lucius Westborough

...

Clason, Clyde B.

Garden City, N.Y. Pub. for the Crime club, inc., by Doubleday, Doran & company, inc., 1936.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015028942830

Public Domain, Google-digitized

h t t p : / / w w w . h a t h i t r u s t . o r g / a c c e s s _ u s e # p d - g o o g l e

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-fifth-tuthe-fifth-tumblermbler 3/322 P u b l i c D o m a i n , G o o g l e - d i g i t i z e d

/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





theporcineMr.

eventsthatfol-

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mild-mannered

htheinstincts

faH olmes.

roomatthe

olvedavariedgroup

evil-tongued

men,a hotel

sanythingbut

mmercialartist

ckwithapen-

sses.

elybaffled,

hiscastofchar-

hosemain

airpin, ac igarette

tothewrongroom,

movingpicture—

Detective ieu-

rrietf romNiles,

arriedat noon

c lock inanauto-

herman.

ed,andmodern

otted,withe -

nuinesuspense.

asa surprise

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UMBL E R


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heocritus

amildlittle

er— with

Y. 19 36 PU B L I S H E D O R

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ifePress, gardenc ity, n. y . , u. 8. a.

36

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ents

holly


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vening

ebookofTheoc ritus uc ius

ing

ht

ing


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UMBL E R


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openingfromdarkenedcorri-

glustand laughter,sorrowand

solatedbythinpartitionsas effec-

bymilesof bleakdesert.H un-

ofeachother se istenc e, c lus-

oof.Mysteriousandinscrutable

ors

dTheoc ritus uc iusWestborough,

gedouble bedroomdesignated

telislikeagiantbeehive " t

onthis simile.Worker bees:out

morningandgoneuntilsi .

ack-claddowagers. Theirhus-

havetoiledtoprematuregraves

womenmightspendthere-

dandmiserable,in doingnoth-

orry forthem. aborestetiamipsa

estborough,whowasaddictedto

ges.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

O h y e s , an d o f co u rs e d ro n es . I a m

mentbondsand ames k indly

einclinedtoplacethatporcine

gory.A lso,sadlyagainsther

ildMissGant.

hisfountainpenandresumed

oamanuscriptforwhich,after

dapublisher.Themanuscript

is ifeandTimes, andWest-

asttenyears toitspreparation.

lyunfortunatetheworksof

hers—Marius Ma imus, abius

erus, andStatiusV alens—have

recordofthegreat emperor

olumn,whichdescribesthecam-

moreelo uentlythancould

shaft,ashigh asaten-story

thecolorof bronze,iscovered

carvingsin whicharerepre-

fivehundredhumanfigures.To

ctofdistance,theartist,A pollo-

sprogressivelylargerasthe

it.C uriouslyenough,astatue

hetop ofthemonumentwhere

eurthecolossalfigure ofthe

aused—hehadsaid greatem-

erackedhis mindforasynonym,

.

ddname. Dearme, wonderif it

ofGauntandtheB lac kPrinc e "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

arson salarmc loc kmeasuredof f

. twasnotoneof yournewelec-

toasof torloudc alltosuitthe

atteredwrec k. C hrishadboughtit

oandhadthrownitac rossthe

en.Nevertheless,itcontinued

ately,and,bydintoffre uent

s,itwouldevengivea reason-

ntothec orrecthour. tnowsaid,

ven, and, sinc eChrishadsetitat

morethanthreeminutes.

atall Scandinavian,tawny-

esmotheredasecondyawnand

e desklamp.Thelight,stream-

vealed ueer-lookingsymbols

s. C hrisread, Therateofc hemi-

othetime isproportionaltothe

illunchangedinthemi ture.

ngthe decompositionof

wedthoughtfullyattheendofhis

edto atableofnaturalloga-

alongoneofthemanycolumns

e hethought, ottinganumber

vonneGant.Yes,andherhairis

lightpurple.O rwouldyou

ispencilc ommenc edasuddenand

surfac eof thedesk . I magine

toget awaywiththetrick

etakenapokeathim. Yeah—and

nc ildroppedunheededtothef loor.

couldn tkeepagirllikethatinstoc k -


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

he cutestlittlecrinkle.. .

ant...

ntlaboredwith commendable

n asilkstocking.Shethought,

ntpair, too. O hwell, maybeit llhold.

s g o t to "

nelychiseledfeaturesand

ponwhic hChris arsonhadre-

acockbluenegligeewhichspoke

peroustimes.Shefinishedher

dof thethread. There f that

o u t of l u ck .

inin herbathroomwith

novalcakeof thehotel ssoap

terwascoveredwithacopious

nderif ithurtswhentheythrow

ntaskedandsmiledattheref lec tion

bovethebowl. I t syourown

orcedyoutostayhere.

t, theref lec tionsaidc onsolingly.

ttheMerdoc kCompanywouldgo

afairlygood obw iththem, didn t

thelpitaboutB etty.

ockingsinthe washbasinand

mongthesoapsuds. Thereare

n, shegeneralized. O nek ind

waysliketohavethemaround.

asty,andMr.Swinkislike

U g h "

eknobwhichopenedthe

down thepipe.Thenshe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

e bowlwithfreshwater. m-

hesecondtime,MissGant

boy nowshowtohandlepeople,

what ' dhavedonew ithouthimthe

tac ent, ofcourse. Whyisitthe

utfatporkerslikeSw inkalways

tsurveyedthereflectionwitha

d p a y my b i ll f a st e n ou g h N o

ell, ' vemanagedtogetalong

hanyoneyet,andif do,it

moSwink . MissGant slaughter

Therearethingsworsethan

yYvonneassheletdownhergolden

n hose.

omwith twinbeds,butto-

haditalltohimself . Hewassandy-

ioned, alargeman ustbegin-

gar—his fourththatevening

edaviletaste,fornoreason atall

thom.He scowled.Thetobacco

ecrushedthebutt againstthe

.

H a m m on d t ho u gh t . n h i s gr i p wa s

foverf romhistripontheroad.

erv iceforabottleofWhiteRoc k.

H ell, don tliketodrink

eroomhepausedto seat

desk andcommencedtoscrib-

stationery. H ammond spenc il


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dgold, shapedtoasharppointat

anpencilsboastedonlyof an

atthe paper,andthelead

edthe goldtiptobring anew

edhisartistic effortsbydraw-

halongwaysfrom thefamous

wasyetareasonablygood

urve.

ongtime. shouldhavegonew ith

eadac hestall. w ish had. We

er.

o uartersandc ommenc edthe

ents. PoorNorah Thisisa

omanoughttohaveahomeof

montheroadallthetime. . .

thoughifweeverhaveak id. Won-

ketohavealittleshaverthatwas

ahwantsagirl. . . thatwouldn t

uptolook likeNorah....

y . mightbeabletomakeafootball

asofferingnofurther possi-

atacaricatureofhis sales

f thatguy isasalesmanager, ' m

ofWales ' msic kofhissales

otatwic eashighasitshouldbeand

ndlikeitifhesugarc oatsitw ith

beenbaseballplayersandprospec-

we veascendedthestratosphere,

ntarctic w ithA dmiralB yrd. Now

odigfortreasurein ingSolo-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

a u i ce D o es h e t hi n k we r e a b un c h

hefinaltouchestohissketchand

se atThompson sprofile.

ndoto ingSolomon sMines,

postrophizedtheportrait. Whythehell

outanddoagoodold- fashioned

llbetyounevereventhoughtof that,

thecaricature—thelikeness

ble— andtosseditat thewaste-

dharpies Theysitinthelobby

and ' dlikeaf ive-spotforevery

ted. H eopenedthedrawerof the

nt-mindedlyw ithin. shouldn t

ndermyskin.Theywerelying.

ng " TherewasaGideonB iblein

ondthumbedthroughitaimlessly

asanddroppeditlikea hot

g i ve a l l ' v e w on i n p ok e r th e l as t s i

eardthem.

f hotelstationeryandbegan

gunderhisbreathashe

There swhathelookslike. Dia-

moter,ishe indofswine

nsurancemoney, ' dsay . A ndif

Devonlitac igarette. H esmoked

ylitonewith thebuttfrom


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

chdelicateperceptionofthe

y,disorganizedtreadofan inebri-

ThatmustbeMr. Sw ink ,

I tsoundslikehim, but didn t

an. f openthedooratrif le

dpeekedintothecorridor.

w ithakeyhole. H e sdrunkas

reflec ted. A ndtothink letthat

Shewatc hedhisc lumsyef forts

nMrs. B lakely se c ellentears

.A soundwhichhadnobusi-

ofthethirdfloorof theH otel

lyheardthetinkleofbrokenglass. .

shereflec ted. Thensheremem-

athing ofthepast,andit was

hionabletocarrybottlesinthat

eredtheroom. He didn tc lose

s.B lakelythoughtthatwas

condsound,andthere wasno

ecorridorandpeepedthrough

ndMrs.B lakelyscreamed.

dehisbook. twastenminutes

dutyatthehour.H eroseto

musculararms,and then

omwherehelatheredhis hands

s.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

boisterousracket heavy

runkagain, C hrisspec ulated.

fumbling. Thedirtyhog.

saminute,andthen someone

m,piercingandshrill, andit

secondscream,onlyatrifle

thefirst,andthen athirdas

dor.Thescreamerwasa stout

be.She wasstandingatthe

m,number315,whichshouldhave

hehall.Mr. H ammondstuck

dtherewereMissGantof 311

rtoffluffy bluething)andMr.

hlittleMr.W estboroughfrom

" C h r i s u e st i on e d.

lakelygaspedhysterically . I

threeinches,allowingC hris

wink,likean enormousB illi-

onthe floor.Someonehadcut

tandfoldeditback,leavinga

reefeetfromthedoorway.

heroomwhichC hrissniffed

God " hec hokedandturnedatonc e

utthe door. Pleasegotoyour

ws.There sadangerousgasin

herewasafranticscurrying,

ofmultitudinousdoors.A d ust-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

itwasn thisbusinesstoplayde-

police—and errySpanger.

ghtaway,butwasitwise touse

Theremightbef ingerprints. He

,andit lockedautomatically.

ownroom arsonpic kedup

de plainedthecircumstancesto

A ndtell errySpanger, he

na semicircle,likethe udges

c euponthe gyptiandead. H alf

eChris arsonhadfoundthe

Swink,andthatbodywasstill

gthe arrivalofthemedical

eyesnowflittedfromonetoanother

the q uable shousedetec tive,

nd perple edhandacrosshis

e. errywasaboutforty-fiveand

isfac ewasround, ov ial—

oughhedidn tlook thepart,

erhadthereputationofbeinga

eO ' B yan, ac olossalf igureof

i feetfour, ifaninch, and

atelybroad. arson,nosmall

ntappraisingly,decidingthat

ertomi w ithinarough-and-tumble.

of theWaterTowerstationinwhose

uablewasloc ated.

ckof thehomic idesec tionwasthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

twoor threeminutesafter-

ck e a cu l at e d. T h en e i th e r th e wh o le

saturatedwiththegas,or this

enedthedoor.

ne d , O ' R ya n o pi n ed . S e e ho w

dfoldedouta theway.Theonly

o makesuretheglasswould

or. t splainenoughtome.

befastenedtothedoorinsome

e pickedupthewirefromthe

tdoyoumakeof thishook thing "

nordinaryhairpinbentoutof

nced.

h se n se t o i t, c am e f ro m O ' R ya n .

hat loopofstring,buthowwould

etothedoor "

swered. Hec losedthedoorand

wirebetweenthetopedgeof

mesothattheshort end,theone

allydownwards. H ere show

Swinkopenedthedoor, thew ire

ehadto tumbletothefloor.

it wasandgotawhiffof the

gyhandtuggedathismustac hein

Theonlything ' dliketoknow

ateanswer.H iseyesroved

boutthe bedroom.Therewasn t

as ustac onventionalhotelbed-

blybutsimplywithametalbed-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

largeloungechair,andtwoor

noneof theseweretheob ec ts

seyesf littedf romonetoanother

heroom. inallyheopened

oderatelylargecloset.Getting

kmadeathoroughinspection

nhere—althoughtherearen tany

a r so n o b e c t e d. F o r o ne t h in g i t

oranotherhedidn thavea

beingseen.Mrs. B lakely

hisroomandscreamedassoon

tion. I didn tthinkhedid.

of thedeadman. H aveyou

y " O ' Ryanshookhishead.

dhurriedly e amineditscon-

redbuc ksonhim. He glanced

sser. Therock inthatstickpin

redor missmyguess. A ndit s

anybodycould vepickedit

alkedtowardoneofthetwo

ev iously inspec ted. Wheredo

Spangeranswered. E very

nnectedthatway forthatmat-

thehotel. tmakesforf le ibility .

acentroomsintoasuiteat a

ngerclosedaboutthenarrow


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

the doorknob,andheturned

ngtheknob.H etuggedand

ed,thenrepeatedthee peri-

ppositesideofthe room.

o ck e d.

tively. Theyshouldbe.

ithoutordersfromthefront

ey "

estion. Dothesedoorshave

willoneofyourordinary

"

nydoorinthehotel, Spanger

Thatis,theoneswe keepat

floorkeyswillonlyworkon one

ds uarethumbtowardone

ro o m "

arsonanswered. Sheusedtoshare

rgirl, butherroommateleft

andshemovedintothissingle.

ontheotherside "

moc cupiedbyaMr. andMrs. Ham-

ostof thetime. Salesman, believe.

erofpeopleroomingoffthis

fterMrs.B lakelyscreamed.

ammondsamongthem "

nt, C hrisansweredpromptly .

ory . Yes, andMr. Hammond.

Mrs. H ammond.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

h nn y " O ' R y an a s ke d . Ma c ks h oo k

nt wanttoclearupbeforeDoc

rson, how dyouknowSwinkhad

nicacid "

thesameasprussic acid, isn tit "

hatwasali uid.

teli uid, boilingat78degrees,

n ed .

toroomtemperature. supposehe

rtok illhim. toughttobeeasy

fwas bought.There safifty-

whodoesn tkeeparecordof

nine,corrosivesublimate,or

ut ofthestorewithouta pre-

lowly . I don tbelievehe

e.

medicinalpurposesonlyin

c ent, believe. nhalingthesolu-

dizzyandprobablygivehim

tk illhim.

prussic ac idwoulddothe oball

cidwithoutwater.

a t "

akeit.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

a ch em is t, i sn t i t "

nehastodoisputsomeac idin

mor sodiumcyanide,andcork

hemicalreactionwhichgivesyou

diumor potassiumsalt.

n me " O ' R ya n e c l ai m ed .

yusedthatmethodtok illthein-

arsonelaborated. Theycovered

andthen theytookatwo-

omewater,someconcentrated

sodiumcyanide.Thenthey

thetentandranforit. Now,

ytheli uidhydrocyanicacid

pump.

lphuric ac id " Mac k in uired.

No, anyac id—evenaweakone

a black-coverednotebook.

c yanide, yousay Whic hdoyou

ethereaction.Mostpotassium

reverysimilar—both inphysical

calaction.

mant uizzically.

otaboutit, arson.

micalengineeringc ourse.

v en s o , ' m w i ll i ng t o b et y o u kn o w

you llf indinyourc ollegete t-

ontheside, arsonf lared.

obw iththeUnitedC yanideC om-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

fyou retry ingtoinsinu-

" M a ck i n te r ru p te d u i et l y. I ' v e

andawholelotof uestionsto

ngopinions. H ec ontinueddidac -

nhismemorycertainmental

ortunity isc oncerned, anybody in

it.Thatmeansany employeeor

and Nottomentionthepossi-

side.A sfaras motiveiscon-

ewhenwegeta fewstoriesfrom

hSwink . A ndasfarasmethod

napuzzledmanner. There re

oclearup. wanttoknow

wo blue-coatedpatrolmenen-

r " O ' R ya n e c l ai m ed . W h a t d

f irsttoanswer. talkedto

dme, chief . romthedeskhehas

cesto thelobbyaswellas the

edapapertoO ' Ryan, whoreadit

ist, asnearlyashec anremember,

eirkeyssincehe wentonduty

ositivenostrangerswentupalone,

e samestory.

O ' R ya n a sk e d.

kpartof thehotelandstartedask-

atrolmanrepliedw iththeairofone

boththoroughlyandconscien-

satimekeeper—thin- lippedguy

ostandbytheemployees en-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

egoingout—see Thisisa big

ent stakingnochancesona guy

mewhenhe ssupposedtobe

surethat nooneleftthehotel

andthatnoonec ameinwho

ef ireesc apes " O ' Ryancate-

redtriumphantly . Youbet did,

capesleadingto thealley.B oth

dfloor,butthestairsswing

em, andwhenhegetsof f , a

pagain.

scapeintownisbuilt thatway,

Didyouthink tolookatthedoors "

nd wentovereveryf ire-esc ape

o b "

ya n i nt e rr o ga t ed . F i n d th a t so m eb o dy

d. E verydamnoneof emwas

ef.

o b . O ' R y an g r in n ed l i ke a p l ea s ed

s " Mac ksnorteddeprec atingly .

bw ithonly fourtof ivehundred

aybeahundredandfiftypeople

eupallnight, Terry.

w e r e p ai d f or , a in t i t " O ' R y an


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R21

ctive. Whenyouwereonthe

tabadc op. What syourslant

and.

kmyself—fat, slimysortof fellow .

eoplefelt thesamewayabout

ppenedtonight—well, c an ttell

nttomyroomearlyandgotof f

rningsomethingfierce.

ahundredtimesaweekwhen

ydetail, Mac kcutin. Tellme

k,anyhow.

enedasw ideasthoseofababy.

don thavetotellyouwhathunc hes

houghtthefellow dbearwatc h-

onhimwhenever gotthec hanc e.

a ny t hi n g.

thehotel "

ow. Noranyfriendseither. n

imwithoneman. Guybythename

ownthehall. Signedtheregisteras

Yorkwhenheblew inlastMon-

eroomclerk , thathewasa

r th a n a m ' d l i ke t o me e t hi m "

Noonesmiledatthisw ittic ism, and

. Shallwehavehimin,

ocketfora cigarandspat

sket. F irst wanttoget ar-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edout. You rethenightc lerkhere,

"

eleven.

llevening "

ine. setthealarmc loc k forthat

pandstudyforac oupleofhours.

minuteMac k sfac elookeduncom-

ememberyoutoldmeaboutit.

t "

aprobleminc alc ulus.

ortofmathematic s, huh "

arsone c laimedwitharuefulfac e.

arithmicderivative,andwhenyou

ponentialfunction.

Mac ksaidw ithconv ic tion. A ny-

wrappedupin thelogarithmic

en tyou "

ranoiseinthehall "

"

ngtogetintoaroomthatdidn t

h a ve i n ve s ti g at e d, a r so n d ec l ar e d.

erkwithathoughtfule pres-

a r so n "

ofhisdaily routine—andsmiled.

morning.A hastilysnatchedtwo

agrandrushtothe L " tomakea

ganic . Moreclasses. ab. C lasses.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

backto thehotel.Grababite

Thatalarmclock Damnthe

sinterruptingwhatpromisedtobe

eshingsleepyou veeverknown.

fit. tisn tenough.Youknow

refallingbehindinyour

medsc hedule ustdoesn tallow

outside ofSundaysandthe

nonthe L . Nowyou reon

premebossduringthewee

tletoboss.C omplaints.Some-

ngsomebodyelse. Mrs. B lakely

einherroom. Youhavetogetthe

erythinginsideoutand assure

estvestigeof arodent.Makeout

fyou reluc ky , itc hec ksw iththe

sometimesthecashierhasforgotten

sbeenpaid. Thenyoulook in

f thenameshowsthereyouhave

howsoc c upiedintheroomrac kbut

ersarebadmedicine— andadamn

iddle-agedfellowcomesin

saroomforthenight. You re

. What reyoutryingtotell

smywife. Youarestillsorry, but

.H egoesoutmutteringven-

profanityafter you.Youturn

et.Thecashier srecordis

oucanget thehousecountand

dycomesindrunkandyouhave

withoutfallingdownthe ele-

work onthebills— stacksand


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

utandsky isgettinglighter.

thecloudsabrilliantcrimson

t s s e ve n o c l oc k ,a n d yo u r e

re soddenandheavy.There s

f blood.Younevergetenough

ghsleep.. .sleep.

andturnedtothedetec tive.

p r ob a bl y d o.

ndhedid notpursuefarther.

er "

rSwann.

eredlac onic ally.

rmed. Tookhisw ifeandwent

C ollinsiskeepingthetele-

f indoutwhere. Swann l1be

boutthis—I don tthink. tsure

ood.

teningtothisinter ec tion. I f

rson, yououghttobeatthedesk

ayingon. arry f iguredyoumight

kgruntedapprov ingly . I fevery-

ell, our obwouldbeawholelot

ou dprobablybetterstic karound

. mayhavetoaska uestionor

c antohelpout, C hrissmiled.

he p ro gr am O ' R ya n pu t in . W a n t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

mationofvitalimportanc etoc on-

henstoppedhastilyas hecaught

bout, C lanc y " thelatterasked. The

rentlyatthelittlemanin the

lk inonyou, c hief . stopped

andonthedoorknob.

here llbefor immy, Mack

feetfourinc hesO ' Ryan

r,whocouldn thavebeenmore

snarrowshouldered,flatchested,

dition.H isthinhandsweredeli-

ndhisfacewas triangular:broad

arrowingtowardasmall,

hairwas silveryandhiseyes

ndapairof gold-rimmedbifo-

matonce.

O ' R y an d e ma n de d g ru f fl y .

"

c orridor. rec alledoverhearing

nfromthisroomwhichmayor

u.

ewsecondstoscrutinizethe other

esaidatlength.

erthe thresholdandsurveyed

room.H elookedcuriouslyat

nnoddedatChris arson.

a r so n . d o n t b e li e ve a m a c-

gentlemen.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edlye cited,andhisvoicecar-

isc onversation "

Thursday. tmusthavebeeneither

ay believe.

d di n ne r .

abetterideaof thetimethanthat

embarrassment.

, but amafraid amunableto

tapersonofe tremelyregular

ogotodinneralmostanytime

clock.

ngroomdownstairs "

etof indthetimelateronf roma

ac kpeered uizzic allyattheun-

oyouknowabouttonight sbusi-

L i e ut e na n t Ma c k, i s n t i t h a ve

er time—sinceseven-thirty.

atc htonight. A lthough don t

helpful, w illit "

egoingon A nythingatall

c omingdownthecorridor. Hewas

ghhehadbeen drinkingtoo

tealittlenoiseinsertinghiskey

gbeforethat "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

sc ompletelyabsorbedinmy

yinthehotel "

wasthink ingaboutTra an.

a n "

rorswhoruledRomefrom96to

a b oo k — T ra a n : H i s i f e an d T im e s

m a f ra i d, M a ck d e cl a re d .

rryingamuchwornblackbag

eglanceddownwardtothe

happenedtothisfellow "

ndout, Doc, Mac kgrinnedamia-

borough. Youc angonow.

gthedoctorwith anobvious

tMac k , hesaid, I wonderifyoure-

mesWestborough.

" M a ck e c l ai m ed . M y G od , ye s

en wasf ramedinasdirtyadeal

' llsay remember imWestbor-

ur b r ot h er "

orrec tedgravely.

heardaboutthat. A nginapec -

pe o pl e m is s h im — b u t h a ve n t

Dropinathead uarterssome

iketohaveagoodc hatw ith imWest-

owever, shouldlikef irsttoaska

thefirstmurdercasein


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nremotely involved. f inditmostin-

tbetoomuchintheway. . .

" Mac k in uiredofhisasso-

antstostic karound, lethimstick .

roughmyself .

ghtenedupandfacedthe

waytokillaguy evermetin

isthatthedamnsc hemeworked.

ompleteflop.

bythat, Doc " Mac kasked.

ttoprussicacid poisoning:

rsclenched,pupilsdilated.B ut

doraboutthelips. Thereisonthe

enostrils. fhedidn tswallow

t.

uy isthetwoperc enta ueous

esPharmacopoeia—A cidwm

m. neverheardofanyonedying

don tsay itc an tbedone, mind

of it.

oneofthefragmentsofthe

kdatO ' Ryan.

ofprussicacid,Doc.Thisis

erkind.

k sw ink f rombehindthedoctor s

c to k n ow w ha t t ha t m ea n s. H e s


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R/31

cidwoulddoitallright, thedoc-

rined.H einspectedthetopof

fdetachedindif ferenc e. sup-

umcyanidewithanacidinthis

vedopeditout.

almondsstillclings.Thereis

cidwas containedinthis

eeredthis ob, thedoctorc on-

bleofachanceunlessheknewhe

endbendingdown toseewhat

onforprussicacidvaporis

ablyoneoftheleast efficient

ar. There sarec ordofafellow

ngonepartin twothousandfor

es.Nowcarbonmono ide

, Mac kdeclaredemphatic ally , has

iththisasmyauntHarrietup

aseinseveralways, Dr. Hil-

ohimself . O nc ethevaporgot

versethemembranesbyosmo-

owdoesafellowmanagetoget

"

r, asfaras ' mc oncerned.

eindustrialuses, believe, thedoc -

rialc hemistry soutofmyline.

boutit, arson Youseemtobe

ec t.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

umcyanideis ingoldsmelting.

nowofanygoldsmeltersinChic ago,

uch.Sodiumcyanideisalso

eel.Themildsteelis immersed

thing, Mack interrupted. There

ythingelse "

sedinsilverand goldplating.

' R ya n e ch o ed . T h er e s a b u il d in g

slousywithsilverplaters.

adog scentingthechase.

nfollowup. H isc igarbobbed

hismouth. C yanide salso

tit "

graphersuseit asanintensifier

avers.Yousee,potassiumcya-

ntforallthesilver halides...

echnicalforme, Mac k inter-

e, though, thatwec anaddbothphotogra-

list ofplaceswherethecyanide

ad a b ou t a n ho u r, ' d s a y, D r .

atc h. Thehandsshoweda uar-

imeheopenedthedoor, Mac k

ginatO ' Ryan. I suppose, Doc,

onswhyit washomicideandnot

romthemedic alevidence, Dr. H il-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

rc ananybodyelse. A ll c ansay

he wenttoahellof alotof

eyusedto pulloutmyfirst teeth

, O ' Ryancommented oc ularly .

tuntwouldmakeit easiertoget

morgue, Doc " Mac k in uired.

t he r e, a n d ' l l d o a po s t. H e

hisbag. There snotathing

w, notathing.

anks. Solong.

rgruntedonhiswayoutof the

an.

h sthrough, wec angetdownto

roomoverto immySelzer.

dbelloweddownthec orridor in

edyouthcarryingacameraand

e room.

i m my , M a ck d i re c te d . w a nt

stwherethisguyfellandac lose-up

g. A lso wantyoutogooverevery

hyourbrushandmercury

arson sandWestborough s

better taketheirimpressions

beforewehavehimcartedoff to

immySelzerc alledc heerfully.

outofherewhile immydoeshis

son. A nyvacantroomsinthisc or-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ntlemenmakeuseofmyroom "

pproved.

kedac rossthec orridorfollowed

arsonandW estboroughwere

y immySelzer.

r so n a nd W e s t bo r ou g h, h e s ai d , I

nts.

imeboth arsonandWestbor-

ed.A stheywalkedintothe lat-

rridor,the patrolmanstationedat

led.

akidsaythey wanttogetto

GrahamandH ammond. A skC ap-

l l ri g ht , w il l y ou "

nandMac kconversingwithPatrol-

Ryanwhatthepolic emaninthe

ere " O ' Ryanasked.

pi ed . T h e Gr a ha m s ar e n e t d o or t o

eH ammondsareacrossthe

h u h "

. N o , ' l l t ak e a l oo k at t h em m y -

ltonuphereanyway.

hedoor. Sweet obthisisgo-

ainedtoSpanger. We llproba-

y inthehotel. Wishwe dgetone

d about—somewaywecould

orridor,forinstance.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nstthepalm ofhisother

maybeabletohelpyouatthat.

sak indergartenteac herliv ing

bythenameof f f ieColmar.

twillnever seethirty-fiveagain.

sa brotherbythenameof

dmehisnamewasMarc us. H e

todinnertonight,andshe

m.

ha s

nny, andyouw ill. gatheredthat

dSisterdoesn tseehimanytoo

ohim inherownroominstead

estoyouruncle erry forper-

sted, bec ause neverwouldhave

muglikehersanyhow.

, e r ry . W h a t s i t a ll a b ou t "

e, shecouldhaveherbrotherinher

omakeeverythingaboveboard,

ortentously,andMack

ooropen, suppose "

nattheanticipationofhis

p, a n d th a t s u s t wh a t sh e d id . A n d

n abletoseeeveryonewho

ontheir waytotheroomsin this

rridoronthenorth, isn tthere "

ednearlyasmuc h. Theelevator


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dor, andit sthenaturalpas-

hotel.

slongasanybodyc ouldhave

corridor,we llstillhaveto

tel.

ddeninspiration. Thelinen

hewasinterruptedbythere-

amesChiltoninc ustody.

essfulbrokerhepurportedtobe

perfectly.H ewastallanddig-

hgray aboutthetemples.H is

couldn thavec ostlessthanahun-

cktiehad probablysethim

peculated.

atWestborough sdesk . Sit

Thechairheindicateddirectlyfaced

onfrowned.

ikethird-degreemethods. ' mnot

erany uestions.

th a t, S p an g er p u t in . Y o u r e g o -

boutthewayyoutalkto our

e m u p in c o tt o n wo o l M a ck

regoingtof inditw isertoc o-

rhometown, Chilton "

witha slowandlanguidassur-

n tmindtellingyouthat.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

e l l , wh a t do y ou d o i n Ne w Yo r k "

towardthedesklamp and

m a b r ok e r. A n d d o n t b e l i ev e t ha t a

"

rrangedtheshade. Yes, he

mpalone.

ulders.Theywererathera

, Chris arsonthought.

M a ck d e ma n de d .

ngham.

chMacknotedinhis little

g i n C h i ca g o, C h i l t on "

on r e pl i ed s u ll e nl y . Ma ck s n e t u e s-

ion.

s "

myfirm.

a edinthemannerofaf isher-

oreline.H ewentonin asilky

youbeenstay inghere "

y.

"

rs. F ourfulldaysyou ve

outwithsuddenforce. H owmany

attime "

sandfumbledfor acigarette.

edsarcastically . F ourdaysand

t "

, C hiltonmumbledevasively .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dthatoutbeforeyoulef tNew

silent. F oraso-calledbigbusiness

eryef f icient.

thetaunt. I t snoneofyour

mbinationbusinessandpleasure

eto waitformycustomers.

ingyourw ifealong " Mac k in-

pleasuretrip, O ' Ryancontributed

init snoneofyourbusiness, but

married.

onthandChic ago safunnytownfor

ellowfromNewYork.

iness, C hiltonreminded.

ys. Convenient, isn tit "

tshifted nervouslyinhisseat.

edtobegettingunderhis guard,

ghtc lerkc ouldn thelpbutad-

chthedetectivewasconducting

l th e t ru t h, C h i l t on M a ck s u g-

dignantlytohis feet.

notgoingtobec alledaliar

an sgigantichandonhis shoulder

r.

i gh t t he r e S e e "

tac k . Youknew lmo

dd e d. V e r y w el l " M a ck a s ke d .

tyoumeanbyverywell.

me a n "

fore registeredhere.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

c u a i n te d w it h h im , th e n "

usuallystart " C hiltontiltedhis

ssedhisank les. I satne tto

eveningsago.Strangersusually

vepoureddowntwoorthree

thing, didn the "

etec tive sfac ew ithgrudging

otabadguess.

c kdisc laimed. You vebeenseen

otelduringthelast fewdays.

sell himsomething,orhewas

ng.

d o— t h e i n k of G o ld .

C h i l t on d e cl a re d v eh e me n tl y . T h er e s

ominW esternmininglately,and

eagoodbuy,but— themotto

youinvest, investigate. "

Mac krepeated, writingdownthe

notebook . DidSw ink tellyou

ingonthelevel " Mac k ues-

booktohispocket.

vebeenupagainstalotofc onmen

hemprettywellbynow.

mm i t yo u rs e lf "

wouldn tputinac entw ithouta

wnagent.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

e t "

w ink lastMondaynight, didn t

edwithassumedc asualness.

hiltonreplied uic kly , tonight.

tseehimMonday, then "

mM o nd a y. d i dn t m e et h i m un t il

w i th h i m la s t ni g ht "

hm l as t n ig h t.

nnerw ithhimtonight "

ours "

onthetelephone ustbeforedinner

est.

entdowntogetherafewminutesaf ter

adfinishedourmealat eight.

"

ra whileandsmokedour

he lobbyatanytimebefore

. Hehadsomeproduc tionc harts

"

t ay i n S wi n k s r o om "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nutes.

sroomaboutf iveminutesto

y o u or h e "

hsdoor "

a n d do e sn t r e u i re l o ck i ng .

oorc losebehindyou "

nSw ink sroomwhenyouwent

el l .

stic kpinly ingonhisdresser "

e—yes.

hisnotebookandwas otting

maryofthelaconicconversa-

Swinkgoaf teryoulefthisroom "

ew ithhimtherestof theeve-

veuntilnearlyeleven.

"

stc orridor "

wnattheotherend.

henyousaidgood-night "

hecorridoruntilSw inkhadopened


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

omyroomandtookof fmyc oat.

someonescreamandrushedout.

einthehall.

kdismissedthesub ec tasofno

aveSwinkatanytime whileyou

n.

b e tt e r te l l yo u t he t r ut h , C h i l t on b e -

f therearsuspenderbuttonsonmy

slippeddownintothewashroom

e portersewiton.

g on e "

es.

toyourownroomoruptothe

view.

hat sallwewanttoknowtonight.

ay inthehotelforthene tfewdays,

ckoutwithoutseeing mefirst.

n de r s us p ic i on C h i l t on d e ma n de d

rsuspic ionuntilwegetthisthing

uietly, younomorethanany-

hasthoughhe wouldliketo

gain,andstrodeout oftheroom

m.MackturnedtoO ' Ryan.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

strikeyou, Terry "

rf romhispoc ketandsc annedit

him atransfertothedetec-

k ' mgoingtodoit. senthim

heroomclerkandseewhathe

whathesays. H ebegantoread

wink,accompaniedbyC hilton,

omandwenttotheelevator.

atthe thirdfloorandbothmen

upagainhalfan hourlaterand

ytheroomclerkto gointhe

rtenderremembersthatC hil-

mSwinkandwasgonea uarter

t uitesureof thetimebutthinks

othmenleftthebar again

evatormendonotremembertak-

nytime.

hiltontoldus.

c ourse, there sonething.

nguptothethirdf loor. Chilton

heelevator.

mwalk ingup.

nyonewhodid. O ' Ryanheaved

doyouthinkofhisstory, ohnny "

etterthan thefirst.

methingf ishyabouthim "

rself . He sbeenheresinc eMon-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ssandheadmitshehasn tdone

eNewYork togetintouc hw ith

m.

watc h.

nypeoplewe vegottotalk to,

somewhatc rossly . I fyoutakeaslong

withChilton, we llbeonthe ob

saidc heerfully , J errySpanger

cherwhomaysaveusapeckof

f f ieColmarandtheproprieties,

broadly .

manwho safraidofwhatthe

fac egrewsoberagainalmostin-

otherc orridor, however.

a r so n i nt e rr u pt e d, b u t t h ou g ht

eyoubroughtChiltonin. The

corridor,andournight house-

ki,spendstwoorthreehoursthere

heckofsupplies.Sheusually

, headded.

anddesc endedac rossMac k sshoul-

vebeenheardat theopposite

Nowwe rebeginningtogetsome-

urkindergartenteacherand

riss-c ross.

rsoncorrected.

ameis.

errySpangerhaddesc ribedher,

ve,atrifle near-sightedand


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

chgaveherthinfacea slightly

coloredhairwasgatheredupat

cientknot.Spangerhadgiven

makeyourselfdec ent, andthe

wereapparent.

c kbeganw ithoutpreamble, your

gw ithyou, didn the "

getupfromSpringfieldvery

oseehim. H e sadearboy—

ort.

eraboutentertaininghimin

ertoldyou thatitwouldbeall

pen, didn the "

tgetintotroublew iththemanage-

youshould. Youdidleavethedoor

eryminuteof thetime.

rotherleaveyou, MissColmar "

e el ev en .

ouandhegouptoyourroom "

d usthaddinner—suc halovely

e beenaboutseven.

lthattimeyoushouldhavebeen

passeddownthe corridor.

i gg l ed n e rv o us l y. I ' m a fr a id ' m

weebittoomuc hinterestinthe

pointedouteveryonewhopassed

eculateonwhothey wereand

fc ourse, ' mnotreallyac uainted

sfuntopretend.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nishly . A f terMarc uslef tme

dthenwenttobed. That sall

kemeup.

c ream ustaf teryoulef tyour

N o , d i dn t h e ar i t , bu t t he n

he waterrunning. Shepaused

meseeyourtallhandsomeman

torgoup ordownthecorridor

end,didyou "

id n t .

venotic edhim "

oorallthetime. didn twantto

emanager,eventhough had

rmission.

ac kmadehastetosay, We

uupany longer, MissColmar.

pe d y ou t s u s t to o t hr i l li n g to b e

rcase.

hertothedoor andMackgave

ames, but ' venevermetone.

ngthelisthehadreceivedfrom

owdoesherdopecheckwithyours,

ahamhandedinhiskey atthe

ndwentoutwithhis wifeand

oroughaskedforhis keyabout

y,betweennineandten Devon,

y . NodopeonMissGant. H e


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R49

c ket. Yourgirlf rienddidn t

loneeither.

ughtful. I fyouwantanyhelpin

dtothedetectivediv ision, ' m

wlet shearf rom risk rowski.

inadmiration.

mberthatname, ohnny. Notunless

ndwhite.

rgewomanwithflashingblack

rstrainedbackfromthe fore-

ywasapparentineveryfeature.

ient,andmetallic.Shegaveas

setoa uestionaswascon-

asatfirst difficulttodrawher

enminutesMackandO ' Ryan

acts.

kinginthe linenroomfrom

leven.

openduring theentiretime.

oticedanybodywhohadpassed

eddownthenorthcorridor—

— w i t h th e e c ep t io n o f a ch a mb e r-

dwasinthewestcorridorabout

everyevening.

uldgivethechambermaid s

kwasagainre uisitionedintoserv-

fnouse tryingtotalktoher

wentoffdutyat eleveno clock.

themostunbelievablein-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eatmanytowelswerealways

ouldcreditthemonstrous

tremecarelavishedupontheir

t intheirheartsto complain.

smissed, andO ' Ryanwas ubi-

assistanc eof arsonand

nimprovisedfloorplanofthe

wasanattentivespectatorto

ion,evengoingso farasto

am. F ormyownreferenc e,

apologetically.

Ryan sbigbluntforefinger

twowaveringparallellines

edbotherabout, ohnny, are

vacantrooms, arsonsays,

ier. ' mgoingtohavePhelan

heveryroomin thiscorridor.

e cyanideormaybefindthe

din.

kngintopeople sroomswithouta

sted.

riendlypushintoac hair. twas

arsonbelieved,butSpanger

eyourage, erry , thepolic ec aptain

, Spangerremonstrated, fussily

otel sguestsf romannoyance. Mack

rossthecorridorandbawlfor

tacledyouthappearedatonce.

ck i n u i re d .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nlyonthedoorknob. ' veused

l thelikelyplaces,too.The

oaslick obofkeepingthings

nthedoorknob "

s , a nd W e s t bo r ou g h s — a l l me s se d u p

h obtomake emout.

couldn tidentify "

hosethree.

ue "

e m t o gi v e it a r i de "

Mac kconc ludedthec onversa-

throughwe llmovebac k inhere. B ut

eprintsonthedoorknob.

theef fic ientSelzeranswered.

orough sbedroom. O ' Ryanhad

ehousedetectiveandassured

enantthatPhelanandMcC ar-

s, too " Mac k in uired.

goodunlessit sdonethoroughly .

olikethisatall, thediscomf ited

eshouldtakeordersf romhim.

ughttohaveawarrant, Spanger

gthewomen " Mac k ueried.

onuphere, Terry .

ceandreachedforthe telephone.

thatdetailslipmymind "

ewritingdesk,tooka sheet

wer,andwroteeightnamesin


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

ndoutwhereyourtesttubec ame

O ' R ya n s ho u te d . W h e r e "

thatgotinaroundmidnight

ears old.

. Mr. andMrs. Ronald . Graham.

ammond,waswiththem.

eGrahamk id—he sc alledC ed-

sbugsonchemistry,andhis

t sabigc ardboardbo w itha

dbottlesinit.

rstandingly.

umean. Myownyoungsterwantsme

dgotintosomesortof trouble

enton. Madethedamnedeststink -

andhisfolkstookit away

inacloset,wayonthe topshelf.

oingthroughtheroomand we

sstubesthatyouuseformi ing

"

enit, O ' Ryanspec ulated.

SwearsthesetwasO . . whenhis

.

dthedoor.

We regoingtolook intothis.

mseveraltimes beforeand


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R55

first.H ewasnearlyastall as

wasfarf rombeingasbroad. He had

air andalightmustache,

thatc uriouslawwhic hseems

pposites,Mrs.Grahamwasn t

blondewithwideblueeyes.

overtwenty-two, butherson, Cedric ,

e toherappearance.C edric,

rent,wasathin,somewhatnerv-

f boreddetachment,obviously

presenceofadults.

minvitedc ordially . Captain

' veseenyournameofteninthepapers,

' dhavethehonorofmeetingyou

of folkswhodon tc allitnohonor,

wn " Mrs. Grahaminv ited, bustling

dric, runintothebedroomand

stheworstpartof liv ingina

I dohopewewillbeabletof ind

m , O ' R ya n e p o st u la t ed . W h e r e s

son s "

dy lithographedlidofac ard-

agic MarvelsofChemistry . Strips

ous bottles,phials,andshort

oodenrackinthecenterheldsev-

y,otherscontainingvarious

nspicuousvacantspaceinthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

esttubesand helditbetween

Samek indallright, hepro-

gedoverthenamesprinted on

arply.

isshoulder. Whatdoyousee,

ntedtoalabelononeof thebottles.

toread, Sulphuric A c id—V ery

paredtheotherbottlesandtheir

There ssomethingwrongabout

manufacturerwouldputanything

ofk ids. A nd wasright. This

withtheset. t sadif ferentk ind,

elishandletteredand not

g, though, Mac kcommented. H e

emstomeyouhavesomee plain-

dric c himedin. I askedhimto

Papa "

m "

tomakesomee perimentsthat

dn twanttolethimhaveit, but

ycompromised. boughtthe

onornevertoopenit unless

operation.

C edric pipedinashrillsoprano.

ogetit, Mrs. Grahamlamented.

n t i t, M r. a rs on "

particularlysointhec onc entrated

erfulattractionforwater,which

sues.A singledropcouldre-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

erhusbandfirmly.

wthatstuf foutrightaway, Ron-

haveitaroundhereanothermin-

e en u s ed , M a ck o b se r ve d . W h a t

sfor, sonny "

f reeshydrogen, theboye -

ntofwords. wantedtomake

dme.

akestobeac hemistallright,

aham.

so n " M a c k in u i re d .

yc orrectaboutthate periment.

dric and hadourselvesabig

onwhilehismotherwasat a

eironfilings inthebottomofa

stenoughof thestuf f toc over em.

nto meltawayandthegas

heacid.Thenwetoucheda

blueflame.

llthis " Mackasked.

, Mrs. Grahamputin. I remem-

yof thel sparty , andthatwas

theac id " askedMac kabruptly .

kmadeanotherentryin thein-

heasked arson. H ow longhas

"

errySpangerc onf irmed. I tookpar-

movedinbecausehelooked

eerertome.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

opleknowSwink " Mac k in-

ah a m ec ho e d. W e v e s ca r ce l y se e n

acrossthehall " Mrs. Graham

ood-morningtomeonce.

Mrs. Graham Mac k inter-

Why, ofc ourse.

on e o f e m .

pressiononherfac e, Mrs. Graham

ndtoher hair. arsonnoted

vidcrimson.

hyonearthyouwantit, butit s

inwithabsorbedattention.

rderedacrossthehall thiseve-

Someonemadesomepoisongasin

erhis door.Thetesttubewas

on ssetandthere soneof those

ghthavebeenusedtomakethe

ere. A w irehairpinwasusedto

door—andyourwife wearsthe

ruthf romyou, Graham, hede-

rewereyoutonight "

t o ne , G r ah a m ba r ke d ,h i s a w s et -

thinkstilllessofyourmethods,

edbyeither.

u e st i on , M a ck b l us t er e d, o r

en aneagerlyinterestedspec-

n grantedpermissiontowatch


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

othis minutecontributednoth-

he interruptedtobreakthe

rc asecanbesolvedsoeasily , ieu-

yoneroomingoffthiscorridor

mindedthatC edricowneda

e " e r ry S p an g er c h or t le d . W e h a d

askedMac k, hiseyesremaining

mefromschool,hismotherwas

hemicalsettoplaywith.Pretty

estinkingestmessyou veever

deggsthathadbeenrottingsince

upanddownthecorridor,pop-

appenedtobehometo letthem

huc k led. Seemslikethatdamnrot-

ours.Youneversmeltany-

lp h id e , C e d r i c to l d hi m . I t d i d

idwewereallgoingtobeasked

s. Grahambrokein. I loc kedCed-

ec loset, andhehasn tbeenallowed

edric announcedsulkily . Rottenold

hingbutalotofbabytric ks. When

g o in g t o ge t m e a re a l la b or a to r y, a n d ' l l

ttothen, youbet.

ydrogensulphide " Mac k in-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eitwhenac teduponbyadilute

J ustaddsomehydroc hloric ac id

ance,andyou llgetyourrot-

yhydrochloric ac id, C edric in-

vedsodiumthiosulphateinwaterand

tworked,too.

ngerc onfirmed.

ef loorknewaboutthis " Mac k

e m t al k a bo u t mu c h el s e fo r t he n e t

dhavetobeblind,deaf,dumb,

mputatednot toknowwhat

Grahamunderwentavisibleal-

mindtellingyouthatifeveryoneonthe

e chemicalset,itdoesmakethe

edmewhatwedidtonight.Mrs.

dric toamovie—afterwardsweall

Mrs.H ammondwaswithus.

a nd " O ' K y a n as k ed .

orsomething.

f thetime, Mrs. Grahamputin,

havesortofmadeitahabitto

wheneverwegotoashow. ' d

behometonight, orwewouldn t

rse, shedidn thavetogow ithus,

nny— practicallyinsistedthat

e av e "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

amreplied. I didn tlookatthe

a m co n fe s se d . I t w a s u s t ei g ht -

obby.

ththekeytoyourroom " Mack

eitw ithyou "

ditinatthedesk . Wealways

, Mackreminded. Don tyou

"

supposewec ouldgetan-

llyneedit.

ndonlyroomkey wasdownat

yuntil—whattime dyouget

t w el v e.

tospendatamovie.

Wewentdowntothe oop—

tto knowwhere.Thenwehad

houghtitwas, Mrs. Graham

ttalkofanythingelsealltheway

erpicture. don tthinksomuc hof

ting, Cedric volunteered. The

menalltiedupand weregoing

hem,butthethird Gmancame

t " Mac k interrupted.

ietallevening, Mrs. Graham


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

heseemedworriedaboutsome-

ose.

ck s e c l am a ti o n mi g ht h a ve s t oo d f or

oldme,Mrs.Graham,thatyou

etwhenyoutookitawayfrom

oc kedwhileyouweregone "

et ourhatsandcoatsand

stof thetime, Cedric c ontributed.

mbertolockit.

gryglanceather offspring.

beentak ingadvantageofme

o t ha t , M a ck c ut i n . A r e y o u

ngthings, Cedric "

ic ac idbottle. Hasanyof

ur fathere perimentedwith

foreheadinintenseconcen-

t r e me mb e r d o n t b e li e ve P a pa

anthatinthebottle.

nyoneelseinthehotelaboutthis

stboroughin uirede c itedly .

theboyrepliedaftersomedelibera-

oroughaskedofGraham.

rtalkingaboutit.

m "

might vementionedittoMrs.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ngat, Mr. Westborough " Mac k

W e s t bo r ou g h e c l ai m ed w i th a n e rv -

dererundoubtedlyknewthathe

mtheboy sc hemic alset. B ut

tythathedidn tknowabout

s notusuallyincludedwith

efore

apped. H ehadtohavesomeacid

einhere.

c ase, it sinsomeroomof f thisc or-

prompttodec lare. Weknowthat

dorafterwards.

oroughpronounc edgravely , that

uarelyonthehead.

oomwhic h lmoSwinkhad

e, I wantmorefactsbefore

together. et stalk toMrs.

sttof indthebody, andwehaven t

factsf romher, Spangersnick -

ebiggestgossipinthehotel—and

g.

Mac kdirec ted. O ' Ryanbellowed

en. Themoreshegossips,the

noldgirllikethathasalotof

ng outthingsaboutherneigh-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

emovedfromthe floorat

ed.Someone,undoubtedlythedili-

gathereduptheshatteredfrag-

dlaidthemuponthe writing

edthemwithf reshinterest. Un ues-

nbrokentubewouldhavebeen

osefoundinthe rackofC edric

H einspectedthesludgeclinging

e tube.Transparentcrystals

vethisanalyzed "

y "

tsaltthisis, you llknowwhether

idewasusedandalsowhat

intent alonganothertrend

arson, peoplearealotUkeyour

emuptogetherinatesttube—that s

atyoucalla reaction,andsomebody

beenthink ing—whatdoyoucallthe

orksstartbut don ttakeany

hrisvolunteered.

ell, ' veahunchourolddame

fthose. We llgethertotalk ing,

ening. A lthough c an tseehow

thingtodowithputting the

herself .

R ya n a dv i se d .

gossip, Mac kwenton, ignoring

melikethatwithnothingtodobut

hy, ' llbetshec antellusevery-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hiscorridor— evenwhatthe

aham smiddlename.

O ' R ya n o ff e re d u i ck l y. W a n t t o

absent-mindedlyoutofthe

dtorainagain "

gownwhichenhancedthe

om,SarahB lakelysweptinthe

eanliner.H erlittlegrayeyes,

ghalargepair ofhorn-rimmed

tiveandprying.H ernosewas

eofaneagle sbeak,andher

romising. ittlefoldsofskin

bbyneck.

belligerent.

urspastmybedtimewaitingforyou

-abidingwoman, and wanttotell

now.

it " Mac ke c laimedwithpre-

s. B lakely , understandthatyou

whathadhappenedtoMr.

siblyatthistributeto herim-

did, O f f ic er—I don tknowyour

tMac k . H ec ompletedbelatedintro-

tainO ' Ryan. supposeyouknow

rsonandMr. Westborough "

SarahB lakelyacknowledged

hatthesegentrywerenot


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

herselfin achair,arranging

eration,whilehersmall gray

ratefeatureoftheroom.

vegotridofhim A lotofpeo-

hi c . d o n t k n ow w h et h er t h at s t r ue

kprobably am, but doknow

sleepagainif hadtositinthesame

erstoutbodyshivered. I never

don tintendtonow. Whatdo

aptainMack O r areyou ieu-

thedetec tivec orrected. B eginat

kely,andtellusaboutthis eve-

oomearly , Mrs. B lakelydec lared

daheadac he, havethemoftenlately ,

toldtheoculisttheyoughttobe

aminedmyeyes,buthesaid

fyouaskme, he soneof thesec on-

emenwhosimplywon ttake

whowmyowneyesfeel, shouldn t

enyouwenttoyourroom "

eaf ternineo c lock , but don t

tmusthavebeenaf ternine

se wastalk ingto stherHat-

floor—youknowMrs.H at-

estborough saidtoher, Gra-

ckalready—I don tknowwheretime

y ustc an tstarttodoanything

timetodosomethingelse. A nd


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ypoorGeorgealwaysusedto

c loserguessthanbetweennineand

ed, attemptingtoswitc hthec onversa-

George. B utitwasafutile

atehusband, youknow, hedied

rfellow Well, Georgehadasay-

orslaves. He oughttoknow,

avedathiswork,Georgedid.

ou llk illyourself ifyoukeepitup,

when go, ' dratherdieinhar-

lvenow ifhe dtakenmyadv ice. B ut

bornman. hadaregularbat-

thimtoput onhiswinter

ac ksaidc onciliatingly , but, Mrs.

aboutthetimeyouwentto your

avebeenafternine-thirty , the

e stherand wereinthelobby,

theelevatorbutMrs.W hip-

er— oneofthoseblack,shaggy

hetakesouteverynight. t s

' veremarkedonitseveraltimes.

y—probablyannoyedathis

enMrs.B lakelyafreehand,

oyourroomuntilafternine-

beenmuc hafternine-thirty , because

orthat Mrs.W hippetcamedown


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

c ause ustbefore hadsaidto

r. Sw inkwalk ingdownthe

stetoputin.

on tknowwhattimethatwas.

room, wenttobedrightaway, or

twasSw inkyouheardwalk ing

Mack uestioned.

viertreadthananyoneelse. He

ink. putGeorgeonaneighteen-

grumbledalot aboutit,but

andhelost twentypoundsin

wassaying,Mr.Swinkwalksheavier

tumbledaroundso couldtell

rink . mustsay wasdisap-

neverthoughthewasa drinking

occasionalglassofwine,but

ongeraroundthehouse,

hing—well, anyway, af ter heard

ouldn thurttoputmydressing

utinthehall. He mightbein

dnevercomesamiss,if do

asyouwouldhavethemdounto

vealwaystriedtoliveupto. Sarah,

cprac tic ingChristian ' veever

osaytome.

thehall " Mac kasked.

thekeyhole, and mustsaythat

t stoodinmydoorwayand

gotthe doorunlocked,andthen,

heardsomethingfall. tsounded


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

thought, Mercyme sMr.

bedw ithhim ' H edidn ttry

d thoughtthatwasfunny.

nd thought, O hmygoodness,

e, bettergoandseewhat

wentacrossthehallandlookedin

khadn tgotaroundtoturn-

tin thecorridorwason,and

oom.H ewaslyingthereall

sawsucha sightinyourlife.

yrippeduphiscarpetandfolded

anactofpurevandalism

epiec esofbrokenglassonthef loor,

knewsomethingwaswrong.

m p s yc h ic a n yw a y, k n ew u s t as

ou resittingac rossf rommenow,

winkwasdead.Therewasa

knewsomebodyhadmurdered

med.Mr.H ammondcamerunning

antgirlout ofhers,andMr.

arson.Yes,andMr.Devon,too.

wayand openedthewindow.

erallgo backtoourrooms.

w inkhadbeenmurdered " Mac k

h at s a l l c a n t t e ll y o u ho w k n ew

noseonyourface— nooffense

.

minentprotuberancewhile

atbeakofyours, ohnny.

tenanthastilychangedthesub-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hedeadmanpersonally , Mrs.

k ne w h im v er y w el l , an d , on t h e

can tsaythat didn tknowhim.

etheotherday. hadseenMr.

hisroomseveraltimes,and

whenhec ameuptomeinthelobby

afternoon,madam,lovelyweather,

' s a id , I ca n t s a y th a t it i s , be -

aythis monthandwillprobably

ndhesmiledandsaid, That s

welaughed, andhesaid, I really

ce amanewneighborof

toldhimwho was, andhe

l a k el y a n d s a id , Y e s, G e or g e

heanswered, Why, usedtoknow

estfellowson earth.O nly

ndersuchcircumstances. A nd

ld i s a s ma l l pl a ce , i sn t i t ' A n d h e

dearMrs. B lakely , youreallymust

ngmetotakeyouto luncheon.

ingroom, and mustsaythat

othings. venbetterthan

wkwardinpublicsometimes,as

y was uitesurprisedtonightto

nderthe influenceofalcohol.

unc hthathehadnouseforitin

verreallyknowthe truthabout

oldmine " Mac kprobed. His

sforwardinsurprise.

youknowthat t soutinC olo-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

orgetown. sn tthatac oinc i-

o M r. S w in k , W o u l dn t i t b e a wo n de r -

oinvesthis moneyinatown

fc oursethemoneywouldn tbe

wouldbeinthemine, andthat s

bolinkofGold, think, orisit

ell, anyway, theprinc iplewouldbe

hemineorthetown, as saidto

ottedline " Mac kwantedto

s a id t o M r. S wi n k, M y po o r de a r

opinionthat hadtobelooked

gh mustsaythatwhenitcame

se alwaysgotalongbetterthan

oGeorgelef thismoneytiedupin

wanceandnothingelse. O fc ourse,

nvestments c an, but haveto

slawyer,andheis inclinedto

y , onetimewhen wenttohim

mnlyasa udgeuntil gotc lear

aughing, MydearMrs.

ourhusband sgood udgment

imeyouv isitme. Well, that s

ndhedidn tseemtolikeitvery

nttosayawordagainstmylawyer

econservativeoldfogies,and

ttheyweren tevenabletohang

it.W ell,afterlunchhetold

oyedmeetingGeorge sw ife, and

mutual. B ut mustsaythat

af terthat.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

khad anyenemiesinthis

uestioned.

at h e h ad e a ct l y. O f c o u rs e , Mr . H a m -

kehim, andtheGantgirlpre-

eraf tershegotc aughtw ithhimin

h r is a r so n f la m ed .

ressingaguestof thishotel,

enightclerk,hisfacea vivid,

essforadramaticsecond.

Mrs. B lakely , heapologized.

ngman, thatifyougoaroundc alling

ouwon thaveyourposition

odthatpolitenesswasoneof the

otelemployee. ' mnotgoingto

stime

rs . B l a k el y . ( a t o ld s o w, ' d

harridancanthrowherfilth

art sc ontent, and c an tstop

hingasslander, suppose. f

w ar n h er , o b o r no o b .)

ettingsomewhere, Mac k

t H a m m on d l ik e S wi n k "

spredictionthatMrs. B lakely

tin thishumanfermentand

ve spowersofdiv ination. H e

entaloudsniff andrighteously

blac kgown. L ikeapiousvul-

r perhapsapray ingmantis. That


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

isinthehabitofdevouringher

idn tH ammondlikeSw ink "

edagain.

h at h e d id n t . M r. H a m m on d m ay b e as

now. B ut alwayssaythatifa

sgoingonrightunderhisnose, he

awoman.

" Mac kcontinuedtoprobe.

rtedrightoutintheopenw itha

rahH ammond A ndifevera

manwas Mr.Swink Theway

ht ustaswellhavec omeright

I ' dc ertainly liketogetbetter

ister. Myhusband sawaymost

lonely . "

icattempttomimictheinflec-

an svoic ewasludicrous, arson

sting. He putin uic kly , Mrs.

rlyeverybodyshemeets.Sheis

yperson.

' R ya n g ru n te d a pp r ov i ng l y. T h at s

l a k e ly b r id l ed . I d o n t l i ke h e r st y le

mileateveryone—a womanlike

but thewayshesmiledat

erentfromthewayshe smiles

aidto stherHatterasthisaf ter-

otthroughsayingitthan

d seebutMr. H ammond. Well,

medownwithafeather Talk


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ougossiping " Mac kwanted

onf idenc esisnotgossip, Mrs.

I don tknowwhetherMr. H am-

fhedid, hedidn tsayanything.

ouldn t. Nomanlikestolearn

oolofhimbehind hisback.

ttostayhomemoreandlookaf ter

er. Satanalwaysf indsmisc hief foridle

g r ea l ly w r on g , it s m y o b t o do

angerremarked. Didyouactu-

outofMrs. Hammond sroom "

ahB lakelyemphasizedsenten-

dtosuggest:

eeanydef initeevidenceofanaf fair

andMr. Swink , didyou "

ack-and-whiteevidencethatyou

c ourt, no, Mrs. B lakelyde-

sawholelotmoregoingonthan

ac e. Myfriendssay ' m

velingman " Mac k interrupted.

ad—I guessthat sthewaytheyput

ompany.No-Runnoorsome-

c alled. Mr. Hammondisawaymost

ygetsinona ridayandstays

That swhy wassosurprisedto

don teverrememberthathe

ore.A ndhealwaysgoesout

ing.

hepump. You repretty


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

urneighborsinthiscorridor,

e ly "

hristiandutytobeneighborly. A l-

e ssomeofthemthatdon tfeel

w,Mr.W estboroughisanice

andMr.Devonis realcheerful,

regularic eberg. simplywon t

e paintsherfingernailsred,too,

tdoesn tknowanybetter. A s

s, I f t h e o r d ha d wa n te d u s to

d h a ve g i ve n e m t o us . t i s n t

gainstHisw ill. "

mdoforaliving " Mac k

gain. H e sanartist. H ehas

op. Hec allsitanof f ic eandsays

ttomakeit soundmorerespect-

n ttellme, though, thathedoesn t

stthesame. A ndhowMrs. Graham

paintinga lotofshameless

n c ansee.

mechanicallyaccuratepen-and-

y, Westboroughvolunteered

ra h B l a k el y s no r te d . W h o e ve r h ea r d of

wnudewomen A ndhowhe

ethan c ansee. tmustc ost

tokeepan apartmentinthis

tmuc hofanapartment—j usttwo

but forthesamemoneythey

hesuburbs.A nditwouldbe

o t sshamefultokeepthatboy


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nac age, as told stherHat-

to mischiefwithhischemicals

isn tMr. Graham sboy. Maybe

en tbeenmarriedmorethan

rchildby aformerhusbandwho

toldme. mustadmitthatMr.

ustlikeareal son,although

meashav ingoneofyourown. Mr.

imonc e, there snosensationinthe

aveyour ownfleshandblood

. ' vegotthree, said, and

gabout. YouandMrs. Graham

veoneofyourown,andthen

ot r ig ht . "

h i m, a n yw a y H o w d h e t ak e t ha t

eandtoldmetomindmyown

beenveryf riendlysinc e.

sw ifeac uaintedw ithSwink "

ethimfac etofac einthehallone

ennod. B utthenthatMrs. Gra-

g.

dy uiveredw ithrepressedlaughter.

ic erec ordsstraight, Mrs. B lakely ,

raham smiddleinitia l, E ,

nedpromptly.

fac eandtook two uartersf rom


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

oufourbits, ohnny. Mac kpoc keted

Mr. Devon " hec ontinued.

verywell. He alwaysseemspleas-

ather peculiarlanguagenow

d, andmakesmistakesinhisgram-

rybodywhoc anhaveac ollegeedu-

ss ' mnosnob. L iveandletlive

tedthesentimentwithanappro-

ntinued, believehesells

ec onf irmed. I c heckedthatupthe

ed. Devondidn tlook uiteright

anmakeouthe sonthelevel.

s billinadvance,andthat s

otebook . Mrs. B lakely, we

tellmewhatyouknowabout

B l a k el y s ni f fe d a ga i n. w as w o n-

askabouther.Sheusedto

roommatemovedoutonher last

hewholeweek shotelbillto

ecoulddoit, orif shedidshehada

y shewantstolivebeyondher

ansee. know itsoundsbigtobe

' m s t ay i ng a t t he q u a b l e, b u t

erandmak ingastenographer s

lyhuntmyselfamoreine pensive

eseclubsforgirls wouldbea

elieve, onlyofc oursetheywouldn t

erroom.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

astincturedwithvenom. arson

gaboutthat. Swink , sodrunkhe

blunderedintothewrongroom.

eathathewasin therethan

lemin differentialcalculus,

esneered. H owc ouldhegetinto

min Thesedoorslock , don t

hapatiencewhichhewasfar

nt sdoorstuckalittleinthedoor

aysc losetightenoughtowork the

penterf i edit, andhe llverify

ngaboutthec onditionof thedoor.

kn g on i t t he n e t d a y, M r s.

e dprobablysayanythingyoutold

curbedahotretortin answer

W h e n d id t h is h a pp e n "

Tuesdayevening.

tingtomeaboutit, arson,

ec essary , arsondefendedhimself .

heconditionofthedoor wasobvi-

soonasshefoundhim inher

c eandesc ortedthemantohisown

tterwastrifling.

whenpeoplestartgettingintowrong

ed. You retak ingtoomuchon


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

DidyouseeMissGantopenher

shetellyouaboutthat after-

fterwards, arsonwasforced

ow ingly . manwillbelieve

rltellshim.MyGeorge wasa

menwereconcerned.

rnedtohis groundsofcom-

ene ttimeyouf indafellow ina

eredperemptorily . Thehotelpays

s,not you.Youweren teven

"

en, oryouwouldn thavebeenright

ed.C omeonnow,howdidshe

a i r m u ss e d "

lthymind, arsonacc used

supposeit syourrottenpro-

andtooka stepforward.

ercrac k likethatoutofyouand

arsondemanded, histemperrisingto

' m r e ad y a ny t i me y o u sa y "

eenthetwomen. Shutup, you

r ' llloc kupbothofyou. Yes,

rs.B lakely,ratheragainst

urnedto closethedoorbehind


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

n u i et l y, i t s t i me f o r yo u t o ta l k

sbetweenyouandtheGantgirl,

w ink theothernight "

edandhisvoic e uiveringw ith

wheeledtofacethedetective.

a t y ou m e an .

ac kcontradic tedinatoneofdeadly

gonbetweenyouandtheGantgirl "

y . sc arcelyknowMissGant.

theothernight, suppose "

t s m y b us i ne s s to k n ow w ho t h e

ndMissGantis oneofthem.

ustanotherguesttoyou "

neditsc oolness. Youareattac h-

cetothe incident.Swinkwas

lydrunk,butstupid and

himafteryoufoundhiminher

ed. Takeyourtimeandgiveusall

feetandoutthedoor.

,of course.

oorbetweenthetworooms "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

f it. Theconnectingdoorsareal-

ceordersthemopened.

enit.

asskeyaroundwithme.

f du t y.

m "

emdownatthedesk . Sometimesa

kagetoaroomwhenaguestis

Mr. Swannhasapasskeyand

emaidshavefloorkeys.B ut

rs.

tationsintheblac kbook . A ll

k toyourstory . Wasthedoorto

hallopen "

ed.

oofargone. reachedinhispoc ket

helpedhimovertothebed,

openedthe window,andleft

i m "

hatmydutytothehotelinvolved

ks.

oughthelittleheapofarticles

mthedeadman sclothesand

ed inaneat,orderlypile.A

se.A tooledleatherbillfold.

nony andpenc iltomatc h, both

bo .Twohandkerchiefs:one

obv ious spare. A leather


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

d, isbotheringme, too.

t s t ic k, d o es i t "

Nope, testedit, anditworks

ringloc ksthedooreverytimeyou

dapasskey, Spangerc ogitated,

howhegotholdofone. A s arson

anyof em, andwekeepac lose

fapasskeywasmissing ' d

here sbeennosuchthing re-

urewhich of fertoyouforwhatitis

nterpolatedinatimorousvoice.

or someonetoborrowsurrepti-

asskeyandretainit sufficiently

made "

cisively.

ror so.Noonecouldsneaka

withoutit beingnoticed.

lyafewsecondstosec ureawa

oughpersisted. I t sc onceivable

one withoute citingundue

mpression,itwouldbe, believe,

duplicatekey.

ooddodgeforf ic tionwriters,

everseea keymadefromone,

stf romwa w ithnopartic ular

observedveryhandsomebronzespro-

literally lostwa —proc ess. A

ithapreparedmi tureofplaster,

theringredients,whichhardensina


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

withstandhightemperatures.

awayandthemoltenbronze

old.

ctro-deposition, too, arson

u dhavetomakethewa c onduc tive

e, andthenyou dhangitf rom

ution.

e o i n e d no n co m mi t ta l ly . d o n t

seerpurdooorelectro-plating.

evermethavetohavetheoriginal

eablank ofthepropersize

enlittleinterestinthisdisc us-

eaofhis own.

kdthelocks.

ththeeagernessofasmallboy

eson. I don tsay itc an tbe

w a s on t h e fo r ce , l e ar n ed t h er e s

omeguyc an tpic k—ifyougive

righttools. B ut w illsaythis:

ughputtinggoodcylinderlocks

gthemisno obforanamateur.

eralk indsof loc ksmyself: ohnny

formyowninformation, e peri-

when f irstc amehere. c ouldn t

s t bo r ou g h br o ke i n e c i te d ly . T h e

ntheonehandthe difficulty,

le,ofsecuringapasskey onthe

obabilitythatthetwodoorscould

rmeans.Perhapsthesolution

er,doesn tthehotelkeepa com-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

something, Terry , Mac kputin

g r ea t i de a , al l r ig h t, b u t Sw i nk s k e y

ham s, yes, butnotSw ink s. Take

sdope, andyou llsee ' mright.

deskafterdinner,buthenever

cemoretohislist, agreedthat

ksuggestedthatH ammondbe

.

heheardMrs. B lakelyandher

eandSwink.W eneedmore

boutthese peopleinthecorri-

elyhaddrippedherpoison, ar-

his conscience.Orrather the

ninnatesenseof conductbe-

dtheloyaltyone owestoanim-

dthe law . Shouldheorshould

mory A lonelywomanstealing

e uiethoursof thenight. Un-

ves Yes,hetoldhimself,but

Murdermostfoul, eventhough

haven ttherighttoshieldany-

. B uttothrow intothedisc us-

osechoicenesswoulddocredit

l, theredidn tseemtobeanyhelp

astnightwhic h thinkyou

gan. I twasprobablyabouttwo-

rs.H ammondcameintothe

s.A lone.Sheaskedforherkey

bouttenminuteslaterSwink


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

key.A ndhewasin evening

ck e a cu l at e d. W h y d i dn t y o u te l l

hedoortothec orridor. Phelan,

. No, alone. We llgetherhus-

, Mackdeclared,consulting

useagoodstrongc upofblac kcof fee.

"

lephone. I ' llseewhatc anbe

okeintothetransmitter, thenhung

cof feeinafewminutes, and told

ndwiches.

vely . That sthetic ket "

dinNorahHammond. H erf laming

selyaboutherslenderfigure.

umbledinbangsfardownon her

wsweretwodarkandnarrow

hiteskin.H ermouth,friendly

wasatrifletoo largeforthe

M a ck a s ke d .

eref i eddownwardonhersmallred

inlysorrytolearnofMr. Swink s

amabletotellyouanythinguse-

fromthehotelthe entireeve-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

outwithhim. B ut didn tknow

Ryanpronounc edpaternally .

c kordered.

y an . M u st ? "

akeyou "

u e .

o b ad , O ' R y an d e cl a re d .

ehotel " Mac kcon ec tured.

o. Therearealwayssomanygos-

thelobby.

at sputtingitmildly.

obusinessgoingw ithhim—I really

nd. B ut redisawaymostof

eenso manylonesomeevenings.

oboredw ithmyself ' dwantto

er " Mac kprobed. A c oc k-

ose "

rynice.Mr.Swinkknewhow

tertainingtalker.We danced

thatwasn tsobad. orafatman

tonhisfeet.Not suchagood

se, butfarf rombeingapoor

u o r af f ec t h im M a ck w an t ed t o

raisedherheadandlaughed.

sk that Wehadseveralhighballs

evening, and neversawaman

arryany li uor, Spangerc om-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eirstomachor something,

O ' R y an i n te r e c te d . W h y

fromhimearlier "

eptpullingmedowntomychair

toraiseasc ene. Yousee, shec on-

endof red sac rosstheroom, and

dn tseeme, thankgoodness, but

ingthatwouldattractattention.

etogetaway " O ' Ryanasked.

wardinhischairand wentto

yeverybodyinthe placeturned

wasneversoembarrassedinall

red sf riendhadgonebythat

Ryancommentedparenthetic ally ,

mostofhistimein getting

stnight,and tonight.

p i g N o ra h H a m mo n d e -

hewaiterwokehimupfinally

mecoffee.A fterthatwemanaged

gh "

e "

atwereall Well, slappedhis

andaf terthathestayedonhis

tthethingshekeptsay ing The

q uable, and said, Nothing

kinto thislobbywithyou.

w ill. H etriedtoputhishaton—

yhome,anditwasaterrible

right, baby. ' llwaitouthere. B ut


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ght c ause ' mc omingintosee

doorofthecaband walkedintothe

rewasn tanybodytherebutMr.

ynic e, and knewhe dnevertellon

ed,stareddownatthecarpetasMrs.

erstory . gottomyownroom

wasneversomadinallmylife—I

e. Honestly, believethatifMr.

omyroomthatnight would

arevolver,youknow,whichhe

eson theroad.

t he n M a ck i n u i re d .

A nd satupforalongtime

sactuallyafraidtogoto beduntil

mthene troom. thoughthis

hen heardthemattheC lub, but

weetestmusic everlistenedto.

yselfbefore gotoutofbed,

yougetfortwo-timingthebesthus-

eragain. "

ullyathischin. Soyour

I s u pp o se s h ou l dn t h a ve

edoesn twalkaroundw iththe

Ryaninformed.

that.

nounc edslow ly, hasgotaboutas

asmyauntH arrietupatNiles,

mthinking, Mrs. H ammond, it s

Sw inkwasn tshot. A lsothat

hotelallevening. H eturned


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

weregoneallevening, weren t

s, ofc ourse.

Mrs.Graham.

oyalonehere, didn tthey "

mwithus.

rthename. twasaboutsec retserv ice

ofshooting. don tc aremuch

dneitherdoes uella.Mr.

ditthough.

rtheshow"

ataC hineserestaurant. Ronald

upontakingus.

w iththeGrahams, aren tyou "

p le , s h e e c l a i me d . L u s o n e of

g ot . d o n t k n ow w ha t ' d d o wi t h-

esoutontheroad.

day, didn the "

Mondayasusual, suppose "

eemoredayswithhim. Seems

ttochaseouttonight withthe

rhusbandat homealone.

NorahHammondanswered

nttogo, butheinsisted. Saidhefelt

c ompany, andhefeltheoughtto

ehemeantit, and didn twant


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

Mr. andMrs.Grahamright

WasMr. H ammondinbed

forme. Shelaughed. Men

ings. c ountedsi separate

andtheroomwassimply reek-

edhimproperlyaboutit.The

lddo forhishead.

Ryanmovedwithsurprising

tothepatrolmaninthec orridor.

drightaway, andkeepMrs. Ham-

anduntilwe vehadachanceto

f romthedoor. Thatmustbe

c kcon ec tured. arsonawaitedthe

ithmisgivings. Hedidn tliketo

trumentalinfocusingpolice

nightofthe road.Yethewas

ackandO ' Ryanweresharply

ucouldn tblamethem.H am-

ample, hadsoundeddec idedly

dac uiredheadachesonlyafter

usal,notsuddenlyandoppor-

ictorianvirgin.A lsohecould

mmondhadbeentellingtheen-

rmedherhusbandabout hereve-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edinasoundlesswhistle. Yes, thesit-

sting,heconcluded,ashe

osstothedoor.

ywithawell-loadedtray,

standad ac enttothebed.

strongandblack,hadgulped

sthoughtfullymunchinga

methepatrolmanbroughtin

maswerepartiallyobsc uredbya

dpurplesilk . Whatyoubeen

hedemanded, infuriatedandplainly

arsonhadalreadyobserved,

whento becalm.Themore

peared,themoreplacidMack s

renow uietly f i eduponthesales-

ot untilhehadrelightedthe

beensmokingor chewingmost

ttitude, Hammond.

fistagainstthenightstand so

etrayclattered.H ishandwas

ackcoveredbyshortblack

mnwhatyoulike " Thedishesc lat-

wafewpeopledownattheC ityHall,

won tstandforanyofyourgoddam

' llgetyourshield.

I f itwasa uestionof

your pullmightwork.B ut

rderrap.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

esalesmanechoed, hisvoicesof tened

bigenoughtopullmeoff this

Nottill getthetruthoutofsome-

d.

achairwhileMackcoolly

orlamp.Thesalesman slower

hatyoumeanmurderrap "

etectivetobluster, arson

t.W ithdisarmingsuddenness,

seyoucaughthimplaying

H a m m on d s ho u te d , sp r in g in g t o hi s

thavelookedtw ic eattheswine.

barked. Weknowdif ferently . She

withhim lastnight.

mond shandplowedfeverishly through

saidthat "

uisition. Hewasasrelentless

ysiciandissectingwithhis

ooutw ithyourw ifetonight "

dozenc igars Q ueersortofhead-

toc almmynerves, H ammond

eweren tyou "

l, g ue ss w as "

eandsayyoudidn tknowshe d


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

Think ' dhavestayed uietly in

n t ha t "

pt e d. W h a t w ou l d yo u h av e d on e "

de ec tedlyagainsthisc hair. I

' dhavebeatenhimwithinaninc h

t y o u M a ck s n ee r ed . W h a t y ou

you dhavetakenthatgunof

k no w "

m, Mac kc ontinued, hiseyesf i ed

mond s. Youdidn tshoothim

betterway. H epausedpor-

d,whatmadeyousmokesomany

w a s ne r vo u s, a n d

ory,andnotevenverygood

Mac kderided. Whydon tyou

mokedallthosecigarstocover

m on d r ep e at e d.

onds, Mac k flungathim.

Hammond sbew ildermentwasap-

asit arsoncouldn ttell, and

.Thedetectivewentonlikea

onenailafteranotherintoa

thydroc yanic ac idsmellslike

crossthecorridortoGraham s


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tstealatesttubeandsomesul-

sc hemic alset "

H ammond sforehead. No.

edinasilkyvoic ewhic hallbut

tputtheac idinthetesttube

siumcyanidetoitandc orkupthe

tyourself intothisroomthroughthe

rownroom And,without

all,hookthetesttubeabovethe

f thosethings, H ammondshouted.

elikethis.

edoor, Mac krepeated, hisvoic e

do. B ec auseyouc ouldn tgo

thedoorafteryou withoutdis-

tyoucouldgobackto your

nnec tingdoor. A ndyou rethe

could.

mmondprotested, completelyunnerved.

tyoumeanbyatesttubeandac on-

yownroomeveryminuteof the

odowntothelobbyforac igar.

c an t. wastherealone.

shorttimeagoyoureferredto

"

somegossip, H ammondc onfessed,

f loor.

tooneofherc ronies. nthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

fsuddenangerheadded, Theold

ewholedaylong.Goddam

ngaboutMrs. H ammond "

yhomemorebec auseNorahwas

nk.

"

ntiref rankness. I didn tthink

myself knewNorahandc ouldtrust

Theworstpartofgossiplikethat

k in. Youc an tkeepfromwon-

tsomethingtoit.

h ea r d th e ms a y "

ustc aughtthatbyac c ident. The

utup.

worriedyousothatyouwouldn tgo

Macke c laimedsarcastically . Ham-

e palmofhishand.

it , y ou w o n t . B u t N or a h me a ns a l o t

g u es s . ' m o n t he r o ad a l o t of t h e

tyofopportunitiesforhell-

yeds uarew ithNorah. Uptotoday

dn tbeendoingthesamewithme.

hesitantly . usedtowonder

enhe learnedhiswifehadbeen

know. A nd tellyouithurtslike

gaboutyourw ife, O ' Ryan

hion. We veheardherstory,

dwastohavedinner with


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

Hammond svoic ebetrayedhis

Ryanheartily testif ied. That

mond.

iefinthesalesman seyes.

ntofyoutosaythat. apprec iateit.

dedbrus ueness, advised, F orget

dtotakefulladvantageofHam-

d

epusoutbygivingthestraight

ions "

earSwinkmovinginhisroom

mtalk ingtoanotherfellowabout

ad. I c ouldn tdistinguish

s ta y i n th e r oo m "

s.B utSwinkcamebacklater.

nminutestoeleven, Mac kpro-

dissent. I don tmeanthen.

ov ingabouttheroom.

M a ck e a c ul a te d .

u re o f t he t i me . ' d s a y it w a s ni n e-

as a l on e "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

a ga i n "

t, don teverrememberhearing

dabouttheroomforfive,maybe

stoppedhearinghim. wasn t

ntion,totellthetruth.

Sw ink " Mac kasked uietly .

d b li n ke d r ap i dl y . I c a n t s we a r th a t

eavytreadandwalkedlike

ouldtell.

ssivesolemnity, I fyou

me, Hammond, thepersonyou

derer.

truth, howdidthek illergetout "

ter redHammondhadbeenal-

m. ThroughtheGantgirl s

presentnotebook. H ecould

htonthetime. Hammondclaimshe

ndhereaboutnine-thirty.

olmardame,doesn tgointo

ve.

erroomearlierthanthat, we d

epuzzleonourhands, O ' Ryan

aseourfellowc ouldn thavegoneout

tknockingdownhistubeand

ougheitherof thead oiningrooms

ofthem. O fc ourse, there sthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

to arson. Youopenedthew indow

asitloc kedorunlocked "

de, arsonre oinedpromptly .

murderinasealedroom things

tectivestories, O ' Ryanpro-

antgirlwasn ttherehesimply

om.

M a ck d i ss e nt e d. I p u t it s t ro n g

penthedoor,because wastry-

down. H epic kedupthebroken

ldit bythewire,whichwas

aroundtherim. L et sseeifa

kusandclosethe doorfrom

oingit.

acksuspendedthefragment

ngtheotherendofthe wire,he

begantopullthedoor shut.A s

lide thewiretowardthehinges

rs. inally,hereleasedhis

dbetweenthedooranditsframe,

finishedclosingthedoor. H is

throughthebarrier.

eO . .

k in. Catc hthething, somebody,

anymorethanitis.

ually.Thewire,releasedfrom

ame,allowedgravitytotake

ughtthefragmentoftubedeftlyin

ttlesonething, ohnny, hepro-

edtheroom. A nybody inthe

hattrick.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

a ck a g re e d. L e t s t a lk t o D ev o n.

rdthedoorwhenhewasinter-

ofhistwo subordinates.

ththerooms, c hief, vouchsafed

rticularlyscrewy. Phelan

siumc yanide sawhitepowder, isn t

epowdersintwoorthreepeople s

eywerealllabeledsomething

an . I d i dn t t a st e a ny o f e m t of i nd

.

' R y an d i re c te d , a n d we l l s en d

arters.

er e , P h e l an r e pl i ed . A l l m a r ke d u p

ho. H edeliveredseveral

Youwerelook ingforapasskey,

a dm i tt e d. f o rg o t to t e ll y o u ab o ut

andborrowedonefromtheroom

hatitlookedlike. Then c ompared

t. H esighedregretfully, I t

butitwasadud. Therewasn t

re.

meyouwerelookingfora

vision,Phelan.

t sanyuse, though.

foryouanytimeyouwant, Mac k


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

elanshuf f ledembarrassedly . That s

handclappedthepatrolman s

l l a dd a g o od w or d t oo B y t h e w a y,

eanythingthat lookedlikesul-

notherac id "

tookspec ialnoteofevery-

eli uids foundweretheink in

es,andsuch unk,andapint

mo n d s r o om .

O ' R ya n c hu c kl e d. H a v e y ou

acantrooms "

n e t o b . f t h e bi r d we r e l oo k -

roomandGraham sapart-

y ofthose.

patrolmenstartedf romtheroom

Gee, CaptainO ' Ryan,

henameof Swanninsistson

managerof thehotel.

n.

veningdress,completeeven

carriedinhis hand.A bald

thetop, anda uttinga uiline

entfeatures.H ewasamiddle-

y,andhebegantalking as

om,omittingallformalitiesof

tbreak evergot, and ' vebeen

ntyyears. Swann sspeechwasa

O neof thosethingsthatc an t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

od, mylawyerw illprobablysay.

ate.A nythingyouwant,say

yreferredtoahugegoldwatch.

ratherlatetonight,Swann,

us . Sc adsofdoughanddaughter

Tryingtobuya manforher,

ngsthanpoverty . He reachedinto

uchadvertisedcheapcigarettes

ahammeredsilverlighter.

sPrinceA bdulofMuc kamuc konhand

redpeople.Regularthree-

obreakawayfrom,andthe

kamuc k " Mackrepeated

yway. Princ e sblac kasa

sillywomenwerekotowingto

ey llgettheirpic turesinthe

e, worseluc k. H ebrokeoff

yattheroomc lerk . L arson,

desk "

around, Mac krepliedbeforethe

Swannadv ised. C ollinsissup-

andit sgoingonthreenow.

ly . twaslikehav ingane -

middlewitha Tobecontinued


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

signalledfortheelevatorandwent

bywasdesertede ceptforthe

C o l l i n s as k ed a s C h r i s we n t to h i s

arsonshookhistawnyhead.

renotsayinganythingaboutit.

n minutesago.Youshould

ofwhen toldhimthenews. Col-

beganto cleanhisnails.

ossc amebac k tothehotelaround

hedhismanic uringandproc eeded

eadysmoothandglossyhair.

andgoupstairs.

ar Didhetellyouwhy "

H enevertellsmeanything.

mployees entranc e. F ellow,

eamurderc allyourshots. hada

e keenest-lookingblondesyou

s o rr y ' l l c om e d ow n tw o o r th r ee

nsstoppedandlookedbac koverhis

nethingaboutthisbusinessthat

theswellestlittlealibiyoueversaw:

romthreeo c lockon, andsomebody

yeveryminuteof it.

hadonelikeit. Well, solong,

athadbeenoccupiedby


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

up, grabtickets, andc omedown.

ok theelevatorrighttotopf loor

hile collectedthecards.

atthebrokenfragmentsofglass

hat sallthisstuf f "

s E ightyearsbuildingupthis

ervicefortheirmoneythanany

ishappens.Guestswillbemov-

c rushedouthiscigaretteinthe

I fyou rethroughask ing ues-

nandstallof f reporters. Get emto

fitcanbe done.

omtheroom.O ' Ryanob-

Spanger, I t satoughbreak

ssible, Spangeragreedsolemnly .

srightabouttheguestsleavingin

hinktwicebeforeregistering

sSwann " Mac k in uired.

o f a s l av e dr i ve r , bu t a s u a re s h oo t er .

rderthan hedoesanyoneelse.

monthsnow, andthisisthesec ond

e severtakenanightoff .

esherun "

vebeenheretwoorthree

rnished, Mackcommented,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

alongprettysmoothly. That s

odoeshec aterto Permanents

of transientbusiness, Spangerre-

eopleliketostay inahotelthat sout-

ofaraway. B utSwann sbigplay

s. Wetreat emrighthere, and

nythingtheywant.Singleand

with privatebath.Two-and

partmentsliketheone the

angive emaslargeaplac easthey

wanttopay. H epaused.

theoldB lakelydameisoneof em—

e years.

mtobeprettywellsoldonthe

S p an g er a g re e d en t hu s ia s ti c al l y.

eirmoney sworth—andaboutf ifty

hy it ssuc harottenshamethata

en.

hurry , people l1forgetaboutthis

observed. Hetook f romhispoc ket

arlierintheeveningand made

marks. Twomoretosee,Terry,

et shaveDevonin.

manofuncertainage,pos-

airand shifty,lusterlesseyes.

nd small,pointedearswhichlay

th i ng a b ou t i t— s e e h e b eg a n su l -

wnroom, and don tknownothing


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hat, aren tyou " Mac ksneered.

ght "

s a id .

e re "

ow T h in k k ee p l oo ki n g at m y

ven tyou "

naroundten, Devonadmittedgrudg-

y in g i t wa s — s ee B u t i t m i gh t v e

Well, wherewereyoubeforeten "

.

see Youc an tmakemeanswer

n t, eh " andDevonanswered, a

o. Mackshota uic kglanc eat

otakehimdowntothestation,

a gr e ed g e ni a ll y . W e v e go t t he r i gh t

ustanordinarygardenhose, but

hsthroatandturnonthewater

everknewaguyyetc ouldhold

es. t sk indaroughonthe

dwithachuckle.

oaprofuseperspiration. H is

butO ' Ryan sbroadbac k

ethodofe it.

on c ed e d su l le n ly .

ensible, O ' Ryansaidmildly .

e "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

pronounc editDee-von, w iththe

,andnotinthe accepted ng-

ith seven.

' R y an o b e c te d . T h at s n o n am e .

von "

o r n a nd r a is e d in r i sc o .

h i ca g o "

ers.

t, isthere "

d t he r e is .

, s u pp o se "

e sa r ca s m. I ' l l s ay ' m

oftheoutfityouwork for " Mac k

s, n c .

paperfromthe desk.

asaperfec tblank . O h, hell, sit

me, w illyou "

edeskand scrawledthe

andwriting.Mackfoldedthe

breastpoc ket. Thanks So

urroomuntilten "

wasoutwork ingmyterritory

kealotofc all-bac ksatnighton


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ntingto buytilltheold man

thepeopleyouc alledon " Mac k

ntly , F inesalesman ' dmake

"

remont. wasoverlastat re-

gonThorndaleA venue. She

atabouta uarterofnine, and

eRandolphandWellsStreetstation.

ndolphtoMichiganandcaught

hisnotebook . Whydidn t

plac e " headmonished. Do

remontverifiesyourstory,

aed "

D e vo n e c l ai m ed .

Thedohinkusthatkilled

thirty—while youwereriding

ogersPark , ifyou regiv ingusthe

o y . C a l l t he r e mo n t da m ea n d as k

pforac leanertonight. Herhus-

ere,too. Devonproduceda

tpocket,offereditto Mack,

ed,insertedthestogie inhis

gle. Well, ifyouguysare

on s ' l l h it t h e ha y . ' m a l l

ingf romthec ornerofhis

of thedoor, andO ' Ryansaid:


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

rtome, and don tmakemany

ou g ht , t oo , S p an g er p u t in , s o )

worksforPhoeni Distributor

asis,andtheytold mehe s

pshisbillpaid, too.

othisprintstoWashington, Mac l

otarec ord, we llknowaboutitini

mySelzergetaway, O ' Ryanre

lsignanorder, andyouc anhavehir

rterstomorrow.

pu t h im o n h is g u ar d , M a ck d e

wo n t b e n ec es s ar y . t h in k ' v e g o

tappedthepocketc ontainingth

adwritten.

kobserved, istheonlyperso

et shaveherinandgetitove

ih yo u, s ai d Sp an ge r, I ' m g oi ng t

arekillingme.

Mackassertedunsympatheticall

y .

ughhis gold-rimmedspec

reof thehoteldetectiv(

goodguy, Mac kremarkedt

ddedassent, andWestboroug


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edwithapprovalthather

eredevoidofthemurderous-

monlyaffectednowadays.

sGant svoic ehadav ibrant

mpleutterancesmusical.West-

entachair.

n ,m y d ea r "

turned tothetwopolice-

wanttof indoutwhat knewabout

Mac khadagainproducedthein-

wanttof indoutafewthings

me,please.

t i t " O ' R y an r e ma r ke d o c ul a rl y .

ch, yes.

eredoyouwork "

ately . H ersmilewasatrif lewan.

thisweek hada obw iththe

cretarytooneofthevice-

thatoutf it, O ' Ryanremarked.

t i t "

ayhere " Mac kwantedto

orethan was ustifiedin

d a o b . w o n t b e h i g h ha t a nd

wa s n t . t w a s u s t a o b .

i s ne t u e st i on . I t s r a th e r

outthings.

ommate, ' msorrytosay.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ck i n u i re d .

lady lef tmeinthelurc h. She

ge, and hadtopayherbill

' Ryandec laredindignantly.

S h e la u gh e d. O h w e l l, g u es s

H o w ol d a re y o u "

y . Myadvic etoyouisto

epeoplesay we rehavinga

sameolddepressiontome.

, but ' venohometogoto.

' mpersonanongrataw ith

' llhavetotakeGrant stipand

Shelaughed:herlaughterwas

hopeitwon ttakeallsummer.

tedherflimsybluenegligeemore

t s c ol d i n he r e.

dow,whichnobodyhad

arsonhadfirstflungit open,and

ortalettheplac eairout, guess,

ea n he "

suc cinc tly .

dintosilenc e, andMack launchedinto

nowSwink, MissGant "

.

omne tdoorthef irstof the


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eforethat "

forethen. wasonadif ferent

p ea k t o hi m "

orrec ttosaywhendidhef irstspeak

I tmusthavebeenonTuesday

ontheelevatortogether.

b ou t "

boutw ithapersononemeetsfor

andinvariablytheweather. We

sa fineday,althoughitwasn t.

mafterthat "

Shepausedtosc rutinizehise -

tseemtosurpriseyouverymuc h.

acrossthehall hasbeentalking.

akely "

s c a ll e d n e ve r d id k n ow , a nd ' v e a

s,anyhow.

enyoufoundSw ink inyour

wentcompletelyV ic torian. t

msittingtherethat even

then "

u Therereally isn tmuc hpoint


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

bewedon t, Mac ksaidnon-

y,wewantyourownaccountofit.

ofhisroom.

h a ve n t t h e fa i nt e st . w a s re a dy t o

hingfromnineo clockon.

do "

e ar m a nd s a id , L e t s g o t o be d ,

helpedhim backtohisown

e usedtheconnec tingdoorinto

he " Westboroughsensedtheten-

ve sassumedindifferenceand

s uestionwasveryimportant

emednot tonotice.

sthere—oh, seewhatyou

entherewassuchadoor.

he n "

oor, ofc ourse.

nec tingdoortoseeif itwas

pointyou, of f icer, buthedidn tgo

"

y s ho u ld ? "

oustoseehowSwinkgotinyour

mentthefactof paramountim-

here,nothis mannerofeffect-

hene tdaytof i yourdoor,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

wo u ld b e , bu t d i dn t s e e hi m .

inlylocksallrightnow.

teduponthegirl sfac e. H ow

n "

thac oolshrug. A sintimately

forthatmatter,anyonein the

ywell. However, muste c eptMr.

amindebtedforane c ellent

entertainingconversation.

e floorinanembarrassed

:

ut arson, notMr. Westbor-

in i on o f a r so n "

ectured,wasanother uestion

tive.MissGant sanswercame

ofhim likedverymuc h. H ec er-

cultyina tactfulandefficient

erandtookupa bludgeon.

m " hedemandedabruptly . Her

essive—widenedinastonishment.

sw ithhim "

then "

eyouthisevening "

onthemezzanine.

oom, yes.

gthere "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

en metSw inkandChiltoninhall.

tedSw ink sroomatnine.

mC edric Graham, Mrs. Ham-

ht- thirty , returnedat uarterto

oownroomatnine-thirty .

nroomsinc edinner.

eight, returnedatten, and

Sofar asknowndidnotgo

oor. Didnotreturnto hotel

roomuntilten.

wnroomatnineforty - f iveorso.

sroomatnine-thirty .

estoredhisfountainpento

hec hallenged. Whatdoyouthink

t bo r ou g h e a c ul a te d . I t i s a r em a rk a -

ed. nfact,thereisonly one

syouhavefailedtoaccountfor.

Mac kdemanded, bristling.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

oment—thatthe murderercan-

ethehotel.Thecausasine ua

ofthe personsroomingoffthe

ore,hemusthavebeeninthe west

nothaveleft itsincethattime.

besurethatthemurdererwasin

hirty O nlythewordofMr. Ham-

ortantpoint. fH ammondbed,

utthereisalso theinevitable

ammondmaybemistaken.

stincludemyselfamongthem,can

sseswithregardtothepassage

nnatetimesensewhichfunctions

cision.Psychologicale peri-

determineinwhichcategory

medoubtwithregardtothe

sof ieutenantMac k stime-

theopinionofMissC olmar.Nev-

ogicaleveninthe treatmentof

tmakeastarting pointofsome

e entiretime-table,including

tion, isappro imatelyc orrec t. Who,

ohavebeenin Swink sroomat

o ar et he X ' s , Y s , a n d Z ' s


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

riskadigressionf romthestric t

ec tureis, believe, fully usti-

s ustonefac tthemore, touse

foundlogician,RobertB rown-

sitsignific antthatChilton

duceseeminglyironcladalibis

sforten B othof thesegen-

usedthesuspicionsofthepolice.

kingwithentirefrankness.

enamestrikesaresponsivec hord

hagrin, amunabletorecall

veheardit. amac uaintedw ith

eless,thenameisoddlyfamiliar.

theruponfanc y sunmapped

etruthabout thereasonforhis

atreturn, as rec all, wasalsoat

angec oinc idenc e, touseaphraseby

lednowadays, said ordB yron.

nherroomatnine-thirty , but

gainthatcuriousrecurrence

togetherpurecoincidence

nofevengreaterperple ity

nein thismicrocosmofsus-

morethanacursoryac uaint-

an.Q uaeritur:H aveanyguests

theadventofSwinktwo weeks

oregisteredlastMonday,andMiss

edtoherroom fromanother

ossiblethateitherof themse-

nearSwink


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tousethecollo uialterm—had

orminturninguponhis de-

ttemptedtointeresttwopeople

alschemes.H owever,bothof

.B lakely—deniedactualinvest-

cedtotheconclusionthatno

wnk sdeathisasyetknown. Un-

isted,butwhetheritsroots

Swink ssupposedlyunsavory

oweekshehasspentat this

ec ture.

uestionsofopportunityand

t isfairlyobviousthatSwink s

eotherre uirementsinaddition

outlined. Hemusthaveatleasta

ccesstoacyanide,andameans

w ink sroomandtotheGraham

sesthenec essaryknow ledge, yes, but

turtoassumeforthisreasonthat

completechemicalengineering

eededtolearnhow toproduce

ndeniablythecyanide.Police

ough,andthepoliceshould

gits purchase,sincesuchpur-

madepriorto theadventof

ksago.

fallacyinmyreasoning

murdererevolvedhisschemesub-

Swinkandthenpurchasedor


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R181

mbarkedsohopefully,hastermi-

y.

yanidemustbulkinthe solu-

ottheonlyingredientre uired.

st havehadsomekindofacid.

ediately. itherheknewofthe

ntheGrahamboy schemicalset

haveknown Well, Mrs. Ham-

blyinformedandshemighthave

oothers.

entheprov idedhisownsupplyof

salwasusedfor thee cessor

annotbelievethatthenegativere-

aybe takenasconclusive.The

enina placewherethepolice

onfessthat amunabletosurmise

e.

stellthe truth,accordingto

theopinionofCedric Graham

usedfromthebottlecontained

erofeffectingingressinto

ms.Twochambermaidsand

rsonpossessthemeansofopen-

on,however,deniedthathecarries

ndno suchkeywasfoundupon

inev itablyhisnameoc c ursinmy

gthoseinthe westcorridorat

Miss Gantbetraysatleasta

eisthoroughlyconversantwith

epossessesthemostlikelyop-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nide.A nd,finally,hehasready

me,thesituationis verysimilar

binsonproblemwhich ieutenant

onand arsononlymeetsevery

arsonistheonlypossiblesolution.

sonputhisinformationso

hepolice C andordeliberately

on Thatwouldimplyadegree

otthink arsonpossesses. O rdoes

ychologic alwaters sinkovermy

fpsychology,however,whatcan

e s H isplotshowsatleastone

hadhenotstoopedtowardthe

t tubeshattered,wouldproba-

othevapor.

erertakeintoconsiderationthe

sonisoneofthe firstfaculties

dbyalcohol Didheknowof

ic ation(sinc eitoc curredupon

daresayitmaybetermed

thebefuddlementofhisvic-

c are—thathistrapmightc lose

Thechambermaid,forinstance.

tshehadalreadyleft thecorri-

pitfall

f indmuchtoc ommendinthe

rimesareperilousin theirincep-

rtheir consummation, as

ttheslayerofSwinktookcom-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

swereeasilyprepared,the

cultyin itspositionabovethe

adsecuredaccesstotheroom.

edthaninanattempttopoison

uldhavebeendifficultandnearly

redonewhen tisdone, then

e uic k ly . A slowerpoisonwould

ncetomakeanaccusation.B ut

drocyanicacidrenderedthis

por,introducedthroughthe

greaterrapiditythanif the

amnotmistaken.)

etemptationtoobserveparen-

,preparedbyaneasyprocess

n whichcrushedpeachstones

wnanddreadedfartowardthe

itness theinscriptionupon

hic h haveseenatthe ouvre,

meunderthepenaltyofthe

is, ofc ourse, anobv iousreferenc e

ture.

nefuldrug,oratleast one

amongthe Romans.Tacitus

tingincidentsintheA nnals:

erbeingaccusedofhightrea-

sonfromhis robes,drank,and

eSenatechamber.

a,deliberatinguponamethod

audius, ref lec tedthat thedeed

sonthat wassuddenandin-

oyedtheskilledpoisoner, ocusta,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ompoundwhichmightderangehis

Thisdrugseemstohave beenin-

wasonthevergeof recoverywhen

n,underpretenseofassistingthe

dintheimperial throat,a

omerapidpoison.

me ocustathatthedeath

beassuddenasif itwerethehur-

Tac itus ac c ountc onf irmsthe

stication.Britannicusis saidto

voiceandbreath.

nc idents haveunderlinedthe

actionof theto ic agent. c an

n thecyanideswhichwould

titudeofthedrug swallowedby

thatemployedinthemurderof

havestrayedsofarf romthe

ar shallneverbeabletoreturnto-

msosleepythatfurtherreasoningis

t—whatappallingsecretsthene t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





doorofhis office,andthenoise

toa scarcelyaudiblehum.

lytheoak-paneledwall,the

kingthewindows,andtheanti ue

Must vec ostapiletof i upthis

reen-leatherupholsteredchair

sasSwannbegantheconver-

soonasyouc amein. Q ueerthings

uisitivenarrowslits. What

wanndirec ted.

edhisthroatwithtwoor three

hedinhisvest pocketfora

s.

fulglanceatthe proffered


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tomyown, thanks. Whatdidgoonlast

dylikecherootandspatthe

ccuracyintothesandofanurn-

meonegotintoSw ink sroom.

one uic kmotion. Thehell

and flickedthematchat

rand itfluttereddowntothe

me.W hoeveritwas,hewrecked

dignantinventoryofthedam-

restuffedand twochairsreup-

telse.Room samess.

oudidn ttrytoc leanitup.

, S p an g er r e to r te d . I t s u s t

iedc urtly . H alfanhourorso

nsawsomething,too, headded,

nabletogetanythingf romher. She s

cs.

s s n or t m ig h t ha v ee p r es s ed a n y

must vebeenlook ingforsome-

Spangerdrawledsarcastically . I

goutof purespite.

eforewelef tlastnight, Mack

oc kedthen.

nanythingaroundherenow,

ttaguyc anmeltrightthrough


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dblothimup, Mac kadv ised

edashis handwasabouttoclose

here ll findthehousekeeper "

mmons. Swann susuallaconic

yintoanearnestpleading. See

' vegottogetthisthingc leared

ealreadygivennotice.

on twantitc learedupany

lefttheofficewithoutwaitingfor

sedinconversationwiththehotel

oawaitingelevator,andthe

ehindhim.

" hein uiredof thepilot.

omseventothree. Whatf loor,

hif tedalever, andthec arshotup-

n e t s h if t g o of f d ut y M a ck

deanothernotationinhis

wardthewestcorridor.Thedoor

a ar, andhewhistleduponc atc h-

nterior.

the coversfromthebed,

g mattress,andscatteredtufts

alpiles.Mackinspectedthe

servedthatithadbeenslit in

turnedhisattentionto the

pholstery,theystoodinnaked

htunawaresinthebathtub.O ne

e,Macknoted.

eyesflittedto thetopofthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

" hee ac ulated. Hewalkedover

enthedrawer.H isfaceworea

ashee aminedtheinterior. Then

omtothec loset. Sw ink stwoe tra

amaswerestillhangingthere,

ebagwastowardtheback.Mack

and erkeditopen. Hewasre-

thoughtfulair when erry

llow, hegrumbledandthen

youmakeof it, ohnny "

eer.

u ee r "

a. o o ka t t hi s b ag .

thinginittogete c itedabout.

ybodyhadpawedthroughit, does

o es .

dresser.

nsidethebureauyet. B utthedraw-

eleft emlastnight.

lltop drawerwhileMack

detective sshoulder. Soc ksand

d.Spangeropenedanother

sapileofshirts. Noneof thisstuff s

uestioned, lif tinghisbushyeye-

kinsidethedeskdrawer,

ghere.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

er, letterheads, envelopes, anink -

e, Mackc orrec ted.

erydesk inthehotel.

owneattheinsideof thatdrawer

maidhasn ttoucheditsinceyes-

es a id . T h is p u nk d i dn t s e ar c h

ghtycarefulnottodisturbany-

veadamnaboutthemattress

handagainsthisthighina

here sanidea. Whydidn tthis

sstuf f B ec ausehe dalready

ightwhenhewasintheroomatnine-

didn thavetimetof indwhathe

in andgoesovertheplacewith

sgotnerve, thatfellow "

chairswitha ruefule pres-

ghtSwinkhaddoneaman-sized ob

atthehelldo yousupposehe

winktry hishandatblack-

see—thegoodoldletters.

h el l W h a t w ou l d a gu y b e ap t t o

arriagecertificate,maybe,

hink thismugfoundit "

f wereSwinkandwantedto

lac eonearth ' dpic kwouldbe

ess.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tchangeittoanotherroom.A nd

o.Theylook ustlikethechairs

doncetheywereoutofhereit d

a ce e m .

kahousemanissuddenlygoing

" Spanger uestioned.

ers. H owshould know

B utif wasSw inkandwanted

dthink thatmaybehemight. See

hingportable.

utalklikethecountryboywho

ethoughtwherehe dgoifhe

wherewouldyouhidethepapersif

edemandedwithac huc kle.

ent-mindedlyfromonewallto

k no w " h e e c l a im ed . I t hi nk ' d

underafakenameandput em

ettenbuc ksthat swhatourfatf riend

ogetmorefacts, Mac kwenton.

womanheardsomething,andthe

. SomighttheH ammondsandeven

rossedthec orridorandknockedon

.

a m u ff l ed v o ic e as k ed .

lk toyou.

fewminutes. ' mtak ingabath.

eedunderhisbreath. H eturnedto

eepaneyeonthisdoor, erry , and

sneakoutonus.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ecorridor,andthepleasantly

eGantanswered, Whoisit "

again. Therewasthenoiseofa

dthedoorwasflung open.

sGantc alledcheerfully . L ieu-

W o n t y o u co m e in "

eshold.Thechambermaid

tand theroomwasimmaculate.

booksonthewritingdesk

pen. twasbyA ldousH u ley ,

oMacke actlynothing.The

hologyofmodernB ritishpoetry.

andonedliteratureforhis

erselfata dressingtableand

uchestoher bronze-colored

kirt ofatailoredsuitand a

astnight " Mac kaskedabruptly .

mthemirrorto hisface.

a l wa y s do . W h y "

g on n e t d o or "

ngallevening. inally , it uieted

gettosleep.

that "

c an thelpyou.

d-bye.

alledto errySpangerin

outit "

till getback .

c orridorandknoc ked. red


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

makesthesecondtimeyouheard

ot ghpeepedfromhisbed-

ieutenantMac k , hebeganashe

havemadeananalysiswhic h

d.

papersimpatientlyaway.

at wanttoknowrightnow isif

oingonacrossthe corridor

restoredthesheaf tohisbreast

m s or r y, b u t h e ar d n ot h in g . a m

gprofoundallegiancetothegod-

thour.

Mrs. B lakeley smuf f ledvoice

thene troom.

ou W e s t bo r ou g h in u i re d .

eintoMrs. B lakeley sroomfol-

nd errySpanger. Theirate

ousedetective.

haunted, and don tintendto

isplac eif c anhelpit. A nd

ke, soyou llhavetoputthatthing

heedgeofthewriting desk.

yNowwhat sitallabout "

there, sheshrieked. Doyou

othewindowandtossedthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

at sthisaboutSw ink sroombe-

kenpossession. A — a—polter-

sevenring-tailedf ishes, what s

boroughinformed, isac ombina-

geist,a spirit polter,tocause

ethat,inthelanguageofpsychical

taddictedtopractical okes.

eirdnoises,andso on.

c laimedc ontemptuously .

thimasthoughhe werea

ewasabouttosetfoot, uoted

Therearemorethingsinheaven

eamtof inyourphilosophy. "

a ck s c of f ed , n e ve r h ea r d of a

e.

youknowaboutit, Mrs.

tly. Therearethingsinthisuni-

steriousto beunderstoodbyour

Don tyouthinkso, Mr. West-

nting, Westboroughdeclared,

trelyaway. The renchastrono-

rion, devoteda uarterofac entury

andreportsdealingwiththis

stanc eshec iteswere, believe, well

kelyproc laimedwithanawedempha-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

havemovedacouchandchairsin

devilhad heldacouncilmeet-

ndishesfromshelves,emptied

oksfrom bookcases,andlifteda

ightupseveralfeetfromthe

onit.Theyhaverungdoor-

ors,turnedkeys,firedguns,

stofallto thefloor.Theybom-

umwithover300stonesand,at

tole ababyfromitscradle

ingc lothes. A ndyousay, ieu-

dthediscourse. H owdo

ltry-gooseinSw ink sroom "

notreferringtoaspeciesof

here, Spangerchuckled.

eatric al, shewhispered, I

u t in u i ck l y.

veitwasaboutf iveo c lock .

"

reshakingherhead. No,

ginthehallatf iveo c lock inthe

protest. I don tproposeto

calledmylawyeronthetelephone

uresmethat don thavetoan-

ions.

a ck i n si s te d , I ' d l i ke t o k no w wh a t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

atf iveo c lock inthemorning.

right, W estboroughputin

ely , youwanttohelpthepolice

ustice, doyounot "

it ed h e si t an t ly . T h at s w h y w as

rerto ustice " Westborough

ackbrokein,apuzzlede pres-

othatbybeinginthehall "

w , ' lltellyouaboutit, Mrs.

herself inac hairandad usting

ackskirt.Sheturnedthefull

eyesuponMack. Peoplewho

uic k toscof fatthethingsthey

epronounced. L ieutenantMac k ,

ketbook,watchcharm,keycase,

vec arriedandtouc hed "

dulity,Mackpassedovera

dittightlyin herrighthand,

backinher chair,herfacebear-

rs. B lakelydec laimedinadeep,

nedw ithelmtrees. Therearerows

tisastreetinawestern

dW estmay.

m ne d " M a ck e c l ai m ed . T h at s w h er e

s. B lakely ssepulchraltonesc on-

thenumbersdonotc omec learly .

efrontyard.She isaboutfive

.A womanissiftingflour into


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

all womanwithyellowhair

ebackofherhead.Shegoes to

A nn. Thec hildentersthehouse,

ac ook " Mac kdec lared, hisfore-

le ity . Myw ifeandk idtoa

tknowwhathocus-pocusyou re

ohandittoyou.

t " W e s t bo r ou g h in u i re d . I

estingdemonstrations.

efountainpentothe detec-

mannerofahenwhohas ustlaid

posingegg, Doyouseenow

hismorning "

e t in t o Sw i nk s r o om , M a ck

mmonsenseoncemoreinthefore-

eedsomethingbelongingtoaper-

business "

doorknob, Mrs. B lakely

andsohadhismurderer. have

tswithlessuponwhichto work.

erlyandasked, Didyoufind

nformantshivered.

row inge perienc eofmywhole

rethantouchedmyhandtotheknob

noisef rominsidetheroom. A tthat

resenceofa poltergeistandthat

r. ranback tomyownroomand

overs.Notthat thatwoulddo

oncecamewithinthesphereofhis

don tbelievethathappened.

pangere ac ulatedunderhisbreath.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dsoabsorbedinherwork thatshe

e.Thereport,Macknoted,pro-

toshowthebathtowels,face

es,blankets,andwhatnotsup-

isglanceswervedfromitto Mrs.

motherlyfacewassurroundedby

tookone lookandmentally

erewasareallady, andheknew

am.

erself, Sheleftthreebath

donlygettwo, andlookedup

ghtlypuzzlede pression. A s

ared.

omthepolic eforc e. Mr. Swann

m "

aytoputit, shelaughed. I

eyouweregoing topayavisit.

mattressesinthishotelever

toanother "

esa fussabouthismattress,

They rethebestinner-spring

owbec ause selectedthem. No, they

roomto another,althougha

tressoveronceaweek:oneweek

ne tweek fromsidetoside.

point, Mac kdec lared.

anargument hadw ithyour

maidscarrypasskeys,don t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

fulwith em A boutopening

otherpeoplehandle emand

openthedoorforaguest,

dfirmly. Shemusttellhimpolitely

totheroomc lerk . A ndifagirl

ymeansher ob,andsheknows

asskeyrec ently "

thekeyswhilethey regoing

c k uestioned.

nd .

homefromthestore,andshe

ideof theloc k, Mac ke plained.

edevilforit—I begyourpardon,

es, butshekeepsondoingit ustthe

ygirlsw iththathabit "

negirlforcarelessnessof thatna-

f lected. I toldherabouttwo

havetodismissherifsheper-

nthelockwhileshecleaneda

"

yrelationtoyournightc lerk "

onisanentirelydif ferenttype.

eagerness. Doesthisgirl

openingoffthe westcorridor


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

houghtfully, Why yes,she

omatthechambermaid,A nna

allyrunto earthwiththeaidof

dule.Shewasaplain girlwitha

J ustadumbSwede, Mac k

rs on "

r thebedanddepositedher

cases. tseemedtotakeseveral

o graspthatshewasbeing

e sa i d fi n al l y, b u t c a n t t a lk t o

edtowhilewe reworking.

elofhiscoat.

tertalk tome, sister.

h e ga s pe d . I h a ve n t d o ne n o th i ng .

ustwanttoaskyouafew ues-

orkingifitmakesyourcon-

spreada sheetoverthemat-

corners.Sheshookoutthe

wc asesonthem. Whatdoyou

ketodoaroom " Mac kasked.

dbeganto dustthetelephone

enceforsolongthatMackwon-

e uestion.

enroomseac hday, sheinformed


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tandf inditstic k inginthelock

e a cu l at e d. H o w m a ny t i me s a d ay

oundlikethat "

missingwhenyouc ameout " She

eon, tellthetruthaboutit, sister.

r o b .

u th . n e ve r d id .

an, ofc ourse, Mac kwenton,

omething. B utitwasgonefora

oustraight, mister. ' venevermissed

hethird floorandwentdown

romwithincamethestrainsof

ngTrapeze, e pertlywhistled.

Sunlightstreamedthrough

owstoilluminatethetall, gangly

sbenc h. H ehadc lampedwhat

achairin aviseandwassand-

.

dotheloc ksmithworkaround

msuspiciously.

totheroomclerk , mister.

kedbac k thelapelofhisc oat.

theryouknow itornot, butthere

plastnight.

t. Thec arpenterlaiddownhis

thepocketofhis apronfora


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ndanickelsackoftobacco.

in "

e "

hisnotebook . Did arsontell

otof i thedoorof room311 "

rw ithit "

nstthe amb. Notmuc h, but

omlockingwhenitwas

ralpagesinhisnotebookand

thwork " heagainasked.

it.

blankshere, suppose "

tesforeveryroom "

mbtowardalargesteelc abinet.

it, andsawthat erry

outthe twopadlocks. You

ht.

mresponsibleforthosekeys, andno-

emwithoutmyknow ingit.

ethingaboutthelockshere.

o kn o wa b ou t e m "

m wi t h sk e le t on k e ys "

C l a r k e e re d . W h a t d o yo u

rdedlocks Thekeyhastopush

ersinthe cylinder,andavaria-

inchwillstop theplugfrom


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eywouldworkonalayoutlike

vengetoneinthekeyhole—ittakes

arac entric key "

tedwithridgesonbothsides,

rrugatedtof itoritwon tgo

keyourwordforit. B utyourc orru-

pickbeingstuckin toforceup

f icult. Thekeyway spretty

t makesithardtoget apick

bers. ' mnotsay ingitc an tbe

sthoughthink ingaloud. God

enkeyholecanbepicked,given

thtime enoughtodoit.B ut

ningoneof theselockswitha

mateur.

ec ouldn tdoit.

larke c laimedc ontemptuously .

edlastnight, Macksaid. This

holdofSw ink skeyandslipped

the doorlateron.Thatwould

euveringtogetitawayfrom

n,but stillitmightbe done.

asopenedtoo, andhec ouldn tget

twasdownin thekeyrackalleve-

hittheroomc lerkoverthehead

heloc ksorhegotholdofapass-

oyouthink "

lders, I ' mdamnedif know.

waytof indout, Mac kwenton. I


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

off bothdoors—314 and315.

shouldbeable totellwhenweget

. A ny iggerthatforcedthe

avesc ratc heson em, wouldn t

oo k a no t he r d ra g a t hi s p ip e . I ' v e

themanagerbefore start

ks.

kpromised. H epausedonhisway

master-key locks, anyway "

ing it.Thelocksherehavea

dthe firstlikearing. Then

upwitheitherthe plugorwith

eyturnsthe plugbutnotthe

s theplugandthe ringto-

ngeasier, Mackcommented.

estoget thetumblersinline,

otasharda obasiteverwas.

c ks " Mac ke c laimed.

v e t ak e n en o ug h o f e m a pa r t to h a ve a n

nside.

gbac kheresometimeafterthree.

openedbythen "

rderf romthemanager.

hat. Mac kwentuptotheground

estboroughwasinthereread-

aiddown uponseeingthede-

donotw ishtobeobtrusive, but

tohaveyou glanceatthis


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

spersistence,Macktookthe

rough themhastily.

ninblackandwhite. Sowhat "

tprovehelpfulasameansofap-

beganhesitantly.

kscof fed. You vegotalotof f ine

c an tevenpronouncesomeof em,

ymean—andit readsswell,but

whatdoyousay Nothingthat

doyou "

vedbyaguysittingaroundonhis

em, Mac ksaidpatronizingly .

hefac ts, andthatc allsforlegwork .

tittakes. A nounc eof legwork is

sDoyouknowwhat ' mgoing

ead.

e s u a d wo r ki n g on t h is c a se . W e r e

plater,everyphotographer,

veryotherplacewecanthink

egotsomec yanide. fhebought

r,andifhehookedit— well,we ll

escriptionofastrangerhang-

wecantieinwith someonein

egotalotmorework todorightinthis

astheafternoonshif tcomeson, ' ve

ththeroomc lerk . ' vegotto

oturnsdownthebedsin thewest

eelevatoroperators. Hell, ' ve

nthewashroomwhof i edC hil-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

estborough,isthewaycrimes

theonlyway.

stspeechesMackhadever

heperfecttributepaidtothe

nce.Mackwentonina some-

Thatwasn tsuc habadpointyou

laboratory. We llhavetoc hec k that

econtinuedtothumbthrough

. H e l l , w ha t s a l l th i s u n k ab o ut

I didn tmeantoincludethat

reflectionsofmyownthatare

ase.

hepaperwith aninterestfar

poisons, don tyou, West-

owashe crossedthelobby.

youdon tknowtoomuc hforyour

readthelegendonthebuilding

Sodo , but don thaveto

red-brickbuilding,andit

wholesaleandsmallmanufac-

tof the oop. Truc ksrattledand

tonepavementofthestreetout-

aitedfortheelevator. tde-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ediluviancarwithtwistedgrat-

torwaswranglingwithasmart-

acksteppedinsidethecar.

eavingthedoorsto theshaft

Theinspec torgivesmetheoldNed

ult. c an tbeoneveryf loorat

sympathized. F our.

tingWorks. They vegotthe

gison thesecond,andthere s

You dthinkthosefellowswould

estofthe cityinsteadofnest-

tors, wouldn tyou "

PlatingW orksandtheplat-

nd secondfloorswithfruitless

lver-platingestablishment,he

odifficultyincontrivingthede-

ncasethe oldladybecameun-

r— well,thatwassomethingelse

eallpracticallyburglarproof,and

nthestuff.H ecalledonseveral

threephoto-engraversinthe

dthesameconclusionswithre-

learlythetracingofthecya-

ublesome.

el q uableandapproac hedthe

erk,wasforthe momentunoccu-

ourpasskeys " Mac k uestioned

drawer. I nhere. Weonlyhave


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nyouletabellhoporsomebody

ustabouteverythinginthehotel

erredtosomereports. A bellman

o clocktotakeapackageto

ve i t "

kpondered. A nybodyusingeitherof

t thedeskallevening.

gthat, ordidyouactuallysee

l ti m es , C o l l i ns b r id l ed . L a s t ti m e

en.

eforethat, huh "

M a ck e c l ai m ed . H e l i t a f re s h ci g ar

tativepuffs. DidGraham

astnight "

yorso. Hewasw ithhisfamily

fyouwanttoknowthetimethey

thattoo. twasa uarterto

, M a ck c ut i n . W h e r e wa s

b ut i t w as n t h e re . H e g o t i t ea r ly i n

did bringitbackagain.

youtoldPhelan—O ' Ryan s

mitted. SpeakingofPhelan, how

erallthe timespeopleaskedfor

uldn tdoit.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

inwashbowlsgleamedfrom

atedfittingswerepolishedto

tiledfloor wasscrubbedim-

handsunderametalspheroid

andturnedonthehotwater. A

cestryapproachedtolayaneatly

outinthe bowlandpicked

uty lastnight, George "

"

called,hadsaidpractically

deredbywhatundergroundchan-

ountofC hilton simportance

en aroundtothehotelem-

e l as t n ig h t "

TheNegroc huck ledthroatily .

nabadway, andA h hadtosewa

orleav ingthebarwas ustsilly

used,orelse hehadalready

tivegloweredthreateningly.

eforc e, George.

.

o me c l ea n w it h m e ' l l p ut y o u in

Mac kadmonishedsternly. Did

sto tellmehewasin thewash-

ionwasapparentlygenuine.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

t n e ve r s ee n h im t o da y . H o n es t A h a i n t ,

George, haveac igar, andleft

hehad braggedaboutto

hime actlynowhere,here-

arpentershop.

f romhisbenc h. I ' vegotyour

w ink snow. Takethismagnifying

er.

partsfromthe lockinthe

,andthenleanedovertosur-

eventedalowwhistleof aston-

d , hu h "

C l a r k a gr e ed c u rt l y.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

w "

penedwires.

yshouldwe Wec antellbythe

mportantthemessageis. O nestar

ostars

wasthisonemarked " Mac k in-

op e ra t or n o t to r i ng . ' m g oi n g

ors,Spangerfollowing.A car

thee actfloorlevel,andThe-

ooughgotout.

ustsawyouarrivef romtheup-

or.

" Mac kwantedtoknow.

ythe windowwithme.

e n he s a wm e "

andwenttowardhisroom.

oeonic c elerity . Canyou

tboroughmurmuredassent, andMac k

aoutthereandrunitaroundto

f ireesc ape. eeptheengine

me.

offeredcarkeysanddashed

twasavery creditabledash,too,

ckandSpangersteppedinto

otupwardsto thethirdfloor.

rwiththespeed ofatrack

eeppacewithhim.H ereached

cedtowardtheend.A tallman


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

sfumblingwiththefire-escape

e c laimedanddartedaf terhim.

rt, and,despitehissuitcase,

meinthedescentofthe fireescape.

eelstairs.A tthesecondfloor

oundunderC hilton sweight,

indthatthe counterpoisehad

on. He reachedtheground ust

cruisingYellow.Gearsground

nd thecabwasofflikea

sownc arwaswaiting, w ith

elandtheenginerunning.Mack

lydisplacedWestboroughfrom

er,ablockin advanceofits

nMichigan.Mackreachedthe

eenlightc hangedtored. He turned

nceofthe signal,barelyescap-

t ord,loadedwithfivefat

nathemaswhichneitherMacknor

ttle manwasleaningtensely

huntislike. Thereisac ertain

donthegas. Thefoolhasn t

himinhalfamile.

lamorofabell. twasringing

y,andtoC hicagoansitmeant

br i dg e M a ck e c l ai m ed . S o me

h. We resunk if theybeatus


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

wnandopenedthesiren. ts

tossedthegageofbattle tothe

ng,orsoW estboroughfancied.

gh, thesirenshrieked, whilethebell

time.

ganasalways,butMack

killofa practicedChicago

eitherside forthepolicesiren

etwocarslessenedto halfa

noticedthegates.Pointed

edfromoppositesidesofthe

desofthe bridge,partingthe

Sea hadbeenpartedforthe

ridge,aponderous,clumsymass,

w, M ac k u b il a te d .

itheredto anabruptstop

sMack,bya deftmotionofthe

gside.

on " hecommanded.

contemplatingabreakonfoothe

eppedsheepishlyoutofthecab.

didn tknowyouwascopsor

before.

dn tyou " Mac kaskedsternly ,

Getin, hedirec tedc urtly .

tc asef romtheta i, tosseda

pedinsideMack scar.

a o fd o in g a s ne a ko n u s M a ck

ouknowyou reamaterialw itness "

tobrazenitout, saidicily,

at w a s un d er a r re s t.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edshortly . We lltalk inyour

er q uableemployees, byherc u-

m cooperationofthepolice

onvincingtheidlycuriousthat

nderabouttheupperfloors.

wasleftseverelyalone.

thC hilton skeyandthey

d.W estboroughfollowed.The

havealikingforthe littleman,

im away.

mandedandC hiltonpointedatthe

upanenvelopewiththeH otel

nitsupperc orner. H etoreitopen

austeresilence.

on, hesneeredf inally . C anyou

hisbreastpocket,butMack

wayfromthere riskhim, West-

oroughrepeated, thenhisfac ecleared.

fChilton spoc ketsw ithhis

doesn thavearevolver.

ted. Nowhandmethosepapers

Chilton spoc ketandhanded

ttertogetherwitha billfold.

eA genc y—lic ensed, bonded. Re-

erativesofallnationalities,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

upations.Personalsurveillance

Dictographandwireservice.

nfidentialmatters,including

ckmailandthreateningletters.

rnishedforalloccasions.C allon

Sundays.Notthe largestbutthe

ispoc ket. I ' veheardof

gsc anbeforged. knewac rook

omtwentydifferentagencies.

hough, andhe sdoingtime. Why

outbefore, C hilton "

yw e re f a ke s , wo u ld n t ? " C h i l t on

B utsinc ethey retherealthing

myhand, atleastnotuntil ' dgiven

his say.We claimourinvesti-

ndwemeanit.

Thatdoesn tsoundsoscrewy.

rememberthec rook wastell-

to flashhisfakecredentials

assthatstall, you llhavetostill

downthef ireescape.

, Mac kremindedhim. That

h i t M a ck d em a nd e d.

velopefromhiscoatpocket.

oughtfully.

s i gn e d A m co , b ut w h at t h e he l l A n y on e

egram.Theytellyoutosaynoth-

lpyourself. You reinthatf i now ,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

rac ket " Mac kasked.

makeouthewasonthelevel. had

estigated we vegotaconnection

Theywiredon Thursdayafter-

e andSwinkanaccredited

utSwink spast " C hiltonshook

n. Wasn tthatpartof theinves-

sted.

fourmenhandledit. A s said

shisoperativesanymore than

hinkSwinkhadbeenanymama s

t h at M ac k i n u i re d u i ck l y.

oulders. C allitahunchifyou

yougetafeelingthattellsyou

elevelorac rook . Yououghtto

ared, hiseyesf i edsternlyonChil-

tkeepingsomethingbac k "

k n ow . Yo u l l h av e t o ge t t he r e st

i l t on , o fc o ur s e "

obert asper. C hiltonwasoneof the

eMayflower.

e s t bo r ou g h e c l a i me d . N o wo n de r

iliarchord inmymemory.

eof theforty -onesignatoriesof the

pact.He diedthesamemonthas

dleft nomaleheirsbuta

erinterrupted, I f iguredthename


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

H ebentdownforhissuitc ase.

etomakemytrain.

s v o ic e b ar k ed l i ke a p i st o l sh o t. I ' m

ilton, or asper, orwhatever

hyour roomthenightofthe

eon asper sfac e. Why—

arched, weren tthey "

ndidac ompleteandthorough

d, Phelanwasinc harge, and

ellow . Hedoesn tmissmany

e d i d n t f i nd a n yt h in g .

oi nt M ac k e a c ul at ed . H e d i dn t

apersyoushowedme. Whynot "

utvolunteerednoanswer.

d emundertherugoranythinglike

Phelanwould vespottedany

ouhad emditchedinagoodsafe

etinthis, said asper, indicat-

gedtowardthedoor, butMac k s

heentrance.

kdemandedperemptorily .

archwarrant, asperhedged.

f those, doyou ' llgetitallright,

ugtill do. Now, areyougoing

ot "

eycasef romhispoc ket. I t s


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





rprisingly uietattheHotel

guestssleptuntilnoon.

o hisroomfromanearly

rovalthatthechambermaidhad

nswhilehewasen oyinghis

andmarmalade.Shehadleftthe

orningsunstreamedfromthe

fteraweekofdelugesand

c agoA pril, itwasgoodforthe

cted,todiscoverthatthesunstill

ngdesk,W estboroughtook

ocketandseveralsheetsofsta-

espiteMack sscornofhisfirst

eman tomakeapermanent

eunscrewedthetopfromhis

a crampedhandwriting,which,

auty,wasentirelylegible—to

borough.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

k ingthelockofSw ink sdoor

hewrote. Thiswasdone, he

ght,amatternotimpossible,

ond sstoryweknowthatSwink

ng.C hilton—I mustremember

niesbeinginSw ink sroomatany

emurderotherthanthe period

fty-fivewhenhewasthere

,underanycircumstances,have

doorthen,since thechamber-

tnineo c lock .

thebalanc eof theeveningremains

e lef tthebaratteno c lock

stayed inthelavatorylong

ewabuttonuponhis trousers

ketoknow usthow longthatop-

membertoasktheporter toper-

tanyrate, asperwasnotgone

anfifteenminuteswhich,de-

thewashroom,leavesane -

whichtoclimbthestairs tothe

ratorrememberstakinghim

k sdoor—I understandthat

cut fromthefloorandfold

tthetest tubeabovethedoor.

ough,deniespickingthelockof

nt.Yetitwasundoubtedlyentered

rebeanotherpickor similarim-

uestinthewestc orridor B ut

tconcealedduringthee haus-

, c lear-sightedandshrewdasheis,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

mousvolumeofscatteredrefer-

okethe admirationofhistorical

wassingularlyincompetent

sminorcrises.H edebatednow

to callthedeskorwhetherhe

rcounterin personforacan

nativeofferedob ec tions. Hedid

now,butontheother handthe

right brandanditwouldbe

eturn.Moreover,W estborough

feltthattheywerelaughing at

dbacks—as theyusuallywere.

nteditself,enablingW est-

knot.H eknockedatthedom-

ighbor, andthetallformof

aredinthedoorway.Graham

smouth,andthe airwasfilled

ccosmoke,whichWestborough

usted, hebeganw ithhishabitual

uponthepointofdesc endingtothe

eredthatyouand aredevoteesof

w illbekindenough

Grahaminterruptedheartily . J ust

nthis morning.

en-stripedcanwasonthe

ngstandwasnearthewindow

ingboard.Therewasa draw-

d Westborough scuriosity

s.

ye aminingyourdraw ing "

kallyouwantto, butthereisn t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ngapen-and- inksketc hoveraphoto-

llaphotostat " Westborough

hydoyoumakeyourdrawingupon

c elyv isibletome.

estborough, Grahamlaughed.

atforanysize want, andthepro-

matically—noscalingandno pan-

tatwas,ofcourse,orderedfrom

lob ect,somydrawingwill

hen ' mthrough havethe

here llbenothingleft uponthis

k lines.

estboroughmuttered. Doyou

rk "

O nlyoc c asionallynow. used

h.

wingboard,W estborough

. c ertainlyamindebtedtoyou

Grahamout A nd donotsee

nto lginforafewdays, Gra-

ahH ammondinv itedher. Norah s

e andarealwaysgladtohave

thof thegirlsgoodtogetaway

adpipewithgravedeliberation,

hishost. Theatmosphereof

fewdaysisscarcelytheenviron-

hepronounced. I mustgo

okeepyoufromyourwork.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

rahamprotested. I c angoright

bothermeany.

estboroughreflected,cancause

ape anduselesspersiflage.H e

arttohisownroom, andhishost

seagertogetridofhim. Never-

eedthatGrahamshouldprotest

sdepartureandthatW estborough

ost sprotestationsasgenuine.

drawingboardupon West-

elittle mantouchedamatchto

ewatc hedtheartistf illhispenfrom

handssimpleblacklines grew

waysapleasante perienc e,

watchwhilesomeoneelsedoes

thewordsomuchinvogueto-

eculiarGermansound— yes,

d go n e to l g in a l so " W e s t -

sehecouldthinkofnothingelse

drovethemdownearly thismorn-

any longerthanhec anhelp,

eethingshe sdropped gather

ytoowellw ithhiswife srelatives.

d herparentsthinkthatno man

noughforher, asnearlyas c an

nguished,andWestborough

themusttakehisdeparture.H e

he tobacco,saidhehoped


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

n hissister-in-law Thissim-

ractive,Westboroughstrolled

bumpingintoMr. arsonon

elyto thenightclerk,whom

epondedw ithac ordial Good-

r, arsonshowednosignsofdoing

blocktrafficinthe corridor,

edalonetowardtheelevators.

urpriseasRobert asperstepped

aspersaid, Good-morning, in

edtodiscouragefurtherconver-

hdidnotallowhimselftobe dis-

youuponyourfortunaterelease,

andeven asperunbent.

edtowardhisownroom, butWest-

more.

houghtimpertinent, wouldlike

ond, and ' mout, aspersaid

avetown, though, orthebondisfor-

ndaprisonerstill " Westborough

fromYeomenoftheGuard. He

ouldmakeit, Didthepolice

Mr. Sw ink spast "

asualenough,for asperwason

c u rt l y, I f t h ey d i d, d i dn t

nttowardhisroom. Westborough s

had disappearedaroundthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hsignaledan elevatorandrode

houghtful.

uestreamlinedDeSotopurredwest-

mmond, thee hilarationofeating

bertireswascomparableonly

roma longtallone orf rom

tedcronies.One ofhisgreatest

whichwasdoingatleastsi ty

ardhimat ane ualpace.See-

thisharmlessamusementnow,

presseddownthethrottle. or

etwocarshungneckand neck

omobilefromtheoppositedirec-

inouslyfastrate.ThenH am-

ad, erkedhiswheelsharply

with inchestospare.

d,NorahH ammondbegged,

tdothatagain.

r en t w e " H a m m on d a sk e d.

inghappily,laidhersmall

andhairyone. redHammond

onightsagoit hadseemedthat

againbetweenhimand Norah.

denpassion,he hadswepther

sunderstandinghaddissolved

hadsprung.

astheyapproachedaroad-

ce-creamconesforC edricand

erredacigarhimselfandli tone,

hile hewaitedforthegirls to


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

balanceofherconeto C edric,

his. I stilldon tunderstand,

to persuadethepolicetoletyou

g, d o n t ? " H a m m on d d em a nd e d

es, headdedmysteriously , I got

mptroller sof f ice.

emoreand wasuptoseventy

elittle morethanablock.H e

ohurry , buthecouldn thelp

fdollarsandcents whenonthe

medhabitwhenpleasuredriv-

wntoconformtolocalspeedlaws

-brickpavedstreetsof lgin.

a largeframehouse,ofthebay

ofarchitecture,whichwasbuilt

twentyfeetabovethestreet

iblyhesitantaboutleavingthe

agestogetmygoat, hewhis-

emannerofawifewhenshe

omorethanaspoiled,sulky

, butyouwillstayfordinner, won t

badly ifyoudon t.

h , ' l l d o th a t, b u t, f o r he a ve n s

c s. He lif tedabagineither

thelongf lightofsteps. I ' ll

ong, youknow, Norah. ' vegot

dfinishpacking—you know

yaheadtomorrow .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dinthemannerofa wifewho

oatleastthehundredthtime.

tedYvonneGantinthec orri-

veseemedlikeacoincidence,

foregoneawholehour ofpre-

epvigilbesideherdoor.There

antedto tellher,butwhenhe

ninblue, hec ouldn tthinkofone

annerandsaid, Good-

evators.C hris arson s

ull toallowofmuchtimefor

ac uiredthefree-and-easy

env iedin arryCollins. Say

hetoldhimselfangrily.

rise, MissGant, hebegan

tis, wonderifyouwill—I mean

l—havebreak fastw ithme.

i ms e lf . I ' v e d on e i t at l a st . )

oolandspac ious, arson

oulddocreditto Gargantua.

rries, whic hwere ustbeginning

erecorrespondinglycostly,and

ediblenumberofitems.Miss

erehungry,andC hrisliked

dewomenwhotoyeddaintily

oreof thoserollsandanotherpot

eted.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

veeatenenoughnowforaboacon-

ingwaseasyw iththisgirlac ross

enotdoinganythingspec ial, what

Pa r k " h e p ro p os e d. O r c a n

toldhimsimply .

atC hrisastheywalked

. H eseemstohaveagrouc h

remarked.

r is u a li f ie d . W e h a d a s or t o f

ndboth ofusaretoo stubborn

task thec auseof the uarrel,

formation.

ayishgreenwhileacloud-

zonlikethe invertedbowl of

groisteredlikeahoyden, and

ormedintoaladyin delicate

etentativelydonningseasonal

e curvedpathuponwhich

shsurprises.H erewasanelm,

warfishlocust,thenamaple

c ottonwood. twasgoodto

others:awillowwhichdrooped

rowofsentinel-likepoplars.

eoffolded-upumbrellas,

pily.

benchandsatdown. A

MissGantobserved, stillthought-

thatundertoneof tragedyevery


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nical, arsonc ommented. A nd

ehotel

Thisisthefirstc hanc e ' vehadto

ss.

ngeyourroom, C hrissaidgravely .

suedac oolc hallenge. Why "

kofyoune ttotheroomwhere

r e g iv i ng m e t he i t te r s.

MissGant " hepersisted

youwould.

ratheralotonyourself , Mr.

ably am. begyourpardon.

hesaidbitterly tohimself. O f

rderedaroundbya stranger.

esaidinasof tenedvoic e, movingaper-

ideof thebench. J ustoneof

entionto it—C hris.

rsC hriswastorememberthe

eenthem. twaslike— hecould

mile. . . .

k ily, I supposewe dbetter

get back.

c ouldn tlast, ofc ourse. Minutes

knowthatthingof ugene ee-

epresentismeregrass, uic kmown

eandstandsforeverfast. "

GungaDininpoetry .

C hris " Thelaughterinher


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ogetabadbreak, but, Christ if

maynevergetanotherc hanc e. Pull

y,you vecrackedtoughercribs.

s t so m u ch g r av y "

ndlesson thecarpetedfloor

tnec essarytomoveontiptoes,

raprecaution. He stoppedbefore

upanddownthecorridor.

s ho u ld b e a b ul l

ng, Devonfloppedtohis

d,butnolockhad beenknown

long.Thisoneyieldedwithin a

dinaudiblereliefwhenhe was

mandclosethedoorbehind

oodwiththestillnessofastatue

pointedears. C oast sc lear

slink ingtowardthew indow. Hetooka

Stillraining Whatalousy

andmethodically,Benny

ack theroom. tdidn ttakehim

rofa closetandfeltdeepwithin

v on e u l te d . T h at s y o ur m e al t i ck e t

hthebullsnow You vegotthe

ttingpretty

apumaDevonstif fenedinto

dthesharp clickwhichtellsofa

aloc k. ikeatrappedbeast s,

romoneside oftheroomto

vortofind ahidingplace.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ennyDevon, andforthefirsttimein

saprayer.

indthedoor,motionlessasa

naturalstiffnessofhisback,the

throatmusclesbetrayedhis

enchedwithdeath-likerigor

dtakenfromthec loset. fhisluc k

evon. fhisluc kheld

ow M e or h im . C h ri st , ' v e go t

oorcommencedtoswingin-

andneedlepointtapestry,

f aperiodwhenwigswere

ti uetteof theSun ing s

ation.O bviouslyintendedasa

dnotfor use,itdidnot look

Nevertheless,asitwasthe only

ughseatedhimselfgingerly

astudy.

gthecrime " ieutenantMack s

edWestborough smeditations.

morenotesifyouc aretosee

atthem, Mac ksaidgood-

seen errySpangeraroundany-

eplyingnegatively,Mackstrode


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

u e st i on t o a r ry C o l l i ns . H e

yforanhourortwo, theroom

nhaveabellmanhunthimforyou.

uested, andwhenyouf indhim,

s t bo r ou g h s r o om — o r a r so n s . H e

onalelectricclockabovethe

Twentyminutestonine.

wasbluew ithsmoke. I forgotto

lef tthismorning, West-

rkingitupnow.Returningtohis

lskin pouchandoffereditto

ieutenantMac k "

Mac kgruntedlac onic ally , bring-

ket.H elitit reflectively.

mutt, Westborough, but think

ou. Whatdoyouthink isthene t

iffidently, H aveyouinvesti-

honecalls believethehotelkeeps

abetlikethat, Mac kdeclared

led. Theonething learnedwas

gotallherdopeon myfamily.

ning "

imentinpsychometry .

ucallit. Well, theoldgirlhadc alled

ohernearlyanhouron riday

estmay,andtheworld

ossipmonger.Sheknowsmore

aredoingthan theydothem-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

rienc esturnoutlikethat, was

ent.Mackpuffedthoughtfullyat

w iththismess, hesaid, isthere

damn. neverheardofamurder

tisit "

ps " Westboroughvolunteered.

No, we vec hec kedthatangle.

butwhatthe hell Nothing

ntoanyonehere. nfac t, asnearly

asn tbeeninChic agoforabout

ninterestingstoryabouthis

n, butit sgotasmuchtodo

arrietupatNiles,Michigan.

ardavidly . shouldlikevery

susinghisrealnameatthat

seditsince—gothitc hedonthe

medMaryWinters. Theywere

utthreeo c lockMaryWinters

bo r ou g h ec ho e d.

rethinking, butyou redeadwrong.

e waswithdrovethrougha

uttries thatstunteveryoncein

cominghellbent theotherway,

appened. A f terthey dpic ked

lowshewasw ith, West-

Wasn therhusband

ear. A ndifhedid, hemust ve

reisn tmuchroomforpedestrians

yisn tit anegetsmarriedat


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

M a ck c hu c kl e d. W e l l , Sw i nk — h e

ames,butthat sasgooda

hegoodoldestateracketonan

practicallyeverycentshehad.

hemanshe dtakenforanic e

theoldgirl killedherself

s.B utshehadonemighty

ildhoodsweetheartsinfact—

hittington.

Whittington.

e s g o t th e r ep u ta t io n o f be i ng a

uytobuck.H eputprivate

ail.Theycollectedalot ofdirt

utfailedtogettheir man.

anothernamethen—had faded

farasW hittingtonwascon-

eeksago.Thenoneof Whit-

isadv ic eonaletterhe dgot

mine.Theletterwassigned

ichdidn tmeanathingto

someofthesentenceswere

thinkofthe fakelawyerwho

egetshandwritinge pertsto

dwhentheytell himSwinkis

c sA mc oonhim. However, he s

etogeta convictionontheold

mcotodigupdopethat will

orusing themailstodefraud.

ttington " Westboroughin-

head. O r apic tureofhim "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

right, andif itdid, we llneverknow

thatsupplied thecyanide

epausedandaddedasan

en tfoundanytrailsyetthatlead

anidetothe q uable.

eraspec tof theproblem, West-

veyouthoughtofC olmar "

foreyoursearch,hewouldhave

eob ectswhichareapparently

henotes havemadeonthesub-

t disc ussedtherelativec hanc es

w ingornotknow ingof thee ist-

n theGrahamboy schemical

w , anotherbottleofac idshouldhave

glittlepoint, Mac kagreed. I

don riday. Sheremembered

heacid,butitdidn tmakea

er.Sheis almostsureshedidn t

lmostbutnot uite.

etfully. Thatinformation,

eryhelpful.

, butyoucan tgetallthebreaks.

andnotob ec t. Whatelsewould

artotheoneyoufoundin

Mac kgrewsuddenlythought-

ke t h at o u t "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ermaybetellingthetruthabout

sdoor.

umb, Mac ke ac ulated, crushing

r ay . I f a s pe r d id n t d o f or

raham sloc k . That sA -B -C stuf f.

asecondpickhiddensomewhere

whohidit A ndwhere "

oroughsuggestedagain.

o l m ar , M a ck e c l ai m ed

businesstothinkofeverybody. B ut

shissisterwasanac cessory . A nd

llbuyyouadinnerattheV illa

kindergartenforfiveyears.

forColmarw ithouthissister s

oroughadmitted, yetitmightbe

ftheralone forafewminutes

asthe purchaseofapackofciga-

sColmar sprofession "

Mac kstated. Westborough sfac efell.

orc eatSpringf ieldtoldus, he sa

on. He sgotapileof f riendsin

supposedtobesomesortof

snoc rime "

inalis engagedinanoccupa-

fac yanideisrefutedatevery

mented.

rc onsolingly . C heerup

for arankamateur. Thefore-

edtothefloorina noisythud.

soneguywhohadboththemethod

venamotive—atleast, it sas

' vebeenabletodigupsofar.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R199

' vebeenstallingaroundherewait-

ephonedmeapiec eofnews

ttogethisslant. B ut ' mnot

rse, arson " Westborough

g r ow l ed .

veryhumanbeingisc apableofmur-

cation, Westboroughan-

orabig, easy-goingmansuc has

wouldhavetobee treme.

d, Mac kreminded.

d, W estboroughadded. More-

f toomuchintelligence, believe,

tureofwhichwouldpoint

notwithoutthe arrangementof

h y ou , M a ck s a id . A n y a l i bi t h at

ookphony,andhehassense

salwaysinhisroomuptoeleven

etherebec auseit shisonlyc hanc e

atalli sadamnsightbetter

epausedandaddedw ithdeliberate

gh,inninety-ninetimesout ofa

wertoacaseis therightone.

atthenic eoldgentlemanwhowas

keDelavanthedayof thec rime

rer. Well, ' mgoingtoputthe

Doyouwanttositinonit "

edthedetectiveacrossthe

ndC hris arsoncametothe

dsmokinga straightbriar.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

y o u " h e a s k ed .

ped,closingthedoorandstand-

it. L arson, wehadthatstuf f

mistc alledit. t snotmyideaof

urgers.A nyway,itwas

meananythingtoyou "

hsulphuric ac L arson

Mac k seyeswerepiercinggimlets.

withsomepotassiumcyanidetwo

e thatSwinkfirstcametothis

kadmitted, I did.

dmethismorningtotellmethat

riendlytermswithMissGant.

ndafterwardsleft thehotel

esomeoldwoman, thenightc lerk

yofyourbusinessif didaskMiss

idyouknewheronlyasa

.

t ha t g ir l , ar e n t y o u M a ck

, arsonansweredsullenly .

anstthedesk . O fc ourseyou

t. A ndthere syourmotive, arson.

hewrongroombymistake. Hehad

d


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

sonlungedforwardinablaze

s a f i lt h y li e G e t ou t , or ' l l t hr o w

amusement. I doubtifyou

, arson. Thetink lingof the

tension.Mackpickeditup,

e th i s la t er . a r so n s f i st s u n-

withhisoddcharacteristicof

onal,notedthisfactandremem-

tionwiththedetective. arson

thisanger cooled uickly.

aidtothetelephone, Yeh,

andthen, w ith uic kening

Thevoic eattheotherendof

ing, andMacke ac ulated, The

stherestof it " Therestof thec on-

loguefromtheotherend of

oughfoundunintelligible.A t

ceiverwithan elationwhich

p e fr o m W a sh i ng t on D e vo n s g o t a

m. tevenincludesmurder. H e

gainandconversedwiththe

inksDevonisinhisroom, hetold

overthemouthpiec e. He sawhim

dseven, andhehasn tlef tthe

ac edtherec eiveronthehookand

ormation. J errySpanger

earoutof sightforthelast two

uiringlyatthenightc lerk. What

odow ithyouwhile pic kup


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eofassistanc einthatmatter,

d arsongavethelittlemana

edinthesuggestion. I f

t sc ausedallthistrouble, ' dsure

esaid. Mac kscrutinized arson s

aminute. A ll right, hesaid

amnfool, but ' mgoingtotrust

ridorwerespottedwith

ndobscurity.A lighted

gh sdoorremindedhimthathe

e switch.Thetransomsof

elyweredark,andsowasthat

utlightshonefromthe

transoms....W estborough

ewasalso agleamoflight

. Heturnedhisheadandpeereddown

ansomwasdark.

,buttherewasno answer.

beforerappinghis knucklesfor

ewood.Stillno stiroflifefrom

redtofetchapasskey,andMack

sappearedaroundthecorner

rridor.

arkeneddoor,W estborough

hill.Thestillnesswasoppressive,

econversation,burstsof

of thelightedrooms,butthere

ying.Westboroughrecalledthat

w largelydeserted, butthee -

layhis uneasiness.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

sideof thedoor, Mac kadv ised

fleduneasilyas heobeyedthe

trappedcriminal,preparedtoshoot

uldbehuman,understandable.

lsilenceof theroombeyond

there,W estboroughtoldhim-

rything. A nythinge c eptthebald

wasout.

ntoreturnwiththe passkey,

islyn -likeeyesrivetedupon

ndwasburied beneathhiscoat.

edthemissingSpangerand shud-

ncludedmurder.O nemurderhad

attheH otel q uable. Thec hill

metime oranothervisitsevery

ughnow.Spanger,sounaccount-

haunts,was ashrewdand

sethathehadconductedanin-

penetratedthekiller ssecret

bo r ou g h e c l a i me d a lo u d. M r .

gthesamething, Mac kansweredin

h is b i rd s d o ne f o r e r ry , ' l l

dattheendofthe corridor.

headandsaw arsonwalking

shiningpate ofthehotel

m.

here " V ic torSwanndemanded.

nceanddemandedthepasskey

rteditinthelockw ithoutturning


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

thedetectivebarkedauthori-

ineof f ire. arson, when give

ushthedooropen, and ump

e-damned.Theremaybesome

erkedhisrighthandfromtheholster

ke.

hotel " Swannaskedwith

p " andgavethesignalto ar-

dthedoor andsprangtoone

d.

deepandthreatening, O utof

fDevonwasw ithinhemadenoan-

erinreadinessMackdashed

oppedsuddenlyuponthethresh-

ri gh t M y Go d "

ydisobeyingthedetective s

tolook withintheroom.H e

air. thadbeendrawnto face

anwasseated—witha start

t themotionlessfigurewasa

enedandbloodytonguelolled

enpurplishlips,whileeyeswide

tors.

edtothef loor. Westborough, inthe

whichremainedeveraloof,ob-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

chtheashesleft againstthe

igurein thechairtodart

urtcommandswiththeswift-

racterizestheseasonede ecu-

nngaspedandaddedanaiveand

iswillaboutdofor myhotel.

thavebeensomethingfrom

works. Westboroughavertedhis

ueasy, andheleanedagainstthe

e g a sp e d. I h o p e— I ' m n ot — g o in g t o

cedabouttheroom, mak inganef fortto

swereseeing.

had beentornoffandwere

thef loor. I tdoesn tmake

arMacksay ing—inhismind, of

ewasstillbusyat thetelephone.

tohimasodd,but hiseyeshad

eroombefore herecognized

stthewallwasa vacuum

onthe floor,aleathercase—

sedforvacuumcleaneracces-

en Whywasthebedclothing

se,buttheyconcealedamessage

unraveltheenigma.West-

mforathird time,forcinghim-

thethousandandonetrivialities

noticed.

elluponthewriting desk.

eatprecisionwhichsuggested

dsincethe adventofthemaid


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

besidethem.W estborough

tit wasempty.A lmostbutnot

again. Notonec igarettebutt, not

fleckofash. urthermore,the

hedtoit wereintact.West-

beforedirectinghisattention

ercarryingcase.

toryofits contents.A hose,

kea bigstripedsnake.

ssortedsizesandshapes.A

rysmallbrush.A bottleofmoth

electric ian stapeandascrew-

ars,allthesame,ofthe kind

noreasonatallthata sensible

as literature. Westborough

arsand notedthatitcontained

efunctionsofthese various

efully:

e up b e fo r e lo n g, a n d O ' R y an s o n

kdeclared,replacingthere-

Swann,willyoutelleveryone

heirrooms "

easpallid asthoughhehad

e,shuffledoutthedoor. arson

utadrinkofwaterandstarted

Mack svoic ecrac kedlikeapistol

nowaboutthis "

edhisbackuponthedetective

dow. Whatshould knowabout

notansweringriddles.

ardtheasphaltthreestories


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

surprisetomeasitistoyou,

r

bythatlastcrac k " Mac kde-

andthedetectivedecidednot

eadhemadea uic kscrutinyof

onthevery uestionswhich

edearlier.

on g al l m es s ed u p W h y i s t hi s u n k

He suppliedhisownanswer.

beenaroughhouse.

W estboroughdemurred.

ksnapped, hisvoicetingedw ithsus-

omhasbeendisturbed, West-

f therehadbeenaf ight, youwould

orsomeotherlightob ec ttobe

t ed , a n d ma y be n o t. t s e a sy t o

ec aseofc leanertools "

mthatway. Hemight vebeen

" M ac k e c l ai m ed . I t i s S un d ay .

ponWestborough. A llright,

whatyoumakeofit.

thec leanerc ase. A narticle

missing.

ew indowto oinintheinspec -

ed, Yes, it sthee tensionpipe.

nameoftheartic le, butthereisa


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nob ec tnotinthec ase. The

sused forcleaningdraperies

t s s e e, M a ck e r ke d t he c i rc u la r

and. I t sametalpipeabouttwo

iseyesf lic kedrapidlyaboutthe

ethedamnthinganywherearound,

etorestuponac loseddoor. Maybe

mpaniedspeechasfaras Mack

ershadclosedaboutthecloset

ecompletedthelastsentence.

e s ai d , b u t th e ke y s r i gh t h er e .

epared,couldnotanticipate

ardasharpgruntofsurpriseas

ndthe secondfollowing,the

mbledintotheroom.

easedthehelplessbeingto

g er M y Go d "

sonrushedtothesideof the

sarmswerepinionedbehindhis

viouslytornfrom asheet.H is

ether,andhismouthgagged

placebyblacktape.Mack

dlistenedforhisheart. Thank

t in g .

W estboroughinterposed, I

Macknodded,andhehurriedto

ned,Mackhaduntied

eetandwasabouttoripof f the

angermoanedastheadhesive

n.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

whiskers " hedemanded

agun, you re usttootoughto

meddelightedly . H ere, takeanipof

eelbetter. SupportingSpanger

m toswallowagenerouspor-

brandy.Thehousedetective

ayedtositup. Takeiteasy ,

mwithapillow.

romhiserrand. Toldevery-

n,thenstoppedshortinbewilder-

lhappenedtoSpanger "

raw led. F eelliketalk ing,

hishead. I guessso. H ead

ugh.

usedetective sc ranium. Yeh,

right. Whodidit, erry "

S p a ng e r e a c u l at e d. I d i d n t s e e th e

ememberishearingastepbehind

bu t g u es s w as n t u i ck e n ou g h.

stars ...Maybe better

n "

erofbrandyand w ill. Mac k

dSpangertooka deepgulp.

gdownthec orridor

Mac k interrupted.

oldheadisn tfunc tioningtheway

dor, guess. A nyway, saw


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

or. gotdownandpickedit

lighter. took itunderalight

terlookatit, and ' llbehanged

e th e t hi n g. t w a s De v on s . S o

ll ustgivethatbac k toyou, fellow ,

over losingit. knockedon

tanswer, so waitedawhile

tillnoanswer. Then thought,

t op e n th e d oo r a nd l e av e i t in h i s ro o m. "

rec tinf ractionof thehouserules,

onishedseverely . A nyartic les

o beturnedinat thedesk.

e, Spangeradmitted. Ninety

' dgoby it. H erubbedhishead

w h a d.

eyouopenedthedoor " Mac k

didn tseeathingforamoment.

de. Then sawDevonlaidout

epointedtothetallarmc hair, only

siblef romthebed. I shestill

ac onic ally .

was ' mprettyhardboiled,

den,staringrightoutofthe

wasallbow ledoverinaheap.

tthere mightbesomeoneelse

heardthatstep toldyou

tgetac hanc etotellwhatsortof

artedtoturnaround,andthen,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ghtthestarbusinessin thefunny

sawthemallright.

M a ck i n u i re d .

ven. wouldn tswearanyc loser

u, e r ry "

unborn. didn tseeasoul,

nguesswhathediditw ithunlesshe

hat, Mac ksaid, steppinginside

almostimmediatelycarryinga

twofeetlongandan inchand

ldthis verydelicatelybymeans

aidit onthewritingdesk.

Spangere ac ulatedasheslidof f the

ac rossthef loor. No, don t

rsonmadeamovetosupporthim.

gh t . W h at s t h at t h in g , o h nn y "

sDevoncarriedaroundforhis

ay ' vegotitdopedout: stopmeif

ythatchokedDevonwasstillin

ed.H escurriedaroundand

gyou,thenhe thoughtof

adplentyoftime— see—because

yougotoutyourpasskey.H e

it opensinward—soyou

sloughedyou,rippedupasheet,

heusedforthe gagwasalso

k. B u t d o n t k n o w wh y h e st u ck t h e

ofputtingitbackwhereit be-

roughsuggestedhesitantly , he


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ngerabreak—I believeyou

dthattheabsenceofthe

rchthe closetbeforeMr.

tallthatout, he sgotaheadon

edso uic kly thepotentialities

sasa weaponindicatesamind

ergencies.

snotMack slongsuit.

s a d i rt y k il l er , a nd h o pe c a n

s t h e la s t th i ng e v er d o . H e

nthearmchair. Whatdoyou

Devon "

oof thec riminalelement "

Wegotplentyonhim. B ut

guythatdidfor Swink.That

s

thavebeenworkingtogether,

aybethemurdererkilledDevonfor

wink.

eedwithoutenthusiasm. H eturned

J erry , whatbecameofDevon s

gotit. Spangerreachedintohis

itis. H ehandedMac kasilver

nspecteditclosely.

h is w as D e vo n s "

onthatbird. ' veseenhimf lash

es,it hadhisinitialson it.

hegentleman srealname


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hat " Mac kasked uic kly .

WhenyouinformedusthatDevon

ght. Youwereabouttosayyou

heinitialsB . D. , weren tyou "

ht.

tithave Hemighthavebought

nameandnaturallywantedto

tlyattheash tray. You

hing.

asthekind ofbirdthatcould

ormore thanacoupleof

mbutwhathedidn thaveac iga-

e ploredthedeadman s

hereeither. That sfunny "

s t ch a ng e d hi s c lo t he s W e s t -

T wo b i ts t h at s u s t wh a t he d i d.

e e "

hangerin thecloset,and

thepockets.Suddenlyhegave

pa ng er a sk ed .

h at d i d fi n d.

doutfor inspectionlookedto

l,long-neckedpairofpliers.

hose " heasked.

iedsuc c inc tly .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

akeyholeandgrabholdof

thekey sintheloc k, youc an

ofthedoor.

ntenable, Westboroughglanced

se, Mr.Devontoopenthe

Nope. Nippersc an tgetin-

des,thesedoorslockauto-

nybodyleaveakeyonthe in-

ou g h po n de r ed . I w o nd e r-

Ryan, his awsetatagrimangle,

hecorridor.B ehindtheblue-

fficerwerePatrolmenPhelan,

ellites.ToW estboroughtheroom

olice,alllargein bulkand

ons.Thelittlemantookoccasion

e actionsofhisfellow

ehorsebeforethestarting

of hisshoeagainstthefloor.

heperspirationgleamingfrom

dhavewageredanyreasonable

handsweree uallymoist.

amorestolidrace,had re-

omthewindowandseemeden-

ofhisown.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ase plainingterselytoO ' Ryan,

edthatthedetectivewasspeak-

air. K nowntothetradeas

dahabitofsellingvac uumcleaners

cracking.

etermanis, Westboroughre-

opeathead uarters, ofc ourse,

everworkedC hi. Stuck tosmall

ndspecializedingroceries,meat

businesses.A goodplaincracks-

oup theusualwaybysoaking

t bo r ou g h u e ri e d.

ndescension. Dynamite.

fyouwanttoknow, andthat s

Devonwas soapinga

ec rac karoundthesafedoor

oup spouredinatthetopand

e edgeofthedoor.Thenyou

f fc omesthedoorf romthe

ase.

rgartenclass, O ' Ryaninter-

ougoingtosayaboutDevon "

o inagroc erystorewhenanight

m.Devonsplitsthefellow s

dthengetsrattledand leavesthe

ingerprintsonit. He ddonea

adhisprints atW ashington.

n " Westboroughin uired, c on-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

anuisanceof himselfyetun-

orinformation.

dentif ic ation, Mac ke plained.

nfileand completerecords

alook f romO ' Ryan. Howdoes

helatterasked.

Damnedif know. Theyboth

en tinthesame racket.Swink

-classone,whileDevoncracked

gtime,and Devonplayedthe

uaskme, ' dsaytheydidn teven

s know, Spangerc onfirmed.

agoodworkouttheother

kwantedtoknow.Thepatrolman

dMackpointedtothenippers

ewritingdesk . K nowwhat

el a n de c la r ed i n a h ur t v oi c e. I f

thernightwe dhavefoundthem.

verthewholeplacew itha

pocketinChilton ssuitc ase "

edidslipuponthat, guess.

" M a c k co n so l ed . B u t d o n t

hadagripw ithtrickpoc kets. H e

rdthec aseofacc essories. Didyou

"

emout, Phelanansweredc on-

s a t h in g i n th e r oo m we m i ss e d, ' d


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

sc rewy, Mac kdeliberated. Un-

ceThursday.B utwhy

ostayhere " Swanninter-

e corpse.

n t. Thehotelmanagerbreathed

dtowardthedoor. Youc an

utstick inyourroom. We llbe

ckadded,thebarestsuggestion

.

ookedscornfullyintothe de-

minute,andleftwithoutspeak-

Dr. H ildrethappearedinthe

Swannbeenk illingof fhisc us-

nspectedthecorpsewithacheerful

upilsdilated,lipsandtongue

saywhathappenedtothisguy.

ou , a nd ' m n o m ed i co , M a ck p u t

d

orc orrec ted.

df fe r en ce "

applytheconstrictingforce

undhisneck,andto throttle

indpipewithyourfingers.

aschoked, O ' Ryangrinned.

eadman sthroat. You

ngersononesideand thumbon

edfrominfront

D oc , d on t s m ud g e e m " M a ck b r ok e

beprints.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hestif f sright, thedoctor

nsthek illerusedhisrighthand,

u.

e l p M a ck g r oa n ed . S o f ew g u ys

glancedin uiringlyaboutthe

evondoesn tseemtohavek ic ked

c ounteredDr. Hildreth, whowas

mhisbag. Givenagripsuffi-

lityfollowsalmostimmediately.

dthanifabandweretw istedaround

then " Mac kaskedthoughtfully.

a n y si g ns o f r ig o r ye t . H e e r ke d

ket. I t sa uartertotennow.

ledfromseventoseven-thirty:

pinbodytemperatureandshould

Mackrepeated,writinginhis

c.

pection.Presentlyhecalled:

gelsefunny.

hasn tbeenc leanedup, butit

Ryanaskedsarcastically .

wanything " Dr. Hildrethde-

doyoubleed "

apumpwhic hkeepsupthepres-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

y.B utaftertheheart action

pressure.

edriv ingat, Mac k interpolated. A

rdeath.

of thebody. O fc ourse,

M a ck e a cu l at e d. S u pp o se t h at t h e

his guyandthathewaswear-

doctorsnapped. Toosharp.

isglancefellforthef irst

e. Good ord, whathappened

omeovertothelightand ' lltakea

ackrepeated. Hebroughthis

av igorousslap. B yGod, ' ve

Doc . Youknowthosesilly little

nevercouldunderstandwhy

whenthe sleevewasbuttoned

mfullplay , Westboroughe -

buttonswasbroken, Mac kcon-

eedgeleavethatk indofmark ,

rstatedinanoncommittal

gthebackofSpanger shead.

ebuttonf irst.

ck p r om i se d . W e l l c he c ku p o n

ehotelifwehaveto. When


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

nasleeve, we vegotourman.

tMounted, thedoctor eered.

ger. What sthematterw ithyou "

eapedsuddenlyfromhis

heheadmust veknockedthe

otallaboutseeingColmar.

t m e an t h e da m e "

uyfromSpringfield.

h e r e wa s h e "

orw ithhissister, andtheywent

"

d. Sometimeafterseven,

kpondered. Tw iceC olmarvisitsthis

mebody sk illed. tmaybepure

ginstructionstohishenchmen.

hey llbringhiminrightaway, he

M a ck i n u i re d .

ttywell, Spanger. Thattough

lotofcracks.

p an g er g r in n ed .

m thefloor. Shootthe

elzer getsthroughchecking

nidea.

Mac kc huck ledasthedoc torwent

sgotoyourroom, Westborough, he

Selzeroughttobehereanyminute

thec orridortoWestborough s

nofferedchairs.Mack,rest-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tedtopacethefloor,chewing

t he S wi n k o b , h e s ai d , i t

orridor.A ndonekillingis pretty

eatthat, O ' Ryandraw ledfrom

sk. Thelasttime washere

a ck p u t in . A w o ma n m ig h t v e

utthewomenareoutnow. t d

ytoc hokeaman, ' dsay. He

gers. L arson, ofc ourse he s

. Hammond snolilyeither.

dgivea goodaccountofhimself

e sGrahamandyou. H epaused

ereyoudoingwithyourselfall

picture, thelittlemanbegan

our-thirty , believe, andcalled

. amesWestborough.Shein-

didnotleaveherapartment

dbeeninthehotelonlyafewmin-

bookandaskedtheaddress

er- in- law .

e ct e d "

ustamatterof routinetoc hec k

werearightsmartmurderer, ' d

elittlealibiforsevento seven-

W o u l dn t a n yo n e T h at s w h yw e

hec k ingupon emall.

estboroughsummarizedinhis


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

emurdererleftthe hoteltoes-

" Mac kc ountered.

t k no w.

mnowon ' mgoingtobesus-

forseventoseven-thirty.

e rr y "

eredtothedoorand madea

or. L ookslikeeveryoneis, he

sGantandtheB lakelyhen.

M a ck d e cl a re d a ga i n. L e t s b e gi n

he room. What dyoudo

nded.

housedetective. thoughtyou

ourstoolpigeon.

emorec rac kbkethat, s uare-

a rk e d. W h e n w a nt t o s ee a f i gh t

o u is . N ow , a r so n ,w h er e w er e y ou "

youweredoing, bec ause c andamn

anetodinner "

, I fyou rereferringtoMiss

ensive.

k ey s u n cl e , M a c kc r ow ed . L i s t e n,

party. Whattime dyougetbac k to

pforward,butfell backas

t hesaidshortly.

w ithyouallthetime "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ated, glaringasthoughhewanted

owedhimtoreturntohis room,

.

ed. YouforgetWestborough s.

R y an e a cu l at e d wi t h a de r is i ve g l an c e

:His ifeandTimes.

bee amined. Thetallartist

e otherandseemedtobeill at

men.A notherterribletrag-

gtoday " Mac kaskedabruptly.

amnditty thatgoes, B oots,

amrepliedsmiling.

epeated, hisfacepuzzled.

ee ac t, fortypen-and-inksketc hes

deredbyatight Scotchmannamed

paythreebuc ksapiec eforthem. ' ve

e obinatodd times,because

aw ingatthatprice—evenif it s

ograph.

ere " Mac kwantedtoknow.

thekidaregone, and didn t

dtaketogodowntotheoff ic e.

mseventoseven-thirty "

. L etmesee. wentouttoa

adfroglegsand abottleofclaret.

wasn tgonemorethanan hour

ong.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

othehotelaf terdinner "

mpusgoingonanywhere "

goingfullblast, butthat sall.

knowwhere "

ameac rossthec ourt. didn tpay

d asperc alledin. A mc o s

c astic ally . B eenpic k inganymore

rbegan, settlinghimself inac hair

y , I thoughtwe dsettledall

.

ndnew. Didn tSwanntellyou

' dbetterstayhomesoyoufellows

ell, what sonyourmind "

waskilledheretonight.

atisit, ahabit Whowasitthis

asV ac uumB enny. Heregistered

. nowhim "

s t h e li t tl e s u i rt w h o ca r ri e d a

' veseenhiminthehalltwoor

uthim "

pertookacellophane-wrappedpack-

oreof f theend. Smoke "

skedtheinevitable uestion.

gtoday "

pal, fellowthatusedtobewith


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

isownagenc y. stayedw ithhim

n "

otelandshotV ac uumB enny, of

ewasshotatf ive " Mac kasked

ns w er e d, W a s h e W e l l , h a te t o

dn tdothe obbecause wasat

chinganewsuperspectaclecalled

ttookaboutthreehoursto sit

didn tgetbac k tothehotelmuc h

"

tsupposetheushersinthebig

emberallthefacestheysee,do

w a nt f r om y ou , a s pe r — n ow . T h e

rdthedoorwhenMackhalted

you. SoDevonwasshot "

k n ow " a s pe r e c l ai m ed a n d

ridor.Macksaidthoughtfully,

ugh, andnow asper. Don ttellme

ibi,too.

d s we r e, W e l l , ' m d a mn e d. Y ou

me, aren tyou "

Mac ksaid. H ammond, what d

H adahellof atime,ifyou

owwithmyfather-in-law.

e oldladytookmine,and

allaround.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

i n l g in , i sn t h e "

toldyoubefore.

"

boutthreeo c lockonSundays.

ewedthefat. verything

, buttheoldmangotstartedonpoli-

eave " Mac k interrupted.

c ouldn tstic kanymoreof

ttime dyouc omeinthehotel "

a halfhourstodriveforty

ic kedupanailnearB looming-

thespare.

t ke "

o. B ut stoppedata ointfarther

tubepatched.Thatkilled

M a ck w an t ed t o k no w.

ad. Youc an tproveitbyme.

alongtheroad, notsoveryfarf rom

bably f inditagain, butthat sall

werethere "

rememberlookingatmywatc h

nthetube.

straighttothehotel "

heway "

ldanswer,apatrolmancameto


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

forO ' Ryan. C olmarandhis

evator.

in, O ' RyandemandedandHam-

ntohis room.

in hisearlythirties,borelittle

spinster,hissister.H ishairwas

ckandsparkling.H ewaswear-

ysuitwitha blue-edgedhand-

hebreastpocket.

k, theyoungmansmiled.

newhomakesitMarcus.

Thursdaynight "

f f iealittlesurprise.

sof uestionswhich,West-

esignedtocheckhissister sac-

assedtheir doorthatnight.

orywase c ellent, andhesoonreal-

orywastally inginevery important

er. He likedtheyoungster s

ndhisbreezyassurance.

ptoC hic agotoday " Mac k

ghtthatafellowwasc omingfrom

ntedto talktome.

wthhim "

r c alledfor f f ie, andwewent


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ysthegoldeneggs,assomeof

cianswillbelearningsomeday.

k toSpringf ieldtonight "

oncatchingthetwelve-thirty.

don tknowasweneedtostop

gelsewecan alwaysgetyouat

can twe "

l l b e gl a d to d o an y th i ng c an .

heroom. O ' Ryandemanded:

osteverythingyoudo, ohnny, but

There ssomethingsc rewyabout

s.

heendof faf reshc igar. B utthe

veit. A rrestalawyerw ithpulland

edalloverthestatetogethimout.

psofourselvesfornothing. O nthe

sgetholdofColmar, c an twe

a wa y "

' R y an c o nc u rr e d. I t d b e a

.

stlesspacing. H ere saprob-

verhisshoulder. Whic hguyhad

eeve, Terry "

ton, button, who sgotthebutton "

ly.H econtinuedinagravertone,

vec hangedc lothes.

r O ' Ryanbegan, andthen

olmenburstinto theroom.

"

c ited. J ustforgoodmeasurewe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

where attywaskilledtheother

hingstopsy-turvyinthereagain.

downfrom thecloset.

k ey s u n cl e M a ck w hi s tl e d sh a rp l y.

f th a t, e r ry "

hishead. I t sbeyondme.

" O ' R y an u e st i on e d.

s u it w e m is s ed ' l l e at i t . H a m mo n d

grip ustaswec ameintohis

tandtookalookatthesleeve.

onit.

ac k e c l ai me d. W h a t d t el l yo u

estborough Well, wegothim

ooughventured, thesc ratc hwasn t

.

Mackmutteredonhiswaytothe

eit, then "

s narrowshoulders. There

c tssharpenoughtoc utthesk in

ausethistypeofgash.Thepos-

withalarmingpersistenceis

Mac kechoed. Why, thatmight

f inishedforhim, I c onsiderit

onwaschokedto deathinsome


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





ascoveredwithamaskof lather

ddenly inmidair. O f c ourse.

othinkof thatbefore, hesaidto

mirror andtookuphisold-

let,heopenedthedoorof his

ridorthec hambermaid, A nna ar-

ber-tiredlinencart. Doyour

entofarticlesintheguests

Westboroughaskedher.

repeatedthemaidw ithapuzzled

meandoyoukeepac c ount

ns,andwhatnot intheguests

morningafterMr.Swinkwas

.Thatdetectivefellow,hetalked


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

c l ai m ed . I ' d a l mo s t fo r go t te n w ha t i t

a ob. Mr. Westborough, are

odSamaritan "

salittlegirl, YvonneGantmused

n uic ksand. Didthateverhappen

"

e v er h a d th e e p e ri e nc e .

dflounder,andtheharderyou

inyousink . Then atherheard

pe. twas ustapieceofrough

gather,Mr.W estborough,

howgrateful

oughhis bifocals. Mydear,

gratitudebutabusinessproposi-

nagementwouldob ec tifweworked

dMrs. B lakelysay " shelaughed.

ar, andvery littleof itgermaneto

lspeak toMr. Spangerandasc er-

uarterscanbeimprovised.

corridor,heturnedtoask, Do

omewhatbatteredportable That

chinecanbeprocured.

YvonneGantcalledafterhim,

e c t to a t h in g .

rfrombeingascomplaisant.

oritemintheWestboroughWork

hertypinginyourroom, andthat s

reoldenoughtobehergrand-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

makeanickel sworthofdif fer-

avetorent anoffice.

boroughmurmured. I reallywould

telthismorning.A reyouable

ydictationtoMissGantwould

ic morals "

reyou "

tention.

onouncedatlength, ifyouwant

don tseeanyob ec tion. Sales-

tenoin emtogetouttheirletters,

othesameifyou llf i itupw iththe

etweenasampleroomandan

ughdiscovered,wasthata sam-

asmuch.H ewaslearningthe

menthadalreadydiscovered:to

siderablymoree pensivethan

wever,hired,W estborough s

sportedtoit,andMiss Gantin-

,behindanarrayoffreshly

enographer snotebook.

Tra an " Westboroughin-

otingfromsomehalf-forgotten

heRoman mpirereac heditsgreat-

mperorTra an. Westborough

rec hapterofmymanusc riptupon

ewritten. don tbelievethepub-

oldmetheyweresettingthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

l ai m ed . I t i s n t w h at w a n t ed t o s ay ,

ut daresay c anwork itover

ption. Youwon tmindc opy ing

sabouttosaywhenWestborough

orridorc arryac ane "

edone.

sgiventomebymybrother

now, mydear. wasinParisatthetime,

ac tlyonmybirthday—J amesdid

ethat. B utthatwasn twhat

hinkofanyoneelse.

wardthew indow. typical

t Mistanddrizzlesagaintoday.

hegirl. Wasitrainingthenight

"

s h e an s we r ed c h ee r fu l ly , I t s r a in e d

oroughponderedandwasontheverge

henthedoorto thesampleroom

u M a ck c al l ed o v ia l ly . C a n

forafewminutes powwow "

hegirl, Westboroughesc ortedthe

wnroom. Westborough, Mac k

ssoonasthe doorhadclosed

brainstormlast nightabout

mebodyelse sroom "

hadthesamehunc h. Cageyold


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

n twanttosayanythinguntilhe

Docwasdownatthemorgue

nng, and guesshedidagood

dmeupathead uarterstosaythere

ungs.

u ng s "

hngtoyou tdidn ttome

gottothink ing. Wasthereor

hisroomwhenweopenedthedoor "

ingtheemptyashtray,said,

ikethatslipsyourmind, Mac k

smybusinesstonotic ethings, too.

thaveanycigarettesand

nny.No,it sarealbreak at

on snec kas ueezeinanother

whosmoked.

boroughreturnedpromptly .

conically . Sodoes arson. So

dsmokescigars. asperusesciga-

t i t "

e s t bo r ou g h in u i re d , t h at t h e

nthisc orridor "

yc ouldc artac orpseanydistance

spotted. B utit dbeac inc hto

edoor untilthecoastwas

otherroomwithoutanyone

arettelighterof fersaninsuperable

Westboroughpointedout.

m e an i t d oe s "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

thathefounditinthesouthc or-

wwhatdoyoumakeof that "

A nob ec tlikeac igarettelighter

ocketof abodybeingtrans-

other.B utitspositionin the

butif itdidn tfalloutthat

" H ec hewedathisc igarfora

tnow. Thelighter saplant. Some

onawayfromthis corridor.

heliveshere. Thatsoundreasonable "

tuallydoeslivein thesouth

otmanystay ingtherenow, and

hatwere.Noneofthem werein

how gotitdopedout: theguy

he sameonewhodidforSwink.

was—see Devongoestohis

grandtokeephismouthshut

ornothing.Thatmakesense "

ss.

s e ns e "

a t it i s n t t h e tr u e e p l an a ti o n. N ev e r-

ouw illagree, wasapersonof limited

tyouthatheprobablypossessed

esmoreor lessmechanical,but

oningwereundeveloped.

o sa y h e wa s d um b , ' l l c he c k.

c ew iththeChic agoPolic eDepart-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

wenton, I c oncludethattheindi-

ossessareasonablyhighintel-

e t "

posesthatDevonhaddiscov-

edresourcesofthe C hicago

ofarfailedtodo— theidentity

notherwords, thatDevonwas, to

erthanyourwholedepartment

aughed. Well, thisdumbpolicede-

ngortwo.Devondidn tfigure

t h at p u nk c ou l dn t H e s t u m bl e d

oingit.

ble, Westboroughreminded.

w ink sroomatnine-thirty , and

otelatthattime. H epaused.

hathewasly ing "

bi, anditwasO . . , Mac kad-

thavereac hedthehotelbeforeten.

oughc on ec tured, Hammondwas

e murder.

kp on de re d. I f h ad n t l et H a m mo nd

ethismorningandputupasong

dlosehis obifhedidn tgetout

entamanoutw ithHammondtosee

eHammondtalkedaboutit. f

manc hecksHammond salibi,

s a id . H e l l ' m t o o so f t fo r m y ow n


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E H

nthatH ammondkilledDevon,

traveledout oftownasfastas

atthegarageinto believing

n-thirty Say, thatisn tsuc ha

ton. Hammondc ould vestuck

d hepickeditup ontheroad

ouldc heck that "

estboroughprotested, that

eshortlyaftereight.

withabang. Rightyouare.

H ecouldn thaveleftthe hotel

est timeDocH ildrethwillgive

owestofO akPark,haveatire

erebyeight-fifteen.O rcould

oc onsiderthis uestion. Youknow,

ystotry it. Withtherightbreakon

orinterruptedfurtherspecula-

edittorevealV ic torSwann. n

ectwhichresembledathinpiece

-grip handle.

rforyou, Swannbeganinhis

. H ousemanfoundthisthingu-

ingwastepaper.

M a ck e a cu l at e d.

topic k locks " Westborough

here wasthisfound " he

manbaling

utwheredoeshegetthepaper


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eoneveryfloor. Maidemptieswaste

bag hangingondoorof

ouwhichbag thisthingcame

T h e on e o n th i s fl o or .

"

ck-pickinginstrumentina

ctedfromW estborough sdesk.

plainedlac onic ally , puttingitintohis

s t ni g ht , ' l l b et .

nnburstoutangrily . L oc ks

einthis corridor.Musthavenew

etmaster-keysystem.C an t

protec ted—I ' lllet emknow

omtheroom,andMack

enbec auseonec hic k sgotaway

ed.Slowlythegrinfadedfromhis

atthismeans Devonhadtoleave

atroomlastnight. Scratches

tumblers. Thisc aseis ustas

wedois openupthelocksand

ooughcon ec tured, themurder

om "

Y o u do n t t h in k

ead. Notparticularly.The

me.

h t, w e r e o ut o f l uc k " M a c k e -


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

deduponthetak ingof inf inite

aldetails, Westboroughbe-

mple, learnedtheotherdayfrom

est spincushionmustbe

hreewhitebuttonsofvarious

y-fourstraightpins,onelarge

ypins,twenty-fourinchesof

fourinchesofblackthread.

pposedtotakeinventoryof

hany whicharemissing.The

eathshefoundoneof theob ec ts

gf romDevon spinc ushion. Canyou

M a ck g r in n ed . Y o u te l l me .

tononhispants, Mac k

aidnothing,and Mackwenton,

h a t d id h e d o wi t h it "

rfymyc onc lusionbye periment,

. I suggestthatwead ournto

maidonthepointofgoing

ecorridorand madeheropen

er protest,vociferouslymain-

therules.W estboroughwent

ndpointedto anopeningin

latingshaftandcoveredbya

plate.

ntial-lookingpocketknife


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

Damn " hee c laimedasthe

empt.

river, Westboroughvolunteered.

hecleanertools.

ownatthestation. A nyhow, this

dW estboroughtriumphantly

ackthreadattachedto one

ommented. A llhehadtodowas

,wrapthe threadaroundthe

plate. The iggergunandnip-

downtheshaft,andthe face

ad.NowonderPhelanandMc-

etoit. wouldn tmyself.

mstheseshaftseverysooften,

soit shardlysatisfac toryasa

utforaday ortwoitserves

oing, Mackurged, c losingthedoor

erprintsonthepipe " W est-

enthethingthatslugged erry .

. fyou resuc hasmartdetec tive,

at.

" Westboroughhazarded.

theclass.Thismugprobably

en tanyprintsonDevon sthroat

astakingnochances.O urbest

vonhadtoleave hiscallingcard

g e t C l a rk o n e m r ig h t aw ay .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

him totheelevatorshaft,

raryofficein thesampleroom.

ckingof atypewriterfromthe

er workasheenteredthe

, andhow iteverythinggoing "

ed.

se, havetogoratherslow ly .

atitoncewas.

estboroughsmiled. A samatterof

ydear. Nohurryatall. f ind

meawayfromthe hotel.

he roomwhileYvonneGant

erewasa greatdealabout

us,andYvonnebegantocon-

s eonardodaV inc iof thef irst

ebegantoforminher mind.H e

blond—witha startshereal-

c turingChris arson. She

eysuntilshe heardaknockat

oadmit errySpanger.

roughgo " thehoteldetec tivede-

morekeyson themachine.

efor errySpanger. H edidn t

ascomingbac k "

tartedtoc losethedoor, thenf lung

fyouaskme, Westborough s

machineanddeliveredwhat


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eringlook. I don tbelieve re-

ourhighhorse, Spangersaid

thesec ondf loorwhen heardsome-

efire escape. peepedoutof

uld seebutyourboss, West-

esteelstairslikea kidoften.

theconnectingdoorwhichled

oom. Yvonne, hec alledsof tly.

redf romtheothersideof thedoor.

ndpleasant. A tseven-thirty

ouldhopeso.

i n . W a it u n ti l o p en t h is d o or .

kandthedoorswungopen.

p l ai n ed . b o rr o we d i t fr o m th e d es k

ardhim. I t sallrightwith

ak ingaruleorsomething "

h r i s l au g he d . I n f a ct , ' l l p ro b -

alogueofhouserulesthis eve-

a m.

arette, andtellmeaboutit, she

n i n a fe w a ms m y se l f.

C h r is e c l ai m ed . I k n e w yo u w ou l d


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

if toldyou e pec tedtobe

e wa s cr a zy "

isreplied. A samatterof fac t,

lentc aseagainstme. Youknowhow

atsomeonewhoknowssome-

accesstopotassiumcyanide.

thcounts. B esides, wase peri-

einthelab onlyabouttwo

at "

enantMac kwasonthevergeof

when hewasshuntedoffthe

oDevon.

hee c laimedc ompassionately . B ut

haveanythingtodo withwhat

y , youwerew ithme "

erofeight. A f terthat wasalone

n tknowwhattimeDevonwas

ustasthedoc torgotthere.

ysuspectyouofk illingDevon "

pec tmeofk illingSw ink " he

r seasy . Somebodydidit. They

einthishotel.A ndtheywant

amotiveforamurder, doesn t

A sfarasSw ink isc oncerned,

tive,or thinktheyhave,which

ng. wasaloneinmyroomthat


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hostofan alibi.A ndthen,on

tprovethatyoutookanyof it

hey "

t . B u t c an t p ro ve d id n t ,

reatdealaboutlaw, sheasserted,

adanideathatapersonwassup-

e wasprovedguilty.

it, C hrisanswered, buttomake

ereasonablegroundsofsus-

ewiththemurder. honestly

t t ed , b ut , g ui l ty o r i nn o ce n t, ' d b e

ebusinessis ablackeyefor

keepanightc lerkwho, asfarasthe

urderer,eventhoughhewasn t

shandgrippedthearmofhisc hair

ouldprobablygoforeveryother

.

ym p at h iz e d. I t i s b ad , i sn t i t "

pp e ne d y et , C h r i s r e o i ne d . B u t

esurethatitdoesn tistof indthe

e o r de r , is n t i t T h e po l ic e do n t

essfulatit.

maybeahundred-to-oneshot, but

otry it. Willyouhelpme "

estontopofhis. Youknow

new c ouldc ountonyou. You re

aythrough, and "

n, sheinterruptedhastily .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

killedsomebodyhasbeeninhis

emuchbrainwork toguessthatitwas

waslookingforsomething

teveritwas,itmust bewellhid-

shadthree chancestolookfor

esttubeoverSw ink sdoorand

t "

f h e d id , ' m o u t of l u ck . B u t i f h e

uretoc omebac k. A ndhe llhaveto

tall.

nd t h at .

ttingnewlocksoneverydoor

urdererhasapasskey itwon tdo

oodaftertomorrowmorning.

ntMac k talkingtoMr. West-

nkthat thelockwaspicked.

tillholdsgood. Swannisall

ss,and,if thereissucha thing

sgoingtogetthemforthese

i d ag a in . B u t w h a t s y o ur p l an "

C h r i s a ns w er e d gr i ml y . A l l h a ve

roomuntilthemurderershows

s a l l B u t i f h e h as a g u n

He hasn t. Hammondwasthe

e policefoundtheothernight,

otel thismorning.

oorisky . Whydon tyoutellthepo-

ttoldmeandletthemkeepwatc h "

owedup ' dbeworseof f than


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





s .

w it h yo u. a lw ay s u

veg-tnerve.

andnobrains.

ngtowaitintherewn

u-

t


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

betopayyourbill, shereplied,

pperagainstthecarpet, you

sA t l e a s t, d o n t .

y s om e th i ng t o m e "

' mac onventionallittlestic k, sup-

tc ouldn t.

. B utf romnowon

htnow. Mr. Westboroughgavemean

ngforthe walkingencyclo-

n d d o n t m a ke t h e mi s ta k e of

lwrappedupin hisRomanhis-

ain. musttellyouwhathap-

C h r i s i n u i re d .

sted.

deuc ehewas Tellmeaboutit.

tthebeginning. Shelitac iga-

vepuf f . H ewasoutmostof the

mebackuntilfour-thirty.Then

e manuscript hadtyped.

ermimic ryofWestborough snervoushesi-

arsonc huc kled. ' A n e c ellent

verypoor material.Mydear,

eatwhichthechildrenof srael

kingofbricks withoutstraw.

frearrangingsome ofhissen-

rdhereandthere,and was

nblowupifyoualter asingle

eydic tate Well, ustthenin

k,veryangry.Notopenly,of


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

tinhiseyes—thepupilswere

estoodthereforsomeseconds,

thingbutglare. inallyhe

don tlikebeingplayedforasuc ker.

he ssomildandapologetic—

ookedupfromhismanuscriptand

ce, Whateverhave done

ieutenantMac k , andhee -

omic al, though c onfess didn t

en. Done Youknowwhat

gotintoyourroom, youdirty little

r. Westboroughintheslightest.

m, patientvoic e, Thenitwasmy

ereon '

ashedhisf istsohardagainstthe

ughthe dbrokenit. Youknow

ttryplayinginnoc entwithme.

dn tevenhearhim. He ustsat

ewhereintospace. Dearme

idthe

ustwhathewasgoingtosaybe-

tenantMac k interrupted. He was

utitwasadif ferentk indofanger.

aa r ti c le a s ' v e e ve r m et , b ut c a n

ow.Thosenotesofyours,for

dmewithuntil readthem.

non everyoneinthecorridor.

,but thatsectiononpoisons

giveaway—if hadn tknown im


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

alotmoreaboutthatsub ec t

ny businessknowing.A nd

regoingtoe aminetheloc ks—

that C utesttric k eversaw

eonthe ideathatDevonwas

B uthewasn t. twasyourroom,

ad uarters. Tellmenowwhyyou

douthishands—youknowwhat

raman—andsaid, With

tMac kwasf labbergasted. Helookedat

ndsasifhecouldn tbelievehis

s face.H eopenedhismouth

agetogetoutmorethanasortof

oughaskedhim, H aveyou

' ieutenantMac ksaid, Yeh,

' Mr. Westboroughdidn teven

nhadfoundout. Youknowmy

Mac ksaid, Yeh, andMr.

ThenyouknowthatMrs. ames

ythewomantoserveasaccom-

eciallyifheshouldbea brother-

tparticularlycare.

dn ttakehiseyesof fMr. West-

. Westboroughdidn ttakehiseyes

sfac e. Neitheronewouldstopstar-

r. Westboroughwasn treally

tuallytwinklingbehindthose

ally theothergaveup. Was

twasplaintomethathethought

h sopinion.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

glystupidone, Mr. W estborough

e ut e na n t Ma c ka s ke d , O r w h a t '

mpedbackintohischair,and

athathewase hausted. He sso

eredifhe mighthavehearttrouble.

airandcameovertohim. A nything

estborough ' asked. No, thank

uiteallright. Then ieutenant

what ' andMr. Westborough

ea l ly d o n t k n o w . "

isfeetasthegirlc onc ludedher

v isualizeMr. Westboroughasamur-

onintheworld

w en t o n, I c an t s e e an y on e e ls e

reallnice,ordinaryeveryday

ntiallydif ferentf romotherpeo-

toknow.

t fo r y ou " C h r i s e c l ai m ed , cr o ss i ng

tohercigarette. Yvonne,when

idew ithpotassiumc hlorate know

er y t im e. B u t y o u ca n t p u t hu m an

dbesureof alwaysgettingthe

r,smiledat himthroughher

ttakepeopletopiec esandsee


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

aybeamurdererhasgotasort

calmake-up.Maybehecanstay

Mr. Westborough. don tknow.

thispartic ularonec omesintothe

sgoingtobenabbed. Two uic k

connectingdoor,andhein-

ock.SuddenlyYvonne stall,

im.

orearm. You—you lltake

mthedoor. Doesitmeanany-

mply , buthereyesadmitted

over willyoumar

s, shelaughed, evadinghis

uhavetofinishcollege.

istry

so n , an d ' l l s ho o t yo u .

nc h. Thistimeshefailedto

hapshalfaminutetheyc lungto-

arsonanswered,asthoughshe

s, enavant. Youdidn tknow

ou "

a h n , n o t t o r hy me w i th h e n , a nd

aidthelittlec arpingdemonwhic hlies

oulto YvonneGant.B uttothe

e. A loudsheanswered, E n

dtheknob.Thedoor openednoise-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ges. ThenChris sheadbent

edoor closedbetweenthem.She

t madeasitslid intoplace.

rfrom hisside—for herprotec-

toyedw ithanailf ile. ustto

erebeanythingworsethanwait-

an—themanyoulove, shetold

m Theroomwhichhadtaken

Thatghastly, sardonic mock ing

ythinghappentohim, she

iledatthe absurdityofthat.

rld.Youwerealoneoutsideof

dgive.C hrishadonlyhis own

eyondthat—nothing.

ookafewpuffs,and then

ck,nervousfashion.Shelooked

ntto thedressingtableand

put adabofpowderon her

eonhercheeks.B utshedidthis

ingtheeffectproduced.Then

the connectingdoor.Wasit

ctuallyhearC hrisbreathing

ton, shetoldherself , andwent

ereno morecigarettesinthe

detheashtray. There sa

sheremembered.Shewasabout

she heardanoisefromthe

r o om . No t S wi n k s . C h r i s s p h on e wa s

tently.C lamorously,intheim-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

phonesorderyouto dropevery-

once.

wthat, shethoughtandwentto

appedsoftly,andshewaitedfor

erewasonlysilence.Yvonne

s, ohChris.

us,predatorysilence

sdarling " Shehuggedthedoorand

dtocatcheverysoundemanat-

. B uttherewerenosounds. No,

Shecouldhear somethingnow.

nthene troomceased,andshe

rverydistinctlyindeed. twas

beingdrawninaloc k . twasthe

pen.

gintothecorridor.

thedoorwhichledtoYvonne s

to hispocket.Nomatterwhat

hetold himself,she,atleast,

ttleduponthecity,and the

byafaint glimmerfromthe

argewingchairtofacethe door

utwaitingthereinthe semi-

edidn tknowwhat,turnedout

ntheworld.The troublewas

ervesweree c ellent. B utC hris

eepy.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

entandhotelman arson

done,notoverfivehours sleep

son, hehadneverbeenableto

ewasalwaysfightingsleep—

oa lectureoratthedesktry-

m Smithhadreallymanaged

ayinghis billorif thatimpres-

smistake. Withplentytodo—

bmergedinworkas heusuallywas

eepatanytimeandwin. B utto-

sofblackcoffeehe haddowned

waslosingthe battle.H iseye-

heavy.H eblinkedand erked

chearnedonlyafewminutes

moredrowsythanever.Perhaps

om No, thatwouldn tdoatall.

ightenawaytheintruder he

dtobe fought—andwhipped—

methingtofeedupon that

nto lethargy.

minc alculus thengaveitup

dtoc hemistry . He triedtorec all

mbersoftheninety-threeele-

keepingawake,thatproved

-fashionedcountingofsheep.

ell,but itmustbesome-

ovinghislipshe begantorecite

mmittedtomemoryyearsago

gofit hadimpressedthemselves

. L askausedtorideonamouse-

yside, rec alledChris arson.

ngorotherandabright-belled


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

elseagain. ittlesheknewof

asbeginningtocomebackto him

asuf f ic edherneed. A ndlittleshe

swereleadweightspressing

ittleshecared. . . c ared. . .

p, hisheadlollingagainstthe

ghtarmdanglinghelplessly

dn tknow. A f terwardshereal-

ebeenforsoverylong.H ewas

yaninsistentrapping.

tsleepilyandwasabouttoc allto

truckhis senseswiththeshock

angtohis feet,hisbodytense

yslowly,thedoorto thecor-

.

estborough stransomand

shandiwork.

ay i t , h e co m me n te d . W e c a n s ee

hall, andnobodywilltumble

em.

enter " Westborough ues-

yesdownbytheemployees entranc e.

upthebackstairsandwaitedtill

fanybodyknows ' mhere, he s

all. H etiltedac hairbackward

thefloorandpuffed comfort-

inuteSwannsaidtheloc ksonthis


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ed gotmybigidea. thought,

winkwants somethinginthat

s lastchance. unnythat

amehunc h, isn tit "

tboroughrepeated.

y o u C o l l i ns d i dn t l i ke t o r un t o

arsonhadalreadytoldSwann

y,buthe figuredsomebody

me aring.

ntoldC ollinshewasgoingtowait

m.

oughanswered. Thatactionre uires

r so n i sn t y e ll o w, M a ck a d mi t te d .

c hangedmymindaboutthatfellow . He

evon,anyhow.TheGantgirl

nmostoftheday yesterday,and

thehoteluntila uarterofeight.

girlwasly ing.

boroughdeliberated, issupposed,

willingto sweartopractically

oveshim. speakwithout

edtheashesofhisc igartothe

t a ke o a th a n y ti m e th a t th e G an t g ir l s

roughsuggested, aglassofbrandy

"

c allaswellidea, Mac kgrunted.

bottle andbroughtouttheglass


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ouredagoodstiff drink,and

Thatthesamestuffyougave

believethereisasay ingrelative

manstandingupononeleg "

tion. c oulddrink thatall

mits. won tbemuc hgoodif

ec tingtoc ometonight " West-

outit, butwhat stheuse Hell,

ha t s f i at M a ck t i lt e d up t h e gl a ss

preciousdropsofthe brandy.

c hec ked, hesaid.

, then "

d, theli uorlooseninghistongue

ndtheguyremembersc hang-

aboutseven-thirtyor so.

tyouweregoingto besus-

boroughreminded.

ec k , there snotmuc hyouc ando

ond s, and arson sseemtobe

ou s y an d s o is C o l m a r s .

of thosegentlemen " West-

M a ck s a id s l ow l y. I f y o u wa n t th e

aseyetagainstanybody, andunless

ht probablywon thave. He

host. Westborough, you rea

c an thelpgettingtheideathat

tthisthanyou relettingon.

th i s "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

estionandc allsforaf rankanswer,

I onlyw ish c ouldgiveittoyou,

norder, havetoadmitthat

atseaasyouare. Uptothisaf ter-

ac k repeated uic kly .

ndsplayedwitha pen,pressing

edeskblotter. L etmeelucidate

hesituationis notunlikethe

erlock.

kstopiec esinmysleep, Mac kde-

There sf ivepintumblers, andthe

oraise emallinlinebeforethe

youmean "

heparableastepfarther, might

ershavereachedtheproper

thpreventsthe lockfromopen-

tthatobstacle

M a ck d e ma n de d .

ghter, Westboroughreturned

dsettledthismorningthatit dbeen

or "

movedina negativegesture.

asperfec tlyvalid—thismorning.

ence

r ok e i n e c i t e dl y . Y o u me a n th a t

or—thek iller—wouldn tplant

outhcorridorandthen putthe

ointright backatthewestcor-

ctlycontradictoryfalseclues


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

, Westboroughconfirmed.

i s , H a s o u r m ur d er e r a lo g ic al

omtheskillw ithwhic hheplottedthe

nothelpbutanswerthat uestion

neofthe contradictoryclues

emarksuponmylockare afalse

ut that. Noprobable,pos-

astheGrand n uisitorsaidin

thecigarettelightermustbethe

wsinevitablythatDevonwas not

dor. H eshookhiswhitehead

haveheardyouobservesomany

m a ke s e ns e . "

inthisc ase, Mac kdec lared

owardthetelephone. K eepyour

ou ' mgoingtocall arson

eandgetshurt.

s t il l i n hi s r oo m "

m if h e d c om e o ut , w ou l dn t w e "

ownthereceiverandaskingfor

uzzingindicatedthattheoperator

petetheconnec tion. F unny it

gan. H ewasinterruptedbyWest-

slyathissleeve.

u st g on e in .

kasked, replacingthereceiver.

waitingfor.

ackdashedacrosstheroom

none uic kmotion. I f arson


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

entoriantonesat thelockeddoor,

" Therewasnoanswer. L ookslike

eloc k , hedec lared, butYvonne

erevolver.

h r i s B r e ak t h e do o r do wn "

s holsterwhileGraham

atthedoor. O nemoreoughtto

kgraspedhisshoulderroughly

ootforthesec ondef fort. Stayout

vegrow led.

hec orridor, aspersug-

c e ' l l a sk f o r it , M a ck s n ar l ed .

dagainstthe doorwithhisentire

fle undertheonset,itcon-

ird,andlouder,crashfrominside

nominoussilence.

untthattime, asperchuckled.

instthe wallinobviousrelishof

asecond,ande uallyunsuc-

u ff l ed v o ic e dr a wl e d fr o m wi t hi n . I ' m

hedooropenedto reveal

ermanfirmlybytheshoulder.

airwas tumblingdownoverhis

edaskew,andhisforeheadwas

one eye.B utYvonneflungher

ssedhim unashamedly.

s h e ga s pe d . Y o u ha v e be e n in a

erguy " arsongrinned. or


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R267

edthepudgyindividualwhom

kenincustody.

, Mac kconf irmed, surveyingthe

andimpersonally. Swellsight,

ngaveyouabeautyonthebeak "

romwhichacrimsontrickle

egotmebysurprise. ' lltake

me.

htof ry, Mac k toldhim. He ad-

thehousedetective swrists.

uforthemurderof lmoSwink

rtbewildermentatthehand-

he r e, a o k e s a o ke , b ut y o u r e g o -

r so n y ou w a nt "

ck r e to r te d .

ingformethesameashedid

hernight, Spangerwentonv in-

ough, hedidn thavesuchapush-

a g u n on m e, o r ' d h a ve b r ou g ht h i m

Yvonnebeganindignantly . Mac kmotioned

ngmeonebit. ustwhydidyou

hedemandedsternlyofSpanger.

tory, thehousedetectivegulped.

W e l l , yo u r e g oi n g to h a ve p l en t y of

thead uarters.

ywithhisgrizzledmustache.

de d , I ' l l t el l y ou u s t wh a t ha p pe n ed


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ntotheroomandc losethe

Mac kdemanded.

es s . t l o ck ed w h en c l os e d it .

romthene troom, andthenthis

feltitc omingand erkedmy

stedhimoneinthepuss. A c hairor

we refumblingaroundinthe

nseeverywell. pastehiman-

rhisbelly . Somehow don t

hisclouton thebeak.Thene t

owdesc ription, Mac kadv ised

u, andthat senough. Whatthehell

om "

, Spangeransweredsullenly.

Whatmadeyouturntheroom

imes "

bleathismustachebutsaid

pentheother morning,

tpeevedwhen saiditwasalousy

penandtoldmethesame mat-

mforyears. checkedupwith

wereright,but canseenow

eopen. O nly c ouldn trealize

beenontheforcecouldturn into

hec onc ludedangrily .

a c r oo k "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ofnowhere,Theocritus

ac ulated, Dear, dear SoMr.

iddle "

d, hewasinadealw ithSw ink

sehewantedtocop allthe

athingabout Spanger

Mackseizedtheopeningand

uardwithsentenceslikesledge-

ms. Don tlie. Doyoutalknow

l t al k , S p an g er s a id r e lu ct a nt l y. I ' l l

thebeginning

e. wouldsuggestthatMr.

thecomparativeprivacyof

on c ur r ed . C o m e o n , e r ry . T h ey

wnthecorridor.

essofapersonalinterestinthis

ed. I tgotmeanightinthehoose-

olingmyheels,sinceSaturday.

natthefinish.

oroughsuggested, isc ertainlyen-

MissGantisane tremelyc om-

hapsshewouldtakedownMr.

shorthand.

unted, Gethersomepaperand

othersinside. I fyouwant

' myourman. twasmyroom


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

yentitledtoknow Mrs.

ma n de d . I ' m n o t re a dy t o g iv e t hi s

fyou reinonit, it llbeallover

utside.

dsuchinsolenc e " SarahB lakely

thecorridor,andherdoor

edoortohisroom. There

rlyenoughc hairs, hef retted,

gueststo makethemselvescom-

, Mac kdec lared. MissGant,

heconfession A nd,Spanger,

othatanythingyousay

n te r ru p te d . I ' m g oi n g to c ut t h is

shootingfracas gotinto

en aketheGentgotk illed "

avepulledadamnfoolstuntlike

endrunk . Hisplaywastoc ome

uarters. fhisbrainshadbeen

wnwedidn thaveanythingthat d

entoverthewholehousefrom

wasn tasmellof thebiggreen

estboroughbegan.

reluc idated. F ive-caratemerald

ookeditfromanold duckcalled

knowsomethingabout ewelry , and

emeraldwasasslic kapiec easyou ll

olombia, wheremostof thegood


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

dn thaveaf law. fyouknow

youknowthatalmostnever

h a t s t h e V a n l m an

wink sroom "

lmanhaditstepc utandsetina

wifefortheir twenty-fifthwed-

akegotit. O neof theslic kest

obberywasontheeleventhof

ec ted. A ndonthetwelf thwewere

or akebutcouldn tstirup

ethirteenth getatipf roma

ustrentedaroomonNorthC lark

ppenedthere.

ahundredbucksfor hero-

edwithasarcasticemphasisthrown

, S p an g er g r in n ed . I t w a sn t

tditc heditinthehouse. Youknew

nehandandneverranaroundwith

dopeditoutthat akemust vegot

eduringthe twelfth.B ut

ssediton. akedidn ttrustanyone.

hiditsomeplac e, but c ouldn t

Mac ksaidshortly .

sn tsoundlike akeeither. He

eshaveawayof beingfoundand

echeckedthatanglepretty

ofindthatemeraldbadlybecause

edarewardof f iveperc ent—two


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

c ouldsureusethatdough. B ut

yof thefenc es. didn tthink it

' ddopeditout akewasplan-

himselfafterthefusshaddied

ofgoodconnections

H e s g o t ab o ut a s m uc h t o do w i th

ketherapforasmyauntH ar-

rriet " Spangerc huc k led.

togiveitupasabad ob. Then

mnotsoyoungas was, andmyfeet

e

e r ry Y o u do n t n e ed t o g o in t o th a t

Spangerc ontinued, Swann

firmoflawyersthatwerehan-

weretryingto digupevidence

andhadspenta nightwithanother

eSo taketheambulanc echaserinto

ogooverlastyear sregister. He

t do . ' m n o e p e rt , b ut ' d s e en

, andthename, Cec ilM. Deering,

gister, was ustthesortof fancy

infor. Thedatewasrighttoo—

you vegotahunc h, there snoth-

wentdowntohead uartersand

ake swritingf romthef iles.

deby side:youcantella lot

ng,howthestemsarecrossed,

ndsoon. ' mnoe pert, as said

tC ec ilM. Deering wasready

htthenand there.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

takentheroomwhic hSw ink

wantedtoknow.

tthef irsttime I tallf its,

doutherefortheday. Hedidn tdare

ecausewe dhavebeensureto

gavehimthechancehewanted

editchedthethingsomewhere

ythereyet. Twoandahalfgrand

havetodois togoandpick

g ot t h at f a r, d i dn t k n ow h ow t o g o

ed,anditwouldbe riskytogive

' mthehouseof f icer, andSwann d

anymonkeybusinessgoingon

s u a re t h in g , yo u d h a ve g o ne t o

y, Mackobserved.

ebeenabrightidea Swann

holetwenty-fivehundred—asan

wasmerelydoingmydutyand so

No, sir, thiswasmybaby, and

ng. B utthebestthing c ould

heroomhappenedtobe va-

gyoudec idedtoempty ityour-

B y G o d , d i dn t B u t w h e n

seeanyreasonwhy shouldn ttake

f theroomwasfoundalltorn

heacc ountof theguythatdidfor

hadleftthe othernight,

k theplac eapart. gotasfaras

rupholstery, but wasn table


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

asgettingtoo latetobesafe,

me.Nearlyeveryonewasaway

day—evennosyO ld ady

nothertry. thoughtthat ake

eholeinbac kof thedresserand

vedonethesamethingtothe

oset. B uthehadn tdoneeither.

emiddleof the obwhen heard

hecorridor.Nothingtogete -

tdidn tsoundrighttome. t

nd heardaguybreathing

alwork . f igured oughttoin-

side.Therewasn tasoul in

fmynerveshadgone ittery . Then

er

estboroughbrokein, hiseyesglit-

awthelighter. nwhic hcor-

or " W estboroughe c laimed.

mbarrassedly. I stretched

havetoadmit. didn twanttolet

beeninthewestc orridor. Notw ith

sedup.

s t bo r ou g h al m os t s hr i ek e d. T h at s

e hadn tbeenabletogetinto

yreasonwhySpangershouldlie

oundthe cigarettelighter,and

ehaddoneso. ieutenantMac k ,

Spanger shandcuffs.

? " Mac kdemandedbelliger-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

esoaredtriumphantly. B ec ause

enameofthetruemurderer "

who " Mac kc lamored.

patientsmile. I fyoudon t

willyoupermitanelderlyhis-

wnblunderingmanner You

erentand seeminglycontradic-

e r ea l ly s o lv e d th i s ca s e, y ou r e e nt i tl e d

ess. He turnedtoYvonne, seated

reyougettingallthis, Miss

declaredwithenthusiasm.

ainstthedoor, directlyfac-

eginw ith, thereisthetime ues-

ortedthathehadheardsomeone

beingthatwec allhimMr. Z —in

rty.Mr.Spanger,if hisstoryis

because,byhisownadmission,

hoftheroomuntil earlymorn-

en, theMr. Z whomHammond

sassin.

hatbothHammondandSpanger

k ualified.

notbeenly ing, Westboroughc on-

esideshimself, onlysi peoplewho

opportunityofcommittingthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

rson, Mrs. B lakely , MissColmar,

risk rowsk i, thenighthouse-

mentprovedto mepuzzling.

oproducewitnessesto testify

e-thirty,haduncertainalibis

gonefromthebarforabout

ttime.Mr.Swannreturnedto

dtohis uartersonthetopf loor,

vonenteredthe lobbyatthe

edto herroombetweennine-

mmondwasmistakeninthetimeat

fourcouldbeincludedwith other

,therefore,thatthelogicalstarting

totestMr. Hammond ssenseof

ridayevening c onduc tedsome

which,however,hewasnotpre-

ad noopportunitytodelude

methatH ammondwasgifted

ftime.Therefore,ifhesaid

atnine-thirty , Mr. Z musthave

osetothathour. C ertainlynot

otofwordstotelluswhatwe

ec ted.

d, Westboroughretorted, is

onlyupona baseofverifiedand

notright, Mr. arson "

nc hemistry , arsonconf irmed.

aseofDevon, Westborough

niversityprofessorlecturing

tionappearspointlessunlesswe

becauseheknewthe identityof


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

openetratetoMr. Z ' sidentity .

foundationforourbeliefthat

oassuming, Mac kprotested.

hdenied, I ammak ingbutoneas-

strangledbecausehedis-

ithoutthatassumption,no

tsforDevon sdeath.

w ink seither, Mac kgrumbled.

deathisanacc omplishedfac t.

ausedoesnotalterits es-

marycondition,weare usti-

thintherigidboundariesim-

,inthecorrelationofa second

haven ttheleastideawhat

oroughc ontinued, w ithoutheedingthe

welofmanyfacets. etusc onsider

sviolentdeathwasknowntohave

andseven-thirtyonSundayeve-

uestionedby ieutenantMac k

n: threeof theseproduc edalibis

gandappeared,superficiallyat

alibiswhichwereworthless.

Thesituationwase ac tlywhat

peoplec hosenatrandomand

aboutsata definitehour.

ef ivealibis—boththegoodandthe

shallsaynothing. Mr. arsonis

rterofeightbyMissGant. B ut

elyeliminatehim,althoughthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

eednotbe uestioned. Thereis

or. f thedoc tor sestimate

ss Ganterredbysobrief a

twouldbe necessarytoinclude

gthelistof activesuspects.

salibi, establishedbyagarage

oad,aflawalso appears.Mr.

eleft lginatf ive-thirtyanddid

leight-fifteen.Why twoand

fastdrivertotraverseadis-

Mr. Hammonde plainsthe

ayingthathepickedupa nail

onhisspare,and thenstopped

he hadthetubevulcanized.

mmondhavepuncturedhisspare

oitw ithhishand Mightnot

atseveno clock,havebeen

eonthe lginroadbyseven-

zed,andreturnoncemore to

ieutenantMack,youwere

perimentswithregardtothe

cedure haveoutlinedphysically

re t ty f i ne , M a ck r e pl i ed , b u t

possible—givenallthebreakson

oroughresumed, wemustrestore

activesuspects.Nowforthetwo

mittedlyworthless:Mr. asper

womenhavedeniedac uaint-

bothwereattendingthe same

natedtime,and— acoincidence


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

are employedbythesamein-

tingtonofNewYork . Coinc i-

curindailyli fe,andyetthe mind

m,seekstoestablisharelation

enapparentlyseparateevents

.Doessucharelatione istbe-

r. Colmar Yes, toac ertaine -

ouldnothavebeenin C hicago

Mr. asper sinc arc erationon

stionofafurtherrelationship

saytheleast,aninteresting

atthesterndic tatesof logic brandit

hetruthisthat noneofthe

ede ec utedDevon.

hatout " Mac kwantedtoknow.

fDevonwasnota premeditated

mtwofacts,thevalidityof which

. Devonwasnotk illedinhisown

ntwasfound—I believeitis

—whic hhadbeenc oncealedthe

. Theinferenc eise tremelysimple.

gedtoDevon,whohadused it

heroom ofanotherguest.B ut,

couldnothaveknownin ad-

ffectsuchanentrance.There-

eastin themannerinwhichit

beenpremeditated.

tuf f infanc y language, Mac kc utin.

sy ingthatnoneof theguysc ould

roughmurmured, itappearsto

simple. A largehotel—partic u-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





TU MB L E R

utyourfirstmistakewasnot

hemurderofSwinkwas as

sthatofDevonwasnot.

M a ck f l ou n de r ed .

von s ourneyonThursdayeve-

uggested. Duringtheforty - f ive

eenandteno clockDevonun-

tohis death.Where didhe

dlywhileridingonthe L , nor

ractivepossibilities.Therere-

ardonRandolphStreetat a

etweennine-fortyandnine-

sonRandolphStreetthathas

"

ple,hisfaceblank. Damned

here sabeer oint

heater, Westboroughreturned

onsawwasaguestof thishotel

shier.A guestwho,ifhehad

,shouldhavebeeninsidethe

rahamshoutedandleapedtohisfeet, his

df romitsholster. Sitdown,

m sh r ie ke d . P r ov e i t Y o u v e ca l le d

witnesses.Thatlaysyou wide

mgoing


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

bawledagain.

hematterinthehandsofmyat-

deddefiantly.

ownandshutup " Mac k in-

etwo menclashedforperhaps

m,makingavisibleefforttore-

hischair.Mackrestoredthe

is handremainedcon-

etthecyanidewithoutleavinga

anded.

months—perhapsyears—

c t, w illhazardaguessthatthe

ggestedthemodusoperandi.

ah a m sn e er e d. I ' m g o in g t o ca l l my

etelephone.

st e yo u on e "

ossibility inmyf irstnotes, West-

amsullenlyreturnedtohis

hat evenwentsofarasto

ofpotentialsuspects.

eardofanartistthatmadedraw-

hanc ethat stumbleduponthe

estboroughe pounded. I

en-and-inksketchupona

edthatthephotostatwouldlater

is inklines.Doesthatsuggest

Thelightsensitivesaltwould


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

lieve, Westboroughinterrupted,

wouldhavetobe asubstancecap-

mical. B ut, asMr. arson

fSwink sdeath,potassium

solventofallsilverhalides.

Mac ksaiddoubtfully.

so. Mr. Grahamadmittedtomethat

ofworkuponphotostatsatone

thanthatthemeansof bleach-

nhisof f ice "

k there " Mac kdemandedirately .

eavethepoisonfor youto

e ac ulated, obv iously farf rombeing

ntestifiedthatGrahamwasinthe

veliedtoshieldhim, butyouc an t

ondwasinonit too.

so.

e "

h at s h e di d .

Mr.andMrs.Grahamalleve-

that.A teight-thirtythereare

tseatsin oopcinemas,anda

e toe periencedifficultyin

rs. Wouldn titbenaturalfor

htotake—' singles is believe

ers—in orderthatMrs.Graham

htsittogether "

anneversaidthathappened.

ehadbeentoac ertaine tent

dmanherself,shewould


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ellentalibibyavoluntaryadmis-

arlysinceshedid notknow

ereac uaintancesandhadno

hamhadleft thetheater.

enthepicturebeforeandwas

of it.

Gotoit, k id You retalk-

witheverybreath youdraw.

elpthegoodworkalong:Mrs.

alked ofnothingbutthepic-

edidthat ustforthe

enefit.

hc onfirmed. Underthec ircum-

difficultmattertodeludeMrs.

fthathehad actuallyremained

eriod. nfac t, itwouldbeodd

wse. tisstrange, heref lec ted,

lues— thetesttube,theacid,the

ueonesandyet shouldpersist

ceivethissimplefact.

yone, Spangerc himedin.

y inhav ingthenervetousethe

andnottry ingtogetanother. t

ndatallguy likeGraham sfairly

wastedagreatdealof thoughtin

reaboutsofanone istentsecond

oroughadmittedw ithc hagrin. My

cc eptatfac evalueCedric sas-

eenremovedfromthebottle.

enallowedtoseethechemical

onse uentlyhisestimateofthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

y. B utGrahamwouldn thavebeen

ond sbeingthere, oronhearing

slogic, isn tit "

stboroughc oncurred, butthean-

Grahamcouldnot havefore-

uldhearhimatnine-thirty,and

theless,forthat purposehe

event,occurringdailywiththe

refer,ofcourse,tothe

achroominthiscorridornear

chambermaid, Mac kadmitted.

b ec tion, Westboroughc on-

asiertobelievethatGrahamwasable

hathe possessedthenecessary

cks.

tc hes " Mac kc ross-e amined.

wSwink sloc kwaspic kedtheeve-

PerhapsGrahamhadconducted

sinlockpickingonhisown in

bilityofthat modeofingress.

M a ck g r un t ed . B u t y o u s ti l l ha v en t

es.

y, Yourefer,ofcourse,to

progresstothewestc orridor "

d o "

tMack,waseasilyaccomplished.

.

M ac k e ch o ed . I t s r a is e d to t h e

onobodyc ansneak inby it "

I thangstoolow . toldSwann


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

edupacoupleoffeet,but he

tallguywithac anecould ump

hookitdown.

neinmylife, Grahamsnapped.

o b e c te d , y o u r e f or g et t in g t ha t a ll

ebolted.

e, Mac kdec laredemphatically .

eenabletogetinthatway—he

forehelef t—buthec ouldn t

doorboltedfromtheinside.

onthef ire-esc apedoor, Westbor-

thehandleof theboltishori-

handleis turnedverticallyup-

eisbelowthedoorknob.

stboroughe plainedw ith

loopedapiec eofstringabout

etchedthestringoverthedoor-

aryleverage,closedthedoor,

arply,holdingit,of course,by

iatelymovedupward—into the

wasontheoutside. B y holding

twasa simplemattertopull

enthedoorand the amb.

todetective-storywriters,

t. I t salla lie—adamned

uickness.H isfistsmashed


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

theartistwasintheac tofspring-

throat.

a ve t o p ok e y ou i f y ou d i dn t s t ay

row led.

leedingmouth,Grahamstag-

iseyesgloweredvindictivelyat

inglyundisturbedbythecon-

romhispositionagainstthe

olishand futile,Mr.

anadmonishedgently . P leasenote

is pointhavebeenentirely

was insteinwhoobservedthatin

ouldbean elementcorrespond-

ty.

Youmeanyou vebeenwast-

tofhotair "

Westboroughsmiled. I have

rmationofmyhypotheticalcon-

encewhichgivesmytheoryits

ewithreality.B ut amafraid,

hattoobtainit havebeenguilty

M a ck e p l od e d.

Youw illrec allthatatthe

rbetweenMr.Spangerand

gatedtoproc ureapasskeyf rom

redthisarticle,butuponmyreturn

ssed.Seeing,however,thatMr.

rand hisattentionfullyoc-

portunitytoslipunobservedinto

dtoldmethata certainob ect


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

hec oncludedelatedly , I found

Mac kdemanded, hiseyesregarding

" W estboroughsmilinglyc hal-

redperemptorily . I don tlike

lvethissimple problemin

Westboroughinv ited. Therewasan

amsurprised, heaverred, thatno

onevitalmatter:thereason

nGraham sapartment.

n sw er , a s pe r b ro k e in . I f y o u

e,he probablydidtoo.

t. sanyoneabletodeduc ethe

The uestionwasfollowedbya

Dear, dear " Westboroughre-

atwehavesadlyunderratedMr.

S p an g er s u dd e nl y s ho u te d . G r ah a m s

ould velef tscratc hesonits

estboroughadmitted, butMr.

hotel atleast,hasnotpos-

ausedbrief ly , buttherewereno

ainingthenightofMr. Swink s

etly .

M a ck y e ll e d. A n u m b r el l a wi t h a

whatheusedtopulldownthef ire

Graham sc loset, W estborough


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

le amineit, youw illf indalongand

derpartof thecrook.A

unlikelytohavebeenmade

hishandcuffsandtrans-

aham swrists. Willyoutalk

hedemanded.

enc edoesitmake Now, Graham

s, k illedSw ink. Mylawyerw ill

f oo l t o ad mi t i t ,b u t ' m s i ck o f t hi s

therightslantonthe photostat

anideoverthreeyearsago.

eaddedbitterly , isalsousedfor

andthatincludesSwink "

g ai n st S w in k "

ogetherf irmly. I ' mnotsay-

hatattitude, Mac k threatened.

ntinuedobstinatelysilent,the

fthistactics. Was yourwife

h e a sk e d.

laredemphatically .

" Mac kpersisted.

ayforsure, butit sdif f iculttoc on-

apersonwhoknowsyouas

eseenthe uestiontremblingonher

ay,butshewasalwaysafraidto

altedmomentarily. O h,the

dlookasif weresomethingun-

dgrimly,hismoodplainlyone of


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

thene tinstantshe dthrowher-

obbingherheartout. triedto

sn tmuc h c ouldsay. Some-

w ustwhattoc allit—hadsmashed

ouldknow wassi tymurderers

meaway, hec oncludedproudly .

ouslyelsewhere. WhatifH am-

othemoview ithyou hec on-

dea, saidGraham. H am-

for killingSwinkofanyonein

ewouldbeabletotell.H ecer-

to weakenanairtightalibibe-

enedac tually tositw ithhim. n

thewholeideaupwhenH ammond

ealizedthatNorahwouldserve

husband—or nearly.

oSw ink sroom "

asrightaboutthee perimentson

ldn tgetthehangof it. So had

twaseasierthanitsounds. ' d

maidonthisfloorwasoften

keyinthe outsideofthelock

m. madealittlewoodbo ,

dfilledbothtopand bottom

ngwa . twasamatterofonly

mpressionofthekey—both sides

ntintoaloc ksmithshoponthe

theproprietoruntil ' dgot

mtodig upsomemorepad-

of theroom, stoleablankof

tofit mymold.O fcourse,


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

earestsewer onmywayback

o "

tly . H ehadtheumbrellain

himherelastnight. hadn t

apestepsscratchingthehandle,

f th e t hi n g to d ay . d o n t k n ow

edthatorwhetherhemerely

ay , hetriedtosockme. duc ked

outofhishand thenhetold

etheaterand demandedhush

madehis bigmistake,for

ere. twaseasy, butthehard

ohisownroom. ortunately,

.

p an g er i n t he c l os e t M a ck

evon spic k , ofcourse. wanted

ayoutof thewaytill hada

reditwouldbesafein thewaste-

ut slippedthere.Thehouse-

before c ouldgettoit. ven

rlyworried, as hadasec ondstring

hemarks ' dmadeonWest-

vetheponceplentyto think

k.W estboroughhadbeenalto-

sn tsorrytodohimabadturn.

storianblushedto avivid

osed uic kly , H ewastoomuc h

htoheaven ' dhadsenseenough

e tumblersonyourlockwhen

twas,there wasnowaywecould


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ain.Well, thiscaseisabout

hing, Graham. Why dyoudoit "

a n sw er i ng t h at u e st i on , G r ah a m

slipssettingina thinline.

ers Mac k threatened.

ourrubber hosefromnow

llkeepmymouthc losed, Graham

yatleast,accepteddefeat.

writeoutac onfessionf romthe

thinkGraham l1signit.

e d. I ' m r e ad y t o ta k em y

estborough stypewriter,

om,and arsonaccompanied

somethingabout c atchingatrain

nymore, lef talso, andSpanger

I ' mgoingtohuntSwannupand

O nlyMac kandWestborough

r.

nemaybeyou lltellwhatyouhad

ksuggestedconfidentially.

mphatic ally . I ' mnottalking

oseveraltimes. A nyob ec tions

ardlywithhismanacled

dtoassist himinsecuringa

astpocket.

ockonthedoorandwent

eady, MissGant " A woman s

e—answered.

e re "


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

uiringlyatthedetective.

ousofthevoicefromthecor-

etteagainstthe case.

e " t h e wo m an w e nt o n i ns i st e nt l y. I

vegottoletmein " Herf ists

oor.

him " Mac kdemanded.

Graham, Westboroughbegan,

edartedsuddenlyacrossthe

ecouldmuster.Grahamwas

rette.

cigarettetothefloor— atiny

carpet.Mackhadopenedthe

uellaGraham,herface

,brushedthedetectiveaside

d.

ead. H ello, u They

hisseat. uellaGraham

ees,botharmsgrasping the

usband.

"

betriedinc ourt, West-

velytothedetective.

h in g

movedslowlysideward. I ' m

beentime—but didn tsuspect,

H estoopedtopic k thec igarettef rom

c apsuleofpotassiumc yanidein

sonwaspracticallyinstan-

shoulderofthesobbing

Graham, amsincerelysorry .


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

d,andW estboroughrecalled

stseenher— ababy-dollblonde

dn tlookaday overtwenty-

mhereyelasheswascoursing

heekswhileher voicewastight

nwhoeverlived Didhetellyou

wink "

mannerperceptiblyaltered,

handkerchiefandblewhis nose—

ethinghewouldn ttalkabout, he

hereishardly thenecessity

protestedWestborough,offering

hair.

h e r vo i ce s h ri l le d . I w an t y ou t o

ny sdoneforme "

armabouttheshouldersof

, mydear, hesaidinhisgrave,

, do.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





reakfastedupongrapefruit,

sausages,peeredaboutthelobby

eredchairinwhichshecould

ssestotaketheirdue course.

andangularwoman,e claim-

s t he r "

edupfromhercopyofMurder

alrepresentativeof thetypeof

dicted.Shehadread asfaras

inclinedtostopfor achatwith

recalmlyandreadaboutamur-

thetimemoree c itingthings

shotel thanwereeverput

ook ismorethan c ansee "

tedallinonebreath.

atterasshowedmorethana

don tmeantotellmethey ve


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

p ag e o f al l t he n e ws p ap e rs M r s.

hast. Youdon tmeanyouhaven t

arah, that neverreadmorn-

u a rt e rs o f a n ho u r Mr s . B l a ke l y s

c lapper. A ndso, shec on-

ywordofwhatwasgoingoneven

Mac kwouldn tletmestay inthe

wastoputmyearagainstthedoor,

o ul d n t , ' v e g oo d h ea r in g .

trainedinthetec hni ueofmys-

entedaseriousflawin the

utthemotive, Sarah Youhaven t

story initself , Mrs. B lakelyre-

dthepoliceeverything.She

o ustifyherhusband,although

everbe ustifiedismorethan

says, Thoushaltnotk ill, and

e c eptunderc ertainc irc um-

awHegaveMoses, andthat s

.

obedrawnintoa theological

emoreforthemotive.

welveyearsagoona ourthof

began, and stherHatterassettled

eepsighofrelief. Mrs.

arriedthenandhad cometo

wninsouthern llinoistogeta

ooneof thetrac kstogotothe

gotmuc hcharacter, as saidthe


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

ather,andher storycertainly

earethings thatbecomea

othehorseraces iscertainlynot

nshestruc kupanac uaintanc e

mewasMaryW intersandwho

recharacterthanshe did.Those

elvesbepickedup bytwo

ythingthat sc heaperthanthat

f themen " askedMrs.

don tknowtheotherone s

atter. B uthere swhatyoushould

dbeendrinking,andtheygot the

p. Mr. Sw inkpairedoffw ithMrs.

gherMary Winters.The girls

oke, andneitherof them

en.Thefourof themdroveback

n sc arandspentthenight

nthemorning,whenMrs.

y dcarousedallnightlong,

withher—shamelesshussy

houghyouc an ttellmeitwasher

.Swinkwokeupandpromisedto

went downandgotamar-

vegottorememberhethoughtshe

hfactshe dforgotteninthe

mebackfromtheclerkwiththe

meshe nearlyfainted.H ow-

rriedin theworstkindofway

andshewasafraidMr. Swink


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UMBL E R

him halfachance,sowhatdid

riedunderherf riend sname "

aryWinterssaytothat " Mrs.

eagerly.

dn thaveac hanc eto, bec ause

sfriendwerekilledthat veryday

again, suppose, andhetriedto

nnels undertheC hicago

anuse.H owever,thegirlwas

rs,andthenoutpoppedthe fact

nters hadbeenmarriedon

an imaginehowmadhewas

oundoutwhatshe dlethim

eherforayearorso, andhe

meC edricwasborn.Sheposed

met Mr.Graham,fiveorsi

rries himwithoutbotheringto

lmarriedtoMr. Swink . n

.Grahama thingaboutherfirst

eeksagoaftershe dseenMr.

her, ofc ourse, Mrs. Hatteras

nbadwith thelaw.Toim-

forthepurposeofmarrying

entenceinthe penitentiary,

ghthavegotstill anothersen-

hamsaidthematterwasin

onlyafirst-ratelawyercould

hadalwaysbeenscaredtogo


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

stof ittoMr.Graham,andshe

edidn treproac hheronce, ust

talkwithMr. Swink . Heof fered

din thebank,butMr.Swink

eandsaidhec ouldn tbotherwith

ndthere, guess,Mr.Graham

eonlywaytosaveMrs. Graham

tok illMr. Sw ink . Hedidn ttake

denceeither.Thatmanwasa

stakeaboutthat Well, the

astheB ibleputsit, anditwas

DevonandMr.Graham,

owasthecauseofallof it.A nd,

athussy isn toutof thishotelin

mgoingstraighttoMr. Swannand

o heeverhadinhis life.

edtoliveon thesamefloorallthis

eightsaf ifthofagram, West-

ve-caratemeraldwouldweigh

errySpanger, whowastry ingto

nwhich lmoSwinkhadlived

"

monetaryproposition " W est-

atis, ifweareabletodeducethe

merald.

s p l it f i ft y -f i ft y , ' m w i th y o u ' v e

elf . ordknows c ouldusethe

asonSwanndidn tf iremewas

r thedamagestothisroom.


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

wthatmatterissettled, letus

ns.Theemerald,as have

egram,andthespecificgravity

nedthismorning, is2. 74. rom

ofsimplearithmetictocal-

lhavea volumeof0.0225

er e a c ul a te d .

tdimensionof theemerald "

d

thoughtfully. A boutahalf

dimensionsappro imatelye ual "

y s a w it o n ce , r em e mb e r "

t h at e v en t h e b eg a n to m a ke c a l-

c ratc hpaper. Dearme, c an

owonegoesabouttoe trac ts uare

ntsto " Spangerdemanded.

hiscalculating. A rithmetic

mallerdimensionsof the

matelye ualto0. 2inc hes. Yes, it

e place haveinmind,the

ualtoafull uarterofaninc h.

Spangershouted.

stboroughobserved, asc rewdriver.

er, believethebladeofthis

tly .

stoopeddown.

" Spangere c laimed.

tremelysmallthatitwouldbe

ouldberec laimed. H eun-


/ h t t p : / / w w w . h





UMBL E R

okit,but therewasnosound.

t thehollowinteriorofthe

eoftissue protruded. Stuffed

ecluderattling, West-

probedagain,andtheemerald

fvelvetygreenbeauty.

d " breathedSpangerinanawed

ofouragreement, amtore-

profferedrewardforthisstone.

Thelittlemanheldtheemeraldupto

uble. believeitwasPlinywho

eitherdimnorshade, noryetthe

emto losetheirluster. "

said. B utwhat ' vegottosay

ein yourhandismoreto the

uck led. Thathunkofc oloredglass

dredandfiftybucksapieceto

n u s e it O n c e g e t my h a nd s o n

eadamnif thestoneturnswhiteand

werefaraway, andhedidn tseem

to thee citedSpanger.

b, A hmedbenA bdalaziz, whomen-

nthata serpentwhichfi es

ecomesblind O h,Mr.Spanger,

shouldlikemyshareof the

myamanuensis,MissGant,

er.

I t syourdough, andyouc an

butifyouaskme, you re


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/ h t t p : / / w w w . h



the fifth tuthe fifth tumbler.mbler

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