FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182  
183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   >>  
a soft metal washer, which fitted on to this hexagon, and which would be pressed into the grooves of the rifling, and so spin the dagger, but would drop off as soon as the weapon left the barrel. Here is such a washer, which Polton has made for us." He laid on the table a metal disc, with a hexagonal hole through it. "This is all very ingenious," said the inspector, "but I say it is impossible and fantastic." "It certainly sounds rather improbable," Marchmont agreed. "We will see," said Thorndyke. "Here is a makeshift cartridge of Polton's manufacture, containing an eighth charge of smokeless powder for a 20-bore gun." He fitted the washer on to the boss of the dagger in the open breech of the rifle, pushed it into the barrel, inserted the cartridge, and closed the breech. Then, opening the office-door, he displayed a target of padded strawboard against the wall. "The length of the two rooms," said he, "gives us a distance of thirty-two feet. Will you shut the windows, Jervis?" I complied, and he then pointed the rifle at the target. There was a dull report--much less loud than I had expected--and when we looked at the target, we saw the dagger driven in up to its hilt at the margin of the bull's-eye. "You see," said Thorndyke, laying down the rifle, "that the thing is practicable. Now for the evidence as to the actual occurrence. First, on the original dagger there are linear scratches which exactly correspond with the grooves of the rifling. Then there is the fact that the dagger was certainly spinning from left to right--in the direction of the rifling, that is--when it entered the body. And then there is this, which, as you heard, the porter found in the garden." He opened the paper packet. In it lay a metal disc, perforated by a hexagonal hole. Stepping into the office, he picked up from the floor the washer that he had put on the dagger, and laid it on the paper beside the other. The two discs were identical in size, and the margin of each was indented with identical markings, corresponding to the rifling of the barrel. The inspector gazed at the two discs in silence for a while; then, looking up at Thorndyke, he said: "I give in, Doctor. You're right, beyond all doubt; but how you came to think of it beats me into fits. The only question now is, Who fired the gun, and why wasn't the report heard?" "As to the latter," said Thorndyke, "it is probable that he used a compressed-air attachm
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182  
183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   >>  



Top keywords:

dagger

 

rifling

 

Thorndyke

 
washer
 
target
 

barrel

 
inspector
 

report

 

office

 

breech


cartridge
 

identical

 

Polton

 

margin

 

grooves

 
fitted
 

hexagonal

 

opened

 

evidence

 
packet

practicable

 
garden
 

entered

 

original

 

correspond

 

scratches

 

spinning

 
direction
 

occurrence

 

porter


linear

 

actual

 

question

 

compressed

 

attachm

 

probable

 

perforated

 

Stepping

 

picked

 

indented


Doctor

 

silence

 

markings

 

Marchmont

 

agreed

 

improbable

 
fantastic
 

sounds

 

makeshift

 

smokeless