Tales of the Thinking Machine
figure of a man. Occasionally he shot a glance behind him, but the general direction of his gaze was to his left, where a fence cut off the small bac
lked on through the alley toward an arc-light which sp
al questions when he heard the steady clack, clack, clack of footsteps a block or more away. He glanced up and dimly
stranger nervously. "Can you tel
inquired th
," was the reply. "If I don't ge
n grinned sy
ther block, but there's another just across the street here," and he indicated a ro
u," said
unted the steps and pulled the bell. After a few minutes the door o
uired the stranger of a se
es
draw a tooth for me. I'm
p to attend to such cases
a bill in the servant's hand. "Wake him
then opened the door and led the
aves, gaping ostentatiously, e
" explained the stranger, "but I
pon a clock. Dr. Sitgreaves glanced in that dir
t hard. I didn't think I'd been asleep more than an hour." He paus
d the stranger, and
o his innermost depths and fingered
he said after an examination. "Th
replied the other impatiently, "except tha
e noted the drawn face, the nervous twitching
ere's no doubt of that. But it i
anger. "It always comes in that tooth,
save it. Here," and he turned and stirred an effervescent powder
glass and gulped dow
ructed the dentist. "If it doesn't quiet you and y
t his watch and replaced it in a pocket of his pajamas. His visito
er," observed the dentist at
and finally it got so bad that I couldn't stand it. Then I got up and dressed and came out for a
pause of sev
?" inquired the
y. "I think you'd
as you
d him with a sigh of relief, and after a minute
it now, plea
es past two," re
er. "I'll just have time
t," said t
d ni
m, but the general direction of his gaze was to his left, where a fence cut off the small back-yards of an imposing row of brown-stone residences. At last he stopped and tried a gate. It opened noisele
ent house. He had been dead for several hours. He sat beside his desk, and death left him sprawled upon it face downward. The weapon was one of several curious daggers wh
sk, lay a sheet of paper on which were scrawled a few words; a pencil was clutched tightly in his right hand. The detective glanced then star
**** stabbed me **** am dying **** God he
gle flight of stairs to the office floor to make some inquiries. An elevator man, Moran, was the first person questioned. He had been on
me was h
d say. He and Mr. De Forrest cam
Mr. Chas
w, sir. I di
een somewhere ne
on it the time that I received it. It was then just six minutes before two o'clock. I walked up from this floor to the third - two flights - to give the message to Mr. Thomas. As I passed Mr. De Forrest's door, I h
Forrest's door first at, say, five m
ute of that t
t two or a minu
es
lishes beyond question the moment of the murder." He was thinking of the word
d not. They were
graph office and indisputable records there showed that they had telephoned a mess
asleep in his room in a boarding house less than a block away from the Avon. He se
t of a mistake
," said the detective.
s hands, and a drop or so on the clothing he had worn the night before; and it was established by three fellow lodgers - yo
tablished the authenticity of the dying man's writing. Then he proved that Chase had been with De Forrest at half past eleven o'clock; that there had been a quarrel -
prisoner and took up his pen to
before we go any furt
about anything the prisoner m
ake - a serious mistake. I admit that the writing was Mr. De Forrest's; that I was with him
ourt
ven o'clock and I went to his room but I remained only ten or fifteen minutes. Then I went home. It was about five minutes of twelve when I reached my room. I went to bed and rema
llory smiled
" the prisoner went on steadily. "Two of these happen to be city
the Court scratched one ear gravely. Cit
ffice. I would like to ask please the approximate distance between this point -" and he ind
eer studied th
nd a half miles
ke that state
surveyed
he turned to face the crowd in the rear. "Is Poli
tir, and Policeman
er me?" inquir
was th
you see me
s finger down on the map at the sec
Detective Mallory tugged violently at his moustache
time you saw me
lis was thoug
eard a clock strike just after
white for an instant, then he r
ount the stro
paying any att
nto Chase's face and he
d strike?" It was hardly a q
Gillis. "It might hav
d I say
a dentist, and I directed you to
nter Dr. Sitg
es
e Court and that eminent jur
, please?" call
ed, exchanging nod
ember me
es
e Court where you live? S
ch had been pointed out by the prisoner and by Pol
from this corner," e
for me last night?"
es
e prisoner ope
st gazed
he re
, "that you had occasion to notice the clock just after I
e two - seven or eig
d the Court exchange
atch, too. Was that e
ithin a
leave your office?"
t two - I happen to re
eyes met Detective Mallory's. He stared straight into tha
d of course. It is possible that I got
cert
and surprised a puzzled express
was two o'clock; I have shown by three witnesses - two of them city officials - that I was two and a half mil
ourt considered the matter. Final
ck in the telegraph office, while it seems established that Dr. Sitgreaves' clock was also accurate, because it was with his watch. Of course there is no questi
d to the elevator
clock was that
lated from Washington Ob
the telegraph of
regulated from Was
s, Dr. Si
regulated from Was
hat there could have been no variation of either without this variation showing in the delicate testing apparatus. Therefore it came to pass that Franklin Chase w
aring, up to and including the expert examination of the clocks, which immediately preceded the release of Franklin Chase. When this point
known facts with petulant, drooping mouth and the everlasting squint in his blue eyes. As the reporter talked on, corrugations appeared in the logician'
ality of being perfect in each way - that is the evidence against Mr. Chase is perfect and the alibi he offers is perfect. But
n two places at once at two o'clock. Therefore we must assume either one of two things - that something was the matter with the clocks - and if there w
sudden interest. It suggested a line of t
ege of temporarily setting aside his defence and starting over. If, on the contrary, he told the full and exac
eally more than appeared in court, for instance, that his watch had been regulated only a few days ago, that it had been accurate since, and that he knew it w
s of possibilities, and the result was that I was compelled to accept the alibi - not that I'm unwill
into Mr. Chase's room at two o'clock?"
es
m the condition of Mr. Cha
hat you mean. They agreed that it was
hine raised his
ment, still casually, "and were looking for relief, would you stop to notic
as he stared into the inscru
last. "No, I hardly th
tive search of De Forrest's apartments in the Avon, seeking some clue. When the Thinking
ck?" he inquired o
opposite the telephon
nd squinted fiercely into the very face of the timepiece
n pass through the hall," he mused. "Now," and he picked
uestions and their nature cause
et in the shirt
e the wond
night you pick up your watch
es
s. Goo
ing Machine tu
ve that the person who killed him was an acquaintance. It would be unfair to act hastily, so I shall ask you to devote three or four days to getting
med to receiving large order
the person who killed him and an arrest will follow. The murderer will not run away. The solution of the
r days laboured arduously and vainly. Then he returned to The Thin
he returned he went straight to the 'phone and called Det
explain to him that there is new evidence - an eye witness if you like. But don't mention my name or
ory started to
Mr. De Forrest and that being true it must be that that somebody can be found. Please, when M
s eyes lay a shadow of apprehension. Over it all was the gloss of ostentatious nonchalance and self con
," added The Th
teady scrutiny of the narrow blue eyes. The Thinking Machine droppe
room a block or so away from his house around the corner. These are Mr. Hatch's apartments." He stated it so convincingly that there was no possibil
ay something, gulp
e had been courteous in the extreme; now it hardened perceptibly. "I saw you, Mr. Chase, come along the street, stop at the alley, glance around and then go into the alley. I saw your face clearly un
working strangely, but still he was silent. It was
ou came out and walked on to the cross street, where you disappeared. Naturally I wondered what it meant. It was still in my mind abou
e," said Chase weakly. "
by the front door, we know that you tampered with Dr. Sitgreaves's watch and clock, and when we know that
h across the room; Detective Mallory discreetly moved h
hem backward one hour. It was then actually a quarter of three - you made it a quarter of two. You showed your daring by invading the dentist's sleeping room. You found his watch on a table beside his bed, set that with the clock, then went out, spoke to Policeman Gillis whose number
to the pallid face. Chase made a hopeless gestu
a fit of anger, left there while the elevator boy was upstairs, then saw the necessity of protecting yourself and devised this alibi at the cost of one tooth. Your
e. Finally Chase looke
know all th
scientist. "The simplest rules of logic proved conclusively that this did happen." He s
ow?" asked Ch
N
will," declare
e detective, Hatch lingered
hing," he said. "How di
appeared in the case, then, knowing that this must have happened, tricked Mr. Chase into believing I was an eye wit
at while the prisoner was convicted of murder on his own st