| Show t t i x ti i ff I rI 1 J t i f i H. ft M l Y i 71 tf Y J l rile T ENCE j Born INSPECTOR DUCROS found his friend quietly contemplating a portrait on which the he had evidently been at work Im glad you YOure YOu're re alone the detective a said uld I wanted a a. talk with you ou badly I 1 hoped you'd drop in Raymond ig replied I noticed you were in charge chare ot of this po poison on case Rather curl curl- curious ous Isn't U Curious Ducros snorted t- t That means meaD you haven't got your man manyet A yet r Nor likely to Its about this case 1 I wanted to see you r r Hes a a. clever fellow is Hector Jevons r tI I said casually You know him the detective asked it incredulously l t I wouldn't go so far to as II fj look look say that but r- r e The artist crossed to the far side of the studio and drew back a a. curtain behind r which wh h was a a. partly finished portraIt ot of a a. 1 man Dan of perhaps 40 Ducros' Ducros brows were ere puckered in It thought Ie It Its a a. remarkably good likeness s he said But I 1 didn't know that Ir I him himat at all yoU kIew He came in here one day with an in In- JJ from a a. friend ot of mine I z started his portrait a a. fortnight ago l Strange that we should both be interested in Mr Hector S You know Im I'm positive that 7 that t dId man it But he hasn't left a t I loophole theres there's no clue not so much as i a shred d ot of proof And yet Ive I've never been so certain of anything in my life tJ J Anyway tell me what has happened y I gathered from the press that yoU were i c rather at sea That That's what made r. r me fairly certain you'd look me up if 1 may say so without undue conceit s DUCROS grinned Many times he had t been grateful to the painter for suggestions which had shed light on cases shrouded apparently in Impenetrable darkness To most people Blat wayts wayt's interest m. m terest in criminology appeared morbid but Ducros the pr professional could understand under under- understand stand the enthusiasm of the amateur Ducros had great experience and an In- In infinite finite capacity for taking pains It If only only there had been a streak of imagination In his 1113 make up he would have been a great detective it if for example he had possessed a quarter ot of imagination Of Frankly old man Im I'm stumped he said He was still looking at the portrait and continued Theres 1 something evIl f f In Jevons' Jevons face that y you u haven't got In the picture I I know agreed the painter The t pIctures pIcture's not yet By the I way he was sitting in this studio when his uncle was poisoned I may yet be called on to prove an alibi r rUs Its Us not likely So far As I can see he be did it perfectly Not a a. mistake not a thing overlooked o There really isn't much much to tell you ou beyond what r i. i L youve you've read zead it 11 the papers Reuben Jevons Hectors Hector's uncle was found t dead when the maid went In to 4 i call him to lunch last Tuesday morning The local doctor was on the point or of ing a syncope certificate erti ct he thought was i ne c cause au c ui ot when death wasp he lie noticed SIgns of a a. narcotic poison the pupIls were contracted to pin points The postmortem post postmortem post post- mortem showed that he was right You pi M read Dr Aspinall's evidence Yes It was that which Interested me d so much Ive I've never ever known the old Chap It to be so vague N 1 He was that it was was was' poison polson t that's the main thing r fJ But what poison t He was beaten there He admitted it A drug not known to science probably probably ably from the Eat East Indies Indies' is p pretty etty weak from a Home Office expert said Blath- Blath wayt Though most ot of us know that there are obscure native poisons poisons' in hi that part of the world orld the nature of which is 11 unknown even to experts Youve You've seen Dr Aspinall Yes At the Inquest and afterward Its It's a 11 vegetable poison polson he says probably a a. compound containing fruit But he knows very little about It You ge get t those point pinpoint 1 pupils in morphia cases but It wasn't morphia he Is positive Be Be- aides there was a a. strange red tinge in in th the e contracted pupil THE dead man manas was as wealthy Blath Blath- wayt asked So I understand Ducros replied He kept up a a. bib establishment an and d spent thousands of pounds on his collee of stamps Hes He's done nothing but bu t collect stamps sInce he retired from bus busi- busi ness People used to write rite to him bum fro from m all over the over the world about them Hed He'd made quite a name nant for himself And his money goes to Hector Jevons Ducros nodded To Hector Jevons who returned irom m Malay sic months ago arid and who 11 s so s o desper desperately tely hard up that his uncles uncle s money will I should say considerably Y soften the blow of his uncles uncle's death Hard Up ie e doesn't seem to be Nevertheless he hes is Hes He's up to hIs ears in debt But that's everything I ca can n find out Theres There's not a shred of evidence and yet Im I'm as certaIn ertain as Im I'm g here here- that he poisoned the poor old oid chaP Something in his eyes makes me shiver Im I'm a fairlY tough nut but I dont don't like S Mr Hectot Jevons cs c's U as vain fain as a peacock You noticed notice I that thaU Ducros nodded dHe d. d He knows that I haven't a ghost ot of a chance he said I could see the beggar begga r all but smiling u as I talked to him B By y the way I said Mid there was no clue There Theres S this though As he was speaking he drew w a typewritten letter from his pocket an and I handed it to who read D Dear ar Sir Sir-l shall be extremely obliged U you OU will wUl let me know whether you consider thIs Ceylon stamp genuine I 1 found it it among mong others In n an old sideboard side side- board and rave been unformed that U it genuine it t is of considerable val value e. e Your reputation as a a. philatelist Is 11 such that your opinion would be accepted I When Scotland Yard Was Ward Wa Stumped for Lack o Evidence ot-Evidence f Evidence a young Artist Using a Novel Method Supplied Absolute i Proof Against the Suspected Murderer 1 T A 11 r g k 1 y ii k r 4 y 4 I f t i 1 M J Mr h I 1 f I r r 4 1 7 r 4 l 4 r J JI a I 1 n I IF Ih I F ii h 1 i i L J v. v Ther Thereon o the model throne was huddled Hector H Jevons a dr dreadful unmistakable second portrait The him On his face was the awful leering look of the picture itself was was still on th the easel but made unrecognizable by knife slashes as final anal by any collector in the world I a stamped envelope and with anticipatory thanks am Yours truly AUBREY JEPHCOTE I understand he very often had applications applications lIke that Ducros added as hi his s friend looked up This letter is a lake fake said ald It isn't even plausible The man could have walked into any dealers dealer's In n London Londo n and found out ns whether the stamp wa was s genuine They The have never heard of Aubrey Jephcote at the hotel he wr writes tes from added Ducros This Is getting interesting He in- in c closed an envelope Where Is s it Posted back to him The maid wen went t Into the room at 1145 in the morning t to get the letters for the midday post I Iwas It ti was her invariable custom She thought though t her master was asleep but the old cha chap p was dead even then There were fo four letters One of them them was vas on blue gra gray y paper like Uke this note The poison polson might have been on th the e gummed flap of the envelope suggested I thought of that but it Is rather far f r- r fetched But could it Could such a minute portion of any pOison kill a man Im not certain And neither Is Dr Aspinall but hes he's es inclined to think not But fantastic as the idea is I c cannot see se seany e any other way In which he could have hav e been poisoned The servants had been n with Air Mr Jevons for years and are I a am m satisfied above suspicion Then they are above SUSpicion said with a smile Surely it is 13 to find po possible out it a man could be b e murdered In the manner we suggest Among your amazing circle cle ot of acquaintances acquaint acquaint- antes ances there must be some some one who i is s conversant with this particular form o of f deviltry de Theres one man in London who t know something about that poison sai said d Ducros after a silence Mr Yang Hsiu of Beverley street Shadwell I 1 dont don't know the gentleman BUt I do Will WUl be you here this evening eve eve- ping ning Yes Then Ill I'll go dOwn to Shadwell an and d drop in here later it if I may Do I haven't been so interested in a case tor jor a long tIme Anyway think thingS over theres there's a good chap probably have some e extraordinary theory or other about it b by y the tIme I get back Cheerio TT IS not quite true to say that Yan Yang g I 1 Hsiu was a friend of Inspector Ducros DUClOS man ot of many a and d strange friendships as the latter was But the Chinese had a very healthy respect for him dating bac back k to a a. little matter concerning opium which has bas no part in this story store Yang Hsi Hsiu u j a t. t tj c Ii tr Ji escaped prIson and deportation on that occasion but it left hint careful He kept a most respectable little sho shop p in a back street in gloomy Most Mos t respectable I In the window packets o of f tf tea toothbrushes needles chopsticks an and d many brands ot of patent medicine were S exposed to aU all who cared to look at them More sinister and complicated dies dise had been sold In n that dIm little shop as Ducros could have told To this little shop in Beverley street came Ducros More than one pair of sharp eyes followed lim for the detective waa was wa wasa s a man of reputation in that part ot of the th e city Behind the counter he found Yan Yang g Hsiu duly at the receipt ot of custom Ali Ah you are in then the inspector r greeted him Even a turnip has Its Hs Hsiu u said aid s as he peered through his large glasses s at the newcomer Ducros laughed So It is yowl you Yang said as r flashed ed upon him Im afraid so smiled Ducros And what brings so great g a. person to t o my wretched abode the Oriental asked An obliterating smile covered whatever e motion Ducros' Ducros sudden appearance had ha d called up in n him I 1 am in need of a little information Ducros was watching the other closely The smile persisted Information Such poor knowledge a aI as asI s I have is already thine It If I remember rightly Yang Hsiu you know knave Malaya and and the East ladles IndIes Eyes beneath brows and behind thick glasses s searched arched Ducros' Ducros face Im not here on Get me the detective said I was once In Singapore But It t 15 s years ago as you know What I 1 want to know is s in connection with native poisons I have none The words came cante sharply the smile for the moment was suspended I dont don't suppose you have Yang in n f ouch uch a respectable little shop as this What an ideal I shouldn't dream ot of suggesting suggesting sug- sug gesting such a thing But I want to find out something about native poisons Ate Are there any or Instance of which our doctors have no knowledge I 1 mean are there any known only to the natives and to people like you who would get th the natives into your our power There are many things ln in the East which are not known even to such liuch wise Englishmen as doctors I The smile bland and obliterating had returned Cut that back cant out Ducros said sharply sharply- If you turn awkward that's th ts t.'s a game that two can p play ay aU Of what poison polson jo do you speak I 1 ama am a a. poor man Ducros was thankful that Yang Hsiu had not called his blue No youre you're not Yang Hsiu ne said gently Anyway theres there's nix nit in this for I You I want to be certain that among the natives in Malaya there are deadly j f j pOisons which are unknown to m y race I have been so 0 informed bu I do no not t i know If It would help me a a. great deal Yan Yang 3 HSiu ii if you were to tell me me of these p i- i sons Ducros spoke quietly You kno know w all about them Ir all this city there Is i s no man who knows as much as you d do o about obscure poisons om jUdging from m your knowledge of such obvious ones a as s opium There are suet poisons I have bee been n told Yang Hsiu said They ar are rare the secret of thEm Is closely guarded I do not know the secret fruit Then you know already of th them m A note almost ot of fear had crept into th the e smooth voice Perhaps But I would know more That is why I came to you I J T want to learn earn of a a. very very deadly poison polson so deadly that a mete mere lick o of it on a mans man's tongue would silence him forever So the out long sylla- sylla ble was eloquent In Borneo there is a proverb among the natives about such a poison A vans mans tongue can no longer betray of if It has touched repeated Ducros It Is the poison polson known even i In n the East where all Is known A Amer mere e touch on the rim of a wine glass would be fatal to one who drank from it IL n secret is the property of a few tew I do not know it But in Singapore a man may buy it if he knows Singapore what I wanted to know Be good said Ducros as he departed from the Chinese's shop They knew each other too well to waste time on formalities formali- formali ties once they lad had what they wanted lit I FOUND my man Ducros said as he sat In comfortable studio that evening He was eoY coy but I gathered that there is such a poison and that our theory of the murder i 1 feasible Legend has it that the Medici knew ot of a a. similar poIson the painter said Legend about sums it up the detective detective detec- detec tive replied And when it comes to ask Ing headed shard a British jury to believe In a legend that Is unsuPPorted by a shred of evidence or proof its it's pretty hopeless He Heas was as here this afternoon Biath- Biath wayt said t Suave and amusing Theres There's something in him that makes me shIver It isn't merely suspicion theres there's a coldness cold cold- ness in him That the letter one ne bit of evidence evidence- was typed d on a popular machine ot of which there are thousands In n use Ducros said There Is absolutely no case against t him And yet Ive In never nevel been so certain In n m ute life although Im I'm old enough to distrust my personal t feelings Theres There's a motive all right a very powerful motive the need of money but beyond that nothing And in a case like this youve you've sImply got to have proof U r Iwi t j rs jl i r The sIlence was broken by Im Imery very ery glad I agreed to paint his por por- trait I hesitated but it was just that tha t uncanny repulsion he called up in m me e that decided me Meaning Ducros asked Its only the vaguest of Ideas at th the e moment the painter continued Who What et t do you think would be the effect a on n Jevons 1 if he were suddenlY confronted d with a portrait o lY but himself with the soul of a murderer in the face I 1 say that's dangerous I But what do you think he would do the other persisted Surely he will see the portrait in Its various stages It wouldn't be a surprise I 1 wIsh you would answer my question Supposing he were suddenly confronted with the evIdence that his crime was known Suddenly lik like a thunderclap in ina ina a still wood Dont Don't forget that the man has balanced ill notions that hes he's credulous credulous lous and superstitious I dont don't think 1 told you but he seems to have imbibed many of the Ideas fleas of the natives among whom he lived Black magic and beastliness beastliness beast beast- liness like that Youre assuming that were we're right in OUr belief bellef that he murdered his uncle Yes He might even think that the picture had horn been altered by supernatural means I thin It pro probable able that he would blurt out the truth in his terror but I dont don't like It Why the painter asked quietly After Arter all eve weve n no proof none his guilt exactly the point We have hs no proof and yet we are both certain that the |
