Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 140: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

it to a microscopic examination. I noted that there were tiny scratches on the blade. You remember that, do you not, Drusilla?” Of course I did. Hadn’t Nancy openly called them to my attention when she dis- covered them? Hadn’t these scratches puz- zled me all along? Now their significance was startlingly simple and clear. It was quite like Nancy, trained by long practice to observe the seemingly trivial things, to notice instantly the character of tthe original dagger owned by Miss Loring. That blade was obviously unscratched. And it was indeed fypical of the astute Nancy to observe those tattling fine lines on the death dealing dagger and instantly know that there was a duplicate dagger and that this was it. “So,” went on Nancy, “when I knew © we had to consider the machinations of two opal-eyed knives, I began to sense many things. The crime did not appear so im- possible of execution, now that I realized that the perpetrator did not first. have to obtain the original dagger from the room before killing Miss Loring. So I advertised for any knowledge of an opal-eyed dagger. “When the duplicate was next taken, I knew then it must have been by the as- sasin, who would be tremendously anxious and eager to regain it. My advertisement, in the face of the known theft of what was presumed to be the only knife, seemed natural enough. But my ruse had a two- edged purpose. “I strove primarily to trace where the confederate had disposed of the knife stolen by Blanche Pembroke. I wondered also whether or not the assassin would show his hand, though I naturally felt sure he would not. But my advertisement was sufficient- ly successful. © “ As I had hoped, I regained possession of the original dagger owned by Miss Lor- ing. My examination showed the blade to be unscratched. So that left the du- plicate knife back again in the hands of the murderer who had come back and regained it in the dead of night from Room Number a2 as I have already told you.” She paused and looked at us tri- umphantly. “Yes, yes. I follow this much,” I ex- — _ ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, - claimed. “But even the intrusion of a duplicate dagger does not tell us how the criminal struck down Miss Loring within her locked and impregnable room, leaving not the vestige of a clew as to how it had been done.” - “Ah,” reminded Nancy, “ you have for- gotten one thing.” “What,” I asked perplexedly. “That EF have already told you that the man before us knew of the accustomed resting place of the original knife with the opal eye on the silver tray on the table. Now, how could he obtain such knowl- edge?” “"W-w-why,” I stammered, ‘he must have found it out by. snooping about.” She nodded in confirmation, ‘“ Exactly —and some time before the crime was committed since it was not there that night.” “But how?” I objected. has never been unlocked.” “The presence of the knife in the room of death was descried in the same manner in which death was consummated.”’ We _ stared incomprehensively at the amazing Nancy. She had already declared that the knife had to be seen in the room before the crime, as it was gone the night Miss Loring met death, since Blanche Pem- broke had stolen it. Now she added more confusion by stating that the original Knife had to be seen in the same manner that death was accomplished! “T give it up,” I sighed. Stébbins’s expression was ludicrous as he listened in bewilderment. “The criminal had to be vitally sure that there should be no slip-up in his plans. The accomplishment of them meant more to him than you can ever fathom. In fact, the certain taking-off of Felicia Loring was of such moment to him that he even had a rehearsal of the crime before carrying it out with the fearful fatality which we know.” - She paused. The prisoner was now look- ing at her with a queer expression in those canny eyes of his. At last he seemed to be shaken from his wooden disinterest. He was obviously listening intently. “1 found,” continued Nancy, “ that the “The room EComichooks (E©)