CHAPTER XXI. CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

"He had taken mental note of the name of the firm at which the suit of clothes which had been found in the river was purchased, and he went direct to that establishment in Tottenham Court Road. It happened, fortunately, that business was slack at that time of the day, and as customers were few and far between he had little difficulty in obtaining an interview with the manager, who, when he heard that our reporter was engaged upon the Evening Moon, gave him his entire attention.

"'It's the smartest paper in London,' said the manager; 'I take it in regularly.'

"'I should like you to treat the matter I have come upon as private between you and me. We are interested in a certain case which may or may not be made public, and in which, perhaps, you can assist us in an indirect way. If it prove to be so your establishment will get an advertisement for nothing.'

"'We shall be glad to get it,' said the manager. 'A good word from you gentlemen of the press is always acceptable. I dare say you notice we advertise in your paper. Tell me what I can do for you.'

"'I wish to ascertain, confidentially, under what circumstances a certain suit of clothes was purchased in your establishment. All the clothing you sell is marked with your name, is it not?'

"'Yes, wherever we can get it in. There are some things that cannot be marked, but suits of clothes can; coats on the bands they are hung up by, waistcoats on the inner lining, trousers on the waistbands. What kind of a suit was it, and on what day was it purchased?'

"'I cannot name the day exactly, but say within the last two or three weeks. It was a suit of tweed.'

"'Can you identify the pattern?'

"'Yes, if you will let me see samples of your stock.'

"'I will show you what we have.'

"They looked through a wonderful assortment of men's clothing, but our reporter saw none exactly similar to the pattern he wished to identify.

"'Was it a suit for a large or a small man?' inquired the manager.

"'For a small man; almost what you would call a youth's suit.'

"'What you have seen is principally our new stock; we have some others which our salesmen endeavor to get rid of; we don't like to keep old stock too long on our hands.'

"They went through other departments, and at length, on one of the upper shelves, our reporter pointed to a pattern he thought he recognized.

"'That seems to be it. I shall know on a closer inspection.'

"The suit was taken down, and our reporter saw that he had reached the first stage of his inquiry.

"'This is the pattern,' he said.

"'It narrows the matter,' said the manager. 'There is only this one suit left of this particular pattern. Three weeks ago there were two, so that within that time one has been sold. The salesman in this department is a man with a good memory.'

"The salesman being called, our reporter explained what he wanted. The man considered a little, and said:

"'I remember something of it, because of a circumstance. I will look up my sale book and compare it with the day book, to fix the date.'

"He departed to make the investigation, and, returning, said:

"'I can tell you all about it now. I served the lady myself.'

"'The lady!' exclaimed our reporter.

"'Yes, it was a lady who made the purchase. I served her first with a suit which she paid for, and which she brought back later in the day, saying it was too large. I changed it for one of this pattern.'

"'Did she say for whom she required the clothes?'

"'For a young man of about her own size. I supposed they were for a son or for a brother much younger than herself.'

"'What should you judge her age to have been?'

"'Forty or so.'

"'I told you he had a good memory,' said the manager, with an approving smile at his salesman.

"'You speak of her as a lady,' said our reporter. 'Are you certain she was one?'

"'She spoke and conducted herself as one. She was not a workingman's wife, or she would have been more particular as to price, and might have haggled a bit, though all our clothes are marked in plain figures. I could see she wasn't used to purchasing men's clothing from the remarks she made. All that she was particular about was the fit.'

"'What did she pay for the suit?'

"'Fifty-five shillings. She handed me a five-pound note, and I gave her the change. Working women don't pay for their purchases in bank notes. Would you like the number of the note?'

"'Can you give it to me?'

"'Yes; we always take down the numbers.'

"Again he departed and returned, and gave our reporter the number of the note, written on a bill-head.

"'I am under a great obligation to you,' said our reporter. 'Is this suit you have left the only one of the same pattern you have in your establishment?'

"'The only one, sir, and we are not likely to have any more.'

"'I will take it with me.'

"The account was made out, settled, and receipted, and our reporter, thanking the manager, left the shop--which, in accordance with modern ideas, was called an 'Emporium'--with the suit of clothes under his arm. He had a distinct motive in making the purchase. The inspector might take it into his head to make inquiries at the establishment, and our reporter had removed the only evidence of direct identification it could furnish.

"It was now six o'clock. His appointment with Mrs. Weston in Forston Street was fixed for eight. He had an hour and a half to spare, sufficient time to take a chop and a pancake and to arrange his ideas. Selecting a quiet-looking restaurant, he took a seat at an unoccupied table, ordered his chop and pancake, and began to write in the convenient reporter's book which he always kept about him. He did this for clearness; he felt that he was approaching an important point in the mission he had taken upon himself, and that his interview with Mrs. Weston was destined to be pregnant in results. It would be of assistance to him to set things down in writing instead of trusting entirely to memory. The memoranda he made are now set forth:

"Heads of circumstantial evidence which lead me to the belief that Mrs. Mary Weston, otherwise E. B. (initials worked in lady's handkerchief), is directly connected with the incidents which happened in Mrs. Middlemore's house in Gerard Street, Soho, on the night of the death of M. Felix.

"First--On that night a man was seen making a hurried escape from the house at the moment (presumably) M. Felix was drawing his last breath. The only description, if description it can be called, that has been given of this man is that he wore round his neck a red scarf.

"Second--Last night, or rather early this morning, on the occasion of my visit to Mrs. Weston's lovely daughter, I observed, before I left the young lady, a red silk scarf. Query: Might not this red scarf be the same as that which the man who escaped from the house in Gerard Street wore round his neck?

"Third--There was blood on the floor of M. Felix's room. There was no wound on the body of M. Felix. The blood, therefore, proceeded from a wound inflicted on the person of M. Felix's visitor. My discovery in M. Felix's room of the dagger, with a handle resembling a twisted snake and a ruby in its head to represent an eye, led to the incontrovertible conclusion that it was the weapon with which this wound was inflicted. The blood stains on the blade prove it. M. Felix, snatching up the dagger, flung it at his visitor.

"Fourth--Mrs. Weston has on her left arm a wound which is not yet healed. When I inadvertently grasped her arm she cried from pain. Inquiring whether I had hurt her she replied that her arm had 'been cut to the bone.' Query: Might not this be the wound that was inflicted by M. Felix's dagger?

"Fifth--In that case Mrs. Weston must have paid a visit to M. Felix on the night of his death. Query: Might she not have paid this visit disguised in a man's clothes?

"Sixth--The circumstantial evidence upon which this assumption is based: In the first place, Mrs. Weston last night, believing herself to be unobserved, threw a bundle into the River Thames. She refused to state what this bundle contained. I asked her. 'Will you tell them' (the policemen) 'what it was you threw into the river?' She replied, 'I cannot tell them. It might injure--it might ruin me.' Deduction--that if it were proved that the suit of clothes found in the river this morning belonged to her she would be placed in a position of extreme danger. The second piece of circumstantial evidence in connection with this suit of man's clothing comes from the establishment in Tottenham Court Road at which it was purchased. The salesman says that the purchaser was a lady. Mrs. Weston is a lady. She paid for it with a bank note, the number of which can be traced. The suit would fit a person of her height and build. In the third place--She gave a false name. This circumstance, supposing that she has committed a wrongful act, would weigh heavily against her. In the fourth place--She carried about with her an advertisement relating to the death of M. Felix, in which the proprietors of the Evening Moon pledged themselves to give the best legal assistance to any person or persons who are in any way interested in the death of M. Felix. Reasonable deduction--That this lady, having taken the trouble to cut out and preserve the advertisement with such conspicuous care, must be interested in his death.

"There are other items which I will set down and consider later on. Meanwhile----

"Do I believe Mrs. Weston, otherwise E. B., to be guilty of any wrongful act in connection with M. Felix? I do not. I believe her to be a perfectly innocent woman. Upon what grounds? Upon the grounds of sympathy--which would not count with such weighty circumstantial evidence against her.

"Do I believe that she paid a visit to M. Felix on the night of his death, disguised in man's clothes? I do; and I believe that the visit was paid without the slightest intention of doing him a personal injury. She is delicate and fragile, destitute of the strength necessary to carry out a deed of violence. M. Felix must have possessed at least to some slight extent a man's strength, more than amply sufficient to successfully oppose any design of violence on the part of a lady of Mrs. Weston's feeble frame.

"For what object, then, was this visit paid? To right some wrong which Mrs. Weston was suffering at his hands. I declare myself to be her champion, and the champion of her lovely daughter.

"In conclusion: The most extraordinary feature in the case remains still without any light being thrown upon it. Where is his body, and for what reason was it stolen from the house in Gerard Street?

"At eight o'clock precisely our reporter arrived at No. 21 Forston Street, Camden Town, and was ushered into the room occupied by Mrs. Weston and her daughter Constance. Lovely as had been the young girl's appearance last night, she was even lovelier now. Then her face was darkened with anxiety, now it was free from care, and the most careless observer could not have failed to know that a perfect and most beautiful love existed between the mother and her child. The young lady blushed as our reporter entered, and rose and offered him her hand.

"'I beg you to forgive my rudeness last night,' she said. 'I did not know then.'

"'Your conduct was perfectly natural, he said, taking her hand, 'such as I should have approved of in a sister of my own.'

"She bowed gracefully, and retired to an inner room.

"'It is my wish,' explained the elder lady, 'that our interview should be private. What have you there?'

"He had brought the new suit of clothes with him, and he had placed the brown paper parcel on the table and was now untying it. Her face turned to a deadly whiteness when the suit was exposed.

"'You have nothing to fear,' said our reporter. 'I have brought this with me to convince you how necessary it is that you should have by you a friend as sincere as I.'

"He then related to her what had passed between him and the inspector with reference to the suit which had been found in the river, and also the particulars of his visit to the clothing establishment in Tottenham Court Road.

"In the interests of our readers we withhold a categorical account of the conversation which ensued. Sufficient for the present to state that the lady placed in this reliable gentleman the most implicit confidence. Our narrative now assumes another shape. A strange and pathetic drama is about to be unfolded. The veil which enshrouds the past will be uplifted, and we owe our reporter our grateful thanks for the manner in which he has chosen to narrate as touching a story as has ever been presented to the readers of fiction. It links the past with the present, and it is true to the life. For a little while our reporter and ourselves disappear from the scene. We may revert hereafter to our original plan--indeed we may be compelled to revert to it in this way because the matters of which we shall have to speak are public property. What follows is a literal copy of the manuscript supplied by our reporter; not an incident is exaggerated, not a passion disfigured. Step by step, with unswerving zeal and untiring devotion, the Mystery of M. Felix is being unravelled and brought to light."