Читать книгу The Crime of the Century; Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin - Henry M. Hunt - Страница 10

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From the icehouse Captain Villiers drove to the home of the missing physician. For hours the apartments had been thronged with visitors, some waiting hour after hour, others coming and going, to hear the latest intelligence of the search. Without apprising them of his conjectures regarding the trunk the captain enquired as to the length of Dr. Cronin's hair.

"He wore his hair much longer than men usually do," said Mrs. Conklin, "and lately it had been quite long."

MR. AND MRS. CONKLIN.

"Had he plenty of hair on the top of his head" the captain went on.

"Yes" replied some one in the room "and it was quite long."

The Chief then took from his pocket the scrap of paper containing the lock of hair he had found in the trunk, and those present crowded around and examined it closely. Some were inclined to believe that it resembled that of the missing man, but were fearful of expressing a positive opinion. At this juncture F. T. Scanlan, Jr., came into the room. He took the lock of hair and fingered it for a moment, his face blanched, and as he laid it down upon the table he ejaculated:

"That is just like his hair, yes, just like it."

There was a scream and a fall. One of the ladies present had fainted away.

By this time Captain Villiers was fully convinced that the lock of hair was destined to play an important part in the solution of the mystery. At the same time he was desirous that the identification should be more complete, or that the resemblance between the lock and the hair of the missing man should be established by the testimony of those best qualified to speak on the subject. Accordingly, bright and early on the following morning he visited the tonsorial establishment one door north of the Windsor theatre, where for years the physician had been in the habit of getting shaved three or four times weekly. Here, however, his theory encountered a set back. The proprietor, H. F. Wisch, was positive that the hair had come from some other head than that of Dr. Cronin. In this opinion he was supported by two of his employes. They had cut his hair time and again, and they insisted that there could be no possibility of their being mistaken when they said that the hair could not have come from Dr. Cronin's head. The lock that they were asked to identify was fully four inches long, and fine, while, so they contended, the physician's hair was exceptionally coarse. Moreover—and this appeared to be conclusive—his hair had been cut three days prior to his disappearance and it would have been impossible that a lock four inches in length could have been left on his head. So far as could be remembered his head was trimmed to an average length of two inches. As to color, there was something of a resemblance, although there was enough apparent difference in shade to be noticeable when compared with a few hairs taken from a hair brush that was kept for the doctor's exclusive use. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin, however, took issue with Barber Wisch on almost every point. The hair of their friend and tenant they asserted, was long, soft and remarkably silky, while, moreover, it was precisely of the same shade as the lock held by Captain Villiers. In the face of these conflicting statements the latter very wisely concluded that it would be useless to push this particular branch of the investigation at that time, and the clue was consigned to a drawer of the safe in the Lake View Station.