Edgar Wallace

“ His attitude to Manfred was that of a subordinate to a superior, and that attitude he would have found hardest to explain.
When the cell door was opened to admit the detective, Manfred was reading. He rose with a cheery smile to greet his visitor. “Well, Mr. Falmouth,” he said lightly, “we enter upon the second and more serious act of the drama.”
“I don”t know whether I’m glad or sorry,” said Falmouth bluntly.
“You ought to be glad,” said Manfred with his quizzical smile. “For you’ve vindicated——”
“Yes, I know all about that,” said Falmouth dryly, “but it”s the other part I hate.” ”

“ I shall escape.
The governor took every precaution to guard against rescue. He applied for and secured reinforcements of warders, and Manfred, one morning at exercise seeing strange faces amongst his guards, bantered him with over-nervousness.
“Yes,” said the Major, “I’ve doubled the staff. I’m taking you at your word, that is all—one must cling tight to the last lingering shreds of faith one has in mankind. You say that you”re going to escape, and I believe you.” ”

“ Reading over the thousands of newspaper cuttings dealing with the preliminary examination and trial of Manfred, I am struck with the absence of any startling feature, such as one might expect to find in a great state trial of this description. Summarizing the evidence that was given at the police court, one might arrange the “parts” of the dozen or so commonplace witnesses so that they read:
A policeman: “I found the body.”
An inspector: “I read the label.” ”

“ He had his daily visits from the governor, and found him charmingly agreeable. They talked of countries known to both, of people whom each knew equally well, and tacitly avoided forbidden subjects. Only——
“I hear you are going to escape?” said the governor, as he concluded one of these visits. He was a largely built man, sometime Major of Marine Artillery, and he took life seriously. Therefore he did not share Falmouth’s view of the projected escape as being an ill-timed jest.
“Yes,” replied Manfred. ”

“ That such persistent assurances of delivery should eventually reach the public through the public press was only to be expected, and although “Manfred says he will escape from Wandsworth” in the Megaphone headline, became “A prisoner”s strange statement” in the Times, the substance of the story was the same, and you may be sure that it lost nothing in the telling. A Sunday journal, with a waning circulation, rallied on the discovery that Manfred was mad, and published a column-long account of this “poor lunatic gibbering of freedom.” ”

“ The Coroner proceeded to question the witness concerning the relations of Marks with the police.
Was the stain found on Sir Philip’s hand, and on the hand of the man Thery, found also on Marks?—No.
It was as the court was dispersing, and little groups of men stood discussing the most extraordinary verdict ever given by a coroner’s jury, “Death from some unknown cause, and wilful murder against some person or persons unknown,” that the Coroner himself met on the threshold of the court a familiar face. ”

“ Before the proceedings recommenced the coroner remarked that he had received a great number of letters from all kinds of people containing theories, some of them peculiarly fantastic, as to the cause of Sir Philip Ramon’s death.
“The police inform me that they are eager to receive suggestions,” said the Coroner, “and will welcome any view however bizarre.”
The assistant-commissioner of Police was the first witness called, and gave in detail the story of the events that had led up to the finding of the late secretary’s dead body. He then went on to describe the appearance of the room. ”

“ Superintendent Falmouth was the next witness called.
The detective, who gave his evidence in clear tones, was evidently speaking under stress of very great emotion. He seemed to appreciate very keenly the failure of the police to safeguard the life of the dead Minister. It is an open secret that immediately after the tragedy both the officer and the assistant-commissioner tendered their resignations, which, at the express instruction of the prime minister, were not accepted. ”

“ The construction of the “story” of the Four Just Men, began at the lower rung of the intellectual ladder.
“You boy! get half a dozen taxicabs here quick... Poynter, ’phone the reporters in ... get the Lambs Club on the ’phone and see if O’Mahony or any other of our bright youths are there.... There are five columns about the Four Just Men standing in the gallery, get it pulled up, Mr. Short... pictures—h’m ... yet wire Massonni to get down to the police station and see if he can find a policeman who”ll give him material for a sketch.... Off you go, Charles, and get the story.” ”

“ The governor, still frowning thoughtfully, left the cell. He came back in a few minutes.
“By the way, Manfred,” he said, “I forgot to tell you that you’ll get a visit from the chaplain. He’s a very decent young fellow, and I know I needn’t ask you to let him down lightly.” ”

“ I saw a case in Japan where a man by exerting a peculiar pressure on the throat produced instant death.
Is that ordinary?—No; it is very unordinary; sufficiently so to create a considerable stir in medical circles. ”

“ Gas?—Impossible; it must have been immediately detected.
The introduction into the room of some subtle poison that would asphyxiate and leave no trace?—Such a drug is unknown to medical science.
You have seen the rose found in Sir Philip’s hand?—Yes.
How do you account for that?—I cannot account for it.
Nor for the stain?—No.
By the foreman: You have formed no definite opinion regarding the cause of death?—No; I merely submit one of the three suggestions I have offered.
Are you a believer in hypnotism?—Yes, to a certain extent. ”

“ Summers, that you and I hold very different opinions, if they were all reduced to questions of faith and appreciation of God”s goodness—but I have got to a stage where I shrink from labelling my inmost beliefs with this or that creed, or circumscribing the boundless limits of my faith with words. ”

“ The assistant-commissioner then went on to give details of the police arrangements for the day. It was impossible, he emphatically stated, for any person to have entered or left 44 Downing Street without being observed. Immediately after the murder the police on duty were ordered to stand fast. Most of the men, said the witness, were on duty for twenty-six hours at a stretch. ”