Edgar Wallace

“ Branbury shook his head helplessly.
“The whole system is based upon the belief that no two finger-prints can be exactly alike; this discovery will revolutionize the police systems all around the world!” he said almost in tones of awe.
He walked down to the station, declining the offer of Lord Exenham's motorcar, a bewildered and baffled man. He wanted to be alone to think it out, and he also desired to make a call in the parish church. Fortunately he found the church open and the sexton engaged in sweeping the floors. ”

“ For days the cables were hot with messages, and Scotland Yard, which had the matter in hand, was simply overwhelmed by the extra and unexpected work which Lord Exenham's amazing discovery necessarily involved.
Macdermot of the Central Office, New York, Pflanzer of of Chicago and Maurice de Fauberg of the Sûreté were among those who sent special commissions to inquire into and report upon a happening which was very rightly regarded as revolutionizing the whole system of criminal detection. ”

“ The 'wasp-waisted' man—you have not found him?”
“No, My Lord,” said the other; “we have searched everywhere, and the woman will tell us nothing.”
“It is very curious, very curious,” said Lord Exenham, drumming his fingers on the table. “I suppose that girl was a nice girl once—well educated, you say? The employment of the word prolixity rather suggests as much, though of course quite common people often get hold of long word which they work to death.”
“She was probably a criminal from her childhood. These people start very young,” said Branbury. ”

“ Branbury moistened the old man's lips with the cordial, then dashed out into the park and raced back to the place where he had left the cab.
“Go into the village and find a doctor,” he said; “there is a doctor's house near the station. If you can find the village constable, bring him here. Rout out the cottages and tell them I want men; Lord Exenham has been shot.” ”

“ Lord Exenham was a thin man prematurely aged. He stooped a little and had a nervous trick of rubbing his hands together, a practice which is very common among people who use their hands a great deal in light and varied work. (Shopgirls who handle thousands of articles in the course of a day very readily fall into this habit.)
“I have a telegram from the Commissioner,” he said as he ushered the detective into his library, a great room the walls of which were covered with bookshelves and cabinets, “and I am very glad to see you, Superintendent. I hope you will stay overnight.” ”

“ What steps were London, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, Melbourne taking?
On the twelfth day following the discharge and disappearance of “Mabel Blixon” (for she had vanished in an inexplicable fashion) , the chiefs of police of all the principal cities of the world received a cable.
Do not change finger-print system. It is infallible. I have an explanation which I will communicate to London. It was signed “Exenham.”
The telegram reached Scotland Yard late in the afternoon, and Branbury left immediately for Exenham. What was the explanation? How could an explanation be possible? ”

“ He looked at his big library table littered with papers and smiled.
“I am just finishing the third volume of my work on criminal anthropology,” he said, “and this case rather fits an illustration of mine. Now will you please tell me the whole story from the beginning?”
Briefly the detective related the story of the crime.
“It is extraordinary that the woman, who is quite young, should be so callous. I should not think she is more than twenty-six,” he said.
“I saw her photograph in an illustrated paper,” said Lord Exenham ”

“ And the “wasp-waisted” man raised his hand with an extravagant gesture of menace and spoke in a high, shrill voice. The engineman heard nothing more and forgot the incident until the news of the robbery reminded him. The motorcar was also reported as having been seen by two constables, but neither of them had taken its number.
Branbury acted quickly. The two men, the woman and the motorcar identified the gang. It was the same confederation about whom he had been warned by the New York police, and he had had at least one of them under observation. ”

“ Branbury. If you investigate this matter to its beginnings, you will find that a man has had a very extraordinary influence upon this unfortunate woman. You will note from the evidence of your engineer that she protested that she was tired of the business, and you will probably find that behind all the calmness and cynicism which is a mark of the habitual criminal, especially the woman criminal, there is a big aching heart, my friend. ”

“ On the 7th of January, 1914, the Halifax premises of the British Weavers Bank were entered by an expert bunch of bank-wreckers, presumably an American gang which was known to be operating in England at the time, and concerning whom information had been sent forward from New York by Captain Macdermot of that city.
The burglary had been effected on the Thursday night when it was known that large sums of money had been accumulated at the bank for the purpose of honoring certain wage-checks. As was usual, a night watchman was on duty. ”

“ He opened the door with his keys, and with the sergeant and the constable—who by this time had been joined by the inspector on duty—passed into the premises. There was no sign of disorder. A glimmering gas-light still burned, and the party descended to the vaults. ”

“ Was His Lordship upset, Branbury?”
“Yes—dazed would describe his condition.”
The assistant commissioner was writing.
“How is this?” he asked at last, and read:
“'To Chief of Police—New York, Paris, Madrid, Rome et al.
“Very urgent. Lord Exenham has discovered an instance of duplication of finger-prints. Two thumb-impressions one of his son and one of known criminal, exactly correspond. Photographs will be sent you as soon as possible. Acknowledge to Scotland Yard.'”
“We cannot do less,” said Sir Jeremiah gloomily. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1932, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 91 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”