Carolyn Wells - The Mark of Cain

“How did you know he was dead?”

“Ay felt his heart to beat, and it was all still. Ay saw the blood on his clothes, and Ay know he bane stob. Ay think Italian Black Hander did it.”

“And what did you do then?”

“Ay run away to my home. To my wife. Ay bane afraid the police think Ay did it.”

“Did you see the police there?”

“Yes. Ay bane wait behind the bushes till they coom. Ay bane afraid of everything.”

“Oh, after the man died, you waited around there till the police came?”

“Yes. Ay thought Ay must do that. Then Ay saw all the police and the dead wagon, and Ay waited more till they took the man away. Then Ay ran fast to my home.”

“What did you take from the body?” Coroner Berg spoke sternly and the already frightened man trembled in his chair.

“Ay take nothing. Ay would not rob a corp. Nay, that I wouldn’t.”

“And you took nothing away from the place?”

The Swede hesitated. He glanced at his wife, and like an accusing Nemesis, she nodded her head it him.

“Tell the truth, Clem,” she cried shrilly. “Tell about the strange bottle.”

“A bottle?” asked the coroner.

“Yes, but it was of no use,” Sandstrom spoke sulkily now. “It was an old milk bottle.”

“A milk bottle? Then it had nothing to do with the crime.”

“That’s what Ay think. But the wife says to tell. The milk bottle, a pint one, was much buried in the ground.”

“How did it get in so deeply? Was it put there purposely?”

“Ay tank so. It had in it – ” The man made a wry face, as at a recollection.

“Well, what?”

“Ay don’t know. But it smelled something very very bad. And molasses too.”

“Molasses in it?”

“Yes, a little down in the bottom of the bottle. Such a queer doings!”

“Have you the bottle?”

“At my home, yes. The wife make me empty the bad stuff out.”

“Why?” and Berg turned to the Swedish woman.

“I think it a poison. I think the bad man kill the good man with a poison.”

“Well, I don’t think so. I think you two people trumped up this bottle business yourselves. It’s too ridiculous to be real evidence.”

The jurymen were perplexed. If these Swedes were implicated in the murder, surely they would not come and give themselves up to justice voluntarily. Yet, some reasoned that if they were afraid of the police, they might think it better to come voluntarily than to seem to hide their connection with it. It is difficult to tell the workings of the uncultured foreign intellect, and at any rate the story must be investigated, and the Swedes kept watch of.

Under the coroner’s scrutiny, Sandstrom became more restless than ever. He shuffled his big feet about and his countenance worked as if in agony. The woman watched him with solicitude. Apparently, her one thought was to have him say the right thing.

Once she went over and whispered to him, but he only shook his head.

“Why did you kill the man?” the coroner suddenly shot at the witness as if to trip him.

Sandstrom looked at him stolidly. “Ay didn’t kill him. Ay bane got na goon.”

“He wasn’t shot, he was stabbed.”

“Ay bane got na knife. And Ay na kill him. Ay heerd his dyin’ words.” The Swede looked solemn.

“What were they?” asked the coroner, in the midst of a sudden silence.

“He said, ‘Ay bane murdered! Cain killt me! Wilful murder!’ and wi’ them words he deed.”

The simple narrative in the faulty English was dramatic and convincing. The countenance of the stolid foreigner was sad, and it might well be that he was telling the truth as he had seen and heard it.

Like an anti-climax, then, came an explosive “Gee!” from the back of the room.

People looked around annoyed, and the coroner rapped on the table in displeasure.

“You have heard this witness,” he said pompously; “we have no real reason to disbelieve him. It is clear that Rowland Trowbridge was wilfully murdered by a dastardly hand, that he lived long enough to tell this, and to stigmatize as ‘Cain’ the murderer who struck him down.”

“Gee!” came the explosive voice again; but this time in a discreet whisper.

“Silence!” roared the coroner, “another such disturbance and the culprit will be expelled from the room.”

There was no further interruption and the inquiry proceeded.

Several employés of Mr. Trowbridge’s office were called. Miss Wilkinson, the stenographer, was an important young person of the blondine variety, and made the most of her testimony, which amounted to nothing. She declared that Mr. Trowbridge had been at his office as usual the day before and that she had written the average number of letters for him, none of which were in any way bearing in this case or of any import, except the regular business of her employer. Mr. Trowbridge, she said, had left the office about two o’clock, telling her he would not return that day, and bidding her go home after she had finished her routine work.

This created a mild sensation. At least, it was established that Mr. Trowbridge had gone from his office earlier than usual, though this must have been presupposed, as his body was found miles away from the city at five o’clock. But nothing further or more definite could Miss Wilkinson tell, though she was loath to leave the witness stand.

Coroner Berg was disheartened. He had a natural dislike for the “person or persons unknown” conclusion, and yet, what other one was possible? Perfunctorily, he called the office boy, who was employed in Mr. Trowbridge’s private office.

A few of the audience noted that this was the youth who had remarked “Gee!” with such enthusiasm and gave him a second look for that reason.

“What is your name?”

“Fibsy, – I mean Terence McGuire.”

“Why did you say Fibsy?”

“’Cause that’s what I’m mostly called.”

“Why?”

“’Cause I’m such a liar.”

“This is no time for frivolity, young man; remember you’re a witness.”

“Sure! I know what that means. I ain’t a goin’ to lie now, you bet! I know what I’m about.”

“Very well, then. What can you tell us of Mr. Trowbridge’s movements yesterday?”

“A whole heap. I was on the job all day.”

“What did you see or hear?”

“I seen and heard a whole lot. But I guess what’ll interest you most is a visitor Mr. Trowbridge had in the mornin’.”

“A visitor?”

“Yep. And they come near havin’a fight.”

The audience listened breathlessly. The red-headed, freckle-faced youth, not more than sixteen, held attention as no other witness had.

It was not because of his heroic presence, or his manly bearing. Indeed, he was of the shuffling, toe-stubbing type, and by his own admission, he had gained a nickname by continual and more or less successful lying. But in spite of that, truth now shone from his blue eyes and human nature is quick to recognize the signs of honesty.

“Tell about it in your own way,” said the coroner, while the reporter braced up with new hope.

“Well, Mr. Berg, it was this way. Yest’day mornin’ a guy blew into the office, – ”

“What time?”

“’Bout ’leven, I guess. It was ’bout an hour ’fore eats. Well, he wanted to see Mr. T. and as he was a feller that didn’t seem to want to be fooled with, I slips in to Mr. T’s private office an’ I sez, ‘Guy outside wants to see you.’ ‘Where’s his card?’ says Mr. T. ‘No pasteboards,’ says I, ‘but he says you’ll be pleased to meet him.’ Well, about now, the guy, he’s a big one, walks right over me and gets himself into the inner office. ‘Hello, Uncle Rowly,’ says he, and stands there smilin’. ‘Good gracious, is this you, Kane?’ says Mr. Trowbridge, kinder half pleased an’ half mad. ‘Yep,’ says the big feller, and sits down as ca’m as you please. ‘Whatter you want?’ says Mr. T. ‘Briefly?’ says the guy, lookin’ sharp at him. ‘Yes,’ an’ Mr. T. jest snapped it out. ‘Money,’ says the guy. ‘I thought so. How much?’ an’ Mr. T. shut his lips together like he always does when he’s mad. ‘Fifty thousand dollars,’ says Friend Nephew, without the quiver of an eyelash. ‘Good-morning,’ says uncle s’renely, But the chap wasn’t fazed. ‘Greeting or farewell?’ says he, smilin’ like. Then Mr. T. lit into him. ‘A farewell, sir!’ he says, ‘and the last!’ But Nephew comes up smilin’ once again, already, yet! ‘Oh, say, now, uncle,’ he begins, and then he lays out before Mr. T. the slickest minin’ proposition it was ever my misfortune to listen to, when I didn’t have no coin to go into it myself! But spiel as beautiful as he would, he couldn’t raise answerin’ delight on the face of his benefactor-to-be. He argued an’ he urged an’ he kerjoled, but not a mite could he move him. At last Mr. Trowbridge, he says, ‘No, Kane, I’ve left you that amount in my will, or I’ll give it to you if you’ll stay in New York city; but I won’t give it to you to put in any confounded hole in the ground out West!’ And no amount of talk changed that idea of Mr. T.’s. Well, was that nephew mad! Well, was he! Not ragin’ or blusterin’, but just a white and still sort o’ mad, like he’d staked all and lost. He got up, with dignerty and he bowed a little mite sarkasterkul, and he says, ‘’Scuse me fer troublin’ you, uncle; but I know of one way to get that money. I’ll telephone you when I’ve raised it.’ And he walked out, not chop-fallen, but with a stride like Jack the Giant Killer.”