Amazing Stories, Vol. 2, No. 1 — page 51: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ar CF, Diet iaee 50 Margaret, expose—2.6—camera. Branower, brother—4.9—-sister. Margaret, sink—2.7—kitchen. Branower, collapse—4.8—balloon. “Reiland!” Trant said to the girl at last. It was as if he had put off the trial for his own old friend as long as he could. Yet if anyone had been watch- ing him, they would have noted now the quick flash of his mismated eyes. But all eyes were upon the swinging pointer of the chronoscope which, at the mention of her father’s best and oldest friend in that way, Margaret was unable to stop. One full second it swung, two, three, four, five, six The young assistant in psychology picked up his papers and arose. He went to the door and called in the nurse from the next room. “That is all, gentlemen. Shall we go down to the study?” “Well, Trant?” President Joslyn demanded im- patiently, as the four filed into the room below, which had been Dr. Lawrie’s. “You act as if you had discovered some clew. What is it?” Trant was closing the door carefully, when a sur- prised exclamation made him turn. “Cora!” Mr. Branower exclaimed; “you here? Oh! You came to see poor Margaret!” “T couldn’t stay home thinking of you torturing her so this morning!” The beautiful woman swept their faces with a glance of anxious inquiry. “T told Cora something about our test, Joslyn, Branower explained, leading his wife toward the door. “You can go up to Margaret now, my dear.” She seemed to resist. Trant fixed his eyes upon her, speculatively. “T see no reason for sending Mrs. Branower away if she wishes to stay and hear with us the results of our test which Dr. Reiland is about to give us.” Trant turned to the old professor and handed him the sheets upon which he had written his record. “Now, Dr. Reiland, please! to us what these tell you?” Dr. Joslyn’s hands clenched and Branower drew toward his wife as Reiland took the papers and examined them earnestly. But the old professor raised a puzzled face. “Luther,” he appealed, “to me these show noth- ing! Margaret’s normal association-time for in- nocent words, as you established at the start, is about two and one half seconds. She did not ex- ceed that in any of the words with guilty associa- tions which you put to her. From these results, I Will you explain “should say, it is scientifically impossible that she even knows her father is accused. Her replies in- dicate nothing unless—unless,” he paused, pain- fully, “because she could associate nothing with “ : : ° ” my name you consider that implies “That you. are so close to her that at your name, as at the name of her father, the emotion was very deep, Dr. Reiland,” the young man interrupted. “But do not look only at Margaret’s associations! Tell us, instead, what Dr. Joslyn’s and Mr. Bran- ower’s show!” “Dr. Joslyn’s and Mr. Branower’s?” “Yes! For they show, do they not—uncon- sciously, but scientifically and quite irrefutably— that Dr. Joslyn could not possibly have been con- Me ts Foren * 4S Bae ae 6 un “qw.t. 4 eae set ce. ae te “he i “Sy . : <> * : z : AMAZING STORIES cerned in any way with those notes, part of which were due and paid upon the fourteenth of October; but that Mr. Branower has a far from innocent association with them, and with the twenty-fifth of the month, on which the rest were paid!” Trant swung toward the trustee. “So, Mr. Bran- ower, you were the man in the room Sunday night! You, to save the rascal Harrison, your wife’s brother and the real thief, struck Dr. Lawrie dead in his office, burned the raised notes, turned on the gas and left him to seem a suicide and a thief!” For the second time within twenty-four hours, Trant astounded Dr. Reiland and the President of the University. But Branower laughed uglily. “Tf you could not spare me, you might at least have spared my wife this last merely accusation ! Come, Cora!” he commanded. , “T thought you might control aaapialt Mr. Bran- ower,” Trant returned. “And when I saw your wife wished to stay I thought I might keep her to convince even President Joslyn. You see?” he quietly indicated Mrs. Branower as she fell, white and shaking, into a chair. “Do not think that I would have told it in this way if these facts were new to her. I was sure the only surprise to her would be that we knew them.” Branower bent to his wife; but she straightened and recovered. “Mr. Branower,” Trant continued then, “if you will excuse chance errors, I will make a fuller statement.” “T should say, first, that since you kept his re- lationship a secret, this Harrison, your wife’s brother, was a rascal before he came here. Still you procured him his position in the Treasurer’s Office, where he soon began to steal. It was very easy. Dr. Lawrie merely signed notes; Harrison made them out. He could make them out in eras- able ink and raise them after they were signed, or in any other simple way. Suffice it that he did raise them and stole one hundred thousand dollars. When the notes were presented for payment, the matter was laid before you. You must have prom- ised Dr. Lawrie to make up the loss, for he paid the notes and entered the payment in his books. Then the time came when the books must be pre- sented for audit. Lawrie wrote that last appeal to you to put off the settlement no longer. But be- fore the letter was delivered you and Mrs. Bran- ower had hurried off to Elgin to see this Harrison, who was hurt. You got back Sunday evening and read Dr. Lawrie’s note. You went to him; and, unable to make payment, there in his office you struck him dead——” 3 But Branower was upon him with a harsh ery. “You devil! You lie! I did not kill him!” “With a blow? Oh, no! You raised no hand against him. But his heart was weak. At your refusal to carry out your promise, which meant his ruin, he collapsed before you—dead. Do you wish to continue the statement now yourself?” The wife gathered herself. “It is not so! No!” she forbade, “no!” But Branower turned on Pres- ident Joslyn a haggard face. “Is this true?” the President demanded sternly. Branower buried his face in his hands. “I will tell you all,” he said quickly. “Harrison, rcomicbooks-com a, ee oe ren : WE te Bake En ote Bs ie hte ear ¢ Vi oe Me P