Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0147/01479.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob01479}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Pudd'nhead Wilson
Chapter XXI}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Twain, Mark}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{upon
wilson
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jury
patterns
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}
$Date{1905}
$Log{See Wilson*0147901.scf
}
Title:       Pudd'nhead Wilson
Author:      Twain, Mark
Date:        1905

Chapter XXI

     He is useless on top of the ground; he ought to be under it,
     inspiring the cabbages.

                    - Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar.

     April 1.  This is the day upon which we are reminded of what
     we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four.

                    - Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar.

     Wilson put on enough clothes for business purposes and went to work
under a high pressure of steam.  He was awake all over.  All sense of
weariness had been swept away by the invigorating refreshment of the great
and hopeful discovery which he had made.  He made fine and accurate
reproductions of a number of his "records," and then enlarged them on a scale
of ten to one with his pantograph.  He did these pantograph enlargements on
sheets of white cardboard, and made each individual line of the bewildering
maze of whorls or curves or loops which constituted the "pattern" of a
"record" stand out bold and black by reinforcing it with ink.  To the
untrained eye the collection of delicate originals made by the human finger
on the glass plates looked about alike; but when enlarged ten times they
resembled the markings of a block of wood that has been sawed across the
grain, and the dullest eye could detect at a glance, and at a distance of
many feet, that no two of the patterns were alike.  When Wilson had at last
finished his tedious and difficult work, he arranged its results according
to a plan in which a progressive order and sequence was a principal feature;
then he added to the batch several pantograph enlargements which he had made
from time to time in bygone years.

     The night was spent and the day well advanced, now.  By the time he had
snatched a trifle of breakfast it was nine o'clock, and the court was ready
to begin its sitting.  He was in his place twelve minutes later with his
"records."

     Tom Driscoll caught a slight glimpse of the records, and nudged his
nearest friend and said, with a wink, "Pudd'nhead's got a rare eye to
business - thinks that as long as he can't win his case it's at least a noble
good chance to advertise his palace-window decorations without any expense."
Wilson was informed that his witnesses had been delayed, but would arrive
presently; but he rose and said he should probably not have occasion to make
use of their testimony.  [An amused murmur ran through the room - "It's a
clean backdown!  he gives up without hitting a lick!".] Wilson continued -
"I have other testimony - and better.  [This compelled interest, and evoked
murmurs of surprise that had a detectible ingredient of disappointment in
them.] If I seem to be springing this evidence upon the court, I offer as my
justification for this, that I did not discover its existence until late last
night, and have been engaged in examining and classifying it ever since,
until half an hour ago.  I shall offer it presently; but first I wish to
say a few preliminary words.

     "May it please the Court, the claim given the front place, the claim
most persistently urged, the claim most strenuously and I may even say
aggressively and defiantly insisted upon by the prosecution, is this - that
the person whose hand left the blood-stained finger-prints upon the handle
of the Indian knife is the person who committed the murder." Wilson paused,
during several moments, to give impressiveness to what he was about to say,
and then added tranquilly, "We grant that claim."

     It was an electrical surprise.  No one was prepared for such an
admission.  A buzz of astonishment rose on all sides, and people were heard
to intimate that the overworked lawyer had lost his mind.  Even the veteran
judge, accustomed as he was to legal ambushes and masked batteries in
criminal procedure, was not sure that his ears were not deceiving him, and
asked counsel what it was he had said.  Howard's impassive face betrayed no
sign, but his attitude and bearing lost something of their careless
confidence for a moment.  Wilson resumed:

     "We not only grant that claim, but we welcome it and strongly endorse
it.  Leaving that matter for the present, we will now proceed to consider
other points in the case which we propose to establish by evidence, and shall
include that one in the chain in its proper place."

     He had made up his mind to try a few hardy guesses, in mapping out his
theory of the origin and motive of the murder - guesses designed to fill up
gaps in it - guesses which could help if they hit, and would probably do no
harm if they didn't.

     "To my mind, certain circumstances of the case before the court seem to
suggest a motive for the homicide quite different from the one insisted on
by the State.  It is my conviction that the motive was not revenge, but
robbery.  It has been urged that the presence of the accused brothers in that
fatal room, just after notification that one of them must take the life of
Judge Driscoll or lose his own the moment the parties should meet, clearly
signifies that the natural instinct of self-preservation moved my clients to
go there secretly and save Count Luigi by destroying his adversary.

     "Then why did they stay there, after the deed was done?  Mrs. Pratt had
time, although she did not hear the cry for help, but woke up some moments
later, to run to that room - and there she found these men standing and
making no effort to escape.  If they were guilty, they ought to have been
running out of the house at the same time that she was running to that room.
If they had had such a strong instinct toward self-preservation as to move
them to kill that unarmed man, what had become of it now, when it should
have been more alert than ever?  Would any of us have remained there?  Let
us not slander our intelligence to that degree.

     "Much stress has been laid upon the fact that the accused offered a very
large reward for the knife with which this murder was done; that no thief
came forward to claim that extraordinary reward; that the latter fact was
good circumstantial evidence that the claim that the knife had been stolen
was a vanity and a fraud; that these details taken in connection with the
memorable and apparently prophetic speech of the deceased concerning that
knife, and the final discovery of that very knife in the fatal room where
no living person was found present with the slaughtered man but the owner of
the knife and his brother, form an indestructible chain of evidence which
fixes the crime upon those unfortunate strangers.

     "But I shall presently ask to be sworn, and shall testify that there was
a large reward offered for the thief, also; that it was offered secretly and
not advertised; that this fact was indiscreetly mentioned - or at least
tacitly admitted - in what was supposed to be safe circumstances, but may not
have been.  The thief may have been present himself.  [Tom Driscoll had been
looking at the speaker, but dropped his eyes at this point.] In that case he
would retain the knife in his possession, not daring to offer it for sale,
or for pledge in a pawnshop.  [There was a nodding of heads among the
audience by way of admission that this was not a bad stroke.] I shall prove
to the satisfaction of the jury that there was a person in Judge Driscoll's
room several minutes before the accused entered it.  [This produced a strong
sensation; the last drowsy-head in the courtroom roused up now, and made
preparation to listen.] If it shall seem necessary, I will prove by the
Misses Clarkson that they met a veiled person - ostensibly a woman - coming
out of the back gate a few minutes after the cry for help was heard.  This
person was not a woman, but a man dressed in woman's clothes." Another
sensation.  Wilson had his eye on Tom when he hazarded this guess, to see
what effect it would produce.  He was satisfied with the result, and said to
himself, "It was a success - he's hit!"

     "The object of that person in that house was robbery, not murder.  It
is true that the safe was not open, but there was an ordinary tin cash-box
on the table, with three thousand dollars in it.  It is easily supposable
that the thief was concealed in the house; that he knew of this box, and of
its owner's habit of counting its contents and arranging his accounts at
night - if he had that habit, which I do not assert, of course; - that he
tried to take the box while its owner slept, but made a noise and was seized,
and had to use the knife to save himself from capture; and that he fled
without his booty because he heard help coming.

     "I have now done with my theory, and will proceed to the evidences by
which I propose to try to prove its soundness." Wilson took up several of his
strips of glass.  When the audience recognized these familiar mementoes of
Pudd'nhead's old-time childish "puttering" and folly, the tense and funereal
interest vanished out of their faces, and the house burst into volleys of
relieving and refreshing laughter, and Tom chirked up and joined in the fun
himself; but Wilson was apparently not disturbed.  He arranged his records
on the table before him, and said:

     "I beg the indulgence of the court while I make a few remarks in
explanation of some evidence which I am about to introduce, and which I shall
presently ask to be allowed to verify under oath on the witness stand.  Every
human being carries with him from his cradle to his grave certain physical
marks which do not change their character, and by which he can always be
identified - and that without shade of doubt or question.  These marks are
his signature, his physiological autograph, so to speak, and this autograph
cannot be counterfeited, nor can he disguise it or hide it away, nor can it
become illegible by the wear and mutations of time.  This signature is not
his face - age can change that beyond recognition; it is not his hair, for
that can fall out; it is not his height, for duplicates of that exist; it is
not his form, for duplicates of that exist also, whereas this signature is
each man's very own - there is no duplicate of it among the swarming
populations of the globe!  [The audience were interested once more.]

     "This autograph consists of the delicate lines or corrugations with
which Nature marks the insides of the hands and the soles of the feet.  If
you will look at the balls of your fingers, - you that have very sharp
eyesight, - you will observe that these dainty curving lines lie close
together, like those that indicate the borders of oceans in maps, and that
they form various clearly-defined patterns, such as arches, circles, long
curves, whorls, etc., and that these patterns differ on the different
fingers.  [Every man in the room had his hand up to the light, now, and his
head canted to one side, and was minutely scrutinizing the balls of his
fingers; there were whispered ejaculations of "Why, it's so - I never noticed
that before!"] The patterns on the right hand are not the same as those on
the left.  [Ejaculations of "Why, that's so, too!"] Taken finger for finger,
your patterns differ from your neighbor's.  [Comparisons were made all over
the house - even the judge and jury were absorbed in this curious work.] The
patterns of a twin's right hand are not the same as those on his left.  One
twins patterns are never the same as his fellow-twin's patterns - the jury
will find that the patterns upon the finger-balls of the accused follow this
rule.  [An examination of the twins' hands was begun at once.] You have often
heard of twins who were so exactly alike that when dressed alike their own
parents could not tell them apart.  Yet there was never a twin born into this
world that did not carry from birth to death a sure identifier in this
mysterious and marvelous natal autograph.  That once known to you, his
fellow-twin could never personate him and deceive you."

     Wilson stopped and stood silent.  Inattention dies a quick and sure
death when a speaker does that.  The stillness gives warning that something
is coming.  All palms and finger-balls went down, now, all slouching forms
straightened, all heads came up, all eyes were fastened upon Wilson's face.
He waited yet one, two, three moments, to let his pause complete and perfect
its spell upon the house; then, when through the profound hush he could hear
the ticking of the clock on the wall, he put out his hand and took the Indian
knife by the blade and held it aloft where all could see the sinister spots
upon its ivory handle; then he said, in a level and passionless voice:

     "Upon this haft stands the assassin's natal autograph, written in the
blood of that helpless and unoffending old man who loved you and whom you all
loved.  There is but one man in the whole earth whose hand can duplicate that
crimson sign," - he paused and raised his eyes to the pendulum swinging back
and forth, - "and please God we will produce that man in this room before the
clock strikes noon!"

     Stunned, distraught, unconscious of its own movement, the house half
rose, as if expecting to see the murderer appear at the door, and a breeze
of muttered ejaculations swept the place.  "Order in the court! - sit down!"
This from the sheriff.  He was obeyed, and quiet reigned again.  Wilson stole
a glance at Tom, and said to himself, "He is flying signals of distress, now;
even people who despise him are pitying him; they think this is a hard ordeal
for a young fellow who has lost his benefactor by so cruel a stroke - and
they are right." He resumed his speech:

     "For more than twenty years I have amused my compulsory leisure with
collecting these curious physical signatures in this town.  At my house I
have hundreds upon hundreds of them.  Each and every one is labeled with name
and date; not labeled the next day or even the next hour, but in the very
minute that the impression was taken.  When I go upon the witness stand I
will repeat under oath the things which I am now saying.  I have the finger-
prints of the court, the sheriff, and every member of the jury.  There is
hardly a person in this room, white or black, whose natal signature I cannot
produce, and not one of them can so disguise himself that I cannot pick him
out from a multitude of his fellow-creatures and unerringly identify him by
his hands.  And if he and I should live to be a hundred I could still do it.
[The interest of the audience was steadily deepening now.]

     "I have studied some of these signatures so much that I know them as
well as the bank cashier knows the autograph of his oldest customer.  While
I turn my back now, I beg that several persons will be so good as to pass
their fingers through their hair, and then press them upon one of the panes
of the window near the jury, and that among them the accused may set their
finger-marks.  Also, I beg that these experimenters, or others, will set
their finger-marks upon another pane, and add again the marks of the accused,
but not placing them in the same order or relation to the other signatures
as before - for, by one chance in a million, a person might happen upon the
right marks by pure guess-work once, therefore I wish to be tested twice."

     He turned his back, and the two panes were quickly covered with
delicately-lined oval spots, but visible only to such persons as could get
a dark background for them - the foliage of a tree, outside, for instance.
Then, upon call, Wilson went to the window, made his examination, and said:

     "This is Count Luigi's right hand; this one, three signatures below, is
his left.  Here is Count Angelo's right; down here is his left.  Now for the
other pane: here and here are Count Luigi's, here and here are his
brother's." He faced about.  "Am I right?"

     A deafening explosion of applause was the answer.  The Bench said:

     "This certainly approaches the miraculous!"

     Wilson turned to the window again and remarked, pointing with his
finger:

     "This is the signature of Mr. Justice Robinson.  [Applause.] This, of
Constable Blake.  [Applause.] This, of John Mason, juryman.  [Applause.]
This, of the sheriff.  [Applause.] I cannot name the others, but I have them
all at home, named and dated, and could identify them all by my finger-print
records."

     He moved to his place through a storm of applause - which the sheriff
stopped, and also made the people sit down, for they were all standing and
struggling to see, of course.  Court, jury, sheriff, and everybody had been
too absorbed in observing Wilson's performance to attend to the audience
earlier.

     "Now, then," said Wilson, "I have here the natal autographs of two
children - thrown up to ten times the natural size by the pantograph, so that
any one who can see at all can tell the markings apart at a glance.  We will
call the children A and B.  Here are A's finger-marks, taken at the age of
five months.  Here they are again, taken at seven months.  [Tom started.]
They are alike, you see.  Here are B's at five months, and also at seven
months.  They, too, exactly copy each other, but the patterns are quite
different from A's, you observe.  I shall refer to these again presently, but
we will turn them face down, now.

     "Here, thrown up ten sizes, are the natal autographs of the two persons
who are here before you accused of murdering Judge Driscoll.  I made these
pantograph copies last night, and will so swear when I go upon the witness
stand.  I ask the jury to compare them with the finger-marks of the accused
upon the window-panes, and tell the court if they are the same."

     He passed a powerful magnifying-glass to the foreman.

     One juryman after another took the cardboard and the glass and made the
comparison.  Then the foreman said to the judge:

     "Your honor, we are all agreed that they are identical."

     Wilson said to the foreman:

     "Please turn that cardboard face down, and take this one, and compare
it searchingly by the magnifier, with the fatal signature upon the knife-
handle, and report your finding to the court."

     Again the jury made minute examinations, and again reported:

     "We find them to be exactly identical, your honor."

     Wilson turned toward the counsel for the prosecution, and there was a
clearly recognizable note of warning in his voice when he said:

     "May it please the court, the State has claimed, strenuously and
persistently, that the blood-stained finger-prints upon that knife-handle
were left there by the assassin of Judge Driscoll.  You have heard us grant
that claim, and welcome it." He turned to the jury: "Compare the finger-
prints of the accused with the finger prints left by the assassin - and
report."

     The comparison began.  As it proceeded, all movement and all sound
ceased, and the deep silence of an absorbed and waiting suspense settled upon
the house; and when at last the words came -

     "They do not even resemble," a thunder-crash of applause followed and
the house sprang to its feet, but was quickly repressed by official force and
brought to order again.  Tom was altering his position every few minutes,
now, but none of his changes brought repose nor any small trifle of comfort.
When the house's attention was become fixed once more, Wilson said gravely,
indicating the twins with a gesture:

     "These men are innocent - I have no further concern with them.  [Another
outbreak of applause began, but was promptly checked.] We will now proceed
to find the guilty.  [Tom's eyes were starting from their sockets - yes, it
was a cruel day for the bereaved youth, everybody thought.] We will return
to the infant autographs of A and B.  I will ask the jury to take these large
pantograph facsimiles of A's marked five months and seven months.  Do they
tally?"

     The foreman responded:

     "Perfectly."

     "Now examine this pantograph, taken at eight months, and also marked A.
Does it tally with the other two?"

     The surprised response was:

     "No - they differ widely!"

     "You are quite right.  Now take these two pantographs of B's autograph,
marked five months and seven months.  Do they tally with each other?"

     "Yes - perfectly."

     "Take this third pantograph marked B, eight months.  Does it tally with
B's other two?"

     "By no means!"

     "Do you know how to account for those strange discrepancies?  I will
tell you.  For a purpose unknown to us, but probably a selfish one, somebody
changed those children in the cradle."

     This produced a vast sensation, naturally; Roxana was astonished at this
admirable guess, but not disturbed by it.  To guess the exchange was one
thing, to guess who did it quite another.  Pudd'nhead Wilson could do
wonderful things, no doubt, but he couldn't do impossible ones.  Safe?  She
was perfectly safe.  She smiled privately.

     "Between the ages of seven months and eight months those children were
changed in the cradle" - he made one of his effect-collecting pauses, and
added - "and the person who did it is in this house!"

     Roxy's pulses stood still!  The house was thrilled as with an electric
shock, and the people half rose as if to seek a glimpse of the person who had
made that exchange.  Tom was growing limp; the life seemed oozing out of him.
Wilson resumed:

     "A was put into B's cradle in the nursery; B was transferred to the
kitchen and became a negro and a slave, [Sensation - confusion of angry
ejaculations] - but within a quarter of an hour he will stand before you
white and free!  [Burst of applause, checked by the officers.] From seven
months onward until now, A has still been a usurper, and in my finger-record
he bears B's name.  Here is his pantograph at the age of twelve.  Compare it
with the assassin's signature upon the knife-handle.  Do they tally?"

     The foreman answered:

     "To the minutest detail!"

     Wilson said, solemnly:

     "The murderer of your friend and mine - York Driscoll of the generous
hand and the kindly spirit - sits in among you.  Valet de Chambre, negro and
slave, - falsely called Thomas a Becket Driscoll, - make upon the window the
finger-prints that will hang you!"

[See Wilson: "Make upon the window the finger-prints that will hang you!"]

     Tom turned his ashen face imploringly toward the speaker, made some
impotent movement with his white lips, then slid limp and lifeless to the
floor.

     Wilson broke the awed silence with the words:

     "There is no need.  He has confessed."

     Roxy flung herself upon her knees, covered her face with her hands, and
out through her sobs the words struggled:

     "De Lord have mercy on me, po' misable sinner dat I is!"

     The clock struck twelve.

     The court rose; the new prisoner, handcuffed, was removed.