16 - Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman

Dive into the mystery of missing diamonds, an untouched safe, two blood-streaked thumb prints, and the enigmatic Mr X. As these elements converge, the brilliant Dr. Thorndyke steps onto the scene. Will he crack the case? The Red Thumb Mark marks the thrilling debut of Freeman’s popular Thorndyke series. (Summary by Diana Majlinger)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fifteen of The Red Thumb Mark. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by Marianne The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman,
Chapter fifteen, The finger Print Experts, Part two. Mister Singleton

(00:21):
rose from his seat at the table by the solicitors
for the prosecution, and entered the box. Sir Hector adjusted
his glasses, turned over a page of his brief, and
cast a steady and impressive glance at the jury. I believe,
mister Singleton. He said at length that you are connected
with the finger print department at Scotland Yard. Yes, I

(00:42):
am one of the chief assistants in that department. What
are your official duties? My principal occupation consists in the
examination and comparison of the finger prints of criminals and
suspected persons. These finger prints are classified by me according
to their characters and arranged in five for reference. I
take it that you have examined a great number of

(01:04):
finger prints. I have examined many thousands of finger prints
and have studied them closely for purposes of identification. Kindly
examine this paper, mister Singleton. Here the fatal leaflet was
handed to him by the usher. Have you ever seen
it before? Yes, it was handed to me for examination
at my office on the tenth of March. There is

(01:28):
a mark upon it, the print of a finger or thumb.
Can you tell us anything about that mark? It is
the print of the left thumb of Reuben hornby the
prisoner at the bar. You are quite sure of that,
I am quite sure. Do you swear that the mark
upon that paper was made by the thumb of the prisoner?

(01:50):
I do. Could it not have been made by the
thumb of some other person? No, it is impossible that
it could have been made by any other person. At
this moment I felt Juliet lay a trembling hand on mine,
and glancing at her, I saw that she was deathly pale.
I took her hand in mind, and, pressing it gently,
whispered to her, have courage, there's nothing unexpected in this.

(02:14):
Thank you, she whispered in reply, with a faint smile.
I will try, but it's all so horribly unnerving, you consider, sir.
Hector proceeded that the identity of this thumb print admits
of no doubt. It admits of no doubt whatever, replied
mister Singleton, can you explain to us, without being too technical,

(02:35):
how you have arrived at such complete certainty? I myself
took a print of the prisoner's thumb, having first obtained
the prisoner's consent, after warning him that the print would
be used in evidence against him, and I compared that
print with the mark on this paper. The comparison was
made with the greatest care and by the most approved method,
point by point and detail by detail, and the two

(02:57):
prints were found to be identical in every respect. Now
it has been proven by exact calculations, which calculations I
have personally verified, that the chance that the print of
a single finger of any given person will be exactly
like the print of the same finger of any other
given person is as one to sixty four thousand millions.
That is to say, since the number of the entire

(03:19):
human race is about sixteen thousand millions, the chance is
about one to four that the print of a single
finger of any one person will be identical with that
of the same finger of any other member of the
human race. It has been said by a great authority,
and I entirely agree with the statement that a complete
or nearly complete accordance between two prints of the same

(03:40):
finger affords evidence, requiring no corroboration, that the persons from
whom they were made are the same. Now, these calculations
apply to the prince of ordinary and normal fingers or thumbs.
But the thumb from which these prints were taken is
not ordinary or normal. There is upon it a deep,
but clear, linear scar, the scar of an old in

(04:01):
sized wound. And this scar passes across the pattern of
the ridges, intersecting the latter at certain points and disturbing
their continuity at others. Now, this very characteristic scar is
an additional feature, having a set of chances of its own,
so that we have to consider not only the chance
that the print of the prisoner's left thumb should be
identical with the print of some other person's left thumb,

(04:24):
which is as one to sixty four thousand millions, but
the further chance that these two identical thumb prints should
be traversed by the impression of a scar identical in
size and appearance, and intersecting the ridges at exactly the
same places, and producing failures of continuity in the ridges
of exactly the same character. But these two chances, multiplied

(04:45):
into one another, yield an ultimate chance of about one
to four thousand trillions that the prisoner's left thumb will
exactly resemble the print of some other person's thumb, both
as to the pattern and the scar which crosses the pattern.
In other words, such a coincid evidence is an utter impossibility.
Sir Hector Trumpler took off his glasses and looked long

(05:05):
and steadily at the jury, as though he should say, come,
my friends, what do you think of that? Then he
sat down with a jerk, and turned toward Anstey and
Thorndyke with a look of triumph. Do you propose to
cross examine the witness? Inquired the judge, seeing that the
council for the defense made no signs. No, my lord,
replied Anstey. Thereupon Sir Hector Trumpler turned once more toward

(05:29):
the defending council, and his broad red face was illumined
by a smile of deep satisfaction. That smile was reflected
on the face of mister Singleton as he stepped from
the box, And as I glanced at Thorndyke I seemed
to detect, for a single instant on his calm and
immovable countenance the faintest shadow of a smile. Herbert John Nash,

(05:52):
a plump, middle aged man of keen, though studious aspect,
stepped into the box and Sir Hector rose, once more,
you are one of the chief assistants in the finger
print department, I believe, mister Nash, I am. Have you
heard the evidence of the last witness I have? Do
you agree with the statements made by that witness entirely?

(06:13):
I am prepared to swear that the print on the
paper found in the safe is that of the left
thumb of the prisoner Reuben Hornby. And are you certain
that no mistake is possible? I am certain that no
mistake is possible. Again, Sir Hector glanced significantly at the
jury as he resumed his seat, and again Ernstey made
no sign beyond the entry of a few notes in

(06:34):
the margin of his brief. Are you calling any more witnesses,
asked the judge, dipping his pen in the ink. No,
my lord, replied Sir Hector, that is our case. Upon
this Anstey rose, and addressing the judge said, I call witnesses,
my lord. The judge nodded and made an entry in
his notes, while Annstey delivered his brief introductory speech, my

(06:58):
Lord and gentlemen of the jury, I shall shall not
occupy the time of the court with unnecessary appeals of
this stage, but shall proceed to take the evidence of
my witnesses without delay. There was a pause of a
minute or more, during which the silence was broken only
by the rustle of papers and the squeaking of the
judge's quill pen. Juliet turned a white, scared face to
me and said, in a hushed whisper, this is terrible.

(07:21):
That last man's evidence is perfectly crushing. What can possibly
be said in reply? I'm in despair. Oh, poor Reuben,
he is lost. Doctor Jarvis, he hasn't a chance. Now.
Do you believe that he is guilty? I asked, certainly not,
she replied indignantly. I am as certain of his innocence
as ever. Then, I said, if he is innocent, there

(07:44):
must be some means of proving his innocence. Yes, I suppose, so,
she rejoined in a dejected whisper. At any rate, we
shall soon know. Now at this moment, the usher's voice
was heard calling out the name of the first witness
for the defense, Edmund Horford Raw, a keen looking, gray
haired man with a shaven face and close cut side whiskers,

(08:07):
stepped into the box and was sworn in due form.
You are a doctor of medicine, I believe, said Annsty
addressing the witness and lecturer upon medical jurisprudence at the
South London Hospital. I am, have you had occasion to
study the properties of blood? Yes? The properties of blood
are of great importance from a medico legal point of view.

(08:30):
Can you tell us what happens when a drop of blood,
save from a cut finger, falls upon a surface, such
as the bottom of an iron safe. A drop of
blood from a living body falling upon any non absorbed
surface will in the course of a few minutes, solidify
into a jelly, which will at first had the same
bulk and color as the liquid blood. Will it undergo

(08:53):
any further change? Yes. In a few minutes more, the
jelly will begin to shrink and become more solid, so
that the blood will become separated into two parts, the
solid and the liquid. The solid part will consist of
a firm tough jelly of a deep red color, and
the liquid part will consist of a pale yellow, clear,
watery liquid. At the end, say, of two hours, what

(09:16):
will be the condition of the drop of blood. It
will consist of a drop of clear, nearly colorless liquid,
in the middle of which will be a small, tough,
red clot. Supposing such a drop to be taken up
on a piece of white paper, what would be its appearance?
The paper would be wetted by the colorless liquid, and
the solid clot would probably adhere to the paper in

(09:39):
a mass. Would the blood on the paper appear as
a clear red liquid. Certainly not. The liquid would appear
like water, and the clot would appear like a solid
mass sticking to the paper. Does blood always behave in
the way you've described always, unless some artificial means are
taken to prevent it from clotting? By what means can

(10:00):
blood be prevented from clotting or solidifying? There are two
principal methods. One is to stir or whip the fresh
blood rapidly with a bundle of fine twigs. When this
is done, the fibrine, the part of the blood that
causes solidification, adheres to the twigs, and the blood that remains,
though it is unchanged in appearance, will remain liquid for
an indefinite time. The other method is to dissolve a

(10:23):
certain proportion of some alkaline salt in the fresh blood,
after which it no longer has any tendency to solidify.
You have heard the evidence of Inspector Sandersen and Sergeant Baits. Yes.
Inspector Sanderson has told us that he examined the safe
at ten thirty one a m. And found two good
sized drops of blood on the bottom. Sergeant Bates told

(10:45):
us that he examined the safe two hours later and
that he took up one of the drops of blood
on a piece of white paper. The blood was then
quite liquid, and on the paper it looked like a
clear red liquid of the color of blood. What should
you consider the condition and nature of that blood to
have been? If it was really blood at all, I
should say it was either defibrinated blood, that is, blood

(11:08):
from which the fibrine has been extracted by whipping, or
that it has been treated with an alkaline salt. You
are of the opinion that the blood found in the
save could not have been ordinary blood shed from a
cut or wound. I am sure it could not have been. Now,
doctor Rowe, I am going to ask you a few
questions on another subject. Have you given any attention to

(11:28):
finger prints made by bloody fingers? Yes? I have recently
made some experiments on the subject. Will you give us
the results of those experiments. My object was to ascertain
whether fingers wet with fresh blood would yield distinct and
characteristic prints. I made a great number of trials, and
as a result, found that it is extremely difficult to

(11:49):
obtain a clear print. When the finger is wetted with
fresh blood. The usual result is a mere red blot
showing no ridge pattern at all, owing to the blood
filling the furrows between the ridges. But if the blood
is allowed to dry almost completely on the finger, a
very clear print is obtained. Is it possible to recognize
a print that has been made by a nearly dry finger? Yes,

(12:11):
quite easily. The half dry blood is nearly solid and
adheres to the paper in a different way from the liquid,
and it shows minute details, such as the mouths of
the sweat glands, which are always obliterated by the liquid.
Look carefully at this paper, which was found in the safe,
and tell me what you see. The witness took the
paper and examined it attentively, first with the naked eye,

(12:34):
then with a pocket lens. I see, said he two
blood marks and a print, apparently of a thumb. Of
the two marks, one is a blot smeared slightly by
the finger or thumb, and the other is a smear
only both were evidently produced with quite liquid blood. The
thumb print was also made with liquid blood. You are

(12:56):
quite sure that the thumb print was made with liquid blood?
Quite sure? Is there anything unusual about the thumb print? Yes,
it is extraordinarily clear and distinct. I have made a
great number of trials and have endeavored to obtain the
clearest prints possible with fresh blood, but none of my
prints are nearly as distinct as this one. Here the

(13:16):
witness produced a number of sheets of paper, each of
which was covered with the prints of bloody fingers, and
compared them with the memorandum slip. The papers were handed
to the judge for inspection, and anstey sat down when
Sir Hector Trumpler rose with a somewhat puzzled expression on
his face to cross examine. You say that the blood
found in the safe was defibrinated or artificially treated. What

(13:39):
inference do you draw from that fact? I infer that
it was not dropped from a bleeding wound. Can you
form any idea how such blood should have got into
this safe? None? Whatever you say that the thumb print
is a remarkably distinct one, what conclusion do you draw
from that? I do not draw any conclusion. I cannot

(14:01):
account for its distinctness at all. The learned counsel sat
down with a rather baffled air, and I observed a
faint smile spread over the countenance of my colleague, Arabella Hornby.
A muffled whimpering from my neighbor on the left was
accompanied by a wild rustling of silk. Glancing at Missus Hornby,
I saw her stagger from the bench, shaking like a jelly,

(14:24):
mopping her eyes with her handkerchief, and grasping her open purse.
She entered the witness box, and, having gazed wildly round
the court, began to search the multitudinous compartments of her purse.
The evidence you shall give, sang out the usher whereat
Missus Hornby paused her search and stared at him apprehensively.
To the court and jury sworn between our sovereign Lord,

(14:45):
the King, and the prisoner at the bar, shall be
the truth, certainly, said missus Hornby, stiffly. I the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth. So help you God. He
held out the Testament, which she took from him with
a trembling hand, and forthwith dropped with a resounding bang
on the floor of the witness box, diving after it
with such precipity that her bonnet jammed violently against the

(15:08):
rail of the box. She disappeared from view for a moment,
and then rose from the depths with a purple face
and her bonnet flattened and cocked over one ear like
an artillery man's forage cap. Kiss the book, if you please,
said the usher, suppressing a grin. By a heroic effort,
as Missus Hornby, encumbered by her purse, her handkerchief and

(15:28):
the testament, struggled to unfasten her bonnet strings, she caught
frantically at her bonnet, and, having dusted the testament with
her handkerchief, kissed it tenderly and laid it on the
rail of the box, whence it fell instantly on to
the floor of the court. I am really very sorry,
exclaimed Missus Hornby, leaning over the rail to address the
usher as he stooped to pick up the book and

(15:49):
discharging on to his back a stream of coins, buttons,
and folded bills from her open purse. You will think
me very awkward, I am afraid, she mocked her face
and replaced her bonnet rakishly on one side as Anstey
rose and passed a small red book across to her.
Kindly look at that book, Missus Hornby. I'd rather not,

(16:10):
she said, with a gesture of repugnance. Is associated with
matters of so extremely disagreeable a character. Do you recognize it?
Do I recognize it? How can you ask me such
a question when you must know answer the question? Interposed
the judge, Do you or do you not recognize the
book in your hand? Of course I recognize it. How

(16:31):
could I fail to? Then? Say so, said the judge.
I have said so, retorted Missus Hornby indignantly. The judge
nodded to Anstey, who then continued, it is called the thumbograph.
I believe, yes. The name thumbograph is printed on the cover,
so I suppose that's what it is called. Will you
tell us missus Hornby, how the thumbograph came into your possession.

(16:55):
For one moment, Missus Hornby stared wildly at her interrogator.
Then she snatched a paper from her purse, unfolded it,
gazed at it with an expression of dismay, and crumpled
it up in the palm of her hand. You are
asked a question, said the judge. Oh yes, said Missus Hornby,
the committee of the society. No, that is the wrong one.

(17:15):
I mean, Walter, you know, at least I beg your pardon,
said Annesty, with polite gravity. You were speaking of the
committee of some society, interposed the judge. What society were
you referring to? Missus Hornby spread out the paper, and,
after a glance at it, replied, the society of paralyzed idiots,

(17:35):
your worship. Whereupon a rumble of suppressed laughter arose from
the gallery. But what has that society to do with
the thumbograph, inquired the judge, Nothing, your worship, nothing at all.
Then why did you refer to it? I'm sure I
don't know, said Missus Hornby, wiping her eyes with the
paper and then hastily exchanging it for her handkerchief. The

(17:58):
judge took off his glasses and gazed at Missus Hornby
with an expression of bewilderment. Then he turned to the
council and said, in a weary voice, proceed, if you please,
mister Annstey, can you tell us, Missus Hornby, how the
thumbograph came into your possession? Said the latter, in persuasive accents.
I thought it was Walter, and so did my niece.

(18:19):
But Walter says it was not. And he ought to know,
being young and having a most excellent memory, as I
myself when I was his age, and really, you know,
it can't possibly matter where I got the thing. But
it does matter, interrupted annsty We wish particularly to know
if you mean that you wish to get one like it.
We do not, said Annstey. We wish to know how

(18:41):
that particular thumbograph came into your possession. Did you, for instance,
by it yourself, or was it given to you by
some one? Walter says, I bought it myself, but I
thought he gave it to me, but he says he
did not. And you see, never mind what Walter says,
what is your own impression? Why I still think that
he gave it to me? Though, of course, seeing that

(19:03):
my memory is not what it was, you think that
Walter gave it to you. Yes, in fact, I feel
sure he did, and so does my niece Walter is
your nephew, Walter Hornby, Yes, of course I thought you knew.
Can you recall the occasion on which the thumbograph was
given to you? Oh? Yes, quite distinctly. We had some

(19:23):
people to dinner, some people named Coalie, not the dorses
or Colies, you know, although they are exceedingly nice people,
as I have no doubt the other Collies are too
when you know them, but we don't. Well. After dinner
we were a little dull and rather at a loss
because Juliet, my niece you know, had cut her finger
and couldn't play the piano excepting with the left hand,

(19:44):
and that is so monotonous as well as fatiguing. And
the Collies are not musical, excepting Adolphus, who plays the trombone,
but he hadn't got it with him. And then fortunately
Walter came in and brought the thumbograph and took all
our thumb prints and his own as well, and we
were very much amused. Tildacholi, that is the eldest daughter.
But one said that Reuben jogged her elbow, but that

(20:04):
was only an excuse exactly, interrupted Ainsty. And do you
recollect quite clearly that your nephew Walter gave you the
thumbograph on that occasion, Oh, distinctly, though you know he
is really my husband's nephew. Yes, And are you sure
that he took the thumb prints? Quite sure? Are you
sure that you never saw the thumbograph before that? Never?

(20:27):
How could I he hadn't brought it. Have you ever
lent the thumbograph to any one? No? Never, No one
has ever wanted to borrow it, because you see, has
it never at any time gone out of your possession? Oh?
I wouldn't say that. In fact, I have often thought,
though I hate suspecting people, and I don't really suspect
anybody in particular, you know, but it certainly was very peculiar,

(20:50):
and I can explain it in any other way. You see,
I kept the thumbograph in a drawer in my writing table,
and in the same drawer I used to keep my
handkerchief bag. In fact I do still, and it is
there this very moment, for in my hurry and agitation,
I forgot all about it until we were in the cab,
and then it was too late, because mister Lorry, yes,
you kept it in a drawer with your handkerchief bag.

(21:12):
That was what I said. Well, when mister Hornby was
staying at Brighton, he wrote to ask me to go
down for a week and bring Juliet, miss Gibson, you know,
with me. So we went, and just as we were starting,
I sent Julia to fetch my handkerchief bag from the drawer,
and I said to her, perhaps we might take the
thumb book with us. It might come in useful on
a wet day. So she went, and presently she came

(21:33):
back and said that the thumbograph was not in the drawer. Well,
I was so surprised that I went back with her
and looked myself, and sure enough the drawer was empty.
Well I didn't think much of it at the time,
but when we came home again, as soon as we
got out of the cab, I gave Juliet my handkerchief
bag to put away, and presently she came running to
me in a great state of excitement. Why, Aunty, she said,

(21:55):
the thumbograph is in the drawer. Somebody must have been
meddling with your writing table. I went with her to
the drawer, and there, sure enough was the thumbograph. Somebody
must have taken it out and put it back while
we were away. Who could have access to your writing table? Oh? Anybody,
because you see, the drawers were never locked. We thought
it must have been one of the servants. Had any

(22:17):
one been to the house during your absence, No nobody,
except of course my two nephews, and neither of them
had touched it, because we asked them, and they both
said they had not. Thank you. Annstey sat down, and
missus Hornby, having given another correcting twist to her, Bonnet,
was about to step down from the box when Sir
Hector rose and bestowed upon her an intimidating stare. You

(22:41):
made some reference, said he to a society, the Society
of paralyzed Idiots. I think whatever that may be, Now,
what caused you to make that reference? It was a mistake.
I was thinking of something else. I know it was
a mistake. You referred to a paper that was in
your hand. I did not refer to it. I merely

(23:04):
looked at it. It's a letter from the Society of
Paralyzed idiots. It has nothing to do with me. Really,
you know, I don't belong to the society or anything
of that sort. Did you mistake that paper for some
other paper? Yes, I took it for a paper with
some notes on it to assist my memory. What kind
of notes? Oh, just the questions I was likely to

(23:26):
be asked. Were the answers that you were to give
to those questions also written on the paper? Of course
they were. The questions would not have been any use
without the answers. Have you been asked the questions that
were written on the paper? Yes, at least some of them.
Have you given the answers that were written down? I

(23:46):
don't think I have. In fact, I'm sure I haven't,
because you see, ah, you don't think you have, Sir
Hector Trumpler smiled significantly at the jury and continued, Now,
who wrote down those questions and answers? My nephew, Walter Hornby,
he thought, you know, never mind what he thought. Who
advised or instructed him to write them down? Nobody? It

(24:10):
was entirely his own idea, and very thoughtful of him too. Though.
Doctor Jervis took the paper away from me and said,
I must rely on my memory. Sir Hector was evidently
rather taken aback by this answer, and sat down suddenly
with a distinctly chapfallen air. Where is the paper on
which the questions and answers are written? Asked the judge,

(24:31):
in anticipation of this inquiry. I had already handed it
to Thorndyke, and had noted, by the significant glance that
he bestowed on me, that he had not failed to
observe the peculiarity in the type. Indeed, the matter was
presently put beyond all doubt, for he hastily passed me
a scrap of paper, on which I found, when I
opened it, that he had written X equals w H.

(24:54):
Mister Anstey handed the rather questionable document up to the judge.
I glanced at Walter Hornby and observed him to flush angrily,
though he strove to appear calm and unconcerned, and the
look that he directed at his aunt was very much
the reverse of benevolent. Is this the paper, asked the judge,
passing it down to the witness, Yes, your worship, answered

(25:16):
Missus Hornsby in a tremulous voice, whereupon the document was
returned to the judge, who proceeded to compare it with
his notes. I shall order this document to be impounded,
he said sternly, after making a brief comparison. There has
been a distinct attempt to tamper with witnesses. Proceed with
your case, mister Anstey. There was a brief pause, during

(25:36):
which missus Hornby tottered across the court and resumed her seat,
gasping with excitement and relief. Then the usher called out
John Evelyn Thorndyke. Thank God, exclaimed Juliet, clasping her hands.
Oh will he be able to save Reuben? Do you
think he will? Doctor Jervis, There is somebody who thinks
he will, I replied, glancing toward Polton, who, gasping in

(26:00):
his arms the mysterious box and holding on to the
microscopic case, gazed at his master with a smile of ecstasy.
Polton has more faith than you have, Miss Gibson, Yes,
the dear faithful little man, she rejoined. Well, we shall
know the worst very soon now, at any rate, the
worst or the best, I said, We are now going

(26:20):
to hear what the defense really is. God grant that
it may be a good defense. She exclaimed in a
low voice, and I, though not ordinarily a religious man,
murmured Amen. End of Chapter fifteen.