with wrath, and a
dramatic incident occurred, unobserved by the rest of the company. Mr.
Thauret turned towards Mr. Barnes and seemed on the point of making a
demonstration, when that gentleman just tipped back his chair slightly,
and meaningly exposed to the view of his neighbor the gleaming barrel of
a revolver, which he held in his hand below the table. This only
occupied a moment, and immediately afterwards both men seemed, like the
others, simply interested listeners to the narrative.

"When I say that I thought that I knew the man," continued Mr. Mitchel,
"I make a statement which it may interest you to have me explain. In the
first place, I saw the fellow who hid the satchel at the New Haven
depot. Still I obtained but a momentary glimpse of his face, and would
not have been sure of identifying him. I will call your attention now to
the fact that very slight incidents sometimes lead the mind into a
suspicion, which, followed up, may elucidate a mystery. Prior to the
train robbery I had met a man at my club one night, or rather I had seen
him playing a card game, and I conceived the notion that the fellow was
cheating. Within a few days of the robbery I met this man again, on
which occasion Mr. Barnes was present, and an interesting conversation
occurred. I was standing aside, pretending to be otherwise engaged, but
really puzzling over the face of this man, which now seemed to me
strikingly familiar. Of course I had seen him at the club, yet despite
me, there was an intuitive feeling that I had seen him elsewhere also.
In a moment I heard him admit that he had been aboard of the train on
the night of the robbery, and that he had been the first one searched.
Awhile later he offered to wager Mr. Barnes that various theories which
had been advanced as to the thief's method of secreting the jewels, were
all erroneous. This one remark satisfied me that the thief stood before
me. I had not then heard of the murder. Now it must be remembered that I
was ensnared in the meshes of circumstantial evidence myself, so that,
besides any duty that I might owe to society, it became of vital
importance to my own safety that I should be in a position to prove this
man guilty. I formed a rather bold plan. I made a friend of the fellow.
I invited him to my room one night, and then accused him of having
cheated at the card game. He at first assumed a threatening attitude,
but I retained my composure, and perhaps startled him by propo