Quintus Oakes: A Detective StoryJackson, Charles Ross
General
Quintus Oakes: A Detective Story
Jackson, Charles Ross
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction
He had seen my name and that of "Clark," whom he knew to be Oakes, on
the register, and had located our rooms as right opposite his own.
Perhaps he had better communicate with Oakes and myself, now it was six
o'clock, he thought. He looked into the corridor and saw no one about,
for no attendant watches in these little hotels in the country. He
locked his door, and knocked at Oakes's. In a moment he heard the key
click, and Oakes looked carefully through the partially opened door.
The recognition was quick and Moore was admitted.
In another moment I had joined them, for Oakes's room and mine
communicated; he had thought it best that we should have access to each
other at all times, if possible.
We two hastily dressed, and Dr. Moore presented the cause of his visit
as briefly as possible.
"Let me see the letter," said Oakes.
He read it carefully. "One thing is certain--it is written by a person
of some education. That proves nothing, however. It may have been
dictated originally by a very illiterate person."
"It was sent from New York."
"Oh, yes," said Oakes wearily, "but it may simply have been written
there. It may have gone under cover in different language--from any
place almost--and been copied or put into shape by an accomplice."
"Hard to trace it," said Moore.
"Yes, practically impossible, along those lines. But in any event it was
written on a woman's paper; see the texture."
We all noticed its fineness and agreed.
"And the odor of musk is not a man's favorite, either," remarked Oakes,
as we noticed the scent. He was standing erect, with a slightly
abstracted air. He was thinking.
"Well," said Moore, "we cannot find out much then."
"Oh, yes, you can."
"The letter speaks of the color of my eyes. The originator has seen me
many times at close range. This is an unintentional clue. The style of
the writing, the paper and the perfume point to a woman, but the wording
is a man's, as is the description of myself, I judge."
"Well, what do you think?"
"I hazard a guess that the letter was written or dictated by a man of
some education, and rewritten by a woman as a disguise."
"Ah! And where was it written?"
"That it is impossible to say. Perhaps in New York--but it may have been
here in Mona. As I said, the originator is a man, probably, who knows me
by sight, and knows Mona and its affairs very well, but who also knows
New York and your city address, Moore; for the letter went there. By his
knowledge of late events in Mona I should imagine that he perhaps lives
here, but has recently been to New York, or else has an accomplice
there--a woman--who rewrote and remailed the letter for him."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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