The crooked crossDutton, Charles J. (Charles Judson)
General
The crooked cross
Dutton, Charles J. (Charles Judson)
Bartley, John (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
As the chief wrinkled up his brow in thought, Ranville brought his
hand down on his knee and laughed. It was Carter who spoke, his voice
impatient as he said:
“Of course I did. He is in the Bible. Some sort of a liar who was
struck dead.”
“He is in the Bible, Carter,” was Bartley's smiling reply. “But I am a
little surprised you knew it. The gentleman, as you remember, was
struck dead—by God—for telling a lie. You carry those letters to their
logical conclusion, and the word would have spelled out ‘Ananias.’ Our
psychology will tell us the murderer used that name instead of writing
out another word, ‘Liar.’”
“But, Mr. Bartley,” broke in the chief, “of all damned foolishness
that's the worst. No one could call Mr. Warren that sort of a name. He
was one of the big men of the country. You are all wrong there.”
“Wait a moment, Chief,” was the calm reply. “You have made the reply
the average man would make. And even if an ordinary man killed Mr.
Warren and thought he lied, he would not have used the word ‘Ananias’
to express that fact. It gave me my first clew to the type of man I
wished to find. And there is something else you must remember—”
As we bent forward in our chairs, his eyes swept slowly over us. His
voice was very grave when he spoke.
“Mr. Warren was one of the great men of our land—one of our greatest
men of science. But you must remember that there are many millions of
people in this country who would say that he was a ‘liar.’ Remember
his statement when he came out of China? I have found the solution of
the origin of man. The last proof of evolution has been discovered.”
His eyes swept over us, and as no one spoke, he went on:
“In every college in this world evolution is taught as the only
logical explanation of the origin of man. Every intelligent person
accepts it. You know, however, that in America to-day there is a great
campaign against the subject. In fact, there is a campaign against
science as being ‘ungodly.’ Take a rabid, bigoted man who is
uneducated—one who sees in science an attack upon religion and the
Bible—and you will find a man who would say Warren was what that word
implied—a ‘liar.’”
Ranville's face was very grave as his eyes rested upon Bartley.
Without waiting for a reply, Bartley said very gravely:
“I have often wondered just how far you could carry on a campaign of
hatred and untruths without reaping a fearful penalty. We have been
breeding intolerance in America for years. All over our country, in
the south and in the west, men are at the present time carrying on a
campaign against the teaching of science. They are inflaming the minds
of simple people in what they call a great crusade. In the end you
cannot breed intolerance and hatred without some time having to reap
the full penalty. Warren paid the price of that campaign of
misrepresentation. It has happened before. Intolerance—breeding
hatred—and then in an unbalanced mind flaming out in violence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account