' There was
something in the man's voice that sounded familiar, and the strange
whiteness of his hands aroused my suspicions, for in dress and
appearance the man was a laborer of the lower class. Curiosity, if
nothing stronger, prompted me to take possession of the severed wart
that had rolled at my feet. Soon after that I read the notice in a
newspaper, to the effect that the assassin of the express train had
left the imprint of a wart on the bosom of the dead man's shirt. Since
that time I have regarded hands with no little interest, and have
looked for the old man of the emigrant car in vain."
"An interesting recital," said the detective, when Harry Bernard came
to a pause. "Knowing all this, you kept it from me at St. Louis."
"My reason for that was, that I did not care to arouse any foolish
theories. Of course, the reporter's story might have been false. The
wart on my own hand, somewhat similar to this, led me to keep my own
council as a matter of personal safety. Although I suspected Elliston,
I had no proof, since I had forgotten the fact of his ever having a
wart on the little finger of his right hand. My principal hope has
been in finding the old man of the emigrant train.
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