Chapter 25 Chapter 24 Conclusion

"Oh, I should--get scolded," gasped Inspector Willie, "how did you know there was a gun hidden there!" "Don't be so excited," Ellery said, looking at the small gun with almost admiring eyes. "According to the mathematical probability, maybe this is not the gun we are looking for. Besides..." He didn't Going on, wrapping the pistol carefully in the handkerchief and putting it in his pocket, "Now, boys," he said softly, throwing a twinkle at the silent Boon, "I've got to get it right away." Clear one thing." "What's the matter?" Booth's mouth moved slightly and asked in a very small voice.Officer Willie said nothing.

"Boone, Old Stables," Ellery said, "you'd risk your life?" "what?" Ellery walked over and put his hand on the little bully's shoulder. "Can you keep your mouth shut?" "I—er—I think so, Mr. Quin." "Then let's try." Boone bulged his eyes, and slowly closed his mouth. "That's a good start," Ellery said briskly, his eyes stern. "Boone. Mark my words. If you spread even a little bit of this—the news that we found the gun—I'll I swear to put you in jail. Do you understand?" Boone licked his lips and said, "Got it, Mr. Quinn."

"Very well," said Ellery, straightening up, "now you can go back to your companions." Boon stood up and staggered toward the door. "Mark what I said, Boone," Ellery said. The little cowboy nodded hurriedly and walked out. "I don't have to warn you, Sergeant Willie," said Ellery quickly. "I thought I'd keep it a secret." Willie looked a little aggrieved. "That is, don't tell anyone." "Not even the police officer?" "Yes, don't say it yet." Ellery said, frowning. "I think it's better this way. I will tell it myself when I have to. This little secret is only known to you and me for the time being. I believe Boone I'll keep my mouth shut...By the way, what's the deal with visitors to the stadium today? Are they searched when they come in?"

"It was only searched when I went out." "I see. Yes, of course. I mean, it's all handled properly." Ellery nudged Sergeant Willie's thick waist with his elbow, and walked out humming a tune. He walked quickly to Grant's office.The old artist was still in the room, staring at the wall in a daze with a gloomy face. He raised his head when he heard the sound: "Ha! It's Buck's business again, huh?" "Buck's always on top," Ellery said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry to bother you again. Can I use the phone?" "Use it."

Ellery checked the phone book and dialed a number: "Major Kirby, please? Major? Ellery is interrupting again... No, there's nothing new to watch, Major... Ha , ha-yes!...er-major, are you busy?...I know. So you can handle it. If I can see you at the police headquarters in half an hour, I will be very happy Glad...you are so kind. See you soon!" Ellery stood up, still smiling.Crazy Bill Grant's chair made a little noise. Ellery said, "Thank you, Mr. Grant," and walked out of the office with the utmost buoyancy. Half an hour later, Ellery and two others walked into the laboratory of the Ballistics Department of the Police Headquarters.Major Bryant was out of breath, as if he had run all the way.

Lieutenant Knowles looked questioning. "Glad to see you come," Ellery said to the major. "There's no need for such a hurry, but you've been involved in this from the beginning, and I don't want to have this crucial moment to myself. You shouldn't miss it." The climax of this drama." He took out the thing wrapped in the handkerchief from his pocket, and unfolded it carefully. "That .25!" exclaimed Major Kirby, and gasped. "A .25," Ellery corrected mildly. "Gentlemen, this is exactly what we have come together in secret to determine—whether the definite article 'this' or the indefinite article. 'One' to define the gun."

"I'm not that patient," Lieutenant Knowles said with a smile. "Where did you find it?" "Found it in the most unlikely of places, Lieutenant." Ellery said with a chuckle. "Don't be afraid to touch it anymore. It's been checked for fingerprints, but there are no fingerprints on it." He shrugged, " It has already been processed without leaving any traces. We can only test the mother pattern in the barrel. Well, I can’t bear to be so worried all the time, so let’s end this matter quickly.” He made an urgent look and called He gasped for breath rapidly.

Lieutenant Knowles took the gun, weighed it thoughtfully, and drew its magazine; there was no need to worry about its accidental discharge, since the small Gothic automatic had a "safety As soon as the magazine is taken out, the connection between all other parts will automatically fail.The magazine was empty, and there was not a bullet in the firing chamber.The lieutenant looked up suspiciously. "It's empty," Ellery said softly. "It wasn't loaded when I found it. Got a tooth pulled out. But it doesn't matter." Lieutenant Knowles loaded the gun with a few rounds, adjusted the target, and pulled the trigger.Ellery quickly squatted on the ground to collect the steaming bullet casings.They took the bullets from the target, and saw that they were all black with gunpowder and charred wood.

Knowles selected one of the seven bullets, walked over to the lab bench, wiped it down carefully, and took the other two bullets on file from the filing cabinet. "It was taken from Horn and Woody," he said, sitting in front of his comparison microscope, "you know, with the help of Major Kirby, we've been able to determine that those two bullets came from the same Shot from a pistol. So I can use any of them for comparison. We'll be able to identify them in no time." Major Bryant also leaned closer to have a look. Lieutenant Knowles picked up an archived bullet and put it on the sample holder of the mirror, and then picked up the bullet sample just shot and put it under another lens, and then began to adjust the focus.Soon he successfully superimposed the two images together clearly.After all the adjustment operations were completed, he saw a complete bullet image in the eyepiece—in fact, it was the combined image of the left and right halves of the bullet, and they were perfectly connected, so it looked like a bullet. Shun the bullet.

He watched carefully for a moment, then looked up and nodded to Major Kirby, who eagerly brought his eyes to the eyepiece. Ellery watched the two men scurrying about anxiously. "Well, now come and see for yourself," said Major Kirby at last, getting up and moving Ellery into his seat. Ellery saw a huge image of a bullet, and he was surprised to find that there were so many textures of various shapes on the smooth surface of the bullet, which were clearly displayed by the microscope, just like the surface of the moon revealed by an astronomical telescope. There are mountains, canyons, plains and so on on the flat land.But what shocked him the most was the high degree of integrity of the joint images—mountains linking mountains, canyons following canyons, plains stretching opposite each other.The images of the two bullets are exactly the same.Even if the two bullets produced any particular scratches due to slight differences in the firing process, Ellery's eyes could not see them.

He turned around. "So it's the gun?" he said slowly. "Pretty sure," said Lieutenant Knowles. "In fact, I think it's certain. It's absolutely impossible to shoot a bullet with such the same texture from two different barrels!" "Why don't you take a second look with a general-purpose microscope?" suggested Major Kirby. "I'm going to do it. A general-purpose molecular microscope," Knowles explained to Ellery, "that can make out the tiniest of differences. It has rulers on it—microscope precision gauges. It'll do it in a minute." He moved the bullet to another instrument, watched it through the eyepiece for a while, carefully calculated the angles of the various textures, the depth of the grooves, and the length of the ridges, and recorded the data.When the side calculations for the first bullet were complete, he put the data sheet aside and repeated the above operation for the second bullet. In fact, it took him more than a minute.It took him over an hour.Ellery really had no patience for this kind of delicate scientific research process. He walked around, smoking, talking to himself, and thinking wildly, until he was startled by Major Kirby's call. He looked up and found that the two men were smiling and looking at him. "The test was successful," Major Bryant said calmly. "Now, no ballistic expert in the world can deny the results of this experiment, Mr. Quinn. The gun you found was the weapon that killed Horn and Woody. " Ellery stared at them for a moment, then said with a long sigh: "The trip is over, or should I say - we have reached the stop before the end. Well, gentlemen..." He walked slowly to the test bench He picked up the gun, looked at it fascinated, and put it in his pocket.Knowles looked at him with some surprise. Ellery said quietly, "I have an unreasonable request to the two of you—because it's so important—that no one should know about this little experiment." Lieutenant Knowles coughed: "Hey...! I'm not sure... I'm obliged to report to the Ministry, Mr. Quinn. You mean..." "I mean, I don't just want anyone to know that this gun killed Horne and Woody, but I don't want anyone to know that we've found it. I don't want that to get out. Got it huh, Lieutenant?" The ballistic expert stroked his chin and said, "Okay, I think, since you have solved so many mysteries in the past, it's up to you to decide. Then I'll keep the experiment report with myself first, although... " "Oh, must have managed to buckle it first," said Ellery hastily. "Ah—and you, Major?" "You can absolutely trust the tightness of my mouth," said Major Bryant. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Major." Ellery said with a smile, and left the laboratory quickly. My novel has reached a critical stage again, please take a break from reading for a while, ladies and gentlemen. I have been asking the same question for four years in different plots of the novel: who is the murderer?So now, who were the murderers of the two rodeo performers in the arena? do not you know?Ah, but you should know.Now the story is fully presented before your eyes: I think there are enough clues; if they are disturbed in order and arranged reasonably, they will lead to obvious conclusions, which directly reveal the only possible murderer. Keeping core secrets is a matter of ethics to me.I can provide you with all the clues without reservation but cannot reveal the core secrets. This is a matter of principle for treating readers fairly.All I can tell you is that all the clues are within your grasp.To repeat, these clues are stitched together into a pattern that captures the evil. Can you spell this pattern and tell me what you see? Here's a tip for the small group of readers who have tried and failed to find an answer: The story says that I sent two telegrams to Hollywood and received two telegrams in reply.But the content of these telegrams has little to do with your logical reasoning.Facts will prove that you can draw correct inferences without these few telegrams.The setting of this plot is only for the verification of the logical analysis results.So please don't ask me: what did you write in that telegram? —Ellery Quinn