Beyond Rue Morgue Anthology by Paul Kane

Author:Paul Kane [Kane, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781781161760
Publisher: Titan
Published: 2013-06-06T00:24:00+00:00

* * *

It was late when I arrived at our lodgings. Dupin was sitting by candlelight, still reading. He had a stack of books next to him on the table, and when I came in he lifted his eyes as I lit the gas lamp by the doorway to further illuminate the apartment. I was nearly breathless, and when I turned to expound on my adventures, Dupin said, “I see you have been to the site of the warehouses, an obvious deduction by the fact that your pants and boots are dusted heavily in ash and soot and are damp from the rain. I see too that you have discovered body parts in the wreckage. I will also conjecture we can ignore having a discussion with the lightning witnesses, for you have made some progress on your own.”

My mouth fell open. “How could you know that I discovered body parts?”

“Logic. The newspaper account spoke of such a thing, and you come rushing in the door, obviously excited, even a little frightened. So if a severed arm was found there the other day, it stands to reason that you too discovered something of that nature. That is a bit of speculation, I admit, but it seems a fair analysis.”

I sat down in a chair. “It is accurate, but I have seen one thing that you can not begin to decipher, and it is more fantastic than even severed body parts.”

“An ape that ran upright?”

“Impossible!” I exclaimed. “You could not possibly know.”

“But I did.” Dupin paused a moment, lit his pipe. He seemed only mildly curious. “Continue.”

It took me a moment to collect myself, but finally I began to reveal my adventures.

“It was carrying a package of some kind. I believe it contained body parts because I found an arm lying in the burned wreckage, as you surmised. Something I believe the ape dropped.”

“Male or female?” Dupin said.

“What?”

“The arm, male or female?”

I thought for a moment.

“I suppose it was female. I didn’t give it considerable evaluation, dark as it was, surprised as I was. But I would venture to guess—and a guess is all I am attempting—that it was female.”

“That is interesting,” Dupin said. “And the ape?”

“You mean was the ape male or female?”

“Exactly,” Dupin said.

“What difference does it make?”

“Perhaps none. Was it clothed?”

“A hat and overcoat. Both of which it abandoned.”

“In that case, could you determine its sex?” Dupin asked.

“I suppose since no external male equipment was visible, it was most probably female.”

“And it saw you?”

“Yes. It ran from me. I pursued. It climbed to the top of a warehouse with its bag, did so effortlessly, and disappeared on the other side of the building. Prior to that, it tried to hit me with a trash receptacle. A large and heavy one it lifted as easily as you lift your pipe.”

“Obviously it failed in this endeavor,” Dupin commented. “How long did it take you to get to the other side of the ware-house, as I am presuming you made careful examination there as well?”

“Hasty would be a better word.

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