The Purple Fern

by Fergus Hume

The last witness called was Thomas Sims, a smiling little Jewish-faced man from Scotland Yard, with an olive complexion and a pair of dark, inquisitive eyes. He deposed that the apartments in Rough Lane, Stepney, had been searched by the police, but Osip, having probably taken alarm, had cleared out everything likely to incriminate him. The young man who had died of consumption in Tea Street, Whitechapel (attended by Dr. Jerce, out of kindness), might or might not have been connected with the Purple Fern crimes. The only evidence which connected him with them was that he had accurately described Alfred Osip; and the sole evidence which associated Osip with the young man and with the murders was the gold box, which had been found by Miss Baird. Also, it was probable that as Osip--according to Mrs. Dumps and to Dr. Jerce--had been in Crumel a short time before, he had left the warning of the pictured fern outside the window of the deceased. Every effort had been made to find Osip, but without result. From the time he had searched Dr. Jerce on the terrace of The Laurels, he had disappeared. According to the ticket-collectors and porters and officials at the Crumel railway station, Osip had not even returned to London from that station. It was possible that after searching Dr. Jerce, the man had walked to the next station--Benleigh--to escape any pursuit should Dr. Jerce have given the alarm.

A Juryman: "And why didn't Dr. Jerce give the alarm?"

Dr. Jerce arose to explain, and was permitted to do so by the Coroner, although his rising was out of order. "I ran after the man," he said, calmly, "as soon as I could pull myself together. He had disappeared. Mr. Ferdinand Baird, who came up, suggested that the police should be called in, but when he described the man as having a scar on his left cheek, I then remembered the letter which my dying patient in Whitechapel had given me, with instructions to open it should I be attacked by such a man. I judged it best to return to London and open the letter before taking any action. I went to Scotland Yard as soon as I learned that Osip was connected with the Purple Fern crimes. More I could not do."

"You should have given the man in charge for assault," insisted the juryman.

"Doubtless," replied Jerce, ironically, "but I did not wish to make a scandal in my friend's house. Moreover, since the deceased's health was extremely delicate, it would have been injurious to him to be disturbed by an account of the struggle on the terrace. And that he would have learned, had I called the police to The Laurels."

No one could deny but what Jerce had acted sensibly, and the juryman--still holding to his opinion--was crushed. "If this Osip had been arrested at the time of the assault," muttered the juryman, "we should not have had the murder."

"And how was I to know, my good sir, that the man Osip contemplated murder?"

"The letter you received from the Tea Street man----"

"Was not opened by me until I returned to town after the assault. And then I went at once to Scotland Yard," retorted Jerce.

The juryman retired from the contest, and the Coroner then summed up the evidence as clearly and concisely as he could. Bearing in mind, he observed, the Purple Fern murders and the presence of Osip, who was clearly connected with the same, and above all, remembering the fatal mark on the forehead of the deceased, there could be no doubt that this crime was the eighth of the fatal series. One of the criminals who had perpetrated these terrible assassinations had been hanged, another had died from consumption, but the third--Alfred Osip--was still alive and had undoubtedly stabbed Henry Horran. It was proved by the fact that the usual warning had been given by means of the pictured fern. The window--according to Mr. Clarke--could be seen from the lane, so without doubt Osip, lurking therein, had seen that the window was open--as a light was in the room--and, waiting until the small hours of the morning, when his victim would presumably be asleep, he had entered and killed the unfortunate gentleman. The Coroner ended his speech with a request that the jurymen would bring in a verdict in accordance with the weight of evidence, which plainly pointed to Alfred Osip as the criminal.