The Mystery of the Fifteen Sounds

by Van Powell

  Chapter 24 AN IMPOSSIBLE CAMERA "SHOT"

  Grilled by the detective and the policemen, Ellison stubbornly protestedhis ignorance of the whereabouts of the former astrologer.

  He could not establish an "alibi" further than his recent call atGrover's home which the excited sister of the laboratory head was eagerto verify.

  Roger, finally, decided that there was one sure and final word to besaid by chemistry. If, as Ellison insisted, other chemicals than actualburning gas caused the inside of the paraffin moulds to discolor, thespecial tests for the chemicals he might name would say if Ellison wastruthful or not--a sort of chemical "Lie Detector," Roger confided toPotts as they prepared for the experiments.

  To their amazement, Ellison was proved honest. The tests gave a reactionfor the very chemical he named.

  The Tibetans, of course, had to be released. They were warned, anddeparted.

  With the experiments done, the materials removed and no gain, Tipbrought up the curious situation revealed by developing the officecamera film and others.

  "Here is the picture that Roger said he had it take," Tip displayed, tothe group assembled in the screening room, one "frame" of the non-flamfilm.

  There were the Three, the Tibetan group, confronting Roger as his hand,on the edge of the desk, disclosed his clever use of the "take" to leaveevidence of his capture.

  "Now--study this out if you can!" Tip called out from behind theprojector.

  He shifted the sprocket-turning handle to bring up the next picture.

  "That's the office, what you can see through the smoke," Tip declared,"and the smoke comes from behind the desk, and so of course the manstanding there has got his back to the lens, and all we have got to goon is his coat and his hair."

  He readjusted the "framing handle" to bring the picture into even moreexact alignment with the aperture plate of his projector, so that on thescreen every part showed.

  "Now, study that! There is old Astrovox, scared looking. He is facingthe big smudge of smoke from the pistol.

  "But what gets me," Tip finished, "is that the whole big puff of smokeis still hanging in the air, and the man facing it is just hit--or elsehis face is contractuated----"

  "Contorted," cried Roger. "Skip big words and say your say."

  "Or else his face is contorted by being awful sure he has been hit."

  He focused more sharply.

  "You can see him clear enough to know Astrovox didn't fire no gun. Thesmoke is between him and the guy with his back to us. But--just look.His hands rest both of 'em on the desk edge. That's how he hit againstthe button in the desk edge that snapped his picture.

  "Now--where is any gun?"

  "He couldn't have dropped it, and have gotten his hands back onto thedesk before the smoke puff would have begun to shift," exclaimed apoliceman. "Look." He drew out his service weapon, aimed into a cornerwhere his bullet would show little and its mark could be wiped out withputty and paint, and fired.

  The smoke, with his own movements, revealed disturbances almost as itleft the mouth of his weapon; and before he could drop it, the smokeshifted. More! The pistol, falling, cut a swath in the pall.

  "There's no gun. And no one is hiding. The smoke is in front of that manand between him and Astrovox," the detective agreed.

  "It's impossible," Potts exclaimed, "A camera can't take a picture of ashot and leave out the gun."

  "Chemicals," prompted Grover, "could make the smudge."

  "Then how about this?"

  Potts had another film spliced onto the first one. He reeled it in atregular motion picture speed, and out of the speakers came the strangeand abrupt recording of a loud, sharp, detonating sound, as near to thedischarge of a pistol as any of them had heard.

  Taken away by the ventilating system, the smoke of the police shot wasout of the way, the screen was clear to all, and they saw that thecamera had recorded light from the direction of the office, an abruptflash. With it, the detonation.

  "Kangaroos and apes dancin' on a film where none could be," Tip summedup, baffled, "and now--a gunshot where the camera shows us there can'tbe any gun."

  Even Grover, usually calm, looked disconcerted, and yet a little bitexcited.

  "Maybe," he declared, and turned to Roger, "but here is one more 'sound'to add to your list. And I feel sure that out of that list, either as itis, or when you complete it up to date, will come the hint that willenable me to clear up everything."

  Over-confidence?

  Roger hoped not.