"It Was Now a Cold Problem of Science"

"The Shadow on the Spark."

By Edward S. Sears (?-?; the ISFDb HERE).

First appearance: Amazing Stories, August 1927.

Reprints page (ISFDb HERE).

Illustrated by Aragon (ISFDb HERE).

Novelette (18 pages).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE) and Archive.org (HERE; text faded).

   "As he almost fell over the threshold, a shot rang out and a twinge in the left shoulder told him it was a good shot."

JUST BACK FROM his trip to Europe, Dr. Jarvis learns that a close friend has died in surgery. As Jarvis looks further into the situation, he becomes more and more convinced that his friend didn't die of shock on the operating table but was murdered. With a six-figure insurance policy lurking in the background and two likely suspects standing to benefit from it, Jarvis single-handedly turns the coroner's inquest upside down, one that was on the verge of rendering an accidental death verdict, with facts that prove beyond a doubt that it was murder . . .

Typos: "a swift lawford" (?); "the impersonation of innocence" (perhaps "personification" is meant here); "Boss was with him" (Gutenberg only).

Principal characters:

~ Dr. Milton Jarvis ("He was not a judge, merely an instrument of justice"), Jim Craighead ("Well-known banker dies of shock following operation"), Ross Craighead ("the idealistic type—he would be more apt to give money away than try to get it by murder"), Tessie Prettyman ("Our men have watched the girl"), Inspector Craven ("you’ve started me looking for a murder or some crime"), Miss Cornhill ("the head nurse"), Dr. Lawson ("It seemed an eternity before he answered"), Piggy Bill Hovey ("an educated rogue, talks French and is a great student of toxicology"), Mr. Bailey ("if this discussion has any bearing on the death of Jim Craighead, I would like to know"), the coroner ("the fact of poisoning can readily be established by an autopsy"), and Timothy Clegg ("sullenly glared").

References and resources:

- "down in the Tombs":

  "The Tombs was the colloquial name for Manhattan Detention Complex (formerly the Bernard B. Kerik Complex during 2001–2006), a former municipal jail at 125 White Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It was also the nickname for three previous city-run jails in the former Five Points neighborhood of lower Manhattan, in an area now known as the Civic Center." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- Wikipedia links: "Nux vomica" (HERE); "strychnine" (HERE); "digitalis" (HERE); "morphine" (HERE); "opiates" (HERE); "scopolamin" (HERE); and "mydriatic" (HERE).

- "subjected to the third degree":

  "Attested from 1900. The phrase, meaning 'intense interrogation by police,' likely refers to the Third Degree of Master Mason in Freemasonry, the ceremony for which included an interrogation. Alternatively, it reflects the practice of interrogation under torture, where three degrees of torture were recognised, of increasing intensity. In other contexts, three degrees of interrogation were recognised, with torture being the third degree." (Wiktionary HERE.)

- "revolving about the nucleus much as the planets revolve about the sun.":

 "Rutherford's new model for the atom, based on the experimental results, contained new features of a relatively high central charge concentrated into a very small volume in comparison to the rest of the atom and with this central volume containing most of the atom's mass; this region would be known as the atomic nucleus. The Rutherford model was subsequently superseded by the Bohr model." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "the Becquerel Rays" (Wikipedia HERE and HERE), "X-rays" (Wikipedia HERE) "and the various rays known as 'gamma,' etc." (Wikipedia HERE).

 - "the world war":

  "World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914–11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East, as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of tanks and aircraft. World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "Tarrytown":

  "Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City . . ." (Wikipedia HERE.)

(Click on image to enlarge.)

- "if a man insists on buying liquor, he must go to rather ugly looking places to get it":

  An indirect reference to Prohibition:

  "The Eighteenth Amendment passed in 1919 'with a 68 percent supermajority in the House of Representatives and 76 percent support in the Senate' and was ratified by 46 out of 48 states. Enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, set down the rules for enforcing the federal ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. Not all alcohol was banned; for example, religious use of wine was permitted. Private ownership and consumption of alcohol were not made illegal under federal law, but local laws were stricter in many areas, some states banning possession outright." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "a riot car siren":

  They've been substantially upgraded and up-armed since the 1920s:

  "A riot control vehicle, also known as a riot suppression vehicle or simply a riot vehicle, is an armored or reinforced police vehicle used for riot control. A wide array of vehicles, from armored SUVs and vans to dedicated trucks and armored personnel carriers, are used by law enforcement to suppress or intimidate riots, protests, and public order crimes; hold and reinforce a police barricade to keep the scene contained; or simply transport officers and equipment at the scene in a manner safer than what could be achieved with a standard police car." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- "as Webster once said":

  The full quote: "There is no refuge from confession but suicide; and suicide is confession."

  "Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th U.S. secretary of state under presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. Webster was one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over 200 cases before the United States Supreme Court in his career." (Wikipedia HERE.)

- Edward S. Sears evidently didn't write much (short fiction, anyway) (FictionMags data; ss = short story; nv = novelette.)

  ~ “Poosh ’Im Up, Jardine," (ss) Action Stories, May 1925 (about magazine HERE)

  ~ "The Shadow on the Spark" (Dr. Jarvis and Inspector Craven), (nv) Amazing Stories, August 1927 (above)

  ~ "The Atomic Riddle" (Dr. Jarvis and Inspector Craven), (nv) Amazing Stories Quarterly, Winter 1928 (online HERE)

  ~ "The Singing Moonbeams" (Dr. Jarvis and Inspector Craven), (nv) Amazing Stories Quarterly, Summer 1929 (online HERE).

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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