"I Wouldn't Jump Too Hastily to Conclusions, Sergeant"

"Circumstantial Evidence."

By Traill Stevenson (1889-1968).

First appearance: T.P.'s & Cassell's Weekly, May 3, 1924.

Short short short story (3 pages).

Online at Hathi Trust starting (HERE), continuing (HERE), and finishing (HERE).

(Note: Text may need magnification.)

   "This is what actually happened, according to my 'reconstruction' . . ."

THERE ARE people who spend an inordinate amount of their time conclusion-jumping, which normally isn't a matter of life or death, but for someone accused of murder it can be a poten-tially fatal attitude, particularly in a police detective . . .

Main characters:

~ Reginald Trevelyan ("had been killed by the blow of a sharp, heavy instrument"), Dr. Waters ("such a wound could not have been self-inflicted"), Sergeant McIntosh ("It's as clear as daylight"), Henri de Balbois ("the gentleman to whom she had sent the incriminating letter"), the maid ("appeared very considerably distraught at my questions, and seemed to be afraid to say either yes or no"), Johnstone, the butler ("I remembered before the master came home, and put it right then"), Mrs. Trevelyan ("a slight, rather faded-looking woman of over fifty whose eyes were red from weeping"), and Detective Denver Stretton ("There was an expres-sion of quiet satisfaction on his face").

Bonus in the same issue:

A review of Sir Edward Abbott Parry's The Drama of the Law (HERE).

Resources:

- About Traill Stevenson FictionMags says: "Businessman who lived variously in Glasgow, Birkenhead and Harrow; Liberal candidate for Parliament in the 1920s; editor for some time of the Lloyd George Liberal Magazine."

- Other stories by Stevenson (FictionMags data; ss = short story):

 "Growing Old," (ss) T.P.’s and Cassell’s Weekly, March 22, 1924

 "Iyaaka’s God," (ss) The Sovereign Magazine, September 1924

 "The Sinister Half Wellingtons," (ss) Hutchinson’s Adventure-Story Magazine, March 1927.

The bottom line:

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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