'The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' by Edgar Allen Poe, Part Five

01I was stunned.

02Auguste Dupin, my friend with the extraordinarily sharp mind and observational powers, still had surprises for me.

03He had uncovered so much about the horrifying Rue Morgue murders that it seemed there was more understanding than mystery left.

04But still, the major question remained.

05Who?

06Dupin had invited someone to our home.

07Someone he believed knew the answer to that question.

08As we awaited his arrival, my friend began to put together other pieces of evidence from the crime.

09We add for our consideration the condition of the room.

10So we have a strength more than human, a wildness less than human, a murder without reason, horror beyond human understanding, and finally, a voice without a recognizable language.

11A cold feeling went up and down my back.

12A madman, Dupin!

13Someone who has lost his mind!

14Only a madman could have done these murders!

15Dupin smiled a little.

16Dupin handed me the evidence.

17I could not believe what I was doing.

18I was looking at the hair of a madman.

19Dupin, Dupin, what is this?

20This hair is...

21This hair is not from a human at all!

22Dupin, Dupin, what is this?

23This hair is not from a human at all!

24I described it only as hair.

25But also, look at this picture.

26It is a picture of the marks on the daughter's neck.

27The doctor said these marks were made by fingers.

28Let me spread the paper on the table before us.

29Try to put your fingers, all at the same time, on the picture, so that your hand and its fingers will fit the picture of the marks on the daughter's neck.

30The marks left by the killer's hands were enormous.

31My fingers seemed like twigs in comparison.

32Dupin, these marks were made by no human hand.

33No, they were not.

34I am guessing they are from the hand of an orangutan.

35Dupin.

36The size, strength, and wildness of these apes is well known.

37And the hair and strange sounds would complete the solution of killer animal as well.

38Yet, I still do not understand the second voice.

39We know it was a French-speaking man.

40Dupin.

41His only words were, Mon Dieu!

42Who spoke, Dupin?

43Upon those two words, I have placed my hopes of finding a full solution to the crime.

44The, my God, was an expression of horror.

45It seems improbable that the speaker of those words helped the orangutan.

46Could he instead be its owner?

47Maybe the animal escaped from him and he followed it to the house on the Rue Morgue.

48I assume that the man would not have been able to recapture it.

49Is that who we are waiting for now, Dupin?

50The Frenchman?

51How did you reach him?

52My friend smiled when he answered.

53I put an ad in the newspaper.

54Read it yourself.

55I took the newspaper.

56Caught early in the morning of the seventh of this month.

57A very large orangutan.

58The owner, who is known to be a sailor, may have the animal again if he can prove it is his.

59But, Dupin, how can you know that the man is a sailor?

60I do not know it.

61I simply suspect.

62A sailor could go up that pole on the side of the house.

63Sailors travel to faraway lands where one might find an orangutan.

64And it would be valuable.

65The sailor would want it back, so...

66Finally, Dupin, we learned the whole truth.

67Come in, my friend.

68Come in.

69Slowly, the door opened.

70And there, before us, stood a sailor.

71He spoke in French.

72Good evening.

73Good evening to you, too, my friend.

74I suppose you have come to ask about the orangutan.

75Yes.

76Is it here?

77No, no.

78We have no place for it here.

79If you can prove, it is yours.

80But, of course, I can.

81A shame.

82I wish I could keep it.

83It is very valuable, I guess.

84Well, I want it back, of course.

85I will pay you for your trouble to find it and keep it.

86What is your price?

87Well, that is very fair indeed.

88But it is not money I want, sir.

89My price is truth.

90Tell me everything you know about the murders in the Rue Morgue.

91The sailor's face reddened deeply.

92He jumped to his feet.

93For a moment he stood and stared.

94But then he fell back into his chair, trembling.

95His face grew pale, his eyes closed, and he said not a word.

96Dupin then spoke softly.

97My friend, you must not be afraid.

98We are not going to hurt you.

99I know very well that you yourself are not the killer.

100But it is true that you know something about him.

101Or about it.

102You've done nothing wrong.

103You didn't even take any of the money.

104You have no reason to be afraid to talk and to tell the truth.

105It is a matter of honor for you to tell all you know.

106So help me God.

107I'll tell you all I know.

108About a year ago, our ship sailed to the Far East, to the island of Borneo.

109The forest there, the jungle, was thick with trees and other plants, and hot and wet and dark.

110My friend and I wanted to explore the strange place.

111So we did.

112There we saw the orangutan and caught it.

113And it returned with us to the ship.

114My friend died on the passage home.

115So the animal became mine alone.

116I was keeping it in a cage in my house, here in Paris.

117I planned to sell it very soon.

118One night, I came home, and it was...

119it was loose.

120It had got free.

121I don't know how.

122It held a knife in its hands.

123It did not know of its dangers, of course.

124It was playing with it.

125As soon as the animal saw me, it jumped up and ran from the house.

126I followed.

127It ran several blocks and turned a corner.

128When I made the same turn, the animal was out of sight.

129I looked far down the street and saw nothing.

130Then I heard a noise above me.

131There was the beast, climbing a pole up the side of a house.

132It was maybe two meters up.

133I also went up the pole.

134As I am a sailor, it was easy for me.

135When the animal was close to the top, I saw him jump through an open window.

136I got to the same place, but could not make the jump.

137I could see into the room, however, through another window, which was closed.

138The two women were sitting there, looking at papers from a box on the floor.

139The animal, knife still in hand, made a noise, and the old woman turned.

140That is when I heard the first of those terrible cries.

141I watched with horror as the animal attacked.

142Soon the two were dead, and the room was a disaster.

143The orangutan then pushed the young woman's body up the chimney.

144It picked up the other victim then, and moved toward the window.

145I realized what was coming, and I fled.

146Down the pipe, I scrambled.

147At the bottom, I heard the old woman's body hit the ground.

148I ran.

149I didn't look back.

150I ran.

151Oh, mon Dieu!

152Mon Dieu!

153The police in Paris could not charge the sailor.

154His only wrongdoing was silence, which is not a criminal offense, the police chief said.

155However, the official did have a problem with Dupin.

156He was angry that Dupin, and not a member of his force, had solved the mystery.

157He said people should mind their own business.

158Let him complain.

159He'll feel better for it, and maybe learn something.

160Perhaps, he will never again say, not possible, about that which, somehow, must be possible.

161He's a criminal offense.

162He's a criminal offense.

163He's a criminal offense.

164He's a criminal offense.

165He's a criminal offense.

166He's a criminal offense.

167He's a criminal offense.

168He's a criminal offense.

169He's a criminal offense.

170He's a criminal offense.

171He's a criminal offense.