The Argosy

Museum Catalog Note This issue of *The Argosy* (Vol. XXV, September 1897) contains a complete murder mystery story titled "Three Theories of a Crime," presented through three distinct perspectives: a detective's investigation, the defense attorney's interpretation, and the prisoner's court testimony. The opening chapters follow Detective John Bright as he investigates the murder of Bella Seaford, a young woman found shot through the heart in a city boarding house. Bright discovers a crucial clue—a handprint impressed in congealed blood at the scene—that reveals the killer possessed a left hand missing its middle finger. His inquiries at the Samaritan Hospital about the victim's alleged nursing credentials and associations lead to interviews with Dr. Throck and his clerk Jones, whose evasive behavior raises detective Bright's suspicions.