The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
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upon_the finger balls of_the twins' hands follow this rule .[ an examination of_the twins' hands was begun at once .] you_have often heard of twins who were so exactly alike that when dressed alike their own parents could_not tell them apart . yet there_was never a twin born in to_this world that did_not carry from birth to death a sure identifier in_this mysterious and marvelous natal autograph . that once known to_you, his fellow twin could never personate him and deceive you ."

Wilson stopped and stood silent . inattention dies a quick and sure death when a speaker does that . the stillness gives warning that something is coming . all palms and finger balls went down now, all slouching forms straightened, all heads came up, all eyes were fastened upon Wilson's face . he waited yet one, two, three moments, to let his pause complete and perfect its spell upon_the house; then, when through_the profound hush he_could hear the ticking of_the clock on_the wall, he put out his hand and took the Indian knife by_the blade and held it aloft where all could_see the sinister spots upon its ivory handle; then he_said, in a level and passionless voice:

" upon_this haft stands the assassin's natal autograph, written in_the blood of_that helpless and unoffending old man who loved you and whom you all loved . there_is but one man in_the whole earth whose hand can duplicate that crimson sign"-- he paused and raised his eyes to_the pendulum swinging back and forth-- " and please god we_will produce that man in_this room before_the clock strikes noon ! "

stunned, distraught, unconscious of_its own movement, the house half rose, as_if expecting to_see the murderer appear at_the door, and a breeze of muttered ejaculations swept the place ." order in_the court ! -- sit down ! " this from_the sheriff . he_was obeyed, and quiet reigned again . Wilson stole a glance at Tom, and said to himself, " he_is flying signals of distress now; even people who despise him are pitying him; they_think this_is a hard ordeal for a young fellow who has lost his benefactor by so cruel a stroke-- and_they are right ." he resumed his speech:

" for more than twenty years I_have amused my compulsory leisure with collecting these curious physical signatures in_this town . at my house I_have hundreds upon hundreds of_them . each and every_one is labeled with name and date; not labeled the next_day or even the next hour, but in_the very minute that_the impression was taken . when I go upon_the witness stand i_will repeat under oath the things which I_am now saying . I_have the fingerprints of_the court, the sheriff, and every member of_the jury . there_is hardly a person in_this room, white or black, whose natal signature I_cannot produce, and not one_of_them can so disguise himself that I_cannot pick him out from a multitude of_his fellow creatures and unerringly identify him by his hands . and if he and i_should live to_be a hundred I_could still do_it .[ the interest of_the audience was steadily deepening now .]

" I_have studied some_of_these signatures so_much that I_know them as_well as_the bank cashier knows the autograph of_his oldest customer . while I turn my back now, I beg that several persons will_be so good as to_pass their fingers through their hair, and then press them upon one_of_the panes of_the window near the jury, and_that among them the accused may set their finger marks . also, I beg that_these experimenters, or others, will set their fingers upon another pane, and add again the marks of_the accused, but not placing them in_the same order or relation_to_the other signatures as before-- for, by one chance in a million, a person might happen upon_the right marks by pure guesswork, once, therefore i_wish to_be tested twice ."

he turned his back, and_the two panes were quickly covered with delicately lined oval spots, but visible only to such persons as could get a dark background for_them-- the foliage of a tree, outside, for instance . then upon call, Wilson went to_the window, made his examination, and said:

" this_is count Luigi's right hand; this_one, three signatures below, is his left . here_is count Angelo's right; down here_is his left . how for_the other pane: here and here are count Luigi's, here and here are his brother's ." he faced about ."Am I right ? "

adeafening explosion of applause was_the answer . the bench said:

" this certainly approaches the miraculous ! "

Wilson turned to_the window again and remarked, pointing with_his finger:

" this_is_the signature of Mr justice Robinson .[ applause .] this, of constable Blake .[ applause .] this of John mason, juryman .[ applause .] this, of_the sheriff .[ applause .] I_cannot name the others, but I_have them all at home, named and dated, and could identify them all by my fingerprint records ."

he moved to_his place through a storm of applause-- which the sheriff stopped, and also made the people sit down, for they were all standing and struggling to_see, of_course . court, jury, sheriff, and everybody had_been too absorbed in observing Wilson's performance to attend to_the audience earlier .

" now then," said Wilson, " I_have here the natal autographs of_the two children-- thrown up_to ten times the natural size by_the pantograph, so_that anyone who_can see at all can tell the markings apart at a glance . we_will call the children a and B . here are A's finger marks, taken at_the age of five months . here they_are again taken at seven months .[Tom started .] they_are alike, you_see . here are B's at five months, and also at seven months . they, too, exactly copy each_other, but the patterns are quite different from A's, you observe . I_shall refer to_these again presently, but we_will turn them face down now .

" here, thrown up ten sizes, are the natal autographs of_the two persons who_are here before_you accused of murdering judge Driscoll . I_made these pantograph copies last night, and will so swear when I go upon_the witness stand .I ask_the jury to compare them with_the finger marks of_the accused upon_the windowpanes, and tell the court if_they_are the same ."

he passed a powerful magnifying glass to_the foreman .

one juryman after another took the cardboard and_the glass and made the comparison . then the foreman said to_the judge:

" your honor, we_are all agreed that_they_are identical ."

Wilson said to_the foreman:

" please turn that cardboard face down, and take this_one, and compare it searchingly, by_the magnifier, with_the fatal signature upon_the knife handle, and report your finding to_the court ."

again the jury made minute examinations, and again reported:

" we_find them to_be exactly identical, your honor ."

Wilson turned toward the counsel for_the prosecution, and there_was a clearly recognizable note of warning in_his voice when he_said:

" may it please the court, the state has claimed, strenuously and persistently, that_the bloodstained fingerprints upon that knife handle were left there by_the assassin of judge Driscoll . you_have heard us grant that claim, and welcome it ." he turned to_the jury: " compare the fingerprints of_the accused with_the fingerprints left by_the assassin-- and report ."

the comparison began . as it proceeded, all movement and all sound ceased, and_the deep silence of an absorbed and waiting suspense settled upon_the house; and when at last the words came, " they_do_not even resemble," athundercrash of applause followed and_the house sprang to its feet, but was quickly repressed by official force and brought to order again .Tom was altering his position every few_minutes now, but none of_his changes brought repose nor any small trifle of comfort . when_the house's attention was become fixed once more, Wilson said gravely, indicating the twins with a gesture:

" these men are innocent-- I_have no further concern with_them .[ another outbreak of applause began, but was promptly checked .] we_will now proceed to_find the guilty .[Tom's eyes were starting from their sockets-- yes, it_was a cruel day for_the bereaved youth, everybody thought .] we_will return to_the infant autographs of a and B . i_will ask_the jury to_take these large pantograph facsimilies of A's marked five months and seven months . do they tally ? "

the foreman responded: " perfectly ."

" now examine this pantograph, taken at eight months, and also marked a. Does it tally with_the other two ? "

the surprised response was:

" no-- they differ widely ! "

" you_are quite right . now take these two pantographs of B's autograph, marked five months and seven months . do they tally with each_other ? "

" yes-- perfectly ."

" take this third pantograph marked B, eight months .Does it tally with B's other two ? "

" by no MEANS ! "

" do_you_know how to account for_those strange discrepancies ? i_will tell you . for a purpose unknown to_us, but probably a selfish one, somebody changed those children in_the cradle ."

this produced a vast sensation, naturally; Roxana was astonished at_this admirable guess, but not disturbed by_it . to guess the exchange was one_thing, to guess who did it quite another .Pudd'nhead Wilson could do wonderful things, no_doubt, but he couldn't do impossible ones . safe ? she was perfectly safe . she smiled privately .

" between_the ages of seven months and eight months those children were changed in_the cradle"-- he_made one of_this effect- collecting pauses, and added--" and_the person who did it_is in_this house ! "

Roxy's pulses stood still ! the house was thrilled as with an electric shock, and_the people half rose as_if to seek a glimpse of_the person who had made that exchange .Tom was growing limp; the life seemed oozing out of him . Wilson resumed:

"A was put into B's cradle in_the nursery; B was transferred to_the kitchen and became a Negro and a slave [ sensation-- confusion of angry ejaculations]-- but within a quarter of an hour he_will stand before_you white and free ! [ burst of applause, checked by_the officers .] from seven months onward until now, a has still been a usurper, and in my finger record he bears B's name . here_is his pantograph at_the age of twelve . compare it with_the assassin's signature upon_the knife handle . do they tally ? "

the foreman answered:

" to_the MINUTEST detail ! "

Wilson said, solemnly:

" the murderer of your friend and mine-- York Driscoll of_the generous hand and_the kindly spirit--sits in among you . valet de Chambre, Negro and slave-- falsely called Thomas aBecket Driscoll -- make upon_the window the fingerprints that_will hang you ! "

Tom turned his ashen face imploring toward the speaker, made some impotent movements with_his white lips, then slid limp and lifeless to_the floor .

Wilson broke the awed silence with_the words:

" there_is no need . he has confessed ."

Roxy flung herself upon her knees, covered her face with her hands, and out through her sobs the words struggled:

"De lord have mercy on me, po' misasble sinner dat I is ! "

the clock struck twelve .

the court rose; the new prisoner, handcuffed, was removed .

conclusion

it_is often the case that_the man who_can't tell a lie thinks he is_the best judge of one .

--Pudd'nhead Wilson's calendar

October 12, the discovery . it_was wonderful to_find America, but it would_have_been more wonderful to miss it .

--Pudd'nhead Wilson's calendar

the town sat up all night to discuss the amazing events of_the day and swap guesses as_to when Tom's trial would begin . troop after troop of citizens came to serenade Wilson, and require a speech, and shout themselves hoarse over every sentence that fell from_his lips-- for all his sentences were golden, now, all were marvelous . his long fight against hard luck and prejudice was ended; he_was a made man for good . and as each of_these roaring gangs of enthusiasts marched away, some remorseful member of it_was quite_sure to raise his voice and say:

" and this_is_the man the likes of us have called apudd'nhead for more than twenty years . he has resigned from_that position, friends ."

" yes, but it isn't vacant-- we're elected ."

the twins were heroes of romance, now, and with rehabilitated reputations . but they were weary of western adventure, and straightway retired to Europe .

Roxy's heart was broken . the young fellow upon whom she had inflicted twenty- three years of slavery continued the false heir's pension of thirty-five dollars a month to her, but her hurts were too deep for money to heal; the spirit in her eye was quenched, her martial bearing departed with it, and_the voice of her laughter ceased in_the land . in her church and its affairs she found her only solace .

the real heir suddenly found himself rich and free, but in a most embarrassing situation . he_could neither read nor write, and_his speech was_the basest dialect of_the Negro quarter . his gait, his attitudes, his gestures, his bearing, his laugh-- all were vulgar and uncouth; his manners were the manners of a slave . money and fine clothes could_not mend these defects or cover them up; they only made them more glaring and_the more pathetic . the poor fellow could_not endure the terrors of_the white man's parlor, and felt at home and at peace nowhere but in_the kitchen . the family pew was a misery to him, yet he_could nevermore enter into_the solacing refuge of_the "nigger gallery"-- that was closed to him for good and all . but we_cannot follow his curious fate further-- that_would_be a long story .

the false heir made a full confession and was sentenced to imprisonment for life . but now a complication came up . the Percy Driscoll estate was in_such a crippled shape when its owner died that_it could pay only sixty percent of_its great indebtedness, and was settled at_that rate .

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