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Herbert Bruderer

Milestones
in Analog and
Digital Computing
Volume 1
Third Edition
Milestones in Analog and Digital Computing
Herbert Bruderer

Milestones in Analog
and Digital Computing
Third edition

Translated from the German by John McMinn


Herbert Bruderer
Rorschach, Switzerland

ISBN 978-3-030-40973-9    ISBN 978-3-030-40974-6 (eBook)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40974-6

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2015, 2018, 2020


This work is subject to copyright. All rights reserved. The translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction as microfilm or by any other physical process,
transmission, as well as information storage and retrieval, electronic modification or use of
computer programs, or by any currently known or subsequently developed method requires the
express permission of the publisher.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication, even in the absence of a specific context, does not imply that such names are exempt
from relevant protective legislation and regulations, therefore precluding their free use.
To the best of their knowledge, the publisher, the authors and the editors attest to the correctness
and accuracy of the recommendations and information found in this book at the time of
publication. However, neither the publisher, the authors, nor the editors are liable for any errors
or omissions, either expressed or implied, with respect to the material of the book. The publisher
remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in relation to published maps and institutional
affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the Springer Nature AG registered company


Registered company address: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
As per the title of this book, this work presents selected masterpieces from the
field of calculating and computing technology. It also includes related areas,
such as historical automatons and scientific instruments (astronomy, land
surveying, and time measurement). The book deals with contributions to the
history of mathematics, with articles from the history of computer science.
The objective is therefore not the complete documentation of historical devel-
opments. The focus is primarily on the technical achievements and not on
their impact on the economy and society. The work contains no biographies.
The history of mathematics and computer science constitutes a cultural-his-
torical travel through time, a journey into the past.

Two Volumes
In view of the scope of this work, the book comprises two volumes. Some
selected keywords relate to the following content:

Volume 1
Basic Principles, Mechanical Calculating Devices, and Automatons
• Basic principles (mechanical and electronic calculators, the digital
transformation)
• Global overview of early electronic digital computers
• Development of arithmetic
• Mechanical calculating machines
• Classification of calculating aids
• Museums and their collections
• Famous replicas (Babbage, Pascal, Leibniz, Hollerith)
• Slide rules (linear, circular, cylindrical, and pocket watch slide rules)
• Roman hand abacus
• Historical automatons and robots (automaton figures, musical automatons,
Leonardo da Vinci’s robots)
• Automaton clocks
• Scientific instruments (mathematics, astronomy, surveying, time
measurement)
• Chronology
• Technological, economic, social, and cultural history
• Step-by-step instructions

Volume 2
Electronic Computers, Glossaries, and Bibliographies
• Invention of the computer (Babbage, Turing, Zuse, von Neumann)
• Development in Germany (Zuse, Telefunken, Siemens)

v
vi Preface

• Development in Great Britain (Enigma, Turing-Welchman Bombe, Colossus,


Bletchley Park)
• Development in Switzerland (Zuse Z4, Ermeth)
• Original documents (Zuse Z4 and Ermeth)
• Global development of the computing technology
• German-English glossary of technical terms
• English-German glossary of technical terms
• Worldwide bibliography
There are also hybrid forms between analog and digital calculating devices.
The use of mechanical and electronic calculating devices is overlapping. The
boundary between the two volumes is consequently somewhat fuzzy. Thus,
for example, the chapter “Basic Principles” covers both older and newer cal-
culating machines. The German-English and English-German glossaries and
the bibliography include entries covering the entire history of computing
technology. The 20 step-by-step instructions (including the Roman hand aba-
cus and the pantograph) refer to both analog and digital calculating devices.

The Book in Numbers


The two volumes together encompass around 2000 pages, with more than 150
tables and more than 700 figures. Each of the two German-English and
English-German glossaries of technical terms includes more than 5000 entries.
The bibliography lists more than 6000 sources.

What Is New?
Compared with the award-winning first edition, the second edition has been
thoroughly revised and considerably expanded. For the English version, the
entire work has been revised and supplemented and errors corrected. Below
are the most important changes of the second and third editions:
• New findings: Multiple Curta (world’s smallest mechanical parallel calcu-
lator), circular slide rule of Weber, and Summus circular adding machine
• Additional step-by-step operating instructions for especially instructive
mechanical calculating devices: Millionaire, Madas, Simex, Summus,
Brunsviga, and original Odhner
• Significantly expanded global overview of the existing holdings of valuable
historical objects in the most important museums
• About 280 new figures (compared to the second edition) of rare analog and
digital calculating devices and other scientific instruments (above all from
time measurement and astronomy), as well as historically important
automaton figures, musical automatons, Roman bead frames, Leonardo’s
robots, and famous replicas
• More detailed explanation of the finding of the century, the Antikythera
mechanism (world’s first known astronomical calculating machine), in
connection with a survey among internationally leading researchers
Preface vii

• About 50 new tables (compared to the second edition) relating to different


subjects
• Comprehensive German-English and English-German glossaries of techni-
cal terms dealing with the history of computer science and related fields,
each with more than 5000 entries
• Greatly expanded and updated bibliography with more than 6000 entries,
including selected publications about arithmetic teachers, history of tech-
nology, and history of science, together with history of astronomy, survey-
ing, clocks, automatons, and the digital transformation
• In general, greater consideration of related fields, such as scientific instru-
ments (mathematics, astronomy, surveying, or measurement of time), type-
writers, perforated tape controlled looms, and automatons: automaton
figures (androids and animal figures), musical automatons (mechanical
music instruments), picture clocks, chess automatons, automaton writers,
automaton clocks, drawing automatons, and historical robots
• Dealing with the basic questions of the history of science and technology
and the preservation of the cultural heritage of technology
• Additional definitions, such as algorithm, logarithm, and numerical and
graphical computation (nomography)
• Numerous new definitions relating to mechanical calculating devices,
bookkeeping machines and punched card equipment
• Expanded presentation of the differences between analog and digital
• Details about the origin of the binary system before Leibniz
• Overview of current developments, such as digitization, the digital trans-
formation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, industrial revolutions,
robotics, drones, social networks, electronic commerce, privacy protection,
and data ownership
• Reference to DNA and quantum computers
• Detailed elaboration of controversial issues: Ada Lovelace (reputed to be
first woman programmer), Alan Turing (universal computer, stored pro-
gram, influence on computer design), Thales of Miletus (measurement of
the height of the pyramids, intercept theorem), Heron of Alexandria (inven-
tion of the pantograph), and onset of artificial intelligence (international
computing machinery conference, 1951 in Paris)
• Additional documents from the first Great Exhibition of 1851 in London
• Evaluation of exhibition catalogs (e.g., the Mustermesse Basel and the
Bürofachmesse Zurich) and commercial journals
• Determination of the age of Swiss calculating devices with the help of exhi-
bition catalogs and entries in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce
• Dating of the world-famous “Millionaire” direct multiplying machine based
on the serial number (thanks to newly discovered findings of documents of
the manufacturer and global inquiries, for example, with museums, collec-
tors, and surveying offices)
viii Preface

• Considerations for self-built analog devices (pantograph, pair of sector


compasses, and proportional dividers)
• Very detailed index of persons, places, and subjects.

Selected Milestones
This work presents a number of particularly sensational and surprising
findings:
• The world’s first (mechanical) astronomical calculating machine
• The world’s largest and most accurate commercially available cylindrical
slide rules
• The world’s first (commercially) successful calculating machine
• The world’s oldest known keyboard adding machine
• The world’s first (mechanical) “process computer”
• The world’s smallest mechanical calculating machine
• The world’s smallest mechanical parallel calculating machine.

Global Surveys
This work includes numerous global surveys, such as concerning the first
(electromechanical) relay and (electronic) vacuum tube computers, the pio-
neers of computer science and their inventions, and museum holdings.
Furthermore, it conveys an overview of the mechanical calculating devices in
Switzerland. Together with the extensive index of persons, places, and sub-
jects, the book is therefore suitable as a reference work.
 tep-by-Step Operating Instructions
S
Hard-to-find user instructions for historical analog and digital calculating
devices are included in order to enhance the user value of this book. These
make clear how cumbersome calculating once was.
 reservation of the Cultural Heritage of Technology
P
It is my hope that this book will motivate readers to become interested in the
cultural heritage of technology and the preservation of such treasures. Perhaps
this publication will wrest some outstanding achievements in computer sci-
ence from oblivion. It would be gratifying if this book is able to encourage
young persons to take up a technical education and thus alleviate the short-
age specialists in the next generation. A further important objective is the pro-
motion of the history of technology.
Digital Transformation
Groundbreaking inventions, such as the wheel, the steam engine, letterpress,
the current generator, the number zero, the computer, the transistor, the
World Wide Web, and the robot, have led to a profound reshaping of the world.
Many companies have fallen victim to the transition from mechanical systems
to electronics. They failed to recognize the signs of the time and were left
behind with this development. A similar rapid upheaval is apparent with the
Preface ix

transition from analog technology to digital technology. In this connection,


numerous companies have also perished. The upsurge of the global Internet
has a far-reaching, many-faceted, and difficult-to-­foresee impact on politics,
society, economics, science, and technology. The omnipresent informatics
penetrates nearly all areas of life. The ongoing digital transformation is often
described as the fourth industrial revolution.
Fifty years ago, no one sensed the onset of this fundamental revolution in
technology. The inexorable changes overwhelm many persons. Who recalls
today how difficult it was to handle the slide rule and tables of logarithms or
the typewriter? How will the world look in another 50 years? Will we still be
able to read our electronic documents? How long will the lifespan of digital
reference works be? Books and newspapers survive for centuries. Let us recall:
Albert Einstein derived his groundbreaking insights with paper and pencil,
without the help of electronic resources.

Regarding the Origins of This Book


The enormous work required to compile this book entailed negative as well as
positive experiences.

 bstacles
O
The many years of – exclusively unsalaried – researches were unfortunately
complicated by the circumstance that the readiness for the support of these
was often meager, in some cases because of narrow-minded jealousy. At times,
the work was purposely hindered.
Which historical calculating devices are found at which particular places?
The most important museums were asked to check their holding lists for cor-
rectness and completeness. Unfortunately, some (repeated) questions
remained unanswered. Considerable reluctance was also encountered regard-
ing the willingness to deliver difficultly accessible documents.
Further hurdles arose concerning the entry of the work in Wikipedia.

 heft of Intellectual Property


T
With the discovery of theft or falsification of intellectual property, the victim is
often penalized and not the offender. Almost worse than the faulty circum-
stances themselves is the behavior of the persons involved when this fraudu-
lence comes to light: from resolute silence to intimidation with threatened
legal actions. Instead of eliminating plagiarizations and falsifications from
the market, these continue to be actively sold.
Works from foreign sources are all too often kept quiet in order to exclude
competition.
x Preface

 cquisition of Top-Quality Photographic Material


A
Acquiring high-resolution photographs of historical calculating devices was
enormously time-consuming and in part very expensive. Initially, it was nec-
essary to find the relevant contact partners. In some cases, it was necessary to
open an online account with the related illustration database and examine
the collections over many hours. Furthermore, the acquisition and use of
these photographs required concluding agreements which, in some cases,
could be delivered only by letter mail.
Many museums demand exorbitant fees even for works relating to research,
which, as experience shows, exist only in limited editions. Apart from one or
more specimen copies, it is not at all rare that the cost of a single photograph
is more than that of a 1000-page book, even though this provides cost-free
transnational advertisement for the institutions in question. For financial rea-
sons, in many cases, it was necessary to do without photographic material. In
addition, photos are guarded as though they were state secrets.
For copyright and quality reasons, no photographic material was taken
from the Internet. In one particular case, concerning the illustration of the
competition between American cyberneticist Norbert Wiener and chess-play-
ing automaton of the Spaniard Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1951), it is not
known who is entitled to the copyright. This is evidently a photograph taken
from the press. The illustrations were taken from the following countries:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and
the USA.

 o Financial Support
N
The entire work was financed by the author alone, without any third-party
funding. Consequently, there are no obligations and dependencies. The work
originated single-handedly.

 ulticolored Mixture
M
This work is a practice-oriented mixture of history book, informatics book,
textbook, museum guide, instructions for use, glossary, bibliography, and ref-
erence work. It presents various outstanding achievements, discusses contro-
versial issues, and defines core themes. Both digital and analog computers are
considered, including ornate automatons. Understandably, this structure may
be somewhat confusing. It is of course not easy to reconcile such diversity.
One can say to the detriment of the book that it is “neither fish nor flesh” and
that the common thread is not always immediately recognizable.

 dditions and Improvements


A
Wherever possible, the correctness of all assertions was controlled on the
basis of the original documents. In spite of great care, however, errors can
unfortunately not be excluded. The author is therefore grateful for suggested
improvements – calling attention to errors and additional information.
Preface xi

 earch for Objects and Documents


S
I would be pleased to receive any information about rare and unknown his-
torical calculating devices – mechanical calculating machines or slide rules of
all types – and previously unknown documents.

English Edition
The tedious international search for the financial backing of the comprehen-
sive English translation remained unsuccessful. The author himself therefore
assumed the costs of the transcription. The search for a qualified native
English translator also proved very time-consuming. The search was con-
ducted above all in North America, Great Britain, Germany, and Switzerland.
The database of the German Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators
was especially helpful here. Ultimately, a good solution was found.
It is not at all self-evident that a publishing house is prepared to publish
such a large, four-colored work.

Environmental Protection
Although worldwide researches were carried out, not a single flight was nec-
essary for the work. Public transport (train and bus) was used for all domestic
and international travel to European museums, libraries, archives, confer-
ences, etc.

Highlighting
Certain words and passages deserving particular emphasis are highlighted in
italics.

Herbert Bruderer September 2020

Bruderer Informatik, Seehaldenstraße 26, Postfach 47, CH-9401 Rorschach,


Switzerland,
Telephone +41 71 855 77 11,
Electronic mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9862-1910

Rorschach, Switzerland
Acknowledgments
This book owes its origin to a great many persons. Without their very much
appreciated help, this work would never have been possible. I would like to
express my heartfelt thanks to all those who supported me during roughly
10 years of work. Because of the danger that I could forget to mention some of
those who have helped me, with a few exceptions, I will not name these
persons.

Libraries
First of all, I would like to mention the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology, Zurich) Library. I am very grateful to the staff of the different sec-
tions. Beatrice Ackermann, Ursula Albrecht, Manuela Christen, Aristidis
Harissiadis, and Patricia Robertson were able to provide me with numerous,
often difficult accessible, domestic and foreign documents.

Museums and Archives


Numerous domestic and international technical, scientific, and historical
museums were helpful with the researches. Valuable information was
obtained from a number of private and public archives.

Magnificent Fully Functional Androids from the Eighteenth Century


The three automaton figures of Jaquet Droz, the “Musician”, the “Writer”, and
the “Draftsman”, first introduced in 1774, are regarded as the world’s finest
examples of sophisticated androids. They are part of the holdings of the Musée
d’art et d’histoire in Neuchâtel. In connection with a film for the American
journal Communications of the ACM, Thierry Amstutz demonstrated this
mechanical wonder for us.

 rovision of Mechanical Calculating Machines and Cylindrical


P
Slide Rules
Some collectors supported the investigations by providing analog and digital
devices of historical importance: Heiri Hefti, Fritz Menzi, Niklaus Ragaz, and
Urs Rüfenacht.

Scientific Journals and Conference Proceedings


The results of these time-consuming efforts have found international approval,
not in the least thanks to the publications in the flagship magazine of the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York. My special apprecia-
tion goes to the editors of the widely circulated Communications of the ACM:
Moshe Y. Vardi, Andrew A. Chien, Andrew Rosenbloom, David Roman, Diane
Crawford, and Lawrence Fisher. The ACM awards the Turing Prize, generally
viewed as the Nobel Prize for informatics.

xiii
xiv Acknowledgments

Other articles (talks given in London and New York) are documented in the
conference proceedings of the International Federation for Information
Processing (IFIP, Laxenburg, Austria), the global parent organization of the
national scientific informatics societies.
Worthy of mention are also the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
(New York), the leading journal for the history of computer science, along with
the Journal of the Oughtred Society (California), CBI Newsletter (Charles
Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis), and Resurrection,
the newsletter of the British Computer Conservation Society (London).

Photographs
To their credit, many institutions made high-resolution black and white and
color photographs of history-charged devices, machines, and documents
available to me and granted permission to reproduce these. Further informa-
tion can be found in connection with the respective photographs.

Award-Winning Book
The Oughtred Society conferred an award on the first edition of this work in
2016. This USA-based international association is concerned with the history
of the slide rule and other mathematical instruments. The Briton William
Oughtred was the inventor of the slide rule.

Book Reviews
I would like to express my gratitude to Thomas Sonar (Technische Universität
Braunschweig), Steven Deckelman (University of Wisconsin-Stout,
Menomonie, Wisconsin), Rainer Gebhardt (Adam-Ries-Bund, Annaberg-
Buchholz), and Maik Schmidt, as well as Peter Schmitz (Magazin für
Computertechnik c’t, Hanover) for their outstanding reviews of the first edi-
tion. These were published by the Mathematical Association of America and
in the Mathematische Semesterberichte (Springer Verlag) and reprinted in the
Newsletter of the European Mathematical Society and the Deutsche
Mathematiker-Vereinigung.

English Translation
The excellent English translation of this difficult and demanding undertaking
by the American physicist Dr. John McMinn (Bamberg, Germany), delivered on
schedule, deserves a commendation.

The Publisher
Finally, I would like to express my particular gratitude to the staff of Springer
Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, for their support and realization of this book.
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     v
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   xiii
Volume I
1 Introduction���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������     1
1.1 Objective ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������     1
1.2 Target Groups�������������������������������������������������������������������������������     3
1.3 Period of Time�������������������������������������������������������������������������������     3
1.4 What Is Computing Technology? �����������������������������������������������    4
1.5 Spectacular Device and Document Findings ���������������������������    4
1.6 Most Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Unknown
Calculating Devices ���������������������������������������������������������������������    9
1.7 Instructions for Operating Historic Calculating Aids���������������    10
1.8 In Regard to the Origin of This Book ������������������������������������������   13
1.9 In Regard to Language�����������������������������������������������������������������    16
1.10 In Regard to the Content �������������������������������������������������������������    18
1.11 Priorities ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    19
1.12 Oral History Interviews ���������������������������������������������������������������   20
1.13 Firsthand Accounts ����������������������������������������������������������������������   21
1.14 Approach���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    22
1.15 Highlights of the Researches�������������������������������������������������������    29
1.16 Low Points of the Researches�����������������������������������������������������    31
1.17 Plagiarism of Intellectual Property���������������������������������������������    32
1.18 Publications ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������    32
1.19 Sources �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    33
1.20 Bibliography���������������������������������������������������������������������������������    33
1.21 Regarding the Title of the Book �������������������������������������������������   34
1.22 Instructions for Assembly�����������������������������������������������������������    35
2 Basic Principles���������������������������������������������������������������������������������    37
2.1 Analog and Digital Devices���������������������������������������������������������   38
2.1.1 Numerals or Physical Variables �������������������������������������������������   39
2.1.2 Numeration or Measurement �����������������������������������������������������   39
2.2 Parallel and Serial Machines�������������������������������������������������������   69
2.3 Decimal and Binary Machines ���������������������������������������������������    73
2.4 Fixed Point and Floating Point Computers�������������������������������   78
2.5 Special-Purpose and Universal Computers������������������������������    80
2.6 Interconnected Computers ���������������������������������������������������������    82
2.7 Conditional Commands���������������������������������������������������������������   84
2.8 Components of Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers���������������   86
2.9 Electronic Tubes���������������������������������������������������������������������������   90
2.10 Delay Line Memories and Electrostatic Memories �������������������   93

xv
xvi Contents

2.11 Main Memory �������������������������������������������������������������������������������   93


2.12 Magnetic Memory�������������������������������������������������������������������������    97
2.13 Hardware and Software���������������������������������������������������������������   99
2.14 Subtraction with Complements �������������������������������������������������   101
2.15 Direct and Indirect Multiplication ���������������������������������������������   103
2.16 Sequence Control and Program Control �����������������������������������  106
2.17 Automation�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  108
2.18 Punched Card Machines �������������������������������������������������������������   110
2.19 Electronic Brains ��������������������������������������������������������������������������  113
2.20 Commercial Data Processing and Scientific Computation ������  114
2.21 Program-Controlled Digital Computers in the Year 1950����������   115
2.22 Mechanical Calculating Machines����������������������������������������������  118
2.23 Accounting Machines�������������������������������������������������������������������   128
2.24 Tabulators�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   128
2.25 Diversity of Terms and Change of Meaning�������������������������������   129
2.26 Digitization and Artificial Intelligence���������������������������������������   138
2.26.1 Algorithms Are Nothing New �����������������������������������������������������   138
2.26.2 Artificial Intelligence Is Nothing New ���������������������������������������   139
2.26.3 Digitization Is Nothing New �������������������������������������������������������   139
2.26.4 Two Notable Phases of Digitization�������������������������������������������  140
2.26.5 Digital History?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������  140
2.26.6 Industrial Revolutions�����������������������������������������������������������������  140
2.26.7 The Digital Transformation����������������������������������������������������������  141
2.27 Quantum Computers �������������������������������������������������������������������   154
2.28 DNA Computers ���������������������������������������������������������������������������   156
3 The Coming of Age of Arithmetic ��������������������������������������������������  157
3.1 From Tally Stick Through Abacus to Smartphone �������������������   158
3.2 Counting with the Fingers�����������������������������������������������������������   164
3.3 Abacus Calculation ���������������������������������������������������������������������   165
3.3.1 Calculating with Roman Numbers Is Laborious�����������������������   176
3.3.2 Bead Frame Computation�����������������������������������������������������������   179
3.3.3 Russian Counting Frames and School Abacus�������������������������   182
3.4 Counting Tables, Counting Boards, and Counting Cloths�������   183
3.4.1 Line Computation/Calculating on Lines�����������������������������������   185
3.5 Pen and Paper Calculation ����������������������������������������������������������  191
3.6 Graphical Computation: Nomography����������������������������������������  191
3.7 Lines of Development ������������������������������������������������������������������  192
3.8 Many Technical Objects Are Also Magnificent Works of Art���   196
4 Classification of Calculating Aids and Related Instruments �   199
4.1 Calculating Devices and Calculating Machines �����������������������  200
4.2 Adding Machines and Calculating Machines ���������������������������   201
4.3 Mathematical Machines and Mathematical Instruments �������   201
4.4 Planimeters�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   203
4.5 Pantographs ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  211
Contents xvii

4.6 Intercept Theorems ���������������������������������������������������������������������   214


4.6.1 We Are Probably Indebted to Thales of Miletus
for the Intercept Theorem ������������������������������������������������������������  215
4.6.2 The Pantograph: The Invention of Heron or Scheiner?������������  217
4.6.3 How Does a Pantograph Function? �������������������������������������������   218
4.7 Sectors�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   220
4.8 Proportional Dividers��������������������������������������������������������������������  221
4.9 Protractors and Clinometers�������������������������������������������������������   225
4.10 Coordinatographs�������������������������������������������������������������������������   227
4.11 Mathematical Tables �������������������������������������������������������������������   230
4.12 Astronomical instruments�����������������������������������������������������������   232
4.13 Mechanical and Electronic Calculators�������������������������������������   237
4.14 Classification Criteria�������������������������������������������������������������������   238
4.14.1 Types of Calculating and Computing Machines�����������������������   238
4.14.2 Computer Generations�����������������������������������������������������������������   238
4.14.3 Arithmetic Unit and Memory Unit ���������������������������������������������   239
5 Chronology�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   245
5.1 Pre- and Early History of Computer Technology
and Automaton Construction�����������������������������������������������������   245
6 Pioneers in Calculating and Computing Technology���������������   255
6.1 From Which Countries Do the Inventors and Discoverers
Come? �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   257
6.2 Who Invented Which Calculating Aid When?���������������������������   267
6.3 New Inventions of Fundamental Importance���������������������������   272
6.4 Manufacturers of Calculating Aids���������������������������������������������   272
7 Conferences and Institutes�������������������������������������������������������������   277
7.1 Early Conferences on Computer Science�����������������������������������   277
7.2 Early Institutes for Computing Technology�������������������������������   287
7.3 Universities with an Illustrious Past �����������������������������������������  290
7.4 Associations and Journals for the History of Computer
Science�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   291
8 Global Overview of Early Digital Computers (Tables) �������������   293
8.1 Preliminary Remarks�������������������������������������������������������������������   293
8.2 Early Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers
(In Alphabetical Order) ���������������������������������������������������������������   295
8.3 Early Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers
(In Chronological Order)�������������������������������������������������������������  300
8.4 Commentary Regarding the Early Relay and Vacuum
Tube Computers���������������������������������������������������������������������������   302
9 Museums and Collections���������������������������������������������������������������   307
9.1 Museums of Science and Technology ���������������������������������������  308
9.1.1 Collection Databases��������������������������������������������������������������������  312
xviii Contents

9.1.2 Early Exhibits of Calculating Aids ����������������������������������������������  313


9.2 Which Museum Has Which Historical Calculating Devices?���   316
9.3 Which Calculating Devices Are Among the Museum’s
Holdings?����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  317
9.3.1 Australia ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  317
9.3.2 Austria�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   318
9.3.3 Belgium�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   319
9.3.4 Canada�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   319
9.3.5 China���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   319
9.3.6 Czech Republic�����������������������������������������������������������������������������   319
9.3.7 France �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   319
9.3.8 Germany ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  321
9.3.9 Greece �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   328
9.3.10 Italy �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   328
9.3.11 Japan ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  330
9.3.12 The Netherlands���������������������������������������������������������������������������  330
9.3.13 New Zealand���������������������������������������������������������������������������������  330
9.3.14 Spain ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  330
9.3.15 Sweden �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  330
9.3.16 Switzerland������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  331
9.3.17 UK���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   333
9.3.18 USA�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   336
9.4 Where Is a Particular Historical Calculating Device on
Exhibit?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   362
9.4.1 Analog Calculating Aids �������������������������������������������������������������   362
9.4.2 Digital Calculating Aids���������������������������������������������������������������   363
9.4.3 Counting Tables, Counting Boards, and Counting Cloths�������  364
9.4.4 Historical Calculating Aids and Their Exhibition Sites:
Originals ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  366
9.4.5 Historical Calculating Aids and Their Exhibition Sites: Replicas
and Reconstructions ��������������������������������������������������������������������  371
9.4.6 Programmable Historical Automaton Writers (Original
Specimens) �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   374
9.4.7 Why Reconstructions?������������������������������������������������������������������  375
9.4.8 Roberto Guatelli: Replicas of Machines from da Vinci, Pascal,
Leibniz, Babbage, and Hollerith�������������������������������������������������   376
9.4.9 Resurrected Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers���������������������  389
9.5 Oldest Surviving Calculating Aids ���������������������������������������������  390
9.5.1 Early Four-Function Machines ���������������������������������������������������  390
9.5.2 Early One- and Two-Function Machines�����������������������������������   393
9.5.3 Schickard, Pascal, and Leibniz���������������������������������������������������  396
9.5.4 Cylindrical Calculating Machines�����������������������������������������������  407
Contents xix

10 The Antikythera Mechanism��������������������������������������������������������   409


10.1 An Astronomical Calculating Machine ������������������������������������   409
10.2 The Astrolabe: Planetarium or Calendar Calculator?���������������   412
10.3 When Was the Astronomical Calculator Found? ���������������������   414
10.4 When Did the Ship Sink?�������������������������������������������������������������   415
10.5 When Was the Ship Built?�����������������������������������������������������������   415
10.6 When Was the Astronomical Calculator Built?�������������������������   416
10.7 Who Constructed the Mechanism?���������������������������������������������   418
10.8 Reconstructions ���������������������������������������������������������������������������  420
10.9 Conclusions�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   425
11 Schwilgué’s Calculating Machines�����������������������������������������������   427
11.1 Schwilgué’s “Process” Calculator�����������������������������������������������   427
11.1.1 An Unconventional Special-Purpose Calculating
Machine Without a Customary Setting Mechanism?���������������  428
11.1.2 The Peculiar Machine Proved to Be an Early
“Process” Calculator �������������������������������������������������������������������   432
11.1.3 An Accompanying Document Reveals
the First Indications About the Origin of the
Calculating Machine �������������������������������������������������������������������   432
11.1.4 Purpose of the Calculating Machine: Calculation
of Circle Partitioning Factors�������������������������������������������������������  434
11.1.5 The Results of the Calculating Machine Determine
the Settings for the Gear Milling Machine���������������������������������  434
11.1.6 Controlling the Gear Milling Machine from a
Paper Tape�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   435
11.1.7 High-Precision Fine Mechanics �������������������������������������������������  437
11.1.8 Gear Milling Machine or Gear Partitioning Machine? �������������  437
11.1.9 A Tooling Machine Specifically Designed
for the Astronomical Clock ���������������������������������������������������������  442
11.1.10 Dating the “Process” Calculator �����������������������������������������������  442
11.1.11 Was the Large Adding Machine Used for the Astronomical
Clock?���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  443
11.1.12 The Calculating Machine Determines Number
Trains for the Tape Controlled Milling Machine�����������������������  445
11.1.13 Machine Control by Paper Tape �������������������������������������������������  445
11.1.14 When Were Schwilgué’s Machines First Mentioned?��������������   446
11.1.15 Schwilgué’s Church Calculator���������������������������������������������������  449
11.2 Schwilgué’s Keyboard Adding Machine�������������������������������������   451
11.2.1 The World’s Oldest Surviving Keyboard Adding Machines�����   452
11.2.2 Technical Features�����������������������������������������������������������������������   452
11.2.3 Inputting Numbers via Keyboard�����������������������������������������������  456
11.2.4 Two Precursors and Two Finalized Devices �����������������������������   457
11.2.5 The Replica of a Solothurn Clockmaker�������������������������������������  459
xx Contents

11.2.6 The World Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal


Palace in London ������������������������������������������������������������������������   460
12 The Thomas Arithmometer �����������������������������������������������������������  463
12.1 The Arithmometer: The First Industrially Produced
Calculating Machine ������������������������������������������������������������������   464
12.2 The Stepped Drum Machine Is Capable of All Basic
Arithmetic Operations�����������������������������������������������������������������  465
12.3 The World Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace
in London �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   473
12.4 What Was the Cost of an Arithmometer?�����������������������������������  479
12.5 A Wealth of Information About the History of Technology
and Industry���������������������������������������������������������������������������������  482
13 The Curta �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  485
13.1 Preliminary Remarks�������������������������������������������������������������������  485
13.2 Development of the Curta����������������������������������������������������������   486
13.2.1 The First Patents for the Curta ��������������������������������������������������   488
13.2.2 Arrest and Deportation to the Buchenwald
Concentration Camp ������������������������������������������������������������������   488
13.2.3 Curta, a Gift for the Führer for the Ultimate Victory?��������������   489
13.2.4 Design Drawings from the Buchenwald
Concentration Camp ������������������������������������������������������������������   490
13.2.5 Contract for Work with Rheinmetall-Borsig in Sömmerda �����   491
13.2.6 Escape from Russian Persecutors in Thuringia�������������������������   491
13.2.7 The Crowning Achievement of 350 Years of Mechanical
Calculating Machine Development �������������������������������������������  495
13.3 Description of the Curta���������������������������������������������������������������  495
13.3.1 Design Drawings���������������������������������������������������������������������������  498
13.3.2 Is the Curta the Smallest Mechanical Calculating
Machine in the World?�����������������������������������������������������������������   502
13.4 The Founding of Contina in Liechtenstein �������������������������������   502
13.4.1 New Beginning in Liechtenstein�������������������������������������������������   502
13.4.2 Swindled Out of His Life’s Work�������������������������������������������������   503
13.4.3 Letters of Inquiry to Swiss Machine Builders for the
Manufacture of the Curta�������������������������������������������������������������   503
13.4.4 Opposition from Switzerland �����������������������������������������������������   507
13.5 Mass Production of the Curta in Liechtenstein�������������������������   525
13.5.1 Piece Numbers �����������������������������������������������������������������������������   526
13.6 Global Sales of the Curta�������������������������������������������������������������   527
13.6.1 The Curta at the Schweizer Mustermesse in Basel�������������������   527
13.6.2 The Curta at the Bürofachausstellung in Zurich�����������������������   528
13.6.3 Who Used the Curta? �������������������������������������������������������������������   528
13.6.4 Prices���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   529
13.7 A Mechanical Parallel Calculator from Liechtenstein �������������  530
Contents xxi

13.7.1 Double, Quadruple, and Quintuple Curtas��������������������������������  531


13.7.2 Patent Specifications for the Multiple Calculating Machine���   536
13.7.3 The World’s Smallest Mechanical Parallel Calculator�������������   536
13.8 A British Mechanical Parallel Calculator�����������������������������������   537
13.8.1 The British 12-Fold Curta for Matrix Calculations���������������������   537
13.8.2 Independent Development of Two Mechanical Parallel
Calculators?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   541
13.8.3 The UK Matrix Calculator Has Been Lost�����������������������������������   541
14 Slide Rules �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   543
14.1 Logarithms �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   543
14.1.1 Graphical Calculation �����������������������������������������������������������������   543
14.1.2 Who Introduced Logarithms and the Slide Rule?���������������������  544
14.1.3 Addition and Subtraction with Slide Rules�������������������������������  546
14.2 Types ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  548
14.2.1 Linear Slide Rules, Circular Slide Rules,
and Cylindrical Slide Rules���������������������������������������������������������  548
14.2.2 Endless Scales and Double Scales���������������������������������������������  549
14.3 Classification of Slide Rules �������������������������������������������������������   550
14.3.1 Linear Slide Rules�������������������������������������������������������������������������   550
14.3.2 Circular Slide Rules ���������������������������������������������������������������������   550
14.3.3 Cylindrical Slide Rules������������������������������������������������������������������  551
14.4 Slide Rule Manufacturers �����������������������������������������������������������   558
14.5 Dating of Cylindrical Slide Rules �����������������������������������������������  560
14.6 Relationship Between the Serial Numbers
and Scale Length �������������������������������������������������������������������������  564
14.7 The Weber Circular Slide Rule�����������������������������������������������������  569
14.7.1 A Circular Slide Rule of Unusual Design�����������������������������������  569
14.7.2 How Does the Device Function?�������������������������������������������������  570
14.7.3 Who Built the Circular Slide Rule?���������������������������������������������  570
14.7.4 Where Was the Circular Slide Rule Found?��������������������������������  571
14.8 Loga Cylindrical Slide Rules�������������������������������������������������������   572
14.8.1 The 24 Meter Cylindrical Slide Rule�������������������������������������������   572
14.8.2 Determination of Age��������������������������������������������������������������������  575
14.8.3 How Long Is the Scale? ���������������������������������������������������������������   576
14.8.4 Loga Cylindrical Slide Rules: Lists of Models
and Price Lists�������������������������������������������������������������������������������   578
15 Historical Automatons and Robots�����������������������������������������������   593
15.1 Automaton Figures�����������������������������������������������������������������������  594
15.1.1 Programmed Cylinders ���������������������������������������������������������������   595
15.1.2 Famous Builders of Automatons�������������������������������������������������   595
15.1.3 Ornate Automaton Figures ���������������������������������������������������������  598
15.1.4 Jaquet-Droz�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  602
15.1.5 Maillardet’s Automaton in Philadelphia�����������������������������������   613
xxii Contents

15.1.6 Programmable Automaton Writers���������������������������������������������   613


15.1.7 The World’s Most Magnificent Mechanical Androids
Are from the Eighteenth Century �����������������������������������������������   614
15.1.8 The Mechanical Clock with a Writing Figure
of the Beijing Palace Museum�����������������������������������������������������   616
15.1.9 Magnificent Human and Animal Automatons
from Le Locle���������������������������������������������������������������������������������   623
15.1.10 The Tower and Ship Automatons and Chariots�������������������������  628
15.1.11 Leonardo da Vinci’s Automatons�����������������������������������������������  636
15.2 Musical Automatons �������������������������������������������������������������������  649
15.2.1 Mechanical Musical Instruments�����������������������������������������������  649
15.2.2 The Wide Variety of Instruments �����������������������������������������������  649
15.2.3 Music Boxes�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  650
15.2.4 Singing Birds���������������������������������������������������������������������������������  656
15.2.5 Train Station and Chalet Automatons ���������������������������������������   661
15.2.6 Violin and Organ Automatons ���������������������������������������������������  662
15.2.7 Sound Recording Media��������������������������������������������������������������   664
15.2.8 Talking Machines������������������������������������������������������������������������   664
15.2.9 Automaton Figures and Musical Automatons in Museums�����  665
15.2.10 The Componium���������������������������������������������������������������������������  666
15.3 Chess Automatons �����������������������������������������������������������������������  666
15.3.1 The Niemecz Chess Automaton���������������������������������������������������   667
15.3.2 The End-Game Automaton of Torres Quevedo �������������������������   667
15.4 Typewriters����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   668
15.5 Clocks���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   672
15.5.1 An Enormous Range of Clocks ���������������������������������������������������   672
15.5.2 Clockmakers as the Inventors of Automatons
and Calculating Machines�����������������������������������������������������������   729
15.6 Looms��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  730
16 Mechanical Calculating Aids���������������������������������������������������������   737
16.1 Counting Tables ���������������������������������������������������������������������������   737
16.2 Manufacturers of Mathematical Drawing, Measuring,
and Calculating Devices �������������������������������������������������������������  740
16.3 Slide Bar Adders and Mechanical Calculating Machines �������   743
16.3.1 The Millionaire�����������������������������������������������������������������������������  744
16.3.2 The Madas�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   783
16.3.3 The Precisa �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  784
16.3.4 The Stima���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  784
16.3.5 The Conto �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  786
16.3.6 The Coréma�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   787
16.3.7 The Correntator�����������������������������������������������������������������������������  788
16.3.8 The Demos�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  789
16.3.9 The Direct �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  790
Contents xxiii

16.3.10 The Eos �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   791


16.3.11 The Heureka ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������   791
16.3.12 The St. Gotthard���������������������������������������������������������������������������   792
16.3.13 The Ultra ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   793
16.4 Prices of Calculating Aids�����������������������������������������������������������   793
16.5 Piece Numbers �����������������������������������������������������������������������������  798
16.6 Patents for Calculating Aids������������������������������������������������������   800
16.7 Mechanical Calculating Aids (Overview)�����������������������������������  801
16.8 Dating with the Help of Exhibition Catalogs����������������������������   808
16.8.1 Catalogs from the Schweizer Mustermesse, Basel ������������������   808
16.8.2 Presence of Manufacturers at the Mustermesse�����������������������   813
16.8.3 Manufacturers’ Presence at the Bürofachausstellung�������������  814
16.9 The Volksrechner�������������������������������������������������������������������������   816
16.10 Grunder’s Calculating Machine �������������������������������������������������  818
17 Technological, Economic, Social, and Cultural History�����������   823
17.1 The Rich Technical Cultural Heritage�����������������������������������������  824
17.2 Technology Is Part of Our Culture�����������������������������������������������   825
17.3 The History of Science and Technology�������������������������������������   825
17.3.1 What Do We Understand by the History of Science
and Technology?���������������������������������������������������������������������������  826
17.3.2 Why Does One Pursue the Study of the History of Science
and Technology ���������������������������������������������������������������������������  826
17.3.3 Presentation of Science and Technology in Museums�������������   827
17.4 The Transformation in the History of Technology �������������������   827
17.4.1 Does the History of Technology Fulfill the Expectations
Placed in It?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  829
17.4.2 Technical History Without Relating to Science
and Engineering?�������������������������������������������������������������������������   831
17.4.3 Combination of “Hard” and “Soft” Technological History �����  834
17.5 Lack of Appreciation for the History of Technology�����������������   835
17.6 Experiencing Technological History �����������������������������������������  836
17.7 Furthering of the Follow-On Generation of Technological
Historians �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   837
17.8 Computers Were Originally Humans �����������������������������������������  838
17.9 Patent Protection �������������������������������������������������������������������������   841
17.9.1 No Claim to the Protection of Inventions�����������������������������������   841
17.9.2 Had the Patent Protection for the Thomas Arithmometer
Expired?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  843
17.10 Discoveries and Inventions��������������������������������������������������������   844
17.10.1 Invention Priority�������������������������������������������������������������������������  845
17.10.2 Were Logarithms Discovered or Invented? ������������������������������   846
17.11 Patriotism and Hero Worship ����������������������������������������������������   846
17.12 Lifespan of Calculating Aids������������������������������������������������������   846
xxiv Contents

18 Preserving the Technical Heritage�����������������������������������������������   851


18.1 Loss of Cultural Heritage�������������������������������������������������������������   851
18.2 Long-Duration Archiving�������������������������������������������������������������   852
18.3 Management of Object Collections���������������������������������������������   855
18.3.1 Building Up a Collection�������������������������������������������������������������   855
18.3.2 Breakup of a Collection���������������������������������������������������������������   855
18.3.3 Gloves �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  856
18.3.4 Functionality of Devices �������������������������������������������������������������  856
18.3.5 Improper Safekeeping of Cultural Heritage�������������������������������   857
18.3.6 Damage to Devices due to Nonuse���������������������������������������������   857
18.3.7 Reappraisal of Scientific Collections �����������������������������������������  858
19 Operating Instructions �������������������������������������������������������������������  859
19.1 The Abacus: Bead Frame�������������������������������������������������������������   861
19.2 The Aristo Slide Rule: Analog Computing Device��������������������   866
19.3 The Brunsviga: Pinwheel Machine���������������������������������������������  867
19.4 The Curta: Stepped Drum Machine �������������������������������������������   873
19.5 The Loga Circular Slide Rule: Analog Calculating Device������   880
19.6 The Loga Cylindrical Slide Rule: Analog Calculating Device �  882
19.7 The Madas: Stepped Drum Machine ����������������������������������������   884
19.8 The Millionaire: Direct Multiplying Machine ��������������������������   889
19.9 Napier’s Bones: Multiplication and Division Rods������������������   896
19.10 The Odhner: Pinwheel Machine������������������������������������������������   900
19.11 Schwilgué’s Keyboard Adding Machine/Single-Digit
Adding Machine���������������������������������������������������������������������������  905
19.12 The Sector: Analog Calculating Device ������������������������������������   906
19.13 The Simex: Direct Adding Machine ������������������������������������������   909
19.14 The Stima: Three-Function Machine ������������������������������������������  911
19.15 The Summus: Disc Adding Machine �����������������������������������������   915
19.16 The Thomas Arithmometer: Stepped Drum Machine���������������   919
19.17 The Trebla: Slide Bar Adder/Stylus-Operated Calculator �������   921
19.18 The Volksrechner: Setting Wheel Machine/Stylus-Operated
Calculator �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   925
Volume II
20 Who Was the Inventor of the Computer? �����������������������������������   927
20.1 Preliminary Remarks�������������������������������������������������������������������  928
20.2 What Is a Computer? �������������������������������������������������������������������  929
20.3 What Is a Turing Machine? ���������������������������������������������������������  929
20.3.1 Design of the Turing Machine�����������������������������������������������������  930
20.3.2 Program Flow�������������������������������������������������������������������������������  930
20.3.3 Significance for Theoretical Computer Science �����������������������   931
20.3.4 Algorithms�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   931
20.3.5 The Universal Machine ���������������������������������������������������������������   932
20.4 What Is a von Neumann Computer?�������������������������������������������  934
Contents xxv

20.4.1 Design of a von Neumann Computer�����������������������������������������  934


20.5 Is the von Neumann Computer a Serial or a Parallel
Machine?���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   935
20.6 Who Invented the von Neumann Computer? ���������������������������  936
20.7 What Does Stored Program Mean?���������������������������������������������   937
20.7.1 Stored Programs Are Nothing New���������������������������������������������   937
20.7.2 Data and Program in the Same Memory �����������������������������������   937
20.7.3 Computers with and Without a Program Memory �������������������  938
20.7.4 Prerequisites for Program Storage ���������������������������������������������  939
20.7.5 Faster Data Processing Thanks to Program Storage�����������������  939
20.7.6 What Is a Self-Modifying Program? ������������������������������������������   940
20.7.7 Is the Turing Machine Self-Modifying? �������������������������������������  942
20.7.8 Is the Turing Machine Stored Programmed?�����������������������������  943
20.7.9 The Turing Machine: Program and Data in the Same
Memory? (Memory Tape as Program and Data Memory)��������   944
20.7.10 The Turing Machine: Program and Data on Different
Memory Tapes?�����������������������������������������������������������������������������  945
20.7.11 Retrospective Firsthand Evidence ���������������������������������������������  945
20.8 The Universal Computer ≠ the Stored Program Computer ����   946
20.9 Who First Had the Idea of the Stored Program?�����������������������  947
20.9.1 Kurt Gödel as the Founding Father of the Stored Program �����  950
20.9.2 Zuse’s Approaches for the Stored Program�������������������������������   951
20.9.3 Mechanical Components Brake Electronics �����������������������������   952
20.9.4 The Breakthrough of the Stored Program Thanks to von
Neumann���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   953
20.9.5 Turing, von Neumann, or Eckert/Mauchly? �����������������������������   953
20.9.6 Conclusions�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   955
20.10 Who First Introduced Automatic Programming? ���������������������  956
20.11 Who Created the First Compiler? �����������������������������������������������   957
20.12 The Early Days of Programming�������������������������������������������������  959
20.13 Open Questions Regarding the History
of Computer Science ������������������������������������������������������������������   960
20.14 Where Did the Construction Knowledge Come From?�������������   961
20.14.1 Academic Lectures�����������������������������������������������������������������������  962
20.14.2 Publications ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������  963
20.14.3 The Construction of the First Computing Machines�����������������  965
20.14.4 Introduction to Computer Technology and Evaluation
of the Situation (Overview)���������������������������������������������������������  966
20.15 Early Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers and Their
Successors�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   967
20.16 Motivations for the Building of Computers�������������������������������  969
20.17 Who Was Instrumental in the Development
of the Computer? �������������������������������������������������������������������������   973
20.17.1 Charles Babbage���������������������������������������������������������������������������   973
xxvi Contents

20.17.2 Alan Turing�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   974


20.17.3 John von Neumann�����������������������������������������������������������������������   974
20.17.4 Konrad Zuse ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������   975
20.17.5 Other Possible Inventors�������������������������������������������������������������   975
20.17.6 Who Invented Which Computing Machine?�����������������������������  976
20.18 Where Is the Cradle of the Computer?���������������������������������������   977
20.19 What Point in Time Is Decisive for an Invention?���������������������   979
20.20 Who Won the Race Against Time? ��������������������������������������������   980
20.20.1 The Race to Develop the First Stored Program Computer �������  982
20.21 Which Was the First Stored Program Computer?���������������������  985
20.22 Who Influenced the Development of Computers
and How Much? ��������������������������������������������������������������������������   989
20.22.1 The Institute for Advanced Study: A Magnet
for Visiting Scholars��������������������������������������������������������������������   990
20.22.2 Who Set the Tone? �����������������������������������������������������������������������  993
20.22.3 Was Ada Lovelace Actually the First Programmer? ����������������� 1002
20.22.4 The Opinions in Regard to Turing’s Influence on
Computer Construction Differ Considerably����������������������������� 1003
20.23 Which Were the Most Influential Computers?��������������������������� 1009
20.23.1 Model Computer Designs������������������������������������������������������������� 1010
20.24 Which Computers Were the First Commercially Available? ��� 1010
20.24.1 Ferranti Mark 1 and Univac 1�������������������������������������������������������� 1011
20.24.2 Leo 1 and IBM 701/650������������������������������������������������������������������ 1011
20.24.3 Zuse Z4�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1011
20.25 Where Did the Money Come from?���������������������������������������������� 1011
20.26 Setbacks with the Construction of Computers ������������������������� 1014
20.27 Machines with Print Mechanism ������������������������������������������������ 1015
20.28 Chronology: Early Electromechanical and Electronic
Digital Computers������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1019
20.29 Early Transistor Computers��������������������������������������������������������� 1020
20.30 For Centuries Only a Limited Computational Need ������������������ 1021
20.31 Pioneers as ACM and IEEE Award Winners������������������������������� 1022
20.32 Relevant Anniversaries in the History of Computing��������������� 1024
21 Computer Development in Germany������������������������������������������� 1025
21.1 Preliminary Remarks������������������������������������������������������������������� 1025
21.2 Plankalkül������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1026
21.3 Early German Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers ����������������� 1026
21.3.1 The Computer Pioneer Konrad Zuse������������������������������������������� 1026
21.3.2 Zuse’s Process Computer������������������������������������������������������������� 1029
21.3.3 Zuse’s Logistics Machine and Chess������������������������������������������� 1030
21.3.4 Acquisition of the Zuse KG by BBC Mannheim with the
Loss of Millions������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1031
21.3.5 Other German Relay and Vacuum Tube Computers������������������ 1032
21.4 Early German Transistor Computers ����������������������������������������� 1033
Contents xxvii

21.5 The First German Digital Computers (Overview) ��������������������� 1034


21.5.1 Telefunken GmbH, Berlin: Computer Manufacture
in Konstanz����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1035
21.5.2 The Analog and Hybrid Computers of Dornier
(Friedrichshafen) ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1036
22 Computer Development in the UK ����������������������������������������������� 1037
22.1 Preliminary Remarks������������������������������������������������������������������� 1037
22.2 The Enigma����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1038
22.2.1 The Enigma, a True Puzzle ��������������������������������������������������������� 1038
22.3 The Polish Bomba and the Turing-Welchman Bombe ������������� 1042
22.3.1 The Polish Bomba������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1042
22.3.2 The Electromechanical Bombe��������������������������������������������������� 1042
22.4 The Colossus��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1045
22.4.1 The Lorenz SZ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1045
22.4.2 The Electronic Jumbo������������������������������������������������������������������� 1045
22.4.3 Did Turing Collaborate on the Colossus?����������������������������������� 1049
22.4.4 Did Churchill Command the Destruction of All
Colossus Computers?������������������������������������������������������������������� 1049
22.5 The Tunny������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1050
22.6 Enigma and the Bombe, Lorenz and the Colossus�������������������� 1051
22.6.1 Selected Cryptographic Machines ���������������������������������������������� 1051
22.6.2 Bombes and Colossi��������������������������������������������������������������������� 1052
22.7 Bletchley Park������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1054
22.7.1 Code Names����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1054
22.7.2 Technical Terms��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1055
22.7.3 The Huts ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1056
22.7.4 Regarding the History of Bletchley Park ����������������������������������� 1057
22.8 Birkbeck College of the University of London��������������������������� 1059
22.9 Imperial College, London ����������������������������������������������������������� 1060
22.10 The Harwell Computer����������������������������������������������������������������� 1060
22.10.1 The Harwell Computer: The Oldest Functional Relay
Computer��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1060
22.11 The First British Digital Computers (Overview) ����������������������� 1062
23 Computer Development in Switzerland ������������������������������������� 1065
23.1 Zuse’s Relay Computer and the ETH Zurich ����������������������������� 1065
23.1.1 When Did the ETH Zurich Learn About the Zuse Machine?����� 1065
23.1.2 How Did the ETH Zurich Learn About the Zuse Machine?������� 1066
23.1.3 Zuse and Die ETH Zurich������������������������������������������������������������� 1070
23.1.4 Why Did Zuse Prepare to Flee to Switzerland in 1949?�������������� 1071
23.1.5 What Did the Z4 Cost? ����������������������������������������������������������������� 1077
23.1.6 Who Paid for the Z4? ������������������������������������������������������������������� 1079
23.1.7 How Was the Conditional Jump Implemented with the Z4?��� 1080
23.1.8 How Was the Z4 Utilized? ����������������������������������������������������������� 1080
xxviii Contents

23.1.9 The Bark and the Z4���������������������������������������������������������������������  1083


23.2 Difficulties with the Construction of the First Swiss
Computer��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1085
23.2.1 The Grueling Construction of the First Swiss Electronic
Computer��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1085
23.2.2 Purchase or Self-Construction?��������������������������������������������������� 1088
23.2.3 Five Years for Construction Instead of Three����������������������������� 1090
23.2.4 Vacuum Tube Computer Instead of Relay Computer��������������� 1090
23.2.5 Vexation with the Magnetic Drum ��������������������������������������������� 1091
23.2.6 The Chief Engineer Jumps Ship�������������������������������������������������� 1093
23.2.7 Did IBM Want to Hinder the Ermeth?����������������������������������������� 1095
23.2.8 Conflicts with Remington Rand over Breach of Contract��������� 1095
23.2.9 Negotiations with Industry��������������������������������������������������������� 1096
23.2.10 The Project Succeeds with the Support of the School
Board President ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1096
23.2.11 Problems Abroad Also����������������������������������������������������������������� 1098
23.3 Why Did the Efforts to Establish a Swiss Computer
Industry in the 1950s Fail?����������������������������������������������������������� 1098
23.3.1 Reproaches Against Swiss Industry������������������������������������������� 1099
23.3.2 Interest on the Part of Industry��������������������������������������������������� 1100
23.3.3 Why Only the Drum Memory?������������������������������������������������������ 1101
23.3.4 Hasler’s Market Prospects������������������������������������������������������������ 1102
23.3.5 Did the Chief Engineer Prevent the Marketing
of the Ermeth?�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1102
23.3.6 Consequences������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1104
23.4 Construction of Magnetic Drum Memories in Zurich��������������� 1106
23.4.1 The Z4: Experimental Drum ������������������������������������������������������� 1106
23.4.2 The Ermeth: Experimental Drum������������������������������������������������ 1107
23.4.3 The Ermeth: Large Drum������������������������������������������������������������� 1108
23.5 The Ermeth’s Successor��������������������������������������������������������������� 1109
23.5.1 In 1964, the ETH Zurich Was Without a Large-Scale
Computer for Several Months����������������������������������������������������� 1109
23.5.2 The Purchase of the Large-Scale Computer Led to the
Acquisition of Desktop Computing Machines��������������������������� 1109
23.6 The Lilith, Ceres, Smaky, and Gigabooster �������������������������������� 1111
23.6.1 Lilith and Ceres������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1111
23.6.2 The Music and the Gigabooster���������������������������������������������������� 1113
23.6.3 The Smaky�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1115
23.7 Zuse’s M9 Calculating Punch and Remington Rand����������������� 1116
23.7.1 The M9: The Journeyman Work �������������������������������������������������� 1121
23.8 The Cora Transistor Computer of Contraves������������������������������ 1128
23.9 Heinz Rutishauser: A Forgotten Pioneer������������������������������������ 1130
23.9.1 Rutishauser and the Universal Turing Machine������������������������ 1132
23.9.2 A Fundamental Reference Work for Computer
Construction���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1133
Contents xxix

23.10 Who Was Involved in the Decisions for the Zuse Z4


and the Ermeth?���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1134
23.11 Kommission zur Entwicklung von Rechengeräten in der
Schweiz ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1135
23.12 Who Took Part in the Meetings Concerning the Z4
and When? ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1136
23.13 Who Took Part in the Meetings for the Ermeth?������������������������ 1138
24 Documents Relevant to the Z4 and Ermeth �������������������������������� 1139
24.1 Preliminary Remarks�������������������������������������������������������������������� 1139
24.2 Basic Contract for the Z4 Between Zuse
and the ETH (1949)������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1141
24.3 Supplementary Agreement for the Z4 Between Zuse
and the ETH (1949)������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1151
24.4 Contract Extension of the ETH for the Z4 (1950)������������������������ 1155
24.5 Test Report of the ETH for the Z4 (1949)�������������������������������������� 1157
24.6 Acceptance Certificate for the Z4 (1950)�������������������������������������� 1165
24.7 Final Bill of the Zuse KG for the Z4 (1950) ���������������������������������� 1167
24.8 Agreement for the Return of the Z4 to the Zuse KG (1955)������� 1168
24.9 Project Proposal for the Building of the Ermeth (1953) ������������ 1170
24.10 License Agreement for the Manufacture of the
Magnetic Drum Memory (1955)��������������������������������������������������� 1184
24.11 Research Contract Between Hasler und Paillard
and the ETH (1957)����������������������������������������������������������������������� 1189
25 The Global Evolution of Computer Technology�������������������������� 1193
25.1 Preliminary Remarks�������������������������������������������������������������������� 1193
25.2 Argentina���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1195
25.3 Australia ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1195
25.4 Austria�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1196
25.4.1 The Tauschek System�������������������������������������������������������������������� 1196
25.4.2 The Mailüfterl�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1196
25.5 Belgium������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1197
25.6 Canada�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1198
25.7 China���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1199
25.8 France �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1199
25.8.1 Couffignal’s Failure ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 1199
25.8.2 SEA������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1200
25.8.3 Bull with Gamma ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1200
25.9 India����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1200
25.10 Israel ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1201
25.11 Italy ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1201
25.11.1 The UNESCO International Computation Center ���������������������� 1201
25.11.2 Milan and Pisa ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1203
25.12 Japan ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1203
xxx Contents

25.13 Mexico�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1203


25.14 The Netherlands��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1204
25.15 Russia��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1204
25.16 Spain ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1206
25.16.1 The Analog Calculating Machine of Torres Quevedo���������������� 1207
25.16.2 The Chess Automatons of Torres Quevedo �������������������������������� 1207
25.16.3 The Analytical Engine of Torres Quevedo���������������������������������� 1210
25.16.4 Formal Language �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1212
25.17 Sweden ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 1213
25.17.1 The Bark Relay Computer ������������������������������������������������������������ 1213
25.17.2 Who Operated the Bark? �������������������������������������������������������������� 1214
25.17.3 The Besk Electronic Computer ���������������������������������������������������� 1215
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the murder. Mr. Aaron had not gone up to bed until ten o'clock, and, if
Reuben had planned to return and murder his mother, he could only have
done so at a later hour, when he was seen by several people at the
Kensington Town Hall.

"Subsequently the jury returned an open verdict and that abominable


crime has remained unpunished until now. Though it appeared so simple
and crude at first, it proved a terribly hard nut for the police to crack. We
may say that they never did crack it. They are absolutely convinced that
Reuben Levison and Mrs. Aaron planned to murder the old lady, but how
they did it, no one has been able to establish. As for proofs of their guilt,
there are none and never will be, for though they are perhaps a pair of
rascals, they are not criminals. It is not they who murdered Mrs. Levison."

"You think it was Ida Griggs?" I put in quickly, as the Old Man in the
Corner momentarily ceased talking.

"Ah!" he retorted, with his funny, dry cackle, "you favour that theory, do
you?"

"No, I do not," I replied. "But I don't see——"

"It is a foolish theory," he went on, "not only because there was
absolutely no reason why Ida Griggs should kill her mistress—she did not
rob her, nor had she anything to gain by Mrs. Levison's death—but as she
was neither a cat, nor a night moth, she could not possibly have ascended
from a first floor window to another window on the half-landing above, and
entered her own room that way, for we must not lose sight of the fact that
her bedroom door was the next morning found locked on the outside, and
the key left in the lock."

"Then," I argued, "it must have been a case of ordinary burglary."

"That has been proved impossible," he riposted—"proved to the hilt. No


man could have climbed up the wall of the house without a ladder, and no
man could have brought a ladder into that backyard without leaving some
trace of his passage, however slight: against the walls, around the yard,
there were creepers and shrubs—it would be impossible to drag a heavy
ladder over those walls without breaking some of them."

"But some one killed old Mrs. Levison," I went on with some
exasperation—"she did not strangle herself with her own fingers."

"No, she did not do that," he admitted, with a dry laugh.

"And if the murderer escaped through the window, he could not vanish
into thin air."

"No," he admitted again, "he could not do that."

"Well then?" I retorted.

"Well then, the murder must have been committed by one of the inmates
of the house," he said; and now I knew that I was on the point of hearing the
solution of the mystery of the five diamond stars, because his thin, claw-
like fingers were working with feverish rapidity upon his beloved bit of
string.

"But neither Mrs. Aaron," I argued, "nor Reuben Levison——"

"Neither," he broke in decisively. "We all know that. It was not


conceivable that a woman could commit such a murder, nor that Reuben
would kill his mother in order to gratify his sister-in-law's whim. That, of
course, was nonsense, and every proof, both of time and circumstance, both
of motive and opportunity, was entirely in their favour. No. We must look
for a deeper motive for the hideous crime, a stronger determination, and
above all a more powerful physique and easier opportunity for carrying the
plot through. Personally, I do not believe that there was a plot to murder; on
the other hand, I do believe in the man who idolised his young wife, and
had witnessed a deadly quarrel between her and his mother, and I do believe
in his going presently to the latter in order to try to soothe her anger against
the woman he loved."

"You mean," I gasped, incredulous and scornful, "that it was Aaron


Levison?"
"Of course I mean that," he replied placidly. "And if you think over all
the circumstances of the case you will readily agree with me. We know that
Aaron Levison loved and admired his wife; we know that he was very
athletic, and altogether an outdoor man. Bear these two facts in mind, and
let your thoughts follow the man after the terrible quarrel at the dinner-
table.

"For a while he is busy in the shop, probably brooding over his mother's
anger and the unpleasant consequences it might have for the lovely
Rebecca. But presently he goes upstairs determined to speak with his
mother, to plead with her. Dreading that Ida Griggs, with the habit of her
kind, might sneak out of her room, and perhaps glue her ear to the keyhole,
he turns the key in the lock of the girl's bedroom door. He knows that the
interview with his mother will be unpleasant, that hard words will be
spoken against Rebecca, and these he does not wish Ida Griggs to hear.

"Then he knocks at his mother's door, and asks admittance on the pretext
that he has something of value to remit to her for keeping in her safe. She
would have no reason to refuse. He goes in, talks to his mother; she does
not mince her words. By now she knows the diamond stars have been
extracted from the safe, stolen by her beloved Reuben for the adornment of
the hated daughter-in-law.

"Can't you see those two arguing over the woman whom the man loves
and whom the older woman hates? Can't you see the latter using words
which outrage the husband's pride and rouses his wrath till it gets beyond
his control? Can't you see him in an access of unreasoning passion gripping
his mother by the throat, to smother the insults hurled at his wife?—and can
you see the old woman losing her balance, and hitting her head against the
corner of the marble wash-stand and falling—falling—whilst the son gazes
down, frantic and horror-struck at what he has done?

"Then the instinct of self-preservation is roused. Oh, the man was


cleverer than he was given credit for! He remembers with satisfaction
locking Ida Griggs's door from the outside; and now to give the horrible
accident the appearance of ordinary burglary! He locks his mother's door on
the inside, switches out the light, then throws open the window. For a
youngish man who is active and athletic the drop from a first floor window,
with the aid of a creeper on the wall, presents but little difficulty, and when
a man is faced with a deadly peril, minor dangers do not deter him.

"Fortunately, everything has occurred before he has bolted and barred


the downstairs door for the night. This, of course, greatly facilitates matters.
He lets himself down through the window, jumps down into the yard, lets
himself into the house through the back door, then closes up everything, and
quietly goes upstairs to bed.

"There has not been much noise, even his mother's fall was practically
soundless, and—poor thing!—she had not the time to scream; the only
sound was the opening of the window; it certainly would not bring Ida
Griggs out of her bed—girls of her class are more likely to smother their
heads under their bedclothes if any alarming noise is heard. And so the
unfortunate man is able to sneak up to his room unseen and unheard.

"Whoever would dream of casting suspicion on him?

"He was never mixed up in any quarrel with his mother, and he had
nothing much to gain by her death. At the inquest every one was sorry for
him; but I could not repress a feeling of admiration for the coolness and
cleverness with which he obliterated every trace of his crime. I imagine him
carefully wiping his boots before he went upstairs, and brushing and folding
up his clothes before he went to bed. Cannot you?

"A clever criminal, what?" the whimsical creature concluded, as he put


his piece of string in the pocket of his funny tweed coat. "Think of it—you
will see that I am right. As you say, Mrs. Levison did not strangle herself,
and a burglar from the outside could not have vanished into thin air."
VI

THE MYSTERY OF THE DOG'S TOOTH CLIFF

The Old Man in the Corner was more than usually loquacious that day:
he had a great deal to say on the subject of the strictures which a learned
judge levelled against the police in a recent murder case.

"Well deserved," he concluded, with his usual self-opinionated emphasis,


"but not more so in this case than in many others, where blunder after
blunder is committed and the time of the courts wasted without either judge
or magistrate, let alone the police, knowing where the hitch lies."

"Of course, you always know," I remarked dryly.

"Nearly always," he replied, with ludicrous self-complacence. "Have I


not proved to you over and over again that with a little reasonable common-
sense and a minimum of logic there is no such thing as an impenetrable
mystery in criminology. Criminology is an exact science to which certain
rules of reasoning invariably apply. The trouble is that so few are masters of
logic and that fewer still know how to apply its rules. Now take the case of
that poor girl, Janet Smith. We are likely to see some startling developments
in it within the next two or three days. You'll see if we don't, and they will
open the eyes of the police and public alike to what has been clear as
daylight to me ever since the first day of the inquest."

I hastened to assure the whimsical creature that though I was acquainted


with the main circumstances of the tragedy, I was very vague as to detail,
and that nothing would give me greater pleasure than that he should
enlighten my mind on the subject—which he immediately proceeded to do.

"You know Broxmouth, don't you?" he began, after a while—"on the


Wessex coast. It is a growing place, for the scenery is superb, and the air
acts on jaded spirits like sparkling wine. The only drawback—that is, from
an artistic point of view—to the place is that hideous barrack-like building
on the West Cliff. It is a huge industrial school recently erected and
endowed by the trustees of the Woodforde bequest for the benefit of sons of
temporary officers killed in the war, and is under the presidency of no less a
personage than General Sir Arkwright Jones, who has a whole alphabet
after his name.

"The building is certainly an eyesore, and before it came into being,


Broxmouth was a real beauty spot. If you have ever been there, you will
remember that fine walk along the edge of the cliffs, at the end of which
there is a wonderful view as far as the towers of Barchester Cathedral. It is
called the Lovers' Walk, and is patronised by all the young people in the
neighbourhood. They find it romantic as well as exhilarating: the objective
is usually Kurtmoor, where there are one or two fine hotels for plutocrats in
search of rural surroundings, and where humble folk like you and I and the
aforesaid lovers can get an excellent cup of tea at the Wheatsheaf in the
main village street.

"But it is a daylight walk, for the path is narrow and in places the cliffs
fall away, sheer and precipitous, to the water's edge, whilst loose bits of
rock have an unpleasant trick of giving way under one's feet. If you were to
consult one of the Broxmouth gaffers on the advisability of taking a
midnight walk to Kurtmoor, he would most certainly shake his head and tell
you to wait till the next day and take your walk in the morning. Accidents
have happened there more than once, though Broxmouth holds its tongue
about that. Rash pedestrians have lost their footing and tumbled down the
side of the cliff before now, almost always with fatal results.

"And so, when a couple of small boys hunting for mussels at low tide in
the early morning of May fifth last, saw the body of a woman lying
inanimate upon the rocks at the foot of the cliffs, and reported their
discovery to the police, every one began by concluding that nothing but an
accident had occurred, and went on to abuse the town Council for not
putting up along the more dangerous portions of the Lovers' Walk some sort
of barrier as a protection to unwary pedestrians.

"Later on, when the body was identified as that of Miss Janet Smith, a
well-known resident of Broxmouth, public indignation waxed high: the
barrier along the edge of the Lovers' Walk became the burning question of
the hour. But during the whole of that day the 'accident' theory was never
disputed; it was only towards evening that whispers of 'suicide' began to
circulate, to be soon followed by the more ominous ones of 'murder.'

"And the next morning Broxmouth had the thrill of its life when it
became known throughout the town that Captain Franklin Marston had
been detained in connection with the finding of the body of Janet Smith,
and that he would appear that day before the magistrate on a charge of
murder.

"Properly to appreciate the significance of such an announcement, it


would be necessary to be oneself a resident of Broxmouth where the
Woodforde Institute, its affairs and its personnel are, as it were, the be-all
and end-all of all the gossip in the neighbourhood. To begin with the
deceased was head matron of the institute, and the man now accused of the
foul crime of having murdered her was its secretary; moreover the secretary
and the pretty young matron were known to be very much in love with one
another, and, as a matter of fact, Broxmouth had of late been looking
forward to a very interesting wedding. The idea of Captain Marston—who
by the way was very good-looking, very smart, and a splendid tennis player
—being accused of murdering his sweetheart was in itself so preposterous,
so impossible, that his numerous friends and many admirers were aghast
and incredulous. 'There is some villainous plot here somewhere,' the ladies
averred, and wanted to know what Major Gubbins's attitude was going to be
under these tragic circumstances.

"Major Gubbins, if you remember, was headmaster of the school, and,


what's more, he, too, had been very much in love with Janet Smith, but it
appeared that his friendship with Captain Marston had prompted him to
stand aside as soon as he realised which way the girl's affections lay. Major
Gubbins was not so popular as the Captain, he was inclined to be off-hand
and disagreeable, so the ladies said, and, moreover, he did not play tennis,
and, with the sublime inconsequence of your charming sex, they seemed to
connect these defects with the terrible accusation which was now weighing
upon the Major's successful rival.

"The executive of the institute consisted, in addition to the three persons


I have named, of its president, General Sir Arkwright Jones, who, it seems,
took little if any interest in the concern. It seemed as if, by giving it the
prestige of his name, he had done all that he intended for the furtherance of
the institute's welfare. Then there were the governors, a number of amiable
local gentlemen and ladies who played tennis all day and attended
innumerable tea-parties, and knew as much about administering a big
concern as a terrier does of rabbit-rearing.

"In the midst of this official supineness, the murder of the young matron,
followed immediately by the arrest of the secretary, had come as a
bombshell, and now wise heads began to wag and ominous murmurs
became current that for some time past there had been something very
wrong in the management of the Woodforde Institute. Whilst, at the call of
various august personages, money was pouring in from the benevolent
public, the commissariat was being conducted on parsimonious lines that
were a positive scandal. The boys were shockingly underfed, and the staff
of servants was constantly being changed because girls would not remain
on what they called a starvation régime.

"Then again, no proper accounts had been kept since the inception of the
Institute five years ago; entries were spasmodic, irregular and unreliable;
books were never audited; no one, apparently, had the slightest idea of
profit and loss or of balances; no one knew from week to week where the
salaries and wages were coming from, or from quarter to quarter if there
would be funds enough to meet rates and taxes; no one, in fact, appeared to
know anything about the affairs of the Institute, least of all the secretary
himself, who had often remarked quite jocularly that he had never in all his
life known anything about book-keeping, and that his appointment by the
governors rested upon his agreeable personality rather than upon his
financial and administrative ability.

"As you see, the Captain's position was, in consequence of this, a very
serious one; it became still more so when presently two or three ominous
facts came to light. To begin with, it seemed that he could give absolutely
no account of himself during the greater part of the night of May fifth. He
had left the Institute at about seven o'clock; he told the headmaster then that
he was going for a walk which seemed strange as it was pouring with rain.
On the other hand the landlady at the room where he lodged told the police
that when she herself went to bed at eleven o'clock, the Captain had not
come in: she hadn't seen him since morning, when he went to his work, and
at what time he eventually came home she couldn't say.

"But there was worse to come: firstly, a stick was found on the beach
some thirty yards or less from the spot where the body itself was
discovered; and secondly, the police produced a few strands of wool which
were, it seems, clinging to the poor girl's hatpin, and which presumably
were torn out of a muffler during the brief struggle which must have
occurred when she was first attacked and before she lost her footing and fell
down the side of the cliff.

"Now the stick was identified as the property of Captain Marston, and he
had been seen on the road with it in his hand in the early part of the
evening. He was then walking alone on the Lovers' Walk; two Broxmouth
visitors met him on their way back from Kurtmoor. Knowing him by sight,
they passed the time of day. These witnesses, however, were quite sure that
Captain Marston was not then wearing a muffler, on the other hand they
were equally sure that he carried the stick; they had noticed it as a very
unusual one, of what is known as Javanese snake-wood with a round heavy
knob and leather strap which the Captain carried slung upon his arm.

"Of course, the matter interested me enormously; it is not often that a


person of the social and intellectual calibre of Captain Marston stands
accused of so foul a crime. If he was guilty, then indeed, he was one of the
vilest criminals that ever defaced God's earth, and in the annals of crime
there were few crimes more hideous. The poor girl, it seems, had been in
love with him right up to the end and, according to some well-informed
gossips, the wedding-day had actually been fixed.

"The unsuccessful rival, Major Gubbins, too, was an interesting


personality, and it was difficult to suppose that he was entirely ignorant of
the events which must of necessity have led up to the crime. Supposedly
there had been a quarrel between the lovers; sundry rumours were current
as to this and in a vague way those rumours connected this quarrel with the
shaky financial situation of the Institute. But it was all mere surmise and
very contradictory; no one could easily state what possible connection there
could be between the affairs of the Institute and the murder of the chief
matron.

"In the meanwhile the accused had been brought up before the
magistrate, and formal evidence of the finding of the body and of the arrest
was given, as well as of the subsequent discovery of the stick, which was
identified by the two witnesses, and of the strands of wool. The accused
was remanded until the following Monday, bail being refused. The inquest
was held a day or two later, and I went down to Broxmouth for it. I
remember how hot it was in that crowded court-room; excited and
perspiring humanity filled the stuffy atmosphere with heat. While the crowd
jabbered and fidgeted I had a good look at the chief personages who were
about to enact a thrilling drama for my entertainment; you have seen
portraits of them all in the illustrated papers, the British army being well
represented by a trio of as fine specimens of manhood as any one would
wish to see.

"The President, General Arkwright Jones, was there as a matter of


course. He looked worried and annoyed that the even tenor of his pleasant
existence should have been disturbed by this tiresome event; he is the
regular type of British pre-war officer with ruddy face and white hair,
something like a nice ripe tomato that has been packed in cotton wool. Then
there was the headmaster, Major Gubbins, well-groomed, impassive,
immaculate in dress and bearing; and finally the accused himself, in charge
of two warders, a fine-looking man, obviously more of a soldier and an
athlete than a clerk immersed in figures.

"Two other persons in the crowded room arrested my attention: two


women. One of them dressed in deep black, thin lipped, with pale round
eyes and pursed-up mouth was Miss Amelia Smith, the sister with whom
the deceased had been living, and the other was Louisa Rumble who held
the position of housekeeper at the Woodforde Institute. The latter was one
of the first witnesses called: and her evidence was intensely interesting
because it gave one the first clue as to the motive which underlay the
hideous crime. The woman's testimony, you must know, bore entirely on the
question of housekeeping and of the extraordinary scarcity of money in the
richly-endowed Institute.
"'Often and often,' said the witness, a motherly old soul in a flamboyant
bonnet, 'did I complain to Miss Smith when she give me my weekly
allowance for the tradesmen's books: "'Tisn't enough, Miss Smith," I says to
'er, "not to feed a family," I says, "let alone thirty growin' boys and 'arf a
dozen working girls." But Miss Smith she just shook 'er 'ead and says:
"Committee's orders, Mrs. Rumble, I 'ave no power." "Why don't you speak
to the Captain?" I says to 'er, "'e 'as the 'andling of the money, it is a
scandal," I says. "Those boys can't live on boiled bacon an' beans and not
English nor Irish bacon it ain't neither," I says. "Pore lambs! The money I
'ave won't pay for beef or mutton for them, Miss Smith," I says, "and you
know it." But Miss Smith, she only shook 'er 'ead and says she would speak
to the Captain about it.'

"Asked whether she knew if deceased had actually spoken to the


secretary on the subject, Mrs. Rumble said most emphatically 'Yes!'

"'What's more, sir,' she went on, 'I can tell you that the very day before
she died, the pore lamb 'ad a reg'lar tiff with the Captain about that there
commissariat.'

"Mrs. Rumble had stumbled a little over the word, but strangely enough
no one tittered; the importance of the old woman's testimony was impressed
upon every mind and silenced every tongue. All eyes were turned in the
direction of the accused. He had flushed to the roots of his hair, but
otherwise stood quite still, with arms folded, and a dull expression of
hopelessness upon his good-looking face.

"The coroner had asked the witness how she knew that Miss Smith had
had words with Captain Marston: 'Because I 'eard them two 'aving words,
sir,' Mrs. Rumble replied. 'I'd been in the office to get my money and my
orders from Miss Smith, and we 'ad the usual talk about American bacon
and boiled beans, with which I don't 'old, not for growing boys; then back I
went to the kitchen, when I remembered I 'ad forgot to speak to Miss Smith
about the scullery-maid, who'd been saucy and given notice. So up I went
again, and I was just a-goin' to open the office door when I 'eard Miss Smith
say quite loud and distinck: "It is shameful," she says, "and I can't bear it,"
she says, "and if you won't speak to the General then I will. He is staying at
the Queen's at Kurtmoor, I understand," she says, "and I am goin' this very
night to speak with him," she says, "as I can't spend another night," she
says, "with this on my mind." Then I give a genteel cough and...'

"The worthy lady had got thus far in her story when her volubility was
suddenly checked by a violent expletive from the accused.

"'But this is damnable!' he cried, and no doubt would have said a lot
more, but a touch on his shoulder from the warders behind him quickly
recalled him to himself. He once more took up his outwardly calm attitude,
and Mrs. Rumble concluded her evidence amidst silence more ominous
than any riotous scene would have been.

"'I give a genteel cough,' she resumed with unruffled dignity, 'and
opened the door. Miss Smith, she was all flushed and I could see that she'd
been crying; but the Captain; 'e just walked out of the room, and didn't say
not another word.'

"By this time," the Old Man in the Corner went on dryly, "we must
suppose that the amateur detectives and the large body of unintelligent
public felt that they were being cheated. Never had there been so simple a
case. Here, with the testimony of Mrs. Rumble, was the whole thing clear as
daylight—motive, quarrel, means, everything was there already. No chance
of exercising those powers of deduction so laboriously acquired by a
systematic study of detective fiction. Had it not been for the position of the
accused and his popularity in Broxmouth society, all interest in the case
would have departed in the wake of Mrs. Rumble, and at first, when Miss
Amelia Smith, sister of the deceased, was called, her appearance only
roused languid curiosity. Miss Amelia looked what, in fact, she was: a
retired school marm, and wore the regular hallmark of impecunious and
somewhat soured spinsterhood.

"'Janet often told me,' she said, in the course of her evidence, 'that she
was quite sure there was roguery going on in the affairs of the Institute,
because she knew for a fact that subscriptions were constantly pouring in
from the public, far in excess of what was being spent for the welfare of the
boys. I often used to urge her to go straight to the governors or even to the
President himself about the whole matter, but she would always give the
same disheartened reply. General Arkwright Jones, it seems, had made it a
condition when he accepted the presidency that he was never to be worried
about the administration of the place, and he refused to have anything to do
with the handling of the subscriptions; as for the governors, my poor sister
declared that they cared more for tennis parties than for the welfare of a lot
of poor officers' children.'

"But a moment or two later we realised that Miss Amelia Smith was
keeping her titbit of evidence until the end. It seems that she had not even
spoken about it to the police, determined as she was, no doubt, to create a
sensation for once in her monotonous and dreary life. So now she pursed up
her lips tighter than before, and after a moment's dramatic silence, she said:

"'The day before her death, my poor sister was very depressed. In the
late afternoon, when she came in for tea, I could see that she had been
crying. I guessed, of course, what was troubling her, but I didn't say much.
Captain Franklin Marston was in the habit of calling for Janet in the
evening, and they would go for a walk together; at eight o'clock on that sad
evening I asked her whether Captain Marston was coming as usual;
whereupon she became quite excited, and said: "No, no, I don't wish to see
him!" and after a while she added in a voice choked with tears: "Never
again!"

"'About a quarter of an hour later,' Miss Amelia went on, 'Janet suddenly
took up her hat and coat. I asked her where she was going, and she said to
me: "I don't know, but I must put an end to all this. I must know one way or
the other." I tried to question her further, but she was in an obstinate mood;
when I remarked that it was raining hard she said: "That's all right, the rain
will do me good." And when I asked her whether she wasn't going to meet
Captain Marston after all, she just gave me a look, but she made no reply.
And so my poor sister went out into the darkness and the rain, and I never
again saw her alive.'

"Miss Amelia paused just long enough to give true dramatic value to her
statement, and indeed there was nothing lukewarm now about the interest
which she aroused; then she continued:

"'As the clock was striking nine I was surprised to receive a visit from
the headmaster, Major Gubbins. He came with a message from Captain
Marston to my sister; I told him that Janet had gone out. He appeared
vexed, and told me that the Captain would be terribly disappointed.'

"'What was this message?' the coroner asked, amidst breathless silence.

"'That Janet would please meet Captain Marston at the Dog's Tooth Cliff.
He would wait for her there until nine o'clock.'"

The Old Man in the Corner gave a short, sharp laugh, and with loving
eyes contemplated his bit of string, in which he had just woven an elegant
and complicated knot. Then he said:

"Now it was at the foot of the Dog's Tooth Cliff that the dead body of
Janet Smith was found and some thirty yards further on the stick which had
last been seen in the hand of Captain Franklin Marston. Nervous women
gave a gasp, and scarcely dared to look at the accused, for fear, no doubt,
that they would see the hangman's rope around his neck, but I took a good
look at him then. He had uttered a loud groan and buried his face in his
hands, and I, with that unerring intuition on which I pride myself, knew that
he was acting. Yes, deliberately acting a part—the part of shame and
despair. You, no doubt, would ask me why he should have done this. Well,
you shall understand presently. For the moment, and to all unthinking
spectators, the attitude of despair on the part of the accused appeared fully
justified.

"Later on we heard the evidence of Major Gubbins himself. He said that


about seven o'clock he met Captain Marston in the hall of the Institute.

"'He appeared flushed and agitated,' the witness went on, very reluctantly
it seemed, but in answer to pressing questions put to him by the coroner,
'and told me he was going for a walk. When I remarked that it was raining
hard, he retorted that the rain would do him good. He didn't say where he
was going, but presently he put his hand on my shoulder and said in a tone
of pleading and affection which I shall never forget: "Old man," he said, "I
want you to do something for me. Tell Janet that I must see her again to-
night; beg her not to deny me. I will meet her at our usual place on the
Dog's Tooth Cliff. Tell her I will wait for her there until nine o'clock,
whatever the weather. But she must come. Tell her she must."
"'Unfortunately,' the Major continued, 'I was unable to deliver the
message immediately, as I had work to do in my office which kept me till
close on nine o'clock. Then I hurried down to the Smiths' house, and just
missed Miss Janet who, it seems, had already gone out.'

"Asked why he had not spoken about this before, the Major replied that
he did not intend to give evidence at all unless he was absolutely forced to
do so, as a matter of duty. Captain Marston was his friend, and he did not
think that any man was called upon to give what might prove damnatory
evidence against his friend.

"All this sounded very nice and very loyal until we learned that William
Peryer, batman at the Institute, testified to having overheard violent words
between the headmaster and the secretary at the very same hour when the
latter was supposed to have made so pathetic an appeal to his friend to
deliver a message on his behalf. Peryer swore that the two men were
quarrelling and quarrelling bitterly. The words he overheard were: 'You
villain! You shall pay for this!' But he was so upset and so frightened that
he could not state positively which of the two gentlemen had spoken them,
but he was inclined to think that it was Major Gubbins.

"And so the tangle grew, a tangled web that was dexterously being
woven around the secretary of the Institute. The two Broxmouth visitors
were recalled, and they once more swore positively to having met Captain
Marston on the Lovers' Walk at about eight o'clock of that fateful evening.
They spoke to him and they noticed the stick which he was carrying. They
were on their way home from Kurtmoor, and they met the Captain some
two hundred yards or so before they came to the Dog's Tooth Cliff. Of this
they were both quite positive. The lady remembered coming to the cliff a
few minutes later: she was nervous in the dark and therefore the details of
the incident impressed themselves upon her memory. Subsequently when
they were nearing home they met a lady who might or might not have been
the deceased; they did not know her by sight and the person they met had
her hat pulled down over her eyes and the collar of her coat up to her ears.
It was raining hard then, and they themselves were hurrying along and paid
no attention to passers-by.
"We also heard that at about nine o'clock James Hoggs and his wife, who
live in a cottage not very far from the Dog's Tooth Cliff, heard a terrifying
scream. They were just going to bed and closing up for the night. Hoggs
had the front door open at the moment and was looking at the weather. It
was raining, but nevertheless he picked up his hat and ran out toward the
cliff. A moment or two later he came up against a man whom he hailed; it
was very dark, but he noticed that the man was engaged in wrapping a
muffler round his neck. He asked him whether he had heard a scream, but
the man said: 'No, I've not!' then hurried quickly out of sight. As Hoggs
heard nothing more, or saw anything, he thought that perhaps, after all, he
and his missis had been mistaken, so he turned back home and went to bed.

"I think," the Old Man in the Corner continued thoughtfully, "that I have
now put before you all the most salient points in the chain of evidence
collected by the police against the accused. There were not many faulty
links in the chain, you will admit. The motive for the hideous crime was
clear enough: for there was the fraudulent secretary and the unfortunate girl
who had suspected the defalcations and was threatening to go and denounce
her lover either to the President of the Institute or to the governors. And the
method was equally clear: the meeting in the dark and the rain on the lonely
cliff, the muffler quickly thrown around the victim's mouth to smother her
screams, the blow with the stick, the push over the edge of the cliff. The
stick stood up as an incontestable piece of evidence. The absence from
home of the accused during the greater part of that night had been testified
by his landlady, whilst his presence on the scene of the crime some time
during the evening was not disputed.

"As a matter of fact, the only points in the man's favour were the strands
of wool found sticking to the girl's hatpin, and Hoggs's story of the man
whom he had seen in the dark, engaged in readjusting a muffler around his
neck. Unfortunately Hoggs, when more closely questioned on that subject,
became incoherent and confused, as men of his class are apt to do when
pinned down to a definite statement.

"Anyway, the accused was committed for trial on the coroner's warrant,
and, of course, reserved his defence. You probably, like the rest of the
public, kept up a certain amount of interest in the Cliff murder, as it was
popularly called, for a time, and then allowed your mind to dwell on other
matters and forgot poor Captain Franklin Marston who was languishing in
gaol under such a horrible accusation. Subsequently your interest in him
revived when he was brought up for trial the other day at the Barchester
Assizes. In the meanwhile he had secured the services of Messrs. Charnton
and Inglewood, the noted solicitors, who had engaged Mr. Provost Boon,
K.C., to defend their client.

"You know as well as I do what happened at the trial, and how Mr. Boon
turned the witnesses for the Crown inside out and round about until they
contradicted themselves and one another all along the line. The defence was
conducted in a masterly fashion. To begin with, the worthy housekeeper,
Mrs. Rumble, after a stiff cross-examination, which lasted nearly an hour,
was forced to admit that she could not swear positively to the exact words
which she overheard between the deceased and Captain Marston. All that
she could swear to was that the Captain and his sweetheart had apparently
had a tiff. Then, as to Miss Amelia Smith's evidence; it also merely went to
prove that the lovers had had a quarrel; there was nothing whatever to say
that it was on the subject of finance, nor that deceased had any intention
either of speaking to the President about it or of handing in her resignation
to the governors.

"Next came the question of Major Gubbins's story of the message which
he had been asked by his friend to deliver to the deceased. Now accused
flatly denied that story, and denied it on oath. The whole thing, he declared,
was a fabrication on the part of the Major who, far from being his friend,
was his bitter enemy and unsuccessful rival. In support of this theory
William Peryer's evidence was cited as conclusive. He had heard the two
men quarrelling at the very moment when accused was alleged to have
made a pathetic appeal to his friend. Peryer had heard one of them say to
the other: 'You villain! You shall pay for this!' And in very truth, the
unfortunate Captain was paying for it, in humiliation and racking anxiety.

"Then there came the great, the vital question of the stick and of the
strands of wool so obviously torn out of a muffler. With regard to the stick,
the accused had stated that in the course of his walk he had caught his foot
against a stone and stumbled, and that the stick had fallen out of his hand
and over the edge of the cliff. Now this statement was certainly borne out
by the fact that, as eminent counsel reminded the jury, the stick was found
more than thirty yards away from the body. As for the muffler, it was a
graver point still; strands of wool were found sticking to the girl's hatpin,
and James Hoggs, after hearing a scream at nine o'clock that evening, ran
out towards the cliff and came across a man who was engaged in
readjusting a muffler round his throat. That was incontestable.

"Of course, Mr. Boon argued, it was easy enough to upset a witness of
the type of James Hoggs, but an English jury's duty was not to fasten guilt
on the first man who happens to be handy, but to see justice meted out to
innocent and guilty alike. The evidence of the muffler, argued the eminent
counsel, was proof positive of the innocence of the accused. The witnesses
who saw him in the Lovers' Walk on that fateful night had declared most
emphatically that he was not wearing a muffler. Then where was the man
with the muffler? Where was the man who was within a few yards of the
scene of the crime five minutes after James Hoggs had heard the scream—
the man who had denied hearing the scream although both Hoggs and his
wife heard it over a quarter of a mile away?

"'Yes, gentlemen of the jury,' the eminent counsel concluded with a


dramatic gesture, 'it is the man with the muffler who murdered the
unfortunate girl. If he is innocent why is he not here to give evidence?
There are no side tracks that lead to the cliffs at this point, so the man with
the muffler must have seen something or some one; he must know
something that would be of invaluable assistance in the elucidation of this
sad mystery. Then why does he not come forward? I say because he dare
not. But let the police look for him, I say. The accused is innocent; he is the
victim of tragic circumstances, but his whole life, his war-record, his
affection for the deceased, all proclaim him to be guiltless of such a
dastardly crime, and above all there stands the incontestable proof of his
innocence, the muffler, gentlemen of the jury—the muffler!'

"He said a lot more than that, of course," the Old Man in the Corner
went on, chuckling dryly to himself, "and said it a lot better than ever I can
repeat it, but I have given you the gist of what he said. You know the result
of the trial. The accused was acquitted, the jury having deliberated less than
a quarter of an hour. There was no getting away from that muffler, even
though every other circumstance pointed to Marston as the murderer of
Janet Smith.

"On the whole, his acquittal was a popular one, although many who were
present at the trial shook their heads, and thought that if they had been on
the jury Marston would not have got off so easily, but for the most part
these sceptics were not Broxmouth people. In Broxmouth the Captain was
personally liked, and the proclamation of his innocence was hailed with
enthusiasm; and, what's more, those same champions of the good-looking
secretary—they were the women mostly—looked askance on the
headmaster, who, they averred, had woven a Machiavellian net for trapping
and removing from his path for ever a hated and successful rival.

"The police have received a perfect deluge of anonymous


communications suggesting that Major Gubbins was identical with the
mysterious man with the muffler, but, of course, such a suggestion is
perfectly absurd, since at the very hour when James Hoggs heard the
scream, and a very few minutes before he met the man with the muffler,
Major Gubbins was paying his belated visit to Miss Amelia Smith and
delivering the alleged message. Even those ladies who disliked the
headmaster most cordially had to admit that he could not very well have
been in two places at the same time. The Dog's Tooth Cliff is a good half
hour's walk from Miss Smith's house, and the Lovers' Walk itself is not
accessible to cyclists or motors.

"And thus, to all intents and purposes, the Cliff murder has remained a
mystery, but it won't be one for long. Have I not told you that you may
expect important developments within the next few days? And I am seldom
wrong. Already in this evening's paper you will have read that the entire
executive of the Woodforde Institute has placed its resignation in the hands
of the governors, that several august personages have withdrawn their
names from the list of patrons, and that though the President has been
implored not to withdraw his name, he has proved adamant on the subject,
and even refused to recommend successors to the headmaster, the secretary,
or the matron; in fact, he has seemingly washed his hands of the whole
concern."
"But surely," I now broke in, seeing that the Old Man in the Corner
threatened to put away his piece of string and to leave me without the usual
epilogue to his interesting narrative, "surely General Sir Arkwright Jones
cannot be blamed for the scandal which undoubtedly has dimmed the
fortunes of the Woodforde Institute?"

"Cannot be blamed?" the Old Man in the Corner retorted sarcastically.


"Cannot be blamed for entering into a conspiracy with his secretary and his
head-master to defraud the Institute, and then to silence for ever the one
voice that might have been raised in accusation against him."

"Sir Arkwright Jones?" I exclaimed incredulously, for indeed the idea


appeared to me preposterous then, as the General's name was almost a
household word before the catastrophe. "Impossible!"

"Impossible!" he reiterated. "Why? He murdered Janet Smith; of that


you will be as convinced within the next few days as I am at this hour. That
the three men were in collusion I have not the shadow of doubt. Marston
only made love to Janet Smith in order to secure her silence; but in this he
failed, and the girl boldly accused him of roguery as soon as she found him
out. It would be inconceivable to suppose that being the bright, intelligent
girl that she admittedly was, she could remain for ever in ignorance of the
defalcations in the books; she must and did tax her lover of irregularities,
she must have and indeed did threaten to put the whole thing before the
governors. So much for the lovers' quarrel overheard by Mrs. Rumble.

"I believe that the fate of the poor girl was decided on then and there by
two of the scoundrels; it only remained to consult with their other
accomplice as to the best means for carrying their hideous project through.
Janet had announced her determination to go to Kurtmoor that self-same
evening, the only question was which of those three miscreants would meet
her in the darkness and solitude of the Lovers' Walk. But in order at the
outset to throw dust in the eyes of the public and the police and not appear
to be in any way associated with one another, Marston and Gubbins made
pretence of a violent quarrel which Peryer overheard; then Gubbins, in
order to make sure that the poor girl would carry out her intention of going
over to Kurtmoor that evening, went to her house with the supposed
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