Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-06-15
TE WITHERED HAND.
BsInE g Lawyers story Of a Terrible
WanEaance.

There was quite q crowd around
bfr. Bermutier, the great criminal law
yer, as he discussed the mysterious
Saint Cloud affair. For a month this
inezplicable crime was the sensation
of Paris. Nobody could make any
thing out of it.
Mr.. Bermutier, with his back TO the
fireplace, arrayed proofs and cited
different opinions, but drew no con-
clusion.
Several ladies had risen and drawn
near him, and remained standing, with
their eyes fixed upon the smoothly
shaven mouth Of the attorney, whence
fell such weighty words. The women
shivered, chilled by their inquisitive
fright. by that Unsuitable hunger for
the dreadful, which haunts their souls.
One Of them, paler than the rest, exc
claimed:
at is frightful. 1t approaches the
supernatural. 1t will never be clear
ed up"
The great lawyer turned toward
her:
eyes, it will probably always re-
main a mystery" he said. 'But the
word supernatural, that you used, is
hardly called for. The matter we are
discussing is a cleverIy devised. clever
ly executed crime, so enveloped in
darkness that we can not disentangle
the impenetrable network Of circum-
stances that surrounds it. Butt con-
Tess that I was once called upon to
follow a case which really seemed to
have some hint of the fantas tic about
it. We were, in fac, compelled TO
give it up for want Of data on which
to proceed"
All the women cried with one voice:
ooh, tell us about it,"
Mr.. Bermutier smiled gravely, as 6
great criminal lawyer should smile,
and continued;
lido not myself admit that there can
be any such thing as a superhuman
agency. should substitute the word
lnexplicable' for supernatural
I'm the story l am going to tell, it
was the surrounding or preparatory
circumstances that impressed me. The
facts were as follows: At the time 1
speak OF, l was examining magistrate
at AjacciO. My business was princi-
pally the prosecution Of cases OF ven
delta. In Corsica, as we all know,
this sort Offamily vengeance has given
rise to superbIy dramatic, highly
heroic Incidents. For two years l
heard of little beside the avenger Of
biOod-the COrsican code that reveng-
es murder on the person who COM
mits it, or his descendants and rela-
tives. 1 had seen old men, children,
and distant cousins mass acred; my
head was filled with such dOings.
81 heard one day that an English
man had rented a villa on the gulf for
several years. He had a French SER
want, engaged at Marseilles, on his
way to AjacciO- Soon the whole place
was taking an interest in this odd IN
dividual, who lived alone, and only
went out to shoot or fish. He spoke
to nobody, never came to town, and
praCticed shooting a a mark every
morning for an hour or two.
"StOries began to be told about
him. 1t was said that he was a man
OF high birth, who had fled his country
for political reasons; then rumOE ran
that he was hiding on account of
some dreadful crime he had commit
ted, Of which specially horrible details
were given.
CAS- examining magistrate, L desired
to obtain some truStW OrthY inEOrma-
tiOn about the man, but I could learn
nothing. He gave Sir John ROWeu as
his name.
81 had him watched but nothing
suspicious about him was reported.
"Stin as gossip about him grew
more general and more eXtraOrdina-
ry, 1 determined to see him for myself,
and took to hunting in the neighbour
hood OF his estate.
1.-The occasion presented itself upon
my killing a partridge under the En-
gllshman's very nose one day. My
dog brought me the bird, which I at
once presented to Sin John ROwell.
apolOgizIng for my intrusion. HeWas
a large man with red hair and beard,
tall and strong. a placid polished Her
cules. He had none Of the so-called
British stiffness, and thanked me in
French, but with the decided accent
of the other side Of the Channel.
Within the month we had chatted to-
gether FIVE or six times.
cat last, one evening as Ipassed his
gate, 1 saw him smoking q pipe, sit
ting astrlde a chair in his garden. I
bowed, and he asked me to come in
and drink a glass Of beer. I did not
wait to be urged. He received me
with the scrupulOus courtesy Of the
English, and began to praise France
and Corsica.
''Then with the greatest precautiOn,
masking my curiosity under the form
of a deep interest IN him, asked q few
questions about his life and his plans.
He answered with unem EMBARRASSED
Hankness, told me he had Travelled a
great deal, in Africa, the Indies, and
In America. He added, Laughing:
90 'Oh, yesl I've had a great many
adventures