Hutchinson gazette., 1900-08-23

awaiting the moment OF Identification
At last my colleague summoned us.
"Fctch the Arab or II will he too late,"
VandIer opened his eyes MS we entered
with our prisoner, then closed them
with a shudder,
The sergcnnts features were con-
vulscd by some mental struggle nnd
his threatening wordsagalnsttbe Arab
rang In my ears; why / could not tell
Then with an expression Of pity 0l'
most penitent remorse, he murmured;
"It is."
Noble soul, true'hcNrted Vandier,
grleyed that his murderer SHOULD suf-
fer the penalty Of his crime
But Omar cnst himself beside the dy-
Ing man, and cried with refinement
Of hypocrNical sincerity
IN Allnh's name Ncyer injured this
mani he said,
And before we could prevent him, he
had kissed Vnndiers hand with pas
Bionnte devotion,
The excitement overwhelmed the In
valid, his breath came In gnsps, hlseyes
closed, and then followed an ominous
silence.
The following days we devoted to
cnreful investigation Of the facts, Need
less investigation To my mind, con.
yinced as | wns OF Vandicr's absolute
loyalty. As impartial Judge, however,
/ pretended the absolute necessity OF
o''t'~"ting the prisoncr'sunswerying
asseyeluldons OF jhnocence, and my
colleague, for some reason unknown TO
me, but based he told MS upon patho'
logical reasons, supported him.
Our researches confirmed all the de-
tails OF Vandicr's story That Omnr's
friends and relatives swore he had not
been absent from the tent at the hour
specified we did not heed, for the Arabs
would naturally seek to protect their
klnsmnn.
One thing however, impressed us rs
strange, The terrible hcmorrhoge that
must have followed had not stained
the bottom OF the runObout, and yet
the ground where the uttuch was made
hnu ueen flooded deep crimson.
at dropped through The cracks" l
asserted when Gnrlen mentioned the
lmprobnbllily OF the wounded man huv'
ing climbed from the wagon In pursuit
of the villain.
"But in that case we would find trNc-
es of It all along the road"
] left the judge In anger at his I'M
piled doubt OF Vander's ycracity, Our
Arab maintaining an attitude Of digni.
fed resignation. Allah would not de-
sent his child until his Innocence had
been proven!
Early in the morning Of the day np-
pointed for the mans conviction Gar
len came to me with something clasped
tightly in his hand
"Whut do you make OF that?" he
n ked, extending bullet Of the calibre
used by Vnndicr instead Of the Arab,
and in the place Of the rags they use,
bit of wood, "Why, wood; rather
superhuous in wound 1t seems to
me-"
"Where did you got them?" I asked
vaguely dsconcerted by the occur
renee.
"Your colleague brought them to me
after the autopsy" said Garicn, be-
tween his teeth, "Come let us examine
the wagonette again
We went out together, | still seek
ing an explanation to this underlined
accusation agNnst my departed friend
Garien quietly fitted the splinter'
into small hole in the bottom of the
runabout Not morsel was missing
Vandier himself had explained this
hole by the accidental discharge OF his
gun,
"Thcrc," said he at last, ! could moi
believe my eyes,
"lmpossiblc!" ! cried "thcy are mo-
the same color as the wagon"
The judge gravely scrapcd away tho
blood on the splnters The bright yel
low that Nander Lad used to stain
his wagonette cleaned beneath the
sombre bloodstuin.
"I--I don't understand" stnmmered
The judge looked at me; and then he
said:
"You know Vandier hunted, or, rNth
er, poached?" he said coldy.
] nodded.
swell, he shot himself and Omar Is
innocent. 1t is all quite clear. RETURN
ing that morning he discovered one Of
the pheasants his trusted friend was
so fond Of sending him; dismountinp
he started to pull ont his gun, but the
trigger ought, discharglng the bullet
which lodged in his groin"
'cn illustrate how ii happened
"By marvellous effort of love and de
votion, Vnndier realizing whnt the con
sequences for his family would be II
the true cause were known, forced his
way back into the runabout and drove
home with his carefully planned tale
For one OF Vandier's frank, honest ma
ture the stupendous deceit with which
he dared face his Maker, from sheer
love for HIS wife, amounted to real
herosm. 1t is superb and abominabe
And to think mans life should de
pend upon such chance!"
was overwhelmed by this terrible
evidence. Much as we had liked to dc
so, we dared not conceal the true YER
sion Of the STORY, although believe we
both mentally registered vow to try
to shield the widow from its conse
quences,
We entered the little court room
where our prisoner was already seat
ed.
"You are free" said Garien, ito re
| No I.