The sun. (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1906-02-17


upon dead body"
"a dead body!" exclaimed, feign-
ing great surprise.
eyes, sir-youngish man. He'd been
stabbed to the heart"
"A mani"
eyes, sir--so Holden says"
Call Holden. I'd like to know all
he's heard" l said. And presently,
when the gardener emerged from the
grape-house, l sought of him all the par
ticulars he had gathered.
81 don't know very much, sir" was
the mans reply. 81 went into the inn for
O glass of beer at eleven, as I always
do, and heard them talking about it. A
young man was murdered last night up
at Rannoch Wood. The gamekeeper
thought at first there'd been fight
among poachers, but from the dead
mans clothes they say he isn't a poacher
at all, but stranger in this district"
"The body was that of man, then
l asked, trying to conceal my utter be-
wilderment.
"Yes-about thirty, they say. The
police have taken him to the mortuary
at Dumfries, and the detectives are up
there now looking at the spot, they
say"
A man! And yet the body I found
was that of woman-that I could
swear.
After lunch I took the dog-cart and
drove alone into Dumfries.
| When l inquired of the police-cOn.
stable on duty at the town mortuary to
be allowed to view the body of the muir.
dered man, he regarded me, I thought
with considerable suspicion. My re.
quest was an unusual one. Nevertheless
he took me up narrow alley, unlocked
door, and l found myself in the cold
gloomy chamber of death. From a small
dingy window above the light fell upor
an object lying upon large slab Of
gray stone and covered with soileC
| sheet.
The sight was CHASTITY and gruesome
the body lay there awaiting the officia
inquiry into the cause of death. TIL,
Q silence of the tomb was unbroken, say,
for the heavy tread of the policeman
= who having removed his helmet in TIN
Q presence of the dead, lifted the end O
l the sheet, revealing to me white, hard
e set face, with closed eyes and droppe,
Q jaw.
h / started back as my eyes fell upon tn
t dead countenance. / was entirely unpre
/. pared for such revelation. The trutl
staggered me.
4 The victim was the man who had acte,
o as my friend-the Italian waiter, Olin
q to.
{ l advanced and peered into the thi
inanimate features, scarce able to realiz
d the actual fact. But my eyes had no
d deceived me. Though death distort
II the facial expression of every man,
70 had no difficulty in identifying him.
h "You recognize him, STRIP remarke
Il the officer. "Who is heH Our people ar
very anxious to know, for UP to tn
<. present moment they haven't succeede
II in establishing his identity"
n / bit my lips. l had been an arran
fool to betray myself before that maj
10 Yet having done so, saw that any a.
n tempt to conceal my knowledge must {
n necessity reflect upon me.
Of II will see your inspector" I al
d, swered with as much calmness as coul
IT muster. "Where has the poor fello
h. been woundedp
e. Through the heart" responded til
constable, as turning the sheet furthe
l down he showed me the small knit
~ wound which had penetrated the VII
ly Tins jacket and vest full in the chest.
ID "This is the weapon" he added, tai
ing from a shelf close by long, thi
f. poignard with an ivory handle, whic
he handed to me.
In an instant l recognized what
IN was, and how deadly. 1t was an oil
ch Florentine misericordia, long thin, tr
d. angular blade, quarter of an inc
ok wide at its greatest width, tapering [
r. a needle point, with q hilt of yello