The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-12-26
CHAPTER III.
IN STIrnY

l... IA AN III -
For a moment I thought that Godfrey
was Joking. How could that tangle OF
hphazard clippings tell any storyf
And II they did, how could IL be con-
nccted with the n which we were
trying TO decipher2 Then. at a sec
ond glance, / saw how in deadly earn
est he was. There could be no doubt
ing It: he had read into them some
meaning which I had failed utterly to
see,
I sat down I'm my chair again. my
nerves a-quiver: at last we were on
the verge OF success.
well, let's hear It," I said.
II intend that o shall-wait till I
get them arranged. I'll build up the
story as I go along. m / want you
to ask any questions or point out any
defects hat occur to you OF course,
It will be only a study in probabilities:
but between us. l think we can get IT
pretty straight"
He got UP from the desk with the
clippings in a neat little pile, n sat
down In the chair facing mine. He
took a meditative puff or two before he
began.
Wen have to start with a few gen
erai observations" he said, at last.
It's evident that Thompson wouldn't
have carried these clippings around
with him for so long unless they In
some way concerned him. It's evident
that Miss Croydon would never have
dared to take them unless she was
pretty certain that they somehow vital
ly concerned her. It's evident that
Tremaine wouldn't have taken so
much trouble to o for them unless
he was mighty anxious to find them.
We arrive. then, at our first conclu-
sion, namely, that these clippings neces-
sarily shed some light pom the
tragedy recently enacted In this room,
and upon the connection OF these people
with each other
Yes" / agreed; unless all these
people were mistaken In their estimate
of the value OF the clippings"
That, of course. is possible; b I
don't think 1t probable. At any rate.
let us disregard that suggestion for
the moment, and proceed along the 9TH
err line. What light Is 1t possible for
these clippings TO shed on the murder
of Thompson. Obviously, 1t must be
only by explaining motives. The ma
jority Of them seem to be concerned
with the adventures Of a Frenchman,
who goes under various names, u
who, I am sure, Is n and the same
person. He must, then, be either Ire
maine or Thompson. But Thompson
a evidently not a F~renchman, N
Tremaine pretty evidently Is, though
his contact with the world q served
to rub away a good many OF the marks.
I think we're pretty safe, therefore. in
assuming that the Frenchman Of these
clippings Is Tremaine. As we go on, /
believe we'll find some internal evil
dence confirming this. You agree with
me thus far2"
Perfectly" I said. admitting your
first premise that these clippings are
really concerned with the cose."
THAT, too. / believe, Wen soon be
| N hIa 20 vnHnrra hxrE tnfornaI axtidanna ~ nf
course. IL they haven't m connection
with it. they'll soon lea us into chaos.
But there's another thing; we mustn't
expect toe much from them. We
mustn't expect a story complete in all
Its parts-lt's bound to be ~fragmentary.
The wonder Is that Thompson succeed
ed In keeping this many inks in the
chain. Maybe in his more prosperous
days he had a mania for clippings. At
best, we mustn't be disappointed If
there are long gaps in the story"
Yes" 1 agreed again; that's evil
dent enough" /
Very well; wen begin with the clip
pings. then, substituting Tremaine's
name for the one used. The first clip
ping Is merely a marriage notice, an
nouncing that on the 23d OF August,
1888, Tremaine married one Therese
Bertigny, at Dieppe. Let me see: Tre-
maine was then probably about 20
years of age. No doubt he was born
at Dieppe, so that the name given here.
Victor Charente, is his real one. You'll
notice that he's retained the first name
which Is a bit of corroborative evil
dence."
"or a mere coincidence" / supple
mented.
'I1I wire our correspondent at Dieppe
to look UP this Charente-perhaps he
can get a photograph. That would set
~ kHA nrsAatN0W 70 ...r. "
I nodded. Yes. that would settle It,
for Tremaine at 40 was probably not
greatly different from Tremaine at 20.
The second clipping proceeded
Godfrey, shows US that our hero soon
wandered from the straight and narrow
path, and gives US, too, a little light
upon his personal history. In h spring
following his marriage-April 16, 1884.
to be exact--while assistant manager OF
the ship supplies house of Briquet
Freres, he absconds with $1,000 francs.
1t Is discovered that he kept a mis-
tress at Rouen. He Ia believed to have
gone to America-to ave been SNUG
gled out OF the harbor by a friendly
| American captain. Surely, II is o inn
possible he added. that his friendly
American captain was Thompson"
Very few things are impossible" /
commented; / began to be impatient
with Godfrey. He was permitting his
prejudice against Tremaine to warp his
Judgment.
well, well keep that for a hypothes-
Is, anyhow" and he turned to the third
clipping. This" ne continued, shows
us that he indeed came to America.
1t is dated July %, 1885, and states
that a young Frenchman and a tramp
skipper named Johnson-ah. you see %
! i did. indeed, see-here was the first
appearance OF Tremaine's zombt-of his
familiar devil. I looked at Godfrey
with the liveIiest admiration. This con-
structive reasoning was something
which I, certainly, was quite incapable
OF.
80 that J on Thompson's arm was
the initial of his real name" observed
Godfrey. II thought is was 1T had
been there a long time, and an effort
had been made to erase 1t. After a
man has started on the crooked path,
he doesn't want any tattoo marks on
him-they make Identification too easy,
For Johnson. then, Wen hereafter read
Thompson"
I nodded; I was beginning to be con
WINGED.
WELL" continued Godfrey, "Tremaine
and ThOmERCn. then. were arrested IN