The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-11-26
cHAPTER vIrr-continued.

eyes. mingled With the crowd, looked
Al, the file Of people, scrutinized, one by
one, the signatures; Dernardet, In
mourning, wearing black gloves, seemed
more like an un9ertaker's assistant
than a police spy. Once he found him
self directly in front of the open door
of. the( lodge and the table where the
leaves lay covered with signatures
When in the half light OF the corridor
draped with black. where the bier lay
he saw a man Of about SO, pale and
very a looking. He had arrived in
his turn in the line at the table, where
he signed his name. Nine. Moniche,
clothed In black, with a white handker-
chief in her hand, although she was no
weeping, found herself side by side with
Bernardet; in fact their elbows touched.
When h man reached the table, COM
ing from the semidarkness Of the pas
sage. and stepped into the light which
fell on him from the window, the port
ress tnvoluntarfly exclaimed: "Ah!'
she was very much excited n caught
he police officer by the hand and said:
II am afraid"
She. spoke in such a low tone that
Beruardet OWNED rather than heard
what she mean In that stifled cry. He
looked at her from the corner of his
eye. He saw that she vas CHASTITY, and
again she spoke in a low tone, che, he
whom saw with NJ. Revere before the
open safe"
Bernardet gave the man one sweep
ing. glance of the eye. He fairly pierced
him through with his sharp look. The
unknown, half bent over the table
Wherein lay the papers, showed a wide
forehead, slightly bald, and a pointed
beard, a, little gray, which almost
touched the white paper as he wrote his
name. """ . a.
Suddenly the police officer experienced
n strange sensation. 1t seemed to him
that his face, the shape of the head,
the pointed beard, he had recently seen
somewhere, and that this human sill
houette recalled to him an image which
he had recently studied. The percep-
ton OF a possibility of a proof gave
him a shock. This man who was there
made him think suddenly of that phan-
tom discernible~ in the photographs
taken Of the retina OF the murdered
mans eye.
Who is that man?"
Bernardet shivered with p~leaSurable
excitement n insisted upon his "
impression that this unknown strongly
recalled the image obtained and men
tally he compared this living man,
bending over the table, writing his
name. with that specter which had the
air Of a trooper which had appeared
In the photograph. The contour was
III same, not only OF the face, but the
ufdIu. his man reminded one OF q
seigneur of the time OF Henry III, and
Bernardet found in that face Something
formidable. The mar had signed his
name. He raised his head ard his
face, of a dull white, was turned full
toward the police officer. Their looks
crossed, keen on Bernardet's side, yelled
In the unknown, but before the fixity
OF the officers gaze the strange man
dropped his head for q moment: and
then in his turn he fixed a piercing,
almost menacing, gaze on Bernardet.
Then the latter slowly dropped his eyes
and bowed. The unknown went out
quickly and was lost in the crowd be-
fore the house. ST. f#
TT is he; it is he" repeated the por-
tress. who trembled as IL she had seen
a ghost. p
Scarcely had the unknown disap-
peared thar the police officer took but
W steps to reach the table, and, bend
Ing over 1t In his turn, he read the
name written by that man: ,
jacques Dantin." Sd
The name awakened no remembrance
In Bernardet's mind. and now It was
a living problem that he had to solve.
Tell no n that you have seen that
man. he hastily said to Mime. Moniche.
mo one. Do you hear?" And he hur-
rfed out into h boulevard, picking his
way through the crowd and watching
u 70 ind that Jacques Dantin. whom
he wished to follow.
CHAPTER TX.
Jacques Dantin, moreover, wa. not
difficult to find in the crowd. He stood
nedr the funeral ar. His air was very
sad Bernardet a a fine opportunity
to examine him at his ease. He was
an elegant looking man, slender, with a
resolute air and frowning eyebrows,
which gave his face a very energetic
look. His head barred to the cold wind.
he stood like a statue while the bearers
placed the casket In the funeral car.
and Bernardet noticed the shaking of
the head-a distressed shaking, The
longer the police officer looked at him.
studied him, the stronger grew the re-
semblance to the image in the photo
graph; Bernardet would DOR know
VINO this jacques Dantin was, and even
at this moment he asked a question or
two OF some Of his assistants.
Do o know who that gentleman is
standing near the hearse?"
mo" ...
DO you know what jacques Dantin
does? Wa he one of NJ. Rovere's init
Jacques Dantin?"
beard" ~
II do o know him."
Bernardet thought that IL he adj
dressed the question to M. Dantin him
self he might learn all he wished to
know at once, n he approached him
at the moment the procession started
and walked along with him almost to
the cemetery, striving to enter into con-
Xersation with him. He spoke of the
dead man, sadly lamenting M. Rovere's
sad fate, but he found his neighbor
very silent. Upon the sidewalk OF the
boulevard the dense crowd stood in re-
spectful silence and as the
cortege passed. and the officer noticed
h some loose petals from the flow
ers dropped upon the roadway.
There are a great many flowers" he
remarked to his neighbor. 1T is rather
surprising, as M. Revere seemed to
have so few friends" "
He has lad many" the man
~brusquely remarked. His voice was
hOarse and quivered with emotion. Ber-
nardet saw that he was strongly moved.
Was 1t sorrow? Was 1t bitterness of
spirit? RemOrse perhaps. The man
did not seem, moreover, in a very soft
ened MOOD. He walked along with his
eyes upon the funeral car, his head
uncovered in spite of the cold and