The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-10-22
CHAPTER III.

Malay creese. glanced at
them as he passed by.
He is in the salon." said the on
cierge in a low tone.
One OF the folding doors stood open.
and, stopping on h threshold In or
der to take In the entire aspect of the
place, Bernardet saw in the center of
the ROOM, lying on the ioor in a pool
OF blood, the body Of M. Revere,
clothed in a long. blue dressing gown,
bound at the waist with a heavy cord,
which lay In coils on the floor, like a
serpent. The corpse was extended be-
tween the W windows which opened
on the Boulevard de Clichy, and Ber-
nardet's first thought vas that II was
a miracle that the victim could have
met his death in such a horrible man
ner two steps from the paSsersby on
the street.
whoever struck the blow did It
quickly" thought the police officer.
He advanced softly toward the body,
casting his eye upon the inert mass and
taking ! n at a glance the smallest OBJ
1ects near 1t and the most minute de-
tails. He bent over n studied 1t thor
oughly. I.-- W.T.. ID
NJ. Revere seemed living In his tragic
pose. The pale face, with its pointed
and well trimmed gray beard, expressed
In Its fierce ~immobility a sort of men
acing anger. This man of about 80
years a evidently died cursing some
one In his supreme agony. The fright
ful wound SEEMED like a large red era
vat, which ~harmoniZed strangely with
the half whitened beard, the end OF
which was wet with blood.
=" But n struck Bernardet above ev-
erythlng else, arrested his attention and
glued him to the spot was the look, the
extraordinary expression in the eyes.
The mouth was open as IL to cry put;
the ewes GpnTnnd Tn unannra ~, ava
and the lips about to speak.
They were frightful. Those tragic
eyes were wide open, as II transfixed by
fear or fury.
They seemed fathomless, staring.
ready to start from their sockets. The
EYEBROWS o them were black and
bristling. They seemed living eyes in
that dead face. They told OF a final
struggle, of some atrocious due OF looks
n Of words. They appeared, In their
ferocious immobility, as when they
gazed upon he murderer, eye to eye,
face to face.
Bernardet looked at the hands.
They were contracted and seemed. in
rome obstinate resistance. to have chung
TO the neck or h clothing OF the as
sassin.
There ought to be blood under the
naffs, since he made a struggle" said
Bernardet, thinking aloud.
! Gnu Idul IhOulcT, the reporter, huT-
riedly wrote, There was blood under
the nails"
Bernardet returned again and again
to the ~eyes-those wide open ewes,
frfghtful, terrible eyes, which. in their
fierce depths, retained without doubt
the image Or phantom OF some night
mare OF death.
He touched the dead mans hand. The
flesh had become cold, and rigor mortis
was beginning to set in.
The reporter saw the little man take
from his pocket a sort OF rusty silver
ribbon n unroll ii and heard him ask
Moniche TO take hold of one end of IL.
This ribbon or thread looked to Paul
Rodler liz brass wire. Bernardet pre-
pared his kodak.
Above everything else" murmured
Bernardet, let us preserve the express
scion Of those eyes"
Close the shutters. The darkness
will be more complete"
The reporter assisted Moniche in or
Ger 60 hasten the work. The shutters
closed, the room was quite dark. Bern
ardet began his task. Counting off a
few stems, he selected the best place
from which to take h picture.
BE kind enough to light the end of
the magnesium wire,' he said to the
concierge. Have you any matches?"
mo, M. Be~rnardet."
"A pSAASC OiiiSC LIlulCdleu Dy a sign
Of the head q match safe which he had
noticed on entering the room.
There are some there"
Bernardet a with one sweeping
glance OF the y taken In everything
In the room-the fauteuiIs, scarcely
moved from their places; the pictures
hanging on the walls, the mirrors. the
bookcases, the cabinets, etc.
Moniche went to the mantlepiece and
took a match from the box. It was M.
Revere himself who furnished the light
by which a picture OF his own body
was taken.
I'VE could obtain no picture in this
room without the magnesium WIRE"
said the agent, as calm while taking a
photograph OF the murdered man as he
had been a short time ago In his gar
den. THE light is insufficient. When
l say, Coz Moniche, you must light
the wire, and l will take three or four
negatives. Do you understand? Stand
there to my left. Now. Attention."
Bernardet took his position. and the
porter stood ready, match and wire in
hand like a gunner who awaits the or
der to fire.
GO" said the agent.
A rapid, clear light shot UP and sud-
denly lighted the room. The pale face
seemed livid, the various objects in the
room took on q fantastic appearance in
this sort Of tempestuous ~apotheosis. and
Paul Rodier hastily inscribed on his
writing pad, picturesque, bizarre, mar
velous, devilish, suggestive"
Let us try 1t again." said NJ. Ber-
nardet.
For the third time In this weird
light the visage of the dead man an
peared whittier, more sinister, frightfuL
the wound deeper, the cash redder, and
the eyes. those wide open, fixed, tragic,
menacing, speaking eyes-eyes filed
with scorn, with hate, with terror,
with the ferocious resistance OF a last
struggle for life, immovable, eloquent
seemed under the fantastic light to
glitter, to be alive, to menace some
one.
THAT is ALL" said Bernardet very
softly. If with these three mega
tives"-
He stopped to look around toward the
door, which was closed. Some one was
raining ringing blows on the door, loud
and imperative.
1T is the commissary. Open the
door, Moniche.''
The reporter was busy taking notes.