Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-12-11

dnu 4 nave the right 10 KNOW, Sdlu vi
Ginory. After a moment Jacques Dan
tin said In a strong voice, Il swear Il
you, monsieur, that nothing Revere
said to me when / saw him the las
time could assist justice in any way
whatsoever, and beg OF you not e
question me further about it,"
VIII you answer?'
II cannot, monsieur"
THE more o hesitate the more
reason you give me TO think that the
communication would be grave"
Very grave; but it has nothing tc
do with our investigation"
its not for you to outline the du-
ties OF my limits or my rights. Once
more | order you to reply"
Il cannot"
you will not"
II cannot" ~brusquely said the man
run to earth, with an accent OF
violence.
The duel was finished.
NJ. Ginory began to laugh, or rather
there was a nervous contraction of his
mouth and his sanguine face wore a
soothing look, while a mechanical move-
ment OF his massive jaws made him
resemble a bulldog about to bite.
Then" said he, the situation Is a
very simple one, and you force me 10
come to the end of my task. You un-
derstand?"
Perfectly" said Jacques Dantin.
with the impulsive anger OF a man who
stumbles over an article which he has
left there himself.
You still refuse to reply2"
Il refuse. l came here as a witness.
| have nothing to r%eproach myself with,
especially as / have nothing to fear.
You must do whatever you choose TO
do"
II can" said the magistrate, Change
a citation for appearance to a citation
for retention. will ask you once
more
1T is useless" interrupted Dantin.
An assassin, l! What folly! Rovere's
murderer! 1t seems as IL l were dream
ing. 1t Is absurd, absurd. absurd"
Prove to me hat 1t Is absurd in
truth. DO you not wish to reply?"
81 have told you all / know"
But have said nothing of what
| ave demanded Of you"
1T is not my secret"
Yes; there is o III system. IT is
frequent. 1t Is common. 1t is hat Of
all the accused"
Am / already accused" asked Dan
tin. ironically.
NJ. Ginory was silent a moment: then,
slowly taking from the drawer OF his
desk some paper upon which Dantin
could discern no writing this time. but
some figures, engraved in black-he
knew not what they Were-the magiS-
trate held them between his fingers so
as to show them. He swung them to
and fro. and the papers rustled like
dry leaves. He seemed to attach great
value TO these papers, which the regis
trar looked at from q corner OF his eye,
guessing that they were the photo
graphic proofs which a been taken.
II beg of you TO examine these
proofs" said the magistrate TO DAN
tin. He held them out to him. n
Dantin spread them on the table (there
were four of them). Then he put OF
his eyeglasses In order TO see better.
"What is that" he asked.
Look carefully" replied the magis-
trate. Dantin bent over the proofs,
examined them one by one. divided
rather than saw In the picture. which
was a little haZy, the portrait of a man,
and upon close examination began to
see in the specter Il vague resemblance.
do you not see that this picture
bears a resemblance to your"
This time Dantin seemed the prey of
some nightmare, and his eyes searched
NJ. Ginory's face with a sort OF agony.
The expression struck Ginory. One
would have said that a ghost had sud-
denly appeared to Dantin.
You say that it resembles me?"
Yves. Look carefully. At first the
portrait is vague. On closer eXamina-
ton il comes out from the halo which
surrounds It. and the person who APP
pears there bears your air, your fea-
lures, your characteristics
1T is possible said Dantin. 1T
seems to resemble me. II seems az IL /
were looking at myself in a pocket
mirror. But what o hat signify"
THAT signify oh. ! am going to
astonish you, That signifies"-M. Gil
pnpxy ff,rpaA toward hiC raOfctrar 'aYnn
saw the other evening, Favarel, the
experiment in which DIR. Oudin showed
us the heart and lungs performing their
functions in the thorax of a living man.
made visible by the Roentgen rays.
Well. This is not any more miracu-
lous. These photographs Che turned
now toward Dantin) were taken of the
retina of the dead mans EYE They
are the reflection. the reproduction of
the image implanted there. the picture
of the last living being contemplated in
the agony, the last visual sensation
which the unfortunate man expert
enced. The retina has given TO us-as
a witness-the image of the living per-
son seen by the dead man for the last
time"
A deep silence fell upon the three
men in hat little room. where Of
them alone lost his foothold at this
strange revelation. For the magistrate
il was a deceive moment, when all
had been said, when the man, having
been questioned closely, jumps at the
foregone conclusion. As for the reg
| istrar, however blase he may have be-
come by these daily experiences. it was
| the decisive moment. the moment when
| the line drawn from the water the fish
IS landed, writhing on the hook.
Jacques Dantin. with an instructive
movement, had rejected. pushed back
on the table those photographs which
burned his fingers, like the cards In
which some fortune teller has de-
ciphered the signs of death.
"Well?' asked M. Ginory.
Well repeated Dantin In a stran-
| gled tone, either not comprehending OF
comprehending too much, struggling as
II under the oppression of a nightmare
| How dc you explain how your face
your shadow II you prefer, was found
reflected in Royefe's eyes, and that In
his agony this was probably what h
saw-yes, saw bending over him?"
Dantin cast a frightened glance
around the room and asked himself Il
he was not shut up in a maniac's cell
III the question was real. Ii the voice
he heard was not the voice of a dream
"How can I explain? But l cannot
explain, / do not understand. l do no
know-it II madness, II Is frightfui. 1
IS foolish"
but yet insisted M. Ginory. "thi'
folly. as you call II, must have som