Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-12-18
CHAPTER XII.

at The same time, while Nine. Bernar-
det. always fresh. smiling and gay,
held up her face with its soft, round,
rosy cheeks TO him.
ny little ones" said the officer, II
believe that 1 have one well, and that
my chief will advance me or give me
some acknowledgements. I will buy you
some bracelets, my dears. II that hap
pcrs. But IL Is not the idea OF filthy
lucre which has urged me on, n |
believe that I have certainly made a
great stride In judiciary instruction. all
owing to my kodak. It would be too
long an explanation and perhaps a per-
fectiy useless one. Let US so 10 dim
fner / am as hungry as a wolf"
lie ate, truly, with a good appetite,
scarcely stopped to tell how the as
sassin was under lock and key. The
man had been measured and a be-
come a numbef In the collection, al
ways increasing, OF accused persons In
the catalogue continued each day for
the museum Of crime.
"Ahi He is not happy" said Ber>
nardet between two spoonfuls OF soup.
mot happy, not happy at all. Not
happy. and astonished--protesting
moreover, his innocence. as they all do.
III is customary.
But sweetly asked good little
Nine. Bernardet. what If he is inno-
cent?" And the three little girls, rails
ing their heads. looked at their father
as il TO repeat their mothers question.
The eldest murmured, Yes, what il
III IS right?"
Bernardet shrugged his shoulders.
i hear them, If one listened 10
them, n would believe them all inno-
cent and the crimes would have to
commit themselves. II this one is in
n%ocent, / shall be astonished as If /
should see snow fall in Paris in June.
He win have to prove that he is inno-
cent. These things prove themselves.
Give me some more soup, Melanie."
AS Nine. Bernardet turned q ladelful
of hot soup into her husbands plate she
softly asked: Are there no innocent
ones condemned? Do you never de-
ceive yourself?" Bernardet did not
stop eating. II cannot say. No one is
infallible, no one. The s~hrewdest de-
ceive themselves; they are sometimes
duped. but IL is rare, very rare. As
well to say that 1t does not happen
Lesurques. yes land the three little girls
opened wild their large blue eyes as
at a play), the Lesurques OF the Courier
de Lyon, who has made you weep so
many times at the theater at Mont
martre. One would like to revise his
trial and reinstate him, but no one has
been able TO do It. i have studied his
trial. BY my faith, I swear, / would
condemn him still-Ah. what good
soup!'
But this one today?' asked Nine.
Bernardet. Are you certain? What is
iis name?"
"Dantin-Jacques Dantin. Oh, he is
a gentleman--a very fine man, elegant
indeed-some Bohemian OF the upper
class, who evidently needed money and
who Revere had some v%aluabies In
his safe. The occasion made the thief,
and there IT is
Papa" interrupted the eldest OF the
three little girls, "canst thou take us
10 see the trial when he shall be
sworn?"
THAT depends. II is not easy. I will
try. / will ask. II thou wilt work hard
On, dame" said Rernardet, that will
be "A dramai"
II will work hard
An he said, opening a paper
coffee. he allowed his three little girls
10 dip Jumps OF sugar into his saucer.
lie threw himself into his easy chair:
NE gave a sigh OF satisfaction, like a
ah1n whose daily wearisome tasks are
behind him, and who Is catching a
moments repose.
All, he saidt. opening a pap
which his wife had placed on a table
near MIN. together with q little glass
tof cordial sent to them by some cousins
an burgundy, II am going to see what
has happened and what those good
journalists have invented about the af-
fair In the Boulevard de Clichy. 1t Is
true. IL is a steeple chase between the
reporters and as. Sometimes they win
The race In the mornings. At other
times. when they know ~nothing-ahl
Then they invent. they embroider their
histories"
A petroleum lamp lighted the paper
which Bernardet unfolded and began to
read
Let us see what Lutece says"
lie suddenly remembered what Paul
Rodier had said to him, Read my
JOURNAL" The woman In black. found
In the province, did she really exist?
Had the novelist written a romance In
order to follow the example OF his
friend2 He looked over the paper TO see
IL Paul Rodfer had collaborated, as his
friend had. Bernardet skipped over the
hea diines and glanced at the theatrical
news. "Politics-they are all the same
Co me-ministerial crisis-nothing new
about that. That could as well be pub
iishcd In yesterdays pepper as today's.
The Crime of the Boulevard de Clichy.'
All. good. Very good. We shall see"
And he began to read. Had Paul Rodier
Invented all the Information to which
he had treated the public? What was
certain was that the police officer
crowned and now gave strict attention
NJ IN O. O0 Il WI
the reporters words.
Rodier had republished the biography
Of the ~ex-consul. M. Revere had been
mixed In South America In violent
dramas. He was a romantic person,
about whom more than the adventure
in Buenos Ayres was known. The re-
porter had gained his information from
ar Aregntiana journal, the Presna, es-
tabiished I'm Paris. and whose editor, In
South America. had visited intimately
the French consul.
The appearance OF a woman In black.
those visits made on fixed dates, as on
anniversaries, revealed an intimacy, a
relationship, perhaps. OF the murdered
man with that unknown woman. The
woman was young. elegant and did
not live In Paris. Rodier had set HIM
SELF to discover her retreat, her name,
and perhaps. thanks to her. to unravel
the mystery which still enveloped the
murder.
"Heuht That is not very precise in
formation thought the police officer.
Blu at least awoke Rernardet's curios-
ity and intelligence. 1t solved no prob
lem but Ii put one. M. de Satines'
famous search for the woman came nat
uralfy to Paul Rodier's pen, and he I'm
fshed the article with some details
about Jacques Dantin, the Intimate. the
only friend OF Louis Pierre Revere. and