The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-11-19
CHAPTER vTII.

The police officer did not follow the
autopSical operations closely. He was
eager to know; he was impatient for
the momen when, having taken the,
picture, he might develop the negatives
and study them TO see IL he could dis
cover anything, could decipher any
image. He had used photography I'm
the service of anthropometry; he had
taken the pictures at the morgue with
his kodak, and now, at home in his
little room, which he was able to
darken completely, he was developing
his plates.
Nine. Bernardet and the children
were much struck with the expression
Of his face. 1t was not troubled. but
~preoccupied and as IL he were com
pletely absorbed. He was very quiet,
eating very little, and seemed thought
full. His wife asked him, Art thou
ill?" He responded, mo, / think not"
And his little girls said TO each other
in low tones, Papa is on a trail"
He was In truth. The hunting dog
smelled the scent. The pictures which
he had taken of the retina and had de-
.veloped showed a result sufficiently
clear for Bernardet to feel confident
enough to tell his chief that he dis
tinctly saw a visage, the face of a
man, confused, no doubt, but clear
enough to recognize not only a type.
but a distinct type. AS from the
depths of a cloud, in a sort
Of white halo, a human face p
peared whose features could be distinct
ly seen with a magnifying g~lass--the
taco Of a man with a pointed black
beard, the forehead a little bald, and
blackish spots which indicated the eyes.
It was only a phantom evidently, and
the photographer at the prefecture
seemed more moved than Bernardet by
~ vl~naE1 AhfnIand C1an 49, kkn - a.,
spirit photographs, which so many cred
ulous people believe In, the image
showed plainly. and In studying 1t one
could distinctly follow the contours. A
specter, perhaps, but the specter OF a
man who was still young and resem-
bled. with his pointed beard, some
trooper Of tho 18th century, a phantom
of some Seigneur Clouet.
For example," said the official pho
tographer, IF one could discover a muir
derer by photographing a dead mans
eyes. this would be miraculous. 1t is
~incredible!"
Not more Incredible" Bernardet
replied, than what the papers publish.
Edison is experimenting on making the
blind see by using the Roentgen rays.
There Is a miracle"
Then Bernardet took the proofs to M.
Ginory. The police officer felt that the
magistrate, the sovereign power in
criminal researches, ought, above every
thing. to collaborate with him, to con-
sent to these experiments which SO
many others had declared useless and
absurd. The taste for researches, which
was with M. Ginory a matter of tenn
permanent as well as a duty to his pro-
~fession, was fortunately keen on this
scent. Criminals call in their argot the
Judges 1.-The priers.' Curiosity in this
man vas combined with a knowledge OF
profound researches.
When Bernardet spread out on M
Ginory's desk the four photographs
which he had brought with him, the
first remark which the examining mag
istrate made was: But / see nothing
Ia cloud, a mist and then after?" Ber.
nardet drew a magnifying glass from
his pocket and pointed out as he would
have explained an ~enigmatical design
the lineaments, moving his finger over
the contour Of the fac which his nail
outlined. that human face which he had
seen and studied in his little room IN
the passage Of the Elysee des Beaux
Arts. He made him see-after some mo-
ments OF minute examination-he made
him see that face. 1T Is true-there is
an image there" explained M. Ginory.
He added: 1T Is plain enough for me
to see II so that / can from ii imagine a
living being? i see the form. OWNED
IT at first. saw IL clearly defined after
ward At first 1T seemed very vague,
but / see 1t sufficiently well defined so
that l a see each feature, but without
n special character. Oh" continued
M. Ginory excitedly. rubbing his plump
little hands, III IT was only possible,
II 1t las only possible! What a mar
veil" ~
1T is possible, NJ. lie Juge. Have
faith" Bernardet replied. II swear to
you that 1t is possible" This enthusi-
asm gained owe the examining magis4
trate. Bernardet had found a fellow
sympathizer In his fantastic ideas. M.
Ginory was now--if only to try the ex-
periment-resolved to direct the inves-
tigation on this plan. He was anxious
to first show the proofs to those who
would be apt TO recognize in them a
person whom they might have once
seen in the flesh. ITO Moniche nrst and
then to his wife" said BernarNet.
who Is Moniche?"
The concierge In the Boulevard de
Clichy."
Ordered to come to the court. M. and
Mime. Monich- were overjoyed. They