The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-01-07

comrade appeared on the scene ana
laid vigorous hands on them both. The
young a made a quick, instructive
movement toward HIS right pocket.
where, nc doubt, he kept a revolver or
knife. Bernardet seized his wrist. He
twisted 1t and said;
ID nothing rashl"
The young man was very strong, but
h huge lDagonin nae herculean BIZ
ceps n the other man did not lack
muscles. Fright, moreover, seemed to
paralyze this tall, young gallant, who,
as he saw that he was being hustled
toward a police station, demanded:
Have you arrested me, and why?"
First for having struck me- Ber-
nardet replied. still b~areheaded, and to
whom a gsmin now handed his soiled
hat, saying to him:
rs this yours, M. Bernardet?"
Bernardet recognized In his, own
quarter That was glory
The man seemed to wish to defend
himself and still struggled, but one re-
mark OF Dagonin's seemed to pacify
him:
mo rebellion! There is nothing Sc
rious about your arrest. Do not make
ft worse"
The young man really believed that
~ was #DAli9 a SAlklN ltidALSI aAld W
would be liberated at once. The only
thing that dlsquieted him was that this
intoxicated man, suddenly become So
Der, had spoken to him as he did a few
moments before In the cabaret.
The four men walked quickly along
in the shadow OF the buildings, through
the almost deserted streets, where the
shopkeepers We're putting out their
lights and closing up their shops.
Snn rCaIyt d vgOna rUhn# mat fhaVo NHyotrlA
have realized that three Of these men
were taking the fourth to a police sta
ton.
A ~tricolor flag floated over a door
lighted by a red lantern. The four men
entered the place and found themselves
in a narrow, warm hall, where the
agents of the police were either sleep
ing on benches or reading around the
stove by the light Of the gas Jets above
their heads.
Bernardet, looking dolefully at his
broken and soiled hat, begged the
young man to give his name and adj
dress 10 the chief OF the post. The
young man then quickly understood
that his questioner OF the Cabaret du
squelette had caught him In a trap. He
looked at him with an expression OF
violent anger, OF concentrated age
Then he said:
my name2 What do you want of
that? I am an honest man. Why did
you arrest me? What does 1t mean?"
Your manner" repeated Bernardet.
The man hesitated.
."Oh, well. / am called Prades. Does
that help you any?"
The man wrote: "Prades, P-r-a-d-e-s
with an accent. Prades. First name?"
Charles, II you wish"
''Oh," said B~ernardet, noticing the
slight difference In the tone OF his an
swer. I'VE wish nothing. We wish
only the truth"
II have told It."
Charles Prades furnished some fur
theT Information in regard to himself.
He was staying at a hotel in the Rue
de Paradis- Poissoniere, a small hotel
used by commercial travellers and mer-
chants OF the second class. He had
been In Paris only a month.
Where was he from? He said that
he came from Sydney, where he was
connected with the commercial house,
or, rather. he had given up the situa-
ton to come to Paris to seek his for
tune. But while speaking OF Sydney
he had In his rather rambling answers
let fall the name OF Buenos Ayres, and
Bernardet remembered that Buenos
Ayres was the place where NJ. Revere
had been French consul. The officer
paid no attention to this at the time,
for what good? Prades' real examine
ton would be conducted by NJ. Ginory.
He l(Bernardet) was not an examining
magistrate. He was the ferret who
hunted out criminals. .
This Prades was stupefied. then furi-
Gus, when, the examination over, he
learned that he was not to be immedi-
ately set at liberty.
What! An absurd quarrel, a collision
without a wound, in q street in Paris
was sufficient to hold a man and make
him pass the night in the station house
with all the vagabonds OF both sexes
collected there. .
''You may bemoan your fate to your
self tomorrow morning" said Bernar-
def.
In the meantime. they searched this
man, who, very pale, making vislbly
powerful efforts to control himself, bit
Ing his lips and his black beard, while
they examined his pocket book, while
they looked at a Spanish knife with a
short blade which he had (Bernardet
had OWNED It at the time of his arrest)
In his right pocket.
The pocket book revealed nothing. It
contained some receipted weekly bills
OF the hotel In the Rue de Paradis,
some envelopes without letters, with
out stamps and bearing the name
Charles Prades, merchant" two bank
bills Of 100 francs and nothing more.
Bernardet very simply asked Prades
how 1t was that he had upon his per-
son addressed letters which he evident
ly had not received, as they were not
stamped. He replied:
They are not letters. They are adj
dresses which / give instead OF visiting
cards, as 1 have not had time to pro-
cure cards"
''Then the addresses are in your writ.
ing2" Il
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