Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-05-05
CONTINUED
CHAPTER II.

[coNT1NUED.1
CHAPTER II.
~COQUENIL's GREATEST CASE,
Eyes, sir, discharged from the Paris
detective force for refusing to arrest
q murderer. That's how the accusa-
ton read"
~But it wasn't true?"
Judge for yourself. It was the
case Of a poacher who killed a guard.
I don't suppose you remember it,"
"Down near Saumur. wasn't it,"
EXACTLY. And 1t was near Saumur
I found him after searching all over
France. We were clean off the track,
and I made up my mind the only way
to get him was through his wife and
child They lived in a little house in
the woods not far from the place of
the shooting. I went there as a ped
der in hard luck, and l played my
part so well that the woman consent
ed to take me in as a boarder. For
weeks 1t was a waiting game. I would
go away on a peddling tour and then
come back as a boarder. Nothing devel-
oped, but l could not get rid Of the
feeling that my man was somewhere
near in the woods"
Zone Of your intuitions. Well?"
"Well, at last the woman became
convinced that they had nothing to
fear from me, and she did things more
openly. One day I saw her put some
food in a basket and give it to the lit
tie girl. And the little girl went off
with the basket into the forest. Then
I knew I was right. and the next day
I followed the little girl, and, ure
enough, she led me to a rough cave
where her father was hiding. 1 hung
finally the man came out from the
cave, and I saw him talk to his wife
and child near a bridge over a noun
tain torrent"
1.-THE picture that girl saw in the
dream!'
Eyes; I'll never forget it. l had my
pistol ready, and he vas defenseless.
and once I was just springing forward
to take the fellow when he bent over
and kissed his little girl. I don't know
how you look at these things. Pou-
geot, but I couldn't break in there and
take that man away from his wife and
child. The woman had been kind to
me and trusted me, and-well. it. was
a breach Of duty, and they punished
me for it. But I couldn't do it. l
couldn't do it. and didn't do it."
"And you let the fellow go?
IT let him go then. but l got him a
week later in a fair fight, man to
man. They gave him ten years."
~And discharged you from the
force?"
"Yes-that is, in view Of my past
services they allowed me to resign"
Coquenil spoke bitterly.
Outrageous! ~Unbelievable!' NUT
tered Pougeot.
Coquenil looked at Pougeot with an
odd little smile. You take it just as
I thought you ~would-just as I took 1t
myself until today. 1t seems like a
stupid blunder. doesn't it? Well. it
wasn't a blunder; it was a necessary
move in the game"
"The game! What game?" The
'commissary stared.
"a game involving a great crime."a
"You have the facts Of this crime?"
emo; it hasn't been committed yet
"Not committed yeti" repeated the
eother, with a startled glance. "But you
know the plan? You have evidenceT'
Il have what is perfectly clear evil
dence to me-so clear that I wonder
never saw it before. Lucien, suppose
you were a great criminal, wealthy,
educated, daring and ~resourceful. and
suppose there was n person in this
city who was thwarting your pur.
poses. perhaps jeopardizing your safe
ty. What would you naturally doF"
'I'd try to get rid of him."
EXACTLY" Coquenil paused, and
then, leaning closer to his friend, he
said with extraordinary earnestness,
"Lucien, for over two years some one
has been trying to get rid Of mew
"The devil!" started Pougeot. GLOW
long have you known this?
"Only today" frowned the detective.
~ ought to have known it long ago."
Elm! Aren't you building a good
deal on that dreamT
'The dream? Heavens. man." snap
ped Coquenil. .Tm building nothing
on the dream and nothing on the girl.