The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1911-04-07

already. The gentlemen" he an
nounced, will be mere in a moment"
The commissaire entered, followed
by the syndic He opened the door to
his private office, and, addressing the
men Of The Trust in God with un-
wonted iovialty: Come, my good fel-
lows" said he; tell me all about it. ="
The poor devils hardly looked like
good fellows just then. They marched
in single file to the straw mat which
lay before the threshold of the Office
There Garandel hesitated as before
an lnsurmountable obstacle, a kind of
sacred barrier. He began to take off
his sabots deferentially, with the idea
as well of gaining time.
ia, ia, ta!" cried the commissaire,
who had already seated himself at his
desk; don't make so much cere-
mony. He pushed his condescension
to the point of asking them to be
seated-yes, to sit down in his pres
ence, and on those luxurious seats
which never before had felt the con-
tact of a sailors trousers! They com
piled with great embarrassment, in
the awkward and constrained atti-
tudes of those out of their element.
The policeman and the syndic stood
in the doorway, their heads barred.
There were a few minutes of solemn
silence At last, the commissaire
spoke: Come" said he "let us pro-
ceed in order | know the story in
brief; the syndic has told me a word,
and on the way Capt. Gueval has con-
fided to me what he has learned. But
must hear it from your own mouths
in order to write down the deposit
tions. Before proceeding to interro-
gate you, however, it is my duty to re-
call to you the instructions of the
maritime code relating to derelicts."
That's it, monsieur" said Garan-
del, with evident satisfaction. Lay
down the law to these imbeciles, for
they are certain asses. Asses!" He
had recovered his anger, and with it
a little assurance.
The commissaire smiled and contin-
ued in benevolent tone: Listen,
then, how the ordinance of 1851 and
that of 1871, which regulate the juris-
prudence in this matter, are ex-
pressed.
Miroux and Trefentec crossed their
arms and relaxed into a religious i'm
mobility, like two stone statues. The
commissaire read aloud, emphasizing
each word Property lost in the sea
from shipwreck or other causes and
then recovered from it is to be sold
by the government A third of the
result of the sale'-you understand
clearly-'a third" he repeated, lis
allotted to the finder and the two re-
naming thirds is the property of the
state, if there is no reclamation by
the owners during the term Of a year
and a day In this case | do not
think you have any reclamation to
fear"
The three men, taking the remark
for a joke, gave a feeble laugh. "Oh,
not" they exclaimed, simultaneously,
striking their mouths with their caps
rolled up into balls
The commissaire continued 80,
you understand perfectly, don't you?
You are three discoverers, if | am not
mistaken There is a third to divide !
between the three of you; you, then,
each have a right to a ninth of the
total value of the derelict"
Ali" cried Joachim Miroux and |
Cab Trefentec, with an accent of tri- |
umph, pointing toward Garandel.
The skipper had grown livid, and |
with brusque movement that made |
his chair crack and caused the bloody |
handkerchief, with which his head |
had been bound, to slip down about
his neck like craYat, he said: Par
don, excuse me, Mons. Commissaire;
you forget the share of the boat"
The share Of the boat?"
Certainly; 1t has a right to its
share, hasn't it?"
The commissaire replied in con-
ciliatory tone yes, according to
your fishing rules, my dear Garandel.
The boat with its rigging and equip
ments, is an instrument of work a
useful tool; it represents capital in
your association. 1t is, then, perfect
ly just that it should receive its share.
But here the case is quite different.
The Trust in God was not especially
equipped for the quest of derelicts, as
far as ! know. 1t has found one by
chance, but it belongs to the finder, to
the one WHO discovers it, outside of
the restrictions J have read There
is nothing more TO be said"
That's SOL" approved the sailors.
Garande darted furious look at
them; then, turning his back and lean
ing his elbow upon his seat with a
gesture as though overcome, he STAN.
mered so 1t is true that law is not
law" Then he rose and, breathing
deep sigh, he continued, energetlcally
No, no, commissaire! My head might
be broken into pieces like pebble
in the road before you could get that
into it."
so, it is on this score that you
have exercised your fists on each 9th
er's faces. You will always be the
same"
Yes, and am ready to begin all
over again. A nice thing, that there
is no justice for boats as well as
men,"
Enough Of that!" said the commits
saire, becoming inpatient
The Yexed Garandel made amove- i