The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-04-18

the door OF his cab-but she stood root
ed to the spot, feeling that strange, un-
explainable fascination which al
ways feels, when n of those great life
dramas of which one reads so often and
SO indifferently happens to be enacted
within the close n Of ones WI
perception.
She cleaned a phrase here and there
saw the horror-stricken faces of
those who had seen, the placid, bovine
expression of the W. gardens, more
Injured to such sights and calmly tax
ing notes by the light of the electric
standard.
But to think that I drove that ras-
cally murderer in my cab, and put him
down safe and sound not 10 minutes
ago!" came with the adjunct of a loud
oath from the irate chauffeur.
How did it all %occur?"
The gardens tried to stem the flow
OF he drivers eloquence; such details
should first be given to the police.
Voyons! But what were two fat
mouchards against 20 stalwart idlers
all determined to hear-and then there
were the women-they were determine
to know more
Louisa bent her ear 10 listen. She
was just outside the crowd-not a part
Of it-and there was no really morbid
curiosity in her. 1t was only the call
Of the imagination which is Irresistible
on these occasions-the prosy, matter
of-fact, high-bred girl could not, just
then, tear herself away from that cab
and the tragedy which had been enact
ed therein, in the mysterious darkness
whilst the unconscious driver sped
along, ignorant Of the gruesome burden
which he was dragging to its destina-
ton.
"Voila!" he was saying with many
CALCULATIONS and expletives. n a VOL
ley of excited gestures. Outside the
Pare near the theater two bourgeois
hailed me, and one of them told me to
draw up at the top Of the Galerie St.
the one who had told me where to go
got out, clapped the door to and spoke
a few words to his friend who had re-
manned inside"
What did he say?"
"Oh! l couldn't hear and I didn't lis
ten. Blu after that he told me to drive
on to Boulevard Waterloo No. "a and
here l am"
you suspected nothing?"
Nothing, how should /? Two bour-
geois get into my cab; / see nothing:
l hear nothing. One of them gets out
and tells me to drive on farther. AHow
should I think there's anything wrong?"
What was the other man like? The
one who spoke TO you?"
VIC " l. doI / hIio". II
was raining so fast and pitch dark just
outside the pare lights-and he did
seem to keep in the shadow-now l
come to think Of it-and his cap-he
wore a cap-was pulled well over his
face-and the collar of his coat was up
to his nose. II was raining so, l didn't
really see him properly. I saw the
other one better-the one who has been
murdered"
But the rotund gardens had had
enough Of this. Moreover, they would
hear all about it at full length present
ly. AS for the crowd-it had no bust
ness to know too much.
They hustled the excited driver back
on to his box, n themselves got into
the cab beside 1.-THE dead man,
stabbed in the neck from ear to ear
the wound quite small as II 1t had been
done with a skewer.
The gardens ordered the chauffeur
to drive to the commissariat, and Lou
lisa turned away with a slight SILVER
down her spine and her throat choked
with the horror Of what she lac only
guessed.