The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-02-07
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ity might have presented itself to me
In a way of a problem: but here. rest
ing from my labors, l confess l did
not even give 1t a thought. Yesterday
morning, however. after we made that
awful discovery, and you and Invent
down to the engine room, this man
Comtat was leaning, half doing.
against the wall, and, seeing me. he
started. 1t was not the normal start
of person suddenly awakened from
a slumber: 1t was just trifle more:
enough to rouse my suspicion. The
problem being now thrust upon me,
had to so)se it; and, having made GER
tain that had arrested this man
some years ago for attempting to MUIR
der one Of his fellow workmen. felt
convinced it was he who killed the I'm.
fortunate Gonzales In the belief he
was dispatching me. No landsman
could have performed the deed in such
a businesslike manner during that
gale. 1t could only have been a sail
or-and your Comtat is the man."
He was wreaking vengeance on
you?"
vengeance? No, my friend. A
discharged convict will turn on one OF
his former pals who betrayed him.
But have you ever heard of criminal
Wreaklng vengeance, as you call it, on
the judge who sentenced him. or on
the governor Of the prison who kept
him under lock and key? l know OF
only two such cases. and both times it
was proved the. assailant was mad
And now, please, send for the chief
engineer"
m. Seguier," said to that gentle
man, Il want to talk with you about
Comtat. How long has he been with
your
about eight months. He came to
me from Dutch steamer. and brought
an excellent certificate"
But he drinks, SUPPOSED"
>"Ah, there's the trouble l heard
from the other stokers that Comtat
had struggled several bottles of alb
sinthe on board, and, although l
searched everywhere, l cannot detect
the place where he secreted them.
When he is on duty he is sober; but
after he retires 20 his bunk he alb
serbs, | am afraid. quantity OF
liquor"
II quite agree with you, NJ.
Seguier," l replied. In the mean
time beg of you to keep a careful
watch on him"
Il understand, NJ Goron. Do you
want to see the man now?''
NO. Send him to me at midday"
An hour later I was sitting in the
smoking room thinking Of my CON-
ing interview with Comtat, when some
one shouted my name:
You are wanted at once in the en-
CINE room, sir"
AS I climbed down the iron ladder,
sinister shrieks came from below. The
captain and our young doctor wers
bending over the PROSTATE engineer,
bleeding from an ugly cash in the
forehead, while half dozen men were
holding Comtat, who was foaming at
the mouth and uttering unearthly
yells.
N. Seguier, 1t appears, had discoy.
cred where Comtat hid his absinthe
and had taken possession of the stock,
Whereupon Comtat, in a violent PAS.
sion, had hurled an empty bottle at
the engineers head and had tried to
grab his throat.
NJ. SeGuier's wound fortunately was
not dangerous, and the doctor took
his arm to conduct him upstairs. The
moment Contat caught sight again Of
the engineer his frenzy returned.
You hound" he howled. You
thief!-l'll be quits with you. I'll cut
your throat and pitch your body over
board like l did to the other man!
Yes, over you'll go, you thief"
It's bad case of delirium ire
MEMS" remarked our doctor to me
land, as it not unfrequently happens,
the tremor is hardly perceptible. Alb.
sinthe, more than any other spirit,
will produce these results
Toward evening Comtat was seized
with worse fit, when he described
the murder scene in all its CHASTITY de-
tails. At the same time he told how
he had watched me come on board,
and there and then made the deter
mination to take my life. and until
he saw me the morning after the
murder was convinced that the man
he had killed was myself.