The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-09-04

= - "ilISSS, ~ SICCp ucI
rose in his place and. without
the fOrmality OF an oath. told
of sighting the body at the edge
OF the surf at ! o'clock in the morning
Others. following. testified to the posi-
ton on the beach, the flashing of the
body to the grating. the wounds and
the manacleS. DR.. Breed announced
briefly that the deceased had come to
her death by drowning and that the
skull had been crushed in. presumably.
when the waves hammered the body
upOn the reefs.
Then the corpse must have come
from a good ways out" said Sailor
Smith. for the reefs wouldn't catch it
at that tide"
Nobody knows how the dead come
to Lonesome Cove" said the sheriff in
his deep voice.
Elder Ira bennett was the next and
last witness called. Somewhere be.
meath the elders dry exterior Iurked
the instinct of the drama. Stalking to
the platform. he told his story with
skill and fervOr. He made Il telling
point of the newly finished picture he
had seen in Sedgwick's studio. depict
ing the moOnlit charge of the wave
mounted corpse. He sketched out the
encounter between the artist and the
dead woman wildly
Then Sedgwick rose. He was white.
hut his voice was under perfect control
us he said:
at is all true. But | do not know
the who %accOsted me. | never
Haw her before that evening h spoke
strangely to me and indicated that she
was to meet some one and 90 aboard
ship. though | saw no sign Of Il ship"
"You couldn't see much Of the ocean
from your house." said the medical
officer.
IL walked on the cliffs later" said
Sedgwick, and a murmur went through
the courtroom. but l never found the
woman And as for THROWN: her
of a ship. or any such fantastic nOn
sense. | can prove that | was back in
my house by a little after 9 o'clock that
night"
He sat down coolly enough. but his
eyes dilated when Kent whispered:
Keep your nerve. The probability
will be shown that she was killed be-
fore 10 O'clock"
Now. however. DR.. Breed was on
his feet again. Form in line. ladies'
and gentlemen" said he. land pass the
coffin as spry as possible"
At this Sheriff Schlager stepped for
ward and loosened the haSps prepara-
tory to removing the cover. "'rhe
body has been left" said he. slipping
the lid aside. lust as OF q sud-
dan. his eyes stiffened. A convulsive
shudder ran through his big body. He
jammed the cover back. and. with fn-
gers that actually drummed on the
wood, forced the hasps into place.
She's come to life" cried a voice
from the rear.
"NO. no" rumbled the sheriff. Whirl-
ing upon the medical officer. he whis-
pered in his ear-nOt more than a sin
gle word. it seemed to the watchful
Kent.
The doctor turned CHASTITY. Gents"
he said in a quavering voice to the
amazed crowd. the program will not
be carried out as arranged. The-the
well. the condition of the deceased
is 0 titten"- He stopped. hopping
his brow.
But Yankee curiosity was not 50
easily to be baked of it's food. 1t
found expression in Lawyer Balm.
THAT amt the law, doc" he said.
I'm the law here" declared Sheriff
Schlager. planting himself solidly be-
tween the crowd and the coffin. One
hand crept slowly back toward his hip.
Don't pull any gun on me-" retorted
the lawyer quietly. 1T amt neces-
sary."
You heard Doc Breed say the body
wasn't fifteen to be viewed" pursued
the sheriff.
That's all right too. But the doc
hasn't got the final word. The law
has. And the law says, that the body
shall be duly viewed. Otherwise. and
the deceased being buried without
view, an order Of the court to exhume
may be obtained"
Look at Breed" whispered Kent to
Sedgwick.
The medical officers lips were gray
as he leaned forward to pluck at the
sheriff's arm. There was a whispered
c%olloquy. between them. Then Breed
spoke. with q pitiful effort at self con
troll:
Lawyer Bain's point is correct, un-
doubtedly correct. But the body must
be prepared. 1t ought to a been
looked to last night. But somehow !