Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-03-07

"They re deuced clever" he
said.
"Dcuced clever, Mazeroux, as
you say and [ foresee a tremen-
dous battle. BY Jupiter, with what
a vim they set to work."
The telephone bell rang. Don
Luis left Mazeroux to his CONVEX
sation with the project, and, tax
ing the bunch of keys, easily UNI
fastened the lock and the bolt of
the door and went out into the
garden, in the hope of there find
ing some trace that should facili-
tate his guest.
As OH the day before, he saw,
through the ivy, two policemen
walking between one lamp post
and the next. They did not see
him. Moreover, anything that
might happen inside the house ap-
peared to be to them a matter of
total indifference.
"That's my great mistake"
said Perenna to himself. "It
doesn't do to entrust a job to peo-
pie who do not suspect it's inn
portance."
His Investigations led to the dis
covery Of some traces of footsteps
en- the gravel, traces not sufficient
ly plain to enable him to distin-
guish the shape Of the shoes that
had left them, yet distinct enough
to confirm his supposition. The
scoundrels had been that way.
Suddenly he gave a movement
of delight. Against the border Of
the path, among the leaves of a
little clump of rhododendrons, he
saw something red, the shape Of
which at once struck him. He
stopped. 1t was an apple, the
fourth apple, the one whose alb
sence from the fruit dish he had
noticed.
Excellent !" he said. "Hippo-
lyte Fauville did not eat it. One
of them must have carried it away
"a fit Of appetite, a sudden hun
ger-and it must have rolled from
his hand without his having time
to look for it and pick it up"
He took up the fruit and exam
ined it.
"Whatl" he exclaimed, with a
start. "Can it be possiblei"
He stood dumfounded, q prey to
real excitement, refusing to admit
the inadmissible thing which new
ertheless presented itself to his
eyes with the direct evidence of
actually. Some one had bitten in
to the apple; into the apple which
was too sour to eat. And the teeth
had left their mark!
lis it possible9" repeated Don
Luis. SIS it possible that one of
them can have been guilty Of such
an imprudence! The apple must
have fallen without his knowing
or he must have been unable
to find it in the dark"
He could not get over his sur
prise. He cast about for plausible
explanations. But the fact was
there before him. Two rows of
teeth, cutting through the thin red
peel, had left their regular semi
circular bite clearly in the pulp of
the fruit. They were clearly
marked on the top, while the low
er row had melted into a single
curved line.
"The teeth Of the tiger!' muir
INJURED Prenna, who could not re-
move his eyes from that double i'm
print. "The teeth Of the tiger! The
teeth that had already left their
mark on Inspector Verot' s piece Of
chocolatel What a coincidence!
It can hardly be fortuitous. Must
we not take it a. certain that the
same person bit into this apple
and into that cake Of chocolate
which Inspector Verot brought to
the police office a. an incontesta-
BILE piece Of evidencei'' ri.
He hesitated q second. Should
he keep this evidence for himself,
for the personal inquiry which he
meant to conduct Or should he
surrender IL to the investigations
Of the policei But the touch Of the
object filled him with such repug-
nance, with such q sense Of phys