The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-11-21
THE
4
TEETH OF HI TIGER
MAURICE LEBLANC
TRANSLATED By
ALEXANDER TEIXEIRA DE MATTOS

fresh outburst Of my anger. Ans
wer me! Here, look, my cigaret
is out. I'm throwing it away
Florence. A sign of your head
Is the answer yes on no?"
lie bent over her and shook he,
by the shoulders as il to force he1
to make the sign which he asked
for. But suddenly seized with
a sort Of frenzy, he rose to his
feet and exclaimed:
shes crying! She's crying!
She dares to weep! But, wretched
girl, do you think that | don't
know what you re crying for? I
know your secret, pretty one, and
| know that your tears do not
come from any fear of dying.
You? Why, you fear nothing
No, it's something else! Shall |
tell yon your secret? Oh, | cant,
can't though the words scorch
by lips. Oh, cursed woman. YOU We
brought it on yourself! You
yourself want to die, Florence, as
you're crying--you yourself want
to die--'
While he was speaking he hast
ened to get to work and prepare
the horrible tragedy. The leather
pocketbook which he had men
toned as containing the papers
was lying on the ground he put
it in his pocket. Then. still trem-
bling, he pulled off his jacket and
threw it on the nearest bush.
Next, he took up the pickaxe and
climbed the lower stones, stamp
ing with rage and shouting:
Its you who have asked to
die, Florence! Nothing can pre-
vent it now. It's too late! You
asked for it and you've got it.
All, you're crying! You dare to
cry! What madness!"
He was standing almost above
the grotto, on tie right. His
anger made him draw himself to
his full height. He looked terri
bic, hideous, atrocions. His eyes
filled with blood as he inserted
the bar of the pickaxe between
the two blocks of granite, at the
spot where the brick was wetfged
i'll. Then, standing OH one side,
in a place Of safety, he struck the
brick, struck it again. At the
third stroke the brick flew out.
What happened was so sudden,
the pyramid of stones and rub
bish came crashing with such
violence into the hollow Of the
grotto and in front of the grotto,
that the cripple himself, in. spite
of his precautions, was dragged
down by the avalanche and
thrown upon the grass. It was
not a serious fall, however, and
he picked himself up at once,
stammering:
Florence! Florence!n
Though he had SO carefully
prepared the catastrophe, and.
brought it about with such deter
mination, its results seemed sud
to stagger him. He hunted
for the girl with terrified eyes.
He stopped down and crawled
round the chaos shrouded in
clouds of dust. He looked
through the interstices. He saw
nothing.
Florence was buried under the
ruins, dead, incisible, as he had
anticipated.
"Deadt'' he said, with staring
eyes AID a look Of stupor on his
face. Dead! Florence is dead!''
Once again he lapsed into a
Estate Of absolute pr~ostration,
which gradually slackened his
legs, brought him to the ground
and para1yzed him. His two eff
forts, following so close upon
leach other and ending in disast-
ers Of which he had been the inn
medlaIe WltneSS, seemed TO nave
robbed him Of all his remaining
energy.
With no hatred In him, since
Arsene IIupin no longer lived
with no love, since Florence was
no more, he looked like a maj
who had lost his last motive fol
existence.
Twice his lips uttered the name
of Florence. Was he regrettint
his friendf Having reached tn,
last Of that appalling series o
crimes, was he imagining the sew
eral stages, each marked with /,
corpse nv something like I;
conscience making itself felt decl
down in that brutef Or was
not rather the sort OF physica