The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

his life does not make that sort Of a mis-
take.
"Sermizelles first Indignantly denied the
possibility Of such a tenderfOOt blunder,
then suddenly admitted it must be So That
he was getting old and his eyes playing
him tricks, or some such stuff. De COur-
cey had shown rim that he, De COurcey,
had fired too sOOn for ROuX's body to have
| been found at such a distance, so that it
must have been either Sermizelles or q.
Edith. The moment Sermizeiles seized that
idea he did not hesitate moment to take
the blame, even though it made him party
to crime"
"a crime?" I interrupted. "But you have
/ just said that De COurcey did not sus-
pect that Edith thought she was shooting
at him."
81 refer to the crime Of defrauding the
insurance company" Jacques said dryly.
| "Sermizelles was insured against accident
ally shooting a cOmrade of the hunt. But
/ he was an old family friend and as such
| desired at all cost to save Edith the life
long grief Of believing she bad shot her
/ own father. This seems to have been q
futile effort Edith believes She shot as
she supposed at De COurcey, and killed
her father. If she were to confess, it
might go very badly with her. According
to the law Of most well legislated countries,
if you shoot to kill one man but miss him
and kill another you are as guilty as If
you had slain the one that was the object
of your lethal intent"
| I reflected for a moment on this. then
asked: why are you so sure that Edith
did not believe she was shooting at the
bOar2"
because we are told she has refused all
religious offices, although a good Catholic.
Il To do so, she would have to confess, and
she does not dare confess. Resides, if she
had believed herself to have shot at the
boar she would have run to the spot with
her gun on hearing De COurcey cry "a ia
lie But she arrived on the spot without
her gun. Either she ran back and hid II
in the car or else flung it into the bog in
Some I
sure because / have not read her mind, but
her subsequent behavior indicates a soul
tOrmented by conscience as well as grief
as if she believed that God had punished
her for wicked attempt"
It looked that way to me. l thought then
of Jacques gloomy face when Pervier hao
finished his statement and requested him
to examine De COurcey. 1t struck me also
that Jacques had no need to do this to ar.
rive at his decision, that this was already
formed. Deduction again, versus the func
tiOn Of the faculty that he prOfessed.
| But his thought now was evidently con
centrated on the distracted girl and how
he might be able to save her from herself
t and from the law.
Presently he said: 81 must talk to Ser
mizelles"
"Why Sermizelles2" I asked.
! "TO pursuade him to be barty to anOthe
! fraud. I want him to see Edith, talk t,
. her privately, and convince her it was ac
tually his shot and no other that kille,
ROux. Otherwise she is apt either to g
into a decline and die, or else to cO1tes
I and give herself up to the police. I thinl
3 I see a way for him to accomplish it."
How, Jacques?"
"He must tell Edith he has come to clea
her mind Of any suspisciOn it might har
Dor that De COurcey was the actual and in
e territorial slayer Of her father. SermiZelle
will confess to her that he entertained n
such doubts himself, having been unabl
n to believe that as a hunter of such lon
~ Qlav-n ho hnv
, ted such a fatal error.
q But he will tell Edith that since he ha
= now the proof that the two balls buck
e shot, were not from De COurcey's gun, on
Il of her fathers many, but from his own b
has stated that fact to De COurcey, an
feels he should now state it to her.
" Edith will Immediately reason that
r these shots were not from her father
g gun in De COurceys hand then Hkewis
II they could not have been from one Of hC
= fathers guns that was in her own hand
2 She will demand to know on what he base
Is his assurance.
= "SermizeIles will tell her then that he ha
iC procured the buckshOt and had them e.
n bertly examined, and compared with thOS
o loaded in her fathers cartridges. The n
y suit will have proved a slight but absC
D, lutely distinguishable difference. Those
1t Serminzelles are the product OF a differeI
IS manufacturer who uses slightly differeI
lead"
do you think you can get away wit
d that, Jacques?"
y "Well, I'm not up enough in the matte
= to say positively. But it seems to me
=, ought TO be possible. There must be mol
- than one concern in France that supple
y buckshOt and wherever an article Of an
~ sort is manufactured at a different plal
g there's pretty sure to be some Different
- detectable by close analysis, if only Il
"a matter Of weight That would hold trJ
" " of anything, one Of ROux's knife blade
~ for instance, or a safety pin, or a tenpenn
AZ nail. At any rate, III look into 1t, an
y, whatever mark is different from the ch
y rOtine used by ROux viii he the sort use
Ss by Sermizelles on this occasion"
=. I considered this for a few moments, du
ur AuS "ui0" ~ OH u0N i"e 'Ho' "0i0 was q "
in -