The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-05-14

Nevertheless, monsieur" said BogOrOff
almost gaily, Il must beg you to excuse
me. l confess to absolute faith in your
marvellous gift, and 1 shrink from the
thought Of barring my soul before you.
When 1t comes to that, I will tell you
frankly that you might even find some
thing about the conduct Of this scheme Of
ours that you would perhaps disapprOVe
and that might serve to disCredit me in
your esteem. / can only assure YOU thai
such dealings do not in any way apply to
our shareholders or to our subsequent
handling Of the affair"
But that is all to which I should like
to be able to attest, monsieur" insisted
Jacques in a voice that was gentle, IL
hOarse. You must see for yourself the
value Of my being able to say-well, to
such a man as the banker de GunzYille, for
instance, who processes absolute belief in
my singular gift, Monsieur BOgOrOff con-
sented readily to an examination Of bis
mind, and 1 discovered his intention about
this scheme to be absolutely s~traightfOr-
ward from now on"
BOgOrOfff looked decidedly embarrassed,
also it seemed to me a little scared. Indeed,
he seemed to shrink back as Jacques moved
toward him in a fashion thai was c~OerciVe,
as if he dreaded his close proximity, and
his fixed sCrutinp. He turned his faoa
away; stepped to where he had laid down
7 his hat and stick.
He turned then with an apologize ges-
ture.
What you say is absolutely true, mon
HltuE. III udu not SLEuck me OeIOre IN just
that light. But at the risk of your think
ing me a coward, I may as well make an
other confession. / am not so unafraid Of
catching your grippe as 1 have pretended.
| have always been susceptible. 1t is only
my urgent desire to present m inamOrata
with so distinguished a gift as a specimen
Of your work that I have had the courage
to risk Infection. But I shrink from closer
contact than what is Necessary for your
p~aintiug-as no doubt you have observed
The added with q smile. 1 shall 90
back now to my hotel and spray myself
and take some aspirin and cOgnac."
Jacques nodded. "That would be prud-
ent, monsieur. ] was about to suggest it
myself. If you would like this prescrip-
ton, which seems to be doing me good
IF l feel any premOnitOry symptoms,
III ask for 1t. And another thing, mon
sleur. 1 am more and more struck by the
excellence Of the suggestion that you read
my mind in order that you may report up
on me with cOnvictiOn-tO Monsieur de
GunZville- and others. SO as soon as the
period Of your cOntagiOn is over, / viii not
merely submit but even request that yOU
look into my mind even at the risk Of your
finding something there that as an Ameri-
can gentleman you might find well
shocking"
He laughed again, and with all my dis
gust Of him ] could not but admire his
nimbleness of wit. Either he would stall
along to find eventually some good pre-
text to avoid an examination that he mos,
obviously dreaded and felt must surely
show him up, or else be might actually
consent, bringing all his mental control ID
bear on the thought depletion Of honesty
He might repeat over ad over to himself
I'VE will be honest, we will give a square
deal"-trusting that the searching mine
opposed to his would be deceived by hii
mental declaration.
Jacques smilingly agreed to this ar
rangement, telling BOgOrOff that he die
not blame him, considering the Virulencs
Of the epidemic that was going thu
rounds.
Copyright 1925: by Henry c. ROwland)
(TO be Continued in Next Tssue)