The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

ques. slippery old stuff again, this time
serving most worthy cause. I fOund NV
SER at the same time admiring and de-
plorlng him. But that could wait The inn
mediate necessity was to save this moor
girl from herself
Look here, Jacques" I said, wheeling on
MN 1lIn suddenly; You're shirking the issue.
4Oure a mOuldy Stacker"
jacques smiled. Il was just waiting to
hear you say that, Johnny"
We'll, I've said it. This Is your lob.
not Sermizelles'. He's probably the sort OF
kind and simple old campagnard that with
the best OF intentions would bungle IL See
MIN, or course, and make him q party to IL
tnen do the rest yourself. Go down there,
and get in touch with Edith and tell her
who you are and just what you've said
you'll get Sermizelles to tell her"
But she'd know all about me, Of course"
Jacques objected, "and my coming might
frighten her to DEATH"
'That sort Of girl doesn't frighten to
death. You'd be a relief to her. Put an end
to the suspense. 1t would be I'D to Won "a
snow her first crack that you'd come 90
clear and not to denOunce her. You do that
and III get busy and turn I'D the dOLe that
you're to go on. That's more in my line
and what's even better, more in character
as Yankee reporter. You don't risk to
lose any caste by trying to gumshOe de-
tails that in your quality Of mind reader
you should be far above"
Jacques brown eyes glowed. "GOod for
you johnny. I hated to suggest it, but
aIter all I've done no more than I pro-
Wen, then, keep on doing it." said.
ASK the girl to let you read her mind. In
private of course, if the mother SUPERIOR
will let you, which she's bound to do, If
| you show your plumes. Then tell Edith
what you've just told me, that you know
what she thought she did but really did
not"
In my excitement got a little incOher-
/ ent Tell her anything that comes int
your head, and back it up with the proof
] that 1t was actually Sermizelles who ac-
cidentally shot her father and that she's to
let it go at that. Tell her you've squared
De Courcey with the police, and that the
incident may now be an incident closed"
| "All right, Johnny" Jacques said. "Iu
do that thing and then quit"
| Quit whatP I asked.
This mind reading stuff"
"Why?"
Because I told myself some time ago
that so long as I could do it on a perfectly
straight basis all right and good. But
Wnen 1t comes to BOtnt where I make my
self the arbiter of human destinies it gets
too thick. I've been willing to serve the
ends of public peace, but / decline to Jug
gle with results. 1t is not for me to say
this person is guilty but ought to be let
off, any more than 1t is for me to say this
person is actually innocent but ought to be
soaked. In the present case, to be a con-
sistent crime detectOr, I should be obliged
to report to the police what 1 might read
from Edith's mind"
Not unless the police have asked you
to read her mind / said.
30, that's quibbling, Johnny. There's
no getting around the fact that I'm in dan
ger Of messing in and fixing things up
not according to the way they are, ans
that the law finds them, but the way
think they ought to be. When it reaches
/ that point I had better quit"
: PERHAPS you're right, Jacques. All th'
{ same, it seems a pity. Why can't you b'
E frank with me and come acrOss2 I'll keeI
/. it TO myself"
Jacques laughed in a tantalizing way
Don't you wish you really knew, Johnny 2
81 do" I answered.
And I may say in closing that still do