The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11
THE ARBITERS
By Henry C. ROuUla11d

Unless his courage fails him, mon
sieur"
briefly.
Jacques sat drumming on the table with
his fingers, his face expressing nothing
but gloom. / could discover in his rather
mobile features no doubt, uncertainty, ner-
yOusness, nothing but heavy detection.
Feeling my eyes on him he reused.
i nate this, Johnny. Looks as If De
Coureey had fallen for temptation, doesn't
it? If his mind tells me he did, then it's
the gulllOtine, as a man Of his sort is GER
tain to confess when you check up every
item on him. Don't know why they should
but they do"
..'Well, in that case he's got it coming"
''Yes. suppose so, even if it was no
more than one Of those swift mad insistent
impulses. The devil in an unguarded mo-
ment. He could never have written what
he did in that billet dOux If he'G made up
his mind at that time. The fault Of let
ting ones mind harbOr such thought, ev-
en- for a second o, the shieking neces-
sity for mental discipline! But, there, I'm
in danger Of relaxing my own. Thinking
about the case, and, what's worse, talking
about 1t: Let's take a walk, then go to
some noisy place for luncheon. Paillaud's
| We did that thing Later the same old
| dreary room, that mental inquisitiOn cham
Der that was getting on my nerves. I won
dered that Jacques had any left.
! He made it brief. De COurcey was ush-
cred in. He was the sort Of yOungish
hOmme de monde I had expected, rather
| fat, but chic and soigne. At sight of
Jacques he raised his eyebrows, but aside
from not unnatural pallOr seemed COM
posed and unafraid. Jacques saeted him
self opposite, laid his hands lightly on
either side Of his well grOOmed head, look
ed into his blue eyes, then said SIMPLY:
! "The mind Of Monsieur de COurcey as
/ Tnn h0 n %
was overwhelmed with astOnishment and
horror to come upon the dead body of
Monsieur ROuX, where he had expected to
! find the boar. The mentality of this man
| depicts itself to me as that Of an individ-
ual who, though an egOtist and OppOrtun-
/ iSt, has nothing Of the murderer, and is
where his selfish interests are not opposed
Of rather kindly nature. That is all, mes
! sieurs."
i He rose. All of those present looked sur
prised, with the exception Of De COurcey
He nodded slightly to himself but with
/ no expression Of triumph or cOmplaoency
In fact, his face was sad.
i Az Jacques invariably declined further
questioning, we took our leave. OF course
his findings had no direct legal value, but
by this time, they had come to carry ire
. mendOus weight All things considered il
the present instance I think that every
body was relieved. The case had not come
to trial, would not, I thought, and since
there was no prOcureur de a repubiqu'
u striving to secure conviction it was mOrt
gratifying to accept the catastrophe as ac
/ cidental than as criminal.
I said as much to Jacques when yye go
back to the studio. He nodded in
moody, abstrcated way.
} "Why, yes, JOhnny-f we only could &C
J cept that"
"What do you mean ?" I asked sharply.
2 "Just that. Now that I know that d
! COurcey did not kill ROux, there is Onl,
one person that could have done It,"
"Of course. Sermizelles, after hanging il
the wind little, came forward like ma
and admitted it."
: Like a man is right, Johnny. He lie
, about it according to the best traditions O
= a gentleman and a sportsman. TO sav
= the real guilty one. That was Edith, Q
course"
Edith" What's this?"
80, it's easy enough to reconstruct, no.
that De COurcey's out of it. He was carry
ing on an affair with Diane and flirtin
o with little Edith to mask it. Edith may Q
+ lmay not have cared for him, or was be
= ginning to take notice. But she could neV
er have cared for his whole fat carcass 8
. she adOre6 one bristle Of her fathers eye
brow. So when she discovered by thS
q note that her daddy was being let dow
. Shamefully and even the focus Of the tW
+ infamous people who desired his death, b
. accident since he was such robust mai
h Edith went off her chump little. She ser
\ him that telegram. els sOnt dams le
9 lvignes, les mOineaUX."
p 'Why that?" I demanded.
d ''I should say it might have been one {
IS his tough little sOngs-at the chasse. Il
a probably got the double entendre-th'
there was some sort Of pest at work. AM
= how, it fetched him. Edith would ma,
e been known at the pOsteS, so she prODaDl
d gave a passing tramp five franc piece
b, send it. Then when ROux got home, III
II heart failed her. She could not bring ne
l. self to break his heart, or she may ha'
d been afraid of what he would do. But IN
f. on De COurcey's account. She would ha'
" liked to slaughter him, ana that's Wn
she tried to do. Not premeditated, IN
l. lagine, but in a sudden gust Of perfect
al righteous wrath when the opportunity SUI
he denly and Unexpectedly presented 1tse
N The trouble was that ROuX and De COurc'
lie had changed hunting coats about an no
lg before. That fat city feller' had tn
in one, and got chilled"
re "GOOd Lord, Jacques! Does De COurc
s suspect?"
d. ''NIore than that. He knows. But dol
o. think he. guesses I got it. So here's poi
1- in ethics. What ought I to dO?"
1e Gust what you have DONE" I answere
u "NOt good enough, Johnny. That is
u say, it's not enough for me to DO. NaCC
ally, I don't intend to have that poor e
en- tried for murder, If 1 can help lL. DuJ
Nc want to relieve her stress Of mind. She ne
Id er meant actually to kill De COurcey.
he up and blaZed away on impulse, tnlnkn
ed no doubt to wing him bit shoot a frie
to and a warning into him, and break up
n affair that threatened her fathers hOT
and happiness. But, as fatal destiny
he it. the supposed De COurcey got only {
he buckshOt or chevrOtine, that are a lit
ess smaller, one in the brain and the other
he the heart"
'th I leaned back utterly aghast. "But
Dut gum"
ny "She must have slipped a gun from
er- rack into that heavy steamer rug Perv
tie mentioned. Mind you, I don't believe
the a moment she went out deliberately ST
De COurcey. She meant merely to no
Ote on the edge Of the hunt and bag pig
de- one came her way. Pervier said she y
ig- a keen spOrtswOman. And her Engl
lg- training led her to do what a French
be- would never have thought Of doing"
au, ''Did the mind Of De COureey tell d!
+. all this2" I asked.
me "AIl this and more" Jacques ansWe
He calmly. "But some Of it is Just beginn
be to react to the developer. De COurcey
Of not know that his love letter had fal
we into Edith's hands, and that she was {
ing to make up her mind what TO dc ab
Of it. Diane had not told him. BE may b
ely thought that Edith was getting Jealous.
on would not have thought anything ab
seeing her slip a gun from the fold Of
ned steamer rug and 60 to the edge OF
lad wood. To shoot a boar was quite In Oh
I'M acter with such a girl.
her "De COurcey knew when Edith ~
fIW fr0Frn tho Tfrnaffnrn ~ nn W