The Bozeman courier., 1926-03-12

the mind Of the accused had thus far been
invariably followed by full conIess5aO.le 5loy.e
1t occurred to me that ne mlgnI H%e 4Io
| learned how to combine his alleged IeLS
DathY with hypnOtism, though TINS SUI
/ position was inexact because of the deJaliiS
/ Of circumstantial evidence worked out "a
ways with precision. s
/ to me that such a dangerous chaIla4Sii
| ought to be exposed as soon as posslDIe'
I said as much to my chief little i.oa Laue1'
and told him Of my early acqualnttnIcce ne
ship with this fraud Of a James Hughess'
"That sounds pretty good" ne saIu'
/ Jump over to Paris and snow hlIn up w.
J It's all the bunk, of course, but there may
/ be a good story in it. You speak French,
uext."
So to Paris I went, and glad Of the
voyage A former close connection Of mine
! had fallen on French soil during the war;
the lower fourteen inches Of my right leE'
so that ] had a sentimental interest," III
visiting the scenes of this afflictiOn. be
| sides, it was a pleasant rest after stump
ing around town to serve the ends Oh un
paid publicity.
The fact that I happened to arrive on
April first in that capital that always
! seems gay whether or not the people IN II
feel that way put me off little. hOpe,t
it did not augur fools errand. Went I
the next morning to call on Jacques wiz
had his studio apartment on the top 1IooI
of a modern seven story building ONeI
on the Boulevard Raspail between AVehu
my own name, John Clarke, is not unusual
and my personality no more conspicuous
I was prepared to recall myself TO TINS
clairvOyant faker of a Jacques as his ola
school chum "Freck" but this proved I'M
necessary. A valet opened the door and as
I stepped into the antechamber a voice
called from behind the studio p!ortieres:
"COme right in. Johnny Clarke"
I went in and found Jacques in paint
blouse and on a big easel the nearly
finished portrait of a woman, evidently d
femme du monde, the craftsmanship aOle
and pleasing. He greeted me cordially and
with a frankness that put me entirely AT
ease. Il would love to think, Johnny. that
; you dropped in to see a bOyhOOd chum,
but I'm very much afraid that your errand
: is to investigate the dread magician"
call it both, Jacques. Did you know /
! was on New York paperP
! "Why yes. That was one reason /
| guessed who It was that just came in. The
others were that I remember having read
that you had lost a leg in the war, and, on
5 hearing a step with n slight limp in the
S hall, that helped Then l got letter
morning from a French painter friend VINO
has gone to America, and he spoke of being
5 honOred by an interview with Mr.. JOnn
, Clarke. SO naturally you were little III
my mind There was nc telepathy about IT,
3, old chap, or at least none that was con-
SciOus. / save that for crucial instances
> 1t struck me that the juvenile nimble-
ness of wit that had enabled him to fool
so many people, young and old, back there
| in Wiscasset had been developed with more
candOr. Also that it argued better on this
very account for the actual possession OF
some sort of psychic gift. I reasoned that
the mere fact of his believing that / had
come to investigate him would in a char
latan have been an irresistible temptation
to give me a first convincing impression Of
occult powers.
Looking at him then with a great dea
of curiosity, I discovered that what woulC
have been a curse to most boys in America
had matured to a good deal of enviable dis
tinctiOn in a portrait painter of Paris
He reminded me Of Du MaurieTs depletion
/ Of the Martian, except that the Martial
J was. 1 thought Of sterner qualities.
Jacques did not impress me as effeminat
in a sense of sex or character any NOR
than he was masculine, or for that matte
neuter. One does not think of certal
natural objects as possessing either Sc
or lack Of it, and he was like that. VII
admit that this is a negative form OF des
criptiOn, and yet he was not negative. Pei
hans the best I can do is to say that if
child were to watch a beautiful biT1 Dul
suing its daily occasions it would not oecu
to that child to think Of that bird q
masculine or feminine, but merely as
pretty bird In fact, if the bird happene
to be a herring gull, only a skilled Orn1thC
logist could tell it's sex.
Jacques was like that-like a bird {
angel or other winged fowl. He would hay
reproduced beautifully in stained glaS
as some sort Of celestial visitant, ratht
soothing and serene. He was smOOt
shaven, neither fat nor thin, nor muscul;
nor frail, nor big nor little, nor y
cOmmOnDlace He was paradox, l though
as he stood there in his long spOtle
blouse with no paint smears on It or {
his hands, daubing from a palette
which the cOlOrs were unmiXed at cal
vas that was cleanly painted in pure color
I remembered all at once that this guam
of cleanliness, limpid and clear, had q
ways distinguished him from the re
of US smeared cubs and in his dtsfav
for our esteem.
"YOur visit is well timed, Johnny. In
have asked me to examine a suspect tn
afternoon A sOrdid murder case they see
to think, though first considered. to
- one of fatal accident. I never see the pre-
accounts, but before presuming to inte
lg pret the workings Of a persons mind
nj like to hear detailed description Of Ju
: ! what has happened"
20 From whOm?" I asked.
From some trained observer who G
give me the simple, consecutive facts wit
Ia out any theory or impression OF his ON
t0 does that excellently."
d. But what's the good of that if y
. read directly from the mind of the 81
pect2" l asked.
- "a fair question, It is because the mi
ng of the accused does not itself report accl
ny ately in all cases. Sometimes it is a
aO- confused Blurred by not being able
distinguish clearly between acts that W.
intended and those really performed.
- crime may be committed in a moment
rn swift impulse and scarcely register
erC all on the mind of the guilty person. y
2
m one"
. "YOu mean he might be the victim Of
possession? I asked.
- 30, that or merely reacting to a sort
~ primitive impulse" Jacques answered ca
IT, ;SO lessly. Something in the nature Of a
~ flex, where you do your thinking W
your spinal cord instead Of your bra
iii What price the reading Of a mind like tE
4 5 Johnny 2"
I-S' "In such a case" said, cit strikes
- your gift might be a positive disadvanta
ign and by no means as exact as a process
.ry- logical deduction from careful study
1al. the circumstantial evidence. Yet / und
ity. stand you don't occupy yourself with t
of part Of the inquiry at all, and that
on far you have never missed.
an jacques raped the wooden frame
the easel. 1--WE been fortunate in hav
mn clear intelligence to deal with"
900 Can you give me the data about I
U.s. present case2" I asked. 81 haven't r
- about it,"
I Ios "NO more have ]" Jacques said. 81 d.
Nc read the press accounts for fear Of fo
Il H53 ing some opinion that might make
ZOc mental QUESTIONABLE misleading. / reqI
fort to be given no more than the simple IA
This man from the prefecture is like 81
Iub sort Of mechanical recording device
ev- combination moving picture camera
he'd phOnOgraph without the screen impri
Isl Mmnm 49, a.