The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-05-28
By Henry C. ROwlGnd

Then, at the request Of the presiding Of
ficer, / described my scuffle on the stairs
with the ferret, and exhibited the cuts in
my pant leg and the artificial one beneath.
1t struck me as I finished that I was be-
ing regarded with a very frank and open
admiration and caught such muttered eX-
pressiOns as "RedOutable! Un sOldat ca"
more sincere than respectful.
But / didn't tell them one word about
my visit to GOranskO, for the simple reas-
on that he had requested me for the time
being not to mention It at all. 1t seemed
to me also that it was up to the police to
unscrambled the rest Of the Omelet and that
they would really like it better if Permit
ted to do so.
Jacques also would like it better, I
thought, There was no effort to retain us
when I had finished by deposition, so we
went out and got into a Taxi that an agent
had called for Us.
1t was then that my pent up feeling blew
off the safety valve.
'YOu damned old fraud I said to
Jacques. ''This is the fakiest fakery that
you've faxed since you've turned rank
fake"
Don't be cross, Jimmy. I couldn't be
that with you to save my life-just after
you've done that thing yourself"
I've done nothing of the sort. You were
all primed up for that ferret. You were
lying there in bed with no more flu than
I've got and a gun nice and handy to drill
him the instant he showed his ratty nose.
You suspected BOgOrOff from the first
throw, and stood him off about his pOr-
trait to see how far he'd go in his insist
ence on your doing it. Then when he
wouldn't take no for an answer you went
still farther, to the point Of what must
have been damnably Observation-Disclosures
rolf was on to that just now. You sOused
that atOmize full of oil Of garlic, and gave
| yourself all the outward and inward work
ings Of one whale Of a cold. You planted
your latchkey and medicine bottle there for
bait, and went out long enough to give him
a chance to swallow it. Even if I hadn't
been sulking up there behind the tapestries,
you'd have got away with it all right. III
bet 1 was scarcely across the river before
you whipped ont Of your studio and beat
it over to the laboratory to get a little Of
that medicine bottle contents analysed"
Don't stop, Johnny" Jacques said as
/ paused to light a cigaret. Say that 1 was
wide awake and listening and heard you
rolling down stairs with that Apache and
never took the trouble to come out and
lend a hand. That if he'd knitted YOU in
the heart instead Of in the store leg. I'd
have been quite content to get rid Of a
potential expOser-and made no end Of cap
ital Of it,"
This calm remark fetched me up all
standing, cooled of my heat. 1 was convinced
that. impOster or no impOster, Jacques
would never have been guilty Of serving
me a pup like that.
WELL" 1 said, lit all happened pretty
quickly, so I'd say that you probably got
up and peeked out of the door and saw me
coming back up the stairs, then slid back
] INTO DeQ again. j waited CUISINE TO get my
breath back and find out if / was all in
tact"
eyes, Of course, that is possible" Jacques
admitted. "but now that you've rid your
system Of the excess righteous wrath, sup
pose you TAX another slant Of it. What if
my reading Of this mans mind happened
to coincide precisely with what / partly
, knew and Lartly suspected, or knew entire
ly for that matter and merely wanted to
check up by the reading Of his mind. /
couldn't very well falsify books, could I?'
NO" ! said, "but III tell you what you
can do. When we get back to the studio.
you can read my mind and tell me what
happened last night between eight and
twelve"
"Alr right. Johnny. Your mind presents
certain difficulties because, like that Of
most reporters and most Of the things we
read in the papers. it is such an artful COM
binatiOn Of actuality and deception"
'"That's right-stall! :" / said.
Jacques leaned back with a sigh. "NO,
I think I'd better tell you frankly tina
, there hasn't been much need Of mind read
ing in this case. It's all been so obvious.
Like children playing "cOps and thieves. "
) Sherlock Holmes and all that sort OF
! thing. Under the circumstances 1 couldn't
have found It in my conscience to send you
over there to interview GOranskO without
keeping some sort Of tabs on you. l was
+ somewhere around when you found that
I internal machine, that would Probably have
( wrecked the whole house, and carried II
Z across the street and chucked 1t into the
Seine. So let's call this case a dud, John.
, ny and hope that you can catch me on the
2 next"
: 1 was utterly COMPOUNDED, too angry
: to say more. It didn't seem compatible
; with my dignity. In fact I am ashamed tt
q say that in a sudden access Of rage / stop.
= ped the taxi and got out. Then ! called
/, another and went over to see GOranRkO.
s He was not at home.
What sort Of a man was it," / demand
\ ed Of the correct English butler, "wh'
Y called on DR.. GOranskO before I came las
. nigbt?'
"He was a very p%resentable party, sir
- quite the gentlman in fact, or I'd ardl,
Il ave admitted i'm, sir"
would you mind describing himF"
asked.
: The butler shook his head. "I'm sorr,
% sir, but I fear you'll ave to ask DR.. Goran
!, skO. ave my orders, sir"
And that was about all. BOgOrOff, o
/; course. I went f~umblingly back to my no
- tel to change my clothes, and there / foun'
two notes just brought in by special mes
senger, one from DR.. GOranskO to say tina
- he had been called suddenly to London an
hope to see me on his return a week later
"A The other was from Jacques to ask If
was too angry to see another case.
Copyright 1925: By Henry Q. Rowland
"Tke AribteF," the fifth and last articI
~ in tbs series, will be published in an earl
issue Of this paper.
-O-