The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

shot holes It lay about fifty yards ahead
of the course that must have been followed
by poor ROux. Then a pallid and shaken
chaseur, who had been De COurcey's neigh
Dor on the right, the side away from the
road, admitted to having fired the last OF
the fusilade Of shots, but, as he protested
weepingly, at the boar. He was an ex-
perienced hunter and could not be mis-
taken.
Nobody denied this, though heads were
shaken. 1t was really pretty dark, too
dark to have continued the chasse. And
the place was thick. In the anguish OF the
moment and that Of Edith's terrible grief,
for all knew how she adOred her father,
nobody tried to tally up the number OF
shots fired. It was just another OF those
tragic shooting accidents that make men
fOrsWear cruel sport.
With bowed heads the body Of ROux was
carried out to the roadside, when a doctor
Of the party went quickly to fetch his
car. The bleached De COurcey tried to
Pursuadee Edith to let him drive her home,
but suddenly she thrust him away, sprang
into her runabOut, and dashed OFF so
blindly that those present feared another
casualty. She reached home, and without
happened stumbled to her room and locked
herself in. Shortly afterward the doctor
arrived with the cOpse, and the house ran 6
to the lamentations Of Diane.
There arose then among the stricken
members Of the shooting party a hot de-
fired, not that any considered this had
much importance. Some claimed to have
heard seven shots, others eight. But as
seven only could be accounted for, the
minority Of three who maintained there
had been eight admitted possible error,
more than that, unquestiOnable error. The
unfortunate who stated frankly that he
had fired the last shot said also that he
had fired the first two, then reloaded,
showed into the underbrush and fired again
on catching a later glimpse Of the boar
at about seVenty-fiVe meters, a long shot
Both barrels Of ROux's and De COurcey' Is
guns had been fired. ROuX, according to
De COurcey, had fired before himself, pan
pan," almost together. The boar had
| turned then sharply, dashed toward De
COurcey, who fired more widely spaced
when the animal had rushed back past
ROuX again, or struggled past already
mOrtally wounded. De COurcey had caught
/ a glimpse a moment later of what hC
thought to be the dead body of the boar
when he heard the cry "Al la lieP' TheI
on drawing near he had discovered to his
horror that it was the body Of his genial
host, shot through both heart and brain.
| So there the case stood. There was more
pity than blame for M. SermiZelles, the in
nOcent slaper, especially as ROuX, a robust
man, had, on discovering about an hOul
earlier that De COurcey seemed to b'
chilled insisted on changing his padded
old shooting coat for De COurceys thin
stylish one, that was a light shade o.
| khaki, and would make n good target il
the dimming light. And, ROux, thicl
/ bodied, would be proceeding in low stOOp
ing fashion. ROux and De COurcey were o
! approximate dimensions, but De COurce!
fatish, where ROux was Of burly muscular
physique
Being a decent lot, nobody ventured t,
express what may have been in the mind
Of all, that De COurcey was good dea
at the ROux chateau, even there in tn
absence Of ROux, who might have fOun'
it wise to cut short his business trip an
return unannOunced on that account. No
body ventured to suggest that ROuX wa
very rich, getting on to sixty, a rough oil
chap at times, and his beautiful wife wa
more than thirty years younger, Onl
about four years younger than De Courcey
None even h1nted that DE COurcey's al
fairs were in a precariOus condition, tina
he was pretty deeply in debt.
But the police considered all of tha
They were polite enough to ask no inJuI
iOus questions, possibly because there wa
not much need. In the end, M. Sermizelle
came forward and made a statement to tn
effect that on due deliberatiOn there cOul
be no further doubt but that he had she
and killed by accident, or at least by errO,
. his beloved friend and neighbOr, julie
, ROux.
This did not fool anybody, not even tn
insurance company that covers the risk
cOntre les tiers, against other parties ths
5 he may wound or kill in precisely such
way, invariably taken out by the Frenc
e sportsman as by the autOmObilist. A ma
is expected to recover, against b.
Z most intimate friend if shot by him,
! if tilted out Of his car, even though sal
D friend and owner has lent it to him and
, not in it at the time. Curious, but not
bad Llan, all things considered.
Z Nobody having any other charges to pr
I fer, the case was dropped for the tin
e being. But the prefecture waited an
= watched It lifted one eye when Edit
= deep in melanchOlia almost to the point
stupOr, went en- retraite to sort OF col
4 vent sanitarium, or nursing home. 1t liftC
the other as De COurcey's encouraging e
} forts to console the beautiful young widO
became more pronounced.
And now the prefecture suddenly Opel
z ed both eyes and sat up at the unOffici
announcement only six months after tl
tragedy that Madam Diane ROuX was 500
to marry Louis Maurice Jeanne Marie
COurcey, and that the chauteau was bell
" offered for sale. Such imIatience, and
> such bad taste. There was nothing mo
> to get out Of NJ Sermizelles, however di
t gusted he might be at this cold blOOde
ness Of the widow of his lifelong frien
fallen through error by his hand. Sern
zelles' parti pris was final when he ma
his deposition. No sense of laying hill
self open to attack by the insurance col
pany.
But the case was quietly reOpened VIII
a sister at the religious retreat, on rul
maging Edith's trunk for a piece Of {
lace mislatd, came on a note folded into
bosom Of a blouse. 1t was an impassiOn
write unless a successful lover, and it cC
! tanned this significant passage:
zone can only hope and wait. As
English say, Accidents will happen in
is best Of regulated families Recklessn
is in sports, in riding and driving over
40 road, and other ways. Perhaps If we b'
u focus the power Of our minds
n. I am indiscreet, and to you unjust,
m adOree. Your kind heart would not p
q NIT. Sometimes I think that / am a lii
insane from too much longing ..
or unrest of the days and nights between" D."
lg The good sister sent a copy Of this n
-, to the prefecture, which Immediately
"a manded, with all due pOliteness, the OF
n inal. It was in De COurcey's affected E
by lish square hand. It's date was the day
fore De COurcey's arrival at the chate
the date Of Edith's quarrel with DIANE
Ou De COurcey was politely invited to CO
e. to the prefecture and talk things over.
90 was not warned that his mind might
% required to talk them over with that
SIC Monsieur Jacques 'Ugh-es. So there
OF were.
For the first time in my observation
= his cases Jacques did, not immediat
Oh consent to the seance, in his usual n
.V- chalant way.
Of Another departure was that he seeI
- dissatisfied with the facts that Pervier
lS laid before him, so that instead Of remi
IN ing silent so far as concerned any furt
inf nnEf Nn rnrmH