Evening star., 1927-11-27
knowledge Showed Lack Gus
rShewdnw eSare1on

The waiter made gesture of dis
sent. Indeed, but he knew little
about the language. He wrote, it is
true, to France. Why there was a
little joke he got me to help him in
he was a humorous man, NJ. Robertl
"A joke to play on a friend of his.
He got me to write something out in
English for him.
The detective filed the walters
empty glass. Really"
Yes, monsieur He had a friend.
NJ. Vital Douat. who he said would
never answer his letters. SO he got
me to write a mock death certificate
IF NJ. Douat, which he was to send on
to him with letter saying that he
now understood his silence since he
was dead"
THAT was great joke" laughed
the detective. Il suppose you have
not heard from him since he left?'
The other had not. And since Drus-
covitch had gained a solution of the
only point in the case on which the
waiter could throw any light he
abruptly concluded the interview.
There remained the cemetery. The
authorities remembered the burial of
man called Vital Douat. The ar
rangements had been made by friend
of the dead man, Signor Rubini--
Douat seems to have had a partiality
for the Italian suffix. Rubini had pre-
sented certificate from the registrar
Of deaths, paid the fees. and arranged
for the ceremony to take place on the
following Sunday. The funeral service
had been conducted according TO the
rites of the Roman Catholic Church
by the Rev. Father M'Quoid. and Ru-
bini had been the chief. in fact the
only mourner. Druscovich' s infornan mt
gave the name of the undertaken.
This individual also remembered NJ.
Rublni. That gentleman had ordered
a full sized reaGy-made coffin with a
lead lining of abnormal thickness. He
had insisted that the handles should
be altered from the sides to the ends
of the coffin as is the custom in
France.
And what kind of a person was
put into this coffin?" asked the detec-
tive.
The undertaken hesitated. "To tell
YOU the truth l don't know" he said.
We delivered it by instruction at
Ann street. Rubni said that it was
unnecessary for us to do anything
more. He undertook to see the body
in the coffin and to screw it down. He
had a hearse and mourning carriage
to go to st. Patrick's Cemetery on the
Sunday"
WHATEVER views Druscovich may
have had on the innocence or
ignorance of the undertaken he said
nothing then. The man was legally
right in accepting the certificate of
the registrar There was no obliga-
ton on him to put the body in the cof-
fin. AS for the registrar, he had made
out the formal certificate on the
presentation of the forged medical
notice of death. No provision of the
law had been neglected.
But Druscovich had enough infor-
nation now to warrant an applica-
ton that the grave should be made
to yield up it's secret. He applied to
the proper authorities and an order
for exhumation was granted.
All this was done very quietly. The
detective had no intention of allowing
any hint of hisf activities to reach
Douat If it could be avoided. There
was, he hoped, something more than
4 chance of catching that gentleman
off his guard. At his request couple
Of men who knew Douat well were in
duced to take trip from France and
were sworn to secrecy.
In the cold light of a raw Winter
morning a temporary screen was
erected around the grave to hide il
from accidental outside observation
Within this inclosure Druscovitch, a
doctor. officials and the two wit
nesses stood in a little group while
men with picks and shovels attacked
the frozen earth. The coffin was
drawn to the surface and there was
a little stir among the onlookers as
the officials knelt to unscrew the lid
What they expected to see they
scarcely knew The detective alone
had by this time arrived at con
clusion. but, like a wise man, he kept
it strictly to himself.