Report books

The sight was ghastly and gruesome; the body lay there awaiting the
official inquiry into the cause of death. The silence of the tomb was
unbroken, save for the heavy tread of the policeman, who having removed
his helmet in the presence of the dead, lifted the end of the sheet,
revealing to me a white, hard-set face, with closed eyes and dropped
jaw.
I started back as my eyes fell upon the dead countenance. I was entirely
unprepared for such a revelation. The truth staggered me.
The victim was the man who had acted as my friend--the Italian waiter,
Olinto.
I advanced and peered into the thin inanimate features, scarce able to
realize the actual fact. But my eyes had not deceived me. Though death
distorts the facial expression of every man, I had no difficulty in
identifying him.
"You recognize him, sir?" remarked the officer. "Who is he? Our people
are very anxious to know, for up to the present moment they haven't
succeeded in establishing his identity."
I bit my lips. I had been an arrant fool to betray myself before that
man.


Pages:
102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126