"Inthatcase,
"criedValentin,withadreadfulsmile,
"youmayindeedknowagreatdealabouthim。Abouthislifeandabouthis。。。
"
CommandantOBrienlaidahandonValentinsarm。
"Drothatslanderousrubbish,Valentin,
"hesaid,
"ortheremaybemoreswordsyet。
"
ButValentin(underthesteady,humblegazeoftheriest)hadalreadyrecoveredhimself。
"Well,
"hesaidshortly,
"eolesrivateoinionscanwait。Yougentlemenarestillboundbyyourromisetostay;youmustenforceitonyourselves-andoneachother。Ivanherewilltellyouanythingmoreyouwanttoknow;Imustgettobusinessandwritetotheauthorities。Wecantkeethisquietanylonger。Ishallbewritinginmystudyifthereisanymorenews。
"
"Isthereanymorenews,Ivan?
"askedDrSimon,asthechiefofolicestrodeoutoftheroom。
"Onlyonemorething,Ithink,sir,
"saidIvan,wrinklinguhisgreyoldface,
"butthatsimortant,too,initsway。Theresthatoldbufferyoufoundonthelawn,
"andheointedwithoutretenceofreverenceatthebigblackbodywiththeyellowhead。
"Wevefoundoutwhoheis,anyhow。
"
"Indeed!
"criedtheastonisheddoctor,
"andwhoishe?
"
"HisnamewasArnoldBecker,
"saidtheunder-detective,
"thoughhewentbymanyaliases。Hewasawanderingsortofscam,andisknowntohavebeeninAmerica;sothatwaswhereBraynegothisknifeintohim。Wedidnthavemuchtodowithhimourselves,forheworkedmostlyinGermany。Wevecommunicated,ofcourse,withtheGermanolice。But,oddlyenough,therewasatwinbrotherofhis,namedLouisBecker,whomwehadagreatdealtodowith。Infact,wefounditnecessarytoguillotinehimonlyyesterday。Well,itsarumthing,gentlemen,butwhenIsawthatfellowflatonthelawnIhadthegreatestjumofmylife。IfIhadntseenLouisBeckerguillotinedwithmyowneyes,IdhaveswornitwasLouisBeckerlyingthereinthegrass。Then,ofcourse,IrememberedhistwinbrotherinGermany,andfollowingutheclue。。。
"
TheexlanatoryIvanstoed,fortheexcellentreasonthatnobodywaslisteningtohim。TheCommandanandthedoctorwerebothstaringatFatherBrown,whohadsrungstifflytohisfeet,andwasholdinghistemlestightlikeamaninsuddenandviolentain。
"Sto,sto,sto!
"hecried,
"stotalkingaminute,forIseehalf。WillGodgivemestrength?Willmybrainmaketheonejumandseeall?Heavenhelme!Iusedtobefairlygoodatthinking。IcouldarahraseanyageinAquinasonce。Willmyheadslit-orwillitsee?Iseehalf-Ionlyseehalf。
"
Heburiedhisheadinhishands,andstoodinasortofrigidtortureofthoughtorrayer,whiletheotherthreecouldonlygoonstaringatthislastrodigyoftheirwildtwelvehours。
WhenFatherBrownshandsfelltheyshowedafacequitefreshandserious,likeachilds。Heheavedahugesigh,andsaid:
"Letusgetthissaidanddonewithasquicklyasossible。Lookhere,thiswillbethequickestwaytoconvinceyouallofthetruth。
"Heturnedtothedoctor。
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