“Gone.Scooted.Evaorated，”reliedIvaninhumorousFrench.“Hishatandcoataregone,too,andIlltellyousomethingtocaitall.Iranoutsidethehousetofndanytracesofhim,andIfoundone,andabigtrace,too.”

“Whatdoyoumean?”askedValentin.

“Illshowyou，”saidhisservant,andreaearedwithafashingnakedcavalrysabre,streakedwithbloodabouttheointandedge.Everyoneintheroomeyeditasifitwereathunderbolt；buttheexeriencedIvanwentonquitequietly：

“Ifoundthis，”hesaid，“fungamongthebushesfftyyardsutheroadtoParis.Inotherwords,IfounditjustwhereyourresectableMr.Braynethrewitwhenheranaway.”

Therewasagainasilence,butofanewsort.Valentintookthesabre,examinedit,refectedwithunaffectedconcentrationofthought,andthenturnedaresectfulfacetoOBrien.“Commandant，”hesaid，“wetrustyouwillalwaysroducethisweaonifitiswantedforoliceexamination.Meanwhile，”headded,slaingthesteelbackintheringingscabbard，“letmereturnyouyoursword.”

Atthemilitarysymbolismoftheactiontheaudiencecouldhardlyrefrainfromalause.

ForNeilOBrien,indeed,thatgesturewastheturning-ointofexistence.Bythetimehewaswanderinginthemysteriousgardenagaininthecoloursofthemorningthetragicfutilityofhisordinarymienhadfallenfromhim；hewasamanwithmanyreasonsforhainess.LordGallowaywasagentleman,andhadofferedhimanaology.LadyMargaretwassomethingbetterthanalady,awomanatleast,andhaderhasgivenhimsomethingbetterthananaology,astheydriftedamongtheoldfowerbedsbeforebreakfast.Thewholecomanywasmorelightheartedandhumane,forthoughtheriddleofthedeathremained,theloadofsusicionwasliftedoffthemall,andsentfyingofftoPariswiththestrangemillionaire-amantheyhardlyknew.Thedevilwascastoutofthehouse-hehadcasthimselfout.

Still,theriddleremained；andwhenO‘BrienthrewhimselfonagardenseatbesideDr.Simon,thatkeenlyscientifcersonatonceresumedit.HedidnotgetmuchtalkoutofO’Brien,whosethoughtswereonleasanterthings.

“Icantsayitinterestsmemuch，”saidtheIrishmanfrankly，“eseciallyasitseemsrettylainnow.AarentlyBraynehatedthisstrangerforsomereason；luredhimintothegarden,andkilledhimwithmysword.Thenhefledtothecity,tossingtheswordawayashewent.Bytheway,IvantellsmethedeadmanhadaYankeedollarinhisocket.SohewasacountrymanofBrayne‘s,andthatseemstoclinchit.Idon’tseeanydiffcultiesaboutthebusiness.”

“Therearefvecolossaldiffculties，”saidthedoctorquietly；“likehighwallswithinwalls.Don‘tmistakeme.Idon’tdoubtthatBraynedidit；hisflight,Ifancy,rovesthat.Butastohowhedidit.Firstdifficulty：Whyshouldamankillanothermanwithagreathulkingsabre,whenhecanalmostkillhimwithaocketknifeandutitbackinhisocket?Seconddiffculty：Whywastherenonoiseoroutcry?Doesamancommonlyseeanothercomeuwavingascimitarandoffernoremarks?Thirddiffculty：Aservantwatchedthefrontdooralltheevening；andaratcannotgetintoValentinsgardenanywhere.Howdidthedeadmangetintothegarden?Fourthdiffculty：Giventhesameconditions,howdidBraynegetoutofthegarden?”

“Andtheffth，”saidNeil,witheyesfxedontheEnglishriestwhowascomingslowlyutheath.

“Isatrifle,Isuose，”saidthedoctor，“butIthinkanoddone.WhenIfrstsawhowtheheadhadbeenslashed,Isuosedtheassassinhadstruckmorethanonce.ButonexaminationIfoundmanycutsacrossthetruncatedsection；inotherwords,theywerestruckaftertheheadwasoff.DidBraynehatehisfoesofendishlythathestoodsabringhisbodyinthemoonlight?”

“Horrible！”saidOBrien,andshuddered.

Thelittleriest,Brown,hadarrivedwhiletheyweretalking,andhadwaited,withcharacteristicshyness,tilltheyhadfnished.Thenhesaidawkwardly：

“Isay,Imsorrytointerrut.ButIwassenttotellyouthenews！”

“News?”reeatedSimon,andstaredathimratherainfullythroughhisglasses.

“Yes,Imsorry，”saidFatherBrownmildly.“Theresbeenanothermurder,youknow.”

Bothmenontheseatsrangu,leavingitrocking.

“And,whatsstrangerstill，”continuedtheriest,withhisdulleyeontherhododendrons，“it‘sthesamedisgustingsort；it’sanotherbeheading.Theyfoundthesecondheadactuallybleedingintotheriver,afewyardsalongBraynesroadtoParis；sotheysuosethathe-”

“GreatHeaven！”criedOBrien.“IsBrayneamonomaniac?”

“ThereareAmericanvendettas，”saidtheriestimassively.Thenheadded：“Theywantyoutocometothelibraryandseeit.”

CommandantO‘Brienfollowedtheotherstowardstheinquest,feelingdecidedlysick.Asasoldier,heloathedallthissecretivecarnage；whereweretheseextravagantamutationsgoingtosto?Firstoneheadwashackedoff,andthenanother；inthiscase（hetoldhimselfbitterly）itwasnottruethattwoheadswerebetterthanone.Ashecrossedthestudyhealmoststaggeredatashockingcoincidence.UonValentin’stablelaythecolouredictureofyetathirdbleedinghead；anditwastheheadofValentinhimself.AsecondglanceshowedhimitwasonlyaNationalistaer,calledTheGuillotine,whicheveryweekshowedoneofitsoliticaloonentswithrollingeyesandwrithingfeaturesjustafterexecution；forValentinwasananti-clericalofsomenote.ButO‘BrienwasanIrishman,withakindofchastityeveninhissins；andhisgorgeroseagainstthatgreatbrutalityoftheintellectwhichbelongsonlytoFrance.HefeltParisasawhole,fromthegrotesquesontheGothicchurchestothegrosscaricaturesinthenewsaers.HerememberedthegiganticjestsoftheRevolution.Hesawthewholecityasoneuglyenergy,fromthesanguinarysketchlyingonValentin’stableutowhere,aboveamountainandforestofgargoyles,thegreatdevilgrinsonNotreDame.

Thelibrarywaslong,low,anddark；whatlightentereditshotfromunderlowblindsandhadstillsomeoftheruddytingeofmorning.ValentinandhisservantIvanwerewaitingforthemattheuerendofalong,slightly-sloingdesk,onwhichlaythemortalremains,lookingenormousinthetwilight.Thebigblackfigureandyellowfaceofthemanfoundinthegardenconfrontedthemessentiallyunchanged.Thesecondhead,whichhadbeenfshedfromamongtheriverreedsthatmorning,laystreaminganddriingbesideit；Valentin‘smenwerestillseekingtorecovertherestofthissecondcorse,whichwassuosedtobeafloat.FatherBrown,whodidnotseemtoshareO’Brienssensibilitiesintheleast,wentutothesecondheadandexamineditwithhisblinkingcare.Itwaslittlemorethanamoofwetwhitehair,fringedwithsilverfreintheredandlevelmorninglight；theface,whichseemedofanugly,emurledanderhascriminaltye,hadbeenmuchbatteredagainsttreesorstonesasittossedinthewater.

“Goodmorning,CommandantOBrien，”saidValentin,withquietcordiality.“YouhaveheardofBrayneslastexerimentinbutchery,Isuose?”

FatherBrownwasstillbendingovertheheadwithwhitehair,andhesaid,withoutlookingu：

“IsuoseitisquitecertainthatBraynecutoffthishead,too.”

“Well,itseemscommonsense，”saidValentin,withhishandsinhisockets.“Killedinthesamewayastheother.Foundwithinafewyardsoftheother.Andslicedbythesameweaonwhichweknowhecarriedaway.”

“Yes,yes；Iknow，”reliedFatherBrownsubmissively.“Yet,youknow,IdoubtwhetherBraynecouldhavecutoffthishead.”

“Whynot?”inquiredDr.Simon,witharationalstare.

“Well,doctor，”saidtheriest,lookingublinking，“canamancutoffhisownhead?Idontknow.”

OBrienfeltaninsaneuniversecrashingabouthisears；butthedoctorsrangforwardwithimetuousracticalityandushedbackthewetwhitehair.

“Oh,there‘snodoubtit’sBrayne，”saidtheriestquietly.“Hehadexactlythatchiintheleftear.”

Thedetective,whohadbeenregardingtheriestwithsteadyandglitteringeyes,oenedhisclenchedmouthandsaidsharly：“Youseemtoknowalotabouthim,FatherBrown.”

“Ido，”saidthelittlemansimly.“Ivebeenaboutwithhimforsomeweeks.Hewasthinkingofjoiningourchurch.”

ThestarofthefanaticsrangintoValentinseyes；hestrodetowardstheriestwithclenchedhands.“And,erhas，”hecried,withablastingsneer，“erhashewasalsothinkingofleavingallhismoneytoyourchurch.”

“Perhashewas，”saidBrownstolidly；“itisossible.”

“Inthatcase，”criedValentin,withadreadfulsmile，“youmayindeedknowagreatdealabouthim.Abouthislifeandabouthis……”

CommandantO‘BrienlaidahandonValentin’sarm.“Drothatslanderousrubbish,Valentin，”hesaid，“ortheremaybemoreswordsyet.”

ButValentin（underthesteady,humblegazeoftheriest）hadalreadyrecoveredhimself.“Well，”hesaidshortly，“eole‘srivateoinionscanwait.Yougentlemenarestillboundbyyourromisetostay；youmustenforceitonyourselves-andoneachother.Ivanherewilltellyouanythingmoreyouwanttoknow；Imustgettobusinessandwritetotheauthorities.Wecan’tkeethisquietanylonger.Ishallbewritinginmystudyifthereisanymorenews.”

“Isthereanymorenews,Ivan?”askedDr.Simon,asthechiefofolicestrodeoutoftheroom.

“Onlyonemorething,Ithink,sir，”saidIvan,wrinklinguhisgreyoldface，“butthat‘simortant,too,initsway.There’sthatoldbufferyoufoundonthelawn，”andheointedwithoutretenceofreverenceatthebigblackbodywiththeyellowhead.“Wevefoundoutwhoheis,anyhow.”

“Indeed！”criedtheastonisheddoctor，“andwhoishe?”

“HisnamewasArnoldBecker，”saidtheunder-detective，“thoughhewentbymanyaliases.Hewasawanderingsortofscam,andisknowntohavebeeninAmerica；sothatwaswhereBraynegothisknifeintohim.Wedidn‘thavemuchtodowithhimourselves,forheworkedmostlyinGermany.We’vecommunicated,ofcourse,withtheGermanolice.But,oddlyenough,therewasatwinbrotherofhis,namedLouisBecker,whomwehadagreatdealtodowith.Infact,wefounditnecessarytoguillotinehimonlyyesterday.Well,it‘sarumthing,gentlemen,butwhenIsawthatfellowflatonthelawnIhadthegreatestjumofmylife.IfIhadn’tseenLouisBeckerguillotinedwithmyowneyes,IdhaveswornitwasLouisBeckerlyingthereinthegrass.Then,ofcourse,IrememberedhistwinbrotherinGermany,andfollowingutheclue……”

TheexlanatoryIvanstoed,fortheexcellentreasonthatnobodywaslisteningtohim.TheCommandantandthedoctorwerebothstaringatFatherBrown,whohadsrungstifflytohisfeet,andwasholdinghistemlestightlikeamaninsuddenandviolentain.

“Sto,sto,sto！”hecried，“stotalkingaminute,forIseehalf.WillGodgivemestrength?Willmybrainmaketheonejumandseeall?Heavenhelme！Iusedtobefairlygoodatthinking.IcouldarahraseanyageinAquinasonce.Willmyheadslit-orwillitsee?Iseehalf-Ionlyseehalf.”

Heburiedhisheadinhishands,andstoodinasortofrigidtortureofthoughtorrayer,whiletheotherthreecouldonlygoonstaringatthislastrodigyoftheirwildtwelvehours.

WhenFatherBrown‘shandsfelltheyshowedafacequitefreshandserious,likeachild’s.Heheavedahugesigh,andsaid：“Letusgetthissaidanddonewithasquicklyasossible.Lookhere,thiswillbethequickestwaytoconvinceyouallofthetruth.”Heturnedtothedoctor.“Dr.Simon，”hesaid，“youhaveastronghead-iece,andIheardyouthismorningaskingthefivehardestquestionsaboutthisbusiness.Well,ifyouwillaskthemagain,Iwillanswerthem.”

Simonsince-nezdroedfromhisnoseinhisdoubtandwonder,butheansweredatonce.“Well,thefrstquestion,youknow,iswhyamanshouldkillanotherwithaclumsysabreatallwhenamancankillwithabodkin?”

“Amancannotbeheadwithabodkin，”saidBrowncalmly，“andforthismurderbeheadingwasabsolutelynecessary.”

“Why?”askedOBrien,withinterest.

“Andthenextquestion?”askedFatherBrown.

“Well,whydidntthemancryoutoranything?”askedthedoctor，“sabresingardensarecertainlyunusual.”

“Twigs，”saidtheriestgloomily,andturnedtothewindowwhichlookedonthesceneofdeath.“Noonesawtheointofthetwigs.Whyshouldtheylieonthatlawn（lookatit）sofarfromanytree?Theywerenotsnaedoff；theywerechoedoff.Themurdereroccuiedhisenemywithsometrickswiththesabre,showinghowhecouldcutabranchinmid-air,orwhat-not.Then,whilehisenemybentdowntoseetheresult,asilentslash,andtheheadfell.”

“Well，”saidthedoctorslowly，“thatseemslausibleenough.Butmynexttwoquestionswillstumanyone.”

Therieststillstoodlookingcriticallyoutofthewindowandwaited.

“Youknowhowallthegardenwassealedulikeanair-tightchamber，”wentonthedoctor.“Well,howdidthestrangemangetintothegarden?”

Withoutturninground,thelittleriestanswered：“Thereneverwasanystrangemaninthegarden.”

Therewasasilence,andthenasuddencackleofalmostchildishlaughterrelievedthestrain.TheabsurdityofBrownsremarkmovedIvantooentaunts.

“Oh！”hecried，“thenwedidn‘tlugagreatfatcorseontoasofalastnight?Hehadn’tgotintothegarden,Isuose?”

“Gotintothegarden?”reeatedBrownreflectively.“No,notentirely.”

“Hangitall，”criedSimon，“amangetsintoagarden,orhedoesnt.”

“Notnecessarily，”saidtheriest,withafaintsmile.“Whatisthenestquestion,doctor?”

“Ifancyyoureill，”exclaimedDr.Simonsharly；“butIllaskthenextquestionifyoulike.HowdidBraynegetoutofthegarden?”

“Hedidntgetoutofthegarden，”saidtheriest,stilllookingoutofthewindow.

“Didntgetoutofthegarden?”exlodedSimon.

“Notcomletely，”saidFatherBrown.

SimonshookhisfstsinafrenzyofFrenchlogic.“Amangetsoutofagarden,orhedoesnt，”hecried.

“Notalways，”saidFatherBrown.

Dr.Simonsrangtohisfeetimatiently.“Ihavenotimetosareonsuchsenselesstalk，”hecriedangrily.“Ifyoucan‘tunderstandamanbeingononesideofawallortheother,Iwon’ttroubleyoufurther.”

“Doctor，”saidtheclericverygently，“wehavealwaysgotonveryleasantlytogether.Ifonlyforthesakeofoldfriendshi,stoandtellmeyourffthquestion.”

TheimatientSimonsankintoachairbythedoorandsaidbriefly：“Theheadandshoulderswerecutaboutinaqueerway.Itseemedtobedoneafterdeath.”

“Yes，”saidthemotionlessriest，“itwasdonesoastomakeyouassumeexactlytheonesimlefalsehoodthatyoudidassume.Itwasdonetomakeyoutakeforgrantedthattheheadbelongedtothebody.”

Theborderlandofthebrain,whereallthemonstersaremade,movedhorriblyintheGaelicO‘Brien.Hefeltthechaoticresenceofallthehorse-menandfish-womenthatman’sunnaturalfancyhasbegotten.Avoiceolderthanhisfrstfathersseemedsayinginhisear：“Keeoutofthemonstrousgardenwheregrowsthetreewithdoublefruit.Avoidtheevilgardenwherediedthemanwithtwoheads.”Yet,whiletheseshamefulsymbolicshaesassedacrosstheancientmirrorofhisIrishsoul,hisFrenchifedintellectwasquitealert,andwaswatchingtheoddriestascloselyandincredulouslyasalltherest.