SOME OF OUR NEIGHBOURS. 131 



man's behaviour. Lawrie thought at first he was 

 drunk; but he soon came to the conclusion that the 

 stranger had not had any drink that day." 



I proceeded to tell the Chief of the Provincial 

 Police all I knew about the man. When I had 

 finished, he observed, " It looks pretty certainly a 

 case of suicide. I think I may safely act on that." 



He then told me what they had been able to find 

 out about the man from letters in his pocket. He was 

 a young Scotsman, and had been a clerk at one of the 

 larger towns in the west of Canada, and had actually 

 been in Fernie for some time, but had apparently 

 come to Nelson after Fernie was destroyed by fire. In 

 Nelson, in the course of only a few weeks, he had 

 had two situations, but had lost both through his 

 drinking habit, having been discharged from the 

 second the day before he came to us. 



From what I learned subsequently, the suicide's 

 movements, after he left our house, were these. He 

 walked a quarter of a mile, and then cut his throat 

 with his razor, a new one with a white handle. Going 

 on a quarter of a mile farther, and seeing a light in 

 a house by the roadside, he had been unable to resist 

 the feeling of burning thirst which assailed him. He 

 had struggled to Mr. Habegard's door and knocked, 

 and when the door was opened he stumbled in, 

 gasping, " Water! water! " 



Mr. Habegard put out his hand to hold the 

 intruder up, and while he was doing that, Mrs. Habe- 

 gard exclaimed, "What's that on his neck? It's 

 blood!" 



Mr. Habegard stepped back, and then saw the 

 wound on the man's throat. 



J2 



