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Page Ox. THE CAUCASIAU. (ThunkUjr, February 20, 1913. r le; TRUTH ABOUT THE CASE The Experiences of M. P. Goron, Ex-Chief of the Paris Detective Police Edited by Albert Keyzer A HOTEL MYSTERY (Copyright by J. URRIED meals, taken at Im possible hours, are apt to cause dyspepsia. This I I found out; and Dr. Thlbaut ft i I my medical adTlser and V I i ll friend, fearing I might not obey his Injunctions, took the trouble to escort me to a small watering-place in the Dauphlne, whence, be assured me, I should merge perfectly cured. ( I did not at all relish the Idea of be fcoming even for a. short time a fashionable Idler. But afterward I bad reason to be thankful, for the adventure I met with added a curious chapter to my experiences. I went to that little place a few eeks after the execution of Eyraud, murderer of the luckless Oouffe, most sensational crime, which for veraJ months kept the whole Euro- an press at fever beat. And, In or- fder to escape Interviewers and ko tyak fiends, I decided to travel incog nito, enuring myself In the hotel books as M. Oullbert; a wise precau tion, as I soon discovered. otel where Count M . a Russian, a e-looklng man of about sixty-five, d his wife, a pretty woman quite I jtorty years his junior. The countess, P, restless young creature, was con tantly organizing excursions In the "mountains, leaving her husband at borne to amuse himself. I Two days after my arrival I noticed k newcomer at our table d'hote. Mile. Eugenie Arco, an attractive young Kvoman with dark eyes and jet-black hair. Her hands were small and arls- cralic, and her appearance would ave been in every way refined but Or he ears. These were too large nd stoid rather far from her head. hrhe girl fascinated, yet at the same kime repelled, me. It had been raining all the morn Jlng. and I 'was in the reading-room (glancing at an illustrated paper, when (a voice near said, "Pardon me, monsieur, I see you are ia Russian." f It was Mile. Arco. "No," I replied, j"I am not." r "I thought you were," she contin ued, "because I saw you reading a Russian periodical.' "I was not reading it," I retorted, "I was only looking at the pictures." "Oh, I see!" she explaimed. But the look she gave me said she did not be lieve me. I did not care to continue the con versation, and she soon left the room. From that moment, however, I no ticed she never ceased to observe me, and many a time when I pretended to be asleep in one of the armchairs In the hall her large black eyes were fastened on me as if they were trying to pierce my thoughts. With the officials in the hotel Mile. Arco was a persona grata, for, unlike most women, who in money matters are Inclined to be niggardly, she tipped the waiters and chambermaids most liberally. The manager of the hotel and his wife had also taken a great fancy to her, and she was al ways warmly welcomed by them la their sanctum, where she would sit ind smoke cigarette after cigarette. Feeling myself closely watched by ber, i returned the compliment, and noticed that she would repair to the DQce at those hours when the post same in, and look over the clerk's shoulder at the letters he sorted. And , then it struck me that no missive ever same addressed to her, although one afternoon, happening to pass her room it the moment the maid, opened her loor, I saw her deeply engaged in cor respondence, with several letters ia ont of her. The next morning, when Mile. Arco eft the hotel I went out at the back. e quickly for the. post ode by an ther road, and hid myself behind the edge of an empty cottage opposite. saw her enter the post ofiloe and re it a few minutes later. She ked up and down the road, and. obody being in sight, she took a let- er out of her pocket, opened it, and ad it eagerly. t Ball, 1 BWU bU "OU, jvvl pot clever, my girl. A child could hare seen through your game. Now We shall nave some fun." I That same evening after dinner rain Cell in torrents, and most of the guests were in the drawing-room. A few were Indulging in a harmless game of cards; two girls were at the piano winging sentimental songs, ana auie. Arco reclined in a rocking-chair, a pook in her lap. The count, a very re served man, with whom I had thus far exchanged only a xew woras, was talking to a retired naval officer who cad spent some years in Russia. I MYes " I heard the count say, "we kvant a thorough change. It is a dis graceful state of things. These grand Eukes " .Talking of Russia," I cut in, "al taw me to read to you something that just happened in Paris.1 f I took a paper from my pocket, and ha I unfolded It I noticed the count. brfcom I had interrupted in the middle iof his speech, gaze at me with any jfefwg but pleasure. TTLaat night," I read, "the police In the Hue were called to a bouse 4- B. Uppincott Co) Deism bre. In the Montparnasse quar ter, where. In a bedroom on the fifth floor, they found the body of a young woman stabbed to the heart. On a piece of paper pinned to her dress the following lines were scribbled in pen cil: "This woman, a wretched spy In the em ploy of the Russian police, has for a long time past watched young- men and girls studying: at the Paris universities. Two girls who recently returned to Russia were, on that woman's Information, ar rested at the frontier, and have not been heard of since. There are. we know, oth er female spies now carrying on their ne farious work In some of the French wa tering places, and their turn will soon come. "The police are Investigating the affair, which has created a tremendous sensation among the Russian students here." There was a moment's silence when I had finished, and then two or three of the guests remarked that it was a terrible business. The count remained silent. He soon after went to bed, ' and I followed his example. The next morning after breakfast I sat outside the hotel smoking my, cigarette. The guests were at the springs or strolling about, while the countess had gone on one of her usual j peregrinations. Toward two the count appeared, and, passing me, gave me one of his formal nods. I went up to him. "Pardon me," I said; "I owe you an apology for interrupting you some what rudely last night; but I took the liberty of stopping you from launching into what looked very much like a diatribe against the Russian authori ties. Tou were apparently not aware that a political spy was sitting within a yard of you." "A spy!" he gasped. "Yes, a spy, in the person of that good-looking girl, Mile. Eugenie Arco. So, now, you will perhaps accept my apology." "M. Guibert" he laughed, "I don't know whether to challenge you to fight or to ask you to do me the honor to lunch with me today." "There Is no necessity for either," I replied. "I am only too happy to have rendered you a slight service." "How did you know she was a spy?" he asked. "Have you any proof?" "No, only strong suspicion. But we shall now have proofs." The head waiter was standing at the door. "I have not seen Mile. Arco this morning," I called out to him. "I hope she is not ill." "She has gone away," the man re plied. "She left early this morning." The count looked puzzled. We walked a little way down the road, and then I said: "I had my doubts about that girl from the start; she is a bungler, a novice in the business. Fancy her suspecting me, a native of Brittany, of being a Russian Nihilist! Political spying is dirty work; but if you do it you must do it well or it becomes dan gerous, especially to the spy. And that is why I tried to knock the fear into that young creature by reading out that paragraph last night" - "Yes, about those unfortunate girls. Poor things!" "Reserve your pity for another oc casion, count. I invented that story." "M. Guibert!" he cried, "I compli ment you on your perspicacity. May I ask what your profession is?" "I am a commission agent" "Well," he laughed, "you would have made a fine detective." "You "are very kind. But for every body's sake It will be well not to men tion this affair." The count nodded assent After the spy Incident the count be came very friendly and talked freely to me on many subjects. The countess undoubtedly neglected her husband. Visitors kept pouring in, many of them members of the so-called "smart set" I did not like the appearance of several of the newcomers, and I was glad my cure was drawing to an end. Then a remarkable incident occurred. The countess had gone on one of her excursions with Jier male and fe male followers, the organizer of the party, as usual, being Rene Soudier. Bright witty, excelling in all sports, Soud'tr was adored by the women and popular with the mep, except with the count. The latter disliked him cor dially, and rarely or never spoke to him. The party had left after luncheon, and was not expected back before 7 o'clock. At three in the afternoon, as I returned from a walk, I saw the count walking up and down in front of the hotel. Something evidently had gone wrong. .The moment he saw me he gripped my arm and led me to a secluded spot in the garden. "M. Guibert," he began in an ex cited tone which he tried hard to con trol; "M. Guibert, you proved yourself very shrewd when you dealt with that Russian girl. Allow me to apply to you for advice. My wife's pearl neck lace has been stolen. Do you mind accompanying me up-stalrs?" The apartments the count occupied in the hotel consisted of a drawing' room, his and his wife's bedroom, and their two dressing-rooms. Marfa, the countess' maid, slept at the end of the passage on the-same floor. The count ent straight to his wife's dressing- oora. "Look at that!" he exclaimed, point ing to a dressing-bag on the floor, its lock forced open, and many of the things It had contained centered around. "The countess," he contlnueud. "kept her jewelry locked in that The thief or thieves must have sneaked in after she left. What do you advise me to dor "I think yen had belter wait for the countess return before taking any steps; she will not be long. In the meantime you might question the maid." But Marfa had obtained her mis tress permission to go for a donkey ride to the monastery a few miles dis tant So we waited till she came in. When the count told her of the rob bery she looked thunderstruck. "I swear," she cried, "that when madame went out the bag was safely locked. I did not go into her room after she left" A loud noise down-stairs announced the cavalcade had returned from their excursion. The countess entered the hotel and her husband went quickly up to her. I strolled down the road leading to the station, when a car riage drove up and a man jumped out shouting: "Goron, Goron! How are you, old chap?" It was Dr. Thlbaut "Hold your tongue, you stupid!" I said. "What do you mean by bawling out my name? Have you forgotten that I am M. Guibert? I hope the driver has not heard you." "That's all right" he rejoined; "he's as deaf as a post I have taken a week's holiday. I want to spend It with you here, after which we will re turn to Paris together. What do yon say to this arrangement V "You have come at a good moment" I remarked; "there is plenty of excite ment at the hotel;" and I related to him the story of the robbery. His eyes sparkled with delight "That will be glorious sport to wit ness," he laughed. "For you, perhaps, you heartless The poor lady sat man, but not for the count and j cvuuww Having dressed for dinner, we found the guests in the hall eagerly discus sing the affair, trying to extract par ticulars from the waiters and cham bermaids. All at once there was a hush, for the door of the manager's room opened, and out came the count and his wife followed by a stout red faced, short man with gray whiskers. "That's M. Jullen, the police com missary," some one said behind me. "I wonder." whispered Thlbaut "how that M. Jullen will set to work?" "So do I. With your permission, however, I shall remain in the back ground. M. Jullen, fortunately, does not know me, but one of his suborcj nates might; and I do not want to de part from my position of spectator. This is M. Jullen's domain. I also see new faces. Look at that close-shaven youth with the flower in his button hole. Do you notice anything particu lar about him?" "No. I don't" "Look again." "I see nothing except that he gives me the impression of being a cad." "Watch his mouth." "Well, he seems to want with his teeth to catch something on his upper lin" "Yes. his moustache. It must hare been there quite recently, and he Is not yet accustomed to Its absence. "It seems strange." "This may not be or any import ance, but If I were M. Jullen I should take note of It" For two days I heard no news about the robbery, and was wondering how things were progressing, when I was aroused In the morning by. a loud To my surprise ""Pardon my intruding upon yea." he fgted. "I am very much annoy ed. This police commissary is not mak ing any headway. He clings to the idea that the maid committed the deed, or that she is an accomplice; and he thinks he is on the right trail. M. Guibert I must discover the cul prit and am willing to offer a reward that may tempt any one to help me la my search. The bote! proprietor sug gested me writing to M. Goron. asking him to come to our assistance, as these local detectives se& unable to clear up the mystery." "It ia useless to write to M. Goron." I replied. "Remember that this is be yond his sphere of action; and that with the work on his bands la Parts you cannot expect him to attend to crimes committed in the provinces " "I dare say you are right." groaned the old gentleman, "besides He stopped, and moved uneasily ia his chair. "M. Guibert" he burst out rather suddenly, "I repeat I am particularly anxious to lay my hands on the rob ber. Yet at the same time, I dread disclosures that might that might possibly cause 'annoyance to the countess. My wife is young, very young, and inexperienced; and only too inclined to give her friendship to people of whom -she knows very lit tle. Look at that noisy crowd who fol low her on her long rides or drives. Who are they? She made their ac quaintance only since we came here. Some of the women of that set are as bad as the men. There is that Sou dier always dangling after her. What is he? Who is be? Can one find that out? I have my reasons for ask ing you this." "I do not know the man any more than you do, but it will be easy to find out all about him through my Paris friends." "Please. M. Guibert, do this for me. I shall be deeply grateful." "Fxankly, do you think of him in connection with the robbery?" "I suspect that whole fast gang, and feel certain one of them Is the thief motionless Her very I hinted at this to M. Jullen, but he apparently thinks that well-dressed ladles and gentlemen cannot commit crimes." The next morning we heard that M. Jullen was looking for a man, a wait er, discharged from the hotel for dis honesty, who, on the afternoon of the robbery, had been seen loitering near the house. He had since disappeared; and, as he had been on friendly terms with Marfa, M. Jullen would certainly have arrested the girl if the countess had not interposed and vouched for her innocence. In accordance with my promise to the count I had written to Paris, and the reply I received concerning Sou dier was: "Heavily in debt Loose morals. Raises money wherever he can." When I communicated this to the count his eyes lit up with a cruel fire. "This confirms my suspicions, M. Guibert Remember my words Sou dier is the thief." Thlbaut was waiting for me down stairs. "Affairs seem at a standstill." he remarked to me. "Very much so. M. Jullen is ob stinate. He keeps a close watch on Marfa. and in the meantime he Is searching for a poor devil of a waiter. The count is jealous, and would, if he could, at once clap the handcuffs on the fascinating Soudier. The guests eye one another suspiciously, and so do the hotel officials. What a ghastly mess they are mairiTtg of this busi ness!" "And the countess? Too don't mention her. What does she say?" 1 have not exchanged a word with her on the matter. But from what knock at my door, the count entered. her Jisysbasd says. I gather si Is eoo Tiee4 that a stranger to the f4ee coma&lrted the deed." "I hate a tie-cry." said Tfc&acU "t&a: the coastess know tie tllef. Ua abe dors act wast to ccapro oie because " iiecaue she loves him?" T. "These thisgs do occur." "What about the man with the shaves' upper lip? I have not seen him within the last few day a" "No; but 1 have." Thlbaut gased at me latently for a few moments. "Goron." he cried eagerly, "youve discovered something. Yoa have a clae. What Is ttr "My dear Thlbaut yoa have half gvetsed the truth. Yes, ! scent a mystery, and I wish to clear it up; bat not from professional priia. It is from a sense of duty, for, unless I step In. 1 foresee a disaster." "Is It as serious as that?" "It may become so. That Is what I want to avoid." "Can I help you?" "Yes, by not asking me any Ques tions, even when 1 sbsent myself. Un derstand me welt Thlbaut I most remain M. Guibert to the end. No bedy, including M. J a Ilea, must know I am Goron. An Indiscreet word from you would defeat all my plans." "You can rely on me." "I know I can. When, as I hope, I shall have brought my task to a satis factory ending you shall know all the details of the case. This much I will tell you. The necklace has mysteri ously disappeared; I shall try to have it spirited back in the same mysteri ous way." A week after the foregoing conver sation a cab drove up at the door of the hotel. Thibaut's and my luggage was hoisted on the top; and we shook hands with some of the guests, includ ing the count, who witnessed our de parture for Paris. Half-way to the station we met the countess on her bicycle, some &0 yards ahead of her party. "Bon voyage, M. Guibert!" she shouted, her face beaming with joy. lips turned w and threw a rose into our carriage. I placed :tt in my buttonhole and gave a sign of relief. "I suppose that sigh has something to do with the case," said my ob servant friend. We had the compartment to our selves, and the train was scarcely out of the station when Thlbaut called out: "And now please tell me all that oc curred. You. too. must be anxious to unbosom yourself." he added with a mischievous smile. "Oh, I shsll conceal nothing. But although I did not act in an official capacity, the story is of a delicate na ture and I must request you not to di vulge it" "I give you my word." "It is a strange business, and was even deeper than I conjectured. The first thing that struck me as odd, when the count took me to his wife's dressing-room, was that forced lock of the dressing-bag; I wondered who the lunatic thief could be who lost pre cious time over that lock, when, with an ordinary penknife, he could have est the leather in less than a minute. "Yon win, however, understand my diflculty, not having had charge of the case, and not having been like the police commissary able to inves tigate closely and question those like ly to throw light upon the matter. I had to be guided partly by reasoning, partly by intuition; and the inferences I drew were that the necklace had not been stolen, and that either the count or the countess possibly both had reasons for spreading that story of the robbery. "I assure yon I never for an Instant suspected Soudlsr; and the count's fiife tatred of fcim sad sis d?re Id 4 Ife hlsa la un rvsery rm&tr agal&st Umt foresee. a4 fate ris to f!y pwewtpiiafcs. I am. to sever, as rca kto a prtfiy fe4f of ;harctr. aa4 t did not WU m oust capable of a viUa&y. Tbefe re sailed the coatea. with 4 er ic my stay at the hotel 1 had at -r hatred half a dasea weria l ye remetaWr my three days ace?" "Yes; I vl yoa had goae to Paris." "Toa guessed rtfht I arrired it re la the early moruing. and two hours later I knew that the count fU a brotta-dowa sbsialhedrlaker. was clerk to a mooeyhaager aad mosy leader ia the Ikmlevard St Mart J a. who was oac serkmsly compromised la a case of stolen Bonds. I too a cab. and slowly drove past the 4ace. when I saw oar friend wtth the slav es upper Up emerge from the oce. a small traveling bag ta his hand, aad lump on a 'bus. His name, t wss told at the hotel, is Balls. I did aot hesi tate a second. I hsd seen through the window thst the principal's private room at the back was empty, sad that ia the ot3ce were only a youag man behind a desk and a gtrl at a type writer. I went la and asked for U, S. , the countess' father. " -He has left us said the clerk. "Returning to the station, I saw Ballu on the platform, and, uns bj him. we both arrived at the bote! at the same time. "1 had already noticed that alOiowgh Ballu and the countess never ex changed a word when others were present their eyes often met. and when on the night of my return we sat down at the table d'hote a hardly perceptible sign passed between them, Keeping them both well in sight I saw Ballu st 1 o'clock stroll toward the end of the garden. He disappeared In the darkness, but 1 felt sure he hsd gone to the little summer-house facing the tennis-lawn. "I soon arrived at the back of the little wooden structure, and felt re lieved when I heard some one move Inside. Half sn hour later there came a light step. It was the couatesa. Their conversation, carried on la whispers, did not last many minutes. Ballu's voice sounded hard, almost threatening, while that of the coaatess was Imploring. Although I could aot catch every word they said. I heard quite enough to be able to reconstruct the whole case. The moment to act had arrived. "The following morning as the countess crossed the hall I walked op to her and said: "'Pleaso go to the library. I want to speak to you at once. "She gave me a look of surprl and fear, and entered the room. "'Madame.' I said, 'to you and yoa alone I will divulge who I am. I am M. Goron. chief of the Paris detective force. My object is to help you. I know your father has appropriated or Is accused of having done so money belonging to his employer, M. H . I know you wanted to save him. and. not having the ready cash. you handed to M. H , through his understudy, M. Ballu, your pearl neck lace as security. In order to do this you have probably at this man's sug gestion made it appear you had been robbed. M. H . being afraid to dis pose of the pearls, is now pressing you to redeem them, snd for a larger seen than your father owes him. Am I right?" "The poor lady sat motionless. Her very Hps hsd turned white. "Tear nothing. I continued; I am here to save you. But yon must ms Ise to follow my Instructions latffcit ly. Will your "Yes. she whispered. " 'Very well Can yon laveat a son that will satisfy your why you should go to Paris, reti lag the following day? "She nodded. , " Then leave tomorrow early by the express, having first wired te 1C H to make an sppoiatmeat at Tats ofiloe. Go there straight Te9 kfiat you have seen me letting hiss, of course, think I an in Paris end that yon have come to me for advloe. Xt plain that yon know from me that his attitude toward yon places hia Ia a serious position, from which he can extricate himself in one way only. Having agreed to let yon rsfrmd aim the money due to him by your father always supposing that story te be true be must st once return yon the necklace, on your promise to pay him a fixed sum on account every month. You can manage that, can yon not? "Tea, M. Goron, she said, putting her hand on mine. 1 wIlL " Hush! Don't pronounce my name. Should that fellow H make any fuss, yon can tell him he wfU soon hear from me." "She went and returned the follow ing evening. I purposely stood at the door as she psssed out of the dlnt&s room, when she slipped a note Into my hand. Here ft Is: " H accents. Promisee ta retsra thing tomorrow by B Ood bless yea. "Before we left I had the satisfac tion of knowing that Ballu had re turned the necklace, and thst It was once more In her possession." "When she threw that rose?" "Yes." "And the count? How win his wife explain the reappearance of the neck- lacer "She will manage that Women have inventive brains." "And the great Jullen?" "Ah! The great J alien win. till the end of his days, believe It was Uarfm who stole and returned the pearls while the count will think the same thing of Soodier. But Jullen Tt now arrest innocent people in eonnee tion.with that case. .And It was that, my dear Thlbaut I wanted to avoid.
The Caucasian (Clinton, N.C.)
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Feb. 20, 1913, edition 1
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