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TI B WEEKLY SjL A JEi.
Vol. VII.-NO. 9.
C, D. CAMP, i
Civil Engineer &
DOUGLASVILLE Ga
B. G. GRfCGS,
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Douglasville, Georgia.
W" ILL practice In a.ll the cqnitib State
and Federal.; Jau*Bly.
John. M. Edge,
’ *->**’.
X»r»iuigl Miwvllle* *" O
W* I I, L practice In all the court?, and
promptly attend to all business en
rtfatfaM«M*i® care.
SFS; s; JAMES, /
attorney «.t Tunw,
DOUGLASVILLE, GEORGIA.
Will practice in the Courts of Doug*
laß,Campbell, Carroll,Paulding,Cobb
JKultfOq. and adjoining counties.
Prompt fttention given to all bus-
1 nCss,
bMMw' ***rr — * ■ ' 1 ’ “
THOMAS W. 1 ATHAM,
Attorney at law
FiKBCHX, GSOI <H t.
Will practice in all the Courts
both State anl Federal.
Special attention given to suits
s against Railroads and other Corpo
rations, Will attend regularly the
SttpeHw and other courts of Douglas
county.
T. S. BTJTLfIR
House T»m,l iitoi*. ’
DUJGLA VILLE, - GA
L L make old.far»UnreJLook as will a
W new. Give him » irKUThtbls Hue. Wil
Im) (In hOUtt® WU peiHtH'ing Work,
P. S. Verdery,
- l > hyxii tan tintl Surgeon.
fXFFfcV.nt HUDSON A EDGE’S DRUG
\A STORE, where he can be found at nil
honrt except when profession ally engaged,
attention given i.o Chronic ca-ev, nll <i
v*t»ecmlly all cmscm that have been trvated and
II uneured, Janin
HflHHjKlMillv •or.-r in >* KHphvHl-
emna t 1 Mtirxn n, I > the people <>f Dotic
fe«vi He itjtd vicinity. Al’ calls will he atten
ded promptly, t’aii be (blind »t the<D*ngstore
HttdnnrrA- Edge, during the day and nt
rpighi nt my les’dence at the house recently
SSiuffled by J. A. Pittman.
J. B. EDGE
jjlENliilKY ~
pT R? COO K
■ental
SUHGrJSOBI
Has located in Douglasville. 20
’yearrs experience. Denlstry in all
It# branches, done In the most sp
vpnwd style. OMce over post office.
| -re-
BURNH A M’ S
I.Mi’RGVRD
SLq Turbine!
Is the best const nich'd and
iF* finGbed, gives better prrce.i-
<e|te, more power mid i» sold
wl'it TtS’Sr *” r ,es * money per horse power
ether Turbine in the <
p.uilpblAaapt rn Kby
HUDMIIAM HK'fak, York, Ih».
FaK’K'K R’B TO N 1 (f.
„ A pure Family Med’eine that Never
Intoxicates.
ftw,. If you have Dy-pcpsln, Rtienmntlsm, Kld-
Fjieynr Vrlnmy tump’slnta, «>i if you tire
I troubled with any disorder of the hit g-,
| sßlotnaehc, bowel*, blood or nerves you can
t fbeculed by Parker’s Tome,
• (f you are a lawyer, minister or business
I inwit exhausted by mental Mratn or anxious
j .ptreado not t ke Intoalrattng stimulnnU,
; ibut us* Pokers’ Tonic.
1 If you are a mechanic or former, worn ou
i iwlth over-work, or a mother rundown b
•’i'gnTtfy orbrustbuld duties try Fat ker> Toni
I A ITIO.N. -Refuse I»ll substitutes. Pur
I • Tonle U composed of ihe be>t remwlla
w itahi the w> rid, and Is entirety dlttcren
♦ ,n preparation* of ginger alone. S,ad so
f 1 alar.
ffO s BI T
’
~ The burst l«Msie » f tie u« rtuus people ia
* Snnnaeh Itttter*. wJweh m
•unra perfect digrstton Mui assmulattcn.
*»td th# aotira perftwwuMMof their Pmm>
« <«»*» Wy l** U»er *»d bowel*. A» the
kvstvm aeqairw* tone throwph lb* tntnenee
» .«f «M* bt-«l«w we-dusuie. l« anr, grow '
atraaavr awl more tmcKpot. b,-«d»riwa
«mmw 4 tpM that natnehsu. anxiety which >»
• peetthan’v <T the dysoeplte, gitva Why
“'J to chrerftda «• To establish health tw*
a*wv b-swulatma. »*<• the peerless lavtenr
yA, F*r <Mde by all Lhacgiete and Deakm
* A
|f PARIS mystery'
By the Author of tl My Ducats and Mij
Daughter.”
CHAPTER X.
Before ten o’clock noxt morning M. Blery
had appeared. He was a little man, very
shabbily dressed, with a napless felt hat and
a gray overcoat, the sleeves of w hich were
made too short, yet revealed no linen. His
features were thin and sharp; his eyes were
keen and restless; his mouth was habitually
pursed as though secrets must ooze out if he
opened it.
He came up to me quickly, bowed, and cast
a glance around him which seemed to take in
myself, the room nnd all its contents in a sec
ond of time. ;
“WMarsal?—-Ah! Then I have the honor
to salute the gentlenaan who assaulted my
friend Pj’, is it not so?”
I confessed to this wit h a smile, but pleaded
that tha assault had tx»n involuntary—that I
aad not known it was the friend of Monsieur.
“No matter,” eaid M. Blery; “and what,
then, does Monsieur think of the exploit of
tny friend Pyf—the achievement that has
covered him with gl >Ty ?”
“You mean the arrest of M. Girard?”
“Certainly I that is Wlwt 1 mean.”
“Since Monsieur asks me, I think that his
friend Py made a serious mistake on that oc
casion. I have some hope that Monsieur may
be of the same cpink n?”
M. Blery gave me a crafty look out of his
little sharp eyes, then ho said, slowly:
“My frien 1 Py is a very clever man; he has
great sagacity, and a brain—ah, admirable!
But he believes tod much in his good fortune.
Ah, Monsieur, one should never believe in
that! My friend Py goes to tbo native town
of the murdered man; he finds out the
nephew’s name—comes back to Paris; finds
out his domicile—comes hare; finds the
nephew himself, asleep, no wrist-button in
one of his sleeves—arrests him. Ah, it is all
so simple, so easyl No, things should not
happen so in our line: when they do, one
should say to himself, halt!—this goes on too
smoothly—the second step ia seen almost be
fore the first Is taken—it is one piece <rf luck
after another—beware of a trick 1 Py did
not do this; he trusted his good fortune, and
—you see 1 Yes, it is as Monsieur says, he has
made a mistake.”
“You have, then, been following the case,
M. Blery f
“I have made inquiries,” said th© detective,
•till vpry slowly, and giving me a curious,
cunning look as he spoke—“yes, I have made
inquiries. I' h ive even reached a certain
point in the case, but I can go no further.” ,
“For want of evidence!”
“No, Monsieur, not at aM. For want of
money.” I
“Ah I That is all! Well, if money is wanted
It will be forthcoming. And if M. Girard’s
innocence were established this would become
a valuable document, is it not so?”
The detective’s eyes twinkled as he read the
paper signed by Raoul, offering a reword of
twenty thousand francs for the detection of
the criminal. He did not ask where the
money was to come from. .
“It is well,” he said, handing me back the
paper; “I trust Monsieur and his friend as
men of honor. Let us bo frank. Let us play!
an open game, cants on the table!’’—M. Bic
ry’s manner changed completely after he had
•eon the document
“That is what I desire,” I said.
“Good. Now, the way is cleared, let us
eomo to business. I hear of Monsieur at the
prefecture of police, where he examines and
takes tracings of the two daggers. Where,
may I be permitted to ask, does Monsieur
hear of mef’
“First from the janitor Mouton, at No. 18
Passago do Mazarin; next from M. Beauvais,
of the Rue d’Anjou.”
M. Blery looked at me again, and fur about
a minute raid nothing. Then:
“Monstonr has made certain discoverißsr
-Vaalhava” _
“And has no doubt gone aver the cridcr.es
'aken befure Monsieur the judge?”
“Yes.’
■‘T B’o
’ iv-e HT®W :
*7 trust Mbnjtiettr and hi» friend cu men
of
“And has iu».lo notes of his discoveries
and his idea* in ixwdiug the evidence!"
“Yes; 1 have noted whatever <v-
Jurred to me-dhat fa, whatever »%rn<jd
worth preserving.”
“If Monsieur will read his notes, that, I
think, would be the quickest way of going to
work With perntisMiin of Monsieur, I will
light a cigar and listen."
I took out ths Betas I hs»l made ami rend
thorn; at first ne* without sows trepidation
In submitting my amateur work to such a
But the attention with which JI
lilorylfaten at! ixwmuml me.
Tha ftrst-jwfai taken up in my notes wa»
ex iM not be supprerd to
Iteto juwmftdlfated the <news. Bad Undone
•to, he WJI I>A wt t.h-' very night of the
■ttafaVtett SMdM faKh language to fcfa
uwelv m b* h A o>s--. •-.« jtottld not have
. «#! asd WWwfefad a wtwpoa that must
’h the trima. A
l n . wt
Douglasville, Georgia, Tuesday March 31 1885.
.&« S.pSrtal tiim WKSvYW »‘H 1
fatal Christmas eve, had been perfectly sano;
of that there was no doubt vv hatever.
“Girard then,” I went on, “did not premed
itate the crime. If he murdered his uncle
witnout premeditation, what is tho most
natural thing to suppose? Surely this—that
he entered the room, asked his uncle for
money, was refused with tauntsand insults
that lashed him into fury, and finally, in a
paroxysm of fury, slew the old man with a
single blow.
“But against this conjecture there is the
medical and police testimony as to 1 he position
in which the corpse was found. AH the wit
nesses concur in stating that ho was found
lying between his cha.r and the writing
table, as if he bad been struck suddenly and
silently from behind. Had tho blow been
preceded by an altercation, that would cer
tainly have been heard by tho copyizt Pernet,
w'hose room is divided from Meissner’s by a
thin partition. Had there ban a hot dispute,
face to face, between uncle and nephew', tho
blow' would almost certainly have been struck
in front, and not planted under tho shoulder
blade. I
“There being a difficulty in the way of both
of th<;so conjectures, tho judge of instruction
adopted a third. He supposed that Girard
had armed himself with a dagger merely to
frighten tho old man, nnd that he bad bom
led to murder him in a moment cf homicidal
mania—changing his purpose before a w ord
bad passed. This conjecture is one way out
of tho difficulty ”
“Ingenious, but unsatisfactory,” observed 1
M. Blery.
“I am charmed to find that Monsieur agrees
with me. Now, as to the question of time.” |
“Ah! as to the question of times” said M. !
Blery, rekghling his cigar.
“As to that, there are three witnesses of
chief importance—Sophie Mouton, daughter
of tho janitor; the police sergeant Gamier,
and Pemet tho copyist. Nono of these wiG
nesses were able to make a definite statement; '
Pemet was so positive in his uncertainty that i
hisevidence may be set aside. On the night of (
;he murder Girard parted company from me, '
as you w ill remember, at 10 o’clock precisely; j
going by the Rue de I’Odeon, he can scarcely i
have reached the Passage de Mazarin before I
twenty minutes past ten. Sophie Mouton, ‘a i
little before or a little after ten’—l quote her I
words exactly—sees tho figure of a man, not !
one of tho tenants, pass her door going towards
the court. If this was a little before ten, tho
man cannot have been Girard; and ’a little
after ten* is probably not so much as twenty
minutes. The police sergeant Gamier began
by stating his belief that it was half-past ten
when tho man rushed past him in the Rue de
Biche. Girard himself asserted in his Evidence
that it was half-past ten o’clock wheu he
came to the Passage; ho has siir.-e explained
this to M. Supinaud, his counsel, ■by the state
ment that hu did not follow tho most direct i
way from the Rue de I’Od.eon to the I‘aasage. I
But putting aside Girard’s statement, and :
I taking simply the evidence of Sophie Mouton '
j and of Garnier, apart from the judge’s in- •
spiration, I rea.-h this conclusion—that tho i
I man whom tho police sergeant saw rush by
him in the Rue da Biche and tho man whom
tho janitor’s daughter saw hastening through
the passage were not one and tho same per
son. The former teas liaoul Girard; the
latter was the assassin ”
“Ah, another point I And now shall I toll
Monsieur how’ he goes on? He has shown that
Girard did not premeditate tho crime; he
i goes on to show that the real assassin did—
that ho had his plan of operations. Is it not
•of’
I ‘ ‘That is certainly how Igo on,” I answered,
admiring the readiness with which the do-
, tective took up my train of reasoning. I
“Yes," continued Blery, “that is the next
! step, undoubted!j’.” He was now walking
up and down the room as he spoke, empha
sizing his words by flourishes of his cigar
which had gone out. “Girard entered Meiss
net’s room by tho window; tho assassin did
not. No man with a plan of operations would
attempt such a thing; ho would calculate hii
chances, and find them twenty to one against
his doing it unobserved. Your friend is a
man of unusual agility, is he not?”
“Yes, he is a trained gymnast.”
“Ah, but was theasrassin a trained gym
nast? The balance of protabllitiesis against
f it. No; he did net enter by the window.
How, then, did ho enter ? You say, naturally,
. by the door. I ray j us, but how? The d x»r
I of Meissner’s room is found 10. ked, the key
bringing within; tho janitor has de-lared in
■ evidence that there is no duplicate key to any
room in the house. You tell me that thb
i assassin must havo procured a second key to
fit tho lock of Meissner’s door. I say, good;
but again, how? Ytell mo—but no, I for
get» Monsieur cannot know this; ho has not
seen the key <XAleissnwr’s dwr.”
“No; you were beforehand with me there.”
“Well, here is tbs key.”—M. Leery L;.d it
before me on the talde. —■’ ‘Gut assassin has his
I plan of opera;u ns; that is agrued. What,
i th. n, does ho do? His natural c< nrse is to
j obtain tempo rarvpo«y«'ssi.>n at Meissner's key,
in order to have a duplicate made fr iu it.
Now, ohserve the key. It ia of simple con
struction; an expert locksml th cmld fa-hion
one like it in half an boar. lh ; s key of Meiss-
tor's was always in one of two place®—either
it hung on its nail it his room, when ho was
• it home; or on the rack in the jnmh'r's nxen,
when he wnsahroad. AA*eFUppo?JO<nir nrxvssm
to Lave wa'<h d Meissner's movement s car~
billy; to l#»th’rouglJy acquainted with Ivs
mbits. Il v k rows that every evening with
sat fail tho old money-lender goes out at ssx
i >’elock, and returns at nine. Good; ho will
wt k to gam poßxsskn of tho key U'twren
these bourn. N >w, Monsieur, yem have talked
with Mouton tho janitor, end with his daugh
er Bujdre. You have made notes cf your
xxuversation with ttevo persons; I have made
aoue- I never do. I carry them all here"—
XL Blery tapped his brow—“but I should be
glad to listen to y< urs. You found Hit? child
Sophiv Mout« n intelligent, did you not!”
i “Certainly. Bbe appears to have been sornc
’ what agitated during her examinaticn by tho
I judge, but «he answered my qucstituis mart
1 daarly.”
i “Aa she did miun. And miw, Monsieur,
tor th® notes of your conversation.”
t “Very good; hero they are: Wsphie Mcn
’ ton state?# that about two menths ago—th
j exact date she cannot remexubor—a man
aune to No. 13 Passage de Mazarin desiring
to Joseph Meissner. It after rix
oMock; Me issuer bad gone out aa nmai. ft>
pbj® Mouton, who chancel to be ak-nn in the
janitor's room, sawl *• to Meissner's vaster.
“ ‘The stranger, Sophie Mouton says, was
evidently as ’mgner. both from h;sappt»r
--j ance ami acront He was of medsusn height
sori xun ' ”
‘*Ut medium boight and dim figure—tbafc
•to, 1 -*.' . s
i3it? r Md<iM. :
“ ‘Had a dark complexion, straight black
hair, and very dark, sunken eyes. Sho could
not guess to what nation be belonged; he did
not look like either an Italian or a Spaniard ;
seemed more foreign than that—such was the
phrase. He must have come from a warm
climate’ ”
“A warm climate!” murmured M. Blery.
“Proceed, Monsieur, proceed!”
“ ‘Because he shivered constantly, and
complained bitterly in his broken French of
the cold. He was in evening dress, and wore
a fur cloak hung loosely over Iris shoulders.
“ ‘When informed that Meissner had gone
out he seemed annoyed, and asked at what
hour he might be expected to return. The
girl told him at nine o’clock; then the stran
ger, looking at the weather, which was
wet, aiid dowifnt his dre?;s boots, which were
thin, asked Sophie to oblige him by fetching
a cab, as he had dismissed his on arriving.
Leaving him alone in the room, Sophie ran to
the stand at tho corner of tho Rue St. Andre
and brought a cab; the stranger thanked her,
gave her a five-franc piece, and then drove
I off, after saying that ho would return that
night, as ho wished to see Meissner par
ticularly.’ ”
“Left alone in the janitor’s room,” said M.
Blery, “he takes down Meissner’s key from
the rack. Pi-oeeed, Monsieur, proceed!”
“ 'About eight o’clock he camo back ; he ex
plained that he had not understood v hat the
girl had said; thought she had mentioneel
I eight, not nine, as the hour of Meissner’s re
' turn; ho fe>und French so difficult to under-
I stand! It mattered little, however; be? would
wait, if they woulel allow him. Mouton the
I janitor had by this time come bock from the
; wineshop; with him the stranger gat, talk-
I ing very affably in his broken French.
Mouton recollects having told the stranger,
in tho couree of conversation, that he re
minded him in speech and appears neo of an
other foreigner, a client of Meissner s. who
' had been accustomed to visit the usurer fro
! quently, up to alxmt a year before. The
■ stranger remarked that that might possibly
I bo one of his conqiatriots, but did not men
tion to what country ho belonged.
i “ ‘After talking for about half an hour, tha
! stranger suggested that the girl should be sent i
I for a bottle of wine. Mouton agreed with
i alacrity; the stranger gave Bophio money to
; pay for it. During her absence it seems that
he asked Mouton to look out and tell him
whether it still rained; the janitor complied,
going to the outer door, and so leaving the
stranger alone in tho room for, perhaps, a
minute.’”
“During which minute,” obiorved M.
Blery, “our man replaces Meissner’s key on
the rack.”
“No doubt, i Wdl: Sophie
Mouton returns with the wine; tho stranger
sits down, fills glasses for Mouton ard hini
; self, and ehats with the janitor for a few
j minutes longer. Suddenly ho rises, saying
that he wishes to so© whethe r th® rain bar
stopped. Ho goes to the outer door—and
! never returns. ’ ”
i “Preci-ely,” said M. Blery; “never re
turns. No; ho has got what he came for.
And now, Monsieur, let me ask you if you
put any question to the janitor Mouton re
garding th st other foreigner of whom he was
reminded by his complaisant visitorF
“Yes; it occurred to me that this was sig
nificant.”
“Admirable!” murmured M. Blery; “admir
able i lie neglects nothing not a
single point! A bom detective!—Well, Mon
sieur?”
“This other foreigner, Mouton informed
me, had been for a long time, more than •
year, most assiduous in liis visit® to the old
I usurer. Ho was one of those unfortunates,
the janitor said, whom Meissner had ‘flayed.
At first he used to drive up to their door in ■
cabriolet, or rido with a grown following him
but toward tha end of his acquaintance‘witt
the old Jew his clothes had bocome shabby,
and finally Meissner had given the order that
he was to be admitted no more. It wa« mon
than a year, Mouton told me, since he had last
seen this man.”
“Monsieur attaches an evident importance
to this other foreigner. H i thinks that then
may be some connection between him anc
Mouton’s mysterious visiter of two month;
backf’ >
“T'cr. They were very like each other, tin
janitor says—tho same build, the same cast .
of features, the same accent in their sj>eech >
I connect them with eo- h other; I connect ]
them also v. ith tho weapon usod in the coni /
mission of the crime. The dagger is o|
Japanese workmanship; the two foreigner! i
may be—it is a mere surmise, but there is a;
least Kmcthing in its favor—the two for
signers may Le Japanese.”
“That is more than a surmise, Monsieur— ii
is an idea; an idea which ium ai<o occurred tx
myself. And now as to the daggers—l tain
it we gained precisely the saute informatioi
from M. B.xxuvaui?'’
“No doubt, but I shall ask your attentiox
to one point regarding tho d tgg' .re, which 1
think of con <quen<e. 1 take no cre-lit t<
myself for this discovery; it was made bj
the liap;;.e.;t of chances.”
M. Blery yausod in his walk through tlu
room fcnd ksfcued very attentively.
“A JapauosA dagger is found behde tin
corpse of Meissner; ono exactly like it it
found ia tho culltH-tion of M. <L» St. Iloront.
The chief characteristic of these daggers ii
their rarity; that of the Passage de Mazarin,
before the discovery of tius other, was pro
nounced by exmotaseura to be unique. Tin
De St. Fio’.viit dagger has a sh.xith shaped
like a clase.l fan; presumably, that found in
Mejtm-■r’s room vould ha% ea similar sh'-ath.
“Mei -sner t-b'ained this dagger, which h<
suheequcutly gav a to Ids neplasw, from & rich
fureiguer wb■> '.as ono of his clients. Ttw
questam wo hare to deal wth is this—can w«
prove that Glror-l s story is true? Can w»
prove that bo i silly sxfld t'oo weapon gives
hinxby Lis uncle? In a word, can we she *
that tl.oro i® a third dagger cf this kind in
s exv-ten'.eJ It so,can vo Cad it?
“On each of the daggers no w at the pre
ectirre there h graves the Image of a flower.
3n each, beside that flower, there fa inscribed
i sing’e word. The word cat the De St. Florent
logger meems Ev.in,-sc*mce; that, on the other
Huston.
“Here is wfaat I find written in this book,
rhe hook, I may tell you, belongs to M.
leauvais. It js In English, and is called
The Buddhist Belief'—Biridh’sm, I need not
tsmind M. Rh-ry, is tho religion of the
Iwpanese. Tha book wax given to my
Fiend Girard, by IL l>aavais, oa the very
light of the munler. tol'otransinted. Ever
;tnre it ha« hun ia a corner of this r<xw;
art night I pic koi it up, to rr: urn it to its
ywnro. I wa< Miv rugering the pnges,
Jxinkmg of the viait I had juA jaud to M.
' KA-'..-
Subscription: 61;M Cash Per Annum.
BeOuvafa, and of the friforfoatCoi he had ’
riven me regarding the words graven oa the
laggont and thair meaning. All at onco it
lashed through my mind that hero, in this ’
rery book, I had seen something—l could
lot recall distinctly what, but still I was sure,
lomething —which connected itself in iriy
mind with tho words Evanescence and Il
lusion. I searched through the book; at last
I found this paragraph, which I translate:
Tilakuna, the Three Signs: There are
three Things on which the mind of the
Ascetic ought to dwell forever; Anitya,
Evanescence; Anatma, Illusion; Dukha,
Sorrow. These three Signs belong to every
existing thing.'
“Hero, you will observe, are three words
taken from the sax red writings of the Bud
ihists —the mystic number Three. We find
the word for Evanescence inscribed on one
1 agger-blade; the word for Illusion on an
other. What is the natural assumption? Is
it not that the smith Tokotaru in Yeddo
forged three, daggers, on each of which he
chased one of these mystic words? If Mon
iieur succeeds, as I do not doubt ho will, in
finding the dealer in curiosities to whom
Girard sold his weapon, I venture to predict
that he will find graven besido the flower on
its blade the remaining sign of the three —the
word for Sorrow.”
“ Admirable!” said M. Blery again; “Mon
sieur, this is more than ingenious; it is sub
tile. You call your discovery a happy chance;
doubtless, to a certain extent, it was so. But
the inference you draw from it—ah, that fa
quite another thing! It is, I repeat, admira
ble; Monsieur should certainly have been a
detective!”
I disclaimed the compliment; but M. Blery
politely insisted that it was deserved, and as
sured me that, had I only had t he proper train
ing, I might have reached a grade in the pro
fession scarcely second to his own.
“Your discovery,” ho. said, “supplies an
important link in the chain of evidence. The
theory of the crime which wo have both of
us formed, each independently of tho other,
determines tho line of action to be followed.
I shall begin to-day; before a week fa over, if
our theory proves correct, I shall have laid
my hand on the assassin.”
I gave M. Blery a little roll of notes; I had
contrived to borrow some money for this
special purpose. When I apologized for the
smallness of the amount
“Do not speak of it,” said M. Blery; “thia
fa ample. If I succeed in finding the real
criminal, as I hope to do, I receive five thou
sand francs from the authorities, twenty
thousand francs from your friend—a suffi
cient reward. Besides, I take an interest in
the case, in M. Girard, and in the charming
young lady, his betrothed. And I shall havt
a satisfaction, I confess it, in overthrowing
the theory of my friend Py. Ah, it win be
beautiful!—beautiful I A child might see the
difference between our methods. Is it not so,
Monsieur F’
“Certainly. The judge and your friend
Py start from tho assumption of Girard’i
guilt; we start from the assumption of his
innocence.”
“Oh, no, MonsieurP’ exclaimed M. Blery,
whom this answer seemed to disappoint
greviously- “no! We start from no assump
tion; wo assume nothing. It fa this; let me
explain: Py and the judge look out for facti
to support their theory; wo discover fact*
and construct our theory from thorn. Py
says it is all easy, simple, straightforward,
the evidence lies nt your hand; wo say, no, it
is complex, difficult, obscure; you have to go
in search of the evidence, jxissibly far.”
Bo saying, M. Blery bowed himself out,
taking with Mm the key of Meissner’s door
and tho tracings of tho daggers, and promis
ing to communicate with mo at the end of 10
days, if not sooner. I did not Inquire what
hfa plan was; I could see that he would havw
disliked such a question. And X had Dow
great confidence in M. Blery.
CHAITER XL
After M. Blery’s departure, I naturally suf
fered a reaction from tho excitement of th<
last few days, and tho hopefulness of my in
terview with tho detectiv’). It was difficult
to remain inactive and not to despond. But,
for the sake of Mlle. Dumaino, whom I saw
every day, I strove to be cheerful. I also
wrote to Raoul, ami, without raising hii
hopes unduly, hinted that things were begin-
I ning to wear a more favorable aspect. ,
i The days I'assed without any word from
j M. Blery, and each day deepened my anxiety
; At last tho fourteenth day came, and every i
eno of its hours seemed to me as long as ■
! month. I dared not go to Gabrielle; I could
not haro concealed my disquietude.
But in tho evening there came a telegram
i from Blery, tho most joyful message I have
ever received in my lite, Ixxause it nssuxed
mo that my friend wai safe. M. Blery tele
graphed fro. i Rome: “I Laroeuecoeded; the
dagger is found. I return to Paris direct.”
I ran at once with the telegram to the Rue
de I’Odcon, and spent the rest of the evening
with Mm*. Dumaine and Gabriella, explain
ing tho discoveries wo had made, and listen
ing to tho outpourings of their joy.
I u-w iD~y f d
; '■ J I
‘aK-A v? z
ITt/h Jfme. Dnnmfne and CkibrMle, e»
? plaining (hr discorerics fee had made.
Next tno-ning I sawthoadvocatoßaptnoud,
a-.d told bi ncf too now evidence fa Raoul’s
favor. He rdvLsol ino to ray nothing, fa the
meantime, to Itooul.
“H'S ci v.oit,■* !’. >m’ 1, “until Dlcry returns
and tei!, ur the whalestory. Then, ft tl eevi
denoe he hns found prov*w v hat jm sry it
prove*. I w.ll fruno a statement and lay it
! txforotho Imp-rial p-orurator. After that
Girard win r,o doubt 1» released from deten- /
. torn, eluv r with or without UmL’*
Nc-xtn. .i~«sarr ived in T'nrfa, |
and erst i»« a astefcg mo to come to
Ufa* the pi~*fe» .u;e of poaca, and to bring
Sawfaaud alto. I wus fortunate encrigh to
•
OspSOAod tr> Ute fcalle des Pha-PiTthfa’
tie «*MCe unrobed, and #e hastened to the
There we found M. Blery, In his napless hat?
tad shabby gray overcoat, just as he had ap
peai'ed in Rome, and whocotild tell how many
Other European capitals? The room in which
he received us was small, but well lighted; itu
furniture consisted of two chairs and a bureau
in common pine wood; Gfi the bureau lay an
almanac, a Faris Directory and a Universal
Guide to all the railways bf tho world. M.
Blery gave each of us a chair, and himself re
mained standing with hfa back to tho light.
“Messieurs/’ he? sfiid, “I am charmed tor
have the honor of this visit. I rush at oncer
into the middle of things. In the conversa
tion which I had with M. Marsal 15 days
ago, there was one point we did not discuss—
namely, the apparent want of motive for the
crime. I presume, however, that Monsieur,
in his very intelligent examination of the
case, did not fail to give this point his atten
tion?”
“No,” I said; “I considered the point, and
came to a certain conclusion.”
“We may suppose,” said M. Blery, “that
the assassin of Meissner had one of two ob
jects in view—either revenge or plunder. If
it was simply revenge, why did he ransack
the strong boxes and cabinets? If it was'
plunder, why did he leave so much portable
booty behind? The Judge—again fitting tho
facts into the theory—accounted for this by
the eccentricity, amounting to insanity, of the
criminal, terror-stricken by hfa crime. How,
Monsieur, do you account for it?’
“I account for it,” I said, “in quite anotheri
way. I account for it by the conjecture of
a search on the part of the assassin; and,
since all the lock-fast places were not opened,
by a sedreh for a special object."
“Exactly, said M. Blery; “the conclusion
to which any unbiased mind, possessing suffi
cient acuteness, would naturally come. What
were the judge’s words? ‘This/ he said, ‘fa
the obscure point of the case; but the difficulty
here tells as forcibly against any other theory
of the crime as against the theory that
Girard is the guilty ;>efsein.’ A somewhat
rash assertion, Monsieur the Judge! The cir
cumstances certainly’make against hfa theory,
but they confirm ourS. Yes, search tor •
special object, that fa it I And the special
object?’
“A compromising paper,” suggested Rapfa
naud, “left in Meissner’s hands by one of hfa
clients.”
“An excellent hypothesis,” said Blery; “bnfa
here, fortunately, we can dispense with hy* -
potheses; we have facts, as I shall show you.-
Since leaving M. Marsal, a fortnight ago, t
have been in London, Brussels tad Home. X
have been in search of the missing dflggen
I started here in Paris, at the Palais Royal, X
found it correct, as did my friefid Py, that
there was now no dealer in curiosities there to
whom Girard had told hfa Weapon. But I
found that two years flgb there was a dealer'
in curiosities th®;-®; ft man who had fled by
night, carrying the valuable part of his stock
in trade with him, and leaving his rent un
paid. I traced this man to London; with the
help of my friend Briggs* of Scotland Yard,
I find him. He has by this time sold the dag
ger, but he names the purchaser, Igo to the
purchaser, but he also has parted with it*-in
brief, I followed this dagger to Hrtfafefa, I
followed it to Rctae.- It) that city it-Mui come
into tho possession of a French artfat, who fa
by no means well off. I tell him for what
purpose I require the dagger; he agrees to
sell it. It fa theii in pledge; we go to the
pawnshop, we redeem it—and I leave Rome
with it in my keeping. Here, Messieurs, fa
the dagger.” M. Blery laid it on the bureau
before u& “Observe the one word written
beside the flower: compare it with these
characters, traced by M. Beauvais, and which
stand for the word ‘sorrow’—you see they'
are the same. Thus th® conjecture of M-
Marsal fa proved to be perfectly correct; thi
fa the missing dagger of the three—th® one
given by Meissner to hfa nephew two years
ago.”
' I could not look without emotion on thfa
weapon, which had so nearly proved fatal to
my friend, and which now had been found
just in time to save him.
“So much for the dagger,” continued M.
Blery, "now for the key.” He touched a
hand-bell on the mantelpiece; the door opened
and a little man, red-haired, pock-marked,
and with furtive eyes, appeared.
“This, Messieurs, fa Pilotin,” observed M.
Blery, with the air of one exhibiting an in-'
ferior animal, “Pilotin, one of my aides.
You will tell these gentlemen, Pilotin, what
, were the instructions I gave you before I left
for London.”
“Monsieur gave me this key,” said Pilotoil,
laying it beside the dagger on the bureau.
“Monsieur told me he hod reason to believe'
that a key bad been fabricated from thfa as a
model, about two months ago, by a locksmith
living within a certain radius of the Passage
da Mazarin. Monsieur also gave me a descrip
tion of the person who had ordered the key to
be fabricated, and directed me to discover the
locksmith.”
“And jou made inquiries I" prompted Ble
ry, whoee aide s))oke in a monotonous voice,
with the inflection of one who repeats a lesson
by rote.
“I begin by consulting the directory and
visiting all the locksmiths within the radius.
No result. I widen my circle; still no result.
I begin again by inquiries into the private lift*
of certain locksmiths, who are in the habit of
doing work at home; still there is no dew. I
begin to despair of satisfying Monsieur, when
I make a lucky find. Passing along the Rue
Bt. Louis I observe a small shop whose shut
ters are closed; its exterior fa fresMy painted t,
above the door is a sign: ‘L. Benoit, Lock
smith.’ I ma>,e inquiries. I learn from the
neighbors that Benoit fa a yemng man, very
sober, veiy industrious, who came from Lim
oges to Paris about three months ago sod
opened thfa shop. About a fortnight ago hs>
had injured hfa hand w ith one of his took,
and had been taken to the Hotel Dieu for
proper treatment. I conjecture that thfa may
be our man; the fact of his shop being so re
cently opened accounts tor hfa name not being
in tbe dir ictory. Igo to the Hotel Dieu, but
tun told that I cannot sec Mm; be is suffering
from blood poisoning and fa very ill I ask
who fa the doctor attending him, and am
informed that it Is the Doctor de Bourdon. M.
de Bourdon, as Messieurs will remember,
was ooeof the medical w itnesses at the inquiry
into the murder of Mdssner. I see him; I teU
him that my miwaon fa connected with tho
affair (A the Pawsage de Mazarin. M. de
Bourdon takes an interest in that affair; be
allows me to roe hfa patient Thfa fa Bo
ncut’s story: About a month after hs had
. opened his shop—that fa. about two mentis*
[CONTINUED TO FOURTH PAGB.J