Secret of tbe Plundered Safe
By EMILE
CHAPTER XXIV.
An hour later Mine. Fauvel ordered
her rar ge, uud went out M. Fauvel
Jumped .uto a hackney coach and follow
ed her.
"Ileavpn' grant that M. Verduret may
reach there in time!" cried Nina to her
self, "otherwise Mme. Fauvel and Kaoul
are lout.
Mme. Fauvel hastened to Vesinet,
convinced that some new misfortune was
in store for her. Her alarm was ground
less. She found Kaoul more tender pnd
affectionate than he had ever been. He
anw the necessity of reassuring her, and
winning his old place in her forghing
heart, before making his disclosures, ne
fcurceeded. The poor lady had a smiling
and happy air at she sat in an armchair,
with Kaoul kneeling before her.
"I have distressed you too long, my
dear mother," he said, in his softest
tones, "but I repent sincerely; now listen
my "
ne had not time to say more; the
door was violeutly thrown open, and
Raoul, springing to his feet, was con
fronted by M. Fauvel. The banker had
a revolver in his hand, and was de.idly
pale. It was evident that he was mak
ing superhuman efforts to remain calm,
like a judge whose duty it is to justly
punish crime.
-Ah," be said, nilh a horrible lnngh,
"you look snrprised. You did not ex
pect me? You thought that my imbecile
credulity insured your aafety.
Raoul had the courage to place him
elf before Mme. Fauvel, and to stand
prepared to receive the expected bullet.
"I assure you, uncle he began.
"Enough!" interrupted the banker,
with an angry gesture, "let me hear no
more infamous falsehoods! End this act
ing, of which I am no longer the dupe."
"I swear to you "
"Spare yourself the trouble of deny
ing anything. I know all. I know who
pawned my wife's diamonds. 1 1 now
who committed the robbery for which
an innocent man was arrested and im-
Drisoned."
Mme. Fauvel. white with terror, fell
UDon her knees. At last it had coin
the dreadful day had come. Vainly had
she added falsehood to falsehood, vainly
lad she sacrificed herself and others; all
was discovered. She saw that all was
lost, and wringing her hands, she tear
fully tnoanod:
"Pardon, Andre! I beg you, forgive
xne!"
At these heart-broken tones the bank
er shook like a leaf. The memory of his
lost happiness was too much for the
tricken man. He forgot the present in
the past, and was almost melted to for
giveness.
"Unhappy woman!" he murmured,
"unhappy woman!"
For some moments nothing was
heard but the sobs of Mme. Fauvel.
"I came here," continued the banker,
"with the Intention of killing you both.
But I cannot kill a woman, and 1 will
not kill an unarmed man. Defend jour
clf!" cried the banker, raising his arm,
"if you do not "
But the horror of the scene was too
much for Mme. Fauvel to witness any
longer without interposing. She under
stood but one thing her son and her
husband were about to kill each other
before her very eyes. Rushing up to
Raoul, she threw her arms around him,
and said to her husband: ,
"Kill me, and me alone!"
At these words M. Fauvel glared at
the guilty pair, and deliberately taking
aim fired. Neither Raoul nor Mme. Fau
vel moved. The banker fired a second
time, then a third.
He cocked the pistol for a fourth shot,
when a man rushed Into the room,
snatched the pistol from the banker's
hand, and, throwing him on the sofa,
ran toward Mme. Fauvel. This man
was M. Verduret, who had been warned
by Cavalllon, but did not know that
Mme. Gypsy had extracted the balls
from M. Fauvel's revolver.
"Thank heaven!" he cried, "she Is un
hurt." "How dare you Interfere?" cried the
banker, who by this time had joined the
group. "The villain shall die!"
M. Verduret seized the banker's wrists
In a vise-like grasp, and whispered in his
ear:
"Thank heaven, you are saved from
committing a terrible crime; the anony
mous letter deceived you. Do you know
who that man Is that you attempted
to kill? Her son."
The words of this stranger, showing
his intimate knowledge of the private
aflairs of all present, seemed to con
found and frighten Raoul more than M.
Fauvel's threats had done. Yet he had
sufficient presence of mind to say;
"It is the truth!"
The banker looked wildly from Raoul
to M. Verduret; then, fastening his
haggard eyes on his wife, exclaimed:
"It is false! You are all conspiring to
deceive me! Proofs!"
"Yon shall have proofs," replied M.
Verduret, "but first listen."
And rapidly, with his wonderful talent
for explanation, he related the principal
points of the plot he had discovered.
The true state of the case was terribly
distressing to M. Fauvel, but nothing
compared with what he had suspected.
His throbbing, yearning heart told him
1 that he still loved his wife. Why should
he puniRh a mistake committed so many
yeurs ago and atoned for by twenty
veiirs of devotion and suffering? For
some moments after M. Verduret had
finished his explanation M. JTauvel re
mained silent.
So many strange events had happened,
rnnidl.v following each other In succes
sion, and culminating In the shocking
GABORIAU
scene which had just taken place, that
M. Fauvel seemed to be too bewildered
to think clearly. But the sight of Raoul
froze the words upon his lips.
'So this is your sou," he said to his
wife "this man, who has plundered you
and robbed me?"
Mme. Fauvel was unable to otter a
word in reply to these reproachful
words.
"Oh!" said M. Verduret, "madam will
tell you that this young man is tho son
of GaMon de Clameran; she has never
doubted it. But the truth Is ,
"What?"
"That In order to swindle her he has
perpetrated a gross Imposture."
CHAPTER XXV.
Raoul had been quietly creeping to
ward the door, hoping to escape while
no one was thinking of him. But M.
Verduret was watching him out of the
corner of one eye, and stopped him JuBt
as he was about leaving the room.
Not so fast, my pretty youth," he
said, dragging him Into the middle of
the room; "it is not polite to leave us so
unceremoniously. Let us finish the story.
Clameron hastened to London, no had
no difficulty in finding the farmer's wife
1 1 whom the old countess had Intrusted
Gaston's son. But here an unexpected
d'.ir.rfiTitmeTit greeted him. He learned
that the child, whose nnme was regis
tered on the parish books as Raoul Val
entine Wilson, had died of the croup
when eighteen months old.
"Did any one state such a fact as
that?" interrupted Raoul; "It is false!"
"It was not only stated, but proved,
my pretty youth," replied M. Verduiet
"You don't suppose I am a man to trust
to oral testimony, do you?
He drew from his pocket several offi
cially stamped documents, with red seals
attached, and laid them on the table.
"These are the declarations of the
nurse, her husband, and four witnesses.
Here is an extract from the register of
births; this is a certificate of registry of
his death; and all these are authenti
cated at the French embassy. Now are
you satisfied, youug man?"
"What next?" inquired M. Fauvel.
"The next step was this," replied M.
Verduret "Clameran, finding that the
child was dead, supposed that he could,
in spite of this disappointment, obtain
money from Mme. Fauvel; he was mis
taken. His first attempt failed. Having
an Inventive turn of mind, he determin
ed that the child should come to life.
Among his large circle of rascally ac
quaintances he selected a yonng fellow
to personate Raoul Valentine Wilson;
and the chosen one stands before you."
Mme. Fauvel was In a pitiable stxte.
And yet she began to feel a ray of hope;
her ncttte anxiety had so long tortured
her that the truth was a relief; she
would thank heaven If this wicked man
was proved to be no son of hers.
Can this be possible? she murmured;
"can it be?"
Raoul saw that the game was np.
"You are a detective!" he ejaculated.
The fat man smiled grimly.
"At present" he replied, "I am merely
a friend of Prosper Bertomy. It depends
entirely upon your behavior which char
acter I appear In while settling up this
little affair."
"What do you expect me to do?"
"Restore the three hundred and f.fty
thousand francs which you have stolen."
"The money Is in this room."
"Very good. This frankness Is cred
itable, and will benefit you. I know
that the money Is In this room, and also
exactly where it la to be found. Be
kind enough to look behind that cup
board, and you will find the three hun
dred and fifty thousand francs."
Raoul tremblingly went to the cup
board, and pulled out several bundles of
bank notes, and an enormous package of
pawnbrokers' tickets.
"Very well done," said M. Verduret,
as he carefully examined the money and
papers; "this Is the most sensible step
you ever took."
Raoul relied, on this moment, when
everybody's attention would be absorbed
by the money, to make his escape. He
slid toward the door, gently opened It
slipped out, and locked it on the outside;
the key being still in the lock.
"He has escaped!" cried M. Fauvel.
"Naturally," replied M. Verduret
without even looking up; "I thought he
would have sense enough to do that."
"But Is he to go unpunished?"
"My dear sir, would you have this af
fair become a public scandal? Do you
wish your wife's name to be brought
Into a case of this nature before the
police court?"
"Oh, monsieur!"
"Then the best thing you can do is to
let the rascal go scot free. Here are
receipts for all the articles which he has
pawned, so that we should consider our
selves fortunate. He has kept fifty thou
sand francs, but that Is all the better
for yon. This sum will enable him to
leave France, and we shall never see him
again."
So saying, tho fat man took up his hat
and quietly left the room, and jumping
Into his cab, ordered the driver to return
to Paris, and drive to the Hotel du
Louvre as rapidly as possible.
His mind was filled with anxiety
about Clameran. He knew that Knout
would give him no more trouble: the
young rogue was probably taking his
passage for some foreign land at that
moment But Clameran should not es
cape unpunished; and how this punish
ment could be brought about without
compromising Mme. Fauvel was prob
lem to be solved.
After long thought he decided thst an
accusation of poisoning must come from
Oloro. He would go there and work "And then!" faltered Prn-rer.
open "public opinion," so that, to satisfy "Then Oil las avenej hiin.-elf In H
the townspeople, the authorities would own way. He made the woman wl.n ',
order a post-mortem examination of Me- serted him recosuize his Immense snpe
Bout But this mode of proceeding re- j riority. Weak, timid and helpless, het
quired time, and Clameran would cer- cousin was disgraced, and was falling
tainly escape before another day pawed , over the verj;e of a precipice, when the
over his head. He was too experienced I powerful hand of Caldas reached forth
a knave to remain on slippery gromid, I and saved him. You understand all now.
now that his eyes were open to the dan
ger which menaced him. It was almost
dark when the carriage stopped in front
of the Hotel do Louvre. M. Verduret
noticed a crowd of people collected lu
groups, eagerly discussing some exciting
event which seemed to have just taken
place.
What has happened T he demanded
of a lounger near by.
The strangest thing you ever heard
of," replied the man. let, I saw him
with my own eyes. He first appeared at
that seventh story window; be was only
half dressed. Some men tried to seize
him, but with the agility of a squirrel
he jumped out upon the roof, shrieking
Murder! murder! The recklessness of
his conduct led me to suppose
The gossip stopped short in his narra
tive, very much surprised and vexed; his
questioner had vanished.
"If it should be Clameran'. thought
M. Verduret? "If terror has deranged
that brain, so capable of working out
great crimes! Fate must have Inter
posed "
While thus talking to himself he el
bowed his way through the crowded
court yard of the hotel. At the foot of
the staircase he found M. Fanferlot and
three peculiar looking individuals, stand
ing together, a if waiting for some one.
"Well," cried M. Verduret, "what Is
the matter?"
With laudable emulation the four men
rushed forward to report to their su
perior officer.
"The matter is this, patron," said
Fanferlot, dejectedly. '1 am doomed to
ill luck. You see how it Is; this is the
ouly chance 1 ever had of working out a
beautiful case, and. paf ! my criminal
must go and fiszle! A regular case ef
bankruptcy!"
"Then it la Clameran who "
"Of course It is. When the rascal saw
me this morning he scampered off like a
hare. You should have seen him run; I
thought he would never stop this side of
Ivry; but not at all. On reaching the
Boulevard dee Kcoles a sudden Idea
seemed to strike him, and he made a bee
line for hie hotel; I suppose to get his
Dile of money. Directly he gets there
what does he see? these three friends
of mine. The sight of these gentlemen
had the effect of a sunstroke upon him;
he went raving mad on the spot The
Idea of serving me such a low trick at
the very moment 1 was sure or suc
cess!"
"Where Is he now?"
"At the prefecture. I suppose. Rome
policeman handcuffed him, and drove off
with him In a cab."
"Come with me."
M. Verduret and Fanferlot found
Clameran in one of the private cells re
served for dangerous prisoners. He had
on a strait-jacket and was struggling
violently against three men, who were
striving to hold him, while a pnystdan
tried to force him to swallow a potion.
"Helt)!" he shrieked: "help! Do you
not see my cousin coming after me?
Look! he wants to poison me!'
M. Verduret took the physician aside.
and questioned him about the maniac.
"The wretched man Is In a hopeless
state," replied the doctor; "this species
of iusanlty is Incurable. He thinks some
one Is trying to poison him, and nothing
will persuade him to eat or drink any
thing; and, as it Is impossible to force
anything down his throat he will die of
starvation, after having suffered all the
tortures of poison."
M. Verduret, with a shudder, turned
to leave the prefecture, saying to Fan
ferlot:
"Mme. Fauvel Is saved!"
CHAPTER XXVI.
Four days had passed since the events
just narrated, when, one morning, M
Lecoq the official Lecoq, who resem
bled the dignified head of a bureau
was walking up and down hi private
office, at each turn nervously looking at
the clock, which slowly ticked on the
mantel, as if It had no Intention of strik
Ing any sooner than usual, to gratify
thti man so anxiously watching its placid
face.
At last however, the clock did strike,
and just then the faithful Janquille
opened the door, and ushered In Mme,
Nina and Prosper Bertomy.
"Ah," said M. Lecoq, " you are punc
tual."
"M. Verduret gave us express orders
to meet here In your office this morning
and we have obeyed," said Madame
Gypsy.
"Very good," said the celebrated de
tective. "Then be kind enough to wait
a few minutes; I will tell him you are
here."
During the quarter of an hour that
Nina and Prosper remained alone togeth
er they did not exchange a word. Finally
a door opened and M. Verduret appear
ed.
Nina and Prosper eagerly started to
ward him, but he checked them by one
of those peculiar looks which no one
ever dared resist.
"You have come," he said, severely,
"to hear the secret of my conduct I
have promised, and will keep my word,
however painful It may be to my feel
ings. Listen then. My best friend is a
loyal, honest man, named Caldas. Eigh
teen months ago this friend was the hap
piest of men. Infatuated by a woman,
he lived for her alone, and, fool that
he was, Imagined that she felt the same
love for him."
"She did!" cried Gypsy; "yes, she al
ways loved him."
"She showed her love in a peculiar
way. She loved him so much that one
fine day she discarded him. In his first
moments of despair Caldas wished to
kill himself. Then he reflected that It
would be wiser to live and avenge himself,"
do you not? The woman is Nina,
the
cousin is yourself, and Caldas Is
i Ui a quick, dextrous movement he
threw off his wig and whiskers, and
stood before them the real, intelligent
proud Lecoq.
"Caldas!" cried Nina.
"No, not Caldas, nor Verduret any
longer; but Lecoq, the detective."
M. Lecoq broke the stupefied silence of
his listeners by saying to Prosper:
'It is not to me alone that you owe
your salvation. A noble girl confided to
me the difficult task of clearing our
reputation. I promised her that M. Fau
vel should never know the secrets' con
cerning his domestic happiness. Yonr
letter thwarted all my plans, and nade
It Impossible for me to keep my prom
ise. I have nothing more to say."
He turned to leave the room, but Nina
barred his exit
"Caldas," she murmured, "I Implore
you to have pity on mel I am so mis
erable! Ah, if you only knew! Be for
giving to one who has always loved yon,
Caldas! Listen!"
One month later was celebrated at
the church of Notre Dame the marriage
of M. Prosper Bertomy and Mile. Made
leine Fanvel.
The banking house Is still In the Rue
de Frovlnee, but as M. Fauvel has de
cided to retire from business and live
In the country, the name of the firm
has been changed, and Is now:
PROSPER BERTOMY & CO.
(The end.)
HAVE ODD IDEA OF ANATOMY.
Chine Bits Outlandish Notions H-
arardlaa; Human Frirn.
No Chinese representative of the
healing art baa ever dissected any por
tion of the human frame. According
ly their Ideas of anatomy and physiol
ogy are matters of faith confirmed by
image which have been reproduced
during untold centuries. Their osteol
ogy teaches that the skull la formed of
one bone; so Is the pelvis; the number
of ribs varies with the individual, nd
at the Junction of the arm with the
forearm la placed a cubital patella. Ac
cording to Chinese Bplanchology the
small Intestine communicates with the
cavity of the heart, while the colon,
after describing sixteen circumvolu
tions, terminates by opening into the
lung. The heart governs the vital pro
cesses In co-operation with the cavity
of the stomach It supplies all ideas and
all pleasurable sensations. The liver Is
the habitat of the soul, and it Is from
this gland that all noble and generous
sentiments emanate.
The gall bladder Is the receptacle of
courage, Its ascent In the body Is the
cause of a fit of anger. They have an
Idea of the continuous motion of the
blood, but It seems to be the product
of an Imagination more riotously Ori
ental than even that which created the
other items of their physiology knowl
edge. They do not know the pulmo
nary circulation; they, naturally, know
nothing of the valves In the veins; they
do not even appear to have quite
grasped the motor function of the
heart Itself; but they nevertheless pro
fess to differentiate no less than seventy-four
varieties of pulse simultane
ously recognizable on the person of a
single individual. In Its ultimate struc
ture the body Is composed of five ele
ments: Fire, water, earth, wood, and
metal. Each of these elements Is In a
harmonious rapport with the corre
sponding members of Ue series of five
planets, five metals, five solid viscera,
five colors, and five tastes. All dis
eases originate from disturbances of
the primary and essential quintlc har
monies of these correlations. Shang
hai Times.
Beauties of Architecture.
A dusky couple, evidently on tholf
honeymoon, were heard discussing the
beauties of the Louisiana Purchase Ex
position. "Dese heah," snid he, with a lofty
wave of the hand, "am what dcy calls
de fine Art Bulldin's."
"Don't look so turrlble fine to me,"
objected the bride. "De Libble Art
Building looks finer."
"It do that" asserted the groom.
"What Is libble art, anyway?" she
Inquired sweetly.
ne drew himself up and gave her
an impressive look. "Libble art," he
began, and then pondered a moment
"I don't know as I can give a correct;
Idea of libble art, honey. I know what
It Is, but I disremember. But It's a
mighty One bulldln'. All dese heah
bulldin's, you know, am in de style of
de French Reminiscence." '
Ways of Two Husbands
His First: Jenkins By the way,
Jones, bow old is that baby of yours?
Jones (promptly) One year two
months and eight days.
His Sixth: Jones By the way, how
old Is thnt youngest baby of yours?
Jenkins Oh, hanged If I know. A
yenr or two. Ask my wife. Pittsburg
Bulletin.
Cattle Raising Profitable.
Cattle raising Is at present the only
profitable business In the African re
gion where the Germans are at war
with the Hereroa.
An entirely new mammal In the
British Isles Is the astonishing dis
covery of J. G. Millala. It is a vol
Micro t us orcadensls and It is total
ly distinct from the common short-tailed
Oeldmouse and all other known
forms.
A singular method of protecting rolls
of butter from deterioration due to
outside Influences Is practised In Ger
many. It consists simply In coating
the butter with a glaze of melted
sugar laid on with a soft brush. ' The
surface of the butter Is slightly melted
and a protective varnish Is formed.
The process has recently been employ
ed on a large scale In England.
Protective mimicry has a curious
Illustration in an Insect of British East
Africa described by Frofessor Gregory.
Soma Individuals of each sex are
bright pink and others are bright
green, and as they sit motionless foi
hours sucking sap, the pink ones col
lect on the lower part of the stem,
where they look Ilka drooping flowers,
while the green ones take a place fur
ther out and are mistaken for foliage.
The grippe and excessive meat eat
ing are the causes to which Lucai
Champlonnlere attributes appendicitis.
ne has found that cases not preceded
by an attack of grippe are very rare,
and that tbey are practically unknown
In the vegetarian districts of France
and other countries. The few cases
he has known among vegetarians have
been- Insignificant, recovery taking
place In a few days without opera
tion. The world's greatest geyser seems
to be that of Rotorua, In New Zealand.
A recent visitor, J. A. Warnock, statei
that It plays about twenty-two tlmea
each month, the "shots" often reach
ing a height of nine hundred to 1,200
feet, and the basin covers about 2Vi
acres. One theory Is that loose stonei
fall Into the neck of a tunnel filled with
hot water, closing the passage until
the rising steam pressure forcibly
ejects them.
The latest report to the British
Home Office on the mineral pro
duction of the world shows that the
United States stands second to the
British empire In the production ol
gold, but far ahead In the production
of sliver, copper and lead. In coppei
our superiority Is the greatest, mors
than one-half of the world's entire sup
ply coming from mines in the United
States. This country also stands first
In the amount of coal produced, and
Great Britain Is second In the list
The British coal, however, Is sold for a
considerably larger aggregate price. In
the production of elnc Germany stands
first and the United States second.
After the failure of many inventors
to carry out a similar Idea, It Is claim
ed that a French electro-motion com
pany has produced an electric carriage
In which the use of pinions, chains and
gearing for transmitting motion to the
driving-wheels is entirely dispensed
with. In this new machine the motors
and the wheels are described as being
one and the same thing. The axlei
receive their motive power directly
from the accumulators. The weight
of the carriage la thus reduced, and
It Is asserted that these "live-axle"
machines can travel twenty to thirty
per cent farther than those of ordi
nary construction because of the sav
ing of energy. The appearance of th
new carriages Is Improved, except thai
the wheels have a clumsier look.
How Par Dtd He Ride?
Top" and Edward" watched t
laughing girls and "grown-ups" too,
as they swung round and round,
perched on the backs of mettlesome
horses, fierce Hons and awe-inspiring,
long-legged giraffes, on the merry-go-round.
"Pop," turning to comment upon a
small-sized youngster astride a bug
tiger, noticed the serious look on his
heir's usually smiling countenance,
and said to him: "Son, what makes
you look so thoughtful?"
"I was Just wonderin'," replied Ed
wnrd, who had Just enjoyed a ride on
the merry-go-round, and having a tick
et In his pocket entitling him to an
other ride was anxious to use it to the
best advantage, "whether I would get
a longer ride than I hud on that horse
In the Inner circle if I rode one of ths
lions on the outside row."
Location of the Uee.
Ab! What delicious honey we hnd
for luncheon to-day!" chirped the fluf
fy girl from the city, who was enjoy
ing the hospitality of Farmer Sum
merboard's brown old home. ' "I pre
sume you have your own bee here on
the farm?"
"Yes, ma'am," replied the horny
banded hired man, who was a pro
nounced pessimist during fifteen and
one-half hours out of every twenty
four. "It's In the old man's hat lie
wants to go to the legislature."
What are you called ofteuest behind
your back? Smart Aleck, do you sup,
pone J