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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1908)
The Roupell Mystery tfy Austyn CHAPTEH VI. (Continue,!., The doctor and Emily Weldon contin- oea to.siowiy promenade up and down the terrace. United by that srrr hnnd of sympathy which ofttinies brings two natures together unconsciously, they ex- icni-ucvu an inaeiinable comfort in each other's society. A aolitary figure, that of some wnrthv burgher of Paris, attracted, doubtless, to , Villeneuve by the sensational reports in the newspapers, was the only living ob- .jeci uiai was in view. Looking at him the doctor observed : "There is no gauging the depth of hu man curiosity." "That is so. There have been several here sines " and she glanced up to the earaeneo cnamber above, with a shud der. "They walk in and out as if they owned the place. He looks like a retired tradesman of some kind. He is pretty cool for a trespasser. See. he has seat ed himself on the turf, and Is throwing oreaa to tne swans." "Don't disturb him," said tbe doctor. "See with what care he spreads that red handkerchief over his knees. He has tak en out some sandwiches, and is evidently enjoying tbem." Miss Weldon again smiled. It was really quite ludicrous to watch the old gentleman from Paris. He appeared to be totally oblivious of the presence of the people on the terrace. Having eaten his sandwich, he presently arose and threw the crumbs adhering to his hand kerchief to the eipeciaul anaus. Th doctor laughed outright ; so loudly. Indeed, as to apparently attract the attention of tbe old gentleman who, glancing but once in their direction with an Indignant air, walked away and disappeared among the trees. A half hour more elapsed and still M. Cassagne did not some. Hardly able to conceal his irritation at the delay, Dr. Mason at length retired to the library, where be busied himself in some scientific calculations in which he had been abrupt ly interrupted by tbe startling news of the murder of Mme. Roupell. For an hour he remained oblivious to all else save sines, cosines, tangents, secants and cosecants. An abtruse trigonometrical problem was before him, and to its solu tion he was devoting himself heart and aoul, when suddenly be became aware of an obstruction of the light from the win dow. Looking up, to his intense annoy ance he perceived the inquisitive burgher from Paris, his nose flattened against the glass, staring vacuously into the apartment Anger was expressed In every feature of tbe physician's countenance as he v threw the French window wide open; but tbe worthy burgher did not seem to be at all disconcerted. On the contrary, availing himself of the opportunity, be fore the doctor could stop him, he stepped over the low sill and entered the library. "Sir, this unwarrantable Intrusion at such a moment " began the physician. "May perhaps surprise you," interrupt ed the burgher; "but have you given or ders about tbe truffles?" The doctor stared with astonishment and stepped back two or three paces. "You are," hs gasped, "you cannot be Monsieur " "I am," replied the burgher, an Inde scribable twinkle In his eye, as he noted the doctor's amazement. "I am the per son you are about to mention Alfred Cassagne, the detective," and with a pro found bow, he handed Dr. Mason his card. CHAPTER VII. Alfred Cassagne was the son of a large contractor, who had accumulated a considerable fortune in the construction of those remarkable docks In the city of Havre, which have helped to make that place the most important harbor of France. He lost his father when a mere child. His mother, dying when he was but twenty-two years of age, had left him amply provided for. But be had never married. Of quite a studious turn of mind, he bad devoted himself to books, and might possibly have degener ated into a book worm, or have sunk so low as to become an author, If an event had not transpired which changed the whole current of his existence. He awoke one morning to find that the cashier of a bank where he usually had a large balance, had absconded with the funds of that Institution. Where he had gone, was equally a mystery to the police and the officers of tbe concern. Having considerable interest in the capture of tbe 1 fugitive, Cassagne set about making in quiries on his own account From these Inquiries he quietly deduced bis own the ories, and one morning, to ths intense astonishment of the chief of police, he en tered the presence of that functionary and stated his opinion on the case very briefly. It was to the effect that the president of tbe bank and the cashier were In collusion, and that the cashier, whom most people believed to be by that time safely in America, that Mecca for European rogues, would be found hiding In the president's own private residence. The chief of police had laughed at first ; but Alfred Cassagne was permitted to proceed. It was known he was a gentle man of fortune; and men of means are never snubbed very , badly anywhere. Very soon, moreover, the official grew serious. . By a system of logical deduc tion from circumstances already known, Cassagne established his theory on a basis so Ingenious as to excite the chief's warm est admiration. Subsequent search dis covered that ths state of things Cassagne had believed to exist In theory, was really tree. Ursa Cassagne night now possibly Granville -a.e tu forty years of age, though when Dill HtUffllf.nJ - : ... j --. uwiug 10 nia smoothly " race. appeared to be younger. He was rather above the middle height, sad though somewhat narrow across the shoulders, the great depth of his chest made ample ameuds for this deficiency. His hair was cut very short to permit of his more readily wearing the various wigs by which he frequently concealed his Iden tity. His mouth was well cut, the lips thin and somewhat pursed together, as is often the habit with men who pass much time In thinking. His nose was large and very prominent His hands and feet small and rather delicate. His voice singularly soft and gentle ; his man ner that of a man entirely at ease, and of one who thoroughly understands his busi ness. He sat quite still In the easy chair to which Dr. Mason had motioned him on his arrival. It was not until the latter had given him the outlines of the case that he spoke at all, and then he said : "We will begin by premising a certain state of facts. Madame Roupell has been murdered. Who did It? Public opinion says your friend Van Llth. I always mis trust public opinion. The prefect of po lice is not at all sure but Monsieur Cha bot had a hand in It I sometimes mis trust the prefect of police." 'Tou mean to imply that both may be wrong?" Inquired the doctor. "Yes, and if I am right It leaves us confronting two alternatives." "And they are?" "Either that ths unfortunate woman committed suicide while of unsound mind, or that ths crime is the act of a third party to us at present unknown.' "I can dispose of the first of those sup positions immediately," said tbe doctor. "Madams Roupell's mind was as sound as yours or mine Is at ths present mo ment." "Let us proceed to an examination of the body. I have provided myself with a written permit to break the seals," said the detective. "Lead the way, please." They entered the chamber of death. Nothing had been disturbed since the visit of the prefect. Alfred Cassagne took a rapid survey of the room. He advanced to tbe bedside, and commenced a minute inspection of ths body of the murdered woman. - He carefully removed the bandages from the wound in the head ; be turned tbe body over so that the light from tbe window fell full upon the face of the dead woman, revealing in the strong sunlight each line and shadow already showing in their marked change of the lineaments the Inevitable approach of decay. Taking out his penknife, Cassagne carefully re moved one of the clots of blood which had accumulated near the entrance of the wound, and walking to the window ex amined It through a small magnifying glass which he took ' from his pocket Presently he said: "Doctor, look at that blood!" Dr. Mason took the magnifying glass and the penknife and gazed steadfastly upon the little red gout. "Do you see anything peewHar about it?" asked Cassagne. "Do you not no tice an entire absence of natural crys tallization?" The doctor's face turned pals as a sheet ; his lips twitched nervously. "This crime grows more horrible and more mysterious than ever. It is impos sible to mistake your meaning. This wound was inflicted after death," he ex claimed. "The blood Is certainly what we call in the profession 'dead blood.' " "And is that not often the case where a wound is Inflicted when a person Is In a comatose condition?" "It might be," replied the physician. "I have known the phenomenon of total suspension of the circulation in comatose bodies." "And In such case, would blood flowing from a wound crystallize or not?" "It Is possible that it might crystallize somewhat, if the person wounded, while in a comatose condition, was young and healthy. In the case of an old and fee ble woman, like , Madame Roupell, I should consider it extremely doubtful. In the present Instance, by means of the glass, one can plainly discern that no crystallization has taken place." "In fact that this wound was Inflicted after the wound which produced either death or Insensibility?" said ths detec tive. "Exactly so," replied ths physician. "The question now is, where Is that wound?" "We will find It" said Cassagne. "Give me your help here." "We bad better look for a contusion of some sort. Insensibility could be pro duced by a sharp blow on tbe back of ths head, or under the ear," remarked Dr. Mason. ' "I am not of that opinion," replied Cassagne. "I have already looked there. There is no swelling of any kind on ths back of the lead, and as she Is dressed in demi-toilette, it Is easy to see that no injury has been inflicted to the upper part of the spinal cord." "For what kind of wound shall we search? It must be a small one, Indeed, to escape tbe examination of so good a surgeon as Monsieur Crolzet" "Unfortunately Monsieur Crolxet," re plied Cassagne, with a curious smile, "Is a surgeon only. He Is not a detective. He is good at generalizations ; he falls in particulars. The wound ws must look for, since you sound Monsieur Crolzet's praises so highly, must be no larger than a pencil point Have you never heard of ths Venetian stiletto?" ' "No, I cannot say that I have,' swered Dr. Mason. ! "It is an Instrument made of tough ened glass, no thicker than a knitting needle. When plunged Into a victim, it an be broken short off in the flesh which closes around it, so that It is hard to tell ' liow death supervenes. Many such deaths have undoubtedly been charged to apo plexy, and other causes. " "Is it possible?" ejaculated ths physi cian. "Not only possible but more than prob able. Let us instantly begin our search ! for such a weapon. There will not be a I drop of blood visible. - Death generally ! ensues from Internal hemorrhage, unless the stiletto reaches the heart when, of course, the victim dies instantly. Turn her over on her fare," said the detective, "She may have been wounded in ths back." This was done, and they carefully ex amined that portion of the body. For ths first time Dr. Mason's blind faith in ths skill of the man he had employed began to show signs of wavering Hs little knew Cassagne's marvelous resources, The doctor had left the body and was standing over by the window, again ex amining the blood on the penknife through the magnifying glass. A slight exclama tion from the bed caused him to glance In that direction. He could hardly repress a cry of sur prise. He held bis breath almost, so anx iously did he await the result of an ex periment that Casagne bad put in opera tion. With his eyes closed and with his head raised very much after the style of a blind man reading from a raised-letter book, the detective was moving his fingers, soft and delicate as a young girl's, over the cold, stiff body of the murdered wom an. Dr. Mason knew in an instant that he was about to depend upon his senss of touch to find the tiny wound that his eyes had failed to detect For over a minnte the two men remain ed in their relative positions. Then ths voice of Cassagne was heard, breaking the silence, which had grown almost pain ful in its Intensity ; "I am right Madams Roupell was stabbed in the back." CHAPTER VIII. Dr. Mason, In his agitation, dropped the penknife and ths magnifying glass and rushed to the bedside. "Where is the wound?" he ejaculated. M. Cassagne, cool, calm and collected, still held one tell-tale finger, which, like a living eye, had detected a slight In equality in the surface of the flesh, firm ly pressed down upon a spot no larger than a pin's head. "Take it easy, doctor," he said, smil ing at ths agitation of the physician, "and if the magnifying glass is still un broken, I will trouble you for It. Ths penknife also, if you please, doctor. Now," after he had gently pushed back the flesh with the point of the knife, "look through the glass, and tell me what you see." "I see a rough, glistening surface." "Try it with the point of the penknife." i The doctor took the knife, and scraped upon tbe bard surftcs thus exposed to view. "It is glass,' hs exclaimed. "I haven't a doubt of it" "It is the wound which caused death. Tou see it has penetrated the lumbar re gion. Death has been caused by two things. Shock and Internal bleeding. Have you a small pair of pincers here? No? Well, then I must use my fingers." M. Cassagne having enlarged the open ing of the wound by dilltation, plunged his finger and thumb Into the orifice and drew out though not without much diffi culty and after repeated failures, ths broken piece of a small, sharpened glass stiletto. Its withdrawal from ths wound was followed by a few drops of blood, which the doctor, who notwithstanding his professional experiences was greatly auecteu oy lue spectacle, was huuui tu wipe reverently away, when he was stop ped by the detective. "Don't do that That blood has a tale of Its own to tell. I wish to examine it through the glass.". He took up some on the point of ths knife and the two men as before went to the window. Notwithtsanding that It had not been exposed to the outer air, the blood was strongly crystallized. "One thing Is proved, and almost con clusively," exclaimed Cassagne. "It Is the wound which caused her death. See bow ths blood is crystallized. Now to discover the assassin. The prefect's the ory is that Madame Roupell was sitting at her desk writing, when ths crime was committed. In support of that, he points to the scattered papers and ths overturn ed chair. Now notice which way ths chair has fallen." "It has fallen toward ths desk," said Dr. Mason. "Precisely ; and that proves to me that It was ths murderer, not Madams Rou pell, who was engaged In ths examina tion of the papers." "Why?", "Because, had Madame Roupell been surprised from behind and stabbed, as ws now believe to be the case, she would have fallen forward, and the chair would have been thrown backward or away from ths desk, not toward it Madams Roupell surprised this unknown person, perhaps while he was rifling the contents of her desk ; springing to his feet bs overthrew ths chair, drew his stiletto, and advanced toward ber. She doubt less turned to flee, too frightened to scream, and hs then stabbed her In ths back." "I see; and having no other weapon than ths stiletto, and that having been broken off short In the body, he fired at her to make sure of his work." (To be continued.) Tbe total area of tbe British empire Is nearly 11,400,000 square miles, or , rather more than one-fifth of tbe ' earth's surface. j vjSfevenfionl According to the evideuce given re cently by Dr. R. T. Williams, an Eng lish physician, in a London police court, he distinguishes seven Btuges of drunk enness irritable, mellow, pugnacious, affectionate, lachrymose, followed, if the total doses were large enough, by collapse and death. That the finest stone buildings and monuments of many cities are disinte grating through the action of the sul phuric acid produced by the combus tion of coal is asserted by a writer In Cosmos (Paris). In London, especially, It has been estimated that no less than half a million tons- of acid are thus discharged into the atmosphere yearly. Scientists In Germany say that a sub stance has been prepared which shows the same radio-activity as that of radium bromide. It is said that the substance Is uranyl molybdate. The molybdate Is formed by adding am monia molybdate to uranyl nitrate when a white amorphous powder sep arates. This Is dried In the dark and apparently must be kept there, as It Is unstable. Report says that It gives radio-active effects which are practically as Intense as those given by radium. Though costly namely, about $110 an ounce the price Is not so enormous as that of radium, which has reached many thousands of dollars for the same Quantity. , In countries I1k Frnncn, where roads are good and cross-roads numerous, travelers by automobile have frequent occasion to consult road maps, because they go so fast and change direction so often that topographical Information Is, for them, a continual necessity. To meet this an automatic chart has been Invented, which unrolls In step with the advance of the carriage, so that the chauffeur has always before hlra a map of the route he Is to pursue. When the road Is about to turn sharply, an electric bell gives warning 800 meters In advance. Another attachment to the chart registers the distance traversed The whole apparatus is moved by gear lng connected with the wheels of the automobile. Last winter Prof. E. E. Barnard pho tographed a most singular object In the constellation Taurus, the appearance of which suggests the term "dead nebu la." It Is a long, straggling mass, which seems to shut the stars behind it All round It the stars are strewn thick' ly, but within Its boundaries very few appear, and Prof. Barnard suggests that these may lie on this side of It At one point there is a small, bright nebula, which gradualy fades out. "The feebler portions of the nebula would almost suggest," says Prof. Barnard, "that a large nebula exists here, but that the major portion of It Is dead or non-luminous." In some places the dark object Is manifestly darker than the starless parts of the sky round It. The green coloring matter contained In leaves and other parts of plants, and known as chlorphyl, serves as a light-screen through which only certain spectral colors are able to penetrate and to affeet the Internal organism of the plant A somewhat puzzling fnct is that some insects, such ns the green grasshopper, possess a similar color ing matter, and the recent Investiga tions of Podlapolsky have shown that this Is Identical In physicn! properties with the chlorophyl of plants. That its chemical construction Is the same remains to be demonstrated. It Is also a yet unsettled question whether "ani mal chlorophyl" serves, like that of plants, as a color-screen to shield the Inner orgnnlsm of the Insects protect ing It from the influence of certain colors. Phases of the National Game. There pre two sides to almost any thing, and the national game Is far from being an exception. From the standpoint of the baseball enthusiast "our town hns a club In the league." From the standpoint of the profession al player the league has a club In each city. In the heurt of the baseball pa triot our club Is a band of heroes, go ing out to conquer other cities and up hold our honor. In the mind of the man with soul so dead they are stock companies properly financed. To the excited partisans at a game each play er is an earnest contestant for his side. To the man who is from foreign parts It would be nn Important fact that they are hired men, employes with sal aries set by companies that all belong to the same corporation, and that they get their pay for playing and not for winning. To the public It Is a game. To the president of the company lit may be a good or bad "performance." Century. Conscience. "You can't alius gib a man credit fob a clear conscience," said Uncle Eben, "because he looks cheerful. Dar Is some people dat smiles de hardest after dey has put through de crookedeC deals." Washington Stsx AT TUB FA TRY GODMOTHER'S Girl Gained Impressions that ProT4 Precious In After Years. To reach the fairy godmother's you went down the street to the still brown house, and up three flights of stairs, where you felt as If shivery things might happen, although they never did, and then suddenly the open door and flood of sunlight golden-green through the geraniums and Ivies and wandering-Jew that grew on shelves across the window and the fairy godmother her self, her whole tiny figure aglow with welcome. There were wonderful things In the frlry godmother's room of course, how could It possibly be otherwise? There were carved Ivory Jack-straws, and a pen-wiper with apple-seed mice, on bags of meal, and a marvelous pic ture of "Crowning the May-Queen" worked In worsted and cross-stitch, and entrancing amber beads with, which one could "dress up," and a bas ket full of shells from the West In dies, and a sandalwood fan whose fra grance set one dreaming of palms and breadfrult-trees at that time one's sole assets In the way of tropic scen ery. There were other things too less easi ly Inventoried, although no less per ceptible to a chd'r quick Insight a sense of peace, golden-green, one fan cied, like the light In the room a sim ple happiness gathered fresh each day, a lovely trust In the goodness of every human being. The fairy godmother slipped away one night She left behind her the Jackstraws and the fan and the amber beads, and the child put them among her treasures. She remmnherpd al ways the shock with which certain dis coveries came to her later. "Why, she was poor !" she said aloud one day, It was true, undoubtedly, In spite of the amber beads and the pen wiper. And she must have been lonely often, she knew It, after meeting, years later, the brother with whom the fairy godmother had lived; and frail, the bright remembered face revealed be fore unconsidered marks of pain. Ths girl stood still, thrilled by a rush of tenderness. "Oh, she was brave !" she cried ; but even then she only dimly understood. Years later, In the midst of her own difficult battle, she happened one day upon the amber beads. Life had not been easy oh, It had been hard hard! There were little bitter lines deepening about her mouth. She had not discovered them yet, but they were coming. Now suddenly her eyes soft ened and filled with tears. "I have the beads," she said. "Can I not inherit, too, the courage and the trust? I will. If she could, I can and I will." And so she took possession of her great heritage. Youth's Companion. BREEZES F.OB THE OPERATOR. Tan Attachment (or Sewing Ms chines Operated br the Treadles. At the time It was first Introduced the fan attachment for rocking chairs was considered a novel Idea. The pos sibilities of employ ng such a device for other purposes has been recog nized by an Indi ana Inventor, as shown in the ac companying Illus tration. He con ceived the plan of providing a similar bun by pedals, attachment for sew ing machines, whereby the operator can have the full benefit of balmy breezes while running the machine. The attach ment is extremely simple, the fan being pivoted on a bracket secured to the back of the machine. Tbe end of ths handle of the fan connects by rod to the treadle. As the latter Is worked up and down the fan Is forced to do likewise, directing the breeze directly at the oper ator. The bracket supporting the fan Is adjustable and can be clamped to tbe table In any position desired. This sim ple accessory would undoubtedly be welcomed by tbe thousands of girls op erating sewing machines in factories, There conditions are not of tbe best Good Gronnd (or Complaint. "See here," grumbled the Inmate of murderers' row, "ain't there a law agio crool and onusual punishment?" "Yes," answered the warden. "An' ain't I goln' ter be hanged next week?" "I'm afraid you are." "Then what d'yer mean by sendln' me a bunch of story papers to read that ain't got nothln but continued stories In 'em?" Cleveland Leader. Kvery One an Old Friend. The Wife What luck? The Husband ( wearily )f-None what ever. The Wife Were there no servants In the Intelligence office? The husband (sadly) Lots of them, but they had all worked for us before. Woman's Home Companion.' Just for variety, try to make some tat happy besides your salt