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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1908)
The Roupell Mystery By A u t y n CHAPTER XVIII. Alfred Cubsagne remained In earnest conversation with lime. Cresson for up ward of two houn. During that period the young woman several times retired to the privacy of her bed chamber and as many times emerged therefrom, reappear ing upon the last occasion dressed in full treet costume, and having her dark hair entirely concealed with a profusion of cionoe, nurry ringlets. . She had on a rather loud, plaid dress, traveling cape of Scotch woolen, and a bonnet very plainly trimmed. Plain gold earrings were In her ears, and in her hand she carried a silk umbrella and a small traveling bag. On her feet were paid of broad, large-heeled shoes and over those white gaiters which twinkled in and out from under her petticoats as he walked up and down the room. Ce leste looked on wonderingly and ate her bon-bons. M. Cassagne examined her mother with the eye of a critic. "You'll do," he said presently, "all but the gaiters. I don't think those white gaiters have reached London yet." "Oh, monsieur Is mistaken, I am sure," replied Mme. Cresson, with enthusiasm. "I was on Regent street not two weeks ago. You know I went over there on the Peter Robinson case. They were very generally worn." "You are wrong, all the same. I was vr tW Tny!? lat!y. Quite wr worn, It is true, but In much darker hades. London is always six months behind Paris, and New York six months behind London in such matters. Now, don't contradict me, child. The English ladies are not yet wearing them." Mme. Cresson urged the point no fur them. Turning to her maid, she said : "Bring me my dark gray gaiters. Na tion ; they are a year, at least, out of fashion in Paris, monsieur. I hope they will satisfy you." "You think I am very hard to please," remarked Cassagne. "I may be so. t know the kind of man I have to deal with in. Victor Lablanche, the prefect of po lice. I will call for you to-morrow at ten o'clock. In the meantime I have quite a deal to attend to." He took his hat, kissed little Celeste good-by, and, descending by the stairway, opened the black door and passed out on to the street. "I love. Papa Cassagne," cried little Celeste, as she stood by the . window watching the retreating form of the gen tleman' who bought the bon-bons. Then looking op at her mother, she added : "You love him, too, don't you, mamma 7" "Celeste is a goose," said Mme. Cres son, her charming cheek tinged with color, "and geese mustn't ask foolish questions." M. Cassagne pursued his way still fjir them into the Intricacies of the Latin Quarter. At last he stopped before a mail shop, pushed up the latch of the door and entered. A large, stout man, . with a pen behind his ear, was seated at a high desk, with a pile of proof in front of him. He nodded familiarly to the de tective, got off his stool and at once con ducted him Into a private office. "Ha I Monsieur Cassagne,' 'he exclaim ed. "What can I do for you to-day?" "I have two small jobs for you. It's Imply to set two lines of type,' and print me half a dozen sheets of note paper ; also a couple of cards. I will pay you well for It Can you do it personally, so that ao one else will know what you are do ing? and can you do it right away?" "I can. Write out what vou wish printed. Here Is a pen and some rmner. "I want you to set up this," said Cas sagne, as he banded his copy to the printer. "Set It up in English type, and strike it off on English paper. I will wait here for it" Twenty minutes later M. Cassagne was on the street. In his pocket, neatly packed between sheets of tissue paper to prevent their "setting off," were six sheets or not paper, and on the top right-hand corner of each was printed the words, in bold English type: "Office of "SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE "Scotland Yard, "London, W. C," He also bore two cards which read t "MR. GEORGE RUSSELL, "36 Eaton Square." Casagne jumped Into a cab and drove iome. Arrived there he took off his hat and coat and washed his hands carefully. Then he took down from an upper shelf an old letter Sle, and turning to the letter "H," drew out a letter addressed to himself, which was written In a large English hand. Next be took from the pocket of his coat the six sheets of paper and the two cards. The latter he put Into a card case by themnelves; the for mer he put on the table. Then he got a pen and some Ink and went to work, laboriously but skillfully. After spoiling three sheets of paper he produced something he was satisfied with. Taking the letter to the window he held It to the light, as If admiring his own handiwork, and read as follow : "Offlc of "SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, "Scotland Yard, "London, W. O, July 6, 18 "Victor Lablanche, Esq., Prefect of Po lice, Paris, France: i "Dear Sir Thl will Introduce to you Mr. George Russell, a friend of' mine, who with hi wife Intends making a pleasure trip on the continent "Any coast that you can xtnd to a n v 1 1 1 Mr. Russell during his visit in Pari will be highly appreciated by me. "Yours very truly, ' "JAMES. T. HENDERSON, "Supt Police." Thaf about perfect," soliloquised the detective, "because K transgresses every known rule of French letter writing, and that alone stamps It as English. The 'Esquire' Is particularly good. English men, even of education, are perpetually making that mistake when addressing letter to this country. 'Paris, France,' also is not bad. M. Henderson would doubtless be careful lest his friend Mr. Russell should present It at Parts, Ken tucky, or Paris, Texas." ' The prefect of police had hardly rime to place himself In the dignified attitude in which it was his custom to receive his caller next morning, when the door swung open, and a gentleman, unmistak ably English and carrying in his gloved hands a tall silk hat, and the inevitable umbrella of the rain-afflicted Briton, en tered the apartment II was accom panied by a lady whose grace of carriage, and really handsome face, accentuated if anything In the eyes of the Frenchman the villainous fit of all her garments. "There should be a law passed to com pel suoh people to employ Parisian dress makers. But even then they would never look Ilk our women," was bis inward comment, as he arose, and with the po liteness of his race bowed low a he re ceived his visitors. "Monsieur le prefect, I presume," said the gentleman, in French which was slm pry execrable. "I have the honor of ad dressing Monsieur Lablanche, the prefect of the Parisian police?" "I am he, monsieur." "Permit me to present you to my wife, Madame Russell Monsieur Victor La blanche." The Frenchman bowed more gallantly than ever. Really, notwithstanding their gaucheries, these English women were quite charming. In fact, the prefect was agreeably surprised with his visitor. The t-.ngnsaman s manner was perfect. With his native dignity was blended a delight ful air of deference and politeness. Not withstanding his villainous pronouncla- tion of the French language, he managed to make himself clearly understood. The evident cordiality of his manner thawed whatever reserve the prefect had sought to hedge himself in . with. His heart quite wanned to the intelligent Lon doner. "I have the great fortune to be the bearer of a letter to you, monsieur," he said, "from the superintendent of police at Scotland lard, our mutual friend, Mr. James T. Henderson." "I am delighted to see anyone who comes to. me introduced by Monsieur Hen derson," replied the prefect. He scarcely glanced at the letter, ne was afraid he had but little to show them after the magnificent department of his friend, M. Henderson, in London. ' Still he should be happy to place himself at their disposal. What would they like to see first? "Oh, the rogues' gallery, by all means," suggested Mme. Russell, enthusiastically, "Or your splendid Bert 1 lion system of measurement for prisoners, which you have brought to such perfection In Paris," added her husband, It was a telling compliment, because It was true. M. Lablanche had been In deed the first to adopt the Bertillon sys tem, and under his supervision it had attained a marvelous degree of accuracy and perfection. He had taken the raw theory of a prison reformer, and reduced it to a practical science. "Our rogues' gallery is not as exten sive as It used to be," he explained Since the adoption of the system of measurements we have not photographed any out the moat notorious criminals. You can probably see more pictures in Lon don. However, I will show you some of the most important. He led the way Into a square, hlc-h ceiled chamber, lighted from the roof only, the walls of which were literally covered with portrait of the desperadoes of France. "You see we have them arranged al- pnaoetlcany, and here Is an index book on the table for instant reference. Oppo site eacn name, you see, I have placed the Bertillon measurement of all those prisoners who have come here since the. adoption of that system. There they are, men and women, from all classes of so ciety, and of every degree of crime and misfortune." The fair English woman seemed strangely moved. "Poor creatures," she murmured, soft ly, as her little hand rested Involuntarily on the offlter's coat sleeve. The prefect regarded her admiringly. Tear of genuine pity were In her bright, laughing eye. "But it is strangely Interesting," she added. "Oh! monsieur, please show me one or two of the most desperate and relate their history." , The prefect, turned to M. Russell. The Englishman was evidently deeply engross ed In the Index, hunting up the charac ters for himself, In hi independent Eng lish fashion. "No, I don't wont to hear the his tories," be said, looking up from the book, with a cordial smile. "I'm perfectly happy. But Mrs. Russell Is an enthn. slast on criminal heroes. She would ba for raising a monument to Jack Shen- pard and Dick Turpin, If I would allow ner. It 1 a sad thing to have a hmt.l husband," cried madams, with a pretty pout, as ah went acroM tha room on the I Q r nn of the prefect. "Let ns tear trim lo bis own devices, monsieur, sio-c be ay he is happy, and amuse ourselves." The susceptible M. Lablanche was in the eventh heaven, ne was entirely at the service of madams. So he proceeded to regale her with short sketches of his favorite malefactors, and madame looked on and laughed or became sad, just a the proper time. They had completed the circuit of the room and were near the door again. M. Russell was still investigating on his own account. Mme. Russell, the pressure of her little hand still upon the arm of her gallant conductor, looked up Imploringly at him with those fatal eyes. "Oh ! monsieur," she said, "do show m some of the prisoners." "It 1 not a pleasing sight for mad ame," feebly protested the prefect It was a rule of his' never to leave a stran ger alone in the rogues' gallery. Pic ture had been abstracted before now by reic hunter. Still a friend of the Loo don superintendent of police, and a mas so evidently to be trusted; It would be all right Besides It would give bin an other five minutes of the society of mad ame. As many another man in his place would have done, he took Mme. Russell to see the prisoner. n minutes later, with a thousand than) . the cordial Eng lishman and his wife Kk their leave. CHAPTER XIX. "A comparison of this portrait with the miniature in the locket," remarked M. Cassagne, "now convince me beyond a doubt that Philip La Seur and Philip Graham are one and the same person. His Bertillon measurements, which I have carefully noted down, are at pres ent of but little use to us, but as a mean of Identification should we hereafter suc ceed In running him to esrth, they mj prove Invaluable. Beyond any question whatever, we may now assume that Philip Graham Is In some way connected with ' the murder of Madame Roupell." Charles D'Auburon stared at his friend in speechless surprise as he uttered these words. "I think your experience of yesterday must have -turned your head," he said, at last. "There has been no commuta tion of Philip La Seur' sentence. Being still a prisoner at Toulon, bow Is It pos sible for him to have been connected with the mystery of Vlleneuve? My dear friend, I beg of you not to think any more of thiscase to-day. You need a rest. You have been taxing your brain too much." "And you, my dear Charles," retorted Cassagne, "have been taxing your brain too little. You think that because there Is no commutation of sentence recorded In the case of this Philip La Seur that he is still in the custody of the prison offi cial at Toulon?" "Most decidedly." "Well. Philip La Seur broka prison nearly five years ago, and be has never yet been retaken." "Impossible, escape from Toulon pris on ! I will not believe if It 1 the most strongly fortified of any penal establish ment In France." 'Perhaps; but here la a convincing proof of it Look at this foot note, copied from tne register of Monsieur Lablanche 'Escaped from Toulon,' and under it ev ery year since Is marked : This prisoner is still at large.' Beside that," added M. Cassagne, laughing, "the prefect re lated the history of this particular prli oner to my supposed wife, Madame Ores son, as one of 'the most daring escapes on record." "Well, of course that settles It," ex claimed D Auburon. "No, I don't want any more proof. You overwhelm me a it Is. But what Is the next step which you propose to take?" "I now intend to find," replied M, lasnagne, with the utmost deliberation, "Philip La Seur, alias Philip Graham. late of Toulon, and who may be, while we are talking, at the present moment in Paris, and only waiting for this murder to blow over to come forward and claim his share of his aunt's fortune." "But who," remarked D'Auburon, "may not be in Paris at all ; but may perhaps be In Rio Janeiro, for all we know to the contrary, lou must not forget that in these days of lightning express trains, and ocean greyhounds, one can travel a good way In three weeks especially if one nas money in one s pocket" "Philip Graham never left Paris." an swered the detective, "of that I feel con vinced. A man who could escape from Toulon Is too smart a fellow not to know he Is safest when he remains rleht at home. Besides, when he committed thi murder he was in a condition of financial desperation. He did not have plenty of money, as you seem to suppose." now do you know that?" "It has since transpired that Madame Konpell bad, besides the loose bank note found in her escretoire, a consid erable sum of money in her chamber. That sum of money disappeared on the night of the murder. I believe that mur derer was Philip Graham. I believe he took thats money. I believe, If we wait long enough, he will come forward and declare himself, for the purpose of claim ing his share of Madame Roupell' tror erty." r "Well, why not wait a bit and giva him chance?" "Because, simpleton, Justice won' wait. If we don't prove she's altogether wrong, she'll have Charles Van Llth's head under the ax of her guillotine be fore two more months are passed. It would be a poor satisfaction for hi. friends if we failed to avert such a calam ity, and brought In our evidence In tlm only to prove that the government had killed an innocent man. The next step will be to call on Madame La Seur. It Is not unlikely that Philip Graham, after hi escape from Toulon, went to ee her." (To be continued.) The war to ba af la never secure, Franca, SCENES IN EUROPE. President of Washington State School Telia Hi Experience. Following ie the address delivered by President E. A. Bryan, of the etate col lege, to the wheatgrowers of Washing ton at their recent meeting in' Pullman, In which be recited various observa tions he had made during his recently completed trip abroad: "Tne one thing that impressed me while ia Europe was the fact that we Americans do not fully realize the greatness of our own land, and its op portunities, and the greatness and op portunities of our own people as com pared with our brethen in Europe. The opportunity for the average man Is so much greater that we can hardly con ceive the difference. In Europe a man is born in a cla?s from where he cannot escape, and he accordingly fits bimeelf for that clases. There is stratification after stratification, and it is practically impossible for an Individual to pass from class to class ; and think that the freuaom of the American people is one of the greatest things which we have here. "In Italy the poverty and distress were very interesting, although it ex cited the greatest pity. It seemed as if there were no end of beggars. They begged In almost every way imagina ble. Whole families could be seen begging together by means of musical instruments. In one case I noticed a woman holding an umbrella upside down to catch the coppers, while the father played the guitar, and the child ren each played some sort of musical instrument, and all were begging. Sev eral husky looking fellows dived into the sea to get coppers worth about a half cent, and b'agged the people to throw the coppers In. It seemed as if one-half of tie population lived off the ether half. "I was very much interested in the horses. The average horse in Paris for the heavy draft work is a very good an imal indeed. There were great num bers of magnificent stallions that would have sold in this market for from two thcusand to three thousand dollars, and they were all of a very high type. One thing that impressed roe both in London and Paris was that the average coach horse was a much larger fellow than we have been accustomed to see for that work. I think that we people here In America should look toward breeding a larger animal that we have in the past, and unless we watch our selves, we will be inclined to breed down. In Naples there were many cab horses, and about ninety per cent of the cab horses driven were stallions. One thing that was very interesting to me was that they do not use the bit; They use an Instrument that fits over the nose, and above the nostril is apiece wnicn extends out about three inches, and when pulling a horse to Stop, they pun on tne nose. , "In going up the liber river north of Kome, almost every wazon that I met was being drawn by oxen, either Dy tandem, or with a yoke. The oxen were all very strong fellows, quite large, well Duilt, and had huge home rising above their heads. There did not seem to be the beef type of cattle nor was there any milk type. I sun pose their cows, were, of course, used for milking purposes, but they were not apparently bred to either tvDe. but rather to the ox type. loe poorer class of Italians do not know what it is ti have meat in any quantity. The avenge man is.too poor io do aoie to buy Deal, as thev wou d have to pay not less than twenty-two cents a pound for It. Kids are used for nesu there a great deal. The swine there were very large, and rather more of the type of the bacon hog than like our Berkshirea or Poland Chinas. They use goaw milk a great deal, and es pecially in Naples. In the raornina you would see women and men driving gonts around from place to place, as tne customer has the privilege of hav ing the operation of milking performed in his presence. The goat selected is mimed, and in many caseB you will see a goat being taken up in an elevator, or up a stairway, wherever the customer may be, and then milked in his pres ence. In Italy the tillage is of a very in tensified kind. There, many of the Italians have their own vegetable gar den, and raise their own vegetables. Here we pay twelve or fifteen cents a head for cauliflower, and in Italy you can buy a dozen heads of cauliflower for six cents, and that will make it clear why the Italian is able to live on a vegetable diet so well. The people train their vineyards upon trees, and in many cases there is hardly any ton to the trees, as they had been cut down lo stumps for the vines to climb on. I did not get a decent apple to eat until I was on board the ship, and had some Oregon apples served to me." Ef Baked la Taiaatoca. Sslect round, smooth tomato of nap form size. Out a thin illco from th top of each and with a teaspoon scoop out enough of tb pulp to admit aa egg. Season th cavities with salt and pepper and a tiny pinch of onion 04 parsley. Drop an egg Into each. Set th tomatoes Into a well-buttered pan, to which a vry little water has been added and bake about fifteen mlnutea. Season with butter and serve each to mato on alios of delicately brown The humming bird in Australia, no loss than man, protects Its habitation with a lightning tod. The humming bird, before a devastating thunder storm bursts, prudently covers the out side of its little nest with cobweb. Silk is a non-conductor of electricity, and since cobweb is silk the humming bird's nest Is thereby rendered light-nlng-proof. In a recent article In the Street Rali way Journal on "Transportation Fa cilities In South America" It is stated that transportation Is so difficult over the mountains that the coal Imported Into Bolivia for the railway's own use ' costs about $30 per ton. At La Pai abundant timber grows within fifty miles from the mountains, but trans portation is so dlllleult that trolley poles and lumber for building opera tions are brought from Oregon, a dis tance of thousands of miles. A sanitary garbage wagon used lu Berlin, says Popular Mechanics, Is com pletely covered by a large hood of sheet metal, with a sort of chute or funnel, which elongated upon the roof of the hood curves downward at the back end, where It Is open to receive the refuse. The garbage is placed upon a movablo platform under the mouth of the chute and raised by chains Into the Interior. A trap door opens by the turning of a lever and the box diverts its contents Into the body of the wagon, odor and U. The British Admiralty has Instruct ed the commanders of all ships of war furnished with wireless telegraph ap paratus to telegraph to meteorological stations with which they may be in communication full details concerning the weather at sea. This new branch of the English meteorological service has already proved valuable, and It Is believed that Its importance will con tinually Increase. Weather Information from the sea Is of speolol value In the British Isles, because the great storms generally approach acroHs the ocean, and not, as In the eastern half of the United States, across a broad con tinent netted with telegruphs. By crossing and selection, a new vs. rlety of cattle, known as the Bordelalae race, has been developed In Southwest ern France. The two parent varieties are the Holland and the Breton cattle, the one famous for the abundance of their milk, the other for their pro vision of butter. The Bordelulse race, whose first herd book appeared In 1880, Is said to combine the excellences of Its two progenitors. Its most charac teristic external mark Is the black-and-white tiger pnttern covering the body. In the pure breed the head Is entirely black.' The name comes from the city of Bordeaux, the metropolis of the re gion where the new race Is bred. 1 It Is a matter of common observation thnt grass does not grow so well close to trees as In the open. The same Is true of grain Experiments In Eng land and In this country have shown that the deleterious effects of the near neighborhood of grass nnd trees are mutual. The trees suffer as well as the grass and grain. This Is especially true of fruit trees. The cause is as cribed to the excretion by the trees, on the one hund, of substances poison ous to the grass, nnd by the grass, on the other hand, of substances itolson ous to the trees. It thus appears1 that the failure of gruss to grow well near trees should not be ascribed to too much shade, nor to the exhaustion by the tree roots of the food supply need ed by the grass. A Stumbling Block. Since coming to America," said thb young Englishman In bis most trans- Atlantic accent, "I have purposely tak en to pronouncing one word wrong. I don't say 'Grieg' any more. I say Greg.' Before making the change I said to several persons I happened to be talking with, 'I say, do you know Grieg?' and always they answered: No, they did not know Greek, and for good ness sake don't ask If they know Latin because they've forgotten all of that they ever did know. They thought, you see, that I was asking If they knew Greek. So finally I took to say ing Greg, which Is enough to ninke the poor old Norweglnn shout out a cor rection from his grave, but It pre 'cuts further misunderstanding." The Church Falr.a None but the brave deserve the fair. Aye! None but the brave a fair would dare ; For when the "fair" ladles begin their advances Sure, every man present hus got to take chances. The Catholic Standard and Times. It Is an easy matter to accomplish some great things, otherwise the av erage man wouldn't even have a look-in. . It Is better worked. . to work than to ba )
