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II
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The Roupell Mystery
By Austyn Granville
CHAPTER VIII. (Continued.)
"I'm afraid, doctor, you would not
make a very good detective. Recollect
that In nine caws out of ten, the obvious
reason is always the wrong one. A smart
villain, who knows enough to carry glass
stilettos, and how to use them skillfully,
would not have unnecessarily alarmed
the household by Tiring a pistol in the
dead of night. Oh, no ! he would simply
have smothered the woman, already insen
sible and unresisting, with a pillow, or
choked her to death."
"I see, I see," acquiesced the physi
cian. "Go on."
"Let us assume, now, that this un
known person entered the house through
the window in Monsieur Van Lilh's cham
ber. While creeping through the room
he espies a case of pistols. He has come
unarmed, save with the Venetian stiletto.
Hut once in the house, his courage fails
him. lie picks up a pistol from the case,
saying, 'This will protect me if I have
to proceed to extremities. He passes on
to Madame Koupell's chamber, and falls
to searching among her papers. She is
woman of large property, and must
have valuables, lie is not after money,
for the diamonds which she wore to the
opera have not been taken. While thus
engaged, be is Interrupted by Madame
Itoupell, who rushed forward to save her
papers. lie jumps from his chair, over
turning it, and raises the stiletto; she
turns and flees; he pursued and stabs her.
Do you understand, monsieur?"
"Yes, I understand everything, except
his firing the pistol into the head of a
(Woman whom he had apparently already
fut out of the way of harming him. I
m assuming, of course, that his object
was not murder. Of course, Madame
iRoupell may have recognized him, and he
tnay have wanted to be sure she was
dead."
"Even that would not have warranted
Ills risking firing the pistol. Recollect,
as I have already said, he could easily
have smothered her without making any
noise," replied Cassagne.
"True ! Then why did he fire the pis
tol?" "It is easy to conjecture," returned the
frenchman, "lie did it to direct suspi
cion from himself to Uie owner of the
weapon."
"The diabolical villain I" exclaimed the
doctor,' and apparently so Impressed was
he with M. Cassagne'a theory that he kept
repeating the phrase over and over agaiu,
'The diabolical villain!"
But M. Cassagne paid no heed to the
ejaculations of the physician, lie was
down upon his 'knees, running about on
all fours on the cariet, totally regardless
of the injury to his pantaloons. His nose,
"was within an Inch of the floor. At last
he stopped In the middle of the apart
'Dent, and exclaimed :
"Give me the knife."
i The doctor handed It to him. He at
once proceeded to cut away the carpet,
and then to dig furiously into the wooden
flooring.
I "What on earth are you looking for?"
Inquired Mason.
"Never mind," replied Cassagne. "Wait
,m moment, and you'll see."
He kept on digging away with the
knife as furiously as ever. At hist he
topped, and, still on his knees, held
triumphantly aloft a small, oblong, hlnck
object. Then ho exclaimed breathlessly ;
"All right; I have got the bullet."
"If we only had Van Lilh's pistol
here," said Mason, "the evidence would
te complete, but It Is In Purls."
. The detective arose end smoothed out
the knees of his pautnlouus, which ho had
adly crumpled.
"We have got what Is quite as good,"
he said. "Go into the next room and
bring me tlio other pistol. Ten to one
.'they were mutes."
Taking the pistol from the doctor's
hands, he pushed the bullet into the muz
ale. It fitted to a nicety.
' "Wo have thus fur," said M, Oassngne,
"established our theory successfully In
regnrd to one very Important point.
Neither your friend Van Lith nor Mon
sieur Clmbot had a hand In this murder,
It was committed by a third party
someone who entered the house unknown
to anyone, and who left it In an equally
'secret manner. Let us see, now, how ho
rot away, and what means of escape pre
sented themselves. He could not have
made his exit by any of the doors, be
cause one of them led to the room in
which Van I.llli was hiding, and another
opened directly Into the chamber occupied
by Monsieur Clmbot. There Is still, of
-course, a bare chance that he retired hy
the door loading Into the corridor; but It
is altogether improbable that he would
take such a risk, as that corridor was
thronged with people, hurrying to Mad
me Itoupvll's chamber at the sound of
the shot."
"That is so, acquiesced Mason, "Had
he attempted to escape Into the corridor
he would undoubtedly have been seen
and captured."
"He must, therefore," continued Cas
sagne, "have gotten out of the windows,
The man I have In my mind's eye at the
present moment would have been smart
enough to raise the window before he
tired the shot He would be particularly
careful not to leave any clew that he
!had been In the chamber, for that would
exonerate the owner of the pistol. II
would certainly not have leaped from the
(window, because that would ham left
footprints on the ground; you will look
In vain for such. Yet he did get out of
this very window."
i "How can you tell that?" asked Mason,
lln aiimsement. "It has been already In
spected by the prefect of police. He
has also searched carefully under the
'window, for I saw him doing It. If any-
jone had passed through that opening he
Kwotild surely have discovered it.
"The prefect Is doubtlexa good offl
car," replied Cassagne, "but If he had
looked closer, he would have seen that In
climbing through the window the man
blushed the dust off this geranium leaf
with his coat"
The doctor bent down and placed the
leaf Indicated alongside one that had not
been touched. The truth of the detec
tive's discovery became then convincing.
Om was cowed with dust, the other sad
been swept partly clean. M. Cassagne
smiled with pardonable pride, and, saying
that he had for the present nothing fur-
her to examine in the bed chambers, led
he way down stairs, first of all, however,
replacing, carefully, the seals which he
had removed.
Taking his hat from the rack in the
hall, and Inviting Dr. Mason to accom
pany him, he passed quickly around to
the rear of the chateau. A man servant
was shaking some carpets on the back
lawn. He ordered 111 in to bring a ladder,
and, placing it against the wall of the
chateau, ascended it nimbly.
I thought so, be called down to the
doctor. '"Hie ladder will bear two of us.
Come up, please."
"What is it this time?" Inquired Ma
son, craning his neck so as to be on a
level with the window sill.
Cassagne directed the physician's at
tention to a slight abrasion of the stone.
That was caused by the man's shoe
when he leaped from the sill," he explain
ed.
"But where did he leap to?" inquired
he doctor. "This window is twenty feet
from the ground, at least. Even If he
had been In his stocking feet he must
have left some impression, and you say
he bad shoes on."
"He reached the ground another way,
that is all," replied Cassagne. "Most
likely he jumped into that tree. Let's
see if it is possible."
With the agility of a sailor ascending
the rigging of a vessel, he climbed up
the rest of the ladder, and stepped on to
the window sill. After measuring the
islance with bis eye for a few moments
he said :
"It was a desperate leap for a man
to take in the night time; but recollect,
he was a desperate fellow."
Then gathering himself together, and
exerting his enormous muscular strength,
he sprang from the window. A project
ing bough nearly a dozen feet away was
is objective point. He caught it, and
with the agility of a trapezist passed
hand over huud down to the trunk. As
he swung himself around the branch, his
eye fell upon a small, glittering object
stuck fast in the fork of the tree. He
picked it up, and slid rapidly down to
the ground, where the doctor was await-
n g him. Placing in the physician's hand
small gold locket, the detective ex-
clnimed in a delighted voice :
I'll have him I'll find him now, if 1
have to hunt for him all over France."
Just then one of the servants approach
ed. "It was twelve o'clock. Would the
gentlemen like breakfast?"
"The gentlemen will have some break
fast by all means," replied M. Cassagne.
Our labor has been immense, our reward
ought to be proportionate," and the phy-
siclnn led the way, and together they
pussed Into the chateau.
CHAPTER IX.
Hardly had M. Alfred Cassagne swal
lowed the lost mouthful of his breakfast,
than his active mind reverted again to
the mystery which yet surrounded the
death of Mine. Roupell.
Who was the man, at present unknown,
who hnd crept like a thief in the night
into the chateau, and as quietly stolen
away when his foul work had been ac-
'omplished? And what was his motive in
committing the crime? Was he In any
w'uy connected with M. Chabot? Could
t be possible that the prefect of police
had stumbled on ,the real instigator of
the murder in the person of Chabot, and
that this unknown person was his con
federate? Most likely at that moment,
some oflicer from the prefecture was en
gaged in closely watching Chabot's slight
est movements. There might be some
thing in the prefect's theory, after all.
Mature reflection convinced M. Cassagne
that it would not do to dismiss it with
a mere shrug of the shoulders. Chabot's
accomplice might 4o the man they were
looking for. Anyhow, it would not do to
leave the point uncovered.
"I must write at once," he said, pres
ently, "to Cliquot Cllquot is my assist
ant. We must have him keep watch of
this Monsieur Chabot's movements."
M. Cassagne wrote out a Beries of In
structions, particularly cautioning his as
sistant to keep track of M. Chabot, and
under no circumstances, if he ran across
any of the people from the prefecture, to
let them really know who he was. Then
he appeared to be engrossed in thought.
He ruhbed his hands violently together,
M If he would Impart activity to his
brain by the frietiou. He arose, thrust
buck his cliair, aud began to walk rapidly
up and down the room, stopping occasion
ally to examine the pictures on the walls,
with the eye of a critic.
'Madame's husband left her very well
off, I should judge," he remarked at last
"Very' replied Dr. Mason.
"How loug ago did Mousieur Roupell
die?"
"About fifteen years."
"And then she took up with the
nieces?"
"Not Immediately. It was not until
the death of their parents that Madame
Roupell went to America to fetch them
"Tell me what relatives Madame Rou
pell had besides thee young ladies."
"There were no other relatives except
a brother, a dissolute character, who fol
lowed his sister from America to this
country."
"And his name?"
"As I recollect it, nenry Graham,
believe. A man of fifty or sixty."
"When did you last see this Henry
Graham?"
"1 never saw htin but once. lie came
to the chateau, on some begging expedi
tlon when I happened to be here. II
pretended to be very affectionate. He
was a poor looking creature, quite broken
down when 1 saw him, and not at all the
kind of man to commit a daring crime.
"Recollect that the moment Madame
Roupell died he had an Interest in her
estate. lie was her nearest heir-at-law.'
"But she had made ber will, she had
disowned him, and utterly cast hint off,
That will bequeathed all her property to
her nieces. I witnessed it . I knew what
was tn it"
M. Cassagne began to grow more and
mere Interested, lit no longer oast his
eyes upon the wails and ceiling. But h'
looked the doctor straight in the face.
On what was that will written? Try
your utmost now to recollect that; a
great deal depends on It."
"The first will was not written upon
paper. The second contained some slight
bequests to friends and to favorite ser-
ants. I believe I was mentioned my
self for some trifling amount. In other
respects the two wills were Identical. The
rat one was drawn up by Madame Rou-
pell's lawyers. She kept the second will
at her banker's. The first one remained
in the house. It was engrossed on parch
ment."
On parchment," repeated M. Cassagne.
Was it anything like this?" and he
handed a scrap of the article in question
over to the doctor.
Where did you find this?" Inquired
the doctor when he could sufficiently re
cover from his astonishment to speaks
I found it upstairs," replied M. Cas
sagne. 1 put It in my pocket, because
it was in a queer place for a scrap of
parchment. I found it with fonr other
pieces, In the fireplace of Madame Rou-
pell's bedroom. Of course, I have a the
ory, now, how they came there. First of
all, however, before I come to that, tell
me if you are .certain that the scraps
were torn from Madame Koupell's will
the first will, I mean the parchment
one .'
The physician did not immediately re
ply. He fully realized the importance of
his answer, and how ranch hung on it
Give me the scraps," he said. "If
there is any writing on them I should
be able to tell by that. It was a very
peculiar hand. It looked as if it had been
engrossed by an English scrivener. Yea,
the handwritings are identical."
It is enough," muttered Cassagne,
sweeping the pieces of parchment up
from the table and putting them carefully
away in his pocketbook. "Now for my
theory. Henry Graham Is the man we
want to find. Mind you, I don't say he
committed the murder, but you'll see he
is implicated in it In some way or other.
Ho had everything to gain by Madame
Roupell's death, provided she died intes
tate. He must have learned in some way
that his sister had made a will disinherit
ing him. To gain possession of what he
thought was the only will was hiB object,
If he could do .that, his sister, being ig
norant of the fact that the will was de-
troyed, would go to her grave believ
ing herself testate. On her death her
brother could have come forward and
claimed the property."
It was clever reasoning. The doctor
listened with breathless interest as the
detective continued : .
'Assuming that it is this nenry Gra-
ham, lot us see what he knew and what
he did. He must have heard of the nmk-
ini of this first will, and somehow or
other he must have learned of its con-
tents. He was ignorant of the making
of the second instrument. Now let us see
how he acted. He gained an entrance
to the chateau. How he did this It is im-
possible to state at present. Probably
he may have been in collusion with some-
body in the house ; but I don't know yet
He was evidently well posted as to tne
movements of the family, for he chose a
time when, as he thought, they had gorte
to the opera. It was a mere accident
we don't know whether it was or not, nut
we will assume so that Miss Harriet
Weldon did not accompany the party.. , I '
am myself inclined to think there was
some love affair between her and Van !
Lith, which accounts for his presence in
i he house that night, ana wnicn aiso
accounts for his silence. You understand
what I mean. He won't speak for tear
of compromising the young lady."
The doctor nodded. "That is good," ht
said, "very good, indeed; go ahead,
Tti assassin was a little disconcertea
at finding Miss Weldon and your friend
in the chateau. Instead of entering the
house from the front, which would be the world anything I could do for Mas
comparatively easy, he was compelled to ter ganmej, DUt let the caterer bring his
do so by the rear, running ine r.s oi
being seen by the nJ
Madame Roupell s chamber and proceed-
11 toZrch for the document. He ran-
sacked the desk and then threw the pa-
pera nbout. Unconsciously he stayed
longer than he intended. So absorbed
was he in his search that he was surpris-
ed by his victim, ne drew the stiletto,
stabbed her. and quietly resumed his
search for the paper. After a time, he
found it. He was about to destroy it
by fire when It occurred to him that a
" . ... ... .. ,t
parchmeut wouiu Durn oetier n u was
in small pieces. lie started to tear it
up, when he altered his mind, and Instead
of burning it then and there, put it in his
pocket to be destroyed at some more fav-
orable opportunity. Unluckily for him,
In his hurry he did not pick up the scraps
be tore off."
(To be continued.)
W'hr Ther Blabbered.
"Did you notice that nearly every one
tn the audience qbed tears during my
groat death gceue?" queried the leading
lady. .
"Yes," answered the soubrette, "and
I don't Maine thorn."
"Why, what do you mean?"
"They were next to the painful fact.
tha your demise wasn't real," explain
ed the soubrette.
Comparisons
"Why do so many of onr ablest men
turn their bnoks on the pA'ullc and de
vote their talents to the service of
great corporations?"
"Well," answered Senator Sorghum,
"I shouldn't be surprised if It was be
cause a corporation generally stands by
a man who has worked for it and the
public gouornlly doesn't" Washington
Star.
Strikes Gold Every Wfk,
American tourist in Engniul, seeing
a farm laborer digging a deep drain :
"What are you digging here for?" ask
ed, the tourist.
"tlold, guv-uor," replied the laborer.
Tourist When do you expect to
strike it?
Laborer One o'clock on Saturday.
1 DlaeoaraSjed.
Lovely Fiancee Oh, George, I some
times think I would rather die than be
married !
George What, darling ! Rather diet
Lovely Fiancee Yes, you don't have
to rehears half a. docen timet for tint.
you know. Cnlcage Tribune,
EETHLEM
I
I
i
Sam's Christmas j
BY JOHN W. RYAN
It was the night before Christmas,
and he was coming home. From the
far West he telegraphed that he would
come East to see the Yule log blaze
: and the festival candle burn,
"Let me have some of that potato-
pake that nrtrlret used to make." he nut
t th d f h, alsDatch. and the
. ,.. ,hen tM. WIla
10 "er v . .
" "" i
body better nor that, the crachture,
after being out for a year among those
Philippines, who live In the swamps
ana alt rice six days In the week,
besides Sunday."
, g h . Brldeet" replied the
home-mother, Mrs. Thurston. "We'll
have a little surprise party for him,
and have all his relations and Intimate
friends within call to welcome him."
"That'll be folne lntlrely, ma'am, and
I'll have to begin me cooking right off,
to that there'll be lashlns' of every
thing to alt and drink."
"You can save your strength for the
Christmas dinner, Bridget, but for the
Christmas-eve gathering we'll have a
"u mm mm ouvu juu a jiwi
deal of trouble."
, "it wouldn't be the lalst trouble in
,ce crame8 and hl8 gherblts, and his
swale-cakes, and I'll give the boy'
'
-omethlng fit to alt : the . next day some-
tnIn lstantlal tUnt'll make hlin for-
get ne was ever nungry among mim
yaller dwarfs that he wlnt out to
tache."
n(j n0w the ngnt na(j come when
hIg arrval wa8 anxiously expected,
h M agsenlble nnd nt
. . . .
P"?1" f0OtS, "
aVisinf fhro ha la" hnt na tho onnnil
--
passed and died away in the distance,
there were little sighs of dlsappolnt-
ment from brothers, sisters and cousins,
.ni the comnanv returned to their
-omewhat forced merriment honing
ithaf tha tm flftppn mInntM
would bring a welcome ring of the door
bell. Nine o'clock came, and the ex
pected prodigal son, as some one so
Jocosely called him, did not appear.
"Oh, these Western trains are al-
ways late the night before a holiday,"
I said Uncle Arthur, who bad been a
"and - great traveler and knew all about the
haps and mishaps of railroad wnnage
I. L ment. '
great traveler and knew all about the
I "So they are, so they are," echoed
Sam's father, who hnd never been a
hundred miles from bis native city, and
could no more decipher a time-table
than he could read hieroglyphics on a
pyramid.
And "So they are, so they are," mur
mured every one else, though the fes
tivities In which they were engaged
seemed like the play of "Hamlet" with
the Danish prince left out.
Ten o'clock struck and still the ab
sent oue had not returned.
"rerbnps he won't come until morn
ing," remarked Mrs. Moulton. "Of
course be did not know you would all
be here, and he may have stayed over
tn New York to see some old college
chums.'
"That wouldn't be a bit like Sam."
returned his father. "He's a good deal
like me. When be says he'll do a thin?,
he does it."
"Yes, he's a chip of the old block,"
whispered one of Sam's sisters, "though
father did promise to mall a letter for
me last month, and kept It In his pocket
for a week."
"Well," asked Sam's younger brother
Tom, "why can't we begin on the eat
ables? The toe cream has been dished
lip this half hour, and It wilt be only
fit to drink. U we wait much longer."
LAUD.
lair the n.ght in Bethlem land,
Sweet the songs of angel band;
Fall snow so lightly I
Jesu, born of Mary maid.
In an oxen-stall was laid.
O star, shine brightly!
Three men rode from out the wild.
Came to greet the Christmas Child,
Fall snow so lightly I
Caspar, Melchior, Baltasar,
Magian pilgrims from afar.
O star, shine brightly I
Rustic shepherds in a row,
Knelt beside the cradle low ;
Fall snow so lightly!
Told of all the angel song
They had heard their sheep among.
O star, shine brightly !
Spice and myrrh and gold of kings, w
Offerings rare of far-brought things;
Fall snow so lightly!
Gold for joy and myrrh
Frankincense for altar.
O star, shine brightly!
Nowell, Nowell, sing we all,
Jesu, save our souls from thrall t
Fall snow so lightly!
Goodwill comes from God above
To all those who Christmas love
O star, shine brightly !
"I never saw such a hungry boy In
my life," said Aunt Prlscilla from the
country. "When he comes up to the
arm be keeps me baking all the time.
I call him the great American pie
eater." "Yes, he's one of the kind you'd
rather board for a week than a fort
night," said Mr. Thurston.
"Oh, I don't begrudge him what he
puts into his stomach, but If he doesn't
end up by becoming a confirmed dys
peptic, my name is not Prlscilla."
"All right, Aunty," answered Tom.
"'Sufficient unto the day Is the evil
thereof.' Just take my arm and I'll
show you how a fashionable caterer
spreads a feast at so much a plate.
I'm not allowed to give the price, but
It's enormous, like my appetite."
There was a general movement to
ward the dining-room nt this, as the
hostess and Uncle Arthur led the way,
and soon the edibles began to disappear
before the attacks of the guests whose
hunger had been sharpened by delay.
Eleven o'clock rang out from a neigh
boring steeple and still no Sam.
"Too bad, too bad," murmured
Grandmother White, who had sat up
long past her usual hour- for retiring.
"I knew something disagreeable was
going to happen. I dreamed that I lost
a tooth last night, and that always
means misfortune."
"I didn't know she had one to lose,"
remarked Tom behind his napkin. "I
thought all her masticators were
bouglrten on a plate."
. And the old lady, oblivious of the fact
that her personal belongings were be
ing criticized, went on to relate how a
dream of hers had once come true, and
got her hearers into such a melancholy
condition that they neglected the good
things spread before them, when sud
denly to counteract the prevailing
gloom, Dick Chester exclaimed : "Here's
to the health of my old schoolmate,
Sam Thurston," and followed up the
tonst by starting the chorus, "For he's
a Jolly good fellow." This was In full
blast when a cry outside hushed the
song Into silence. It was piercing, In
sistent, often repeated, and bore this
message :
"Extra Evening , Mercury, train
wrecked on the T. and W. road; all the
passengers believed to have been
killed." The people around the board
sat with blanched faces. No one dared
speak until Mrs. Thurston sobbed:
"That's the train my poor boy was
on."
The father said nothing. He put on
his hat and went out Into the night, he
knew not where. He only felt that he
must do something, bring some light out
of the darkness, some hope out of de
spair. Tom followed him, for men must
act while women weep.
And the girls gathered around the
stricken mother, and one of them -crept
closer than all others and said :
CHRISTMAS ARMY EN KOUTE TO STOCKINQVILLE.
'It is not true, It Is not trae!"
But still the cry of disaster, now
growing fainter and fainter, was heard
along the frozen streets, nnd even the
late revellers from the closed saloons
hushed their noisy ribaldry ns the mes
sage of death was borne upon the air
to their dulled and bewildered1 senses,
and one cried :
"Shut up, fellows! It may be our
turn next, so let us respect the poor
chaps that are gone. They may have
been better men than we with people
to love and care for."
Then with uncertain steps they went
on silent as the tomb to the poor den in
some cheap lodging-house that they
called home.
Within the house there were tears
where there should have been laughter.
and the poor words of comfort and sym
pathy, though well meant, seemed com
monplace in the face of a great sorrow.
Twelve shocks of sound came dismal
ly across the square, yet no one in that
little group wished another a "Merry
Christmas."
Up the plank-walk of the yard at the
last stroke there was a sound of heavy
footsteps crunching the snow, and then
a pull at the bell. All this was omi
nous In the stillness of this early morn
ing, and each one hesitated to answer
the summons, until, at last, the girl
who was nearest to the weeping mother
arose to meet whatever evil was to
come.
The door swung back and then a Joy
ous voice cried:
"Why, Faith, are you here?"
"And la It really you, Sam?" came In
answer, as two young figures were
locked In a long embrace.
"Oh, stop that nonsense," shouted
Tom, gleefully, who was behind with
his father. "Let somebody else have a
chance to welcome the returning hero.
Here's mother."
And then Sam had his arms around
the little woman who had given him
birth, and Mr. Thurston exclaimed:
"That's right, my boy. You can have
lots of girls, but only one mother."
Then some one said "Merry Christ
mas," and the shout went from one to
another as they thought of the God-man
who had raised the widow's son from
the dead. '
"It seems like a miracle," said the
grandmother, when she came in for her
share of the unexpected greeting.
"Oh, there Is nothing miraculous
about my being here now," said Sam.
"I missed the train on the 'T. and W.,'
and had to take one two hours later on
the 'X. and V.' "
"Well, Providence was watching over
my boy, anyway," said the mother, as
Faith sat down at the piano and began
a Christmas carol with the words : "Un
to thee a child is born."
New Year's Et, HiSS P. M.
He rose to go. 'Twas New Year's eve.
"One kiss," he begged, "my. dear.".
She coyly said, "You cannot have
Another kiss THIS year."
' Trees on the Tables. -
For the royal family in Germany
Christmas trees are placed upon tables
of different heights. That for the Em- '
peror is the highest, the Empress' table
is. next In size, and the smallest is for
the baby of the family. Carp Is served
for the Imperial dinner, a traditional
dish for the Christmas feast throughout
Germany. 1 k
'Friendly Advice. ;
"Can you suggest something for mi
to get for my wife for Christmas?" he
ssked of the shopkeeper.
"You'd better get her a box of cigars,
I expect," said the shopkeeper. "She
was in here this morning and bought a
lace parasol for you." Baltimore
American.
MM,w's