6 THE BEDFORD SIAJL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON, MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 1910. J THE PERFUME OF 1 THE LADY IN BLACK .5 iy GASTON LEH0VX, Author of "The Mystery of the Yollow Room," Copyright, 1000, by llrclnno's CHAPTER VII A Keen Rofuc and a Quaint Crnnk. .a 1 N hour later wo wen nil at our I A I l018- pacing tilunr iiio imin- Jiots In the uiooullglit. keeping 1 ' close wntcli. Miue. Edith, who SHU that she eoulil uot sleep, came out and talked to Kouletabille at his iwsturu. lie called tue. placed uie In charge of his posteru and of Mrs. Itauce and made his rounds. The fair Edith was In the most charming hu mor. "It's the funniest thing I ever heard of," she exclaimed. "How 1 wish 1 knew your Larsan! I'm suro I should adore him." 1 shuddered at the words she utter ed so lightly. Ah. It the unhappy girl bad only realized what tras to come! 1 spent two delightful hours with Mme. Edith, durlag tho greater part of which I related to her some facta regarding the history of Larsan-Ball-moyer. some of which had been suffi cient to make it doubtful whether a till lived at the time that he appeared to play so unexpected a part in "The Mystery of the Yellow Room." As this man'a powers will now be seen to extend to heights which some may believe Inaccessible, i Judge it to be my duty to prepare the mind of the reader to admit iu the end that 1 am ouly the transcriber of an affair the like of which never has been known before and that I hare invented noth ing. I will refer those who believe In 'actual records to the stenographic re ports of the trial at Versailles. And it must not be forgotten that before destiny had brought Lursau-Uallmeyer and Joseph Rouleubllle into contact the elegantly mannered bandit bad given considerable trouble to the au thorities. We have only to open the tiles of the Gazette lea Trlbuncaux and to read the account of the day when Larsan was condemned by the court of assizes to ten years at bard labor to be assured on this score. Then one Vlll refrain from smiling because Jo seph Rouletabllle placed a drawbridge between Larsan-Batlmeyer and Ma thildc Oarzac. Ballmeyer did not become a crimi nal because driven to evil doing tij poverty and misery. The son of n rtfh broker in the Rue Mo lay. he might have chosen any vocation, but bis pre ferred calling was to lay bunds upon the money of other people. Be decid ed to become a swindler, just as an- jotber lad might baye decided to be come au engineer. His debut was a stroke of genius. Ballmeyer stole a letter addressed to bis father contain- -IfiS aJ'SJ BUCU L P?oncy. Ho took the train for Lyons and wrote his parent as. follows: Monsieur I am an old soldier, retired and with a medal of honor. Mr son. a pootofllce clerk, has stolen In the malls a letter addressed to you and containing money to pay a cambllnc debt. 1 have called the members of tbs family togeth er In a few days vra shall be able to rulte the aum necessary to repay you. You are a father. Have ptty upon a fa ther. Do not tiring me down In sorrow and shame to my grave. M. Ballmeyer willingly granted the petition. He Is still waiting for his Hful remittance, or, rather, bo has ceased to expect it. for the law ap prised him tep years ago of the idea--Uly of the culprit While be was doing military duty Ballmeyer stolo bis companion's box and accused the captain. Ho commit ted a theft of 40,000 francs from the liaison Furet and immediately after ward denounced,. M. Iftaret as baring, stolen it himself. Jiallmeycr appropriated a draft for 0,000 Uvres sterling from tho messen ger of Messrs. Furet .Bros., who were notehrokers In the Rue I'olssonlere and who allowed him desk room In their otUccs. ne went to the Rue Polssonlere, into the bouse of M. Furet and, imitat ing tho voice of M. Edouard Furet, nuked over the telephone of M. Coben, u banker, whether be would be will- lug to discount the draft. M. Coben repnea in me umrmauve, ana leu min utes later Rollraoyer, after baring cut the telepboao wire to prevent fur ther communication and possible ex planation, sent for the money by a companion named Rlgaud. Ballmeyer kept the lion's share for himself. Then be rushed to the court to denounce Rlgaud and, as 1 havo said. M. Furet himself. A dramatic scene took placo when accuser aud accused were confronted with cuch other lu the cabinet of M. Esplerre, the Judge. '"You know, my dear Furet," said Ballmeyer to the amazed broker, "you must tell the justice the truth. You uoed nut fear serious consequences. Why uot confoss? Xou needed -10.000 francs to pay u little debt incurred at the ruce truck, aud you Intended to pay buck the sum. it was you who telephoned V" i'J! I!" utummered M. Edouard Fu ret. almost breathless with rage and astonishment. 'You may as well confess," said linlluieyer. ".No oho could mlstuko ygTur volco " The bold thief was detected wltlilu olght duys nnd was caught, and the police furnished such u report upon him that M. Oruppl, then attorney gi-uerul, ihhv minister of coiiiniei-fi. piv.culcKl to M, Knret 'he mum hum ble excuses of hc department of Jus tice. Rlgaud was also tried and cou doiuDtd to twenty years nt hard labor. I One illicit go on relntlng this kind of stories about Ballmeyer ludellnltely. Known nt various times us the Count do Mottcvllle, Comte de Bonneville, etc., he frequented the summer re sorts nud waterlug places Hlarrlts. I Ati-lcs-Buitis, Luchou, losing In play at the club as much as 10,000 francs in one evening. In his regiment he had made n conquest happily platontc of the colonel's daughter. Do you know the type now? Well, it wps with this man that Jo seph RouletanUle was going to tight. I thought that morning 'hat 1 haft sufficiently informed Mme Edith lu regard to the personality of the bandit. The night passed without any event. When the day dawned I saluted It with a deep sigh of relief. Roulctn bllle was already In the midst of the workmen, laboring actively in repair ing tho broaches of the tower B. The work was done so expeditiously and so promptly that the strong Chntenu of Hercules was .soon scaled ns her metically close as It waa possible for a building to be. Seated on a big bowl dor In the bright sunlight. Roulctn-! bllle began to draw upon his notebook the plan which 1 have submitted to the reader, and he said: i "You see. these people believe that I am fortifying the place to defend my self. Well, that Is merely a small part of the truth, for 1 am fortifying tho place because reason bids me do so in order that Larsan cannot get in." When I heard a knock at my door about 11 o'clock in the morning and the voice of Mere Bernler told me their work, which woa yielding great results. Discovert lu the prlrate grounds of M, Abbo. owuer of tho res taurant of the Grotto of Burma Grande, proved that primeval man bad lived there before the glacial epoch, 200,000 years ngo. The Ranees eagerly entered luto these antiquarian researches. Mrs. Ruucc, being of a romantic turn, took a violent faucy to tho rulnod castle nud persuaded her husband to buy It. While it was being made habitable Ruuce telegraphed and wrotu to her uncle. Old Bob, ,vho was then bono digging tu I'ntngoula. The messages uever reached hm, for Old Bob, who had previously promised to Join his ncphrw and niece ufter they had been married for awhile, had ulrcady takon tho steamer for Europe. Evidently re port had already brought to him the story of the treasures of the Rochers , Rouges. A Tew days after the cable had beeu dispatched he landed at Mar seilles aud arrived at Mentone, where in. iiiH'iutip tho cumiutnlon of Arthur , Ruuce and his wife In the Chateau of ; Hercules, which . his very presence seemed to till with life aud gnyety. Thi ctivetr of Old Bob appeared to i us u little theatrical, but that feeling , arose without doubt from the effects I of our upprvueustuua of the eveulng before. The Old Bob hnd the soul of a child. He was as much of a co quette aa au old woman. Mrs. Banco presented him to us, and he uttered a few polite phrases, after which be opened his wide mouth in a great hearty laugh. Ho was jubilant, and wo were soon to learn tho reason why. He had brought back from his visit to tho Museum of Parts tho ccr- tatnty that the skeleton of the Barm a Instantaneous Gas Lights I! 211 W. Main J. W. Whitney Phone 1082 i THE ROGUE RIVER LAND COMPANY NO. 11 NORTH CENTRAL AVENUE Offers an especially irood foothill orchard for u low nrieo and on good tonus. In theso days oi! advancing prices, ic win ny 10 ioorc 11110 muh, It pays to deal with tho "Man Who Knows." Whou tho ltoguo .River Land Company sold tho TroiiBon & Guthrie orchard at Eaglo Point to tho prize winning owners, four years ago, the salesman, v. M. Holmes, assured tho purchasers thoso Spitzonhorgtrees would produeo tho world's best apples, and subsequent ovonts prove tho soundness of his judgment. TJy tho way: Did it over occur to you that most of tho mon who havo won out in tho Roguo River Valloy, bought their win ning orchards through tho Roguo Rivor Land Com pany? W. M. Holmes, Manager, is always at your sorvico for a, good buy. I "HEBE IT IS, IT IS OLD BOB'S SKULL. LOOK AT ITl" that Rouletablllc wanted me to get up 1 threw my window wide open and looked out In delight. Never had nature appeared to me more sweet. The serene air. the beau tlful shore, the balmy sea. the purple mountains, all this picture to which my northern senses were bo little ac customed, evoked In my mind the thought of some tender, caressing bu man being. As these thoughts passed through my mind I noticed a man who was lashing the sea. I could, not un derstand what bad excited bis wrath in this tranquil spot, but be evidently felt that he had some serious cause for Yezatlon, for he never ceased his blows. At this point 1 was Interrupted by the voice of Rouletabllle. who told me that breakfast was nearly ready itoule tabllle appeared In the garb of n plasterer, bis clothing showing fresh mortar. 1 asked him whether be bad seen the man who was beating the wa ter, and be told me that It was Tulllo who was frightening the fishes to drive them Into his nets. It was for this reason, 1 realized, that Tulllo bad ob tained the nickname of the "hangman of the sea." Rouletabllle went on to tell me that be bad asked Tulllo that morning about the stranger whom be bad rowed about in his bout the night before. Tulllo bad replied that be had no knowledge whatever of whom the man might be; that be was a crazy sort of fellow whom be bad taken in as a pas senger at Mentone. I dressed myself quickly and Joined Rouletabllle, who told me that we wero to have a new guest at luncheon In the person of OKI Bob. Old Bob made his uppeorauco. And let me suy It; let me say It hare It was not this apporltion which could have turned our thoughts toward any thing dark or gloomy. I have rareJy seen uuytbiug more droll than Old Bob wulklug lu the bllndlug' suu of the springtime lu the Midi, with a tallshut of black beaver, his bluck trouvers, his black spectacles, bU whltu hair and bis rosy cheek. Ves, yes, we sat there and laughed In tbo Tower of Charles the Bold. And Old Boh laughed with us, for Old Bob was as gay as u child. Whut was this old uavaut dolug at the Castle of Hercules? Why did he quit his work uud precious collection lu I'hlludelphluV 'At the time of his lufutuatlon-for the daughter of M. Stungersou. Arthur Runco was rcgurded by American u enlists us the rising uutbrupuloglKt. Ills hubtseqtn-nt uiurrl.e lu Ik. I'reseott revived his enthusiasm for re search, which she shared. When thoj visited the region of Rochers Rouges the leading scientists of France were moving the government to promote Grande wus uo more ancient than the ( one which be had discovered in bis , last expedition to Tlerra del Puego. : Mme. Edltb bad the unklnducsa to 1 interrupt the Jubilations of her uncle by announcing to him that Prince ' Galltcb,, wbo bad purchased the Urotto of Romeo nnd Juliet at Rochers Rouges, must have made so mo sensa tional discovery, for Bbe bad seen him tbe very morning of Old Bob's dopar- j turo for Paris passing by tbe Fort of J3eccul.esl carrying unijer his arm a Jit- tie box, which he "had touched n he went by, calling out to her. "Seo, Mrs. Rancc. I have found a treasurer' Ho walked on. laughing, with tho remark that be would have a surprise for Old Bob on bis return. And later sbo bad boatd that Prince Galltcb had do ctored that ho bad discovered "tbo oldest skull In tbe history of tho bu- , man race." i Every vestige of gayety fled from Old Bob's face aud manner.' Ula voice was husky with passion as' ho ex- ; claimed: i "That is an Infernal lie! Tbo oldest i skull In all history Is Old Bob's skull. I Do you understand me? It is Old j Bob's skull." "Mattonl. Mnttont: Bring my trunk ' at once!" he cried. I Almost as soon as the words were spoken we saw Mattonl crossing the Court of Cburle tbe Bold with Old Bob's trunk on his shoulder. Old Bob took his bunch of keys, got down on his knees and opemtd tbe box. ITrom this receptacle ht took a harbor, and from tbe bntbor he drew out a skull, which be placed in the mldOla of tbe tablet "The oldest skull In tbe history of immunity!" he echoad. "Hero It is! It is Old Bob's skull! -Ixxik at It! Ob, 1 can tell you. Old Dob never goes any. where without bis skull 1" (To bo continued.) QC all automobiles used Jn the Roguo Rivor Valley for the past four years, the BUICR has given best service and proved most satisfactory to owners. oJid for livery service. It is the car for this uoMitry, liifht wcght. high pow er, low price. There may be as good cars, but i.over will any one, anywhere, any time produce a better one. The Buick holds more world's records than any car on earth. Consider BUICK quality, theu look nt a Huick price. Buick 20 (White Streak) $1100 Bujck 30 $1550 Buick 40 ..$1900 Buick 50 (seven-passenger) $2900 All prices f. o. b. Portland. Get immediate deliv eries while you can. Medford Buick Co. Txm Velle, Manager SOUTH RIVERSIDE AVE., NEXT MERRIMAN'S BLACKSMITH SHOP. Resolved . That with the beginning of the New Year, I will trade where I receive the greatest value for my money In other words sRex Mai k et Huth & Pech Props. Phone 3271 l CAW) OF THANKS. On behalf of tho Medford Comnior clal club tho secretary wishes to ex pross thanks to tho firms and busi ness mon who havo so kindly doiatcd copies of tho Mall Trlbuno'u special Now Yonr's edition to tho office. Thoy nro being profitably employed as ad vertising mattor. About 300 havo alroudy boon distributed ovor tho United States, and each dny another list goes out. It Ib probably snfo to say that by this tlmo oyory stato In tho Union Is harboring sotnowhoro within Its boundary lino nt least ono copy of tho Medfc-d Mall Trlhuno. TIIH MEDFOItD COMMERCIAL CLUB. HAL 0. CONRAD, Secretary. Baker's vs. Home Made Bread Wo have home-made bread. "Which would you rather eat, home-made or bakers? A foolish question to ask, for most people would bo willing to pay twice the price for home-made bread tjiey pay for baker's, but you can buy tho good old-fashioned home made bread at the Rex Grocery for the same price as baker's. Large, well browned loaves, both nourishing and palatable, and baked .from the best flour in the city. "Yakima Best," Take a loaf homo with you and be con- -vinced. Rex Grocery Co. Best Groceries At Prices Strictly in Keeping with the Quality of Our Stock which is Unexcelled A Trial will Convince You Allen Reagan The Square Deal Grocers Savoy Theatre TONIGHT A CORNER IN WHEAT (A PICTF FUN) ',, lv.THE COUNT'S WOOING (A C0M0RIAL EDITORIAL) ;i(JiMR. AND MRS. DUFF (FULL 0EDY) ONE DIME. REAL ESTATE Farm Land Timber Land Orchard Land Residences City Lots Orchards and Mining Claims Medford Realty Co Room 10, Jackson County Bank Building