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Show IEIPEiEIOEl OF I. L (MM, EK1EF OF PAIS iETEOTllf ' Edited by Albert Keyser 1 I The5oiree atto Rue de Prony mm) (Edilor'B Note I made M. Goron s ac- nualnlance some years ago, and wan at mM once struck with his extraordinary pow-mmM pow-mmM crs of observation, hlfi kecn-wlttcdness. mMm and his devouring energy in the discharge mm of his difficult duties. For it must bo re-mm re-mm mcmbcred that tho chief of the Pam do-mWt do-mWt tectivo police wIcldB enormous power and is allowed a certain discretion axcopt or course, -when a crime haa been committed iH to save innocent persons tho disgrace of HI a. public scandul. A few months ago I was Hmoklng a mm pipe in his study, a room hung with tro-mMa tro-mMa phlca a museum of crime. I saw Mm Ml take up a thick leather-bound volume, , the OIM pages covered with writing, with here and there portraitB and curious-looking HI drawings. "This is my diary." ho began. WmM but suddenly stopped when ho Baw mo IHj fit art. , j, . IH "Yes, It Is my diary." ho repeated: Twt H wjiaOa the trouble?" . . IHw "Your diary? And you never thought IH f'oI,1Shelffretorted with a smile; "the H fact Is, here aro my impressions, and certain facts " HBfl I did not even know tho end or the sen- mM tence; I took up the book and began H reading at once; und the more I read tho H more I marveled. The next morning we commenced work, and thla series is tho H result. A. X.) I 27 MY journal, whon I note the many strange incidents in which I have played a part, there are h paces on which I do not like to dwell. No. T. do not car to glauco on these pages finishing in a note of iH interrogation, somber dramas of which EH 1 have known oniy the first tw0 nets hceause tho principal personages car-mmm car-mmm ricd tho remainder of tho story witn MEl them into the tomb. Tlieso cases have K caused me much worry and trouble, mM and one in particular, entered in my mWl journal as tho "Soirco at tho Rue do Prony." r H We have iu Pans a large colony pi IH Spaniards from South America Unl-H Unl-H ians, Venezuelans and others, as a mm rule enormously rich, They are pleas- lire seekers, loud in their dress, noisy mM in their ostentatious and vain, UM scattering their money broadcast, to j the deliclit of the Paris tradesmen and Hj restaurateurs. Somo of them stay mm onjv one season, disappearing as sud-WmTA sud-WmTA denly as thev came; while others to-M to-M main definitely, and in tho course or. mmM time rid themselves of thjo exotic ex-,Bj ex-,Bj ubcranco that jars so much on the jH Parisian. . mm The people 1 shall call . "Domin- aucz" had taken a charming little MB house iu the Rue de Prony, and, short IBM lv after their arrival, gave an enter- Itninmcut at which ouc hundred and fortv people were present. The proceedings pro-ceedings wero begun by a concert, followed fol-lowed by a supper, after -which they danced, and a room had been set apart for baccarat. They made a gToat noiso, enioved themselves hugely, and the Inst, "truest did not leave until past six in the morning. When .Monsieur and Madame Domin-cues Domin-cues went to their bedroom an un-pleasant un-pleasant surprise awaited them. Tho safe in the dressing room had been broken open, and everything in the ivav of money, jewelry and valuable I0BJI documents abstracted. HH The next morning M. Dommguez's and was brought to mo while I was n breakfasting and I at once went to mm ",eot llim- Ie was verv e?cltS" , flBj began bv upbraiding tho police for not mm lookiuc after his property: then he bi'came a little calmer and asked me H to accompany him to his house. HU M. Dominguez had a large face HBj burnt by the sun, deep-sot eyes and a mm of looking sideways, a cunning BH look that did not impress me iavor- 9B ablv. His brougham was at the door H aud we were not long reaching the Jl Hue de Prony. BJI Fortunately, nothing had been dis- HJM iurbed there, and we went at once to Uj the dressing room, where wc found flBH madame standing with n rueful face before the open safe. No doubt was HH noHsible; it was the work of an artisl Jmm in the profession, a man with a sure H In ml. who had not -wasted time over !HH tho business. Jl M. Dominguez -was cj'oing mo cun H "Well, M. Goron?" he said. Jl "Tips whs not the work of a begin- W ncr. ,; T replied. M "I am clever enough to seo that, BH too," he remarked with a laugh. Then, Imm after a pause: "The thief must be found, M. Goron, do 3'ou understand? He must be found. Do not let expense stnnd in the way; T am prepared to put down at once any sum thut may be required." If M. Dotilinguez oxpected a reply he -was disappointed for I continued to make n careful investigation of the room in the hope of finding a clow. The thief, however, had not left what the police, with us. call a "visiting -ard" some trifle that might help in the pearch. "Was any one in charge of the upstairs up-stairs rooms during the evening?" I asked madame. "Yes, one of the maids." "Please send for her." The maid came, looking very scared, and, nfter a deluge of tears,' told me that several ladies had been in the dressing room after supper "to put a little powder on," but that no gentleman gen-tleman had gone there. "Wcro you upstairs all the even-"No, even-"No, sir; the greater part of the ovening I was helping tho other sor-ant sor-ant girls get supper ready. Resides, T had no idea that that " and a fresh torrent of tears followed. Evidently she knew nothing, and I sent her about her business. "Did vou notice anything displaced or disturbed when 3'ou entered tho dressing room this morning?" was uiv next question. J "No," retorted madame, "no; or. J rather, yes. This porcelain cup, and J tho ivory paper cutter that aro nl- Jg ways on the cafe had been placed on PHBJ that chair near the bed." PHV ,,The thief, whoever he was, had han- DBB died these articles, nnd the3' now be- 1 came objects of interest. The cup did DUB not preEent any remarkable features. IH except that the thin coating of dust HB9B ! J,llot, "Peak a well-regulated house- HMB hold. Then came thn turn of the paper H cutter, a largo affair with an enor- rnous monogram and there, on the BOH white ivory, was a small pinkish stain. NHHj To an acute observer, every detail PHJ is of importance, und I firs't asked M ,no husband and then tho wifo whether HM they had ever noticed tho stain. Thev DnMS hotb looked at it carefully and shook HjHIg their heads. No, thoj- had no recollec- fflnflMS tion of having ever seen it, but, of pjrO course, it might havo boen there beforc- M f had to be satisfied with that state- V ?3 ment. Jnd asked permission to take ,ty f,)j the papfer knife with me. i I felt convinced that tho robbory had. been committed by one of the guests; and inquired how inauy pcoplo tlioy had entertained. "One hundred and forty-two, "Kindly givo me tho names. Madams went to fetch the list and handed it to me. I countod the names, there wero sixty-three. "Where aro thu others?" , Mndamo turned red and then said: 1 "You see, M. Goron, wo have not been long in Paris, and 1 gave my friends blank invitation cards, which they filled up and sent to people among their own sot." "Then vou don't know oven tho names of the romainiug sevcntv-nino who spent the evening with youf "Well, no; I remember perhaps halt a dozen, but not tho others." Things did not look promising. Wo entered the drawing room, which looked like a battlefield tho dav aftor the fight. Several of the small cilt chairs wero brnkon, the china vases had been smashed, and there was a big tear in one of the palo yellow yel-low curtains. When Dominguez saw this devastation devasta-tion his temper, nover the most equable, equa-ble, apparently, again got tho better of him. , , "Dios mio!" he shouted, "there's a night's entertainment; a fine expensive expen-sive evoning. Everything smashed and throe hundrod thousand francs' worth of property stolon!" His ej-o wandered around the room till H rested on the piano, and ho burst out afresh. "Look at my Erard!" ho gasped. I looked and felt sorry both for tho man and for the Erard. Punch, champagne, cham-pagne, lemonade, every refreshment served had left a mark on the instrument, instru-ment, without reckoning the scratches and knocks, of -which it bore numerous Why did I not follow -M. Dominguez' when ho -walked to the door to conduct con-duct me to the dining room? Why did I sit down on tho music stool boforo that ill-used piano? I cannot tell. All 1 know is that I gazed at thn greasy, smudgy kcy and that suddenly I felt something "like an electric shock. For, there, on one of tho kevs, in the higher high-er notes, was a slight pinkish stain, similar to the one on the paper knife. I opened the window behind me to let in as much light as possible, and carefully compared the two small spots through the magnifying glass T always al-ways carry -with me. No, I was not mistaken, and I knew instinctively I had made a discovery that might help mo materially. The thief had, aftor all. loft his "visiting card" and ifc was now for me to decipher his name. This scene had not lasted a niiuutc, nnd I caught M. Dominguez in the hall as ho was turning back to sec what had become of me. "Still no clue. M. Goron?" asked the master of the house, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "Still no clue," a retorted, "but 1 havo a fow questions to ask 3'ou. Who were the people -who performed on the niano last night?" Madame fumbled about somo papers and handed mo the programme of the musical portion of the Boirce. There was a pianist, a violinist, a prima donna from tho Opera Comique and t.woj, Montmartre singers, all -well-known aritsts. "Now," I said, "I want to know who played after the concert, and whether you engaged a pianist for the dances." "No. wo had no professional. The dance was impromptu and the gentlemen gentle-men took turns at the piano." "Can you give me tho names of these gentlemen?" "The names?" repeated madamo. "Tho names let mo think a moment. No, T. only know one. M. de G. . He played a lot. The four others had como to tho house for the first time and I did not know thorn. Do you remember re-member any, Enrique?" Enrique could not enlighten me. Mv task for the moment was finished. fin-ished. Before going away I asked for a complete list of the stolen articles. These comprised a quantitj' of valuable valu-able jewelry bracelets, pendants, rings, securities and s'ome documents which M. Dominguez assured me were of greater importance to him than the money. Tho master of tho house nccompanied me to the street door, and putting out his hhnd, repeated his former remark: "The thief must bo found, M. Goron. Spare neither money nor trouble." As ho -was opening the door I tumod suddenly around. "Do vou suspect anybody, M. Do-mingucz?' Do-mingucz?' He hesitated a moment before replying. re-plying. "No. Tf -wo were in Caracas T might perhaps give a shrewd guess. But tho man I am thinking of is a fow thousand thou-sand miles away.'" "You may as well tell me what is in your mind," I insisted. "It might help mo in ray search." ne eyed me curiously for a moment. "No," he almost snarled, "it is no use. It would only put you on the wrong track." And ho closed tho door. I had no reason to be dissatisfied with my morning's work. Tho robber, rob-ber, I felt certain, had been committed hj one of the guests at tho soiree, and. if the stains on the piano could ho relied upon, by one who, having plavcd a few waltzes, had stolen upstairs, up-stairs, broken open the safe, and departed, de-parted, not knowing that he had loft his mark first on tho instrument and nfterward on the paper cutter. And the more T examined the pink stain tho more T felt convinced that it -was the traco of a slightly cut or grazed finger. The ense was of too delicate a nature na-ture to intrust it to an- of mv subordinates. subor-dinates. I inysolf had to fo"rgo the chain from the ono link I hoped I possessed, pos-sessed, and my first step was to send for M. de G , whose address Madame Mad-ame Dominguez had given me. M- do G , who belonged to a yery wealthy and highly esteemed family, replied promptly to my call He had heard of the robbcrv, and I led tho conversation on the Domin-gticzcs. Domin-gticzcs. "I,do not know much about them,'-' bp said, laughingly; "they arc now ar-rivals, ar-rivals, and. T am told very rich. Madame Dominguez was introduced to ono of my aunts, and, as sho was iu want. of young men she sent me an invitation in-vitation with the request to bring whom I liked. T never saw such a noisy gathering. Some of tho men were really too bnd." "You worked vorv hard " Maid, "aud presided owr the piano?' I "Well, not exactly. I did my share, but others, too, banged away as hard as I did." "Who were tho others?" Up. grinned at me a moment. "Do you, also, want to give a soiree, M. Goron? Tf so, don't engage any of that crowd becauso they havo no respect for pianos. But to tell you the truth, I only know ono, a painter. I don ft Jcnow where ho lives, but he goes every night to Duval's, Placo do la Madeleine." "Will 3'on do me the kindness to dine with mo thcro this evening?" f asked. "With pleasure," ho retorted, and that same night wo wore in the well-known well-known "Bouillon,'' waiting for the painter-pianist. Mr .young friend kept a careful watch, and S o'clock had struck when he cried out: i "Hurrah I thoro ho is. And but that's reall' fnnnj-. You aro in luck, M. Goron. Do 3fou boo the chap he is with? He, too, was ono of the musical mu-sical ornaments ot the soiree." Even before looking at tho two 3'oung men I was convinced that neither neith-er of them was Ykay to bo tho burglar. bur-glar. With duo respect to M. Duval's Du-val's cuisine, .1. must sa that a man possessed of f00,000 fraucs will dine at Paillard's or Vois-in's and not at the "Bouillon," This theory, of course, cannot be applied to honest people, with whom wealth docs not exclude stinginess, but with criminals it holds good. We waited till tho two gentlcmon had finished their dinner and put on their hats, when M. do G went up and introduced them, to mo, and T invited in-vited them to accompan' mo to a neighboring cafe. Thoy wero all deeply deep-ly interested in the robbery, and during dur-ing five minutes T patiently listened to their jokes. M. de G suspected suspect-ed the butler, whom, he said, a' iury would convict without leaving tho box. only by looking at his face. The painter, a skeptic, was of tho opinion that it was a fake of, Doniin-rruez's Doniin-rruez's to make himself look interesting; interest-ing; aud his companion, a studont from tho Latin quarter, said the po-lico po-lico ought to compel Dominguez to write over his door something like Dante's inscription ovor tho gates of Hades: "Leavo 3'our watches behind, you who onter." When my young friends had exhausted ex-hausted their wit I turned tho conversation con-versation in other channels. Tn reply re-ply to m3' question, the painter informed in-formed mc that he knew another man who had obliged tho company with dances at the Dominguez soiree, and, aftor a fow more jokes about the interest in-terest I took in these amateur musicians, mu-sicians, he promised to bring tho other man to mo tho next morning. Of the five who, according to madam, mad-am, had succeeded ono another on tho music stool, I had so far found three: but the culprit was not among them, and overrthing depended on what the next day would bring. Punctually at olevon tho painter was ushered ;nto my offico, followed b' a uinetocn-year-old, fair haired boy, the son of a rich widow, ver' nervous and awkward, who dropped his hat and stick half a dozen times in the space i of five minutes. There -was little of 1 the oxpert burglar about him. Ycb, he, too. had struck up two waltzes and a quadrille, but he had left early when ho found it was getting a bit rowdjr. There remained, therefore, only ono player, and if ho was like those T had thus far seen. m thcor', based on the two stains, fell to tho ground. 1 roauested tho four to meet that afternoon af-ternoon in my office, and then asked them whether, thoy could not remember remem-ber who their fifth colleague was. They began by shaking their heads. And thou the painter, decidedly the smartest among them, called out: "Hold hard! There was a tall chap, rather military looking." "With an 'aquilino nose and black mustache." interrupted M. de G . 'Ho played somo pretty waltzoB," piped the fair-haired youth. None of them knew his name, but they especially (.he painter gavo mc his exact portrait. T thanked them, aud returned to the Rue do Pronv. The Dominguezes, husband and wife, vaguely remembered the tall man with tho aquilino nose, but he was a stranger to them. I, therefore, gavo Madame Dominguez tho man's minuto description, and boggedi her to go to- her friends to whom sho had given blank invitations, and seo whether sho could obtain tho desired information. informa-tion. Unfortunately, it led to no result. bhe had been to evory house, and no ono knew the man wanted. I consulted one of my inspectors, who spoke Spanish and was well ac-ciuainted ac-ciuainted with tho foreign colonv in Paris, but he could not throw any light on the subject. A week passed. I had not mado a step forward, and number five remained invisible. It is all very well for a man to havo faith in his powers, but those of my colleagues who read these lines will agree with mo that a de-toctive de-toctive relics as much on chance as on skill. r iTi 1,ad A)CI1,n, nel'evo that the fickle goddess had deserted mo. when on baturday morning something extraordinary ex-traordinary occurred. 1 had gone to the fair in the Place du Trono to mako an inquiry about a caso in which T was interested. T wa? lighting mv cigarette behind Madame Zazas booth when a whispering whisper-ing conversation botweeu a woman and a man fell unon my ears, and T distinctly heard the words "Rue do Prony" and "Dominguez." J did not hesitate a second. I ran round to the front, elbowed mv wav through the crowd, paid my 50 centimes cen-times at the desk, and. to the surprise ? V.V$a,n, Znza made straight for the little door opposite the entrance. T passed through, nnd saw a young ivom-an ivom-an in the fantastic dress of a sibyl Her companion had disappeared. Despite De-spite her disguise, I recognized her. at once, ns a girl who had plavcd a part in an affair when the revolver had been used as a supreme argument. argu-ment. "Monsiuor. Goron 1" she exclaimed. " i es. Lucio it ia I." "What what do you " "T want you to tell mo all you know about the robbery in the Rue do Pron3 nnd the name of tho man who left you a minuto ago." She was too agitated to answer. I waited quietly and then she began convulshoh - h "I know nothing about this affair. I swear ,t! Whatever my lifo has been, you know I am incapable of doing any- ; GORDON. AND NOT DOMINGUEZ thing like like that. And the man the man I talked to, he is he is my friend." "Tell mo his name." Sho wrung her hands and. did not answer. "Do 3rou refuso to ropl3'7" I asked stcrnl3. " Aftor a long pause she broko out afresh: "Why do 'ou ask mo this? My friend is un honest man a gentleman. gentle-man. Jf 3'ou hurt a hair of his head tho da3r will come when 3-011 will repent it. I am I am an outcast, but there aro things which even a stray sheep like roe can sa3' to tho chief of police! po-lice! " And sho looked me straight in the face. "If 3'our friend is a gentleman," I said, "and his conscience is clear, 3ou aro compromising him by reason of your reticence. Cannot 3'ou see this?" . Sho roflected a momont, and, wiping her eyes, exclaimed: "You are right. I am foolish. Things must take their course. His name is Charbonuol." "I must seo him at onco," I insisted. insist-ed. "Where can I find him? Aud, bo careful, don't try to trick mc. " She shrugged her shoulders. "Wait here; ho will bo back in half an hour." I took a chair. Sho called out to Madamo Zaza that she was engaged with Monsieur Goron. aud sat down, staring vacautly at tho wall opposite. Then, after a while, a man's voice from the back called, "Lucie!" She turned toward me. "There ho is. See him 3'ourself, but romember my words." I went to the back and thoro boforo bo-foro nio stood a tall man of about thirty-five, answering in every description de-scription my missing number five. For a few seconds wo looked at 'each other. "M. Charbonncl?" I asked. Ho nodded. "I am M. Goron, and you will oblige me by coming to my office. I want to speak to 3'ou." Ho bowed assent. 1 I hailed a passing cab, and without having exchanged a word on tho wa3r, wo arrived at tho prefecture. Tho more I watched tho man the moro I felt impressed with his appearance. ap-pearance. Tho grave oyos, the aquiline aqui-line noso, tho energetic mouth, 00-tokened 00-tokened strength aud will power. I looked at his broad chest, at his hands, and then all of a sudden I experienced ex-perienced tho same kind of shock I f olt when I discovered tho stains on Dominguez's piano, for on tho tip of his right-hand middle finger I saw a small piece of sticking plaster. No doubt was possible. The burglar sat there, within a yard of me. I purposely kept mv eyes fixed upon the bit of plaster, and involuntarily he followed m3' glance. "It is a nasty spot to have cut," I began. "Tndccd it is." Ho smiled faintly. "You must find it very awkward when yon play the piano, like, for in-stanco. in-stanco. at Monsieur and Madame Domingo's Do-mingo's soiree." lie gave mc a quick look and remained re-mained silent. "You wcro there, were you not?" '.CI was,"' he said, with a slight tremor in his voice. "Bv whom were vou introduced? Who took you there?" "Nobody took mc. I went thoro of my own accord." "Without an invitation?" "Without an invitation." He spoke like one in n trance. "What was your object in going to tho house?" No answer, but I saw tho perspiration perspira-tion break out on his brow. "Perhaps you will toll me what you did upstairs iu the dressing room?' "Mercy!" ho groaned, and buried his bead 111 his hands. Ho had risen from his chair, and tho expression of nnguinlt on his face was gainful to watch. "M. Goron," he exclaimed, "I know what ia in your mindl But, as I stand before iny maker, I am innocent of any crimo. If I went to that house, it was it was to try to prevent a crime from being committed and now arrest ar-rest mo if 3'ou like." "You say 3'ou aro innocent. I will assume it. But I have the proof you were in tho dressing room at tho time the safe was broken open. You there-foro there-foro know tho burglar. Who is ho?" "I cannot tell you," he said huskily. husk-ily. . "You cannot?" ' Ho shook Lib head. "All right," I said. "I will leave you in the adjoining room in chargo of my men, and will give you time tq think tho matter over." After tho lapse of half an hour, the man stood again boforo me, deaths-pale, deaths-pale, but looking as determined as ever. "Will you now give mo his name?" "I cannot. I must not," was the dogged reply. "Chnrbonnol, by tolling mo a falsehood, false-hood, or trying to screen somo one else, 3rou are placing 3'oursclf in a dangerous plight. Once more, for the last timo, will 3-011 speak?"" "I have spoken, and must abide by tho consequences." I knew full well that ho would not yield to force. Moreover, despito the evidence against him, I felt in no wa3' convincod of his guilt. If he intended intend-ed to sacrifice himself for somo one else, nvy detaining him would very likely prevent mo from la3ing hands on the culprit. I therefore had him once moro taken to tho adjoining room, and sent for Inspector Despres, ono of 1113' smartest assistants. "Despres," I said, "I am going with the gentleman in the next room to tho hotel whoro ho ia staying. Aftor a while I shall return, leaving him behind. be-hind. But 3'ou watch him night and da3', and roport all his movements. If ho attempts to leavo Paris, bring him at once tomo. Take all tho assistance 37ou require." "I understand, sir," said Despres. I drove with Charbonncl to tho Hotel Ho-tel du Louvre, searched his luggage, looked through his papers, but without with-out finding an3'thing suspicious. "No, 3'ou noed not accompany me." I said; "all I ask yon is not to loavt-Paris, loavt-Paris, and to come to mc when I send for 3'OU. Goodb3'." Beforo he had recovered from his surprise I was gone. Two hours later one of nry agents brought mc tho news that Charbonncl had gono to the postoffico in th6 Riu d 'Amsterdam and inquired for lottorc" addressed to "H. C, " whereupon I im mediate' communicated with tho post offico, asking them to detain all letters let-ters with these initials. Charbounel, i then loarned, called occasonall3' on L cie, but saw nobody else. On the fourth day two letters from Smj-rna to "H G. arrived at tho Ruo d 'Amsterdam and wcro handod to mo- Neither of them bore a signaturo. In tho first letter tho writer simply announced his safe arrival m Snryrua: but tho second told its own tale. "1 was a fool," he said, "to havo come to this hole. I should havo stayed in Paris and chanced it, to watch that scoundrel. Twice ho got tho better of mo; but this time I have him. Mv onl regret is that you may possibly be molested. If so, it's 3'our own fault. You ought to have left mo alone. Please sond mo all cuttings relativo to 3'ou know what.'' I at onco sent for Charbonnol. He looked haggard. "I have good news for you," I. cried; "j'our friend writcn from Smyrna that he has safel3' arrived, and regrets exceedingly ex-ceedingly that 'ou got yourself under suspicion. Ho is very sorry that he left Paris because he no longer can watch a cortain Bcoundrel. Your friend has tho kinduess to givo his addrefis in Smyrna; that simplifies mntters. 1 shall very likely start for Sm3rna tonight, to-night, but I first wanted to seo you, as perhaps vou may havo something to say to mo." Charbonncl looked at me, dumfound-od. dumfound-od. 1 "M. Goron, it ia usolcss lighting against you. I vowed to do the right thing b.y my friend, but you havo beaten me. Yes, it is ho, Georges Ravel, Ra-vel, who committed tho burglar-. 1 know Goorges fifteen years ago in Vera Cruz. I had fallen ill, I was ponuiless and, but for him, would havo died like a dog. But he "nursed 1110, advanced me money, and afterward got me a situation sit-uation as hotel clerk. "Since that momont things have gone well with me, and thanks to a small legacy, I am now independent. But poor Georges later fell into bad wa3's. He gambled, drank and for five years I heard nothing of him. When I met him again I hardh' recognized him. I fancy he was in prison somo-where somo-where in Venezuela, but he never spoke to mo about his own affairs. All ho told was that he had been cheated b a follow called Dominguez, and that ho meant to bo even with him. Ho soon again disappeared, and I had to return to Franco to take possession of my legacy. "A few months ago to my consternation, conster-nation, he came to my hotel with the news that Dominguez was living in Paris, in the Rue de Prony, and that J would soon hear some surprising things. On tho night beforo the soiree he came again, and, under the influence of drinn, departed from his usual reticence. Ho said ho intended intend-ed to steal into the house and extract from tho safo mono', valuables and the documents ho hoped to find there. "All attempts to hold him back I proving fruitless, I resolved to go to tho soiree, and, if possible, prevent mischief. He had grown a long beard, and it was not likely Doininguoz would recognize him if ho saw him. I don know what possessod me to pla3', but iust as I roso from tho piano I caught sight of Georges in the hall. I saw , him go upstairs, and rushed after him. T clutched his arm, but he knocked inc down nnd a bowl or somo other articles on the safo fell off. In a twinkling ho had wrenched open the lock, and, but for the terrific noise downstairs, thoy must havo hdard it. "I followed him like ono in a dream, saw him put on his overcoat for no servant was b3' and disappear in the night. And now you know all. No. vou know moro than I do, for I am still trying to solve the mystery of how you tracked mo to the dressing room when no one saw us " "Never mind that," I hurriedly replied. re-plied. "I have other ni3'stcri'cs to solve now. Can you toll mo anything moro about Dominguoi:? Did the burglary bur-glary realty take place and were valuables valu-ables carried awa3'?" "I know nothing of Dominguez, except ex-cept that Georges said he was a dangerous dan-gerous bandit. As to tho burglarv. I am sorr3r to say I was an unwifliug witness of it. And now, M. Goron, vou behave kindly to me. Allow mc to give you somo advice. Don 't approach ap-proach Dominguez until you have seen clear into the whole business." That same night I was on my way to Smyrna. I arrived there late on a Sunday night and went straight to the wmall hotel on the Marinna whore Georges had given his address. The talkative waiter, a Belgian, informed mo that thcro was a French gentleman gentle-man Htaying there, a Dr. Picard, from Lyons. 'That's he coming in now," ho said, pointing to a stout man, with deop-sct. deop-sct. bile-shot eves and an unsteady i gait. I immediately recognized him from Charbounel 'e description. The following morning- I called on the French consul and told him as much of the case as I considered necessary. nec-essary. "Of course you know," he remarked, "that thero is no extradition troaty between France and Turkey; yet, in virtuo of my office. I can take upon myself to arrest a Frenchman, and, un. less he makes too much muss, secure you the necessary asaistanco to got him safolv on board tho steamer for Marseilles. One leaves tomorrow, so vou had better look sharp." At my request an official from the consulate called about midday, when I know my man was in; and," leaving him in tho hall, I walked upstair. m knocked at tho door. P lr$ "Good morning, Mr. Ravel " t iM on ontSnng. He roso from 'the 'Sf chair in which he was sitting m glared at me. K "VJ "I am M. Goron," I continued "W, have conic to take you hack to' on the charge of having broken oW a ssi to m M Dommguez's hous0 Wt abstracted thoreirom valuables of Mr nous kinds." P To my surprise, hi3 morose cxiJI ' sion disappeared aud in Ra chccrlul tone ho replied: " I am glad you have cotno. T$S ready to go when you like. Th sor or f can stand face to face with hound and unmask him the better know I .shall have to pay a bio ifiB altv: but my revenge is cheaD at the cost of heavy sentence" y "What hound?"' I ngked. ' mtu "Domingue.il Dominguezl W shrieked. "Dominguez, tho htW villain unhung! He floored mo tiSw the cunning cur; but I have htm under my thumb!" I looked at the man's face, and-fE triad I was Goron, and not "f&tX guoz. Hm I then called; up the official fS the consulate, and in his prcaii carefully overhauled Ravel 'b belw4 mgs. At his own request I 'Zm searched his pockets, but discovM no trnce of anything relative to W robbery. Fifty thousand francs in ftS notes and gold ho carried in a leaMV belt. In his hat box wore SI volvor and a tin of cartridges, of trif I took possession. "Give yourself no needless troiiW my dear Monsieur Goron " laughed: "what you aro looking fS left in Paris. Thero wero other thhm in that safe besides trinkets and aim lties. of which onlv Dominguez acM know anything, and I did not carM carry them about me. They arf Paris.' ho shrieked at tho top nfl voice, "and will be produced am confronted with that hound. 'J then. Monsieur Goron, you will "i ness something which oven yon uever 6een!" ji . Ho gavo an uncanny chuckle, lil cigarette and lapsed into silence ?J . A largo cabin in the stcamor U ing the next day for Marseilles; been reserved for us, aud Ravel u on board with a jaunty air like a i bent on a pleasure trip. I bad i everything secret, but through indiscretion the passengers knewi we wero, and curious glances follcrj us when we set foot on deck. 3 ye still had an hour to wait fcef lifting anchor. I thoreforo loft Bi in the cabin in charge of the offf who was to accompany mo to j seilles, and went to as'k a fow qi tions of the captain. At that ment a telegraph boy camo up shl ing my name. I opened the wirei was from the office. "Doraingueir appeared " .s I tried to convince myself that-" that-" l.,ss.;.. r:..:i . i . luvuiiiu uu.iiiai lciuj am meant, .jtm Dominguoz had only absented hvm for a while, but something toldM that with his disappearance the pria pal link in that nrj'stery had heenjB However, I still had tho opporhnm of talking the matter ovor with prisoner, and onco under way, I uB him to give me some particulars all his connection with Dominguez. "Wait till wo get to Paris," he cm "and you will hear all yon wanm know and more." Jim "But suppose Dominguez should loft Paris?" 1 inquired. M He turned sharply around. Tm "What do you mean?" I handed him tho telegram ?M watched him euriouBlv. for I exflMB him to fly into a violent rage. Iznw of this he handod me the papsr bS and quictl3' said: "Tlavo no fear, he will return!' "You really don't mean tbat, "I do mean it, I tell you.", I left him alone and went intoft saloon whero a lady was singin was a clear night, and the sea wi calm ns a pool. Then we heard a rush of fflefj deck, tho singer stopped, and i&M stillness of the night rang outtj; shout: "Man overboard I" W I felt as if a cold hand had im, my throat. I ran to tho cabin. empty. Wo looked everywhere X Ravel. Ho was gono. The steamer at onco stopped: jM boats were lowered, but rcturnedlK er half an hour's fruitless search.; we started again, all tho passes and men having been accounted Ravel. W For a couplo of hours I paced. deck up and down, and then retnjM to mv cabin, whero not , long had seen my prisoner writing. table lay a letter in pencil "dare to mo: "Dear Mr. Goron," it said, "W against me. Dominguoz, the thieVM robs even his accomplices, is top for me and you. I committed tna i. "lary at Dominguez's house, n0.mt much to take back what was run mv share, as . to secure a weapon w with I could smash him once .r He has cleared out. Ho smelt M. Goron, and I do not want w brought back as a common instead of an accuser. I have jfiifmm this, like in WtlnK ej And thus, both the robber anim robbed disappeared. ty' n&mf' heard of the stolen property, me mm, terv was never solved. af.fK Shall I over be ?We to offaMW point of interrogation booina guez's name? . ., Slowly, very slowk, tho veil am od from this mystco-. DmR I discovered that Ravel' and uvmm gucz were implicated .in a fori in Peru, when Dominguez aMW lv succeeded iu proving 0x5 while Ravel was sent to Pris M escaped. Throe i years always under di'fierent 2jf again, aud although no charge W be brought homo to tbiBl strongly suspected of being thors of an important diamond Dominguez, however, .cheated M J, federate out of his share of der. and henco tho latter s craTUTJ Vfl?f "my' mind, Ravel's that wo would nover see Inu again were mistaken. Httcd1Bl h- unhinged when SSdobSB cide. I feel convinced that will return to Pans to to $ the iewclry and documents "f from his safo and flCf?J?fn5u cK (Copyright liy J pnetmM (Next Week: "Tracked bya-m |