| Show faw OF A of TH OF taff THE rm DUKE OF rr LAMB r A Y S W TH OF NHI rt r A c NOW PUBLISHED FOR TM rist MURDERER most magnificent was the phrana coined by monsieur claude when referring to his grace the duke ot lambay in the years following that worthy gentleman s departure from aaris to take up his residence in switzerland be it understood that M claude in thus speaking did not express himself abhorrent of the singular character of the noble man in question on the contrary the noted chief of police spoke in accents that almost approached admiration it must be confessed that the remarks of the majority of his critics were the reverse of complimentary and with good reason this man in whose veins ran the royal blood of england bad by his monstrous ac tlona and dark mysterious mode of living completely severed all bonds of sympathy between him and the hu man race the members of his own great family did not look upon him with less scorn than did those whom chance brought into contact with his personality the house in which he dwelt was no mean index of the perverse nature of its proprietor it stood in the early sixties in a secluded corner of the old beaujon quarter painted from earea to foundation in bright broad stripes of varied hues the building of odd design and pe cullar shape nestled in an angle of neglected gardens surrounded by high walls an air of ghastly gloom en the whole estate an air that was in perfect keeping with the mys cerious inhabitant who came and went secretly by a small door in the wes tern wing the main entrance guarded ty large rusty iron gates always remaining closed and offering an in surmountable obstacle to the curious neighbors the treasure contained in this man slon consisted of francs worth of diamonds and indeed the lionso might have been described as a species of gigantic strong box wherein a cunning fiend kept watch and ward over the precious contents for the duke was a miser of the most pronounced kind a miser who in point of has seldom it ever been equaled it was for this reason that his pursuit of pleasure frequently led him to the lowest slums of paris where his name had grown to be a by word among the denizens ot the underworld As mean aa the duke of lambay was a phrase which was often uttered by the lips of the gamins of paris it the grotesque appearance of his mansion was such as to awaken BUS of the owners insanity one might infer upon thoughts that there was method in his madness and that ho hoped to inspire fear thereby in the minds of his enemies and the number of those one ates was legion ranging from the lowest to the highest mem bers ot society not only did his chosen associates of the gutter bate him but his family ever treas ared resentfully the memory of the fraud by which when cast out ot hla duchy the dis crowned prince succeed Ks ed in annexing the diamond millions which rightfully belonged to the crown but the duke was far too cunning to rely entirely upon the outside ap bearance pe arance of his forbidding lair and the man traps that lurked here and there in the grounds for protection ere a hostile step could approach his apartments a thousand bells would startle the air with their brazen clangor every door was equipped with a bell and all of these doors converged towards the bedroom and private study of the duke in the rear of these two rooms reposed the strong box which contained the dla monds and here a row of loaded pis communicated by unseen wires with electric bella should a careless hand unwitting ly press one of the buttons which bp aerated the alarms a sheet of flame and volley of bullets would scorch and shatter the luckless intruder living as he did the person of this erratic nobleman was an object of no small solicitude to the police of paris who were constantly called upon to extricate him from the intrigues and plots of the partakers par takers of his pleasures it might be imagined that he must inevitably have fallen a vie alm to some of the many schemes batched by those desirous of acquiring his wealth but though the perils to which he was exposed were numerous and deadly it pleased an inscrutable providence to enable him to avoid the pitfalls which surrounded him nor were there wanting instances where this degraded scion of a noble house was compelled to appear before the authorities in the role of a defend ant in most of these cases the duke was selected as an object for black mall but on one occasion at least there was scant doubt of his guilt among his servants there was a pretty young english lass named ellen crosby who had not been long in his service before attracting the admira alon of the duke who made advances to her which were indignantly spurned by the girl the latter evidently being a different type from the class of females that usually belonged to his graces household exactly what transpired within the walls of the gloomy mansion after ellen repulsed her master was never brought to light but the fact remains that on the morning of Iso vember 20 1863 her ll telesa body was discovered lying in the garden below the west wing of the house it was evident that death bad been the result of a fall from an open second story window under which the body was found thus tar investigation went and not much further for none of the domestico domestics who were examined admitted having heard any noise during the night which might have helped to explain the tragedy the duke testified that feeling hindls posed be had retired at an early hour after swallowing a sedative prescribed by his physician for insomnia lie had slumbered heavily according to hla statement ement and knew nothing of the girls death until by his confidential valet the latter an eng ll 26 years of age was closely questioned by the it having come to their knowledge that a strong affection was supposed to have ex f 1 f c W A A isted between him and the deceased he proved a complete alibi showing that be bad passed the night away from the house with a friend having obtained leave for that purpose and not returning until just after the body was found ills demeanor as was perhaps natural when his fondness tor the girl was taken into consideration was that of a man halt frantic with grief but he bore up well under the cross examination and replied to every question asked him with a promptness and lucidity that left no doubt as to his innocence the duke furthermore averred that the girl had acted strangely for sever al days and that he believed her to have committed suicide this asser alon was corroborated by several of the servants although their testimony did not greatly impress the officers who were well aware that none of the dukes domestico domestics was likely to con any statement made by their employer shaw alone ventured to de ny the allegation but his word was not of sufficient weight to establish the girls sanity and in the end ellen crosby was officially declared to have destroyed herself while in an un sound state of mind it may bo plainly stated however that neither M claude nor his assistants believed that the unfortunate victim had gone to her death as described by the verdict popular opan ion held the duke responsible for her demise and in their hearts the inmates of the prefecture agreed with athla view but to attempt to convict the duke was useless meanwhile to the surprise of many henry shaw continued in the dukes service he had succeeded in gaining the confidence of his master and all of the batters lat secrets even including that of the fraud by which he had obtained the greater part of his wealth were in his possession beyond expressing his belief in el len crosby s sanity shaw made no et fort towards exposing the true facts of the girls ead fate and wrapped himself in a mantle of impenetrable reserve that effectually withstood the inquiries of all bis associates hut still waters run deep and athla man who apparently took no further interest in the tragedy was in reality planning a bitter revenge upon the individual whom he regarded as the author of his sweetheart s death he knew that the hardest blow he could strike the miser would bo to deprive him 0 his treasures that were dearer to him than his life blood the first step he took in the furtherance of his scheme was to write a letter to the duke of Molln ford in london pledging himself in return for a sum of francs to restore to the family of the duke of lambay the diamonds of which their unscrupulous kinsman had defrauded them shaw had made a careful study of the strong box and the arsenal defending it and watched patiently for an opportunity when he could open it without risking annihilation by so doing the coffer containing the diamonds was built in the wall of the bedroom adjoining the duke a study on december 7 1863 the duke removed a few stones from the coffer for the purpose ot having them reset by a jeweler with almost incredible at sio si o t y s v si rsm K y asaf carelessness in a man of his BUS temperament he forgot for the first time to lock the inner steel door shaw who was present when his master opened the coffer was quick to note the dukes negligence he waited until his master had gone out and then taking a file he carried in preparation for just such a con tangency forced the lock of the outer door and opened the inner one As the bolt of the inner lock had not been shot into its socket the pistol battery was rendered harmless and the ales of the loaded weapons gaped im potently in the valet a face A great treasure lay before his gloating eyes there were diamonds of fabulous value jeweled decora alons and gola in abundance carefully shaw selected the most valuable stones stowed them away in a leather bag which he had provided for this auspicious moment and having filled his pockets with gold left the house he went straight ht to the railway sta alon and caught the first express train for boulogne the duke returning home that even ing missed the familiar figure of his trusted attendant As the hours wore on and shaw did not appear a ter elble suspicion flashed across the ml sers mind he rushed to his precious strong box tore aside the silken draperies and beheld the forced lock flinging open the doors a glance told him that the most cherished gems of his collection had disappeared there were missing diamonds and money to the extent of 4 francs for a few minutes the panic stricken duke raged furiously shrieking in his high falsetto voice at the servants whom his cries had summoned to the spot it la questionable whether the approach of death could have caused more anguish in his avaricious heart messengers were at once dispatched to the prefecture and in a short time two detectives made their appearance having replied to their Inter roga alons the duke inquired it their chief M claude was in his office on receiving a reply in the affirmative he ordered his carriage and drove post haste to the head of the police department part ment M claude waa at this time a man about 45 years of age he was of middle height sinewy of frame and possessed of a pair of keen steel blue eyes before whose penetrating gaze many a of the under world had shrunk and stammered forth damning confession of crime living in the corrupt period his un compromising honesty of purpose shone all the clearer by contrast with the intriguing element which sur rounded him and rendered him as remarkable for his integrity as he was famous for surpassing skill in bis profession he was seated at his desk bending over a pile of correspondence spon dence when his ducal visitor en 1 I salute your grace he said suavely pray be seated the nobleman allowed bis thin emaciated figure to sink limply into a chair and drawing a flask of perfume from his pocket removed the stopper and inhaled the contents before speak ing M claude watched him coldly and when the duke raised his head said gravely 1 I regret to hear of the loss your grace has sustained I 1 presume it is in connection with the robbery of your diamonds that I 1 am honored by this visit yes yes said the duke distract edly but above all I 1 wish to have this affair conducted so that the de tails of the case will not be made pub lie we will endeavor to respect your wishes in the matter your grace responded the chief listen M claudea said the duke in subdued tones 1 I know that I 1 can trust you now the truth Is that I 1 cannot afford to appear in court to prosecute this thief should you arrest him it Is imperative that the former history of the jewels which he has stolen should not become a topic of public interest it I 1 am not mistaken returned M claude languidly the diamonds in question at one time provoked a serious discussion between your grace and the duke of Molln tord the duke started how do you know this he queried uneasily M claudes even white teeth flashed in a brilliant smile we learn many curious things in the course of our profession he said quietly As you are with the circumstances then you will under egand that it would be by no means agreeable to have them exposed in court tor the benefit of the masses said the duke anxiously exactly responded M claude and the question ot how the slopes came into your possession does not la the leaea affect the fact of the t S t i t i A robbery by your valet nor would I 1 have mentioned the circumstance had not your grace referred to it in the first place the duke gave vent to a bagh of relief you are a model of discretion my dear M claude he said for the present I 1 will bid you adieu As events proved it would have been vastly better for henry shaw having executed hla master stroke of plunder and revenge had he trusted to the assistance of some professional thief in disposing of his booty for his endeavor to gain the aid and gratl tude of the duke of Molln tord recoiled upon him in a startling fashion the latter a prince of the british blood royal waxed indignant over the presumption that he would consent to act as a rogues confederate and turned the ex valets letter over to the london police they in turn forwarded it to the prefecture at paris thereby furnishing M claude with information which made certain his capture in a to the letter shaw to whom it did not seem to have oc burred that the duke of Molln tord would refuse to benefit by hla ser vices stated that he would wait at boulogne until a messenger arrived from england with authority to receive the diamonds and pay him the reward demanded immediately upon receiving the clue from the london police M claude started tor boulogne and the following day saw him seated in the hotel dAngle terre in company with henry shaw whose own heed had thus delivered him into the bands of the law the ex valets face was downcast and sullen and M claude surveyed him with a certain amount of bellg nant pity I 1 do not mind telling you that per I 1 regret in a certain sense being obliged to put you under arrest said the chief officially of course I 1 regard you as a successful criminal but your story with reference to the unfortunate ellen crosby leads me to declare that your former master richly deserves any retribution that may overtake him I 1 might have thrust a knife in bis heart said shaw looking up but 1 who know him BO well knew that the keenest agony I 1 could inflict upon him would be to deprive him of the idols he worships the bright gems or which he sold his worthless soul to satan that said M claude gravely Is probably true but in a game where fate deals the cards the boldest and most gambler knows not what the end may be and this time the duke has won the trick much to the surprise of certain people who knew of the capture of shaw the duke of lambay upon receiving his valuables back positively refused to prosecute the prisoner I 1 wish to ascertain he said to the chief when and to what time the wretch who robbed me Is to be re stored to freedom 9 your graces motive is no doubt a philanthropic onea queried M claude with the ghost of a smile hovering on his lips my motive is that I |
