Show fhe aa e MARDI GRAS MYSTERY T RY jones huinh antons by irwin majel s copyright conright by bg doubleday Double dag page arid co peili YOUNG SYNOPSIS during the height of 0 the new orleans carnival season jacyln fell wealthy though somewhat mysterious citizen and dr ansley are discussing a series ot of robberies by an individual known f ss a 8 the midnight who ho int variably attired as aa an aviator has r 10 loog dg defied the police joseph mall mail 1 lard wealthy banker Is giving a I 1 ball that night at which the mas ii 1 quor quer hat has threatened to appear ant and 1 I rob the guests fell and ansley on their way to tho the affair meet a girl dressed as columbine seemingly known to fell but masked who accompanies them to the ball lucie ledanois Leda recently the ward mard ot of her uncle joseph malllard maillard Is the columbine at the ball bob malllard maillard son of the banker again proposes to her and Is refused he otters offers to buy some ot of her property properly A franciscan monk interests her H he turns out to be pr prince ince gramont in his library joseph maillard and a a group ot of his friends are held up and robbed by the midnight lucie Leda ledanois Lc danois the last ot of an old family Is in straitened circumstances cum curn stances joseph malliaras Mall Malli lards ards handling of 0 her funds has been unfortunate fell Is an old friend of her parents and deeply interested intel ested in n the girl henry gramont really the prince de gramont Is enamored of lucie lucle lucie talks with fell about her affairs and tho masked Gra gramonte Gramo monts chauffeur hammond sergeant in the A E P R lives eulth him ile he was the original midnight and gramont had bad assumed the role where hammond had been a robber for financial gain aln gramont of c ourse course Is not ile he arranges to return the loot to those whom he has robbed CHAPTER V continued 7 well I 1 was followed today at least I 1 think I 1 was and let me wa ell you something about that same quiet little man I 1 ills his name Is jacyln fell Ille luva name commented hammond and wrinkled up his brow jachin huh seems like ive heard the name before out 0 the bible aint it something about jachin and boaz 1 I imagine so gramont smiled as tie he replied this chap fell Is sharp confoundedly sharp lie he went on while the chauffeur listened with frowning intentness I 1 think that he Is on to me and Is trying to get the goods on roe me oh said hammond and someone was tr allin you think lies hes put the bulls wise gramont shrugged his shoulders 1 I dont know ile he almost caught me last night well have to get rid of that aviators suit at once and of the loot also I 1 suppose youve reconciled yourself to returning the stuff hammond stirred uneasily and laid down his pipe look here caan he said earnestly 1 I a holdup game because I 1 liked it and I 1 doing it for the tun fun of the thing like you are I 1 was dead broke I 1 any hope left and I 1 care a d n whether I 1 lived or died on the lead right there you come along nd ad picked me up you give roe me a job more dave ve treated roe me white caan youve aven me something decent to live or to make good because you got some borne falth in mel me why when you went out on that first job of ours dyoll know it like to broke me up it did only when m lien we got home that night and you said it was all a joke and send back the loot later on then I 1 began to feel better about it gramont nodded in comprehension of the others feeling its not been altogether a joke sergeant lie salil said gravely to tell the truth I 1 did start it as a joke but soon afterward I 1 learned something that led me to keep it up I 1 kept it up until I 1 could lilt hit the malllard maillard house it was my intention to turn up at the conius comus ball on oil tuesday night and there make public restitution of the stuff but impossible now I 1 dare not risk III it that ii fell is too smart youre not dot golu goin to pull the trick rick again then queried hammond ea gerly no im through ve got what I 1 wanted still I 1 dont asli wish to return the stuff blurt before wednesday asli ash wednesday the end of the carnival season suppose you get out the loot ind nd ind find rue me some boxes and be sure they have no name on them or any store labels up and vanished in che room adjoining presently lie he returned ned hearing bearing beveral cardboard 0 axes which lie he dumped on oil the hie center bable tin blamed glad boure oure done lb elleve vc me inc lie he uttered fervently glancing up at gramont inra fara rm im concerned I 1 dont care much but I 1 id d sure burc hate to see the bulls turn la in a guy like ille you caan here we are arc want me to keep each bunch bunzli separate you youl sure ill be writing some notes to go inside gramont went to a buhl writing desk in the corner of the room and sat down lie ile took out ills notebook tore off several sheets slie ets and from his pocket produced a pencil having an extremely hard load lead lie ile wrote a number of notes which except for the addresses were identical in content dear sir 1 I herewith certain jewelry and articles also currency recently obtained by me under your kind auspices 1 I trust that you will assume the responsibility of returning these things to the various guests who lost them while under your roof I 1 regret any discomfort occasioned by my taking them as a loan which I 1 now return please convey to the several owners my profound esteem and a rid my lay assurance that I 1 ahall not in fu future ture appear to trouble anyone the earn carnival season having come to an end and with it my little jest TUB THE MIDNIGHT ER gathering up tip these notes in his hand gramont went to the fireplace ile he tossed the pencil into the fire alre following it with the notebook cant take chances with that man mail fell lie explained all ready sergeant lets go down the list one by 0 one 11 F from ram the trunk hammond ammond II produced ticketed packages which ile he placed on the table gramont selected one opened it carefully packed the contents in one of the boxes placed the proper addressed note on top and handed it to the chauffeur wrap it up and address it give the return address of john smith bayou one by one they went through the packages pac lages of loot in the same manner before them on vie the table as they worked glittered little heaps of rings brooches watches currency jewels v PV all wasted the whole effort he murmured that flashed garishly with colored fires historic and famous jewels plucked from the aristocratic heart of the southland heirlooms heir looms of a bastgen aeration side by side with platinum crudities ot of the present fashion there had been heart burnings in the loss of these things gramont 1 knew n ew ile he could picture to himself something of what had fol followed lomed ills robberies family quarrels new purchases in the gem marts bitter ie ic preaches pro aches fresh mortgages on old heritages vexatious vexations of wealthy dowagers shrugs of unconcern concern by the riches per perchance hance lives altered thebes The ies a lot of human life behind these baubles sergeant he aloud a cold smile upon ills his lips as lie worked when they come back to their owners id like to be hovering around in an invisible mantle to watch results I 1 could we only know it wei e probably affecting the lives of a gre great st many people for good and these things stood for money ond and theres n nothing thing like money or the lack of it to guide the lie dest iules of people you said it and II ammond grinned im here to prove it aint I 1 I 1 aint pulling no more gunplay now flow I 1 got me a steady job and a steady friend old man added gramont did it occur to you that mabe I 1 was mas us Ps much in need of 0 i friend as you were lie ile had rome come to the last box now that which go to joseph halliard on top of the money and scarf pins which lie placed in n the box he laid a thin of papers II 11 he e lapped them bilth his finger those papers serge sergeant aut I 1 to get them iye ive been playing the whole ga game aine to get them and not to let their owner suspect that I 1 was after them I 1 now going back to their owner chos lie he demanded hammond nam mond young malllard son of the banker ile he roped me into an oil company caught me like a sucker almost the first week meek I 1 was here I 1 put pretty near my whole w m ad into that company of his you mean he stung you not yet Grain gramont ont smiled coldly harshly 1 I fell right enough but ill come out on top of the heap the other frowned 1 I dont get you caan some kind 0 stock deal yes and no gramont paused and seemed to choose his words with core carp miss ledanois Leda the lady who abo was driving with us this afternoon Is on old friend of mine ive known for some time that somebody was fleecing fleeming flee cing her I 1 suspected that it was mas malllard maillard the elder for he has had the handling of her affairs for some time past now ho however weNer those papers have given me the truth ile he was straight enough with her his son was the man he worked on his father made hla his father sell land owned by miss leda dols and he himself reaped the profits there are notes and stock issues among those papers that give his whole game away to my eyes by the way get that tin box out of my trunk will you I 1 want to take my stock certificates with me in the morning and must not forget them hammond disappeared into the adjoining room gramont sat gazing at the boxes before him ile he shook his head gloomily and his eyes clouded all wasted the whole effort lie he murmured 1 I thought it might lead to something but all it has given me is the reward of saying saving myself and possibly retrieving lucie As for the lar larger cr game nnie the bigger quarry its all wasted I 1 unraveled a single thread the first real clue came to me tonight purely by accident memphis dwy gumberts Gumbert sl the lead to follow 1 ill get rid of this midnight foolishness and go after the real game gramont was to discover mot it Is not nearly so easy to be rid of folly as it Is to don the jesters cap and bells a fact which one had discovered to his sorrow three hundred years earlier cut but as gramont was not versed in the line of literature lie he yet had the discovery ahead of him II ammond reentered entered re the room with the tin box bos from which gramont tool took ills his stock certificates issued by bob Mall Mali lards oil company he pocketed the shares ill go to INI malllard aillard the banker joseph lif maillard aillard first thing in the morn in ing and offer him my stock hell be mighty glad to get it at a discount knowing that it Is in his sons company you see the son confide in the old man particularly ill let the father win a little money on the deal N with me and by doing this ill manage to save the greater part of my ln n estment estro ent holy mackerel hammond ammond II exploded in a burst of laughter as lie he caught the idea say it if this aint the richest thing ever pulled I 1 when the crash comes the fancy kid will be stinging his dad good find and hard eh exactly and I 1 think his dad can afford to be stung much better than I 1 can agreed gramont cheerfully now lets take those packages and stow them away in the luggage compartment part ment of the car im getting nervous at the thought of having them around here and be perfectly safe there overnight safer there than hero here in fact tomorrow you can take the car out of town and send the packages by parcels post from some small town in that way they ought to be delivered here on wednesday better wear one of my suits leaving your chauffeurs outfit here and dont halt the biar ar in front of the post office where you mail the packages 1 I get you assented hammond sagely but what about them aviators clothes take them with mith you better get them wrapped up here and now dow you can toss them into a ditch anywhere If hammond ammond obeyed ten minutes afterward the two men left the room carrying the packages of loot and the bundle containing the aviators uniform they descended to the courtyard in the rear of the house here was nos a small garden with a fountain in its center behind till thle feie meie eie the stables which had long been disi disused sed as such and which were mere now occupied only by the car of gramont it was mas with milli undisguised relief that gramont now saw the stuff actually out of the house within the last few I 1 hours lie he had become intensely afraid of fell concentrating himself upon the nian man picking up information guardedly lie he had that day assimilated assimilate many small items which increased ills sense of peril from that quarter straws no more but quite significant st iaNs Grani gramont ont realized clearly that if the pollee police ever searched ills his rooms and found this loot lie would mould be lot lo t there could be no excuse that would hold water for a minute against such evidence seen anything of an aviators helmet around here TO DE BE CONTINUED |