The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-03-12

something will shortly grow out o
this affair that will interest Il very
wide circle. Give me the exact par
ticulars. What fOllOwed"'
"He said that he was wealthy and
did not value money; and that M
had conceived so strong q desire to
possess the cross, that, wild as the of.
fer might seem, he would not demuI
at giving 500 francs for it."
"Five hundred parblue! Tho trim.
ket is not worth five francs" said
Henri, excitedly. "The man is
either Il lunatic, Or-what / more
strongly suspect him of beng"
"And what is 1t possible for you to
more strongly suspect him of being"'
asked Irene.
"a knave. In spite of the tempt
alton of 500 francs, see that you still
bear your cross. L would have
thought the sum sufficient to buy up
ill the crosses i'm Paris and all the
women bearing them. How did you
resist 2"
eff l did not know that your slur
on women and their crosses was said
more i'm humOr than earnest, would
not give you another word of inform
alton. l told the man that the of
fer was very tempting, but that l
could not possibly accept it without
consulting yOu."
"That was a noble reply, my dar-
ling" said Henri, drawing his wife
close to his side, bestOwing on her an
eloquent glance and several passion
ate kisses. Hereafter i shall con-
slider you cheap at $4,000 francs
What said OLD Crnsus to your price
less answer?"
"At first he appeared much dis
cOmfited. After u little while he said
he was going into the country to re-
main one week; that he should re-
turn this way, and if /, in the mean
| while, gained yOtlr consent, or con-
cluded to part with the cross without
it, he would make good his offer.
And then he babe me reluctant
adieu, went to a post chaise that was
waiting i'm the road, got i'm and drove
off rapidly to ChalOns."
Finally we have the finale of act
first" replied Henri.
EYES," responded the musing
Irene, toying with the object of so
much discussion, which was In real
ity of but little intrinsic value, and
i'm no way remarkable, excepting
from popularity of design. 1t was of
Il clear, blOod-red cornelian, the up
right pillar being carved to repre-
senta descending arrow, and the eros
piece a very fine wrought imitation
of wings.
"What attraction this bit Ofa thing
which, aside from being your gift,
look upon as worthless, can possess
to render it SO exceedingly precious
i'm the eyes of a man, cannot con-
lecture, continued the puzzled
Irene.
81 think l can furnish you with q
clue to the foundation of this extra
ordinary interest,"" remarked Henri.
"What was his general appearance?
That of coarse, ilI-bred person ?"
"Far from that. He was quite tall,
not over flcshy, well dressed, and re-
fined in bearing and language. His
countenancc betOkened much illness
at some early period of his life, or ex-
cessive dissipation"
"ShOuld your cross cnamOred
friend call again, and should much
doubt if hc ever does" said Henri,
81 am the person with whom he
must deal"
Why with you, dear?"
"Because the object he is so cx-
tremely sOlicitOus to possess has a
mysterious history known only to
HAnd that mysterious history af-
fOrds key to the solution to the
seemingly insane offer of five hun
dred francs ?"
CT apprehend such TO be the case.
That cross was found upon a spot
where, but few days previous re-
voting crime had been committed.
If my surmises are correct, this
strange visitor of yours was the au-
thor of that crime. If SO, he and
that little red cross are old acquaint-
ances, and he would readily sacrifice
several times five hundred francs to
compass its possession. Why? Sim
ply because, SO long rs it remains in
other hands than his own, he is pain
fully conscious that it may ut any
moment rise up in Judgment before
him, and cost him the more irrepar-
able sacrifice of his head"
"And you have kept all this dark
mystery from me" complained
Irene.
81 have, but will no longer.
have refrained from making you ac-
quainted with the circumstances that
are associated with my finding of the
trinket solely from fear that the
knowledge might cause you to con-
ceive a morbid dislike to- il, and, as
it is really a pretty toy, liked to see
you wearit. And now for the mys-
terry. Do you remember the murder,
six years ago, of nObleman OF the
name of COmte dc st. Armande, in
the Rue de Germaine?"
Distinctly" replied Irene. All
Paris was thrilled with horror mt the
mystery and barbarity of the deed.
But what association can this cross
have with that dreadful affair ?"
can intimate association. That
cross was found by me on the identi-
cal spot of the murder, and but three
days thereafter. IF you closely ex-
anime the under side, you will OBJ
serve small drilled hole ut each ex-
tremity. From these holes / am led
to infer that it was worn by the un-
known assassin on the fatal night in
question and furthermore, that it
was wrenched from its fastenings by
tho hand Of the hapless COmte i'm his
dying struggle. Naturally enough,
it fell to the ground, where found
it. To this day, in spite Of the super
human efforts of q by no means OBJ
tuse police, and the incentive of fab
uIOus reward by st. Arpande's rel
atives, the murderer Is undiscovered,
and the whole affair remains In
volved in impenetrable mystery. Az
ter all these unrevealing years who
shall say that the coming together OF
this man and the cross Is not the
working of a retributive fate? Too
well does the man Of incxplicable
| fancy know that the little toy he so