Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1876-02-19
TIL. e
THE
Parjicii2n Detective
OR,
A DESPERATE DEED.
ERSKINE BOYD,
AUTHOR OF "'rHE STOLEN CHrLD," "DRlvEN
FROM lIoME," SC, SC.
CHAPTER XXXI.
A DESPERATE DEED.
NIIfI I TIl n MN.
OLD CoRKSCREw AT MADAME GCRDY's.

OLD coRKscRnw AT MADAME d-EDY's.
Although, in mil tary language. OH
Corkscrew had been "fepul,"l with loss .
by the magistrate. AMI terribly harasse,l
by the eneiny, yet ne wouldn't own him
self beaten.
"l'vc only lost the scent" he repeated,
shifting the air in the way peculiar TO him
" I've got nay duty 20 do. L. this lie time
for me to give way, when thu life of Il
man hangs upon thread? If | don't
stir myself, who will; l pushed this
young man into til" abyss, an | I'll pull
him out Of ii. Aloa", too. I'll do it-that
is, if no one will help mc"
The roo' old boy was nearly fainting
with fatgl,. The fresh air was a sort of
tonic to hin,, and he rem bcred that
since the n;ght before he ha,ln't eaten a
morsel. He dashed into the list r,.,a,,-
rant that he came to, and ordered din
ner, consisting Of soup. chop to follow.
with fried potatoes, ii pancake, and pint
of clar"t.
Our friend the Daddy LIT the restau-
rant a very different man from when he
had entered it. The clouds were di.si-
pated. Hadn't he time before him-u
wholn month"; What cant a man in ear
nest do in IL month! His only regret was
that he couldn't warn Albert that he had
friend working for him, who was moral
ly sure of his inno .eace.
The first thing he did on returning home
was to mount to the fourth story. and ask
after poor Madame Gerdy, the woman he
had once intended to make his wife,
Noel ol'"nc'! the door.
This rather disconnected the Daddy. He
only meant kind inquiries" and now
he was obliged to enter, if only for five
minutes.
The fact was, he distrusted himself, and
would have paid down five pound note
rather than have been dragged into con-
versation about the Widow Larouge Be-
sides, he was nervously afraid that Noel
the future Viscount de Valcourt-might
discover that he was connected with the
detective police.
learn what had passed between the young
barrister and the old Count.
Noel beckoned his friend to follow him
into Ma'lame Gerdy's room.
"What does the doctor sayl" asked
Monsieur TAbaret, in that whispering
voice which we instinctively use in a sick
chamber
Ale has just left" answered Noel, "and
gives no hope"
The old man, walking on tip-toe, ad-
vanced to the bedside. and looked at the
dying woman with eyes that were dim
with tears.
"Poor thing! poor thing" he murmured.
"God has been very good in taking her
away before she knows all! She has suf-
ferr 4 much; but what would her suffer-
ings have been could she have known
that her son-her real son-was in prison
under the awful charge of murder"
That's what Pm always saving said
Noel, "to console myself as l sit watching
her by that bed. For love her still, old
friend. l can't forget that l have ever
considered her az a mother. know that
l was on the point of cursing her once,
but you stopped me. thought l hated
her; but now--now, when l am to lose her
Il forget the wrong she has done me,
and only remember her tenderness r:,d
devotion, Yes, death will be a blessed re-
lease for her; and yet whyl for 1 believe
that her son is Innocent"
"Not guilty, ehl And you, too, think
so?"
Daddy Tabaret put so much warmth. so
much vivacity into this exclamation, that
Noel looked at him with stupefaction.
The oil man felt that he was blushin-
like a girl, and fastened to explain him
self.
"I said. you think 30, toor VIA
meant by that was, that 1 conceded in
your opinion. /, too, am convinced that
he is innocent. It's so improbable that n
young man, brought up as he has been.
should have contemplated such coward
ly business. I've talked with lot of peo-
pie about it, and everybody agrees with
me. The public is in his favor; and that's
great point gained"
"No," said Noel-"no. Monsieur Taba-
ret. Albert hasn't the public with him az
yet. AS you know very well, the French
go on an entirely different principle to the
English. Here, when a poor devil is ar
rested-innocent, perhaps of the crime
imputed to him--we are all eager to throw
stones at him. We reserve our pity for
the guilty one, who. probably, will betray
himself eome~ here in his cross-examina-
ton. Whilst Justice is in doubt, we are