Louisiana capitolian., 1880-03-06

A corridor, without doors, led through
the tenement house, making uninter-
rupted communication with the street.
still more extra prdincry revelations
were made by the ii facks which led up
stairs. !:
At the head Of the stairs the vestibule
was found to bc Cd dmfortably carpctcd,
and there were two elaborate lamps in
brackets on the wall The,lamps flank
ed o door which waa found to be locked.
On being broken opet, u suite Of apart
ments furnished with righteousness, II
not splender, were discovered. Rich
furniture, good pictdr res and costly br'c-
a-brac abounded. All the evidence of u
sitting room, a batch room, and bed
room with q canopiel bed. The win
dows of all were on tho coutt and were
sealed up as carefully rs tEoso OF the
cellar. Hanging lam( served to light
this sacred place. n fire o. soft coal
was dying in the gra 10 of the sitting
room.
The light of this frd revealed a broad,
dark stain on the carptt in front Of it.
There was no mistakillg the sanguinary
character of the mark. Thrust between
the bars was heavy Aokcr with o knob
at the end as large as N apple. When
ono of the explorers ulled it ont he
dropped it, uttering a harp cry.
The knob was stick} and his hands
were smcared with blot td. Adhering to
the poker were tufts Of hair and frag-
ments of flesh and spill tered bone.
There was no longer doubt that mur-
der had been done. It was in this room
it had been committed On the ledge OF
the window and on thE shutters were
the imprints of bloody fingers. The body
had been hurled throE Ugh it into the
alley below. In the ba( h room q Grim.
son chcmise showed hat the assassin
had washed his hands here, evidently
in his haste wiping I'll tm on the first
object which came to hhnd.
One other room in thd house bore ira
ccs of tenancy.
There was q small APARTMENT adjoin
ing the sitting groom, an communicating
with it by q door. In it were plair
table and o chair. On II it were cOu
pie of engraver's lurimt and frame
such as metal engraverA set their plate.
in. Some bottles Of ac1 and fragments
of tracing paper com ,letcd tho list
Whatever else had been packed up ant
removed.
Further inquiry eliciti d the fact thai
tho back rooms Of the tenement house
across the yard had fo4 tho PAST yea
been leased by man WHO was believed
to be u fan-painter. Hid came and wen
at odd hours, almost always with u wo
man who lived with him The pair per
mitted no intrusion, an I, as they pait
their rent regularly, their exclusivenes
was respected. When (he rooms wer'
inspected they were fouh hd bare of all
but tho rudcst ftrniturcl and in so neg
lected q state that they had plainl,
never been lived in.
TO the police all was n Pw plain. Th'
mysterious tenant of theI tenement hOus
was tho resident of the palace whicl
had been created in IVanderdeckcr'
Tomb. He was q countef ffeitcr; and th'
author, in the safe sdcusion Of hi
strange habitation, of the dangeron
false bank bills which Had been circu
lated 50 extensively of laI &c, and of whicl
the Parsan artists had gained the cred
it. The murdered woman was his com
panion, and with scarcely less ecrtainl,
his victim.
But who were they both!
All clews to them seemed tc end q
the front door Of tho tenement house
which had served as q blind to thci
real abiding place. r lc police wer
cropping in the dark wlch the keeper o
hotel of an nnsavory rdpnte turned NJ
to aid them. He stated that for som
ten months room of his house had bec1
rented by man who gave his name "a
Montbcliard. He rarely slept in tn
house and was frequently absent fo
days at o stretch. But he receives
many callers from time to time, wit
whom he seemed to have in'portan
business to transact. He was Away
accompanied by woman. In The mur
dercd woman, the hotel keeper recog
nized that woman herself
Armed with the description obtainc
from him, Montbclard was traced b
tho detectives to q stylisl. restanran
where he and his associates had bee
accustomed to dine. He had last appear
cd there on the evening Of the murder
apparently on the best of terms.
Here the investigation again came t
u halt The closest search failed to re
veal any trace of the assassin. He ha
probably escaped from the city in dis
guise, if he had not he had discovered
retreat even more unsupported than tn
theatre of his crime had been.
The excitement of the murder ha
died out in the face of the fresh sensa
tions when the lawyers who acted a
agents far the only son and heir of tn
sclf-assassinatcd owner of Vandcrbeck
EMS Tomb received orders to dispose G
tho property. The command came fron
London. Certain difficulties arose whicl
ncccssitated the personal attendance Q
the owner of the property. He cam
unWilIinplV. reluctant. as be stated. l.