The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-06-10
CAUGHT AT LAST.
4 STORY OF CRIME IN PARIS.

CAUGHT AT LAST.
\ STORY OF CRIME y PARIS.
Monsieur Cheroy was a poor dentist of
the Rue de Chazclles, Paris. He was 4
widower with a large family, and resided
in the Rue dc Legendrc. He had been
struggling for a livelihood for years, for,
although an expert dentist and q fine
looking man of good address, fate seemed
to have denied him success. AS it was,
he was barely able to make a subsistence
for himself and family, and, to tell the
truth, added q little to his doubtful pro-
fessional income by acting nightly as a
marker in a billiard hall in the Rue dies
Capucius.
On the afternoon of November I, 1888,
Cheroy was standing not far from the
billiard hall, when he saw q yelled lady
quit a large millinery establishment near
by and approach a carriage in waiting
for her. The day was windy and raw
and the carly part had been wet. AS
the lady stepped into her carriage her
Vail blew on one wide and she caught it
and drew it to her. At the moment
Cheroy saw something flash. The lady
had entered the carriage and it was
driven off.
Cheroy watched the vehicle depart,
and as he was turning away his eye was
attracted by a glitter in the gutter, in
which there was mud and water. Look.
ing moro carefully he was satisfied that
the brilliancy came from nothing less
than a diamond. As he drew near the
edge of the sidewalk he distinctly saw
that a splendid piece of jewelry lay in
the mud. For a moment ha hesitated.
=. Paris is not a city where a person other
than a chiffonier can pick anything from
a gutter without being observed and
probably. surrounded. Cheroy kney this
we'll, and had recourse, therefore, to q
ruse. Taking his purse from his pocket,
he appeared to be searching for some
thing inside, and then accidentally, as it
were, dropped it into the gutter. In
picking it up he gathered up the sup
posed jewel with it, and then placed
both in his handkerchief. Having
wiped the pocketbook. carefully con-
ccaling the jewel, he put both into
his pocket and went toward the billiard
hall.
On examining his find he was satisfied
that it wasmost valuable. A large brilliant
surrounded by sixteen smaller stones,
all set in o magnificent piece of fligree,
was what was disclosed to him. Care
fully putting it away, he attended to his
duties that night.
Next morning he visited the Rue dc
Vanguard, where an old jeweler whom
he knew had his business. This man,
named Greuze, bought gold and silver,
and supplied q good many OF the smaller
dentists with what they required. He
wa o shrewd dealer and a skilful lapl-
Diary. When Cheroy showed him the
jewelry he examined it slowly and with
out enthusiasm, and at last, having scru-
tinted it through several powerful
lenses, he laid it on the counter with u
smile and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, what do you think about it,
monsieur asked Cheroy.
"Paste," was the almost contemptu-
Gus reply.
"There you arc wrong" said Cheroy;
"no false gems ever shone like these
stones, and beside, the setting shows
that the thing isvaluablc.
Greuze took the jewel once more and
examined it. At length he said:
Il may be mistaken, monsieur, and if
you will leave it with me a few days l
will take means to settle beyond a doubt
the question of the gcnuineness of these
stones"
Many thanks" was the answer;
''but l return it to the owner this even
ing"
THE Marchioness dc Ponthieu,
Greuzc said, with a half snccr.
Il don't understand you" Chcroy said.
"You don't, Greuze replied; ''read
that"
And he drew q morning newspaper
from his side pocket, folded so as to
show o small space, and handed it to
Cheroy, at the same time placing his
finger on an advertisement. Cheroy
took the newspaper and read as follows:
: ONE THOUSAND FRANCS REwARD.-Lost
yesterday afternoon, in or near the millinery
establishment of Nine. Jolivet Boulevard DIES
Capucins, a brooch set with one large central
brilliant and sixteen smaller ones. The finder
will receive the reward named above in re-
turning the brooch to the Marchioness De
Ponthieu. Boulevard Hausmann.
"This is the article, evidently"
Chcroy said, land with a knowledge of
this advertisement and reward I cannot
understand how you can suppose for a
moment that the jewels are spurious"
'1f they had been genuine" was the
reply, don't you suppose the reward
would have been larger" Greuze asked.
"a thousand francs is a good deal of
money! Cheroy replied.
"To you it may be-" was the answer;
"but let me tell you that if these jewels
are genuine they are worth at least thirty
thousand francs"
''Thirty thousand francsm exclaimed
Cheroy.
"Every SOL of it," said Greuzc. "Let
me sees it again"
Cheroy handed him the brooch and he
once more s%crutinized it closely.
"They may be genuine" he said
''look here"
He opened a casket and exhibited what
appeared to be q magnificent necklace of
diamonds.
"Will you believe" he said, "when
tell you that every stone here is spurious
1T is ali paste9 It is true. nevertheless.
Now, you are a poor man, and the
marchioness is rich. Suppose these
stones are real. You take them to her
and she hands you in return a paltry
1000 francs. Nay, you don't know that
she may not have a detective in her ante
room to arrest you rs q thief. Now, I
will talk business with you-shall I?
Then here is my proposal: These stones
are genuine-no doubt of it. If you will
leave the brooch with me for four and
twenty hours 1 will take gu. these stones
and put paste in their places and give you
ten thousand francs for them. Then you
can take the brooch to Madame de
Ponthieu and get your 1000 francs"
"But she will discover the cheat, will
she not?"
'If she does" was the answer, clay
the blame on me. l will take the risk"
Cheroy was poor and his children were
misersbly clad and winter was coming
on, aud he yielded to the temptcr. The
next evening, when Greuze handed him
the brooch with paste substituted for the
real gems, he was a%stounded. For the
life of him he could not tell the differ
ence
He returned the brooch to the mar
chioness and received the reward. But
he invented a story as to how he came
by it.
Il am q humble Dentist" he said,
''and my small place is on the Rue de
Chazelles. On The evening of the day
before yesterday, when I was just about
to quit my place. a rough-looking man
entered, and, removing a kerchief which
was around his throat and chin, he asked
me to examine his front teeth. I found
that two of them were broken off and
the jaw was swollen, I removed the
stumps and applied a soothing lotion to