Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-04-09

4
wero all taaen away.
Ishc fire had gene Cut, but did not think
Z Of rekindling it. / lid not want comforts
which RnOal could not share For long sat
at the table, prey 10 my Wretched thoughts.
until the sudden leaping up of the expiring
candle warned me Of the lapse of time. Ny
Snow-drenched clothes made me shiver in
every limb; / hastily undressed and threw
myself into bed. There, from sheer fatigue
Of mind and body, / must have slept; since ]
remember no more until the sTva-i awoks
me next morning.
Pierre greeted me as usual: tho ics,s of
RaOuls arTrs: was, therefore, not VT rub
lished. sent him, however, for q ncn aper,
that might learn the latest developl,cn. Of
the case.
The Figaro had long paraCrlJh, Loaded
rs usual, "Yhe Crime of Christina -lav.n IL
stated tat no arrest had yet been made, but
that the police were understood to have found
clew and to be now on the track of the as
saSsin. 1t commented on the mysterious
character Of the crime. Zone of the chief
difficulties Of the case" said the writer, sis
Tho apparent want Of motive in the proceed
LHGs OF the unknown murderer. Nodoubt the
deceased Joseph Meissner had dangerous
reputation for wealth; possibly, from the ma
ture OF his business, he may have had enc
mics. But If plunder was the motive for the
iced, why did the assassin, who seems to have
been quite unhurried, leave behind him yalu-
ables like those mentioned in the police in
ventory-money, trinkets and Jewels, which
could have been so easily carried away2 On
The otl-er hand, if revenge and not robbery
a m mt u,I,y yeln IL
sa2k those lock fast places, breaking into
some, opening others-overturning every
rlln and apparently taking nothings A
t4c0iy 20 explain this contradiction has yet
to be found.n
Here was point. tried to think it out
calmly i'll connection with Raoul and his reJa-
tionS, so far es l knew them, to the murdered
man. But all ry pondering was in vain;
could lind no theory. Only the stern facts
confronted ne
The paragraph in The Figaro next went or
to describe the articles exhibited at the
Morgue, which, it Sea ned, were still attract
ing public curiosity. These it said, "are
the real clew to the discovery of tho criminal.
The police have to lay their hands upon the
individual who, on Monday night, dropped
from his wrist that ivory button in the room
OF Joseph Meissner. They have to find, if
possible, the other ivory button that makes
tie pair In brief, they have to find the
man CT, the owner Of tho dagger with
which the crime was conlmitted.n
My hand SO shook at 1 read this terrible
that | could scarcely hold the pa-
per. 1t was l who had been the first to find
that single ivory button at Raoul's sleeve
aud had left it there!-I, his friendl I had
mad 1t In my power to destroy the evidence
3gainst him, and instead L had preserved it.
Let him be guilty OF not, it was not my part
to deliver him up to justice; yet that was
what had DONE l forced myself to read on.
1.-The dagger now being shown at the
continued the writer, sis of SO
singular kind that no one who has once seen
it could fail to identity it. 1t is of japanese
manufacture, the steel being specially fine,
and the lacquering of the hilt being very rich
and artistic. On one side of the blade is an
inscription In the japanese character; on the
other side is the figure of flower, with a
single word beside it, c!So in the Japanese
character. This word is stated, by we'll
known Orientalist who has seen the weapon,
to mean Illusion, and to have religious sig
1lticance. NJ. de st. F4oreIt, the well known
private collector, writes us tnat the dagger of
jhe Passage de Mazarin is not unique, as has
oeen stated in several of the journals NJ. de st.
torent possesses weapon which is all exact
counterpart of the one found beside the CORPSE
If Joseph Meissner.' The paragraph ended
With the statement thai nezt day the funeral
# the murdered man was TO take place from
he Morgue
did not leave the house all that day: I
'hrank from doing SO. Ii went out, and if |
he news OF Raoul's arrest were now gener-
lily known, as was possible, should be as |
alled with questions from the numerous |
rlends OF both OF us-oueStions which to me |
would be torture. l could do nothing, at |
east, thought and thought, read the |
newspaper reports over and over again, and |
'ould devise no measure which would be of |
my advantage to my unhappy friend. In |
Iced, the best service l could render him
20 far as it seemed just then-was to keep out
u the way. In trying to imagine O possible |
became aware that my evil
lence would not be in his favor.
This was by far the most wretched day
ever spent in my life. This forced inaction,
he cruel anxiety about my friend, the re-
morse of my own conduct-which painted, |
10 doubt, in colors unduly dark-alI these
contributed to my misery. lunched on
What remained eatable of Magny's dinner
he dinner that had been ordered to celebrate
he accepting Of the comedy-and drank a
'ottle of wine. The day wore on with mad
.ening tardiness; at length evening came,
md again l sent out Pierre for Journal.
3y this time, surely, the news of the arrest
must have been made public. A glance at
he paper showed me that it had.
The paragraph was headed, "Crime of
Christmas day: Arrest of the Assassin and
an thus:
AN arrest has now been made in the case
u the Passage de Mazarin, and all the cir
umstances point to the conclusion that the
'ohce have laid their hands on the veritable
murderer. The individual arrested on sus-
'lclon is young man narod Raoul Girard,
tudent Of law, rc@:l..lg at No. % Rue
)auphine, nephew cI tie murdered man.
'urther information is at present withheld
" the police. 1t may be stated, however,
hat the arrest was made at O late hour last
light, and that the credit of it is entirely due
o the Agent of Police Py. There is reason to
,eleve that, but for the activity shown by
bis skillful and energetic officer, Girard, who
vas In hiding, would ere this have succeeded
n effecting his escape"
l was reading this paragraph with feelings
hat may be imagined, when was startled
y knocking at the door. I say Startled
ecause l was apprehensive nt every
noment of visit from the agents of police.
his time, however, it was only Pierre.
"a lady desires to see Monsieur he said,
nd ushered in Madame Dumaine, the mother
Gabrielle.
One glance at her face showed me that she
new all. s s. ,g .5,..as. fH.E