Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1886-05-20


planning the discoveries are had made.
Next morning Isaw the advocate Sapinaud,
and told him of the new evidence in Raoul's
favor. He advised me to say nothing, in the
meantime, TO Raoul
LET Us wait, !" he said, until Blerv returns
and tells us the whole story. Then, if the evil
dence he has found proves what you say it
proves, will frame a statement and lay it
before the Imperial procurator. After that
Girard will no doubt be released from deten-
ton, either with or without bail"
Next morning the detective arrived in Paris,
and sent me a message asking me to come to
him at the prefecture of police, and to bring
Sapinaud also. l was fortunate enough to
meet Sapinaud in the Sale des Pas-Perdus; !;
he at once unrobed. AMI we hastened to this
prefecture.
There we found NJ. Blery. in his napless hat
and shabby gray overcoat, just as he had ap-
peared III Rome, and Who could tell how many
other European cap as! The room in which
he received us was small but well lighted; its
furniture consisted of two chairs and a bureau
IN common pine wood; ON the bureau lay an
almanac, Paris Directory and a Universal
Guide to all the railways of the world. NJ
Blery gave each of us chair. and himself re-
manned standing with his back to the light.
"Messieurs,9 he said, Il am charmed to
have the honor of this visit. L rush at once
into the middle of things. In the converse
tion which | had with NJ. Marsal - days
ago, there was one point we did not discuss
namely the apparent want of motive for the
crime | presume, however, that Monsieur.
in his very intelligent examination Of the
case. did not fail to give this point his atten-
tion"
NO said; ~ considered the point, and
came to a certain conclusion"
1--WE may suppose" said NJ. Blery, 'that
the assassin of Meissner had one of two OBJ
jects in view-either revenge or plunder. If
it was simply revenge, why did he ransack
the strong boxes and cabinets? If it was
plunder, why did he leave so much portable
booty behind! The Judge-again fitting the
facts into the etheory-accounted for this by
the eccentricity, amounting to insanity, of the
criminal, terror-stricken by his crime. How,
Monsieur, do you account for it"
II account for it," said, ''in quite another
wav. / account for it by the conjecture of
a search ON the part of the assassin; and,
since all the lock-fast places were not opened,
by search for a special object"
Exactly said NJ. Blery; "the conclusion
to which any unbiased mind, possessing sufff-
cient acuteness, would naturally come. What
were the judges wordsl This he said, is
the obscure point of the case, but the difficulty
here tells as forcibly against any other theory
of the crime as against the theory tat
Girard is the guilty person. A somewhat
rash assertion, Monsieur the Judge! The cir
cumstances certainly make against his theory,
but they confirm ours. Yes, search for
special object, that is It'll And the special
object"
"A compromising paper" suggested Saps-
maud, left in Meissner's hands by one OF hls
clientsn
IAN excellent hypothesis, said Blery; but
here, fortunately, we can dispense with n.y.
potheses; we have facts, as l shall show you
Since leaving M. Marsal, a fortnight ago, l
have been in London, Brussels and Rome
have been in search Of the missing dagger