Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-01-01

WIN hEAtNllNN
the next morning felt apprehensive
regarding the outcome of the affair. The
officer questioned me closely concerning
my visitors Of the day before, and what
loans had made. When | told him
that had loaned ten thousand francs
upon a large lot of unset diamonds he
demanded the privilege of examining
them. OF course. | could not refuse.
After looking at them carefully, making
copious notes, taking the, nlme of the
young woman, description of her ap-
pearance and such other Information as
could give him, he went away leaving
me in very unpleasant frame of mind,
/ can tell you. Later in the day he re,
turned to the shop with a tall, cleanly
shaven man wearing preternaturaliy
grave expression and carving under his
heavy black eyebrows a .pair of restless
gray eyes, which steadfasily refused tc
look yeu straieht II the -. ! didn't
like his looks. He was Introduced to
me as NJ Paul Denais, business manager
of the affairs of Nine. Medil, whose
handsome residence on Rue Voltaire is
one of the features of that avenue. lie
lOohCu dh Ll6 uldulOubS W HUI NllG OlllCtl
had asked me to produce and identified
them positively, without question, as be-
longing to Nine. MediI. When l told
him who had pawned them he identified
the young woman as frequent visitor ut
the house of his employer and an init
mate friend of one of the buffers named
Jacques Noison At these revelations
you may be certain | was much amazed.
felt sure some frightful crime had been
committed. | gave up my francs as
hopelessly gone and I would have
felt gratifed if | could have been as
sured that | too would not be involved
in the trouble. After the two men had
finished the examination of the stones
begged them 10 tell me what had oc-
Cured, when the officer took pity on HE
and told me with great secrecy that
Nine. Medil had been found murdered
in her bed-strang gled--three nights be-
fore and her jewels, together with a
small fortune in money and securities,
had been stolen. Suspicion was fastened
upon the bus ness manager, who hal
been in the house that afternoon, and he
was promptly arrested. He, however,
protesting his innocence, had induced
the officers to allow him to assist them
i'll discovering the real culprit and had
visited with an officer al the pawn
shops in the city with the result above
stated.
"The officer gave me receipt for the
diamonds, which he carried away, and |
was placed under bonds to appear when
wanted as a witEess. In the course of a
day or so the facts of the murder were
given to the newspapers. 1t was then
discovered that 21 Rue Colbert, which
Marie Blanc had given as her address,
was butcher shop, and she was totally
unknown to the proprietor or the neigh
bors. This puzzled the police greatly.
1t was a month before they were able to
learn where she had gone. Jacques
! Noison, whom the business manager had
associated with her in his testimony, had
also disappeared and all traces of him
were lost too. At last they found that
Marie Blanc had sailed for England the
day after selling the jewels, and
had not been seen since she landed
in London on the night of the same
day. The disappearance of the butler
and the young woman, taken together
with the pawning of the jewels and the
lack of any direct evidence against M.
Denas, induced the police to release
him, although for months afterward he
was kept under strict surveillance. My
diamonds in the meanwhile reposed in
the vaults .of the government waiting
for further Developments in this very
mysterious case.
at was, think, " continued the pawn
broker, sat least six months after the
murder that the police received notifica-
tion from Brussels that lot of diamonds
precisely like those which belonged to
Nine. Medil, had been pawned in a shor
in that city for large sum Of money.
The Paris police at once sent detective
to investigate the matter. Surely enough,
the diamonds were identical with those
had bought, even to those blemishes
which marked my purchases. Then,
too, they had been pawned by young
woman answering the description ot
Marie Blanc. The goo Is were confscated
at once, the pawnbroker was arrested
and the city secured for the young
woman. This time diligence was re
warded. The police arrested her just as
she was about to leave the city disguised
as an old market-woman. AS soon q:
this news was flashed to Paris the Off
GERS fastened to the house of NJ. Denai
to arrest him. and they were none too
soon, rs he was about to leave, anC
probably would have made his escap,
within very few minutes.
"Now," said the pawnbroker, cher,
is the strange part of this long story
Marie Blanc had concealed abolt he
person three more sets of diamonds, eaCl
exactly like the one l had, and NJ. De
nais also had set with him. The twt
prisoners were taken before the magis
trate without either having an opportu
nity to communicate with the other
Both maintained brave demeanor unit
they were fetched together, then the,
broke down entirely The six sets o
diamonds were produced, and it wa
found that the one which NJ. Denais ha(
in his possession was the only genuin
set, the rest being made of paste, but s.
cleverly done that the best expert coul,
not have detected the imposture. Whel
confronted with such indubitabl
proofs of their collision, eacl
confessed. M. Denain was the murderer
Marie Blanc was his accomplice, Jacque
Voison had left the house week befor
the murder to 90 upon sheep ranch il
Australia, and hal nothing whatever t.
do with the crime. The real diam md
were neatly counterfeited by Denais
who had learned that trade in hi
younger days, and Marie had been sen
out to pawn the jewels for two reasons
One was to raise money and the othe
was to divert suspicion from the reo
criminal. who would have fled the couu
. 49,. Ii.aotl.- IL ho ,,,url hnl