Wichita eagle., 1888-06-03

A)oNp'lbSCe
remember no more until the servant awoke
me next morning.
Pierre greeted me as usual: the news OF
RaouIs arrest was, therefore, not yet pub
Eshed. l sent him, however, for a newspaper,
that might learn the latest development Of
the case.
The Figaro had a long paragraph, headed
as usual, 'The Crime of Christmas-day 1t
stated that no arrest had yet been made, but
that the police were understood to have found
a 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, lis
the apparent want of motive In the proceed
ings 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 plumber was the motive for the
deed, why did the assassin, who seems to have
been quite unhurried, leave behind him valu-
ables like those mentioned in the police in
ventory-money, trinkets and jewels, which
could have been so easily carried awayl On
the other hand if revenge and not robbery
was the motive, why should the assassin ran
sack those lock-fast places, breaking into
some, opening others-overturning every
thing; and apparently taking nothinga A
theory to explain this contradiction has yet
to be found"
f re was point. / tried to think it out
calmly in connection with Raoul and his reIa-
tons, so far as | knew them, to the murdered
man. But all my bordering WIS in vain;
could find no theory. Only the stern facts
confronted me.
The paragraph in The Figaro next went on
to describe the articles exhibited at the
Morgue, which, it seemed, wele still attract
ing public curiosity. These it said, ARE
the real clew to the discovery of the 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 The~ have to find, il
possible, the other ivory button that makes
the pair. In brief, they have to find the
man G., the owner Of the dagger with
which the crime was committed
Ny hand SO shook at l = d this terrible
paragraph that could scarcely hold the pa
per. 1t was / who had been the first to find
that single ivory button at Raoul's sleeve
and l had left it there!-1, his friendi l had
had 1t in my power to destroy the evidences
against him, and instead l had preserved it.
Let him be guilty or not, II was not my part
TO deliver him up TO justice; yet that wai
what had done l forced myself to read on.
The dagger now being shown at the
Morgue," continued the writer, lis of SC
singular a kind that no one who has once seer
it could fail TO identify it. II Is Of japanese
manufacture, the steel being specially 1ne,
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 a flower, with
single word beside IL, also In the japanese
character. This word Is stated, by well
known Orientalis who has seen the weapon,
to mean Illusion, and to have a religious sig.
nificance N de 81, Floreat, the weii-kno--r
private collector writes Us That the dagger OF
the Passage de Mazarin Is not unique, as has
been stated in several of the journals u de st.
Floreut possesses a weapon which Is an exact
counterpart OF the ors found beside the corpse
Of Joseph Meissnarr The paragraph ended
with the statement that nexs day the funeral
OF the murdered man was 10 take place from
the Morgue.
did not leave the house ell that day; ]
sh-eak from dong So II / went cot, and II
TIE news OF Raoul's arrest were now gsner-
ally known, as was possible, | should oe as
sailed with questions from the Numerous
trends of both Of us-aussessas which to ne
would lie t1-t.ra / oo0ld do noting, at
Last i''ns--h. aa5 .hn-zeis- r~-' 'h<