Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-08-09
THE SECRET OUT.

JorleIte will be on board the 1:3O
mail train. Follow him TO Liver
pool. Will meet you there. Look
sharp. CATHCART'
This was the wording Of the tele'
gram received one wet, ugly night
last December. l was sitting in my
little snuggery back of my office,
before a blazing CRATE, with my
feet in slippers aud my body in a
warm dressing room. l had a
mug of hot punch and cold mince
pie on the table before me, along
With an uncut novel and genuine
Havana, with which l intended to
regale myself presently. And
although l had a very strong anx-
city to secure Jorlette, it must be
confessed that l was altogether too
comfortably situated to relish 60
ing out into the cold that dismally
dirty night.
This telegram was from my chief,
who, l might as we'll say, was a
detective, and l had followed that
thankless and prec2rious business
for several years. People con-
sidered me very successful in
working up difficult cases, but I
was never quite satisfied with
myself. I wonder if any man
ever is?
This man Jorlette had gwen us
great deal of trouble. We had
never had so Keenly cunning
spirit to cope with. Strategy, was
matched with strategy, diplomacy
with diplamacy; and scores of
times, when we we're sure Of him,
he had slipped from under our
fingers like a fea and left US won.
dering how the he managed it.
Perhaps it would be well to ex-
| plain thVt Pierre JOrlette was a
murderer, upon whose head was
set a price of $1,000 by the crown.
A Frenchman and nobleman by
birth, a gentleman by education,
be had when very young married
a beautiful English girl, with
whom he passed two years o. un.
allOyed happiness. At the end of
that time some fearful shadow
came between them-nOne knew
of what nature-and the inhuman
husband stabbed his wife to the
heart. Her confidential maid
witnessed the deed aud attempted
to save the life of her mistress, but
Jorlette fell upon her savage feroc.
ity aud left the two cOrpses lying
together side by side.
These are the facts as briefly as
[ can state them to you. OF course
there were many MINOR clrcum.
stances not worth recording, as
they have little bearing upon the
short story am writing.
II seemed from this telegram
that Jorlette was TO be on the 7:30
train. | wondered how Cathcart
had got his information, but he
had armies Of spies constantly
working for him, and probably
some of them had made the discov.
cry.
I had to follow instructions.
For the hundreth time | had
took JOrletI's photograph from my
pOcketbook and examined the fea.
lures of the murderer. 1t was
singn!arly handsome face that
saw-clearly cut, with large hazel
eyes shaded by long, DARK lashes,
mouth delicate and sensitive az
a wOnan's, high, rather narrow
forehead, half hidden IN clustering
curls of auburn hair, form rather
spare, yet we'll knit, and a hand
symmetric Il aud rounded as q
woman's.
The picture would have answer
ed sple1di lily tor that Of a senii-
mental, sonnet making poet-but
for a murderer, 1t was dead failure.
| Nevertheless somewhere in the
past crime had scathed him, Jor.
lette had sat for it.
/ changed my slippers for boots
and got myself in my fur overcoat,
stuffed q valise with brows paper
and backing brushes, that l might
appear a respectable traveller, and
looking at my watch, found l bad
Just time to reach the station.
The tram stopped ten minutes
for refreshments, aud taking the
guard, who was an old friend of
mine, sufficiently into my conf
dence, was given an opportunity
of looking through the carriages
previous to the startiug of the
train.
IL was a full train, but, siugu-
larly enough, there was not a red
headed man on board OF II, Jor-
lette was red headed, and aside
from that circumstance, he had a
face which l flattered myself l
could not readily mistake.
As l stood irresolute, and feeling
very much as If l had been fooled
there came toward me from the
dining room an individual tall and