Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-01-11

LOU AAN NANAt AlNf4 HN Ftti0s
Yes, / answered Speak on
"Ho did so. All, monsieur, / thought
I was dreaming.
j am near death. / need the last
rites Of the church, he said.
Confess your sins, l answered.
My sins are trivial, he returned.
I would speak Of a great crime. 1 oc-
cupy a coll twice tho width Of my body.
/ know not where. 1 am condemned to
die Of starvation. know not why. /
have never injured a fellow creature
my blood boiled. Speak on, 1 re-
peatod.
Idg name is Jules Davoust, no ro-
sumed. i am Of Caen and well known.
1 was a happy man until l met Sophie
Polinski. Aye, afterward / was happy.
She is Polish, Of noble family. SO she
told me. All, father, sho is beautiful. /
loved her. l love her still She return
cd my passion. l I'm only a tradesman,
but we were married. Two months Of
bliss were mine. Ono day she came to
me trembling. Ely, " she said ely
at once" She would not explain. /
had my business-my little shop. 1 had
done no wrong. l refused. That night
she disappeared. Next day I received
a note written by her hand. She babe
me meet her in the wood at a secluded
place known to US both. l went. She
was not there. It was dark. 1 called
her by name. Two men came up, seized
and gagged me, forced me into a car
riage and brought me here. l am CON
demned without trial. My jailers tell
me that l must die or a noble name will
be dishonored There is nothing more.
I was permitted to choose the manner
of death. Aid me if you can, but give
me absolution now
Il absolved him. l babe him have
courage. 1 assured him that he would
be FREQ in a fow hours. My guide re-
turned.
have heard your words, he said.
You cannot aid him. If 1 thought you
could, you would share his fate
"He took my hand and led me to the
carriage, entering with ms. Tho coach
MAJ whipped his horses. They galloped.
I pleaded for tho poor man. My COM
panion was dumb. / threatened him
with the law. He answered not a word.
/ pictured the vengeance Of an offended
God. He was stone. / vowed to devote
my life to the discovery and punish
ment Of his crime. Still not a word.
But 1 have kept and will keep my VOW.
A faint gray light was showing in the
east when we reached the cures door.
/ alighted. Apurse was thrust into my
hand. The carriage disappeared.
1.-Two hours later the gendarmes were
securing the country. They discovered
nothing. Seven days l passed visiting
chateaux and houses, to no purpose.
Then l went to Caen. found the home
of Jules Devoust. Both he and his wife
were missing. The neighbors described
him-a very handsome man, incapable
of committing a crime. His wife, they
told me, was a beautiful woman, with
the air of a princess. She spoke French
with q foreign accent, dressed in silk
and satin and wore valuable jewels.
1.-THE gendarmes wearied of the fruit
less search, but l did not. l made my
home here. / succeeded the cure. 1
mapped out the country and visited ev-
cry chateau, save one, within q wide ra-
dius, every large house. Forty-seven
years 1 have sought a clew. Come to
the window"
Irose Father Aloysius pointed to the
old castle of Vallon, browning o hill
scarcely a mile distant
'That is the chateau which l did not
visit, " no said. cit is so near, and /
travelled many miles that night There
the tomb of Jules Davoust was discov-
cred this morning. l have stood within
it. 1t is a hole in the wall six feet high
by four wide. The stones behind which
the poor wretch spoke 70 me bulged with
the weight above, and the workmen
pulled them down. The skeleton fell
out. In my presence they replaced them.
One stone, just the height Of my head,
was without mortar. 1t could have been
removed easily. The two paved yards
are there, the passage between the walls,
tho stone staircase, the big tagged room.
l have no doubt at all, If the criminals
are living, they shall be brought to JUS
tice.
Twelve months afterward I met Fa-
tber Aloysius in Paris. He had just re-
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the papers of the late owner Of the
chateau had resulted in the discovery
that his grandfather had rented the
place to a Polish gentleman who gave
the name of Lubenski. The latter took
it for a year, but at the end of six
months appraised the proprietor that he
no longer needed it.
'"That is all we know, " said the cure.
Sin Poland l learned nothing. Nor have
the police been more successful.
"And tho mystery is rs far from be-
ing solved as ever?''
Eyes. 1 fear the truth will not be
known until the day Of Judgment !
have imagined many things. The 4a
years which have passed have been fruit
full in curious reflections. / would dis
miss the matter from my mind now ii
1 could. But 1 fear that is impossible. "
-Ashmore Russian in Million.
A Dainty Dish.
Cooked bear has already figured on