The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1895-02-21
How Mans Cupidity
Undoes Him.
The Greedy Pawnbroker
of Paris
And the Clever Ruse by Which He
Lost Seventy Five Thousand
Francs

Mr.. Lagrange sat behind his Win
dow looking over his accounts. The
window was draped after fashion
A few pieces of lace and antique jew
slry We're exhibited in such way as
to Inform the initiated passer-by that
such articles were bought, sold, and
taken in pledge on the premises; while
| true science was shown in the ar
rangement by which the master of the
establishment could see into the street
without himself being observed.
1t was a convenient plan; and it
enabled Mr.. Lagrange to notice that
tall, pale, clean-shaven young man
was peering in at the window in an
inquisitive way. He had a semi
clerical aspect, wearing d low
crowned, black soft felt hat, and that
voluminouS garment known as an
''Inverness cape" His manner whs
nervous and hesitating, as Of a man
who found himself in an unwonted or
embarrassing position. He made as
though he would pass on, stopped,
looked at the name on the brass plate
second time, glanced up and down
the street, and then, with an air of
ablishment.
Mr.. Lagrange's street door opened
noiselessly, and admitted the visitor
to small carpeted hall, in which the
only apparent aperature was a Win
dow like that of a booking office at
railway station, formed chiefly of
ground glass. The open part was close
to the seat occupied by Mr.. Lagrange,
who had, of course, observed all the
MOVEMENTS OF HIS VISITOR.
After standing ait the aperature for
moment or two without seeing amy
body, the stranger raped gently with
his knuckles on the window sill, and
shortly afterward Mr.. Lagrange, with
the air of a man who was taking a
constitutional, sauntered past the
spot.
Il have got ring" began the
stranger, speaking with marked
French accent.
Lagrange gave his visitor a bold
look, before which the young mans
eyes dropped, and held out his, hand
for the trinket.
With some hesitation the stranger
produced a plain gold ring of a pc
ouliar pattern and laid it ON the desk
before him. 1t was very much like
one of those old-fashioned rings which
were made with hollow space for
q morsel of hair of deceased friend
only, in this case, a scroll work took
the place of glass; and this scroll
work was Of very delicate pattern,
hero and there pierced with minute
holes. Lagrange had seen such rings
before and knew that in former days
they had often been used as the re-
pository of some small articles of
value, such as a gem or precious
medicine.
Taking it up in his fat, shiny fin
gers, Lagrange, without a word of
lapClogy to the owner, carried the
ring to a large plate glass window,
under pretense of examining it under
a better light. The pawnbroker then
weighed the trinket in his hand,
lpeered at it curiously through a mag
Inifying glass, shook it a second, third,
a fourth time with increased interest,
for he was certain that he heard
| SOMETHING RATTLE INSIDE.
Bending a little backward, Mr.. La
grange took an observation of his Wis
itor through convenient hole in the
ground glass, and then, moved by a
feeling that the strangers face was
not unfamiliar to him, he wrote a
few words ON a scrap of paper, which
he dispatched through a tube.
'"This is a quaint little thing" OBJ
served the pawnbroker, returning to
his customer.
"A-yes."
"Have you any objection to give a
reference? 1t is usual
"Well-a-I'm not sure that the
father superior would like it. The
ring belongs to our order-the Order
of ST. Simeon. We lost all our prop
erty during the reign of the Commune
in Paris, and then the French govern
ment banished us with the other
monks
"What is all that to me-" asked the
pawnbroker, impatiently.
''One of the fathers" said the
stranger, in an humble tone, told
me to try and borrow a little money
On the security Of this ring. But, you
understand, / must not sell it. 1t is
a kind of a relic, for it belonged to
Father Clerc, the superior of the Or
u6f, WHO WIS SuOl US Tie COllIlIuH-
lists in 1871. He got it conveyed out
of prison to one of our friends
''How:' asked Lagrange, who was
beginning to feel interested.
81 cannot tell; I did not belong to
the order then"
"But you do now?"
"Yes; 1 am Lay brother
"Well, 1 don't mind lending yoT Il
sovereign. It's only worth the weight
of it's gold.''
''But we must have more than that, -
and the lay brother leaned forward
through the window and spoke in a
low, eager tone: ''We are all con-
vinced that there is something re-
markable in that ring. I have heard
that Father Clerc always wore it, be-
cause it would one day bring back
prosperity to our community"
'He sent that message out of prison
along with the ring?' asked the pawn
broker, in careless tone.
$50 I HAVE HEARD"
responded the lay brother. Could it
be, Lagrange asked himself, that the
imprisoned priest had used this ring
nc, Nf