Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-04-02

bill of sale. If this line Of argument is
true, some one has followed this woman
from France in order to rob her, after
allowing her to accomplish the risky
business of smuggling. Is that person
our friend Thauret? Along this line Of
argument we arrive at the conclusion
that Mr.. Mitchell has not yet committed
his crime. He hinted that / should re-
member this if / should exculpate him
from those already committed. But do
1? Why did he show me that ruby and
say that he meant to present it to his
sweetheart? Will he give it to her and
then rob her of iti If SO, will she be in
the plot and make hue and cry, so that
the papers may make a noise? That was
a part of the agreement in making his
bet. But, after all, what about that but
ton? No explanation explains which
does not throw light upon that.
Here Mr.. Barnes was interrupted by
the announcement that Mr.. Randolph
wished to speak with him. 1t must be
remembered that Mr.. Randolph was not
aware of the fact that the conversation
in the sleeping car had been overheard.
Brought face to face with Mr.. Barnes,
he felt confused and hesitated.
"Mr. Randolph, believe" said the
detective, glancing at the card which
had been sent in. ''Be seated. You have
come to see me about this Mitchell case?"
The rising infection with which the
last word was spoken seemed almost
unnecessary to Mr.. Randolph. For if
the man could ask such question he
might as well have made it a positive
statement This assumption of knowl-
edge made him more than ever confident
of the skill Of detectives, and especially
of the one before him.
"You know that?" said he Would
you mind telling me howl"
"We detectives are supposed to know
everything, are we mott" This was said
with an affable smile, but the answer
plainly indicated that Mr.. Barnes pre-
ferred not to be interrogated Mr.. Ran
dolph therefore concluded to hurry
through with his unpleasant business.
"Mr. Barnes, have a confession to
make, and''-
81 must interrupt you, to remind you
that whatever you say is unsolicited,
and that if you incriminate yourself the
evidence will be used against you"
"Thank you for your warning, but l
have come here that / may not be in
criminated, The facts, in brief, are sim
ply these" Then he narrated as accu-
rately as he could recall them all the
circumstances in connection with ne .ne
wager. Mr., Barnes listened as though
it was all new story to him. He even
jotted down a few notes On a bit of pa
per as though for reference. At the con-
clusion he said;
"This is most astounding tale, Mr..
Randolph. 1t is very difficult to believe
that man like Mr.. Mitchell, who GER
tainly seems to be a gentleman, would
undertake to become a criminal simply
to win sum of money. Now you must
have been thinking this over, and, if
SO, you have some explanation to offer.
Would you mind telling it to me?"
81 should be glad to do So. " Mr.. Ran
dolph spoke eagerly. In his heart he
was fond Of his friend, and therefore
his theory was one which in measure
would excuse him. Ha was delighted to
have the chance of con6ding his views
to the detective. "You see" he contin-
ued, sit is one of the most difficult
things in the world to say who is and
who is not perfectly sane. Some experts
contend that nine-tenths Of the people
in the world are affected by mania in
some form Or other. I hold that any
man who makes a collection of any
kind of things, using them for other
Than their legitimate uses, is i'll a meas
ure insane.
edo you mean legally insane? That
is to say, irresponsible?"
Gas to responsibility, cannot say.
But think such mania might tempt
a man to an illegal act. must explain
my idea further. Postage stamps un-
doubtedly have very important value
One who collects them after they have
been cancelled, paying many times their
face value for them, is in my opinion
somewhat crazy, since he pays a ficti-
tious price for what has no intrinsic
value.
"You might say the same thing of
paintings. The intrinsic value repre-
sented in canvas and oil is little, yet
thousands of dollars are paid for pic
lures
"That, too, is an insanity, one, of
course, which cannot be INDUCED in by
any save the rich. But it is not the
same as with the old stamp craze. Pic
lures remind us of nature and appeal to
the senses of all mankind by recalling
recollections brought into being by the
scene presented. There is therefore a
legitimate use for paintings, and rea-
sonable price as compensation for the
work and genius of the artist is perhaps
permissible. But should a man pay a
fortune for single canvas and then
hang it in room in his own house
where it will be seen by few save him
self, that man I should consider de-
mented. So with jewels
"Ah! What of them?"
"Jewels have a market value, and a
place in the world. But when a man
goes about buying up every magnificent
specimen that can be found, and then
locks his treasures up in safe, he is
simply crazy man pure and simple. "
"What has all this to do with the
case in hand?"
Everything, My friend is a crank on
the subject of jewels. Sensible and en-
tertaining on any other topic, if you
mention the name of any kind of jewel
he is off in a minute, giving long his
tory of this or that celebrated stone.
His especial craze in this connection is
to relate the crimes that have surround
ed every stone of aOy great nrice He