Evening star., 1898-09-17
CHAPTER XIX.

| CHAPTER xix.
| Pigeons, Some Hawks and n TeIeEram m
| The house to which Francois Noir led the
| prefect stood near the crest of hill crown
! ed by a thick clump of trees.
| They followed the bride path from
Graveiotte to Arsur- -Moselle for short dis
| tance, and then turned off through some
| pioughed land. Bates kept them well in
sight.
! How long is it since you saw Schwartz,
! Francois?'
''Oh it may have been last evening, in the
village, drinking with the estaminat of the
| Black Dog
"Alone?"
"Oh. dear, no. He was talking quite a long
| while with two men, one an officer and the
other an older chap in plain Clothes
What was he like, the man in plain
| clothes?"
| looking fellow like yourself, If you will
! pardon me-
Francois, you must leave the post
Office
Now L have offended you. Believe me.
I sir
mo offense. But any one who can come
! to the point as you do deserves a higher
| position than that of a village postmaster
| Foliet naturally puzzled the straightfor-
ward letter carrier. They approached the
| dismantled farm house in silence, Noir
| covertly glancing at the other and wonder
ing what was the hidden meaning of his
| words and actions.
| The place was dreary enough in ordinary
| times and now looked positively woebegone
| French shells had torn gaps in the roof and
| walls. The place looked deserted and for
| bidding, whilst several dark objects huddled
up near the verge of the wood gave ghast-
| ly evidence of the loss sustained by the
| Saxon battery which had temporarily held
the position.
| E'oIIiet about 10 aptar tho ,,,o;, roax.
! when the soft cooling of pigeons fell upon
| his ear. Following the sound he reached a
sheltered loft in the rear of the premises
climbed to small window by means of a
| Ladder and found three birds pecking at
the remains of the last supply of grain
given by their attendant
| He quickly examined them. One bore a
small quill securely fastened With this
treasure trove he descended the ladder and
| opened the rolled-up scroll. 1t read:
r. lS q. p. Soon, perhaps tonight. No
fear of failure. R."
| II, as he believed, the opening letter and
| figures meant, Paris, June 49, 9 pm" the
| fleet messenger had but recently arrived
| Further, it had not come from No. II Rue
Pigalle. as this was impossible, the house
| being in possession Of Pigot and the other
| police agents
| Here was proof positive that there were
| others in Paris who communicated with
| Schwartz. Who were they? Who was R. ?
| What would happen soon or tonight
| which could not fail?
| Folliet was viciouSly vituperative for a
| moment. Why could he not drive from
| Gravelotte to the prefecture of the Seine ?
| II only some inventor could equal the
| pigeon as flying maChne!
| FRANCOIS Noir watched him. This rascal
| Schwartz gives information to the Prus-
slams, then?' he said
| Yes, and to me, Also
But, monsieur
Folliet cut him short by darting toward
| the house. The interior was dark and the
| preIecl stumbled over a corpse at the
| threshold.
| Producing a small electric lantern he
| switched on the battery and examined the
| prostrate body, thinking that 1t might be
| the proprietor of the farm. But it was a
| German infantry officer, who had been shot
| through the forehead with a shrapnel bull
| let and now lay on his back in the smiling
| Inconsistencies of one who dreams pleas
| antly.
The chamber was long and low. It had
| fireplace In the further wall opposite the
| door, two windows, the panes shattered to
| atoms, on the left, and an open door, COM
| municatIng with another room, on the
| right long table ran down the center
| of the apartment.
| Folliet made the tour of the house. but
| the dead soldier was its only occupant
| The place was so bare that a rapid scru-
| tiny revealed the poor chance there was of
| nnding aught likely to prove valuable Re
| turning to the large room the prefect ex-
| amined the table. In the table drawer near
| the hreplacs were a bulky volume and
some loose sheets of thin paper. Foiliet
| could not resist a cry of surprise when he
| discovered that the book was a telegraph
| code in German.
The ussr was a careful man. To make
| sure OF the code words exactly conveying
his meaning, he had licked of each one,