The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-03-15
THE POISONER.

THE POISONER.
have said little about poisoning, re-
marks M. de Goron, ex-chief of detect
ives of Paris, in his recently published
Memoirs not because the crime is
less common than formerly, but because
science has made it so difficult of detec-
ton and chance SO seldom puts proof
into the hands Of the police.
It was chance, however, that permit
| ted me on one occasion to detect a poi
soner.
A commercial traveller, M. x. had his
letters addressed post restante at the
Theatre Francois bureau. One morning,
unexpectedly called back to town, he
was astonished to see at the postofice
on a little blue envelope handwrit-
ing unfamiliar to him. Opening it, he
read:
MY WELL Beloved have seen your hus-
band and have observed with satisfaction that
the disease has made serious progress. His
| lips are quite white, his eyes hollow, his coun.
tenance ashen. think we can hope to be rid
| of him in month.
P. S.-Ill bring another little packet tomor-
row.
The poor drummer at first thought it
hoax, but rejecting that chance might
have put into his hands the proof of an
adulterous crime which would have had
sinister end, he hurried to the Office of
the surete bearing the title blue accuser,
which he handed to me.
/ turned it over in my hands, surpris-
ed that criminals who could plan such
an infamous crime should forget the
elementary precautions.
wondered if it were not practical
joke, merely to make work for the po-
lice. Then l reflected that most big
crimes are discovered by the criminals
imprudence, and l resolved to investi-
gate.
My duty was to solve the mystery. 1
had the postofioe watched
Early next morning pretty young
woman called to get the letter.
She was frightened when an officer
very politely took her by the arm and
led her to carriage.
No one saw the arrest The carriage
was already, on it's way when the wom-
an demanded:
"Where are you taking me, sir?"
'tTo the chief of detectives, madam. !"
She fell back and said no more, but
her hands shook nervously and her lips
were bloodless.
Large, graceful, beautiful, still
young, the woman was dressed with the
severe elegance of the prosperous bour-
geoise. She was blond, whose blue
eyes, marked round with blister, and
whose mobile features seemed to mirror
all her reflections.
By the manner in which she entered
the office 1 knew she was a woman Of
the world. She sat down, nervously
beating on the table. Her gesture was
abrupt, her voice hoarse, and there was
an odd look in her eye.
"What do you wish?'' she said.
"Why am /, an honest woman, brought
here?''
/ tried to calm her, but her voice be-
came harsher as she cried: tits infa-
nous 1 need not tell you my name"
Then, with due regard to dramatic
effect, 1 handed her the blue envelope.
She fell on her knees, crying in a
voice broken by sobs; "Mercyl Mercy
/ am an unhappy womanl / am poi
sonerl Yes, / wished to kill my hus-
bandl But alone am to blame. He had
to obey me. Punish no one but me-.
eff you knew" she went on, chow I
hate my husband To see him there, al
ways near me, is torture worse than
death. love the young man who wrote
that note with all my soul. With him
I am in heaven. But to go home and
endure my husbands embrace his lips
upon my cheek-it is like fire. At any
cost he must diel prefer crime to that
agony of every minute, every second.
But swear alone am guilty Punish
me. l have merited death, but spare
him, pray youP'
Almost at the moment she seized
pair of scissors from my desk and would
have stabbed herself had not her hand
been staid
I forced her to sit down and told her
how much better it was that the crime
had been discovered, and by gentle
means 1 got from the weeping woman
the name and address of her lover. Then
I babe her wait in a neighboring room
under guard.
1 sent out agents to arrest the lover
and meanwhile questioned her again.
She said she didn't know what the pow
der was. The lover had sent it at her
request for something SLOW and sure. "
Two hours later the men brought in
M. Leon o., the gayest assassin they
ever saw, they said.
"Well, WE'LL" he had laughed as he
saw the men file in, "this is funny. I
never thought it would turn out so COM
ical."
And all the way to my Office he
couldn't stop laughing. He laughed
even when he entered my room. l was
Obliged to recall to him the gravity Of
the accusation. He was kind of smooth
dandy of 25 or 26, with brown mus
tache and the conquering eye.
pardon me, sir, he said. "1t's so
funny can't help it. "
"You call poisoning funny?" de-
manded.
"a poisoning! He he, no. no! All,
if you knew you'd laugh with me!'
"Go on; speak, said sternly.
"Well, the story is queer. Nine. x. is
pretty, amiable, and, my faith, I was
very happy. But such an imagination
she had You understand. she'd say to
me, pointing to her husband, reading
picture paper there in his own house,
'that man must disappear. l can't bear
it year after year. He must die. 1t
seemed funny to me-for I'm not a trag-
10 lover-so l replied in hollow
voice: You wish poison? You shall
have it. Three times week sent a
little package of bicarbonate of soda,
with which she dosed him, supposing
he was dying by inches, when really he
was getting fat ON it. If you only knew
how jolly it was to feel like conspirators
and take double toll of kissesI How
you must love me, she'd say, throwing
herself into my arms; you who are so
honest, yet have committed crime for
mel Believe me or not, chief, she loved
me too much, and I'm not sorry to be
released by this denouement. :"
OF course the gay cavalier might be
lying. We took no chances and sent to a
bureau in his room and found lot Of
little packets carefully folded. They
were taken to the municipal laboratory,
where, sure enough, they turned out to
be bicarbonate of soda.
Then came the other agents who had
] j. Gid thnk