Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-01

What is your excuse for turning
states evidence" The question blazcd
forth unexpectedly like a streak Of light.
ming which carries the promise of black.
est thunder at its back.
The messenger flushed holly. "If
your honor will permit" he said, quiet.
ly, his eyes cleaning ominously, 81
will not answer that question until we
have dismissed the subject under fire. u
Judge Delno was guilty of an unpre.
meditated look of surprise. He wei.
coined courage in any form whatsoever,
even when sometimes it was brought &c
bear upon him to his own discontinue.
Continue.
II have here instructions from the
aforesaid Desmoulins which read as fol.
lows" The messenger stepped forward
to lay an envelope within Judge Delno's
hands.
But the judge checked him peremp.
torily Read it, ;" said he.
The messenger stepped back, drew
forth the contents of the envelope and
cleared his throat.
Il came into possession of this pa
per-" he explained, through an odd
Observation-Disclosures for you, sir, -
turning to Stornmouth. "a man was
run over day before yesterday on Broad.
way When we picked him up, he was
still breathing, but he died an hour aft
er he reached the hospital. He has since
been identified AS porter at the Bre-
WORT House. His papers We're handed
to me by the coroner. promised to for.
ward his interests in reference to get
ting word of him back to his friends in
France. Two years ago | ran up against
this man in Battery park. He was a
greenhorn, Just landed; he did not
speak word of English. put him i'll
the way of getting some work. Singular
enough that | should be ON hand &c
witness his death. Among his other pa.
pers | found the inclosed, which | took
the liberty of confiscating. The business
1t treated of seemed to be something in
my line" Then, turning toward Judge
Delno, 1.-THE morning after" he con.
tinued, MIR. Stornmouth called at my
Office and put some questions to me. But
first | will read you the contents of the
letter.
Find, he read, the record of the
young woman's antecedents the amount
of her parents capital and her family
inclination and social status. Is the old
man gullible? Is the mamma to be CO.
creed out of her ducats? Will the filthy
lucre be forthcoming when the big
move is made: De Lacaze is up to his
ears in debt. He desires a wife with a
big dot. If her antecedents are a little
off color, so much the better. De Lacaze
can then hold the whip hand and threat
ell exposure If his demands are not met
with. The young woman's name is
Priscilla Delno, her address 40 West
Fifty fifth street. have had it trans
lated. sir, ty man in our office. The
lester is written in French.
THAT will do" interrupted Judge
Delno. And your answer to this nefa-
rious plot?"
wait moment" broke in Storm
mouth S voice. Il wish you to under
stand first how 1 came into the knowl-
edge that this transaction existed.
There is a waiter at Durand's restau-
rant i'll Paris who flourishes under the
sobriquet of The Rat. He is like quick
silver in his movements and is in per.
petual demand because of his talent for
amassing all the news, social, political
and so forth, in nutshell and rehash-
ing it to his clients in an undertone as
he administers to their wants. He has
the eye of the proverbial hawk, a tongue
which is polished like the sharpest
razor, and a wit which is famous. !
have feed him heavily for long time,
both because | found him unique, and
unique amusement cannot be too high.
ly remunerated, and also because it APP
peared to me he might be rendered val
liable ultimately in some unsupported
manner. Whether or no he held a
grudge against Desmoulins for skit as
clever as unwise, which recently APP
peared in the columns of the Eclair
against The Rat, warning all stay at
home Parisians against him as Il spy of
the most dangerous caliber, / cannot
tell. The fact remains. He set before
me, with admirable condensation, the
plot which Doxie there '-indicatin
the messenger-'h holds as documentary
evidence against the opposition party
He denounced DesmOulins as an adven-
turer and De Lacaze as the type OF titled
libertine who is robbing us of ohr rec
ord of common sense while at the same
time filling Frances minis at America s
expense. | looked up Desmoulins. You
know my tendency to battle with fraud
whether 1t concerns me personally or
otherwise / discovered that the Des-
mouths of the Eclair and the Des-
mouths of the Pension Picaud We're one
and the same, that De Lacaze was the
nobleman III question, and that your
daughter was the young woman in par
ticular. l took the next steamer for
home. | called at Browns agency.
DoXie will tell You the rest. ="
Doxie raised his eyes. They had been
aiscreetly yelled. They We're steel blue
in color, with fearless light in them
that belied the other features of their
owners countenance, whose expression
Of snug impenetrability had been worn
for so long period that it had become
almost second nature.
The letter found me-" he stated
firmly, Just on the eve Of mental and
moral crisis. l had made up my mind
to quit unearthing family skeletons for
pay. Browns is a necessity. 1t is
Browns affair, not mine, whether he
conducts his business on "a basis of hon
esty or on IA basis Of fraud. have done
many a scurvy trick since | threw in my