Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-12

Idris, regretting that he could not ac-
| company them, clambered to an emincnce
on the moor1and, where, aided by his
mothers opera glasses, he watched the
view
Nearly everybody in Quilaix had gone off
70 this Pardon. All the shops were closed,
ana the town was as silent as on Sun
Gay morning during the time of high mass.
a rev OF the fishermen and of the coast
these were slumbering in the shadow of
| the sardine boats drawn high up on the
beach. From these slumberers must be
excepted old Baptiste Malet. who through
out the day glided to and fro along the
| shore, now and then dropping behind
| rock to take scrutiny of the yacht by
the aid of telescope nearly as long as
himself.
| The Nemesis still remained at the point
where the anchor had first been cast She
! was certainly mysterious vessel; none of
her occupants had come ashore; none could
| be seen on deck. 1t was quite clear that
for some reason or other the crew shrank
| from the observation of those on land.
A gala day 1t may have been for others.
| but for Idris 1t proved somewhat dull
| time. His mother seemed too much pre-
| occupied to set him his regular lessons; or
| perhaps she did not deem 1t fair to put
| him to study while others were festively en-
| gagged. She sat during the greater part
large scrap book filled with newspaper cut
| tings-a book which Idris was never per-
| m1tted to see, Mrs. Breakspear being ac-
! customed. as soon as her readings were
ended, to lock the volume within drawer
| Of the old oak press She had read these
| extracts SO often as to be able to recite
| the greater part of them by heart; never
| theless, she continued to con them daily,
as If they were quite new to her, though
| their perusal must have given her pain.
The first Of these newspaper extracts was
a long article from the journal L'Eioile
de la Bretagne, worded as follows:
at y;nruy foot nf hfc rnY q p "
able case.
Eric Marville is gentleman Of Eng
fish birth who settled at Nantes in the
spring Of 1868. OF handsome person and
with the ease Of a native, and recently
married to a rich and beautiful wife. M.
Marv1lle soon became a favorite In the high
er circles of Nantes society. The Armorique
Club, the most fashionable Of it's kind, adj
mitted him to membership. 1t would have
been we'll had M. Marville never entered
the salons of this establishment, since it
was here that he first met Henri Duchesne.
The latter by all accounts was a profess
sional gamester, though up to the present
| time nothing dishonorable has been proved
In connection with his play.
From the very first these two men,
Eric Marville and Henri Duchesne for
some unknown reason, appear to have been
In a state of secret hostility to each other,
hostility which finally developed into open
rupture. remark uttered by Marytlle
one evening, and doubtless uttered with
no III intent, on the wonderful luck at
tending M Duchesne at cards, was inter-
preted by the latter as a reflection upon
his mode Of playing, and he Immediately
challenged the other to a duel M. Mar
vile merely shrugged his shoulders with
the words: 1t is not the fashion Of my
countrymen, monsieur. to fight duel over
tribes. Do you call the honor Of my
name trif1e? exclaimed Duchesne, at the
same time contemptuously flinging a glass
OF wine in Marville's face.
In moment the club was in an up-
roar, the friends of each striving to keen
the two men apart, an object successfully
accomplished. All efforts, however, to eff
1ect a reconciliation failed, and the two
men left the club avowedly enemies.
The next evening NJ Marville was
again present at the Armorique Club but
conhnlng himself to the newspapers and
pohtlcal gossip took no part in the play
that went on. M. Duchesne was likewise
present, and entered the lists against M.
montague, young lieutenant of Chas-
seurs The usual good fortune attended
Duchesne. and his opponent having lost
all the money upon his person, said: I
have one more stake, If M. Duchesne does
not object to play against it, And with
these words Montague drew forth a large
silver circlet having every appearance, ac-
cording to an antiquary who was present,
Of being an altar-ring, such as was used
in the religious rites of ancient Scandina-
via.
M. Marvil1e, happening to set eyes upon
this c1rclet became sfngularly agitated;
and, stepping up to the table where the
two men were at play. he said, addressing
Montague: How came you by that ring? NJ.
Montague, absorbed In the play, or per-
haps deeming the question an impertinent
one, made no reply. The play resulted in
the transference Of the ring to the pockets
Of NJ Duchesne, who shortly afterward
took his departure. Five minutes later NJ
Marville likewise quilted the club, and, on
being asked by friend why he left earlier
than usual, replied: To recover my ring
1.-TWO hours afterward, a sergeant-de-
ville going his accustomed round, heard
cries for help coming from the Place Gras-
lin. and on running to the spot found NJ
Duchesne lying on the pavement with
blood flowing from wound in the breast
M. Marville was kneeling beside him and
calling for help.
THE injured man was at once removed
to the adjacent surgery Of M. Rosaire
who, upon examination found that life had
fed.
"The body was conveyed to the pre-
lecture, accompanied by M. Marville who
gave evidence to the finding of 1t. His
statement amounted to no more than that
In walking homeward he had come by ac-
cident upon the body of the fallen man.
1.-THE high position held by M. Marville,
and his plausible explanation of the sit
uation in which he had been found by the
sergeant de-vil1e, prevented the authorf-
ties from attaching suspicion to him. and
on giving his recogniZances to appear
when required, NJ. Marville was allowed to
depart.
"But the Investigations carried on next
day gave a different turn to the affair
The quarrel at the Armorque Club and the
threatening language of the two men were
recalled Marvilles remark on leaving the
club in the wake of M. Duchesne to the
effect that he was going to recover the
ring seemed to supply additional motive
for the deed especially when taken in con-
junction with the fact that though M
Duchesnes money and jewelry were I'M
touched the ring itself was missing.
But the most significant circumstance
of all was the finding of the
dagger with which the murder had
been effected. Shown to NJ Lenoir
the we'll known dealer In antiquities
whose establishment is In the Rue Crebil-
lon he identified it as that had been
purchased from him by NJ Marvlle on the
morning Of the day on which the crime
took place. The weapon is Italian still
etto warranted to have belonged origi-
nally to the famous bravo, Michele PEP
"a better known to frequenters of the
opera as Fra Diavolo. M. Lenoir mentioned
this circumstance as he handed the weapon
to the purchaser, adding: 1T is a dagger
that has shed the blood of Frenchmen'-
And may do so again. was the singular
reply of M. Marville.
"These circumstances seem to justify the