The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1906-12-07

hope or understanding in return ~
Il did," said Ribot. Hollis face dark
ened and hardened curiously. Il had
hold on him in another direction. l
promised him that l would not inter-
fere with him there. Do you per-
ceive?"
Yes" Holt turned away and charg-
ed his pipe with great elaboration;
you left him under the impression
that you wouldn't NEEDLE with him
that he was to get off scot-free SO far
as you were concerned?"
Certainly, most certainly, that Is
the construction he will put upon 1t.
But | made him no promise apart
from the other affair. He is blackmail-
ing somebody, and l undertook not to
interfere with him in respect to that
particular enterprise"
But you're going to interfere with
him in respect to that particular enter
prise? You're going to send him to
the guillotine?"
"Assuredly," said Ribot.
Then I'm hanged if they do these
things better in France" cried Holt
putting fercely at his newly-lfghted
pipe, and facing round on his compan-
ion Send the poor wrech to the
it, but he doesn't deserve to be be-
trayed and trapped in that way. No,
no. We've got to use guile for guile,
and strategem for strategem; but
when 1t comes to making understand
ings that are meant to be broken, and
promises that are just so many bare
| faced lies-if that's the FrenDh method,
well and good. l can only say 1t amt
the British"
Monsieur" said Ribot, speaking
with frozen dignity, and reverting
| to his own language, II am perfectly
willing to leave my professional repu-
tation in the hands of my official SUI
/ periors"
quite So" Holt answered, "but l
can tell you this. there isn't a Judge on
the British bench who wouldn't make
a British officer wish himself dead and
buried If thing like that We're proved
against him. If your authorities think
well Of 1t, why that puts you right,
You're acting up to the principles of
your profession as they're understood
| in your own country. But you won't
! find anybody on this side of the chan
mel to think they do things better in
France. No; fairs fair. III CANNON
my man with anything short of false
promises, but there l draw the line"
II am not Quixote, ~" said M. Ribot
II am, all simply, poor officer in the
secret service of the police OF the
| French republic. l am paid to detect
crime, and l do not count 1t unfair to
, Use false coin in dealing with fraud
ulent coiner.'
The two old friends and colleagues
parted in some heat on either side and
they were cool for day or so. But
Ribot had work and interests Of his
own, and he found himself moving so
prosperously that he forgot his pique.
| He had forwarded to headquarters the
evidence with which Lepelletier had
| supplied him, and one fair morning
Paris was supplied with sensation
in the news that one Of it's wealthiest
and most respected tradesmen had
been arrested on charge of having in
stigated the theft of the Bercy dia
monds; and at the hour at which the
arrest took place the English police
laid hands on the most desperate
French criminal OF his day in the per
son of Victor Lepelletier, alias Leroux
1t was Ribot who appeared to demand
i his extradition, and the criminal be-
haved like a mailman in the dock. He
yelled curses at his accuser and but
! for the intervention of half a dozer
stalwart men Of the Metropolitan pc
lice he would have leapt the rail and
would have torn the detective piece
| meal with his hands. 1t took the half
dozen all their time to hold him, fol-
he fought with demoniac force anC
fury, using nails and teeth and feet
snarling and bowling beastlinke, unit
he failed from sheer exhaustion, anc
had not even strength to leave tn,
dock without the violent assistance his
guardians gave him.
It so CHANGED that the Daily RECORD
had special man in court that day
engaged upon the descriptive repor
of another case. 1t came natural t.
him to make much of this unexpected
scene, which to working journals
was quite scoop" in It's way. His
work came out under half-a-dozen far
ing headlines on one of the centra
pages of the paper, and amongst score
of others Alexis Brangwyn read it q
his breakfast table. 1t brought him
mingled fear and hope. There was jus
possibility that a wretch so despe1
ate might feel malicious satisfaction
in involving others in his own ruin
ard might make so clean breast of
as to expose everybody to whom h
could impute crime or even an EN-
barrassing wrong doing. On the othe
side 1t might be that he-the last o
the dragons tooth crop-was extirpa
ted, and that henceforth Alexis nigh
be left to such poor peace as coul
henceforth be his. He waited in grea
. anxiety. and read every line he coult
find alike in the Paris and the Londo,
press with regard to the trial Of LIE
pelletier.
He might have thought that less de
pended upon it than he had supposed