The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10

out TO be a true French Sherlock
Holmes.
Where great detectives erred. he
solved the mystery. avenged his en-
ployer and rescued the innocent. Also
he has demonstrated the superiority OF
Sherlock Holmes analysis over the
modern French system of dramatic
plsy-acting and shocking confrOnta-
tions.
n Henri Bedor, senior partner of
great morocco house, lived with his
young wife and elder brother in a fat
accessible from the factory by a stair
way.
Every night he did his accounts in
second floor Office. looking down on
the workshop Catelier) by a large win
COW. On this cutoff second floor there,
was another small room for the ar
chives of the firm. All the rest was
ground floor. There were two stair
xvays-one from the workshop to the
overlooking Office. whsse door opened
leading both to the courtyard and
side street. OF the latter only NJ Bedor
and the servant girl had keys.
Toward o'clock Of the fatal night
the servant girl, Germaine PARROT. hav-
ing returned from exercising the
watchdog handed NJ Bedor the even
ing papers and. as usual, left him alone
msstif. noted for ferocity TO strangers.
She descended the stairs to the work
shop, pulled the door shut after her
passed through the salesroom (maga-
zins) and mounted the stairs to the
BedOr living apartment.
Toward 10 o'clock the janitor and
his wife heard a heavy fall. They call
ed the coachman, Ernest. and his wife
There were no more sounds, and NJ
Bedor's window was dark.
The janitOr, having a key TO the
workshop, the two men decided to
make a patrol The moment they ar
rived in the workshop they heard stems
IN the courtyard. Hurrying toward
them they heard the street door slam
yet no one had its key but NJ Bedor
his wife. brother. the janitor, the
1coachman, and Germaine. the servant
girl They ran and looked up and
down the street The shadow of a
man was disappearing rapidly into the
darkness.
They called Germaine from her bed
room overlooking the courtyard She
answered and ran TO wake the brother
Frederic Bedor. Then from the sales
room they heard Frederic Bedor scream.
They ran TO him. At the foot of the
stairs Of the private apartment lay the
dead body of NJ Henri Bedor. Doubt
less he had fallen. fracturing his skull.
But when the police commissary came
20 certify TO the accidental death he
found piecs Of a broken lamp chimney
or the stairs-while the lamp with
which NJ Bedor worked and lighted
himself home had disappeared, The
brother, Frederic. denied having picked
it up.
Undressing the body, they found two
little triangular wounds in the back
ana one IN the abdomen. The thin blade
OF a swOrdcane had obviously been
thrust through n Bedor, been partly
Mlthorawn and then thrust through
him again.
The idea OF robbery as motive had n
De set aside. The victim had still on
MN his gold watch. his valuable jewel
~ mis- pocketboOk full of banknotes
and the keys o. his safe
IN the secOnd-fiOor Office Diane. the
watchdog would have jumped at the
coinihlssarys throat had not Frederic
--edor quieted her win word.
All was in order. But on the desk
STOOD the missing lamp, The assassin
had come up to the Office with il after
the crime Yet the terrible Diane had
made no sign.
The door TO the double stairway was
louhd locked, but the door TO the other
stars descending to the work-room.
was wide open. And that was AN
At o'clock the next rnornfno AZ
Hamard, chief of the Surete. himself
naQ All the possessing e,nploves
Delore hlin- All produced their kevs
except the servant girl, Germaine who
iound, TO her stupefaction. that her
Iihg with the key 10 the street court
ysrd door and the key to the private
once stairway door were missing
Yet she had locked both bebin5 bor
the previous night when bringing M
bedor the papers and quitting him to
20 10 bed Who could have taken them
stterward? Only Madame Bedor and
Frederic We're in the fat.
The police examined minutely every
S1nce OF merchandise and archives.
Inc assasslns weapon was not found
True, N Henri Bedor had a sword cane.
II was found in its place. in the lfv
Ing apartment Vestfhule but evnartS
tes1hed its blade was too thick TO
have made those tiny wounds. And tba
mouve2 II not theft, was il revenge
But BedOr was universally belovad
and why should an enemy carry the
lamp 10 the office? How could he ba,-e
entered the street door to steal the
keys which Germaine had at o'clock
and sfter2 And how could a stranger
pass the terrible Diane?
There remained the 'drame intime
M bedors wife. twenty years younger
than himself, had formerly worked IN
a famous millinery house of the Pm
De la-PsiX. The servant had been lono
known as serious and discreet The
brother, Frederic BedOr, on the other
hano, after a rackety youth. bad
settled down to going in and out Of in
sututions for his nerves He often
complained Of his brothers barshness
In refusing him wine at the table
even the right TO smoke cigarettes
There remained NJ PanI Charles
Bedors partner. At g o'clock of ~
Following night he was engaged win
high police experts in the second eoor
ONCE. They asked him searching oueS
lions. Had he not recently disnntad
with his partner? Had not Redor
wished to enlarge the businesse Had
not he, on the contrary, desired 10
draw out money!
Descending TO the workshop NJ
Charles was troubled. How could he
ignore the tendency Of those terrihie
questions? They traversed the saIes-
room by the light of wax matches
can we go 10 Madame Bedor mo-
ment2' asked policier. Certainly he
LED them toward the stairs to the Iivine.
apartment. Al that instant. strflxine
another match, he perceived al mis- feet
the dead body Of his partner-starinor
81 him with CLASSY eyes,
He screamed auyfs,l