Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-10-01


 in 1S91?"
 At last saw 1t, and I could only sit
 and stare at him, marveling at my
 own stupidity. This was the key-the
 key to the whole enigma. Miss Croy-
 don had taken her sisters place, had
 tried to buy him oil to get him out of
 her sisters way. It was Tremaine
 who had opened the door; it was Ire
 maine whom she had come to the
 Marathon to meet. But-and started
 upright since they were Catholics,
 only his death could release Mrs. Del
 roy! Perhaps 1t was Thompson, after all, and his death had released her! But. no. and in an instant the whole
 terrible position of the elder woman ] burst upon me. She was not Delroy's wife; she was
 ''So." I said hoarsely, *Tremaine is,
 then, the true husband of Mrs. Del royv'
 .Let us finish the story of the clip pings before going into that" suggest cd Godfrey. T confess I don't quite see the bearing of this next one. It's a New York dispatch, perhaps to Lon- don paper, under date of Feb. IS, 1SS2, and chronicles the loss of the bark Centaur, with all on board, of the coast of Martinique. The Centaur was bound from Marsellles to Fort-de- France, with a cargo of wines and muslins. Let us leave 1t for a moment and pass on to the next one, which Is the last.
 'Thls is dated Sydney, Australia. Oct 23, 1896, and relates how a daring scheme to rob the Bank of New South Wales was frustrated by a sailor who had been a member of the gang, but who got frightened and informed the police. The ringleader, Frenchman, was captured and would receive a term of years in prison. There are four copies of this clipping, which no doubt means that 1t Is the one which Thompson was sometimes in the habit of sending to Tremalne to remind him of that Australian experience.
 "Now, don't you see. we reconstruct the whole story. Tremaine, starting out as Q defaulter and robber, escapes from prison. leaving his partner in the 1urch, treacherously. no doubt, since 1t awakened his violent anger. There isn't any hatred more vindictive than that of one criminal toward another who has betrayed him. Tremalne finally goes back to France and succeeds in entangling Edith Croydon, then only about sixteen. in marriage. We know how fascinating he Is, and it's not wonderful that he should be able to mislead an inexperienced girl. Of course what he wants Is money, and so she writes to her father. He comes for her and takes her home, no doubt paying Tremaine handsome sum to take himself off--in fact, mortgaging his home to do 1t.
 "Miss Croydon gradually recovers; but she is Tremaine's wife. Yet in 1900 she marries Delroy. She must, therefore. have had good reason to be- iieve Tremaine dead"
 Don't you seeT cried. That's the meaning of that item about the foun- dering of the Centaur, with all on board. Tremaine was passenger and she knew it."
 1, "Goodw nodded Godfrey. That's undoubtedly 1t. Let me see," and he turned back to the clipping; that was in 1892. Ills nnme. perhaps, appeared among the missing; she waited eight years, and at last, believing his death established beyond doubt married again.
 ]. "Now let us see what Tremaine was doing. In 1896 he was in Australia. planning a bank robbery. He meets Thompson, descended from his estate of captain to that of common sailor. Tremaine takes Thompson in on the plan, and Thompson. to get even for that treachery at Sing Slng. gives him away. Tremaine. no doubt. got a peni- sentiary sentence. He probably broke 'Jeil again. for in 1893 he appears at Martinique. supposedly from South America. He has considerable money. which he no doubt stole somewhere. and perhaps he chose St Pierre as safe place 10 stay in hiding until the hue and cry after him was over. He would have some acquaintance with the island. if he landed there from the wreck.
 Thompson learns where he is-per- haps even sees him at St. Pierre-and puts bouquet to his revenge by driv- ing him into fits of rage by remind ing him of that Australian treach- cry. But at last he sends him a mes sage which brings him to New York"
 Yes I said. -'anl I have cudgeled my brain in vain trying to imagine { what that message could have been"
 We'll remarked Godfrey. "whiIe we can't. of course. give it's actual text. I don't think it very difficult to I guess it's general tenor. We know l what Tremaiue came here to dO-he came to blaekInail Mrs. Delroy- It's l pretty safe. then. to suppose that the | message told him that she was black other words. that she had married a rich man No doubt Ire msine's money was running low and he jumped at this chance of repIenishing his purse ThOnpson was working his way toward St Pierre to join him. and reached there on the Psrina