Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1906-08-23

to entrust it. He realized these COM
plications which he had not taken into
account. and said in natural voice:
Mon Dieu! / am alone in the world,
without relatives or friends. The voy-
age I am about to undertake is long
and dangerous; I might lose the receipt
Or it might be stolen from me and de-
stroyed. Could you not keep It in
your archives? On my return all that
will be necessary will be to mention
my name to you or to your possible
successor"
eyes, but"
ceipt that it can only be claimed in
that way"
VERY well. Will you be good enough
to give me your name?"
Without hesitation, Ravenot an
swered: "Duverger, Henri Duverger."
On regaining the street he gave a
sigh OF relief The first part of his
program was ended They might ar
rest him now; he knew his booty was
SAFE
He had coolly reasoned in the fol-
lowing way: when I shall have
served my sentence, l shall draw out
my deposit. No one will be in posi-
tion to dispute it. Five or six years in
prison will soon be over, and then |
shall be rich. This is less stupid than
to grind out ones days to the end. l
shall live in the country and be known
to everybody as Monsieur Duverger.
l shall reach peaceful old age, and
do good without any remorse''
He waited another twenty-four hours
in order to be sure that the numbers
of the banknotes were not known; then
he gave himself up.
Many a man in his position would
have invented some kind of tale-he.
preferred to tell the truth and confess
to the theft. Why lose time?
During his preliminary examination,
even before the jury, he would not say
what he had done with the money. All
he would answer was: Il do not
know. went to sleep on bench and
was robbed"
Owing to his hitherto exemplary
character, his sentence was minimized
to five years Imprisonment. Without
the quiver of muscle he took it. He
| was but thirty-fve-at forty he would
| be free and rich, so he looked upon the
| punishment as a small, necessary sacri-
| fee.
While serving his term he was con-
| sidered as exemplary a convict as he
| had been an official. He patiently
!, watched the days go by and had no
concern except as to his health. At
4 last the day of his liberation dawned.
His little savings of about ten francs
were paid out to him, and his first
thoughts were the notary and the de-
post. How he had longed for this
hour. He drew a mental pic . ce Of the
scene as it would be enacted.
He arrived at the well-remembered
office. Would the notary recognize
| him? He looked at himself in a mir
ror. In truth he had aged consider
ably, his features were drawn. No, the
notary would surely not recognize him
Ha! hal that would make the matter
more interesting and comical still.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
+ II am here about deposit which
was left with you five years ago."
(Which deposit? Under whose
name?"
"Under the name of Monsieur"
Suddenly he stopped. This Fl
strange, indeed. 1 cannot for the lif'
of me think OF the name l gave"
He thought and thought. but th'
name would not come to him. Feeling
himself getting nervous, he sat down
and muttered to himself: Keep coo
patience. If l could only find tn
first letter. Monsieur -! Monsieu
-" The name would not be con
jured up.
For an hour he searched his mem
ory; searched for hold, sign. TIL
name seemed to stand before his eyes
turned about him, he saw the letter
scatter and the syllables take digh1