The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-20
The Schemes of Colonel Clay

gentlemen. I'll see the fun out. l
don't say I'll catch him for you; no.
body ever yet has caught Colonel Clay;
but I'll explain how he did the trick,
and that ought to be consolation
enough to a man of your means for a
trifie of five thousandr'
You are not the conventional French
office-holder, NJ. lie Commissaire, l
, ventured to interpose.
, You betr the commissary replied,
and drew himself up like captain of
infantry ''Messieurs," he continued,
in French. with the utmost dignity, i
shall devote the resources of this Of
? flee to tracing out the crime and, if
} possible. tC circulating the arrest of
: the culpable."
We telegraphed to London, of course,
and we wrote to the bank. with full
description of the suspected person.
but I need hardly add that nothing
came of 1t.
Three days later the commissary
called at our hotel. well gentlemen"
he said, 81 am glad to say / have dis
covered everything"
What? Arrested the Seer?" Sir
Charles cried.
The commissary drew back, almost
Mortified at the suggestion.
Arrested Colonel Clay?" he ex-
humani Arrested him? No, not quite:
but tracked out how he did it. That is
already much-to unravel Colonel Clay.
gentlemen"
well. what do you make of it?" Sir
Charles asked crestfallen.
The commissary sat down and gloat-
ed over his discovery. 1t was clear a
well planned crime amused him vast
ly. I'm the first place, monsieur" he
ice h1IS min of he
that when the monsieur your secre-
tary went out TO fetch Senior Herrera
that night. Senior Herrera didn't know
to whose rooms he was coming. Quite
otherwise, in point of fact. 1 do not
doubt myself that Senior Herrera, or
Colonel Clay (can him which you like).
came 10 Nice this winter for no other
purpose than just to rob you
But I sent for him. my brother-in-
law interposed.
Yes; he meant you to send for him.
He forced a card, so TO speak. If he
couldn't do that, | guess he would be
a pretty poor conjurer He had lady
of his own-his wife, let us say, or his
sister-stOpping here at this hotel; a
certain Nine. Picardet. Through her he
induced several ladies of your circle to
attend his seances. She and they
spoke to you about him and aroused
your curiosity. You may bet your bot
tom dollar that. when he came to this
room. he came ready primed and pre-
pared with endless facts about both of
you"
What fools we have been. Sey," my
brOther-in-laW exclaimed. II see ii all
now. That designing woman sent
around before dinne~ to say l wanted
to meet him; and, by the time you got
there. he was ready for bamboozling
me-"
That's so" the commissary an
swered. He had your name ready
printed on both his arms. and he had
made other preparations of still great
er Importance"
You mean the check. Well, how did
he get it?"
The commissary opened the door.
Come in" he said. And young man
entered whom we recognized at once as
the chief clerk in the foreign depart
ment of the Credit Marseillais, the
principal bank all along the Riviera.
State what you know of this check"
the cOmmissaTy said. showing it to him.
for we had handed ii over to the police
as a piece of evidence.
About four weeks since" the clerk
began.
Say ten days before your seance,"
the cOmmissary interposed.
"A gentleman with very long hair
and an aquiline nose, dark, strange
and handsome, called in at my depart
ment and asked If I could tell him the
name of Sir Charles Vandrift's London
banker. He said he had a sum to pay
in to your credit, and asked If we would
forward it for him. l told him it was
irregular for us to receive the money,
as you had no account with us, but
that your London bankers were Darby,
DrummOnd & Rothenberg. Limited"
quite right" Sir Charles murmured.
1.-TWO days later a lady, Mime. Picar-
Diet. who was a customer of ours,
brought in a check for e3O0. signed by
a first rate name, and asked us TO pay
il in on her behalf to Darby, Drum
mond & ROthenberg's. and to open a
London account with them for her We
did so. and received in reply a check
book"
From which this check was taken,
as / learn from the number. by tele-
gram from London" the commissary
put in. Also, that on the same day
on which your check was cashed, Nine.
Picardet. in London, withdrew her bal
ance."
But how did the fellow get me to
sign the check?" Sir Charles cried.
How did he manage the card trick?"
The commissary produced a similar
card from his pocket. 'Was that the
sort of thing?" he asked
PRECISELY A facsimile"
II thought So Well, our colonel I
find, bought packet of such cards,
intended for admission to a religious
function. at shop in the Quai Mas
sena. He cut out the center, and, see,
here" The commissary turned it over
and showed a piece of paper pasted
neatly over the back; this he tore off.
| and there, concealed behind it. lay a
folded check. with only the place
where the signature should be written
showing through on the face which the
Seer had presented to US. 1 call that
neat trick" the commissary remarked,
with professional enjoyment of a really
good reception.
But he burned the envelope before
my eyes" Sir Charles exclaimed.
POOH the commissary answered.
What would he be worth as a conjur-
er. anyway, If he couldn't substitute
one envelope for another between the
table and the fireplace without you no.
ticing #? And Colonel Clay, you must
remember, is prince among conjur-
ers".
| well. it's a comfort to know we've
identified our man and the woman
who was with him." Sir Charles said.
with a slight sigh of relief THE next