The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-12-07
The Roupell Mystery
CHAPTER Ix.-{Continued. J

CHAPTER Ike Continued.)
The doctor was following this theory
with breathless interest. Go on" he
said
HE was about to retire a. he came,
when the thought occurred to him to
divert suspicion from himself by placing
the pistol he had picked up on his way
through the rooms, near his victim. But
there must be a report and a pistol
wound. He raised the window, and noted
the distance to the tree. He went over
and fred the pistol at Madame Roupell,
who was still insensible. Then he threw
the pistol down and jumped from the
window. We must search for the man
in two places; in the haunts Of the poor
and in the palaces of the wealthy. We
have little to guide us but the scraps Of
parchment and the gold locket also
found"
LET me look at the locket," said the
doctor. "Can you get it open? It may
contain lock of hair or something"
II have already done that. It contains
a picture" responded Cassa4e. Il will
| show YOU
The detective took penknife and pried
up tie little gold lid. A small photo
graph was disclosed to view. 1t was the
portrait of man of about twenty years
of age.
What does this mean?'' cried the doc
tor. Henry Graham cannot have COM
mitted this murder. This Is portrait
of Henry Graham himself"
Impossible ~ CALCULATED the detective.
ut is fact" replied DIR. Mason. He
ran into the drawing room, and picking
idly. Finally he stopped at certain
photograph. .kt
That was Henry Graham when he
was decent member Of society" he said.
The detective put the locket down close
to the photograph, and compared the two
pictures carefully.
''There is no doubt whatever about 1t, I"
he remarked. you are right; they are
eportraits of one and the same man." i,
'Then it couldn't be Henry Graham? ?"
inquired the physician. "a man doesn't
carry a locket containing a picture of
himself" ri
1T may not be Henry Graham at all, !"
replied the detective. II hope it isn't
for the sake Of the family; but he's the
man we've got to look for first, and the
sooner we find him the better your
friends prospects are of regaining his
liberty"
CHAPTER X.
There are all kinds of men in Paris,
all kinds of failures in life and all kinds
of successes-the poor genius who dis
patches himself in an attic, and the
financial magnate. The Vicomte de Va
lair was one of those gentlemen who
might be placed in the latter category.
At bound he had risen from compare
tive obscurity to sudden wealth and such
social position as his title, having its
source in the king of the Belgians, could
insure him in a society which cared rath-
er more for good dinners than old blood.
The Vicomte de Valiar's great hit had
been the successful floating of the City
and Suburban Messenger Company. Lon
don had refused to accept this scheme,
preferring to send it's servants out into
the rain and ruin it's liveries, to having
little instrument in the house by which
to summon at a trif1ing charge a messen-
ger, doctor or a cab. De Valiar, with
an eye keen as hawk, had watched the
career of the enterprise in the English
metropolis. He saw that it was insult
ed to the phlegmatic and exclusive tenn
permanent of the Briton. In the Ameri-
can colony at Paris alone was to be
found successful field for its opera
TONS
The projectors of the London COM
pany, Americans, were glad enough to
sell the French patents. They even
laughed IN their sleeves at the vicomte,
as they pocketed his cash, regarding him
already as ruined man. At the same
time they could not help admiring his
audacity. The Vicomte de Valiar was
audacious, and he displayed consummate
tact in putting his scheme before the
public. He opened large and snowy
office He subsidized the most venal Of
the Paris newspapers; he pulled thou
sand strings. Then, when all was ready,
he opened his subscription books. Hun
dreds came to his Office, rang up a mes
senger, and having subscribed, called up
cab on the queer little buzzing instru-
ment, and departed rejoicing in their
hearts that there were such enterprising
men in existence as the vicomte de Va
liar.
All that was FIVE years ago. Once
foated, the vicomte had promptly with
drawn himself from the messenger enter
prise, and invested the increased capital
which that speculation had brought him.
in the Mutual Credit and Trust Com
pany. very limited number of shares
of this concern had been offered to the
public. Such was the prestige OF the
vicomte's name that they had been sub
scribed for over and over again in a very
few hours.
But it was not alone in the field of
business that de Valiar had achieved
such remarkable success. The yicom-
tesss was brilliant, dark-eyed, handsome
woman, whom de Valiar. claimed to have
met abroad during his travels in the West
Observation-Disclosures rumor had II. Her
entertainments were much sought after
and who shall say that she was not !
gel