Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1907-12-28
THE MARATHON MYSTERY
A STORY OF MANHATTAN
BURTON E. STEVENSON
Author Of Holaday Of
CHAPTER III
a sTTDY IN PRORARILITIEs.

was JOhlllSs HOW tOulQ kildl tduElt VI
hphazard clippings tell any story?
And If they did how could it be con-
nected with the one which we We're
trying 10 decipher2 Then at a sec
ond glance, | saw how I'm deadly earn
est he was. There could be no doubt
ing it, he had read into them some
meaning which l had failed utterly TO
see.
sat down in my chair again, my
nerves a-quiyer; at last, we We're on
the verge Of success.
We'll, let's hear It," | said
II intend that you shall-wait till !
get them arranged. I'll build up the
story as | go along. and | want you
10 ask any questions or point out any
defects that occur to you. OF course,
II will be only "A study in probabilities,
but between us. l think we can get ii
pretty straight
He got UP from the desk with the
clippings i'm a neat little pile. and sat
down i'm the chair facing mine. He
( took meditative puff or two before he
began.
Wen have to start with a few gen
sral observations" he said, at last.
It's evident that Thompson wouldn't
have carried these clippings around
with him for so long unless they IN
some way concerned him. It's evident
that Miss Croydon would never have
| dared to take them unless she was
pretty certain that they somehow vital
ly concerned her It's evident that
rremaine wouldn't have taken so
much trouble to look for them unless
he was mighty anxious TO find them.
We arrive. then, at our first conclu-
sion. namely, that these clippings neces-
. sarily shed some light upon the
tragedy recently enacted I'm this room
| and upon the connection of these people
with each other"
Yes" | agreed. unless all these
people were mistaken in their estimate
Of the value of the clippings
THAT, of course, is possible; but ]
don't think il probable. At any rate
! let US disregard that suggestion for
he moment, and proceed along the 9TH
ar line What light IS il possible for
! these clippings TO shed on the murder
IF Thompson. Obviously it must be
only by explaining motives The ma
/ jority of them seem to be concerned
with the adventures of a Frenchman,
who goes under various names, but
who. | am sure is one and the same
person. He must, then, be either Ire
maine or Thompson. But Thompson
was evidently not "a Frenchman, and
| Tremaine pretty evidently is, though
! mis- contact with the world has served
! 20 rub away a good many Of the marks.
] 1 think were pretty safe, therefore, in
assuming that the Frenchmau Of these
! clippings is Tremaine. As we go on, |
! believe Wen find some internal evil
dence confirming this. You agree with
me thus far2"
Perfectly" l said. admitting your
| lrst premise that these clippings are
really concerned with the cose."
THAT, too, | believe, Wen soon be
able to prove by internal evidence. OF
| course. If they haven't any connection
with il, theyll soon lead us into chaos.
But there's another thing; we mustn't
expect too much from them. We
mustn't expect a story complete I'm all
ts parts-lts bound to be fragmentary.
The wonder is that Thompson succeed
ed in keeping this many links I'm the
chain. Maybe in his more prosperous
! lays he had a mania for clippings. At
! pest, we mustn't be disappointed If
! here are long gaps in the story"
Yes l agreed again; that's evi-
! dent enough"
Very we'll; We'll begin with the clip
! pings, then. substituting Tremaine's
! 7ame for the one used. The first clip
| ping is merely marriage notice. an
bouncing that on the 23d of August.
| 1888, Tremaine married one Therese
| Bertigny, at Dieppe. Let me see, Tre-
/ maine was then probably about 20
! years OF age. No doubt he was born
at Dieppe. so that the name given here.
| Victor Charente, is his real one. You'n
notice that he's retained the first name
! which is a bit of corroboratiye evil
! dence."
"Or a mere coincidence" / supple
mented,
! IN wire our correspondent at Dieppe
! to look up this perhaps he
can get a photograph. That would set
/ tie the question"
! / nodded. Yes, that would settle IT,.
/ FOR Tremaine at 40 was probably not
greatly different from Tremaine at 20.
THE second clipping" proceeded
/ Godfrey, shows us that our hero soon
wandered from the straight and narrow
/ path, and gives us too, a little light
/ upon his personal history. In the spring
/ following his maria ge-April l6, 1854,
to be exact-while assistant manager of
the ship supplies house Of Briquet
/ Freres. he absconds with 10000 francs.
1t is discovered that he kept a mis-
tress at Rouen. He is believed TO have
gone to AmeriCa-to have been SNUG
gled out of the harbor by a friendly
American captain. Surely, IL is not i'm
possible" he added. that this friendly
American captain was Thompson"
Very few things are impossible" /
commented | began to be impatient
with Godfrey. He was permitting his
prejudice against Tremaine to warp his
judgment.
We'll, Wen keep that for hypothes-
IS, anyhow" and he turned to the third
clipping. This" ne continued. shows
us that he indeed came TO America
1t is dated July 90. 1885, and states
that young Frenchman and a tramI
skipper named Johnson-ah. you see?'
| did, indeed, see-here was the first
appearance of Tremaines zombi-of his
familiar devil | looked at GODFREY
with the liveliest admiration. This con
structive reasoning was something
which l, certainly, was quite incapable
OF.
80 that ] on Thompson's arm was
the initial of his real name" observed
Godfrey. Il thought is was lit had
been there a long time, and an effort
had been made 10 erase it. After q
man has started on the crooked path
he doesn't want any tattoo marks on
hlm-they make identification too easy
For Johnson, then, well hereafter reaC
Thompson"
/ nodded; l was beginning to be con
WINGED.
We'll" continued Godfrey, "Tremain,
and Thompson, then. were arrested il
New York. July 23 1885, at a low re-
sort where they were having a carouse
They had beaten and robbed another
sailor Ii seems that nothing was lef
OF the sixty thousand francs, and nat
urally Tremaine found IT diculffit I;
go honestly TO work again. The fourtl
clipping. undated but probably som'
months later shows that Tremaine ant
Thompson We're sentenced TO three
years each in Sing Sing. But the!
didn't stay there so long" he added
turning to the next clipping. "at leas
Tremaine didn't. on the night of Jan
uary 2, 1856, in the midst of a tire
mendous snowstorm, they managed L
hide themselves in one of the work
shops, and afterwards to scale the out
er wall. In the morning Thompson wa
found at the foot of the wall with hi
head cut open and nearly frozen. Ire
maine got clear away Thompson wa
brought around with the greatest diff
Guilty and would say nothing except [,
Indulge in terrible imprecations agains
his companion. You see," conclude,
Godfrey, looking up, we begin to ge
a. the motive"
Yes" | agreed. tits very plain
now you've started on the right track
] IL - 10 NaIt ,..uta