Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-01-17
CHAPTER XXI.

CHATTER AAll.
1", Tor moment l thought that
Godfrey was joking. How
could that tangle Of hap
Sew hazard clippings tell any
story2 And IL they did, how could it
be connected with the one which we
were trying to decipher? Then, Mt a
second glance, I saw how in deadly
earnest he was. There could be no
doubling It, lie had read into them
some meaning which had failed utter
" to see.
I sat down in my CHAIR again, my
nerves a-quiver; at last we were on
the verge Of success.
"Well, let's hear It," said.
II intend that you shall-wait till I
get them arranged. I'll build up the
story as go along, and want you to
ask any questions or point out any de-
fects that occur to you. ssOf course 1t
will be only a study in probabilities,
but between us think we can get 1t
pretty straight.
He got UP from the desk with the
clippings In a neat little pile and sat
down In the chair facing mine. He
took meditative puff or two before
he began.
well have to start with few gem
eral observations" he said at last.
TITS evident .that Thompson wouldn't
have carried these clippings around
ri fNy nj khor N
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 vi
tally concerned her. It's evident that
Tremaine wouldn't have taken SO
much trouble to look for them unless
he was mighty anxious to ind them.
We arrive, then, at our hrst conclu-
sion--namely, that these clippings nec-
essarily shed some light upon the trag-
edy recently enacted in this room and
upon the connection Of these people
with each other"
Yes" I 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 it probable. At any rate.
let us disregard that suggestion for
the moment and proceed along the 9TH
er lire. What light Is 1t possible for
these clippings to shed on the murder
of Thompson? Obviously it must be
only by explaining motives. The ma
jority Of them seem to be concerned
with the adventures Of 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 Frenchman. and
Tremaine pretty evidently is, though
his contact with the world has served
to rub away q good many Of the
marks think we're pretty safe,
therefore, In assuming that the
Frenchman of these clippings is Ire
maine. As we go on I believe we'll
find some internal evidence confirming
this. You agree with me thus far?"
"Perfectly," said, admitting your
first premise that these clippings are
really concerned with the case"
t'That, too, I believe, well soon be
able to prove by internal evidence. OF
course, # they haven't any connection
with 1t, they'll soon lead US into chaos.
But there's another thing. We mustn't
expect too much from them. We
mustn't expect story complete in all
its parts-it's bound to be fragmentary.
The wonder is that Thompson succeed
ed In keeping this many links in the
chain. Maybe in his more prosperous
days he had mania for clippings. At
best we mustn't be disappointed If
there are long gaps in the story"
YES" I agreed again. "That's EVIL
dent enough"
every we'll. Well begin with the
clippings, then, substituting Tremaine's
name for the one used. The first clip
ping Is merely marriage notice, an
nouncing that on the 23d Of August,
1883, Tremaine married one Terese
Bertlgny at Dieppe. Let me see. Ire
maine was then probably about twenty
years Of age. No doubt he was born
at Dieppe, SO that the name given here,
Victor Charente, is his real one. You'll
notice that he's retained his first name.
which is a bit of corroborative evil
dence."
COR a mere coincidence" supple
mented.
"I'1l wire our correspondent at
Dieppe to look up this Charente. Per
haps he can get photograph. That
would settle the question"
I nodded. Yes, that would settle it,
for Tremaine at forty was probably not
greatly different from Tremaine at
twenty. .
'sThe second clipping" proceeded
Godfrey, shows us that our hero soon
wandered from the straight and mar
row path, and gives us, too, a little
light upon his personal history. In the
spring following his marriage
16, 1884, to be exact-while assistant
manager Of the ship supplies house OF
Briquet Freres, he absconds with 60 600
francs. He is believed to have gone to
America, to have been smuggled out Of
the harbor by a friendly American cap
tain. Surely, it is not impossible" he
added, that this friendly American
captain was Thompson"
VERY few things are impossible" I
commented. began to be impatient
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