Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1908-12-31

MI, my uettt, where Is the Gafll.
II know what l am talking about ;"
his good wife said They are the pleas
ure of the unhealthy minded. They
mock at death as they mock at every
thing else. Where will it all end? We
shall see it,
Or we shall not see it." interrupted
her husband laughingly.
he went in there one evening, having
a little time to himself, as he would
something about this Cabaret du Sque-
lette (meaning the wineshop of the
skeletonl. He found the place very
droll
\ small hall which had few months
Defore been common wineshop had
been transformed into lugubrious
pace The walls We're painted dead
plack ana We're hung With A large mum
per OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. from masked
balls. gondoas. parades. screnades with
palcony scene, SOM OF the lovers
rendezvous of Venice and AN ideal view
or Granada, with couples gazing at
each other and sigl,ing in the gondolas
on the lagoons or in .he Andalusiun
courts, and in this strange place with
IT'S romantic pictures. souvenirs of
Musset or of Carlo GozZi. the tables
We're made in the form of cottins With
llRhted candles standing upon them.
ana the walters We're dressed as un-
nertakers assistants. With shiny black
mats trimmed with crepe on theil.
heads.
What poison will YOU drink before
You die asked one OF the creatures
of Bcrnardet.
gernardet sat and sazed about him.
y lew high fiierS" from the other side
OF Paris Mere there. Hero and there
Il thlet from that quarter sat alone at
a table. Some elegants in white cravats,
VINO mad come here in correct evening
dress. We're going later. after the opera.
TO sup With some premiere The police
oilcer understood Very we'll why the
Dlase came here. They wished to jog
their jaded nppettes, they sought 10
find some piment. curry. spice to sea
son the tameness of their daily exist
ence The coffin shaped tables upon
which they leaned their elbows amused
lhem. Several OF them had asked for a
baNaroise, as they We're on milk diet
They pointed out to each other the
gas flaming from the jets fashioned in
the form OF broken shin bone
ilttle patience my friends" said
sort of manager. wao was dressed
adjourn to the cave of DEATH
The drinkers in white cravats shout
eo. bernardet experienced, on the CON
trary, what Mime. Brrnardet would
have called II "creepy' sensation.
Seasoned as .-e was to the bloody and
villainous aspect of crime. he felt the
instructive shrinking of IL healthy and
leNei headed bourgeois against these
drolieries OF the brain diseased upper
class and the pleasantrics of the blase
decadents
Al certain moment and after an
explanation given by the manager the
gas was turned off, and the lovers i'm
the gondolas. the guitar players, the
singing of Spanish songs. the dancers
infatuated with the Moulin Rouge,
changed suddenly In sinister fashion.
In place of the blonde heads and ROSY
checks. skulls suddenly appeared. The
smiles became grins which showed the
teeth in their f1eshlcss gums. The bod
les. clothed in doublets, in vclvets and
satlns, moment ago. We're made by
some interior illumination to change
into hideous skeletons. In his knocking
tones the manager explained and COM
mented on the metamofphosis, adding
10 the funeral spectacle the pleasantly
of a busfoon.
See. diseased Parisians. what Won
will be on Sunday"
The light went out suddenly: the
skeletons disappeared; the signing low
ers in the Xondolas on the lagoons of
Venice appeared: the Andalusian
sweethearts agai.- gazed into each 9TH
er's eyes and sang their love songs.
Some of the women laughed. hui th..
laughs sounded constrained.
'Droll. this city of Paris" Bernardet
thought. He sat there. leaning back
against the wall. where verses about
death were printed among the white
tears--as in those lodges of Free Ma
sons where an outsider is shut M i'm
order to give him time to make his
l1nr hn
nardet saw tall young%fnan OF stall
wart and resolute mien enter A black.
curly beard surrounded his pale face
AS he entered ne cast a quick glance
around the Lal. the air of which was
rather thick with cigar smoke. He
seemed to be about 80 Years of age.
and had the air of an artist. a sculptor.
or a naintcr. together With something
military in his carriage. But what sud
denly struck Bernardet was his hat. a
large, gray. felt hat, with "A very wide
brim. like the sombreross which the bull
fighters wear
Possibly. few people passing
through Paris might be found Wearing
such hats. But they would probably
be rare. and in order to find the seller
Of Jacques Dantins portrait Bcr-
nartlet had only this one clew.
OH such mean, little. weak clew
But one must use it. Just the same.'
Rernardet had said
What III this Young man with the
strange hat was. by chance. the UNI
known for whom he was searching 2
II Was not at all probable. No. when
one thought Of it-not at all probable.
But truth is sometimes made up of
improDabilties and Bcrnardct again
experienced the same shock. the in
stinctive feeling that he had struck the
trail which he felt whe,t the young man
entered the vino shop.
THAT hat" murmured Bernardet.
slipping his wine and stealing chances
over the rim VI his glass at the young
man. The unknown seemed to play
directly in to the police officers hand.
After standing by the door few mo-
ments and looking about the place he
walked over and seated himself at the
coffin shaped table at which Bcrnardet
was seated, bringing himself face to
face with the officer. one of tho wait =
ers in his mourning dress came TO take
his order, and lighted another candle,
which he placed where it's rays fell di-
rectly on the young mans face. Thus
Eernardct was able to .itudy him at his
ease. The pale face, with It's expres-
sion. uneasy ard slightly intense.
struck Bernardet at once. That white
face. with it's black beard with it's
cleaning eyes, was not to be passed
by with casual glance. The waiter
placed glass of brandy before him:
he placed his elbows OH the table and
leaned his chin upon his hands He
was evidently not a habitue of the
place nor a resident of the quarter.
There was something foreign about his
appearance. His glance was steady, as
that Of one who searches the horizon.
locks at running water. contemplates
the sea. asking for some good luck .
Of the unknown.
1T would be strange" thought Ber-
nardet. IF simple hat and no other
clew should put us upon the track OF
the man for whom we are searching
AT once. with the ingenuity of a
master of dramatic art. the agent be-