Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1908-04-24
CHAPTER v11I.-(continued.)
A u s t y n

that in nine cases out of ten, the obvious
reason is always the wrong one. A smart
villain, who knows enough to carry glass
stilettos, and how to use them skillfully,
would not have unnecessarily alarmed
the household by firing a pistol in the
dead of night. Oh, no he would simply
have smothered the woman, already insen-
sible and unresisting, with a pillow, or
choked her to DEATH"
I'll see, see," acquiesced the physi-
dan. go on"
Let us assume, now, that this I'M
known person entered the house through
Fthe window In Monsieur Van Lith's cham
Der. While creeping through the room
he espies case Of pistols. He has come
unarmed, save with the Venetian stiletto.
But once in the house, his courage fails
him. He picks up pistol from the case,
saying, This will protect me If have
to proceed to extremities.' He passes on
to Madame Roupell's chamber, and falls
to searching among her papers. She is
a woman of large property, and must
have valuables He is not after money,
for the diamonds which she wore to the
opera have not been taken. While thus
engaged, he is interrupted by Madame
Roupell, who rushed forward to save her
papers. He jumps from his chair, over
turning 1t, and raises the stiletto; she
turns and fees he pursued and stabs her.
Do you understand, monsieur
"Yes, l understand everything, except
his firing the pistol into the head Of a
woman whom he had apparently already
put out of the way of harming him. l
am assuming, of course, that his object
was not murder. OF course, Madame
may have wanted to be sure she was
dead"
even that would not have warranted
his risking firing the pistol. Recollect,
as / have already said, he could easily
have smothered her without making any
noise" replied Cassagne.
"Truel Then why did he fire the PTS
tol?"
ut is easy to conjecture" returned the
cion from himself to the owner of the
weapon"
'4The diabolical villain !" exclaimed the
doctor, and apparently SO impressed was
he with M. Cassagne's theory that he kept
repeating the phrase over and over again,
''The diabolical villainv'
But M. Cassagne paid no heed to the
calculations of the physician. He was
down upon his knees, running about on
all tours on the carpet, totally regardless
of the injury to his pantaloons. His nose
was within an inch of the floor. At last
he stopped In the middle of the apart
ment, and exclaimed:
"Glve me the knife"
The doctor handed 1t to him. He at
once proceeded to cut away the carpet,
and then to dig furiously into the wooden
flooring.
"What on earth are you looking for?"
inquired Mason.
''Never mind" replied Cassagne. "Wait
a moment, and you'll see"
He kept on digging away with the
knife as furiously as ever. At last he
stopped, and, still on his knees, held
triumphantly aloft small, oblong, black
object. Then he exclaimed breathlessly
"All right; have got the bullet"
"If we only had Van Lith's pistol
here" said Mason, "the evidence would
be complete, but 1t Is In Paris"
The detective arose and smoothed out
the knees Of his pantaloons, which he had
sadly crumpled.
1--WE have got what is quite as good,
he said. "Go into the next room and
bring me the other pistol. Ten to one
they were mates"
Taking the pistol from the doctors
hands, he pushed the bullet into the muz-
sic. 1t fitted to a nicely.
eve have thus far" said NJ. Cassagne,
established our theory successfully in
regard to one very important point.
Neither your friend Van Lith nor Mon
sieur Chabot had hand in this murder.
1t was committed by a third party
someone who entered the house unknown
to anyone, and who left 1t in an equally
secret manner. Let us see, now, how he
got away, and what means of escape pre-
scented themselves. He could not have
made his exit by any of the doors, be-
cause one of them led to the room In
which Van Lith was hiding, and another
opened directly into the chamber occupied
by Monsieur Chabot. There is still, OF
course, a bare chance that he retired by
the door leading into the corridor; but II
is altogether improbable that he would
take such a risk, as that corridor was
thronged with people hurrying to Mad
anne Roupell's chamber at the sound OF
the shot"
''That Is So" acquiesced Mason. "Had
he attempted to escape into the corridor
he would undoubtedly have been seen
and captured"
HE must, therefore," continued Cas-
sagne, "have gotten out Of the windows
The man have In my minds eye at the
present moment would have been smart
enough to raise the window before he
fred the shot. He would be particularly
careful not to leave any clew that h,
had been In the chamber, for that would
exonerats the owner of the pistol. HI
would certainly not have leaped from tn,
window, because that would have lef
footprints on the ground; you will lool
in vain for such. Yet he did get out o.
this very window"
"How can you tell that" asked Mason
in amazement. ut has been already in
spected by the project of police. II,
has also searched carefully under tn
window. for saw him doing it. If any
one had passed through that opening b
would surely have discovered it,"
1.-THE project is doubtless "A good OFF
ear," replied Cassagne but if he ha,