The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-11

@ close watch. Mime. Edith. who
 said that she could not sleep. came
 out and talked to Rouletabille at his
 postern. He called me. placed me in
 charge of his postern and of Mrs.
 Rance and made his rounds. The fair
 Edith was in the most charming hu-
 mor
 It's the funniest thing l ever heard
 of" she exclaimed. How l wish
 knew your Larsan! I'm sure 1 should
 adore him."
 l shuddered at the words she utter
 ed so lightly. An. if the unhappy girl
 had only realized what was to come. F l spent two delightful hours with Mime. Edith. during the greater part of which I related to her some facts regarding the history of Larsan- Ball.
 meyer. some of which had been suffi-
 >ient to make 1t doubtful whether ha
 stfn lived at the time uIat he appeareu
 10 play so unexpected part in The
 Mystery of the Yellow Room" As this mans powers will now be seen
 to extend to heights which some may
 believe inaccessible. 1 judge 1t to be
 my duty to prepare the uind of the reader to admit in the end that 1 am only the transcriber Of an affair the like of which never has been known
 before and that 1 have invented noth- ing. l will refer those who believe in actual records to the stenographic re- ports of the trial at Versailles And fl must not be forgotten that before destiny had brought Larsan-t tsaiimeyer and Joseph RouIerabiiie into contact the elegantly hammered bandit had given considerable trouble to the au-' thoriries. We have only to open the files of the Gazette les Tribuneaux and to read the account of the day when Larsan was condemned by the court of assizes to ten years at hard labor to be assured on this score. Then one win refrain from smiling because .Io- seph Rouletabiiie placed dra wbridge between Larsan-Ballmeyer and Ma thilde Darzac. L
 Ballmeysr did not become a crimi- nal because driven to evil doing by poverty and misery. The son of . rich broker In The Rue MoIay, he might have chosen any vocation. but his pre- ferred calling was to lay hands upon the money of other people. He decid- ed to become a swipdler. just as an- other lad might have decided to be- come an engineer. His debut was a stroke of genius. Balimeyer stole letter addressed to his father contain ing a large sum of money He took the train for Lyons and wrote his parent as follows:
 Monsieur-l am an old soldier, retired and with a medal of honor. My son. . postoffice clerk. has stolen In. the mails ~.AA money to pay a gambling debt 1 nave called the members Of the family togeth- CT. In few days we shall be able to raise the sum necessary to repay you You are father. Have pity upon a fa- ther. Do not bring me down in sorrow and shame 10 my grave. ee3
 M- Bailmeyer willingly granted the petition. He Is still waiting for his first remittance. or. rather. he has ceased 10 expect 1t. for the law ap- prised him fen yeurs ago of the iden- tity of the culprit.
 While he was doing military duty stole his companion's box and accused the captain He commit ted theft of 40.OOO francs from the Maison Furet and immediately after- ward denounced Nj. Furet as having stolen IL himself.
 Ballmeyer appropriated a draft for 8.0O0 livres sterling from the messeu- ger of Messrs. Furet Bros, who were lotebrokers in the Rue Poissoniere and who allowed him desk room in their ,ffices-
 He went to. the Rue Polssoniere, Into the house of M- Furet and, imitat- | Ing the voice of M. Edouard t'uret. asked over the telephone of M. Cohen. banker.e whether he would be win- Ing 10 discount the draft. Nj. Cohen | -epiied iD the affirmative. and ten mIn- | ites later Ballmeyer. after having | ut the telephone wire to prevent fur her communication and possible ex- sent for the money by a named RIgaud.
 Ballmeyer kept the liou's share for | Then he rushed to the court o deuounce Rigaud and. as 1 have aid. Al. Furet himself.
 A dramatic scene took place when | 1ccuser and accused were confronted | with each other in the cabinet Of NJ. | 5spierre. the judge.
 You know. my dear Furet." said | 3allmeyer to the amazed broker, you must tell the justice the truth. You itcu uOL IedT SeTlOuS consequences Why not confess: lou needed 4U.UOU rancs to pay a little debt incurred at he race track. and you intended to 'ay back the sum. 1t was you who 
 .I. IT. stammered NJ. Edouard Flu ct. almost breathless with rage and 
 You may as we'll confess" said Sallmeyer- No one could mistake our voice"
 The bold thief was detected within iSht days and was caught. and the 'olice furnished such report upon i'm that M. Cruppi, then attorney now minister of commerce, | resented to NJ. Furet the most hum- lie excuses of the department of jus lee. RiGHud was also tried and con- emned to twenty years at hard labor.
 One might Eo on relating this kind f stories about Ballmeyer indefinitely.
 Known at various times as the Count e Molteville, Conlte de Bonneville, |