Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-04-11

y
square he glanced back at the church
clock that shows it's white face above
the grinning gargoyles, and, pausing
he stood a moment in deep thought.
"A quarter to T." he reflected; then,
turning to the right, he walked quick
ly to a little wine shop with flowers
in the windows, the Tavern of the
Three Wise Men.
"Ah, l thought sop' he muttered as
he recognized his friend and assistant,
Papa Tignol, at one Of the tables on
the terrace. And approaching the old
man, who had a red face and a purple
tinged nose he said in a low tone, 81
want you"
Tignol looked up quickly from his
glass, and his face lighted. "Eh, NJ.
Paul again.
II must see NJ. Pougeot," continued
the detective. ITS important. Go to
his office If he isn't there go to his
house. Anyhow, find him and tell
him to come to me at once. Hurry on.
I'll pay for this And run across to
the church and tell Bonneton that he
needn't come either"
Il knew it; l knew it," chuckled
Papa Tignol as he trotted off. There's
something doing"
With this much arranged Coquenil,
after paying for his friends absinth,
strolled over to a cab stand near the
statue of Henry ". and selected a
horse that could not possibly make
more than four miles an hour. Be
hind this deliberate animal he seated
himself, and, giving the driver his ad-
dress, he charged him gravely not to
go too fast and settled back against
the cushions to comfortable medita-
tions. There is no better way to
think out a tough problem" he used
to insist, than to take very long
drive in a very slow cab"
1t may have been that this horse was
not slow enough, for forty minutes
later Coquenils frown was still unre-
laxed when they drew up at the Villa
Montmorency, really a collection of
villas, some dozens of them. in a pri-
vate park near the Bois de Boulogne.
The detective occupied a wing of
the original Montmofency chateau, a
habitation of ten spacious rooms more
than enough for himself and his
mother and the faithful old servant
Melanie who took care of them. espe-
cially during these summer months,
when Nine. Coquenil was away at
country place in the Vosges mountains
that her son had bought for her. Paul
Coquenil had never married, and his
friends declared that, besides his work,
he loved only two things in the world
his mother and his dog.
At 8 o'clock the detective rose from
the dinner table and withdrew into
his study, large room opening off the
dining room and furnished like no 9th
er study in the world. Around the
walls were low bookcases with wide
tops, on which were spread. under
glass. what Coquenil called his Grim
inal museum This included souvenirs
of cases on which he had been en-
gagged, wonderful sets Of burglars
tools, weapons used by murderers-
saws, picks, iointed iimmies Of tenn
pered steel. that could be taken apart
and folded up in the space Of a thick
cigar and hidden about the person. >
MeIanie entered presently with COZ
fee and cigarettes, which she placed
on table near the "recl shaded
lamp within easy ra"rh of the great
red leather chair where NJ. Paul was
seated
Suddenly there came a clang at the
iron gate in the garden and the sound
of quick, crunching steps on the gravel
walk. NJ Pougeot had arrived.
NJ. Lucien Pougeot was one Of the
eighty police commisSaries who. each
in his own quarter. oversee the moral
washing Of Paris dirty linen. NJ
Pougeot WAS one Of the most distin-
guished and intelligent members of
this interesting body. He was a de-
voted friend of Paul Coquenil,
well" remarked the commissary
when they were settled in their chairs,
81 suppose its the Rio de Janeiro
thing? Some parting instructions, chg
And he turned to light a cigar
COquenil shook his head.
w utu uO you sail
Pm not sailing"
"What|
For once in his life NJ. Pougeot was
surprised. He knew all about this
foreign offer, with its extraordinary
money advantages He had rejoiced
in his friends good fortune after two
unhappy years, and now-now Coque-
nil informed him calmly that he was
not sailing,
Il have just made a decision, the
most important decision Of my life
continued the detective. "and l want
you to know about it. You are the
only person I'm the world who will
know-everything So listen! This
afternoon / went into NOtre Dame
church, l saw a young girl there
who sells candles / didn't know her,
but she looked up in a queer way, as
If she wanted to speak to me. So
went TO her and-well, she told me or
a dream she had last night"
"a dreamT snorted the commissary.
$50 she said. She may have been
lying, or she may have been put up 10
II. l know nothing about her, not
avan har no mo buf fhaffg ~ M QOu-