The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-10-25

- haunted cafe of Madame
Tibault, in Dumaine
street. If you know the place, you
will experience thrill of pleasure in
recalling 1t to mind. 1t is small and
dark, with six little polished tables,
at which you may sit and drink the
best coffee in New Orleans, and con-
coctions of absinthe equal to Saze-
RAGS best. Madame Tibault, fat and
indulgent, presides at the desk, and
takes your money. Nicollette and
Meme, madame's neices, in charming
bib aprons, bring the desirable bev-
erages.
Dumars, with true Creole luxury,
was slipping his absinthe, with half
closed eyes, in a swirl of cigarette
smoke. Robbins was looking over the
morning Pic, detecting, as young re-
porters will, the gross blunders in
the makeup, and the envious blue
penciling his own stuff had received.
This item, in the advertising columns,
caught his eye. and with an exclama-
aloud to his friend:
PUBLIC AUCTION-At o'clock
this afternoon there will be sold to
the highest bidder all the common
property of the Little Sisters of Sa-
maria, at the home of the Sisterhood,
in Bonhomme street. The sale will
dispose of the building, ground and
the complete furnishings of the house
and chapel, without reserve"
This notice stirred the two friends
to a reminiscent talk concerning an
episode in their journalistic career
that had occurred about two years
before. They recalled the incidents.
went over the old theories, and dis
cussed 1t anew, from the different
perspective time had brought.
There were no other customers in
the cafe. Madame's fine ear had
caught the line of their talk, and she
came over to their table-for had it
not been her lost money-her van
ished twenty thousand dollars-that
had set the whole matter going?
The three took up the long-aban-
doned mystery, threshing over the
old, dry char of 1t. 1t was In the
chapel of this house Of the Little
Sisters of Samaria that Robbins and
Dumars had stood during that eager,
fruitless news search of theirs, and
looked upon the gilded statue Of the
Virgin.
"Thass so, boys" said madame.
summing up. "Thass YER wicked
man, M'sieur NORM. Everybody shall
ha rfI ha ufn ,o1o
in his hand for keep safe. Yes. He's
boun' spend that money, somehow"
Madame turned broad and compre-
hensive smile upon Dumars. 81 ond'-
stand you, M'sieur Dumars, those day
you come ask me TO tell ev'ything
know bout M'sieur NORM. All! yes.
/ know most time when those men
lose money you say, 'Cherchez la
femme'-there is somewhere the wo-
man. But not for M'sieur NORM. No,
boys. Before he shall die, he is like
one saint. You nights well, M'sieur
Dumars, go try find those money in
those statue of Virgin Mary that
M'sieur NORM present at those p'tite
soenrs, as try find one femme"
At Madame Tibault's last words,
Robbins started slightly and cast a
keen. sidelong glance at Dumars,
The Creole sat, unmoved. dreamily
watching the spirals of his cigarette
smoke.
II was then o'clock in the morn
ing, and, a few minutes later. the
two friends separated, going different
ways to their days duties. And now
follows the brief story Of Madame
Tibault's vanished thousands.
New Orleans will readily recall to
mind the circumstances attendant
upon the death of Mr.. Gaspard NORM,
in that city. Mr. NORM was an ar
tistic goldsmith and jeweler, in the
old French quarter. and man held
in the highest esteem. He belonged
to one OF the Oldest French families,
and was of some distinction as an
antiquary and historian. He was a
bachelor, about fifty years of age
He lived in quiet comfort, at one OF
those rare old hostelries in Royal
street. He was found in his rooms
one morning, dead from unknown
causes.
When his affairs came to be looked
into, it was found that he was prac
tically insolvent, his stock of goods
and personal property barely-but
nearly enough to free him from cen
sure-covering his liabilities. Fol
lowing. came the disclosure that he
had been intrusted with the sum oi
twenty thousand dollars by former
servant in the NORM family. one Ma
dame Tibault, which she had received
as legacy from relatives in France
The most searching scrutiny BY
friends and the legal authorities
failed to reveal the disposition of the
money. It had vanished, and left nj
trace. Some weeks before his death
Mr.. Norm had drawn the entir'
amount in gold coin, from the banl
where It had been placed while h
looked about (he told Madame TT
bault) fnn Ssfe investment. There
fore. Mr.. Morin's memory seemed
doomed TO bear the cloud of dishon