The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-04


 detective stories of Emile Gaboriau and Sir Conan Doyle which makes it certain that Sir Conan had at least read Gabo- riau. But both detectives furnish much entertainment by many good stories And detective stories Of the first class are not without a certain value aside from their entertainment. They are calculated to stimulate the perceptive qualities; to make their readers observe and to teach them how to draw deductions from obserya- tons. Tn short, detective stories have a value as mind trainers. What they teach Is largely mental calesthenics, to be sure, but the exercise is beneficial
 X"/HEN Paris found out that M. w Andre Fauvel' the great banker W of the Rue de Provence, had been robbed of S5o,oOo francs and that his head clerk, Prosper Bertomy, had been arrested for the theft. there was sensa- tion. The sensation lasted only four days. Then an acrobat broke his leg in the circus, an actress made her debut in minor theatre, or some such equally im- portant event occurred, and Paris forgot the affair of the Rue de Provence. But those most intimately interested in the  for many long and weary days, and for months the great detective Lecoq did the best work of his life on the case, and the lives and destines of many were ulti- mately affected by that robbery.
 Prosper Bertomy had been consigned to the care of M. Fauvel by his father,' for merly an engineer employed on the canals in the south of France, and now retired Fauvel had also been an engineer on the canals in his younger days and was 2 friend and colleague of the elder Bertomy Fauvel had brought Prosper up as his own son and had intended to mary him to his niece, Madeline. an orphan of his dead brother, whom he had brought up in his household as his own daughter and for whom he had established a large dowry.
 But year before the robbery Pros per, who had frequented the bankers house as one of the family, had sudden ly ceased visiting there at all, though he was regular in his attendance at the bank. The fact was, though M. Fauvel did not know it, that Madeleine e had without giving any reason, sud . she must see him no more, that they could never be married He begged for an explanation. but she gave none only insisted that they part.
 Then Prosper had fallen into evil ways, and of this the banker knew; there were enyious ones enough among the clerks in the bank to keep him in- formed of Prospers wickedness. Pros per drank. gambled and had luxurious t apartments in the Rue Chaptal. pre- sided over by fascinating young wom- an who called herself Nina Gipsy Eau val was worried. but considered that Prosper was r'having his fling" and xwould soon return to the paths of rec titude. hE Y
 But now came this great robbery and .only two persons had keys to the safe from which the bank notes had been taken-Prosper and himself. Also a key alone would not unlock the safe B series of knobs, on which were the letters of the alphabet, had to be turned so as to spell some certain word known only to the banker and Prosper, and this combination was changed every day or two. Either Prosper or the
 
 banker himself must have robbed the thought the detective Fanferlot, called the Squirrel" who set out to thor oughly establish Prosper's guilt after Prosper had been jailed.
 There ought not to have been so much money in the safe at night for one thiIg-the bankers orders were strict that only small amounts should be kept there nights. the money be- ing taken to the Bank of France, and as much brought back in the morning as was needed for the day. How did 850,0oO francs happen to be left over night in the safe? Prosper confessed that certain Marquis de Clameran, for whom they had that amount on de- posit had told him the night before that he should want to draw the money early the next morning, and he had 1t there in readiness for him. The Mar quis was the heir of his brother. the late Gaston de Clameran, the proprietor of iron works in Oloron, and had pre- scented legal initials. Yes the banker knew about that. The clerks said that De Clameran had called and asked for his money soon after they
 
 per had arrived-his manner of life made him always late--and while the banker was out. <.
 Fauvel and his family lived in spa cious and elegant apartments over the bank. The only staircase that led to the room containing the safe came down from the Fauvel residence. At night every other access to the room was locked and closed with iron doors and the room itself was iron sheated. The banker begged Prosper to confess all--- promised him forgiveness and pleaded with'him. The matter would be hushed up and no change would be made in their relations Prosper, at first sor- rowfully, and then. as the banker grew angry at his obstincy in persisting in his Innocence. haughtily retorted with an ,insinuation that Vauvel, and not himself was the guilty party.
 There was an explosion on the part of tho banker, and so behold Prosper in jail and Fanferlot working on his ease" the records of which were kept < by the police authorities in file No. 113Hof their archives-those secret archives which contain so much that the world would like to know but never will. Fanferlot, thinking to get from Nina Gipsy the true story of tic matter,