The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-06-23
Queer Couple


suicide was returned.
1t transpircd that NJ. F. had
withdrawn large amounts from his
bank, no trace Of which could be
found. He neither speculated nor
gambled, and he always noted down
every cent he spent. Yet of the hun
dred thousand francs that had disap-
peared no record could be found. What
had become of tho cash7 His heirs
moved heaven and earth to find It., but
in vain.
Although I ooncurred in the verdict
Of suicide, l was not satisfied, for l
scented blackmailers. Those who, like
me, have lived in an atmosphere of
crime, will know the mischief wrought
by these scoundrels.
In the pantonime Of life, wherein
criminals play such an important role,
swindlers and sharpers often imperson-
ate the "funny man." But the black
mailer is the tVillain,' the traitor who
stabs his victims in the back, and rare
ly leaves trace OF his deadly work.
funeral / called on his daughter and
expressed my view, she Indignantly
declared that there could be nothing
hidden in her fathers Iife-a man
whose reputation had been above sus.
picion. Her husband was of the same
opinion. I knew they were speaking
the truth, and l also knew that I could
not hope for any help from them.
After an anxious search L at last
made an important discovery. M.
F. had engaged himself to Bar
cealed this fact from his daughter and
his friends. Deeply in love with Mad
ame de V, he had pressed her
hard to fix their wedding for an early
date, whereupon it was arranged that
it was to have taken place toward the
end Of June, In less than a fortnight,
however, he had suddenly become
Respondent, and, to the lady's surprise,
had informed her that the wedding had
to be postponed.
All this was related to me by Mad
anne de v, who was eager to assist
me in sitting the matter. AS I rose to
take my leave she said:
"Tho last time my poor friend was
here he left his cigarette case behind,
and inside I found this scrap Of pa
per It is in bis handwriting, and the
notes in pencil refer to sale Of a
small estate he owned. I am afraid
you will not find it very useful,'
/ examined the leaAet with care
"Madame," I replied, fEthis scrap
discloses four distinct facts, which,
pieced together. may supply valuable
clew."
1twhat factsf'
HThe address printed at the top Of
the page is that Of a shady cafe In
the Boulevard Rocheohouart. And did
you notice the curious characters at
the back go
eyes, T did. 1 fancied they were
Hebrew letters"
tFNo, they are Arabic. From all this
! deduce: First, that your friend, who
could have gone to such place only
under compulsion, did not meet the
people ne had come TO see; second, that
having had TO wait for them4 be whlled
away the time by scribhling these
found lying on the table; third, that
he grew impatient and restless, for the
characters at the back are jotted down
nervously and lack the frmness of the
other writing; fourth, that, as Arabic
is not a lannuage usually taught at col
Iege, il is more than probable that M.
f. spent some time in our African
colonies7'
claimed. "I remember he once de-
scribed to me scene he witnessed In
Oran.
H'That simplifes Matters" I re
Joined, "and I can now set to work -
Tt is not always easy to dive into
dead man & past The moment the bu-
man machinery has been brought to a
staudstiI everything that once gTavi-
tate6 around him seems to disappear.
He is forgotten by friends, and detrac.
tors who prosecuted him to bis last
breath have potent reasons never 10
mention his name,
But the threads supplied to me by
H. mo m
the right course, and felt ! could not
have any peace as long as the mis-
creants responsible for M. F-s's
death went about unchallengod.
The statement made to me by M.
F-'s daughter that her fathers rep
utation was above suspicion was m
doubtedlv true as far as Paris was CON
cerned. II, therefore, there was blot
in the man 's life I had to look for IT
elsewhere, and Oran at once presented
itself to my mind,
] made discreet inquiries, and learned
that some twelve years ago Nj. F.,
while in Oran, had allowed himself to
be foolishly implicated in scandal,
which, thanks to powerful protection,
had been huehed up.
While 7 was trying to clear up That
side Of the problem. il was also essen
tial that I should know something OF
the people who freguented the care III
the Boulevard Rochecbouart,. and Sc
Iected as my observatory a rival estap,
lishment n few doors off, whence, l
could watch those passing in and out.
knew 7 could rely on my memory,
and on the first day recognized man many
who in various ways had passed
through my hands. Not few of them
had anything but clean records. but
they were either bookmakers,, sharp
ers, or tricky horse dealers, frequent
ers of the race course. whose specially
lay in different direction.
One evening. half an hour after l
had reached my post Of observation, I
saw q .clean-shavenl man walk up and an,
take his seat outside. After while
he tapped at The window for a waiter,
who replied to question. put to him,
whereupon the man few into a rage
| and, talking rapidly, pulled once or
twice the lobe of his left ear.
I looked at him in surprise. Many
years ago I had known fellow who,
when his temper was reused, INDUCED
In that curious habit. He was nick
named the "Patriarcb, A" because Of his
| Ionp heard: but he was reported to