Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1912-04-16
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
N. q. kE!TMER
(Copyrieht, 1911, BY The Bobbs- Merrill OoJ
CHAPTER XVI.


With the Opera Ghost.
Before following the commissary
into the managers Office I must de-
scribe certain extraordinary occur.
rences that took place in that Office
which Remy and MERCER had vainly
tried to enter and into which NM.
Richard and Moncharmin had locked
themselves with an object which the
reader does not yet know, but which
1t is my duty, as an historian, to re-
veal without further postponement.
have had occasion to say that the
managers mood had undergone dis
agreeable change for some time past
and to convey the fact that this
change was due not only to the fall
of the chandelier on the famous night
of the gala performance.
The reader must know that the
ghost had calmly been paid his first
twenty thousand francs. Oh. there
had been wailing and gnasbing Of
teeth, indeed! And yet the thing had
happened as simple as could be.
One morning, the managers found
on their table an envelope addressed
to Monsieur o. G. (private)" and &C.
companied by note from o. e. him.
self:
The time has come to carry out the
clause In the memorandum-book. Please
put twenty notes of a thousand francs
each into this envelope. seal 1t with your
own seal and hand it to Mme CRY, who
will do what is necessary.
The managers did not hesitate;
without wasting time in asking how
these COMPOUNDED communications
came to be delivered in an office
which they were careful to keep
locked, they seized this opportunity
of laying hands on the mysterious
blackmailer. And, after telling the
whole story, under the promise of Sc
crecy, to Gabriel and MERCER, they
put the twenty thousand francs into
the envelope and without asking for
explanations, handed it to Nine. CRY.
who had been reinstated In her func-
tons. The box-keeper displayed no
establishment. need hardly say that
she was we'll watched. She went
straight to the ghosts box and placed
the precious envelope on the little
shelf attached to the ledge. The two
managers, as well as Gabriel and Mer-
cier, were hidden in such way that
they did not lose sight of the en-
velope for second during the per-
Torrance and even afterward, for. as
the envelope had not moved, those
who watched 1t did not move either:
and Nine. CRY went away while tho
managers, Gabriel and MERCER were
still there At last, they became tired
Of waiting and opened the envelope,
after ascertaining that the seals had
not been broken.
At first sight, Richard and Mon
charmin thought that the notes were
still there; but soon they perceived
that they were not the same. The
twenty real notes were gone and had
been replaced by twenty notes of the
Bank Of St. Farce!'
The managers rage and fright were
unmistakable. Moncharmin wanted to
send for the commissary of police,
but Richard objected. He no doubt
had plan, for he said:
Don't let us make ourselves ridic-
ulous! All Paris would laugh at us.
o. G. has won the first game; We will
win the second"
He was thinking of the next months
allowance.
Nevertheless, they had been SO alb.
solutely triCked that they were bound
to suffer certain detection. And,
upon my word. it was not difficult to
We must not forget that
the managers had an idea at the back
of their minds. all the time. that this
strange incident might be an unpleas.
ant practical joke on the part of their
predecessors, and that 1t would not
do to divulge 1t prematurely. On the
other hand, Moncharmin was some.
times troubled with a suspicion OF
Richard himself, who occasionally
took fanciful whims into his head.
And so they were content to await
events, while keeping an eye on
Mother CRY. Richard would not have
her spoken to.
IF she is confederate" he said,
1.-THE notes are gone long ago. But,
in my opinion she is merely an idiot"
"She's not the only idiot in this
business" said Moncharmin pensively.
"Well, who could have thought it,"
Richard. But don't be afraid
. next time, l shall have taken
my precautions"
The next time fell on the same DAY
that beheld the disappearance OF
Christine Daae. In the morning a
note from the ghost reminded them
that the money was due. 1t read:
Do just as you did last time. 1t went
very well. Put the twenty thousand in
the envelope and hand 1t to our excellent
Nine. Giry.
And the note was accompanied by
the usual envelope. They had only to
insert the notes.
This was done about half an hour
before the curtain rose on the first
act of Faust. Richard showed the en-
velope to Moncharmin. Then he count
ed the twenty thousand-franc notes in
front of him and put the notes into
the envelope, but without closing 1t.
"And now" he said, lets have
Mother CRY in"
The old woman was sent for. She
entered with sweeping courtesy.
She still wore her black taffeta dress,
the color of which was rapidly turn
ing to rust and lilac. to say nothing
of the dingy bonnet. She seemed in
a good temper. She at once said: