The Springfield herald., 1912-12-20
lCopyright by ]. B. Lippincott Coz

I once more declare that this man is
liar. and that, II he did not put the
cards In my pockets, he knows who
did. And
Pardon me- interrupted the Wis
comte. we cannot allow this. We sin
cerely hope you may prove your inno-
conceive hope 1t for your sake. And
this is all we have to say to you for
the present."
After pause my visitor resumed:
i have no recollection of how got
home that evening; and even the next
morning l could not realize tk " 1t had
not been a fearful dream. Several
days spent trying to unravel this mys
terry. when / received two letters from
England. The first was from my IA
ther. The poor man is heert-broken.
He had had full account of what
had occurred at Madame's house. He
advised me to go away, somewhere In
the Colonies. and remain here till this
affair is forgotten. The other letter
was"
He again stopped. and hid his face
In his hands.
1T was from my fiancee. the girl
was to have married In three months,
on my return to England. She. too.
knew all about 1t. and informed me
that must consider our engagement
at an end. ! at once wrote to my IA
Their and to my flancee, telling them
that had been the victim of hor-
rible plot. imploring them to reply by
return post; but neither of them has
sent me line. then remembered
my friend, L. de v, school-chum,
now on the diplomatic service He has
known me all my life: and, after l had
told him my story. he gave me this
Introduction to you. Monsieur Goron,
beg Of you to help met"
Il certainly will try to help you."
replied; but your story is incom-
plete. want to hear more about these
people-the vicomte, Bernard T..
Madame j., and even-if you allow
me-Mademolselle Genevieve Who are
they?"
Madame j Is the widow of
naval officer. / was introduced to her
the first week l arrived In Paris. by
man In the studio where l was paint
ing. She received every other even
ing. The vicomte is an old friend OF
hers. and. am told, member OF the
Jockey club. Bernard T met also
at Madame's house. We have often
; dined together and gone to theaters."
Has he profession? How does he
, get his living?"
He Is, think. an insurance broker:
, but he has money, and does not seem
, to work very hard"
: nd oil OF
but probably not least?"
, You are right. Monsieur Goron-
, last. but not least; for believe she is
the innocent cause of this business.
/ have been thinking night and day.
l and am sure l have found the clue to
{ this mystery"
He colored slightly and said:
! II am afraid what am going to tell
you will sound rather foolish. but you
I will see it is important. Bernard T.
, Is in love with Genevieve, striking
, ly handsome girl She had Of late
shown me marked Partially. and in
his mad jealousy Bernard has planned
l this TO ruin me in her eyes"
And this, according 10 you, is the
clue to the AFFAIR.""
Undoubtedly. There can be no 9TH
t er cause why anybody should try to
compromise me in such horrible way
With your help we will get to the bot
tom of IT.
ut Is queer. very queer bust
ness; darker than you seem to think
| do not say this to alarm you, but to
, prepare you for a few surprises. Give
, me the addresses Of all the people
you have Just mentioned, and come
here tomorrow at four o'clock. Don't
| think of revenge; this may. or may
not, come later. The first thing to be
done is to clear you"
I My visitor thanked me and went
, away with lighter step. But when he
returned the following day he looked
, more distressed than before.
What has gone wrong?" l asked.
J ANY fresh trouble?"
NO" he replied moodily. except
, that have had letter from our law
} yer begging me to go away at once
for the honor of the family
, With a suppressed oath he threw the
letter on my table.
, Never mind the lawyer. Tell him to
go to the-Colonies himself Since
I saw you / have looked into the
: matter, and have gathered little
: useful information. First. let me tell
you that your theory about Demands
, Jealousy does not hold water. Excuse
: my asking you-have you ever, say.
, fiirted, with the girl?"
Never"
Have you given her any presents,
or made appointments with herr"
, Never"
, "All the better, for 1t simplifies mat
tiers. Another question. Do they play
l baccarat at Madame J-'s?" -
: Yes three or four times week"
Did you playa"
Yes. but gave up because"
2 You found you lost too much?"
: you've guessed It. l did lose"
How much?"
: about two thousand dollars"
r Just what | expected. have re-
! ceived some queer reports about your
: friends Madame Us reputation is
: far from good. and suspect her salon
I. to be trap to swindle people like
9 you. Bernard T. certainly did in