Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-12-25

A month ago her bicycle was stolen. l
happened to be in the police commits
sary's Office when she came to tell
him of IT, l promised her to do my
best, and have sent her a note that
win make her happy. reckon she
will be here tomorrow to ask for her
bike"
Tips had aroused my curiosity.
when she comes ] want TO see
her"
"All right, sir"
Before calling on Baron S.. ]
made an inquiry about Alfred O.,
and what heard was deplorable The
fortune he had inherited from his
mother was squandered in less than
two years, and his father. a retired
colonel. was almost ruined by his
sons extravaganza Alfred raised
money when he could, and in a gam
bling-club had. been accused OF at
tempting to cheat. This charge had
never been proved, and it ended in a
duel, when he ran two inches of steel
into his traducer's body. He belonged
to good family, and was distantly
related to Madame H, whose
house he visited regularly.
The baron, learned, had an estate
in Russia. where he passed the sum-
mer. The winters he spent in Paris and
he was very popular In the world GU
ION s'muse. lie had an apartment in
the Avenue de rAlma; and went
there toward eleven in the morning.
His servant. a tall, well.built young
man, informed me in bad French with
a strong Russian accent that his mas
ter was having his bath. and would
receive me in a few minutes. He
soon appeared, a distinguished. aristo-
cratic man
| apologized for disturbing him so
early, and begged him to give me an
account OF the disappearance of his
coat
Between ourselves" he smiled, 81
am surprised these accidents do not
hJppen ofter4r This is my second
winter al Paris, and tho third time !
have attended one of these functions.
They are q boon to the Paris thieves.
| am sorry ! lost my fur coat It was
valuable My idiot of servant will
tell you how it occurred-Boris!"
The valet. at the baron's request,
then explained to me, in his abomin-
able French, that he had been waiting
In the hall for his master. with the
coat over his arm Finding Il cumber-
some, with so many people passing in
and ont. he had put It in little room
leading from the hall, and when he
went 10 fetch II 1t was gone.
But why did ycr not leave It in
charge of one Of the seryantS?" |
asked
II expected my master TO come down
every moment, and as the door of the
little room was open | could keep my
eyes on the coat all the time. ! may
have lost sight Of II for second"
The baron shrugged his shoulders,
and | heard the wood fool"
put few questions; but as neither
the baron nor Boris could supply any
further information, | withdrew In
the room had detected a peculiar per-
fume. very faint without being able
to fix It with certainty ! could not
positively say whether II emanated
from the room itself or from one of
the men Slight as 1t was, Il caught
my attention. as my sense of smell is
acute
had written a note to Alfred o.
asking him to call. and found him
waiting for me. need not describe
that type of young man--to be met
on the race-course, at first nights, at
fashionable gatherlngs--to whom life
Is nothing but huge joke lie roar
ed with laughter when | preached the
subject Of the robbery.
Please excuse me, Monsieur Goron.
the whole thing is so ludicrous DO
you know, that Uncle Jerome, whom
you saw this morning, darkly limited
that ! stole the pendant? | heard 1t
from the little German governess
think he .oes II out of revenge he
cause | made fun of II. You never
saw anything so ugly The diamonds
are magnificent. but the design Is gro
tesque. with that silly little flower
dangling al the end"
You We're at Madame HIS the
day the pendant was stolen?"
Yes, the greater part Of the after
noon"
Did YOU notice anything likely to
throw any light ON the AFFAIR."
Nothing whatever. 1t seems very
strange Uncle Jerome Is terribly up
set but. think more on account OF
the coat The old chap is proud Of his
acquaintance with a baroni"
/ The next day wheu was busy lnves-
tigaung case that had happened dur
ing the night / WAS informed that
Georgette Cheyallier. alias Tips. was
downstairs. having come about her
bicycle
show her IN ct once, said
Georgette was pretty She was
small. remarkably graceful. with large
/ brown. iuteljgcut eyes
You wanted 10 see me?" she re
marked in a gentle voice
Madame GeorgetJe---' began
Please call me Tips, everybody
does"
Very wen, Tips since you prefer
liz. ! had the pleasure OF seeing You a
couple OF days ago.'
Me? Where
In a cab; you were talking &c
your friend
What rriend?"
Alfred o."
lie IS not my friend Monster,