Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-12-04
him n the az. l Vailed upgtairs ana

on entering he rose from the easy
chair in which he was sitting and
glared at me.
am NJ. Goron." | continued, tand
nave come 10 take you back to Paris
on the charge Of having broken omen
safe IN NJ. Dominguez's house. and
distracted therefrom valuables OF vari-
Gus kinds"
70 my surprise. his morose express
sion disappeared. and in an almost
cheerful tone he replied.
i am glad TO have you come. lam
READY to go when you like. The SOON
er can stand face to face with that
hound and unmask him. the better.
know / shall have to pay a big men,
atty; but my revenge is cheap. ever
at the cost OF heavy sentence.
What hound?'' ] asked.
"Dominguez, Dominguez," he Shrek
ed "Dominguez, the biggest villain IN
hung! He fioored me twice, the Gun.
ming cur; but 1 have him here, under
my thumb"
then called up the official from
the Consulate. and in his presence
carefully oyerhauled RavePs belong.
lngs. At his own request / even
searched his pockets, but discovered
no trace Of anything relative to the
robbery. Fifty thousand francs in bank
notes and gold he carried in a leather
belt. In his hat box were a revolt
yer and tin OF cartridges. of which
took possession.
Give yourself no needless trouble
my dear Monsieur Goron." he laughed.
what you are looking for | left in
Faris. There We're other things in
tnat safe besides trinkets and secur-
tiles, of which only Dominguez and
know anything. and did not care to
carry them about me. They are in
Paris" he shrieked at the top of his
voice, "and will be produced when I
am confronted with that hound. And
then, Monsieur Goron. you will wit
ness something which even you have
never Scent"
he gave an uncanny chuckle, lit a
cigarette and lapsed into silence
large cabin in the steamer leav.
ing the next day for Mafseilles had
oeen reserved for us, and Ravel came
on board with a jaunty air like a man
oent on a pleasure trip. / had kent
everything secret. but through soma
lndiscretion the passengers. knew who
we were, and curious glances followed
us When we set foot on deck.
we had still an hour to wait befora
lifting anchor therefore left RavaI
IN the cabin in charge of the official
VINO was to accompany me to Mar
Fsellles, and went to ask a few oues-
Ions OF the captain At that mo-
ment a telegraph boy came up shout
ing my name. l opened the wire II
was from the Office. "Dominguez dis.
appeared"
tried TO convince myself that the
laconic official telegram meant that
Dominguez had only absented himself
Tor a while, but something told me
that with his disappearance the princi-
pal INK in that mystery had been sew
cred.
however, I still had the opportunity
oil talking the matter over with NV
prisoner and once under way, | asked
MIN to give me some particulars about
his connection with Dominique.
Wait till We get to Paris" he cried.
and you viii lear all you want to
know-1nd more"
But suppose Dominique should have
nave left Paris?" | inquired.
lie turned sharply around.
What do you mean?"
handed him the telegram ann
watched him curiously, for I expected
him to fly into violent rage Instead
OF this ne LANDED me the paper back.
and quietly said:
Have no fear. he will return!"
You really don't mean that, Ravel?''
i do mean it, | tell you"
Half an hour later l saw him in the
cabin writing.
Il am already preparing my de-
fense.' he said with a sad smile
! left him alone and went into the
saloon where lady was singing. II
was clear night, and the sea was as
calm as pool.
Ihen we heard a rush of feet on
deck, the singer stopped, and in the
stiffness of the night rang the shout:
Man overboard."
felt as If a cold hand had Crashed
my throat l ran to the cabin. 1t was
empty We looked everywhere for
Ravel. He was gone.
Inc steamer at once stopped; two
boats were lowered, but returned aft
er half an hours fruitless search. And
We started again, all the passengers
and men having been accounted for
but Ravel
For couple of hours / paced the
deck up and down, and then returned
to my cabin. where not long ago I
had seen my prisoner writing. On the
table lay letter in pencil addressed
to me:
Dear NJ. Goron.'' II said: fate Il,
against me. Dominguez, the thief. who
robs even his aecomplices. is too clever
for me-and you. I committed the burg
larry at Dominguez's house, not so much
to take back what was rightly my share
as to secure weapon wherewith / could
smash him once for all. He has cleared
out. He smelt rat. NJ Goron, and I
do not want to be brought back as a
common burglar. instead OF an accuser
have f led in this. like in everything
else. Good-by
&C. RAvEI.."
And thus, both the robber and the
robbed disappeared. Nothing was
heard Of the stolen property. The mys.
terry was never solved.
Shall / ever be able to efface ehe
point of Interrogation behind Domin-
ruey'S pama2