The Ely miner., 1912-11-15

NA pie who had deal
ings with him to
come to my Office
Among those who called upon me
was Charles Vernet, financier, and,
while 1 listened to the evidence he
gave In a clear, concise manner, the
conviction stole upon me that 1 had
met him before under different cir
cumstances. But where?-when? Al
though l have an excellent memory
for faces, his features were not ia
miliar to me; yet his general appear
ance, the way he raised his right hand
when he spoke, reused old recollec-
tions.
who is he2''I inquired the next day
OF the police commissary in NJ Charles
Vernet's district.
Who Is he?" repeated my friend,
with touch Of surprise in his voice.
my dear Goron, don't you really know
Charles Vernet?"
We'll, yes, of course I understand
he Is a financier, with plenty of
money; but / know nothing about
him" ... .#
He shrugged his shoulders.
Look here, Goron, l never know
when you are making fun of anybody;
but If you put the question to me Sc
riously, let me tell you that Charles
Vernet Is not only rich, but bears
good reputation on the Bourse, and is
received everywhere"
"How long has he been in Paris ?"
About ten years. He came here
with large fortune made at the Cape,
and has doubled it since"
Who is he?" | again asked myself
when went to bed.
For days and days the mans face
seemed to follow me. mentally pass
ed in review the various persons had
met in the course of my career, with
out being able to locate him. Yet
felt certain had seen him when his
name was not Charles Vernet.
l took out my journal, looking over
the cases with which 1 had been con-
nected since / became chief of the
detective police. And still no trace Of
him.
when l was assistant to M. Clement,
at the Prefecture, and police. commits
sary In the Pantin Quarter, until l
came upon the murder Of Moulin, the
notary's clerk. by fellow called 81
mon. And then I paused; for it sud
denly dawned upon me that Simon
was the man must have had in my
Moulin lived in the Rue des All
besses, and he and Simon were
friends. One night a lodger, occupy.
ing a room below Moulin's, was awak-
ened by the noise Of scuffie over
head, and, going to the rescue, met a
man hurrying past him. Moulin was
lying on his bed stabbed to the heart.
When Simon was arrested the next
day, the lodger recognized him as the
man he had seen on the stairs. 81
mon, who had already been implicated
in several unpleasant affairs. never
admitted his guilt; and, In the abb
sence of direct proofs, the jury brought
in a verdict by which he escaped the
guillotine, but was sentenced to twen-
ty years penal servitude.
I inquired at the Prefecture. where
learned that Simon and a man called
Aymard had planned to escape from
Cayenne. Aymard had succeeded in
getting away, while Simon, his face
battered in and his body covered with
wounds, was found In ditch. His
identity had been disclosed by. his
Jacket. which bore the number "S4."
The report of Simon's death did not
remove my doubts. But as in the
face of the official statement / could
not well apply to the authorities for
assistance, l determined to try 70
solve the problem myself.
IL my theory was right-that
Charlie Vernet and Simon were the
same person-it must have been 81
mon who placed the telltale jacket
with the number "a on the body OF
Aymard, whom, no doubt, he had mur-
dered to insure his own safety. This
trick had been performed several
times and. from my recollection of 81
mon. he was not the man to shrink
from killing his companion.
| took all the papers relating to the
Simon case with me, and gathered
from them an interesting fact. While
under remand. Simon-probably to
curry favor with the authorities-had
denounced a youth named Berger. as
having been concerned in a burglary
In the Rue des Saints-Peres, in CON
nection with which three men had
Leea sentenced to long terms of i'm.
prisonment. Berger was arrested, but
as it was proved that he had thus faI
bcrne IN excellent Character. end had