The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1913-02-07

niW, Dy TWO OF my men.
knew Simetiere was q frequenter
OF a low dancing place In the Rue
Montague -Genevieve, where the
worst characters congregated. At an
early hour / went there with my CON-
panions, whom l left a little distance
of, and walked straight into a small
room, from which, through a window
closed by a curtain, everything could
be seen that went on In the hall.
This closet bore the curious name OF
the Grand Dukes observatory" for
1t was from there that two Of tie
Russian grand dukes had once watch
ed the entertainment.
do you expect Joseph Slmetiere to-
nlght?" asked the proprietor, who
had every reason to assist the police.
Yes, he here constantly.
But his pals are always with him. and
In your stead l would"
Thank you. / do not want your ad.
vice. Stay here, and tell me when he
%enters.'
After an hour he called out:
Here he Isl"
Simetiere. a sinister-looking scoun-
drel, with three men and a woman, all
desperate characters, sat down, or
dered drinks, and started a converse
ton, which, above the squeak of I'D
dies and the humping of feet, / could
not hear. 1t was fortunate ] had TAX
en- the precaution Of locking the door.
for the woman crossed the hall, and
Il do not known for what reason
tried to come in. When / saw the fell
low rise, ] stole out, and joined my
companions, whom I conducted to q
dark doorway by which Simetiere had
to pass.
1T is no good making a selection"
/ whispered to my men, I'VE must take
chance"
A few minutes after midnight We
saw Simetiere come down the street.
One OF his friends walked by his side;
the others were a few yards behind.
The instant the two were level with
us We rushed at them and before they
could utter a cry they were bound,
thrown into a cab. and taken of.
The other man We had arrested was
Thevenin. Al old offender, and this. as
1t turned out, proved a lucky haul. for
the next morning, when Simetiere was
brought before me. he scowled an
grily, and said:
II am sur 1t is that coward The
venin who has rounded on me; and I'll
be even with him. Yes, I was in the
affair Of the Rue Saint-Denis; but
Thevenin, that ugly rat, was the third
man"
This was at variance with what
Plessis had told me. But instead Of
doubling Simetiere's statement /
guessed that Plessis had only told me
half the truth and that there was q
fourth. Ny superstition proved cor
rect. for, having confronted Crampon
with the other three, 1t turned out
that while Crampon with Simetiere
and Thevenin had gone to the billiard
room in the wine-shop. Plessis had
kept watch outside, which accounted
for the fact that no one had seen him.
The public were delighted when it
was announced that the men in con-
nection with the Rue Saint-Denis
crime were In custody; but ! was not
satisfied. Crampon was the head of a
gang who had been, or were still, COM
hitting depredations, and / could not
rest until that whole pack had been
routed. And l may remark here that
the post of chief of the Paris detective
police Ia not q bed OF roses. He GER
tainly disposes Of men In whose our
age he can place reliance; but when
a dangerous expedition on q big scale
Is planned, the chief has to place him
self at their head and risk his life
like they do.
l had also to overcome q serious
difficulty, that Of laying my hand on
the whole lot In one swoop; for l
knew full well that il l caught only
two or three the rest would disap-
pear, and / should have to start a
fresh hunt. I. therefore, sent for
Latrille, an active young officer, who
possessed the talent OF Disgusting him.
self In such a marvellous manner that
I often failed to recognize him when
I met him ih n Of the passages Of
the prefecture. instructed him to
watch the gang. and keep me informed
OF their movements. Their favorite
meeting place was a low tavern in the
Rue Aubry-le-Boucher.
A few days later, Latrille told me
that the whole gang were to meet that
evening, w%hereupon l made all my
arrangements.
One by one, 81 as not to awaken
any suspicion, we met In a passage
close by that tavern, whence, unseen.
We could watch the neighborhood. The
night was dark. and the street bore an
indescribably gloomy look. But, in
stead Of the silence that would befit
such a place, the air was rent with
sounds OF scufiies and brawls. Oc-
casionally shrieks would be heard,
shrieks that would not affect anybody
about there. Little they cared wheth-
II was an ordinary quarrel or MUIR
der; whatever 1t might be, 1t was
common enough in the Rue Aubryle-
Boucher. A Misunderstanding man
grabbed q woman by the throat, and,
with curses, demanded something that
she kept hidden beneath her cloak.
But, quick as lightning. she whipped