Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1913-01-15


it, but in vain.
Although I concurred In the verdict
OF suicide, was not satisfied. for
scented blackmaiiers. Those who. like
me. have lived In an atmosphere of
crime, win know the mischief wrought
by these scoundre1s.
In the pantomime OF life. wherein
criminals play such an important role.
swindlers and sharpers often imper-
senate the funny man" But the
blaekmailer Is the villain" the traitor
who stabs his victims in the back. and
rarely leaves a trace of his deadly
work
When a tew days after NJ. F-'s
funeral I called on his daughter and
! expressed my view. she Indignantly
declared that there could be nothing
hidden in her fathers life--a man
whose reputation had been above sus-
! picion. Her husband was OF the same
opinion knew they were speaking
the truth, and I also knew that ! could
not hope for any help from them.
After ar anxious search | 1t last
made an important discovery NJ.
F. had engaged himself to a Bar
onne de v In Tours, and had con-
cealed this fact from his daughter and
his friends Deeply in love with Mad
anne de ", he had pressed her
hard to fix their wedding for an early
date, whereupon Il was arranged that
| it was 10 have taken place toward the
end OF June. In less than a fortnight,
however. he had suddenly become
Respondent. and. to the lady's surprise.
had informed her that the wedding
had to be postponed.
| All this was related to me by Mad
anne de v, who was eager to as
sist me IN sitting the matter As
rose to take my leave she said:
The last time my poor friend was
here he left his cigarette-case behind,
and inside found this scrap OF pa.
per. II is IN his handwriting. and the
notes in pencil refer TO sale Of a
small estate he owned | am afraid
you will not find 1t very useful"
! examined the leahet with care,
Madame. replied. this scrap dis.
closes four distinct facts, which,
pieeed together, may supply yalu-
able clue
what facts?"
The address printed at the top Of
the page IS that of a shady cafe In
the Boulevard Rochechouart. And
did you notice the curious characters
al the back"
! Yes, ! did | fancied they were
/ Hebrew letters"
/ NO they are Arabic From all this
I deduce; First. that your friend. who
could have gone to such a place only
under compulsion. did not meet the
people he had come to see; second
that, having had to walt for them, he
! whiled away the time by scribbllng
those notes on a piece of letterpaper
he found lying on the table; third that
he grew impatient and restless. for
! the characters at the back are jotted
down nervously and lack the firmness
Of the other writing; fourth, that. as
/ Arabic is not language usually taught
at college, It is more than probable
that VI F. spent some time in our
African colonies"
Why, yes. Madame de v ex.
claimed Il remember he once de
scrlbed to ME a scene he witnessed in
| Oran"
That simplifles matters" rejoined.
and ! can now set to work"
II IS not always easy TO dive into a
dead mans past The moment the
human machinery has been brought
to a standstlll everything that once
gravitated around him seems to dis
appear He is forgotten by friends.
and detractors who prosecuted him to
his last breath have potent reasons
never to mention his name
But the threads supplied to me by
that note would. | expected put me
on the right course. and felt could
not have any peace as long as the mis-
creants responsible for NJ, F-'s
death swent about unehallenged
The statement made TO me by Nj.
F--'s daughter that her fathers
reputation was above suspicion was
undoubtedly true as far as Paris was
concerned. II, therefore, there was a
blot In the mans life | had to look
for it elsewhere. and Oran at once
presented itself 10 my MUD
made discreet inquiries. and learn
ed that some twelve years ago NJ
r while in Oran. had allowed him
self to be foolishly implicated In 81
scandal. which thanks to powerful
protection, had been hushed up
While was trying to clear up that
side OF the problem. It was also es-
sentia that | should know something
OF the people who frequented the
cafe in the boulevard Rochechouart.
and selected as my observatory a
rival establishment a few doors OF.
whence | could watch those passing
4 In and out
/ | knew | could rely on my memory
and on the first day recognized many
who In various ways had passed
through my hands. Not a few of them
| had anything but clean records. but
I they were either book makers. sharp
ers. or tricky horse-dealers. fire.
4 quenhers OF the race-course, whose spe,
cialty lay In a different direction.
One evening. half an hour after I
had reached my post Of observation. /
saw a clean-shaven man walk up and
take his seat outside. After a while
he tapped at the window for waiter.
who replied To question put 10 him.
~ barerpDf, tbs man nAw into 4, 49,.