The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-01-25


Mime. Meiser, where she
stayed tilt nine IN the eve
~. - Ming: and from that mo.
49,. ment ]; have not heard Of
X m her. / sat up all night, and
Brune, the dog. never LEFT
off bowling. I am certain
something has happened
q - Two big tears ran down
her wrinkled' face.
'tHow long have you been with Nine.
ergoiss" j asked.
twelve years. l came to her a
Jew days after her husband died. THIS
morning at ten became 80 nervous
that, went down to Nogentsur-Marne
10 see Nine. Meiser; and when l
learned that my mistress was not
there i called on NJ. Edouard. But no
could give me no tidtngs Of her."
who is M. Edouard?"
Mime. servois's nephew, or, rather,
one Of her nephews. My dear, good
nfistress! am sure she has been
mll-ntuEF
1 IN saw the woman was becoming hys-
steficai and advised her to go home,
promising to search for Nine, servois.
SYsleafned that Nine. Servois was a
Widow OF about forty-hve, comfortably
on. living in the Rue Liable, quiet
street leading from the Boulevard
,rerefre. Her only relatives were two
rephews, the sons Of her deceased SIS
Ter. Anguste, the elder, a genuine
Bohemian, having failed in various
professlons, took up painting and
earned his living by drawing portraits
for one franc each in the cafes in
Montmartre. where he was well known.
HIS younger brother, Edouard, was a
atock.broker's clerk. Both visited their
aunt pretty regularly. especially Au-
guste, who frequently applied to her
for small loans. / was also informed
that Nine. servois had made a will
beqreathing them the bulk of her
property. Nine. servois entertained
very little; but, music.mad, was seen
az every concert and matinee. Her
closest friend was Nine. Meiser, and
during the last two years the two had
been fnseparabte.
Josephine. s4he woman who came to
me; had given mo Edouard's address,
and i asked him to call. He was a
: slelslya youth prematurely bald, with
an unpleasant rasn in his voice. He
could throw no light on the affair and
confirmed Josephine's statement that
LIS cunts day was regulated by the
/ clock. She always went to bed at
tan; and the fact Ct her having stayed
out all night certainly looked suspi-
cious.
ashe may have met with an acci-
dent" he said, "Lut dread worse"
4 @What makes you suppose this"
He shrugged his lean shoulders, and
i repeated by question.
II don't know. It's a presentiment
IL have"
GWhere Is your brother?" I asked.
.fMy ,brother!" he rasped; che and
/ don't speak His address Is wher-
ever he can obtain lodgings on tick
YouTl ind him any night knocking
about In Butte" You don't need a
letter Of introduction" he added, with
4 chuckle.
II dismissed my unpleasant visitor
and an hour later saw Nine Meiser.
a well.preserved, fashionabl7 dressed
woman with dazzling white teeth.
Nine. Se1vois, she stated, had spent
q few hours with her and had left her
at about nine o'clock, making an APP
t:pointment to meet the following aft
ernoon. She was very much dis
! tressed, and begged me to do all IN
my power to discover her missing
friend.
eThat young Edouard," said, did
not seem very upset"
81 am not surprised" she retorted;
che Is a selfish little brute. My friend
always disliked him and preferred
Auguste. vagabond as he is."
Having known Nine. servols inti'
mately, can you think why she should
have gone away?"
tiNoI I cannot. II there had been a
3Iscret in her life she would have con-
ided 1t to me- 1t seems extraordi-
naI3"
u had already sent the exact descrip-
Zion Of Nine. servoIs to every police
Scommissary in the metropolis; and,
that same night after dinner, went to
Montmartre TO have talk with Au'
guste, $50
HIS brother had spoken the truth.
Auguste was well known in that part
ofytie town, and in less than a quarter
az an hour I ascertained where to find
him: It was in one of those quaint.
small cabarets which abound at Mont
n1artre, where for the price Of glass
of beer one sanSlistehgto recitattops
and songs BY talented, outof-elSow
artists, to many of whom Montmartre
IL The first step on the ladder to fame.
Nile Claire, a pretty girl with Cleo
Merodic hair, who sang some sentt-
mental ballads, was. had been told
Auguste's particular friend.
It1struck eleven o'clock, and there
was no sign of Auguste. Isaw Claire
eifef ~ small room, whence, she