The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1913-01-17

a.. i"e most careful exanina.
uoo OF his papers failed TO thnou ,nv
hSnt on the affair, and at the oe,ci.,
inquest d verdict of suicide was 70.
turned. %" re-
~ transpired that NJ. r had
"i'hdrawn large amounts from nj.
oahh, no trace OF which could ba
'ouhu. lie neither speculated nor
gambied, and he always noted dow,
every cent he spent. Yet of the nnn.
urea thousand francs that had disap.
peared no record could be found
"ha' had become OF the cash? His
heira moved heaven and earth 10 And
IL. but in vain.
Ni'housh J %concurred in the verdict
OF suicide, ! was not satisfied for
scented b~lackmailers. Those who 'ike
me have lived In an atmospbere of
crime VIII know the mischief wrought
oy theS" ~scoundrels.
IN the pantOmime OF life wherein
criminals play such an important role.
s"lhdiers and sharpers often imper.
senate the funny man" But the
matchmaker Is the villain" the traitor
VINO stabs his victims in the back, and
rarely leaves a trace of his deadly
work.
When a few days after VI. F--'s
funeral ] called on his daughter and
expressed my view. she Indignantly
declared that there could he 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 an anxious search | at last
made an important discovery. VI.
p had engaged himself 20 a Bar.
onne dc V in Tours, and had con-
Coaled this fact from his daughter and
his friends. Deeply in love with Mad
anne de v. he had pressed her
hard 20 fix their wedding for an early
date. ~whereupon it vas arranged hat
il was 70 have taken place toward the
end OF June. I'm less than a fortnight.
however he had suddenly become
despoNdcut. and. To the lady's surprise,
had informed her that the wedding
had 20 bee postponed.
All This was related 20 me by Mad.
anne De v who was eager 10 as
sis' ne In sitting the matter rs !
rose 20 take my leave she said:
The las. time my poor friend was
here he lett his ciga]rettc-case behind,
and inside found this scrap of pa.
per. Il is in his handwriting ana the
notes IN pencil refer TO a sale OF R
small estate be owned. | am afraid
YOU will not find it very useful
examined the leatet with care.
Madame" | replied. this scrap dis
closes four distinct facts. which,
nieced together, may supply a valu'
able clue.
What facts
."The address printed at the top OF
the page is that OF a shady cafe III
the Boulevard RoChechouart. Anu
did Won notice The curious characters
AZ the back?
Yes. did | iancied they were
Hebrew letters"
no. they are Arabic. From al TINS
7 doduce. First. that your friend, VINO
| could have gone 10 such n place my
,uJer compassion, did not meet the
poonlc he had come to see; second
hat having had to wait for them, Nc
| obi,ad away The time by scrlbpilhg
these notes on a piece OF lclter.parer
ne found lying On the table; thirn' inaI
ba grew inpatient and restless ''.
tho characters nj the back are Jo'Ieu
Iovp ~neryously and lack The hrmhess
., ii, other writing; fourth, that aS
Arabic is not a language usually 'afsnO
., college. IL is more than ~prooaoie
that NJ. = spent some time III '"'
African colonies
..yyhv vcs." Madame de- V ex-
c,oimod 81 remember he once ue-
scribed TO ne a scene he witneSsed IN
Gran" ,m.,o,,od
III
.,r1 7 can now set to work.
u Is not always easy to dive mo
,,,l mans past. The momen the
80, machinery has been bro"sh'
standstill everything that once
,ri,atod around him seems TO as
annear. lie is forgotten by irieIuS'
and do,ractors who pcrsecutea MN "
~. last breath have potent re"s'"'
movar 10 mention his name
n,, the threads supplied to me "
,.o would expected. put me
tho rieht course, AID fcll ! coIi"
h,,e any pcacc rs lor% as tne "'is
responsible for NJ. Fs
n.o,t about unchallcnged.
Th, statement made 10 me by VI.
y daughter that her i"'ne'
ro,utotion was above snsplc'on
.Sorbtedly true as far as iaris vac
rnod II. therefore, there was :
cont Tho mans life | bad to LOOK
ro,. a elsewhere, and oran !"
nr.sonted itself TO my minu' ,rr.
ode discreet inquiries ana le',I
na, some twelve years W.
cd u'' s,hIle in oran, had allowed hin,
F.. he foollshly implicated IN q
scandal which, thanks 10
,.",octIon, had been hnsneu UP ,,,,
pf0 .stan 7 was trying to clear up 'na'
Wnn' inc nroblem, It was also e
side sOn,,s o. that / should know soms,h ,Se
s Sc ,no people who fre0usnsso ,re