Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-04-23

.Vo. Ill AIR or culture not TO De mis-
taken. | vas both impressed and
charmed by him.
Il speak English very badly. sir" he
said as he sat down. IF you speak
French
Not half so we'll as YOU speak Eng
l1sh," ! laughed. Il AN tell that from
your first sentence"
In that event ! will do the best that
can" he said. smiling. and you
must pardon my plumbers. First. Mr..
Lester. on behalf of Armand Il Son, |
must ask your pardon for this mistake.
SO i~nexcusable. We cannot find for it
an explanation. The cabinet which
was purchased by Mr.. Vantine re-
NAMED in our warehouse. and this 9th
Ell one was boxed and shipped to him.
we are investigating most rigidly."
Then Mr.. Vantine's cabinet is still
in Paris?"
NO.. Mr.. Lester: the error was dis
covered some days ago. and the cabi-
net belonging to Mr.. Vantine was ship
ped to me here. 1t should arrive next
Wednesday, on La Provence. | shall
myself receive it and deliver it to Mr..
Nantine."
Mr.. Vantine is dead" | said. You
did not know"
He sat staring at me for Il moment.
Did ] understand that you said Mr..
Nantine is dead:" he stammered.
told him briefly as much as |
knew of the tragedy.
III is curious you saw nothing of it
in the papers" | added. They were
full of it."
II have been visiting friends at Que
bee he explained. 1T was there
that the message from u house found
me commanding me to hasten here. A
hlnnder of this sort we feel as a dis
grace. | have met Mr.. Nantine many
times. He was a real connOiSSeur
We have lost N of our most valued
patrons. You say that he was found
dead in Il room at his house,"
Yes. and death resulted from q
small wound on the hand. into which
some very powerful poison had been
injected"
THAT is most curious. In what man
ner was such a wound made?"
That we don't know. | had a the
Dry
''Yes"" he questioned. his eyes
cleaning with interest.
"A few hours previously another
man had been found in the same room.
killed in the same way"
Another man?"
"A stranger who had called to see
Mr.. Vantine. My theory was that both
this stranger and Mr.. Vantine had
been killed while trying to open a Sc
cret drawer in the Boule cabinet. Do
you know anything Of the history Of
that cabinet. NJ. Armand?"
I'VE believe it to have been made
for Nine. de Montespan by NJ. Boule
! himself" he answered. 1T is the
original Of one now in the Louvre
which is known to have belonged to
the Grand Louis"
ut was Mr.. Vantine's correct guess
q Az hAotOtS VI liz NaDlACIs L Ca
planned, which gave me the basis for
my theory. A cabinet belonging to
Nine. de Montespan would, Of course,
have a secret drawer. What more nat
ural than that it should be guarded by
a poisoned mechanism"
What more natural. indeed! 1t Is
good reasoning. Mr.. Lester" he agreed
eagerly. his eyes burning like two Goals
Of fire. SO intense was his interest. II
have Deer from boyhood a lover Of
tales of mystery. l am fascinated"
Perhaps you can assist u.s." l sug-
gested. flor that theory Of mine has
been completely disproved."
"Disproved? In what way?" he de-
manded.
"The secret drawer has been found"
How" he cried. his voice sharp
with surprise. Found? The secret
drawer has been fUttud?"
ayes. and there was no poisoned
mechanism guarding it."
He breatLed deeply for an instant;
then he pulled himself together with a
little laugh.
Really" he said. 81 must not in
dulge myself in this way. Was the
drawer empty"
mo: there WAS a packet of letters
in it."
Delicious. Love letters, of a GER
tainty!! From the Great Louis to the
Montespan. perhaps?"
mo. unfortunately, they were of a
much more recent date. They have
been restored to their owner. | hope
that you agree with me that that was
the right thing to do?"
Since the letters have been return
ed" he said at last. a little dryly. lit
Is useless to discuss the matter. Has
not other explanation been found for
the death of Mr.. Vantine and of this
stranger? You do not even know who
he was?"
"Oh. yes. we have discovered that.
~