The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-12-03
so N

hhment.
"Ars you acting for Armand q sonf"
'Not at all. I am acting for a lady
whom, for the present we win cali
Madame X" ~
The thought flashed through my mind
rat Madame x and the mysterious
Frenchwoman might be one and the
same person. Then ] put aside the idea
as absurd. Serene Hornblower would
never accept such n client
Mr.. Vantine did buy such q cabi-
net" said.
And It II In your possession
There In ne his residence a Boule
cabinet which was shipped from Paris.
but. only a few hours before his death,
Mr.. vantine assured me that It was
not the one he had purchased"
You mean that mistake had been
made In the shipment7"
That Is what we supposed, and a
cablegram from Armand q Son has
since confirmed It."
Mr.. Hornblower pondered this for a
moment. ...#.
tine did buy7" he asked at last.
II have no idea. Perhaps II Is still
In Paris. But I am expecting a repre-
| sentative OF the Armands TO call very
soon TO straighten things out"
Again my companion fell silent, and
| sat rubbing his chin absently.
IT Is very strange" he said, finally.
OF the cabinet was still at Paris, one
| would think II would have been dis
about IT,"
There are good many things which
| are strange about this whole matter"
| supplemented.
would you have any objection to
my client seeing this cabinet, Mr..
LesterT .. -.
II was my turn to hesitate.
mr.. Hornblower," said finally, 81
win be frank with you. There Is q GER
tain mystery surrounding this cabinet
which we have not been able 20 solve
suppose you have read OF the nysteri-
GUS deaths OF Mr.. Vantine and OF an
| unknown Frenchman, both In the same
room at the Vantine house. and both
apparently from the same causeT
He nodded.
do you mean that this cabinet Is
connected with them In any way?" he
asked quickly.
I'VE believe so: though as yet we
have been able to prove absolutely
nothing. But we are guarding the cab.
met very closely. I should not object
| to your client seeing II, but I could not
permit her to touch it-not, at least
without knowing why she wished TO dc
30. You will remember that you have
ed In It,"
1T am quite ready to tell you the
story, Mr.. Lester" he said. 1T is only
fair that should do so. After YOU
have heard 1t, IL you agree. we wifi take
Madame x to see the cabinet"
Very wen,' I assented.
He settled back In hjS chair, and hts
face became more grave.
My client" he began, is a member
OF prominent American family-a
most prominent family. Three years
ago. she married French nobleman
You can, perhaps. guess her name, but
should prefer that neither OF US ut.
ter it,"
| nodded my agreement.
This nobleman has been both prod.
igal and unfaithful. He has scattered
my clients fortune with both hands
He has Haunted his mistresses in hel
face. He has even tried to compel heI
to receive one OF them. am free &c
confess that consider her a fool moi
to have left him long ago. At last her
trustees interfered. for her father had
been wise enough to place a portion OF
her fortune In trust. He paid her
husbands debts, placed him on an al.
!owance. and notified hts creditors that
his debts would not be paid again."
had by this time OF course, guessed
the name OF his client, since these
details had long been a matter of public
notoriety. and, need hardly say, list.
ened to the story with a heightened
interest
The allowance is a princely one, .
Mr.. Hornblower continued, but it does
not suffice Monsieur X. No allowance
would suffice him-the more money he
had, the more ways he would find al
spending II. SO he has become a thief
He has taken to selling the objects OF
art with which his residences are filled
and which are really the property OF
my client. since they were purchased
with her money. About two weeks ago
my client returned 10 Paris from a STAY
at her chateau In Normandy to find
that he had almost denuded the town
house. Tapestries. pictures, sculp-
I tures-everything had been sold
Among other thiHgs which he had tax
en- was a Boule cabinet, which had been
used by my client as her private writ
ing desk. The cabinet was most valu-
able one; but II is not its monetary
value which makes my client so anxious
| to recover it,
He paused an instant and cleared his
throat. and realized that he was com
Ing to the really delicate part of the
| story.
Monsieur x had had the decency,'
he went on. more slowly, ito, as he
thought, retain his wife's private pa
pers. He had caused the contents of
the various drawers to be dumped out
upon a chair. But there was one draw
er Of which he knew nothing--a secret
drawer, known only to my client. That
drawer contained a packet of letters
which my client is most anxious to re-
gain. OF their nature. will say moth
ing-indeed, know very little about
them, for, after ALL that Is none OF my
business. But she has given me to un-
derstand that their recovery IL essen
tial to her peace OF mind"
/ nodded again; there was really no
need that he should say more. Only, !
reflected, a faithless husband has no
reason to complain IL his wife repays
him in the same coin! y..e- s,r-0
MY client went to work at once to
regain the cabinet" continued Mr..
Hornblower, plainly relieved that the
thinnest Ice had been crossed. she
found that Ii had been sold to Armand
& Son. Fastening to their offices she
learned that 1t has been resold by them
to Mr. Vantine and sent forward to him
here. SO she came cover on the first
boat, ostensibly to visit her family, but
really to ask Mr.. Vantine's permission
to open the drawer and take out the
letters. His death interfered with this,
and. In despair, she came to me. need
no oA1 khnk l.