The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-12-03

I queried.
mot at all. ] am acting for q lady
Madame x"
The thought flashed through my mind
that Madame x and the mysterious
Frenchwoman might be one and the
same person. Then I put aside the idea
as absurd. Serene Hornblower would
never accept such a client
Mr.. Yantine did buy such a cabi-
net" I said.
And it is in your possession?"
There is at 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 he had purchased"
You mean hat a mistake had been
made in the shipment?"
THAT is what we supposed. and a
cablegram from Armand & Son has
since confirmed It,"
Mr.. Hornblower pondered this for a
moment.
Where is the cabinet which Mr.. Van
tine did buy?" he asked at last.
Il W no idea. Perhaps it 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 a%bsently.
It is very strange" he said, finally.
IL ilC Sabillel was Sllll at HdT1S, one
would think it would have been dis
covered before my client made inquiry
about It,"
There are a good many things which
are strange about this whole natter"
L supplemented.
my client seeing this cabinet, Mr..
Lester2'
It was my turn to hesitate.
MI. Hornblower," I said finally, st
VIII be frank with you. There is a Ger
tain mystery surrounding this cabinet
winch we have not been able to solve.
l suppose you have read of the mysteri-
Gus deaths Of Mr.. Vantine and of an
unknown Frenchman. both in the same
room at the Vantipe house. and both
apparently from the same cause?"
He nodded.
connected with them in any way?' he
asked quickly.
We 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 1t, but 1 could not
permit her to touch it-not, at least.
without knowing why she wished to do
SO. You willNremember that you have
told me nothing Of why she Is interest
ed in it."
II am quite ready to tell you the
story, Mr.. Lester" he said. 'It is only
fair that I should dc so. After YOU
have heard 1t, if you agree, we will take
Madame X to see the cabinet"
Very weu,' I assented.
He settled back in his chair, and his
face became more grave.
My client" he began, "1s a member
Of a prominent American familvIa
most prominent family. Three years
ago., she married a French nobleman.
You can, perhaps. guess her name, but
| hould prefer that neither Of us ut
ter it,"
l nodded my agreement.
This nobleman a been both prod
lgal and unfaithful. He has scattered
my clients fortune with both hands.
He has Haunted his mistresses in her
face. He has even tried to compel her
to receive one Of them. l I'm free TO
confess that I consider her a fool not
to have left him long ago. At last her
trustees 1nterfered. 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
lowance, and notified his creditors that
his debts would not be paid again"
l had by this time. Of course. guessed
details had long been a matter of public
notoriety, and, I need hardly say. list
ened to the story with a heightened
interest.
Inc Is q princely one"
Mr.. Hornblower continued. but it does
not suffice Monsieur K. No alIowance
would suffice him-the more money he
mad. the more ways he would find of
spending 1t. So he has become a thief.
he has taken to selling the objects of
art with which his residences are filled.
ana winch are really the property Of
my client, since they We're purchased
with her money. About two weeks ago.
my client returned TO Paris from a stay
at her chateau in Normandy to find
that he had almost denuded the town
house. Tapestries. pictures. sculp-
Among other things 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 a most valu-
able one; but it is not its monetary
value which makes my client SO anxious
to recover It,"
He paused an instant and cleared his
throat. and I realized that hn was COM
Ing to the really delicate paYt 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 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. 1 will say moth
ing-indeed, 1 know very little about
them, for, after all. that Is none Of my
business. But she has given me to n
derstand that their recovery Is essen
tia to her peace of mind"
nodded again; there was really no
need that he should say more. Only, 1
reflected. a faithless husband has no
reason to complain If his wife repays
him In the same coin!
M client went to work at once to
regain the cabinet" continued Mr..
~Hornblower, plainly relieved that the
~thinnest Ice a been crossed. She
found that 1t had been sold to Armand
& Son. Fastening to their offices she
learned that it has been resold by them
to MI. Vantine and sent forward to him
here. So she came over 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. 1 need
hardly add. that no member Of her
family knows anything about this mat
ter. and it is especially important that
her husband should never even suspect