The Washington herald., 1914-07-05

luoBe, ana l snal marry NINE Jam
Capt. NoIntel and Castor now devoted
all their energies to solve the mystery Of
the crime Of the opera. Berthe was under
arrest: Nine. Barancos was suspected.
Nointel questioned the box opener at
the Opera House as to whether anything
had been found on the floor OF No. q
him a gold sleeve button with a B on il,
which she picked up.
The captain bought It from her at her
own price. He showed it to CASTOR. They
looked at each other in horror. That
"B' might mean Berthe or Barancos
| Upon the hearth in Berthe's room the
police found the ashes OF letters which
| she had evidently burned.
The testimony Of Marlette. jules maid,
Ihowed that when she had brought the
note Of her mistress to Berthe, Berthe
had replied. Say to her that will CO."
Not Proven.
But Bertha was finally released from
| captivity. Her mask and domino proved
| an alibi for her. At 3 o'clock in the
morning of that Sunday succeeding the
night OF the ball the police found, in a
distant part Of Paris, a mask and domino
1t was turned in to the prefecture, as it
evidently had some connection with the
| ball.
When Nointel came to see 1t he could
swear that II was the same that Berthe
admitted 1t to be heTs-but would not tell
what she was doing in IEat section Of
Paris at o'clock on Sunday morning.
| Now il was proved that che murder had
| been committed at about o'clock, and
I the place where the mask and domino
were found was far from the Opera
House Berthe could not have been in
| the two places at the same time.
In short, Berthe was released-but with
/ dark mystery and no little suspicion
still hanging over her.
All Sympathy.
But CASTOR was satisfied. He declared
he would marry her as soon as she would
consent
As soon as Berthe was released madam
came 10 see her. The judge. Roger Darcy,
had kept his word; had proposed TO Nine
Cambray and had been accepted. Madam
was all sympathy with Berthe
My dear child" said Mime Cambray,
there is still suspicion hanging over
| you. But ! will see that VI. Darcy COM
pletely exonerates YOU il you will tell
me all that you did on that fatal Satur-
II will be frank with you." replied
Berthe. 1T has been proved that | re-
ceived letter from Julie d'Orcival sum
moning me to meet her at the Opera
House at 2:3O on Sunday morning.
I had cab in readiness at your
home. But while l was waiting for the
came to me with a message. That mes
sage called me TO a remote part of Paris
on business with my sister Nine. CrozOn
The nature Of it l am not at liberty 10
disclose.
The Fan Explained
II, therefore. upon receiving this mes
sage. drove at once TO the Opera House
and sought out Julie d'OrcivaI in box y.
she had some letters which she de-
sired. she said. to give me. What the
nature OF those letters were is another's
secret There were the letters whose
ashes were found in my fireplace.
! When l entered jules box she re-
ceiVed me with anger and insult Alas.
as girls, we had been school friends
Finally she gave me the packet Of let
ters and then. noticing my Japanese far.
asked to look at il. / explained to her
that i was dagger in a sheath made
10 look like a fan.
Give II to me she cried eagerly. q,
may save my life I expect a stormy in
terview later
'Agitated and scared. scarce knowing
what | did. ! gave her the. fan. Then I
left the Opera House and went upon
the business Of my sister. That is all I
know"
The good Nine Groom" said Nine.
Cambray: she really must go with
Berthe to visit that admirable woman"
BOInb~heII.
They found the Crozons very hanpv
The captain was discoursing upon his
domestic felicity when a woman with a
baby in her arms forced her way into
the room and cried out
u mere is the child. Nine. Groom
Since the arrest of Mile Berthe l have
not known what TO do with it"
Capt. Crozon spranE 10 his feet in 2
TSse TSsS ,sS, sS the he. reports were true. were
And this is your child
No. cried Berthe firmly. Calm
yourself. captain The child is mine
Come" said she to the woman. let Us
Nine. Cambray lost no time in reIatin-
TO the Darcys what had transpired al
the house Of the Crozons
CASTOR was thrown by il into the great
est agony. Berthe wrote him a note
saving that she must never see him
more.
To shield Her Sister.
Now the child was Nine Crozon's. It
had been put out to nurse in a distan:
part Of Pans and al negotiations con-
cerning II had been conducted through
Berthe. II was to see this child. who
had been summoned from Nine Cam
hray's on that fatal night Of the ball
hen the woman in charge Of the child
heard of Berthe's release, she hurried
with the baby to Berthe's house The
servant there told her that Berthe had
gone to visit Nine Crozon The woman
went thtther with the child and ap-
peaTed as has been stated
To shield her sister Berthe had claimed
the child as her own-but. in 50 doing
had sacrificed herself and her love-hId
the wife of CASTOR.
Planning BInckmni.
The Marchioness de Barancos save
great hunting party at her ch1tesu
Nointel was there, and among the guests
were Simancas and Saint Gaulmier.
The captain was filled with narrowing
DOUBTS and perplexities. He knew thar
Simancas and Saint Gaulmier had ocCG(
pied the next box TO the one in which
Julie had been killed and he duestioned
them closely.
20" sneered Simancas. lit is not diff
hcult to tell who murdered Julie dOrcI- |
val. we saw Nine. Barancos in jules
again. Then We heard Julie groan
Madame is rich-there is money to
pc made out OF this. What saw yol
my good captain? You shall be our agent |
with the widow; who has a tenderness |
Horrifed and indignant as ba. woe
Nointel managed to Keep his head. and |
saying that he would consider the mar
ter, left the conspirators
That was III done" said Saint Gaul-
mier: the fellow will betray ms
Well" replied Simancass "I have \
faithful agent here who viii kill a man |
for a couple of louis. II we sec a1v
signs Of betrayal. n bullet at the hunt
tomorrow can put an end to his tIt |
tling"
Foolish Letters.
When the company rode out that d,v
Capt Nointel rode by the side of Mime
Barancos, and so managed that they
the conspirators had said and warned
her TO take flight. His great love for
her, he said. could not be killed-but
she must seek safety in flight
You think me guilty of murder and
yet love me?' cried Nine. Barancos.
Tomorrow" said she. Il will tell all
TO NJ. Roger Darcy. / would have done |