The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-05-16

| i eS, pul lllOlC Z tIdH d SCHluly lids
passed since then; and it must have
been looked for"
1T has been looked for. but in vain.
myself, after | bought the castle
from the great-grandnephew Of Leri-
bourg OF the National Convention,
| had excavations made. What was the
good: Remember that this tower is
surrounded by water on every side,
and only joined to the castle by a
bridge, and that, consequently, the
| tunnel must pass under the old meats.
The plan in the Bibliotheque Nation
ale shows a series OF four stalrCascs,
| comprising forty-cight steps, which
! allows for depth of over ten yards,
| and the scale annexed to the other
plan fixes the length at two hundred
yards. As matter OF fact, the whole
problem lies here. between this floor,
that ceiling. and these walls; and,
| upon my word | do not feel inclined
to have them pulled down.
"And j. there no clcw:
Not one"
The Able Cells objected.
Monsieur Devannc, VIC ave to
reckon with two quotations.
oh" cried Devanne. laughing, "thc
rector is a great rumnager OF fam
lily papers. great reader OF memoirs,
and he fondly loves everything that
has to do with Thibermcsnil. But the
explanation to which he refers only
serves to confuse matters"
But tell us what it is
DO you really care to hear"
Immensely
well. you must know that. as the
result OF his reading, he has discover
cd that two kings Of France held the
key to the riddle"
1.-TWO kings OF France"
Henry ". and Louis XVI. Two
days before the battle Of Argues,
King Henry ". came to sup and
sleep in the castle, and on this occa-
sion Duke Edgar confded the family
secret TO him. This secret Henry "
revealed later to Sully, his minister,
who tells the story in his Royales
Economics d'Etat. without adding
any comment besides this incompre-
hcnsiblc phrase: La hache tournoic
dams lair qui fremit, mais raile s'ouvrc
ct Ion va jusqu' Dieu."
A silence followed. and Nclmont
sneercd:
ITS not as clear as dwight, is it,"
That's what | say. The rector
maintains that Sully set down the key
to the puzzle by means Of those
words, without betraying the secret
to the scribes to whom he dictated
his memoirs"
Its an ingenious supposition'
True. But what is the axe that
turns: What bird is it whose wing
opens?"
And who goes to Cod"
Goodness knows
And what about our good King
Louis NN1:' asked Nelmont.
Louis XVI stayed at Thibermesnil
in 1884. and the famous Iron Cup
board discovered at the Louvre on
the information of Canaan, the lock- !
smith, contained a paper with these
words written in the kings hand
'Thibermesnil, 2-6-I2'"
Horace Nelmont laughed aloud.
Victory. The darkness is dispelled. |
Twice six are twclveI'
Laugh as you please, sir" said
the rector. Those two quotations
contain the solution for all that, and |
one OF these days some one will come
along who knows how to interpret
them"
"Holmlock Shears. first OF ALL" said
Qcvannc, unless Arsenc Lupin fore
stalls him. What do you think, Vel
mont"
Nelmont rose. laid his hand on De-
vanne's shoulder. and declared:
81 think that the data supplied by
your book and the copy in the Biblio-
thcque Rationale lacked just one link
OF the highest importance, and that
you have been kind enough to sup
ply it. am much obliged to you"
"Well:"
well, now that the axe has turned
and the bird flown. and that twice
six are twelve, all l have to do is to
set to work"
Without losing a minute?"
Without losing a second, You see,
| - rob your castle tonight, that
is to say. before Holmlock Shears ar
rivcs"
You're quite right; you have only
just got time. Would you like me to
drive you?"
ITO Dieppe:"
"Yes. may as we'll fetch Monsieur
and Madame d'Androl and a girl
friend Of theirs who are arriving bv
The midnight train"
Then turning To the officers.