The Washington herald., 1915-04-25
THE EXPLOITS OF ARSENEL UPIN@n Maurice Leblanc
He gave a single CONFUSION. and that

He gave a single convulsion. and that
was all.
i But there was something that struck
| me even more than this awful sight
i something that was the reason why
did not at once call out for help nor
I fling myself on my knees to see II the
man was still breathing: at two PAGES
from him a seven of hearts lay on the
floor!
| l picked it up. The lower point of each
! of the seven pips was pierced with
hole.
Half an hour later the commssary
of police of Neuilly arrived, followed, in
few moments, by the police surgeon,
and by NJ. Dudouis, the head of the
| d tective service. The officers discov-
| cred nothing or very little.
At the last moment, however an Incl
dent occurred which seemed to US Of
great Importance. Two policemen were
| STOPPING to lift the corpse in order to
| carry it away on a stretcher when they
/ perceived that the left hand. till then
| closed and shrunk. had become relaxed.
and a crumpled visiting card fell from
it. The card bore the words:
GEORGES ANDERMATT.
81. Rue de Berry.
What did this mean? Georges Ander-
matt was big Paris banker. the founder
and chairman of the Metal Exchange.
Gould that be the mans name?" I
| murmured.
The head of the detective service bent
over the corpse.
No. NJ. Andermatt is a pale-faced
man. with hair just turning gray. Have
you a telephone, sir?"
| Yes, it's in the hall. If you will
come this way.
He turned up the directory, and asked
for No. l5g.
rs NJ. Andermatt in? My name is
Dudouis. Please ask him to come with
all speed to 1Oe Boulevard Maillot. It's
/ urgent.
Twenty minutes later NJ. Andermatt
stepped out of his car. He was told the
| reason why he had been sent for, and
| was then taken upstairs to see the body.
He had a momentary emotion that
| contracted his features. and said, in an
undertone, as though involuntarily:
"Etienne Varin.'
DO you know him.
''No. or. at least. yes but only by
sight. His brother"
He has a brother?"
Yes. Alfred Warm. His brother used
to como and ask me to assist him.
have forgotten in what connection"
And have you no suspicion OF the rea-
son why he shot HIMSELF"
None at ALL"
1t was not cleared up. The inquiry
established that the YARNS were two
brothers, of Swiss origin, who had led
a very checkered life under different
aliases, frequenting the gambling houses
and connected with a whole gang Of
foreigners whose movements had been
watched and who had dispersed after a
series of burglaries in which their par
ticipation was not proved until later.
/ confess that, for my part, the case
seemed to me so intricate that I scarcely
believed in the possibility OF a solu-
ton, and / tried hard to Danish 1t from
my mind. But Jean Daspry, on the con-
trary-and I saw a great deal OF him at
that time-grew daily more enthusiastic
about 1t. 1t was he that called my at
tention to the following paragraph from
a foreign paper. which was reproduced
and commented upon throughout the
press of the country:
"a new submarine is to be tried short
~ in the presence of the emperor. The
name of the submarine has leaked out.
through an indiscretion in official cir
cles: she is called the Seven Of Hearts"
Two days later another piece OF news
was reprinted from the German papers:
1T is now contended that the Seven
of Hearts. the submarine whose trials
are 10 take place 1OrtnWltn, mas Deem
designed by French engineers"
do not wish to insist too much upon
facts of an extremely delicate character
which provoked considerable excitement, |
as the reader will remember in France. |
nevertheless since all danger of inter- |
national complications is now removed |
I must speak of an article in the Echo |
de France which made a great deal OF
noise at the time. and which threw a |
11-- i'll. NH
Seven of Hearts Affair." as it was called. |
Here it is, as it appeared under the |
signature of Salvador"
We will be brief. Ten years ago |
Louis Lacombe. a young engineer in the |
mines, resigned his appointment. and |
hired a small house, at 1G2 Boulevard |
Maillot. Through the intermediary of |
two brothers called Varin,. II Lausanne.
one of whom assisted him as a pre-
parator in his experiments. while the
other went in search of financial hackers
for his schemes. Lacombe entered into
relations with NJ. Georges Andermatt.
After a number of interviews he sue
ceeded in interesting NJ. Andermatt in
the plans of submarine upon which he
was engaged.
For two years Louis Lacombe was
constantly visiting the Hotel Andermatt
and submitting his improvements to the
DdHheT, ufltll the udN came "Hefl, nav.
ing lighted upon the final formula which
he was seeking and being fully satisfied
with his labors, he asked NJ Andermatt
to set to work on his side.
"On that day Louis Lacombe dined
at the Andermatts. He left the house
at 1880 in the evening. Since then he
has not been seen by mortal eyes, and
it was generally believed that Louis La
combe. who was looked upon as an &C.
centric and whimsical young fellow, had
gone abroad without acquainting any Of
his friends with his intentions.
What became of the plans of the sub
marine? Did Louis Lacombe take them
with him? Were they destroyed?
I'VE are in position to state as a
certainty that Louis Lacombe's plans
are now the property OF a foreign power.
and. IL necessary. to publish the letters
exchanged In this connection between
the representatives of that power and
the brothers Varin. At the moment of
writing the Seven of Hearts conceived
by Louis Lacombe has been brought into
actual existence by that foreign power"
And a postscript added:
Private information received at the
moment of going to press enables US to
state that the trials of the Seven Of
Hearts have not proved satisfactory. 1t
is quite probable that the plans delivered
\