Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-02-11
CHAPTER XIV.
THE M1cHAELov1TcH DIAMONDS

NJ. Pigot. cool and im%perturbabIe. held
out to us, with a little smile, a hand
showed not a CULVER of emotion-his
gauntleted hand; and l saw that, on
the back of it, We're two tiny depres-
sions. At the bottom of each depres-
sion lay a drop of bright red liquid
blood red. l told myself, as l stared at
1t, fascinated And what nerves OF steel
this man possessed! A sudden warmth
of admiration for him glowed within
me.
That liquid, gentlemen he said in
his smooth voice, lis the most power
full poison ever distilled by man. Those
two tiny drops would kill a score of
people, and Kill them instantly. Its
odor betrays it's origin'-and, indeed,
the air was heavy with the scent Of
bitter almonds-"but the poison or
nothing compared with this. This poison
dinarily derived from that source is as
is said to have been discovered by Remy,
the remarkable man who brought about
the death of the Due d'Anjou. Its dis
t1llatlon was supposed to be one of the
lost arts, but the secret was redis-
covered by this man Crochard. No Sc
cret. indeed, is safe from him; criminal
history, crimina memories-the mys-
terleS and achievements of the great
c~onfederacy of crime which has ex-
listed for many centuries. and whose
existence lew persons even suspect
GAI litl IL l I'M an oIpGU BOOK. IL Is
this which renders him SO formidable.
No man can stand against him. Even
the secret of this drawer was known to
him, and he awaited himself Of it when
need arose."
NJ. Pigot paused. his head Den in
thought; and i seemed to b. gazing
with him down long avenues of crime,
extending far into the past dismal ave-
nues like those of Pere Lachaise, wher
tombs elboWed each other; where, at
every step. one came face to face with
a mystery, a secret or a tragedy. Only,
here, the mysteries We're all solved, the
secrets all uncovered, the tragedies all
understood. But only to the elect, to
criminals really great, were these ave-
nues open; to all others they were for
hidden. Alone OF living men, perhaps,
Crochard was free to wander there un-
challenged.
Some such vision as this, I say. pass
ed before my eyes, and l had a feeling
that NJ. Pigot shared in it; but after
IN instant, he turned back to the cab
met.
Now, M. Simmon,'' he said briskly,
In an altered voice. 'if you will have
the kindness to hold the drawer for a
moment in this position, l will draw the
serperrt's fangs. There is not the
slightest danger he added. seeing that
Simmonds very naturally hesitated.
Thus assured, Simmonds grasped the
handle of the drawer. and help it open,
while the Frenchman took from his
pocket a tiny flask of crystal.
"A little farther he said: and as
Simmonds, with evident effort, drew
the drawer out to it's full length, a tiny
two-tined prong pushed itself forward
from underneath the cabinet. There
are the fangs," said M. Pigot. He
held the mouth of the flask under first
one and then the other, passing his
other hand carefully behind and above
them. The poison is held in place by
what we in French call attraction
capillaire-I do not know the English:
but drive it out by introducing the air
behind it-ah. you see!"
He stood erect and held the flask up
to the light. 1t was half fun of the red
liquid.
Enough to decimate France
he said. screwed the stopped care
fully into place, and put the flask
in his pocket. Release the drawer, if
you please, monsieur he added to
Sinlmonds.
1t sprang back into place on the in
slant h arabesqued handle Swapping
Up with a little click.
You will observe its ingenuity said
NJ. Pigot. 1T is really most clever. For
whenever the hand. struck by the pois-
ored fangs, loosened is hold on he
drawer the drawer sprang shut as you
see, and everything was as before-ex-
cept that II man more had tasted
death. Now l open it. The fangs fall
again: they strike the gauntlet; but for
that, they would pierce the hand, but
death no longer follows. BY turning
this button. l lock the spring. and the
drawer remains open. The man who
devised this mechanism was so proud
of it that he described it in a secret
memoir for the entertainment OF the
Grand Louis. There is a copy of that
nemior among the archives Of the
Bibliotheque Nationale; the original is
owned by Crochard. 1t was he who
connected that memior with his cab
met. who rediscovered the mechanism,
rewound the spring. n renewed the