Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-07-05

i uO. Auu neTIH ~.
SEPT that it was the work of Ger
manv!"
Delcasse sprang from his chair,
his face livid.
"The proofl' he cried. "Ihe
proof"
"The proof, sir, is this at five
minutes before dawn, this morn
ing, two strangers, attired as pc
%destrians, with knapsacks on their
backs, stopped in the recess Of the
doorway of Number Ten, Quai de
Cronstadt. They stepped we'll
within the shadow, as though not
wishing to be seen, and stood gaz-
ing out on the harbor. Directly
before them, at a distance of not
more than 300 yards, La Liberte
was moored. 1t was at her they
stared, with eyes expectant and
uneasy. At dawn, La Liberte
blew up, and one of these men
cried out some words of German"
WHAT were they!
Unfortunately the person who
overheard them does not know
German. He understood only the
first two words, 'Ach Gott!'"
"And the men?" cried Delcasse.
What became of them?"
"They strobe rapidly away
along the quay, and were lost to
sight"
Delcasse dropped into his chair,
his face dark with passion.
What do you infer from this
circumstances" he demanded.
"There is only one possible in
ference" answered Crochard.
AT five minutes before dawn this
morning, there were, in this city of
Toulon, two Germans who knew
that La Liberte was to be de-
stroyed."
A moments silence followed
Those words, terrible as thy were,
astounding as they were, carried
conviction with them.
"Tell me-" said Delcasse, at
last, show you discovered all
this"
II have been spending the
month at Nice" Crochard ex-
planned. II learned of the disas-
ter as soon as 1 was up this morn
ing, and | came at once to Toulon.
Monsieur will understand that, in
the many years during which I
have been at variance with society,
| have made many friends and
gained a ceretain power in quar-
ters of which monsieur knows lit
tie. One Of these friends is the pro-
prletor OF the cafe which occupies
the ground floor of the house on
the Quai de Cronstadt. l stopped to
see him because his house is close
to the scene of the disaster-so
close, indeed, that all of is win
dows were shattered. 1t was he
who gave me the first clue"
go on said Delcasse, who
had been listening intently. II
need not say how deeply all this
interests me-"
MY friend had arranged to go
to Marseilles this morning." Gro
chard continued, "to make a pur-
chase OF wine. The train, he tells
me, leaves at. 6 o'clock. 1t was
about Is minutes before that hour
when, as he started to open his
door, two men stepped into the
little vestibule, as though to screen
themselves from observation. He
peered through the curtain, think
ing they might be friends, and
found that he id not know them.
Gazing from the darkness Of the
interior, he could see them very
well. They were staring at La
Liberte, as | have said, their faces
rigid with emotion; and then came
the explosion, which, without
question, they anticipated"
You have a description Of
broke in Delcasse.
"An excellent description. They
We're men Of middle age, heavily
built and clean shaven. Their
faces were deeply tanned, as with
long exposure, and had that full
ness about the lips which bespeaks
the German. They wore caps and
walking suits. with knee trousers.
Each had strapped upon his back
a small k~napsack."
Lepine, who had been taking
rapid notes, looked up with gleam-
eyes.
We shall find these men," he
said. 1T willsnot be difficult"
more difficulty than you sup
pose, NJ. Lepine," said Orchard
drly.
Lepine. looked at him.
What do you meant" he
asked.
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