The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-08-01
were gathered in the large room
ip uhioh Eo,,x;lIo hoI boop xr,~

IL VAASA AouVihiV hou OCCu AAuL
dered. Fifteen more detective
occupied the = remaining rooms
while some 20 others watched tn
roofs, the outside Of the house
and the garden.
Once again a thorough searcl
had been made during the after
noon, with no better results thar
before. But it was decided tina
all the men should keep awake
If the letter was delivered any
where in the big room, they want
ed to know and they meant t.
know who brought it. The police
do not recognize miracles.
At IL o'clock M. Desmalion
had coffee served to his subordi
mates. He himself took two cup!
and never ceased walking from
one end to the other Of the room
or climbing the staircase that lee
to the attic, or going through the
passage and hall. Preferring thai
the watch should be maintained
under the most favorable condi
tions, he left all the doors opened
and all the electric lights on.
Mazeroux objected:
1T has to be dark for the letter
to come. You will remember
Monsieur lie Prefet, that the other
experiment was tried before and
the letter was not delivered"
"We will try it again." replied
M. Desmalions, who, in spite OF
everything, was really afraid Of
Don Luis interference, and in.
creased his measures to make il
impossible.
Meanwhile, as the night wore
on, the minds of all those present
became impatient. Prepared fo1
the angry struggle as they were,
they longed for the opportunity to
show their strength. They made
desperate use Of their ears and
eyes.
At / o'clock there was an alarm
that showed the pitch which the
nervous tension had reached. A
shot was fired on the first floor,
followed by shouts. On inquiry,
it was found that two detectives,
meeting in the course Of a round,
had not recognized each other,
and one Of them had discharged
his revolver in the air to inform
his comrades.
In the meantime the crowd out
side had diminished, as M. Des-
.alions perceived on opening the
garden gate. The orders had been
relaxed and sightseers were al
lowed to come nearer, though they
were still kept at q distance from
the pavement.
Mazeroux said:
"It is a good thing that the ex-
plosion is due in 10 days. time
and not tonight, Monsieur lie
Prefet; otherwise, all those good
people would be in danger as well
as ourselves"
"There will be no explosion in
ten days. time, any more than
there will be a letter tonight"
said M. Desmalions, Struggling his
shoulders. And he added, "Be-
on that day, the orders will
be strict"
1t was now ten minutes past
two.
AT Is minutes past, as the Pre-
feet was lighting a cigar, the chief
detective ventured to joke;
"That's something you will
have to do without, next time,
lie Prefet. 1t would be
too risky"
"Ncxt time" said M. Desma-
81 shall. not waste time in
keeping watch. For / really begin
to think that all this business with
the letters is over"
MYou can never tell" suggest
ed Mazeroux.
A few minutes more passed. NJ.
Desmalions had sat down. The
others also were seated. No one
And suddenly they all sprang
up, with one movement, and the
same expression of surprise.
A bell had rung.
They at once heard where the
sound came from.
"The telephone" M. Desma-
lions muttered.
He took down the receiver.
"Hullo! Who are youf"
A voice answered, but so dis
tant and so faint that he could
only catch an incoherent noise and
exclaimed:
"Speak louder! What is it Z
Who are youf"
The voice spluttered out a few
that seemed to astound
him.
"Hullo!" he said. 81 don't
understand. Please repeat what
you said. Who is it speakingi"
Hnnn Ta,;c paroppo ~ xyoc <bo