The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-12-12

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enterprise which, at the worst,
might tell against Florence, but
which did not seem able to com
promise him in any case.
"You know the rest, Monsieur
les President" said Don Luis,
concluding his statement. "Flor-
ence, staggered by the sudden
revelation OF the part which she
had unconsciously taken in the
matter, and especially by the ter
rlble part played by Jean Yer
nocq, RAJ away from the nursing
home where the Project had
brought her at my request. She
had but one thought: to see Jean
Vernocq, demand an explanation
OF him, and hear what he had to
say in his defense. That same
evening he carried her away by
motor, on the pretense of giving
her proofs of his innocence. That
IS all, Monsieur lie President"
Valenglay had listened with
growing interest to this gruesome
story of the most malevolent gen
lus conceivable to the mind of
man. And he heard it perhaps
without too great disgust, be-
aus of the light which it threw
by contrast upon the bright, easy,
happy, and spontaneous genius
OF the man who had fought for
the good cause.
"And you found them?" he
asked.
"At three o'clock yesterday
afternoon, Monsieur lie President.
1t was time. l might even say
that it was too late, for Jean
Vernocq began by sending me to
the bottom Of a well, and by
crushing Florence under a block
of stone"
"Oh, SO you're dead, are you?"
Eyes, Monsieur lie President"
"But why did that villain want
to do away with Florence Lee
~vasseur9 Her death destroyed
his indispensable scheme of mat
rimony."
1T takes two to get married,
Monsieur lie President, and Flor
ence refused"
Well"
Some time ago Jean Vernocq
wrote a letter leaving all that he
possessed to Florence Levasseur.
Florence, moved by pity for him,
and not realizing the Importance
Of what she was doing, wrote a
similar letter leaving her prop
erty to him. This letter consti-
tutes a genuine and indisputable
will in favor Of Jean Vernocq.
AS Florence was Cosmo Morn
ington's legal and settled heiress
by the mere fact of her presence
at yesterdays meeting with the
documents proving her descent
from the Roussel family, her
death caused her rights to pass
to her own legal and settled heir.
jean Vernocq would have
come into the money without the
possibility of any litigation. And
rs you would have been obliged
to discharge him after his arrest,
for lack of evidence against him,
he would have led a quiet life,
with forteen murders on his con
science have added them up
but with a hundred million francs
in his pocket. To a monster Of his
stamp, the one made up for the
other"
But do you possess all the
proofs?" asked Valenglay eager
",
Here they are,' said Perenna,
producing the pocketbook which
he had taken out of the cripple S
jacket. Here are letters and
documents which the villain pre-
served, owing to a mental aberra-
ton common to all great Grim
finals. Here by good luck, is his
correspondence with Hippolyte
Fauville. Here is the original Of
the prospectus from which /
learned that the house on the
Place. du Palais-Bourbon was
for sale. Here is q memorandum
of Jean Vernocq's journeys to
Alencon to intercept Fauville s
letters to old Langernault.
Here is another memorandum
showing that Inspector Verot
overheard a conversation between
Fauyille and his accomplice, that
he shadowed Vernocq and robbed
him Of Florence Levasseur's
photograph, and that Yernocq
sent Fauville in pursuit Of him.
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