The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-12-05

That, they tclcph0ncd To NE again
from lie Mans, where they had
been searching u deserted coach
house.
"You may be sure that the
search had already been made by
Lupin, and that we shall know
the results. Listen: eight
o'clock!"
AT the same moment they heacd
the throbbing Of a motor ear. 1t
stopped outside the house; and
the bell rang almost Immediately
after. Orders had been given be-
forehand. The door opened and
Don Luis Perenna was shown in.
To Valenglay and the Project
of Police his arrival was certainly
not unexpected, for they had just
been saying that they would have
been surprised if he had not come.
Nevertheless, their attitude show
ed that establishment which we
all experience in tho face Of
events that seem to pass the
bounds of human possibility.
Welt" cried the Prime Min
lister eagerly.
Its done, Monsieur lie Prcsi-
dent"
Have you collared the scoun-
drelf"
"Yes."
"By Joye!" said valenglay.
you're a fine fellow!' And he
went on to ask, can ogre, of
course3 An evil, undaunted
brute -"
"No, Monsieur lie President, a
cripple, a degenerate, responsible
for his actions, certainly, but a
man in whom the doctors will
find every form of wasting i'll
ness: disease of the spinal cord,
tuberculosis, and all the rest Of
it."
"And is that the man whom
Florence Levasseur lovedf'
monsieur lie President Don
Luis violently protested. Flor
ence never loved that wretch !
She felt sorry for him, as one
would for d fellow creature
doomed to an early death and it
was out Of pity that she allowed
him to hope that she might marry
him later, at some time in the
vague future.
care you sure Of that"
eyes, Monsieur lie President, Of
that and of a good deal more be-
sides, for I have the proofs in
my hands" Without further
preamble, he continued: mon
sieur le President, now that the
man is caught, it will be easy for
police to find out every detail Of
his life. But meanwhile I can
sum up that monstrous life for
you, looking only at the criminal
side of it, and passing briefly
over three murders which have
nothing to do with the story of
the Mornington case.
"Jean Vernocq was born at
Alencon and brought up at old M.
Langernault's expense. He got
to know the Dedessuslamare
couple, robbed them Of their
money and, before they had time
to lodge a complaint against the
unknown thief, took them to q
barn in the village of Damigni,
where, in their despair, stupefied
and besotted with drugs, they
hanged themselves.
"This barn stood in a property
called the Old Castle, belonging
to M. Langernault, Jean Yer
nocq's protector, who was i'll at
the time. After his recovery, as
he was cleaning his gun, he re-
ceived a full charge Of shot in the
abdomen. The gun had been
loaded without the old fellows
knowledge. By whomf BY Jean
Vernocq, who had also emptied
his patrons cash box the night
SIN Paris, where he went to
enjoy the little fortune which he
had thus amassed, Jean Vern0cq
bought from some rogue of his
acquaintance papers containing
evidence of Florence Levasseur's
birth and of her right to all the
inheritance of the Roussel family
and Victor Sauverand, papers
which the friend in question had
purloined from the old nurse who
brought Florence over from
America. By hunting around,
Jean Vernocq ended by discover
ing first a photograph of Flor
ence and then Florence herself.
"He made himself useful to her
and pretended to be devoted to
her, giving up his whole life to
II 49, A. L.