The Washington times., 1919-02-08

Il HfatNe NJ &c COmte cocktail
tie receipt OF which was given to
me BY his highness himself"
A few minutes after all three
were seated before iced drinks and.
while drawing his through a long
yellow straw. Nam began:
This Is the theme Of tho nnancn-
ver-don't let the expression sur
prise you" be cried. laughing. II
was onco q Sepoyi 80
He went on:
"GrGncins that Baron Plucke win
cone here, alone. with a little
yaDHP 10 carry to the Banh OF
krAneS jewels thar have no exist
eneA and with a million in his
poekReH the point in question a.
til to seize the million, % to pro-
VIE . PROOF tina. he left this apart
inent with the jewels, 90 during
tss- tTtp from this house to the bank
- 90 away with him forever and
!" Sinca q manner that IL would be
lnif-n4s1bie 20 have any suspicion
rest upon u.s."
well stated said the eomts:
eve really ought to appear the per
sons most affected by the robbery.
In my opinion. the first operation
presents no difficulty. The baron
comes here l show him the safe
lie steps forward mechanically to
look at il At thai moment. Nam
comes out Of his usual hiding place.
behind that curtain. and ."
Then, with a gesture indicating
that the steel wire would perform
its office:
"The million is ours" he added.
capital" answered Nam, without
moving muscle at the thought OF
ths crime he was to commit In 50
cowardIy a manner.
Let US go on to chapter two.
think the best proof-pcrhaps the
only one-of the delivery Of the
j~1sls is the signature on the CON-
Tux anS a receipt proving their de-,
livery into the baron's hands"
Have you a specimen Of his
handwriting?'
81 have kept the letter in which
he requested me to como to hts
house yesterday"
"Well. tomorrow you shall have
your receipt, written with the same
ink and the same pen. Oh" he
added modestly. "T have q natural
gift for Initiating handwritings. As
p for the contract. five minutes after
X Is in his note case, 10 will be we'll Z
and duly signedr'
"Your hand viii not trembIeF
'7t never trembIeS. Now for
chapter three. That is the hardestl
The body is lying in this roOm-the
million is in the safe. what shall
We do next?''
Speak. Namy' said Juliette,
breathless from curiosity.
Next? Wen take OF his clothes
and in a Jiffy TIL put them on; yoa
know that my figure is almos. ex-
actly like the baron's! As to the
rest, everything will be ready, wig,
5e7rd, to make me resemble him.
I'll defy you to discover any dit
ference. might have made ny
fortune by giving limitations Oh
people in the music hallsv'
I'm not uneasy Man," said
the comte. ''You haven't your
up, I remember the day you
went to cash that check
for eighty thousand francs at the
Societe Generate, as the agent Of
the bank OF Hayti. The cashier
knew him well, vet let himself be
taken ia. You had initiated ever
his nerN Gus :witchinE."
"I'lI go on. So I leave here IN
the clothes and with the appearance
% Baron Plucke. I go down stairs
with my little Valise. While pass
En= the janitress's room, take
care to say a few words to her,
sha: she may remember. later. hav-
ing seen me leave the house.
lump into the cab which IS waiting
FOR me. or I call one: Driver. 70
re Bank Of France" On che way,
change my mind: Driver. turn
round. ] want to stop a minute at
the Grand Marche' I so in. The
crowd is dense. II is hard to move
about. The White Sale Is going on.
sk!Ilfully take of my beard, my
rosette. and il I can my wig.
hide the little valise under my over
coat. Thus altered. I 20 out through
another door. Don't worry. the
cab-driver. who has beon waiting
till nightfall. will not have for
gotten me. and his evidence ~ the
police station will be the best OF
aIibisr'
aCleverly planned" assented the
coute. The baron having lefc
here. there is no reason to suspect
Us. Our threshold once crossed, We
are no longer responsible, are We:
He had only to accept my ofer TO
let nv valet accompany him on th0
box with the COachman"
And the real baron, while all
this is going on:' questioned
JUliettc.
IL won't be very difficult 20 gec
rid of him At midnight, I'll bring
ND in front OF the house the auto
carefully disguised, with its num-
Der altered. To put n body through
a ground floor window into the
carriage is mere child's play Sor US
.nrcp. The street, as usual, will Be
deserted"
"And suppose we should be seen:
There is a gas jet directly opposite
20 the house"
.Dou': worry. Il viii be put our.
and the darkness will be intense.
We shall have replaced ;ho
baron's clothes, restored his uO;C-
case with the signed contract in
side. and his valise. Then, on
reaching q secluded alley In the
Bois de Vincennes, we will quickly
get rid OF everything. ard shah
merely have to return to Paris BY
another way in the auto, which has
been restored to its usual appear
ance, and remembered, a little far
Their on. TIE next morning the
baroa's body will be found in the
Ticket, with his empty val:Sc by
his side, and there will be no doISc
that he has been lured into some
ambush and robbed. What could
be more common" he conclGdCd,
laughing.