davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

great difficulty in complying with
all the formalities.
Days passed, and then weeks, and
Lucien. still calm and smiling, had
always sufficient excuse to preserve
my patience. Two of my aunts
having come from the country for
Easter, we invited Lucien Outlet
to a little family dinner party, in
the course of which we intended to
sound him as to his real intention.
On Easter Sunday we were all
together, when we received two
letters from my fiance. one for
my mother and one for me.
This is what he wrote to my
mother:
Dear Madam: As I am leaving
Paris this morning for several days,
] am obliged TO ask you to post
pone the little family dinner which
we had arranged. BESIDES, the
present Is not suitable time for
.ejOicing. Pray unders and hat
his coritrNt,n.is makes no change
vlia.o, cr 40 unr Intentions, nor IN
the respectful regards which !
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

there which would only worry us
still more. and l already felt that
all my happiness was in peril.
INQUIRIES AT ROCROL
Tho mayor Of Rocroi gave US 4
very friendly welcome. Very sur
prised. he heard our story and re-
piled that, as far as he knew. there
was no one there with the name Of
Outlet. Neither in the town itself
nor In the neighborhood did he
know of any business like that
which the pseudo Outlet said he had
managed on the death Of his father.
He added that, II he remembered
correctly, he knew young work
man in the district who had been
brought up in the neighbodhood Of
Rocroi who might be able to give
us more exact information. He sent
for him, and you can readily i'm
agine how stupefied we were when
we heard this young man confirm
the mayors statements.
We came back from this visit
with broken hearts. We didn't dare
breach the subject, and letting all
manner Of contectures run riot in
our minds, we returned home.
From that day there arose be,
tween my mother and myself many
Emergencies Of opinion which gave
rise to frequent .quarrels. My moth
err began to see through Outlets
game, and she was eager to defeat
it. She decided to demand an ex-
PLANTATION without delay.
But / was already deeply In love
with Lucien. Thus defended him
with all the power Mt my command.
was certain that we would soon
have the key to the mystery and
that our deception could only be tho
result Of a Misunderstanding.
Therefore 1 urged my mother to
keep calm. advised her not to
rush matters, and particularly not
to disclose to Lucien our converse.
ton with the mayor of Rocroi.
And yet remained sadly divided
between the desire and curiosity Of
knowing and the fear Of learning
too much. How true the proverb
is which says that love is blind! At
that time, j was so certain Of
Landru's love that / would have
denied the very evidence. / was his.
All his statements were truth to me.
and when felt myself doubling
him, had only to remember his
penetrating, persuasive look to be
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

business, then into the food line
Later he spoke to me of the manu-.
facture Of English furniture, but he
jumped from one idea to another,
and l never saw him work method.
caily and with perseverance.
FORBIDDEN DELICACIES.
AS l had remerked to him. 50
many disjointed efforts seemed 10
me superfluous, and, in my opinion,
were inferior to the better compre.
hension of his work which concen.
trated effort would give. He got
angry and replied sharply that
knew nothing about business, and
that he did not wish me to worry
about that in the slightest.
Women" he added, ARE far too
highly strung. The great thing in
business Is to be able to wait for
the right moment, and to take full
advantage Of 1t when 1t comes. See
how calm I am; that's my best
chance Of success. Trust me. my
dear. don't worry yourself with all
these things. Live, In peace and let
me find fortune and comfort for
you"
He thought a lot of his home. apo
for our benefit arranged several lit.
tie lunches. when nothing was
spared. At that time we suffered
all kinds of war restrictions. 1t was
impossible to buy either new rolls
or pastries. and yet he always con.
trived to have these forbidden deli.
cacies on his table. and laughed At
our surprise. remarking that whom
one badly wanted something, one
never failed to get 1t.
With infinite care and the skill of
a stage manager, he arranged the
table. which was decorated with the
most beautiful flowers. And in spite
of the inclement weather and the
scarcity OF coal. of which everyone
complained, as soon AZ you entered
the room you became aware of its
CHEEKY warmth.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

felt the blood rushing to my face
at the insult, and had to leave
the table and go to my room.
1 threw myself on my bed and
wept for long time.
Fenceforward ! was condemned
to spend Easter alone and aban-
doned, with doubts and suspicious
poisoning my mind.
1t was not until the following
Thursday that Landru returned
from his journey, or, to be more
exact, called on us, giving us the
impression that he had just re-
turned from his Journey. You can
readily imagine the sort of recep-
ton we gave him.
Landru listened to all we had to
say without appearing in the least
affected, and simply said that he
was astonished that such a small
affair could have earned him such
a scolding. However, he ended UP
by apologizing. disconsolate at
having caused us pain. And he
added very amiably. as IL to con-
firm his statement
you must know very well that,
now I am to be married, have,
had many duties to fulfil. am
naturally anxious to assure our
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

with me-" he said, Fernando
en- come At the hours most suit
able to her. and her work will be
sasy and won't tic her down too
much
Ny mother agreed, and left the
shop to take up my new duties.
Henceforward not a day passed
without W hearing from him. He
overwhelmed my mother with the
most delicate attentions, which did
not seem in the least affected.
felt that. sure of my heart, he
was trying by means OF his kind
ness to complete his task by win
ming over to his side the object OF
his attentions. Besides, he knew so
well how 10 go about 1t, that not
the slightest suspicion crossed my
mothers mind; mine he knew he
had completely won over already.
No exact date for the marriage
ceremony has yet been fixed,
Lucien told us that he had taken
steps to procure the necessary
papers. but that, being a native Of
occupied territory, he was having
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

future, and II leave you even
for few moments. it is not for
my own pleasure"
When you want to believe some
thing, you easily come to believe it,
and the days which followed
offered my fiance so many oppor-
tunities for ingratiating himself
that soon I forgot the incident,
and considered as ended this dis
pute which was the first between
us.
However, my mother, who, like
me, had no reason to be indulgent,
and who. in the back of her mind,
still felt a little suspicious of the
truth of Landru's statements, in
formed me the following week Of a
plan which her anxiety for my
future peace and happiness had
inspired.
She had obtained the address of
the mayor of Rocroi from the
committee for refugees in that dis
trict, and she begged me to accom-.
pany her on a visit to this official.
who, she thought, might be able to
give us some useful Information
about Gu llet. The mere idea OF
this visit upset me. had a feel
ing that we would learn things
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

This is the second installment of one of
the most human narratives ever written.
1T is the personal experiences OF Mile Fer
nande SECRET, who was an intimate friend of
Landru, the French Bluebeard. Mile. SECRET
escaped from Landru's clutches almost by
miracle, and i'm this narrative she gives
most graphic picture of the fascinating
hypnotic personality of the man whose
affairs with women startled the world.
Mile SECRET tells of her first meeting with
Landru, who introduced himself to her
under the false name of Lucien Outlet, and
almost Immediately made love to her and
proposed marriage. Her mothers suspicious
were aroused, however, when confirmation
of Outlets" story of his career COULD not be
obtained. AS result there we're differ
ences of opinion between Mile. SECRET, who
was very much i'm love with Landrl, and her
mother.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

ask you to accept for yourself and
your family. l.. OUTLET.
Here is the second letter which
was addressed to me:
CALLS HER "SWEETHEART."
Sunday.
AT 8 o'clock this morning / hand
ed to our concierge a little note for
your mother, informing her that I
was leaving Paris. and asking her
to excuse me from fulfilling the
program for today. AS / told her
briefly. the present state of affairs
does not lend itself to even family
festivities, and, for myself, i arm
80 worried that I should prefer not
to try to make merry against my
inclinations. 1 appreciate you too
much, sweetheart, to think for an
instant that you could suppose that
my intentions or regard for you are
changed in the slightest respect,
and I think 1t useful with your
permission to offer a brief explana-
ton. For this little ceremony we
were counting on all being together.
Your two brothers are absent. II
you add to that, what the present
state of your mothers feelings
must be, I ask you If you think
that the time is happily chosen.
"You know better than anyone our
aim and our desires mutual,
think, and If, to your youthful
eyes, this little ceremony lacks the
splendor which you would have
liked, I hope that your common
sense and that force Of character
which l have so much appreciated
in you will make you recognize
the business of the motives which
have forced me to a decision which
is perhaps more painful to me than
to you.
prove yet again that you know
how to be a woman OF action, bear
ing becomingly and bravely this
petty annoyance among SO many
that the present war has produced,
and later we shall rejoice that our
happiness, born amidst the miseries
of this struggle. shall emerge more
solid and more durable"
LETTER ASTOUNDS HER.
The receipt of this letter astound.
ed me- A general feeling OF nm
easlness pervaded our little dinner
purity. Mother, more nervous than
usual, determined not to mention
the subject of the absent guest.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

sugar and bread. There was no
milk, but then the Russians do not
rs rule take milk with tea. Sugar
was relatively plentiful in Moscow,
all through. The bread was a yell
low-brown. spongy substance, some
what resembling the worst which
the profiteers used to provide for us
in London at the height Of the war.
looked round the room. 1t was
carpeted. and that was very wonder
ful! 1t was the first carpet / had
seen in Moscow. On the walls were
three portraits-Karl Marx, Lenin
and Trotsky. Karl Marx, Lenin and
Trotsky were to be found in every
office in Moscow and doubtless
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

ordinary, indeed In many Of IT.
doinss, il really the Russian secret
police and the power behind the
Kremlin. The head Of his formidA-
BILE organization II . certain DER.
jinslxi. who 70 also minister Of trans
port
Now II Krassin, or Kameneff. or
Lounacharslki. or even Lenin or
Trotxhy. gives an order. there 10 no
certainty that It Will ever be carried
out hut when the chief Of the
Tchay-Kah comes along the whole
administration trembles and obeys.
This great instrument Carroll 1t
length invoked. The bricks were
never removed. but the Tchay-Kah
sent along q man With . small
sledgehammer, who broke than into
little pieces. Carroll could no longer
complain that there was . pile Of
bricks at his front door. and 20, with
this happy compounds. the ques-
ton was allowed to rest.
POWER TO TCHAY-KAH.
Touching on this matter Tor q
moment. I heard from a source
which VIII not betray. story
which shows that even the Tchay
Kah has it's lighter side.
Ono day a man appeared at a GER.
tain warehouse with an air Of mys-
terry and authority. He demanded
admission. A young American was
in charge. and he informed this In
dividual that his orders were to ad-
NIT no one.
But" said the stranger, fixing
him with his eye. II represent the
Tchay-Kahr'
The young American replied with
tempered but graphic language that
he did not care whom the man rep
resented. he was not going into that
warehouse. Then the Tchay-Kah
bully tried another line and told him
that some Of the officials were men,
bers Of the Tchay-Kah, and 1t war
necessary to watch, to prevent steal
ing. He had become excited. and he
swung his arms about to emphasise
this point; then the American per-
ceived that he had already up his
sleeve various articles. including
little cans Of condensed milk.
Two other incidents occur to me
in this association. and may n
well refer to them now to give .
glimpse of that extraordinary kind
of disorganization which was the
feature of public life that struck me
most forcibly In Moscow.
WANTED ROOM HEATED.
One Of the commisars wanted his
room heated. incidentally. I may
say, that heating IL becoming an
acute problem in Moscow. For want
Of heating thousands, whose lives
could be otherwise saved, will die
this winter. There Is no coal left
in the place, and very little fire.
wood. so that central heating Is out
Of the question; that Is to say, with
the resources which the Government
is employing.
Here I may say that q member of
a party which accompanied to the
famine district in Kazan-Colonel
Macl<ie. q Canadian NJ. p. who Ia q
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

throughout Russia. That is part
Of the propaganda.
When ! reached the Savoy again
found that though II was decided
that l should remain there. no In
structions had yet been sent to the
commissar. BY this time. however.
was glad to have a roof of any
kind over my head, and / thought
that on the following day my diff
ficulties would be Strengthened out.
I retired to rest on q bed which
had also passed through the revolu-
ton and had developed high bump
in the middle, 80 that II lay upon
one side OF the bump rolled off on
that side, while il lay on the other,
1 rolled off on that. After some
practice balanced myself in the
middle and fell into an "Alice-in-
Wonderland" asleep.
GETTING MONEY CHANGED.
On the following day wished to
change my English money into Rus
stan, and / thought that I would
have merely to step into some ex-
change bureau and perform that lit
tie business in a minute or two.
One of my friends found for me the
rate of exchange. SO that there was
no difficulty on that score, but when
it came to the point as to where
l could change the money, they all
seemed puzzled.
By dint- of persistent inquiries, 1
found that the only place in Mos
COW where 1t was legal to change
money was at an International Bank
which had recently been set up by
the Government. All the other
banks were deserted and derelict. 1t
took me two days altogether to get
my money changed, and the final
operation gave me rather the i'm
preston of great diplomatic func-
ton, had begun with a modest
five pound note, but when ! entered
the room where the transaction was
to be carried out, there was nobody
visible but the inevitable Tartar SOL
der with his fixed bayonet. On
the counters was a high framework.
screening off the clerks from the
gaze of the world, and behind that
protection they were carrying on
their solemn duties.
/ sat down on a settee to wait,
and after long time a young
woman came forward to know my
business. The offices in Moscow
are overrun by young women,
some of them very capable, all of
them underpaid, with not a few
dabbling in quite important matters
of state. This particular young
woman surveyed me with a pene-
trating look, apparently marked by
deep suspicion. Then she demanded
my passport. Why on earth 1
should give up my passport instead
of my five-pound note l could not
guess, but 1 was now prepared for
anything. I gave up my passport
to this severe young person, and 1
waited for what seemed to me an
interminable time.
Then the young woman re-
appeared, handed me back my pass
port and took my five pounds.
After another long interval which
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25
Russians.

hardly to have the price Of a meal
even a bun and milk-asked him
for light.
That is one of the signs of the fra.
ternity OF Russia. ] have seen a
mature and dignified man giving the
light of his cigarette to a kid who
looked about thirteen. have seen
the prettiest girl in Moscow-a Pole,
by the way. with the face Of Mi
nerva and the figure of Diana
ask light from a most dilapidated
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25
u. REL. F
WORKERS
HUNGRY
Writer Finds Them In
a Sumptuous Palace
In Moscow, But With
out Any Food to Eat.

timber expert-indicated to me .
scheme by which this whole prob.
lem could have been solved, but he
could find no one With sufficient
authority to assure that his sugsss-
tion would be carried into operation
in the proper way. ssy.
That being 70. then, Thousands
win perish in the terrible Russian
winter without adequate shelter and
protection.
Our friend the Commisar. how
ever, was providing for himself.
The room he Occupied had been the
salon Of noble Russian house, and
along the wall were painted fires
Goes. which, though not Of the high
est art, yet represented something
Of considerable achievement in
painting. To heat hts room the
Commisar had q battered old iron
stove, and in order to carry q
draught from this to the outside air
he thought nothing Of poking his tin
pipe chimney through the middle of
the frescoes.
On another occasion, when I called
on a distinguished member of the
Government, / waited for q time In
an ante-room. This had the appear
ance of having once been a splendid
apartment, but everything was neg
Iected and dilapidated. At one end
Of the room. however. stooo - grand
piano. which must have cost origi-
nally something like $1,000. 1t Wa
now used as q hat-rack and UNI
brella stand. A dirty bicycle was
resting against its ebony legs. while
the inevitable Tartar soldier, with
his fixed bayonet. was sitting on the
ksys.
When returned to my room at
the Savoy ! expected that my little
affairs would have been properly reg
ulated, but, except the Tartar soldier
with his fixed bayonet, who seemed
now to know me, could find no
one In authority at all. 1 wandered
about the deserted corridors and at
length. by dint of questions. found
that the only change had been that
I had been given room on a lower
floor which. though larger than the
first, was even more derelict, for ii
contained no telephone. When the
door closed upon me felt cut off
from the world. and I thought that
the lot Of a casual laborer in a Brit
ish workhouse was in many respects
preferable to my own.
(Other Articles by Colonel Lynch will
Follow.)
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

individual who looked like a scav-
enger out of work.
The cigarette. / take II. Is the
greatest anti-revolutionary force IN
Russia II consoles for all the mis-
cries and gently fosters the uprising
of gilded though deceptive hopes.
The Russian ladies have long been
noted for their cigarette smoking,
but 1 think It was in Moscow that
for the first time saw a woman Ut
the "charwoman" type strutting
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

which to pur-
chase food, nor
did ! even know
where restaur-
ants were to be
found. But on
my first visit to
Krassln's office
his assistant,
Mr.. Shviets, or
dered tea.
Presently u
young girl came
in, carrying two
glasses of tea,
but after setting
these down, she
suddenly whip
ped them off,
saying that she
could get better.
The resources
of State were
probably drawn
upon, for next
she reappeared
with tea and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-25

marked the Importance or the trans
action the young woman appeared
In company with a nranageriai-look-
ing Individual, who brought with
him a big book in which he had
been apparently working problems
in arithmetic connected with my
five pounds. Then in accordance
with the results, he slowly counted
out for me an enormous number
of different kinds of paper money,
sufficient to make a small bag
bulge. They both watched me out
of the building. and the look of
suspicion had not left the face of
the severe young woman.
NOW FOR FOOD.
However. was saved ! got one
Of my new friends to lead me to
restaurant. He was not sure of the
best, which was somewhere far
away in the Arbat-a well-known
street In the diplomatic quarter of
Moscow-but any restaurant In the
world would have suited me then.
Near the opera house we found a
curious little "dive" such az one
might discover in a back lane OF
the Syrian quarter of New York.
and we entered. There were few
people sitting at little tables dis
GUESSING buns and milk. This was
the sole fare Of the restaurant.
realized at the moment what
seemed to me one Of the most anus
ing passages of the famous story.
Experiences Of an Irish r. NJ" in
which FURRY Knox, of fox hunting
fame, was discerned through the
windows of small eating house,
meditatively discussing bun and
milk. That picture always seemed
to me the representation of naivette
and innocence, and here was l. In
this most brilliant and alluring cap
ital of the world, sitting down to
my bun and milk with delight /
had never experienced at the Ritz In
London or the old Delmonico Of
New York.
Nearby was a Russian general OF
the former regime who had taken
service under the Bolsheviks. He
had the figure of brilliant officer
OF the old days, but his bearded face
was lined with thought, and his out
look on life had become serious and
sedate. l could picture him in the
gilded halls of the great. amid the
flashing jewels of the brilliant days.
where the gorgeous display of beau
tiful women threw into the shade
the priceless festoons of flowers and
the dazzling splendor of imperial
pomp.
There he sat, slowly. thoughtfully
eating his bun, and evidently pro-
longing the operation 80 as to win
from severe fate these few de-
lectable minutes of Joy. Then when
the bun and milk were gone no pro.
duced cigarette.
In the description Of Moscow the
cigarette deserves almost a chapter
to itself. When the old Russian
general Lit his cigarette the hard
lines of anxiety left his face, he
became thoughtful but serene, and
he bowed gracefully when a rough
looking customer, who seemed