Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-07-25
III VILLA ROSE
a Thrilling DetcctiUe Story BY "A. E. w. MASON
torn BIZ "A. b. w. S

/ tell you Sol, who belong to the
Surete in4Paris. Do not lose hearth
And in his mind he added: God
forgive me for the lie" He shook
her hand and left it go; and gather
Ing up her skirt she went into the
hall OF the hotel.
Hanaud watcher her as she went.
She was to him a lonely and pa
thetic creature, in spite of the nurse
who bore her company.
You must be a good friend to that
young girl. M. Ricardo" he said.
Let us drive to your hotel.
Eyes," said Ricardo. And as they
went the curiosity which all the way
from Geneva had been smouldering
within him burst into flame.
why So Alarmed.
Will you explain to ma one
thing 2" he asked. When the scream
came from the garden you were not
surprised. Indeed, vol said that
when Q saw the open door and the
morphia-needle on the table of the
little room downstairs you thought
Adele and the man Hippolyte were
hiding in the garden"
Yes, I did think So"
Why? and why did the publica"
ton that the Jewels had been dis
covered so alarm you?" o
"Ah!" said Hanaud. did you no,
understand that? Yet it Is surely
clear and obvious. if you once grant
that the girl was innocent, was a wit
ness of the crime, and was o in the
hands of the criminals.
Grant me those premises, M. Ri
cardo, for a moment, and you will
see that we had just one chance OF
finding the girl alive in Geneva.
From the first I was sure of that.
What was the one chance? Why,
this! She might be kept alive on
the chance that she could be forced
to tell what. by the way h did not
know, namely, the place where Nine.
Dauvray's valuable jewels were
setreted.
Now, follow this. We. the po-
of them. Let that news reach the
house in Geneva, and on the same
night Mile. Celie loses her life, and
not-very pleasantly. They have no
further use for. her. She is merely a
danger to them. So / take my pre-
cautions-never mind for the moment
what they were. 1 take care that il
the murderer is in AK and gets wind
Of Jul discovery he shall not be akc
to communicate his news"
The postofice would have stopped
letters o. telegrams." said Ricardo.
II understand"
ION the contrary, replied Ha-
maud. mo, 1 took my precautions,
which were of quite a different kind,
before I knew the house in Geneva or
the name of Rossignol. But one way
OF communication I did not@thinksof.
I did not think Of the possibility that
the news might be sent I'd a newspa-
per, which, of course, would publish
it and cry it through the streets OF
Geneva. The moment I heard the
news / knew we must hurry.
"The garden of the house a down
to the lake. A means of disposins
the night had fallen. AS it was, we
arrived just in time, and no earlier
than Just in time.
THE paper had been bought, the
message had reached the, house, Mile
Celie was no longer Of any use, and
every hour she stayed in that house
was, of course, an hour of danger tc
her captors."
What were they going to do?'
asked Ricardo,
Hanaud shrugged his shoulders.
1T is not pretty-what they were
going to do. We reach the. garden In
our launch. At that moment Hip
polyte and Adele, who is most likely
Hippolyte's wife, are in the lighted
parlor on the basement floor,
adele is preparing her morphia
needle. Hippolyte is going to gel
ready the rowing boat which was tied
at the end of the landingstage. Quiet.
ly as we came into the bank, the,
heard or saw us. They ran out and
hid in the garden, having no time tt
lock the garden door, or perhaps no,
daring to'lock it lest the sound OF the
key. should reach our ears.
w find that door upon the latch
the door Of the room open; on the
table lies the morphia needle. Up.
stairs lies Mile. Celie-she is helpless
she cannot see what they are mean.
ing to. do
But she could cry out" exclaimed
Ricardo. "She did not even do that!'
No, my friend, she could not or,
out" replied Hanaud very seriously
u know why she could not. No liv
ing man or woman could. Rest as
sured of that"
Ricardo was mystihed; but sine,
the captain Of the ship would no
show his observation. he knew i
would be in vain to press him.
Well, while Adele was preparing
her morphia-needle and Hippolyt,
making her preparation too. She wa
mending a sack. Did you see Mile
Celie's eyes and face when first sh'
saw that sack? All! she understood
They meant to give her a dose o
morphia- and, as soon as. she. be
came unconscious, they were goin,
perhaps to take some terrible pre-
/! caution'-Hanaud paused for a sec
ond. II only say perhaps to that.
Horrible Thought.
But certainly they were going t
sew her up in that sack. row her wei
out across the lake, fix a weight t
her feet, and drop her quietly over
board. She was to- wear everythin
which she had brought with her t
the house. Mile. Celie would hav
disappeared for ever, and left no
even ripple upon the water to trac
her by!' g