The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-10-20
The Mardi Cras Mystery

FelI's lips awry. "Tn fact, the
, bought 1T from a man named Han
!. mond. as the evidence will show yer
: clearly"
Ben Chacherre started. since he ha'
sold that car himself. Then a SLOW
; grin came into his hin features
+, grin that widened into q noiseles
/, laugh.
Master. you are magnificent h
said, and rose. "Well, If there is norn
Ing further on hand, | shall go to bed.
IAN excellent program" said Jachir
Fell, and took his hat from the desk
II must get some sleep myself"
They left the office and the build
Ing together.
Three hours afterward the dawn
had set ina cold, gray and dismal
dawn that rose upon a city Uttered
with the aftermath of carnival. Lean
Wednesday" it was, in sober fact,
Thus far. the city In general vas ig-
norant of the tragedy which had taken
place at the very conclusion of its
gayest carnival season. Within a few
hours business and social circles
would be swept by the fact Of Joseph
Maillard's murder, but at this early
point of the day the city slept. The
morning papers, which today carried a
news story that promised to shock
and stun the entire community, were
not yet distributed.
Rising before daylight. Henry era
mont and Hammond breakfasted early
and were off by six in the car. They
were well outside town and sweeping
on their way to Terrebonne parish
and the town of Paradis before they
realized that the day was not going
to brighten appreciably. Instead, it
remained very cloudy and gloomy,
with a chill threat of rain in the air.
Weather mattered little to Gramont.
When finally the excellent highway
was left behind, and they started on
the last lap of their seventy-mile ride,
they found the parish roads execrable
and the going slow. Thus, noon was
at hand when they at length pulled in
to Paradis, the town closest TO Lucie
Ledanois' bayou land. The rain was
still holding Off.
"Too cold to rain" observed Ora
mont. Lets hit for the hotel and
get something to eat. I'll have to
locate the land, which is somewhere
near town"
They discovered the hotel to be an
ancient structure, and Boosting prices
worthy of Laftte and his buccaneers.
AS In many small towns of Louisiana,
however, the food proved At for a
king. After a light luncheon Of quail,
crayfish bisque. and probably Illegal
venlson, Gramont sighed regret that
he could eat no more. and set about
inquirlng where the Ledanois farm lay.
There wGs very little. indeed, to
Paradis, which lay on the bayou but
well away from the railroad. 1t was a
desolate spot, implanted and unkempt.
The parish seat of Houha had robbed
II Of all life and growth on the one
hand on the other, the new oil and
gas district had not yet touched 1t.
Southwark lay the swamp-fulIy
miles of 1t, merging by degrees
ntO the Gulf. Forty miles of cypress
marsh and winding bayou, uncharted, |
saw by occasional hunters
)r semi-occasional sheriffs. No man
who or what might be In those
The man who brought In fish or
oysters in his skiff might be a bayou
fisherman. and he might be q muir
ierer wanted In ten states. Curiosity
vas apt TO prove extremely unhealthy.
Like the Atchafalaya, where chance
travellers find themselves abruptly or
Tered elsewhere. the T~errebonne
swamps have their own secrets and
how to keep them.
Gramont had no difficulty in locat-
Ing the Ledanois land, and he found
hat II was by no means In the swamp.
4 part of II. lying closer to Houma,
had been sold and was now included
the new oil district 1t was this por-
lion which Joseph Maillard had sold
Dr.
The remainder. and the largest por-
lion. lay north Of Paradis and ran
along the west bank of the bayou for
half a mile. A long-abandoned farm,
was high ground. with the timber
we'll cleared of and excellently To-
but tenants were hard to get
md shlftless when obtained, so that
he place had not been farmed for the
asst FIVE years or more. After getting
.hese facts, Gramont consulted with
"We'd better buy some grub here in
own and arrange to stay a couple OF
nights on the farm. II necessary" he
aid. There are some buildings there,
% wen find shelter. Along the bayou
ire summer cottages-I believe some
them rather %pretentious places
we ought to find the road pretty
Iecent. It's only three or foul miles
,ut of town."
With some provisions piled In the
they set forth. The road wound
long the bayou side. past ancient
Cajun farms and the squat homes Of
Ishermen. Here and there had been
laced camps and summer cottages.
amid groups OF huge oaks aud
.-.~o~u xvhnco frCndc of cffyor w-.-