Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-18
By Louis
Joseph Vance
Gym International Msaazine conpanv

THE men from Paris, madame?"
Yes. You will oxcus me-
She went to meet the men in the
middle of the room. Duchemin
turned back to the window and was
grateful for that moment of respite
in which to compose and prepare
himself. Within an hour, he knew,
within a day OF so at most, he must
be under arrest, charged with the
theft Of the Montalais jewels.
damned by his yesterday as much
as by every u of circumstantial
evidence -.
The men whom Jean ushered in
proved to be ~outwardly, what
Duchemin had expected; of a class
only too we'll known to him, plain
men of the people, unassuming, well
trained and informed, sceptical; not
improbably shrewd hands in the
| game of thief-taking.
Saluting Madame de Montalais
with calculated ceremony, n act
ing as spokesman offered to present
their credentials.
at is not necessary. messieurs, >
she said. Il regret very much to
have Inconvenience you, although
| of course it will make no difference
III NOui bill, Jul L llaNC VI phSAiN
you here to no purpose. The neces-
sity for my contemplated journey
no longer exists
There were expressions of surprise
to which she put an end with the
words, accompanied by a charming
smile: Frankly, messieurs. | have
simply changed my mind"
There was nothing more to be
| said nnpnlU mora than q little nNE-
titled, the men withdrew.
The smile with which she dismiss
ed them fingered, delightful and
enigmatic, as Eve recognized the
stupefaction with which Duchemin
moved to demonstrate with her.
"Madame!" he cried in a low voice
of wonder and protest-"why did
you do that? Why let them go
without telling them"
Possibly that is my wish, mon
w~ilderment. Perhaps" she contin-
ued. meeting his blank stare with
eyes in which amusement gave
place to a look almost apologize yet
utterly kind-"perhaps 1 have more
faith in you -"
Duchemin bowed his head over
hands so tightly knitted that the
knuckles were white with strain.
you would not have faith" he
said in a low voice, IF you knew
She interrupted in a gentle voice:
Are you sure?"
What / must tell you!"
my friend" she said: tell me
nothing that would distress you"
IF you had told those detectives"
he said at length, without looking
up, you must have known very
soon. They must have found me
out without too much delay. And
who in the world would ever believe
anybody else guilty when they
learned that Andre Duchemin, your
guest for three weeks. was only an
alias for Michael Lanyard. otherwise
the Lone Wolff"
But you are wrong. monsieur"
she replied, without the long pause
of surprise he had anticipated. II
should not have believed you guilty"
Dumb with wonder, he showed
her a haggard face. And she had
for him, in the agony and the abase-
ment of his soul, still quivering from
the rack of emotion that alone could
have exerted his confession-she
had for him the half-smile, tender
and compassionate, that it is given
to most men to see but once in a
lifetime on the lips and in the eyes
of the woma beloved.
Then you knew"
"Since the night those strange
people were here and tried to make
you unhappy with their stupid talk
of the Lone Wolf. I suspected,
then: and when l came to know you
better, l felt quite sure l have
faith in you"
But Why"
She shook her head. you mustn't
ask me that"
At the end of a long moment he
said in a broken voice: Very we'll:
I won't -. Not yet awhile 49,.
But this great gift of faith In me-
can't accept that without trying to
repay it."
"If you accept, my friend, you
repay"
NO" said Michael Lanyard
that's not enough. Your jewels
must come back to you, il l go to
the ends of the earth to find them.
And"-man's undying vanity would
out 'if there's anyone living who
can find them for you, it is l."
Continued in Our Next Issue)