The Southern herald., 1922-08-11
The Mardi Gras Mystery
By
H. BEDFORD-JONES


/ Twelfth Night Revelers soon after
Christmas, and ls closed by that Of the |
Krewe Of Comus on Mardl Gras night. |
Upon this evening of Fat Tuesday"
indeed, both Rex and Comus hold
forth. Rex Is the popular ball, the
affair Of the people, and Is held In the
Athenaeum. From here, about mid
night, the king and queen proceed to
COmus ball.
Comus Is an assembly Of such rigid
excluslveness that even the tickets to
the gallery are considered social
prizes. The persOnae of the Krewe.
on this particular year, as in all prevl-
GUS ones, would remain unknown;
there is no unmasking at Comus This
institution, tremendous social power
and potentially financial power also,
during decades of the city's life, Is
held absolutely above any taint OF fa-
voritism or cOmmerclalism. Even the
families Of those concerned might not
always be certain whether their sons
and brothers belonged to the Krewe
Of COmus
Henry Gramont did not attend the
ball Of PrOteus on Monday night. In
stead, he sat in his own room, while
through the streets Of the French
quarter outside was raging the Carni-
val at Its height. Before him were
maps and reports upon the gas and
} oil fields about Bayou TerrebOnne-
fields where great dOmes Of natural
gas were already located and In use,
and where oil was being found In some
quantity. Early on Wednesday morn
ing Gramont intended to set forth to
his work. He had been engaged to
make a report to Bob Malllards COM
pany, and he would make 1t. Then he
would resign his advisory job, and be
: free. A smile curled his lips as he
thought Of young Maillard and the
company.
"The young gentleman will be sadly
surprised to discover that I've gotten
out from under-and that his respect
ed father holds my stockl" he reflect
ed. "That was a good deal; I lost a
thousand to old Maillard in order to
have the balance Of thirty thousand "
A knock at his door interrupted the
thread of his thought. Gramont
opened, to find the concierge with a
note which had been left at the door
below by masked Harlequin, who
had then disappeared without await
Ing any reply.
Gramont recognized the writing on
the envelope, and hastened to the note
. inside. His face changed, however, as
he read It:
"Please call promptly at eleven to-
morrow morning. l wish to see you
upon matter Of business.
"LUCIE LEDANOIS."
Gramont gazed long at this note, his
brows drawn down into harsh line.
1t was not like Lucie In Its tone,
somehow; he sensed something amiss,
something vaguely but mostly decided
Hlx., opt of tune. ELEVEN tomorrow
4 hSod1ng .eh2" he murmured. "Thats
l T&eS AsStAfor she's to be at the Pro
teus ball tonight. Most girls woult
not be conducting business affairs al
- eleven in the morning, after being uI
ID all night at PrOteus! 1t must b'
something important. Besides, shei
not In class with anyone else. Shet
=, rare girl; no nonsense In her-ful
III Of a deep. strong sense of things"
~ He forced himself from thoughts o
'e Lucie. forced himself from her per
d. sonality, and returned to his report
81 with an effort Of concentration.
'h When Gramont went to bed tina
night 1t was with startling and auda
e clous scheme well defined in his brain
ot scheme whose first cOnceptio
seemed ludlcrOus and impossible, ye
which, on second consideration, az
tn peared in a very different light. It'd
'ss served serious thought-and GramOr
e." had made his decision before he weT
Ile to sleep.
rts The following day was Tuesday
led MardI Gras, ShrOve Tuesday, the lai
day before Lent began, and the mi
ra- eliminating day Of carnival. Hem
ne. Gramont, however, was destined
he find little in Its beginning Of nut
an personal pleasure.
At eleven In the morning HammoE
ad- drove him to the Ledanois hon
rge where Gramont was admitted by ol
ned of the colored servants and shown In
the parlOr. A moment later Lucie he
self appeared. At first glance n
N" smiling greeting removed the ha
the sensed apprehenslOns of Gramont.
hey most Immediately afterward, howev
IRE he noted q perceptIble change in b
ady manner, as she led him toward I
to rear of the room, and gestured tOwa
iure a mahogany tilt-tOp table which stC
in a corner.
res "Come over here, please. ha
something which l wish to show yo
anu She needed to say no more, u
lter' mont, following her, found hlms
staring blankly down at the symbol
!, conformation which overwhelmed n