Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-08-25
CHAPTER TX
On the Bayou.


At three O'Clock on the morning of
Ash Wednesday the great white Maj
son Blanche building was deserted and
desolate, so far as its offices were
concerned. The cleaners and scrub
women had long since finished their
tasks and departed. Out in the streets
the tag-ends of carnival were running
on swiftly ebbing tide. A single eie-
vator In the building was, however,
IN use A single suite of offices, with
carefully drawn blinds, was lighted
and occupied.
They were not ornate, these Offices.
They consisted of two rooms, a small
reception room and a large private
Office, both lined to the ceiling with
books, chiefly law books. In the larger
room were sitting three men. One
of the three, Ben Chacherre, sat in
a chair tipped back against the wall,
his eyes closed From time to time
he opened those sparkling black eyes
Of his, and through parrow-slitted lids
directed keen glances at the other
two men.
One Of the men was the chief Of
police. The second was Jachin Fell,
whose offices these were.
Even If things are as you say,
which 1 don't doubt at ALL" said the
chief, slowly, II can't believe the boy
did It'll And darn 1t all, If l pinch
him there's goin' to be a h. of
scandalr
Fell shrugged his shoulders, and
made response In his toneless voice:
"Chief, you're up against facts
Those facts are bound to come out
and the newspapers will nail your
hide to the wall In a minute. You've
bare chance to save yourself by TAX
ing in young Maillard at once"
The chief chewed hard on his cigar
81 don't want to save myself by put
ting the wrong man behind the bars"
he returned. ~It sure looks like he
was the MasQuer all the while, but
you say that he wasn't You say this
was his only job-a joke that turned
out bad"
"Those are the facts said Fell II
l know he did not commit We have
the best of evidence that he did COM
NIT this crime. If the newspapers
fasten the entire Midnight Masquer
business on him, as they're sure to
do, we can't very well help him. I
have no sympathy for the boy"
"Of course he did It," put In Ben
Chacherre, sleepilL. wasn't he caught
with the goods?"
The others paid no heed. The chief
Indicated two early editions of the
morning papers, which lay on the desk
in front of Fell These papers car
ried full accounts Of the return of
the Midnight Masquer's loot, explain
Ing his robberies as part of a carnival
Jest.
The later editions, comm out now"
Baid the chief, will crowd all that
stuff off the front page with the Mail
lard murder. Darn it, Fell Whether
believe 1t or not. I'll have to ar
rest the young fool"
Chacherre chuckled. joachim Fell
smiled family.
Nothing could be palmer. chief" he
responded. First, Bob Maillard comes
70 us In front of the opera house, and
talks about great joke that he's
going to spring on his friends across
the way"
How'd you know who he wasT' in
terjected the chief, shrewdly.
"Gramont recognized him. Ansley
and confirmed the recognition. He
was more or less intoxicated-chiefly
more. Now, young Maillard was not
In the room at the moment of the mur-
der-unless he was the MasQuer. Five
minutes afterward he was found in q
nearby ROOM hastily changing out OF
an aviator's uniform into his masQuer-
ade costume Obviously, he had as
sumed the guise Of the Masquer as a
joke on his friends, and the joke had
a tragic ending. Further, he was In
the aviation service during the war
aud so had the uniform ready to hand
You couldn't make anybody believe
that he hasn't been the Masquer all
the timel"
"Of course" and the chief nodded
perplexedly. IT'D be clear case