The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-10-17

J n SY U1SI.
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By MAx SALIMARsAE

| a mere scrap bf paper, lying con-
cealed underI the printing press,
and yet, to n9, it said great deal!'
And with that he funbled in his
pocket andf drew out a crunpled
sheet of spilled paper. presenting
it with a flourish for our iaspec-
ton.
I took il, unfolding it dazedly,
while Hugo and Dunning craned
their heads over my shoulder 10
read, AND there | saw, scrawled in
red chalk, in crude capitals an inch
high, the words: '"They are taking
me toHtaly. Helpl Ottilie Wills"
And she wasn't there?" said
Dunning, in a queer, hushed voice.
The man from Marseille gave
hinA a sharp, quizzical look. III is
correct, then, that Miss Wills has
Disappeared" he demanded. aud
at the others hopeless gesture Of
assent, he nodded slowly. So?
Then will answer you. Not only
was Miss Wills not there, mon ami,
but she had never been there--if
by there you mean the villa Of
Monsieur Rakovsky. She has not
been taken into Italy, and tell you
this with my hand on my heart,
for two hours of my precious time
were spent in questioning the
frontier guards to determine that
fact"
He. stopped, with a sigh of sheer
WEAKNESS. II am very tired. May
suggest that we adjourn to the
lounge?"
We filed after him into the big,
empty room and sent a waiter
scurrying for refreshment. "And
now, messieurS," said Fleuriot
quietly, II think that you have d
great deal to tell me; but first let
me make my own position clear.
/ had already heard, as have told
you, of the inquiries made by Mon
sieur Dunning here and others as
to the authorship of lie GTimoire
1strologiqile inquiries which we
had not, unfortunately, been able
to answer. I knew that a Jlot
against the life of Monsieur Virgoe
Wills was suspected. but ] tell you
frankly that l thought the idea
fantastic, and neither we of the
S1Yete nor the local police were
unduly disturbed when Monsieur
Wills and his niece arrived here.
When, however, ! saw this note,
realized that the idea of the young
lady's abduction was not as fam
tastic as it might otherwise have
appeared, and / realized too that
Monsieur Rene Cess was in some
way implicated"
West, Not East
LIE paused to sip appreciatively
4 from his glass. 1T is not so hard
| to be wise after the events" he
admitted with a wry little smile.
"But me, felt a spiritual indiges-
ton at the knowledge that was
suddenly heaped upon my plate,
for, from the fact that the ch1sseuT
had been hiding in that house, ]
deduced that there was a connec-
ton between this Wills affair and
the murder of Monsieur Venner,
and more, that you, Monsieur
Lumsden, had been in possession
of this information for some time,
but had not thought fit to inform
mel"
! shifted uneasily. Lets not 60
into that now" ! suggested.
You'll find I had good enough
reasons when the time comes to
spill them"
He waved his hand magnani.
mously. 1--WE heard of the regret
table attempt on Monsieur Wills's
life and the not so regrettable fate
Of the assassin. Now ! see that the
disappearance of Miss Wills Is O
very serious matter. You believe,
do you not, that Monsieur Cess
has abducted herr My friends, you
shall tell me all you know, and
then we must act, and act quickly"
This will be news to the lot Of
YOU" Hugo said. Whether Ottilie
has been abducted or not. one
thing Is certain. She didn't write
this letter. First, it's printed in
lipstick."
Fleuriot grinned. The classic
method for ladies in distress who
have no pencil" r
"Just so" assented Hugo dryly.
But I think you will admit that
ladies are not in the habit OF car
rying an assortment of lipsticks
around with them. / happen to
know that Miss Wills uses what !
believe is known as carmine,
whereas this letter, you viii note,
is printed with an orange stick"
Fleuriot raped out an oath and
sprang TO his feet. you are sure Of
this. Monsieur Stern?" he de-
manded sharply.
dugo swung round on me. "Ar-
chic, you saw that Negroes the
other night-what shade Of lip
stick would you say she used?"
/ cast my mind back to that BIZ
zarre scene under the night sky.
Orange it wasl" ! admitted. and
he gave a short, triumphant laugh.
you see? II was the NegreSS
who wrote this letter, and she
wrote il under dictation with the
sole object Of making us believe
that Ottilie had been in Antilles
and was been carried even farther
east into Italy" He broke of.
studying our intent faces. Gentle
men" he finished. there's only
one possible explanation for that
maneuver-Ottilie never was In
Antilles, and II we want 70 find her.
we must look. not east, but west
Tleuriot struck his forehead.
West that includes the whole OF
Erance!a
Steady on, mani" said I. THAT
car Of GeisS's should be easy to
trace. and IL Ottilie's gone with
him unwillingly he couldn't wen
SasfA ha~ Sx.1s = train