Year: 1872

"But tell you it is not mine. 1 am
not murderer; and protest against this
arrest and outrage on my liberty" said.
The other detective interrupted me.


"Young man." said he, "it's pity you
were not brought up TO the law business;
you would have made first-class shyster.
Well give you chance to talk to the
judges when we get back to Paris, but you
can't talk to u.s."


In the meantime, the tall detective had
forced open the valise, and after some
searching, found three diamond studs very
man in the gambling saloon. felt myself
growing pale.


81 say, Henri, thought we were on the
right track" he saiu, "let us search him
now."


Then they commenced to search my
clothes, took ont everything from my pock
cts and, at last, came 80 the watch.


Young man, Pm afraid it will go hard
with you" he said.


tried to explain, but it was of no use.
They made me dress myself, took every
thing they could find belonging to me in
the room, and was marched down stairs
between them. They brought me into the
parlor of the hotel, and two of them stayed
with me, while the other went out to see if
the carriage was all right, as he said. A
sudden thought struck me. / said that
was the young mans carriage-he who left
me the valise. The detective only smiled.
told him what had passed, and how had
seen the carriage driven away. A thought
seemed also to have struck him. The de-
tective who went after the carriage now
came in the other whispered something
hurriedly to him, and he went quickly out
again.


After this was brought up stairs to my
room. They bolted the windows and lock-
ed the door. All this had been done SO
quietly, and in such short space of time,
that no one but the hotel-keeper and few
walters knew anything was passing.


They then procured paper and ink, and
the tall agent said: "Now, if we are mis-
taken, Or if it should happen that you're
only an accomplice, tell us all you know
truthfully, and you may get off much easier.
/ have my own opinion about that valise,"
he added, "but tell me truly, how did you
come into possession of the watch?"


told him all. He smiled significantly
and when ] had finished, said: "Well,
you may be innocent but l suppose you're
aware that the young man who was found
with his throat cut is the same who pledg-
; ed you that watch, and whose diamond
studs, which you must have remarked that
night, have been found in your valise, or
that of your friend, as you call it. Now
why did you not make it known that you
had the watch, when you must have guess
ed it belonged to Mariette Gaudoin, the
former mistress of the murdered man, to
whom he had made it present, but who
returned it ?"


told HIM had thought Of doing so, but
1 had seen by the papers that she had been
arrested as an accomplice, and l had no
particular wish 10 get myself mixed up in
the affair.


The truth now flashed across my mind.
The man who had left me the valise sought


to shift the murder ON my shoulders and


he was the murderer.


shuddered.


The agent now told me he had sent after
the other man, and that he would, no doubt


be arrested before morning. asked him
how he would nd out where the carriage
went to. He replied: Why, you see it is
frosty night ;my agent will get on a horse
follow the tracks of the carriage, and will
probably overtalSe it before two hours, ifhe
has left the town as there is but one road
leading to Rouen, and no trains leave here
before eight O'Clock tomorrow morning, at
which hour you and will start for Paris /;
so if you have an inclination to sleep, you
can do so,


slept but little that night. the next
morning we left for Paris was allowed
the privilege of newspaper, and could not
help smiling as l looked over the news, ru-
mors and facts of the great murder, which
, editors had hashed up for their morning
readers. After reading, / slept most of the
, way, dreaming of diamonds studs, prisons
hotels, valises and agents dc police, and


wondered at the reality when awoke only
to find the gray eyes of the agent fixed up


on me-those eyes that looked so bright,
though they had not closed in sleep for
perhaps two nights before he had arrested
me. le bnt