Year: 1873

cast ridicule on anything English before
me, but from his manner, more than MS
actual words, | could see that he did not
hold our secret police in very great esti-
nation.


CHAPTER Iv.-sTILL SEEKING.


That evening as [ sat ia the court of the
Grand Hotel, drinking my after dinner
den5- -tasse, and smoking my after-dinner
cigar, the card of Monsieur Bergnet was
brought me by the waiter, who said that
q stranger wished to see the gentleman
occupying room No. 207, which was GER
tainly myself The card was speedily
followed by the owner thereof, who in a
half whisper told me he had come to see
me on the part of Monsieur 5e Chef. At
first felt sure NJ Bergnet was a head
clerk, or chief of some department in the
Rue de Jerusalem, but he quickly unde-
ceived me. He was, as he said, member
Of the secret police in the civil depart
ment, In other words a detective. But
anything more utterly unlike our English
conventional notion Of q detective would
be impossible to imagine He was a
bright, dapper little fellow of, I should
say, about so years of age; well dressed
in closely fitting frock coat, with hat
that must have come from fashionable
maker, good boots, well -gloved hands, a
morsel Of red ribbon at his button-hole,
and altogether looking like French mill
tary man in plain clothes, or the head
clerk i'll a prosperous bank. My first
thoughts were to contrast him with the
big, honest-faced, heavy-looking, billy
cock-hat and policeman's boots wearing
men / had seen at Scotland yard. Mon
sieur Bergnet accepted a Gun Of coffee
and cigar which | offered him, and
when put the question to him whether
his calling was likely to be known to the
laughed heartily. mot only" he said,
where IN Paris my occupation was
retaining under Monsieur le Chef Ihave
been in England" he continued, 'and
have seen in Scotland yard your detec
tives. &c sont de 6rdres gems, but as ne con-
7aasssent pas lealr maet5er-they are not up
to their work. Your authorities make
great mistake. They unite the person
who has to detect crime with the individ
ual who has to arrest the criminal; with
Us it is quite different. | have been
twenty-five years an employe in the Rue
de Jerusalem, but never arrested man
in my life That is the work Of the SER
geants de vile, either in uniform or plain
clothes. Your detectives are nothing
more than sergeants de vile in plain
clothes. Why, as they walk along the
streets les qanat1ls de L0ndres call out,
There goes Sergeant Smith, that is Ser
geant Jones' And now, Monsieur, let me
near in what way can be of any service
to you. Only before you begin, let me
beg Of You to tell me everything-any
family difficulty, any scandal to be avoid
ed, or whatever else may seem a STUN
bling block in your road. On these con-
ditions | may be able to assist you. But
if you keep back anything from me, it is
probable that l may injure instead of for
warding your interests"


Our coffee finished we strolIed out, and
while we were walking up and down the
Boulevard des Capucins l told him the
whole story from first to last, of which
the reader has already had an outline. He
seemed TO take in the whole affair at once,
and to recollect the most trivial details
respecting it. He told me that he knew
something Of Mr.. Nual and Monsieur
Treves, having had more than once to
'loOk up" the latter in the way Of busi-
ness In the work to be done he seemed
to determine at once what was the best
line Of action. Of this mention viii be
made presently. One Of his plans in
volyed a change of costume and disguise,
upon which / remarked that rogues who
were ever on the alert would be pretty
sure to discover any attempt made by the
same individual to disguise himself in
more than one character. Upon this
Monsieur Bergnet laughed-like every
thing else he did, his laugh was genial,
but gentle and inoffensiVe-and said
Look here, mon cher Monsieur, you other
Englishmen are fond of betting. | will
bet Monsieur one hundred francs that
within the next forty-eight hours,
although he has been warned of what |
am going to do, will speak to Monsieur
four times, and for at least five minutes
each time, and on every occasion in a
different costume. If upon one of these
occasions Monsieur recognizes me then
will forfeit my one hundred francs"


AS matter of course | smiled at what
NJ. Bergnet said, believing at first he was
merely Joking, and afterward that he
was merely boasting of the faculties he
had in his own peculiar line. But he in
sisted upon holding to the bet, ana for
the purpose of pleasing him, not for any
other reason, lagreed to stake the amount
he mentioned. At the Grand Hotel we
parted, agreeing to meet the following
evening and talk over matters.


After NJ. Bergnet had left Ine, l recol-
lected that | wanted TO purchase pair of
boots, my own being somewhat heavy for
the dry climate and clean streets of Paris.
| therefore walked as far as the shop of a
shoemaker with whom | had dealt for
merly in the Rue de RivoH. 1t was get
ting late, and the assistants were com
mencing to put up the shutters. / did
not, therefore, wait to get what I wanted,
but giving the number Of my room at
the Grand Hotel, asked them to send me
half dozen pairs of boots to select from
next morning, so that | could try them
on before dressing.


The next morning, accordingly, before
| was out of bed, che of those male house
maids who do out the bedrooms of every
French hotel, knocked at my door and
told me that q person from my bother had
called with shoes and boots, as directed
the day before. jumped up, pulled on
my dressing gown, and admitted the man.
He was one of those very decidedly
French workmen that one only sees in
Paris; and wore one of those curl
Gus blue aprons coming up over
his chest that are, believe, a speciality of
the French operative shoemaker. On
coming into the room he called my at
tention TO the hour, $50, as indicated by
the time-piece on the chimney, remarking
that he believed the pendule was slow
but that the pendule in hotels never went
we'll then proceeded to try on the
L.