La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1913 Page: 6 of 8
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TRUTH ABOUT THE CASE
The Experiences of M. F. Goron, Ex-Chief
of the Paris Detective Police
Edited by Albert Keyser
A HOTEL MYSTERY
^Copyright by J. H. Upplncott Co.)
W '■rURHIKD meals, taken at lm-
possible hours, are apt to
cause dyspepsia This I
found out, and Dr Thlbaut,
■ H~ my medical adviser and
B friend, fearing 1 might not
obey his injunctions, took
the trouble to escort me to
a small watering-place in
the Dauphlne, whence, he
assured me, I should
emerge perfectly cured.
I did not at all relish the Idea of be-
coming—even for a short time—a
fashionable idler. Cut afterward I
had reason to be thankful, for the
adventure 1 met with added a curious
ohapter to my experiences.
i went to that little place a few
weeks after the execution of Eyraud,
the murderer of tho luckless Gouffe,
a most sensational crime, which for
several months kept the whole Euro-
pean press at fever heat. And, In or-
der to escape Interviewers and ko-
dak fiends, 1 decided to travel Incog-
nito, catering myself in the hotel
books as M. Guilbert; a wise precau-
tion, as 1 soon discovered.
The most Important guests In our
hotel where Count M-, a Russian, a
One-looking man of about slxty-Ove,
and his wife, a pretty woman quite
forty years his Junior. The countess,
« restless young creature, was con-
stantly organizing excursions In the
mountains, leaving her husband at
home to amuse himself.
Two days after my arrival I noticed
a newcomer at our table d'hote, Mile.
Eugenie Arco, an attractive young
woman with dark eyes and Jet-black
Imlr. Her hands were small and aris-
tocratic, and her appearance would
have been In every way refined but
for her cars. These were too large
and stood rather far from her head.
Tho girl fascinated, yet at the same
time repelled, me.
Jt had been raining all the morn-
ing, and I was In the reading-room
glancing at an Illustrated paper, when
a voice near said,
“Pardon me, monsieur, I see you are
a Russian?’
It was Mile. Arco. “No,” I replied,
“I am not.”
“I thought you were," sho contin-
ued. “because 1 saw you reading a
Russian periodical.”
"I was not rending It,” I retorted,
“I was only looking at the pictures.”
“Oh, I see!" she explnlmrd. Mat the
look she gave me said she did not bo-
Hove me.
I did not care to continue the con-
versation, nnd she soon left tho room.
From tlint moment, however, I no-
ticed sho never ceased to observe me,
and many a time when I pretended to
be asleep In one of the armchairs In
the hall her large black eyes were
fastened on me as If they were trying
to pierce iny thoughts.
1 With the officials In tho hotel Milo.
Arco was a personn grata, for, tin I Ike
most women, who in money matters
are Inclined to be niggardly, sho
tipped the waiters and chambermaids
most liberally. The manager of the
hotel and his wife had also taken a
great fancy to her, and she was al-
lways warmly welcomed hy them la
their sanctum, where she would sit
and smoke cigarette after cigarette.
! Feeling myself closely watched by
her, I returned the compliment, and
noticed that she would repair to the
office at those hours when the post
came In, and look over the clerk's
shoulder at the letters he sorted. And
then It struck me thnt no missive ever
came addressed to her, although one
afternoon, happening to pass her room
at the moment the maid opened her
door, I saw her deeply engaged in cor-
respondence, with sevcrnl letters in
front of her.
The next morning, when Mile. Arco
left the hotel 1 went out at the back,
made quickly for the post office by an-
other road, and hid myself behind the
hedge of Hn empty cottage opposite.
1 saw her enter the post office and
leave It a few minutes later. She
looked up nnd down the road, and,
nobody being In Bight, she took a let-
ter out of her pocket, opened it, and
read It eagerly.
“Bah," 1 said to myself, "you are
not clever, my girl. A child could
have seen through your game. Now
we shall have some fun.”
That same evening alter dinner rain
fell In torrents, nnd most of the guestB
were In the drawing-room. A few were
Indulging In a harmless game of
cards, two girls were at the piano
singing sentimental songs, nnd Mile.
Arco reclined In a rocking-chair, a
book In her lap. The count, a very re-
served man, with whom 1 had thus
far exchanged only a few words, was
talking to a retired naval officer who
bad spent some years In Russia.
“Yes,'' I heard the count say, “we
want n thorough change It Is a dis-
graceful stale of things. These grand
dukes-"
“Talking of Russia," I
low me to read to you something
thai Just happened In Paris."
I took a paper from my pocket, and
as 1 unfc'.ded It 1 noticed the count,
whom 1 had interrupted in the middle
ef Ms sj'e.rh, gaze at me with any-
l.i’.tt* bo; ,,lrn«ure.
" -■ . 1 read, "the police
W« >• a bonne In 'be Rue
Delambre, in tho Montparnasse quar-
ter, where, in a bedroom on the fifth
floor, they found the body of a young
woman stabbed to the heart On a
piece of paper pinned to her dress the
following lines wero scribbled In pen-
cil:
"Thla woman, a wretched spy In the em-
ploy of the Russlun police, bus for a long
time past watched young men and girls
studying at the Paris universities. Two
girls who recently returned to Russia
were, on that woman's Information, arr
rested at the frontier, and l«v« not been
heard of since. There are. we know, oth-
er female spies now carrying on their ne-
farious work In some of the French wa-
tering places, and their turn will soon
come.
"The police are Investigating the affair,
which has created a tremendous sensation
among the Russian students here."
Thor® was a moment’s alienee when
1 hod finished, and then two or three
of the guests remarked that it was a
terrible business. The count remained
silent. He soon after went to bed,
and I followed bis example.
The next morning after breakfast I
sat outside the hotel smoking my
cigarette. The guests were at the
springs or strolling about, while the
countess had gone on one of her usual
peregrinations. Toward two the count
appeared, and, passing me, gave me
one of his formal nods. I went up to
him.
"Pardon me,” I said; "I owe you an
apology for interrupting you some-
what rudely last night; but I took the
liberty of stopping you from launching
Into what Iookod very much like a
diatribe against the Russian authori-
ties. You were apparently not aware
that a political spy was sitting within
a yard of you."
“A spy!" he gasped.
"Yes, a spy, in the person of that
good-looking girl, Mile. Eugenie Arco.
So, now, you will perhaps accept my
apology.”
“M. Gulbert,” ho laughed, “I don’t
know whether to challenge you to
fight or to ask you to do mo the
honor to lunch with me today."
"There Is no necessity for either,"
i replied. "I am only too happy to
have rendered you a slight service.”
"How did you know she was a spy?”
he asked. "Have you any proof?"
"No, only strong suspicion. But we
shall now have proofs.”
The head waiter was standing at
the door.
"I have not seen Mile. Arco this
morning,” I called out to him. "I hope
r.ho Is not 111."
"SU6 has gone away," the man re-
plied. “She loft early this morning."
The count looked puzzled. We
walked a little way down the road,
and then I said:
“I had my doubts about that girl
from the start; she Is a bungler, a
novice In the business. Fancy her
suspecting me, a native of Brittany, of
being a Russian Nihilist! Political
spying Is dirty work; l«it If you do It
you must do It well or It becomes dan-
gerous, especially to the spy. And
that la why I tried to knock the fear
Into that young creature by reading
out that paragraph last night."
“Yes, about those unfortunate girls.
Poor things!”
"Reserve your pity for another oc-
casion, count. I Invented that story."
"M. Gulbert!" he cried, ’’I compli-
ment you on your perspicacity. May
I ask what your profession is?"
"I am a commission agent"
‘‘Well,’’ he laughed, “you would have
mado a fine detective.”
"You are very kind. But for every-
body's sake It will be well not to men-
tion this nfTalr.”
The count nodded assent.
After the spy Incident the count be-
came very friendly and talked freely
to me on many subjects.
The countess undoubtedly neglected
her husband.
Visitors kept pouring In. many of
them members of the so-called "smart
set." I did not like the appearance of
several of the newcomers, and I was
glad my cure was drawing to an end.
Then a remarkable Incident occurred.
The countess had gone on one of
her excursions with her male and fe-
male followers, tho organizer of the
party, as usual, being Rene Soudler.
Bright, witty, excelling In all sports,
Sotid’-r was adored by the women and
popular with the men, except with the
count. Tho latter disliked him cor
dlally, and rarely or never spoke to
him.
The party had left after luncheon,
and wns not expected back before 7
o’clock. At three lr. tho afternoon, as
I returned from a walk, I saw the
count walking up and down in front
of the hotel. Something evidently had
gone wrong. Tho moment he saw me
he gripped my arm and led me to a
secluded spot In the garden.
"M. Gulbert," he began In an ex-
cited tone which ho tried hard to con-
trol; “M. Gulbert, you proved yourself
very shrewd when you dealt with that
cut In, "a|- j Russian girl. Allow me to appJy to
you for advice. My wlfe’B pearl neck-
lace has been stolen. Do you mind
accompanying me upstairs?”
The npsrtfnonts the count occupied
In the hotel consisted of n drawing-
room. hts and his wife’s bedroom, and
their two dressing-rooms Mnrfs. the
countess* ti.aid slept at the ertd ef the
tlfcj !imt floor Tho eootft
went straight to his wife’s dressing-
room.
“Look at that!” be exclaimed, point-
ing to a dressing bag on the floor, its
lock forced open, and many of the
things it had contained scattered
around.
"The countess,” he contlnueud,
"kept her Jewelry locked in that The
thief or thieves must have sneaked in
after she left. What do you advise
me to do?"
”1 think you bad better wait for
the countess’ return before taking any
steps; she will not be long. In the
meantime you might question the
maid.”
But Marfa had obtained her mis-
tress’ permission to go for a donkey-
ride to the monastery a few miles dis-
tant. So we waited till she came In.
When the count told her of the rob-
bery she looked thunderstruck.
"I swear," she cried, ‘‘that when
madame went out the bag was safely
locked. I did not go into her room
after she left.”
A loud noise down-stairs announced
the cavalcade bad returned from their
excursion. The countess entered the
hotel and her husband went quickly
up te her. I strolled down the road
leading to the station, when a car-
riage drove up and a man Jumped out,
shouting:
“Goron, Goron! How are you, old
chap?"
It was Dr. Thlbaut.
“Hold your tongue, you stupid!" I
said. "What do you mean by bawling
out my name? Have you forgotten
that I am M. Gulbert? I hope the
driver has not heard you."
“That’s all right,” he rejoined; “he's
as deaf as a post. I have taken a
week’s holiday. I want to .spend it
with you here, after which we will re-
turn to Paris together. What do you
say to this arrangement?”
"You have come at a good moment,”
I remarked; "there Is plenty of excite-
ment at the hotel;" and I related to
him the story of the robbery.
His eyes sparkled with delight
"That will be glorious sport to wit-
ness," he laughed.
"For you, perhaps, you heartless
knock at my door To my surprise
j the count entered.
"Pardon my intruding upon you," he
sighed. ”1 am very much annoyed.
[ This police commissary is not m&k-
| Ing any headway. He clings to the
! Idea that the maid committed the
deed, or that she Is an accomplice;
and be tblnkB he Is on the right trail.
M. Gulbert, I must discover the cul-
prit, and am willing to offer a reward
that may tempt any one to help me In
iny search. The hotel proprietor sug-
gested me writing to M. Goron, asking
him to come to our assistance, as
these local detectives seem unable to
; clear up the mystery."
“It is useless to write to M. Goron."
I replied. "Remember that this Is be-
! yond his sphere of action; and that
with the work on his hands in Paris
I you cannot expect him to attend to
j crimes committed in the provinces.”
"I dare say you are right," groaned
l the old gentleman, "besides-”
He stopped, and moved uneasily in
his chair.
“M. Gulbert.” he burst out rather
suddenly, “I repeat, I am particularly
anxious to lay my hands on the rob-
ber. Yet. at the same time, I dread
disclosures that might—that might—
possibly cause annoyance to tbe
countess. My wife Is young, very
young, and Inexperienced; and only
too Inclined to give her friendship to
people of whom she knows very lit-
tle. Look at that noisy crowd who fol-
low her on her long rides or drives.
Who are they? She made their ac-
quaintance only since we came here.
Some of the women of that Bet are as
bad as the men. There La that Sou-
dler always dangling after her. What
is he? Who is he? Can one find
that out? I have my reasons for ask-
ing you thla”
”1 do not know the man any more
than you do, but It will be easy to
find out all about him through my
Paris friends.”
“Please, M. Gulbert, do this for me,
I shall be deeply grateful."
“Frankly, do you think of him In
connection with the robbery?”
"I suspect that whole fast gang, and
feel certain one of them Is the thief
ber husband says, I gather she is con-
vinced that a stranger to the place
committed the deed.”
“I have a theory," said Thlbaut,
"that the countess knows the thief,
whom she does not want to compro-
mise because-”
"Because she loves him?”
"Yes.
“These things do occur."
“What about tbe man with the
shaven upper lip? I have not seen
him within the last few days,"
"No; but I have."
Thlbaut gazed at me Intently for a
few momenta
“Goron," he cried eagerly, “you’ve
discovered sofnethlng. You have a
clua What is It?”
“My dear Thlbaut, you have half-
guessed the truth. Yea 1 scent s
* mystery, and I wish to clear it up;
but not from professional pride. It Is
from a sense of duty, for, unless I step
In, I foresee a disaster."
"Is It as serious as that?"
"It may become so. That Is what
I want to avoid."
"Can I help you?”
“Yea by not asking me any ques-
tions, even when I absent myself. Un-
derstand me well, Thlbaut. I must
remain M. Gulbert to the end. No-
body, including M. Julien, must know
I am Goron. An indiscreet word from
you would defeat all my plana”
"You can rely on me.”
"I know I can. When, aa I hope, I
shall have brought my task to a satis-
factory ending you shall know all the
details of the case. This much I will
tell you. The necklace has mysteri-
ously disappeared; I shall try to have
it spirited bock in the same mysteri-
ous way.”
A week after tho foregoing conver-
sation a cab drove up at the door of
the hotel. Thlbaut's and my luggage
was hoisted on tbe top; and we shook
hands with some of the guests, includ-
ing the count, who witnessed our de-
parture for Paris.
Half-way to the station we met the
countess on her bicycle, some 60 yards
ahead of her party.
“Bon voyage, M. Gulbert!” she
shouted, her face beaming with Joy,
The poor lady sat motionless Her very Ups turned white.
man, but not for the count and
countess."
Having dressed for dinner, we found
the guests in the hall eagerly discus-
fling the affair, trying to extract par-
ticulars from the waiters and cham-
bermaids. All at once there was a
hush, for the door of the manager's
room opened, and out came the count
and his wife followed by a stout, red-
faced, short man with gray whtskers.
"That’s M. Julien, the police com-
missary," some one said behind me.
"I wonder,’’ whispered Thlbaut,
"how that M. Julien will set to work?"
"8o do I. With your permission,
however, I shall remain In the back-
ground. M. Julien, fortunately, does
not know me, but one of bis subordi-
nates might; nnd I do not want to de-
part from my position of spectator.
This Is M. Jullen’s domain. I also see
new faces. I^ook at that close-shaven
youth with tho flower In his button-
hole. Do you notice anything particu-
lar about him?"
"No, I don’t.”
"Look again.”
"I see nothing except that he gives
me the Impression of being a cad."
“Watch his mouth."
"Well, he seems to want with bis
teeth to catch something on hl« upper
Up."
"Yes. his moustache. It must have
been there quite recently, and he is
not yet accustomed to Its absence."
"It seems strange."
"This may not be or any Import-
ance, but If 1 were M. Julien I should
take note of It”
For two days I heard no news about
the robbery, and was wondering how
things were progressing, when I wa*
aroused in 'he morning by a loud
I hinted at thjs to M. Julien. but he
apparently thinks that well-dressed
ladies and gentlemen cannot commit
crimes."
The next morning we heard that M.
Julien was looking for a man, a wait-
er, discharged from the hotel for dis-
honesty,, who, on the afternoon of the
robbery, had been seen loitering near
the house. He had since disappeared;
and, as he had been on friendly terms
with Marfa, M. Julien would certainly
have arrested 'the girl If the countesB
had not Interposed and vouched for
her Innocence.
In accordance with my promise to
the count I had written to Paris, and
the reply I received concerning Sou-
dler was:
"Heavily in debt Loose morals.
Raises money wherever he can.”
When I communicated this to the
count his eyes lit up with a cruel Are.
“This confirms my suspicions, M.
Gulbert. Remember my words—Sou-
dler Is the thlof."
Thlbaut was waiting for me down-
stairs.
"Affairs Beem at a standstill," he
remarked to me.
"Very much so. M. Julien ia ob-
stinate. He keeps a close watch on
Marfa, and in the meantime he Is
searching for a poor devil of a waiter.
The count Is jealous, and would. If he
could, at once clap tbe handcuffs on
the fascinating Soudler. The guests
eye one another suspiciously, and so
do the hotel officials. What a ghastly
mess they are making of this busi-
ness!"
"And tbe countessT You don’t
mention her. What does she say?”
“1 have not exchanged a word with
her on 'he matter. But from what
and threw a rose into our carriage. I
placed it in my buttonhole and gave
a sigh of relief.
“I suppose that sigh has something
to do with the case,” said my ob-
servant friend.
We had the compartment to our-
selves. and the train was scarcely out
of tho station when Thlbaut called
out:
“And now please tell me all that oc-
curred. You, too, must be nnxlous to
unbosom yourself,” he added with a
mischievous smile.
“Oh, I shall conceal nothing. But,
although I did not act In an official
capacity, the story Is of a delicate na-
ture and I must request you not to di-
vulge It.”
“I give you my word."
"It Is a strange business, and was
even deeper than I conjectured. The
first thing that struck me as odd,
when the count took me to his wife's
dressing-room, was that forced lock of
the dressing-bag; I wondered who the
lunatic thief could be who lost pre-
cious time over that lock, when, with
an ordinary penknife, he could have
cut the leather In less than a minute.
"You will, however, understand my
difficulty, not having had charge of
the case, and not having been—like
the police commissary—able to Inves-
tigate closely and question those like-
ly to throw light upon the matter. I
had to be guided partly by reasoning,
partly by Intuition; and the Inferences
I drew were that the necklace had not
been stolen, and that either the count
or the countess—posafbly both—had
reasons for spreading that story of tbe
robbery.
"I assure you I never for an Instant
suspected Scudler; snd the count’s
hatred of him and bis desire to sad-
dle him with the robbery rather told
against tbe former, and gave rise to
ugly presumptions. I am, however, aa
you know, a pretty good reader of
character, and I did not believe tbe
count capable of a vlllany. There re-
mained tbe counteBS, with whom dur-
ing my stay at the hotel I bad not ex-
changed half a dozen words Do you
remember my three days' absence?"
“Yes; I guessed you bad gone to
Paris."
"You guessed right. I arrived there
in the early morning, and two hours
later I knew that the countess' father,
a broken-down absinthe-drinker, was
clerk to a money-changer and money-
lender In the Boulevard St. Martin,
who was once seriously compromised
In a case of stolen bonds. I took a
cab, and slowly drove past the place,
when I saw our friend with tbe shav-
en upper lip emerge from tbe office, a
small traveling-bag In his hand, and
Jump on a ’bus. His name, I was told
at the hotel, is Bhllu. I did not hesi-
tate a second. I had seen through the
window that the principal’s private
room at the back was empty, and that
in the office were only a young man
behind a desk and a girl at a type-
writer. I went in and asked for M.
S.-, the countess’ father.
“ ’He has left us,’ said the clerk.
"Returning to the station, I saw
Ballu on the platform, and, unseen by
him, we both arrived at the hotel at
the same time.
"I had already noticed that although
Ballu and the countess never ex-
changed a word when others were
present, their eyes often met, and
when on the night of m> return we
sat down at the table d’hote a hardly
perceptible sign passed between them.
Keeping them both well in sight, I
saw Iiallu at 9 o'clock stroll toward
the end of the garden. He disappeared
In the darkness, but I felt sure he
had gone to the little summer-house
facing the tennlB-lawn.
"I soon arrived at the back of the
little wooden structure, and felt re-
lieved when I heard some one move
inside. Half an hour later there came
a light step. It was the countess.
Their conversation, carried on in
whispers, did not last many minutes.
Ballu’s voice sounded hard, almost
threatening, while that of the countess
was imploring. Although I could not
catch every word they said, I heard
quite enough to be able to reconstruct
the whole case. The moment to act
had arrived.
“The following morning as the
countess crossed the hall I walked up
to her and said:
” ‘Please go to the library. I want
to speak to you at once.'
"She gave me a look of surprise and
fear, and entered the room.
“ ’Madame,’ I said, ‘to you and you
alone I will divulge who I am. I am
M. Goron, chief of the Paris detective
force. My object is to help you. I
know your father has appropriated—
or is accused of having done so—•
money belonging to his employer, M.
H-, I know you wanted to save
him, and, not having the ready cash,
you handed to M. H-, through his
understudy, M. Ballu, your pearl neck-
lace as security. In order to do this
you have—probably at this man’s sug-
gestion—made It appear you had been
robbed. M. H-, being afraid to dis-
pose of the pearls, Is now pressing you
to redeem them, and for a larger sum
than your father owes him. Am I
right?”
“The poor lady sat motionless. Her
very lips had turned white.
“ ‘Fear nothing,’ I continued; ‘I am
here to save you. But you must prom-
ise to follow my Instructions Implicit-
ly. Will your
“ ‘Yes,’ she whispered.
“ ‘Very well. Can you Invent a rea-
son that will satisfy your husband
why you should go to Paris, return-
ing the following day?*
“She nodded.
“ ‘Then leave tomorrow early by the
express, having first wired to M.
H- to make an appointment at his
office. Go there straight.-.Jell him
you have seen me—lettln^fthim, of
course, think I am In Paris—and that
you have come to me for advice. Ex-
plain that you know from me that his
■attitude toward you places him in a
serious position, from which he can
extricate himself in one way only.
Having agreed to let you refund him
tho money due to him hy your father
—always supposing that story to be
true—he must at once return you the
necklace, on your promise to pay him
a fixed sum on account every month.
You can manage that, can you not?*
“‘Yes, M. Goron,’ she said, putting
her hand on mine, ‘I will.’
"‘Hush! Don’t pronounce my name.
Should that fellow H- make any
fuss, you can tell him he will soon
hear from me,"
“She went, and returned the follow-
ing evening. I purposely stood at the
door as she passed out of the dining-
room, when she slipped a note into
my hand. Here it is:
■■ ’H- accept*. Promises to return
thing tomorrow by B-. Qod bless you.'
“Before we left I had the satisfac-
tion of knowing that Ballu had re-
turned the necklace, and that It was
once more in her possession.’’*
“When she threw that rose?"
“Yea."
"And the count? How will his wife
explain the reappearance of the neck-
lace?"
“She will manage that. Women hav#
inventive brains.’*
“And the great Julien?"
“Ah! The great Julien will, till the
end of his days, believe It was Marfa
who stole and returned the pearls;
while the count will think the same
thing of 8oudh»r. But Julien cannot
now arrest Innocent people In connec-
tion with that case. And It was tha$,
my dear Thlbaut, I wanted to avoid.’*
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La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1913, newspaper, January 23, 1913; La Grange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth998119/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives.