CHAPTER XVII.
A NEW YEAR'S DINNER PARTY.
The 1st of January arrived, and Mr. Mitchel had heard nothing from Mr.Barnes. Inquiry at his office was met by the simple statement, that "Thechief is out of town." When he would be back, or where a communicationwould reach him, could not be learned. A few days before, however, aformal engraved invitation to the dinner party had been mailed to hishome address. Mr. Mitchel was annoyed at not having any notification ofwhether or not the detective would be present. However, he was compelledto go ahead, and depend upon the slight chance that at the last momenthe would appear upon the scene. He hoped that this would occur, asotherwise, his scheme for the evening would be incomplete.
The dinner was to be served at ten o'clock that night at Delmonico's,where a private room had been engaged. It lacked ten minutes of the hourfor sitting down, and all the guests had arrived, except Mr. Barnes.These were: Mr. Van Rawlston, Mr. Randolph, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Neuilly, whohad decided to spend the winter in New York, Mr. Thauret, and severalother gentlemen.
It lacked barely half a minute of ten when Mr. Barnes was announced,and entered in handsome evening dress. Mr. Mitchel's face wore a look oftriumph as he saw him, and he hurried forward to receive him. Every onepresent understood why the detective was invited, for it was by thistime well known that a wager was to be decided at twelve o'clock. Afterthe exchange of greetings, Mr. Mitchel gave the waiters the order toopen the doors of the dining-room, and in the moment's interval managedto get a word with the detective.
"Tell me quickly, have you succeeded?"
"Yes, thoroughly."
"Good! Write the man's name on a card, and I will give you one uponwhich I have written the name of my man."
Mr. Barnes did so. Then they exchanged cards, glanced at them, andgrasped each other's hands significantly. The cards bore the same name.With the others they went into the dining-room. Mr. Thauret foundhimself seated next to Mr. Barnes, whilst on the other side of thedetective sat Mr. Fisher.
It need scarcely be said that the dinner was enjoyable and enjoyed,though it must be admitted that all awaited anxiously the hour oftwelve. It will be as well perhaps, therefore, to come immediately tothe _denouement_, for which all were assembled. The last course had beenserved, and coffee and nuts were on the table, when the clock chimed thehour for which all were anxious. Promptly at the first stroke Mr.Mitchel arose. There was a silence till twelve was tolled and then hebegan:
"Gentlemen, you have all kindly accepted my invitation to see me win arash wager made thirteen months ago. It is odd, perhaps, that I shouldhave won--for I announce that I have won--when we remember that the timewas thirteen months, which number, as we all know, superstitious personsare inclined to connect with misfortune. To show, however, that I do notharbor such childish ideas, I purposely made the time of that length,and, to-night, at the decisive moment, we are thirteen." Here he pauseda moment, and one might have noticed that several persons quicklycounted those present to test the fact. Continuing, he said: "Thesuperstition in connection with thirteen at dinner is a well-definedone, and the supposition is that one of the number will die within theyear. I offer as a toast, therefore, 'Long life to all present--whodeserve it.'" The last clause after a slight hesitation, made a decidedeffect. However, the toast was drunk in silence.
"As some present may not entirely understand what my wager was, I mustexplain that thirteen months ago to-night I was in a Pullman sleeperwith my friend, Mr. Randolph. Mr. Barnes here had just accomplished aneat capture of the criminal Pettingill, who has since been convicted.The papers were praising him, and Mr. Randolph did so to me in glowingterms. I ventured the assertion that detectives run down their preylargely because the criminal class lack intelligence sufficient tocompete with their more skilled adversaries. I offered to wager that Icould commit a crime within a month and not be detected within a yearthereafter. The amount was to be a thousand dollars, and was accepted byMr. Randolph. I stipulated for conviction, though had I been arrestedwithin the stated period and convicted afterwards, I should haveconsidered that I had lost the wager. That is why I awaited the arrivalof Mr. Barnes so anxiously. I had not seen him for some time, and it waspossible that at the last moment he might be prepared to arrest me uponevidence that would later convict me. However, gentlemen, I have escapedboth arrest and conviction, yet I committed the crime as wagered."
"You must prove that," said Mr. Randolph; "and, according to ouragreement, it must have been a crime which was much talked about!"
"Quite right, my friend, but I shall be able to demonstrate all that. Bya curious coincidence a robbery was committed on the very night and uponthe same train upon which we made our wager, whilst another robbery wascommitted almost at the moment when the stipulated month expired. Thustwo crimes transpired within the time allowed me, and with both of thesemy name has been connected in the mind of the detective, Mr. Barnes.Now, that you all may better understand the circumstances, I must go towhat I might call the beginning. Years ago certain circumstances in myearlier life gave me an intimate acquaintance with the methods used bydetectives, and I then acquired the idea which led me into thisundertaking,--that where the criminal has succeeded in escaping actualwatching during the commission of his crime, so that there is nowitness to the act, the detective is almost powerless until he learnsthe object for which the crime was undertaken. Am I not right, Mr.Barnes?"
"To know the object of a crime, of course, is a great assistance, butmuch would depend upon the attendant circumstances."
"True. The object then is important. From this point I reached theconclusion that if a man approached another, totally unknown to him, atnight in a lonely neighborhood, struck him on the head, killing him, andthen, unseen, reached his own home, it would rest entirely with himselfwhether or not he would ever be caught. I wanted a chance to try thisexperiment; that is, to commit a crime solely to test the ability of thedetectives to discover me afterwards. The difficulty was that agentleman of honor would scarcely wish to engage in such a reprehensiblepiece of business. For years, therefore, I could think of no way to havemy wish, till the merest chance threw the opportunity within my grasp.Waiter, fill up the glasses."
He paused a moment while this was being done. The men went around withchampagne, and when Mr. Thauret was reached he asked to have hisBurgundy glass filled also. Mr. Mitchel was again speaking when thewaiter returned with the red wine, and did as requested. Mr. Barnes alsopresented his glass for the same liquor, saying in an undertone to Mr.Thauret, "I cannot take too much champagne."
"One of my hobbies," continued Mr. Mitchel, "as you all know, is thecollection of jewels. A few years ago I heard that a magnificent setwas offered for sale. A rich East Indian nobleman, so the story goes,had procured the gems as a present to his wife. They were of thechoicest quality, and of each exactly two, matched precisely in size,cutting, and coloration. In time he had two daughters, twins, the motherdying at their birth. Eventually these girls grew up and were married,the ceremony being a double wedding. The father took the set of jewelsand divided them, giving to each girl, one of each. This greatlydiminished their value, for the matching of gems adds to their price.Reverses of fortune tempted one of these women to offer her jewels forsale. They were taken to a Paris dealer, who chanced to be a man throughwhom I had made many purchases. He undertook not only to dispose of thegems, but to reproduce them with a high order of imitation, so that thewoman retained the original settings and continued to wear what herfriends supposed to be the genuine gems. I bought the unset stones.Subsequently her sister, learning the secret, and seeing that there wasa way by which the jewelry could be retained, whilst the jewelsthemselves could be turned into money, engaged the same dealer to serveher in a similar way. Of course, I was doubly anxious to obtain thissecond lot, for by doing so I enhanced the values of those which I hadalready. I therefore bought them also."
He paused a moment, to allow the company to recover from the surprise atlearning that the stolen jewels were his.
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"This lot was sent to me through the Boston custom-house. I instructedthe dealer to do this, because I had found that goods can be receivedwith less delay in Boston than in New York. Being notified by my brokerthere that they were ready for delivery, I went to Boston and obtainedthem. I placed the wallet in a peculiar satchel which had been made toorder for me, and carried it to my room at the Hotel Vendome. Later inthe day, I met Mr. Randolph, and went with him to a theatre. He was toreturn to New York by the midnight express, and I went with him to thedepot. As we stood awaiting our turn to purchase tickets, you mayimagine my utter astonishment to see a woman pass and board the train,having my satchel in her hand. There could be no mistake whatever,because the satchel was peculiar, both in shape and color. Of course Isaw at once I had been robbed. It was useless to go back to my hotel,for that would be time wasted. If by any miracle there were two suchsatchels, mine was safe in the hotel. I therefore astonished Mr.Randolph by offering to accompany him, and I did so, occupying the samesection with him. Whilst I was thinking what action I should pursue,knowing that once the train started my thief would be safe as far as NewHaven, Mr. Randolph began to praise Mr. Barnes, and like a flash it cameto me that this was my chance. I would rob the thief of my own property.Thus if caught I could not be imprisoned, whilst if not I would not onlywin my wager, but I would have the excitement and the satisfaction forwhich I had wished. One thing threatened to upset my plans. Mr. Barnesby an odd chance came aboard the same coach, was given the section nextto ours, and overheard our conversation. This of course I could not havecounted upon."
"You did take it into your account though," interrupted Mr. Barnes.
"You mean that I refused to tell Mr. Randolph what I meant to do, sayingthat I might be overheard, and that I might even be talking for thebenefit of a listening detective? True, but I had no idea that this wasso. It was merely extreme precaution, and only shows that we can neverbe too cautious in an endeavor to keep a secret. Later, however, I heardyou get up, and peeping through the curtains, I saw you sitting up, orrather lying in a berth opposite, with the curtains drawn. I at oncesupposed that you must be a detective. My companion was soon asleep, butwith a hundred thousand dollars worth of jewels in the balance, I couldnot sleep. I was busy wondering what I should do. I think though that Imust have dozed, for I know that I was startled to discover suddenlythat we were not moving. I looked out of our section window--fortunatelyI was next to it--and found that we had run into the depot at New Haven.Like a flash it came to me that the thief might leave the train here. Iwas about to get up, when to my astonishment I noticed a man sneakingalong by the side of the train. I was on the side opposite to that fromwhich the passengers would alight, and the suspicious actions of the manforced me to watch him. He passed so close to me that I could havetouched him had my window been open, and as he did so the light of anelectric lamp disclosed the fact that he had my satchel. The thief hadbeen robbed already. The man approached a coal-bin, and stooping, shovedthe satchel behind it. Then he returned to the train and came aboard. Isaid to myself 'That fellow is an artist. He will remain on board tillthe robbery is discovered, if necessary, and even allow himself to besearched. Then he will quietly come back and get the satchel andjewels.' Thus it was my cue to act quickly. But if I left the train Iknew that the detective would see me. I therefore gently raised thesash, and deftly let myself to the ground out of the window. I quicklytook the satchel, ran to the end of the depot, and found a place where Icould shove it far under the platform. Then I climbed back into theberth, and after that I assure you I slept very well."
The company applauded this description of how the robbery had beencommitted, and Mr. Mitchel bowed.
"Wait, my friends, we are not through yet. The woman who had robbed mehad the supreme audacity to report her loss, or perhaps we should say,that she was so angry that she became desperate. I have reason tobelieve that she had an accomplice in this man, and that suspecting himof robbing her, she would have been willing to give testimony againsthim if caught, and trust to escape herself, by turning State's evidence.When we were running in to New York, Mr. Barnes directed that all shouldbe searched. I enjoyed that, I assure you. It seemed so amusing to lookin New York for what I knew was in New Haven. At the same time I wasanxious to get back to New Haven as quickly as possible. With that endin view I invited Mr. Barnes to breakfast with me. I tried to make itappear that I was anxious to have him agree to be the only detective onmy track, but in reality I wished to discover whether he would be ableat once to place a spy at my heels; that is, whether he had a man at theGrand Central already. This I found was the case. I therefore wasobliged to go to my hotel as though having no desire to leave townagain. Then, subsequently, I eluded this man by the convenient bridgesacross the Elevated railroad. I went to New Haven, found the satchel,and then deposited it at a hotel nearby for safe keeping. My object inthis was plain. I knew that the robbery would get into the newspapers,and that by behaving suspiciously at the hotel,--of course I wasdisguised,--attention would be attracted there. This did happen, and theresult was that the jewels were given into the custody of the policeauthorities, the very safest place for them, so far as I was concerned.Gentlemen, that is the story of the crime which I committed. I have onlyto show my receipt from the Boston custom-house, and my bill-of-salefrom the Paris dealer to be able to recover my property. Are yousatisfied, Mr. Randolph?"
"Entirely. You have won fairly, and I have a check for the amount withme, which you must accept with my congratulations upon your success."
"I thank you very much," said Mr. Mitchel, taking the check; "I takethis because I have immediate use for it, as you will learn directly.Now I must tell you the true story of the other robbery."
At this all were very much astonished. Mr. Thauret appeared a triflenervous. He placed one hand over the top of his claret glass, and let itrest there a moment, after first having taken a sip from it.
"You all recall the fact that I was sick in Philadelphia," continued Mr.Mitchel, "at the time of the Ali Baba festival. I flatter myself thatthat was the most artistic thing that I have done throughout this wholeaffair. Any one seeing me would have been satisfied that I was trulyill, yet, in point of fact, my cough was brought on by drugsadministered to me by my physician at my express desire, and forpurposes which I had explained to him. I guessed that I had beenfollowed to Philadelphia, and took care that I should not be too closelywatched, as Mr. Barnes knows. Yet I expected that after the affair, Mr.Barnes himself would come to Philadelphia to see me, and myartificially-produced illness was to baffle him. But I am anticipatingevents. After the train robbery the woman was murdered. By what seemedan odd chance she was in the same house where my wife then lived. I knewthat I had been followed from the theatre to that house on the night ofthe murder. I knew that other circumstances pointed strongly to myguilt. But I had the advantage over the detective, for I knew that theman who had stolen the jewels from the woman, not finding them when hereturned to New Haven, must have been furious. Judging the woman byhimself, he would suppose that at least it was possible that she hadtaken them from the satchel herself. Then on that slim chance might henot have returned to the woman, and, admitting the theft of the satchel,have endeavored to make her confess that she still had the jewels?Failing in this, might he not either in a fit of anger or to prevent herfrom 'peaching,' as they call it, have cut her throat?"
"You are wrong there, Mr. Mitchel," said the detective. "The woman waskilled whilst she slept. There was no struggle."
"Even so, we can imagine the sneak going into the house and killing herthat he might search for the gems undisturbed, and also to rid himselfof a companion for whom he no longer had any need. At least, that wasthe view that I took of it, and, more than that, I felt convinced that Iknew the man."
At this moment, Mr. Thauret nervously reached forth his hand towards hisglass of wine, but before he could get it Mr. Barnes had taken it up anddrained it to the bottom. Mr. Thauret seemed livid with wrath, and adramatic
incident occurred, unobserved by the rest of the company. Mr.Thauret turned towards Mr. Barnes and seemed on the point of making ademonstration, when that gentleman just tipped back his chair slightly,and meaningly exposed to the view of his neighbor the gleaming barrel ofa revolver, which he held in his hand below the table. This onlyoccupied a moment, and immediately afterwards both men seemed, like theothers, simply interested listeners to the narrative.
"When I say that I thought that I knew the man," continued Mr. Mitchel,"I make a statement which it may interest you to have me explain. In thefirst place, I saw the fellow who hid the satchel at the New Havendepot. Still I obtained but a momentary glimpse of his face, and wouldnot have been sure of identifying him. I will call your attention now tothe fact that very slight incidents sometimes lead the mind into asuspicion, which, followed up, may elucidate a mystery. Prior to thetrain robbery I had met a man at my club one night, or rather I had seenhim playing a card game, and I conceived the notion that the fellow wascheating. Within a few days of the robbery I met this man again, onwhich occasion Mr. Barnes was present, and an interesting conversationoccurred. I was standing aside, pretending to be otherwise engaged, butreally puzzling over the face of this man, which now seemed to mestrikingly familiar. Of course I had seen him at the club, yet despiteme, there was an intuitive feeling that I had seen him elsewhere also.In a moment I heard him admit that he had been aboard of the train onthe night of the robbery, and that he had been the first one searched.Awhile later he offered to wager Mr. Barnes that various theories whichhad been advanced as to the thief's method of secreting the jewels, wereall erroneous. This one remark satisfied me that the thief stood beforeme. I had not then heard of the murder. Now it must be remembered that Iwas ensnared in the meshes of circumstantial evidence myself, so that,besides any duty that I might owe to society, it became of vitalimportance to my own safety that I should be in a position to prove thisman guilty. I formed a rather bold plan. I made a friend of the fellow.I invited him to my room one night, and then accused him of havingcheated at the card game. He at first assumed a threatening attitude,but I retained my composure, and perhaps startled him by proposing toform a partnership by which we could fleece the rich club men. I hintedto him that I really possessed less money than I am credited with, andthat what I did have I had taken at the tables on the Continent. He thenadmitted that he had a 'system,' and from that time we posed as goodfriends, though I do not think he ever fully trusted me. I learned fromhim that his partner in the game where I caught him cheating wasentirely innocent, and made him promise not to play with him again, forI had discovered that the detectives had been told of this game, andtherefore knew that they would be watching both men when playing cards.I preferred to be the partner myself upon such occasions. Havingsomewhat won the fellow's confidence, I was ready for my great scheme inbaffling the detective so that I might win my wager, and at the sametime entrap my suspect. I had conceived the Ali Baba festival. I showedMr. Barnes one day the ruby which I afterwards presented to my wife. Atthe same time I told him, that if he should come to the conclusion thatI was innocent of the train robbery, he might as well remember that Iwould still have to commit the crime as agreed upon. Then I arrangedthat the festival should occur on New Year's night, the very day onwhich my month would expire. I knew that all this would lead thedetective to believe that I meant to rob my _fiancee_, a crime for whichI might readily have escaped punishment, with her assistance. There hemisjudged me. I would not for treble the sum have had her name mixed upin such a transaction. She knew absolutely nothing of my intentions,though being at that time in ignorance of the details of the trainrobbery, I left her mind in a condition not to offer resistance to thethief, who she might suppose to be myself. Then, after laying my trap,at the last moment, I baited it by asking my _fiancee_ to wear the rubypin in her hair. I went to Philadelphia, and feigned sickness. Then Ieluded the spy and came on myself. Mr. Barnes I supposed would bepresent, and I had arranged so that if so, he would necessarily be inone of the dominos of the forty thieves. I had invited my suspect toassume the role of Ali Baba, but he shrewdly persuaded some one else totake the costume, himself donning one of the Forty Thieves' dresses.This compelled me to go around speaking to every one so disguised, andto my satisfaction, by their voices, I discovered my man and also Mr.Barnes. In the final tableau, Mr. Barnes, who evidently was watching AliBaba, attempted to get near him, and by chance was immediately behind myman. Fearing that he would interfere with my plans, I fell in justbehind him. My design was to tempt the fellow to steal the ruby, which,if he did, would satisfy at least myself that my suspicions werecorrect. It was, perhaps, a mad scheme, but it succeeded. I had soarranged that every one should pass the Sultan and make obeisance. Indoing this, as my _fiancee_ was seated on the floor, the ruby in herhair would be just at hand, and one who knew its high value could easilytake it. I fully expected my man to do this, and I saw him gentlywithdraw it. Immediately Mr. Barnes stepped forward to seize him, but Iheld the detective from behind, then threw him into the advancing crowd,and, in the confusion, escaped from the house."
Mr. Mitchel paused, and silence prevailed. All felt, rather than knew,that a tragedy might be at hand. Mr. Thauret however, in a moment said:
"Are you not going to tell us the name of this sneak thief?"
"No," quickly responded Mr. Mitchel. "But you are wrong to call mysuspect a sneak thief. If crime were a recognized business, as gamblingin Wall Street is now considered, this man would be counted 'a boldoperator.' I confess that I admire him for his courage. But it wouldscarcely do for me to mention his name, when I am not in the position toprove that he is the guilty man."
"I thought you said that you saw him steal the ruby?" said Mr. Thauret.
"I did, but as I myself had been suspected of that, my unsupported wordwould be inadequate. Let me tell you what I have done in the mattersince. The most important step for me, perhaps, was to prevent the saleof the gem. This was not difficult, as it is known the world over. Iwarned all dealers, and let my man know that I had done so. Next, Iwished to delay a _denouement_ until to-night, the time when my wagerwith Mr. Randolph would be settled. I soon discovered that my suspectwould not be averse to a marriage with a rich American girl. Hequestioned me adroitly as to the fortune which would come to my littlesister-in-law, and I replied in such a way that I knew he would bend hisenergies in that direction. Then I did that, which, perhaps, I shouldnot have done, but I felt myself master of the situation and able tocontrol events. I made a wager with Dora that she would not remainunengaged until to-night, and I stipulated that should she have offersshe should neither accept nor reject a suitor. I also told her, though Ideclined to fully explain how, that she would materially assist me inwinning my wager."
This explains what Dora meant when she asked Mr. Randolph if money wouldcount with him against her love. When she accepted the wager with Mr.Mitchel she had been feeling resentfully towards Mr. Randolph, who, aslong as he suspected his friend of the graver crimes, hesitated tobecome connected with him by marriage. This made him less attentive toDora, so that she had not thought of him as a suitor when making thebet. When he declared himself she recognized her predicament and wascorrespondingly troubled, yet determined to win, and so acted asrelated.
By this time, though Mr. Mitchel had not mentioned the name of thecriminal, several present knew to whom he was alluding. Mr. Randolphsaid impetuously:
"Then that explains----" here he stopped, confused.
"Yes," said Mr. Mitchel, smiling, "that explains everything that hasperplexed you. Be reconciled for the time you have been made to wait,for you will now not only win the lady, but you will recover this check,for I must pass it over to her as a forfeit. Gentlemen, shall we drinkto the health and success of Mr. Randolph?"
This was done in silence. The guests felt a constraint. They knew thatmore was yet to come and anxiously waited for it.
Mr. Mitchel continued: "Gentlemen, that ends my story, except that Iengaged Mr. Barnes to tak
e up the threads of evidence which I gave him,and to disentangle them if he could. Shall we hear his report?"
CHAPTER XVIII.
MR. BARNES'S NARRATIVE.
"Gentlemen," began Mr. Barnes, rising, "I am only an ordinary man,following a profession at which some are disposed to sneer, but which tome seems but the plain duty of one who is endowed with the peculiarqualities that are essential to the calling. Our host would make amagnificent detective, but I suppose he feels that he has a higher dutyto perform. Begging you then to forgive my manner of addressing you,being by no means a speaker, I will tell you the little that I havedone, prefacing my remarks by saying that without the valuableassistance of Mr. Mitchel I should have been powerless.
"There was a curious button which I found in the room where the murderwas committed, and which matched a set owned by Mr. Mitchel so closely,that it seemed to me to point to him as one who had a guilty knowledge.I spent much time following the clues that turned up in that connection,all of which however was not entirely misspent, for I discovered thetrue name of the dead woman to be Rose Montalbon, and that aided megreatly in my later work. At last, then, I abandoned the idea that Mr.Mitchel was guilty and frankly admitted this. He then told me the nameof the jewelry firm from which the buttons had been ordered, and I wentacross the Atlantic.
"The button which I had was imperfect. This was my starting-point.Through letters of introduction which Mr. Mitchel gave me, I succeededin obtaining the assistance of the jewellers. They gave me the name ofthe man who had carved the cameos for them, but they knew nothing of theimperfect button. They had also lost track of the cameo-cutter. It tookme over a month to trace that man, even with the aid of the Parispolice. Finally I found him, and he told me that he had sold the buttonto a friend. This friend I found after some delay, and he admitted thathe had once had the button, but that he had given it to a woman. Moretime was lost in discovering this woman, but when I did she toorecognized the button and said that it had been stolen from her byanother woman, whom she described as a Creole. Thus at last I got on thetrack of the Montalbon, for that was the name which she used in France.Under this name it was easier to follow her. I soon learned that she hada companion, by the name of Jean Molitaire. I then easily found thatMolitaire had been in the employ of the Paris jewellers asshipping-clerk. It was he who had written the two descriptions of thejewels, one of which I found among the woman's effects, and the other inMr. Mitchel's possession. This was a suspicious circumstance, but weknow now how it was that the handwriting matched, a fact which hadpuzzled me greatly. It seems that Mr. Mitchel at one time had boughtsome valuable papers from the Montalbon woman, paying her withdiamonds, and recommending her to his Paris jewellers to dispose ofthem."
"That," said Mr. Mitchel, "was partly to get her out of this country,and partly to recover the diamonds, which I did, through the dealer."
"So he told me. It was when she received the money from them that shenoticed Molitaire. It was not long after that the second set of jewelswere sold to Mr. Mitchel. This clerk of course knew of the transaction,because he packed them for shipment. Then he must have persuaded thewoman to accompany him across the Atlantic, with the design of stealingthe gems from Mr. Mitchel, as soon as he should take them from thecustom-house. This is seen from the fact that three days after theshipment this man resigned his position, and from that time all trace ofboth the man and the woman in Paris is lost."
"From which you deduce that they followed the jewels?" said Mr. Mitchel.
"Of course. The man and woman separated here to avoid suspicion. By atrick the woman obtained possession of apartments in the very housewhere your intended lived, whilst Molitaire stopped at the Hoffman,which of course is very near your own hotel. As soon as you went toBoston they followed and registered at the same hotel. You obtained thejewels from the custom-house, and they entered your room and robbed youduring your absence. Your theory of the murderer's actions after thejewels were recovered by you, is probably correct. He went back to huntfor them, hoping that she had not placed them in the satchel, or ratherthat she had taken them out of it, since you yourself placed them there.I think there is no point left unexplained."
"Pardon me," said Mr. Thauret, "I think you are wrong. You have not tomy mind quite connected this man--what did you call him? Jean Molitaire,was it not? Well, I do not see that you have traced his hand to thecrime."
"I think that I have," said Mr. Barnes.
"You do not make it clear to me," said Mr. Thauret, as coolly as thoughdiscussing some question in which he had but a passing interest. "Yousay that your Montalbon woman noticed this Molitaire when she sold herdiamonds. Later that both were missing from Paris. The woman turned upin New York, but how do you prove that Molitaire did not go to--let ussay Russia?"
"No," said Mr. Barnes, "he did not go to Russia. Suppose that I shouldtell you that I ferreted out the fact that this name Molitaire was butan alias, and that the man's true name was Montalbon? Then when weremember that the woman's name had been cut from all her garments isthat not significant?"
This speech made a mild sensation, but Mr. Thauret remained unmoved. Hereplied calmly:
"All things are significant--how do you interpret this fact, supposingthat you could prove it?"
"This Molitaire was really the dead woman's husband. They quarrelledmany years ago, and she went to New Orleans where she kept agambling-house, having learned the trade from him. When they met againin Paris she recognized him. Then when the fellow conceived the idea offollowing the jewels, it suited his purpose to affect a reconciliationso that he might use the woman as a tool. After the murder it would beto his interest to hide the name of Montalbon by cutting out the markson the woman's clothing."
"Pardon my pursuing the argument," said Mr. Thauret, "but I find itentertaining. You surprise me, Mr. Barnes, at the ready way in which youread men's actions. Only, are you sure you are right? Suppose forinstance that the woman had cut out the marks herself long before, atsome time, when she was using an alias, then your fact would lose someof its significance, would it not? Circumstantial evidence is sodifficult to read, you see! Then having lost that link, where do youprove Molitaire or Montalbon guilty? Being the woman's husband is nocrime in itself."
"No," said Mr. Barnes, deciding that the time had come for an end of thecontroversy. "Being the woman's husband does not count in itself. Butwhen I procure in Paris the photograph of Molitaire, left by accident inhis room at his lodgings, and when I recognize that as the same man whomMr. Mitchel suspected and trapped into stealing the ruby; and when uponmy return to New York, I find that ruby upon that very man, and recoverit, then we have some facts that do count."
"You recovered the ruby?" said Mr. Mitchel, amazed.
"Here it is," said Mr. Barnes, handing it to Mr. Mitchel. Mr. Thauretbit his lip, and by a strong endeavor retained his self-control.
"Mr. Barnes," said Mr. Mitchel, "I am sorry to disappoint you, but thisis not my ruby."
"Are you sure?" asked the detective, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, though you deserve credit, for, though not the ruby, it is thestolen stone. I have a complete set of duplicates of my jewels, and inmaking my little experiment I did not care to bait my trap with sovaluable a gem. I therefore used the duplicate, which is this. But howhave you recovered it?"
"I have been in New York for several days. I have devoted myself duringthat time to a personal watch upon Montalbon. Yesterday, to my surprise,he went to Police Head-quarters and begged for a permit to inspect thestolen jewels, saying that through them he might throw some light uponthe mystery. His request was granted. Suspecting treachery Isubsequently obtained a similar permit, and investigation with the aidof an expert showed that the bold scoundrel had handled the jewels, andso managed to change the imitation stone which he stole at the festivalfor the real one in the set which figured in the train robbery."
"By Jove," said Mr. Mitchel, "he is an artist. Then I am indebted toyou after all for recovering the stone, but t
ell us, how did youaccomplish it?"
"I overheard Montalbon once say that a wise thief would keep a stolenarticle upon his person so that it could not be discovered without hisknowledge. Therefore I felt certain that he would himself adopt thismethod. When the conversation this evening reached a point where it wasevident that all would be disclosed, the man, who is present, droppedthe ruby into his glass of Burgundy, where it would be out of sight andeasily recovered, or swallowed. Later he attempted to dispose of it inthis way, but I quickly drank his glass of wine, the ruby thus passinginto my mouth. And now Mr. Montalbon, I arrest you in the name of thelaw," saying which, the detective put his hand upon Mr. Thauret's arm.The other guests jumped up, excited and expecting a scene. To theastonishment of all, Thauret remained quiet for a few moments, and thenspeaking slowly and distinctly, said:
"Gentlemen, we have heard several stories here to-night, will you listento mine, and suspend judgment for a few moments?"
"We will hear you," said Mr. Mitchel, marvelling at the man's nerve. Theothers resumed their seats, all except the detective, who stood justback of his prisoner.
"I will trouble you to fill my glass," said Thauret to the waiter, andafter being served, he coolly sipped a mouthful.
"I shall not bore you with a lengthy recital," he began, "I shallsimply make a statement. Society, the civilized society of to-day,frowns upon and punishes what it terms 'the criminal class.' Yet howmany have ever examined into the existing state of things, and analyzedthe causes which make the criminal a possibility? The life of such a manis not so inviting that one would adopt it from choice, one I mean whohad moral instincts. With the naturally immoral it would be otherwise,of course. But if one be born immoral, who is to blame? The individualhimself, or the antecedents, including both parentage and circumstances?We pity the man who is congenitally tainted with disease, and we condemnthat other man who is tainted in morals, though his condition isanalogous and traceable to similar causes. Such a man I am. I confessthat I am, and always have been a criminal, at least in the sense ofacquiring money by what are termed illegitimate methods. But you willsay, Mr. Barnes," turning for a moment to the detective, and thus whilstspeaking to him, attracting his attention, so that unnoticed he droppeda small white pellet into his glass of wine, "that I worked for thejewelry house. Well, whatever I am, I have aimed to be artistic, as Mr.Mitchel admitted of me a few moments ago. By seeming to earn an honestliving, I blinded the keen eyes of the Paris police, so that though manysuspicions have been cast in my direction, conviction has always beenimpossible. So now, whilst pretending to explain to you all, I haveexplained nothing. I simply designed to prevent conviction of the crimescharged against me, as I do, thus."
With a swift movement he drained his wine-glass, though Mr. Barnesattempted to prevent him. In ten minutes he was dead.
THE END.
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