CHAPTER IX.
THE DIARY OF A DETECTIVE.
It was the morning of the New Year. Mr. Barnes was seated in anarm-chair by his own fireside at his cosy home on Staten Island. In hishand he held a diary, whose pages he was studying intently. Beforepeeping over his shoulder to read with him, it will be best to give aslight insight into the state of mind which led him to take up the bookon this particular day.
After the clever manner in which he had discovered that a young girlexisted, whose name was Rose Mitchel, and who was supposed to be thedaughter of Mr. Robert Leroy Mitchel, and after the equally clever trickby which the girl was removed beyond his ken, Mr. Barnes had come to oneconclusion. This was, that it was necessary to keep such a strict watchupon Mr. Mitchel, that if he had not already committed the crime, aboutwhich he had wagered, he should not be able to do so and avoiddetection. For Mr. Barnes began to have some feeling in the matterbeyond the mere fulfilment of duty. He was being thwarted by this man atevery turn, and this made him doubly determined not to allow him to winthat bet. Therefore he had removed Wilson from the post of watching Mr.Mitchel, and had replaced him by two men who were thoroughly skilful.Wilson and another he set to spy upon the movements of Miss Remsen, forhe hoped to find the child through her.
Being the first of January, and therefore the last day upon which Mr.Mitchel could commit his crime, within the conditions imposed, alwayssupposing that he had not already done so, Mr. Barnes wished once moreto go over the reports sent to him by his various spies, in order thathe might be assured that no mistakes had been made.
He began to read at:
"Dec. 15. Mitchel left his hotel early, and went over to Hoffman House.Remained there two hours, and came out accompanied by Thauret. Theywalked up to the White Elephant, and spent the morning playingbilliards. Lunched together at Delmonico _cafe_ and separated at twoo'clock. Mitchel then went to his livery stable and obtained a horse andlight wagon. They are his property. Drove slowly along Madison Avenue,and stopped at Thirtieth Street apartment-house. S----.
"No sign of Miss Remsen all morning. She has a new maid. Her girl Sarahreturned yesterday, but her mistress refused to take her back. Evidentlyshe recognizes that the girl was bribed to go into the country and torecommend Lucette as her cousin. About 2:30, Mitchel drove up in hislight wagon. According to orders, I prepared to follow them, that theymight not visit the child, eluding us by driving. Obtained a cab, andwas waiting in it as the two turned into Madison Avenue and startedup-town. Easily kept them in sight, without exciting suspicion, butlearned nothing as they simply drove up through the Park, along St.Nicholas Avenue and home again down the Boulevard and Riverside drive.He remained at the Remsens' till ten o'clock. Then went straight to hishotel. W----.
"Dec. 16. Mitchel spent his morning at his club. Afternoon in his hotel.Evening at Miss Remsen's. S----.
"Miss Remsen and her sister spent the morning shopping. The afternoonpaying calls. The evening at home. W----.
"Dec. 17. Mitchel's actions same as yesterday, except that Thauretcalled on him at his hotel during the afternoon and was with him anhour. S----.
"Miss Remsen, her sister, and two other young ladies went to Brooklyn inthe afternoon, but simply visited the large stores there. At home in theevening. W----.
"Dec. 18. Mitchel and Thauret together in the morning. Mitchel and MissRemsen out walking in afternoon. Mitchel and Thauret at club in theevening. I bribed doorman and succeeded in getting in disguised as oneof the servants. Mitchel and Thauret played whist, playing as partners.They lost about a hundred dollars. Went home together. S----.
"Miss Remsen indoors all morning. Out on Fifth Avenue with Mitchel inthe afternoon. During their absence Thauret called. W----.
"Dec. 19. Mitchel and Thauret played poker all afternoon in one of therooms of their club. Both lost. There were four others in the game. Oneof these won heavily. I have discovered that this is undoubtedly theman who was Thauret's whist partner on the night when Randolph thoughtthat he detected them cheating. He also answers the description of theman who left the jewels at hotel in New Haven. His name is AdrianFisher. In the evening Mitchel and Thauret were in a box at the operawith the Remsen family. S----.
"The Miss Remsens gave an afternoon tea. Mr. Randolph called andremained to dinner. Went to the opera with the ladies in the evening.W----.
"Dec. 20. Mitchel in his hotel all day. He and Thauret went driving inthe afternoon. I followed them in a light wagon. At the road house inthe Park, they alighted and had a bottle of wine. Talked togetherearnestly. Saw Mitchel give Thauret a roll of money. In the evening theyplayed whist as partners at the club, and again they lost. S----.
"No sign of the Miss Remsens till afternoon when a young lady called andthe three went to matinee at Daly's. Evening they spent at home. W----.
"Dec. 21. Mitchel attended worship at St. Patrick's Cathedral with thetwo Miss Remsens. Afternoon remained in his hotel. Evening at theRemsens. S----.
"Miss Remsen and her sister at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the morning.At home the rest of the day. W----.
"According to instructions I have made inquiries about Adrian Fisher. Heis a man of good family, but poor. Belongs to two fashionable clubs.Plays cards for money frequently. Is a good player and seems to earn aliving off of his friends. Has no relatives living, except a sister whois a cripple. He is very fond of her and treats her with great kindness.It is a mystery how he manages to support her as comfortably as he does.They live together in a small flat at ---- East Fiftieth Street. It washe who introduced Thauret at the club, and had him made a member. He wasout of town from Dec. 1st to Dec. 4th. Q----."
At this point of his reading Mr. Barnes laid down his book and thought amoment. These questions occurred to him.
"Is this man Fisher the tool of Thauret? He is poor, and a card-player.He is well born and has a sister to support in a style suitable to herbirth. Has Thauret induced him to play, that together they may fleecethe other members of the club? It looks like it, but why this suddenintimacy with Mitchel? Or is that less sudden than we know, and havethey been long acquainted? Again, is Fisher the man who received thesatchel from one of these men, and then took it to the hotel in NewHaven? He was out of town at the time. Why did he place the satchel inthe hotel, and then abandon it? After securing the plunder, why did hethus lose it? Was he suddenly overtaken by his conscience and becomingaware of the fact that Thauret was using him as a tool in a piece ofcriminal work, did he take this method of clearing himself, and ofallowing the jewels to be returned to their owner as soon as found inthe hotel? This would account for Thauret's having left the train atStamford, intending perhaps to return to New Haven and meet hisconfederate. Fisher, meanwhile, having abandoned the scheme and returnedto New York, Thauret was thwarted. But who killed the woman?" Mr. Barnesresumed his reading.
"Dec. 26. Mitchel arose early, and called for Miss Remsen at eleveno'clock. Together they went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Van Rawlston, atFifth Avenue near Forty-eighth Street. They remained nearly an hour, andthen separated when they came out. Mitchel eat luncheon at theBrunswick, where he was joined by Thauret. They went to the club in theafternoon and played whist. They lost money. Mitchel paid for both, andtook an I.O.U. from Thauret for his share. Randolph was in the game.There is a growing coolness between Randolph and Mitchel. They barelyspeak when they meet. It is evident that no love is lost betweenRandolph and Thauret. In the evening the three men were in the Remsens'box at the opera. S----.
"Miss Remsen accompanied Mitchel to Mrs. Van Rawlston's in the morning,and left him when they came out. She made several calls mainly uponwell-known fashionable society leaders. Something is evidently on the_tapis_. It occurred to me that the missing child might have been placedin the care of the Van Rawlstons. Therefore in the afternoon I allowedR---- to follow the young ladies on a shopping expedition, whilst Iinterviewed the policeman on the beat. He is acquainted with the VanRawlston's maid, and will send a report to you to-night. The ladies wentto the opera
in the evening. W----.
"Mr. and Mrs. Van Rawlston have three children, all younger thanfourteen, and only one a girl, the youngest. The Miss Remsen who calledwas a Miss Emily Remsen. She was accompanied by a Mr. Robert Mitchel.They came to beg Mrs. Van Rawlston to allow a society to which the younglady belongs, to give an entertainment in her house. The entertainmentis to be New Year's night. Policeman 1666.
"Dec. 23. Mitchel and Thauret went to a costumer's on Union Square. Whenthey had left I called there and said that I was a friend of Mr.Mitchel's and wished a costume made for the same entertainment. The planworked, and by adroit questioning I discovered that there is to be anArabian Night festival on the night of the New Year. It is to be acostume masquerade, and Mitchel has promised to send all of the men tohis costumer for their dresses. He ordered an Ali Baba dress. Thauretleft no order, saying he would not attend. I ordered an Aladdin costume.If you do not decide to attend I can countermand the order, but Ithought you might find it advantageous to be present. With Aladdin'swonderful lamp you might shed some light upon the mystery. Pardon thejoke. The afternoon and evening were spent by Mitchel and Thauret attheir club. Again they played whist and again they lost. S----.
"The young ladies spent the morning at a fashionable dressmaker's onMadison Avenue. I have picked up an acquaintance with a servant girl wholives in one of the flats in Thirtieth Street house, and from her Ilearn that Miss Remsen's new maid tells her that the affair at the VanRawlston house will be a costume masquerade, all parties assumingcharacters from the Arabian Nights. Miss Emily Remsen will appear asScheherezade. W----."
Mr. Barnes turned two pages at this point, evidently considering thatnothing of special moment was contained in the reports covering the nextfew days. He began again.
"Dec. 30. Mr. Mitchel came out of his hotel at ten o'clock, and crossedover to Jersey City, taking an express for Philadelphia. I of coursetook same train. S----.
"The Miss Remsens were at home all day. They are busy on their costumesfor the coming entertainment. W----.
"Dec. 31. Telegram from Philadelphia. 'Mitchel at Lafayette Hotel. Issick in bed. Doctor in attendance. Sent a telegram to Miss Remsentelling her that he cannot be on hand to-morrow night.' S----.
"Thauret went to Union Square costumer yesterday and obtained the AliBaba costume ordered for Mitchel. He gave the costumer a letter which hehad received from Mitchel, dated at Philadelphia yesterday. It reads:'Friend Thauret, I am suddenly taken ill. Don't let the Remsens knowthat it is anything serious. Oblige me, if possible, by attending theArabian Night festival. I enclose my invitation and a note to Mr. VanRawlston, which will introduce you. You may wear my costume, and thecostumer will give it to you if you present this. You were to have goneout of town I know, but if you wish to do me a favor I hope you willchange your plans and take my place. I do not wish Miss Remsen to beentirely unattended. Therefore be with her as much as you can. She willbe dressed as Scheherezade. '(Signed) Mitchel.'
"I obtained this from the costumer by saying I am a detective shadowinga criminal. Q----."