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'Yes, Monsieur; but it did not I was in there a very few minutes before we retired.” *?‘And the key of the door here—did Mademoiselle know where you put it ?” “Certainly, MonBieur.”“And since that night?”“Alas ! Monsieur, I have hidden my keys in vain.”After some further conversation I took my leave, promising to return about midnight. I did so. Mademoiselle and the servants had retired, and, as previously arranged, Madame an-WHO BOBBED MADjUIE.I had waited but a few minutes whenshe entered.The tasteful cap surmounting the brown locks clustering in a pretty confusion of short curls about her forehead proclaimed her no longer young, though the fair blooming face and shapely form ere far more suggestive of youth than of old age. Altogether, Madame Leroux was a lady of most attractive appearance. 1She approached me with nervous haste, her eyes fixed on mine. “I sent ““ un-for—you are—” Bhe faltered almost in- 8We,red toP herself. She ush-audibly, and then paused in a pitable ered into the, P”™tQ room 1111(3state of agitation, her tender fingers S0?°,bade “e f?oodslowly interwining themselves, and her --ifter a sho?'fc absence, she returned whole frame trembling with a steaming cap of coffee and“Detective Ashton?” I responded, pl*£ f Datf,cake- . .hastily drawing forward a chair. T alyays take a cnp before retiring,She sunk into it, and by a silent ges- eiPlained and thought you might ture invited me to be seated. Presently filld,on.e acceptable. And with a finalshe murmured in a low quivering voice : 5a } t10, both“Monsieur, I am in great lis trosa. cf *mPtlcd the C»PMy ” and she again paused, over- aJmoslfc /raugiit. Then wheeling acome by her emotions. cbalr behind the curtains draping a bayI waited a minute in expectant silence wllldow * extinguished the light and and then said : sat down to await the appearance of the“A case of robbery, I understand, un^n°?n thief.Madame. Permit me to ask whether 1 s^aothmg. Just at daybreakyour servants are entirely honest ,ai“e softly^entered the room and“Entirely,” she answered brokenly. 5^ke to, ®e- I rose unsteadily to my “Xhey have served me for twenty f - ’ and stePPed from behind the cur-years.” tains. She gazed at me in surprise fora moment, and then smiled a little ironically :“Monsieur slept well, I perceive.” “Yes, Madame, if well means soundly,”I replied. “The coffee was drugged.”a77“And your pupilB?”“Not a shadow of suspicion may touch them.”And the resident teachers ?” She gasped once or twice, and then con-D J H *Y 1L/C. UJIU tllcJJ COJJL” [ i « r» .trolling herself with a mighty effort PTUSS^ I she echoed, staggering answered tremulously - ’ I back a pace or two.answered tremulously :“Pardon my agitation ; I am worn with trouble and anxiety,” adding presently, in more even tones, “I will tell you about it, Monsieur. My school is, as you doubtless know from report, the besfc and, consequently, the most flourishing in the city. I take much money, and often keep large sums by me. This , , tones. Mademois my private business room, and in tiray. And and Monsieur,“Yes Madame. Permit mo to ask who made it ?”She covered her face with her haDds for an instant, and then dropping them, reeled over to the cabinet. In a minute she was beside me again.“Who made it?” she repeated, inMademoiselle— my private business room, and in I Lte ^ra^. ■ ■^~nd and Monsieur, theyonder cabinet I store my surplus \s fone ! - . ..funds.” I I answered, in some vexation,“Mademoiselle, of all others, should not have known of my presence here.” “Not at all, Monsieur,” she answered, I ‘'Ahlt; Monsieur, I was most careful,” decidedly. “It is furnished with a 1 returned madame sorrowfully. “’Tisa secret receptacle. Discover it if you ) “S’810,1? howshe gained her knowl-can.” And rising, she led the way to ,ge‘ f WeU.» Madame,” I answered, the cabinet and threw open the desk. a minutes deliberation, “weRut T *r.TT * w meet Mademoiselle on her ownnose in° P?n gronnd- Permifc her « you P^ase, toI drew S “ Sllencectl11 prepare another oup of coffee to-night.{CIS“iSlded“y armS* She She will, no doubt, count upon its ffSw t L * « , , T effects.” And that night I receivedhave stated ?” tho t L anotber steaming cup. But it was re-menMshe™ fet c°“Part* oeived only- Consequently I was notmeat is here, most certainly not. ” found napping. I had watched patientlyis here, she replied, briefly and j for two hours or more, when the doorno desire to learn the name of the rmilty party“Ah* true !” exclaimed madame, “I forgot all but my infinite joy. Tell us. monsieur.”“First, madame,” I answered, “permit me to restore your stolen money. You have your keys, I see; will you be kind enough to open the treasure box ?” And hastening to the closet I brought out the japanned box.Madame knelt down and wonderingly turned the key. I then lifted the lid and removed the false bottom. An astonished exclamation parted Mademoiselle DeGray’s lips but madameleaned over the box like one in a dream, and could not be convinced until the notes were in her hand and counted, that it was no dream at all, but a most pleasant reality.. VY6S» Antoinette,” she at last said, rising and casting the noteB on the table, “every sou of it is here. And to think of its being in the old box, Antoinette !” “Yes,” smiled mademoiselle,with a puzzled expression, “but ”“But,” interrupted madame, even more vivaciously, “but who put it into the box ?” And she fixed her eyes in eager expectancy on mine.“The—the apparition,” I faltered, “entered the room between two and three o’clock, and went straight to the cabinet. In a few moments the notes were purloined and deposited where you just now found them.”“But the secret compartment, monsieur,” interrupted madame, excitedly,“was it opened without difficulty?” “Yes, madame.”“Strange I most strange I” she ejaculated, in perplexing tones, adding the next instant, “Go on, monsieur.”“That is all, madame.”^ “All ! But what did you do, sieur ?” she asked, sharply.“Nothing, madame, but stagger aside and gaze like an imbecile after the retreating form I had extended my hand to seize.”“Oh !” exclaimed madame, in a low,-awed voice. “Was ite^you called it an apparition, I recollect, monsieur. What —what did it resemble ?”“It was a woman. .A small, pallid woman, clad in a trailing crimson robe ”momemphatically, as she closed the desk.“How many times have you been robbed ?”softly opened, and a pale, slender, little old woman, wrapped in a crimson dressing-gown, and about whose bare“Nightly, for the past week,” she M*ead floated a few scanty gray locks, answered excitedly. “A large amount sfco^ noiselessly into the room. She was taken the first night, but since then cafried a bunch of keys and a lighted only a few counterfeits which I de- taper in a small bronze candle-stick. posited in the hope of detecting the Glosing the door carefully behind her, thief without assistance.” proceeded at once to the cabinet,“Has any one under your roof a lXn ^weird-looking woman be knowledge of the secret of tlie cabinet ?’• Malt;3enioiselle DeGray ? I thought, I inquired, after a little interval of g^?1Dg affcer singular apparition, silence. “But one 1” she cried, burst- ■ ’ J? ?annot be Certainly, Made-ing into tears, and wringing her hands *oxmZ- .Thls b?in an agony of distress. j °* *neild madame.I again deliberated a moment, and $alck£ and uselessly she approached then said firmly : “Madame I have not , cabL?et a°d m a moment it was a doubt that I can, in time, clear up uniocJs:od and tbe 8ecret compartment this matter without assistance, but it is oper1,no less certain chat perfect candor on After carefully withdrawing the notes your part will greatly aid me.” deposited there by Madame a few hoursIt was some minutes before she could previous, she snapped the spring and compose herself sufficient to answer, reclosed the desk. Then turningWhen she did it was in heart-broken tones : “You are right, Monsieur. I must tell you. My suspicions point to one who has for years been my all; namely Mademoiselle De Antoinette DeGray. Mademoiselle DeGray has been mj protege smce the death of her parents, which occurred while she was yet an iufant. In her I have hitherto reposed the most unlimited confidence; now I am distracted with doubts it is impossible to silence.”“But, monsieur, I have not sent for you to unravel this web of mystery with any intention of giving publicity to her guilt. Heaven knows I only desire to learn the truth for her own dear Bake. I would not wrong the innocent even in tkonght; the guilty I would unceasingly labor to restore.Then with a sudden burst of grief she exclaimed :“My poor Antoinette! She is so young J so winning ! and so beautiful!” “Does Mademoiselle DeGray know of your suspicions ?” I inquired, as a deep sob choked her utterance.“She does. A few hours before I sent for you I told her of my loss, and entreated her to confess and receive my forgiveness.” “With what result ?” “She gazed at me with startled eyes for a moment, and then in proud, almost scornful accents replied that I, above all others, should know whether she was capable of such a deed.” “And is she acquainted with the fact of your having secured my services ?”“Oh, yes, Monsieur. I hoped it would frighten her into a full confession.” Your servants ?”“They know nothing whatever. For Mademoiselle DeGray’s sake I have kept these startling robberies a profound secret. After a few minutes’ serious consideration I said:‘ ‘Madame, I will watch here nightlyuntil the mystery is solved.” Madame shook her head despondingly.“It is quite useless, Monsieur. I am no coward, and have already tried that plan, and, strange to say, “my cabinet remained intact both times.”“PerhapB Mademoiselle DeGray suspected your intentions,” I replied. “This time we must guard against the possibility. And now, if you please, I will trouble you for a few more details. About what time do these robberies take place ?”“Always between midnight and daybreak. I seldom retire till twelve o’clock, and on the night of the fixBt theft it was considerably later. I remember distinctly; for, by a singnlar coincidence. Mademoiselle DeGray and I sat here discussing the possibility of the very event which occurred. The recent Mad worth robbery had impressed us both deeply, and as I left the room I bade Mademoiselle lock the door.”“Did you lock the other?” I asked, indicating one I had noticed awhile before.“It might secrete a burglar, however. That is only a store closet.”quickly away, she went over to the store closet.I now left my hiding place and cautiously followed. When I reached the door she was in the act of removing the false bottom from a large japanned box in one comer. Dropping it on the floor beside her, she took from the box a roll of notes, and after adding the one just Btolen, returned the bundle to its place again. Then hastily restoring the box to its former order, Bhe rose and turned away.I stepped back a pace or two with the design of seizing her outside the closet.In a moment she appeared and confronted me, and for the first time I obtained a fair view of her features. But instead of the horror and dismay which I had been anticipating, I was the one to fall back aghast. My outstretched arms dropped powerless as, with swift tread and strong gaze, she swept past me and out of the room.“And this is the solution!” I muttered, drawing a deep breath of relief as the door closed upon her. “What will Madame say? Will she readily credit the reports I must give ?”Without deciding on the question I dropped on the sofa and made myself comfortable for the remainder of thenight. As on the previous day, madaiue sought me early. She looked at me scrutinizingly.“Ah! Monsieur has had another good night, without the aid of drugs,” she remarked, somewhat tartly.“Yes, madame, a very good one,” I replied ; “but I first earned the right.” “Ah !” ejaculated madame again ; but this time very tremulously. “Then yon have—you—”“Yes, madame,” I answered, finding she could not finish the sentence. “And now will you kindly allow me to see Mademoiselle DeGray?”“No, monsieur, no I” she replied, with hasty emphasis. “My poor Antoinette has sinned, no doubt; but she shall be protected. You shall not see my poor child, monsieur,’' she concluded passionately. “Heaven and I will make a good woman of her yet!”“My dear madame, you quite mistake ) me,” I answered feelingly. “Mademoiselle is innocent.” I was hardly prepared for the little Frenchwoman’s outburst of joy.“My Antoinette ! My pure darling! My white dove? My wronged angel! Sweet heaven, I thank thee !” sho cried, tearfully.And before I could say any more, she had darted from the room. In a few minutes she returned, leading a tall, elegant, golden-haired girl, whose proud eyoB glittered with tears. This fair vision of youthful beauty left madame’g side and came to me. “1“A crimson robe !” echoed madame and mademoiselle, both evidentlyaghast.“Yes, and with silvery white hair—.” “White hair!” again echoed both, looking at each other with faces of consternation.Mademoiselle DeGray recovered herself first. “What else, monsienr?” she queried impatiently.“Nothingelse, mademoiselle,” except that this singular apparition carried a bronze candlestick and yonder bunch of keys.” Mademoiselle gazed at me a moment in silence, and then turning, suddenly flung her arms about the madame’s neck, and kissing her on both cheeks exclaimed between tears and laughter:“Oh! you naughty, naughty thief.” Madame stared from Mademoiselle to the picture of bewildered dismay; then dropping her eyes to the floor she revolved, apparently, some perplexing question. Presently she looked up.“Tell me, Antoinette,” she murmured doubtfully, “why did you drug monsieur’s coffee ?”“I?” exclaimed mademoiselle, flushing with astonishment. “I did it no more than I stole the money. I knew not that monsieur was here, much less that he took coffee. But perhaps,” she roguishly added the next moment, as she again showered kisses on madame's roseate cheeks, “but perhaps you can plead guilty.” Again bewildered dismay widened madame’s eyes, and, after a little she faltered :“Oh, Antoinette, I—I—yes, I certainly did ! Monsieur slept well and I slept poorly. Yes, monsieur got my powders ! I never thought of it till this minute.“What powders ?” laughed Mademoiselle DeGray. “The morphine!” exclaimed madame, more composedly. “I felt sleepless and excited, and put it into a cup, intending to pour my coffee over it; but I must have given monsieur the wrong cup. ”Then suddenly statohing the keys from the table, she thrust them into Mademoiselle DeGray's hand, exclaiming, tearfully :“There I keep them, my poor, wronged darling. I have played ‘La Somnambula’ long enough.”And I, looking at madame’s brown curls, roseate skin, and faultless figure, thought amusedly : “What a miraole of French art 1— — — — — w vthank you, monsieur,” she said, withsimple earnest dignity. “I thank yon moBt truly.”“I have done little or nothing to entitle me to your thanks, mademoiselle,” I smiled in response. “But have you
Newspaper Details
Indiana Progress
Indiana, Pennsylvania, US
Thu, Sep 10, 1874
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary B.
USA 18 May 2018
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