DUKE OF KANDOS FROM THE FRENCH OF A. MATHEY BY FRANK PINCKNEY CLARK 3LoniUm: JOHN & ROBERT MAXWELL MILTON HOUSE, 14& 15, SHOE LANE, FLEET STREET, AND 35, ST. BRIDE STREET, E.C. THE DUKE OF KAND08. FIRST PART. THE MURDER OF COCO. CHAPTER I. THE POLICE ARRIVE. HREE reports of a revolver rapidly succeeded one another at irregular intervals. Two of the shots were almost simultaneous, then there was an interval of several seconds before the last. It was easy to distinguish the sounds of two weap¬ ons—the first shot was sharp, the next two were evi¬ dently of heavier calibre. It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening of the month of May, 1869. It had been a cloudy day, and it was a rainy even¬ ing. The street of Trois -Couronnes, in the eleventh district, and the boulevard of Belleville, which it crossed, were both deserted, although the hour was early. This quarter is inhabited by working-people, who, fatigued with the day's labor, retire early; and the humid and chilly temperature of the early part of May does not invite the gossips to stop on the side walls. 4 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. The sound of the shots came from the sixth story of a large old house, of sad and ruined aspect, situ¬ ated at the corner cf the street and the boulevard, and making part of the block formed by the street of Trois-Couronnes on the north, the boulevard of Belle¬ ville cn the east, the street Oberkampf on the south, and the street Moret on the west. This block, or rather perfectly isolated quadrilateral, is of no great extent, and is almost exclusively com¬ posed of tenement houses. In a more central quarter, where the rattling of car¬ riages and omnibuses and the uproar of a noisy crowd fill the streets, these three shots would not have awak¬ ened the attention of the nearest neighbors. But in Trois-Couronnes street they resounded mournfully amid the silence, and could be heard at some distance. They attracted the attention of two squads of police, who just then were passing, one on the boulevard of Belleville, the other in Moret street. These two squads, separated only by the depth of the houses, were each composed of two policemen; they instantly stopped to find out where the sounds came from. At the same moment many windows were opened on every side of the block, and men and women leaned out and commenced interrogating each other. In the house where the shots were fired the tenants were awakened; and soon the halls were filled with half-clad people. Some ran up to the sixth stcry, while others ran down to call the janitor. They rushed pell-mell against one another, asking questions which were answered by questions. "Have you heard?" " What?" " In the sixth story, is it not? " " Evidently." " In which room? " "The new tenant's?" " The old man's?" " I am going for the janitor."2 " I am going up." THE POLICE ARRIVE. s " Has anyone entered the room?" "Have you heard anything?" " Nothing at all; not a cry—not a groan. The door is locked. I could hear nothing, and I am his nearest neighbor." " It is astonishing." " It is a suicide." " Oh, a suicide! But one cannot shoot himself three times." " And the shots were evidently from different pis¬ tols," added a gunsmith, who lived on the fifth floor. " Are you sure?" " Undoubtedly." "What is all this? What has happened?" all at once said someone, in an authoritative tone. " Ah! here is Monsieur Niquelet, the janitor." Slowly climbing the stairs, carrying a light in one hand, for the gas had been extinguished, appeared a little man, thin, dry, bony, about fifty years of age, and slightly lame. It was indeed Monsieur Niquelet himself—having been crippled by the falling of a beam in a ship-yard, where he had worked some years before, he had been appointed a janitor in one of the houses of his former employer. Suddenly awakened, he had hurriedly put on his pantaloons, and his bristly grey hair had escaped from his night-cap, of a doubtful white, while his beard, which dated from the preceding Sunday—it was now Wednesday—was a thick stubble on his red chin. "What is all this?" he repeated, in a hoarse tone; " who presumes to awaken the whole house by firing off a pistol?" " The old man in the sixth story," replied many voices. " Monsieur Loriot?" " Yes." "We will go and see what it means." As Monsieur Niquelet mounted the stairs the teil« ants crowded after him, the women going first. 6 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. When they reached the last landing, Monsieur Ni« quelet found himself the leader of at least thirty per- sons of both sexes and of all ages. There was an instant of profound silence, as they stopped before a yellow door. Everyone held his breath; heads were bent forward, and, with staring eyes, they listened intently. Monsieur Niquelet solemnly struck two or three blows with his fist to announce his presence and de¬ mand admission. Not a word. A silence as of death. "Monsieur Loriot!" exclaimed the janitor "It is I, Niquelet open the door what the devil are you doing in there?" The silence was unbroken. Monsieur Niquelet stooped to look through the key¬ hole, but the key, which was in the lock, prevented his seeing anything. The only thing of which he was cer¬ tain was that there was a light in the room. "I see nothing," he grumbled, "and I can hear noth¬ ing; Monsieur Loriot, are you ill?" he added, in a solemn voice, which terror had somewhat softened. " I think he must be very ill, or has killed himself, or some one has killed him." " Do you think so ?" " Parbleu! One does not shoot a pistol for nothing; and since he makes no noise he must be dead." "That is true! Break in the door, Father Niquelet. We must see what has happened." Several of the strongest men advanced toward the door, but "Father" Niquelet resolutely placed him¬ self before it. "Stop a moment, my children, I am opposed to this. I am responsible, I shall go for the police, all of you just remain where you are. Do not break in the door." "He is right," said several women, "it is better to call in the police." " That is my business; lam going this instant to the station-house. Stay where you are and watch the door." MONO, THE NEGRO 7 Hurrying his steps, Father Niquelet clattered down the stairs, grumbling between his long teeth, rendered yellow by the use of tobacco. " A crime in the house—that's nice! and weather that is not fit for a dog to go out in." He opened the door, but had not far to go. Upon the steps he found himself face to face with a little assembly gathered before the door, and toward which the police, guided by the directions of the neigh¬ bors, were coming from the two opposite extremities of the street. In a few words Father Niquelet made them under¬ stand the situation. One of the policemen was sent to fetch a locksmith, and also a police officer. Another guarded the door, and kept back the crowd, while two followed the jani¬ tor to the sixth story, to watch the room in which had been enacted the drama, as yet unknown, which opens this recital. HE police-station was not far off; so, a few mo¬ ments later, the commissary of police appeared. He was accompanied by detectives, his secretary, and a locksmith who had been summoned, and who held in his hands the different tools circumstances might call for. The police captain was a stout little man, plump and apoplectic-looking, with large, protruding eyes, turned-up nose, low forehead, and prominent jaws; a bull-dog head, in a word. He appeared to be in a very bad humor. Placed in a popular quarter where he rarely had an affair with fashionable and refined people, he had formed the habit of treating his prisoners with great brutality—a brutality which was natural to him, and which had, moreover, prevented his appointment fQ one or the central districts of the city. CHAPTER II. MONO, THE NEGRO. 8 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. This vexed and irritated him, and he revenged him¬ self by making his hand felt by the poor devils whose evil star brought them into his clutches. The iron hand was without the velvet glove, so dear to pictur¬ esque writers. "Let us see, what is all this?" grumbled he, stop¬ ping at the head of the stairs to recover his breath and to wipe the perspiration off his forehead, for the slightest effort at climbing stopped his breath and made him perspire. " Some drunken row, is it not? It is enough to break one's heart! One hundred and twenty-five steps! One might swear that they did it on purpose!" " Captain ," replied the janitor, " the door is closed, and we have called and knocked in vain; no one has answered. We are afraid that something very terrible has happened." " Very good—very good!" interrupted M. Blaireau— that was the captain's name. "We shall soon see." He advanced to the door, gave two sharp raps, and, in a bass voice, such as usually belongs to little men, pronounced the solemn words: " In the name of the law, open!" As solemn as they were, these words produced no more effect than had the semi-authoritative, semi- familiar objurgations of the janitor. No one answered. M. Blaireau shrugged his shoulders, and turning to¬ ward the locksmith, said: " Go on, you; do your duty!" The locksmith, who was as tall and thin as the cap¬ tain was short and fat, without uttering a word, in¬ stantly commenced his task. The crowd of tenants had been promptly ordered back by the police, and kept a short distance in the shadow, forming a sort of circle, in the center of which were the captain, his secretary, and Father Niquelet, whose office gave him the honor. This little group was lighted up by many lanterns with powerful reflectors, whose rays the police had directed toward the door on which the locksmith wag at work, MONO, THE NEGRO. 9 Above the shoulders of the police, through the gaps which separated them from one another, one might see emerge curious heads, with brilliant eyes, whose bodies disappeared, swallowed up in the dark sur¬ roundings; energetic heads, or those ravaged, by labor; heads of young or old women, unkempt or covered with bonnets of every description, and handkerchiefs of all colors. Towering above all these heads was a black and glossy one, covered with thick and matted wool, the eyes of which seemed to throw forth phosphorescent gleams. It was a negro's, and one might have sup¬ posed it to have been cut out of a block of jet, so dark and polished was that portion of the skin which was visible. Still young—he could not have been more than twenty years old—he appeared cut out for a Hercules, and one could easily guess the nervous strength of body and limbs under the sombre hued clothes which, covered him, and which were composed of pantaloons^ and a tight sack coat, buttoned to his chin, both madh of dark brown cloth. His motionless visage did not exhibit those flattened and heavy features that one generally finds among the African race. He had, on the contrary, a straight nose, lips only slightly protruding, and a forehead but very little depressed. His eyes, possessing an extraordinary animation and a prodigious brilliancy, appeared full of intelli¬ gence, and his entire pose expressed the intense inter¬ est which he took in the scene which was passing be¬ fore him. Had it not been for the preoccupation of the people gathered in this small space he would have attracted the general attention, and his presence would have been the object of a thousand commentaries, not only on account of the color of his skin, but because he was not an inhabitant of that house. He was perfectly unknown there, and no one could have said where he came from, how he had entered, why he was present, when, beyond the tenants of the house governed by Father 10 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. Niquelet, not a single stranger had been allowed to cross the threshold of the house. We may as well say at once that he had entered the house by gliding quickly behind the janitor at the moment when the latter was about going out to warn the police. Detaching himself from the gossips who were har¬ anguing on the pavement, he had slipped through the half-open door with such rapidity that neither M. Niquelet nor any of the curious assembly had noticed him. Now, everyone directed his or her looks toward the captain and the locksmith, without bothering himself about the strange companion who had suddenly sprung up, and who preserved absolute silence. " It is impossible to open it!" said the locksmith, after several useless attempts—" The key is on the in¬ side, and the door is double locked." " Then, force it!" said M. Blaireau—"And quickly!— Do you hear me—I do not intend to pass the night here—Have you a crowbar?" "Yes, captain!" " Then go to work!" The locksmith dropped a bunch of keys, seized the crowbar, and after placing the point under the doof commenced to throw his whole weight and strength upon it. On his naked and hairy arms (for he had his sleeves rolled up) where the iron and charcoal had left their traces, the muscles and veins stood out like a network of cords, stretched almost to bursting. Expectation and curiosity, pushed to their last ex¬ treme, absorbed the spectators to such a point that the house might have fallen to pieces without anyone dreaming of running away. The locksmith, after a vigorous effort, straightened himself again. " This door is more solid than I should have believed," said he, passing his black hand over his brow, furrowed with deep wrinkles. " It wants a Strong fellow " "To do what?" interrupted the captain. MONO, THE NEGRO. II "To lean against the door, so that I can introduce the crowbar. Without that I shall never be able to do anything." " Who'll volunteer?" said the captain. "Here—here!" cried several voices, promptly; but before the sound of these voices was heard, the negro whom we have described bruskly pushed aside, with irresistible force, two policemen, and found himself within the circle, near the police captain. They regarded him with some astonishment, and were going to ask him who he was and what brought him there. He did not give them time. He had al¬ ready thrown himself against the door, which creaked, bent and partially opened, under the formidable push of one of his shoulders. The locksmith quickly profited by the circumstance to introduce his iron bar into the interstice between the door and the casing, and added his weight to that of the negro. For nearly half a minute the lock resisted heroically; then they heard a crackling, at first dull, then sharp; there was a trembling, and, the screws loosening from the wood, the door suddenly fell in, carrying with it the negro and the locksmith, who fell—the first, back¬ ward, the second forward, into the middle of the room. At this sight there was a cry and a movement of the crowd on the landing. Everyone threw himself forward at the same time, in order to see and to enter. The police, surprised, were driven back, and one of them even went so far as to upset M. Blaireau, who, furious at the shock he had received, threw himself before the door, which he almost completely filled up, and cried out: " Thunder and lightning! drive back those animals! Make them leave the stairs! No one shall enter; and the first who resists or stirs, to the jail with him!" The police, recovered from their surprise, and ex¬ cited by the voice of their chief, turned once more against the crowd, drove them back, and with the aid 12 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. of a few blows, seasoned with strong oaths, had cleared the place in the twinkling of an eye. The landing was empty. The spectators were now scrambling up the stairs like a flock of human sheep, crushing one another un¬ der foot, elbowing their neighbors only to find them¬ selves wedged in and climbing over one another. The women cried, the men groaned; but M. Blaireau disturbed himself very little about that. There were no longer on the landing, nor near the door, any per¬ sons but himself and his secretary, beside the negro and the locksmith, who had picked themselves up. M. Blaireau entered the chamber, followed by these three persons and two officers, who, judging that their companions were sufficient to maintain order, disposed themselves to lend assistance, in the present case, to the representatives of justice. CHAPTER III. THE ROOM. IN the center of the room, near a square walnut table, the body of a man lay face downward in a pool of blood. The skull split open, or rather shattered, left visible a portion of the brain, which was oozing out. Death must have been instantaneous—which ex¬ plains why no outcry nor groans had succeeded the shots which had awakened the whole house, and even attracted the attention of two squads of police some distance off. Near the right hand of the corpse they found a re¬ volver, which the victim had doubtless dropped when he had fallen, stricken by a mortal blow. On the table was an expiring candle, whose uncer¬ tain and flickering rays partially lighted up this scene of death, and gave it, were it possible, a yet more sin¬ ister aspect, Beside the brass candlertick, full of verdigris, there was an open bottle arid two glasses half full of a liquid which, from its golden color and odor, one easily rec¬ ognized as brandy. Two chairs, facing each other, on opposite sides of the table, and both upset, shewed that there had been, only a few moments before, two perrons in this chamber. For one it was useless to seek: he was there, dead, his skull fractured—mute forever! As to the second, what had become of him? The room was very small, and, moreover, very high up, in the mansard roof, the slant of winch decreased its size at least one-half. The walls, whitened with lime, did not contain a cupboard in which anyone could have concealed him¬ self. The furniture consisted of an iron bedstead and a walnut chest of drawers, beside the table and two chairs, the only seats in the room. There was no fireplace. On a pine shelf, near the foot of the bed, there was a washbasin and a jug of water for daily needs. In all, there were two openings to this apartment—> the door which they had broken in, and through which the police captain and his companions had entered; and, opposite, a window called a snuff-box, whose raised sash let in the damp air of this rainy May evening, which rapidly melted the half-consumed tallow candle. With a rapid glance the police captain rendered him¬ self familiar with the premises; then, stooping toward the body: "This is indeed an assassination!" grumbled he, in a softened tone, and which did not conceal an internal feeling of satisfaction. This satisfaction meant: "At least they have not disturbed me for a trifle, a noth¬ ing! The affair is serious, it will create a sensation, and I may be able to distinguish myself in clearing it up—which will, perhaps, procure me advancement, or gome other good fortune." U THE DUKE OF KANDOS. " Raise the body, but with precaution, you devil! added he, addressing one of his inferiors. The body, being lifted, allowed the face of the old man to be seen, covered with a full beard, which, like his hair, was gray—a face, moreover, of the most vulgar type, with a bestial look, bearing numerous traces of the small-pox, and whose tanned skin resembled old leather. The features were uninjured; and then only they noticed that the ball, which had shivered the skull, had entered through the top of the head, a little to the rear. " What a curious wound!" the secretary of the com¬ missioner could not help crying out, although up to then he had not uttered a word, and appeared to tremble before his chief, whom he followed with the submission of a dog accustomed to blows. " One would say that whoever had fired that shot was on the ceiling." M. Blaireau shrugged his shoulders. " You always speak foolishly, Monsieur Pourille- There are two wounds. Look, there, one in the mid¬ dle of the breast! That was the one that knocked him over; the second wound, in the head, was given when he was down, and the top of his skull exposed to the assassin. It was a blow of kindness and of se¬ curity, in order to insure the death and the silence of the victim—for there is no doubt there were two per¬ sons here. The chairs and glasses demonstrate it, if even the nature of the wound in the head did not ren¬ der it evident." The assistants listened to M. Blaireau, and gazed at the corpse, without occupying themselves with each other, so that no one remarked the movement of in¬ tense surprise which escaped the negro, when the face of the victim was brought into full light, and one could distinguish the features. " Is he indeed dead?" at last asked M. Niquelet, who appeared absolutely stupefied at this spectacle. " Par bleu!" replied the police captain; ''the skull is crushed! Besides, I sent for a surgeon before I start- THE ROOM. €d; he will be here instantly, and will commence his ex¬ amination. Meanwhile, deposit the body on the bed, without deranging anything, and let us proceed with order." The two policemen cautiously lifted the corpse and placed it on the bed, taking the greatest possible care to preserve the attitude in which they had found it. " The assassin could only have escaped by the win¬ dow," continued M. Blaireau, " since the door was fastened inside, and as this garret presents no other oxit." He approached the window, and wished to look out, but the shortness of his figure prevented him from seeing anything. The secretary brought him one of the chairs, on which he mounted. "Oh—oh!" said he, "it rains hard—fit weather for a dog! Here is a terribly steep roof, where only a cat could walk without danger." " He has followed the gutter," observed one of the officers. "Doubtless; but where can that have conducted him? The night is as hot as an oven!" "Is it possible for one to gain the neighboring house by this way?" added he, turning toward the janitor. " Oh, yes, captain," replied the latter; " that is, if one could hold himself there without falling. There are half a score of houses which touch each other." "The whole block, indeed," said one of the police¬ men. "I know the neighborhood well; lam always on duty hereabouts." " That is it; and entering some garret, one could gain a stairway and escape, either by Oberkampf street, Moret street, or the Belleville boulevard. The devil! Run below immediately with your comrade, collect all the police you can find, and go and warn the janitors of the houses in question. If we arrive in time he is taken as in a mouse-trap. Let us be quick —be off!" The two police officers hastened out of the apart¬ ment, and the sound of their heavy boots was heard on i6 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. the stairs, which they descended on the run, after over¬ turning the tenants, still gathered at the entrance of the corridor. One of the officers had deposited his lantern on the table. "Pass me that lantern," ordered M. Blaireau, ad¬ dressing his secretary. " If the assassin has escaped this way he must have left some trace of his passage." The secretary hastened to obey this order, while the janitor, still very pale, exchanged a few words, in a low tone, with the locksmith. As to the negro, he kept apart, striving to make himself small, which was impossible, and endeavoring to pass unnoticed, which was easy amid the general preoccupation. His brilliant eyes went without cessation from the face of the dead to the window occupied by the po¬ lice captain with an extraordinary rapidity, without one's being able to divine what were the sentiments which agitated his brain. All one could be certain of was that he took a very great interest in all this scene, and particularly in the words and acts of the police captain. M. Blaireau was in possession of the lantern, whose powerful reflection sent to a great distance a bright ' and clear light, and methodically turned it about him. All at once he uttered an exclamation. The others approached M. Blaireau except the negro, who did not stir a step, contenting himself with quickly bending forward his shiny and wooly head. "Oh—oh!" said M. Blaireau. "There is no doubt of it, the assassin has made off by the roofs. Here is quite a long track visible as if a foot had slipped - Look, here, M. Pourille." And the captain drew a little to one side to permit his subordinate, who was sufficiently tall, to pass his head through the aperture. " Perfectly plain, sir," said the secretary, almost in¬ stantly, in an obsequious tone. "But what is that "which shines so?" "Whereabouts?'* THE ROOM. 17 "On the left, two or three yards off, in the gutter/' " Indeed, stop a moment!—One would call it a piece of glass or metal." "It is the chamber of a revolver," replied M. Blair- eau's secretary, " I can see it plainly." "So can I!" dryly responded the captain, who had seen it a little later, and who did not like to acknowledge that M. Pourille had seen it first. " The rogue has gone to the left, and has lost his weapon. It will be necessary to recover this weapon—and even to follow the trail as far as possible. He is perhaps concealed behind some chimney. It will require an adroit, vigorous and resolute man—and my officers are gone " "Oh! I don't know whether your officers would run the risk of following that way. There are nine chances out of ten of falling to the pavement. It would re¬ quire a carpenter or a roofer." "We know, Monsieur Pourille, that you are inca¬ pable of doing it," dryly interrupted the captain. "Nevertheless some one must go." "Me, massa!" said a slightly lisping voice. Everybody turned around with surprise. The negro had advanced to the center of the room, and it was he who had spoken. "Who are you? What are you?" demanded the po¬ lice captain, looking at him as if he saw the negro for the first time, and, in fact, he had forgotten him. " Me go on roof to get back pistol—find murderer." "Who are you? What are you doing here?" " Me servant to beautiful lady—came here by chance to see." "What is your name?" "Mono." "And you are a domestic?" continued M. Blaireau, perceiving that the brown clothes of the negro had tvhite metal buttons, that his pantaloons had a white band down the seam of each leg, and the facings of his short coat were of silver lace. " Yes, massa." "Whose?" 2 i8 THE DUICE OF KANDOS. " Madame de Los Rias'." "Where does she live?" "Near the Botanical Garden." " Very good. We will see about that later. And you say that you would dare venture yourself on the roof, in pursuit of the assassin?" " Yes, massa." " The dog has a firm and resolute air," grumbled the captain, to himself. " Very well, go ahead," added he, aloud. " It is important not to lose a minute. Only be careful, for the rascal, if you run across him, will defend himself." "Me armed," replied the negro, drawing from his pocket one of those formidable knives used in Spain and South America, and which they call a navaja. He rapidly opened it, placed it between his teeth, threw off his coat, under which he wore nothing but a coarse shirt of unbleached domestic, and took off his shoes, out of which came his enormous black feet, with long toes as supple as fingers. "Me ready!" said he. " That is good. You shall receive a recompense—if you succeed." The captain got down from the chair. The negro bounded upon the window-sill, with a cat's suppleness, and his body disappeared in the outer darkness. "You no light my way," said he, putting his head back through the window. " Light point me out, and make me uneasy." "He is right," said M. Blaireau. "Monsieur Pou- rille, take away the lantern." Nevertheless the police captain remained at the window, once more hoisted on the chair, and followed with his eyes in the darkness the white shirt, which allowed him to divine Mono's (since that was his namel course. ' The negro slowly glided down the roof until his feet touched the gutter. Then he noiselessly advanced his body glued to the coping of the house, stretching O THE ROOM. 19 himself out like a serpent, and without producing the slightest noise. He had directed his steps toward the left. All at once he arrested his steps, bent down, tottered, and for a moment appeared to overhang the chasm beneath. " Ah, poor devil! he is going to fall," murmured the representative of authority. " The animal gives me the vertigo. But no—there, he has recovered him¬ self." In fact, the negro was standing upright and waving his hand. " Ah! very good! He is showing that he has found the revolver. He is a rugged fellow." Just then the arrival of two new personages in the apartment forced the captain to quit his post of ob-' servation, These new arrivals were the physician sent for to examine into the nature of the wounds and the state of the body, and a chief of the detectives, who, having learned that a murder had been committed, hastened of his own accord to put himself at the disposition of M. Blaireau for the preliminary investigation. "Monsieur Pourille," said M. Blaireau, descending from his chair, "keep watch at the window. We are about to pursue our investigations." 20 THE DUKE OF KANDOS, CHAPTER IV. feLAIREAU WORRIES NlQUELET. THE sight of this detective caused the police cap¬ tain no pleasure, and even inspired him with a certain internal irritation. M. Blaireau had hoped to distinguish himself, as we have said, and to play the principal part in the great affair which had fallen to him from the skies; now the arrival of M. Percinet—the name by which the detective was generally designated, although it was not his real one—deranged all his plans and upset all his hopes. Percinet was highly appreciated at head-quarters, and passed for an able and shrewd man. Arriving at the beginning he was going to master the situation, govern it and appropriate all the bene¬ fits, to the detriment of M. Blaireau, whom he did not like, on account of former circumstances and old rivalries. Nevertheless the police captain had to put a good face on bad fortune, and forced himself to conceal his spite under the least aggressive form compatible with his splenetic temperament. " Ah! you here, Monsieur Percinet?" he said, show¬ ing his teeth, under the pretext of smiling. "You have the scent of a hound. The odor of game attracts you." "I was passing in the neighborhood," replied the detective—a brown, thin little man, with a flashing eye and the face of a weasel, who concealed great mus¬ cular strength under a frail aspect. "One of your men has related the details of the affair to me, and I have hastened to give you a surprise." " The principal part is done, Monsieur Percinet." BLA IRE A U WORRIES JV1Q UELE T. 21 And he explained in a few words what had passed, and the orders he had given. " Yes—yes, I know," said Percinet. " Before coming up I ascertained that your men were watching at the doors of all the surrounding houses, after having warned the janitors. I took it upon myself to make them also guard the extremities of each street, and no one can pass until after having submitted to a serious examination. If the assassin has not had time to es¬ cape before your arrival he cannot now escape. As to the individual who ran on the roof on the other's trail I augur nothing good." " Why is that?" "You do not know? That is perhaps the accom¬ plice." M. Blaireau became very red. " An accomplice—that negro—the lackey of a great lady." " Whom you have not seen—nor I either! Well— well! We will clear that up—anyhow he is hemmed in like the other one, and must explain himself soon." Then, stooping toward the captain, he added, in a lower tone: " Meanwhile send away the locksmith. The fewer there are about during the preliminary examination the better." The observation was just, and M. Blaireau hastened to comply with the suggestion by sending off the work¬ man, who was greatly discomfited at finding that his curiosity would have to learn patience, and that he would now know nothing more than the common herd. After he had gone, and while the physician was at¬ tentively examining the body, the two police officers, without disturbing themselves in regard to the pres¬ ence of the janitor, who might possibly be able to give them some information, devoted themselves to a summary investigation, which the desire of following the assassin's trail had hitherto caused to be neglect¬ ed. Here is the result of their first efforts: 22 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. First. It was established that robbery had not been the motive of the crime. None of the furniture bore the slightest trace of having been broken open. Nothing had been disturbed in the small chamber, which was evidently kept with remarkable order and cleanliness. Besides, everything in it denoted poverty, and it is not in the garrets of six-story tenement houses that a thief amuses himself by losing his time, or in risking his head by becoming a murderer. The idea of robbery set aside, there remained that of a quarrel; but a quarrel, above all, one between in¬ dividuals not belonging, according to probabilities, to the higher classes of society, should have been noisy, and it appeared certain that nothing had been heard before the sound of the fire-arms. On the other hand, it is a rare thing in Paris for two people seated at the same table in a private house to be both armed with revolvers. France is not America; and those who carry revolv¬ ers about their persons are there the exception. Was this, then, a case of vengeance? Perhaps. Nevertheless, it did not appear as if there had been any struggle, properly speaking. The crime must have been committed suddenly and with great rapidity, as if between persons who had an equal in¬ terest in finishing it quickly and without attracting at¬ tention. They had drank together, as was proven by the uncorked bottle and the two half-filled glasses. They had overturned their chairs, but the latter had remained where they had fallen. The victim's chair must have fallen when he had been hit by the first or the second ball, which had knocked him over; the assassin's when he arose to fire or to escape. What stood forth plainest of all the circumstances of the affair was that the two men knew each other and were friends, or, at least, comrades. Who had fired first? bla/reJ'u worries ni que let. - 23 Here the physician left no doubt. It was the vic¬ tim. The revolver picked up in the room, and which in- contestably belonged to him, for the wounds were made by balls belonging to a weapon of larger caliber, hacl been discharged once only, and they saw the mark made by its bullet on the wall opposite the door, near the snuff-box window. The ball had penetrated to some depth. Let us say that the victim had fired first. Indeed, the wound in the breast, which had preced¬ ed that in the head, was equally mortal, having gone through the heart, and the unfortunate receiver of it must have been destroyed by the first shot. As M. Blaireau said, the second wound was only an excess of precaution. Thus were explained the three successive shots, at irregular intervals. Both men had, in the first place, fired almost to¬ gether; then the assassin had approached the body, extended at his feet, and, with the muzzle of his pistol almost touching it, had discharged a last shot. But who was the victim, exactly? There,commenced the role of the janitor, Niquelet; and the police captain began to interrogate him with his customary brutality, which he did not dare to show toward the detective, Percinet, and so he revenged himself upon the janitor: " How did this man call himself?" he demanded. " Loriot." " Had he no other name?" " Peter. But in the house they called him, as a sort of pleasantry, godfather." " What did he do?" " He said that he would be rich in a short while ■ that he was about to come into a large sum." " Where? How?" "Ah! I do not know! He was mysterious, spoke little, went out almost all day, and often returned late." " And to-day?" 24 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. " He returned sooner than usual, singing in a gay manner." " Did he go into society?" " Outside, I don't know." " But here?" " Here? No, never." " Nevertheless, this evening " On my word, captain—you see me completely ^up¬ set—I have not seen anyone come up to his room! " That is impossible! You well know that someone came " " That is plain. But I swear to you perhaps a dozen people have called this evening, but not one has asked for M. Loriot!" " It seems to me that you take fine care of your house; and, if I was the proprietor, I should send you about your business no later than to-morrow morn¬ ing " " But, captain " " That is enough! You are a drunkard or an idiot! You do not look after the house! The assassin has not fallen from heaven! He entered by the door—he mounted the stairs! We will examine into this sub¬ ject thoroughly!" Father Niquelet, hearing this flood of menacing words, commenced waddling on his two legs, one of which was much shorter than the other, with that ter* ror which the police inspire in poor devils. " How long has Loriot lived here?" went on M. Blaireau, more and more roughly. " For three weeks." " Where did he come from?" " I know nothing about it." "How, animal! you know nothing about it? If I asked you, where is the wine merchant's, you would know, wouldn't you? Did you not ask for references? Haven't you seen his papers? Come, answer, instead of regarding me with such a besotted air." " But, captain, he paid in advance. He brought new furniture. It is my duty to see that the proprie¬ tor receives his rents regularly, and that there is no J? LA IRE A U WORRIES NI QUE LET. 25 trouble made in the house—the rest is no concern of mine." " So, then, this is all the information you can fur¬ nish —" "Dame! Ah! I now recall—" " What?" " He has spoken of traveling in the islands, in India, or America, I don't know just exactly which—but it was far off—and that he found it warmer there than here." " That helps us some. But there ought to be papers, something, no matter what, to tell us who this person was.'\i The captain and the detective then commenced a search, which, minute as it was, it did not take them long to finish. The room was small; the furniture scanty. One could see that it had been bought but a short time before, and that the purchaser had contented himself with what was only absolutely necessary. There was nothing to examine but the table and the bufeau, as they were the only pieces of furniture which contained drawers. That of the table, which had no lock, contained some old crusts of bread, three iron covers, and a knife of English manufacture. The bureau drawers were almost empty. In all they found two unmarked shirts, some handkerchiefs, socks, filthy and much used, an old coat—but not a paper—not an object by which one could establish an identity—nothing that spoke of the past, nor that re¬ vealed any habits. They also found some small change in an old net purse—about fifteen francs. And that was all. "The devil!—the devil!" grumbled M. Blaireau. "This is complicated!" "We can interrogate the furniture dealer," tran¬ quilly observed the detective, Percinet. " He can easily be found." While M. Blaireau read over the official report, pre¬ pared by his secretary, the detective had approached 26 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. the corpse, and attentively considered his face and his hairy chest, laid bare by the physician. "Hum!" said Percinet. "There is a head which tells me nothing good. It is neither the head of a workman nor of an honest man." He stooped down, raised the sleeve of the right arm, and brought to light many bluish tattooings. These represented a death's head, beneath a heart pierced by a knife, besides a date—"1820." "Here is something which may guide us!" cried the detective, standing erect once more. "We must have our men and spies, and, above all, our old convicts, see this body. Either I am very much deceived or here is an old acquaintance, who must have passed, some time or other, through the hands of the police.". "The fact is," said the physician, "that he is not handsome, and that his face reveals a life agitated by all the violent and wicked passions." "Yes," said M. Percinet, slowly rubbing his hands together, " he has rather the head of a murderer than of one murdered." CHAPTER V. FROM ONE GARRET TO ANOTHER. '\X7"HILE the police captain and the detective were engaged in their investigations, in the company of the physician and the janitor, the negro continued his daring course upon the roofs in search of the mur¬ derer. M. Blaireau had not deceived himself when he thought he saw the negro recover the revolver and wave it over his head to show that he had it. This done, Mono had placed the pistol in his panta¬ loons-pocket, and had continued, through the obscur¬ ity and rain, to silently creep along, with a calculated slowness that was not without resolution, without quit¬ ting the moist edge of the gutter, and clinging with PROM ONE GARRET TO ANOTHER. 27 his hands to the very smallest projections which the slippery roof offered him. The police captain's secretary had simply expressed the truth in declaring that none of the police at his chief's disposal would have dared on such a night to risk himself on such a perilous errand, where there were at least nine chances in ten of meeting a fright¬ ful death by falling from the roof to the pavement below. Only a roofer or a carpenter, accustomed to that kind of work, would have been able to run the risk; and, moreover, even he would have required daylight, ropes and ladders, in order to be certain of his prog¬ ress and his security; above all in such wet weather, which increased the danger tenfold. But our negro advanced with extraordinary audac¬ ity and agility, seeming to see in the dark, and cling¬ ing stoutly with his hands and bare feet—with his long, supple and nervous toes, which procured for him the same advantages possessed by cats. He apparently possessed the faculty of being four- handed, and also that certainty of movement which belongs only to the savage. After having gone a short distance farther, he found himself at the corner of the house, which he turned, and completely disappeared behind a chimney, which was the boundary of the neighboring property. Arrived there, he stopped for a few seconds, and ap¬ peared to look about, in order to find out exactly where he was, as far as the darkness would per¬ mit. At that moment, crouched against the chimney, to which he firmly and silently held on, his body was so completely confounded with the black wall that it would have been impossible for the sharpest e)*es to have suspected his presence. But this immobility did not last. Stooping, with infinite precaution, without loosening the hold which preserved his equilibrium, he slowly bent down to the roof, against which he placed his ear, and appeared to listen. He remained thus for nearly two minutes, and then 28 THE DUKE OF KAN DOS. arose to his knees, shaking his woolly head with a dis¬ satisfied air. He had evidently heard nothing. ^ ^ Then he extended one of his hands, passing it with extreme rapidity and minuteness in every direction. "He ought to have passed this way," murmured he between his white teeth; "but where has he turned to?—to the right?—to the left? Has he remounted the roof?—has he continued to follow the gutter?" To remount the roof was possible at this spot, where were a lot of chimney pots. All at once the negro trembled; his hand had felt where a tile was missing from its regular place; it had been thrust aside, as if by a vigorous downward pres¬ sure. At the same time his fingers had seized some frag¬ ments of brick, which had fallen from the chimney slightly above the place where he was standing. He uttered a sort of low and guttural grunt, which seemed to express satisfaction, and, no longer hesi¬ tating, he began, in his turn, to climb the roof, so as to raise himself to the top, and thus gain the opposite side of the house. Having reached the edge he lay on his stomach and let himself glide down, feet foremost, but still retain¬ ing his hold on the chimney. This maneuver had something frightful about it, for he thus directed himself toward the street be¬ low, to which his back was turned; but the negro evi¬ dently knew neither vertigo nor nervousness, which so greatly increase the danger in such cases. He did not hurry himself, each fraction of an inch below him was carefully felt, verified, and listened to, if one can so call it, by his feet, which seemed endowed with an unheard of tact and intelligence. Finally he encountered the opposite edge of the new house, which faced the Belleville Boulevard, and there he stopped. At a great depth beneath him he perceived the gas¬ lights, and a dull noise, which ascended from below announced that some curious people were still sta- FROM ONE GARRET TO ANOTHER. 29 tioned at the corner of the street and the boulevard, although kept at a distance by the police, who guarded the house-doors and the extremities of each of the streets forming the square, thus isolating the theater1 of the crime. His eager eyes looked below for a moment, while his ear sought to analyze the character and the sense of the confused sounds which came up to him; then he brought his eyes to bear on the spot he occupied, and once again endeavored to ascertain his where¬ abouts. If he turned to the left he must necessarily return by another route to the house he had just quitted. According to all probabilities the assassin should have tried to escape from there. Therefore, he must turn to the right, and that was what the negro reso¬ lutely did. Up to the present he had found no garret window opening on the roof. Now, on the contrary, he saw many, standing out in profile against the sombre sky. He continued on his way, redoubling his efforts to make no noise which could give warning of his ap¬ proach, even holding his breath as an extra and ex¬ cessive precaution. In this manner he arrived at the first window and stopped, inspecting it slowly. This window was dark and closed. He passed his hands over the glass, then placed his ear against it, in¬ terrogating all the surroundings with his eyes and fingers, and appeared convinced that he whom he pur¬ sued had not passed through there. Indeed, admitting that the assassin had reclosed the window after having entered the garret or loft to which it gave light, he must have commenced by open¬ ing it; to do that he would have to break at least one pane. Now the glass was intact, and nothing revealed to the practiced eyes of the African the passage of a man through this place. He therefore proceeded on his way, inspecting with the same care and lack of success, three other garret- 3° THE DUKE OF KANDOS. windows, and two snuff-box windows which he en¬ countered on his route. This did not appear to discourage him, and, with¬ out tiring, he turned a second corner which brought him toward Oberkampf street. There he suddenly stopped. He perceived a light, the first since he commenced his perilous travels, which pierced the darkness and signalled to him from afar some kind of an open- ing. This light was extremely pale, slightly intermittent, and appeared ready to go out at any moment. In place of hastening his steps, the negro now slack¬ ened them, and stole along slowly and silently, like a hunting-dog who had struck the trail and scented the game. In this way he approached the lighted window, and, when he was close to it, he once again applied his ear to the roof and listened a long time; then, doubtless reassured by the silence, he little by little raised him¬ self so that his head was on a level with the window, through which he threw a quick and ardent glance. Then he uttered, for a second time, a low and gut¬ tural grunt, which seemed habitual to him in decisive moments, and, raising himself with his hands, he soon stood on the sill of the window, through which he leaped with one bound. He found himself in a garret-room, like the one in which the crime had been committed, and equally small. The pale, intermittent light which had attracted him hither proceeded from a lighted wax-candle, which had fallen on the floor, and whose expiring flame, although threatening to go out, had, from the current of air established between the window and a half-open door opposite, commenced to burn the part of the floor where it lay. The whole chamber was in extreme disorder. It was evident that there had been here, only a few moments before, a violent struggle. A table, covered with papers, had been overturned, FROM ONE GARRET TO ANOTHER. 3* carrying with it the chair, which was lying near the candle. Wet tracks, reproducing the form of a large foot covered with mud, like the negro's naked feet, spread out on the floor, going from the window toward the door, then returning toward the center of the little apartment, where there had been much stamping of feet, as if in a struggle between two persons. Sheets of music, covered with quavers and semi¬ quavers, were scattered here and there; but, fortun¬ ately, they had not fallen near the candle or they would have caught fire, which would have probably extended to the entire room. Besides the table, chair, some white wooden shelves encumbered with music-books, and a piano placed against the wall to tfie left, if one entered by the win¬ dow, there was no other furniture, notably, no bed. • - • It was evidently a working-room, where no one came but at certain hours, and for certain special oc¬ cupations; and he who occupied it, at these moments, could not be very well off, judging from the quality and the simplicity of the furniture more than from the amount. The negro, after having assured himself that the room was empty, entered it, as we have said. His first care was to immediately pick up the candle and inspect his surroundings, particularly the imprint of the naked feet. To do this he stooped toward the floor, taking care not to mix his own footsteps with those which pre¬ ceded them, and he quickly thrust aside the sheets of music which covered some of them. In displacing a sheet, he all at once uncovered a weapon—a knife which had fallen and was abandoned there, in the haste of sudden flight. He threw himself upon this weapon, gazed at it and uttered his habitual grunt. There was no doubt that he had made an important discovery. . The weapon which he had picked up was, indeed, 32 THE DUKE OE KANDOS. like the open one he held between his teeth, which during his long and dangerous trip upon the roof, he had never allowed to escape. It was a Spanish knife, a navaja. " There is no doubt of it," he murmured in excellent French, without using the childish dialect customary with most blacks, and which he had employed before the police captain. " He entered here, and found a man, or was surprised by one. There was a struggle between them—still, this knife bears no trace of blood —he was unable to see it—or had not time—or he dared not—but where has he gone?" He silently reflected for a moment. " Could he have been arrested by the neighbors? No—the whole house would be in a state of excite¬ ment, and it is perfectly calm, mute—no one appears to suspect " He had approached the dOor, which opened on a long corridor, full of other doors, evidently opening into garrets, which led to the stairs. He cautiously entered this corridor, holding the candle in his hand, after having hidden the denuncia¬ tory weapon in his pocket. The wet footsteps were also found here, but less marked, the feet having become drier. At a short distance from the door a white object at¬ tracted his attention—it was a woman's cuff. He quickly seized it, looked at it, and then con¬ cealed it as he had the knife, saying: "Oh—oh! a woman has come upon the scene—this has something, of the incomprehensible about it." He re-entered the chamber, replaced the candle oh the floor, but upright this time, then went out again, gained the stairway and descended it with the step of a wolf, without making a single step creak. Reaching the floor beneath he stopped, his head stretched forward, as if he had heard something un¬ usual. It- must have been so, for, in the darkness, guided dnly by this noise, imperceptible to any other than himself, he insensibly approached a door which he FROM ONE GARRET TO ANOTHER. 33 Could not see, but which he recognized "by the touch, and he placed his ear against the key-hole. There he heard, without being able to distinguish the words, several people speaking, with great caution, in a back room, doubtless after having taken care to close one or two communicating doors within the apajtment. Still he was perfectly certain that a woman was sob¬ bing, and a loud voice, quickly hushed, made him tremble. "He is there!" murmured he; "but who are these who occupy this apartment, and who conceal him? I will know." He was going to listen again, when a violent noise came up from the ground floor, at the same time that a bright gleam threw its light across the balusters of the stairs. The front door of the house was open, and many persons had entered with lanterns. The negro bent over the railing and looked. "Oh—oh!" said he, "the police! They are about to make a search!" After a moment's hesitation, he ascended the stairs, quickly regained the room in the garret, and noise¬ lessly entered it, 3 34 THE DUKE OF KANDOS. CHAPTER VI. IN WHICH GAS TON LAPIERRE PASSES FROM THE GREAT¬ EST UNEASINESS TO THE GREATEST SURPRISE. THE negro had not deceived himself. It was really, in fact, the police who had entered, in the shape of the stout and cross M. Blaireau, the angular Percinet, and many solid fellows, dressed in police uniform. The negro having taken nearly three-quarters of an hour to gain the house in Oberkampf street, where we have accompanied him, the police captain had had time to finish the summary inquest reported by us in a preceding chapter, and not seeing return his singu¬ lar fellow laborer, who had offered himself to seek the assassin on the roofs by which he must have escaped, the captain had commenced visiting the houses form¬ ing the block, in the hope of capturing the criminal, if he had succeeded in concealing himself in some gar¬ ret. " If we do not find him," said Percinet, " which, af¬ ter all, is possible, for he may have entered one of the' neighboring houses before the alarm was given and watchfulness established, we will still find some indi¬ cation of his passage. Perhaps he may have met some¬ one on the stairs who let him pass without mistrust, but who can give us a description of him." What the detective did not add aloud, for fear of deeply wounding M. Blaireau, was that he was dis¬ trustful of this negro, who had come so opportunely, and whom he wanted to meet as soon as possible, in order to question him and to assure himself of his identity. The two representatives of justice had already visit¬ ed many of the neighboring houses, questioning the GASTON LAPIERRE, ETC. 35 janitors and tenants, making them open the garrets and lofts under the roofs, in order to discover the mur¬ derer, if he had sought refuge in any of them, but all in vain. He whom they pursued was not there. They had neither seen nor heard anything of him. They now visited in its turn the house in Ober- kampf street. "For two hours," said the janitor, "no one has passed my room, nor asked me to open the front door." " Consequently if he has entered he has not gone out," answered the police captain. " Have the lofts or garrets an opening on the roof?" demanded Percinet. " Certainly, sir, many of them." " Then a careful search must be made among them." "I have duplicate keys of the garrets." "No matter," replied the detective; "the tenants must be asked for theirs, which will permit us to see and question them. One never knows what may hap¬ pen. One of these may doubtless be able to give us useful information." " Are you sure of your tenants?" bruskly interrupted the police captain. " Do you know them well?" " Oh, perfectly," replied the janitor, holding up his head with dignity. " This is an honest and quiet house. I would not put up with a worthless individ¬ ual or doubtful people. This is not like the houses on either side, full of beggars and workmen. Here we only have people of means." "Who have lived here for some time?" " The latest came three years since," proudly replied the janitor, " and never one minute late with their rent. On the eighth and fifteenth, at midday, I present the bills, and within a half hour everything is paid." With this information the police commenced their ascent. The janitor knocked at the doors. The police cap¬ tain asked those who answered if they had heard or 3$ THE DUKE OF KAA