The I DESTROYER By BURTON E. STEVENSON CHAPTER SEVEN (Continued.) ‘‘I must wara you again, Bris son, and you, Madame,” he said, severely, ‘‘that of this not a single word must be breathed—to no one. Let it pass from your minds as though it had never been. It is an affair of high diplomacy; and you might suffer much were it known that you are concerned in it. In behalf of France, I thank you, and I shall have care that your so great service is brought to the attention of the proper persons. But remember—not a word! Monsieur and Madame were faithful—only in the seclusion of their bedroom, with the light ex tinguished, and in bated whispers, did they ever discuss it. And, as at this point they pass from this story, let it be added that, some months later, a parcel was deliv ered at their door, which, when opened, was found to contain a handsome vase of Sevres. Inside the vase was a card, ‘‘To Mon Bieur and Madame Aristide Bris son, from Theophile Delcasse, as a slight recognition of their serv ices to France.” It would be impossible to say which this worthy couple valued most highly, the vase or the card. Certain it is that, if you are ever a guest at the du Nord, you will be shown both of them, the vase in a velvet lined ease against the wall and the card, neatly framed, just below it. And, in considera tion of their increased importance, Monsieur and Madame have con sidered themselves justified in in creasing their tariff 10 per cent. As soon as Lepine and Crochard were alone together, the former took the photograph from his pocket, looked at the number on the back, and then consulted a typewritten list of names. Then, with a hand not wholly steady, he handed the list to his companion. ‘‘Number 18,” he said. Opposite that number Crochard read, ‘‘Admiral H. Packman, chief of the wireless service;” and then he gazed at the photograph long and earnestly, as though impress it indelibly upon his mind. CHAPTER VIII. THE SECOND INSTALLATION. The board of inquiry begans its ' sessions that afternoon, at the pre I fecture of marine. It was com I posed of the most distinguished of ! ficers of France, who had donned 1 for the occasion their most bril liant uniforms. There was much paraphernalia—secretaries, port - folios, red taped papers, reports—; all that display so dear to the French temperament; and every one wore an air of importance and solemnity befitting time and place. M. Delcasse opened the session with a ringing speech, forming a notable contrast to the platitudes uttered by the president in the morning. In fact, it was so bold in its allusions to an approaching struggle with “the implacable ene my of the republic,” that the members of the board glanced covertly at each other in astonish ment. Their astonishment was the greater because, as they well knew, M. Delcasse was not given to indiscretions. At least, his in discretions were always nicely calculated ones. He knew when to speak and when to hold his tongue—none better; and the faet that he thought it necessary to speak now proved that the affair was serious indeed. At the end ef the speech, the board proceeded in a body to an inspection ef the wreck. Lepine, meanwhile, armed with the description Crochard had giv en him, set his men to work to dis cover the dwelling place of the white haired stranger who had been seen passing back and forth along the road outside the city gate. But, to his chagrin, evening came and his men had discovered nothing. It is true that the inves tigation was rendered more than usually difficult by the fact that the town was still in an uproar, and no one wished to speak of any thing but the disaster. For the mo ment, the memories of the people went no farther back than dawn of the previous day. In a day or two, when the first excitement had passed, there would be a much bet ter chance of success. So, at least, reasoned Inspector Pigot, whose watchward was al ways patience! But the reasoning satisfy.Patience 1 10 was not always a virtue. In this affair, it was impossible to wait a day or two. With every hour, no doubt, the man they sought was pntting fresh leagues between him self and his pursuers. Crochard, so Lepine told himself miserably, Crochard would not wait a day or two. Perhaps, already • • • He put on his hat and sought the Cafe de Voyageurs. Choosing the seat which he had occupied that morning, he ordered a liqueur and sat for an hour contemplating the crowd. Again he perceived that the proprietor was absent; but this time the head waiter did not approach, or even meet his glance. He thought, for a moment, of calling him and asking for Cro ehard; but he finally decided that that would be too great an indis cretion. Besides, as Crochard had pointed out, in this affair it was Lepine who followed. It was for him to receive instructions, not to give them. At last, with a feeling of depression and dependency quite new to him, the great detec tive left the cafe, returned to his hotel and went to bed. But early next morning, things began to move again. He had scarcely finished his breakfast, when a summon -, came from M. Delcasse to attend him at once, and when Lepine entered his of fice, he saw tl ,:t something of importance had occurred. De cease already had i visitor—a tall, thin man, dressed severely in black with the word ‘ banker” written all over him. l.epine was there fore not surp-n.ed when the vis itor was ihtr dneed to him as the manager of ' c Toulon branch of the Hank o' i'rance. We hav something of inter est here,” s; ! Delcasse, and tossed over to Lep.j.e two notes for 100 francs each. The later ' - eyes were shining as he picked them up, glanced; at their numbe-j, and then compared them with third note which he took from his poeketbook. They are of the same series,” hi* said. ‘‘Where did you get! them, sir?" and he turned to the1 hank maun -or. w »•<* ...! 4 1. I • ' i... • Ml I 40 I bv lb- ■ r of the central rail way S1'tafioM.” " When ?" “'On flu' afternoon of MoJidav, the 2Mh. ” “How did ye ’ discover thorn?” ‘coeeiV" ! instructions yes terday from P i -is to report im mediately tlic i '■ eipt of any notes ot this series. Our cashier, while checking up -our deposits yester day evening, happened upon these notes, and identified them as a part of the railway deposit of the day before. The matter was re ported to me, and I at once for warded the report to Paris. This morning I received a telegram in structing me to report in person to M. Deleasse, and I hastened to do so. ” “You have done well, sir,” said the minister, “and I thank you. We will ask you to exchange these notes for two others, and further more to say nothing to any one of this discovery or of having seen me.” The exchange was made, the hanker departed, and Lepine, with the notes in his poeketbook, has tened away to the Gare Centrale. Arrived there, he asked for the : chief, introduced himself, and1 stated his business. “I have her* two *M*«,” he said, “which were deposited by your cashier last Monday after noon. It is most important that I find out from whom this money was received, and to what point tickets were purchased. The pur chase was made, no doubt, some time during Monday.” “The money might have been received Sunday,” the ehef-dn gare pointed out. “Since the bank is closed Sunday, we can make no deposit on that day.” “I have reason to believe it was not received until Monday,” said Lepine. “May I interrogate the cashiers, beginning with the one. who was on duty at daybreak Monday?” “There are two men on duty at all hours,” explained the chief; “and each trick is eight hours in length. The first begins at 6 o’clock in the morning. At which hour was daybreak on Monday?” “At 5 o’clock and 49 minutes.” “The clerks who were in the bureau at that hour ar« not here i now, but I can have them called.” “Let us interrogate the ones who are here,” suggested Lepine. “Perhaps it will not be necessary to disturb the others. ’ ’ The chief pressed a button and | summoned the ticket sellers, one after the other. The first had no recollection of having received the notes, but with his companion Le pine was more successful. Yes, yes, I remember them per fectly,” he said, when they were shown to him. “My attention was called to them because they were both quite new. I looked at them closely to make certain that they were genuine, and noticed that they were numbered consecutive ly. Another detail which caused them to remain in my memory was the striking appearance of the per son who gave them to me.” Lepine’s heart was throbbing with triumph. “Describe this man,” he said. “Ah, sir,” said the clerk, “that is just it. It was not a man, but a girl—a girl of 18 or 20. That is what drew my attention. It is not usual to have a girl like that ask for two tickets, second class, to Paris.” “A girl!” stammered Lepine. “You are sure?” “Perfectly sure, sir.” '’Well, describe her, then.” The clerk half closed his eyes in order the better to vizualize his memory. “She was, as I have said, of about 19, and she was not a Frenchwoman. * ’ “How do you know that?” “Because, in the first place, she spoke French not very well; and, in the second place, there was in her manner an assurance, a free dom from embarrassment, which a French girl of her station would not possess.” “Was she light or dark?” “She was dark, sir, with bright black eyes, with which she looked at one very steadily. She was slightly built, of medium height, simply dressed, so far as I could see through the little window, not fashionably, with with good ef fect. However, what impressed me most was her calm assurance —almost American; but she was too dark to be of America.” Reading between the lines, Le pine suspected that the clerk had attempted to start a flirtation with the selfpossessed unknown, and had been rebuffed. And yet, what he said was true—young girls in France were not, ordinarily, en trusted with the buying of railway tickets, especially for so consider able a journey. “You are sure the tickets were to Paris?” "it's, sir; second class. I re member distinctly giving her 64 francs in change.” ‘‘At what hour was this?” ‘‘About 8 o’clock, sir.” ‘‘Of Monday morning?” “Yes, sir; of Monday morn ing.” .‘‘At what hour was the next train for Paris?” “At 8:15, sir, the express departs.” ‘‘The girl had no companion?” “ I saw none, sir.” ‘‘She certainly had a compan ion, or she would not have bought two tickets.” ■'Perhaps the inspector at the gate can toll us something,” the chief suggested, and the clerk was dismissed and the inspector sum moned. But he could give them no information. I'll ere had been many passengers for- the express, and. besides, every one, himself in cluded, was so distressed and over wrought by the catastrophe of tW morning that there had not,been the usual attention to detail. The inquiry was extended to the b&g gae porters, but with no better success. They, too, had been up set by the disaster and had thought of nothing else. Some of them had frankly deserted their pouts in order to hasten to the barber front. None of those who remained had notieed a white haired man and a dark haired girl. ‘‘Come!” said Ivepine savagely to himself, as he left the station. "This is not getting ahead—we must try the cabs. But first • • •” He turned toward the prefec ture and quickened his steps, for suddenly he scented a new danger-. This white haired man, then, was in the pay of Germany. He had destroyed La Liberte for a price— an immense priee, no doubt! And now he had gone to Paris. From there, where would he go? To Brest, perhaps, to work similar mischief there. Lepine shivered a little. The best men he had left at Paris must be sent to Brest with instructions to arrest the fugitives at sight. Two people, so unusual | in appearance, would find it diffi j cult to avoid the police in so small j a town. But in Paris—that was I different. Yet even there some- j J thing might be done. And then ^ ^ there was always ehanee, divine j chance, which might, at any mo ment, deliver them into his hands, Ah, if only he were strolling along the boulevards, looking into this face and that I “Decidedly, I must be getting back!” Lepine murmured; and, having arrived at the prefecture, he sent a long telegram to his as sistant at Paris and another to the prefect at Brest. Then he sum moned Pigot. “You will interro gate the cabmen at the Garc Cen trale,” he said, “as to which of them drove a white haired man and a dark haired girl to the sta tion for the Paris express, Monday morning. And, understand well, Pigot, there must be no failure this time!” Then, as the door closed behind Pigot’s retiring fig ure, he slapped himself smartly on the forehead. “I am a fool!” he cried, and hurried from the build ing and called a cab. There are many dealers in elec trical supplies at Toulon, and it was not until he reached the l'oirth one that Lepine found a ray of light. No; its proprietor had no recollection of any sales to strangers. A little white haired man? No. But stay—there had been a white haired man! No, he had bought nothing. He had had a battery recharged—a heavy bat tery of an unusual type. Yes, it had been delivered. One mo ment, and the man slowly turned the pages of his ledger, while Le pine bit his lips with impatience. Here it was—the address—80 Rue du Plasson, fourth floor. In another moment, Lepine’s cab was rattling over the cobbles in the direction of the quays. “Paster! Paster!” he urged. And then they were in the Rue du Plasson. “Behold No. 80, sir,” said the cabman, and pulled up sharply. There was already a cab at the curb, and as Lepine jumped out, the door of the house opened and Pigot appeared on the threshold. He stared at his chief in astonish ment. “1 was just coming to report to you, sir,” he said. “The birds have flown.” “Indeed!” sneered Lepine. “So you have discovered that, have you? But the installation is here, I suppose?” I i tr • » » » a Co, an, aiiswerpu ri}(ui, i very red. “On the fourth floor.” Lepine hounded up the stairs, and Pi got followed in silence. He felt that he had been used unjust ly; after all, he was not a wizard —what did the chief expect! At the top of the house, Lepine glanced first into the narrow room which we have already seen; then lie returned to the landing and opened the other door. Tt led into a still narrower room, also extend ing to the front of the house, and lighted by a single window. Le pine went to the window and looked out. Over the roof of the low market across the way he could see the harbor, the warships, and the wreck of La Liherte. Then he turned to an examination of the room. A heavy box stood before the window, and on the floor beside it were three large batteries. Some pieces of copper wire were lying about, but there was nothing else, lu the top of the box, however, four holes had been bored, as though for the reception of bolts, and one side of the box was badly burned. The sill of the window was also scorched and blistered. “Yon have the proprietor of this house?” Lepine inquired. ‘“He is below,” Piogot an nounced, and went to fetch him. But from the proprietor, a nerv ous little man with a dirty heard, 1/epinc learned little. He lived at the rear of the ground floor, and 10 days or perhaps two weeks be fore, a man had knocked at the door and asked if the upper floor was to rent. ‘•What sort of man?” Lepein* incpiired. “ A dark man, with white bair, sir; not a had looking man, bat not a Frenchman.” “A German, perhaps.” “hfo, most certainly not a Ger man; an Italian or a Spaniard. ” “What was his business?” “He said he was an inventor and desired the top floor for his experiments. I told him that in that case I should have to charge extra, as experiments were always dangerous. lie did not object, and paid a month in advance. He seemed a very harmless person ” “Was lie alone?” “At that lime, yes, sir. Rut when he returned with his bag gage, his daughter accompanied him." “How do you know it was his daughter?” \ “lie told me so, sir. The •-«* semblance was very evident. Re. sides, he insisted that I aupplv material to curtain off a portion of the room for her lu-1.” (CONTINUED NEXT \VKKlv> SOLO SHOTGUN ^' FOR TEN DOLLARS And Filed on Western Canada Land. Now Worth $50,000. Lawrence Bros, of Vera, Saskatche wan, are looked upon as being amongst the most progressive farmers in West ern Canada. They have had their “ups-nnd-downs,” and know what it Is to be In tight pinches. They perse vered, and are now In an excellent financial position. Their story is an interesting one. Coming in from the states they traveled overland from Calgary across the Battle river, the Bed Doer river, 'through tbe Eagle Hflls and on to Bnttleford. On tbe way their horses were stolen, but this did , not dishearten them. They had some money, with which they bought more horses, and some provisions. When they reached Battleford they had only money enough to pay their ferriage over the Saskatchewan river, and this they had to borrow. It was in 1906 that they filed on homesteads, having to sell a shotgun for ten dol lars In order to get sufficient money to do so. Frank Lawrence says: “Since that time we have acquired altogether a section and a half of land, in addition to renting another three quarters of a section. If we had to- sell out now we could probably realize about $50,000, and have made all this since we came here. We get crops In this district of from 3© to 35 bushels of wheat to the acre and oats from 4© to- 80 bushels to the acre-. Stock here pays well. We have 1,700 sheep, 70 cattle and 60 horses, of which a number are registered Clydes.” Similar successes might be given of the experiences of hundreds of farm ers throughout Western Canada, who have done comparatively as well. Why should they not dress well, live well, have comfortable homes, with all mod ern equipments, electric light, steam, heat, pure ventilation, and automo biles.. Speaking of automobiles it will be a revelation to the reader to learn that during the first half of 1917. 10, 000 automobile licenses were- issued in Alberta, twice- as many as in the whole of 1916. In- Saskatchewan.. 21.000 li censes were Issued up to- the first of May, l'9tT. In, its monthly bulletin for June the Canadian Bank of Commerce makes special reference to this phase , and to the general prosperity of the ^ West In the following: Uenerally speaking the- western farmer is, in many respects, in a much better position than hitherto to in crease his production. Two years of high prices for his products have en abled him. even with a normal crop, to liquidate a substantial proportion of his liabilities and at the same time to buy improved farm machinery. His prosperity is reflected In the demand for building materials motor cars and other equipment. It is no doubt true that some extravagance Is evi denced !>y the astonishing demand fo« motor cars, but it must be remembered that many of these cars will make for • efficiency on the farm and economize both time and labor."-—Advertisement. Her “Meatless Day.”' T!vo day after Prosecuting Attorney Horace