r\ _
THE
TEETH OF THE TIGER
V by y
MAURICE LEBLANC
TRANSLATED BY
ALEXANDER TE1XEIRA DE MATTOS
-.' -.
V
CHAPTER POUR. (Continued.)
‘' I don "t know. They have been
there a long time.”
“Mazeroux,” said M. Desma
iions, “try them on that door.”
Mazeroux did so. The door
opened.
“Yes,” said Mine. Fauville. “I
remember now, my husband gave
th era to me. They were duplicates
of bis own keys-”
The words were uttered in the
most natural tone and as though
the speaker did not even suspect
the terrible charge that was form
ing against her.
And nothing was more agoniz
ing than this tranquility. Was it
a sign of absolute innocence, or the
infernal craft of a criminal whom
nothing is able to stir? Did she
realize nothing of the tragedy
•which was taking place and of
which she was the unconscious
heroine? Or did she guess Die
terrible accusation which was
gradually closing in .upon her on
every side ami which threatened
her with the most awful danger?
But, in that ease, how could she
have been guilty of the extraordh
nary blunder of keeping those two
keys ?
A series of questions suggested
■itself to the minds of all those
present. The prefect of police put
them as follows:
“You were out, rnadame, were
you not, when the murders were
committed?”
“Yes.”
“You were at the opera?”
“Yes; and I went on to a party
at the house of one of my friends,
Mine. d’Ersingen.”
“Did your chauffeur drive
you ?’ ’
“To the opera, yes. But I ficnt,
him back to Ids garage; and he
came to fetch me at the party.”
“I see,” said M. Desmalions.
“But how did you go from the
opera to Mine. d’Ersingen’a?”
For the first time Mine. Fauville
seemed to understand that she was
the victim of a regular’ cross exam
ination; and her look and attitude
betrayed a certain uneasiness. She
.replied:
“I took a motor eab.
“ • In the street ? ’'
■“On the Place dc ly’Opcra.”
“At 12 o’clock, therefore?”
“No, at 11:30: I left before the
•opera was over.”
“You were in a hurry to get to
your friend’s?”
“Yes * * • or rather-”
She stopped; her cheeks were
scarlet; her lips and chin trem
bled ; and she asked:
“Why do you ask me all these
questions?”
“They are necessary, madame.
They may throw a light on what
we want to know. 1 beg you,
therefore, to answer them. At
what time did you reach your
friend’s house?”
“I hardly know. I did not no
tice the time.” r
“Didyou go straight there?”
“ Almost.”
“How do you mean, almost?”
“I had a little headache and
♦old the driver to go up the
•Champs Elysees and the Ave
nue du Hois very slowly and
then down the Champs Elysees
« gain ”
She was becoming more and
more embarrassed. Her voice
grew indistinct. She lowered hei
bead and was silent.
Certainly her silence contained
no confession, and there was noth
ing entitling any one to believe
that her dejection was other that
a consequence of her grief. Bui
yet she seemed so weary as to give
the impression that, feeling her
self lost, she was giving up the
fight. And it was almost a feeding
of pity that was entertained fot
this woman against whom all the
circumstances seemed to he eon
spiring, and who defended herseli
so badly that her cross examine!
hesitated to press her yet further
M. Desmalions, in fact, wore at
1 .irresolute air. as if the victory
Shad been tern easy, and as if lie hat
-some scruple about pursuing it.
Mechanically he observed Per
t>nna, who passed him a slip o
paper, saying:
"Mine, d’Brsingen s tclcplioin
mutnber.”
M. Desmalions murmured:
“Yes, true, they tnay know—’
And, taking down the receivei
Jke asked for number 325.04. H
11
was connected at once and con
tinued :
“Who is that speaking? * * *
The butler? Ah ! Is Mine, d ’Ersin
gen at home? * * * No? • * * Or
monsieur? * * * Not he, either?
* * * Never mind, you can tell me
what I want to know. I am M.
Desmalions, the prefect of police,
and I need certain information. At
what time did Mine. Fauville come
last night! ** a * What, do you say?
o * m j\rc y0U sure7 * * * At 2
o’clock in the morning? * * * Not
before? * * * And she went away?
* * * In 10 minutes’ time? * * *
Good. * * * But you’re certain you
are not mistaken about the time
when she arrived? I must know
this positively: it is most impor
tant. * * * You say it was 2 o’clock
in the morning? Two o’clock in
the morning? # * * Very well. * * *
Thank you.”
When M. Desmalions turned
.round, he saw Mine. Fauville
standing beside him and looking
at him with an expression of mad
anguish. And one and the same
idea occurred to the mind of all
the onlookers. » They were in the
presence either of an absolutely in
nocent woman or else of an excep
tional actress whose face lent
itself to the most perfect simula
tion of innocence.
“What do you want?” she
stammered. “What does this
mean? Explain yourself!”
Then M. Desmalions asked
simply:
“What were you doing last
night between 11:30 in the even
ing and 2 o'clock iu the morn
ing?”
It was a terrifying question at
the stage which the examination
had reached, a fatal question im
plying :
“If you cannot give ns an exact
and strict account of the way in
which you employed your time
while the crime was being com
mitted. we have the right to con
clude that you were not alien to
the murder of your husband and
stepson-”
She understood it in this sense
and staggered on her feet, moan
ing:
‘‘It's horrible! * * * horrible!
The prefect repeated:
“What, were you doing? The
question must be quite easy to an
swer. ’ ’
“Oh,” she cried, in the same
piteous tone, “how can yon be
lieve! * * * Oh, no, no, it’s not
possible! How can you believe!”
“[ believe nothing yet,” he
said. “Besides, you can establish
the truth with a single word.”
It seemed, from the movement
of her lips and the sudden gesture
of resolution that shook her frame,
as though she were about to
speak that word. But all at once
siie appeared stupefied and dum
founded, pronounced a few unin
telligible syllables, and fell hud
dled into a chair, sobbing coucul
sively and uttering cries of des
pair.
It was tantamount to a confes
sion. At the very least, it was a
confession of her inability to sup
ply the plausible explanation
which would have put an end to
i the discussion.
The prefect of police moved
away from her and spoke in a low
1 voice to the examining magistrate
' and the public prosecutor. Per
enna and Sergeant Mazeroux were
1 left alone together, side by side.
Mazeroux whispered:
‘ “What did l tell you? I know
i you would find out! Oh, what a
man yon are! The way you man
' aged!”
lie was beaming at the thought
1 that the chief was clear of the
matter and that he had no more
• crows to pluck with his. Mazer
1 oux’s, superiors, whom he*revered
- almost as much as he did the chief.
Everybody was now agreed; they
' were “friends all round;” and
• Mazeroux was choking with de
i light.
• “They’ll lock her up, eh?”
1 “No,” said Pereuna. “There’s
not enough ‘hold’ on her for them
- to issue a warrant.”
f “What!” growled Mazeroux
indignantly. “Not enough hold?
■ I hope, in any case, that you won't
let her go. She made no bones,
you know, about attacking you!
Come, chief, polish her off, a she
devil like that!”
p Don Luis remained pensive. He
was thinking (if the unheard of
coincidences, the aecumplation of
facts that bore down on Mine. Fau
ville from every side. And the de
cisive proof which would join ali
these different facts together and
give to the, accusation the grounds
which it still lacked was one which
Perenna was able to supply. This i
was the marks of the teeth in the
apple hidden among the shrubs in
the garden. To the police these:
would be as good as any finger-i
print, all the more as they could i
compare the marks with those on
the cake of chocolate.
Nevertheless, he hesitated; and, j
concentrating his anxious atten
tion, he watched, with mingled I
feelings of pity and repulsion, that
woman who, to all seeming, had'
killed her husband and her 1ms
band's son. Was he to give her
the finishing stroke? Had he the1
right to play the part of judge?
And supposing he were wrong?
Meantime, M. Desmalions had
walked up to him and, while pre
tending to speak 1o Mazeroux,
was really asking Perenna:
“What do you think of it?”
Mazeroux shook his head. Per
enna replied:
“I think, Monsieur le Prefet,
that, if this woman is guilty, she
is defending herself, for all her
cleverness, with inconceivable
lack of skill.”
“Meaning—?”
“Meaning that she was doubt
less only a tool in the hands of an
accomplice.”
“An accomplice?”
“Remember, Monsieifr lc Prefet,
her husband’s exclamation in your
office yesterday: ‘Oh, the scoun
drels! the scoundrels!’ There is.
therefore, at least, one accomplice,
who perhaps is the same as the
man who was present, as Sergeant
Mazeroux must have told you, in
the Cafe du Pont-Neuf when In
spector Yerot was last there: a
man with a reddish brown beard,
carrying an ebony walking stick
with a silver handle. So that—”
“So that,” said M. Desmalions,
completing the sentence, “by ar
resting Mine. Fauvillc today, mere
ly on suspicion, we have a chance
of laying our hands on the accom
plice.”
Perenna did not, reply. The pre
fect, continued, thoughtfully:
“Arrest her * * * arrest her
* * * We should need a proof for
that. * * * Did you receive no
clue?”
“None at, all, Monsieur le Pre
fet. True, my search was only
summary.”
“But ours was most minute. We
have been through every corner of
the room.”
“And the garden, Monsieur le
Prefet?”
“The garden also.”
“With the same care?”
“Perhaps not. * * * Rut I
think—”
“I think, on the contrary, Mon
sieur le Prefet, that, as the mur
derers passed through the garden
in coming nnd going, there might
be a chance-”
“Mazeroux,” said M. Desma
lions, “go outside and make a
more thorough inspection.”
The sergeant went out. Per
enna, who was once more standing
at one side, heard,the prefect of
police repeating to the examining
magistrate:
“Ah, if we only had a proof,
just one ! The woman is evidently
guilty. The presumption against
her is too great! * * * And then
there are Oosmo Mornington’s
millions. * * * But, on the other
hand, look at her * * * look at
all the honesty in that pretty face
of hers, look at all the sincerity of
her grief.”
She was still crying, with fitful
sobs and starts of indignant pro
test that made her clench her
fists. At one moment she took
her ear soaked handkerchief, bit it
with her teeth and tore it, after
the manner of certain actresses.
Perenna saw those beautiful
white teeth, a little wide, moist
aud gleaming, rending the dainty
cambric. And he thought of the
marks of teeth on the apple. And
he was seized with an extreme
longing to know the truth. Was it
the same pair of jaws that had
left its impress in the pulp of the
fruit?
Mazeroux returned. M Des
malions moved briskly toward the
sergeant, who showed him the
apple which he had found under
the ivy. And Perenna at once real
ized the supreme importance
which the prefect of police at
tached to Mazeroux \s explanations
and to his unexpected discovery.
A conversation of some length
took place between the inagis
i trates and ended in the decision
i which Don Luis foresaw. M. Dcs
malions walked across the room to
Mute. Fauville. It was the eatas
! trophe. lie reflected for a sec
ond on the manner in which he
should open this final contest, and
! then he asked :
> “Are you still unable, madame,
to tell us how you employed your
- time last nightJ”
She made' an effort and wliis
I jiered:
‘ ‘ Yes, yes. * • * I took a taxi and
'drove about. * * * 1 also walked a
I little--”
“That is a fact which we can
I easily verify when we have found
the driver of the taxi. Meanwnile,
there is an opportunity of remov
ing the somewhat * * * grievous
impression which your silence has
| left on our minds.”
“I am quite ready-”
“ It is this : the person or one of
the persons who took part in the
crime appears to have bitten into
an apple which was afterward
thrown away in the garden and
which has just been found. To
put an end to any suppositions
concerning yourself, we should
like you to perform the same ac
tion.”
“Oh. certainly!” she cried, eag
erly. “If this is all you need to
convince you-”
She took one of the three apples
which Desinalions handed her
from the dish and lifted it to her
month.
It was a decisive act. If the tw6
marks resembled each other, the
proof existed, assured and unde
niable.
Before completing her move,
merit, she stopped short, as though
seized with a sudden fear. * * *
Fear of what? Fear of the mon
strous chance that might be her
undoing? Or fear rather of the
dread weapon which she was
about to deliver against herself?
In any case nothing accused her
with greater directness than this
last hesitation, which was incom
prehensible, if she was innocent,
but clear as day if she was guilty!
“What are you afraid of, mad
ame?” asked M. Desinalions.
“Nothing, nothing,” she said,
shuddering. “I don’t know. * * *
I am afraid of everything * * *
It is all so horrible-”
“But, madame, I assure you
that what we arc asking of you
has no sort of importance and, I
am persuaded, can only have a
fortunate result for you. If you
don’t mind, therefore-”
Slip raised her hand higher and
yet higher, with a slowness that
betrayed her uneasiness. And
really, in the fashion in which
things were happening, the scene
was marked by a certain solemnity
and tragedy that wrung every
heart.
“And, if I refuse?” she asked,
sudenly.
“You are absolutely entitled to
refuse,” said the prefect of police.
“But is it worth while, madame?
I am sure that your counsel would
be the first to advise you——”
“My counsel?” she stammered,
understanding the formidable
meaning conveyed by that reply.
And, suddenly, with a fierce re
solve and the almost ferocious air
that contorts the face when great
dangers threaten, she made the
movement which they were press
ing her to make. She opened her
mouth. They saw the bleam of the
white teeth. At one bite, the white
teeth dug into the fruit.
“There you are, monsieur,” she
said.
ti r rv i •
M. Desmalions turned to the ex
amining magistrate.
“Have you the apple found in'
the garden?’’
“Here, Monsieur le Prefet.”
M. Desmalions put the two'
apples side by side.
And those who crowded round
him. anxiously looking on, all ut
tered one exclamation.
The two marks of teeth were*
identical.
Identical! Certainly, before dej
daring the identity of every de
tail, the absolute analogy of the
I marks of each tooth, they must
; wait for the results of the ex
! pert’s report. But there was one
| thing which there was no mis
taking and that was the complete
similiarity of the two curves,
i Tn either fruit the rounded arch
was bent according to the same in
flection. The two semicircles could
have fitted one into the other, both
very narrow, both a little long
shaped and oval and of a re
stricted radius which was the very
character of the jaw.
The men did not speak a word:
| M. Desmalions raised his head,
Mine. Fauville did not move, stood
livid and mad with terror. But all
the sentiments of terror, stupor
and indignation that she might
simulate with her mobile face and
her immense gifts as an actress did
j not prevail against the compelling
' proof that presented itself to ev
I cry eye.
The two imprints were iden
I tieal! The same teeth had bitten
' into both apples!
“Madame-” the prefect of
| police began.
“No, no,’' she cried, seized with
a fit of fury, “no, it’s not true.
I * * * This is all just a night
j mare. * * * No, you are never
going to arrest me? I in prisoni
j Why, it’s horrible! * * * What
I have I done ? Oh, I swear that you
I are mistaken-”
J tContlnued Next Week.)
1 To The
| American People
I There is no foundation for the alleged
| violations of law attributed to our Com
\ pany by agents of the Federal Trade
| Commission and I want to say emphatic
| ally that Swift & Company is not a party to
| any conspiracy to defraud the Govem
\ ment. Nor has Swift & Company been
\ guilty of improperly storing foods or of
\ making false entries or reports.
Conferences of packers, where prices
have been discussed, have been held at
the urgent request and in the presence
of representatives of either the Food
Administration or the Council of National
Defense. And yet the packers have been
accused of committing a felony by acting
in collusion on Government bids!
7
S We have done our best, with other
| packers, large and small, to comply with
J the directions of the United States Food
J Administration in all particulars, including
| the furnishing of food supplies for the U. S.
Army and Navy and the Allies, now be
ing handled through the Food Adminis
tration.
We will continue to do our utmost, un
, der Government direction, to increase our
production and assist the Food Adminis
tration. We consider that the opportunity
to co-operate whole-heartedly and to our
fullest powers with this branch of the
■ Government is our plain and most press
ing duty.
The Trade Commission Attorney has,
by false inference and misplaced empha
sis, given to disconnected portions of the
correspondence taken from our private
files and read into the Record, a false and
sinister meaning with the plain purpose
of creating antagonistic public opinion.
The ; ervices of the packers of the
I United States are most urgently needed,
I and I regret exceedingly that we should at
I this time have to spend our efforts in
i defending ourselves against unfounded,
unproved, and unfair assertions such as
are being daily made public.
Swift & Company, U. S. A.
-
a*_____.. .. JL
Equal to the Emergency.
Mrs. Fliitbusli—r mot Mrs. (bibb at
the funeral today.
Mr. Flatbusb—(>b. t'lmt talkative!
woman?
“Vos: and she kept talking all the,
time, and 1 was afraid she would dis
turb the service.'’
“Why didn't you tell her to keep
still?” •
“I did, but she said it wasn't her
funeral.”
Little fleas have smaller fleas to bite
them. Don't imagine you have all
the trouble there is.
The worst feature of a divorce is j
that it usually results in two more j
marriages.
Those Technical Motor Terms.
“< 'barley is simply wonderful,” ex
claimed young Mrs. Torkins. “I never
dreamed that anyone could run a mo
torcar the way he can!”
“What has happened?”
“We took a ride yesterday and went
along beautifully in'-spite of the fact
that he had forgotten some of the ma
chinery.”
“Running without machinery?”
“Ves. We had gone at least eleven
miles before Charley discovered that
his engine was missing."
Between Girls.
Hetty Wilde—Jack declares lie'll go
crazy if 1 don't marry him.
Her Friend—Ah ! Theu there’s no
hope for him either way.
Win the War by Preparing the Land
Sowing the Seed and Producing Bigger Crops
Work in Joint Effort the Soil of the United States and Canada
CO-OPERATIVE FARMING IN MAN POWER NECESSARY
TO WIN THE BATTLE FOR LIBERTY
The Food Controllers of the United States and Canada are asking for
greater food production. Scarcely 100,000,000 bushels of wheat are avail
able to be sent to the allies overseas before the crop harvest. Upon the
rfforts of the United States and Canada rests the burden of supply.
Every Available Tillable Aere Must Contribute; Every Available
Farmer and Farm Hand Must Assist
Western Canada has an enormous acreage to be seeded, but man power
is short, and an appeal to the United States allies is for more men for seed
:ng operation.
Canada’s Wheal Production Last Year was 226,000,000 Bushels; tha
Demand From Canada Alone for 1918 is 400,000,000 Bushels
To secure this she must have assistance. She has the land but needs
:he men. The Government of the United States wants every man who car.
effectively help, to do farm work this year. It wants the land in the United
States developed first of course; but it also wants to help Canada. When
ever we find a man we can spare to Canada's fields after ours are supplied,
we want to direct him there.
Apply to our Employment Service, and we will tell you where you can be,t serve
the combined interests.
Western Canada’s help will be required not later than April 5th. Wages to com
petent help, #50.00 a month and up, board and lodging.
Those who respond to this appeal will get a warm welcome, good wages, good
soard and find comfortable homes. Tl^y will get a rate of one cent a mile from Canadian
boundary points to destination and return.
For particulars as to routes and places wHere employment may be had apply toi
U. S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
DES MOINES, IOWA