THE
TEETH OF THE TIGER
v. bt 1 y
MAURICE LEBLANC
TRANSLATED BT
ALEXANDER TE1XEIRA DE MATT03
1 - 11 *“"> 1 f -'i
V.
CHAPTER NINE, (Continuer.)
"She was away yesterday,
Wasn’t she?”
"Yes, sir, she received a tele
gram asking her to go to the
Country to see a relation who was
ill. She came back last night.”
“I want to speak to her. Send
her to me. At once.”
“In the study, sir?”
"No, upstairs, in the boudoir
next to my bedroom.”
This was a small room ou the
second floor which had once been
a lady’s boudoir, and he preferred
it to his study since the attempt
at murder of which he had been
the object. He was quieter up
there, farther away; and he kept
his important papers there. He
always carried the key with him:
a special key with three grooves
to it and an inner spring.
Mazeroux had followed him
into the courtyard and was keep
ing close behind him, apparently
unobserved by Perenna, w'ho hav
ing so far appeared not to notice
it. He now, however, took the
Sergeant by the arm and led him
$o the front steps.
"All is going well. I was afraid
that Florence, suspected some
thing, might not have come back. 1
But she probably doesn’t know’
that 1 saw her yesterday. She
ean’t escape us now.”
They went across the hall and
up the stairs to the first floor.
Mazeroux rubbed his hands.
"So you’ve come to your senses,
chief?”
At any rate I vo made up my
mind. I xvill not, do you hear, 1
will not have Mine. Fauville kill j
herself; and, as there is no other
way of preventing that catastro
phe, I shall sacrifice Florence.”
“Without regret?”
“Without remorse.”
“Then you forgive me?”
, 41 thank you.”
1 And he struck him a clean,
bowerful blow under the chin.
Jtazeroux fell without a moan, in
A dead faint on the steps of the
Second flight.
Halfway up the stairs was a
dark recoss that served as a lum-1
bar room where the servants kept
their pails and brooms and the
soiled household linen. Don Luis
carried Mazeroux to it, and, seat
ing him comfortably on the floor,
with his back to a housemaid's
box, he stuffed his handkerchief
into his mouth, gagged him with
a towel, and bound his wrists and
ankles with two tableclothes. The
other ends of these he fastened to
a couple of strong nails.
As Mazeroux was slowly coming
to himself, Don Luis said:
“I think you have all you want.
Tablecloths—napkins—something
in your mout'i in case you’re hun
gry. Eat at your ease. And then
take a little nap, and you’ll wake
up as fresh ns paint.”
He loeked him in and glanced ;
at his watch.
‘‘1 have an hour before me.’
Capital!”
At that moment his intention!
was to insult Florence, to throw !
up all her scandalous crimes in
her face, and, in this way, to
foree a written and signed confes
sion from her. Afterward, when
Marie Fauville’s safety was in
sured. he would see. Perhaps he
would put Florence in his motor
and carry her off to some refuge
from which, with tlio girl for a j
hostage, he would be able to in-1
fluenee the police. Perhaps-;
But he did not seek to anticipate
events. What he wanted was an
immediate, violent explanation.!
He ran up to his bedroom on the j
second floor and dipped his face j
into cold water. Never had he
experienced such a stimulation of
his whole being, such an un
bridling of liis blind instincts.
“It's she” ho spluttered. ‘I
hear her! She is at t.ho bottom of
the stairs. At last! Oh, the joy
of having her in front of me 1 Face 1
to face! She and I alone!”
He n earned to the landing out-,
aide the boudoir. He took the key
from his pocket. The door opened.
He uttered a great shout: Gas
ton Satrerand war, there! In that
locked room Gaston Sauvernnd
was v &’.ting for him, standing
with folded arms.
s
23
CHAPTER X.
GASTON SAUVERAND EXPLAINS.
Gaston Sauverand!
Instinctively, Don Luis took a
step back, drew his revolver, and
aimed it at the criminal:
“Hands up!” he commanded.
“Hands up, or I fire !”
Sauverand did not appear to be
put out. He nodded toward two
revolvers which he had laid on a
table beyond his reach and said:
“There are my arms. I have
come here not to fight, but to
talk.”
“How did you get in?” roared
Don Luis, exasperated by this dis
play of calmness. “A false key,
I suppose? But how did you get
hold of the key? How did you
manage it?”
The other did not reply. Don
Luis stamped his foot:
“Speak, will you? Speak! If
not——”
But Florence ran into the room.
She passed him by without his
trying to stop her, flung herself
upon Gaston Sauverand, and, tak
ing no heed of Perenna’s presence,
said:
“Why did you come? You
promised me that you wouldn’t,
you swore it to me. Go !”
Sauverand released himself and
fored her into a chair.
“Let me be, Florence. I prom
ised only so as to reassure you.
Let me be.”
“No, I will not!” exclaimed the
girl eagerly. “It’s madness! I
won’t have you say a single word.
Oh, please, please stop!”
He bent over her and smoothed
her forehead, separating her mass
of golden hair.
“Let me do things my own way,
Florence,” he said softly.
She was silent, as though dis
armed by the gentleness of his
voice; and he whispered more
words which Don Luis could not
hear and which seemed to con
vince her.
Perenna had not moved. He
stood opposite them with his arm
outstretched and his finger on the
trigger, aiming at the enemy.
When Sauverand addressed Flor
ence by her Christian name, he
started from head to foot and his
finger trembled. What miracle
kept him from shooting? By what
supreme effort of will did he stifle
the jealous hatred that burnt him
like fire? And here was Sauve
rand daring to stroke Florence’s
hair!
ne lowered ins arm. lie wouui
kill them later, do with them what
he pleased, since they were in his
power, and since nothing hence
forth could snatch them from his
vengeance.
He took Sauverand’s two revol
vers and laid them in a drawer.
Then he went back to the door, in
tending to lock it. But hearing a
sound on the first floor landing, he
leaned over the balusters. The
butler was coming upstairs with a
tray in his hand.
“What is it now!”
“An urgent letter, sir, for Ser
geant Mazeroux.”
“Sergeant Mazeroux is with me.
Give me the letter and don’t let
me be disturbed again.”
He lore open the envelope. The
letter, hurriedly written in pencil
and signed by one of the inspec
tors on duty outside the house,
contained these words:
Look out. sergeant. Gaston Sauver
nnd is in the house. Two people liv
ing opposite say that the girl who is
known hereabouts as the lady house
keeper came In at half-past one, be
fore we took up our posts. She was
next seen at the window of her lodge.
A few moments after, a small, low
door, used for the cellars and situ
ated under the lodge, was opened, evi
dently by her. Almost at the same
time a man entered the square, came
along the wall, and slipped in through
the cellar door. According to the de
scription It was Gaston Sauverand. So
look out. sergeant. At the least alarm,
at the first signal from you, we shall
come in.
Don Luis reflected. He now un
derstood how the scoundrel had
access to his house, and how, hid
den in the safest of retreats, he
was able to escape every attempt
to find him. He was living under
the roof of the very man who had
declared himself hi3 most formula
ble adversary.
“Come on,” he said to himself.
“The fellow’s score is settled—
and so is his young lady’s. They
can choose between the bullets in !
my-revolver and the handcuffs of
the police.”
He had ceased to think of his <
motor standing ready below. He i
no longer dreamed of flight with i
Florence. If he did not kill the I
two of them, the law would lay its j
hand upon them, the hand that
does not let go. And perhaps it
was better so, that society itself
should punish the two criminals j
whom he was about to hand over
to it.
He shut the door, pushed the
bolt, faced his two prisoners again
and, taking a chair, said to Sauve-!
rand:
“Let us talk.”
Owing to the narrow dimen-!
sions of the room they were all
so close together that Lon Luis
felt as if he were almost touching J
the man whom he loathed from
the very bottom of his heart. |
Their two chairs were hardly a '
yard asunder. A long table, j
covered with books, stood be-1
tween them and the windows,1
which, hollowed out of the very :
wall, formed a recess, as is usual
in old houses.
Florence had turned her chair
away from the light, and Don ■
Luis could not see her face clearly, i
But he looked straight into Gas
ton Sauverand’s face and watched
it with eager curiosity; and his
anger was heightened by the
sight of the still youthful feat
ures, the expressive mouth, and
the intelligent eyes,, which were
fine in spite of their hardness.
“Well? Speak!” said Don Luis,
in a commanding tone. “I'have
agreed to a truce, bnt a momen- j
tary truce, just long enough to
say what is necessary. Are you
afraid now that the time has ar
rived? Do you regret the step
which you have taken?”
The man smiled calmly and
said:
“I am afraid of nothing, and I;
do not regret coming, for I have j
a very strong intuition that we 1
can, that we are bound to, come
to an understanding.”
“An understanding!” protest
ed Don Luis with a start.
“Why not?”
“A compact! An alliance be
tween you and me!”
“Why not? It is a thought
which I had already entertained
more than once, which took a
more precise shape in the magis
trates’ corridor, and which finally j
decided me when I read the an- j
uouncement which you caused to
be made in the special edition of ;
this paper: ‘Senational declare-1
tion by Don Luis Perenna. Mme.
Fauville is innocent!’ ”
Gaston Sauverand half rose
from his chair and, carefully
picking his words, emphasizing
them with sharp gestures, he
whispered:
“Everything lies, monsieur, in
those four words. Do those four
words which you have written,
which you have uttered publicly
and solemnly—‘Mme. Fauville is
innocent’—do they express your
real mind? Do you now abso
lutely believe in Marie Fauville’s
innocence?’ ’
non runs snruggea ms snoul
ders.
“Mine. Gauville’s innocence has
nothing to do with the case. It is
a question not of her, but of you,
of you two and myself. So come
straight to the point and as
quickly as you can. It is to your
interest even more than to mine.”
“To our interest?”
“You forget the third heading
to the article,” cried Don Luis.
“I did more than proclaim Marie
Fauvillg’s innocence. I also an
nounced—read for yourself—The
‘imminent arrest of the crim
inals.’ ”
Sauverand and Florence rose '
together, with the same unguard- j
ed movement.
“And, in your view, the crim-j
inals are-?” asked Sauverand.
“Why, you know as well as 1
do: they are the man with the
ebony walking stick, who at any I
rate cannot deny having mhr- j
dered Chief Inspector Aneenis,'
and the woman who is his accom-1
plice in all his crimes. Both of j
them must remember their at
tempts to assassinate me: the re
volver shot on the Boulevard
Suchet; the motor smash causing
the death of my chauffeur; and
yesterday again, in the barn—you
know where—the barn with the j
two skeletons hanging from the i
raters: yesterday—you remember i
—the scythe, the relentless scythe,
which nearly beheaded me.”
“And then?”
“Well, then, the game is lost.
You must pay up; and all the
more so as you have foolishly put
your heads into the lion’s mouth.”
“I don’t understand. What
|does all this mean?”
[ “It simply means that they)
know Florence Levasseur, that
they know you are both here, that
the house is surrounded, and that
Weber, the deputy chief detective,
is on his way.”
Sauverand appeared disconcert
ed by this unexpected threat.
Florence, standing beside him,
had turned livid. A mad anguish
distorted her features. She stam
mered :
“Oh, it is awful! No, no, I
can’t endure it!”
And, rushing at Don Luis:
“Coward! Coward! It’s you
who are betraying us; Coward!
Oh, I knew that you were capable
of the meanest treachery! There
you stand like an executioner!
Oh, you villain, you coward!”
She fell into her chair, ex
hausted and sobbing, with her
hand to her face.
Don Luis turned away. Strange
to say, he experienced no sense of
pity; and Florence’s tears affect,
ed him no more than her insults
had done, no more than if he had
never loved the girl. He was glad
of this release. The horror with
which she filled him had killed
his love.
But, when he once more stood
in front of them after taking a
few steps across the room, he saw
that they were holding each
other’s hands, like two friends in
distress, trying to give each other
courage; and, again yielding to
a sudden impulse of hatred, for a
moment beside himself, he
gripped the man’s arm:
“L forbid you- By what
right -? Is she your wife?
Your mistress? Then -”
His voice became perplexed.
He himself felt the strangeness
of that fit of anger which sudden
ly revealed, in all its force and
all its blindness, a passion wdiich
he thought dead. And he blushed,
for Gaston Sauverand was look
ing at him in amazement; and he
did not doubt that the enemy had
penetrated his secret.
A long pause followed, during
which he met Florence’s eyes, hos
tile eyes, full of rebellion and dis
dain. Had she, too, guessed?
He dared not speak another
word. He waited for Sauverand’s
explanation. And, while waiting,
lie gave not a thought to the com
ing illations, nor to the tremen
dous problems of which he was at
last about to know the solution,
nor to the tragic events at hand.
He thought of one thing only,
thought of it with the fevered
throbbing of his whole being,
thought of what he was on the
point of learning about Florence,
ibout the girl’s affections, about
lier past, about her love for
Sauverand. That alone interested
lim.
“ Yery well, ” said Sauverand.
‘ I am caught in a trap. Fate must
;ake its course. Nevertheless,
3an I speak to you? It is the only
vish that remains to me.”
“Speak,” replied Don Luis.
‘The door is locked. I shall not
>pen it until I think fit. Speak.”
“I shall be brief,” said Gaston
Sauverand. ‘For one thing, what
[ can tell you is not much. I do
lot ask you to believe it, but to
isten to it as if I were possibly
celling the truth, the whole
ruth.”
And he expressed himself in the
following words:
“I never met Hippolyte and
Vlarie Fauville, though I used to
.•orrespond with them—you will
remember that we were all cous
iins—until five years ago, when
ihauce brought us together at
L’almero. They were passing the
winter there while their new
louse on the Boulevard Suchet
was being built.
“We spent five months at Pal
mero, seeing one another daily,
liippolyte and Marie were not on
he best of terms. One evening
ifter they had been quarrelling
nore violently than usual I found
ler crying. Her tears upset me
ind 1 could not longer conceal my
secret. I had loved Marie from
he first moment when we met. I
was to love her always and to love
ler more and more.”
“You lie!” cried Don Luis, los
ng his self restraint. “I saw the
:wo of yon yesterday in the train
■hat brought you back from Alen
.*on-”
Gaston Sauverand looked at
Florence. She sat silent, with he;
[lands to her face and her elbows
m her knees. Without replying
to Don Luis’ exclamation, he
went ou:
“Marie also loved me. She ad
mitted it, but made me swear
that I would never try to obtain
from her more than the purest
friendship would allow. I kept
my oath. We enjoyed a few weeks
of incomparable happiness. Hip
polyte Fauville, who had become
enamoured of a music hall singer,
was often away.
(Continued Next Week.)
Two hundred and fifty million dollars
has been saved by United States chem
ists in making articles formerly made
in Germany.
Proves Authorship of Hymns.
From a Bulletin of tho Commute on Pub
lic Information.
Since the beginning of the war Prus
sia has boasted often that Great
Britain and the United States owe even
their national nnthems to German kul
tur, the one directly and the other at
a remove of one step. Capt. Perry
Belmont, United States army, has not
only punctured this claim, but has
clearly proved that the Teutonic sneer
is based on a flagrant case of plagiar
ism In the Eighteenth century. He has
submitted his findings to the British
embassy at Washir gton.
Captain Belmont has the backing of
many authorities to show that Bully,
the famous French composer of tho
t'ime of Bouis XIV, originated the mu
sic. that Mme. d? Brinon wrote the
words, and that Handel, tho German
composer, who has been generally
credited with the authorship of tho
anthem, really appropriated it.
Perhaps the most convincing link in
the chain of evidence which Captain
Belmont has produced appears in the
memoirs of Mme. de Crequy, which
cover a greater part of the Eighteenth
century, the period in which the tuna
was composed. The author speaks of
the deep impression the anthem made
upon her when in 1714 she heard it
sung in the chapel of that institution.
She further adds that if her grandson,
to whom the memoirs are addressed,
desires to obtain the words and music
he may easily do so. as Handal, a Ger
man composer, during a visit to Paris
obtained permission to copy both.
Various authorities tell how Handel
dedicated the composition to George,
elector of Hanover, who became king
of England in 1714, and to whom the
German composer was eapel meister in
Hanover.
If further proof of the authorship
were needed it is to be found in the
souvenirs De la Marquise de Crequy in
the form of a statement signed by four
nuns of Saint Cyr. They fully confirm
her assertions regarding the associa
tions of both Bully and Handel with
the anthem.
The original words contained In the
Crequy memoirs are distinctly appli
cable to such a "glorious" and "vic
torious" king as Bouis XIV, in whose
honor they were written by Bully, but
not to King George the First, to whom
they were dedicated by Handel. Trans
lated literally from French into Eng
lish they follow:
Great God, Save the King!
Great God. Avenge the Kingl
Bong live the Kirrg.
Al ways tile triorious,
Louis victorious.
Scatter Ills enemies
And make them fall.
Great God. Save ttv King!
Great God, Avenge the King!
Long live the King.
Some years after England accepted
the tune as its national anthem, Prus
sia and various German states also
adopted it.
“My Country ’Tis of Thee," written
by the Rev. S. S. Smith and undoubt
edly derived from “God Save the
King.” was first sang at the Park
Street church in Boston, July 4, 1333
Wilhelmstrasse Beaten.
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Tho superiority of the United States
secret service over that of Germany was
the subject or. which Clarence L,. Ileames,
assistant United States attorney general,
addressed a Seattle audience the other
day.
“The United States secret service has
checkmated Germany at every turn.”
declared the prosecutor. “When Von
Bc-rnstorff was attempting his sneaking,
underhand trickery, while he was still at
Washington, he never made a move that
tho secret service did not know' of. The
only reason the German secret service is
credited with so much superiority Is be
cause It advertises.
“One of the greatest feats in the history
of any secret service was tho capture of
a young secret service officer of the Ger
man note to Mexico, in which that
country was promised Texas, New Mex
ico. Arizona and California. The name of
that man is not known to anyone except
Ms superior officer, and never will be
known. The capture of the Argentine
rote was another conspicuous example of
the completeness of our service.”
Boyish Prejudices.
From the Washington Star.
“Why did you name your boy 'Reginald
Clarence’ ?"
“Because I wanted him to be a fighter.
I figured that in our neighborhood a boy
named 'Reginald Clarence’ has got to
tight”
U. S. Insures Fighters.
In nil our war measures anil activi
ties there is nothing wiser, better and
fraught with more good to our fighting
men and the nation than our soldier
and sailor insurance. Members of the
military and naval forces of the United
States for whose benefit the insurance
was established are availing them- ,
selves of it. More than 2,000,000 mem
bers of America’s fighting forces are
now insured by the government for
more than ,$10,500,000,000 by the Unit
ed States government.
Not Feasible.
Hipopotamus meat is said to be as
good as pork, but the chances are that
ft lot of hippopotami running about
would muss up a back yard almost as
much as chickens.—-Marlon Star.
Every woman’s pride, beautiful, clear
white clothes. Use Red Cross Ball Blue.
All grocers. Adv,
Modernizing China.
That China is being modernized
Faster than most of us may think is
indicated by the increased use of the
telephone in that vast country. It
also is worthy of note that although
practically the whole equipment comes
from abroad and Is to a considerable
extent operated by foreigners, the
prices for service are much below
those to which we are accustomed in
this land of high prices.
Bullets Never Touch Him.
England has one army man who ap
pears to have a charmed life. He is
('apt. George C. Foulds, who is now
lecturing in this country. Foulds went
to the Flanders front in 191”. and lias
gone through every battle of ttie war
without a scratch.
Boll Worm Came From India.
The pink boll worm, the worst ene
my known to the cotton crop of India,
probably originated there. Later it
was found in Burma, Ceylon, Egypt
and In almost every other cotton dis
trict on tlie globe.
Sanitary Spoon.
Among sanitary appliances for eat
ing places Is a spoon pressed from
paper that can he thrown away after
using.
A frame lias been invented to en
able one man to operate a two-man
saw.
The hand of fortune often looks like
four aces.
“DOLLAR-A-YEAR”
MAW WINS BRIDE
Miss Kathryn Adams Peoples.
In spite of the high cost of living
‘‘dollar a year" men are proving popu
lar as bridegrooms at the national cap
ital. Among the more recent engage
ment announcements is that of Miss
Kathryn Adams Peoples, of Johnson
City, Tenn.. one of the war workers at
national headquarters of the American
P.ed Cross.
Miss Peoples is prominent in social
and musical circles in her native state
and recently took the leading part in
a big Red Cross benefit performance
of “The Japanese Girl." She made a
number of friends in Washington at
the confederate reunion last year,
when she was maid of honor for the
First Tennessee.
The wedding will take place June 22
at the home of the bride.
GAINED 55 POUNDS
Doan’s Kidney Pills Effected Won*
derful Recovery After Other
Medicines Had Failed.
“I don't believe I would be alive to
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Doan’s Kidney Pills,” says Mrs. Julia
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in passage. I had ter
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dared not walk for fear
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Mr,. Thomas ™uld 8°. frantic.- , 1
grew weak as a baby
and often had to grasp something to
keep from falling. My nerves were all
unstrung and the least noise startled
me. Nothing benefited me and I was
discouraged. A neighbor happened to
recommend Doan’s Kidney Pills and I
began using them. The swellings and
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had any backache or other kidney trou
ble. I have gained 55 pounds since I
was cured and can do all my own work
without suffering.”
“Sworn to before me.”
FRANK W. CLOVER.
Notary Public.
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