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THE WOMAN OF MYSTERY.

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PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, THE WOMAN OF MYSTERY. By GEORGE OHNET, Author of "The Ironmaster/J "Serge Panine," &o. [COPYRIGHT.] PART I. CHAPTER I. (continued). "In yoar opinion, then, it is the man who came with the woman- who killed the general?" "Yes. Monsieur le Minietre, most likely 'when the sreneral was conducting them back to the carriage. The murder took place close to the gate. The Baud is trodden down as though a struggle htul taken place. and the body had been carried off behind the hushes. The traces of the t.railing legs are quite visible. The woman probably helped. At any rate, once tho murder accomplished, she must have left, and the man stayed behind. He robbed the General of his keys, which never Idt hiI:ü,. and which ha" not been found; in addition, he took his watch and portfolio, so that it might be believed that a murder, the motive of which -was robbery, had been committed; then he entered the villa, and worked in the labora- tory. It was with the laboratory that be had to do." "How do you know this?'' "From what Baradoin, his valet, said. It appears iiiat, one day, whilst placing things in order, in the cabinet of the General, the latter entered on his way from the labora- tory. He took a few paces in the room, rub- bing his handa together, then he said almost to himself, "This time our fortune is made! What will Hans say?' For a week the general had been working hard at In experi- ment, which had hitherto failed, and from wkioh be expected great, remit*. On dUEe- dismissed hie valet, certainly with the object of receiving his mysterious guests at night." "Good, we will admit what you say regard- ing the man," said the Minister, captivated by the explanations of his agent. "Rut, in your opinion, what shall we think of the role played by the woman?" "That ia, much more evident. Monsieur le Ministre; both indications and proofs abound. The General de Tremont has been the victim of a too tender disposition. I know nothing of the General's' secrets or researches, though the journals have on different occasions spoken, of his investigations. He was a mem-1 ber of the Academy of Science, and his repu- tation aa a savant was fully established. Suppose for a moment that M. de Tremont had made a discovery of interest to the future of European armies, and that some one Power wished to obtain information as to the value of his invention-obtain possession of it, perhaps. Do we not know that women have been, only too often, the best political agents employed ill our conn try? In spite of his age, the General remained Very suscep- tible. A young woman, beautiful and intelli- gent, is placed in hia path. He meets her by chance, falls in love with her. But the fair one is guarded; she is obliged to take great precautions. A complaisant friend, relation, perhaps, under the cover of science, facili- tates the interviews by accoir panying the lady, so as to throw some imaginary rival off the track Whilst tlit old lover is paying his court, the benevolent companion, observes. takes his measures, skilfully questions, and obtains the confidence of the one to whom he tM r it • Mil", ffwrti mm H lawv and a sweet smile and caressing eyes drive one to acts of lolly- 'Then, one flue night, the General de Tremont, who has, doubtless, ( finished his discovery, is visited by the un- ] known couple. The woman trips to obtaju ] the secret. She does j10t succeed. Then j the man. as a last extremity, decides to strike. The General falls under the dagger; ] his accomplice takes to, fligbt. The assassin ] returns with the keys, searches the labora- tory, and tries to open the chest, containing the precious products. Rut the dreaded j powder, unskilfully handled, avenges its maker, and, in a terrible explosion, annihi- lales at the same time both formula and the one trying to steal it. This is how it is pos- Bible, Monsieur lc Ministre. to make a gueas at the event3 now occupying our attention. But—I do not wish to deceive myself—this is only conjecture. There may be other ver- ¡ sions more certain, if not more likely. What do absolutely certain is that General de Tremont has been, assassinated, that the I murderer was one of two persons received that night at the villa, and (]u>t the explosion ¡ following on the crime has been cansed by I the imprudence of the man. we may name Hans, who has been grievously wounded." I The Minister and Colonel VaUenot looked at one another for a moment in silence; then ¡ the Minister said to the agent: "I thank you for your report, bnt do not trouble any further in the matter, which is in the hands of the police. If we have any additional investigations to make I will send I for yon. Now go, and do not say a word to anyone on the matter." Laforet bowed, gave a military salute, and with the sa-ttw tranquil precision, left the room. The two principals sat there absorbed by what they had heard, going over once more all the details of this drama. which was becomin.g materially so clear, but remained morally so obscure. The precautions taken! by the two accomplices appeared so perfect that it was doubtful whether the truth could be learned concerning them. One hope re- mained the wounded man, with his arm cut off, might be found, half-dead with exhaus- tion, on the road. By questioning the inliabi-! tanta of the neighbourhood the man might be discovered; doabtleaa. the potioe were already j as well. "You know. Vallenot, Tremont was my senior; ho retired before the age limit, the more easily to devote his time to scientific research; as he had serious money difficul- ties." "And now," said Colonel Vallenot. "we have reached the point. I wished to come to. when I said at the begmning of my report that, after examining the material facts, we should deal with the moral considerations of this affair. The examination of facts is over. There has been the death of a. man, probably an attempt at robbery, and. finally, the com- plete destruction of an inhabited house. But under what conditions have ah these crimi- nal acts been accomplished?" "I understand what you mean. Yon see in this affair something other than a criminal attempt. You suspect a plot of a special order, something very delicate, fastidious, dangerous even." "Yes, general, because in this ease we have not our hands quite free in the search of the causes, hindered as we are by diplomacy, by polities, and often even by such unexpected complicities that we are first obliged to beat about the bush, then to withdraw, and. finally, give up all idea of proceeding with rigour. Shall I enumerate the affa-irs in which we have come to no certain issue for several years?" "It is unnecessary, I am suJtlieiently well informed on the situation, and have a toler- ably good idea of what you /possess in the archives. How long have you been in the Ministry, Vallenot?" "Ten years, occupying different, positions, with intervals of service in the regiments. We have never ceased being exploited by other nations, with a skill. an audacity, and a. per- severance, against which aJl our efforts have been in vain. The most important captures have always been effected by women. Accord- ingly, when tbo servant of General de Tre- mont spoke of this nocturnal lady-visitor, my suspicions were immediately aroused." "Explain yourself." "It is not the first time, General, that we have bad to deal with this mysterious woman, who comes and passes away, leaving nuA and Woodshed in her tnis. H«w nuuxner «* F unH —i AFCMQW Tbm MMI tarn her mind on someone whom ehe knows to lie in a position to give up to her some impor- tant secret or other, then she jscduces him, until in the end be betrays it. Then she casts him off, like a useless debris. A crea- ture to be dreaded, if I may judge by the results she has already obtained, and a powerful corruptrees- No heart is proof against her alluring temptations. She art- fully graduates the doses of her love-philtre; and the noblest minds, the most upright con- sciences. and the staunchest courage bend I and capitulate at a, sign from her. Do you I remember the 511-fated Commandant Com- inges, who blew out his brains, without any- thing being publicly known as to the reason? The woman had come along; Cominges had become her slave. A part, of our mobilisation had become known. Before killing himself, Cominges swore that the documents bad been stolen from his dwelling whilst he was absent with this woman. He had made the grave mistake of taking them from the office to I work on them, and the still graver one of saying that they were in his possession. But the poor fellow had confidence in her. He was a mall of honour, a gallant soldier. A pistol-shot settled the whole matter." "What was the woman's name?" "Madame Ferranti. F'hc¡ took most careful precautions in seeing Cominges. presumably on account, of her family. One of our agents, however, was acquainted with her Within six months he died by an accident. He wag. one evening, travelling by rail from Auteuil. They found him dead under a tunnel. Doubt- less be had leaned out too far from the car- riage." "The deuce:" "The following year the yonng Captain Fnntenailles, a fine young fellow we were all fond of. was induced by a woman, whom his comrades called the 'Tenehreuse,' because no one of them ever saw her. to disclose ec-rtain confidences. Understanding the gravity of his conduct, he went to his superior and con- fessed everything. The latter succeeded in repairing the damage done by changing the key to the secret writings. Captain Fonten- ailles left for Tonkin, where he fell, fighting bravely, at the attack of Bac-Niah. His fault, was atoned for." "JaA tfc* MMt >1—1 the +ami~ "According to all these gentlemen. The Ferranti of Comingcs was the Tenebrense of Fontenailles. Then there was the Madame Gibson, of the Aerostat affair, without speak- ing of several other cases only partially revealed. Always the same Tenebreuse, with the same method of procedure, corruption. In her train, ruin. tears, and blood." I "How long has she been engaged in this work of intrigue p., "Ten years, certainly. General; and under all these personations we have not been able to lay our bands on her. She is only known by her professional nameg." "What a deep-dyed scoundrel I We must try to cut short her career." "Nothing more difficult. Once the coup accomplished, she disappear*. An eel, gliding about in the mud. in which it remains hidden until the water again becomes clear. She arranges in such a way aa to cut off all communications behind her; that is her method. For instance, in this new affair we shall have to struggle in the dark. Search will be made for some time. but no clue win be fcund. The accomplices, ai well as the principal instigator of the crime, will now have got to earth- By degrees the search will calm down. and something else will be on the tapis. At any rate, it is in this way that the majority of these cases end, nnless-" "Unless? Ah! You still hope something may happen?" "Unless this time the wounded accomplice affords as a t.rarc Let us merely hold one end of the conducting wire, and I promise you, General, we will arrive at some resplt or other, if only to avenge our poor com- rades. "And in prevent, the repetition of similar accidents. For, after all, Vallenot. you will agree- with me that it is rather too inncb for foreign Powers to become acquainted with our most socret affairs, as though they were matter of discussion on the public thorough- fares." "We are as well acquainted with foreign affairs. Geneva,), as they are with oDrs." said the Colonel with lees sullen mien. "To sum up. there are always two at the game. And it haa always been so. Ay, the very time, in 1812, when Russia was procuring information a^o^tjhe^effieiency of the Emperor's troops, copper plat.e.s of the map of Russia. I quote tins fa/'t of daye gone by without alluding to contemporary events. But, taking everything into consideration, General, our secrets are I scarcely secrets at all. If. in war, reliance was placed on nothing beyond mysterious preparations-" I "Then we should have to start by abolish. ing the press," muttered the Minister. "And thai is impossible!' said Vallenot. Still, in this special case before us, we mntu undertake the task of clearing the moral atmosphere, and employ every means pos- sible. if we would succeed. "Eh! That concerns the legal authorities now." "OBicia.My. General, but we also, on o<tf? side. may investigate, in a quiet way, and X, have no doubt-" "The lesson to be learnt is that our are becoming too ga-'lant!" .>1; "If yon know any means. GeuoraL" sai.d'Val-^ lenot, with a laugh, "of suppressing please teli me." i; "To think of this old GeneraJ! Sixty yeawi old, toot Tree. he did not appear more thZA fifty! In what position does he leave his daughter?"' r "General le Tremont was a widower?" "Yes. that is his excuse! But he has daughter, still at school. She is eighteen yeam old. and without dowry. Luckily. Baradjer is there." "You mean Baradier aDd Graff. tile bankers?" "Certainly. Baradicr fought in the wt.r of 1870: he is a true patriot, and his son, Maroel, a fine young fellow, just cut of the Central School, has been working with Gene- ral de Tremont. Marcel Baradier was princi- pally occupied is investigating vegetable dyes, connected with the woollen wea*-ia» manufactures his father owns in the Aube." But. the General opened his laboratory to him. and probably informed him of his own inves- tigations. We may learn a great de&l frcm this young man. I think." "18 the Barndier family in good ciiuaui. stances ?" "Very wealthy; their fortune daily ill- creases from industrial and from banking operations. It is Graff. Baradier's step-bro- ther, who deals more specially with finance, whilst Ba-ra-dicr manages the works. Both, however, are busily employed all day long-, and the millions roll in. notwithstanding the rivalry of the firm of liichtenliach, who <N mortal enemies of Baradier and GraC." "Bqgmess m-alryr^^ a

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