The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 132, March, 1909Various
History
The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 132, March, 1909
Various
Adventure stories -- Periodicals; English periodicals; History, Modern -- 20th century -- Periodicals; Voyages and travels -- Periodicals
At a late hour this arrived, telling Dessaure to go on to Paris at
once. This he did, meeting the detective the next day at the latter's
rooms. Brissard seemed in very good spirits. "Our man is here
in Paris," he said; "he is human, and has followed his wife. The
son-in-law is an honourable fellow, and, although he has helped his
father-in-law, is desirous of putting an end to all this. He will
induce Morant to give himself up. I have every faith in him."
"But what about the reward?" asked Dessaure.
"We will see to that," replied the detective, confidently.
At nine o'clock the two men walked down the boulevards to the
Montmartre district. Arriving in the vicinity of a wine-shop there, M.
Brissard stationed himself directly opposite. Dessaure did not quite
understand all this, nevertheless he did as he was told. Looking up
casually toward a cross street, he saw approaching on the opposite
side a man whom he thought he recognised. The man wore a light
overcoat and a straw hat, and seemed to be looking for someone. With
a cry Dessaure, unable to restrain himself, rushed across the street,
and grasping the man by the throat struck him repeatedly in the face.
It was the long-sought Morant! The men were separated by Morant's
son-in-law, who had been waiting for him, and who upbraided M.
Brissard for being there. He said he had given his word that he would
bring Morant to the police, and that Brissard had broken faith with
him.
"You are quite welcome to carry out your agreement," replied the
detective. "All I want is the jewels this man has in his possession,
and I thought it advisable to get them in case--well, in case he
decided to leave them elsewhere before giving himself up."
The four men now proceeded to the Prefecture of Police, where Morant,
on being searched, was discovered to have on his person more than half
of the twice-stolen jewels.
He now told his story. How his wife, sitting at a third-storey window,
drying her hair after a shampoo, had been an interested spectator of
Dessaure's man[oe]uvres in burying the box, and after his departure
had informed her husband. Morant had promptly dug the case up and, on
discovering what it contained, at first intended to hand it over to
the police. Then greed overcame him, and, despite the protestations
of his wife, he decided to keep them. He narrated how he reburied the
jewels in another spot, in case Dessaure should divulge their original
hiding-place to the police, and how he waited for some months alter
Dessaure's conviction before selling his _café_. Then he departed
for London and opened a restaurant there. He knew the detectives in
America were searching for him, he said, and so took a situation
as _chef_ in another name. The jewels had proved a curse to him
throughout. Morant's story was listened to by the Prefect, and he was
then placed under arrest as an "accessory after the fact."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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