Bombs In Princess' Baggage

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 142, 18 June 1938, Page 8 (Supplement)

Bombs In Princess' Baggage

N*.IV. II7E seated ourselves in an incon■l. spicuous corner of the hotel lobby, where we could watch the entrance. And that is how I caught my first glimpse of the man with the face of Satan. Often I remember that lace. And then I think of the tens of thousands of innocent people who slept on & certain night of periL People who knew nothing of the calamity threatening them— while Louis Lemoine and Constantin Xeukirk matched wits over one of the ghastliest criminal schemes ever conceived. For the man with the face of Satan planned to cloak a great crime by me&ns of an even greater one. And ruthlessly, as he planned his conflagration, he disregarded the menace to thousands of lives and to property worth millions of franes. Shadowing am Opium Suspect I had accompanied Louis Lemoine— thai unique genius of the Marseilles 6ecret police—from Marseilles to this certain hotel in Lyons. Louis was shadowing a man suspected to be the Marseilles lieutenant of a gigantic opium ring. Several day 3 before the Marseilles police had been able to cripple this ring —thanks to information my friend Loum ! had wrung from the murderer of Marie Duplesse. But the real leader was at j large and unknown. Lemoine's only lead to him was a tip that our present | quarry, a smooth Latin crook named Luigi Bonomini occasionally contacted him. "Bonomini is a smart rat," said Lemoine. "If we follow him he may lead us to a smarter." And now he had led us from Marseilles to a hotel in Lyons

True Stories Of The Marseilles Secret Police

—where at once Lemoine had enlisted the assistance of the Lyons police. Soon, to his amazement, Louis learned that our suave Bonomini had telephoned from his hotel room to another, and a very fashionable hotel—to ask if the entourage of the Royal Princess K had arrived from Geneva, as expected! What could a Marseilles hoodlum want with the Princess K , that very royal, very impoverished and very silly woman whose eccentricities for years had scandalised every European court? And that is how we came to seat ourselves in the lobby of that fashionable hostelry. There was a stir throughout the lobby. Xecks craned and the royal party swept in. And beside me Louis Lemoine stiffened. The Princess K waa an elderly woman dressed with more skill than teste in clothes artfully youthful. Her face was a mask of makeup. But I wasted no time looking at this royal derelict. Behind her walked one of the most striking human beings I have ever seen, a man, tall and very lean, with a long saturnine face. His formal clothes were impeccable and they fitted his sinuous frame a bit too perfectly. But the face —with its long deep chin and hollow eyes—that was what drew my attention. Just the wisp of an edged smile sharpened those lips, but the eyes —the eyes were sombre. I am not an imaginative man, but it seemed as I looked upon the face of that lean, distinguished-looking man that something—the soul probably—had

By Captain Eugene de Beck

I burned out of him, leaving only a bleak and damned intelligence, without pity and without hope. Behind this strange pair walked a humbly-dressed young woman, obviously the maid of the great lady. I heard Lemoine gently expel * breath. "Xeukirk," he muttered. Intuitively, I knew he could refer only to that sinister man in the perfect clothes. "You know him?" I asked. "Like every other metropolitan policeman in France," Louis replied. "I have studied his photograph, Constantin Xeukirk! Master-intriguer, never caught in a crime!" Lemoine spoke half to himself, a hungry look in his keen eyes. "Three years ago he was invited to leave France. He had entangled one of our oldest and wealthiest families—one of the "two hundred" families reputed to own and govern France —in such a scandalous web that it cost millions, yes, millions of francs to clear the matter up. Super blackmail is his specialty." "But the Government," I objected. "The Government! What irony, Eugene! Xeukirk actually had the authorities so frightened of a scandal which might have precipitated a crisis that officialdom turned- handsprings to sret him out of the country—with his ioot, mon ami! He —" Lemoine broke off. Following his glance, I saw a dignified, well-dressed bearded gentleman entering the hotel. "There, Eugene," said Louis Lemoine, "Is one of the cleverest secret policemen in Europe—my old friend, Captain Rodolf Liander. Without doubt, he is

shadowing Xeukirk. Only an assignment so important could have taken him away from Paris." Lemoine was right. We watched his friend register, ascend to his room. Then Lemoine called him on the house telephone and in brief minutes we were Liander's guests in that room, and the two ace detectives were comparing nates. "But, Louis, the man's nerve is superb!" Liander protested to Lemoine. "This Xeukirk—we had to let him into the country, for he has had himself appointed secretary to the Princess K !" "We have discovered that he is paving her expenses," Captain Liander continued and shrugged. "Xow you know, Louis, our Neukirk is "not squiring this elderly sprig of rovaltv around Europe because of devotion." And she has no money. So what's his game? He must be using her for something."'

"But your hands are tied?" Louis suggested. "Exactly!" said Liander. "The Foreign Office is most anxious to avfrid a diplomatic incident. So we cannot touch one who is legally the secretary of visiting royalty. Damn him, he has out-manoeuvred us again!" The next 24 hours brought swift developments. First, Bonomini telephoned Neukirk—and Neukirk pretended not to know him! I say "pretended," for neither Lemoine, Liander nor I could believe that their presence in this city, and Bonomini's telephoning, could be only coincidental. .Neukirk must have planned a conference with Bonomini — or vice versa —and then Neukirk decided not to go through with it. Possibly he smelled a rat.

In any case, Lemoine and Liander decided to switch quarries—for two reasons. The arch intriguer bought tickets for Marseilles, where, of course, Louis was able to operate with greater adirantage than Liarder. Moreover, it; is always good policy to change "shadows" 'before the quarry becomes suspicious. That evening the royal party entrained for Marseilles —with Lemoine and me aboard the train. The princess, her '•secretary" and maid entered a private compartment and pulled the blinds. Lemoine was restless. "Eugene," he offered at last, "what connection can there possibly be, between a silly but honest old princess and the opium ring?" "Is there any?" I asked. Princess and The Criminals "Lia rider is convinced," Louis replied, '"that Xeukirk is using the princess as a front for some scheme. I agree,— because what earthly use could he have for her ? But lam convinced, also, that Neukirk is tied up with Bonomini—and Bonomini is neck deep in opium." "Xeukirk's luggage was searched at the border?" I acked. "No—because of his present position." Such immunity is always granted a royal party when requested. And Liander told m® it was requested. Requested!" Suddenly-Lemoine got to hig feet and made his way withoul a word out of the swayinj railway coach. After a time I followed him—for I know my Louis. His manner convinced me he was tip to something. I found him talking in low tones to an agitated conductor. "But monsieur"' this official protested. "To search the luggage of a royal princess!" He shrugged in horror—but Lemoine and I went to the baggage car. I was worried, however. "Louis!" I protested. "If you're caught doing this, there'll be a diplomatic incident, all right, and Paris will make you the goat!" But Lemoine paid no heed. Taking a tiny kit of steel hooks and wires from his pocket, he approached the six trunks containing the princess' effects. Each trunk bore a faded coat of arms. "But, Louis," I said, "what do you expect to find?"

"Possibly nothing, Eugene. Poesiblv a clue to "help catch the greatest international crook of them all!" As he spoke, he worked —and the locks gave way easily. Two of the trunks, hastily goae through, revealed nothing bat the girliegirlie fripperies «f the elderly princess. But just after the train had stopped at Avignon, and gone on its way again, Louis opened the third trunk. He made a truly astounding dis covery. It was not that this trunk was fuil of fine masculine clothing and effects — including the exquisite gold and crystal toilet articles of Neukirk. But among those toilet article# were two peculiar, small metal objects. "Saere coeur!" murmured Loais. He filled back the things, locked the trunk. Then he motioned to me and we left the baggage car. "Last week, Eugene," ho whispered, "the police of Prague sent out an international bulletin, warning that someone had stolen two deadly dangerous thermite bombs. They were carefully described." I knew what thermite bombs were, of course—bombs packed with a chemical capable of generating an unbelievably fierce heat —a heat which neither water, nor any of the usual fire-fighting methods could subdue. "I just found these two thermite bombs," said Lemoine. "You're—you're going to leave them there?" I asked. "Of course. But we must keep those trunks under constant surveillance. Eugene. And I shall inform Guichard at once. Right away those bombs complicate our problem. But eventually, they may well help us to solve it!" "Incendiary bombs," I murmured dis consolately, "a royal princess, an inter national crook and the opium racket. It just doesn't make sense, Louis!" "It will!'' Lemoine promised grimly. But our speculation ceased abruptly. For as we re-entered our coach we heard the sharp voice of a woman. "It is an outrage! How dare your police interfere with my convenience ? How dare they show me the disrespect of arresting my secretary before my eyes? I tell you, diplomatic representations—" Lemoine stood stock still. So they had arrested Neukirk! It must have been at Avignon, where the train had stopped while we were in the baggage car. For, of course, the complaining voice was of the princess. But Lemoine looked puzzled, incredulous.

"Neukirk arrested!" he Eunaarij. "After Pari9 had warned u« all to an 'incident' ?" And then Louis Lemoine did a eha*»». teristieally decisive thing. Brutkint aside the bowing conductor who rte3 half is, half out of the royal compos ment, Lemoine said to him: '"Have the gnridnca*. monsieur, inform her royal highness that Alphonse favour has the L'.:; ur to prv sent himself." "And who might ycm be V snapped the princess. Lemoine bowed. "The Government of France haa bwa most anxious that your highness' vfcft to Franc® ba unmarred by anj abominable incident aa that which j— f occurred," he said smoothly. "It is duty to see that the miscreants sible are severely dealt with." "Humph!" snorted the by now pwyb. faced princess. But 6he was obvioMly mollified. Within half an hour he had that tffly old woman eating out of his hand. Soot sba was calling him "dear M. ('avour"_ and before we had arrived in Marseille he had questioned her gently L>ut thoroughly. Neukirk, she told him, had boon taken off the train at Avi«rn<>n by t\ro mj. formed gendarmes, liut on living, h« had whispered that he would "t.ike care* of everything—and r<join !.<t in Martigues, a few kilometres from Marseille*, "And it shall }>e my duty, your high, ness, as well as my great plca-ure," said plib Louis Lemoine, "to escort vob h Martigues and to «>erve until your secretary has been relea.«n.-d. But meantime, let me persuade you—after your ordeal—to spend to-night in -Marseilles. The Government, madame, would deem it a privilege to consider \uu as its guest, at any hotel you may care to come." "Reservations have been made for mo in Martigues," said tile erossly "I don't know that I rare to ■ han»e b't plans." e "Ah, but madaire- the people of Marseilles surely you can -pare them a few hours of your time." s.iid Louii unblushingly. "They will be deeply grieved if the honour is denied them." The gross bit of flattery -ettled it. The princes* agreed to remain, but I caught her hatchet-faced, angular maid frowning. I suspected that rnai d. What more likely, 1 r«-a«rni.-d. than that she was otic of Xerikirk's agents? And events were to prove me right. (To be continued.)