Death Sign On The Window Sill

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 226, 24 September 1938, Page 12 (Supplement)

Death Sign On The Window Sill

Louis Lemoino, famnus»French detec--1 ' anrt his colleague. Captain do Beck, aro seeking the murderer of a famous scientist, slam with his own poison gas. Lrmninc linils a gas mask used by the killpr, learns that the scientist had intomlcd changing his win. ami then appears a pretty nurso —the woman in the case.

AS Lcmoine and I left the bedroom, I remarked that young Paquillon seemed to lip terribly frightened. /\nd I asked Louis if he did not consider this a possible indication of g-.iill. "Soniri imes l'.-i :• j* ~ ~f jjniit," replied. i in this -asp, I'jigene, t assure \ ••-; t ii.it the peiv m who pl.t 11 li t lie ". ," [~ 1 ~|,.N , IM , wlii « • • .1 ik <|. .wn, :ir. our weak M. J'aquillon has jn : broken down." Wo re! Ill'tli'-I. then. to AT 1 In. ( ; ii'll,l: 11. She roga • -I.MI IM wit:, ( lie lit 11.. ••on: - ]'"sure, •'" ! in her ii.'! ,Nt | -. n- ( .,l m t.rr nn*n<|. •i, r- • . .• , \ . ■, ~., j,.,, j]. 'I" doubt. «„ . , ~ ~I ■• | \ 1, ,],y till* I'llll rill „f ill!' • I IV "Vi.lt \> ■ -!i tn .1 -1. 'I■ i 1 | u..„ • 1.. ir. *nid . i lii.lv, '"I Mil t,, | 1( , JiOHl. »l! .1 ;. r ,"ul v\ vyvs "wliH'li h.nl u; «n f-d nnicli human crinio <iii<i hum iii • • -1'»• \* hid boon rc - 1 1*' r <m,] !y. Now h«» spoke. "'l'll,ink villi, tu:t.; .mi -•lie. Tliilt gM OT.'lsk \•• 11 IIM \ e ni ll jt i.t'foi'P ? " Marguerite looked at it, nodded. It looks 1i k. ■ on.' I' r. i:. vs. >r dp Montpilliiinl u-e.l in in- , i ,-mieal lul>or:l----t"ry. siir sm i. 1. >•! i\ ■ 1 , I,em . n.. ?nnti lined tn nil.■ -: i■ >11 1 ..■ r. I'm| itil!• hi li.kl ■. right. .all.- said. in pla.-imj; l i.M h.,u" i.l' 11. r deparlure .-it. 111...111. \||, r- ', , ■ ]1M ■ 1 11. .t M-I'll t illpi'., t -in.-., in !■ I ni'jht. u iii-n slip had ; Ushered I In- y. ►11 riir r-<• i<-111 i-st Hertron to the lip<li ii. mi, "M,i v I si* 4 k. mademoiselle," said Lenioine gently. "why you worn here bo bite if you di.l not minister to the professor "I have. other duties, monsieur, beside* tlioso of a nurse," tlip young woman replied. "In a sense, you might all me

True Stories Of The Marseilles Secret Police By

a business manager to the late Dr. de M.mtgalliard. I kept all his accounts, not only the. household acpounts, but those pertaining to his scientific and businp-s intprests. And until that late li.nir I w <ls working on my books. Those hooka are available for your inspection. monsieur."

An<l suddenly—for no reason that T can intelligently aoount for—l found myself suspecting t lint Mile. Girodin might have murdered her lover—for, of

Captain Eugene de Beck

No. VI. — Copyright.

course, we all assumed that she had been the late professor's sweetheart. Shi* apparently lmd been the last one to lea\e that apartment that night. Ijcmoinc had already "quizzed" the concierge—a nd learned that Hertron an J Mile. Girodin had left the apartment at the timeri stttted. She could easily have committed the crime, it occurred to me, if she had. the necessary knowledge about the making and handling of poison ga«. Bnt in that case liow

professor?

to account for Taquillon'e claim that he had brought the professor a glass of water at dawn?

Ilavo you scientific training, mademoiselle: ' I asked. "I mean, chemical training';"

\ es. monsieur. I have frequentl< assisted the professor in his experiments with gas."

Of course, this only meant that the girl could have committed the crime. It did not at all mean .that she had done so.

Ijemoine's questioning went right ahead.

"Can you suggest a reason." he asked, "why anyone should have tried to kill M. liertron?"

.Marguerite looked startled. "But no. nioiit-KMtr! ' she cried. "Bertron is a strange man, but I do not know ot anyone who dislikes him." And then this lovely woman made a strange observation:

"Dr. (lervais Bertron works very hard." she said, slowly. "He is entitled to his bitterness."

"Comment?" said quickly. "Vou say he is bitter; a vuiiiil' man bitter? Wliv

"<>h!" For an instant that beautiful f.ico puckered in annoyance. "1 siioul.l not have said that. I only mean that — well, when a young man works with po brilliant a scientist as the professor, the younger man has so little chance to make a name for himself."

"I liavo heard," said Lemoino. "that many of the professor's rpcent dispoveriee have been attributed in part to the collaboration of Dr. Bertron. This young man. then, i 6 very clever."

"One of the most intelligent peraons I have pver known," said mademoiselle firmly. "Which has been fortunate, since the professor has been ill for many months."'

• Vou suggest, then, that perhaps the voting man was bitter beeause he felt that liis own discoveries were being brought out, largply, In the name of the

"Oil, not at all—not at all!** protested this amaringly self--possessed young woman. But 1 couldn't help thinking that this protestation wa« less sincere than her other rpmarks had appeared to be. The questioning continued.

The young woman had gone to ber own rooms, upon leaving the apartment

at 2.30. She could not sleep and felt nervous and distraught, bo she summoned her own physician. He had attended her, and given her a gentle scda the.

At this point, Lemoine excused him f. ami murmured to me:

"Telephone this hotel, Eugene, if you will, and check this young woman's going and comings. And Eugene—" he smiled at me teasingly, "knowing your impatience, I can tell you right now that this murder was committed after da wn."

A little mystified ai this, and having no idea how Lemoine had established the time of the slaying, I went to the telephone as requested.

And tlien all my vague suspicions of Mademoiselle Oirodin vanished. For I.eMioim- had ar-sured me that the murder had been committed after dawn — and from until just a few minutes before, the woman hnd been in the hotel! That eliminated her.

And now Lemoine, finished temporarily with the girl, sent for the young Dr. C.'ervais Hertron.

lie c.inie promptly, and for the first time I not iced his eyes. They were dark, and through his strong spectacles ilicv lnnkcd huge. They seemed to shine with an inner lire which, to me, suggested fanaticism. A man, I thought, who would do anything for a principle, lie was now quite calm, ond answered each of Ivcmoine's questions without hesitation or <lel av.

"Do you know anyone -who might havu wanted the professor to die?" Louis asked him, after routine questions had established the young man's occupation at the approximate time of tlio murder. "Many men," said Bertron slowly, "have desired the death of Dr. de Mont£rn Ilia ril.'' "Why:" "I'ecause, monsieur, the professor was what the loose-minded call a 'merchant of death.' His chemical formulae, translated into gases, are capable of wiping out whole cities in brief seconds. A fanatic may have done this thing—-one of those fellows who are willing to kill for the love of humanity, if you know what I moan.''

"You were with him last night," Raid Lcmoine, "for a couple of houns. What did vou talk about?''

"About the project closest t» W" heart," said the keen young man with hungry eye& Upon his refined face was a pallor of natural anxiety and sharp lines of firmly controlled anguish. "And that project, monsieur, was the estaolislunent of a great foundation to study the scourge of cancer. The horrible of war gases had commenced to prey upon his mind. But it was hi» rooted belief that in our laboratory together with immense secrets looking to the defence of Franco and the observation of her colonial empire theie might be found another secret counteracting ultimately the death hie creations may one day spread. Professor de Montgalliard had decided that most of his millions should be willed back to the human race from whose agonies they had been earned. In our talk last night, lie outlined the -new will he was going to have drawn this very week, en riving forward his plan of a Montgalliard foundation of cancer research.

"'Oervais.' lie said to mo, 'I should like to see this well launched in my lifetime. Yet if I announce it now. how the cvnies will squeal. I invent a gas to strangle an army, they will saj, atid then try to "buy"" my way to heaven

by doing good with the profits of deathdealing merchandise.'" „ "You remember this all quite clearly, Lemoine observed. "Monsieur, I shall never forget his words. He was like a father to me, a mentor, patron, elder brother and generous partner—all that ia noble and bevond price. He —" "\nd yet," said Lemoine quickly, is it not a fact that you often felt that many of the professor's recent discoveries were due largely to you, monsieur? Did you not feel that more of the credit for their discovery should go to

vou * "Infamous!" His pale face flushincr angrily, young Hertron lea]>ed to his feel. "I do not know v/here you got such an idea, monsieur, but it is unkind eruellr unkind —and totally false! It was Professor do Montgalliard who insisted —insisted, monsieur—on coupling mv name with his in making certain announcements of discovery to the scientific world. ~\\ hv—" "I ask your pardon." said Lemoino. soothinglv." "We of the police are forced to ask ail kinds of questions. And you will best help solve the murder of your friend and benefactor by answering thriii without rancour.'' The questioning continued.

"Could the professor have been map. dered with one of the new poison bum recently discovered in his Lemoine asked. "No." said Bertron, slowly, * t T TTI ] rw but it is unthinkable— unless be wm killed by some member of this honae> hold. For these new lethal rases preserved a? mere formulae, looked op j. a burglar-j.roof vault. To that vault and to the formulae, only four persota had access —the professor* Jllle. Girodin. M. l'a<piilloii, his nephew, and myself You see. monsieur, only in the event of war would we start making these gne« in quantity. They are of nnbelkvable deadlines*. We kept only three sample flasks of each for purposes of fgrtfcstudies." "Would yon say, monsieur," Lemoine. ' that the murderer was familiar with the properties of prases? Or an amateur who merely him. poned not to bungle his fonl "rater prise V' "It is extremely unlikely that amateur could have done it. He coold not know how small a quantity wonld be lethal." * llr. He it ron was excused, and 11* investijrati l >n proceeded. (To be concluded.)