FOOTNOTES:[21]No. 7 won 3,500 frs., the three even bets won 3,000 frs.: nos. 28 and 12 lost 200 frs.
FOOTNOTES:
[21]No. 7 won 3,500 frs., the three even bets won 3,000 frs.: nos. 28 and 12 lost 200 frs.
[21]No. 7 won 3,500 frs., the three even bets won 3,000 frs.: nos. 28 and 12 lost 200 frs.
CHAPTER XXVI
NEMESIS
WhenPierre Duval left by the night train for Bordeaux it was his intention to take one of the Sud Atlantique steamers and sail for South America. On alighting at the terminus at Bordeaux he glanced round to see that no one was observing him, and being satisfied on that score he bid the cocher drive to the Hotel Montesquieu.
"Thank goodness," he said to himself, "I am safe at last, and this day week I shall be on boardLa Gascogne, bound for Rio de Janeiro and no one will recognise me there."
He busied himself during the morning in arranging his affairs, and purchased a first-class ticket at the Compagnie de Navigation Sud Atlantique, and spent the rest of the afternoon in seeing the sights of the town. After dinner he went out for a stroll and purchased an evening paper at one of the kiosks, and to his horror he saw in large type a detailed account of the death of General Duval.
The narrative stated that General Duval had been found lying on the carpet in Pierre's dining-room shot through the heart. The theory of suicide was dismissed as improbable, as although the door was locked on the inside, the windows were wide open, and several pieces of furniture were broken and scattered about the room along with a few coins. It was suggested that some burglars loafing around had seen the valet, and later on, Pierre leaving the house, and surmising that his chambers were empty, had entered his room through the window, and being surprised by the General had shot him during the struggle. Thethieves, fearing lest someone might have heard the shot, had evidently hastily locked the door and escaped by the same window. The police, they added significantly, were reticent on the matter as to the origin of the crime.
The next day a further article appeared in the newspapers announcing that a reward had been offered for any information which might be given which would lead to the arrest of the criminal, and pointed out that the General's only son, Pierre Gaston Duval, was suspected. All of a sudden Pierre passed a hoarding and saw to his horror a police notice pasted on it bearing an enlarged print of his own portrait with a full description of his person, and below in large letters the statement that a reward of five thousand francs would be given to anyone not an accessory to the crime who would give such information as would lead to his arrest.
"H'm," he thought, "it may be as well to lie low until the departure of the steamer, in case there might be someone about who would recognise me in my disguise."
Accordingly he kept to his room, merely going out in the evening to purchase the latest editions of the papers. As the time passed and nothing happened he got more venturesome, and the last evening but one beforeLa Gascognesailed, he said to himself, "I will risk it, and go to the theatre and enjoy myself for the last time in France. Garçon," he said, after table d'hote was over, "bring me the evening paper—are there any good plays at the theatre to-night?"
"I can recommend 'La Debutante,' sir," said the waiter, "I hear it is a very spicy play, and is drawing crowds every night."
Pierre took his advice and secured a box near the stage. He looked round the theatre, sweeping the rows of sightseers one after another with his opera glass, and at length a beautiful woman caught his eye. She was seated in a box directly opposite him, and was apparently all by herself—at least there was no gentleman there. The lady appeared to be half French and half Spanish, and seemed to embody the charms of both races. Her beauty had anextraordinary fascination for him, and after keeping his opera glasses fixed on her for some time, he noticed to his intense delight that he had attracted her attention as well. He kissed his hand towards her and observed that she inclined her head slightly with a bewitching smile. This was quite enough encouragement for Pierre.
His character was a curious mixture of boldness derived from some hereditary trait which impelled him to deeds of excessive rashness on the spur of the moment, combined with an extreme caution and dread of breaking the law which was the outcome of years of legal practice and training.
The lady was unquestionably handsome. She possessed those languid dark eyes and long silky eyelashes which are the distinguishing feature of the Spanish donna. This was a type of beauty which impressed itself on a man of the sensuous type of Pierre, so stepping out of his box he purchased a magnificent bouquet of flowers, and made his way to the lady's box.
On entering the box he received a smile from his fair divinity as she graciously accepted the proffered bouquet, and pointed to a chair next to her.
"Pray sit down," she said, "it is quite charming to have you by me. We shall be able to have a delightful tête-a-tête together."
Pierre at once sat down and squeezed her hand with rapture.
The extreme familiarity of the lady would have frightened any sober-minded gentleman away, and would doubtless have made Pierre suspicious and put him on his guard; but he had already taken so much champagne that it had clouded his wits, and he was further intoxicated with her charms. Her voluptuous figure, her winning smiles, her small beautifully modelled hands, rendered still more fascinating by the well-fitting gloves, her brilliant dark wavy hair coiled up in the latest fashion by the art of an expert coiffeur, the delicate perfume, all contributed to hypnotize his senses, and prevent his observing the entire absence of that reserve of manner, and of those qualities which invariably bespeak a real lady in any part of the civilized world.
"I suppose," he said, "you are living by yourself just now?"
"Yes, that is my fate for the present," and then afraid lest he should want to know too much of her private life she added, "What is your name, monsieur, if I may make so bold as to enquire?"
"My name? Oh, my name is Sylvestre Adam—a humble worshipper of you, my divinity," and he put his arm round her waist and gave her a squeeze.
"How very curious," she replied, "my name is Julie Paradis."
"What a pretty name," he answered, "and how appropriate to the occasion. Well I hope Adam will be allowed to remain in Paradise, and will not be expelled from so fair a spot."
"That depends on his behaviour in the garden of Eden," replied Madame Paradis, laughing. "He will be allowed to remain if he does not attempt to pluck any of the forbidden fruit."
"May I not be allowed to receive it from your fair hands?" he added, looking up in her face with a smile.
"Oh, you tempter," she said, tapping him with her fan. "And where do you hail from, Monsieur, I suppose you come from Paris judging from your accent?"
"No. There you are mistaken. A few years ago I used to live in Paris, but my home is in Montevideo, and I only arrived here a few days ago."
"Entonces usted es Porteno?" she replied, in perfect Spanish.
Pierre muttered something in French quite inappropriate to her question. He recognised his fatal mistake, but it was too late.
She looked at his face with a puzzled expression. "Yes, it is something like him," she thought, "but I shall soon find out."
"Ah! monsieur, monsieur," she replied with a smile, "I can see that you are a born Frenchman, and that you have never been to South America. Now confess it, mon ami."
Pierre saw it was no use temporising, so he frankly admitted it with a laugh. He had quite lost his head inthe presence of this charming siren, but although irresistibly attracted by her manners, he nevertheless felt afraid of her. Her face lit up with smiles, but her lips were thin and compressed, and he could feel that she might become a terrible adversary if she had a fit of anger or jealousy.
"You don't seem to be paying much attention to the play, monsieur," she remarked with a smile.
"Well, I confess, madame, you possess charms which far surpass those of the play, and consequently I have been devoting myself exclusively to the enjoyment of your company, instead of watching the actors."
"You flatter me, sir."
"Not at all—not in the least. But if you are not otherwise engaged it would give me immense pleasure to take you out to supper."
"Shall we go?" she enquired in a winning voice.
Pierre assented.
"You can go home now, Marie," she added to her maid.
Pierre took her to a fashionable restaurant on one of the boulevards, and afterwards saw her home.
"What a pity," he said to himself as he entered his hotel, "I shall have no further opportunity of spending an evening in madame's charming company—well, it can't be helped, but I must try to see her, once more, to-morrow afternoon before I leave."
The next day on opening her newspaper, Madame Paradis's attention was drawn to an account of a dreadful murder which had been committed in Paris on a retired general of the name of Duval, and also on a celebrated professor of science, together with a photograph of the suspected criminal.
"Mon Dieu, but this is interesting."
At this moment M. Adam was announced.
"Ah, ma mie," said Pierre, alias Sylvestre Adam, "I trust you are well, and that fortune smiles upon you. Diable! what were you so interested about when I came in?"
"A terrible murder has been committed in Paris. Haven't you seen it? The papers are full of it. General Duval has been brutally murdered by his son. See, hereis the photograph of the assassin," and she showed it to Sylvestre.
A cold shudder went through him as he saw his own likeness in the newspaper. He turned very pale, and seizing a decanter on the table, he poured himself out a glass of wine and tossed it off.
"What's the matter?" she asked, noticing the change which went over him. "Don't you feel well?"
"My dear one," he answered, "no wonder I feel pale, seeing that General Duval is my god-father, and one of my dearest friends. He always placed his house at my disposal. Ah! many a time he has given me a thousand franc note to meet some small debt of honour. Just think of it? To lose one's greatest benefactor in this dreadful way," and he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped away a tear.
"Good God," he said to himself, "however could the police have found it out? I suppose that scoundrel Deschamps, must have given the show away."
"I am really very sorry for you, mon cher," she answered, putting her hands on his shoulders and giving him a kiss on the forehead. As she did so she observed that he was wearing a wig, and looking closer she noticed that his beard was false likewise. Now Pierre's left ear had a very peculiar shape, and on glancing at the photograph in the newspaper which showed the left side of his face, she recognised the same shaped ear at once. Madame gave a little start and dropped the newspaper.
"What is the matter?" said Pierre, carefully scrutinizing her face to see if she had observed anything in the photograph which she could recognise in his features.
"Nothing, mon cher Sylvestre, but you looked so pale that I got frightened. Take another glass of wine, it will do you good."
Pierre seized the decanter, and with a shaking hand poured himself out another glass.
He lay down on the sofa while Madame Paradis, going to the piano, played several airs.
"Pray go on," he said, as she stopped playing, "I quite enjoy it, you play so beautifully. Let us go into the fresh air," he remarked at length. "I think it will do us bothgood. We will take a stroll through the public gardens and hear the music, or have some coffee at one of the cafés, and then we can afterwards have some dinner together. Let us make a good night of it, as I regret to say it is my last night in France."
"Why? Where are you going to?" she enquired.
"I have booked my passage byLa Gascognewhich sails to-morrow afternoon for Rio de Janeiro."
"Well," she said, "I will be pleased to see you off if I may."
"That will be delightful," replied Pierre, hoping in his heart that something would turn up to prevent her doing it.
Next morning she went to his hotel, and knocking at his bedroom door went straight in and shut it.
Pierre felt very much annoyed at seeing her march into his room unannounced in this fashion, but he tried to conceal his feelings and even attempted to smile when she said she had come to bid him good-bye. She bid him sit down on the sofa and took a seat by his side. "Now look here, Monsieur Sylvestre, I know quite well who you are. Your real name is Pierre Gaston Duval. Now it's no use denying it," she added, as he was about to reply. "You insulted me at Maxim's Café only a short time ago—do you remember the scene? I know well enough you are the man who is wanted by the police, I could read your guilt in your face, even if I had no other proofs. Do you see this ear?" said she pointing to the photograph with her finger to the print. "Is it not exactly like yours?"
Pierre grew ghastly pale with fear, and trembled from head to foot. He was about to deny all knowledge of it, but she interrupted him.
"You need not look so scared. If you will stay with me and meet a few of my little bills which my dress-maker and others are pressing me with rather inconveniently just now, I promise you I will keep your secret—but if you attempt to run away, or step on board the steamer, I swear I will inform the captain and the police at once. So long as you perform these few favours for me I shall be devoted to you and make you very happy. Only remember, the first time you fail to carry out my requests, you know what will happen," and she shook her finger in his face.
Pierre was furious and raised his fists as if to strike her, but the determination in her face made him pause, and after a short period of reflection he put his arms round her neck and kissed her ardently.
"Well," he said at length, "I see there is nothing for it but to obey you."
"That's a good boy. I see you are beginning to learn your lessons very well. You will find me a wonderfully good teacher," and she smiled and gave him a kiss in return.
Pierre shrugged his shoulders in helpless fashion and looked very gloomy.
Several days passed, and at her request he took a little house near Biarritz where they lived together for some weeks.
At length money was beginning to run short and they both felt the need of a change, so at her request they took the train for Monte Carlo. It was only the second day after their arrival at the Metropole that Pierre recognised Delapine and the rest of the party in the Salle de Jeu. At once he saw the danger he was running, and so hastily quitting the salon he gave Madame the slip and took the night train for Bordeaux.
No sooner had he arrived at Marseilles, and was on the point of leaving, when who should step into the compartment but Madame Paradis.
The next day after the distribution of the spoils at the Hotel des Anglais, Delapine's party had just finished lunch when Marcel, glancing at Violette's ring, asked her if it had a history.
She related to him the same story she had told Riche a few months before in the café at the corner of the Boulevard Michel.
Riche left his side of the table and examined the ring with Marcel.
"Please, mademoiselle," said Riche, "try and see whether the ring still possesses the power it had when you first showed it to me."
Violette acquiesced, and suggesting that they should adjourn to another room, they all followed suit.
"Now," said Violette, "if you will keep quite still I will see whether it will tell me anything."
All the party including the professor were standing round her. At length she raised her hand as if to command their attention.
"I see a lady and gentleman in a railway carriage all by themselves. The lady has dark hair and is very beautiful. She is wearing a lovely necklace carrying a large beautiful pendant—the couple are getting out. I see the name of the station—it is Agen. Yes, now they are entering the train once more—Oh! look—they are quarrelling. The man is shaking her terribly. Now they are fighting—Mon Dieu! but it is terrible. See he pulls out a pistol and has struck her with all his might on the temple—Ah! she has fallen down—he lifts her up—she is dead."
Payot, Riche and Marcel looked at one another horrified.
"Try whether you can see anything more," said Delapine quietly.
Violette looked once more at the ring.
"Yes, I see the man opening the carriage door—they are entering a tunnel—he has pushed the lady out of the carriage—she has fallen on to the line. Now he shuts the carriage door and sits down. Ah, it is fading away—yes, it is gone, I see nothing more."
All the party looked at Violette and her ring.
"Can you describe the man?" enquired Delapine.
"Yes, he had shiny curly hair, and a small beard and whiskers."
"Did the lady look like this?" said Delapine, showing the photograph he took in the salon the day before.
"Yes, I recognise her at once by the necklace and pendant," said Violette.
He rang the bell and asked the garçon to fetch him a time-table.
"It is now about half-past one," said the professor taking out his watch, "and as there is no stoppage between Agen and Bordeaux, it is evident that Bordeaux is his destination. Bordeaux is the port from which steamers sail for South America and the West Indies. South America is one of the few spots in the world which the arm of thelaw cannot easily reach, therefore it is most probable that he intends going there."
"Waiter," he said, "fetch me the Continental Bradshaw. That will give the time of sailings of the various ships."
"Ah, here we have it.La Gascogneleaves Bordeaux February 27th, and theDivonaFebruary 21st. To-day is February 17th. If, therefore, we communicate with the police at once they will have plenty of time to arrest him in Bordeaux."
Delapine stepped up to the bureau and asked them to telephone to Nice for M. Patrigent, the chief of the police.
Monsieur Patrigent was one of the most intelligent members of the force. Active, smart and persevering, he had risen step by step to the head of his department by sheer merit. He was a man who always acted immediately, believing that to strike quickly was to strike effectively.
On receiving the telephone message he knew from its nature and source that it was no ordinary crime he had to deal with. He therefore at once ceased work, and sending his messenger to fetch his motor car he drove at top speed to the Hotel des Anglais.
Villebois informed him of the previous doings of Pierre, of the twice attempted murder of Delapine, of the setting fire to the house, of the probable shooting of his own father. Some of the acts were of course well known to Patrigent, but Villebois was able to explain the motif, and to fill up gaps in the chain of evidence.
The chief of police listened with breathless interest as Villebois unfolded the terrible record of crime, but when he told him what Violette had seen in the ring he shook his head and smiled incredulously.
"These statements are not evidence, they are merely phantasies," he exclaimed. "Delusions, or illusions, or whatever you may please to call them."
"But I assure you, M. Patrigent," said Riche, "what the young lady saw is true, I am certain of it," and he told him of Violette's previous vision with the ring, and pointed out how she had foretold the attempted murder of Delapine in the séance room, and how her own psychic vision saved Delapine's life.
M. Patrigent merely shrugged his shoulders incredulously.
"Well, if you still refuse to believe me I will call Professor Delapine himself, who will endorse every word I have said, as it is only a few weeks since he woke up from his trance."
At the mention of Delapine's name, the chef de police opened his eyes in astonishment, and bowed nearly to the ground as the professor came into the room.
M. Patrigent expressed his unbounded delight at meeting him.
"It is indeed an honour to be permitted to shake hands with the greatest man in Europe," ... for his recovery from his marvellous trance ... followed up by his superb play at Monte Carlo ... his arrest ... his defence of the charge made against him were becoming the sole subjects of conversation in every town in France. One heard nothing else but stories of the great seer all day long, and they grew in magnitude from hour to hour.
After hearing Delapine's confirmation of Riche's story of the ring, and seeing the photograph which the professor took in the salon, it was not to be wondered at that M. Patrigent became a convert to Violette's psychic powers, and now believed in them as firmly as he was incredulous before.
After shaking hands all round he received Delapine's permission to take away the precious photograph, and bowing profoundly left the apartment.
In about two hours he returned again to inform them that after leaving he had immediately telegraphed to Agen to search the tunnel, and that the body of a lady had been found in the tunnel near the place, precisely as Violette had predicted.
"It is very wonderful, and I don't pretend to explain it, but I am as convinced as you are that the facts are true, and acting solely on mademoiselle's statement, I intend to leave at once for Bordeaux, and if Dr. Riche will do me the honour to accompany me I will make it my business to see that he shall be well rewarded by the Government for his trouble."
Riche, who was listening, assented willingly, and the two gentlemen departed at once by a special train for Bordeaux. They stopped at Marseilles to change enginesand have a hurried dinner at the buffet, and then travelled right through to Bordeaux, merely stopping to make a few enquiries at Agen, and to examine the body which was lying in the inspector's room at the station.
M. Patrigent accompanied by Riche enquired at the office of the Compagnie de Navigation. Unfortunately, no one answering either to the print in the newspapers, or to the description of him given by Violette had been discovered there, but all the police were informed, and were on the alert to pounce upon him. Detectives were examining the faces of every person seen on the landing-stages and wharfs, while others inspected the visitors' books at the various hotels—but all to no purpose.
For three days every available policeman and detective in Bordeaux was hunting up and down the streets examining every hotel, and examining every ship and steamer in the port, but no trace of Duval could be found.
At length, about two hours before theDivonawas notified to sail the chef de police received a lengthy telegram from Villebois. It read as follows:—
"Last night Professor Delapine had a psychic vision; he saw Pierre Duval in a room changing his clothes. He disguised himself as a Gascony farmer. Was dressed in his Sunday coat with large buttons, a slouch hat with broad brim, and leggings. He put on a long yellow-brown beard, and the same coloured hair hanging down to his shoulders, blue spectacles and a crooked stick. He left the inn in a cab, with a large wooden box, and went on board steamer as a third-class passenger. Act immediately on this information. Villebois."
"Last night Professor Delapine had a psychic vision; he saw Pierre Duval in a room changing his clothes. He disguised himself as a Gascony farmer. Was dressed in his Sunday coat with large buttons, a slouch hat with broad brim, and leggings. He put on a long yellow-brown beard, and the same coloured hair hanging down to his shoulders, blue spectacles and a crooked stick. He left the inn in a cab, with a large wooden box, and went on board steamer as a third-class passenger. Act immediately on this information. Villebois."
M. Patrigent at once had copies of the telegram distributed to the chief centres by boys on bicycles, and hastening with Riche on board theDivonathey inspected the third-class passengers and rooms. Suddenly Riche in his excitement called out.
"See, there he is," and he pointed with his finger.
"Where?" asked the chief of the police, trembling with excitement.
But Riche had spoken so loud that the person in question slipped away and vanished among the crowd.
At that moment the ship's siren uttered a loud blast, while several sailors prepared to unfasten the gangway.
"Keep an eye on him, doctor," said Patrigent, bounding on deck as the visitors were leaving the ship.
At length the chef de police shrugged his shoulders in despair, and stepped on the gangway to depart.
"You must have been mistaken, doctor, he cannot possibly be on board, he must have eluded us and escaped by another route."
"Monsieur, for God's sake stay where you are, I am convinced he is hiding on board."
Monsieur Patrigent hesitated for an instant, but observing Riche's look of entreaty, turned back behind the sailors, while Riche rushed up the gangway and joined him.
A few minutes later the steamer slipped her moorings and slowly steamed down the Gironde.
All the officers were on the look-out for the missing man, and the ship was searched from stem to stern.
At length they got information that a Gascon peasant had been seen entering one of the third-class cabins. The chef de police and Riche rushed to the cabin indicated and tried to open the door, but they found it locked and bolted.
Riche stood by the door, while Monsieur Patrigent returned with a couple of loaded revolvers and an axe.
Handing one of the pistols to Riche, he burst in the panels of the door with three or four furious blows of his axe.
"At last we have got you, monsieur," said the police officer as he pulled out of his pockets a pair of handcuffs, and struggled to get through the broken door.
The peasant uttered a wild cry of mocking laughter.
"Ha, ha! I will defeat you yet," he shouted, "I shall never let you take me alive," and taking out a small phial he drank its contents to the last drop.
The chef de police and one of the sailors burst in and seized the man, while Riche tore off his wig and beard. There stood Pierre with a wild look in his eyes, but before they could pinion him, he cried out, "Tell Professor Delapine the drug I swallowed was meant for him." He suddenly became short of breath, and reeled like a drunken man, and with a last shriek he burst from their grasp, andthrowing up his hands, fell down on the floor of the cabin foaming at the mouth.
The chef de police and Riche stooped down and raised him up, but it was too late,—he was dead.
M. Patrigent had the body sewn up in a sack, and dropped it into the pilot's boat at the mouth of the river, while he and Riche followed immediately afterwards.
Some hours later they returned to Bordeaux where the body was identified as that of Pierre Gaston Duval.
The day following it was interred in a nameless grave in the cemetery at Bordeaux by permission of the authorities at M. Payot's special request.
CHAPTER XXVII
IN WHICH DELAPINE FINDS HIMSELF FAMOUS, AND THE PARTY BREAKS UP WITH THE HAPPIEST RESULTS
Theevening after the departure of Monsieur Patrigent and Riche for Bordeaux, Delapine and his party left for Paris. The professor had already telegraphed to his colleagues at the Sorbonne informing them of the time of his arrival, but his modesty was such that it never occurred to him that anyone would ever take the trouble to meet him. Imagine, therefore, his astonishment as the train steamed into the station to hear a tumultuous hum proceeding from a thousand throats, and to find the entire Gare de Lyon decorated with flowers and flags.
"What on earth is this huge crowd here for?" he asked Villebois as he looked out of the window.
The doctor had no need to reply, for the moment the crowd caught sight of the professor tumultuous shouts of "Vive Delapine, vive le professeur," rose up in one mighty laryngeal blast. Scores of people stretched out their hands as if to embrace him, while others threw bouquets into the carriage. In fact the crowd was so great that it required a dozen gendarmes to clear a passage for him and his party. It was with great difficulty that he managed to reach the barriers on the platform.
"Look, Henri," said Renée, pointing to a magnificent floral arch at the gateway on which "VIVE DELAPINE SOYEZ LE BIENVENU" was written in huge gilt letters around the curve of the arch.
"I feel the proudest girl in all France," said Renée, beaming.
Delapine was more than surprised, he was electrified,enchanted, bewildered. His eyes flashed with excitement, and he was utterly unable to express his feelings in words.
Such was the fame that the professor had acquired first by his extraordinary and unique recovery from the trance, and then by his astounding play at Monte Carlo, that not only was the station crowded to suffocation, but the approach to it was lined by an enthusiastic crowd, extending as far back as the Column of July, and filling the Place de la Bastille.
A magnificent carriage had been brought to the station for the professor, and so excited were the students that they had removed the horses, and twenty or more of them decorated with red sashes stood with ropes over their shoulders ready to drag the carriage to the Sorbonne.
It was evident that the students had abandoned all thought of work that day, and the professors catching their enthusiasm joined them in a body. Had it been the Czar of all the Russians he could not have caused a tithe of the excitement and tremendous cheering that Delapine evoked as he stepped from the train on to the platform. On leaving the station, Delapine with Renée on his arm and Payot immediately behind them were conducted to their carriage by the senior professors of the university. Immediately behind followed a second carriage with the Villebois family, while Monsieur and Madame Beaupaire with Violette and Marcel occupied a third one. Such a sight had not been witnessed for many years. The cheering was deafening. Delapine was obliged to keep bowing every moment along the route. "Vive Delapine!" could be heard on all sides until the cry became a mighty roar of voices all along the route.
On arriving at the Sorbonne he was ushered into a large room where a special banquet had been prepared for the professor and his party. Scientists were present from every part of France. The scene that ensued baffled all description.
Speeches were made, songs were sung by celebrated divas and tenors specially engaged for the occasion, while the students themselves united in singing a song specially composed for the event.
As the dinner drew towards the end, a deputation fromhis students presented Delapine with a beautifully carved silver casket containing an illuminated address.
After the health of the hero of the hour had been drunk amid ringing cheers from every part of the room, the professor got up to reply.
"Mes honorables collegues et mes amis," said Delapine, quite overcome by the enthusiasm and affection displayed by his pupils. "I thank you from my heart for these signs of your affection and esteem for my poor efforts on your behalf (cries of 'no, no,' on all sides) and also for your expressions of sympathy with me during my prolonged state of trance, and the pleasure you have shown at my restoration to health. I have, like Ulysses, returned from my wanderings, and I rejoice to be with you once more. (Great applause and shouts of 'hurrah for Delapine!')
"I have not," he continued as soon as silence had been restored, "I have not altogether wasted my time since I left you last if I have been able to prove that a new era is dawning, and that wonders upon wonders are looming up in the horizon of our view. The spirit world is approaching nearer and nearer. Things which were inconceivable to our fathers are becoming commonplace to-day. Our great-grandfathers communicated with each other at a distance by means of beacons and flags; our grandfathers by means of mirrors and the semaphore; our fathers by the telegraph, while we communicate by means of the more convenient telephone and wireless ether waves; but mark me, our children or at least our grandchildren, will communicate their inmost thoughts by the infinitely more rapid psychic waves of the soul. (Deafening cheers followed). Writing and speech will be largely replaced by telepathy and thought transference. Both the past and the future will become unfolded to our mental gaze like a scroll.
"If we follow nature's laws and search into its hidden mysteries with an open mind, we shall march on from victory to victory (shouts of 'Vive la France!') we shall form a compact army of students who will refuse to acknowledge defeat. We shall be able to converse with the spirits of those who have gone before, and passed over to the other side. As my illustrious colleague, Sir Oliver Lodge, so eloquently puts it, 'The boundary betweenthe two states—the known and the unknown—is still substantial, but it is wearing thin in places; and like excavators engaged in boring a tunnel from opposite ends, amid the roar of water and other noises, we are beginning to hear now and again the strokes of the pick-axes of our comrades on the other side.' Gentlemen, it is our solemn duty to search out the 'raison d'etre' of our existence on this planet, and to ascertain whither we are drifting.
"We must find an answer to the questions put by the immortal Heine:
"Sagt mir was bedeutet der Mensch?Wohin ist er gekommen? Wo geht er her?Wer wohnt dort oben auf goldenen Sternen?[22]
"If you cannot discover the known from the unknown you can at least, like the newly discovered elements, Niton, Thorium, and Actinium, excite activity in others. We must refuse to acknowledge defeat. I do not ask you to waste your precious time in fruitless efforts to win the Wolfskehl prize of 125,000 frs. by attempting to find a positive solution of Fermat's great theorem, that xn+ yn= zn[23]. You, gentlemen, can well afford to leave such investigations to the German professors and the students of Göttingen. We Frenchmen have no time for such speculations, so long as rich pastures of fruitful and practical facts await discovery on every hand. Organic chemistry is only beginning to be unfolded and treated mathematically. We know the laws of gravity, but what is the cause of it? How does onebody attract another at a distance, with nothing but the invisible and intangible Ether between them? The questions asked by Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, the geometer of Alexandria, fifteen hundred years ago, 'Who am I, what am I, whence do I go, and what is the soul of man?' remain unanswered to-day. If you study the smallest object, or the meanest insect, you cannot help making important discoveries, if you only go about it in the right way. The fields are already white unto the harvest and the labourers are few. If we would spend our lives like men we must work as long as our frail bodies will hold out. Do not let us be put to shame by the tiny insects. Look at the Megachile, the Anthidium, the Halictes and the wild bee Chalcidoma who, as our illustrious naturalist Henri Fabre informed us, work for the very joy of it, until they drop dead from sheer fatigue. So eager are they, that they even allow themselves to be killed rather than give up their work. It is not our business to read history, rather let it be our task to make it. (Deafening applause). I am merely a pioneer in the field of science, (cries of 'No, no'). I have just peeped behind the veil which screens our view from the unknown beyond. It remains for you to tear that veil asunder. Truly it has been said 'Labore est orare.' Let us then work until we die, and when our work is finished:
"O, may we join the choir invisible,Of those immortal dead who live againIn minds made better by their presence: liveIn pulses stirred to generosity,In deeds of daring rectitude, in scornFor miserable aims that pierce the night like stars,And with their mild persistence urge man's searchTo vaster issues.
"Gentlemen," he added, "I have one thing to say before I sit down. My illness has not been without its compensations, for it has been the means of my winning a lovely bride," and he pointed to Renée, who became suffused with blushes.
The rest of his remarks were drowned by terrific applause, intermingled with shouts of "Delapine for ever," "Threecheers for the bride," "Good old Delapine," during which the professor sat down.
Other speeches followed, and it was with difficulty that the professor and his fiancée ultimately managed to reach their carriage and drive away.
A fortnight later Delapine and Renée, together with Marcel and Violette, were married by civil contract at the Mairie, and then a little later the next day the religious ceremony was performed at the Church of La Trinité.
The breakfast took place in the dining-room and séance-room (which were thrown into one for the occasion) at the house of the happy couple's old friend, Dr. Villebois.
"Villebois," said Riche at the wedding breakfast, "I owe all my happiness to meeting you at the café at the corner of the Boule 'Miche' last autumn."
"And I owe all mine to Payot losing his pile," retorted Marcel. "If he had not 'plunged' he would not have met Beaupaire, and I should not have seen Violette."
"And Renée's marriage is all due to that lucky café, for there it was that I met Mdlle. Violette," said Riche.
"You?" said Marcel, astonished, as he ceased for a moment admiring his superb silk waistcoat.
"Yes, it was there that she told me what she saw in the ring, half an hour after I met Villebois there for the first time. And I fully believe it saved Delapine's life, for it was owing to Violette's clairvoyance of the sealed envelope that I persuaded Dr. Roux to cease performing the autopsy."
"Good gracious," said Marcel, "here are three people who go and get married and their wives receive handsome dots all because you happened to sit down and smoke a pipe outside a café. Well! if that doesn't beat the professor's play at the tables I'm a Dutchman."
"I wonder whether we have heard the last of Delapine," said Violette.
"The last of Delapine!" exclaimed Marcel. "Don't worry, you will hear plenty more yet about him."
"Don't you remember he told Renée that when he recovered he intended to dictate his memoirs?"
"Yes, I remember, and in his speech at the Sorbonne he said he was going to make history instead of learning it."
"By Jove," said Marcel, "you are right. We are going to have some fun ahead to look forward to."
"Céleste," said Riche, as he took her little hand in his, "we are nobodies just now. The effulgence of Delapine and Marcel is too dazzling. I think we had better wait a few weeks until everyone is breathing a more sober atmosphere, and then we can have a quiet wedding all to ourselves." And they did.
FOOTNOTES:[22]"Oh, tell me now what meaning has man,Or whence he comes, and whither he goes,Who dwells beyond upon the golden stars?"[23]Thus to give a simple case: Let x = 3, y = 4, z = 5, and n = 2. Then 32+ 42= 52. What the professor had in his mind was a general expression which would embody all cases, in which n may be any integer. It is well-known that Fermat discovered the solution, but it was unfortunately lost, although his papers were searched through at his death. The prize is still open for competition, 1916. All particulars can be obtained from the rector of the University of Göttingen. (G.L.J.)
FOOTNOTES:
[22]"Oh, tell me now what meaning has man,Or whence he comes, and whither he goes,Who dwells beyond upon the golden stars?"
[22]
"Oh, tell me now what meaning has man,Or whence he comes, and whither he goes,Who dwells beyond upon the golden stars?"
[23]Thus to give a simple case: Let x = 3, y = 4, z = 5, and n = 2. Then 32+ 42= 52. What the professor had in his mind was a general expression which would embody all cases, in which n may be any integer. It is well-known that Fermat discovered the solution, but it was unfortunately lost, although his papers were searched through at his death. The prize is still open for competition, 1916. All particulars can be obtained from the rector of the University of Göttingen. (G.L.J.)
[23]Thus to give a simple case: Let x = 3, y = 4, z = 5, and n = 2. Then 32+ 42= 52. What the professor had in his mind was a general expression which would embody all cases, in which n may be any integer. It is well-known that Fermat discovered the solution, but it was unfortunately lost, although his papers were searched through at his death. The prize is still open for competition, 1916. All particulars can be obtained from the rector of the University of Göttingen. (G.L.J.)
The End.W. JOLLY & SONS, PRINTERS, ABERDEEN