An Artist in Crime

"Has Mr. Mitchel made Miss Remsen any present lately?" he asked.

"Yes, he gave her a magnificent ruby last night. Miss Remsen told me that it is worth a fortune, and it looks it."

"How was it set?"

"It is made into a pin to be worn in the hair."

"Well, I have no further use for you at present. Go home, and be sure you keep a still tongue in your head. You have done enough mischief already."

"Haven't I done any good? I think you are very mean."

"Yes, you have done some good. But you will find that in this world one failure counts against three successes. Remember that."

CHAPTER IX.

THE DIARY OF A DETECTIVE

It was the morning of the New Year. Mr. Barnes was seated in an arm-chair by his own fireside at his cosy home on Staten Island. In his hand he held a diary, whose pages he was studying intently. Before peeping over his shoulder to read with him, it will be best to give a slight insight into the state of mind which led him to take up the book on this particular day.

After the clever manner in which he had discovered that a young girl existed, whose name was Rose Mitchel, and who was supposed to be the daughter of Mr. Robert Leroy Mitchel, and after the equally clever trick by which the girl was removed beyond his ken, Mr. Barnes had come to one conclusion. This was, that it was necessary to keep such a strict watch upon Mr. Mitchel, that if he had not already committed the crime, about which he had wagered, he should not be able to do so and avoid detection. For Mr. Barnes began to have some feeling in the matter beyond the mere fulfilment of duty. He was being thwarted by this man at every turn, and this made him doubly determined not to allow him to win that bet. Therefore he had removed Wilson from the post of watching Mr. Mitchel, and had replaced him by two men who were thoroughly skilful. Wilson and another he set to spy upon the movements of Miss Remsen, for he hoped to find the child through her.

Being the first of January, and therefore the last day upon which Mr. Mitchel could commit his crime, within the conditions imposed, always supposing that he had not already done so, Mr. Barnes wished once more to go over the reports sent to him by his various spies, in order that he might be assured that no mistakes had been made.

He began to read at:

"Dec. 15. Mitchel left his hotel early, and went over to Hoffman House. Remained there two hours, and came out accompanied by Thauret. They walked up to the White Elephant, and spent the morning playing billiards. Lunched together at Delmonico café and separated at two o'clock. Mitchel then went to his livery stable and obtained a horse and light wagon. They are his property. Drove slowly along Madison Avenue, and stopped at Thirtieth Street apartment-house. S – .

"No sign of Miss Remsen all morning. She has a new maid. Her girl Sarah returned yesterday, but her mistress refused to take her back. Evidently she recognizes that the girl was bribed to go into the country and to recommend Lucette as her cousin. About 2:30, Mitchel drove up in his light wagon. According to orders, I prepared to follow them, that they might not visit the child, eluding us by driving. Obtained a cab, and was waiting in it as the two turned into Madison Avenue and started up-town. Easily kept them in sight, without exciting suspicion, but learned nothing as they simply drove up through the Park, along St. Nicholas Avenue and home again down the Boulevard and Riverside drive. He remained at the Remsens' till ten o'clock. Then went straight to his hotel. W – .

"Dec. 16. Mitchel spent his morning at his club. Afternoon in his hotel. Evening at Miss Remsen's. S – .

"Miss Remsen and her sister spent the morning shopping. The afternoon paying calls. The evening at home. W – .

"Dec. 17. Mitchel's actions same as yesterday, except that Thauret called on him at his hotel during the afternoon and was with him an hour. S – .

"Miss Remsen, her sister, and two other young ladies went to Brooklyn in the afternoon, but simply visited the large stores there. At home in the evening. W – .

"Dec. 18. Mitchel and Thauret together in the morning. Mitchel and Miss Remsen out walking in afternoon. Mitchel and Thauret at club in the evening. I bribed doorman and succeeded in getting in disguised as one of the servants. Mitchel and Thauret played whist, playing as partners. They lost about a hundred dollars. Went home together. S – .

"Miss Remsen indoors all morning. Out on Fifth Avenue with Mitchel in the afternoon. During their absence Thauret called. W – .

"Dec. 19. Mitchel and Thauret played poker all afternoon in one of the rooms of their club. Both lost. There were four others in the game. One of these won heavily. I have discovered that this is undoubtedly the man who was Thauret's whist partner on the night when Randolph thought that he detected them cheating. He also answers the description of the man who left the jewels at hotel in New Haven. His name is Adrian Fisher. In the evening Mitchel and Thauret were in a box at the opera with the Remsen family. S – .

"The Miss Remsens gave an afternoon tea. Mr. Randolph called and remained to dinner. Went to the opera with the ladies in the evening. W – .

"Dec. 20. Mitchel in his hotel all day. He and Thauret went driving in the afternoon. I followed them in a light wagon. At the road house in the Park, they alighted and had a bottle of wine. Talked together earnestly. Saw Mitchel give Thauret a roll of money. In the evening they played whist as partners at the club, and again they lost. S – .

"No sign of the Miss Remsens till afternoon when a young lady called and the three went to matinee at Daly's. Evening they spent at home. W – .

"Dec. 21. Mitchel attended worship at St. Patrick's Cathedral with the two Miss Remsens. Afternoon remained in his hotel. Evening at the Remsens. S – .

"Miss Remsen and her sister at St. Patrick's Cathedral in the morning. At home the rest of the day. W – .

"According to instructions I have made inquiries about Adrian Fisher. He is a man of good family, but poor. Belongs to two fashionable clubs. Plays cards for money frequently. Is a good player and seems to earn a living off of his friends. Has no relatives living, except a sister who is a cripple. He is very fond of her and treats her with great kindness. It is a mystery how he manages to support her as comfortably as he does. They live together in a small flat at – East Fiftieth Street. It was he who introduced Thauret at the club, and had him made a member. He was out of town from Dec. 1st to Dec. 4th. Q – ."

At this point of his reading Mr. Barnes laid down his book and thought a moment. These questions occurred to him.

"Is this man Fisher the tool of Thauret? He is poor, and a card-player. He is well born and has a sister to support in a style suitable to her birth. Has Thauret induced him to play, that together they may fleece the other members of the club? It looks like it, but why this sudden intimacy with Mitchel? Or is that less sudden than we know, and have they been long acquainted? Again, is Fisher the man who received the satchel from one of these men, and then took it to the hotel in New Haven? He was out of town at the time. Why did he place the satchel in the hotel, and then abandon it? After securing the plunder, why did he thus lose it? Was he suddenly overtaken by his conscience and becoming aware of the fact that Thauret was using him as a tool in a piece of criminal work, did he take this method of clearing himself, and of allowing the jewels to be returned to their owner as soon as found in the hotel? This would account for Thauret's having left the train at Stamford, intending perhaps to return to New Haven and meet his confederate. Fisher, meanwhile, having abandoned the scheme and returned to New York, Thauret was thwarted. But who killed the woman?" Mr. Barnes resumed his reading.

"Dec. 26. Mitchel arose early, and called for Miss Remsen at eleven o'clock. Together they went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Van Rawlston, at Fifth Avenue near Forty-eighth Street. They remained nearly an hour, and then separated when they came out. Mitchel eat luncheon at the Brunswick, where he was joined by Thauret. They went to the club in the afternoon and played whist. They lost money. Mitchel paid for both, and took an I.O.U. from Thauret for his share. Randolph was in the game. There is a growing coolness between Randolph and Mitchel. They barely speak when they meet. It is evident that no love is lost between Randolph and Thauret. In the evening the three men were in the Remsens' box at the opera. S – .

"Miss Remsen accompanied Mitchel to Mrs. Van Rawlston's in the morning, and left him when they came out. She made several calls mainly upon well-known fashionable society leaders. Something is evidently on the tapis. It occurred to me that the missing child might have been placed in the care of the Van Rawlstons. Therefore in the afternoon I allowed R – to follow the young ladies on a shopping expedition, whilst I interviewed the policeman on the beat. He is acquainted with the Van Rawlston's maid, and will send a report to you to-night. The ladies went to the opera in the evening. W – .

"Mr. and Mrs. Van Rawlston have three children, all younger than fourteen, and only one a girl, the youngest. The Miss Remsen who called was a Miss Emily Remsen. She was accompanied by a Mr. Robert Mitchel. They came to beg Mrs. Van Rawlston to allow a society to which the young lady belongs, to give an entertainment in her house. The entertainment is to be New Year's night. Policeman 1666.

"Dec. 23. Mitchel and Thauret went to a costumer's on Union Square. When they had left I called there and said that I was a friend of Mr. Mitchel's and wished a costume made for the same entertainment. The plan worked, and by adroit questioning I discovered that there is to be an Arabian Night festival on the night of the New Year. It is to be a costume masquerade, and Mitchel has promised to send all of the men to his costumer for their dresses. He ordered an Ali Baba dress. Thauret left no order, saying he would not attend. I ordered an Aladdin costume. If you do not decide to attend I can countermand the order, but I thought you might find it advantageous to be present. With Aladdin's wonderful lamp you might shed some light upon the mystery. Pardon the joke. The afternoon and evening were spent by Mitchel and Thauret at their club. Again they played whist and again they lost. S – .

"The young ladies spent the morning at a fashionable dressmaker's on Madison Avenue. I have picked up an acquaintance with a servant girl who lives in one of the flats in Thirtieth Street house, and from her I learn that Miss Remsen's new maid tells her that the affair at the Van Rawlston house will be a costume masquerade, all parties assuming characters from the Arabian Nights. Miss Emily Remsen will appear as Scheherezade. W – ."

Mr. Barnes turned two pages at this point, evidently considering that nothing of special moment was contained in the reports covering the next few days. He began again.

"Dec. 30. Mr. Mitchel came out of his hotel at ten o'clock, and crossed over to Jersey City, taking an express for Philadelphia. I of course took same train. S – .

"The Miss Remsens were at home all day. They are busy on their costumes for the coming entertainment. W – .

"Dec. 31. Telegram from Philadelphia. 'Mitchel at Lafayette Hotel. Is sick in bed. Doctor in attendance. Sent a telegram to Miss Remsen telling her that he cannot be on hand to-morrow night.' S – .

"Thauret went to Union Square costumer yesterday and obtained the Ali Baba costume ordered for Mitchel. He gave the costumer a letter which he had received from Mitchel, dated at Philadelphia yesterday. It reads: 'Friend Thauret, I am suddenly taken ill. Don't let the Remsens know that it is anything serious. Oblige me, if possible, by attending the Arabian Night festival. I enclose my invitation and a note to Mr. Van Rawlston, which will introduce you. You may wear my costume, and the costumer will give it to you if you present this. You were to have gone out of town I know, but if you wish to do me a favor I hope you will change your plans and take my place. I do not wish Miss Remsen to be entirely unattended. Therefore be with her as much as you can. She will be dressed as Scheherezade.

'(Signed) Mitchel.'

"I obtained this from the costumer by saying I am a detective shadowing a criminal. Q – ."

CHAPTER X.

ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

After reading the foregoing, Mr. Barnes carefully locked his diary in his cabinet, and immediately after left the house on his way to New York. Reaching there he proceeded up-town, finally ringing the door-bell of the Van Rawlston mansion. He requested to see the master of the house upon urgent business, and that gentleman soon presented himself.

"Mr. Van Rawlston," said Mr. Barnes, "I am a detective. May I have a few moments of strictly private conversation with you?"

"Certainly," was the reply. "Step into my study. We will be entirely safe from prying ears there." A moment later the two men were seated in comfortable leather chairs facing each other.

"Mr. Van Rawlston," began the detective, "to explain my purpose at once, I have only to say that I desire your permission to attend the masquerade which will be held here to-night. I am aware that this must seem an odd request, but I make it entirely in your own interests."

"If you will explain more fully, sir, I may be quite willing to grant your request," said the other.

"You should know that a masquerade is a dangerous kind of entertainment. At such affairs large robberies have often been committed – the thieves operating boldly, and escaping through the aid of their disguises. I have good reason for believing that such a crime is contemplated to-night."

"My dear sir, impossible! Why, no one will be admitted save those with whom we are well acquainted. Tickets have been issued by the society which gives the festival, and every one must unmask before being allowed to enter. Therefore, whilst I am grateful to you for your warning, I hardly think that I need your services."

"Mr. Van Rawlston, I regret to say that you are mistaken. In the first place, your close scrutiny of all who enter will probably be relaxed as the night wears on. Again, there are ways of getting in unperceived, and once within, the thief would be unsuspected. But this is no guesswork on my part. I do not think, I know, that, unless I am here to prevent it, a robbery will be committed. Indeed, I may even fail to prevent it."

"Why, sir, you speak as though you know the person who is to play the criminal."

"I do. For several weeks my men have been watching certain suspicious parties. From data furnished by my spies, I am sure that plans have been perfected by which one or more of your guests will be robbed during the progress of the entertainment."

"Still it seems incredible. As I have said, no one will be able to enter without our knowledge."

"Of course, I cannot intrude upon you, Mr. Van Rawlston. But if you are obliged to appeal to the police to-morrow for the recovery of stolen property, you alone will be to blame if the thief shall have had several hours the start of us. I have warned you. That is the best I can do. I wish you good-morning." Mr. Barnes rose to go, but Mr. Van Rawlston stopped him.

"One moment," said he. "If you are so sure that there is a scheme of robbery afoot, of course I must not be so rash as to refuse your aid. What do you advise? We could postpone the festival."

"By no means. The course to pursue is to keep what I have told you strictly secret. In fact, if possible, dismiss it entirely from your mind, so that by your behavior the thief may not know that suspicions have been aroused. Do as I requested at first, and as I know my man I will be able to keep an eye upon him should he be present."

"I suppose it must be as you say. But you must be in costume. I have it! The committee have ordered some costumes which they will give to those who come unprovided. You may have one of those."

"What costume shall I ask for?"

"Oh, they are all alike. They are the Forty Thieves."

"The Forty Thieves?" Mr. Barnes was surprised. "Is not that an odd costume?"

"Oh, no! It was Mr. Mitchel's idea. He is the chairman of the committee. He argued that rather than provide a lot of meaningless dominos, the stragglers, who will be chiefly invited guests who are not members of the society, may be thus garbed, and still fall into the scheme of the evening, which is that every one shall play the part of some character of the Arabian Nights."

"Very well, Mr. Rawlston, for once the detective will don the garb of a thief. After all, you know the adage, 'it takes a thief to catch a thief.'"

"Very good, Mr. Barnes – I believe that is the name on your card? Yes – Well, come to-night early and you shall be fitted out. Later, if you should wish to speak to me, I shall be dressed as the Sultan, a character about as foreign to my true self as yours will be to you."

Mr. Barnes left the house thoroughly satisfied with the result of his visit. In the first place he had learned something. Mr. Mitchel had decided upon the costuming of the guests. He had arranged that at least forty of them should be dressed alike. Could there have been any secret design in this? If so, Mr. Barnes was glad to be one of the forty. Again, this would be better than to use the Aladdin costume, for the reason that he had come to count Mr. Mitchel as so clever that it would not have astonished the detective at all if it were known to him that this Aladdin costume had been ordered. In that case the absence of such a costume amongst the guests would confuse the conspirators. Mr. Barnes had fully decided that more than one person was interested in the approaching evening.

As early as nine o'clock the maskers began to arrive at the home of the Van Rawlstons. The host appeared for the time in evening dress, and received and welcomed his guests, all of whom wore wraps that covered their costumes, thus hiding the disguises which they meant to use later on. Mr. Barnes was on hand early, and loitered about the hall, in his thief's garb, scanning the faces of all as they passed in. After a very brief period of waiting he saw the Remsen party alight from their carriage, escorted by Mr. Randolph. Soon after Mr. Thauret entered. He handed a note to Mr. Van Rawlston who upon reading it at once shook him cordially by the hand. Then almost as suddenly an expression of suspicion passed across his face, and he looked toward Mr. Barnes, who, however, turned away, refusing to notice his glance of inquiry. Evidently the host, not knowing Mr. Thauret and remembering the detective's words, had begun to suspect that perhaps the note which he had just read was fraudulent. Mr. Barnes was fearful that he would make some remark which would ruin everything, when to his intense relief Miss Remsen came into the hall with her wraps still on and went directly up to Mr. Thauret.

"How are you this evening, Mr. Thauret? I am glad you decided to come. Mr. Van Rawlston, Mr. Thauret is a friend of Mr. Mitchel's."

That sufficed, and Mr. Van Rawlston seemed much relieved.

Mr. Thauret was not in costume, but he had brought with him a satchel, and now asked where he might find a place to dress. He was turned over to one of the liveried boys, who showed him to one of the rooms set aside for the gentlemen. Mr. Barnes did not enter, for had he done so without removing his mask it might have aroused suspicion. He however kept watch near the door, and soon saw a man come out dressed as Ali Baba. This was easily learned, for the committee had prepared handsome badges, upon each of which was engraved the name of the character assumed. These were of burnished silver, the lettering being done in blue enamel. They were worn on the left breast, and were intended to serve as souvenirs of the evening. Mr. Barnes smiled behind his mask as he looked down at his, which, to his mind, reminded him of a policeman's shield.

The rooms were gorgeously decorated in Oriental splendor. The larger one was designated the Sultan's Palace, and was truly regal in its arrangement. There were no chairs, but soft divans, and many-hued alluring cushions were to be found everywhere around the walls. The floors were covered with rugs four deep. The walls were draped with satin, drawn apart to reveal mirrors which multiplied the beauty of everything. The ceiling was hung with garlands, in which were twined roses of all kinds, which made the atmosphere redolent with perfume. From among these garlands hundreds of gilded cages held singing-birds, and electric lights made the rooms so brilliant that many times during the evening they warbled in chorus, thinking it morning.

The smaller room represented Aladdin's Cave. Stalactites, resplendent with seeming jewels, hung pendent from the ceiling. The walls were made to resemble rough stone, and every few inches a large precious stone was made fiery by the tiny electric lamp hidden behind it. The floor alone was unlike a cave, being waxed for dancing. In a grotto up ten feet above the floor, the musicians played soft, sensuous music.

The festival opened informally. That is, whilst awaiting the arrival of others, those already present amused themselves waltzing, chatting, or chaffing one another. Mr. Barnes sauntered about, keeping Ali Baba in sight. Scheherezade came in on the arm of the Sultan. These he knew to be Miss Remsen and Mr. Van Rawlston. Ali Baba joined them almost immediately, and a few minutes later led Scheherezade into Aladdin's Cave for a dance. Mr. Barnes stood observing them, when some one touched him on the arm, and turning, he saw a man costumed as himself.

"We must be careful, or Ali Baba may discover our password, 'Sesame,' as he did in the real story."

"I do not understand you," replied Mr. Barnes.

The other man looked at him intently a moment through his mask, and without a word moved away.

Mr. Barnes was mystified. He regretted that he had not replied in some less candid fashion, that he might have heard the voice again. But taken by surprise as he was, he had lost his self-possession for a moment. If he were not mistaken the voice was one which he had heard before. He racked his memory for some minutes, and suddenly started as this thought entered his mind.

"Were he not sick in Philadelphia, I should say that was Mitchel." He followed across the room after the person, but he saw him go out into the hall, and by the time that he himself reached there, there were at least a dozen similar costumes in a group. He looked them over carefully, but there was nothing by which he could pick out the special man for whom he was searching. He went up to one at hap-hazard, and whispered to him:

"Sesame."

"Sesa – what!" came the reply, in a strange tone.

"Don't you know our password?" asked the detective.

"Password? Rats!! We are not real thieves"; and with a laugh he turned away. Mr. Barnes felt himself powerless, and besides recalled the fact that whilst he followed this will-o'-the-wisp he was not keeping an eye upon Ali Baba. Hurrying back into the ball-room, he soon found him, though he had parted from Scheherezade.

About eleven o'clock, a blare upon a cornet attracted the attention of the frolicking throng. A man dressed as a Genius announced that the time had arrived for the entertainment. Immediately every one went into the Aladdin's Cave room, except Scheherezade and the Sultan, and a heavy pair of satin curtains were dropped, so that they hid the Cave from the Sultan's Palace.

The Sultan lay down upon a divan near the curtains, and Scheherezade sat beside him upon a satin cushion on the floor. Behind the curtains, the committee busied themselves forming a tableau, those not needed being hidden from view behind still another pair of curtains, which were of a gloriously beautiful blue, and served as a rich background. Many of the guests, knowing that their tableau would not be reached for some time, passed around and stood crowding about the doorways of the hall, to get a view of the first pictures.

Soft music was begun, when at a signal the electric lights in the Palace room were extinguished, and the front pair of yellow satin curtains were drawn aside showing a tableau of Sindbad the Sailor. Mr. Barnes peeping from behind the red curtain noticed that as Scheherezade sat on her low cushion, in the now darkened Palace room, the rays of an electric light in the Cave just touched a gorgeous ruby which she wore in her hair. This he knew at once was the same which Mr. Mitchel had shown to him, and which Lucette told him had been presented to his fiancée.