gistrate who had
withdrawn to his small property at Saint-Jaury, in the suburbs of
Brives, and the Abbe Sicot, who was the parish priest. A more occasional
friend was also there, the Baronne de Vibray, a young and wealthy widow,
a typical woman of the world who spent the greater part of her life
either in motoring, or in the most exclusive drawing-rooms of Paris, or
at the most fashionable watering-places. But when the Baronne de Vibray
put herself out to grass, as she racily phrased it, and spent a few
weeks at Querelles, her estate close to the chateau of Beaulieu, nothing
pleased her better than to take her place again in the delightful
company of the Marquise de Langrune and her friends.

Finally, youth was represented by Charles Rambert, who had arrived at
the chateau a couple of days before, a charming lad of about eighteen
who was treated with warm affection by the Marquise and by Therese
Auvernois, the granddaughter of the Marquise, with whom since her
parents' death she had lived as a daughter.

The odd and even mysterious words spoken by President Bonnet as they
were leaving the table, and the personality of this Fantomas about which
he had said nothing definite in spite of all the questions put to him,
had excited the curiosity of the company, and while Therese Auvernois
was gracefully dispensing the coffee to her grandmother's guests the
questions were renewed with greater insistence. Crowding round the fire,
for the evening was very cold, Mme. de Langrune's friends showered fresh
questions upon the old magistrate, who secretly enjoyed the interest he
had inspired. He cast a solemn eye upon the circle of his audience and
prolonged his silence, the more to capture their attention. At length he
began to speak.

"Statistics tell us, ladies, that of all the deaths that are registered
every day quite a third are due to crime. You are no doubt aware that
the police discover about half of the crimes that are committed, and
that barely half meet with the penalty of justice. This explains how it
is that so many mysteries are never cleared up, and why there are so
many mistakes and inconsistencies in judicial investigations."

"What is the conclusion you wish to draw?" the Marquise de Langrune
enquired with interest.

"This," the magistrate proceeded: "although many crimes pass unsuspected
it is none the less obvious that they have been committed; now while
some of them are due to ordinary criminals, others are t