The Clique of Gold

The Clique of Gold by Émile Gaboriau (December 1891, Secret Service Series No. 50)

This French detective serial, authored by Émile Gaboriau (known for The Slaves of Paris and Monsieur Lecoq), opens with a mystery in Paris. Chapter I, titled "To Die So Young!", unfolds at 23 Rue de la Grange, a respectable Parisian apartment building housing various tenants including simple gentlemen, a tax-receiver suspected of usury, an absent baron, a second-hand goods dealer named Papa Ravinet, and numerous clerks and artisans. The building's concierge, Chevassat—rumored to be a usurer and unscrupulous agent—and his wife carry a scandalous reputation. When Ravinet hears disturbing sounds from the fifth floor, he alerts the Chevassats. A crowd assembles and discovers Mademoiselle Henriette, a young female tenant, locked in her room with charcoal fumes. Despite initial hesitation, Ravinet breaks down the door. The text ends as witnesses prepare to discover the fate of the girl.