The Argosy, October 1906 — page 187: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CAUGHT. _ hair, straight and close-cropped. - Bald on top of head. Gaston escaped from Devil's" Island a month ago. serving life term there for_ murdering a Paris citizen five years ago, by_in- jecting cyanide of potassium. Have— just learned he- has sailed for New ‘York. Is a desperate character. = te That settles it,” went on the inspect-. or or Ariemmphantly. “Now, we know this fellow’s secret and why he. killed Du- pree. You'll notice that Dupree was - killed in the same way as this French citizen the cablegram speaks - of—by- an injection — of cyanide of potassium. So you escaped. from Devil’s Island, did you, my hearty r ‘Well, you won't escape from where we're going to send you, for you'll go to the electric chair noes as sure ‘as. shooting.” a enn XVIL. THE CONFESSION. 7 Iy the death-cell at Sing Sing a man sat. awaiting the summons to the Great Beyond. -In- another. room other men silently. went about the grim task of pre- _ paring and testing the electrical -ap- paratus which was to send a soul into eternity. Was Henri Picaut. Every inmate of 5s quiet prison felt a sense of heavy oppression and gloom, — for all knew that an execution was to take © place that ey within: those a walls ~The Sooued. man aid ‘not “weep nor indulge in loud- exclamations ‘of fear. He sat crouched in a corner of his cell, his head bowed in his hands, a look of = large sums. ‘pose as a person of great respectability. dumb despair on his evil countenance. A French priest entered - the - aah | treading almost noiselessly.. My son,” he said gently, = ‘the time is growing very short. now. ‘Will you not confess ?”” ——— The man ‘slowly “qalsed his head and replied: “Ves, father, I will confess. I killed. Paul Dupree. “Now that death -stares me in the face. I am “prepared to tell the truth. I am not afraid to die. chair of. these - accursed — Yankees than Tsland—better a £0- back Se Devil’s: speedy. death than a living tomb.” — He shuddered as he spo! E> the last words, crook in France. for him, though, that he had to come to tell why I killed ‘hin it is enough to say that it was ‘deliberate murder. was easy to kill him. poison, and gave him an injection while he slept. Fhe police thought that the poison I used was a solution of cyanide of potassium, but they were wrong, it was a subtle Indian poison which -kills instantly. “Well, I was caught and the crime brought home to me. aged to get my sentence commuted to imprisonment for life on Devil’s Island. They thought thereby that they were rendering me a great service. 1 thought so, too, at the time. I soon realized my 7 mistake. “Tt is not an easy thing to escape from Devil’s Island ; but I contrived to accomplish it. In ‘the dead of night, just one month ago, I got away from that hell upon earth and managed to get passage to America. “Thad a friend in New Vork named ‘“One-Arm Henri,’ they called him in Paris. Picaut had the reputation of being the most daring They made it so hot over here. __*" As soon as I landed in New York, I hunted up Picaut and found him. 1 asked him what he was doing for a liv- ing and he whispered to me that he had a big scheme on hand—a scheme to bunco several hundred F renchmen liy- ing in America. “Tt was an ambitious plot, involying To work it Henri had to He hired an office in the Brixton Build- ing on the tenth floor. It was at his suggestion that I went to work for him. I was out of funds and Henri promised mea rich haul, so I consented. That was an unlucky step for me. == would rather die in the electric - my secret was safe. -“T had disguised myself with a wig of long, black hair, and I thought that As luck would have it, however, Picaut’s office was just op- = posite to the office of Paul Dupree. ‘think he knew me. “J didn’t know Dupree and I didn’t Several times I no- ticed him regarding me from the win- = Fre years ago. “] killed a man in "Paris, he went. on. “Tt isn’t necessary dow of his office as I sat in Picaut’s place engaged in writing fake circulars. aah Jt I just took a - -hypodetmic syringe, filled with a deadly My lawyers man- — (9) =comicbooks