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"I know what everybody knows. Baron Repstein, the company-promoter and
racing-man, whose colt Etna won the Derby and the Grand Prix this year, has
been victimized by his wife. The wife, who was well known for her fair hair,
her dress and her extravagance, ran away a fortnight ago, taking with her a sum
of three million francs, stolen from her husband, and quite a collection of
diamonds, pearls and jewellery which the Princesse de Berny had placed in her
hands and which she was supposed to buy. For two weeks the police have been
pursuing the baroness across France and the continent: an easy job, as she
scatters gold and jewels wherever she goes. They think they have her every
moment. Two days ago, our champion detective, the egregious Ganimard, arrested
a visitor at a big hotel in Belgium, a woman against whom the most positive
evidence seemed to be heaped up. On enquiry, the lady turned out to be a
notorious chorus-girl called Nelly Darbal. As for the baroness, she has
vanished. The baron, on his side, has offered a reward of two hundred thousand
francs to whosoever finds his wife. The money is in the hands of a solicitor.
Moreover, he has sold his racing-stud, his house on the Boulevard Haussmann and
his country-seat of Roquencourt in one lump, so that he may indemnify the
Princesse de Berny for her loss."
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« Je sais ce que tout le monde sait. Le baron Repstein, financier et
sportsman, dont le cheval
Etna
a gagné cette année le Derby d’Epsom
et le Grand-Prix de Longchamp, le baron Repstein a été la victime de sa
femme, laquelle femme, très connue pour ses cheveux blonds, ses toilettes et
son luxe, s’est enfuie voilà quinze jours, emportant avec elle une somme de
trois millions, volée à son mari, et toute une collection de diamants, de
perles et de bijoux, que la princesse de Berny lui avait confiée et qu’elle
devait acheter. Depuis deux semaines, on poursuit la baronne à travers la
France et l’Europe, ce qui est facile, la baronne semant l’or et les bijoux
sur son chemin. À chaque instant, on croit l’arrêter. Avant-hier même, en
Belgique, notre policier national, l’ineffable Ganimard, cueillait, dans un
grand hôtel, une voyageuse contre qui les preuves les plus irréfutables
s’accumulaient. Renseignements pris, c’était une théâtreuse notoire,
Nelly Darbel. Quant à la baronne, introuvable. De son côté, le baron
Repstein offre une prime de cent mille francs à qui fera retrouver sa femme.
L’argent est entre les mains d’un notaire. En outre, pour désintéresser
la princesse de Berny, il vient de vendre en bloc son écurie de courses, son
hôtel du boulevard Haussmann et son château de Roquencourt.
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