A Crime on Canvas by Fred M. White — Read

THE name mentioned by the commissionaire was familiar to Lawrence, though he had not probably given it a thought during the last three years. In happier times he had been a confirmed theatre-goer, and there were few people connected with the stage of any note whom he had not seen at one time or another. He recalled now the sensation which had followed the debut of Charlotte Beaumont in Paris, and how, sooner or later, she had promised to give London a sample of her marvellous powers. And then all at once she seemed to fade out as quickly as she had come. If ever there was a case where the old proverb of the rocket and the stick applied, it was certainly applicable in the instance of Charlotte Beaumont. Like a meteor she had flashed, dazzlingly, across the theatrical horizon. She had been a success from the first moment of her appearance, and then, when she seemed to have the world at her feet, she simply vanished. She broke her contracts without a single word of explanation; indeed, no theatrical manager had been able to trace her to expostulate upon this extraordinary line of conduct. Then, as other stars arose and other sensations came the name of Charlotte Beaumont was gradually forgotten. Probably it had not been mentioned in the walls of the theatre for the past two years, until the old commissionaire had blurted it out to Lawrence.

The information was interesting enough in itself, but it did not throw much light upon the investigation which Lawrence had in hand. True, he had learnt the name of the woman over whom Le Blanc seemed to have such a powerful influence, but this did not seem very much of a gain. He returned slowly into the theatre and murmured his discovery to Watney.