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diff --git a/old/20081125-1685.txt b/old/20081125-1685.txt deleted file mode 100644 index dc8394a..0000000 --- a/old/20081125-1685.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8953 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Mystery of the Yellow Room - -Author: Gaston Leroux - -Posting Date: November 25, 2008 [EBook #1685] -Release Date: March, 1999 -Last Updated: July 8, 2022 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** - - - - -Produced by Anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteers - - - - - -THE MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM - -By Gaston Leroux - - - - -CHAPTER I. In Which We Begin Not to Understand - - -It is not without a certain emotion that I begin to recount here the -extraordinary adventures of Joseph Rouletabille. Down to the present -time he had so firmly opposed my doing it that I had come to despair of -ever publishing the most curious of police stories of the past fifteen -years. I had even imagined that the public would never know the whole -truth of the prodigious case known as that of The Yellow Room, out of -which grew so many mysterious, cruel, and sensational dramas, with which -my friend was so closely mixed up, if, propos of a recent nomination of -the illustrious Stangerson to the grade of grandcross of the Legion of -Honour, an evening journal--in an article, miserable for its ignorance, -or audacious for its perfidy--had not resuscitated a terrible adventure -of which Joseph Rouletabille had told me he wished to be for ever -forgotten. - -The Yellow Room! Who now remembers this affair which caused so much ink -to flow fifteen years ago? Events are so quickly forgotten in Paris. -Has not the very name of the Nayves trial and the tragic history of the -death of little Menaldo passed out of mind? And yet the public attention -was so deeply interested in the details of the trial that the occurrence -of a ministerial crisis was completely unnoticed at the time. Now The -Yellow Room trial, which, preceded that of the Nayves by some years, -made far more noise. The entire world hung for months over this obscure -problem--the most obscure, it seems to me, that has ever challenged the -perspicacity of our police or taxed the conscience of our judges. The -solution of the problem baffled everybody who tried to find it. It was -like a dramatic rebus with which old Europe and new America alike became -fascinated. That is, in truth--I am permitted to say, because there -cannot be any author's vanity in all this, since I do nothing more than -transcribe facts on which an exceptional documentation enables me to -throw a new light--that is because, in truth, I do not know that, in -the domain of reality or imagination, one can discover or recall to mind -anything comparable, in its mystery, with the natural mystery of The -Yellow Room. - -That which nobody could find out, Joseph Rouletabille, aged eighteen, -then a reporter engaged on a leading journal, succeeded in discovering. -But when, at the Assize Court, he brought in the key to the whole case, -he did not tell the whole truth. He only allowed so much of it to appear -as sufficed to ensure the acquittal of an innocent man. The reasons -which he had for his reticence no longer exist. Better still, the time -has come for my friend to speak out fully. You are going to know all; -and, without further preamble, I am going to place before your eyes -the problem of The Yellow Room as it was placed before the eyes of the -entire world on the day following the enactment of the drama at the -Chateau du Glandier. - -On the 25th of October, 1892, the following note appeared in the latest -edition of the "Temps": - -"A frightful crime has been committed at the Glandier, on the border of -the forest of Sainte-Genevieve, above Epinay-sur-Orge, at the house of -Professor Stangerson. On that night, while the master was working in his -laboratory, an attempt was made to assassinate Mademoiselle Stangerson, -who was sleeping in a chamber adjoining this laboratory. The doctors do -not answer for the life of Mdlle. Stangerson." - -The impression made on Paris by this news may be easily imagined. -Already, at that time, the learned world was deeply interested in the -labours of Professor Stangerson and his daughter. These labours--the -first that were attempted in radiography--served to open the way for -Monsieur and Madame Curie to the discovery of radium. It was expected -the Professor would shortly read to the Academy of Sciences a -sensational paper on his new theory,--the Dissociation of Matter,--a -theory destined to overthrow from its base the whole of official -science, which based itself on the principle of the Conservation of -Energy. On the following day, the newspapers were full of the tragedy. -The "Matin," among others, published the following article, entitled: "A -Supernatural Crime": - -"These are the only details," wrote the anonymous writer in the -"Matin"--"we have been able to obtain concerning the crime of the -Chateau du Glandier. The state of despair in which Professor Stangerson -is plunged, and the impossibility of getting any information from -the lips of the victim, have rendered our investigations and those of -justice so difficult that, at present, we cannot form the least idea of -what has passed in The Yellow Room in which Mdlle. Stangerson, in her -night-dress, was found lying on the floor in the agonies of death. We -have, at least, been able to interview Daddy Jacques--as he is called -in the country--a old servant in the Stangerson family. Daddy Jacques -entered The Room at the same time as the Professor. This chamber adjoins -the laboratory. Laboratory and Yellow Room are in a pavilion at the -end of the park, about three hundred metres (a thousand feet) from the -chateau. - -"'It was half-past twelve at night,' this honest old man told us, 'and I -was in the laboratory, where Monsieur Stangerson was still working, when -the thing happened. I had been cleaning and putting instruments in order -all the evening and was waiting for Monsieur Stangerson to go to bed. -Mademoiselle Stangerson had worked with her father up to midnight; when -the twelve strokes of midnight had sounded by the cuckoo-clock in -the laboratory, she rose, kissed Monsieur Stangerson and bade him -good-night. To me she said "bon soir, Daddy Jacques" as she passed into -The Yellow Room. We heard her lock the door and shoot the bolt, so that -I could not help laughing, and said to Monsieur: "There's Mademoiselle -double-locking herself in,--she must be afraid of the 'Bete du bon -Dieu!'" Monsieur did not even hear me, he was so deeply absorbed in what -he was doing. Just then we heard the distant miawing of a cat. "Is that -going to keep us awake all night?" I said to myself; for I must tell -you, Monsieur, that, to the end of October, I live in an attic of the -pavilion over The Yellow Room, so that Mademoiselle should not be -left alone through the night in the lonely park. It was the fancy of -Mademoiselle to spend the fine weather in the pavilion; no doubt, she -found it more cheerful than the chateau and, for the four years it had -been built, she had never failed to take up her lodging there in the -spring. With the return of winter, Mademoiselle returns to the chateau, -for there is no fireplace in The Yellow Room. - -"'We were staying in the pavilion, then--Monsieur Stangerson and me. We -made no noise. He was seated at his desk. As for me, I was sitting on -a chair, having finished my work and, looking at him, I said to myself: -"What a man!--what intelligence!--what knowledge!" I attach importance -to the fact that we made no noise; for, because of that, the assassin -certainly thought that we had left the place. And, suddenly, while the -cuckoo was sounding the half after midnight, a desperate clamour -broke out in The Yellow Room. It was the voice of Mademoiselle, crying -"Murder!--murder!--help!" Immediately afterwards revolver shots rang out -and there was a great noise of tables and furniture being thrown to -the ground, as if in the course of a struggle, and again the voice of -Mademoiselle calling, "Murder!--help!--Papa!--Papa!--" - -"'You may be sure that we quickly sprang up and that Monsieur Stangerson -and I threw ourselves upon the door. But alas! it was locked, fast -locked, on the inside, by the care of Mademoiselle, as I have told you, -with key and bolt. We tried to force it open, but it remained firm. -Monsieur Stangerson was like a madman, and truly, it was enough to make -him one, for we heard Mademoiselle still calling "Help!--help!" Monsieur -Stangerson showered terrible blows on the door, and wept with rage and -sobbed with despair and helplessness. - -"'It was then that I had an inspiration. "The assassin must have entered -by the window!" I cried;--"I will go to the window!" and I rushed from -the pavilion and ran like one out of his mind. - -"'The inspiration was that the window of The Yellow Room looks out in -such a way that the park wall, which abuts on the pavilion, prevented my -at once reaching the window. To get up to it one has first to go out -of the park. I ran towards the gate and, on my way, met Bernier and his -wife, the gate-keepers, who had been attracted by the pistol reports and -by our cries. In a few words I told them what had happened, and directed -the concierge to join Monsieur Stangerson with all speed, while his wife -came with me to open the park gate. Five minutes later she and I were -before the window of The Yellow Room. - -"'The moon was shining brightly and I saw clearly that no one had -touched the window. Not only were the bars that protect it intact, but -the blinds inside of them were drawn, as I had myself drawn them early -in the evening, as I did every day, though Mademoiselle, knowing that -I was tired from the heavy work I had been doing, had begged me not to -trouble myself, but leave her to do it; and they were just as I had -left them, fastened with an iron catch on the inside. The assassin, -therefore, could not have passed either in or out that way; but neither -could I get in. - -"'It was unfortunate,--enough to turn one's brain! The door of the room -locked on the inside and the blinds on the only window also fastened on -the inside; and Mademoiselle still calling for help!--No! she had ceased -to call. She was dead, perhaps. But I still heard her father, in the -pavilion, trying to break down the door. - -"'With the concierge I hurried back to the pavilion. The door, in spite -of the furious attempts of Monsieur Stangerson and Bernier to burst -it open, was still holding firm; but at length, it gave way before our -united efforts,--and then what a sight met our eyes! I should tell you -that, behind us, the concierge held the laboratory lamp--a powerful -lamp, that lit the whole chamber. - -"'I must also tell you, monsieur, that The Yellow Room is a very small -room. Mademoiselle had furnished it with a fairly large iron bedstead, -a small table, a night-commode; a dressing-table, and two chairs. By -the light of the big lamp we saw all at a glance. Mademoiselle, in -her night-dress, was lying on the floor in the midst of the greatest -disorder. Tables and chairs had been overthrown, showing that there had -been a violent struggle. Mademoiselle had certainly been dragged -from her bed. She was covered with blood and had terrible marks of -finger-nails on her throat,--the flesh of her neck having been almost -torn by the nails. From a wound on the right temple a stream of -blood had run down and made a little pool on the floor. When Monsieur -Stangerson saw his daughter in that state, he threw himself on his knees -beside her, uttering a cry of despair. He ascertained that she still -breathed. As to us, we searched for the wretch who had tried to kill our -mistress, and I swear to you, monsieur, that, if we had found him, it -would have gone hard with him! - -"'But how to explain that he was not there, that he had already escaped? -It passes all imagination!--Nobody under the bed, nobody behind the -furniture!--All that we discovered were traces, blood-stained marks of -a man's large hand on the walls and on the door; a big handkerchief red -with blood, without any initials, an old cap, and many fresh footmarks -of a man on the floor,--footmarks of a man with large feet whose -boot-soles had left a sort of sooty impression. How had this man got -away? How had he vanished? Don't forget, monsieur, that there is no -chimney in The Yellow Room. He could not have escaped by the door, which -is narrow, and on the threshold of which the concierge stood with the -lamp, while her husband and I searched for him in every corner of the -little room, where it is impossible for anyone to hide himself. The -door, which had been forced open against the wall, could not conceal -anything behind it, as we assured ourselves. By the window, still in -every way secured, no flight had been possible. What then?--I began to -believe in the Devil. - -"'But we discovered my revolver on the floor!--Yes, my revolver! Oh! -that brought me back to the reality! The Devil would not have needed to -steal my revolver to kill Mademoiselle. The man who had been there had -first gone up to my attic and taken my revolver from the drawer where -I kept it. We then ascertained, by counting the cartridges, that the -assassin had fired two shots. Ah! it was fortunate for me that Monsieur -Stangerson was in the laboratory when the affair took place and had seen -with his own eyes that I was there with him; for otherwise, with this -business of my revolver, I don't know where we should have been,--I -should now be under lock and bar. Justice wants no more to send a man to -the scaffold!'" - -The editor of the "Matin" added to this interview the following lines: - -"We have, without interrupting him, allowed Daddy Jacques to recount -to us roughly all he knows about the crime of The Yellow Room. We have -reproduced it in his own words, only sparing the reader the continual -lamentations with which he garnished his narrative. It is quite -understood, Daddy Jacques, quite understood, that you are very fond of -your masters; and you want them to know it, and never cease repeating -it--especially since the discovery of your revolver. It is your right, -and we see no harm in it. We should have liked to put some further -questions to Daddy Jacques--Jacques--Louis Moustier--but the inquiry -of the examining magistrate, which is being carried on at the chateau, -makes it impossible for us to gain admission at the Glandier; and, as -to the oak wood, it is guarded by a wide circle of policemen, who are -jealously watching all traces that can lead to the pavilion, and that -may perhaps lead to the discovery of the assassin. "We have also wished -to question the concierges, but they are invisible. Finally, we have -waited in a roadside inn, not far from the gate of the chateau, for -the departure of Monsieur de Marquet, the magistrate of Corbeil. At -half-past five we saw him and his clerk and, before he was able to enter -his carriage, had an opportunity to ask him the following question: - -"'Can you, Monsieur de Marquet, give us any information as to this -affair, without inconvenience to the course of your inquiry?' - -"'It is impossible for us to do it,' replied Monsieur de Marquet. 'I can -only say that it is the strangest affair I have ever known. The more we -think we know something, the further we are from knowing anything!' - -"We asked Monsieur de Marquet to be good enough to explain his last -words; and this is what he said,--the importance of which no one will -fail to recognise: - -"'If nothing is added to the material facts so far established, I -fear that the mystery which surrounds the abominable crime of which -Mademoiselle Stangerson has been the victim will never be brought to -light; but it is to be hoped, for the sake of our human reason, that -the examination of the walls, and of the ceiling of The Yellow -Room--an examination which I shall to-morrow intrust to the builder who -constructed the pavilion four years ago--will afford us the proof that -may not discourage us. For the problem is this: we know by what way the -assassin gained admission,--he entered by the door and hid himself under -the bed, awaiting Mademoiselle Stangerson. But how did he leave? How did -he escape? If no trap, no secret door, no hiding place, no opening -of any sort is found; if the examination of the walls--even to the -demolition of the pavilion--does not reveal any passage practicable--not -only for a human being, but for any being whatsoever--if the ceiling -shows no crack, if the floor hides no underground passage, one must -really believe in the Devil, as Daddy Jacques says!'" - -And the anonymous writer in the "Matin" added in this article--which I -have selected as the most interesting of all those that were published -on the subject of this affair--that the examining magistrate appeared -to place a peculiar significance to the last sentence: "One must really -believe in the Devil, as Jacques says." - -The article concluded with these lines: "We wanted to know what Daddy -Jacques meant by the cry of the Bete Du Bon Dieu." The landlord of the -Donjon Inn explained to us that it is the particularly sinister cry -which is uttered sometimes at night by the cat of an old woman,--Mother -Angenoux, as she is called in the country. Mother Angenoux is a sort of -saint, who lives in a hut in the heart of the forest, not far from the -grotto of Sainte-Genevieve. - -"The Yellow Room, the Bete Du Bon Dieu, Mother Angenoux, the Devil, -Sainte-Genevieve, Daddy Jacques,--here is a well entangled crime which -the stroke of a pickaxe in the wall may disentangle for us to-morrow. -Let us at least hope that, for the sake of our human reason, as the -examining magistrate says. Meanwhile, it is expected that Mademoiselle -Stangerson--who has not ceased to be delirious and only pronounces -one word distinctly, 'Murderer! Murderer!'--will not live through the -night." - -In conclusion, and at a late hour, the same journal announced that the -Chief of the Surete had telegraphed to the famous detective, Frederic -Larsan, who had been sent to London for an affair of stolen securities, -to return immediately to Paris. - - - - -CHAPTER II. In Which Joseph Rouletabille Appears for the First Time - - -I remember as well as if it had occurred yesterday, the entry of young -Rouletabille into my bedroom that morning. It was about eight o'clock -and I was still in bed reading the article in the "Matin" relative to -the Glandier crime. - -But, before going further, it is time that I present my friend to the -reader. - -I first knew Joseph Rouletabille when he was a young reporter. At that -time I was a beginner at the Bar and often met him in the corridors of -examining magistrates, when I had gone to get a "permit to communicate" -for the prison of Mazas, or for Saint-Lazare. He had, as they say, "a -good nut." He seemed to have taken his head--round as a bullet--out of -a box of marbles, and it is from that, I think, that his comrades of -the press--all determined billiard-players--had given him that nickname, -which was to stick to him and be made illustrious by him. He was always -as red as a tomato, now gay as a lark, now grave as a judge. How, while -still so young--he was only sixteen and a half years old when I saw him -for the first time--had he already won his way on the press? That was -what everybody who came into contact with him might have asked, if they -had not known his history. At the time of the affair of the woman cut in -pieces in the Rue Oberskampf--another forgotten story--he had taken to -one of the editors of the "Epoque,"--a paper then rivalling the "Matin" -for information,--the left foot, which was missing from the basket -in which the gruesome remains were discovered. For this left foot the -police had been vainly searching for a week, and young Rouletabille had -found it in a drain where nobody had thought of looking for it. To -do that he had dressed himself as an extra sewer-man, one of a number -engaged by the administration of the city of Paris, owing to an overflow -of the Seine. - -When the editor-in-chief was in possession of the precious foot and -informed as to the train of intelligent deductions the boy had been -led to make, he was divided between the admiration he felt for such -detective cunning in a brain of a lad of sixteen years, and delight at -being able to exhibit, in the "morgue window" of his paper, the left -foot of the Rue Oberskampf. - -"This foot," he cried, "will make a great headline." - -Then, when he had confided the gruesome packet to the medical lawyer -attached to the journal, he asked the lad, who was shortly to become -famous as Rouletabille, what he would expect to earn as a general -reporter on the "Epoque"? - -"Two hundred francs a month," the youngster replied modestly, hardly -able to breathe from surprise at the proposal. - -"You shall have two hundred and fifty," said the editor-in-chief; "only -you must tell everybody that you have been engaged on the paper for a -month. Let it be quite understood that it was not you but the 'Epoque' -that discovered the left foot of the Rue Oberskampf. Here, my young -friend, the man is nothing, the paper everything." - -Having said this, he begged the new reporter to retire, but before the -youth had reached the door he called him back to ask his name. The other -replied: - -"Joseph Josephine." - -"That's not a name," said the editor-in-chief, "but since you will not -be required to sign what you write it is of no consequence." - -The boy-faced reporter speedily made himself many friends, for he -was serviceable and gifted with a good humour that enchanted the most -severe-tempered and disarmed the most zealous of his companions. At -the Bar cafe, where the reporters assembled before going to any of the -courts, or to the Prefecture, in search of their news of crime, he began -to win a reputation as an unraveller of intricate and obscure affairs -which found its way to the office of the Chief of the Surete. When a -case was worth the trouble and Rouletabille--he had already been given -his nickname--had been started on the scent by his editor-in-chief, he -often got the better of the most famous detective. - -It was at the Bar cafe that I became intimately acquainted with him. -Criminal lawyers and journalists are not enemies, the former need -advertisement, the latter information. We chatted together, and I soon -warmed towards him. His intelligence was so keen, and so original!--and -he had a quality of thought such as I have never found in any other -person. - -Some time after this I was put in charge of the law news of the "Cri du -Boulevard." My entry into journalism could not but strengthen the ties -which united me to Rouletabille. After a while, my new friend being -allowed to carry out an idea of a judicial correspondence column, which -he was allowed to sign "Business," in the "Epoque," I was often able to -furnish him with the legal information of which he stood in need. - -Nearly two years passed in this way, and the better I knew him, the more -I learned to love him; for, in spite of his careless extravagance, I -had discovered in him what was, considering his age, an extraordinary -seriousness of mind. Accustomed as I was to seeing him gay and, indeed, -often too gay, I would many times find him plunged in the deepest -melancholy. I tried then to question him as to the cause of this change -of humour, but each time he laughed and made me no answer. One day, -having questioned him about his parents, of whom he never spoke, he left -me, pretending not to have heard what I said. - -While things were in this state between us, the famous case of The -Yellow Room took place. It was this case which was to rank him as the -leading newspaper reporter, and to obtain for him the reputation of -being the greatest detective in the world. It should not surprise us to -find in the one man the perfection of two such lines of activity if we -remember that the daily press was already beginning to transform itself -and to become what it is to-day--the gazette of crime. - -Morose-minded people may complain of this; for myself I regard it a -matter for congratulation. We can never have too many arms, public or -private, against the criminal. To this some people may answer that, -by continually publishing the details of crimes, the press ends by -encouraging their commission. But then, with some people we can never do -right. Rouletabille, as I have said, entered my room that morning of the -26th of October, 1892. He was looking redder than usual, and his eyes -were bulging out of his head, as the phrase is, and altogether he -appeared to be in a state of extreme excitement. He waved the "Matin" -with a trembling hand, and cried: - -"Well, my dear Sainclair,--have you read it?" - -"The Glandier crime?" - -"Yes; The Yellow Room!--What do you think of it?" - -"I think that it must have been the Devil or the Bete du Bon Dieu that -committed the crime." - -"Be serious!" - -"Well, I don't much believe in murderers* who make their escape through -walls of solid brick. I think Daddy Jacques did wrong to leave behind -him the weapon with which the crime was committed and, as he occupied -the attic immediately above Mademoiselle Stangerson's room, the -builder's job ordered by the examining magistrate will give us the key -of the enigma and it will not be long before we learn by what natural -trap, or by what secret door, the old fellow was able to slip in and -out, and return immediately to the laboratory to Monsieur Stangerson, -without his absence being noticed. That, of course, is only an -hypothesis." - - *Although the original English translation often uses the words - "murder" and "murderer," the reader may substitute "attack" and - "attacker" since no murder is actually committed. - -Rouletabille sat down in an armchair, lit his pipe, which he was never -without, smoked for a few minutes in silence--no doubt to calm the -excitement which, visibly, dominated him--and then replied: - -"Young man," he said, in a tone the sad irony of which I will not -attempt to render, "young man, you are a lawyer and I doubt not your -ability to save the guilty from conviction; but if you were a magistrate -on the bench, how easy it would be for you to condemn innocent -persons!--You are really gifted, young man!" - -He continued to smoke energetically, and then went on: - -"No trap will be found, and the mystery of The Yellow Room will become -more and more mysterious. That's why it interests me. The examining -magistrate is right; nothing stranger than this crime has ever been -known." - -"Have you any idea of the way by which the murderer escaped?" I asked. - -"None," replied Rouletabille--"none, for the present. But I have an idea -as to the revolver; the murderer did not use it." - -"Good Heavens! By whom, then, was it used?" - -"Why--by Mademoiselle Stangerson." - -"I don't understand,--or rather, I have never understood," I said. - -Rouletabille shrugged his shoulders. - -"Is there nothing in this article in the 'Matin' by which you were -particularly struck?" - -"Nothing,--I have found the whole of the story it tells equally -strange." - -"Well, but--the locked door--with the key on the inside?" - -"That's the only perfectly natural thing in the whole article." - -"Really!--And the bolt?" - -"The bolt?" - -"Yes, the bolt--also inside the room--a still further protection against -entry? Mademoiselle Stangerson took quite extraordinary precautions! -It is clear to me that she feared someone. That was why she took such -precautions--even Daddy Jacques's revolver--without telling him of it. -No doubt she didn't wish to alarm anybody, and least of all, her father. -What she dreaded took place, and she defended herself. There was a -struggle, and she used the revolver skilfully enough to wound the -assassin in the hand--which explains the impression on the wall and on -the door of the large, blood-stained hand of the man who was searching -for a means of exit from the chamber. But she didn't fire soon enough to -avoid the terrible blow on the right temple." - -"Then the wound on the temple was not done with the revolver?" - -"The paper doesn't say it was, and I don't think it was; because -logically it appears to me that the revolver was used by Mademoiselle -Stangerson against the assassin. Now, what weapon did the murderer use? -The blow on the temple seems to show that the murderer wished to stun -Mademoiselle Stangerson,--after he had unsuccessfully tried to strangle -her. He must have known that the attic was inhabited by Daddy Jacques, -and that was one of the reasons, I think, why he must have used a quiet -weapon,--a life-preserver, or a hammer." - -"All that doesn't explain how the murderer got out of The Yellow Room," -I observed. - -"Evidently," replied Rouletabille, rising, "and that is what has to be -explained. I am going to the Chateau du Glandier, and have come to see -whether you will go with me." - -"I?--" - -"Yes, my boy. I want you. The 'Epoque' has definitely entrusted this -case to me, and I must clear it up as quickly as possible." - -"But in what way can I be of any use to you?" - -"Monsieur Robert Darzac is at the Chateau du Glandier." - -"That's true. His despair must be boundless." - -"I must have a talk with him." - -Rouletabille said it in a tone that surprised me. - -"Is it because--you think there is something to be got out of him?" I -asked. - -"Yes." - -That was all he would say. He retired to my sitting-room, begging me to -dress quickly. - -I knew Monsieur Robert Darzac from having been of great service to him -in a civil action, while I was acting as secretary to Maitre Barbet -Delatour. Monsieur Robert Darzac, who was at that time about forty years -of age, was a professor of physics at the Sorbonne. He was intimately -acquainted with the Stangersons, and, after an assiduous seven years' -courtship of the daughter, had been on the point of marrying her. In -spite of the fact that she has become, as the phrase goes, "a person -of a certain age," she was still remarkably good-looking. While I was -dressing I called out to Rouletabille, who was impatiently moving about -my sitting-room: - -"Have you any idea as to the murderer's station in life?" - -"Yes," he replied; "I think if he isn't a man in society, he is, at -least, a man belonging to the upper class. But that, again, is only an -impression." - -"What has led you to form it?" - -"Well,--the greasy cap, the common handkerchief, and the marks of the -rough boots on the floor," he replied. - -"I understand," I said; "murderers don't leave traces behind them which -tell the truth." - -"We shall make something out of you yet, my dear Sainclair," concluded -Rouletabille. - - - - -CHAPTER III. "A Man Has Passed Like a Shadow Through the Blinds" - - -Half an hour later Rouletabille and I were on the platform of the -Orleans station, awaiting the departure of the train which was to take -us to Epinay-sur-Orge. - -On the platform we found Monsieur de Marquet and his Registrar, who -represented the Judicial Court of Corbeil. Monsieur Marquet had spent -the night in Paris, attending the final rehearsal, at the Scala, of a -little play of which he was the unknown author, signing himself simply -"Castigat Ridendo." - -Monsieur de Marquet was beginning to be a "noble old gentleman." -Generally he was extremely polite and full of gay humour, and in all -his life had had but one passion,--that of dramatic art. Throughout -his magisterial career he was interested solely in cases capable of -furnishing him with something in the nature of a drama. Though he might -very well have aspired to the highest judicial positions, he had -never really worked for anything but to win a success at the romantic -Porte-Saint-Martin, or at the sombre Odeon. - -Because of the mystery which shrouded it, the case of The Yellow -Room was certain to fascinate so theatrical a mind. It interested him -enormously, and he threw himself into it, less as a magistrate eager -to know the truth, than as an amateur of dramatic embroglios, tending -wholly to mystery and intrigue, who dreads nothing so much as the -explanatory final act. - -So that, at the moment of meeting him, I heard Monsieur de Marquet say -to the Registrar with a sigh: - -"I hope, my dear Monsieur Maleine, this builder with his pickaxe will -not destroy so fine a mystery." - -"Have no fear," replied Monsieur Maleine, "his pickaxe may demolish the -pavilion, perhaps, but it will leave our case intact. I have sounded the -walls and examined the ceiling and floor and I know all about it. I am -not to be deceived." - -Having thus reassured his chief, Monsieur Maleine, with a discreet -movement of the head, drew Monsieur de Marquet's attention to us. The -face of that gentleman clouded, and, as he saw Rouletabille approaching, -hat in hand, he sprang into one of the empty carriages saying, half -aloud to his Registrar, as he did so, "Above all, no journalists!" - -Monsieur Maleine replied in the same tone, "I understand!" and then -tried to prevent Rouletabille from entering the same compartment with -the examining magistrate. - -"Excuse me, gentlemen,--this compartment is reserved." - -"I am a journalist, Monsieur, engaged on the 'Epoque,'" said my young -friend with a great show of gesture and politeness, "and I have a word -or two to say to Monsieur de Marquet." - -"Monsieur is very much engaged with the inquiry he has in hand." - -"Ah! his inquiry, pray believe me, is absolutely a matter of -indifference to me. I am no scavenger of odds and ends," he went on, -with infinite contempt in his lower lip, "I am a theatrical reporter; -and this evening I shall have to give a little account of the play at -the Scala." - -"Get in, sir, please," said the Registrar. - -Rouletabille was already in the compartment. I went in after him -and seated myself by his side. The Registrar followed and closed the -carriage door. - -Monsieur de Marquet looked at him. - -"Ah, sir," Rouletabille began, "You must not be angry with Monsieur de -Maleine. It is not with Monsieur de Marquet that I desire to have the -honour of speaking, but with Monsieur 'Castigat Ridendo.' Permit me to -congratulate you--personally, as well as the writer for the 'Epoque.'" -And Rouletabille, having first introduced me, introduced himself. - -Monsieur de Marquet, with a nervous gesture, caressed his beard into a -point, and explained to Rouletabille, in a few words, that he was too -modest an author to desire that the veil of his pseudonym should be -publicly raised, and that he hoped the enthusiasm of the journalist for -the dramatist's work would not lead him to tell the public that Monsieur -"Castigat Ridendo" and the examining magistrate of Corbeil were one and -the same person. - -"The work of the dramatic author may interfere," he said, after a slight -hesitation, "with that of the magistrate, especially in a province where -one's labours are little more than routine." - -"Oh, you may rely on my discretion!" cried Rouletabille. - -The train was in motion. - -"We have started!" said the examining magistrate, surprised at seeing us -still in the carriage. - -"Yes, Monsieur,--truth has started," said Rouletabile, smiling -amiably,--"on its way to the Chateau du Glandier. A fine case, Monsieur -de Marquet,--a fine case!" - -"An obscure--incredible, unfathomable, inexplicable affair--and there is -only one thing I fear, Monsieur Rouletabille,--that the journalists will -be trying to explain it." - -My friend felt this a rap on his knuckles. - -"Yes," he said simply, "that is to be feared. They meddle in everything. -As for my interest, monsieur, I only referred to it by mere chance,--the -mere chance of finding myself in the same train with you, and in the -same compartment of the same carriage." - -"Where are you going, then?" asked Monsieur de Marquet. - -"To the Chateau du Glandier," replied Rouletabille, without turning. - -"You'll not get in, Monsieur Rouletabille!" - -"Will you prevent me?" said my friend, already prepared to fight. - -"Not I!--I like the press and journalists too well to be in any way -disagreeable to them; but Monsieur Stangerson has given orders for -his door to be closed against everybody, and it is well guarded. Not a -journalist was able to pass through the gate of the Glandier yesterday." - -Monsieur de Marquet compressed his lips and seemed ready to relapse into -obstinate silence. He only relaxed a little when Rouletabille no longer -left him in ignorance of the fact that we were going to the Glandier for -the purpose of shaking hands with an "old and intimate friend," Monsieur -Robert Darzac--a man whom Rouletabille had perhaps seen once in his -life. - -"Poor Robert!" continued the young reporter, "this dreadful affair may -be his death,--he is so deeply in love with Mademoiselle Stangerson." - -"His sufferings are truly painful to witness," escaped like a regret -from the lips of Monsieur de Marquet. - -"But it is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson's life will be -saved." - -"Let us hope so. Her father told me yesterday that, if she does not -recover, it will not be long before he joins her in the grave. What an -incalculable loss to science his death would be!" - -"The wound on her temple is serious, is it not?" - -"Evidently; but, by a wonderful chance, it has not proved mortal. The -blow was given with great force." - -"Then it was not with the revolver she was wounded," said Rouletabille, -glancing at me in triumph. - -Monsieur de Marquet appeared greatly embarrassed. - -"I didn't say anything--I don't want to say anything--I will not say -anything," he said. And he turned towards his Registrar as if he no -longer knew us. - -But Rouletabille was not to be so easily shaken off. He moved nearer -to the examining magistrate and, drawing a copy of the "Matin" from his -pocket, he showed it to him and said: - -"There is one thing, Monsieur, which I may enquire of you without -committing an indiscretion. You have, of course, seen the account given -in the 'Matin'? It is absurd, is it not?" - -"Not in the slightest, Monsieur." - -"What! The Yellow Room has but one barred window--the bars of which have -not been moved--and only one door, which had to be broken open--and the -assassin was not found!" - -"That's so, monsieur,--that's so. That's how the matter stands." - -Rouletabille said no more but plunged into thought. A quarter of an hour -thus passed. - -Coming back to himself again he said, addressing the magistrate: - -"How did Mademoiselle Stangerson wear her hair on that evening?" - -"I don't know," replied Monsieur de Marquet. - -"That's a very important point," said Rouletabille. "Her hair was done -up in bands, wasn't it? I feel sure that on that evening, the evening of -the crime, she had her hair arranged in bands." - -"Then you are mistaken, Monsieur Rouletabille," replied the magistrate; -"Mademoiselle Stangerson that evening had her hair drawn up in a knot -on the top of her head,--her usual way of arranging it--her forehead -completely uncovered. I can assure you, for we have carefully examined -the wound. There was no blood on the hair, and the arrangement of it has -not been disturbed since the crime was committed." - -"You are sure! You are sure that, on the night of the crime, she had not -her hair in bands?" - -"Quite sure," the magistrate continued, smiling, "because I remember the -Doctor saying to me, while he was examining the wound, 'It is a great -pity Mademoiselle Stangerson was in the habit of drawing her hair back -from her forehead. If she had worn it in bands, the blow she received -on the temple would have been weakened.' It seems strange to me that you -should attach so much importance to this point." - -"Oh! if she had not her hair in bands, I give it up," said Rouletabille, -with a despairing gesture. - -"And was the wound on her temple a bad one?" he asked presently. - -"Terrible." - -"With what weapon was it made?" - -"That is a secret of the investigation." - -"Have you found the weapon--whatever it was?" - -The magistrate did not answer. - -"And the wound in the throat?" - -Here the examining magistrate readily confirmed the decision of the -doctor that, if the murderer had pressed her throat a few seconds -longer, Mademoiselle Stangerson would have died of strangulation. - -"The affair as reported in the 'Matin,'" said Rouletabille eagerly, -"seems to me more and more inexplicable. Can you tell me, Monsieur, how -many openings there are in the pavilion? I mean doors and windows." - -"There are five," replied Monsieur de Marquet, after having coughed -once or twice, but no longer resisting the desire he felt to talk of -the whole of the incredible mystery of the affair he was investigating. -"There are five, of which the door of the vestibule is the only entrance -to the pavilion,--a door always automatically closed, which cannot be -opened, either from the outer or inside, except with the two special -keys which are never out of the possession of either Daddy Jacques or -Monsieur Stangerson. Mademoiselle Stangerson had no need for one, since -Daddy Jacques lodged in the pavilion and because, during the daytime, -she never left her father. When they, all four, rushed into The Yellow -Room, after breaking open the door of the laboratory, the door in the -vestibule remained closed as usual and, of the two keys for opening it, -Daddy Jacques had one in his pocket, and Monsieur Stangerson the other. -As to the windows of the pavilion, there are four; the one window of The -Yellow Room and those of the laboratory looking out on to the country; -the window in the vestibule looking into the park." - -"It is by that window that he escaped from the pavilion!" cried -Rouletabille. - -"How do you know that?" demanded Monsieur de Marquet, fixing a strange -look on my young friend. - -"We'll see later how he got away from The Yellow Room," replied -Rouletabille, "but he must have left the pavilion by the vestibule -window." - -"Once more,--how do you know that?" - -"How? Oh, the thing is simple enough! As soon as he found he could not -escape by the door of the pavilion his only way out was by the window in -the vestibule, unless he could pass through a grated window. The window -of The Yellow Room is secured by iron bars, because it looks out upon -the open country; the two windows of the laboratory have to be protected -in like manner for the same reason. As the murderer got away, I conceive -that he found a window that was not barred,--that of the vestibule, -which opens on to the park,--that is to say, into the interior of the -estate. There's not much magic in all that." - -"Yes," said Monsieur de Marquet, "but what you have not guessed is that -this single window in the vestibule, though it has no iron bars, has -solid iron blinds. Now these iron blinds have remained fastened by their -iron latch; and yet we have proof that the murderer made his escape from -the pavilion by that window! Traces of blood on the inside wall and on -the blinds as well as on the floor, and footmarks, of which I have taken -the measurements, attest the fact that the murderer made his escape -that way. But then, how did he do it, seeing that the blinds remained -fastened on the inside? He passed through them like a shadow. But what -is more bewildering than all is that it is impossible to form any idea -as to how the murderer got out of The Yellow Room, or how he got across -the laboratory to reach the vestibule! Ah, yes, Monsieur Rouletabille, -it is altogether as you said, a fine case, the key to which will not be -discovered for a long time, I hope." - -"You hope, Monsieur?" - -Monsieur de Marquet corrected himself. - -"I do not hope so,--I think so." - -"Could that window have been closed and refastened after the flight of -the assassin?" asked Rouletabille. - -"That is what occurred to me for a moment; but it would imply an -accomplice or accomplices,--and I don't see--" - -After a short silence he added: - -"Ah--if Mademoiselle Stangerson were only well enough to-day to be -questioned!" - -Rouletabille following up his thought, asked: - -"And the attic?--There must be some opening to that?" - -"Yes; there is a window, or rather skylight, in it, which, as it looks -out towards the country, Monsieur Stangerson has had barred, like the -rest of the windows. These bars, as in the other windows, have remained -intact, and the blinds, which naturally open inwards, have not been -unfastened. For the rest, we have not discovered anything to lead us to -suspect that the murderer had passed through the attic." - -"It seems clear to you, then, Monsieur, that the murderer -escaped--nobody knows how--by the window in the vestibule?" - -"Everything goes to prove it." - -"I think so, too," confessed Rouletabille gravely. - -After a brief silence, he continued: - -"If you have not found any traces of the murderer in the attic, such as -the dirty footmarks similar to those on the floor of The Yellow Room, -you must come to the conclusion that it was not he who stole Daddy -Jacques's revolver." - -"There are no footmarks in the attic other than those of Daddy Jacques -himself," said the magistrate with a significant turn of his head. Then, -after an apparent decision, he added: "Daddy Jacques was with Monsieur -Stangerson in the laboratory--and it was lucky for him he was." - -"Then what part did his revolver play in the tragedy?--It seems very -clear that this weapon did less harm to Mademoiselle Stangerson than it -did to the murderer." - -The magistrate made no reply to this question, which doubtless -embarrassed him. "Monsieur Stangerson," he said, "tells us that the two -bullets have been found in The Yellow Room, one embedded in the wall -stained with the impression of a red hand--a man's large hand--and the -other in the ceiling." - -"Oh! oh! in the ceiling!" muttered Rouletabille. "In the ceiling! That's -very curious!--In the ceiling!" - -He puffed awhile in silence at his pipe, enveloping himself in the -smoke. When we reached Savigny-sur-Orge, I had to tap him on the -shoulder to arouse him from his dream and come out on to the platform of -the station. - -There, the magistrate and his Registrar bowed to us, and by rapidly -getting into a cab that was awaiting them, made us understand that they -had seen enough of us. - -"How long will it take to walk to the Chateau du Glandier?" Rouletabille -asked one of the railway porters. - -"An hour and a half or an hour and three quarters--easy walking," the -man replied. - -Rouletabille looked up at the sky and, no doubt, finding its appearance -satisfactory, took my arm and said: - -"Come on!--I need a walk." - -"Are things getting less entangled?" I asked. - -"Not a bit of it!" he said, "more entangled than ever! It's true, I have -an idea--" - -"What's that?" I asked. - -"I can't tell you what it is just at present--it's an idea involving the -life or death of two persons at least." - -"Do you think there were accomplices?" - -"I don't think it--" - -We fell into silence. Presently he went on: - -"It was a bit of luck, our falling in with that examining magistrate and -his Registrar, eh? What did I tell you about that revolver?" His head -was bent down, he had his hands in his pockets, and he was whistling. -After a while I heard him murmur: - -"Poor woman!" - -"Is it Mademoiselle Stangerson you are pitying?" - -"Yes; she's a noble woman and worthy of being pitied!--a woman of a -great, a very great character--I imagine--I imagine." - -"You know her then?" - -"Not at all. I have never seen her." - -"Why, then, do you say that she is a woman of great character?" - -"Because she bravely faced the murderer; because she courageously -defended herself--and, above all, because of the bullet in the ceiling." - -I looked at Rouletabille and inwardly wondered whether he was not -mocking me, or whether he had not suddenly gone out of his senses. But I -saw that he had never been less inclined to laugh, and the brightness of -his keenly intelligent eyes assured me that he retained all his reason. -Then, too, I was used to his broken way of talking, which only left me -puzzled as to his meaning, till, with a very few clear, rapidly uttered -words, he would make the drift of his ideas clear to me, and I saw -that what he had previously said, and which had appeared to me void of -meaning, was so thoroughly logical that I could not understand how it -was I had not understood him sooner. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. "In the Bosom of Wild Nature" - - -The Chateau du Glandier is one of the oldest chateaux in the Ile de -France, where so many building remains of the feudal period are still -standing. Built originally in the heart of the forest, in the reign of -Philip le Bel, it now could be seen a few hundred yards from the road -leading from the village of Sainte-Genevieve to Monthery. A mass of -inharmonious structures, it is dominated by a donjon. When the visitor -has mounted the crumbling steps of this ancient donjon, he reaches a -little plateau where, in the seventeenth century, Georges Philibert de -Sequigny, Lord of the Glandier, Maisons-Neuves and other places, built -the existing town in an abominably rococo style of architecture. - -It was in this place, seemingly belonging entirely to the past, that -Professor Stangerson and his daughter installed themselves to lay the -foundations for the science of the future. Its solitude, in the depths -of woods, was what, more than all, had pleased them. They would have -none to witness their labours and intrude on their hopes, but the aged -stones and grand old oaks. The Glandier--ancient Glandierum--was so -called from the quantity of glands (acorns) which, in all times, had -been gathered in that neighbourhood. This land, of present mournful -interest, had fallen back, owing to the negligence or abandonment of -its owners, into the wild character of primitive nature. The buildings -alone, which were hidden there, had preserved traces of their strange -metamorphoses. Every age had left on them its imprint; a bit of -architecture with which was bound up the remembrance of some terrible -event, some bloody adventure. Such was the chateau in which science had -taken refuge--a place seemingly designed to be the theatre of mysteries, -terror, and death. - -Having explained so far, I cannot refrain from making one further -reflection. If I have lingered a little over this description of the -Glandier, it is not because I have reached the right moment for creating -the necessary atmosphere for the unfolding of the tragedy before the -eyes of the reader. Indeed, in all this matter, my first care will be -to be as simple as is possible. I have no ambition to be an author. An -author is always something of a romancer, and God knows, the mystery of -The Yellow Room is quite full enough of real tragic horror to require -no aid from literary effects. I am, and only desire to be, a faithful -"reporter." My duty is to report the event; and I place the event in its -frame--that is all. It is only natural that you should know where the -things happened. - -I return to Monsieur Stangerson. When he bought the estate, fifteen -years before the tragedy with which we are engaged occurred, the Chateau -du Glandier had for a long time been unoccupied. Another old chateau in -the neighbourhood, built in the fourteenth century by Jean de Belmont, -was also abandoned, so that that part of the country was very little -inhabited. Some small houses on the side of the road leading to -Corbeil, an inn, called the "Auberge du Donjon," which offered passing -hospitality to waggoners; these were about all to represent civilisation -in this out-of-the-way part of the country, but a few leagues from the -capital. - -But this deserted condition of the place had been the determining reason -for the choice made by Monsieur Stangerson and his daughter. Monsieur -Stangerson was already celebrated. He had returned from America, where -his works had made a great stir. The book which he had published at -Philadelphia, on the "Dissociation of Matter by Electric Action," had -aroused opposition throughout the whole scientific world. Monsieur -Stangerson was a Frenchman, but of American origin. Important matters -relating to a legacy had kept him for several years in the United -States, where he had continued the work begun by him in France, whither -he had returned in possession of a large fortune. This fortune was a -great boon to him; for, though he might have made millions of dollars -by exploiting two or three of his chemical discoveries relative to new -processes of dyeing, it was always repugnant to him to use for his -own private gain the wonderful gift of invention he had received from -nature. He considered he owed it to mankind, and all that his genius -brought into the world went, by this philosophical view of his duty, -into the public lap. - -If he did not try to conceal his satisfaction at coming into possession -of this fortune, which enabled him to give himself up to his passion for -pure science, he had equally to rejoice, it seemed to him, for another -cause. Mademoiselle Stangerson was, at the time when her father returned -from America and bought the Glandier estate, twenty years of age. She -was exceedingly pretty, having at once the Parisian grace of her mother, -who had died in giving her birth, and all the splendour, all the -riches of the young American blood of her parental grandfather, William -Stangerson. A citizen of Philadelphia, William Stangerson had been -obliged to become naturalised in obedience to family exigencies at the -time of his marriage with a French lady, she who was to be the mother -of the illustrious Stangerson. In that way the professor's French -nationality is accounted for. - -Twenty years of age, a charming blonde, with blue eyes, milk-white -complexion, and radiant with divine health, Mathilde Stangerson was one -of the most beautiful marriageable girls in either the old or the new -world. It was her father's duty, in spite of the inevitable pain which -a separation from her would cause him, to think of her marriage; and he -was fully prepared for it. Nevertheless, he buried himself and his child -at the Glandier at the moment when his friends were expecting him to -bring her out into society. Some of them expressed their astonishment, -and to their questions he answered: "It is my daughter's wish. I can -refuse her nothing. She has chosen the Glandier." - -Interrogated in her turn, the young girl replied calmly: "Where could -we work better than in this solitude?" For Mademoiselle Stangerson had -already begun to collaborate with her father in his work. It could not -at the time be imagined that her passion for science would lead her so -far as to refuse all the suitors who presented themselves to her for -over fifteen years. So secluded was the life led by the two, father and -daughter, that they showed themselves only at a few official -receptions and, at certain times in the year, in two or three friendly -drawing-rooms, where the fame of the professor and the beauty of -Mathilde made a sensation. The young girl's extreme reserve did not at -first discourage suitors; but at the end of a few years, they tired of -their quest. - -One alone persisted with tender tenacity and deserved the name of -"eternal fiance," a name he accepted with melancholy resignation; that -was Monsieur Robert Darzac. Mademoiselle Stangerson was now no longer -young, and it seemed that, having found no reason for marrying at -five-and-thirty, she would never find one. But such an argument -evidently found no acceptance with Monsieur Robert Darzac. He continued -to pay his court--if the delicate and tender attention with which he -ceaselessly surrounded this woman of five-and-thirty could be called -courtship--in face of her declared intention never to marry. - -Suddenly, some weeks before the events with which we are occupied, a -report--to which nobody attached any importance, so incredible did it -sound--was spread about Paris, that Mademoiselle Stangerson had at -last consented to "crown" the inextinguishable flame of Monsieur Robert -Darzac! It needed that Monsieur Robert Darzac himself should not deny -this matrimonial rumour to give it an appearance of truth, so unlikely -did it seem to be well founded. One day, however, Monsieur Stangerson, -as he was leaving the Academy of Science, announced that the marriage -of his daughter and Monsieur Robert Darzac would be celebrated in the -privacy of the Chateau du Glandier, as soon as he and his daughter had -put the finishing touches to their report summing up their labours on -the "Dissociation of Matter." The new household would install itself in -the Glandier, and the son-in-law would lend his assistance in the work -to which the father and daughter had dedicated their lives. - -The scientific world had barely had time to recover from the effect -of this news, when it learned of the attempted assassination of -Mademoiselle under the extraordinary conditions which we have detailed -and which our visit to the chateau was to enable us to ascertain with -yet greater precision. I have not hesitated to furnish the reader -with all these retrospective details, known to me through my business -relations with Monsieur Robert Darzac. On crossing the threshold of The -Yellow Room he was as well posted as I was. - - - - -CHAPTER V. In Which Joseph Rouletabille Makes a Remark to Monsieur -Robert Darzac Which Produces Its Little Effect - -Rouletabille and I had been walking for several minutes, by the side of -a long wall bounding the vast property of Monsieur Stangerson and had -already come within sight of the entrance gate, when our attention was -drawn to an individual who, half bent to the ground, seemed to be so -completely absorbed in what he was doing as not to have seen us coming -towards him. At one time he stooped so low as almost to touch the -ground; at another he drew himself up and attentively examined the wall; -then he looked into the palm of one of his hands, and walked away with -rapid strides. Finally he set off running, still looking into the palm -of his hand. Rouletabille had brought me to a standstill by a gesture. - -"Hush! Frederic Larsan is at work! Don't let us disturb him!" - -Rouletabille had a great admiration for the celebrated detective. I had -never before seen him, but I knew him well by reputation. At that time, -before Rouletabille had given proof of his unique talent, Larsan was -reputed as the most skilful unraveller of the most mysterious and -complicated crimes. His reputation was world-wide, and the police of -London, and even of America, often called him in to their aid when their -own national inspectors and detectives found themselves at the end of -their wits and resources. - -No one was astonished, then, that the head of the Surete had, at the -outset of the mystery of The Yellow Room, telegraphed his precious -subordinate to London, where he had been sent on a big case of stolen -securities, to return with all haste. Frederic who, at the Surete, was -called the "great Frederic," had made all speed, doubtless knowing by -experience that, if he was interrupted in what he was doing, it was -because his services were urgently needed in another direction; so, as -Rouletabille said, he was that morning already "at work." We soon found -out in what it consisted. - -What he was continually looking at in the palm of his right hand was -nothing but his watch, the minute hand of which he appeared to be noting -intently. Then he turned back still running, stopping only when he -reached the park gate, where he again consulted his watch and then -put it away in his pocket, shrugging his shoulders with a gesture of -discouragement. He pushed open the park gate, reclosed and locked it, -raised his head and, through the bars, perceived us. Rouletabille rushed -after him, and I followed. Frederic Larsan waited for us. - -"Monsieur Fred," said Rouletabille, raising his hat and showing the -profound respect, based on admiration, which the young reporter felt -for the celebrated detective, "can you tell me whether Monsieur Robert -Darzac is at the chateau at this moment? Here is one of his friends, of -the Paris Bar, who desires to speak with him." - -"I really don't know, Monsieur Rouletabille," replied Fred, shaking -hands with my friend, whom he had several times met in the course of his -difficult investigations. "I have not seen him." - -"The concierges will be able to inform us no doubt?" said Rouletabille, -pointing to the lodge the door and windows of which were close shut. - -"The concierges will not be able to give you any information, Monsieur -Rouletabille." - -"Why not?" - -"Because they were arrested half an hour ago." - -"Arrested!" cried Rouletabille; "then they are the murderers!" - -Frederic Larsan shrugged his shoulders. - -"When you can't arrest the real murderer," he said with an air of -supreme irony, "you can always indulge in the luxury of discovering -accomplices." - -"Did you have them arrested, Monsieur Fred?" - -"Not I!--I haven't had them arrested. In the first place, I am pretty -sure that they have not had anything to do with the affair, and then -because--" - -"Because of what?" asked Rouletabille eagerly. - -"Because of nothing," said Larsan, shaking his head. - -"Because there were no accomplices!" said Rouletabille. - -"Aha!--you have an idea, then, about this matter?" said Larsan, looking -at Rouletabille intently, "yet you have seen nothing, young man--you -have not yet gained admission here!" - -"I shall get admission." - -"I doubt it. The orders are strict." - -"I shall gain admission, if you let me see Monsieur Robert Darzac. Do -that for me. You know we are old friends. I beg of you, Monsieur Fred. -Do you remember the article I wrote about you on the gold bar case?" - -The face of Rouletabille at the moment was really funny to look at. It -showed such an irresistible desire to cross the threshold beyond -which some prodigious mystery had occurred; it appealed with so much -eloquence, not only of the mouth and eyes, but with all its features, -that I could not refrain from bursting into laughter. Frederic Larsan, -no more than myself, could retain his gravity. Meanwhile, standing -on the other side of the gate, he calmly put the key in his pocket. I -closely scrutinised him. - -He might be about fifty years of age. He had a fine head, his hair -turning grey; a colourless complexion, and a firm profile. His forehead -was prominent, his chin and cheeks clean shaven. His upper lip, without -moustache, was finely chiselled. His eyes were rather small and round, -with a look in them that was at once searching and disquieting. He was -of middle height and well built, with a general bearing elegant and -gentlemanly. There was nothing about him of the vulgar policeman. In -his way, he was an artist, and one felt that he had a high opinion of -himself. The sceptical tone of his conversation was that of a man who -had been taught by experience. His strange profession had brought him -into contact with so many crimes and villanies that it would have been -remarkable if his nature had not been a little hardened. - -Larsan turned his head at the sound of a vehicle which had come from the -chateau and reached the gate behind him. We recognised the cab which had -conveyed the examining magistrate and his Registrar from the station at -Epinay. - -"Ah!" said Frederic Larsan, "if you want to speak with Monsieur Robert -Darzac, he is here." - -The cab was already at the park gate and Robert Darzac was begging -Frederic Larsan to open it for him, explaining that he was pressed -for time to catch the next train leaving Epinay for Paris. Then he -recognised me. While Larsan was unlocking the gate, Monsieur Darzac -inquired what had brought me to the Glandier at such a tragic moment. I -noticed that he was frightfully pale, and that his face was lined as if -from the effects of some terrible suffering. - -"Is Mademoiselle getting better?" I immediately asked. - -"Yes," he said. "She will be saved perhaps. She must be saved!" - -He did not add "or it will be my death"; but I felt that the phrase -trembled on his pale lips. - -Rouletabille intervened: - -"You are in a hurry, Monsieur; but I must speak with you. I have -something of the greatest importance to tell you." - -Frederic Larsan interrupted: - -"May I leave you?" he asked of Robert Darzac. "Have you a key, or do you -wish me to give you this one." - -"Thank you. I have a key and will lock the gate." - -Larsan hurried off in the direction of the chateau, the imposing pile of -which could be perceived a few hundred yards away. - -Robert Darzac, with knit brow, was beginning to show impatience. I -presented Rouletabille as a good friend of mine, but, as soon as -he learnt that the young man was a journalist, he looked at me very -reproachfully, excused himself, under the necessity of having to -reach Epinay in twenty minutes, bowed, and whipped up his horse. But -Rouletabille had seized the bridle and, to my utter astonishment, -stopped the carriage with a vigorous hand. Then he gave utterance to a -sentence which was utterly meaningless to me. - -"The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its -brightness." - -The words had no sooner left the lips of Rouletabille than I saw Robert -Darzac quail. Pale as he was, he became paler. His eyes were fixed on -the young man in terror, and he immediately descended from the vehicle -in an inexpressible state of agitation. - -"Come!--come in!" he stammered. - -Then, suddenly, and with a sort of fury, he repeated: - -"Let us go, monsieur." - -He turned up by the road he had come from the chateau, Rouletabille -still retaining his hold on the horse's bridle. I addressed a few -words to Monsieur Darzac, but he made no answer. My looks questioned -Rouletabille, but his gaze was elsewhere. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. In the Heart of the Oak Grove - - -We reached the chateau, and, as we approached it, saw four gendarmes -pacing in front of a little door in the ground floor of the donjon. We -soon learned that in this ground floor, which had formerly served as -a prison, Monsieur and Madame Bernier, the concierges, were confined. -Monsieur Robert Darzac led us into the modern part of the chateau by -a large door, protected by a projecting awning--a "marquise" as it is -called. Rouletabille, who had resigned the horse and the cab to the care -of a servant, never took his eyes off Monsieur Darzac. I followed his -look and perceived that it was directed solely towards the gloved hands -of the Sorbonne professor. When we were in a tiny sitting-room fitted -with old furniture, Monsieur Darzac turned to Rouletabille and said -sharply: - -"What do you want?" - -The reporter answered in an equally sharp tone: - -"To shake you by the hand." - -Darzac shrank back. - -"What does that mean?" - -Evidently he understood, what I also understood, that my friend -suspected him of the abominable attempt on the life of Mademoiselle -Stangerson. The impression of the blood-stained hand on the walls of The -Yellow Room was in his mind. I looked at the man closely. His haughty -face with its expression ordinarily so straightforward was at this -moment strangely troubled. He held out his right hand and, referring to -me, said: - -"As you are a friend of Monsieur Sainclair who has rendered me -invaluable services in a just cause, monsieur, I see no reason for -refusing you my hand--" - -Rouletabille did not take the extended hand. Lying with the utmost -audacity, he said: - -"Monsieur, I have lived several years in Russia, where I have acquired -the habit of never taking any but an ungloved hand." - -I thought that the Sorbonne professor would express his anger openly, -but, on the contrary, by a visibly violent effort, he calmed himself, -took off his gloves, and showed his hands; they were unmarked by any -cicatrix. - -"Are you satisfied?" - -"No!" replied Rouletabille. "My dear friend," he said, turning to me, "I -am obliged to ask you to leave us alone for a moment." - -I bowed and retired; stupefied by what I had seen and heard. I could not -understand why Monsieur Robert Darzac had not already shown the door to -my impertinent, insulting, and stupid friend. I was angry myself with -Rouletabille at that moment, for his suspicions, which had led to this -scene of the gloves. - - -For some twenty minutes I walked about in front of the chateau, trying -vainly to link together the different events of the day. What was in -Rouletabille's mind? Was it possible that he thought Monsieur Robert -Darzac to be the murderer? How could it be thought that this man, who -was to have married Mademoiselle Stangerson in the course of a few days, -had introduced himself into The Yellow Room to assassinate his fiancee? -I could find no explanation as to how the murderer had been able to -leave The Yellow Room; and so long as that mystery, which appeared to me -so inexplicable, remained unexplained, I thought it was the duty of -all of us to refrain from suspecting anybody. But, then, that seemingly -senseless phrase--"The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the -garden its brightness"--still rang in my ears. What did it mean? I was -eager to rejoin Rouletabille and question him. - -At that moment the young man came out of the chateau in the company -of Monsieur Robert Darzac, and, extraordinary to relate, I saw, at a -glance, that they were the best of friends. "We are going to The Yellow -Room. Come with us," Rouletabille said to me. "You know, my dear boy, I -am going to keep you with me all day. We'll breakfast together somewhere -about here--" - -"You'll breakfast with me, here, gentlemen--" - -"No, thanks," replied the young man. "We shall breakfast at the Donjon -Inn." - -"You'll fare very badly there; you'll not find anything--" - -"Do you think so? Well, I hope to find something there," replied -Rouletabille. "After breakfast, we'll set to work again. I'll write my -article and if you'll be so good as to take it to the office for me--" - -"Won't you come back with me to Paris?" - -"No; I shall remain here." - -I turned towards Rouletabille. He spoke quite seriously, and Monsieur -Robert Darzac did not appear to be in the least degree surprised. - -We were passing by the donjon and heard wailing voices. Rouletabille -asked: - -"Why have these people been arrested?" - -"It is a little my fault," said Monsieur Darzac. "I happened to remark -to the examining magistrate yesterday that it was inexplicable that the -concierges had had time to hear the revolver shots, to dress themselves, -and to cover so great a distance as that which lies between their lodge -and the pavilion, in the space of two minutes; for not more than that -interval of time had elapsed after the firing of the shots when they -were met by Daddy Jacques." - -"That was suspicious evidently," acquiesced Rouletabille. "And were they -dressed?" - -"That is what is so incredible--they were dressed--completely--not one -part of their costume wanting. The woman wore sabots, but the man had on -laced boots. Now they assert that they went to bed at half-past nine. -On arriving this morning, the examining magistrate brought with him from -Paris a revolver of the same calibre as that found in the room (for he -couldn't use the one held for evidence), and made his Registrar fire -two shots in The Yellow Room while the doors and windows were closed. We -were with him in the lodge of the concierges, and yet we heard nothing, -not a sound. The concierges have lied, of that there can be no doubt. -They must have been already waiting, not far from the pavilion, waiting -for something! Certainly they are not to be accused of being the authors -of the crime, but their complicity is not improbable. That was why -Monsieur de Marquet had them arrested at once." - -"If they had been accomplices," said Rouletabille, "they would not have -been there at all. When people throw themselves into the arms of justice -with the proofs of complicity on them, you can be sure they are not -accomplices. I don't believe there are any accomplices in this affair." - -"Then, why were they abroad at midnight? Why don't they say?" - -"They have certainly some reason for their silence. What that reason is, -has to be found out; for, even if they are not accomplices, it may be of -importance. Everything that took place on such a night is important." - -We had crossed an old bridge thrown over the Douve and were entering the -part of the park called the Oak Grove, The oaks here were centuries -old. Autumn had already shrivelled their tawny leaves, and their high -branches, black and contorted, looked like horrid heads of hair, mingled -with quaint reptiles such as the ancient sculptors have made on the head -of Medusa. This place, which Mademoiselle found cheerful and in which -she lived in the summer season, appeared to us as sad and funereal now. -The soil was black and muddy from the recent rains and the rotting of -the fallen leaves; the trunks of the trees were black and the sky above -us was now, as if in mourning, charged with great, heavy clouds. - -And it was in this sombre and desolate retreat that we saw the white -walls of the pavilion as we approached. A queer-looking building without -a window visible on the side by which we neared it. A little door alone -marked the entrance to it. It might have passed for a tomb, a vast -mausoleum in the midst of a thick forest. As we came nearer, we were -able to make out its disposition. The building obtained all the light it -needed from the south, that is to say, from the open country. The little -door closed on the park. Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson must have -found it an ideal seclusion for their work and their dreams. - - - ___________________________________________________ - ditch | - ________________________________________________ | - enclosing wall || || | | - || || | | - ||___ 1 |d | - ||bed| || |i | - PARK ||___|________|| |t | - ||:::::| 4 || |c | - ||::5::| || 2 |h | - oo oo ||::::|___ _|| | | - Traces oo || || | | - of oo oo oo | | - Footsteps|| || | | - || || | | - || 3 ||___________| |______________ - || || 6 | ditch - ||____ ____||___________|_________________ - door enclosing wall - - - -Here is the ground plan of the pavilion. It had a ground-floor which was -reached by a few steps, and above it was an attic, with which we need -not concern ourselves. The plan of the ground-floor only, sketched -roughly, is what I here submit to the reader. - - 1. The Yellow Room, with its one window and its one door opening - into the laboratory. - - 2. Laboratory, with its two large, barred windows and its doors, - one serving for the vestibule, the other for The Yellow Room. - - 3. Vestibule, with its unbarred window and door opening into the - park. - - 4. Lavatory. - - 5. Stairs leading to the attic. - - 6. Large and the only chimney in the pavilion, serving for the - experiments of the laboratory. - -The plan was drawn by Rouletabille, and I assured myself that there was -not a line in it that was wanting to help to the solution of the -problem then set before the police. With the lines of this plan and the -description of its parts before them, my readers will know as much as -Rouletabille knew when he entered the pavilion for the first time. With -him they may now ask: How did the murderer escape from The Yellow Room? -Before mounting the three steps leading up to the door of the pavilion, -Rouletabille stopped and asked Monsieur Darzac point blank: - -"What was the motive for the crime?" - -"Speaking for myself, Monsieur, there can be no doubt on the matter," -said Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance, greatly distressed. "The nails of -the fingers, the deep scratches on the chest and throat of Mademoiselle -Stangerson show that the wretch who attacked her attempted to commit a -frightful crime. The medical experts who examined these traces yesterday -affirm that they were made by the same hand as that which left its red -imprint on the wall; an enormous hand, Monsieur, much too large to go -into my gloves," he added with an indefinable smile. - -"Could not that blood-stained hand," I interrupted, "have been the hand -of Mademoiselle Stangerson who, in the moment of falling, had pressed it -against the wall, and, in slipping, enlarged the impression?" - -"There was not a drop of blood on either of her hands when she was -lifted up," replied Monsieur Darzac. - -"We are now sure," said I, "that it was Mademoiselle Stangerson who was -armed with Daddy Jacques's revolver, since she wounded the hand of the -murderer. She was in fear, then, of somebody or something." - -"Probably." - -"Do you suspect anybody?" - -"No," replied Monsieur Darzac, looking at Rouletabille. Rouletabille -then said to me: - -"You must know, my friend, that the inquiry is a little more advanced -than Monsieur de Marquet has chosen to tell us. He not only knows that -Mademoiselle Stangerson defended herself with the revolver, but he knows -what the weapon was that was used to attack her. Monsieur Darzac tells -me it was a mutton-bone. Why is Monsieur de Marquet surrounding -this mutton-bone with so much mystery? No doubt for the purpose of -facilitating the inquiries of the agents of the Surete? He imagines, -perhaps, that the owner of this instrument of crime, the most terrible -invented, is going to be found amongst those who are well-known in the -slums of Paris who use it. But who can ever say what passes through the -brain of an examining magistrate?" Rouletabille added with contemptuous -irony. - -"Has a mutton-bone been found in The Yellow Room?" I asked him. - -"Yes, Monsieur," said Robert Darzac, "at the foot of the bed; but I beg -of you not to say anything about it." (I made a gesture of assent.) "It -was an enormous mutton-bone, the top of which, or rather the joint, was -still red with the blood of the frightful wound. It was an old bone, -which may, according to appearances, have served in other crimes. That's -what Monsieur de Marquet thinks. He has had it sent to the municipal -laboratory at Paris to be analysed. In fact, he thinks he has detected -on it, not only the blood of the last victim, but other stains of dried -blood, evidences of previous crimes." - -"A mutton-bone in the hand of a skilled assassin is a frightful weapon," -said Rouletabille, "a more certain weapon than a heavy hammer." - -"The scoundrel has proved it to be so," said Monsieur Robert Darzac, -sadly. "The joint of the bone found exactly fits the wound inflicted. - -"My belief is that the wound would have been mortal, if the murderer's -blow had not been arrested in the act by Mademoiselle Stangerson's -revolver. Wounded in the hand, he dropped the mutton-bone and fled. -Unfortunately, the blow had been already given, and Mademoiselle was -stunned after having been nearly strangled. If she had succeeded -in wounding the man with the first shot of the revolver, she would, -doubtless, have escaped the blow with the bone. But she had certainly -employeeed her revolver too late; the first shot deviated and lodged in -the ceiling; it was the second only that took effect." - -Having said this, Monsieur Darzac knocked at the door of the pavilion. I -must confess to feeling a strong impatience to reach the spot where the -crime had been committed. It was some time before the door was opened by -a man whom I at once recognised as Daddy Jacques. - -He appeared to be well over sixty years of age. He had a long white -beard and white hair, on which he wore a flat Basque cap. He was dressed -in a complete suit of chestnut-coloured velveteen, worn at the sides; -sabots were on his feet. He had rather a waspish-looking face, the -expression of which lightened, however, as soon as he saw Monsieur -Darzac. - -"Friends," said our guide. "Nobody in the pavilion, Daddy Jacques?" - -"I ought not to allow anybody to enter, Monsieur Robert, but of course -the order does not apply to you. These gentlemen of justice have seen -everything there is to be seen, and made enough drawings, and drawn up -enough reports--" - -"Excuse me, Monsieur Jacques, one question before anything else," said -Rouletabille. - -"What is it, young man? If I can answer it--" - -"Did your mistress wear her hair in bands, that evening? You know what I -mean--over her forehead?" - -"No, young man. My mistress never wore her hair in the way you suggest, -neither on that day nor on any other. She had her hair drawn up, as -usual, so that her beautiful forehead could be seen, pure as that of an -unborn child!" - -Rouletabille grunted and set to work examining the door, finding that it -fastened itself automatically. He satisfied himself that it could never -remain open and needed a key to open it. Then we entered the vestibule, -a small, well-lit room paved with square red tiles. - -"Ah! This is the window by which the murderer escaped!" said -Rouletabille. - -"So they keep on saying, monsieur, so they keep on saying! But if he had -gone off that way, we should have been sure to have seen him. We are not -blind, neither Monsieur Stangerson nor me, nor the concierges who are -in prison. Why have they not put me in prison, too, on account of my -revolver?" - -Rouletabille had already opened the window and was examining the -shutters. - -"Were these closed at the time of the crime?" - -"And fastened with the iron catch inside," said Daddy Jacques, "and I am -quite sure that the murderer did not get out that way." - -"Are there any blood stains?" - -"Yes, on the stones outside; but blood of what?" - -"Ah!" said Rouletabille, "there are footmarks visible on the path--the -ground was very moist. I will look into that presently." - -"Nonsense!" interrupted Daddy Jacques; "the murderer did not go that -way." - -"Which way did he go, then?" - -"How do I know?" - -Rouletabille looked at everything, smelled everything. He went down -on his knees and rapidly examined every one of the paving tiles. Daddy -Jacques went on: - -"Ah!--you can't find anything, monsieur. Nothing has been found. And now -it is all dirty; too many persons have tramped over it. They wouldn't -let me wash it, but on the day of the crime I had washed the floor -thoroughly, and if the murderer had crossed it with his hobnailed boots, -I should not have failed to see where he had been; he has left marks -enough in Mademoiselle's chamber." - -Rouletabille rose. - -"When was the last time you washed these tiles?" he asked, and he fixed -on Daddy Jacques a most searching look. - -"Why--as I told you--on the day of the crime, towards half-past -five--while Mademoiselle and her father were taking a little walk before -dinner, here in this room: they had dined in the laboratory. The next -day, the examining magistrate came and saw all the marks there were on -the floor as plainly as if they had been made with ink on white paper. -Well, neither in the laboratory nor in the vestibule, which were both -as clean as a new pin, were there any traces of a man's footmarks. Since -they have been found near this window outside, he must have made his way -through the ceiling of The Yellow Room into the attic, then cut his way -through the roof and dropped to the ground outside the vestibule window. -But--there's no hole, neither in the ceiling of The Yellow Room nor -in the roof of my attic--that's absolutely certain! So you see we know -nothing--nothing! And nothing will ever be known! It's a mystery of the -Devil's own making." - -Rouletabille went down upon his knees again almost in front of a small -lavatory at the back of the vestibule. In that position he remained for -about a minute. - -"Well?" I asked him when he got up. - -"Oh! nothing very important,--a drop of blood," he replied, turning -towards Daddy Jacques as he spoke. "While you were washing the -laboratory and this vestibule, was the vestibule window open?" he asked. - -"No, Monsieur, it was closed; but after I had done washing the floor, I -lit some charcoal for Monsieur in the laboratory furnace, and, as I lit -it with old newspapers, it smoked, so I opened both the windows in the -laboratory and this one, to make a current of air; then I shut those in -the laboratory and left this one open when I went out. When I -returned to the pavilion, this window had been closed and Monsieur and -Mademoiselle were already at work in the laboratory." - -"Monsieur or Mademoiselle Stangerson had, no doubt, shut it?" - -"No doubt." - -"You did not ask them?" - -After a close scrutiny of the little lavatory and of the staircase -leading up to the attic, Rouletabille--to whom we seemed no longer to -exist--entered the laboratory. I followed him. It was, I confess, in -a state of great excitement. Robert Darzac lost none of my friend's -movements. As for me, my eyes were drawn at once to the door of -The Yellow Room. It was closed and, as I immediately saw, partially -shattered and out of commission. - -My friend, who went about his work methodically, silently studied -the room in which we were. It was large and well-lighted. Two big -windows--almost bays--were protected by strong iron bars and looked out -upon a wide extent of country. Through an opening in the forest, they -commanded a wonderful view through the length of the valley and across -the plain to the large town which could be clearly seen in fair weather. -To-day, however, a mist hung over the ground--and blood in that room! - -The whole of one side of the laboratory was taken up with a large -chimney, crucibles, ovens, and such implements as are needed for -chemical experiments; tables, loaded with phials, papers, reports, -an electrical machine,--an apparatus, as Monsieur Darzac informed me, -employeeed by Professor Stangerson to demonstrate the Dissociation of -Matter under the action of solar light--and other scientific implements. - -Along the walls were cabinets, plain or glass-fronted, through which -were visible microscopes, special photographic apparatus, and a large -quantity of crystals. - -Rouletabille, who was ferreting in the chimney, put his fingers into one -of the crucibles. Suddenly he drew himself up, and held up a piece of -half-consumed paper in his hand. He stepped up to where we were talking -by one of the windows. - -"Keep that for us, Monsieur Darzac," he said. - -I bent over the piece of scorched paper which Monsieur Darzac took -from the hand of Rouletabille, and read distinctly the only words that -remained legible: - -"Presbytery--lost nothing--charm, nor the gar--its brightness." - -Twice since the morning these same meaningless words had struck me, and, -for the second time, I saw that they produced on the Sorbonne professor -the same paralysing effect. Monsieur Darzac's first anxiety showed -itself when he turned his eyes in the direction of Daddy Jacques. -But, occupied as he was at another window, he had seen nothing. Then -tremblingly opening his pocket-book he put the piece of paper into it, -sighing: "My God!" - -During this time, Rouletabille had mounted into the opening of the -fire-grate--that is to say, he had got upon the bricks of a furnace--and -was attentively examining the chimney, which grew narrower towards the -top, the outlet from it being closed with sheets of iron, fastened into -the brickwork, through which passed three small chimneys. - -"Impossible to get out that way," he said, jumping back into the -laboratory. "Besides, even if he had tried to do it, he would have -brought all that ironwork down to the ground. No, no; it is not on that -side we have to search." - -Rouletabille next examined the furniture and opened the doors of the -cabinet. Then he came to the windows, through which he declared no one -could possibly have passed. At the second window he found Daddy Jacques -in contemplation. - -"Well, Daddy Jacques," he said, "what are you looking at?" - -"That policeman who is always going round and round the lake. Another of -those fellows who think they can see better than anybody else!" - -"You don't know Frederic Larsan, Daddy Jacques, or you wouldn't speak of -him in that way," said Rouletabille in a melancholy tone. "If there -is anyone who will find the murderer, it will be he." And Rouletabille -heaved a deep sigh. - -"Before they find him, they will have to learn how they lost him," said -Daddy Jacques, stolidly. - -At length we reached the door of The Yellow Room itself. - -"There is the door behind which some terrible scene took place," said -Rouletabille, with a solemnity which, under any other circumstances, -would have been comical. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. In Which Rouletabille Sets Out on an Expedition Under the -Bed - - -Rouletabille having pushed open the door of The Yellow Room paused on -the threshold saying, with an emotion which I only later understood, -"Ah, the perfume of the lady in black!" - -The chamber was dark. Daddy Jacques was about to open the blinds when -Rouletabille stopped him. - -"Did not the tragedy take place in complete darkness?" he asked. - -"No, young man, I don't think so. Mademoiselle always had a nightlight -on her table, and I lit it every evening before she went to bed. I was -a sort of chambermaid, you must understand, when the evening came. The -real chambermaid did not come here much before the morning. Mademoiselle -worked late--far into the night." - -"Where did the table with the night-light stand,--far from the bed?" - -"Some way from the bed." - -"Can you light the burner now?" - -"The lamp is broken and the oil that was in it was spilled when the -table was upset. All the rest of the things in the room remain just as -they were. I have only to open the blinds for you to see." - -"Wait." - -Rouletabille went back into the laboratory, closed the shutters of the -two windows and the door of the vestibule. - -When we were in complete darkness, he lit a wax vesta, and asked Daddy -Jacques to move to the middle of the chamber with it to the place where -the night-light was burning that night. - -Daddy Jacques who was in his stockings--he usually left his sabots -in the vestibule--entered The Yellow Room with his bit of a vesta. We -vaguely distinguished objects overthrown on the floor, a bed in one -corner, and, in front of us, to the left, the gleam of a looking-glass -hanging on the wall, near to the bed. - -"That will do!--you may now open the blinds," said Rouletabille. - -"Don't come any further," Daddy Jacques begged, "you may make marks -with your boots, and nothing must be deranged; it's an idea of the -magistrate's--though he has nothing more to do here." - -And he pushed open the shutter. The pale daylight entered from without, -throwing a sinister light on the saffron-coloured walls. The floor--for -though the laboratory and the vestibule were tiled, The Yellow Room had -a flooring of wood--was covered with a single yellow mat which was -large enough to cover nearly the whole room, under the bed and under the -dressing-table--the only piece of furniture that remained upright. The -centre round table, the night-table and two chairs had been overturned. -These did not prevent a large stain of blood being visible on the mat, -made, as Daddy Jacques informed us, by the blood which had flowed from -the wound on Mademoiselle Stangerson's forehead. Besides these stains, -drops of blood had fallen in all directions, in line with the visible -traces of the footsteps--large and black--of the murderer. Everything -led to the presumption that these drops of blood had fallen from the -wound of the man who had, for a moment, placed his red hand on the wall. -There were other traces of the same hand on the wall, but much less -distinct. - -"See!--see this blood on the wall!" I could not help exclaiming. -"The man who pressed his hand so heavily upon it in the darkness must -certainly have thought that he was pushing at a door! That's why -he pressed on it so hard, leaving on the yellow paper the terrible -evidence. I don't think there are many hands in the world of that sort. -It is big and strong and the fingers are nearly all one as long as the -other! The thumb is wanting and we have only the mark of the palm; but -if we follow the trace of the hand," I continued, "we see that, after -leaving its imprint on the wall, the touch sought the door, found it, -and then felt for the lock--" - -"No doubt," interrupted Rouletabille, chuckling,--"only there is no -blood, either on the lock or on the bolt!" - -"What does that prove?" I rejoined with a good sense of which I was -proud; "he might have opened the lock with his left hand, which would -have been quite natural, his right hand being wounded." - -"He didn't open it at all!" Daddy Jacques again exclaimed. "We are not -fools; and there were four of us when we burst open the door!" - -"What a queer hand!--Look what a queer hand it is!" I said. - -"It is a very natural hand," said Rouletabille, "of which the shape has -been deformed by its having slipped on the wall. The man dried his hand -on the wall. He must be a man about five feet eight in height." - -"How do you come at that?" - -"By the height of the marks on the wall." - -My friend next occupied himself with the mark of the bullet in the wall. -It was a round hole. - -"This ball was fired straight, not from above, and consequently, not -from below." - -Rouletabille went back to the door and carefully examined the lock and -the bolt, satisfying himself that the door had certainly been burst open -from the outside, and, further, that the key had been found in the lock -on the inside of the chamber. He finally satisfied himself that with the -key in the lock, the door could not possibly be opened from without with -another key. Having made sure of all these details, he let fall these -words: "That's better!"--Then sitting down on the ground, he hastily -took off his boots and, in his socks, went into the room. - -The first thing he did was to examine minutely the overturned furniture. -We watched him in silence. - -"Young fellow, you are giving yourself a great deal of trouble," said -Daddy Jacques ironically. - -Rouletabille raised his head and said: - -"You have spoken the simple truth, Daddy Jacques; your mistress did not -have her hair in bands that evening. I was a donkey to have believed she -did." - -Then, with the suppleness of a serpent, he slipped under the bed. -Presently we heard him ask: - -"At what time, Monsieur Jacques, did Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson arrive at the laboratory?" - -"At six o'clock." - -The voice of Rouletabille continued: - -"Yes,--he's been under here,--that's certain; in fact, there was no -where else where he could have hidden himself. Here, too, are the marks -of his hobnails. When you entered--all four of you--did you look under -the bed?" - -"At once,--we drew it right out of its place--" - -"And between the mattresses?" - -"There was only one on the bed, and on that Mademoiselle was placed; and -Monsieur Stangerson and the concierge immediately carried it into the -laboratory. Under the mattress there was nothing but the metal netting, -which could not conceal anything or anybody. Remember, monsieur, that -there were four of us and we couldn't fail to see everything--the -chamber is so small and scantily furnished, and all was locked behind in -the pavilion." - -I ventured on a hypothesis: - -"Perhaps he got away with the mattress--in the mattress!--Anything -is possible, in the face of such a mystery! In their distress of mind -Monsieur Stangerson and the concierge may not have noticed they were -bearing a double weight; especially if the concierge were an accomplice! -I throw out this hypothesis for what it is worth, but it explains many -things,--and particularly the fact that neither the laboratory nor the -vestibule bear any traces of the footmarks found in the room. If, -in carrying Mademoiselle on the mattress from the laboratory of the -chateau, they rested for a moment, there might have been an opportunity -for the man in it to escape. - -"And then?" asked Rouletabille, deliberately laughing under the bed. - -I felt rather vexed and replied: - -"I don't know,--but anything appears possible"-- - -"The examining magistrate had the same idea, monsieur," said Daddy -Jacques, "and he carefully examined the mattress. He was obliged to -laugh at the idea, monsieur, as your friend is doing now,--for whoever -heard of a mattress having a double bottom?" - -I was myself obliged to laugh, on seeing that what I had said was -absurd; but in an affair like this one hardly knows where an absurdity -begins or ends. - -My friend alone seemed able to talk intelligently. He called out from -under the bed. - -"The mat here has been moved out of place,--who did it?" - -"We did, monsieur," explained Daddy Jacques. "When we could not find -the assassin, we asked ourselves whether there was not some hole in the -floor--" - -"There is not," replied Rouletabille. "Is there a cellar?" - -"No, there's no cellar. But that has not stopped our searching, and has -not prevented the examining magistrate and his Registrar from studying -the floor plank by plank, as if there had been a cellar under it." - -The reporter then reappeared. His eyes were sparkling and his nostrils -quivered. He remained on his hands and knees. He could not be better -likened than to an admirable sporting dog on the scent of some unusual -game. And, indeed, he was scenting the steps of a man,--the man whom he -has sworn to report to his master, the manager of the "Epoque." It must -not be forgotten that Rouletabille was first and last a journalist. - -Thus, on his hands and knees, he made his way to the four corners of the -room, so to speak, sniffing and going round everything--everything that -we could see, which was not much, and everything that we could not see, -which must have been infinite. - -The toilette table was a simple table standing on four legs; there was -nothing about it by which it could possibly be changed into a temporary -hiding-place. There was not a closet or cupboard. Mademoiselle -Stangerson kept her wardrobe at the chateau. - -Rouletabille literally passed his nose and hands along the walls, -constructed of solid brickwork. When he had finished with the walls, and -passed his agile fingers over every portion of the yellow paper covering -them, he reached to the ceiling, which he was able to touch by mounting -on a chair placed on the toilette table, and by moving this ingeniously -constructed stage from place to place he examined every foot of it. When -he had finished his scrutiny of the ceiling, where he carefully examined -the hole made by the second bullet, he approached the window, and, once -more, examined the iron bars and blinds, all of which were solid and -intact. At last, he gave a grunt of satisfaction and declared "Now I am -at ease!" - -"Well,--do you believe that the poor dear young lady was shut up when -she was being murdered--when she cried out for help?" wailed Daddy -Jacques. - -"Yes," said the young reporter, drying his forehead, "The Yellow Room -was as tightly shut as an iron safe." - -"That," I said, "is why this mystery is the most surprising I know. -Edgar Allan Poe, in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' invented nothing -like it. The place of that crime was sufficiently closed to prevent the -escape of a man; but there was that window through which the monkey, the -perpetrator of the murder, could slip away! But here, there can be no -question of an opening of any sort. The door was fastened, and through -the window blinds, secure as they were, not even a fly could enter or -get out." - -"True, true," assented Rouletabille as he kept on drying his forehead, -which seemed to be perspiring less from his recent bodily exertion than -from his mental agitation. "Indeed, it's a great, a beautiful, and a -very curious mystery." - -"The Bete du bon Dieu," muttered Daddy Jacques, "the Bete du bon Dieu -herself, if she had committed the crime, could not have escaped. Listen! -Do you hear it? Hush!" - -Daddy Jacques made us a sign to keep quiet and, stretching his arm -towards the wall nearest the forest, listened to something which we -could not hear. - -"It's answering," he said at length. "I must kill it. It is too wicked, -but it's the Bete du bon Dieu, and, every night, it goes to pray on the -tomb of Sainte-Genevieve and nobody dares to touch her, for fear that -Mother Angenoux should cast an evil spell on them." - -"How big is the Bete du bon Dieu?" - -"Nearly as big as a small retriever,--a monster, I tell you. Ah!--I have -asked myself more than once whether it was not her that took our poor -Mademoiselle by the throat with her claws. But the Bete du bon Dieu does -not wear hobnailed boots, nor fire revolvers, nor has she a hand like -that!" exclaimed Daddy Jacques, again pointing out to us the red mark -on the wall. "Besides, we should have seen her as well as we would have -seen a man--" - -"Evidently," I said. "Before we had seen this Yellow Room, I had also -asked myself whether the cat of Mother Angenoux--" - -"You also!" cried Rouletabille. - -"Didn't you?" I asked. - -"Not for a moment. After reading the article in the 'Matin,' I knew -that a cat had nothing to do with the matter. But I swear now that -a frightful tragedy has been enacted here. You say nothing about the -Basque cap, or the handkerchief, found here, Daddy Jacques?" - -"Of course, the magistrate has taken them," the old man answered, -hesitatingly. - -"I haven't seen either the handkerchief or the cap, yet I can tell you -how they are made," the reporter said to him gravely. - -"Oh, you are very clever," said Daddy Jacques, coughing and embarrassed. - -"The handkerchief is a large one, blue with red stripes and the cap is -an old Basque cap, like the one you are wearing now." - -"You are a wizard!" said Daddy Jacques, trying to laugh and not quite -succeeding. "How do you know that the handkerchief is blue with red -stripes?" - -"Because, if it had not been blue with red stripes, it would not have -been found at all." - -Without giving any further attention to Daddy Jacques, my friend took a -piece of paper from his pocket, and taking out a pair of scissors, bent -over the footprints. Placing the paper over one of them he began to cut. -In a short time he had made a perfect pattern which he handed to me, -begging me not to lose it. - -He then returned to the window and, pointing to the figure of Frederic -Larsan, who had not quitted the side of the lake, asked Daddy Jacques -whether the detective had, like himself, been working in The Yellow -Room? - -"No," replied Robert Darzac, who, since Rouletabille had handed him the -piece of scorched paper, had not uttered a word, "He pretends that he -does not need to examine The Yellow Room. He says that the murderer -made his escape from it in quite a natural way, and that he will, this -evening, explain how he did it." - -As he listened to what Monsieur Darzac had to say, Rouletabille turned -pale. - -"Has Frederic Larsan found out the truth, which I can only guess at?" he -murmured. "He is very clever--very clever--and I admire him. But what -we have to do to-day is something more than the work of a policeman, -something quite different from the teachings of experience. We have to -take hold of our reason by the right end." - -The reporter rushed into the open air, agitated by the thought that -the great and famous Fred might anticipate him in the solution of the -problem of The Yellow Room. - -I managed to reach him on the threshold of the pavilion. "Calm yourself, -my dear fellow," I said. "Aren't you satisfied?" - -"Yes," he confessed to me, with a deep sigh. "I am quite satisfied. I -have discovered many things." - -"Moral or material?" - -"Several moral,--one material. This, for example." - -And rapidly he drew from his waistcoat pocket a piece of paper in which -he had placed a light-coloured hair from a woman's head. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. The Examining Magistrate Questions Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -Two minutes later, as Rouletabille was bending over the footprints -discovered in the park, under the window of the vestibule, a man, -evidently a servant at the chateau, came towards us rapidly and called -out to Monsieur Darzac then coming out of the pavilion: - -"Monsieur Robert, the magistrate, you know, is questioning -Mademoiselle." - -Monsieur Darzac uttered a muttered excuse to us and set off running -towards the chateau, the man running after him. - -"If the corpse can speak," I said, "it would be interesting to be -there." - -"We must know," said my friend. "Let's go to the chateau." And he drew -me with him. But, at the chateau, a gendarme placed in the vestibule -denied us admission up the staircase of the first floor. We were obliged -to wait down stairs. - -This is what passed in the chamber of the victim while we were waiting -below. - -The family doctor, finding that Mademoiselle Stangerson was much -better, but fearing a relapse which would no longer permit of her being -questioned, had thought it his duty to inform the examining magistrate -of this, who decided to proceed immediately with a brief examination. -At this examination, the Registrar, Monsieur Stangerson, and the -doctor were present. Later, I obtained the text of the report of the -examination, and I give it here, in all its legal dryness: - -"Question. Are you able, mademoiselle, without too much fatiguing -yourself, to give some necessary details of the frightful attack of -which you have been the victim? - -"Answer. I feel much better, monsieur, and I will tell you all I know. -When I entered my chamber I did not notice anything unusual there. - -"Q. Excuse me, mademoiselle,--if you will allow me, I will ask you some -questions and you will answer them. That will fatigue you less than -making a long recital. - -"A. Do so, monsieur. - -"Q. What did you do on that day?--I want you to be as minute and precise -as possible. I wish to know all you did that day, if it is not asking -too much of you. - -"A. I rose late, at ten o'clock, for my father and I had returned home -late on the night previously, having been to dinner at the reception -given by the President of the Republic, in honour of the Academy of -Science of Philadelphia. When I left my chamber, at half-past ten, my -father was already at work in the laboratory. We worked together -till midday. We then took half-an-hour's walk in the park, as we were -accustomed to do, before breakfasting at the chateau. After breakfast, -we took another walk for half an hour, and then returned to the -laboratory. There we found my chambermaid, who had come to set my room -in order. I went into The Yellow Room to give her some slight orders and -she directly afterwards left the pavilion, and I resumed my work with -my father. At five o'clock, we again went for a walk in the park and -afterward had tea. - -"Q. Before leaving the pavilion at five o'clock, did you go into your -chamber? - -"A. No, monsieur, my father went into it, at my request to bring me my -hat. - -"Q. And he found nothing suspicious there? - -"A. Evidently no, monsieur. - -"Q. It is, then, almost certain that the murderer was not yet concealed -under the bed. When you went out, was the door of the room locked? - -"A. No, there was no reason for locking it. - -"Q. You were absent from the pavilion some length of time, Monsieur -Stangerson and you? - -"A. About an hour. - -"Q. It was during that hour, no doubt, that the murderer got into the -pavilion. But how? Nobody knows. Footmarks have been found in the park, -leading away from the window of the vestibule, but none has been found -going towards it. Did you notice whether the vestibule window was open -when you went out? - -"A. I don't remember. - -"Monsieur Stangerson. It was closed. - -"Q. And when you returned? - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson. I did not notice. - -"M. Stangerson. It was still closed. I remember remarking aloud: 'Daddy -Jacques must surely have opened it while we were away.' - -"Q. Strange!--Do you recollect, Monsieur Stangerson, if during your -absence, and before going out, he had opened it? You returned to the -laboratory at six o'clock and resumed work? - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson. Yes, monsieur. - -"Q. And you did not leave the laboratory from that hour up to the moment -when you entered your chamber? - -"M. Stangerson. Neither my daughter nor I, monsieur. We were engaged on -work that was pressing, and we lost not a moment,--neglecting everything -else on that account. - -"Q. Did you dine in the laboratory? - -"A. For that reason. - -"Q. Are you accustomed to dine in the laboratory? - -"A. We rarely dine there. - -"Q. Could the murderer have known that you would dine there that -evening? - -"M. Stangerson. Good Heavens!--I think not. It was only when we returned -to the pavilion at six o'clock, that we decided, my daughter and I, -to dine there. At that moment I was spoken to by my gamekeeper, who -detained me a moment, to ask me to accompany him on an urgent tour of -inspection in a part of the woods which I had decided to thin. I put -this off until the next day, and begged him, as he was going by the -chateau, to tell the steward that we should dine in the laboratory. -He left me, to execute the errand and I rejoined my daughter, who was -already at work. - -"Q. At what hour, mademoiselle, did you go to your chamber while your -father continued to work there? - -"A. At midnight. - -"Q. Did Daddy Jacques enter The Yellow Room in the course of the -evening? - -"A. To shut the blinds and light the night-light. - -"Q. He saw nothing suspicious? - -"A. He would have told us if he had seen. Daddy Jacques is an honest man -and very attached to me. - -"Q. You affirm, Monsieur Stangerson, that Daddy Jacques remained with -you all the time you were in the laboratory? - -"M. Stangerson. I am sure of it. I have no doubt of that. - -"Q. When you entered your chamber, mademoiselle, you immediately shut -the door and locked and bolted it? That was taking unusual precautions, -knowing that your father and your servant were there? Were you in fear -of something, then? - -"A. My father would be returning to the chateau and Daddy Jacques would -be going to his bed. And, in fact, I did fear something. - -"Q. You were so much in fear of something that you borrowed Daddy -Jacques's revolver without telling him you had done so? - -"A. That is true. I did not wish to alarm anybody,--the more, because my -fears might have proved to have been foolish. - -"Q. What was it you feared? - -"A. I hardly know how to tell you. For several nights, I seemed to -hear, both in the park and out of the park, round the pavilion, unusual -sounds, sometimes footsteps, at other times the cracking of branches. -The night before the attack on me, when I did not get to bed before -three o'clock in the morning, on our return from the Elysee, I stood for -a moment before my window, and I felt sure I saw shadows. - -"Q. How many? - -"A. Two. They moved round the lake,--then the moon became clouded and -I lost sight of them. At this time of the season, every year, I have -generally returned to my apartment in the chateau for the winter; but -this year I said to myself that I would not quit the pavilion before -my father had finished the resume of his works on the 'Dissociation of -Matter' for the Academy. I did not wish that that important work, which -was to have been finished in the course of a few days, should be delayed -by a change in our daily habit. You can well understand that I did not -wish to speak of my childish fears to my father, nor did I say anything -to Daddy Jacques who, I knew, would not have been able to hold his -tongue. Knowing that he had a revolver in his room, I took advantage of -his absence and borrowed it, placing it in the drawer of my night-table. - - "Q. You know of no enemies you have? - - "A. None. - - "Q. You understand, mademoiselle, that these precautions are - calculated to cause surprise? - - "M. Stangerson. Evidently, my child, such precautions are very - surprising. - - "A. No;--because I have told you that I had been uneasy for two - nights. - - "M. Stangerson. You ought to have told me of that! This misfortune - would have been avoided. - - "Q. The door of The Yellow Room locked, did you go to bed? - - "A. Yes, and, being very tired, I at once went to sleep. - - "Q. The night-light was still burning? - - "A. Yes, but it gave a very feeble light. - - "Q. Then, mademoiselle, tell us what happened. - - "A. I do not know whether I had been long asleep, but suddenly I - awoke--and uttered a loud cry. - - "M. Stangerson. Yes--a horrible cry--'Murder!'--It still rings - in my ears. - - "Q. You uttered a loud cry? - - "A. A man was in my chamber. He sprang at me and tried to strangle - me. I was nearly stifled when suddenly I was able to reach the - drawer of my night-table and grasp the revolver which I had - placed in it. At that moment the man had forced me to the foot - of my bed and brandished in over my head a sort of mace. But - I had fired. He immediately struck a terrible blow at my head. - All that, monsieur, passed more rapidly than I can tell it, and - I know nothing more. - - "Q. Nothing?--Have you no idea as to how the assassin could - escape from your chamber? - - "A. None whatever--I know nothing more. One does not know what - is passing around one, when one is unconscious. - - "Q. Was the man you saw tall or short, little or big? - - "A. I only saw a shadow which appeared to me formidable. - - "Q. You cannot give us any indication? - - "A. I know nothing more, monsieur, than that a man threw himself - upon me and that I fired at him. I know nothing more." - -Here the interrogation of Mademoiselle Stangerson concluded. - -Rouletabille waited patiently for Monsieur Robert Darzac, who soon -appeared. - -From a room near the chamber of Mademoiselle Stangerson, he had heard -the interrogatory and now came to recount it to my friend with great -exactitude, aided by an excellent memory. His docility still surprised -me. Thanks to hasty pencil-notes, he was able to reproduce, almost -textually, the questions and the answers given. - -It looked as if Monsieur Darzac were being employeeed as the secretary of -my young friend and acted as if he could refuse him nothing; nay, more, -as if under a compulsion to do so. - -The fact of the closed window struck the reporter as it had struck the -magistrate. Rouletabille asked Darzac to repeat once more Mademoiselle -Stangerson's account of how she and her father had spent their time -on the day of the tragedy, as she had stated it to the magistrate. The -circumstance of the dinner in the laboratory seemed to interest him in -the highest degree; and he had it repeated to him three times. He also -wanted to be sure that the forest-keeper knew that the professor and his -daughter were going to dine in the laboratory, and how he had come to -know it. - -When Monsieur Darzac had finished, I said: "The examination has not -advanced the problem much." - -"It has put it back," said Monsieur Darzac. - -"It has thrown light upon it," said Rouletabille, thoughtfully. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. Reporter and Detective - - -The three of us went back towards the pavilion. At some distance from -the building the reporter made us stop and, pointing to a small clump of -trees to the right of us, said: - -"That's where the murderer came from to get into the pavilion." - -As there were other patches of trees of the same sort between the great -oaks, I asked why the murderer had chosen that one, rather than any of -the others. Rouletabille answered me by pointing to the path which ran -quite close to the thicket to the door of the pavilion. - -"That path is as you see, topped with gravel," he said; "the man must -have passed along it going to the pavilion, since no traces of his -steps have been found on the soft ground. The man didn't have wings; -he walked; but he walked on the gravel which left no impression of his -tread. The gravel has, in fact, been trodden by many other feet, since -the path is the most direct way between the pavilion and the chateau. -As to the thicket, made of the sort of shrubs that don't flourish in the -rough season--laurels and fuchsias--it offered the murderer a sufficient -hiding-place until it was time for him to make his way to the pavilion. -It was while hiding in that clump of trees that he saw Monsieur and -Mademoiselle Stangerson, and then Daddy Jacques, leave the pavilion. -Gravel has been spread nearly, very nearly, up to the windows of the -pavilion. The footprints of a man, parallel with the wall--marks which -we will examine presently, and which I have already seen--prove that he -only needed to make one stride to find himself in front of the vestibule -window, left open by Daddy Jacques. The man drew himself up by his hands -and entered the vestibule." - -"After all it is very possible," I said. - -"After all what? After all what?" cried Rouletabille. - -I begged of him not to be angry; but he was too much irritated to listen -to me and declared, ironically, that he admired the prudent doubt -with which certain people approached the most simple problems, risking -nothing by saying "that is so, or 'that is not so." Their intelligence -would have produced about the same result if nature had forgotten to -furnish their brain-pan with a little grey matter. As I appeared vexed, -my young friend took me by the arm and admitted that he had not meant -that for me; he thought more of me than that. - -"If I did not reason as I do in regard to this gravel," he went on, "I -should have to assume a balloon!--My dear fellow, the science of the -aerostation of dirigible balloons is not yet developed enough for me to -consider it and suppose that a murderer would drop from the clouds! So -don't say a thing is possible, when it could not be otherwise. We know -now how the man entered by the window, and we also know the moment at -which he entered,--during the five o'clock walk of the professor and his -daughter. The fact of the presence of the chambermaid--who had come to -clean up The Yellow Room--in the laboratory, when Monsieur Stangerson -and his daughter returned from their walk, at half-past one, permits -us to affirm that at half-past one the murderer was not in the chamber -under the bed, unless he was in collusion with the chambermaid. What do -you say, Monsieur Darzac?" - -Monsieur Darzac shook his head and said he was sure of the chambermaid's -fidelity, and that she was a thoroughly honest and devoted servant. - -"Besides," he added, "at five o'clock Monsieur Stangerson went into the -room to fetch his daughter's hat." - -"There is that also," said Rouletabille. - -"That the man entered by the window at the time you say, I admit," -I said; "but why did he shut the window? It was an act which would -necessarily draw the attention of those who had left it open." - -"It may be the window was not shut at once," replied the young reporter. -"But if he did shut the window, it was because of the bend in the gravel -path, a dozen yards from the pavilion, and on account of the three oaks -that are growing at that spot." - -"What do you mean by that?" asked Monsieur Darzac, who had followed us -and listened with almost breathless attention to all that Rouletabille -had said. - -"I'll explain all to you later on, Monsieur, when I think the moment -to be ripe for doing so; but I don't think I have anything of more -importance to say on this affair, if my hypothesis is justified." - -"And what is your hypothesis?" - -"You will never know if it does not turn out to be the truth. It is of -much too grave a nature to speak of it, so long as it continues to be -only a hypothesis." - -"Have you, at least, some idea as to who the murderer is?" - -"No, monsieur, I don't know who the murderer is; but don't be afraid, -Monsieur Robert Darzac--I shall know." - -I could not but observe that Monsieur Darzac was deeply moved; and I -suspected that Rouletabille's confident assertion was not pleasing to -him. Why, I asked myself, if he was really afraid that the murderer -should be discovered, was he helping the reporter to find him? My -young friend seemed to have received the same impression, for he said, -bluntly: - -"Monsieur Darzac, don't you want me to find out who the murderer was?" - -"Oh!--I should like to kill him with my own hand!" cried Mademoiselle -Stangerson's fiance, with a vehemence that amazed me. - -"I believe you," said Rouletabille gravely; "but you have not answered -my question." - -We were passing by the thicket, of which the young reporter had spoken -to us a minute before. I entered it and pointed out evident traces of a -man who had been hidden there. Rouletabille, once more, was right. - -"Yes, yes!" he said. "We have to do with a thing of flesh and blood, who -uses the same means that we do. It'll all come out on those lines." - -Having said this, he asked me for the paper pattern of the footprint -which he had given me to take care of, and applied it to a very clear -footmark behind the thicket. "Aha!" he said, rising. - -I thought he was now going to trace back the track of the murderer's -footmarks to the vestibule window; but he led us instead, far to the -left, saying that it was useless ferreting in the mud, and that he was -sure, now, of the road taken by the murderer. - -"He went along the wall to the hedge and dry ditch, over which he -jumped. See, just in front of the little path leading to the lake, that -was his nearest way to get out." - -"How do you know he went to the lake?"-- - -"Because Frederic Larsan has not quitted the borders of it since this -morning. There must be some important marks there." - -A few minutes later we reached the lake. - -It was a little sheet of marshy water, surrounded by reeds, on which -floated some dead water-lily leaves. The great Fred may have seen us -approaching, but we probably interested him very little, for he took -hardly any notice of us and continued to be stirring with his cane -something which we could not see. - -"Look!" said Rouletabille, "here again are the footmarks of the escaping -man; they skirt the lake here and finally disappear just before this -path, which leads to the high road to Epinay. The man continued his -flight to Paris." - -"What makes you think that?" I asked, "since these footmarks are not -continued on the path?" - -"What makes me think that?--Why these footprints, which I expected to -find!" he cried, pointing to the sharply outlined imprint of a neat -boot. "See!"--and he called to Frederic Larsan. - -"Monsieur Fred, these neat footprints seem to have been made since the -discovery of the crime." - -"Yes, young man, yes, they have been carefully made," replied Fred -without raising his head. "You see, there are steps that come, and steps -that go back." - -"And the man had a bicycle!" cried the reporter. - -Here, after looking at the marks of the bicycle, which followed, going -and coming, the neat footprints, I thought I might intervene. - -"The bicycle explains the disappearance of the murderer's big -foot-prints," I said. "The murderer, with his rough boots, mounted a -bicycle. His accomplice, the wearer of the neat boots, had come to wait -for him on the edge of the lake with the bicycle. It might be supposed -that the murderer was working for the other." - -"No, no!" replied Rouletabille with a strange smile. "I have expected -to find these footmarks from the very beginning. These are not the -footmarks of the murderer!" - -"Then there were two?" - -"No--there was but one, and he had no accomplice." - -"Very good!--Very good!" cried Frederic Larsan. - -"Look!" continued the young reporter, showing us the ground where it had -been disturbed by big and heavy heels; "the man seated himself there, -and took off his hobnailed boots, which he had worn only for the purpose -of misleading detection, and then no doubt, taking them away with him, -he stood up in his own boots, and quietly and slowly regained the high -road, holding his bicycle in his hand, for he could not venture to ride -it on this rough path. That accounts for the lightness of the impression -made by the wheels along it, in spite of the softness of the ground. If -there had been a man on the bicycle, the wheels would have sunk deeply -into the soil. No, no; there was but one man there, the murderer on -foot." - -"Bravo!--bravo!" cried Fred again, and coming suddenly towards us and, -planting himself in front of Monsieur Robert Darzac, he said to him: - -"If we had a bicycle here, we might demonstrate the correctness of the -young man's reasoning, Monsieur Robert Darzac. Do you know whether there -is one at the chateau?" - -"No!" replied Monsieur Darzac. "There is not. I took mine, four days -ago, to Paris, the last time I came to the chateau before the crime." - -"That's a pity!" replied Fred, very coldly. Then, turning to -Rouletabille, he said: "If we go on at this rate, we'll both come to the -same conclusion. Have you any idea, as to how the murderer got away from -The Yellow Room?" - -"Yes," said my young friend; "I have an idea." - -"So have I," said Fred, "and it must be the same as yours. There are no -two ways of reasoning in this affair. I am waiting for the arrival of my -chief before offering any explanation to the examining magistrate." - -"Ah! Is the Chief of the Surete coming?" - -"Yes, this afternoon. He is going to summon, before the magistrate, in -the laboratory, all those who have played any part in this tragedy. It -will be very interesting. It is a pity you won't be able to be present." - -"I shall be present," said Rouletabille confidently. - -"Really--you are an extraordinary fellow--for your age!" replied the -detective in a tone not wholly free from irony. "You'd make a wonderful -detective--if you had a little more method--if you didn't follow your -instincts and that bump on your forehead. As I have already several -times observed, Monsieur Rouletabille, you reason too much; you do not -allow yourself to be guided by what you have seen. What do you say to -the handkerchief full of blood, and the red mark of the hand on the -wall? You have seen the stain on the wall, but I have only seen the -handkerchief." - -"Bah!" cried Rouletabille, "the murderer was wounded in the hand by -Mademoiselle Stangerson's revolver!" - -"Ah!--a simply instinctive observation! Take care!--You are becoming too -strictly logical, Monsieur Rouletabille; logic will upset you if you -use it indiscriminately. You are right, when you say that Mademoiselle -Stangerson fired her revolver, but you are wrong when you say that she -wounded the murderer in the hand." - -"I am sure of it," cried Rouletabille. - -Fred, imperturbable, interrupted him: - -"Defective observation--defective observation!--the examination of the -handkerchief, the numberless little round scarlet stains, the impression -of drops which I found in the tracks of the footprints, at the moment -when they were made on the floor, prove to me that the murderer was not -wounded at all. Monsieur Rouletabille, the murderer bled at the nose!" - -The great Fred spoke quite seriously. However, I could not refrain from -uttering an exclamation. - -The reporter looked gravely at Fred, who looked gravely at him. And Fred -immediately concluded: - -"The man allowed the blood to flow into his hand and handkerchief, and -dried his hand on the wall. The fact is highly important," he added, -"because there is no need of his being wounded in the hand for him to be -the murderer." - -Rouletabille seemed to be thinking deeply. After a moment he said: - -"There is something--a something, Monsieur Frederic Larsan, much graver -than the misuse of logic the disposition of mind in some detectives -which makes them, in perfect good faith, twist logic to the necessities -of their preconceived ideas. You, already, have your idea about the -murderer, Monsieur Fred. Don't deny it; and your theory demands that the -murderer should not have been wounded in the hand, otherwise it comes -to nothing. And you have searched, and have found something else. It's -dangerous, very dangerous, Monsieur Fred, to go from a preconceived idea -to find the proofs to fit it. That method may lead you far astray Beware -of judicial error, Monsieur Fred, it will trip you up!" - -And laughing a little, in a slightly bantering tone, his hands in his -pockets, Rouletabille fixed his cunning eyes on the great Fred. - -Frederic Larsan silently contemplated the young reporter who pretended -to be as wise as himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he bowed to us and -moved quickly away, hitting the stones on his path with his stout cane. - -Rouletabille watched his retreat, and then turned toward us, his face -joyous and triumphant. - -"I shall beat him!" he cried. "I shall beat the great Fred, clever as he -is; I shall beat them all!" - -And he danced a double shuffle. Suddenly he stopped. My eyes followed -his gaze; they were fixed on Monsieur Robert Darzac, who was looking -anxiously at the impression left by his feet side by side with the -elegant footmarks. There was not a particle of difference between them! - -We thought he was about to faint. His eyes, bulging with terror, avoided -us, while his right hand, with a spasmodic movement, twitched at the -beard that covered his honest, gentle, and now despairing face. At -length regaining his self-possession, he bowed to us, and remarking, in -a changed voice, that he was obliged to return to the chateau, left us. - -"The deuce!" exclaimed Rouletabille. - -He, also, appeared to be deeply concerned. From his pocket-book he -took a piece of white paper as I had seen him do before, and with his -scissors, cut out the shape of the neat bootmarks that were on the -ground. Then he fitted the new paper pattern with the one he had -previously made--the two were exactly alike. Rising, Rouletabille -exclaimed again: "The deuce!" Presently he added: "Yet I believe -Monsieur Robert Darzac to be an honest man." He then led me on the road -to the Donjon Inn, which we could see on the highway, by the side of a -small clump of trees. - - - - -CHAPTER X. "We Shall Have to Eat Red Meat--Now" - - -The Donjon Inn was of no imposing appearance; but I like these -buildings with their rafters blackened with age and the smoke of their -hearths--these inns of the coaching-days, crumbling erections that will -soon exist in the memory only. They belong to the bygone days, they are -linked with history. They make us think of the Road, of those days when -highwaymen rode. - -I saw at once that the Donjon Inn was at least two centuries -old--perhaps older. Under its sign-board, over the threshold, a man with -a crabbed-looking face was standing, seemingly plunged in unpleasant -thought, if the wrinkles on his forehead and the knitting of his brows -were any indication. - -When we were close to him, he deigned to see us and asked us, in a tone -anything but engaging, whether we wanted anything. He was, no doubt, -the not very amiable landlord of this charming dwelling-place. As we -expressed a hope that he would be good enough to furnish us with a -breakfast, he assured us that he had no provisions, regarding us, as he -said this, with a look that was unmistakably suspicious. - -"You may take us in," Rouletabille said to him, "we are not policemen." - -"I'm not afraid of the police--I'm not afraid of anyone!" replied the -man. - -I had made my friend understand by a sign that we should do better not -to insist; but, being determined to enter the inn, he slipped by the man -on the doorstep and was in the common room. - -"Come on," he said, "it is very comfortable here." - -A good fire was blazing in the chimney, and we held our hands to the -warmth it sent out; it was a morning in which the approach of winter -was unmistakable. The room was a tolerably large one, furnished with two -heavy tables, some stools, a counter decorated with rows of bottles of -syrup and alcohol. Three windows looked out on to the road. A coloured -advertisement lauded the many merits of a new vermouth. On the -mantelpiece was arrayed the innkeeper's collection of figured -earthenware pots and stone jugs. - -"That's a fine fire for roasting a chicken," said Rouletabille. "We have -no chicken--not even a wretched rabbit," said the landlord. - -"I know," said my friend slowly; "I know--We shall have to eat red -meat--now." - -I confess I did not in the least understand what Rouletabille meant -by what he had said; but the landlord, as soon as he heard the words, -uttered an oath, which he at once stifled, and placed himself at our -orders as obediently as Monsieur Robert Darzac had done, when he heard -Rouletabille's prophetic sentence--"The presbytery has lost nothing of -its charm, nor the garden its brightness." Certainly my friend knew -how to make people understand him by the use of wholly incomprehensible -phrases. I observed as much to him, but he merely smiled. I should have -proposed that he give me some explanation; but he put a finger to his -lips, which evidently signified that he had not only determined not to -speak, but also enjoined silence on my part. - -Meantime the man had pushed open a little side door and called to -somebody to bring him half a dozen eggs and a piece of beefsteak. The -commission was quickly executed by a strongly-built young woman with -beautiful blonde hair and large, handsome eyes, who regarded us with -curiosity. - -The innkeeper said to her roughly: - -"Get out!--and if the Green Man comes, don't let me see him." - -She disappeared. Rouletabille took the eggs, which had been brought to -him in a bowl, and the meat which was on a dish, placed all carefully -beside him in the chimney, unhooked a frying-pan and a gridiron, and -began to beat up our omelette before proceeding to grill our beefsteak. -He then ordered two bottles of cider, and seemed to take as little -notice of our host as our host did of him. The landlord let us do our -own cooking and set our table near one of the windows. - -Suddenly I heard him mutter: - -"Ah!--there he is." - -His face had changed, expressing fierce hatred. He went and glued -himself to one of the windows, watching the road. There was no need for -me to draw Rouletabille's attention; he had already left our omelette -and had joined the landlord at the window. I went with him. - -A man dressed entirely in green velvet, his head covered with a -huntsman's cap of the same colour, was advancing leisurely, lighting -a pipe as he walked. He carried a fowling-piece slung at his back. His -movements displayed an almost aristocratic ease. He wore eye-glasses and -appeared to be about five and forty years of age. His hair as well as -his moustache were salt grey. He was remarkably handsome. As he passed -near the inn, he hesitated, as if asking himself whether or no he should -enter it; gave a glance towards us, took a few whiffs at his pipe, and -then resumed his walk at the same nonchalant pace. - -Rouletabille and I looked at our host. His flashing eyes, his clenched -hands, his trembling lips, told us of the tumultuous feelings by which -he was being agitated. - -"He has done well not to come in here to-day!" he hissed. - -"Who is that man?" asked Rouletabille, returning to his omelette. - -"The Green Man," growled the innkeeper. "Don't you know him? Then all -the better for you. He is not an acquaintance to make.--Well, he is -Monsieur Stangerson's forest-keeper." - -"You don't appear to like him very much?" asked the reporter, pouring -his omelette into the frying-pan. - -"Nobody likes him, monsieur. He's an upstart who must once have had a -fortune of his own; and he forgives nobody because, in order to live, he -has been compelled to become a servant. A keeper is as much a servant as -any other, isn't he? Upon my word, one would say that he is the master -of the Glandier, and that all the land and woods belong to him. He'll -not let a poor creature eat a morsel of bread on the grass his grass!" - -"Does he often come here?" - -"Too often. But I've made him understand that his face doesn't please -me, and, for a month past, he hasn't been here. The Donjon Inn has never -existed for him!--he hasn't had time!--been too much engaged in paying -court to the landlady of the Three Lilies at Saint-Michel. A bad -fellow!--There isn't an honest man who can bear him. Why, the concierges -of the chateau would turn their eyes away from a picture of him!" - -"The concierges of the chateau are honest people, then?" - -"Yes, they are, as true as my name's Mathieu, monsieur. I believe them -to be honest." - -"Yet they've been arrested?" - -"What does that prove?--But I don't want to mix myself up in other -people's affairs." - -"And what do you think of the murder?" - -"Of the murder of poor Mademoiselle Stangerson?--A good girl much loved -everywhere in the country. That's what I think of it--and many things -besides; but that's nobody's business." - -"Not even mine?" insisted Rouletabille. - -The innkeeper looked at him sideways and said gruffly: - -"Not even yours." - -The omelette ready, we sat down at table and were silently eating, when -the door was pushed open and an old woman, dressed in rags, leaning on -a stick, her head doddering, her white hair hanging loosely over her -wrinkled forehead, appeared on the threshold. - -"Ah!--there you are, Mother Angenoux!--It's long since we saw you last," -said our host. - -"I have been very ill, very nearly dying," said the old woman. "If ever -you should have any scraps for the Bete du Bon Dieu--?" - -And she entered, followed by a cat, larger than any I had ever believed -could exist. The beast looked at us and gave so hopeless a miau that I -shuddered. I had never heard so lugubrious a cry. - -As if drawn by the cat's cry a man followed the old woman in. It was the -Green Man. He saluted by raising his hand to his cap and seated himself -at a table near to ours. - -"A glass of cider, Daddy Mathieu," he said. - -As the Green Man entered, Daddy Mathieu had started violently; but -visibly mastering himself he said: - -"I've no more cider; I served the last bottles to these gentlemen." - -"Then give me a glass of white wine," said the Green Man, without -showing the least surprise. - -"I've no more white wine--no more anything," said Daddy Mathieu, -surlily. - -"How is Madame Mathieu?" - -"Quite well, thank you." - -So the young Woman with the large, tender eyes, whom we had just seen, -was the wife of this repugnant and brutal rustic, whose jealousy seemed -to emphasise his physical ugliness. - -Slamming the door behind him, the innkeeper left the room. Mother -Angenoux was still standing, leaning on her stick, the cat at her feet. - -"You've been ill, Mother Angenoux?--Is that why we have not seen you for -the last week?" asked the Green Man. - -"Yes, Monsieur keeper. I have been able to get up but three times, to -go to pray to Sainte-Genevieve, our good patroness, and the rest of the -time I have been lying on my bed. There was no one to care for me but -the Bete du bon Dieu!" - -"Did she not leave you?" - -"Neither by day nor by night." - -"Are you sure of that?" - -"As I am of Paradise." - -"Then how was it, Madame Angenoux, that all through the night of the -murder nothing but the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu was heard?" - -Mother Angenoux planted herself in front of the forest-keeper and struck -the floor with her stick. - -"I don't know anything about it," she said. "But shall I tell you -something? There are no two cats in the world that cry like that. Well, -on the night of the murder I also heard the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu -outside; and yet she was on my knees, and did not mew once, I swear. I -crossed myself when I heard that, as if I had heard the devil." - -I looked at the keeper when he put the last question, and I am much -mistaken if I did not detect an evil smile on his lips. At that moment, -the noise of loud quarrelling reached us. We even thought we heard a -dull sound of blows, as if some one was being beaten. The Green Man -quickly rose and hurried to the door by the side of the fireplace; but -it was opened by the landlord who appeared, and said to the keeper: - -"Don't alarm yourself, Monsieur--it is my wife; she has the toothache." -And he laughed. "Here, Mother Angenoux, here are some scraps for your -cat." - -He held out a packet to the old woman, who took it eagerly and went out -by the door, closely followed by her cat. - -"Then you won't serve me?" asked the Green Man. - -Daddy Mathieu's face was placid and no longer retained its expression of -hatred. - -"I've nothing for you--nothing for you. Take yourself off." - -The Green Man quietly refilled his pipe, lit it, bowed to us, and went -out. No sooner was he over the threshold than Daddy Mathieu slammed -the door after him and, turning towards us, with eyes bloodshot, and -frothing at the mouth, he hissed to us, shaking his clenched fist at the -door he had just shut on the man he evidently hated: - -"I don't know who you are who tell me 'We shall have to eat red -meat--now'; but if it will interest you to know it--that man is the -murderer!" - -With which words Daddy Mathieu immediately left us. Rouletabille -returned towards the fireplace and said: - -"Now we'll grill our steak. How do you like the cider?--It's a little -tart, but I like it." - -We saw no more of Daddy Mathieu that day, and absolute silence reigned -in the inn when we left it, after placing five francs on the table in -payment for our feast. - -Rouletabille at once set off on a three mile walk round Professor -Stangerson's estate. He halted for some ten minutes at the corner of a -narrow road black with soot, near to some charcoal-burners' huts in the -forest of Sainte-Genevieve, which touches on the road from Epinay to -Corbeil, to tell me that the murderer had certainly passed that way, -before entering the grounds and concealing himself in the little clump -of trees. - -"You don't think, then, that the keeper knows anything of it?" I asked. - -"We shall see that, later," he replied. "For the present I'm not -interested in what the landlord said about the man. The landlord hates -him. I didn't take you to breakfast at the Donjon Inn for the sake of -the Green Man." - -Then Rouletabille, with great precaution glided, followed by me, towards -the little building which, standing near the park gate, served for the -home of the concierges, who had been arrested that morning. With the -skill of an acrobat, he got into the lodge by an upper window which had -been left open, and returned ten minutes later. He said only, "Ah!"--a -word which, in his mouth, signified many things. - -We were about to take the road leading to the chateau, when a -considerable stir at the park gate attracted our attention. A carriage -had arrived and some people had come from the chateau to meet it. -Rouletabille pointed out to me a gentleman who descended from it. - -"That's the Chief of the Surete" he said. "Now we shall see what -Frederic Larsan has up his sleeve, and whether he is so much cleverer -than anybody else." - -The carriage of the Chief of the Surete was followed by three other -vehicles containing reporters, who were also desirous of entering the -park. But two gendarmes stationed at the gate had evidently received -orders to refuse admission to anybody. The Chief of the Surete calmed -their impatience by undertaking to furnish to the press, that evening, -all the information he could give that would not interfere with the -judicial inquiry. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. In Which Frederic Larsan Explains How the Murderer Was Able -to Get Out of The Yellow Room - - -Among the mass of papers, legal documents, memoirs, and extracts from -newspapers, which I have collected, relating to the mystery of The -Yellow Room, there is one very interesting piece; it is a detail of the -famous examination which took place that afternoon, in the laboratory of -Professor Stangerson, before the Chief of the Surete. This narrative is -from the pen of Monsieur Maleine, the Registrar, who, like the examining -magistrate, had spent some of his leisure time in the pursuit of -literature. The piece was to have made part of a book which, however, -has never been published, and which was to have been entitled: "My -Examinations." It was given to me by the Registrar himself, some time -after the astonishing denouement to this case, and is unique in judicial -chronicles. - -Here it is. It is not a mere dry transcription of questions and answers, -because the Registrar often intersperses his story with his own personal -comments. - - - THE REGISTRAR'S NARRATIVE - -The examining magistrate and I (the writer relates) found ourselves in -The Yellow Room in the company of the builder who had constructed the -pavilion after Professor Stangerson's designs. He had a workman with -him. Monsieur de Marquet had had the walls laid entirely bare; that is -to say, he had had them stripped of the paper which had decorated them. -Blows with a pick, here and there, satisfied us of the absence of any -sort of opening. The floor and the ceiling were thoroughly sounded. -We found nothing. There was nothing to be found. Monsieur de Marquet -appeared to be delighted and never ceased repeating: - -"What a case! What a case! We shall never know, you'll see, how the -murderer was able to get out of this room!" - -Then suddenly, with a radiant face, he called to the officer in charge -of the gendarmes. - -"Go to the chateau," he said, "and request Monsieur Stangerson and -Monsieur Robert Darzac to come to me in the laboratory, also Daddy -Jacques; and let your men bring here the two concierges." - -Five minutes later all were assembled in the laboratory. The Chief of -the Surete, who had arrived at the Glandier, joined us at that moment. -I was seated at Monsieur Stangerson's desk ready for work, when Monsieur -de Marquet made us the following little speech--as original as it was -unexpected: - -"With your permission, gentlemen--as examinations lead to nothing--we -will, for once, abandon the old system of interrogation. I will not -have you brought before me one by one, but we will all remain here as we -are,--Monsieur Stangerson, Monsieur Robert Darzac, Daddy Jacques and the -two concierges, the Chief of the Surete, the Registrar, and myself. We -shall all be on the same footing. The concierges may, for the moment, -forget that they have been arrested. We are going to confer together. We -are on the spot where the crime was committed. We have nothing else to -discuss but the crime. So let us discuss it freely--intelligently or -otherwise, so long as we speak just what is in our minds. There need be -no formality or method since this won't help us in any way." - -Then, passing before me, he said in a low voice: - -"What do you think of that, eh? What a scene! Could you have thought -of that? I'll make a little piece out of it for the Vaudeville." And he -rubbed his hands with glee. - -I turned my eyes on Monsieur Stangerson. The hope he had received from -the doctor's latest reports, which stated that Mademoiselle Stangerson -might recover from her wounds, had not been able to efface from his -noble features the marks of the great sorrow that was upon him. He -had believed his daughter to be dead, and he was still broken by that -belief. His clear, soft, blue eyes expressed infinite sorrow. I had had -occasion, many times, to see Monsieur Stangerson at public ceremonies, -and from the first had been struck by his countenance, which seemed as -pure as that of a child--the dreamy gaze with the sublime and mystical -expression of the inventor and thinker. - -On those occasions his daughter was always to be seen either following -him or by his side; for they never quitted each other, it was said, and -had shared the same labours for many years. The young lady, who was -then five and thirty, though she looked no more than thirty, had devoted -herself entirely to science. She still won admiration for her imperial -beauty which had remained intact, without a wrinkle, withstanding time -and love. Who would have dreamed that I should one day be seated by her -pillow with my papers, and that I should see her, on the point of death, -painfully recounting to us the most monstrous and most mysterious crime -I have heard of in my career? Who would have thought that I should be, -that afternoon, listening to the despairing father vainly trying to -explain how his daughter's assailant had been able to escape from him? -Why bury ourselves with our work in obscure retreats in the depths of -woods, if it may not protect us against those dangerous threats to life -which meet us in the busy cities? - -"Now, Monsieur Stangerson," said Monsieur de Marquet, with somewhat -of an important air, "place yourself exactly where you were when -Mademoiselle Stangerson left you to go to her chamber." - -Monsieur Stangerson rose and, standing at a certain distance from the -door of The Yellow Room, said, in an even voice and without the least -trace of emphasis--a voice which I can only describe as a dead voice: - -"I was here. About eleven o'clock, after I had made a brief chemical -experiment at the furnaces of the laboratory, needing all the space -behind me, I had my desk moved here by Daddy Jacques, who spent the -evening in cleaning some of my apparatus. My daughter had been working -at the same desk with me. When it was her time to leave she rose, kissed -me, and bade Daddy Jacques goodnight. She had to pass behind my desk -and the door to enter her chamber, and she could do this only with some -difficulty. That is to say, I was very near the place where the crime -occurred later." - -"And the desk?" I asked, obeying, in thus mixing myself in the -conversation, the express orders of my chief, "as soon as you heard -the cry of 'murder' followed by the revolver shots, what became of the -desk?" - -Daddy Jacques answered. - -"We pushed it back against the wall, here--close to where it is at the -present moment-so as to be able to get at the door at once." - -I followed up my reasoning, to which, however, I attached but little -importance, regarding it as only a weak hypothesis, with another -question. - -"Might not a man in the room, the desk being so near to the door, by -stooping and slipping under the desk, have left it unobserved?" - -"You are forgetting," interrupted Monsieur Stangerson wearily, "that -my daughter had locked and bolted her door, that the door had remained -fastened, that we vainly tried to force it open when we heard the noise, -and that we were at the door while the struggle between the murderer and -my poor child was going on--immediately after we heard her stifled cries -as she was being held by the fingers that have left their red mark -upon her throat. Rapid as the attack was, we were no less rapid in our -endeavors to get into the room where the tragedy was taking place." - -I rose from my seat and once more examined the door with the greatest -care. Then I returned to my place with a despairing gesture. - -"If the lower panel of the door," I said, "could be removed without the -whole door being necessarily opened, the problem would be solved. But, -unfortunately, that last hypothesis is untenable after an examination -of the door--it's of oak, solid and massive. You can see that quite -plainly, in spite of the injury done in the attempt to burst it open." - -"Ah!" cried Daddy Jacques, "it is an old and solid door that was brought -from the chateau--they don't make such doors now. We had to use this bar -of iron to get it open, all four of us--for the concierge, brave woman -she is, helped us. It pains me to find them both in prison now." - -Daddy Jacques had no sooner uttered these words of pity and protestation -than tears and lamentations broke out from the concierges. I never saw -two accused people crying more bitterly. I was extremely disgusted. Even -if they were innocent, I could not understand how they could behave like -that in the face of misfortune. A dignified bearing at such times is -better than tears and groans, which, most often, are feigned. - -"Now then, enough of that sniveling," cried Monsieur de Marquet; "and, -in your interest, tell us what you were doing under the windows of the -pavilion at the time your mistress was being attacked; for you were -close to the pavilion when Daddy Jacques met you." - -"We were coming to help!" they whined. - -"If we could only lay hands on the murderer, he'd never taste bread -again!" the woman gurgled between her sobs. - -As before we were unable to get two connecting thoughts out of them. -They persisted in their denials and swore, by heaven and all the saints, -that they were in bed when they heard the sound of the revolver shot. - -"It was not one, but two shots that were fired!--You see, you are lying. -If you had heard one, you would have heard the other." - -"Mon Dieu! Monsieur--it was the second shot we heard. We were asleep -when the first shot was fired." - -"Two shots were fired," said Daddy Jacques. "I am certain that all the -cartridges were in my revolver. We found afterward that two had been -exploded, and we heard two shots behind the door. Was not that so, -Monsieur Stangerson?" - -"Yes," replied the Professor, "there were two shots, one dull, and the -other sharp and ringing." - -"Why do you persist in lying?" cried Monsieur de Marquet, turning to the -concierges. "Do you think the police are the fools you are? Everything -points to the fact that you were out of doors and near the pavilion -at the time of the tragedy. What were you doing there? So far as I am -concerned," he said, turning to Monsieur Stangerson, "I can only explain -the escape of the murderer on the assumption of help from these two -accomplices. As soon as the door was forced open, and while you, -Monsieur Stangerson, were occupied with your unfortunate child, the -concierge and his wife facilitated the flight of the murderer, who, -screening himself behind them, reached the window in the vestibule, and -sprang out of it into the park. The concierge closed the window after -him and fastened the blinds, which certainly could not have closed and -fastened of themselves. That is the conclusion I have arrived at. If -anyone here has any other idea, let him state it." - -Monsieur Stangerson intervened: - -"What you say was impossible. I do not believe either in the guilt or -in the connivance of my concierges, though I cannot understand what -they were doing in the park at that late hour of the night. I say it was -impossible, because Madame Bernier held the lamp and did not move from -the threshold of the room; because I, as soon as the door was forced -open, threw myself on my knees beside my daughter, and no one could have -left or entered the room by the door, without passing over her body and -forcing his way by me! Daddy Jacques and the concierge had but to cast -a glance round the chamber and under the bed, as I had done on entering, -to see that there was nobody in it but my daughter lying on the floor." - -"What do you think, Monsieur Darzac?" asked the magistrate. - -Monsieur Darzac replied that he had no opinion to express. Monsieur Dax, -the Chief of the Surete who, so far, had been listening and examining -the room, at length deigned to open his lips: - -"While search is being made for the criminal, we had better try to find -out the motive for the crime; that will advance us a little," he -said. Turning towards Monsieur Stangerson, he continued, in the even, -intelligent tone indicative of a strong character, "I understand that -Mademoiselle was shortly to have been married?" - -The professor looked sadly at Monsieur Robert Darzac. - -"To my friend here, whom I should have been happy to call my son--to -Monsieur Robert Darzac." - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson is much better and is rapidly recovering -from her wounds. The marriage is simply delayed, is it not, Monsieur?" -insisted the Chief of the Surete. - -"I hope so. - -"What! Is there any doubt about that?" - -Monsieur Stangerson did not answer. Monsieur Robert Darzac seemed -agitated. I saw that his hand trembled as it fingered his watchchain. -Monsieur Dax coughed, as did Monsieur de Marquet. Both were evidently -embarrassed. - -"You understand, Monsieur Stangerson," he said, "that in an affair so -perplexing as this, we cannot neglect anything; we must know all, -even the smallest and seemingly most futile thing concerning the -victim--information apparently the most insignificant. Why do you doubt -that this marriage will take place? You expressed a hope; but the hope -implies a doubt. Why do you doubt?" - -Monsieur Stangerson made a visible effort to recover himself. - -"Yes, Monsieur," he said at length, "you are right. It will be best that -you should know something which, if I concealed it, might appear to be -of importance; Monsieur Darzac agrees with me in this." - -Monsieur Darzac, whose pallor at that moment seemed to me to be -altogether abnormal, made a sign of assent. I gathered he was unable to -speak. - -"I want you to know then," continued Monsieur Stangerson, "that my -daughter has sworn never to leave me, and adheres firmly to her oath, -in spite of all my prayers and all that I have argued to induce her -to marry. We have known Monsieur Robert Darzac many years. He loves -my child; and I believed that she loved him; because she only recently -consented to this marriage which I desire with all my heart. I am an old -man, Monsieur, and it was a happy hour to me when I knew that, after I -had gone, she would have at her side, one who loved her and who would -help her in continuing our common labours. I love and esteem Monsieur -Darzac both for his greatness of heart and for his devotion to science. -But, two days before the tragedy, for I know not what reason, my -daughter declared to me that she would never marry Monsieur Darzac." - -A dead silence followed Monsieur Stangerson's words. It was a moment -fraught with suspense. - -"Did Mademoiselle give you any explanation,--did she tell you what her -motive was?" asked Monsieur Dax. - -"She told me she was too old to marry--that she had waited too long. She -said she had given much thought to the matter and while she had a great -esteem, even affection, for Monsieur Darzac, she felt it would be better -if things remained as they were. She would be happy, she said, to see -the relations between ourselves and Monsieur Darzac become closer, but -only on the understanding that there would be no more talk of marriage." - -"That is very strange!" muttered Monsieur Dax. - -"Strange!" repeated Monsieur de Marquet. - -"You'll certainly not find the motive there, Monsieur Dax," Monsieur -Stangerson said with a cold smile. - -"In any case, the motive was not theft!" said the Chief impatiently. - -"Oh! we are quite convinced of that!" cried the examining magistrate. - -At that moment the door of the laboratory opened and the officer in -charge of the gendarmes entered and handed a card to the examining -magistrate. Monsieur de Marquet read it and uttered a half angry -exclamation: - -"This is really too much!" he cried. - -"What is it?" asked the Chief. - -"It's the card of a young reporter engaged on the 'Epoque,' a Monsieur -Joseph Rouletabille. It has these words written on it: 'One of the -motives of the crime was robbery.'" - -The Chief smiled. - -"Ah,--young Rouletabille--I've heard of him he is considered rather -clever. Let him come in." - -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille was allowed to enter. I had made his -acquaintance in the train that morning on the way to Epinay-sur-Orge. -He had introduced himself almost against my wish into our compartment. I -had better say at once that his manners, and the arrogance with which -he assumed to know what was incomprehensible even to us, impressed him -unfavourably on my mind. I do not like journalists. They are a class -of writers to be avoided as the pest. They think that everything is -permissible and they respect nothing. Grant them the least favour, allow -them even to approach you, and you never can tell what annoyance they -may give you. This one appears to be scarcely twenty years old, and the -effrontery with which he dared to question us and discuss the matter -with us made him particularly obnoxious to me. Besides, he had a way of -expressing himself that left us guessing as to whether he was mocking us -or not. I know quite well that the 'Epoque' is an influential paper with -which it is well to be on good terms, but the paper ought not to allow -itself to be represented by sneaking reporters. - -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille entered the laboratory, bowed to us, and -waited for Monsieur de Marquet to ask him to explain his presence. - -"You pretend, Monsieur, that you know the motive for the crime, and -that that motive--in the face of all the evidence that has been -forthcoming--was robbery?" - -"No, Monsieur, I do not pretend that. I do not say that robbery was the -motive for the crime, and I don't believe it was." - -"Then, what is the meaning of this card?" - -"It means that robbery was one of the motives for the crime." - -"What leads you to think that?" - -"If you will be good enough to accompany me, I will show you." - -The young man asked us to follow him into the vestibule, and we did. -He led us towards the lavatory and begged Monsieur de Marquet to kneel -beside him. This lavatory is lit by the glass door, and, when the -door was open, the light which penetrated was sufficient to light it -perfectly. Monsieur de Marquet and Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille knelt -down on the threshold, and the young man pointed to a spot on the -pavement. - -"The stones of the lavatory have not been washed by Daddy Jacques for -some time," he said; "that can be seen by the layer of dust that covers -them. Now, notice here, the marks of two large footprints and the black -ash they left where they have been. That ash is nothing else than the -charcoal dust that covers the path along which you must pass through the -forest, in order to get directly from Epinay to the Glandier. You know -there is a little village of charcoal-burners at that place, who make -large quantities of charcoal. What the murderer did was to come here at -midday, when there was nobody at the pavilion, and attempt his robbery." - -"But what robbery?--Where do you see any signs of robbery? What proves -to you that a robbery has been committed?" we all cried at once. "What -put me on the trace of it," continued the journalist... - -"Was this?" interrupted Monsieur de Marquet, still on his knees. - -"Evidently," said Rouletabille. - -And Monsieur de Marquet explained that there were on the dust of -the pavement marks of two footsteps, as well as the impression, -freshly-made, of a heavy rectangular parcel, the marks of the cord with -which it had been fastened being easily distinguished. - -"You have been here, then, Monsieur Rouletabille? I thought I had given -orders to Daddy Jacques, who Was left in charge of the pavilion, not to -allow anybody to enter." - -"Don't scold Daddy Jacques, I came here with Monsieur Robert Darzac." - -"Ah,--Indeed!" exclaimed Monsieur de Marquet, disagreeably, casting a -side-glance at Monsieur Darzac, who remained perfectly silent. - -"When I saw the mark of the parcel by the side of the footprints, I had -no doubt as to the robbery," replied Monsieur Rouletabille. "The thief -had not brought a parcel with him; he had made one here--a parcel with -the stolen objects, no doubt; and he put it in this corner intending -to take it away when the moment came for him to make his escape. He had -also placed his heavy boots beside the parcel,--for, see--there are no -marks of steps leading to the marks left by the boots, which were placed -side by side. That accounts for the fact that the murderer left no -trace of his steps when he fled from The Yellow Room, nor any in the -laboratory, nor in the vestibule. After entering The Yellow Room in his -boots, he took them off, finding them troublesome, or because he wished -to make as little noise as possible. The marks made by him in going -through the vestibule and the laboratory were subsequently washed out -by Daddy Jacques. Having, for some reason or other, taken off his boots, -the murderer carried them in his hand and placed them by the side of the -parcel he had made,--by that time the robbery had been accomplished. The -man then returned to The Yellow Room and slipped under the bed, where -the mark of his body is perfectly visible on the floor and even on the -mat, which has been slightly moved from its place and creased. Fragments -of straw also, recently torn, bear witness to the murderer's movements -under the bed." - -"Yes, yes,--we know all about that," said Monsieur de Marquet. - -"The robber had another motive for returning to hide under the bed," -continued the astonishing boy-journalist. "You might think that he was -trying to hide himself quickly on seeing, through the vestibule window, -Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson about to enter the pavilion. It -would have been much easier for him to have climbed up to the attic and -hidden there, waiting for an opportunity to get away, if his purpose had -been only flight.--No! No!--he had to be in The Yellow Room." - -Here the Chief intervened. - -"That's not at all bad, young man. I compliment you. If we do not know -yet how the murderer succeeded in getting away, we can at any rate see -how he came in and committed the robbery. But what did he steal?" - -"Something very valuable," replied the young reporter. - -At that moment we heard a cry from the laboratory. We rushed in and -found Monsieur Stangerson, his eyes haggard, his limbs trembling, -pointing to a sort of bookcase which he had opened, and which, we saw, -was empty. At the same instant he sank into the large armchair that was -placed before the desk and groaned, the tears rolling down his cheeks, -"I have been robbed again! For God's sake, do not say a word of this to -my daughter. She would be more pained than I am." He heaved a deep sigh -and added, in a tone I shall never forget: "After all, what does it -matter,--so long as she lives!" - -"She will live!" said Monsieur Darzac, in a voice strangely touching. - -"And we will find the stolen articles," said Monsieur Dax. "But what was -in the cabinet?" - -"Twenty years of my life," replied the illustrious professor sadly, "or -rather of our lives--the lives of myself and my daughter! Yes, our -most precious documents, the records of our secret experiments and our -labours of twenty years were in that cabinet. It is an irreparable loss -to us and, I venture to say, to science. All the processes by which I -had been able to arrive at the precious proof of the destructibility of -matter were there--all. The man who came wished to take all from me,--my -daughter and my work--my heart and my soul." - -And the great scientist wept like a child. - -We stood around him in silence, deeply affected by his great distress. -Monsieur Darzac pressed closely to his side, and tried in vain to -restrain his tears--a sight which, for the moment, almost made me like -him, in spite of an instinctive repulsion which his strange demeanour -and his inexplicable anxiety had inspired me. - -Monsieur Rouletabille alone,--as if his precious time and mission -on earth did not permit him to dwell in the contemplation on human -suffering--had, very calmly, stepped up to the empty cabinet and, -pointing at it, broke the almost solemn silence. He entered into -explanations, for which there was no need, as to why he had been led -to believe that a robbery had been committed, which included the -simultaneous discovery he had made in the lavatory, and the empty -precious cabinet in the laboratory. The first thing that had struck him, -he said, was the unusual form of that piece of furniture. It was very -strongly built of fire-proof iron, clearly showing that it was intended -for the keeping of most valuable objects. Then he noticed that the key -had been left in the lock. "One does not ordinarily have a safe and -leave it open!" he had said to himself. This little key, with its brass -head and complicated wards, had strongly attracted him,--its presence -had suggested robbery. - -Monsieur de Marquet appeared to be greatly perplexed, as if he did -not know whether he ought to be glad of the new direction given to the -inquiry by the young reporter, or sorry that it had not been done by -himself. In our profession and for the general welfare, we have to put -up with such mortifications and bury selfish feelings. That was why -Monsieur de Marquet controlled himself and joined his compliments with -those of Monsieur Dax. As for Monsieur Rouletabille, he simply shrugged -his shoulders and said: "There's nothing at all in that!" I should have -liked to box his ears, especially when he added: "You will do well, -Monsieur, to ask Monsieur Stangerson who usually kept that key?" - -"My daughter," replied Monsieur Stangerson, "she was never without it. - -"Ah! then that changes the aspect of things which no longer corresponds -with Monsieur Rouletabille's ideas!" cried Monsieur de Marquet. "If that -key never left Mademoiselle Stangerson, the murderer must have waited -for her in her room for the purpose of stealing it; and the robbery -could not have been committed until after the attack had been made on -her. But after the attack four persons were in the laboratory! I can't -make it out!" - -"The robbery," said the reporter, "could only have been committed before -the attack upon Mademoiselle Stangerson in her room. When the murderer -entered the pavilion he already possessed the brass-headed key." - -"That is impossible," said Monsieur Stangerson in a low voice. - -"It is quite possible, Monsieur, as this proves." - -And the young rascal drew a copy of the "Epoque" from his pocket, dated -the 21st of October (I recall the fact that the crime was committed on -the night between the 24th and 25th), and showing us an advertisement, -he read: - -"'Yesterday a black satin reticule was lost in the Grands Magasins de -la Louvre. It contained, amongst other things, a small key with a brass -head. A handsome reward will be given to the person who has found it. -This person must write, poste restante, bureau 40, to this address: M. -A. T. H. S. N.' Do not these letters suggest Mademoiselle Stangerson?" -continued the reporter. "The 'key with a brass head'--is not this -the key? I always read advertisements. In my business, as in yours, -Monsieur, one should always read the personals.' They are often the keys -to intrigues, that are not always brass-headed, but which are none the -less interesting. This advertisement interested me specially; the woman -of the key surrounded it with a kind of mystery. Evidently she valued -the key, since she promised a big reward for its restoration! And I -thought on these six letters: M. A. T. H. S. N. The first four at once -pointed to a Christian name; evidently I said Math is Mathilde. But I -could make nothing of the two last letters. So I threw the journal -aside and occupied myself with other matters. Four days later, when the -evening paper appeared with enormous head-lines announcing the murder of -Mademoiselle Stangerson, the letters in the advertisement mechanically -recurred to me. I had forgotten the two last letters, S. N. When I saw -them again I could not help exclaiming, 'Stangerson!' I jumped into -a cab and rushed into the bureau No. 40, asking: 'Have you a letter -addressed to M. A. T. H. S. N.?' The clerk replied that he had not. I -insisted, begged and entreated him to search. He wanted to know if I -were playing a joke on him, and then told me that he had had a letter -with the initials M. A. T. H. S. N, but he had given it up three days -ago, to a lady who came for it. 'You come to-day to claim the letter, -and the day before yesterday another gentleman claimed it! I've had -enough of this,' he concluded angrily. I tried to question him as to the -two persons who had already claimed the letter; but whether he wished to -entrench himself behind professional secrecy,--he may have thought that -he had already said too much,--or whether he was disgusted at the joke -that had been played on him--he would not answer any of my questions." - -Rouletabille paused. We all remained silent. Each drew his own -conclusions from the strange story of the poste restante letter. It -seemed, indeed, that we now had a thread by means of which we should be -able to follow up this extraordinary mystery. - -"Then it is almost certain," said Monsieur Stangerson, "that my daughter -did lose the key, and that she did not tell me of it, wishing to spare -any anxiety, and that she begged whoever had found it to write to -the poste restante. She evidently feared that, by giving our address, -inquiries would have resulted that would have apprised me of the loss of -the key. It was quite logical, quite natural for her to have taken that -course--for I have been robbed once before." - -"Where was that, and when?" asked the Chief of the Surete. - -"Oh! many years ago, in America, in Philadelphia. There were stolen from -my laboratory the drawings of two inventions that might have made the -fortune of a man. Not only have I never learnt who the thief was, but -I have never heard even a word of the object of the robbery, doubtless -because, in order to defeat the plans of the person who had robbed me, -I myself brought these two inventions before the public, and so rendered -the robbery of no avail. From that time on I have been very careful to -shut myself in when I am at work. The bars to these windows, the -lonely situation of this pavilion, this cabinet, which I had specially -constructed, this special lock, this unique key, all are precautions -against fears inspired by a sad experience." - -"Most interesting!" remarked Monsieur Dax. - -Monsieur Rouletabille asked about the reticule. Neither Monsieur -Stangerson nor Daddy Jacques had seen it for several days, but a few -hours later we learned from Mademoiselle Stangerson herself that the -reticule had either been stolen from her, or she had lost it. She -further corroborated all that had passed just as her father had stated. -She had gone to the poste restante and, on the 23rd of October, had -received a letter which, she affirmed, contained nothing but a vulgar -pleasantry, which she had immediately burned. - -To return to our examination, or rather to our conversation. I -must state that the Chief of the Surete having inquired of Monsieur -Stangerson under what conditions his daughter had gone to Paris on the -20th of October, we learned that Monsieur Robert Darzac had accompanied -her, and Darzac had not been again seen at the chateau from that time -to the day after the crime had been committed. The fact that Monsieur -Darzac was with her in the Grands Magasins de la Louvre when the -reticule disappeared could not pass unnoticed, and, it must be said, -strongly awakened our interest. - -This conversation between magistrates, accused, victim, witnesses and -journalist, was coming to a close when quite a theatrical sensation--an -incident of a kind displeasing to Monsieur de Marquet--was produced. The -officer of the gendarmes came to announce that Frederic Larsan requested -to be admitted,--a request that was at once complied with. He held in -his hand a heavy pair of muddy boots, which he threw on the pavement of -the laboratory. - -"Here," he said, "are the boots worn by the murderer. Do you recognise -them, Daddy Jacques?" - -Daddy Jacques bent over them and, stupefied, recognised a pair of old -boots which he had, some time back, thrown into a corner of his attic. -He was so taken aback that he could not hide his agitation. - -Then pointing to the handkerchief in the old man's hand, Frederic Larsan -said: - -"That's a handkerchief astonishingly like the one found in The Yellow -Room." - -"I know," said Daddy Jacques, trembling, "they are almost alike." - -"And then," continued Frederic Larsan, "the old Basque cap also found -in The Yellow Room might at one time have been worn by Daddy Jacques -himself. All this, gentlemen, proves, I think, that the murderer wished -to disguise his real personality. He did it in a very clumsy way--or, -at least, so it appears to us. Don't be alarmed, Daddy Jacques; we are -quite sure that you were not the murderer; you never left the side of -Monsieur Stangerson. But if Monsieur Stangerson had not been working -that night and had gone back to the chateau after parting with his -daughter, and Daddy Jacques had gone to sleep in his attic, no one would -have doubted that he was the murderer. He owes his safety, therefore, to -the tragedy having been enacted too soon,--the murderer, no doubt, from -the silence in the laboratory, imagined that it was empty, and that -the moment for action had come. The man who had been able to introduce -himself here so mysteriously and to leave so many evidences against -Daddy Jacques, was, there can be no doubt, familiar with the house. -At what hour exactly he entered, whether in the afternoon or in the -evening, I cannot say. One familiar with the proceedings and persons of -this pavilion could choose his own time for entering The Yellow Room." - -"He could not have entered it if anybody had been in the laboratory," -said Monsieur de Marquet. - -"How do we know that?" replied Larsan. "There was the dinner in the -laboratory, the coming and going of the servants in attendance. There -was a chemical experiment being carried on between ten and eleven -o'clock, with Monsieur Stangerson, his daughter, and Daddy Jacques -engaged at the furnace in a corner of the high chimney. Who can say that -the murderer--an intimate!--a friend!--did not take advantage of that -moment to slip into The Yellow Room, after having taken off his boots in -the lavatory?" - -"It is very improbable," said Monsieur Stangerson. - -"Doubtless--but it is not impossible. I assert nothing. As to the escape -from the pavilion--that's another thing, the most natural thing in the -world." - -For a moment Frederic Larsan paused,--a moment that appeared to us a -very long time. The eagerness with which we awaited what he was going to -tell us may be imagined. - -"I have not been in The Yellow Room," he continued, "but I take it for -granted that you have satisfied yourselves that he could have left the -room only by way of the door; it is by the door, then, that the murderer -made his way out. At what time? At the moment when it was most easy -for him to do so; at the moment when it became most explainable--so -completely explainable that there can be no other explanation. Let us -go over the moments which followed after the crime had been committed. -There was the first moment, when Monsieur Stangerson and Daddy Jacques -were close to the door, ready to bar the way. There was the second -moment, during which Daddy Jacques was absent and Monsieur Stangerson -was left alone before the door. There was a third moment, when Monsieur -Stangerson was joined by the concierge. There was a fourth moment, -during which Monsieur Stangerson, the concierge and his wife and Daddy -Jacques were before the door. There was a fifth moment, during which the -door was burst open and The Yellow Room entered. The moment at which the -flight is explainable is the very moment when there was the least number -of persons before the door. There was one moment when there was but one -person,--Monsieur Stangerson. Unless a complicity of silence on the part -of Daddy Jacques is admitted--in which I do not believe--the door was -opened in the presence of Monsieur Stangerson alone and the man escaped. - -"Here we must admit that Monsieur Stangerson had powerful reasons for -not arresting, or not causing the arrest of the murderer, since he -allowed him to reach the window in the vestibule and closed it after -him!--That done, Mademoiselle Stangerson, though horribly wounded, had -still strength enough, and no doubt in obedience to the entreaties of -her father, to refasten the door of her chamber, with both the bolt and -the lock, before sinking on the floor. We do not know who committed -the crime; we do not know of what wretch Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson are the victims, but there is no doubt that they both know! -The secret must be a terrible one, for the father had not hesitated -to leave his daughter to die behind a door which she had shut upon -herself,--terrible for him to have allowed the assassin to escape. For -there is no other way in the world to explain the murderer's flight from -The Yellow Room!" - -The silence which followed this dramatic and lucid explanation was -appalling. We all of us felt grieved for the illustrious professor, -driven into a corner by the pitiless logic of Frederic Larsan, forced -to confess the whole truth of his martyrdom or to keep silent, and thus -make a yet more terrible admission. The man himself, a veritable statue -of sorrow, raised his hand with a gesture so solemn that we bowed our -heads to it as before something sacred. He then pronounced these words, -in a voice so loud that it seemed to exhaust him: - -"I swear by the head of my suffering child that I never for an instant -left the door of her chamber after hearing her cries for help; that -that door was not opened while I was alone in the laboratory; and that, -finally, when we entered The Yellow Room, my three domestics and I, the -murderer was no longer there! I swear I do not know the murderer!" - -Must I say it,--in spite of the solemnity of Monsieur Stangerson's -words, we did not believe in his denial. Frederic Larsan had shown us -the truth and it was not so easily given up. - -Monsieur de Marquet announced that the conversation was at an end, and -as we were about to leave the laboratory, Joseph Rouletabille approached -Monsieur Stangerson, took him by the hand with the greatest respect, and -I heard him say: - -"I believe you, Monsieur." - -I here close the citation which I have thought it my duty to make from -Monsieur Maleine's narrative. I need not tell the reader that all that -passed in the laboratory was immediately and faithfully reported to me -by Rouletabille. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. Frederic Larsan's Cane - - -It was not till six o'clock that I left the chateau, taking with me the -article hastily written by my friend in the little sitting-room which -Monsieur Robert Darzac had placed at our disposal. The reporter was -to sleep at the chateau, taking advantage of the to me inexplicable -hospitality offered him by Monsieur Robert Darzac, to whom Monsieur -Stangerson, in that sad time, left the care of all his domestic affairs. -Nevertheless he insisted on accompanying me to the station at Epinay. In -crossing the park, he said to me: - -"Frederic is really very clever and has not belied his reputation. Do -you know how he came to find Daddy Jacques's boots?--Near the spot where -we noticed the traces of the neat boots and the disappearance of the -rough ones, there was a square hole, freshly made in the moist ground, -where a stone had evidently been removed. Larsan searched for that stone -without finding it, and at once imagined that it had been used by the -murderer with which to sink the boots in the lake. Fred's calculation -was an excellent one, as the success of his search proves. That escaped -me; but my mind was turned in another direction by the large number -of false indications of his track which the murderer left, and by -the measure of the black foot-marks corresponding with that of Daddy -Jacques's boots, which I had established without his suspecting it, on -the floor of The Yellow Room. All which was a proof, in my eyes, that -the murderer had sought to turn suspicion on to the old servant. Up to -that point, Larsan and I are in accord; but no further. It is going to -be a terrible matter; for I tell you he is working on wrong lines, and -I--I, must fight him with nothing!" - -I was surprised at the profoundly grave accent with which my young -friend pronounced the last words. - -He repeated: - -"Yes terrible!--terrible! For it is fighting with nothing, when you have -only an idea to fight with." - -At that moment we passed by the back of the chateau. Night had come. A -window on the first floor was partly open. A feeble light came from it -as well as some sounds which drew our attention. We approached until we -had reached the side of a door that was situated just under the window. -Rouletabille, in a low tone, made me understand, that this was the -window of Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber. The sounds which had -attracted our attention ceased, then were renewed for a moment, and then -we heard stifled sobs. We were only able to catch these words, which -reached us distinctly: "My poor Robert!"--Rouletabille whispered in my -ear: - -"If we only knew what was being said in that chamber, my inquiry would -soon be finished." - -He looked about him. The darkness of the evening enveloped us; we could -not see much beyond the narrow path bordered by trees, which ran behind -the chateau. The sobs had ceased. - -"If we can't hear we may at least try to see," said Rouletabille. - -And, making a sign to me to deaden the sound of my steps, he led me -across the path to the trunk of a tall beech tree, the white bole of -which was visible in the darkness. This tree grew exactly in front of -the window in which we were so much interested, its lower branches being -on a level with the first floor of the chateau. From the height of -those branches one might certainly see what was passing in Mademoiselle -Stangerson's chamber. Evidently that was what Rouletabille thought, for, -enjoining me to remain hidden, he clasped the trunk with his vigorous -arms and climbed up. I soon lost sight of him amid the branches, and -then followed a deep silence. In front of me, the open window remained -lighted, and I saw no shadow move across it. I listened, and presently -from above me these words reached my ears: - -"After you!" - -"After you, pray!" - -Somebody was overhead, speaking,--exchanging courtesies. What was my -astonishment to see on the slippery column of the tree two human forms -appear and quietly slip down to the ground. Rouletabille had mounted -alone, and had returned with another. - -"Good evening, Monsieur Sainclair!" - -It was Frederic Larsan. The detective had already occupied the post of -observation when my young friend had thought to reach it alone. Neither -noticed my astonishment. I explained that to myself by the fact that -they must have been witnesses of some tender and despairing scene -between Mademoiselle Stangerson, lying in her bed, and Monsieur Darzac -on his knees by her pillow. I guessed that each had drawn different -conclusions from what they had seen. It was easy to see that the scene -had strongly impressed Rouletabille in favour of Monsieur Robert Darzac; -while, to Larsan, it showed nothing but consummate hypocrisy, acted with -finished art by Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance. - -As we reached the park gate, Larsan stopped us. - -"My cane!" he cried. "I left it near the tree." - -He left us, saying he would rejoin us presently. - -"Have you noticed Frederic Larsan's cane?" asked the young reporter, as -soon as we were alone. "It is quite a new one, which I have never seen -him use before. He seems to take great care of it--it never leaves him. -One would think he was afraid it might fall into the hands of strangers. -I never saw it before to-day. Where did he find it? It isn't natural -that a man who had never before used a walking-stick should, the day -after the Glandier crime, never move a step without one. On the day of -our arrival at the chateau, as soon as he saw us, he put his watch in -his pocket and picked up his cane from the ground--a proceeding to which -I was perhaps wrong not to attach some importance." - -We were now out of the park. Rouletabille had dropped into silence. His -thoughts were certainly still occupied with Frederic Larsan's new cane. -I had proof of that when, as we came near to Epinay, he said: - -"Frederic Larsan arrived at the Glandier before me; he began his -inquiry before me; he has had time to find out things about which I know -nothing. Where did he find that cane?" Then he added: "It is probable -that his suspicion--more than that, his reasoning--has led him to lay -his hand on something tangible. Has this cane anything to do with it? -Where the deuce could he have found it?" - -As I had to wait twenty minutes for the train at Epinay, we entered a -wine shop. Almost immediately the door opened and Frederic Larsan made -his appearance, brandishing his famous cane. - -"I found it!" he said laughingly. - -The three of us seated ourselves at a table. Rouletabille never took -his eyes off the cane; he was so absorbed that he did not notice a sign -Larsan made to a railway employeee, a young man with a chin decorated by a -tiny blond and ill-kept beard. On the sign he rose, paid for his drink, -bowed, and went out. I should not myself have attached any importance -to the circumstance, if it had not been recalled to my mind, some months -later, by the reappearance of the man with the beard at one of the most -tragic moments of this case. I then learned that the youth was one of -Larsan's assistants and had been charged by him to watch the going and -coming of travellers at the station of Epinay-sur-Orge. Larsan neglected -nothing in any case on which he was engaged. - -I turned my eyes again on Rouletabille. - -"Ah,--Monsieur Fred!" he said, "when did you begin to use a -walking-stick? I have always seen you walking with your hands in your -pockets!" - -"It is a present," replied the detective. - -"Recent?" insisted Rouletabille. - -"No, it was given to me in London." - -"Ah, yes, I remember--you have just come from London. May I look at it?" - -"Oh!--certainly!" - -Fred passed the cane to Rouletabille. It was a large yellow bamboo with -a crutch handle and ornamented with a gold ring. Rouletabille, -after examining it minutely, returned it to Larsan, with a bantering -expression on his face, saying: - -"You were given a French cane in London!" - -"Possibly," said Fred, imperturbably. - -"Read the mark there, in tiny letters: Cassette, 6a, Opera." - -"Cannot English people buy canes in Paris?" - -When Rouletabille had seen me into the train, he said: - -"You'll remember the address?" - -"Yes,--Cassette, 6a, Opera. Rely on me; you shall have word tomorrow -morning." - -That evening, on reaching Paris, I saw Monsieur Cassette, dealer in -walking-sticks and umbrellas, and wrote to my friend: - -"A man unmistakably answering to the description of Monsieur Robert -Darzac--same height, slightly stooping, putty-coloured overcoat, bowler -hat--purchased a cane similar to the one in which we are interested, on -the evening of the crime, about eight o'clock. Monsieur Cassette had not -sold another such cane during the last two years. Fred's cane is new. -It is quite clear that it's the same cane. Fred did not buy it, since -he was in London. Like you, I think that he found it somewhere near -Monsieur Robert Darzac. But if, as you suppose, the murderer was in The -Yellow Room for five, or even six hours, and the crime was not -committed until towards midnight, the purchase of this cane proves an -incontestable alibi for Darzac." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. "The Presbytery Has Lost Nothing of Its Charm, Nor the -Garden Its Brightness" - - -A week after the occurrence of the events I have just recounted--on -the 2nd of November, to be exact--I received at my home in Paris the -following telegraphic message: "Come to the Glandier by the earliest -train. Bring revolvers. Friendly greetings. Rouletabille." - -I have already said, I think, that at that period, being a young -barrister with but few briefs, I frequented the Palais de Justice rather -for the purpose of familiarising myself with my professional duties than -for the defence of the widow and orphan. I could, therefore, feel no -surprise at Rouletabille disposing of my time. Moreover, he knew how -keenly interested I was in his journalistic adventures in general and, -above all, in the murder at the Glandier. I had not heard from him for a -week, nor of the progress made with that mysterious case, except by the -innumerable paragraphs in the newspapers and by the very brief notes -of Rouletabille in the "Epoque." Those notes had divulged the fact that -traces of human blood had been found on the mutton-bone, as well as -fresh traces of the blood of Mademoiselle Stangerson--the old stains -belonged to other crimes, probably dating years back. - -It may be easily imagined that the crime engaged the attention of the -press throughout the world. No crime known had more absorbed the minds -of people. It appeared to me, however, that the judicial inquiry was -making but very little progress; and I should have been very glad, if, -on the receipt of my friend's invitation to rejoin him at the Glandier, -the despatch had not contained the words, "Bring revolvers." - -That puzzled me greatly. Rouletabille telegraphing for revolvers meant -that there might be occasion to use them. Now, I confess it without -shame, I am not a hero. But here was a friend, evidently in danger, -calling on me to go to his aid. I did not hesitate long; and after -assuring myself that the only revolver I possessed was properly loaded, -I hurried towards the Orleans station. On the way I remembered that -Rouletabille had asked for two revolvers; I therefore entered a -gunsmith's shop and bought an excellent weapon for my friend. - -I had hoped to find him at the station at Epinay; but he was not there. -However, a cab was waiting for me and I was soon at the Glandier. Nobody -was at the gate, and it was only on the threshold of the chateau that I -met the young man. He saluted me with a friendly gesture and threw his -arms about me, inquiring warmly as to the state of my health. - -When we were in the little sitting-room of which I have spoken, -Rouletabille made me sit down. - -"It's going badly," he said. - -"What's going badly?" I asked. - -"Everything." - -He came nearer to me and whispered: - -"Frederic Larsan is working with might and main against Darzac." - -This did not astonish me. I had seen the poor show Mademoiselle -Stangerson's fiance had made at the time of the examination of the -footprints. However, I immediately asked: - -"What about that cane?" - -"It is still in the hands of Frederic Larsan. He never lets go of it." - -"But doesn't it prove the alibi for Monsieur Darzac?" - -"Not at all. Gently questioned by me, Darzac denied having, on that -evening, or on any other, purchased a cane at Cassette's. However," -said Rouletabille, "I'll not swear to anything; Monsieur Darzac has such -strange fits of silence that one does not know exactly what to think of -what he says." - -"To Frederic Larsan this cane must mean a piece of very damaging -evidence. But in what way? The time when it was bought shows it could -not have been in the murderer's possession." - -"The time doesn't worry Larsan. He is not obliged to adopt my theory -which assumes that the murderer got into The Yellow Room between five -and six o'clock. But there's nothing to prevent him assuming that the -murderer got in between ten and eleven o'clock at night. At that hour -Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson, assisted by Daddy Jacques, were -engaged in making an interesting chemical experiment in the part of the -laboratory taken up by the furnaces. Larsan says, unlikely as that may -seem, that the murderer may have slipped behind them. He has already got -the examining magistrate to listen to him. When one looks closely into -it, the reasoning is absurd, seeing that the 'intimate'--if there -is one--must have known that the professor would shortly leave the -pavilion, and that the 'friend' had only to put off operating till -after the professor's departure. Why should he have risked crossing the -laboratory while the professor was in it? And then, when he had got into -The Yellow Room? - -"There are many points to be cleared up before Larsan's theory can be -admitted. I sha'n't waste my time over it, for my theory won't allow me -to occupy myself with mere imagination. Only, as I am obliged for the -moment to keep silent, and Larsan sometimes talks, he may finish by -coming out openly against Monsieur Darzac,--if I'm not there," added the -young reporter proudly. "For there are surface evidences against Darzac, -much more convincing than that cane, which remains incomprehensible -to me, all the more so as Larsan does not in the least hesitate to let -Darzac see him with it!--I understand many things in Larsan's theory, -but I can't make anything of that cane. - -"Is he still at the chateau?" - -"Yes; he hardly ever leaves it!--He sleeps there, as I do, at the -request of Monsieur Stangerson, who has done for him what Monsieur -Robert Darzac has done for me. In spite of the accusation made by Larsan -that Monsieur Stangerson knows who the murderer is he yet affords him -every facility for arriving at the truth,--just as Darzac is doing for -me." - -"But you are convinced of Darzac's innocence?" - -"At one time I did believe in the possibility of his guilt. That was -when we arrived here for the first time. The time has come for me to -tell you what has passed between Monsieur Darzac and myself." - -Here Rouletabille interrupted himself and asked me if I had brought the -revolvers. I showed him them. Having examined both, he pronounced them -excellent, and handed them back to me. - -"Shall we have any use for them?" I asked. - -"No doubt; this evening. We shall pass the night here--if that won't -tire you?" - -"On the contrary," I said with an expression that made Rouletabille -laugh. - -"No, no," he said, "this is no time for laughing. You remember the -phrase which was the 'open sesame' of this chateau full of mystery?" - -"Yes," I said, "perfectly,--'The presbytery has lost nothing of its -charm, nor the garden its brightness.' It was the phrase which you found -on the half-burned piece of paper amongst the ashes in the laboratory." - -"Yes; at the bottom of the paper, where the flame had not reached, was -this date: 23rd of October. Remember this date, it is highly important. -I am now going to tell you about that curious phrase. On the evening -before the crime, that is to say, on the 23rd, Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson were at a reception at the Elysee. I know that, because I was -there on duty, having to interview one of the savants of the Academy of -Philadelphia, who was being feted there. I had never before seen either -Monsieur or Mademoiselle Stangerson. I was seated in the room which -precedes the Salon des Ambassadeurs, and, tired of being jostled by so -many noble personages, I had fallen into a vague reverie, when I scented -near me the perfume of the lady in black. - -"Do you ask me what is the 'perfume of the lady in black'? It must -suffice for you to know that it is a perfume of which I am very fond, -because it was that of a lady who had been very kind to me in my -childhood,--a lady whom I had always seen dressed in black. The lady -who, that evening, was scented with the perfume of the lady in black, -was dressed in white. She was wonderfully beautiful. I could not help -rising and following her. An old man gave her his arm and, as they -passed, I heard voices say: 'Professor Stangerson and his daughter.' It -was in that way I learned who it was I was following. - -"They met Monsieur Robert Darzac, whom I knew by sight. Professor -Stangerson, accosted by Mr. Arthur William Rance, one of the American -savants, seated himself in the great gallery, and Monsieur Robert Darzac -led Mademoiselle Stangerson into the conservatory. I followed. The -weather was very mild that evening; the garden doors were open. -Mademoiselle Stangerson threw a fichu shawl over her shoulders and I -plainly saw that it was she who was begging Monsieur Darzac to go with -her into the garden. I continued to follow, interested by the agitation -plainly exhibited by the bearing of Monsieur Darzac. They slowly passed -along the wall abutting on the Avenue Marigny. I took the central alley, -walking parallel with them, and then crossed over for the purpose of -getting nearer to them. The night was dark, and the grass deadened the -sound of my steps. They had stopped under the vacillating light of a gas -jet and appeared to be both bending over a paper held by Mademoiselle -Stangerson, reading something which deeply interested them. I stopped in -the darkness and silence. - -"Neither of them saw me, and I distinctly heard Mademoiselle Stangerson -repeat, as she was refolding the paper: 'The presbytery has lost nothing -of its charm, nor the garden its brightness!'--It was said in a tone at -once mocking and despairing, and was followed by a burst of such nervous -laughter that I think her words will never cease to sound in my ears. -But another phrase was uttered by Monsieur Robert Darzac: 'Must I commit -a crime, then, to win you?' He was in an extraordinarily agitated state. -He took the hand of Mademoiselle Stangerson and held it for a long time -to his lips, and I thought, from the movement of his shoulders, that he -was crying. Then they went away. - -"When I returned to the great gallery," continued Rouletabille, "I saw -no more of Monsieur Robert Darzac, and I was not to see him again until -after the tragedy at the Glandier. Mademoiselle was near Mr. Rance, -who was talking with much animation, his eyes, during the conversation, -glowing with a singular brightness. Mademoiselle Stangerson, I thought, -was not even listening to what he was saying, her face expressing -perfect indifference. His face was the red face of a drunkard. When -Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson left, he went to the bar and -remained there. I joined him, and rendered him some little service -in the midst of the pressing crowd. He thanked me and told me he was -returning to America three days later, that is to say, on the 26th (the -day after the crime). I talked with him about Philadelphia; he told me -he had lived there for five-and-twenty years, and that it was there he -had met the illustrious Professor Stangerson and his daughter. He drank -a great deal of champagne, and when I left him he was very nearly drunk. - -"Such were my experiences on that evening, and I leave you to imagine -what effect the news of the attempted murder of Mademoiselle Stangerson -produced on me,--with what force those words pronounced by Monsieur -Robert Darzac, 'Must I commit a crime, then, to win you?' recurred to -me. It was not this phrase, however, that I repeated to him, when we met -here at Glandier. The sentence of the presbytery and the bright garden -sufficed to open the gate of the chateau. If you ask me if I believe -now that Monsieur Darzac is the murderer, I must say I do not. I do not -think I ever quite thought that. At the time I could not really think -seriously of anything. I had so little evidence to go on. But I needed -to have at once the proof that he had not been wounded in the hand. - -"When we were alone together, I told him how I had chanced to overhear -a part of his conversation with Mademoiselle Stangerson in the garden -of the Elysee; and when I repeated to him the words, 'Must I commit a -crime, then, to win you?' he was greatly troubled, though much less so -than he had been by hearing me repeat the phrase about the presbytery. -What threw him into a state of real consternation was to learn from me -that the day on which he had gone to meet Mademoiselle Stangerson at the -Elysee, was the very day on which she had gone to the Post Office for -the letter. It was that letter, perhaps, which ended with the words: -'The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its -brightness.' My surmise was confirmed by my finding, if you remember, -in the ashes of the laboratory, the fragment of paper dated October the -23rd. The letter had been written and withdrawn from the Post Office on -the same day. - -"There can be no doubt that, on returning from the Elysee that night, -Mademoiselle Stangerson had tried to destroy that compromising paper. -It was in vain that Monsieur Darzac denied that that letter had anything -whatever to do with the crime. I told him that in an affair so filled -with mystery as this, he had no right to hide this letter; that I was -persuaded it was of considerable importance; that the desperate tone in -which Mademoiselle Stangerson had pronounced the prophetic phrase,--that -his own tears, and the threat of a crime which he had professed after -the letter was read--all these facts tended to leave no room for me to -doubt. Monsieur Darzac became more and more agitated, and I determined -to take advantage of the effect I had produced on him. 'You were on -the point of being married, Monsieur,' I said negligently and without -looking at him, 'and suddenly your marriage becomes impossible because -of the writer of that letter; because as soon as his letter was read, -you spoke of the necessity for a crime to win Mademoiselle Stangerson. -Therefore there is someone between you and her someone who has attempted -to kill her, so that she should not be able to marry!' And I concluded -with these words: 'Now, monsieur, you have only to tell me in confidence -the name of the murderer!'--The words I had uttered must have struck -him ominously, for when I turned my eyes on him, I saw that his face was -haggard, the perspiration standing on his forehead, and terror showing -in his eyes. - -"'Monsieur,' he said to me, 'I am going to ask of you something which -may appear insane, but in exchange for which I place my life in your -hands. You must not tell the magistrates of what you saw and heard in -the garden of the Elysee,--neither to them nor to anybody. I swear to -you, that I am innocent, and I know, I feel, that you believe me; but I -would rather be taken for the guilty man than see justice go astray -on that phrase, "The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the -garden its brightness." The judges must know nothing about that phrase. -All this matter is in your hands. Monsieur, I leave it there; but forget -the evening at the Elysee. A hundred other roads are open to you in your -search for the criminal. I will open them for you myself. I will help -you. Will you take up your quarters here?--You may remain here to do as -you please.--Eat--sleep here--watch my actions--the actions of all here. -You shall be master of the Glandier, Monsieur; but forget the evening at -the Elysee.'" - -Rouletabille here paused to take breath. I now understood what had -appeared so unexplainable in the demeanour of Monsieur Robert Darzac -towards my friend, and the facility with which the young reporter had -been able to install himself on the scene of the crime. My curiosity -could not fail to be excited by all I had heard. I asked Rouletabille to -satisfy it still further. What had happened at the Glandier during -the past week?--Had he not told me that there were surface indications -against Monsieur Darzac much more terrible than that of the cane found -by Larsan? - -"Everything seems to be pointing against him," replied my friend, "and -the situation is becoming exceedingly grave. Monsieur Darzac appears not -to mind it much; but in that he is wrong. I was interested only in -the health of Mademoiselle Stangerson, which was daily improving, when -something occurred that is even more mysterious than--than the mystery -of The Yellow Room!" - -"Impossible!" I cried, "What could be more mysterious than that?" - -"Let us first go back to Monsieur Robert Darzac," said Rouletabille, -calming me. "I have said that everything seems to be pointing against -him. The marks of the neat boots found by Frederic Larsan appear to be -really the footprints of Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance. The marks -made by the bicycle may have been made by his bicycle. He had usually -left it at the chateau; why did he take it to Paris on that particular -occasion? Was it because he was not going to return again to the -chateau? Was it because, owing to the breaking off of his marriage, his -relations with the Stangersons were to cease? All who are interested in -the matter affirm that those relations were to continue unchanged. - -"Frederic Larsan, however, believes that all relations were at an end. -From the day when Monsieur Darzac accompanied Mademoiselle Stangerson to -the Grands Magasins de la Louvre until the day after the crime, he had -not been at the Glandier. Remember that Mademoiselle Stangerson lost -her reticule containing the key with the brass head while she was in -his company. From that day to the evening at the Elysee, the Sorbonne -professor and Mademoiselle Stangerson did not see one another; but they -may have written to each other. Mademoiselle Stangerson went to the Post -Office to get a letter, which Larsan says was written by Robert Darzac; -for knowing nothing of what had passed at the Elysee, Larsan believes -that it was Monsieur Darzac himself who stole the reticule with the key, -with the design of forcing her consent, by getting possession of the -precious papers of her father--papers which he would have restored to -him on condition that the marriage engagement was to be fulfilled. - -"All that would have been a very doubtful and almost absurd hypothesis, -as Larsan admitted to me, but for another and much graver circumstance. -In the first place here is something which I have not been able to -explain--Monsieur Darzac had himself, on the 24th, gone to the Post -Office to ask for the letter which Mademoiselle had called for and -received on the previous evening. The description of the man who made -application tallies in every respect with the appearance of Monsieur -Darzac, who, in answer to the questions put to him by the examining -magistrate, denies that he went to the Post Office. Now even admitting -that the letter was written by him--which I do not believe--he knew that -Mademoiselle Stangerson had received it, since he had seen it in her -hands in the garden at the Elysee. It could not have been he, then, who -had gone to the Post Office, the day after the 24th, to ask for a letter -which he knew was no longer there. - -"To me it appears clear that somebody, strongly resembling him, stole -Mademoiselle Stangerson's reticule and in that letter, had demanded of -her something which she had not sent him. He must have been surprised at -the failure of his demand, hence his application at the Post Office, to -learn whether his letter had been delivered to the person to whom it had -been addressed. Finding that it had been claimed, he had become furious. -What had he demanded? Nobody but Mademoiselle Stangerson knows. Then, on -the day following, it is reported that she had been attacked during the -night, and, the next day, I discovered that the Professor had, at the -same time, been robbed by means of the key referred to in the poste -restante letter. It would seem, then, that the man who went to the Post -Office to inquire for the letter must have been the murderer. All these -arguments Larsan applies as against Monsieur Darzac. You may be sure -that the examining magistrate, Larsan, and myself, have done our best -to get from the Post Office precise details relative to the singular -personage who applied there on the 24th of October. But nothing has been -learned. We don't know where he came from--or where he went. Beyond the -description which makes him resemble Monsieur Darzac, we know nothing. - -"I have announced in the leading journals that a handsome reward will be -given to a driver of any public conveyance who drove a fare to No. 40, -Post Office, about ten o'clock on the morning of the 24th of October. -Information to be addressed to 'M. R.,' at the office of the 'Epoque'; -but no answer has resulted. The man may have walked; but, as he was most -likely in a hurry, there was a chance that he might have gone in a cab. -Who, I keep asking myself night and day, is the man who so strongly -resembles Monsieur Robert Darzac, and who is also known to have bought -the cane which has fallen into Larsan's hands? - -"The most serious fact is that Monsieur Darzac was, at the very same -time that his double presented himself at the Post Office, scheduled for -a lecture at the Sorbonne. He had not delivered that lecture, and one -of his friends took his place. When I questioned him as to how he had -employeeed the time, he told me that he had gone for a stroll in the Bois -de Boulogne. What do you think of a professor who, instead of giving -his lecture, obtains a substitute to go for a stroll in the Bois de -Boulogne? When Frederic Larsan asked him for information on this point, -he quietly replied that it was no business of his how he spent his time -in Paris. On which Fred swore aloud that he would find out, without -anybody's help. - -"All this seems to fit in with Fred's hypothesis, namely, that Monsieur -Stangerson allowed the murderer to escape in order to avoid a scandal. -The hypothesis is further substantiated by the fact that Darzac was in -The Yellow Room and was permitted to get away. That hypothesis I believe -to be a false one.--Larsan is being misled by it, though that would -not displease me, did it not affect an innocent person. Now does that -hypothesis really mislead Frederic Larsan? That is the question--that is -the question." - -"Perhaps he is right," I cried, interrupting Rouletabille. "Are you -sure that Monsieur Darzac is innocent?--It seems to me that these are -extraordinary coincidences--" - -"Coincidences," replied my friend, "are the worst enemies to truth." - -"What does the examining magistrate think now of the matter?" - -"Monsieur de Marquet hesitates to accuse Monsieur Darzac, in the absence -of absolute proofs. Not only would he have public opinion wholly against -him, to say nothing of the Sorbonne, but Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson. She adores Monsieur Robert Darzac. Indistinctly as she saw -the murderer, it would be hard to make the public believe that she could -not have recognised him, if Darzac had been the criminal. No doubt The -Yellow Room was very dimly lit; but a night-light, however small, gives -some light. Here, my boy, is how things stood when, three days, or -rather three nights ago, an extraordinarily strange incident occurred." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. "I Expect the Assassin This Evening" - - -"I must take you," said Rouletabille, "so as to enable you to -understand, to the various scenes. I myself believe that I have -discovered what everybody else is searching for, namely, how the -murderer escaped from The Yellow Room, without any accomplice, and -without Mademoiselle Stangerson having had anything to do with it. But -so long as I am not sure of the real murderer, I cannot state the theory -on which I am working. I can only say that I believe it to be correct -and, in any case, a quite natural and simple one. As to what happened in -this place three nights ago, I must say it kept me wondering for a whole -day and a night. It passes all belief. The theory I have formed from -the incident is so absurd that I would rather matters remained as yet -unexplained." - -Saying which the young reporter invited me to go and make the tour of -the chateau with him. The only sound to be heard was the crunching of -the dead leaves beneath our feet. The silence was so intense that one -might have thought the chateau had been abandoned. The old stones, the -stagnant water of the ditch surrounding the donjon, the bleak ground -strewn with the dead leaves, the dark, skeleton-like outlines of the -trees, all contributed to give to the desolate place, now filled with -its awful mystery, a most funereal aspect. As we passed round the -donjon, we met the Green Man, the forest-keeper, who did not greet us, -but walked by as if we had not existed. He was looking just as I had -formerly seen him through the window of the Donjon Inn. He had still -his fowling-piece slung at his back, his pipe was in his mouth, and his -eye-glasses on his nose. - -"An odd kind of fish!" Rouletabille said to me, in a low tone. - -"Have you spoken to him?" I asked. - -"Yes, but I could get nothing out of him. His only answers are grunts -and shrugs of the shoulders. He generally lives on the first floor of -the donjon, a big room that once served for an oratory. He lives like -a bear, never goes out without his gun, and is only pleasant with the -girls. The women, for twelve miles round, are all setting their caps for -him. For the present, he is paying attention to Madame Mathieu, whose -husband is keeping a lynx eye upon her in consequence." - -After passing the donjon, which is situated at the extreme end of the -left wing, we went to the back of the chateau. Rouletabille, pointing -to a window which I recognised as the only one belonging to Mademoiselle -Stangerson's apartment, said to me: - -"If you had been here, two nights ago, you would have seen your humble -servant at the top of a ladder, about to enter the chateau by that -window." - -As I expressed some surprise at this piece of nocturnal gymnastics, he -begged me to notice carefully the exterior disposition of the chateau. -We then went back into the building. - -"I must now show you the first floor of the chateau, where I am living," -said my friend. - -To enable the reader the better to understand the disposition of these -parts of the dwelling, I annex a plan of the first floor of the right -wing, drawn by Rouletabille the day after the extraordinary phenomenon -occurred, the details of which I am about to relate. - - - boudoir - ___ ____ ___________ _______\___ ________4________ _______ _________ __ - | | | | | | - | | Mlle. | | Mlle. |___ ___ ___| Mr. - Lumber |Strangerson's Strangerson's|___ ___ ___|Strangerson's - | Room | Sitting | | Bed Room |___ ___ ___| Room - | | Room | |__ __ _____|stair-case | - | | |bath|anteroom| | - |_____ ______|____ ______|___|____|___ ___| |______ _____ - | - 2 ------ Right Gallery Right Wing--------- 3 Right Gallery - Left Wing - |_________ _____ _________ ______ _______ __ __ __ _________ _____ - - |Roulet- | W G | - |tabille's | I A | Right Wing Left Wing - | Room N L of the - |_________ | D L | Chateau - Frederic | I E | - |Larsan's N R - | Room | G Y | - | | - |____ ____ | _1_ | - . 5 . - . 6 . - . . - . . . - - -Rouletabille motioned me to follow him up a magnificent flight of stairs -ending in a landing on the first floor. From this landing one could pass -to the right or left wing of the chateau by a gallery opening from it. -This gallery, high and wide, extended along the whole length of the -building and was lit from the front of the chateau facing the north. -The rooms, the windows of which looked to the south, opened out of the -gallery. Professor Stangerson inhabited the left wing of the building. -Mademoiselle Stangerson had her apartment in the right wing. - -We entered the gallery to the right. A narrow carpet, laid on the -waxed oaken floor, which shone like glass, deadened the sound of our -footsteps. Rouletabille asked me, in a low tone, to walk carefully, as -we were passing the door of Mademoiselle Stangerson's apartment. This -consisted of a bed-room, an ante-room, a small bath-room, a boudoir, -and a drawing-room. One could pass from one to another of these rooms -without having to go by way of the gallery. The gallery continued -straight to the western end of the building, where it was lit by a high -window (window 2 on the plan). At about two-thirds of its length this -gallery, at a right angle, joined another gallery following the course -of the right wing. - -The better to follow this narrative, we shall call the gallery leading -from the stairs to the eastern window, the "right" gallery and the -gallery quitting it at a right angle, the "off-turning" gallery (winding -gallery in the plan). It was at the meeting point of the two galleries -that Rouletabille had his chamber, adjoining that of Frederic Larsan, -the door of each opening on to the "off-turning" gallery, while the -doors of Mademoiselle Stangerson's apartment opened into the "right" -gallery. (See the plan.) - -Rouletabille opened the door of his room and after we had passed in, -carefully drew the bolt. I had not had time to glance round the place -in which he had been installed, when he uttered a cry of surprise and -pointed to a pair of eye-glasses on a side-table. - -"What are these doing here?" he asked. - -I should have been puzzled to answer him. - -"I wonder," he said, "I wonder if this is what I have been searching -for. I wonder if these are the eye-glasses from the presbytery!" - -He seized them eagerly, his fingers caressing the glass. Then looking at -me, with an expression of terror on his face, he murmured, "Oh!--Oh!" - -He repeated the exclamation again and again, as if his thoughts had -suddenly turned his brain. - -He rose and, putting his hand on my shoulder, laughed like one demented -as he said: - -"Those glasses will drive me silly! Mathematically speaking the thing -is possible; but humanly speaking it is impossible--or afterwards--or -afterwards--" - -Two light knocks struck the door. Rouletabille opened it. A figure -entered. I recognised the concierge, whom I had seen when she was being -taken to the pavilion for examination. I was surprised, thinking she was -still under lock and key. This woman said in a very low tone: - -"In the grove of the parquet." - -Rouletabille replied: "Thanks."--The woman then left. He again turned -to me, his look haggard, after having carefully refastened the door, -muttering some incomprehensible phrases. - -"If the thing is mathematically possible, why should it not be -humanly!--And if it is humanly possible, the matter is simply awful." I -interrupted him in his soliloquy: - -"Have they set the concierges at liberty, then?" I asked. - -"Yes," he replied, "I had them liberated, I needed people I could trust. -The woman is thoroughly devoted to me, and her husband would lay down -his life for me." - -"Oho!" I said, "when will he have occasion to do it?" - -"This evening,--for this evening I expect the murderer." - -"You expect the murderer this evening? Then you know him?" - -"I shall know him; but I should be mad to affirm, categorically, at this -moment that I do know him. The mathematical idea I have of the murderer -gives results so frightful, so monstrous, that I hope it is still -possible that I am mistaken. I hope so, with all my heart!" - -"Five minutes ago, you did not know the murderer; how can you say that -you expect him this evening?" - -"Because I know that he must come." - -Rouletabille very slowly filled his pipe and lit it. That meant an -interesting story. At that moment we heard some one walking in the -gallery and passing before our door. Rouletabille listened. The sound of -the footstep died away in the distance. - -"Is Frederic Larsan in his room?" I asked, pointing to the partition. - -"No," my friend answered. "He went to Paris this morning,--still on -the scent of Darzac, who also left for Paris. That matter will turn out -badly. I expect that Monsieur Darzac will be arrested in the course of -the next week. The worst of it is that everything seems to be in league -against him,--circumstances, things, people. Not an hour passes without -bringing some new evidence against him. The examining magistrate is -overwhelmed by it--and blind." - -"Frederic Larsan, however, is not a novice," I said. - -"I thought so," said Rouletabille, with a slightly contemptuous turn -of his lips, "I fancied he was a much abler man. I had, indeed, a great -admiration for him, before I got to know his method of working. It's -deplorable. He owes his reputation solely to his ability; but he lacks -reasoning power,--the mathematics of his ideas are very poor." - -I looked closely at Rouletabille and could not help smiling, on hearing -this boy of eighteen talking of a man who had proved to the world that -he was the finest police sleuth in Europe. - -"You smile," he said? "you are wrong! I swear I will outwit him--and in -a striking way! But I must make haste about it, for he has an enormous -start on me--given him by Monsieur Robert Darzac, who is this evening -going to increase it still more. Think of it!--every time the murderer -comes to the chateau, Monsieur Darzac, by a strange fatality, absents -himself and refuses to give any account of how he employs his time." - -"Every time the assassin comes to the chateau!" I cried. "Has he -returned then--?" - -"Yes, during that famous night when the strange phenomenon occurred." - -I was now going to learn about the astonishing phenomenon to which -Rouletabille had made allusion half an hour earlier without giving me -any explanation of it. But I had learned never to press Rouletabille in -his narratives. He spoke when the fancy took him and when he judged it -to be right. He was less concerned about my curiosity than he was for -making a complete summing up for himself of any important matter in -which he was interested. - -At last, in short rapid phrases, he acquainted me with things which -plunged me into a state bordering on complete bewilderment. Indeed, the -results of that still unknown science known as hypnotism, for example, -were not more inexplicable than the disappearance of the "matter" of -the murderer at the moment when four persons were within touch of him. I -speak of hypnotism as I would of electricity, for of the nature of both -we are ignorant and we know little of their laws. I cite these examples -because, at the time, the case appeared to me to be only explicable by -the inexplicable,--that is to say, by an event outside of known natural -laws. And yet, if I had had Rouletabille's brain, I should, like him, -have had a presentiment of the natural explanation; for the most curious -thing about all the mysteries of the Glandier case was the natural -manner in which he explained them. - -I have among the papers that were sent me by the young man, after the -affair was over, a note-book of his, in which a complete account is -given of the phenomenon of the disappearance of the "matter" of the -assassin, and the thoughts to which it gave rise in the mind of my young -friend. It is preferable, I think, to give the reader this account, -rather than continue to reproduce my conversation with Rouletabille; for -I should be afraid, in a history of this nature, to add a word that was -not in accordance with the strictest truth. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. The Trap - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE) - -"Last night--the night between the 29th and 30th of October--" wrote -Joseph Rouletabille, "I woke up towards one o'clock in the morning. Was -it sleeplessness, or noise without?--The cry of the Bete du Bon Dieu -rang out with sinister loudness from the end of the park. I rose and -opened the window. Cold wind and rain; opaque darkness; silence. I -reclosed my window. Again the sound of the cat's weird cry in the -distance. I partly dressed in haste. The weather was too bad for even -a cat to be turned out in it. What did it mean, then--that imitating -of the mewing of Mother Angenoux' cat so near the chateau? I seized a -good-sized stick, the only weapon I had, and, without making any noise, -opened the door. - -"The gallery into which I went was well lit by a lamp with a reflector. -I felt a keen current of air and, on turning, found the window open, at -the extreme end of the gallery, which I call the 'off-turning' gallery, -to distinguish it from the 'right' gallery, on to which the apartment of -Mademoiselle Stangerson opened. These two galleries cross each other at -right angles. Who had left that window open? Or, who had come to open -it? I went to the window and leaned out. Five feet below me there was -a sort of terrace over the semi-circular projection of a room on the -ground-floor. One could, if one wanted, jump from the window on to -the terrace, and allow oneself to drop from it into the court of the -chateau. Whoever had entered by this road had, evidently, not had a -key to the vestibule door. But why should I be thinking of my previous -night's attempt with the ladder?--Because of the open window--left open, -perhaps, by the negligence of a servant? I reclosed it, smiling at -the ease with which I built a drama on the mere suggestion of an open -window. - -"Again the cry of the Bete du Bon Dieu!--and then silence. The rain -ceased to beat on the window. All in the chateau slept. I walked with -infinite precaution on the carpet of the gallery. On reaching the corner -of the 'right' gallery, I peered round it cautiously. There was another -lamp there with a reflector which quite lit up the several objects in -it,--three chairs and some pictures hanging on the wall. What was I -doing there? Perfect silence reigned throughout. Everything was sunk -in repose. What was the instinct that urged me towards Mademoiselle -Stangerson's chamber? Why did a voice within me cry: 'Go on, to the -chamber of Mademoiselle Stangerson!' I cast my eyes down upon the -carpet on which I was treading and saw that my steps were being directed -towards Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber by the marks of steps that -had already been made there. Yes, on the carpet were traces of footsteps -stained with mud leading to the chamber of Mademoiselle Stangerson. -Horror! Horror!--I recognised in those footprints the impression of -the neat boots of the murderer! He had come, then, from without in this -wretched night. If you could descend from the gallery by way of the -window, by means of the terrace, then you could get into the chateau by -the same means. - -"The murderer was still in the chateau, for here were marks as of -returning footsteps. He had entered by the open window at the extremity -of the 'off-turning' gallery; he had passed Frederic Larsan's door and -mine, had turned to the right, and had entered Mademoiselle Stangerson's -room. I am before the door of her ante-room--it is open. I push it, -without making the least noise. Under the door of the room itself I see -a streak of light. I listen--no sound--not even of breathing! Ah!--if -I only knew what was passing in the silence that is behind that door! -I find the door locked and the key turned on the inner side. And the -murderer is there, perhaps. He must be there! Will he escape this -time?--All depends on me!--I must be calm, and above all, I must make no -false steps. I must see into that room. I can enter it by Mademoiselle -Stangerson's drawing-room; but, to do that I should have to cross her -boudoir; and while I am there, the murderer may escape by the gallery -door--the door in front of which I am now standing. - -"I am sure that no other crime is being committed, on this night; for -there is complete silence in the boudoir, where two nurses are taking -care of Mademoiselle Stangerson until she is restored to health. - -"As I am almost sure that the murderer is there, why do I not at once -give the alarm? The murderer may, perhaps, escape; but, perhaps, I may -be able to save Mademoiselle Stangerson's life. Suppose the murderer on -this occasion is not here to murder? The door has been opened to -allow him to enter; by whom?--And it has been refastened--by -whom?--Mademoiselle Stangerson shuts herself up in her apartment with -her nurses every night. Who turned the key of that chamber to allow -the murderer to enter?--The nurses,--two faithful domestics? The old -chambermaid, Sylvia? It is very improbable. Besides, they slept in the -boudoir, and Mademoiselle Stangerson, very nervous and careful, Monsieur -Robert Darzac told me, sees to her own safety since she has been well -enough to move about in her room, which I have not yet seen her leave. -This nervousness and sudden care on her part, which had struck Monsieur -Darzac, had given me, also, food for thought. At the time of the -crime in The Yellow Room, there can be no doubt that she expected the -murderer. Was he expected this night?--Was it she herself who had opened -her door to him? Had she some reason for doing so? Was she obliged to -do it?--Was it a meeting for purposes of crime?--Certainly it was not a -lover's meeting, for I believe Mademoiselle Stangerson adores Monsieur -Darzac. - -"All these reflections ran through my brain like a flash of lightning. -What would I not give to know! - -"It is possible that there was some reason for the awful silence. My -intervention might do more harm than good. How could I tell? How could I -know I might not any moment cause another crime? If I could only see and -know, without breaking that silence! - -"I left the ante-room and descended the central stairs to the vestibule -and, as silently as possible, made my way to the little room on the -ground-floor where Daddy Jacques had been sleeping since the attack made -at the pavilion. - -"I found him dressed, his eyes wide open, almost haggard. He did not -seem surprised to see me. He told me that he had got up because he -had heard the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu, and because he had heard -footsteps in the park, close to his window, out of which he had looked -and, just then, had seen a black shadow pass by. I asked him whether -he had a firearm of any kind. No, he no longer kept one, since the -examining magistrate had taken his revolver from him. We went out -together, by a little back door, into the park, and stole along the -chateau to the point which is just below Mademoiselle Stangerson's -window. - -"I placed Daddy Jacques against the wall, ordering him not to stir from -the spot, while I, taking advantage of a moment when the moon was hidden -by a cloud, moved to the front of the window, out of the patch of light -which came from it,--for the window was half-open! If I could only know -what was passing in that silent chamber! I returned to Daddy Jacques and -whispered the word 'ladder' in his ear. At first I had thought of the -tree which, a week ago, served me for an observatory; but I immediately -saw that, from the way the window was half-opened, I should not be able -to see from that point of view anything that was passing in the room; -and I wanted, not only to see, but to hear, and--to act. - -"Greatly agitated, almost trembling, Daddy Jacques disappeared for a -moment and returned without the ladder, but making signs to me with his -arms, as signals to me to come quickly to him. When I got near him he -gasped: 'Come!' - -"'I went to the donjon in search of my ladder, and in the lower part of -the donjon which serves me and the gardener for a lumber room, I found -the door open and the ladder gone. On coming out, that's what I caught -sight of by the light of the moon. - -"And he pointed to the further end of the chateau, where a ladder stood -resting against the stone brackets supporting the terrace, under -the window which I had found open. The projection of the terrace had -prevented my seeing it. Thanks to that ladder, it was quite easy to get -into the 'off-turning' gallery of the first floor, and I had no doubt of -it having been the road taken by the unknown. - -"We ran to the ladder, but at the moment of reaching it, Daddy Jacques -drew my attention to the half-open door of the little semi-circular -room, situated under the terrace, at the extremity of the right wing of -the chateau, having the terrace for its roof. Daddy Jacques pushed the -door open a little further and looked in. - -"'He's not there!" he whispered. - -"Who is not there?" - -"The forest--keeper." - -With his lips once more to my ear, he added: - -"'Do you know that he has slept in the upper room of the donjon ever -since it was restored?' And with the same gesture he pointed to -the half-open door, the ladder, the terrace, and the windows in the -'off-turning' gallery which, a little while before, I had re-closed. - -"What were my thoughts then? I had no time to think. I felt more than I -thought. - -"Evidently, I felt, if the forest-keeper is up there in the chamber (I -say, if, because at this moment, apart from the presence of the ladder -and his vacant room, there are no evidences which permit me even to -suspect him)--if he is there, he has been obliged to pass by the ladder, -and the rooms which lie behind his, in his new lodging, are occupied by -the family of the steward and by the cook, and by the kitchens, which -bar the way by the vestibule to the interior of the chateau. And if he -had been there during the evening on any pretext, it would have been -easy for him to go into the gallery and see that the window could be -simply pushed open from the outside. This question of the unfastened -window easily narrowed the field of search for the murderer. He must -belong to the house, unless he had an accomplice, which I do not believe -he had; unless--unless Mademoiselle Stangerson herself had seen that -that window was not fastened from the inside. But, then,--what could -be the frightful secret which put her under the necessity of doing away -with obstacles that separated her from the murderer? - -"I seized hold of the ladder, and we returned to the back of the chateau -to see if the window of the chamber was still half-open. The blind was -drawn but did not join and allowed a bright stream of light to escape -and fall upon the path at our feet. I planted the ladder under the -window. I am almost sure that I made no noise; and while Daddy Jacques -remained at the foot of the ladder, I mounted it, very quietly, my stout -stick in my hand. I held my breath and lifted my feet with the greatest -care. Suddenly a heavy cloud discharged itself at that moment in a fresh -downpour of rain. - -"At the same instant the sinister cry of the Bete du bon Dieu arrested -me in my ascent. It seemed to me to have come from close by me--only a -few yards away. Was the cry a signal?--Had some accomplice of the -man seen me on the ladder!--Would the cry bring the man to the -window?--Perhaps! Ah, there he was at the window! I felt his head above -me. I heard the sound of his breath! I could not look up towards him; -the least movement of my head, and--I might be lost. Would he see -me?--Would he peer into the darkness? No; he went away. He had seen -nothing. I felt, rather than heard, him moving on tip-toe in the room; -and I mounted a few steps higher. My head reached to the level of the -window-sill; my forehead rose above it; my eyes looked between -the opening in the blinds--and I saw--A man seated at Mademoiselle -Stangerson's little desk, writing. His back was turned toward me. A -candle was lit before him, and he bent over the flame, the light from -it projecting shapeless shadows. I saw nothing but a monstrous, stooping -back. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson herself was not there!--Her bed had not been -lain on! Where, then, was she sleeping that night? Doubtless in the -side-room with her women. Perhaps this was but a guess. I must content -myself with the joy of finding the man alone. I must be calm to prepare -my trap. - -"But who, then, is this man writing there before my eyes, seated at the -desk, as if he were in his own home? If there had not been that ladder -under the window; if there had not been those footprints on the carpet -in the gallery; if there had not been that open window, I might have -been led to think that this man had a right to be there, and that he was -there as a matter of course and for reasons about which as yet I knew -nothing. But there was no doubt that this mysterious unknown was the -man of The Yellow Room,--the man to whose murderous assault Mademoiselle -Stangerson--without denouncing him--had had to submit. If I could but -see his face! Surprise and capture him! - -"If I spring into the room at this moment, he will escape by the -right-hand door opening into the boudoir,--or crossing the drawing-room, -he will reach the gallery and I shall lose him. I have him now and in -five minutes more he'll be safer than if I had him in a cage.--What is -he doing there, alone in Mademoiselle Stangerson's room?--What is he -writing? I descend and place the ladder on the ground. Daddy Jacques -follows me. We re-enter the chateau. I send Daddy Jacques to wake -Monsieur Stangerson, and instruct him to await my coming in Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room and to say nothing definite to him before my arrival. -I will go and awaken Frederic Larsan. It's a bore to have to do it, for -I should have liked to work alone and to have carried off all the -honors of this affair myself, right under the very nose of the sleeping -detective. But Daddy Jacques and Monsieur Stangerson are old men, and I -am not yet fully developed. I might not be strong enough. Larsan is used -to wrestling and putting on the handcuffs. He opened his eyes swollen -with sleep, ready to send me flying, without in the least believing in -my reporter's fancies. I had to assure him that the man was there! - -"'That's strange!' he said; 'I thought I left him this afternoon in -Paris.' - -"He dressed himself in haste and armed himself with a revolver. We stole -quietly into the gallery. - -"'Where is he?' Larsan asked. - -"'In Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. - -"'And--Mademoiselle Stangerson?' - -"'She is not in there.' - -"'Let's go in.' - -"'Don't go there! On the least alarm the man will escape. He has four -ways by which to do it--the door, the window, the boudoir, or the room -in which the women are sleeping.' - -"'I'll draw him from below.' - -"'And if you fail?--If you only succeed in wounding him--he'll escape -again, without reckoning that he is certainly armed. No, let me direct -the expedition, and I'll answer for everything.' - -"'As you like,' he replied, with fairly good grace. - -"Then, after satisfying myself that all the windows of the two galleries -were thoroughly secure, I placed Frederic Larsan at the end of the -'off-turning' gallery, before the window which I had found open and had -reclosed. - -"'Under no consideration,' I said to him, 'must you stir from this post -till I call you. The chances are even that the man, when he is pursued, -will return to this window and try to save himself that way; for it is -by that way he came in and made a way ready for his flight. You have a -dangerous post.' - -"'What will be yours?' asked Fred. - -"'I shall spring into the room and knock him over for you.' - -"'Take my revolver,' said Fred, 'and I'll take your stick.' - -"'Thanks,' I said; 'You are a brave man.' - -"I accepted his offer. I was going to be alone with the man in the room -writing and was really thankful to have the weapon. - -"I left Fred, having posted him at the window (No. 5 on the plan), -and, with the greatest precaution, went towards Monsieur Stangerson's -apartment in the left wing of the chateau. I found him with Daddy -Jacques, who had faithfully obeyed my directions, confining himself -to asking his master to dress as quickly as possible. In a few words I -explained to Monsieur Stangerson what was passing. He armed himself with -a revolver, followed me, and we were all three speedily in the gallery. -Since I had seen the murderer seated at the desk ten minutes had -elapsed. Monsieur Stangerson wished to spring upon the assassin at once -and kill him. I made him understand that, above all, he must not, in his -desire to kill him, miss him. - -"When I had sworn to him that his daughter was not in the room, and -in no danger, he conquered his impatience and left me to direct the -operations. I told them that they must come to me the moment I called -to them, or when I fired my revolver. I then sent Daddy Jacques to place -himself before the window at the end of the 'right' gallery. (No. 2 on -my plan.) I chose that position 'for Daddy Jacques because I believed -that the murderer, tracked, on leaving the room, would run through the -gallery towards the window which he had left open, and, instantly seeing -that it was guarded by Larsan, would pursue his course along the 'right' -gallery. There he would encounter Daddy Jacques, who would prevent his -springing out of the window into the park. Under that window there was -a sort of buttress, while all the other windows in the galleries were at -such a height from the ground that it was almost impossible to jump from -them without breaking one's neck. All the doors and windows, including -those of the lumber-room at the end of the 'right' gallery--as I had -rapidly assured myself--were strongly secured. - -"Having indicated to Daddy Jacques the post he was to occupy, and having -seen him take up his position, I placed Monsieur Stangerson on -the landing at the head of the stairs not far from the door of his -daughter's ante-room, rather than the boudoir, where the women were, -and the door of which must have been locked by Mademoiselle Stangerson -herself if, as I thought, she had taken refuge in the boudoir for the -purpose of avoiding the murderer who was coming to see her. In any case, -he must return to the gallery where my people were awaiting him at every -possible exit. - -"On coming there, he would see on his left, Monsieur Stangerson; he -would turn to the right, towards the 'off-turning' gallery--the way -he had pre-arranged for flight, where, at the intersection of the two -galleries, he would see at once, as I have explained, on his left, -Frederic Larsan at the end of the 'off-turning' gallery, and in front, -Daddy Jacques, at the end of the 'right' gallery. Monsieur Stangerson -and myself would arrive by way of the back of the chateau.--He is -ours!--He can no longer escape us! I was sure of that. - -"The plan I had formed seemed to me the best, the surest, and the most -simple. It would, no doubt, have been simpler still, if we had been able -to place some one directly behind the door of Mademoiselle's boudoir, -which opened out of her bedchamber, and, in that way, had been in a -position to besiege the two doors of the room in which the man was. But -we could not penetrate the boudoir except by way of the drawing-room, -the door of which had been locked on the inside by Mademoiselle -Stangerson. But even if I had had the free disposition of the boudoir, -I should have held to the plan I had formed; because any other plan of -attack would have separated us at the moment of the struggle with the -man, while my plan united us all for the attack, at a spot which I had -selected with almost mathematical precision,--the intersection of the -two galleries. - -"Having so placed my people, I again left the chateau, hurried to my -ladder, and, replacing it, climbed up, revolver in hand. - -"If there be any inclined to smile at my taking so many precautionary -measures, I refer them to the mystery of The Yellow Room, and to all the -proofs we have of the weird cunning of the murderer. Further, if there -be some who think my observations needlessly minute at a moment when -they ought to be completely held by rapidity of movement and decision -of action, I reply that I have wished to report here, at length and -completely, all the details of a plan of attack conceived so rapidly -that it is only the slowness of my pen that gives an appearance -of slowness to the execution. I have wished, by this slowness and -precision, to be certain that nothing should be omitted from the -conditions under which the strange phenomenon was produced, which, until -some natural explanation of it is forthcoming, seems to me to prove, -even better than the theories of Professor Stangerson, the Dissociation -of Matter--I will even say, the instantaneous Dissociation of Matter." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. Strange Phenomenon of the Dissociation of Matter - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued) - -"I am again at the window-sill," continues Rouletabille, "and once -more I raise my head above it. Through an opening in the curtains, the -arrangement of which has not been changed, I am ready to look, anxious -to note the position in which I am going to find the murderer,--whether -his back will still be turned towards me!--whether he is still seated at -the desk writing! But perhaps--perhaps--he is no longer there!--Yet -how could he have fled?--Was I not in possession of his ladder? I force -myself to be cool. I raise my head yet higher. I look--he is still -there. I see his monstrous back, deformed by the shadow thrown by the -candle. He is no longer writing now, and the candle is on the parquet, -over which he is bending--a position which serves my purpose. - -"I hold my breath. I mount the ladder. I am on the uppermost rung of it, -and with my left hand seize hold of the window-sill. In this moment of -approaching success, I feel my heart beating wildly. I put my revolver -between my teeth. A quick spring, and I shall be on the window-ledge. -But--the ladder! I had been obliged to press on it heavily, and my foot -had scarcely left it, when I felt it swaying beneath me. It grated on -the wall and fell. But, already, my knees were touching the window-sill, -and, by a movement quick as lightning, I got on to it. - -"But the murderer had been even quicker than I had been. He had heard -the grating of the ladder on the wall, and I saw the monstrous back of -the man raise itself. I saw his head. Did I really see it?--The candle -on the parquet lit up his legs only. Above the height of the table -the chamber was in darkness. I saw a man with long hair, a full beard, -wild-looking eyes, a pale face, framed in large whiskers,--as well as -I could distinguish, and, as I think--red in colour. I did not know the -face. That was, in brief, the chief sensation I received from that -face in the dim half-light in which I saw it. I did not know it--or, at -least, I did not recognise it. - -"Now for quick action! It was indeed time for that, for as I was about -to place my legs through the window, the man had seen me, had bounded -to his feet, had sprung--as I foresaw he would--to the door of the -ante-chamber, had time to open it, and fled. But I was already behind -him, revolver in hand, shouting 'Help!' - -"Like an arrow I crossed the room, but noticed a letter on the table -as I rushed. I almost came up with the man in the ante-room, for he had -lost time in opening the door to the gallery. I flew on wings, and in -the gallery was but a few feet behind him. He had taken, as I supposed -he would, the gallery on his right,--that is to say, the road he had -prepared for his flight. 'Help, Jacques!--help, Larsan!' I cried. He -could not escape us! I raised a shout of joy, of savage victory. The man -reached the intersection of the two galleries hardly two seconds before -me for the meeting which I had prepared--the fatal shock which -must inevitably take place at that spot! We all rushed to the -crossing-place--Monsieur Stangerson and I coming from one end of the -right gallery, Daddy Jacques coming from the other end of the same -gallery, and Frederic Larsan coming from the 'off-turning' gallery. - -"The man was not there! - -"We looked at each other stupidly and with eyes terrified. The man had -vanished like a ghost. 'Where is he--where is he?' we all asked. - -"'It is impossible he can have escaped!' I cried, my terror mastered by -my anger. - -"'I touched him!' exclaimed Frederic Larsan. - -"'I felt his breath on my face!' cried Daddy Jacques. - -"'Where is he?'--where is he?' we all cried. - -"We raced like madmen along the two galleries; we visited doors and -windows--they were closed, hermetically closed. They had not been -opened. Besides, the opening of a door or window by this man whom we -were hunting, without our having perceived it, would have been more -inexplicable than his disappearance. - -"Where is he?--where is he?--He could not have got away by a door or -a window, nor by any other way. He could not have passed through our -bodies! - -"I confess that, for the moment, I felt 'done for.' For the gallery was -perfectly lighted, and there was neither trap, nor secret door in the -walls, nor any sort of hiding-place. We moved the chairs and lifted the -pictures. Nothing!--nothing! We would have looked into a flower-pot, if -there had been one to look into!" - -When this mystery, thanks to Rouletabille, was naturally explained, by -the help alone of his masterful mind, we were able to realise that the -murderer had got away neither by a door, a window, nor the stairs--a -fact which the judges would not admit. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. The Inexplicable Gallery - - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson appeared at the door of her ante-room," -continues Rouletabille's note-book. "We were near her door in the -gallery where this incredible phenomenon had taken place. There are -moments when one feels as if one's brain were about to burst. A bullet -in the head, a fracture of the skull, the seat of reason shattered--with -only these can I compare the sensation which exhausted and left me void -of sense. - -"Happily, Mademoiselle Stangerson appeared on the threshold of her -ante-room. I saw her, and that helped to relieve my chaotic state of -mind. I breathed her--I inhaled the perfume of the lady in black, whom I -should never see again. I would have given ten years of my life--half my -life--to see once more the lady in black! Alas! I no more meet her -but from time to time,--and yet!--and yet! how the memory of that -perfume--felt by me alone--carries me back to the days of my childhood.* -It was this sharp reminder from my beloved perfume, of the lady in -black, which made me go to her--dressed wholly in white and so pale--so -pale and so beautiful!--on the threshold of the inexplicable gallery. -Her beautiful golden hair, gathered into a knot on the back of her neck, -left visible the red star on her temple which had so nearly been the -cause of her death. When I first got on the right track of the mystery -of this case I had imagined that, on the night of the tragedy in The -Yellow Room, Mademoiselle Stangerson had worn her hair in bands. But -then, how could I have imagined otherwise when I had not been in -The Yellow Room! - - * When I wrote these lines, Joseph Rouletabille was eighteen - years of age,--and he spoke of his "youth." I have kept the - text of my friend, but I inform the reader here that the - episode of the mystery of The Yellow Room has no connection - with that of the perfume of the lady in black. It is not my - fault if, in the document which I have cited, Rouletabille - thought fit to refer to his childhood. - -"But now, since the occurrence of the inexplicable gallery, I did not -reason at all. I stood there, stupid, before the apparition--so pale -and so beautiful--of Mademoiselle Stangerson. She was clad in a -dressing-gown of dreamy white. One might have taken her to be a -ghost--a lovely phantom. Her father took her in his arms and kissed her -passionately, as if he had recovered her after being long lost to him. -I dared not question her. He drew her into the room and we followed -them,--for we had to know!--The door of the boudoir was open. The -terrified faces of the two nurses craned towards us. Mademoiselle -Stangerson inquired the meaning of all the disturbance. That she was -not in her own room was quite easily explained--quite easily. She had -a fancy not to sleep that night in her chamber, but in the boudoir with -her nurses, locking the door on them. Since the night of the crime she -had experienced feelings of terror, and fears came over her that are -easily to be comprehended. - -"But who could imagine that on that particular night when he was to -come, she would, by a mere chance, determine to shut herself in with her -women? Who would think that she would act contrary to her father's wish -to sleep in the drawing-room? Who could believe that the letter which -had so recently been on the table in her room would no longer be there? -He who could understand all this, would have to assume that Mademoiselle -Stangerson knew that the murderer was coming--she could not prevent -his coming again--unknown to her father, unknown to all but to Monsieur -Robert Darzac. For he must know it now--perhaps he had known it before! -Did he remember that phrase in the Elysee garden: 'Must I commit a -crime, then, to win you?' Against whom the crime, if not against the -obstacle, against the murderer? 'Ah, I would kill him with my own hand!' -And I replied, 'You have not answered my question.' That was the very -truth. In truth, in truth, Monsieur Darzac knew the murderer so well -that--while wishing to kill him himself--he was afraid I should find -him. There could be but two reasons why he had assisted me in my -investigation. First, because I forced him to do it; and, second, -because she would be the better protected. - -"I am in the chamber--her room. I look at her, also at the place where -the letter had just now been. She has possessed herself of it; it was -evidently intended for her--evidently. How she trembles!--Trembles at -the strange story her father is telling her, of the presence of the -murderer in her chamber, and of the pursuit. But it is plainly to be -seen that she is not wholly satisfied by the assurance given her until -she had been told that the murderer, by some incomprehensible means, had -been able to elude us. - -"Then follows a silence. What a silence! We are all there--looking at -her--her father, Larsan, Daddy Jacques and I. What were we all thinking -of in the silence? After the events of that night, of the mystery of -the inexplicable gallery, of the prodigious fact of the presence of the -murderer in her room, it seemed to me that all our thoughts might have -been translated into the words which were addressed to her. 'You who -know of this mystery, explain it to us, and we shall perhaps be able -to save you. How I longed to save her--for herself, and, from the -other!--It brought the tears to my eyes. - -"She is there, shedding about her the perfume of the lady in black. At -last, I see her, in the silence of her chamber. Since the fatal hour of -the mystery of The Yellow Room, we have hung about this invisible and -silent woman to learn what she knows. Our desires, our wish to know must -be a torment to her. Who can tell that, should we learn the secret of -her mystery, it would not precipitate a tragedy more terrible than that -which had already been enacted here? Who can tell if it might not mean -her death? Yet it had brought her close to death,--and we still knew -nothing. Or, rather, there are some of us who know nothing. But I--if I -knew who, I should know all. Who?--Who?--Not knowing who, I must remain -silent, out of pity for her. For there is no doubt that she knows how he -escaped from The Yellow Room, and yet she keeps the secret. When I know -who, I will speak to him--to him!" - -"She looked at us now--with a far-away look in her eyes--as if we were -not in the chamber. Monsieur Stangerson broke the silence. He declared -that, henceforth, he would no more absent himself from his daughter's -apartments. She tried to oppose him in vain. He adhered firmly to his -purpose. He would install himself there this very night, he said. Solely -concerned for the health of his daughter, he reproached her for having -left her bed. Then he suddenly began talking to her as if she were a -little child. He smiled at her and seemed not to know either what -he said or what he did. The illustrious professor had lost his -head. Mademoiselle Stangerson in a tone of tender distress said: -'Father!--father!' Daddy Jacques blows his nose, and Frederic Larsan -himself is obliged to turn away to hide his emotion. For myself, I am -able neither to think or feel. I felt an infinite contempt for myself. - -"It was the first time that Frederic Larsan, like myself, found himself -face to face with Mademoiselle Stangerson since the attack in The Yellow -Room. Like me, he had insisted on being allowed to question the unhappy -lady; but he had not, any more than had I, been permitted. To him, as to -me, the same answer had always been given: Mademoiselle Stangerson was -too weak to receive us. The questionings of the examining magistrate -had over-fatigued her. It was evidently intended not to give us any -assistance in our researches. I was not surprised; but Frederic Larsan -had always resented this conduct. It is true that he and I had a totally -different theory of the crime. - -"I still catch myself repeating from the depths of my heart: 'Save -her!--save her without his speaking!' Who is he--the murderer? Take him -and shut his mouth. But Monsieur Darzac made it clear that in order to -shut his mouth he must be killed. Have I the right to kill Mademoiselle -Stangerson's murderer? No, I had not. But let him only give me the -chance! Let me find out whether he is really a creature of flesh and -blood!--Let me see his dead body, since it cannot be taken alive. - -"If I could but make this woman, who does not even look at us, -understand! She is absorbed by her fears and by her father's distress of -mind. And I can do nothing to save her. Yes, I will go to work once more -and accomplish wonders. - -"I move towards her. I would speak to her. I would entreat her to -have confidence in me. I would, in a word, make her understand--she -alone--that I know how the murderer escaped from The Yellow Room--that -I have guessed the motives for her secrecy--and that I pity her with -all my heart. But by her gestures she begged us to leave her alone, -expressing weariness and the need for immediate rest. Monsieur -Stangerson asked us to go back to our rooms and thanked us. Frederic -Larsan and I bowed to him and, followed by Daddy Jacques, we regained -the gallery. I heard Larsan murmur: 'Strange! strange!' He made a sign -to me to go with him into his room. On the threshold he turned towards -Daddy Jacques. - -"'Did you see him distinctly?' he asked. - -"'Who?' - -"'The man?' - -"'Saw him!--why, he had a big red beard and red hair.' - -"'That's how he appeared to me,' I said. - -"'And to me,' said Larsan. - -"The great Fred and I were alone in his chamber, now, to talk over this -thing. We talked for an hour, turning the matter over and viewing it -from every side. From the questions put by him, from the explanation -which he gives me, it is clear to me that--in spite of all our -senses--he is persuaded the man disappeared by some secret passage in -the chateau known to him alone. - -"'He knows the chateau,' he said to me; 'he knows it well.' - -"'He is a rather tall man--well-built,' I suggested. - -"'He is as tall as he wants to be,' murmured Fred. - -"'I understand,' I said; 'but how do you account for his red hair and -beard?' - -"'Too much beard--too much hair--false,' says Fred. - -"'That's easily said. You are always thinking of Robert Darzac. You -can't get rid of that idea? I am certain that he is innocent.' - -"'So much the better. I hope so; but everything condemns him. Did you -notice the marks on the carpet?--Come and look at them.' - -"'I have seen them; they are the marks of the neat boots, the same as -those we saw on the border of the lake.' - -"'Can you deny that they belong to Robert Darzac?' - -"'Of course, one may be mistaken.' - -"'Have you noticed that those footprints only go in one direction?--that -there are no return marks? When the man came from the chamber, pursued -by all of us, his footsteps left no traces behind them.' - -"'He had, perhaps, been in the chamber for hours. The mud from his boots -had dried, and he moved with such rapidity on the points of his toes--We -saw him running, but we did not hear his steps.' - -"I suddenly put an end to this idle chatter--void of any logic, and made -a sign to Larsan to listen. - -"'There--below; some one is shutting a door.' - -"I rise; Larsan follows me; we descend to the ground-floor of the -chateau. I lead him to the little semi-circular room under the terrace -beneath the window of the 'off-turning' gallery. I point to the door, -now closed, open a short time before, under which a shaft of light is -visible. - -"'The forest-keeper!' says Fred. - -"'Come on!' I whisper. - -"Prepared--I know not why--to believe that the keeper is the guilty -man--I go to the door and rap smartly on it. Some might think that we -were rather late in thinking of the keeper, since our first business, -after having found that the murderer had escaped us in the gallery, -ought to have been to search everywhere else,--around the chateau,--in -the park-- - -"Had this criticism been made at the time, we could only have answered -that the assassin had disappeared from the gallery in such a way that we -thought he was no longer anywhere! He had eluded us when we all had our -hands stretched out ready to seize him--when we were almost touching -him. We had no longer any ground for hoping that we could clear up the -mystery of that night. - -"As soon as I rapped at the door it was opened, and the keeper asked us -quietly what we wanted. He was undressed and preparing to go to bed. The -bed had not yet been disturbed. - -"We entered and I affected surprise. - -"'Not gone to bed yet?' - -"'No,' he replied roughly. 'I have been making a round of the park and -in the woods. I am only just back--and sleepy. Good-night!' - -"'Listen,' I said. 'An hour or so ago, there was a ladder close by your -window.' - -"'What ladder?--I did not see any ladder. Good-night!' - -"And he simply put us out of the room. When we were outside I looked at -Larsan. His face was impenetrable. - -"'Well?' I said. - -"'Well?' he repeated. - -"'Does that open out any new view to you?' - -"There was no mistaking Larsan's bad temper. On re-entering the chateau, -I heard him mutter: - -"'It would be strange--very strange--if I had deceived myself on that -point!' - -"He seemed to be talking to me rather than to himself. He added: 'In -any case, we shall soon know what to think. The morning will bring light -with it.'" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. Rouletabille Has Drawn a Circle Between the Two Bumps on -His Forehead - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued) - -"We separated on the thresholds of our rooms, with a melancholy shake of -the hands. I was glad to have aroused in him a suspicion of error. His -was an original brain, very intelligent but--without method. I did not -go to bed. I awaited the coming of daylight and then went down to -the front of the chateau, and made a detour, examining every trace of -footsteps coming towards it or going from it. These, however, were so -mixed and confusing that I could make nothing of them. Here I may make -a remark,--I am not accustomed to attach an exaggerated importance to -exterior signs left in the track of a crime. - -"The method which traces the criminal by means of the tracks of his -footsteps is altogether primitive. So many footprints are identical. -However, in the disturbed state of my mind, I did go into the deserted -court and did look at all the footprints I could find there, seeking for -some indication, as a basis for reasoning. - -"If I could but find a right starting-point! In despair I seated myself -on a stone. For over an hour I busied myself with the common, ordinary -work of a policeman. Like the least intelligent of detectives I went on -blindly over the traces of footprints which told me just no more than -they could. - -"I came to the conclusion that I was a fool, lower in the scale of -intelligence than even the police of the modern romancer. Novelists -build mountains of stupidity out of a footprint on the sand, or from -an impression of a hand on the wall. That's the way innocent men are -brought to prison. It might convince an examining magistrate or the head -of a detective department, but it's not proof. You writers forget that -what the senses furnish is not proof. If I am taking cognisance of what -is offered me by my senses I do so but to bring the results within the -circle of my reason. That circle may be the most circumscribed, but if -it is, it has this advantage--it holds nothing but the truth! Yes, I -swear that I have never used the evidence of the senses but as servants -to my reason. I have never permitted them to become my master. They have -not made of me that monstrous thing,--worse than a blind man,--a man -who sees falsely. And that is why I can triumph over your error and your -merely animal intelligence, Frederic Larsan. - -"Be of good courage, then, friend Rouletabille; it is impossible that -the incident of the inexplicable gallery should be outside the circle -of your reason. You know that! Then have faith and take thought with -yourself and forget not that you took hold of the right end when you -drew that circle in your brain within which to unravel this mysterious -play of circumstance. - -"To it, once again! Go--back to the gallery. Take your stand on your -reason and rest there as Frederic Larsan rests on his cane. You will -then soon prove that the great Fred is nothing but a fool. - ---30th October. Noon. - -JOSEPH ROULETABILLE." - - -"I acted as I planned. With head on fire, I retraced my way to the -gallery, and without having found anything more than I had seen on -the previous night, the right hold I had taken of my reason drew me to -something so important that I was obliged to cling to it to save myself -from falling. - -"Now for the strength and patience to find sensible traces to fit in -with my thinking--and these must come within the circle I have drawn -between the two bumps on my forehead! - ---30th of October. Midnight." - -"JOSEPH ROULETABILLE." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. Rouletabille Invites Me to Breakfast at the Donjon Inn - - -It was not until later that Rouletabille sent me the note-book in which -he had written at length the story of the phenomenon of the inexplicable -gallery. On the day I arrived at the Glandier and joined him in his -room, he recounted to me, with the greatest detail, all that I have now -related, telling me also how he had spent several hours in Paris where -he had learned nothing that could be of any help to him. - -The event of the inexplicable gallery had occurred on the night between -the 29th and 30th of October, that is to say, three days before my -return to the chateau. It was on the 2nd of November, then, that I went -back to the Glandier, summoned there by my friend's telegram, and taking -the revolvers with me. - -I am now in Rouletabille's room and he has finished his recital. - -While he had been telling me the story I noticed him continually rubbing -the glass of the eyeglasses he had found on the side table. From the -evident pleasure he was taking in handling them I felt they must be one -of those sensible evidences destined to enter what he had called the -circle of the right end of his reason. That strange and unique way of -his, to express himself in terms wonderfully adequate for his thoughts, -no longer surprised me. It was often necessary to know his thought to -understand the terms he used; and it was not easy to penetrate into -Rouletabille's thinking. - -This lad's brain was one of the most curious things I have ever -observed. Rouletabille went on the even tenor of his way without -suspecting the astonishment and even bewilderment he roused in others. I -am sure he was not himself in the least conscious of the originality of -his genius. He was himself and at ease wherever he happened to be. - -When he had finished his recital he asked me what I thought of it. I -replied that I was much puzzled by his question. Then he begged me to -try, in my turn, to take my reason in hand "by the right end." - -"Very well," I said. "It seems to me that the point of departure of -my reason would be this--there can be no doubt that the murderer you -pursued was in the gallery." I paused. - -"After making so good a start, you ought not to stop so soon," he -exclaimed. "Come, make another effort." - -"I'll try. Since he disappeared from the gallery without passing through -any door or window, he must have escaped by some other opening." - -Rouletabille looked at me pityingly, smiled carelessly, and remarked -that I was reasoning like a postman, or--like Frederic Larsan. - -Rouletabille had alternate fits of admiration and disdain for the great -Fred. It all depended as to whether Larsan's discoveries tallied with -Rouletabille's reasoning or not. When they did he would exclaim: "He -is really great!" When they did not he would grunt and mutter, "What an -ass!" It was a petty side of the noble character of this strange youth. - -We had risen, and he led me into the park. When we reached the court and -were making towards the gate, the sound of blinds thrown back against -the wall made us turn our heads, and we saw, at a window on the first -floor of the chateau, the ruddy and clean shaven face of a person I did -not recognise. - -"Hullo!" muttered Rouletabille. "Arthur Rance!"--He lowered his head, -quickened his pace, and I heard him ask himself between his teeth: "Was -he in the chateau that night? What is he doing here?" - -We had gone some distance from the chateau when I asked him who this -Arthur Rance was, and how he had come to know him. He referred to his -story of that morning and I remembered that Mr. Arthur W. Rance was the -American from Philadelphia with whom he had had so many drinks at the -Elysee reception. - -"But was he not to have left France almost immediately?" I asked. - -"No doubt; that's why I am surprised to find him here still, and not -only in France, but above all, at the Glandier. He did not arrive this -morning; and he did not get here last night. He must have got here -before dinner, then. Why didn't the concierges tell me?" - -I reminded my friend, apropos of the concierges, that he had not yet -told me what had led him to get them set at liberty. - -We were close to their lodge. Monsieur and Madame Bernier saw us coming. -A frank smile lit up their happy faces. They seemed to harbour no -ill-feeling because of their detention. My young friend asked them at -what hour Mr. Arthur Rance had arrived. They answered that they did not -know he was at the chateau. He must have come during the evening of the -previous night, but they had not had to open the gate for him, because, -being a great walker, and not wishing that a carriage should be sent -to meet him, he was accustomed to get off at the little hamlet of -Saint-Michel, from which he came to the chateau by way of the forest. He -reached the park by the grotto of Sainte-Genevieve, over the little gate -of which, giving on to the park, he climbed. - -As the concierges spoke, I saw Rouletabille's face cloud over and -exhibit disappointment--a disappointment, no doubt, with himself. -Evidently he was a little vexed, after having worked so much on the -spot, with so minute a study of the people and events at the Glandier, -that he had to learn now that Arthur Rance was accustomed to visit the -chateau. - -"You say that Monsieur Arthur Rance is accustomed to come to the -chateau. When did he come here last?" - -"We can't tell you exactly," replied Madame Bernier--that was the -name of the concierge--"we couldn't know while they were keeping us in -prison. Besides, as the gentleman comes to the chateau without passing -through our gate he goes away by the way he comes." - -"Do you know when he came the first time?" - -"Oh yes, Monsieur!--nine years ago." - -"He was in France nine years ago, then," said Rouletabille, "and, -since that time, as far as you know, how many times has he been at the -Glandier?" - -"Three times." - -"When did he come the last time, as far as you know?" - -"A week before the attempt in The Yellow Room." - -Rouletabille put another question--this time addressing himself -particularly to the woman: - -"In the grove of the parquet?" - -"In the grove of the parquet," she replied. - -"Thanks!" said Rouletabille. "Be ready for me this evening." - -He spoke the last words with a finger on his lips as if to command -silence and discretion. - -We left the park and took the way to the Donjon Inn. - -"Do you often eat here?" - -"Sometimes." - -"But you also take your meals at the chateau?" - -"Yes, Larsan and I are sometimes served in one of our rooms." - -"Hasn't Monsieur Stangerson ever invited you to his own table?" - -"Never." - -"Does your presence at the chateau displease him?" - -"I don't know; but, in any case, he does not make us feel that we are in -his way." - -"Doesn't he question you?" - -"Never. He is in the same state of mind as he was in at the door of The -Yellow Room when his daughter was being murdered, and when he broke open -the door and did not find the murderer. He is persuaded, since he -could discover nothing, that there's no reason why we should be able -to discover more than he did. But he has made it his duty, since Larsan -expressed his theory, not to oppose us." - -Rouletabille buried himself in thought again for some time. He aroused -himself later to tell me of how he came to set the two concierges free. - -"I went recently to see Monsieur Stangerson, and took with me a piece of -paper on which was written: 'I promise, whatever others may say, to -keep in my service my two faithful servants, Bernier and his wife.' I -explained to him that, by signing that document, he would enable me to -compel those two people to speak out; and I declared my own assurance of -their innocence of any part in the crime. That was also his opinion. The -examining magistrate, after it was signed, presented the document to the -Berniers, who then did speak. They said, what I was certain they would -say, as soon as they were sure they would not lose their place. - -"They confessed to poaching on Monsieur Stangerson's estates, and it -was while they were poaching, on the night of the crime, that they were -found not far from the pavilion at the moment when the outrage was being -committed. Some rabbits they caught in that way were sold by them to the -landlord of the Donjon Inn, who served them to his customers, or sent -them to Paris. That was the truth, as I had guessed from the first. Do -you remember what I said, on entering the Donjon Inn?--'We shall have -to eat red meat--now!' I had heard the words on the same morning when -we arrived at the park gate. You heard them also, but you did not attach -any importance to them. You recollect, when we reached the park gate, -that we stopped to look at a man who was running by the side of the -wall, looking every minute at his watch. That was Larsan. Well, behind -us the landlord of the Donjon Inn, standing on his doorstep, said to -someone inside: 'We shall have to eat red meat--now.' - -"Why that 'now'? When you are, as I am, in search of some hidden secret, -you can't afford to have anything escape you. You've got to know the -meaning of everything. We had come into a rather out-of-the-way part of -the country which had been turned topsy-turvey by a crime, and my reason -led me to suspect every phrase that could bear upon the event of the -day. 'Now,' I took to mean, 'since the outrage.' In the course of my -inquiry, therefore, I sought to find a relation between that phrase and -the tragedy. We went to the Donjon Inn for breakfast; I repeated the -phrase and saw, by the surprise and trouble on Daddy Mathieu's face, -that I had not exaggerated its importance, so far as he was concerned. - -"I had just learned that the concierges had been arrested. Daddy Mathieu -spoke of them as of dear friends--people for whom one is sorry. That -was a reckless conjunction of ideas, I said to myself. 'Now,' that -the concierges are arrested, 'we shall have to eat red meat.' No more -concierges, no more game! The hatred expressed by Daddy Mathieu for -Monsieur Stangerson's forest-keeper--a hatred he pretended was shared -by the concierges led me easily to think of poaching. Now as all the -evidence showed the concierges had not been in bed at the time of the -tragedy, why were they abroad that night? As participants in the crime? -I was not disposed to think so. I had already arrived at the conclusion, -by steps of which I will tell you later--that the assassin had had no -accomplice, and that the tragedy held a mystery between Mademoiselle -Stangerson and the murderer, a mystery with which the concierges had -nothing to do. - -"With that theory in my mind, I searched for proof in their lodge, -which, as you know, I entered. I found there under their bed, some -springs and brass wire. 'Ah!' I thought, 'these things explain why -they were out in the park at night!' I was not surprised at the dogged -silence they maintained before the examining magistrate, even under the -accusation so grave as that of being accomplices in the crime. Poaching -would save them from the Assize Court, but it would lose them their -places; and, as they were perfectly sure of their innocence of the crime -they hoped it would soon be established, and then their poaching might -go on as usual. They could always confess later. I, however, hastened -their confession by means of the document Monsieur Stangerson signed. -They gave all the necessary 'proofs,' were set at liberty, and have -now a lively gratitude for me. Why did I not get them released sooner? -Because I was not sure that nothing more than poaching was against them. -I wanted to study the ground. As the days went by, my conviction became -more and more certain. The day after the events of the inexplicable -gallery I had need of help I could rely on, so I resolved to have them -released at once." - -That was how Joseph Rouletabille explained himself. Once more I could -not but be astonished at the simplicity of the reasoning which had -brought him to the truth of the matter. Certainly this was no big thing; -but I think, myself, that the young man will, one of these days, explain -with the same simplicity, the fearful tragedy in The Yellow Room as well -as the phenomenon of the inexplicable gallery. - -We reached the Donjon Inn and entered it. - -This time we did not see the landlord, but were received with a pleasant -smile by the hostess. I have already described the room in which we -found ourselves, and I have given a glimpse of the charming blonde woman -with the gentle eyes who now immediately began to prepare our breakfast. - -"How's Daddy Mathieu?" asked Rouletabille. - -"Not much better--not much better; he is still confined to his bed." - -"His rheumatism still sticks to him, then?" - -"Yes. Last night I was again obliged to give him morphine--the only drug -that gives him any relief." - -She spoke in a soft voice. Everything about her expressed gentleness. -She was, indeed, a beautiful woman; somewhat with an air of indolence, -with great eyes seemingly black and blue--amorous eyes. Was she happy -with her crabbed, rheumatic husband? The scene at which we had once been -present did not lead us to believe that she was; yet there was something -in her bearing that was not suggestive of despair. She disappeared into -the kitchen to prepare our repast, leaving on the table a bottle of -excellent cider. Rouletabille filled our earthenware mugs, loaded his -pipe, and quietly explained to me his reason for asking me to come to -the Glandier with revolvers. - -"Yes," he said, contemplatively looking at the clouds of smoke he was -puffing out, "yes, my dear boy, I expect the assassin to-night." A brief -silence followed, which I took care not to interrupt, and then he went -on: - -"Last night, just as I was going to bed, Monsieur Robert Darzac knocked -at my room. When he came in he confided to me that he was compelled to -go to Paris the next day, that is, this morning. The reason which made -this journey necessary was at once peremptory and mysterious; it was not -possible for him to explain its object to me. 'I go, and yet,' he added, -'I would give my life not to leave Mademoiselle Stangerson at this -moment.' He did not try to hide that he believed her to be once more in -danger. 'It will not greatly astonish me if something happens to-morrow -night,' he avowed, 'and yet I must be absent. I cannot be back at the -Glandier before the morning of the day after to-morrow.' - -"I asked him to explain himself, and this is all he would tell me. -His anticipation of coming danger had come to him solely from the -coincidence that Mademoiselle Stangerson had been twice attacked, and -both times when he had been absent. On the night of the incident of the -inexplicable gallery he had been obliged to be away from the Glandier. -On the night of the tragedy in The Yellow Room he had also not been able -to be at the Glandier, though this was the first time he had declared -himself on the matter. Now a man so moved who would still go away must -be acting under compulsion--must be obeying a will stronger than -his own. That was how I reasoned, and I told him so. He replied -'Perhaps.'--I asked him if Mademoiselle Stangerson was compelling him. -He protested that she was not. His determination to go to Paris had been -taken without any conference with Mademoiselle Stangerson. - -"To cut the story short, he repeated that his belief in the possibility -of a fresh attack was founded entirely on the extraordinary coincidence. -'If anything happens to Mademoiselle Stangerson,' he said, 'it would be -terrible for both of us. For her, because her life would be in danger; -for me because I could neither defend her from the attack nor tell of -where I had been. I am perfectly aware of the suspicions cast on me. -The examining magistrate and Monsieur Larsan are both on the point of -believing in my guilt. Larsan tracked me the last time I went to Paris, -and I had all the trouble in the world to get rid of him.' - -"'Why do you not tell me the name of the murderer now, if you know it?' -I cried. - -"Monsieur Darzac appeared extremely troubled by my question, and replied -to me in a hesitating tone: - -"'I?--I know the name of the murderer? Why, how could I know his name?' - -"I at once replied: 'From Mademoiselle Stangerson.' - -"He grew so pale that I thought he was about to faint, and I saw that I -had hit the nail right on the head. Mademoiselle and he knew the name of -the murderer! When he recovered himself, he said to me: 'I am going to -leave you. Since you have been here I have appreciated your exceptional -intelligence and your unequalled ingenuity. But I ask this service of -you. Perhaps I am wrong to fear an attack during the coming night; but, -as I must act with foresight, I count on you to frustrate any attempt -that may be made. Take every step needful to protect Mademoiselle -Stangerson. Keep a most careful watch of her room. Don't go to sleep, -nor allow yourself one moment of repose. The man we dread is remarkably -cunning--with a cunning that has never been equalled. If you keep watch -his very cunning may save her; because it's impossible that he should -not know that you are watching; and knowing it, he may not venture.' - -"'Have you spoken of all this to Monsieur Stangerson?' - -"'No. I do not wish him to ask me, as you just now did, for the name of -the murderer. I tell you all this, Monsieur Rouletabille, because I have -great, very great, confidence in you. I know that you do not suspect -me.' - -"The poor man spoke in jerks. He was evidently suffering. I pitied him, -the more because I felt sure that he would rather allow himself to -be killed than tell me who the murderer was. As for Mademoiselle -Stangerson, I felt that she would rather allow herself to be murdered -than denounce the man of The Yellow Room and of the inexplicable -gallery. The man must be dominating her, or both, by some inscrutable -power. They were dreading nothing so much as the chance of Monsieur -Stangerson knowing that his daughter was 'held' by her assailant. I made -Monsieur Darzac understand that he had explained himself sufficiently, -and that he might refrain from telling me any more than he had already -told me. I promised him to watch through the night. He insisted that I -should establish an absolutely impassable barrier around Mademoiselle -Stangerson's chamber, around the boudoir where the nurses were sleeping, -and around the drawing-room where, since the affair of the inexplicable -gallery, Monsieur Stangerson had slept. In short, I was to put a cordon -round the whole apartment. - -"From his insistence I gathered that Monsieur Darzac intended not only -to make it impossible for the expected man to reach the chamber of -Mademoiselle Stangerson, but to make that impossibility so visibly clear -that, seeing himself expected, he would at once go away. That was how -I interpreted his final words when we parted: 'You may mention your -suspicions of the expected attack to Monsieur Stangerson, to Daddy -Jacques, to Frederic Larsan, and to anybody in the chateau.' - -"The poor fellow left me hardly knowing what he was saying. My silence -and my eyes told him that I had guessed a large part of his secret. And, -indeed, he must have been at his wits' end, to have come to me at such a -time, and to abandon Mademoiselle Stangerson in spite of his fixed idea -as to the consequence. - -"When he was gone, I began to think that I should have to use even a -greater cunning than his so that if the man should come that night, -he might not for a moment suspect that his coming had been expected. -Certainly! I would allow him to get in far enough, so that, dead or -alive, I might see his face clearly! He must be got rid of. Mademoiselle -Stangerson must be freed from this continual impending danger. - -"Yes, my boy," said Rouletabille, after placing his pipe on the table, -and emptying his mug of cider, "I must see his face distinctly, so as to -make sure to impress it on that part of my brain where I have drawn my -circle of reasoning." - -The landlady re-appeared at that moment, bringing in the traditional -bacon omelette. Rouletabille chaffed her a little, and she took the -chaff with the most charming good humour. - -"She is much jollier when Daddy Mathieu is in bed with his rheumatism," -Rouletabille said to me. - -But I had eyes neither for Rouletabille nor for the landlady's smiles. -I was entirely absorbed over the last words of my young friend and in -thinking over Monsieur Robert Darzac's strange behaviour. - -When he had finished his omelette and we were again alone, Rouletabille -continued the tale of his confidences. - -"When I sent you my telegram this morning," he said, "I had only -the word of Monsieur Darzac, that 'perhaps' the assassin would come -to-night. I can now say that he will certainly come. I expect him." - -"What has made you feel this certainty?" - -"I have been sure since half-past ten o'clock this morning that he -would come. I knew that before we saw Arthur Rance at the window in the -court." - -"Ah!" I said, "But, again--what made you so sure? And why since -half-past ten this morning?" - -"Because, at half-past ten, I had proof that Mademoiselle Stangerson was -making as many efforts to permit of the murderer's entrance as Monsieur -Robert Darzac had taken precautions against it." - -"Is that possible!" I cried. "Haven't you told me that Mademoiselle -Stangerson loves Monsieur Robert Darzac?" - -"I told you so because it is the truth." - -"Then do you see nothing strange--" - -"Everything in this business is strange, my friend; but take my word for -it, the strangeness you now feel is nothing to the strangeness that's to -come!" - -"It must be admitted, then," I said, "that Mademoiselle Stangerson and -her murderer are in communication--at any rate in writing?" - -"Admit it, my friend, admit it! You don't risk anything! I told you -about the letter left on her table, on the night of the inexplicable -gallery affair,--the letter that disappeared into the pocket of -Mademoiselle Stangerson. Why should it not have been a summons to a -meeting? Might he not, as soon as he was sure of Darzac's absence, -appoint the meeting for 'the coming night?" - -And my friend laughed silently. There are moments when I ask myself if -he is not laughing at me. - -The door of the inn opened. Rouletabille was on his feet so suddenly -that one might have thought he had received an electric shock. - -"Mr. Arthur Rance!" he cried. - -Mr. Arthur Rance stood before us calmly bowing. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. An Act of Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -"You remember me, Monsieur?" asked Rouletabille. - -"Perfectly!" replied Arthur Rance. "I recognise you as the lad at the -bar. [The face of Rouletabille crimsoned at being called a "lad."] I -want to shake hands with you. You are a bright little fellow." - -The American extended his hand and Rouletabille, relaxing his frown, -shook it and introduced Mr. Arthur Rance to me. He invited him to share -our meal. - -"No thanks. I breakfasted with Monsieur Stangerson." - -Arthur Rance spoke French perfectly,--almost without an accent. - -"I did not expect to have the pleasure of seeing you again, Monsieur. I -thought you were to have left France the day after the reception at the -Elysee." - -Rouletabille and I, outwardly indifferent, listened most intently for -every word the American would say. - -The man's purplish red face, his heavy eyelids, the nervous twitchings, -all spoke of his addiction to drink. How came it that so sorry a -specimen of a man should be so intimate with Monsieur Stangerson? - -Some days later, I learned from Frederic Larsan--who, like ourselves, -was surprised and mystified by his appearance and reception at the -chateau--that Mr. Rance had been an inebriate for only about fifteen -years; that is to say, since the professor and his daughter left -Philadelphia. During the time the Stangersons lived in America they were -very intimate with Arthur Rance, who was one of the most distinguished -phrenologists of the new world. Owing to new experiments, he had -made enormous strides beyond the science of Gall and Lavater. The -friendliness with which he was received at the Glandier may be explained -by the fact that he had once rendered Mademoiselle Stangerson a great -service by stopping, at the peril of his own life, the runaway horses of -her carriage. The immediate result of that could, however, have been no -more than a mere friendly association with the Stangersons; certainly, -not a love affair. - -Frederic Larsan did not tell me where he had picked up this information; -but he appeared to be quite sure of what he said. - -Had we known these facts at the time Arthur Rance met us at the Donjon -Inn, his presence at the chateau might not have puzzled us, but they -could not have failed to increase our interest in the man himself. The -American must have been at least forty-five years old. He spoke in a -perfectly natural tone in reply to Rouletabille's question. - -"I put off my return to America when I heard of the attack on -Mademoiselle Stangerson. I wanted to be certain the lady had not been -killed, and I shall not go away until she is perfectly recovered." - -Arthur Rance then took the lead in talk, paying no heed to some of -Rouletabille's questions. He gave us, without our inviting him, his -personal views on the subject of the tragedy,--views which, as well as -I could make out, were not far from those held by Frederic Larzan. The -American also thought that Robert Darzac had something to do with the -matter. He did not mention him by name, but there was no room to doubt -whom he meant. He told us he was aware of the efforts young Rouletabille -was making to unravel the tangled skein of The Yellow Room mystery. He -explained that Monsieur Stangerson had related to him all that had taken -place in the inexplicable gallery. He several times expressed his regret -at Monsieur Darzac's absence from the chateau on all these occasions, -and thought that Monsieur Darzac had done cleverly in allying himself -with Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille, who could not fail, sooner or later, -to discover the murderer. He spoke the last sentence with unconcealed -irony. Then he rose, bowed to us, and left the inn. - -Rouletabille watched him through the window. - -"An odd fish, that!" he said. - -"Do you think he'll pass the night at the Glandier?" I asked. - -To my amazement the young reporter answered that it was a matter of -entire indifference to him whether he did or not. - -As to how we spent our time during the afternoon, all I need say is -that Rouletabille led me to the grotto of Sainte-Genevieve, and, all -the time, talked of every subject but the one in which we were most -interested. Towards evening I was surprised to find Rouletabille making -none of the preparations I had expected him to make. I spoke to him -about it when night had come on, and we were once more in his room. He -replied that all his arrangements had already been made, and this time -the murderer would not get away from him. - -I expressed some doubt on this, reminding him of his disappearance in -the gallery, and suggested that the same phenomenon might occur again. -He answered that he hoped it would. He desired nothing more. I did not -insist, knowing by experience how useless that would have been. He told -me that, with the help of the concierges, the chateau had since early -dawn been watched in such a way that nobody could approach it without -his knowing it, and that he had no concern for those who might have left -it and remained without. - -It was then six o'clock by his watch. Rising, he made a sign to me to -follow him, and, without in the least trying to conceal his movements or -the sound of his footsteps, he led me through the gallery. We reached -the 'right' gallery and came to the landing-place which we crossed. -We then continued our way in the gallery of the left wing, passing -Professor Stangerson's apartment. - -At the far end of the gallery, before coming to the donjon, is the room -occupied by Arthur Rance. We knew that, because we had seen him at the -window looking on to the court. The door of the room opens on to the end -of the gallery, exactly facing the east window, at the extremity of -the 'right' gallery, where Rouletabille had placed Daddy Jacques, and -commands an uninterrupted view of the gallery from end to end of the -chateau. - -"That 'off-turning' gallery," said Rouletabille, "I reserve for myself; -when I tell you you'll come and take your place here." - -And he made me enter a little dark, triangular closet built in a bend -of the wall, to the left of the door of Arthur Rance's room. From this -recess I could see all that occurred in the gallery as well as if I had -been standing in front of Arthur Rance's door, and I could watch -that door, too. The door of the closet, which was to be my place -of observation, was fitted with panels of transparent glass. In the -gallery, where all the lamps had been lit, it was quite light. In the -closet, however, it was quite dark. It was a splendid place from which -to observe and remain unobserved. - -I was soon to play the part of a spy--a common policeman. I wonder what -my leader at the bar would have said had he known! I was not altogether -pleased with my duties, but I could not refuse Rouletabille the -assistance he had begged me to give him. I took care not to make him -see that I in the least objected, and for several reasons. I wanted to -oblige him; I did not wish him to think me a coward; I was filled -with curiosity; and it was too late for me to draw back, even had -I determined to do so. That I had not had these scruples sooner was -because my curiosity had quite got the better of me. I might also urge -that I was helping to save the life of a woman, and even a lawyer may do -that conscientiously. - -We returned along the gallery. On reaching the door of Mademoiselle -Stangerson's apartment, it opened from a push given by the steward who -was waiting at the dinner-table. (Monsieur Stangerson had, for the last -three days, dined with his daughter in the drawing-room on the first -floor.) As the door remained open, we distinctly saw Mademoiselle -Stangerson, taking advantage of the steward's absence, and while her -father was stooping to pick up something he had let fall, pour the -contents of a phial into Monsieur Stangerson's glass. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. On the Watch - - -The act, which staggered me, did not appear to affect Rouletabille much. -We returned to his room and, without even referring to what we had seen, -he gave me his final instructions for the night. First we were to go to -dinner; after dinner, I was to take my stand in the dark closet and wait -there as long as it was necessary--to look out for what might happen. - -"If you see anything before I do," he explained, "you must let me know. -If the man gets into the 'right' gallery by any other way than the -'off-turning' gallery, you will see him before I shall, because you have -a view along the whole length of the 'right' gallery, while I can only -command a view of the 'off-turning' gallery. All you need do to let -me know is to undo the cord holding the curtain of the 'right' gallery -window, nearest to the dark closet. The curtain will fall of itself and -immediately leave a square of shadow where previously there had been a -square of light. To do this, you need but stretch your hand out of the -closet, I shall understand your signal perfectly." - -"And then?" - -"Then you will see me coming round the corner of the 'off-turning' -gallery." - -"What am I to do then?" - -"You will immediately come towards me, behind the man; but I shall -already be upon him, and shall have seen his face." - -I attempted a feeble smile. - -"Why do you smile? Well, you may smile while you have the chance, but I -swear you'll have no time for that a few hours from now. - -"And if the man escapes?" - -"So much the better," said Rouletabille, coolly, "I don't want to -capture him. He may take himself off any way he can. I will let -him go--after I have seen his face. That's all I want. I shall know -afterwards what to do so that as far as Mademoiselle Stangerson is -concerned he shall be dead to her even though he continues to live. If -I took him alive, Mademoiselle Stangerson and Robert Darzac would, -perhaps, never forgive me! And I wish to retain their good-will and -respect. - -"Seeing, as I have just now seen, Mademoiselle Stangerson pour a -narcotic into her father's glass, so that he might not be awake to -interrupt the conversation she is going to have with her murderer, you -can imagine she would not be grateful to me if I brought the man of -The Yellow Room and the inexplicable gallery, bound and gagged, to her -father. I realise now that if I am to save the unhappy lady, I must -silence the man and not capture him. To kill a human being is no small -thing. Besides, that's not my business, unless the man himself makes it -my business. On the other hand, to render him forever silent without -the lady's assent and confidence is to act on one's own initiative and -assumes a knowledge of everything with nothing for a basis. Fortunately, -my friend, I have guessed, no, I have reasoned it all out. All that I -ask of the man who is coming to-night is to bring me his face, so that -it may enter--" - -"Into the circle?" - -"Exactly! And his face won't surprise me!" - -"But I thought you saw his face on the night when you sprang into the -chamber?" - -"Only imperfectly. The candle was on the floor; and, his beard--" - -"Will he wear his beard this evening?" - -"I think I can say for certain that he will. But the gallery is light -and, now, I know--or--at least, my brain knows--and my eyes will see." - -"If we are here only to see him and let him escape, why are we armed?" - -"Because, if the man of The Yellow Room and the inexplicable gallery -knows that I know, he is capable of doing anything! We should then have -to defend ourselves." - -"And you are sure he will come to-night?" - -"As sure as that you are standing there! This morning, at half-past ten -o'clock, Mademoiselle Stangerson, in the cleverest way in the world, -arranged to have no nurses to-night. She gave them leave of absence for -twenty-four hours, under some plausible pretexts, and did not desire -anybody to be with her but her father, while they are away. Her father, -who is to sleep in the boudoir, has gladly consented to the arrangement. -Darzac's departure and what he told me, as well as the extraordinary -precautions Mademoiselle Stangerson is taking to be alone to-night -leaves me no room for doubt. She has prepared the way for the coming of -the man whom Darzac dreads." - -"That's awful!" - -"It is!" - -"And what we saw her do was done to send her father to sleep?" - -"Yes." - -"Then there are but two of us for to-night's work?" - -"Four; the concierge and his wife will watch at all hazards. I don't -set much value on them before--but the concierge may be useful after--if -there's to be any killing!" - -"Then you think there may be?" - -"If he wishes it." - -"Why haven't you brought in Daddy Jacques?--Have you made no use of him -to-day?" - -"No," replied Rouletabille sharply. - -I kept silence for awhile, then, anxious to know his thoughts, I asked -him point blank: - -"Why not tell Arthur Rance?--He may be of great assistance to us?" - -"Oh!" said Rouletabille crossly, "then you want to let everybody into -Mademoiselle Stangerson's secrets?--Come, let us go to dinner; it is -time. This evening we dine in Frederic Larsan's room,--at least, if -he is not on the heels of Darzac. He sticks to him like a leech. But, -anyhow, if he is not there now, I am quite sure he will be, to-night! -He's the one I am going to knock over!" - -At this moment we heard a noise in the room near us. - -"It must be he," said Rouletabille. - -"I forgot to ask you," I said, "if we are to make any allusion to -to-night's business when we are with this policeman. I take it we are -not. Is that so?" - -"Evidently. We are going to operate alone, on our own personal account." - -"So that all the glory will be ours?" - -Rouletabille laughed. - -We dined with Frederic Larsan in his room. He told us he had just come -in and invited us to be seated at table. We ate our dinner in the best -of humours, and I had no difficulty in appreciating the feelings of -certainty which both Rouletabille and Larsan felt. Rouletabille told the -great Fred that I had come on a chance visit, and that he had asked me -to stay and help him in the heavy batch of writing he had to get through -for the "Epoque." I was going back to Paris, he said, by the eleven -o'clock train, taking his "copy," which took a story form, recounting -the principal episodes in the mysteries of the Glandier. Larsan smiled -at the explanation like a man who was not fooled and politely refrains -from making the slightest remark on matters which did not concern him. - -With infinite precautions as to the words they used, and even as to the -tones of their voices, Larsan and Rouletabille discussed, for a long -time, Mr. Arthur Rance's appearance at the chateau, and his past in -America, about which they expressed a desire to know more, at any rate, -so far as his relations with the Stangersons. At one time, Larsan, who -appeared to me to be unwell, said, with an effort: - -"I think, Monsieur Rouletabille, that we've not much more to do at the -Glandier, and that we sha'n't sleep here many more nights." - -"I think so, too, Monsieur Fred." - -"Then you think the conclusion of the matter has been reached?" - -"I think, indeed, that we have nothing more to find out," replied -Rouletabille. - -"Have you found your criminal?" asked Larsan. - -"Have you?" - -"Yes." - -"So have I," said Rouletabille. - -"Can it be the same man?" - -"I don't know if you have swerved from your original idea," said the -young reporter. Then he added, with emphasis: "Monsieur Darzac is an -honest man!" - -"Are you sure of that?" asked Larsan. "Well, I am sure he is not. So -it's a fight then?" - -"Yes, it is a fight. But I shall beat you, Monsieur Frederic Larsan." - -"Youth never doubts anything," said the great Fred laughingly, and held -out his hand to me by way of conclusion. - -Rouletabille's answer came like an echo: - -"Not anything!" - -Suddenly Larsan, who had risen to wish us goodnight, pressed both his -hands to his chest and staggered. He was obliged to lean on Rouletabille -for support, and to save himself from falling. - -"Oh! Oh!" he cried. "What is the matter with me?--Have I been poisoned?" - -He looked at us with haggard eyes. We questioned him vainly; he did not -answer us. He had sunk into an armchair and we could get not a word from -him. We were extremely distressed, both on his account and on our own, -for we had partaken of all the dishes he had eaten. He seemed to be out -of pain; but his heavy head had fallen on his shoulder and his eyelids -were tightly closed. Rouletabille bent over him, listening for the -beatings of the heart. - -My friend's face, however, when he stood up, was as calm as it had been -a moment before agitated. - -"He is asleep," he said. - -He led me to his chamber, after closing Larsan's room. - -"The drug?" I asked. "Does Mademoiselle Stangerson wish to put everybody -to sleep, to-night?" - -"Perhaps," replied Rouletabille; but I could see he was thinking of -something else. - -"But what about us?" I exclaimed. "How do we know that we have not been -drugged?" - -"Do you feel indisposed?" Rouletabille asked me coolly. - -"Not in the least." - -"Do you feel any inclination to go to sleep?" - -"None whatever." - -"Well, then, my friend, smoke this excellent cigar." - -And he handed me a choice Havana, one Monsieur Darzac had given him, -while he lit his briarwood--his eternal briarwood. - -We remained in his room until about ten o'clock without a word passing -between us. Buried in an armchair Rouletabille sat and smoked steadily, -his brow in thought and a far-away look in his eyes. On the stroke of -ten he took off his boots and signalled to me to do the same. As we -stood in our socks he said, in so low a tone that I guessed, rather than -heard, the word: - -"Revolver." - -I drew my revolver from my jacket pocket. - -"Cock it!" he said. - -I did as he directed. - -Then moving towards the door of his room, he opened it with infinite -precaution; it made no sound. We were in the "off-turning" gallery. -Rouletabille made another sign to me which I understood to mean that I -was to take up my post in the dark closet. - -When I was some distance from him, he rejoined me and embraced me; and -then I saw him, with the same precaution, return to his room. Astonished -by his embrace, and somewhat disquieted by it, I arrived at the right -gallery without difficulty, crossing the landing-place, and reaching the -dark closet. - -Before entering it I examined the curtain-cord of the window and found -that I had only to release it from its fastening with my fingers for -the curtain to fall by its own weight and hide the square of light from -Rouletabille--the signal agreed upon. The sound of a footstep made me -halt before Arthur Rance's door. He was not yet in bed, then! How was -it that, being in the chateau, he had not dined with Monsieur Stangerson -and his daughter? I had not seen him at table with them, at the moment -when we looked in. - -I retired into the dark closet. I found myself perfectly situated. I -could see along the whole length of the gallery. Nothing, absolutely -nothing could pass there without my seeing it. But what was going to -pass there? Rouletabille's embrace came back to my mind. I argued that -people don't part from each, other in that way unless on an important or -dangerous occasion. Was I then in danger? - -My hand closed on the butt of my revolver and I waited. I am not a hero; -but neither am I a coward. - -I waited about an hour, and during all that time I saw nothing unusual. -The rain, which had begun to come down strongly towards nine o'clock, -had now ceased. - -My friend had told me that, probably, nothing would occur before -midnight or one o'clock in the morning. It was not more than half-past -eleven, however, when I heard the door of Arthur Rance's room open very -slowly. The door remained open for a minute, which seemed to me a long -time. As it opened into the gallery, that is to say, outwards, I could -not see what was passing in the room behind the door. - -At that moment I noticed a strange sound, three times repeated, coming -from the park. Ordinarily I should not have attached any more importance -to it than I would to the noise of cats on the roof. But the third time, -the mew was so sharp and penetrating that I remembered what I had heard -about the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu. As the cry had accompanied all -the events at the Glandier, I could not refrain from shuddering at the -thought. - -Directly afterwards I saw a man appear on the outside of the door, and -close it after him. At first I could not recognise him, for his back was -towards me and he was bending over a rather bulky package. When he had -closed the door and picked up the package, he turned towards the dark -closet, and then I saw who he was. He was the forest-keeper, the Green -Man. He was wearing the same costume that he had worn when I first saw -him on the road in front of the Donjon Inn. There was no doubt about his -being the keeper. As the cry of the Bete du Bon Dieu came for the third -time, he put down the package and went to the second window, counting -from the dark closet. I dared not risk making any movement, fearing I -might betray my presence. - -Arriving at the window, he peered out on to the park. The night was -now light, the moon showing at intervals. The Green Man raised his -arms twice, making signs which I did not understand; then, leaving the -window, he again took up his package and moved along the gallery towards -the landing-place. - -Rouletabille had instructed me to undo the curtain-cord when I saw -anything. Was Rouletabille expecting this? It was not my business -to question. All I had to do was obey instructions. I unfastened the -window-cord; my heart beating the while as if it would burst. The man -reached the landing-place, but, to my utter surprise--I had expected to -see him continue to pass along the gallery--I saw him descend the stairs -leading to the vestibule. - -What was I to do? I looked stupidly at the heavy curtain which had shut -the light from the window. The signal had been given, and I did not see -Rouletabille appear at the corner of the off-turning gallery. Nobody -appeared. I was exceedingly perplexed. Half an hour passed, an age to -me. What was I to do now, even if I saw something? The signal once given -I could not give it a second time. To venture into the gallery might -upset all Rouletabille's plans. After all, I had nothing to reproach -myself for, and if something had happened that my friend had not -expected he could only blame himself. Unable to be of any further -assistance to him by means of a signal, I left the dark closet and, -still in my socks, made my way to the "off-turning" gallery. - -There was no one there. I went to the door of Rouletabille's room and -listened. I could hear nothing. I knocked gently. There was no answer. I -turned the door-handle and the door opened. I entered. Rouletabille lay -extended at full length on the floor. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. The Incredible Body - - -I bent in great anxiety over the body of the reporter and had the joy -to find that he was deeply sleeping, the same unhealthy sleep that I had -seen fall upon Frederic Larsan. He had succumbed to the influence of the -same drug that had been mixed with our food. How was it then, that I, -also, had not been overcome by it? I reflected that the drug must have -been put into our wine; because that would explain my condition. I never -drink when eating. Naturally inclined to obesity, I am restricted to -a dry diet. I shook Rouletabille, but could not succeed in waking him. -This, no doubt, was the work of Mademoiselle Stangerson. - -She had certainly thought it necessary to guard herself against this -young man as well as her father. I recalled that the steward, in serving -us, had recommended an excellent Chablis which, no doubt, had come from -the professor's table. - -More-than a quarter of an hour passed. I resolved, under the pressing -circumstances, to resort to extreme measures. I threw a pitcher of cold -water over Rouletabille's head. He opened his eyes. I beat his face, and -raised him up. I felt him stiffen in my arms and heard him murmur: "Go -on, go on; but don't make any noise." I pinched him and shook him until -he was able to stand up. We were saved! - -"They sent me to sleep," he said. "Ah! I passed an awful quarter of an -hour before giving way. But it is over now. Don't leave me." - -He had no sooner uttered those words than we were thrilled by a -frightful cry that rang through the chateau,--a veritable death cry. - -"Malheur!" roared Rouletabille; "we shall be too late!" - -He tried to rush to the door, but he was too dazed, and fell against -the wall. I was already in the gallery, revolver in hand, rushing like -a madman towards Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. The moment I arrived at -the intersection of the "off-turning" gallery and the "right" gallery, I -saw a figure leaving her apartment, which, in a few strides had reached -the landing-place. - -I was not master of myself. I fired. The report from the revolver made a -deafening noise; but the man continued his flight down the stairs. I -ran behind him, shouting: "Stop!--stop! or I will kill you!" As I rushed -after him down the stairs, I came face to face with Arthur Rance coming -from the left wing of the chateau, yelling: "What is it? What is it?" We -arrived almost at the same time at the foot of the staircase. The window -of the vestibule was open. We distinctly saw the form of a man running -away. Instinctively we fired our revolvers in his direction. He was not -more than ten paces in front of us; he staggered and we thought he was -going to fall. We had sprung out of the window, but the man dashed off -with renewed vigour. I was in my socks, and the American was barefooted. -There being no hope of overtaking him, we fired our last cartridges at -him. But he still kept on running, going along the right side of the -court towards the end of the right wing of the chateau, which had -no other outlet than the door of the little chamber occupied by the -forest-keeper. The man, though he was evidently wounded by our bullets, -was now twenty yards ahead of us. Suddenly, behind us, and above -our heads, a window in the gallery opened and we heard the voice of -Rouletabille crying out desperately: - -"Fire, Bernier!--Fire!" - -At that moment the clear moonlight night was further lit by a broad -flash. By its light we saw Daddy Bernier with his gun on the threshold -of the donjon door. - -He had taken good aim. The shadow fell. But as it had reached the end of -the right wing of the chateau, it fell on the other side of the angle -of the building; that is to say, we saw it about to fall, but not the -actual sinking to the ground. Bernier, Arthur Rance and myself reached -the other side twenty seconds later. The shadow was lying dead at our -feet. - -Aroused from his lethargy by the cries and reports, Larsan opened the -window of his chamber and called out to us. Rouletabille, quite awake -now, joined us at the same moment, and I cried out to him: - -"He is dead!--is dead!" - -"So much the better," he said. "Take him into the vestibule of the -chateau." Then as if on second thought, he said: "No!--no! Let us put -him in his own room." - -Rouletabille knocked at the door. Nobody answered. Naturally, this did -not surprise me. - -"He is evidently not there, otherwise he would have come out," said the -reporter. "Let us carry him to the vestibule then." - -Since reaching the dead shadow, a thick cloud had covered the moon and -darkened the night, so that we were unable to make out the features. -Daddy Jacques, who had now joined us, helped us to carry the body into -the vestibule, where we laid it down on the lower step of the stairs. -On the way, I had felt my hands wet from the warm blood flowing from the -wounds. - -Daddy Jacques flew to the kitchen and returned with a lantern. He held -it close to the face of the dead shadow, and we recognised the keeper, -the man called by the landlord of the Donjon Inn the Green Man, whom, an -hour earlier, I had seen come out of Arthur Rance's chamber carrying a -parcel. But what I had seen I could only tell Rouletabille later, when -we were alone. - -Rouletabille and Frederic Larsan experienced a cruel disappointment -at the result of the night's adventure. They could only look in -consternation and stupefaction at the body of the Green Man. - -Daddy Jacques showed a stupidly sorrowful face and with silly -lamentations kept repeating that we were mistaken--the keeper could not -be the assailant. We were obliged to compel him to be quiet. He could -not have shown greater grief had the body been that of his own son. -I noticed, while all the rest of us were more or less undressed and -barefooted, that he was fully clothed. - -Rouletabille had not left the body. Kneeling on the flagstones by the -light of Daddy Jacques's lantern he removed the clothes from the body -and laid bare its breast. Then snatching the lantern from Daddy Jacques, -he held it over the corpse and saw a gaping wound. Rising suddenly he -exclaimed in a voice filled with savage irony: - -"The man you believe to have been shot was killed by the stab of a knife -in his heart!" - -I thought Rouletabille had gone mad; but, bending over the body, I -quickly satisfied myself that Rouletabille was right. Not a sign of -a bullet anywhere--the wound, evidently made by a sharp blade, had -penetrated the heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. The Double Scent - - -I had hardly recovered from the surprise into which this new discovery -had plunged me, when Rouletabille touched me on the shoulder and asked -me to follow him into his room. - -"What are we going to do there?" - -"To think the matter over." - -I confess I was in no condition for doing much thinking, nor could -I understand how Rouletabille could so control himself as to be -able calmly to sit down for reflection when he must have known that -Mademoiselle Stangerson was at that moment almost on the point of death. -But his self-control was more than I could explain. Closing the door of -his room, he motioned me to a chair and, seating himself before me, -took out his pipe. We sat there for some time in silence and then I fell -asleep. - -When I awoke it was daylight. It was eight o'clock by my watch. -Rouletabille was no longer in the room. I rose to go out when the door -opened and my friend re-entered. He had evidently lost no time. - -"How about Mademoiselle Stangerson?" I asked him. - -"Her condition, though very alarming, is not desperate." - -"When did you leave this room?" - -"Towards dawn." - -"I guess you have been hard at work?" - -"Rather!" - -"Have you found out anything?" - -"Two sets of footprints!" - -"Do they explain anything?" - -"Yes." - -"Have they anything to do with the mystery of the keeper's body?" - -"Yes; the mystery is no longer a mystery. This morning, walking round -the chateau, I found two distinct sets of footprints, made at the same -time, last night. They were made by two persons walking side by side. -I followed them from the court towards the oak grove. Larsan joined me. -They were the same kind of footprints as were made at the time of the -assault in The Yellow Room--one set was from clumsy boots and the other -was made by neat ones, except that the big toe of one of the sets was -of a different size from the one measured in The Yellow Room incident. I -compared the marks with the paper patterns I had previously made. - -"Still following the tracks of the prints, Larsan and I passed out of -the oak grove and reached the border of the lake. There they turned off -to a little path leading to the high road to Epinay where we lost the -traces in the newly macadamised highway. - -"We went back to the chateau and parted at the courtyard. We met -again, however, in Daddy Jacques's room to which our separate trains of -thinking had led us both. We found the old servant in bed. His clothes -on the chair were wet through and his boots very muddy. He certainly did -not get into that state in helping us to carry the body of the keeper. -It was not raining then. Then his face showed extreme fatigue and he -looked at us out of terror-stricken eyes. - -"On our first questioning him he told us that he had gone to bed -immediately after the doctor had arrived. On pressing him, however, for -it was evident to us he was not speaking the truth, he confessed that he -had been away from the chateau. He explained his absence by saying -that he had a headache and went out into the fresh air, but had gone -no further than the oak grove. When we then described to him the whole -route he had followed, he sat up in bed trembling. - -"'And you were not alone!' cried Larsan. - -"'Did you see it then?' gasped Daddy Jacques. - -"'What?' I asked. - -"'The phantom--the black phantom!' - -"Then he told us that for several nights he had seen what he kept -calling the black phantom. It came into the park at the stroke of -midnight and glided stealthily through the trees; it appeared to him -to pass through the trunks of the trees. Twice he had seen it from his -window, by the light of the moon and had risen and followed the strange -apparition. The night before last he had almost overtaken it; but it had -vanished at the corner of the donjon. Last night, however, he had not -left the chateau, his mind being disturbed by a presentiment that some -new crime would be attempted. Suddenly he saw the black phantom rush out -from somewhere in the middle of the court. He followed it to the lake -and to the high road to Epinay, where the phantom suddenly disappeared. - -"'Did you see his face?' demanded Larsan. - -"'No!--I saw nothing but black veils.' - -"'Did you go out after what passed on the gallery?' - -"'I could not!--I was terrified.' - -"'Daddy Jacques,' I said, in a threatening voice, 'you did not follow -it; you and the phantom walked to Epinay together--arm in arm!' - -"'No!' he cried, turning his eyes away, 'I did not. It came on to pour, -and--I turned back. I don't know what became of the black phantom." - -"We left him, and when we were outside I turned to Larsan, looking -him full in the face, and put my question suddenly to take him off his -guard: - -"'An accomplice?' - -"'How can I tell?' he replied, shrugging his shoulders. 'You can't be -sure of anything in a case like this. Twenty-four hours ago I would have -sworn that there was no accomplice!' He left me saying he was off to -Epinay." - -"Well, what do you make of it?" I asked Rouletabille, after he had ended -his recital. "Personally I am utterly in the dark. I can't make anything -out of it. What do you gather?" - -"Everything! Everything!" he exclaimed. "But," he said abruptly, "let's -find out more about Mademoiselle Stangerson." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. Rouletabille Knows the Two Halves of the Murderer - - -Mademoiselle Stangerson had been almost murdered for the second time. -Unfortunately, she was in too weak a state to bear the severer injuries -of this second attack as well as she had those of the first. She had -received three wounds in the breast from the murderer's knife, and she -lay long between life and death. Her strong physique, however, saved -her; but though she recovered physically it was found that her mind had -been affected. The slightest allusion to the terrible incident sent her -into delirium, and the arrest of Robert Darzac which followed on the -day following the tragic death of the keeper seemed to sink her fine -intelligence into complete melancholia. - -Robert Darzac arrived at the chateau towards half-past nine. I saw him -hurrying through the park, his hair and clothes in disorder and his face -a deadly white. Rouletabille and I were looking out of a window in the -gallery. He saw us, and gave a despairing cry: "I'm too late!" - -Rouletabille answered: "She lives!" - -A minute later Darzac had gone into Mademoiselle Stangerson's room and, -through the door, we could hear his heart-rending sobs. - -"There's a fate about this place!" groaned Rouletabille. "Some infernal -gods must be watching over the misfortunes of this family!--If I had not -been drugged, I should have saved Mademoiselle Stangerson. I should have -silenced him forever. And the keeper would not have been killed!" - -Monsieur Darzac came in to speak with us. His distress was terrible. -Rouletabille told him everything: his preparations for Mademoiselle -Stangerson's safety; his plans for either capturing or for disposing of -the assailant for ever; and how he would have succeeded had it not been -for the drugging. - -"If only you had trusted me!" said the young man, in a low tone. "If -you had but begged Mademoiselle Stangerson to confide in me!--But, then, -everybody here distrusts everybody else, the daughter distrusts her -father, and even her lover. While you ask me to protect her she is doing -all she can to frustrate me. That was why I came on the scene too late!" - -At Monsieur Robert Darzac's request Rouletabille described the whole -scene. Leaning on the wall, to prevent himself from falling, he had made -his way to Mademoiselle Stangerson's room, while we were running after -the supposed murderer. The ante-room door was open and when he entered -he found Mademoiselle Stangerson lying partly thrown over the desk. -Her dressing-gown was dyed with the blood flowing from her bosom. Still -under the influence of the drug, he felt he was walking in a horrible -nightmare. - -He went back to the gallery automatically, opened a window, shouted his -order to fire, and then returned to the room. He crossed the deserted -boudoir, entered the drawing-room, and tried to rouse Monsieur -Stangerson who was lying on a sofa. Monsieur Stangerson rose stupidly -and let himself be drawn by Rouletabille into the room where, on seeing -his daughter's body, he uttered a heart-rending cry. Both united their -feeble strength and carried her to her bed. - -On his way to join us Rouletabille passed by the desk. On the floor, -near it, he saw a large packet. He knelt down and, finding the wrapper -loose, he examined it, and made out an enormous quantity of papers -and photographs. On one of the papers he read: "New differential -electroscopic condenser. Fundamental properties of substance -intermediary between ponderable matter and imponderable ether." Strange -irony of fate that the professor's precious papers should be restored -to him at the very time when an attempt was being made to deprive him of -his daughter's life! What are papers worth to him now? - -The morning following that awful night saw Monsieur de Marquet once more -at the chateau, with his Registrar and gendarmes. Of course we were all -questioned. Rouletabille and I had already agreed on what to say. I kept -back any information as to my being in the dark closet and said -nothing about the drugging. We did not wish to suggest in any way that -Mademoiselle Stangerson had been expecting her nocturnal visitor. -The poor woman might, perhaps, never recover, and it was none of our -business to lift the veil of a secret the preservation of which she had -paid for so dearly. - -Arthur Rance told everybody, in a manner so natural that it astonished -me, that he had last seen the keeper towards eleven o'clock of that -fatal night. He had come for his valise, he said, which he was to take -for him early next morning to the Saint-Michel station, and had been -kept out late running after poachers. Arthur Rance had, indeed, intended -to leave the chateau and, according to his habit, to walk to the -station. - -Monsieur Stangerson confirmed what Rance had said, adding that he had -not asked Rance to dine with him because his friend had taken his final -leave of them both earlier in the evening. Monsieur Rance had had -tea served him in his room, because he had complained of a slight -indisposition. - -Bernier testified, instructed by Rouletabille, that the keeper had -ordered him to meet at a spot near the oak grove, for the purpose of -looking out for poachers. Finding that the keeper did not keep his -appointment, he, Bernier, had gone in search of him. He had almost -arrived at the donjon, when he saw a figure running swiftly in a -direction opposite to him, towards the right wing of the chateau. He -heard revolver shots from behind the figure and saw Rouletabille at one -of the gallery windows. He heard Rouletabille call out to him to fire, -and he had fired. He believed he had killed the man until he learned, -after Rouletabille had uncovered the body, that the man had died from a -knife thrust. Who had given it he could not imagine. "Nobody could have -been near the spot without my seeing him." When the examining magistrate -reminded him that the spot where the body was found was very dark and -that he himself had not been able to recognise the keeper before firing, -Daddy Bernier replied that neither had they seen the other body; nor had -they found it. In the narrow court where five people were standing it -would have been strange if the other body, had it been there, could -have escaped. The only door that opened into the court was that of the -keeper's room, and that door was closed, and the key of it was found in -the keeper's pocket. - -However that might be, the examining magistrate did not pursue his -inquiry further in this direction. He was evidently convinced that we -had missed the man we were chasing and we had come upon the keeper's -body in our chase. This matter of the keeper was another matter -entirely. He wanted to satisfy himself about that without any further -delay. Probably it fitted in with the conclusions he had already arrived -at as to the keeper and his intrigues with the wife of Mathieu, the -landlord of the Donjon Inn. This Mathieu, later in the afternoon, was -arrested and taken to Corbeil in spite of his rheumatism. He had been -heard to threaten the keeper, and though no evidence against him had -been found at his inn, the evidence of carters who had heard the threats -was enough to justify his retention. - -The examination had proceeded thus far when, to our surprise, Frederic -Larsan returned to the chateau. He was accompanied by one of the -employeeees of the railway. At that moment Rance and I were in the -vestibule discussing Mathieu's guilt or innocence, while Rouletabille -stood apart buried, apparently, in thought. The examining magistrate and -his Registrar were in the little green drawing-room, while Darzac was -with the doctor and Stangerson in the lady's chamber. As Frederic Larsan -entered the vestibule with the railway employeee, Rouletabille and I at -once recognised him by the small blond beard. We exchanged meaningful -glances. Larsan had himself announced to the examining magistrate by the -gendarme and entered with the railway servant as Daddy Jacques came out. -Some ten minutes went by during which Rouletabille appeared extremely -impatient. The door of the drawing-room was then opened and we heard the -magistrate calling to the gendarme who entered. Presently he came out, -mounted the stairs and, coming back shortly, went in to the magistrate -and said: - -"Monsieur,--Monsieur Robert Darzac will not come!" - -"What! Not come!" cried Monsieur de Marquet. - -"He says he cannot leave Mademoiselle Stangerson in her present state." - -"Very well," said Monsieur de Marquet; "then we'll go to him." - -Monsieur de Marquet and the gendarme mounted the stairs. He made a sign -to Larsan and the railroad employeee to follow. Rouletabille and I went -along too. - -On reaching the door of Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber, Monsieur de -Marquet knocked. A chambermaid appeared. It was Sylvia, with her hair -all in disorder and consternation showing on her face. - -"Is Monsieur Stangerson within?" asked the magistrate. - -"Yes, Monsieur." - -"Tell him that I wish to speak with him." - -Stangerson came out. His appearance was wretched in the extreme. - -"What do you want?" he demanded of the magistrate. "May I not be left in -peace, Monsieur?" - -"Monsieur," said the magistrate, "it is absolutely necessary that I -should see Monsieur Darzac at once. If you cannot induce him to come, I -shall be compelled to use the help of the law." - -The professor made no reply. He looked at us all like a man being led to -execution, and then went back into the room. - -Almost immediately after Monsieur Robert Darzac came out. He was very -pale. He looked at us and, his eyes falling on the railway servant, his -features stiffened and he could hardly repress a groan. - -We were all much moved by the appearance of the man. We felt that what -was about to happen would decide the fate of Monsieur Robert Darzac. -Frederic Larsan's face alone was radiant, showing a joy as of a dog that -had at last got its prey. - -Pointing to the railway servant, Monsieur de Marquet said to Monsieur -Darzac: - -"Do you recognise this man, Monsieur?" - -"I do," said Monsieur Darzac, in a tone which he vainly tried to make -firm. "He is an employeee at the station at Epinay-sur-Orge." - -"This young man," went on Monsieur de Marquet, "affirms that he saw you -get off the train at Epinay-sur-Orge--" - -"That night," said Monsieur Darzac, interrupting, "at half-past ten--it -is quite true." - -An interval of silence followed. - -"Monsieur Darzac," the magistrate went on in a tone of deep emotion, -"Monsieur Darzac, what were you doing that night, at Epinay-sur-Orge--at -that time?" - -Monsieur Darzac remained silent, simply closing his eyes. - -"Monsieur Darzac," insisted Monsieur de Marquet, "can you tell me how -you employeeed your time, that night?" - -Monsieur Darzac opened his eyes. He seemed to have recovered his -self-control. - -"No, Monsieur." - -"Think, Monsieur! For, if you persist in your strange refusal, I shall -be under the painful necessity of keeping you at my disposition." - -"I refuse." - -"Monsieur Darzac!--in the name of the law, I arrest you!" - -The magistrate had no sooner pronounced the words than I saw -Rouletabille move quickly towards Monsieur Darzac. He would certainly -have spoken to him, but Darzac, by a gesture, held him off. As the -gendarme approached his prisoner, a despairing cry rang through the -room: - -"Robert!--Robert!" - -We recognised the voice of Mademoiselle Stangerson. We all shuddered. -Larsan himself turned pale. Monsieur Darzac, in response to the cry, had -flown back into the room. - -The magistrate, the gendarme, and Larsan followed closely after. -Rouletabille and I remained on the threshold. It was a heart-breaking -sight that met our eyes. Mademoiselle Stangerson, with a face of deathly -pallor, had risen on her bed, in spite of the restraining efforts of two -doctors and her father. She was holding out her trembling arms towards -Robert Darzac, on whom Larsan and the gendarme had laid hands. Her -distended eyes saw--she understood--her lips seemed to form a word, but -nobody made it out; and she fell back insensible. - -Monsieur Darzac was hurried out of the room and placed in the vestibule -to wait for the vehicle Larsan had gone to fetch. We were all overcome -by emotion and even Monsieur de Marquet had tears in his eyes. -Rouletabille took advantage of the opportunity to say to Monsieur -Darzac: - -"Are you going to put in any defense?" - -"No!" replied the prisoner. - -"Very well, then I will, Monsieur." - -"You cannot do it," said the unhappy man with a faint smile. - -"I can--and I will." - -Rouletabille's voice had in it a strange strength and confidence. - -"I can do it, Monsieur Robert Darzac, because I know more than you do!" - -"Come! Come!" murmured Darzac, almost angrily. - -"Have no fear! I shall know only what will benefit you." - -"You must know nothing, young man, if you want me to be grateful." - -Rouletabille shook his head, going close up to Darzac. - -"Listen to what I am about to say," he said in a low tone, "and let -it give you confidence. You do not know the name of the murderer. -Mademoiselle Stangerson knows it; but only half of it; but I know his -two halves; I know the whole man!" - -Robert Darzac opened his eyes, with a look that showed he had not -understood a word of what Rouletabille had said to him. At that moment -the conveyance arrived, driven by Frederic Larsan. Darzac and the -gendarme entered it, Larsan remaining on the driver's seat. The prisoner -was taken to Corbeil. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. Rouletabille Goes on a Journey - - -That same evening Rouletabille and I left the Glandier. We were very -glad to get away and there was nothing more to keep us there. I declared -my intention to give up the whole matter. It had been too much for me. -Rouletabille, with a friendly tap on my shoulder, confessed that he had -nothing more to learn at the Glandier; he had learned there all it had -to tell him. We reached Paris about eight o'clock, dined, and then, -tired out, we separated, agreeing to meet the next morning at my rooms. - -Rouletabille arrived next day at the hour agreed on. He was dressed in -a suit of English tweed, with an ulster on his arm, and a valise in his -hand. Evidently he had prepared himself for a journey. - -"How long shall you be away?" I asked. - -"A month or two," he said. "It all depends." - -I asked him no more questions. - -"Do you know," he asked, "what the word was that Mademoiselle Stangerson -tried to say before she fainted?" - -"No--nobody heard it." - -"I heard it!" replied Rouletabille. "She said 'Speak!'" - -"Do you think Darzac will speak?" - -"Never." - -I was about to make some further observations, but he wrung my hand -warmly and wished me good-bye. I had only time to ask him one question -before he left. - -"Are you not afraid that other attempts may be made while you're away?" - -"No! Not now that Darzac is in prison," he answered. - -With this strange remark he left. I was not to see him again until -the day of Darzac's trial at the court when he appeared to explain the -inexplicable. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. In Which Joseph Rouletabille Is Awaited with Impatience - - -On the 15th of January, that is to say, two months and a half after the -tragic events I have narrated, the "Epoque" printed, as the first column -of the front page, the following sensational article: "The Seine-et-Oise -jury is summoned to-day to give its verdict on one of the most -mysterious affairs in the annals of crime. There never has been a case -with so many obscure, incomprehensible, and inexplicable points. And yet -the prosecution has not hesitated to put into the prisoner's dock a -man who is respected, esteemed, and loved by all who knew him--a young -savant, the hope of French science, whose whole life has been devoted to -knowledge and truth. When Paris heard of Monsieur Robert Darzac's arrest -a unanimous cry of protest arose from all sides. The whole Sorbonne, -disgraced by this act of the examining magistrate, asserted its -belief in the innocence of Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance. Monsieur -Stangerson was loud in his denunciation of this miscarriage of justice. -There is no doubt in the mind of anybody that could the victim speak she -would claim from the jurors of Seine-et-Oise the man she wishes to make -her husband and whom the prosecution would send to the scaffold. It -is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson will shortly recover her -reason, which has been temporarily unhinged by the horrible mystery at -the Glandier. The question before the jury is the one we propose to deal -with this very day. - -"We have decided not to permit twelve worthy men to commit a disgraceful -miscarriage of justice. We confess that the remarkable coincidences, the -many convicting evidences, and the inexplicable silence on the part of -the accused, as well as a total absence of any evidence for an alibi, -were enough to warrant the bench of judges in assuming that in this -man alone was centered the truth of the affair. The evidences are, -in appearance, so overwhelming against Monsieur Robert Darzac that a -detective so well informed, so intelligent, and generally so successful, -as Monsieur Frederic Larsan, may be excused for having been misled by -them. Up to now everything has gone against Monsieur Robert Darzac in -the magisterial inquiry. To-day, however, we are going to defend him -before the jury, and we are going to bring to the witness stand a light -that will illumine the whole mystery of the Glandier. For we possess the -truth. - -"If we have not spoken sooner, it is because the interests of certain -parties in the case demand that we should take that course. Our readers -may remember the unsigned reports we published relating to the 'Left -foot of the Rue Oberkampf,' at the time of the famous robbery of the -Credit Universel, and the famous case of the 'Gold Ingots of the Mint.' -In both those cases we were able to discover the truth long before even -the excellent ingenuity of Frederic Larsan had been able to unravel -it. These reports were written by our youngest reporter, Joseph -Rouletabille, a youth of eighteen, whose fame to-morrow will be -world-wide. When attention was first drawn to the Glandier case, our -youthful reporter was on the spot and installed in the chateau, when -every other representative of the press had been denied admission. He -worked side by side with Frederic Larsan. He was amazed and terrified at -the grave mistake the celebrated detective was about to make, and tried -to divert him from the false scent he was following; but the great Fred -refused to receive instructions from this young journalist. We know now -where it brought Monsieur Robert Darzac. - -"But now, France must know--the whole world must know, that, on the -very evening on which Monsieur Darzac was arrested, young Rouletabille -entered our editorial office and informed us that he was about to go -away on a journey. 'How long I shall be away,' he said, 'I cannot say; -perhaps a month--perhaps two--perhaps three perhaps I may never return. -Here is a letter. If I am not back on the day on which Monsieur Darzac -is to appear before the Assize Court, have this letter opened and read -to the court, after all the witnesses have been heard. Arrange it with -Monsieur Darzac's counsel. Monsieur Darzac is innocent. In this letter -is written the name of the murderer; and--that is all I have to say. -I am leaving to get my proofs--for the irrefutable evidence of the -murderer's guilt.' Our reporter departed. For a long time we were -without news from him; but, a week ago, a stranger called upon our -manager and said: 'Act in accordance with the instructions of Joseph -Rouletabille, if it becomes necessary to do so. The letter left by him -holds the truth.' The gentleman who brought us this message would not -give us his name. - -"To-day, the 15th of January, is the day of the trial. Joseph -Rouletabille has not returned. It may be we shall never see him again. -The press also counts its heroes, its martyrs to duty. It may be he is -no longer living. We shall know how to avenge him. Our manager will, -this afternoon, be at the Court of Assize at Versailles, with the -letter--the letter containing the name of the murderer!" - -Those Parisians who flocked to the Assize Court at Versailles, to be -present at the trial of what was known as the "Mystery of The Yellow -Room," will certainly remember the terrible crush at the Saint-Lazare -station. The ordinary trains were so full that special trains had to be -made up. The article in the "Epoque" had so excited the populace that -discussion was rife everywhere even to the verge of blows. Partisans of -Rouletabille fought with the supporters of Frederic Larsan. Curiously -enough the excitement was due less to the fact that an innocent man was -in danger of a wrongful conviction than to the interest taken in their -own ideas as to the Mystery of The Yellow Room. Each had his explanation -to which each held fast. Those who explained the crime on Frederic -Larsan's theory would not admit that there could be any doubt as to -the perspicacity of the popular detective. Others who had arrived at -a different solution, naturally insisted that this was Rouletabille's -explanation, though they did not as yet know what that was. - -With the day's "Epoque" in their hands, the "Larsans" and the -"Rouletabilles" fought and shoved each other on the steps of the Palais -de Justice, right into the court itself. Those who could not get -in remained in the neighbourhood until evening and were, with great -difficulty, kept back by the soldiery and the police. They became hungry -for news, welcoming the most absurd rumours. At one time the rumour -spread that Monsieur Stangerson himself had been arrested in the court -and had confessed to being the murderer. This goes to show to what a -pitch of madness nervous excitement may carry people. Rouletabille was -still expected. Some pretended to know him; and when a young man with a -"pass" crossed the open space which separated the crowd from the -Court House, a scuffle took place. Cries were raised of -"Rouletabille!--there's Rouletabille!" The arrival of the manager of the -paper was the signal for a great demonstration. Some applauded, others -hissed. - -The trial itself was presided over by Monsieur de Rocouz, a judge -filled with the prejudice of his class, but a man honest at heart. The -witnesses had been called. I was there, of course, as were all who had, -in any way, been in touch with the mysteries of the Glandier. Monsieur -Stangerson--looking many years older and almost unrecognisable--Larsan, -Arthur Rance, with his face ruddy as ever, Daddy Jacques, Daddy Mathieu, -who was brought into court handcuffed between two gendarmes, Madame -Mathieu, in tears, the two Berniers, the two nurses, the steward, all -the domestics of the chateau, the employeee of the Paris Post Office, the -railway employeee from Epinay, some friends of Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson, and all Monsieur Darzac's witnesses. I was lucky enough to -be called early in the trial, so that I was then able to watch and be -present at almost the whole of the proceedings. - -The court was so crowded that many lawyers were compelled to find seats -on the steps. Behind the bench of justices were representatives from -other benches. Monsieur Robert Darzac stood in the prisoner's dock -between policemen, tall, handsome, and calm. A murmur of admiration -rather than of compassion greeted his appearance. He leaned forward -towards his counsel, Maitre Henri Robert, who, assisted by his chief -secretary, Maitre Andre Hesse, was busily turning over the folios of his -brief. - -Many expected that Monsieur Stangerson, after giving his evidence, would -have gone over to the prisoner and shaken hands with him; but he left -the court without another word. It was remarked that the jurors appeared -to be deeply interested in a rapid conversation which the manager of the -"Epoque" was having with Maitre Henri Robert. The manager, later, sat -down in the front row of the public seats. Some were surprised that he -was not asked to remain with the other witnesses in the room reserved -for them. - -The reading of the indictment was got through, as it always is, without -any incident. I shall not here report the long examination to which -Monsieur Darzac was subjected. He answered all the questions quickly -and easily. His silence as to the important matters of which we know was -dead against him. It would seem as if this reticence would be fatal -for him. He resented the President's reprimands. He was told that his -silence might mean death. - -"Very well," he said; "I will submit to it; but I am innocent." - -With that splendid ability which has made his fame, Maitre Robert took -advantage of the incident, and tried to show that it brought out in -noble relief his client's character; for only heroic natures could -remain silent for moral reasons in face of such a danger. The eminent -advocate however, only succeeded in assuring those who were already -assured of Darzac's innocence. At the adjournment Rouletabille had not -yet arrived. Every time a door opened, all eyes there turned towards it -and back to the manager of the "Epoque," who sat impassive in his place. -When he once was feeling in his pocket a loud murmur of expectation -followed. The letter! - -It is not, however, my intention to report in detail the course of -the trial. My readers are sufficiently acquainted with the mysteries -surrounding the Glandier case to enable me to go on to the really -dramatic denouement of this ever-memorable day. - -When the trial was resumed, Maitre Henri Robert questioned Daddy Mathieu -as to his complicity in the death of the keeper. His wife was also -brought in and was confronted by her husband. She burst into tears and -confessed that she had been the keeper's mistress, and that her husband -had suspected it. She again, however, affirmed that he had had nothing -to do with the murder of her lover. Maitre Henri Robert thereupon asked -the court to hear Frederic Larsan on this point. - -"In a short conversation which I have had with Frederic Larsan, during -the adjournment," declared the advocate, "he has made me understand that -the death of the keeper may have been brought about otherwise than by -the hand of Mathieu. It will be interesting to hear Frederic Larsan's -theory." - -Frederic Larsan was brought in. His explanation was quite clear. - -"I see no necessity," he said, "for bringing Mathieu in this. I -have told Monsieur de Marquet that the man's threats had biassed -the examining magistrate against him. To me the attempt to murder -Mademoiselle and the death of the keeper are the work of one and the -same person. Mademoiselle Stangerson's murderer, flying through the -court, was fired on; it was thought he was struck, perhaps killed. As -a matter of fact, he only stumbled at the moment of his disappearance -behind the corner of the right wing of the chateau. There he encountered -the keeper who, no doubt, tried to seize him. The murderer had in his -hand the knife with which he had stabbed Mademoiselle Stangerson and -with this he killed the keeper." - -This very simple explanation appeared at once plausible and satisfying. -A murmur of approbation was heard. - -"And the murderer? What became of him?" asked the President. - -"He was evidently hidden in an obscure corner at the end of the court. -After the people had left the court carrying with them the body of the -keeper, the murderer quietly made his escape." - -The words had scarcely left Larsan's mouth when from the back of the -court came a youthful voice: - -"I agree with Frederic Larsan as to the death of the keeper; but I do -not agree with him as to the way the murderer escaped!" - -Everybody turned round, astonished. The clerks of the court sprang -towards the speaker, calling out silence, and the President angrily -ordered the intruder to be immediately expelled. The same clear voice, -however, was again heard: - -"It is I, Monsieur President--Joseph Rouletabille!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. In Which Joseph Rouletabille Appears in All His Glory - - -The excitement was extreme. Cries from fainting women were to be heard -amid the extraordinary bustle and stir. The "majesty of the law" was -utterly forgotten. The President tried in vain to make himself heard. -Rouletabille made his way forward with difficulty, but by dint of much -elbowing reached his manager and greeted him cordially. The letter was -passed to him and pocketing it he turned to the witness-box. He was -dressed exactly as on the day he left me even to the ulster over his -arm. Turning to the President, he said: - -"I beg your pardon, Monsieur President, but I have only just arrived -from America. The steamer was late. My name is Joseph Rouletabille!" - -The silence which followed his stepping into the witness-box was broken -by laughter when his words were heard. Everybody seemed relieved and -glad to find him there, as if in the expectation of hearing the truth at -last. - -But the President was extremely incensed: - -"So, you are Joseph Rouletabille," he replied; "well, young man, I'll -teach you what comes of making a farce of justice. By virtue of my -discretionary power, I hold you at the court's disposition." - -"I ask nothing better, Monsieur President. I have come here for that -purpose. I humbly beg the court's pardon for the disturbance of which -I have been the innocent cause. I beg you to believe that nobody has -a greater respect for the court than I have. I came in as I could." He -smiled. - -"Take him away!" ordered the President. - -Maitre Henri Robert intervened. He began by apologising for the young -man, who, he said, was moved only by the best intentions. He made the -President understand that the evidence of a witness who had slept at the -Glandier during the whole of that eventful week could not be omitted, -and the present witness, moreover, had come to name the real murderer. - -"Are you going to tell us who the murderer was?" asked the President, -somewhat convinced though still sceptical. - -"I have come for that purpose, Monsieur President!" replied -Rouletabille. - -An attempt at applause was silenced by the usher. - -"Joseph Rouletabille," said Maitre Henri Robert, "has not been regularly -subpoenaed as a witness, but I hope, Monsieur President, you will -examine him in virtue of your discretionary powers." - -"Very well!" said the President, "we will question him. But we must -proceed in order." - -The Advocate-General rose: - -"It would, perhaps, be better," he said, "if the young man were to tell -us now whom he suspects." - -The President nodded ironically: - -"If the Advocate-General attaches importance to the deposition of -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille, I see no reason why this witness should -not give us the name of the murderer." - -A pin drop could have been heard. Rouletabille stood silent looking -sympathetically at Darzac, who, for the first time since the opening of -the trial, showed himself agitated. - -"Well," cried the President, "we wait for the name of the murderer." -Rouletabille, feeling in his waistcoat pocket, drew his watch and, -looking at it, said: - -"Monsieur President, I cannot name the murderer before half-past six -o'clock!" - -Loud murmurs of disappointment filled the room. Some of the lawyers were -heard to say: "He's making fun of us!" - -The President in a stern voice, said: - -"This joke has gone far enough. You may retire, Monsieur, into the -witnesses' room. I hold you at our disposition." - -Rouletabille protested. - -"I assure you, Monsieur President," he cried in his sharp, clear voice, -"that when I do name the murderer you will understand why I could not -speak before half-past six. I assert this on my honour. I can, however, -give you now some explanation of the murder of the keeper. Monsieur -Frederic Larsan, who has seen me at work at the Glandier, can tell you -with what care I studied this case. I found myself compelled to differ -with him in arresting Monsieur Robert Darzac, who is innocent. Monsieur -Larsan knows of my good faith and knows that some importance may be -attached to my discoveries, which have often corroborated his own." - -Frederic Larsan said: - -"Monsieur President, it will be interesting to hear Monsieur Joseph -Rouletabille, especially as he differs from me." - -A murmur of approbation greeted the detective's speech. He was a good -sportsman and accepted the challenge. The struggle between the two -promised to be exciting. - -As the President remained silent, Frederic Larsan continued: - -"We agree that the murderer of the keeper was the assailant of -Mademoiselle Stangerson; but as we are not agreed as to how the murderer -escaped, I am curious to hear Monsieur Rouletabille's explanation." - -"I have no doubt you are," said my friend. - -General laughter followed this remark. The President angrily declared -that if it was repeated, he would have the court cleared. - -"Now, young man," said the President, "you have heard Monsieur Frederic -Larsan; how did the murderer get away from the court?" - -Rouletabille looked at Madame Mathieu, who smiled back at him sadly. - -"Since Madame Mathieu," he said, "has freely admitted her intimacy with -the keeper--" - -"Why, it's the boy!" exclaimed Daddy Mathieu. - -"Remove that man!" ordered the President. - -Mathieu was removed from the court. Rouletabille went on: - -"Since she has made this confession, I am free to tell you that she -often met the keeper at night on the first floor of the donjon, in the -room which was once an oratory. These meetings became more frequent when -her husband was laid up by his rheumatism. She gave him morphine to ease -his pain and to give herself more time for the meetings. Madame Mathieu -came to the chateau that night, enveloped in a large black shawl which -served also as a disguise. This was the phantom that disturbed Daddy -Jacques. She knew how to imitate the mewing of Mother Angenoux' cat -and she would make the cries to advise the keeper of her presence. The -recent repairs of the donjon did not interfere with their meetings in -the keeper's old room, in the donjon, since the new room assigned to him -at the end of the right wing was separated from the steward's room by a -partition only. - -"Previous to the tragedy in the courtyard Madame Mathieu and the keeper -left the donjon together. I learnt these facts from my examination of -the footmarks in the court the next morning. Bernier, the concierge, -whom I had stationed behind the donjon--as he will explain -himself--could not see what passed in the court. He did not reach the -court until he heard the revolver shots, and then he fired. When the -woman parted from the man she went towards the open gate of the court, -while he returned to his room. - -"He had almost reached the door when the revolvers rang out. He had just -reached the corner when a shadow bounded by. Meanwhile, Madame Mathieu, -surprised by the revolver shots and by the entrance of people into the -court, crouched in the darkness. The court is a large one and, being -near the gate, she might easily have passed out unseen. But she remained -and saw the body being carried away. In great agony of mind she neared -the vestibule and saw the dead body of her lover on the stairs lit up by -Daddy Jacques' lantern. She then fled; and Daddy Jacques joined her. - -"That same night, before the murder, Daddy Jacques had been awakened -by the cat's cry, and, looking through his window, had seen the black -phantom. Hastily dressing himself he went out and recognised her. He is -an old friend of Madame Mathieu, and when she saw him she had to tell -him of her relations with the keeper and begged his assistance. Daddy -Jacques took pity on her and accompanied her through the oak grove out -of the park, past the border of the lake to the road to Epinay. From -there it was but a very short distance to her home. - -"Daddy Jacques returned to the chateau, and, seeing how important it was -for Madame Mathieu's presence at the chateau to remain unknown, he did -all he could to hide it. I appeal to Monsieur Larsan, who saw me, next -morning, examine the two sets of footprints." - -Here Rouletabille turning towards Madame Mathieu, with a bow, said: - -"The footprints of Madame bear a strange resemblance to the neat -footprints of the murderer." - -Madame Mathieu trembled and looked at him with wide eyes as if in wonder -at what he would say next. - -"Madame has a shapely foot, long and rather large for a woman. The -imprint, with its pointed toe, is very like that of the murderer's." - -A movement in the court was repressed by Rouletabille. He held their -attention at once. - -"I hasten to add," he went on, "that I attach no importance to this. -Outward signs like these are often liable to lead us into error, if we -do not reason rightly. Monsieur Robert Darzac's footprints are also like -the murderer's, and yet he is not the murderer!" - -The President turning to Madame Mathieu asked: - -"Is that in accordance with what you know occurred?" - -"Yes, Monsieur President," she replied, "it is as if Monsieur -Rouletabille had been behind us." - -"Did you see the murderer running towards the end of the right wing?" - -"Yes, as clearly as I saw them afterwards carrying the keeper's body." - -"What became of the murderer?--You were in the courtyard and could -easily have seen. - -"I saw nothing of him, Monsieur President. It became quite dark just -then." - -"Then Monsieur Rouletabille," said the President, "must explain how the -murderer made his escape." - -Rouletabille continued: - -"It was impossible for the murderer to escape by the way he had entered -the court without our seeing him; or if we couldn't see him we must -certainly have felt him, since the court is a very narrow one enclosed -in high iron railings." - -"Then if the man was hemmed in that narrow square, how is it you did not -find him?--I have been asking you that for the last half hour." - -"Monsieur President," replied Rouletabille, "I cannot answer that -question before half-past six!" - -By this time the people in the court-room were beginning to believe in -this new witness. They were amused by his melodramatic action in thus -fixing the hour; but they seemed to have confidence in the outcome. As -for the President, it looked as if he also had made up his mind to -take the young man in the same way. He had certainly been impressed by -Rouletabille's explanation of Madame Mathieu's part. - -"Well, Monsieur Rouletabille," he said, "as you say; but don't let us -see any more of you before half-past six." - -Rouletabille bowed to the President, and made his way to the door of the -witnesses' room. - -I quietly made my way through the crowd and left the court almost at the -same time as Rouletabille. He greeted me heartily, and looked happy. - -"I'll not ask you, my dear fellow," I said, smiling, "what you've been -doing in America; because I've no doubt you'll say you can't tell me -until after half-past six." - -"No, my dear Sainclair, I'll tell you right now why I went to America. I -went in search of the name of the other half of the murderer!" - -"The name of the other half?" - -"Exactly. When we last left the Glandier I knew there were two halves to -the murderer and the name of only one of them. I went to America for the -name of the other half." - -I was too puzzled to answer. Just then we entered the witnesses' room, -and Rouletabille was immediately surrounded. He showed himself very -friendly to all except Arthur Rance to whom he exhibited a marked -coldness of manner. Frederic Larsan came in also. Rouletabille went -up and shook him heartily by the hand. His manner toward the detective -showed that he had got the better of the policeman. Larsan smiled and -asked him what he had been doing in America, Rouletabille began by -telling him some anecdotes of his voyage. They then turned aside -together apparently with the object of speaking confidentially. I, -therefore, discreetly left them and, being curious to hear the evidence, -returned to my seat in the court-room where the public plainly showed -its lack of interest in what was going on in their impatience for -Rouletabille's return at the appointed time. - -On the stroke of half-past six Joseph Rouletabille was again brought in. -It is impossible for me to picture the tense excitement which appeared -on every face, as he made his way to the bar. Darzac rose to his feet, -frightfully pale. - -The President, addressing Rouletabille, said gravely: - -"I will not ask you to take the oath, because you have not been -regularly summoned; but I trust there is no need to urge upon you the -gravity of the statement you are about to make." - -Rouletabille looked the President quite calmly and steadily in the face, -and replied: - -"Yes, Monsieur." - -"At your last appearance here," said the President, "we had arrived at -the point where you were to tell us how the murderer escaped, and also -his name. Now, Monsieur Rouletabille, we await your explanation." - -"Very well, Monsieur," began my friend amidst a profound silence. "I -had explained how it was impossible for the murderer to get away without -being seen. And yet he was there with us in the courtyard." - -"And you did not see him? At least that is what the prosecution -declares." - -"No! We all of us saw him, Monsieur le President!" cried Rouletabille. - -"Then why was he not arrested?" - -"Because no one, besides myself, knew that he was the murderer. It would -have spoiled my plans to have had him arrested, and I had then no proof -other than my own reasoning. I was convinced we had the murderer before -us and that we were actually looking at him. I have now brought what I -consider the indisputable proof." - -"Speak out, Monsieur! Tell us the murderer's name." - -"You will find it on the list of names present in the court on the night -of the tragedy," replied Rouletabille. - -The people present in the court-room began showing impatience. Some of -them even called for the name, and were silenced by the usher. - -"The list includes Daddy Jacques, Bernier the concierge, and Mr. Arthur -Rance," said the President. "Do you accuse any of these?" - -"No, Monsieur!" - -"Then I do not understand what you are driving at. There was no other -person at the end of the court." - -"Yes, Monsieur, there was, not at the end, but above the court, who was -leaning out of the window." - -"Do you mean Frederic Larsan!" exclaimed the President. - -"Yes! Frederic Larsan!" replied Rouletabille in a ringing tone. -"Frederic Larsan is the murderer!" - -The court-room became immediately filled with loud and indignant -protests. So astonished was he that the President did not attempt to -quiet it. The quick silence which followed was broken by the distinctly -whispered words from the lips of Robert Darzac: - -"It's impossible! He's mad!" - -"You dare to accuse Frederic Larsan, Monsieur?" asked the President. "If -you are not mad, what are your proofs?" - -"Proofs, Monsieur?--Do you want proofs? Well, here is one," cried -Rouletabille shrilly. "Let Frederic Larsan be called!" - -"Usher, call Frederic Larsan." - -The usher hurried to the side door, opened it, and disappeared. The door -remained open, while all eyes turned expectantly towards it. The clerk -re-appeared and, stepping forward, said: - -"Monsieur President, Frederic Larsan is not here. He left at about four -o'clock and has not been seen since." - -"That is my proof!" cried Rouletabille, triumphantly. - -"Explain yourself?" demanded the President. - -"My proof is Larsan's flight," said the young reporter. "He will not -come back. You will see no more of Frederic Larsan." - -"Unless you are playing with the court, Monsieur, why did you not accuse -him when he was present? He would then have answered you." - -"He could give no other answer than the one he has now given by his -flight." - -"We cannot believe that Larsan has fled. There was no reason for his -doing so. Did he know you'd make this charge?" - -"He did. I told him I would." - -"Do you mean to say that knowing Larsan was the murderer you gave him -the opportunity to escape?" - -"Yes, Monsieur President, I did," replied Rouletabille, proudly. "I am -not a policeman, I am a journalist; and my business is not to arrest -people. My business is in the service of truth, and is not that of an -executioner. If you are just, Monsieur, you will see that I am right. -You can now understand why I refrained until this hour to divulge the -name. I gave Larsan time to catch the 4:17 train for Paris, where he -would know where to hide himself, and leave no traces. You will not find -Frederic Larsan," declared Rouletabille, fixing his eyes on Monsieur -Robert Darzac. "He is too cunning. He is a man who has always escaped -you and whom you have long searched for in vain. If he did not succeed -in outwitting me, he can yet easily outwit any police. This man who, -four years ago, introduced himself to the Surete, and became celebrated -as Frederic Larsan, is notorious under another name--a name well known -to crime. Frederic Larsan, Monsieur President, is Ballmeyer!" - -"Ballmeyer!" cried the President. - -"Ballmeyer!" exclaimed Robert Darzac, springing to his feet. -"Ballmeyer!--It was true, then!" - -"Ah! Monsieur Darzac; you don't think I am mad, now!" cried -Rouletabille. - -Ballmeyer! Ballmeyer! No other word could be heard in the courtroom. The -President adjourned the hearing. - -Those of my readers who may not have heard of Ballmeyer will wonder at -the excitement the name caused. And yet the doings of this remarkable -criminal form the subject-matter of the most dramatic narratives of the -newspapers and criminal records of the past twenty years. It had been -reported that he was dead, and thus had eluded the police as he had -eluded them throughout the whole of his career. - -Ballmeyer was the best specimen of the high-class "gentleman swindler." -He was adept at sleight of hand tricks, and no bolder or more ruthless -crook ever lived. He was received in the best society, and was a -member of some of the most exclusive clubs. On many of his depredatory -expeditions he had not hesitated to use the knife and the mutton-bone. -No difficulty stopped him and no "operation" was too dangerous. He had -been caught, but escaped on the very morning of his trial, by throwing -pepper into the eyes of the guards who were conducting him to Court. It -was known later that, in spite of the keen hunt after him by the -most expert of detectives, he had sat that same evening at a first -performance in the Theatre Francais, without the slightest disguise. - -He left France, later, to "work" America. The police there succeeded in -capturing him once, but the extraordinary man escaped the next day. It -would need a volume to recount the adventures of this master-criminal. -And yet this was the man Rouletabille had allowed to get away! Knowing -all about him and who he was, he afforded the criminal an opportunity -for another laugh at the society he had defied! I could not help -admiring the bold stroke of the young journalist, because I felt certain -his motive had been to protect both Mademoiselle Stangerson and rid -Darzac of an enemy at the same time. - -The crowd had barely recovered from the effect of the astonishing -revelation when the hearing was resumed. The question in everybody's -mind was: Admitting that Larsan was the murderer, how did he get out of -The Yellow Room? - -Rouletabille was immediately called to the bar and his examination -continued. - -"You have told us," said the President, "that it was impossible to -escape from the end of the court. Since Larsan was leaning out of his -window, he had left the court. How did he do that?" - -"He escaped by a most unusual way. He climbed the wall, sprang onto the -terrace, and, while we were engaged with the keeper's body, reached the -gallery by the window. He then had little else to do than to open the -window, get in and call out to us, as if he had just come from his own -room. To a man of Ballmeyer's strength all that was mere child's play. -And here, Monsieur, is the proof of what I say." - -Rouletabille drew from his pocket a small packet, from which he produced -a strong iron peg. - -"This, Monsieur," he said, "is a spike which perfectly fits a hole still -to be seen in the cornice supporting the terrace. Larsan, who thought -and prepared for everything in case of any emergency, had fixed this -spike into the cornice. All he had to do to make his escape good was to -plant one foot on a stone which is placed at the corner of the chateau, -another on this support, one hand on the cornice of the keeper's door -and the other on the terrace, and Larsan was clear of the ground. The -rest was easy. His acting after dinner as if he had been drugged was -make believe. He was not drugged; but he did drug me. Of course he had -to make it appear as if he also had been drugged so that no suspicion -should fall on him for my condition. Had I not been thus overpowered, -Larsan would never have entered Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber that -night, and the attack on her would not have taken place." - -A groan came from Darzac, who appeared to be unable to control his -suffering. - -"You can understand," added Rouletabille, "that Larsan would feel -himself hampered from the fact that my room was so close to his, and -from a suspicion that I would be on the watch that night. Naturally, he -could not for a moment believe that I suspected him! But I might see him -leaving his room when he was about to go to Mademoiselle Stangerson. -He waited till I was asleep, and my friend Sainclair was busy trying to -rouse me. Ten minutes after that Mademoiselle was calling out, "Murder!" - -"How did you come to suspect Larsan?" asked the President. - -"My pure reason pointed to him. That was why I watched him. But I -did not foresee the drugging. He is very cunning. Yes, my pure reason -pointed to him; but I required tangible proof so that my eyes could see -him as my pure reason saw him." - -"What do you mean by your pure reason?" - -"That power of one's mind which admits of no disturbing elements to -a conclusion. The day following the incident of 'the inexplicable -gallery,' I felt myself losing control of it. I had allowed myself to be -diverted by fallacious evidence; but I recovered and again took hold of -the right end. I satisfied myself that the murderer could not have left -the gallery, either naturally or supernaturally. I narrowed the field of -consideration to that small circle, so to speak. The murderer could -not be outside that circle. Now who was in it? There was, first, the -murderer. Then there were Daddy Jacques, Monsieur Stangerson, Frederic -Larsan, and myself. Five persons in all, counting in the murderer. -And yet, in the gallery, there were but four. Now since it had been -demonstrated to me that the fifth could not have escaped, it was evident -that one of the four present in the gallery must be a double--he must -be himself and the murderer also. Why had I not seen this before? Simply -because the phenomenon of the double personality had not occurred before -in this inquiry. - -"Now who of the four persons in the gallery was both that person and the -assassin? I went over in my mind what I had seen. I had seen at one and -the same time, Monsieur Stangerson and the murderer, Daddy Jacques and -the murderer, myself and the murderer; so that the murderer, then, could -not be either Monsieur Stangerson, Daddy Jacques, or myself. Had I seen -Frederic Larsan and the murderer at the same time?--No!--Two seconds had -passed, during which I lost sight of the murderer; for, as I have noted -in my papers, he arrived two seconds before Monsieur Stangerson, Daddy -Jacques, and myself at the meeting-point of the two galleries. That -would have given Larsan time to go through the 'off-turning' gallery, -snatch off his false beard, return, and hurry with us as if, like us, in -pursuit of the murderer. I was sure now I had got hold of the right end -in my reasoning. With Frederic Larsan was now always associated, in -my mind, the personality of the unknown of whom I was in pursuit--the -murderer, in other words. - -"That revelation staggered me. I tried to regain my balance by going -over the evidences previously traced, but which had diverted my mind and -led me away from Frederic Larsan. What were these evidences? - -"1st. I had seen the unknown in Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber. On -going to Frederic Larsan's room, I had found Larsan sound asleep. - -"2nd. The ladder. - -"3rd. I had placed Frederic Larsan at the end of the 'off-turning' -gallery and had told him that I would rush into Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room to try to capture the murderer. Then I returned to -Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber where I had seen the unknown. - -"The first evidence did not disturb me much. It is likely that, when I -descended from my ladder, after having seen the unknown in Mademoiselle -Stangerson's chamber, Larsan had already finished what he was doing -there. Then, while I was re-entering the chateau, Larsan went back to -his own room and, undressing himself, went to sleep. - -"Nor did the second evidence trouble me. If Larsan were the murderer, -he could have no use for a ladder; but the ladder might have been placed -there to give an appearance to the murderer's entrance from without the -chateau; especially as Larsan had accused Darzac and Darzac was not in -the chateau that night. Further, the ladder might have been placed there -to facilitate Larsan's flight in case of absolute necessity. - -"But the third evidence puzzled me altogether. Having placed Larsan at -the end of the 'off-turning gallery,' I could not explain how he had -taken advantage of the moment when I had gone to the left wing of the -chateau to find Monsieur Stangerson and Daddy Jacques, to return to -Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. It was a very dangerous thing to do. He -risked being captured,--and he knew it. And he was very nearly captured. -He had not had time to regain his post, as he had certainly hoped to -do. He had then a very strong reason for returning to his room. As for -myself, when I sent Daddy Jacques to the end of the 'right gallery,' I -naturally thought that Larsan was still at his post. Daddy Jacques, in -going to his post, had not looked, when he passed, to see whether Larsan -was at his post or not. - -"What, then, was the urgent reason which had compelled Larsan to go to -the room a second time? I guessed it to be some evidence of his presence -there. He had left something very important in that room. What was it? -And had he recovered it? I begged Madame Bernier who was accustomed to -clean the room to look, and she found a pair of eye-glasses--this pair, -Monsieur President!" - -And Rouletabille drew the eye-glasses, of which we know, from his -pocket. - -"When I saw these eye-glasses," he continued, "I was utterly nonplussed. -I had never seen Larsan wear eye-glasses. What did they mean? Suddenly I -exclaimed to myself: 'I wonder if he is long-sighted?' I had never seen -Larsan write. He might, then, be long-sighted. They would certainly -know at the Surete, and also know if the glasses were his. Such evidence -would be damning. That explained Larsan's return. I know now that -Larsan, or Ballmeyer, is long-sighted and that these glasses belonged to -him. - -"I now made one mistake. I was not satisfied with the evidence I had -obtained. I wished to see the man's face. Had I refrained from this, the -second terrible attack would not have occurred." - -"But," asked the President, "why should Larsan go to Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room, at all? Why should he twice attempt to murder her?" - -"Because he loves her, Monsieur President." - -"That is certainly a reason, but-" - -"It is the only reason. He was madly in love, and because of that, -and--other things, he was capable of committing any crime." - -"Did Mademoiselle Stangerson know this?" - -"Yes, Monsieur; but she was ignorant of the fact that the man who was -pursuing her was Frederic Larsan, otherwise, of course, he would not -have been allowed to be at the chateau. I noticed, when he was in her -room after the incident in the gallery, that he kept himself in the -shadow, and that he kept his head bent down. He was looking for the lost -eye-glasses. Mademoiselle Stangerson knew Larsan under another name." - -"Monsieur Darzac," asked the President, "did Mademoiselle Stangerson -in any way confide in you on this matter? How is it that she has never -spoken about it to anyone? If you are innocent, she would have wished to -spare you the pain of being accused." - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson told me nothing," replied Monsieur Darzac. - -"Does what this young man says appear probable to you?" the President -asked. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson has told me nothing," he replied stolidly. - -"How do you explain that, on the night of the murder of the keeper," the -President asked, turning to Rouletabille, "the murderer brought back -the papers stolen from Monsieur Stangerson?--How do you explain how the -murderer gained entrance into Mademoiselle Stangerson's locked room?" - -"The last question is easily answered. A man like Larsan, or Ballmeyer, -could have had made duplicate keys. As to the documents, I think Larsan -had not intended to steal them, at first. Closely watching Mademoiselle -with the purpose of preventing her marriage with Monsieur Robert Darzac, -he one day followed her and Monsieur into the Grands Magasins de la -Louvre. There he got possession of the reticule which she lost, or left -behind. In that reticule was a key with a brass head. He did not know -there was any value attached to the key till the advertisement in -the newspapers revealed it. He then wrote to Mademoiselle, as the -advertisement requested. No doubt he asked for a meeting, making known -to her that he was also the person who had for some time pursued her -with his love. He received no answer. He went to the Post Office and -ascertained that his letter was no longer there. He had already taken -complete stock of Monsieur Darzac, and, having decided to go to any -lengths to gain Mademoiselle Stangerson, he had planned that, whatever -might happen, Monsieur Darzac, his hated rival, should be the man to be -suspected. - -"I do not think that Larsan had as yet thought of murdering Mademoiselle -Stangerson; but whatever he might do, he made sure that Monsieur Darzac -should suffer for it. He was very nearly of the same height as Monsieur -Darzac and had almost the same sized feet. It would not be difficult, -to take an impression of Monsieur Darzac's footprints, and have similar -boots made for himself. Such tricks were mere child's play for Larsan, -or Ballmeyer. - -"Receiving no reply to his letter, he determined, since Mademoiselle -Stangerson would not come to him, that he would go to her. His plan had -long been formed. He had made himself master of the plans of the -chateau and the pavilion. So that, one afternoon, while Monsieur and -Mademoiselle Stangerson were out for a walk, and while Daddy Jacques was -away, he entered the latter by the vestibule window. He was alone, and, -being in no hurry, he began examining the furniture. One of the pieces, -resembling a safe, had a very small keyhole. That interested him! He had -with him the little key with the brass head, and, associating one with -the other, he tried the key in the lock. The door opened. He saw nothing -but papers. They must be very valuable to have been put away in a safe, -and the key to which to be of so much importance. Perhaps a thought of -blackmail occurred to him as a useful possibility in helping him in -his designs on Mademoiselle Stangerson. He quickly made a parcel of the -papers and took it to the lavatory in the vestibule. Between the time of -his first examination of the pavilion and the night of the murder of the -keeper, Larsan had had time to find out what those papers contained. -He could do nothing with them, and they were rather compromising. -That night he took them back to the chateau. Perhaps he hoped that, by -returning the papers he might obtain some gratitude from Mademoiselle -Stangerson. But whatever may have been his reasons, he took the papers -back and so rid himself of an encumbrance." - -Rouletabille coughed. It was evident to me that he was embarrassed. -He had arrived at a point where he had to keep back his knowledge of -Larsan's true motive. The explanation he had given had evidently been -unsatisfactory. Rouletabille was quick enough to note the bad impression -he had made, for, turning to the President, he said: "And now we come to -the explanation of the Mystery of The Yellow Room!" - -A movement of chairs in the court with a rustling of dresses and an -energetic whispering of "Hush!" showed the curiosity that had been -aroused. - -"It seems to me," said the President, "that the Mystery of The Yellow -Room, Monsieur Rouletabille, is wholly explained by your hypothesis. -Frederic Larsan is the explanation. We have merely to substitute him for -Monsieur Robert Darzac. Evidently the door of The Yellow Room was open -at the time Monsieur Stangerson was alone, and that he allowed the man -who was coming out of his daughter's chamber to pass without arresting -him--perhaps at her entreaty to avoid all scandal." - -"No, Monsieur President," protested the young man. "You forget that, -stunned by the attack made on her, Mademoiselle Stangerson was not in -a condition to have made such an appeal. Nor could she have locked -and bolted herself in her room. You must also remember that Monsieur -Stangerson has sworn that the door was not open." - -"That, however, is the only way in which it can be explained. The Yellow -Room was as closely shut as an iron safe. To use your own expression, it -was impossible for the murderer to make his escape either naturally or -supernaturally. When the room was broken into he was not there! He must, -therefore, have escaped." - -"That does not follow." - -"What do you mean?" - -"There was no need for him to escape--if he was not there!" - -"Not there!" - -"Evidently, not. He could not have been there, if he were not found -there." - -"But, what about the evidences of his presence?" asked the President. - -"That, Monsieur President, is where we have taken hold of the wrong end. -From the time Mademoiselle Stangerson shut herself in the room to the -time her door was burst open, it was impossible for the murderer to -escape. He was not found because he was not there during that time." - -"But the evidences?" - -"They have led us astray. In reasoning on this mystery we must not take -them to mean what they apparently mean. Why do we conclude the murderer -was there?--Because he left his tracks in the room? Good! But may he not -have been there before the room was locked. Nay, he must have been there -before! Let us look into the matter of these traces and see if they do -not point to my conclusion. - -"After the publication of the article in the 'Matin' and my -conversation with the examining magistrate on the journey from Paris to -Epinaysur-Orge, I was certain that The Yellow Room had been hermetically -sealed, so to speak, and that consequently the murderer had escaped -before Mademoiselle Stangerson had gone into her chamber at midnight. - -"At the time I was much puzzled. Mademoiselle Stangerson could not have -been her own murderer, since the evidences pointed to some other person. -The assassin, then, had come before. If that were so, how was it that -Mademoiselle had been attacked after? or rather, that she appeared to -have been attacked after? It was necessary for me to reconstruct the -occurrence and make of it two phases--each separated from the other, -in time, by the space of several hours. One phase in which Mademoiselle -Stangerson had really been attacked--the other phase in which those who -heard her cries thought she was being attacked. I had not then examined -The Yellow Room. What were the marks on Mademoiselle Stangerson? There -were marks of strangulation and the wound from a hard blow on the -temple. The marks of strangulation did not interest me much; they might -have been made before, and Mademoiselle Stangerson could have concealed -them by a collarette, or any similar article of apparel. I had to -suppose this the moment I was compelled to reconstruct the occurrence by -two phases. Mademoiselle Stangerson had, no doubt, her own reasons for -so doing, since she had told her father nothing of it, and had made it -understood to the examining magistrate that the attack had taken place -in the night, during the second phase. She was forced to say that, -otherwise her father would have questioned her as to her reason for -having said nothing about it. - -"But I could not explain the blow on the temple. I understood it even -less when I learned that the mutton-bone had been found in her room. She -could not hide the fact that she had been struck on the head, and yet -that wound appeared evidently to have been inflicted during the first -phase, since it required the presence of the murderer! I thought -Mademoiselle Stangerson had hidden the wound by arranging her hair in -bands on her forehead. - -"As to the mark of the hand on the wall, that had evidently been made -during the first phase--when the murderer was really there. All the -traces of his presence had naturally been left during the first phase; -the mutton-bone, the black footprints, the Basque cap, the handkerchief, -the blood on the wall, on the door, and on the floor. If those traces -were still all there, they showed that Mademoiselle Stangerson--who -desired that nothing should be known--had not yet had time to clear them -away. This led me to the conclusion that the two phases had taken place -one shortly after the other. She had not had the opportunity, after -leaving her room and going back to the laboratory to her father, to get -back again to her room and put it in order. Her father was all the time -with her, working. So that after the first phase she did not re-enter -her chamber till midnight. Daddy Jacques was there at ten o'clock, as he -was every night; but he went in merely to close the blinds and light the -night-light. Owing to her disturbed state of mind she had forgotten that -Daddy Jacques would go into her room and had begged him not to trouble -himself. All this was set forth in the article in the 'Matin.' Daddy -Jacques did go, however, and, in the dim light of the room, saw nothing. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson must have lived some anxious moments while -Daddy Jacques was absent; but I think she was not aware that so many -evidences had been left. After she had been attacked she had only time -to hide the traces of the man's fingers on her neck and to hurry to the -laboratory. Had she known of the bone, the cap, and the handkerchief, -she would have made away with them after she had gone back to her -chamber at midnight. She did not see them, and undressed by the -uncertain glimmer of the night light. She went to bed, worn-out by -anxiety and fear--a fear that had made her remain in the laboratory as -late as possible. - -"My reasoning had thus brought me to the second phase of the tragedy, -when Mademoiselle Stangerson was alone in the room. I had now to -explain the revolver shots fired during the second phase. Cries of -'Help!--Murder!' had been heard. How to explain these? As to the cries, -I was in no difficulty; since she was alone in her room these could -result from nightmare only. My explanation of the struggle and noise -that were heard is simply that in her nightmare she was haunted by the -terrible experience she had passed through in the afternoon. In her -dream she sees the murderer about to spring upon her and she cries, -'Help! Murder!' Her hand wildly seeks the revolver she had placed within -her reach on the night-table by the side of her bed, but her hand, -striking the table, overturns it, and the revolver, falling to the -floor, discharges itself, the bullet lodging in the ceiling. I knew -from the first that the bullet in the ceiling must have resulted from -an accident. Its very position suggested an accident to my mind, and -so fell in with my theory of a nightmare. I no longer doubted that the -attack had taken place before Mademoiselle had retired for the night. -After wakening from her frightful dream and crying aloud for help, she -had fainted. - -"My theory, based on the evidence of the shots that were heard at -midnight, demanded two shots--one which wounded the murderer at the time -of his attack, and one fired at the time of the nightmare. The evidence -given by the Berniers before the examining magistrate was to the effect -that only one shot had been heard. Monsieur Stangerson testified to -hearing a dull sound first followed by a sharp ringing sound. The dull -sound I explained by the falling of the marble-topped table; the ringing -sound was the shot from the revolver. I was now convinced I was right. -The shot that had wounded the hand of the murderer and had caused it -to bleed so that he left the bloody imprint on the wall was fired by -Mademoiselle in self-defence, before the second phase, when she had been -really attacked. The shot in the ceiling which the Berniers heard was -the accidental shot during the nightmare. - -"I had now to explain the wound on the temple. It was not severe enough -to have been made by means of the mutton-bone, and Mademoiselle had not -attempted to hide it. It must have been made during the second phase. It -was to find this out that I went to The Yellow Room, and I obtained my -answer there." - -Rouletabille drew a piece of white folded paper from his pocket, and -drew out of it an almost invisible object which he held between his -thumb and forefinger. - -"This, Monsieur President," he said, "is a hair--a blond hair stained -with blood;--it is a hair from the head of Mademoiselle Stangerson. I -found it sticking to one of the corners of the overturned table. The -corner of the table was itself stained with blood--a tiny stain--hardly -visible; but it told me that, on rising from her bed, Mademoiselle -Stangerson had fallen heavily and had struck her head on the corner of -its marble top. - -"I still had to learn, in addition to the name of the assassin, which -I did later, the time of the original attack. I learned this from -the examination of Mademoiselle Stangerson and her father, though -the answers given by the former were well calculated to deceive the -examining magistrate--Mademoiselle Stangerson had stated very minutely -how she had spent the whole of her time that day. We established the -fact that the murderer had introduced himself into the pavilion between -five and six o'clock. At a quarter past six the professor and his -daughter had resumed their work. At five the professor had been with -his daughter, and since the attack took place in the professor's -absence from his daughter, I had to find out just when he left her. -The professor had stated that at the time when he and his daughter were -about to re-enter the laboratory he was met by the keeper and held -in conversation about the cutting of some wood and the poachers. -Mademoiselle Stangerson was not with him then since the professor said: -'I left the keeper and rejoined my daughter who was at work in the -laboratory.' - -"It was during that short interval of time that the tragedy took place. -That is certain. In my mind's eye I saw Mademoiselle Stangerson re-enter -the pavilion, go to her room to take off her hat, and find herself faced -by the murderer. He had been in the pavilion for some time waiting for -her. He had arranged to pass the whole night there. He had taken off -Daddy Jacques's boots; he had removed the papers from the cabinet; and -had then slipped under the bed. Finding the time long, he had risen, -gone again into the laboratory, then into the vestibule, looked into -the garden, and had seen, coming towards the pavilion, Mademoiselle -Stangerson--alone. He would never have dared to attack her at that hour, -if he had not found her alone. His mind was made up. He would be more at -ease alone with Mademoiselle Stangerson in the pavilion, than he would -have been in the middle of the night, with Daddy Jacques sleeping in -the attic. So he shut the vestibule window. That explains why neither -Monsieur Stangerson, nor the keeper, who were at some distance from the -pavilion, had heard the revolver shot. - -"Then he went back to The Yellow Room. Mademoiselle Stangerson came in. -What passed must have taken place very quickly. Mademoiselle tried to -call for help; but the man had seized her by the throat. Her hand had -sought and grasped the revolver which she had been keeping in the -drawer of her night-table, since she had come to fear the threats of -her pursuer. The murderer was about to strike her on the head with the -mutton-bone--a terrible weapon in the hands of a Larsan or Ballmeyer; -but she fired in time, and the shot wounded the hand that held the -weapon. The bone fell to the floor covered with the blood of the -murderer, who staggered, clutched at the wall for support--imprinting on -it the red marks--and, fearing another bullet, fled. - -"She saw him pass through the laboratory, and listened. He was long at -the window. At length he jumped from it. She flew to it and shut it. The -danger past, all her thoughts were of her father. Had he either seen -or heard? At any cost to herself she must keep this from him. Thus -when Monsieur Stangerson returned, he found the door of The Yellow Room -closed, and his daughter in the laboratory, bending over her desk, at -work!" - -Turning towards Monsieur Darzac, Rouletabille cried: "You know the -truth! Tell us, then, if that is not how things happened." - -"I don't know anything about it," replied Monsieur Darzac. - -"I admire you for your silence," said Rouletabille, "but if -Mademoiselle Stangerson knew of your danger, she would release you from -your oath. She would beg of you to tell all she has confided to you. She -would be here to defend you!" - -Monsieur Darzac made no movement, nor uttered a word. He looked at -Rouletabille sadly. - -"However," said the young reporter, "since Mademoiselle is not here, I -must do it myself. But, believe me, Monsieur Darzac, the only means to -save Mademoiselle Stangerson and restore her to her reason, is to secure -your acquittal." - -"What is this secret motive that compels Mademoiselle Stangerson to hide -her knowledge from her father?" asked the President. - -"That, Monsieur, I do not know," said Rouletabille. "It is no business -of mine." - -The President, turning to Monsieur Darzac, endeavoured to induce him to -tell what he knew. - -"Do you still refuse, Monsieur, to tell us how you employeeed your time -during the attempts on the life of Mademoiselle Stangerson?" - -"I cannot tell you anything, Monsieur." - -The President turned to Rouletabille as if appealing for an explanation. - -"We must assume, Monsieur President, that Monsieur Robert Darzac's -absences are closely connected with Mademoiselle Stangerson's secret, -and that Monsieur Darzac feels himself in honour bound to remain silent. -It may be that Larsan, who, since his three attempts, has had everything -in training to cast suspicion on Monsieur Darzac, had fixed on just -those occasions for a meeting with Monsieur Darzac at a spot most -compromising. Larsan is cunning enough to have done that." - -The President seemed partly convinced, but still curious, he asked: - -"But what is this secret of Mademoiselle Stangerson?" - -"That I cannot tell you," said Rouletabille. "I think, however, you -know enough now to acquit Monsieur Robert Darzac! Unless Larsan should -return, and I don't think he will," he added, with a laugh. - -"One question more," said the President. "Admitting your explanation, we -know that Larsan wished to turn suspicion on Monsieur Robert Darzac, but -why should he throw suspicion on Daddy Jacques also?" - -"There came in the professional detective, Monsieur, who proves himself -an unraveller of mysteries, by annihilating the very proofs he had -accumulated. He's a very cunning man, and a similar trick had often -enabled him to turn suspicion from himself. He proved the innocence of -one before accusing the other. You can easily believe, Monsieur, that so -complicated a scheme as this must have been long and carefully thought -out in advance by Larsan. I can tell you that he had long been -engaged on its elaboration. If you care to learn how he had gathered -information, you will find that he had, on one occasion, disguised -himself as the commissionaire between the 'Laboratory of the Surete' and -Monsieur Stangerson, of whom 'experiments' were demanded. In this way -he had been able before the crime, on two occasions to take stock of the -pavilion. He had 'made up' so that Daddy Jacques had not recognised him. -And yet Larsan had found the opportunity to rob the old man of a pair of -old boots and a cast-off Basque cap, which the servant had tied up in -a handkerchief, with the intention of carrying them to a friend, a -charcoal-burner on the road to Epinay. When the crime was discovered, -Daddy Jacques had immediately recognised these objects as his. They were -extremely compromising, which explains his distress at the time when we -spoke to him about them. Larsan confessed it all to me. He is an -artist at the game. He did a similar thing in the affair of the 'Credit -Universel,' and in that of the 'Gold Ingots of the Mint.' Both these -cases should be revised. Since Ballmeyer or Larsan has been in the -Surete a number of innocent persons have been sent to prison." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. In Which It Is Proved That One Does Not Always Think of -Everything - - -Great excitement prevailed when Rouletabille had finished. The -court-room became agitated with the murmurings of suppressed applause. -Maitre Henri Robert called for an adjournment of the trial and was -supported in his motion by the public prosecutor himself. The case was -adjourned. The next day Monsieur Robert Darzac was released on bail, -while Daddy Jacques received the immediate benefit of a "no cause for -action." Search was everywhere made for Frederic Larsan, but in vain. -Monsieur Darzac finally escaped the awful calamity which, at one time, -had threatened him. After a visit to Mademoiselle Stangerson, he was led -to hope that she might, by careful nursing, one day recover her reason. - -Rouletabille, naturally, became the "man of the hour." On leaving the -Palais de Justice, the crowd bore him aloft in triumph. The press of -the whole world published his exploits and his photograph. He, who -had interviewed so many illustrious personages, had himself become -illustrious and was interviewed in his turn. I am glad to say that the -enormous success in no way turned his head. - -We left Versailles together, after having dined at "The Dog That -Smokes." In the train I put a number of questions to him which, during -our meal, had been on the tip of my tongue, but which I had refrained -from uttering, knowing he did not like to talk "shop" while eating. - -"My friend," I said, "that Larsan case is wonderful. It is worthy of -you." - -He begged me to say no more, and humorously pretended an anxiety for -me should I give way to silly praise of him because of a personal -admiration for his ability. - -"I'll come to the point, then," I said, not a little nettled. "I am -still in the dark as to your reason for going to America. When you -left the Glandier you had found out, if I rightly understand, all about -Frederic Larsan; you had discovered the exact way he had attempted the -murder?" - -"Quite so. And you," he said, turning the conversation, "did you suspect -nothing?" - -"Nothing!" - -"It's incredible!" - -"I don't see how I could have suspected anything. You took great pains -to conceal your thoughts from me. Had you already suspected Larsan when -you sent for me to bring the revolvers?" - -"Yes! I had come to that conclusion through the incident of the -'inexplicable gallery.' Larsan's return to Mademoiselle Stangerson's -room, however, had not then been cleared up by the eye-glasses. My -suspicions were the outcome of my reasoning only; and the idea of Larsan -being the murderer seemed so extraordinary that I resolved to wait for -actual evidence before venturing to act. Nevertheless, the suspicion -worried me, and I sometimes spoke to the detective in a way that ought -to have opened your eyes. I spoke disparagingly of his methods. But -until I found the eye-glasses I could but look upon my suspicion of him -in the light of an absurd hypothesis only. You can imagine my elation -after I had explained Larsan's movements. I remember well rushing into -my room like a mad-man and crying to you: 'I'll get the better of -the great Fred. I'll get the better of him in a way that will make a -sensation!' - -"I was then thinking of Larsan, the murderer. It was that same evening -that Darzac begged me to watch over Mademoiselle Stangerson. I made no -efforts until after we had dined with Larsan, until ten o'clock. He was -right there before me, and I could afford to wait. You ought to have -suspected, because when we were talking of the murderer's arrival, I -said to you: 'I am quite sure Larsan will be here to-night.' - -"But one important point escaped us both. It was one which ought to -have opened our eyes to Larsan. Do you remember the bamboo cane? I was -surprised to find Larsan had made no use of that evidence against Robert -Darzac. Had it not been purchased by a man whose description tallied -exactly with that of Darzac? Well, just before I saw him off at the -train, after the recess during the trial, I asked him why he hadn't used -the cane evidence. He told me he had never had any intention of doing -so; that our discovery of it in the little inn at Epinay had much -embarrassed him. If you will remember, he told us then that the cane had -been given him in London. Why did we not immediately say to ourselves: -'Fred is lying. He could not have had this cane in London. He was not -in London. He bought it in Paris'? Then you found out, on inquiry at -Cassette's, that the cane had been bought by a person dressed very like -Robert Darzac, though, as we learned later, from Darzac himself, it was -not he who had made the purchase. Couple this with the fact we already -knew, from the letter at the poste restante, that there was actually -a man in Paris who was passing as Robert Darzac, why did we not -immediately fix on Fred himself? - -"Of course, his position at the Surete was against us; but when we saw -the evident eagerness on his part to find convicting evidence against -Darzac, nay, even the passion he displayed in his pursuit of the man, -the lie about the cane should have had a new meaning for us. If you -ask why Larsan bought the cane, if he had no intention of manufacturing -evidence against Darzac by means of it, the answer is quite simple. He -had been wounded in the hand by Mademoiselle Stangerson, so that the -cane was useful to enable him to close his hand in carrying it. You -remember I noticed that he always carried it? - -"All these details came back to my mind when I had once fixed on Larsan -as the criminal. But they were too late then to be of any use to me. On -the evening when he pretended to be drugged I looked at his hand and saw -a thin silk bandage covering the signs of a slight healing wound. Had we -taken a quicker initiative at the time Larsan told us that lie about the -cane, I am certain he would have gone off, to avoid suspicion. All the -same, we worried Larsan or Ballmeyer without our knowing it." - -"But," I interrupted, "if Larsan had no intention of using the cane as -evidence against Darzac, why had he made himself up to look like the man -when he went in to buy it?" - -"He had not specially 'made up' as Darzac to buy the cane; he had come -straight to Cassette's immediately after he had attacked Mademoiselle -Stangerson. His wound was troubling him and, as he was passing along the -Avenue de l'Opera, the idea of the cane came to his mind and he acted on -it. It was then eight o'clock. And I, who had hit upon the very hour of -the occurrence of the tragedy, almost convinced that Darzac was not the -criminal, and knowing of the cane, I still never suspected Larsan. There -are times..." - -"There are times," I said, "when the greatest intellects--..." -Rouletabille shut my mouth. I still continued to chide him, but, finding -he did not reply, I saw he was no longer paying any attention to what I -was saying. I found he was fast asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. The Mystery of Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -During the days that followed I had several opportunities to question -him as to his reason for his voyage to America, but I obtained no more -precise answers than he had given me on the evening of the adjournment -of the trial, when we were on the train for Paris. One day, however, on -my still pressing him, he said: - -"Can't you understand that I had to know Larsan's true personality?" - -"No doubt," I said, "but why did you go to America to find that out?" - -He sat smoking his pipe, and made no further reply. I began to see that -I was touching on the secret that concerned Mademoiselle Stangerson. -Rouletabille evidently had found it necessary to go to America to find -out what the mysterious tie was that bound her to Larsan by so strange -and terrible a bond. In America he had learned who Larsan was and -had obtained information which closed his mouth. He had been to -Philadelphia. - -And now, what was this mystery which held Mademoiselle Stangerson and -Monsieur Robert Darzac in so inexplicable a silence? After so many years -and the publicity given the case by a curious and shameless press; now -that Monsieur Stangerson knows all and has forgiven all, all may be -told. In every phase of this remarkable story Mademoiselle Stangerson -had always been the sufferer. - -The beginning dates from the time when, as a young girl, she was living -with her father in Philadelphia. A visitor at the house, a Frenchman, -had succeeded by his wit, grace and persistent attention, in gaining -her affections. He was said to be rich and had asked her of her father. -Monsieur Stangerson, on making inquiries as to Monsieur Jean Roussel, -found that the man was a swindler and an adventurer. Jean Roussel was -but another of the many names under which the notorious Ballmeyer, a -fugitive from France, tried to hide himself. Monsieur Stangerson did not -know of his identity with Ballmeyer; he learned that the man was simply -undesirable for his daughter. He not only refused to give his consent -to the marriage but denied him admission into the house. Mathilde -Stangerson, however, had fallen in love. To her Jean Roussel was -everything that her love painted him. She was indignant at her father's -attitude, and did not conceal her feelings. Her father sent her to stay -with an aunt in Cincinnati. There she was joined by Jean Roussel and, in -spite of the reverence she felt for her father, ran away with him to get -married. - -They went to Louisville and lived there for some time. One morning, -however, a knock came at the door of the house in which they were and -the police entered to arrest Jean Roussel. It was then that Mathilde -Stangerson, or Roussel, learned that her husband was no other than the -notorious Ballmeyer! - -The young woman in her despair tried to commit suicide. She failed in -this, and was forced to rejoin her aunt in Cincinnati, The old lady was -overjoyed to see her again. She had been anxiously searching for her and -had not dared to tell Monsieur Stangerson of her disappearance. Mathilde -swore her to secrecy, so that her father should not know she had been -away. A month later, Mademoiselle Stangerson returned to her father, -repentant, her heart dead within her, hoping only one thing: that she -would never again see her husband, the horrible Ballmeyer. A report was -spread, a few weeks later, that he was dead, and she now determined -to atone for her disobedience by a life of labour and devotion for her -father. And she kept her word. - -All this she had confessed to Robert Darzac, and, believing Ballmeyer -dead, had given herself to the joy of a union with him. But fate had -resuscitated Jean Roussel--the Ballmeyer of her youth. He had -taken steps to let her know that he would never allow her to marry -Darzac--that he still loved her. - -Mademoiselle Stangerson never for one moment hesitated to confide in -Monsieur Darzac. She showed him the letter in which Jean Roussel asked -her to recall the first hours of their union in their beautiful and -charming Louisville home. "The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, -nor the garden its brightness," he had written. The scoundrel pretended -to be rich and claimed the right of taking her back to Louisville. She -had told Darzac that if her father should know of her dishonour, she -would kill herself. Monsieur Darzac had sworn to silence her persecutor, -even if he had to kill him. He was outwitted and would have succumbed -had it not been for the genius of Rouletabille. - -Mademoiselle Stangerson was herself helpless in the hands of such a -villain. She had tried to kill him when he had first threatened and then -attacked her in The Yellow Room. She had, unfortunately, failed, and -felt herself condemned to be for ever at the mercy of this unscrupulous -wretch who was continually demanding her presence at clandestine -interviews. When he sent her the letter through the Post Office, asking -her to meet him, she had refused. The result of her refusal was the -tragedy of The Yellow Room. The second time he wrote asking for a -meeting, the letter reaching her in her sick chamber, she had avoided -him by sleeping with her servants. In that letter the scoundrel had -warned her that, since she was too ill to come to him, he would come -to her, and that he would be in her chamber at a particular hour on -a particular night. Knowing that she had everything to fear from -Ballmeyer, she had left her chamber on that night. It was then that the -incident of the "inexplicable gallery" occurred. - -The third time she had determined to keep the appointment. He asked for -it in the letter he had written in her own room, on the night of the -incident in the gallery, which he left on her desk. In that letter he -threatened to burn her father's papers if she did not meet him. It was -to rescue these papers that she made up her mind to see him. She did not -for one moment doubt that the wretch would carry out his threat if she -persisted in avoiding him, and in that case the labours of her father's -lifetime would be for ever lost. Since the meeting was thus inevitable, -she resolved to see her husband and appeal to his better nature. It was -for this interview that she had prepared herself on the night the keeper -was killed. They did meet, and what passed between them may be imagined. -He insisted that she renounce Darzac. She, on her part, affirmed her -love for him. He stabbed her in his anger, determined to convict Darzac -of the crime. As Larsan he could do it, and had so managed things that -Darzac could never explain how he had employeeed the time of his absence -from the chateau. Ballmeyer's precautions were most cunningly taken. - -Larsan had threatened Darzac as he had threatened Mathilde--with the -same weapon, and the same threats. He wrote Darzac urgent letters, -declaring himself ready to deliver up the letters that had passed -between him and his wife, and to leave them for ever, if he would pay -him his price. He asked Darzac to meet him for the purpose of arranging -the matter, appointing the time when Larsan would be with Mademoiselle -Stangerson. When Darzac went to Epinay, expecting to find Ballmeyer or -Larsan there, he was met by an accomplice of Larsan's, and kept waiting -until such time as the "coincidence" could be established. - -It was all done with Machiavellian cunning; but Ballmeyer had reckoned -without Joseph Rouletabille. - -Now that the Mystery of The Yellow Room has been cleared up, this is not -the time to tell of Rouletabille's adventures in America. Knowing the -young reporter as we do, we can understand with what acumen he had -traced, step by step, the story of Mathilde Stangerson and Jean Roussel. -At Philadelphia he had quickly informed himself as to Arthur William -Rance. There he learned of Rance's act of devotion and the reward -he thought himself entitled to for it. A rumour of his marriage with -Mademoiselle Stangerson had once found its way into the drawing-rooms of -Philadelphia. He also learned of Rance's continued attentions to her and -his importunities for her hand. He had taken to drink, he had said, to -drown his grief at his unrequited love. It can now be understood why -Rouletabille had shown so marked a coolness of demeanour towards Rance -when they met in the witnesses' room, on the day of the trial. - -The strange Roussel-Stangerson mystery had now been laid bare. Who was -this Jean Roussel? Rouletabille had traced him from Philadelphia to -Cincinnati. In Cincinnati he became acquainted with the old aunt, and -had found means to open her mouth. The story of Ballmeyer's arrest threw -the right light on the whole story. He visited the "presbytery"--a small -and pretty dwelling in the old colonial style--which had, indeed, -"lost nothing of its charm." Then, abandoning his pursuit of traces of -Mademoiselle Stangerson, he took up those of Ballmeyer. He followed them -from prison to prison, from crime to crime. Finally, as he was about -leaving for Europe, he learned in New York that Ballmeyer had, five -years before, embarked for France with some valuable papers belonging to -a merchant of New Orleans whom he had murdered. - -And yet the whole of this mystery has not been revealed. Mademoiselle -Stangerson had a child, by her husband,--a son. The infant was born in -the old aunt's house. No one knew of it, so well had the aunt managed to -conceal the event. - -What became of that son?--That is another story which, so far, I am not -permitted to relate. - -About two months after these events, I came upon Rouletabille sitting on -a bench in the Palais de Justice, looking very depressed. - -"What's the matter, old man?" I asked. "You are looking very downcast. -How are your friends getting on?" - -"Apart from you," he said, "I have no friends." - -"I hope that Monsieur Darzac--" - -"No doubt." - -"And Mademoiselle Stangerson--How is she?" - -"Better--much better." - -"Then you ought not to be sad." - -"I am sad," he said, "because I am thinking of the perfume of the lady -in black--" - -"The perfume of the lady in black!--I have heard you often refer to it. -Tell me why it troubles you." - -"Perhaps--some day; some day," said Rouletabille. - -And he heaved a profound sigh. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** - -***** This file should be named 1685.txt or 1685.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/8/1685/ - -Produced by Anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteers - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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