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diff --git a/old/ylorm11h.htm b/old/ylorm11h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 1347f93..0000000 --- a/old/ylorm11h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7592 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> - -<html> -<head> -<title>Gaston Leroux</title> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> -</head> - -<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> - -<h1>Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux</h1> -<h2>#2 in our series by Gaston Leroux</h2> -<pre> -Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the -copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing -this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. - -This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project -Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the -header without written permission. - -Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the -eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is -important information about your specific rights and restrictions in -how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a -donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. - - -**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** - -**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** - -*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** - - -Title: The Mystery of the Yellow Room - -Author: Gaston Leroux - -Release Date: March, 1999 [EBook #1685] -[This file was last updated on July 21, 2002] - -Edition: 11 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** -</pre> - - - - -<p>This Etext prepared by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>The Mystery of the Yellow Room</p> -<p>by Gaston Leroux</p> -<p></p> -<p> - CHAPTER I</p> -<p>In Which We Begin Not to Understand</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>On the 25th of October, 1892, the following note appeared in the - latest edition of the "Temps":</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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":</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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! -"</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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. </p> -<p> - "'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.</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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!</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"'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!'"</p> -<p>The editor of the "Matin" added to this interview the following - lines:</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"'Can you, Monsieur de Marquet, give us any information as to this - affair, without inconvenience to the course of your inquiry?'</p> -<p>"'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!'</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"'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 wails, 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!'"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER II</p> -<p>In Which Joseph Rouktabille Appears for the First Time</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>But, before going further, it is time that I present my friend - to the reader.</p> -<p>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. </p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"This foot," he cried, "will make a great headline."</p> -<p>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 onthe "Epoque"?</p> -<p>"Two hundred francs a month," the youngster replied modestly, hardly - able to breathe from surprise at the proposal.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Joseph Josephine."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Well, my dear Sainclair, - have you read it?"</p> -<p>"The Glandier crime?"</p> -<p>"Yes; The Yellow Room! - What do you think of it?"</p> -<p>"I think that it must have been the Devil or the Bete du Bon Dieu - that committed the crime."</p> -<p>"Be serious!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p> -<p> *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.</p> -<p> __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>He continued to smoke energetically, and then went on:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Have you any idea of the way by which the murderer escaped?" I - asked.</p> -<p>"None," replied Rouletabille - "none, for the present. But I - have - an idea as to the revolver; the murderer did not use it."</p> -<p>"Good Heavens! By whom, then, was it used?"</p> -<p>"Why - by Mademoiselle Stangerson."</p> -<p>"I don't understand, - or rather, I have never understood," I said.</p> -<p>Rouletabille shrugged his shoulders.</p> -<p>"Is there nothing in this article in the 'Matin' by which you were - particularly struck?"</p> -<p>"Nothing, - I have found the whole of the story it tells equally - strange."</p> -<p>"Well, but - the locked door - with the key on the inside?"</p> -<p>"That's the only perfectly natural thing in the whole article."</p> -<p>"Really! - And the bolt?"</p> -<p>"The bolt?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Then the wound on the temple was not done with the revolver?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"All that doesn't explain how the murderer got out of The Yellow - Room," I observed.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"I?" -</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"But in what way can I be of any use to you?"</p> -<p>"Monsieur Robert Darzac is at the Chateau du Glandier."</p> -<p>"That's true. His despair must be boundless."</p> -<p>"I must have a talk with him."</p> -<p>Rouletabille said it in a tone that surprised me.</p> -<p>"Is it because - you think there is something to be got out of him?" - I asked.</p> -<p>"Yes."</p> -<p>That was all he would say. He retired to my sitting-room, begging - me to dress quickly.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Have you any idea as to the murderer's station in life?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What has led you to form it?"</p> -<p>"Well, - the greasy cap, the common handkerchief, and the marks - of the rough boots on the floor," he replied.</p> -<p>"I understand," I said; "murderers don't leave traces behind - them - which tell the truth."</p> -<p>"We shall make something out of you yet, my dear Sainclair," - concluded Rouletabille</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER III</p> -<p>"A Man Has Passed Like a Shadow Through the Blinds"</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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. </p> -<p>So that, at the moment of meeting him, I heard Monsieur de Marquet - say to the Registrar with a sigh:</p> -<p>"I hope, my dear Monsieur Maleine, this builder with his pickaxe - will not destroy so fine a mystery."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>Monsieur Maleine replied in the same tone, "I understand!" and then - tried to prevent Rouletabille from entering the same compartment - with the examining magistrate.</p> -<p>"Excuse me, gentlemen, - this compartment is reserved."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Monsieur is very much engaged with the inquiry he has in hand."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Get in, sir, please," said the Registrar.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Monsieur de Marquet looked at him.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Oh, you may rely on my discretion!" cried Rouletabille.</p> -<p>The train was in motion.</p> -<p>"We have started!" said the examining magistrate, surprised at - seeing us still in the carriage.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>My friend felt this a rap on his knuckles.</p> -<p>"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 ofthe same carriage."</p> -<p>"Where are you going, then?" asked Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"To the Chateau du Glandier," replied Rouletabille, without turnimg.</p> -<p>"You'll not get in, Monsieur Rouletabile!"</p> -<p>"Will you prevent me?" said my friend, already prepared to fight.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Poor Robert!" continued the young reporter, "this dreadful - affair - may be his death, - he is so deeply in love with Mademoiselle - Stangerson."</p> -<p>"His sufferings are truly painful to witness," escaped like a regret - from the lips of Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"But it is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson's life will be - saved."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"The wound on her temple is serious, is it not?"</p> -<p>"Evidently; but, by a wonderful chance, it has not proved mortal. - The blow was given with great force."</p> -<p>"Then it was not with the revolver she was wounded," said - Rouletabille, glancing at me in triumph.</p> -<p>Monsieur de Marquet appeared greatly embarrassed.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Not in the slightest, Monsieur."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"That's so, monsieur, - that's so. That's how the matter stands."</p> -<p>Rouletabille said no more but plunged into thought. A quarter of - an hour thus passed.</p> -<p>Coming back to himself again he said, addressing the magistrate:</p> -<p>"How did Mademoiselle Stangerson wear her hair on that evening?"</p> -<p>"I don't know," replied Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"That's a very important point," said Rouletabile. "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."</p> -<p>"Then you are mistaken, Monsieur Rouletabile," 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."</p> -<p>"You are sure! You are sure that, on the night of the crime, she - had not her hair in bands?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Oh! if she had not her hair in bands, I give it up," said - Rouletabille, with a despairing gesture.</p> -<p>"And was the wound on her temple a bad one?" he asked presently.</p> -<p>"Terrible."</p> -<p>"With what weapon was it made?"</p> -<p>"That is a secret of the investigation."</p> -<p>"Have you found the weapon - whatever it was?"</p> -<p>The magistrate did not answer.</p> -<p> "And the wound in the throat?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"It is by that window that he escaped from the pavilion!" cried - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"How do you know that?" demanded Monsieur de Marquet, fixing a - strange look on my young friend.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Once more, - how do you know that?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"You hope, Monsieur?"</p> -<p>Monsieur de Marquet corrected himself.</p> -<p>"I do not hope so, - I think so."</p> -<p>"Could that window have been closed and refastened after the flight - of the assassin?" asked Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"That is what occurred to me for a moment; but it would imply an - accomplice or accomplices, - and I don't see -"</p> -<p>After a short silence he added:</p> -<p>"Ah - if Mademoiselle Stangerson were only well enough to-day to - be questioned!"</p> -<p>Rouletabille following up his thought, asked:</p> -<p>"And the attic? - There must be some opening to that?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"It seems clear to you, then, Monsieur, that the murderer escaped - - nobody knows how - by the window in the vestibule?"</p> -<p>"Everything goes to prove it."</p> -<p>"I think so, too," confessed Rouletabille gravely.</p> -<p>After a brief silence, he continued:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"There are no footmarks in the attic other than those of Daddy - Jacques himself," said the magistrate with a significant tum 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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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."</p> -<p>"Oh! oh! in the ceiling!" muttered Rouletabille. "In the ceiling! - That's very curious! - In the ceiling!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"How long will it take to walk to the Chateau du Glandier?" - Rouletabille asked one of the railway porters.</p> -<p>"An hour and a half or an hour and three quarters - easy walking," - the man replied.</p> -<p>Rouletabille looked up at the sky and, no doubt, finding its - appearance satisfactory, took my arm and said:</p> -<p>"Come on! - I need a walk."</p> -<p>"Are things getting less entangled?" I asked.</p> -<p>"Not a bit of it!" he said, "more entangled than ever! It's - true, - I have an idea -"</p> -<p>"What's that?" I asked.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Do you think there were accomplices?"</p> -<p>"I don't think it -"</p> -<p>We fell into silence. Presently he went on:</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"Poor woman!"</p> -<p>"Is it Mademoiselle Stangerson you are pitying?"</p> -<p>"Yes; she's a noble woman and worthy of being pitied! - a woman of - a great, a very great character - I imagine - I imagine."</p> -<p>"You know her then?"</p> -<p>"Not at all. I have never seen her."</p> -<p>"Why, then, do you say that she is a woman of great character?"</p> -<p>"Because she bravely faced the murderer; because she courageously - defended herself - and, above all, because of the bullet in the - ceiling."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER IV</p> -<p>"In the Bosom of Wild Nature'</p> -<p> 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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 civiisation in this out-of-theway part - of the country, but a few leagues from the capital.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER V</p> -<p>In Which Joseph Rouletabille Makes a Remark to Monsieur Robert - Darzac Which Produces Its Little Effect</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>"Hush! Frederic Larsan is at work! Don't let us disturb him!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"The concierges will not be able to give you any information, - Monsieur Rouletabille."</p> -<p>"Why not?"</p> -<p>"Because they were arrested half an hour ago."</p> -<p>"Arrested!" cried Rouletabille; "then they are the murderers!"</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan shrugged his shoulders.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Did you have them arrested, Monsieur Fred?"</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"Because of what?" asked Rouletabille eagerly.</p> -<p>"Because of nothing," said Larsan, shaking his head.</p> -<p>"Because there were no accomplices!" said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"I shall get admission."</p> -<p>"I doubt it. The orders are strict."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Ah!" said Frederic Larsan, "if you want to speak with Monsieur - Robert Darzac, he is here."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Is Mademoiselle getting better?" I immediately asked.</p> -<p>"Yes ,"he said. "She will be saved perhaps. She must be saved!"</p> -<p>He did not add "or it will be my death"; but I felt that the phrase - trembled on his pale lips.</p> -<p>Rouletabille intervened:</p> -<p>"You are in a hurry, Monsieur; but I must speak with you. I have - something of the greatest importance to tell you."</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan interrupted:</p> -<p>"May I leave you?" he asked of Robert Darzac. "Have you a key, - or - do you wish me to give you this one."</p> -<p>"Thank you. I have a key and will lock the gate."</p> -<p>Larsan hurried off in the direction of the chateau, the imposing - pile of which could be perceived a few hundred yards away.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its - brightness."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Come! - come in!" he stammered.</p> -<p>hen, suddenly, and with a sort of fury, he repeated:</p> -<p>"Let us go, monsieur."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER VI</p> -<p>in the Heart of the Oak Grove</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"What do you want?"</p> -<p>The reporter answered in an equally sharp tone:</p> -<p>"To shake you by the hand."</p> -<p>Darzac shrank back.</p> -<p>"What does that mean?"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>Rouletabille did not take the extended hand. Lying with the utmost - audacity, he said:</p> -<p>"Monsieur, I have lived several years in Russia, where I have - acquired the habit of never taking any but an ungloved hand."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Are you satisfied?"</p> -<p>"No!" replied Rouletabille. "My dear friend," he said, - turning - to me, "I am obliged to ask you to leave us alone for a moment."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p> - 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 Rouletabile'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.</p> -<p>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 -"</p> -<p>"You'll breakfast with me, here, gentlemen -"</p> -<p>"No, thanks," replied the young man. "We shall breakfast at - the - Donjon Inn."</p> -<p>"You'll fare very badly there; you'll not find anything -"</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"Won't you come back with me to Paris?"</p> -<p>"No; I shall remain here."</p> -<p>I turned towards Rouletabille. He spoke quite seriously, and - Monsieur Robert Darzac did not appear to be in the least degree - surprised.</p> -<p>We were passing by the donjon and heard wailing voices. Rouletabille - asked:</p> -<p>"Why have these people been arrested?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"That was suspicious evidently," acquiesced Rouletabille. "And - were they dressed?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Then, why were they abroad at midnight? Why don't they say?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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. </p> -<pre>__________________________________________________ - 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-floorwhich was reached by a few steps, and above it was an attic, withwhich we need not concern ourselves. The plan of the ground-flooronly, sketched roughly, is what I here submit to the reader.</pre> -<p>1. The Yellow Room, with its one window and its one door opening - into the laboratory.</p> -<p>2. Laboratory, with its two large, barred windows and its doors, - one serving for the vestibule, the other for The Yellow Room.</p> -<p>3. Vestibule, with its unbarred window and door opening into the - park.</p> -<p>4. Lavatory.</p> -<p>5. Stairs leading to the attic.</p> -<p>6. Large and the only chimney in the pavilion, serving for the - experiments of the laboratory.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"What was the motive for the crime?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 wail, and, in slipping, enlarged the - impression?"</p> -<p>"There was not a drop of blood on either of her hands when she was - lifted up," replied Monsieur Darzac.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Probably."</p> -<p>"Do you suspect anybody?"</p> -<p>"No," replied Monsieur Darzac, looking at Rouletabille. Rouletabille - then said to me:</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Has a mutton-bone been found in The Yellow Room?" I asked him.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"A mutton-bone in the hand of a skilled assassin is a frightful - weapon," said Rouletabille, "a more certain weapon than a heavy - hammer."</p> -<p>"The scoundrel has proved it to be so," said Monsieur Robert - Darzac, sadly. "The joint of the bone found exactly fits the - wound inflicted.</p> -<p>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 employed her revolver too late; the first shot deviated and - lodged in the ceiling; it was the second only that took effect."</p> -<p>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 - pened by a man whom I at once recognised as Daddy Jacques.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Friends," said our guide. "Nobody in the pavilion, Daddy Jacques?"</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"Excuse me, Monsieur Jacques, one question before anything else," - said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"What is it, young man? If I can answer it -"</p> -<p>"Did your mistress wear her hair in bands, that evening? You know - what I mean - over her forehead?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Ah! This is the window by which the murderer escaped!" said - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>Rouletabille had already opened the window and was examining the - shutters.</p> -<p>"Were these closed at the time of the crime?"</p> -<p>"And fastened with the iron catch inside," said Daddy Jacques, "and - I am quite sure that the murderer did not get out that way."</p> -<p>"Are there any blood stains?"</p> -<p>"Yes, on the stones outside; but blood of what?"</p> -<p>"Ah!" said Rouletabille, "there are footmarks visible on the - path - - the ground was very moist. I will look into that presently."</p> -<p>"Nonsense!" interrupted Daddy Jacques; "the murderer did not - go - that way."</p> -<p>"Which way did he go, then?"</p> -<p>"How do I know?"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille rose.</p> -<p>"When was the last time you washed these tiles?" he asked, and he - fixed on Daddy Jacques a most searching look.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Well?" I asked him when he got up.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Monsieur or Mademoiselle Stangerson had, no doubt, shut it?"</p> -<p>"No doubt."</p> -<p>"You did not ask them?"</p> -<p>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. </p> -<p>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!</p> -<p>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, employed by Professor Stangerson to demonstrate the Dissociation - of Matter under the action of solar light - and other scientific - implements.</p> -<p>Along the walls were cabinets, plain or glass-fronted, through which - were visible microscopes, special photographic apparatus, and a large - quantity of crystals.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Keep that for us, Monsieur Darzac," he said.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Presbytery - lost nothing - charm, nor the gar - its brightness."</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Well, Daddy Jacques," he said, "what are you looking at?"</p> -<p>"That policeman who is always going round and round the lake. - Another of those fellows who think they can see better than anybody - else!"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Before they find him, they will have to learn how they lost him," - said Daddy Jacques, stolidly.</p> -<p>At length we reached the door of The Yellow Room itself.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER VII</p> -<p>In Which Rouletabille Sets Out on an Expedition Under the Bed</p> -<p> - 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!"</p> -<p>The chamber was dark. Daddy Jacques was about to open the blinds - when Rouletabille stopped him.</p> -<p>"Did not the tragedy take place in complete darkness?" he asked.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Where did the table with the night-light stand, - far from the - bed?"</p> -<p>"Some way from the bed."</p> -<p>"Can you light the burner now?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Wait."</p> -<p>Rouletabille went back into the laboratory, closed the shutters of - the two windows and the door of the vestibule.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"That will do! - you may now open the blinds," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"No doubt," interrupted Rouletabille, chuckling, - "only there - is - no blood, either on the lock or on the bolt!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"What a queer hand! - Look what a queer hand it is!" I said.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"How do you come at that?"</p> -<p>"By the height of the marks on the wall."</p> -<p>My friend next occupied himself with the mark of the bullet in the - wall. It was a round hole.</p> -<p>"This ball was fired straight, not from above, and consequently, not - from below."</p> -<p>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. </p> -<p>The first thing he did was to examine minutely the overturned - furniture. We watched him in silence.</p> -<p>"Young fellow, you are giving yourself a great deal of trouble," - said Daddy Jacques ironically.</p> -<p>Rouletabille raised his head and said:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Then, with the suppleness of a serpent, he slipped under the bed. - Presently we heard him ask:</p> -<p>"At what time, Monsieur Jacques, did Monsieur and Mademoiselle - Stangerson arrive at the laboratory?"</p> -<p>"At six o'clock."</p> -<p>The voice of Rouletabille continued:</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"At once, - we drew it right out of its place -"</p> -<p>"And between the mattresses?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>I ventured on a hypothesis:</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"And then?" asked Rouletabille, deliberately laughing under the bed.</p> -<p>I felt rather vexed and replied:</p> -<p>"I don't know, - but anything appears possible" -</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>My friend alone seemed able to talk intelligently. He called out - from under the bed.</p> -<p>"The mat here has been moved out of place, - who did it?"</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"There is not," replied Rouletabille. "Is there a cellar?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Yes," said the young reporter, drying his forehead, "The Yellow - Room was as tightly shut as an iron safe."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>Daddy Jacques made us a sign to keep quiet and, stretching his arm - towards the wail nearest the forest, listened to something which we - could not hear.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"How big is the Bete du bon Dieu?"</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"Evidently," I said. "Before we had seen this Yellow Room, I - had - also asked myself whether the cat of Mother Angenoux -"</p> -<p>"You also!" cried Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"Didn't you?" I asked.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Of course, the magistrate has taken them," the old man answered, - hesitatingly.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Oh, you are very clever," said Daddy Jacques, coughing and - embarrassed.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Because, if it had not been blue with red stripes, it would not - have been found at all."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>As he listened to what Monsieur Darzac had to say, Rouletabille - turned pale.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>I managed to reach him on the threshold of the pavilion. "Calm - yourself, my dear fellow," I said. "Aren't you satisfied?"</p> -<p>"Yes," he confessed to me, with a deep sigh. "I am quite satisfied. - I have discovered many things."</p> -<p>"Moral or material?"</p> -<p>"Several moral, - one material. This, for example."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER VIII</p> -<p>The Examining Magistrate Questions Mademoiselle Stangerson</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"Monsieur Robert, the magistrate, you know, is questioning - Mademoiselle."</p> -<p>Monsieur Darzac uttered a muttered excuse to us and set off running - towards the chateau, the man running after him.</p> -<p>"If the corpse can speak," I said, "it would be interesting - to be - there."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>This is what passed in the chamber of the victim while we were - waiting below.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"A. Do so, monsieur.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. Before leaving the pavilion at five o'clock, did you go into your - chamber?</p> -<p>"A. No, monsieur, my father went into it, at my request to bring - me my hat.</p> -<p>"Q. And he found nothing suspicious there?</p> -<p>"A. Evidently no, monsieur.</p> -<p>"0. 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?</p> -<p>"A. No, there was no reason for locking it.</p> -<p>"Q. You were absent from the pavilion some length of time, Monsieur - Stangerson and you?</p> -<p>"A. About an hour.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"A. I don't remember.</p> -<p>"Monsieur Stangerson. It was closed.</p> -<p>"Q. And when you returned?</p> -<p>"Mademoiselle Stangerson. I did not notice.</p> -<p>"M. Stangerson. It was still closed. I remember remarking aloud: - 'Daddy Jacques must surely have opened it while we were away.'</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"Mademoiselle Stangerson. Yes, monsieur.</p> -<p>"Q. And you did not leave the laboratory from that hour up to the - moment when you entered your chamber?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. Did you dine in the laboratory?</p> -<p>"A. For that reason.</p> -<p>"Q. Are you accustomed to dine in the laboratory?</p> -<p>"A. We rarely dine there.</p> -<p>"Q. Could the murderer have known that you would dine there that - evening?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. At what hour, mademoiselle, did you go to your chamber while - your father continued to work there?</p> -<p>"A. At midnight.</p> -<p>"Q. Did Daddy Jacques enter The Yellow Room in the course of - the evening?</p> -<p>"A. To shut the blinds and light the night-light.</p> -<p>"Q. He saw nothing suspicious?</p> -<p>"A. He would have told us if he had seen. Daddy Jacques is an - honest man and very attached to me.</p> -<p>"Q. You affirm, Monsieur Stangerson, that Daddy Jacques remained - with you all the time you were in the laboratory?</p> -<p>"M. Stangerson. I am sure of it. I have no doubt of that.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. You were so much in fear of something that you borrowed Daddy - Jacques's revolver without telling him you had done so?</p> -<p>"A. That is true. I did not wish to alarm anybody, - the more, - because my fears might have proved to have been foolish.</p> -<p>"Q. What was it you feared?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. How many?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. You know of no enemies you have?</p> -<p>"A. None.</p> -<p>"Q. You understand, mademoiselle, that these precautions are - calculated to cause surprise?</p> -<p>"M. Stangerson. Evidently, my child, such precautions are very - surprising.</p> -<p>"A. No; - because I have told you that I had been uneasy for two - nights.</p> -<p>"M. Stangerson. You ought to have told me of that! This misfortune - would have been avoided.</p> -<p>"Q. The door of The Yellow Room locked, did you go to bed?</p> -<p>"A. Yes, and, being very tired, I at once went to sleep.</p> -<p>"Q. The night-light was still burning?</p> -<p>"A. Yes, but it gave a very feeble light.</p> -<p>"Q. Then, mademoiselle, tell us what happened.</p> -<p>"A. I do not know whether I had been long asleep, but suddenly I - awoke - and uttered a loud cry.</p> -<p>"M. Stangerson. Yes - a horrible cry - 'Murder!' - It still rings - in my ears.</p> -<p>"Q. You uttered a loud cry?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Q. Nothing? - Have you no idea as to how the assassin could - escape from your chamber?</p> -<p>"A. None whatever - I know nothing more. One does not know what - is passing around one, when one is unconscious.</p> -<p>"Q. Was the man you saw tall or short, little or big?</p> -<p>"A. I only saw a shadow which appeared to me formidable.</p> -<p>"Q. You cannot give us any indication?</p> -<p>"A. I know nothing more, monsieur, than that a man threw himself - upon me and that I fired at him. I know nothing more."</p> -<p>Here the interrogation of Mademoiselle Stangerson concluded.</p> -<p>Rouletabille waited patiently for Monsieur Robert Darzac, who soon - appeared.</p> -<p>>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.</p> -<p>It looked as if Monsieur Darzac were being employed 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>When Monsieur Darzac had finished, I said: "The examination has not - advanced the problem much."</p> -<p>"It has put it back," said Monsieur Darzac.</p> -<p>"It has thrown light upon it," said Rouletabille, thoughtfully.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER IX</p> -<p>Reporter and Detective</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"That's where the murderer came from to get into the pavilion."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"After all it is very possible," I said.</p> -<p>"After all what? After all what?" cried Rouletabille.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Besides," he added, "at five o'clock Monsieur Stangerson went - into - the room to fetch his daughter's hat"</p> -<p>"There is that also," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 "</p> -<p>"And what is your hypothesis?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Have you, at least, some idea as to who the murderer is?"</p> -<p>"No, monsieur, I don't know who the murderer is; but don't be afraid, - Monsieur Robert Darzac - I shall know."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Monsieur Darzac, don't you want me to find out who the murderer - was?"</p> -<p>"Oh! - I should like to kill him with my own hand!" cried - Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance, with a vehemence that amazed me.</p> -<p>"I believe you," said Rouletabille gravely; "but you have not - answered my question."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"How do you know he went to the lake?" -</p> -<p>"Because Frederic Larsan has not quitted the borders of it since - this morning. There must be some important marks there."</p> -<p>A few minutes later we reached the lake.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What makes you think that?" I asked, "since these footmarks - are - not continued on the path?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Monsieur Fred, these neat footprints seem to have been made since - the discovery of the crime."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"And the man had a bicycle!" cried the reporter.</p> -<p>Here, after looking at the marks of the bicycle, which followed, - going and coming, the neat footprints, I thought I might intervene.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Then there were two?"</p> -<p>"No - there was but one, and he had no accomplice."</p> -<p>"Very good! - Very good!" cried Frederic Larsan.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Bravo! - bravo!" cried Fred again, and coming suddenly towards - us and, planting himself in front of Monsieur Robert Darzac, he - said to him:</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Yes," said my young friend; "I have an idea."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Ah! Is the Chief of the Surete coming?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"I shall be present," said Rouletabille confidently.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Bah!" cried Rouletabille, "the murderer was wounded in the - hand - by Mademoiselle Stangerson's revolver!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"I am sure of it," cried Rouletabille.</p> -<p>Fred, imperturbable, interrupted him:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>The great Fred spoke quite seriously. However, I could not refrain - from uttering an exclamation.</p> -<p>The reporter looked gravely at Fred, who looked gravely at him. - And Fred immediately concluded:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille seemed to be thinking deeply. After a moment he - said:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>And laughing a little, in a slightly bantering tone, his hands in - his pockets, Rouletabille fixed his cunning eyes on the great Fred.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Rouletabille watched his retreat, and then turned toward us, his - face joyous and triumphant.</p> -<p>"I shall beat him!" he cried. "I shall beat the great Fred, - clever - as he is; I shall beat them all!"</p> -<p>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!</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"The deuce!" exclaimed Rouletabille.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER X</p> -<p>We Shall Have to Eat Red Meat - Now"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"You may take us in," Rouletabille said to him, "we are not - policemen."</p> -<p>"I'm not afraid of the police - I'm not afraid of anyone!" replied - the man.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Come on," he said, "it is very comfortable here."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"That's a fine fire for roasting a chicken," said Rouletabille. - "We have no chicken - not even a wretched rabbit," said the - landlord.</p> -<p>"I know," said my friend slowly; "I know - We shall have to - eat red - meat - now."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>The innkeeper said to her roughly:</p> -<p>"Get out! - and if the Green Man comes, don't let me see him."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Suddenly I heard him mutter:</p> -<p>"Ah! - there he is."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"He has done well not to come in here to-day!" he hissed.</p> -<p>"Who is that man?" asked Rouletabille, returning to his omelette.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"You don't appear to like him very much?" asked the reporter, - pouring his omelette into the frying-pan.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Does he often come here?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"The concierges of the chateau are honest people, then?"</p> -<p>"Yes, they are, as true as my name's Mathieu, monsieur. I believe - them to be honest."</p> -<p>"Yet they've been arrested?"</p> -<p>"What does that prove? - But I don't want to mix myself up in - other people's affairs."</p> -<p>"And what do you think of the murder?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Not even mine?" insisted Rouletabille.</p> -<p>The innkeeper looked at him sideways and said gruffly:</p> -<p>"Not even yours."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Ah! - there you are, Mother Angenoux! - It's long since we saw - you last," said our host.</p> -<p>"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 -?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"A glass of cider, Daddy Mathieu," he said.</p> -<p>As the Green Man entered, Daddy Mathieu had started violently; but - visibly mastering himself he said:</p> -<p>"I've no more cider; I served the last bottles to these gentlemen."</p> -<p>"Then give me a glass of white wine," said the Green Man, without - showing the least surprise.</p> -<p>"I've no more white wine - no more anything," said Daddy Mathieu, - surlily.</p> -<p>"How is Madame Mathieu?"</p> -<p>"Quite well, thank you."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Slamming the door behind him, the innkeeper left the room. Mother - Angenoux was still standing, leaning on her stick, the cat at her - feet.</p> -<p>"You've been ill, Mother Angenoux? - Is that why we have not seen - you for the last week?" asked the Green Man.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Did she not leave you?"</p> -<p>"Neither by day nor by night."</p> -<p>"Are you sure of that?"</p> -<p>"As I am of Paradise."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>Mother Angenoux planted herself in front of the forest-keeper and - struck the floor with her stick.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>He held out a packet to the old woman, who took it eagerly and - went out by the door, closely followed by her cat.</p> -<p>"Then you won't serve me?" asked the Green Man.</p> -<p>Daddy Mathieu's face was placid and no longer retained its - expression of hatred.</p> -<p>"I've nothing for you - nothing for you. Take yourself off."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>With which words Daddy Mathieu immediately left us. Rouletabille - returned towards the fireplace and said:</p> -<p>"Now we'll grill our steak. How do you like the cider? - It's a - little tart, but I like it."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"You don't think, then, that the keeper knows anything of it?" I - asked.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XI</p> -<p>In Which Frederic Larsan Explains How the Murderer Was Able to Get - Out of The Yellow Room</p> -<p> 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p align="center"> THE REGISTRAR'S NARRATIVE</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"What a case! What a case! We shall never know, you'll see, how - the murderer was able to get out of this room!"</p> -<p>Then suddenly, with a radiant face, he called to the officer in - charge of the gendarmes.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Then, passing before me, he said in a low voice:</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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?" </p> -<p>Daddy Jacques answered.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>I followed up my reasoning, to which, however, I attached but little - importance, regarding it as only a weak hypothesis, with another - question.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"We were coming to help!" they whined.</p> -<p>"If we could only lay hands on the murderer, he'd never taste bread - again!" the woman gurgled between her sobs.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Mon Dieu! Monsieur - it was the second shot we heard. We were - asleep when the first shot was fired."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Yes," replied the Professor, "there were two shots, one dull, - and - the other sharp and ringing."</p> -<p>"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 faciitated 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 hun state it."</p> -<p>Monsieur Stangerson intervened:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What do you think, Monsieur Darzac?" asked the magistrate.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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. urning 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?"</p> -<p>The professor looked sadly at Monsieur Robert Darzac.</p> -<p>"To my friend here, whom I should have been happy to call my son - - to Monsieur Robert Darzac."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"I hope so.</p> -<p>"What! Is there any doubt about that?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>Monsieur Stangerson made a visible effort to recover himself.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>A dead silence followed Monsieur Stangerson's words. It was a - moment fraught with suspense.</p> -<p>"Did Mademoiselle give you any explanation, - did she tell you what - her motive was?" asked Monsieur Dax.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"That is very strange!" muttered Monsieur Dax.</p> -<p>"Strange!" repeated Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"You'll certainly not find the motive there, Monsieur Dax," Monsieur - Stangerson said with a cold smile.</p> -<p>"In any case, the motive was not theft!" said the Chief impatiently.</p> -<p>"Oh! we are quite convinced of that!" cried the examining magistrate.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"This is really too much!" he cried.</p> -<p>"What is it?" asked the Chief.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>The Chief smiled.</p> -<p>"Ah, - young Rouletabille - I've heard of him he is considered - rather clever. Let him come in."</p> -<p>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 aissumed 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.</p> -<p>Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille entered the laboratory, bowed to us, - and waited for Monsieur de Marquet to ask him to explain his - presence.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Then, what is the meaning of this card?"</p> -<p>"It means that robbery was one of the motives for the crime."</p> -<p>"What leads you to think that?"</p> -<p>"If you will be good enough to accompany me, I will show you."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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...</p> -<p>"Was this?" interrupted Monsieur de Marquet, still on his knees.</p> -<p>"Evidently," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Don't scold Daddy Jacques, I came here with Monsieur Robert Darzac."</p> -<p>"Ah, - Indeed!" exclaimed Monsieur de Marquet, disagreeably, casting - a side-glance at Monsieur Darzac, who remained perfectly silent.</p> -<p>"When I saw the mark of the parcel by the side of the footprints, I had - no doubt as to the robbery," replied Monsieur Rouletabile. "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."</p> -<p>"Yes, yes, - we know all about that," said Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Here the Chief intervened.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Something very valuable," replied the young reporter.</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>"She will live!" said Monsieur Darzac, in a voice strangely touching.</p> -<p>"And we will find the stolen articles," said Monsieur Dax. "But - what was in the cabinet?"</p> -<p>"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 - rreparable 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."</p> -<p>And the great scientist wept like a child.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?"</p> -<p>"My daughter," replied Monsieur Stangerson, "she was never without - it.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"That is impossible," said Monsieur Stangerson in a low voice.</p> -<p>"It is quite possible, Monsieur, as this proves."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"'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 - lways brass-headed, but which are none the less interesting. This - dvertisement 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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Where was that, and when?" asked the Chief of the Surete.</p> -<p>"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 ouly 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."</p> -<p>"Most interesting!" remarked Monsieur Dax.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Here," he said, "are the boots worn by the murderer. Do you - recognise them, Daddy Jacques?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Then pointing to the handkerchief in the old man's hand, Frederic - Larsan said:</p> -<p>"That's a handkerchief astonishingly like the one found in The - Yellow Room."</p> -<p>"I know," said Daddy Jacques, trembling, "they are almost alike."</p> -<p>"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." </p> -<p>"He could not have entered it if anybody had been in the laboratory," - said Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"It is very improbable," said Monsieur Stangerson.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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 Iheard him say:</p> -<p>"I believe you, Monsieur."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XII</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan's Cane</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>I was surprised at the profoundly grave accent with which my young - friend pronounced the last words.</p> -<p>He repeated:</p> -<p>"Yes terrible! - terrible! For it is fighting with nothing, when - you have only an idea to fight with."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"If we only knew what was being said in that chamber, my inquiry - would soon be finished."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"If we can't hear we may at least try to see," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"After you!"</p> -<p>"After you, pray!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Good evening, Monsieur Sainclair!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>As we reached the park gate, Larsan stopped us.</p> -<p>"My cane!" he cried. "I left it near the tree."</p> -<p>He left us, saying he would rejoin us presently.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>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 - ade his appearance, brandishing his famous cane.</p> -<p>"I found it!" he said laughingly.</p> -<p>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 employe, 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.</p> -<p>I turned my eyes again on Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"It is a present," replied the detective.</p> -<p>"Recent?" insisted Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"No, it was given to me in London."</p> -<p>"Ah, yes, I remember - you have just come from London. May I look - at it?"</p> -<p>"Oh! - certainly!"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"You were given a French cane in London!"</p> -<p>"Possibly," said Fred, imperturbably.</p> -<p>"Read the mark there, in tiny letters: Cassette, 6a, Opera."</p> -<p>"Cannot English people buy canes in Paris?"</p> -<p>When Rouletabille had seen me into the train, he said:</p> -<p>"You'll remember the address?"</p> -<p>"Yes, - Cassette, 6a, Opera. Rely on me; you shall have word - tomorrow morning."</p> -<p>That evening, on reaching Paris, I saw Monsieur Cassette, dealer in - walking-sticks and umbrellas, and wrote to my friend:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XIII</p> -<p>"The Presbytery Has Lost Nothing of Its Charm, Nor the Garden - Its Brightness"</p> -<p> - 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."</p> -<p>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 famiiarising 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 muttonbone, as well as fresh traces of - the blood of Mademoiselle Stangerson - the old stains belonged to - other crimes, probably dating years back.</p> -<p>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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>When we were in the little sitting-room of which I have spoken, - Rouletabille made me sit down.</p> -<p>"It's going badly," he said.</p> -<p>"What's going badly?" I asked.</p> -<p>"Everything."</p> -<p>He came nearer to me and whispered:</p> -<p>"Frederic Larsan is working with might and main against Darzac."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"What about that cane?"</p> -<p>"It is still in the hands of Frederic Larsan. He never lets go - of it."</p> -<p>"But doesn't it prove the alibi for Monsieur Darzac?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Is he still at the chateau?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"But you are convinced of Darzac's innocence?"</p> -<p>"At one time I did believe in the possiblity 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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Shall we have any use for them?" I asked.</p> -<p>"No doubt; this evening. We shall pass the night here - if that - won't tire you?"</p> -<p>"On the contrary," I said with an expression that made Rouletabille - laugh.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>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 - landier 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?</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Impossible!" I cried, "What could be more mysterious than that?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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 employed 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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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 -"</p> -<p>"Coincidences," replied my friend, "are the worst enemies to - truth."</p> -<p>"What does the examining magistrate think now of the matter?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XIV</p> -<p>"I Expect the Assassin This Evening"</p> -<p> - "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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"An odd kind of fish!" Rouletabille said to me, in a low tone.</p> -<p>"Have you spoken to him?" I asked.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"I must now show you the first floor of the chateau, where I am - living," said my friend.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<div align="center"> - <pre>***</pre> -</div> -<pre> boudoir<br>___ ____ ___________ _______\___ ________4________ _______ _________ __<br>| | | | | |<br>| | Mlle. | | Mlle. |___ ___ ___| Mr.<br> Lumber |Sangerson's Sangerson's |___ ___ ___| Sangerson's<br>| Room | Sitting | | Bed Room |___ ___ ___| Room<br>| | Room | |__ __ _____|stair-case |<br> | | |bath|anteroom| |<br>|_____ ______|____ ______|___|____|___ ___| |______ _____<br>|<br> 2 ------ Right Gallery Right Wing--------- 3 Right Gallery<br> Left Wing<br>|_________ _____ _________ ______ _______ __ __ __ _________ _____</pre> -<pre><br>|Roulet- | W G |<br>|tabille's | I A | Right Wing Left Wing<br>| Room N L of the<br>|_________ | D L | Chateau<br> Frederic | I E |<br>|Larsan's N R<br>| Room | G Y |<br> | |<br>|____ ____ | _1_ |<br> . 5 .<br> . 6 .<br> . .<br> . . . <br> - </pre> -<pre> </pre> -<p align="center">*** </p> -<p> </p> -<p align="left"></p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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 Fnederic 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.)</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"What are these doing here?" he asked.</p> -<p>I should have been puzzled to answer him.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>He repeated the exclamation again and again, as if his thoughts had - suddenly turned his brain.</p> -<p>He rose and, putting his hand on my shoulder, laughed like one - demented as he said:</p> -<p>"Those glasses will drive me silly! Mathematically speaking the - thing is possible; but humanly speaking it is impossible - or - afterwards - or afterwards -"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>".In the grove of the parquet."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"If the thing is mathematically possible, why should it not be hu- - manly! - And if it is humanly possible, the matter is simply awful." - I interrupted him in his soliloquy:</p> -<p>"Have they set the concierges at liberty, then?" I asked.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Oho!" I said, "when will he have occasion to do it?"</p> -<p>"This evening, - for this evening I expect the murderer."</p> -<p>"You expect the murderer this evening? Then you know him?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Five minutes ago, you did not know the murderer; how can you say - that you expect him this evening?"</p> -<p>"Because I know that he must come."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Is Frederic Larsan in his room?" I asked, pointing to the partition.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>."Frederic Larsan, however, is not a novice," I said.</p> -<p>"I thought so," said Rouletabile, 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."</p> -<p>I looked closely at Rouletabille and could not help smiling, on - hearing this boy of eighteeen talking of a man who had proved to - the world that he was the finest police sleuth in Europe.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Every time the assassin comes to the chateau!" I cried. "Has - he - returned then -?"</p> -<p>"Yes, during that famous night when the strange phenomenon occurred."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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. </p> -<p> - CHAPTER XV</p> -<p>The Trap</p> -<p> - (EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE)</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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. -</p> -<p align="left"> -</p> -<pre>"All these reflections ran through my brain like a flash oflightning. What would I not give to know!</pre> -<p>"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!</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Greatly agitated, almost trembling, Paddy 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!'</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'He's not there!" he whispered.</p> -<p>"Who is not there?"</p> -<p>"The forest-keeper."</p> -<p>With his lips once more to my ear, he added:</p> -<p>"'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.</p> -<p>"What were my thoughts then? I had no time to think. I felt more - than I thought.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!</p> -<p>"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!</p> -<p>"'That's strange!' he said; 'I thought I left him this afternoon - in Paris.'</p> -<p>"He dressed himself in haste and armed himself with a revolver. We - stole quietly into the gallery.</p> -<p>"'Where is he?' Larsan asked.</p> -<p>"'In Mademoiselle Stangerson's room.</p> -<p>"'And - Mademoiselle Stangerson?'</p> -<p>"'She is not in there.'</p> -<p>'Let's go in.'</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"'I'll draw him from below.'</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"'As you like,' he replied, with fairly good grace.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"'What will be yours?' asked Fred.</p> -<p>"'I shall spring into the room and knock him over for you.'</p> -<p>"'Take my revolver,' said Fred, 'and I'll take your stick.'</p> -<p>'Thanks,' I said; 'You are a brave man.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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. </p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Having so placed my people, I again left the chateau, hurried to - my ladder, and, replacing it, climbed up, revolver in hand.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>Chapter XVI</p> -<p>Strange Phenomenon of the Dissociation of Matter</p> -<p> - (EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued)</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"The man was not there!</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>'It is impossible he can have escaped!' I cried, my terror mastered - by my anger.</p> -<p>"'I touched him!' exclaimed Frederic Larsan.</p> -<p>"'I felt his breath on my face!' cried Daddy Jacques.</p> -<p>"'Where is he?' - where is he?' we all cried.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XVII</p> -<p>The Inexplicable Gallery</p> -<p> - "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.</p> -<p>"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! </p> -<p>___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p> -<p>*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.</p> -<p> __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________</p> -<p>"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. </p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 - ragedy 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!"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'Did you see him distinctly?' he asked.</p> -<p>"'Who?'</p> -<p>"'The man?'</p> -<p>"'Saw him! - why, he had a big red beard and red hair.'</p> -<p>"'That's how he appeared to me,' I said.</p> -<p>"'And to me,' said Larsan.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'He knows the chateau,' he said to me; 'he knows it well.'</p> -<p>"'He is a rather tall man - well-built,' I suggested.</p> -<p>"'He is as tall as he wants to be,' murmured Fred.</p> -<p>"'I understand,' I said; 'but how do you account for his red hair - and beard?'</p> -<p>"'Too much beard - too much hair - false,' says Fred.</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"'So much the better. I hope so; but everything condemns him. Did - you notice the marks on the carpet? - Come and look at them.'</p> -<p>"'I have seen them; they are the marks of the neat boots, the same - as those we saw on the border of the lake.'</p> -<p>"'Can you deny that they belong to Robert Darzac?'</p> -<p>"'Of course, one may be mistaken.'</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"I suddenly put an end to this idle chatter - void of any logic, and - made a sign to Larsan to listen.</p> -<p>"'There - below; some one is shutting a door.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'The forest-keeper!' says Fred.</p> -<p>"'Come on!' I whisper.</p> -<p>"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 -</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"We entered and I affected surprise.</p> -<p>"'Not gone to bed yet?'</p> -<p>"'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!'</p> -<p>"'Listen,' I said. 'An hour or so ago, there was a ladder close by - your window.'</p> -<p>"'What ladder? - I did not see any ladder. Good-night!'</p> -<p>"And he simply put us out of the room. When we were outside I - looked at Larsan. His face was impenetrable.</p> -<p>'Well?' I said.</p> -<p>"'Well?' he repeated.</p> -<p>"'Does that open out any new view to you?'</p> -<p>"There was no mistaking Larsan's bad temper. On re-entering the - chateau, I heard him mutter:</p> -<p>"'It would be strange - very strange - if I had deceived myself on - that point!'</p> -<p>"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.'"</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XVIII</p> -<p>Rouletabille Has Drawn a Circle Between the Two Bumps on His Forehead</p> -<p> - (EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued)</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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. -</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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. </p> -<p align="right"> JOSEPH ROULETABILLE."</p> -<p> - "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.</p> -<p>"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." </p> -<p align="right">"JOSEPH ROULETABILLE."</p> -<p align="right"> </p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XIX</p> -<p>Rouletabille Invites Me to Breakfast at the Donjon Inn</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>The event of the inexplicable gallery had occurred on the night - etween 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.</p> -<p>I am now in Rouletabille's room and he has finished his recital.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"After making so good a start, you ought not to stop so soon," he - exclaimed. "Come, make another effort."</p> -<p>"I'll try. Since he disappeared from the gallery without passing - through any door or window, he must have escaped by some other - opening."</p> -<p>Rouletabille looked at me pityingly, smiled carelessly, and remarked - that I was reasoning like a postman, or - like Frederic Larsan.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Hullo!" muttered Rouletabille. "Arthur Rance!" - He lowered - his - head, quickened his pace, and I heard him ask himself between his - eeth: "Was he in the chateau that night? What is hedoing here?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"But was he not to have left France almost immediately?" I asked.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>We were close to their lodge. Monsieur and Madame Bemier 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"You say that Monsieur Arthur Rance is accustomed to come to the - chateau. When did he come here last?"</p> -<p>"We can't tell you exactly," replied Madame Bemier - 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."</p> -<p>"Do you know when he came the first time?"</p> -<p>"Oh yes, Monsieur! - nine years ago."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Three times."</p> -<p>"When did he come the last time, as far as you know?"</p> -<p>"A week before the attempt in The Yellow Room."</p> -<p>Rouletabille put another question - this time addressing himself - particularly to the woman:</p> -<p>"In the grove of the parquet?"</p> -<p>"In the grove of the parquet," she replied.</p> -<p>"Thanks!" said Rouletabille. "Be ready for me this evening."</p> -<p>He spoke the last words with a finger on his lips as if to command - silence and discretion.</p> -<p>We left the park and took the way to the Donjon Inn.</p> -<p>"Do you often eat here?"</p> -<p>"Sometimes."</p> -<p>"But you also take your meals at the chateau?"</p> -<p>"Yes, Larsan and I are sometimes served in one of our rooms."</p> -<p>"Hasn't Monsieur Stangerson ever invited you to his own table?"</p> -<p>"Never."</p> -<p>"Does your presence at the chateau displease him?"</p> -<p>"I don't know; but, in any case, he does not make us feel that we - are in his way."</p> -<p>"Doesn't he question you?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 tomyself. - '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.</p> -<p>"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." </p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>We reached the Donjon Inn and entered it.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"How's Daddy Mathieu?" asked Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"Not much better - not much better; he is still confined to his bed."</p> -<p>"His rheumatism still sticks to him, then?"</p> -<p>"Yes. Last night I was again obliged to give him morphine - the - only drug that gives him any relief."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"'Why do you not tell me the name of the murderer now, if you know - it?' I cried.</p> -<p>"Monsieur Darzac appeared extremely troubled by my question, and - replied to me in a hesitating tone:</p> -<p>"'I? - I know the name of the murderer? Why, how could I know - his name?'</p> -<p>"I at once replied: 'From Mademoiselle Stangerson.'</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"'Have you spoken of all this to Monsieur Stangerson?'</p> -<p>"'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.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"She is much jollier when Daddy Mathieu is in bed with his - rheumatism," Rouletabille said to me.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>When he had finished his omelette and we were again alone, - Rouletabille continued the tale of his confidences.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What has made you feel this certainty?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Ah!" I said, "But, again - what made you so sure? And why since - half-past ten this morning?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Is that possible!" I cried. "Haven't you told me that Mademoiselle - Stangerson loves Monsieur Robert Darzac?"</p> -<p>"I told you so because it is the truth."</p> -<p>"Then do you see nothing strange -"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"It must be admitted, then," I said, "that Mademoiselle Stangerson - and her murderer are in communication - at any rate in writing?"</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>And my friend laughed silently. There are moments when I ask - myself if he is not laughing at me.</p> -<p>The door of the inn opened. Rouletabille was on his feet so - suddenly that one might have thought he had received an electric - shock.</p> -<p>"Mr. Arthur Rance!" he cried.</p> -<p>Mr. Arthur Rance stood before us calmly bowing.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XX</p> -<p>An Act of Mademoiselle Stangerson</p> -<p> - "You remember me, Monsieur?" asked Rouletabile.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"No thanks. I breakfasted with Monsieur Stangerson."</p> -<p>Arthur Rance spoke French perfectly, - almost without an accent.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille and I, outwardly indifferent, listened most intently - for every word the American would say.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan did not tell me where he had picked up this - information; but he appeared to be quite sure of what he said.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Rouletabille watched him through the window.</p> -<p>"An odd fish, that!" he said.</p> -<p>"Do you think he'll pass the night at the Glandier?" I asked.</p> -<p>To my amazement the young reporter answered that it was a matter - of entire indifference to him whether he did or not.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>It was then six o'clock. by his watch. Rising, he made a sign to - me to follow him, and, without in the least tying 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"That 'off-turning' gallery," said Rouletabille, "I reserve - for - myself; when I tell you you'll come and take your place here."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXI</p> -<p>On the Watch</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>"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-tuming' 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."</p> -<p>"And then?"</p> -<p>"Then you will see me coming round the corner of the 'off-turning' - gallery."</p> -<p>"What am I to do then?"</p> -<p>"You will immediately come towards me, behind the man; but I shall - already be upon him, and shall have seen his face."</p> -<p>I attempted a feeble smile.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"And if the man escapes?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 &ould 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 -"</p> -<p>"Into the circle?"</p> -<p>"Exactly! And his face won't surprise me!"</p> -<p>"But I thought you saw his face on the night when you sprang into - the chamber?"</p> -<p>"Only imperfectly. The candle was on the floor; and, his beard -"</p> -<p>"Will he wear his beard this evening?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"If we are here only to see him and let him escape, why are we armed?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"And you are sure he will come to-night?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"That's awful!"</p> -<p>"It is!"</p> -<p>"And what we saw her do was done to send her father to sleep?"</p> -<p>"Yes."</p> -<p>"Then there are but two of us for to-night's work?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Then you think there may be?"</p> -<p>"If he wishes it."</p> -<p>"Why haven't you brought in Daddy Jacques? - Have you made no use - of him to-day?"</p> -<p>"No," replied Rouletabille sharply.</p> -<p>I kept silence for awhile, then, anxious to know his thoughts, I - asked him point blank:</p> -<p>"Why not tell Arthur Rance? - He may be of great assistance to us?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>At this moment we heard a noise in the room near us.</p> -<p>"It must be he," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Evidently. We are going to operate alone, on our own personal - account."</p> -<p>"So that all the glory will be ours?"</p> -<p>Rouletabille laughed.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"I think so, too, Monsieur Fred."</p> -<p>"Then you think the conclusion of the matter has been reached?"</p> -<p>"I think, indeed, that we have nothing more to find out," replied - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"Have you found your criminal?" asked Larsan.</p> -<p>"Have you?"</p> -<p>"Yes."</p> -<p>"So have I," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"Can it be the same man?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Are you sure of that?" asked Larsan. "Well, I am sure he is - not. - So it's a fight then?"</p> -<p>"Yes, it is a fight. But I shall beat you, Monsieur Frederic Larsan."</p> -<p>"Youth never doubts anything," said the great Fred laughingly, and - held out his hand to me by way of conclusion.</p> -<p>Rouletabille's answer came like an echo:</p> -<p>"Not anything!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Oh! Oh!" he cried. "What is the matter with me? - Have I been - poisoned?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>My friend's face, however, when he stood up, was as calm as it had - been a moment before agitated.</p> -<p>"He is asleep," he said.</p> -<p>He led me to his chamber, after closing Larsan's room.</p> -<p>"The drug?" I asked. "Does Mademoiselle Stangerson wish to put - everybody to sleep, to-night?"</p> -<p>"Perhaps," replied Rouletabille; but I could see he was thinking - of - something else.</p> -<p>"But what about us?" I exclaimed. "How do we know that we have - not - been drugged?"</p> -<p>"Do you feel indisposed?" Rouletabille asked me coolly.</p> -<p>"Not in the least."</p> -<p>"Do you feel any inclination to go to sleep?"</p> -<p>"None whatever."</p> -<p>"Well, then, my friend, smoke this excellent cigar."</p> -<p>And he handed me a choice Havana, one Monsieur Darzac had given,him, - while he lit his briarwood - his eternal briarwood.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Revolver."</p> -<p>I drew my revolver from my jacket pocket.</p> -<p>"Cock it!" he said.</p> -<p>I did as he directed.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>My hand closed on the butt of my revolver and I waited. I am not - a hero; but neither am I a coward.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXII</p> -<p>The Incredible Body</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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!</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>He had no sooner uttered those words than we were thrilled by a - frightful cry that rang through the chateau, - a veritable death cry.</p> -<p>"Malheur!" roared Rouletabille; "we shall be too late!"</p> -<p>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 "offturning" gallery and the - "right" gallery, I saw a figure leaving her apartment, which, in a - few strides had reached the landing-place.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Fire, Bernier! - Fire!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"He is dead! - is dead!"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille knocked at the door. Nobody answered. Naturally, this - did not surprise me.</p> -<p>"He is evidently not there, otherwise he would have come out," said - the reporter. "Let us carry him to the vestibule then."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"The man you believe to have been shot was killed by the stab of a - knife in his heart!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXIII</p> -<p>The Double Scent</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>"What are we going to do there?"</p> -<p>"To think the matter over."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"How about Mademoiselle Stangerson?" I asked him.</p> -<p>"Her condition, though very alarming, is not desperate."</p> -<p>"When did you leave this room?"</p> -<p>"Towards dawn."</p> -<p>"I guess you have been hard at work?"</p> -<p>"Rather!"</p> -<p>"Have you found out anything?"</p> -<p>"Two sets of footprints!"</p> -<p>"Do they explain anything?"</p> -<p>"Yes."</p> -<p>"Have they anything to do with the mystery of the keeper's body?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'And you were not alone!' cried Larsan.</p> -<p>"'Did you see it then?' gasped Daddy Jacques.</p> -<p>'What?' I asked.</p> -<p>"'The phantom - the black phantom!'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"'Did you see his face?' demanded Larsan.</p> -<p>"'No! - I saw nothing but black veils.'</p> -<p>"'Did you go out after what passed on the gallery?'</p> -<p>"'I could not! - I was terrified.'</p> -<p>"'Daddy Jacques,' I said, in a threatening voice, 'you did not follow - it; you and the phantom walked to Epinay together - arm in arm!'</p> -<p>"'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."</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"'An accomplice?'</p> -<p>"'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."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Everything! Everything!" he exclaimed. "But," he said - abruptly, - "let's find out more about Mademoiselle Stangerson."</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXIV</p> -<p>Rouletabille Knows the Two Halves of the Murderer</p> -<p> 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.</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>Rouletabille answered: "She lives!"</p> -<p>A minute later Darzac had gone into Mademoiselle Stangerson's room - and, through the door, we could hear his heart-rending sobs.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>The examination had proceeded thus far when, to our surprise, - Frederic Larsan returned to the chateau. He was accompanied by one - of the employes 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 employed, 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:</p> -<p>"Monsieur, - Monsieur Robert Darzac will not come!"</p> -<p>"What! Not come!" cried Monsieur de Marquet.</p> -<p>"He says he cannot leave Mademoiselle Stangerson in her present - state."</p> -<p>"Very well," said Monsieur de Marquet; "then we'll go to him."</p> -<p>Monsieur de Marquet and the gendarme mounted the stairs. He made - a sign to Larsan and the railroad employe to follow. Rouletabille - and I went along too.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Is Monsieur Stangerson within?" asked the magistrate.</p> -<p>"Yes, Monsieur."</p> -<p>"Tell him that I wish to speak with him."</p> -<p>Stangerson came out. His appearance was wretched in the extreme.</p> -<p>"What do you want?" he demanded of the magistrate. "May I not - be - left in peace, Monsieur?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>The professor made no reply. He looked at us all like a man being - led to execution, and then went back into the room.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>Pointing to the railway servant, Monsieur de Marquet said to - Monsieur Darzac:</p> -<p>"Do you recognise this man, Monsieur?"</p> -<p>"I do," said Monsieur Darzac, in a tone which he vainly tried to - make firm. "He is an employe at the station at Epinay-sur-Orge."</p> -<p>"This young man," went on Monsieur de Marquet, "affirms that - he saw - you get off the train at Epinay-sur-Orge -"</p> -<p>"That night," said Monsieur Darzac, interrupting, "at half-past - ten - - it is quite true."</p> -<p>An interval of silence followed.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>Monsieur Darzac remained silent, simply closing his eyes.</p> -<p>"Monsieur Darzac," insisted Monsieur de Marquet, "can you tell - me - how you employed your time, that night?"</p> -<p>Monsieur Darzac opened his eyes. He seemed to have recovered his - self-control.</p> -<p>"No, Monsieur."</p> -<p>"Think, Monsieur! For, if you persist in your strange refusal, I - shall be under the painful necessity of keeping you at my - disposition."</p> -<p>"I refuse."</p> -<p>"Monsieur Darzac! - in the name of the law, I arrest you!"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Robert! - Robert!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Are you going to put in any defense?"</p> -<p>"No!" replied the prisoner.</p> -<p>"Very well, then I will, Monsieur."</p> -<p>"You cannot do it," said the unhappy man with a faint smile.</p> -<p>"I can - and I will."</p> -<p>Rouletabille's voice had in it a strange strength and confidence.</p> -<p>"I can do it, Monsieur Robert Darzac, because I know more than - you do!"</p> -<p>"Come! Come!" murmured Darzac, almost angrily.</p> -<p>"Have no fear! I shall know only what will benefit you."</p> -<p>"You must know nothing, young man, if you want me to be grateful."</p> -<p>Rouletabille shook his head, going close up to Darzac.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXV CHAPTER XXVI</p> -<p>Rouletabille Goes on a Journey</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"How long shall you be away?" I asked.</p> -<p>"A month or two," he said. "It all depends."</p> -<p>I asked him no more questions.</p> -<p>"Do you know," he asked, "what the word was that Mademoiselle - Stangerson tried to say before she fainted?"</p> -<p>"No - nobody heard it."</p> -<p>"I heard it!" replied Rouletabille. "She said 'Speak!'"</p> -<p>"Do you think Darzac will speak?"</p> -<p>"Never."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Are you not afraid that other attempts may be made while you're - away?"</p> -<p>"No! Not now that Darzac is in prison," he answered.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p></p> -<p> - CHAPTER XXVI</p> -<p>In Which Joseph Rouletabille Is Awaited with Impatience</p> -<p> 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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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, - he two nurses, the steward, all the domestics of the chateau, the - employe of the Paris Post Office, the railway employe 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Very well," he said; "I will submit to it; but I am innocent."</p> -<p>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!</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan was brought in. His explanation was quite clear.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>This very simple explanation appeared at once plausible and - satisfying. A murmur of approbation was heard.</p> -<p>"And the murderer? What became of him?" asked the President.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>The words had scarcely left Larsan's mouth when from the back of - the court came a youthful voice:</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"It is I, Monsieur President - Joseph Rouletabille!"</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXVII</p> -<p>In Which Joseph Rouletabille Appears in All His Glory</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"I beg your pardon, Monsieur President, but I have only just arrived - from America. The steamer was late. My name is Joseph Rouletabille!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>But the President was extremely incensed:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"Take him away!" ordered the President.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Are you going to tell us who the murderer was?" asked the President, - somewhat convinced though still sceptical.</p> -<p>"I have come for that purpose, Monsieur President!" replied - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>An attempt at applause was silenced by the usher.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Very well!" said the President, "we will question him. But - we must - proceed in order."</p> -<p>The Advocate-General rose:</p> -<p>"It would, perhaps, be better," he said, "if the young man were - to - tell us now whom he suspects."</p> -<p>The President nodded ironically:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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:</p> -<p>"Monsieur President, I cannot name the murderer before half-past - six o'clock!"</p> -<p>Loud murmurs of disappointment filled the room. Some of the lawyers - were heard to say: "He's making fun of us!"</p> -<p>The President in a stern voice, said:</p> -<p>"This joke has gone far enough. You may retire, Monsieur, into the - witnesses' room. I hold you at our disposition."</p> -<p>Rouletabille protested.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Frederic Larsan said:</p> -<p>"Monsieur President, it will be interesting to hear Monsieur Joseph - Rouletabille, especially as he differs from me."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>As the President remained silent, Frederic Larsan continued:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"I have no doubt you are," said my friend.</p> -<p>General laughter foliowed this remark. The President angrily - declared that if it was repeated, he would have the court cleared.</p> -<p>"Now, young man," said the President, "you have heard Monsieur - Frederic Larsan; how did the murderer get away from the court?"</p> -<p>Rouletabille looked at Madame Mathieu, who smiled back at him sadly.</p> -<p>"Since Madame Mathieu," he said, "has freely admitted her intimacy - with the keeper -"</p> -<p>"Why, it's the boy!" exclaimed Daddy Mathieu.</p> -<p>"Remove that man!" ordered the President.</p> -<p>Mathieu was removed from the court. Rouletabille went on:</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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. Bemier, - 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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Here Rouletabille turning towards Madame Mathieu, with a bow, said:</p> -<p>"The footprints of Madame bear a strange resemblance to the neat - footprints of the murderer."</p> -<p>Madame Mathieu trembled and looked at him with wide eyes as if in - wonder at what he would say next.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>A movement in the court was repressed by Rouletabille. He held - their attention at once.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>The President turning to Madame Mathieu asked:</p> -<p>"Is that in accordance with what you know occurred?"</p> -<p>"Yes, Monsieur President," she replied, "it is as if Monsieur - Rouletabille had been behind us."</p> -<p>"Did you see the murderer running towards the end of the right wing?"</p> -<p>"Yes, as clearly as I saw them afterwards carrying the keeper's - body."</p> -<p>"What became of the murderer? - You were in the courtyard and could - easily have seen.</p> -<p>"I saw nothing of him, Monsieur President. It became quite dark - just then."</p> -<p>"Then Monsieur Rouletabille," said the President, "must explain - how the murderer made his escape."</p> -<p>Rouletabille continued:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Monsieur President," replied Rouletabille, "I cannot answer - that - question before half-past six!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"Well, Monsieur Rouletabille," he said, "as you say; but don't - let - us see any more of you before half-past six."</p> -<p>Rouletabille bowed to the President, and made his way to the door - of the witnesses' room.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"The name of the other half?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>The President, addressing Rouletabille, said gravely:</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille looked the President quite calmly and steadily in the - face, and replied:</p> -<p>"Yes, Monsieur."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"And you did not see him? At least that is what the prosecution - declares."</p> -<p>"No! We all of us saw him, Monsieur le President!" cried - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>"Then why was he not arrested?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Speak out, Monsieur! Tell us the murderer's name."</p> -<p>"You will find it on the list of names present in the court on the - night of the tragedy," replied Rouletabille.</p> -<p>The people present in the court-room began showing impatience. - Some of them even called for the name, and were silenced by the - usher.</p> -<p>"The list includes Daddy Jacques, Bemier the concierge, and Mr. - Arthur Rance," said the President. "Do you accuse any of these?"</p> -<p>"No, Monsieur!"</p> -<p>"Then I do not understand what you are driving at. There was no - other person at the end of the court."</p> -<p>"Yes, Monsieur, there was, not at the end, but above the court, who - was leaning out of the window."</p> -<p>"Do you mean Frederic Larsan!" exclaimed the President.</p> -<p>"Yes! Frederic Larsan!" replied Rouletabille in a ringing tone. - "Frederic Larsan is the murderer!"</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"It's impossible! He's mad!"</p> -<p>"You dare to accuse Frederic Larsan, Monsieur?" asked the President. - "If you are not mad, what are your proofs?"</p> -<p>"Proofs, Monsieur? - Do you want proofs? Well, here is one," cried - Rouletabille shrilly. "Let Frederic Larsan be called!"</p> -<p>"Usher, call Frederic Larsan."</p> -<p>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:</p> -<p>"Monsieur President, Frederic Larsan is not here. He left at about - four o'clock and has not been seen since."</p> -<p>"That is my proof!" cried Rouletabille, triumphantly.</p> -<p>"Explain yourself?" demanded the President.</p> -<p>"My proof is Larsan's flight," said the young reporter. "He - will - not come back. You will see no more of Frederic Larsan."</p> -<p>"Unless you are playing with the court, Monsieur, why did you not - accuse him when he was present? He would then have answered you."</p> -<p>"He could give no other answer than the one he has now given by his - flight."</p> -<p>"We cannot believe that Larsan has fled. There was no reason for - his doing so. Did he know you'd make this charge?"</p> -<p>"He did. I told him I would."</p> -<p>"Do you mean to say that knowing Larsan was the murderer you gave - him the opportunity to escape?"</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>"Ballmeyer!" cried the President.</p> -<p>"Ballmeyer!" exclaimed Robert Darzac, springing to his feet. - "Ballmeyer! - It was true, then!"</p> -<p>"Ah! Monsieur Darzac; you don't think I am mad, now!" cried - Rouletabille.</p> -<p>Ballmeyer! Ballmeyer! No other word could be heard in the - courtroom. The President adjourned the hearing.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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?</p> -<p>Rouletabille was immediately called to the bar and his examination - continued.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>Rouletabille drew from his pocket a small packet, from which he - produced a strong iron peg.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>A groan came from Darzac, who appeared to be unable to control - his suffering.</p> -<p>"You can understand," added Rouletabile, "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!"</p> -<p>"How did you come to suspect Larsan?" asked the President.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What do you mean by your pure reason?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"1st. I had seen the unknown in Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber. - On going to Frederic Larsan's room, I had found Larsan sound asleep.</p> -<p>"2nd. The ladder.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>And Rouletabille drew the eye-glasses, of which we know, from his - pocket.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"But," asked the President, "why should Larsan go to Mademoiselle - Stangerson's room, at all? Why should he twice attempt to murder - her?"</p> -<p>"Because he loves her, Monsieur President."</p> -<p>"That is certainly a reason, but-"</p> -<p>"It is the only reason. He was madly in love, and because of that, - nd - other things, he was capable of committing any crime."</p> -<p>"Did Mademoiselle Stangerson know this?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"Mademoiselle Stangerson told me nothing," replled Monsieur Darzac.</p> -<p>"Does what this young man says appear probable to you?" the - President asked.</p> -<p>"Mademoiselle Stangerson has told me nothing," he replied stolidly.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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 Ia 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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>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!"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"That does not follow."</p> -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> -<p>"There was no need for him to escape - if he was not there!"</p> -<p>"Not there!"</p> -<p>"Evidently, not. He could not have been there, if he were not found - there."</p> -<p>"But, what about the evidences of his presence?" asked the President.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"But the evidences?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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 - rightful dream and crying aloud for help, she had fainted.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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!"</p> -<p>Turning towards Monsieur Darzac, Rouletabille cried: "You know the - truth! Tell us, then, if that is not how things happened."</p> -<p>"I don't know anything about it," replied Monsieur Darzac.</p> -<p> "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!"</p> -<p>Monsieur Darzac made no movement, nor uttered a word. He looked - at Rouletabille sadly.</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"What is this secret motive that compels Mademoiselle Stangerson to - hide her knowledge from her father?" asked the President.</p> -<p>"That, Monsieur, I do not know," said Rouletabile. "It is no - business of mine."</p> -<p>The President, turning to Monsieur Darzac, endeavoured to induce - him to tell what he knew.</p> -<p>"Do you still refuse, Monsieur, to tell us how you employed your - time during the attempts on the life of Mademoiselle Stangerson?"</p> -<p>"I cannot tell you anything, Monsieur."</p> -<p>The President turned to Rouletabille as if appealing for an - explanation.</p> -<p>"We must assume, Monsieur President, that Monsieur Robert Darzac's - absensions 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."</p> -<p>The President seemed partly convinced, but still curious, he asked:</p> -<p>"But what is this secret of Mademoiselle Stangerson?"</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXVIII</p> -<p>In Which It Is Proved That One Does Not Always Think of Everything</p> -<p> - 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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"My friend," I said, "that Larsan case is wonderful. It is worthy - of you.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"Quite so. And you," he said, turning the conversation, "did - you - suspect nothing?"</p> -<p>"Nothing!"</p> -<p>"It's incredible!" </p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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!'</p> -<p>"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.'</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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?</p> -<p>"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."</p> -<p>"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?"</p> -<p>"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 ..."</p> -<p>"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.</p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<p>CHAPTER XXIX</p> -<p>The Mystery of Mademoiselle Stangerson</p> -<p> - 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:</p> -<p>"Can't you understand that I had to know Larsan's true personality?"</p> -<p>"No doubt," I said, "but why did you go to America to find that - out?"</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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!</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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 employed the time - of his absence from the chateau. Ballmeyer's precautions were most - cunningly taken.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>It was all done with Machiavellian cunning; but Ballmeyer had - reckoned without Joseph Rouletabille.</p> -<p>Now that the Mystery of The Yellow Room has been cleared up, this - is not the time to tell of Rouletabile'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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>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.</p> -<p>What became of that son? - That is another story which, so far, I - am not permitted to relate.</p> -<p>About two months after these events, I came upon Rouletabille sitting - on a bench in the Palais de Justice, looking very depressed.</p> -<p>"What's the matter, old man?" I asked. "You are looking very - down. - cast. How are your friends getting on?"</p> -<p>"Apart from you," he said, "I have no friends."</p> -<p>"I hope that Monsieur Darzac -"</p> -<p>"No doubt."</p> -<p>"And Mademoiselle Stangerson - How is she?"</p> -<p>"Better - much better."</p> -<p>"Then you ought not to be sad."</p> -<p>"I am sad," he said, "because I am thinking of the perfume of - the - lady in black -"</p> -<p>"The perfume of the lady in black! - I have heard you often refer - to it. Tell me why it troubles you."</p> -<p>"Perhaps - some day; some day," said Rouletabille.</p> -<p>And he heaved a profound sigh.</p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p></p> -<p></p> -<pre> -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** - -This file should be named ylorm11h.txt or ylorm11h.zip -Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, ylorm11h.txt -VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, ylorm11ha.txt - -Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US -unless a copyright notice is included. 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