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diff --git a/old/ylorm12.txt b/old/ylorm12.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5650bee..0000000 --- a/old/ylorm12.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9390 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux -#2 in our series by Gaston Leroux - -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 January 21, 2003] - -Edition: 12 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** - - - -[Warning: There are several diagrams, so you probably should -turn of proportional spacing, and leave in the hard returns-- -so you will see the drawings in the proper perspective. [mh] - -This Etext prepared by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer. - - - - -The Mystery of the Yellow Room - -by Gaston Leroux - - - - -CHAPTER I - -In Which We Begin Not to Understand - - -It is not without a certain emotion that I begin to recount here -the extraordinary adventures of Joseph Rouletabille. Down to the -present time he had so firmly opposed my doing it that I had come -to despair of ever publishing the most curious of police stories -of the past fifteen years. I had even imagined that the public -would never know the whole truth of the prodigious case known as -that of The Yellow Room, out of which grew so many mysterious, -cruel, and sensational dramas, with which my friend was so closely -mixed up, if, propos of a recent nomination of the illustrious -Stangerson to the grade of grandcross of the Legion of Honour, an -evening journal--in an article, miserable for its ignorance, or -audacious for its perfidy--had not resuscitated a terrible -adventure of which Joseph Rouletabille had told me he wished to be -for ever forgotten. - -The Yellow Room! Who now remembers this affair which caused so -much ink to flow fifteen years ago? Events are so quickly -forgotten in Paris. Has not the very name of the Nayves trial and -the tragic history of the death of little Menaldo passed out of -mind? And yet the public attention was so deeply interested in the -details of the trial that the occurrence of a ministerial crisis -was completely unnoticed at the time. Now The Yellow Room trial, -which, preceded that of the Nayves by some years, made far more -noise. The entire world hung for months over this obscure problem ---the most obscure, it seems to me, that has ever challenged the -perspicacity of our police or taxed the conscience of our judges. -The solution of the problem baffled everybody who tried to find it. -It was like a dramatic rebus with which old Europe and new America -alike became fascinated. That is, in truth--I am permitted to say, -because there cannot be any author's vanity in all this, since I -do nothing more than transcribe facts on which an exceptional -documentation enables me to throw a new light--that is because, -in truth, I do not know that, in the domain of reality or -imagination, one can discover or recall to mind anything comparable, -in its mystery, with the natural mystery of The Yellow Room. - -That which nobody could find out, Joseph Rouletabille, aged eighteen, -then a reporter engaged on a leading journal, succeeded in -discovering. But when, at the Assize Court, he brought in the key -to the whole case, he did not tell the whole truth. He only allowed -so much of it to appear as sufficed to ensure the acquittal of an -innocent man. The reasons which he had for his reticence no longer -exist. Better still, the time has come for my friend to speak out -fully. You are going to know all; and, without further preamble, -I am going to place before your eyes the problem of The Yellow -Room as it was placed before the eyes of the entire world on the -day following the enactment of the drama at the Chateau du Glandier. - -On the 25th of October, 1892, the following note appeared in the -latest edition of the "Temps": - -"A frightful crime has been committed at the Glandier, on the border -of the forest of Sainte-Genevieve, above Epinay-sur-Orge, at the -house of Professor Stangerson. On that night, while the master was -working in his laboratory, an attempt was made to assassinate -Mademoiselle Stangerson, who was sleeping in a chamber adjoining -this laboratory. The doctors do not answer for the life of Mdlle. -Stangerson." - -The impression made on Paris by this news may be easily imagined. -Already, at that time, the learned world was deeply interested in -the labours of Professor Stangerson and his daughter. These labours ---the first that were attempted in radiography--served to open -the way for Monsieur and Madame Curie to the discovery of radium. -It was expected the Professor would shortly read to the Academy of -Sciences a sensational paper on his new theory,--the Dissociation -of Matter,--a theory destined to overthrow from its base the whole -of official science, which based itself on the principle of the -Conservation of Energy. On the following day, the newspapers were -full of the tragedy. The "Matin," among others, published the -following article, entitled: "A Supernatural Crime": - -"These are the only details," wrote the anonymous writer in the -"Matin"--"we have been able to obtain concerning the crime of the -Chateau du Glandier. The state of despair in which Professor -Stangerson is plunged, and the impossibility of getting any -information from the lips of the victim, have rendered our -investigations and those of justice so difficult that, at present, -we cannot form the least idea of what has passed in The Yellow Room -in which Mdlle. Stangerson, in her night-dress, was found lying on -the floor in the agonies of death. We have, at least, been able -to interview Daddy Jacques--as he is called in the country--a -old servant in the Stangerson family. Daddy Jacques entered The -Room at the same time as the Professor. This chamber adjoins the -laboratory. Laboratory and Yellow Room are in a pavilion at the -end of the park, about three hundred metres (a thousand feet) from -the chateau. - -"'It was half-past twelve at night,' this honest old man told us, -'and I was in the laboratory, where Monsieur Stangerson was still -working, when the thing happened. I had been cleaning and putting -instruments in order all the evening and was waiting for Monsieur -Stangerson to go to bed. Mademoiselle Stangerson had worked with -her father up to midnight; when the twelve strokes of midnight had -sounded by the cuckoo-clock in the laboratory, she rose, kissed -Monsieur Stangerson and bade him good-night. To me she said "bon -soir, Daddy Jacques" as she passed into The Yellow Room. We heard -her lock the door and shoot the bolt, so that I could not help -laughing, and said to Monsieur: "There's Mademoiselle double-locking -herself in,--she must be afraid of the 'Bete du bon Dieu!'" -Monsieur did not even hear me, he was so deeply absorbed in what he -was doing. Just then we heard the distant miawing of a cat. "Is -that going to keep us awake all night?" I said to myself; for I -must tell you, Monsieur, that, to the end of October, I live in an -attic of the pavilion over The Yellow Room, so that Mademoiselle -should not be left alone through the night in the lonely park. It -was the fancy of Mademoiselle to spend the fine weather in the -pavilion; no doubt, she found it more cheerful than the chateau and, -for the four years it had been built, she had never failed to take -up her lodging there in the spring. With the return of winter, -Mademoiselle returns to the chateau, for there is no fireplace in -The Yellow Room. - -"'We were staying in the pavilion, then--Monsieur Stangerson and -me. We made no noise. He was seated at his desk. As for me, I -was sitting on a chair, having finished my work and, looking at him, -I said to myself: "What a man!--what intelligence!--what -knowledge!" I attach importance to the fact that we made no noise; -for, because of that, the assassin certainly thought that we had -left the place. And, suddenly, while the cuckoo was sounding the -half after midnight, a desperate clamour broke out in The Yellow -Room. It was the voice of Mademoiselle, crying "Murder!--murder! ---help!" Immediately afterwards revolver shots rang out and there -was a great noise of tables and furniture being thrown to the -ground, as if in the course of a struggle, and again the voice of -Mademoiselle calling, "Murder!--help!--Papa!--Papa!--" - -"'You may be sure that we quickly sprang up and that Monsieur -Stangerson and I threw ourselves upon the door. But alas! it -was locked, fast locked, on the inside, by the care of Mademoiselle, -as I have told you, with key and bolt. We tried to force it open, -but it remained firm. Monsieur Stangerson was like a madman, and -truly, it was enough to make him one, for we heard Mademoiselle -still calling "Help!--help!" Monsieur Stangerson showered -terrible blows on the door, and wept with rage and sobbed with -despair and helplessness. - -"'It was then that I had an inspiration. "The assassin must have -entered by the window!" I cried;--"I will go to the window!" and -I rushed from the pavilion and ran like one out of his mind. - -"'The inspiration was that the window of The Yellow Room looks out -in such a way that the park wall, which abuts on the pavilion, -prevented my at once reaching the window. To get up to it one has -first to go out of the park. I ran towards the gate and, on my way, -met Bernier and his wife, the gate-keepers, who had been attracted -by the pistol reports and by our cries. In a few words I told them -what had happened, and directed the concierge to join Monsieur -Stangerson with all speed, while his wife came with me to open the -park gate. Five minutes later she and I were before the window of -The Yellow Room. - -"'The moon was shining brightly and I saw clearly that no one had -touched the window. Not only were the bars that protect it intact, -but the blinds inside of them were drawn, as I had myself drawn -them early in the evening, as I did every day, though Mademoiselle, -knowing that I was tired from the heavy work I had been doing, had -begged me not to trouble myself, but leave her to do it; and they -were just as I had left them, fastened with an iron catch on the -inside. The assassin, therefore, could not have passed either in -or out that way; but neither could I get in. - -"'It was unfortunate,--enough to turn one's brain! The door of -the room locked on the inside and the blinds on the only window -also fastened on the inside; and Mademoiselle still calling for -help!--No! she had ceased to call. She was dead, perhaps. But -I still heard her father, in the pavilion, trying to break down -the door. - -"'With the concierge I hurried back to the pavilion. The door, -in spite of the furious attempts of Monsieur Stangerson and Bernier -to burst it open, was still holding firm; but at length, it gave -way before our united efforts,--and then what a sight met our eyes! -I should tell you that, behind us, the concierge held the laboratory -lamp--a powerful lamp, that lit the whole chamber. - -"'I must also tell you, monsieur, that The Yellow Room is a very -small room. Mademoiselle had furnished it with a fairly large iron -bedstead, a small table, a night-commode; a dressing-table, and two -chairs. By the light of the big lamp we saw all at a glance. -Mademoiselle, in her night-dress, was lying on the floor in the -midst of the greatest disorder. Tables and chairs had been -overthrown, showing that there had been a violent struggle. -Mademoiselle had certainly been dragged from her bed. She was -covered with blood and had terrible marks of finger-nails on her -throat,--the flesh of her neck having been almost torn by the -nails. From a wound on the right temple a stream of blood had run -down and made a little pool on the floor. When Monsieur Stangerson -saw his daughter in that state, he threw himself on his knees beside -her, uttering a cry of despair. He ascertained that she still -breathed. As to us, we searched for the wretch who had tried to -kill our mistress, and I swear to you, monsieur, that, if we had -found him, it would have gone hard with him! - -"'But how to explain that he was not there, that he had already -escaped? It passes all imagination!--Nobody under the bed, nobody -behind the furniture!--All that we discovered were traces, -blood-stained marks of a man's large hand on the walls and on the -door; a big handkerchief red with blood, without any initials, an -old cap, and many fresh footmarks of a man on the floor,--footmarks -of a man with large feet whose boot-soles had left a sort of sooty -impression. How had this man got away? How had he vanished? Don't -forget, monsieur, that there is no chimney in The Yellow Room. He -could not have escaped by the door, which is narrow, and on the -threshold of which the concierge stood with the lamp, while her -husband and I searched for him in every corner of the little room, -where it is impossible for anyone to hide himself. The door, which -had been forced open against the wall, could not conceal anything -behind it, as we assured ourselves. By the window, still in every -way secured, no flight had been possible. What then?--I began -to believe in the Devil. - -"'But we discovered my revolver on the floor!--Yes, my revolver! -Oh! that brought me back to the reality! The Devil would not have -needed to steal my revolver to kill Mademoiselle. The man who had -been there had first gone up to my attic and taken my revolver from -the drawer where I kept it. We then ascertained, by counting the -cartridges, that the assassin had fired two shots. Ah! it was -fortunate for me that Monsieur Stangerson was in the laboratory -when the affair took place and had seen with his own eyes that I -was there with him; for otherwise, with this business of my revolver, -I don't know where we should have been,--I should now be under lock -and bar. Justice wants no more to send a man to the scaffold!'" - -The editor of the "Matin" added to this interview the following -lines: - -"We have, without interrupting him, allowed Daddy Jacques to recount -to us roughly all he knows about the crime of The Yellow Room. We -have reproduced it in his own words, only sparing the reader the -continual lamentations with which he garnished his narrative. It is -quite understood, Daddy Jacques, quite understood, that you are very -fond of your masters; and you want them to know it, and never cease -repeating it--especially since the discovery of your revolver. It -is your right, and we see no harm in it. We should have liked to -put some further questions to Daddy Jacques--Jacques--Louis -Moustier--but the inquiry of the examining magistrate, which is -being carried on at the chateau, makes it impossible for us to gain -admission at the Glandier; and, as to the oak wood, it is guarded -by a wide circle of policemen, who are jealously watching all traces -that can lead to the pavilion, and that may perhaps lead to the -discovery of the assassin. "We have also wished to question the -concierges, but they are invisible. Finally, we have waited in a -roadside inn, not far from the gate of the chateau, for the departure -of Monsieur de Marquet, the magistrate of Corbeil. At half-past -five we saw him and his clerk and, before he was able to enter his -carriage, had an opportunity to ask him the following question: - -"'Can you, Monsieur de Marquet, give us any information as to this -affair, without inconvenience to the course of your inquiry?' - -"'It is impossible for us to do it,' replied Monsieur de Marquet. -'I can only say that it is the strangest affair I have ever known. -The more we think we know something, the further we are from knowing -anything!' - -"We asked Monsieur de Marquet to be good enough to explain his last -words; and this is what he said,--the importance of which no one -will fail to recognise: - -"'If nothing is added to the material facts so far established, I -fear that the mystery which surrounds the abominable crime of which -Mademoiselle Stangerson has been the victim will never be brought to -light; but it is to be hoped, for the sake of our human reason, that -the examination of the walls, and of the ceiling of The Yellow Room ---an examination which I shall to-morrow intrust to the builder who -constructed the pavilion four years ago--will afford us the proof -that may not discourage us. For the problem is this: we know by -what way the assassin gained admission,--he entered by the door and -hid himself under the bed, awaiting Mademoiselle Stangerson. But -how did he leave? How did he escape? If no trap, no secret door, -no hiding place, no opening of any sort is found; if the examination -of the walls--even to the demolition of the pavilion--does not -reveal any passage practicable--not only for a human being, but for -any being whatsoever--if the ceiling shows no crack, if the floor -hides no underground passage, one must really believe in the Devil, -as Daddy Jacques says!'" - -And the anonymous writer in the "Matin" added in this article ---which I have selected as the most interesting of all those that -were published on the subject of this affair--that the examining -magistrate appeared to place a peculiar significance to the last -sentence: "One must really believe in the Devil, as Jacques says." - -The article concluded with these lines: "We wanted to know what -Daddy Jacques meant by the cry of the Bete Du Bon Dieu." The -landlord of the Donjon Inn explained to us that it is the -particularly sinister cry which is uttered sometimes at night by -the cat of an old woman,--Mother Angenoux, as she is called in -the country. Mother Angenoux is a sort of saint, who lives in a -hut in the heart of the forest, not far from the grotto of -Sainte-Genevieve. - -"The Yellow Room, the Bete Du Bon Dieu, Mother Angenoux, the Devil, -Sainte-Genevieve, Daddy Jacques,--here is a well entangled crime -which the stroke of a pickaxe in the wall may disentangle for us -to-morrow. Let us at least hope that, for the sake of our human -reason, as the examining magistrate says. Meanwhile, it is expected -that Mademoiselle Stangerson--who has not ceased to be delirious -and only pronounces one word distinctly, 'Murderer! Murderer!' ---will not live through the night." - -In conclusion, and at a late hour, the same journal announced that -the Chief of the Surete had telegraphed to the famous detective, -Frederic Larsan, who had been sent to London for an affair of -stolen securities, to return immediately to Paris. - - - - - -CHAPTER II - -In Which Joseph Roultabille Appears for the First Time - - -I remember as well as if it had occurred yesterday, the entry of -young Rouletabille into my bedroom that morning. It was about -eight o'clock and I was still in bed reading the article in the -"Matin" relative to the Glandier crime. - -But, before going further, it is time that I present my friend -to the reader. - -I first knew Joseph Rouletabille when he was a young reporter. At -that time I was a beginner at the Bar and often met him in the -corridors of examining magistrates, when I had gone to get a "permit -to communicate" for the prison of Mazas, or for Saint-Lazare. He -had, as they say, "a good nut." He seemed to have taken his head ---round as a bullet--out of a box of marbles, and it is from that, -I think, that his comrades of the press--all determined -billiard-players--had given him that nickname, which was to stick -to him and be made illustrious by him. He was always as red as a -tomato, now gay as a lark, now grave as a judge. How, while still -so young--he was only sixteen and a half years old when I saw him -for the first time--had he already won his way on the press? That -was what everybody who came into contact with him might have asked, -if they had not known his history. At the time of the affair of -the woman cut in pieces in the Rue Oberskampf--another forgotten -story--he had taken to one of the editors of the "Epoque,"--a -paper then rivalling the "Matin" for information,--the left foot, -which was missing from the basket in which the gruesome remains were -discovered. For this left foot the police had been vainly searching -for a week, and young Rouletabille had found it in a drain where -nobody had thought of looking for it. To do that he had dressed -himself as an extra sewer-man, one of a number engaged by the -administration of the city of Paris, owing to an overflow of the -Seine. - -When the editor-in-chief was in possession of the precious foot and -informed as to the train of intelligent deductions the boy had been -led to make, he was divided between the admiration he felt for such -detective cunning in a brain of a lad of sixteen years, and delight -at being able to exhibit, in the "morgue window" of his paper, the -left foot of the Rue Oberskampf. - -"This foot," he cried, "will make a great headline." - -Then, when he had confided the gruesome packet to the medical lawyer -attached to the journal, he asked the lad, who was shortly to become -famous as Rouletabille, what he would expect to earn as a general -reporter on the "Epoque"? - -"Two hundred francs a month," the youngster replied modestly, hardly -able to breathe from surprise at the proposal. - -"You shall have two hundred and fifty," said the editor-in-chief; -"only you must tell everybody that you have been engaged on the paper -for a month. Let it be quite understood that it was not you but the -'Epoque' that discovered the left foot of the Rue Oberskampf. Here, -my young friend, the man is nothing, the paper everything." - -Having said this, he begged the new reporter to retire, but before -the youth had reached the door he called him back to ask his name. -The other replied: - -"Joseph Josephine." - -"That's not a name," said the editor-in-chief, "but since you will -not be required to sign what you write it is of no consequence." - -The boy-faced reporter speedily made himself many friends, for he -was serviceable and gifted with a good humour that enchanted the -most severe-tempered and disarmed the most zealous of his companions. -At the Bar cafe, where the reporters assembled before going to any -of the courts, or to the Prefecture, in search of their news of -crime, he began to win a reputation as an unraveller of intricate -and obscure affairs which found its way to the office of the Chief -of the Surete. When a case was worth the trouble and Rouletabille ---he had already been given his nickname--had been started on the -scent by his editor-in-chief, he often got the better of the most -famous detective. - -It was at the Bar cafe that I became intimately acquainted with him. -Criminal lawyers and journalists are not enemies, the former need -advertisement, the latter information. We chatted together, and I -soon warmed towards him. His intelligence was so keen, and so -original!--and he had a quality of thought such as I have never -found in any other person. - -Some time after this I was put in charge of the law news of the "Cri -du Boulevard." My entry into journalism could not but strengthen -the ties which united me to Rouletabille. After a while, my new -friend being allowed to carry out an idea of a judicial -correspondence column, which he was allowed to sign "Business," in -the "Epoque," I was often able to furnish him with the legal -information of which he stood in need. - -Nearly two years passed in this way, and the better I knew him, the -more I learned to love him; for, in spite of his careless -extravagance, I had discovered in him what was, considering his age, -an extraordinary seriousness of mind. Accustomed as I was to seeing -him gay and, indeed, often too gay, I would many times find him -plunged in the deepest melancholy. I tried then to question him as -to the cause of this change of humour, but each time he laughed and -made me no answer. One day, having questioned him about his parents, -of whom he never spoke, he left me, pretending not to have heard -what I said. - -While things were in this state between us, the famous case of The -Yellow Room took place. It was this case which was to rank him as -the leading newspaper reporter, and to obtain for him the reputation -of being the greatest detective in the world. It should not surprise -us to find in the one man the perfection of two such lines of -activity if we remember that the daily press was already beginning -to transform itself and to become what it is to-day--the gazette -of crime. - -Morose-minded people may complain of this; for myself I regard it -a matter for congratulation. We can never have too many arms, -public or private, against the criminal. To this some people may -answer that, by continually publishing the details of crimes, the -press ends by encouraging their commission. But then, with some -people we can never do right. Rouletabille, as I have said, entered -my room that morning of the 26th of October, 1892. He was looking -redder than usual, and his eyes were bulging out of his head, as -the phrase is, and altogether he appeared to be in a state of -extreme excitement. He waved the "Matin" with a trembling hand, -and cried: - -"Well, my dear Sainclair,--have you read it?" - -"The Glandier crime?" - -"Yes; The Yellow Room!--What do you think of it?" - -"I think that it must have been the Devil or the Bete du Bon Dieu -that committed the crime." - -"Be serious!" - -"Well, I don't much believe in murderers* who make their escape -through walls of solid brick. I think Daddy Jacques did wrong to -leave behind him the weapon with which the crime was committed and, -as he occupied the attic immediately above Mademoiselle Stangerson's -room, the builder's job ordered by the examining magistrate will -give us the key of the enigma and it will not be long before we -learn by what natural trap, or by what secret door, the old fellow -was able to slip in and out, and return immediately to the laboratory -to Monsieur Stangerson, without his absence being noticed. That, of -course, is only an hypothesis." - -____________________________________________________________________ - - *Although the original English translation often uses the words - "murder" and "murderer," the reader may substitute "attack" and - "attacker" since no murder is actually committed. -____________________________________________________________________ - -Rouletabille sat down in an armchair, lit his pipe, which he was -never without, smoked for a few minutes in silence--no doubt to -calm the excitement which, visibly, dominated him--and then -replied: - -"Young man," he said, in a tone the sad irony of which I will not -attempt to render, "young man, you are a lawyer and I doubt not your -ability to save the guilty from conviction; but if you were a -magistrate on the bench, how easy it would be for you to condemn -innocent persons!--You are really gifted, young man!" - -He continued to smoke energetically, and then went on: - -"No trap will be found, and the mystery of The Yellow Room will -become more and more mysterious. That's why it interests me. -The examining magistrate is right; nothing stranger than this crime -has ever been known." - -"Have you any idea of the way by which the murderer escaped?" I -asked. - -"None," replied Rouletabille--"none, for the present. But I have -an idea as to the revolver; the murderer did not use it." - -"Good Heavens! By whom, then, was it used?" - -"Why--by Mademoiselle Stangerson." - -"I don't understand,--or rather, I have never understood," I said. - -Rouletabille shrugged his shoulders. - -"Is there nothing in this article in the 'Matin' by which you were -particularly struck?" - -"Nothing,--I have found the whole of the story it tells equally -strange." - -"Well, but--the locked door--with the key on the inside?" - -"That's the only perfectly natural thing in the whole article." - -"Really!--And the bolt?" - -"The bolt?" - -"Yes, the bolt--also inside the room--a still further protection -against entry? Mademoiselle Stangerson took quite extraordinary -precautions! It is clear to me that she feared someone. That was -why she took such precautions--even Daddy Jacques's revolver ---without telling him of it. No doubt she didn't wish to alarm -anybody, and least of all, her father. What she dreaded took place, -and she defended herself. There was a struggle, and she used the -revolver skilfully enough to wound the assassin in the hand--which -explains the impression on the wall and on the door of the large, -blood-stained hand of the man who was searching for a means of -exit from the chamber. But she didn't fire soon enough to avoid -the terrible blow on the right temple." - -"Then the wound on the temple was not done with the revolver?" - -"The paper doesn't say it was, and I don't think it was; because -logically it appears to me that the revolver was used by Mademoiselle -Stangerson against the assassin. Now, what weapon did the murderer -use? The blow on the temple seems to show that the murderer wished -to stun Mademoiselle Stangerson,--after he had unsuccessfully tried -to strangle her. He must have known that the attic was inhabited -by Daddy Jacques, and that was one of the reasons, I think, why he -must have used a quiet weapon,--a life-preserver, or a hammer." - -"All that doesn't explain how the murderer got out of The Yellow -Room," I observed. - -"Evidently," replied Rouletabille, rising, "and that is what has to -be explained. I am going to the Chateau du Glandier, and have come -to see whether you will go with me." - -"I?--" - -"Yes, my boy. I want you. The 'Epoque' has definitely entrusted -this case to me, and I must clear it up as quickly as possible." - -"But in what way can I be of any use to you?" - -"Monsieur Robert Darzac is at the Chateau du Glandier." - -"That's true. His despair must be boundless." - -"I must have a talk with him." - -Rouletabille said it in a tone that surprised me. - -"Is it because--you think there is something to be got out of him?" -I asked. - -"Yes." - -That was all he would say. He retired to my sitting-room, begging -me to dress quickly. - -I knew Monsieur Robert Darzac from having been of great service to -him in a civil action, while I was acting as secretary to Maitre -Barbet Delatour. Monsieur Robert Darzac, who was at that time about -forty years of age, was a professor of physics at the Sorbonne. He -was intimately acquainted with the Stangersons, and, after an -assiduous seven years' courtship of the daughter, had been on the -point of marrying her. In spite of the fact that she has become, as -the phrase goes, "a person of a certain age," she was still -remarkably good-looking. While I was dressing I called out to -Rouletabille, who was impatiently moving about my sitting-room: - -"Have you any idea as to the murderer's station in life?" - -"Yes," he replied; "I think if he isn't a man in society, he is, at -least, a man belonging to the upper class. But that, again, is only -an impression." - -"What has led you to form it?" - -"Well,--the greasy cap, the common handkerchief, and the marks -of the rough boots on the floor," he replied. - -"I understand," I said; "murderers don't leave traces behind them -which tell the truth." - -"We shall make something out of you yet, my dear Sainclair," -concluded Rouletabille. - - - - - -CHAPTER III - -"A Man Has Passed Like a Shadow Through the Blinds" - - -Half an hour later Rouletabille and I were on the platform of the -Orleans station, awaiting the departure of the train which was to -take us to Epinay-sur-Orge. - -On the platform we found Monsieur de Marquet and his Registrar, who -represented the Judicial Court of Corbeil. Monsieur Marquet had -spent the night in Paris, attending the final rehearsal, at the -Scala, of a little play of which he was the unknown author, signing -himself simply "Castigat Ridendo." - -Monsieur de Marquet was beginning to be a "noble old gentleman." -Generally he was extremely polite and full of gay humour, and in -all his life had had but one passion,--that of dramatic art. -Throughout his magisterial career he was interested solely in cases -capable of furnishing him with something in the nature of a drama. -Though he might very well have aspired to the highest judicial -positions, he had never really worked for anything but to win a -success at the romantic Porte-Saint-Martin, or at the sombre Odeon. - -Because of the mystery which shrouded it, the case of The Yellow -Room was certain to fascinate so theatrical a mind. It interested -him enormously, and he threw himself into it, less as a magistrate -eager to know the truth, than as an amateur of dramatic embroglios, -tending wholly to mystery and intrigue, who dreads nothing so much -as the explanatory final act. - -So that, at the moment of meeting him, I heard Monsieur de Marquet -say to the Registrar with a sigh: - -"I hope, my dear Monsieur Maleine, this builder with his pickaxe -will not destroy so fine a mystery." - -"Have no fear," replied Monsieur Maleine, "his pickaxe may demolish -the pavilion, perhaps, but it will leave our case intact. I have -sounded the walls and examined the ceiling and floor and I know all -about it. I am not to be deceived." - -Having thus reassured his chief, Monsieur Maleine, with a discreet -movement of the head, drew Monsieur de Marquet's attention to us. -The face of that gentleman clouded, and, as he saw Rouletabille -approaching, hat in hand, he sprang into one of the empty carriages -saying, half aloud to his Registrar, as he did so, "Above all, no -journalists!" - -Monsieur Maleine replied in the same tone, "I understand!" and then -tried to prevent Rouletabille from entering the same compartment -with the examining magistrate. - -"Excuse me, gentlemen,--this compartment is reserved." - -"I am a journalist, Monsieur, engaged on the 'Epoque,'" said my -young friend with a great show of gesture and politeness, "and I -have a word or two to say to Monsieur de Marquet." - -"Monsieur is very much engaged with the inquiry he has in hand." - -"Ah! his inquiry, pray believe me, is absolutely a matter of -indifference to me. I am no scavenger of odds and ends," he went -on, with infinite contempt in his lower lip, "I am a theatrical -reporter; and this evening I shall have to give a little account -of the play at the Scala." - -"Get in, sir, please," said the Registrar. - -Rouletabille was already in the compartment. I went in after him -and seated myself by his side. The Registrar followed and closed -the carriage door. - -Monsieur de Marquet looked at him. - -"Ah, sir," Rouletabille began, "You must not be angry with Monsieur -de Maleine. It is not with Monsieur de Marquet that I desire to -have the honour of speaking, but with Monsieur 'Castigat Ridendo.' -Permit me to congratulate you--personally, as well as the writer -for the 'Epoque.'" And Rouletabille, having first introduced me, -introduced himself. - -Monsieur de Marquet, with a nervous gesture, caressed his beard into -a point, and explained to Rouletabille, in a few words, that he was -too modest an author to desire that the veil of his pseudonym should -be publicly raised, and that he hoped the enthusiasm of the -journalist for the dramatist's work would not lead him to tell the -public that Monsieur "Castigat Ridendo" and the examining magistrate -of Corbeil were one and the same person. - -"The work of the dramatic author may interfere," he said, after a -slight hesitation, "with that of the magistrate, especially in a -province where one's labours are little more than routine." - -"Oh, you may rely on my discretion!" cried Rouletabille. - -The train was in motion. - -"We have started!" said the examining magistrate, surprised at -seeing us still in the carriage. - -"Yes, Monsieur,--truth has started," said Rouletabile, smiling -amiably,--"on its way to the Chateau du Glandier. A fine case, -Monsieur de Marquet,--a fine case!" - -"An obscure--incredible, unfathomable, inexplicable affair--and -there is only one thing I fear, Monsieur Rouletabille,--that the -journalists will be trying to explain it." - -My friend felt this a rap on his knuckles. - -"Yes," he said simply, "that is to be feared. They meddle in -everything. As for my interest, monsieur, I only referred to it by -mere chance,--the mere chance of finding myself in the same train -with you, and in the same compartment of the same carriage." - -"Where are you going, then?" asked Monsieur de Marquet. - -"To the Chateau du Glandier," replied Rouletabille, without turning. - -"You'll not get in, Monsieur Rouletabille!" - -"Will you prevent me?" said my friend, already prepared to fight. - -"Not I!--I like the press and journalists too well to be in any -way disagreeable to them; but Monsieur Stangerson has given orders -for his door to be closed against everybody, and it is well guarded. -Not a journalist was able to pass through the gate of the Glandier -yesterday." - -Monsieur de Marquet compressed his lips and seemed ready to relapse -into obstinate silence. He only relaxed a little when Rouletabille -no longer left him in ignorance of the fact that we were going to -the Glandier for the purpose of shaking hands with an "old and -intimate friend," Monsieur Robert Darzac--a man whom Rouletabille -had perhaps seen once in his life. - -"Poor Robert!" continued the young reporter, "this dreadful affair -may be his death,--he is so deeply in love with Mademoiselle -Stangerson." - -"His sufferings are truly painful to witness," escaped like a regret -from the lips of Monsieur de Marquet. - -"But it is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson's life will be -saved." - -"Let us hope so. Her father told me yesterday that, if she does not -recover, it will not be long before he joins her in the grave. What -an incalculable loss to science his death would be!" - -"The wound on her temple is serious, is it not?" - -"Evidently; but, by a wonderful chance, it has not proved mortal. -The blow was given with great force." - -"Then it was not with the revolver she was wounded," said -Rouletabille, glancing at me in triumph. - -Monsieur de Marquet appeared greatly embarrassed. - -"I didn't say anything--I don't want to say anything--I will not -say anything," he said. And he turned towards his Registrar as if -he no longer knew us. - -But Rouletabille was not to be so easily shaken off. He moved -nearer to the examining magistrate and, drawing a copy of the -"Matin" from his pocket, he showed it to him and said: - -"There is one thing, Monsieur, which I may enquire of you without -committing an indiscretion. You have, of course, seen the account -given in the 'Matin'? It is absurd, is it not?" - -"Not in the slightest, Monsieur." - -"What! The Yellow Room has but one barred window--the bars of -which have not been moved--and only one door, which had to be -broken open--and the assassin was not found!" - -"That's so, monsieur,--that's so. That's how the matter stands." - -Rouletabille said no more but plunged into thought. A quarter of -an hour thus passed. - -Coming back to himself again he said, addressing the magistrate: - -"How did Mademoiselle Stangerson wear her hair on that evening?" - -"I don't know," replied Monsieur de Marquet. - -"That's a very important point," said Rouletabille. "Her hair was -done up in bands, wasn't it? I feel sure that on that evening, the -evening of the crime, she had her hair arranged in bands." - -"Then you are mistaken, Monsieur Rouletabille," replied the -magistrate; "Mademoiselle Stangerson that evening had her hair drawn -up in a knot on the top of her head,--her usual way of arranging it ---her forehead completely uncovered. I can assure you, for we have -carefully examined the wound. There was no blood on the hair, and -the arrangement of it has not been disturbed since the crime was -committed." - -"You are sure! You are sure that, on the night of the crime, she -had not her hair in bands?" - -"Quite sure," the magistrate continued, smiling, "because I -remember the Doctor saying to me, while he was examining the wound, -'It is a great pity Mademoiselle Stangerson was in the habit of -drawing her hair back from her forehead. If she had worn it in -bands, the blow she received on the temple would have been weakened.' -It seems strange to me that you should attach so much importance -to this point." - -"Oh! if she had not her hair in bands, I give it up," said -Rouletabille, with a despairing gesture. - -"And was the wound on her temple a bad one?" he asked presently. - -"Terrible." - -"With what weapon was it made?" - -"That is a secret of the investigation." - -"Have you found the weapon--whatever it was?" - -The magistrate did not answer. - - "And the wound in the throat?" - -Here the examining magistrate readily confirmed the decision of the -doctor that, if the murderer had pressed her throat a few seconds -longer, Mademoiselle Stangerson would have died of strangulation. - -"The affair as reported in the 'Matin,'" said Rouletabille eagerly, -"seems to me more and more inexplicable. Can you tell me, Monsieur, -how many openings there are in the pavilion? I mean doors and -windows." - -"There are five," replied Monsieur de Marquet, after having coughed -once or twice, but no longer resisting the desire he felt to talk -of the whole of the incredible mystery of the affair he was -investigating. "There are five, of which the door of the vestibule -is the only entrance to the pavilion,--a door always automatically -closed, which cannot be opened, either from the outer or inside, -except with the two special keys which are never out of the -possession of either Daddy Jacques or Monsieur Stangerson. -Mademoiselle Stangerson had no need for one, since Daddy Jacques -lodged in the pavilion and because, during the daytime, she never -left her father. When they, all four, rushed into The Yellow Room, -after breaking open the door of the laboratory, the door in the -vestibule remained closed as usual and, of the two keys for opening -it, Daddy Jacques had one in his pocket, and Monsieur Stangerson -the other. As to the windows of the pavilion, there are four; the -one window of The Yellow Room and those of the laboratory looking -out on to the country; the window in the vestibule looking into -the park." - -"It is by that window that he escaped from the pavilion!" cried -Rouletabille. - -"How do you know that?" demanded Monsieur de Marquet, fixing a -strange look on my young friend. - -"We'll see later how he got away from The Yellow Room," replied -Rouletabille, "but he must have left the pavilion by the vestibule -window." - -"Once more,--how do you know that?" - -"How? Oh, the thing is simple enough! As soon as he found he could -not escape by the door of the pavilion his only way out was by the -window in the vestibule, unless he could pass through a grated window. -The window of The Yellow Room is secured by iron bars, because it -looks out upon the open country; the two windows of the laboratory -have to be protected in like manner for the same reason. As the -murderer got away, I conceive that he found a window that was not -barred,--that of the vestibule, which opens on to the park,--that -is to say, into the interior of the estate. There's not much magic -in all that." - -"Yes," said Monsieur de Marquet, "but what you have not guessed is -that this single window in the vestibule, though it has no iron bars, -has solid iron blinds. Now these iron blinds have remained fastened -by their iron latch; and yet we have proof that the murderer made -his escape from the, pavilion by that window! Traces of blood on -the inside wall and on the blinds as well as on the floor, and -footmarks, of which I have taken the measurements, attest the fact -that the murderer made his escape that way. But then, how did he -do it, seeing that the blinds remained fastened on the inside? He -passed through them like a shadow. But what is more bewildering -than all is that it is impossible to form any idea as to how the -murderer got out of The Yellow Room, or how he got across the -laboratory to reach the vestibule! Ah, yes, Monsieur Rouletabille, -it is altogether as you said, a fine case, the key to which will -not be discovered for a long time, I hope." - -"You hope, Monsieur?" - -Monsieur de Marquet corrected himself. - -"I do not hope so,--I think so." - -"Could that window have been closed and refastened after the flight -of the assassin?" asked Rouletabille. - -"That is what occurred to me for a moment; but it would imply an -accomplice or accomplices,--and I don't see--" - -After a short silence he added: - -"Ah--if Mademoiselle Stangerson were only well enough to-day to -be questioned!" - -Rouletabille following up his thought, asked: - -"And the attic?--There must be some opening to that?" - -"Yes; there is a window, or rather skylight, in it, which, as it -looks out towards the country, Monsieur Stangerson has had barred, -like the rest of the windows. These bars, as in the other windows, -have remained intact, and the blinds, which naturally open inwards, -have not been unfastened. For the rest, we have not discovered -anything to lead us to suspect that the murderer had passed through -the attic." - -"It seems clear to you, then, Monsieur, that the murderer escaped ---nobody knows how--by the window in the vestibule?" - -"Everything goes to prove it." - -"I think so, too," confessed Rouletabille gravely. - -After a brief silence, he continued: - -"If you have not found any traces of the murderer in the attic, such -as the dirty footmarks similar to those on the floor of The Yellow -Room, you must come to the conclusion that it was not he who stole -Daddy Jacques's revolver." - -"There are no footmarks in the attic other than those of Daddy -Jacques himself," said the magistrate with a significant turn of his -head. Then, after an apparent decision, he added: "Daddy Jacques -was with Monsieur Stangerson in the laboratory--and it was lucky -for him he was." - -"Then what part did his revolver play in the tragedy?--It seems -very clear that this weapon did less harm to Mademoiselle Stangerson -than it did to the murderer." - -The magistrate made no reply to this question, which doubtless -embarrassed him. "Monsieur Stangerson," he said, "tells us that the -two bullets have been found in The Yellow Room, one embedded in the -wall stained with the impression of a red hand--a man's large hand ---and the other in the ceiling." - -"Oh! oh! in the ceiling!" muttered Rouletabille. "In the ceiling! -That's very curious!--In the ceiling!" - -He puffed awhile in silence at his pipe, enveloping himself in the -smoke. When we reached Savigny-sur-Orge, I had to tap him on the -shoulder to arouse him from his dream and come out on to the -platform of the station. - -There, the magistrate and his Registrar bowed to us, and by rapidly -getting into a cab that was awaiting them, made us understand that -they had seen enough of us. - -"How long will it take to walk to the Chateau du Glandier?" -Rouletabille asked one of the railway porters. - -"An hour and a half or an hour and three quarters--easy walking," -the man replied. - -Rouletabille looked up at the sky and, no doubt, finding its -appearance satisfactory, took my arm and said: - -"Come on!--I need a walk." - -"Are things getting less entangled?" I asked. - -"Not a bit of it!" he said, "more entangled than ever! It's true, -I have an idea--" - -"What's that?" I asked. - -"I can't tell you what it is just at present--it's an idea -involving the life or death of two persons at least." - -"Do you think there were accomplices?" - -"I don't think it--" - -We fell into silence. Presently he went on: - -"It was a bit of luck, our falling in with that examining magistrate -and his Registrar, eh? What did I tell you about that revolver?" -His head was bent down, he had his hands in his pockets, and he was -whistling. After a while I heard him murmur: - -"Poor woman!" - -"Is it Mademoiselle Stangerson you are pitying?" - -"Yes; she's a noble woman and worthy of being pitied!--a woman of -a great, a very great character--I imagine--I imagine." - -"You know her then?" - -"Not at all. I have never seen her." - -"Why, then, do you say that she is a woman of great character?" - -"Because she bravely faced the murderer; because she courageously -defended herself--and, above all, because of the bullet in the -ceiling." - -I looked at Rouletabille and inwardly wondered whether he was not -mocking me, or whether he had not suddenly gone out of his senses. -But I saw that he had never been less inclined to laugh, and the -brightness of his keenly intelligent eyes assured me that he -retained all his reason. Then, too, I was used to his broken way -of talking, which only left me puzzled as to his meaning, till, -with a very few clear, rapidly uttered words, he would make the -drift of his ideas clear to me, and I saw that what he had -previously said, and which had appeared to me void of meaning, was -so thoroughly logical that I could not understand how it was I had -not understood him sooner. - - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -"In the Bosom of Wild Nature" - - -The Chateau du Glandier is one of the oldest chateaux in the Ile de -France, where so many building remains of the feudal period are -still standing. Built originally in the heart of the forest, in the -reign of Philip le Bel, it now could be seen a few hundred yards -from the road leading from the village of Sainte-Genevieve to -Monthery. A mass of inharmonious structures, it is dominated by a -donjon. When the visitor has mounted the crumbling steps of this -ancient donjon, he reaches a little plateau where, in the seventeenth -century, Georges Philibert de Sequigny, Lord of the Glandier, -Maisons-Neuves and other places, built the existing town in an -abominably rococo style of architecture. - -It was in this place, seemingly belonging entirely to the past, that -Professor Stangerson and his daughter installed themselves to lay -the foundations for the science of the future. Its solitude, in -the depths of woods, was what, more than all, had pleased them. -They would have none to witness their labours and intrude on their -hopes, but the aged stones and grand old oaks. The Glandier ---ancient Glandierum--was so called from the quantity of glands -(acorns) which, in all times, had been gathered in that -neighbourhood. This land, of present mournful interest, had fallen -back, owing to the negligence or abandonment of its owners, into -the wild character of primitive nature. The buildings alone, which -were hidden there, had preserved traces of their strange -metamorphoses. Every age had left on them its imprint; a bit of -architecture with which was bound up the remembrance of some terrible -event, some bloody adventure. Such was the chateau in which science -had taken refuge--a place seemingly designed to be the theatre of -mysteries, terror, and death. - -Having explained so far, I cannot refrain from making one further -reflection. If I have lingered a little over this description of -the Glandier, it is not because I have reached the right moment for -creating the necessary atmosphere for the unfolding of the tragedy -before the eyes of the reader. Indeed, in all this matter, my -first care will be to be as simple as is possible. I have no -ambition to be an author. An author is always something of a -romancer, and God knows, the mystery of The Yellow Room is quite -full enough of real tragic horror to require no aid from literary -effects. I am, and only desire to be, a faithful "reporter." My -duty is to report the event; and I place the event in its frame ---that is all. It is only natural that you should know where the -things happened. - -I return to Monsieur Stangerson. When he bought the estate, fifteen -years before the tragedy with which we are engaged occurred, the -Chateau du Glandier had for a long time been unoccupied. Another -old chateau in the neighbourhood, built in the fourteenth century -by Jean de Belmont, was also abandoned, so that that part of the -country was very little inhabited. Some small houses on the side -of the road leading to Corbeil, an inn, called the "Auberge du -Donjon," which offered passing hospitality to waggoners; these -were about all to represent civilisation in this out-of-the-way -part of the country, but a few leagues from the capital. - -But this deserted condition of the place had been the determining -reason for the choice made by Monsieur Stangerson and his daughter. -Monsieur Stangerson was already celebrated. He had returned from -America, where his works had made a great stir. The book which he -had published at Philadelphia, on the "Dissociation of Matter by -Electric Action," had aroused opposition throughout the whole -scientific world. Monsieur Stangerson was a Frenchman, but of -American origin. Important matters relating to a legacy had kept -him for several years in the United States, where he had continued -the work begun by him in France, whither he had returned in -possession of a large fortune. This fortune was a great boon to -him; for, though he might have made millions of dollars by -exploiting two or three of his chemical discoveries relative to -new processes of dyeing, it was always repugnant to him to use -for his own private gain the wonderful gift of invention he had -received from nature. He considered he owed it to mankind, and -all that his genius brought into the world went, by this -philosophical view of his duty, into the public lap. - -If he did not try to conceal his satisfaction at coming into -possession of this fortune, which enabled him to give himself up to -his passion for pure science, he had equally to rejoice, it seemed -to him, for another cause. Mademoiselle Stangerson was, at the time -when her father returned from America and bought the Glandier estate, -twenty years of age. She was exceedingly pretty, having at once the -Parisian grace of her mother, who had died in giving her birth, and -all the splendour, all the riches of the young American blood of her -parental grandfather, William Stangerson. A citizen of Philadelphia, -William Stangerson had been obliged to become naturalised in -obedience to family exigencies at the time of his marriage with a -French lady, she who was to be the mother of the illustrious -Stangerson. In that way the professor's French nationality is -accounted for. - -Twenty years of age, a charming blonde, with blue eyes, milk-white -complexion, and radiant with divine health, Mathilde Stangerson was -one of the most beautiful marriageable girls in either the old or -the new world. It was her father's duty, in spite of the inevitable -pain which a separation from her would cause him, to think of her -marriage; and he was fully prepared for it. Nevertheless, he -buried himself and his child at the Glandier at the moment when his -friends were expecting him to bring her out into society. Some of -them expressed their astonishment, and to their questions he -answered: "It is my daughter's wish. I can refuse her nothing. -She has chosen the Glandier." - -Interrogated in her turn, the young girl replied calmly: "Where -could we work better than in this solitude?" For Mademoiselle -Stangerson had already begun to collaborate with her father in his -work. It could not at the time be imagined that her passion for -science would lead her so far as to refuse all the suitors who -presented themselves to her for over fifteen years. So secluded was -the life led by the two, father and daughter, that they showed -themselves only at a few official receptions and, at certain times -in the year, in two or three friendly drawing-rooms, where the fame -of the professor and the beauty of Mathilde made a sensation. The -young girl's extreme reserve did not at first discourage suitors; -but at the end of a few years, they tired of their quest. - -One alone persisted with tender tenacity and deserved the name of -"eternal fiance," a name he accepted with melancholy resignation; -that was Monsieur Robert Darzac. Mademoiselle Stangerson was now -no longer young, and it seemed that, having found no reason for -marrying at five-and-thirty, she would never find one. But such an -argument evidently found no acceptance with Monsieur Robert Darzac. -He continued to pay his court--if the delicate and tender attention -with which he ceaselessly surrounded this woman of five-and-thirty -could be called courtship--in face of her declared intention never -to marry. - -Suddenly, some weeks before the events with which we are occupied, -a report--to which nobody attached any importance, so incredible -did it sound--was spread about Paris, that Mademoiselle Stangerson -had at last consented to "crown" the inextinguishable flame of -Monsieur Robert Darzac! It needed that Monsieur Robert Darzac -himself should not deny this matrimonial rumour to give it an -appearance of truth, so unlikely did it seem to be well founded. -One day, however, Monsieur Stangerson, as he was leaving the Academy -of Science, announced that the marriage of his daughter and Monsieur -Robert Darzac would be celebrated in the privacy of the Chateau du -Glandier, as soon as he and his daughter had put the finishing -touches to their report summing up their labours on the "Dissociation -of Matter." The new household would install itself in the Glandier, -and the son-in-law would lend his assistance in the work to which -the father and daughter had dedicated their lives. - -The scientific world had barely had time to recover from the effect -of this news, when it learned of the attempted assassination of -Mademoiselle under the extraordinary conditions which we have -detailed and which our visit to the chateau was to enable us to -ascertain with yet greater precision. I have not hesitated to -furnish the reader with all these retrospective details, known to -me through my business relations with Monsieur Robert Darzac. On -crossing the threshold of The Yellow Room he was as well posted -as I was. - - - - - -CHAPTER V - -In Which Joseph Rouletabille Makes a Remark to Monsieur Robert -Darzac Which Produces Its Little Effect - - -Rouletabille and I had been walking for several minutes, by the side -of a long wall bounding the vast property of Monsieur Stangerson and -had already come within sight of the entrance gate, when our -attention was drawn to an individual who, half bent to the ground, -seemed to be so completely absorbed in what he was doing as not to -have seen us coming towards him. At one time he stooped so low as -almost to touch the ground; at another he drew himself up and -attentively examined the wall; then he looked into the palm of one -of his hands, and walked away with rapid strides. Finally he set -off running, still looking into the palm of his hand. Rouletabille -had brought me to a standstill by a gesture. - -"Hush! Frederic Larsan is at work! Don't let us disturb him!" - -Rouletabille had a great admiration for the celebrated detective. -I had never before seen him, but I knew him well by reputation. -At that time, before Rouletabille had given proof of his unique -talent, Larsan was reputed as the most skilful unraveller of the -most mysterious and complicated crimes. His reputation was -world-wide, and the police of London, and even of America, often -called him in to their aid when their own national inspectors and -detectives found themselves at the end of their wits and resources. - -No one was astonished, then, that the head of the Surete had, at the -outset of the mystery of The Yellow Room, telegraphed his precious -subordinate to London, where he had been sent on a big case of -stolen securities, to return with all haste. Frederic who, at the -Surete, was called the "great Frederic," had made all speed, -doubtless knowing by experience that, if he was interrupted in what -he was doing, it was because his services were urgently needed in -another direction; so, as Rouletabille said, he was that morning -already "at work." We soon found out in what it consisted. - -What he was continually looking at in the palm of his right hand -was nothing but his watch, the minute hand of which he appeared -to be noting intently. Then he turned back still running, stopping -only when he reached the park gate, where he again consulted his -watch and then put it away in his pocket, shrugging his shoulders -with a gesture of discouragement. He pushed open the park gate, -reclosed and locked it, raised his head and, through the bars, -perceived us. Rouletabille rushed after him, and I followed. -Frederic Larsan waited for us. - -"Monsieur Fred," said Rouletabille, raising his hat and showing the -profound respect, based on admiration, which the young reporter felt -for the celebrated detective, "can you tell me whether Monsieur -Robert Darzac is at the chateau at this moment? Here is one of his -friends, of the Paris Bar, who desires to speak with him." - -"I really don't know, Monsieur Rouletabille," replied Fred, shaking -hands with my friend, whom he had several times met in the course -of his difficult investigations. "I have not seen him." - -"The concierges will be able to inform us no doubt?" said -Rouletabille, pointing to the lodge the door and windows of which -were close shut. - -"The concierges will not be able to give you any information, -Monsieur Rouletabille." - -"Why not?" - -"Because they were arrested half an hour ago." - -"Arrested!" cried Rouletabille; "then they are the murderers!" - -Frederic Larsan shrugged his shoulders. - -"When you can't arrest the real murderer," he said with an air of -supreme irony, "you can always indulge in the luxury of discovering -accomplices." - -"Did you have them arrested, Monsieur Fred?" - -"Not I!--I haven't had them arrested. In the first place, I am -pretty sure that they have not had anything to do with the affair, -and then because--" - -"Because of what?" asked Rouletabille eagerly. - -"Because of nothing," said Larsan, shaking his head. - -"Because there were no accomplices!" said Rouletabille. - -"Aha!--you have an idea, then, about this matter?" said Larsan, -looking at Rouletabille intently, "yet you have seen nothing, young -man--you have not yet gained admission here!" - -"I shall get admission." - -"I doubt it. The orders are strict." - -"I shall gain admission, if you let me see Monsieur Robert Darzac. -Do that for me. You know we are old friends. I beg of you, -Monsieur Fred. Do you remember the article I wrote about you on -the gold bar case?" - -The face of Rouletabille at the moment was really funny to look at. -It showed such an irresistible desire to cross the threshold beyond -which some prodigious mystery had occurred; it appealed with so much -eloquence, not only of the mouth and eyes, but with all its features, -that I could not refrain from bursting into laughter. Frederic -Larsan, no more than myself, could retain his gravity. Meanwhile, -standing on the other side of the gate, he calmly put the key in -his pocket. I closely scrutinised him. - -He might be about fifty years of age. He had a fine head, his hair -turning grey; a colourless complexion, and a firm profile. His -forehead was prominent, his chin and cheeks clean shaven. His upper -lip, without moustache, was finely chiselled. His eyes were rather -small and round, with a look in them that was at once searching and -disquieting. He was of middle height and well built, with a general -bearing elegant and gentlemanly. There was nothing about him of -the vulgar policeman. In his way, he was an artist, and one felt -that he had a high opinion of himself. The sceptical tone of his -conversation was that of a man who had been taught by experience. -His strange profession had brought him into contact with so many -crimes and villanies that it would have been remarkable if his -nature had not been a little hardened. - -Larsan turned his head at the sound of a vehicle which had come from -the chateau and reached the gate behind him. We recognised the cab -which had conveyed the examining magistrate and his Registrar from -the station at Epinay. - -"Ah!" said Frederic Larsan, "if you want to speak with Monsieur -Robert Darzac, he is here." - -The cab was already at the park gate and Robert Darzac was begging -Frederic Larsan to open it for him, explaining that he was pressed -for time to catch the next train leaving Epinay for Paris. Then he -recognised me. While Larsan was unlocking the gate, Monsieur Darzac -inquired what had brought me to the Glandier at such a tragic moment. -I noticed that he was frightfully pale, and that his face was lined -as if from the effects of some terrible suffering. - -"Is Mademoiselle getting better?" I immediately asked. - -"Yes," he said. "She will be saved perhaps. She must be saved!" - -He did not add "or it will be my death"; but I felt that the phrase -trembled on his pale lips. - -Rouletabille intervened: - -"You are in a hurry, Monsieur; but I must speak with you. I have -something of the greatest importance to tell you." - -Frederic Larsan interrupted: - -"May I leave you?" he asked of Robert Darzac. "Have you a key, or -do you wish me to give you this one." - -"Thank you. I have a key and will lock the gate." - -Larsan hurried off in the direction of the chateau, the imposing -pile of which could be perceived a few hundred yards away. - -Robert Darzac, with knit brow, was beginning to show impatience. I -presented Rouletabille as a good friend of mine, but, as soon as he -learnt that the young man was a journalist, he looked at me very -reproachfully, excused himself, under the necessity of having to -reach Epinay in twenty minutes, bowed, and whipped up his horse. -But Rouletabille had seized the bridle and, to my utter astonishment, -stopped the carriage with a vigorous hand. Then he gave utterance -to a sentence which was utterly meaningless to me. - -"The presbytery has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its -brightness." - -The words had no sooner left the lips of Rouletabille than I saw -Robert Darzac quail. Pale as he was, he became paler. His eyes -were fixed on the young man in terror, and he immediately -descended from the vehicle in an inexpressible state of agitation. - -"Come!--come in!" he stammered. - -Then, suddenly, and with a sort of fury, he repeated: - -"Let us go, monsieur." - -He turned up by the road he had come from the chateau, Rouletabille -still retaining his hold on the horse's bridle. I addressed a few -words to Monsieur Darzac, but he made no answer. My looks -questioned Rouletabille, but his gaze was elsewhere. - - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -In the Heart of the Oak Grove - - -We reached the chateau, and, as we approached it, saw four -gendarmes pacing in front of a little door in the ground floor of -the donjon. We soon learned that in this ground floor, which had -formerly served as a prison, Monsieur and Madame Bernier, the -concierges, were confined. Monsieur Robert Darzac led us into the -modern part of the chateau by a large door, protected by a -projecting awning--a "marquise" as it is called. Rouletabille, -who had resigned the horse and the cab to the care of a servant, -never took his eyes off Monsieur Darzac. I followed his look and -perceived that it was directed solely towards the gloved hands of -the Sorbonne professor. When we were in a tiny sitting-room -fitted with old furniture, Monsieur Darzac turned to Rouletabille -and said sharply: - -"What do you want?" - -The reporter answered in an equally sharp tone: - -"To shake you by the hand." - -Darzac shrank back. - -"What does that mean?" - -Evidently he understood, what I also understood, that my friend -suspected him of the abominable attempt on the life of -Mademoiselle Stangerson. The impression of the blood-stained hand -on the walls of The Yellow Room was in his mind. I looked at the -man closely. His haughty face with its expression ordinarily so -straightforward was at this moment strangely troubled. He held out -his right hand and, referring to me, said: - -"As you are a friend of Monsieur Sainclair who has rendered me -invaluable services in a just cause, monsieur, I see no reason for -refusing you my hand--" - -Rouletabille did not take the extended hand. Lying with the utmost -audacity, he said: - -"Monsieur, I have lived several years in Russia, where I have -acquired the habit of never taking any but an ungloved hand." - -I thought that the Sorbonne professor would express his anger openly, -but, on the contrary, by a visibly violent effort, he calmed himself, -took off his gloves, and showed his hands; they were unmarked by any -cicatrix. - -"Are you satisfied?" - -"No!" replied Rouletabille. "My dear friend," he said, turning -to me, "I am obliged to ask you to leave us alone for a moment." - -I bowed and retired; stupefied by what I had seen and heard. I -could not understand why Monsieur Robert Darzac had not already -shown the door to my impertinent, insulting, and stupid friend. -I was angry myself with Rouletabille at that moment, for his -suspicions, which had led to this scene of the gloves. - - -For some twenty minutes I walked about in front of the chateau, -trying vainly to link together the different events of the day. -What was in Rouletabille's mind? Was it possible that he thought -Monsieur Robert Darzac to be the murderer? How could it be -thought that this man, who was to have married Mademoiselle -Stangerson in the course of a few days, had introduced himself -into The Yellow Room to assassinate his fiancee? I could find no -explanation as to how the murderer had been able to leave The Yellow -Room; and so long as that mystery, which appeared to me so -inexplicable, remained unexplained, I thought it was the duty of -all of us to refrain from suspecting anybody. But, then, that -seemingly senseless phrase--"The presbytery has lost nothing of its -charm, nor the garden its brightness"--still rang in my ears. What -did it mean? I was eager to rejoin Rouletabille and question him. - -At that moment the young man came out of the chateau in the company -of Monsieur Robert Darzac, and, extraordinary to relate, I saw, at -a glance, that they were the best of friends. "We are going to The -Yellow Room. Come with us," Rouletabille said to me. "You know, -my dear boy, I am going to keep you with me all day. We'll breakfast -together somewhere about here--" - -"You'll breakfast with me, here, gentlemen--" - -"No, thanks," replied the young man. "We shall breakfast at the -Donjon Inn." - -"You'll fare very badly there; you'll not find anything--" - -"Do you think so? Well, I hope to find something there," replied -Rouletabille. "After breakfast, we'll set to work again. I'll -write my article and if you'll be so good as to take it to the -office for me--" - -"Won't you come back with me to Paris?" - -"No; I shall remain here." - -I turned towards Rouletabille. He spoke quite seriously, and -Monsieur Robert Darzac did not appear to be in the least degree -surprised. - -We were passing by the donjon and heard wailing voices. Rouletabille -asked: - -"Why have these people been arrested?" - -"It is a little my fault," said Monsieur Darzac. "I happened to -remark to the examining magistrate yesterday that it was inexplicable -that the concierges had had time to hear the revolver shots, to dress -themselves, and to cover so great a distance as that which lies -between their lodge and the pavilion, in the space of two minutes; -for not more than that interval of time had elapsed after the firing -of the shots when they were met by Daddy Jacques." - -"That was suspicious evidently," acquiesced Rouletabille. "And -were they dressed?" - -"That is what is so incredible--they were dressed--completely ---not one part of their costume wanting. The woman wore sabots, -but the man had on laced boots. Now they assert that they went to -bed at half-past nine. On arriving this morning, the examining -magistrate brought with him from Paris a revolver of the same calibre -as that found in the room (for he couldn't use the one held for -evidence), and made his Registrar fire two shots in The Yellow Room -while the doors and windows were closed. We were with him in the -lodge of the concierges, and yet we heard nothing, not a sound. -The concierges have lied, of that there can be no doubt. They must -have been already waiting, not far from the pavilion, waiting for -something! Certainly they are not to be accused of being the authors -of the crime, but their complicity is not improbable. That was why -Monsieur de Marquet had them arrested at once." - -"If they had been accomplices," said Rouletabille, "they would not -have been there at all. When people throw themselves into the arms -of justice with the proofs of complicity on them, you can be sure -they are not accomplices. I don't believe there are any accomplices -in this affair." - -"Then, why were they abroad at midnight? Why don't they say?" - -"They have certainly some reason for their silence. What that -reason is, has to be found out; for, even if they are not -accomplices, it may be of importance. Everything that took place -on such a night is important." - -We had crossed an old bridge thrown over the Douve and were entering -the part of the park called the Oak Grove, The oaks here were -centuries old. Autumn had already shrivelled their tawny leaves, -and their high branches, black and contorted, looked like horrid -heads of hair, mingled with quaint reptiles such as the ancient -sculptors have made on the head of Medusa. This place, which -Mademoiselle found cheerful and in which she lived in the summer -season, appeared to us as sad and funereal now. The soil was black -and muddy from the recent rains and the rotting of the fallen -leaves; the trunks of the trees were black and the sky above us -was now, as if in mourning, charged with great, heavy clouds. - -And it was in this sombre and desolate retreat that we saw the -white walls of the pavilion as we approached. A queer-looking -building without a window visible on the side by which we neared -it. A little door alone marked the entrance to it. It might -have passed for a tomb, a vast mausoleum in the midst of a thick -forest. As we came nearer, we were able to make out its -disposition. The building obtained all the light it needed from -the south, that is to say, from the open country. The little door -closed on the park. Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson must -have found it an ideal seclusion for their work and their dreams. - -___________________________________________________ - ditch | -________________________________________________ | - enclosing wall || || | | - || || | | - ||___ 1 |d | - ||bed| || |i | - PARK ||___|________|| |t | - ||:::::| 4 || |c | - ||::5::| || 2 |h | -oo oo ||:: ::|___ _|| | | -Traces oo || || | | - of oo oo oo | | - Footsteps|| || | | - || || | | - || 3 ||___________| |______________ - || || 6 | ditch - ||____ ____||___________|_________________ - door enclosing wall - - -Here is the ground plan of the pavilion. It had a ground-floor -which was reached by a few steps, and above it was an attic, with -which we need not concern ourselves. The plan of the ground-floor -only, sketched roughly, is what I here submit to the reader. - -1. The Yellow Room, with its one window and its one door opening - into the laboratory. - -2. Laboratory, with its two large, barred windows and its doors, - one serving for the vestibule, the other for The Yellow Room. - -3. Vestibule, with its unbarred window and door opening into the - park. - -4. Lavatory. - -5. Stairs leading to the attic. - -6. Large and the only chimney in the pavilion, serving for the - experiments of the laboratory. - -The plan was drawn by Rouletabille, and I assured myself that there -was not a line in it that was wanting to help to the solution of -the problem then set before the police. With the lines of this -plan and the description of its parts before them, my readers will -know as much as Rouletabille knew when he entered the pavilion for -the first time. With him they may now ask: How did the murderer -escape from The Yellow Room? Before mounting the three steps -leading up to the door of the pavilion, Rouletabille stopped and -asked Monsieur Darzac point blank: - -"What was the motive for the crime?" - -"Speaking for myself, Monsieur, there can be no doubt on the -matter," said Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance, greatly distressed. -"The nails of the fingers, the deep scratches on the chest and throat -of Mademoiselle Stangerson show that the wretch who attacked her -attempted to commit a frightful crime. The medical experts who -examined these traces yesterday affirm that they were made by the -same hand as that which left its red imprint on the wall; an enormous -hand, Monsieur, much too large to go into my gloves," he added with -an indefinable smile. - -"Could not that blood-stained hand," I interrupted, "have been the -hand of Mademoiselle Stangerson who, in the moment of falling, had -pressed it against the wall, and, in slipping, enlarged the -impression?" - -"There was not a drop of blood on either of her hands when she was -lifted up," replied Monsieur Darzac. - -"We are now sure," said I, "that it was Mademoiselle Stangerson -who was armed with Daddy Jacques's revolver, since she wounded the -hand of the murderer. She was in fear, then, of somebody or -something." - -"Probably." - -"Do you suspect anybody?" - -"No," replied Monsieur Darzac, looking at Rouletabille. Rouletabille -then said to me: - -"You must know, my friend, that the inquiry is a little more advanced -than Monsieur de Marquet has chosen to tell us. He not only knows -that Mademoiselle Stangerson defended herself with the revolver, -but he knows what the weapon was that was used to attack her. -Monsieur Darzac tells me it was a mutton-bone. Why is Monsieur de -Marquet surrounding this mutton-bone with so much mystery? No doubt -for the purpose of facilitating the inquiries of the agents of the -Surete? He imagines, perhaps, that the owner of this instrument of -crime, the most terrible invented, is going to be found amongst those -who are well-known in the slums of Paris who use it. But who can -ever say what passes through the brain of an examining magistrate?" -Rouletabille added with contemptuous irony. - -"Has a mutton-bone been found in The Yellow Room?" I asked him. - -"Yes, Monsieur," said Robert Darzac, "at the foot of the bed; but I -beg of you not to say anything about it." (I made a gesture of -assent.) "It was an enormous mutton-bone, the top of which, or -rather the joint, was still red with the blood of the frightful -wound. It was an old bone, which may, according to appearances, -have served in other crimes. That's what Monsieur de Marquet -thinks. He has had it sent to the municipal laboratory at Paris to -be analysed. In fact, he thinks he has detected on it, not only -the blood of the last victim, but other stains of dried blood, -evidences of previous crimes." - -"A mutton-bone in the hand of a skilled assassin is a frightful -weapon," said Rouletabille, "a more certain weapon than a heavy -hammer." - -"The scoundrel has proved it to be so," said Monsieur Robert -Darzac, sadly. "The joint of the bone found exactly fits the -wound inflicted. - -"My belief is that the wound would have been mortal, if the murderer's -blow had not been arrested in the act by Mademoiselle Stangerson's -revolver. Wounded in the hand, he dropped the mutton-bone and fled. -Unfortunately, the blow had been already given, and Mademoiselle was -stunned after having been nearly strangled. If she had succeeded in -wounding the man with the first shot of the revolver, she would, -doubtless, have escaped the blow with the bone. But she had -certainly employed her revolver too late; the first shot deviated and -lodged in the ceiling; it was the second only that took effect." - -Having said this, Monsieur Darzac knocked at the door of the pavilion. -I must confess to feeling a strong impatience to reach the spot where -the crime had been committed. It was some time before the door was -opened by a man whom I at once recognised as Daddy Jacques. - -He appeared to be well over sixty years of age. He had a long white -beard and white hair, on which he wore a flat Basque cap. He was -dressed in a complete suit of chestnut-coloured velveteen, worn at -the sides; sabots were on his feet. He had rather a waspish-looking -face, the expression of which lightened, however, as soon as he saw -Monsieur Darzac. - -"Friends," said our guide. "Nobody in the pavilion, Daddy Jacques?" - -"I ought not to allow anybody to enter, Monsieur Robert, but of -course the order does not apply to you. These gentlemen of justice -have seen everything there is to be seen, and made enough drawings, -and drawn up enough reports--" - -"Excuse me, Monsieur Jacques, one question before anything else," -said Rouletabille. - -"What is it, young man? If I can answer it--" - -"Did your mistress wear her hair in bands, that evening? You know -what I mean--over her forehead?" - -"No, young man. My mistress never wore her hair in the way you -suggest, neither on that day nor on any other. She had her hair -drawn up, as usual, so that her beautiful forehead could be seen, -pure as that of an unborn child!" - -Rouletabille grunted and set to work examining the door, finding -that it fastened itself automatically. He satisfied himself that -it could never remain open and needed a key to open it. Then we -entered the vestibule, a small, well-lit room paved with square -red tiles. - -"Ah! This is the window by which the murderer escaped!" said -Rouletabille. - -"So they keep on saying, monsieur, so they keep on saying! But if -he had gone off that way, we should have been sure to have seen him. -We are not blind, neither Monsieur Stangerson nor me, nor the -concierges who are in prison. Why have they not put me in prison, -too, on account of my revolver?" - -Rouletabille had already opened the window and was examining the -shutters. - -"Were these closed at the time of the crime?" - -"And fastened with the iron catch inside," said Daddy Jacques, "and -I am quite sure that the murderer did not get out that way." - -"Are there any blood stains?" - -"Yes, on the stones outside; but blood of what?" - -"Ah!" said Rouletabille, "there are footmarks visible on the path ---the ground was very moist. I will look into that presently." - -"Nonsense!" interrupted Daddy Jacques; "the murderer did not go -that way." - -"Which way did he go, then?" - -"How do I know?" - -Rouletabille looked at everything, smelled everything. He went down -on his knees and rapidly examined every one of the paving tiles. -Daddy Jacques went on: - -"Ah!--you can't find anything, monsieur. Nothing has been found. -And now it is all dirty; too many persons have tramped over it. -They wouldn't let me wash it, but on the day of the crime I had -washed the floor thoroughly, and if the murderer had crossed it with -his hobnailed boots, I should not have failed to see where he had -been; he has left marks enough in Mademoiselle's chamber." - -Rouletabille rose. - -"When was the last time you washed these tiles?" he asked, and he -fixed on Daddy Jacques a most searching look. - -"Why--as I told you--on the day of the crime, towards half-past -five--while Mademoiselle and her father were taking a little walk -before dinner, here in this room: they had dined in the laboratory. -The next day, the examining magistrate came and saw all the marks -there were on the floor as plainly as if they had been made with -ink on white paper. Well, neither in the laboratory nor in the -vestibule, which were both as clean as a new pin, were there any -traces of a man's footmarks. Since they have been found near this -window outside, he must have made his way through the ceiling of -The Yellow Room into the attic, then cut his way through the roof -and dropped to the ground outside the vestibule window. But ---there's no hole, neither in the ceiling of The Yellow Room nor -in the roof of my attic--that's absolutely certain! So you see -we know nothing--nothing! And nothing will ever be known! It's -a mystery of the Devil's own making." - -Rouletabille went down upon his knees again almost in front of a -small lavatory at the back of the vestibule. In that position he -remained for about a minute. - -"Well?" I asked him when he got up. - -"Oh! nothing very important,--a drop of blood," he replied, -turning towards Daddy Jacques as he spoke. "While you were washing -the laboratory and this vestibule, was the vestibule window open?" -he asked. - -"No, Monsieur, it was closed; but after I had done washing the floor, -I lit some charcoal for Monsieur in the laboratory furnace, and, as -I lit it with old newspapers, it smoked, so I opened both the windows -in the laboratory and this one, to make a current of air; then I shut -those in the laboratory and left this one open when I went out. When -I returned to the pavilion, this window had been closed and Monsieur -and Mademoiselle were already at work in the laboratory." - -"Monsieur or Mademoiselle Stangerson had, no doubt, shut it?" - -"No doubt." - -"You did not ask them?" - -After a close scrutiny of the little lavatory and of the staircase -leading up to the attic, Rouletabille--to whom we seemed no longer -to exist--entered the laboratory. I followed him. It was, I -confess, in a state of great excitement. Robert Darzac lost none -of my friend's movements. As for me, my eyes were drawn at once to -the door of The Yellow Room. It was closed and, as I immediately -saw, partially shattered and out of commission. - -My friend, who went about his work methodically, silently studied -the room in which we were. It was large and well-lighted. Two -big windows--almost bays--were protected by strong iron bars and -looked out upon a wide extent of country. Through an opening in -the forest, they commanded a wonderful view through the length of -the valley and across the plain to the large town which could be -clearly seen in fair weather. To-day, however, a mist hung over -the ground--and blood in that room! - -The whole of one side of the laboratory was taken up with a large -chimney, crucibles, ovens, and such implements as are needed for -chemical experiments; tables, loaded with phials, papers, reports, -an electrical machine,--an apparatus, as Monsieur Darzac informed -me, employed by Professor Stangerson to demonstrate the Dissociation -of Matter under the action of solar light--and other scientific -implements. - -Along the walls were cabinets, plain or glass-fronted, through which -were visible microscopes, special photographic apparatus, and a large -quantity of crystals. - -Rouletabille, who was ferreting in the chimney, put his fingers into -one of the crucibles. Suddenly he drew himself up, and held up a -piece of half-consumed paper in his hand. He stepped up to where -we were talking by one of the windows. - -"Keep that for us, Monsieur Darzac," he said. - -I bent over the piece of scorched paper which Monsieur Darzac took -from the hand of Rouletabille, and read distinctly the only words -that remained legible: - -"Presbytery--lost nothing--charm, nor the gar--its brightness." - -Twice since the morning these same meaningless words had struck -me, and, for the second time, I saw that they produced on the -Sorbonne professor the same paralysing effect. Monsieur Darzac's -first anxiety showed itself when he turned his eyes in the direction -of Daddy Jacques. But, occupied as he was at another window, he -had seen nothing. Then tremblingly opening his pocket-book he put -the piece of paper into it, sighing: "My God!" - -During this time, Rouletabille had mounted into the opening of the -fire-grate--that is to say, he had got upon the bricks of a furnace ---and was attentively examining the chimney, which grew narrower -towards the top, the outlet from it being closed with sheets of -iron, fastened into the brickwork, through which passed three small -chimneys. - -"Impossible to get out that way," he said, jumping back into the -laboratory. "Besides, even if he had tried to do it, he would have -brought all that ironwork down to the ground. No, no; it is not -on that side we have to search." - -Rouletabille next examined the furniture and opened the doors of the -cabinet. Then he came to the windows, through which he declared no -one could possibly have passed. At the second window he found Daddy -Jacques in contemplation. - -"Well, Daddy Jacques," he said, "what are you looking at?" - -"That policeman who is always going round and round the lake. -Another of those fellows who think they can see better than anybody -else!" - -"You don't know Frederic Larsan, Daddy Jacques, or you wouldn't -speak of him in that way," said Rouletabille in a melancholy tone. -"If there is anyone who will find the murderer, it will be he." -And Rouletabille heaved a deep sigh. - -"Before they find him, they will have to learn how they lost him," -said Daddy Jacques, stolidly. - -At length we reached the door of The Yellow Room itself. - -"There is the door behind which some terrible scene took place," -said Rouletabille, with a solemnity which, under any other -circumstances, would have been comical. - - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -In Which Rouletabille Sets Out on an Expedition Under the Bed - - -Rouletabille having pushed open the door of The Yellow Room paused -on the threshold saying, with an emotion which I only later -understood, "Ah, the perfume of the lady in black!" - -The chamber was dark. Daddy Jacques was about to open the blinds -when Rouletabille stopped him. - -"Did not the tragedy take place in complete darkness?" he asked. - -"No, young man, I don't think so. Mademoiselle always had a -nightlight on her table, and I lit it every evening before she went -to bed. I was a sort of chambermaid, you must understand, when the -evening came. The real chambermaid did not come here much before -the morning. Mademoiselle worked late--far into the night." - -"Where did the table with the night-light stand,--far from the -bed?" - -"Some way from the bed." - -"Can you light the burner now?" - -"The lamp is broken and the oil that was in it was spilled when the -table was upset. All the rest of the things in the room remain just -as they were. I have only to open the blinds for you to see." - -"Wait." - -Rouletabille went back into the laboratory, closed the shutters of -the two windows and the door of the vestibule. - -When we were in complete darkness, he lit a wax vesta, and asked -Daddy Jacques to move to the middle of the chamber with it to the -place where the night-light was burning that night. - -Daddy Jacques who was in his stockings--he usually left his sabots -in the vestibule--entered The Yellow Room with his bit of a vesta. -We vaguely distinguished objects overthrown on the floor, a bed in -one corner, and, in front of us, to the left, the gleam of a -looking-glass hanging on the wall, near to the bed. - -"That will do!--you may now open the blinds," said Rouletabille. - -"Don't come any further," Daddy Jacques begged, "you may make marks -with your boots, and nothing must be deranged; it's an idea of the -magistrate's--though he has nothing more to do here." - -And he pushed open the shutter. The pale daylight entered from -without, throwing a sinister light on the saffron-coloured walls. -The floor--for though the laboratory and the vestibule were tiled, -The Yellow Room had a flooring of wood--was covered with a single -yellow mat which was large enough to cover nearly the whole room, -under the bed and under the dressing-table--the only piece of -furniture that remained upright. The centre round table, the -night-table and two chairs had been overturned. These did not -prevent a large stain of blood being visible on the mat, made, as -Daddy Jacques informed us, by the blood which had flowed from the -wound on Mademoiselle Stangerson's forehead. Besides these stains, -drops of blood had fallen in all directions, in line with the visible -traces of the footsteps--large and black--of the murderer. -Everything led to the presumption that these drops of blood had -fallen from the wound of the man who had, for a moment, placed his -red hand on the wall. There were other traces of the same hand on -the wall, but much less distinct. - -"See!--see this blood on the wall!" I could not help exclaiming. -"The man who pressed his hand so heavily upon it in the darkness -must certainly have thought that he was pushing at a door! That's -why he pressed on it so hard, leaving on the yellow paper the -terrible evidence. I don't think there are many hands in the world -of that sort. It is big and strong and the fingers are nearly all -one as long as the other! The thumb is wanting and we have only -the mark of the palm; but if we follow the trace of the hand," I -continued, "we see that, after leaving its imprint on the wall, the -touch sought the door, found it, and then felt for the lock--" - -"No doubt," interrupted Rouletabille, chuckling,--"only there is -no blood, either on the lock or on the bolt!" - -"What does that prove?" I rejoined with a good sense of which I was -proud; "he might have opened the lock with his left hand, which -would have been quite natural, his right hand being wounded." - -"He didn't open it at all!" Daddy Jacques again exclaimed. "We are -not fools; and there were four of us when we burst open the door!" - -"What a queer hand!--Look what a queer hand it is!" I said. - -"It is a very natural hand," said Rouletabille, "of which the shape -has been deformed by its having slipped on the wall. The man dried -his hand on the wall. He must be a man about five feet eight in -height." - -"How do you come at that?" - -"By the height of the marks on the wall." - -My friend next occupied himself with the mark of the bullet in the -wall. It was a round hole. - -"This ball was fired straight, not from above, and consequently, not -from below." - -Rouletabille went back to the door and carefully examined the lock -and the bolt, satisfying himself that the door had certainly been -burst open from the outside, and, further, that the key had been -found in the lock on the inside of the chamber. He finally -satisfied himself that with the key in the lock, the door could not -possibly be opened from without with another key. Having made sure -of all these details, he let fall these words: "That's better!" ---Then sitting down on the ground, he hastily took off his boots -and, in his socks, went into the room. - -The first thing he did was to examine minutely the overturned -furniture. We watched him in silence. - -"Young fellow, you are giving yourself a great deal of trouble," -said Daddy Jacques ironically. - -Rouletabille raised his head and said: - -"You have spoken the simple truth, Daddy Jacques; your mistress did -not have her hair in bands that evening. I was a donkey to have -believed she did." - -Then, with the suppleness of a serpent, he slipped under the bed. -Presently we heard him ask: - -"At what time, Monsieur Jacques, did Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson arrive at the laboratory?" - -"At six o'clock." - -The voice of Rouletabille continued: - -"Yes,--he's been under here,--that's certain; in fact, there was -no where else where he could have hidden himself. Here, too, are -the marks of his hobnails. When you entered--all four of you--did -you look under the bed?" - -"At once,--we drew it right out of its place--" - -"And between the mattresses?" - -"There was only one on the bed, and on that Mademoiselle was placed; -and Monsieur Stangerson and the concierge immediately carried it -into the laboratory. Under the mattress there was nothing but the -metal netting, which could not conceal anything or anybody. -Remember, monsieur, that there were four of us and we couldn't fail -to see everything--the chamber is so small and scantily furnished, -and all was locked behind in the pavilion." - -I ventured on a hypothesis: - -"Perhaps he got away with the mattress--in the mattress!--Anything -is possible, in the face of such a mystery! In their distress of -mind Monsieur Stangerson and the concierge may not have noticed they -were bearing a double weight; especially if the concierge were an -accomplice! I throw out this hypothesis for what it is worth, but -it explains many things,--and particularly the fact that neither -the laboratory nor the vestibule bear any traces of the footmarks -found in the room. If, in carrying Mademoiselle on the mattress -from the laboratory of the chateau, they rested for a moment, there -might have been an opportunity for the man in it to escape. - -"And then?" asked Rouletabille, deliberately laughing under the bed. - -I felt rather vexed and replied: - -"I don't know,--but anything appears possible"-- - -"The examining magistrate had the same idea, monsieur," said Daddy -Jacques, "and he carefully examined the mattress. He was obliged -to laugh at the idea, monsieur, as your friend is doing now,--for -whoever heard of a mattress having a double bottom?" - -I was myself obliged to laugh, on seeing that what I had said was -absurd; but in an affair like this one hardly knows where an -absurdity begins or ends. - -My friend alone seemed able to talk intelligently. He called out -from under the bed. - -"The mat here has been moved out of place,--who did it?" - -"We did, monsieur," explained Daddy Jacques. "When we could not -find the assassin, we asked ourselves whether there was not some -hole in the floor--" - -"There is not," replied Rouletabille. "Is there a cellar?" - -"No, there's no cellar. But that has not stopped our searching, and -has not prevented the examining magistrate and his Registrar from -studying the floor plank by plank, as if there had been a cellar -under it." - -The reporter then reappeared. His eyes were sparkling and his -nostrils quivered. He remained on his hands and knees. He could -not be better likened than to an admirable sporting dog on the -scent of some unusual game. And, indeed, he was scenting the steps -of a man,--the man whom he has sworn to report to his master, the -manager of the "Epoque." It must not be forgotten that Rouletabille -was first and last a journalist. - -Thus, on his hands and knees, he made his way to the four corners -of the room, so to speak, sniffing and going round everything ---everything that we could see, which was not much, and everything -that we could not see, which must have been infinite. - -The toilette table was a simple table standing on four legs; there -was nothing about it by which it could possibly be changed into a -temporary hiding-place. There was not a closet or cupboard. -Mademoiselle Stangerson kept her wardrobe at the chateau. - -Rouletabille literally passed his nose and hands along the walls, -constructed of solid brickwork. When he had finished with the -walls, and passed his agile fingers over every portion of the -yellow paper covering them, he reached to the ceiling, which he was -able to touch by mounting on a chair placed on the toilette table, -and by moving this ingeniously constructed stage from place to place -he examined every foot of it. When he had finished his scrutiny of -the ceiling, where he carefully examined the hole made by the second -bullet, he approached the window, and, once more, examined the iron -bars and blinds, all of which were solid and intact. At last, he -gave a grunt of satisfaction and declared "Now I am at ease!" - -"Well,--do you believe that the poor dear young lady was shut up -when she was being murdered--when she cried out for help?" wailed -Daddy Jacques. - -"Yes," said the young reporter, drying his forehead, "The Yellow -Room was as tightly shut as an iron safe." - -"That," I said, "is why this mystery is the most surprising I know. -Edgar Allan Poe, in 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' invented -nothing like it. The place of that crime was sufficiently closed -to prevent the escape of a man; but there was that window through -which the monkey, the perpetrator of the murder, could slip away! -But here, there can be no question of an opening of any sort. The -door was fastened, and through the window blinds, secure as they -were, not even a fly could enter or get out." - -"True, true," assented Rouletabille as he kept on drying his -forehead, which seemed to be perspiring less from his recent bodily -exertion than from his mental agitation. "Indeed, it's a great, a -beautiful, and a very curious mystery." - -"The Bete du bon Dieu," muttered Daddy Jacques, "the Bete du bon -Dieu herself, if she had committed the crime, could not have escaped. -Listen! Do you hear it? Hush!" - -Daddy Jacques made us a sign to keep quiet and, stretching his arm -towards the wall nearest the forest, listened to something which we -could not hear. - -"It's answering," he said at length. "I must kill it. It is too -wicked, but it's the Bete du bon Dieu, and, every night, it goes to -pray on the tomb of Sainte-Genevieve and nobody dares to touch her, -for fear that Mother Angenoux should cast an evil spell on them." - -"How big is the Bete du bon Dieu?" - -"Nearly as big as a small retriever,--a monster, I tell you. Ah! ---I have asked myself more than once whether it was not her that -took our poor Mademoiselle by the throat with her claws. But the -Bete du bon Dieu does not wear hobnailed boots, nor fire revolvers, -nor has she a hand like that!" exclaimed Daddy Jacques, again -pointing out to us the red mark on the wall. "Besides, we should -have seen her as well as we would have seen a man--" - -"Evidently," I said. "Before we had seen this Yellow Room, I had -also asked myself whether the cat of Mother Angenoux--" - -"You also!" cried Rouletabille. - -"Didn't you?" I asked. - -"Not for a moment. After reading the article in the 'Matin,' I knew -that a cat had nothing to do with the matter. But I swear now that -a frightful tragedy has been enacted here. You say nothing about -the Basque cap, or the handkerchief, found here, Daddy Jacques?" - -"Of course, the magistrate has taken them," the old man answered, -hesitatingly. - -"I haven't seen either the handkerchief or the cap, yet I can tell -you how they are made," the reporter said to him gravely. - -"Oh, you are very clever," said Daddy Jacques, coughing and -embarrassed. - -"The handkerchief is a large one, blue with red stripes and the cap -is an old Basque cap, like the one you are wearing now." - -"You are a wizard!" said Daddy Jacques, trying to laugh and not -quite succeeding. "How do you know that the handkerchief is blue -with red stripes?" - -"Because, if it had not been blue with red stripes, it would not -have been found at all." - -Without giving any further attention to Daddy Jacques, my friend -took a piece of paper from his pocket, and taking out a pair of -scissors, bent over the footprints. Placing the paper over one -of them he began to cut. In a short time he had made a perfect -pattern which he handed to me, begging me not to lose it. - -He then returned to the window and, pointing to the figure of -Frederic Larsan, who had not quitted the side of the lake, asked -Daddy Jacques whether the detective had, like himself, been working -in The Yellow Room? - -"No," replied Robert Darzac, who, since Rouletabille had handed -him the piece of scorched paper, had not uttered a word, "He pretends -that he does not need to examine The Yellow Room. He says that the -murderer made his escape from it in quite a natural way, and that -he will, this evening, explain how he did it." - -As he listened to what Monsieur Darzac had to say, Rouletabille -turned pale. - -"Has Frederic Larsan found out the truth, which I can only guess -at?" he murmured. "He is very clever--very clever--and I admire -him. But what we have to do to-day is something more than the work -of a policeman, something quite different from the teachings of -experience. We have to take hold of our reason by the right end." - -The reporter rushed into the open air, agitated by the thought that -the great and famous Fred might anticipate him in the solution of -the problem of The Yellow Room. - -I managed to reach him on the threshold of the pavilion. "Calm -yourself, my dear fellow," I said. "Aren't you satisfied?" - -"Yes," he confessed to me, with a deep sigh. "I am quite satisfied. -I have discovered many things." - -"Moral or material?" - -"Several moral,--one material. This, for example." - -And rapidly he drew from his waistcoat pocket a piece of paper in -which he had placed a light-coloured hair from a woman's head. - - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -The Examining Magistrate Questions Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -Two minutes later, as Rouletabille was bending over the footprints -discovered in the park, under the window of the vestibule, a man, -evidently a servant at the chateau, came towards us rapidly and -called out to Monsieur Darzac then coming out of the pavilion: - -"Monsieur Robert, the magistrate, you know, is questioning -Mademoiselle." - -Monsieur Darzac uttered a muttered excuse to us and set off running -towards the chateau, the man running after him. - -"If the corpse can speak," I said, "it would be interesting to be -there." - -"We must know," said my friend. "Let's go to the chateau." And he -drew me with him. But, at the chateau, a gendarme placed in the -vestibule denied us admission up the staircase of the first floor. -We were obliged to wait down stairs. - -This is what passed in the chamber of the victim while we were -waiting below. - -The family doctor, finding that Mademoiselle Stangerson was much -better, but fearing a relapse which would no longer permit of her -being questioned, had thought it his duty to inform the examining -magistrate of this, who decided to proceed immediately with a brief -examination. At this examination, the Registrar, Monsieur -Stangerson, and the doctor were present. Later, I obtained the text -of the report of the examination, and I give it here, in all its -legal dryness: - -"Question. Are you able, mademoiselle, without too much fatiguing -yourself, to give some necessary details of the frightful attack of -which you have been the victim? - -"Answer. I feel much better, monsieur, and I will tell you all I -know. When I entered my chamber I did not notice anything unusual -there. - -"Q. Excuse me, mademoiselle,--if you will allow me, I will ask you -some questions and you will answer them. That will fatigue you less -than making a long recital. - -"A. Do so, monsieur. - -"Q. What did you do on that day?--I want you to be as minute and -precise as possible. I wish to know all you did that day, if it is -not asking too much of you. - -"A. I rose late, at ten o'clock, for my father and I had returned -home late on the night previously, having been to dinner at the -reception given by the President of the Republic, in honour of the -Academy of Science of Philadelphia. When I left my chamber, at -half-past ten, my father was already at work in the laboratory. We -worked together till midday. We then took half-an-hour's walk in -the park, as we were accustomed to do, before breakfasting at the -chateau. After breakfast, we took another walk for half an hour, -and then returned to the laboratory. There we found my chambermaid, -who had come to set my room in order. I went into The Yellow Room -to give her some slight orders and she directly afterwards left the -pavilion, and I resumed my work with my father. At five o'clock, -we again went for a walk in the park and afterward had tea. - -"Q. Before leaving the pavilion at five o'clock, did you go into your -chamber? - -"A. No, monsieur, my father went into it, at my request to bring -me my hat. - -"Q. And he found nothing suspicious there? - -"A. Evidently no, monsieur. - -"Q. It is, then, almost certain that the murderer was not yet -concealed under the bed. When you went out, was the door of the -room locked? - -"A. No, there was no reason for locking it. - -"Q. You were absent from the pavilion some length of time, Monsieur -Stangerson and you? - -"A. About an hour. - -"Q. It was during that hour, no doubt, that the murderer got into -the pavilion. But how? Nobody knows. Footmarks have been found -in the park, leading away from the window of the vestibule, but none -has been found going towards it. Did you notice whether the -vestibule window was open when you went out? - -"A. I don't remember. - -"Monsieur Stangerson. It was closed. - -"Q. And when you returned? - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson. I did not notice. - -"M. Stangerson. It was still closed. I remember remarking aloud: -'Daddy Jacques must surely have opened it while we were away.' - -"Q. Strange!--Do you recollect, Monsieur Stangerson, if during -your absence, and before going out, he had opened it? You returned -to the laboratory at six o'clock and resumed work? - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson. Yes, monsieur. - -"Q. And you did not leave the laboratory from that hour up to the -moment when you entered your chamber? - -"M. Stangerson. Neither my daughter nor I, monsieur. We were -engaged on work that was pressing, and we lost not a moment, ---neglecting everything else on that account. - -"Q. Did you dine in the laboratory? - -"A. For that reason. - -"Q. Are you accustomed to dine in the laboratory? - -"A. We rarely dine there. - -"Q. Could the murderer have known that you would dine there that -evening? - -"M. Stangerson. Good Heavens!--I think not. It was only when -we returned to the pavilion at six o'clock, that we decided, my -daughter and I, to dine there. At that moment I was spoken to by -my gamekeeper, who detained me a moment, to ask me to accompany -him on an urgent tour of inspection in a part of the woods which I -had decided to thin. I put this off until the next day, and begged -him, as he was going by the chateau, to tell the steward that we -should dine in the laboratory. He left me, to execute the errand -and I rejoined my daughter, who was already at work. - -"Q. At what hour, mademoiselle, did you go to your chamber while -your father continued to work there? - -"A. At midnight. - -"Q. Did Daddy Jacques enter The Yellow Room in the course of -the evening? - -"A. To shut the blinds and light the night-light. - -"Q. He saw nothing suspicious? - -"A. He would have told us if he had seen. Daddy Jacques is an -honest man and very attached to me. - -"Q. You affirm, Monsieur Stangerson, that Daddy Jacques remained -with you all the time you were in the laboratory? - -"M. Stangerson. I am sure of it. I have no doubt of that. - -"Q. When you entered your chamber, mademoiselle, you immediately -shut the door and locked and bolted it? That was taking unusual -precautions, knowing that your father and your servant were there? -Were you in fear of something, then? - -"A. My father would be returning to the chateau and Daddy Jacques -would be going to his bed. And, in fact, I did fear something. - -"Q. You were so much in fear of something that you borrowed Daddy -Jacques's revolver without telling him you had done so? - -"A. That is true. I did not wish to alarm anybody,--the more, -because my fears might have proved to have been foolish. - -"Q. What was it you feared? - -"A. I hardly know how to tell you. For several nights, I seemed -to hear, both in the park and out of the park, round the pavilion, -unusual sounds, sometimes footsteps, at other times the cracking -of branches. The night before the attack on me, when I did not -get to bed before three o'clock in the morning, on our return from -the Elysee, I stood for a moment before my window, and I felt sure -I saw shadows. - -"Q. How many? - -"A. Two. They moved round the lake,--then the moon became clouded -and I lost sight of them. At this time of the season, every year, I -have generally returned to my apartment in the chateau for the -winter; but this year I said to myself that I would not quit the -pavilion before my father had finished the resume of his works on -the 'Dissociation of Matter' for the Academy. I did not wish that -that important work, which was to have been finished in the course -of a few days, should be delayed by a change in our daily habit. -You can well understand that I did not wish to speak of my childish -fears to my father, nor did I say anything to Daddy Jacques who, I -knew, would not have been able to hold his tongue. Knowing that he -had a revolver in his room, I took advantage of his absence and -borrowed it, placing it in the drawer of my night-table. - -"Q. You know of no enemies you have? - -"A. None. - -"Q. You understand, mademoiselle, that these precautions are - calculated to cause surprise? - -"M. Stangerson. Evidently, my child, such precautions are very - surprising. - -"A. No;--because I have told you that I had been uneasy for two - nights. - -"M. Stangerson. You ought to have told me of that! This misfortune - would have been avoided. - -"Q. The door of The Yellow Room locked, did you go to bed? - -"A. Yes, and, being very tired, I at once went to sleep. - -"Q. The night-light was still burning? - -"A. Yes, but it gave a very feeble light. - -"Q. Then, mademoiselle, tell us what happened. - -"A. I do not know whether I had been long asleep, but suddenly I - awoke--and uttered a loud cry. - -"M. Stangerson. Yes--a horrible cry--'Murder!'--It still rings - in my ears. - -"Q. You uttered a loud cry? - -"A. A man was in my chamber. He sprang at me and tried to strangle - me. I was nearly stifled when suddenly I was able to reach the - drawer of my night-table and grasp the revolver which I had - placed in it. At that moment the man had forced me to the foot - of my bed and brandished in over my head a sort of mace. But - I had fired. He immediately struck a terrible blow at my head. - All that, monsieur, passed more rapidly than I can tell it, and - I know nothing more. - -"Q. Nothing?--Have you no idea as to how the assassin could - escape from your chamber? - -"A. None whatever--I know nothing more. One does not know what - is passing around one, when one is unconscious. - -"Q. Was the man you saw tall or short, little or big? - -"A. I only saw a shadow which appeared to me formidable. - -"Q. You cannot give us any indication? - -"A. I know nothing more, monsieur, than that a man threw himself - upon me and that I fired at him. I know nothing more." - -Here the interrogation of Mademoiselle Stangerson concluded. - -Rouletabille waited patiently for Monsieur Robert Darzac, who soon -appeared. - -From a room near the chamber of Mademoiselle Stangerson, he had -heard the interrogatory and now came to recount it to my friend -with great exactitude, aided by an excellent memory. His docility -still surprised me. Thanks to hasty pencil-notes, he was able to -reproduce, almost textually, the questions and the answers given. - -It looked as if Monsieur Darzac were being 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. - -The fact of the closed window struck the reporter as it had struck -the magistrate. Rouletabille asked Darzac to repeat once more -Mademoiselle Stangerson's account of how she and her father had -spent their time on the day of the tragedy, as she had stated it -to the magistrate. The circumstance of the dinner in the laboratory -seemed to interest him in the highest degree; and he had it repeated -to him three times. He also wanted to be sure that the forest-keeper -knew that the professor and his daughter were going to dine in the -laboratory, and how he had come to know it. - -When Monsieur Darzac had finished, I said: "The examination has not -advanced the problem much." - -"It has put it back," said Monsieur Darzac. - -"It has thrown light upon it," said Rouletabille, thoughtfully. - - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -Reporter and Detective - - -The three of us went back towards the pavilion. At some distance -from the building the reporter made us stop and, pointing to a small -clump of trees to the right of us, said: - -"That's where the murderer came from to get into the pavilion." - -As there were other patches of trees of the same sort between the -great oaks, I asked why the murderer had chosen that one, rather -than any of the others. Rouletabille answered me by pointing to -the path which ran quite close to the thicket to the door of the -pavilion. - -"That path is as you see, topped with gravel," he said; "the man -must have passed along it going to the pavilion, since no traces of -his steps have been found on the soft ground. The man didn't have -wings; he walked; but he walked on the gravel which left no -impression of his tread. The gravel has, in fact, been trodden by -many other feet, since the path is the most direct way between the -pavilion and the chateau. As to the thicket, made of the sort of -shrubs that don't flourish in the rough season--laurels and -fuchsias--it offered the murderer a sufficient hiding-place until -it was time for him to make his way to the pavilion. It was while -hiding in that clump of trees that he saw Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson, and then Daddy Jacques, leave the pavilion. Gravel has -been spread nearly, very nearly, up to the windows of the pavilion. -The footprints of a man, parallel with the wall--marks which we -will examine presently, and which I have already seen--prove that -he only needed to make one stride to find himself in front of the -vestibule window, left open by Daddy Jacques. The man drew himself -up by his hands and entered the vestibule." - -"After all it is very possible," I said. - -"After all what? After all what?" cried Rouletabille. - -I begged of him not to be angry; but he was too much irritated to -listen to me and declared, ironically, that he admired the prudent -doubt with which certain people approached the most simple problems, -risking nothing by saying "that is so, or 'that is not so." Their -intelligence would have produced about the same result if nature -had forgotten to furnish their brain-pan with a little grey matter. -As I appeared vexed, my young friend took me by the arm and admitted -that he had not meant that for me; he thought more of me than that. - -"If I did not reason as I do in regard to this gravel," he went on, -"I should have to assume a balloon!--My dear fellow, the science -of the aerostation of dirigible balloons is not yet developed enough -for me to consider it and suppose that a murderer would drop from -the clouds! So don't say a thing is possible, when it could not be -otherwise. We know now how the man entered by the window, and we -also know the moment at which he entered,--during the five o'clock -walk of the professor and his daughter. The fact of the presence -of the chambermaid--who had come to clean up The Yellow Room--in -the laboratory, when Monsieur Stangerson and his daughter returned -from their walk, at half-past one, permits us to affirm that at -half-past one the murderer was not in the chamber under the bed, -unless he was in collusion with the chambermaid. What do you say, -Monsieur Darzac?" - -Monsieur Darzac shook his head and said he was sure of the -chambermaid's fidelity, and that she was a thoroughly honest and -devoted servant. - -"Besides," he added, "at five o'clock Monsieur Stangerson went into -the room to fetch his daughter's hat" - -"There is that also," said Rouletabille. - -"That the man entered by the window at the time you say, I admit," -I said; "but why did he shut the window? It was an act which would -necessarily draw the attention of those who had left it open" - -"It may be the window was not shut at once," replied the young -reporter. "But if he did shut the window, it was because of the -bend in the gravel path, a dozen yards from the pavilion, and on -account of the three oaks that are growing at that spot." - -"What do you mean by that?" asked Monsieur Darzac, who had followed -us and listened with almost breathless attention to all that -Rouletabille had said. - -"I'll explain all to you later on, Monsieur, when I think the moment -to be ripe for doing so; but I don't think I have anything of more -importance to say on this affair, if my hypothesis is justified." - -"And what is your hypothesis?" - -"You will never know if it does not turn out to be the truth. It -is of much too grave a nature to speak of it, so long as it -continues to be only a hypothesis." - -"Have you, at least, some idea as to who the murderer is?" - -"No, monsieur, I don't know who the murderer is; but don't be afraid, -Monsieur Robert Darzac--I shall know." - -I could not but observe that Monsieur Darzac was deeply moved; and -I suspected that Rouletabille's confident assertion was not pleasing -to him. Why, I asked myself, if he was really afraid that the -murderer should be discovered, was he helping the reporter to find -him? My young friend seemed to have received the same impression, -for he said, bluntly: - -"Monsieur Darzac, don't you want me to find out who the murderer -was?" - -"Oh!--I should like to kill him with my own hand!" cried -Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance, with a vehemence that amazed me. - -"I believe you," said Rouletabille gravely; "but you have not -answered my question." - -We were passing by the thicket, of which the young reporter had -spoken to us a minute before. I entered it and pointed out evident -traces of a man who had been hidden there. Rouletabille, once more, -was right. - -"Yes, yes!" he said. "We have to do with a thing of flesh and blood, -who uses the same means that we do. It'll all come out on those -lines." - -Having said this, he asked me for the paper pattern of the footprint -which he had given me to take care of, and applied it to a very -clear footmark behind the thicket. "Aha!" he said, rising. - -I thought he was now going to trace back the track of the murderer's -footmarks to the vestibule window; but he led us instead, far to the -left, saying that it was useless ferreting in the mud, and that he -was sure, now, of the road taken by the murderer. - -"He went along the wall to the hedge and dry ditch, over which he -jumped. See, just in front of the little path leading to the lake, -that was his nearest way to get out." - -"How do you know he went to the lake?"-- - -"Because Frederic Larsan has not quitted the borders of it since -this morning. There must be some important marks there." - -A few minutes later we reached the lake. - -It was a little sheet of marshy water, surrounded by reeds, on which -floated some dead water-lily leaves. The great Fred may have seen -us approaching, but we probably interested him very little, for he -took hardly any notice of us and continued to be stirring with his -cane something which we could not see. - -"Look!" said Rouletabille, "here again are the footmarks of the -escaping man; they skirt the lake here and finally disappear just -before this path, which leads to the high road to Epinay. The man -continued his flight to Paris." - -"What makes you think that?" I asked, "since these footmarks are -not continued on the path?" - -"What makes me think that?--Why these footprints, which I expected -to find!" he cried, pointing to the sharply outlined imprint of a -neat boot. "See!"--and he called to Frederic Larsan. - -"Monsieur Fred, these neat footprints seem to have been made since -the discovery of the crime." - -"Yes, young man, yes, they have been carefully made," replied Fred -without raising his head. "You see, there are steps that come, and -steps that go back." - -"And the man had a bicycle!" cried the reporter. - -Here, after looking at the marks of the bicycle, which followed, -going and coming, the neat footprints, I thought I might intervene. - -"The bicycle explains the disappearance of the murderer's big -foot-prints," I said. "The murderer, with his rough boots, mounted -a bicycle. His accomplice, the wearer of the neat boots, had come -to wait for him on the edge of the lake with the bicycle. It might -be supposed that the murderer was working for the other." - -"No, no!" replied Rouletabille with a strange smile. "I have -expected to find these footmarks from the very beginning. These -are not the footmarks of the murderer!" - -"Then there were two?" - -"No--there was but one, and he had no accomplice." - -"Very good!--Very good!" cried Frederic Larsan. - -"Look!" continued the young reporter, showing us the ground where -it had been disturbed by big and heavy heels; "the man seated -himself there, and took off his hobnailed boots, which he had worn -only for the purpose of misleading detection, and then no doubt, -taking them away with him, he stood up in his own boots, and quietly -and slowly regained the high road, holding his bicycle in his hand, -for he could not venture to ride it on this rough path. That -accounts for the lightness of the impression made by the wheels -along it, in spite of the softness of the ground. If there had been -a man on the bicycle, the wheels would have sunk deeply into the -soil. No, no; there was but one man there, the murderer on foot." - -"Bravo!--bravo!" cried Fred again, and coming suddenly towards -us and, planting himself in front of Monsieur Robert Darzac, he -said to him: - -"If we had a bicycle here, we might demonstrate the correctness of -the young man's reasoning, Monsieur Robert Darzac. Do you know -whether there is one at the chateau?" - -"No!" replied Monsieur Darzac. "There is not. I took mine, four -days ago, to Paris, the last time I came to the chateau before the -crime." - -"That's a pity!" replied Fred, very coldly. Then, turning to -Rouletabille, he said: "If we go on at this rate, we'll both come -to the same conclusion. Have you any idea, as to how the murderer -got away from The Yellow Room?" - -"Yes," said my young friend; "I have an idea." - -"So have I," said Fred, "and it must be the same as yours. There -are no two ways of reasoning in this affair. I am waiting for the -arrival of my chief before offering any explanation to the examining -magistrate." - -"Ah! Is the Chief of the Surete coming?" - -"Yes, this afternoon. He is going to summon, before the magistrate, -in the laboratory, all those who have played any part in this -tragedy. It will be very interesting. It is a pity you won't be -able to be present." - -"I shall be present," said Rouletabille confidently. - -"Really--you are an extraordinary fellow--for your age!" replied -the detective in a tone not wholly free from irony. "You'd make a -wonderful detective--if you had a little more method--if you -didn't follow your instincts and that bump on your forehead. As I -have already several times observed, Monsieur Rouletabille, you -reason too much; you do not allow yourself to be guided by what you -have seen. What do you say to the handkerchief full of blood, and -the red mark of the hand on the wall? You have seen the stain on -the wall, but I have only seen the handkerchief." - -"Bah!" cried Rouletabille, "the murderer was wounded in the hand -by Mademoiselle Stangerson's revolver!" - -"Ah!--a simply instinctive observation! Take care!--You are -becoming too strictly logical, Monsieur Rouletabille; logic will -upset you if you use it indiscriminately. You are right, when you -say that Mademoiselle Stangerson fired her revolver, but you are -wrong when you say that she wounded the murderer in the hand." - -"I am sure of it," cried Rouletabille. - -Fred, imperturbable, interrupted him: - -"Defective observation--defective observation!--the examination -of the handkerchief, the numberless little round scarlet stains, the -impression of drops which I found in the tracks of the footprints, -at the moment when they were made on the floor, prove to me that the -murderer was not wounded at all. Monsieur Rouletabille, the murderer -bled at the nose!" - -The great Fred spoke quite seriously. However, I could not refrain -from uttering an exclamation. - -The reporter looked gravely at Fred, who looked gravely at him. -And Fred immediately concluded: - -"The man allowed the blood to flow into his hand and handkerchief, -and dried his hand on the wall. The fact is highly important," he -added, "because there is no need of his being wounded in the hand -for him to be the murderer." - -Rouletabille seemed to be thinking deeply. After a moment he -said: - -"There is something--a something, Monsieur Frederic Larsan, much -graver than the misuse of logic the disposition of mind in some -detectives which makes them, in perfect good faith, twist logic to -the necessities of their preconceived ideas. You, already, have -your idea about the murderer, Monsieur Fred. Don't deny it; and -your theory demands that the murderer should not have been wounded -in the hand, otherwise it comes to nothing. And you have searched, -and have found something else. It's dangerous, very dangerous, -Monsieur Fred, to go from a preconceived idea to find the proofs to -fit it. That method may lead you far astray Beware of judicial -error, Monsieur Fred, it will trip you up!" - -And laughing a little, in a slightly bantering tone, his hands in -his pockets, Rouletabille fixed his cunning eyes on the great Fred. - -Frederic Larsan silently contemplated the young reporter who -pretended to be as wise as himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he -bowed to us and moved quickly away, hitting the stones on his path -with his stout cane. - -Rouletabille watched his retreat, and then turned toward us, his -face joyous and triumphant. - -"I shall beat him!" he cried. "I shall beat the great Fred, clever -as he is; I shall beat them all!" - -And he danced a double shuffle. Suddenly he stopped. My eyes -followed his gaze; they were fixed on Monsieur Robert Darzac, who -was looking anxiously at the impression left by his feet side by -side with the elegant footmarks. There was not a particle of -difference between them! - -We thought he was about to faint. His eyes, bulging with terror, -avoided us, while his right hand, with a spasmodic movement, -twitched at the beard that covered his honest, gentle, and now -despairing face. At length regaining his self-possession, he bowed -to us, and remarking, in a changed voice, that he was obliged to -return to the chateau, left us. - -"The deuce!" exclaimed Rouletabille. - -He, also, appeared to be deeply concerned. From his pocket-book he -took a piece of white paper as I had seen him do before, and with -his scissors, cut out the shape of the neat bootmarks that were on -the ground. Then he fitted the new paper pattern with the one he -had previously made--the two were exactly alike. Rising, -Rouletabille exclaimed again: "The deuce!" Presently he added: -"Yet I believe Monsieur Robert Darzac to be an honest man." He -then led me on the road to the Donjon Inn, which we could see on -the highway, by the side of a small clump of trees. - - - - - -CHAPTER X - -"We Shall Have to Eat Red Meat--Now" - - -The Donjon Inn was of no imposing appearance; but I like these -buildings with their rafters blackened with age and the smoke of -their hearths--these inns of the coaching-days, crumbling erections -that will soon exist in the memory only. They belong to the bygone -days, they are linked with history. They make us think of the Road, -of those days when highwaymen rode. - -I saw at once that the Donjon Inn was at least two centuries old ---perhaps older. Under its sign-board, over the threshold, a man -with a crabbed-looking face was standing, seemingly plunged in -unpleasant thought, if the wrinkles on his forehead and the knitting -of his brows were any indication. - -When we were close to him, he deigned to see us and asked us, in a -tone anything but engaging, whether we wanted anything. He was, no -doubt, the not very amiable landlord of this charming dwelling-place. -As we expressed a hope that he would be good enough to furnish us -with a breakfast, he assured us that he had no provisions, regarding -us, as he said this, with a look that was unmistakably suspicious. - -"You may take us in," Rouletabille said to him, "we are not -policemen." - -"I'm not afraid of the police--I'm not afraid of anyone!" replied -the man. - -I had made my friend understand by a sign that we should do better -not to insist; but, being determined to enter the inn, he slipped -by the man on the doorstep and was in the common room. - -"Come on," he said, "it is very comfortable here." - -A good fire was blazing in the chimney, and we held our hands to -the warmth it sent out; it was a morning in which the approach of -winter was unmistakable. The room was a tolerably large one, -furnished with two heavy tables, some stools, a counter decorated -with rows of bottles of syrup and alcohol. Three windows looked -out on to the road. A coloured advertisement lauded the many -merits of a new vermouth. On the mantelpiece was arrayed the -innkeeper's collection of figured earthenware pots and stone jugs. - -"That's a fine fire for roasting a chicken," said Rouletabille. -"We have no chicken--not even a wretched rabbit," said the -landlord. - -"I know," said my friend slowly; "I know--We shall have to eat red -meat--now." - -I confess I did not in the least understand what Rouletabille meant -by what he had said; but the landlord, as soon as he heard the words, -uttered an oath, which he at once stifled, and placed himself at our -orders as obediently as Monsieur Robert Darzac had done, when he -heard Rouletabille's prophetic sentence--"The presbytery has lost -nothing of its charm, nor the garden its brightness." Certainly my -friend knew how to make people understand him by the use of wholly -incomprehensible phrases. I observed as much to him, but he merely -smiled. I should have proposed that he give me some explanation; -but he put a finger to his lips, which evidently signified that he -had not only determined not to speak, but also enjoined silence on -my part. - -Meantime the man had pushed open a little side door and called to -somebody to bring him half a dozen eggs and a piece of beefsteak. -The commission was quickly executed by a strongly-built young woman -with beautiful blonde hair and large, handsome eyes, who regarded -us with curiosity. - -The innkeeper said to her roughly: - -"Get out!--and if the Green Man comes, don't let me see him." - -She disappeared. Rouletabille took the eggs, which had been brought -to him in a bowl, and the meat which was on a dish, placed all -carefully beside him in the chimney, unhooked a frying-pan and a -gridiron, and began to beat up our omelette before proceeding to -grill our beefsteak. He then ordered two bottles of cider, and -seemed to take as little notice of our host as our host did of him. -The landlord let us do our own cooking and set our table near one -of the windows. - -Suddenly I heard him mutter: - -"Ah!--there he is." - -His face had changed, expressing fierce hatred. He went and glued -himself to one of the windows, watching the road. There was no need -for me to draw Rouletabille's attention; he had already left our -omelette and had joined the landlord at the window. I went with him. - -A man dressed entirely in green velvet, his head covered with a -huntsman's cap of the same colour, was advancing leisurely, lighting -a pipe as he walked. He carried a fowling-piece slung at his back. -His movements displayed an almost aristocratic ease. He wore -eye-glasses and appeared to be about five and forty years of age. -His hair as well as his moustache were salt grey. He was remarkably -handsome. As he passed near the inn, he hesitated, as if asking -himself whether or no he should enter it; gave a glance towards us, -took a few whiffs at his pipe, and then resumed his walk at the same -nonchalant pace. - -Rouletabille and I looked at our host. His flashing eyes, his -clenched hands, his trembling lips, told us of the tumultuous -feelings by which he was being agitated. - -"He has done well not to come in here to-day!" he hissed. - -"Who is that man?" asked Rouletabille, returning to his omelette. - -"The Green Man," growled the innkeeper. "Don't you know him? Then -all the better for you. He is not an acquaintance to make.--Well, -he is Monsieur Stangerson's forest-keeper." - -"You don't appear to like him very much?" asked the reporter, -pouring his omelette into the frying-pan. - -"Nobody likes him, monsieur. He's an upstart who must once have -had a fortune of his own; and he forgives nobody because, in order -to live, he has been compelled to become a servant. A keeper is as -much a servant as any other, isn't he? Upon my word, one would say -that he is the master of the Glandier, and that all the land and -woods belong to him. He'll not let a poor creature eat a morsel of -bread on the grass his grass!" - -"Does he often come here?" - -"Too often. But I've made him understand that his face doesn't -please me, and, for a month past, he hasn't been here. The Donjon -Inn has never existed for him!--he hasn't had time!--been too -much engaged in paying court to the landlady of the Three Lilies -at Saint-Michel. A bad fellow!--There isn't an honest man who can -bear him. Why, the concierges of the chateau would turn their eyes -away from a picture of him!" - -"The concierges of the chateau are honest people, then?" - -"Yes, they are, as true as my name's Mathieu, monsieur. I believe -them to be honest." - -"Yet they've been arrested?" - -"What does that prove?--But I don't want to mix myself up in -other people's affairs." - -"And what do you think of the murder?" - -"Of the murder of poor Mademoiselle Stangerson?--A good girl much -loved everywhere in the country. That's what I think of it--and -many things besides; but that's nobody's business." - -"Not even mine?" insisted Rouletabille. - -The innkeeper looked at him sideways and said gruffly: - -"Not even yours." - -The omelette ready, we sat down at table and were silently eating, -when the door was pushed open and an old woman, dressed in rags, -leaning on a stick, her head doddering, her white hair hanging -loosely over her wrinkled forehead, appeared on the threshold. - -"Ah!--there you are, Mother Angenoux!--It's long since we saw -you last," said our host. - -"I have been very ill, very nearly dying," said the old woman. "If -ever you should have any scraps for the Bete du Bon Dieu--?" - -And she entered, followed by a cat, larger than any I had ever -believed could exist. The beast looked at us and gave so hopeless -a miau that I shuddered. I had never heard so lugubrious a cry. - -As if drawn by the cat's cry a man followed the old woman in. It -was the Green Man. He saluted by raising his hand to his cap and -seated himself at a table near to ours. - -"A glass of cider, Daddy Mathieu," he said. - -As the Green Man entered, Daddy Mathieu had started violently; but -visibly mastering himself he said: - -"I've no more cider; I served the last bottles to these gentlemen." - -"Then give me a glass of white wine," said the Green Man, without -showing the least surprise. - -"I've no more white wine--no more anything," said Daddy Mathieu, -surlily. - -"How is Madame Mathieu?" - -"Quite well, thank you." - -So the young Woman with the large, tender eyes, whom we had just -seen, was the wife of this repugnant and brutal rustic, whose -jealousy seemed to emphasise his physical ugliness. - -Slamming the door behind him, the innkeeper left the room. Mother -Angenoux was still standing, leaning on her stick, the cat at her -feet. - -"You've been ill, Mother Angenoux?--Is that why we have not seen -you for the last week?" asked the Green Man. - -"Yes, Monsieur keeper. I have been able to get up but three times, -to go to pray to Sainte-Genevieve, our good patroness, and the rest -of the time I have been lying on my bed. There was no one to care -for me but the Bete du bon Dieu!" - -"Did she not leave you?" - -"Neither by day nor by night." - -"Are you sure of that?" - -"As I am of Paradise." - -"Then how was it, Madame Angenoux, that all through the night of -the murder nothing but the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu was heard?" - -Mother Angenoux planted herself in front of the forest-keeper and -struck the floor with her stick. - -"I don't know anything about it," she said. "But shall I tell you -something? There are no two cats in the world that cry like that. -Well, on the night of the murder I also heard the cry of the Bete -du bon Dieu outside; and yet she was on my knees, and did not mew -once, I swear. I crossed myself when I heard that, as if I had -heard the devil." - -I looked at the keeper when he put the last question, and I am much -mistaken if I did not detect an evil smile on his lips. At that -moment, the noise of loud quarrelling reached us. We even thought -we heard a dull sound of blows, as if some one was being beaten. -The Green Man quickly rose and hurried to the door by the side of -the fireplace; but it was opened by the landlord who appeared, and -said to the keeper: - -"Don't alarm yourself, Monsieur--it is my wife; she has the -toothache." And he laughed. "Here, Mother Angenoux, here are some -scraps for your cat." - -He held out a packet to the old woman, who took it eagerly and -went out by the door, closely followed by her cat. - -"Then you won't serve me?" asked the Green Man. - -Daddy Mathieu's face was placid and no longer retained its -expression of hatred. - -"I've nothing for you--nothing for you. Take yourself off." - -The Green Man quietly refilled his pipe, lit it, bowed to us, and -went out. No sooner was he over the threshold than Daddy Mathieu -slammed the door after him and, turning towards us, with eyes -bloodshot, and frothing at the mouth, he hissed to us, shaking his -clenched fist at the door he had just shut on the man he evidently -hated: - -"I don't know who you are who tell me 'We shall have to eat red -meat--now'; but if it will interest you to know it--that man is -the murderer!" - -With which words Daddy Mathieu immediately left us. Rouletabille -returned towards the fireplace and said: - -"Now we'll grill our steak. How do you like the cider?--It's a -little tart, but I like it." - -We saw no more of Daddy Mathieu that day, and absolute silence -reigned in the inn when we left it, after placing five francs on -the table in payment for our feast. - -Rouletabille at once set off on a three mile walk round Professor -Stangerson's estate. He halted for some ten minutes at the corner -of a narrow road black with soot, near to some charcoal-burners' -huts in the forest of Sainte-Genevieve, which touches on the road -from Epinay to Corbeil, to tell me that the murderer had certainly -passed that way, before entering the grounds and concealing himself -in the little clump of trees. - -"You don't think, then, that the keeper knows anything of it?" I -asked. - -"We shall see that, later," he replied. "For the present I'm not -interested in what the landlord said about the man. The landlord -hates him. I didn't take you to breakfast at the Donjon Inn for -the sake of the Green Man." - -Then Rouletabille, with great precaution glided, followed by me, -towards the little building which, standing near the park gate, -served for the home of the concierges, who had been arrested that -morning. With the skill of an acrobat, he got into the lodge by -an upper window which had been left open, and returned ten minutes -later. He said only, "Ah!"--a word which, in his mouth, signified -many things. - -We were about to take the road leading to the chateau, when a -considerable stir at the park gate attracted our attention. A -carriage had arrived and some people had come from the chateau to -meet it. Rouletabille pointed out to me a gentleman who descended -from it. - -"That's the Chief of the Surete" he said. "Now we shall see what -Frederic Larsan has up his sleeve, and whether he is so much -cleverer than anybody else." - -The carriage of the Chief of the Surete was followed by three other -vehicles containing reporters, who were also desirous of entering -the park. But two gendarmes stationed at the gate had evidently -received orders to refuse admission to anybody. The Chief of the -Surete calmed their impatience by undertaking to furnish to the -press, that evening, all the information he could give that would -not interfere with the judicial inquiry. - - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -In Which Frederic Larsan Explains How the Murderer Was Able to Get -Out of The Yellow Room - - -Among the mass of papers, legal documents, memoirs, and extracts -from newspapers, which I have collected, relating to the mystery -of The Yellow Room, there is one very interesting piece; it is a -detail of the famous examination which took place that afternoon, -in the laboratory of Professor Stangerson, before the Chief of the -Surete. This narrative is from the pen of Monsieur Maleine, the -Registrar, who, like the examining magistrate, had spent some of -his leisure time in the pursuit of literature. The piece was to -have made part of a book which, however, has never been published, -and which was to have been entitled: "My Examinations." It was -given to me by the Registrar himself, some time after the -astonishing denouement to this case, and is unique in judicial -chronicles. - -Here it is. It is not a mere dry transcription of questions and -answers, because the Registrar often intersperses his story with -his own personal comments. - - - THE REGISTRAR'S NARRATIVE - -The examining magistrate and I (the writer relates) found ourselves -in The Yellow Room in the company of the builder who had constructed -the pavilion after Professor Stangerson's designs. He had a workman -with him. Monsieur de Marquet had had the walls laid entirely bare; -that is to say, he had had them stripped of the paper which had -decorated them. Blows with a pick, here and there, satisfied us of -the absence of any sort of opening. The floor and the ceiling were -thoroughly sounded. We found nothing. There was nothing to be -found. Monsieur de Marquet appeared to be delighted and never -ceased repeating: - -"What a case! What a case! We shall never know, you'll see, how -the murderer was able to get out of this room!" - -Then suddenly, with a radiant face, he called to the officer in -charge of the gendarmes. - -"Go to the chateau," he said, "and request Monsieur Stangerson and -Monsieur Robert Darzac to come to me in the laboratory, also Daddy -Jacques; and let your men bring here the two concierges." - -Five minutes later all were assembled in the laboratory. The Chief -of the Surete, who had arrived at the Glandier, joined us at that -moment. I was seated at Monsieur Stangerson's desk ready for work, -when Monsieur de Marquet made us the following little speech--as -original as it was unexpected: - -"With your permission, gentlemen--as examinations lead to nothing ---we will, for once, abandon the old system of interrogation. I -will not have you brought before me one by one, but we will all -remain here as we are,--Monsieur Stangerson, Monsieur Robert Darzac, -Daddy Jacques and the two concierges, the Chief of the Surete, the -Registrar, and myself. We shall all be on the same footing. The -concierges may, for the moment, forget that they have been arrested. -We are going to confer together. We are on the spot where the crime -was committed. We have nothing else to discuss but the crime. So -let us discuss it freely--intelligently or otherwise, so long as -we speak just what is in our minds. There need be no formality or -method since this won't help us in any way." - -Then, passing before me, he said in a low voice: - -"What do you think of that, eh? What a scene! Could you have -thought of that? I'll make a little piece out of it for the -Vaudeville." And he rubbed his hands with glee. - -I turned my eyes on Monsieur Stangerson. The hope he had received -from the doctor's latest reports, which stated that Mademoiselle -Stangerson might recover from her wounds, had not been able to efface -from his noble features the marks of the great sorrow that was upon -him. He had believed his daughter to be dead, and he was still -broken by that belief. His clear, soft, blue eyes expressed infinite -sorrow. I had had occasion, many times, to see Monsieur Stangerson -at public ceremonies, and from the first had been struck by his -countenance, which seemed as pure as that of a child--the dreamy -gaze with the sublime and mystical expression of the inventor and -thinker. - -On those occasions his daughter was always to be seen either -following him or by his side; for they never quitted each other, it -was said, and had shared the same labours for many years. The young -lady, who was then five and thirty, though she looked no more than -thirty, had devoted herself entirely to science. She still won -admiration for her imperial beauty which had remained intact, without -a wrinkle, withstanding time and love. Who would have dreamed that -I should one day be seated by her pillow with my papers, and that I -should see her, on the point of death, painfully recounting to us -the most monstrous and most mysterious crime I have heard of in my -career? Who would have thought that I should be, that afternoon, -listening to the despairing father vainly trying to explain how his -daughter's assailant had been able to escape from him? Why bury -ourselves with our work in obscure retreats in the depths of woods, -if it may not protect us against those dangerous threats to life -which meet us in the busy cities? - -"Now, Monsieur Stangerson," said Monsieur de Marquet, with somewhat -of an important air, "place yourself exactly where you were when -Mademoiselle Stangerson left you to go to her chamber." - -Monsieur Stangerson rose and, standing at a certain distance from -the door of The Yellow Room, said, in an even voice and without the -least trace of emphasis--a voice which I can only describe as a -dead voice: - -"I was here. About eleven o'clock, after I had made a brief chemical -experiment at the furnaces of the laboratory, needing all the space -behind me, I had my desk moved here by Daddy Jacques, who spent the -evening in cleaning some of my apparatus. My daughter had been -working at the same desk with me. When it was her time to leave -she rose, kissed me, and bade Daddy Jacques goodnight. She had to -pass behind my desk and the door to enter her chamber, and she could -do this only with some difficulty. That is to say, I was very near -the place where the crime occurred later." - -"And the desk?" I asked, obeying, in thus mixing myself in the -conversation, the express orders of my chief, "as soon as you heard -the cry of 'murder' followed by the revolver shots, what became of -the desk?" - -Daddy Jacques answered. - -"We pushed it back against the wall, here--close to where it is at -the present moment-so as to be able to get at the door at once." - -I followed up my reasoning, to which, however, I attached but little -importance, regarding it as only a weak hypothesis, with another -question. - -"Might not a man in the room, the desk being so near to the door, -by stooping and slipping under the desk, have left it unobserved?" - -"You are forgetting," interrupted Monsieur Stangerson wearily, "that -my daughter had locked and bolted her door, that the door had -remained fastened, that we vainly tried to force it open when we -heard the noise, and that we were at the door while the struggle -between the murderer and my poor child was going on--immediately -after we heard her stifled cries as she was being held by the fingers -that have left their red mark upon her throat. Rapid as the attack -was, we were no less rapid in our endeavors to get into the room -where the tragedy was taking place." - -I rose from my seat and once more examined the door with the greatest -care. Then I returned to my place with a despairing gesture. - -"If the lower panel of the door," I said, "could be removed without -the whole door being necessarily opened, the problem would be solved. -But, unfortunately, that last hypothesis is untenable after an -examination of the door--it's of oak, solid and massive. You can -see that quite plainly, in spite of the injury done in the attempt -to burst it open." - -"Ah!" cried Daddy Jacques, "it is an old and solid door that was -brought from the chateau--they don't make such doors now. We had -to use this bar of iron to get it open, all four of us--for the -concierge, brave woman she is, helped us. It pains me to find them -both in prison now." - -Daddy Jacques had no sooner uttered these words of pity and -protestation than tears and lamentations broke out from the -concierges. I never saw two accused people crying more bitterly. -I was extremely disgusted. Even if they were innocent, I could -not understand how they could behave like that in the face of -misfortune. A dignified bearing at such times is better than tears -and groans, which, most often, are feigned. - -"Now then, enough of that sniveling," cried Monsieur de Marquet; -"and, in your interest, tell us what you were doing under the windows -of the pavilion at the time your mistress was being attacked; for -you were close to the pavilion when Daddy Jacques met you." - -"We were coming to help!" they whined. - -"If we could only lay hands on the murderer, he'd never taste bread -again!" the woman gurgled between her sobs. - -As before we were unable to get two connecting thoughts out of them. -They persisted in their denials and swore, by heaven and all the -saints, that they were in bed when they heard the sound of the -revolver shot. - -"It was not one, but two shots that were fired!--You see, you are -lying. If you had heard one, you would have heard the other." - -"Mon Dieu! Monsieur--it was the second shot we heard. We were -asleep when the first shot was fired." - -"Two shots were fired," said Daddy Jacques. "I am certain that all -the cartridges were in my revolver. We found afterward that two -had been exploded, and we heard two shots behind the door. Was not -that so, Monsieur Stangerson?" - -"Yes," replied the Professor, "there were two shots, one dull, and -the other sharp and ringing." - -"Why do you persist in lying?" cried Monsieur de Marquet, turning -to the concierges. "Do you think the police are the fools you are? -Everything points to the fact that you were out of doors and near -the pavilion at the time of the tragedy. What were you doing there? -So far as I am concerned," he said, turning to Monsieur Stangerson, -"I can only explain the escape of the murderer on the assumption of -help from these two accomplices. As soon as the door was forced -open, and while you, Monsieur Stangerson, were occupied with your -unfortunate child, the concierge and his wife facilitated the flight -of the murderer, who, screening himself behind them, reached the -window in the vestibule, and sprang out of it into the park. The -concierge closed the window after him and fastened the blinds, which -certainly could not have closed and fastened of themselves. That -is the conclusion I have arrived at. If anyone here has any other -idea, let him state it." - -Monsieur Stangerson intervened: - -"What you say was impossible. I do not believe either in the guilt -or in the connivance of my concierges, though I cannot understand -what they were doing in the park at that late hour of the night. -I say it was impossible, because Madame Bernier held the lamp and -did not move from the threshold of the room; because I, as soon as -the door was forced open, threw myself on my knees beside my -daughter, and no one could have left or entered the room by the -door, without passing over her body and forcing his way by me! -Daddy Jacques and the concierge had but to cast a glance round the -chamber and under the bed, as I had done on entering, to see that -there was nobody in it but my daughter lying on the floor." - -"What do you think, Monsieur Darzac?" asked the magistrate. - -Monsieur Darzac replied that he had no opinion to express. Monsieur -Dax, the Chief of the Surete who, so far, had been listening and -examining the room, at length deigned to open his lips: - -"While search is being made for the criminal, we had better try to -find out the motive for the crime; that will advance us a little," -he said. Turning towards Monsieur Stangerson, he continued, in the -even, intelligent tone indicative of a strong character, "I -understand that Mademoiselle was shortly to have been married?" - -The professor looked sadly at Monsieur Robert Darzac. - -"To my friend here, whom I should have been happy to call my son ---to Monsieur Robert Darzac." - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson is much better and is rapidly recovering -from her wounds. The marriage is simply delayed, is it not, -Monsieur?" insisted the Chief of the Surete. - -"I hope so. - -"What! Is there any doubt about that?" - -Monsieur Stangerson did not answer. Monsieur Robert Darzac seemed -agitated. I saw that his hand trembled as it fingered his -watchchain. Monsieur Dax coughed, as did Monsieur de Marquet. -Both were evidently embarrassed. - -"You understand, Monsieur Stangerson," he said, "that in an affair -so perplexing as this, we cannot neglect anything; we must know all, -even the smallest and seemingly most futile thing concerning the -victim--information apparently the most insignificant. Why do you -doubt that this marriage will take place? You expressed a hope; but -the hope implies a doubt. Why do you doubt?" - -Monsieur Stangerson made a visible effort to recover himself. - -"Yes, Monsieur," he said at length, "you are right. It will be -best that you should know something which, if I concealed it, might -appear to be of importance; Monsieur Darzac agrees with me in this." - -Monsieur Darzac, whose pallor at that moment seemed to me to be -altogether abnormal, made a sign of assent. I gathered he was -unable to speak. - -"I want you to know then," continued Monsieur Stangerson, "that my -daughter has sworn never to leave me, and adheres firmly to her -oath, in spite of all my prayers and all that I have argued to induce -her to marry. We have known Monsieur Robert Darzac many years. He -loves my child; and I believed that she loved him; because she only -recently consented to this marriage which I desire with all my heart. -I am an old man, Monsieur, and it was a happy hour to me when I knew -that, after I had gone, she would have at her side, one who loved her -and who would help her in continuing our common labours. I love and -esteem Monsieur Darzac both for his greatness of heart and for his -devotion to science. But, two days before the tragedy, for I know -not what reason, my daughter declared to me that she would never -marry Monsieur Darzac." - -A dead silence followed Monsieur Stangerson's words. It was a -moment fraught with suspense. - -"Did Mademoiselle give you any explanation,--did she tell you what -her motive was?" asked Monsieur Dax. - -"She told me she was too old to marry--that she had waited too -long. She said she had given much thought to the matter and while -she had a great esteem, even affection, for Monsieur Darzac, she -felt it would be better if things remained as they were. She would -be happy, she said, to see the relations between ourselves and -Monsieur Darzac become closer, but only on the understanding that -there would be no more talk of marriage." - -"That is very strange!" muttered Monsieur Dax. - -"Strange!" repeated Monsieur de Marquet. - -"You'll certainly not find the motive there, Monsieur Dax," Monsieur -Stangerson said with a cold smile. - -"In any case, the motive was not theft!" said the Chief impatiently. - -"Oh! we are quite convinced of that!" cried the examining magistrate. - -At that moment the door of the laboratory opened and the officer in -charge of the gendarmes entered and handed a card to the examining -magistrate. Monsieur de Marquet read it and uttered a half angry -exclamation: - -"This is really too much!" he cried. - -"What is it?" asked the Chief. - -"It's the card of a young reporter engaged on the 'Epoque,' a -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille. It has these words written on it: -'One of the motives of the crime was robbery.'" - -The Chief smiled. - -"Ah,--young Rouletabille--I've heard of him he is considered -rather clever. Let him come in." - -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille was allowed to enter. I had made his -acquaintance in the train that morning on the way to Epinay-sur-Orge. -He had introduced himself almost against my wish into our -compartment. I had better say at once that his manners, and the -arrogance with which he assumed to know what was incomprehensible -even to us, impressed him unfavourably on my mind. I do not like -journalists. They are a class of writers to be avoided as the pest. -They think that everything is permissible and they respect nothing. -Grant them the least favour, allow them even to approach you, and -you never can tell what annoyance they may give you. This one -appears to be scarcely twenty years old, and the effrontery with -which he dared to question us and discuss the matter with us made -him particularly obnoxious to me. Besides, he had a way of -expressing himself that left us guessing as to whether he was mocking -us or not. I know quite well that the 'Epoque' is an influential -paper with which it is well to be on good terms, but the paper ought -not to allow itself to be represented by sneaking reporters. - -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille entered the laboratory, bowed to us, -and waited for Monsieur de Marquet to ask him to explain his -presence. - -"You pretend, Monsieur, that you know the motive for the crime, and -that that motive--in the face of all the evidence that has been -forthcoming--was robbery?" - -"No, Monsieur, I do not pretend that. I do not say that robbery -was the motive for the crime, and I don't believe it was." - -"Then, what is the meaning of this card?" - -"It means that robbery was one of the motives for the crime." - -"What leads you to think that?" - -"If you will be good enough to accompany me, I will show you." - -The young man asked us to follow him into the vestibule, and we did. -He led us towards the lavatory and begged Monsieur de Marquet to -kneel beside him. This lavatory is lit by the glass door, and, when -the door was open, the light which penetrated was sufficient to light -it perfectly. Monsieur de Marquet and Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille -knelt down on the threshold, and the young man pointed to a spot on -the pavement. - -"The stones of the lavatory have not been washed by Daddy Jacques -for some time," he said; "that can be seen by the layer of dust that -covers them. Now, notice here, the marks of two large footprints -and the black ash they left where they have been. That ash is -nothing else than the charcoal dust that covers the path along which -you must pass through the forest, in order to get directly from -Epinay to the Glandier. You know there is a little village of -charcoal-burners at that place, who make large quantities of -charcoal. What the murderer did was to come here at midday, when -there was nobody at the pavilion, and attempt his robbery." - -"But what robbery?--Where do you see any signs of robbery? What -proves to you that a robbery has been committed?" we all cried at -once. "What put me on the trace of it," continued the journalist... - -"Was this?" interrupted Monsieur de Marquet, still on his knees. - -"Evidently," said Rouletabille. - -And Monsieur de Marquet explained that there were on the dust of -the pavement marks of two footsteps, as well as the impression, -freshly-made, of a heavy rectangular parcel, the marks of the cord -with which it had been fastened being easily distinguished. - -"You have been here, then, Monsieur Rouletabille? I thought I had -given orders to Daddy Jacques, who Was left in charge of the -pavilion, not to allow anybody to enter." - -"Don't scold Daddy Jacques, I came here with Monsieur Robert Darzac." - -"Ah,--Indeed!" exclaimed Monsieur de Marquet, disagreeably, casting -a side-glance at Monsieur Darzac, who remained perfectly silent. - -"When I saw the mark of the parcel by the side of the footprints, I -had no doubt as to the robbery," replied Monsieur Rouletabille. "The -thief had not brought a parcel with him; he had made one here--a -parcel with the stolen objects, no doubt; and he put it in this -corner intending to take it away when the moment came for him to -make his escape. He had also placed his heavy boots beside the -parcel,--for, see--there are no marks of steps leading to the -marks left by the boots, which were placed side by side. That -accounts for the fact that the murderer left no trace of his steps -when he fled from The Yellow Room, nor any in the laboratory, nor in -the vestibule. After entering The Yellow Room in his boots, he took -them off, finding them troublesome, or because he wished to make as -little noise as possible. The marks made by him in going through -the vestibule and the laboratory were subsequently washed out by -Daddy Jacques. Having, for some reason or other, taken off his -boots, the murderer carried them in his hand and placed them by the -side of the parcel he had made,--by that time the robbery had been -accomplished. The man then returned to The Yellow Room and slipped -under the bed, where the mark of his body is perfectly visible on -the floor and even on the mat, which has been slightly moved from -its place and creased. Fragments of straw also, recently torn, bear -witness to the murderer's movements under the bed." - -"Yes, yes,--we know all about that," said Monsieur de Marquet. - -"The robber had another motive for returning to hide under the bed," -continued the astonishing boy-journalist. "You might think that he -was trying to hide himself quickly on seeing, through the vestibule -window, Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson about to enter the -pavilion. It would have been much easier for him to have climbed -up to the attic and hidden there, waiting for an opportunity to get -away, if his purpose had been only flight.--No! No!--he had to -be in The Yellow Room." - -Here the Chief intervened. - -"That's not at all bad, young man. I compliment you. If we do not -know yet how the murderer succeeded in getting away, we can at any -rate see how he came in and committed the robbery. But what did he -steal?" - -"Something very valuable," replied the young reporter. - -At that moment we heard a cry from the laboratory. We rushed in -and found Monsieur Stangerson, his eyes haggard, his limbs -trembling, pointing to a sort of bookcase which he had opened, and -which, we saw, was empty. At the same instant he sank into the -large armchair that was placed before the desk and groaned, the -tears rolling down his cheeks, "I have been robbed again! For God's -sake, do not say a word of this to my daughter. She would be more -pained than I am." He heaved a deep sigh and added, in a tone I -shall never forget: "After all, what does it matter,--so long as -she lives!" - -"She will live!" said Monsieur Darzac, in a voice strangely touching. - -"And we will find the stolen articles," said Monsieur Dax. "But -what was in the cabinet?" - -"Twenty years of my life," replied the illustrious professor sadly, -"or rather of our lives--the lives of myself and my daughter! Yes, -our most precious documents, the records of our secret experiments -and our labours of twenty years were in that cabinet. It is an -irreparable loss to us and, I venture to say, to science. All the -processes by which I had been able to arrive at the precious proof -of the destructibility of matter were there--all. The man who came -wished to take all from me,--my daughter and my work--my heart -and my soul." - -And the great scientist wept like a child. - -We stood around him in silence, deeply affected by his great -distress. Monsieur Darzac pressed closely to his side, and tried -in vain to restrain his tears--a sight which, for the moment, -almost made me like him, in spite of an instinctive repulsion which -his strange demeanour and his inexplicable anxiety had inspired me. - -Monsieur Rouletabille alone,--as if his precious time and mission -on earth did not permit him to dwell in the contemplation on human -suffering--had, very calmly, stepped up to the empty cabinet and, -pointing at it, broke the almost solemn silence. He entered into -explanations, for which there was no need, as to why he had been led -to believe that a robbery had been committed, which included the -simultaneous discovery he had made in the lavatory, and the empty -precious cabinet in the laboratory. The first thing that had struck -him, he said, was the unusual form of that piece of furniture. It -was very strongly built of fire-proof iron, clearly showing that it -was intended for the keeping of most valuable objects. Then he -noticed that the key had been left in the lock. "One does not -ordinarily have a safe and leave it open!" he had said to himself. -This little key, with its brass head and complicated wards, had -strongly attracted him,--its presence had suggested robbery. - -Monsieur de Marquet appeared to be greatly perplexed, as if he did -not know whether he ought to be glad of the new direction given to -the inquiry by the young reporter, or sorry that it had not been -done by himself. In our profession and for the general welfare, we -have to put up with such mortifications and bury selfish feelings. -That was why Monsieur de Marquet controlled himself and joined his -compliments with those of Monsieur Dax. As for Monsieur Rouletabille, -he simply shrugged his shoulders and said: "There's nothing at all -in that!" I should have liked to box his ears, especially when he -added: "You will do well, Monsieur, to ask Monsieur Stangerson who -usually kept that key?" - -"My daughter," replied Monsieur Stangerson, "she was never without it. - -"Ah! then that changes the aspect of things which no longer -corresponds with Monsieur Rouletabille's ideas!" cried Monsieur de -Marquet. "If that key never left Mademoiselle Stangerson, the -murderer must have waited for her in her room for the purpose of -stealing it; and the robbery could not have been committed until -after the attack had been made on her. But after the attack four -persons were in the laboratory! I can't make it out!" - -"The robbery," said the reporter, "could only have been committed -before the attack upon Mademoiselle Stangerson in her room. When -the murderer entered the pavilion he already possessed the -brass-headed key." - -"That is impossible," said Monsieur Stangerson in a low voice. - -"It is quite possible, Monsieur, as this proves." - -And the young rascal drew a copy of the "Epoque" from his pocket, -dated the 21st of October (I recall the fact that the crime was -committed on the night between the 24th and 25th), and showing us -an advertisement, he read: - -"'Yesterday a black satin reticule was lost in the Grands Magasins -de la Louvre. It contained, amongst other things, a small key with -a brass head. A handsome reward will be given to the person who -has found it. This person must write, poste restante, bureau 40, to -this address: M. A. T. H. S. N.' Do not these letters suggest -Mademoiselle Stangerson?" continued the reporter. "The 'key with -a brass head'--is not this the key? I always read advertisements. -In my business, as in yours, Monsieur, one should always read the -personals.' They are often the keys to intrigues, that are not -always brass-headed, but which are none the less interesting. This -advertisement interested me specially; the woman of the key surrounded -it with a kind of mystery. Evidently she valued the key, since she -promised a big reward for its restoration! And I thought on these -six letters: M. A. T. H. S. N. The first four at once pointed to -a Christian name; evidently I said Math is Mathilde. But I could -make nothing of the two last letters. So I threw the journal aside -and occupied myself with other matters. Four days later, when the -evening paper appeared with enormous head-lines announcing the murder -of Mademoiselle Stangerson, the letters in the advertisement -mechanically recurred to me. I had forgotten the two last letters, -S. N. When I saw them again I could not help exclaiming, -'Stangerson!' I jumped into a cab and rushed into the bureau No. -40, asking: 'Have you a letter addressed to M. A. T. H. S. N.?' -The clerk replied that he had not. I insisted, begged and entreated -him to search. He wanted to know if I were playing a joke on him, -and then told me that he had had a letter with the initials -M. A. T. H. S. N, but he had given it up three days ago, to a lady -who came for it. 'You come to-day to claim the letter, and the day -before yesterday another gentleman claimed it! I've had enough of -this,' he concluded angrily. I tried to question him as to the two -persons who had already claimed the letter; but whether he wished -to entrench himself behind professional secrecy,--he may have -thought that he had already said too much,--or whether he was -disgusted at the joke that had been played on him--he would not -answer any of my questions." - -Rouletabille paused. We all remained silent. Each drew his own -conclusions from the strange story of the poste restante letter. -It seemed, indeed, that we now had a thread by means of which we -should be able to follow up this extraordinary mystery. - -"Then it is almost certain," said Monsieur Stangerson, "that my -daughter did lose the key, and that she did not tell me of it, -wishing to spare any anxiety, and that she begged whoever had found -it to write to the poste restante. She evidently feared that, by -giving our address, inquiries would have resulted that would have -apprised me of the loss of the key. It was quite logical, quite -natural for her to have taken that course--for I have been robbed -once before." - -"Where was that, and when?" asked the Chief of the Surete. - -"Oh! many years ago, in America, in Philadelphia. There were -stolen from my laboratory the drawings of two inventions that might -have made the fortune of a man. Not only have I never learnt who -the thief was, but I have never heard even a word of the object of -the robbery, doubtless because, in order to defeat the plans of the -person who had robbed me, I myself brought these two inventions -before the public, and so rendered the robbery of no avail. From -that time on I have been very careful to shut myself in when I am -at work. The bars to these windows, the lonely situation of this -pavilion, this cabinet, which I had specially constructed, this -special lock, this unique key, all are precautions against fears -inspired by a sad experience." - -"Most interesting!" remarked Monsieur Dax. - -Monsieur Rouletabille asked about the reticule. Neither Monsieur -Stangerson nor Daddy Jacques had seen it for several days, but a few -hours later we learned from Mademoiselle Stangerson herself that the -reticule had either been stolen from her, or she had lost it. She -further corroborated all that had passed just as her father had -stated. She had gone to the poste restante and, on the 23rd of -October, had received a letter which, she affirmed, contained nothing -but a vulgar pleasantry, which she had immediately burned. - -To return to our examination, or rather to our conversation. I must -state that the Chief of the Surete having inquired of Monsieur -Stangerson under what conditions his daughter had gone to Paris on -the 20th of October, we learned that Monsieur Robert Darzac had -accompanied her, and Darzac had not been again seen at the chateau -from that time to the day after the crime had been committed. The -fact that Monsieur Darzac was with her in the Grands Magasins de la -Louvre when the reticule disappeared could not pass unnoticed, and, -it must be said, strongly awakened our interest. - -This conversation between magistrates, accused, victim, witnesses -and journalist, was coming to a close when quite a theatrical -sensation--an incident of a kind displeasing to Monsieur de -Marquet--was produced. The officer of the gendarmes came to -announce that Frederic Larsan requested to be admitted,--a request -that was at once complied with. He held in his hand a heavy pair -of muddy boots, which he threw on the pavement of the laboratory. - -"Here," he said, "are the boots worn by the murderer. Do you -recognise them, Daddy Jacques?" - -Daddy Jacques bent over them and, stupefied, recognised a pair of -old boots which he had, some time back, thrown into a corner of his -attic. He was so taken aback that he could not hide his agitation. - -Then pointing to the handkerchief in the old man's hand, Frederic -Larsan said: - -"That's a handkerchief astonishingly like the one found in The -Yellow Room." - -"I know," said Daddy Jacques, trembling, "they are almost alike." - -"And then," continued Frederic Larsan, "the old Basque cap also -found in The Yellow Room might at one time have been worn by Daddy -Jacques himself. All this, gentlemen, proves, I think, that the -murderer wished to disguise his real personality. He did it in a -very clumsy way--or, at least, so it appears to us. Don't be -alarmed, Daddy Jacques; we are quite sure that you were not the -murderer; you never left the side of Monsieur Stangerson. But if -Monsieur Stangerson had not been working that night and had gone -back to the chateau after parting with his daughter, and Daddy -Jacques had gone to sleep in his attic, no one would have doubted -that he was the murderer. He owes his safety, therefore, to the -tragedy having been enacted too soon,--the murderer, no doubt, -from the silence in the laboratory, imagined that it was empty, and -that the moment for action had come. The man who had been able to -introduce himself here so mysteriously and to leave so many evidences -against Daddy Jacques, was, there can be no doubt, familiar with the -house. At what hour exactly he entered, whether in the afternoon or -in the evening, I cannot say. One familiar with the proceedings and -persons of this pavilion could choose his own time for entering The -Yellow Room." - -"He could not have entered it if anybody had been in the laboratory," -said Monsieur de Marquet. - -"How do we know that?" replied Larsan. "There was the dinner in -the laboratory, the coming and going of the servants in attendance. -There was a chemical experiment being carried on between ten and -eleven o'clock, with Monsieur Stangerson, his daughter, and Daddy -Jacques engaged at the furnace in a corner of the high chimney. -Who can say that the murderer--an intimate!--a friend!--did -not take advantage of that moment to slip into The Yellow Room, -after having taken off his boots in the lavatory?" - -"It is very improbable," said Monsieur Stangerson. - -"Doubtless--but it is not impossible. I assert nothing. As to -the escape from the pavilion--that's another thing, the most -natural thing in the world." - -For a moment Frederic Larsan paused,--a moment that appeared to -us a very long time. The eagerness with which we awaited what he -was going to tell us may be imagined. - -"I have not been in The Yellow Room," he continued, "but I take it -for granted that you have satisfied yourselves that he could have -left the room only by way of the door; it is by the door, then, that -the murderer made his way out. At what time? At the moment when it -was most easy for him to do so; at the moment when it became most -explainable--so completely explainable that there can be no other -explanation. Let us go over the moments which followed after the -crime had been committed. There was the first moment, when Monsieur -Stangerson and Daddy Jacques were close to the door, ready to bar -the way. There was the second moment, during which Daddy Jacques -was absent and Monsieur Stangerson was left alone before the door. -There was a third moment, when Monsieur Stangerson was joined by -the concierge. There was a fourth moment, during which Monsieur -Stangerson, the concierge and his wife and Daddy Jacques were before -the door. There was a fifth moment, during which the door was burst -open and The Yellow Room entered. The moment at which the flight is -explainable is the very moment when there was the least number of -persons before the door. There was one moment when there was but -one person,--Monsieur Stangerson. Unless a complicity of silence -on the part of Daddy Jacques is admitted--in which I do not believe ---the door was opened in the presence of Monsieur Stangerson alone -and the man escaped. - -"Here we must admit that Monsieur Stangerson had powerful reasons -for not arresting, or not causing the arrest of the murderer, since -he allowed him to reach the window in the vestibule and closed it -after him!--That done, Mademoiselle Stangerson, though horribly -wounded, had still strength enough, and no doubt in obedience to the -entreaties of her father, to refasten the door of her chamber, with -both the bolt and the lock, before sinking on the floor. We do not -know who committed the crime; we do not know of what wretch Monsieur -and Mademoiselle Stangerson are the victims, but there is no doubt -that they both know! The secret must be a terrible one, for the -father had not hesitated to leave his daughter to die behind a door -which she had shut upon herself,--terrible for him to have allowed -the assassin to escape. For there is no other way in the world to -explain the murderer's flight from The Yellow Room!" - -The silence which followed this dramatic and lucid explanation was -appalling. We all of us felt grieved for the illustrious professor, -driven into a corner by the pitiless logic of Frederic Larsan, forced -to confess the whole truth of his martyrdom or to keep silent, and -thus make a yet more terrible admission. The man himself, a -veritable statue of sorrow, raised his hand with a gesture so solemn -that we bowed our heads to it as before something sacred. He then -pronounced these words, in a voice so loud that it seemed to exhaust -him: - -"I swear by the head of my suffering child that I never for an -instant left the door of her chamber after hearing her cries for -help; that that door was not opened while I was alone in the -laboratory; and that, finally, when we entered The Yellow Room, my -three domestics and I, the murderer was no longer there! I swear -I do not know the murderer!" - -Must I say it,--in spite of the solemnity of Monsieur Stangerson's -words, we did not believe in his denial. Frederic Larsan had shown -us the truth and it was not so easily given up. - -Monsieur de Marquet announced that the conversation was at an end, -and as we were about to leave the laboratory, Joseph Rouletabille -approached Monsieur Stangerson, took him by the hand with the -greatest respect, and I heard him say: - -"I believe you, Monsieur." - -I here close the citation which I have thought it my duty to make -from Monsieur Maleine's narrative. I need not tell the reader that -all that passed in the laboratory was immediately and faithfully -reported to me by Rouletabille. - - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -Frederic Larsan's Cane - - -It was not till six o'clock that I left the chateau, taking with me -the article hastily written by my friend in the little sitting-room -which Monsieur Robert Darzac had placed at our disposal. The -reporter was to sleep at the chateau, taking advantage of the to me -inexplicable hospitality offered him by Monsieur Robert Darzac, to -whom Monsieur Stangerson, in that sad time, left the care of all his -domestic affairs. Nevertheless he insisted on accompanying me to -the station at Epinay. In crossing the park, he said to me: - -"Frederic is really very clever and has not belied his reputation. -Do you know how he came to find Daddy Jacques's boots?--Near the -spot where we noticed the traces of the neat boots and the -disappearance of the rough ones, there was a square hole, freshly -made in the moist ground, where a stone had evidently been removed. -Larsan searched for that stone without finding it, and at once -imagined that it had been used by the murderer with which to sink -the boots in the lake. Fred's calculation was an excellent one, -as the success of his search proves. That escaped me; but my mind -was turned in another direction by the large number of false -indications of his track which the murderer left, and by the measure -of the black foot-marks corresponding with that of Daddy Jacques's -boots, which I had established without his suspecting it, on the -floor of The Yellow Room. All which was a proof, in my eyes, that -the murderer had sought to turn suspicion on to the old servant. Up -to that point, Larsan and I are in accord; but no further. It is -going to be a terrible matter; for I tell you he is working on wrong -lines, and I--I, must fight him with nothing!" - -I was surprised at the profoundly grave accent with which my young -friend pronounced the last words. - -He repeated: - -"Yes terrible!--terrible! For it is fighting with nothing, when -you have only an idea to fight with." - -At that moment we passed by the back of the chateau. Night had come. -A window on the first floor was partly open. A feeble light came -from it as well as some sounds which drew our attention. We -approached until we had reached the side of a door that was situated -just under the window. Rouletabille, in a low tone, made me -understand, that this was the window of Mademoiselle Stangerson's -chamber. The sounds which had attracted our attention ceased, then -were renewed for a moment, and then we heard stifled sobs. We were -only able to catch these words, which reached us distinctly: "My -poor Robert!"--Rouletabille whispered in my ear: - -"If we only knew what was being said in that chamber, my inquiry -would soon be finished." - -He looked about him. The darkness of the evening enveloped us; we -could not see much beyond the narrow path bordered by trees, which -ran behind the chateau. The sobs had ceased. - -"If we can't hear we may at least try to see," said Rouletabille. - -And, making a sign to me to deaden the sound of my steps, he led -me across the path to the trunk of a tall beech tree, the white -bole of which was visible in the darkness. This tree grew exactly -in front of the window in which we were so much interested, its -lower branches being on a level with the first floor of the chateau. -From the height of those branches one might certainly see what was -passing in Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber. Evidently that was -what Rouletabille thought, for, enjoining me to remain hidden, he -clasped the trunk with his vigorous arms and climbed up. I soon -lost sight of him amid the branches, and then followed a deep -silence. In front of me, the open window remained lighted, and I -saw no shadow move across it. I listened, and presently from above -me these words reached my ears: - -"After you!" - -"After you, pray!" - -Somebody was overhead, speaking,--exchanging courtesies. What was -my astonishment to see on the slippery column of the tree two human -forms appear and quietly slip down to the ground. Rouletabille had -mounted alone, and had returned with another. - -"Good evening, Monsieur Sainclair!" - -It was Frederic Larsan. The detective had already occupied the post -of observation when my young friend had thought to reach it alone. -Neither noticed my astonishment. I explained that to myself by the -fact that they must have been witnesses of some tender and despairing -scene between Mademoiselle Stangerson, lying in her bed, and Monsieur -Darzac on his knees by her pillow. I guessed that each had drawn -different conclusions from what they had seen. It was easy to see -that the scene had strongly impressed Rouletabille in favour of -Monsieur Robert Darzac; while, to Larsan, it showed nothing but -consummate hypocrisy, acted with finished art by Mademoiselle -Stangerson's fiance. - -As we reached the park gate, Larsan stopped us. - -"My cane!" he cried. "I left it near the tree." - -He left us, saying he would rejoin us presently. - -"Have you noticed Frederic Larsan's cane?" asked the young reporter, -as soon as we were alone. "It is quite a new one, which I have -never seen him use before. He seems to take great care of it--it -never leaves him. One would think he was afraid it might fall into -the hands of strangers. I never saw it before to-day. Where did he -find it? It isn't natural that a man who had never before used a -walking-stick should, the day after the Glandier crime, never move -a step without one. On the day of our arrival at the chateau, as -soon as he saw us, he put his watch in his pocket and picked up his -cane from the ground--a proceeding to which I was perhaps wrong not -to attach some importance." - -We were now out of the park. Rouletabille had dropped into silence. -His thoughts were certainly still occupied with Frederic Larsan's -new cane. I had proof of that when, as we came near to Epinay, he -said: - -"Frederic Larsan arrived at the Glandier before me; he began his -inquiry before me; he has had time to find out things about which -I know nothing. Where did he find that cane?" Then he added: "It -is probable that his suspicion--more than that, his reasoning ---has led him to lay his hand on something tangible. Has this cane -anything to do with it? Where the deuce could he have found it?" - -As I had to wait twenty minutes for the train at Epinay, we entered -a wine shop. Almost immediately the door opened and Frederic Larsan -made his appearance, brandishing his famous cane. - -"I found it!" he said laughingly. - -The three of us seated ourselves at a table. Rouletabille never took -his eyes off the cane; he was so absorbed that he did not notice a -sign Larsan made to a railway 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. - -I turned my eyes again on Rouletabille. - -"Ah,--Monsieur Fred!" he said, "when did you begin to use a -walking-stick? I have always seen you walking with your hands in -your pockets!" - -"It is a present," replied the detective. - -"Recent?" insisted Rouletabille. - -"No, it was given to me in London." - -"Ah, yes, I remember--you have just come from London. May I look -at it?" - -"Oh!--certainly!" - -Fred passed the cane to Rouletabille. It was a large yellow bamboo -with a crutch handle and ornamented with a gold ring. Rouletabille, -after examining it minutely, returned it to Larsan, with a bantering -expression on his face, saying: - -"You were given a French cane in London!" - -"Possibly," said Fred, imperturbably. - -"Read the mark there, in tiny letters: Cassette, 6a, Opera." - -"Cannot English people buy canes in Paris?" - -When Rouletabille had seen me into the train, he said: - -"You'll remember the address?" - -"Yes,--Cassette, 6a, Opera. Rely on me; you shall have word -tomorrow morning." - -That evening, on reaching Paris, I saw Monsieur Cassette, dealer in -walking-sticks and umbrellas, and wrote to my friend: - -"A man unmistakably answering to the description of Monsieur Robert -Darzac--same height, slightly stooping, putty-coloured overcoat, -bowler hat--purchased a cane similar to the one in which we are -interested, on the evening of the crime, about eight o'clock. -Monsieur Cassette had not sold another such cane during the last two -years. Fred's cane is new. It is quite clear that it's the same -cane. Fred did not buy it, since he was in London. Like you, I -think that he found it somewhere near Monsieur Robert Darzac. But -if, as you suppose, the murderer was in The Yellow Room for five, -or even six hours, and the crime was not committed until towards -midnight, the purchase of this cane proves an incontestable alibi -for Darzac." - - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -"The Presbytery Has Lost Nothing of Its Charm, Nor the Garden -Its Brightness" - - -A week after the occurrence of the events I have just recounted--on -the 2nd of November, to be exact--I received at my home in Paris the -following telegraphic message: "Come to the Glandier by the earliest -train. Bring revolvers. Friendly greetings. Rouletabille." - -I have already said, I think, that at that period, being a young -barrister with but few briefs, I frequented the Palais de Justice -rather for the purpose of familiarising myself with my professional -duties than for the defence of the widow and orphan. I could, -therefore, feel no surprise at Rouletabille disposing of my time. -Moreover, he knew how keenly interested I was in his journalistic -adventures in general and, above all, in the murder at the Glandier. -I had not heard from him for a week, nor of the progress made with -that mysterious case, except by the innumerable paragraphs in the -newspapers and by the very brief notes of Rouletabille in the -"Epoque." Those notes had divulged the fact that traces of human -blood had been found on the mutton-bone, as well as fresh traces of -the blood of Mademoiselle Stangerson--the old stains belonged to -other crimes, probably dating years back. - -It may be easily imagined that the crime engaged the attention of -the press throughout the world. No crime known had more absorbed -the minds of people. It appeared to me, however, that the judicial -inquiry was making but very little progress; and I should have been -very glad, if, on the receipt of my friend's invitation to rejoin -him at the Glandier, the despatch had not contained the words, -"Bring revolvers." - -That puzzled me greatly. Rouletabille telegraphing for revolvers -meant that there might be occasion to use them. Now, I confess it -without shame, I am not a hero. But here was a friend, evidently -in danger, calling on me to go to his aid. I did not hesitate long; -and after assuring myself that the only revolver I possessed was -properly loaded, I hurried towards the Orleans station. On the way -I remembered that Rouletabille had asked for two revolvers; I -therefore entered a gunsmith's shop and bought an excellent weapon -for my friend. - -I had hoped to find him at the station at Epinay; but he was not -there. However, a cab was waiting for me and I was soon at the -Glandier. Nobody was at the gate, and it was only on the threshold -of the chateau that I met the young man. He saluted me with a -friendly gesture and threw his arms about me, inquiring warmly as -to the state of my health. - -When we were in the little sitting-room of which I have spoken, -Rouletabille made me sit down. - -"It's going badly," he said. - -"What's going badly?" I asked. - -"Everything." - -He came nearer to me and whispered: - -"Frederic Larsan is working with might and main against Darzac." - -This did not astonish me. I had seen the poor show Mademoiselle -Stangerson's fiance had made at the time of the examination of the -footprints. However, I immediately asked: - -"What about that cane?" - -"It is still in the hands of Frederic Larsan. He never lets go -of it." - -"But doesn't it prove the alibi for Monsieur Darzac?" - -"Not at all. Gently questioned by me, Darzac denied having, on -that evening, or on any other, purchased a cane at Cassette's. -However," said Rouletabille, "I'll not swear to anything; Monsieur -Darzac has such strange fits of silence that one does not know -exactly what to think of what he says." - -"To Frederic Larsan this cane must mean a piece of very damaging -evidence. But in what way? The time when it was bought shows it -could not have been in the murderer's possession." - -"The time doesn't worry Larsan. He is not obliged to adopt my -theory which assumes that the murderer got into The Yellow Room -between five and six o'clock. But there's nothing to prevent him -assuming that the murderer got in between ten and eleven o'clock -at night. At that hour Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson, -assisted by Daddy Jacques, were engaged in making an interesting -chemical experiment in the part of the laboratory taken up by the -furnaces. Larsan says, unlikely as that may seem, that the murderer -may have slipped behind them. He has already got the examining -magistrate to listen to him. When one looks closely into it, the -reasoning is absurd, seeing that the 'intimate'--if there is one ---must have known that the professor would shortly leave the -pavilion, and that the 'friend' had only to put off operating till -after the professor's departure. Why should he have risked crossing -the laboratory while the professor was in it? And then, when he -had got into The Yellow Room? - -"There are many points to be cleared up before Larsan's theory can -be admitted. I sha'n't waste my time over it, for my theory won't -allow me to occupy myself with mere imagination. Only, as I am -obliged for the moment to keep silent, and Larsan sometimes talks, -he may finish by coming out openly against Monsieur Darzac,--if -I'm not there," added the young reporter proudly. "For there are -surface evidences against Darzac, much more convincing than that -cane, which remains incomprehensible to me, all the more so as -Larsan does not in the least hesitate to let Darzac see him with -it!--I understand many things in Larsan's theory, but I can't make -anything of that cane. - -"Is he still at the chateau?" - -"Yes; he hardly ever leaves it!--He sleeps there, as I do, at the -request of Monsieur Stangerson, who has done for him what Monsieur -Robert Darzac has done for me. In spite of the accusation made by -Larsan that Monsieur Stangerson knows who the murderer is he yet -affords him every facility for arriving at the truth,--just as -Darzac is doing for me." - -"But you are convinced of Darzac's innocence?" - -"At one time I did believe in the possibility of his guilt. That -was when we arrived here for the first time. The time has come -for me to tell you what has passed between Monsieur Darzac and -myself." - -Here Rouletabille interrupted himself and asked me if I had brought -the revolvers. I showed him them. Having examined both, he -pronounced them excellent, and handed them back to me. - -"Shall we have any use for them?" I asked. - -"No doubt; this evening. We shall pass the night here--if that -won't tire you?" - -"On the contrary," I said with an expression that made Rouletabille -laugh. - -"No, no," he said, "this is no time for laughing. You remember the -phrase which was the 'open sesame' of this chateau full of mystery?" - -"Yes," I said, "perfectly,--'The presbytery has lost nothing of its -charm, nor the garden its brightness.' It was the phrase which you -found on the half-burned piece of paper amongst the ashes in the -laboratory." - -"Yes; at the bottom of the paper, where the flame had not reached, -was this date: 23rd of October. Remember this date, it is highly -important. I am now going to tell you about that curious phrase. -On the evening before the crime, that is to say, on the 23rd, -Monsieur and Mademoiselle Stangerson were at a reception at the -Elysee. I know that, because I was there on duty, having to -interview one of the savants of the Academy of Philadelphia, who -was being feted there. I had never before seen either Monsieur or -Mademoiselle Stangerson. I was seated in the room which precedes -the Salon des Ambassadeurs, and, tired of being jostled by so many -noble personages, I had fallen into a vague reverie, when I scented -near me the perfume of the lady in black. - -"Do you ask me what is the 'perfume of the lady in black'? It must -suffice for you to know that it is a perfume of which I am very fond, -because it was that of a lady who had been very kind to me in my -childhood,--a lady whom I had always seen dressed in black. The -lady who, that evening, was scented with the perfume of the lady in -black, was dressed in white. She was wonderfully beautiful. I -could not help rising and following her. An old man gave her his -arm and, as they passed, I heard voices say: 'Professor Stangerson -and his daughter.' It was in that way I learned who it was I was -following. - -"They met Monsieur Robert Darzac, whom I knew by sight. Professor -Stangerson, accosted by Mr. Arthur William Rance, one of the -American savants, seated himself in the great gallery, and Monsieur -Robert Darzac led Mademoiselle Stangerson into the conservatory. I -followed. The weather was very mild that evening; the garden doors -were open. Mademoiselle Stangerson threw a fichu shawl over her -shoulders and I plainly saw that it was she who was begging Monsieur -Darzac to go with her into the garden. I continued to follow, -interested by the agitation plainly exhibited by the bearing of -Monsieur Darzac. They slowly passed along the wall abutting on the -Avenue Marigny. I took the central alley, walking parallel with -them, and then crossed over for the purpose of getting nearer to -them. The night was dark, and the grass deadened the sound of my -steps. They had stopped under the vacillating light of a gas jet -and appeared to be both bending over a paper held by Mademoiselle -Stangerson, reading something which deeply interested them. I -stopped in the darkness and silence. - -"Neither of them saw me, and I distinctly heard Mademoiselle -Stangerson repeat, as she was refolding the paper: 'The presbytery -has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its brightness!'--It -was said in a tone at once mocking and despairing, and was followed -by a burst of such nervous laughter that I think her words will -never cease to sound in my ears. But another phrase was uttered by -Monsieur Robert Darzac: 'Must I commit a crime, then, to win you?' -He was in an extraordinarily agitated state. He took the hand of -Mademoiselle Stangerson and held it for a long time to his lips, -and I thought, from the movement of his shoulders, that he was -crying. Then they went away. - -"When I returned to the great gallery," continued Rouletabille, "I -saw no more of Monsieur Robert Darzac, and I was not to see him -again until after the tragedy at the Glandier. Mademoiselle was -near Mr. Rance, who was talking with much animation, his eyes, -during the conversation, glowing with a singular brightness. -Mademoiselle Stangerson, I thought, was not even listening to what -he was saying, her face expressing perfect indifference. His face -was the red face of a drunkard. When Monsieur and Mademoiselle -Stangerson left, he went to the bar and remained there. I joined -him, and rendered him some little service in the midst of the -pressing crowd. He thanked me and told me he was returning to -America three days later, that is to say, on the 26th (the day after -the crime). I talked with him about Philadelphia; he told me he -had lived there for five-and-twenty years, and that it was there he -had met the illustrious Professor Stangerson and his daughter. He -drank a great deal of champagne, and when I left him he was very -nearly drunk. - -"Such were my experiences on that evening, and I leave you to -imagine what effect the news of the attempted murder of Mademoiselle -Stangerson produced on me,--with what force those words pronounced -by Monsieur Robert Darzac, 'Must I commit a crime, then, to win you?' -recurred to me. It was not this phrase, however, that I repeated to -him, when we met here at Glandier. The sentence of the presbytery -and the bright garden sufficed to open the gate of the chateau. If -you ask me if I believe now that Monsieur Darzac is the murderer, I -must say I do not. I do not think I ever quite thought that. At -the time I could not really think seriously of anything. I had so -little evidence to go on. But I needed to have at once the proof -that he had not been wounded in the hand. - -"When we were alone together, I told him how I had chanced to -overhear a part of his conversation with Mademoiselle Stangerson in -the garden of the Elysee; and when I repeated to him the words, -'Must I commit a crime, then, to win you?' he was greatly troubled, -though much less so than he had been by hearing me repeat the phrase -about the presbytery. What threw him into a state of real -consternation was to learn from me that the day on which he had -gone to meet Mademoiselle Stangerson at the Elysee, was the very -day on which she had gone to the Post Office for the letter. It -was that letter, perhaps, which ended with the words: 'The presbytery -has lost nothing of its charm, nor the garden its brightness.' My -surmise was confirmed by my finding, if you remember, in the ashes -of the laboratory, the fragment of paper dated October the 23rd. -The letter had been written and withdrawn from the Post Office on -the same day. - -"There can be no doubt that, on returning from the Elysee that night, -Mademoiselle Stangerson had tried to destroy that compromising paper. -It was in vain that Monsieur Darzac denied that that letter had -anything whatever to do with the crime. I told him that in an -affair so filled with mystery as this, he had no right to hide this -letter; that I was persuaded it was of considerable importance; that -the desperate tone in which Mademoiselle Stangerson had pronounced -the prophetic phrase,--that his own tears, and the threat of a -crime which he had professed after the letter was read--all these -facts tended to leave no room for me to doubt. Monsieur Darzac -became more and more agitated, and I determined to take advantage -of the effect I had produced on him. 'You were on the point of -being married, Monsieur,' I said negligently and without looking -at him, 'and suddenly your marriage becomes impossible because of -the writer of that letter; because as soon as his letter was read, -you spoke of the necessity for a crime to win Mademoiselle -Stangerson. Therefore there is someone between you and her someone -who has attempted to kill her, so that she should not be able to -marry!' And I concluded with these words: 'Now, monsieur, you have -only to tell me in confidence the name of the murderer!'--The words -I had uttered must have struck him ominously, for when I turned my -eyes on him, I saw that his face was haggard, the perspiration -standing on his forehead, and terror showing in his eyes. - -"'Monsieur,' he said to me, 'I am going to ask of you something -which may appear insane, but in exchange for which I place my life -in your hands. You must not tell the magistrates of what you saw -and heard in the garden of the Elysee,--neither to them nor to -anybody. I swear to you, that I am innocent, and I know, I feel, -that you believe me; but I would rather be taken for the guilty man -than see justice go astray on that phrase, "The presbytery has lost -nothing of its charm, nor the garden its brightness." The judges -must know nothing about that phrase. All this matter is in your -hands. Monsieur, I leave it there; but forget the evening at the -Elysee. A hundred other roads are open to you in your search for -the criminal. I will open them for you myself. I will help you. -Will you take up your quarters here?--You may remain here to do -as you please.--Eat--sleep here--watch my actions--the actions -of all here. You shall be master of the Glandier, Monsieur; but -forget the evening at the Elysee.'" - -Rouletabille here paused to take breath. I now understood what had -appeared so unexplainable in the demeanour of Monsieur Robert Darzac -towards my friend, and the facility with which the young reporter -had been able to install himself on the scene of the crime. My -curiosity could not fail to be excited by all I had heard. I asked -Rouletabille to satisfy it still further. What had happened at the -Glandier during the past week?--Had he not told me that there were -surface indications against Monsieur Darzac much more terrible than -that of the cane found by Larsan? - -"Everything seems to be pointing against him," replied my friend, -"and the situation is becoming exceedingly grave. Monsieur Darzac -appears not to mind it much; but in that he is wrong. I was -interested only in the health of Mademoiselle Stangerson, which -was daily improving, when something occurred that is even more -mysterious than--than the mystery of The Yellow Room!" - -"Impossible!" I cried, "What could be more mysterious than that?" - -"Let us first go back to Monsieur Robert Darzac," said Rouletabille, -calming me. "I have said that everything seems to be pointing -against him. The marks of the neat boots found by Frederic Larsan -appear to be really the footprints of Mademoiselle Stangerson's -fiance. The marks made by the bicycle may have been made by his -bicycle. He had usually left it at the chateau; why did he take -it to Paris on that particular occasion? Was it because he was -not going to return again to the chateau? Was it because, owing -to the breaking off of his marriage, his relations with the -Stangersons were to cease? All who are interested in the matter -affirm that those relations were to continue unchanged. - -"Frederic Larsan, however, believes that all relations were at an -end. From the day when Monsieur Darzac accompanied Mademoiselle -Stangerson to the Grands Magasins de la Louvre until the day after -the crime, he had not been at the Glandier. Remember that -Mademoiselle Stangerson lost her reticule containing the key with -the brass head while she was in his company. From that day to the -evening at the Elysee, the Sorbonne professor and Mademoiselle -Stangerson did not see one another; but they may have written to -each other. Mademoiselle Stangerson went to the Post Office to -get a letter, which Larsan says was written by Robert Darzac; for -knowing nothing of what had passed at the Elysee, Larsan believes -that it was Monsieur Darzac himself who stole the reticule with -the key, with the design of forcing her consent, by getting -possession of the precious papers of her father--papers which -he would have restored to him on condition that the marriage -engagement was to be fulfilled. - -"All that would have been a very doubtful and almost absurd -hypothesis, as Larsan admitted to me, but for another and much -graver circumstance. In the first place here is something which I -have not been able to explain--Monsieur Darzac had himself, on the -24th, gone to the Post Office to ask for the letter which -Mademoiselle had called for and received on the previous evening. -The description of the man who made application tallies in every -respect with the appearance of Monsieur Darzac, who, in answer to -the questions put to him by the examining magistrate, denies that -he went to the Post Office. Now even admitting that the letter was -written by him--which I do not believe--he knew that Mademoiselle -Stangerson had received it, since he had seen it in her hands in -the garden at the Elysee. It could not have been he, then, who -had gone to the Post Office, the day after the 24th, to ask for a -letter which he knew was no longer there. - -"To me it appears clear that somebody, strongly resembling him, -stole Mademoiselle Stangerson's reticule and in that letter, had -demanded of her something which she had not sent him. He must have -been surprised at the failure of his demand, hence his application -at the Post Office, to learn whether his letter had been delivered -to the person to whom it had been addressed. Finding that it had -been claimed, he had become furious. What had he demanded? Nobody -but Mademoiselle Stangerson knows. Then, on the day following, it -is reported that she had been attacked during the night, and, the -next day, I discovered that the Professor had, at the same time, -been robbed by means of the key referred to in the poste restante -letter. It would seem, then, that the man who went to the Post -Office to inquire for the letter must have been the murderer. All -these arguments Larsan applies as against Monsieur Darzac. You -may be sure that the examining magistrate, Larsan, and myself, have -done our best to get from the Post Office precise details relative -to the singular personage who applied there on the 24th of October. -But nothing has been learned. We don't know where he came from--or -where he went. Beyond the description which makes him resemble -Monsieur Darzac, we know nothing. - -"I have announced in the leading journals that a handsome reward -will be given to a driver of any public conveyance who drove a fare -to No. 40, Post Office, about ten o'clock on the morning of the 24th -of October. Information to be addressed to 'M. R.,' at the office -of the 'Epoque'; but no answer has resulted. The man may have -walked; but, as he was most likely in a hurry, there was a chance -that he might have gone in a cab. Who, I keep asking myself night -and day, is the man who so strongly resembles Monsieur Robert Darzac, -and who is also known to have bought the cane which has fallen into -Larsan's hands? - -"The most serious fact is that Monsieur Darzac was, at the very same -time that his double presented himself at the Post Office, scheduled -for a lecture at the Sorbonne. He had not delivered that lecture, -and one of his friends took his place. When I questioned him as to -how he had 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. - -"All this seems to fit in with Fred's hypothesis, namely, that -Monsieur Stangerson allowed the murderer to escape in order to avoid -a scandal. The hypothesis is further substantiated by the fact that -Darzac was in The Yellow Room and was permitted to get away. That -hypothesis I believe to be a false one.--Larsan is being misled by -it, though that would not displease me, did it not affect an innocent -person. Now does that hypothesis really mislead Frederic Larsan? -That is the question--that is the question." - -"Perhaps he is right," I cried, interrupting Rouletabille. "Are -you sure that Monsieur Darzac is innocent?--It seems to me that -these are extraordinary coincidences--" - -"Coincidences," replied my friend, "are the worst enemies to truth." - -"What does the examining magistrate think now of the matter?" - -"Monsieur de Marquet hesitates to accuse Monsieur Darzac, in the -absence of absolute proofs. Not only would he have public opinion -wholly against him, to say nothing of the Sorbonne, but Monsieur -and Mademoiselle Stangerson. She adores Monsieur Robert Darzac. -Indistinctly as she saw the murderer, it would be hard to make the -public believe that she could not have recognised him, if Darzac -had been the criminal. No doubt The Yellow Room was very dimly -lit; but a night-light, however small, gives some light. Here, my -boy, is how things stood when, three days, or rather three nights -ago, an extraordinarily strange incident occurred." - - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -"I Expect the Assassin This Evening" - - -"I must take you," said Rouletabille, "so as to enable you to -understand, to the various scenes. I myself believe that I have -discovered what everybody else is searching for, namely, how the -murderer escaped from The Yellow Room, without any accomplice, and -without Mademoiselle Stangerson having had anything to do with it. -But so long as I am not sure of the real murderer, I cannot state -the theory on which I am working. I can only say that I believe -it to be correct and, in any case, a quite natural and simple one. -As to what happened in this place three nights ago, I must say it -kept me wondering for a whole day and a night. It passes all belief. -The theory I have formed from the incident is so absurd that I would -rather matters remained as yet unexplained." - -Saying which the young reporter invited me to go and make the tour -of the chateau with him. The only sound to be heard was the -crunching of the dead leaves beneath our feet. The silence was so -intense that one might have thought the chateau had been abandoned. -The old stones, the stagnant water of the ditch surrounding the -donjon, the bleak ground strewn with the dead leaves, the dark, -skeleton-like outlines of the trees, all contributed to give to the -desolate place, now filled with its awful mystery, a most funereal -aspect. As we passed round the donjon, we met the Green Man, the -forest-keeper, who did not greet us, but walked by as if we had not -existed. He was looking just as I had formerly seen him through -the window of the Donjon Inn. He had still his fowling-piece slung -at his back, his pipe was in his mouth, and his eye-glasses on his -nose. - -"An odd kind of fish!" Rouletabille said to me, in a low tone. - -"Have you spoken to him?" I asked. - -"Yes, but I could get nothing out of him. His only answers are -grunts and shrugs of the shoulders. He generally lives on the -first floor of the donjon, a big room that once served for an -oratory. He lives like a bear, never goes out without his gun, -and is only pleasant with the girls. The women, for twelve miles -round, are all setting their caps for him. For the present, he is -paying attention to Madame Mathieu, whose husband is keeping a -lynx eye upon her in consequence." - -After passing the donjon, which is situated at the extreme end of -the left wing, we went to the back of the chateau. Rouletabille, -pointing to a window which I recognised as the only one belonging -to Mademoiselle Stangerson's apartment, said to me: - -"If you had been here, two nights ago, you would have seen your -humble servant at the top of a ladder, about to enter the chateau -by that window." - -As I expressed some surprise at this piece of nocturnal gymnastics, -he begged me to notice carefully the exterior disposition of the -chateau. We then went back into the building. - -"I must now show you the first floor of the chateau, where I am -living," said my friend. - -To enable the reader the better to understand the disposition of -these parts of the dwelling, I annex a plan of the first floor of -the right wing, drawn by Rouletabille the day after the -extraordinary phenomenon occurred, the details of which I am about -to relate. - -*** - - boudoir -___ ____ ___________ _______\___ ________4________ _______ _________ __ -| | | | | | -| | Mlle. | | Mlle. |___ ___ ___| Mr. - Lumber |Strangerson's Strangerson's|___ ___ ___|Strangerson's -| Room | Sitting | | Bed Room |___ ___ ___| Room -| | Room | |__ __ _____|stair-case | - | | |bath|anteroom| | -|_____ ______|____ ______|___|____|___ ___| |______ _____ -| - 2 ------ Right Gallery Right Wing--------- 3 Right Gallery - Left Wing -|_________ _____ _________ ______ _______ __ __ __ _________ _____ - -|Roulet- | W G | -|tabille's | I A | Right Wing Left Wing -| Room N L of the -|_________ | D L | Chateau - Frederic | I E | -|Larsan's N R -| Room | G Y | - | | -|____ ____ | _1_ | - . 5 . - . 6 . - . . - . . . - -*** - -Rouletabille motioned me to follow him up a magnificent flight of -stairs ending in a landing on the first floor. From this landing -one could pass to the right or left wing of the chateau by a gallery -opening from it. This gallery, high and wide, extended along the -whole length of the building and was lit from the front of the -chateau facing the north. The rooms, the windows of which looked -to the south, opened out of the gallery. Professor Stangerson -inhabited the left wing of the building. Mademoiselle Stangerson -had her apartment in the right wing. - -We entered the gallery to the right. A narrow carpet, laid on the -waxed oaken floor, which shone like glass, deadened the sound of our -footsteps. Rouletabille asked me, in a low tone, to walk carefully, -as we were passing the door of Mademoiselle Stangerson's apartment. -This consisted of a bed-room, an ante-room, a small bath-room, a -boudoir, and a drawing-room. One could pass from one to another of -these rooms without having to go by way of the gallery. The gallery -continued straight to the western end of the building, where it was -lit by a high window (window 2 on the plan). At about two-thirds of -its length this gallery, at a right angle, joined another gallery -following the course of the right wing. - -The better to follow this narrative, we shall call the gallery -leading from the stairs to the eastern window, the "right" gallery -and the gallery quitting it at a right angle, the "off-turning" -gallery (winding gallery in the plan). It was at the meeting point -of the two galleries that Rouletabille had his chamber, adjoining -that of Frederic Larsan, the door of each opening on to the -"off-turning" gallery, while the doors of Mademoiselle Stangerson's -apartment opened into the "right" gallery. (See the plan.) - -Rouletabille opened the door of his room and after we had passed -in, carefully drew the bolt. I had not had time to glance round -the place in which he had been installed, when he uttered a cry of -surprise and pointed to a pair of eye-glasses on a side-table. - -"What are these doing here?" he asked. - -I should have been puzzled to answer him. - -"I wonder," he said, "I wonder if this is what I have been searching -for. I wonder if these are the eye-glasses from the presbytery!" - -He seized them eagerly, his fingers caressing the glass. Then -looking at me, with an expression of terror on his face, he murmured, -"Oh!--Oh!" - -He repeated the exclamation again and again, as if his thoughts had -suddenly turned his brain. - -He rose and, putting his hand on my shoulder, laughed like one -demented as he said: - -"Those glasses will drive me silly! Mathematically speaking the -thing is possible; but humanly speaking it is impossible--or -afterwards--or afterwards--" - -Two light knocks struck the door. Rouletabille opened it. A figure -entered. I recognised the concierge, whom I had seen when she was -being taken to the pavilion for examination. I was surprised, -thinking she was still under lock and key. This woman said in a -very low tone: - -"In the grove of the parquet." - -Rouletabille replied: "Thanks."--The woman then left. He again -turned to me, his look haggard, after having carefully refastened -the door, muttering some incomprehensible phrases. - -"If the thing is mathematically possible, why should it not be -humanly!--And if it is humanly possible, the matter is simply awful." -I interrupted him in his soliloquy: - -"Have they set the concierges at liberty, then?" I asked. - -"Yes," he replied, "I had them liberated, I needed people I could -trust. The woman is thoroughly devoted to me, and her husband would -lay down his life for me." - -"Oho!" I said, "when will he have occasion to do it?" - -"This evening,--for this evening I expect the murderer." - -"You expect the murderer this evening? Then you know him?" - -"I shall know him; but I should be mad to affirm, categorically, at -this moment that I do know him. The mathematical idea I have of the -murderer gives results so frightful, so monstrous, that I hope it is -still possible that I am mistaken. I hope so, with all my heart!" - -"Five minutes ago, you did not know the murderer; how can you say -that you expect him this evening?" - -"Because I know that he must come." - -Rouletabille very slowly filled his pipe and lit it. That meant an -interesting story. At that moment we heard some one walking in the -gallery and passing before our door. Rouletabille listened. The -sound of the footstep died away in the distance. - -"Is Frederic Larsan in his room?" I asked, pointing to the partition. - -"No," my friend answered. "He went to Paris this morning,--still -on the scent of Darzac, who also left for Paris. That matter will -turn out badly. I expect that Monsieur Darzac will be arrested in -the course of the next week. The worst of it is that everything -seems to be in league against him,--circumstances, things, people. -Not an hour passes without bringing some new evidence against him. -The examining magistrate is overwhelmed by it--and blind." - -"Frederic Larsan, however, is not a novice," I said. - -"I thought so," said Rouletabille, with a slightly contemptuous turn -of his lips, "I fancied he was a much abler man. I had, indeed, a -great admiration for him, before I got to know his method of working. -It's deplorable. He owes his reputation solely to his ability; but -he lacks reasoning power,--the mathematics of his ideas are very -poor." - -I looked closely at Rouletabille and could not help smiling, on -hearing this boy of eighteen talking of a man who had proved to -the world that he was the finest police sleuth in Europe. - -"You smile," he said? "you are wrong! I swear I will outwit him ---and in a striking way! But I must make haste about it, for he has -an enormous start on me--given him by Monsieur Robert Darzac, who -is this evening going to increase it still more. Think of it! ---every time the murderer comes to the chateau, Monsieur Darzac, by -a strange fatality, absents himself and refuses to give any account -of how he employs his time." - -"Every time the assassin comes to the chateau!" I cried. "Has he -returned then--?" - -"Yes, during that famous night when the strange phenomenon occurred." - -I was now going to learn about the astonishing phenomenon to which -Rouletabille had made allusion half an hour earlier without giving -me any explanation of it. But I had learned never to press -Rouletabille in his narratives. He spoke when the fancy took him -and when he judged it to be right. He was less concerned about my -curiosity than he was for making a complete summing up for himself -of any important matter in which he was interested. - -At last, in short rapid phrases, he acquainted me with things which -plunged me into a state bordering on complete bewilderment. Indeed, -the results of that still unknown science known as hypnotism, for -example, were not more inexplicable than the disappearance of the -"matter" of the murderer at the moment when four persons were within -touch of him. I speak of hypnotism as I would of electricity, for -of the nature of both we are ignorant and we know little of their -laws. I cite these examples because, at the time, the case appeared -to me to be only explicable by the inexplicable,--that is to say, -by an event outside of known natural laws. And yet, if I had had -Rouletabille's brain, I should, like him, have had a presentiment -of the natural explanation; for the most curious thing about all -the mysteries of the Glandier case was the natural manner in which -he explained them. - -I have among the papers that were sent me by the young man, after -the affair was over, a note-book of his, in which a complete account -is given of the phenomenon of the disappearance of the "matter" of -the assassin, and the thoughts to which it gave rise in the mind of -my young friend. It is preferable, I think, to give the reader this -account, rather than continue to reproduce my conversation with -Rouletabille; for I should be afraid, in a history of this nature, -to add a word that was not in accordance with the strictest truth. - - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -The Trap - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE) - -"Last night--the night between the 29th and 30th of October--" wrote -Joseph Rouletabille, "I woke up towards one o'clock in the morning. -Was it sleeplessness, or noise without?--The cry of the Bete du -Bon Dieu rang out with sinister loudness from the end of the park. -I rose and opened the window. Cold wind and rain; opaque darkness; -silence. I reclosed my window. Again the sound of the cat's weird -cry in the distance. I partly dressed in haste. The weather was -too bad for even a cat to be turned out in it. What did it mean, -then--that imitating of the mewing of Mother Angenoux' cat so near -the chateau? I seized a good-sized stick, the only weapon I had, -and, without making any noise, opened the door. - -"The gallery into which I went was well lit by a lamp with a -reflector. I felt a keen current of air and, on turning, found the -window open, at the extreme end of the gallery, which I call the -'off-turning' gallery, to distinguish it from the 'right' gallery, -on to which the apartment of Mademoiselle Stangerson opened. These -two galleries cross each other at right angles. Who had left that -window open? Or, who had come to open it? I went to the window and -leaned out. Five feet below me there was a sort of terrace over the -semi-circular projection of a room on the ground-floor. One could, -if one wanted, jump from the window on to the terrace, and allow -oneself to drop from it into the court of the chateau. Whoever had -entered by this road had, evidently, not had a key to the vestibule -door. But why should I be thinking of my previous night's attempt -with the ladder?--Because of the open window--left open, perhaps, -by the negligence of a servant? I reclosed it, smiling at the ease -with which I built a drama on the mere suggestion of an open window. - -"Again the cry of the Bete du Bon Dieu!--and then silence. The -rain ceased to beat on the window. All in the chateau slept. I -walked with infinite precaution on the carpet of the gallery. On -reaching the corner of the 'right' gallery, I peered round it -cautiously. There was another lamp there with a reflector which -quite lit up the several objects in it,--three chairs and some -pictures hanging on the wall. What was I doing there? Perfect -silence reigned throughout. Everything was sunk in repose. What -was the instinct that urged me towards Mademoiselle Stangerson's -chamber? Why did a voice within me cry: 'Go on, to the chamber of -Mademoiselle Stangerson!' I cast my eyes down upon the carpet on -which I was treading and saw that my steps were being directed -towards Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber by the marks of steps -that had already been made there. Yes, on the carpet were traces -of footsteps stained with mud leading to the chamber of Mademoiselle -Stangerson. Horror! Horror!--I recognised in those footprints -the impression of the neat boots of the murderer! He had come, then, -from without in this wretched night. If you could descend from the -gallery by way of the window, by means of the terrace, then you could -get into the chateau by the same means. - -"The murderer was still in the chateau, for here were marks as of -returning footsteps. He had entered by the open window at the -extremity of the 'off-turning' gallery; he had passed Frederic -Larsan's door and mine, had turned to the right, and had entered -Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. I am before the door of her -ante-room--it is open. I push it, without making the least noise. -Under the door of the room itself I see a streak of light. I -listen--no sound--not even of breathing! Ah!--if I only knew -what was passing in the silence that is behind that door! I find -the door locked and the key turned on the inner side. And the -murderer is there, perhaps. He must be there! Will he escape this -time?--All depends on me!--I must be calm, and above all, I must -make no false steps. I must see into that room. I can enter it by -Mademoiselle Stangerson's drawing-room; but, to do that I should -have to cross her boudoir; and while I am there, the murderer may -escape by the gallery door--the door in front of which I am now -standing. - -"I am sure that no other crime is being committed, on this night; -for there is complete silence in the boudoir, where two nurses are -taking care of Mademoiselle Stangerson until she is restored to -health. - -"As I am almost sure that the murderer is there, why do I not at -once give the alarm? The murderer may, perhaps, escape; but, -perhaps, I may be able to save Mademoiselle Stangerson's life. -Suppose the murderer on this occasion is not here to murder? The -door has been opened to allow him to enter; by whom?--And it has -been refastened--by whom?--Mademoiselle Stangerson shuts herself -up in her apartment with her nurses every night. Who turned the -key of that chamber to allow the murderer to enter?--The nurses, ---two faithful domestics? The old chambermaid, Sylvia? It is very -improbable. Besides, they slept in the boudoir, and Mademoiselle -Stangerson, very nervous and careful, Monsieur Robert Darzac told -me, sees to her own safety since she has been well enough to move -about in her room, which I have not yet seen her leave. This -nervousness and sudden care on her part, which had struck Monsieur -Darzac, had given me, also, food for thought. At the time of the -crime in The Yellow Room, there can be no doubt that she expected -the murderer. Was he expected this night?--Was it she herself -who had opened her door to him? Had she some reason for doing so? -Was she obliged to do it?--Was it a meeting for purposes of crime? ---Certainly it was not a lover's meeting, for I believe Mademoiselle -Stangerson adores Monsieur Darzac. - -"All these reflections ran through my brain like a flash of -lightning. What would I not give to know! - -"It is possible that there was some reason for the awful silence. -My intervention might do more harm than good. How could I tell? -How could I know I might not any moment cause another crime? If -I could only see and know, without breaking that silence! - -"I left the ante-room and descended the central stairs to the -vestibule and, as silently as possible, made my way to the little -room on the ground-floor where Daddy Jacques had been sleeping since -the attack made at the pavilion. - -"I found him dressed, his eyes wide open, almost haggard. He did -not seem surprised to see me. He told me that he had got up because -he had heard the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu, and because he had -heard footsteps in the park, close to his window, out of which he -had looked and, just then, had seen a black shadow pass by. I asked -him whether he had a firearm of any kind. No, he no longer kept -one, since the examining magistrate had taken his revolver from him. -We went out together, by a little back door, into the park, and -stole along the chateau to the point which is just below Mademoiselle -Stangerson's window. - -"I placed Daddy Jacques against the wall, ordering him not to stir -from the spot, while I, taking advantage of a moment when the moon -was hidden by a cloud, moved to the front of the window, out of the -patch of light which came from it,--for the window was half-open! -If I could only know what was passing in that silent chamber! I -returned to Daddy Jacques and whispered the word 'ladder' in his ear. -At first I had thought of the tree which, a week ago, served me for -an observatory; but I immediately saw that, from the way the window -was half-opened, I should not be able to see from that point of view -anything that was passing in the room; and I wanted, not only to see, -but to hear, and--to act. - -"Greatly agitated, almost trembling, Daddy Jacques disappeared for -a moment and returned without the ladder, but making signs to me -with his arms, as signals to me to come quickly to him. When I got -near him he gasped: 'Come!' - -"'I went to the donjon in search of my ladder, and in the lower part -of the donjon which serves me and the gardener for a lumber room, I -found the door open and the ladder gone. On coming out, that's what -I caught sight of by the light of the moon. - -"And he pointed to the further end of the chateau, where a ladder -stood resting against the stone brackets supporting the terrace, -under the window which I had found open. The projection of the -terrace had prevented my seeing it. Thanks to that ladder, it was -quite easy to get into the 'off-turning' gallery of the first floor, -and I had no doubt of it having been the road taken by the unknown. - -"We ran to the ladder, but at the moment of reaching it, Daddy -Jacques drew my attention to the half-open door of the little -semi-circular room, situated under the terrace, at the extremity of -the right wing of the chateau, having the terrace for its roof. -Daddy Jacques pushed the door open a little further and looked in. - -"'He's not there!" he whispered. - -"Who is not there?" - -"The forest--keeper." - -With his lips once more to my ear, he added: - -"'Do you know that he has slept in the upper room of the donjon ever -since it was restored?' And with the same gesture he pointed to the -half-open door, the ladder, the terrace, and the windows in the -'off-turning' gallery which, a little while before, I had re-closed. - -"What were my thoughts then? I had no time to think. I felt more -than I thought. - -"Evidently, I felt, if the forest-keeper is up there in the chamber -(I say, if, because at this moment, apart from the presence of the -ladder and his vacant room, there are no evidences which permit me -even to suspect him)--if he is there, he has been obliged to pass -by the ladder, and the rooms which lie behind his, in his new -lodging, are occupied by the family of the steward and by the cook, -and by the kitchens, which bar the way by the vestibule to the -interior of the chateau. And if he had been there during the evening -on any pretext, it would have been easy for him to go into the -gallery and see that the window could be simply pushed open from -the outside. This question of the unfastened window easily narrowed -the field of search for the murderer. He must belong to the house, -unless he had an accomplice, which I do not believe he had; unless ---unless Mademoiselle Stangerson herself had seen that that window -was not fastened from the inside. But, then,--what could be the -frightful secret which put her under the necessity of doing away -with obstacles that separated her from the murderer? - -"I seized hold of the ladder, and we returned to the back of the -chateau to see if the window of the chamber was still half-open. -The blind was drawn but did not join and allowed a bright stream -of light to escape and fall upon the path at our feet. I planted -the ladder under the window. I am almost sure that I made no noise; -and while Daddy Jacques remained at the foot of the ladder, I -mounted it, very quietly, my stout stick in my hand. I held my -breath and lifted my feet with the greatest care. Suddenly a heavy -cloud discharged itself at that moment in a fresh downpour of rain. - -"At the same instant the sinister cry of the Bete du bon Dieu -arrested me in my ascent. It seemed to me to have come from close -by me--only a few yards away. Was the cry a signal?--Had some -accomplice of the man seen me on the ladder!--Would the cry bring -the man to the window?--Perhaps! Ah, there he was at the window! -I felt his head above me. I heard the sound of his breath! I could -not look up towards him; the least movement of my head, and--I -might be lost. Would he see me?--Would he peer into the darkness? -No; he went away. He had seen nothing. I felt, rather than heard, -him moving on tip-toe in the room; and I mounted a few steps higher. -My head reached to the level of the window-sill; my forehead rose -above it; my eyes looked between the opening in the blinds--and I -saw--A man seated at Mademoiselle Stangerson's little desk, -writing. His back was turned toward me. A candle was lit before -him, and he bent over the flame, the light from it projecting -shapeless shadows. I saw nothing but a monstrous, stooping back. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson herself was not there!--Her bed had not -been lain on! Where, then, was she sleeping that night? Doubtless -in the side-room with her women. Perhaps this was but a guess. I -must content myself with the joy of finding the man alone. I must -be calm to prepare my trap. - -"But who, then, is this man writing there before my eyes, seated at -the desk, as if he were in his own home? If there had not been that -ladder under the window; if there had not been those footprints on -the carpet in the gallery; if there had not been that open window, -I might have been led to think that this man had a right to be there, -and that he was there as a matter of course and for reasons about -which as yet I knew nothing. But there was no doubt that this -mysterious unknown was the man of The Yellow Room,--the man to -whose murderous assault Mademoiselle Stangerson--without denouncing -him--had had to submit. If I could but see his face! Surprise -and capture him! - -"If I spring into the room at this moment, he will escape by the -right-hand door opening into the boudoir,--or crossing the -drawing-room, he will reach the gallery and I shall lose him. I -have him now and in five minutes more he'll be safer than if I had -him in a cage.--What is he doing there, alone in Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room?--What is he writing? I descend and place the -ladder on the ground. Daddy Jacques follows me. We re-enter the -chateau. I send Daddy Jacques to wake Monsieur Stangerson, and -instruct him to await my coming in Mademoiselle Stangerson's room -and to say nothing definite to him before my arrival. I will go -and awaken Frederic Larsan. It's a bore to have to do it, for I -should have liked to work alone and to have carried off all the -honors of this affair myself, right under the very nose of the -sleeping detective. But Daddy Jacques and Monsieur Stangerson are -old men, and I am not yet fully developed. I might not be strong -enough. Larsan is used to wrestling and putting on the handcuffs. -He opened his eyes swollen with sleep, ready to send me flying, -without in the least believing in my reporter's fancies. I had to -assure him that the man was there! - -"'That's strange!' he said; 'I thought I left him this afternoon -in Paris.' - -"He dressed himself in haste and armed himself with a revolver. We -stole quietly into the gallery. - -"'Where is he?' Larsan asked. - -"'In Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. - -"'And--Mademoiselle Stangerson?' - -"'She is not in there.' - -"'Let's go in.' - -"'Don't go there! On the least alarm the man will escape. He has -four ways by which to do it--the door, the window, the boudoir, or -the room in which the women are sleeping.' - -"'I'll draw him from below.' - -"'And if you fail?--If you only succeed in wounding him--he'll -escape again, without reckoning that he is certainly armed. No, -let me direct the expedition, and I'll answer for everything.' - -"'As you like,' he replied, with fairly good grace. - -"Then, after satisfying myself that all the windows of the two -galleries were thoroughly secure, I placed Frederic Larsan at the -end of the 'off-turning' gallery, before the window which I had -found open and had reclosed. - -"'Under no consideration,' I said to him, 'must you stir from this -post till I call you. The chances are even that the man, when he -is pursued, will return to this window and try to save himself that -way; for it is by that way he came in and made a way ready for his -flight. You have a dangerous post.' - -"'What will be yours?' asked Fred. - -"'I shall spring into the room and knock him over for you.' - -"'Take my revolver,' said Fred, 'and I'll take your stick.' - -"'Thanks,' I said; 'You are a brave man.' - -"I accepted his offer. I was going to be alone with the man in the -room writing and was really thankful to have the weapon. - -"I left Fred, having posted him at the window (No. 5 on the plan), -and, with the greatest precaution, went towards Monsieur Stangerson's -apartment in the left wing of the chateau. I found him with Daddy -Jacques, who had faithfully obeyed my directions, confining himself -to asking his master to dress as quickly as possible. In a few -words I explained to Monsieur Stangerson what was passing. He armed -himself with a revolver, followed me, and we were all three speedily -in the gallery. Since I had seen the murderer seated at the desk -ten minutes had elapsed. Monsieur Stangerson wished to spring upon -the assassin at once and kill him. I made him understand that, -above all, he must not, in his desire to kill him, miss him. - -"When I had sworn to him that his daughter was not in the room, -and in no danger, he conquered his impatience and left me to direct -the operations. I told them that they must come to me the moment -I called to them, or when I fired my revolver. I then sent Daddy -Jacques to place himself before the window at the end of the 'right' -gallery. (No. 2 on my plan.) I chose that position 'for Daddy -Jacques because I believed that the murderer, tracked, on leaving -the room, would run through the gallery towards the window which -he had left open, and, instantly seeing that it was guarded by -Larsan, would pursue his course along the 'right' gallery. There -he would encounter Daddy Jacques, who would prevent his springing -out of the window into the park. Under that window there was a sort -of buttress, while all the other windows in the galleries were at -such a height from the ground that it was almost impossible to jump -from them without breaking one's neck. All the doors and windows, -including those of the lumber-room at the end of the 'right' gallery ---as I had rapidly assured myself--were strongly secured. - -"Having indicated to Daddy Jacques the post he was to occupy, and -having seen him take up his position, I placed Monsieur Stangerson -on the landing at the head of the stairs not far from the door of -his daughter's ante-room, rather than the boudoir, where the women -were, and the door of which must have been locked by Mademoiselle -Stangerson herself if, as I thought, she had taken refuge in the -boudoir for the purpose of avoiding the murderer who was coming -to see her. In any case, he must return to the gallery where my -people were awaiting him at every possible exit. - -"On coming there, he would see on his left, Monsieur Stangerson; he -would turn to the right, towards the 'off-turning' gallery--the way -he had pre-arranged for flight, where, at the intersection of the -two galleries, he would see at once, as I have explained, on his -left, Frederic Larsan at the end of the 'off-turning' gallery, and -in front, Daddy Jacques, at the end of the 'right' gallery. Monsieur -Stangerson and myself would arrive by way of the back of the chateau. ---He is ours!--He can no longer escape us! I was sure of that. - -"The plan I had formed seemed to me the best, the surest, and the -most simple. It would, no doubt, have been simpler still, if we -had been able to place some one directly behind the door of -Mademoiselle's boudoir, which opened out of her bedchamber, and, -in that way, had been in a position to besiege the two doors of the -room in which the man was. But we could not penetrate the boudoir -except by way of the drawing-room, the door of which had been -locked on the inside by Mademoiselle Stangerson. But even if I had -had the free disposition of the boudoir, I should have held to the -plan I had formed; because any other plan of attack would have -separated us at the moment of the struggle with the man, while my -plan united us all for the attack, at a spot which I had selected -with almost mathematical precision,--the intersection of the two -galleries. - -"Having so placed my people, I again left the chateau, hurried to -my ladder, and, replacing it, climbed up, revolver in hand. - -"If there be any inclined to smile at my taking so many precautionary -measures, I refer them to the mystery of The Yellow Room, and to all -the proofs we have of the weird cunning of the murderer. Further, if -there be some who think my observations needlessly minute at a moment -when they ought to be completely held by rapidity of movement and -decision of action, I reply that I have wished to report here, at -length and completely, all the details of a plan of attack conceived -so rapidly that it is only the slowness of my pen that gives an -appearance of slowness to the execution. I have wished, by this -slowness and precision, to be certain that nothing should be omitted -from the conditions under which the strange phenomenon was produced, -which, until some natural explanation of it is forthcoming, seems to -me to prove, even better than the theories of Professor Stangerson, -the Dissociation of Matter--I will even say, the instantaneous -Dissociation of Matter." - - - - - -Chapter XVI - -Strange Phenomenon of the Dissociation of Matter - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued) - -"I am again at the window-sill," continues Rouletabille, "and once -more I raise my head above it. Through an opening in the curtains, -the arrangement of which has not been changed, I am ready to look, -anxious to note the position in which I am going to find the murderer, ---whether his back will still be turned towards me!--whether he is -still seated at the desk writing! But perhaps--perhaps--he is no -longer there!--Yet how could he have fled?--Was I not in possession -of his ladder? I force myself to be cool. I raise my head yet -higher. I look--he is still there. I see his monstrous back, -deformed by the shadow thrown by the candle. He is no longer -writing now, and the candle is on the parquet, over which he is -bending--a position which serves my purpose. - -"I hold my breath. I mount the ladder. I am on the uppermost rung -of it, and with my left hand seize hold of the window-sill. In this -moment of approaching success, I feel my heart beating wildly. I -put my revolver between my teeth. A quick spring, and I shall be -on the window-ledge. But--the ladder! I had been obliged to press -on it heavily, and my foot had scarcely left it, when I felt it -swaying beneath me. It grated on the wall and fell. But, already, -my knees were touching the window-sill, and, by a movement quick as -lightning, I got on to it. - -"But the murderer had been even quicker than I had been. He had -heard the grating of the ladder on the wall, and I saw the monstrous -back of the man raise itself. I saw his head. Did I really see it? ---The candle on the parquet lit up his legs only. Above the height -of the table the chamber was in darkness. I saw a man with long -hair, a full beard, wild-looking eyes, a pale face, framed in large -whiskers,--as well as I could distinguish, and, as I think--red -in colour. I did not know the face. That was, in brief, the chief -sensation I received from that face in the dim half-light in which I -saw it. I did not know it--or, at least, I did not recognise it. - -"Now for quick action! It was indeed time for that, for as I was -about to place my legs through the window, the man had seen me, had -bounded to his feet, had sprung--as I foresaw he would--to the -door of the ante-chamber, had time to open it, and fled. But I was -already behind him, revolver in hand, shouting 'Help!' - -"Like an arrow I crossed the room, but noticed a letter on the table -as I rushed. I almost came up with the man in the ante-room, for he -had lost time in opening the door to the gallery. I flew on wings, -and in the gallery was but a few feet behind him. He had taken, as -I supposed he would, the gallery on his right,--that is to say, the -road he had prepared for his flight. 'Help, Jacques!--help, Larsan!' -I cried. He could not escape us! I raised a shout of joy, of -savage victory. The man reached the intersection of the two -galleries hardly two seconds before me for the meeting which I had -prepared--the fatal shock which must inevitably take place at that -spot! We all rushed to the crossing-place--Monsieur Stangerson -and I coming from one end of the right gallery, Daddy Jacques coming -from the other end of the same gallery, and Frederic Larsan coming -from the 'off-turning' gallery. - -"The man was not there! - -"We looked at each other stupidly and with eyes terrified. The man -had vanished like a ghost. 'Where is he--where is he?' we all -asked. - -"'It is impossible he can have escaped!' I cried, my terror mastered -by my anger. - -"'I touched him!' exclaimed Frederic Larsan. - -"'I felt his breath on my face!' cried Daddy Jacques. - -"'Where is he?'--where is he?' we all cried. - -"We raced like madmen along the two galleries; we visited doors and -windows--they were closed, hermetically closed. They had not been -opened. Besides, the opening of a door or window by this man whom -we were hunting, without our having perceived it, would have been -more inexplicable than his disappearance. - -"Where is he?--where is he?--He could not have got away by a -door or a window, nor by any other way. He could not have passed -through our bodies! - -"I confess that, for the moment, I felt 'done for.' For the gallery -was perfectly lighted, and there was neither trap, nor secret door -in the walls, nor any sort of hiding-place. We moved the chairs and -lifted the pictures. Nothing!--nothing! We would have looked into -a flower-pot, if there had been one to look into!" - -When this mystery, thanks to Rouletabille, was naturally explained, -by the help alone of his masterful mind, we were able to realise -that the murderer had got away neither by a door, a window, nor the -stairs--a fact which the judges would not admit. - - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -The Inexplicable Gallery - - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson appeared at the door of her ante-room," -continues Rouletabille's note-book. "We were near her door in the -gallery where this incredible phenomenon had taken place. There -are moments when one feels as if one's brain were about to burst. -A bullet in the head, a fracture of the skull, the seat of reason -shattered--with only these can I compare the sensation which -exhausted and left me void of sense. - -"Happily, Mademoiselle Stangerson appeared on the threshold of her -ante-room. I saw her, and that helped to relieve my chaotic state -of mind. I breathed her--I inhaled the perfume of the lady in black, -whom I should never see again. I would have given ten years of my -life--half my life--to see once more the lady in black! Alas! -I no more meet her but from time to time,--and yet!--and yet! -how the memory of that perfume--felt by me alone--carries me back -to the days of my childhood.* It was this sharp reminder from my -beloved perfume, of the lady in black, which made me go to her ---dressed wholly in white and so pale--so pale and so beautiful! ---on the threshold of the inexplicable gallery. Her beautiful -golden hair, gathered into a knot on the back of her neck, left -visible the red star on her temple which had so nearly been the -cause of her death. When I first got on the right track of the -mystery of this case I had imagined that, on the night of the -tragedy in The Yellow Room, Mademoiselle Stangerson had worn her -hair in bands. But then, how could I have imagined otherwise when -I had not been in The Yellow Room! -_____________________________________________________________________ - -*When I wrote these lines, Joseph Rouletabille was eighteen years of -age,--and he spoke of his "youth." I have kept the text of my friend, -but I inform the reader here that the episode of the mystery of The -Yellow Room has no connection with that of the perfume of the lady -in black. It is not my fault if, in the document which I have cited, -Rouletabille thought fit to refer to his childhood. -_____________________________________________________________________ - -"But now, since the occurrence of the inexplicable gallery, I did -not reason at all. I stood there, stupid, before the apparition ---so pale and so beautiful--of Mademoiselle Stangerson. She was -clad in a dressing-gown of dreamy white. One might have taken her -to be a ghost--a lovely phantom. Her father took her in his arms -and kissed her passionately, as if he had recovered her after being -long lost to him. I dared not question her. He drew her into the -room and we followed them,--for we had to know!--The door of the -boudoir was open. The terrified faces of the two nurses craned -towards us. Mademoiselle Stangerson inquired the meaning of all -the disturbance. That she was not in her own room was quite easily -explained--quite easily. She had a fancy not to sleep that night -in her chamber, but in the boudoir with her nurses, locking the door -on them. Since the night of the crime she had experienced feelings -of terror, and fears came over her that are easily to be -comprehended. - -"But who could imagine that on that particular night when he was -to come, she would, by a mere chance, determine to shut herself in -with her women? Who would think that she would act contrary to her -father's wish to sleep in the drawing-room? Who could believe that -the letter which had so recently been on the table in her room would -no longer be there? He who could understand all this, would have to -assume that Mademoiselle Stangerson knew that the murderer was coming ---she could not prevent his coming again--unknown to her father, -unknown to all but to Monsieur Robert Darzac. For he must know it -now--perhaps he had known it before! Did he remember that phrase -in the Elysee garden: 'Must I commit a crime, then, to win you?' -Against whom the crime, if not against the obstacle, against the -murderer? 'Ah, I would kill him with my own hand!' And I replied, -'You have not answered my question.' That was the very truth. In -truth, in truth, Monsieur Darzac knew the murderer so well that ---while wishing to kill him himself--he was afraid I should find -him. There could be but two reasons why he had assisted me in my -investigation. First, because I forced him to do it; and, second, -because she would be the better protected. - -"I am in the chamber--her room. I look at her, also at the place -where the letter had just now been. She has possessed herself of -it; it was evidently intended for her--evidently. How she trembles! ---Trembles at the strange story her father is telling her, of the -presence of the murderer in her chamber, and of the pursuit. But -it is plainly to be seen that she is not wholly satisfied by the -assurance given her until she had been told that the murderer, by -some incomprehensible means, had been able to elude us. - -"Then follows a silence. What a silence! We are all there--looking -at her--her father, Larsan, Daddy Jacques and I. What were we all -thinking of in the silence? After the events of that night, of the -mystery of the inexplicable gallery, of the prodigious fact of the -presence of the murderer in her room, it seemed to me that all our -thoughts might have been translated into the words which were -addressed to her. 'You who know of this mystery, explain it to us, -and we shall perhaps be able to save you. How I longed to save her ---for herself, and, from the other!--It brought the tears to my eyes. - -"She is there, shedding about her the perfume of the lady in black. -At last, I see her, in the silence of her chamber. Since the fatal -hour of the mystery of The Yellow Room, we have hung about this -invisible and silent woman to learn what she knows. Our desires, -our wish to know must be a torment to her. Who can tell that, should -we learn the secret of her mystery, it would not precipitate a -tragedy more terrible than that which had already been enacted here? -Who can tell if it might not mean her death? Yet it had brought her -close to death,--and we still knew nothing. Or, rather, there are -some of us who know nothing. But I--if I knew who, I should know -all. Who?--Who?--Not knowing who, I must remain silent, out of -pity for her. For there is no doubt that she knows how he escaped -from The Yellow Room, and yet she keeps the secret. When I know -who, I will speak to him--to him!" - -"She looked at us now--with a far-away look in her eyes--as if we -were not in the chamber. Monsieur Stangerson broke the silence. -He declared that, henceforth, he would no more absent himself from -his daughter's apartments. She tried to oppose him in vain. He -adhered firmly to his purpose. He would install himself there this -very night, he said. Solely concerned for the health of his -daughter, he reproached her for having left her bed. Then he -suddenly began talking to her as if she were a little child. He -smiled at her and seemed not to know either what he said or what he -did. The illustrious professor had lost his head. Mademoiselle -Stangerson in a tone of tender distress said: 'Father!--father!' -Daddy Jacques blows his nose, and Frederic Larsan himself is obliged -to turn away to hide his emotion. For myself, I am able neither to -think or feel. I felt an infinite contempt for myself. - -"It was the first time that Frederic Larsan, like myself, found -himself face to face with Mademoiselle Stangerson since the attack -in The Yellow Room. Like me, he had insisted on being allowed to -question the unhappy lady; but he had not, any more than had I, been -permitted. To him, as to me, the same answer had always been given: -Mademoiselle Stangerson was too weak to receive us. The questionings -of the examining magistrate had over-fatigued her. It was evidently -intended not to give us any assistance in our researches. I was not -surprised; but Frederic Larsan had always resented this conduct. It -is true that he and I had a totally different theory of the crime. - -"I still catch myself repeating from the depths of my heart: 'Save -her!--save her without his speaking!' Who is he--the murderer? -Take him and shut his mouth. But Monsieur Darzac made it clear that -in order to shut his mouth he must be killed. Have I the right to -kill Mademoiselle Stangerson's murderer? No, I had not. But let -him only give me the chance! Let me find out whether he is really -a creature of flesh and blood!--Let me see his dead body, since -it cannot be taken alive. - -"If I could but make this woman, who does not even look at us, -understand! She is absorbed by her fears and by her father's -distress of mind. And I can do nothing to save her. Yes, I will -go to work once more and accomplish wonders. - -"I move towards her. I would speak to her. I would entreat her -to have confidence in me. I would, in a word, make her understand ---she alone--that I know how the murderer escaped from The Yellow -Room--that I have guessed the motives for her secrecy--and that I -pity her with all my heart. But by her gestures she begged us to -leave her alone, expressing weariness and the need for immediate -rest. Monsieur Stangerson asked us to go back to our rooms and -thanked us. Frederic Larsan and I bowed to him and, followed by -Daddy Jacques, we regained the gallery. I heard Larsan murmur: -'Strange! strange!' He made a sign to me to go with him into his -room. On the threshold he turned towards Daddy Jacques. - -"'Did you see him distinctly?' he asked. - -"'Who?' - -"'The man?' - -"'Saw him!--why, he had a big red beard and red hair.' - -"'That's how he appeared to me,' I said. - -"'And to me,' said Larsan. - -"The great Fred and I were alone in his chamber, now, to talk over -this thing. We talked for an hour, turning the matter over and -viewing it from every side. From the questions put by him, from -the explanation which he gives me, it is clear to me that--in spite -of all our senses--he is persuaded the man disappeared by some -secret passage in the chateau known to him alone. - -"'He knows the chateau,' he said to me; 'he knows it well.' - -"'He is a rather tall man--well-built,' I suggested. - -"'He is as tall as he wants to be,' murmured Fred. - -"'I understand,' I said; 'but how do you account for his red hair -and beard?' - -"'Too much beard--too much hair--false,' says Fred. - -"'That's easily said. You are always thinking of Robert Darzac. -You can't get rid of that idea? I am certain that he is innocent.' - -"'So much the better. I hope so; but everything condemns him. Did -you notice the marks on the carpet?--Come and look at them.' - -"'I have seen them; they are the marks of the neat boots, the same -as those we saw on the border of the lake.' - -"'Can you deny that they belong to Robert Darzac?' - -"'Of course, one may be mistaken.' - -"'Have you noticed that those footprints only go in one direction? ---that there are no return marks? When the man came from the -chamber, pursued by all of us, his footsteps left no traces behind -them.' - -"'He had, perhaps, been in the chamber for hours. The mud from his -boots had dried, and he moved with such rapidity on the points of -his toes--We saw him running, but we did not hear his steps.' - -"I suddenly put an end to this idle chatter--void of any logic, and -made a sign to Larsan to listen. - -"'There--below; some one is shutting a door.' - -"I rise; Larsan follows me; we descend to the ground-floor of the -chateau. I lead him to the little semi-circular room under the -terrace beneath the window of the 'off-turning' gallery. I point -to the door, now closed, open a short time before, under which a -shaft of light is visible. - -"'The forest-keeper!' says Fred. - -"'Come on!' I whisper. - -"Prepared--I know not why--to believe that the keeper is the -guilty man--I go to the door and rap smartly on it. Some might -think that we were rather late in thinking of the keeper, since our -first business, after having found that the murderer had escaped us -in the gallery, ought to have been to search everywhere else, ---around the chateau,--in the park-- - -"Had this criticism been made at the time, we could only have -answered that the assassin had disappeared from the gallery in such -a way that we thought he was no longer anywhere! He had eluded us -when we all had our hands stretched out ready to seize him--when -we were almost touching him. We had no longer any ground for hoping -that we could clear up the mystery of that night. - -"As soon as I rapped at the door it was opened, and the keeper -asked us quietly what we wanted. He was undressed and preparing -to go to bed. The bed had not yet been disturbed. - -"We entered and I affected surprise. - -"'Not gone to bed yet?' - -"'No,' he replied roughly. 'I have been making a round of the park -and in the woods. I am only just back--and sleepy. Good-night!' - -"'Listen,' I said. 'An hour or so ago, there was a ladder close by -your window.' - -"'What ladder?--I did not see any ladder. Good-night!' - -"And he simply put us out of the room. When we were outside I -looked at Larsan. His face was impenetrable. - -"'Well?' I said. - -"'Well?' he repeated. - -"'Does that open out any new view to you?' - -"There was no mistaking Larsan's bad temper. On re-entering the -chateau, I heard him mutter: - -"'It would be strange--very strange--if I had deceived myself on -that point!' - -"He seemed to be talking to me rather than to himself. He added: -'In any case, we shall soon know what to think. The morning will -bring light with it.'" - - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -Rouletabille Has Drawn a Circle Between the Two Bumps on His Forehead - - -(EXTRACT FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF JOSEPH ROULETABILLE, continued) - -"We separated on the thresholds of our rooms, with a melancholy -shake of the hands. I was glad to have aroused in him a suspicion -of error. His was an original brain, very intelligent but--without -method. I did not go to bed. I awaited the coming of daylight and -then went down to the front of the chateau, and made a detour, -examining every trace of footsteps coming towards it or going from -it. These, however, were so mixed and confusing that I could make -nothing of them. Here I may make a remark,--I am not accustomed -to attach an exaggerated importance to exterior signs left in the -track of a crime. - -"The method which traces the criminal by means of the tracks of his -footsteps is altogether primitive. So many footprints are identical. -However, in the disturbed state of my mind, I did go into the -deserted court and did look at all the footprints I could find there, -seeking for some indication, as a basis for reasoning. - -"If I could but find a right starting-point! In despair I seated -myself on a stone. For over an hour I busied myself with the common, -ordinary work of a policeman. Like the least intelligent of -detectives I went on blindly over the traces of footprints which -told me just no more than they could. - -"I came to the conclusion that I was a fool, lower in the scale of -intelligence than even the police of the modern romancer. Novelists -build mountains of stupidity out of a footprint on the sand, or from -an impression of a hand on the wall. That's the way innocent men -are brought to prison. It might convince an examining magistrate or -the head of a detective department, but it's not proof. You writers -forget that what the senses furnish is not proof. If I am taking -cognisance of what is offered me by my senses I do so but to bring -the results within the circle of my reason. That circle may be the -most circumscribed, but if it is, it has this advantage--it holds -nothing but the truth! Yes, I swear that I have never used the -evidence of the senses but as servants to my reason. I have never -permitted them to become my master. They have not made of me that -monstrous thing,--worse than a blind man,--a man who sees falsely. -And that is why I can triumph over your error and your merely animal -intelligence, Frederic Larsan. - -"Be of good courage, then, friend Rouletabille; it is impossible -that the incident of the inexplicable gallery should be outside the -circle of your reason. You know that! Then have faith and take -thought with yourself and forget not that you took hold of the right -end when you drew that circle in your brain within which to unravel -this mysterious play of circumstance. - -"To it, once again! Go--back to the gallery. Take your stand on -your reason and rest there as Frederic Larsan rests on his cane. -You will then soon prove that the great Fred is nothing but a fool. - ---30th October. Noon. - JOSEPH ROULETABILLE." - - -"I acted as I planned. With head on fire, I retraced my way to the -gallery, and without having found anything more than I had seen on -the previous night, the right hold I had taken of my reason drew me -to something so important that I was obliged to cling to it to save -myself from falling. - -"Now for the strength and patience to find sensible traces to fit -in with my thinking--and these must come within the circle I have -drawn between the two bumps on my forehead! - ---30th of October. Midnight." - "JOSEPH ROULETABILLE." - - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -Rouletabille Invites Me to Breakfast at the Donjon Inn - - -It was not until later that Rouletabille sent me the note-book in -which he had written at length the story of the phenomenon of the -inexplicable gallery. On the day I arrived at the Glandier and -joined him in his room, he recounted to me, with the greatest -detail, all that I have now related, telling me also how he had -spent several hours in Paris where he had learned nothing that could -be of any help to him. - -The event of the inexplicable gallery had occurred on the night -between the 29th and 30th of October, that is to say, three days -before my return to the chateau. It was on the 2nd of November, -then, that I went back to the Glandier, summoned there by my -friend's telegram, and taking the revolvers with me. - -I am now in Rouletabille's room and he has finished his recital. - -While he had been telling me the story I noticed him continually -rubbing the glass of the eyeglasses he had found on the side table. -From the evident pleasure he was taking in handling them I felt -they must be one of those sensible evidences destined to enter what -he had called the circle of the right end of his reason. That -strange and unique way of his, to express himself in terms -wonderfully adequate for his thoughts, no longer surprised me. -It was often necessary to know his thought to understand the terms -he used; and it was not easy to penetrate into Rouletabille's -thinking. - -This lad's brain was one of the most curious things I have ever -observed. Rouletabille went on the even tenor of his way without -suspecting the astonishment and even bewilderment he roused in -others. I am sure he was not himself in the least conscious of -the originality of his genius. He was himself and at ease wherever -he happened to be. - -When he had finished his recital he asked me what I thought of it. -I replied that I was much puzzled by his question. Then he begged -me to try, in my turn, to take my reason in hand "by the right end." - -"Very well," I said. "It seems to me that the point of departure -of my reason would be this--there can be no doubt that the murderer -you pursued was in the gallery." I paused. - -"After making so good a start, you ought not to stop so soon," he -exclaimed. "Come, make another effort." - -"I'll try. Since he disappeared from the gallery without passing -through any door or window, he must have escaped by some other -opening." - -Rouletabille looked at me pityingly, smiled carelessly, and remarked -that I was reasoning like a postman, or--like Frederic Larsan. - -Rouletabille had alternate fits of admiration and disdain for the -great Fred. It all depended as to whether Larsan's discoveries -tallied with Rouletabille's reasoning or not. When they did he -would exclaim: "He is really great!" When they did not he would -grunt and mutter, "What an ass!" It was a petty side of the noble -character of this strange youth. - -We had risen, and he led me into the park. When we reached the -court and were making towards the gate, the sound of blinds thrown -back against the wall made us turn our heads, and we saw, at a -window on the first floor of the chateau, the ruddy and clean shaven -face of a person I did not recognise. - -"Hullo!" muttered Rouletabille. "Arthur Rance!"--He lowered his -head, quickened his pace, and I heard him ask himself between his -teeth: "Was he in the chateau that night? What is he doing here?" - -We had gone some distance from the chateau when I asked him who -this Arthur Rance was, and how he had come to know him. He referred -to his story of that morning and I remembered that Mr. Arthur W. -Rance was the American from Philadelphia with whom he had had so -many drinks at the Elysee reception. - -"But was he not to have left France almost immediately?" I asked. - -"No doubt; that's why I am surprised to find him here still, and -not only in France, but above all, at the Glandier. He did not -arrive this morning; and he did not get here last night. He must -have got here before dinner, then. Why didn't the concierges -tell me?" - -I reminded my friend, apropos of the concierges, that he had not -yet told me what had led him to get them set at liberty. - -We were close to their lodge. Monsieur and Madame Bernier saw us -coming. A frank smile lit up their happy faces. They seemed to -harbour no ill-feeling because of their detention. My young -friend asked them at what hour Mr. Arthur Rance had arrived. They -answered that they did not know he was at the chateau. He must have -come during the evening of the previous night, but they had not had -to open the gate for him, because, being a great walker, and not -wishing that a carriage should be sent to meet him, he was accustomed -to get off at the little hamlet of Saint-Michel, from which he came -to the chateau by way of the forest. He reached the park by the -grotto of Sainte-Genevieve, over the little gate of which, giving -on to the park, he climbed. - -As the concierges spoke, I saw Rouletabille's face cloud over and -exhibit disappointment--a disappointment, no doubt, with himself. -Evidently he was a little vexed, after having worked so much on the -spot, with so minute a study of the people and events at the Glandier, -that he had to learn now that Arthur Rance was accustomed to visit -the chateau. - -"You say that Monsieur Arthur Rance is accustomed to come to the -chateau. When did he come here last?" - -"We can't tell you exactly," replied Madame Bernier--that was the -name of the concierge--"we couldn't know while they were keeping -us in prison. Besides, as the gentleman comes to the chateau -without passing through our gate he goes away by the way he comes." - -"Do you know when he came the first time?" - -"Oh yes, Monsieur!--nine years ago." - -"He was in France nine years ago, then," said Rouletabille, "and, -since that time, as far as you know, how many times has he been at -the Glandier?" - -"Three times." - -"When did he come the last time, as far as you know?" - -"A week before the attempt in The Yellow Room." - -Rouletabille put another question--this time addressing himself -particularly to the woman: - -"In the grove of the parquet?" - -"In the grove of the parquet," she replied. - -"Thanks!" said Rouletabille. "Be ready for me this evening." - -He spoke the last words with a finger on his lips as if to command -silence and discretion. - -We left the park and took the way to the Donjon Inn. - -"Do you often eat here?" - -"Sometimes." - -"But you also take your meals at the chateau?" - -"Yes, Larsan and I are sometimes served in one of our rooms." - -"Hasn't Monsieur Stangerson ever invited you to his own table?" - -"Never." - -"Does your presence at the chateau displease him?" - -"I don't know; but, in any case, he does not make us feel that we -are in his way." - -"Doesn't he question you?" - -"Never. He is in the same state of mind as he was in at the door -of The Yellow Room when his daughter was being murdered, and when -he broke open the door and did not find the murderer. He is -persuaded, since he could discover nothing, that there's no reason -why we should be able to discover more than he did. But he has made -it his duty, since Larsan expressed his theory, not to oppose us." - -Rouletabille buried himself in thought again for some time. He -aroused himself later to tell me of how he came to set the two -concierges free. - -"I went recently to see Monsieur Stangerson, and took with me a -piece of paper on which was written: 'I promise, whatever others -may say, to keep in my service my two faithful servants, Bernier -and his wife.' I explained to him that, by signing that document, -he would enable me to compel those two people to speak out; and I -declared my own assurance of their innocence of any part in the -crime. That was also his opinion. The examining magistrate, after -it was signed, presented the document to the Berniers, who then did -speak. They said, what I was certain they would say, as soon as -they were sure they would not lose their place. - -"They confessed to poaching on Monsieur Stangerson's estates, and -it was while they were poaching, on the night of the crime, that -they were found not far from the pavilion at the moment when the -outrage was being committed. Some rabbits they caught in that way -were sold by them to the landlord of the Donjon Inn, who served them -to his customers, or sent them to Paris. That was the truth, as I -had guessed from the first. Do you remember what I said, on -entering the Donjon Inn?--'We shall have to eat red meat--now!' -I had heard the words on the same morning when we arrived at the -park gate. You heard them also, but you did not attach any -importance to them. You recollect, when we reached the park gate, -that we stopped to look at a man who was running by the side of the -wall, looking every minute at his watch. That was Larsan. Well, -behind us the landlord of the Donjon Inn, standing on his doorstep, -said to someone inside: 'We shall have to eat red meat--now.' - -"Why that 'now'? When you are, as I am, in search of some hidden -secret, you can't afford to have anything escape you. You've got -to know the meaning of everything. We had come into a rather -out-of-the-way part of the country which had been turned topsy-turvey -by a crime, and my reason led me to suspect every phrase that could -bear upon the event of the day. 'Now,' I took to mean, 'since the -outrage.' In the course of my inquiry, therefore, I sought to find -a relation between that phrase and the tragedy. We went to the -Donjon Inn for breakfast; I repeated the phrase and saw, by the -surprise and trouble on Daddy Mathieu's face, that I had not -exaggerated its importance, so far as he was concerned. - -"I had just learned that the concierges had been arrested. Daddy -Mathieu spoke of them as of dear friends--people for whom one is -sorry. That was a reckless conjunction of ideas, I said to myself. -'Now,' that the concierges are arrested, 'we shall have to eat red -meat.' No more concierges, no more game! The hatred expressed by -Daddy Mathieu for Monsieur Stangerson's forest-keeper--a hatred he -pretended was shared by the concierges led me easily to think of -poaching. Now as all the evidence showed the concierges had not -been in bed at the time of the tragedy, why were they abroad that -night? As participants in the crime? I was not disposed to think -so. I had already arrived at the conclusion, by steps of which I -will tell you later--that the assassin had had no accomplice, and -that the tragedy held a mystery between Mademoiselle Stangerson and -the murderer, a mystery with which the concierges had nothing to do. - -"With that theory in my mind, I searched for proof in their lodge, -which, as you know, I entered. I found there under their bed, some -springs and brass wire. 'Ah!' I thought, 'these things explain why -they were out in the park at night!' I was not surprised at the -dogged silence they maintained before the examining magistrate, even -under the accusation so grave as that of being accomplices in the -crime. Poaching would save them from the Assize Court, but it would -lose them their places; and, as they were perfectly sure of their -innocence of the crime they hoped it would soon be established, and -then their poaching might go on as usual. They could always confess -later. I, however, hastened their confession by means of the -document Monsieur Stangerson signed. They gave all the necessary -'proofs,' were set at liberty, and have now a lively gratitude for me. -Why did I not get them released sooner? Because I was not sure that -nothing more than poaching was against them. I wanted to study the -ground. As the days went by, my conviction became more and more -certain. The day after the events of the inexplicable gallery I had -need of help I could rely on, so I resolved to have them released -at once." - -That was how Joseph Rouletabille explained himself. Once more I -could not but be astonished at the simplicity of the reasoning which -had brought him to the truth of the matter. Certainly this was no -big thing; but I think, myself, that the young man will, one of -these days, explain with the same simplicity, the fearful tragedy -in The Yellow Room as well as the phenomenon of the inexplicable -gallery. - -We reached the Donjon Inn and entered it. - -This time we did not see the landlord, but were received with a -pleasant smile by the hostess. I have already described the room -in which we found ourselves, and I have given a glimpse of the -charming blonde woman with the gentle eyes who now immediately began -to prepare our breakfast. - -"How's Daddy Mathieu?" asked Rouletabille. - -"Not much better--not much better; he is still confined to his bed." - -"His rheumatism still sticks to him, then?" - -"Yes. Last night I was again obliged to give him morphine--the -only drug that gives him any relief." - -She spoke in a soft voice. Everything about her expressed -gentleness. She was, indeed, a beautiful woman; somewhat with an -air of indolence, with great eyes seemingly black and blue--amorous -eyes. Was she happy with her crabbed, rheumatic husband? The scene -at which we had once been present did not lead us to believe that -she was; yet there was something in her bearing that was not -suggestive of despair. She disappeared into the kitchen to prepare -our repast, leaving on the table a bottle of excellent cider. -Rouletabille filled our earthenware mugs, loaded his pipe, and -quietly explained to me his reason for asking me to come to the -Glandier with revolvers. - -"Yes," he said, contemplatively looking at the clouds of smoke he -was puffing out, "yes, my dear boy, I expect the assassin to-night." -A brief silence followed, which I took care not to interrupt, and -then he went on: - -"Last night, just as I was going to bed, Monsieur Robert Darzac -knocked at my room. When he came in he confided to me that he was -compelled to go to Paris the next day, that is, this morning. The -reason which made this journey necessary was at once peremptory and -mysterious; it was not possible for him to explain its object to me. -'I go, and yet,' he added, 'I would give my life not to leave -Mademoiselle Stangerson at this moment.' He did not try to hide -that he believed her to be once more in danger. 'It will not -greatly astonish me if something happens to-morrow night,' he avowed, -'and yet I must be absent. I cannot be back at the Glandier before -the morning of the day after to-morrow.' - -"I asked him to explain himself, and this is all he would tell me. -His anticipation of coming danger had come to him solely from the -coincidence that Mademoiselle Stangerson had been twice attacked, -and both times when he had been absent. On the night of the incident -of the inexplicable gallery he had been obliged to be away from the -Glandier. On the night of the tragedy in The Yellow Room he had -also not been able to be at the Glandier, though this was the first -time he had declared himself on the matter. Now a man so moved who -would still go away must be acting under compulsion--must be obeying -a will stronger than his own. That was how I reasoned, and I told -him so. He replied 'Perhaps.'--I asked him if Mademoiselle -Stangerson was compelling him. He protested that she was not. His -determination to go to Paris had been taken without any conference -with Mademoiselle Stangerson. - -"To cut the story short, he repeated that his belief in the -possibility of a fresh attack was founded entirely on the -extraordinary coincidence. 'If anything happens to Mademoiselle -Stangerson,' he said, 'it would be terrible for both of us. For her, -because her life would be in danger; for me because I could neither -defend her from the attack nor tell of where I had been. I am -perfectly aware of the suspicions cast on me. The examining -magistrate and Monsieur Larsan are both on the point of believing -in my guilt. Larsan tracked me the last time I went to Paris, and -I had all the trouble in the world to get rid of him.' - -"'Why do you not tell me the name of the murderer now, if you know -it?' I cried. - -"Monsieur Darzac appeared extremely troubled by my question, and -replied to me in a hesitating tone: - -"'I?--I know the name of the murderer? Why, how could I know -his name?' - -"I at once replied: 'From Mademoiselle Stangerson.' - -"He grew so pale that I thought he was about to faint, and I saw -that I had hit the nail right on the head. Mademoiselle and he -knew the name of the murderer! When he recovered himself, he said -to me: 'I am going to leave you. Since you have been here I have -appreciated your exceptional intelligence and your unequalled -ingenuity. But I ask this service of you. Perhaps I am wrong to -fear an attack during the coming night; but, as I must act with -foresight, I count on you to frustrate any attempt that may be made. -Take every step needful to protect Mademoiselle Stangerson. Keep a -most careful watch of her room. Don't go to sleep, nor allow -yourself one moment of repose. The man we dread is remarkably -cunning--with a cunning that has never been equalled. If you keep -watch his very cunning may save her; because it's impossible that -he should not know that you are watching; and knowing it, he may -not venture.' - -"'Have you spoken of all this to Monsieur Stangerson?' - -"'No. I do not wish him to ask me, as you just now did, for the -name of the murderer. I tell you all this, Monsieur Rouletabille, -because I have great, very great, confidence in you. I know that -you do not suspect me.' - -"The poor man spoke in jerks. He was evidently suffering. I pitied -him, the more because I felt sure that he would rather allow himself -to be killed than tell me who the murderer was. As for Mademoiselle -Stangerson, I felt that she would rather allow herself to be murdered -than denounce the man of The Yellow Room and of the inexplicable -gallery. The man must be dominating her, or both, by some -inscrutable power. They were dreading nothing so much as the chance -of Monsieur Stangerson knowing that his daughter was 'held' by her -assailant. I made Monsieur Darzac understand that he had explained -himself sufficiently, and that he might refrain from telling me any -more than he had already told me. I promised him to watch through -the night. He insisted that I should establish an absolutely -impassable barrier around Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber, around -the boudoir where the nurses were sleeping, and around the -drawing-room where, since the affair of the inexplicable gallery, -Monsieur Stangerson had slept. In short, I was to put a cordon -round the whole apartment. - -"From his insistence I gathered that Monsieur Darzac intended not -only to make it impossible for the expected man to reach the chamber -of Mademoiselle Stangerson, but to make that impossibility so -visibly clear that, seeing himself expected, he would at once go -away. That was how I interpreted his final words when we parted: -'You may mention your suspicions of the expected attack to Monsieur -Stangerson, to Daddy Jacques, to Frederic Larsan, and to anybody in -the chateau.' - -"The poor fellow left me hardly knowing what he was saying. My -silence and my eyes told him that I had guessed a large part of his -secret. And, indeed, he must have been at his wits' end, to have -come to me at such a time, and to abandon Mademoiselle Stangerson -in spite of his fixed idea as to the consequence. - -"When he was gone, I began to think that I should have to use even -a greater cunning than his so that if the man should come that -night, he might not for a moment suspect that his coming had been -expected. Certainly! I would allow him to get in far enough, so -that, dead or alive, I might see his face clearly! He must be got -rid of. Mademoiselle Stangerson must be freed from this continual -impending danger. - -"Yes, my boy," said Rouletabille, after placing his pipe on the -table, and emptying his mug of cider, "I must see his face -distinctly, so as to make sure to impress it on that part of my -brain where I have drawn my circle of reasoning." - -The landlady re-appeared at that moment, bringing in the -traditional bacon omelette. Rouletabille chaffed her a little, and -she took the chaff with the most charming good humour. - -"She is much jollier when Daddy Mathieu is in bed with his -rheumatism," Rouletabille said to me. - -But I had eyes neither for Rouletabille nor for the landlady's -smiles. I was entirely absorbed over the last words of my young -friend and in thinking over Monsieur Robert Darzac's strange -behaviour. - -When he had finished his omelette and we were again alone, -Rouletabille continued the tale of his confidences. - -"When I sent you my telegram this morning," he said, "I had only -the word of Monsieur Darzac, that 'perhaps' the assassin would -come to-night. I can now say that he will certainly come. I -expect him." - -"What has made you feel this certainty?" - -"I have been sure since half-past ten o'clock this morning that he -would come. I knew that before we saw Arthur Rance at the window -in the court." - -"Ah!" I said, "But, again--what made you so sure? And why since -half-past ten this morning?" - -"Because, at half-past ten, I had proof that Mademoiselle Stangerson -was making as many efforts to permit of the murderer's entrance as -Monsieur Robert Darzac had taken precautions against it." - -"Is that possible!" I cried. "Haven't you told me that Mademoiselle -Stangerson loves Monsieur Robert Darzac?" - -"I told you so because it is the truth." - -"Then do you see nothing strange--" - -"Everything in this business is strange, my friend; but take my word -for it, the strangeness you now feel is nothing to the strangeness -that's to come!" - -"It must be admitted, then," I said, "that Mademoiselle Stangerson -and her murderer are in communication--at any rate in writing?" - -"Admit it, my friend, admit it! You don't risk anything! I told -you about the letter left on her table, on the night of the -inexplicable gallery affair,--the letter that disappeared into -the pocket of Mademoiselle Stangerson. Why should it not have been -a summons to a meeting? Might he not, as soon as he was sure of -Darzac's absence, appoint the meeting for 'the coming night?" - -And my friend laughed silently. There are moments when I ask -myself if he is not laughing at me. - -The door of the inn opened. Rouletabille was on his feet so -suddenly that one might have thought he had received an electric -shock. - -"Mr. Arthur Rance!" he cried. - -Mr. Arthur Rance stood before us calmly bowing. - - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -An Act of Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -"You remember me, Monsieur?" asked Rouletabille. - -"Perfectly!" replied Arthur Rance. "I recognise you as the lad at -the bar. [The face of Rouletabille crimsoned at being called a -"lad."] I want to shake hands with you. You are a bright little -fellow." - -The American extended his hand and Rouletabille, relaxing his frown, -shook it and introduced Mr. Arthur Rance to me. He invited him to -share our meal. - -"No thanks. I breakfasted with Monsieur Stangerson." - -Arthur Rance spoke French perfectly,--almost without an accent. - -"I did not expect to have the pleasure of seeing you again, -Monsieur. I thought you were to have left France the day after the -reception at the Elysee." - -Rouletabille and I, outwardly indifferent, listened most intently -for every word the American would say. - -The man's purplish red face, his heavy eyelids, the nervous -twitchings, all spoke of his addiction to drink. How came it that -so sorry a specimen of a man should be so intimate with Monsieur -Stangerson? - -Some days later, I learned from Frederic Larsan--who, like -ourselves, was surprised and mystified by his appearance and -reception at the chateau--that Mr. Rance had been an inebriate -for only about fifteen years; that is to say, since the professor -and his daughter left Philadelphia. During the time the Stangersons -lived in America they were very intimate with Arthur Rance, who was -one of the most distinguished phrenologists of the new world. Owing -to new experiments, he had made enormous strides beyond the science -of Gall and Lavater. The friendliness with which he was received at -the Glandier may be explained by the fact that he had once rendered -Mademoiselle Stangerson a great service by stopping, at the peril of -his own life, the runaway horses of her carriage. The immediate -result of that could, however, have been no more than a mere -friendly association with the Stangersons; certainly, not a love -affair. - -Frederic Larsan did not tell me where he had picked up this -information; but he appeared to be quite sure of what he said. - -Had we known these facts at the time Arthur Rance met us at the -Donjon Inn, his presence at the chateau might not have puzzled us, -but they could not have failed to increase our interest in the man -himself. The American must have been at least forty-five years old. -He spoke in a perfectly natural tone in reply to Rouletabille's -question. - -"I put off my return to America when I heard of the attack on -Mademoiselle Stangerson. I wanted to be certain the lady had not -been killed, and I shall not go away until she is perfectly -recovered." - -Arthur Rance then took the lead in talk, paying no heed to some of -Rouletabille's questions. He gave us, without our inviting him, his -personal views on the subject of the tragedy,--views which, as well -as I could make out, were not far from those held by Frederic Larzan. -The American also thought that Robert Darzac had something to do -with the matter. He did not mention him by name, but there was no -room to doubt whom he meant. He told us he was aware of the efforts -young Rouletabille was making to unravel the tangled skein of The -Yellow Room mystery. He explained that Monsieur Stangerson had -related to him all that had taken place in the inexplicable gallery. -He several times expressed his regret at Monsieur Darzac's absence -from the chateau on all these occasions, and thought that Monsieur -Darzac had done cleverly in allying himself with Monsieur Joseph -Rouletabille, who could not fail, sooner or later, to discover the -murderer. He spoke the last sentence with unconcealed irony. Then -he rose, bowed to us, and left the inn. - -Rouletabille watched him through the window. - -"An odd fish, that!" he said. - -"Do you think he'll pass the night at the Glandier?" I asked. - -To my amazement the young reporter answered that it was a matter -of entire indifference to him whether he did or not. - -As to how we spent our time during the afternoon, all I need say is -that Rouletabille led me to the grotto of Sainte-Genevieve, and, all -the time, talked of every subject but the one in which we were most -interested. Towards evening I was surprised to find Rouletabille -making none of the preparations I had expected him to make. I spoke -to him about it when night had come on, and we were once more in his -room. He replied that all his arrangements had already been made, -and this time the murderer would not get away from him. - -I expressed some doubt on this, reminding him of his disappearance -in the gallery, and suggested that the same phenomenon might occur -again. He answered that he hoped it would. He desired nothing more. -I did not insist, knowing by experience how useless that would have -been. He told me that, with the help of the concierges, the chateau -had since early dawn been watched in such a way that nobody could -approach it without his knowing it, and that he had no concern for -those who might have left it and remained without. - -It was then six o'clock by his watch. Rising, he made a sign to -me to follow him, and, without in the least 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. - -At the far end of the gallery, before coming to the donjon, is the -room occupied by Arthur Rance. We knew that, because we had seen -him at the window looking on to the court. The door of the room -opens on to the end of the gallery, exactly facing the east window, -at the extremity of the 'right' gallery, where Rouletabille had -placed Daddy Jacques, and commands an uninterrupted view of the -gallery from end to end of the chateau. - -"That 'off-turning' gallery," said Rouletabille, "I reserve for -myself; when I tell you you'll come and take your place here." - -And he made me enter a little dark, triangular closet built in a -bend of the wall, to the left of the door of Arthur Rance's room. -From this recess I could see all that occurred in the gallery as -well as if I had been standing in front of Arthur Rance's door, -and I could watch that door, too. The door of the closet, which -was to be my place of observation, was fitted with panels of -transparent glass. In the gallery, where all the lamps had been -lit, it was quite light. In the closet, however, it was quite -dark. It was a splendid place from which to observe and remain -unobserved. - -I was soon to play the part of a spy--a common policeman. I -wonder what my leader at the bar would have said had he known! I -was not altogether pleased with my duties, but I could not refuse -Rouletabille the assistance he had begged me to give him. I took -care not to make him see that I in the least objected, and for -several reasons. I wanted to oblige him; I did not wish him to -think me a coward; I was filled with curiosity; and it was too late -for me to draw back, even had I determined to do so. That I had -not had these scruples sooner was because my curiosity had quite -got the better of me. I might also urge that I was helping to -save the life of a woman, and even a lawyer may do that -conscientiously. - -We returned along the gallery. On reaching the door of Mademoiselle -Stangerson's apartment, it opened from a push given by the steward -who was waiting at the dinner-table. (Monsieur Stangerson had, for -the last three days, dined with his daughter in the drawing-room on -the first floor.) As the door remained open, we distinctly saw -Mademoiselle Stangerson, taking advantage of the steward's absence, -and while her father was stooping to pick up something he had let -fall, pour the contents of a phial into Monsieur Stangerson's glass. - - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -On the Watch - - -The act, which staggered me, did not appear to affect Rouletabille -much. We returned to his room and, without even referring to what -we had seen, he gave me his final instructions for the night. First -we were to go to dinner; after dinner, I was to take my stand in the -dark closet and wait there as long as it was necessary--to look out -for what might happen. - -"If you see anything before I do," he explained, "you must let me -know. If the man gets into the 'right' gallery by any other way -than the 'off-turning' gallery, you will see him before I shall, -because you have a view along the whole length of the 'right' -gallery, while I can only command a view of the 'off-turning' -gallery. All you need do to let me know is to undo the cord holding -the curtain of the 'right' gallery window, nearest to the dark -closet. The curtain will fall of itself and immediately leave a -square of shadow where previously there had been a square of light. -To do this, you need but stretch your hand out of the closet, I -shall understand your signal perfectly." - -"And then?" - -"Then you will see me coming round the corner of the 'off-turning' -gallery." - -"What am I to do then?" - -"You will immediately come towards me, behind the man; but I shall -already be upon him, and shall have seen his face." - -I attempted a feeble smile. - -"Why do you smile? Well, you may smile while you have the chance, -but I swear you'll have no time for that a few hours from now. - -"And if the man escapes?" - -"So much the better," said Rouletabille, coolly, "I don't want to -capture him. He may take himself off any way he can. I will let -him go--after I have seen his face. That's all I want. I shall -know afterwards what to do so that as far as Mademoiselle Stangerson -is concerned he shall be dead to her even though he continues to -live. If I took him alive, Mademoiselle Stangerson and Robert -Darzac would, perhaps, never forgive me! And I wish to retain their -good-will and respect. - -"Seeing, as I have just now seen, Mademoiselle Stangerson pour a -narcotic into her father's glass, so that he might not be awake to -interrupt the conversation she is going to have with her murderer, -you can imagine she would not be grateful to me if I brought the -man of The Yellow Room and the inexplicable gallery, bound and gagged, -to her father. I realise now that if I am to save the unhappy lady, -I must silence the man and not capture him. To kill a human being -is no small thing. Besides, that's not my business, unless the -man himself makes it my business. On the other hand, to render him -forever silent without the lady's assent and confidence is to act -on one's own initiative and assumes a knowledge of everything with -nothing for a basis. Fortunately, my friend, I have guessed, no, -I have reasoned it all out. All that I ask of the man who is coming -to-night is to bring me his face, so that it may enter--" - -"Into the circle?" - -"Exactly! And his face won't surprise me!" - -"But I thought you saw his face on the night when you sprang into -the chamber?" - -"Only imperfectly. The candle was on the floor; and, his beard--" - -"Will he wear his beard this evening?" - -"I think I can say for certain that he will. But the gallery is -light and, now, I know--or--at least, my brain knows--and my -eyes will see." - -"If we are here only to see him and let him escape, why are we armed?" - -"Because, if the man of The Yellow Room and the inexplicable gallery -knows that I know, he is capable of doing anything! We should then -have to defend ourselves." - -"And you are sure he will come to-night?" - -"As sure as that you are standing there! This morning, at half-past -ten o'clock, Mademoiselle Stangerson, in the cleverest way in the -world, arranged to have no nurses to-night. She gave them leave of -absence for twenty-four hours, under some plausible pretexts, and -did not desire anybody to be with her but her father, while they -are away. Her father, who is to sleep in the boudoir, has gladly -consented to the arrangement. Darzac's departure and what he told -me, as well as the extraordinary precautions Mademoiselle Stangerson -is taking to be alone to-night leaves me no room for doubt. She has -prepared the way for the coming of the man whom Darzac dreads." - -"That's awful!" - -"It is!" - -"And what we saw her do was done to send her father to sleep?" - -"Yes." - -"Then there are but two of us for to-night's work?" - -"Four; the concierge and his wife will watch at all hazards. I -don't set much value on them before--but the concierge may be -useful after--if there's to be any killing!" - -"Then you think there may be?" - -"If he wishes it." - -"Why haven't you brought in Daddy Jacques?--Have you made no use -of him to-day?" - -"No," replied Rouletabille sharply. - -I kept silence for awhile, then, anxious to know his thoughts, I -asked him point blank: - -"Why not tell Arthur Rance?--He may be of great assistance to us?" - -"Oh!" said Rouletabille crossly, "then you want to let everybody -into Mademoiselle Stangerson's secrets?--Come, let us go to dinner; -it is time. This evening we dine in Frederic Larsan's room,--at -least, if he is not on the heels of Darzac. He sticks to him like -a leech. But, anyhow, if he is not there now, I am quite sure he -will be, to-night! He's the one I am going to knock over!" - -At this moment we heard a noise in the room near us. - -"It must be he," said Rouletabille. - -"I forgot to ask you," I said, "if we are to make any allusion to -to-night's business when we are with this policeman. I take it we -are not. Is that so?" - -"Evidently. We are going to operate alone, on our own personal -account." - -"So that all the glory will be ours?" - -Rouletabille laughed. - -We dined with Frederic Larsan in his room. He told us he had just -come in and invited us to be seated at table. We ate our dinner in -the best of humours, and I had no difficulty in appreciating the -feelings of certainty which both Rouletabille and Larsan felt. -Rouletabille told the great Fred that I had come on a chance visit, -and that he had asked me to stay and help him in the heavy batch of -writing he had to get through for the "Epoque." I was going back -to Paris, he said, by the eleven o'clock train, taking his "copy," -which took a story form, recounting the principal episodes in the -mysteries of the Glandier. Larsan smiled at the explanation like -a man who was not fooled and politely refrains from making the -slightest remark on matters which did not concern him. - -With infinite precautions as to the words they used, and even as to -the tones of their voices, Larsan and Rouletabille discussed, for a -long time, Mr. Arthur Rance's appearance at the chateau, and his -past in America, about which they expressed a desire to know more, -at any rate, so far as his relations with the Stangersons. At one -time, Larsan, who appeared to me to be unwell, said, with an effort: - -"I think, Monsieur Rouletabille, that we've not much more to do at -the Glandier, and that we sha'n't sleep here many more nights." - -"I think so, too, Monsieur Fred." - -"Then you think the conclusion of the matter has been reached?" - -"I think, indeed, that we have nothing more to find out," replied -Rouletabille. - -"Have you found your criminal?" asked Larsan. - -"Have you?" - -"Yes." - -"So have I," said Rouletabille. - -"Can it be the same man?" - -"I don't know if you have swerved from your original idea," said -the young reporter. Then he added, with emphasis: "Monsieur Darzac -is an honest man!" - -"Are you sure of that?" asked Larsan. "Well, I am sure he is not. -So it's a fight then?" - -"Yes, it is a fight. But I shall beat you, Monsieur Frederic Larsan." - -"Youth never doubts anything," said the great Fred laughingly, and -held out his hand to me by way of conclusion. - -Rouletabille's answer came like an echo: - -"Not anything!" - -Suddenly Larsan, who had risen to wish us goodnight, pressed both -his hands to his chest and staggered. He was obliged to lean on -Rouletabille for support, and to save himself from falling. - -"Oh! Oh!" he cried. "What is the matter with me?--Have I been -poisoned?" - -He looked at us with haggard eyes. We questioned him vainly; he -did not answer us. He had sunk into an armchair and we could get -not a word from him. We were extremely distressed, both on his -account and on our own, for we had partaken of all the dishes he had -eaten. He seemed to be out of pain; but his heavy head had fallen -on his shoulder and his eyelids were tightly closed. Rouletabille -bent over him, listening for the beatings of the heart. - -My friend's face, however, when he stood up, was as calm as it had -been a moment before agitated. - -"He is asleep," he said. - -He led me to his chamber, after closing Larsan's room. - -"The drug?" I asked. "Does Mademoiselle Stangerson wish to put -everybody to sleep, to-night?" - -"Perhaps," replied Rouletabille; but I could see he was thinking of -something else. - -"But what about us?" I exclaimed. "How do we know that we have not -been drugged?" - -"Do you feel indisposed?" Rouletabille asked me coolly. - -"Not in the least." - -"Do you feel any inclination to go to sleep?" - -"None whatever." - -"Well, then, my friend, smoke this excellent cigar." - -And he handed me a choice Havana, one Monsieur Darzac had given him, -while he lit his briarwood--his eternal briarwood. - -We remained in his room until about ten o'clock without a word -passing between us. Buried in an armchair Rouletabille sat and -smoked steadily, his brow in thought and a far-away look in his -eyes. On the stroke of ten he took off his boots and signalled to -me to do the same. As we stood in our socks he said, in so low a -tone that I guessed, rather than heard, the word: - -"Revolver." - -I drew my revolver from my jacket pocket. - -"Cock it!" he said. - -I did as he directed. - -Then moving towards the door of his room, he opened it with infinite -precaution; it made no sound. We were in the "off-turning" gallery. -Rouletabille made another sign to me which I understood to mean that -I was to take up my post in the dark closet. - -When I was some distance from him, he rejoined me and embraced me; -and then I saw him, with the same precaution, return to his room. -Astonished by his embrace, and somewhat disquieted by it, I arrived -at the right gallery without difficulty, crossing the landing-place, -and reaching the dark closet. - -Before entering it I examined the curtain-cord of the window and -found that I had only to release it from its fastening with my -fingers for the curtain to fall by its own weight and hide the -square of light from Rouletabille--the signal agreed upon. The -sound of a footstep made me halt before Arthur Rance's door. He -was not yet in bed, then! How was it that, being in the chateau, -he had not dined with Monsieur Stangerson and his daughter? I had -not seen him at table with them, at the moment when we looked in. - -I retired into the dark closet. I found myself perfectly situated. -I could see along the whole length of the gallery. Nothing, -absolutely nothing could pass there without my seeing it. But what -was going to pass there? Rouletabille's embrace came back to my -mind. I argued that people don't part from each, other in that way -unless on an important or dangerous occasion. Was I then in danger? - -My hand closed on the butt of my revolver and I waited. I am not -a hero; but neither am I a coward. - -I waited about an hour, and during all that time I saw nothing -unusual. The rain, which had begun to come down strongly towards -nine o'clock, had now ceased. - -My friend had told me that, probably, nothing would occur before -midnight or one o'clock in the morning. It was not more than -half-past eleven, however, when I heard the door of Arthur Rance's -room open very slowly. The door remained open for a minute, which -seemed to me a long time. As it opened into the gallery, that is -to say, outwards, I could not see what was passing in the room -behind the door. - -At that moment I noticed a strange sound, three times repeated, -coming from the park. Ordinarily I should not have attached any -more importance to it than I would to the noise of cats on the roof. -But the third time, the mew was so sharp and penetrating that I -remembered what I had heard about the cry of the Bete du bon Dieu. -As the cry had accompanied all the events at the Glandier, I could -not refrain from shuddering at the thought. - -Directly afterwards I saw a man appear on the outside of the door, -and close it after him. At first I could not recognise him, for -his back was towards me and he was bending over a rather bulky -package. When he had closed the door and picked up the package, -he turned towards the dark closet, and then I saw who he was. He -was the forest-keeper, the Green Man. He was wearing the same -costume that he had worn when I first saw him on the road in front -of the Donjon Inn. There was no doubt about his being the keeper. -As the cry of the Bete du Bon Dieu came for the third time, he put -down the package and went to the second window, counting from the -dark closet. I dared not risk making any movement, fearing I might -betray my presence. - -Arriving at the window, he peered out on to the park. The night -was now light, the moon showing at intervals. The Green Man raised -his arms twice, making signs which I did not understand; then, -leaving the window, he again took up his package and moved along -the gallery towards the landing-place. - -Rouletabille had instructed me to undo the curtain-cord when I saw -anything. Was Rouletabille expecting this? It was not my business -to question. All I had to do was obey instructions. I unfastened -the window-cord; my heart beating the while as if it would burst. -The man reached the landing-place, but, to my utter surprise--I -had expected to see him continue to pass along the gallery--I saw -him descend the stairs leading to the vestibule. - -What was I to do? I looked stupidly at the heavy curtain which had -shut the light from the window. The signal had been given, and I -did not see Rouletabille appear at the corner of the off-turning -gallery. Nobody appeared. I was exceedingly perplexed. Half an -hour passed, an age to me. What was I to do now, even if I saw -something? The signal once given I could not give it a second time. -To venture into the gallery might upset all Rouletabille's plans. -After all, I had nothing to reproach myself for, and if something -had happened that my friend had not expected he could only blame -himself. Unable to be of any further assistance to him by means -of a signal, I left the dark closet and, still in my socks, made -my way to the "off-turning" gallery. - -There was no one there. I went to the door of Rouletabille's room -and listened. I could hear nothing. I knocked gently. There was -no answer. I turned the door-handle and the door opened. I entered. -Rouletabille lay extended at full length on the floor. - - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -The Incredible Body - - -I bent in great anxiety over the body of the reporter and had the -joy to find that he was deeply sleeping, the same unhealthy sleep -that I had seen fall upon Frederic Larsan. He had succumbed to the -influence of the same drug that had been mixed with our food. How -was it then, that I, also, had not been overcome by it? I reflected -that the drug must have been put into our wine; because that would -explain my condition. I never drink when eating. Naturally -inclined to obesity, I am restricted to a dry diet. I shook -Rouletabille, but could not succeed in waking him. This, no doubt, -was the work of Mademoiselle Stangerson. - -She had certainly thought it necessary to guard herself against this -young man as well as her father. I recalled that the steward, in -serving us, had recommended an excellent Chablis which, no doubt, -had come from the professor's table. - -More-than a quarter of an hour passed. I resolved, under the -pressing circumstances, to resort to extreme measures. I threw a -pitcher of cold water over Rouletabille's head. He opened his eyes. -I beat his face, and raised him up. I felt him stiffen in my arms -and heard him murmur: "Go on, go on; but don't make any noise." I -pinched him and shook him until he was able to stand up. We were -saved! - -"They sent me to sleep," he said. "Ah! I passed an awful quarter -of an hour before giving way. But it is over now. Don't leave me." - -He had no sooner uttered those words than we were thrilled by a -frightful cry that rang through the chateau,--a veritable death cry. - -"Malheur!" roared Rouletabille; "we shall be too late!" - -He tried to rush to the door, but he was too dazed, and fell against -the wall. I was already in the gallery, revolver in hand, rushing -like a madman towards Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. The moment I -arrived at the intersection of the "off-turning" gallery and the -"right" gallery, I saw a figure leaving her apartment, which, in a -few strides had reached the landing-place. - -I was not master of myself. I fired. The report from the revolver -made a deafening noise; but the man continued his flight down the -stairs. I ran behind him, shouting: "Stop!--stop! or I will kill -you!" As I rushed after him down the stairs, I came face to face -with Arthur Rance coming from the left wing of the chateau, yelling: -"What is it? What is it?" We arrived almost at the same time at -the foot of the staircase. The window of the vestibule was open. -We distinctly saw the form of a man running away. Instinctively we -fired our revolvers in his direction. He was not more than ten -paces in front of us; he staggered and we thought he was going to -fall. We had sprung out of the window, but the man dashed off with -renewed vigour. I was in my socks, and the American was barefooted. -There being no hope of overtaking him, we fired our last cartridges -at him. But he still kept on running, going along the right side -of the court towards the end of the right wing of the chateau, which -had no other outlet than the door of the little chamber occupied by -the forest-keeper. The man, though he was evidently wounded by our -bullets, was now twenty yards ahead of us. Suddenly, behind us, -and above our heads, a window in the gallery opened and we heard -the voice of Rouletabille crying out desperately: - -"Fire, Bernier!--Fire!" - -At that moment the clear moonlight night was further lit by a broad -flash. By its light we saw Daddy Bernier with his gun on the -threshold of the donjon door. - -He had taken good aim. The shadow fell. But as it had reached the -end of the right wing of the chateau, it fell on the other side of -the angle of the building; that is to say, we saw it about to fall, -but not the actual sinking to the ground. Bernier, Arthur Rance -and myself reached the other side twenty seconds later. The shadow -was lying dead at our feet. - -Aroused from his lethargy by the cries and reports, Larsan opened -the window of his chamber and called out to us. Rouletabille, quite -awake now, joined us at the same moment, and I cried out to him: - -"He is dead!--is dead!" - -"So much the better," he said. "Take him into the vestibule of the -chateau." Then as if on second thought, he said: "No!--no! Let us -put him in his own room." - -Rouletabille knocked at the door. Nobody answered. Naturally, this -did not surprise me. - -"He is evidently not there, otherwise he would have come out," said -the reporter. "Let us carry him to the vestibule then." - -Since reaching the dead shadow, a thick cloud had covered the moon -and darkened the night, so that we were unable to make out the -features. Daddy Jacques, who had now joined us, helped us to carry -the body into the vestibule, where we laid it down on the lower step -of the stairs. On the way, I had felt my hands wet from the warm -blood flowing from the wounds. - -Daddy Jacques flew to the kitchen and returned with a lantern. He -held it close to the face of the dead shadow, and we recognised the -keeper, the man called by the landlord of the Donjon Inn the Green -Man, whom, an hour earlier, I had seen come out of Arthur Rance's -chamber carrying a parcel. But what I had seen I could only tell -Rouletabille later, when we were alone. - -Rouletabille and Frederic Larsan experienced a cruel disappointment -at the result of the night's adventure. They could only look in -consternation and stupefaction at the body of the Green Man. - -Daddy Jacques showed a stupidly sorrowful face and with silly -lamentations kept repeating that we were mistaken--the keeper could -not be the assailant. We were obliged to compel him to be quiet. -He could not have shown greater grief had the body been that of his -own son. I noticed, while all the rest of us were more or less -undressed and barefooted, that he was fully clothed. - -Rouletabille had not left the body. Kneeling on the flagstones by -the light of Daddy Jacques's lantern he removed the clothes from -the body and laid bare its breast. Then snatching the lantern from -Daddy Jacques, he held it over the corpse and saw a gaping wound. -Rising suddenly he exclaimed in a voice filled with savage irony: - -"The man you believe to have been shot was killed by the stab of a -knife in his heart!" - -I thought Rouletabille had gone mad; but, bending over the body, I -quickly satisfied myself that Rouletabille was right. Not a sign -of a bullet anywhere--the wound, evidently made by a sharp blade, -had penetrated the heart. - - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -The Double Scent - - -I had hardly recovered from the surprise into which this new -discovery had plunged me, when Rouletabille touched me on the -shoulder and asked me to follow him into his room. - -"What are we going to do there?" - -"To think the matter over." - -I confess I was in no condition for doing much thinking, nor could -I understand how Rouletabille could so control himself as to be -able calmly to sit down for reflection when he must have known that -Mademoiselle Stangerson was at that moment almost on the point of -death. But his self-control was more than I could explain. Closing -the door of his room, he motioned me to a chair and, seating himself -before me, took out his pipe. We sat there for some time in silence -and then I fell asleep. - -When I awoke it was daylight. It was eight o'clock by my watch. -Rouletabille was no longer in the room. I rose to go out when the -door opened and my friend re-entered. He had evidently lost no time. - -"How about Mademoiselle Stangerson?" I asked him. - -"Her condition, though very alarming, is not desperate." - -"When did you leave this room?" - -"Towards dawn." - -"I guess you have been hard at work?" - -"Rather!" - -"Have you found out anything?" - -"Two sets of footprints!" - -"Do they explain anything?" - -"Yes." - -"Have they anything to do with the mystery of the keeper's body?" - -"Yes; the mystery is no longer a mystery. This morning, walking -round the chateau, I found two distinct sets of footprints, made at -the same time, last night. They were made by two persons walking -side by side. I followed them from the court towards the oak grove. -Larsan joined me. They were the same kind of footprints as were -made at the time of the assault in The Yellow Room--one set was -from clumsy boots and the other was made by neat ones, except that -the big toe of one of the sets was of a different size from the one -measured in The Yellow Room incident. I compared the marks with -the paper patterns I had previously made. - -"Still following the tracks of the prints, Larsan and I passed out -of the oak grove and reached the border of the lake. There they -turned off to a little path leading to the high road to Epinay where -we lost the traces in the newly macadamised highway. - -"We went back to the chateau and parted at the courtyard. We met -again, however, in Daddy Jacques's room to which our separate trains -of thinking had led us both. We found the old servant in bed. His -clothes on the chair were wet through and his boots very muddy. He -certainly did not get into that state in helping us to carry the -body of the keeper. It was not raining then. Then his face showed -extreme fatigue and he looked at us out of terror-stricken eyes. - -"On our first questioning him he told us that he had gone to bed -immediately after the doctor had arrived. On pressing him, however, -for it was evident to us he was not speaking the truth, he confessed -that he had been away from the chateau. He explained his absence -by saying that he had a headache and went out into the fresh air, -but had gone no further than the oak grove. When we then described -to him the whole route he had followed, he sat up in bed trembling. - -"'And you were not alone!' cried Larsan. - -"'Did you see it then?' gasped Daddy Jacques. - -"'What?' I asked. - -"'The phantom--the black phantom!' - -"Then he told us that for several nights he had seen what he kept -calling the black phantom. It came into the park at the stroke of -midnight and glided stealthily through the trees; it appeared to -him to pass through the trunks of the trees. Twice he had seen -it from his window, by the light of the moon and had risen and -followed the strange apparition. The night before last he had -almost overtaken it; but it had vanished at the corner of the -donjon. Last night, however, he had not left the chateau, his -mind being disturbed by a presentiment that some new crime would -be attempted. Suddenly he saw the black phantom rush out from -somewhere in the middle of the court. He followed it to the lake -and to the high road to Epinay, where the phantom suddenly -disappeared. - -"'Did you see his face?' demanded Larsan. - -"'No!--I saw nothing but black veils.' - -"'Did you go out after what passed on the gallery?' - -"'I could not!--I was terrified.' - -"'Daddy Jacques,' I said, in a threatening voice, 'you did not follow -it; you and the phantom walked to Epinay together--arm in arm!' - -"'No!' he cried, turning his eyes away, 'I did not. It came on to -pour, and--I turned back. I don't know what became of the black -phantom." - -"We left him, and when we were outside I turned to Larsan, looking -him full in the face, and put my question suddenly to take him off -his guard: - -"'An accomplice?' - -"'How can I tell?' he replied, shrugging his shoulders. 'You can't -be sure of anything in a case like this. Twenty-four hours ago I -would have sworn that there was no accomplice!' He left me saying -he was off to Epinay." - -"Well, what do you make of it?" I asked Rouletabille, after he had -ended his recital. "Personally I am utterly in the dark. I can't -make anything out of it. What do you gather?" - -"Everything! Everything!" he exclaimed. "But," he said abruptly, -"let's find out more about Mademoiselle Stangerson." - - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -Rouletabille Knows the Two Halves of the Murderer - - -Mademoiselle Stangerson had been almost murdered for the second -time. Unfortunately, she was in too weak a state to bear the -severer injuries of this second attack as well as she had those of -the first. She had received three wounds in the breast from the -murderer's knife, and she lay long between life and death. Her -strong physique, however, saved her; but though she recovered -physically it was found that her mind had been affected. The -slightest allusion to the terrible incident sent her into delirium, -and the arrest of Robert Darzac which followed on the day following -the tragic death of the keeper seemed to sink her fine intelligence -into complete melancholia. - -Robert Darzac arrived at the chateau towards half-past nine. I saw -him hurrying through the park, his hair and clothes in disorder and -his face a deadly white. Rouletabille and I were looking out of a -window in the gallery. He saw us, and gave a despairing cry: "I'm -too late!" - -Rouletabille answered: "She lives!" - -A minute later Darzac had gone into Mademoiselle Stangerson's room -and, through the door, we could hear his heart-rending sobs. - -"There's a fate about this place!" groaned Rouletabille. "Some -infernal gods must be watching over the misfortunes of this family! ---If I had not been drugged, I should have saved Mademoiselle -Stangerson. I should have silenced him forever. And the keeper -would not have been killed!" - -Monsieur Darzac came in to speak with us. His distress was terrible. -Rouletabille told him everything: his preparations for Mademoiselle -Stangerson's safety; his plans for either capturing or for disposing -of the assailant for ever; and how he would have succeeded had it -not been for the drugging. - -"If only you had trusted me!" said the young man, in a low tone. -"If you had but begged Mademoiselle Stangerson to confide in me! ---But, then, everybody here distrusts everybody else, the daughter -distrusts her father, and even her lover. While you ask me to -protect her she is doing all she can to frustrate me. That was why -I came on the scene too late!" - -At Monsieur Robert Darzac's request Rouletabille described the -whole scene. Leaning on the wall, to prevent himself from falling, -he had made his way to Mademoiselle Stangerson's room, while we were -running after the supposed murderer. The ante-room door was open -and when he entered he found Mademoiselle Stangerson lying partly -thrown over the desk. Her dressing-gown was dyed with the blood -flowing from her bosom. Still under the influence of the drug, he -felt he was walking in a horrible nightmare. - -He went back to the gallery automatically, opened a window, shouted -his order to fire, and then returned to the room. He crossed the -deserted boudoir, entered the drawing-room, and tried to rouse -Monsieur Stangerson who was lying on a sofa. Monsieur Stangerson -rose stupidly and let himself be drawn by Rouletabille into the room -where, on seeing his daughter's body, he uttered a heart-rending cry. -Both united their feeble strength and carried her to her bed. - -On his way to join us Rouletabille passed by the desk. On the floor, -near it, he saw a large packet. He knelt down and, finding the -wrapper loose, he examined it, and made out an enormous quantity of -papers and photographs. On one of the papers he read: "New -differential electroscopic condenser. Fundamental properties of -substance intermediary between ponderable matter and imponderable -ether." Strange irony of fate that the professor's precious papers -should be restored to him at the very time when an attempt was being -made to deprive him of his daughter's life! What are papers worth -to him now? - -The morning following that awful night saw Monsieur de Marquet once -more at the chateau, with his Registrar and gendarmes. Of course -we were all questioned. Rouletabille and I had already agreed on -what to say. I kept back any information as to my being in the -dark closet and said nothing about the drugging. We did not wish -to suggest in any way that Mademoiselle Stangerson had been -expecting her nocturnal visitor. The poor woman might, perhaps, -never recover, and it was none of our business to lift the veil of -a secret the preservation of which she had paid for so dearly. - -Arthur Rance told everybody, in a manner so natural that it -astonished me, that he had last seen the keeper towards eleven -o'clock of that fatal night. He had come for his valise, he said, -which he was to take for him early next morning to the Saint-Michel -station, and had been kept out late running after poachers. Arthur -Rance had, indeed, intended to leave the chateau and, according to -his habit, to walk to the station. - -Monsieur Stangerson confirmed what Rance had said, adding that he -had not asked Rance to dine with him because his friend had taken -his final leave of them both earlier in the evening. Monsieur -Rance had had tea served him in his room, because he had complained -of a slight indisposition. - -Bernier testified, instructed by Rouletabille, that the keeper had -ordered him to meet at a spot near the oak grove, for the purpose -of looking out for poachers. Finding that the keeper did not keep -his appointment, he, Bernier, had gone in search of him. He had -almost arrived at the donjon, when he saw a figure running swiftly -in a direction opposite to him, towards the right wing of the -chateau. He heard revolver shots from behind the figure and saw -Rouletabille at one of the gallery windows. He heard Rouletabille -call out to him to fire, and he had fired. He believed he had -killed the man until he learned, after Rouletabille had uncovered -the body, that the man had died from a knife thrust. Who had given -it he could not imagine. "Nobody could have been near the spot -without my seeing him." When the examining magistrate reminded him -that the spot where the body was found was very dark and that he -himself had not been able to recognise the keeper before firing, -Daddy Bernier replied that neither had they seen the other body; -nor had they found it. In the narrow court where five people were -standing it would have been strange if the other body, had it been -there, could have escaped. The only door that opened into the court -was that of the keeper's room, and that door was closed, and the -key of it was found in the keeper's pocket. - -However that might be, the examining magistrate did not pursue his -inquiry further in this direction. He was evidently convinced that -we had missed the man we were chasing and we had come upon the -keeper's body in our chase. This matter of the keeper was another -matter entirely. He wanted to satisfy himself about that without -any further delay. Probably it fitted in with the conclusions he -had already arrived at as to the keeper and his intrigues with the -wife of Mathieu, the landlord of the Donjon Inn. This Mathieu, -later in the afternoon, was arrested and taken to Corbeil in spite -of his rheumatism. He had been heard to threaten the keeper, and -though no evidence against him had been found at his inn, the -evidence of carters who had heard the threats was enough to justify -his retention. - -The examination had proceeded thus far when, to our surprise, -Frederic Larsan returned to the chateau. He was accompanied by one -of the 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: - -"Monsieur,--Monsieur Robert Darzac will not come!" - -"What! Not come!" cried Monsieur de Marquet. - -"He says he cannot leave Mademoiselle Stangerson in her present -state." - -"Very well," said Monsieur de Marquet; "then we'll go to him." - -Monsieur de Marquet and the gendarme mounted the stairs. He made -a sign to Larsan and the railroad employe to follow. Rouletabille -and I went along too. - -On reaching the door of Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber, Monsieur -de Marquet knocked. A chambermaid appeared. It was Sylvia, with -her hair all in disorder and consternation showing on her face. - -"Is Monsieur Stangerson within?" asked the magistrate. - -"Yes, Monsieur." - -"Tell him that I wish to speak with him." - -Stangerson came out. His appearance was wretched in the extreme. - -"What do you want?" he demanded of the magistrate. "May I not be -left in peace, Monsieur?" - -"Monsieur," said the magistrate, "it is absolutely necessary that I -should see Monsieur Darzac at once. If you cannot induce him to -come, I shall be compelled to use the help of the law." - -The professor made no reply. He looked at us all like a man being -led to execution, and then went back into the room. - -Almost immediately after Monsieur Robert Darzac came out. He was -very pale. He looked at us and, his eyes falling on the railway -servant, his features stiffened and he could hardly repress a groan. - -We were all much moved by the appearance of the man. We felt that -what was about to happen would decide the fate of Monsieur Robert -Darzac. Frederic Larsan's face alone was radiant, showing a joy -as of a dog that had at last got its prey. - -Pointing to the railway servant, Monsieur de Marquet said to -Monsieur Darzac: - -"Do you recognise this man, Monsieur?" - -"I do," said Monsieur Darzac, in a tone which he vainly tried to -make firm. "He is an employe at the station at Epinay-sur-Orge." - -"This young man," went on Monsieur de Marquet, "affirms that he saw -you get off the train at Epinay-sur-Orge--" - -"That night," said Monsieur Darzac, interrupting, "at half-past ten ---it is quite true." - -An interval of silence followed. - -"Monsieur Darzac," the magistrate went on in a tone of deep emotion, -"Monsieur Darzac, what were you doing that night, at Epinay-sur-Orge ---at that time?" - -Monsieur Darzac remained silent, simply closing his eyes. - -"Monsieur Darzac," insisted Monsieur de Marquet, "can you tell me -how you employed your time, that night?" - -Monsieur Darzac opened his eyes. He seemed to have recovered his -self-control. - -"No, Monsieur." - -"Think, Monsieur! For, if you persist in your strange refusal, I -shall be under the painful necessity of keeping you at my -disposition." - -"I refuse." - -"Monsieur Darzac!--in the name of the law, I arrest you!" - -The magistrate had no sooner pronounced the words than I saw -Rouletabille move quickly towards Monsieur Darzac. He would -certainly have spoken to him, but Darzac, by a gesture, held -him off. As the gendarme approached his prisoner, a despairing -cry rang through the room: - -"Robert!--Robert!" - -We recognised the voice of Mademoiselle Stangerson. We all -shuddered. Larsan himself turned pale. Monsieur Darzac, in response -to the cry, had flown back into the room. - -The magistrate, the gendarme, and Larsan followed closely after. -Rouletabille and I remained on the threshold. It was a -heart-breaking sight that met our eyes. Mademoiselle Stangerson, -with a face of deathly pallor, had risen on her bed, in spite of -the restraining efforts of two doctors and her father. She was -holding out her trembling arms towards Robert Darzac, on whom -Larsan and the gendarme had laid hands. Her distended eyes saw ---she understood--her lips seemed to form a word, but nobody made -it out; and she fell back insensible. - -Monsieur Darzac was hurried out of the room and placed in the -vestibule to wait for the vehicle Larsan had gone to fetch. We -were all overcome by emotion and even Monsieur de Marquet had tears -in his eyes. Rouletabille took advantage of the opportunity to -say to Monsieur Darzac: - -"Are you going to put in any defense?" - -"No!" replied the prisoner. - -"Very well, then I will, Monsieur." - -"You cannot do it," said the unhappy man with a faint smile. - -"I can--and I will." - -Rouletabille's voice had in it a strange strength and confidence. - -"I can do it, Monsieur Robert Darzac, because I know more than -you do!" - -"Come! Come!" murmured Darzac, almost angrily. - -"Have no fear! I shall know only what will benefit you." - -"You must know nothing, young man, if you want me to be grateful." - -Rouletabille shook his head, going close up to Darzac. - -"Listen to what I am about to say," he said in a low tone, "and let -it give you confidence. You do not know the name of the murderer. -Mademoiselle Stangerson knows it; but only half of it; but I know -his two halves; I know the whole man!" - -Robert Darzac opened his eyes, with a look that showed he had not -understood a word of what Rouletabille had said to him. At that -moment the conveyance arrived, driven by Frederic Larsan. Darzac -and the gendarme entered it, Larsan remaining on the driver's seat. -The prisoner was taken to Corbeil. - - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -Rouletabille Goes on a Journey - - -That same evening Rouletabille and I left the Glandier. We were -very glad to get away and there was nothing more to keep us there. -I declared my intention to give up the whole matter. It had been -too much for me. Rouletabille, with a friendly tap on my shoulder, -confessed that he had nothing more to learn at the Glandier; he had -learned there all it had to tell him. We reached Paris about eight -o'clock, dined, and then, tired out, we separated, agreeing to meet -the next morning at my rooms. - -Rouletabille arrived next day at the hour agreed on. He was dressed -in a suit of English tweed, with an ulster on his arm, and a valise -in his hand. Evidently he had prepared himself for a journey. - -"How long shall you be away?" I asked. - -"A month or two," he said. "It all depends." - -I asked him no more questions. - -"Do you know," he asked, "what the word was that Mademoiselle -Stangerson tried to say before she fainted?" - -"No--nobody heard it." - -"I heard it!" replied Rouletabille. "She said 'Speak!'" - -"Do you think Darzac will speak?" - -"Never." - -I was about to make some further observations, but he wrung my hand -warmly and wished me good-bye. I had only time to ask him one -question before he left. - -"Are you not afraid that other attempts may be made while you're -away?" - -"No! Not now that Darzac is in prison," he answered. - -With this strange remark he left. I was not to see him again until -the day of Darzac's trial at the court when he appeared to explain -the inexplicable. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -In Which Joseph Rouletabille Is Awaited with Impatience - - -On the 15th of January, that is to say, two months and a half after -the tragic events I have narrated, the "Epoque" printed, as the -first column of the front page, the following sensational article: -"The Seine-et-Oise jury is summoned to-day to give its verdict on -one of the most mysterious affairs in the annals of crime. There -never has been a case with so many obscure, incomprehensible, and -inexplicable points. And yet the prosecution has not hesitated to -put into the prisoner's dock a man who is respected, esteemed, and -loved by all who knew him--a young savant, the hope of French -science, whose whole life has been devoted to knowledge and truth. -When Paris heard of Monsieur Robert Darzac's arrest a unanimous cry -of protest arose from all sides. The whole Sorbonne, disgraced by -this act of the examining magistrate, asserted its belief in the -innocence of Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance. Monsieur Stangerson -was loud in his denunciation of this miscarriage of justice. There -is no doubt in the mind of anybody that could the victim speak she -would claim from the jurors of Seine-et-Oise the man she wishes to -make her husband and whom the prosecution would send to the scaffold. -It is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson will shortly recover -her reason, which has been temporarily unhinged by the horrible -mystery at the Glandier. The question before the jury is the one -we propose to deal with this very day. - -"We have decided not to permit twelve worthy men to commit a -disgraceful miscarriage of justice. We confess that the remarkable -coincidences, the many convicting evidences, and the inexplicable -silence on the part of the accused, as well as a total absence of -any evidence for an alibi, were enough to warrant the bench of -judges in assuming that in this man alone was centered the truth -of the affair. The evidences are, in appearance, so overwhelming -against Monsieur Robert Darzac that a detective so well informed, -so intelligent, and generally so successful, as Monsieur Frederic -Larsan, may be excused for having been misled by them. Up to now -everything has gone against Monsieur Robert Darzac in the -magisterial inquiry. To-day, however, we are going to defend him -before the jury, and we are going to bring to the witness stand a -light that will illumine the whole mystery of the Glandier. For -we possess the truth. - -"If we have not spoken sooner, it is because the interests of -certain parties in the case demand that we should take that course. -Our readers may remember the unsigned reports we published relating -to the 'Left foot of the Rue Oberkampf,' at the time of the famous -robbery of the Credit Universel, and the famous case of the 'Gold -Ingots of the Mint.' In both those cases we were able to discover -the truth long before even the excellent ingenuity of Frederic -Larsan had been able to unravel it. These reports were written by -our youngest reporter, Joseph Rouletabille, a youth of eighteen, -whose fame to-morrow will be world-wide. When attention was first -drawn to the Glandier case, our youthful reporter was on the spot -and installed in the chateau, when every other representative of -the press had been denied admission. He worked side by side with -Frederic Larsan. He was amazed and terrified at the grave mistake -the celebrated detective was about to make, and tried to divert -him from the false scent he was following; but the great Fred -refused to receive instructions from this young journalist. We -know now where it brought Monsieur Robert Darzac. - -"But now, France must know--the whole world must know, that, on -the very evening on which Monsieur Darzac was arrested, young -Rouletabille entered our editorial office and informed us that he -was about to go away on a journey. 'How long I shall be away,' -he said, 'I cannot say; perhaps a month--perhaps two--perhaps -three perhaps I may never return. Here is a letter. If I am not -back on the day on which Monsieur Darzac is to appear before the -Assize Court, have this letter opened and read to the court, after -all the witnesses have been heard. Arrange it with Monsieur Darzac's -counsel. Monsieur Darzac is innocent. In this letter is written -the name of the murderer; and--that is all I have to say. I am -leaving to get my proofs--for the irrefutable evidence of the -murderer's guilt.' Our reporter departed. For a long time we -were without news from him; but, a week ago, a stranger called -upon our manager and said: 'Act in accordance with the instructions -of Joseph Rouletabille, if it becomes necessary to do so. The -letter left by him holds the truth.' The gentleman who brought us -this message would not give us his name. - -"To-day, the 15th of January, is the day of the trial. Joseph -Rouletabille has not returned. It may be we shall never see him -again. The press also counts its heroes, its martyrs to duty. It -may be he is no longer living. We shall know how to avenge him. -Our manager will, this afternoon, be at the Court of Assize at -Versailles, with the letter--the letter containing the name of -the murderer!" - -Those Parisians who flocked to the Assize Court at Versailles, to -be present at the trial of what was known as the "Mystery of The -Yellow Room," will certainly remember the terrible crush at the -Saint-Lazare station. The ordinary trains were so full that special -trains had to be made up. The article in the "Epoque" had so -excited the populace that discussion was rife everywhere even to -the verge of blows. Partisans of Rouletabille fought with the -supporters of Frederic Larsan. Curiously enough the excitement -was due less to the fact that an innocent man was in danger of a -wrongful conviction than to the interest taken in their own ideas -as to the Mystery of The Yellow Room. Each had his explanation to -which each held fast. Those who explained the crime on Frederic -Larsan's theory would not admit that there could be any doubt as -to the perspicacity of the popular detective. Others who had -arrived at a different solution, naturally insisted that this was -Rouletabille's explanation, though they did not as yet know what -that was. - -With the day's "Epoque" in their hands, the "Larsans" and the -"Rouletabilles" fought and shoved each other on the steps of the -Palais de Justice, right into the court itself. Those who could -not get in remained in the neighbourhood until evening and were, -with great difficulty, kept back by the soldiery and the police. -They became hungry for news, welcoming the most absurd rumours. -At one time the rumour spread that Monsieur Stangerson himself had -been arrested in the court and had confessed to being the murderer. -This goes to show to what a pitch of madness nervous excitement -may carry people. Rouletabille was still expected. Some pretended -to know him; and when a young man with a "pass" crossed the open -space which separated the crowd from the Court House, a scuffle -took place. Cries were raised of "Rouletabille!--there's -Rouletabille!" The arrival of the manager of the paper was the -signal for a great demonstration. Some applauded, others hissed. - -The trial itself was presided over by Monsieur de Rocouz, a judge -filled with the prejudice of his class, but a man honest at heart. -The witnesses had been called. I was there, of course, as were all -who had, in any way, been in touch with the mysteries of the -Glandier. Monsieur Stangerson--looking many years older and almost -unrecognisable--Larsan, Arthur Rance, with his face ruddy as ever, -Daddy Jacques, Daddy Mathieu, who was brought into court handcuffed -between two gendarmes, Madame Mathieu, in tears, the two Berniers, -the two nurses, the steward, all the domestics of the chateau, the -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. - -The court was so crowded that many lawyers were compelled to find -seats on the steps. Behind the bench of justices were -representatives from other benches. Monsieur Robert Darzac stood -in the prisoner's dock between policemen, tall, handsome, and calm. -A murmur of admiration rather than of compassion greeted his -appearance. He leaned forward towards his counsel, Maitre Henri -Robert, who, assisted by his chief secretary, Maitre Andre Hesse, -was busily turning over the folios of his brief. - -Many expected that Monsieur Stangerson, after giving his evidence, -would have gone over to the prisoner and shaken hands with him; but -he left the court without another word. It was remarked that the -jurors appeared to be deeply interested in a rapid conversation -which the manager of the "Epoque" was having with Maitre Henri -Robert. The manager, later, sat down in the front row of the public -seats. Some were surprised that he was not asked to remain with -the other witnesses in the room reserved for them. - -The reading of the indictment was got through, as it always is, -without any incident. I shall not here report the long examination -to which Monsieur Darzac was subjected. He answered all the -questions quickly and easily. His silence as to the important -matters of which we know was dead against him. It would seem as if -this reticence would be fatal for him. He resented the President's -reprimands. He was told that his silence might mean death. - -"Very well," he said; "I will submit to it; but I am innocent." - -With that splendid ability which has made his fame, Maitre Robert -took advantage of the incident, and tried to show that it brought -out in noble relief his client's character; for only heroic natures -could remain silent for moral reasons in face of such a danger. -The eminent advocate however, only succeeded in assuring those who -were already assured of Darzac's innocence. At the adjournment -Rouletabille had not yet arrived. Every time a door opened, all -eyes there turned towards it and back to the manager of the "Epoque," -who sat impassive in his place. When he once was feeling in his -pocket a loud murmur of expectation followed. The letter! - -It is not, however, my intention to report in detail the course of -the trial. My readers are sufficiently acquainted with the -mysteries surrounding the Glandier case to enable me to go on to -the really dramatic denouement of this ever-memorable day. - -When the trial was resumed, Maitre Henri Robert questioned Daddy -Mathieu as to his complicity in the death of the keeper. His wife -was also brought in and was confronted by her husband. She burst -into tears and confessed that she had been the keeper's mistress, -and that her husband had suspected it. She again, however, -affirmed that he had had nothing to do with the murder of her lover. -Maitre Henri Robert thereupon asked the court to hear Frederic -Larsan on this point. - -"In a short conversation which I have had with Frederic Larsan, -during the adjournment," declared the advocate, "he has made me -understand that the death of the keeper may have been brought about -otherwise than by the hand of Mathieu. It will be interesting to -hear Frederic Larsan's theory." - -Frederic Larsan was brought in. His explanation was quite clear. - -"I see no necessity," he said, "for bringing Mathieu in this. I -have told Monsieur de Marquet that the man's threats had biassed -the examining magistrate against him. To me the attempt to murder -Mademoiselle and the death of the keeper are the work of one and -the same person. Mademoiselle Stangerson's murderer, flying -through the court, was fired on; it was thought he was struck, -perhaps killed. As a matter of fact, he only stumbled at the -moment of his disappearance behind the corner of the right wing -of the chateau. There he encountered the keeper who, no doubt, -tried to seize him. The murderer had in his hand the knife with -which he had stabbed Mademoiselle Stangerson and with this he -killed the keeper." - -This very simple explanation appeared at once plausible and -satisfying. A murmur of approbation was heard. - -"And the murderer? What became of him?" asked the President. - -"He was evidently hidden in an obscure corner at the end of the -court. After the people had left the court carrying with them the -body of the keeper, the murderer quietly made his escape." - -The words had scarcely left Larsan's mouth when from the back of -the court came a youthful voice: - -"I agree with Frederic Larsan as to the death of the keeper; but I -do not agree with him as to the way the murderer escaped!" - -Everybody turned round, astonished. The clerks of the court sprang -towards the speaker, calling out silence, and the President angrily -ordered the intruder to be immediately expelled. The same clear -voice, however, was again heard: - -"It is I, Monsieur President--Joseph Rouletabille!" - - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -In Which Joseph Rouletabille Appears in All His Glory - - -The excitement was extreme. Cries from fainting women were to be -heard amid the extraordinary bustle and stir. The "majesty of the -law" was utterly forgotten. The President tried in vain to make -himself heard. Rouletabille made his way forward with difficulty, -but by dint of much elbowing reached his manager and greeted him -cordially. The letter was passed to him and pocketing it he turned -to the witness-box. He was dressed exactly as on the day he left -me even to the ulster over his arm. Turning to the President, he -said: - -"I beg your pardon, Monsieur President, but I have only just arrived -from America. The steamer was late. My name is Joseph Rouletabille!" - -The silence which followed his stepping into the witness-box was -broken by laughter when his words were heard. Everybody seemed -relieved and glad to find him there, as if in the expectation of -hearing the truth at last. - -But the President was extremely incensed: - -"So, you are Joseph Rouletabille," he replied; "well, young man, -I'll teach you what comes of making a farce of justice. By virtue -of my discretionary power, I hold you at the court's disposition." - -"I ask nothing better, Monsieur President. I have come here for -that purpose. I humbly beg the court's pardon for the disturbance -of which I have been the innocent cause. I beg you to believe that -nobody has a greater respect for the court than I have. I came in -as I could." He smiled. - -"Take him away!" ordered the President. - -Maitre Henri Robert intervened. He began by apologising for the -young man, who, he said, was moved only by the best intentions. -He made the President understand that the evidence of a witness who -had slept at the Glandier during the whole of that eventful week -could not be omitted, and the present witness, moreover, had come -to name the real murderer. - -"Are you going to tell us who the murderer was?" asked the President, -somewhat convinced though still sceptical. - -"I have come for that purpose, Monsieur President!" replied -Rouletabille. - -An attempt at applause was silenced by the usher. - -"Joseph Rouletabille," said Maitre Henri Robert, "has not been -regularly subpoenaed as a witness, but I hope, Monsieur President, -you will examine him in virtue of your discretionary powers." - -"Very well!" said the President, "we will question him. But we must -proceed in order." - -The Advocate-General rose: - -"It would, perhaps, be better," he said, "if the young man were to -tell us now whom he suspects." - -The President nodded ironically: - -"If the Advocate-General attaches importance to the deposition of -Monsieur Joseph Rouletabille, I see no reason why this witness -should not give us the name of the murderer." - -A pin drop could have been heard. Rouletabille stood silent looking -sympathetically at Darzac, who, for the first time since the opening -of the trial, showed himself agitated. - -"Well," cried the President, "we wait for the name of the murderer." -Rouletabille, feeling in his waistcoat pocket, drew his watch and, -looking at it, said: - -"Monsieur President, I cannot name the murderer before half-past -six o'clock!" - -Loud murmurs of disappointment filled the room. Some of the lawyers -were heard to say: "He's making fun of us!" - -The President in a stern voice, said: - -"This joke has gone far enough. You may retire, Monsieur, into the -witnesses' room. I hold you at our disposition." - -Rouletabille protested. - -"I assure you, Monsieur President," he cried in his sharp, clear -voice, "that when I do name the murderer you will understand why -I could not speak before half-past six. I assert this on my honour. -I can, however, give you now some explanation of the murder of the -keeper. Monsieur Frederic Larsan, who has seen me at work at the -Glandier, can tell you with what care I studied this case. I found -myself compelled to differ with him in arresting Monsieur Robert -Darzac, who is innocent. Monsieur Larsan knows of my good faith -and knows that some importance may be attached to my discoveries, -which have often corroborated his own." - -Frederic Larsan said: - -"Monsieur President, it will be interesting to hear Monsieur Joseph -Rouletabille, especially as he differs from me." - -A murmur of approbation greeted the detective's speech. He was a -good sportsman and accepted the challenge. The struggle between -the two promised to be exciting. - -As the President remained silent, Frederic Larsan continued: - -"We agree that the murderer of the keeper was the assailant of -Mademoiselle Stangerson; but as we are not agreed as to how the -murderer escaped, I am curious to hear Monsieur Rouletabille's -explanation." - -"I have no doubt you are," said my friend. - -General laughter followed this remark. The President angrily -declared that if it was repeated, he would have the court cleared. - -"Now, young man," said the President, "you have heard Monsieur -Frederic Larsan; how did the murderer get away from the court?" - -Rouletabille looked at Madame Mathieu, who smiled back at him sadly. - -"Since Madame Mathieu," he said, "has freely admitted her intimacy -with the keeper--" - -"Why, it's the boy!" exclaimed Daddy Mathieu. - -"Remove that man!" ordered the President. - -Mathieu was removed from the court. Rouletabille went on: - -"Since she has made this confession, I am free to tell you that she -often met the keeper at night on the first floor of the donjon, in -the room which was once an oratory. These meetings became more -frequent when her husband was laid up by his rheumatism. She gave -him morphine to ease his pain and to give herself more time for the -meetings. Madame Mathieu came to the chateau that night, enveloped -in a large black shawl which served also as a disguise. This was -the phantom that disturbed Daddy Jacques. She knew how to imitate -the mewing of Mother Angenoux' cat and she would make the cries to -advise the keeper of her presence. The recent repairs of the donjon -did not interfere with their meetings in the keeper's old room, in -the donjon, since the new room assigned to him at the end of the -right wing was separated from the steward's room by a partition only. - -"Previous to the tragedy in the courtyard Madame Mathieu and the -keeper left the donjon together. I learnt these facts from my -examination of the footmarks in the court the next morning. Bernier, -the concierge, whom I had stationed behind the donjon--as he will -explain himself--could not see what passed in the court. He did -not reach the court until he heard the revolver shots, and then he -fired. When the woman parted from the man she went towards the open -gate of the court, while he returned to his room. - -"He had almost reached the door when the revolvers rang out. He -had just reached the corner when a shadow bounded by. Meanwhile, -Madame Mathieu, surprised by the revolver shots and by the entrance -of people into the court, crouched in the darkness. The court is -a large one and, being near the gate, she might easily have passed -out unseen. But she remained and saw the body being carried away. -In great agony of mind she neared the vestibule and saw the dead -body of her lover on the stairs lit up by Daddy Jacques' lantern. -She then fled; and Daddy Jacques joined her. - -"That same night, before the murder, Daddy Jacques had been awakened -by the cat's cry, and, looking through his window, had seen the -black phantom. Hastily dressing himself he went out and recognised -her. He is an old friend of Madame Mathieu, and when she saw him -she had to tell him of her relations with the keeper and begged his -assistance. Daddy Jacques took pity on her and accompanied her -through the oak grove out of the park, past the border of the lake -to the road to Epinay. From there it was but a very short distance -to her home. - -"Daddy Jacques returned to the chateau, and, seeing how important -it was for Madame Mathieu's presence at the chateau to remain -unknown, he did all he could to hide it. I appeal to Monsieur -Larsan, who saw me, next morning, examine the two sets of -footprints." - -Here Rouletabille turning towards Madame Mathieu, with a bow, said: - -"The footprints of Madame bear a strange resemblance to the neat -footprints of the murderer." - -Madame Mathieu trembled and looked at him with wide eyes as if in -wonder at what he would say next. - -"Madame has a shapely foot, long and rather large for a woman. The -imprint, with its pointed toe, is very like that of the murderer's." - -A movement in the court was repressed by Rouletabille. He held -their attention at once. - -"I hasten to add," he went on, "that I attach no importance to this. -Outward signs like these are often liable to lead us into error, if -we do not reason rightly. Monsieur Robert Darzac's footprints are -also like the murderer's, and yet he is not the murderer!" - -The President turning to Madame Mathieu asked: - -"Is that in accordance with what you know occurred?" - -"Yes, Monsieur President," she replied, "it is as if Monsieur -Rouletabille had been behind us." - -"Did you see the murderer running towards the end of the right wing?" - -"Yes, as clearly as I saw them afterwards carrying the keeper's -body." - -"What became of the murderer?--You were in the courtyard and could -easily have seen. - -"I saw nothing of him, Monsieur President. It became quite dark -just then." - -"Then Monsieur Rouletabille," said the President, "must explain -how the murderer made his escape." - -Rouletabille continued: - -"It was impossible for the murderer to escape by the way he had -entered the court without our seeing him; or if we couldn't see him -we must certainly have felt him, since the court is a very narrow -one enclosed in high iron railings." - -"Then if the man was hemmed in that narrow square, how is it you -did not find him?--I have been asking you that for the last -half hour." - -"Monsieur President," replied Rouletabille, "I cannot answer that -question before half-past six!" - -By this time the people in the court-room were beginning to believe -in this new witness. They were amused by his melodramatic action -in thus fixing the hour; but they seemed to have confidence in the -outcome. As for the President, it looked as if he also had made up -his mind to take the young man in the same way. He had certainly -been impressed by Rouletabille's explanation of Madame Mathieu's part. - -"Well, Monsieur Rouletabille," he said, "as you say; but don't let -us see any more of you before half-past six." - -Rouletabille bowed to the President, and made his way to the door -of the witnesses' room. - -I quietly made my way through the crowd and left the court almost -at the same time as Rouletabille. He greeted me heartily, and -looked happy. - -"I'll not ask you, my dear fellow," I said, smiling, "what you've -been doing in America; because I've no doubt you'll say you can't -tell me until after half-past six." - -"No, my dear Sainclair, I'll tell you right now why I went to -America. I went in search of the name of the other half of the -murderer!" - -"The name of the other half?" - -"Exactly. When we last left the Glandier I knew there were two -halves to the murderer and the name of only one of them. I went -to America for the name of the other half." - -I was too puzzled to answer. Just then we entered the witnesses' -room, and Rouletabille was immediately surrounded. He showed -himself very friendly to all except Arthur Rance to whom he -exhibited a marked coldness of manner. Frederic Larsan came in -also. Rouletabille went up and shook him heartily by the hand. -His manner toward the detective showed that he had got the better -of the policeman. Larsan smiled and asked him what he had been -doing in America, Rouletabille began by telling him some anecdotes -of his voyage. They then turned aside together apparently with -the object of speaking confidentially. I, therefore, discreetly -left them and, being curious to hear the evidence, returned to my -seat in the court-room where the public plainly showed its lack -of interest in what was going on in their impatience for -Rouletabille's return at the appointed time. - -On the stroke of half-past six Joseph Rouletabille was again brought -in. It is impossible for me to picture the tense excitement which -appeared on every face, as he made his way to the bar. Darzac rose -to his feet, frightfully pale. - -The President, addressing Rouletabille, said gravely: - -"I will not ask you to take the oath, because you have not been -regularly summoned; but I trust there is no need to urge upon you -the gravity of the statement you are about to make." - -Rouletabille looked the President quite calmly and steadily in the -face, and replied: - -"Yes, Monsieur." - -"At your last appearance here," said the President, "we had arrived -at the point where you were to tell us how the murderer escaped, -and also his name. Now, Monsieur Rouletabille, we await your -explanation." - -"Very well, Monsieur," began my friend amidst a profound silence. -"I had explained how it was impossible for the murderer to get away -without being seen. And yet he was there with us in the courtyard." - -"And you did not see him? At least that is what the prosecution -declares." - -"No! We all of us saw him, Monsieur le President!" cried -Rouletabille. - -"Then why was he not arrested?" - -"Because no one, besides myself, knew that he was the murderer. It -would have spoiled my plans to have had him arrested, and I had then -no proof other than my own reasoning. I was convinced we had the -murderer before us and that we were actually looking at him. I -have now brought what I consider the indisputable proof." - -"Speak out, Monsieur! Tell us the murderer's name." - -"You will find it on the list of names present in the court on the -night of the tragedy," replied Rouletabille. - -The people present in the court-room began showing impatience. -Some of them even called for the name, and were silenced by the -usher. - -"The list includes Daddy Jacques, Bernier the concierge, and Mr. -Arthur Rance," said the President. "Do you accuse any of these?" - -"No, Monsieur!" - -"Then I do not understand what you are driving at. There was no -other person at the end of the court." - -"Yes, Monsieur, there was, not at the end, but above the court, who -was leaning out of the window." - -"Do you mean Frederic Larsan!" exclaimed the President. - -"Yes! Frederic Larsan!" replied Rouletabille in a ringing tone. -"Frederic Larsan is the murderer!" - -The court-room became immediately filled with loud and indignant -protests. So astonished was he that the President did not attempt -to quiet it. The quick silence which followed was broken by the -distinctly whispered words from the lips of Robert Darzac: - -"It's impossible! He's mad!" - -"You dare to accuse Frederic Larsan, Monsieur?" asked the President. -"If you are not mad, what are your proofs?" - -"Proofs, Monsieur?--Do you want proofs? Well, here is one," cried -Rouletabille shrilly. "Let Frederic Larsan be called!" - -"Usher, call Frederic Larsan." - -The usher hurried to the side door, opened it, and disappeared. The -door remained open, while all eyes turned expectantly towards it. -The clerk re-appeared and, stepping forward, said: - -"Monsieur President, Frederic Larsan is not here. He left at about -four o'clock and has not been seen since." - -"That is my proof!" cried Rouletabille, triumphantly. - -"Explain yourself?" demanded the President. - -"My proof is Larsan's flight," said the young reporter. "He will -not come back. You will see no more of Frederic Larsan." - -"Unless you are playing with the court, Monsieur, why did you not -accuse him when he was present? He would then have answered you." - -"He could give no other answer than the one he has now given by his -flight." - -"We cannot believe that Larsan has fled. There was no reason for -his doing so. Did he know you'd make this charge?" - -"He did. I told him I would." - -"Do you mean to say that knowing Larsan was the murderer you gave -him the opportunity to escape?" - -"Yes, Monsieur President, I did," replied Rouletabille, proudly. -"I am not a policeman, I am a journalist; and my business is not -to arrest people. My business is in the service of truth, and is -not that of an executioner. If you are just, Monsieur, you will -see that I am right. You can now understand why I refrained until -this hour to divulge the name. I gave Larsan time to catch the -4:17 train for Paris, where he would know where to hide himself, -and leave no traces. You will not find Frederic Larsan," declared -Rouletabille, fixing his eyes on Monsieur Robert Darzac. "He is -too cunning. He is a man who has always escaped you and whom you -have long searched for in vain. If he did not succeed in -outwitting me, he can yet easily outwit any police. This man who, -four years ago, introduced himself to the Surete, and became -celebrated as Frederic Larsan, is notorious under another name--a -name well known to crime. Frederic Larsan, Monsieur President, -is Ballmeyer!" - -"Ballmeyer!" cried the President. - -"Ballmeyer!" exclaimed Robert Darzac, springing to his feet. -"Ballmeyer!--It was true, then!" - -"Ah! Monsieur Darzac; you don't think I am mad, now!" cried -Rouletabille. - -Ballmeyer! Ballmeyer! No other word could be heard in the -courtroom. The President adjourned the hearing. - -Those of my readers who may not have heard of Ballmeyer will wonder -at the excitement the name caused. And yet the doings of this -remarkable criminal form the subject-matter of the most dramatic -narratives of the newspapers and criminal records of the past twenty -years. It had been reported that he was dead, and thus had eluded -the police as he had eluded them throughout the whole of his career. - -Ballmeyer was the best specimen of the high-class "gentleman -swindler." He was adept at sleight of hand tricks, and no bolder -or more ruthless crook ever lived. He was received in the best -society, and was a member of some of the most exclusive clubs. On -many of his depredatory expeditions he had not hesitated to use -the knife and the mutton-bone. No difficulty stopped him and no -"operation" was too dangerous. He had been caught, but escaped -on the very morning of his trial, by throwing pepper into the -eyes of the guards who were conducting him to Court. It was known -later that, in spite of the keen hunt after him by the most expert -of detectives, he had sat that same evening at a first performance -in the Theatre Francais, without the slightest disguise. - -He left France, later, to "work" America. The police there -succeeded in capturing him once, but the extraordinary man escaped -the next day. It would need a volume to recount the adventures of -this master-criminal. And yet this was the man Rouletabille had -allowed to get away! Knowing all about him and who he was, he -afforded the criminal an opportunity for another laugh at the -society he had defied! I could not help admiring the bold stroke -of the young journalist, because I felt certain his motive had been -to protect both Mademoiselle Stangerson and rid Darzac of an enemy -at the same time. - -The crowd had barely recovered from the effect of the astonishing -revelation when the hearing was resumed. The question in everybody's -mind was: Admitting that Larsan was the murderer, how did he get out -of The Yellow Room? - -Rouletabille was immediately called to the bar and his examination -continued. - -"You have told us," said the President, "that it was impossible to -escape from the end of the court. Since Larsan was leaning out of -his window, he had left the court. How did he do that?" - -"He escaped by a most unusual way. He climbed the wall, sprang -onto the terrace, and, while we were engaged with the keeper's body, -reached the gallery by the window. He then had little else to do -than to open the window, get in and call out to us, as if he had -just come from his own room. To a man of Ballmeyer's strength all -that was mere child's play. And here, Monsieur, is the proof of -what I say." - -Rouletabille drew from his pocket a small packet, from which he -produced a strong iron peg. - -"This, Monsieur," he said, "is a spike which perfectly fits a hole -still to be seen in the cornice supporting the terrace. Larsan, -who thought and prepared for everything in case of any emergency, -had fixed this spike into the cornice. All he had to do to make -his escape good was to plant one foot on a stone which is placed -at the corner of the chateau, another on this support, one hand -on the cornice of the keeper's door and the other on the terrace, -and Larsan was clear of the ground. The rest was easy. His acting -after dinner as if he had been drugged was make believe. He was -not drugged; but he did drug me. Of course he had to make it -appear as if he also had been drugged so that no suspicion should -fall on him for my condition. Had I not been thus overpowered, -Larsan would never have entered Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber -that night, and the attack on her would not have taken place." - -A groan came from Darzac, who appeared to be unable to control -his suffering. - -"You can understand," added Rouletabille, "that Larsan would feel -himself hampered from the fact that my room was so close to his, and -from a suspicion that I would be on the watch that night. Naturally, -he could not for a moment believe that I suspected him! But I might -see him leaving his room when he was about to go to Mademoiselle -Stangerson. He waited till I was asleep, and my friend Sainclair -was busy trying to rouse me. Ten minutes after that Mademoiselle -was calling out, "Murder!" - -"How did you come to suspect Larsan?" asked the President. - -"My pure reason pointed to him. That was why I watched him. But -I did not foresee the drugging. He is very cunning. Yes, my pure -reason pointed to him; but I required tangible proof so that my -eyes could see him as my pure reason saw him." - -"What do you mean by your pure reason?" - -"That power of one's mind which admits of no disturbing elements -to a conclusion. The day following the incident of 'the -inexplicable gallery,' I felt myself losing control of it. I had -allowed myself to be diverted by fallacious evidence; but I -recovered and again took hold of the right end. I satisfied myself -that the murderer could not have left the gallery, either naturally -or supernaturally. I narrowed the field of consideration to that -small circle, so to speak. The murderer could not be outside that -circle. Now who was in it? There was, first, the murderer. Then -there were Daddy Jacques, Monsieur Stangerson, Frederic Larsan, and -myself. Five persons in all, counting in the murderer. And yet, -in the gallery, there were but four. Now since it had been -demonstrated to me that the fifth could not have escaped, it was -evident that one of the four present in the gallery must be a double ---he must be himself and the murderer also. Why had I not seen -this before? Simply because the phenomenon of the double personality -had not occurred before in this inquiry. - -"Now who of the four persons in the gallery was both that person -and the assassin? I went over in my mind what I had seen. I had -seen at one and the same time, Monsieur Stangerson and the murderer, -Daddy Jacques and the murderer, myself and the murderer; so that -the murderer, then, could not be either Monsieur Stangerson, Daddy -Jacques, or myself. Had I seen Frederic Larsan and the murderer -at the same time?--No!--Two seconds had passed, during which I -lost sight of the murderer; for, as I have noted in my papers, he -arrived two seconds before Monsieur Stangerson, Daddy Jacques, and -myself at the meeting-point of the two galleries. That would have -given Larsan time to go through the 'off-turning' gallery, snatch -off his false beard, return, and hurry with us as if, like us, in -pursuit of the murderer. I was sure now I had got hold of the -right end in my reasoning. With Frederic Larsan was now always -associated, in my mind, the personality of the unknown of whom I -was in pursuit--the murderer, in other words. - -"That revelation staggered me. I tried to regain my balance by -going over the evidences previously traced, but which had diverted -my mind and led me away from Frederic Larsan. What were these -evidences? - -"1st. I had seen the unknown in Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber. -On going to Frederic Larsan's room, I had found Larsan sound asleep. - -"2nd. The ladder. - -"3rd. I had placed Frederic Larsan at the end of the 'off-turning' -gallery and had told him that I would rush into Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room to try to capture the murderer. Then I returned -to Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber where I had seen the unknown. - -"The first evidence did not disturb me much. It is likely that, -when I descended from my ladder, after having seen the unknown in -Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber, Larsan had already finished what -he was doing there. Then, while I was re-entering the chateau, -Larsan went back to his own room and, undressing himself, went to -sleep. - -"Nor did the second evidence trouble me. If Larsan were the -murderer, he could have no use for a ladder; but the ladder might -have been placed there to give an appearance to the murderer's -entrance from without the chateau; especially as Larsan had accused -Darzac and Darzac was not in the chateau that night. Further, the -ladder might have been placed there to facilitate Larsan's flight -in case of absolute necessity. - -"But the third evidence puzzled me altogether. Having placed Larsan -at the end of the 'off-turning gallery,' I could not explain how he -had taken advantage of the moment when I had gone to the left wing -of the chateau to find Monsieur Stangerson and Daddy Jacques, to -return to Mademoiselle Stangerson's room. It was a very dangerous -thing to do. He risked being captured,--and he knew it. And he -was very nearly captured. He had not had time to regain his post, -as he had certainly hoped to do. He had then a very strong reason -for returning to his room. As for myself, when I sent Daddy Jacques -to the end of the 'right gallery,' I naturally thought that Larsan -was still at his post. Daddy Jacques, in going to his post, had not -looked, when he passed, to see whether Larsan was at his post or not. - -"What, then, was the urgent reason which had compelled Larsan to -go to the room a second time? I guessed it to be some evidence of -his presence there. He had left something very important in that -room. What was it? And had he recovered it? I begged Madame -Bernier who was accustomed to clean the room to look, and she found -a pair of eye-glasses--this pair, Monsieur President!" - -And Rouletabille drew the eye-glasses, of which we know, from his -pocket. - -"When I saw these eye-glasses," he continued, "I was utterly -nonplussed. I had never seen Larsan wear eye-glasses. What did -they mean? Suddenly I exclaimed to myself: 'I wonder if he is -long-sighted?' I had never seen Larsan write. He might, then, be -long-sighted. They would certainly know at the Surete, and also -know if the glasses were his. Such evidence would be damning. -That explained Larsan's return. I know now that Larsan, or -Ballmeyer, is long-sighted and that these glasses belonged to him. - -"I now made one mistake. I was not satisfied with the evidence I -had obtained. I wished to see the man's face. Had I refrained -from this, the second terrible attack would not have occurred." - -"But," asked the President, "why should Larsan go to Mademoiselle -Stangerson's room, at all? Why should he twice attempt to murder -her?" - -"Because he loves her, Monsieur President." - -"That is certainly a reason, but-" - -"It is the only reason. He was madly in love, and because of that, -and--other things, he was capable of committing any crime." - -"Did Mademoiselle Stangerson know this?" - -"Yes, Monsieur; but she was ignorant of the fact that the man who -was pursuing her was Frederic Larsan, otherwise, of course, he -would not have been allowed to be at the chateau. I noticed, when -he was in her room after the incident in the gallery, that he kept -himself in the shadow, and that he kept his head bent down. He was -looking for the lost eye-glasses. Mademoiselle Stangerson knew -Larsan under another name." - -"Monsieur Darzac," asked the President, "did Mademoiselle Stangerson -in any way confide in you on this matter? How is it that she has -never spoken about it to anyone? If you are innocent, she would -have wished to spare you the pain of being accused." - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson told me nothing," replied Monsieur Darzac. - -"Does what this young man says appear probable to you?" the -President asked. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson has told me nothing," he replied stolidly. - -"How do you explain that, on the night of the murder of the keeper," -the President asked, turning to Rouletabille, "the murderer brought -back the papers stolen from Monsieur Stangerson?--How do you explain -how the murderer gained entrance into Mademoiselle Stangerson's -locked room?" - -"The last question is easily answered. A man like Larsan, or -Ballmeyer, could have had made duplicate keys. As to the documents, -I think Larsan had not intended to steal them, at first. Closely -watching Mademoiselle with the purpose of preventing her marriage -with Monsieur Robert Darzac, he one day followed her and Monsieur -into the Grands Magasins de la Louvre. There he got possession of -the reticule which she lost, or left behind. In that reticule was -a key with a brass head. He did not know there was any value -attached to the key till the advertisement in the newspapers revealed -it. He then wrote to Mademoiselle, as the advertisement requested. -No doubt he asked for a meeting, making known to her that he was -also the person who had for some time pursued her with his love. -He received no answer. He went to the Post Office and ascertained -that his letter was no longer there. He had already taken complete -stock of Monsieur Darzac, and, having decided to go to any lengths -to gain Mademoiselle Stangerson, he had planned that, whatever might -happen, Monsieur Darzac, his hated rival, should be the man to be -suspected. - -"I do not think that Larsan had as yet thought of murdering -Mademoiselle Stangerson; but whatever he might do, he made sure that -Monsieur Darzac should suffer for it. He was very nearly of the -same height as Monsieur Darzac and had almost the same sized feet. -It would not be difficult, to take an impression of Monsieur Darzac's -footprints, and have similar boots made for himself. Such tricks -were mere child's play for Larsan, or Ballmeyer. - -"Receiving no reply to his letter, he determined, since Mademoiselle -Stangerson would not come to him, that he would go to her. His plan -had long been formed. He had made himself master of the plans of -the chateau and the pavilion. So that, one afternoon, while Monsieur -and Mademoiselle Stangerson were out for a walk, and while Daddy -Jacques was away, he entered the latter by the vestibule window. He -was alone, and, being in no hurry, he began examining the furniture. -One of the pieces, resembling a safe, had a very small keyhole. -That interested him! He had with him the little key with the brass -head, and, associating one with the other, he tried the key in the -lock. The door opened. He saw nothing but papers. They must be -very valuable to have been put away in a safe, and the key to which -to be of so much importance. Perhaps a thought of blackmail occurred -to him as a useful possibility in helping him in his designs on -Mademoiselle Stangerson. He quickly made a parcel of the papers and -took it to the lavatory in the vestibule. Between the time of his -first examination of the pavilion and the night of the murder of the -keeper, Larsan had had time to find out what those papers contained. -He could do nothing with them, and they were rather compromising. -That night he took them back to the chateau. Perhaps he hoped that, -by returning the papers he might obtain some gratitude from -Mademoiselle Stangerson. But whatever may have been his reasons, -he took the papers back and so rid himself of an encumbrance." - -Rouletabille coughed. It was evident to me that he was embarrassed. -He had arrived at a point where he had to keep back his knowledge of -Larsan's true motive. The explanation he had given had evidently -been unsatisfactory. Rouletabille was quick enough to note the bad -impression he had made, for, turning to the President, he said: -"And now we come to the explanation of the Mystery of The Yellow -Room!" - -A movement of chairs in the court with a rustling of dresses and an -energetic whispering of "Hush!" showed the curiosity that had been -aroused. - -"It seems to me," said the President, "that the Mystery of The -Yellow Room, Monsieur Rouletabille, is wholly explained by your -hypothesis. Frederic Larsan is the explanation. We have merely -to substitute him for Monsieur Robert Darzac. Evidently the door -of The Yellow Room was open at the time Monsieur Stangerson was -alone, and that he allowed the man who was coming out of his -daughter's chamber to pass without arresting him--perhaps at her -entreaty to avoid all scandal." - -"No, Monsieur President," protested the young man. "You forget -that, stunned by the attack made on her, Mademoiselle Stangerson -was not in a condition to have made such an appeal. Nor could she -have locked and bolted herself in her room. You must also remember -that Monsieur Stangerson has sworn that the door was not open." - -"That, however, is the only way in which it can be explained. The -Yellow Room was as closely shut as an iron safe. To use your own -expression, it was impossible for the murderer to make his escape -either naturally or supernaturally. When the room was broken into -he was not there! He must, therefore, have escaped." - -"That does not follow." - -"What do you mean?" - -"There was no need for him to escape--if he was not there!" - -"Not there!" - -"Evidently, not. He could not have been there, if he were not found -there." - -"But, what about the evidences of his presence?" asked the President. - -"That, Monsieur President, is where we have taken hold of the wrong -end. From the time Mademoiselle Stangerson shut herself in the room -to the time her door was burst open, it was impossible for the -murderer to escape. He was not found because he was not there during -that time." - -"But the evidences?" - -"They have led us astray. In reasoning on this mystery we must not -take them to mean what they apparently mean. Why do we conclude the -murderer was there?--Because he left his tracks in the room? Good! -But may he not have been there before the room was locked. Nay, he -must have been there before! Let us look into the matter of these -traces and see if they do not point to my conclusion. - -"After the publication of the article in the 'Matin' and my -conversation with the examining magistrate on the journey from Paris -to Epinaysur-Orge, I was certain that The Yellow Room had been -hermetically sealed, so to speak, and that consequently the murderer -had escaped before Mademoiselle Stangerson had gone into her chamber -at midnight. - -"At the time I was much puzzled. Mademoiselle Stangerson could -not have been her own murderer, since the evidences pointed to some -other person. The assassin, then, had come before. If that were so, -how was it that Mademoiselle had been attacked after? or rather, -that she appeared to have been attacked after? It was necessary for -me to reconstruct the occurrence and make of it two phases--each -separated from the other, in time, by the space of several hours. -One phase in which Mademoiselle Stangerson had really been attacked ---the other phase in which those who heard her cries thought she -was being attacked. I had not then examined The Yellow Room. What -were the marks on Mademoiselle Stangerson? There were marks of -strangulation and the wound from a hard blow on the temple. The -marks of strangulation did not interest me much; they might have -been made before, and Mademoiselle Stangerson could have concealed -them by a collarette, or any similar article of apparel. I had to -suppose this the moment I was compelled to reconstruct the occurrence -by two phases. Mademoiselle Stangerson had, no doubt, her own -reasons for so doing, since she had told her father nothing of it, -and had made it understood to the examining magistrate that the -attack had taken place in the night, during the second phase. She -was forced to say that, otherwise her father would have questioned -her as to her reason for having said nothing about it. - -"But I could not explain the blow on the temple. I understood it -even less when I learned that the mutton-bone had been found in her -room. She could not hide the fact that she had been struck on the -head, and yet that wound appeared evidently to have been inflicted -during the first phase, since it required the presence of the -murderer! I thought Mademoiselle Stangerson had hidden the wound -by arranging her hair in bands on her forehead. - -"As to the mark of the hand on the wall, that had evidently been -made during the first phase--when the murderer was really there. -All the traces of his presence had naturally been left during the -first phase; the mutton-bone, the black footprints, the Basque cap, -the handkerchief, the blood on the wall, on the door, and on the -floor. If those traces were still all there, they showed that -Mademoiselle Stangerson--who desired that nothing should be known ---had not yet had time to clear them away. This led me to the -conclusion that the two phases had taken place one shortly after -the other. She had not had the opportunity, after leaving her room -and going back to the laboratory to her father, to get back again -to her room and put it in order. Her father was all the time with -her, working. So that after the first phase she did not re-enter -her chamber till midnight. Daddy Jacques was there at ten o'clock, -as he was every night; but he went in merely to close the blinds -and light the night-light. Owing to her disturbed state of mind -she had forgotten that Daddy Jacques would go into her room and -had begged him not to trouble himself. All this was set forth in -the article in the 'Matin.' Daddy Jacques did go, however, and, in -the dim light of the room, saw nothing. - -"Mademoiselle Stangerson must have lived some anxious moments while -Daddy Jacques was absent; but I think she was not aware that so -many evidences had been left. After she had been attacked she had -only time to hide the traces of the man's fingers on her neck and -to hurry to the laboratory. Had she known of the bone, the cap, -and the handkerchief, she would have made away with them after she -had gone back to her chamber at midnight. She did not see them, and -undressed by the uncertain glimmer of the night light. She went to -bed, worn-out by anxiety and fear--a fear that had made her remain -in the laboratory as late as possible. - -"My reasoning had thus brought me to the second phase of the tragedy, -when Mademoiselle Stangerson was alone in the room. I had now to -explain the revolver shots fired during the second phase. Cries of -'Help!--Murder!' had been heard. How to explain these? As to the -cries, I was in no difficulty; since she was alone in her room these -could result from nightmare only. My explanation of the struggle and -noise that were heard is simply that in her nightmare she was haunted -by the terrible experience she had passed through in the afternoon. -In her dream she sees the murderer about to spring upon her and she -cries, 'Help! Murder!' Her hand wildly seeks the revolver she had -placed within her reach on the night-table by the side of her bed, -but her hand, striking the table, overturns it, and the revolver, -falling to the floor, discharges itself, the bullet lodging in the -ceiling. I knew from the first that the bullet in the ceiling must -have resulted from an accident. Its very position suggested an -accident to my mind, and so fell in with my theory of a nightmare. -I no longer doubted that the attack had taken place before -Mademoiselle had retired for the night. After wakening from her -frightful dream and crying aloud for help, she had fainted. - -"My theory, based on the evidence of the shots that were heard at -midnight, demanded two shots--one which wounded the murderer at -the time of his attack, and one fired at the time of the nightmare. -The evidence given by the Berniers before the examining magistrate -was to the effect that only one shot had been heard. Monsieur -Stangerson testified to hearing a dull sound first followed by a -sharp ringing sound. The dull sound I explained by the falling of -the marble-topped table; the ringing sound was the shot from the -revolver. I was now convinced I was right. The shot that had -wounded the hand of the murderer and had caused it to bleed so that -he left the bloody imprint on the wall was fired by Mademoiselle in -self-defence, before the second phase, when she had been really -attacked. The shot in the ceiling which the Berniers heard was the -accidental shot during the nightmare. - -"I had now to explain the wound on the temple. It was not severe -enough to have been made by means of the mutton-bone, and -Mademoiselle had not attempted to hide it. It must have been made -during the second phase. It was to find this out that I went to -The Yellow Room, and I obtained my answer there." - -Rouletabille drew a piece of white folded paper from his pocket, and -drew out of it an almost invisible object which he held between his -thumb and forefinger. - -"This, Monsieur President," he said, "is a hair--a blond hair -stained with blood;--it is a hair from the head of Mademoiselle -Stangerson. I found it sticking to one of the corners of the -overturned table. The corner of the table was itself stained with -blood--a tiny stain--hardly visible; but it told me that, on -rising from her bed, Mademoiselle Stangerson had fallen heavily -and had struck her head on the corner of its marble top. - -"I still had to learn, in addition to the name of the assassin, -which I did later, the time of the original attack. I learned -this from the examination of Mademoiselle Stangerson and her -father, though the answers given by the former were well calculated -to deceive the examining magistrate--Mademoiselle Stangerson had -stated very minutely how she had spent the whole of her time that -day. We established the fact that the murderer had introduced -himself into the pavilion between five and six o'clock. At a -quarter past six the professor and his daughter had resumed their -work. At five the professor had been with his daughter, and since -the attack took place in the professor's absence from his daughter, -I had to find out just when he left her. The professor had stated -that at the time when he and his daughter were about to re-enter -the laboratory he was met by the keeper and held in conversation -about the cutting of some wood and the poachers. Mademoiselle -Stangerson was not with him then since the professor said: 'I left -the keeper and rejoined my daughter who was at work in the -laboratory.' - -"It was during that short interval of time that the tragedy took -place. That is certain. In my mind's eye I saw Mademoiselle -Stangerson re-enter the pavilion, go to her room to take off her -hat, and find herself faced by the murderer. He had been in the -pavilion for some time waiting for her. He had arranged to pass -the whole night there. He had taken off Daddy Jacques's boots; he -had removed the papers from the cabinet; and had then slipped under -the bed. Finding the time long, he had risen, gone again into the -laboratory, then into the vestibule, looked into the garden, and -had seen, coming towards the pavilion, Mademoiselle Stangerson ---alone. He would never have dared to attack her at that hour, if -he had not found her alone. His mind was made up. He would be -more at ease alone with Mademoiselle Stangerson in the pavilion, -than he would have been in the middle of the night, with Daddy -Jacques sleeping in the attic. So he shut the vestibule window. -That explains why neither Monsieur Stangerson, nor the keeper, who -were at some distance from the pavilion, had heard the revolver shot. - -"Then he went back to The Yellow Room. Mademoiselle Stangerson came -in. What passed must have taken place very quickly. Mademoiselle -tried to call for help; but the man had seized her by the throat. -Her hand had sought and grasped the revolver which she had been -keeping in the drawer of her night-table, since she had come to -fear the threats of her pursuer. The murderer was about to strike -her on the head with the mutton-bone--a terrible weapon in the -hands of a Larsan or Ballmeyer; but she fired in time, and the shot -wounded the hand that held the weapon. The bone fell to the floor -covered with the blood of the murderer, who staggered, clutched at -the wall for support--imprinting on it the red marks--and, fearing -another bullet, fled. - -"She saw him pass through the laboratory, and listened. He was long -at the window. At length he jumped from it. She flew to it and -shut it. The danger past, all her thoughts were of her father. Had -he either seen or heard? At any cost to herself she must keep this -from him. Thus when Monsieur Stangerson returned, he found the door -of The Yellow Room closed, and his daughter in the laboratory, -bending over her desk, at work!" - -Turning towards Monsieur Darzac, Rouletabille cried: "You know the -truth! Tell us, then, if that is not how things happened." - -"I don't know anything about it," replied Monsieur Darzac. - - "I admire you for your silence," said Rouletabille, "but if -Mademoiselle Stangerson knew of your danger, she would release you -from your oath. She would beg of you to tell all she has confided -to you. She would be here to defend you!" - -Monsieur Darzac made no movement, nor uttered a word. He looked -at Rouletabille sadly. - -"However," said the young reporter, "since Mademoiselle is not here, -I must do it myself. But, believe me, Monsieur Darzac, the only -means to save Mademoiselle Stangerson and restore her to her reason, -is to secure your acquittal." - -"What is this secret motive that compels Mademoiselle Stangerson to -hide her knowledge from her father?" asked the President. - -"That, Monsieur, I do not know," said Rouletabille. "It is no -business of mine." - -The President, turning to Monsieur Darzac, endeavoured to induce -him to tell what he knew. - -"Do you still refuse, Monsieur, to tell us how you employed your -time during the attempts on the life of Mademoiselle Stangerson?" - -"I cannot tell you anything, Monsieur." - -The President turned to Rouletabille as if appealing for an -explanation. - -"We must assume, Monsieur President, that Monsieur Robert Darzac's -absences are closely connected with Mademoiselle Stangerson's -secret, and that Monsieur Darzac feels himself in honour bound to -remain silent. It may be that Larsan, who, since his three attempts, -has had everything in training to cast suspicion on Monsieur Darzac, -had fixed on just those occasions for a meeting with Monsieur Darzac -at a spot most compromising. Larsan is cunning enough to have done -that." - -The President seemed partly convinced, but still curious, he asked: - -"But what is this secret of Mademoiselle Stangerson?" - -"That I cannot tell you," said Rouletabille. "I think, however, -you know enough now to acquit Monsieur Robert Darzac! Unless -Larsan should return, and I don't think he will," he added, with -a laugh. - -"One question more," said the President. "Admitting your -explanation, we know that Larsan wished to turn suspicion on Monsieur -Robert Darzac, but why should he throw suspicion on Daddy Jacques -also?" - -"There came in the professional detective, Monsieur, who proves -himself an unraveller of mysteries, by annihilating the very proofs -he had accumulated. He's a very cunning man, and a similar trick -had often enabled him to turn suspicion from himself. He proved -the innocence of one before accusing the other. You can easily -believe, Monsieur, that so complicated a scheme as this must have -been long and carefully thought out in advance by Larsan. I can -tell you that he had long been engaged on its elaboration. If you -care to learn how he had gathered information, you will find that -he had, on one occasion, disguised himself as the commissionaire -between the 'Laboratory of the Surete' and Monsieur Stangerson, of -whom 'experiments' were demanded. In this way he had been able -before the crime, on two occasions to take stock of the pavilion. -He had 'made up' so that Daddy Jacques had not recognised him. And -yet Larsan had found the opportunity to rob the old man of a pair -of old boots and a cast-off Basque cap, which the servant had tied -up in a handkerchief, with the intention of carrying them to a -friend, a charcoal-burner on the road to Epinay. When the crime -was discovered, Daddy Jacques had immediately recognised these -objects as his. They were extremely compromising, which explains -his distress at the time when we spoke to him about them. Larsan -confessed it all to me. He is an artist at the game. He did a -similar thing in the affair of the 'Credit Universel,' and in that -of the 'Gold Ingots of the Mint.' Both these cases should be -revised. Since Ballmeyer or Larsan has been in the Surete a number -of innocent persons have been sent to prison." - - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -In Which It Is Proved That One Does Not Always Think of Everything - - -Great excitement prevailed when Rouletabille had finished. The -court-room became agitated with the murmurings of suppressed -applause. Maitre Henri Robert called for an adjournment of the -trial and was supported in his motion by the public prosecutor -himself. The case was adjourned. The next day Monsieur Robert -Darzac was released on bail, while Daddy Jacques received the -immediate benefit of a "no cause for action." Search was -everywhere made for Frederic Larsan, but in vain. Monsieur Darzac -finally escaped the awful calamity which, at one time, had -threatened him. After a visit to Mademoiselle Stangerson, he was -led to hope that she might, by careful nursing, one day recover -her reason. - -Rouletabille, naturally, became the "man of the hour." On leaving -the Palais de Justice, the crowd bore him aloft in triumph. The -press of the whole world published his exploits and his photograph. -He, who had interviewed so many illustrious personages, had himself -become illustrious and was interviewed in his turn. I am glad to -say that the enormous success in no way turned his head. - -We left Versailles together, after having dined at "The Dog That -Smokes." In the train I put a number of questions to him which, -during our meal, had been on the tip of my tongue, but which I had -refrained from uttering, knowing he did not like to talk "shop" -while eating. - -"My friend," I said, "that Larsan case is wonderful. It is worthy -of you." - -He begged me to say no more, and humorously pretended an anxiety -for me should I give way to silly praise of him because of a -personal admiration for his ability. - -"I'll come to the point, then," I said, not a little nettled. "I -am still in the dark as to your reason for going to America. When -you left the Glandier you had found out, if I rightly understand, -all about Frederic Larsan; you had discovered the exact way he had -attempted the murder?" - -"Quite so. And you," he said, turning the conversation, "did you -suspect nothing?" - -"Nothing!" - -"It's incredible!" - -"I don't see how I could have suspected anything. You took great -pains to conceal your thoughts from me. Had you already suspected -Larsan when you sent for me to bring the revolvers?" - -"Yes! I had come to that conclusion through the incident of the -'inexplicable gallery.' Larsan's return to Mademoiselle Stangerson's -room, however, had not then been cleared up by the eye-glasses. My -suspicions were the outcome of my reasoning only; and the idea of -Larsan being the murderer seemed so extraordinary that I resolved to -wait for actual evidence before venturing to act. Nevertheless, the -suspicion worried me, and I sometimes spoke to the detective in a -way that ought to have opened your eyes. I spoke disparagingly of -his methods. But until I found the eye-glasses I could but look -upon my suspicion of him in the light of an absurd hypothesis only. -You can imagine my elation after I had explained Larsan's movements. -I remember well rushing into my room like a mad-man and crying to -you: 'I'll get the better of the great Fred. I'll get the better -of him in a way that will make a sensation!' - -"I was then thinking of Larsan, the murderer. It was that same -evening that Darzac begged me to watch over Mademoiselle Stangerson. -I made no efforts until after we had dined with Larsan, until ten -o'clock. He was right there before me, and I could afford to wait. -You ought to have suspected, because when we were talking of the -murderer's arrival, I said to you: 'I am quite sure Larsan will be -here to-night.' - -"But one important point escaped us both. It was one which ought -to have opened our eyes to Larsan. Do you remember the bamboo cane? -I was surprised to find Larsan had made no use of that evidence -against Robert Darzac. Had it not been purchased by a man whose -description tallied exactly with that of Darzac? Well, just before -I saw him off at the train, after the recess during the trial, I -asked him why he hadn't used the cane evidence. He told me he had -never had any intention of doing so; that our discovery of it in -the little inn at Epinay had much embarrassed him. If you will -remember, he told us then that the cane had been given him in London. -Why did we not immediately say to ourselves: 'Fred is lying. He -could not have had this cane in London. He was not in London. He -bought it in Paris'? Then you found out, on inquiry at Cassette's, -that the cane had been bought by a person dressed very like Robert -Darzac, though, as we learned later, from Darzac himself, it was -not he who had made the purchase. Couple this with the fact we -already knew, from the letter at the poste restante, that there was -actually a man in Paris who was passing as Robert Darzac, why did -we not immediately fix on Fred himself? - -"Of course, his position at the Surete was against us; but when we -saw the evident eagerness on his part to find convicting evidence -against Darzac, nay, even the passion he displayed in his pursuit -of the man, the lie about the cane should have had a new meaning -for us. If you ask why Larsan bought the cane, if he had no -intention of manufacturing evidence against Darzac by means of it, -the answer is quite simple. He had been wounded in the hand by -Mademoiselle Stangerson, so that the cane was useful to enable him -to close his hand in carrying it. You remember I noticed that he -always carried it? - -"All these details came back to my mind when I had once fixed on -Larsan as the criminal. But they were too late then to be of any -use to me. On the evening when he pretended to be drugged I looked -at his hand and saw a thin silk bandage covering the signs of a -slight healing wound. Had we taken a quicker initiative at the -time Larsan told us that lie about the cane, I am certain he would -have gone off, to avoid suspicion. All the same, we worried Larsan -or Ballmeyer without our knowing it." - -"But," I interrupted, "if Larsan had no intention of using the cane -as evidence against Darzac, why had he made himself up to look like -the man when he went in to buy it?" - -"He had not specially 'made up' as Darzac to buy the cane; he had -come straight to Cassette's immediately after he had attacked -Mademoiselle Stangerson. His wound was troubling him and, as he -was passing along the Avenue de l'Opera, the idea of the cane came -to his mind and he acted on it. It was then eight o'clock. And -I, who had hit upon the very hour of the occurrence of the tragedy, -almost convinced that Darzac was not the criminal, and knowing of -the cane, I still never suspected Larsan. There are times ..." - -"There are times," I said, "when the greatest intellects--..." -Rouletabille shut my mouth. I still continued to chide him, but, -finding he did not reply, I saw he was no longer paying any -attention to what I was saying. I found he was fast asleep. - - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -The Mystery of Mademoiselle Stangerson - - -During the days that followed I had several opportunities to question -him as to his reason for his voyage to America, but I obtained no -more precise answers than he had given me on the evening of the -adjournment of the trial, when we were on the train for Paris. One -day, however, on my still pressing him, he said: - -"Can't you understand that I had to know Larsan's true personality?" - -"No doubt," I said, "but why did you go to America to find that out?" - -He sat smoking his pipe, and made no further reply. I began to see -that I was touching on the secret that concerned Mademoiselle -Stangerson. Rouletabille evidently had found it necessary to go to -America to find out what the mysterious tie was that bound her to -Larsan by so strange and terrible a bond. In America he had learned -who Larsan was and had obtained information which closed his mouth. -He had been to Philadelphia. - -And now, what was this mystery which held Mademoiselle Stangerson -and Monsieur Robert Darzac in so inexplicable a silence? After so -many years and the publicity given the case by a curious and -shameless press; now that Monsieur Stangerson knows all and has -forgiven all, all may be told. In every phase of this remarkable -story Mademoiselle Stangerson had always been the sufferer. - -The beginning dates from the time when, as a young girl, she was -living with her father in Philadelphia. A visitor at the house, -a Frenchman, had succeeded by his wit, grace and persistent -attention, in gaining her affections. He was said to be rich and -had asked her of her father. Monsieur Stangerson, on making -inquiries as to Monsieur Jean Roussel, found that the man was a -swindler and an adventurer. Jean Roussel was but another of the -many names under which the notorious Ballmeyer, a fugitive from -France, tried to hide himself. Monsieur Stangerson did not know -of his identity with Ballmeyer; he learned that the man was simply -undesirable for his daughter. He not only refused to give his -consent to the marriage but denied him admission into the house. -Mathilde Stangerson, however, had fallen in love. To her Jean -Roussel was everything that her love painted him. She was indignant -at her father's attitude, and did not conceal her feelings. Her -father sent her to stay with an aunt in Cincinnati. There she was -joined by Jean Roussel and, in spite of the reverence she felt for -her father, ran away with him to get married. - -They went to Louisville and lived there for some time. One morning, -however, a knock came at the door of the house in which they were -and the police entered to arrest Jean Roussel. It was then that -Mathilde Stangerson, or Roussel, learned that her husband was no -other than the notorious Ballmeyer! - -The young woman in her despair tried to commit suicide. She failed -in this, and was forced to rejoin her aunt in Cincinnati, The old -lady was overjoyed to see her again. She had been anxiously -searching for her and had not dared to tell Monsieur Stangerson of -her disappearance. Mathilde swore her to secrecy, so that her father -should not know she had been away. A month later, Mademoiselle -Stangerson returned to her father, repentant, her heart dead within -her, hoping only one thing: that she would never again see her -husband, the horrible Ballmeyer. A report was spread, a few weeks -later, that he was dead, and she now determined to atone for her -disobedience by a life of labour and devotion for her father. And -she kept her word. - -All this she had confessed to Robert Darzac, and, believing Ballmeyer -dead, had given herself to the joy of a union with him. But fate had -resuscitated Jean Roussel--the Ballmeyer of her youth. He had taken -steps to let her know that he would never allow her to marry Darzac ---that he still loved her. - -Mademoiselle Stangerson never for one moment hesitated to confide -in Monsieur Darzac. She showed him the letter in which Jean Roussel -asked her to recall the first hours of their union in their beautiful -and charming Louisville home. "The presbytery has lost nothing of -its charm, nor the garden its brightness," he had written. The -scoundrel pretended to be rich and claimed the right of taking her -back to Louisville. She had told Darzac that if her father should -know of her dishonour, she would kill herself. Monsieur Darzac had -sworn to silence her persecutor, even if he had to kill him. He -was outwitted and would have succumbed had it not been for the -genius of Rouletabille. - -Mademoiselle Stangerson was herself helpless in the hands of such a -villain. She had tried to kill him when he had first threatened and -then attacked her in The Yellow Room. She had, unfortunately, -failed, and felt herself condemned to be for ever at the mercy of -this unscrupulous wretch who was continually demanding her presence -at clandestine interviews. When he sent her the letter through the -Post Office, asking her to meet him, she had refused. The result -of her refusal was the tragedy of The Yellow Room. The second time -he wrote asking for a meeting, the letter reaching her in her sick -chamber, she had avoided him by sleeping with her servants. In that -letter the scoundrel had warned her that, since she was too ill to -come to him, he would come to her, and that he would be in her -chamber at a particular hour on a particular night. Knowing that -she had everything to fear from Ballmeyer, she had left her chamber -on that night. It was then that the incident of the "inexplicable -gallery" occurred. - -The third time she had determined to keep the appointment. He -asked for it in the letter he had written in her own room, on the -night of the incident in the gallery, which he left on her desk. -In that letter he threatened to burn her father's papers if she -did not meet him. It was to rescue these papers that she made up -her mind to see him. She did not for one moment doubt that the -wretch would carry out his threat if she persisted in avoiding him, -and in that case the labours of her father's lifetime would be for -ever lost. Since the meeting was thus inevitable, she resolved to -see her husband and appeal to his better nature. It was for this -interview that she had prepared herself on the night the keeper was -killed. They did meet, and what passed between them may be imagined. -He insisted that she renounce Darzac. She, on her part, affirmed -her love for him. He stabbed her in his anger, determined to convict -Darzac of the crime. As Larsan he could do it, and had so managed -things that Darzac could never explain how he had employed the time -of his absence from the chateau. Ballmeyer's precautions were most -cunningly taken. - -Larsan had threatened Darzac as he had threatened Mathilde--with -the same weapon, and the same threats. He wrote Darzac urgent -letters, declaring himself ready to deliver up the letters that had -passed between him and his wife, and to leave them for ever, if he -would pay him his price. He asked Darzac to meet him for the -purpose of arranging the matter, appointing the time when Larsan -would be with Mademoiselle Stangerson. When Darzac went to Epinay, -expecting to find Ballmeyer or Larsan there, he was met by an -accomplice of Larsan's, and kept waiting until such time as the -"coincidence" could be established. - -It was all done with Machiavellian cunning; but Ballmeyer had -reckoned without Joseph Rouletabille. - -Now that the Mystery of The Yellow Room has been cleared up, this -is not the time to tell of Rouletabille's adventures in America. -Knowing the young reporter as we do, we can understand with what -acumen he had traced, step by step, the story of Mathilde Stangerson -and Jean Roussel. At Philadelphia he had quickly informed himself -as to Arthur William Rance. There he learned of Rance's act of -devotion and the reward he thought himself entitled to for it. A -rumour of his marriage with Mademoiselle Stangerson had once found -its way into the drawing-rooms of Philadelphia. He also learned of -Rance's continued attentions to her and his importunities for her -hand. He had taken to drink, he had said, to drown his grief at -his unrequited love. It can now be understood why Rouletabille -had shown so marked a coolness of demeanour towards Rance when they -met in the witnesses' room, on the day of the trial. - -The strange Roussel-Stangerson mystery had now been laid bare. Who -was this Jean Roussel? Rouletabille had traced him from Philadelphia -to Cincinnati. In Cincinnati he became acquainted with the old aunt, -and had found means to open her mouth. The story of Ballmeyer's -arrest threw the right light on the whole story. He visited the -"presbytery"--a small and pretty dwelling in the old colonial style ---which had, indeed, "lost nothing of its charm." Then, abandoning -his pursuit of traces of Mademoiselle Stangerson, he took up those -of Ballmeyer. He followed them from prison to prison, from crime -to crime. Finally, as he was about leaving for Europe, he learned -in New York that Ballmeyer had, five years before, embarked for -France with some valuable papers belonging to a merchant of New -Orleans whom he had murdered. - -And yet the whole of this mystery has not been revealed. -Mademoiselle Stangerson had a child, by her husband,--a son. The -infant was born in the old aunt's house. No one knew of it, so -well had the aunt managed to conceal the event. - -What became of that son?--That is another story which, so far, I -am not permitted to relate. - -About two months after these events, I came upon Rouletabille sitting -on a bench in the Palais de Justice, looking very depressed. - -"What's the matter, old man?" I asked. "You are looking very down. -cast. How are your friends getting on?" - -"Apart from you," he said, "I have no friends." - -"I hope that Monsieur Darzac--" - -"No doubt." - -"And Mademoiselle Stangerson--How is she?" - -"Better--much better." - -"Then you ought not to be sad." - -"I am sad," he said, "because I am thinking of the perfume of the -lady in black--" - -"The perfume of the lady in black!--I have heard you often refer -to it. Tell me why it troubles you." - -"Perhaps--some day; some day," said Rouletabille. - -And he heaved a profound sigh. - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE YELLOW ROOM *** - -This file should be named ylorm12.txt or ylorm12.zip -Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, ylorm12.txt -VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, ylorm10a.txt - -This Etext prepared by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer. - -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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