Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1908-12-24
The Mystery OF
The Yellow Room
BY CASTOR LEROUx :8c '0'SRie1r SY '' SssrsrAso.s
COPYRIGHT. 1908.
BY BRENTANo's

/ "LookI" said Rouletabille. Here
] again are the footmarks of the escap-
ing man. They skirt the lake here and
finally disappear just before this path,
: which leads to the high road to Epi-
nay. The man continued his flight to
Paris"
"What makes you think that?"
asked, "since these footmarks are not
continued on the pathY'
"What makes me think that? Why,
these footprints, which expected to
fnd!o he cried, pointing to the sharply
| outlined imprint of neat boot. "See"
And he called to Frederic Larsan.
an. Fred, these neat footprints seem
to have been made since the discovery
(, Of the crime"
ayes, 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 bicyclew cried
the reporter
Here, after looking at the marks of
the bicycle, which followed, going and
coming, the neat footprints, l thought
/ might intervene.
1.-THE bicycle explains the disappear
ance of the murderer's big footprints"
l said. "The murderer, with his rough
| boots. mounted a bicycle. His accom-
plice. the wearer of the neat boots,
| had come to wait for him on the edge
of the lake with the bicycle. 1t might
be supposed that the murderer was
working for the other"
"No, nor replied Rouletabille, with
a strange smile. II have expected to
find these footmarks from the very
/ beginning. These are not the foot
marks of the murderer"
"Then there were twoY
mo; there was but one, and he had
no accomplish
Every good! Very good" cried Fred
eric Larsan.
"Lookw continued the young report
er, showing us the ground where it
had been disturbed by big and heavy
heels. 1.-THE man seated himself
there and took of his hobnailed boots
which he had worn only for the pur-
pose 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! Bravor' cried Fred again.
And, coming suddenly toward us and
planting himself in front of M. Rob
ert Darzac, he said to him:
IF we had a bicycle here we might
demonstrate the correctness of the
young mans reasoning, M. Robert
Darzac Do you know whether there
is one at the chateauY
NO" replied M. Darzac, "there is
not. / took mine four days ago to
Paris, the last time came to the
chateau before the crime"
''That's 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 roomY
EYES," said my young friend, 81
have an idea"
$50 have l." said Fred, "and it must
be the same as yours. There are no
two ways of reasoning in this affair.
am waiting for the arrival of my
chief before Offering any explanation
to the examining magistrate"
"Ah! Is the chief of the police
roming?'
Eyes, this afternoon. He is going to
summon before the magistrate in the
laboratory all those who have played
any part in this tragedy. II will be
very interesting. 1t is a pity you
won't be able to be present"
81 shall be present." said Rouleta-
bile confidently.
Really you are an extraordinary
fellow for your agew replied the de-
tective in tone not wholly free from
irony. you'd make a wonderful de-
tective-if you had little more meth
od--lf you didn't follow your instincts
and that bump on your forehead. AS
] have already several times observed,
M. Rouletabille, you reason too much
You do not allow yourself to be guild
ed by what you have seen. What do
you say to the handkerchief full Of
blood and the red mark of the hand