The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-16
CHAPTER XIII.
"When My Father Wears a
 Wig 1t Will Fit."

WYE II VIII EII. | FT was literally true that he was frightened. And I was more terrified myself than words 1 could express. I had never seen him in such a state of mental in- quietude. II want to ask you. my boy. whether your mother told you the story of the accident with the revolverT
 "No." he answered. "and I asked her nothing"
 "And you swore to see nothing and hear nothing without her saying any thing to you about the pistol shot and cryT
 The young man now gazed at me in- tently.
 Tt was necessary for me to believe. For my part. I respected the secrets of the Lady in Black. I had nothing to ask of her when she said to me. We must leave each other now. my child. but nothing can ever separate us againr"
 .Ah. she said that to your
 "Yes. and there was blood upon her kands"
 We looked at each other in silence. I was now at the window and beside the reporter. Suddenly his hand touch- ed mine. Then he pointed to the little taper which was burning at the .en- trance to the subterranean door which led to old Bob's study in the tower.
 Tt is dawn" said Rouletabille. "and Old Bob is still at work We will 90 and have q peep at him."
 A few moments later we descended into the octagon room of the Tower of Charles the Bold. The lamp was burn ing on the table. but there was no sign of old Bob.
 He picked up the lamp and exam ined everything. We came to the little desk table. There we found the skull, and it was true that it had been spat- tered with the red paint of the wash drawing which +Darzac had set to dry upon that part of the desk which faced the window. I went from one window to the other and shook the bars to assure myself that they had not been tempered with
 What are you abouty' asked Rou- letabiIie. Before thinking about how he could have got out at the windows wouldn't 1t be better to find out whether he went by the doorr'
 He set the lamp upon the parapet and looked for traces of footprints. Then Rouletabiiie said:
 "Go and knock at the door of the square tower and ask Bernier whether Old Bob has come in. Ask Mattoni and Pere Jacques. Go-quickr'
 Five minutes after I went out was back with the information. No one had seen Old Bob in any part of the fortress. Rouletabille said:
 He left this lamp burning in order to make people believe that he was at work There is no sign of a struggle of any sort. and in the sand 1 find the traces of the footprints of only Rance and Darzac. who came to this room during the storm last night and have brought on their feet little earth from the Court of the Bold and also of the claylike soil of the outer court. There is no footprint which could be Old Bob's. Old Bob reached here be- fore and perhaps went out while the tempest was raging. but in any case, he has not come in since"
 Like a flash an idea pierced through \ my brain Irushed through the court till I came to the oubliette. l dis covered that the iron bars were still fast If any one had fled by that way or had fallen into the shaft the bars would have been opened. hurried back.
 'Rouletabillei There is no way that old Bob could have got out except in the sacki"
 My friend was not listening. and I was surprised to see him deeply en- crossed fin a task of which found 1t impossible to guess the meaning. He was making drawings with a rule, a ed in the geologist's easy chair. with Darzac's drawing board before him. He was quietly making a plan.
 He had pricked tue paper with one of the points of his compass while the other point traced the circle which might represent the Tower of the Bold as we could see it in the design of Nj. Darzac. Then. dipping his brush into a tiny dish half full of the red paint which M Darzac had been using. he carefully spread the paint over the en- tire space occupied by the circle. In doing this he was extremely particu- lar. giving the greatest attention to seeing that the paint was of the same thickness at every point. His face took on a look like that of a maniac. Then he turned toward me so quickly that he upset the great easy chair in which he had been seated.
 "Sainclair. Sainclair. Look at the red paint. Look at the red paint"