Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1909-01-05

you expect him this eveningT'
Because know that he must
come"
Rouletabille very slowly filed his
pipe and lit it. That meant an interest
ing 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.
us Frederic Larsan in his roomw ]
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. | ex-
pect that NJ. 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 magis-
trate is overwhelmed by it and blind"
Frederic Larsan, however, is not a
novice" l said.
Il thought So" said Rouletabille,
with a slightly contemptuous turn OF
his lips Il fancied he was a much
ADLER man. [ had, indeed, great ad.
miration for him before l 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"
looked closely at Rouletabille and
could not help smiling on hearing this
boy of eighteen talking of a man who
has proved to the world that he was
the finest police sleuth hound in Eu-
rope.
''You smile" he said. "You are
wrong. I swear l will outwit him and
In a striking way. But must make
haste about it, for he has an enormous
start of me, given him by NJ. Robert
Darzac, who Is this evening going to
increase 1t still more. Think of it,
every time the murderer comes to the
chateau NJ. Darzac by strange fatal
ity absents himself and refuses to give
any account of how he employs his
time"
every time the assassin comes to
the chateaur' l cried. HAS he re-
turned, thenY'
Eyes, during that famous night when
the strange phenomenon occurred"
was now going to learn about the as
tonishing phenomenon to which Roule-
tabiIle had made allusion half an hour
earlier without giving me any explana-
ton Of it. At last in short, rapid
phrases he acquainted me with things
which plunged me into a state border
ing on complete bewilderment. Indeed,
the results of that still unknown sci
ence known as hypnOtism, for exam
pie, were not more inexplicable than
the disappearance of the matter Of the
murderer at the moment when four
persons were within touch of him. l
speak of hypnOtism as / would of cleo
tricity, for of the nature Of both we
are ignorant and we know little OF
their laws. ! cite these examples be-
cause at the time the case appeared to
me TO be only applicable by the mex
plicable-that is to say, by an event
outside OF .s1cwn natural Laws. And
yet If had had Rouletabilles brain
should. like him. have had a present.
ment of the natural explanation. for
the most curious thing about all the
mysteries of the Chandler case was the
natural manner in which he explained
them.
have among the papers that were
sent me by the young man after the
affair was over a notebook 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. 1t is
preferable, think, to give the reader
this account rather than to continue to
reproduce my conversation with Roule-
Table.