Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1909-01-02

body was at the gate, and II was onll
on the threshold Of the chateau tina
met the young man. lie saluted m,
with friendly gesture and threw his
arms about me, inquiring warmly al
to the state OF my health
When we were in the little sitting
room Of which have spoken ROule
tabille made me sit down.
ITS going badly be said
whats going badly?" 1 asked.
Everything.
He came nearer to me and whis-
pered
Frederic Larsan is working with
might and main against Darzac"
This did not as .onish me. had seen
the poor show Mile. Stangerson's fiance
had made at the time of the examina.
ton Of the footprints. However, i'm.
mediately asked;
what about that caneT
"It Is still in the hands of Frederic
Larsan. he never lets go OF it.
But doesn't it prove the alibi for
NJ. DarzacY
'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
RouIetabllle, EN- not swear to any
thing. NJ. 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 evil
dence. But IN what way? The time
when it was bought shows it could
not have been in the murderers pos
session"
'gThe time doesn't worry Larsan. He
is not obliged to adopt my theory,
which assumes that the murderer got
into the yellow room between and 9
O'clock. There's nothing to prevent
him assuming that the murderer got in
between 10 and II o'clock at night. At
that hour NJ. and Mile. Stangerson, as
sisted by Daddy Jacques, were engag-
ed in making an interesting chemical
experiment in the part of the labora-
tory 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 exar in
ing 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 pro-
feSsor's departure Why should he
have Tisked 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 adj
mitted. 1 shan't waste my time over
it, for my theory won't allow me to
occupy myself with mere imagination.
Only, as 1 am obliged for the moment
to keep silent, and Larsan sometimes
talks, he may finish by coming out
openly against NJ. Darzac if I'm not
there" added the young reporter
proudly, "for there are surface evil
dences against Darzac much more con-
vineing than the cane which remain
tncomprehenSible to me, all the more
so as Larsan does not in the least hest
tate to let Darzac see him with it. /
understand many things in Larsans
theory but / can't make anything of
that cane"
rs he still at the chateauT
yes He hardly ever quits it. He
sleeps there, as 1 do, at the request of
NJ. Stangerson, who has done for him
what NJ Robert Darzac has done for
me. In spite of the accusation made
by Larsan that NJ. 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 Darzacs
innocence"
sat one time did believe in the pos
sibility 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 NJ. Darzac and
myself"
Here Rouletabllle interrupted himself
and asked me If had brought the re-
volvers. / 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 shah
pass the night here If that won't tire
your"
"0n the contrary" I said, with an
expression that made RouletabiIe
laugh.
mo. 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" / said, perfectly, The pres
bytery has lost nothing Of its charm
nor the garden its brightness 1t was
~