The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1909-04-15
CHAPTER XXI.
On the Watch.

k~u ~. VIM 49,
did not appear TO affect Rouie-
y tabiiie much. We returned To
W the room. and. without even re-
ferring 10 what we had seen. he gave
me his final instructions for the niShr.
! First we were to go to dinner. After
dinner I was to take my stand in the
dark closet aud wait there as long AS
II was necessary-to look out FOR what
might happen.
"ff you see anything before T do,'
he explained, you must let me know.
IL the nan gets into the right gal
lery by any other way than the ON
turning gallery you will see him before
/ shall, because you have ii view along
| the whole length Of the right gallery.
while | can only command "A view or
the of turning gallery. All You need
do to let me know is to undo the cord
holding the curtain Of the right gal
lery window nearest To the dark clos
ct. The curtain will fall OF itself and
Immediately leave Il square of hadow
where previously there had beer a
square of light. To do this YOU need
but stretch your hand out of the closet.
shall understand your signal per
fec;ly."
And them"
Then you will see me coming round
the corner of the of turning gallery
What am | to do them
You will Immediately come toward
800 l.l;,,l a., man lt,t Shan al
ready be upon him and shall have seen
his face"
| attempted a feeble smile.
why do YOU smile? Well, YOU may
smile while you have the chance, but
| swear you'll have no time for that
a few hours from now"
And If the man ~escapesT
80 much the better said ROule-
tabille coolly. Il don't want to cap
turc him. He may take himself off
any way he can. | will let him go
after / have seen his face. That's all
l want. / shall know afterward what
to do, so that as far as Mile. Stanger-
son Is concerned he shall be dead to
her even though he continues 20 live.
If l took him alive Mile. Stangerson
and Robert Darzac would perhaps
never forgive me. And l wish to re-
tain their good will and respect.
Seeing, as | have just now seen,
Mile. Stangerson pour a narcotic into
her fathers glass, SO that he might
not be awake to interrupt the CONVEX
sation she is going to have with her
assailant, you car imagine she would
not be grateful to me If I brought the
man Of the yellow and the mex
plicable gallery bound and gagged to
her father. realize now that il I
an to save the unhappy lady | 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 ones
own initiative and assume a knowledge
Of everything with nothing for n basis.
Fortunately, my friend, l have guessed
no, | have reasoned it all out. All
that / ask Of the man who is coming
tonight is to bring me his face so that
it may enter
Unto the circlc?"
Exactly, And his face won't sur
prise me-"
But l thought you saw his face on
the night when you sprang into the
chamber
only imperfectly. The candle vas
on the floor. and his beard
xvii he wear his beard this even
ing?"
II think | can say for certain that he
will. But the gallery is light and now
l know-or at least my brain knows
and my eyes will sec"
"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 l 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 10
o'clock, Mile. Stangerson, in the clever
est way in the world, arranged to have
no nurses tonight. She gave them
leave Of absence for tw~enty-four hours,
under SOM plausible p~retexts. 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 arrange
ment. Darzac's departure and what
he told me, as well as the extraor-
binary precautions Mile. Stangerson Is
taking to be alone tonight, leaves me no
room for doubt She has prepared the
way for the coming Of the man whom
DarZac dreads."
sAnd what we saw her do was done
70 send her father to sleep?"
"Yes."
'sThen there are but two Of rs for
tonights work.
-four; the concierge and his wife
VIII watch at all hazards. don't set
much value on them before, but the
concierge may be useful after. II
- $50