The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-03-05
CHAPTER XXI.
The Incredible Body.

body Of the reporter and had
the Joy to find that he was
~ deeply sleeping, the same I'm,
healthy sleep that had seen fall upon
Frederic Larsan. He had succumbed
to the influence Of the same drug that
had been mixed with our food. How
was 1t, then, that I also had not been
overcome by It? I reflected that the
drug must have been put into our
wine, because that would explain my
condltion. l never drink when eating.
Naturally inclined to obesity, I am re-
stricted to dry diet. I shook Roule-
tabille, but could not succeed in wax
ing him. This, no doubt, was the
work of Mile Stangerson.
She had certainly thought it neces-
sary to guard herself against this
young man as well as her father. I
recalled that the steward in serving
us had recommended an excellent
Chablis which, no doubt, had come
from the professors table.
More than quarter of an hour
passed. / resolved under the pressing
|
| measures. | threw n pitcher of cold
water over Rculctabille's head lie
| opened his eyes. beat his face and
raised him up. | felt him stiffen in
my arms and heard him murmur, "Gc
on, go on, but don't make any noise
| pinched him and shook him until he
was able to stand up. We were saved.
"Thcy sent me to Sleep" he said
| All, I passed an awful quarter Of an
| hour before giving way. But it is
over ow. Don't leave me"
He bad no sooner uttered those words
| than we were thrilled by frightful
cry that rang through the chateau, a
veritabie death cry.
"MalEeurw reared Rouletabille. 1--WE
| ihall be too late"
He tried to rush to the door, but he
VAS too dazed and fell against the
wall. l was already in the gallery, re-
volver In hand, rushing like a mad
man toward Mile. Stangerson's room.
| The moment / arrived at the intersec-
lion Of the "off turning" gallery and the
fright" gallery l saw q figure leaving
her apartment, which in few strides
had reached the landing place.
was not master of myself / fired.
The report from the revolver made
deafening noise, but the man continued
his fight down the stairs. I ran be-
hind him, shouting: "Stop! Stop, or I
will kill your AS L rushed after him
down the stairs / came face to face
with Arthur Rance coming from the
left wing of the chateau, yelling:
what is it? What Is it? We ar
rived almost at the same time at the
foot of the staircase. The window of
the vestibule was open. We distinctly
saw the form Of man running away.
Instinctively we fired our favolvers I'm
his direction. He was not more than
ten PAGES in front of us. He stag
gered, and we thought he was going to
fall. We had sprung out Of the win
newed vigor. I was in my socks. and
the American was barefooted. There
being no hope Of overtaking him, we
fired our last cartridges at him. But
he still kept on running, going along
the right side Of the court toward the
end of the right wing Of the chateau,
which had no other outlet than the
door of the little chamber occupied by
the forest keeper.
The man, though he was evidently
wounded by our bullets, vas now
twenty yards ahead Of us. Suddenly,
behind us, and above our heads, win
dow in the gallery opened and we
heard the voice Of Rouletabille crying
out desperately:
Fire, Bernier! Fire.
At that moment the clear moonlight
night was further lit by broad flash.
BY It's light we saw Daddy Bernier
with his gun on the threshold Of the
donjon door.
He had taken good aim. The shadow
fell. But as it had reached the end Of
the right wing of the chateau, it fell
on the other side of the angle Of the
building-that Is to say, we saw 1t
about to fall, but not the actual sink
Ing to the ground. Bernler, Arthur
Rance and myself reached the other
side twenty seconds later. The shadow
was lying dead at our feet.
Aroused from his lethargy by the
cries and reports. Larsan, opened the
window of his chamber and called out
to us. Rouletabille, quite awake now,
joined us at the same moment. and |
cried out to him:
"He Is dead-is dead!'
$50 much the better" he said. Take
him into the vestlbule of the chateau"
Then as II on second thought, he said
"No-no Let us put him In his own
room"
Rouletabille knocked at the door.
Nobody answered. Naturally, this did
not surprise me.
"He is evidently not there, otherwise
he would have come OUT said the re-
porter. "Let us carry him to the YES
thule then"
Since reaching the dead shadow, a
thick cloud had covered the moon and