Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-01-10
The Mystery of The Yellow Room
 
By GASTON LEROUX ea,

Eat, sleep here, watch my actions, The actions of all here. You shall be mas ter of the Chandler. monsieur. but for get the evening at the Elysee.'"
 Rouletabille here paused to take breath. now understood what had appeared so unexplalnable in the de- meanor of M. Robert Darzac toward my friend and the facility with which the young reporter had been able to install himself on the' scene of the crime.
 "Everything seems to be pointing against him." continued my friend, "and the situation Is becoming ex- ceedIngly grave. M. Darzac appears not to mind 1t much, but fin that he is wrong. I was interested only in the health of Mile. Stangerson. which was daily improving, when something oc- cured that is even more mysterious than--than the mystery of the yellow room"
 'Tmpossibler I cried What could be more mysterious than that?"
 ''Let us first go back to Nj. Robert Darzac.". said Rouletabille. calming me. "I have said that everything seems to be pointing against him. The marks of the neat boots found by Frederic Larsan appear to be really the footprints of Mile. Stangerson's fance. The marks made by the bicycle may have been made by his bicycle. He had usually left 1t at the chateau. Why did he take 1t to Paris on that particular occasion! Was 1t because he was not going to return again to the chateau? Was it because, owing to the breaking of of his marriage, his rela- tions with the Stangersons were to cease? All who are interested in the matter affirm that those relations were to continue unchanged
 Frederic Larsan, however, believes that all intercourse was at an end. From the day when NJ. Darzac accom- panied Mile Stangerson to the depart ment store until the day after the crime he had not been at the Chandler. Remember that Mile. Stangerson lost her reticule containing the key with the brass head while she was in his company. From that day to the even ing at the Elysee the Sarbonne pro- lessor and Mile. Stangerson did not see one another. but they may have written to each other. Mile. Sanger son went to the postoffice to get let ter which Larsan says was written by Robert Darzac. for, knowing nothing of what had passed at the Elysee, Lar san believes that 1t was NJ. Darzac himself who stole the reticule and the key with the design of forcing her con sent by getting possession of the pre- cious papers of her father-papers which he would have restored to him on condition that the marriage engage ment was to be fulfilled.
 "All that would have been a very doubtful and almost absurd hypothe- sis, as Larsan admitted to me, but for another and much graver circum- stance. In the first place, here is something which l have not been able to explain--M. DarZac had himself on the 2ith gone to the postoffice to ask for the letter which -mademoiselle had called for and received on the previ- ous evening. The description of the man who made application tallies in every respect with the appearance of NJ. Darzac, who in answer to the questions put to him by the examining magistrate denies that he went to the postofiice. Now, even admitting that the letter was written by him, which do not believe, be knew that Mile. Stangerson had received it since he had seen 1t in her hands in t-e garden at the Elysee. It could not have been he. then, who had gone to the post office the day after the 24th to ask for letter which he knew was no longer there.
 ITO me 1t appears clear that some body strongly resembling him stole Mile. Stangersons reticule and in that letter had demanded of her something which she had not sent him. He must have been surprised at the failure of his demand; hence his application at the postofIice, to learn whether his let ter had been delivered to the person to whom 1t had been addressed. Find ing that 1t had been claimed, he had become furious. What had he de- manded? Nobody but Mile. Sanger son knows. Then on the day follow Ing it is reported that she has been attacked during the night. and the next day I discovered that the pro- lessor had at the same time been rob bed by means of the ley referred to in the poste restante letter. 1t would seem, then. that the man who went to the postoffice to inquire for the let ter must have been the murderer. All these arguments Larsan applies as against NJ. Darzac. You may be sure that the examining magistrate, Lar san and myself have done our best to get from the postoffice precise details relative to the singular parsonage who applied there on the 24th of October. But nothing has been learned. We don't know where he came from or where he went. Beyond the descrip- ton which makes him resemble M. Darzac we know nothing.
 (To be continned.)