Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-04-08
CHAPTER xXIII.
The Double Scent.


confess / was In no condition for
doing much thinking His self control
was more than could explain. Closi lg
the door of his room, he motioned me
to a chair and, seating himself before
me, took out his pipe. We sat there
for some time In silence, and then |
fell asleep.
When / awoke 1t was daylight. 1t
was O'clock by my watch. Rouleta-
bile was no longer In the room. l
rose to go out. when the door opened
and my friend re-entered. He had evi-
IDENTITY lost no time
''IIow about Mile. Stangerson?
asked him.
Her condition, though very alarm
ing is not desperate"
when did you leave this roomT'
Toward dawn"
Have you found out anything"
1.-TWO sets OF footprints
Have they anything to do with the
mystery of the keepers body?"
"Yes; the mystery is no longer
mystery. This morning. walking round
the chateau, found two distinct sets
of footprints made at the same time
EAST night. They were made by two
, persons walking side by side. ! fol-
lowed them from the court toward the
oak grove. Larsan Joined me. They
were the same kind of footprints as
were made at the time of the assault
In the yellow room. One set was
from clumsy boots and the other was
made by eneat ones. except that the
blS toe of one of the sets was of a
different size from the one measured
an the yellow room incident.
"Stiil following the tracks of the
prints, LaTsan and passed out of the
oak grove and reached the border of
fhe lake. There they turned off to
little path leading to the highroad to
Epinay, where we lost the traces In
the newly macadamized highway.
I'VE went back to the chateau and
parted at the courtyard. We met
again. however, in Daddy JACQUES
room. to which our separate trains of
thinking had led us both We found
the old servant ~ bed. His clothes on
the chair were wet through and his
boots very muddy He certainly did
NOT get into that state in helping us
to carry the body Of the keeper 1t
was not raining then. Then his face
showed extreme fatigue. and he looked
at as out of terror stricken eyes.
"on pressing him he confessed that
he had baen away from the chateau
lie explained his absence by saying
that he had headache and went out
into the fresh air, but had gone no
farther than the oak grove. When we
theD described to him the whole route
he had followed he sat up in bed trem-
bling.
And you were not aloner cried
Larsan.
Did you see It. thenr gasped Dad
dy Jacques.
"WhatT asked.
The phantom-the black phantom'
Then he told us that for several
nights he had seen what he called the
black phantom. 1t came into the park
at the stroke of midnight and glided
stealthily through the trees 1t ap-
peared to him to pass through she
trunks of the trees. Twice he had seen
u from his window by the light of the
moon and had risen and followed the
strange apparition. The night before
last he. had almost Overtaken it. but
had vanished at the corner of the
hon1op. Last night. however. he had
not left the chateau. his mind being
disturbed by presentiment that some
new crime would be attempted. Sud
denly he saw the black phantom rush
out from somewhere in the middle of
the court. He followed 1t to the lake
ana to the highrcad to Epinay, where
the phantom suddenly disappeared.
Did you see his faceY demanded
Larsan.
mo. saw nothing but black veils.'
Did you 60 out after what passed
on the gaileryY
could not. was terrified
Daddy jacques / said in threat
ening voice, you did not follow 1t. You
ana the phantom walked to Epinay to-
gether, arm in arm.'
NO. he cried. turning his eyes
away; I did not. 1t came on to pour,
ana | turned back. don't know what
became Of the black phantom
I'VE left him. and when we were
outside turned to Larsan. looking
ann fuli In the face. and put my ques-
uon suddenly to take him of his guards
An accompliceY
"'How can tell !? he replied and left
me. saving be was off to Epinay."
wen, what do you make Of it2' |
asked Rouletabille after he had ended
MS recital. Personally i am utterly in
.he dark. ! can't make anything out of
". What do you gatherT'
"Eyerything everything" he ex=
claimed. But" he said abruptly. ''let's
ma out further about Nile stangers