Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-03-11
The Mystery of -
The Yellow Room
B
By GASTON LEROUX

Rouletabille very slowly filed his
pipe and lit it. That meant an interest
ing story. At that moment we heard
some one walking In the gallery and
passing before our door. Rouletabille
listened The sound of the footstep
died away in the distance.
rs Frederic Larsan In his room:' I
asked. pointing TO the partition
"No." my friend answered. 'sHe went
10 Paris this morning. stiIl on the scent
OF Darzac who also left for Paris.
That matter will turn out badly ex-
pect that NJ. Darzac viii be arrested in
the course of the next week The worst
Of IT is that everything seems to be
IN league against him-circumstances
things. people. Not an hour passes
without bringing some new evidence
against him The examining magis-
trate Is overwhelmed by it and blind"
Frederic Larsan, however, is not q
novice" / said.
I thought so.'' said RouletabiIle.
with a slightly contemptuous turn of
his lips. Il fancied he was a much
abler man. l had. indeed. great ad-
miration for him before got to know
his method of working. It's deplorable.
He owes his reputation solely TO his
ability. but he lacks reasoning power.
The mathematics of his ideas are very
poor"
looked closely at Rouletabille and
could not help smiling on hearing this
boy Of eighteen talking of a man who
has proved to the world that he was
the finest police sleuth hound in Eu-
rope.
You smile" he said. You are
wrong. / swear VIII outwit him and
In striking way. But / must make
haste about it, for he has an enormous
start of me, given him by NJ. Robert
Darzac. who is this evening going to
increase It still more. Think of it.
every time the murderer comes TO the
chateau Nj. Darzac by a strange fatal
ity absents himself and refuses TO give
any account Of how he employs his
time"
Every time the assassin comes TO
the chateau l cried. HAS he re
turned. them
Yes. during that famous night when
the strange phenomenon occurred"
l was now going TO learn about the as
tonishing phenomenon TO which Roule-
tabille had made allusion half an hour
earlier without giving me any expiana-
zion of it. At last. in short. rapid
phrases he acquainted me with things
which plunged me into state border
fng on complete bewilderment. Indeed.
the results OF that still unknown sci
ence known as hypnotism. for exam
pie. were not more inexplicable than
the disappearance Of the matter of the
murderer at the moment when four
persons were within touch of him.
speak Of hypnotism as would of cleo
fricity. for of the nature of both we
nre ignorant, and we know little OF
their laws cite these examples be-
cause at the time the case appeared to
me to be only explicabie by the mex
pifcable-that is to say. by an event
outside of known natural laws. And
yet IL I had had Rouletabille's brain
should, like him, have had a PRESENT.
ment Of the natural explanation, for
the most curious thing about all the
mysteries of the Chandler case was the
natural manner in which he explained
them.
have among the papers that were
sent me by the young man after the
affair was over q notebook Of his. in
which complete account is given of
the phenomenon Of the disappearance
OF the matter of the assassin and
the thoughts to which it gave rise in
the mind Of my young friend. 1t is
preferable. think. to give the reader
this account rather than to continue to
reproduce my conversation with Roule-
tabllIe.