The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-01-23

The sailor had recovered his
presence of mind In great meas
ure while Dupin uttered these
words, but his original boldness
of bearing was all gone.
$50 help me, Cod" said he,
after a brief pause, II will tell
you all know about this affair
but | do not expect you to believe
one-half l say would be a fool
indeed If I did. Still l am inno-
cent, and will make a clean
breast If ! die for It."
What he stated was in sub
stance this: He had lately made
a voyage to the Indian archipel-
ago. He had landed at Borneo
and had captured the ourang-ou-
tang. After great trouble, occa-
stoned by the intractable ferocity
of his captive, he at length sue
ceeded In landing 1t safely In
Paris, where he kept it carefully
secluded until such time as 1t
should recover from a wound in
the foot received from a splinter
on board ship. His ultimate de-
4 sign was TO sell III.
Returning home on the night,
or rather in the morning of the
murder, he found the beast oecu.
| plying his own bedroom, into
which it had broken from a CLOSED
adjoining, where 1t had been, FL
was thought, securely confined
Razor in hand and fully lathered.
1t was sitting before lookingt
glass attempting the operation Of
shaving, in which it had previt
ously watched its master. Ter.
rified at the sight of Sc
dangerous weapon in the possess
sion of an animal so ferocious and
so we'll able to use 1t, the man,
for some moments was at a loss
what to do. He had been accus.
toned, however, to quiet the crea-
ture, even in it's fiercest moods.
by the use of whip, and to this
he now resorted. Upon sight of
1t, the ourang-outang sprang at
once through the door of the
chamber, down the stairs. and
thence into the street.
The sailor followed in despair;
the ape, razor still In hand, made
off. The streets were profoundly
quiet, as 1t was nearly O'Clock
in the morning. In passing down
an alley in the rear of the Rue
Morgue, the apes attention was
arrested by a light streaming from
the open window of Nine. L'Espa-
hayes chamber, in the fourth
story of her house. Rushing tt
the building, it perceived tn.
lightning rod, clambered up witt
inconceivable agility, grasped the
shutter. which was thrown fully
back against the wall, and, by
its means, swung itself directly
upon the headboard of the bed.
The whole feat did not occupy a.
minute. The shutter was kicked
open again by the ourang-outang
as 1t entered the room.
The sailor, in the meantime.
was both rejoiced and perplexed.
He had strong hopes of now re-
capturing the brute, as it could
scarcely escape from the trap into
which 1t had ventured except byI
the rod, where it might be inter-
cepted as 1t came down. On the
other hand there was much cause
for anxiety as to what 1t might
do In the house. This latter re-
Election urged the man to still
follow the fugitive. A lightning
rod is assembled without difficulty,
especially by sailor, but whenI
he had arrived as high as the
window, which lay far to his left,
his career was stopped; the most
that he could accomplish was to
reach over so as to obtain E
glimpse of the interior of the
room. At this glimpse he nearly
fell from his hold through excess
of horror. Now 1t was that those
hideous shrieks arose which star!
tied from slumber the inmates of
the Rue Morgue. Nine. L'Espan5
aye and her daughter, habited int
their night clothes, had apparentS
ly been occupied In arrangina
some paper, in the iron chest; \
which had Leen wheeled into the
middle of the room. 1t was open
and its contents lay beside 1t on
the floor. The victims must have
been sitting with their faces to-
ward the window, and from the
time elapsing between the ingressl
of the beast and the screams IL
seems probable that It was not
Immediately perceived. The flap
ping to of the shutter would nat
urally have been attributed to
the wind.