Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1909-01-19
CHAPTER XIII.
The Double Scent.

discovery had plunged +, me
when Rouletabille touched me
on the shoulder and asked me to fol-
low him into his room to think it over.
I confess I was in no condition for
doing much thinking. His self control
was more than I could explain. Closing
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 l
fell asleep.
When l awoke it was daylight. 1t
was s o'clock by my watch. Rouleta-
bile was no longer in the room. l
rose to 60 out, when the door opened
and my friend re-entered. He had evil
IDENTITY lost no time
"How about Mile. StangersonT I
asked him.
Her condition, though very alarm
ing, is not desperate"
when did you leave this room?"
Toward dawn"
"Have you found out anythingY
1.-TWO sets of footprints"
"Have they anything to do with the
mystery of the keepers body"
Yes; the mystery is no longer a
mystery. This morning, walking round
the chateau, l found two distinct sets
Of footprints made at the same time
last night They were made by two
persons walking side by side. fol-
lowed them from the court toward the
I
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 neat ones except that the
big toe Of one of the sets was Of a
different size from the one measured
in the yellow room incident.
Still following the tracks Of the
prints, Larsan and l passed out of the
oak grove and reached the border Of
the lake. There they turned off to
a little path leading to the highroad to
Epinay. where we lost the traces in
the newly macadamized highway.
1--WE 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 in bed. His clothes on
r 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 us out Of terror stricken eyes.
"On pressing him he confessed that
he had been away from the chateau.
He explained his absence by saying
that he had a headache and went out
into the fresh air, but had gone no
farther than the oak grove When we
then described to him the whole route
he had followed he sat up in bed trem-
bling.
"'And you were not alonep cried
Larsan.
"Did you see it, thenT gasped Dad
dy Jacques.
'WhatY asked
1.-The phantom-the black phantomp
'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 APP
peared to him to pass through the
trunks Of the trees. Twice he had seen
it from his window by the light OF the
moon and had risen and followed the
strange apparltion. The night before
last he had almost oyertaken 1t, but
it had vanished at the corner Of the
donjon. Last night. however, be had
not left the chateau. his mind being
disturbed by a presentiment that some
new crime would be attempted. Sud
denly be saw the black phantom rush
out from aome,Rhere Al The middle Of