The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-22

not the man who at o'clock entered the square tower under the form of Darznc. I thought, on the contrary. that Darzac might be the true Oar zac and you might be the false one. An. my dear Darzac. how l have sus- pected your
 That was madness" cried DarZac- If | did not tell you the exact hour at which I entered the square tower It was because the time was somewhat vague in my own mind and l d,s not attach any importance to It.
 "In such a manner. M- Darzac. con tinued Rouletabille without paying any attention to the interruptions ot his interIocutor. the emotion of the Lady in Black and our attitude. more than ever filled with terrUr-''in such manner as that you could have stolen away the true Darzac when he came from outside and by your own careful ness and the too faithful help of the Lady in Black could have taken his place and have been perfectly able to defy detection of your audacious en- terprise. This was my imagination only my imagination. Darzac. Don't let it disturb you. But in such man. ner as this l had thought that. you being Larsan. the man who was put in the sack was Darzac. An. the fancies that I have had and the useless suspi- cionsr'
 "Bahr' responded Mathilde's hus- band gloomily. "We are all suspicious here.'
 Rouietabille began speaking again
 You see, Darzac. there are two manifestations of Robert Darzac. To know which was the true one and which was the one which formed a disguise for Larsan my duty. Darzac- that which the power of pure reason showed me-was to examine without fear or reproach both of these mani festatiOns in all impartiality. Thus 1 begin with you-Darzac."
 Darzac replied:
 ''It does not matter since you sus- pect me no longer. But you must tell me immediately who is Larsan. I insist upon it-I demand itr'
 We a1f demand it-and at oncer' we all cried. turning upon both of them. MathIide rushed up to her child and placed herself in front of him as If to protect him. We felt the pathos of her attitude. but the scene had endured too long. and we were beyond the limits of patience.
 "1f he knows who is Larsan let him speak out and make an end of thisg' exclaimed Arthur Rance.
 And suddenly. Just as the thought crossed my mind that I had heard the same cries of anger and impatience two years before at the court of as- sizes. another pistol shot sounded out side the door of the square tc wer, and we were all so seized with con- sternation that our anger fell away in a moment and we found ourselves not threatening RouletabiIle. but entreat- ing him to put an end as soon as pos. sible to this intolergble situation.
 As soon as the second shot was heard the countenance of Rouletabille changed completely. His face seemed transformed, and his whole being ap- peared to vibrate with a savage en- ergy.
 Laying asiee the half bantering man. ner which he had used toward NJ Darzac and which we had all found extremely a,sagreeable. he gently re- leased hfipseif from the clasp of the Lady In Black. who still clung to Tim, walked toward the door, folded his arms and said.
 "You see. ray friends. in an affair like this it does not do to neglect any point. There were two manifesta- tions of Robert Darzac which entered the square tower. There were two manifestations which came out. and one of these was in the sack! That is where one loses oneself. And even now 1 do not wish to make any nis- takes. win Darzac. here present. per init me to say that I had hundred excuses for suspecting him?"
 Then I thought to myself: -How un- lucky that he did not mention his srs- picions to me. I would have told him about the map of Australia"
 DarZac strode across the room Ind planted himself in front of the youna reporter and said in a tone nearly inaudible from anger:
 What excuses? I ask you what ex- cusesr'
 You will soon understand, my friend" said the reporter. with the ut most calmness. "The first thing that . I said to myself while l was examin- ing the coRditions surrounding yoHr manifestation of Larsan was this: Nonsense. If he were Larsan. would not Professor Stangerson's daughter have perceived itr That is self evil dent. the common sense of that thought. Is 1t not? But when I tried to look into the mind of the lady whc has become Mime. Darzac l discovered beyond doubt. monsieur. that all ths while she could not free herself from just this fear-the fear that you might be Larsanr'
 Mathilde. who had fallen half faint ing into a chair. gathered strength enough to start up and to protest against the words with q frightened despairing gesture.
 As for NJ. Darzac. his face was . picture of hopeless anguish.
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