Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-11
CHAPTER XVII.
In Which Il Is Proved That One
Does Not Always Think of Every.
thinG.

~1REAT excitement prevailed
IL when Rouletabille had finished
" II The courtroom became agitat-
III ed with the murmuriDEs Of
suppressed applause. Maitre Henri
Robert called for an adjournment Of
the trial and was supported in his mo-
ton by the public prosecutor himself.
The case was adjourned. The next
day NJ. Robert Darzac was released ON
bail, while Daddy Jacques received
the immediate benefit Of "a no cause
for action" Search was everywhere
made for Frederic I.arsan. but in vain.
NJ. Darzac finally escaped the awful
calamity which Mt one time had threat
encd him. .etcr visit to Mile. Stan
gerson he was led to hope that she
might by careful nursing one day re-
cover her reason.
Roulctabllc and left Versailles to-
gethcr, after having dined at The
Dog That Smokes. In the train l put
a number of questions to him.
"My friend" | said. II am still In
to America. When you left the Clan
der you had found out. If rightly un
dcrstand, all about Frederic I.arsan.
You had discovered the exact way he
had attempted the murder?'
"Quite so. And YOU" he said, turn
ing the conversation, did you suspect
nothing?"
4, 1,,,.
pected anything. You took great pains
to conceal your thoughts from ne.
Had you already suspected Larsan
W hen you sent for me to bring the re-
volvcrs:'
Yes! l had come to that conclusion
through the incident of the inexplica-
bic gallery Larsan's return to Mile.
otanEerson's room. however, had not
then been cleared up by the eyeglasses.
My suspicious were The outcome of my
reasoning only, and the idea OF Larsan
| being the murderer seemed so extraor
binary that resolved to wait for
actual evidence before vcnturing TO
act Nevertheless the suspicion wor-
ried me. and | sometimes spoke to the
detective in way that ought to have
opened your eyes. | spoke diSpnrag
! ingly of his methods. But until ]
found the eyeglasses I could but look
upon my suspicion Of him in the light
of an absurd hypothesis only. You
can imagine my elation after had ex-
planned Larsan's movements. re-
member we'll rushing into my room
like mailman and crying to you: III
get the better of the great Fred! IN
get the better Of him in a way that
will make Il sensation"
But one Important point escaped US
both. 1t WAS one which ought to have
opened our ives to Larsan. DO you re-
member the bamboo cane? l was sur
prised to find 1.arsan had made no use
of that evidence against Robert Oar
FAC. Had ii not been purchased by n
man whose description Tailed exactly
with that of DarZac? Well, Just be-
| fore l saw him off at the train after
the recess during the trial asked him
why he hadn't used the cane evidence.
He told me he had never had any in
tention Of doing so; that our discOv-
cry Of It in the little inn at Epinay
had much embarrassed him. If you
viii remember, he told us then that
the cane hnG been given him in Lon
don. Why did we not Immediately
say to ourselves: Fred Is lying: he
could not have had this cane in Lon.
don; he was not in London: he bought
1t in Pars:' Then you found out on
Inquiry at Cassettc's that the cane had
been bought by person dressed veg
like Robert Darzac. though. as we
; learned later from DarZnc himself. 1t
was not he who had made the pur
chase. Couple this with the fact we
already knew from the letter at the
poSte rcstante that there was actually
Il man in Paris who was passing as
Robert DarZac Why did we not i'm
mediately fix on Fred himself?
"Of course his position was against
us. but when we saw the evident
eagcrness on his part to find convict.
ing evidence against DarZac- nay, even
the passion he displayed in his pur-
suit Of the mantle lie about the cane
should have had Il new meaning for
us. II you ask why Larsan bought the
cane If he had no intention of manu-.
featuring evidence against Darzac by
means Of 1t, the answer is quite sim
pie. He had been wounded in the
hand by Mile Stangcrson, so that the
cane was useful to enable him to close
his hand In carrying it. You remem
bcr noticed that he always car
ricd 1t.
"All these details came back to my
mind when had once fixed on I.arsar
as the criminal. But they were toe
late then to be of any use to me. Or
the evening when he pretended to be
drugged l looked Mt his hand and saw
4 thin silk bandagc coy ering the signs
OF n slight healing wound Had We
taken quicker initiative ut the time
Larsan told us that lie about the cane
| am certain he would have gone of
to avoid suspicion. All the same. We
worried Larsan. or Balimeyer, without
our knowing It,"
Put" ! interrupted, III Larsan hat
no intention of using the cane as evi
dcnce against Darzac, why had h,
made himself mp to look like the maj
when he went in to buy it?'
'lIe had not specially made up n!
Darzac to buy the cane: he had com,
straight to Casseitc's immediately aft
er he had attacked Mile. Stnngerson.