The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-14

 THE PERFUME OF s THE LADY IN BLACKS By GAST0N LER0UX, Author of "The Mystery Of= the Yellow ROom"
 Copyright, 1909, by BrentanoS
Copyright, 1909, by Brentano's.
To be Continaed-1

articulate.
 He was there-at that tabie-unless we are going mad"
 There was a pause. and then I re- sumed more calmly:
 You know. RouIetabirle. that it is quite. possible that we are going mad. This phantasm of Larsan will land us all in a madhouse yet. We have been shut up here only two days. and see the state we are fn!"
 r All in a moment he seemed to grow perfectly calm. T.e..
 let us reason 1t out. Do not look for Larsan in that place where he re- veaIs himsel@ Seek for him every where else except where he hides him. self"
 He seated himself, placed his pipe hands and said:
 ciair-who is within these walls:" "There is, first of all, you and l." avery we'll"
 ~Neither of us." I contirued, Ifs Iarsann "why?
 "why?" I echoed
 'Yes. why. Tell me. You must give a reason why you believe so. ac- knowledge that I am not Larsan. I am sure of that. for I am Rouletabiile: but. face to face with Rouletabille. tell me why you cannot be .Larsan-neitfer you, nor Stangerson. nor M. Darzac. nor Arthur Rance. nor Old Bob, nor Prince Galitch. But we must know some good reason why each of these cannot be Larsan. Only when that is accomplished shall be able to breathe freely behind these stone walis.'
 How about the servantsyT 1 asked.
 '1 am absolutely certain that none of them was absent from the Fort of Hercules when Larsan appeared to Mme. Darzac and to Nj. Darzac at the railway station at BourE." -st
 .AOwn up. Rcuiefabille." cried. ''that you don't trouble yourself about them because none of their eyes were behind the black spectaeles.'
 'Be quiet. please. You make me more nervous than my mother.n
 This phrase. uttered in vexation. struck me strangely. He resumed meditativeIy:
 First. SaincIair is not Larsan be- cause Saincliir was at Trepot with me while Larsan was at Bourg
 .'second. Professor srangerson is not Larsan because he was on his way from Dijon to Lyons while Larsan- was at Bourg. As fact. reaching Lyons one minute before him. M- and Mme. Dnrzac saw him alignt from the train"
 But all the others. if it is neces- sary to prove that they were not at Bourx nt that moment. might be Lar san. for all of them might have been at Bonrg"
 First. M. Darzac was there. Arthur Rance was away from home during the two days which preceded the ar- rival of the professor and of bar zac. He arrived at Mentone just in time to receive them tMme. Edith her self Informed me in reply to a few careless questions of mine that her husband shad been absent those two days on businessI. Old Bob made his journey to Paris. Prince Galitcn was not seen at the grotroes nor outside the Gardens of Babylon
 First. let us take Darzacn
 "Houietabille." I cried, "that is sac rilege. It is stupidr'
 T know it. But whyr"
 Because" I exclaimed, almost be- side myself. "Larsan is genius, we are aware: he might be able to de- eeive detective. a journalist. a re- porter. and even a Rouietabllle; he might even deceive a friend under some circumstances. admit. But he could never deceive a daughter SO far that she would take him for her father. That ought to reassure you as to M. Stangerson. Nor would he deceive a woman to the point of talk ing him for her betrothed. And, my friend. -Mathilde stangerson knew M. Darzac and threw herself into his arms at the railway station"
 And she knew Larsan, too" added Rouletabille coIdiy.
 -I prefer rather to bestow, for the bake of supposition, a personality on M- Robert Darzac which I have never expected to fasten upon him in order to base my argument against the pos sibility little more solidly. If Rob ert Darzac were Larsan, Larsan would not have appeared on several occa- sions to Mathilde Stangerson, for 1t Is the apparition of Larsan that has ere ated a gulf between Mathilde Stanser- son and Robert Darzac."
 "PshawY' I cried. "Of what use are such vain reasonings when one has only to open his eyes"
 Upon whomr' he asked bitterly.
 Prince Galitch-the prince from the Black Lands"
 Prince Galitch is a nihilist, and am not troubled over him in the least degree. Bernier's wife told me she knows one of three old women whom Mme- Edith saw in his grounds. I have made an investigation. She is the mother of one of the three men hang ed at Kazan for the attempted assassi- nation of the emperor. I have seen the photograph of the poor wretches. The other two old women are the l other two mothers"
 And old Bob?' I asked.
 ''No. dear boy. no,' scoffed Rouleta- bile. almost angrily. Not he either. |