The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-02-19

burst. A bullet In the head. fracture
of the skull, the seat Of reason shat
tercd-with only these can i compare
the sensation which exhausted and left
me void of sense.
Happily Mile. Stangerson appeared
on the threshold of her anterOom. l
saw her, and that helped to relieve my
chaotic state of mind. breathed her;
/ inhaled the perfume OF the lady In
black who had been kind TO me In
my childhood whom / should never
see again. / would have given ten
years of my life-half my life-tO see
once more the lady in black. Alas,
l no more meet her but from time to
time, and yet. and yet, how. the mem
ory Of that perfume, felt by me alone,
carries me back TO the days or my
childhood! 1t was this sharp reminder
from my beloved perfume of the lady
In black which made me go to her,
dressed wholly in white and so pale, SO
pale and SO beautiful, on the threshold
Of the inexplicable gallery. Her beau
tiful golden hair, gathered into knot
on the back of her neck, left visible the
red scar on her temple which had SO
nearly been the cause OF her deSth
When / first got on the. right track
of the mystery Of this case l had
imagined that on the night of the trag
edy in the yellow room Nile. Stranger
son had worn her hair In bands. But.
then, how could have imagined other
wise when 1 had not been in the vel
low room?
"But now, since the occurrence OF
the inexplicable gallery, did not rea-
son at all. / stood there, stupid, before
the apparition-so pale and so beauti-
ful-of Mile. Stangerson. She was clad
in a dressing gown Of dreamy white.
One might have taken her. to be
ghost-a lovely phantom. Her father
took her In his arms and kissed her
passionately, as If he had recovered
her after being long lost to him.
dared not question her. He drew her
into the room, and we followed them
for we had to know! The door Of the
boudoir was open. The terrified faces
of the two nurses craneG toward MS.
Mile. Stangerson inquired the meaning
OF all the disturbance. That she was
explained-quite easily. She had Il
fancy not to sleep that night in her
chamber, but in the boudoir with her
nurses, locking the door on them. Since
the night of the crime she had expert
enced feelings of terror, and fears came
over her that are easily to be cOmpre-
hended.
But who could imagine that on that
particular night when he was to come
she would by a mere chance determine
to shut herself in with her women?
Who would think that she would act
contrary to her fathers wish TO sleep
in the drawing room? Who could be-
lieve that the letter which had so re-
Gently been on the table in her room
would no longer be there? He who
could understand all this would have
to assume that Mile. Stangerson knew
that the murderer was coming-She
could not prevent his coming again
unknown to her father, unknown to all
but to M. Robert DarZac. For he must
know it now. Perhaps he had known
it before! Did he remember that
phrase in the Elysee garden, Must
commit a crime. then, to win your
Against whom the crime if not against
the obstacle against the murderer?
'Ah, | would kill him with my own
hand" And l replied. You have not
answered my question: That was the
very truth. In truth, in truth. NJ. Oar
FAC knew the murderer so we'll that
while wishing 10 kill him himself, he
was afraid l should find him. There
could be but two reasons why he had
assisted me in my investigation. First,
because l have forced him to do II,
better protected.
II am in the chamber-her room.
look at her, also ut the place where the
letter had just now been She has DOS
sessed herself of It; it was evidently
intended for her-evidently. How she
trembles Trembles at the strange
story her father is telling her, of the
presence of the murderer in her cham
Der and Of the pursuit. But 1t is plain
~ to be seen that she IS not wholly
by the assuran,a given her
until she had been toL. .bat the
murderer by some incomprehensible
means had been able to elude us.
Then followed silence. What n
silence! We are all there looking at
her-her father, Larsan, Daddy Jacques
and ]. What were we all thinking Of
in the silence? After the events Of
that night. Of the mystery of the mex
plicable gallery, Of the prodigIous fact
or the presence Of the murderer in her
room, 1t seemed to me that all our
thoughts might have been translated
into the words which were addressed
TO her. You who know of this mys-
terry, explain 1t to us and we shall per-
maps be able to save YOU. How
Ionged to save her--from herself and
from the other! 1t brought the tears
to my eyes.
VINO can tell that, should we learn
the secret Of her mystery. It would not
preciptate q tragedy more terrible
than that which had already been en-
acted here? Who can tell if it might
not mean her death? Yet Il had
brought her close to death. aud we
still knew nothing, or. rather. there
are some of us who know nothing.