Daily Arizona silver belt., 1909-01-22

 III discovery had plunged me when Rouletabille touched me on the shoulder and asked me to fol- low him into his room to think 1t over. | confess was in no condition for doing much thinking. His self control wss 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 I fell asleep.
 When awoke it was daylight. It was s o'clock by my watch. Rouleta- bile was no longer in the room. I rose to go out. when the door opened and my friend re-entered. He had evil dently lost no time.
 How about Mile. Stangersony" I asked him.
 Her condition. though very alarm ing, is not desperate"
 "when did yoh leave this roomY
 Toward dawn"
 Have you found out anythingr"
 Two sets of footprints"
 Have they anything to do with the mystery of the keepers bodyY'
 Yes; the mystery is no longer a mystery. This morning, walking round the chateau, 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 oak grove. Larsan joined me. They 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 passed out of the oak grove and reached the border oi the lake. There they turned of tc little path leading to the highroad tc Epinay, where we lost the traces ir the newly macadamized highway. We went back to the chateau and parted at the courtyard. We ne again. however. in Daddy Jacques room. to which our separate trains oi thinking had led us both. We found the old servant in bed. His clothes or the chair were wet through and hii boots very muddy. He certainly dit not get into that state in helping ui to carry the body of the keeper. | was not raining then. Then his fac' showed extreme fatigue, and he looked at us out of terror stricken eyes.
 "On pressing him he confessed tha he had been away from the chateau He explained his absence by sayin, that he had headache and went ou into the fresh air. but had gone n, farther than the oak grove. When VI then described to him the whole rout he had followed he sat up in bed trem bling.
 And you were not aloner erie, Larsan.
 "'Did you see 1t, thenr gasped Dad dy Jacques.
 "'WhatT I asked.
 "'The phantom--the black phantomr
 "Then he told us that for severa nights he had seen what he called tn black phantom. 1t came into the par at the stroke of midnight and glide stealthily through the trees. It az peared to him to pass through tn trunks of the trees Twice he had see it from his window by the light of tn moon and had risen and followed tn strange apparition. The night befor | last he had almost overtaken 1t. bu 1t had vanished at the corner of tn donjon. Last night. however. he ha not left the chateau. his mind bein disturbed by presentiment that som new crime would be attempted. Sut denly he saw the black phantom rus out from somewhere in the middle the court. He followed 1t to the lak and to the highroad to Epinay, wher the phantom suddenly disappeared.
 "Did you see his faceY demande Larsan.
 "'No. I saw nothing but black wells
 "'Did you go out after what passe on the galleryY
 "I could not. was terrified.
 "Daddy Jacques said in a threa ening voice. you did not follow it. Yo and the phantom walked to Epinay t gether, arm in arm
 "sNo.' he cried. turning his ey' away: I did not. 1t came on to pou and I turned back. I don't know wh' became of the black phantom
 "we left him, and when we wei outside I turned to Larsan. lookir him full in the face. and put my que ton suddenly to take him of his guar "'An accompficer
 "'How can tell ? he replied and le me, saying he was of to Epinay." "well. what do you make of it? . asked Rouletabille after he had ends his recital. Personally I am utterly the dark. I can't make anything out 1t. What do you gatherY "Everything. everything" he c claimed. But" he said abruptly. let