The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-11
CHAPTER VI.
Fortifyins Against a Weird
 Foe

N1ROFESSOR STANGERSON FIJI since he had learned the cruel HI truth had not for one moment been able to free himself from
 the thought of it. In truth. the first
 victim of the affair at the Chandler
 and the most unfortunate was this
 good old man. He had lost everything i-his faith in science. his love of work
 and his belief in his daughter. His faith in her had been his religion. joy and pride. And while he was thinking of her almost with reverence he dis covered that the reason that his daugh-
 ter refused to marry was because she < was already the wife of Ballmeyer
 The day in which Mathilde had decid- ed to tell him the story of the past.
 which must clear up the present with a tragic light to the eyes of the pro lessor. already warned by the myster- ies of the Glandier-the dsy when. fall ing at bis feet. she had told him the story of her youth, Professor Sanger son had raised the form of his beloved child from the ground and had pressed her to his heart: he had mingled his tears with the sobs of her whose fault had been so bitterly expiated and had sworn that she had never been more precious than since he had known how she had suffered. But he when she left his presence was another mana man alone. all alone Professor Stan. gerson had lost his daughter and his goddess.
 He had experienced only indifference fin regard to her marriage to Robert Darzac. although the latter had been the best beloved of his pupils. In vain Mathilde. with the warmest tender ness. had endeavored to rekindIe the old feeling fin the heart of her father She knew we'll that he had changed toward her. The professor could work no longer. The. great secret of the dis sosution of matter which he had prom fsed to reveal to mankind had return ed to the unknown from which for a moment the scientist had drawn it. and men will go on. repeating for centuries to come the imbecile phrase. From nothing. nothing"
 Evidently she was fnstinctiveIy drawn toward RouletabilIe by all the mysterious forces of maternal affec- tion. in spite of the fact that she had every reason to believe that her child had died years before.
 She showed for her husband the most charming solicitude. She was at tentive to him at every moment. serv- ing him herself. and smiling gently at him as she did so
 If the design of Larsan in showing himself had been to deal a frightful blow to happiness which had vet scarcely begun. he had completely sue ceeded- Mathilde had given Darzac at once to understand that she did not regard herself as his wife. since the man to whom she had pledged herself ID her early girlhoOd was still living.
 have said that MathiIde Stangerson had been drought up in a very re- hgious manner. not by her father. who cared little for such things. but by her female relatives. especially her old aunt in Cincinnati might have passed over these religious beliefs of Mathilde In silence if they had not had so strong an Influence on the resolution which she had taken in regard to her second husband when she discovered that her first husband was still alive It had seemed to her that Larsan's death had been proved beyond the slightest doubt, and she had gone to her new husband as widow with the approval of her confessor. And now she learned that in the sight of heaven she was not a widow. but bigamist.
 Leaving the Darzacs. my eyes wan dered to the neighbor of Mime. Darzac, M. Arthur William Rance. when they were suddenly arrested by the buffers coming to say that Bernier, the con cierge. requested to speak to Roule- | tabille. My friend left the room.
 -WhatT I cried ''The Berniers are | no longer at the Glandier:"
 Readers of "The Mystery of the Tel | low Room" will recall that these Der niers-the man and his wife-were the | cDncierges of Nj. Stangerson at Ste | Genevieve des Bois. l have told how Roufetabill had had them set at Iib- | erty when they were accused RouIe- tabflle had been ever since the object | of their devotion As the Rances had | need of concierges for the Fort of Hercules. the professor had been glad | to send them his faithful domestics. of whom he had never had reison to com- plain except for one slight infraction of the game laws. which had turned out most unfortunately for them Now they were lodged in one of the towers of the postern. where they kept the gate
 The unexpected exit of Rouietabille sent chill to my heart and seemed to spread a general sensation of alarm throughout the company Mime. Oar zac was very restless. And because Mathilde showed herself to be dis turbed and nervous I fancied that Ar thur Rance thought that 1t behooved him to display some little anxiety. Arthur Rance and his wife were not aware of the whole of the unfortunate story. 1t had seemed useless to inform