The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1909-03-13
CHAPTER XVI.
Strange Phenomenon of the Dis
sociation of Matter.

anu once more L raise my
head above it. Through an
opening i'll the curtains, the arrange
ment of which has not been changed,
am ready to look, anxious to note the
position in which am going to find
the murderer, whether his back will
still be turned toward me, whether he
is still seated at the desk writing
But perhaps s-perhaps-he is no longer
there. Yet how could he have fled?
Was l not in possession of his ladder?
force myself to be cool. | raise my
head yet higher. look-he is still
there. see his monstrous back, de-
formed by the shadow thrown by the
candle. He is no longer writing now,
and the candle is on the parquet, over
which he is bending-a position which
serves my purpose.
II hold my breath. l mount the lad
der. am ON the uppermost rung of it
and with my left hand seize hold of
the window sill. In this moment of
approaching success feel my heart
beating wildly. put my revolver be-
tween my teeth. A quick spring and
l shall be ON the window ledge. But
the ladder! had been obliged to press
on 1t heavily, and my foot had scarcely
left it when l felt it swaying beneath
me. 1t grated on the wall and fell
But already my knees were touching
the window sill, and by movement
quick as lightning got ON to it.
But the murderer had been even
quicker than l had been. He had
wall, and l saw the monstrous back Of
the man raise itself. l saw his head.
Did l really see it? The candle on the
parquet lit up his legs only. Above
the height Of the table the cham
ber was In darkness. l saw q man
with long hair. full beard. wild look
ing eyes, pale face framed in large
whiskers as well as l could distin-
guish and as | think red in color.
did not know the face. That was, in
brief, the chief sensation | received
from that face in the dim half light in
which ! saw it. did not know it, or
at least did not recognize it.
Now for quick action. 1t was ill.,
deed time for that. for as was about
to place my legs through the window
the man had seen me. had bounded to
his feet, had sprung, as | foresaw he
would. to the door Of the antechamber,
had time to open it and fed. But
was already behind him, revolver in
hand, shouting, 'Help'
Like an arrow crossed the room,
but noticed letter on the table as
rushed. l almost came up with the
man In the anteroom, for he had lost
time In opening the door to the gal
lery. / few on wings and in the gal.
lery was but few feet behind him
He had taken. as supposed he would
the gallery ON his right-that Is to say
the road he had prepared for his flight
Help. Jacques; help, Larsan! cried
He could not escape us. raised a
shout of joy, of savage victory. The
man reached the intersection of the
two galleries hardly two seconds be
fore me for the meeting which had
prepared, the fatal shock which must
inevitably take place at that spot. We
all rushed to the crossing place-M
Stangerson and coming from one enc
Of the right gallery, Daddy Jacque:
coming from the other end of the gal
lery and Frederic Larsan coming from
the off turning gallery
"The man was not there!
I'VE looked at each other stupidly
and with eyes terrified. The man hat
vanished like a ghost. Where is he
where is her we all asked.
"Tt is impossible he can have es
capedr l cried. my terror mastered b!
my anger.
"T touched himv exclaimed Frederi'
Larsan.
"J felt his breath on my face! criet
Daddy Jacques.
"'Where is he. where is he? we al
cried.
"We raced like madmen along tn
two galleries We visited doors ant
windows. They were closed-hermetic
ally closed. They had not been opened
Besides, the opening of door or win
dow by this man whom we were hunt
ing without our having perceived
would have been more inexplicabl
than his disappearance.
"Where is be. where is he? ii
could not have got away by a door
a window nor by any other way. FL
could not have passed through ou
bodies!
81 confess that for the moment l fel
done for for the gallery was perfect
iy lighted, and there was neither ira
nor secret door in the walls nor an
sort OF hiding place. We moved tn
chairs and lifted the pictures. Moth
ing, nothing. We would have locke
into fiowerpot II there had been on
to look intow
When this mystery. thanks TO Roule
tabille. was naturally explained by th
help alone Of his masterful mind W
were able to realize that the murdere
had got away neither by a door. win
dow nor the stairs, a fact which tn
judges would not admit.