The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1909-03-25
The Mystery OF
The Yellow Room
BY CASTOR LEROUX Il "" BY sRfNrANos

It 10y Mile. Stan@nr@"H craving room
Emit TO de- that / sH,t.j hay" 10 cross
her boudoir. and Wh.r | am there the
murderer may escape uy the gallery
soor, the door in from, II which | am
now standing.
Il am sure that 40 ler crime IS be
ing committed on this .t-ht, for there
Is complete silence .u The boudoir,
where two nurses ar" 'akins care of
Mile. |Sranerrsou unit she IS restored
10 health.
AS | am almost sur that the muir
dcrer is there, why dJ ! not at once
give the alarm? Ih' murderer may
perhaps escape. bu, perhaps / may he
able to save Mile. Sraugcr>"n'S life.
Suppose the murderer 0u tai, OCCASION
is not nero To murder Thu door has
been opened to allow aim H. .Nlcr-hy
whom: And it has i"an refaSl"ncd
by whom Mile. StanGrr,aH SHUTS her
self MP in her apartment with her
nurses every night. Who turned tht
key of that chamber ID allow tiIc mul
dcrcr to cntcrE The nurses, two faith
full domcstics: The old chJmbermaid
sylvia! 1t is very Improbable, BE.
sides. they slept in The boudoir, and
Nile. S~taugcrSon. very nervous and
careful. NJ. Robert Darzac told me,
sees to her own safety since she has
been well enough 10 pve about in her
room. which | hav" lot yet seen her
leave. This NERVOUSNESS and sudden
care on her part, which had struck
VI. DarZac, had given me also food for
thought. At the time Of the crime in
the yellow room there can be no doubt
that she expected the murderer. Was
he expected this night? Was it she
herself who had opened her door to
him? Had she some reason for do
ing so? Was she obliged to do it?
Was it a meeting for purposes Of
crime? Certainly it was not Il lovers
meeting, for | believe Mile. Stangcr-
son adores NJ. DarZac.
1T is possible that there was some
reason for the awful silence. My in
t%eryention might do more harm than
good. How could | tell? How could
| know l might not any moment cause
another crime II I could only see
and know without breaking that 81
lence.
II left the anteroom and descended
the central stairs to the yestibule and
as silently as possible made my way
to the little room on the ground floor
where Daddy Jacques had been sleep
ing since the attack made at the pa
vilion.
Il found him dressed, his eyes wide
open, almost haggard. lie did not
seem surprised to see ME. He told
me that he had got up because he had
heard the cry of the Bette du Bon Dieu
and because he had heard footsteps in
the park close TO his window, u of
which he had looked and just then
had seen a black shadow pass by. |
asked him whether he had a tirearm
Of any kind. No, he no longer kept
one since the examining magistrate
had taken his revolver from him. We
went out together by a little back
door into the park and stole along the
chateau to the point which is just be
low Mile. Stangerson's window.
Il placed Daddy Jacques against
the wall, ordering him not to stir
from the spot. while l, taking advan-
tage of a moment when the moon was
hidden by Il cloud. moved TO the front
Of the window out Of the patch o!
light which came from II, for the win
dow was half open. II | could only
know what Was passing In that silent
chamber. | returned to Daddy Jacques
and whispered the word ladder in his
ear. At first | had thought Of the
tree which a week ago served me for
an observatory. but Immediately saw
that from the way the window was
half opened | should not he able to see
from that point of view anything that
was passing in the room. and | want
ed not only to see, but to hear, and to
act.
Greatly a~Gitated. almost trembling,
Daddy jacques disappeared for Il mo.
ment aud returned without the ladder
but making signs 10 me with his arm
as slSHdlS 10 llH 10 come quickly IL
him. When I got near him he gasped
! Come.
HE led me round the chateau, past
the donjon. Arrived there, he said:
81 went 60 the donjon In search OF
my ladder. ard ~ the lower part Of the
donjon which serves me and the gar
dener for n lumber room I found the
door open and the ladder gone. On
coming cut that's what | caught sight
OF by the light of the moon
And he pointed To the farther end
OF the chateau. whore a ladder stood
resting against the stone brackets sup
porting the terrace, under the window
which l had found open. The projec.
ton Of the terrace had prevented my
seeing 1t. Thanks to that ladder. 1,
was quite easy to get into the of turn,
Ing gallery Of the first door. and I had
no doubt Of It having been the road
taken by the unknown.
I'VE ran to the ladder, but at the
moment of reaching it Daddy Jacques
drew my attention to the half open
door of the little semicircular room
situated under the terrace at he ex-