The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1909-01-28

"Dlu not the Tragedy Uhke place III
complete d~arknessi' he asked.
"No, young man.; | don't think so.
Mademoiselle always had a uiCNt light
on her table. and I lit It every evorI-
Ing before She went to bed. | was a
sort Of chambermaid, you must un-
derstand, when the evening came. The
real chambcrmaid did not come here
much before the morning. Made
molselle worked ~late-far into the
night"
where did the table with the night
light stand far from the bed
"SOme way from the bed"
Can you light the burner nowT'
"The lamp is broken and the oil that
was IN It was spilled when the table
was upset. All the rest Of the things
In the room remain Just as they Were.
| have only 10 open the blinds for you
to see"
wait"
Rouletabillc went back into the lab
Oratory, closed the shutters Of the
two windows and the door Of the YES.
Thule. Wien we were In complete
darkness he lit a wax vesta aud asked
Daddy Jacques to move TO the middle
Of the chamber with 1t TO the place
where the night light was burning
that night.
Daddy jacques. who was in his
stockings-hc usually left his sahotS
III the vcstihulc-cntered the yellow
room with his bit OF a vesta. w,
vaguely distinguished objects over
thrown on the floor. a bed in one cor
ncr and In front of us to the left the
CLEAN Of a looking glass hanging or
the wall near Ia the bed.
THAT will do. You may now open
the blinds" said Itouletabillc.
Don't come any farther" Daddy
Jacques begged. You may make
marks with your boots, and nothing
must be deranged. It's an idea Of the
magistrates. though he has nothing
more to do here
And he pushed open the shutter.
The pale daylight entered from with
out. throwing a sinister light on the
saffron colored walls. The floor-for
though the laboratory and the vesti.
bule were tiled the yellow room had a
flooring Of wood-was covered with a
single yellow mat which was large
enough to cover nearly the whole
room, under the bed and under the
dressing table. the only piece of furni-
ture that remained upright. The cen
ter round table. the night table and
two chairs had been overturned. These
did not prevent Il large stain of blood
being visible on the mat, made, as
Daddy Jacques Informed us, by the
blood which had flowed from the
wound ON Mile. Stangerson's forehead
Besides these stains drops of blood
had fallen In all directions. in line
with the visible traces Of the foot
steps, large and black, Of the murder
er. Everything led to the presumption
that these drops of blood had fallen
from the wound of the man who had
for a moment placed his red hand on
the wall. There were other traces Of
the same hand on the wall. but much
less distinct.
"See-scc this blood on the wallt |
could not help exclaiming. "rhe man
who pressed his hand so heavily npon
II In the darkness must certainly have
thought that he was pushing at a door
That's why he pressed on It SO hard,
leaving Oh the yellow paper the terri
BILE evidence. | dom think there are
many hands in the world Of that sort
1t Is big and strong. and the fingers
are nearly all one as long as the other
The thumb is wanting. and we have
only the mark OF the palm, but II We
follow the trace of the hand" I con
tnued. 1--WE see that after leaving It's
imprint on the wall the touch sought
the door. found II and then felt for the
lock"
"No doubt" interrupted Rouletabille.
chuckling. only there Is no blood
either on the lock or on the bolt"
"What does that proven l rejOined,
with a good sense Of which was
proud. HE might have opened the
lock with his left hand, which would
have been quite natural. his right hand
being wounded"
"He didn't open II at ALL" Daddy
| Jacques again exclaimed. I'VE are not
| fools, ani there were four Of MS when
we burst open the door"
"What n queer hand! Look what a
queer hand 1t is" l said.
ut Is n very natural hand" said
Rouletabille. "of which the shape has
been deformcd by It's having slipped
on the wall. The man dried Els hand
on the wall. He must be a man about
Eve feet eight in height"
"How do you come Mt that?'
by the height Of the marks on the
wall"
My friend next occupied himself
with the mark Of the bullet In the
wall. 1t was a round hole.
"This ball was fred straight. NO,
from above, and consequently not
from below"
---A