Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-02-11


Rouletabille once more was right.
Eyes, yes," he said. 1--WE have to dc
with a thing of flesh and blood. who
uses the same means that we do. It'n
all come out on those lines"
Having said this, he asked me fol
the paper pattern Of the footprint
which he had given me to take care
of and applied it to a very clear foot
mark behind the thicket. "Ahar he
said, rising.
/ thought he was now going to trace
back the track of the murderer's foot
marks to the vestibule window, but he
led us instead far to the left, saying
that it was useless ferreting in the
road taken by the murderer.
HE went along the wall to the hedge
and dry ditch, over which he jumped
See, just in front of the little path
leading to the lake, that was his near,
est way to get out"
"How do you know he went to the
lake?"
Because Frederic Larsan has not
quilted the borders of it since this
morning. There must be some impor-
tant marks there"
A few minutes later we reached the
lake.
1t was little sheet of marshy wa.
ter, surrounded by reeds, on which
floated some dead water lily leaves
The great Fred may have seen us ap-
preaching but we probably interested
him very little. for he took hardly any
notice Of us and continued to be STIR
ring with his cane something which
we could not see.
"Lookv' said Rouletabille. "Here
again are the footmarks Of the escap-
ing man. They skirt the lake here and
finally disappear just before this path,
which leads to the high road to Epi-
nay. The man continued his fight to
Paris"
"What makes you think that?" /
asked, ''since these footmarks are not
continued on the path?'
"What makes me think that? Why,
these footprints, which I expected to
findv' he cried, pointing to the sharply
outlined imprint Of neat boot "Seew
And he called to Frederic Larsan.
an. Fred, these neat footprints seem
to have been made since the discovery
of the crime"
"Yes, young man, yes. They have
been carefully made" replied Fred
without raising his head. you see,
there are steps that come and steps
that go back"
"And the man had bicycle" cried
the reporter.
Here, after looking at the marks of
the bicycle, which followed, going and
coming the neat footprints, thought
I might intervene.
"The bicycle explains the disappear
ance of the murderer's big footprints"
I said. ''rhe murderer, with his rough
boots, mounted bicycle. His accom-
plice, the wearer of the neat boots,
had come to wait for him on the edge
Of the lake with the bicycle. 1t might
be supposed that the murderer was
working 10r the Otner.
mo, nor replied Rouletabille, with
strange smile. II have expected to
find these footmarks from the very
beginning. These are not the foot
marks Of the murderer"
"Then there were two"
mo; there was but one, and he had
no accomplice."
Every good! Very goodw cried Fred
eric Larsan.
"Look!" continued the young report
er, showing us the ground where it
had been disturbed by big and heavy
heels. '"The man seated himself
there and took off his hobnailed boots
which he had worn only for the pur-
pose Of misleading detection, and then
no doubt, taking them away with him,
he stood up in his own boots and
quietly and slowly regained the high
road, holding his bicycle In his hand,
for he could not venture to ride 1t on
this rough path. That accounts for
the lightness Of the impression made
by the wheels along 1t in spite Of the
softness of the ground. If there had
been a man on the bicycle the wheels
would have sunk deeply into the soil
No, no; there was but one man there
the murderer on foot"
Bravo! Bravop' cried Fred again.
And. coming suddenly toward us and
planting himself in front Of NJ. Rob
ert Darzac he said to him:
'If we had bicycle here we might
demonstrate the correctness of the
young mans reasoning, M. Robert
Darzac. Do you know whether there
is one at the chateauT
NO" replied NJ. Darzac, "there is
not. / took mine four days ago to
Paris, the last time 1 came to the
chateau before the crime"
"That's pity" replied Fred very
coldly. Then. turning to Rouletabille,
he said: "If we go on at this rate we'll
both come to the same conclusion. Have
you any idea as to how the murderer
got away from the yellow room?"
"Yes," said my young friend, 81