The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-08-19

III AuA4teAA%14 a 4t Dl4 ElAllDcIm a4l
Sylvia? II IS very improbable. Be
sides. they slept IN the bOudOir. and
Mne. Sranserson. very nervous and
careful. NJ Robert Darzac told me
sees 10 her own safety since she has
been well enough TO move about in he,
room, which I have not yet seen hei
leave. This nervousness and sudden
care on her part. which had struck
NJ Darzac, had given me also food foI
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 iti
Was it a meeting for purposes of
crime? Certainly it was not a lovers
meeting, for believe Mile. Stanger-
son adores NJ. Darzac.
at is possible that there was some
reason for the awful silence. My In
tervention might do more harm than
good How could l tell? How could
know might not any moment cause
another crime? II l could only see
and know without breaking that ST.
lence.
~ left the anteroom and descended
the central stairs to the vesubule 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. He 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, out of
which he had looked and just then
had seen a black shadow pass by. l
asked him whether he had firearm
Of any kind. No, he no longer kept
one since the examining magistrate
had taken his revolver from him. We
went out together by little back
door into the park and stole along the
chateau to the point which is just be-
low Mile. Stangerson's window.
II placed Daddy Jacques against
the wall, ordering him not to stir
from the spot, while l. taking advan-
tage of moment when the moon was
hidden by a cloud, moved to the front
Of the window out of the patch of
light which came from 1t, for the win
dow was half open If / 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 week ago served me for
IN observatory. but l Immediately saw
hat from the way the window was
half opened should not be able to see
rom that point of view anything that
vas passing in the room, and l want
ID not only to see, but to hear, and to
let
Greatly agitated, almost trembling
Daddy Jacques disappeared for mo- i
nent and returned without the ladder,
tut making signs to me with his arms
s signals to me to come quickly to |
i'm. When got near him he gasped,
Conner
HE led me round the chateau, past
be donjon. Arrived there, he said i
81 went to the donjon In search of /
~ ladder, and in the lower part of the {
onion which serves me and the gar
ener for a lumber room | found the s
DOR open and the ladder gone. On
oming out that's what caught sight '
by the light of the moon
"And he pointed to the farther end S
the chateau, where a ladder stood t
,sting against the stone brackets sup Il
)rting the terrace. under the window n
hich l had found open. The projec- L
on of the terrace had prevented my o
'eing 1t. Thanks to that ladder, it v
as quite easy to get into the off turn q
g gallery of the first floor, and had a
} doubt of 1t having beer the road o.
ken by the unknown. re
I'VE ran to the ladder, but at the lie
oment Of reaching it Daddy Jacques c
ew my attention to the half open n
'or of the little semicircular room
tuated under the terrace at the ex-' le
entity of the right wing of the cha
au, having the terrace for its roof. a
lddy Jacques pushed the door open 81
tie farther and looked in.
He's not therer he whispered.
''Who is not thereY
The forest keeper
With his lips once more to my ear
added:
DO you know that he has slept In al
3 upper room Of the donjon ever fo
ice it was restoredT And with the til
me gesture he pointed to the half In
on door. the ladder, the terrace and
! window in the off turning gal
Y, which a little while before l had &c
losed az
What were my thoughts then? / ce
! no time to think. felt more than ex
houeht tn
Evidently l felt If the forest keeper
up there in the chamber q say If 60
ause at this moment apart from !
presence of the ladder and his va all