The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1910-09-02


confidence In me. would. in a word
make her understandable alone-thai
/ know how the murderer escaped
from the yellow room. that l have
guessed the motives for her secrecy
and that l pity her with all my heart
But by her gestures she begged US to
leave her alone. expressing WEAKNESS
and the need for immediate rest. NJ.
Stangerson asked us to go back TO our
rooms and thanked US. Frederic Lar
san and / bowed to him, and. followed
by Daddy Jacques. we regained the
gallery. ! heard Larsan murmur:
Strange! Stranger lie made a sign
to me to 60 with him into his room.
On the threshold he turned toward
Daddy Jacques
ibid you see him distinctly he
asked.
"eWhoY
"@The man.
"'Saw him! Why. he had big red
beard and red hair
"'Thats how be appeared to me-
said
2Au0 W AlCy bdld 1SeA oflu
THE great Fred and | were alone
IN his chamber now to talk over this
thing. We talked for an hour, turn
ing the matter over and viewing 1t
from every side. From the questions
put by him, from the explanation
which he gives me, it is clear to me
that in spite of all our senses he is
persuaded the man disappeared by
some secret passage in the chateau
known to him alone.
"'He knows the chateau he said to
me; he knows 1t wells
"'He IL a rather tail man, well
built suggested
"'He is as tall as he wants to be,
murmured Fred.
az understand said. But how do
you account for his red hair and
beardY
"'Too much beard. too much hair
false says Fred.
"'That's easily said. You are al
ways thinking of Robert Darzac. You
can't get rid of that idea! l am GER
tain that he is innocent
$50 much the better | hope so.
but everything condemns him. Did
you notice the marks on the carpet?
Come and look at them
~ have seen them. They are the
marks of the neat boots the same as
those we saw on the border of the
lake
"'Can you deny that they belong to
Robert DarzacY
"sOf course one may be mistaken
"'Have you noticed that those foot
prints only go in one direction, that
there are no return marks? When the |
man came from the chamber, pursued |
by all of us, his footsteps left no traces |
behind them
"'He had perhaps been in the cham /
Der for hours The mud from his boots /
had dried and he moved with such I
rapidity on the points of his toes. We
saw him running. but we did not hear
his steps.
81 suddenly put an end to this idle
chatter, void of any logic. and made
sign to Larsan 10 listen.
There below, some one is shutting
Q door,
II rise. Larsan follows me. We
descend to the ground floor of the
chateau. lead him to the little semi
circular room under the terrace be-
meath the window of the off turning
gallery | point to the door, now
closed open a short time before, under
which shaft of light is visible.
"The forest keeper! says Fred. Il
"'Come on? whisper.
prepared, know not why, to be-
Glgve that the keeper is the guilty man
I go to the door and rap smartly on 1T.
"Gome might think that we were
rather late In thinking of the keeper,
since our first business, after having
found that the murderer had escaped {
NJ in the gallery, ought to have been .
10 search everywhere else-around the 1
chateau, in the park Z
"Had this criticism been made at the 4
Iame we could only have answered that I
ne assassin had disappeared from the 8
gallery in such a way that we thought
he was no longer anywhere! He had 3
.luded us when we all had our hands n
stretched out ready to seize him v
when we were almost touching him I
We had no longer any ground for hop :
ng that we could clear up the mys-
cry of that night
AS soon ms raped at the door 1t
vas opened, and the keeper asked us +
luietly what we wanted. He was un-
lressed and preparing to go to bed
rhe bed had not yet been disturbed |
'We entered and affected surprise. :
"'Not gone to bed YETI
"No.' he replied roughly. nave
zen making a round of the park and
D the woods. am only just back I
nd sleepy Good nlghtP M
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