Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-04-20

And. now, be- OF. for + must go and
do some shoppingi"
To my intense establishment, things
happened as he had announced. Chris
tine Daee left the house on the lake
and returned to 1t several times, with
out. apparently, being forced to do so.
II was very difficult for me to clear |
my mind of Erik However. l resolved |
TO be extremely prudent, and did not |
make the mistake OF returning TO the |
shore of the lake, or of going by the /
Communists road. But the idea Oh ,
the secret entrance in the third cellar !
haunted me, and l repeatedly went
and waited for hours behind a scene
from the Roi de Lahore, which had
been left there for some reason or
other. At last my patience was re-
warded. One day. saw the monster
come toward me. on his knees. l was
certain that he could not see me. He
passed between the scene oenlnd
which l stood and a set piece, went
I to the wall and pressed on a spring
that moved a stone and Afforded MIN
an ingress. He passed through this,
/ and the stone closed behind him.
! l waited for at least thirty minutes
and then pressed the spring In my
turn. Everything happened as with
Erik. But l was careful not to go
through the hole myself, for l knew
that Erik was inside. On the other
hand. the idea that 1 might be caught
by Erik suddenly made me think OF
the death of Joseph Buquet. l did not
wish to jeopardize the advantages or
so great a discovery which might be
useful 10 many people, Ito a goodly
number of the human race" in Er1k
words; and l left the cellars OF the
opera after carefully replacing the
stone.
l continued to be greatly interested
IN the relations between Erik and
Christine Daae, not from any morbid
curiosity. but because of the terrible
thought which obsessed my mind that
Erik was capable of anything, if he
once discovered that he was not loved
for his own sake, as he imagined. |
continued to wander, very cautiously,
about the opera and soon learned the
truth about the monsters dreary love
affair
He filed Christines mind, through
the terror with which he inspired her,
but the dear child's heart belonged
wholly to the Vicomte Raoul de Chag-
ny. While they played about, like an
I innocent engaged couple, on the up
, per floors of the opera, to avoid the
, monster, they little suspected that
some one was watching over them.
; was prepared to do anything; to kill
, the monster, II necessary, and ex'
! plain to the police afterward. But
+ Erik did not show himself; and l felt
none the more comfortable for that
| must explain my whole plan.
, thought that the monster, being driven
from his house by jealousy, would
thus enable me to enter it, without
danger, through the passage in the
>, third cellar. II was important, for
: everybody's sake, that l should know
exactly what was inside. One day
tired of waiting for an opportunity
moved the stone and at once heard
an astounding music: the monste.
= was working at his Don Juan Tri
umphant. with every door in his
;, house wide open. l knew that this
: was the work of his life. | was care
:, full not to stir and remained pru
IDENTIFY in my dark hole.
He stopped playing, for a moment
= and began walking about his place
:, like a mailman. And he said aloud
,, at the top of his voice:
1t must be finished first. Quite
finished"
o This speech was not calculated t.
reassure me and, when the music
recommended, l closed the stone yer!
9 softly.
n On the day of the abduction o
:, Christine Daae, did not come to thu
\ theater until rather late in the eve
n ming. trembling lest l should hea
" bad news. | had spent horrible day
a for, after reading in a morning pape
the announcement of a Forthcoming
~ marriage between Christine and tn
Is Vicomte de Chagny, wondered
- whether. after all, | should not d.
. better and denounce the monster. Blu
>. reason returned to me, and l wa
persuaded that this action could onI.
% precipitate a possible catastrophe.
When r?y cab set me down befor
n the opera, | was really almost as
n tonished to see it still standing, Blu
am something OF fatalist, like al
u, good Orientals, and l entered read
20 for anything.
Christine Daae's abduction in tn
n. Prison Act, which naturally surprises
-s everybody, found me prepared. | wa
m quite certain that she had been jug
gled away by Erik, that prince O
h conjurors. And l thought positivel
N that this was the end OF Christin
ii
..CkDThEjT uInDNEn