Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-05-01

to the Persian, after sitting down and
feeling his pulse:
you are now saved, both of you.
And soon I shall take you up to the
surface of the earth. TO please my .
wife"
Thereupon he rose, without any fur /
Their explanation, and disappeared /
once more
The Persian now looked at Chris |
tines quiet profile under the lamp. |
She was reading tiny book, with gilt /
edges, like a religious book. There |
are editions OF The Imitation that look |
like that The Persian still had in
his ears the natural tone in which the
other had said, Ito please my wife"
Very gently, he called her again; but
Christine was wrapped up in her
book and did not hear him.
Erik returned. mixed the daroga
draft and advised him not to speak to
his wife" again nor to any one, be-
cause it might be very dangerous to
everybody's health.
Eventually, the Persian fell asleep,
like NJ. de Chagny, and did not wake
until he was in his own room, nursed
by his faithful Darius, who told him
that, on the night before, he was
found propped against the Ioor OF his
fiat, where he had been Iught by
stranger, who rang the b before go
ing away.
AS soon as the daroga recovered his
strength and his wits, he sent TO
Count Philippe's house to inquire after
the viscounts health. The answer
was that the young man had not been
seen and that Count Philippe was
dead. His body was found on the
bank Of the opera lake, on the Rue
Scribe side. The Persian remembered
the requiem mass which he had heard
from behind the wall OF the torture
chamber, and had no doubt concern
ing the crime and the criminal.
Knowing Erik as he did, be easily re-
constructed the tragedy. Thinking
| that his brother had run away with
Christine Daae, Philippe had dashed
/ in pursuit of him along the Brussels
Road, where he knew that everything
was prepared for the elopement. Fail
ing TO find the pair, he hurried back
to the opera, remembered Raoul's
/ strange confidence about his fantastic
rival and learned that the viscount
had made every effort to enter the
cellars of the theater and that he had
disappeared, leaving his hat in the
! prima donna's dressing-room beside
4 an empty pistolcase. And the count,
! who no longer entertained any doubt
d Of IN 10
darted into that Internal underground
maze. This was enough, in the Per-
SLAMS eyes, to explain the discovery
OF Count de Chagnys corpse on the
shore of the lake, where the siren,
Erik's siren, kept watch.
The Persian did not hesitate He
determined to inform the police. Now
the case was in the hands of an ex-
aiming magistrate called Faure, an
incredulous, commonplace, superficial
sort of person q write as | think
with a mind utterly unprepared to re-
ceive a confidence Of this kind. NJ.
Faure took down the daroga's deposit
tons and proceeded to treat him as q
mailman.
Despairing OF ever obtaining a hear.
ing, the Persian sat down TO write
AS the police did not want his evil
dence, perhaps the press would be
glad of It; and he had just written
the last line OF the narrative / have
quoted IN the preceding chapters
; when Darius announced the visit OF a
stranger who refused his name. who
would not show his face and declared
simply that he did not intend to leave
the place until he had spoken to the
daroga.
The Persian at once felt who his
singular visitor was and ordered him
TO be shown in. The darogs was
right. 1t was the ghost, 1t was Erik!
, He looked extremely weak and
/, leaned against the wall, as though he
were afraid Of falling. Taking of his
hat. he revealed a forehead white as
, wax. The rest of the horrible face
, was hidden by the mask.
/, The Persian rose to his feet as EriE
entered.
, Murderer of Count Philippe, what
, have you done with his brother and
! Christine Daae?"
Erik staggered under this direct at
tack, kept silent for a moment
dragged himself 10 a chair and heavec
a deep sigh. Then. speaking in shorr
phrases and gasping for breath be
tween the words:
"Daroga, don't talk 70 me
about Count Philippe He
was dead . by the time
left my house he was dead
when the siren sang
II was an accident
sad very sac
accident. He fell very awk
wardly but simply and nat
urally into the lake, -
You lie," shouted the Persian.
, Erik bowed his head and said:
Il have not come here &c
talk about Count Philippe bu,
10 tell you that ! am going
Where are Raoul de Chagny and
Christine Daae?"
i am going TO die. :"
"RaOul de ChagDv and Cbryc.;,x