Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-03-13
CHAPTER III. (Continued).

CHAPTER Ill. (Continued).
He did not speak a word and his
neighbors could not have stated at
what moment be had sat down be-
tween them. The friends Of Richard
and Moncharmin thought that this
skinny guest was an acquaintance OF
DEFICIENCIES or Poligny's, while De
bienne's and Poligny's friends be
lfeyed that the cadaveTous individual
belonged to Richard and Monchar-
MINIS party.
The result was that no request was
made for an explanation.
NM. Debfenne and Poligny, sitting
at the center of the table, had not
seen the man with the deaths head.
Suddenly he began to speak.
The baIIetgfrIs are right" he said
The death Of that poor Buquet is per
haps not SO natural as people think. -
Debienne and Poligny gave start
lis Buquet dead?" they cried.
Yes" replied the man, or the
shadow Of a man. quietly He was
found. this evening, hanging in the
third cellar, between a farmhouse and
a scene from the Roi de Lahore"
The two managers. or rather ex-
managers, at once rose and stared
strangely at the speaker. At last
Debienne made a sign to NM. Rich
ard and Moncharmin; Poligny NUT
tered a few words or excuse to the
guests; and all four went into the
managers office. | leave NJ. Mon
charmin to complete the story. In
his Memoirs. he says:
NM. Debienne and Pongny seemed
10 grow more and more excited. First,
they asked US il We knew the man,
sitting at the end of the table. who
had told them of the death Of Joseph
Ruuuet: and. when we answered in
the negative, they looked still more
concerned They took the master
KEYS from our hands. stared at them
for a moment and advised US to have
new locks made. with the greatest
secrecy, for the rooms. closets and
presses that we might wish to have
dramatically closed. They said this
50 TUnnilg that we began 10 laugh and
to ask II there were thieves at the
opera They replied that there was
something worse, which was the
ghost. They told US that they never
would have spoken to us of the ghost
If they had not received formal or
ders from the ghost himself to ask
us to be pleasant to him. They had
hcsitated to tell US this curious story,
which our skeptical minds were GER
taiuIy not prepared to entertain. But
he announcement of the death of 10,
seph Buquet had served them as a
brutal reminder that. whenever they
had disregarded the ghosts wishes,
some disastrous event had brought
them to a sense OF their dependence.
The joke became a little tedious
and Richard asked haH-seriously and
half in jest:
But. after all, what does this ghost
Of yours WANT
M. Poligny went 20 his desk and
returned with a copy of the mem
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
book ends with Clause IS, which says
that the privilege can be withdrawn If
the manager infringes the conditions
stipulated This is followed by the
conditions, which are four in number
The copy produced by NJ Poligny
was written in black ink and exactly
similar to that in our possession. ex-
cept that at the end, it contained a
paragraph in red ink and in a queer
handwriting, This paragraph ran as
follows:
IS. Or if the manager. in any
month. delay for more than a fort
night the payment OF the allowance
which he shall make to the opera
ghost of twenty thousand francs &
month
lis this all? Does he not want
anything elseT asked Richard, with
the greatest ccolness.
Yes. be does replied PoIigny.
Box Five on the grand tier shall
be placed at the disposal of the opera
ghost for every performances,
When We saw this. there was moth
fng else for US TO do but to rise from
our chairs. shake our two predeces
sors warmly by the hand and con
graduate them on thinking OF this
charming little joke. which proved
that the old French sense of humol
was never likely 10 become extinct.
aThereupou we all four left the of
nee. Richard and had never
laughed so much IN our lives.