The evening world., 1914-02-09

At the "Black sun" Inn.

SSsAAy SotnC' ana Oiten aHVoeosoie TO
The man was dressed IN Q drab
corduroy suit. Long legginss came "
to his knees. His shlrt collar was loose
and revealed neck like . bulls. A
soft hat which had lost all semblancs
OF color. was thrust back on his head,
showing . tangled mass Of thick red
hair.
The face WAS extraordinarily power
full and calm. The eyes contemplated
those present with . cool bored look.
And he went on to tho chlmney-placs
where the Mayor was standing:
Good evening, monsieur 10 MARE"
"Good evening. Hubert Vautr1n."
The man ordered and drank and paid
and walked back to the door with his
calm gait. On the Threshold he stopped
and turned:
I'm going back to my brothers" he
said. by the way. I've been to the
tunnel and seen the damage It's q
cursed BLACKBOARD who did that Job.
I shall tell Ellie and Simeon as mucn.
presently. What I cay IL, We shall have
70 ma the beggar who plays US these
tricks or life won't be worth living tor
decent men,
And no disappeared under the black
cavity Of the archway.
Tho room at once emptied. As
though the mans departure had re-
stored everybody. liberty Of nov ement:
and they all took advantage Of IL n
escape from Q place whore the visit
might be repeated At any time.
Roubion and his wife. assisted by
the servants, carefully locked the
doors-the door into the archway and
the door Of IRE ba''oom which open.
ed straight on the street.
No one remained IN the room except
young Patrice, to whom the landlord
and his wife had said good night.
Nevertheless. though he was alone. by
his billiard-table. he heard noise be-
side him. He perceived that some one
was undressing In the pantry.
The door between the two rooms
was closed. but a communication re-
mained in the form OF the little open
window Of the serving-hatch. And ne
at once recognised the voice OF the
comm rcial traveller. who. STOPPING
TO the opening. said:
Good niGht. NJ. Patrice. II you
want anything. you can call TO me
through here This IL rather like the
confessional box. isn't itr'
All these details were doomed TO be
Impressed upon Patrice's mind for all
time, though he did not suspect their
importance at the moment.
At that moment the two men ceased
talking. as though by q sudden accord.
And each OF them sat up In bed.
prickinx up his ears. Means came
from tho street.
zone would think they wero muir
dering somebody outside the door,
said Blondel.
Patrice. whose occupation was that
OF first clerk TO his father. a solicitor
IN the Rue lie rFScu at Clermont-Fer-
rand. had always been more or less
timid by nature. He shnddered as M
slipped down from his billiard-table.
with a choking throat and moist
forehead, he admired the courage of
Blondel. who walked IN to the door OF
the barroom that opened on the street
from which the means had come.
And suddenly they turned their
heads. The door OF the staircase lead
Ing to the upper floor opened. and Rou-
b!on appeared. carrying n revolver In
his hand.
"Did you hear" he asked In q
whisper.
yes"
"Thia Is exactly what happened In
the Lombard case. Lombard and his
old aunt had gone TO bed after boltins
all their doors and windows. as We
now do every evening at Saint Mar
tin. Lombard's bedroom and his aunt's
were both on the ground Moor. The
barber was sound asleep. when ne was
awakened by the old lady standing at
the foot OF his bed and whispering "a
him to listen to what was going on.
"A tt.ta ma /,
ing and lamenting In the street. II
sounded like dying means mixed with
little plaintive cries.
Lombard got up. NJ his candle. and
took his revolver from the drawer vi
the table by his bedside. You know
how careful we are at Snint-Martin;
and we are right 70 he. unfortunately.
The aunt whispered to Lombard.
Whatever you do. for Gods sake don't
open the door, Lombard. without
opening the door as yet, decided Ia
speak. who's thereT he asked. Who's
that crying" A voice answered: ITS
me, Zoe. Pity in the mans house"
what does that mean: PITY in the
mans house?" asked Blondel, inter-
rupting him.
"Oh, it's one Of Zoe Vautrin's express
sions. That chit lives like an animal
either in the hut with her BLACKBOARD
brothers, Hubert and Simeon and Ellie
who have terrorized this neighborhood
so long, or in tho forest. and as her
brothers always talk a dialect among
themselves. the result is that she
speaks language different from that
Of other people,"
80. You see. II was she" said Blon'
del. There's no mistake about It,"
wait! It was only half past ten,
In spite Of all that his aunt could say,
Lombard opened the door. He looked
out into the street. 1t was bright
Night. He saw nothing and was very
much astonished. The means had
stopped. Fearing a trap, he was care
full to keep on the threshold. called
Zoe. received no reply. closed his door
again very cautiously. and went back
to bed. saying. It's another hoax
There's no sleeping in peace these days
at Saint Martin des Bots! Next
morning they found him hanging
from the chandelier OF his shop.
They thought at nrst that II was q
case OF suicide: but DR.. Honorst and