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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1910)
THE MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREG ON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY .12, ,1910. ! THF PFRFIIHF (IF j; THE LADY IN BLACK Ily GASTON LKUOU.V, Aullior of "Tlio Mystery of llio Yellow Hoom." j Copyright, 1000, by Bretnno's CHAPTER IX. The Creepy Luncheon nnd Invisible Guest. I1E day almost from the rlslm i or tue sun was lutuieruuiy not. I I nnd the hours on guard won- n I most overpowering. At U o'clock I came down from my room nnd went to the postern nnd entered the room which we had styled "the hall of council" to rellera Houleta bltle of his guard. Darzac appeared, announcing that he bad tsorncthtng Important to communicate. II o said that he intended to quit the Fort of Hercules at oucc. taking hla wife with him. This declaration left Iloulcta bllle and myself dumb with surprise. Mme. Edith had had a nervous attack. We understood the reasou at once, .lor Zr ZiZhZ , V fST there was uo doubt In the mind of Increasing every hour and that each of courtesy performed by the bus ied toward the former object of hla i admiration was positively Insupporta We to bis wife. ulctabillC- implored Dareac to cu- i dure the situation. lie assured htm that be agreed with his feeling that the stay of himself and Mme. Darzac -.Jl'l.be.ipn-df brleft our U&l lhs ?e- j purity of both depended on their rfr-' tnnlnlng in their present quarters for the time being, If they were to go , away tarsan would know on the mo- . - 'zx&ek how to overtake them and when ; they eipected him, the least. " Here i -they were forewarned, they were upon their guard, for they knew. Elsewhere , they would be at the mercy of every person that surrounded them, for they would not hnve the Kort of. llercules to defend them. Certainly this sltua- , tlon could uot endure very long, but Itouletabllle asked M. Darzac to wait , eight days longer, not a single one ; more. j Darzac left us. shaking bis head ' doubtfully. He was angrier than we j had ever seen him. Itouletabllle re marked: "Mme, Durzac will not leave us, and 31. Darzac. will stay if she does." And be started off on bis rouudx. A few moments lator 1 caught sight of Mme. Edltb. Sue sunled ut me coquettishly, but her gayety seemed a little forced as she jested at my "new trade." I answered her that she was uncharitable in ber Jests because she knew that all the trouble we were taking might be the means at any mo ment of saving the sweetest of wo men from untold misery. She cried with a sharp laugh: "Oh. surely! The Lady in Black!' She bus you all uuder her spell." "Perhaps there is u little truth In that speech." I returned. "My husband is crazy about ber!" And she turned upon me that samo curious look which had disturbed me before. "Aud therefore." she continued. "I lake very groat pleasure in the conver sation of Prince Galltcb. who is more romantic than all tbe rest of you put together." asked ber who was this Prlnca Galltcb of whom i had heard so , much. Shu told me that be was com . lug to luncheon, and she gave me a sw particulars lu regard to him from . nvhlch I learned that Prince Galltcb. vtaa one of the richest landholders In Lis own part of Itussla. IIo was called u hermit, a miser and a poet. He had Inherited from his fa ther a high positlou at court. lie was a chamberlain to bis majesty, aud on account of tbe immense services ren dered by the parent tbe emperor was supposed to regard the son with a great deal of affection. I cannot tell why, but I felt a sin gular antipathy for the prince without ever bavins set eyes on him. Ills relations with the itances were those of friendly ueighborllness. Hav ing purchased two years before tho magnificent property whose hanging gardens, tlowery terraces and beauti ful balconies bad made It known at Caravan as "the Garden of Babylon." Le bad bad the opportunity to be of ltnnn to R.11tli when nh hnil h. I gun to make the outer court of the Chateau of Hercules into an exotic garden. lie had presented ber with certain tropical plants. M. Itauce sometimes invited the prince to din ner, and always after ono of these functions the prince would send to bis hostess n wonderful palm tree from Nineveh or u cactus fabled to have be longed to Semlramls. Edith said that uue was interested in th young Bus Elan because lie dedicated such beau tiful verses to her. After he had re pouted them in Itusslan bo would translate them into English, and he bad even composed them In English i for her, and for her alone. Verses tbe verses of a real poet dedicated to Mine. Edith! The prfneo kept no car tiago nor motorcar. lie used the . street cars aud often did his own mar kctlng, attended by his servant. Ivan, who carried u basket for the provi sions, Strangely enough, this avari e "did Zt nmtn m v u v . . ' distasteful to Mmn Rrtlth. who an. ncarcd to consider It a mark of origl nnllty. And she finished by saying: "No one has ever set foot within liW doors, He -has never efen invited us to come nnd nee his gurdens. Isn't It ! beautifully fnsoltinllnKT ! Mine. Edith turned away, nnd 1 fin ished my guard duty, The first stroke of the luncheon bell j sounded. 1 hurried to my room to i make hnsty toilet, but 1 paued hi , the vestibule, ntunscd to hear the sound of music. Who, tinder the prvs cat clrcutnstauces, enred or dnrod to piny n piano In the Fort of Hercules? ' And, hark: Some one was singing. It 1 was n voice nt once soft nnd sonorous ' singing n strange song which sounded I now plaintive, now threatening. ; 1 opened the door nnd found myself face to face with a young man who was standing, t heard the footstep! of Mmc, Itnnee behind me, aud the next moment she was Introducing me to Prince Gnlltch. The prince was of the type that one reads of lu romances "n handsome, i pensive young mnn." ills clenrcut and rather stern protlle might hnve given a somewhat sovere expression to hla face If bis eyes, as mild and clear as those of a child and with nn expres sion of perfect candor, had not told nn altogether different story. I could find nothing to say to this beautiful youth who chanted foreign poems. Mmc. Edith took my arm' and led mo nwny to walk In the perfumed gardens of the outer court while we waited for the second bell for luncheon. At noon we seated ourselves nt Uio table. Those of us at the table, all wearing smoked glasses ou account of the sun's glare, were AL fitnugerson. Mnthllde, Old Bob. Dftrxac. Arthur Knncc. Edith. 'Mll'. Mnco nd niy - -olf. Rou.etabl.le d plnced himself in such a position t?ai be could ob serve everything along Jho entire length of the fort. The semmts were at their posts. Pore Jacques Wis nt TWO EYES WERE FIXED UPON ME WEIGHING UPON ME. 1 i the entrance gate. .Mnttoni at the pos- I the right, nor the left, nor In front. ex I tern of the gardener anil the Bernlera I cept the people who were seated nt ( In the uminrr tower before thp door the table, motionless, behind their dark t of the apartments occupied by tbe Prince Galltcb wan the first to make a remark, lie spoke politely to Itoule tabllle. menilonlup the fame which the young reporter had won. This ap peared to embarrass him. and he made a confused reply. The prluce went on to explain that he was particularly In terested In the exploits of my friend for tbe reason that a a subject of tbe czar he knew that Itouletabllle would h , be nuiw be )e1 uoM Dad I been decided, whereupon the prince astonished us by drawing from his 'pocket a Journal of his own country announcing tbe fact that Itouletabllle I was soou to be In St. Petersburg, i There was occurring in that city, the 'prince read, a series of events bo j Inexplicable In governmental circles 1 that the superintendent of police had ' decided to ask the fcpocb to lend him 1 the young reporter. Itouletabllle re- plied dryly that be had never In the , course of his short life done detective j work and that the superintendent of , pollco at St. PetersUurg was an Idiot. ; Mme. Edith arose from ber chair, j speaking ecstatically of the beauty of .nature. But. in her opinion, she de clared, there was nothing more beau tiful anywhere near than tbe Gardens u ujiuu. ou auura uiwcuif vuuaiy. M rl.i..i... n I. .. .Jt.t.i I i. -.-. BcenJ 80 rau,c" mo beautiful because one may only see them from a distance!" The prince said nothing. Mme. Edltb looked vexed and a moment later said suddenly: "I'm not going to deceive you any longer, prince. 1 have seen your gar dens." "Indeed!'' Inquired Galltcb, "I'll tell you all about It." And she relnted, while the prince lis tened with un air of cold imperturb ability, the story of ber visit to tho Gardens of Babylon. She had come upon then, inadvert ently from the rear In climbing over a , hillock which separated the gardens ! from the mountains. She bad wan dered from enchantment to enchant ment, but without being in the least astonished. I The prince had scarcely time to re ply before Walter, Old Bob's servant, !'TtC" ,t0 , ltototeW 'P t w. nltnii nu fn1 luiPntlofifnil rt nnnn l "u -v t , w,,-.. .. nnd read aloud: Keturn as loon as poislble. waiting for you very anxiously, Wo aro A mas- nlnccnt aailgpmeit at St. i'oteriburg This dispatch was signed by the cdl tor in bleof the lipoch. "Well, what do you say to that, M. llouletnbllle?" demanded the prince. "1 shnll not go to St. Petersburg!" declared Houletnbllloi "They will regret your decision nt the court." said the prince. "I am cer tain of that, and allow me to say. yoiinp man. that you are missing n wonderful opportunity." , Itouletnhllle opened his Hps na though , to answer, but closed them again. Ga lltch went om "You would have found nn adventure worthy of your skill. One may hope (or cverythlug when one has been , strong enough to unmask n Ijirsan!" The won! foil Into the midst of us like a bombshell, nnd, as If by n com mon Impulse, we took refuge behind our smoked glasses. The silence which followed wits horrible. Larsan! Why should this name which we ourselves i had so often pronounced within the Inst forty-eight hours and which rep resented a danger with which we wore :ommenclng to almost feel familiar cause Indefinable terror to creep through our bodies? The unbroken si lence on every hnud contributed lu In crease nn Indescribable state of hypuo- i sis. Where had.Uld Bob's gayety vanish- ed? And why did all the others sit no silent nnd so motionless leliltul their dark glasses? AU nt once I turned m f head and looked behind me. Then I tin dorstood. more by Instinct than any thing else, thnt I was the object of n common psychical nttractton. someone 1 ' was looklug at me Two eyes were : thted upon me-welghlng upon mo, could not see the eyes, nnd . did i not know from where the glance tlxed upon me came, but It was there. I knew It and it was his glance. Bui there was no one behind me, nor at glasses. And then-then I knew thnt j behind a pnlr of those glasses ah. the dark glasses tbe dark glasses behind which were hidden Larsnn's eyes! And then, all at once, the sensation passed. Tbe eyes doubtless were turned away from ran. I drew n long breath. Another sigh, echoed my own Was It from the breast of itouletabllle was it the Lady In Black, who per haps, bad at tbe same tlmo as myself endured the weight of those piercing eyes? Old Bob spoke: "Prince, I do not believe that your last spinal bono goes any further back than the middle of the quartcrnary nerlod." And -all the black spectnclcs turned, in Jls direction. I Itouletabllle arose and made a sign to me. I hastened to the council room, where he waswalt!ng for me. "Well, did yon feel It too'" t I felt smothered. I could scarcely articulate. "ne.wns there at- thnt table unless we are going mad," There wan a pause, nnd then I re stinied more calmly: Vou know, Itouletabllle. thnt It Uizac. He arrived at Memou'u Just lu quite possible that we are going mm! This phantasm of Lnrsau will land us all In a madhouse yet! We have been shut up here only two days, and see "the state we are in!" All Tn a moment be soomed to grow perfectly calm. "Let us reason It nut. Do not look for Larsnn lu that place where he re veals himself. HeeJc for him orery where else except whero bo 'bldes him self." He seated himself, placed his pipe on the table, burled bis face in his hands and said: "Now I hnve no eyes. Tell me. Sin clair who is within those walls'" "There is. first of all, you nnd I." "Very well." "Neither of us," I continued, "Is Larsan." "Why?" "Why?" I echoed, "Yes, why. Tell me. You must give a rensou why you bellovo bo. I ac knowledge that I am not Larsan. I am sure of that, for I am Iloulet'ubllle: but. face to face wltb Itouletabllle, tell me why you cannot be LarHun neither you, nor Stungersou, nor M. Darzac, nor Arthur Banco, nor Old Bob, nor Prluc'e Gulltch, But wo must know some good reason why each of theso Instantaneous Gas Lights 211 W. Main J. W. Baker vs. Home Made Bread Wo have home-made bread. Which would you rather eat, home-made or bakers'? A foolish question to ask, for most people would be willing to pay twice tho price for home-made bread they pay for baker's, but you can buy tho good old-fashioned home made bread at the Rex Grocery for tho samo prico as baker's. Large, well browned loaves, both nourishing nnd palatable, and baked from the best flour in tho city. "Yakima Best," Take a lonf home with you nnd bo con vinced. Rex Grocery Co. cannot be I.urxan. Only when that Is accomplished shall I be able to breathe freely behind these stone walls!" "How about, the HorvnntxV" I asked. "I am ab.toluiely eertnlu that none of them was absent from the Kort of e when Ijtrsnn appeared to Mme. Darzac mid to M. Darzac at the railway station nt Bourg." "Own up, llouletiibllle." I cried, "that you don't i rouble yourself about them becnuxe none of their eyw were behind the black spectacles." "Be quiet, please, you make nii more ucrvoux t tin ti my mother."- This phraxe, uttered lu vexation, struck me strangely. Ho resumed meditatively: "I'lrat. Salnclalr Is not Ijirxau be cause anlnclalr'wnH at Trepot with me while Lnrsnn was at Bourg. "Second. Professor Stangerson Is not Ijirsan beatise he wan ou IiIh way from DIJou to Uyotm while Ijirsau was I at Bourg. As a fact, reaching Lyons ono mliiute before him. M. and Mine, Darzac saw him alight from tho train "But all the others. If It In neces sary to prove that they were not at Bourg at that moment, might be Lar san, for all of them might have been at Bourg." "First, M. Darzac was thero. Arthur Batice was away from homo during the two dnys which pfocodod tbe ar rival of the professor aud of Dar- tlmo to receive them (Mme. Edith her self informed me in reply to a few careless questions of mino that hor husband had been aUwut those two days on business). Old Bob mado tils Journey to Paris. Prtuco Uailtch was not Hvcn at tbe grotto nor outside' tho Gardens of Babylon. "First, lot us take Darzac." "Kouleta bllle," cried, "that la sac rilege! It is stupid!" "I know it! But why?" "Because." I exclaimed, almost be sldo mysolf, "Ijirsnn Is genius, wo nro awnre; ho might be abliTto de ceive a detective, a Journalist, a re porter, and even n itoulotablllo; ho might even deroivo a friend under somo circumstances', 1 admit. But he could never deceive n daughter so far that she would Uiko him for her father. That ought to reassure you as to M. BtaiiKerHou. Nor would ho doceivo ij woman to tho point of ink ing him for her betVothod. Aud, my friend. Mnthllde Stangerson knew M. Darzac and threw hersolf .Into his Kr.nw nt tlje railway station." "And she know Larsan, too," added Houlctabllle coldly. "I prefer rather to bastow, for the ' pwsimn, a pcreonallty on prase which 1 have never Whitney Phone 1082 1 i expecleVl to rasten tqwii him In o"rdir to bnso my argument against llicpoH nihility a little more solidly, if Bob ert Darzac were Ijtrsati, Lnrsnu would not have appeared ou sereral occa sions to Mnthllde Stnngerson, for It Is , tho apparition of Uirsiin that has cre ated a gulf between Matlillilo Htnnger sou and Bobert Darzac." "Pshaw!" I cried. "Of wlwt uso aro such vain reasonings when ono hr.s j only to open his eyes?" " "Upon whom?" he asked bitterly. , "Princo Galltcb the prliwco from tho ' Black Ijinds." "Prince Galltcb Is a nihilist, and 1 am not troubled over him in tho least degree. BoruWr'a wife told mo she j knows ono of threo old women whom Mme. Edith saw lu his grounds. I have ; made an Investigation. She Is tho ' mother of oue of the three men hniig ed at Kazan for the attempted nssnssl-, nation of tho emperor. 1 have scon tho photograph of tlw poor wrutclu, The other two old womou nro the i other two mothers." ( "And Old Bob?" I asked. "No. dear Imy. no!" scoffed Bouletn- j bllle, almost angrily, "Not ho either. You hnvo noticed that ho wears a wig, 1 suppixie. Well. I assure you that when my father wears u wig It will lit him." . (To be continuod.) EOZHMA LODGBS IN Till HKIN Not a Mood Disease Cured by OB of WtaterfrerM Componad. For BAiy years wema was sup posed to be a blood disease and was orrouaeously treated as susli, but lov tho best autkorltles ogre that ecEema Is only a skin disease and Biuot bt oured througk the skin, Ths emlaeat skin specialist, Dr. D. D. Denalu, first discovered the easoma germ and his discovery was quickly taken up In both Germany and Frasac. s To kill tbe eczema germ and at tho same time hal the skin, Dr. Denalu compound oil of wlntorgreen, thymol, glycerine, etc. Tho romedy i sa liquid, nrit a mar salve, henoe It sinks right Into the poros of tho skin. Washing with this 'oil of win tergraen compound seems to tako tho itch away at on; soon tho uouUh drop away and the dlseaee disap pears. The presorJptlon has now been used so loag as to pavo proven Its absolute merit aad we do not hes itate to express our confidence la D. D, D, Presorlptloa,, For sale by Medford Pbarmaey, THE ROGUE RIVER LANft COMPANY NO. 11 NORTH CENTRAL AVENUE Offers mi eBpccinlly good foothill orchard for u low price mid on good lormu. In these dayn of advancing prieea, it will pay to look into this. It pays to deal with the "Mnn Who Knows." When the Koguo ttivor Land Company sold the Tronson & Guthrie orchard nt JOaglo Point to the prizo winning owners, four years ago, the salesman, W. M. Holmes, assured tho purchasers those Spitzenbergtrees would produce tho world's best apples, and subsequent events prove tho soundness of his judgment. By tho way: Did it evor occur to you that most of tho men who have won out in tho Rogue River Valley, bought their win ning orchards through tho Rogue Rivor Land Com pany 1 W. M. Holmes, Manager, is always at your sorvico for n good buy, m ! There's a Reason Why the custom of the Rex Market is growing. The reason is worth in vestigating and a trial order will explain the reason. fRex Market Huth ft Pech Props. Phone 3271 Best Groceries At Prices Strictly in Keeping with the Quality of Our Stock which is Unexcelled A Trial will Convince You Allen The Square RIAL ESTATE Farm Land Timber Laud Orchard Land Residences City Lots Orchards and Mining Claims Medford Room 10, JBGkson Reagan Deal Grocers Realty Co County Bank Building I V