IIOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
19
IIOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL.
The Secret of the Night By Gaston Leroux
. -..!- iMHIf.l). ll .NOIKI) I'ltUXCIt AtrrlKllt.
or nimious chap-
u tinttnbll . oaten
J''K'hc a u.tr-elhe olrj;
2S&,VX,SlK.I,!fi.?
inie ".'..( fttltlifu menus.
" ". flflweri on hl al"''- It
I tim ' ''Vhiiiitdani Trebiaaof,
M w' iK .i.tJctho i-arm llit
Pi. IX Io' i i'lh Uorl. but
litis" ''",. "friendly JV hi
'" ' ill learna flu "Cot "',,?
X"V wrribl nlRlitmnrr; that
!"Tjlnccd by Iho aged "
rtl
. . , t.A nnltilrtl tn fl
W'K-on the', able bCS.dO
W him stilt half f' ' oporlfo
i-wllh which ho moistened his
hSuma he troko: wlUi thootliop
'rrf th. per.plrMlon from
,? f.c Mtrena 1'etrov.ia stayed
Wi Tnr r him. uiMenljr ovcrpow-
. lie Met that ha might discover
I'M. omone there behind the
11 V had aeen and heard tho sleep
TdlSlTXaofl Ah. If ho learned
,' thine we- over Bho might
lt,, :'..!,. should die.
IITJW"-' - . ,.., ui to irlvo
Bjr n.b re.; breathe... Whnl
M,.'m. Io understood now the
o Iho wner-r. friend, when
X had mnir In her low. sweet
IZ Oooi.nlihl. May your eye. hav.
".from tears and "" "cnt5r
wi or-brosac.!." Tho friends
ffl'ti Slnlf 'been made aware by Ma
mS Miloai talking, of the gen
Si I "omonla. and they could no
ii their tears as they intoned
SCpoVtlo with of charming Na
& -All the .nine." thought Houle
Skill "no one cnuhl Imnglno what I
lit i iuit en. They mo not dead
hrVerrone. In the world, the youth.
ifMoicbv. and every night I know
, . thtmber where In the clow of
ttVilcht lamp they rlsc-thoy rise
,t rliel" and tho younir man frnnk
lr tiWelf regretted to Imvo Intruded
riere he waa; to have penetrated.
Urtier unintentionally, Into on nf
Wr which, aflcr all, concerned only
ttVmanj dead and tho ono UvInB.
mrhid h coma '" '"' nllnelr be-
tieea tn oeaa anu wc uimh "
i,Mt uld to him! "Tho living lins
im hli whole heroic duty," but tho
ul, whit ehe was It that they had
Ah, noultlallltc cursed hi. curlon
117, for he law It now It vn the
it&t to approach tho mystery re
iuW hr Kouprlnne and to ponctrate
ttct more, through all tho besetting
ktiui, an' aitoundlnrr ana pernaii.
tcMlroui enigma, that hnil brought
tin l the IhrcMioId of tho datcha des
Iila which had placed him In the
ttratllnf hands of Matrcnn I'otrovna
b promlflng her his help. Mo had
ilovn pity, certainly, pity foe tho do-
llriou dlitrcis of that heroic woman.
Bit there had been tnoro curiosity
tUi pllr In his motlvei. And now
It ntit pay, becauia It was too late
to to withdraw, to say casually, "1
rah my hand of It." Ho had sent
mjrihe police and ho nlonc remained
between the general und tho vcnccance
ifthedeidl Ho might desort. pcrhnns.
Ttit one Idea brought him to lilmsolf,
Kited hli iplrIL Circumstances had
trot!lt him Into u camp that ho must
MtnJ at any coat, miles, ho was
afraid!
The teneral alcpt now, or, nt least,
tlth eyelids closed Hlmiilated sleep,
'nbtleu In order to reassure iioor
"'"'la. ho, on her Juices bcsldo his
fulor, bad retained tho hand of her
terrible huiband In Imr in nimriu.
At toie and rejoined Itouletablllo In
lr ehimbcr. bho took him then to
i U gueat chamber, where she
tfted him to get somo sleep. Ho re-
Piled that it Ml hA mhn n..l.,l .
But HlUtcd still by what had Just
upptntd, ahe babbled:
3,noJ.'tUr uc1' "cn l would
"I nlthtmarS mvaolf na ...Alt At.
HilmM,"uU APPwlHnifl Appalllngl
...?. nl!;'Mlcu. It la tho socrct of
Bijht, The poor man! Toor tin-
s?.rk.rnl .n cnn,,ot tcar hi
btJ.n",!irAU,v.p!!nlf1",nen, thla trane-
r,?..Lh"t,lU!?'nron )a brain and
ifiii . 2". n,Knt lons ,n flPle
ir.i?, Ic.l' and h0 Ba' over and over
VohaVwm Ti, i .i-i?r..duJLhp
W"f 1. onouih to wr
u.U.V."" fro-m one8 hody that
" ifc ?knuip.,.f a """-who him
,"i nu killed IIia vmrn.
5atSSi,i0 .Wrl., such ves and
w tranalato them Into lovely
pootlo French for her album. It Is
hard to nccount for uhat thej do now
adays, to our misery,"
She ceased, for Just tlicn they heard
tho floor cicalc ttmlcr n HiCJt ,ov.n.
stairs. Houletablllo stopped Mntirnn
short nnd diew his revolver. Ho wished
to creep down nlono, but lio lind not
time. Aa the door creaked a second
time, Mntrona's nnRUlihed voice called
down tho stnlrcnso In Uusglan, "Who is
thcro?" and Immediately tho calm
volea of Nataclia aliswcml something'
In tho eamf luntnintrc. Then Mntionn,
trombllnir more nnd moro, and vciy
much excited, keeping steRdlly to tho
same plnco ns though nlie had been
nulled to the step of tho stairway, snld
In Kronen, "Yes, nil In wU; jour father
Is resting-. Good nlslit, Natacha." Thty
hcaid Nntncha's step cross the drawing-room
nnd the slttlnp-rooni. Thou
tho door of her chamber'" cloied. Ma
trcnn and Houlottibllln descended, hold
Inff thtlr hioath. They reached the
dlnlimroom and Malrenn plned her
dark-lantern on tho nofa uimm iim
Qcnural Hluajs reclined. Tho sofa ai
In Its itstml placo on tho carpet. 8ha
pushed II back and raised the cat pet,
laying the floor bare. Then he cot
onto her lineos and examined the floor
ininiiioiy, uno rose, wiping the par
splrntlon from her brow, put the car
pet back In place, adjusted the. sofa
and dropped upon ft with a great sigh.
"Well?" demnnded Itouletablllo.
"Nothing nt all," said she,
"Why did you call so openly?"
"Hccauso there wns no doubt that It
could only bo my stepdaughter on the
ground floor nt that hour."
"And why this anxiety to examine
tho floor agnin?"
"I entreat you, my dear llttlo child,
do not see In my nets anything mys
terious, anything hard to explain That
anxiety yon speak of never leaves me.
Whenever 1 have the cbanco I examine
mo nooring."
".Madame," demanded the young man,
"what wu your daughter doing In this
room?''
"8ho enmo for a glass of mineral
water: the bottlo 1. still on the table."
"Madame, It Is necessary that you
toll mo precisely what Kouprlanc has
omy uinicu 10 me, unless I am entirely
mistaken. Tho first time that you
thought to examlno the floor, was It
after you henrd a nolso on the ground
floor such us ban Just happened?''
"Yes, I ulll toll you all that Is nc
essaiy. It Ri the night after the at
tempt With the bououet. mv lrnr llltln
monsieur, my dear llttlo domovol; It
ccmcci io mo i neai i a nolso on the
ground floor. I hurried downstairs
and paw nothing suspicious Rt first.
Kvorythlng wns shut tight. 1 opened
tho door of Natnchn's chamber softly.
I wlsbed to ask her If tiho had heard
anything. Dut dlie v. an so fast asleep
that I had not tho heart to awaken
her. 1 opened tho door of tho veianda,
nnd all the police nil, you understand
slept soundly. I took another turn
around thn furniture, and, with my
lantern In my hand, I was Just going
out of the dining-room when I noticed
that the carpet on the floor was dis
arranged nt one corner. I got down
and my hand sttuck a great fold of
carpet nc;ir the General's sofa. You
would have .aid that tho sofa had been
rolled carelessly, trying to replace It
In the position It usually occupied.
Prompted by n sinister presentiment, I
pushed awuy the nofa and I lifted tho
carpet. At first glanco I saw nothing,
but when I examined things closer I
flaw that n Btilp of wood did not He
well with the others on tho floor. With
a knife I wns ablo to lift that strip
and I found that two nails which had
fastened It to tho beam below had
been freshly pulled out. It wa Just
so I could raise the end of the board a
llttlo without being able to slip my
hand tinder. To lift it any more would
s
ow
he necessary to mil t lenst half-a-
-ii nam. wnat could it mean? Wa
terriMlfni'"' 0f "'""vcrlng somo nov
IT car"n Vr' 'ia-
P?1 acIt. nBnln cniofully, put
imr .A7 i J? ' ' . ' nn1 ,n Ul0 morn
ing sent for Kouprlanc."
- Itouletablllo Intentiptcd.
lou had not, inndamc, spoken to
nnyono of this dlcoveiy7"
"To no one. '
!!MCNe" t0 yur "top-daughter?"
iNo. ald tho husky voleo of
Motrcna, "not even to my slep-daugh-
"Why?" demanded llottletablllc.
Ilccause." replied Jlntiona. after n
moment's hesitation, "ihcro weio nl
ready enough filghtunlng tilings about
tho house. I would not have spnkcn
to my daughter any mote than 1 would
have said a woid to tho general. Why
add to thq dlviulet thoy alreay suf
fered so much, In caso nothing devel
oped?" "And What dill Knilnrlnnn mnvV
Wo cxamlneJ tho floor together, se
cretly. Kouprlanc slipped his hand
under moio easily than I had done, nnd
ascertained that under tho board, that
I to say. botwoitn tho beam and the
cellltu of the kitchen there was a hol
ow whore any number of things might
bo placed. Tor a moment the board
was still too llttlo lelcatcd for nny
maneuver to bo possible. Kouprlanc.
when he rose, said to me, 'You have
happened, madame. to Interrupt tho
person In her operation. Ilut wo nre
prepared henceforth. Wo know what
she doc and sho Is unawaro that wo
know. Act as tliouch ou bad nol nn.
tlccd an thing; do not speak of It to
anyonu whatever nnd watch. I.ct tho
General contlnuu to sit in his usual
placo and lot no ono 'suspect that wo
liavo discovered tho beginning of this
attempt H Is the only way we can
plan so that they will continue. All tho
same,' he added, 'I will glvo my agents
orders to patrol the ground floor anew
during the night. It would bo risking
xoo mutn to itt tho person continue
her work each night. ho might con
tinue It so well thut sho would bo able
to accomplish K yyu understand me?
nut by day you a i range tint tho rooms
on the ground flo'r bo freo from time
to time not for long, but from time
to tlmj I don't itncw why. but what
ho said nnd the way ho said It fright
ened mo inure thun over. However, I
cnirled out his programme. Then, tlneo
tlnya later, about 8 o'clock, when tho
night watch was not et started, that
Is to say i.t the moment when tho po
lka wero stiU nil aut In the garden or
walking around tho house, outside, and
when I had left the ground floor
perfectly frco while I helped the Gen
rnl to bed. I felt drawn even against
myself suddenly to tho dining-room. I
lifted tho carpet and examined thn
floor. Three moro nails had been drawn
from the board, which lifted more
easily i.ow, and under It, I could see
that the normal cavity had been mado
still wider!"
When sho had said this, Matrenn
stopped, c If, overcome, sho could not
tell more,
"Weill" Insisted noulofabllle.
"Well, I replaced things as I found
them and made rapid Inquiries of the
police nnd their chief; no ono had en
tered the ground floor. You under
stand me? no one at all. Neither had
anyone come out from It."
"How could anyone come out If no
ono had entered?"
"I wish to say," Raid she with a
sob, "that Natacha during this space
of timo had been In her chamber, In
lur chamber on the ground floor."
"You appear to be very disturbed,
madame, at this recollection. Can you
tell me further, and precisely, why you
are agitated?"
"You understand me, surely." sho
said, shaking her head,
"If I understand you concctly, I havo
tp understand tint from tho previous
time j on examined tho floor until tho
tho tlmo that you noted thrco moro
nails drawn out, no other person could
have cutored tho dining-room but you
.ni j-our nii'p-uniignier Mntachn."
Mntrcna took llouletabllle's hand as
though sho had i cached nn Important
decision.
".My llttlo friend," moaned sho, "thoro
nro things I am not ablo to think about
and which 1 can no longer entertain
when Natacha embraces me. It Is a
mystery moro frightful thnn all cHe.
Kouprlano tells me that he Is sure,
absolutely sure, of tho agents ho kept
hero: my sole, consolation, do you see,
my llttlo friend I can tell you frankly
now that you havo sent nway thoso
men my solo consolation slnco that
day his boon that Kouprlano Is leas
suro of his men than I nm of Natacha."
She btoko down nnd sobbed.
When sho wag calmed, sho looked for
Houletablllo, nnd could not find him.
Then sho wiped her eyes, picked up
her dnrK-lantcrn, nnd, furtively, ciept
to her post bcsldo tho Ocncral.
Tor that tiny thcio nio tho points In
Houlctablllo's notebook:
"Topography: Villa surrounded by a
largo garden on three sides. Tho fourth
ldo gives directly onto a wooded field
lh.it stretches to tho lllvcr Neva. On
this sldo tho level of tho ground Is
tntirll IniVAP mr, l.n tl... ....... ...!..
opening In that wall (tho window of
nJ .ltnn1.nt. llll . .
.1..MIV..UB HiiunK-room on mo ground
floor) In as high f.om Iho grouna an
tllOtlJTM It WOfll Alt iUr. t.Awt- Mn..
. . .,.,w ,, i,lu uvAt 11UU1 III
nny other part of tho house. This win
dow la closed by Iron shutters, fastened
Insldo by a bar of Iron.
"Krlcnds: Athanaso Oeoigcvltch, Ivan
rctrovltch, Thaddeus tho timber mer
chant (great boots), Michael nnd Boris
(fine shoes), Matrcnn, sincere, love,
blundering heroism. Natcha unknown.
Against Natacha: Never thero during
tho attacks. At Moscow at tho tlmo
of tho bomb In tho sleigh, no ono
knows whero sho was, and It Is sho
who should have accompanied tho Gen
eral (detail furnished by Kouprlano
that Matrcnn generously kept back).
Tho night of the bouuuet Is tho only
night Natacha has slept away from the
house. Cotncldcncn of tho dlsappcui"
nnco of tho nails and tho presence all
alone on tho gvound floor of Natacha,
In case, of course. Mntrcna did not pull
them out hersolf. For Natacha: ner
eyes when sho looks at her father."
And this blznrrc phrase:
"Wo musn't bo rash. This evening
I havo not yet spoken to Matrenn
Petrovna about tho little hatpin. That
llttlo hatpin Is tho greatest relief of
my life."
(To H Continued.)
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The Greatest Grass Grown io America
I Grown
North
Good
for
Hay
Grain
Forage
Silage
Grown
South
GROW SUDAN GRASS
TIUS MOST WONDKIUTI, GlIAS or TIIH AGIi Introduced nd Indorsed br
the V, It. AKflraltaral Uepardaent. Tested keterelr by (be fnrmrrs In alt
pari. f Texas aad atrongly reeanimeoded by the Farmers' Congreza. Never
a pest.
Will grow wherever torghum does, from the Atlantic to tbe Pacific. Make.
more and better hay than any other plant known. Under ordinary condltlona
produce. 300 to 09 pound, of grain and 3 tp tono of choice bay per ncre the
fame .eaaon. Adapted to all or of soil and realm Uronlli nnd atamU tbe
rata well. Takea 3 to C pound, of seed to sow an acre In drills and 10 to 30
rfounds broadcast. Quality of hay equals timothy and all kinds of livestock
prefer It to alfalfa. Cattle fight for tbe hay and poultry fatten on the grain.
list Bprlnt the seed cold for 12 to U per pound and all who grew It then
ixpect to plant more next year. It Is now selling at $1 per pound and will
Co bleher before fiprlntr, eus the supply t.'Umlted. Wo will send prepaid by
parcel post ure Sudan seed for II per pound In lot. of 50 pounds and under
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Odrees, CI.LAGEMJ I'AllU, no 18, Aldlne, Ilarrta County, Texas.
friof Sudan Grass Means More Money Gained.
Grown
East
Makes
Money
When
Other
Crops
Fail
Grown
West
Laughs at Drought Smiles at Rain
m
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