ufMuiummmmimJaSam rats ummmwu immm HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION 11 tm6w us&c-E-rjinJcaMMaaSIRBHPIOTIHHBil mm U ". I..!..-' M,,QS :: VisS v. "Cj ., ' '? . 'll.. r. " "'.) a ( 'he Secret of the Night TUU11.1.1M) uisium srimvoic HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL. "H .- . IIUSSIAN IM-IUGIU IIY M,r,;0 muMcii AUTHOII. By Gaston Leroux rr.BorroiiAPTBH. '.ft1, M M.V&.,r.V KM nrl . ":- jimned to d" .)." Klfi. ..l'.Sr.M 1 I'v.Vbii.of ( Malrenn re lme TMW"th0 U(Dcrri i trovli.a) dnuittittr : i...Hi i - - . . 'rna ii!iioiui i ',-... mnrrinKv ". -i.u..i pri"'. "-:,i,i by a iw """ --..... i.hi nr k a if hit vlii. .V.Viit-Trftrni T of the lirai io f iiwr ncd by in "JJf Y n the plots " V.P?ha life of tho a.ner.1. but Itou- extended. in,, ? i . cnrB crect matched llko bensts, llko boasts on the scent. m Vi ?Ji' A,ke '"""'. softly, softly, L 1?.cAt. ""l.then-Mlcncci and then Ct!;L!l!.1,?'l lm Impatiently. --- r,tT, lo nel; - m""1 KoIK out. but (' :..M. 'inOUKII w -- V. I-.T., Jlll t "ll"-4.?-h,?JrA. L unattended. f" ?.pih.ini. herself durlnic the prom fr'J.cMn J7lnt cause.. IlouleliibllK be- 0mn "". "iVilli.t the tlencral by HP.-.,.0.'. Aefilo". a'ndJ.tcl.e. tho door of ffYrsK"' nS K1I8 .ledger. 'that 0Mn can be forced Into tho Genera atrne can u fa moans JffbtBTb tpl Find he and Madame Tro Ji,wl set themselves to watch .... i. mmin tier n nltrn and the ro- S porter, followed by Matrcna, advanced nn tln-toe to tho threshold of tho gen era's chamber, keeping closo to tho wall. t--,tnr Feodorovltch slept,' They heard his heavy breathing, but ho appeared to been 'lorlng peaceful xlccp. 'Tho horrors 6"f tho nlitht befoio had fled. Mutrenn was pcrhnps .likt in attributing the nightmares to tho ; narcotic prepared for hint each nlKlit. for tho clan from which ho drnnlt It when ho felt i Miiild not sleep was still full and ob- tlously had not been touched. Tho bed of the general was so placed that whoever OCCIipiCU 11, ceil li nicy "uiu wiuu uviihu, ' could not see tho door kIvIiik on tho sor tnt' stairway. Tho llttlo tablo whero tho class and arlous phials wcra placed and -.mm, hn.l hnrno tlio damrcroun boilnuet. na placed near tho bed", a llttlo back of It, and neirer tho door. Nothing could havo v..,. pn.ifr thmi for someono who could I- open tho door to stretch nn arm and plnco the inicrnaj innciiuit? umunv mo wiiu nuw er. aboo all, as could easily be believed, If no had waited for that treachery until the heavy breathing of tho gcnorul told them outvlde that ho was fast asleep, and If. looking through tho key-hole, ho had made sure Matrena was occupied In tier own chamber. Koulctabllle, at tho thVeshold, elided to ono side, out of tho Una of vlow from tho hole, and got down on all fours'. Hecrawlid toward tho door. With his bond to the floor ho made nuro that tho llttlo ordinary pin which ha had placed on guuid that ecnlntr, stuck In tho floor against the door, was still erect, having thus addi tional proof that tho door hajl not. boen moved. In any other caso tho pin would hae lain flat on tho floor. Ho crept back, rose to his feut, pitsscd Into tho dressing-, room am), In a vomer, had a rapid conver sation in n low voico wun .tiuircna. ' "Vou will go," iialdjio, "and tako your mattress Into tho corner ot tho dressing room whero you can still sco tho door but no ono can see you by looking through tho key-hole. Do that quite naturally, and Iheu go to your rest. I will pass tho night on the mattresB, nnd I beg you to bollcvo that I will bo mora comfortable there than on a bed of etalrcaso wood whero I spent last night, behind tho door." "Yen, but ou will fall asleep. I don't wish that." 'What aro you thinking, madamoT" "I don't wish It. 1 don't wish It. I don't lsh to quit the door whero tho eyo Is. And slnco I'm not able to sleep, lot mo watch." Ho did not InHlst, nnd they crouched to gether on the mattress. Itoulotablllo was squatted llko a tailor at work; but Ma trena remained on all fours, her Jaw out, her ojei fixed, llko a bulldog ready to spring. Tho minutes passed by In pro found silence, broken only by tho Irrgutnr breathing and puffing of tho gunernl. Ills faco stood out pallid and tragic on tho pil low; his mouth was open and. at times, tho lips moed, Thero was fear at any moment of -Ightmaro or his awakening. Uncon irloiisly ho threw an arm over toward tho tublj where tho glass of narcotic stood. Then ho lay still again and snored lightly. Tin nl&ht-lamp on tho mantelpiece caught tho o icr yellow reflections from tho cor ners of tho furniture, frota tho glided franio of a picture on tho wall and from tho phials and ..lasses on tho table, nut In all thu chamber Matrena Pctrovna saw nothing, thought of notuliic but tho brass bolt w!i. a shone tharu on tho door. Tired of bi i e on her knees, sho Hhlf ted, hor chin in '. hands, her gazo steadily fixed. As tlr passed and nothing happened sho )i ac a sigh. Bhe could not havo said whMher sho hoped for or dreaded tho com lnt, t that something new which noulcta bi 'lo had Indicated. Rouletablllo felt her tlm r with anguish and Impatience. i fo- him, ho had not hoped that any thvr'j would como to pass until toward d.twn, tho moment, as overyono known, W'u ,ieCp Bleep g most upt to vanquish ii il afiifulness nnd all Insomnia. And ui N! waited for that moment he had not bud rd any more than a Chinese apo or tl e dear llttlo porcelain domovot doukh in the garden. Of courso, It might bo that it was not to happen this night. tiuddtmly Matrcna'a hand fell on Route tablllrt's. His Imprisoned hers so firmly that lie understood who wait forbidden to inako the )ust movement. And both, wlh ;eck cr'"c -. a giliullng sound ellgllt UTatfntr nf u , ,... - n .... I.nll- ..;., .1." ."...".. ."""" "." un "" .in,.! Z . . .." ",llcn ono ill the sub L e J. B,ow ot t,' "'Khtlainp. Tho bolt softly. ery softly, lppld slowly. .inur'i0.!1 l ,,0' a I'uihed slowly, so slowly. It opened. Tin oiigh tho opening the shadow of nn aim stretched, nn nrm which held In Its Ilngi-rs Homothing which uliono. Itouletnblllo felt Mattenn undy to bound. Ho encir cled hoi, ho precsid hrr In his nrms, ho rcstinlned lur In sllince, nnd he hud a hor ilbo foar of hearing her Miiddctily shout, whlln the nrm stietchid out, almost touched tho pillow on tho bid hiio tho general continued to ktp n uleep of pence such ns ho hnd not known for a long time. VII .trfii'iiiilr of Mnl ii. Tlin mysterious hand held n phial nnd pouted the tntlu- contonts Into tho potion. Then tho hand wllhdiew as It had come, slowly, prudently, si) ly. ,inl tho Isey luincd In tho lovk and the bolt slipped back Into plnco. I.lko a wol nouletnbllle, warning Mat rena for a lust tlmo not to budge, gained tho landing-place, bounded towards tho , stnlis, slid down the banister right to tho ornnda, crossed th0 drnwlng-room like a flash and leached the llttlo sitting-room without having Jostlfd n slnglo piece of furniture. Ha noticed nothing, saw nothing. All nround was undlsttirbtd nnd silent. Tho llrst light of dawn filtered through tho blinds. Ho was able to mnka out that the only closed door was tho ono to Natncha's chamber. He stopped before that door, his heart beating, and listened. Hut no sound caino to his car. He had glided so lightly over tho carpet that ho waa suro ho had not been heard. Perhaps that door would open. He waited. In aln. It seemed to htm there was nothing alive In that house except his heart. He was stilled with hoiror Hint he glimpsed, that ho almost touched, although that door remained closed. Ho felt along the wall In order to leach tho window, pulled aside tho curtain, Window nnd blinds of the llttlo loom giv ing on the Neva wei ciocd. Tho bar of lion lnsldo wan In Its place. Then ho went to tho passage, mounted and de scended tho nnriow serx ants' stairway, looked alt about. In nil the rooms, feeling vurywhtrc with silent' hands, assuring himself that irO lock had been tampered with. On his return to the eniiida, as ho ruined his head, h -aw at the top of the main stalrcssn a llguia wan ns death, a spectral apparition amid tho shadows of Ilia passing night, who leaned toward htm. It was Matrena 1'etroviia. Hho came down, silent as a phantom, and he no longer rec ognized lur volte when sho demanded of him, "WhcreT I require that )ou tell inc. Where?'' "I have looked nor where," ho said, so low that Mat r na had to como nearer to understand his whisper, "Everything Is shut tight. And tin re Is no ono about" stretched llko a beast, and burled her head In her arms whlln nlm unm m..it i,m '"" 1 II 111 irnlMft- i. i.... ., -.., . .. .. . .. . . . . 1." '-.' .v. .vi tly. of tho littl, ;,., l""l '0 s'cnI u?UB..cr: -Vttlnc"a. Nntachn, whom she hnd lien niovcmei t call m. Bnroo,n M, tho. .lcast cn5r'!'ll,ln her own child, nnd whd did . a need to" ' flro n revoIv'- ' Ju i10' hca'- her- Ah. what tiso that tho llttlo the it. .ti.i . . . follow had gono to search outside when He slipped Intu Mm imi,i. .. in. ii.. ........ nn? -i on," for 'Honw. from tho corner nnn,, ;V.,C1U ,0- "tough the doors left r,,mV n,.rie,,a cou,d follow tho movo ihn ,,i u' goiter nnd watch Nntncha's ! m . m ,h0 8I,,,, tltnc. The attitude of llou etnblllo continued to confuso her be .im li 1.ecxl"cf":l("1- Sno watched what ho M.,i . "lle l,0"K't him besotted. Tho l.?i. . .J' gllnul out the roadway also nf ii., t.1"-' tig in 'ii through tho bnrs thn! Li.f'VP 'n to"tcinnlIon. as though ho .i.".'1 '".11 " f001' Min tho paths of m 5nrUl or cul",iit which offered no iinnfi. for. rootl'"ts ltoulctublllc hurried J.. ; .vroVm- lllm ' "tcd that tho grass of the law n had not been trodden. Vil . ,1 " ,,nl'1 no ,"010 attention to his ?;.ll , r0"?0'1 t0 "tudj nttcnthcly tho ios color In tho enst. breathing tho deli cacy of dawning morning m the Isles, amid "crcd tarlh' whlch stl11 slMm" i ""'-headed, face thrown back, hands behind his back, eye" raised slid fixed, he i? .n c' steps, then suddenly stopped as if ho had boon given an electric shock. ab soon as he seemed to have recovered nom that shock ho turned around nnd went a , cw stops back to another path. Into which ho advanced, strnlght ahead, his fnco high, with tho same fixed look that he hod had up to the time he so suddenly stopped, ns If something or someono ad vised or warned him not to go further. Ho continually worked back toward the house, and thus ho traveled all the paths that led from the villa, but In all theso excur sions he took pains not to plnco himself In the Held of vision from Natacliu'x window, a restricted field becauso of Its location just around an abutment of the building. To ascertain about this window ho crept on all fours up to the gnrden edge that ran along tho foot of tho wall and had suf ficient proof that no ono hvl jumped out that way. Then he went to rejoin Ma ticna In the veranda. 1110 WllOlO truth 1.1V 111-111 llil Ihla Irtnx? rhlnklng. of him, sh0 was embarrassed lest ho should find her In that animalistic posture, and sho rose to her knees and worked hor way over to tho window that looked out upon the Neva, Tho anglo of tho slanting blinds let her seo well enough what passed outside, nnd what she yaw inado her spring to her foot. IJelow her the reporter was going tlnough tho same Incomprehensible maneuvers that sho had seen him do In tho gmden. Threo pathways led to tho llttlo road that ran along tho wnll of tho villa by the bank of the Neva. The joung man. still with his hands behind his back and with his face up, took them one after the other. In the first ho stopped at tho first step Ho dldn t tako moro than two steps In tho Hccond. In tho third, which cut obliquely toward tho right and seemed to run to tho bank nearest Kreslownky Ostrow, sho saw hint advnnco slowly nt first, then moro quickly anion tho small trees nnd hedges. Once only ho stopped nnd looked closely nt the trunk of n tree, against which ho seemed to pick out something Invisible, and then continued to tho bank. Thoro ho sat jlown on a stone and appeared to re flect, and then suddenly ho cast oft hU Jacket nnd trousers, picked out a certain place on tho bank ncross from him, finished undressing and plunged Into the stream. Hho snw nt onco that ho swam llko n por poise, keeping bencalh and showing his head from time to time, breathing, then diving below tho surface again, llo reached. Krcitowsky Ostrow In n clump nf reeds. Then he disappeared. llolow him, sur lounded by trees, could bo seen tho red tiles of tho villa which sheltered Ports and Michael. Prom thu villa a person could sen the window of tho sitting-room In Ck'ii oral's Trcbassofg residence, but not what might occur along the bank of the river Just below Its walls. An Isvotchlck drovo along the distant route of Krcstowsky, con vejlng In his cairlngo a company of young nmcuiH and oung women who hnd been "No one tins come, lutn th n-nt-iiAu iiit morning." said he. "and no one has gono feasting nnd who sang ns they rode: Iheu out of tho villa Into tho garden. Now I deep sllcncu ensued. M iticna's ejcsscnrchciJ' nm going to look oulsldo tho erouiids, Wit It here; I'll bo back In llvo minutes." Ho went away, knocked discreetly on tho window of tho lodge nnd waited some seconds. Urmotal c-imo out and opened tho gate for him. Matrena moved to the threshold of tho llttlo sitting-room nnd watched Natachu's door with horror. Alio felt her legs give under her and she could not stand up under tho diabolic thought of such n, crime. Ah, that arm, that arm! leaching out, making Its way, with a little shining phial In Its hand. Pains of Christ! Whnt could thero be In the damnable books over which Natacha and her com panion pored that could make such abomin able crimes possible? Ah, Natucha, Nu tachal It was from her that she would have desired the answer, straining her al most to stifling on her rough bosom and Ktrnngllng Iter with her own strong hnnd iiuu sua migni not near mo response. Ah, for Itoulotabllle, but could not find hlui. "How long wns ho going to stay hidden like thiil? Sho pressed her fnco against tho'chtll window. What wns sho waiting for? Sho waited perhaps for someono to innko a move on this side, for tho door near her to open and tho traitorous figure of Tho Other to appear, A hand touched her carefully, film tinned Itouletnlilllo was there, his face nil scnircd by red scratches, without collar or . necktie, hnvlng hirstlly resumed his clothes. Ha appeared furious as he surprised her In his dlsnrrny. Sho let him lend her as though she were n child. He drew her to his room and closed the door, (To He Continued ) Matrena looked at Itouletnblllo with nil . Natnchn, Natacho, whom sho had loved so the power of her ccs. nn though sho would discover his Inmost thoughts, but his clear glunco did not waver, Hnd sho saw thero wns nothing he wished to hide. Then Ma li cna pointed her finger at Natacha's chamber. "Vou havo not gono In thero?'' alio In quired. . He replied, "it Is not -necessary to enter there." "I will enter there, myself, nevertheless," said she, and she set her teeth. He barred her way with his arms spread out. "If you hold the llfo of someono dear," said he, "don't go a step farther." "Hut the person In In that chamber. Tho person Is there. It Is there you will find out!" And sho waved him ujildo with a gesture, as though she were sleepwalking. To recall her to tho teullty of what ho had said to her and to mako her understand what ho desired, ho had to grip her wrist In the vise of his nervous hand. "The porson Is not there, perhaps," ho nald. shaking his head. "Understand mo Hut she did not understand htm. She said: "Since the person Is nowhere else, the porson must be there." Kut lloulotubllle continued obstinately: "No, m5. Pel haps he Is gone." "done! And over) thing locked on tho much! fib e sank to the floor, crept across the carpet to tho door and Iny there. Tho latest figures show thnt tho Stnto of Washington produced 05 per cent of nil tho shingles manufactured in tlio country during tho jcar, tho wood used being western red cedar. Real Music at Last! vf3r jiiiiirTy yw UUdORd Surareme Achievement frr3l No Needles NoTroulalcj SEND FOK OUU CATALOGUES. THEY AltE FREE. Inside I" Tlint la ot a reason." ho replied. Hut she could not follow his thoughts any further. She wished absolutely to make her way Into Natachn'M chamber. Tho ob session of that was upon her. if ou enter there," said he, "and if (as Is most probable) vou don't find what you seek there, all Is lost! And as to me, I give up the wiiolo thing." Sho sank in a heap onto a chnlr. "Don't despair," h murmured, "Wo don't know for sure yet." ,,...,, She shook her poor old head dejectedly. "Wo know that only sho Is here, slnco no. ono has been nblo to enter and slnco no ono has been able to leave." That, In truth, filled her brain, prevented hor fiom discerning In any corner of her mind tho thought of ltoulctablltc. Then tho Impossible dialogue resumed. "1 lepeat that we do not Know that the person has gone," icpenttd the reporter, and demanded her keys. Toollsh, he said. 'What do you want them for?" , "To ncnicli outside ns wo have searched Inside." "Why. overj thing is locked on the Inside." "Madame, onco moio, that Is no reason that the person may not be outBide." 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