The news=record., February 06, 1909, Saturday Edition, Image 3

The Mystery
The Yellow
By GASTON LLROUX
in
CHAPTER. IX.
Reporter and Detective.
lOTTLETABILLE, Darzac and T
went back toward the pavilion.
At some distance from the
building the reporter made us
stop and, pointing to a small clump of
trees to the right of us, said:
"That's' where the murderer came
from to get Into the pavilion."
As there were other patches of trees
of the same sort between the great
oaks, I asked why the murderer bad
chosen that one rather than any of the
others. Rouletabllle answered me by
pointing to the path which ran quite
close to the thicket to the door of the
pavilion.
"That path Is, as you see, topped
with gravel." he said. "The man must
have passed along it going to the pa
vilion, since no traces of his steps have
been found on the soft ground. The
man didn't have wings; he walked,
but he walk g on the gravel, which
left no Impression of his tread. The
gravel has, in fact, been trodden by
many other feet, since the path is the
most direct way between the pavilion
nud the chateau. As to the thicket.
made of the sort of shrubs that don't
flcnrlsh in the rough season laurels
and fuchsias it offered the murderer
a sufficient hiding place until it was
time for him to make his way to the
pavilion. It was while hiding in that
clump of trees that he saw M. and
Mile. Stangerson and then Daddy
Jacques leave the pavilion. Gravel
has been spread nearly, very nearly,
up to the windows of the pavilion. The
footprints of a man parallel with the
wall, marks which we will examine
presently and which I have already
seen, prove that he only needed to
make one stride to find himself In
front of the vestibule window, left
open by Daddy Jacques. The man
drew himself up by his hands and en
tered the vestibule."
"After all, it Is very possible," I said.
"If I did not reason as I do in re
gard to this gravel," Rouletabllle went
on, "1 should have to nssume a bal
loon. So don't say a thing is possible
when it could not be otherwise. We
know now how the man entered by
the window, and we also know the
moment at which he entered during
the 5 o'clock wain of the professor
and his daughter. The fact of the
presence of the chambermaid, who had
come to clean up the yellow room, In
the laboratory when M. Stangerson
and his daughter returned from their
walk at half past 1 permits us to af
firm that at half past 1 the murderer
was not In he chamber under the bed
unless he was In collusion with the
chambermaid. What do you say, M.
Darzac?"
M. Darzac shook his head and said
he was sure of the chambermaid's
fidelity and that she was a thorough
ly honest and devoted servant.
"Besides," he added, "at 5 o'clock
M. Stangerson went Into the room to
fetch his daughter's hat."
'There Is that also," said Kouleta
bllle. "That the man entered by the win
dow at the time you say, I admit," I
said, ' but why did he shut the win
dow? It was an act which would nec
essarily draw the attention of. those
who had left It open."
"It may be the window was not shut
at once," replied the young reporter,
"Cut if he did shut the window It was
because of the .bend in the gravel path
a dozen yards from the pavllhra and
on account of the three oaks that are
growiug nt that spot."
"What do you mean by that?" asked
M. Darzac, who had followed us and
listened with almost breathless atten
tion to all that Rouletabllle had said.
"I'll explain all to you later on, mon
sieur, when I think the moment to be
ripe for doing so. But I don't think
I have anything of more Importance
to say on this affair if my hypothesis
Is Justified."
"And what Is your hypothesis?"
"You will never know If It does not
turn out to be the truth. It Is of much
too grave a nature to speak of it so
long as it continues to be only a hy
pothesis." "Have you at least some Idea as to
who the murderer is?"
"No, monsieur, I don't know who
' the murderer Is. But don't be cfrald.
M. Robert Darzac. I shall know."
I could not but observe that M. Dar
mo was deeply moved, and I suspect
ed that Rouletabllle's confident asser
tion was not pleasing to him. Why,
I asked myself. If he was really afraid
that the murderer should be discover
ed, was he helping the reporter to find
him? My young friend seemed to
have received the same Impression,
for he said bluntly:
"M. Darzac. don't yon want me- to
And out who the murderer was?"
"Oh, I should like to kill him with
my own handr cried Mile. Stanger
on's fiance, with a vehemence that
amazed me.
I it k.lU.A -vnn " Mill KnillPtADUlBl
"Rnt voa have not answered
" ' ..
We were passing by the thicket of
v-k .v.. ,w.rtr hd snoken
nnt. h.fnr. I entered it
U4 pointed out evident traces of
COPYRIGin, 1908.
BY BRENTANO'S
rntin "'who had been bidden there.
Rouletabllle once more was right.
"Yes, yes," he said. "We have to do
with a thing of flesh and blood, who
uses the same means that we do. It'll
nil como out on those lines."
Having said this, he asked me for
the paper pattern of the footprint
which he had given me to take care
of and applied It to a very clear foot
mark behind the thicket. "Aha!" he
said, rising.
I thought he was now going to trace
back the track of the murderer's foot
marks to the vestibule window, but he
led us instead far to the left, saying
that it was useless ferreting in the
mud and that he was sure now of the
road taken by the murderer.
"He went along the wall to the hedge
and dry ditch, over which he jumped.
See, just In front of the little path
leading to the lake, that was his near
est way to get out." N
"How do you know he went to the
lake.?"
"Because Frederic Larsan has not
quitted the borders of It since this
morning. There must be some impor
tant marks there." .
A few minutes later we reached the
lake.
It was a little sheet of marshy wa
ter, surrounded by reeds, on which
floated some dead water lily leaves.
The great Fred may have seen us ap
proaching, but we probably interested
him very little, for he took hardly any
notice of us and continued to be stir
ring with his cane something which
we could not see.
"Look!" said Rouletabllle. "Here
again are the footmarks of the escap
ing man. They skirt the lake here and
finally disappear Just before this path,
which leads to the high road to Epl
nay. The man continued his flight to
Paris."
"What makes you think that?" I
asked, "since these footmarks are not
continued on the path?"
"What makes me think that? Why,
these footprints, which I expected to
find!" he cried, pointing to the sharply
outlined imprint of a neat boot. "See!1
And he called to Frederic Larsan.
"M. Fred, these neat footprints seem
to have been made since the discovery
of the crime."
"Yes, young man, ves. They have
been carefully made," replied Fred
without raising his head. "You see,
there are steps that come and steps
that go back."
"And the man had a bicycle!" cried
the reporter.
Here, after looking at the marks of
the bicycle, which followed, going and
coming, the neat footprints, I thought
I might intervene,
"The bicycle explains .the disappear
ance of the murderer's big footprints.
I said. "The murderer, with his rough
boots, mounted a bicycle. His accora
pllce, the wearer of the neat boots,
had come to wait for him on the edge
of the lake with the bicycle. It might
be supposed that the murderer was
working for the other."
"No, no!" replied Rouletabllle, with
a strange smile. "I have expected to
find these footmarks from the very
beginning. These are not the foot
marks of the murderer."
"Then there were two?"
"No; there was but one, and be bad
no accomplice."
"Very good! Very good!" cried Fred
eric Larsan.
"Look!" continued the young report
er, showing us the ground where it
bad been disturbed by big and heavy
heels. "The man seated himself
there and took off his hobnailed boots
which he bad worn only for the pur
pose of misleading detection, and then
no doubt, taking them away with htm,
he stood up in bis own boots and
quietly and slowly regained the high
road, holding his bicycle In his hand,
for he could not venture to ride It on
this rough path. That accounts for
the lightness of the Impression made
by the wheels along it In spite of the
softness of the ground. If there bad
been a man on the bicycle the wheels
would have sunk deeply Into the soil.
No, no; there was but one man there
the murderer on foot
"Bravo! Bravo!" cried Fred again,
And. coming suddenly toward us and
planting himself In front of M. Rob
ert Darzac, he said to him:
"If we bad a bicycle here we might
demonstrate the correctness of the
young man's reasoning, M. Robert
Darzac. Do you know whether there
Is one at the chateau?"
"No," replied M. Darzac, "there Is
not. I took mine four days ago to
Parii, the last time I came to the
chateau before the crime.
"That's a pity," replied Fred very
coldly. Then, turning to Rouletabllle,
he said: "If we go on at this rate we'll
both come to the same conclusion. Have
you any Idea as to bow the murderer
got away from the yellow room?"
"Yes," said my young friend,
hare an Idea."
"So have I," said Fred, "and It must
be the same as yours. There are no
two ways of reasoning in this affair.
1 1 am waiting for the arrival of my
chief before offering any explanation
. to the examining magistrate."
"Ah! Is the chief of the police
coming r
of
om
"Yes, this afternoon. He Is going to
munmon before the magistrate In the
laboratory all those who have played
any part lii this tragedy. It will be
very interesting. It is a pity you
won't be able to be present."
I shall be present," said Rouleta
bllle confidently.
"Really you are an extraordinary
fellow for your age!" replied the de
tective In n tone not wholly free from
Irony. "You'd make a wonderful de
tective If you had a little more meth
odIf you didn't follow your Instincts
nd that bump on your forehead. As
have already several times observed,
M. Rouletabllle, you rcascn too much.
You do not allow yourself to be guid
ed by what you have seen. What do
you say to the handkerchief full of
Mood and the red mark of the hand
on the wall? You have sc?n the stain
on the wall, but I have only seen the
handkerchief."
"Bah!" cried Rouletabllle. "The
murderer was wounded In the hand
by Mile. Stangerson's revolver."
"Defective observation defective ob
servation! The examination of the
handkerchief, the numberless little
round scarlet stains, the impression of
drops which I found In the tracks of
the footprints at the moment when
they were made on the floor, prove to
me that the murderer was not wound
ed at all. M. Rouletabllle, the mur
derer bled at the nose!"
The great Fred spoke quite seriously.
However, I could not refrain from ut
tering an exclamation.
The reporter looked gravely at Fred,
who looked gravely at him. And Fred
Immediately concluded:
"The man allowed the blood to flow
Into his hand and handkerchief and
dried his hand on the wall. The fact Is
highly important," he added, "because
there Is no need of his being wounded
In the hand for him to be the mur
derer."
Rouletabllle seemed to be thinking
deeply. After a moment be said:
"There Is something a something.
M. Frederic Larsan, much graver than
the misuse of logic, the disposition of
mind in some detectives which makes
them in perfect good faith twist logic
to the necessities of their preconceived
ideas. Beware of Judicial error, M.
Fred; It will trip you up."
And, laughing a little In a slightly
bantering tone, his bands in his pock
ets, Rouletabllle fixed his cunning eyes
on the great Fred.
Frederic Larsan silently contemplat
ed the young reporter who pretended
to be as wise as himself. Shrugging
his shoulders, he bowed to us and
moved quickly away, hitting the stones
on his path with bis stout cane.
Rouletabllle watched his retreat and
then turned toward us, his face Joyous
and triumphant.
I shall beat him!" be cried. "I shall
beat the great Fred, clever as he Is! 1
shall beat them all!"
And he danced a double shuffle
Suddenly he stopped. My eyes follow
ed his gaze. They were fixed on M.
Robert Dnrzac, who was looking anx
iously at the impression left by his
feet side by side with the elegant
footmarks. There was not a particle
of difference between them!
We thought he was about to faint.
His eyes, bulging with terror, avoided
us, while hla right hand, with a spas
modic movement, twitched at the
beard that covered his honest, gentle
and now despairing face. At length
regaining his self possession, he bowed
to us and, remarking In a changed
voice that be was obliged to return to
the chateau, left us.
"The deuce!" exclaimed Rouletabllle.
He also appeared to be deeply con
corned. From bis pocketbook he took
a piece of white paper, as I bad seen
him do before, and with his scissors
cut out the shape of the neat boot
marks that were on the ground. Then
he fitted -the new paper pattern with
the one he bad previously made. The
two were exactly alike. Rising, Roule
tabllle exclaimed suddenly. "The
deuce V Presently he added, "Yet 1
believe M. Robert Darzac to be an hon
est man." He then led me on the road
to the Donjon Inn, which we could
see on the highway by the side of a
small clump of trees.
(to be continued.
8YN0PSIS.
CHAPTER I A mysterious at-
Umpt is made at midnight to raur
der Mile. Stangerson, daughter and
assistant of Prof. Stangerson, who I
at work on hU theory of the dissoci
a' Ion of matter in a pavilion near his
chateau. Pistol shots and the young
woman's cries for help are heard
behind the locked and bolted door of
aer chamber, the yellow room. The
cries are answered by Professor Stan
jerson and Daddy Jacques, an aged
lervant. Aided by the concierges,
Bernler and his wife, they break ope
the doar and find Mile. Stangerson
twoonlng and half strangled, with a
wound In her temple, but find no
trace of her assailant. The only
possible outlet from the yellow room
. the dODr. The weird cry of the
"tete du bon DIeu," a cat belonging
Professional Directory of Wallowa County
THOS. M. DILL
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
Office first door south of New
Fraternal Bldg., Enterprise, Ore.
!
Ai
BURLEIGH & BOYD
ATTORNEYS-ARAW
Practice in all State Courts and
Interior Department. Careful at-
tention to all business. J
5 ... f
1J. V. SHBJAliAN ;?
LAn itK LMIERPKiSE
rracuce in state ana rouerai x
Courts and Interior Department.
C. T. HOCKETT. M. D. f
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON ;
Office upstairs in Bank Build- J;
ing. Ind. Home phone in office ,5,
and residence. 4
to -Mother Angenoux, a recluse, is
beard just before Mile. Stangerson's
He4. II Joseph Rouletabllle, a re
porter-detective, is Introduced to the
eader by M. Salnclair, the narrator
of the story. Rouletabllle declares
the revolver was fired by Mile. Stan
gerson, wounding her assailant in
the hand. Salnclair is to use his
trlendship with M. Darzac, Mile. Stan
gerson's lover, to Introduce Rouleta
tllle Into the chateau. Ill Rouleta
bllle Induces M. de Marquet, the ex
amining magistrate, and M, de Ma-
lelne, his registrar, to talk about the
case. The only posisDie point or
egress from the pavilion for the
murderer has been the window of the
pavilion's vestibule, near which blood
stains have been found. The win
dow, however, was found latched af
ter the assassin's escape. A bullet
hole Is found In the celling of tho I
yellow room. IV. Shortly before
the attack the announcement of the j
jngagement of Mile. Stangerson and
M. Darzac had besn made. V Rou-;
letabllle and Sinclair are informed j
by Frederic Larsan, a famous detec- j
tive working on the case, that' the
concierges have been arrested. Meet
ing M. Darzac, Rouletabille utters a
mystic sentence, "The presbytery
has lost nothing of Its charm nor the
garden Its brightness," which seems
to terrify Darzac. VI The arrest of
the concierges is due to the fact
that they were seemingly near the
the pavilion when the crime was com
mitted. Their denial of guilt is doubt
ed. Rouletabllle and Darzac become
friendly. A mutton bone such as la
used by French assassins, has been
found la Mile. Stangerson's room and
Rouletabllle finds in one of the
profesosr's retorts a partly burned
paper bearing the strange sentence
about the presbytery. VII In the
yellow room Rouletabllle finds a wo
man's hair, which he declares to be
Important evidence. VIII Mile. Stan
gerson tells of her movements on
the day of the a'.tack. She fearel
something of the sort, she says, af
ter seeing shadows pass in front of
her window and therefore borrowed
Daddy Jacques' revolver.
Angry rather Kills Kloper.
Brownsville Charles Powell, a
well-known and highly-reBpected
fanner residing three miles west of
Brownsville, shot and instantly
killed Homer Roper, a young man
at the J. A. Nice place last week.
The trouble which led to the fatal
result arose over the fact that Roper,
who Is aged 22 years, about six
months ago ran away with Powell's
15-year-old daughter, taking her to
Pilot Rock. Powell followed and
brought his daughter back and Ro
per soon came, too. Since that time
he has persistently sought the girl,
although warned to keep away.
The girl attended a party at the
Nice place Thursday night, where
Roper appeared and enticed hor
from the house. Powell was noti
fied at his home and with his wife
went to the Nice home and began a
search for their daughter. She was
found In Roper's company by Mrs.
Powell.
Roper then went to tho barn.
Powell returned and when near the
barn was accosted by Roper, who
informed him that he had !ho drop
on him. Powell, who carried a .4 4
Winchester rifle, then began shoot
ing, hitting Roper Just above the
right eye, killing him instantly.
Powell remained on the scene of the
tragedy and when " the oncers ap
peared gave himself up.
Lame Shoulder.
TM Is a common form of muscu
lar rheumatism. No Internal treat
ment is needed. Apply Chamber
lain's Liniment freely three times a
day and a quick cure is certain.
This liniment has proven especially (
valuable for muscular and chronic-
rheumatism. Sold by Burnaugh &
'.May field.
Kilctz lh-isioii Kajjcriy Awaited.
Postland A proceeding that is at
tracting a great deal of attention
from homesteaders and o.hers Inter
ested in the acquisition of title to
the public iomatn has been In prog
ress all this week before the regis
ter and receiver of the Portland
land office and several days longer
may be required In the hearln
the Issues Involved.
g of
: It appears from the evidence al
ready adduced that settlers 'in the
j vicinity of Euchre Mountain, In the
! former Sllctz Indian reservation,
; commuted their homestead entries at
I the end of 14 months from the date
of filing. The forestry service Insti
tuted a contest and is prosecuting
the same on behalf of the govern
ment, on the ground that the sub
mission of proof at the end of only
eight months' residence Is evidence
of bad faith. If this contention Is
sustained by the local land office of
ficials and confirmed by the land de
partment, it is claimed that it will
have the effect of establishing a dan
gerous precedent and place many
other homestead claims In timbered
districts In peril, as It has heretofore
been common practice to accept
eight, months' actual and continuous
residence as sufficient to sustain a
commutation proof.
inOMB
In
Modern Agriculture
By C. V. Greg'ory
Of the Agricultural Division of the
Iowa Stats Collegs. CDvs:ing ti3
Course of Study Followed by the Iowa
State College.
WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE
NEWS-RECORD
Beginning Saturday Feb. 13
In Installments
The Series Covers Eighteen Lessons,
One Lesson to Appear each Week Un
til Course is Complete
Following are the Subjects Treated:
1 How a seed starts to grow
2 How plants eat and grow
3 Preparing the ground
4 Water in relation to plant growth
5 Leguminous crops and rotations
6 How plants are propagated
7 The selection of seed
8 Growing corn
9 Weeds and how to combat them
10 Some insect pests
11 Bacteria, how they affect the farmer
12 The selection and care of farm machinery
13 How animals grow
14 Some points on stocK feeding
15 Breeding live stocK
16 Farm buildings
17 The farm house
18 The business side of farming
H. E. MERRYMAN
SURVEYOR AND ENGINEER I
U. S. Deputy Mineral Surveyor,
Mining and Metallurgical Engi- T
neer. Enterprise. Oregon.
f W. C. KETCHUM
f DENTIST - ENTERPRISE
2 jt.lie Borland Building. Home
Independent Phone.
I COLON R. EBERHARD f
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR
Practices in all Courts and In-
terior Dept. Notary Public. x
Ind. Homo pao.ie. Joseph.
I E. T. ANDERSON. M. D.
I PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON
f Calls attended to day or night.
J. Home phone. Enterprise, Ore.
COURS'