11
HQME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION SERIAL.
The Secret of the Night By Gaston Leroux
TIIIIII.LIVO MYSTERY STORY OF RUSSIAN IXTRIGl E BY NOTED FRENCH AtTHOR,
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
t SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.
T v - i i.t.viila natimslbtV I
i
v - i i. ..villa natitnslbtv a
reporter for Paraislan newspaper. tui.
In fact, detectiva ol renown, It cauja to
fiuMla by tha Cir to save the lire ot
General Trebauot (Feodor Feodorovitcn
who hat been condemned to death y
Nihilist. Ha la racelved by the 0m
cral'a ever-faithful and eer-watcMul
Madame Trebaanof (Matrena Patrovlnal.
He meeta Natcha, the Ueneral'a daughter
by a previous tnarriase. The General it
at hla villa, surrounded by a few '"J1
Mends. Uouletabiile learnt of the first two
attempts axaliuit the Ufa of the General
from Madame Trobassof. One of Roulet
tbllle's firat actlona is to dismiss the secret
police auardlKe the villa. Rouletabllie
bears of the third attemupt on the uen
eral's life, by meant of a clockwork bomo
lei In a vase of flowert on hla table, it
was frustrated" by Madame Trebassot, no
was illelitly Injured by the eiplosion. the
detective learna that Natcha la In love
with Born, but also It very friendly to
wards Michael. He learnt the secret ol
the night the terrible nightmares that are
experienced by the aged General. Naiacna
Is suspected of complicity In the P'ot
ncnlnst the Ufa of the General hut Rou
letabille atoutly afflrmt hU belief In her
Innocence. Though a great warning tout
Rouletabllie that bit ward, the General,
will be dead In 48 hoora, the detective aug
ncsts a promenade by the eea, unattended.
Natacha absents herself during the proin
tnade on alight cause. Rooletabllla ne-5oni-a
interested In hat-pins. He It conn
Jon; of a plot against the General By
noiseless methods and watchea the door ol
in unused entrance to the room where tna
General sleeps. Rouletabllie discovers that
entrance can be forced Into the General's
room through an unused door by nneans
of a bent hatpin and he and Madame Tre
liassof set themselves to watch
Sf last he made her a sign and the re
porter, followed by Matrena. advanced
on tip-toe) to the) threshold of the gen
eral's chamber, keeping close to the wall.
Feodor Feodorovltch slept They heard his
heavy breathing, but he appeared to be en
Joying peaceful sleep. The horrors of the
night before had fled. Matrena was perhaps
right in attributing the nightmares to the
narcotic prepared for him each night, for the
glass from which he drank it when he felt
he could not sleep was still full and ob
viously had not been touched. The bed
of the general was so placed that whoever
occupied it, even Jf they were wide awake,
could not see the door giving on the ser
vants' stairway. The little table where the
glass and various phials were placed and
which had borne the dangerous bouquet,
was placed near the bed, a little back of it,
and nearer the door. Nothing could hava
been easier than for someone who could
open the door to stretch an arm and place
the Infernal machine among the wild flow
ers, above all, as could easily be believed,
if he had waited for that treachery until
the heavy breathing of the general told
them outside that he was fast asleep, and
If, looking through the key-hole, he had
made sure Matrena was occupied in her own
chamber. Rouletabille, at the threshold,
glided to one side, out of the line of view
from the hole, and got down on all fours.
He crawled toward the door. With his head
to -the floor he made sure that the little
ordinary pin which he had placed on guard
that evening, stuck in the floor against
the door, was still erect, having thus addi
tional proof that the door had not been
moved. In any other case the pin 'would
have lain flat on the floor. He crept back,
rose to hla feet, passed into the dressing
room and, In a corner, had a rapid conver
sation in a low voice with Matrena.
. "You will go," said he, "and take your
mattress into the corner of the dressing
room where you can still see the door but
no one can seo you by looking through the
key-hole. Do that quite naturally, and
then go to your rest I will pass -the night
on the mattress, and I beg you to believe
that I Will be more comfortable there than
on a bed of staircaso wood where I spent
last night, behind the door."
"Yes, but you will fall asleep. I 4n't
wish that."
"What are you thinking, madame?"
"I don't wish it.. I don't wish It. I don't
wish to quit the door where the eye la. And
since I'm not able to sleep, let me watch."
He did not Insist, and they crouched to
gether on the mattress. Rouletabille was
squatted like a tailor at work; but Ma
trena remained on all fours, her Jnw out,
her eyes fixed, like a bulldog ready to
spring. The minutes passed by In pro
found silence, broken only by the lrrgular
breathing and puffing of the general. His
""face stood out pallid and tragic on the pil
low; his mouth was open and. at times, the
lips moved. There was fear at any moment
of nightmare or his awakening. Uncon
sciously ho threw an arm over toward the
table where tha glass of narcotic, stood.
Then he lay still again and snored lightly.
The night-lamp on the mantelpiece caugh't
" the queer yellow reflections from the cor
ners of the furniture, from the gilded frame
of a picture on the wall and from the phials
and glasses on the table. But in all the
chamber Matrlna Petrovna saw nothing,
thought of nothing but the brass bolt
which shone there on the door. Tired of
being on her knees, she shifted, her chin
in her hands, her gam steadily fixed. As
time passed and nothing happened she
heaved a sigh. She could not have said
whether she hoped for or dreaded the com
lug of that something new which Roulelti
bllle had indicated. Rouletabille felt her
shiver with anguish and Impatience
As fo- him, he had not hoped that any
thing would come to pass until toward
dawn the moment, as everyone knows,
when deep sleep is most apt to vanquish
all watchfulness and nil insomnia. And
as he waited for that moment he had not
budged any mora than a Chinese apo or
the dear little porcelain dombvol doukh
In the garden. Of course, It might be that
It was not to happen this night.
SuddenljrMatrena's hftrtd fell on Roule
tftbllle's. His Imprisoned hers so (irmly that
she understood she was forbidden to make
the lesst movement. And both, with ncckg
extended, ears erect, watched like beasts,
like beasts on the scent
Yes, yes, there had been! a slight 'noise
In the lock, A key turned, softly, softly,
in the lock and then silence; and then
another little noise, a' grinding sound, a
slight grating of wire, above, then on the
boll; upon the bolt which shone in th) sub
dued glow of the nlghtlump. The bolt
softly, very softly, slipped slowly.
Then the door was pushed slowly, so
slowly. It opened.
Through the opening the shadow of an
arm stretched, an arm which held In Its
fingers something which shone. R.ouletabllla
felt Matrena ready to bound. He encir
cled her, he pressed her in his arms, he
restrained her In .silence, and he had a hor
rible fear of hearing her suddenly shout,
wlille the arm stretched out, almost touched
the pillow on the bed where the general
continued to sleep a sleep of peace such
as he had not known for along lime.
VII
Arsenate of Soda.
The mysterious, hand held a phial and
retired the entire contents into the potion.
Then the hand withdrew as It had come,
slowly, prudently, slyly, and the key turned
in the lock and the bolt slipped back into
place.
Like a wolf, Rouletabille, warning Mat
rena for a last time not to budge, gained
the landing-place, bounded towards the
stairs, slid down the banister right to the
veranda, crossed the drawing-room like a
flash and reached the little sitting-room
without having jostled a single piece of
furniture. Ha noticed nothing, saw nothing.
All around was undisturbed and silent.
The first light of dawn filtered through
the blinds. He was able to make out that
the only closed door was the one to
Natacha's chamber. He stopped before that
door, his heart beating, and listened. But
no sound came to his ear. He had glided
so lightly over the carpet that he was sure
he had not been heard. Perhaps that door
would open. He waited. In vain. It seemed
to him there waa nothing alive in that
house except his heart. He was stifled with
horror that he glimpsed, that he almost
touched, although that door remained
closed. He felt along the wall In order to
reach the window, pulled aside the curtain.
Window and blinds of the little room giv
ing on the Neva were closed. The bar of
iron inside was In its place. Then he
went to ' the passage, mounted and de
scended the narrow servants" stairwayr
looked all about, in all the rooms, feeling
everywhere with silent hands, assuring
himself that no lock had been tampered
with. On his return to the veranda, as he
raised his head, he saw at the top of the
main staircase a figure wan as death, a
spectral apparition amid the shadows of
the passing night, who leaned toward htm.
It was Matrena Petrovna. She came down,
silent as a phantom, and he no longer rec
ognized her voice when she demanded of
him, "Where? I require that you tell me.
Where?"
"I have looked everywhere," he said, so
low that Matrena had to come nearer to
understand his whisper. "Everything Is
shut tight. And there is no one about"
Matrena looked at Rouletabille with all
the power of her eyes, as though she would
discover his inmost thoughts, but his clear
glance did not waver, and she saw there
was nothing he wished to hide. Then Ma
trena pointed her finger at Natacha's
chamber.
'You have not gone in there?" site 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 life of someone dear,"
said he, "don't go a step farther."
"But the person is In that chamber. The
person is there. It is there you will find
out!" And jihe waved him aside with a
gesture, as though she were sleepwalking.
To recall her to the reality of what he
had said to her and to make her understand
what he desired; he had to grip her wrist
in the vise of his nervous hand.
"The person is not there, perhaps," he
said, shaking his head. "Understand me
now?"
But Bhe did not understand him. She said:
"Since the person is nowheve else, the
person must be there,"
But Rouletabille continued obstinately:
"No, no. Perhaps he is gone."
"Gone! And everything locked Oil the
Inside!"
"That Is not a reason," he replied.
But she could not follow his thoughts
nny further. She wished absolutely to make
her way Into Natacha's chamber. The ob
session of that was upon her.
"If you enter there," said he, "and If (as
Is most probable) you don't find what you
seek there, all is lost! And as to me, I
give up the whole thing."
She sank In a heap onto a chair.
"Don't despair," hi murmured, "We don't
know for sure yet."
Phe shook her poor old head dejectedly.
"We know that only she is here, since
no one has been able to enter and since no
one has been able to leave."
That, in truth, filled her brain, prevented
her from discerning in any corner of her
mind the thought of Rouletabille. Then
the Impossible dialogue resumed.
"1 repeat that we do not know that the
person has gone," repented the reporter,
and demanded her keys.
"Foolish, she said. , "What do you want
them for?"
"To search outside as we have searched
Inside."
"Why, everything Is locked on the Inside.".
"Madame, once more, that is no reason
that the person may not be outside."
He consumed five minutes opening tho
door of the veranda, so many were his pre
cautions. She watched him impatiently.
He whispered to her:
"I am going out, but don't you lose sight
of the little sitting-room. At the least
movement call me; fire a revolver if you
.need to."
He slipped Into the garden with the same
precautions for silence. From the corner
that she kept to, through the doors left
open. Matrena could follow all the move
ments of the reporter and watch Natacha's
chamber at the same time. The attitude of
Rouletabille continued to confuse her be
yond all expression. She watched what he
lid as K she thought him besotted. The
dvornick on guard out in the roadway also
watched the young ra?n through the bars
of the gate in consternation, as though he
thought him a fool. Along the paths of
beaten earth or cement which offered no
chance for footprints Rouletabille hurried
silently. Around him he noted that the
grass of the lawn had not been trodden.
And then he paid no more attention to his
steps. He seemed to study attentively the
rcfy color In the east, breathing the deli
cacy of dawning morning in the Isles, amid
tlie silence of the earth, which still slum
bered. Bare-headed, face thrown back, hands
behind his back, eyes raised and fixed, he
made a few steps, then suddenly stopped
as if he had been given an electric shock.
As soon as he seemed to have recovered
from that shock he turned around and went
a few steps back to another path. Into
.which he advanced, straight ahead, his
face high, with the same fixed look that
he had had up to the time he so suddenly
stopped, as' If something or someone ad
vised or warned him not to go further. He
continually worked back toward the house,
and thus he traveled all the paths that
led from the villa, but in all these excur
sions he took pains not to place himself in
the field of vision from Natacha's, window,
a restricted field because of its location
just around an abutment of the building.
To ascertain about, this window he crept
on all fours up to the garden edge that ran
along the foot of the wall and had suf
ficient proof that no one had jumped out
that way. Then he went to rejoin Ma
trena In the veranda.
"No one has come into the garden this
morning," said he, "and no one has gone
out of the villa into the garden. Now I
am going to look outside the grounds.
Wait here; I'll be back in five minutes."
He went away, knocked discreetly on
the window of the lodge and waited some
seconds. Ermolai came out and opened the
gate for him. Matrena moved to the
threshold of the little sitting-room and
watched Natacha's door with horror. She
felt her legs give under her and she could
not stand up under the diabolic thought of
such a crime. Ah, that arm, that arm!
reaching out, making its way, with a little
shining phial In its hand. Pains of Christ!
What could there be in the damnable
books over which Natacha and her com
panion pored that could make such abomin
able crimes possible? Ah, Natacha, Na
tacha! it waa from her that she would
have desired the answer, straining her al
most to stifling on her rough bosom and
strangling her with her own strong hand
that she might not hear the response. Ah,
Natacha, Natacha, whom she bad loved vo
muchl She sank to the floor, crept across
the carpet to the door and lay there.
stretched like a beast and buried her head
in her arms while she wept over her
dighter. Natacha, Natacha, whom she had
chvrlshed as her own child, and who did
nrt hear her. Ah, what use that the little
faltiw had gone to search outside when
the whole truth lay behind this door?
Thinking. of him, she was embarrassed lest
he should find her in that animalistic
posture, and she rose to her knees and
worked her way over to the window that
looked out upon tte Neva. The angle'
of the slanting blinds let her see well
enough what passed outside, and what she
saw made her spring to her feet. Below
her the reporter was going through the
same incomprehensible maneuvers that she
had seen him do in the garden. Three
pathways led to the little road that ran
along the wall of the villa by the bank
of the Neva. The young man, still with
his hands behind his back and with his
face up, took them one after the other. In
the first he stopped at the first step. He
didn't take more than two steps in the
second. In the third, which cut obliquely
toward the right and seemed to run to thj
bank nearest Krestowsky Ostrow, she eaitf
him advance slowly at first, then moi
quickly amon the small trees and hedges.
Once, only he stopped and looked closely
at the trunk of a tree, against which he
seemed to pick out something invisible,
and then continued to the bank. There he
sat down on a stone and appeared to re
flect, and then suddenly he cast off bis
jacket and trousers, picked out a certain
place on the bank across from him, finished
undressing and plunged Into the stream.
She saw at once that he swam like a por
poise, keeping beneath and showing his
head from time to time, breathing, then
uiving oeiow me surtnee again, xie reauiieu
Krestowsky Ostrow In a clump of reeds.
jnen ne disappeared. ueiow nun, sur
rounded by trees, could be seen the red
tiles of the villa which sheltered Boris and
Michael. From the villa a person could
see the window of the sitting-room In Gen
eral's Trebassofs residence, but not whal
might occur along the bank of the river
Just below Its walls. An isvotchlek drove
along the distant route of Krestowsky, cor.
veylng in his carriage a company of youn
officers and young women who had been
feasting and who sang as- they rode; thes
deep silence ensued. Matrena's eyes searched,
for Rouletabille, but could not find hlnV
How long was he going to stay hidden
like that? She pressed her face against
the chill window. What was she waiting
for? She waited perhaps for someone to
ntaKe a linjte uu tins eiuu, lui me uimji uetti
her to open and the traitorous figure of
The Other to appear,
A Wnd touched her carefully. She turned.
Rouletabille was there, his face all
scarred by red scratches, without collar or
necktie, having hastily resumed his clothes.
He appeared, furious as he surprised her
in his disarray. She let him lead her as
though she were a child. He drew her to
his room and closed the door.
(To Be Continued.)
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