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
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