The Mystery of the Yellow Room, Page 20

wrapper loose, he examined it, and made out an enormous quantity of

  papers and photographs. On one of the papers he read: "New

  differential electroscopic condenser. Fundamental properties of

  substance intermediary between ponderable matter and imponderable

  ether." Strange irony of fate that the professor's precious papers

  should be restored to him at the very time when an attempt was being

  made to deprive him of his daughter's life! What are papers worth

  to him now?

  The morning following that awful night saw Monsieur de Marquet once

  more at the chateau, with his Registrar and gendarmes. Of course

  we were all questioned. Rouletabille and I had already agreed on

  what to say. I kept back any information as to my being in the

  dark closet and said nothing about the drugging. We did not wish

  to suggest in any way that Mademoiselle Stangerson had been

  expecting her nocturnal visitor. The poor woman might, perhaps,

  never recover, and it was none of our business to lift the veil of

  a secret the preservation of which she had paid for so dearly.

  Arthur Rance told everybody, in a manner so natural that it

  astonished me, that he had last seen the keeper towards eleven

  o'clock of that fatal night. He had come for his valise, he said,

  which he was to take for him early next morning to the Saint-Michel

  station, and had been kept out late running after poachers. Arthur

  Rance had, indeed, intended to leave the chateau and, according to

  his habit, to walk to the station.

  Monsieur Stangerson confirmed what Rance had said, adding that he

  had not asked Rance to dine with him because his friend had taken

  his final leave of them both earlier in the evening. Monsieur

  Rance had had tea served him in his room, because he had complained

  of a slight indisposition.

  Bernier testified, instructed by Rouletabille, that the keeper had

  ordered him to meet at a spot near the oak grove, for the purpose

  of looking out for poachers. Finding that the keeper did not keep

  his appointment, he, Bernier, had gone in search of him. He had

  almost arrived at the donjon, when he saw a figure running swiftly

  in a direction opposite to him, towards the right wing of the

  chateau. He heard revolver shots from behind the figure and saw

  Rouletabille at one of the gallery windows. He heard Rouletabille

  call out to him to fire, and he had fired. He believed he had

  killed the man until he learned, after Rouletabille had uncovered

  the body, that the man had died from a knife thrust. Who had given

  it he could not imagine. "Nobody could have been near the spot

  without my seeing him." When the examining magistrate reminded him

  that the spot where the body was found was very dark and that he

  himself had not been able to recognise the keeper before firing,

  Daddy Bernier replied that neither had they seen the other body;

  nor had they found it. In the narrow court where five people were

  standing it would have been strange if the other body, had it been

  there, could have escaped. The only door that opened into the court

  was that of the keeper's room, and that door was closed, and the

  key of it was found in the keeper's pocket.

  However that might be, the examining magistrate did not pursue his

  inquiry further in this direction. He was evidently convinced that

  we had missed the man we were chasing and we had come upon the

  keeper's body in our chase. This matter of the keeper was another

  matter entirely. He wanted to satisfy himself about that without

  any further delay. Probably it fitted in with the conclusions he

  had already arrived at as to the keeper and his intrigues with the

  wife of Mathieu, the landlord of the Donjon Inn. This Mathieu,

  later in the afternoon, was arrested and taken to Corbeil in spite

  of his rheumatism. He had been heard to threaten the keeper, and

  though no evidence against him had been found at his inn, the

  evidence of carters who had heard the threats was enough to justify

  his retention.

  The examination had proceeded thus far when, to our surprise,

  Frederic Larsan returned to the chateau. He was accompanied by one

  of the employes of the railway. At that moment Rance and I were in

  the vestibule discussing Mathieu's guilt or innocence, while

  Rouletabille stood apart buried, apparently, in thought. The

  examining magistrate and his Registrar were in the little green

  drawing-room, while Darzac was with the doctor and Stangerson in

  the lady's chamber. As Frederic Larsan entered the vestibule with

  the railway employed, Rouletabille and I at once recognised him by

  the small blond beard. We exchanged meaningful glances. Larsan

  had himself announced to the examining magistrate by the gendarme

  and entered with the railway servant as Daddy Jacques came out.

  Some ten minutes went by during which Rouletabille appeared

  extremely impatient. The door of the drawing-room was then opened

  and we heard the magistrate calling to the gendarme who entered.

  Presently he came out, mounted the stairs and, coming back shortly,

  went in to the magistrate and said:

  "Monsieur,--Monsieur Robert Darzac will not come!"

  "What! Not come!" cried Monsieur de Marquet.

  "He says he cannot leave Mademoiselle Stangerson in her present

  state."

  "Very well," said Monsieur de Marquet; "then we'll go to him."

  Monsieur de Marquet and the gendarme mounted the stairs. He made

  a sign to Larsan and the railroad employe to follow. Rouletabille

  and I went along too.

  On reaching the door of Mademoiselle Stangerson's chamber, Monsieur

  de Marquet knocked. A chambermaid appeared. It was Sylvia, with

  her hair all in disorder and consternation showing on her face.

  "Is Monsieur Stangerson within?" asked the magistrate.

  "Yes, Monsieur."

  "Tell him that I wish to speak with him."

  Stangerson came out. His appearance was wretched in the extreme.

  "What do you want?" he demanded of the magistrate. "May I not be

  left in peace, Monsieur?"

  "Monsieur," said the magistrate, "it is absolutely necessary that I

  should see Monsieur Darzac at once. If you cannot induce him to

  come, I shall be compelled to use the help of the law."

  The professor made no reply. He looked at us all like a man being

  led to execution, and then went back into the room.

  Almost immediately after Monsieur Robert Darzac came out. He was

  very pale. He looked at us and, his eyes falling on the railway

  servant, his features stiffened and he could hardly repress a groan.

  We were all much moved by the appearance of the man. We felt that

  what was about to happen would decide the fate of Monsieur Robert

  Darzac. Frederic Larsan's face alone was radiant, showing a joy

  as of a dog that had at last got its prey.

  Pointing to the railway servant, Monsieur de Marquet said to

  Monsieur Darzac:

  "Do you recognise this man, Monsieur?"

  "I do," said Monsieur Darzac, in a tone which he vainly tried to

  make firm. "He is an employe at the station
at Epinay-sur-Orge."

  "This young man," went on Monsieur de Marquet, "affirms that he saw

  you get off the train at Epinay-sur-Orge--"

  "That night," said Monsieur Darzac, interrupting, "at half-past ten

  --it is quite true."

  An interval of silence followed.

  "Monsieur Darzac," the magistrate went on in a tone of deep emotion,

  "Monsieur Darzac, what were you doing that night, at Epinay-sur-Orge

  --at that time?"

  Monsieur Darzac remained silent, simply closing his eyes.

  "Monsieur Darzac," insisted Monsieur de Marquet, "can you tell me

  how you employed your time, that night?"

  Monsieur Darzac opened his eyes. He seemed to have recovered his

  self-control.

  "No, Monsieur."

  "Think, Monsieur! For, if you persist in your strange refusal, I

  shall be under the painful necessity of keeping you at my

  disposition."

  "I refuse."

  "Monsieur Darzac!--in the name of the law, I arrest you!"

  The magistrate had no sooner pronounced the words than I saw

  Rouletabille move quickly towards Monsieur Darzac. He would

  certainly have spoken to him, but Darzac, by a gesture, held

  him off. As the gendarme approached his prisoner, a despairing

  cry rang through the room:

  "Robert!--Robert!"

  We recognised the voice of Mademoiselle Stangerson. We all

  shuddered. Larsan himself turned pale. Monsieur Darzac, in response

  to the cry, had flown back into the room.

  The magistrate, the gendarme, and Larsan followed closely after.

  Rouletabille and I remained on the threshold. It was a

  heart-breaking sight that met our eyes. Mademoiselle Stangerson,

  with a face of deathly pallor, had risen on her bed, in spite of

  the restraining efforts of two doctors and her father. She was

  holding out her trembling arms towards Robert Darzac, on whom

  Larsan and the gendarme had laid hands. Her distended eyes saw

  --she understood--her lips seemed to form a word, but nobody made

  it out; and she fell back insensible.

  Monsieur Darzac was hurried out of the room and placed in the

  vestibule to wait for the vehicle Larsan had gone to fetch. We

  were all overcome by emotion and even Monsieur de Marquet had tears

  in his eyes. Rouletabille took advantage of the opportunity to

  say to Monsieur Darzac:

  "Are you going to put in any defense?"

  "No!" replied the prisoner.

  "Very well, then I will, Monsieur."

  "You cannot do it," said the unhappy man with a faint smile.

  "I can--and I will."

  Rouletabille's voice had in it a strange strength and confidence.

  "I can do it, Monsieur Robert Darzac, because I know more than

  you do!"

  "Come! Come!" murmured Darzac, almost angrily.

  "Have no fear! I shall know only what will benefit you."

  "You must know nothing, young man, if you want me to be grateful."

  Rouletabille shook his head, going close up to Darzac.

  "Listen to what I am about to say," he said in a low tone, "and let

  it give you confidence. You do not know the name of the murderer.

  Mademoiselle Stangerson knows it; but only half of it; but I know

  his two halves; I know the whole man!"

  Robert Darzac opened his eyes, with a look that showed he had not

  understood a word of what Rouletabille had said to him. At that

  moment the conveyance arrived, driven by Frederic Larsan. Darzac

  and the gendarme entered it, Larsan remaining on the driver's seat.

  The prisoner was taken to Corbeil.

  CHAPTER XXV

  Rouletabille Goes on a Journey

  That same evening Rouletabille and I left the Glandier. We were

  very glad to get away and there was nothing more to keep us there.

  I declared my intention to give up the whole matter. It had been

  too much for me. Rouletabille, with a friendly tap on my shoulder,

  confessed that he had nothing more to learn at the Glandier; he had

  learned there all it had to tell him. We reached Paris about eight

  o'clock, dined, and then, tired out, we separated, agreeing to meet

  the next morning at my rooms.

  Rouletabille arrived next day at the hour agreed on. He was dressed

  in a suit of English tweed, with an ulster on his arm, and a valise

  in his hand. Evidently he had prepared himself for a journey.

  "How long shall you be away?" I asked.

  "A month or two," he said. "It all depends."

  I asked him no more questions.

  "Do you know," he asked, "what the word was that Mademoiselle

  Stangerson tried to say before she fainted?"

  "No--nobody heard it."

  "I heard it!" replied Rouletabille. "She said 'Speak!'"

  "Do you think Darzac will speak?"

  "Never."

  I was about to make some further observations, but he wrung my hand

  warmly and wished me good-bye. I had only time to ask him one

  question before he left.

  "Are you not afraid that other attempts may be made while you're

  away?"

  "No! Not now that Darzac is in prison," he answered.

  With this strange remark he left. I was not to see him again until

  the day of Darzac's trial at the court when he appeared to explain

  the inexplicable.

  CHAPTER XXVI

  In Which Joseph Rouletabille Is Awaited with Impatience

  On the 15th of January, that is to say, two months and a half after

  the tragic events I have narrated, the "Epoque" printed, as the

  first column of the front page, the following sensational article:

  "The Seine-et-Oise jury is summoned to-day to give its verdict on

  one of the most mysterious affairs in the annals of crime. There

  never has been a case with so many obscure, incomprehensible, and

  inexplicable points. And yet the prosecution has not hesitated to

  put into the prisoner's dock a man who is respected, esteemed, and

  loved by all who knew him--a young savant, the hope of French

  science, whose whole life has been devoted to knowledge and truth.

  When Paris heard of Monsieur Robert Darzac's arrest a unanimous cry

  of protest arose from all sides. The whole Sorbonne, disgraced by

  this act of the examining magistrate, asserted its belief in the

  innocence of Mademoiselle Stangerson's fiance. Monsieur Stangerson

  was loud in his denunciation of this miscarriage of justice. There

  is no doubt in the mind of anybody that could the victim speak she

  would claim from the jurors of Seine-et-Oise the man she wishes to

  make her husband and whom the prosecution would send to the scaffold.

  It is to be hoped that Mademoiselle Stangerson will shortly recover

  her reason, which has been temporarily unhinged by the horrible

  mystery at the Glandier. The question before the jury is the one

  we propose to deal with this very day.

  "We have decided not to permit twelve worthy men to commit a

  disgraceful miscarriage of justice. We confess that the remarkable

  coincidences, the many convicting evidences, and the inexplicable

  silence on the part of the accused, as well as a total absence of

  any evidence for an alibi, were enough to warrant the bench of

  judges in assuming that in
this man alone was centered the truth

  of the affair. The evidences are, in appearance, so overwhelming

  against Monsieur Robert Darzac that a detective so well informed,

  so intelligent, and generally so successful, as Monsieur Frederic

  Larsan, may be excused for having been misled by them. Up to now

  everything has gone against Monsieur Robert Darzac in the

  magisterial inquiry. To-day, however, we are going to defend him

  before the jury, and we are going to bring to the witness stand a

  light that will illumine the whole mystery of the Glandier. For

  we possess the truth.

  "If we have not spoken sooner, it is because the interests of

  certain parties in the case demand that we should take that course.

  Our readers may remember the unsigned reports we published relating

  to the 'Left foot of the Rue Oberkampf,' at the time of the famous

  robbery of the Credit Universel, and the famous case of the 'Gold

  Ingots of the Mint.' In both those cases we were able to discover

  the truth long before even the excellent ingenuity of Frederic

  Larsan had been able to unravel it. These reports were written by

  our youngest reporter, Joseph Rouletabille, a youth of eighteen,

  whose fame to-morrow will be world-wide. When attention was first

  drawn to the Glandier case, our youthful reporter was on the spot

  and installed in the chateau, when every other representative of

  the press had been denied admission. He worked side by side with

  Frederic Larsan. He was amazed and terrified at the grave mistake

  the celebrated detective was about to make, and tried to divert

  him from the false scent he was following; but the great Fred

  refused to receive instructions from this young journalist. We

  know now where it brought Monsieur Robert Darzac.

  "But now, France must know--the whole world must know, that, on

  the very evening on which Monsieur Darzac was arrested, young

  Rouletabille entered our editorial office and informed us that he

  was about to go away on a journey. 'How long I shall be away,'

  he said, 'I cannot say; perhaps a month--perhaps two--perhaps

  three perhaps I may never return. Here is a letter. If I am not

  back on the day on which Monsieur Darzac is to appear before the

  Assize Court, have this letter opened and read to the court, after

  all the witnesses have been heard. Arrange it with Monsieur Darzac's

  counsel. Monsieur Darzac is innocent. In this letter is written

  the name of the murderer; and--that is all I have to say. I am

  leaving to get my proofs--for the irrefutable evidence of the

  murderer's guilt.' Our reporter departed. For a long time we

  were without news from him; but, a week ago, a stranger called

  upon our manager and said: 'Act in accordance with the instructions

  of Joseph Rouletabille, if it becomes necessary to do so. The

  letter left by him holds the truth.' The gentleman who brought us

  this message would not give us his name.

  "To-day, the 15th of January, is the day of the trial. Joseph

  Rouletabille has not returned. It may be we shall never see him

  again. The press also counts its heroes, its martyrs to duty. It

  may be he is no longer living. We shall know how to avenge him.

  Our manager will, this afternoon, be at the Court of Assize at

  Versailles, with the letter--the letter containing the name of

  the murderer!"

  Those Parisians who flocked to the Assize Court at Versailles, to

  be present at the trial of what was known as the "Mystery of The

  Yellow Room," will certainly remember the terrible crush at the

  Saint-Lazare station. The ordinary trains were so full that special

  trains had to be made up. The article in the "Epoque" had so

  excited the populace that discussion was rife everywhere even to

  the verge of blows. Partisans of Rouletabille fought with the