The evening world. Newspaper, January 19, 1916, Page 15

a) The Evening World Daily Magazi ne, Wednesday. January 19) 1916 + An Arsene Lupin Romance’ of Fortune and Mystery PARAL ARAL PLA PA By Maurice Ketten Next Week's Complete Novel in The Evening World “Roaring Bill” Wagstaff By Bertrand M. Sinclair 9 GILT EDGED STock | | FoReBRIDGe PRIZES | | 1S THE NEWEST WHY NOT yy Maurice Leblanc i PBI A AMARA MANNA ROA RNAM ATARI AAAI > 3 * (oprriaht, 1914, by Doubiaday, Page & Co.) at night," be sald, “1 fathomed the BTNOPRIs OF PREOHDING CHAPTERS, Mystery.” All the proofs came rushing to his mind of thelr own accord and at once transformed the theory into one of; those certainties which It would be madhosa to deny. It was that end nothing el As he had foreseen, the truth recorded in Sauverand’s ¢ atory. And he had not been mistak- 4 en, eithor, in saying to Mazeroux that he the manner in which the mysterious ; letters appeared had put him on the track of the truth. Amene bey thie 04 Bom Lats, arcu aime 008 bequest nh) feta to Paris og Ie Bun Mornings one is left to nearest vaiiry oF This mowey Several sjolce surround = And the truth was ‘terrible, Hae! and Saurerand, thought of it, the same) CHAPTER WV. ad maddend Inspector Verot when, already tortured by the potson, he stammered: uted. “Oh, 1 don’t like this, I don't ii 3| eee a IN LUIS had certainly ¢x- pected this formidable blow; and yet it appeared to take him unawares, and he re- peated more than once: “Ah, Weber ts here! Weber dere!” All bis buoyancy left him, and he felt like a retreating army which, after almost making good Its escape, suddenly finds itself brought to a Stop by a steep mountain. Weber was there—that is to say the chief Jeador of the snemies, the man who ‘would be sure to plan the attack and ‘the resistance in such a manner as to dash Perenna’s hopes to the ground. ‘With Weber at the head of the d tectives any attempt to force a way out would have been absurd. “Did you let him in?” he asked. “You did not tell me not to, sir.” “Is he alone?” the look of this! e whole thing has been planned in such an| infernal manner!" | Infernal was the word! And Don Luis remained stupefied at the reve- lation of a crime which looked as if} is no human brain could have conceived is he lay there, he heard the ‘searching in Florence's room. He heard them exclaim as they found odd memoranda he had once dis- covered, One of them read aloud; “Bear in mind that the explosion is Independent of tho letters, and that it will take place at three o'clock in the morning.” said another, “the ex- plosion which Don Luis foretold and which is to accompany the fifth letter, as announce! on the list of dates, ‘Tush! We have plenty of tim is there have been only three letters and the fourth is due to-night. Besides, blowing up that house on the Boule- vard Suchet would be no easy job by Jove “Oh, bang !t alll” muttered Don “No, ais, the deputy chief has six Lule.” “This te too silly, What shall ° ldo? Have a dash at them? men with him. Ho has left them in {had all my strength? Meee the courtyard.” ‘And where is he?” “He asked me to take him to the first floor, He expected to find you in your study, sir.” “Does he know now that I am with Sergeant Maseroux and Mile. Lavas- sour?” “Yes, alr.” Perenna left them and went out Into the bullway, He locked the door behind him and went down to the first floor. He did not feel those high frills which usu- @uy cheered him on the cve of his Kreat battles, Thia ume, Florence Levasseur's life and liberty were at lake; and the consequences of a de- feat seemed to him worse than death, Through the window on the land- ing he saw the detectives guarding They're searching for me." A crash came from below; its echo epread through the tunnel, by m tumult of voices, stdin “That's it” he said to himsel “The handcuffs, the lockup, he aie Good Lord, what luck—and what nonsense! And Marie Fa . who's sure to do away with herself. And Florence—Florence”— i Before »Crtingulshing his lantern, @ cast its light eround him fo: last time. Pte At « couple of yards’ distance from the ladder, about three-quarters of the wuy up and set a little way back, there was a big stone missing from the inner wall, leaving a space just large enough to crouch in. Although the recess did not form much of a hiding-place, it was just the courtyard, He counted six of Possible that they might omit to in them. And he aixo saw the deputy snect it Bealdes, Don Luis had no chief at one of the windows of his events, after putting study, watching tho courtyard and he leaned toward the wwe of tue hole, reached it, and man. ogd to scramble in by bending him. self in two. keeping in touch with his detective; He went at once to Weber and said: t's done. Florence Levasseur and “Weber, Maacroux, and their men erand are in my room. were coming long. Don Luis and bound. You hav é propped himself against the back of His hiding-hole to avoid as far as pos- sible the glare of the lanterns, of which he was beginning to see’ the lea And an amazine thing han- pened: the stone against which he was pushing toppled over slowly, as though moving on a pivot, and he fell backward into @ second cavity situated behind it. He quickly drew his legs after him and the stone swung back as slowly rs only to accept delivery of the good: “Good business!" be sail. “Take 6 up to your room. Was it @ hard struggle?” “Not very. I managed to disarm the scoundrel. All the same, Maze- roux has gone to have wound dressed at the chemi: “IT will send one of my men,” he said, “Is the chemist's near?’ “Just around the corner, in the Rue de Bourgoyne. sides, we can tele- =? ag before, not, however, without h ie sending down a quantity of small wont we can @hephone!” muttered stones, crumbling from the wall and half covering bis legs. During this ume Don Luls exam- ined his domain and perceived how extremely small it was The most that he could do was to ait in it, It Was 4 gallery @ yard and a balf long and ending im an orifice, narrower stl, heaped up with bricks, The Walls, besides, were formed of bricks, some of which were lacking, and the building stones which these should have Kept in place crumbled at the least touch, The ground was strewn with them, . “By Jove!" thought Lupin, “I must not wriggle about too much or I aball risk being buried alive! pleasant prospect!" Not only this, but the fear of mak- ing a noise kept him motionless, As & matter of fact, be was close to two rooms occupied by the detectives, first the boudoir and then the study, for the boudolr, as he know, was over that part of his study which included the Lelephone box. The thought of this suggested an- other, On reflection, remembering that he used sometimes to wonder how Count Malonyi's ancestress had managed to keep alive behind the cur- tain on the days when she had to hide there, he realized that there mus: have been a communication between the secret passage and what was now the telephone box, a communication too narrow to admit a person's body, but serving as 4 Ventilating shaft, As a precaution, in case the secret Ho crossed to the alcove, where ttood the telephone, Perenna pressed the button which let down the tron curtain over the front of the alcove, ‘Weber was @ prisoner. “That's a hundred millions gone to Jericho,” grinned Don Luis, “A pretty trick, but a bit expensive. Good-bye, Mornington inheritance! — Goodby, Don Luis Perenna! And now, my dear Lupin, if you don’t want Weber to take his revenge, beat a retreat and in good order, One, two; left, nigeti left, right! je took his revolver and fired off three bullets, one of which broke a e, Then he quickly left his study y a small, massive door, which he earefully closed behind him, He was now in @ secret passage which ran yound both rooms and ended in an- other door leading to the anteroom. He opened this door wide and was thus able to hide behind it, ‘Attracted by the shots and the noise, the detectives were already rushing through the hall and up the staircase. When they reached the first floor and had gone through the anteroom, as the drawing-room doors were locked, the only outlet open to them was the passage, at the end of which they could hear the deputy shouting. They all six darted down it. ‘When the last of them had vanished round the bend in the passage, Don Luis softly pushed back the door that concealed him and locked it like the rest. The six detectives were a% passage was discovered, a ‘stone con- safely imprisoned as the deputy chief. Pected the upper aperture of this Peronna dashed to the room where shaft, Count Malonyi must have de had left Florence and Gaston. He shouted; “Victory! The road is clear!" ‘The room waa ompty. Rut his eyes were attracted by a sheet of paper on the table, With a feverish hand Gaston Sauverand had sertbbled the following lines in pen ellt closed up the lower end when he re- stored the walnacoting of the study, So there he was, imprisoned in the thickness of the walls, with no very definite intention beyond that of es- caping from the clutches of the pole More hours passed, Gradually, tortured with hunger and thirst, he fell into a heavy sleep, “We are trying to escape so as not <q) turhed | by painful nightma to compromise you, If we are which he would haye given much to caught it can't be helped. TRe great pe able to throw off, But he slept too thing is that you should be free. All deeply to recover consciousness until are centred in you.” ow were two words written by Florence: “Save Marie.” Perenna looked out into the vard. Gaston Sauverand stood with his back to the wall of the lodge, sur- rounded by policemen and detectives who pushed and insulted him, handouffs w 'e on his wrists, But Florence had evidently escaped. Perenna sped to a secret cupboard ween floors and lay there at ease le Weher—who had just been re- Jeased—directed a search for him, 8 o'clock in the evening. When he woke up, feeling very tired, he saw his position in an unex- pectedly hideous light and, at the same time, so accurately that, yielding to a sudden change of opinion marked by no little fear, he resolved to leave his hiding-place and give himself uw) Anything was better than the torture which he was enduring and the 4d gers to which longer walting exposed him, But, on turning round to reach the entrance to his hole, he perceived first that the stone did not swing over when merely id, next, after CHAPTER V. Beveral ‘compen, that could not “Helpl” by yh ae the stone. He pore no doubt worked d. His exertions were all in vain. Only, at its of stone si ‘The stone did not each exertion, @ few came crumbling from the upper part of the wall and still further narrowed the space in which he was able to move. He repeated: “In ten days—with the fifth letter wip ten daya’ern i OURS and hours passed. Sud- H I denly, in the middle of tle night, Perenna gave a start. He took out his watch, By the light of his electric lamp w that it was seventeen minutes Mo at coventoon minutes to twelve a THRILL “(NEWS ITEM) , WHY NOT FOR CONCERT es PROGRAMMES 2 uP STOCKS so SHADES, FOR WALL PAPER. For WRAPPI 2 | To WRAP SOUVENIRS J Oy eh f it heap ‘ FOU. Aye |} / Ire Gi COPPER STocks |f too SHARES = a ( F WY <— RUBR : - STOCKS 10 SHARES NG PAPER For. CHEST PROTECTORS FoR, PAPER NAPKINS , AND MENUS 2? 4, 7 yx od LP Pa ew!’ o And suddenly he gave a start of frigh A horrible vision had Qushed across his mind, «4 vision only t real. The explosion was to occu that very night! And all at once, knowing that ho knew the truth, all at once, in a revival of bis usual clear-sightedness, be accepted the theory as certain, No doubt only three letters had ap- peared out of the mysterious dark- t four letters ougbt to have » because one of them had appeared not on the date fixed, but ten duys later; and this for a reason which Don Luis know Besides, it Was Not a question of all this, It was hot a question of seeking the truth amid this confusion of dates and let- ters, amid this intricate tangle in which po one could lay claim to any certainty. No; one thing alone stood out above the situation: the sentence, “Bear in mind that the explosion is independent of the letters.” And, as the explosion was put down for the night of the twenty-fifth of May, it would occur that very nigh at 3 o'clock im the morning! “Help! el he cried, Ho ceased his cries and « lls- tened, with all his anxtous ‘nation, to the great silence that surrounded as with layers. of lead t ne coft- fin in which he lay {mprisoned. Still nothing, not a sound. No one would come, no one could come to his as- gistance, A numbness crept over jim. He fell into a sort of swoon, in which he con- tinued to stammer confused syllables: “Florence—Mari arie’ * T CHAPTER V. The Explosion. IF fourth mysterious letter! The fourth of thos letters A bell had rung. They at once sound came fro heard where the “The telephone,” M, Desmalions inuttered, He took down the receiver. “Hullo! Who are you?” “Dou Luis Perenna,” was the ans- y ReStUre, h because of the ridiculous question as because he had really recornized Don Luis's voice beyond mistake “Woll?" he said, controling him- self. "What's all this about? Where are you!” “At my house, above the iron care tuln, In the ceiling of my study.” “In the ceiling!” repeated the Pre- fect, not knowing what to think, “Yes; and more or less done for, I contoss. “We'll send and help you out,” sald M. Desmalions, who was beginning to enjoy himself. “Later on, Monsieur lo Prefet, Fh anawer me. Quickly! If not, [ don't know that I shall have the strength, What's the time?" “Oh, look here!" bag of you"— z t's Qventy minutes [0 [ire “pwenty minutes to caree!” “Go away, Monsieur le Prefet! Go, all of you; leave the house. The house will be blown up at three Dek, os, yes, I swear it will days after the fourth letter b ow, because there has & ton days’ the letters, delay in tho delivery It means now, at 3 k in the morning. Remember w! was write ten on the sheet whir! Weber handed you this ! “posted by’ the dovil_ and explosion is Indeponden! of (he letters. delivered by tho devil,” as It will take place af 2 o'colck In the one of the newspapers ex. morning” At 3 o'el: the, morn: : iy o-day, Monsieur un" The pressed it! - ° : v faltered and cor From 10 o'clock in the evening the “"V7) “away. please no one re- Prefect of Police and his secretary main in the house, You must believe general, the chief tive and me, © know everythir rout the Weber, bis deputy, Sergt. Mazeroux Wusiness. And nothing oan Preve and two detectives were gathered in the threat from betne exceuteds 7% the large room in which Fauville had go! This Is horrible; [ feat tha been murdered. Fistecn wore detec- lives occupied the remaining rooms, while some {wenty others watched whe garden, azeroux skid: t is a good thin ‘ sion {8 due in ten days! to-night, Monsieur I) Prefet; other- wine all those good prople would be in danger as well as ourselves." “There will be no explosion dn ten days’ time, any more than there w. be @ letter to-night,” said M. Des- malions, shrugging his shoulders, And he added, “I % on that day the ord will be st Tt was now ten mit past two, At twenty-five minutes past, as the Prefect waa lighting a cigar, the chief ventured to joke: explo me and 6 3 @o without, next time, Monsieur le Prefot. It would he too risk: “Next time,” said M. 1 Hons, “T phall not waste time in keeping watch. For I really begin to think that all this business with the let~ tg over.” never can tell," Mazeroux, suggested A few minutes more passed, M, Desmalions had sat down. ‘ho oth- era also were seated. No one spoke. And suddenly they all spraug up, with one movement, and the same expression of surprise, » of y 3 Yoofr, the outside of the house ana BO you do not no strength left ut! He said a few words \ and T have very one m belleve 6 milions ¢¢ The Voice ceased Prefet sti, heard ort to him that those erie as thouth the instr were no longer within the reach of the mouth that uttered them He hung up the receiver “Gentlemen,” ho said, with a emile, “it Is seventeen to three. In saven- tecn minutos wo shall be blown up together, At least, that is what our good friend Don Luie Perenna de- clare: In spite of tha jokes with which thia threat Was mof, (here Woda gen- eral feeling of unoaxiness, Weber asked: “Was it really Don Luis, Monsieur lo Prefer?” “Don Luis in person. Ho has gone to earth in some hiding-hole in bis house, above the study; and bis fa- tigue and privations acem to have up- settled him a little, Mazeroux, go and ferret him out—unless this ts Just some fresh trick on bis part. You have your warrant,” Sergeant Maxcroux went up to M. Desmalions, His face waa pallid. “Monsieur le Prefet, did he tell you that we wero gulng to be blowm up?” “He did, Ho relies on the note which M. Weber found tn a volume of Shakespeare, ‘The explosion is to take place to-night.” “At 3 o'clock in the morning?” “At 3 o'clock in the morning—tbat in less than quarter of i a “And do you propose to remain, Mon jeur le Prefet?* Vhat next, Sergeant? Do you imagine that We are going to obey that gentleman's fancies?” Mazeroux staggered, hesitated, and then, despite al! bis natural deference, unable to contain himself, c lo Prefet, It's not a fancy. T have worked with Don Luis. L know the man, If he tells you that somo- thing is going to happen, it’s because he has his reasons.” “Absurd reasons.” “No, no, Monsteur le Prefet,’* Mazeroux pleaded, growing more and more excited. "I sweur that you must Hsten to him. The house will be blown up—he sald so—at 8 o'clock. We have « few minutes left. Let us go.) I, entreat you, Monsieur ie Prefet," “In other words, you want us to run away.” “But it's not running away, Mon- sleur le Prefet, It's 4 siiuple precau- tlon, After all, we can't rigke— You, yourself, Monsieur le Prefet"—~ cahat welll do.” “But Monsieur le Prete! Lula said” —— ial ey “That will do, I aay!" repeated the Prefect harshly. “It you're afraid, you can take advantage of the order Which | gave you and go off after Don als” Mazeroux clicked his he together om old soldier that he w saluted “L shall stay here, 4 sie io Prefer sicily, land went back to his noe. 4. MM. Desm Ran to walk up and down with bis hands behind his bi agldressing the ehief detective jons be ™ tary general Du are uf my opinion, T hope” he sald . Monsieur le Pr that supposition | serious, And, i y Vv as the le neral ven that? ‘The secretary geneval did not reply and M, Desmalions did not complete hig sentence. fe himself, like the others, experienced that samo feeling af Uneasiness which gradually, as the seconds sped past, was becoming al- most intolerably ~9tnful, Three o'clock in the morning! . ... The words kept on recurring to his mind, Twice he looked at hia wateh, ‘There was twelve minutes left. There ten minutes. Was the house really golng (o be blown up, by the mere effect of an infermal and a ual with? senseless, absolutely sense- he cried, stamping his foot, But, on looking at his companions, ha was umazed to see how drawn their faces were; and he felt his cour- sink in # strange way, “Lat us go,” he eaid, He was the last out, leaving the electric light fun on, in the hall he asked the chief de- Whea all the plain clothes men bad assembled, tective to blow his whistle, he sent them out of the house to: | ng with the porter, anf shut the Then, calling tho were Watching the loor behind him. detectives, who boulevard, he said: tance away; push the crowd as far Dack as you cun; amd be quick abou! 4t, We shall enter the house again in halt an hour.” “And you, Monsieur le Preeti?” Whispered Maserous, “You won't re- main here, L hope?’ “No, that I shan’t!" he said, laugh. ee IT may as well take 1 tt." Phere is only two minutes ur friend He crossed the boulevard, accom~ panied by his secretary general, the and climbered up the slope of the fortl- chief detective and Mazeroux, cations opposite the house. “Perhaps we ought to stoop down,” suggested Mazeroux. “Let us stoop, by all means,” suid the Prefet, still in kood humor, “But, honestly if there's no explosion I shall 4 @ bullet through my head. I vould not go on living after making se: myselg look so ridiculous “Thére will be an & wleur de Prefet,” deel: “What contidence y ur friend Don Luis You has Monsleur le Prefet.” ‘Three o'clock sounded from some where. "You see," grin d Mazeroux, 1 M. Desmattoni our friend Perenna's Perenna spoke of 3 o'clock, not two minutes to three, So josion, Mon- must have the same confidence, | ““ROARIS BILL’ WAGSTAFF” is a sequel to Sin- clair’s novel, “North of Fifty-Three,” recently printed in The Evening World. It is also a complete story by itself, so that a knowledge of the preceding novel is not of it. necessary to full enjoyment The same dash and suspense and outdoor charm, which made “North of Fifty-Three” so popular, will be found in even greater measure in this sequel. easercpeneeoduRra nee CH Ore ADAM DH AOMORI MCT A ay plaster that strewed the carpet. then switched on th zat in the box ag well and saw ue? and arm hanging from the ceiling nbove him, The cetling was broken up all around that arm, But the shoulder had not been able to pass through; and Mageroux could not see the cap- { tive's head He sprang on to a chair and reached the band. He felt it and was reassured by the warmth of its touch. “Ls that you, Mazeroux?” asked voice that seemed to the sergeant to come from very fur away, “Yes, it's 1. You're m you? Nothing serious o only stunied—and a bit faint mhunger, . . . Listen tome” m Ustening.” “Open tho second drawer on tho att in my = writing-dewk. ©. . You'll find" —— “Yes, Chiet?" “Ag old stick of chocolate.” “But"— “Do as f tell you, Alexandre; famished.” Indeed, Don Luls recovered after a tor two and said, in a gayor wounded, tm wThat's better. T can walt now. Go jto the kitchen and fetch me some bread and some water.” “I'l be back at onee, Chiet." Not this way. Come back by Flor. ence Levasseur's room and the secret passage to the ladder which leads to the trapdoor at @e top.” ‘And he told him how to make the stone swing out and how to enter the hollow in which he had expected to meet with such @ tragle end. ‘The thing was done in ten minutes. Mazeroux cleared the opening, coughs hold of Dor Luis by the legs end pulled him out of his hole. “Ob, dear, oh dear!’ he moaned, in a voice full of pity, “What a position, Chief! How did you manage it all? You, [ sec: you must have dug down, where you lay, and gone on digging-~ for more thao @ yard! And it took some pluck, L expect, on an empty stomach!"" When Don Luis was seated im bis bedroom and had’ swallowed a few bits of bread and drunk what ho wanted, he told his story: yes, it took the devil's own pluck, 4 man, Hy Jingo! when @ chap's are whirling in bis head and he can't uso bis brain, upon my word, all he asks is to die! And then ther no air, you see. | could athe. L went on digging, howe: you saw, went on digging while L was half asleep, in a sort of night mare, Just look: my fingers are in a jelly. But there, Was thinking of that confounded business of the ex- n and I wanted to warn you at cows, and I dug away at my tune What a job! And then, oof! I id it all nel. felt space at last! “TL get my hand tarsaen and next my arm. Where w Why, over the telephone, of course! I knew that At once by feeling the wall and fading the wires, Then it took me quite half t in hour to got hold of the instrument. T couldn't roach it with my arm. “] managed at last with a piece 0! string and a siip-knot to up the receiver and hold it near my mouth, er, say, at ten inches from my mouth. ‘And then [ shouted and roared to make my voice carry; and, all the time, | was in pal And then, at last, my string broke, .). » And then— * and then—I hadn't an ounce of etrength left In my body. sides, you fellows had been warned; and It was for you to Bgt yourselves out of the mess.” He looked at Mazeroux and asked . ay though certain of the reply: ‘The explosion took place, didn't hii str » Yes, Chief," “At three o'clock exactly?” Yes.” nd of course M. Desmalions had the house cleared?” yon “At the last minute?” “at the last minu! in an altered voice, “you se! ‘There Don Luis laughed and nothing, thank coodness! “L knew he would walt al nd And he growled tuive way unt . “It's idiotic, perfectly idiotic, How bf 7 could any one imagine such mons i feud with ty farther awa Ho kept on roof of a neighboring huilding Before the Uaird ng, ond i, a vision of a of flames and sm ting forth enormous stones ng from the sounded ™ a terrible s Suchet, a crowd was #0 that they had alight from the M wsed through the cor of otecting the approaches to th took Don Lula to pieces of wall, something Nke Krand finale of a treworks disp! Aud it was all over, ‘The voleano roux hid erupted engineer's wi Look sharp!’ shouted the Prefet M, Desmations was there f Police, dating forward T with all the men whe had spe phone for the engines, quick, in a8 pigit in the room and several impor fre tant persons froin the public prose He caught Mazeroux by the arm, eutor’s otter Behe danlty [tun to iy motor; you'll see her & chiot dete Oe ad gone ee hundred yards dowh the boulevard. fuying to me pias the man ty drive you to Don /4ynk tt , i and, tf you And him, 089 excitement. The Prefect him and bring him here attitude sels nder arrest, Monsie i . ¥ Under arrest? You Ail our t o it if the deputy ch fneight is hay The deputy chief will p bis saved our sien mouth shut. I'll see to that. Be off!” and | wish to inost ein Mazeroux fulfilled bie mission, not bhatically, in my case, it is th with greater speed than if he had ond time that I have to thank you been sent to arrest Don Luls, Mazeroux was a conscientious man, but with extraordinary pleasure. Tho fight which he had been obliged to wage aguinst the man whom he atill called “the chief” had often distressed This time to help him, perhaps him to the point of tears, he was coming to save his life Ha reached Perenna’a house ran to the room where stood the twi tle recelver was hanging from t cord; and, going on to tho box, be stumbled over bits \ for and w from where he stood that Jephone of brick “Monsieur | shall now x pected miracle of chan: " Jelivery of the letter, You that tt was an hand th all the crimes and you W whose hand that Was.” And, turning to Mazeroux “Sergeant, Will you room a# dark us you can? The » but you might ¢ cross the windows and the doors, Monsieur le Prefet, is it iy accident that the electric ight is on?” “Yes, by accident. Woe will have tt turned out.” “One moment. Have any of you gentlemen a pocket lantern us you? Or, no, it doesn’t matter, will do," There was 9 candle In the scones, tand Lit it. he switched off the electro re was a half darkness, amid which the fame of the candle fiek- ered in the draught of the wi Don Lula protected the flame his hand and moved to the bow) “TL do not think that we shall Be kept waiting long,” id, “Ae T foresee it, there will be only @ few seconds before the facts for themselves and better than I could dd.’ More seconds elapsed than Don Lats Perenna had said, thirty or forty see- onds, perhaps, that seemed endless. ‘Then Perenna lifted the candle @ little and satd: “There you a ‘They bad all seen what they now saw almost as soon as he . letter was descending from the Ing. Tt spun round slowly, like a leat falling from a tree without being driven by the wind. Tt Just touched Don Luis and alighted on the floor between two legs of the table, Ticking wp the paper and handing It to M. Desmattons, Don Luls said “There vou are, Monsieur Te ‘This Is the fourth letter, due night." ery 7 CHAPTER VU. The “ Hater.” DESMALIONS looked at fy «Chim without understanding, and Jooked from him to the ceiling. Perenna said: “Oh, there's no witchcraft about it; and, though no one has thrown that letter from above, though there is not the smatiest hole in the ceiling, the explanation i quite aimpl H “Quite simple, ts it? aaid «M. Desmations, es, Monsieur lo Prefet. tt alt looks like an extreuely complicated conjuring trick, done almost for fun. Woll, I say that it is quite simple— cool, at the same time, terribly tragte. Sergt. Maxeroux, would you mind drawing back the curtains and giving us as much light as possible?” While Maseroux was executing his orders and M. Desamalions siancing at tho fourth letter, the contents which were unimportant and confirmed the previous ones, Dom Luis took @ palr of steps which the workmen had lett in the corner,\eet it up in the middle of the room amd climbed to the top, Where, seated astride, bo was able to reach the eleo~ tric chandelier, It consisted of a broad, clrewar band in brass, beneath which wae @ festoon of crystal pendants. jo were threo lamps placed at the nors of @ brass triangle com wires. “Lond me a hand, please,” he satde: Mageroux went up the steps; between them they took hold of chandelier and let it slide down wp rights, On Inspection, It proved to be ur- mounted La 4a cul “+9 metal bex, measuring about eh? inches i which box, being fastened taside the celling between the iron clamps, Bad obliged Dou Luis to Knock awey te plaster that concealed It, “What the devil's this?" exolatmed Desmations. ; lia” one a j M “Open it tor Prefot; there's @ Peren a. M. smationa raised the id. The box was filled with springs apd wheels, & Whole complicated and de- ruled mechanism resembling @ pleee of clockwork your leave, Monsieur le Pre- “wld Don Luis © plece of machinery other beneath dt, as at by the gearing of joined to two wheels; and tie second waa more like one of tose automatic appa ratuses which turn out printed slips. Right at the bottom of the box, just here the box touched the ceiling, ‘ ireular groove, and at the fit was » letter ready for de- ft the five letters,” said ces continuing the nunciations, You wil ne- ur le Prefet, that the last for the let- lotwiled explana- vt letters wae io, A clever controlled by ue by one at c, pushed them to concealed be- the pendants, ito space, 1 * quite easy, Mon be work was done guarded by the 9 room se wurder was committed, Heron e murder was commit. the letters which he wrote, uulville accuses his wife,” must therefore admit elther that he Was right in aeout her or tial the letters are forged Vhey are not forged. All the perts juve recognized M, Fauvilies handwriting, To Bo ci lt ey