The PHANTOM
OF THE OPERA
by Gaston Leroux
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SYNOPSIS.
Consternation la caused on tha last
Mffth that tha Opera la managed by De-
Manna and Poligny because of the ap-
H»rance of a gho«t. said to have been
tn evidence on aevaral previous occasions.
Christine Daae, a member of the opera
company, la called upon to fill a very
important part and scores a great suc-
M«a. Count d*» Chagny and hla brother
Raoul are among those who applaud the
Unger. Raoul tries to see Christine In
me creasing room, but Is unable to do so
M>d later discovers that some one Is mak
ing love to her. 8he emorges alone, and
JjPon entering the room ho finds It empty.
While the farewell ceremony for the re
tiring managers Is going on, the Opera
Ohost appears and Informs the new man
agers tnat Ro* No. 5 Is reserved for him.
Box No. 5 Is sold with disastrous results.
The managers receive a letter from the
Opera Ohost calling attention to the er
ror. Chriatlne Daae writes Raoul that
the has gone to visit the grave of her
ather. He goes also, and In the night
follows her to the church. Wonderful
rlolln music Is heard. Raoul visits a
fraveyard. Raoul Is found next morning
almost frozen. Moncharmln and Richard
Investigate Box No. H and decide to see
the performance of •’Faust" from front
Mata of that box. Carlotta, who sings
Ihe leading part In "Faust.' Is warned to
five the part to Christine. Carlotta.
refusing, loses her voice In the middle
of a song and the main chandelier
crashes down, killing a woman and
wounding many. Raoul searches for
Chriatlne. who haa disappeared. He sees
her at last, but does not speak, and later
a note la received from her making an
appointment for a masked ball. Raoul
meets Chriatlne at the ball. He sees a
person In the disguise of Red Death.
He hears her conversing with some one
whom she calls Krlk. Raoul visits
Christine and tells her he knows the
name of the unseen man whom she calls
the Angel of Music. Christine and Raoul
baeome secretly engaged prior to a polar
expedition that Raoul Is to make. Chrts
dae relates a strange adventure with the
man Erik and promises to run away
with Raoul. Raoul announces his Inten
tion of marrying Christine, which dla-
K eases Philippe. In the midst of a per
mance the stage Is enveloped In dark
ssss and Christine disappears. No trace
of hsr Is found. Moncharmln and Rich
ard behave strangely. Raoul searches
madly for the missing singer. The Opera
Ohost demands the first Installment or his
allowance, and when It Is left at an ap
pointed place the sum mysteriously dis
appears. Raoul goes In search of Chris
tine. He meets a mysterious person
known as the Persian.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Viscount and the Persian.
Raoul now remembered that bis
brother had once shown him that mys
terious person, of whom nothing was
known except that he was a Persian
and that he lived In a little old
fashioned flat in the Hub de Rlvoll.
The man with the ebony skin, the
eyes of jade and the astrakhan cap
bent over Raoul.
“I hope, M. de Chagny,” he said,
“that you have not betrayed Erik’s
secret ?"
“And why should I hesitate to be
tray that monstir, sir?” Raoul re
joined haughtily, trying to shake off
the Intruder. “Is he your friend, by
any chance?”
“I hope that you said nothing about
Erik, sir, because Erik's secret Is also
Christine Daae’s and to talk about
one Is to talk about the other!”
“Oh, sir,” said Raoul, becoming
mors a*d more Impatient, "you seem
to know about many things that in
ters*! me; and yet 1 have no time to
listen to you!”
“Once more, M. de Chagny, where
*n» you going so fast?”
“Cannot you guess? To Christine
Drae's assistance. . . .”
“Then, sir, stay here, for Christine
Dtae is here!”
“With Krlk?”
“With Erik.”
“How do you know?”
“I was at the performance and no
e£e in the world but Erik could con
trive an abduction like that! . . .
Oh.” he said, with a deep sigh, ”1
recognized the monster’s touch!”
“You know him then?”
The Persian did not reply, but
heaved a fresh sigh.
”8ir,” said Raoul, ”1 do not know
What your lutentlons are, but can you
An anything to help me? 1 mean, to
help Christine Daae?”
“I think so, M. de Chagny, and that
le why I spoke to you.”
“What can you do?”
Try to take you to her . . .
amd to him "
“If you can do me that service, sir,
my life is yours! . . One word
mere: the commissary of police tells
me that Christine Daae has been car
ried off by my brother. Count Phl
*H»pe.”
“Oh, M. de Chagny, I don't believe
A word of it.”
“It's not possible, Is It?”
*T don’t know if It is possible or
Mt; but there are ways and ways of
owrylng people off; and M. le Comte
Philippe has never, so Tar as I know,
h*d anything to do with witchcraft.”
“Your arguments are convincing,
Atr # and I am a fool! . . . Oh, let
os make haste! I place myself en
tirely In your hands! . . . How
Afcould I not believe yon, when you
jar* the only one to believe me . .
when you are the only one not to
lAmile when Erik’s name la men-
Hen #d r .
And the young man impetuously
jettsed the Persian’s hands. They
ice-cold.
“11s* i ' said the Persian, stop
ping and listening to the distant
sounds of the theater. "We must not
mention that name here. Let ns say
’he’ and ‘him’; then there will be leas
danger of attracting his attention."
"Do you think he is near us?"
"It Is quite possible, sir, if he Is
not, at this moment, with his victim,
In the house on the lake.”
"Ah, so you know that house, too7”
"If ho Is not there, he may be
hero, in this wall. In this floor, In
this celling! . . . Come!”
And the Persian, asking Raoul to
deaden the sound of his footsteps, led
him down passages which Raoul bad
never soon before, even at the time
when Christine used to take him for
walks through that labyrinth.
“If only Darius has come!" said the
Persian. * ,
"Who is Darius?’’
"Darius? My servant."
They were now In the center of a
real deserted square, an Immense
apartment 111-llt by a small lamp. The
Persian stopped Raoul and. In the
softest of whispers, asked:
“What did you say to the commis
sary?"
"I said that Christine Daae’s ab
ductor was the Angel of Music, alias
the opera ghost, and that the real
name was . . .”
"Hush! . . . And did be be
lieve you?"
"No.”
“He attached no Importance to
what you said?"
"No."
"He took you for a bit of a mad
man?”
•Yes."
“So much the better!" sighed the
Persian.
And they continued their road.
After going up and down several
staircases which Raoul had never
seen before, the two men found them
selves in front of a door which the
Persian opened with a master-key.
The Persian and Raoul were both, or
course, in dress-cloth**; but. where
as Raoul had a tall hat, the Persian
wore the astrakhan cap which 1 havd*
already mentioned. It was an In
fringement of the rule which Insists
upon the tall hat behind the scenes;
but In France foreigners are allowed
every license; the Englishman his
traveling cap, the Persian his cap of
astrakhan.
“Sir,” said the Persian, “your tall
hat will be in your way; you would
do well to leave It In the dressing
room."
"What dressing • room?" asked
Raoul.
"Christine Daae’s.” '
And the Persian, letting .Raoul
through the door which he had just
opened, showed him the actress’ room
opposite.
They were at the end or the pass
age the whole of which Raoul had
been accustomed to traverse betore
knocking at Christine’s door.
"How well you know the opera,
sir!"
“Not so well as ‘he’ does!” said the
Persian modestly.
And he pushed the young man into
Christine’s dressing-room, which was
us Raoul had le(t It a few minutes
earlier.
Closing the door, the Perßlan went
to a very thin partition that sep
arated the dressing-room from a big
lumber-room next to it. He Ustenod
and then coughed loudly.
There was a sound of some one
stirring in the lumber-room; and, a
few seconds later, a linger tapped at
tbe door.
"Come In,” said the Persian.
A man entered, also wearing an
astrakhan cap and dressed In a long
overcoat. He bowed and took a rich
ly carved case from under his coat,
put it on the dressing-table, bowed
once again and went to tbe door.
"Did no one see you come in,
Darius?”
“No, master.”
“Let no one see you go out."
The servant glanced down the
passage and swirtly disappeared.
The Persian opened the case. It
contained a pair of long p! tols.
“When Christine Daae was carried
off, sir, 1 sent word to my servant to
bring me these pistols. I hpve had
them a long time and they can be re
lied upon.”
“Do you mean to fight a duelT”
asked the young man.
“It will certainly be a duel which
we shall have to fight,” said the other,
examining the priming or bis pistols.
"And what a duel!" Handing one of
the pistols to Raoul, he added: “In
this duel, we shall be two to one; but
you must be prepared for everything,
for we shall be fighting the most ter
rible adversary tbat you can Imagine
But you love Christine Daae. do you
not?"
"I worship the ground she stands
on! But you, stir, who do not iovfi
her, tell me why I find vou ready, to
ELBERT COUNTY TRIBUNE.
risk your life for her! You must cer
tainly bate Erik!"
“No, sir,” said the Persian sadly,
"I do not hate him. If I hated him,
he would long ago have ceased doing
barm."
"Has begone you harm?"
"I have forgiven him the barm
which he has done me."
"I do not understand you. You
treat him as a monster, you speak or
his crime, he has done you barm and
1 find In you the same Inexplicable
pity that drove me to despair when i
saw It In Christine!"
The Persian did not reply. He
fetched a stool and set It aghlnst the
wall facing the great mirror that
filled the whole of the wall-space op
posite. Then be climbed on the stool,
and, with hla nose to the wall-paper,
seemed to be looking for something.
"Ah,” he said, after & long search.
“I have It!”
And, raising his finger above hla
bead, he pressed against a corner in
the pattern of the paper. Then he
turned round and jumped off the
stool.
“In half a minute.” he said, “we
shall be on hla road!” and crossing
the whole length of the dressing
room he felt the great mirror.
“No, It Is not yielding yet,” he mut
tered.
“Oh, are we going out by the mlr
ror?” asked Raoul. “Like Christine
Daae.”
“So you knew that Christine Daae
went out by that mirror?"
“She did so before my eyes, sir! 1
was hidden behind the curtain of tbe
inner room and I saw her vanish not
by the glass, but in the glass!"
“And what did you do?”
“1 thought it was an aberration of
my senses, a mad dream. . .
“Or some new fancy of the
ghost’s!” chuckled the Persian. “Ah.
M de Chagny,” he continued, still
with his hand on the mirror, “would
that we had to do with a ghost! We
could then leave our pistols In thetr
case. . . . Put down your hat,
please . . there . . . and
now cover your shirt-front as much
as you can with your coat ... as
I am doing. . . . tiring the lapels
forward . . . turn up the collar.
. . . We must make ourselves as
Invisible as possible. . . ."
Bearing against the mirror, after a
short silence, he said:
“It takes some time to release tbe
counterbalance, when you press on
“Do You Mean to Fight a Duel?” Asked the Young Man.
the spring from the inside or the
room. It Is different when you are
behind the wall and can act directly
on the counterbalance. Then the mir
ror turns at once and Is moved with
inqredlble rapidity."
“What counterbalance?” asked
Raoul.
"Why, the counterbalance that lifts
the whole of this wall on to Its pivot.
You surely don’t expect It to move
of itself, by enchantment.’ If you
watch, you will see the mirror tlrst
rise an Inch or two and then shift an
Inch or two from left to right, it will
then be on a pivot and will swing
round.”
“It’s not turning!” said Raoul Im
patiently.
“Oh, wait! You have time enough
to be Impatient, sir! Tbe mechanism
has obviously become rusty, or else
the spring Isn’t working. . . . Un
less It Is somethlrig else," added the
Persian anxiously.
“What?"
"He may simply have cut the cord
of the counterbalance and blocked
the whole apparatus.
“Why should he? He does not
know that we are coming this way!"
“I dare say he suspects It, for he
knows that I understand the system."
"It’s not turning! . , , And
Christine, sir, Christine?"
Tbe Persian said coldly:
"We shall do ail that It Is humanly
possible to
stop us at the first step! ... He
commands tbe walls, the doors and
the trap-doors. In my country, he was
known by a name which means the
‘trap-door lover.' "
“But why do tbe6e walla obey him
alone? He did not build them!”
“Yes, sir, that Is Just what he did!"
Raoul looked at him in amazement;
but the Persian made a sign to him to
be silent and pointed to the glass.
There was a sort of shivering
reflection. Their Image was troubled
as In a rippling sheet of water and
then all became stationary again.
"You see. sir, tbat It is not turn
ing! Let us take another road!"
‘Tonight, there Is no other!” de
clared the Persian, in a singularly
mournful voice. “And now. look out!
And be ready to fire."
He himself raised hla pistol oppo
site the glass. Raoul imitated his
movement. With bis free arm, the
Persian drew the young man to his
chest and, suddenly, the mirror
turned, in a blinding daze of cross
lights; It turned like one of those re
volving doors which have lately been
fixed to the entrances of most res
taurants, it turned, carrying Raoul
and the Persian with It and suddenly
hurling them rrora the full light into
the deepest darkness.
CHAPTER XX.
In the Cellars of the Opera.
"Your hand high, ready to fire!”
repeated Raoul’s companion quickly.
The wall, behind them, having
completed the circle which It de
scribed upon Itself, closed again; and
the two men stood motionless for a
moment, holding their breath. *
At ’last, the Persian decided to
make a movement; and Raoul heard
him slip on his knees and feel for
something In the dark with his grop
ing hands. Suddenly, tbe darkness
was made visible by a small dark
lantern / and Raoul lnstlnctly stepped
backward as though to escape the
scrutiny of a secret enemy, tiut he
soon perceived that the light belonged
to the Persian, whose movements he
was closely observing. The little red
disk was turned In every direction
and Raoul saw tbat the floor, the
walls and the celling were all
formed of planking. It must have
been the ordinary road taken by Erik
to reach Christine’s dressing-room
and Impose upon her Innocence.
And Raoul, remembering the Per
sian’s remark, thought that It had
been mysteriously constructed by the
ghost himself. Later, he learned that
Erik had found, all prepared for him.
Working in the Dark
Secretary M&cVeagh, at a dinner In
Washington, was urging the need of
scientific financial laws.
“But let us make these laws scien
tifically,” he said. “We must let in the
light We must work In the light If
we work In the dark, you know, we
will go wrong—like young Cornelius
Husk.
“Cornelius Husk was called ons win
ter morning before dawn, and told to
go and harness the mule to the dear
born.
‘/Tbe lad was too lazy to light a lan
tern, and in the dark he didn't notice
that one of tbe cows was In the stable
with the mule.
“As he tried to harness the cow hla
a Mcret paa«*«. lon* known to nin»--
aolf alone and contrlYed at U “*
of the Paris Commune to allow u»e
Jailers to convey their P rl ®° ner
straight to the dungeons that naa
been constructed for them In the cel
lars; for tbe Federates had occupied
the opera-house immediately after the
eighteenth of March and had made a
starting-place right at the top or
their Mongolfler balloons, which car
ried their incendiary proclamations to
the departments, and a state prison
right at the bottom.
The Persian went on his knees and
put his lantern on the ground He
seemed to be working at the floor;
and suddenly he turned off his light.
Then Raoul heard a faint click and
saw a very pale luminous square in
the floor of the passage It was as
though a window had opened on the
opera cellars, which were still lit.
Raoul no longer saw the Persian, but
he suddenly felt him by his side and
heard him whisper:
‘ Follow me and do all that 1 do."
Raoul turned to the luminous aper
ture. Then he saw the Persian, who
was still on his knees, hang by hla
bands from the rim of the opening,
with bis pistol between his teeth, and
slide into the cellar below.
Curiously enough, the viscount had
absolute confidence in the Persian,
though be knew nothing about him.
ills emotion when Bpeaklng of the
"monster" struck him as sincere;
and. if the Persian had cherished any
sinister designs against him, he would
not have armed him with his own
hands. Besides, Raoul must reach
Christine at all costs. He therefore
went on his knees also and hung from
the trap with both hands.
“Let go!" said a voice.
And he dropped Into the arms of
the Persian, who told hl’i to lie down
flat, closed the trapdoor above him
and grouched down beside him. Raoul
tried to ask a question, but the Per
sian’s band was on his mouth and
he heard a voice which he recog
nized as tbat of the commissary of
police.
Raoul and the Persian were com
pletely hidden behind a wooden par
tition. Near them, a small staircase
led to a little room In which the com
missary appeared to be walking up
and down, asking questions. The
faint light was Just enough to enable
Raoul to distinguish the shape of
things around him. And be could not
restrain a dull cry: there were three
corpses there.
The first lay on the narrow landing
of the little staircase; the two others
had rolled to the bottom of the stair
case. Raoul could have touched one
of the two poor wretches by passing
his fingers through the partition.
“Silence!” whispered the Persian.
He too had seen the bodies and he
gave one word In explanation:
“He!”
The commissary's voice was now
heard more distinctly. He was ask
ing for Information about the system
of lighting, which the stage-manager
supplied. The commissary therefore
must be in the “organ” or Its imme
diate neighborhood.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Game Didn’t Work.
To Illustrate how well the late
"Ted”. Marks was known In theatrical
circles beyond the metropolis, a drum
mer for a New York house told this
story: “A lot of boys were sitting
around In the lobby of a Kansas City
hotel one evening, when one young
fellow volunteered to take any one
who would go along to the theater. 1
accepted the offer and we went to the
box office, where our ‘fresh’ friend
greeted the man Inside with a hale
and merry ‘How are you?' and a re
quest for two tickets. Marks,’ said
he, ’you know, Teddy Marks—it’s all
right.’ The man inside gave the drum
mer another look, and said. In a very
cool but determined manner: ‘Noth
ing doing. Something’ll happen to you
if you don’t move quick.’ We did, and
he paid my way into another show to
avoid meeting the crowd."
Students Placed on Honor.
oiuuimu r-iai.cu on nonor.
Examinations took place recently,
for the first time In the history of the
University of Cincinnati, with the
professor absent from the class room.
The following notice: “I pledge on
my honor that I have neither given
nor received aid during this examina
tion." was inscribed on the black
board. The professor explaihed the
plan to the class, and after the 12
men and women signed the pledge he
submitted the examination questions
and left the room
Good to Forget Self Sometimes.
To try to make others comfortable
is the only way to get right comfort
able ourselves, and that comeß partly
of not being able to think so much
about ourselves when we are helping
other people. For ourselves will al
ways do pretty well If we don't pay
them too much attention.—George
Macdonald.
father, impatient at the long delay,
shouted from the house:
‘“Corney! Corney! what ye doin'?*
** 'I can’t get the collar over the
mule’s head,' the boy replied. ‘His
ears are frozen.’ “
Where Superstition Stops.
David Belasco, at a reception In New
York, was discussing stage supersti
tions “An actor," he said, “will never
in rehearsal speak the last lines of a
new play. His superstition wqn’t let
him. Superstition Is a very powerful
thing In all of us,” he added, "but I
have never heard of Its preventing
anybody from accepting thirteen fo»
a dozen."
MY FRIENDS SAID
( Could Never Get Well
Thanks to Peruna I am Well.
Miss Clara Lohr, 21 North Gold 8t-
Grand Rapids, Mich.: “Doctors said
I had consumption. Weighed only
90 pounds. Commenced taking Pani
na. Now weigh 135 pounds. I am
so thankful for what Peruna haa done
for me.”
Those who object to liquid
clnes can now procure Peruna Tab
lets.
NOT AS BAD AS ALL THAT
. W
Judge Resents Attitude of "Funny
Men" as to Present Tendenoy
In Dress.
Judge Ralph S. Latshaw squelched
in Kansas City the other day an In
clpient movement against the clos
fitting skirt with a slash.
“Narrow skirts don’t mean Immoral.
Ity,” said Judge Latshaw. “One of tha
most vicious epochs was when hoop
skirts were worn. N
“Why, I remember when It was con-#,
sidered immodest for a woman to
range her coiffure so as to show her
ears. We have advanced.
“We have advanced, but we haven’t
advanced as far as the Jokesmitbs and
cartoonists would pretend.
“’Doctor,’ said a pretty girl—so
runs the latest joke—doctor, I want
you to vaccinate me, please, where it
won’t show.’
” ‘Humph,’ said the gruff doctor. 'I
guess you’ll have to take it internally,
then.’ ”
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FOR SICK CHILD
“California Syrup of Figs” can’t
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Every mother reallzeq, after giving
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And It thoroughly cleanses the tender
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When cross, Irritable, feverish or
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Millicns of mothers keep "California
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children of all ages and grown-ups
printed on the bottle. Adv.
Chance for Grouch.
Mra. Brown —"Here's an account of
a new' cooking utensil that will boll
and steam and poach eggs all at the
same time.” Brown (a grouch)—“And
why doesn’t it scramble and eggnogg
’em, too?”
JUDGE CURED, HEART TROUBLE.
I took about 6 boxes of Dodds Kid
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my breath was
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ache. I took the
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ago and have had
no return of the
palpitations. Am
now 63 years old,
able to do lots of
manual labor, am
Judge Miller.
well and hearty and weigh about
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I found Dodds Kidney Pills and you
may publish this letter if you*wish. I
am serving my third term as Probate
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PHILIP MILLER, Cimarron. Kan.
Correspond with Judge Miller about
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Adv.
Equivocal.
“What did Delia do about that os
culation proposal of Harry’s?”
“She was immediately up In arms
about 1L”
Coughs vanish in a night. Dean’s Mentho
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Only a smart man can tell the truth
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