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The Mystery TheYellow Room By GASTON LEROUX Copyright. 1008. by Brentano'i 8YN0PSIS. CHAPTER I A mysterious at ttmpt ia made at midnight to mur der Mile. Stangerson, daughter ano assistant of Prof. Stangerson, who is at work on his theory of the dissoci ation of matter in a pavilion near hit chateau. Pistol shots and the young woman s crie3 for help are heard behind the lockel and bolted door of her chamber, the yellow room. The cries are answered by Professor Star.- . J.i and Daddy Jacques, an aged servant. Aided by' the concierges, bernler and his wife, they break open the door and find Mile. Stangerson i voonlng and half strangled, with a wound in her temple, but find no trace of her assailant. The only possible outlet from the yellow room . 'i the do jr. The weird cry of the "tete du bon Dieu," a cat belonging to -Mother Angenoux, a recluse, if heard Just, before Mile. Stangerson's v ei. II Joseph Rouletabllle, a re porter-detective, is introduced to the reader by M. Salnclair, the narratoi of the story. Rouletabille declares the revolver was fired by Mile. Stan gerson, wounding her assailant in lhA hand Salnclair is to use his triendship with M. Darzac, Mile. Stan person's lover, to introduce Rouleta- t Me Into the chateau. Ill Rouleta bille induces M. de Marquet, the ex amining magistrate, and M. de Ma leine, his registrar, to talk about the case. The ' only poslsble point of egress from the pavilion for the murderer has been the window of the pavilion's vestibule, near which blood stains have been found. The win dow, however, was found latched af ter the assassin's escape. A bullet bole Is found in the celling of the yellow room. IV. Shortly before the attack the announcement of the engagement of Mile. Stangerson and M. Darzac had bean made. V Rou letataillfi and Sinclair are informed by Frederic Larsan, a famous detec tlvA wnrklne on the case, that the concierges have been arrested. Meet ing M. Darzac, Rouletabille utters a mystic sentence, ' "The presbyery has lost nothing of its charm nor the garden Its brightness," which seems to terrify Darzac, VI The arrest of the concierges is due to the fact that they were seemingly near the the pavilion when the crime was com roltted. Their denial of guilt is doubt ed. Rouletabille and Darzac become friendly, A mutton bone such as is used by French assassins, has been found la Mile. Stangerson's room and Rouletabille finds in one of the profesosr's retorts a partly burned paper bearing the strange sentence bout the presbytery. VII In the yellow room Rouletabille finds a wo man's hair, which he declares to important evidence. be CHAPTER VIII. The Examining Magistrate Ques tions Mile. Stangerson. mWO minutes later, as Rouleta bllle was bending over the foot prints discovered In the park, under the window of the vesti bule, a man, evidently a servant Of. the chateau, came toward us rapidly and called out to M. Darzac, then coming out of the pavilion: "M. Robert, the magistrate, you know. Is questioning mademoiselle." M. Darzac . uttered a muttered ex cuse to us and set off running toward the chateau, the man running after him. "We must know," said my friend. "Let'a go to the chateau." And he drew me with him. But at the cha teau a gendarme placed in the vesti bule denied us admission up the stair case of the first floor. We were obliged to wait downstairs. This is what passed in the chamber of the victim while we were waiting below. The family doctor, finding that Mile. Stangerson was much better, but fear ing a relapse which would no longer permit of her being questioned, had thought It his duty to Inform the ex amining magistrate of this, who de cided to proceed Immediately with a brief examination. At this examina tion the registrar. M; Stangerson and the doctor were present Later 1 ob tained the test of the report of the ex amination, and 1 give it here in all ita legal dryness: "Question. Are you able, mademoi selle, without too much fatiguing yourself, to glre some necessary de tail of the frightful attack of which you have beeu the victim? Answer. 1 feel much better, mousleur. anu i win tell you all 1 know. When I entered my chamber I did not notice anythlug unusual there. Q. What did you do on that day I want you to be as minute and pre- else as possible. 1 wish to Know an jou did that day if It Is not asking 100 much of you. A. I rose late, at id o'clock, for my father and I had re turned home late on the night previ ously, having been to dinner at the re ception given by the president of the republic in honor of the Academy of Science of Philadelphia. When I left my chamber at half past 10 my father was already at work In the laboratory. We worked together till midday. We then took half an hour's walk in the park, as we were accustomed to do, before breakfasting at the chateau. After breakfast we took another walk for half an hour and then returned to the laboratory. There we found my chambermaid, who had come to Bet my room In order. I went Into the yel low room to give her some slight or ders, and she directly afterward left the pavilion, and I resumed my work with my father. At 5 o'clock we again went for a walk in the park and after ward had tea. "Q. Before leaving the pavilion at 5 o'clock did you go into your chamber? A. No, monsieur. My father went Into It, at my request, to bring me my hat "Q. And he found nothing suspicious there. A. Evidently no, monsieur. "Q. It Is. then, almost certain that the murderer was not yet concealed under the bed. When you went out was the door of the room locked? A. No; there was no reason for locking it "Q. You were absent from the pavil ion some length of time, M. Stangerson and you? Ay About an hour. "Q. It was during that hour, no doubt, that the murderer got into the pavilion. Eut how? Nobody knows. Footmarks have been found in the park leading away from the window of the vestibule, but none has been found going toward it. Did you notice wuetner the vestibule window was open when you went out? A. I don't remember. "M. Stangerson It was closed. "Q. And when you returned? "Mile. Stangerson I did not notice. "M. Stangerson It was still closed. I remember remarking aloud, 'Daddy Jacques must surely have opened it while we were away.' 1 "Q. Strange! .Do you recollect, M. Stangerson, If - during your absence and before going out he bad opened it? You returned to the laboratory at 0 o'clock and resumed work? "Mile. Stangerson Yes, monsieur. "Q. And you did not leave the labo ratory from that hour up to the mo ment when you entered your chamber? "M. Stangerson Neither my daugh ter nor 1, monsieur. We were engag ed on work that was pressing, and we lost not a moment, neglecting every' thing else on that account. "Q. Did you dine in the laboratory? A. For that reason. "Q. Are you accustomed to dine In the laboratory? A. We rarely (line there-. "Q. Could the murderer bare known that you would dine there that even lng? "M. Stangerson Good heavens J think not. It was only when we re." turned to the pavilion at 6 o'clock that wo decided, my daughter and I, to dine there. At that moment I was spoken to by my gamekeeper, who detained me a moment to nsk me to accompany him on an urgent tour of Inspection (q a part of the woods which I bad de cided to thin. I put this off until the next day aud begged blm as be was going by the chateau to tell the stew ard that we should dine in the lab oratory. He left me to execute the errand, and I rejolued my daughter, who was already at work. , "Q. At what hour, mademoiselle, did you go. to your chamber while your father continued to work there? A. At midnight. , "Q. Did Daddy Jacques enter the yellow room lu the course of the even ing? A. To shut the blinds and light the night light. "Q. He saw nothing suspicious? A. He would have told us If he had seen. Daddy Jacques Is an honest man and greatly attached to me. "Q, You affirm, M. Stangerson, that Daddy Jacques remained with you all the time you were u the laboratory? "M. Stangerson I am sure of It I have no doubt of that. "Q. When you entered your cham ber, mademoiselle, you immediately shut the door and locked and bolted It? Was not that taking unusual pre cautions, knowing that your father and your servant were there? WTere you in fear of something? A. My fa ther would be returning to the cha teau. 'and Caddy Jacques would be go ing to bis bed. And, In fact, I did fear something. "Q. You were so much in fear of something that you borrowed Daddy Jacques' revolver without telling him you had done so? A. That Is true. I did not wish to alarm anybody, the more because my fears might hare proved to have been foolish. "Q. What was it you feared? A. I hardly know how to 'tell you. For several nights I seemed to bear, both in the park and out of the park, around the pavilion, unusual sounds, sometimes footsteps, at other times the cracking of branches. The night before the attack on me, when I did not get to bed before 8 o'clock in the morning, on our return from the Ely. see I stood for a moment before my window, and I felt sure I saw shad ows. "Q. How many? A. Two. They moved round the lake. Then the moon became clouded, and I lost sight of them. At this time of the season every year I have generally returned to my apartment in the chateau for the win ter, but this year I aald to myself that I would not quit the pavilion before my father bad finished the resume of bis works on the 'Dissociation of Mat ter" for the academy. I did not wish that that Important work, which was to have been finished In the course of a few days, should be delayed by a cnange iu our uau, u-u.w v- ..... I well.understand that I did not wish to spes'k of my childish fears to my fa thei . nor did I say anything to Daddy Jacques, who, I knew, would not have been able to hold his tongue. Know ing; that be had a revolver in his room, I took advantage of his absence and borrowed It. placing it In the drawer of my night table. "Q. You know of no enemies you have? A. None. "Q. You understand, mademoiselle, that these precautions are calculated to cause surprise? "M. Stangerson Evidently, my child, such precautions are very surprising. "A. No, because I have told you that I had been uneasy for two nights. "M. Stangerson You ought to have told me of that. This misfortune would uuve ueeu avoiueu. "Q. The door of the yellow room locked, did you go to bed? A. Yes, and, being very tired, I at once went to sleep. "Q. The night light was still burn ing? A. Yes, but it gave a very feeble light. "Q. Then, mademoiselle, tell us what! hnnneiipd. A. I itn not- knnw whpthor T had been long asleep, but suddenly I awoke and uttered a loud cry. "M. Stangerson Yes, a horrible cry, 'Murder.' It still rings In my cars. "Q. You uttered a loud cry? A. A man was lu my chamber. He sprang at me and tried to strangle me. I was nearly stifled when suddenly I was able to reach the drawer of my night table and grasp the revolver ! which I had placed in it. At that mo-1 ment the man had forced me to the foot of my bed and brandished over my head a sort of mace. But I had fired. He Immediately struck a terrl- ble blow at my head. All that, mon sieur, passed more rapidly than I can tell It, and I kuow nothing more. "Q. Nothing? Have you no idea as to hew the assassin could escape from your chamber? A. None whatever. I know nothing more. One does not kuow what is passing around one when one is unconscious. "Q. Was the man you saw tail or short, little or big? A. I saw only a shadow which appeared to me formid able. "Q. You cannot give us any Indica tion? A. I kuow nothing more, mon sieur, than that a man threw himself upon me and that I fired at blm. I know nothing more." Here the interrogation of Mile. Stan gerson concluded. Rouletabille waited patiently for M. Robert Darzac, who soon appeared. From a room near the chamber of Mile. Staugerson he had heard the in terrogatory and now came to recount It to my friend with great exactitude, aided by an excellent memory. His docility still surprised me. Thanks to hasty pencil notes, he was able to reproduce almost textunlly the ques tlons and the answers given. It looked as if M. Darzac were be ing employed as the secretary of my young friend and ncted as if he could refuse him nothing nay, more, as If under a compulsion to do so. The fact of the closed window struck the reporter as it had struck the mag istrate. The circumstance of the din ner in the laboratory also seemed to Interest him In the highest decree, end ha had It repeated to him three times. He also wanted to be sure that the fcrest keeper knew that the pro fessor and his daughter wern going to dine In the laboratory aud bow he bad pome to know It When M, Durznc bad finished I said. "The examination lias not advanced the problem much." "It bus put It buck," said M. Darzac. "It has thrown light upon it" said Rouletabille thoughtfully. (To be continued.) Railroadit Sued for Land Portland Another step Sold. in the tight of the federal government tc recover possession of the land In cluded In the immense grant to the Oregon & California Railroad Com pany was taken Saturday when D. D, Townsend, special assistant to tht attorney-general, filed in te Federal court in Portland 35 suits in equity against the Oregon & California and Southern Pacific Companies and over 100 other defendants. These suits are supplementary tc those previously filed against the ttarriman companies and are for the purpose of recovering land included Id the grant and already sold by the railroads, or, where title to the land cannot be regained, of securing foi the government all monies paid foi the lrmd in excess of 12,50 an acre, the prloe at which it was stipulated in the original grant the land would be sold. Besides the railroads, the defendants In the suits are those who have purchased land from these com panies. The suits Involve more than 118,000,000 and also more than 853,288 acres of land. All of the land la located In Oregon, Will Celebrate Admission of State. Eugene On Friday, February 12 tha University of Oregon will holt an Oregon or Commonwealth day, which will hereafter be an annual affair, the same as a number of othei special university days. The day It to commemorate the day that Oregon Vas admitted to the Uulon as a state and will be held hereafter on Feb ruary 14, which Is the date on which Oregon was admitted; but as the date comes on Sunday this year the data of the commemoration has been changed to February 12. THe object of Commonwealth day Ic to brUg the people of the state in Closer touch with the State Universi ty, and to give the citizens of Ore gon a chance to see the university ia actual working order. Never-sllp horseshoes at Keltner'a. T NATION'S CAPITAL Roosevelt Is Not Consulted by Taft About Selections for Cabinet. YEW STATEHOOD BILL UP Preparations Are Being Made for An Elaborate Inauguration of Taft and Sherman. Washington. Feb. 3. Mr. Taft U not keeping President Roosevelt Psted on the formation of his cabl- net. He is neither seeking the ad vice of the President nor submitting names for his approval after selec tion has been made. The fact Is that Mr. Roosevelt Is entirely in the dark with regard to the Taft cabinet; ho knows no more than he gathers from the newspapers. Th-re is some truth in the report , lat the President feels slighted be cause Mr. Taft has not seen fit to otler Secretary Loeb a place in hla cabinet, but the President is more disturbed because Mr Taft is in- ui.uu iv uuuunc ttu eiiurtMy new cno Inet, retiring all members of the present body with the possible excep tion of Secretary of War Wright, who was appointed on recommenda tion of Mr. Taft Just prior to hla retirement from the Roosevelt cabi net. The definite statement can be made that James R. Garfield, secre tary of the Interior, will not he a member of the cabinet of the next administration. Neither will he be an ambassador to a foreign country. He will return to his home in Ohio and take up the practice of law. An omnibus bill providing sepa rate statehood for the territories of New Mexico and Arizona was Intro duced in the house by Hamilton, of Michigan, chairman of the house committee on territories. The hill was framed by the Republican mem bers of the committee and submitted to the minority members, who ap proved it. New Mexico is given two represen tatives in the house, to be elected at large, and the city of Santa Fe is designated as the capital of the state until 1920. Four sections of land In every township are granted to New Mexico for the support of common schools. Two of these had been previously granted to the territory. When adopted Into the Union, New Mexico Is to be attached to the eighth judicial district. One hun dred thousand dollars is appropriat ed for the expenses Incident to tho elections and constitution provided for in the bills. Most of the provisions for Arizona are similar io those for New Mexico. Phoenix is designated as the capital until 1920. Arizona Is given one representative in the house; 120,000 acres of land are granted for uni versity purposes and other grants are equal to those made for New Mexloo. Great preparations are being made for Taft's inauguration. The programme Is divided into five im portant feature and others of loss In terest, among which are: An Imposing military parade is be ing arranged on a big scale by Ma-Jor-General J. Franklin Boll, who has been appointed grand marshal. A great display of fireworks on the White Lot, JuBt in front of the White House, in combination with the illumination of the streets of Washington throughout the down town section, the dome of the Capi tol and the Washington monument and a drill and display of pyrotech nics by the Republican Flambeau Club ot Minneapolis. The Inaugural ball will be held In the pension building, the largest brlok structure In the world. With the convening of a new con gress scarcely more, than a month distant, the selection of standing committees of the next house and particularly the award of chairman ships has become the subject of keen speculation. The understanding among mem bers Is that the rule of seniority will be used In the selection of a chair man. There are, however, important committees whose chairmen will not be members tof the next house and the selection of their successors is causing no little speculation. The American National Rod Cross Association has cabled to Ambassa dor Griscom at Rome $225,000, which he will present to Queen Helena for the purpose of beginning an agricultural colony In Calabria or Sicily for the orphans in the Ital ian earthquake district. For the purpose of shipping lum ber for houses for the earthquake sufferers, the Red Cross has given (100,000 to the navy department. The delivery of a package contain ing Intoxicating liquor to any person but the consignee is prohibited by the provisions of a bill Introduced by Representative Miller, of Kansas. A fine of not more than (5000 or Imprisonment for two years is fixed as a penalty for any violation. The bill applies to Interstate shipments. Names Noted President Elect Tart's Youngest Brother, Horace Edmund Ciliincs end Kts Mis sion to Italy. THE rul'lle h:is heard a good deal about sev eral members of the Taft family, but the youugest of the brothers now so much In tho public eye has thus far managed to escape publicity better than the rest. lie Is Hor ace D. Taft. The eldest of President Elect Taft's broth II. I). TAFT. ers. Charles P. Taft of Cincinnati, has boon talked of considerably because of the contest for the' Ohio sonatorship. In which lie met ilcfont at the hands of Theodore E. r.urton. Henry W. Taft of New York lins boon prominent as a member of the bar and In connection with various occasions on which his brother William II. has boon his guest. Horace has boon teaching school In Connecticut anil content to remain In tho shade, not even enjoying the re flected light which might be shed upon him from the presidential chair at Washington wore lie to got in an nttl tuilo to receive It. They wanted to elect him a member of the Connecticut legislature last fall, but he would not take a nomination. He said "Brother Bill" was getting enough glory for tho family, and lie was satisfied to tench "Brother Bill's" kid, young Charlie Taft. The latter Is In attendance at his school In Wutertown, nu Institution which has a high educational standing. Indeed, Mr. Horace Tnft ranks high among -members of his profession, ns was attested In bis recent election ns president of the Head Musters' asso ciation. He is n graduate of Yale, like all the rest of tho family. Tho Rev; Dr. William J. Dawson of England Is one of the most eloquent evangelists this country has known since the time of Moody. Unlike some revivalists, he la a man of culture and scholarship, and tils methods are not sensational, although he does not hesi tate to depart from beaten paths upon occasion. This was Illustrated during a mission ho conducted recently at the famous St. George's Episcopal church, New York, the church of Dr. Stephen H. Tyng and Dr. William S. Rains- 1IEV. DR. WILLIAM J. DAWBON. ford, now presided over by the Rev. Dr. Hugh Blrckhoad, a young man who is determined that mere tradi tions or fear of criticism shall not stand In the way of his making his church as beneficial as possible to the thousands of poor und struggling peo ple In the midst of whom It la placed. The mission nt St. George's brought within the sound of prayer and praise and words of exhortation many who do not often darken church doors, but lu order that still more should be reached a procession was organized which wended Its way through the streets In the neighborhood of the church and made Its appeal to the in terest of the wayfarers or dwellers In the vicinity. At the head of the pro cession a large cross was carried, 11 lu jnlnati'd by elect rl:; lights. At either side were men curry lug the batteries that furnished the uncut for the in candescent lamps. Then came a band, and behind It Dr. Blrckhoad nnd the other clergy of the parish In their robes and the' iiilss-:lonor. Dr. Dawson Following them were seventy choris ters, who lid the Hinging ns the march proceeded, und behind them were many others, making up a parade 700 Htrong altogether. On tho return to the church a great meeting was held, nt which r. Dawson delivered n most stirring uppeal. Dr. Dawson has a magnetic presence s lid a most effective delivery. Dr. Dawson was born In Northamp tonshire In 1.4 and is a son of a Wesleyan minister, lie was educated nt Dl'lsbury college. Manchester, mid was for a time lu the Wesleyan min istry, but from W.)1 to llXMI was min ister of Highbury Quadrant Congre gational church, JMidou. He Is a voluminous writer, and his works com prise not only books on religious sub- ff 1 In the News Next President of Harvard. Abbott Lawrenco Lowell Other Figures In the Pub lic Prints. lects, but lyric ni:d dramatic poetry, lictiou and essays. Abbott Lawrence Lowell, who has been chosen to succeed Charles W. Eliot as president of Harvard univer sity, may be described as author, law yer and professor of the science of gov ernment. He is a brother of I'rofessor PllOFKSSon ABBOTT LAWRKNCB LOV.iill- I'ercival Lowell, also of Harvard, whoso astronomical discoveries have given him wide fame. Wheu President Eliot tendered his resignation in November, to tuLo ef fect lu the spring, there was" nt first a strong sentiment lu favor of reletting u comparatively young muu as his i.uj eessor. President Eliot himself was a young man only thirty-live when he became Harvard's head. But ll is ad mitted that he was exceptionally well qualified for the post for a man of hla years wheu he took it. Tho ticntlmc!t in favor of choosing a scholar and- mii.i of affairs of large experience and wide reputation grew stronger as the weeks passed by and resulted iu the i-brlco of I'rofessor Lowell. He is lifty-two. but lu full vigor, anil It Is believed ho will have twenty years of activity be fore him. Ho has proved hla ability In every field he has entered and la u raro combination of the nan of tho worl 1 und of tho university lender, lie U not only tho most popular but tho keenest lecturer in the university. And so fur as concerns the amenities of the president's position, InclinUiig tho proper entertainment of guests and the relations between' tho head of t'ia university -and tho undergraduates, ho can bo counted upon. Professor Lowell was born lu Bos ton on Dec. 13, 1S."(I, and was gradu ated from Harvard In 1S77. He then took a law course, receiving hl.i de gree from Harvurd Law school lu 18S0 nr.d being admitted to the bar tho same year. In 1S77 he married his cousin, Miss Anna Parker Lowell. For seventeen years the practice of law demanded the greater port of his at tention, but ho continued to pursue his favorite study of comparative govern ment. Several books on government and on polities In continental Europe, published during this time, gave him high standing as nu authority on tho science of government, and in 1897 bo was called to be lecturer in that de partment nt Harvard. Three years later on tho establish ment of the Eaton professorship of the science of government he was appoint ed to that chair. In the last year he has published a work on "The Government of Eng land." which lias attracted wide atten t -n e -til brought to him the honor of election as president of tho American i'oi; leal Science association In succes sion to Ambassador Ilryce, whoso "American Commonwealth" brought him the same distinction. One of the AinerlcaiiH prominent In the relief work lu the regions of Italy and Kielly devastat- R, od by earthiuako Is 9 '''Sk Edmund Billings of nosion. iur. Hil lings had charge of similar work in Bos ton ufter the Chel sea fire. Ho went to Messina us the olllclul represent ative of the state of Massachusetts and took with him n fund of $500,000 with which to uhl kumu.no iiim.i.nos. i sieving the dis tress, ne sailed on the Kaiser Wll heliu dor Grosso anil left tho steamer at Cherbourg, taking train from there to southern llnly In order to roach tho scene of the earthquake as quickly as possible. Hov You? "You have a very nice home here." "Yes, Indeed. Why, we huve all the comforts of a modern penitentiary." Boston Herald. , Thinking of a Phon. ' " 'The receiver Is us bad as' Waat's the rest of It, my child?" "Tho transmitter, pa." New York Tress.