 CHAPTER I THE GENIUS OF CRIME FANTOMAS. What did you say? I said FANTOMAS. And what does that mean? Nothing. Everything. But what is it? Nobody. And yet, yes, it is somebody. And what does the somebody do? Spreads terror. Dinner was just over, and the company were moving into the drawing room. Hurrying into the fireplace, the Marquis de la Grune took a large log from a basket and flung it onto the glowing embers on the hearth. The log crackled and shed a brilliant light over the whole room. The guests of the Marquis instinctively drew near to the fire. During the ten consecutive months, she spent every year at her chateau of Beaulieu on the outskirts of Corres, that picturesque district bounded by the Dordogne. It had been the immemorial custom of the Marquis de la Grune to entertain a few of her personal friends in the neighborhood to dinner every Wednesday, thereby obtaining a little pleasant relief from her loneliness and keeping up some contact with the world. On this particular winter evening, the good ladies' guests included several habituers. President Bonnet, her retired magistrate who was withdrawn to his small property and the Saint-Juré in the suburbs of Brive, and the Abbe Sico who was a parish priest. A more occasional friend was also there, the Baron de Vibré, a young and wealthy widow, a typical woman of the world who spent the greater part of her life either in motoring or in the most exclusive drawing rooms of Paris or at the most fashionable watering places. But when the Baron de Vibré put herself out to grass as she racially phrased it, and spent a few weeks at Querelle, her estate close to the Chateau de Bolio, nothing pleased her better than to take her place again in the delightful company of the Marquis de la Grune and her friends. Finally, youth was represented by Charles Rombert, who had arrived at the Chateau a couple of days before, a charming lad of about 18 who was treated with warm affection by the Marquis and by Thérèse Avernois, the granddaughter of the Marquis, with whom, since her parents' death, she had lived as a daughter. The odd and even mysterious words spoken by President Bonet as they were leaving the table and the personality of this fantamos, about which he had said nothing definite in spite of all the questions put to him, had excited the curiosity of the company, and while today's Avernois was gracefully dispensing the coffee to her grandmother's guests, the questions were renewed with greater insistence. Crowding round the fire, for the evening was very cold, Madame de La Grune's friends showered fresh questions upon the old magistrate, who secretly enjoyed the interest he had inspired. He cast a solemn eye upon the circle of his audience, and prolonged his silence, the more to capture their attention. At length he began to speak. Statistics tell us, ladies, that of all the deaths that are registered every day, quite a third are due to crime. You are no doubt aware that the police discover about half of the crimes that are committed, and that barely half meet with the penalty of justice. This explains how it is that so many mysteries are never cleared up, and why there are so many mistakes and inconsistencies in judicial investigations. What is the conclusion you wish to draw, the Marquis de La Grune inquired with interest? This, the magistrate proceeded. Although many crimes pass unsuspected, it is nonetheless obvious that they have been committed. Now while some of them are due to ordinary criminals, others are the work of enigmatic beings who are difficult to trace, and too clever or intelligent to let themselves be caught. History is full of such mysterious characters, the Iron Mask, for instance, and Calliastro. In every age there have been bands of dangerous creatures led by such men as Cartouche and Vidoc and Racombole. Now why should we suppose that in our time no one exists who emulates the deeds of those mighty criminals? The Abbe Sico raised a gentle voice from the depths of a comfortable armchair, wherein he was peacefully digesting his dinner. The police do their work better in our time than ever they did before. That is perfectly true, the President admitted, but their work is also more difficult than ever it was before. Criminals who operate in the grand manner have all sorts of things at their disposal nowadays. Science has done much for modern progress, but unfortunately it can be of invaluable assistance to criminals at times. The host of evil has a telegraph and the motor car at their disposal just as authority has, and someday they will make use of the airplane. Young Charles Rambair have been listening to the President's dissertation with the utmost interest and now broke in with a voice that quivered slightly. You were talking about Funtimus just now, sir. The President cast a cryptic look at the lad and did not reply directly to him. That is what I am coming to, for of course you have understood me, ladies. In these days we have been distressed by a steady access of criminality and among the assets we shall henceforth have to count a mysterious and most dangerous creature to whom the baffled authorities and public rumor generally have for some time now given the name of Funtimus. It is impossible to say exactly or to know precisely who Funtimus is. He often assumes the form and personality of some definite and even well known individual. Sometimes he assumes the form of two human beings at one in the same time. Sometimes he works alone. Sometimes with accomplices. Sometimes he can be identified as such and such a person, but no one has ever yet arrived at knowing Funtimus himself. That he is a living person is certain and undeniable, yet he is impossible to catch or to identify. He is nowhere and everywhere at once. His shadow hovers above the strangest mysteries and his traces are found near the most inexplicable crimes and yet you are frightening us, exclaimed the Baron de Vibre with a little forced laugh that did not ring true. And the Marquis de Langroun, who for the past few minutes had been uneasy at the idea of the children listening to the conversation, cast about in her mind for an occupation more suited to their age. The interruption gave her an opportunity and she turned to Charles Rambair and Therese. You must find it very dull here with all us grown up people, beers. So run away now, Therese. She added with a smile to her granddaughter who had risen obediently. There is a splendid new puzzle in the library. You ought to try it with Charles. The young fellow realized that he must comply with the desire of the Marquis, although the conversation interested him intensely. But he was too well bred to betray his thoughts. And the next moment he was in the adjoining room, sitting opposite the girl and deep in the intricacies of the latest fashionable game. The Baron de Vibre brought the conversation back to the subject of Funtimus. What connection is there, President? Between this uncanny creature and the disappearance of Lord Beltham, of which we were talking at dinner? I should certainly have agreed with you and thought there was none, the old magistrate replied, if Lord Beltham's disappearance had been unattended by any mysterious circumstance. But there is one point that deserves your attention. The newspaper from which I read an extract just now, La Capitale, draws attention to it and regards it as being important. It is said that when Lady Beltham began to be uneasy about her husband's absence, on the morning of the day following his disappearance, she remembered noticing just as he was going out, that he was reading a particular letter. The peculiar square shape of which surprised her. She had also noticed that the handwriting of the letter was very heavy and black. Now she found the letter in question upon her husband's desk, but the whole of the writing had disappeared, and it was only the most minute examination that resulted in the discovery of a few almost imperceptible stains which prove that it really was the identical document that had been in her husband's hands. Lady Beltham would not have thought very much about it, if it had not occurred to the editor of La Capitale to interview Detective Ajuve about it, the famous inspector of the criminal investigation department, you know, who has brought so many notorious criminals to justice. Now Monsieur Ajuve manifested the greatest excitement over the discovery and the nature of this document, and he did not attempt to hide from his interviewer his belief that the strange nature of this unusual epistle was proof of the intervention of Fantomas. You very likely know that Ajuve has made it his special business to follow up Fantomas. He has sworn that he will take him, and he is after him body and soul. Let us hope he will succeed, but it is no good pretending that Ajuve's job is not as difficult a one as can be imagined. However, it is a fair inference that when Ajuve spoke as he did to the representative of La Capitale, he did not think he was going too far when he declared that a crime lay behind the disappearance of Lord Beltham, and that perhaps the crime must be laid at Fantomas's door. And we can only hope that at some not distant date justice will not only throw full light upon this mysterious affair, but also rid us forever of this terrifying criminal. President Bonet had convinced his audience completely, and his closing words cast a chill upon them all. The Marquis de Langrune deemed it time to create a diversion. Who are these people, Lord and Lady Beltham, she inquired? Oh, my dear, the Baron de Vibre answered. It is perfectly obvious that you lead the life of a hermit in this remote country home of yours, and that echoes from the world of Paris do not reach you often. Lord and Lady Beltham are among the best known and most popular people in society. He was formerly attached to the English Embassy, but left Paris to fight in the Transvaal, and its wife went with him and showed magnificent courage and compassion in charge of the ambulance and hospital work. They then went back to London, and a couple of years ago they settled once more in Paris. They lived and still live in the Boulevard Inkerman at Nuit-sur-Sien, in a delightful house where they entertain a great deal. I have often been one of Lady Beltham's guests. She is a most fascinating woman, distinguished, tall, fair, and endowed with a charm that is peculiar to the women of the North. I am very distressed at the trouble that is hanging over her. Well, said the Marquis to Langgern, inclusively, I mean to believe that this gloomy prognostications of our friend the President will not be justified by the event. Amen, murmured the abbey mechanically, roused from his gentle slumber by the closing words of the Marquis. The clock chimed in, and her duties as hostess did not make the Marquis forgetful of her duties as a grandmother. Today, as she called, it is your bedtime. It is very late, darling. The child obediently left her game, said good night to the Baron de Vibre and President Monet, and last of all to the old priest, who gave her a paternal embrace. Shall I see you at the seven o'clock mass, Therese? He asked. The child turned to the Marquis. Will you let me accompany Charles to the station tomorrow morning? I will go to the eight o'clock mass on my way back. The Marquis looked at Charles Rambeir. Your father really is coming by that train that reaches Varriere at six fifty-five, and when he is scented, she hesitated a moment before applying to Therese. I think, dear, it would be better to let our young friend go alone to meet his father. But Charles Rambeir put in his plea. Oh, I am sure my father would be delighted to see Therese with me when he gets out of the train. Very well, then, the kind old lady said, arrange it as you please. But Therese, before you upstairs, tell our good steward Delon to give orders for the carriage to be ready by six o'clock. It is a long way to the station. Therese promised, and the two young people left the drawing room. A pretty couple remarked the Baron de Vibre. Adding with characteristic touch of malice, you mean to make a match between them some day, Marquis? The old lady threw up her hands protesting. What an idea! Why, Therese is not fifteen yet. Who is this Charles Rambeir? They abbey asked. I just got sight of him the day before yesterday with Delon, and I puzzled my brains wondering who he could be. I am not surprised, the Marquis laughed, not surprised that you did not succeed in finding out, for you do not know him. But you may perhaps have heard me mention a monsieur at the N. Rambeir, an old friend of mine with whom I had many a dance in the long ago. I had lost sight of him completely until about two years ago when I met him at a charity function in Paris. The poor man has had a rather checkered life. Twenty years ago he married a woman who was perfectly charming, but who is, I believe, very ill with a distressing malady. I am not even sure that she is not insane. Quite lately, Etienne Rambeir has been compelled to send her to an asylum. That does not tell us how his son comes to be your guest, President Bonet urged. It is very simple. Etienne Rambeir is an energetic man who is always moving about, although he is quite sixty. He still occupies himself with some rubber plantations he possesses in Columbia, and he often goes to America. He thinks no more of the voyage than we do of a trip to Paris. Well, just recently, young Charles Rambeir was leaving the pension in Hamburg where he had been living in order to perfect his German. I knew from his father's letters that Madame Rambeir was about to be put away, and that Etienne Rambeir was obliged to be absent. So I offered to receive Charles here until his father should return to Paris. Charles came the day before yesterday, and that is the whole story. And Monsieur Etienne Rambeir joins him here tomorrow, said the Abbey, that is so. The Marquis de l'angrine would have given other information about her young friend had he not come into the room just then. He was an attractive lad with refined and distinguished features, clear intelligent eyes, and a graceful figure. The other guests were silent, and Charles Rambeir approached them with a slight awkwardness of youth. He went up to President Bonet and plucked up sudden courage. And what then, sir? He asked in a low voice. I don't understand, my boy, said the magistrate. Oh, said Charles Rambeir, have you finished talking about Fantomas? It was so amusing. For my part, the president answered dryly, I do not find these stories about criminals amusing. But the lad did not detect the shade of reproach in the words. But still, it is very odd, very extraordinary, that such mysterious characters as Fantomas can exist nowadays. Is it really possible that a single man can commit such a number of crimes, and that any human can escape discovery, as they say Fantomas can, and to be able to foil the cleverest devices of the police? I think it is the president's manner of steadily more chilly, as the boy's curiosity waxed more enthusiastic, and he interrupted curtly. I fail to understand your attitude, young man. You appear to be hypnotized, fascinated. You speak of Fantomas, as if he were something interesting. It is out of place to put it mildly. And he turned to the abe seco. There, sir, that is the result of this modern education in the state of mind produced in the younger generation by the newspaper press, and even by literature. Criminals are given halos and proclaimed from the housetops. It is astounding. But Charles Lambert was not the least impressed. But it is life, sir. It is history. It is the real thing, he insisted. Why, you yourself, in just a few words, have thrown an atmosphere around this Fantomas, which makes him absolutely fascinating. I would give anything to have known Vidoc, and Cartouche, and Racombol, and to have seen them at close quarters. Those were men. President Bonet contemplated the young man in astonishment. His eyes flashed lightning at him, and he burst out, you are mad, boy. Absolutely mad. Vidoc, Racombol? You mix up legend and history, bracket murderers with detectives, and make no distinction between right and wrong. You would not hesitate to set the heroes of crime and the heroes of law and order in a crystal. You have said the word, sir, Charles Lambert exclaimed. They are all heroes, but better still, Fantomas. The lads outburst was so vehement and spontaneous and sincere that it provoked unanimous indignation among his heroes. Even the indulgent Marquise de Landgrune ceased to smile. Charles Lambert perceived that he had gone too far, and stopped abruptly. I beg your pardon, murmured. I spoke without thinking. Please forgive me. He raised his eyes and looked at President Bonet, blushing to the tips of his ears and looking so abashed that the magistrate who was a kind-hearted man at bottom tried to reassure him. Your imagination is much too lively, young man, much too lively, but you will grow out of that. Come, come, that's all right. Lads of your age do talk without knowledge. It was very late now, and a few minutes after this incident the guests of the Marquise de Landgrune took their departure. Charles Lambert accompanied the Marquise to the door of her own private rooms, Anne was about to bid her a respectful good night before going on to his bedroom when she joined hers when she asked him to follow her. Come in and get the book I promised you, Charles. It should be on my writing table. She glanced at that piece of furniture as she entered the room and went on. Or in it, perhaps, I may have locked it away. I don't want to give you any trouble, he protested, but the Marquise insisted. Put your light down on that table, she said. Besides, I have got to open my desk before I must look at the lottery tickets I gave to Therese a few weeks ago. She pushed back the roll top of her empire desk and looked up at the young man. It would be a piece of good luck if my little Therese won the first prize, eh, Charles? A million francs? That would be worth winning. Rather, said Charles Rambert with a smile. The Marquise found the book she was searching for and gave it to the lab with one hand, while with the other she smoothed out several variegated papers. These are my tickets, she said, and then broke off. How stupid of me. I have not kept the number of the winning ticket that was advertised in La Capitale. Charles Rambert immediately offered to go to the newspaper again to fetch the newspaper, but the Marquise would not let him. It is no good, my dear boy. It is not there now. You know, well, rather you don't, that the Abbey takes away all the week's newspapers every Wednesday night in order to read all the political articles. The old lady turned away from her writing table, which she left wide open, conducted the young man to the door and held out a friendly hand. It is tomorrow morning already, she said. So now good night, dear Charles. In his own room with the lights extinguished and the curtains closed, Charles Rambert lay wide awake, afraid of strange excitement. He turned and tossed in his bed nervously, in vain did he try to banish from his mind the words spoken during the evening by President Bonet. In imagination, Charles Rambert saw all manner of sinister and dramatic scenes, crimes and murders hugely interested, intensely curious, craving for knowledge he was ever trying to concoct plots and unravel mysteries. If for an instant he dozed off, the image of Phantomos took shape in his mind, but never twice the same. Sometimes he saw a colossal figure with bestial face and muscular shoulders. Sometimes a wan thin creature with strange and piercing eyes, sometimes a vague form, a phantom, Phantomos. Charles Rambert slept and woke and dozed again. In the silence of the night, he thought he heard creakings and heavy sounds. Then suddenly he felt a breath pass over his face, and again nothing. And suddenly again, strange sounds were buzzing in his ears. Bathed in cold sweat, Charles Rambert started and sat upright in bed, every muscle tense, listening with all his ears. Was he dreaming, or had he really waked up? He did not know. And still, still, he had a consciousness of Phantomos, of mystery of Phantomos. Charles Rambert heard the clock strike four. End of Chapter 1 Recording by Alan Winterout boomcoach.blogspot.com Chapter 2 of Phantomos by Marcella Lane and Pierre Suvestre. This is the first chapter by Pierre Suvestre. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Alan Winterout Phantomos by Marcella Lane and Pierre Suvestre. Translated by Cranston Metcalf. Chapter 2 A Tragic Dawn As this cab turned by the end of the Pont Royal toward the Gare d'Orsay, Monsieur Etienne Rambert looked at his watch and found as he had anticipated that he had a good quarter of an hour before the train that he intended to take was due to start. He called a porter and gave him the heavy valise and the bundle of rugs that formed the hole of his hand baggage. Where is the office for forwarding luggage, my man, he inquired? The porter led him through the famous handled hall of the Gare d'Orsay and Monsieur Etienne Rambert satisfied himself that his trunks had been properly registered for varrière, the station at which he had to alight for the chateau of Beaulieu. Still attended by the porter who had conceived a respectful admiration for him in consequence of the authoritative tone in which he demanded information from the various railway servants and who sent in a probable munificent tip, Monsieur Etienne Rambert proceeded to the booking office and took a first class ticket. A few minutes more at the bookstore where he selected an imposing collection of illustrated papers and then, his final preparations completed, he turned once more to the porter. The leucon train, he said, where is it? And as the man only made a vague gesture and growled something holy and distinct he added, lead the way and I will follow. It was now just half past eight and the station showed all the animation inseparable from the departure of mainline trains Monsieur Etienne Rambert hurried onwards and reaching the platform from which all the lines begin was stayed by the porter who was laden with his baggage. You want the express, sir? No, the slow train, my man. The porter showed some surprise but made no remark. Do you like the front or the back of the train? The back, by choice. First class, isn't it? Yes, first class. The porter who had stopped a moment picked up the heavy valise again. Then there isn't any choice. There are only two first class carriages on the slow train and they are both in the middle. They are corridor carriages, I suppose said Etienne Rambert. Yes, sir. There are hardly any others on the mainline trains especially first class. In the ever increasing crowd Etienne Rambert had some difficulty in following the porter. The Gare d'Orsay has little or none of the attractiveness of the other stations which cannot fail to have a certain fascination for any imaginative person who thinks of the mystery attaching to all those iron rails reaching out into the distance of countries unknown to him. It is less noisy than the others also. For between Austerlitz and Orsay the attraction is entirely electric. And further, there is no clearly defined separation between the main and the suburban lines. On the right of the platform was the train which was to take Etienne Rambert beyond Brieve to Verriere. The slow train to Le Con and on the left of the same platform was another train for Juvice and all the small stations in the suburbs of Paris. Very few people were making for Angel Lucan, but a large crowd was pressing into the suburban train. The porter who was piloting Monsieur Etienne Rambert set the baggage he was carrying down on the footboard of a first-class carriage. There is no one for the slow train yet, sir. If you like to get in first, you can choose your own compartment. Monsieur Etienne Rambert acted on the suggestion, but he had hardly set foot in the corridor before the guard, also sending a generous tip, came to offer his services. It really is the 850 you want, sir, was his first inquiry. You are sure you are not making a mistake? No, Etienne Rambert replied, why? A great many first-class passengers do make a mistake, the man explained, and confused the 850 with the 845 Express. As he spoke, the guard took the baggage from the porter who had remained on the platform and the porter, after being generously remunerated for his trouble by Monsieur Rambert, hurried away to look for other travelers. The 845 is the Express, isn't it, Monsieur Rambert inquired? Yes, the guard answered. It runs right through without stopping at all the small stations, as this train does. It goes in front of this one and gets to Lucan three hours earlier. There it is on the side there, and he pointed through the window on the door, on the far side to another train on the next rails, in which a number of travelers were already taking their seats. If you prefer to go by that one, sir, he went on, there is still time for you to change. You are entitled to take your choice, since you have a first-class ticket. But Etienne Rambert, after a moment's consideration, declined the suggestion. No, I would rather go by the slow train. If I take the Express, I should have to get out of Brieve, and then I should be 12 or 13 miles from Saint-Joueret, which is my destination. Whereas the slow train stops at Verriere, where, by the way, I have already telegraphed to say I will arrive tomorrow morning. He walked a little way along the corridor, assuring himself that the various compartments were still quite empty, and then turned to the guard. Look here, my man, he said. I am awfully tired, and I mean to get some sleep tonight. Consequently I should like to be alone. Now where shall I be most quiet and undisturbed? The man understood. Monsieur Etienne Rambert's inquiry about the place where he would be most quiet was an implicit promise of a handsome tip if nobody did disturb him. If you like to settle yourself here, sir, the man answered, you can draw down the blinds at once, and I dare say I shall be able to find a room for any other passengers somewhere else. Good, said Monsieur Rambert, moving toward the compartment indicated. I will smoke a cigar until the train starts, and immediately afterwards I will settle down to sleep. By the way, my man, since you seem so obliging, I wish you would undertake to call me tomorrow morning in time for me to get out of Verriere. I am desperately sleepy and I am quite capable of not waking up. Monsieur Rambert touched his cap. You can be perfectly easy, sir, and sleep without the least anxiety I won't fail. Very well. When his baggage had been stowed away and his rug spread out to make the seat more comfortable still, Monsieur Etienne Rambert repeated his appeal, for he was an old traveler and knew that it does not do to rely too much upon the promises of chance attendants. I can rely upon you, can't I? I may sleep as sound as I like and you will wake me at Verriere. And the more to assure himself that the guard would execute his orders, he slipped a franc into his hand. When he was left alone, Monsieur Rambert continued his preparations for the night. He carefully drew down the blinds over the door and over the windows of the compartment that gave on to the corridor and also lowered the shade over the electric light. And then, in order to enjoy the last puff he used his cigar in peace. He opened the window over the other door and leaned his elbows on it, watching the final preparations being made by the travelers by the express on the other side. The departure of a train is always a picturesque sight. Monsieur Rambert leaned forward inquisitively to note how the passengers had installed themselves in the two compartments which he could see from his coin advantage. There were not many people in the train. As a matter of fact, the Brieve and Lucône line is not much used at this time of year. If the number of passengers in the express were any criterion, at the end, Rambert might reasonably expect that he would be the only one in the slow train. But there was not much time for observations and reflections of this kind. On the platform for the express, which he got a glimpse of through the compartments, people were hurrying up their farewells. The passengers drove into their carriages and the friends who had come to see them off were standing alone upon the platform. There was the sound of safety locks being fastened by porters and the noise of trolleys being wheeled along bearing articles for sale. Pillows, rugs, sweets, papers. Then came the whistle of the guard. The shriller screamed from the electric engine and then slowly at first but steadily more rapidly as the engine got up speed the express moved along the platform and plunged into the tunnel on the way to Austrelitz. Meanwhile, the guard of the slow train was doing wonders. Shamelessly resolved to assure perfect quiet to his passenger, he managed without unduly compromising himself but yet without leaving any doubt about it in any mind to insinuate discreetly that Monsieur Rambert's carriage was reserved so that the gentleman might count upon an entirely undisturbed night. A few minutes after the express had gone, the slow train drew out in its turn and disappeared into the darkness of the underground tunnel. At the chateau of Bolia, young Charles Rambert was just finishing dressing when a gentle tap sounded on the door of his room. It is a quarter to five Charles, get up at once. I am already awake to raise. Charles Rambert answered with some pride. I shall be ready in two minutes. What? Up already? The girl exclaimed from the other side of the door. Marvelous. I congratulate you. I'm ready too. I will wait for you in the dining room. Come down as soon as you are dressed. All right, the young man answered. He wasted no time over his toilet. The more so because it was none too warm in his room for this early hour it was still quite dark. And then taking his light in one hand he opened his door carefully to make no noise, tiptoed along the landing and went down the staircase to join Therese in the dining room. The girl was an accomplished housekeeper already and while waiting for the young fellow she had got a scratch meal together. Let us have breakfast quickly she suggested. It isn't snowing this morning and if you like we might walk to the station. We have plenty of time and it will do us good to have a walk. It will warm us up anyhow Charles Zambere replied. He was only half awake but he sat beside Therese and did justice to the preparations she had made. Do you know that it is very wonderful of you to get up so punctually? Madame de Lundgren's granddaughter remarked How did you manage it? Last night you were afraid you would sleep on as usual. It is not much trouble for me to wake up Charles Zambere answered. I hardly closed an eye all night. But I promised to come and knock at your door myself so you might have slept without any anxiety. That's so but to tell you the truth Therese I was regularly upset and excited by the thought of Papa arriving this morning. They had both finished breakfast and Therese got up. Shall we start? Yes. Therese opened the hall door and the two young people went down the flight of stairs leading to the garden. The girl had thrown a big cloak over her shoulders and she inhaled the pure morning air with keen delight. I love going out in the early morning she declared. Well, I don't like it at all Charles Zambere confessed with characteristic candor. Good lord how cold it is and it's still pitch dark. Surely you're not going to be frightened said Therese teasingly. Charles Zambere made an irritable movement of vexation and surprise. Frightened, what do you take me for Therese? If I don't like going out in the early morning it's really only because it's cold. She laughed at him while they were crossing the lawn toward the outbuildings through which she meant to get out on the high road. As they passed the stables they came across the groom who was leisurely getting an old brome out of the cook's house. Don't hurry Jean. Therese called out as she greeted him. We are going to walk to the station and the only important thing is that you should be there to bring us back. The man touched his cap and the two young people passed through the park gate and found themselves on the high road. It was still very dark with just a wand reflection in the distance of the sky vaguely outlining some cloud shapes to the eastward to give some promise of the day. There was no sound to break the silence of the fields and as they walked along Charles and Therese could hear their footsteps ringing on the hard surface of the frozen ground. You must please you awfully to be going to meet your father, said Madame de Lungroon's granddaughter half-questioningly. It is a long time since you have seen him, isn't it? Three years Charles Rambert answered. And then just for a few minutes he is coming home from America now and before that he traveled in Spain for a long time. Traveling the whole time you were a child, wasn't he? Yes, always. Either in Columbia, looking after his rubber plantations there or in Spain where he has a good deal of property too. When he was in Paris he used to come to the school and ask for me and I saw him in the parlor for a quarter of an hour. And your mother? All mama was different. You know Therese, I spent all the childhood that I can remember at the school. I looked at the masters and had good chums and was very happy there and if the truth must be told I looked forward with anything but pleasure to the holidays when I had to go to my parents' house. I always felt a stranger with them. My real home was the school room where I had my desk and all my own interests. And then you know when one is little one doesn't understand things much. I didn't feel having hardly any family very much. Therese answered the question quite anxiously and it was patent that she would have thought it dreadful if her companion had not had a real affection for his mother. Oh yes, I loved her, Charles Rambert answered but I hardly knew her either. And as Therese showed her surprise he went on telling her something of the secret of his lonely childhood. You see Therese now that I am a man I guess lots of things that I could not have had even a suspicion of then. My father and mother did not get on well together. They were what you call an ill-assorted couple. They were both very good but their characters did not harmonize. When I was little I always saw mama silent and sad and papa active and on the go and bright and talking at the top of his voice. I half believed he frightened mama and then my father was constantly away whereas mama hardly ever went out. When a servant took me to the house on Thursdays I was taken up to say good morning to her and I invariably found her lying on a sofa in her room with the blinds down and almost dark. She just touched me with her lips and asked me one or two questions and then I was taken away again because I tired her. Was she ill then? Mama has always been ill. I suppose you know Therese was ill. Stay it was just when I had my degree and went to Germany. She was sent to an asylum. I believe my father had wanted her to agree to undergo careful treatment of the kind long before but she would not. Therese was silent for a few minutes. You have not been very happy she said presently. Oh it was only after I grew up that I felt unhappy. When I was a little chap I never thought the last four or five years it has hurt me but when he came to see me once at school Papa told me he would take me with him as soon as I had taken my degree and grown up. Last October after my examination he wrote and told me to be patient a little longer that he was hurrying on with the winding up of his business and was coming back to France. That gave me a hope which has brightened these last few months and will also make you understand that I am returning at my father's coming. It seems to me that a new life is going to begin. Day was breaking now a dirty December day with the light filtering through heavy grey clouds that drifted along the ground hid the horizon, clung to the low hills and then suddenly dispersed in long wisps driven by a keen breeze that got up in gusts and drove clouds of dust along the hard frozen ground. I have not been very happy either said Therese for I lost my father when I was tiny I don't even remember him and mama must be dead as well. The ambiguous turning of the child's phrase caught Charles Rambere's interested attention. What does that mean Therese? Don't you know if your mother is dead? Yes, oh yes my grandma ma says so but whenever I ask for particulars grandma ma always changes the subject I will echo what you said just now when you are little you don't know anything and are not surprised at anything for a long time I took no notice of her sudden reticence but now I sometimes wonder if something is not being kept back from me, whether it is really true that mama is no more in this world. Talking like this Therese and Charles had walked at a good pace and now they came to the few houses built around very air station one by one bedroom windows and doors were being opened peasants were making their way to the sheds to lead their cattle to the pastures we are very early today is remarked pointing to the station clock your father's train is due at 6.55 and it is only 6.40 now we still have a quarter of an hour to wait and more if the train is not punctual they went into the little station and Charles Rambere thankful for some shelter from the cold stamped his feet a sudden uproar in the empty waiting room a porter appeared who the deuce is kicking up all this row he began angrily and then seeing Therese broke off short ah mademoiselle Therese he said with a familiar yet perfectly respectful cordiality that marks country folk up already have you come to meet somebody or are you going away as he spoke the porter turned a curious eye upon Charles Rambere whose arrival had caused quite a sensation two days before in this little spot where with but a few exceptions none but people belonging to the neighborhood ever come by train no I am not going away Therese replied I have accompanied Monsieur Rambere who has come to meet his father to meet your papa sir is he coming from far from Paris Charles Rambere answered is the train signaled yet the man drew out a watch like a turnip and looked at the time it won't be here for quite another 20 minutes the work on the tunnel makes it necessary to be careful and it's always late now but you will hear when the bell rings that will be when the train is coming over the level crossing it will run into the station 3 minutes after that well mademoiselle I must get off my work and the man left them Therese turned to Charles Rambere shall we go to the platform then we shall see the train come in so they left the waiting room and began to walk up and down the whole length of the platform Therese watched the jerky movements of the hands of the clock and smiled at her companion 5 minutes more and your father will be here 4 minutes more ah there it is and she pointed to a slope in the distance where a slight trail of smoke rose white against the blue of the sky now clear of cloud that is steam from the engine coming out of the tunnel air she finished speaking the quivering were of the bell echoed through the empty station ah says Charles Rambere at last the two porters who with the station master constituted the entire railway staff at verriere came bustling along the platform and while the bell continued its monotonous whirring sound pulled forward trucks and readiness for any possible luggage puffing portentiously the engine slackened speed and the heavy train slowed down and finally stopped bringing a noisy atmosphere of life into the station at verriere that but a moment ago was so still the first glass carriages had stopped immediately in front of Charles and Therese and on the footboard at the Rambere stood a tall elderly man of distinguished appearance proud bearing an energetic attitude with keen eyes and an unusually high and intelligent forehead seeing Therese and Charles he seized his baggage and in a twinkling had sprung onto the platform he dropped his valise tossed his bundle of rugs into a seat and gripped Charles by the two shoulders my boy he exclaimed my dear boy although he had hitherto shown so little affection for his child it was obvious that the man was making a great effort to restrain his emotion and was really moved when he now saw him again as a grown young man not on his part did Charles Rambere remain unmoved as if the sudden grip of this almost stranger who yet was his father had awakened a world of memories within him he turned very pale and his voice faltered as he replied papa, dear papa I am so glad to see you Therese had drawn tactfully aside Monsieur Rambere still held his son by the shoulders and stepped back a pace the better to consider him why you are a man how you have altered my boy you are just what I hoped you would be tall and strong ah you are my son all right and you are quite well hey yet you look tired I did not sleep well Charles explained with a smile I was afraid I should not wake up turning his head Monsieur Rambere saw Therese how do you do my little Therese he exclaimed you have altered too since I saw you last I left a little chit of a child and now I behold a grown up young lady well I must be off at once to pay my respects to my dear old friend your grandmother all well Therese Therese shook hands warmly with Monsieur Rambere and thanked him grandmama is very well she told me to tell you to excuse her if she did not come to meet you but her doctor said she was not get up very early of course your grandma's excused my dear besides I have to thank her for her kindness to Charles and for the hospitality she is going to extend to me for a few days meanwhile the train had gone on again and now a porter came up to Monsieur Rambere will you take your luggage with you sir recall the material things at the end Rambere contemplated his trunk which the porters had taken out of the luggage van good lord he began but Therese interrupted him grandma said she would sin for your heavy luggage during the morning and that you could take your valise and any small parcels with us in the brome what's that your grandma has taken the trouble to send her carriage it's a long way to bow to you you know Therese replied ask Charles if it isn't we came on foot the walk would be too tiring for you after a whole night in the train the three had reached the station yard and Therese stopped in surprise why how's that she exclaimed the carriage is not here and yet Jean was beginning to get it ready when we left the chateau Monsieur at the end Rambere was resting one hand on his son's shoulder and contemplating him with an affectionate all embracing survey every now and then he smiled at Therese he may have been delayed dear I tell you what we will do since your grandma is going to sin for my luggage there is no need for me to take my valise we can leave everything in the cloak room and start for the chateau on foot if my memory serves me right and it is a very good memory there is only one road so we shall meet Jean and can get into the carriage on the way a few minutes later all three set out on the road to bow to you Monsieur Rambere walked between the two young people he had gallantly offered his arm to Therese who was not a little proud of the attention which proved to her mind that she was now regarded as a grown-up young lady on the other side of his father Charles made answer to the incessant questions put to him Monsieur at the end Rambere enjoyed the walk in the quiet morning to the peaceful countryside with a tender half melancholy he recognized every turn in the road with a tender half melancholy he recognized every turn in the road every bit of scenery just fancy my coming back here at 60 years of age with a great son of 18 he said with a laugh and I remember as if it were yesterday the good times I have had at the chateau of Beaulieu Madame de Langrune and I will have plenty of memories to talk over Gad it must be quite 40 years since I came this way and yet I remember every bit of it Saitre's and the fact that we shall see the front of the chateau directly we have passed this little cops quite true the girl answered with a laugh you know the country very well sir yes said at the end Rambere and one gets to my age little Therese one always does remember the happy days of one's youth one remembers recent events much less distinctly most likely that means my dear that the human heart declines to grow old and refuses to preserve any but pictures of childhood for a few minutes Monsieur Rambere remains silent as if absorbed in somewhat melancholy reflections but he soon recovered himself and shook off the tender sadness evoked in his mind by memories of the past why the park enclosure has been altered he explained here's a wall which used not to be here there was only a hedge Therese laughed I never knew the hedge she said I have always seen the wall must we go on to the main gate Monsieur Rambere asked or has your grandma had another gate made we are going in by the outbuildings the girl answered then we shall hear why Jean did not come to meet us she opened the little door half hidden among the moss and ivy that clothed the wall surrounding the park and making Monsieur Rambere and Charles pass him before her cried but Jean has gone with the brome for the horses are not in the stable how was it we did not meet him then she laughed poor Jean he is so muddle headed I would not mind betting that he went to meet us at Saint-Gervoir as he does every morning to bring me home from church the little company at the end Rambere Therese and Charles were now approaching the chateau passing beneath Madame de Langroun's windows Therese called merrily up to them here we are grandma there was no reply but at the window of an adjoining room appeared the figure of the steward Dolan making a gesture as if asking for silence Therese in advance of her guests have proceeded but a few yards when Madame de Langroun's old servant rushed down the stone flight of steps in front of the chateau towards Monsieur Rambere Dolan seemed distraught usually so respectful and so differential in manner he now sees Monsieur Rambere by the arm and imperiously waving Therese and Charles away drew him aside it was awful sir he exclaimed horrible, a fearful thing has happened we have just found Madame de Marquise dead, murdered in her room End of Chapter 2 Recording by Alan Winteroud boomcoach.blogspot.com Chapter 3 of Funtomas by Marcel Alain and Pierre Suvestre this LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Alan Winteroud Funtomas by Marcel Alain and Pierre Suvestre translated by Cranston Metcalf Chapter 3 The Hunt for the Man Monsieur de Prail the examining magistrate in charge of the court at Brieve had just arrived at the chateau having been notified of the tragedy by the police sergeant stationed at Saint-Jauré The magistrate was a young, fashionable and rather aristocratic man of the world whose grievance it was to be tied down to work that was mechanical rather than intellectual he was essentially modern in his ideas and his chief ambition was to get away as quickly as possible from the small provincial town to which he had been exiled by the changes and chances of promotion he was sick of Brieve and now it occurred to him that a crime like this present one would give him an opportunity of displaying his gifts of intuition and deduction prove his quality and so might enable him to get another appointment after Delon had received him at the chateau the magistrate had first of all made inquiry as to who was in the house at the time from the information given him he was satisfied that it was unnecessary to subject either Therese or Charles Rambere to immediate examination both of the young people being much too upset to be able to reply to serious questions and both having been taken away to the house of the Baron de Vibre it was also clear that Monsieur Rambere Sr. who had only arrived after the crime could not furnish any interesting information tell me exactly how you discovered the crime, Monsieur Delon he said as pale and trembling the steward accompanied him along the corridor to the scene of the murder I went this morning as usual the steward replied to say good morning to Madame Delon Grun and receive her orders for the day I knocked at her door as I always did but it got no answer I knocked louder but still there was no answer I don't know why I opened the door instead of going away perhaps I had some kind of presentiment oh I shall never forget the shock I had when I saw my poor dear mistress lying dead at the foot of her bed steeped in blood and with such a horrible gash in her throat that for a moment I thought her head was severed from the trunk the police sergeant corroborated the steward's story the murderer certainly was committed with peculiarly horrible violence the body shows that the victim was struck with the utmost fury the murderer must have gone mad over the corpse from sheer lust of blood the wounds are shocking knife wounds? I don't know said the sergeant uncertainly your worship can form your own opinion the magistrate followed the steward into the room where Delon had taken care that nothing was touched in its furniture and general arrangement Madame Delon Grun's room corresponded with the character of the old lady it was large and quietly furnished with old presses, armed chairs chairs and old fashion tables it was evident that she had no liking for modern fashions but had preferred to have her own room stamped with a rather severe yet very comfortable character of former days the whole of one side of the room was filled by the marquises bed it was large and raised upon a kind of dais covered with a carpet of subdued tones at the foot of the bed on the right it was a large window fastened half open despite the keen cold no doubt for hygienic reasons in the middle of the room was a round mahogany table with a few articles upon it a blotting pad, books and so on in one corner a large crucifix was suspended over the wall with a preview in front of it the velvet of which had been worn white by the old lady's knees finally, a little further away was a small escutoire half open now with its drawers gaping and paper scattered on the floor there were only two ways of ingress into the room one by the door through which the magistrate had entered which opened on to the main corridor on the first floor and the other by a door communicating with the marquises dressing room this dressing room was lighted by a large window which was shut the magistrate was shocked by the spectacle presented by the corpse it was lying on its back on the floor with the arms extended the head was toward the bed the feet toward the window the body was almost naked a gash ran almost right across the throat leaving the bones exposed torrents of blood had saturated the victims' clothes and on the carpet round the body a wide stain was still slowly spreading wider monsieur de Pral stooped over the dead woman what an appalling wound he muttered the medical evidence will explain what weapon it was made with but no doctor is required to point out the violence of the blow or the fury of the murderer he turned to the old steward who at the sight of his mistress could hardly restrain his tears nothing has been moved in the room nothing sir the magistrate pointed to the escutoire with its open drawers that has not been touched no sir I suppose that is where madame de la grune kept her valuables the steward shook his head the marquise could not have had any large sum of money in the house a few hundred francs perhaps for daily expenses but certainly no more so you do not think robbery was the motive of the crime the steward shrugged his shoulders the murderer may have thought that madame de la grune had money here sir but anyhow he must have been disturbed because he did not take away the rings which the marquise had laid upon the dressing table before she got into bed the magistrate walked slowly around the room this window was open he asked the marquise always left it like that she liked all the fresh air she could get might not the murderer have got in that way the steward shook his head it is most unlikely sir see the windows are fitted outside with a kind of grading and the windows are outwards and downwards and I think that would prevent anyone from climbing in monsieur de pral saw that this was so continuing his investigation he satisfied himself that there was nothing about the furniture in that room or in the dressing room to show that the murderer had been through them except the disorder on and about the little escutoire at last he came to the door which opened onto the corridor ah he exclaimed this is interesting and with a finger he pointed to the inner bolt on the door the screws of which were wrenched half out showing that an attempt had been made to force the door did madame the long room bolt her door every night he asked yes always the law answered she was very nervous and if I was the first to come to bid her good morning I always heard her unfasten that bolt when I knocked monsieur de pral made no reply he made one more tour of the room minutely considering the situation of each single article monsieur de long will you kindly take me where I can have the use of a table and ink stand and anything else I may need to get on with my preliminary inquiry your clerk is waiting for you in the library sir the steward replied he has everything ready for you there very well if it is convenient to you we will join him now monsieur de pral followed de long down to the library on the ground floor where his enterprising clerk had already established himself the magistrate took his seat behind a large table and called to the police sergeant I shall ask you to be present during my inquiry sergeant the first investigations will devolve upon you so it will be well for you to hear all the details the witnesses can furnish me with I suppose you have taken no steps as yet beg pardon sir I have sent my men out in all directions with orders to interrogate all tramps and to detain any who do not give a satisfactory account of their time last night good by the way while I think of it have you sent off the telegram I gave you when I arrived the telegram to the police headquarters in Paris asking for a detective to be sent down I took it to the telegraph office myself sir his mind made easy on this score the young magistrate turned to de long will you please take a seat sir he said and disregarding the disapproving looks of his clerk who had a particular predilection for all the long circumlocutions and red tape of the law he pretermitted the usual questions as to name and age and occupation of the witnesses and began his inquiry by questioning the old steward what is the exact plan of the chateau was his first inquiry you know it now sir almost as well as I do the passage from the front door leads to the main staircase which we went up just now to the first floor where the bedroom of the marquis is situated the first floor contains a series of rooms separated by a corridor on the right is mademoiselle terese's room and then come guest chambers which are not occupied now on the left is the bedroom of the marquis followed by her dressing room on the same side and after that there is another dressing room and then the bedroom occupied by monsieur Charles rambair good and the floor above how is that arranged the second floor is exactly like the first floor sir except there are only servants rooms there they are smaller and there are more of them what servants sleep in the house as a general rule sir the two maid servants marie the housemaid and louise the cook and also hervé the butler but hervé did not sleep in the chateau last night he had asked the mistress's permission to go into the village and she had given it to him on condition he did not come back that night what do you mean inquired the magistrate rather surprised the marquis was rather nervous sir and did not like the idea of anyone being able to get into the house at night so she was always careful to double lock the front door and the kitchen door herself every night she went round all the rooms too every night and made sure that all the iron shutters were properly fastened and that it was impossible for anyone to get into the house when hervé goes out in the evenings he either sleeps in the village and does not return to the following morning which is what he did today or else he asked the coachman to leave the yard door unlocked and sleeps in a room above the stables which as a rule are not occupied that is where the other servants sleep I suppose yes sir the gardeners, the coachmen and the keepers all live in the outbuildings with regard to myself I have a small cottage a little further away in the park monsieur de frail sat silent for a few moments thinking deeply the only sound in the room was the irritating squeak of the clerk's pill pin as he industriously wrote down all the stewardship lies at last monsieur de frail looked up so on the night of the crime the only person sleeping in the chateau were madame de langarune her granddaughter mademoiselle today's monsieur charles rambert and the two mates is that so? yes sir then it does not seem likely that the crime was committed by anyone living in the chateau that is so sir and yet I do not believe that anyone got into the chateau only two people had a key of the front door the marquis said myself when I got to the house this morning I found the door open because mademoiselle today's went out early with monsieur charles rambert to meet monsieur rambert's senior station and she opened the door with the keys that the marquis had given in to her care the night before but she told me herself that when she started to meet the train at five o'clock the door was shut mademoiselle today's had put her keys under her pillow and my bunch had never left my possession is it not possible the magistrate suggested that someone may have got in during the day hidden himself and have committed the crime when night came remember monsieur Dolan the bolt inside madame the long groom's bedroom door has been wrenched away that means that the murderer made his entrance by that door and made it by force but the steward shook his head no sir nobody could have secreted himself in the chateau during the day people are always coming to the kitchen so the backdoor is under constant supervision and all yesterday afternoon there were gardeners that work on the lawn in front of the main entrance if any stranger presented himself there he would certainly have been seen and finally madame the long groom had given orders which I always attended to myself to keep the door locked through which one gets down to the cellars so the murderer could not have hidden in the basement and where else could he have hidden not in the rooms on the ground floor there was company to dinner last night and all the rooms were used more or less the marquise or someone of the guests would certainly have discovered him so he would have had to be upstairs either on the first or second floor that is most unlikely it would have been very risky besides the big house dog is fastened up by the foot of the staircase during the day and he would not have let any stranger pass him either the dog must have known the man or at all events some meat must have been thrown to him but there are no traces to show that anything of the sort was done the magistrate was much perplexed then the crime is inexplicable monsieur Delon you have just told me yourself there was no one in the chateau but madame de la grune the two young people todays and charles and the two maids it certainly is not any one of those who can be the guilty person for the way in which the crime was committed and the force of the blows dealt show that the criminal was a man a professional murderer in fact consequently the guilty person must have got in from outside come now have you no suspicions at all the steward raised his arms and let them fall in uttered ejection no he replied at last I do not suspect anybody I cannot suspect anybody but sir as far as I am concerned I feel certain that although the murderer was not one of those who occupied the chateau last night he nevertheless did not come in from outside it was not possible the doors were locked and the shutters were fastened nevertheless monsieur de prael remarked that as much as someone has committed a murder it must necessarily be the fact either that someone was hidden inside the chateau when madame de la grune herself locked the front door or else that he got in during the night do you not see yourself monsieur de l'homme that one or other of these two hypotheses must be correct the steward hesitated it is a mystery sir he declared at last I swear to you sir that nobody could have got in yet it is perfectly clear also that neither monsieur Charles nor mademoiselle Therese nor yet either of the maids Marie and Louise is the murderer monsieur de prael sat wrapped in thought for few minutes and then desired the old steward to fetch the two women servants come back yourself he added as the old man went away I may require further particulars from you de l'homme left the room and gichu the clerk and the magistrate tact was not the most shining of monsieur gichu's qualities when your inquiry is finished sir presently we shall have to pay a visit to the mayor of Saint-Jorais that is in accordance with the usual procedure and then he cannot do less than invite us to stay to dinner end of chapter 3 recording by Alan Winterout boomcoach.blogspot.com chapter 4 of fantamas by Marcella Lane and Pierre Suvestre this Libervox recording is in the public domain recording by Alan Winterout fantamas by Marcella Lane and Pierre Suvestre translated by Cranston Metcalf chapter 4 no I am not mad the next day but one after the crime on the Friday Louise the cook who is still terribly upset with the death of the good mistress in whose service she had been for 15 years came down to her kitchen early it was scarcely daybreak and the good woman was obliged to light a lamp to see by with her mind anywhere but on her work she was mechanically getting breakfast for the servants and for the visitors to the chateau when a sharp knock on the back door made her jump she went to open it and uttered a little scream as she saw the cocked hats of gendarmes bledded against the wan light of the early morning between the gendarmes were two miserable looking specimens of humanity Louise had only opened the door a few inches when the sergeant who had known her for many years took a step forward and gave her a military salute I must beg your hospitality for us and for these two fellows whom we have taken up tonight prowling about the neighborhood he said the dismayed Louise broke in could heaven sergeant are you bringing thieves here where do you expect me to put them surely there is enough trouble in the house as it is the gendarm morande smiled with a disillusioned air of a man who knows very well what trouble is and the sergeant replied put them? why in your kitchen of course and as the servant made a sign of refusal he added I am sorry but you must besides there is nothing for you to be afraid of the men are handcuffed and we shall not leave them we are going to wait here for the magistrate who will examine them the gendarmes had pushed their wretched captives in before them two tramps of the shadiest appearance Louise who had gone mechanically to raise the lid of a kettle beginning to boil over looked round at his last words the magistrate she said Monsieur de Praille why he is here now in the library exclaimed the sergeant jumping up from the kitchen chair on which he had seated himself he is I tell you the old woman insisted and the little man who generally goes about with him is here too you mean Monsieur Guigot his clerk very likely I leave the prisoners with you morande said the sergeant curtly don't let them out of your sight I am going to the magistrate I have no doubt he will wish to interrogate these fellows at once the gendarm came to attention and saluted trust me sergeant it looked as if morande's job was going to be an easy one the two tramps huddled up in a corner of the kitchen opposite the stove showed no disposition to make their escape the two were utterly different in appearance one was a tall strongly built man with thick hair crowned by a little jockey cap and was enveloped in a kind of overcoat which might have been black once but which was now of a greenish hue the result of the inclement of the weather he gnawed his heavy moustache in silence and turned somber uneasy looks on all including his companion in misfortune he wore hobnailed boots and carried a stout cudgel he was more like a piece of the human wreckage one sees in the street corners of great cities than a genuine tramp instead of a collar there was a variegated handkerchief around his neck his name he had told the sergeant on a swat pole the other man who had been discovered at the back of a farm just as he was about to crawl inside a stack was a typical country tramp an old soft felt hat was crammed down on his head and a shock of rebellious red and gray hair curled up all around it while a hairy beard entirely concealed all the features in his face all that could be seen of it was a pair of sparkling eyes incessantly moving in every possible direction the second man contemplated with interest the place into which the police had conducted him on his back he wore a heavy sort of wallet in which he stowed articles of the most varied description whereas his companion maintained a rigid silence this man never stopped talking nudging his neighbor every now and then he whispered say where do you come from you're not from these parts are you I've never seen you before have I everybody around here knows me Buzia my name is Buzia and turning to the gendarme he said isn't it true monsieur morande that you and I are old acquaintances this is the fourth or fifth time you've pinched me isn't it Buzia's companion vouchsafed him a glance so it's a habit of yours is it he said in the same low tone you often get nabbed as too often the gary list fellow replied that depends on what you mean by the word in wintertime it's not bad business to go back to clink because of the rotten weather in the summer one would rather go easy and then too in the summer there isn't so much crime you can find all you want on the road country people aren't so particular in the summer while in the winter it's quite another thing so they have done me down tonight for mother she cars rabbit I expect the gendarme who had been listening with no great attention chimed in so was you who stole the rabbit was it Buzia what's the good of you asking me that and see a moron protested Buzia I suppose you would have left me alone if you hadn't been sure of it Buzia's companion bent his head and whispered very low there's been something worse than that the job with the lady of this house oh that said Buzia with a gesture of complete indifference but he did not proceed the sergeant came back to the kitchen and said sternly Paul forward the imagining magistrate will hear you now the man's summons stepped toward the sergeant and quietly submitted to being taken by the arm for his hands were fastened Buzia winking knowingly at the gendarme now his soul remaining confidant and remarked with satisfaction good luck we are getting on today not too much remanded about it and as a gendarme severely keeping his proper distance the incorrigible chatterbox went on merrily as a matter of fact it suits me just as well to be committed for trial since the government give you room in lodging and especially since there's a really beautiful prison at breathe now he leaned familiarly against the gendarme's shoulder ah monsieur moran you didn't know it you weren't old enough why it was before you joined the force but the lock up used to be in an old building just behind the law courts dirty we should think it was dirty and damp by once when I did three months there from january to april I came out so ill with rheumatics that I had to go back into the infirmary for another fortnight cad he went on after a moment's pause during which he snuffed the air around him something smells jolly good here he unceremoniously addressed the cook who was busy at her work mightn't there perhaps be a bit of a blowout for me mademoiselle louise and as she turned round with a somewhat scandalized expression he continued you needn't be frightened lady you know me very well many a time I've come and asked you for any old thing and you always give me something monsieur de l'entu whenever he has an old pair of shoes that are worn out well those are mine and a crust of bread is what nobody ever refuses the cook hesitated touched by the recollection he voked by the portrait he looked at the gendarm for a sign of encouragement maran shrugged his shoulders and turned a patronizing gaze on Buzia give him something if you like mademoiselle louise after all he is well known and for my own part I don't believe he could have done it the tramp interrupted him I'll assume around if it's a matter of picking up trifles here and there a wandering rabbit perhaps or a foul that's tired of being lonely I don't say no but as for anything else thank you kindly lady louise had handed Buzia a huge chunk of bread which he immediately interned in the depths of his enormous bag what do you suppose that other chap can have to tell Mr. Paul Pry he did not look like a regular now when I get before the gentleman in black I don't want to contradict him so I always say yes my lord and they are perfectly satisfied sometimes they laugh and the president of the court says stand up Buzia and then he gives me a fortnight or 21 days or a month as the case may be the sergeant came back alone and addressed the gendarme the other man has been discharged he said as for Buzia Monsieur de Prail does not think there is any need to interrogate him am I to be punent out then inquired the tramp with some dismay as he looked uneasily toward the window against the glass of which rain was lashing the sergeant could not restrain a smile well no Buzia he said kindly we must take you to the lock up there is a little matter of the rabbit to be cleared up you know come now quick march take him to Saint-Gérée morande the sergeant went back to the library to hold himself at the magistrate's disposal through the torrential downpour of rain Buzia and the gendarme winded their way to the village and left alone in her kitchen Louise put out her lamp like the shocking weather it was getting lighter now and communed with herself I have a kind of idea they would have done better to keep that other man he was a villainous looking fellow the sad depressing day had passed without any notable incident Charles Rambar and his father had spent the afternoon with Thérèse and the Baron de Vibre continuously addressing large black edged envelopes to the relations and friends of the Marquis de Langrune whose funeral had been fixed for the next day but one a hasty dinner had been served at which the Baron de Vibre was present her grief was distressing to witness somewhat feudal to outward seeming this woman had a very kind and tender heart as a matter of course she had constituted herself the protector and comforter of Thérèse and she had spent the whole of the previous day with the child at brieve ransacking the local shops to procure her morning Thérèse was terribly shocked by the dreadful death of her grandmother whom she adored but she displayed unexpected strength of character and controlled her grief so that she might be able to look after the guests whom she was now entertaining for the first time as mistress of the house the Baron de Vibre had failed in her attempt to persuade Thérèse to come with her to Querel to sleep Thérèse was determined in her refusal to leave the chateau and what she termed her post of duty she will stay with me she assured the kind Baron and I promise you I shall have sufficient courage to go to sleep tonight so her friend got into her car alone at 9 o'clock and went back to her own house and Thérèse went up at once to bed with Marie the faithful servant who like Louise the cook had been with her ever since she was born after having read all the newspapers with their minute and often an accurate account of the tragedy at Beaulieu for everyone in the chateau had been besieged the previous day by reporters and representatives of various press agencies Monsieur Etienne Rambert said to his son simply but with a marked gravity let us go upstairs my son it is time at the door of his room Charles deferentially offered his cheek to his father but Monsieur Etienne Rambert seemed to hesitate then as if taking a sudden resolution he entered his son's room instead of going to his own Charles kept silence and refrained from asking any questions for he had noticed how lost and sad thought his father had seemed to be since the day before Charles Rambert was very tired he began to undress at once he had taken off his coat and waistcoat and was turning toward a looking glass to undo his tie when his father came up to him with an abrupt movement Monsieur Etienne Rambert put both his hands on his son's shoulders in the eyes then in a stifled but peremptory tone he said now confess unhappy boy confess to your father Charles went ghastly white what? he muttered Etienne Rambert kept his eyes fixed upon him it was you who committed the murder the ringing denial that the young man tried to utter was strangled in his throat he threw out his arms and groped with his hands to find something to support him in his faintness then he pulled himself together committed the murder I? you accuse me of having killed the Marquis it is infamous, hateful, awful alas yes oh no could God know yes Etienne Rambert insisted the two men faced each other panting Charles controlled the emotion which was sweeping over him once more and looking steadily at his father said in tones of bitter approach and it is actually my own father who says that who suspects me tears filled the young man's eyes and sobs choked him he grew wider still and seemed so near collapse that his father had to support him to a chair where he remained for several minutes utterly prostrated Monsieur Rambert paced up and down the room a few times then took another chair in front of his son passing a hand across his brow as if to sweep away the horrible nightmare that was haunting him he spoke again come now my boy, my poor boy let us talk it over quietly I do not know how it was but yesterday morning when I saw you at the station I had a presentiment of something you were haggard and tired and your eyes were drawn I told you before Charles answered tonelessly that I had had a bad night I was over excited and I did not sleep I was awake the whole night by Jove yes his father wrapped out I can believe that but if you were not asleep how do you account for your not hearing anything Therese did not hear anything either said Charles after a moment's reflection Therese's room was a long way off Monsieur Rambert applied while there was only a thin wall between yours and that of the Marquis you must have heard you did hear more than that oh my boy, my unhappy boy Charles was twisting and untwisting his hands and great drops of cold perspiration beat at his brow you were the only single person who thinks I committed such an awful crime he said half-questioningly the only one at Therese Rambert muttered perhaps as yet but you ought to know that you made a very bad impression of the friends of the Marquis during the evening before the crime when President Bonet was reading the particulars of a murder that had been committed in Paris by somebody, I forget whom good heavens Charles exclaimed in indignation I did not say anything wrong do you mean to say just because I am interested in stories of great criminals like Racambol and Fantomas you created a deplorable impression his father repeated so they suspect me too do they Charles inquired but you can't make accusations like that he said, warming up you've got to have facts and proofs he looked at his father for the sympathy and encouragement of affection listen papa I know you will believe me when I swear that I am innocent but do you think other people Monsieur Etienne Rambert sat with his head between his hands, wrapped in thought there was a short silence and a happy father applied unfortunately there is evidence against you, he said at last and damning evidence too he added with a glance at his son that seemed to pulverize him terrible evidence consider Charles, the magistrates have decided as a result of their investigations that no one got into the chateau on the fatal night you were the only man who slept there and none but a man could possibly have committed such a horrible crime with a generous piece of butchery someone might have got in from outside the unhappy lad urged as if trying to escape from the network in which he was being entangled no one did, Etienne Rambert insisted besides how could you prove it Charles was silent he stood in the middle of the room with trembling legs and haggard eyes seemingly stupefied and incapable of coherent thought vacantly watching his father head and shoulders bowed as though beneath a too heavy load Etienne Rambert moved toward the dressing room attached to the bedroom come here he said in an almost inaudible voice follow me he went into the dressing room and picking up the towels that were heaped anyhow on the lower rail of the wash stand he selected a very crumpled one and held it out in front of his son look at that he said in a low curt tone and on the towel thus held in light Charles Rambert saw red stains of blood the lad started and was about to burst into some protestation but Etienne Rambert imperiously checked him do you still deny it? unhappy wretched boy there is the convincing irrefutable evidence of your guilt these stains of blood proclaim it something always is overlooked how are you to explain the presence of this blood stained linen in your room can you still deny that it is proof positive of your guilt? but I do deny it I do deny it I don't understand I know nothing about it and once more Charles Rambert collapsed into the armchair the unhappy lad was nothing but a human wreck with no strength to argue or even utter a word his father's eyes rested on him filled with infinite affection and profoundest pity my poor poor boy the unhappy Etienne Rambert murmured and added as if speaking only to himself I wonder if you are not entirely responsible if there are circumstances to plead for you do you still accuse me papa? do you really believe I am the murderer? Etienne Rambert shook his head hopelessly oh I wish I wish he exclaimed that for the honor of our name and for the sake of those who love us I could prove you had congenital hereditary tendencies that made you not responsible why could not I have watched over your upbringing? why has fate decreed that I should only see my son three times at most in 18 years and come home to find him a criminal? oh if science could but establish the fact that the child of a tainted mother tainted? Charles exclaimed what do you mean? tainted with a terrible and mysterious disease Etienne Rambert went on a disease before which we are powerless and unarmed insanity what? cried Charles growing momentarily more distressed and bewildered what is that papa? are my wits going? my mother insane? and then he added hopelessly my god you must be right often and often I have been amazed by her strange puzzling looks and behavior but I have all my proper senses what am I doing? was it perhaps some appalling hallucination Etienne Rambert suggested some moment of irresponsibility but Charles saw what he meant and cut him short no no papa I am not mad I am not mad I am not mad in his intense excitement the young fellow never thought of moderating the tone of his voice but shouted out what was in his mind shouted it into the silence of the night heedless of all but this terrible discussion he was having with the father whom he loved nor did Etienne Rambert lower his voice his son's impassioned protest wrung the retort from him then Charles if you are right your crime is beyond forgiveness murderer murderer the two men stopped short as a slight sound in the passage caught their attention a silence fell upon them that they could not break and they stood dumbfounded nervous and overwrought the door of the room opened very slowly and a white form appeared against the darkness of the corridor outside robed in a long nightdress Therese stood there with hair disheveled bloodless lips and eyes dilated with horror the child was shaking from head to foot as if every movement hurt her but she painfully raised her arm and pointed to Charles Therese? Etienne Rambert muttered Therese you are outside? the child's lips moved she seemed to be making a more than human effort and a whisper escaped her lips yes but she could say no more her eyes rolled her whole frame tottered and then without sign or cry she fell rigid and unconscious to the floor by Marcella Lane and Pierre Souvestre this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Alan Winterout by Marcella Lane and Pierre Souvestre translated by Cranston Metcalf Chapter 5 Arrest Me 12 or 13 miles from Sviak the main line from Brieve to Cahors which flanks a slope describes a rather sharp curve the journey is a particularly picturesque one and travelers who make it during the daytime have much that is interesting and agreeable to see but while they are admiring the country which marks the transition from the severe region of the limousine to the more laughing landscapes on the confines of the midi the train suddenly plunges into a tunnel which runs for half a mile and more through the heart of the mountain slope leaving the tunnel the line continues along the slope then gradually descends towards Sviak two or three miles from that little station which is a junction the line runs alongside the high road to Salignac skirts for a brief distance to Correz one of the largest tributaries on the right bank of the Dordonia and then plunges into the heart of Lot torrential winter rains had seriously affected the railway embankment particularly near the mouth of the tunnel a succession of heavy storms in the early part of December had so greatly weakened the ballast that the chief engineers of the company had been hastily summoned to the scene of the mischief the experts decided that very important repairs were required close to the Sviak into the tunnel it was necessary to put in a complete system of drainage with underground pipes through which the water that came down from the mountain could escape between the ballast and the side of the rock and so pass underneath the permanent way the sleepers too had been loosened by the bad weather and some of them had perished so much that the chairs were no longer fast a matter which was all the more serious because the line described a very sharp curve at that precise spot gangs of first-class navies have been hurriedly requisitioned but in spite of the fact that an exceptional rate of wages was paid a local strike had broken out and for some days all work was stopped gradually however, moderate councils prevailed and for over a week now nearly all the men had taken up their tools again nevertheless for a month passed these various circumstances had resulted in all the trains running between Brieve and Kahor being regularly half an hour late further in view of the dangerous state of the line all engineer drivers coming from Brieve had received orders to stop their trains 200 yards from the end of the tunnel and all drivers coming from Kahor to stop their trains 500 yards before the entrance to the tunnel so that should a train appear while any work was going on which rendered it dangerous to pass it could wait until the work was completed the order was also issued with the primary object of preventing the workers on the line from being taken by surprise Day was just breaking this grey November morning when the gang of navies set to work under a foreman fixing on the down line the new sleepers which had been brought up the day before suddenly a shrill whistle was heard and in the gaping black mouth of the tunnel the light of two lamps became visible a train bound for Kahor had stopped in accordance with orders and was calling for permission to pass the foreman ranged his men on either side of the down line and walked to a small cabin erected at the mouth of the tunnel where he pulled the hand signal so as to show the green light thereby authorizing the train to proceed on its way there was a second short sharp whistle heavy puffs escaped from the engine and belching forth a dense volume of black smoke it slowly emerged from the tunnel followed by a long line of carriages the windows of which were frosted all over by the cold temperatures outside a man approached the cabin allotted to the plate layer in charge of that section of the line in which the tunnel was included I suppose this is the train do it very air at 6.55 he said carelessly yes the plate layer answered but it's late for the clock down there in the valley struck seven several minutes ago the train had gone by the three red lamps fastened at the end of it were already lost in the morning mist the man who spoke to the plate layer was no other than Francois Paul the tramp who had been discharged charged by the magistrate installed at the chateau of Bolia at precisely the same time the day before after a brief examination in spite of the deep wrinkle furrowed in his brow the man seemed to make an effort to appear friendly and to want to carry on a conversation there aren't many people in this morning train he remarked especially in the first class carriages the plate layer appeared in no eyes unwilling to postpone for a few moments his tiring and chilling underground patrol he put down his pick before answering well that's not surprising is it people who are rich enough to travel first class always come by the express which gets to breathe at 2.50 a.m I see said Francois Paul that's reasonable and more practical for travelers to breathe or to co-or but what about the people who want to get out at Gourdon or Suillac or Verrier or any of the small stations where the express doesn't stop I don't know said the plate layer but I suppose they have to get out at breathe or co-or and drive or else travel by the day trains which are fast to breathe and slow afterwards Francois Paul did not press the matter he lit a pipe and breathed upon his benumbed fingers hard times these and no mistake the plate layer seemed sorry for him I don't suppose you're an independent gentleman but why don't you try to get taken on here he suggested they ought hands here oh do they that's the fact this is the foreman coming along now would you like me to speak to him for you no hurry replied Francois Paul of course I'm not saying no but I should like to see what sort of work it is they're doing here it might not suit me I shall have time to get a couple of words with him and with his eyes on the ground he slowly walked along the embankment away from the plate layer the foreman met and passed him and came up to the plate layer at the mouth of the tunnel well me shoe how goes it with you still got the old complaint middling boss the worthy fellow answered just keeping up you know and how's yourself and the work when shall you finish I don't know if you know it but these trains stopping regularly in my section give me an extra lot of work how's that the foreman inquired in surprise the engine drivers take advantage of the stop to empty their ash pans and they leave a great heap of mess there in my tunnel which I'm obliged to clear away in the ordinary way they dump it somewhere else where I don't know but not in my tunnel and that's all I care about the foreman laughed you're a good me shoe if I were you I would ask the company to give me another man or two and do you suppose the company would me shoe retorted by the way that poor devil who is going along there shivering with cold and hunger was grumbling to me just now and I advised him to ask you to take him on what do you think he said why that he would have a look at the work first and off he went it's a fact me shoe that it's mighty difficult to come across people who mean business nowadays it's quite true that I want more hands but if that chap doesn't ask me to engage him in another minute I'll kick him out the embankment is not public property and I don't trust these rascals who are forever coming and going among the workmen to see what mischief they can make I'll go and cast an eye over the bolts and things for there are all sorts of vagrants about the neighborhood just now and criminals too said old me shoe I suppose you've heard of the murder up at the chateau of Bolia rather my men are talking nothing else but you are right me shoe I will get a closer look at all strangers and at your friend in particular the foreman stopped abruptly he had been examining the foot of the embankment and was standing quite still watching the plate layer followed his glance and also stood fixed after a few moments silence the two men looked at each other and smiled in the half light of the valley they had seen the outline of a gendarme he was on foot and appeared to be looking for somebody while making no attempt to remain unseen himself good whispered me shoe that sergeant do say I know him by his stripes they say the murder was not committed by anyone belonging to this part of the country everybody was fond of the Marquis de la Grune look look the foreman broke in pointing to the gendarme who was slowly climbing up the embankment it looks as if the sergeant were making for the gentleman who was looking for work just now and hoped he would not find it the sergeant's got a word for him hey what that might be said me shoe after a moment's further watching that chap has a villainous ugly face one can tell from the way he's dressed that he doesn't belong to our parts the two men waited with utmost interest to see what was going to happen sergeant do say reached the top of the embankment at last and hurried past the navies who stopped their work to stare inquisitively at the representative of authority fifty yards beyond them Francois Paul, wrapped in thought was walking slowly down toward the station of Aire hearing the sound of steps behind him he turned when he saw the sergeant he frowned he glanced rapidly about him and saw that while he was alone with the gendarme so that no one could overhear what they were said however lally they might speak they were yet in such a position that every sign and movement they made was perfectly visible to whoever might watch them and as the gendarme passed a few paces from him and remarkable fact seemed to be on the point of bringing his hand to his cap and salute the mysterious tramp wrapped out I thought I said no one was to disturb me sergeant the sergeant took a space forward I beg your pardon inspector but I have important news for you for this Francois Paul whom the sergeant such respectfully addressed as inspector was no other than an officer of the secret police who had been sent down to Bolia the day before from headquarters in Paris he was no ordinary officer as if monsieur harvard had had an idea that the land grown affair would prove to be puzzling and complicated he had singled out the very best of his detectives the most expert inspector of them all Juv it was Juv who for the last 48 hours was calling about the chateau of Bolia disguised as a tramp and had himself arrested with Buzia that he might prosecute his own investigations without raising the slightest suspicion as to his real identity Juv made a face expressive of his vexation at the over differential attitude of the sergeant do pay attention he said low we are being watched if I must go back with you pretend to arrest me I beg your pardon inspector I don't like to the gendarme answered for all reply Juv turned his back on him look here he said I will take a step or two forward as if I mean to run away then you must put your hand on my shoulder roughly and I will stumble when I do slip the bracelets on from the mouth of the tunnel the plate layer, the foremen and the navies all follow with their eyes the unintelligible conversation the gendarme and the tramp a hundred yards away suddenly they saw the man try to get off and the sergeant sees him almost simultaneously a few minutes later the individual with his hands linked together in front of him was obediently descending the steep slope of the embankment by the gendarme's side and then the two men disappeared behind a clump of trees I understand why that chap was not very keen on getting taken on here said the foremen his conscience was none too easy as they walked briskly in the direction of Boliu Juv asked the sergeant what has happened at the Chateau then they know who the murderer is inspector the sergeant answered little mademoiselle Therese end of chapter 5 recording by Alan Winterout boomcoach.blogspot.com