The Secret Of The Night(Fiscle Part 3) by Gaston Leroux (readera ebook reader txt) 📕

He Alone Remained Between The General And The Vengeance Of The Dead!

He Might Desert,  Perhaps!  That One Idea Brought Him To Himself,

Roused All His Spirit.  Circumstances Had Brought Him Into A Camp

That He Must Defend At Any Cost,  Unless He Was Afraid!

The General Slept Now,  Or,  At Least,  With Eyelids Closed Simulated

Sleep,  Doubtless In Order To Reassure Poor Matrena Who,  On Her Knees

Beside His Pillow,  Had Retained The Hand Of Her Terrible Husband In

Her Own.  Shortly She Rose And Rejoined Rouletabille In Her Chamber.

She Took Him Then To A Little Guest-Chamber Where She Urged Him To

Get Some Sleep.  He Replied That It Was She Who Needed Rest.  But,

Agitated Still By What Had Just Happened,  She Babbled:

"No,  No!  After Such A Scene I Would Have Nightmares Myself As Well.

Ah,  It Is Dreadful!  Appalling!  Appalling!  Dear Little Monsieur,

It Is The Secret Of The Night.  The Poor Man!  Poor Unhappy Man!

He Cannot Tear His Thoughts Away From It.  It Is His Worst And

Unmerited Punishment,  This Translation That Natacha Has Made Of

Boris's Abominable Verses.  He Knows Them By Heart,  They Are In His

Brain And On His Tongue All Night Long,  In Spite Of Narcotics,  And

He Says Over And Over Again All The Time,  'It Is My Daughter Who

Has Written That!  - My Daughter!  - My Daughter!'  It Is Enough

To Wring All The Tears From One's Body - That An Aide-De-Camp Of A

General,  Who Himself Has Killed The Youth Of Moscow,  Is Allowed To

Write Such Verses And That Natacha Should Take It Upon Herself To

Translate Them Into Lovely Poetic French For Her Album.  It Is Hard

To Account For What They Do Nowadays,  To Our Misery."

She Ceased,  For Just Then They Heard The Floor Creak Under A Step

Downstairs.  Rouletabille Stopped Matrena Short And Drew His

Revolver.  He Wished To Creep Down Alone,  But He Had Not Time.  As

The Floor Creaked A Second Time,  Matrena's Anguished Voice Called

Down The Staircase In Russian,  "Who Is There?" And Immediately The

Calm Voice Of Natacha Answered Something In The Same Language.

Then Matrena,  Trembling More And More,  And Very Much Excited

Keeping Steadily To The Same Place As Though She Had Been Nailed

To The Step Of The Stairway,  Said In French,  "Yes,  All Is Well;

Your Father Is Resting.  Good-Night,  Natacha."  They Heard Natacha's

Step Cross The Drawing-Room And The Sitting-Room.  Then The Door Of

Her Chamber Closed.  Matrena And Rouletabille Descended,  Holding

Their Breath.  They Reached The Dining-Room And Matrena Played Her

Dark-Lantern On The Sofa Where The General Always Reclined.  The

Sofa Was In Its Usual Place On The Carpet.  She Pushed It Back And

Raised The Carpet,  Laying The Floor Bare.  Then She Got Onto Her

Knees And Examined The Floor Minutely.  She Rose,  Wiping The

Perspiration From Her Brow,  Put The Carpet Hack In Place,  Adjusted

The Sofa And Dropped Upon It With A Great Sigh.

"Well?" Demanded Rouletabille.

"Nothing At All," Said She.

"Why Did You Call So Openly?"

"Because There Was No Doubt That It Could Only Be My Step-Daughter

On The Ground-Floor At That Hour."

"And Why This Anxiety To Examine The Floor Again?"

"I Entreat You,  My Dear Little Child,  Do Not See In My Acts Anything

Mysterious,  Anything Hard To Explain.  That Anxiety You Speak Of

Never Leaves Me.  Whenever I Have The Chance I Examine The Flooring."

"Madame," Demanded The Young Man,  "What Was Your Daughter Doing In

This Room?"

"She Came For A Glass Of Mineral Water; The Bottle Is Still On The

Table."

"Madame,  It Is Necessary That You Tell Me Precisely What Koupriane

Has Only Hinted To Me,  Unless I Am Entirely Mistaken.  The First

Time That You Thought To Examine The Floor,  Was It After You Heard

A Noise On The Ground-Floor Such As Has Just Happened?"

"Yes.  I Will Tell You All That Is Necessary.  It Was The Night

After The Attempt With The Bouquet,  My Dear Little Monsieur,  My

Dear Little Domovoi; It Seemed To Me I Heard A Noise On The

Ground-Floor.  I Hurried Downstairs And Saw Nothing Suspicious At

First.  Everything Was Shut Tight.  I Opened The Door Of Natacha's

Chamber Softly.  I Wished To Ask Her If She Had Heard Anything.

But She Was So Fast Asleep That I Had Not The Heart To Awaken Her.

I Opened The Door Of The Veranda,  And All The Police - All,  You

Understand - Slept Soundly.  I Took Another Turn Around The

Furniture,  And,  With My Lantern In My Hand,  I Was Just Going Out

Of The Dining-Room When I Noticed That The Carpet On The Floor Was

Disarranged At One Corner.  I Got Down And My Hand Struck A Great

Fold Of Carpet Near The General's Sofa.  You Would Have Said That

The Sofa Had Been Rolled Carelessly,  Trying To Replace It In The

Position It Usually Occupied.  Prompted By A Sinister Presentiment,

I Pushed Away The Sofa And I Lifted The Carpet.  At First Glance I

Saw Nothing,  But When I Examined Things Closer I Saw That A Strip

Of Wood Did Not Lie Well With The Others On The Floor.  With A

Knife I Was Able To Lift That Strip And I Found That Two Nails

Which Had Fastened It To The Beam Below Had Been Freshly Pulled Out.

It Was Just So I Could Raise The End Of The Board A Little Without

Being Able To Slip My Hand Under.  To Lift It Any More It Would Be

Necessary To Pull At Least Half-A-Dozen Nails.  What Could It Mean?

Was I On The Point Of Discovering Some New Terrible And Mysterious

Plan?  I Let The Board Fall Back Into Place.  I Spread The Carpet

Back Again Carefully,  Put The Sofa In Its Place,  And In The Morning

Sent For Koupriane."

Rouletabille Interrupted.

"You Had Not,  Madame,  Spoken To Anyone Of This Discovery?"

"To No One."

"Not Even To Your Step-Daughter?"

"No," Said The Husky Voice Of Matrena,  "Not Even To My Step-Daughter."

"Why?" Demanded Rouletabille.

"Because," Replied Matrena,  After A Moment's Hesitation,  "There Were

Already Enough Frightening Things About The House.  I Would Not Have

Spoken To My Daughter Any More Than I Would Have Said A Word To The

General.  Why Add To The Disquiet They Already .Suffered So Much,

In Case Nothing Developed?"

"And What Did Koupriane Say?"

"We Examined The,  Floor Together,  Secretly.  Koupriane Slipped His

Hand Under More Easily Than I Had Done,  And Ascertained That Under

The Board,  That Is To Say Between The Beam And The Ceiling Of The

Kitchen,  There Was A Hollow Where Any Number Of Things Might Be

Placed.  For The Moment The Board Was Still Too Little Released For

Any Maneuver To Be Possible.  Koupriane,  When He Rose,  Said To Me,

'You Have Happened,  Madame,  To Interrupt The Person In Her

Operations.  But We Are Prepared Henceforth.  We Know What She Does

And She Is Unaware That We Know.  Act As Though You Had Not Noticed

Anything; Do Not Speak Of It To Anyone Whatever - And Watch.  Let

The General Continue To Sit In His Usual Place And Let No One

Suspect That We Have Discovered The Beginnings Of This Attempt.  It

Is The Only Way We Can Plan So That They Will Continue.  All The

Same,' He Added,  'I Will Give My Agents Orders To Patrol The

Ground-Floor Anew During The Night.  I Would Be Risking Too Much To

Let The Person Continue Her Work Each Night.  She Might Continue It

So Well That She Would Be Able To Accomplish It - You Understand

Me?  But By Day You Arrange That The Rooms On The Ground-Floor Be

Free From Time To Time - Not For Long,  But From Time To Time.' I

Don't Know Why,  But What He Said And The Way He Said It Frightened

Me More Than Ever.  However,  I Carried Out His Program.  Then,  Three

Days Later,  About Eight O'clock,  When The Night Watch Was Not Yet

Started,  That Is To Say At The Moment When The Police Were Still

All Out In The Garden Or Walking Around The House,  Outside,  And When

I Had Left The The Ground-Floor Perfectly Free While I Helped The

General To Bed,  I Felt Drawn Even Against Myself Suddenly To The

Dining-Room.  I Lifted The Carpet And Examined The Floor.  Three

More Nails Had Been Drawn From The Board,  Which Lifted More Easily

Now,  And Under It,  I Could See That The Normal Cavity Had Been Made

Wider Still!"

When She Had Said This,  Matrena Stopped,  As If,  Overcome,  She Could

Not Tell More.

"Well?" Insisted Rouletabille.

"Well,  I Replaced Things As I Found Them And Made Rapid Inquiries

Of The Police And Their Chief; No One Had Entered The Ground-Floor.

You Understand Me? - No One At All.  Neither Had Anyone Come Out

From It."

"How Could Anyone Come Out If No One Had Entered?"

"I Wish To Say," Said She With A Sob,  "That Natacha During This

Space Of Time Had Been In Her Chamber,  In Her Chamber On The

Ground-Floor."

"You Appear To Be Very Disturbed,  Madame,  At This Recollection.

Can You Tell Me Further,  And Precisely,  Why You Are Agitated?"

"You Understand Me,  Surely," She Said,  Shaking Her Head.

"If I Understand You Correctly,  I Have To Understand That From The

Previous Time You Examined The Floor Until The Time That You Noted

Three More Nails Drawn Out,  No Other Person Could Have Entered The

Dining-Room But You And Your Step-Daughter Natacha."

Matrena Took Rouletabille's Hand As Though She Had Reached An

Important Decision.

"My Little Friend," Moaned She,  "There Are Things I Am Not Able To

Think About And Which I Can No Longer Entertain When Natacha Embraces

Me.  It Is A Mystery More Frightful Than All Else.  Koupriane Tells

Me That He Is Sure,  Absolutely Sure,  Of The Agents He Kept Here; My

Sole Consolation,  Do You See,  My Little Friend Can Tell You Frankly,

Now That You Have Sent Away Those Men - My Sole Consolation Since

That Day Has Been That Koupriane Is Less Sure Of His Men Than I Am

Of Natacha."

She Broke Down And Sobbed.

When She Was Calmed,  She Looked For Rouletabille,  And Could Not

Find Him.  Then She Wiped Her Eyes,  Picked Up Her Dark-Lantern,

And,  Furtively,  Crept To Her Post Beside The General.

For That Day These Are The Points In Rouletabille's Notebook:

"Topography: Villa