Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 206, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 August 1912 — The PHANTOM OF THE OPERA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

by Gaston Leroux

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19 SYNOPSIS. , Consternation is caused on the last tUglti that the Opera is managed by Debtenne and Poligny because of the ap- ~ aearance of a ghost, said to have been In evidence on several previous occasions. Christine Daae. a member of the opera company, is called upon 'to fill a very IntpCrtant part and scores a great success.. Count de Chagny and his brother Baoul are among those who applaud the stager. Raoul tries to see Christine in tfce dressing room, but is unable to do so ■nd later discovers that some one is maktng love to her. She emerges alone, and Stpon entering the room he finds it empty. While the farewell ceremony for the re—tiring managers Is going on,— the Opera Ohost appears and Informs the new managers that Box No. 6 is reserved for him. Box No. S is sold with disastrous results, The managers receive a letter from the wpera Qhost calling attention to the error.. Christine Daae writes Kabul that *he has gone to visit the grave of her tether. He goes also, and In the night follows her to the church. Wonderful violin music Is heard. Raoul visits a graveyard. Raoul Is found next morning almost froxen. Moncharmin and Richard Investigate Box No. 5 and decide to see the performance of “Faust" from front •eats of that box. Carlotta, who sings the leading part In “Faust,' Is warned to give the part to Christine. Carlotta, refusing, loses her voice in the middle •f a song and the main chandelier crashes down, killing a woman and wounding many. Raoul searches for Christine, who has disappeared. He sees ber at last, but does not speak, and later a note Is received from her making an appointment for -t masked ball. Raoul . meets Christine at the ball. He sees a person in the disguise of Red Death. He hears her conversing with some one whom she calls Erik. Raoul visits Christine and tells her he knows the name of the unseen man whom she calls the Angel of Music. Christine and Raoul becopne secretly engaged prior to a polar expedition that Raoul 1$ to make. Christine relates a strange adventure with the , -unseen Erik and promises to run away with Raoul. Raoul announces his Intenfton of marrying Christine, which displeases Philippe. In the midst of a performance the stage is enveloped in darkness and Christine disappears. No trace of her is found. Moncharmin and Rtchmrd behave strangely. Raoul searches madly for the missing singer. The Opera Shost demands the first installment of his allowance, and when it Is left at an appointed place the sum mysteriously disappears. Raoul goes In search of Christine. He meets a mysterious person known as the Persian. The Persian plans bo aid Raoul in locating Christine and they gain access to a secret chamber

Thereupon, Raoul amj. the Persian saw the startled faces of the joint managers appear above the landing — and they heard Moncharmln's excited “There are things happening here, Mr. Commissary, which we are unable to explain." I I „ And the two faces disappeared. ~ 'Thank you for the information, gentlemen,” said Mifroid, with a jeer. But the stage-manager, bolding his chin in the hoTldw of his right hand, which Is—the attitude of profound thought, said: x "It is not the first time that Mauclair has fallen asleep in the theater. I remember finding him, one evening, snoring in his little recess, with his snuff-box beside him.” “Is that long ago ?*' asked M. Mifroid, carefully wiping his eyeglasses. “No, not so very long ago. . . . Walt a bit! ... It was the night . . . of course, yes . . . —lt was the night when Carlotta —you know, Mr. Commissary—gave her famous ‘co-ack!' ” “Really? The night when Carlotta famous 'co-ack?' ” And M. Mifroid, replacing his gleaming glasses on his nose, fixed the stage-manager with a contemplative stare. : “So Mauclair takes snuff, does he?" he asked carelessly. “Yes, Mr. Commissary. . . Look, tlmre is his snuff-box on that little slfclf. . . . Ob, he's a great snufftaker!” "So am I,” said Mifroid and put tne snuff-box In his pocket. Raoul and the Persian, themselves unobserved, watched the removal of the three bodies bv a number of scene shifters, who were followed by the

CHAPTER XX—(Continued). Contrary to what one might think. Especially In connection with an opthe “organ" Is not a musical Instrument. At that time, elec■trlcity was employed only for a very few scenic effects and for the hells, l'he Immense building and the stage Jtself were still lit by gas; hydrogen was used to regulate and modify the lighting of* a scene; and this was done by means of a special apparatus which, because of the multiplicity of dts pipes, was known as the “organ." A box beside the prompter’s box was reserved for the chief gas-man, who from there gave his orders to his assistants and saw that they were, executed. Mauclalr stayed in this box during ail' the performances. But now Mauclair was not in his box and his assistants not in their iplaces. , ".Mauclair!—M»ufctalf!” _ > The stage-manager’s voice echoed through the cellars. But Ai&uclair idid not reply. ( have said that a door opened on a little staircase that led to the second cellar. The commissary pushed it. but it resisted “I say,” he said to. the stage-man-ager, “I can’t open this door; is it always so difficult?” The stage-manager forced it open with his shoulder. He saw that, at the same time, he was pushing a human body and be could not keep back an exclamation, for he recognized the body at once. "Mauclair! Poor devil! He Is dead!” But Mr. Commissary Mifroid, whom nothing surprised, was stooping Over that big body. “No,” he said, "he is dead-drunk, which is not quite the same thing." “It’s the first time, if so.” said the si age-manager ‘Then some one has given him a narcotic. That is quite possible." Mifroid went down a few steps and said: “Look!” _ , By the h£ht of a little red lantern, at the foot of the stairs, they saw two other bodies. The stage-manager recognized Mauclair’s assistants. JMlfroid went down and listened to their, breathing. “They are sound asleep,” he said. “Very curious business! Some person unknown must have interfered with the gas-man and his staff - - . and that person unknown was obviously working on behalf of the kidnapper. But what a funny Idea to kidnap a performer on the stage! . , . Send for the doctor of the theater, please." And Mifroid repeated, "Curious, decidedly Curious business!" Then He turned to the little room. addressing the people Whom Raoul and the Persian were unable to see from where they lay. “What do you say to all this, gentlemen? Ton are the only ones who have not given your views. And yet ,sou must nave an opinion of some port”

commissary and all the people with him. Their steps were heard tor a few minutes on the stage above. When they were alone the Persian made a sign to Raoul to stand up. Kaoul did so; but, as he did not lift his hand In front of his eyes, ready to tire, the Persian told him to resume that attitude and to happened. “But it tires the hand unnecessarily," whispered Raoul. “It 1 do Are, I shan’t be sure of, my aim." “Then shift your pistol to the other hand,” said the Persian. “I can’t shoot with my left hand." Thereupon, the Persian made this queer reply, whieh was certainly not calculated to throw light into the young man’s flurried brain: ’lt’s not a question of shooting with the right hand or the left; it's a question of holding one of yonr hands as though you were going to pull the trigger of a pistol with your arm bent. As for the pistol Itself, when all is said, you can put that in your pocket!” Ajjd he added, "Let this be clearly understood,, or 1 will answer for nothing. It la a matter of

llte and death. And not#.’ silence and follow mei" The cellars of the opbra are enormous and they are five In number. Raoul followed the Persian and wondered what he would have done without his companion In that extraordinary labyrinth. They went down to the third cellar; and their progress was still lit'by some distant lamp. The lower they went, the more precautions the Persian seemed to take. He kept on turning to Raoul to see if he was holding his arm properly, showing him how he himself carried his hand aB If always ready to fire, though the pistol was In his pocket. Suddenly, a loud voice made them stop. Someone above them, shouted: “All the door-shutters on the stage! The commissary of police wants them!" Steps were heard and shadows glided through the darkness. The Persian drew Raoul behind a set piece. They saw passing before and above them old men bent by age and the past burden of opera-scenery. Some could hardly drag themselves along; others, from habit, with stooping bodies and outstretched hands, looked for doors to shut. They were the door-shutters, the old, worn-out scene-shifters, on whom a charitable management had taken pity, giving tbqpi the job of shutting doors - above and below the stage. They went about incessantly, from top to bottom of the building, shutting the doors; and they were also called “The draft-expellers,” at least at that time, for I have little doubt that by now they are all dead. Drafts are very bad for the voice, wherever they may come from. The Persian and Raoul welcomed this Incident, which relieved Them of inconvenient witnesses, Tor some or those door-shutters, having nothing else to do or nowhere to lay their head 3, stayed at the opera, from idleness or necessity, and spent the night there. The two men might have stumbled over them, ' aking them up and provoking a request for explanations. For the moment, M. Mifroid’s inquiry saved them from any such unpleasant encounters. But they were not .left to enjoy their solitude for long Other shades now came down by the same way by which the door-shutters had gone up. Each of these shades carried a little lantern and moved it about, above, below and all around, as though looking for something or somebody. “Hang it!” muttered the Persian “I don’t know what they are looking for, but they might easily find us. Let us get away, quick! . . . Your hand up, sir, ready to fire! . . Bend your arm . . . more . . . that’s it! . . Hand at the level of your eve. as though you were flgbt-

ing a duel and waiting for the word to fire! . . . Oh, leave your pistol in your pocket. Quick, some along, down-stairs. Level of your eye! Question of life or death! . . _ Here, this way, these stairs!” They reached the fifth cellar, "Oh, what a duel, sir, what a duel!” Once In the fifth cellar, the Persian drew breath. Ue seemed to enjoy a rather greater sense of security than he had displayed when they both stopped In the third; but he never altered the attitude of his hand. And Raoul, remembering the Persian’s observation —“I know these pistols can be relied upon”—was more and more astonished, wondering why any one should be so gratified at being able to rely upon a pistol which he did not Intend to use! But the Persian left him no time for reflection. Telling Raoul to stay where he was, be ran up a few steps of the staircase which they had just left and then returned. “How stupid of us!” he whispered. “We shall soon have seen the end of those men with their lanterns. It is the firemen going their rounds.

The two m«o waited At* minutes longer, Then the Persian took Raoul up tbs stairs again; but suddenly be stopped blm with a gesture. Something moved In tbe darkness before them. * , “Flat on ypur stomach 1 ” whispered tbe Persian. The two men lay flat on the floor. They were only just in time. A shade, this time carrying no light, just a shade in tbe sbade, passed, it passed close to them, near enough to touch them. They felt tbe warmth of its cloak Upon them. For tfley could distinguish the shade sufficiently to s'ee that it wore a cloak which shrouded it from bead to foot On Its head It had i. soft felt bat. It moved away, -drawing Its feet against the walls and sometimes giving a kick into a corner. "Whew!” said the Persian. "We’ve had a narrow escape; that shade knows me and taken me to the manager’s office.” “Is it some one belonging to the theater police?” asked Raoul. "It's some one much worse than that!” replied the Persian, without giving any further explanation. ‘it’s not . . . he?” “He? i I I if he does not come behind us, we shall always see his yellow eyes! . . That is more or less our safeguard tonight. . . . But he may come from behind, stealing up; and we are dead men if we do not keep our hands as though about to fire, at the level of our eyes. In front!” . The Persian had hardly finished speaking, when a fantastic face came in sight ... a whole fiery face, not only two yellow eyes! Yes, a head of fire came toward

them, at a man’s height, but with no body attached to it. The face shed fire, looked In the darkness like a flame shaped as a man’s face. “Oh,” said the Persian, between his teeth. ~ ”1 have never seen this before* . - Pampin was not mad, after all; he had seen It! . . What can that flame be? It Is not be, but he may have sent It! . Take care! . . . Take care! . Your hand at the level of your eyes, in heaven’s name, at the level of your eyes! 1 . . I know most of his tricks . '. . but not this one. . . Come, let us run. ... It is safer. Hand at the level of your eyes!” A And they fled down the long passage that opened before them. After a few seconds, that seemed to them like long minutes, they stopped. “He doesn’t often come til's way,” said the Persian. 'This side has nothing to do with him. This side does not lead to the lake nor to the house on the lake. . . . But perhaps he knows that we are at his heels . . . although 1 promised him to leave him alone and ‘never to meddle in his business again!" So saying, he turned his head and Raoul also turned his head; and they again saw the &ead of fire behind their two heads. It had followed them. And it must have run also, and perhaps faster than they, for it seemed to be nearer to them. At the same time, they began to perceive a certain noise of which they could not guess the nature. They simply noticed that the sound seemed to move and to approach with the fiery face. It was a noise as though thousands of nails had been scraped against a blackboard, the perfectly unendurable noise that is sometimes made y a little stone inside the chalk that grates on the blackboard. They continued to retreat, but the fiery i ace came on, came on, gaining on them. They could see Its features

otearty new. The eyes wen round and staring, tbs nos* a litis orooksd and tbs mouth large, with a banging lowsr lip, vary ilka tbe ay as, noss and lip of the moon, wban the moon la quits rad, bright rad. How did that red moon manage to gilds through tbe darkness, at a man’s height, with nothing to support It, at least apparently ? And how did It go so fast, so straight ahead, with such staring, staring eyes? And what was that scratching, scraping, grating sound which It brought with It? -- The Persian and Raoul could retreat no farther and flattened themselves against the wall, not knowing what was going to happen because of that incomprehensible head of flret and especially, now, because of the mdre lhtenee, Swarming, living, “numerous” sound, for the sound was certainly made up of hundreds of little sounds that moved In the darkness, under the fiery face. And tbe fiery face came on . . . with its noise ... came level with them! . . . And the two companions, flat against their wall, felt their hair stand on end With horror, for they now knew what the thousand noises meant. They came In a troop. hust led along in the shadow by Innumerable llttlq, hurried waves, swifter than the waves that rush over the sands at high tide, little night-waves foaming under the moon, under the fiery head that war like a moon. And the little waves passed between their legs, climbing up their legs, Irresistibly, and Raoul and the Persian could no longer restrain their cries of horror, dismay and pain. Nor could they continue to hold their hands at the level of their eyes; their hands went

down to their legs to push back the waves, which were full of little legs and nails and claws and teeth. Yes, Raoul and the Persian weita ready to faint, like Pampin the tireman. But the head of tire turned round in answer to their cries, and spoke to them: “Don’t move! Don’t move! . . . Whatever you do. don’t come after me! . . . 1 am the rat-catcher! . . . Let me pass, with my rats!” And the head of fire disappeared, vanished in the darkness, while the passage in front of it lit up, as the result of the change which the ratcatcher had made in fils dark lantern. Before, so as not to scare the rats in front of him, he had turned his dark lantern on himself, lighting up his own head; now, to hasten their flight, he lit the dark space in front of him. And he jumped along, dragging with him the waves of scratching rats, all the thousand sounds. Raoul and the Persian breathed again, though still trembling. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

“Curious, Decidedly Curious Business!"

A Head of Fire Came Forward Them.