Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 217, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1912 — Page 2

The PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

by Gaston Leroux

eV® THE • MYSTERY • Of • THE • YELLOW -ROOMand WE-PERFUME OFTHCLADY-IN-bLACtt IllustireiCjons- by Cppyr7c?bt: /$// by 77>e 3obbs-Merm/ Company

SYNOPSIS. Consternation Is caused on the last night that the Opera Is managed by Deuenne and Pollgny because of the appearance 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 Important part and scores a great success. Count de Chagny and his brother Raoul are among those who applaud the singer. Raoul tries to see Christine In the dressing room, -but la unable to do so end later discovers that some one is making love to her. She emerges alone, and upon entering the room he finds it empty, while the farewell ceremony for the retiring managers is going on, the Opera Ghost appears and informs the new managers that Box No. 5 is reserved for him. Box No. 5 is sold with disastrous results. The managers receive a letter from the Opera Ghost calling attention to the error. Christine Daae writes Raoul that she has gone to visit the grave of her father.. 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 frozen. Moncharmin and Richard Investigate Box No. 5 and decide to see the performance of "Faust 1 from front feats of that box. Carlotta, who sings rhe leading part in “Faust,” is warned to give the part to Christine. Carlotta, refusing, loses her voice in the middle of a song and the main chandelier crashes down, killing a woman and wounding many. Raoul searches for Christine, who has disappeared. He sees her at last, but does not speak, and later a note is received from her making an appointment for a 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 tlw name of the unseen man whom she calls the Angel of Music. Christine and Raoul become secretly engaged prior to a polar expedition that Raoul is to make. Christine relates a strange adventure with the unseen Erik and promises to run away with Raoul. Raoul announces his intention 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 Richard behave strangely. Raoul searches madly for the missing singer. The Opera Ghost 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 to aid Raoul in locating Christine and they gain access to a secret chamber. The two find themselves in a passageway 'vhich they expect will lead to where Christine has undoubtedly been carried by Erik. The Persian knows Erik to have been one of the contractors who built the Opera. Also that while the work was in progress there was built a secret torture chamber beneath the structure. From this chamber Raoul and the Persian hear Erik and Christine conversing. Erik misses a bag containing valuable keys. CHAPTER XXlll.—(Continued.) “Why, what’s that?” said the monster. "Did you hear, Christine?” “No, no,” replied the poor girl. “1 heard nothing.” “I thought 1 heard a cry." “A cry! Are you going mad, Erik? Whom do you expect to give a cry, in this house? ... 1 cried out, because you hurt me! I heard nothing." "I don’t like the way you said that! . . . You’re trembling. . . You’re quite excited. . . . You’re lying! . . . That was a cry, there was a cry! . . . There is some one in the torture-chamber! . . . Ah, 1 understand now!" “There is no one there, Erik!" “I understand!" "No one!” “The man you want to marry, perhaps!” “I don’t want to marry anybody, you know I don’t.” Another nasty chuckle. “Well, it won’t take long to find out. Christine, my love, we need not open the door to see what Is happening in the torture-chamber. Would you like to see? Would you like to see? Look here! If there is some one, if there is really some one there, you will see the invisible window light up at the top, near the ceiling. We need only draw the black curtain and put out the light in here. There, that’s it. . . . Let’s put out the light! You’re not afraid of the dark, when you’re with your little CftW band!” Then we heard Christine’s voice of anguish: "No! . . I’m frightened! . . I tell you, I’m afraid of the dark! ... I don't care about that room now. . . . You’re always frightening me. like a child, with your tor-ture-chamber! . . And so 1 became inquisitive. . . . But 1 don't care about it now . . . not a bit . . . not a bit!” And that which I feared above ail things began, automatically. We were suddenly flooded with light! Yes, on our side of the Fall, everything seemed aglow. The Vicomte de Chagny was so much taken aback that he staggered- And the angry voice roared: “I told you there was some one! Do you see the window now? The lighted window, right up there? The man behind the wall can’t see it ! But you shall go up the folding steps; that is what they are there for! . . You have often asked me to tell you; and now you know! '. . . They are there to give a peep into the torture-chamber . . . you inquisitive little thing!" “What tortures? . . .# Who is het ng tortured? . .- Erik, Erik, say you are only trying to frighten

me! . . . Say it, if you love me, Erik! . . . There are no tortures, are there?" "Go and look at the little window, dear!” I do not know It the viscount heard the girl’s swooning voice, for he was too much occupied by the astounding spectacle that now appeared before his distracted gaze! As for me, 1 had seen that sight too often, through the little window, at the time of the rosy hours of Mazenderan; and 1 cared only for what was being said next door, seeking for a hint how to act, what resolution to take. “Go and peep through the little window! Tell me what he looks like!” We heard the steps being dragged against the wall. "Up with you! . . . No! . . . No, I will go up myself, dear!" “Oh, very well, I will go up. Let me go!” “Oh, my darling, my darling! . . How sweet of you! . . . How nice of you to save me the exertion at my age! ... Tell me what he looks like!” At that moment, we distinctly heard these words above our heads: "There is no one there, dear!” “No one? . . . Are you sure there is no one? 51 -- “Why, of course not ... no one!" "Well, that’s all right! . . . What’s the matter, Christine? You’re .not going to faint, are you . ~ . as there is no one there? . . . Here . . . come down . . . there! . . . Pull yourself together . . . as there is no one there! . . . But how do you like the landscape?" “Oh, very much!” “There, that’s better! . . You’re better now, are you not? . . . That’s all right, you’re better! . . . No excitement! . . . And what a funny house, isn’t it, with landscapes like that in it?” "Yes, it’s like the Musee Grevln. . . . But, I say, Erik . . . there are no tortures in>'there! . . What a fright you gave me!" “Why . . . as there Is no one there?" . “Did you design that room? It’s very handsome. You’re a great artist, Erik." “Yes, a great artist, tn my own line." , “But tell me, Erik, why did you call that room the torture-chamber?" “Oh, it’s very simple. First of all, what did you see?" "I saw a forest” “And what is in a forest?” “Trees.” “And what is in a tree?" “Birds.” “Did you see any birds?" “No, I did not see any birds." “Well, what did you see? Think! You saw branches’- And what are the branches?” asked the terrible voice. “There’s a gibbet That is wby I call my wood the torture-cham-ber! . . . You see, it’s all a Joke. J never express myself like other people. But lam very tired or it! . . I’m sick and tired of having a forest and a torture-chamber in my house and of living like a mountebank, in a house with a false bottom! . , . I’m tired of it! .1 want to have a nice, quiet flat, with ordinary doors and windows and a wife inside it, like anybody else! A wife whom I could love and take out on Sundays and keep amused on week-days. . . . Here, shall I show you some cardtricks? That will help us to pass a few minutes, while waiting for eleven o’clock tomorrow evening. . . My dear little Christine! . . . Are you listening to me? . . . Tell me you love me! . . . No, you don’t love me ... but no matter, you ‘’will! . . . Once, you could not look at my mask because you knew what was behind. . . . And now you don’t mind looking at it and you forget what is behind! . ". . One can get used to everything . . . if one wishes. . . , Plenty of young people who did not care for each other before marriage have adored each other since! Oh, I don’t know what I am talking about! But you would have lots of fun with me. For instance, I am the greatest ventriloquist that ever lived, I am the first ventriloquist in the world! . . . You’re laughing. . . Perhaps you don’t believe me? Listen." The wretch, who really was the first ventriloquist in the world, was only trying to divert the child’s at-’ tentlon from the torture-chamber; but it was a stupid scheme, for Christine thought of nothing but us! She repeatedly besought him, in the gentlest tones which she could assume: “Put out the light in the little window ! . . . Erik, do put out the light in the little window. For she saw that this light, which appeared so suddenly and of which the monster had spoken in so . .. :

i enlng a voice, must mean something terrible. One thing must have pacified her for a moment; and that was seeing the two of us behind the wall, in the midst of that* resplendent light, alive and we|l. But she would certainly have ''felt much easier if the light had been pgt out. Meantime, the other had already begun to play the ventriloquist He said: “Here, I raise my mask a little- . . . Oh, only a little! . . . You see my lips, such lips as I have? They’re not moving! . . . My mouth is closed—such mouth as I have —and yet you hear my voice. . Where will you have It? In your left ear? In your right ear? In the table? . . . Listen, dear, it’s in the little box on the right of the mantelpiece: what does it say? ‘Shall I turn the scorpion?’ . . .. And now, crack! What does it say in the little box on the left? ’Shall 1 turn the grasshopper?' . . . And now, crack! Here it is in the little leather bag. . . . What does it say. ’I am the little bag of life and death!’ . . And now, crack! It is in Carlotta’s throat, in Carlotta’s golden throat, in Carlotta’s crystal throat, as I live! What does it say? It says, ‘lt’s 1, Mr. Toad, it’s I singing! I feel without alarm—co-ack —with its melody enwind me co-ack!’ . . . And now. crack! It is on a chair in the ghost’s box and it says, ‘Madame Carlotta la singing tonight to bring the. chandelier down!’ . . . And now, crack! Aha! Where is Erik’s voice now? Listen, Christine, darling! Listen! It is behind the door of the torture-chamber! Listen! It’s myself in the torture-chamber! And what do J say? I say, ‘Woe to them that have a nose, a real nose, and come to look round the torture-cham-ber! Aha, aha, aha!” Oh, the ventriloquist’s terrible voice! It was everywhere, everywhere. It passed through the little Invisible window, through the walls. It ran around us, between us. Erik was there, speaking to us! We made a movement as though to fling ourselves upon him. But, already, swifter, more fleeting than the voice of the echo, Erik’s voice had leaped back behind the wall! Soon we heard nothing more at all, for this is what happened: "Erik! Erikr’ said Christine’s voice. “You tire me with your voice. Don’t go on, Erik! isn’t it very hot here?” “Oh, yes,” replied Erik’s voice, “the heat is unendurable!” “But what does this mean? . . . The wall is really getting quite hot! . . . The wall is burning! . . “I’ll tell you, Christine, dear: it is because of the forest next door.” “Well, what has that to do with it? The forest?" “Why, didn’t you see that it was an African forest?” And the monster laughed so loudly and hideously that we could no longer distinguish Christine’s supplicating cries! The Vicomte de Chagny shouted and banged against the walls like a madman. I could not restrain him. But we heard nothing except the monster’s laughter, and the monster himself can have heard nothing else. And then there was the sound of a body falling on the floor and being dragged along and a door slammed and then nothing, nothing more around us save the scorching silence of the south In the heart of a tropical forest! CHAPTER XXIV. The Persian's Narrative Continued. I have said that the room in which M. le Vicomte de Chagny and 1 were imprisoned was a regular hexagon, lined entirely with mirrors. Plenty of these rooms have been seen since, mainly at exhibitions; they are called “palaces of illusion," or some such name. But the invention belongs entirely to Erik, who built (he first room of this kind under my eyes, at the time of the rosy hours of Mazenderan. A decorative object, such as a column, for instance, was placed in one of the corners and immediately produced a hall of a thousand columns; for, thanks to the mirrors, the real room was multiplied by six hexagonal rooms, each of which, in its turn, was multiplied indefinitely. But the little sultana soon tired of this infantile illusion, whereupon Erik altered his Invention into a “torture-chamber." For the architectural motive placed in one corner, he substituted an iron tree. This tree, with its painted leaves, was absolutely true to life and was made of iron so as to resist all the attacks of the “patient” who was locked into the torture-chamber. We shall see how the scene thus obtained whs twice altered instantaneously into two successive other scenes, by means of the automatic rotation of the drums or rollers in the corners. These were divided into three sections, fitting into the angles of the mirrors and each supporting a decorative scheme that came into sight as the roller revolved upon its axis. .......... : 7 The walls of this strange room gave the patient nothing to lay hold of, be canse, apart from the solid decorative object, they were simply furnished with mirrors, thick enough to withstand any onslaught of the victim, who was flung into the chamber empty-handed and barefoot There was no furniture. The celling was capable of being lit up. An ingenious system of electric heating, which has since been Imitated, allowed the temperature *of the walls and room to be increased at will. . I am giving all these details of a perfectly natural Invention, producing, with a few painted branches, the supernatural illusion of an equatorial forest blazing under the tropical sun, so that no one may doubt the present balance of my brain or feel entitled

to say that I am mad or lying or that I take him for a fool I now return to the facts where 1 left them. When the celling lit up and the forest became visible around us, the viscount’s stupefaction was ifhmense. That Impenetrable forest, with Its Innumerable trunks and branches, threw him into a terrible state of consternation. He passed his hands over his forehead, as though to drive away a dream; his eyes blinked; and, for a moment, he forgot to listen. I have already said that the sight of the forest did not surprise me at all ;andthereSore I listened for the two of us to what was happening next door. Lastly, my attention was especially attracted, not so much to the scene, as to the mirrors that produced It. These mirrors were broken In parts. Yes, they were marked and scratched; they had been “starred," in spite of their solidity;, and this proved to me that thd torture-cham-ber In which we now were bad already served a purpose. Yes, some wretch, whose feet were not bare like those of the victims of the rosy hours of Mazenderan, had certainly fallen Into this “mortal Illusion" and, mad with rage, had kicked against those mirrors which, nevertheless, continued to reflect his agony. And the branch of the tree on which he had put an end to his own sufferings was arranged in such a way that, before dying, he had seen, for bis last consolation, a thousand men writhing in his company. Yes, Joseph Buquet had undoubtedly been through all this! Were we to die as he had done? I did not think so, for I knew that we had a few hours before us and that I could employ them to better purpose than Joseph Buquet was able to do. After all, I was thoroughly acquainted with most of Erik's “tricks”; and now or never was the time to turn my knowledge to account' To begin with, I gave up every idea of returning to the passage that had brought us to that accursed chamber. I did not trouble about the possibility of working the inside stone that closed the passage; and this for the' simple reason that to do so was out of the question. We had dropped from too great a height into the tor-ture-chamber; there was no, furniture to help us reach that passage; not even the branch of the iron tree, not even each other’s shoulders were of any avail. There was only one possible outlet, that opening into the Louis-Philippe room in which Erik and Christine Daae were. But, though this outlet looked like an ordinary door on Christine’s side, it was absolutely Invisible

to us. We must therefore try to open it without even knowing where it was. When I was quite sure that there was. no hope for us from Christine Daae’s side, when I had heard the monster dragging the poor girl from the Louis-Philippe room lest she

Sneezing as an Omen

The only attention we pay to a sneeze at the present day is to endeavor to get rid of the chill which causes it; but a sneeze in the days of old Greece was a matter of great concern and import There was then a god of sneezing, and -great undertakings would even be abandoned If a man sneezed at an inappropriate moment the act being looked upon as the oracle of the god. A sneeze between midnight and noon was looked upon as a fortunate sign, but between noon and midnight it betokened great misfortune. To sneeze to your right was lucky; to the left vnlucky. Two or four sneezes were lucky, one or three very un-

"There Is No One There, Dear!”

should interfere with .our tortures, ft I resolved to set to work without delay. But I had first to calm M. de Chagny, who was already walking about like a madman, uttering Incoherent cries. The snatches of conversation which he had caught between Christineand the monster had contributed not a little to drive him beside himself; add to -that the shock of the magic forest and the scorching beat which was beginning to make the perspiration stream down his temples and you will have no difficulty in understanding his state’of mind. He shouted Christine's name, brandished his pistol, knocked Ms forehead against the glass in his endeavors to run down the glades of the Illusive' forest In short, the torture was beginning to work its spell upon a brain unprepared for ft I did my best to induce the poor viscount to listen to reason. I made him touch the mirrors and the iron tree and the branches and explained to him, by optical laws, all the luminous imagery by which we were/surrounded and of which we need not allow ourselves to be the victims, like ordinary, ignorant people/ "We are in a room, a little room; that is what you must keep saying to yourself. And we shall leave the room as soon as we have found the door." z And I promised him that, it he let me act, without disturbing me by shouting and walking up and down, 1 would discover the trick of the door in less than an hour's time. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

Sea Takes Toll of English Land.

With a noise like the booming of heavy guns, hundreds of thousands of tons of cliff fell Into the sea between Dover and Folkestone (England) recently. The fall, which occurred at Abbots Cliff, was the most extensive which has taken place on that part of the coast for many years. An examination showed the chalk extending like a causeway some 400 yards to the sea. It was about 200 yards wide, and at some places 30 feet deep. The displacement of water caused by this immense mass entering the sea set up conditions similar to a tidal wave at Folkestone. The water rose several feet, colliers broke their cables and got adrift, and flshing-emacka danced like corks. The noise of the approaching wave was heard a mile away.

Couldn’t Understand Him.

A young man Just returned from college was out cycling one day when suddenly he came to a steep gradient. While descending he lost control of his machine and two men came and found him lying on the ground. When

asked what was the matter, he replied: “Well, I came down that incline with the greatest Velocity and lost my central gravity, and was precipitated on the bard macadamised road." “Away, leave him alone," said one of the men; “he’s a foreigner.”

lucky and any undertaking in hand should If possible be abandoned; more than four sneezes did not count. . There is a saying in many parts of England today: “Once a wish, twice a kiss, three times a letter, four times something better." . If people sneesed together it was a good sign, particularly if they happened "to be discussing business. ’

Deeply Rooted Ideas.

It is true that a woman suggests beef tea as a universal panacea for all ills. It is certain, on the other hand, that a man always believes that a woman always feels better for lying down.—B. Macnaughton,

o™ APkwOo J iwr ' Wvi dX'.hQF ' s ■-/ V 1 X'l i-z.f ... 'j -.-'Sa ' A \ JI I Now comes another scientist, who seeks to shock us with A very grave announcement that old. Adam was a myth; He says the fig-leaf is a figment of the brain; We must not blame old Adam when we go to raising Caln: So, good-by, Adam; Noah, too, and Jonah —all are gone— But, Mister Scientist, please leave us Eve to blame things on. This scientist says Adam is but al-le-gor-i-cai, • A mystic sort of story from the archives prim-e-yal. We used to like to think of all the beasts, both wild and tame, "" That trotted up to Adam while he made for each a name. And. how the dinosaur and pterodactyl mussed the’ lawn— The scientists have merely left us Evo to blame things on. We cling to Eve—we’ve got to have a. plausible excuse. For every little tendency to turn our language loose, Or steal a horse, or crack a bank, or gaily to deceive— Those things, you know, originated with good mother Eve. . So, shatter Adam, if you will, but in our lexicon Be sure to leave the name of Eve for us to blame things on. i

Reprisal.

“Look here!” stormed the man in the costly attire, as he rushed into the grocery store. “What do you mean by charging me bo much for everything?” “Charging you so much?” meekly asked the grocer. “I—l don’t quite understand you.” 5.' “Why, confound it, man! You’ve added 25 per cent, to the cost of every item on my bill.” “Oh, I didn’t do that, Mr. Lignite,” explained the grocer to the coal barpn, for it is indeed he. “I didn’t do that. You see, my delivery boys struck for higher wages last month.” “Huh! Your delivery hoys , don’t make the groceries.” “I know that, but I had to give them a 10 per cent, increase in'wages.” “Teh per cent, on their wages! And you have the nerve to add 25 per cent. t% my bill because of that?” “It isn’t nerve, Mr. Lignite. It’s simply modern business. I’m obliged to you, though, for the idea. I’d never have thought of it if I hadn’t ordered my next winter’s coal the very day the boys struck. Between you and me, I think strikes are pretty good things for us. You needn’t use all that bad language—you couldn’t begin to say what I said when I found out what coal would cost me. I even invented a few new ones —until the delivery boys struck.”

Always at Hand.

“Sir,” said the struggling genius to the great composer of comic operas, “do you not wish to hire an able man to prepare the librettos for your operas?” “Huh,” answered the eminent musiemaker, turning to the task of removing the shreds from some ragtime, “I have all the librettos I need for 50 years.” Whereat hS pointed at the bound files of the almanac.

Force of Habit,

“Baltimore will be 172 years old next Thursday," said the Oldest Inhabitant, as he pocketed half the box of matches, and made the cigar man swear inwardly. -?* ’ Then, from sheer force of habit, he continued: "And I remember the day when you could have bought all the land the city stands on for two dollars and eighty cents and an old hat”

Grocery Repartee.

"If I had an engagement with you," said the clerk, “it would be this.” And he gently placed a date with a peach. ; “No,” answered the pretty cashier, “it would be like this.” And she laid the date beside the canned lobsters.