The Double Life

by Gaston Leroux

And there, a few yards outside the station, on the very track they had traveled on, was a wagon and baggage car of the disappeared train!

They were all very astonished, and were running, shouting, toward the train, when they suddenly stopped. Peering out of the doors of the train was a peculiar head. It had no ears, and appeared as though the door had been shut violently, catching the man’s neck. They called to him as soon as they saw him, but he did not answer. The head just swayed from one side to the other, rocked by the wind, which was blowing in great gusts. Upon the head was curly hair, and the cravat around the white neck was untied, floating in the wind.

On approaching, they saw the door of the coach was covered with blood, and on examination saw that the man’s head was held to the door by a piece of rag. He had evidently opened the door and poked his head out, when somebody must have shut the door again and decapitated him. The two men who carried the dead body of the station master uttered a cry of dismay, and placing their burden on the track, made an examination of the trucks. They found no one in the first one, and opening the door of the second, found that it was empty save for the dead man’s body, which had been stripped of all its clothing.

The news of this fantastic horror spread rapidly in the villages on the road, and an enormous crowd gathered at the little station.

The police were sent for, but they were unable to get any clue as to who the strange man was, or where the train with all its travelers had gone to.

They were, however, very quiet about it, and only at the inquest did the facts become known.

As it has been said, the tracks between these stations contained no bridge or tunnel, but ran through a flat, desolate country, marked by no hills. The only thing to break the line of the track was a short side line which ran into a disused quarry, which had been used as a sand quarry by a glassmaker. This had been abandoned many years ago, and had not been used since.

On looking at the plan one would at once think that the presence of this branch line was an explanation of the train disaster. But this was not so, as subsequent events will prove. In fact, so simple a solution of the problem would soon have been discovered by the station men.

Wandering along the road which followed the track, Théophraste had noticed the little side track, and he had seen that the switch had been left unlocked. This would have had no significance to him before he had the interview with Mme. Petito, but now he saw an excellent opportunity of getting at Signor Petito, who was on the train. He of course could not get on the train while it was in motion. He would open the switch and wait for the train to come up. The engineer would be sure to see it and stop his train. Here was his opportunity.

This was simple enough, and he did as he intended. He turned the switch, and, going along the track, hid behind the bushes to await the express. He waited and waited for a long time, but no express came. He became impatient, and looked up and down the track, hoping to hear it, or see its smoke.