“ ‘Does that open out any new view to you?’
“There was no mistaking Larsan’s bad temper. On re-entering the château, I heard him mutter:
“ ‘It would be strange—very strange—if I had deceived myself on that point!’
“He seemed to be talking to me rather than to himself. He added:
“ ‘In any case, we shall soon know what to think. The morning will bring light with it.’ ”
¹ When I wrote these lines, Joseph Rouletabille was eighteen years of age,—and he spoke of his “youth.” I have kept the text of my friend, but I inform the reader here that the episode of the mystery of The Yellow Room has no connection with that of the perfume of the lady in black. It is not my fault if, in the document which I have cited, Rouletabille thought fit to refer to his childhood. [↩︎]
Chapter XVIII.
Rouletabille Has Drawn a Circle between the Two Bumps on His Forehead
(Extract from the Note-Book of Joseph Rouletabille, continued)
“We separated on the thresholds of our rooms, with a melancholy shake of the hands. I was glad to have aroused in him a suspicion of error. His was an original brain, very intelligent but—without method. I did not go to bed. I awaited the coming of daylight and then went down to the front of the château, and made a detour, examining every trace of footsteps coming towards it or going from it. These, however, were so mixed and confusing that I could make nothing of them. Here I may make a remark,—I am not accustomed to attach an exaggerated importance to exterior signs left in the track of a crime.
“The method which traces the criminal by means of the tracks of his footsteps is altogether primitive. So many footprints are identical. However, in the disturbed state of my mind, I did go into the deserted court and did look at all the footprints I could find there, seeking for some indication, as a basis for reasoning.