esame' of this chateau full of mystery?"

"Yes," I said, "perfectly,--'The presbytery has lost nothing of its
charm, nor the garden its brightness.' It was the phrase which you found
on the half-burned piece of paper amongst the ashes in the laboratory."

"Yes; at the bottom of the paper, where the flame had not reached, was
this date: 23rd of October. Remember this date, it is highly important.
I am now going to tell you about that curious phrase. On the evening
before the crime, that is to say, on the 23rd, Monsieur and Mademoiselle
Stangerson were at a reception at the Elysee. I know that, because I was
there on duty, having to interview one of the savants of the Academy of
Philadelphia, who was being feted there. I had never before seen either
Monsieur or Mademoiselle Stangerson. I was seated in the room which
precedes the Salon des Ambassadeurs, and, tired of being jostled by so
many noble personages, I had fallen into a vague reverie, when I scented
near me the perfume of the lady in black.

"Do you ask me what is the 'perfume of the lady in black'? It must
suffice for you to know that it is a perfume of which I am very fond,
because it was that of a lady who had been very kind to me in my
childhood,--a lady whom I had always seen dressed in black. The lady
who, that evening, was scented with the perfume of the lady in black,
was dressed in white. She was wonderfully beautiful. I could not help
rising and following her. An old man gave her his arm and, as they
passed, I heard voices say: 'Professor Stangerson and his daughter.' It
was in that way I learned who it was I was following.

"They met Monsieur Robert Darzac, whom I knew by sight. Professor
Stangerson, accosted by Mr. Arthur William Rance, one of the American
savants, seated himself in the great gallery, and Monsieur Robert Darzac
led Mademoiselle Stangerson into the conservatory. I followed. The
weather was very mild that evening; the garden doors were open.
Mademoiselle Stangerson threw a fichu shawl over her shoulders and I
plainly saw that it was she who was begging Monsieur Darzac to go with
her into the garden. I continued to follow, interested by the agitation
plainly exhibited by the bearing of Monsieur Darzac. They slowly passed
along the wall abutting on the Avenue Marigny. I took the central alley,
walking parallel with them, and then crossed over for the purpose of
getting nearer to them. The night was dark, and the grass deadened the
sound