ld us that he had gone to bed
immediately after the doctor had arrived. On pressing him, however, for
it was evident to us he was not speaking the truth, he confessed that he
had been away from the chateau. He explained his absence by saying
that he had a headache and went out into the fresh air, but had gone
no further than the oak grove. When we then described to him the whole
route he had followed, he sat up in bed trembling.

"'And you were not alone!' cried Larsan.

"'Did you see it then?' gasped Daddy Jacques.

"'What?' I asked.

"'The phantom--the black phantom!'

"Then he told us that for several nights he had seen what he kept
calling the black phantom. It came into the park at the stroke of
midnight and glided stealthily through the trees; it appeared to him
to pass through the trunks of the trees. Twice he had seen it from his
window, by the light of the moon and had risen and followed the strange
apparition. The night before last he had almost overtaken it; but it had
vanished at the corner of the donjon. Last night, however, he had not
left the chateau, his mind being disturbed by a presentiment that some
new crime would be attempted. Suddenly he saw the black phantom rush out
from somewhere in the middle of the court. He followed it to the lake
and to the high road to Epinay, where the phantom suddenly disappeared.

"'Did you see his face?' demanded Larsan.

"'No!--I saw nothing but black veils.'

"'Did you go out after what passed on the gallery?'

"'I could not!--I was terrified.'

"'Daddy Jacques,' I said, in a threatening voice, 'you did not follow
it; you and the phantom walked to Epinay together--arm in arm!'

"'No!' he cried, turning his eyes away, 'I did not. It came on to pour,
and--I turned back. I don't know what became of the black phantom."

"We left him, and when we were outside I turned to Larsan, looking
him full in the face, and put my question suddenly to take him off his
guard:

"'An accomplice?'

"'How can I tell?' he replied, shrugging his shoulders. 'You can't be
sure of anything in a case like this. Twenty-four hours ago I would have
sworn that there was no accomplice!' He left me saying he was off to
Epinay."

"Well, what do you make of it?" I asked Rouletabille, after he had ended
his recital. "Personally I am utterly in the dark. I can't make anything
out of it. What do you gather?"

"Everything! Everything!" he exclaimed. "But," he said abruptly, "let's
find