Breakdown of "The Red House Mystery" by A.A. Milne (1922)

"The Red House Mystery" by A.A. Milne (1922) is in the public domain.

Major characters:

• Mark Ablett (40), owner of Red House, unmarried, mustasch and beard, independently wealthy, and his
father was a parson
• Bill Beverley, friend of Mark and Antony, guest at Red House
• Antony Gillingham, friend of Bill and guest at “The George” until after the murder, then a guest at the Red House until the inquest
• Mrs. Stevens, housekeeper and aunt to Audrey, lives at Red House
• Audrey Stevens, parlor maid, lives at Red House
• Elsie Wood, housemaid (also eferred to as second parlor maid)
• Matthew Cayley (28), cousin of Mark Ablet, lives in room on first floor of Red House (others live upstairs)
• Robert Ablett, brother of Mark, clean shaven. Arrived from Australia (he was there for 15 years) the day he was killed.
• Miss Betty Calladine (18), guest at Red House
• Mrs. John Calladine, mother of Betty and driver of the car (owned by Mark?), guest at Red House
• Major Rumbold, retired, guest at Red House
• Miss Ruth Norris, actress, guest at Red House
• Inspector Birch, policeman from Middleston
• Angela Norbury, a young (single) lady living nearby, possibly a romantic interest of Cayley
• Mrs Norbury, owner of Jallands (a neighboring cottage) and Angela’s mother
• the Coroner, presumably from Middleston

Minor characters:

• Joe Turner, boyfriend of Audrey (mentioned only)
• landlord and landlady of The George
• police associates of Inspector Birch
• train station employees
• inquest witnesses: Andrew Amos (lives in the “inner lodge” of the Red House estate), Parsons (a gardener who lives in the “outer lodge” of the Red House estate), John Borden (a local man who happened to be on the train station platform when someone who might have been Mark was seen boarding a train)
• inquest jury (no names but listening to evidence collected at the inquest)

Locations:

• Red House, interior (kitchen, dining room, library and underground tunnel, bedrooms, housekeeper’s room, suite of 3 rooms: office and Cayley’s room and bathroom) and exterior (the Temple, bowling green and lake/pond, all on the estate)
• Waldheim (the closest town), in particular The George inn
• Stanton train station (Robert arrives there from Australia)
• golf course
• police station in Middleston
• Jallands, a neighboring country cottage belonging to a widow Mrs Norbury (it is 600 yards from the nearest road, with no driveway)
• The Lamb, an inn/meeting house/theater in Stanton (where the inquest takes place)

(click to enlarge)

The Red House is about a half-mile from the nearest town of Waldheim (which has no police station) and about 3 miles from the next largest town of Stanton (which has no police station either). The nearest police station is in Middleston, about twenty miles away.

The timeline is not linear. Chapter 1 begins after breakfast. Chapter 2 covers who was at breakfast.

Chapter 1. Mrs. Stevens is Frightened.
Location(s): The Red House, housekeeper’s room
Characters: Mrs. Stevens, Audrey Stevens, Elsie, Robert Ablett, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Audrey and her aunt talk about the arrival of Mark Ablett’s brother, Robert Ablett. Robert arrives and waits for Mark in Mark’s home office. While Audrey is searching for Mark, a gunshot is heard from within the house. Audrey was out of the house at the time. The chapter ends with someone banging on the front door.

Chapter 2. Mr. Gillingham Gets Out at the Wrong Station
Location(s): The Red House, kitchen/dining room
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris, Antony Gillingham, landlord and landlady of The George, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Background on Mark and Cayley. Introduction to Mark’s guests (Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris). Mark, Cayley and the guests have breakfast. After that, except for Mrs Calladine, the guests play golf at the golf course (driven to by Mrs Calladine, who eats lunch with friends instead). Mark and Cayley stay at the Red House. Antony arrives while they are out to visit with friend Bill. Chapter 2 ends at the same time that chapter 1 ends: with banging on the front door. This time we learn it is Cayley who is doing that.

Chapter 3. Two Men and a Body
Location(s): The Red House, exterior, office and Cayley’s room.
Characters: Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: We get a good read on the geometry of Red House (see the diagram on page 2). Cayley and Antony break into the office via the rear window. They discover Robert shot between the eyes, dead. Antony agrees to stay at the Red House during the police investigation. Antony sees the window to Cayley’s room open and suggests to Cayley that the killer might have escaped out the window into the back bushes and gardens.

Chapter 4. The Brother from Australia
Location(s): Golf course, tea at golf course (in a club house?), car (back to the Red House), Red House (various), exterior
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris, Antony Gillingham, Inspector Birch
Summary: The guests finish their golf match, have tea at the golf course, and drive back to Red House in Mrs Calladine’s car. When they arrive, Antony explains the situation. Mrs Calladine, her daughter Betty, and Ruth Norris decide to leave for London. The Inspector does over the clues with Antony and Cayley.

Chapter 5. Mr. Gillingham Chooses a New Profession
Location(s): Red House
Characters: Antony Gillingham, Inspector Birch, Matthew Cayley, Elsie, Audrey, Mrs. Stevens,
Summary: Inspector interviews Cayley, Audrey, Elsie. Elsie told him she overheard Mark say to Robert 'It's my turn now. You wait.' Facts of the case so far: Robert had been shown into the office (witness Audrey); Mark had gone in to Robert (witness Cayley); Mark and Robert had been heard talking (witness Elsie); there was a shot (witness everybody); the office had been entered and Robert's body had been found (witness Cayley and Gillingham). And Mark was missing.

Chapter 6. Outside Or Inside?
Location(s): Red House exterior (front garden), car, at the end of the scene Antony and Bill start along path towards The George in Waldheim
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Ruth Norris, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley,
Summary: Every one of the guests except for Bill leaves. Antony and Bill decide to walk to The George, pay Antony’s bill and get his things.

Chapter 7. Portrait of a Gentleman
Location(s): Red House exterior from front garden of house along path towards The George in Waldheim
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill discuss the character of Mark (somewhat controlling, set in his ways) and of Cayley (loner but hard working). For example, Mark believed in ghosts and thought the house was haunted. One night, for fun, guests devised a ghost character played by Ruth Norris who appeared in costume on the bowling green. This upset Mark so much he left and went to his room, calling for Cayley. Bill was there and assumed Cayley calmed him down. This clue plays a role in chapter 9. Antony suspects Cayley is complicit in the murder somehow.

Chapter 8. "Do You Follow Me, Watson?"
Location(s): Red House interior (Antony’s bedroom upstairs, hall downstairs) and exterior (path to “bowling green” still on the estate)
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill talk in Antony’s bedroom, while Antony gets dressed for dinner, then go down to the hall and smoke a cigar. They talk to Cayley and they discuss what Elsie told the Inspector. Cayley thinks it was accidental. Cayley leaves then Antony and Bill walk from the Red House to the “bowling green” (still on the estate) to talk privately. Bill shows he can imitate Mark’s rather monotonous, high-pitched voice. Antony asks Bill to be Watson to his Sherlock. They discuss the case. In particular, they notice each room has a lockable door with a skeleton key on a hook hanging either inside or outside the room, depending on the room.

Chapter 9. Possibilities of a Croquet Set
Location(s): Red House exterior, “bowling green”
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill continue to discuss the case. Antony suspects that the story of the ghost character played by Ruth Norris appeared on the bowling green (which upset Mark) lends evidence that there is a secret (very long) tunnel from the house to the bowling green. They search the shed where the croquet balls were kept (“bowling” refers to lawn bowling, related to croquet). While there, Antony hears someone coming, so they sit on a nearby bench and Bill talks as if Antony is there while Antony sneaks around looking for the spy. He sees Cayley’s head pop out of a box where croquet balls are stored. Antony goes back to Bill, they decide to play a game of bowling and then quit. As they walk back to the Red House (it’s bedtime), they run into Cayley. They innocently discuss things, with no indication from Cayley that he was spying on them and no indiction from Antony or Bill that they knew it. Antony and Bill realize that the reason Miss Norris was hurried away (by Cayley) because she knew about the secret passage.

Chapter 10. Mr. Gillingham Talks Nonsense
Location(s): Red House interior (dining room, hall, Antony’s room) and exterior (Cayley outside the dining room window, Antony and Bill walk to the park and lake).
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Elsie
Summary: Antony comes down and talks to Cayley. Cayley tells him the police plan to drag the lake, in case the gun was dumped there or Mark drowned. Cayley leaves and Bill joins Antony. Bill and Antony have breakfast and discuss the case in guarded terms, as Cayley is smoking outside the dining room window. Antony goes up to his bedroom and meets the parlor maid Elsie there. He tells her the inquest will be the next day. Antony then goes to the hall and meets Bill again. They agree to walk in the park (in the Red House estate), but detour to the lake. They surmise Mark did not drown himself. They surmised Cayley told Ruth Norris of the tunnel, as he wanted her to like him. The chapter ends with the question: Where does the secret passage begin?

Chapter 11. The Reverend Theodore Ussher
Location(s): Red House exterior (lake) and interior (library) Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: At the lake, Antony and Bill decide to search the library for the beginning of the tunnel. They walk back and , making sure Cayley is not nearby, enter the library. It’s full of books and is well-organized by subject. Antony comes across a shelf of sermons (remember Mark’s father was a parson). When he sees 'The Narrow Way, being Sermons by the Rev. Theodore Ussher' he gets an inspiration. He takes out the book and tries pressing the back of the bookshelf in various places. Eventually, the shelf swings open, revealing the tunnel entrance. They close it back, agreeing to search it later in the afternoon or that night when Cayley is away.

Chapter 12. A Shadow on the Wall
Location(s): Police station in Middleston, Red House exterior (lake/pond), Red House interior (office and Cayley’s room)
Characters: Inspector Birch and other police associates, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Inspector Birch calls London police about the case, and the train station in Stanton with a description of Mark Ablett. In the afternoon, the Inspector and his associates go to the lake to drag it for a body or the gun. Antony and Bill talk with the Inspector at the lake. The Inspector does not need them there. (No mention is made of Cayley being at the lake in this chapter. However, it appears that is is there after all – see chapter 14.) So Bill and Antony go back to the Red House. Antony mentions the idea that Cayley recommended dragging the lake so might be planning on planting something there after the police are done with it. At 3pm, 24 hours after Antony and Cayley discovered the body, Antony and Bill enter the office. As Antony recreates the events, he remembers Cayley left to get “water”. He returned with a sponge and a handkerchief. Antony remembers a shadow he saw at one point that does not appear unless Cayley quietly shut his room (just beside the office) while getting the sponge and handkerchief. Why would he quietly shut his room just to “get water”?

Chapter 13. The Open Window
Location(s): Red House interior (office and Cayley’s room), Red House exterior (path to lake)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill talk about what Cayley did which needed him to quietly shut his room (just beside the office) while getting the sponge and handkerchief. Bill discovers a collar at the bottom of the trash basket in the office. Bill opens the window to Cayley’s room to get some air. At that, Antony thinks it must have been Cayley wanted the door shut so he could quietly open the window. Then they agree to search the passage but first they must be sure Cayley is at the lake. Bill sneaks off to the lake to spy on the Inspector and hope to catch and eye of Cayley, then rush back. Antony will wait for Bill in the library. Bill leaves for the lake.

Chapter 14. Mr. Beverley Qualifies for the Stage
Location(s): Red House exterior (path to lake, car in driveway) and interior (library, hall)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, (in the distance) Inspector Birch, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Bill returns from the lake to meet Antony in the library to tell him Cayley is indeed with the Inspector at the lake, as expected. They open the shelf door to the tunnel. Antony decides to go in to see if it’s safe. As soon as he does, Bill hears Cayley outside. He has just enough time to close the door, straighten the sermon shelf, move over to another shelf and make up an excuse for being in the library (he’s trying to verify a quotation on a bet with Antony), when Cayley opens the door. Cayley says that nothing was found at the lake so far but mud. Cayley stays to write a letter (before he takes the car to Stanton) so Bill tries tapping a Morse code message to Antony (annoying Cayley in the process, as he thinks it is merely nervous tapping). It seems to work. Bill tells Cayley he’s waiting for Antony as they plan to walk into town. Cayley finishes his letter and Antony doesn’t open the tunnel door while Cayley is there. Cayley gets in the car. Antony walks up to them, apologizing to Bill for being late. Cayley asks them to deliver his letter to Jallands in town and then he leaves in the car. Antony and Bill decide to deliver the letter instead of investigating the tunnel. Antony tells Bill that he took the length or the tunnel to the bowling green, then ran back. In the tunnel, he discovered in the passage a large locked cupboard.

Chapter 15. Mrs. Norbury Confides in Dear Mr. Gillingham
Location(s): Path from the Red House to Jallands, Jallands interiors (living room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley (in the car in the distance), Angela Norbury, Mrs Norbury (her mother)
Summary: Antony and Bill walk to Jallands to the letter. They see Cayley in the car in the distance returning to the Red House. Antony surmises that Cayley just wants to get back into the tunnel and wrote the letter to make sure they were gone from the house while he did. They meet (beautiful) Angela and her mother. Bill and Antony discover that the mother nearly arranged the engagement between Angela and Mark (before he disappeared, that is). They assumed it was Cayley that was interested in Angela. In fact, Angela was not interested in Mark (nor Cayley, except as a friend) but when she turned to Cayley for support, he apparently fell in love with her. Now she has his letter, which she dreads opening. They learn from Mrs Norbury that Mark went to Middleston the day before yesterday, But why? Bill and Antony leave Jallands, and head back to the Red House.

Chapter 16. Getting Ready for the Night
Location(s): Red House exterior (path from Jallands to the lake then to the house), Red House interior (hall, bedrooms)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Antony meditates on how and why Cayley may have killed Robert. If Bill could imitate Mark’s voice so successfully, why not Cayley? This would explain the voice Elsie heard the day of the murder. They stop at the lake and plan their night. Cayley will likely check on them in their bedroom before leaving to take the tunnel to throw Mark’s body (they presume) in the lake. They plan to wait for his visit and for him to get into the tunnel before running to the lake to watch Cayley dump the body. They discuss using two pine trees, one for each of them, behind them and a fence on the far side of the lake to determine the position Cayley’s boat is when he dumps the body in the lake. (They need two lines to intersect in order to determine the point where the boat is located.) They decide not to call the police but to dive for the dumped body themselves. They walked back to the house together. Cayley was in the hall as they came in. They said hellos then went upstairs to dress for dinner. They dressed, discussed strategies more, then went downstairs together for dinner.

Chapter 17. Mr. Beverley Takes the Water
Location(s): Red House interior (dining room, billiard room, hall, bedrooms), Red House exterior (path around house)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: They have dinner, take a stroll with Cayley around the house, play billiards with Cayley, have drinks with Cayley in the hall, then go to bed. They wait for Cayley to check on them (he does) then Bill dresses and goes to Antony’s room (in the dark). They leave then house via Antony’s 2nd floor bedroom window and head off for the lake. Antony points out each other’s tree to mark the boat from. After waiting for some time, Cayley arrives at the boat with a paper bag in his hand. He puts the bag in the boat with him, pushes off, rows into the middle of the lake, dumps the bag into the lake, then rows back and ties up the boat at the shore. Cayley leaves. Antony tells Bill to wait until he returns. Antony plans to follow Cayley back to the house, check everything’s okay, then return. He does. When he gets back to Bill, they do the dive. Bill dove 3 or 4 times before finding it, but gets the bag back into the boat. In the bag: (a) all of the clothes Mark wore when Robert died (including underwear but not the collar), (b) stones (for weight), (c) letters, (d) two keys including the office key and the key of the passage cupboard (see chapter 14). On the way back to the house, they unlocked the cupboard in the tunnel. It was empty.

Chapter 18. Guess-work
Location(s): Red House interior (bedrooms)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: The inquest is today at 3pm. After breakfast, Antony gets packed to be ready to go to The George after the inquest. They tell Cayley that Bill is leaving for London after the inquest and Antony is leaving for The George. In fact, Bill will go with Antony to The George. Then Bill and Antony goes to the park to talk by themselves. They have this timeline: Monday Robert's unpleasant letter came in the morning (saysing Robert would arrive the next day around 3pm) then Mark told Mrs. Norbury about Robert (the black sheep of the family), on Tuesday Mark tells his guests he got his brother's letter that morning, Robert arrived later that day, was killed about the time Antony arrived. They have the puzzle of the missing collar in the bag of clothes (see chapter 13). Also, the puzzle of why hide clothes if there is a body to hide? They surmise that Mark is alive and that Cayley helped him escape by helping disguise him with a change of clothes and hiding the clothes he wore.

Chapter 19. The Inquest
Location(s): The Lamb, an inn located in Stanton
Characters: All major characters but Mark and Robert Ablett, as well as Andrew Amos, Parsons, John Borden
Summary: The Coroner asks everyone questions about Mark and Robert. The chapter only covers interviews with Bill, Andrew Amos, Parsons, Audrey Stevens, Elsie, Cayley, Antony, Inspector Birch, and John Borden. The Coroner sums up and turns it over to the jury. They deliberate and announced that the deceased had died as the result of a bullet-wound, and that the bullet had been fired by his brother Mark Ablett. The chapter ends with Andrew Amos and Parsons going out of the room together, with Antony between them.

Chapter 20. Mr. Beverley is Tactful
Location(s): The Lamb Inn in Stanton exterior, walking along the road from the Lamb Inn to Waldheim, The George interior (dining room); implicit location: Plough and Horses Inn (pub/dining room) in Stanton
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham; implicit character: innkeeper of the Plough and Horses Inn
Summary: Antony tells Bill that Amos and Parsons are old friends of his (in the previous chapter he indicates he doesn’t know who they are, so perhaps this is a joke). Bill and Antony discuss a poster for a local play that Mark, Cayley and Bill acted in last December. Antony asks if they share the same dentist. Bill says yes, Cartwright, on Wimpole Street. Antony asks: was Mark fond of swimming? Bill says no. Antony asks Bill to return to Stanton and go to the other inn there, the one closest to the train station, the Plough and Horses Inn. To drink a few beers and ask if a stranger stayed there on Monday night. They agree to meet again for dinner at The George at 8pm. Bill leaves. Antony walks another 20 yards, takes a lane off to the left and stops at a gate on the right side of the lane. Time jumps to 8pm when they meet for dinner. Bill tells Antony the innkeeper told of a woman who stayed Monday night, and no one else. She had her own car and drover herself. Antony announces that Robert was not killed by Mark or Cayley, but will give other details tomorrow. They finished eating and went to bed. The morning there was a letter for Antony from Cayley.

Chapter 21. Cayley's Apology
Location(s): The George interior (dining room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham; implicitly Matthew Cayley
Summary: This whole chapter is a letter from Cayley to Antony, read over breakfast by Bill (eating with Antony at The George). The letter mentions a letter Antony wrote to Cayley, so this is a response. Cayley confesses to killing Mark (who pretended he was Robert to trick the guests, especially Ruth Norris who he was mad with) over Mark’s mistreatment of Cayley’s brother and over Cayley’s jealously regarding Mark’s relationship with Angela Norbury. Other than that, he outlines events as Antony already knows.

Chapter 22. Mr. Beverley Moves On
Location(s): The George interior (dining room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony tells Bill (they are still eating breakfast at The George) that he needed the dentist Mr. Cartwright of Wimpole Street to identify the teeth of Robert Ablett as those of Mark. Antony wrote a letter to Cayley telling him Antony was telegraphing to Cartwright to identify the body as that of Mark. Cayley knew the truth would come out then. Antony explains which clues lead him to the solution. The clothes were an important clue since (Antony reasoned) they were important for Cayley. The collar had to be taken off by Mark since otherwise Cayley would have included them in those he dumped. Antony explains more clues (but not why he stopped at the gate on the walk back from the inquest). Bill says to Antony about Cayley: "He's a clever devil. If you hadn't turned up just when you did, he would never have been found out." They wonder if Cayley has committed suicide as a result of being caught.

Summary of LeFanu's "The Room in the Dragon Volant"

Sheridan LeFanu's "The Room in the Dragon Volant" was published in 1872. It is in the public domain.

Note: dragon volant means "flying dragon".

Major characters:
Richard Beckett - 23, Englishman, wealthy, and speaks fluent French. He's the protagonist.
Marquis d'Harmonville (also named Monsieur Droqville, also named Doctor Planard)-
French associate of the Count. He's a mentor/trickster
Count de St. Alyre - An old man, usually dressed in black. He's a trickster/antagonist.
Countess de St. Alyre - A young very attractive woman, usually dressed in black. She's an attractor/trickster/antagonist.
St. Clair - RB's servant
Colonel Gaillarde - A military officer who hates the Count and Countess.
Magician - an oracle (the Countess in disguise)
Mademoiselle de la Valiere - a friend of the Countess (the Countess in disguise)
Russian officer - man who searched RB's papers while he was in a catatonic state in his carriage (the Countess in disguise)
Tom Whistlewick - a friend of RB's
Monsieur Carmaignac - A friend of Tom's, who ultimately saves RB

Chapter 1: We are introduced to Richard Beckett is 23, Englishman, wealthy, and speaks fluent French. He is 6' tall, a good boxer, and is considered attractive. He helps a broken down carriage, carrying a well-dressed old man and a veiled, mysterious beautiful young woman. From their dress and the stork decoration on their carriage, they appear to be nobility. Both thanked him for his help. The old man had a reedy and nasal voice, while the woman's was a sweet semi-contralto. Fascinated by the woman, RB discretely followed them to an old inn, the Belle Etoile ("beautiful star").

Chapter 2: RB walked into her room in the inn (the door was open) and stared at her while she read a letter. When she discovered his presence, she asked him to leave, but thanked him again for his help. RB took a room in the same inn one floor above them and bribed a helper of the couple to discover info about them. He learned they are called the Count and Countess (we later learn her name is Eugenie and he is the Count de St. Alyre). RB paid his servant, St. Clair, to learn more.

Chapter 3: Just before dinner, out of his open window, he hears the Countess, near her open window one floor below, sing this strange song:
"Death and Love, together mated,
Watch and wait in ambuscade;
At early morn, or else belated,
They meet and mark the man or maid.
Burning sigh, or breath that freezes,
Numbs or maddens man or maid;
Death or Love the victim seizes,
Breathing from their ambuscade."
The old man slams the window shut. RB thinks she sung it for him. He leaves his room for a short walk before dinner is served.

Chapter 4: On the steps of the hotel, he meets a tall and elegant gentleman, who appeared to be about fifty, the Marquis d'Harmonville also called Monsieur Droqville. Droqville asked if RB was Mr. Beckett. RB said yes. Droqville gives RB a letter from "Lord R----", who knows Beckett. The letter starts "My Dear Beckett," and spoke very highly of the Marquis d'Harmonville, but also gave some private details not connected with Beckett. Puzzled, Beckett sees the letter is not to him but to "George Stanhope Beckett, Esq., M.P." He tells Droqville of the embarrassing mistake and promises to keep the private information in the letter confidential. They become friends as a result. The Marquis took his leave, going up the stairs of the Belle Etoile. (This may have been an elaborate set-up to ensnare RB to trust Droqville, who ends up being an accomplice with the Count.) RB continues down the steps to look at the Countess' carriage again. There he meets a strange French officer with the palest face RB ever saw. It was broad, ugly, and malignant. He was six feet high and across the nose and eyebrow there was a deep scar, which made the repulsive face even grimmer. (We learn later that his name is Colonel Gaillarde.) As they look at the stork emblem on the carriage, the officer says "See, Monsieur; when a man like me--a man of energy, you understand, a man with all his wits about him, a man who has made the tour of Europe under canvas, and, parbleu! often without it--resolves to discover a secret, expose a crime, catch a thief, spit a robber on the point of his sword, it is odd if he does not succeed. Ha! ha! ha! Adieu, Monsieur!" Colonel Gaillarde stomps off.

Chapter 5: RB heads back to the Belle Etoile for dinner. About thirty people had gathered in the dining room, but the Count and Countess were not there. RB sat next to the Marquis d'Harmonville. Droqville warns RB of villany, especially at the gaming tables. RB confesses he arrived in France with a purse of thirty thousand pounds sterling. Droqville confessed that, in a gambling house, he "was saved from ruin by a gentleman whom, ever since, I have regarded with increasing respect and friendship." Namely, the Comte de St. Alyre, who Droqville describes as "the very soul of honor, and the most sensible man in the world". Further, he describes the Count's wife, the Countess as "in every way worthy of so good a man." On the other side of RB, Colonel Gaillarde sits and dominates the conversation by explicit description of his war wounds and experiences. Droqville leaves. At the end of several long monologues, the Colonel asked RB who traveled in the carriage with the stork emblem. RB said "I rather think the Count and Countess de St. Alyre." The Colonel began "muttering to himself, and grinning and scowling." Dinner was over and the guests dispersed.

Chapter 6: RB sat in an arm chair, drank wine and fell asleep. He had a strange dream that he was in a "huge cathedral, without light, except from four tapers that stood at the corners of a raised platform hung with black, on which lay, draped also in black, what seemed to me the dead body of the Countess de St. Alyre. The place seemed empty, it was cold ..." RB awakes and find the Colonel looking at him. The Colonel makes odd statements about gathering clues regarding the Count and Countess. RB leaves the inn and meets Droqville in the town. They talk about leaving for Paris the next day. They also discuss the Colonel, who Droqville describes as "a little mad." They go their separate ways. Back at his inn, RB talks to a waiter:
RB: "Is he perfectly in his right mind?"
Waiter: "Perfectly, Monsieur."
RB: "Has he been suspected at any time of being out of his mind?"
Waiter: "Never, Monsieur; he is a little noisy, but a very shrewd man."
But then, in the hall of the old inn, the Colonel confronts the Count and Countess. The Colonel's sword was drawn in his hand, and he said: "You! you! both--vampires, wolves, ghouls. Summon the gendarmes, I say. By St. Peter and all the devils, if either of you try to get out of that door I'll take your heads off." RB steps between the Count and the Colonel. RB hits the Colonel twice in the head with his walking stick, knocking him out. The Count rushed out into his carriage. RB escorts the Countess to the carriage. She gives RB a white rose as a present for saving them.

Chapter 7: Droqville has rented the last of the carriage horses, RB must travel wth Droqville in his carriage to Paris. The Colonel is taken to his room, unconscious, cared for by "a bald-headed little military surgeon of sixty". During the trip, RB asked about the Countess: "Has he not a daughter?" Droqville replied: "Yes; I believe a very beautiful and charming young lady--I cannot say--it may have been she, his daughter by an earlier marriage." (Clearly, based on later info, a distraction.) They drank coffee (later w learn RB's was drugged) then Droqville read letters from a locked box, and RB "slept" (though aware of his surroundings).

Chapter 8: RB and Droqville arrived at their hotel in Paris (the Dragon Volant) and RB is still asleep/drugged (though aware of his surroundings). While Droqville exits, "a total stranger got in [his carriage] silently and shut the door." Here we learn "he was a young man ..." (but later it is explained that the person is the Countess). When RB recovered, he disclosed the experience to Droqville. Droqville said he hear of a similar "attack", who never experienced it again. This comforted RB.

Chapter 9: RB arrived in his room, looking out his hotel window upon Paris, when Droqville visited him. Droqville insisted that RB not venture out to gamble without him, and that Droqville would provide all the introductions he needed. RB asked about the Count and Countess and we learn (a) she is unhappy, (b) he wants her to sell her diamonds (worth a million francs), (c) they do not socialize much. Again, warning RB not to venture out without him, Droqville leaves.

Chapter 10: Two days later, Droqville visited him again. There is a masked ball on Wed and he wants RB to go with him. RB says he can't, as he's seeing friends that day. Droqville got very upset and coerced RB into cancelling his engagement to attend the ball. Droqville then told RB to book a hotel in Versailles for the night of the ball. RB left soon afterwards to try to find a hotel room but all the inns were booked. RB happened upon Droqville (surely Droqville was following RB), who told RB that there was a room reserved at Le Dragon Volant for him. Droqville took him to the Dragon Volant and they made arrangements on what costumes they would wear to the masked ball, so they could meet up there.

Chapter 11: At the DV, RB is shown to his room by the host. The host tells RB that the inn is owned by the Count de St. Alyre. Outside RB's window he sees a small park with the a run down house called the Chateau de la Carque. RB is told that the Count is staying there. The host leaves and RB's servant St Clair enters. St Clair tells RB of a story of a man who stayed at the DV and disappeared afterwards.

Chapter 12: "No more brilliant spectacle than this masked ball could be imagined. Among other salons and galleries, thrown open, was the enormous Perspective of the "Grande Galerie des Glaces," lighted up on that occasion with no less than four thousand wax candles, reflected and repeated by all the mirrors, so that the effect was almost dazzling." RB soon met Droqville, who arrived with the Count and Countess. Droqville introduced RB to the Count, who remembered him from the Belle Etoile inn. The Count offered to introduce RB to his wife, the Countess, when she was available. Droqville then asked the Count to see "the magician", who can answer any question asked of him. The three of them went to "the magician". The oracle was dressed, very richly, in the Chinese fashion. The Count (disguised by his mask) asked "the magician" several questions. The magician replied that in ways embarrassing to the Count (eg, that the Count loved his wife's diamonds more than her and that they argued about their marriage document, signed 25th July, 1811.

Chapter 13: The magician also talked to Colonel Gaillarde, who's mask did not disguise him from RB, and to RB himself.
Colonel: "Whom do I pursue at present?"
Magician: "An Englishman, whom if you catch, he will kill you; and a French widow, whom if you find, she will spit in your face."
The Colonel left.
RB: "Have I ever learned any words of devotion by heart?"
Magician: "Yes, approach."
RB did. The man with the black wand closed the curtains, and the magician said these words:
Magician: "I may never see you more; and, oh! I that I could forget you!--go--farewell--for God's sake, go!"
These were the last words whispered to RB by the Countess. Droqville and RB follow the Count to look for the Countess.

Chapter 14: Droqville told RB to wait in a room called the "Salon d'Apollon". RB sat on a sofa next to a young woman disguised as "Mademoiselle de la Valiere". We learn later that she is the Countess de St. Alyre in disguise. They talk, in very respectful tones, about the Countess, who the "Mademoiselle de la Valiere" claims is a close friend. The Mademoiselle tells RB: "You shall meet her at two o'clock this morning in the Park of the Château de la Carque." This obviously made RB very happy.

Chapter 15: On the way back to the DV, at around midnight, RB ran into an English friend Tom Whistlewick and his friend Monsieur Carmaignac. Carmaignac told RB of two strange disappearances at the DV about four years ago. Both were wealthy men who suddenly and mysteriously vanished. Carmaignac also said that the room in the DV they vanished from was in the back of the inn, upstairs to the right - the same room RB has. Tom and Carmaignac had to go but the agreed to talk more the next day.

Chapter 16: The DV closed its doors at 3am or so. RB's meeting with the Countess was at 2am. RB got changed, packing 2 pistols for protection, and left his room for the park of the Château de la Carque. There he met the "Mademoiselle de la Valiere", who now confessed to RB that she is the Countess. RB promised to be her "slave", They agreed to meet the next night when she would give him more details of her plan. She hinted that she wants to leave the Count.

Chapter 17: Droqville called on RB early the next day and asked if RB was going to Paris. RB said yes. Droqville asked to share RB's carriage, as his had an accident. They went to Paris and to RB's hotel room there. There the Count was waiting for him. The Count was wearing his arm in a cast and wanted a favor. Droqville said he's be happy to but it would have to wait until later that day, as he had to leave immediately to meet some people. RB offered his help. Droqville left. The Count explained that a relative died and he needed to fill out a form, and pay some fees, but couldn't because of his arm sprain. RB took the money from the Count and took care of the funeral
preparations for the Count's dead relative. The Count left in his carriage. RB finished his own banking affairs and then took his carriage back to the DV.

Chapter 18: Back at the DV, the next night RB had dinner with his friends, including Carmaignac. Carmaignac told RB about yet another strange disappearance of a wealthy person from the DV room RB was in. After that (long) story was relayed, RB's friends left and RB, once again, prepared to meet the Countess in the park near the DV. On the way to the park, RB saw Colonel Gaillarde (but CG did not see RB). CG was meeting someone else, but the two of them walked in a different direction that that taken by RB.

Chapter 19: RB meets the Countess. She said: "Richard, I must speak plainly. The crisis of my life has come. I am sure you would defend me. I think you pity me; perhaps you even love me." The Countess showed RB a necklace of diamonds. She says she will sell the diamonds and they will share the wealth after she runs away from her tyrant husband. They plan to leave when the Count is at his relative's funeral. the Countess then said: "My only difficulty, is how we shall quickly enough convert my diamonds into money; I dare not remove them while my husband is in the house."
RB volunteered thirty thousand pounds to help. She then gave RB a key. It was a double key -- a long, slender stem, with a key at each end--one about the size which opens an ordinary room door; the other as small, almost, as the key of a dressing-case. She then said: "You cannot employ too much caution tomorrow night. An interruption would murder all my hopes. I have learned that you occupy the haunted room in the Dragon Volant. It is the very room I would have wished you in. I will tell you why -- there is a story of a man who, having shut himself up in that room one night, disappeared before morning. The truth is, he wanted, I believe, to escape from creditors; and the host of the Dragon Volant at that time, being a rogue, aided him in absconding. My husband investigated the matter, and discovered how his escape was made. It was by means of this key. ..." They departed, to meet again soon.

Chapter 20: Back at the DV, RB met an old woman in his room who added wood to his heater. She: "These old eyes saw you in the park of the château tonight. It avails nothing, Monsieur; I know why you stay here; and I tell you to begone. Leave this house tomorrow morning, and never come again." Near the window was a wood slide revealing a key-hole. Using the Countess' key, a door in the panel opened, showing a narrow, arched doorway, within which was a stone spiral staircase. With a candle, RB descended the stairs to the ground floor, where the other end of the Countess' key opened a door outside. RB made his way outside then, satisfied with his experiment, returned to his
room the way he came.

Chapter 21: RB told his inn host he planned a trip and would be gone for a week. RB traveled to Paris and withdrew 30000 pounds, placed in a strong-box. Afterwards, he walked around and happened to see, in an antique store, Droqville and Colonel Gaillarde talking together. RB was able to sneak away unseen. RB returned to the Dragon Volant, where he summoned St Clair, his servant. He told St Clair he planned a trip and would be gone for a week and gave him 50 pounds for the weeks expenses. After St Clair left, RB departed out the secret passageway from his room.

Chapter 22: RB went to the meeting place and waited for a signal from the Countess. When he saw it, he approached the Chateau de la Carque. As RB ascended some steps, the Countess appeared and said: "Richard, dearest Richard, come, oh! come! how I have longed for this moment!" She exhibited her diamonds and he produced his strng-box of 30000 pounds. There was a knock at the door. The Countess said: "I know who this is. My trusty maid, who is coming with us." After a whispered conversation, "She is bringing some coffee to the next room." The Countess then left to talk further wither her maid. There was a door at the other end. RB took a candle, opened the
door and walked into the room.

Chapter 23: On a narrow table, lay a coffin. According to a plate on the coffin, this was the body of the Count's dead relative. Strange, as the Countess earlier said that the Count had already left for the funeral. Returning to the first room, he met the Countess de St. Alyre, who detected in RB's face some evidence of what had happened. The Countess' excuse: (paraphrasing slightly) "The body did not arrive till eight or ten minutes after the Count set out. He was afraid lest the people at the cemetery should suppose that the funeral was postponed. He knew that the remains of poor Pierre would certainly reach this tonight, although an unexpected delay has occurred; and there are reasons why he wishes the funeral completed before tomorrow. ... It is the last time, I shall ever practice a deception on my brave and beautiful Richard -- my hero! Am I forgiven?" The coffee and some liquor arrived. The Countess served RB both coffee and liquor. Finally, the Countess gives Richard her name - Eugenie. After telling her how impatient RB was to set out upon their journey, an odd sensation ("a sudden constraint of the brain") overcame RB. Once the Countess had convinced herself that RB was in a frozen catatonic state, she rang a handball two or three times sharply.

Chapter 24: The door to the room with the coffin opened and the Count enters. The Count praised the Countess for her good work. They counted his money.

Chapter 25: The door to the room with the coffin opened and Droqville entered. The Count called him "Planard," and also "doctor". They discussed ow much poison the Countess gave to RB. They said the amount given should "evaporate" from RB's body after 7 hours. The Countess left and they started to undress RB.

Chapter 26: They placed RB in the coffin, which it turns out was empty. The put his clothes and pocket belongings in a "press" (some kind of storage box). Droqville, ie Doctor Planard, said he would go to the hall to summon the men who were to carry the coffin out and place it in the hearse. Droqville returned and said: "Monsieur le Comte, I am sorry to have to announce to you a most unseasonable interruption. Here is Monsieur Carmaignac, a gentleman holding an office in the police department, who says that information to the effect that large quantities of smuggled English and other goods have been distributed in this neighborhood, and that a portion of them is concealed in your house." Carmaignac said: "The Count de St. Alyre will pardon me ... I am instructed to make a general search ..." Eventually, Carmaignac discovered that RB was in the coffin, and was still alive. RB was saved and the Count and Countess were arrested. The Countess admitted she, admirably disguised, had rifled my papers in the carriage on my night-journey to Paris. She also had figured as the magician at the masked ball at Versailles.