ction, Erik went back to fetch the Punjab
lasso, which is very curiously made out of catgut, and which might have
set an examining magistrate thinking. This explains the disappearance
of the rope.

And now I discovered the lasso, at our feet, in the torture-chamber!
... I am no coward, but a cold sweat covered my forehead as I moved
the little red disk of my lantern over the walls.

M. de Chagny noticed it and asked:

"What is the matter, sir?"

I made him a violent sign to be silent.

[1] An official report from Tonkin, received in Paris at the end of
July, 1909, relates how the famous pirate chief De Tham was tracked,
together with his men, by our soldiers; and how all of them succeeded
in escaping, thanks to this trick of the reeds.

[2] DAROGA is Persian for chief of police.

[3] The Persian might easily have admitted that Erik's fate also
interested himself, for he was well aware that, if the government of
Teheran had learned that Erik was still alive, it would have been all
up with the modest pension of the erstwhile daroga. It is only fair,
however, to add that the Persian had a noble and generous heart; and I
do not doubt for a moment that the catastrophes which he feared for
others greatly occupied his mind. His conduct, throughout this
business, proves it and is above all praise.

Chapter XXII In the Torture Chamber

THE PERSIAN'S NARRATIVE CONTINUED

We were in the middle of a little six-cornered room, the sides of which
were covered with mirrors from top to bottom. In the corners, we could
clearly see the "joins" in the glasses, the segments intended to turn
on their gear; yes, I recognized them and I recognized the iron tree in
the corner, at the bottom of one of those segments ... the iron tree,
with its iron branch, for the hanged men.

I seized my companion's arm: the Vicomte de Chagny was all a-quiver,
eager to shout to his betrothed that he was bringing her help. I
feared that he would not be able to contain himself.

Suddenly, we heard a noise on our left. It sounded at first like a
door opening and shutting in the next room; and then there was a dull
moan. I clutched M. de Chagny's arm more firmly still; and then we
distinctly heard these words:

"You must make your choice! The wedding mass or the requiem mass!" I
recognized the voice of the monster.

There was another moan, followed by a long silence.

I was persuaded by now that the monster was unaware of o