The Phantom of the Opera - Page 138/178

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.