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+Project Gutenberg's Arsene Lupin, by Edgar Jepson and Maurice Leblanc
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Arsene Lupin
+
+Author: Edgar Jepson
+        Maurice Leblanc
+
+Posting Date: June 4, 2009 [EBook #4014]
+Release Date: May, 2003
+First Posted: March 15, 2002
+[Last updated. September 21, 2013]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARSENE LUPIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ARSENE LUPIN
+
+
+BY
+
+
+EDGAR JEPSON AND MAURICE LEBLANC
+
+
+
+Frontispiece by H. Richard Boehm
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+     I. THE MILLIONAIRE'S DAUGHTER
+    II. THE COMING OF THE CHAROLAIS
+   III. LUPIN'S WAY
+    IV. THE DUKE INTERVENES
+     V. A LETTER FROM LUPIN
+    VI. AGAIN THE CHAROLAIS
+   VII. THE THEFT OF THE MOTOR-CARS
+  VIII. THE DUKE ARRIVES
+    IX. M. FORMERY OPENS THE INQUIRY
+     X. GUERCHARD ASSISTS
+    XI. THE FAMILY ARRIVES
+   XII. THE THEFT OF THE PENDANT
+  XIII. LUPIN WIRES
+   XIV. GUERCHARD PICKS UP THE TRUE SCENT
+    XV. THE EXAMINATION OF SONIA
+   XVI. VICTOIRE'S SLIP
+  XVII. SONIA'S ESCAPE
+ XVIII. THE DUKE STAYS
+   XIX. THE DUKE GOES
+    XX. LUPIN COMES HOME
+   XXI. THE CUTTING OF THE TELEPHONE WIRES
+   XII. THE BARGAIN
+ XXIII. THE END OF THE DUEL
+
+
+
+
+ARSENE LUPIN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE MILLIONAIRE'S DAUGHTER
+
+
+The rays of the September sun flooded the great halls of the old
+chateau of the Dukes of Charmerace, lighting up with their mellow glow
+the spoils of so many ages and many lands, jumbled together with the
+execrable taste which so often afflicts those whose only standard of
+value is money.  The golden light warmed the panelled walls and old
+furniture to a dull lustre, and gave back to the fading gilt of the
+First Empire chairs and couches something of its old brightness.  It
+illumined the long line of pictures on the walls, pictures of dead and
+gone Charmeraces, the stern or debonair faces of the men, soldiers,
+statesmen, dandies, the gentle or imperious faces of beautiful women.
+It flashed back from armour of brightly polished steel, and drew dull
+gleams from armour of bronze.  The hues of rare porcelain, of the rich
+inlays of Oriental or Renaissance cabinets, mingled with the hues of
+the pictures, the tapestry, the Persian rugs about the polished floor
+to fill the hall with a rich glow of colour.
+
+But of all the beautiful and precious things which the sun-rays warmed
+to a clearer beauty, the face of the girl who sat writing at a table in
+front of the long windows, which opened on to the centuries-old turf of
+the broad terrace, was the most beautiful and the most precious.
+
+It was a delicate, almost frail, beauty. Her skin was clear with the
+transparent lustre of old porcelain, and her pale cheeks were only
+tinted with the pink of the faintest roses. Her straight nose was
+delicately cut, her rounded chin admirably moulded. A lover of beauty
+would have been at a loss whether more to admire her clear, germander
+eyes, so melting and so adorable, or the sensitive mouth, with its
+rather full lips, inviting all the kisses. But assuredly he would have
+been grieved by the perpetual air of sadness which rested on the
+beautiful face--the wistful melancholy of the Slav, deepened by
+something of personal misfortune and suffering.
+
+Her face was framed by a mass of soft fair hair, shot with strands of
+gold where the sunlight fell on it; and little curls, rebellious to the
+comb, strayed over her white forehead, tiny feathers of gold.
+
+She was addressing envelopes, and a long list of names lay on her left
+hand. When she had addressed an envelope, she slipped into it a
+wedding-card. On each was printed:
+
+    "M. Gournay-Martin has the honour to inform
+     you of the marriage of his daughter
+     Germaine to the Duke of Charmerace."
+
+She wrote steadily on, adding envelope after envelope to the pile ready
+for the post, which rose in front of her. But now and again, when the
+flushed and laughing girls who were playing lawn-tennis on the terrace,
+raised their voices higher than usual as they called the score, and
+distracted her attention from her work, her gaze strayed through the
+open window and lingered on them wistfully; and as her eyes came back
+to her task she sighed with so faint a wistfulness that she hardly knew
+she sighed. Then a voice from the terrace cried, "Sonia! Sonia!"
+
+"Yes. Mlle. Germaine?" answered the writing girl.
+
+"Tea! Order tea, will you?" cried the voice, a petulant voice, rather
+harsh to the ear.
+
+"Very well, Mlle. Germaine," said Sonia; and having finished addressing
+the envelope under her pen, she laid it on the pile ready to be posted,
+and, crossing the room to the old, wide fireplace, she rang the bell.
+
+She stood by the fireplace a moment, restoring to its place a rose
+which had fallen from a vase on the mantelpiece; and her attitude, as
+with arms upraised she arranged the flowers, displayed the delightful
+line of a slender figure. As she let fall her arms to her side, a
+footman entered the room.
+
+"Will you please bring the tea, Alfred," she said in a charming voice
+of that pure, bell-like tone which has been Nature's most precious gift
+to but a few of the greatest actresses.
+
+"For how many, miss?" said Alfred.
+
+"For four--unless your master has come back."
+
+"Oh, no; he's not back yet, miss. He went in the car to Rennes to
+lunch; and it's a good many miles away. He won't be back for another
+hour."
+
+"And the Duke--he's not back from his ride yet, is he?"
+
+"Not yet, miss," said Alfred, turning to go.
+
+"One moment," said Sonia. "Have all of you got your things packed for
+the journey to Paris? You will have to start soon, you know. Are all
+the maids ready?"
+
+"Well, all the men are ready, I know, miss. But about the maids, miss,
+I can't say. They've been bustling about all day; but it takes them
+longer than it does us."
+
+"Tell them to hurry up; and be as quick as you can with the tea,
+please," said Sonia.
+
+Alfred went out of the room; Sonia went back to the writing-table. She
+did not take up her pen; she took up one of the wedding-cards; and her
+lips moved slowly as she read it in a pondering depression.
+
+The petulant, imperious voice broke in upon her musing.
+
+"Whatever are you doing, Sonia? Aren't you getting on with those
+letters?" it cried angrily; and Germaine Gournay-Martin came through
+the long window into the hall.
+
+The heiress to the Gournay-Martin millions carried her tennis racquet
+in her hand; and her rosy cheeks were flushed redder than ever by the
+game. She was a pretty girl in a striking, high-coloured, rather
+obvious way--the very foil to Sonia's delicate beauty. Her lips were a
+little too thin, her eyes too shallow; and together they gave her a
+rather hard air, in strongest contrast to the gentle, sympathetic face
+of Sonia.
+
+The two friends with whom Germaine had been playing tennis followed her
+into the hall: Jeanne Gautier, tall, sallow, dark, with a somewhat
+malicious air; Marie Bullier, short, round, commonplace, and
+sentimental.
+
+They came to the table at which Sonia was at work; and pointing to the
+pile of envelopes, Marie said, "Are these all wedding-cards?"
+
+"Yes; and we've only got to the letter V," said Germaine, frowning at
+Sonia.
+
+"Princesse de Vernan--Duchesse de Vauvieuse--Marquess--Marchioness?
+You've invited the whole Faubourg Saint-Germain," said Marie, shuffling
+the pile of envelopes with an envious air.
+
+"You'll know very few people at your wedding," said Jeanne, with a
+spiteful little giggle.
+
+"I beg your pardon, my dear," said Germaine boastfully. "Madame de
+Relzieres, my fiance's cousin, gave an At Home the other day in my
+honour. At it she introduced half Paris to me--the Paris I'm destined
+to know, the Paris you'll see in my drawing-rooms."
+
+"But we shall no longer be fit friends for you when you're the Duchess
+of Charmerace," said Jeanne.
+
+"Why?" said Germaine; and then she added quickly, "Above everything,
+Sonia, don't forget Veauleglise, 33, University Street--33, University
+Street."
+
+"Veauleglise--33, University Street," said Sonia, taking a fresh
+envelope, and beginning to address it.
+
+"Wait--wait! don't close the envelope. I'm wondering whether
+Veauleglise ought to have a cross, a double cross, or a triple cross,"
+said Germaine, with an air of extreme importance.
+
+"What's that?" cried Marie and Jeanne together.
+
+"A single cross means an invitation to the church, a double cross an
+invitation to the marriage and the wedding-breakfast, and the triple
+cross means an invitation to the marriage, the breakfast, and the
+signing of the marriage-contract. What do you think the Duchess of
+Veauleglise ought to have?"
+
+"Don't ask me. I haven't the honour of knowing that great lady," cried
+Jeanne.
+
+"Nor I," said Marie.
+
+"Nor I," said Germaine. "But I have here the visiting-list of the late
+Duchess of Charmerace, Jacques' mother. The two duchesses were on
+excellent terms. Besides the Duchess of Veauleglise is rather worn-out,
+but greatly admired for her piety. She goes to early service three
+times a week."
+
+"Then put three crosses," said Jeanne.
+
+"I shouldn't," said Marie quickly. "In your place, my dear, I shouldn't
+risk a slip. I should ask my fiance's advice. He knows this world."
+
+"Oh, goodness--my fiance! He doesn't care a rap about this kind of
+thing. He has changed so in the last seven years. Seven years ago he
+took nothing seriously. Why, he set off on an expedition to the South
+Pole--just to show off. Oh, in those days he was truly a duke."
+
+"And to-day?" said Jeanne.
+
+"Oh, to-day he's a regular slow-coach. Society gets on his nerves. He's
+as sober as a judge," said Germaine.
+
+"He's as gay as a lark," said Sonia, in sudden protest.
+
+Germaine pouted at her, and said: "Oh, he's gay enough when he's making
+fun of people. But apart from that he's as sober as a judge."
+
+"Your father must be delighted with the change," said Jeanne.
+
+"Naturally he's delighted. Why, he's lunching at Rennes to-day with the
+Minister, with the sole object of getting Jacques decorated."
+
+"Well; the Legion of Honour is a fine thing to have," said Marie.
+
+"My dear! The Legion of Honour is all very well for middle-class
+people, but it's quite out of place for a duke!" cried Germaine.
+
+Alfred came in, bearing the tea-tray, and set it on a little table near
+that at which Sonia was sitting.
+
+Germaine, who was feeling too important to sit still, was walking up
+and down the room. Suddenly she stopped short, and pointing to a silver
+statuette which stood on the piano, she said, "What's this? Why is this
+statuette here?"
+
+"Why, when we came in, it was on the cabinet, in its usual place," said
+Sonia in some astonishment.
+
+"Did you come into the hall while we were out in the garden, Alfred?"
+said Germaine to the footman.
+
+"No, miss," said Alfred.
+
+"But some one must have come into it," Germaine persisted.
+
+"I've not heard any one. I was in my pantry," said Alfred.
+
+"It's very odd," said Germaine.
+
+"It is odd," said Sonia. "Statuettes don't move about of themselves."
+
+All of them stared at the statuette as if they expected it to move
+again forthwith, under their very eyes. Then Alfred put it back in its
+usual place on one of the cabinets, and went out of the room.
+
+Sonia poured out the tea; and over it they babbled about the coming
+marriage, the frocks they would wear at it, and the presents Germaine
+had already received. That reminded her to ask Sonia if any one had yet
+telephoned from her father's house in Paris; and Sonia said that no one
+had.
+
+"That's very annoying," said Germaine. "It shows that nobody has sent
+me a present to-day."
+
+Pouting, she shrugged her shoulders with an air of a spoiled child,
+which sat but poorly on a well-developed young woman of twenty-three.
+
+"It's Sunday. The shops don't deliver things on Sunday," said Sonia
+gently.
+
+But Germaine still pouted like a spoiled child.
+
+"Isn't your beautiful Duke coming to have tea with us?" said Jeanne a
+little anxiously.
+
+"Oh, yes; I'm expecting him at half-past four. He had to go for a ride
+with the two Du Buits. They're coming to tea here, too," said Germaine.
+
+"Gone for a ride with the two Du Buits? But when?" cried Marie quickly.
+
+"This afternoon."
+
+"He can't be," said Marie. "My brother went to the Du Buits' house
+after lunch, to see Andre and Georges. They went for a drive this
+morning, and won't be back till late to-night."
+
+"Well, but--but why did the Duke tell me so?" said Germaine, knitting
+her brow with a puzzled air.
+
+"If I were you, I should inquire into this thoroughly. Dukes--well, we
+know what dukes are--it will be just as well to keep an eye on him,"
+said Jeanne maliciously.
+
+Germaine flushed quickly; and her eyes flashed. "Thank you. I have
+every confidence in Jacques. I am absolutely sure of him," she said
+angrily.
+
+"Oh, well--if you're sure, it's all right," said Jeanne.
+
+The ringing of the telephone-bell made a fortunate diversion.
+
+Germaine rushed to it, clapped the receiver to her ear, and cried:
+"Hello, is that you, Pierre? ... Oh, it's Victoire, is it? ... Ah, some
+presents have come, have they? ... Well, well, what are they? ... What!
+a paper-knife--another paper-knife! ... Another Louis XVI.
+inkstand--oh, bother! ... Who are they from? ... Oh, from the Countess
+Rudolph and the Baron de Valery." Her voice rose high, thrilling with
+pride.
+
+Then she turned her face to her friends, with the receiver still at her
+ear, and cried: "Oh, girls, a pearl necklace too! A large one! The
+pearls are big ones!"
+
+"How jolly!" said Marie.
+
+"Who sent it?" said Germaine, turning to the telephone again. "Oh, a
+friend of papa's," she added in a tone of disappointment. "Never mind,
+after all it's a pearl necklace. You'll be sure and lock the doors
+carefully, Victoire, won't you? And lock up the necklace in the secret
+cupboard.... Yes; thanks very much, Victoire. I shall see you
+to-morrow."
+
+She hung up the receiver, and came away from the telephone frowning.
+
+"It's preposterous!" she said pettishly. "Papa's friends and relations
+give me marvellous presents, and all the swells send me paper-knives.
+It's all Jacques' fault. He's above all this kind of thing. The
+Faubourg Saint-Germain hardly knows that we're engaged."
+
+"He doesn't go about advertising it," said Jeanne, smiling.
+
+"You're joking, but all the same what you say is true," said Germaine.
+"That's exactly what his cousin Madame de Relzieres said to me the
+other day at the At Home she gave in my honour--wasn't it, Sonia?" And
+she walked to the window, and, turning her back on them, stared out of
+it.
+
+"She HAS got her mouth full of that At Home," said Jeanne to Marie in a
+low voice.
+
+There was an awkward silence. Marie broke it:
+
+"Speaking of Madame de Relzieres, do you know that she is on pins and
+needles with anxiety? Her son is fighting a duel to-day," she said.
+
+"With whom?" said Sonia.
+
+"No one knows. She got hold of a letter from the seconds," said Marie.
+
+"My mind is quite at rest about Relzieres," said Germaine. "He's a
+first-class swordsman. No one could beat him."
+
+Sonia did not seem to share her freedom from anxiety. Her forehead was
+puckered in little lines of perplexity, as if she were puzzling out
+some problem; and there was a look of something very like fear in her
+gentle eyes.
+
+"Wasn't Relzieres a great friend of your fiance at one time?" said
+Jeanne.
+
+"A great friend? I should think he was," said Germaine. "Why, it was
+through Relzieres that we got to know Jacques."
+
+"Where was that?" said Marie.
+
+"Here--in this very chateau," said Germaine.
+
+"Actually in his own house?" said Marie, in some surprise.
+
+"Yes; actually here. Isn't life funny?" said Germaine. "If, a few
+months after his father's death, Jacques had not found himself hard-up,
+and obliged to dispose of this chateau, to raise the money for his
+expedition to the South Pole; and if papa and I had not wanted an
+historic chateau; and lastly, if papa had not suffered from rheumatism,
+I should not be calling myself in a month from now the Duchess of
+Charmerace."
+
+"Now what on earth has your father's rheumatism got to do with your
+being Duchess of Charmerace?" cried Jeanne.
+
+"Everything," said Germaine. "Papa was afraid that this chateau was
+damp. To prove to papa that he had nothing to fear, Jacques, en grand
+seigneur, offered him his hospitality, here, at Charmerace, for three
+weeks."
+
+"That was truly ducal," said Marie.
+
+"But he is always like that," said Sonia.
+
+"Oh, he's all right in that way, little as he cares about society,"
+said Germaine. "Well, by a miracle my father got cured of his
+rheumatism here. Jacques fell in love with me; papa made up his mind to
+buy the chateau; and I demanded the hand of Jacques in marriage."
+
+"You did? But you were only sixteen then," said Marie, with some
+surprise.
+
+"Yes; but even at sixteen a girl ought to know that a duke is a duke. I
+did," said Germaine. "Then since Jacques was setting out for the South
+Pole, and papa considered me much too young to get married, I promised
+Jacques to wait for his return."
+
+"Why, it was everything that's romantic!" cried Marie.
+
+"Romantic? Oh, yes," said Germaine; and she pouted. "But between
+ourselves, if I'd known that he was going to stay all that time at the
+South Pole--"
+
+"That's true," broke in Marie. "To go away for three years and stay
+away seven--at the end of the world."
+
+"All Germaine's beautiful youth," said Jeanne, with her malicious smile.
+
+"Thanks!" said Germaine tartly.
+
+"Well, you ARE twenty-three. It's the flower of one's age," said Jeanne.
+
+"Not quite twenty-three," said Germaine hastily. "And look at the
+wretched luck I've had. The Duke falls ill and is treated at
+Montevideo. As soon as he recovers, since he's the most obstinate
+person in the world, he resolves to go on with the expedition. He sets
+out; and for an age, without a word of warning, there's no more news of
+him--no news of any kind. For six months, you know, we believed him
+dead."
+
+"Dead? Oh, how unhappy you must have been!" said Sonia.
+
+"Oh, don't speak of it! For six months I daren't put on a light frock,"
+said Germaine, turning to her.
+
+"A lot she must have cared for him," whispered Jeanne to Marie.
+
+"Fortunately, one fine day, the letters began again. Three months ago a
+telegram informed us that he was coming back; and at last the Duke
+returned," said Germaine, with a theatrical air.
+
+"The Duke returned," cried Jeanne, mimicking her.
+
+"Never mind. Fancy waiting nearly seven years for one's fiance. That
+was constancy," said Sonia.
+
+"Oh, you're a sentimentalist, Mlle. Kritchnoff," said Jeanne, in a tone
+of mockery. "It was the influence of the castle."
+
+"What do you mean?" said Germaine.
+
+"Oh, to own the castle of Charmerace and call oneself Mlle.
+Gournay-Martin--it's not worth doing. One MUST become a duchess," said
+Jeanne.
+
+"Yes, yes; and for all this wonderful constancy, seven years of it,
+Germaine was on the point of becoming engaged to another man," said
+Marie, smiling.
+
+"And he a mere baron," said Jeanne, laughing.
+
+"What? Is that true?" said Sonia.
+
+"Didn't you know, Mlle. Kritchnoff? She nearly became engaged to the
+Duke's cousin, the Baron de Relzieres. It was not nearly so grand."
+
+"Oh, it's all very well to laugh at me; but being the cousin and heir
+of the Duke, Relzieres would have assumed the title, and I should have
+been Duchess just the same," said Germaine triumphantly.
+
+"Evidently that was all that mattered," said Jeanne. "Well, dear, I
+must be off. We've promised to run in to see the Comtesse de Grosjean.
+You know the Comtesse de Grosjean?"
+
+She spoke with an air of careless pride, and rose to go.
+
+"Only by name. Papa used to know her husband on the Stock Exchange when
+he was still called simply M. Grosjean. For his part, papa preferred to
+keep his name intact," said Germaine, with quiet pride.
+
+"Intact? That's one way of looking at it. Well, then, I'll see you in
+Paris. You still intend to start to-morrow?" said Jeanne.
+
+"Yes; to-morrow morning," said Germaine.
+
+Jeanne and Marie slipped on their dust-coats to the accompaniment of
+chattering and kissing, and went out of the room.
+
+As she closed the door on them, Germaine turned to Sonia, and said: "I
+do hate those two girls! They're such horrible snobs."
+
+"Oh, they're good-natured enough," said Sonia.
+
+"Good-natured? Why, you idiot, they're just bursting with envy of
+me--bursting!" said Germaine. "Well, they've every reason to be," she
+added confidently, surveying herself in a Venetian mirror with a petted
+child's self-content.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE COMING OF THE CHAROLAIS
+
+
+Sonia went back to her table, and once more began putting wedding-cards
+in their envelopes and addressing them. Germaine moved restlessly about
+the room, fidgeting with the bric-a-brac on the cabinets, shifting the
+pieces about, interrupting Sonia to ask whether she preferred this
+arrangement or that, throwing herself into a chair to read a magazine,
+getting up in a couple of minutes to straighten a picture on the wall,
+throwing out all the while idle questions not worth answering.
+Ninety-nine human beings would have been irritated to exasperation by
+her fidgeting; Sonia endured it with a perfect patience. Five times
+Germaine asked her whether she should wear her heliotrope or her pink
+gown at a forthcoming dinner at Madame de Relzieres'. Five times Sonia
+said, without the slightest variation in her tone, "I think you look
+better in the pink." And all the while the pile of addressed envelopes
+rose steadily.
+
+Presently the door opened, and Alfred stood on the threshold.
+
+"Two gentlemen have called to see you, miss," he said.
+
+"Ah, the two Du Buits," cried Germaine.
+
+"They didn't give their names, miss."
+
+"A gentleman in the prime of life and a younger one?" said Germaine.
+
+"Yes, miss."
+
+"I thought so. Show them in."
+
+"Yes, miss. And have you any orders for me to give Victoire when we get
+to Paris?" said Alfred.
+
+"No. Are you starting soon?"
+
+"Yes, miss. We're all going by the seven o'clock train. It's a long way
+from here to Paris; we shall only reach it at nine in the morning. That
+will give us just time to get the house ready for you by the time you
+get there to-morrow evening," said Alfred.
+
+"Is everything packed?"
+
+"Yes, miss--everything. The cart has already taken the heavy luggage to
+the station. All you'll have to do is to see after your bags."
+
+"That's all right. Show M. du Buit and his brother in," said Germaine.
+
+She moved to a chair near the window, and disposed herself in an
+attitude of studied, and obviously studied, grace.
+
+As she leant her head at a charming angle back against the tall back of
+the chair, her eyes fell on the window, and they opened wide.
+
+"Why, whatever's this?" she cried, pointing to it.
+
+"Whatever's what?" said Sonia, without raising her eyes from the
+envelope she was addressing.
+
+"Why, the window. Look! one of the panes has been taken out. It looks
+as if it had been cut."
+
+"So it has--just at the level of the fastening," said Sonia. And the
+two girls stared at the gap.
+
+"Haven't you noticed it before?" said Germaine.
+
+"No; the broken glass must have fallen outside," said Sonia.
+
+The noise of the opening of the door drew their attention from the
+window. Two figures were advancing towards them--a short, round, tubby
+man of fifty-five, red-faced, bald, with bright grey eyes, which seemed
+to be continually dancing away from meeting the eyes of any other human
+being. Behind him came a slim young man, dark and grave. For all the
+difference in their colouring, it was clear that they were father and
+son: their eyes were set so close together. The son seemed to have
+inherited, along with her black eyes, his mother's nose, thin and
+aquiline; the nose of the father started thin from the brow, but ended
+in a scarlet bulb eloquent of an exhaustive acquaintance with the
+vintages of the world.
+
+Germaine rose, looking at them with an air of some surprise and
+uncertainty: these were not her friends, the Du Buits.
+
+The elder man, advancing with a smiling bonhomie, bowed, and said in an
+adenoid voice, ingratiating of tone: "I'm M. Charolais, young
+ladies--M. Charolais--retired brewer--chevalier of the Legion of
+Honour--landowner at Rennes. Let me introduce my son." The young man
+bowed awkwardly. "We came from Rennes this morning, and we lunched at
+Kerlor's farm."
+
+"Shall I order tea for them?" whispered Sonia.
+
+"Gracious, no!" said Germaine sharply under her breath; then, louder,
+she said to M. Charolais, "And what is your object in calling?"
+
+"We asked to see your father," said M. Charolais, smiling with broad
+amiability, while his eyes danced across her face, avoiding any meeting
+with hers. "The footman told us that M. Gournay-Martin was out, but
+that his daughter was at home. And we were unable, quite unable, to
+deny ourselves the pleasure of meeting you." With that he sat down; and
+his son followed his example.
+
+Sonia and Germaine, taken aback, looked at one another in some
+perplexity.
+
+"What a fine chateau, papa!" said the young man.
+
+"Yes, my boy; it's a very fine chateau," said M. Charolais, looking
+round the hall with appreciative but greedy eyes.
+
+There was a pause.
+
+"It's a very fine chateau, young ladies," said M. Charolais.
+
+"Yes; but excuse me, what is it you have called about?" said Germaine.
+
+M. Charolais crossed his legs, leant back in his chair, thrust his
+thumbs into the arm-holes of his waistcoat, and said: "Well, we've come
+about the advertisement we saw in the RENNES ADVERTISER, that M.
+Gournay-Martin wanted to get rid of a motor-car; and my son is always
+saying to me, 'I should like a motor-car which rushes the hills, papa.'
+He means a sixty horse-power."
+
+"We've got a sixty horse-power; but it's not for sale. My father is
+even using it himself to-day," said Germaine.
+
+"Perhaps it's the car we saw in the stable-yard," said M. Charolais.
+
+"No; that's a thirty to forty horse-power. It belongs to me. But if
+your son really loves rushing hills, as you say, we have a hundred
+horse-power car which my father wants to get rid of. Wait; where's the
+photograph of it, Sonia? It ought to be here somewhere."
+
+The two girls rose, went to a table set against the wall beyond the
+window, and began turning over the papers with which it was loaded in
+the search for the photograph. They had barely turned their backs, when
+the hand of young Charolais shot out as swiftly as the tongue of a
+lizard catching a fly, closed round the silver statuette on the top of
+the cabinet beside him, and flashed it into his jacket pocket.
+
+Charolais was watching the two girls; one would have said that he had
+eyes for nothing else, yet, without moving a muscle of his face, set in
+its perpetual beaming smile, he hissed in an angry whisper, "Drop it,
+you idiot! Put it back!"
+
+The young man scowled askance at him.
+
+"Curse you! Put it back!" hissed Charolais.
+
+The young man's arm shot out with the same quickness, and the statuette
+stood in its place.
+
+There was just the faintest sigh of relief from Charolais, as Germaine
+turned and came to him with the photograph in her hand. She gave it to
+him.
+
+"Ah, here we are," he said, putting on a pair of gold-rimmed pince-nez.
+"A hundred horse-power car. Well, well, this is something to talk over.
+What's the least you'll take for it?"
+
+"_I_ have nothing to do with this kind of thing," cried Germaine. "You
+must see my father. He will be back from Rennes soon. Then you can
+settle the matter with him."
+
+M. Charolais rose, and said: "Very good. We will go now, and come back
+presently. I'm sorry to have intruded on you, young ladies--taking up
+your time like this--"
+
+"Not at all--not at all," murmured Germaine politely.
+
+"Good-bye--good-bye," said M. Charolais; and he and his son went to the
+door, and bowed themselves out.
+
+"What creatures!" said Germaine, going to the window, as the door
+closed behind the two visitors. "All the same, if they do buy the
+hundred horse-power, papa will be awfully pleased. It is odd about that
+pane. I wonder how it happened. It's odd too that Jacques hasn't come
+back yet. He told me that he would be here between half-past four and
+five."
+
+"And the Du Buits have not come either," said Sonia. "But it's hardly
+five yet."
+
+"Yes; that's so. The Du Buits have not come either. What on earth are
+you wasting your time for?" she added sharply, raising her voice. "Just
+finish addressing those letters while you're waiting."
+
+"They're nearly finished," said Sonia.
+
+"Nearly isn't quite. Get on with them, can't you!" snapped Germaine.
+
+Sonia went back to the writing-table; just the slightest deepening of
+the faint pink roses in her cheeks marked her sense of Germaine's
+rudeness. After three years as companion to Germaine Gournay-Martin,
+she was well inured to millionaire manners; they had almost lost the
+power to move her.
+
+Germaine dropped into a chair for twenty seconds; then flung out of it.
+
+"Ten minutes to five!" she cried. "Jacques is late. It's the first time
+I've ever known him late."
+
+She went to the window, and looked across the wide stretch of
+meadow-land and woodland on which the chateau, set on the very crown of
+the ridge, looked down. The road, running with the irritating
+straightness of so many of the roads of France, was visible for a full
+three miles. It was empty.
+
+"Perhaps the Duke went to the Chateau de Relzieres to see his
+cousin--though I fancy that at bottom the Duke does not care very much
+for the Baron de Relzieres. They always look as though they detested
+one another," said Sonia, without raising her eyes from the letter she
+was addressing.
+
+"You've noticed that, have you?" said Germaine. "Now, as far as Jacques
+is concerned--he's--he's so indifferent. None the less, when we were at
+the Relzieres on Thursday, I caught him quarrelling with Paul de
+Relzieres."
+
+"Quarrelling?" said Sonia sharply, with a sudden uneasiness in air and
+eyes and voice.
+
+"Yes; quarrelling. And they said good-bye to one another in the oddest
+way."
+
+"But surely they shook hands?" said Sonia.
+
+"Not a bit of it. They bowed as if each of them had swallowed a poker."
+
+"Why--then--then--" said Sonia, starting up with a frightened air; and
+her voice stuck in her throat.
+
+"Then what?" said Germaine, a little startled by her panic-stricken
+face.
+
+"The duel! Monsieur de Relzieres' duel!" cried Sonia.
+
+"What? You don't think it was with Jacques?"
+
+"I don't know--but this quarrel--the Duke's manner this morning--the Du
+Buits' drive--" said Sonia.
+
+"Of course--of course! It's quite possible--in fact it's certain!"
+cried Germaine.
+
+"It's horrible!" gasped Sonia. "Consider--just consider! Suppose
+something happened to him. Suppose the Duke--"
+
+"It's me the Duke's fighting about!" cried Germaine proudly, with a
+little skipping jump of triumphant joy.
+
+Sonia stared through her without seeing her. Her face was a dead
+white--fear had chilled the lustre from her skin; her breath panted
+through her parted lips; and her dilated eyes seemed to look on some
+dreadful picture.
+
+Germaine pirouetted about the hall at the very height of triumph. To
+have a Duke fighting a duel about her was far beyond the wildest dreams
+of snobbishness. She chuckled again and again, and once she clapped her
+hands and laughed aloud.
+
+"He's fighting a swordsman of the first class--an invincible
+swordsman--you said so yourself," Sonia muttered in a tone of anguish.
+"And there's nothing to be done--nothing."
+
+She pressed her hands to her eyes as if to shut out a hideous vision.
+
+Germaine did not hear her; she was staring at herself in a mirror, and
+bridling to her own image.
+
+Sonia tottered to the window and stared down at the road along which
+must come the tidings of weal or irremediable woe. She kept passing her
+hand over her eyes as if to clear their vision.
+
+Suddenly she started, and bent forward, rigid, all her being
+concentrated in the effort to see.
+
+Then she cried: "Mademoiselle Germaine! Look! Look!"
+
+"What is it?" said Germaine, coming to her side.
+
+"A horseman! Look! There!" said Sonia, waving a hand towards the road.
+
+"Yes; and isn't he galloping!" said Germaine.
+
+"It's he! It's the Duke!" cried Sonia.
+
+"Do you think so?" said Germaine doubtfully.
+
+"I'm sure of it--sure!"
+
+"Well, he gets here just in time for tea," said Germaine in a tone of
+extreme satisfaction. "He knows that I hate to be kept waiting. He said
+to me, 'I shall be back by five at the latest.' And here he is."
+
+"It's impossible," said Sonia. "He has to go all the way round the
+park. There's no direct road; the brook is between us."
+
+"All the same, he's coming in a straight line," said Germaine.
+
+It was true. The horseman had left the road and was galloping across
+the meadows straight for the brook. In twenty seconds he reached its
+treacherous bank, and as he set his horse at it, Sonia covered her eyes.
+
+"He's over!" said Germaine. "My father gave three hundred guineas for
+that horse."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+LUPIN'S WAY
+
+
+Sonia, in a sudden revulsion of feeling, in a reaction from her fears,
+slipped back and sat down at the tea-table, panting quickly, struggling
+to keep back the tears of relief. She did not see the Duke gallop up
+the slope, dismount, and hand over his horse to the groom who came
+running to him. There was still a mist in her eyes to blur his figure
+as he came through the window.
+
+"If it's for me, plenty of tea, very little cream, and three lumps of
+sugar," he cried in a gay, ringing voice, and pulled out his watch.
+"Five to the minute--that's all right." And he bent down, took
+Germaine's hand, and kissed it with an air of gallant devotion.
+
+If he had indeed just fought a duel, there were no signs of it in his
+bearing. His air, his voice, were entirely careless. He was a man whose
+whole thought at the moment was fixed on his tea and his punctuality.
+
+He drew a chair near the tea-table for Germaine; sat down himself; and
+Sonia handed him a cup of tea with so shaky a hand that the spoon
+clinked in the saucer.
+
+"You've been fighting a duel?" said Germaine.
+
+"What! You've heard already?" said the Duke in some surprise.
+
+"I've heard," said Germaine. "Why did you fight it?"
+
+"You're not wounded, your Grace?" said Sonia anxiously.
+
+"Not a scratch," said the Duke, smiling at her.
+
+"Will you be so good as to get on with those wedding-cards, Sonia,"
+said Germaine sharply; and Sonia went back to the writing-table.
+
+Turning to the Duke, Germaine said, "Did you fight on my account?"
+
+"Would you be pleased to know that I had fought on your account?" said
+the Duke; and there was a faint mocking light in his eyes, far too
+faint for the self-satisfied Germaine to perceive.
+
+"Yes. But it isn't true. You've been fighting about some woman," said
+Germaine petulantly.
+
+"If I had been fighting about a woman, it could only be you," said the
+Duke.
+
+"Yes, that is so. Of course. It could hardly be about Sonia, or my
+maid," said Germaine. "But what was the reason of the duel?"
+
+"Oh, the reason of it was entirely childish," said the Duke. "I was in
+a bad temper; and De Relzieres said something that annoyed me."
+
+"Then it wasn't about me; and if it wasn't about me, it wasn't really
+worth while fighting," said Germaine in a tone of acute disappointment.
+
+The mocking light deepened a little in the Duke's eyes.
+
+"Yes. But if I had been killed, everybody would have said, 'The Duke of
+Charmerace has been killed in a duel about Mademoiselle
+Gournay-Martin.' That would have sounded very fine indeed," said the
+Duke; and a touch of mockery had crept into his voice.
+
+"Now, don't begin trying to annoy me again," said Germaine pettishly.
+
+"The last thing I should dream of, my dear girl," said the Duke,
+smiling.
+
+"And De Relzieres? Is he wounded?" said Germaine.
+
+"Poor dear De Relzieres: he won't be out of bed for the next six
+months," said the Duke; and he laughed lightly and gaily.
+
+"Good gracious!" cried Germaine.
+
+"It will do poor dear De Relzieres a world of good. He has a touch of
+enteritis; and for enteritis there is nothing like rest," said the Duke.
+
+Sonia was not getting on very quickly with the wedding-cards. Germaine
+was sitting with her back to her; and over her shoulder Sonia could
+watch the face of the Duke--an extraordinarily mobile face, changing
+with every passing mood. Sometimes his eyes met hers; and hers fell
+before them. But as soon as they turned away from her she was watching
+him again, almost greedily, as if she could not see enough of his face
+in which strength of will and purpose was mingled with a faint, ironic
+scepticism, and tempered by a fine air of race.
+
+He finished his tea; then he took a morocco case from his pocket, and
+said to Germaine, "It must be quite three days since I gave you
+anything."
+
+He opened the case, disclosed a pearl pendant, and handed it to her.
+
+"Oh, how nice!" she cried, taking it.
+
+She took it from the case, saying that it was a beauty. She showed it
+to Sonia; then she put it on and stood before a mirror admiring the
+effect. To tell the truth, the effect was not entirely desirable. The
+pearls did not improve the look of her rather coarse brown skin; and
+her skin added nothing to the beauty of the pearls. Sonia saw this, and
+so did the Duke. He looked at Sonia's white throat. She met his eyes
+and blushed. She knew that the same thought was in both their minds;
+the pearls would have looked infinitely better there.
+
+Germaine finished admiring herself; she was incapable even of
+suspecting that so expensive a pendant could not suit her perfectly.
+
+The Duke said idly: "Goodness! Are all those invitations to the
+wedding?"
+
+"That's only down to the letter V," said Germaine proudly.
+
+"And there are twenty-five letters in the alphabet! You must be
+inviting the whole world. You'll have to have the Madeleine enlarged.
+It won't hold them all. There isn't a church in Paris that will," said
+the Duke.
+
+"Won't it be a splendid marriage!" said Germaine. "There'll be
+something like a crush. There are sure to be accidents."
+
+"If I were you, I should have careful arrangements made," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, let people look after themselves. They'll remember it better if
+they're crushed a little," said Germaine.
+
+There was a flicker of contemptuous wonder in the Duke's eyes. But he
+only shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Sonia, said, "Will you be
+an angel and play me a little Grieg, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff? I heard
+you playing yesterday. No one plays Grieg like you."
+
+"Excuse me, Jacques, but Mademoiselle Kritchnoff has her work to do,"
+said Germaine tartly.
+
+"Five minutes' interval--just a morsel of Grieg, I beg," said the Duke,
+with an irresistible smile.
+
+"All right," said Germaine grudgingly. "But I've something important to
+talk to you about."
+
+"By Jove! So have I. I was forgetting. I've the last photograph I took
+of you and Mademoiselle Sonia." Germaine frowned and shrugged her
+shoulders. "With your light frocks in the open air, you look like two
+big flowers," said the Duke.
+
+"You call that important!" cried Germaine.
+
+"It's very important--like all trifles," said the Duke, smiling. "Look!
+isn't it nice?" And he took a photograph from his pocket, and held it
+out to her.
+
+"Nice? It's shocking! We're making the most appalling faces," said
+Germaine, looking at the photograph in his hand.
+
+"Well, perhaps you ARE making faces," said the Duke seriously,
+considering the photograph with grave earnestness. "But they're not
+appalling faces--not by any means. You shall be judge, Mademoiselle
+Sonia. The faces--well, we won't talk about the faces--but the
+outlines. Look at the movement of your scarf." And he handed the
+photograph to Sonia.
+
+"Jacques!" said Germaine impatiently.
+
+"Oh, yes, you've something important to tell me. What is it?" said the
+Duke, with an air of resignation; and he took the photograph from Sonia
+and put it carefully back in his pocket.
+
+"Victoire has telephoned from Paris to say that we've had a paper-knife
+and a Louis Seize inkstand given us," said Germaine.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried the Duke in a sudden shout that made them both jump.
+
+"And a pearl necklace," said Germaine.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried the Duke.
+
+"You're perfectly childish," said Germaine pettishly. "I tell you we've
+been given a paper-knife, and you shout 'hurrah!' I say we've been
+given a pearl necklace, and you shout 'hurrah!' You can't have the
+slightest sense of values."
+
+"I beg your pardon. This pearl necklace is from one of your father's
+friends, isn't it?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes; why?" said Germaine.
+
+"But the inkstand and the paper-knife must be from the Faubourg
+Saint-Germain, and well on the shabby side?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes; well?"
+
+"Well then, my dear girl, what are you complaining about? They balance;
+the equilibrium is restored. You can't have everything," said the Duke;
+and he laughed mischievously.
+
+Germaine flushed, and bit her lip; her eyes sparkled.
+
+"You don't care a rap about me," she said stormily.
+
+"But I find you adorable," said the Duke.
+
+"You keep annoying me," said Germaine pettishly. "And you do it on
+purpose. I think it's in very bad taste. I shall end by taking a
+dislike to you--I know I shall."
+
+"Wait till we're married for that, my dear girl," said the Duke; and he
+laughed again, with a blithe, boyish cheerfulness, which deepened the
+angry flush in Germaine's cheeks.
+
+"Can't you be serious about anything?" she cried.
+
+"I am the most serious man in Europe," said the Duke.
+
+Germaine went to the window and stared out of it sulkily.
+
+The Duke walked up and down the hall, looking at the pictures of some
+of his ancestors--somewhat grotesque persons--with humorous
+appreciation. Between addressing the envelopes Sonia kept glancing at
+him. Once he caught her eye, and smiled at her. Germaine's back was
+eloquent of her displeasure. The Duke stopped at a gap in the line of
+pictures in which there hung a strip of old tapestry.
+
+"I can never understand why you have left all these ancestors of mine
+staring from the walls and have taken away the quite admirable and
+interesting portrait of myself," he said carelessly.
+
+Germaine turned sharply from the window; Sonia stopped in the middle of
+addressing an envelope; and both the girls stared at him in
+astonishment.
+
+"There certainly was a portrait of me where that tapestry hangs. What
+have you done with it?" said the Duke.
+
+"You're making fun of us again," said Germaine.
+
+"Surely your Grace knows what happened," said Sonia.
+
+"We wrote all the details to you and sent you all the papers three
+years ago. Didn't you get them?" said Germaine.
+
+"Not a detail or a newspaper. Three years ago I was in the
+neighbourhood of the South Pole, and lost at that," said the Duke.
+
+"But it was most dramatic, my dear Jacques. All Paris was talking of
+it," said Germaine. "Your portrait was stolen."
+
+"Stolen? Who stole it?" said the Duke.
+
+Germaine crossed the hall quickly to the gap in the line of pictures.
+
+"I'll show you," she said.
+
+She drew aside the piece of tapestry, and in the middle of the panel
+over which the portrait of the Duke had hung he saw written in chalk
+the words:
+
+ARSENE LUPIN
+
+"What do you think of that autograph?" said Germaine.
+
+"'Arsene Lupin?'" said the Duke in a tone of some bewilderment.
+
+"He left his signature. It seems that he always does so," said Sonia in
+an explanatory tone.
+
+"But who is he?" said the Duke.
+
+"Arsene Lupin? Surely you know who Arsene Lupin is?" said Germaine
+impatiently.
+
+"I haven't the slightest notion," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, come! No one is as South-Pole as all that!" cried Germaine. "You
+don't know who Lupin is? The most whimsical, the most audacious, and
+the most genial thief in France. For the last ten years he has kept the
+police at bay. He has baffled Ganimard, Holmlock Shears, the great
+English detective, and even Guerchard, whom everybody says is the
+greatest detective we've had in France since Vidocq. In fact, he's our
+national robber. Do you mean to say you don't know him?"
+
+"Not even enough to ask him to lunch at a restaurant," said the Duke
+flippantly. "What's he like?"
+
+"Like? Nobody has the slightest idea. He has a thousand disguises. He
+has dined two evenings running at the English Embassy."
+
+"But if nobody knows him, how did they learn that?" said the Duke, with
+a puzzled air.
+
+"Because the second evening, about ten o'clock, they noticed that one
+of the guests had disappeared, and with him all the jewels of the
+ambassadress."
+
+"All of them?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes; and Lupin left his card behind him with these words scribbled on
+it:"
+
+"'This is not a robbery; it is a restitution. You took the Wallace
+collection from us.'"
+
+"But it was a hoax, wasn't it?" said the Duke.
+
+"No, your Grace; and he has done better than that. You remember the
+affair of the Daray Bank--the savings bank for poor people?" said
+Sonia, her gentle face glowing with a sudden enthusiastic animation.
+
+"Let's see," said the Duke. "Wasn't that the financier who doubled his
+fortune at the expense of a heap of poor wretches and ruined two
+thousand people?"
+
+"Yes; that's the man," said Sonia. "And Lupin stripped Daray's house
+and took from him everything he had in his strong-box. He didn't leave
+him a sou of the money. And then, when he'd taken it from him, he
+distributed it among all the poor wretches whom Daray had ruined."
+
+"But this isn't a thief you're talking about--it's a philanthropist,"
+said the Duke.
+
+"A fine sort of philanthropist!" broke in Germaine in a peevish tone.
+"There was a lot of philanthropy about his robbing papa, wasn't there?"
+
+"Well," said the Duke, with an air of profound reflection, "if you come
+to think of it, that robbery was not worthy of this national hero. My
+portrait, if you except the charm and beauty of the face itself, is not
+worth much."
+
+"If you think he was satisfied with your portrait, you're very much
+mistaken. All my father's collections were robbed," said Germaine.
+
+"Your father's collections?" said the Duke. "But they're better guarded
+than the Bank of France. Your father is as careful of them as the apple
+of his eye."
+
+"That's exactly it--he was too careful of them. That's why Lupin
+succeeded."
+
+"This is very interesting," said the Duke; and he sat down on a couch
+before the gap in the pictures, to go into the matter more at his ease.
+"I suppose he had accomplices in the house itself?"
+
+"Yes, one accomplice," said Germaine.
+
+"Who was that?" asked the Duke.
+
+"Papa!" said Germaine.
+
+"Oh, come! what on earth do you mean?" said the Duke. "You're getting
+quite incomprehensible, my dear girl."
+
+"Well, I'll make it clear to you. One morning papa received a
+letter--but wait. Sonia, get me the Lupin papers out of the bureau."
+
+Sonia rose from the writing-table, and went to a bureau, an admirable
+example of the work of the great English maker, Chippendale. It stood
+on the other side of the hall between an Oriental cabinet and a
+sixteenth-century Italian cabinet--for all the world as if it were
+standing in a crowded curiosity shop--with the natural effect that the
+three pieces, by their mere incongruity, took something each from the
+beauty of the other. Sonia raised the flap of the bureau, and taking
+from one of the drawers a small portfolio, turned over the papers in it
+and handed a letter to the Duke.
+
+"This is the envelope," she said. "It's addressed to M. Gournay-Martin,
+Collector, at the Chateau de Charmerace, Ile-et-Vilaine."
+
+The Duke opened the envelope and took out a letter.
+
+"It's an odd handwriting," he said.
+
+"Read it--carefully," said Germaine.
+
+It was an uncommon handwriting. The letters of it were small, but
+perfectly formed. It looked the handwriting of a man who knew exactly
+what he wanted to say, and liked to say it with extreme precision. The
+letter ran:
+
+    "DEAR SIR,"
+
+    "Please forgive my writing to you without our having
+     been introduced to one another; but I flatter myself
+     that you know me, at any rate, by name."
+
+    "There is in the drawing-room next your hall a
+     Gainsborough of admirable quality which affords me
+     infinite pleasure. Your Goyas in the same drawing-room
+     are also to my liking, as well as your Van Dyck. In the
+     further drawing-room I note the Renaissance cabinets--a
+     marvellous pair--the Flemish tapestry, the Fragonard,
+     the clock signed Boulle, and various other objects of
+     less importance. But above all I have set my heart on
+     that coronet which you bought at the sale of the
+     Marquise de Ferronaye, and which was formerly worn by
+     the unfortunate Princesse de Lamballe. I take the
+     greatest interest in this coronet: in the first place,
+     on account of the charming and tragic memories which it
+     calls up in the mind of a poet passionately fond of
+     history, and in the second place--though it is hardly
+     worth while talking about that kind of thing--on
+     account of its intrinsic value. I reckon indeed that
+     the stones in your coronet are, at the very lowest,
+     worth half a million francs."
+
+    "I beg you, my dear sir, to have these different
+     objects properly packed up, and to forward them,
+     addressed to me, carriage paid, to the Batignolles
+     Station. Failing this, I shall Proceed to remove them
+     myself on the night of Thursday, August 7th."
+
+    "Please pardon the slight trouble to which I am putting
+     you, and believe me,"
+
+    "Yours very sincerely,"
+
+    "ARSENE LUPIN."
+
+    "P.S.--It occurs to me that the pictures have not glass
+     before them. It would be as well to repair this
+     omission before forwarding them to me, and I am sure
+     that you will take this extra trouble cheerfully. I am
+     aware, of course, that some of the best judges declare
+     that a picture loses some of its quality when seen
+     through glass. But it preserves them, and we should
+     always be ready and willing to sacrifice a portion of
+     our own pleasure for the benefit of posterity. France
+     demands it of us.--A. L."
+
+
+The Duke laughed, and said, "Really, this is extraordinarily funny. It
+must have made your father laugh."
+
+"Laugh?" said Germaine. "You should have seen his face. He took it
+seriously enough, I can tell you."
+
+"Not to the point of forwarding the things to Batignolles, I hope,"
+said the Duke.
+
+"No, but to the point of being driven wild," said Germaine. "And since
+the police had always been baffled by Lupin, he had the brilliant idea
+of trying what soldiers could do. The Commandant at Rennes is a great
+friend of papa's; and papa went to him, and told him about Lupin's
+letter and what he feared. The colonel laughed at him; but he offered
+him a corporal and six soldiers to guard his collection, on the night
+of the seventh. It was arranged that they should come from Rennes by
+the last train so that the burglars should have no warning of their
+coming. Well, they came, seven picked men--men who had seen service in
+Tonquin. We gave them supper; and then the corporal posted them in the
+hall and the two drawing-rooms where the pictures and things were. At
+eleven we all went to bed, after promising the corporal that, in the
+event of any fight with the burglars, we would not stir from our rooms.
+I can tell you I felt awfully nervous. I couldn't get to sleep for ages
+and ages. Then, when I did, I did not wake till morning. The night had
+passed absolutely quietly. Nothing out of the common had happened.
+There had not been the slightest noise. I awoke Sonia and my father. We
+dressed as quickly as we could, and rushed down to the drawing-room."
+
+She paused dramatically.
+
+"Well?" said the Duke.
+
+"Well, it was done."
+
+"What was done?" said the Duke.
+
+"Everything," said Germaine. "Pictures had gone, tapestries had gone,
+cabinets had gone, and the clock had gone."
+
+"And the coronet too?" said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, no. That was at the Bank of France. And it was doubtless to make
+up for not getting it that Lupin stole your portrait. At any rate he
+didn't say that he was going to steal it in his letter."
+
+"But, come! this is incredible. Had he hypnotized the corporal and the
+six soldiers? Or had he murdered them all?" said the Duke.
+
+"Corporal? There wasn't any corporal, and there weren't any soldiers.
+The corporal was Lupin, and the soldiers were part of his gang," said
+Germaine.
+
+"I don't understand," said the Duke. "The colonel promised your father
+a corporal and six men. Didn't they come?"
+
+"They came to the railway station all right," said Germaine. "But you
+know the little inn half-way between the railway station and the
+chateau? They stopped to drink there, and at eleven o'clock next
+morning one of the villagers found all seven of them, along with the
+footman who was guiding them to the chateau, sleeping like logs in the
+little wood half a mile from the inn. Of course the innkeeper could not
+explain when their wine was drugged. He could only tell us that a
+motorist, who had stopped at the inn to get some supper, had called the
+soldiers in and insisted on standing them drinks. They had seemed a
+little fuddled before they left the inn, and the motorist had insisted
+on driving them to the chateau in his car. When the drug took effect he
+simply carried them out of it one by one, and laid them in the wood to
+sleep it off."
+
+"Lupin seems to have made a thorough job of it, anyhow," said the Duke.
+
+"I should think so," said Germaine. "Guerchard was sent down from
+Paris; but he could not find a single clue. It was not for want of
+trying, for he hates Lupin. It's a regular fight between them, and so
+far Lupin has scored every point."
+
+"He must be as clever as they make 'em," said the Duke.
+
+"He is," said Germaine. "And do you know, I shouldn't be at all
+surprised if he's in the neighbourhood now."
+
+"What on earth do you mean?" said the Duke.
+
+"I'm not joking," said Germaine. "Odd things are happening. Some one
+has been changing the place of things. That silver statuette now--it
+was on the cabinet, and we found it moved to the piano. Yet nobody had
+touched it. And look at this window. Some one has broken a pane in it
+just at the height of the fastening."
+
+"The deuce they have!" said the Duke.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE DUKE INTERVENES
+
+
+The Duke rose, came to the window, and looked at the broken pane. He
+stepped out on to the terrace and looked at the turf; then he came back
+into the room.
+
+"This looks serious," he said. "That pane has not been broken at all.
+If it had been broken, the pieces of glass would be lying on the turf.
+It has been cut out. We must warn your father to look to his treasures."
+
+"I told you so," said Germaine. "I said that Arsene Lupin was in the
+neighbourhood."
+
+"Arsene Lupin is a very capable man," said the Duke, smiling. "But
+there's no reason to suppose that he's the only burglar in France or
+even in Ile-et-Vilaine."
+
+"I'm sure that he's in the neighbourhood. I have a feeling that he is,"
+said Germaine stubbornly.
+
+The Duke shrugged his shoulders, and said a smile: "Far be it from me
+to contradict you. A woman's intuition is always--well, it's always a
+woman's intuition."
+
+He came back into the hall, and as he did so the door opened and a
+shock-headed man in the dress of a gamekeeper stood on the threshold.
+
+"There are visitors to see you, Mademoiselle Germaine," he said, in a
+very deep bass voice.
+
+"What! Are you answering the door, Firmin?" said Germaine.
+
+"Yes, Mademoiselle Germaine: there's only me to do it. All the servants
+have started for the station, and my wife and I are going to see after
+the family to-night and to-morrow morning. Shall I show these gentlemen
+in?"
+
+"Who are they?" said Germaine.
+
+"Two gentlemen who say they have an appointment."
+
+"What are their names?" said Germaine.
+
+"They are two gentlemen. I don't know what their names are. I've no
+memory for names."
+
+"That's an advantage to any one who answers doors," said the Duke,
+smiling at the stolid Firmin.
+
+"Well, it can't be the two Charolais again. It's not time for them to
+come back. I told them papa would not be back yet," said Germaine.
+
+"No, it can't be them, Mademoiselle Germaine," said Firmin, with
+decision.
+
+"Very well; show them in," she said.
+
+Firmin went out, leaving the door open behind him; and they heard his
+hob-nailed boots clatter and squeak on the stone floor of the outer
+hall.
+
+"Charolais?" said the Duke idly. "I don't know the name. Who are they?"
+
+"A little while ago Alfred announced two gentlemen. I thought they were
+Georges and Andre du Buit, for they promised to come to tea. I told
+Alfred to show them in, and to my surprise there appeared two horrible
+provincials. I never--Oh!"
+
+She stopped short, for there, coming through the door, were the two
+Charolais, father and son.
+
+M. Charolais pressed his motor-cap to his bosom, and bowed low. "Once
+more I salute you, mademoiselle," he said.
+
+His son bowed, and revealed behind him another young man.
+
+"My second son. He has a chemist's shop," said M. Charolais, waving a
+large red hand at the young man.
+
+The young man, also blessed with the family eyes, set close together,
+entered the hall and bowed to the two girls. The Duke raised his
+eyebrows ever so slightly.
+
+"I'm very sorry, gentlemen," said Germaine, "but my father has not yet
+returned."
+
+"Please don't apologize. There is not the slightest need," said M.
+Charolais; and he and his two sons settled themselves down on three
+chairs, with the air of people who had come to make a considerable stay.
+
+For a moment, Germaine, taken aback by their coolness, was speechless;
+then she said hastily: "Very likely he won't be back for another hour.
+I shouldn't like you to waste your time."
+
+"Oh, it doesn't matter," said M. Charolais, with an indulgent air; and
+turning to the Duke, he added, "However, while we're waiting, if you're
+a member of the family, sir, we might perhaps discuss the least you
+will take for the motor-car."
+
+"I'm sorry," said the Duke, "but I have nothing to do with it."
+
+Before M. Charolais could reply the door opened, and Firmin's deep
+voice said:
+
+"Will you please come in here, sir?"
+
+A third young man came into the hall.
+
+"What, you here, Bernard?" said M. Charolais. "I told you to wait at
+the park gates."
+
+"I wanted to see the car too," said Bernard.
+
+"My third son. He is destined for the Bar," said M. Charolais, with a
+great air of paternal pride.
+
+"But how many are there?" said Germaine faintly.
+
+Before M. Charolais could answer, Firmin once more appeared on the
+threshold.
+
+"The master's just come back, miss," he said.
+
+"Thank goodness for that!" said Germaine; and turning to M. Charolais,
+she added, "If you will come with me, gentlemen, I will take you to my
+father, and you can discuss the price of the car at once."
+
+As she spoke she moved towards the door. M. Charolais and his sons rose
+and made way for her. The father and the two eldest sons made haste to
+follow her out of the room. But Bernard lingered behind, apparently to
+admire the bric-a-brac on the cabinets. With infinite quickness he
+grabbed two objects off the nearest, and followed his brothers. The
+Duke sprang across the hall in three strides, caught him by the arm on
+the very threshold, jerked him back into the hall, and shut the door.
+
+"No you don't, my young friend," he said sharply.
+
+"Don't what?" said Bernard, trying to shake off his grip.
+
+"You've taken a cigarette-case," said the Duke.
+
+"No, no, I haven't--nothing of the kind!" stammered Bernard.
+
+The Duke grasped the young man's left wrist, plunged his hand into the
+motor-cap which he was carrying, drew out of it a silver
+cigarette-case, and held it before his eyes.
+
+Bernard turned pale to the lips. His frightened eyes seemed about to
+leap from their sockets.
+
+"It--it--was a m-m-m-mistake," he stammered.
+
+The Duke shifted his grip to his collar, and thrust his hand into the
+breast-pocket of his coat. Bernard, helpless in his grip, and utterly
+taken aback by his quickness, made no resistance.
+
+The Duke drew out a morocco case, and said: "Is this a mistake too?"
+
+"Heavens! The pendant!" cried Sonia, who was watching the scene with
+parted lips and amazed eyes.
+
+Bernard dropped on his knees and clasped his hands.
+
+"Forgive me!" he cried, in a choking voice. "Forgive me! Don't tell any
+one! For God's sake, don't tell any one!"
+
+And the tears came streaming from his eyes.
+
+"You young rogue!" said the Duke quietly.
+
+"I'll never do it again--never! Oh, have pity on me! If my father knew!
+Oh, let me off!" cried Bernard.
+
+The Duke hesitated, and looked down on him, frowning and pulling at his
+moustache. Then, more quickly than one would have expected from so
+careless a trifler, his mind was made up.
+
+"All right," he said slowly. "Just for this once ... be off with you."
+And he jerked him to his feet and almost threw him into the outer hall.
+
+"Thanks! ... oh, thanks!" said Bernard.
+
+The Duke shut the door and looked at Sonia, breathing quickly.
+
+"Well? Did you ever see anything like that? That young fellow will go a
+long way. The cheek of the thing! Right under our very eyes! And this
+pendant, too: it would have been a pity to lose it. Upon my word, I
+ought to have handed him over to the police."
+
+"No, no!" cried Sonia. "You did quite right to let him off--quite
+right."
+
+The Duke set the pendant on the ledge of the bureau, and came down the
+hall to Sonia.
+
+"What's the matter?" he said gently. "You're quite pale."
+
+"It has upset me ... that unfortunate boy," said Sonia; and her eyes
+were swimming with tears.
+
+"Do you pity the young rogue?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes; it's dreadful. His eyes were so terrified, and so boyish. And, to
+be caught like that ... stealing ... in the act. Oh, it's hateful!"
+
+"Come, come, how sensitive you are!" said the Duke, in a soothing,
+almost caressing tone. His eyes, resting on her charming, troubled
+face, were glowing with a warm admiration.
+
+"Yes; it's silly," said Sonia; "but you noticed his eyes--the hunted
+look in them? You pitied him, didn't you? For you are kind at bottom."
+
+"Why at bottom?" said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, I said at bottom because you look sarcastic, and at first sight
+you're so cold. But often that's only the mask of those who have
+suffered the most.... They are the most indulgent," said Sonia slowly,
+hesitating, picking her words.
+
+"Yes, I suppose they are," said the Duke thoughtfully.
+
+"It's because when one has suffered one understands.... Yes: one
+understands," said Sonia.
+
+There was a pause. The Duke's eyes still rested on her face. The
+admiration in them was mingled with compassion.
+
+"You're very unhappy here, aren't you?" he said gently.
+
+"Me? Why?" said Sonia quickly.
+
+"Your smile is so sad, and your eyes so timid," said the Duke slowly.
+"You're just like a little child one longs to protect. Are you quite
+alone in the world?"
+
+His eyes and tones were full of pity; and a faint flush mantled Sonia's
+cheeks.
+
+"Yes, I'm alone," she said.
+
+"But have you no relations--no friends?" said the Duke.
+
+"No," said Sonia.
+
+"I don't mean here in France, but in your own country.... Surely you
+have some in Russia?"
+
+"No, not a soul. You see, my father was a Revolutionist. He died in
+Siberia when I was a baby. And my mother, she died too--in Paris. She
+had fled from Russia. I was two years old when she died."
+
+"It must be hard to be alone like that," said the Duke.
+
+"No," said Sonia, with a faint smile, "I don't mind having no
+relations. I grew used to that so young ... so very young. But what is
+hard--but you'll laugh at me--"
+
+"Heaven forbid!" said the Duke gravely.
+
+"Well, what is hard is, never to get a letter ... an envelope that one
+opens ... from some one who thinks about one--"
+
+She paused, and then added gravely: "But I tell myself that it's
+nonsense. I have a certain amount of philosophy."
+
+She smiled at him--an adorable child's smile.
+
+The Duke smiled too. "A certain amount of philosophy," he said softly.
+"You look like a philosopher!"
+
+As they stood looking at one another with serious eyes, almost with
+eyes that probed one another's souls, the drawing-room door flung open,
+and Germaine's harsh voice broke on their ears.
+
+"You're getting quite impossible, Sonia!" she cried. "It's absolutely
+useless telling you anything. I told you particularly to pack my
+leather writing-case in my bag with your own hand. I happen to open a
+drawer, and what do I see? My leather writing-case."
+
+"I'm sorry," said Sonia. "I was going--"
+
+"Oh, there's no need to bother about it. I'll see after it myself,"
+said Germaine. "But upon my word, you might be one of our guests,
+seeing how easily you take things. You're negligence personified."
+
+"Come, Germaine ... a mere oversight," said the Duke, in a coaxing tone.
+
+"Now, excuse me, Jacques; but you've got an unfortunate habit of
+interfering in household matters. You did it only the other day. I can
+no longer say a word to a servant--"
+
+"Germaine!" said the Duke, in sharp protest.
+
+Germaine turned from him to Sonia, and pointed to a packet of envelopes
+and some letters, which Bernard Charolais had knocked off the table,
+and said, "Pick up those envelopes and letters, and bring everything to
+my room, and be quick about it!"
+
+She flung out of the room, and slammed the door behind her.
+
+Sonia seemed entirely unmoved by the outburst: no flush of
+mortification stained her cheeks, her lips did not quiver. She stooped
+to pick up the fallen papers.
+
+"No, no; let me, I beg you," said the Duke, in a tone of distress. And
+dropping on one knee, he began to gather together the fallen papers. He
+set them on the table, and then he said: "You mustn't mind what
+Germaine says. She's--she's--she's all right at heart. It's her manner.
+She's always been happy, and had everything she wanted. She's been
+spoiled, don't you know. Those kind of people never have any
+consideration for any one else. You mustn't let her outburst hurt you."
+
+"Oh, but I don't. I don't really," protested Sonia.
+
+"I'm glad of that," said the Duke. "It isn't really worth noticing."
+
+He drew the envelopes and unused cards into a packet, and handed them
+to her.
+
+"There!" he said, with a smile. "That won't be too heavy for you."
+
+"Thank you," said Sonia, taking it from him.
+
+"Shall I carry them for you?" said the Duke.
+
+"No, thank you, your Grace," said Sonia.
+
+With a quick, careless, almost irresponsible movement, he caught her
+hand, bent down, and kissed it. A great wave of rosy colour flowed over
+her face, flooding its whiteness to her hair and throat. She stood for
+a moment turned to stone; she put her hand to her heart. Then on hasty,
+faltering feet she went to the door, opened it, paused on the
+threshold, turned and looked back at him, and vanished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A LETTER FROM LUPIN
+
+
+The Duke stood for a while staring thoughtfully at the door through
+which Sonia had passed, a faint smile playing round his lips. He
+crossed the hall to the Chippendale bureau, took a cigarette from a box
+which stood on the ledge of it, beside the morocco case which held the
+pendant, lighted it, and went slowly out on to the terrace. He crossed
+it slowly, paused for a moment on the edge of it, and looked across the
+stretch of country with musing eyes, which saw nothing of its beauty.
+Then he turned to the right, went down a flight of steps to the lower
+terrace, crossed the lawn, and took a narrow path which led into the
+heart of a shrubbery of tall deodoras. In the middle of it he came to
+one of those old stone benches, moss-covered and weather-stained, which
+adorn the gardens of so many French chateaux. It faced a marble basin
+from which rose the slender column of a pattering fountain. The figure
+of a Cupid danced joyously on a tall pedestal to the right of the
+basin. The Duke sat down on the bench, and was still, with that rare
+stillness which only comes of nerves in perfect harmony, his brow
+knitted in careful thought. Now and again the frown cleared from his
+face, and his intent features relaxed into a faint smile, a smile of
+pleasant memory. Once he rose, walked round the fountains frowning,
+came back to the bench, and sat down again. The early September dusk
+was upon him when at last he rose and with quick steps took his way
+through the shrubbery, with the air of a man whose mind, for good or
+ill, was at last made up.
+
+When he came on to the upper terrace his eyes fell on a group which
+stood at the further corner, near the entrance of the chateau, and he
+sauntered slowly up to it.
+
+In the middle of it stood M. Gournay-Martin, a big, round, flabby hulk
+of a man. He was nearly as red in the face as M. Charolais; and he
+looked a great deal redder owing to the extreme whiteness of the
+whiskers which stuck out on either side of his vast expanse of cheek.
+As he came up, it struck the Duke as rather odd that he should have the
+Charolais eyes, set close together; any one who did not know that they
+were strangers to one another might have thought it a family likeness.
+
+The millionaire was waving his hands and roaring after the manner of a
+man who has cultivated the art of brow-beating those with whom he does
+business; and as the Duke neared the group, he caught the words:
+
+"No; that's the lowest I'll take. Take it or leave it. You can say Yes,
+or you can say Good-bye; and I don't care a hang which."
+
+"It's very dear," said M. Charolais, in a mournful tone.
+
+"Dear!" roared M. Gournay-Martin. "I should like to see any one else
+sell a hundred horse-power car for eight hundred pounds. Why, my good
+sir, you're having me!"
+
+"No, no," protested M. Charolais feebly.
+
+"I tell you you're having me," roared M. Gournay-Martin. "I'm letting
+you have a magnificent car for which I paid thirteen hundred pounds for
+eight hundred! It's scandalous the way you've beaten me down!"
+
+"No, no," protested M. Charolais.
+
+He seemed frightened out of his life by the vehemence of the big man.
+
+"You wait till you've seen how it goes," said M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+"Eight hundred is very dear," said M. Charolais.
+
+"Come, come! You're too sharp, that's what you are. But don't say any
+more till you've tried the car."
+
+He turned to his chauffeur, who stood by watching the struggle with an
+appreciative grin on his brown face, and said: "Now, Jean, take these
+gentlemen to the garage, and run them down to the station. Show them
+what the car can do. Do whatever they ask you--everything."
+
+He winked at Jean, turned again to M. Charolais, and said: "You know,
+M. Charolais, you're too good a man of business for me. You're hot
+stuff, that's what you are--hot stuff. You go along and try the car.
+Good-bye--good-bye."
+
+The four Charolais murmured good-bye in deep depression, and went off
+with Jean, wearing something of the air of whipped dogs. When they had
+gone round the corner the millionaire turned to the Duke and said, with
+a chuckle: "He'll buy the car all right--had him fine!"
+
+"No business success of yours could surprise me," said the Duke
+blandly, with a faint, ironical smile.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin's little pig's eyes danced and sparkled; and the
+smiles flowed over the distended skin of his face like little ripples
+over a stagnant pool, reluctantly. It seemed to be too tightly
+stretched for smiles.
+
+"The car's four years old," he said joyfully. "He'll give me eight
+hundred for it, and it's not worth a pipe of tobacco. And eight hundred
+pounds is just the price of a little Watteau I've had my eye on for
+some time--a first-class investment."
+
+They strolled down the terrace, and through one of the windows into the
+hall. Firmin had lighted the lamps, two of them. They made but a small
+oasis of light in a desert of dim hall. The millionaire let himself
+down very gingerly into an Empire chair, as if he feared, with
+excellent reason, that it might collapse under his weight.
+
+"Well, my dear Duke," he said, "you don't ask me the result of my
+official lunch or what the minister said."
+
+"Is there any news?" said the Duke carelessly.
+
+"Yes. The decree will be signed to-morrow. You can consider yourself
+decorated. I hope you feel a happy man," said the millionaire, rubbing
+his fat hands together with prodigious satisfaction.
+
+"Oh, charmed--charmed," said the Duke, with entire indifference.
+
+"As for me, I'm delighted--delighted," said the millionaire. "I was
+extremely keen on your being decorated. After that, and after a volume
+or two of travels, and after you've published your grandfather's
+letters with a good introduction, you can begin to think of the
+Academy."
+
+"The Academy!" said the Duke, startled from his usual coolness. "But
+I've no title to become an Academician."
+
+"How, no title?" said the millionaire solemnly; and his little eyes
+opened wide. "You're a duke."
+
+"There's no doubt about that," said the Duke, watching him with
+admiring curiosity.
+
+"I mean to marry my daughter to a worker--a worker, my dear Duke," said
+the millionaire, slapping his big left hand with his bigger right.
+"I've no prejudices--not I. I wish to have for son-in-law a duke who
+wears the Order of the Legion of Honour, and belongs to the Academie
+Francaise, because that is personal merit. I'm no snob."
+
+A gentle, irrepressible laugh broke from the Duke.
+
+"What are you laughing at?" said the millionaire, and a sudden lowering
+gloom overspread his beaming face.
+
+"Nothing--nothing," said the Duke quietly. "Only you're so full of
+surprises."
+
+"I've startled you, have I? I thought I should. It's true that I'm full
+of surprises. It's my knowledge. I understand so much. I understand
+business, and I love art, pictures, a good bargain, bric-a-brac, fine
+tapestry. They're first-class investments. Yes, certainly I do love the
+beautiful. And I don't want to boast, but I understand it. I have
+taste, and I've something better than taste; I have a flair, the
+dealer's flair."
+
+"Yes, your collections, especially your collection in Paris, prove it,"
+said the Duke, stifling a yawn.
+
+"And yet you haven't seen the finest thing I have--the coronet of the
+Princesse de Lamballe. It's worth half a million francs."
+
+"So I've heard," said the Duke, a little wearily. "I don't wonder that
+Arsene Lupin envied you it."
+
+The Empire chair creaked as the millionaire jumped.
+
+"Don't speak of the swine!" he roared. "Don't mention his name before
+me."
+
+"Germaine showed me his letter," said the Duke. "It is amusing."
+
+"His letter! The blackguard! I just missed a fit of apoplexy from it,"
+roared the millionaire. "I was in this very hall where we are now,
+chatting quietly, when all at once in comes Firmin, and hands me a
+letter."
+
+He was interrupted by the opening of the door. Firmin came clumping
+down the room, and said in his deep voice, "A letter for you, sir."
+
+"Thank you," said the millionaire, taking the letter, and, as he fitted
+his eye-glass into his eye, he went on, "Yes, Firmin brought me a
+letter of which the handwriting,"--he raised the envelope he was
+holding to his eyes, and bellowed, "Good heavens!"
+
+"What's the matter?" said the Duke, jumping in his chair at the sudden,
+startling burst of sound.
+
+"The handwriting!--the handwriting!--it's THE SAME HANDWRITING!" gasped
+the millionaire. And he let himself fall heavily backwards against the
+back of his chair.
+
+There was a crash. The Duke had a vision of huge arms and legs waving
+in the air as the chair-back gave. There was another crash. The chair
+collapsed. The huge bulk banged to the floor.
+
+The laughter of the Duke rang out uncontrollably. He caught one of the
+waving arms, and jerked the flabby giant to his feet with an ease which
+seemed to show that his muscles were of steel.
+
+"Come," he said, laughing still. "This is nonsense! What do you mean by
+the same handwriting? It can't be."
+
+"It is the same handwriting. Am I likely to make a mistake about it?"
+spluttered the millionaire. And he tore open the envelope with an air
+of frenzy.
+
+He ran his eyes over it, and they grew larger and larger--they grew
+almost of an average size.
+
+"Listen," he said "listen:"
+
+"DEAR SIR,"
+
+"My collection of pictures, which I had the pleasure of starting three
+years ago with some of your own, only contains, as far as Old Masters
+go, one Velasquez, one Rembrandt, and three paltry Rubens. You have a
+great many more. Since it is a shame such masterpieces should be in
+your hands, I propose to appropriate them; and I shall set about a
+respectful acquisition of them in your Paris house tomorrow morning."
+
+"Yours very sincerely,"
+
+"ARSENE LUPIN."
+
+"He's humbugging," said the Duke.
+
+"Wait! wait!" gasped the millionaire. "There's a postscript. Listen:"
+
+"P.S.--You must understand that since you have been keeping the coronet
+of the Princesse de Lamballe during these three years, I shall avail
+myself of the same occasion to compel you to restore that piece of
+jewellery to me.--A. L."
+
+"The thief! The scoundrel! I'm choking!" gasped the millionaire,
+clutching at his collar.
+
+To judge from the blackness of his face, and the way he staggered and
+dropped on to a couch, which was fortunately stronger than the chair,
+he was speaking the truth.
+
+"Firmin! Firmin!" shouted the Duke. "A glass of water! Quick! Your
+master's ill."
+
+He rushed to the side of the millionaire, who gasped: "Telephone!
+Telephone to the Prefecture of Police! Be quick!"
+
+The Duke loosened his collar with deft fingers; tore a Van Loo fan from
+its case hanging on the wall, and fanned him furiously. Firmin came
+clumping into the room with a glass of water in his hand.
+
+The drawing-room door opened, and Germaine and Sonia, alarmed by the
+Duke's shout, hurried in.
+
+"Quick! Your smelling-salts!" said the Duke.
+
+Sonia ran across the hall, opened one of the drawers in the Oriental
+cabinet, and ran to the millionaire with a large bottle of
+smelling-salts in her hand. The Duke took it from her, and applied it
+to the millionaire's nose. The millionaire sneezed thrice with terrific
+violence. The Duke snatched the glass from Firmin and dashed the water
+into his host's purple face. The millionaire gasped and spluttered.
+
+Germaine stood staring helplessly at her gasping sire.
+
+"Whatever's the matter?" she said.
+
+"It's this letter," said the Duke. "A letter from Lupin."
+
+"I told you so--I said that Lupin was in the neighbourhood," cried
+Germaine triumphantly.
+
+"Firmin--where's Firmin?" said the millionaire, dragging himself
+upright. He seemed to have recovered a great deal of his voice. "Oh,
+there you are!"
+
+He jumped up, caught the gamekeeper by the shoulder, and shook him
+furiously.
+
+"This letter. Where did it come from? Who brought it?" he roared.
+
+"It was in the letter-box--the letter-box of the lodge at the bottom of
+the park. My wife found it there," said Firmin, and he twisted out of
+the millionaire's grasp.
+
+"Just as it was three years ago," roared the millionaire, with an air
+of desperation. "It's exactly the same coup. Oh, what a catastrophe!
+What a catastrophe!"
+
+He made as if to tear out his hair; then, remembering its scantiness,
+refrained.
+
+"Now, come, it's no use losing your head," said the Duke, with quiet
+firmness. "If this letter isn't a hoax--"
+
+"Hoax?" bellowed the millionaire. "Was it a hoax three years ago?"
+
+"Very good," said the Duke. "But if this robbery with which you're
+threatened is genuine, it's just childish."
+
+"How?" said the millionaire.
+
+"Look at the date of the letter--Sunday, September the third. This
+letter was written to-day."
+
+"Yes. Well, what of it?" said the millionaire.
+
+"Look at the letter: 'I shall set about a respectful acquisition of
+them in your Paris house to-morrow morning'--to-morrow morning."
+
+"Yes, yes; 'to-morrow morning'--what of it?" said the millionaire.
+
+"One of two things," said the Duke. "Either it's a hoax, and we needn't
+bother about it; or the threat is genuine, and we have the time to stop
+the robbery."
+
+"Of course we have. Whatever was I thinking of?" said the millionaire.
+And his anguish cleared from his face.
+
+"For once in a way our dear Lupin's fondness for warning people will
+have given him a painful jar," said the Duke.
+
+"Come on! let me get at the telephone," cried the millionaire.
+
+"But the telephone's no good," said Sonia quickly.
+
+"No good! Why?" roared the millionaire, dashing heavily across the room
+to it.
+
+"Look at the time," said Sonia; "the telephone doesn't work as late as
+this. It's Sunday."
+
+The millionaire stopped dead.
+
+"It's true. It's appalling," he groaned.
+
+"But that doesn't matter. You can always telegraph," said Germaine.
+
+"But you can't. It's impossible," said Sonia. "You can't get a message
+through. It's Sunday; and the telegraph offices shut at twelve o'clock."
+
+"Oh, what a Government!" groaned the millionaire. And he sank down
+gently on a chair beside the telephone, and mopped the beads of anguish
+from his brow. They looked at him, and they looked at one another,
+cudgelling their brains for yet another way of communicating with the
+Paris police.
+
+"Hang it all!" said the Duke. "There must be some way out of the
+difficulty."
+
+"What way?" said the millionaire.
+
+The Duke did not answer. He put his hands in his pockets and walked
+impatiently up and down the hall. Germaine sat down on a chair. Sonia
+put her hands on the back of a couch, and leaned forward, watching him.
+Firmin stood by the door, whither he had retired to be out of the reach
+of his excited master, with a look of perplexity on his stolid face.
+They all watched the Duke with the air of people waiting for an oracle
+to deliver its message. The millionaire kept mopping the beads of
+anguish from his brow. The more he thought of his impending loss, the
+more freely he perspired. Germaine's maid, Irma, came to the door
+leading into the outer hall, which Firmin, according to his usual
+custom, had left open, and peered in wonder at the silent group.
+
+"I have it!" cried the Duke at last. "There is a way out."
+
+"What is it?" said the millionaire, rising and coming to the middle of
+the hall.
+
+"What time is it?" said the Duke, pulling out his watch.
+
+The millionaire pulled out his watch. Germaine pulled out hers. Firmin,
+after a struggle, produced from some pocket difficult of access an
+object not unlike a silver turnip. There was a brisk dispute between
+Germaine and the millionaire about which of their watches was right.
+Firmin, whose watch apparently did not agree with the watch of either
+of them, made his deep voice heard above theirs. The Duke came to the
+conclusion that it must be a few minutes past seven.
+
+"It's seven or a few minutes past," he said sharply. "Well, I'm going
+to take a car and hurry off to Paris. I ought to get there, bar
+accidents, between two and three in the morning, just in time to inform
+the police and catch the burglars in the very midst of their burglary.
+I'll just get a few things together."
+
+So saying, he rushed out of the hall.
+
+"Excellent! excellent!" said the millionaire. "Your young man is a man
+of resource, Germaine. It seems almost a pity that he's a duke. He'd do
+wonders in the building trade. But I'm going to Paris too, and you're
+coming with me. I couldn't wait idly here, to save my life. And I can't
+leave you here, either. This scoundrel may be going to make a
+simultaneous attempt on the chateau--not that there's much here that I
+really value. There's that statuette that moved, and the pane cut out
+of the window. I can't leave you two girls with burglars in the house.
+After all, there's the sixty horse-power and the thirty horse-power
+car--there'll be lots of room for all of us."
+
+"Oh, but it's nonsense, papa; we shall get there before the servants,"
+said Germaine pettishly. "Think of arriving at an empty house in the
+dead of night."
+
+"Nonsense!" said the millionaire. "Hurry off and get ready. Your bag
+ought to be packed. Where are my keys? Sonia, where are my keys--the
+keys of the Paris house?"
+
+"They're in the bureau," said Sonia.
+
+"Well, see that I don't go without them. Now hurry up. Firmin, go and
+tell Jean that we shall want both cars. I will drive one, the Duke the
+other. Jean must stay with you and help guard the chateau."
+
+So saying he bustled out of the hall, driving the two girls before him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+AGAIN THE CHAROLAIS
+
+
+Hardly had the door closed behind the millionaire when the head of M.
+Charolais appeared at one of the windows opening on to the terrace. He
+looked round the empty hall, whistled softly, and stepped inside.
+Inside of ten seconds his three sons came in through the windows, and
+with them came Jean, the millionaire's chauffeur.
+
+"Take the door into the outer hall, Jean," said M. Charolais, in a low
+voice. "Bernard, take that door into the drawing-room. Pierre and
+Louis, help me go through the drawers. The whole family is going to
+Paris, and if we're not quick we shan't get the cars."
+
+"That comes of this silly fondness for warning people of a coup,"
+growled Jean, as he hurried to the door of the outer hall. "It would
+have been so simple to rob the Paris house without sending that
+infernal letter. It was sure to knock them all silly."
+
+"What harm can the letter do, you fool?" said M. Charolais. "It's
+Sunday. We want them knocked silly for to-morrow, to get hold of the
+coronet. Oh, to get hold of that coronet! It must be in Paris. I've
+been ransacking this chateau for hours."
+
+Jean opened the door of the outer hall half an inch, and glued his eyes
+to it. Bernard had done the same with the door opening into the
+drawing-room. M. Charolais, Pierre, and Louis were opening drawers,
+ransacking them, and shutting them with infinite quickness and
+noiselessly.
+
+"Bureau! Which is the bureau? The place is stuffed with bureaux!"
+growled M. Charolais. "I must have those keys."
+
+"That plain thing with the brass handles in the middle on the
+left--that's a bureau," said Bernard softly.
+
+"Why didn't you say so?" growled M. Charolais.
+
+He dashed to it, and tried it. It was locked.
+
+"Locked, of course! Just my luck! Come and get it open, Pierre. Be
+smart!"
+
+The son he had described as an engineer came quickly to the bureau,
+fitting together as he came the two halves of a small jemmy. He fitted
+it into the top of the flap. There was a crunch, and the old lock gave.
+He opened the flap, and he and M. Charolais pulled open drawer after
+drawer.
+
+"Quick! Here's that fat old fool!" said Jean, in a hoarse, hissing
+whisper.
+
+He moved down the hall, blowing out one of the lamps as he passed it.
+In the seventh drawer lay a bunch of keys. M. Charolais snatched it up,
+glanced at it, took a bunch of keys from his own pocket, put it in the
+drawer, closed it, closed the flap, and rushed to the window. Jean and
+his sons were already out on the terrace.
+
+M. Charolais was still a yard from the window when the door into the
+outer hall opened and in came M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+He caught a glimpse of a back vanishing through the window, and
+bellowed: "Hi! A man! A burglar! Firmin! Firmin!"
+
+He ran blundering down the hall, tangled his feet in the fragments of
+the broken chair, and came sprawling a thundering cropper, which
+knocked every breath of wind out of his capacious body. He lay flat on
+his face for a couple of minutes, his broad back wriggling
+convulsively--a pathetic sight!--in the painful effort to get his
+breath back. Then he sat up, and with perfect frankness burst into
+tears. He sobbed and blubbered, like a small child that has hurt
+itself, for three or four minutes. Then, having recovered his
+magnificent voice, he bellowed furiously: "Firmin! Firmin! Charmerace!
+Charmerace!"
+
+Then he rose painfully to his feet, and stood staring at the open
+windows.
+
+Presently he roared again: "Firmin! Firmin! Charmerace! Charmerace!"
+
+He kept looking at the window with terrified eyes, as though he
+expected somebody to step in and cut his throat from ear to ear.
+
+"Firmin! Firmin! Charmerace! Charmerace!" he bellowed again.
+
+The Duke came quietly into the hall, dressed in a heavy motor-coat, his
+motor-cap on his head, and carrying a kit-bag in his hand.
+
+"Did I hear you call?" he said.
+
+"Call?" said the millionaire. "I shouted. The burglars are here
+already. I've just seen one of them. He was bolting through the middle
+window."
+
+The Duke raised his eyebrows.
+
+"Nerves," he said gently--"nerves."
+
+"Nerves be hanged!" said the millionaire. "I tell you I saw him as
+plainly as I see you."
+
+"Well, you can't see me at all, seeing that you're lighting an acre and
+a half of hall with a single lamp," said the Duke, still in a tone of
+utter incredulity.
+
+"It's that fool Firmin! He ought to have lighted six. Firmin! Firmin!"
+bellowed the millionaire.
+
+They listened for the sonorous clumping of the promoted gamekeeper's
+boots, but they did not hear it. Evidently Firmin was still giving his
+master's instructions about the cars to Jean.
+
+"Well, we may as well shut the windows, anyhow," said the Duke,
+proceeding to do so. "If you think Firmin would be any good, you might
+post him in this hall with a gun to-night. There could be no harm in
+putting a charge of small shot into the legs of these ruffians. He has
+only to get one of them, and the others will go for their lives. Yet I
+don't like leaving you and Germaine in this big house with only Firmin
+to look after you."
+
+"I shouldn't like it myself, and I'm not going to chance it," growled
+the millionaire. "We're going to motor to Paris along with you, and
+leave Jean to help Firmin fight these burglars. Firmin's all
+right--he's an old soldier. He fought in '70. Not that I've much belief
+in soldiers against this cursed Lupin, after the way he dealt with that
+corporal and his men three years ago."
+
+"I'm glad you're coming to Paris," said the Duke. "It'll be a weight
+off my mind. I'd better drive the limousine, and you take the
+landaulet."
+
+"That won't do," said the millionaire. "Germaine won't go in the
+limousine. You know she has taken a dislike to it."
+
+"Nevertheless, I'd better bucket on to Paris, and let you follow slowly
+with Germaine. The sooner I get to Paris the better for your
+collection. I'll take Mademoiselle Kritchnoff with me, and, if you
+like, Irma, though the lighter I travel the sooner I shall get there."
+
+"No, I'll take Irma and Germaine," said the millionaire. "Germaine
+would prefer to have Irma with her, in case you had an accident. She
+wouldn't like to get to Paris and have to find a fresh maid."
+
+The drawing-room door opened, and in came Germaine, followed by Sonia
+and Irma. They wore motor-cloaks and hoods and veils. Sonia and Irma
+were carrying hand-bags.
+
+"I think it's extremely tiresome your dragging us off to Paris like
+this in the middle of the night," said Germaine pettishly.
+
+"Do you?" said the millionaire. "Well, then, you'll be interested to
+hear that I've just seen a burglar here in this very room. I frightened
+him, and he bolted through the window on to the terrace."
+
+"He was greenish-pink, slightly tinged with yellow," said the Duke
+softly.
+
+"Greenish-pink? Oh, do stop your jesting, Jacques! Is this a time for
+idiocy?" cried Germaine, in a tone of acute exasperation.
+
+"It was the dim light which made your father see him in those colours.
+In a bright light, I think he would have been an Alsatian blue," said
+the Duke suavely.
+
+"You'll have to break yourself of this silly habit of trifling, my dear
+Duke, if ever you expect to be a member of the Academie Francaise,"
+said the millionaire with some acrimony. "I tell you I did see a
+burglar."
+
+"Yes, yes. I admitted it frankly. It was his colour I was talking
+about," said the Duke, with an ironical smile.
+
+"Oh, stop your idiotic jokes! We're all sick to death of them!" said
+Germaine, with something of the fine fury which so often distinguished
+her father.
+
+"There are times for all things," said the millionaire solemnly. "And I
+must say that, with the fate of my collection and of the coronet
+trembling in the balance, this does not seem to me a season for idle
+jests."
+
+"I stand reproved," said the Duke; and he smiled at Sonia.
+
+"My keys, Sonia--the keys of the Paris house," said the millionaire.
+
+Sonia took her own keys from her pocket and went to the bureau. She
+slipped a key into the lock and tried to turn it. It would not turn;
+and she bent down to look at it.
+
+"Why--why, some one's been tampering with the lock! It's broken!" she
+cried.
+
+"I told you I'd seen a burglar!" cried the millionaire triumphantly.
+"He was after the keys."
+
+Sonia drew back the flap of the bureau and hastily pulled open the
+drawer in which the keys had been.
+
+"They're here!" she cried, taking them out of the drawer and holding
+them up.
+
+"Then I was just in time," said the millionaire. "I startled him in the
+very act of stealing the keys."
+
+"I withdraw! I withdraw!" said the Duke. "You did see a burglar,
+evidently. But still I believe he was greenish-pink. They often are.
+However, you'd better give me those keys, Mademoiselle Sonia, since I'm
+to get to Paris first. I should look rather silly if, when I got there,
+I had to break into the house to catch the burglars."
+
+Sonia handed the keys to the Duke. He contrived to take her little
+hand, keys and all, into his own, as he received them, and squeezed it.
+The light was too dim for the others to see the flush which flamed in
+her face. She went back and stood beside the bureau.
+
+"Now, papa, are you going to motor to Paris in a thin coat and linen
+waistcoat? If we're going, we'd better go. You always do keep us
+waiting half an hour whenever we start to go anywhere," said Germaine
+firmly.
+
+The millionaire bustled out of the room. With a gesture of impatience
+Germaine dropped into a chair. Irma stood waiting by the drawing-room
+door. Sonia sat down by the bureau.
+
+There came a sharp patter of rain against the windows.
+
+"Rain! It only wanted that! It's going to be perfectly beastly!" cried
+Germaine.
+
+"Oh, well, you must make the best of it. At any rate you're well
+wrapped up, and the night is warm enough, though it is raining," said
+the Duke. "Still, I could have wished that Lupin confined his
+operations to fine weather." He paused, and added cheerfully, "But,
+after all, it will lay the dust."
+
+They sat for three or four minutes in a dull silence, listening to the
+pattering of the rain against the panes. The Duke took his
+cigarette-case from his pocket and lighted a cigarette.
+
+Suddenly he lost his bored air; his face lighted up; and he said
+joyfully: "Of course, why didn't I think of it? Why should we start
+from a pit of gloom like this? Let us have the proper illumination
+which our enterprise deserves."
+
+With that he set about lighting all the lamps in the hall. There were
+lamps on stands, lamps on brackets, lamps on tables, and lamps which
+hung from the roof--old-fashioned lamps with new reservoirs, new lamps
+of what is called chaste design, brass lamps, silver lamps, and lamps
+in porcelain. The Duke lighted them one after another, patiently,
+missing none, with a cold perseverance. The operation was punctuated by
+exclamations from Germaine. They were all to the effect that she could
+not understand how he could be such a fool. The Duke paid no attention
+whatever to her. His face illumined with boyish glee, he lighted lamp
+after lamp.
+
+Sonia watched him with a smiling admiration of the childlike enthusiasm
+with which he performed the task. Even the stolid face of the ox-eyed
+Irma relaxed into grins, which she smoothed quickly out with a
+respectful hand.
+
+The Duke had just lighted the twenty-second lamp when in bustled the
+millionaire.
+
+"What's this? What's this?" he cried, stopping short, blinking.
+
+"Just some more of Jacques' foolery!" cried Germaine in tones of the
+last exasperation.
+
+"But, my dear Duke!--my dear Duke! The oil!--the oil!" cried the
+millionaire, in a tone of bitter distress. "Do you think it's my object
+in life to swell the Rockefeller millions? We never have more than six
+lamps burning unless we are holding a reception."
+
+"I think it looks so cheerful," said the Duke, looking round on his
+handiwork with a beaming smile of satisfaction. "But where are the
+cars? Jean seems a deuce of a time bringing them round. Does he expect
+us to go to the garage through this rain? We'd better hurry him up.
+Come on; you've got a good carrying voice."
+
+He caught the millionaire by the arm, hurried him through the outer
+hall, opened the big door of the chateau, and said: "Now shout!"
+
+The millionaire looked at him, shrugged his shoulders, and said: "You
+don't beat about the bush when you want anything."
+
+"Why should I?" said the Duke simply. "Shout, my good chap--shout!"
+
+The millionaire raised his voice in a terrific bellow of "Jean! Jean!
+Firmin! Firmin!"
+
+There was no answer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE THEFT OF THE MOTOR-CARS
+
+
+The night was very black; the rain pattered in their faces.
+
+Again the millionaire bellowed: "Jean! Firmin! Firmin! Jean!"
+
+No answer came out of the darkness, though his bellow echoed and
+re-echoed among the out-buildings and stables away on the left.
+
+He turned and looked at the Duke and said uneasily, "What on earth can
+they be doing?"
+
+"I can't conceive," said the Duke. "I suppose we must go and hunt them
+out."
+
+"What! in this darkness, with these burglars about?" said the
+millionaire, starting back.
+
+"If we don't, nobody else will," said the Duke. "And all the time that
+rascal Lupin is stealing nearer and nearer your pictures. So buck up,
+and come along!"
+
+He seized the reluctant millionaire by the arm and drew him down the
+steps. They took their way to the stables. A dim light shone from the
+open door of the motor-house. The Duke went into it first, and stopped
+short.
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged!" he cried,
+
+Instead of three cars the motor-house held but one--the hundred
+horse-power Mercrac. It was a racing car, with only two seats. On them
+sat two figures, Jean and Firmin.
+
+"What are you sitting there for? You idle dogs!" bellowed the
+millionaire.
+
+Neither of the men answered, nor did they stir. The light from the lamp
+gleamed on their fixed eyes, which stared at their infuriated master.
+
+"What on earth is this?" said the Duke; and seizing the lamp which
+stood beside the car, he raised it so that its light fell on the two
+figures. Then it was clear what had happened: they were trussed like
+two fowls, and gagged.
+
+The Duke pulled a penknife from his pocket, opened the blade, stepped
+into the car and set Firmin free. Firmin coughed and spat and swore.
+The Duke cut the bonds of Jean.
+
+"Well," said the Duke, in a tone of cutting irony, "what new game is
+this? What have you been playing at?"
+
+"It was those Charolais--those cursed Charolais!" growled Firmin.
+
+"They came on us unawares from behind," said Jean.
+
+"They tied us up, and gagged us--the swine!" said Firmin.
+
+"And then--they went off in the two cars," said Jean.
+
+"Went off in the two cars?" cried the millionaire, in blank
+stupefaction.
+
+The Duke burst into a shout of laughter.
+
+"Well, your dear friend Lupin doesn't do things by halves," he cried.
+"This is the funniest thing I ever heard of."
+
+"Funny!" howled the millionaire. "Funny! Where does the fun come in?
+What about my pictures and the coronet?"
+
+The Duke laughed his laugh out; then changed on the instant to a man of
+action.
+
+"Well, this means a change in our plans," he said. "I must get to Paris
+in this car here."
+
+"It's such a rotten old thing," said the millionaire. "You'll never do
+it."
+
+"Never mind," said the Duke. "I've got to do it somehow. I daresay it's
+better than you think. And after all, it's only a matter of two hundred
+miles." He paused, and then said in an anxious tone: "All the same I
+don't like leaving you and Germaine in the chateau. These rogues have
+probably only taken the cars out of reach just to prevent your getting
+to Paris. They'll leave them in some field and come back."
+
+"You're not going to leave us behind. I wouldn't spend the night in the
+chateau for a million francs. There's always the train," said the
+millionaire.
+
+"The train! Twelve hours in the train--with all those changes! You
+don't mean that you will actually go to Paris by train?" said the Duke.
+
+"I do," said the millionaire. "Come along--I must go and tell Germaine;
+there's no time to waste," and he hurried off to the chateau.
+
+"Get the lamps lighted, Jean, and make sure that the tank's full. As
+for the engine, I must humour it and trust to luck. I'll get her to
+Paris somehow," said the Duke.
+
+He went back to the chateau, and Firmin followed him.
+
+When the Duke came into the great hall he found Germaine and her father
+indulging in recriminations. She was declaring that nothing would
+induce her to make the journey by train; her father was declaring that
+she should. He bore down her opposition by the mere force of his
+magnificent voice.
+
+When at last there came a silence, Sonia said quietly: "But is there a
+train? I know there's a train at midnight; but is there one before?"
+
+"A time-table--where's a time-table?" said the millionaire.
+
+"Now, where did I see a time-table?" said the Duke. "Oh, I know;
+there's one in the drawer of that Oriental cabinet." Crossing to the
+cabinet, he opened the drawer, took out the time-table, and handed it
+to M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+The millionaire took it and turned over the leaves quickly, ran his eye
+down a page, and said, "Yes, thank goodness, there is a train. There's
+one at a quarter to nine."
+
+"And what good is it to us? How are we to get to the station?" said
+Germaine.
+
+They looked at one another blankly. Firmin, who had followed the Duke
+into the hall, came to the rescue.
+
+"There's the luggage-cart," he said.
+
+"The luggage-cart!" cried Germaine contemptuously.
+
+"The very thing!" said the millionaire. "I'll drive it myself. Off you
+go, Firmin; harness a horse to it."
+
+Firmin went clumping out of the hall.
+
+It was perhaps as well that he went, for the Duke asked what time it
+was; and since the watches of Germaine and her father differed still,
+there ensued an altercation in which, had Firmin been there, he would
+doubtless have taken part.
+
+The Duke cut it short by saying: "Well, I don't think I'll wait to see
+you start for the station. It won't take you more than half an hour.
+The cart is light. You needn't start yet. I'd better get off as soon as
+the car is ready. It isn't as though I could trust it."
+
+"One moment," said Germaine. "Is there a dining-car on the train? I'm
+not going to be starved as well as have my night's rest cut to pieces."
+
+"Of course there isn't a dining-car," snapped her father. "We must eat
+something now, and take something with us."
+
+"Sonia, Irma, quick! Be off to the larder and see what you can find.
+Tell Mother Firmin to make an omelette. Be quick!"
+
+Sonia went towards the door of the hall, followed by Irma.
+
+"Good-night, and bon voyage, Mademoiselle Sonia," said the Duke.
+
+"Good-night, and bon voyage, your Grace," said Sonia.
+
+The Duke opened the door of the hall for her; and as she went out, she
+said anxiously, in a low voice: "Oh, do--do be careful. I hate to think
+of your hurrying to Paris on a night like this. Please be careful."
+
+"I will be careful," said the Duke.
+
+The honk of the motor-horn told him that Jean had brought the car to
+the door of the chateau. He came down the room, kissed Germaine's
+hands, shook hands with the millionaire, and bade them good-night. Then
+he went out to the car. They heard it start; the rattle of it grew
+fainter and fainter down the long avenue and died away.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin arose, and began putting out lamps. As he did so, he
+kept casting fearful glances at the window, as if he feared lest, now
+that the Duke had gone, the burglars should dash in upon him.
+
+There came a knock at the door, and Jean appeared on the threshold.
+
+"His Grace told me that I was to come into the house, and help Firmin
+look after it," he said.
+
+The millionaire gave him instructions about the guarding of the house.
+Firmin, since he was an old soldier, was to occupy the post of honour,
+and guard the hall, armed with his gun. Jean was to guard the two
+drawing-rooms, as being less likely points of attack. He also was to
+have a gun; and the millionaire went with him to the gun-room and gave
+him one and a dozen cartridges. When they came back to the hall, Sonia
+called them into the dining-room; and there, to the accompaniment of an
+unsubdued grumbling from Germaine at having to eat cold food at eight
+at night, they made a hasty but excellent meal, since the chef had left
+an elaborate cold supper ready to be served.
+
+They had nearly finished it when Jean came in, his gun on his arm, to
+say that Firmin had harnessed the horse to the luggage-cart, and it was
+awaiting them at the door of the chateau.
+
+"Send him in to me, and stand by the horse till we come out," said the
+millionaire.
+
+Firmin came clumping in.
+
+The millionaire gazed at him solemnly, and said: "Firmin, I am relying
+on you. I am leaving you in a position of honour and danger--a position
+which an old soldier of France loves."
+
+Firmin did his best to look like an old soldier of France. He pulled
+himself up out of the slouch which long years of loafing through woods
+with a gun on his arm had given him. He lacked also the old soldier of
+France's fiery gaze. His eyes were lack-lustre.
+
+"I look for anything, Firmin--burglary, violence, an armed assault,"
+said the millionaire.
+
+"Don't be afraid, sir. I saw the war of '70," said Firmin boldly,
+rising to the occasion.
+
+"Good!" said the millionaire. "I confide the chateau to you. I trust
+you with my treasures."
+
+He rose, and saying "Come along, we must be getting to the station," he
+led the way to the door of the chateau.
+
+The luggage-cart stood rather high, and they had to bring a chair out
+of the hall to enable the girls to climb into it. Germaine did not
+forget to give her real opinion of the advantages of a seat formed by a
+plank resting on the sides of the cart. The millionaire climbed heavily
+up in front, and took the reins.
+
+"Never again will I trust only to motor-cars. The first thing I'll do
+after I've made sure that my collections are safe will be to buy
+carriages--something roomy," he said gloomily, as he realized the
+discomfort of his seat.
+
+He turned to Jean and Firmin, who stood on the steps of the chateau
+watching the departure of their master, and said: "Sons of France, be
+brave--be brave!"
+
+The cart bumped off into the damp, dark night.
+
+Jean and Firmin watched it disappear into the darkness. Then they came
+into the chateau and shut the door.
+
+Firmin looked at Jean, and said gloomily: "I don't like this. These
+burglars stick at nothing. They'd as soon cut your throat as look at
+you."
+
+"It can't be helped," said Jean. "Besides, you've got the post of
+honour. You guard the hall. I'm to look after the drawing-rooms.
+They're not likely to break in through the drawing-rooms. And I shall
+lock the door between them and the hall."
+
+"No, no; you won't lock that door!" cried Firmin.
+
+"But I certainly will," said Jean. "You'd better come and get a gun."
+
+They went to the gun-room, Firmin still protesting against the locking
+of the door between the drawing-rooms and the hall. He chose his gun;
+and they went into the kitchen. Jean took two bottles of wine, a
+rich-looking pie, a sweet, and carried them to the drawing-room. He
+came back into the hall, gathered together an armful of papers and
+magazines, and went back to the drawing-room. Firmin kept trotting
+after him, like a little dog with a somewhat heavy footfall.
+
+On the threshold of the drawing-room Jean paused and said: "The
+important thing with burglars is to fire first, old cock. Good-night.
+Pleasant dreams."
+
+He shut the door and turned the key. Firmin stared at the decorated
+panels blankly. The beauty of the scheme of decoration did not, at the
+moment, move him to admiration.
+
+He looked fearfully round the empty hall and at the windows, black
+against the night. Under the patter of the rain he heard
+footsteps--distinctly. He went hastily clumping down the hall, and
+along the passage to the kitchen.
+
+His wife was setting his supper on the table.
+
+"My God!" he said. "I haven't been so frightened since '70." And he
+mopped his glistening forehead with a dish-cloth. It was not a clean
+dish-cloth; but he did not care.
+
+"Frightened? What of?" said his wife.
+
+"Burglars! Cut-throats!" said Firmin.
+
+He told her of the fears of M. Gournay-Martin, and of his own
+appointment to the honourable and dangerous post of guard of the
+chateau.
+
+"God save us!" said his wife. "You lock the door of that beastly hall,
+and come into the kitchen. Burglars won't bother about the kitchen."
+
+"But the master's treasures!" protested Firmin. "He confided them to
+me. He said so distinctly."
+
+"Let the master look after his treasures himself," said Madame Firmin,
+with decision. "You've only one throat; and I'm not going to have it
+cut. You sit down and eat your supper. Go and lock that door first,
+though."
+
+Firmin locked the door of the hall; then he locked the door of the
+kitchen; then he sat down, and began to eat his supper. His appetite
+was hearty, but none the less he derived little pleasure from the meal.
+He kept stopping with the food poised on his fork, midway between the
+plate and his mouth, for several seconds at a time, while he listened
+with straining ears for the sound of burglars breaking in the windows
+of the hall. He was much too far from those windows to hear anything
+that happened to them, but that did not prevent him from straining his
+ears. Madame Firmin ate her supper with an air of perfect ease. She
+felt sure that burglars would not bother with the kitchen.
+
+Firmin's anxiety made him terribly thirsty. Tumbler after tumbler of
+wine flowed down the throat for which he feared. When he had finished
+his supper he went on satisfying his thirst. Madame Firmin lighted his
+pipe for him, and went and washed up the supper-dishes in the scullery.
+Then she came back, and sat down on the other side of the hearth,
+facing him. About the middle of his third bottle of wine, Firmin's
+cold, relentless courage was suddenly restored to him. He began to talk
+firmly about his duty to his master, his resolve to die, if need were,
+in defence of his interests, of his utter contempt for
+burglars--probably Parisians. But he did not go into the hall.
+Doubtless the pleasant warmth of the kitchen fire held him in his chair.
+
+He had described to his wife, with some ferocity, the cruel manner in
+which he would annihilate the first three burglars who entered the
+hall, and was proceeding to describe his method of dealing with the
+fourth, when there came a loud knocking on the front door of the
+chateau.
+
+Stricken silent, turned to stone, Firmin sat with his mouth open, in
+the midst of an unfinished word. Madame Firmin scuttled to the kitchen
+door she had left unlocked on her return from the scullery, and locked
+it. She turned, and they stared at one another.
+
+The heavy knocker fell again and again and again. Between the knocking
+there was a sound like the roaring of lions. Husband and wife stared at
+one another with white faces. Firmin picked up his gun with trembling
+hands, and the movement seemed to set his teeth chattering. They
+chattered like castanets.
+
+The knocking still went on, and so did the roaring.
+
+It had gone on at least for five minutes, when a slow gleam of
+comprehension lightened Madame Firmin's face.
+
+"I believe it's the master's voice," she said.
+
+"The master's voice!" said Firmin, in a hoarse, terrified whisper.
+
+"Yes," said Madame Firmin. And she unlocked the thick door and opened
+it a few inches.
+
+The barrier removed, the well-known bellow of the millionaire came
+distinctly to their ears. Firmin's courage rushed upon him in full
+flood. He clumped across the room, brushed his wife aside, and trotted
+to the door of the chateau. He unlocked it, drew the bolts, and threw
+it open. On the steps stood the millionaire, Germaine, and Sonia. Irma
+stood at the horse's head.
+
+"What the devil have you been doing?" bellowed the millionaire. "What
+do you keep me standing in the rain for? Why didn't you let me in?"
+
+"B-b-b-burglars--I thought you were b-b-b-burglars," stammered Firmin.
+
+"Burglars!" howled the millionaire. "Do I sound like a burglar?"
+
+At the moment he did not; he sounded more like a bull of Bashan. He
+bustled past Firmin to the door of the hall.
+
+"Here! What's this locked for?" he bellowed.
+
+"I--I--locked it in case burglars should get in while I was opening the
+front door," stammered Firmin.
+
+The millionaire turned the key, opened the door, and went into the
+hall. Germaine followed him. She threw off her dripping coat, and said
+with some heat: "I can't conceive why you didn't make sure that there
+was a train at a quarter to nine. I will not go to Paris to-night.
+Nothing shall induce me to take that midnight train!"
+
+"Nonsense!" said the millionaire. "Nonsense--you'll have to go! Where's
+that infernal time-table?" He rushed to the table on to which he had
+thrown the time-table after looking up the train, snatched it up, and
+looked at the cover. "Why, hang it!" he cried. "It's for June--June,
+1903!"
+
+"Oh!" cried Germaine, almost in a scream. "It's incredible! It's one of
+Jacques' jokes!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE DUKE ARRIVES
+
+
+The morning was gloomy, and the police-station with its bare,
+white-washed walls--their white expanse was only broken by
+notice-boards to which were pinned portraits of criminals with details
+of their appearance, their crime, and the reward offered for their
+apprehension--with its shabby furniture, and its dingy fireplace,
+presented a dismal and sordid appearance entirely in keeping with the
+September grey. The inspector sat at his desk, yawning after a night
+which had passed without an arrest. He was waiting to be relieved. The
+policeman at the door and the two policemen sitting on a bench by the
+wall yawned in sympathy.
+
+The silence of the street was broken by the rattle of an uncommonly
+noisy motor-car. It stopped before the door of the police-station, and
+the eyes of the inspector and his men turned, idly expectant, to the
+door of the office.
+
+It opened, and a young man in motor-coat and cap stood on the threshold.
+
+He looked round the office with alert eyes, which took in everything,
+and said, in a brisk, incisive voice: "I am the Duke of Charmerace. I
+am here on behalf of M. Gournay-Martin. Last evening he received a
+letter from Arsene Lupin saying he was going to break into his Paris
+house this very morning."
+
+At the name of Arsene Lupin the inspector sprang from his chair, the
+policemen from their bench. On the instant they were wide awake,
+attentive, full of zeal.
+
+"The letter, your Grace!" said the inspector briskly.
+
+The Duke pulled off his glove, drew the letter from the breast-pocket
+of his under-coat, and handed it to the inspector.
+
+The inspector glanced through it, and said. "Yes, I know the
+handwriting well." Then he read it carefully, and added, "Yes, yes:
+it's his usual letter."
+
+"There's no time to be lost," said the Duke quickly. "I ought to have
+been here hours ago--hours. I had a break-down. I'm afraid I'm too late
+as it is."
+
+"Come along, your Grace--come along, you," said the inspector briskly.
+
+The four of them hurried out of the office and down the steps of the
+police-station. In the roadway stood a long grey racing-car, caked with
+muds--grey mud, brown mud, red mud--from end to end. It looked as if it
+had brought samples of the soil of France from many districts.
+
+"Come along; I'll take you in the car. Your men can trot along beside
+us," said the Duke to the inspector.
+
+He slipped into the car, the inspector jumped in and took the seat
+beside him, and they started. They went slowly, to allow the two
+policemen to keep up with them. Indeed, the car could not have made any
+great pace, for the tyre of the off hind-wheel was punctured and
+deflated.
+
+In three minutes they came to the Gournay-Martin house, a wide-fronted
+mass of undistinguished masonry, in an undistinguished row of exactly
+the same pattern. There were no signs that any one was living in it.
+Blinds were drawn, shutters were up over all the windows, upper and
+lower. No smoke came from any of its chimneys, though indeed it was
+full early for that.
+
+Pulling a bunch of keys from his pocket, the Duke ran up the steps. The
+inspector followed him. The Duke looked at the bunch, picked out the
+latch-key, and fitted it into the lock. It did not open it. He drew it
+out and tried another key and another. The door remained locked.
+
+"Let me, your Grace," said the inspector. "I'm more used to it. I shall
+be quicker."
+
+The Duke handed the keys to him, and, one after another, the inspector
+fitted them into the lock. It was useless. None of them opened the door.
+
+"They've given me the wrong keys," said the Duke, with some vexation.
+"Or no--stay--I see what's happened. The keys have been changed."
+
+"Changed?" said the inspector. "When? Where?"
+
+"Last night at Charmerace," said the Duke. "M. Gournay-Martin declared
+that he saw a burglar slip out of one of the windows of the hall of the
+chateau, and we found the lock of the bureau in which the keys were
+kept broken."
+
+The inspector seized the knocker, and hammered on the door.
+
+"Try that door there," he cried to his men, pointing to a side-door on
+the right, the tradesmen's entrance, giving access to the back of the
+house. It was locked. There came no sound of movement in the house in
+answer to the inspector's knocking.
+
+"Where's the concierge?" he said.
+
+The Duke shrugged his shoulders. "There's a housekeeper, too--a woman
+named Victoire," he said. "Let's hope we don't find them with their
+throats cut."
+
+"That isn't Lupin's way," said the inspector. "They won't have come to
+much harm."
+
+"It's not very likely that they'll be in a position to open doors,"
+said the Duke drily.
+
+"Hadn't we better have it broken open and be done with it?"
+
+The inspector hesitated.
+
+"People don't like their doors broken open," he said. "And M.
+Gournay-Martin--"
+
+"Oh, I'll take the responsibility of that," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, if you say so, your Grace," said the inspector, with a brisk
+relief. "Henri, go to Ragoneau, the locksmith in the Rue Theobald.
+Bring him here as quickly as ever you can get him."
+
+"Tell him it's a couple of louis if he's here inside of ten minutes,"
+said the Duke.
+
+The policeman hurried off. The inspector bent down and searched the
+steps carefully. He searched the roadway. The Duke lighted a cigarette
+and watched him. The house of the millionaire stood next but one to the
+corner of a street which ran at right angles to the one in which it
+stood, and the corner house was empty. The inspector searched the road,
+then he went round the corner. The other policeman went along the road,
+searching in the opposite direction. The Duke leant against the door
+and smoked on patiently. He showed none of the weariness of a man who
+has spent the night in a long and anxious drive in a rickety motor-car.
+His eyes were bright and clear; he looked as fresh as if he had come
+from his bed after a long night's rest. If he had not found the South
+Pole, he had at any rate brought back fine powers of endurance from his
+expedition in search of it.
+
+The inspector came back, wearing a disappointed air.
+
+"Have you found anything?" said the Duke.
+
+"Nothing," said the inspector.
+
+He came up the steps and hammered again on the door. No one answered
+his knock. There was a clatter of footsteps, and Henri and the
+locksmith, a burly, bearded man, his bag of tools slung over his
+shoulder, came hurrying up. He was not long getting to work, but it was
+not an easy job. The lock was strong. At the end of five minutes he
+said that he might spend an hour struggling with the lock itself;
+should he cut away a piece of the door round it?
+
+"Cut away," said the Duke.
+
+The locksmith changed his tools, and in less than three minutes he had
+cut away a square piece from the door, a square in which the lock was
+fixed, and taken it bodily away.
+
+The door opened. The inspector drew his revolver, and entered the
+house. The Duke followed him. The policemen drew their revolvers, and
+followed the Duke. The big hall was but dimly lighted. One of the
+policemen quickly threw back the shutters of the windows and let in the
+light. The hall was empty, the furniture in perfect order; there were
+no signs of burglary there.
+
+"The concierge?" said the inspector, and his men hurried through the
+little door on the right which opened into the concierge's rooms. In
+half a minute one of them came out and said: "Gagged and bound, and his
+wife too."
+
+"But the rooms which were to be plundered are upstairs," said the
+Duke--"the big drawing-rooms on the first floor. Come on; we may be
+just in time. The scoundrels may not yet have got away."
+
+He ran quickly up the stairs, followed by the inspector, and hurried
+along the corridor to the door of the big drawing-room. He threw it
+open, and stopped dead on the threshold. He had arrived too late.
+
+The room was in disorder. Chairs were overturned, there were empty
+spaces on the wall where the finest pictures of the millionaire had
+been hung. The window facing the door was wide open. The shutters were
+broken; one of them was hanging crookedly from only its bottom hinge.
+The top of a ladder rose above the window-sill, and beside it,
+astraddle the sill, was an Empire card-table, half inside the room,
+half out. On the hearth-rug, before a large tapestry fire-screen, which
+masked the wide fireplace, built in imitation of the big, wide
+fireplaces of our ancestors, and rose to the level of the
+chimney-piece--a magnificent chimney-piece in carved oak-were some
+chairs tied together ready to be removed.
+
+The Duke and the inspector ran to the window, and looked down into the
+garden. It was empty. At the further end of it, on the other side of
+its wall, rose the scaffolding of a house a-building. The burglars had
+found every convenience to their hand--a strong ladder, an egress
+through the door in the garden wall, and then through the gap formed by
+the house in process of erection, which had rendered them independent
+of the narrow passage between the walls of the gardens, which debouched
+into a side-street on the right.
+
+The Duke turned from the window, glanced at the wall opposite, then, as
+if something had caught his eye, went quickly to it.
+
+"Look here," he said, and he pointed to the middle of one of the empty
+spaces in which a picture had hung.
+
+There, written neatly in blue chalk, were the words:
+
+ARSENE LUPIN
+
+"This is a job for Guerchard," said the inspector. "But I had better
+get an examining magistrate to take the matter in hand first." And he
+ran to the telephone.
+
+The Duke opened the folding doors which led into the second
+drawing-room. The shutters of the windows were open, and it was plain
+that Arsene Lupin had plundered it also of everything that had struck
+his fancy. In the gaps between the pictures on the walls was again the
+signature "Arsene Lupin."
+
+The inspector was shouting impatiently into the telephone, bidding a
+servant wake her master instantly. He did not leave the telephone till
+he was sure that she had done so, that her master was actually awake,
+and had been informed of the crime. The Duke sat down in an easy chair
+and waited for him.
+
+When he had finished telephoning, the inspector began to search the two
+rooms for traces of the burglars. He found nothing, not even a
+finger-mark.
+
+When he had gone through the two rooms he said, "The next thing to do
+is to find the house-keeper. She may be sleeping still--she may not
+even have heard the noise of the burglars."
+
+"I find all this extremely interesting," said the Duke; and he followed
+the inspector out of the room.
+
+The inspector called up the two policemen, who had been freeing the
+concierge and going through the rooms on the ground-floor. They did not
+then examine any more of the rooms on the first floor to discover if
+they also had been plundered. They went straight up to the top of the
+house, the servants' quarters.
+
+The inspector called, "Victoire! Victoire!" two or three times; but
+there was no answer.
+
+They opened the door of room after room and looked in, the inspector
+taking the rooms on the right, the policemen the rooms on the left.
+
+"Here we are," said one of the policemen. "This room's been recently
+occupied." They looked in, and saw that the bed was unmade. Plainly
+Victoire had slept in it.
+
+"Where can she be?" said the Duke.
+
+"Be?" said the inspector. "I expect she's with the burglars--an
+accomplice."
+
+"I gather that M. Gournay-Martin had the greatest confidence in her,"
+said the Duke.
+
+"He'll have less now," said the inspector drily. "It's generally the
+confidential ones who let their masters down."
+
+The inspector and his men set about a thorough search of the house.
+They found the other rooms undisturbed. In half an hour they had
+established the fact that the burglars had confined their attention to
+the two drawing-rooms. They found no traces of them; and they did not
+find Victoire. The concierge could throw no light on her disappearance.
+He and his wife had been taken by surprise in their sleep and in the
+dark.
+
+They had been gagged and bound, they declared, without so much as
+having set eyes on their assailants. The Duke and the inspector came
+back to the plundered drawing-room.
+
+The inspector looked at his watch and went to the telephone.
+
+"I must let the Prefecture know," he said.
+
+"Be sure you ask them to send Guerchard," said the Duke.
+
+"Guerchard?" said the inspector doubtfully.
+
+"M. Formery, the examining magistrate, does not get on very well with
+Guerchard."
+
+"What sort of a man is M. Formery? Is he capable?" said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, yes--yes. He's very capable," said the inspector quickly. "But he
+doesn't have very good luck."
+
+"M. Gournay-Martin particularly asked me to send for Guerchard if I
+arrived too late, and found the burglary already committed," said the
+Duke. "It seems that there is war to the knife between Guerchard and
+this Arsene Lupin. In that case Guerchard will leave no stone unturned
+to catch the rascal and recover the stolen treasures. M. Gournay-Martin
+felt that Guerchard was the man for this piece of work very strongly
+indeed."
+
+"Very good, your Grace," said the inspector. And he rang up the
+Prefecture of Police.
+
+The Duke heard him report the crime and ask that Guerchard should be
+sent. The official in charge at the moment seemed to make some demur.
+
+The Duke sprang to his feet, and said in an anxious tone, "Perhaps I'd
+better speak to him myself."
+
+He took his place at the telephone and said, "I am the Duke of
+Charmerace. M. Gournay-Martin begged me to secure the services of M.
+Guerchard. He laid the greatest stress on my securing them, if on
+reaching Paris I found that the crime had already been committed."
+
+The official at the other end of the line hesitated. He did not refuse
+on the instant as he had refused the inspector. It may be that he
+reflected that M. Gournay-Martin was a millionaire and a man of
+influence; that the Duke of Charmerace was a Duke; that he, at any
+rate, had nothing whatever to gain by running counter to their wishes.
+He said that Chief-Inspector Guerchard was not at the Prefecture, that
+he was off duty; that he would send down two detectives, who were on
+duty, at once, and summon Chief-Inspector Guerchard with all speed. The
+Duke thanked him and rang off.
+
+"That's all right," he said cheerfully, turning to the inspector. "What
+time will M. Formery be here?"
+
+"Well, I don't expect him for another hour," said the inspector. "He
+won't come till he's had his breakfast. He always makes a good
+breakfast before setting out to start an inquiry, lest he shouldn't
+find time to make one after he's begun it."
+
+"Breakfast--breakfast--that's a great idea," said the Duke. "Now you
+come to remind me, I'm absolutely famished. I got some supper on my way
+late last night; but I've had nothing since. I suppose nothing
+interesting will happen till M. Formery comes; and I may as well get
+some food. But I don't want to leave the house. I think I'll see what
+the concierge can do for me."
+
+So saying, he went downstairs and interviewed the concierge. The
+concierge seemed to be still doubtful whether he was standing on his
+head or his heels, but he undertook to supply the needs of the Duke.
+The Duke gave him a louis, and he hurried off to get food from a
+restaurant.
+
+The Duke went upstairs to the bathroom and refreshed himself with a
+cold bath. By the time he had bathed and dressed the concierge had a
+meal ready for him in the dining-room. He ate it with the heartiest
+appetite. Then he sent out for a barber and was shaved.
+
+He then repaired to the pillaged drawing-room, disposed himself in the
+most restful attitude on a sofa, and lighted an excellent cigar. In the
+middle of it the inspector came to him. He was not wearing a very
+cheerful air; and he told the Duke that he had found no clue to the
+perpetrators of the crime, though M. Dieusy and M. Bonavent, the
+detectives from the Prefecture of Police, had joined him in the search.
+
+The Duke was condoling with him on this failure when they heard a
+knocking at the front door, and then voices on the stairs.
+
+"Ah! Here is M. Formery!" said the inspector cheerfully. "Now we can
+get on."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+M. FORMERY OPENS THE INQUIRY
+
+
+The examining magistrate came into the room. He was a plump and pink
+little man, with very bright eyes. His bristly hair stood up straight
+all over his head, giving it the appearance of a broad, dapple-grey
+clothes-brush. He appeared to be of the opinion that Nature had given
+the world the toothbrush as a model of what a moustache should be; and
+his own was clipped to that pattern.
+
+"The Duke of Charmerace, M. Formery," said the inspector.
+
+The little man bowed and said, "Charmed, charmed to make your
+acquaintance, your Grace--though the occasion--the occasion is somewhat
+painful. The treasures of M. Gournay-Martin are known to all the world.
+France will deplore his losses." He paused, and added hastily, "But we
+shall recover them--we shall recover them."
+
+The Duke rose, bowed, and protested his pleasure at making the
+acquaintance of M. Formery.
+
+"Is this the scene of the robbery, inspector?" said M. Formery; and he
+rubbed his hands together with a very cheerful air.
+
+"Yes, sir," said the inspector. "These two rooms seem to be the only
+ones touched, though of course we can't tell till M. Gournay-Martin
+arrives. Jewels may have been stolen from the bedrooms."
+
+"I fear that M. Gournay-Martin won't be of much help for some days,"
+said the Duke. "When I left him he was nearly distracted; and he won't
+be any better after a night journey to Paris from Charmerace. But
+probably these are the only two rooms touched, for in them M.
+Gournay-Martin had gathered together the gems of his collection. Over
+the doors hung some pieces of Flemish tapestry--marvels--the
+composition admirable--the colouring delightful."
+
+"It is easy to see that your Grace was very fond of them," said M.
+Formery.
+
+"I should think so," said the Duke. "I looked on them as already
+belonging to me, for my father-in-law was going to give them to me as a
+wedding present."
+
+"A great loss--a great loss. But we will recover them, sooner or later,
+you can rest assured of it. I hope you have touched nothing in this
+room. If anything has been moved it may put me off the scent
+altogether. Let me have the details, inspector."
+
+The inspector reported the arrival of the Duke at the police-station
+with Arsene Lupin's letter to M. Gournay-Martin; the discovery that the
+keys had been changed and would not open the door of the house; the
+opening of it by the locksmith; the discovery of the concierge and his
+wife gagged and bound.
+
+"Probably accomplices," said M. Formery.
+
+"Does Lupin always work with accomplices?" said the Duke. "Pardon my
+ignorance--but I've been out of France for so long--before he attained
+to this height of notoriety."
+
+"Lupin--why Lupin?" said M. Formery sharply.
+
+"Why, there is the letter from Lupin which my future father-in-law
+received last night; its arrival was followed by the theft of his two
+swiftest motor-cars; and then, these signatures on the wall here," said
+the Duke in some surprise at the question.
+
+"Lupin! Lupin! Everybody has Lupin on the brain!" said M. Formery
+impatiently. "I'm sick of hearing his name. This letter and these
+signatures are just as likely to be forgeries as not."
+
+"I wonder if Guerchard will take that view," said the Duke.
+
+"Guerchard? Surely we're not going to be cluttered up with Guerchard.
+He has Lupin on the brain worse than any one else."
+
+"But M. Gournay-Martin particularly asked me to send for Guerchard if I
+arrived too late to prevent the burglary. He would never forgive me if
+I had neglected his request: so I telephoned for him--to the Prefecture
+of Police," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, well, if you've already telephoned for him. But it was
+unnecessary--absolutely unnecessary," said M. Formery sharply.
+
+"I didn't know," said the Duke politely.
+
+"Oh, there was no harm in it--it doesn't matter," said M. Formery in a
+discontented tone with a discontented air.
+
+He walked slowly round the room, paused by the windows, looked at the
+ladder, and scanned the garden:
+
+"Arsene Lupin," he said scornfully. "Arsene Lupin doesn't leave traces
+all over the place. There's nothing but traces. Are we going to have
+that silly Lupin joke all over again?"
+
+"I think, sir, that this time joke is the word, for this is a burglary
+pure and simple," said the inspector.
+
+"Yes, it's plain as daylight," said M. Formery "The burglars came in by
+this window, and they went out by it."
+
+He crossed the room to a tall safe which stood before the unused door.
+The safe was covered with velvet, and velvet curtains hung before its
+door. He drew the curtains, and tried the handle of the door of the
+safe. It did not turn; the safe was locked.
+
+"As far as I can see, they haven't touched this," said M. Formery.
+
+"Thank goodness for that," said the Duke. "I believe, or at least my
+fiancee does, that M. Gournay-Martin keeps the most precious thing in
+his collection in that safe--the coronet."
+
+"What! the famous coronet of the Princesse de Lamballe?" said M.
+Formery.
+
+"Yes," said the Duke.
+
+"But according to your report, inspector, the letter signed 'Lupin'
+announced that he was going to steal the coronet also."
+
+"It did--in so many words," said the Duke.
+
+"Well, here is a further proof that we're not dealing with Lupin. That
+rascal would certainly have put his threat into execution, M. Formery,"
+said the inspector.
+
+"Who's in charge of the house?" said M. Formery.
+
+"The concierge, his wife, and a housekeeper--a woman named Victoire,"
+said the inspector.
+
+"I'll see to the concierge and his wife presently. I've sent one of
+your men round for their dossier. When I get it I'll question them. You
+found them gagged and bound in their bedroom?"
+
+"Yes, M. Formery; and always this imitation of Lupin--a yellow gag,
+blue cords, and the motto, 'I take, therefore I am,' on a scrap of
+cardboard--his usual bag of tricks."
+
+"Then once again they're going to touch us up in the papers. It's any
+odds on it," said M. Formery gloomily. "Where's the housekeeper? I
+should like to see her."
+
+"The fact is, we don't know where she is," said the inspector.
+
+"You don't know where she is?" said M. Formery.
+
+"We can't find her anywhere," said the inspector.
+
+"That's excellent, excellent. We've found the accomplice," said M.
+Formery with lively delight; and he rubbed his hands together. "At
+least, we haven't found her, but we know her."
+
+"I don't think that's the case," said the Duke. "At least, my future
+father-in-law and my fiancee had both of them the greatest confidence
+in her. Yesterday she telephoned to us at the Chateau de Charmerace.
+All the jewels were left in her charge, and the wedding presents as
+they were sent in."
+
+"And these jewels and wedding presents--have they been stolen too?"
+said M. Formery.
+
+"They don't seem to have been touched," said the Duke, "though of
+course we can't tell till M. Gournay-Martin arrives. As far as I can
+see, the burglars have only touched these two drawing-rooms."
+
+"That's very annoying," said M. Formery.
+
+"I don't find it so," said the Duke, smiling.
+
+"I was looking at it from the professional point of view," said M.
+Formery. He turned to the inspector and added, "You can't have searched
+thoroughly. This housekeeper must be somewhere about--if she's really
+trustworthy. Have you looked in every room in the house?"
+
+"In every room--under every bed--in every corner and every cupboard,"
+said the inspector.
+
+"Bother!" said M. Formery. "Are there no scraps of torn clothes, no
+blood-stains, no traces of murder, nothing of interest?"
+
+"Nothing!" said the inspector.
+
+"But this is very regrettable," said M. Formery. "Where did she sleep?
+Was her bed unmade?"
+
+"Her room is at the top of the house," said the inspector. "The bed had
+been slept in, but she does not appear to have taken away any of her
+clothes."
+
+"Extraordinary! This is beginning to look a very complicated business,"
+said M. Formery gravely.
+
+"Perhaps Guerchard will be able to throw a little more light on it,"
+said the Duke.
+
+M. Formery frowned and said, "Yes, yes. Guerchard is a good assistant
+in a business like this. A little visionary, a little
+fanciful--wrong-headed, in fact; but, after all, he IS Guerchard. Only,
+since Lupin is his bugbear, he's bound to find some means of muddling
+us up with that wretched animal. You're going to see Lupin mixed up
+with all this to a dead certainty, your Grace."
+
+The Duke looked at the signatures on the wall. "It seems to me that he
+is pretty well mixed up with it already," he said quietly.
+
+"Believe me, your Grace, in a criminal affair it is, above all things,
+necessary to distrust appearances. I am growing more and more confident
+that some ordinary burglars have committed this crime and are trying to
+put us off the scent by diverting our attention to Lupin."
+
+The Duke stooped down carelessly and picked up a book which had fallen
+from a table.
+
+"Excuse me, but please--please--do not touch anything," said M. Formery
+quickly.
+
+"Why, this is odd," said the Duke, staring at the floor.
+
+"What is odd?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Well, this book looks as if it had been knocked off the table by one
+of the burglars. And look here; here's a footprint under it--a
+footprint on the carpet," said the Duke.
+
+M. Formery and the inspector came quickly to the spot. There, where the
+book had fallen, plainly imprinted on the carpet, was a white
+footprint. M. Formery and the inspector stared at it.
+
+"It looks like plaster. How did plaster get here?" said M. Formery,
+frowning at it.
+
+"Well, suppose the robbers came from the garden," said the Duke.
+
+"Of course they came from the garden, your Grace. Where else should
+they come from?" said M. Formery, with a touch of impatience in his
+tone.
+
+"Well, at the end of the garden they're building a house," said the
+Duke.
+
+"Of course, of course," said M. Formery, taking him up quickly. "The
+burglars came here with their boots covered with plaster. They've swept
+away all the other marks of their feet from the carpet; but whoever did
+the sweeping was too slack to lift up that book and sweep under it.
+This footprint, however, is not of great importance, though it is
+corroborative of all the other evidence we have that they came and went
+by the garden. There's the ladder, and that table half out of the
+window. Still, this footprint may turn out useful, after all. You had
+better take the measurements of it, inspector. Here's a foot-rule for
+you. I make a point of carrying this foot-rule about with me, your
+Grace. You would be surprised to learn how often it has come in useful."
+
+He took a little ivory foot-rule from his waist-coat pocket, and gave
+it to the inspector, who fell on his knees and measured the footprint
+with the greatest care.
+
+"I must take a careful look at that house they're building. I shall
+find a good many traces there, to a dead certainty," said M. Formery.
+
+The inspector entered the measurements of the footprint in his
+note-book. There came the sound of a knocking at the front door.
+
+"I shall find footprints of exactly the same dimensions as this one at
+the foot of some heap of plaster beside that house," said M. Formery;
+with an air of profound conviction, pointing through the window to the
+house building beyond the garden.
+
+A policeman opened the door of the drawing-room and saluted.
+
+"If you please, sir, the servants have arrived from Charmerace," he
+said.
+
+"Let them wait in the kitchen and the servants' offices," said M.
+Formery. He stood silent, buried in profound meditation, for a couple
+of minutes. Then he turned to the Duke and said, "What was that you
+said about a theft of motor-cars at Charmerace?"
+
+"When he received the letter from Arsene Lupin, M. Gournay-Martin
+decided to start for Paris at once," said the Duke. "But when we sent
+for the cars we found that they had just been stolen. M.
+Gournay-Martin's chauffeur and another servant were in the garage
+gagged and bound. Only an old car, a hundred horse-power Mercrac, was
+left. I drove it to Paris, leaving M. Gournay-Martin and his family to
+come on by train."
+
+"Very important--very important indeed," said M. Formery. He thought
+for a moment, and then added. "Were the motor-cars the only things
+stolen? Were there no other thefts?"
+
+"Well, as a matter of fact, there was another theft, or rather an
+attempt at theft," said the Duke with some hesitation. "The rogues who
+stole the motor-cars presented themselves at the chateau under the name
+of Charolais--a father and three sons--on the pretext of buying the
+hundred-horse-power Mercrac. M. Gournay-Martin had advertised it for
+sale in the Rennes Advertiser. They were waiting in the big hall of the
+chateau, which the family uses as the chief living-room, for the return
+of M. Gournay-Martin. He came; and as they left the hall one of them
+attempted to steal a pendant set with pearls which I had given to
+Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin half an hour before. I caught him in the
+act and saved the pendant."
+
+"Good! good! Wait--we have one of the gang--wait till I question him,"
+said M. Formery, rubbing his hands; and his eyes sparkled with joy.
+
+"Well, no; I'm afraid we haven't," said the Duke in an apologetic tone.
+
+"What! We haven't? Has he escaped from the police? Oh, those country
+police!" cried M. Formery.
+
+"No; I didn't charge him with the theft," said the Duke.
+
+"You didn't charge him with the theft?" cried M. Formery, astounded.
+
+"No; he was very young and he begged so hard. I had the pendant. I let
+him go," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, your Grace, your Grace! Your duty to society!" cried M. Formery.
+
+"Yes, it does seem to have been rather weak," said the Duke; "but there
+you are. It's no good crying over spilt milk."
+
+M. Formery folded his arms and walked, frowning, backwards and forwards
+across the room.
+
+He stopped, raised his hand with a gesture commanding attention, and
+said, "I have no hesitation in saying that there is a connection--an
+intimate connection--between the thefts at Charmerace and this
+burglary!"
+
+The Duke and the inspector gazed at him with respectful eyes--at least,
+the eyes of the inspector were respectful; the Duke's eyes twinkled.
+
+"I am gathering up the threads," said M. Formery. "Inspector, bring up
+the concierge and his wife. I will question them on the scene of the
+crime. Their dossier should be here. If it is, bring it up with them;
+if not, no matter; bring them up without it."
+
+The inspector left the drawing-room. M. Formery plunged at once into
+frowning meditation.
+
+"I find all this extremely interesting," said the Duke.
+
+"Charmed! Charmed!" said M. Formery, waving his hand with an
+absent-minded air.
+
+The inspector entered the drawing-room followed by the concierge and
+his wife. He handed a paper to M. Formery. The concierge, a bearded man
+of about sixty, and his wife, a somewhat bearded woman of about
+fifty-five, stared at M. Formery with fascinated, terrified eyes. He
+sat down in a chair, crossed his legs, read the paper through, and then
+scrutinized them keenly.
+
+"Well, have you recovered from your adventure?" he said.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir," said the concierge. "They hustled us a bit, but they
+did not really hurt us."
+
+"Nothing to speak of, that is," said his wife. "But all the same, it's
+a disgraceful thing that an honest woman can't sleep in peace in her
+bed of a night without being disturbed by rascals like that. And if the
+police did their duty things like this wouldn't happen. And I don't
+care who hears me say it."
+
+"You say that you were taken by surprise in your sleep?" said M.
+Formery. "You say you saw nothing, and heard nothing?"
+
+"There was no time to see anything or hear anything. They trussed us up
+like greased lightning," said the concierge.
+
+"But the gag was the worst," said the wife. "To lie there and not be
+able to tell the rascals what I thought about them!"
+
+"Didn't you hear the noise of footsteps in the garden?" said M. Formery.
+
+"One can't hear anything that happens in the garden from our bedroom,"
+said the concierge.
+
+"Even the night when Mlle. Germaine's great Dane barked from twelve
+o'clock till seven in the morning, all the household was kept awake
+except us; but bless you, sir, we slept like tops," said his wife
+proudly.
+
+"If they sleep like that it seems rather a waste of time to have gagged
+them," whispered the Duke to the inspector.
+
+The inspector grinned, and whispered scornfully, "Oh, them common
+folks; they do sleep like that, your Grace."
+
+"Didn't you hear any noise at the front door?" said M. Formery.
+
+"No, we heard no noise at the door," said the concierge.
+
+"Then you heard no noise at all the whole night?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir, we heard noise enough after we'd been gagged," said the
+concierge.
+
+"Now, this is important," said M. Formery. "What kind of a noise was
+it?"
+
+"Well, it was a bumping kind of noise," said the concierge. "And there
+was a noise of footsteps, walking about the room."
+
+"What room? Where did these noises come from?" said M. Formery.
+
+"From the room over our heads--the big drawing-room," said the
+concierge.
+
+"Didn't you hear any noise of a struggle, as if somebody was being
+dragged about--no screaming or crying?" said M. Formery.
+
+The concierge and his wife looked at one another with inquiring eyes.
+
+"No, I didn't," said the concierge.
+
+"Neither did I," said his wife.
+
+M. Formery paused. Then he said, "How long have you been in the service
+of M. Gournay-Martin?"
+
+"A little more than a year," said the concierge.
+
+M. Formery looked at the paper in his hand, frowned, and said severely,
+"I see you've been convicted twice, my man."
+
+"Yes, sir, but--"
+
+"My husband's an honest man, sir--perfectly honest," broke in his wife.
+"You've only to ask M. Gournay-Martin; he'll--"
+
+"Be so good as to keep quiet, my good woman," said M. Formery; and,
+turning to her husband, he went on: "At your first conviction you were
+sentenced to a day's imprisonment with costs; at your second conviction
+you got three days' imprisonment."
+
+"I'm not going to deny it, sir," said the concierge; "but it was an
+honourable imprisonment."
+
+"Honourable?" said M. Formery.
+
+"The first time, I was a gentleman's servant, and I got a day's
+imprisonment for crying, 'Hurrah for the General Strike!'--on the first
+of May."
+
+"You were a valet? In whose service?" said M. Formery.
+
+"In the service of M. Genlis, the Socialist leader."
+
+"And your second conviction?" said M. Formery.
+
+"It was for having cried in the porch of Ste. Clotilde, 'Down with the
+cows!'--meaning the police, sir," said the concierge.
+
+"And were you in the service of M. Genlis then?" said M. Formery.
+
+"No, sir; I was in the service of M. Bussy-Rabutin, the Royalist
+deputy."
+
+"You don't seem to have very well-defined political convictions," said
+M. Formery.
+
+"Oh, yes, sir, I have," the concierge protested. "I'm always devoted to
+my masters; and I have the same opinions that they have--always."
+
+"Very good; you can go," said M. Formery.
+
+The concierge and his wife left the room, looking as if they did not
+quite know whether to feel relieved or not.
+
+"Those two fools are telling the exact truth, unless I'm very much
+mistaken," said M. Formery.
+
+"They look honest enough people," said the Duke.
+
+"Well, now to examine the rest of the house," said M. Formery.
+
+"I'll come with you, if I may," said the Duke.
+
+"By all means, by all means," said M. Formery.
+
+"I find it all so interesting," said the Duke,
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+GUERCHARD ASSISTS
+
+
+Leaving a policeman on guard at the door of the drawing-room M.
+Formery, the Duke, and the inspector set out on their tour of
+inspection. It was a long business, for M. Formery examined every room
+with the most scrupulous care--with more care, indeed, than he had
+displayed in his examination of the drawing-rooms. In particular he
+lingered long in the bedroom of Victoire, discussing the possibilities
+of her having been murdered and carried away by the burglars along with
+their booty. He seemed, if anything, disappointed at finding no
+blood-stains, but to find real consolation in the thought that she
+might have been strangled. He found the inspector in entire agreement
+with every theory he enunciated, and he grew more and more disposed to
+regard him as a zealous and trustworthy officer. Also he was not at all
+displeased at enjoying this opportunity of impressing the Duke with his
+powers of analysis and synthesis. He was unaware that, as a rule, the
+Duke's eyes did not usually twinkle as they twinkled during this solemn
+and deliberate progress through the house of M. Gournay-Martin. M.
+Formery had so exactly the air of a sleuthhound; and he was even
+noisier.
+
+Having made this thorough examination of the house, M. Formery went out
+into the garden and set about examining that. There were footprints on
+the turf about the foot of the ladder, for the grass was close-clipped,
+and the rain had penetrated and softened the soil; but there were
+hardly as many footprints as might have been expected, seeing that the
+burglars must have made many journeys in the course of robbing the
+drawing-rooms of so many objects of art, some of them of considerable
+weight. The footprints led to a path of hard gravel; and M. Formery led
+the way down it, out of the door in the wall at the bottom of the
+garden, and into the space round the house which was being built.
+
+As M. Formery had divined, there was a heap, or, to be exact, there
+were several heaps of plaster about the bottom of the scaffolding.
+Unfortunately, there were also hundreds of footprints. M. Formery
+looked at them with longing eyes; but he did not suggest that the
+inspector should hunt about for a set of footprints of the size of the
+one he had so carefully measured on the drawing-room carpet.
+
+While they were examining the ground round the half-built house a man
+came briskly down the stairs from the second floor of the house of M.
+Gournay-Martin. He was an ordinary-looking man, almost insignificant,
+of between forty and fifty, and of rather more than middle height. He
+had an ordinary, rather shapeless mouth, an ordinary nose, an ordinary
+chin, an ordinary forehead, rather low, and ordinary ears. He was
+wearing an ordinary top-hat, by no means new. His clothes were the
+ordinary clothes of a fairly well-to-do citizen; and his boots had been
+chosen less to set off any slenderness his feet might possess than for
+their comfortable roominess. Only his eyes relieved his face from
+insignificance. They were extraordinarily alert eyes, producing in
+those on whom they rested the somewhat uncomfortable impression that
+the depths of their souls were being penetrated. He was the famous
+Chief-Inspector Guerchard, head of the Detective Department of the
+Prefecture of Police, and sworn foe of Arsene Lupin.
+
+The policeman at the door of the drawing-room saluted him briskly. He
+was a fine, upstanding, red-faced young fellow, adorned by a rich black
+moustache of extraordinary fierceness.
+
+"Shall I go and inform M. Formery that you have come, M. Guerchard?" he
+said.
+
+"No, no; there's no need to take the trouble," said Guerchard in a
+gentle, rather husky voice. "Don't bother any one about me--I'm of no
+importance."
+
+"Oh, come, M. Guerchard," protested the policeman.
+
+"Of no importance," said M. Guerchard decisively. "For the present, M.
+Formery is everything. I'm only an assistant."
+
+He stepped into the drawing-room and stood looking about it, curiously
+still. It was almost as if the whole of his being was concentrated in
+the act of seeing--as if all the other functions of his mind and body
+were in suspension.
+
+"M. Formery and the inspector have just been up to examine the
+housekeeper's room. It's right at the top of the house--on the second
+floor. You take the servants' staircase. Then it's right at the end of
+the passage on the left. Would you like me to take you up to it, sir?"
+said the policeman eagerly. His heart was in his work.
+
+"Thank you, I know where it is--I've just come from it," said Guerchard
+gently.
+
+A grin of admiration widened the already wide mouth of the policeman,
+and showed a row of very white, able-looking teeth.
+
+"Ah, M. Guerchard!" he said, "you're cleverer than all the examining
+magistrates in Paris put together!"
+
+"You ought not to say that, my good fellow. I can't prevent you
+thinking it, of course; but you ought not to say it," said Guerchard
+with husky gentleness; and the faintest smile played round the corners
+of his mouth.
+
+He walked slowly to the window, and the policeman walked with him.
+
+"Have you noticed this, sir?" said the policeman, taking hold of the
+top of the ladder with a powerful hand. "It's probable that the
+burglars came in and went away by this ladder."
+
+"Thank you," said Guerchard.
+
+"They have even left this card-table on the window-sill," said the
+policeman; and he patted the card-table with his other powerful hand.
+
+"Thank you, thank you," said Guerchard.
+
+"They don't think it's Lupin's work at all," said the policeman. "They
+think that Lupin's letter announcing the burglary and these signatures
+on the walls are only a ruse."
+
+"Is that so?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Is there any way I can help you, sir?" said policeman.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard. "Take up your post outside that door and admit
+no one but M. Formery, the inspector, Bonavent, or Dieusy, without
+consulting me." And he pointed to the drawing-room door.
+
+"Shan't I admit the Duke of Charmerace? He's taking a great interest in
+this affair," said the policeman.
+
+"The Duke of Charmerace? Oh, yes--admit the Duke of Charmerace," said
+Guerchard.
+
+The policeman went to his post of responsibility, a proud man.
+
+Hardly had the door closed behind him when Guerchard was all
+activity--activity and eyes. He examined the ladder, the gaps on the
+wall from which the pictures had been taken, the signatures of Arsene
+Lupin. The very next thing he did was to pick up the book which the
+Duke had set on the top of the footprint again, to preserve it; and he
+measured, pacing it, the distance between the footprint and the window.
+
+The result of this measuring did not appear to cause him any
+satisfaction, for he frowned, measured the distance again, and then
+stared out of the window with a perplexed air, thinking hard. It was
+curious that, when he concentrated himself on a process of reasoning,
+his eves seemed to lose something of their sharp brightness and grew a
+little dim.
+
+At last he seemed to come to some conclusion. He turned away from the
+window, drew a small magnifying-glass from his pocket, dropped on his
+hands and knees, and began to examine the surface of the carpet with
+the most minute care.
+
+He examined a space of it nearly six feet square, stopped, and gazed
+round the room. His eyes rested on the fireplace, which he could see
+under the bottom of the big tapestried fire-screen which was raised on
+legs about a foot high, fitted with big casters. His eyes filled with
+interest; without rising, he crawled quickly across the room, peeped
+round the edge of the screen and rose, smiling.
+
+He went on to the further drawing-room and made the same careful
+examination of it, again examining a part of the surface of the carpet
+with his magnifying-glass. He came back to the window to which the
+ladder had been raised and examined very carefully the broken shutter.
+He whistled softly to himself, lighted a cigarette, and leant against
+the side of the window. He looked out of it, with dull eyes which saw
+nothing, the while his mind worked upon the facts he had discovered.
+
+He had stood there plunged in reflection for perhaps ten minutes, when
+there came a sound of voices and footsteps on the stairs. He awoke from
+his absorption, seemed to prick his ears, then slipped a leg over the
+window-ledge, and disappeared from sight down the ladder.
+
+The door opened, and in came M. Formery, the Duke, and the inspector.
+M. Formery looked round the room with eyes which seemed to expect to
+meet a familiar sight, then walked to the other drawing-room and looked
+round that. He turned to the policeman, who had stepped inside the
+drawing-room, and said sharply, "M. Guerchard is not here."
+
+"I left him here," said the policeman. "He must have disappeared. He's
+a wonder."
+
+"Of course," said M. Formery. "He has gone down the ladder to examine
+that house they're building. He's just following in our tracks and
+doing all over again the work we've already done. He might have saved
+himself the trouble. We could have told him all he wants to know. But
+there! He very likely would not be satisfied till he had seen
+everything for himself."
+
+"He may see something which we have missed," said the Duke.
+
+M. Formery frowned, and said sharply "That's hardly likely. I don't
+think that your Grace realizes to what a perfection constant practice
+brings one's power of observation. The inspector and I will cheerfully
+eat anything we've missed--won't we, inspector?" And he laughed
+heartily at his joke.
+
+"It might always prove a large mouthful," said the Duke with an
+ironical smile.
+
+M. Formery assumed his air of profound reflection, and walked a few
+steps up and down the room, frowning:
+
+"The more I think about it," he said, "the clearer it grows that we
+have disposed of the Lupin theory. This is the work of far less expert
+rogues than Lupin. What do you think, inspector?"
+
+"Yes; I think you have disposed of that theory, sir," said the
+inspector with ready acquiescence.
+
+"All the same, I'd wager anything that we haven't disposed of it to the
+satisfaction of Guerchard," said M. Formery.
+
+"Then he must be very hard to satisfy," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, in any other matter he's open to reason," said M. Formery; "but
+Lupin is his fixed idea; it's an obsession--almost a mania."
+
+"But yet he never catches him," said the Duke.
+
+"No; and he never will. His very obsession by Lupin hampers him. It
+cramps his mind and hinders its working," said M. Formery.
+
+He resumed his meditative pacing, stopped again, and said:
+
+"But considering everything, especially the absence of any traces of
+violence, combined with her entire disappearance, I have come to
+another conclusion. Victoire is the key to the mystery. She is the
+accomplice. She never slept in her bed. She unmade it to put us off the
+scent. That, at any rate, is something gained, to have found the
+accomplice. We shall have this good news, at least, to tell M,
+Gournay-Martin on his arrival."
+
+"Do you really think that she's the accomplice?" said the Duke.
+
+"I'm dead sure of it," said M. Formery. "We will go up to her room and
+make another thorough examination of it."
+
+Guerchard's head popped up above the window-sill:
+
+"My dear M. Formery," he said, "I beg that you will not take the
+trouble."
+
+M. Formery's mouth opened: "What! You, Guerchard?" he stammered.
+
+"Myself," said Guerchard; and he came to the top of the ladder and
+slipped lightly over the window-sill into the room.
+
+He shook hands with M. Formery and nodded to the inspector. Then he
+looked at the Duke with an air of inquiry.
+
+"Let me introduce you," said M. Formery. "Chief-Inspector Guerchard,
+head of the Detective Department--the Duke of Charmerace."
+
+The Duke shook hands with Guerchard, saying, "I'm delighted to make
+your acquaintance, M. Guerchard. I've been expecting your coming with
+the greatest interest. Indeed it was I who begged the officials at the
+Prefecture of Police to put this case in your hands. I insisted on it."
+
+"What were you doing on that ladder?" said M. Formery, giving Guerchard
+no time to reply to the Duke.
+
+"I was listening," said Guerchard simply--"listening. I like to hear
+people talk when I'm engaged on a case. It's a distraction--and it
+helps. I really must congratulate you, my dear M. Formery, on the
+admirable manner in which you have conducted this inquiry."
+
+M. Formery bowed, and regarded him with a touch of suspicion.
+
+"There are one or two minor points on which we do not agree, but on the
+whole your method has been admirable," said Guerchard.
+
+"Well, about Victoire," said M. Formery. "You're quite sure that an
+examination, a more thorough examination, of her room, is unnecessary?"
+
+"Yes, I think so," said Guerchard. "I have just looked at it myself."
+
+The door opened, and in came Bonavent, one of the detectives who had
+come earlier from the Prefecture. In his hand he carried a scrap of
+cloth.
+
+He saluted Guerchard, and said to M. Formery, "I have just found this
+scrap of cloth on the edge of the well at the bottom of the garden. The
+concierge's wife tells me that it has been torn from Victoire's dress."
+
+"I feared it," said M. Formery, taking the scrap of cloth from him. "I
+feared foul play. We must go to the well at once, send some one down
+it, or have it dragged."
+
+He was moving hastily to the door, when Guerchard said, in his husky,
+gentle voice, "I don't think there is any need to look for Victoire in
+the well."
+
+"But this scrap of cloth," said M. Formery, holding it out to him.
+
+"Yes, yes, that scrap of cloth," said Guerchard. And, turning to the
+Duke, he added, "Do you know if there's a dog or cat in the house, your
+Grace? I suppose that, as the fiance of Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin,
+you are familiar with the house?"
+
+"What on earth--" said M. Formery.
+
+"Excuse me," interrupted Guerchard. "But this is important--very
+important."
+
+"Yes, there is a cat," said the Duke. "I've seen a cat at the door of
+the concierge's rooms."
+
+"It must have been that cat which took this scrap of cloth to the edge
+of the well," said Guerchard gravely.
+
+"This is ridiculous--preposterous!" cried M. Formery, beginning to
+flush. "Here we're dealing with a most serious crime--a murder--the
+murder of Victoire--and you talk about cats!"
+
+"Victoire has not been murdered," said Guerchard; and his husky voice
+was gentler than ever, only just audible.
+
+"But we don't know that--we know nothing of the kind," said M. Formery.
+
+"I do," said Guerchard.
+
+"You?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard.
+
+"Then how do you explain her disappearance?"
+
+"If she had disappeared I shouldn't explain it," said Guerchard.
+
+"But since she has disappeared?" cried M. Formery, in a tone of
+exasperation.
+
+"She hasn't," said Guerchard.
+
+"You know nothing about it!" cried M. Formery, losing his temper.
+
+"Yes, I do," said Guerchard, with the same gentleness.
+
+"Come, do you mean to say that you know where she is?" cried M. Formery.
+
+"Certainly," said Guerchard.
+
+"Do you mean to tell us straight out that you've seen her?" cried M.
+Formery.
+
+"Oh, yes; I've seen her," said Guerchard.
+
+"You've seen her--when?" cried M. Formery.
+
+Guerchard paused to consider. Then he said gently:
+
+"It must have been between four and five minutes ago."
+
+"But hang it all, you haven't been out of this room!" cried M. Formery.
+
+"No, I haven't," said Guerchard.
+
+"And you've seen her?" cried M. Formery.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard, raising his voice a little.
+
+"Well, why the devil don't you tell us where she is? Tell us!" cried M.
+Formery, purple with exasperation.
+
+"But you won't let me get a word out of my mouth," protested Guerchard
+with aggravating gentleness.
+
+"Well, speak!" cried M. Formery; and he sank gasping on to a chair.
+
+"Ah, well, she's here," said Guerchard.
+
+"Here! How did she GET here?" said M. Formery.
+
+"On a mattress," said Guerchard.
+
+M. Formery sat upright, almost beside himself, glaring furiously at
+Guerchard:
+
+"What do you stand there pulling all our legs for?" he almost howled.
+
+"Look here," said Guerchard.
+
+He walked across the room to the fireplace, pushed the chairs which
+stood bound together on the hearth-rug to one side of the fireplace,
+and ran the heavy fire-screen on its casters to the other side of it,
+revealing to their gaze the wide, old-fashioned fireplace itself. The
+iron brazier which held the coals had been moved into the corner, and a
+mattress lay on the floor of the fireplace. On the mattress lay the
+figure of a big, middle-aged woman, half-dressed. There was a yellow
+gag in her mouth; and her hands and feet were bound together with blue
+cords.
+
+"She is sleeping soundly," said Guerchard. He stooped and picked up a
+handkerchief, and smelt it. "There's the handkerchief they chloroformed
+her with. It still smells of chloroform."
+
+They stared at him and the sleeping woman.
+
+"Lend a hand, inspector," he said. "And you too, Bonavent. She looks a
+good weight."
+
+The three of them raised the mattress, and carried it and the sleeping
+woman to a broad couch, and laid them on it. They staggered under their
+burden, for truly Victoire was a good weight.
+
+M. Formery rose, with recovered breath, but with his face an even
+richer purple. His eyes were rolling in his head, as if they were not
+under proper control.
+
+He turned on the inspector and cried savagely, "You never examined the
+fireplace, inspector!"
+
+"No, sir," said the downcast inspector.
+
+"It was unpardonable--absolutely unpardonable!" cried M. Formery. "How
+is one to work with subordinates like this?"
+
+"It was an oversight," said Guerchard.
+
+M. Formery turned to him and said, "You must admit that it was
+materially impossible for me to see her."
+
+"It was possible if you went down on all fours," said Guerchard.
+
+"On all fours?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes; on all fours you could see her heels sticking out beyond the
+mattress," said Guerchard simply.
+
+M. Formery shrugged his shoulders: "That screen looked as if it had
+stood there since the beginning of the summer," he said.
+
+"The first thing, when you're dealing with Lupin, is to distrust
+appearances," said Guerchard.
+
+"Lupin!" cried M. Formery hotly. Then he bit his lip and was silent.
+
+He walked to the side of the couch and looked down on the sleeping
+Victoire, frowning: "This upsets everything," he said. "With these new
+conditions, I've got to begin all over again, to find a new explanation
+of the affair. For the moment--for the moment, I'm thrown completely
+off the track. And you, Guerchard?"
+
+"Oh, well," said Guerchard, "I have an idea or two about the matter
+still."
+
+"Do you really mean to say that it hasn't thrown you off the track
+too?" said M. Formery, with a touch of incredulity in his tone.
+
+"Well, no--not exactly," said Guerchard. "I wasn't on that track, you
+see."
+
+"No, of course not--of course not. You were on the track of Lupin,"
+said M. Formery; and his contemptuous smile was tinged with malice.
+
+The Duke looked from one to the other of them with curious, searching
+eyes: "I find all this so interesting," he said.
+
+"We do not take much notice of these checks; they do not depress us for
+a moment," said M. Formery, with some return of his old grandiloquence.
+"We pause hardly for an instant; then we begin to reconstruct--to
+reconstruct."
+
+"It's perfectly splendid of you," said the Duke, and his limpid eyes
+rested on M. Formery's self-satisfied face in a really affectionate
+gaze; they might almost be said to caress it.
+
+Guerchard looked out of the window at a man who was carrying a hod-full
+of bricks up one of the ladders set against the scaffolding of the
+building house. Something in this honest workman's simple task seemed
+to amuse him, for he smiled.
+
+Only the inspector, thinking of the unexamined fireplace, looked really
+depressed.
+
+"We shan't get anything out of this woman till she wakes," said M.
+Formery, "When she does, I shall question her closely and fully. In the
+meantime, she may as well be carried up to her bedroom to sleep off the
+effects of the chloroform."
+
+Guerchard turned quickly: "Not her own bedroom, I think," he said
+gently.
+
+"Certainly not--of course, not her own bedroom," said M. Formery
+quickly.
+
+"And I think an officer at the door of whatever bedroom she does sleep
+in," said Guerchard.
+
+"Undoubtedly--most necessary," said M. Formery gravely. "See to it,
+inspector. You can take her away."
+
+The inspector called in a couple of policemen, and with their aid he
+and Bonavent raised the sleeping woman, a man at each corner of the
+mattress, and bore her from the room.
+
+"And now to reconstruct," said M. Formery; and he folded his arms and
+plunged into profound reflection.
+
+The Duke and Guerchard watched him in silence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE FAMILY ARRIVES
+
+
+In carrying out Victoire, the inspector had left the door of the
+drawing-room open. After he had watched M. Formery reflect for two
+minutes, Guerchard faded--to use an expressive Americanism--through it.
+The Duke felt in the breast-pocket of his coat, murmured softly, "My
+cigarettes," and followed him.
+
+He caught up Guerchard on the stairs and said, "I will come with you,
+if I may, M. Guerchard. I find all these investigations extraordinarily
+interesting. I have been observing M. Formery's methods--I should like
+to watch yours, for a change."
+
+"By all means," said Guerchard. "And there are several things I want to
+hear about from your Grace. Of course it might be an advantage to
+discuss them together with M. Formery, but--" and he hesitated.
+
+"It would be a pity to disturb M. Formery in the middle of the process
+of reconstruction," said the Duke; and a faint, ironical smile played
+round the corners of his sensitive lips.
+
+Guerchard looked at him quickly: "Perhaps it would," he said.
+
+They went through the house, out of the back door, and into the garden.
+Guerchard moved about twenty yards from the house, then he stopped and
+questioned the Duke at great length. He questioned him first about the
+Charolais, their appearance, their actions, especially about Bernard's
+attempt to steal the pendant, and the theft of the motor-cars.
+
+"I have been wondering whether M. Charolais might not have been Arsene
+Lupin himself," said the Duke.
+
+"It's quite possible," said Guerchard. "There seem to be no limits
+whatever to Lupin's powers of disguising himself. My colleague,
+Ganimard, has come across him at least three times that he knows of, as
+a different person. And no single time could he be sure that it was the
+same man. Of course, he had a feeling that he was in contact with some
+one he had met before, but that was all. He had no certainty. He may
+have met him half a dozen times besides without knowing him. And the
+photographs of him--they're all different. Ganimard declares that Lupin
+is so extraordinarily successful in his disguises because he is a great
+actor. He actually becomes for the time being the person he pretends to
+be. He thinks and feels absolutely like that person. Do you follow me?"
+
+"Oh, yes; but he must be rather fluid, this Lupin," said the Duke; and
+then he added thoughtfully, "It must be awfully risky to come so often
+into actual contact with men like Ganimard and you."
+
+"Lupin has never let any consideration of danger prevent him doing
+anything that caught his fancy. He has odd fancies, too. He's a
+humourist of the most varied kind--grim, ironic, farcical, as the mood
+takes him. He must be awfully trying to live with," said Guerchard.
+
+"Do you think humourists are trying to live with?" said the Duke, in a
+meditative tone. "I think they brighten life a good deal; but of course
+there are people who do not like them--the middle-classes."
+
+"Yes, yes, they're all very well in their place; but to live with they
+must be trying," said Guerchard quickly.
+
+He went on to question the Duke closely and at length about the
+household of M. Gournay-Martin, saying that Arsene Lupin worked with
+the largest gang a burglar had ever captained, and it was any odds that
+he had introduced one, if not more, of that gang into it. Moreover, in
+the case of a big affair like this, Lupin himself often played two or
+three parts under as many disguises.
+
+"If he was Charolais, I don't see how he could be one of M.
+Gournay-Martin's household, too," said the Duke in some perplexity.
+
+"I don't say that he WAS Charolais," said Guerchard. "It is quite a
+moot point. On the whole, I'm inclined to think that he was not. The
+theft of the motor-cars was a job for a subordinate. He would hardly
+bother himself with it."
+
+The Duke told him all that he could remember about the millionaire's
+servants--and, under the clever questioning of the detective, he was
+surprised to find how much he did remember--all kinds of odd details
+about them which he had scarcely been aware of observing.
+
+The two of them, as they talked, afforded an interesting contrast: the
+Duke, with his air of distinction and race, his ironic expression, his
+mobile features, his clear enunciation and well-modulated voice, his
+easy carriage of an accomplished fencer--a fencer with muscles of
+steel--seemed to be a man of another kind from the slow-moving
+detective, with his husky voice, his common, slurring enunciation, his
+clumsily moulded features, so ill adapted to the expression of emotion
+and intelligence. It was a contrast almost between the hawk and the
+mole, the warrior and the workman. Only in their eyes were they alike;
+both of them had the keen, alert eyes of observers. Perhaps the most
+curious thing of all was that, in spite of the fact that he had for so
+much of his life been an idler, trifling away his time in the pursuit
+of pleasure, except when he had made his expedition to the South Pole,
+the Duke gave one the impression of being a cleverer man, of a far
+finer brain, than the detective who had spent so much of his life
+sharpening his wits on the more intricate problems of crime.
+
+When Guerchard came to the end of his questions, the Duke said: "You
+have given me a very strong feeling that it is going to be a deuce of a
+job to catch Lupin. I don't wonder that, so far, you have none of you
+laid hands on him."
+
+"But we have!" cried Guerchard quickly. "Twice Ganimard has caught him.
+Once he had him in prison, and actually brought him to trial. Lupin
+became another man, and was let go from the very dock."
+
+"Really? It sounds absolutely amazing," said the Duke.
+
+"And then, in the affair of the Blue Diamond, Ganimard caught him
+again. He has his weakness, Lupin--it's women. It's a very common
+weakness in these masters of crime. Ganimard and Holmlock Shears, in
+that affair, got the better of him by using his love for a woman--'the
+fair-haired lady,' she was called--to nab him."
+
+"A shabby trick," said the Duke.
+
+"Shabby?" said Guerchard in a tone of utter wonder. "How can anything
+be shabby in the case of a rogue like this?"
+
+"Perhaps not--perhaps not--still--" said the Duke, and stopped.
+
+The expression of wonder faded from Guerchard's face, and he went on,
+"Well, Holmlock Shears recovered the Blue Diamond, and Ganimard nabbed
+Lupin. He held him for ten minutes, then Lupin escaped."
+
+"What became of the fair-haired lady?" said the Duke.
+
+"I don't know. I have heard that she is dead," said Guerchard. "Now I
+come to think of it, I heard quite definitely that she died."
+
+"It must be awful for a woman to love a man like Lupin--the constant,
+wearing anxiety," said the Duke thoughtfully.
+
+"I dare say. Yet he can have his pick of sweethearts. I've been offered
+thousands of francs by women--women of your Grace's world and wealthy
+Viennese--to make them acquainted with Lupin," said Guerchard.
+
+"You don't surprise me," said the Duke with his ironic smile. "Women
+never do stop to think--where one of their heroes is concerned. And did
+you do it?"
+
+"How could I? If I only could! If I could find Lupin entangled with a
+woman like Ganimard did--well--" said Guerchard between his teeth.
+
+"He'd never get out of YOUR clutches," said the Duke with conviction.
+
+"I think not--I think not," said Guerchard grimly. "But come, I may as
+well get on."
+
+He walked across the turf to the foot of the ladder and looked at the
+footprints round it. He made but a cursory examination of them, and
+took his way down the garden-path, out of the door in the wall into the
+space about the house that was building. He was not long examining it,
+and he went right through it out into the street on which the house
+would face when it was finished. He looked up and down it, and began to
+retrace his footsteps.
+
+"I've seen all I want to see out here. We may as well go back to the
+house," he said to the Duke.
+
+"I hope you've seen what you expected to see," said the Duke.
+
+"Exactly what I expected to see--exactly," said Guerchard.
+
+"That's as it should be," said the Duke.
+
+They went back to the house and found M. Formery in the drawing-room,
+still engaged in the process of reconstruction.
+
+"The thing to do now is to hunt the neighbourhood for witnesses of the
+departure of the burglars with their booty. Loaded as they were with
+such bulky objects, they must have had a big conveyance. Somebody must
+have noticed it. They must have wondered why it was standing in front
+of a half-built house. Somebody may have actually seen the burglars
+loading it, though it was so early in the morning. Bonavent had better
+inquire at every house in the street on which that half-built house
+faces. Did you happen to notice the name of it?" said M. Formery.
+
+"It's Sureau Street," said Guerchard. "But Dieusy has been hunting the
+neighbourhood for some one who saw the burglars loading their
+conveyance, or saw it waiting to be loaded, for the last hour."
+
+"Good," said M. Formery. "We are getting on."
+
+M. Formery was silent. Guerchard and the Duke sat down and lighted
+cigarettes.
+
+"You found plenty of traces," said M. Formery, waving his hand towards
+the window.
+
+"Yes; I've found plenty of traces," said Guerchard.
+
+"Of Lupin?" said M. Formery, with a faint sneer.
+
+"No; not of Lupin," said Guerchard.
+
+A smile of warm satisfaction illumined M. Formery's face:
+
+"What did I tell you?" he said. "I'm glad that you've changed your mind
+about that."
+
+"I have hardly changed my mind," said Guerchard, in his husky, gentle
+voice.
+
+There came a loud knocking on the front door, the sound of excited
+voices on the stairs. The door opened, and in burst M. Gournay-Martin.
+He took one glance round the devastated room, raised his clenched hands
+towards the ceiling, and bellowed, "The scoundrels! the dirty
+scoundrels!" And his voice stuck in his throat. He tottered across the
+room to a couch, dropped heavily to it, gazed round the scene of
+desolation, and burst into tears.
+
+Germaine and Sonia came into the room. The Duke stepped forward to
+greet them.
+
+"Do stop crying, papa. You're as hoarse as a crow as it is," said
+Germaine impatiently. Then, turning on the Duke with a frown, she said:
+"I think that joke of yours about the train was simply disgraceful,
+Jacques. A joke's a joke, but to send us out to the station on a night
+like last night, through all that heavy rain, when you knew all the
+time that there was no quarter-to-nine train--it was simply
+disgraceful."
+
+"I really don't know what you're talking about," said the Duke quietly.
+"Wasn't there a quarter-to-nine train?"
+
+"Of course there wasn't," said Germaine. "The time-table was years old.
+I think it was the most senseless attempt at a joke I ever heard of."
+
+"It doesn't seem to me to be a joke at all," said the Duke quietly. "At
+any rate, it isn't the kind of a joke I make--it would be detestable. I
+never thought to look at the date of the time-table. I keep a box of
+cigarettes in that drawer, and I have noticed the time-table there. Of
+course, it may have been lying there for years. It was stupid of me not
+to look at the date."
+
+"I said it was a mistake. I was sure that his Grace would not do
+anything so unkind as that," said Sonia.
+
+The Duke smiled at her.
+
+"Well, all I can say is, it was very stupid of you not to look at the
+date," said Germaine.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin rose to his feet and wailed, in the most heartrending
+fashion: "My pictures! My wonderful pictures! Such investments! And my
+cabinets! My Renaissance cabinets! They can't be replaced! They were
+unique! They were worth a hundred and fifty thousand francs."
+
+M. Formery stepped forward with an air and said, "I am distressed, M.
+Gournay-Martin--truly distressed by your loss. I am M. Formery,
+examining magistrate."
+
+"It is a tragedy, M. Formery--a tragedy!" groaned the millionaire.
+
+"Do not let it upset you too much. We shall find your masterpieces--we
+shall find them. Only give us time," said M. Formery in a tone of warm
+encouragement.
+
+The face of the millionaire brightened a little.
+
+"And, after all, you have the consolation, that the burglars did not
+get hold of the gem of your collection. They have not stolen the
+coronet of the Princesse de Lamballe," said M. Formery.
+
+"No," said the Duke. "They have not touched this safe. It is unopened."
+
+"What has that got to do with it?" growled the millionaire quickly.
+"That safe is empty."
+
+"Empty ... but your coronet?" cried the Duke.
+
+"Good heavens! Then they HAVE stolen it," cried the millionaire
+hoarsely, in a panic-stricken voice.
+
+"But they can't have--this safe hasn't been touched," said the Duke.
+
+"But the coronet never was in that safe. It was--have they entered my
+bedroom?" said the millionaire.
+
+"No," said M. Formery.
+
+"They don't seem to have gone through any of the rooms except these
+two," said the Duke.
+
+"Ah, then my mind is at rest about that. The safe in my bedroom has
+only two keys. Here is one." He took a key from his waistcoat pocket
+and held it out to them. "And the other is in this safe."
+
+The face of M. Formery was lighted up with a splendid satisfaction. He
+might have rescued the coronet with his own hands. He cried
+triumphantly, "There, you see!"
+
+"See? See?" cried the millionaire in a sudden bellow. "I see that they
+have robbed me--plundered me. Oh, my pictures! My wonderful pictures!
+Such investments!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE THEFT OF THE PENDANT
+
+
+They stood round the millionaire observing his anguish, with eyes in
+which shone various degrees of sympathy. As if no longer able to bear
+the sight of such woe, Sonia slipped out of the room.
+
+The millionaire lamented his loss and abused the thieves by turns, but
+always at the top of his magnificent voice.
+
+Suddenly a fresh idea struck him. He clapped his hand to his brow and
+cried: "That eight hundred pounds! Charolais will never buy the Mercrac
+now! He was not a bona fide purchaser!"
+
+The Duke's lips parted slightly and his eyes opened a trifle wider than
+their wont. He turned sharply on his heel, and almost sprang into the
+other drawing-room. There he laughed at his ease.
+
+M. Formery kept saying to the millionaire: "Be calm, M. Gournay-Martin.
+Be calm! We shall recover your masterpieces. I pledge you my word. All
+we need is time. Have patience. Be calm!"
+
+His soothing remonstrances at last had their effect. The millionaire
+grew calm:
+
+"Guerchard?" he said. "Where is Guerchard?"
+
+M. Formery presented Guerchard to him.
+
+"Are you on their track? Have you a clue?" said the millionaire.
+
+"I think," said M. Formery in an impressive tone, "that we may now
+proceed with the inquiry in the ordinary way."
+
+He was a little piqued by the millionaire's so readily turning from him
+to the detective. He went to a writing-table, set some sheets of paper
+before him, and prepared to make notes on the answers to his questions.
+The Duke came back into the drawing-room; the inspector was summoned.
+M. Gournay-Martin sat down on a couch with his hands on his knees and
+gazed gloomily at M. Formery. Germaine, who was sitting on a couch near
+the door, waiting with an air of resignation for her father to cease
+his lamentations, rose and moved to a chair nearer the writing-table.
+Guerchard kept moving restlessly about the room, but noiselessly. At
+last he came to a standstill, leaning against the wall behind M.
+Formery.
+
+M. Formery went over all the matters about which he had already
+questioned the Duke. He questioned the millionaire and his daughter
+about the Charolais, the theft of the motor-cars, and the attempted
+theft of the pendant. He questioned them at less length about the
+composition of their household--the servants and their characters. He
+elicited no new fact.
+
+He paused, and then he said, carelessly as a mere matter of routine: "I
+should like to know, M. Gournay-Martin, if there has ever been any
+other robbery committed at your house?"
+
+"Three years ago this scoundrel Lupin--" the millionaire began
+violently.
+
+"Yes, yes; I know all about that earlier burglary. But have you been
+robbed since?" said M. Formery, interrupting him.
+
+"No, I haven't been robbed since that burglary; but my daughter has,"
+said the millionaire.
+
+"Your daughter?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes; I have been robbed two or three times during the last three
+years," said Germaine.
+
+"Dear me! But you ought to have told us about this before. This is
+extremely interesting, and most important," said M. Formery, rubbing
+his hands, "I suppose you suspect Victoire?"
+
+"No, I don't," said Germaine quickly. "It couldn't have been Victoire.
+The last two thefts were committed at the chateau when Victoire was in
+Paris in charge of this house."
+
+M. Formery seemed taken aback, and he hesitated, consulting his notes.
+Then he said: "Good--good. That confirms my hypothesis."
+
+"What hypothesis?" said M. Gournay-Martin quickly.
+
+"Never mind--never mind," said M. Formery solemnly. And, turning to
+Germaine, he went on: "You say, Mademoiselle, that these thefts began
+about three years ago?"
+
+"Yes, I think they began about three years ago in August."
+
+"Let me see. It was in the month of August, three years ago, that your
+father, after receiving a threatening letter like the one he received
+last night, was the victim of a burglary?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes, it was--the scoundrels!" cried the millionaire fiercely.
+
+"Well, it would be interesting to know which of your servants entered
+your service three years ago," said M. Formery.
+
+"Victoire has only been with us a year at the outside," said Germaine.
+
+"Only a year?" said M. Formery quickly, with an air of some vexation.
+He paused and added, "Exactly--exactly. And what was the nature of the
+last theft of which you were the victim?"
+
+"It was a pearl brooch--not unlike the pendant which his Grace gave me
+yesterday," said Germaine.
+
+"Would you mind showing me that pendant? I should like to see it," said
+M. Formery.
+
+"Certainly--show it to him, Jacques. You have it, haven't you?" said
+Germaine, turning to the Duke.
+
+"Me? No. How should I have it?" said the Duke in some surprise.
+"Haven't you got it?"
+
+"I've only got the case--the empty case," said Germaine, with a
+startled air.
+
+"The empty case?" said the Duke, with growing surprise.
+
+"Yes," said Germaine. "It was after we came back from our useless
+journey to the station. I remembered suddenly that I had started
+without the pendant. I went to the bureau and picked up the case; and
+it was empty."
+
+"One moment--one moment," said M. Formery. "Didn't you catch this young
+Bernard Charolais with this case in his hands, your Grace?"
+
+"Yes," said the Duke. "I caught him with it in his pocket."
+
+"Then you may depend upon it that the young rascal had slipped the
+pendant out of its case and you only recovered the empty case from
+him," said M. Formery triumphantly.
+
+"No," said the Duke. "That is not so. Nor could the thief have been the
+burglar who broke open the bureau to get at the keys. For long after
+both of them were out of the house I took a cigarette from the box
+which stood on the bureau beside the case which held the pendant. And
+it occurred to me that the young rascal might have played that very
+trick on me. I opened the case and the pendant was there."
+
+"It has been stolen!" cried the millionaire; "of course it has been
+stolen."
+
+"Oh, no, no," said the Duke. "It hasn't been stolen. Irma, or perhaps
+Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, has brought it to Paris for Germaine."
+
+"Sonia certainly hasn't brought it. It was she who suggested to me that
+you had seen it lying on the bureau, and slipped it into your pocket,"
+said Germaine quickly.
+
+"Then it must be Irma," said the Duke.
+
+"We had better send for her and make sure," said M. Formery.
+"Inspector, go and fetch her."
+
+The inspector went out of the room and the Duke questioned Germaine and
+her father about the journey, whether it had been very uncomfortable,
+and if they were very tired by it. He learned that they had been so
+fortunate as to find sleeping compartments on the train, so that they
+had suffered as little as might be from their night of travel.
+
+M. Formery looked through his notes; Guerchard seemed to be going to
+sleep where he stood against the wall.
+
+The inspector came back with Irma. She wore the frightened,
+half-defensive, half-defiant air which people of her class wear when
+confronted by the authorities. Her big, cow's eyes rolled uneasily.
+
+"Oh, Irma--" Germaine began.
+
+M. Formery cut her short, somewhat brusquely. "Excuse me, excuse me. I
+am conducting this inquiry," he said. And then, turning to Irma, he
+added, "Now, don't be frightened, Mademoiselle Irma; I want to ask you
+a question or two. Have you brought up to Paris the pendant which the
+Duke of Charmerace gave your mistress yesterday?"
+
+"Me, sir? No, sir. I haven't brought the pendant," said Irma.
+
+"You're quite sure?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes, sir; I haven't seen the pendant. Didn't Mademoiselle Germaine
+leave it on the bureau?" said Irma.
+
+"How do you know that?" said M. Formery.
+
+"I heard Mademoiselle Germaine say that it had been on the bureau. I
+thought that perhaps Mademoiselle Kritchnoff had put it in her bag."
+
+"Why should Mademoiselle Kritchnoff put it in her bag?" said the Duke
+quickly.
+
+"To bring it up to Paris for Mademoiselle Germaine," said Irma.
+
+"But what made you think that?" said Guerchard, suddenly intervening.
+
+"Oh, I thought Mademoiselle Kritchnoff might have put it in her bag
+because I saw her standing by the bureau," said Irma.
+
+"Ah, and the pendant was on the bureau?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes, sir," said Irma.
+
+There was a silence. Suddenly the atmosphere of the room seemed to have
+become charged with an oppression--a vague menace. Guerchard seemed to
+have become wide awake again. Germaine and the Duke looked at one
+another uneasily.
+
+"Have you been long in the service of Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin?"
+said M. Formery.
+
+"Six months, sir," said Irma.
+
+"Very good, thank you. You can go," said M. Formery. "I may want you
+again presently."
+
+Irma went quickly out of the room with an air of relief.
+
+M. Formery scribbled a few words on the paper before him and then said:
+"Well, I will proceed to question Mademoiselle Kritchnoff."
+
+"Mademoiselle Kritchnoff is quite above suspicion," said the Duke
+quickly.
+
+"Oh, yes, quite," said Germaine.
+
+"How long has Mademoiselle Kritchnoff been in your service,
+Mademoiselle?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Let me think," said Germaine, knitting her brow.
+
+"Can't you remember?" said M. Formery.
+
+"Just about three years," said Germaine.
+
+"That's exactly the time at which the thefts began," said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes," said Germaine, reluctantly.
+
+"Ask Mademoiselle Kritchnoff to come here, inspector," said M. Formery.
+
+"Yes, sir," said the inspector.
+
+"I'll go and fetch her--I know where to find her," said the Duke
+quickly, moving toward the door.
+
+"Please, please, your Grace," protested Guerchard. "The inspector will
+fetch her."
+
+The Duke turned sharply and looked at him: "I beg your pardon, but do
+you--" he said.
+
+"Please don't be annoyed, your Grace," Guerchard interrupted. "But M.
+Formery agrees with me--it would be quite irregular."
+
+"Yes, yes, your Grace," said M. Formery. "We have our method of
+procedure. It is best to adhere to it--much the best. It is the result
+of years of experience of the best way of getting the truth."
+
+"Just as you please," said the Duke, shrugging his shoulders.
+
+The inspector came into the room: "Mademoiselle Kritchnoff will be here
+in a moment. She was just going out."
+
+"She was going out?" said M. Formery. "You don't mean to say you're
+letting members of the household go out?"
+
+"No, sir," said the inspector. "I mean that she was just asking if she
+might go out."
+
+M. Formery beckoned the inspector to him, and said to him in a voice
+too low for the others to hear:
+
+"Just slip up to her room and search her trunks."
+
+"There is no need to take the trouble," said Guerchard, in the same low
+voice, but with sufficient emphasis.
+
+"No, of course not. There's no need to take the trouble," M. Formery
+repeated after him.
+
+The door opened, and Sonia came in. She was still wearing her
+travelling costume, and she carried her cloak on her arm. She stood
+looking round her with an air of some surprise; perhaps there was even
+a touch of fear in it. The long journey of the night before did not
+seem to have dimmed at all her delicate beauty. The Duke's eyes rested
+on her in an inquiring, wondering, even searching gaze. She looked at
+him, and her own eyes fell.
+
+"Will you come a little nearer, Mademoiselle?" said M. Formery. "There
+are one or two questions--"
+
+"Will you allow me?" said Guerchard, in a tone of such deference that
+it left M. Formery no grounds for refusal.
+
+M. Formery flushed and ground his teeth. "Have it your own way!" he
+said ungraciously.
+
+"Mademoiselle Kritchnoff," said Guerchard, in a tone of the most
+good-natured courtesy, "there is a matter on which M. Formery needs
+some information. The pendant which the Duke of Charmerace gave
+Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin yesterday has been stolen."
+
+"Stolen? Are you sure?" said Sonia in a tone of mingled surprise and
+anxiety.
+
+"Quite sure," said Guerchard. "We have exactly determined the
+conditions under which the theft was committed. But we have every
+reason to believe that the culprit, to avoid detection, has hidden the
+pendant in the travelling-bag or trunk of somebody else in order to--"
+
+"My bag is upstairs in my bedroom, sir," Sonia interrupted quickly.
+"Here is the key of it."
+
+In order to free her hands to take the key from her wrist-bag, she set
+her cloak on the back of a couch. It slipped off it, and fell to the
+ground at the feet of the Duke, who had not returned to his place
+beside Germaine. While she was groping in her bag for the key, and all
+eyes were on her, the Duke, who had watched her with a curious
+intentness ever since her entry into the room, stooped quietly down and
+picked up the cloak. His hand slipped into the pocket of it; his
+fingers touched a hard object wrapped in tissue-paper. They closed
+round it, drew it from the pocket, and, sheltered by the cloak,
+transferred it to his own. He set the cloak on the back of the sofa,
+and very softly moved back to his place by Germaine's side. No one in
+the room observed the movement, not even Guerchard: he was watching
+Sonia too intently.
+
+Sonia found the key, and held it out to Guerchard.
+
+He shook his head and said: "There is no reason to search your
+bag--none whatever. Have you any other luggage?"
+
+She shrank back a little from his piercing eyes, almost as if their
+gaze scared her.
+
+"Yes, my trunk ... it's upstairs in my bedroom too ... open."
+
+She spoke in a faltering voice, and her troubled eyes could not meet
+those of the detective.
+
+"You were going out, I think," said Guerchard gently.
+
+"I was asking leave to go out. There is some shopping that must be
+done," said Sonia.
+
+"You do not see any reason why Mademoiselle Kritchnoff should not go
+out, M. Formery, do you?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, no, none whatever; of course she can go out," said M. Formery.
+
+Sonia turned round to go.
+
+"One moment," said Guerchard, coming forward. "You've only got that
+wrist-bag with you?"
+
+"Yes," said Sonia. "I have my money and my handkerchief in it." And she
+held it out to him.
+
+Guerchard's keen eyes darted into it; and he muttered, "No point in
+looking in that. I don't suppose any one would have had the audacity--"
+and he stopped.
+
+Sonia made a couple of steps toward the door, turned, hesitated, came
+back to the couch, and picked up her cloak.
+
+There was a sudden gleam in Guerchard's eyes--a gleam of understanding,
+expectation, and triumph. He stepped forward, and holding out his
+hands, said: "Allow me."
+
+"No, thank you," said Sonia. "I'm not going to put it on."
+
+"No ... but it's possible ... some one may have ... have you felt in
+the pockets of it? That one, now? It seems as if that one--"
+
+He pointed to the pocket which had held the packet.
+
+Sonia started back with an air of utter dismay; her eyes glanced wildly
+round the room as if seeking an avenue of escape; her fingers closed
+convulsively on the pocket.
+
+"But this is abominable!" she cried. "You look as if--"
+
+"I beg you, mademoiselle," interrupted Guerchard. "We are sometimes
+obliged--"
+
+"Really, Mademoiselle Sonia," broke in the Duke, in a singularly clear
+and piercing tone, "I cannot see why you should object to this mere
+formality."
+
+"Oh, but--but--" gasped Sonia, raising her terror-stricken eyes to his.
+
+The Duke seemed to hold them with his own; and he said in the same
+clear, piercing voice, "There isn't the slightest reason for you to be
+frightened."
+
+Sonia let go of the cloak, and Guerchard, his face all alight with
+triumph, plunged his hand into the pocket. He drew it out empty, and
+stared at it, while his face fell to an utter, amazed blankness.
+
+"Nothing? nothing?" he muttered under his breath. And he stared at his
+empty hand as if he could not believe his eyes.
+
+By a violent effort he forced an apologetic smile on his face, and said
+to Sonia: "A thousand apologies, mademoiselle."
+
+He handed the cloak to her. Sonia took it and turned to go. She took a
+step towards the door, and tottered.
+
+The Duke sprang forward and caught her as she was falling.
+
+"Do you feel faint?" he said in an anxious voice.
+
+"Thank you, you just saved me in time," muttered Sonia.
+
+"I'm really very sorry," said Guerchard.
+
+"Thank you, it was nothing. I'm all right now," said Sonia, releasing
+herself from the Duke's supporting arm.
+
+She drew herself up, and walked quietly out of the room.
+
+Guerchard went back to M. Formery at the writing-table.
+
+"You made a clumsy mistake there, Guerchard," said M. Formery, with a
+touch of gratified malice in his tone.
+
+Guerchard took no notice of it: "I want you to give orders that nobody
+leaves the house without my permission," he said, in a low voice.
+
+"No one except Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, I suppose," said M. Formery,
+smiling.
+
+"She less than any one," said Guerchard quickly.
+
+"I don't understand what you're driving at a bit," said M. Formery.
+"Unless you suppose that Mademoiselle Kritchnoff is Lupin in disguise."
+
+Guerchard laughed softly: "You will have your joke, M. Formery," he
+said.
+
+"Well, well, I'll give the order," said M. Formery, somewhat mollified
+by the tribute to his humour.
+
+He called the inspector to him and whispered a word in his ear. Then he
+rose and said: "I think, gentlemen, we ought to go and examine the
+bedrooms, and, above all, make sure that the safe in M.
+Gournay-Martin's bedroom has not been tampered with."
+
+"I was wondering how much longer we were going to waste time here
+talking about that stupid pendant," grumbled the millionaire; and he
+rose and led the way.
+
+"There may also be some jewel-cases in the bedrooms," said M. Formery.
+"There are all the wedding presents. They were in charge of Victoire."
+said Germaine quickly. "It would be dreadful if they had been stolen.
+Some of them are from the first families in France."
+
+"They would replace them ... those paper-knives," said the Duke,
+smiling.
+
+Germaine and her father led the way. M. Formery, Guerchard, and the
+inspector followed them. At the door the Duke paused, stopped, closed
+it on them softly. He came back to the window, put his hand in his
+pocket, and drew out the packet wrapped in tissue-paper.
+
+He unfolded the paper with slow, reluctant fingers, and revealed the
+pendant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+LUPIN WIRES
+
+
+The Duke stared at the pendant, his eyes full of wonder and pity.
+
+"Poor little girl!" he said softly under his breath.
+
+He put the pendant carefully away in his waistcoat-pocket and stood
+staring thoughtfully out of the window.
+
+The door opened softly, and Sonia came quickly into the room, closed
+the door, and leaned back against it. Her face was a dead white; her
+skin had lost its lustre of fine porcelain, and she stared at him with
+eyes dim with anguish.
+
+In a hoarse, broken voice, she muttered: "Forgive me! Oh, forgive me!"
+
+"A thief--you?" said the Duke, in a tone of pitying wonder.
+
+Sonia groaned.
+
+"You mustn't stop here," said the Duke in an uneasy tone, and he looked
+uneasily at the door.
+
+"Ah, you don't want to speak to me any more," said Sonia, in a
+heartrending tone, wringing her hands.
+
+"Guerchard is suspicious of everything. It is dangerous for us to be
+talking here. I assure you that it's dangerous," said the Duke.
+
+"What an opinion must you have of me! It's dreadful--cruel!" wailed
+Sonia.
+
+"For goodness' sake don't speak so loud," said the Duke, with even
+greater uneasiness. "You MUST think of Guerchard."
+
+"What do I care?" cried Sonia. "I've lost the liking of the only
+creature whose liking I wanted. What does anything else matter? What
+DOES it matter?"
+
+"We'll talk somewhere else presently. That'll be far safer," said the
+Duke.
+
+"No, no, we must talk now!" cried Sonia. "You must know.... I must tell
+... Oh, dear! ... Oh, dear! ... I don't know how to tell you.... And
+then it is so unfair.... she ... Germaine ... she has everything," she
+panted. "Yesterday, before me, you gave her that pendant, ... she
+smiled ... she was proud of it.... I saw her pleasure.... Then I took
+it--I took it--I took it! And if I could, I'd take her fortune, too....
+I hate her! Oh, how I hate her!"
+
+"What!" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, I do ... I hate her!" said Sonia; and her eyes, no longer gentle,
+glowed with the sombre resentment, the dull rage of the weak who turn
+on Fortune. Her gentle voice was harsh with rebellious wrath.
+
+"You hate her?" said the Duke quickly.
+
+"I should never have told you that.... But now I dare.... I dare speak
+out.... It's you! ... It's you--" The avowal died on her lips. A
+burning flush crimsoned her cheeks and faded as quickly as it came: "I
+hate her!" she muttered.
+
+"Sonia--" said the Duke gently.
+
+"Oh! I know that it's no excuse.... I know that you're thinking 'This
+is a very pretty story, but it's not her first theft'; ... and it's
+true--it's the tenth, ... perhaps it's the twentieth.... It's true--I
+am a thief." She paused, and the glow deepened in her eyes. "But
+there's one thing you must believe--you shall believe; since you came,
+since I've known you, since the first day you set eyes on me, I have
+stolen no more ... till yesterday when you gave her the pendant before
+me. I could not bear it ... I could not." She paused and looked at him
+with eyes that demanded an assent.
+
+"I believe you," said the Duke gravely.
+
+She heaved a deep sigh of relief, and went on more quietly--some of its
+golden tone had returned to her voice: "And then, if you knew how it
+began ... the horror of it," she said.
+
+"Poor child!" said the Duke softly.
+
+"Yes, you pity me, but you despise me--you despise me beyond words. You
+shall not! I will not have it!" she cried fiercely.
+
+"Believe me, no," said the Duke, in a soothing tone.
+
+"Listen," said Sonia. "Have you ever been alone--alone in the world?
+... Have you ever been hungry? Think of it ... in this big city where I
+was starving in sight of bread ... bread in the shops .... One only had
+to stretch out one's hand to touch it ... a penny loaf. Oh, it's
+commonplace!" she broke off: "quite commonplace!"
+
+"Go on: tell me," said the Duke curtly.
+
+"There was one way I could make money and I would not do it: no, I
+would not," she went on. "But that day I was dying ... understand, I
+was dying ....I went to the rooms of a man I knew a little. It was my
+last resource. At first I was glad ... he gave me food and wine ... and
+then, he talked to me ... he offered me money."
+
+"What!" cried the Duke; and a sudden flame of anger flared up in his
+eyes.
+
+"No; I could not ... and then I robbed him.... I preferred to ... it
+was more decent. Ah, I had excuses then. I began to steal to remain an
+honest woman ... and I've gone on stealing to keep up appearances. You
+see ... I joke about it." And she laughed, the faint, dreadful, mocking
+laugh of a damned soul. "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she cried; and, burying
+her face in her hands, she burst into a storm of weeping.
+
+"Poor child," said the Duke softly. And he stared gloomily on the
+ground, overcome by this revelation of the tortures of the feeble in
+the underworld beneath the Paris he knew.
+
+"Oh, you do pity me ... you do understand ... and feel," said Sonia,
+between her sobs.
+
+The Duke raised his head and gazed at her with eyes full of an infinite
+sympathy and compassion.
+
+"Poor little Sonia," he said gently. "I understand."
+
+She gazed at him with incredulous eyes, in which joy and despair
+mingled, struggling.
+
+He came slowly towards her, and stopped short. His quick ear had caught
+the sound of a footstep outside the door.
+
+"Quick! Dry your eyes! You must look composed. The other room!" he
+cried, in an imperative tone.
+
+He caught her hand and drew her swiftly into the further drawing-room.
+
+With the quickness which came of long practice in hiding her feelings
+Sonia composed her face to something of its usual gentle calm. There
+was even a faint tinge of colour in her cheeks; they had lost their
+dead whiteness. A faint light shone in her eyes; the anguish had
+cleared from them. They rested on the Duke with a look of ineffable
+gratitude. She sat down on a couch. The Duke went to the window and
+lighted a cigarette. They heard the door of the outer drawing-room
+open, and there was a pause. Quick footsteps crossed the room, and
+Guerchard stood in the doorway. He looked from one to the other with
+keen and eager eyes. Sonia sat staring rather listlessly at the carpet.
+The Duke turned, and smiled at him.
+
+"Well, M. Guerchard," he said. "I hope the burglars have not stolen the
+coronet."
+
+"The coronet is safe, your Grace," said Guerchard.
+
+"And the paper-knives?" said the Duke.
+
+"The paper-knives?" said Guerchard with an inquiring air.
+
+"The wedding presents," said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, your Grace, the wedding presents are safe," said Guerchard.
+
+"I breathe again," said the Duke languidly.
+
+Guerchard turned to Sonia and said, "I was looking for you,
+Mademoiselle, to tell you that M. Formery has changed his mind. It is
+impossible for you to go out. No one will be allowed to go out."
+
+"Yes?" said Sonia, in an indifferent tone.
+
+"We should be very much obliged if you would go to your room," said
+Guerchard. "Your meals will be sent up to you."
+
+"What?" said Sonia, rising quickly; and she looked from Guerchard to
+the Duke. The Duke gave her the faintest nod.
+
+"Very well, I will go to my room," she said coldly.
+
+They accompanied her to the door of the outer drawing-room. Guerchard
+opened it for her and closed it after her.
+
+"Really, M. Guerchard," said the Duke, shrugging his shoulders. "This
+last measure--a child like that!"
+
+"Really, I'm very sorry, your Grace; but it's my trade, or, if you
+prefer it, my duty. As long as things are taking place here which I am
+still the only one to perceive, and which are not yet clear to me, I
+must neglect no precaution."
+
+"Of course, you know best," said the Duke. "But still, a child like
+that--you're frightening her out of her life."
+
+Guerchard shrugged his shoulders, and went quietly out of the room.
+
+The Duke sat down in an easy chair, frowning and thoughtful. Suddenly
+there struck on his ears the sound of a loud roaring and heavy bumping
+on the stairs, the door flew open, and M. Gournay-Martin stood on the
+threshold waving a telegram in his hand.
+
+M. Formery and the inspector came hurrying down the stairs behind him,
+and watched his emotion with astonished and wondering eyes.
+
+"Here!" bellowed the millionaire. "A telegram! A telegram from the
+scoundrel himself! Listen! Just listen:"
+
+  "A thousand apologies for not having been
+   able to keep my promise about the coronet.
+   Had an appointment at the Acacias. Please
+   have coronet ready in your room to-night. Will
+   come without fail to fetch it, between a quarter
+   to twelve and twelve o'clock."
+
+  "Yours affectionately,"
+
+  "ARSENE LUPIN."
+
+"There! What do you think of that?"
+
+"If you ask me, I think he's humbug," said the Duke with conviction.
+
+"Humbug! You always think it's humbug! You thought the letter was
+humbug; and look what has happened!" cried the millionaire.
+
+"Give me the telegram, please," said M. Formery quickly.
+
+The millionaire gave it to him; and he read it through.
+
+"Find out who brought it, inspector," he said.
+
+The inspector hurried to the top of the staircase and called to the
+policeman in charge of the front door. He came back to the drawing-room
+and said: "It was brought by an ordinary post-office messenger, sir."
+
+"Where is he?" said M. Formery. "Why did you let him go?"
+
+"Shall I send for him, sir?" said the inspector.
+
+"No, no, it doesn't matter," said M. Formery; and, turning to M.
+Gournay-Martin and the Duke, he said, "Now we're really going to have
+trouble with Guerchard. He is going to muddle up everything. This
+telegram will be the last straw. Nothing will persuade him now that
+this is not Lupin's work. And just consider, gentlemen: if Lupin had
+come last night, and if he had really set his heart on the coronet, he
+would have stolen it then, or at any rate he would have tried to open
+the safe in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom, in which the coronet actually
+is, or this safe here"--he went to the safe and rapped on the door of
+it--"in which is the second key."
+
+"That's quite clear," said the inspector.
+
+"If, then, he did not make the attempt last night, when he had a clear
+field--when the house was empty--he certainly will not make the attempt
+now when we are warned, when the police are on the spot, and the house
+is surrounded. The idea is childish, gentlemen"--he leaned against the
+door of the safe--"absolutely childish, but Guerchard is mad on this
+point; and I foresee that his madness is going to hamper us in the most
+idiotic way."
+
+He suddenly pitched forward into the middle of the room, as the door of
+the safe opened with a jerk, and Guerchard shot out of it.
+
+"What the devil!" cried M. Formery, gaping at him.
+
+"You'd be surprised how clearly you hear everything in these
+safes--you'd think they were too thick," said Guerchard, in his gentle,
+husky voice.
+
+"How on earth did you get into it?" cried M. Formery.
+
+"Getting in was easy enough. It's the getting out that was awkward.
+These jokers had fixed up some kind of a spring so that I nearly shot
+out with the door," said Guerchard, rubbing his elbow.
+
+"But how did you get into it? How the deuce DID you get into it?" cried
+M. Formery.
+
+"Through the little cabinet into which that door behind the safe opens.
+There's no longer any back to the safe; they've cut it clean out of
+it--a very neat piece of work. Safes like this should always be fixed
+against a wall, not stuck in front of a door. The backs of them are
+always the weak point."
+
+"And the key? The key of the safe upstairs, in my bedroom, where the
+coronet is--is the key there?" cried M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+Guerchard went back into the empty safe, and groped about in it. He
+came out smiling.
+
+"Well, have you found the key?" cried the millionaire.
+
+"No. I haven't; but I've found something better," said Guerchard.
+
+"What is it?" said M. Formery sharply.
+
+"I'll give you a hundred guesses," said Guerchard with a tantalizing
+smile.
+
+"What is it?" said M. Formery.
+
+"A little present for you," said Guerchard.
+
+"What do you mean?" cried M. Formery angrily.
+
+Guerchard held up a card between his thumb and forefinger and said
+quietly:
+
+"The card of Arsene Lupin."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+GUERCHARD PICKS UP THE TRUE SCENT
+
+
+The millionaire gazed at the card with stupefied eyes, the inspector
+gazed at it with extreme intelligence, the Duke gazed at it with
+interest, and M. Formery gazed at it with extreme disgust.
+
+"It's part of the same ruse--it was put there to throw us off the
+scent. It proves nothing--absolutely nothing," he said scornfully.
+
+"No; it proves nothing at all," said Guerchard quietly.
+
+"The telegram is the important thing--this telegram," said M.
+Gournay-Martin feverishly. "It concerns the coronet. Is it going to be
+disregarded?"
+
+"Oh, no, no," said M. Formery in a soothing tone. "It will be taken
+into account. It will certainly be taken into account."
+
+M. Gournay-Martin's butler appeared in the doorway of the drawing-room:
+"If you please, sir, lunch is served," he said.
+
+At the tidings some of his weight of woe appeared to be lifted from the
+head of the millionaire. "Good!" he said, "good! Gentlemen, you will
+lunch with me, I hope."
+
+"Thank you," said M. Formery. "There is nothing else for us to do, at
+any rate at present, and in the house. I am not quite satisfied about
+Mademoiselle Kritchnoff--at least Guerchard is not. I propose to
+question her again--about those earlier thefts."
+
+"I'm sure there's nothing in that," said the Duke quickly.
+
+"No, no; I don't think there is," said M. Formery. "But still one never
+knows from what quarter light may come in an affair like this. Accident
+often gives us our best clues."
+
+"It seems rather a shame to frighten her--she's such a child," said the
+Duke.
+
+"Oh, I shall be gentle, your Grace--as gentle as possible, that is. But
+I look to get more from the examination of Victoire. She was on the
+scene. She has actually seen the rogues at work; but till she recovers
+there is nothing more to be done, except to wait the discoveries of the
+detectives who are working outside; and they will report here. So in
+the meantime we shall be charmed to lunch with you, M. Gournay-Martin."
+
+They went downstairs to the dining-room and found an elaborate and
+luxurious lunch, worthy of the hospitality of a millionaire, awaiting
+them. The skill of the cook seemed to have been quite unaffected by the
+losses of his master. M. Formery, an ardent lover of good things,
+enjoyed himself immensely. He was in the highest spirits. Germaine, a
+little upset by the night-journey, was rather querulous. Her father was
+plunged in a gloom which lifted for but a brief space at the appearance
+of a fresh delicacy. Guerchard ate and drank seriously, answering the
+questions of the Duke in a somewhat absent-minded fashion. The Duke
+himself seemed to have lost his usual flow of good spirits, and at
+times his brow was knitted in an anxious frown. His questions to
+Guerchard showed a far less keen interest in the affair.
+
+To him the lunch seemed very long and very tedious; but at last it came
+to an end. M. Gournay-Martin seemed to have been much cheered by the
+wine he had drunk. He was almost hopeful. M. Formery, who had not by
+any means trifled with the champagne, was raised to the very height of
+sanguine certainty. Their coffee and liqueurs were served in the
+smoking-room. Guerchard lighted a cigar, refused a liqueur, drank his
+coffee quickly, and slipped out of the room.
+
+The Duke followed him, and in the hall said: "I will continue to watch
+you unravel the threads of this mystery, if I may, M. Guerchard."
+
+Good Republican as Guerchard was, he could not help feeling flattered
+by the interest of a Duke; and the excellent lunch he had eaten
+disposed him to feel the honour even more deeply.
+
+"I shall be charmed," he said. "To tell the truth, I find the company
+of your Grace really quite stimulating."
+
+"It must be because I find it all so extremely interesting," said the
+Duke.
+
+They went up to the drawing-room and found the red-faced young
+policeman seated on a chair by the door eating a lunch, which had been
+sent up to him from the millionaire's kitchen, with a very hearty
+appetite.
+
+They went into the drawing-room. Guerchard shut the door and turned the
+key: "Now," he said, "I think that M. Formery will give me half an hour
+to myself. His cigar ought to last him at least half an hour. In that
+time I shall know what the burglars really did with their plunder--at
+least I shall know for certain how they got it out of the house."
+
+"Please explain," said the Duke. "I thought we knew how they got it out
+of the house." And he waved his hand towards the window.
+
+"Oh, that!--that's childish," said Guerchard contemptuously. "Those are
+traces for an examining magistrate. The ladder, the table on the
+window-sill, they lead nowhere. The only people who came up that ladder
+were the two men who brought it from the scaffolding. You can see their
+footsteps. Nobody went down it at all. It was mere waste of time to
+bother with those traces."
+
+"But the footprint under the book?" said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, that," said Guerchard. "One of the burglars sat on the couch
+there, rubbed plaster on the sole of his boot, and set his foot down on
+the carpet. Then he dusted the rest of the plaster off his boot and put
+the book on the top of the footprint."
+
+"Now, how do you know that?" said the astonished Duke.
+
+"It's as plain as a pike-staff," said Guerchard. "There must have been
+several burglars to move such pieces of furniture. If the soles of all
+of them had been covered with plaster, all the sweeping in the world
+would not have cleared the carpet of the tiny fragments of it. I've
+been over the carpet between the footprint and the window with a
+magnifying glass. There are no fragments of plaster on it. We dismiss
+the footprint. It is a mere blind, and a very fair blind too--for an
+examining magistrate."
+
+"I understand," said the Duke.
+
+"That narrows the problem, the quite simple problem, how was the
+furniture taken out of the room. It did not go through that window down
+the ladder. Again, it was not taken down the stairs, and out of the
+front door, or the back. If it had been, the concierge and his wife
+would have heard the noise. Besides that, it would have been carried
+down into a main street, in which there are people at all hours.
+Somebody would have been sure to tell a policeman that this house was
+being emptied. Moreover, the police were continually patrolling the
+main streets, and, quickly as a man like Lupin would do the job, he
+could not do it so quickly that a policeman would not have seen it. No;
+the furniture was not taken down the stairs or out of the front door.
+That narrows the problem still more. In fact, there is only one mode of
+egress left."
+
+"The chimney!" cried the Duke.
+
+"You've hit it," said Guerchard, with a husky laugh. "By that
+well-known logical process, the process of elimination, we've excluded
+all methods of egress except the chimney."
+
+He paused, frowning, in some perplexity; and then he said uneasily:
+"What I don't like about it is that Victoire was set in the fireplace.
+I asked myself at once what was she doing there. It was unnecessary
+that she should be drugged and set in the fireplace--quite unnecessary."
+
+"It might have been to put off an examining magistrate," said the Duke.
+"Having found Victoire in the fireplace, M. Formery did not look for
+anything else."
+
+"Yes, it might have been that," said Guerchard slowly. "On the other
+hand, she might have been put there to make sure that I did not miss
+the road the burglars took. That's the worst of having to do with
+Lupin. He knows me to the bottom of my mind. He has something up his
+sleeve--some surprise for me. Even now, I'm nowhere near the bottom of
+the mystery. But come along, we'll take the road the burglars took. The
+inspector has put my lantern ready for me."
+
+As he spoke he went to the fireplace, picked up a lantern which had
+been set on the top of the iron fire-basket, and lighted it. The Duke
+stepped into the great fireplace beside him. It was four feet deep, and
+between eight and nine feet broad. Guerchard threw the light from the
+lantern on to the back wall of it. Six feet from the floor the soot
+from the fire stopped abruptly, and there was a dappled patch of
+bricks, half of them clean and red, half of them blackened by soot,
+five feet broad, and four feet high.
+
+"The opening is higher up than I thought," said Guerchard. "I must get
+a pair of steps."
+
+He went to the door of the drawing-room and bade the young policeman
+fetch him a pair of steps. They were brought quickly. He took them from
+the policeman, shut the door, and locked it again. He set the steps in
+the fireplace and mounted them.
+
+"Be careful," he said to the Duke, who had followed him into the
+fireplace, and stood at the foot of the steps. "Some of these bricks
+may drop inside, and they'll sting you up if they fall on your toes."
+
+The Duke stepped back out of reach of any bricks that might fall.
+
+Guerchard set his left hand against the wall of the chimney-piece
+between him and the drawing-room, and pressed hard with his right
+against the top of the dappled patch of bricks. At the first push, half
+a dozen of them fell with a bang on to the floor of the next house. The
+light came flooding in through the hole, and shone on Guerchard's face
+and its smile of satisfaction. Quickly he pushed row after row of
+bricks into the next house until he had cleared an opening four feet
+square.
+
+"Come along," he said to the Duke, and disappeared feet foremost
+through the opening.
+
+The Duke mounted the steps, and found himself looking into a large
+empty room of the exact size and shape of the drawing-room of M.
+Gournay-Martin, save that it had an ordinary modern fireplace instead
+of one of the antique pattern of that in which he stood. Its
+chimney-piece was a few inches below the opening. He stepped out on to
+the chimney-piece and dropped lightly to the floor.
+
+"Well," he said, looking back at the opening through which he had come.
+"That's an ingenious dodge."
+
+"Oh, it's common enough," said Guerchard. "Robberies at the big
+jewellers' are sometimes worked by these means. But what is uncommon
+about it, and what at first sight put me off the track, is that these
+burglars had the cheek to pierce the wall with an opening large enough
+to enable them to remove the furniture of a house."
+
+"It's true," said the Duke. "The opening's as large as a good-sized
+window. Those burglars seem capable of everything--even of a
+first-class piece of mason's work."
+
+"Oh, this has all been prepared a long while ago. But now I'm really on
+their track. And after all, I haven't really lost any time. Dieusy
+wasted no time in making inquiries in Sureau Street; he's been working
+all this side of the house."
+
+Guerchard drew up the blinds, opened the shutters, and let the daylight
+flood the dim room. He came back to the fireplace and looked down at
+the heap of bricks, frowning:
+
+"I made a mistake there," he said. "I ought to have taken those bricks
+down carefully, one by one."
+
+Quickly he took brick after brick from the pile, and began to range
+them neatly against the wall on the left. The Duke watched him for two
+or three minutes, then began to help him. It did not take them long,
+and under one of the last few bricks Guerchard found a fragment of a
+gilded picture-frame.
+
+"Here's where they ought to have done their sweeping," he said, holding
+it up to the Duke.
+
+"I tell you what," said the Duke, "I shouldn't wonder if we found the
+furniture in this house still."
+
+"Oh, no, no!" said Guerchard. "I tell you that Lupin would allow for
+myself or Ganimard being put in charge of the case; and he would know
+that we should find the opening in the chimney. The furniture was taken
+straight out into the side-street on to which this house opens." He led
+the way out of the room on to the landing and went down the dark
+staircase into the hall. He opened the shutters of the hall windows,
+and let in the light. Then he examined the hall. The dust lay thick on
+the tiled floor. Down the middle of it was a lane formed by many feet.
+The footprints were faint, but still plain in the layer of dust.
+Guerchard came back to the stairs and began to examine them. Half-way
+up the flight he stooped, and picked up a little spray of flowers:
+"Fresh!" he said. "These have not been long plucked."
+
+"Salvias," said the Duke.
+
+"Salvias they are," said Guerchard. "Pink salvias; and there is only
+one gardener in France who has ever succeeded in getting this shade--M.
+Gournay-Martin's gardener at Charmerace. I'm a gardener myself."
+
+"Well, then, last night's burglars came from Charmerace. They must
+have," said the Duke.
+
+"It looks like it," said Guerchard.
+
+"The Charolais," said the Duke.
+
+"It looks like it," said Guerchard.
+
+"It must be," said the Duke. "This IS interesting--if only we could get
+an absolute proof."
+
+"We shall get one presently," said Guerchard confidently.
+
+"It is interesting," said the Duke in a tone of lively enthusiasm.
+"These clues--these tracks which cross one another--each fact by
+degrees falling into its proper place--extraordinarily interesting." He
+paused and took out his cigarette-case: "Will you have a cigarette?" he
+said.
+
+"Are they caporal?" said Guerchard.
+
+"No, Egyptians--Mercedes."
+
+"Thank you," said Guerchard; and he took one.
+
+The Duke struck a match, lighted Guerchard's cigarette, and then his
+own:
+
+"Yes, it's very interesting," he said. "In the last quarter of an hour
+you've practically discovered that the burglars came from
+Charmerace--that they were the Charolais--that they came in by the
+front door of this house, and carried the furniture out of it."
+
+"I don't know about their coming in by it," said Guerchard. "Unless I'm
+very much mistaken, they came in by the front door of M.
+Gournay-Martin's house."
+
+"Of course," said the Duke. "I was forgetting. They brought the keys
+from Charmerace."
+
+"Yes, but who drew the bolts for them?" said Guerchard. "The concierge
+bolted them before he went to bed. He told me so. He was telling the
+truth--I know when that kind of man is telling the truth."
+
+"By Jove!" said the Duke softly. "You mean that they had an accomplice?"
+
+"I think we shall find that they had an accomplice. But your Grace is
+beginning to draw inferences with uncommon quickness. I believe that
+you would make a first-class detective yourself--with practice, of
+course--with practice."
+
+"Can I have missed my true career?" said the Duke, smiling. "It's
+certainly a very interesting game."
+
+"Well, I'm not going to search this barracks myself," said Guerchard.
+"I'll send in a couple of men to do it; but I'll just take a look at
+the steps myself."
+
+So saying, he opened the front door and went out and examined the steps
+carefully.
+
+"We shall have to go back the way we came," he said, when he had
+finished his examination. "The drawing-room door is locked. We ought to
+find M. Formery hammering on it." And he smiled as if he found the
+thought pleasing.
+
+They went back up the stairs, through the opening, into the
+drawing-room of M. Gournay-Martin's house. Sure enough, from the other
+side of the locked door came the excited voice of M. Formery, crying:
+
+"Guerchard! Guerchard! What are you doing? Let me in! Why don't you let
+me in?"
+
+Guerchard unlocked the door; and in bounced M. Formery, very excited,
+very red in the face.
+
+"Hang it all, Guerchard! What on earth have you been doing?" he cried.
+"Why didn't you open the door when I knocked?"
+
+"I didn't hear you," said Guerchard. "I wasn't in the room."
+
+"Then where on earth have you been?" cried M. Formery.
+
+Guerchard looked at him with a faint, ironical smile, and said in his
+gentle voice, "I was following the real track of the burglars."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE EXAMINATION OF SONIA
+
+
+M. Formery gasped: "The real track?" he muttered.
+
+"Let me show you," said Guerchard. And he led him to the fireplace, and
+showed him the opening between the two houses.
+
+"I must go into this myself!" cried M. Formery in wild excitement.
+
+Without more ado he began to mount the steps. Guerchard followed him.
+The Duke saw their heels disappear up the steps. Then he came out of
+the drawing-room and inquired for M. Gournay-Martin. He was told that
+the millionaire was up in his bedroom; and he went upstairs, and
+knocked at the door of it.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin bade him enter in a very faint voice, and the Duke
+found him lying on the bed. He was looking depressed, even exhausted,
+the shadow of the blusterous Gournay-Martin of the day before. The rich
+rosiness of his cheeks had faded to a moderate rose-pink.
+
+"That telegram," moaned the millionaire. "It was the last straw. It has
+overwhelmed me. The coronet is lost."
+
+"What, already?" said the Duke, in a tone of the liveliest surprise.
+
+"No, no; it's still in the safe," said the millionaire. "But it's as
+good as lost--before midnight it will be lost. That fiend will get it."
+
+"If it's in this safe now, it won't be lost before midnight," said the
+Duke. "But are you sure it's there now?"
+
+"Look for yourself," said the millionaire, taking the key of the safe
+from his waistcoat pocket, and handing it to the Duke.
+
+The Duke opened the safe. The morocco case which held the coronet lay
+on the middle shell in front of him. He glanced at the millionaire, and
+saw that he had closed his eyes in the exhaustion of despair. Whistling
+softly, the Duke opened the case, took out the diadem, and examined it
+carefully, admiring its admirable workmanship. He put it back in the
+case, turned to the millionaire, and said thoughtfully:
+
+"I can never make up my mind, in the case of one of these old diadems,
+whether one ought not to take out the stones and have them re-cut. Look
+at this emerald now. It's a very fine stone, but this old-fashioned
+cutting does not really do it justice."
+
+"Oh, no, no: you should never interfere with an antique, historic piece
+of jewellery. Any alteration decreases its value--its value as an
+historic relic," cried the millionaire, in a shocked tone.
+
+"I know that," said the Duke, "but the question for me is, whether one
+ought not to sacrifice some of its value to increasing its beauty."
+
+"You do have such mad ideas," said the millionaire, in a tone of
+peevish exasperation.
+
+"Ah, well, it's a nice question," said the Duke.
+
+He snapped the case briskly, put it back on the shelf, locked the safe,
+and handed the key to the millionaire. Then he strolled across the room
+and looked down into the street, whistling softly.
+
+"I think--I think--I'll go home and get out of these motoring clothes.
+And I should like to have on a pair of boots that were a trifle less
+muddy," he said slowly.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin sat up with a jerk and cried, "For Heaven's sake,
+don't you go and desert me, my dear chap! You don't know what my nerves
+are like!"
+
+"Oh, you've got that sleuth-hound, Guerchard, and the splendid Formery,
+and four other detectives, and half a dozen ordinary policemen guarding
+you. You can do without my feeble arm. Besides, I shan't be gone more
+than half an hour--three-quarters at the outside. I'll bring back my
+evening clothes with me, and dress for dinner here. I don't suppose
+that anything fresh will happen between now and midnight; but I want to
+be on the spot, and hear the information as it comes in fresh. Besides,
+there's Guerchard. I positively cling to Guerchard. It's an education,
+though perhaps not a liberal education, to go about with him," said the
+Duke; and there was a sub-acid irony in his voice.
+
+"Well, if you must, you must," said M. Gournay-Martin grumpily.
+
+"Good-bye for the present, then," said the Duke. And he went out of the
+room and down the stairs. He took his motor-cap from the hall-table,
+and had his hand on the latch of the door, when the policeman in charge
+of it said, "I beg your pardon, sir, but have you M. Guerchard's
+permission to leave the house?"
+
+"M. Guerchard's permission?" said the Duke haughtily. "What has M.
+Guerchard to do with me? I am the Duke of Charmerace." And he opened
+the door.
+
+"It was M. Formery's orders, your Grace," stammered the policeman
+doubtfully.
+
+"M. Formery's orders?" said the Duke, standing on the top step. "Call
+me a taxi-cab, please."
+
+The concierge, who stood beside the policeman, ran down the steps and
+blew his whistle. The policeman gazed uneasily at the Duke, shifting
+his weight from one foot to the other; but he said no more.
+
+A taxi-cab came up to the door, the Duke went down the steps, stepped
+into it, and drove away.
+
+Three-quarters of an hour later he came back, having changed into
+clothes more suited to a Paris drawing-room. He went up to the
+drawing-room, and there he found Guerchard, M. Formery, and the
+inspector, who had just completed their tour of inspection of the house
+next door and had satisfied themselves that the stolen treasures were
+not in it. The inspector and his men had searched it thoroughly just to
+make sure; but, as Guerchard had foretold, the burglars had not taken
+the chance of the failure of the police to discover the opening between
+the two houses. M. Formery told the Duke about their tour of inspection
+at length. Guerchard went to the telephone and told the exchange to put
+him through to Charmerace. He was informed that the trunk line was very
+busy and that he might have to wait half an hour.
+
+The Duke inquired if any trace of the burglars, after they had left
+with their booty, had yet been found. M. Formery told him that, so far,
+the detectives had failed to find a single trace. Guerchard said that
+he had three men at work on the search, and that he was hopeful of
+getting some news before long.
+
+"The layman is impatient in these matters," said M. Formery, with an
+indulgent smile. "But we have learnt to be patient, after long
+experience."
+
+He proceeded to discuss with Guerchard the new theories with which the
+discovery of the afternoon had filled his mind. None of them struck the
+Duke as being of great value, and he listened to them with a somewhat
+absent-minded air. The coming examination of Sonia weighed heavily on
+his spirit. Guerchard answered only in monosyllables to the questions
+and suggestions thrown out by M. Formery. It seemed to the Duke that he
+paid very little attention to him, that his mind was still working hard
+on the solution of the mystery, seeking the missing facts which would
+bring him to the bottom of it. In the middle of one of M. Formery's
+more elaborate dissertations the telephone bell rang.
+
+Guerchard rose hastily and went to it. They heard him say: "Is that
+Charmerace? ... I want the gardener.... Out? When will he be back? ...
+Tell him to ring me up at M. Gournay-Martin's house in Paris the moment
+he gets back.... Detective-Inspector Guerchard ... Guerchard ...
+Detective-Inspector."
+
+He turned to them with a frown, and said, "Of course, since I want him,
+the confounded gardener has gone out for the day. Still, it's of very
+little importance--a mere corroboration I wanted." And he went back to
+his seat and lighted another cigarette.
+
+M. Formery continued his dissertation. Presently Guerchard said, "You
+might go and see how Victoire is, inspector--whether she shows any
+signs of waking. What did the doctor say?"
+
+"The doctor said that she would not really be sensible and have her
+full wits about her much before ten o'clock to-night," said the
+inspector; but he went to examine her present condition.
+
+M. Formery proceeded to discuss the effects of different anesthetics.
+The others heard him with very little attention.
+
+The inspector came back and reported that Victoire showed no signs of
+awaking.
+
+"Well, then, M. Formery, I think we might get on with the examination
+of Mademoiselle Kritchnoff," said Guerchard. "Will you go and fetch
+her, inspector?"
+
+"Really, I cannot conceive why you should worry that poor child," the
+Duke protested, in a tone of some indignation.
+
+"It seems to me hardly necessary," said M. Formery.
+
+"Excuse me," said Guerchard suavely, "but I attach considerable
+importance to it. It seems to me to be our bounden duty to question her
+fully. One never knows from what quarter light may come."
+
+"Oh, well, since you make such a point of it," said M. Formery.
+"Inspector, ask Mademoiselle Kritchnoff to come here. Fetch her."
+
+The inspector left the room.
+
+Guerchard looked at the Duke with a faint air of uneasiness: "I think
+that we had better question Mademoiselle Kritchnoff by ourselves," he
+said.
+
+M. Formery looked at him and hesitated. Then he said: "Oh, yes, of
+course, by ourselves."
+
+"Certainly," said the Duke, a trifle haughtily. And he rose and opened
+the door. He was just going through it when Guerchard said sharply:
+
+"Your Grace--"
+
+The Duke paid no attention to him. He shut the door quickly behind him
+and sprang swiftly up the stairs. He met the inspector coming down with
+Sonia. Barring their way for a moment he said, in his kindliest voice:
+"Now you mustn't be frightened, Mademoiselle Sonia. All you have to do
+is to try to remember as clearly as you can the circumstances of the
+earlier thefts at Charmerace. You mustn't let them confuse you."
+
+"Thank you, your Grace, I will try and be as clear as I can," said
+Sonia; and she gave him an eloquent glance, full of gratitude for the
+warning; and went down the stairs with firm steps.
+
+The Duke went on up the stairs, and knocked softly at the door of M.
+Gournay-Martin's bedroom. There was no answer to his knock, and he
+quietly opened the door and looked in. Overcome by his misfortunes, the
+millionaire had sunk into a profound sleep and was snoring softly. The
+Duke stepped inside the room, left the door open a couple of inches,
+drew a chair to it, and sat down watching the staircase through the
+opening of the door.
+
+He sat frowning, with a look of profound pity on his face. Once the
+suspense grew too much for him. He rose and walked up and down the
+room. His well-bred calm seemed to have deserted him. He muttered
+curses on Guerchard, M. Formery, and the whole French criminal system,
+very softly, under his breath. His face was distorted to a mask of
+fury; and once he wiped the little beads of sweat from his forehead
+with his handkerchief. Then he recovered himself, sat down in the
+chair, and resumed his watch on the stairs.
+
+At last, at the end of half an hour, which had seemed to him months
+long, he heard voices. The drawing-room door shut, and there were
+footsteps on the stairs. The inspector and Sonia came into view.
+
+He waited till they were at the top of the stairs: then he came out of
+the room, with his most careless air, and said: "Well, Mademoiselle
+Sonia, I hope you did not find it so very dreadful, after all."
+
+She was very pale, and there were undried tears on her cheeks. "It was
+horrible," she said faintly. "Horrible. M. Formery was all right--he
+believed me; but that horrible detective would not believe a word I
+said. He confused me. I hardly knew what I was saying."
+
+The Duke ground his teeth softly. "Never mind, it's over now. You had
+better lie down and rest. I will tell one of the servants to bring you
+up a glass of wine."
+
+He walked with her to the door of her room, and said: "Try to
+sleep--sleep away the unpleasant memory."
+
+She went into her room, and the Duke went downstairs and told the
+butler to take a glass of champagne up to her. Then he went upstairs to
+the drawing-room. M. Formery was at the table writing. Guerchard stood
+beside him. He handed what he had written to Guerchard, and, with a
+smile of satisfaction, Guerchard folded the paper and put it in his
+pocket.
+
+"Well, M. Formery, did Mademoiselle Kritchnoff throw any fresh light on
+this mystery?" said the Duke, in a tone of faint contempt.
+
+"No--in fact she convinced ME that she knew nothing whatever about it.
+M. Guerchard seems to entertain a different opinion. But I think that
+even he is convinced that Mademoiselle Kritchnoff is not a friend of
+Arsene Lupin."
+
+"Oh, well, perhaps she isn't. But there's no telling," said Guerchard
+slowly.
+
+"Arsene Lupin?" cried the Duke. "Surely you never thought that
+Mademoiselle Kritchnoff had anything to do with Arsene Lupin?"
+
+"I never thought so," said M. Formery. "But when one has a fixed idea
+... well, one has a fixed idea." He shrugged his shoulders, and looked
+at Guerchard with contemptuous eyes.
+
+The Duke laughed, an unaffected ringing laugh, but not a pleasant one:
+"It's absurd!" he cried.
+
+"There are always those thefts," said Guerchard, with a nettled air.
+
+"You have nothing to go upon," said M. Formery. "What if she did enter
+the service of Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin just before the thefts
+began? Besides, after this lapse of time, if she had committed the
+thefts, you'd find it a job to bring them home to her. It's not a job
+worth your doing, anyhow--it's a job for an ordinary detective,
+Guerchard."
+
+"There's always the pendant," said Guerchard. "I am convinced that that
+pendant is in the house."
+
+"Oh, that stupid pendant! I wish I'd never given it to Mademoiselle
+Gournay-Martin," said the Duke lightly.
+
+"I have a feeling that if I could lay my hand on that pendant--if I
+could find who has it, I should have the key to this mystery."
+
+"The devil you would!" said the Duke softly. "That is odd. It is the
+oddest thing about this business I've heard yet."
+
+"I have that feeling--I have that feeling," said Guerchard quietly.
+
+The Duke smiled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+VICTOIRE'S SLIP
+
+
+They were silent. The Duke walked to the fireplace, stepped into it,
+and studied the opening. He came out again and said: "Oh, by the way,
+M. Formery, the policeman at the front door wanted to stop me going out
+of the house when I went home to change. I take it that M. Guerchard's
+prohibition does not apply to me?"
+
+"Of course not--of course not, your Grace," said M. Formery quickly.
+
+"I saw that you had changed your clothes, your Grace," said Guerchard.
+"I thought that you had done it here."
+
+"No," said the Duke, "I went home. The policeman protested; but he went
+no further, so I did not throw him into the middle of the street."
+
+"Whatever our station, we should respect the law," said M. Formery
+solemnly.
+
+"The Republican Law, M. Formery? I am a Royalist," said the Duke,
+smiling at him.
+
+M. Formery shook his head sadly.
+
+"I was wondering," said the Duke, "about M. Guerchard's theory that the
+burglars were let in the front door of this house by an accomplice.
+Why, when they had this beautiful large opening, did they want a front
+door, too?"
+
+"I did not know that that was Guerchard's theory?" said M. Formery, a
+trifle contemptuously. "Of course they had no need to use the front
+door."
+
+"Perhaps they had no need to use the front door," said Guerchard; "but,
+after all, the front door was unbolted, and they did not draw the bolts
+to put us off the scent. Their false scent was already prepared"--he
+waved his hand towards the window--"moreover, you must bear in mind
+that that opening might not have been made when they entered the house.
+Suppose that, while they were on the other side of the wall, a brick
+had fallen on to the hearth, and alarmed the concierge. We don't know
+how skilful they are; they might not have cared to risk it. I'm
+inclined to think, on the whole, that they did come in through the
+front door."
+
+M. Formery sniffed contemptuously.
+
+"Perhaps you're right," said the Duke. "But the accomplice?"
+
+"I think we shall know more about the accomplice when Victoire awakes,"
+said Guerchard.
+
+"The family have such confidence in Victoire," said the Duke.
+
+"Perhaps Lupin has, too," said Guerchard grimly.
+
+"Always Lupin!" said M. Formery contemptuously.
+
+There came a knock at the door, and a footman appeared on the
+threshold. He informed the Duke that Germaine had returned from her
+shopping expedition, and was awaiting him in her boudoir. He went to
+her, and tried to persuade her to put in a word for Sonia, and
+endeavour to soften Guerchard's rigour.
+
+She refused to do anything of the kind, declaring that, in view of the
+value of the stolen property, no stone must be left unturned to recover
+it. The police knew what they were doing; they must have a free hand.
+The Duke did not press her with any great vigour; he realized the
+futility of an appeal to a nature so shallow, so self-centred, and so
+lacking in sympathy. He took his revenge by teasing her about the
+wedding presents which were still flowing in. Her father's business
+friends were still striving to outdo one another in the costliness of
+the jewelry they were giving her. The great houses of the Faubourg
+Saint-Germain were still refraining firmly from anything that savoured
+of extravagance or ostentation. While he was with her the eleventh
+paper-knife came--from his mother's friend, the Duchess of Veauleglise.
+The Duke was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of it, and his delighted
+comments drove Germaine to the last extremity of exasperation. The
+result was that she begged him, with petulant asperity, to get out of
+her sight.
+
+He complied with her request, almost with alacrity, and returned to M.
+Formery and Guerchard. He found them at a standstill, waiting for
+reports from the detectives who were hunting outside the house for
+information about the movements of the burglars with the stolen booty,
+and apparently finding none. The police were also hunting for the
+stolen motor-cars, not only in Paris and its environs, but also all
+along the road between Paris and Charmerace.
+
+At about five o'clock Guerchard grew tired of the inaction, and went
+out himself to assist his subordinates, leaving M. Formery in charge of
+the house itself. He promised to be back by half-past seven, to let the
+examining magistrate, who had an engagement for the evening, get away.
+The Duke spent his time between the drawing-room, where M. Formery
+entertained him with anecdotes of his professional skill, and the
+boudoir, where Germaine was entertaining envious young friends who came
+to see her wedding presents. The friends of Germaine were always a
+little ill at ease in the society of the Duke, belonging as they did to
+that wealthy middle class which has made France what she is. His
+indifference to the doings of the old friends of his family saddened
+them; and they were unable to understand his airy and persistent
+trifling. It seemed to them a discord in the cosmic tune.
+
+The afternoon wore away, and at half-past seven Guerchard had not
+returned. M. Formery waited for him, fuming, for ten minutes, then left
+the house in charge of the inspector, and went off to his engagement.
+M. Gournay-Martin was entertaining two financiers and their wives, two
+of their daughters, and two friends of the Duke, the Baron de Vernan
+and the Comte de Vauvineuse, at dinner that night. Thanks to the Duke,
+the party was of a liveliness to which the gorgeous dining-room had
+been very little used since it had been so fortunate as to become the
+property of M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+The millionaire had been looking forward to an evening of luxurious
+woe, deploring the loss of his treasures--giving their prices--to his
+sympathetic friends. The Duke had other views; and they prevailed.
+After dinner the guests went to the smoking-room, since the
+drawing-rooms were in possession of Guerchard. Soon after ten the Duke
+slipped away from them, and went to the detective. Guerchard's was not
+a face at any time full of expression, and all that the Duke saw on it
+was a subdued dulness.
+
+"Well, M. Guerchard," he said cheerfully, "what luck? Have any of your
+men come across any traces of the passage of the burglars with their
+booty?"
+
+"No, your Grace; so far, all the luck has been with the burglars. For
+all that any one seems to have seen them, they might have vanished into
+the bowels of the earth through the floor of the cellars in the empty
+house next door. That means that they were very quick loading whatever
+vehicle they used with their plunder. I should think, myself, that they
+first carried everything from this house down into the hall of the
+house next door; and then, of course, they could be very quick getting
+them from hall to their van, or whatever it was. But still, some one
+saw that van--saw it drive up to the house, or waiting at the house, or
+driving away from it."
+
+"Is M. Formery coming back?" said the Duke.
+
+"Not to-night," said Guerchard. "The affair is in my hands now; and I
+have my own men on it--men of some intelligence, or, at any rate, men
+who know my ways, and how I want things done."
+
+"It must be a relief," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, no, I'm used to M. Formery--to all the examining magistrates in
+Paris, and in most of the big provincial towns. They do not really
+hamper me; and often I get an idea from them; for some of them are men
+of real intelligence."
+
+"And others are not: I understand," said the Duke.
+
+The door opened and Bonavent, the detective, came in.
+
+"The housekeeper's awake, M. Guerchard," he said.
+
+"Good, bring her down here," said Guerchard.
+
+"Perhaps you'd like me to go," said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, no," said Guerchard. "If it would interest you to hear me question
+her, please stay."
+
+Bonavent left the room. The Duke sat down in an easy chair, and
+Guerchard stood before the fireplace.
+
+"M. Formery told me, when you were out this afternoon, that he believed
+this housekeeper to be quite innocent," said the Duke idly.
+
+"There is certainly one innocent in this affair," said Guerchard,
+grinning.
+
+"Who is that?" said the Duke.
+
+"The examining magistrate," said Guerchard.
+
+The door opened, and Bonavent brought Victoire in. She was a big,
+middle-aged woman, with a pleasant, cheerful, ruddy face, black-haired,
+with sparkling brown eyes, which did not seem to have been at all
+dimmed by her long, drugged sleep. She looked like a well-to-do
+farmer's wife, a buxom, good-natured, managing woman.
+
+As soon as she came into the room, she said quickly:
+
+"I wish, Mr. Inspector, your man would have given me time to put on a
+decent dress. I must have been sleeping in this one ever since those
+rascals tied me up and put that smelly handkerchief over my face. I
+never saw such a nasty-looking crew as they were in my life."
+
+"How many were there, Madame Victoire?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Dozens! The house was just swarming with them. I heard the noise; I
+came downstairs; and on the landing outside the door here, one of them
+jumped on me from behind and nearly choked me--to prevent me from
+screaming, I suppose."
+
+"And they were a nasty-looking crew, were they?" said Guerchard. "Did
+you see their faces?"
+
+"No, I wish I had! I should know them again if I had; but they were all
+masked," said Victoire.
+
+"Sit down, Madame Victoire. There's no need to tire you," said
+Guerchard. And she sat down on a chair facing him.
+
+"Let's see, you sleep in one of the top rooms, Madame Victoire. It has
+a dormer window, set in the roof, hasn't it?" said Guerchard, in the
+same polite, pleasant voice.
+
+"Yes; yes. But what has that got to do with it?" said Victoire.
+
+"Please answer my questions," said Guerchard sharply. "You went to
+sleep in your room. Did you hear any noise on the roof?"
+
+"On the roof? How should I hear it on the roof? There wouldn't be any
+noise on the roof," said Victoire.
+
+"You heard nothing on the roof?" said Guerchard.
+
+"No; the noise I heard was down here," said Victoire.
+
+"Yes, and you came down to see what was making it. And you were seized
+from behind on the landing, and brought in here," said Guerchard.
+
+"Yes, that's right," said Madame Victoire.
+
+"And were you tied up and gagged on the landing, or in here?" said
+Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, I was caught on the landing, and pushed in here, and then tied
+up," said Victoire.
+
+"I'm sure that wasn't one man's job," said Guerchard, looking at her
+vigorous figure with admiring eyes.
+
+"You may be sure of that," said Victoire. "It took four of them; and at
+least two of them have some nice bruises on their shins to show for it."
+
+"I'm sure they have. And it serves them jolly well right," said
+Guerchard, in a tone of warm approval. "And, I suppose, while those
+four were tying you up the others stood round and looked on."
+
+"Oh, no, they were far too busy for that," said Victoire.
+
+"What were they doing?" said Guerchard.
+
+"They were taking the pictures off the walls and carrying them out of
+the window down the ladder," said Victoire.
+
+Guerchard's eyes flickered towards the Duke, but the expression of
+earnest inquiry on his face never changed.
+
+"Now, tell me, did the man who took a picture from the walls carry it
+down the ladder himself, or did he hand it through the window to a man
+who was standing on the top of a ladder ready to receive it?" he said.
+
+Victoire paused as if to recall their action; then she said, "Oh, he
+got through the window, and carried it down the ladder himself."
+
+"You're sure of that?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, yes, I am quite sure of it--why should I deceive you, Mr.
+Inspector?" said Victoire quickly; and the Duke saw the first shadow of
+uneasiness on her face.
+
+"Of course not," said Guerchard. "And where were you?"
+
+"Oh, they put me behind the screen."
+
+"No, no, where were you when you came into the room?"
+
+"I was against the door," said Victoire.
+
+"And where was the screen?" said Guerchard. "Was it before the
+fireplace?"
+
+"No; it was on one side--the left-hand side," said Victoire.
+
+"Oh, will you show me exactly where it stood?" said Guerchard.
+
+Victoire rose, and, Guerchard aiding her, set the screen on the
+left-hand side of the fireplace.
+
+Guerchard stepped back and looked at it.
+
+"Now, this is very important," he said. "I must have the exact position
+of the four feet of that screen. Let's see ... some chalk ... of
+course.... You do some dressmaking, don't you, Madame Victoire?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I sometimes make a dress for one of the maids in my spare
+time," said Victoire.
+
+"Then you've got a piece of chalk on you," said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, yes," said Victoire, putting her hand to the pocket of her dress.
+
+She paused, took a step backwards, and looked wildly round the room,
+while the colour slowly faded in her ruddy cheeks.
+
+"What am I talking about?" she said in an uncertain, shaky voice. "I
+haven't any chalk--I--ran out of chalk the day before yesterday."
+
+"I think you have, Madame Victoire. Feel in your pocket and see," said
+Guerchard sternly. His voice had lost its suavity; his face its smile:
+his eyes had grown dangerous.
+
+"No, no; I have no chalk," cried Victoire.
+
+With a sudden leap Guerchard sprang upon her, caught her in a firm grip
+with his right arm, and his left hand plunged into her pocket.
+
+"Let me go! Let me go! You're hurting," she cried.
+
+Guerchard loosed her and stepped back.
+
+"What's this?" he said; and he held up between his thumb and forefinger
+a piece of blue chalk.
+
+Victoire drew herself up and faced him gallantly: "Well, what of
+it?--it is chalk. Mayn't an honest woman carry chalk in her pockets
+without being insulted and pulled about by every policeman she comes
+across?" she cried.
+
+"That will be for the examining magistrate to decide," said Guerchard;
+and he went to the door and called Bonavent. Bonavent came in, and
+Guerchard said: "When the prison van comes, put this woman in it; and
+send her down to the station."
+
+"But what have I done?" cried Victoire. "I'm innocent! I declare I'm
+innocent. I've done nothing at all. It's not a crime to carry a piece
+of chalk in one's pocket."
+
+"Now, that's a matter for the examining magistrate. You can explain it
+to him," said Guerchard. "I've got nothing to do with it: so it's no
+good making a fuss now. Do go quietly, there's a good woman."
+
+He spoke in a quiet, business-like tone. Victoire looked him in the
+eyes, then drew herself up, and went quietly out of the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SONIA'S ESCAPE
+
+
+"One of M. Formery's innocents," said Guerchard, turning to the Duke.
+
+"The chalk?" said the Duke. "Is it the same chalk?"
+
+"It's blue," said Guerchard, holding it out. "The same as that of the
+signatures on the walls. Add that fact to the woman's sudden
+realization of what she was doing, and you'll see that they were
+written with it."
+
+"It is rather a surprise," said the Duke. "To look at her you would
+think that she was the most honest woman in the world."
+
+"Ah, you don't know Lupin, your Grace," said Guerchard. "He can do
+anything with women; and they'll do anything for him. And, what's more,
+as far as I can see, it doesn't make a scrap of difference whether
+they're honest or not. The fair-haired lady I was telling you about was
+probably an honest woman; Ganimard is sure of it. We should have found
+out long ago who she was if she had been a wrong 'un. And Ganimard also
+swears that when he arrested Lupin on board the Provence some woman,
+some ordinary, honest woman among the passengers, carried away Lady
+Garland's jewels, which he had stolen and was bringing to America, and
+along with them a matter of eight hundred pounds which he had stolen
+from a fellow-passenger on the voyage."
+
+"That power of fascination which some men exercise on women is one of
+those mysteries which science should investigate before it does
+anything else," said the Duke, in a reflective tone. "Now I come to
+think of it, I had much better have spent my time on that investigation
+than on that tedious journey to the South Pole. All the same, I'm
+deucedly sorry for that woman, Victoire. She looks such a good soul."
+
+Guerchard shrugged his shoulders: "The prisons are full of good souls,"
+he said, with cynical wisdom born of experience. "They get caught so
+much more often than the bad."
+
+"It seems rather mean of Lupin to make use of women like this, and get
+them into trouble," said the Duke.
+
+"But he doesn't," said Guerchard quickly. "At least he hasn't up to
+now. This Victoire is the first we've caught. I look on it as a good
+omen."
+
+He walked across the room, picked up his cloak, and took a card-case
+from the inner pocket of it. "If you don't mind, your Grace, I want you
+to show this permit to my men who are keeping the door, whenever you go
+out of the house. It's just a formality; but I attach considerable
+importance to it, for I really ought not to make exceptions in favour
+of any one. I have two men at the door, and they have orders to let
+nobody out without my written permission. Of course M. Gournay-Martin's
+guests are different. Bonavent has orders to pass them out. And, if
+your Grace doesn't mind, it will help me. If you carry a permit, no one
+else will dream of complaining of having to do so."
+
+"Oh, I don't mind, if it's of any help to you," said the Duke
+cheerfully.
+
+"Thank you," said Guerchard. And he wrote on his card and handed it to
+the Duke.
+
+The Duke took it and looked at it. On it was written:
+
+     "Pass the Duke of Charmerace."
+
+     "J. GUERCHARD."
+
+"It's quite military," said the Duke, putting the card into his
+waistcoat pocket.
+
+There came a knock at the door, and a tall, thin, bearded man came into
+the room.
+
+"Ah, Dieusy! At last! What news?" cried Guerchard.
+
+Dieusy saluted: "I've learnt that a motor-van was waiting outside the
+next house--in the side street," he said.
+
+"At what time?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Between four and five in the morning," said Dieusy.
+
+"Who saw it?" said Guerchard.
+
+"A scavenger. He thinks that it was nearly five o'clock when the van
+drove off."
+
+"Between four and five--nearly five. Then they filled up the opening
+before they loaded the van. I thought they would," said Guerchard,
+thoughtfully. "Anything else?"
+
+"A few minutes after the van had gone a man in motoring dress came out
+of the house," said Dieusy.
+
+"In motoring dress?" said Guerchard quickly.
+
+"Yes. And a little way from the house he threw away his cigarette. The
+scavenger thought the whole business a little queer, and he picked up
+the cigarette and kept it. Here it is."
+
+He handed it to Guerchard, whose eyes scanned it carelessly and then
+glued themselves to it.
+
+"A gold-tipped cigarette ... marked Mercedes ... Why, your Grace, this
+is one of your cigarettes!"
+
+"But this is incredible!" cried the Duke.
+
+"Not at all," said Guerchard. "It's merely another link in the chain.
+I've no doubt you have some of these cigarettes at Charmerace."
+
+"Oh, yes, I've had a box on most of the tables," said the Duke.
+
+"Well, there you are," said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, I see what you're driving at," said the Duke. "You mean that one
+of the Charolais must have taken a box."
+
+"Well, we know that they'd hardly stick at a box of cigarettes," said
+Guerchard.
+
+"Yes ... but I thought ..." said the Duke; and he paused.
+
+"You thought what?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Then Lupin ... since it was Lupin who managed the business last
+night--since you found those salvias in the house next door ... then
+Lupin came from Charmerace."
+
+"Evidently," said Guerchard.
+
+"And Lupin is one of the Charolais."
+
+"Oh, that's another matter," said Guerchard.
+
+"But it's certain, absolutely certain," said the Duke. "We have the
+connecting links ... the salvias ... this cigarette."
+
+"It looks very like it. You're pretty quick on a scent, I must say,"
+said Guerchard. "What a detective you would have made! Only ... nothing
+is certain."
+
+"But it IS. Whatever more do you want? Was he at Charmerace yesterday,
+or was he not? Did he, or did he not, arrange the theft of the
+motor-cars?"
+
+"Certainly he did. But he himself might have remained in the background
+all the while," said Guerchard.
+
+"In what shape? ... Under what mask? ... By Jove, I should like to see
+this fellow!" said the Duke.
+
+"We shall see him to-night," said Guerchard.
+
+"To-night?" said the Duke.
+
+"Of course we shall; for he will come to steal the coronet between a
+quarter to twelve and midnight," said Guerchard.
+
+"Never!" said the Duke. "You don't really believe that he'll have the
+cheek to attempt such a mad act?"
+
+"Ah, you don't know this man, your Grace ... his extraordinary mixture
+of coolness and audacity. It's the danger that attracts him. He throws
+himself into the fire, and he doesn't get burnt. For the last ten years
+I've been saying to myself, 'Here we are: this time I've got him! ...
+At last I'm going to nab him.' But I've said that day after day," said
+Guerchard; and he paused.
+
+"Well?" said the Duke.
+
+"Well, the days pass; and I never nab him. Oh, he is thick, I tell
+you.... He's a joker, he is ... a regular artist"--he ground his
+teeth--"The damned thief!"
+
+The Duke looked at him, and said slowly, "Then you think that to-night
+Lupin--"
+
+"You've followed the scent with me, your Grace," Guerchard interrupted
+quickly and vehemently. "We've picked up each clue together. You've
+almost seen this man at work.... You've understood him. Isn't a man
+like this, I ask you, capable of anything?"
+
+"He is," said the Duke, with conviction.
+
+"Well, then," said Guerchard.
+
+"Perhaps you're right," said the Duke.
+
+Guerchard turned to Dieusy and said, in a quieter voice, "And when the
+scavenger had picked up the cigarette, did he follow the motorist?"
+
+"Yes, he followed him for about a hundred yards. He went down into
+Sureau Street, and turned westwards. Then a motor-car came along; he
+got into it, and went off."
+
+"What kind of a motor-car?" said Guerchard.
+
+"A big car, and dark red in colour," said Dieusy.
+
+"The Limousine!" cried the Duke.
+
+"That's all I've got so far, sir," said Dieusy.
+
+"Well, off you go," said Guerchard. "Now that you've got started,
+you'll probably get something else before very long."
+
+Dieusy saluted and went.
+
+"Things are beginning to move," said Guerchard cheerfully. "First
+Victoire, and now this motor-van."
+
+"They are indeed," said the Duke.
+
+"After all, it ought not to be very difficult to trace that motor-van,"
+said Guerchard, in a musing tone. "At any rate, its movements ought to
+be easy enough to follow up till about six. Then, of course, there
+would be a good many others about, delivering goods."
+
+"You seem to have all the possible information you can want at your
+finger-ends," said the Duke, in an admiring tone.
+
+"I suppose I know the life of Paris as well as anybody," said Guerchard.
+
+They were silent for a while. Then Germaine's maid, Irma, came into the
+room and said:
+
+"If you please, your Grace, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff would like to speak
+to you for a moment."
+
+"Oh? Where is she?" said the Duke.
+
+"She's in her room, your Grace."
+
+"Oh, very well, I'll go up to her," said the Duke. "I can speak to her
+in the library."
+
+He rose and was going towards the door when Guerchard stepped forward,
+barring his way, and said, "No, your Grace."
+
+"No? Why?" said the Duke haughtily.
+
+"I beg you will wait a minute or two till I've had a word with you,"
+said Guerchard; and he drew a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and
+held it up.
+
+The Duke looked at Guerchard's face, and he looked at the paper in his
+hand; then he said: "Oh, very well." And, turning to Irma, he added
+quietly, "Tell Mademoiselle Kritchnoff that I'm in the drawing-room."
+
+"Yes, your Grace, in the drawing-room," said Irma; and she turned to go.
+
+"Yes; and say that I shall be engaged for the next five minutes--the
+next five minutes, do you understand?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, your Grace," said Irma; and she went out of the door.
+
+"Ask Mademoiselle Kritchnoff to put on her hat and cloak," said
+Guerchard.
+
+"Yes, sir," said Irma; and she went.
+
+The Duke turned sharply on Guerchard, and said: "Now, why on earth? ...
+I don't understand."
+
+"I got this from M. Formery," said Guerchard, holding up the paper.
+
+"Well," said the Duke. "What is it?"
+
+"It's a warrant, your Grace," said Guerchard.
+
+"What! ... A warrant! ... Not for the arrest of Mademoiselle
+Kritchnoff?"
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, come, it's impossible," said the Duke. "You're never going to
+arrest that child?"
+
+"I am, indeed," said Guerchard. "Her examination this afternoon was in
+the highest degree unsatisfactory. Her answers were embarrassed,
+contradictory, and in every way suspicious."
+
+"And you've made up your mind to arrest her?" said the Duke slowly,
+knitting his brow in anxious thought.
+
+"I have, indeed," said Guerchard. "And I'm going to do it now. The
+prison van ought to be waiting at the door." He looked at his watch.
+"She and Victoire can go together."
+
+"So ... you're going to arrest her ... you're going to arrest her?"
+said the Duke thoughtfully: and he took a step or two up and down the
+room, still thinking hard.
+
+"Well, you understand the position, don't you, your Grace?" said
+Guerchard, in a tone of apology. "Believe me that, personally, I've no
+animosity against Mademoiselle Kritchnoff. In fact, the child attracts
+me."
+
+"Yes," said the Duke softly, in a musing tone. "She has the air of a
+child who has lost its way ... lost its way in life.... And that poor
+little hiding-place she found ... that rolled-up handkerchief ...
+thrown down in the corner of the little room in the house next door ...
+it was absolutely absurd."
+
+"What! A handkerchief!" cried Guerchard, with an air of sudden, utter
+surprise.
+
+"The child's clumsiness is positively pitiful," said the Duke.
+
+"What was in the handkerchief? ... The pearls of the pendant?" cried
+Guerchard.
+
+"Yes: I supposed you knew all about it. Of course M. Formery left word
+for you," said the Duke, with an air of surprise at the ignorance of
+the detective.
+
+"No: I've heard nothing about it," cried Guerchard.
+
+"He didn't leave word for you?" said the Duke, in a tone of greater
+surprise. "Oh, well, I dare say that he thought to-morrow would do. Of
+course you were out of the house when he found it. She must have
+slipped out of her room soon after you went."
+
+"He found a handkerchief belonging to Mademoiselle Kritchnoff. Where is
+it?" cried Guerchard.
+
+"M. Formery took the pearls, but he left the handkerchief. I suppose
+it's in the corner where he found it," said the Duke.
+
+"He left the handkerchief?" cried Guerchard. "If that isn't just like
+the fool! He ought to keep hens; it's all he's fit for!"
+
+He ran to the fireplace, seized the lantern, and began lighting it:
+"Where is the handkerchief?" he cried.
+
+"In the left-hand corner of the little room on the right on the second
+floor. But if you're going to arrest Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, why are
+you bothering about the handkerchief? It can't be of any importance,"
+said the Duke.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said Guerchard. "But it is."
+
+"But why?" said the Duke.
+
+"I was arresting Mademoiselle Kritchnoff all right because I had a very
+strong presumption of her guilt. But I hadn't the slightest proof of
+it," said Guerchard.
+
+"What?" cried the Duke, in a horrified tone.
+
+"No, you've just given me the proof; and since she was able to hide the
+pearls in the house next door, she knew the road which led to it.
+Therefore she's an accomplice," said Guerchard, in a triumphant tone.
+
+"What? Do you think that, too?" cried the Duke. "Good Heavens! And it's
+me! ... It's my senselessness! ... It's my fault that you've got your
+proof!" He spoke in a tone of acute distress.
+
+"It was your duty to give it me," said Guerchard sternly; and he began
+to mount the steps.
+
+"Shall I come with you? I know where the handkerchief is," said the
+Duke quickly.
+
+"No, thank you, your Grace," said Guerchard. "I prefer to go alone."
+
+"You'd better let me help you," said the Duke.
+
+"No, your Grace," said Guerchard firmly.
+
+"I must really insist," said the Duke.
+
+"No--no--no," said Guerchard vehemently, with stern decision. "It's no
+use your insisting, your Grace; I prefer to go alone. I shall only be
+gone a minute or two."
+
+"Just as you like," said the Duke stiffly.
+
+The legs of Guerchard disappeared up the steps. The Duke stood
+listening with all his ears. Directly he heard the sound of Guerchard's
+heels on the floor, when he dropped from the chimney-piece of the next
+room, he went swiftly to the door, opened it, and went out. Bonavent
+was sitting on the chair on which the young policeman had sat during
+the afternoon. Sonia, in her hat and cloak, was half-way down the
+stairs.
+
+The Duke put his head inside the drawing-room door, and said to the
+empty room: "Here is Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, M. Guerchard." He held
+open the door, Sonia came down the stairs, and went through it. The
+Duke followed her into the drawing-room, and shut the door.
+
+"There's not a moment to lose," he said in a low voice.
+
+"Oh, what is it, your Grace?" said Sonia anxiously.
+
+"Guerchard has a warrant for your arrest."
+
+"Then I'm lost!" cried Sonia, in a panic-stricken voice.
+
+"No, you're not. You must go--at once," said the Duke.
+
+"But how can I go? No one can get out of the house. M. Guerchard won't
+let them," cried Sonia, panic-stricken.
+
+"We can get over that," said the Duke.
+
+He ran to Guerchard's cloak, took the card-case from the inner pocket,
+went to the writing-table, and sat down. He took from his waist-coat
+pocket the permit which Guerchard had given him, and a pencil. Then he
+took a card from the card-case, set the permit on the table before him,
+and began to imitate Guerchard's handwriting with an amazing exactness.
+He wrote on the card:
+
+     "Pass Mademoiselle Kritchnoff."
+     "J. GUERCHARD."
+
+Sonia stood by his side, panting quickly with fear, and watched him do
+it. He had scarcely finished the last stroke, when they heard a noise
+on the other side of the opening into the empty house. The Duke looked
+at the fireplace, and his teeth bared in an expression of cold
+ferocity. He rose with clenched fists, and took a step towards the
+fireplace.
+
+"Your Grace? Your Grace?" called the voice of Guerchard.
+
+"What is it?" answered the Duke quietly.
+
+"I can't see any handkerchief," said Guerchard. "Didn't you say it was
+in the left-hand corner of the little room on the right?"
+
+"I told you you'd better let me come with you, and find it," said the
+Duke, in a tone of triumph. "It's in the right-hand corner of the
+little room on the left."
+
+"I could have sworn you said the little room on the right," said
+Guerchard.
+
+They heard his footfalls die away.
+
+"Now, you must get out of the house quickly." said the Duke. "Show this
+card to the detectives at the door, and they'll pass you without a
+word."
+
+He pressed the card into her hand.
+
+"But--but--this card?" stammered Sonia.
+
+"There's no time to lose," said the Duke.
+
+"But this is madness," said Sonia. "When Guerchard finds out about this
+card--that you--you--"
+
+"There's no need to bother about that," interrupted the Duke quickly.
+"Where are you going to?"
+
+"A little hotel near the Star. I've forgotten the name of it," said
+Sonia. "But this card--"
+
+"Has it a telephone?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes--No. 555, Central," said Sonia.
+
+"If I haven't telephoned to you before half-past eight to-morrow
+morning, come straight to my house," said the Duke, scribbling the
+telephone number on his shirt-cuff.
+
+"Yes, yes," said Sonia. "But this card.... When Guerchard knows ...
+when he discovers.... Oh, I can't let you get into trouble for me."
+
+"I shan't. But go--go," said the Duke, and he slipped his right arm
+round her and drew her to the door.
+
+"Oh, how good you are to me," said Sonia softly.
+
+The Duke's other arm went round her; he drew her to him, and their lips
+met.
+
+He loosed her, and opened the door, saying loudly: "You're sure you
+won't have a cab, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff?"
+
+"No; no, thank you, your Grace. Goodnight," said Sonia. And she went
+through the door with a transfigured face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE DUKE STAYS
+
+
+The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously,
+breathing quickly. There came the bang of the front door. With a deep
+sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the
+room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard's cloak.
+He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting
+with an entirely careless air for the detective's return. Presently he
+heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the
+opening. Then Guerchard came down the steps and out of the fireplace.
+
+His face wore an expression of extreme perplexity:
+
+"I can't understand it," he said. "I found nothing."
+
+"Nothing?" said the Duke.
+
+"No. Are you sure you saw the handkerchief in one of those little rooms
+on the second floor--quite sure?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Of course I did," said the Duke. "Isn't it there?"
+
+"No," said Guerchard.
+
+"You can't have looked properly," said the Duke, with a touch of irony
+in his voice. "If I were you, I should go back and look again."
+
+"No. If I've looked for a thing, I've looked for it. There's no need
+for me to look a second time. But, all the same, it's rather funny.
+Doesn't it strike you as being rather funny, your Grace?" said
+Guerchard, with a worried air.
+
+"It strikes me as being uncommonly funny," said the Duke, with an
+ambiguous smile.
+
+Guerchard looked at him with a sudden uneasiness; then he rang the bell.
+
+Bonavent came into the room.
+
+"Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, Bonavent. It's quite time," said Guerchard.
+
+"Mademoiselle Kritchnoff?" said Bonavent, with an air of surprise.
+
+"Yes, it's time that she was taken to the police-station."
+
+"Mademoiselle Kritchnoff has gone, sir," said Bonavent, in a tone of
+quiet remonstrance.
+
+"Gone? What do you mean by gone?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Gone, sir, gone!" said Bonavent patiently.
+
+"But you're mad.... Mad!" cried Guerchard.
+
+"No, I'm not mad," said Bonavent. "Gone! But who let her go?" cried
+Guerchard.
+
+"The men at the door," said Bonavent.
+
+"The men at the door," said Guerchard, in a tone of stupefaction. "But
+she had to have my permit ... my permit on my card! Send the fools up
+to me!"
+
+Bonavent went to the top of the staircase, and called down it.
+Guerchard followed him. Two detectives came hurrying up the stairs and
+into the drawing-room.
+
+"What the devil do you mean by letting Mademoiselle Kritchnoff leave
+the house without my permit, written on my card?" cried Guerchard
+violently.
+
+"But she had your permit, sir, and it WAS written on your card,"
+stammered one of the detectives.
+
+"It was? ... it was?" said Guerchard. "Then, by Jove, it was a forgery!"
+
+He stood thoughtful for a moment. Then quietly he told his two men to
+go back to their post. He did not stir for a minute or two, puzzling it
+out, seeking light.
+
+Then he came back slowly into the drawing-room and looked uneasily at
+the Duke. The Duke was sitting in his easy chair, smoking a cigarette
+with a listless air. Guerchard looked at him, and looked at him, almost
+as if he now saw him for the first time.
+
+"Well?" said the Duke, "have you sent that poor child off to prison? If
+I'd done a thing like that I don't think I should sleep very well, M.
+Guerchard."
+
+"That poor child has just escaped, by means of a forged permit," said
+Guerchard very glumly.
+
+"By Jove, I AM glad to hear that!" cried the Duke. "You'll forgive my
+lack of sympathy, M. Guerchard; but she was such a child."
+
+"Not too young to be Lupin's accomplice," said Guerchard drily.
+
+"You really think she is?" said the Duke, in a tone of doubt.
+
+"I'm sure of it," said Guerchard, with decision; then he added slowly,
+with a perplexed air:
+
+"But how--how--could she get that forged permit?"
+
+The Duke shook his head, and looked as solemn as an owl. Guerchard
+looked at him uneasily, went out of the drawing-room, and shut the door.
+
+"How long has Mademoiselle Kritchnoff been gone?" he said to Bonavent.
+
+"Not much more than five minutes," said Bonavent. "She came out from
+talking to you in the drawing-room--"
+
+"Talking to me in the drawing-room!" exclaimed Guerchard.
+
+"Yes," said Bonavent. "She came out and went straight down the stairs
+and out of the house."
+
+A faint, sighing gasp came from Guerchard's lips. He dashed into the
+drawing-room, crossed the room quickly to his cloak, picked it up, took
+the card-case out of the pocket, and counted the cards in it. Then he
+looked at the Duke.
+
+The Duke smiled at him, a charming smile, almost caressing.
+
+There seemed to be a lump in Guerchard's throat; he swallowed it loudly.
+
+He put the card-case into the breast-pocket of the coat he was wearing.
+Then he cried sharply, "Bonavent! Bonavent!"
+
+Bonavent opened the door, and stood in the doorway.
+
+"You sent off Victoire in the prison-van, I suppose," said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, a long while ago, sir," said Bonavent.
+
+"The van had been waiting at the door since half-past nine."
+
+"Since half-past nine? ... But I told them I shouldn't want it till a
+quarter to eleven. I suppose they were making an effort to be in time
+for once. Well, it doesn't matter," said Guerchard.
+
+"Then I suppose I'd better send the other prison-van away?" said
+Bonavent.
+
+"What other van?" said Guerchard.
+
+"The van which has just arrived," said Bonavent.
+
+"What! What on earth are you talking about?" cried Guerchard, with a
+sudden anxiety in his voice and on his face.
+
+"Didn't you order two prison-vans?" said Bonavent.
+
+Guerchard jumped; and his face went purple with fury and dismay. "You
+don't mean to tell me that two prison-vans have been here?" he cried.
+
+"Yes, sir," said Bonavent.
+
+"Damnation!" cried Guerchard. "In which of them did you put Victoire?
+In which of them?"
+
+"Why, in the first, sir," said Bonavent.
+
+"Did you see the police in charge of it? The coachman?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said Bonavent.
+
+"Did you recognize them?" said Guerchard.
+
+"No," said Bonavent; "they must have been new men. They told me they
+came from the Sante."
+
+"You silly fool!" said Guerchard through his teeth. "A fine lot of
+sense you've got."
+
+"Why, what's the matter?" said Bonavent.
+
+"We're done, done in the eye!" roared Guerchard. "It's a stroke--a
+stroke--"
+
+"Of Lupin's!" interposed the Duke softly.
+
+"But I don't understand," said Bonavent.
+
+"You don't understand, you idiot!" cried Guerchard. "You've sent
+Victoire away in a sham prison-van--a prison-van belonging to Lupin.
+Oh, that scoundrel! He always has something up his sleeve."
+
+"He certainly shows foresight," said the Duke. "It was very clever of
+him to foresee the arrest of Victoire and provide against it."
+
+"Yes, but where is the leakage? Where is the leakage?" cried Guerchard,
+fuming. "How did he learn that the doctor said that she would recover
+her wits at ten o'clock? Here I've had a guard at the door all day;
+I've imprisoned the household; all the provisions have been received
+directly by a man of mine; and here he is, ready to pick up Victoire
+the very moment she gives herself away! Where is the leakage?"
+
+He turned on Bonavent, and went on: "It's no use your standing there
+with your mouth open, looking like a fool. Go upstairs to the servants'
+quarters and search Victoire's room again. That fool of an inspector
+may have missed something, just as he missed Victoire herself. Get on!
+Be smart!"
+
+Bonavent went off briskly. Guerchard paced up and down the room,
+scowling.
+
+"Really, I'm beginning to agree with you, M. Guerchard, that this Lupin
+is a remarkable man," said the Duke. "That prison-van is
+extraordinarily neat."
+
+"I'll prison-van him!" cried Guerchard. "But what fools I have to work
+with. If I could get hold of people of ordinary intelligence it would
+be impossible to play such a trick as that."
+
+"I don't know about that," said the Duke thoughtfully. "I think it
+would have required an uncommon fool to discover that trick."
+
+"What on earth do you mean? Why?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Because it's so wonderfully simple," said the Duke. "And at the same
+time it's such infernal cheek."
+
+"There's something in that," said Guerchard grumpily. "But then, I'm
+always saying to my men, 'Suspect everything; suspect everybody;
+suspect, suspect, suspect.' I tell you, your Grace, that there is only
+one motto for the successful detective, and that is that one word,
+'suspect.'"
+
+"It can't be a very comfortable business, then," said the Duke. "But I
+suppose it has its charms."
+
+"Oh, one gets used to the disagreeable part," said Guerchard.
+
+The telephone bell rang; and he rose and went to it. He put the
+receiver to his ear and said, "Yes; it's I--Chief-Inspector Guerchard."
+
+He turned and said to the Duke, "It's the gardener at Charmerace, your
+Grace."
+
+"Is it?" said the Duke indifferently.
+
+Guerchard turned to the telephone. "Are you there?" he said. "Can you
+hear me clearly? ... I want to know who was in your hot-house yesterday
+... who could have gathered some of your pink salvias?"
+
+"I told you that it was I," said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, yes, I know," said Guerchard. And he turned again to the
+telephone. "Yes, yesterday," he said. "Nobody else? ... No one but the
+Duke of Charmerace? ... Are you sure?... quite sure?... absolutely
+sure? ... Yes, that's all I wanted to know ... thank you."
+
+He turned to the Duke and said, "Did you hear that, your Grace? The
+gardener says that you were the only person in his hot-houses
+yesterday, the only person who could have plucked any pink salvias."
+
+"Does he?" said the Duke carelessly.
+
+Guerchard looked at him, his brow knitted in a faint, pondering frown.
+Then the door opened, and Bonavent came in: "I've been through
+Victoire's room," he said, "and all I could find that might be of any
+use is this--a prayer-book. It was on her dressing-table just as she
+left it. The inspector hadn't touched it."
+
+"What about it?" said Guerchard, taking the prayer-book.
+
+"There's a photograph in it," said Bonavent. "It may come in useful
+when we circulate her description; for I suppose we shall try to get
+hold of Victoire."
+
+Guerchard took the photograph from the prayer-book and looked at it:
+"It looks about ten years old," he said. "It's a good deal faded for
+reproduction. Hullo! What have we here?"
+
+The photograph showed Victoire in her Sunday best, and with her a boy
+of seventeen or eighteen. Guerchard's eyes glued themselves to the face
+of the boy. He stared at it, holding the portrait now nearer, now
+further off. His eyes kept stealing covertly from the photograph to the
+face of the Duke.
+
+The Duke caught one of those covert glances, and a vague uneasiness
+flickered in his eyes. Guerchard saw it. He came nearer to the Duke and
+looked at him earnestly, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
+
+"What's the matter?" said the Duke. "What are you looking at so
+curiously? Isn't my tie straight?" And he put up his hand and felt it.
+
+"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Guerchard. And he studied the photograph
+again with a frowning face.
+
+There was a noise of voices and laughter in the hall.
+
+"Those people are going," said the Duke. "I must go down and say
+good-bye to them." And he rose and went out of the room.
+
+Guerchard stood staring, staring at the photograph.
+
+The Duke ran down the stairs, and said goodbye to the millionaire's
+guests. After they had gone, M. Gournay-Martin went quickly up the
+stairs; Germaine and the Duke followed more slowly.
+
+"My father is going to the Ritz to sleep," said Germaine, "and I'm
+going with him. He doesn't like the idea of my sleeping in this house
+to-night. I suppose he's afraid that Lupin will make an attack in force
+with all his gang. Still, if he did, I think that Guerchard could give
+a good account of himself--he's got men enough in the house, at any
+rate. Irma tells me it's swarming with them. It would never do for me
+to be in the house if there were a fight."
+
+"Oh, come, you don't really believe that Lupin is coming to-night?"
+said the Duke, with a sceptical laugh. "The whole thing is sheer
+bluff--he has no more intention of coming tonight to steal that coronet
+than--than I have."
+
+"Oh, well, there's no harm in being on the safe side," said Germaine.
+"Everybody's agreed that he's a very terrible person. I'll just run up
+to my room and get a wrap; Irma has my things all packed. She can come
+round tomorrow morning to the Ritz and dress me."
+
+She ran up the stairs, and the Duke went into the drawing-room. He
+found Guerchard standing where he had left him, still frowning, still
+thinking hard.
+
+"The family are off to the Ritz. It's rather a reflection on your
+powers of protecting them, isn't it?" said the Duke.
+
+"Oh, well, I expect they'd be happier out of the house," said
+Guerchard. He looked at the Duke again with inquiring, searching eyes.
+
+"What's the matter?" said the Duke. "IS my tie crooked?"
+
+"Oh, no, no; it's quite straight, your Grace," said Guerchard, but he
+did not take his eyes from the Duke's face.
+
+The door opened, and in came M. Gournay-Martin, holding a bag in his
+hand. "It seems to be settled that I'm never to sleep in my own house
+again," he said in a grumbling tone.
+
+"There's no reason to go," said the Duke. "Why ARE you going?"
+
+"Danger," said M. Gournay-Martin. "You read Lupin's telegram: 'I shall
+come to-night between a quarter to twelve and midnight to take the
+coronet.' He knows that it was in my bedroom. Do you think I'm going to
+sleep in that room with the chance of that scoundrel turning up and
+cutting my throat?"
+
+"Oh, you can have a dozen policemen in the room if you like," said the
+Duke. "Can't he, M. Guerchard?"
+
+"Certainly," said Guerchard. "I can answer for it that you will be in
+no danger, M. Gournay-Martin."
+
+"Thank you," said the millionaire. "But all the same, outside is good
+enough for me."
+
+Germaine came into the room, cloaked and ready to start.
+
+"For once in a way you are ready first, papa," she said. "Are you
+coming, Jacques?"
+
+"No; I think I'll stay here, on the chance that Lupin is not bluffing,"
+said the Duke. "I don't think, myself, that I'm going to be gladdened
+by the sight of him--in fact, I'm ready to bet against it. But you're
+all so certain about it that I really must stay on the chance. And,
+after all, there's no doubt that he's a man of immense audacity and
+ready to take any risk."
+
+"Well, at any rate, if he does come he won't find the diadem," said M.
+Gournay-Martin, in a tone of triumph. "I'm taking it with me--I've got
+it here." And he held up his bag.
+
+"You are?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, I am," said M. Gournay-Martin firmly.
+
+"Do you think it's wise?" said the Duke.
+
+"Why not?" said M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+"If Lupin's really made up his mind to collar that coronet, and if
+you're so sure that, in spite of all these safeguards, he's going to
+make the attempt, it seems to me that you're taking a considerable
+risk. He asked you to have it ready for him in your bedroom. He didn't
+say which bedroom."
+
+"Good Lord! I never thought of that!" said M. Gournay-Martin, with an
+air of sudden and very lively alarm.
+
+"His Grace is right," said Guerchard. "It would be exactly like Lupin
+to send that telegram to drive you out of the house with the coronet to
+some place where you would be less protected. That is exactly one of
+his tricks."
+
+"Good Heavens!" said the millionaire, pulling out his keys and
+unlocking the bag. He opened it, paused hesitatingly, and snapped it to
+again.
+
+"Half a minute," he said. "I want a word with you, Duke."
+
+He led the way out of the drawing-room door and the Duke followed him.
+He shut the door and said in a whisper:
+
+"In a case like this, I suspect everybody."
+
+"Everybody suspects everybody, apparently," said the Duke. "Are you
+sure you don't suspect me?"
+
+"Now, now, this is no time for joking," said the millionaire
+impatiently. "What do you think about Guerchard?"
+
+"About Guerchard?" said the Duke. "What do you mean?"
+
+"Do you think I can put full confidence in Guerchard?" said M.
+Gournay-Martin.
+
+"Oh, I think so," said the Duke. "Besides, I shall be here to look
+after Guerchard. And, though I wouldn't undertake to answer for Lupin,
+I think I can answer for Guerchard. If he tries to escape with the
+coronet, I will wring his neck for you with pleasure. It would do me
+good. And it would do Guerchard good, too."
+
+The millionaire stood reflecting for a minute or two. Then he said,
+"Very good; I'll trust him."
+
+Hardly had the door closed behind the millionaire and the Duke, when
+Guerchard crossed the room quickly to Germaine and drew from his pocket
+the photograph of Victoire and the young man.
+
+"Do you know this photograph of his Grace, mademoiselle?" he said
+quickly.
+
+Germaine took the photograph and looked at it.
+
+"It's rather faded," she said.
+
+"Yes; it's about ten years old," said Guerchard.
+
+"I seem to know the face of the woman," said Germaine. "But if it's ten
+years old it certainly isn't the photograph of the Duke."
+
+"But it's like him?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, yes, it's like the Duke as he is now--at least, it's a little like
+him. But it's not like the Duke as he was ten years ago. He has changed
+so," said Germaine.
+
+"Oh, has he?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Yes; there was that exhausting journey of his--and then his illness.
+The doctors gave up all hope of him, you know."
+
+"Oh, did they?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Yes; at Montevideo. But his health is quite restored now."
+
+The door opened and the millionaire and the Duke came into the room. M.
+Gournay-Martin set his bag upon the table, unlocked it, and with a
+solemn air took out the case which held the coronet. He opened it; and
+they looked at it.
+
+"Isn't it beautiful?" he said with a sigh.
+
+"Marvellous!" said the Duke.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin closed the case, and said solemnly:
+
+"There is danger, M. Guerchard, so I am going to trust the coronet to
+you. You are the defender of my hearth and home--you are the proper
+person to guard the coronet. I take it that you have no objection?"
+
+"Not the slightest, M. Gournay-Martin," said Guerchard. "It's exactly
+what I wanted you to ask me to do."
+
+M. Gournay-Martin hesitated. Then he handed the coronet to Guerchard,
+saying with a frank and noble air, "I have every confidence in you, M.
+Guerchard."
+
+"Thank you," said Guerchard.
+
+"Good-night," said M. Gournay-Martin.
+
+"Good-night, M. Guerchard," said Germaine.
+
+"I think, after all, I'll change my mind and go with you. I'm very
+short of sleep," said the Duke. "Good-night, M. Guerchard."
+
+"You're never going too, your Grace!" cried Guerchard.
+
+"Why, you don't want me to stay, do you?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard slowly.
+
+"I think I would rather go to bed," said the Duke gaily.
+
+"Are you afraid?" said Guerchard, and there was challenge, almost an
+insolent challenge, in his tone.
+
+There was a pause. The Duke frowned slightly with a reflective air.
+Then he drew himself up; and said a little haughtily:
+
+"You've certainly found the way to make me stay, M. Guerchard."
+
+"Yes, yes; stay, stay," said M. Gournay-Martin hastily. "It's an
+excellent idea, excellent. You're the very man to help M. Guerchard,
+Duke. You're an intrepid explorer, used to danger and resourceful,
+absolutely fearless."
+
+"Do you really mean to say you're not going home to bed, Jacques?" said
+Germaine, disregarding her father's wish with her usual frankness.
+
+"No; I'm going to stay with M. Guerchard," said the Duke slowly.
+
+"Well, you will be fresh to go to the Princess's to-morrow night." said
+Germaine petulantly. "You didn't get any sleep at all last night, you
+couldn't have. You left Charmerace at eight o'clock; you were motoring
+all the night, and only got to Paris at six o'clock this morning."
+
+"Motoring all night, from eight o'clock to six!" muttered Guerchard
+under his breath.
+
+"Oh, that will be all right," said the Duke carelessly. "This
+interesting affair is to be over by midnight, isn't it?"
+
+"Well, I warn you that, tired or fresh, you will have to come with me
+to the Princess's to-morrow night. All Paris will be there--all Paris,
+that is, who are in Paris."
+
+"Oh, I shall be fresh enough," said the Duke.
+
+They went out of the drawing-room and down the stairs, all four of
+them. There was an alert readiness about Guerchard, as if he were ready
+to spring. He kept within a foot of the Duke right to the front door.
+The detective in charge opened it; and they went down the steps to the
+taxi-cab which was awaiting them. The Duke kissed Germaine's fingers
+and handed her into the taxi-cab.
+
+M. Gournay-Martin paused at the cab-door, and turned and said, with a
+pathetic air, "Am I never to sleep in my own house again?" He got into
+the cab and drove off.
+
+The Duke turned and came up the steps, followed by Guerchard. In the
+hall he took his opera-hat and coat from the stand, and went upstairs.
+Half-way up the flight he paused and said:
+
+"Where shall we wait for Lupin, M. Guerchard? In the drawing-room, or
+in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom?"
+
+"Oh, the drawing-room," said Guerchard. "I think it very unlikely that
+Lupin will look for the coronet in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom. He
+would know very well that that is the last place to find it now."
+
+The Duke went on into the drawing-room. At the door Guerchard stopped
+and said: "I will just go and post my men, your Grace."
+
+"Very good," said the Duke; and he went into the drawing-room.
+
+He sat down, lighted a cigarette, and yawned. Then he took out his
+watch and looked at it.
+
+"Another twenty minutes," he said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE DUKE GOES
+
+
+When Guerchard joined the Duke in the drawing-room, he had lost his
+calm air and was looking more than a little nervous. He moved about the
+room uneasily, fingering the bric-a-brac, glancing at the Duke and
+looking quickly away from him again. Then he came to a standstill on
+the hearth-rug with his back to the fireplace.
+
+"Do you think it's quite safe to stand there, at least with your back
+to the hearth? If Lupin dropped through that opening suddenly, he'd
+catch you from behind before you could wink twice," said the Duke, in a
+tone of remonstrance.
+
+"There would always be your Grace to come to my rescue," said
+Guerchard; and there was an ambiguous note in his voice, while his
+piercing eyes now rested fixed on the Duke's face. They seemed never to
+leave it; they explored, and explored it.
+
+"It's only a suggestion," said the Duke.
+
+"This is rather nervous work, don't you know."
+
+"Yes; and of course you're hardly fit for it," said Guerchard. "If I'd
+known about your break-down in your car last night, I should have
+hesitated about asking you--"
+
+"A break-down?" interrupted the Duke.
+
+"Yes, you left Charmerace at eight o'clock last night. And you only
+reached Paris at six this morning. You couldn't have had a very
+high-power car?" said Guerchard.
+
+"I had a 100 h.-p. car," said the Duke.
+
+"Then you must have had a devil of a break-down," said Guerchard.
+
+"Yes, it was pretty bad, but I've known worse," said the Duke
+carelessly. "It lost me about three hours: oh, at least three hours.
+I'm not a first-class repairer, though I know as much about an engine
+as most motorists."
+
+"And there was nobody there to help you repair it?" said Guerchard.
+
+"No; M. Gournay-Martin could not let me have his chauffeur to drive me
+to Paris, because he was keeping him to help guard the chateau. And of
+course there was nobody on the road, because it was two o'clock in the
+morning."
+
+"Yes, there was no one," said Guerchard slowly.
+
+"Not a soul," said the Duke.
+
+"It was unfortunate," said Guerchard; and there was a note of
+incredulity in his voice.
+
+"My having to repair the car myself?" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, of course," said Guerchard, hesitating a little over the assent.
+
+The Duke dropped the end of his cigarette into a tray, and took out his
+case. He held it out towards Guerchard, and said, "A cigarette? or
+perhaps you prefer your caporal?"
+
+"Yes, I do, but all the same I'll have one," said Guerchard, coming
+quickly across the room. And he took a cigarette from the case, and
+looked at it.
+
+"All the same, all this is very curious," he said in a new tone, a
+challenging, menacing, accusing tone.
+
+"What?" said the Duke, looking at him curiously.
+
+"Everything: your cigarettes ... the salvias ... the photograph that
+Bonavent found in Victoire's prayer-book ... that man in motoring dress
+... and finally, your break-down," said Guerchard; and the accusation
+and the threat rang clearer.
+
+The Duke rose from his chair quickly and said haughtily, in icy tones:
+"M. Guerchard, you've been drinking!"
+
+He went to the chair on which he had set his overcoat and his hat, and
+picked them up. Guerchard sprang in front of him, barring his way, and
+cried in a shaky voice: "No; don't go! You mustn't go!"
+
+"What do you mean?" said the Duke, and paused. "What DO you mean?"
+
+Guerchard stepped back, and ran his hand over his forehead. He was very
+pale, and his forehead was clammy to his touch:
+
+"No ... I beg your pardon ... I beg your pardon, your Grace ... I must
+be going mad," he stammered.
+
+"It looks very like it," said the Duke coldly.
+
+"What I mean to say is," said Guerchard in a halting, uncertain voice,
+"what I mean to say is: help me ... I want you to stay here, to help me
+against Lupin, you understand. Will you, your Grace?"
+
+"Yes, certainly; of course I will, if you want me to," said the Duke,
+in a more gentle voice. "But you seem awfully upset, and you're
+upsetting me too. We shan't have a nerve between us soon, if you don't
+pull yourself together."
+
+"Yes, yes, please excuse me," muttered Guerchard.
+
+"Very good," said the Duke. "But what is it we're going to do?"
+
+Guerchard hesitated. He pulled out his handkerchief, and mopped his
+forehead: "Well ... the coronet ... is it in this case?" he said in a
+shaky voice, and set the case on the table.
+
+"Of course it is," said the Duke impatiently.
+
+Guerchard opened the case, and the coronet sparkled and gleamed
+brightly in the electric light: "Yes, it is there; you see it?" said
+Guerchard.
+
+"Yes, I see it; well?" said the Duke, looking at him in some
+bewilderment, so unlike himself did he seem.
+
+"We're going to wait," said Guerchard.
+
+"What for?" said the Duke.
+
+"Lupin," said Guerchard.
+
+"Lupin? And you actually do believe that, just as in a fairy tale, when
+that clock strikes twelve, Lupin will enter and take the coronet?"
+
+"Yes, I do; I do," said Guerchard with stubborn conviction. And he
+snapped the case to.
+
+"This is most exciting," said the Duke.
+
+"You're sure it doesn't bore you?" said Guerchard huskily.
+
+"Not a bit of it," said the Duke, with cheerful derision. "To make the
+acquaintance of this scoundrel who has fooled you for ten years is as
+charming a way of spending the evening as I can think of."
+
+"You say that to me?" said Guerchard with a touch of temper.
+
+"Yes," said the Duke, with a challenging smile. "To you."
+
+He sat down in an easy chair by the table. Guerchard sat down in a
+chair on the other side of it, and set his elbows on it. They were
+silent.
+
+Suddenly the Duke said, "Somebody's coming."
+
+Guerchard started, and said: "No, I don't hear any one."
+
+Then there came distinctly the sound of a footstep and a knock at the
+door.
+
+"You've got keener ears than I," said Guerchard grudgingly. "In all
+this business you've shown the qualities of a very promising
+detective." He rose, went to the door, and unlocked it.
+
+Bonavent came in: "I've brought you the handcuffs, sir," he said,
+holding them out. "Shall I stay with you?"
+
+"No," said Guerchard. "You've two men at the back door, and two at the
+front, and a man in every room on the ground-floor?"
+
+"Yes, and I've got three men on every other floor," said Bonavent, in a
+tone of satisfaction.
+
+"And the house next door?" said Guerchard.
+
+"There are a dozen men in it," said Bonavent. "No communication between
+the two houses is possible any longer."
+
+Guerchard watched the Duke's face with intent eyes. Not a shadow
+flickered its careless serenity.
+
+"If any one tries to enter the house, collar him. If need be, fire on
+him," said Guerchard firmly. "That is my order; go and tell the others."
+
+"Very good, sir," said Bonavent; and he went out of the room.
+
+"By Jove, we are in a regular fortress," said the Duke.
+
+"It's even more of a fortress than you think, your Grace. I've four men
+on that landing," said Guerchard, nodding towards the door.
+
+"Oh, have you?" said the Duke, with a sudden air of annoyance.
+
+"You don't like that?" said Guerchard quickly.
+
+"I should jolly well think not," said the Duke. "With these
+precautions, Lupin will never be able to get into this room at all."
+
+"He'll find it a pretty hard job," said Guerchard, smiling. "Unless he
+falls from the ceiling, or unless--"
+
+"Unless you're Arsene Lupin," interrupted the Duke.
+
+"In that case, you'd be another, your Grace," said Guerchard.
+
+They both laughed. The Duke rose, yawned, picked up his coat and hat,
+and said, "Ah, well, I'm off to bed."
+
+"What?" said Guerchard.
+
+"Well," said the Duke, yawning again, "I was staying to see Lupin. As
+there's no longer any chance of seeing him--"
+
+"But there is ... there is ... so stay," cried Guerchard.
+
+"Do you still cling to that notion?" said the Duke wearily.
+
+"We SHALL see him," said Guerchard.
+
+"Nonsense!" said the Duke.
+
+Guerchard lowered his voice and said with an air of the deepest
+secrecy: "He's already here, your Grace."
+
+"Lupin? Here?" cried the Duke.
+
+"Yes; Lupin," said Guerchard.
+
+"Where?" cried the astonished Duke.
+
+"He is," said Guerchard.
+
+"As one of your men?" said the Duke eagerly.
+
+"I don't think so," said Guerchard, watching him closely.
+
+"Well, but, well, but--if he's here we've got him.... He is going to
+turn up," said the Duke triumphantly; and he set down his hat on the
+table beside the coronet.
+
+"I hope so," said Guerchard. "But will he dare to?"
+
+"How do you mean?" said the Duke, with a puzzled air.
+
+"Well, you have said yourself that this is a fortress. An hour ago,
+perhaps, Lupin was resolved to enter this room, but is he now?"
+
+"I see what you mean," said the Duke, in a tone of disappointment.
+
+"Yes; you see that now it needs the devil's own courage. He must risk
+everything to gain everything, and throw off the mask. Is Lupin going
+to throw himself into the wolf's jaws? I dare not think it. What do you
+think about it?"
+
+Guerchard's husky voice had hardened to a rough harshness; there was a
+ring of acute anxiety in it, and under the anxiety a faint note of
+challenge, of a challenge that dare not make itself too distinct. His
+anxious, challenging eyes burned on the face of the Duke, as if they
+strove with all intensity to pierce a mask.
+
+The Duke looked at him curiously, as if he were trying to divine what
+he would be at, but with a careless curiosity, as if it were a matter
+of indifference to him what the detective's object was; then he said
+carelessly: "Well, you ought to know better than I. You have known him
+for ten years ...." He paused, and added with just the faintest stress
+in his tone, "At least, by reputation."
+
+The anxiety in the detective's face grew plainer, it almost gave him
+the air of being unnerved; and he said quickly, in a jerky voice: "Yes,
+and I know his way of acting too. During the last ten years I have
+learnt to unravel his intrigues--to understand and anticipate his
+manoeuvres.... Oh, his is a clever system! ... Instead of lying low, as
+you'd expect, he attacks his opponent ... openly.... He confuses
+him--at least, he tries to." He smiled a half-confident, a
+half-doubtful smile, "It is a mass of entangled, mysterious
+combinations. I've been caught in them myself again and again. You
+smile?"
+
+"It interests me so," said the Duke, in a tone of apology.
+
+"Oh, it interests me," said Guerchard, with a snarl. "But this time I
+see my way clearly. No more tricks--no more secret paths ... We're
+fighting in the light of day." He paused, and said in a clear, sneering
+voice, "Lupin has pluck, perhaps, but it's only thief's pluck."
+
+"Oh, is it?" said the Duke sharply, and there was a sudden faint
+glitter in his eyes.
+
+"Yes; rogues have very poor qualities," sneered Guerchard.
+
+"One can't have everything," said the Duke quietly; but his languid air
+had fallen from him.
+
+"Their ambushes, their attacks, their fine tactics aren't up to much,"
+said Guerchard, smiling contemptuously.
+
+"You go a trifle too far, I think," said the Duke, smiling with equal
+contempt.
+
+They looked one another in the eyes with a long, lingering look. They
+had suddenly the air of fencers who have lost their tempers, and are
+twisting the buttons off their foils.
+
+"Not a bit of it, your Grace," said Guerchard; and his voice lingered
+on the words "your Grace" with a contemptuous stress. "This famous
+Lupin is immensely overrated."
+
+"However, he has done some things which aren't half bad," said the
+Duke, with his old charming smile.
+
+He had the air of a duelist drawing his blade lovingly through his
+fingers before he falls to.
+
+"Oh, has he?" said Guerchard scornfully.
+
+"Yes; one must be fair. Last night's burglary, for instance: it is not
+unheard of, but it wasn't half bad. And that theft of the motorcars: it
+was a neat piece of work," said the Duke in a gentle, insolent voice,
+infinitely aggravating.
+
+Guerchard snorted scornfully.
+
+"And a robbery at the British Embassy, another at the Treasury, and a
+third at M. Lepine's--all in the same week--it wasn't half bad, don't
+you know?" said the Duke, in the same gentle, irritating voice.
+
+"Oh, no, it wasn't. But--"
+
+"And the time when he contrived to pass as Guerchard--the Great
+Guerchard--do you remember that?" the Duke interrupted. "Come, come--to
+give the devil his due--between ourselves--it wasn't half bad."
+
+"No," snarled Guerchard. "But he has done better than that lately....
+Why don't you speak of that?"
+
+"Of what?" said the Duke.
+
+"Of the time when he passed as the Duke of Charmerace," snapped
+Guerchard.
+
+"What! Did he do that?" cried the Duke; and then he added slowly, "But,
+you know, I'm like you--I'm so easy to imitate."
+
+"What would have been amusing, your Grace, would have been to get as
+far as actual marriage," said Guerchard more calmly.
+
+"Oh, if he had wanted to," said the Duke; and he threw out his hands.
+"But you know--married life--for Lupin."
+
+"A large fortune ... a pretty girl," said Guerchard, in a mocking tone.
+
+"He must be in love with some one else," said the Duke.
+
+"A thief, perhaps," sneered Guerchard.
+
+"Like himself.... And then, if you wish to know what I think, he must
+have found his fiancee rather trying," said the Duke, with his charming
+smile.
+
+"After all, it's pitiful--heartrending, you must admit it, that, on the
+very eve of his marriage, he was such a fool as to throw off the mask.
+And yet at bottom it's quite logical; it's Lupin coming out through
+Charmerace. He had to grab at the dowry at the risk of losing the
+girl," said Guerchard, in a reflective tone; but his eyes were intent
+on the face of the Duke.
+
+"Perhaps that's what one should call a marriage of reason," said the
+Duke, with a faint smile.
+
+"What a fall!" said Guerchard, in a taunting voice. "To be expected,
+eagerly, at the Princess's to-morrow evening, and to pass the evening
+in a police-station ... to have intended in a month's time, as the Duke
+of Charmerace, to mount the steps of the Madeleine with all pomp and to
+fall down the father-in-law's staircase this evening--this very
+evening"--his voice rose suddenly on a note of savage triumph--"with
+the handcuffs on! What? Is that a good enough revenge for
+Guerchard--for that poor old idiot, Guerchard? The rogues' Brummel in a
+convict's cap! The gentleman-burglar in a gaol! For Lupin it's only a
+trifling annoyance, but for a duke it's a disaster! Come, in your turn,
+be frank: don't you find that amusing?"
+
+The Duke rose quietly, and said coldly, "Have you finished?"
+
+"DO you?" cried Guerchard; and he rose and faced him.
+
+"Oh, yes; I find it quite amusing," said the Duke lightly.
+
+"And so do I," cried Guerchard.
+
+"No; you're frightened," said the Duke calmly.
+
+"Frightened!" cried Guerchard, with a savage laugh.
+
+"Yes, you're frightened," said the Duke. "And don't think, policeman,
+that because I'm familiar with you, I throw off a mask. I don't wear
+one. I've none to throw off. I AM the Duke of Charmerace."
+
+"You lie! You escaped from the Sante four years ago. You are Lupin! I
+recognize you now."
+
+"Prove it," said the Duke scornfully.
+
+"I will!" cried Guerchard.
+
+"You won't. I AM the Duke of Charmerace."
+
+Guerchard laughed wildly.
+
+"Don't laugh. You know nothing--nothing, dear boy," said the Duke
+tauntingly.
+
+"Dear boy?" cried Guerchard triumphantly, as if the word had been a
+confession.
+
+"What do I risk?" said the Duke, with scathing contempt. "Can you
+arrest me? ... You can arrest Lupin ... but arrest the Duke of
+Charmerace, an honourable gentleman, member of the Jockey Club, and of
+the Union, residing at his house, 34 B, University Street ... arrest
+the Duke of Charmerace, the fiance of Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin?"
+
+"Scoundrel!" cried Guerchard, pale with sudden, helpless fury.
+
+"Well, do it," taunted the Duke. "Be an ass.... Make yourself the
+laughing-stock of Paris ... call your coppers in. Have you a proof--one
+single proof? Not one."
+
+"Oh, I shall get them," howled Guerchard, beside himself.
+
+"I think you may," said the Duke coolly. "And you might be able to
+arrest me next week ... the day after to-morrow perhaps ... perhaps
+never ... but not to-night, that's certain."
+
+"Oh, if only somebody could hear you!" gasped Guerchard.
+
+"Now, don't excite yourself," said the Duke. "That won't produce any
+proofs for you.... The fact is, M. Formery told you the truth when he
+said that, when it is a case of Lupin, you lose your head. Ah, that
+Formery--there is an intelligent man if you like."
+
+"At all events, the coronet is safe ... to-night--"
+
+"Wait, my good chap ... wait," said the Duke slowly; and then he
+snapped out: "Do you know what's behind that door?" and he flung out
+his hand towards the door of the inner drawing-room, with a mysterious,
+sinister air.
+
+"What?" cried Guerchard; and he whipped round and faced the door, with
+his eyes starting out of his head.
+
+"Get out, you funk!" said the Duke, with a great laugh.
+
+"Hang you!" said Guerchard shrilly.
+
+"I said that you were going to be absolutely pitiable," said the Duke,
+and he laughed again cruelly.
+
+"Oh, go on talking, do!" cried Guerchard, mopping his forehead.
+
+"Absolutely pitiable," said the Duke, with a cold, disquieting
+certainty. "As the hand of that clock moves nearer and nearer midnight,
+you will grow more and more terrified." He paused, and then shouted
+violently, "Attention!"
+
+Guerchard jumped; and then he swore.
+
+"Your nerves are on edge," said the Duke, laughing.
+
+"Joker!" snarled Guerchard.
+
+"Oh, you're as brave as the next man. But who can stand the anguish of
+the unknown thing which is bound to happen? ... I'm right. You feel it,
+you're sure of it. At the end of these few fixed minutes an inevitable,
+fated event must happen. Don't shrug your shoulders, man; you're green
+with fear."
+
+The Duke was no longer a smiling, cynical dandy. There emanated from
+him an impression of vivid, terrible force. His voice had deepened. It
+thrilled with a consciousness of irresistible power; it was
+overwhelming, paralyzing. His eyes were terrible.
+
+"My men are outside ... I'm armed," stammered Guerchard.
+
+"Child! Bear in mind ... bear in mind that it is always when you have
+foreseen everything, arranged everything, made every combination ...
+bear in mind that it is always then that some accident dashes your
+whole structure to the ground," said the Duke, in the same deep,
+thrilling voice. "Remember that it is always at the very moment at
+which you are going to triumph that he beats you, that he only lets you
+reach the top of the ladder to throw you more easily to the ground."
+
+"Confess, then, that you are Lupin," muttered Guerchard.
+
+"I thought you were sure of it," said the Duke in a jeering tone.
+
+Guerchard dragged the handcuffs out of his pocket, and said between his
+teeth, "I don't know what prevents me, my boy."
+
+The Duke drew himself up, and said haughtily, "That's enough."
+
+"What?" cried Guerchard.
+
+"I say that that's enough," said the Duke sternly. "It's all very well
+for me to play at being familiar with you, but don't you call me 'my
+boy.'"
+
+"Oh, you won't impose on me much longer," muttered Guerchard; and his
+bloodshot, haggard eyes scanned the Duke's face in an agony, an anguish
+of doubting impotence.
+
+"If I'm Lupin, arrest me," said the Duke.
+
+"I'll arrest you in three minutes from now, or the coronet will be
+untouched," cried Guerchard in a firmer tone.
+
+"In three minutes from now the coronet will have been stolen; and you
+will not arrest me," said the Duke, in a tone of chilling certainty.
+
+"But I will! I swear I will!" cried Guerchard.
+
+"Don't swear any foolish oaths! ... THERE ARE ONLY TWO MINUTES LEFT,"
+said the Duke; and he drew a revolver from his pocket.
+
+"No, you don't!" cried Guerchard, drawing a revolver in his turn.
+
+"What's the matter?" said the Duke, with an air of surprise. "You
+haven't forbidden me to shoot Lupin. I have my revolver ready, since
+he's going to come.... THERE'S ONLY A MINUTE LEFT."
+
+"There are plenty of us," said Guerchard; and he went towards the door.
+
+"Funk!" said the Duke scornfully.
+
+Guerchard turned sharply. "Very well," he said, "I'll stick it out
+alone."
+
+"How rash!" sneered the Duke.
+
+Guerchard ground his teeth. He was panting; his bloodshot eyes rolled
+in their sockets; the beads of cold sweat stood out on his forehead. He
+came back towards the table on unsteady feet, trembling from head to
+foot in the last excitation of the nerves. He kept jerking his head to
+shake away the mist which kept dimming his eyes.
+
+"At your slightest gesture, at your slightest movement, I'll fire," he
+said jerkily, and covered the Duke with his revolver.
+
+"I call myself the Duke of Charmerace. You will be arrested to-morrow!"
+said the Duke, in a compelling, thrilling voice.
+
+"I don't care a curse!" cried Guerchard.
+
+"Only FIFTY SECONDS!" said the Duke.
+
+"Yes, yes," muttered Guerchard huskily. And his eyes shot from the
+coronet to the Duke, from the Duke to the coronet.
+
+"In fifty seconds the coronet will be stolen," said the Duke.
+
+"No!" cried Guerchard furiously.
+
+"Yes," said the Duke coldly.
+
+"No! no! no!" cried Guerchard.
+
+Their eyes turned to the clock.
+
+To Guerchard the hands seemed to be standing still. He could have sworn
+at them for their slowness.
+
+Then the first stroke rang out; and the eyes of the two men met like
+crossing blades. Twice the Duke made the slightest movement. Twice
+Guerchard started forward to meet it.
+
+At the last stroke both their hands shot out. Guerchard's fell heavily
+on the case which held the coronet. The Duke's fell on the brim of his
+hat; and he picked it up.
+
+Guerchard gasped and choked. Then he cried triumphantly:
+
+"I HAVE it; now then, have I won? Have I been fooled this time? Has
+Lupin got the coronet?"
+
+"It doesn't look like it. But are you quite sure?" said the Duke gaily.
+
+"Sure?" cried Guerchard.
+
+"It's only the weight of it," said the Duke, repressing a laugh.
+"Doesn't it strike you that it's just a trifle light?"
+
+"What?" cried Guerchard.
+
+"This is merely an imitation." said the Duke, with a gentle laugh.
+
+"Hell and damnation!" howled Guerchard. "Bonavent! Dieusy!"
+
+The door flew open, and half a dozen detectives rushed in.
+
+Guerchard sank into a chair, stupefied, paralyzed; this blow, on the
+top of the strain of the struggle with the Duke, had broken him.
+
+"Gentlemen," said the Duke sadly, "the coronet has been stolen."
+
+They broke into cries of surprise and bewilderment, surrounding the
+gasping Guerchard with excited questions.
+
+The Duke walked quietly out of the room.
+
+Guerchard sobbed twice; his eyes opened, and in a dazed fashion
+wandered from face to face; he said faintly: "Where is he?"
+
+"Where's who?" said Bonavent.
+
+"The Duke--the Duke!" gasped Guerchard.
+
+"Why, he's gone!" said Bonavent.
+
+Guerchard staggered to his feet and cried hoarsely, frantically: "Stop
+him from leaving the house! Follow him! Arrest him! Catch him before he
+gets home!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+LUPIN COMES HOME
+
+
+The cold light of the early September morning illumined but dimly the
+charming smoking-room of the Duke of Charmerace in his house at 34 B,
+University Street, though it stole in through two large windows. The
+smoking-room was on the first floor; and the Duke's bedroom opened into
+it. It was furnished in the most luxurious fashion, but with a taste
+which nowadays infrequently accompanies luxury. The chairs were of the
+most comfortable, but their lines were excellent; the couch against the
+wall, between the two windows, was the last word in the matter of
+comfort. The colour scheme, of a light greyish-blue, was almost too
+bright for a man's room; it would have better suited a boudoir. It
+suggested that the owner of the room enjoyed an uncommon lightness and
+cheerfulness of temperament. On the walls, with wide gaps between them
+so that they did not clash, hung three or four excellent pictures. Two
+ballet-girls by Degas, a group of shepherdesses and shepherds, in pink
+and blue and white beribboned silk, by Fragonard, a portrait of a woman
+by Bastien-Lepage, a charming Corot, and two Conder fans showed that
+the taste of their fortunate owner was at any rate eclectic. At the end
+of the room was, of all curious things, the opening into the well of a
+lift. The doors of it were open, though the lift itself was on some
+other floor. To the left of the opening stood a book-case, its shelves
+loaded with books of a kind rather suited to a cultivated, thoughtful
+man than to an idle dandy.
+
+Beside the window, half-hidden, and peering through the side of the
+curtain into the street, stood M. Charolais. But it was hardly the M.
+Charolais who had paid M. Gournay-Martin that visit at the Chateau de
+Charmerace, and departed so firmly in the millionaire's favourite
+motor-car. This was a paler M. Charolais; he lacked altogether the
+rich, ruddy complexion of the millionaire's visitor. His nose, too, was
+thinner, and showed none of the ripe acquaintance with the vintages of
+the world which had been so plainly displayed on it during its owner's
+visit to the country. Again, hair and eyebrows were no longer black,
+but fair; and his hair was no longer curly and luxuriant, but thin and
+lank. His moustache had vanished, and along with it the dress of a
+well-to-do provincial man of business. He wore a livery of the
+Charmeraces, and at that early morning hour had not yet assumed the
+blue waistcoat which is an integral part of it. Indeed it would have
+required an acute and experienced observer to recognize in him the
+bogus purchaser of the Mercrac. Only his eyes, his close-set eyes, were
+unchanged.
+
+Walking restlessly up and down the middle of the room, keeping out of
+sight of the windows, was Victoire. She wore a very anxious air, as did
+Charolais too. By the door stood Bernard Charolais; and his natural,
+boyish timidity, to judge from his frightened eyes, had assumed an
+acute phase.
+
+"By the Lord, we're done!" cried Charolais, starting back from the
+window. "That was the front-door bell."
+
+"No, it was only the hall clock," said Bernard.
+
+"That's seven o'clock! Oh, where can he be?" said Victoire, wringing
+her hands. "The coup was fixed for midnight.... Where can he be?"
+
+"They must be after him," said Charolais. "And he daren't come home."
+Gingerly he drew back the curtain and resumed his watch.
+
+"I've sent down the lift to the bottom, in case he should come back by
+the secret entrance," said Victoire; and she went to the opening into
+the well of the lift and stood looking down it, listening with all her
+ears.
+
+"Then why, in the devil's name, have you left the doors open?" cried
+Charolais irritably. "How do you expect the lift to come up if the
+doors are open?"
+
+"I must be off my head!" cried Victoire.
+
+She stepped to the side of the lift and pressed a button. The doors
+closed, and there was a grunting click of heavy machinery settling into
+a new position.
+
+"Suppose we telephone to Justin at the Passy house?" said Victoire.
+
+"What on earth's the good of that?" said Charolais impatiently. "Justin
+knows no more than we do. How can he know any more?"
+
+"The best thing we can do is to get out," said Bernard, in a shaky
+voice.
+
+"No, no; he will come. I haven't given up hope," Victoire protested.
+"He's sure to come; and he may need us."
+
+"But, hang it all! Suppose the police come! Suppose they ransack his
+papers.... He hasn't told us what to do ... we are not ready for
+them.... What are we to do?" cried Charolais, in a tone of despair.
+
+"Well, I'm worse off than you are; and I'm not making a fuss. If the
+police come they'll arrest me," said Victoire.
+
+"Perhaps they've arrested him," said Bernard, in his shaky voice.
+
+"Don't talk like that," said Victoire fretfully. "Isn't it bad enough
+to wait and wait, without your croaking like a scared crow?"
+
+She started again her pacing up and down the room, twisting her hands,
+and now and again moistening her dry lips with the tip of her tongue.
+
+Presently she said: "Are those two plain-clothes men still there
+watching?" And in her anxiety she came a step nearer the window.
+
+"Keep away from the window!" snapped Charolais. "Do you want to be
+recognized, you great idiot?" Then he added, more quietly, "They're
+still there all right, curse them, in front of the cafe.... Hullo!"
+
+"What is it, now?" cried Victoire, starting.
+
+"A copper and a detective running," said Charolais. "They are running
+for all they're worth."
+
+"Are they coming this way?" said Victoire; and she ran to the door and
+caught hold of the handle.
+
+"No," said Charolais.
+
+"Thank goodness!" said Victoire.
+
+"They're running to the two men watching the house ... they're telling
+them something. Oh, hang it, they're all running down the street."
+
+"This way? ... Are they coming this way?" cried Victoire faintly; and
+she pressed her hand to her side.
+
+"They are!" cried Charolais. "They are!" And he dropped the curtain
+with an oath.
+
+"And he isn't here! Suppose they come.... Suppose he comes to the front
+door! They'll catch him!" cried Victoire.
+
+There came a startling peal at the front-door bell. They stood frozen
+to stone, their eyes fixed on one another, staring.
+
+The bell had hardly stopped ringing, when there was a slow, whirring
+noise. The doors of the lift flew open, and the Duke stepped out of it.
+But what a changed figure from the admirably dressed dandy who had
+walked through the startled detectives and out of the house of M.
+Gournay-Martin at midnight! He was pale, exhausted, almost fainting.
+His eyes were dim in a livid face; his lips were grey. He was panting
+heavily. He was splashed with mud from head to foot: one sleeve of his
+coat was torn along half its length. The sole of his left-hand pump was
+half off; and his cut foot showed white and red through the torn sock.
+
+"The master! The master!" cried Charolais in a tone of extravagant
+relief; and he danced round the room snapping his fingers.
+
+"You're wounded?" cried Victoire.
+
+"No," said Arsene Lupin.
+
+The front-door bell rang out again, startling, threatening, terrifying.
+
+The note of danger seemed to brace Lupin, to spur him to a last effort.
+
+He pulled himself together, and said in a hoarse but steady voice:
+"Your waistcoat, Charolais.... Go and open the door ... not too quickly
+... fumble the bolts.... Bernard, shut the book-case. Victoire, get out
+of sight, do you want to ruin us all? Be smart now, all of you. Be
+smart!"
+
+He staggered past them into his bedroom, and slammed the door. Victoire
+and Charolais hurried out of the room, through the anteroom, on to the
+landing. Victoire ran upstairs, Charolais went slowly down. Bernard
+pressed the button. The doors of the lift shut and there was a slow
+whirring as it went down. He pressed another button, and the book-case
+slid slowly across and hid the opening into the lift-well. Bernard ran
+out of the room and up the stairs.
+
+Charolais went to the front door and fumbled with the bolts. He bawled
+through the door to the visitors not to be in such a hurry at that hour
+in the morning; and they bawled furiously at him to be quick, and
+knocked and rang again and again. He was fully three minutes fumbling
+with the bolts, which were already drawn. At last he opened the door an
+inch or two, and looked out.
+
+On the instant the door was dashed open, flinging him back against the
+wall; and Bonavent and Dieusy rushed past him, up the stairs, as hard
+as they could pelt. A brown-faced, nervous, active policeman followed
+them in and stopped to guard the door.
+
+On the landing the detectives paused, and looked at one another,
+hesitating.
+
+"Which way did he go?" said Bonavent. "We were on his very heels."
+
+"I don't know; but we've jolly well stopped his getting into his own
+house; and that's the main thing," said Dieusy triumphantly.
+
+"But are you sure it was him?" said Bonavent, stepping into the
+anteroom.
+
+"I can swear to it," said Dieusy confidently; and he followed him.
+
+Charolais came rushing up the stairs and caught them up as they were
+entering the smoking-room:
+
+"Here! What's all this?" he cried. "You mustn't come in here! His Grace
+isn't awake yet."
+
+"Awake? Awake? Your precious Duke has been galloping all night," cried
+Dieusy. "And he runs devilish well, too."
+
+The door of the bedroom opened; and Lupin stood on the threshold in
+slippers and pyjamas.
+
+"What's all this?" he snapped, with the irritation of a man whose sleep
+has been disturbed; and his tousled hair and eyes dim with exhaustion
+gave him every appearance of being still heavy with sleep.
+
+The eyes and mouths of Bonavent and Dieusy opened wide; and they stared
+at him blankly, in utter bewilderment and wonder.
+
+"Is it you who are making all this noise?" said Lupin, frowning at
+them. "Why, I know you two; you're in the service of M. Guerchard."
+
+"Yes, your Grace," stammered Bonavent.
+
+"Well, what are you doing here? What is it you want?" said Lupin.
+
+"Oh, nothing, your Grace ... nothing ... there's been a mistake,"
+stammered Bonavent.
+
+"A mistake?" said Lupin haughtily. "I should think there had been a
+mistake. But I take it that this is Guerchard's doing. I'd better deal
+with him directly. You two can go." He turned to Charolais and added
+curtly, "Show them out."
+
+Charolais opened the door, and the two detectives went out of the room
+with the slinking air of whipped dogs. They went down the stairs in
+silence, slowly, reflectively; and Charolais let them out of the front
+door.
+
+As they went down the steps Dieusy said: "What a howler! Guerchard
+risks getting the sack for this!"
+
+"I told you so," said Bonavent. "A duke's a duke."
+
+When the door closed behind the two detectives Lupin tottered across
+the room, dropped on to the couch with a groan of exhaustion, and
+closed his eyes. Presently the door opened, Victoire came in, saw his
+attitude of exhaustion, and with a startled cry ran to his side.
+
+"Oh, dearie! dearie!" she cried. "Pull yourself together! Oh, do try to
+pull yourself together." She caught his cold hands and began to rub
+them, murmuring words of endearment like a mother over a young child.
+Lupin did not open his eyes; Charolais came in.
+
+"Some breakfast!" she cried. "Bring his breakfast ... he's faint ...
+he's had nothing to eat this morning. Can you eat some breakfast,
+dearie?"
+
+"Yes," said Lupin faintly.
+
+"Hurry up with it," said Victoire in urgent, imperative tones; and
+Charolais left the room at a run.
+
+"Oh, what a life you lead!" said Victoire, or, to be exact, she wailed
+it. "Are you never going to change? You're as white as a sheet....
+Can't you speak, dearie?"
+
+She stooped and lifted his legs on to the couch.
+
+He stretched himself, and, without opening his eyes, said in a faint
+voice: "Oh, Victoire, what a fright I've had!"
+
+"You? You've been frightened?" cried Victoire, amazed.
+
+"Yes. You needn't tell the others, though. But I've had a night of it
+... I did play the fool so ... I must have been absolutely mad. Once I
+had changed the coronet under that fat old fool Gournay-Martin's very
+eyes ... once you and Sonia were out of their clutches, all I had to do
+was to slip away. Did I? Not a bit of it! I stayed there out of sheer
+bravado, just to score off Guerchard.... And then I ... I, who pride
+myself on being as cool as a cucumber ... I did the one thing I ought
+not to have done.... Instead of going quietly away as the Duke of
+Charmerace ... what do you think I did? ... I bolted ... I started
+running ... running like a thief.... In about two seconds I saw the
+slip I had made. It did not take me longer; but that was too
+long--Guerchard's men were on my track ... I was done for."
+
+"Then Guerchard understood--he recognized you?" said Victoire anxiously.
+
+"As soon as the first paralysis had passed, Guerchard dared to see
+clearly ... to see the truth," said Lupin. "And then it was a chase.
+There were ten--fifteen of them on my heels. Out of breath--grunting,
+furious--a mob--a regular mob. I had passed the night before in a
+motor-car. I was dead beat. In fact, I was done for before I started
+... and they were gaining ground all the time."
+
+"Why didn't you hide?" said Victoire.
+
+"For a long while they were too close. They must have been within five
+feet of me. I was done. Then I was crossing one of the bridges. ...
+There was the Seine ... handy ... I made up my mind that, rather than
+be taken, I'd make an end of it ... I'd throw myself over."
+
+"Good Lord!--and then?" cried Victoire.
+
+"Then I had a revulsion of feeling. At any rate, I'd stick it out to
+the end. I gave myself another minute... one more minute--the last, and
+I had my revolver on me... but during that minute I put forth every
+ounce of strength I had left ... I began to gain ground ... I had them
+pretty well strung out already ... they were blown too. The knowledge
+gave me back my courage, and I plugged on ... my feet did not feel so
+much as though they were made of lead. I began to run away from them
+... they were dropping behind ... all of them but one ... he stuck to
+me. We went at a jog-trot, a slow jog-trot, for I don't know how long.
+Then we dropped to a walk--we could run no more; and on we went. My
+strength and wind began to come back. I suppose my pursuer's did too;
+for exactly what I expected happened. He gave a yell and dashed for me.
+I was ready for him. I pretended to start running, and when he was
+within three yards of me I dropped on one knee, caught his ankles, and
+chucked him over my head. I don't know whether he broke his neck or
+not. I hope he did."
+
+"Splendid!" said Victoire. "Splendid!"
+
+"Well, there I was, outside Paris, and I'm hanged if I know where. I
+went on half a mile, and then I rested. Oh, how sleepy I was! I would
+have given a hundred thousand francs for an hour's sleep--cheerfully.
+But I dared not let myself sleep. I had to get back here unseen. There
+were you and Sonia."
+
+"Sonia? Another woman?" cried Victoire. "Oh, it's then that I'm
+frightened ... when you get a woman mixed up in your game. Always, when
+you come to grief ... when you really get into danger, there's a woman
+in it."
+
+"Oh, but she's charming!" protested Lupin.
+
+"They always are," said Victoire drily. "But go on. Tell me how you got
+here."
+
+"Well, I knew it was going to be a tough job, so I took a good rest--an
+hour, I should think. And then I started to walk back. I found that I
+had come a devil of a way--I must have gone at Marathon pace. I walked
+and walked, and at last I got into Paris, and found myself with still a
+couple of miles to go. It was all right now; I should soon find a cab.
+But the luck was dead against me. I heard a man come round the corner
+of a side-street into a long street I was walking down. He gave a yell,
+and came bucketing after me. It was that hound Dieusy. He had
+recognized my figure. Off I went; and the chase began again. I led him
+a dance, but I couldn't shake him off. All the while I was working my
+way towards home. Then, just at last, I spurted for all I was worth,
+got out of his sight, bolted round the corner of the street into the
+secret entrance, and here I am." He smiled weakly, and added, "Oh, my
+dear Victoire, what a profession it is!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE CUTTING OF THE TELEPHONE WIRES
+
+
+The door opened, and in came Charolais, bearing a tray.
+
+"Here's your breakfast, master," he said.
+
+"Don't call me master--that's how his men address Guerchard. It's a
+disgusting practice," said Lupin severely.
+
+Victoire and Charolais were quick laying the table. Charolais kept up a
+running fire of questions as he did it; but Lupin did not trouble to
+answer them. He lay back, relaxed, drawing deep breaths. Already his
+lips had lost their greyness, and were pink; there was a suggestion of
+blood under the skin of his pale face. They soon had the table laid;
+and he walked to it on fairly steady feet. He sat down; Charolais
+whipped off a cover, and said:
+
+"Anyhow, you've got out of the mess neatly. It was a jolly smart
+escape."
+
+"Oh, yes. So far it's all right," said Lupin. "But there's going to be
+trouble presently--lots of it. I shall want all my wits. We all shall."
+
+He fell upon his breakfast with the appetite but not the manners of a
+wolf. Charolais went out of the room. Victoire hovered about him,
+pouring out his coffee and putting sugar into it.
+
+"By Jove, how good these eggs are!" he said. "I think that, of all the
+thousand ways of cooking eggs, en cocotte is the best."
+
+"Heavens! how empty I was!" he said presently. "What a meal I'm making!
+It's really a very healthy life, this of mine, Victoire. I feel much
+better already."
+
+"Oh, yes; it's all very well to talk," said Victoire, in a scolding
+tone; for since he was better, she felt, as a good woman should, that
+the time had come to put in a word out of season. "But, all the same,
+you're trying to kill yourself--that's what you're doing. Just because
+you're young you abuse your youth. It won't last for ever; and you'll
+be sorry you used it up before it's time. And this life of lies and
+thefts and of all kinds of improper things--I suppose it's going to
+begin all over again. It's no good your getting a lesson. It's just
+thrown away upon you."
+
+"What I want next is a bath," said Lupin.
+
+"It's all very well your pretending not to listen to me, when you know
+very well that I'm speaking for your good," she went on, raising her
+voice a little. "But I tell you that all this is going to end badly. To
+be a thief gives you no position in the world--no position at all--and
+when I think of what you made me do the night before last, I'm just
+horrified at myself."
+
+"We'd better not talk about that--the mess you made of it! It was
+positively excruciating!" said Lupin.
+
+"And what did you expect? I'm an honest woman, I am!" said Victoire
+sharply. "I wasn't brought up to do things like that, thank goodness!
+And to begin at my time of life!"
+
+"It's true, and I often ask myself how you bring yourself to stick to
+me," said Lupin, in a reflective, quite impersonal tone. "Please pour
+me out another cup of coffee."
+
+"That's what I'm always asking myself," said Victoire, pouring out the
+coffee. "I don't know--I give it up. I suppose it is because I'm fond
+of you."
+
+"Yes, and I'm very fond of you, my dear Victoire," said Lupin, in a
+coaxing tone.
+
+"And then, look you, there are things that there's no understanding. I
+often talked to your poor mother about them. Oh, your poor mother!
+Whatever would she have said to these goings-on?"
+
+Lupin helped himself to another cutlet; his eyes twinkled and he said,
+"I'm not sure that she would have been very much surprised. I always
+told her that I was going to punish society for the way it had treated
+her. Do you think she would have been surprised?"
+
+"Oh, nothing you did would have surprised her," said Victoire. "When
+you were quite a little boy you were always making us wonder. You gave
+yourself such airs, and you had such nice manners of your
+own--altogether different from the other boys. And you were already a
+bad boy, when you were only seven years old, full of all kinds of
+tricks; and already you had begun to steal."
+
+"Oh, only sugar," protested Lupin.
+
+"Yes, you began by stealing sugar," said Victoire, in the severe tones
+of a moralist. "And then it was jam, and then it was pennies. Oh, it
+was all very well at that age--a little thief is pretty enough. But
+now--when you're twenty-eight years old."
+
+"Really, Victoire, you're absolutely depressing," said Lupin, yawning;
+and he helped himself to jam.
+
+"I know very well that you're all right at heart," said Victoire. "Of
+course you only rob the rich, and you've always been kind to the
+poor.... Yes; there's no doubt about it: you have a good heart."
+
+"I can't help it--what about it?" said Lupin, smiling.
+
+"Well, you ought to have different ideas in your head. Why are you a
+burglar?"
+
+"You ought to try it yourself, my dear Victoire," said Lupin gently;
+and he watched her with a humorous eye.
+
+"Goodness, what a thing to say!" cried Victoire.
+
+"I assure you, you ought," said Lupin, in a tone of thoughtful
+conviction. "I've tried everything. I've taken my degree in medicine
+and in law. I have been an actor, and a professor of Jiu-jitsu. I have
+even been a member of the detective force, like that wretched
+Guerchard. Oh, what a dirty world that is! Then I launched out into
+society. I have been a duke. Well, I give you my word that not one of
+these professions equals that of burglar--not even the profession of
+Duke. There is so much of the unexpected in it, Victoire--the splendid
+unexpected.... And then, it's full of variety, so terrible, so
+fascinating." His voice sank a little, and he added, "And what fun it
+is!"
+
+"Fun!" cried Victoire.
+
+"Yes ... these rich men, these swells in their luxury--when one
+relieves them of a bank-note, how they do howl! ... You should have
+seen that fat old Gournay-Martin when I relieved him of his
+treasures--what an agony! You almost heard the death-rattle in his
+throat. And then the coronet! In the derangement of their minds--and it
+was sheer derangement, mind you--already prepared at Charmerace, in the
+derangement of Guerchard, I had only to put out my hand and pluck the
+coronet. And the joy, the ineffable joy of enraging the police! To see
+Guerchard's furious eyes when I downed him.... And look round you!" He
+waved his hand round the luxurious room. "Duke of Charmerace! This
+trade leads to everything ... to everything on condition that one
+sticks to it ....I tell you, Victoire, that when one cannot be a great
+artist or a great soldier, the only thing to be is a great thief!"
+
+"Oh, be quiet!" cried Victoire. "Don't talk like that. You're working
+yourself up; you're intoxicating yourself! And all that, it is not
+Catholic. Come, at your age, you ought to have one idea in your head
+which should drive out all these others, which should make you forget
+all these thefts.... Love ... that would change you, I'm sure of it.
+That would make another man of you. You ought to marry."
+
+"Yes ... perhaps ... that would make another man of me. That's what
+I've been thinking. I believe you're right," said Lupin thoughtfully.
+
+"Is that true? Have you really been thinking of it?" cried Victoire
+joyfully.
+
+"Yes," said Lupin, smiling at her eagerness. "I have been thinking
+about it--seriously."
+
+"No more messing about--no more intrigues. But a real woman ... a woman
+for life?" cried Victoire.
+
+"Yes," said Lupin softly; and his eyes were shining in a very grave
+face.
+
+"Is it serious--is it real love, dearie?" said Victoire. "What's she
+like?"
+
+"She's beautiful," said Lupin.
+
+"Oh, trust you for that. Is she a blonde or a brunette?"
+
+"She's very fair and delicate--like a princess in a fairy tale," said
+Lupin softly.
+
+"What is she? What does she do?" said Victoire.
+
+"Well, since you ask me, she's a thief," said Lupin with a mischievous
+smile.
+
+"Good Heavens!" cried Victoire.
+
+"But she's a very charming thief," said Lupin; and he rose smiling.
+
+He lighted a cigar, stretched himself and yawned: "She had ever so much
+more reason for stealing than ever I had," he said. "And she has always
+hated it like poison."
+
+"Well, that's something," said Victoire; and her blank and fallen face
+brightened a little.
+
+Lupin walked up and down the room, breathing out long luxurious puffs
+of smoke from his excellent cigar, and watching Victoire with a
+humorous eye. He walked across to his book-shelf, and scanned the
+titles of his books with an appreciative, almost affectionate smile.
+
+"This is a very pleasant interlude," he said languidly. "But I don't
+suppose it's going to last very long. As soon as Guerchard recovers
+from the shock of learning that I spent a quiet night in my ducal bed
+as an honest duke should, he'll be getting to work with positively
+furious energy, confound him! I could do with a whole day's
+sleep--twenty-four solid hours of it."
+
+"I'm sure you could, dearie," said Victoire sympathetically.
+
+"The girl I'm going to marry is Sonia Kritchnoff," he said.
+
+"Sonia? That dear child! But I love her already!" cried Victoire.
+"Sonia, but why did you say she was a thief? That was a silly thing to
+say."
+
+"It's my extraordinary sense of humour," said Lupin.
+
+The door opened and Charolais bustled in: "Shall I clear away the
+breakfast?" he said.
+
+Lupin nodded; and then the telephone bell rang. He put his finger on
+his lips and went to it.
+
+"Are you there?" he said. "Oh, it's you, Germaine.... Good morning....
+Oh, yes, I had a good night--excellent, thank you.... You want to speak
+to me presently? ... You're waiting for me at the Ritz?"
+
+"Don't go--don't go--it isn't safe," said Victoire, in a whisper.
+
+"All right, I'll be with you in about half an hour, or perhaps
+three-quarters. I'm not dressed yet ... but I'm ever so much more
+impatient than you ... good-bye for the present." He put the receiver
+on the stand.
+
+"It's a trap," said Charolais.
+
+"Never mind, what if it is? Is it so very serious?" said Lupin.
+"There'll be nothing but traps now; and if I can find the time I shall
+certainly go and take a look at that one."
+
+"And if she knows everything? If she's taking her revenge ... if she's
+getting you there to have you arrested?" said Victoire.
+
+"Yes, M. Formery is probably at the Ritz with Gournay-Martin. They're
+probably all of them there, weighing the coronet," said Lupin, with a
+chuckle.
+
+He hesitated a moment, reflecting; then he said, "How silly you are! If
+they wanted to arrest me, if they had the material proof which they
+haven't got, Guerchard would be here already!"
+
+"Then why did they chase you last night?" said Charolais.
+
+"The coronet," said Lupin. "Wasn't that reason enough? But, as it
+turned out, they didn't catch me: and when the detectives did come
+here, they disturbed me in my sleep. And that me was ever so much more
+me than the man they followed. And then the proofs ... they must have
+proofs. There aren't any--or rather, what there are, I've got!" He
+pointed to a small safe let into the wall. "In that safe are the
+coronet, and, above all, the death certificate of the Duke of
+Charmerace ... everything that Guerchard must have to induce M. Formery
+to proceed. But still, there is a risk--I think I'd better have those
+things handy in case I have to bolt."
+
+He went into his bedroom and came back with the key of the safe and a
+kit-bag. He opened the safe and took out the coronet, the real coronet
+of the Princesse de Lamballe, and along with it a pocket-book with a
+few papers in it. He set the pocket-book on the table, ready to put in
+his coat-pocket when he should have dressed, and dropped the coronet
+into the kit-bag.
+
+"I'm glad I have that death certificate; it makes it much safer," he
+said. "If ever they do nab me, I don't wish that rascal Guerchard to
+accuse me of having murdered the Duke. It might prejudice me badly.
+I've not murdered anybody yet."
+
+"That comes of having a good heart," said Victoire proudly.
+
+"Not even the Duke of Charmerace," said Charolais sadly. "And it would
+have been so easy when he was ill--just one little draught. And he was
+in such a perfect place--so out of the way--no doctors."
+
+"You do have such disgusting ideas, Charolais," said Lupin, in a tone
+of severe reproof.
+
+"Instead of which you went and saved his life," said Charolais, in a
+tone of deep discontent; and he went on clearing the table.
+
+"I did, I did: I had grown quite fond of him," said Lupin, with a
+meditative air. "For one thing, he was so very like one. I'm not sure
+that he wasn't even better-looking."
+
+"No; he was just like you," said Victoire, with decision. "Any one
+would have said you were twin brothers."
+
+"It gave me quite a shock the first time I saw his portrait," said
+Lupin. "You remember, Charolais? It was three years ago, the day, or
+rather the night, of the first Gournay-Martin burglary at Charmerace.
+Do you remember?"
+
+"Do I remember?" said Charolais. "It was I who pointed out the likeness
+to you. I said, 'He's the very spit of you, master.' And you said,
+'There's something to be done with that, Charolais.' And then off you
+started for the ice and snow and found the Duke, and became his friend;
+and then he went and died, not that you'd have helped him to, if he
+hadn't."
+
+"Poor Charmerace. He was indeed grand seigneur. With him a great name
+was about to be extinguished.... Did I hesitate? ... No.... I continued
+it," said Lupin.
+
+He paused and looked at the clock. "A quarter to eight," he said,
+hesitating. "Shall I telephone to Sonia, or shall I not? Oh, there's no
+hurry; let the poor child sleep on. She must be worn out after that
+night-journey and that cursed Guerchard's persecution yesterday. I'll
+dress first, and telephone to her afterwards. I'd better be getting
+dressed, by the way. The work I've got to do can't be done in pyjamas.
+I wish it could; for bed's the place for me. My wits aren't quite as
+clear as I could wish them to deal with an awkward business like this.
+Well, I must do the best I can with them."
+
+He yawned and went to the bedroom, leaving the pocket-book on the table.
+
+"Bring my shaving-water, Charolais, and shave me," he said, pausing;
+and he went into the bedroom and shut the door.
+
+"Ah," said Victoire sadly, "what a pity it is! A few years ago he would
+have gone to the Crusades; and to-day he steals coronets. What a pity
+it is!"
+
+"I think myself that the best thing we can do is to pack up our
+belongings," said Charolais. "And I don't think we've much time to do
+it either. This particular game is at an end, you may take it from me."
+
+"I hope to goodness it is: I want to get back to the country," said
+Victoire.
+
+He took up the tray; and they went out of the room. On the landing they
+separated; she went upstairs and he went down. Presently he came up
+with the shaving water and shaved his master; for in the house in
+University Street he discharged the double functions of valet and
+butler. He had just finished his task when there came a ring at the
+front-door bell.
+
+"You'd better go and see who it is," said Lupin.
+
+"Bernard is answering the door," said Charolais. "But perhaps I'd
+better keep an eye on it myself; one never knows."
+
+He put away the razor leisurely, and went. On the stairs he found
+Bonavent, mounting--Bonavent, disguised in the livery and fierce
+moustache of a porter from the Ritz.
+
+"Why didn't you come to the servants' entrance?" said Charolais, with
+the truculent air of the servant of a duke and a stickler for his
+master's dignity.
+
+"I didn't know that there was one," said Bonavent humbly. "Well, you
+ought to have known that there was; and it's plain enough to see. What
+is it you want?" said Charolais.
+
+"I've brought a letter--a letter for the Duke of Charmerace," said
+Bonavent.
+
+"Give it to me," said Charolais. "I'll take it to him."
+
+"No, no; I'm to give it into the hands of the Duke himself and to
+nobody else," said Bonavent.
+
+"Well, in that case, you'll have to wait till he's finished dressing,"
+said Charolais.
+
+They went on up to the stairs into the ante-room. Bonavent was walking
+straight into the smoking-room.
+
+"Here! where are you going to? Wait here," said Charolais quickly.
+"Take a chair; sit down."
+
+Bonavent sat down with a very stolid air, and Charolais looked at him
+doubtfully, in two minds whether to leave him there alone or not.
+Before he had decided there came a thundering knock on the front door,
+not only loud but protracted. Charolais looked round with a scared air;
+and then ran out of the room and down the stairs.
+
+On the instant Bonavent was on his feet, and very far from stolid. He
+opened the door of the smoking-room very gently and peered in. It was
+empty. He slipped noiselessly across the room, a pair of clippers ready
+in his hand, and cut the wires of the telephone. His quick eye glanced
+round the room and fell on the pocket-book on the table. He snatched it
+up, and slipped it into the breast of his tunic. He had scarcely done
+it--one button of his tunic was still to fasten--when the bedroom door
+opened, and Lupin came out:
+
+"What do you want?" he said sharply; and his keen eyes scanned the
+porter with a disquieting penetration.
+
+"I've brought a letter to the Duke of Charmerace, to be given into his
+own hands," said Bonavent, in a disguised voice.
+
+"Give it to me," said Lupin, holding out his hand.
+
+"But the Duke?" said Bonavent, hesitating.
+
+"I am the Duke," said Lupin.
+
+Bonavent gave him the letter, and turned to go.
+
+"Don't go," said Lupin quietly. "Wait, there may be an answer."
+
+There was a faint glitter in his eyes; but Bonavent missed it.
+
+Charolais came into the room, and said, in a grumbling tone, "A
+run-away knock. I wish I could catch the brats; I'd warm them. They
+wouldn't go fetching me away from my work again, in a hurry, I can tell
+you."
+
+Lupin opened the letter, and read it. As he read it, at first he
+frowned; then he smiled; and then he laughed joyously. It ran:
+
+"SIR,"
+
+"M. Guerchard has told me everything. With regard to Sonia I have
+judged you: a man who loves a thief can be nothing but a rogue. I have
+two pieces of news to announce to you: the death of the Duke of
+Charmerace, who died three years ago, and my intention of becoming
+engaged to his cousin and heir, M. de Relzieres, who will assume the
+title and the arms."
+
+"For Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin," "Her maid, IRMA."
+
+"She does write in shocking bad taste," said Lupin, shaking his head
+sadly. "Charolais, sit down and write a letter for me."
+
+"Me?" said Charolais.
+
+"Yes; you. It seems to be the fashion in financial circles; and I am
+bound to follow it when a lady sets it. Write me a letter," said Lupin.
+
+Charolais went to the writing-table reluctantly, sat down, set a sheet
+of paper on the blotter, took a pen in his hand, and sighed painfully.
+
+"Ready?" said Lupin; and he dictated:
+
+"MADEMOISELLE,"
+
+"I have a very robust constitution, and my indisposition will very soon
+be over. I shall have the honour of sending, this afternoon, my humble
+wedding present to the future Madame de Relzieres."
+
+"For Jacques de Bartut, Marquis de Relzieres, Prince of Virieux, Duke
+of Charmerace."
+
+"His butler, ARSENE."
+
+"Shall I write Arsene?" said Charolais, in a horrified tone.
+
+"Why not?" said Lupin. "It's your charming name, isn't it?"
+
+Bonavent pricked up his ears, and looked at Charolais with a new
+interest.
+
+Charolais shrugged his shoulders, finished the letter, blotted it, put
+it in an envelope, addressed it, and handed it to Lupin.
+
+"Take this to Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin," said Lupin, handing it to
+Bonavent.
+
+Bonavent took the letter, turned, and had taken one step towards the
+door when Lupin sprang. His arm went round the detective's neck; he
+jerked him backwards off his feet, scragging him.
+
+"Stir, and I'll break your neck!" he cried in a terrible voice; and
+then he said quietly to Charolais, "Just take my pocket-book out of
+this fellow's tunic."
+
+Charolais, with deft fingers, ripped open the detective's tunic, and
+took out the pocket-book.
+
+"This is what they call Jiu-jitsu, old chap! You'll be able to teach it
+to your colleagues," said Lupin. He loosed his grip on Bonavent, and
+knocked him straight with a thump in the back, and sent him flying
+across the room. Then he took the pocket-book from Charolais and made
+sure that its contents were untouched.
+
+"Tell your master from me that if he wants to bring me down he'd better
+fire the gun himself," said Lupin contemptuously. "Show the gentleman
+out, Charolais."
+
+Bonavent staggered to the door, paused, and turned on Lupin a face
+livid with fury.
+
+"He will be here himself in ten minutes," he said.
+
+"Many thanks for the information," said Lupin quietly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE BARGAIN
+
+
+Charolais conducted the detective down the stairs and let him out of
+the front door, cursing and threatening vengeance as he went. Charolais
+took no notice of his words--he was the well-trained servant. He came
+back upstairs, and on the landing called to Victoire and Bernard. They
+came hurrying down; and the three of them went into the smoking-room.
+
+"Now we know where we are," said Lupin, with cheerful briskness.
+"Guerchard will be here in ten minutes with a warrant for my arrest.
+All of you clear out."
+
+"It won't be so precious easy. The house is watched," said Charolais.
+"And I'll bet it's watched back and front."
+
+"Well, slip out by the secret entrance. They haven't found that yet,"
+said Lupin. "And meet me at the house at Passy."
+
+Charolais and Bernard wanted no more telling; they ran to the book-case
+and pressed the buttons; the book-case slid aside; the doors opened and
+disclosed the lift. They stepped into it. Victoire had followed them.
+She paused and said: "And you? Are you coming?"
+
+"In an instant I shall slip out the same way," he said.
+
+"I'll wait for him. You go on," said Victoire; and the lift went down.
+
+Lupin went to the telephone, rang the bell, and put the receiver to his
+ear.
+
+"You've no time to waste telephoning. They may be here at any moment!"
+cried Victoire anxiously.
+
+"I must. If I don't telephone Sonia will come here. She will run right
+into Guerchard's arms. Why the devil don't they answer? They must be
+deaf!" And he rang the bell again.
+
+"Let's go to her! Let's get out of here!" cried Victoire, more
+anxiously. "There really isn't any time to waste."
+
+"Go to her? But I don't know where she is. I lost my head last night,"
+cried Lupin, suddenly anxious himself. "Are you there?" he shouted into
+the telephone. "She's at a little hotel near the Star. ... Are you
+there? ... But there are twenty hotels near the Star.... Are you there?
+... Oh, I did lose my head last night. ... Are you there? Oh, hang this
+telephone! Here I'm fighting with a piece of furniture. And every
+second is important!"
+
+He picked up the machine, shook it, saw that the wires were cut, and
+cried furiously: "Ha! They've played the telephone trick on me! That's
+Guerchard.... The swine!"
+
+"And now you can come along!" cried Victoire.
+
+"But that's just what I can't do!" he cried.
+
+"But there's nothing more for you to do here, since you can no longer
+telephone," said Victoire, bewildered.
+
+Lupin caught her arm and shook her, staring into her face with
+panic-stricken eyes. "But don't you understand that, since I haven't
+telephoned, she'll come here?" he cried hoarsely. "Five-and-twenty
+minutes past eight! At half-past eight she will start--start to come
+here."
+
+His face had suddenly grown haggard; this new fear had brought back all
+the exhaustion of the night; his eyes were panic-stricken.
+
+"But what about you?" said Victoire, wringing her hands.
+
+"What about her?" said Lupin; and his voice thrilled with anguished
+dread.
+
+"But you'll gain nothing by destroying both of you--nothing at all."
+
+"I prefer it," said Lupin slowly, with a suddenly stubborn air.
+
+"But they're coming to take you," cried Victoire, gripping his arm.
+
+"Take me?" cried Lupin, freeing himself quietly from her grip. And he
+stood frowning, plunged in deep thought, weighing the chances, the
+risks, seeking a plan, saving devices.
+
+He crossed the room to the writing-table, opened a drawer, and took out
+a cardboard box about eight inches square and set it on the table.
+
+"They shall never take me alive," he said gloomily.
+
+"Oh, hush, hush!" said Victoire. "I know very well that you're capable
+of anything ... and they too--they'll destroy you. No, look you, you
+must go. They won't do anything to her--a child like that--so frail.
+She'll get off quite easily. You're coming, aren't you?"
+
+"No, I'm not," said Lupin stubbornly.
+
+"Oh, well, if you won't," said Victoire; and with an air of resolution
+she went to the side of the lift-well, and pressed the buttons. The
+doors closed; the book-case slid across. She sat down and folded her
+arms.
+
+"What, you're not going to stop here?" cried Lupin.
+
+"Make me stir if you can. I'm as fond of you as she is--you know I am,"
+said Victoire, and her face set stonily obstinate.
+
+Lupin begged her to go; ordered her to go; he seized her by the
+shoulder, shook her, and abused her like a pickpocket. She would not
+stir. He abandoned the effort, sat down, and knitted his brow again in
+profound and painful thought, working out his plan. Now and again his
+eyes flashed, once or twice they twinkled. Victoire watched his face
+with just the faintest hope on her own.
+
+It was past five-and-twenty minutes to nine when the front-door bell
+rang. They gazed at one another with an unspoken question on their
+lips. The eyes of Victoire were scared, but in the eyes of Lupin the
+light of battle was gathering.
+
+"It's her," said Victoire under her breath.
+
+"No," said Lupin. "It's Guerchard."
+
+He sprang to his feet with shining eyes. His lips were curved in a
+fighting smile. "The game isn't lost yet," he said in a tense, quiet
+voice. "I'm going to play it to the end. I've a card or two left
+still--good cards. I'm still the Duke of Charmerace." He turned to her.
+
+"Now listen to me," he said. "Go down and open the door for him."
+
+"What, you want me to?" said Victoire, in a shaky voice.
+
+"Yes, I do. Listen to me carefully. When you have opened the door, slip
+out of it and watch the house. Don't go too far from it. Look out for
+Sonia. You'll see her coming. Stop her from entering, Victoire--stop
+her from entering." He spoke coolly, but his voice shook on the last
+words.
+
+"But if Guerchard arrests me?" said Victoire.
+
+"He won't. When he comes in, stand behind the door. He will be too
+eager to get to me to stop for you. Besides, for him you don't count in
+the game. Once you're out of the house, I'll hold him here for--for
+half an hour. That will leave a margin. Sonia will hurry here. She
+should be here in twelve minutes. Get her away to the house at Passy.
+If I don't come keep her there; she's to live with you. But I shall
+come."
+
+As he spoke he was pushing her towards the door.
+
+The bell rang again. They were at the top of the stairs.
+
+"And suppose he does arrest me?" said Victoire breathlessly.
+
+"Never mind, you must go all the same," said Lupin. "Don't give up
+hope--trust to me. Go--go--for my sake."
+
+"I'm going, dearie," said Victoire; and she went down the stairs
+steadily, with a brave air.
+
+He watched her half-way down the flight; then he muttered:
+
+"If only she gets to Sonia in time."
+
+He turned, went into the smoking-room, and shut the door. He sat
+quietly down in an easy chair, lighted a cigarette, and took up a
+paper. He heard the noise of the traffic in the street grow louder as
+the front door was opened. There was a pause; then he heard the door
+bang. There was the sound of a hasty footstep on the stairs; the door
+flew open, and Guerchard bounced into the room.
+
+He stopped short in front of the door at the sight of Lupin, quietly
+reading, smoking at his ease. He had expected to find the bird flown.
+He stood still, hesitating, shuffling his feet--all his doubts had
+returned; and Lupin smiled at him over the lowered paper.
+
+Guerchard pulled himself together by a violent effort, and said
+jerkily, "Good-morning, Lupin."
+
+"Good-morning, M. Guerchard," said Lupin, with an ambiguous smile and
+all the air of the Duke of Charmerace.
+
+"You were expecting me? ... I hope I haven't kept you waiting," said
+Guerchard, with an air of bravado.
+
+"No, thank you: the time has passed quite quickly. I have so much to do
+in the morning always," said Lupin. "I hope you had a good night after
+that unfortunate business of the coronet. That was a disaster; and so
+unexpected too."
+
+Guerchard came a few steps into the room, still hesitating:
+
+"You've a very charming house here," he said, with a sneer.
+
+"It's central," said Lupin carelessly. "You must please excuse me, if I
+cannot receive you as I should like; but all my servants have bolted.
+Those confounded detectives of yours have frightened them away."
+
+"You needn't bother about that. I shall catch them," said Guerchard.
+
+"If you do, I'm sure I wish you joy of them. Do, please, keep your hat
+on," said Lupin with ironic politeness.
+
+Guerchard came slowly to the middle of the room, raising his hand to
+his hat, letting it fall again without taking it off. He sat down
+slowly facing him, and they gazed at one another with the wary eyes of
+duellists crossing swords at the beginning of a duel.
+
+"Did you get M. Formery to sign a little warrant?" said Lupin, in a
+caressing tone full of quiet mockery.
+
+"I did," said Guerchard through his teeth.
+
+"And have you got it on you?" said Lupin.
+
+"I have," said Guerchard.
+
+"Against Lupin, or against the Duke of Charmerace?" said Lupin.
+
+"Against Lupin, called Charmerace," said Guerchard.
+
+"Well, that ought to cover me pretty well. Why don't you arrest me?
+What are you waiting for?" said Lupin. His face was entirely serene,
+his eyes were careless, his tone indifferent.
+
+"I'm not waiting for anything," said Guerchard thickly; "but it gives
+me such pleasure that I wish to enjoy this minute to the utmost,
+Lupin," said Guerchard; and his eyes gloated on him.
+
+"Lupin, himself," said Lupin, smiling.
+
+"I hardly dare believe it," said Guerchard.
+
+"You're quite right not to," said Lupin.
+
+"Yes, I hardly dare believe it. You alive, here at my mercy?"
+
+"Oh, dear no, not yet," said Lupin.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard, in a decisive tone. "And ever so much more than
+you think." He bent forwards towards him, with his hands on his knees,
+and said, "Do you know where Sonia Kritchnoff is at this moment?"
+
+"What?" said Lupin sharply.
+
+"I ask if you know where Sonia Kritchnoff is?" said Guerchard slowly,
+lingering over the words.
+
+"Do you?" said Lupin.
+
+"I do," said Guerchard triumphantly.
+
+"Where is she?" said Lupin, in a tone of utter incredulity.
+
+"In a small hotel near the Star. The hotel has a telephone; and you can
+make sure," said Guerchard.
+
+"Indeed? That's very interesting. What's the number of it?" said Lupin,
+in a mocking tone.
+
+"555 Central: would you like to telephone to her?" said Guerchard; and
+he smiled triumphantly at the disabled instrument.
+
+Lupin shock his head with a careless smile, and said, "Why should I
+telephone to her? What are you driving at?"
+
+"Nothing ... that's all," said Guerchard. And he leant back in his
+chair with an ugly smile on his face.
+
+"Evidently nothing. For, after all, what has that child got to do with
+you? You're not interested in her, plainly. She's not big enough game
+for you. It's me you are hunting ... it's me you hate ... it's me you
+want. I've played you tricks enough for that, you old scoundrel. So
+you're going to leave that child in peace? ... You're not going to
+revenge yourself on her? ... It's all very well for you to be a
+policeman; it's all very well for you to hate me; but there are things
+one does not do." There was a ring of menace and appeal in the deep,
+ringing tones of his voice. "You're not going to do that, Guerchard....
+You will not do it.... Me--yes--anything you like. But her--her you
+must not touch." He gazed at the detective with fierce, appealing eyes.
+
+"That depends on you," said Guerchard curtly.
+
+"On me?" cried Lupin, in genuine surprise.
+
+"Yes, I've a little bargain to propose to you," said Guerchard.
+
+"Have you?" said Lupin; and his watchful face was serene again, his
+smile almost pleasant.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard. And he paused, hesitating.
+
+"Well, what is it you want?" said Lupin. "Out with it! Don't be shy
+about it."
+
+"I offer you--"
+
+"You offer me?" cried Lupin. "Then it isn't true. You're fooling me."
+
+"Reassure yourself," said Guerchard coldly. "To you personally I offer
+nothing."
+
+"Then you are sincere," said Lupin. "And putting me out of the
+question?"
+
+"I offer you liberty."
+
+"Who for? For my concierge?" said Lupin.
+
+"Don't play the fool. You care only for a single person in the world. I
+hold you through her: Sonia Kritchnoff."
+
+Lupin burst into a ringing, irrepressible laugh:
+
+"Why, you're trying to blackmail me, you old sweep!" he cried.
+
+"If you like to call it so," said Guerchard coldly.
+
+Lupin rose and walked backwards and forwards across the room, frowning,
+calculating, glancing keenly at Guerchard, weighing him. Twice he
+looked at the clock.
+
+He stopped and said coldly: "So be it. For the moment you're the
+stronger.... That won't last.... But you offer me this child's liberty."
+
+"That's my offer," said Guerchard; and his eyes brightened at the
+prospect of success.
+
+"Her complete liberty? ... on your word of honour?" said Lupin; and he
+had something of the air of a cat playing with a mouse.
+
+"On my word of honour," said Guerchard.
+
+"Can you do it?" said Lupin, with a sudden air of doubt; and he looked
+sharply from Guerchard to the clock.
+
+"I undertake to do it," said Guerchard confidently.
+
+"But how?" said Lupin, looking at him with an expression of the gravest
+doubt.
+
+"Oh, I'll put the thefts on your shoulders. That will let her out all
+right," said Guerchard.
+
+"I've certainly good broad shoulders," said Lupin, with a bitter smile.
+He walked slowly up and down with an air that grew more and more
+depressed: it was almost the air of a beaten man. Then he stopped and
+faced Guerchard, and said: "And what is it you want in exchange?"
+
+"Everything," said Guerchard, with the air of a man who is winning.
+"You must give me back the pictures, tapestry, Renaissance cabinets,
+the coronet, and all the information about the death of the Duke of
+Charmerace. Did you kill him?"
+
+"If ever I commit suicide, you'll know all about it, my good Guerchard.
+You'll be there. You may even join me," said Lupin grimly; he resumed
+his pacing up and down the room.
+
+"Done for, yes; I shall be done for," he said presently. "The fact is,
+you want my skin."
+
+"Yes, I want your skin," said Guerchard, in a low, savage, vindictive
+tone.
+
+"My skin," said Lupin thoughtfully.
+
+"Are you going to do it? Think of that girl," said Guerchard, in a
+fresh access of uneasy anxiety.
+
+Lupin laughed: "I can give you a glass of port," he said, "but I'm
+afraid that's all I can do for you."
+
+"I'll throw Victoire in," said Guerchard.
+
+"What?" cried Lupin. "You've arrested Victoire?" There was a ring of
+utter dismay, almost despair, in his tone.
+
+"Yes; and I'll throw her in. She shall go scot-free. I won't bother
+with her," said Guerchard eagerly.
+
+The front-door bell rang.
+
+"Wait, wait. Let me think," said Lupin hoarsely; and he strove to
+adjust his jostling ideas, to meet with a fresh plan this fresh
+disaster.
+
+He stood listening with all his ears. There were footsteps on the
+stairs, and the door opened. Dieusy stood on the threshold.
+
+"Who is it?" said Guerchard.
+
+"I accept--I accept everything," cried Lupin in a frantic tone.
+
+"It's a tradesman; am I to detain him?" said Dieusy. "You told me to
+let you know who came and take instructions."
+
+"A tradesman? Then I refuse!" cried Lupin, in an ecstasy of relief.
+
+"No, you needn't keep him," said Guerchard, to Dieusy.
+
+Dieusy went out and shut the door.
+
+"You refuse?" said Guerchard.
+
+"I refuse," said Lupin.
+
+"I'm going to gaol that girl," said Guerchard savagely; and he took a
+step towards the door.
+
+"Not for long," said Lupin quietly. "You have no proof."
+
+"She'll furnish the proof all right herself--plenty of proofs," said
+Guerchard brutally. "What chance has a silly child like that got, when
+we really start questioning her? A delicate creature like that will
+crumple up before the end of the third day's cross-examination."
+
+"You swine!" said Lupin. "You know well enough that I can do it--on my
+head--with a feeble child like that; and you know your Code; five years
+is the minimum," said Guerchard, in a tone of relentless brutality,
+watching him carefully, sticking to his hope.
+
+"By Jove, I could wring your neck!" said Lupin, trembling with fury. By
+a violent effort he controlled himself, and said thoughtfully, "After
+all, if I give up everything to you, I shall be free to take it back
+one of these days."
+
+"Oh, no doubt, when you come out of prison," said Guerchard ironically;
+and he laughed a grim, jeering laugh.
+
+"I've got to go to prison first," said Lupin quietly.
+
+"Pardon me--if you accept, I mean to arrest you," said Guerchard.
+
+"Manifestly you'll arrest me if you can," said Lupin.
+
+"Do you accept?" said Guerchard. And again his voice quivered with
+anxiety.
+
+"Well," said Lupin. And he paused as if finally weighing the matter.
+
+"Well?" said Guerchard, and his voice shook.
+
+"Well--no!" said Lupin; and he laughed a mocking laugh.
+
+"You won't?" said Guerchard between his teeth.
+
+"No; you wish to catch me. This is just a ruse," said Lupin, in quiet,
+measured tones. "At bottom you don't care a hang about Sonia,
+Mademoiselle Kritchnoff. You will not arrest her. And then, if you did
+you have no proofs. There ARE no proofs. As for the pendant, you'd have
+to prove it. You can't prove it. You can't prove that it was in her
+possession one moment. Where is the pendant?" He paused, and then went
+on in the same quiet tone: "No, Guerchard; after having kept out of
+your clutches for the last ten years, I'm not going to be caught to
+save this child, who is not even in danger. She has a very useful
+friend in the Duke of Charmerace. I refuse."
+
+Guerchard stared at him, scowling, biting his lips, seeking a fresh
+point of attack. For the moment he knew himself baffled, but he still
+clung tenaciously to the struggle in which victory would be so precious.
+
+The front-door bell rang again.
+
+"There's a lot of ringing at your bell this morning," said Guerchard,
+under his breath; and hope sprang afresh in him.
+
+Again they stood silent, waiting.
+
+Dieusy opened the door, put in his head, and said, "It's Mademoiselle
+Kritchnoff."
+
+"Collar her! ... Here's the warrant! ... collar her!" shouted
+Guerchard, with savage, triumphant joy.
+
+"Never! You shan't touch her! By Heaven, you shan't touch her!" cried
+Lupin frantically; and he sprang like a tiger at Guerchard.
+
+Guerchard jumped to the other side of the table. "Will you accept,
+then?" he cried.
+
+Lupin gripped the edge of the table with both hands, and stood panting,
+grinding his teeth, pale with fury. He stood silent and motionless for
+perhaps half a minute, gazing at Guerchard with burning, murderous
+eyes. Then he nodded his head.
+
+"Let Mademoiselle Kritchnoff wait," said Guerchard, with a sigh of deep
+relief. Dieusy went out of the room.
+
+"Now let us settle exactly how we stand," said Lupin, in a clear,
+incisive voice. "The bargain is this: If I give you the pictures, the
+tapestry, the cabinets, the coronet, and the death-certificate of the
+Duke of Charmerace, you give me your word of honour that Mademoiselle
+Kritchnoff shall not be touched."
+
+"That's it!" said Guerchard eagerly.
+
+"Once I deliver these things to you, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff passes out
+of the game."
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard.
+
+"Whatever happens afterwards. If I get back anything--if I escape--she
+goes scot-free," said Lupin.
+
+"Yes," said Guerchard; and his eyes were shining.
+
+"On your word of honour?" said Lupin.
+
+"On my word of honour," said Guerchard.
+
+"Very well," said Lupin, in a quiet, businesslike voice. "To begin
+with, here in this pocket-book you'll find all the documents relating
+to the death of the Duke of Charmerace. In it you will also find the
+receipt of the Plantin furniture repository at Batignolles for the
+objects of art which I collected at Gournay-Martin's. I sent them to
+Batignolles because, in my letters asking the owners of valuables to
+forward them to me, I always make Batignolles the place to which they
+are to be sent; therefore I knew that you would never look there. They
+are all in cases; for, while you were making those valuable inquiries
+yesterday, my men were putting them into cases. You'll not find the
+receipt in the name of either the Duke of Charmerace or my own. It is
+in the name of a respected proprietor of Batignolles, a M. Pierre
+Servien. But he has lately left that charming suburb, and I do not
+think he will return to it."
+
+Guerchard almost snatched the pocket-book out of his hand. He verified
+the documents in it with greedy eyes; and then he put them back in it,
+and stuffed it into the breast-pocket of his coat.
+
+"And where's the coronet?" he said, in an excited voice.
+
+"You're nearly standing on it," said Lupin.
+
+"It's in that kit-bag at your feet, on the top of the change of clothes
+in it."
+
+Guerchard snatched up the kit-bag, opened it, and took out the coronet.
+
+"I'm afraid I haven't the case," said Lupin, in a tone of regret. "If
+you remember, I left it at Gournay-Martin's--in your charge."
+
+Guerchard examined the coronet carefully. He looked at the stones in
+it; he weighed it in his right hand, and he weighed it in his left.
+
+"Are you sure it's the real one?" said Lupin, in a tone of acute but
+affected anxiety. "Do not--oh, do not let us have any more of these
+painful mistakes about it. They are so wearing."
+
+"Yes--yes--this is the real one," said Guerchard, with another deep
+sigh of relief.
+
+"Well, have you done bleeding me?" said Lupin contemptuously.
+
+"Your arms," said Guerchard quickly.
+
+"They weren't in the bond," said Lupin. "But here you are." And he
+threw his revolver on the table.
+
+Guerchard picked it up and put it into his pocket. He looked at Lupin
+as if he could not believe his eyes, gloating over him. Then he said in
+a deep, triumphant tone:
+
+"And now for the handcuffs!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE END OF THE DUEL
+
+
+"The handcuffs?" said Lupin; and his face fell. Then it cleared; and he
+added lightly, "After all, there's nothing like being careful; and, by
+Jove, with me you need to be. I might get away yet. What luck it is for
+you that I'm so soft, so little of a Charmerace, so human! Truly, I
+can't be much of a man of the world, to be in love like this!"
+
+"Come, come, hold out your hands!" said Guerchard, jingling the
+handcuffs impatiently.
+
+"I should like to see that child for the last time," said Lupin gently.
+
+"All right," said Guerchard.
+
+"Arsene Lupin--and nabbed by you! If you aren't in luck! Here you are!"
+said Lupin bitterly; and he held out his wrists.
+
+Guerchard snapped the handcuffs on them with a grunt of satisfaction.
+
+Lupin gazed down at them with a bitter face, and said: "Oh, you are in
+luck! You're not married by any chance?"
+
+"Yes, yes; I am," said Guerchard hastily; and he went quickly to the
+door and opened it: "Dieusy!" he called. "Dieusy! Mademoiselle
+Kritchnoff is at liberty. Tell her so, and bring her in here."
+
+Lupin started back, flushed and scowling; he cried: "With these things
+on my hands! ... No! ... I can't see her!"
+
+Guerchard stood still, looking at him. Lupin's scowl slowly softened,
+and he said, half to himself, "But I should have liked to see her ...
+very much ... for if she goes like that ... I shall not know when or
+where--" He stopped short, raised his eyes, and said in a decided tone:
+"Ah, well, yes; I should like to see her."
+
+"If you've quite made up your mind," said Guerchard impatiently, and he
+went into the anteroom.
+
+Lupin stood very still, frowning thoughtfully. He heard footsteps on
+the stairs, and then the voice of Guerchard in the anteroom, saying, in
+a jeering tone, "You're free, mademoiselle; and you can thank the Duke
+for it. You owe your liberty to him."
+
+"Free! And I owe it to him?" cried the voice of Sonia, ringing and
+golden with extravagant joy.
+
+"Yes, mademoiselle," said Guerchard. "You owe it to him."
+
+She came through the open door, flushed deliciously and smiling, her
+eyes brimming with tears of joy. Lupin had never seen her look half so
+adorable.
+
+"Is it to you I owe it? Then I shall owe everything to you. Oh, thank
+you--thank you!" she cried, holding out her hands to him.
+
+Lupin half turned away from her to hide his handcuffs.
+
+She misunderstood the movement. Her face fell suddenly like that of a
+child rebuked: "Oh, I was wrong. I was wrong to come here!" she cried
+quickly, in changed, dolorous tones. "I thought yesterday ... I made a
+mistake ... pardon me. I'm going. I'm going."
+
+Lupin was looking at her over his shoulder, standing sideways to hide
+the handcuffs. He said sadly. "Sonia--"
+
+"No, no, I understand! It was impossible!" she cried quickly, cutting
+him short. "And yet if you only knew--if you knew how I have
+changed--with what a changed spirit I came here.... Ah, I swear that
+now I hate all my past. I loathe it. I swear that now the mere presence
+of a thief would overwhelm me with disgust."
+
+"Hush!" said Lupin, flushing deeply, and wincing. "Hush!"
+
+"But, after all, you're right," she said, in a gentler voice. "One
+can't wipe out what one has done. If I were to give back everything
+I've taken--if I were to spend years in remorse and repentance, it
+would be no use. In your eyes I should always be Sonia Kritchnoff, the
+thief!" The great tears welled slowly out of her eyes and rolled down
+her cheeks; she let them stream unheeded.
+
+"Sonia!" cried Lupin, protesting.
+
+But she would not hear him. She broke out with fresh vehemence, a
+feverish passion: "And yet, if I'd been a thief, like so many others...
+but you know why I stole. I'm not trying to defend myself, but, after
+all, I did it to keep honest; and when I loved you it was not the heart
+of a thief that thrilled, it was the heart of a poor girl who
+loved...that's all...who loved."
+
+"You don't know what you're doing! You're torturing me! Be quiet!"
+cried Lupin hoarsely, beside himself.
+
+"Never mind...I'm going...we shall never see one another any more," she
+sobbed. "But will you...will you shake hands just for the last time?"
+
+"No!" cried Lupin.
+
+"You won't?" wailed Sonia in a heartrending tone.
+
+"I can't!" cried Lupin.
+
+"You ought not to be like this.... Last night ... if you were going to
+let me go like this ... last night ... it was wrong," she wailed, and
+turned to go.
+
+"Wait, Sonia! Wait!" cried Lupin hoarsely. "A moment ago you said
+something.... You said that the mere presence of a thief would
+overwhelm you with disgust. Is that true?"
+
+"Yes, I swear it is," cried Sonia.
+
+Guerchard appeared in the doorway.
+
+"And if I were not the man you believe?" said Lupin sombrely.
+
+"What?" said Sonia; and a faint bewilderment mingled with her grief.
+"If I were not the Duke of Charmerace?"
+
+"Not the Duke?"
+
+"If I were not an honest man?" said Lupin.
+
+"You?" cried Sonia.
+
+"If I were a thief? If I were--"
+
+"Arsene Lupin," jeered Guerchard from the door.
+
+Lupin turned and held out his manacled wrists for her to see.
+
+"Arsene Lupin! ... it's ... it's true!" stammered Sonia. "But then, but
+then ... it must be for my sake that you've given yourself up. And it's
+for me you're going to prison. Oh, Heavens! How happy I am!"
+
+She sprang to him, threw her arms round his neck, and pressed her lips
+to his.
+
+"And that's what women call repenting," said Guerchard.
+
+He shrugged his shoulders, went out on to the landing, and called to
+the policeman in the hall to bid the driver of the prison-van, which
+was waiting, bring it up to the door.
+
+"Oh, this is incredible!" cried Lupin, in a trembling voice; and he
+kissed Sonia's lips and eyes and hair. "To think that you love me
+enough to go on loving me in spite of this--in spite of the fact that
+I'm Arsene Lupin. Oh, after this, I'll become an honest man! It's the
+least I can do. I'll retire."
+
+"You will?" cried Sonia.
+
+"Upon my soul, I will!" cried Lupin; and he kissed her again and again.
+
+Guerchard came back into the room. He looked at them with a cynical
+grin, and said, "Time's up."
+
+"Oh, Guerchard, after so many others, I owe you the best minute of my
+life!" cried Lupin.
+
+Bonavent, still in his porter's livery, came hurrying through the
+anteroom: "Master," he cried, "I've found it."
+
+"Found what?" said Guerchard.
+
+"The secret entrance. It opens into that little side street. We haven't
+got the door open yet; but we soon shall."
+
+"The last link in the chain," said Guerchard, with warm satisfaction.
+"Come along, Lupin."
+
+"But he's going to take you away! We're going to be separated!" cried
+Sonia, in a sudden anguish of realization.
+
+"It's all the same to me now!" cried Lupin, in the voice of a conqueror.
+
+"Yes, but not to me!" cried Sonia, wringing her hands.
+
+"Now you must keep calm and go. I'm not going to prison," said Lupin,
+in a low voice. "Wait in the hall, if you can. Stop and talk to
+Victoire; condole with her. If they turn you out of the house, wait
+close to the front door."
+
+"Come, mademoiselle," said Guerchard. "You must go."
+
+"Go, Sonia, go--good-bye--good-bye," said Lupin; and he kissed her.
+
+She went quietly out of the room, her handkerchief to her eyes.
+Guerchard held open the door for her, and kept it open, with his hand
+still on the handle; he said to Lupin: "Come along."
+
+Lupin yawned, stretched himself, and said coolly, "My dear Guerchard,
+what I want after the last two nights is rest--rest." He walked quickly
+across the room and stretched himself comfortably at full length on the
+couch.
+
+"Come, get up," said Guerchard roughly. "The prison-van is waiting for
+you. That ought to fetch you out of your dream."
+
+"Really, you do say the most unlucky things," said Lupin gaily.
+
+He had resumed his flippant, light-hearted air; his voice rang as
+lightly and pleasantly as if he had not a care in the world.
+
+"Do you mean that you refuse to come?" cried Guerchard in a rough,
+threatening tone.
+
+"Oh, no," said Lupin quickly: and he rose.
+
+"Then come along!" said Guerchard.
+
+"No," said Lupin, "after all, it's too early." Once more he stretched
+himself out on the couch, and added languidly, "I'm lunching at the
+English Embassy."
+
+"Now, you be careful!" cried Guerchard angrily. "Our parts are changed.
+If you're snatching at a last straw, it's waste of time. All your
+tricks--I know them. Understand, you rogue, I know them."
+
+"You know them?" said Lupin with a smile, rising. "It's fatality!"
+
+He stood before Guerchard, twisting his hands and wrists curiously.
+Half a dozen swift movements; and he held out his handcuffs in one hand
+and threw them on the floor.
+
+"Did you know that trick, Guerchard? One of these days I shall teach
+you to invite me to lunch," he said slowly, in a mocking tone; and he
+gazed at the detective with menacing, dangerous eyes.
+
+"Come, come, we've had enough of this!" cried Guerchard, in mingled
+astonishment, anger, and alarm. "Bonavent! Boursin! Dieusy! Here! Help!
+Help!" he shouted.
+
+"Now listen, Guerchard, and understand that I'm not humbugging," said
+Lupin quickly, in clear, compelling tones. "If Sonia, just now, had had
+one word, one gesture of contempt for me, I'd have given way--yielded
+... half-yielded, at any rate; for, rather than fall into your
+triumphant clutches, I'd have blown my brains out. I've now to choose
+between happiness, life with Sonia, or prison. Well, I've chosen. I
+will live happy with her, or else, my dear Guerchard, I'll die with
+you. Now let your men come--I'm ready for them."
+
+Guerchard ran to the door and shouted again.
+
+"I think the fat's in the fire now," said Lupin, laughing.
+
+He sprang to the table, opened the cardboard box, whipped off the top
+layer of cotton-wool, and took out a shining bomb.
+
+He sprang to the wall, pressed the button, the bookshelf glided slowly
+to one side, the lift rose to the level of the floor and its doors flew
+open just as the detectives rushed in.
+
+"Collar him!" yelled Guerchard.
+
+"Stand back--hands up!" cried Lupin, in a terrible voice, raising his
+right hand high above his head. "You know what this is ... a bomb....
+Come and collar me now, you swine! ... Hands up, you ... Guerchard!"
+
+"You silly funks!" roared Guerchard. "Do you think he'd dare?"
+
+"Come and see!" cried Lupin.
+
+"I will!" cried Guerchard. And he took a step forward.
+
+As one man his detectives threw themselves upon him. Three of them
+gripped his arms, a fourth gripped him round the waist; and they all
+shouted at him together, not to be a madman! ... To look at Lupin's
+eyes! ... That Lupin was off his head!
+
+"What miserable swine you are!" cried Lupin scornfully. He sprang
+forward, caught up the kit-bag in his left hand, and tossed it behind
+him into the lift. "You dirty crew!" he cried again. "Oh, why isn't
+there a photographer here? And now, Guerchard, you thief, give me back
+my pocket-book."
+
+"Never!" screamed Guerchard, struggling with his men, purple with fury.
+
+"Oh, Lord, master! Do be careful! Don't rile him!" cried Bonavent in an
+agony.
+
+"What? Do you want me to smash up the whole lot?" roared Lupin, in a
+furious, terrible voice. "Do I look as if I were bluffing, you fools?"
+
+"Let him have his way, master!" cried Dieusy.
+
+"Yes, yes!" cried Bonavent.
+
+"Let him have his way!" cried another.
+
+"Give him his pocket-book!" cried a third.
+
+"Never!" howled Guerchard.
+
+"It's in his pocket--his breast-pocket! Be smart!" roared Lupin.
+
+"Come, come, it's got to be given to him," cried Bonavent. "Hold the
+master tight!" And he thrust his hand into the breast of Guerchard's
+coat, and tore out the pocket-book.
+
+"Throw it on the table!" cried Lupin.
+
+Bonavent threw it on to the table; and it slid along it right to Lupin.
+He caught it in his left hand, and slipped it into his pocket. "Good!"
+he said. And then he yelled ferociously, "Look out for the bomb!" and
+made a feint of throwing it.
+
+The whole group fell back with an odd, unanimous, sighing groan.
+
+Lupin sprang into the lift, and the doors closed over the opening.
+There was a great sigh of relief from the frightened detectives, and
+then the chunking of machinery as the lift sank.
+
+Their grip on Guerchard loosened. He shook himself free, and shouted,
+"After him! You've got to make up for this! Down into the cellars, some
+of you! Others go to the secret entrance! Others to the servants'
+entrance! Get into the street! Be smart! Dieusy, take the lift with me!"
+
+The others ran out of the room and down the stairs, but with no great
+heartiness, since their minds were still quite full of the bomb, and
+Lupin still had it with him. Guerchard and Dieusy dashed at the doors
+of the opening of the lift-well, pulling and wrenching at them.
+Suddenly there was a click; and they heard the grunting of the
+machinery. There was a little bump and a jerk, the doors flew open of
+themselves; and there was the lift, empty, ready for them. They jumped
+into it; Guerchard's quick eye caught the button, and he pressed it.
+The doors banged to, and, to his horror, the lift shot upwards about
+eight feet, and stuck between the floors.
+
+As the lift stuck, a second compartment, exactly like the one Guerchard
+and Dieusy were in, came up to the level of the floor of the
+smoking-room; the doors opened, and there was Lupin. But again how
+changed! The clothes of the Duke of Charmerace littered the floor; the
+kit-bag was open; and he was wearing the very clothes of
+Chief-Inspector Guerchard, his seedy top-hat, his cloak. He wore also
+Guerchard's sparse, lank, black hair, his little, bristling, black
+moustache. His figure, hidden by the cloak, seemed to have shrunk to
+the size of Guerchard's.
+
+He sat before a mirror in the wall of the lift, a make-up box on the
+seat beside him. He darkened his eyebrows, and put a line or two about
+his eyes. That done he looked at himself earnestly for two or three
+minutes; and, as he looked, a truly marvellous transformation took
+place: the features of Arsene Lupin, of the Duke of Charmerace,
+decomposed, actually decomposed, into the features of Jean Guerchard.
+He looked at himself and laughed, the gentle, husky laugh of Guerchard.
+
+He rose, transferred the pocket-book to the coat he was wearing, picked
+up the bomb, came out into the smoking-room, and listened. A muffled
+roaring thumping came from the well of the lift. It almost sounded as
+if, in their exasperation, Guerchard and Dieusy were engaged in a
+struggle to the death. Smiling pleasantly, he stole to the window and
+looked out. His eyes brightened at the sight of the motor-car,
+Guerchard's car, waiting just before the front door and in charge of a
+policeman. He stole to the head of the stairs, and looked down into the
+hall. Victoire was sitting huddled together on a chair; Sonia stood
+beside her, talking to her in a low voice; and, keeping guard on
+Victoire, stood a brown-faced, active, nervous policeman, all
+alertness, briskness, keenness.
+
+"Hi! officer! come up here! Be smart," cried Lupin over the bannisters,
+in the husky, gentle voice of Chief-Inspector Guerchard.
+
+The policeman looked up, recognized the great detective, and came
+bounding zealously up the stairs.
+
+Lupin led the way through the anteroom into the sitting-room. Then he
+said sharply: "You have your revolver?"
+
+"Yes," said the young policeman. And he drew it with a flourish.
+
+"Put it away! Put it away at once!" said Lupin very smartly. "You're
+not to use it. You're not to use it on any account! You understand?"
+
+"Yes," said the policeman firmly; and with a slightly bewildered air he
+put the revolver away.
+
+"Here! Stand here!" cried Lupin, raising his voice. And he caught the
+policeman's arm, and hustled him roughly to the front of the doors of
+the lift-well. "Do you see these doors? Do you see them?" he snapped.
+
+"Yes, yes," said the policeman, glaring at them.
+
+"They're the doors of a lift," said Lupin. "In that lift are Dieusy and
+Lupin. You know Dieusy?"
+
+"Yes, yes," said the policeman.
+
+"There are only Dieusy and Lupin in the lift. They are struggling
+together. You can hear them," shouted Lupin in the policeman's ear.
+"Lupin is disguised. You understand--Dieusy and a disguised man are in
+the lift. The disguised man is Lupin. Directly the lift descends and
+the doors open, throw yourself on him! Hold him! Shout for assistance!"
+He almost bellowed the last words into the policeman's ear.
+
+"Yes, yes," said the policeman. And he braced himself before the doors
+of the lift-well, gazing at them with harried eyes, as if he expected
+them to bite him.
+
+"Be brave! Be ready to die in the discharge of your duty!" bellowed
+Lupin; and he walked out of the room, shut the door, and turned the key.
+
+The policeman stood listening to the noise of the struggle in the lift,
+himself strung up to fighting point; he was panting. Lupin's
+instructions were whirling and dancing in his head.
+
+Lupin went quietly down the stairs. Victoire and Sonia saw him coming.
+Victoire rose; and as he came to the bottom of the stairs Sonia stepped
+forward and said in an anxious, pleading voice:
+
+"Oh, M. Guerchard, where is he?"
+
+"He's here," said Lupin, in his natural voice.
+
+Sonia sprang to him with outstretched arms.
+
+"It's you! It IS you!" she cried.
+
+"Just look how like him I am!" said Lupin, laughing triumphantly. "But
+do I look quite ruffian enough?"
+
+"Oh, NO! You couldn't!" cried Sonia.
+
+"Isn't he a wonder?" said Victoire.
+
+"This time the Duke of Charmerace is dead, for good and all," said
+Lupin.
+
+"No; it's Lupin that's dead," said Sonia softly.
+
+"Lupin?" he said, surprised.
+
+"Yes," said Sonia firmly.
+
+"It would be a terrible loss, you know--a loss for France," said Lupin
+gravely.
+
+"Never mind," said Sonia.
+
+"Oh, I must be in love with you!" said Lupin, in a wondering tone; and
+he put his arm round her and kissed her violently.
+
+"And you won't steal any more?" said Sonia, holding him back with both
+hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes.
+
+"I shouldn't dream of such a thing," said Lupin. "You are here.
+Guerchard is in the lift. What more could I possibly desire?" His voice
+softened and grew infinitely caressing as he went on: "Yet when you are
+at my side I shall always have the soul of a lover and the soul of a
+thief. I long to steal your kisses, your thoughts, the whole of your
+heart. Ah, Sonia, if you want me to steal nothing else, you have only
+to stay by my side."
+
+Their lips met in a long kiss.
+
+Sonia drew herself out of his arms and cried, "But we're wasting time!
+We must make haste! We must fly!"
+
+"Fly?" said Lupin sharply. "No, thank you; never again. I did flying
+enough last night to last me a lifetime. For the rest of my life I'm
+going to crawl--crawl like a snail. But come along, you two, I must
+take you to the police-station."
+
+He opened the front door, and they came out on the steps. The policeman
+in charge of the car saluted.
+
+Lupin paused and said softly: "Hark! I hear the sound of wedding bells."
+
+They went down the steps.
+
+Even as they were getting into the car some chance blow of Guerchard or
+Dieusy struck a hidden spring and released the lift. It sank to the
+level of Lupin's smoking-room and stopped. The doors flew open, Dieusy
+and Guerchard sprang out of it; and on the instant the brown-faced,
+nervous policeman sprang actively on Guerchard and pinned him. Taken by
+surprise, Guerchard yelled loudly, "You stupid idiot!" somehow
+entangled his legs in those of his captor, and they rolled on the
+floor. Dieusy surveyed them for a moment with blank astonishment. Then,
+with swift intelligence, grasped the fact that the policeman was Lupin
+in disguise. He sprang upon them, tore them asunder, fell heavily on
+the policeman, and pinned him to the floor with a strangling hand on
+his throat.
+
+Guerchard dashed to the door, tried it, and found it locked, dashed for
+the window, threw it open, and thrust out his head. Forty yards down
+the street a motor-car was rolling smoothly away--rolling to a
+honeymoon.
+
+"Oh, hang it!" he screamed. "He's doing a bunk in my motor-car!"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Arsene Lupin, by Edgar Jepson and Maurice Leblanc
+
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