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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6133-0.txt b/6133-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..543c34e --- /dev/null +++ b/6133-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7814 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar, by Maurice Leblanc + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + +Author: Maurice Leblanc + +Release Date: November 17, 2002 [eBook #6133] +[Most recently updated: April 8, 2023] + +Language: English + +Produced by: Nathan J. Miller and David Widger + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSÈNE LUPIN *** + + + + +The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, +Gentleman-burglar + +By Maurice Leblanc + + +Translated from the French +By George Morehead + + + + + Table of Contents: + + I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin + II. Arsène Lupin in Prison + III. The Escape of Arsène Lupin + IV. The Mysterious Traveller + V. The Queen’s Necklace + VI. The Seven of Hearts + VII. Madame Imbert’s Safe + VIII. The Black Pearl + IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late + + + + + +I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin + + +It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most +auspicious manner. The transatlantic steamship ‘La Provence’ was a swift +and comfortable vessel, under the command of a most affable man. The +passengers constituted a select and delightful society. The charm of +new acquaintances and improvised amusements served to make the time pass +agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant sensation of being separated from +the world, living, as it were, upon an unknown island, and consequently +obliged to be sociable with each other. + +Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and spontaneity +emanate from these various individuals who, on the preceding evening, +did not even know each other, and who are now, for several days, +condemned to lead a life of extreme intimacy, jointly defying the anger +of the ocean, the terrible onslaught of the waves, the violence of the +tempest and the agonizing monotony of the calm and sleepy water? Such +a life becomes a sort of tragic existence, with its storms and its +grandeurs, its monotony and its diversity; and that is why, perhaps, +we embark upon that short voyage with mingled feelings of pleasure and +fear. + +But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to the +life of the transatlantic traveler. The little floating island is now +attached to the world from which it was once quite free. A bond united +them, even in the very heart of the watery wastes of the Atlantic. That +bond is the wireless telegraph, by means of which we receive news in +the most mysterious manner. We know full well that the message is not +transported by the medium of a hollow wire. No, the mystery is even more +inexplicable, more romantic, and we must have recourse to the wings of +the air in order to explain this new miracle. During the first day of +the voyage, we felt that we were being followed, escorted, preceded +even, by that distant voice, which, from time to time, whispered to one +of us a few words from the receding world. Two friends spoke to me. Ten, +twenty others sent gay or somber words of parting to other passengers. + +On the second day, at a distance of five hundred miles from the French +coast, in the midst of a violent storm, we received the following +message by means of the wireless telegraph: + +“Arsène Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, wound right +fore-arm, traveling alone under name of R........” + +At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy skies. +The electric waves were interrupted. The remainder of the dispatch never +reached us. Of the name under which Arsène Lupin was concealing himself, +we knew only the initial. + +If the news had been of some other character, I have no doubt that the +secret would have been carefully guarded by the telegraphic operator as +well as by the officers of the vessel. But it was one of those events +calculated to escape from the most rigorous discretion. The same day, no +one knew how, the incident became a matter of current gossip and every +passenger was aware that the famous Arsène Lupin was hiding in our +midst. + +Arsène Lupin in our midst! the irresponsible burglar whose exploits +had been narrated in all the newspapers during the past few months! the +mysterious individual with whom Ganimard, our shrewdest detective, +had been engaged in an implacable conflict amidst interesting and +picturesque surroundings. Arsène Lupin, the eccentric gentleman who +operates only in the châteaux and salons, and who, one night, entered +the residence of Baron Schormann, but emerged empty-handed, leaving, +however, his card on which he had scribbled these words: “Arsène Lupin, +gentleman-burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine.” Arsène +Lupin, the man of a thousand disguises: in turn a chauffer, detective, +bookmaker, Russian physician, Spanish bull-fighter, commercial traveler, +robust youth, or decrepit old man. + +Then consider this startling situation: Arsène Lupin was wandering about +within the limited bounds of a transatlantic steamer; in that very small +corner of the world, in that dining saloon, in that smoking room, in +that music room! Arsène Lupin was, perhaps, this gentleman.... or that +one.... my neighbor at the table.... the sharer of my stateroom.... + +“And this condition of affairs will last for five days!” exclaimed Miss +Nelly Underdown, next morning. “It is unbearable! I hope he will be +arrested.” + +Then, addressing me, she added: + +“And you, Monsieur d’Andrézy, you are on intimate terms with the +captain; surely you know something?” + +I should have been delighted had I possessed any information that would +interest Miss Nelly. She was one of those magnificent creatures who +inevitably attract attention in every assembly. Wealth and beauty form +an irresistible combination, and Nelly possessed both. + +Educated in Paris under the care of a French mother, she was now going +to visit her father, the millionaire Underdown of Chicago. She was +accompanied by one of her friends, Lady Jerland. + +At first, I had decided to open a flirtation with her; but, in the +rapidly growing intimacy of the voyage, I was soon impressed by her +charming manner and my feelings became too deep and reverential for a +mere flirtation. Moreover, she accepted my attentions with a certain +degree of favor. She condescended to laugh at my witticisms and display +an interest in my stories. Yet I felt that I had a rival in the person +of a young man with quiet and refined tastes; and it struck me, at +times, that she preferred his taciturn humor to my Parisian frivolity. +He formed one in the circle of admirers that surrounded Miss Nelly +at the time she addressed to me the foregoing question. We were all +comfortably seated in our deck-chairs. The storm of the preceding +evening had cleared the sky. The weather was now delightful. + +“I have no definite knowledge, mademoiselle,” I replied, “but can not +we, ourselves, investigate the mystery quite as well as the detective +Ganimard, the personal enemy of Arsène Lupin?” + +“Oh! oh! you are progressing very fast, monsieur.” + +“Not at all, mademoiselle. In the first place, let me ask, do you find +the problem a complicated one?” + +“Very complicated.” + +“Have you forgotten the key we hold for the solution to the problem?” + +“What key?” + +“In the first place, Lupin calls himself Monsieur R-------.” + +“Rather vague information,” she replied. + +“Secondly, he is traveling alone.” + +“Does that help you?” she asked. + +“Thirdly, he is blonde.” + +“Well?” + +“Then we have only to peruse the passenger-list, and proceed by process +of elimination.” + +I had that list in my pocket. I took it out and glanced through it. Then +I remarked: + +“I find that there are only thirteen men on the passenger-list whose +names begin with the letter R.” + +“Only thirteen?” + +“Yes, in the first cabin. And of those thirteen, I find that nine of +them are accompanied by women, children or servants. That leaves only +four who are traveling alone. First, the Marquis de Raverdan----” + +“Secretary to the American Ambassador,” interrupted Miss Nelly. “I know +him.” + +“Major Rawson,” I continued. + +“He is my uncle,” some one said. + +“Mon. Rivolta.” + +“Here!” exclaimed an Italian, whose face was concealed beneath a heavy +black beard. + +Miss Nelly burst into laughter, and exclaimed: “That gentleman can +scarcely be called a blonde.” + +“Very well, then,” I said, “we are forced to the conclusion that the +guilty party is the last one on the list.” + +“What is his name?” + +“Mon. Rozaine. Does anyone know him?” + +No one answered. But Miss Nelly turned to the taciturn young man, whose +attentions to her had annoyed me, and said: + +“Well, Monsieur Rozaine, why do you not answer?” + +All eyes were now turned upon him. He was a blonde. I must confess +that I myself felt a shock of surprise, and the profound silence that +followed her question indicated that the others present also viewed +the situation with a feeling of sudden alarm. However, the idea was an +absurd one, because the gentleman in question presented an air of the +most perfect innocence. + +“Why do I not answer?” he said. “Because, considering my name, my +position as a solitary traveler and the color of my hair, I have already +reached the same conclusion, and now think that I should be arrested.” + +He presented a strange appearance as he uttered these words. His thin +lips were drawn closer than usual and his face was ghastly pale, whilst +his eyes were streaked with blood. Of course, he was joking, yet his +appearance and attitude impressed us strangely. + +“But you have not the wound?” said Miss Nelly, naively. + +“That is true,” he replied, “I lack the wound.” + +Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his arm. +But that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his left arm, and +I was on the point of calling his attention to the fact, when another +incident diverted our attention. Lady Jerland, Miss Nelly’s friend, came +running towards us in a state of great excitement, exclaiming: + +“My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!” + +No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had taken +only part of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond sunbursts, +jeweled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief had taken, not +the largest but the finest and most valuable stones. The mountings were +lying upon the table. I saw them there, despoiled of their jewels, like +flowers from which the beautiful colored petals had been ruthlessly +plucked. And this theft must have been committed at the time Lady +Jerland was taking her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom opening +on a much frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to +force open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which +was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty and +remove it from the mountings. + +Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same conclusion; it +was the work of Arsène Lupin. + +That day, at the dinner table, the seats to the right and left of +Rozaine remained vacant; and, during the evening, it was rumored that +the captain had placed him under arrest, which information produced a +feeling of safety and relief. We breathed once more. That evening, we +resumed our games and dances. Miss Nelly, especially, displayed a spirit +of thoughtless gayety which convinced me that if Rozaine’s attentions +had been agreeable to her in the beginning, she had already forgotten +them. Her charm and good-humor completed my conquest. At midnight, under +a bright moon, I declared my devotion with an ardor that did not seem to +displease her. + +But, next day, to our general amazement, Rozaine was at liberty. +We learned that the evidence against him was not sufficient. He had +produced documents that were perfectly regular, which showed that he +was the son of a wealthy merchant of Bordeaux. Besides, his arms did not +bear the slightest trace of a wound. + +“Documents! Certificates of birth!” exclaimed the enemies of Rozaine, +“of course, Arsène Lupin will furnish you as many as you desire. And as +to the wound, he never had it, or he has removed it.” + +Then it was proven that, at the time of the theft, Rozaine was +promenading on the deck. To which fact, his enemies replied that a man +like Arsène Lupin could commit a crime without being actually present. +And then, apart from all other circumstances, there remained one point +which even the most skeptical could not answer: Who except Rozaine, was +traveling alone, was a blonde, and bore a name beginning with R? To whom +did the telegram point, if it were not Rozaine? + +And when Rozaine, a few minutes before breakfast, came boldly toward our +group, Miss Nelly and Lady Jerland arose and walked away. + +An hour later, a manuscript circular was passed from hand to hand +amongst the sailors, the stewards, and the passengers of all classes. +It announced that Mon. Louis Rozaine offered a reward of ten thousand +francs for the discovery of Arsène Lupin or other person in possession +of the stolen jewels. + +“And if no one assists me, I will unmask the scoundrel myself,” declared +Rozaine. + +Rozaine against Arsène Lupin, or rather, according to current opinion, +Arsène Lupin himself against Arsène Lupin; the contest promised to be +interesting. + +Nothing developed during the next two days. We saw Rozaine wandering +about, day and night, searching, questioning, investigating. The +captain, also, displayed commendable activity. He caused the vessel to +be searched from stem to stern; ransacked every stateroom under the +plausible theory that the jewels might be concealed anywhere, except in +the thief’s own room. + +“I suppose they will find out something soon,” remarked Miss Nelly to +me. “He may be a wizard, but he cannot make diamonds and pearls become +invisible.” + +“Certainly not,” I replied, “but he should examine the lining of our +hats and vests and everything we carry with us.” + +Then, exhibiting my Kodak, a 9x12 with which I had been photographing +her in various poses, I added: “In an apparatus no larger than that, a +person could hide all of Lady Jerland’s jewels. He could pretend to take +pictures and no one would suspect the game.” + +“But I have heard it said that every thief leaves some clue behind him.” + +“That may be generally true,” I replied, “but there is one exception: +Arsène Lupin.” + +“Why?” + +“Because he concentrates his thoughts not only on the theft, but on all +the circumstances connected with it that could serve as a clue to his +identity.” + +“A few days ago, you were more confident.” + +“Yes, but since then I have seen him at work.” + +“And what do you think about it now?” she asked. + +“Well, in my opinion, we are wasting our time.” + +And, as a matter of fact, the investigation had produced no result. But, +in the meantime, the captain’s watch had been stolen. He was furious. He +quickened his efforts and watched Rozaine more closely than before. But, +on the following day, the watch was found in the second officer’s collar +box. + +This incident caused considerable astonishment, and displayed the +humorous side of Arsène Lupin, burglar though he was, but dilettante as +well. He combined business with pleasure. He reminded us of the +author who almost died in a fit of laughter provoked by his own play. +Certainly, he was an artist in his particular line of work, and whenever +I saw Rozaine, gloomy and reserved, and thought of the double role that +he was playing, I accorded him a certain measure of admiration. + +On the following evening, the officer on deck duty heard groans +emanating from the darkest corner of the ship. He approached and found a +man lying there, his head enveloped in a thick gray scarf and his hands +tied together with a heavy cord. It was Rozaine. He had been assaulted, +thrown down and robbed. A card, pinned to his coat, bore these words: +“Arsène Lupin accepts with pleasure the ten thousand francs offered by +Mon. Rozaine.” As a matter of fact, the stolen pocket-book contained +twenty thousand francs. + +Of course, some accused the unfortunate man of having simulated this +attack on himself. But, apart from the fact that he could not have bound +himself in that manner, it was established that the writing on the +card was entirely different from that of Rozaine, but, on the contrary, +resembled the handwriting of Arsène Lupin as it was reproduced in an old +newspaper found on board. + +Thus it appeared that Rozaine was not Arsène Lupin; but was Rozaine, the +son of a Bordeaux merchant. And the presence of Arsène Lupin was once +more affirmed, and that in a most alarming manner. + +Such was the state of terror amongst the passengers that none would +remain alone in a stateroom or wander singly in unfrequented parts of +the vessel. We clung together as a matter of safety. And yet the most +intimate acquaintances were estranged by a mutual feeling of distrust. +Arsène Lupin was, now, anybody and everybody. Our excited imaginations +attributed to him miraculous and unlimited power. We supposed him +capable of assuming the most unexpected disguises; of being, by turns, +the highly respectable Major Rawson or the noble Marquis de Raverdan, +or even--for we no longer stopped with the accusing letter of R--or even +such or such a person well known to all of us, and having wife, children +and servants. + +The first wireless dispatches from America brought no news; at +least, the captain did not communicate any to us. The silence was not +reassuring. + +Our last day on the steamer seemed interminable. We lived in constant +fear of some disaster. This time, it would not be a simple theft or a +comparatively harmless assault; it would be a crime, a murder. No one +imagined that Arsène Lupin would confine himself to those two trifling +offenses. Absolute master of the ship, the authorities powerless, he +could do whatever he pleased; our property and lives were at his mercy. + +Yet those were delightful hours for me, since they secured to me the +confidence of Miss Nelly. Deeply moved by those startling events and +being of a highly nervous nature, she spontaneously sought at my side +a protection and security that I was pleased to give her. Inwardly, I +blessed Arsène Lupin. Had he not been the means of bringing me and +Miss Nelly closer to each other? Thanks to him, I could now indulge in +delicious dreams of love and happiness--dreams that, I felt, were not +unwelcome to Miss Nelly. Her smiling eyes authorized me to make them; +the softness of her voice bade me hope. + +As we approached the American shore, the active search for the thief was +apparently abandoned, and we were anxiously awaiting the supreme moment +in which the mysterious enigma would be explained. Who was Arsène +Lupin? Under what name, under what disguise was the famous Arsène Lupin +concealing himself? And, at last, that supreme moment arrived. If I live +one hundred years, I shall not forget the slightest details of it. + +“How pale you are, Miss Nelly,” I said to my companion, as she leaned +upon my arm, almost fainting. + +“And you!” she replied, “ah! you are so changed.” + +“Just think! this is a most exciting moment, and I am delighted to +spend it with you, Miss Nelly. I hope that your memory will sometimes +revert---” + +But she was not listening. She was nervous and excited. The gangway was +placed in position, but, before we could use it, the uniformed customs +officers came on board. Miss Nelly murmured: + +“I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Arsène Lupin escaped from the +vessel during the voyage.” + +“Perhaps he preferred death to dishonor, and plunged into the Atlantic +rather than be arrested.” + +“Oh, do not laugh,” she said. + +Suddenly I started, and, in answer to her question, I said: + +“Do you see that little old man standing at the bottom of the gangway?” + +“With an umbrella and an olive-green coat?” + +“It is Ganimard.” + +“Ganimard?” + +“Yes, the celebrated detective who has sworn to capture Arsène Lupin. +Ah! I can understand now why we did not receive any news from this side +of the Atlantic. Ganimard was here! and he always keeps his business +secret.” + +“Then you think he will arrest Arsène Lupin?” + +“Who can tell? The unexpected always happens when Arsène Lupin is +concerned in the affair.” + +“Oh!” she exclaimed, with that morbid curiosity peculiar to women, “I +should like to see him arrested.” + +“You will have to be patient. No doubt, Arsène Lupin has already seen +his enemy and will not be in a hurry to leave the steamer.” + +The passengers were now leaving the steamer. Leaning on his umbrella, +with an air of careless indifference, Ganimard appeared to be paying no +attention to the crowd that was hurrying down the gangway. The Marquis +de Raverdan, Major Rawson, the Italian Rivolta, and many others had +already left the vessel before Rozaine appeared. Poor Rozaine! + +“Perhaps it is he, after all,” said Miss Nelly to me. “What do you +think?” + +“I think it would be very interesting to have Ganimard and Rozaine in +the same picture. You take the camera. I am loaded down.” + +I gave her the camera, but too late for her to use it. Rozaine was +already passing the detective. An American officer, standing behind +Ganimard, leaned forward and whispered in his ear. The French detective +shrugged his shoulders and Rozaine passed on. Then, my God, who was +Arsène Lupin? + +“Yes,” said Miss Nelly, aloud, “who can it be?” + +Not more than twenty people now remained on board. She scrutinized them +one by one, fearful that Arsène Lupin was not amongst them. + +“We cannot wait much longer,” I said to her. + +She started toward the gangway. I followed. But we had not taken ten +steps when Ganimard barred our passage. + +“Well, what is it?” I exclaimed. + +“One moment, monsieur. What’s your hurry?” + +“I am escorting mademoiselle.” + +“One moment,” he repeated, in a tone of authority. Then, gazing into my +eyes, he said: + +“Arsène Lupin, is it not?” + +I laughed, and replied: “No, simply Bernard d’Andrézy.” + +“Bernard d’Andrézy died in Macedonia three years ago.” + +“If Bernard d’Andrézy were dead, I should not be here. But you are +mistaken. Here are my papers.” + +“They are his; and I can tell you exactly how they came into your +possession.” + +“You are a fool!” I exclaimed. “Arsène Lupin sailed under the name of +R---” + +“Yes, another of your tricks; a false scent that deceived them at Havre. +You play a good game, my boy, but this time luck is against you.” + +I hesitated a moment. Then he hit me a sharp blow on the right arm, +which caused me to utter a cry of pain. He had struck the wound, yet +unhealed, referred to in the telegram. + +I was obliged to surrender. There was no alternative. I turned to Miss +Nelly, who had heard everything. Our eyes met; then she glanced at the +Kodak I had placed in her hands, and made a gesture that conveyed to me +the impression that she understood everything. Yes, there, between the +narrow folds of black leather, in the hollow centre of the small object +that I had taken the precaution to place in her hands before Ganimard +arrested me, it was there I had deposited Rozaine’s twenty thousand +francs and Lady Jerland’s pearls and diamonds. + +Oh! I pledge my oath that, at that solemn moment, when I was in the +grasp of Ganimard and his two assistants, I was perfectly indifferent to +everything, to my arrest, the hostility of the people, everything +except this one question: what will Miss Nelly do with the things I had +confided to her? + +In the absence of that material and conclusive proof, I had nothing +to fear; but would Miss Nelly decide to furnish that proof? Would she +betray me? Would she act the part of an enemy who cannot forgive, or +that of a woman whose scorn is softened by feelings of indulgence and +involuntary sympathy? + +She passed in front of me. I said nothing, but bowed very low. Mingled +with the other passengers, she advanced to the gangway with my Kodak +in her hand. It occurred to me that she would not dare to expose me +publicly, but she might do so when she reached a more private place. +However, when she had passed only a few feet down the gangway, with +a movement of simulated awkwardness, she let the camera fall into the +water between the vessel and the pier. Then she walked down the gangway, +and was quickly lost to sight in the crowd. She had passed out of my +life forever. + +For a moment, I stood motionless. Then, to Ganimard’s great +astonishment, I muttered: + +“What a pity that I am not an honest man!” + +Such was the story of his arrest as narrated to me by Arsène Lupin +himself. The various incidents, which I shall record in writing at a +later day, have established between us certain ties.... shall I say of +friendship? Yes, I venture to believe that Arsène Lupin honors me with +his friendship, and that it is through friendship that he occasionally +calls on me, and brings, into the silence of my library, his youthful +exuberance of spirits, the contagion of his enthusiasm, and the mirth of +a man for whom destiny has naught but favors and smiles. + +His portrait? How can I describe him? I have seen him twenty times and +each time he was a different person; even he himself said to me on one +occasion: “I no longer know who I am. I cannot recognize myself in the +mirror.” Certainly, he was a great actor, and possessed a marvelous +faculty for disguising himself. Without the slightest effort, he could +adopt the voice, gestures and mannerisms of another person. + +“Why,” said he, “why should I retain a definite form and feature? Why +not avoid the danger of a personality that is ever the same? My actions +will serve to identify me.” + +Then he added, with a touch of pride: + +“So much the better if no one can ever say with absolute certainty: +There is Arsène Lupin! The essential point is that the public may be +able to refer to my work and say, without fear of mistake: Arsène Lupin +did that!” + + + + +II. Arsène Lupin in Prison + + +There is no tourist worthy of the name who does not know the banks of +the Seine, and has not noticed, in passing, the little feudal castle of +the Malaquis, built upon a rock in the centre of the river. An arched +bridge connects it with the shore. All around it, the calm waters of the +great river play peacefully amongst the reeds, and the wagtails flutter +over the moist crests of the stones. + +The history of the Malaquis castle is stormy like its name, harsh like +its outlines. It has passed through a long series of combats, sieges, +assaults, rapines and massacres. A recital of the crimes that have been +committed there would cause the stoutest heart to tremble. There are +many mysterious legends connected with the castle, and they tell us of +a famous subterranean tunnel that formerly led to the abbey of Jumieges +and to the manor of Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII. + +In that ancient habitation of heroes and brigands, the Baron Nathan +Cahorn now lived; or Baron Satan as he was formerly called on the +Bourse, where he had acquired a fortune with incredible rapidity. The +lords of Malaquis, absolutely ruined, had been obliged to sell +the ancient castle at a great sacrifice. It contained an admirable +collection of furniture, pictures, wood carvings, and faience. The Baron +lived there alone, attended by three old servants. No one ever enters +the place. No one had ever beheld the three Rubens that he possessed, +his two Watteau, his Jean Goujon pulpit, and the many other treasures +that he had acquired by a vast expenditure of money at public sales. + +Baron Satan lived in constant fear, not for himself, but for the +treasures that he had accumulated with such an earnest devotion and with +so much perspicacity that the shrewdest merchant could not say that +the Baron had ever erred in his taste or judgment. He loved them--his +bibelots. He loved them intensely, like a miser; jealously, like a +lover. Every day, at sunset, the iron gates at either end of the bridge +and at the entrance to the court of honor are closed and barred. At +the least touch on these gates, electric bells will ring throughout the +castle. + +One Thursday in September, a letter-carrier presented himself at the +gate at the head of the bridge, and, as usual, it was the Baron himself +who partially opened the heavy portal. He scrutinized the man as +minutely as if he were a stranger, although the honest face and +twinkling eyes of the postman had been familiar to the Baron for many +years. The man laughed, as he said: + +“It is only I, Monsieur le Baron. It is not another man wearing my cap +and blouse.” + +“One can never tell,” muttered the Baron. + +The man handed him a number of newspapers, and then said: + +“And now, Monsieur le Baron, here is something new.” + +“Something new?” + +“Yes, a letter. A registered letter.” + +Living as a recluse, without friends or business relations, the baron +never received any letters, and the one now presented to him immediately +aroused within him a feeling of suspicion and distrust. It was like an +evil omen. Who was this mysterious correspondent that dared to disturb +the tranquility of his retreat? + +“You must sign for it, Monsieur le Baron.” + +He signed; then took the letter, waited until the postman had +disappeared beyond the bend in the road, and, after walking nervously to +and fro for a few minutes, he leaned against the parapet of the bridge +and opened the envelope. It contained a sheet of paper, bearing this +heading: Prison de la Santé, Paris. He looked at the signature: _Arsène +Lupin_. Then he read: + + “Monsieur le Baron: + + “There is, in the gallery in your castle, a picture of Philippe + de Champaigne, of exquisite finish, which pleases me beyond + measure. Your Rubens are also to my taste, as well as your + smallest Watteau. In the salon to the right, I have noticed the + Louis XIII cadence-table, the tapestries of Beauvais, the Empire + gueridon signed ‘Jacob,’ and the Renaissance chest. In the salon + to the left, all the cabinet full of jewels and miniatures. + + “For the present, I will content myself with those articles that + can be conveniently removed. I will therefore ask you to pack + them carefully and ship them to me, charges prepaid, to the + station at Batignolles, within eight days, otherwise I shall be + obliged to remove them myself during the night of 27 September; + but, under those circumstances, I shall not content myself with + the articles above mentioned. + + “Accept my apologies for any inconvenience I may cause you, and + believe me to be your humble servant, + + “Arsène Lupin.” + + “P. S.--Please do not send the largest Watteau. Although you + paid thirty thousand francs for it, it is only a copy, the + original having been burned, under the Directoire by Barras, + during a night of debauchery. Consult the memoirs of Garat. + + “I do not care for the Louis XV chatelaine, as I doubt its + authenticity.” + +That letter completely upset the baron. Had it borne any other +signature, he would have been greatly alarmed--but signed by Arsène +Lupin! + +As an habitual reader of the newspapers, he was versed in the history +of recent crimes, and was therefore well acquainted with the exploits of +the mysterious burglar. Of course, he knew that Lupin had been arrested +in America by his enemy Ganimard and was at present incarcerated in the +Prison de la Santé. But he knew also that any miracle might be expected +from Arsène Lupin. Moreover, that exact knowledge of the castle, the +location of the pictures and furniture, gave the affair an alarming +aspect. How could he have acquired that information concerning things +that no one had ever seen? + +The baron raised his eyes and contemplated the stern outlines of the +castle, its steep rocky pedestal, the depth of the surrounding water, +and shrugged his shoulders. Certainly, there was no danger. No one in +the world could force an entrance to the sanctuary that contained his +priceless treasures. + +No one, perhaps, but Arsène Lupin! For him, gates, walls and drawbridges +did not exist. What use were the most formidable obstacles or the most +careful precautions, if Arsène Lupin had decided to effect an entrance? + +That evening, he wrote to the Procurer of the Republique at Rouen. He +enclosed the threatening letter and solicited aid and protection. + +The reply came at once to the effect that Arsène Lupin was in custody in +the Prison de la Santé, under close surveillance, with no opportunity +to write such a letter, which was, no doubt, the work of some imposter. +But, as an act of precaution, the Procurer had submitted the letter +to an expert in handwriting, who declared that, in spite of certain +resemblances, the writing was not that of the prisoner. + +But the words “in spite of certain resemblances” caught the attention of +the baron; in them, he read the possibility of a doubt which appeared to +him quite sufficient to warrant the intervention of the law. His fears +increased. He read Lupin’s letter over and over again. “I shall be +obliged to remove them myself.” And then there was the fixed date: the +night of 27 September. + +To confide in his servants was a proceeding repugnant to his nature; but +now, for the first time in many years, he experienced the necessity of +seeking counsel with some one. Abandoned by the legal official of +his own district, and feeling unable to defend himself with his own +resources, he was on the point of going to Paris to engage the services +of a detective. + +Two days passed; on the third day, he was filled with hope and joy as +he read the following item in the ‘Reveil de Caudebec’, a newspaper +published in a neighboring town: + +“We have the pleasure of entertaining in our city, at the present time, +the veteran detective Mon. Ganimard who acquired a world-wide reputation +by his clever capture of Arsène Lupin. He has come here for rest and +recreation, and, being an enthusiastic fisherman, he threatens to +capture all the fish in our river.” + +Ganimard! Ah, here is the assistance desired by Baron Cahorn! Who could +baffle the schemes of Arsène Lupin better than Ganimard, the patient and +astute detective? He was the man for the place. + +The baron did not hesitate. The town of Caudebec was only six kilometers +from the castle, a short distance to a man whose step was accelerated by +the hope of safety. + +After several fruitless attempts to ascertain the detective’s address, +the baron visited the office of the ‘Reveil,’ situated on the quai. +There he found the writer of the article who, approaching the window, +exclaimed: + +“Ganimard? Why, you are sure to see him somewhere on the quai with his +fishing-pole. I met him there and chanced to read his name engraved on +his rod. Ah, there he is now, under the trees.” + +“That little man, wearing a straw hat?” + +“Exactly. He is a gruff fellow, with little to say.” + +Five minutes later, the baron approached the celebrated Ganimard, +introduced himself, and sought to commence a conversation, but that +was a failure. Then he broached the real object of his interview, +and briefly stated his case. The other listened, motionless, with his +attention riveted on his fishing-rod. When the baron had finished his +story, the fisherman turned, with an air of profound pity, and said: + +“Monsieur, it is not customary for thieves to warn people they are about +to rob. Arsène Lupin, especially, would not commit such a folly.” + +“But---” + +“Monsieur, if I had the least doubt, believe me, the pleasure of +again capturing Arsène Lupin would place me at your disposal. But, +unfortunately, that young man is already under lock and key.” + +“He may have escaped.” + +“No one ever escaped from the Santé.” + +“But, he---” + +“He, no more than any other.” + +“Yet---” + +“Well, if he escapes, so much the better. I will catch him again. +Meanwhile, you go home and sleep soundly. That will do for the present. +You frighten the fish.” + +The conversation was ended. The baron returned to the castle, reassured +to some extent by Ganimard’s indifference. He examined the bolts, +watched the servants, and, during the next forty-eight hours, he became +almost persuaded that his fears were groundless. Certainly, as Ganimard +had said, thieves do not warn people they are about to rob. + +The fateful day was close at hand. It was now the twenty-sixth of +September and nothing had happened. But at three o’clock the bell rang. +A boy brought this telegram: + +“No goods at Batignolles station. Prepare everything for tomorrow night. +Arsène.” + +This telegram threw the baron into such a state of excitement that he +even considered the advisability of yielding to Lupin’s demands. + +However, he hastened to Caudebec. Ganimard was fishing at the same +place, seated on a campstool. Without a word, he handed him the +telegram. + +“Well, what of it?” said the detective. + +“What of it? But it is tomorrow.” + +“What is tomorrow?” + +“The robbery! The pillage of my collections!” + +Ganimard laid down his fishing-rod, turned to the baron, and exclaimed, +in a tone of impatience: + +“Ah! Do you think I am going to bother myself about such a silly story +as that!” + +“How much do you ask to pass tomorrow night in the castle?” + +“Not a sou. Now, leave me alone.” + +“Name your own price. I am rich and can pay it.” + +This offer disconcerted Ganimard, who replied, calmly: + +“I am here on a vacation. I have no right to undertake such work.” + +“No one will know. I promise to keep it secret.” + +“Oh! nothing will happen.” + +“Come! three thousand francs. Will that be enough?” + +The detective, after a moment’s reflection, said: + +“Very well. But I must warn you that you are throwing your money out of +the window.” + +“I do not care.” + +“In that case... but, after all, what do we know about this devil Lupin! +He may have quite a numerous band of robbers with him. Are you sure of +your servants?” + +“My faith---” + +“Better not count on them. I will telegraph for two of my men to help +me. And now, go! It is better for us not to be seen together. Tomorrow +evening about nine o’clock.” + +* * * * * + +The following day--the date fixed by Arsène Lupin--Baron Cahorn arranged +all his panoply of war, furbished his weapons, and, like a sentinel, +paced to and fro in front of the castle. He saw nothing, heard nothing. +At half-past eight o’clock in the evening, he dismissed his servants. +They occupied rooms in a wing of the building, in a retired spot, well +removed from the main portion of the castle. Shortly thereafter, the +baron heard the sound of approaching footsteps. It was Ganimard and his +two assistants--great, powerful fellows with immense hands, and necks +like bulls. After asking a few questions relating to the location of the +various entrances and rooms, Ganimard carefully closed and barricaded +all the doors and windows through which one could gain access to the +threatened rooms. He inspected the walls, raised the tapestries, and +finally installed his assistants in the central gallery which was +located between the two salons. + +“No nonsense! We are not here to sleep. At the slightest sound, open the +windows of the court and call me. Pay attention also to the water-side. +Ten metres of perpendicular rock is no obstacle to those devils.” + +Ganimard locked his assistants in the gallery, carried away the keys, +and said to the baron: + +“And now, to our post.” + +He had chosen for himself a small room located in the thick outer wall, +between the two principal doors, and which, in former years, had been +the watchman’s quarters. A peep-hole opened upon the bridge; another on +the court. In one corner, there was an opening to a tunnel. + +“I believe you told me, Monsieur le Baron, that this tunnel is the only +subterranean entrance to the castle and that it has been closed up for +time immemorial?” + +“Yes.” + +“Then, unless there is some other entrance, known only to Arsène Lupin, +we are quite safe.” + +He placed three chairs together, stretched himself upon them, lighted +his pipe and sighed: + +“Really, Monsieur le Baron, I feel ashamed to accept your money for such +a sinecure as this. I will tell the story to my friend Lupin. He will +enjoy it immensely.” + +The baron did not laugh. He was anxiously listening, but heard nothing +save the beating of his own heart. From time to time, he leaned over the +tunnel and cast a fearful eye into its depths. He heard the clock strike +eleven, twelve, one. + +Suddenly, he seized Ganimard’s arm. The latter leaped up, awakened from +his sleep. + +“Do you hear?” asked the baron, in a whisper. + +“Yes.” + +“What is it?” + +“I was snoring, I suppose.” + +“No, no, listen.” + +“Ah! yes, it is the horn of an automobile.” + +“Well?” + +“Well! it is very improbable that Lupin would use an automobile like a +battering-ram to demolish your castle. Come, Monsieur le Baron, return +to your post. I am going to sleep. Good-night.” + +That was the only alarm. Ganimard resumed his interrupted slumbers, and +the baron heard nothing except the regular snoring of his companion. At +break of day, they left the room. The castle was enveloped in a profound +calm; it was a peaceful dawn on the bosom of a tranquil river. They +mounted the stairs, Cahorn radiant with joy, Ganimard calm as usual. +They heard no sound; they saw nothing to arouse suspicion. + +“What did I tell you, Monsieur le Baron? Really, I should not have +accepted your offer. I am ashamed.” + +He unlocked the door and entered the gallery. Upon two chairs, with +drooping heads and pendent arms, the detective’s two assistants were +asleep. + +“Tonnerre de nom d’un chien!” exclaimed Ganimard. At the same moment, +the baron cried out: + +“The pictures! The credence!” + +He stammered, choked, with arms outstretched toward the empty places, +toward the denuded walls where naught remained but the useless nails +and cords. The Watteau, disappeared! The Rubens, carried away! The +tapestries taken down! The cabinets, despoiled of their jewels! + +“And my Louis XVI candelabra! And the Regent chandelier!...And my +twelfth-century Virgin!” + +He ran from one spot to another in wildest despair. He recalled the +purchase price of each article, added up the figures, counted his +losses, pell-mell, in confused words and unfinished phrases. He stamped +with rage; he groaned with grief. He acted like a ruined man whose only +hope is suicide. + +If anything could have consoled him, it would have been the stupefaction +displayed by Ganimard. The famous detective did not move. He appeared +to be petrified; he examined the room in a listless manner. The +windows?.... closed. The locks on the doors?.... intact. Not a break in +the ceiling; not a hole in the floor. Everything was in perfect order. +The theft had been carried out methodically, according to a logical and +inexorable plan. + +“Arsène Lupin....Arsène Lupin,” he muttered. + +Suddenly, as if moved by anger, he rushed upon his two assistants and +shook them violently. They did not awaken. + +“The devil!” he cried. “Can it be possible?” + +He leaned over them and, in turn, examined them closely. They were +asleep; but their response was unnatural. + +“They have been drugged,” he said to the baron. + +“By whom?” + +“By him, of course, or his men under his discretion. That work bears his +stamp.” + +“In that case, I am lost--nothing can be done.” + +“Nothing,” assented Ganimard. + +“It is dreadful; it is monstrous.” + +“Lodge a complaint.” + +“What good will that do?” + +“Oh; it is well to try it. The law has some resources.” + +“The law! Bah! it is useless. You represent the law, and, at this +moment, when you should be looking for a clue and trying to discover +something, you do not even stir.” + +“Discover something with Arsène Lupin! Why, my dear monsieur, Arsène +Lupin never leaves any clue behind him. He leaves nothing to chance. +Sometimes I think he put himself in my way and simply allowed me to +arrest him in America.” + +“Then, I must renounce my pictures! He has taken the gems of my +collection. I would give a fortune to recover them. If there is no other +way, let him name his own price.” + +Ganimard regarded the baron attentively, as he said: + +“Now, that is sensible. Will you stick to it?” + +“Yes, yes. But why?” + +“An idea that I have.” + +“What is it?” + +“We will discuss it later--if the official examination does not succeed. +But, not one word about me, if you wish my assistance.” + +He added, between his teeth: + +“It is true I have nothing to boast of in this affair.” + +The assistants were gradually regaining consciousness with the +bewildered air of people who come out of an hypnotic sleep. They opened +their eyes and looked about them in astonishment. Ganimard questioned +them; they remembered nothing. + +“But you must have seen some one?” + +“No.” + +“Can’t you remember?” + +“No, no.” + +“Did you drink anything?” + +They considered a moment, and then one of them replied: + +“Yes, I drank a little water.” + +“Out of that carafe?” + +“Yes.” + +“So did I,” declared the other. + +Ganimard smelled and tasted it. It had no particular taste and no odor. + +“Come,” he said, “we are wasting our time here. One can’t decide an +Arsène Lupin problem in five minutes. But, morbleau! I swear I will +catch him again.” + +The same day, a charge of burglary was duly performed by Baron Cahorn +against Arsène Lupin, a prisoner in the Prison de la Santé. + +* * * * * + +The baron afterwards regretted making the charge against Lupin when he +saw his castle delivered over to the gendarmes, the procureur, the judge +d’instruction, the newspaper reporters and photographers, and a throng +of idle curiosity-seekers. + +The affair soon became a topic of general discussion, and the name of +Arsène Lupin excited the public imagination to such an extent that the +newspapers filled their columns with the most fantastic stories of his +exploits which found ready credence amongst their readers. + +But the letter of Arsène Lupin that was published in the _Echo de +France_ (no once ever knew how the newspaper obtained it), that letter +in which Baron Cahorn was impudently warned of the coming theft, caused +considerable excitement. The most fabulous theories were advanced. Some +recalled the existence of the famous subterranean tunnels, and that was +the line of research pursued by the officers of the law, who searched +the house from top to bottom, questioned every stone, studied the +wainscoting and the chimneys, the window-frames and the girders in the +ceilings. By the light of torches, they examined the immense cellars +where the lords of Malaquis were wont to store their munitions and +provisions. They sounded the rocky foundation to its very centre. But it +was all in vain. They discovered no trace of a subterranean tunnel. No +secret passage existed. + +But the eager public declared that the pictures and furniture could not +vanish like so many ghosts. They are substantial, material things and +require doors and windows for their exits and their entrances, and so +do the people that remove them. Who were those people? How did they gain +access to the castle? And how did they leave it? + +The police officers of Rouen, convinced of their own impotence, +solicited the assistance of the Parisian detective force. Mon. Dudouis, +chief of the Sûreté, sent the best sleuths of the iron brigade. He +himself spent forty-eight hours at the castle, but met with no success. +Then he sent for Ganimard, whose past services had proved so useful when +all else failed. + +Ganimard listened, in silence, to the instructions of his superior; +then, shaking his head, he said: + +“In my opinion, it is useless to ransack the castle. The solution of the +problem lies elsewhere.” + +“Where, then?” + +“With Arsène Lupin.” + +“With Arsène Lupin! To support that theory, we must admit his +intervention.” + +“I do admit it. In fact, I consider it quite certain.” + +“Come, Ganimard, that is absurd. Arsène Lupin is in prison.” + +“I grant you that Arsène Lupin is in prison, closely guarded; but he +must have fetters on his feet, manacles on his wrists, and gag in his +mouth before I change my opinion.” + +“Why so obstinate, Ganimard?” + +“Because Arsène Lupin is the only man in France of sufficient calibre to +invent and carry out a scheme of that magnitude.” + +“Mere words, Ganimard.” + +“But true ones. Look! What are they doing? Searching for subterranean +passages, stones swinging on pivots, and other nonsense of that kind. +But Lupin doesn’t employ such old-fashioned methods. He is a modern +cracksman, right up to date.” + +“And how would you proceed?” + +“I should ask your permission to spend an hour with him.” + +“In his cell?” + +“Yes. During the return trip from America we became very friendly, and +I venture to say that if he can give me any information without +compromising himself he will not hesitate to save me from incurring +useless trouble.” + +It was shortly after noon when Ganimard entered the cell of Arsène +Lupin. The latter, who was lying on his bed, raised his head and uttered +a cry of apparent joy. + +“Ah! This is a real surprise. My dear Ganimard, here!” + +“Ganimard himself.” + +“In my chosen retreat, I have felt a desire for many things, but my +fondest wish was to receive you here.” + +“Very kind of you, I am sure.” + +“Not at all. You know I hold you in the highest regard.” + +“I am proud of it.” + +“I have always said: Ganimard is our best detective. He is almost,--you +see how candid I am!--he is almost as clever as Sherlock Holmes. But I +am sorry that I cannot offer you anything better than this hard stool. +And no refreshments! Not even a glass of beer! Of course, you will +excuse me, as I am here only temporarily.” + +Ganimard smiled, and accepted the proffered seat. Then the prisoner +continued: + +“Mon Dieu, how pleased I am to see the face of an honest man. I am so +tired of those devils of spies who come here ten times a day to ransack +my pockets and my cell to satisfy themselves that I am not preparing to +escape. The government is very solicitous on my account.” + +“It is quite right.” + +“Why so? I should be quite contented if they would allow me to live in +my own quiet way.” + +“On other people’s money.” + +“Quite so. That would be so simple. But here, I am joking, and you are, +no doubt, in a hurry. So let us come to business, Ganimard. To what do I +owe the honor of this visit? + +“The Cahorn affair,” declared Ganimard, frankly. + +“Ah! Wait, one moment. You see I have had so many affairs! First, let me +fix in my mind the circumstances of this particular case....Ah! yes, now +I have it. The Cahorn affair, Malaquis castle, Seine-Inférieure....Two +Rubens, a Watteau, and a few trifling articles.” + +“Trifling!” + +“Oh! ma foi, all that is of slight importance. But it suffices to know +that the affair interests you. How can I serve you, Ganimard?” + +“Must I explain to you what steps the authorities have taken in the +matter?” + +“Not at all. I have read the newspapers and I will frankly state that +you have made very little progress.” + +“And that is the reason I have come to see you.” + +“I am entirely at your service.” + +“In the first place, the Cahorn affair was managed by you?” + +“From A to Z.” + +“The letter of warning? the telegram?” + +“All mine. I ought to have the receipts somewhere.” + +Arsène opened the drawer of a small table of plain white wood which, +with the bed and stool, constituted all the furniture in his cell, and +took therefrom two scraps of paper which he handed to Ganimard. + +“Ah!” exclaimed the detective, in surprise, “I thought you were closely +guarded and searched, and I find that you read the newspapers and +collect postal receipts.” + +“Bah! these people are so stupid! They open the lining of my vest, they +examine the soles of my shoes, they sound the walls of my cell, but they +never imagine that Arsène Lupin would be foolish enough to choose such a +simple hiding place.” + +Ganimard laughed, as he said: + +“What a droll fellow you are! Really, you bewilder me. But, come now, +tell me about the Cahorn affair.” + +“Oh! oh! not quite so fast! You would rob me of all my secrets; expose +all my little tricks. That is a very serious matter.” + +“Was I wrong to count on your complaisance?” + +“No, Ganimard, and since you insist---” + +Arsène Lupin paced his cell two or three times, then, stopping before +Ganimard, he asked: + +“What do you think of my letter to the baron?” + +“I think you were amusing yourself by playing to the gallery.” + +“Ah! playing to the gallery! Come, Ganimard, I thought you knew me +better. Do I, Arsène Lupin, ever waste my time on such puerilities? +Would I have written that letter if I could have robbed the baron +without writing to him? I want you to understand that the letter was +indispensable; it was the motor that set the whole machine in motion. +Now, let us discuss together a scheme for the robbery of the Malaquis +castle. Are you willing?” + +“Yes, proceed.” + +“Well, let us suppose a castle carefully closed and barricaded like +that of the Baron Cahorn. Am I to abandon my scheme and renounce the +treasures that I covet, upon the pretext that the castle which holds +them is inaccessible?” + +“Evidently not.” + +“Should I make an assault upon the castle at the head of a band of +adventurers as they did in ancient times?” + +“That would be foolish.” + +“Can I gain admittance by stealth or cunning?” + +“Impossible.” + +“Then there is only one way open to me. I must have the owner of the +castle invite me to it.” + +“That is surely an original method.” + +“And how easy! Let us suppose that one day the owner receives a letter +warning him that a notorious burglar known as Arsène Lupin is plotting +to rob him. What will he do?” + +“Send a letter to the Procureur.” + +“Who will laugh at him, _because the said Arsène Lupin is actually in +prison_. Then, in his anxiety and fear, the simple man will ask the +assistance of the first-comer, will he not?” + +“Very likely.” + +“And if he happens to read in a country newspaper that a celebrated +detective is spending his vacation in a neighboring town---” + +“He will seek that detective.” + +“Of course. But, on the other hand, let us presume that, having foreseen +that state of affairs, the said Arsène Lupin has requested one of his +friends to visit Caudebec, make the acquaintance of the editor of the +‘Réveil,’ a newspaper to which the baron is a subscriber, and let said +editor understand that such person is the celebrated detective--then, +what will happen?” + +“The editor will announce in the ‘Réveil’ the presence in Caudebec of +said detective.” + +“Exactly; and one of two things will happen: either the fish--I mean +Cahorn--will not bite, and nothing will happen; or, what is more likely, +he will run and greedily swallow the bait. Thus, behold my Baron Cahorn +imploring the assistance of one of my friends against me.” + +“Original, indeed!” + +“Of course, the pseudo-detective at first refuses to give any +assistance. On top of that comes the telegram from Arsène Lupin. The +frightened baron rushes once more to my friend and offers him a definite +sum of money for his services. My friend accepts and summons two members +of our band, who, during the night, whilst Cahorn is under the watchful +eye of his protector, removes certain articles by way of the window +and lowers them with ropes into a nice little launch chartered for the +occasion. Simple, isn’t it?” + +“Marvelous! Marvelous!” exclaimed Ganimard. “The boldness of the scheme +and the ingenuity of all its details are beyond criticism. But who is +the detective whose name and fame served as a magnet to attract the +baron and draw him into your net?” + +“There is only one name could do it--only one.” + +“And that is?” + +“Arsène Lupin’s personal enemy--the most illustrious Ganimard.” + +“I?” + +“Yourself, Ganimard. And, really, it is very funny. If you go there, and +the baron decides to talk, you will find that it will be your duty to +arrest yourself, just as you arrested me in America. Hein! the revenge +is really amusing: I cause Ganimard to arrest Ganimard.” + +Arsène Lupin laughed heartily. The detective, greatly vexed, bit his +lips; to him the joke was quite devoid of humor. The arrival of a prison +guard gave Ganimard an opportunity to recover himself. The man brought +Arsène Lupin’s luncheon, furnished by a neighboring restaurant. After +depositing the tray upon the table, the guard retired. Lupin broke his +bread, ate a few morsels, and continued: + +“But, rest easy, my dear Ganimard, you will not go to Malaquis. I can +tell you something that will astonish you: the Cahorn affair is on the +point of being settled.” + +“Excuse me; I have just seen the Chief of the Sureté.” + +“What of that? Does Mon. Dudouis know my business better than I +do myself? You will learn that Ganimard--excuse me--that the +pseudo-Ganimard still remains on very good terms with the baron. The +latter has authorized him to negotiate a very delicate transaction with +me, and, at the present moment, in consideration of a certain sum, it +is probable that the baron has recovered possession of his pictures and +other treasures. And on their return, he will withdraw his complaint. +Thus, there is no longer any theft, and the law must abandon the case.” + +Ganimard regarded the prisoner with a bewildered air. + +“And how do you know all that?” + +“I have just received the telegram I was expecting.” + +“You have just received a telegram?” + +“This very moment, my dear friend. Out of politeness, I did not wish to +read it in your presence. But if you will permit me---” + +“You are joking, Lupin.” + +“My dear friend, if you will be so kind as to break that egg, you will +learn for yourself that I am not joking.” + +Mechanically, Ganimard obeyed, and cracked the egg-shell with the blade +of a knife. He uttered a cry of surprise. The shell contained nothing +but a small piece of blue paper. At the request of Arsène he unfolded +it. It was a telegram, or rather a portion of a telegram from which the +post-marks had been removed. It read as follows: + +“Contract closed. Hundred thousand balls delivered. All well.” + +“One hundred thousand balls?” said Ganimard. + +“Yes, one hundred thousand francs. Very little, but then, you know, +these are hard times....And I have some heavy bills to meet. If you only +knew my budget.... living in the city comes very high.” + +Ganimard arose. His ill humor had disappeared. He reflected for a +moment, glancing over the whole affair in an effort to discover a weak +point; then, in a tone and manner that betrayed his admiration of the +prisoner, he said: + +“Fortunately, we do not have a dozen such as you to deal with; if we +did, we would have to close up shop.” + +Arsène Lupin assumed a modest air, as he replied: + +“Bah! a person must have some diversion to occupy his leisure hours, +especially when he is in prison.” + +“What!” exclaimed Ganimard, “your trial, your defense, the +examination--isn’t that sufficient to occupy your mind?” + +“No, because I have decided not to be present at my trial.” + +“Oh! oh!” + +Arsène Lupin repeated, positively: + +“I shall not be present at my trial.” + +“Really!” + +“Ah! my dear monsieur, do you suppose I am going to rot upon the wet +straw? You insult me. Arsène Lupin remains in prison just as long as it +pleases him, and not one minute more.” + +“Perhaps it would have been more prudent if you had avoided getting +there,” said the detective, ironically. + +“Ah! monsieur jests? Monsieur must remember that he had the honor to +effect my arrest. Know then, my worthy friend, that no one, not even +you, could have placed a hand upon me if a much more important event had +not occupied my attention at that critical moment.” + +“You astonish me.” + +“A woman was looking at me, Ganimard, and I loved her. Do you fully +understand what that means: to be under the eyes of a woman that one +loves? I cared for nothing in the world but that. And that is why I am +here.” + +“Permit me to say: you have been here a long time.” + +“In the first place, I wished to forget. Do not laugh; it was a +delightful adventure and it is still a tender memory. Besides, I have +been suffering from neurasthenia. Life is so feverish these days that it +is necessary to take the ‘rest cure’ occasionally, and I find this spot +a sovereign remedy for my tired nerves.” + +“Arsène Lupin, you are not a bad fellow, after all.” + +“Thank you,” said Lupin. “Ganimard, this is Friday. On Wednesday next, +at four o’clock in the afternoon, I will smoke my cigar at your house in +the rue Pergolese.” + +“Arsène Lupin, I will expect you.” + +They shook hands like two old friends who valued each other at their +true worth; then the detective stepped to the door. + +“Ganimard!” + +“What is it?” asked Ganimard, as he turned back. + +“You have forgotten your watch.” + +“My watch?” + +“Yes, it strayed into my pocket.” + +He returned the watch, excusing himself. + +“Pardon me.... a bad habit. Because they have taken mine is no reason why +I should take yours. Besides, I have a chronometer here that satisfies +me fairly well.” + +He took from the drawer a large gold watch and heavy chain. + +“From whose pocket did that come?” asked Ganimard. + +Arsène Lupin gave a hasty glance at the initials engraved on the watch. + +“J.B.....Who the devil can that be?....Ah! yes, I remember. Jules +Bouvier, the judge who conducted my examination. A charming fellow!....” + + + + +III. The Escape of Arsène Lupin + + +Arsène Lupin had just finished his repast and taken from his pocket an +excellent cigar, with a gold band, which he was examining with unusual +care, when the door of his cell was opened. He had barely time to +throw the cigar into the drawer and move away from the table. The guard +entered. It was the hour for exercise. + +“I was waiting for you, my dear boy,” exclaimed Lupin, in his accustomed +good humor. + +They went out together. As soon as they had disappeared at a turn in the +corridor, two men entered the cell and commenced a minute examination +of it. One was Inspector Dieuzy; the other was Inspector Folenfant. They +wished to verify their suspicion that Arsène Lupin was in communication +with his accomplices outside of the prison. On the preceding evening, +the ‘Grand Journal’ had published these lines addressed to its court +reporter: + +“Monsieur: + +“In a recent article you referred to me in most unjustifiable +terms. Some days before the opening of my trial I will call you to +account. Arsène Lupin.” + +The handwriting was certainly that of Arsène Lupin. Consequently, he +sent letters; and, no doubt, received letters. It was certain that he +was preparing for that escape thus arrogantly announced by him. + +The situation had become intolerable. Acting in conjunction with the +examining judge, the chief of the Sûreté, Mon. Dudouis, had visited the +prison and instructed the gaoler in regard to the precautions necessary +to insure Lupin’s safety. At the same time, he sent the two men to +examine the prisoner’s cell. They raised every stone, ransacked the bed, +did everything customary in such a case, but they discovered nothing, +and were about to abandon their investigation when the guard entered +hastily and said: + +“The drawer.... look in the table-drawer. When I entered just now he was +closing it.” + +They opened the drawer, and Dieuzy exclaimed: + +“Ah! we have him this time.” + +Folenfant stopped him. + +“Wait a moment. The chief will want to make an inventory.” + +“This is a very choice cigar.” + +“Leave it there, and notify the chief.” + +Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of the drawer. +First he discovered a bundle of newspaper clippings relating to Arsène +Lupin taken from the _Argus de la Presse_, then a tobacco-box, a pipe, +some paper called “onion-peel,” and two books. He read the titles of the +books. One was an English edition of Carlyle’s “Hero-worship”; the other +was a charming elzevir, in modern binding, the “Manual of Epictetus,” a +German translation published at Leyden in 1634. On examining the books, +he found that all the pages were underlined and annotated. Were they +prepared as a code for correspondence, or did they simply express the +studious character of the reader? Then he examined the tobacco-box and +the pipe. Finally, he took up the famous cigar with its gold band. + +“Fichtre!” he exclaimed. “Our friend smokes a good cigar. It’s a Henry +Clay.” + +With the mechanical action of an habitual smoker, he placed the cigar +close to his ear and squeezed it to make it crack. Immediately he +uttered a cry of surprise. The cigar had yielded under the pressure +of his fingers. He examined it more closely, and quickly discovered +something white between the leaves of tobacco. Delicately, with the aid +of a pin, he withdrew a roll of very thin paper, scarcely larger than +a toothpick. It was a letter. He unrolled it, and found these words, +written in a feminine handwriting: + +“The basket has taken the place of the others. Eight out of ten are +ready. On pressing the outer foot the plate goes downward. From twelve +to sixteen every day, H-P will wait. But where? Reply at once. Rest +easy; your friend is watching over you.” + +Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said: + +“It is quite clear.... the basket.... the eight compartments.... From +twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o’clock.” + +“But this H-P, that will wait?” + +“H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way they indicate +strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is an automobile of twenty-four +horsepower.” + +Then he rose, and asked: + +“Had the prisoner finished his breakfast?” + +“Yes.” + +“And as he has not yet read the message, which is proved by the +condition of the cigar, it is probable that he had just received it.” + +“How?” + +“In his food. Concealed in his bread or in a potato, perhaps.” + +“Impossible. His food was allowed to be brought in simply to trap him, +but we have never found anything in it.” + +“We will look for Lupin’s reply this evening. Detain him outside for a +few minutes. I shall take this to the examining judge, and, if he agrees +with me, we will have the letter photographed at once, and in an hour +you can replace the letter in the drawer in a cigar similar to this. The +prisoner must have no cause for suspicion.” + +It was not without a certain curiosity that Mon. Dudouis returned to +the prison in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy. Three empty +plates were sitting on the stove in the corner. + +“He has eaten?” + +“Yes,” replied the guard. + +“Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and open that +bread-roll....Nothing?” + +“No, chief.” + +Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the knife--an +ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned the handle to the left; +then to the right. It yielded and unscrewed. The knife was hollow, and +served as a hiding-place for a sheet of paper. + +“Peuh!” he said, “that is not very clever for a man like Arsène. But we +mustn’t lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search the restaurant.” + +Then he read the note: + +“I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I will go +ahead. Au revoir, dear friend.” + +“At last,” cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, “I think we +have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on our part, and the +escape will be a success in so far as the arrest of his confederates are +concerned.” + +“But if Arsène Lupin slips through your fingers?” suggested the guard. + +“We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If, however, +he displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much the worse for him! As +to his band of robbers, since the chief refuses to speak, the others +must.” + +* * * * * + +And, as a matter of fact, Arsène Lupin had very little to say. For +several months, Mon. Jules Bouvier, the examining judge, had +exerted himself in vain. The investigation had been reduced to a few +uninteresting arguments between the judge and the advocate, Maître +Danval, one of the leaders of the bar. From time to time, through +courtesy, Arsène Lupin would speak. One day he said: + +“Yes, monsieur, le judge, I quite agree with you: the robbery of the +Crédit Lyonnais, the theft in the rue de Babylone, the issue of +the counterfeit bank-notes, the burglaries at the various châteaux, +Armesnil, Gouret, Imblevain, Groseillers, Malaquis, all my work, +monsieur, I did it all.” + +“Then will you explain to me---” + +“It is useless. I confess everything in a lump, everything and even ten +times more than you know nothing about.” + +Wearied by his fruitless task, the judge had suspended his examinations, +but he resumed them after the two intercepted messages were brought to +his attention; and regularly, at mid-day, Arsène Lupin was taken from +the prison to the Dépôt in the prison-van with a certain number of other +prisoners. They returned about three or four o’clock. + +Now, one afternoon, this return trip was made under unusual conditions. +The other prisoners not having been examined, it was decided to take +back Arsène Lupin first, thus he found himself alone in the vehicle. + +These prison-vans, vulgarly called “panniers à salade”--or +salad-baskets--are divided lengthwise by a central corridor from which +open ten compartments, five on either side. Each compartment is so +arranged that the occupant must assume and retain a sitting posture, +and, consequently, the five prisoners are seated one upon the other, +and yet separated one from the other by partitions. A municipal guard, +standing at one end, watches over the corridor. + +Arsène was placed in the third cell on the right, and the heavy vehicle +started. He carefully calculated when they left the quai de l’Horloge, +and when they passed the Palais de Justice. Then, about the centre of +the bridge Saint Michel, with his outer foot, that is to say, his right +foot, he pressed upon the metal plate that closed his cell. Immediately +something clicked, and the metal plate moved. He was able to ascertain +that he was located between the two wheels. + +He waited, keeping a sharp look-out. The vehicle was proceeding slowly +along the boulevard Saint Michel. At the corner of Saint Germain it +stopped. A truck horse had fallen. The traffic having been interrupted, +a vast throng of fiacres and omnibuses had gathered there. Arsène Lupin +looked out. Another prison-van had stopped close to the one he occupied. +He moved the plate still farther, put his foot on one of the spokes +of the wheel and leaped to the ground. A coachman saw him, roared with +laughter, then tried to raise an outcry, but his voice was lost in the +noise of the traffic that had commenced to move again. Moreover, Arsène +Lupin was already far away. + +He had run for a few steps; but, once upon the sidewalk, he turned +and looked around; he seemed to scent the wind like a person who is +uncertain which direction to take. Then, having decided, he put his +hands in his pockets, and, with the careless air of an idle stroller, +he proceeded up the boulevard. It was a warm, bright autumn day, and +the cafés were full. He took a seat on the terrace of one of them. He +ordered a bock and a package of cigarettes. He emptied his glass slowly, +smoked one cigarette and lighted a second. Then he asked the waiter to +send the proprietor to him. When the proprietor came, Arsène spoke to +him in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone: + +“I regret to say, monsieur, I have forgotten my pocketbook. Perhaps, on +the strength of my name, you will be pleased to give me credit for a few +days. I am Arsène Lupin.” + +The proprietor looked at him, thinking he was joking. But Arsène +repeated: + +“Lupin, prisoner at the Santé, but now a fugitive. I venture to assume +that the name inspires you with perfect confidence in me.” + +And he walked away, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst the proprietor +stood amazed. + +Lupin strolled along the rue Soufflot, and turned into the rue Saint +Jacques. He pursued his way slowly, smoking his cigarettes and looking +into the shop-windows. At the Boulevard de Port Royal he took his +bearings, discovered where he was, and then walked in the direction of +the rue de la Santé. The high forbidding walls of the prison were +now before him. He pulled his hat forward to shade his face; then, +approaching the sentinel, he asked: + +“Is this the prison de la Santé?” + +“Yes.” + +“I wish to regain my cell. The van left me on the way, and I would not +abuse--” + +“Now, young man, move along--quick!” growled the sentinel. + +“Pardon me, but I must pass through that gate. And if you prevent Arsène +Lupin from entering the prison it will cost you dear, my friend.” + +“Arsène Lupin! What are you talking about!” + +“I am sorry I haven’t a card with me,” said Arsène, fumbling in his +pockets. + +The sentinel eyed him from head to foot, in astonishment. Then, without +a word, he rang a bell. The iron gate was partly opened, and Arsène +stepped inside. Almost immediately he encountered the keeper of the +prison, gesticulating and feigning a violent anger. Arsène smiled and +said: + +“Come, monsieur, don’t play that game with me. What! they take +the precaution to carry me alone in the van, prepare a nice little +obstruction, and imagine I am going to take to my heels and rejoin +my friends. Well, and what about the twenty agents of the Sûreté who +accompanied us on foot, in fiacres and on bicycles? No, the arrangement +did not please me. I should not have got away alive. Tell me, monsieur, +did they count on that?” + +He shrugged his shoulders, and added: + +“I beg of you, monsieur, not to worry about me. When I wish to escape I +shall not require any assistance.” + +On the second day thereafter, the _Echo de France_, which had apparently +become the official reporter of the exploits of Arsène Lupin,--it was +said that he was one of its principal shareholders--published a most +complete account of this attempted escape. The exact wording of the +messages exchanged between the prisoner and his mysterious friend, the +means by which correspondence was constructed, the complicity of the +police, the promenade on the Boulevard Saint Michel, the incident at the +café Soufflot, everything was disclosed. It was known that the search of +the restaurant and its waiters by Inspector Dieuzy had been fruitless. +And the public also learned an extraordinary thing which demonstrated +the infinite variety of resources that Lupin possessed: the prison-van, +in which he was being carried, was prepared for the occasion and +substituted by his accomplices for one of the six vans which did service +at the prison. + +The next escape of Arsène Lupin was not doubted by anyone. He announced +it himself, in categorical terms, in a reply to Mon. Bouvier on the day +following his attempted escape. The judge having made a jest about +the affair, Arsène was annoyed, and, firmly eyeing the judge, he said, +emphatically: + +“Listen to me, monsieur! I give you my word of honor that this attempted +flight was simply preliminary to my general plan of escape.” + +“I do not understand,” said the judge. + +“It is not necessary that you should understand.” + +And when the judge, in the course of that examination which was reported +at length in the columns of the _Echo de France_, when the judge sought +to resume his investigation, Arsène Lupin exclaimed, with an assumed air +of lassitude: + +“Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, what’s the use! All these questions are of no +importance!” + +“What! No importance?” cried the judge. + +“No; because I shall not be present at the trial.” + +“You will not be present?” + +“No; I have fully decided on that, and nothing will change my mind.” + +Such assurance combined with the inexplicable indiscretions that Arsène +committed every day served to annoy and mystify the officers of the law. +There were secrets known only to Arsène Lupin; secrets that he alone +could divulge. But for what purpose did he reveal them? And how? + +Arsène Lupin was changed to another cell. The judge closed his +preliminary investigation. No further proceedings were taken in his case +for a period of two months, during which time Arsène was seen almost +constantly lying on his bed with his face turned toward the wall. The +changing of his cell seemed to discourage him. He refused to see his +advocate. He exchanged only a few necessary words with his keepers. + +During the fortnight preceding his trial, he resumed his vigorous life. +He complained of want of air. Consequently, early every morning he was +allowed to exercise in the courtyard, guarded by two men. + +Public curiosity had not died out; every day it expected to be regaled +with news of his escape; and, it is true, he had gained a considerable +amount of public sympathy by reason of his verve, his gayety, his +diversity, his inventive genius and the mystery of his life. Arsène +Lupin must escape. It was his inevitable fate. The public expected it, +and was surprised that the event had been delayed so long. Every morning +the Préfect of Police asked his secretary: + +“Well, has he escaped yet?” + +“No, Monsieur le Préfect.” + +“To-morrow, probably.” + +And, on the day before the trial, a gentleman called at the office of +the ‘Grand Journal,’ asked to see the court reporter, threw his card in +the reporter’s face, and walked rapidly away. These words were written +on the card: “Arsène Lupin always keeps his promises.” + +* * * * * + +It was under these conditions that the trial commenced. An enormous +crowd gathered at the court. Everybody wished to see the famous Arsène +Lupin. They had a gleeful anticipation that the prisoner would play some +audacious pranks upon the judge. Advocates and magistrates, reporters +and men of the world, actresses and society women were crowded together +on the benches provided for the public. + +It was a dark, sombre day, with a steady downpour of rain. Only a +dim light pervaded the courtroom, and the spectators caught a very +indistinct view of the prisoner when the guards brought him in. But his +heavy, shambling walk, the manner in which he dropped into his seat, and +his passive, stupid appearance were not at all prepossessing. Several +times his advocate--one of Mon. Danval’s assistants--spoke to him, but +he simply shook his head and said nothing. + +The clerk read the indictment, then the judge spoke: + +“Prisoner at the bar, stand up. Your name, age, and occupation?” + +Not receiving any reply, the judge repeated: + +“Your name? I ask you your name?” + +A thick, slow voice muttered: + +“Baudru, Désiré.” + +A murmur of surprise pervaded the courtroom. But the judge proceeded: + +“Baudru, Désiré? Ah! a new alias! Well, as you have already assumed a +dozen different names and this one is, no doubt, as imaginary as the +others, we will adhere to the name of Arsène Lupin, by which you are +more generally known.” + +The judge referred to his notes, and continued: + +“For, despite the most diligent search, your past history remains +unknown. Your case is unique in the annals of crime. We know not whom +you are, whence you came, your birth and breeding--all is a mystery +to us. Three years ago you appeared in our midst as Arsène Lupin, +presenting to us a strange combination of intelligence and perversion, +immorality and generosity. Our knowledge of your life prior to that date +is vague and problematical. It may be that the man called Rostat who, +eight years ago, worked with Dickson, the prestidigitator, was none +other than Arsène Lupin. It is probable that the Russian student who, +six years ago, attended the laboratory of Doctor Altier at the Saint +Louis Hospital, and who often astonished the doctor by the ingenuity +of his hypotheses on subjects of bacteriology and the boldness of his +experiments in diseases of the skin, was none other than Arsène Lupin. +It is probable, also, that Arsène Lupin was the professor who introduced +the Japanese art of jiu-jitsu to the Parisian public. We have some +reason to believe that Arsène Lupin was the bicyclist who won the Grand +Prix de l’Exposition, received his ten thousand francs, and was never +heard of again. Arsène Lupin may have been, also, the person who saved +so many lives through the little dormer-window at the Charity Bazaar; +and, at the same time, picked their pockets.” + +The judge paused for a moment, then continued: + +“Such is that epoch which seems to have been utilized by you in a +thorough preparation for the warfare you have since waged against +society; a methodical apprenticeship in which you developed your +strength, energy and skill to the highest point possible. Do you +acknowledge the accuracy of these facts?” + +During this discourse the prisoner had stood balancing himself, first +on one foot, then on the other, with shoulders stooped and arms inert. +Under the strongest light one could observe his extreme thinness, his +hollow cheeks, his projecting cheek-bones, his earthen-colored face +dotted with small red spots and framed in a rough, straggling beard. +Prison life had caused him to age and wither. He had lost the +youthful face and elegant figure we had seen portrayed so often in the +newspapers. + +It appeared as if he had not heard the question propounded by the +judge. Twice it was repeated to him. Then he raised his eyes, seemed to +reflect, then, making a desperate effort, he murmured: + +“Baudru, Désiré.” + +The judge smiled, as he said: + +“I do not understand the theory of your defense, Arsène Lupin. If you +are seeking to avoid responsibility for your crimes on the ground of +imbecility, such a line of defense is open to you. But I shall proceed +with the trial and pay no heed to your vagaries.” + +He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles and forgeries +charged against Lupin. Sometimes he questioned the prisoner, but the +latter simply grunted or remained silent. The examination of witnesses +commenced. Some of the evidence given was immaterial; other portions +of it seemed more important, but through all of it there ran a vein of +contradictions and inconsistencies. A wearisome obscurity enveloped +the proceedings, until Detective Ganimard was called as a witness; then +interest was revived. + +From the beginning the actions of the veteran detective appeared strange +and unaccountable. He was nervous and ill at ease. Several times he +looked at the prisoner, with obvious doubt and anxiety. Then, with his +hands resting on the rail in front of him, he recounted the events in +which he had participated, including his pursuit of the prisoner +across Europe and his arrival in America. He was listened to with great +avidity, as his capture of Arsène Lupin was well known to everyone +through the medium of the press. Toward the close of his testimony, +after referring to his conversations with Arsène Lupin, he stopped, +twice, embarrassed and undecided. It was apparent that he was possessed +of some thought which he feared to utter. The judge said to him, +sympathetically: + +“If you are ill, you may retire for the present.” + +“No, no, but---” + +He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said: + +“I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range. There is +some mystery about him that I must solve.” + +He approached the accused man, examined him attentively for several +minutes, then returned to the witness-stand, and, in an almost solemn +voice, he said: + +“I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not Arsène +Lupin.” + +A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplused for a +moment, exclaimed: + +“Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!” + +The detective continued: + +“At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if you carefully +consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color of skin, you will +see that it is not Arsène Lupin. And the eyes! Did he ever have those +alcoholic eyes!” + +“Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to say that we +are trying the wrong man?” + +“In my opinion, yes. Arsène Lupin has, in some manner, contrived to put +this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willing accomplice.” + +This dramatic dénouement caused much laughter and excitement amongst the +spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sent for Mon. Bouvier, +the gaoler, and guards employed in the prison. + +When the trial was resumed, Mon. Bouvier and the gaoler examined the +accused and declared that there was only a very slight resemblance +between the prisoner and Arsène Lupin. + +“Well, then!” exclaimed the judge, “who is this man? Where does he come +from? What is he in prison for?” + +Two of the prison-guards were called and both of them declared that the +prisoner was Arsène Lupin. The judged breathed once more. + +But one of the guards then said: + +“Yes, yes, I think it is he.” + +“What!” cried the judge, impatiently, “you *think* it is he! What do you +mean by that?” + +“Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in my charge in +the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, but laid on his bed +with his face to the wall.” + +“What about the time prior to those two months?” + +“Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. He was +not in cell 24.” + +Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said: + +“We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape.” + +“But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?” + +“I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly.” + +“And this prisoner is not Arsène Lupin?” + +“No.” + +“Then who is he?” demanded the judge. + +“I do not know.” + +“Then we have before us a man who was substituted for Arsène Lupin, two +months ago. How do you explain that?” + +“I cannot.” + +In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressed him +in a conciliatory tone: + +“Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became an inmate of +the Prison de la Santé?” + +The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm the mistrust +and awaken the understanding of the accused man. He tried to reply. +Finally, under clever and gentle questioning, he succeeded in framing a +few phrases from which the following story was gleaned: Two months ago +he had been taken to the Dépôt, examined and released. As he was leaving +the building, a free man, he was seized by two guards and placed in the +prison-van. Since then he had occupied cell 24. He was contented there, +plenty to eat, and he slept well--so he did not complain. + +All that seemed probable; and, amidst the mirth and excitement of the +spectators, the judge adjourned the trial until the story could be +investigated and verified. + +* * * * * + +The following facts were at once established by an examination of the +prison records: Eight weeks before a man named Baudru Désiré had slept +at the Dépôt. He was released the next day, and left the Dépôt at two +o’clock in the afternoon. On the same day at two o’clock, having been +examined for the last time, Arsène Lupin left the Dépôt in a prison-van. + +Had the guards made a mistake? Had they been deceived by the resemblance +and carelessly substituted this man for their prisoner? + +Another question suggested itself: Had the substitution been arranged in +advance? In that event Baudru must have been an accomplice and must have +caused his own arrest for the express purpose of taking Lupin’s +place. But then, by what miracle had such a plan, based on a series of +improbable chances, been carried to success? + +Baudru Désiré was turned over to the anthropological service; they +had never seen anything like him. However, they easily traced his past +history. He was known at Courbevois, at Asnières and at Levallois. +He lived on alms and slept in one of those rag-picker’s huts near the +barrier de Ternes. He had disappeared from there a year ago. + +Had he been enticed away by Arsène Lupin? There was no evidence to that +effect. And even if that was so, it did not explain the flight of the +prisoner. That still remained a mystery. Amongst twenty theories which +sought to explain it, not one was satisfactory. Of the escape itself, +there was no doubt; an escape that was incomprehensible, sensational, +in which the public, as well as the officers of the law, could detect +a carefully prepared plan, a combination of circumstances marvelously +dove-tailed, whereof the dénouement fully justified the confident +prediction of Arsène Lupin: “I shall not be present at my trial.” + +After a month of patient investigation, the problem remained unsolved. +The poor devil of a Baudru could not be kept in prison indefinitely, and +to place him on trial would be ridiculous. There was no charge against +him. Consequently, he was released; but the chief of the Sûrété resolved +to keep him under surveillance. This idea originated with Ganimard. From +his point of view there was neither complicity nor chance. Baudru was +an instrument upon which Arsène Lupin had played with his extraordinary +skill. Baudru, when set at liberty, would lead them to Arsène Lupin or, +at least, to some of his accomplices. The two inspectors, Folenfant and +Dieuzy, were assigned to assist Ganimard. + +One foggy morning in January the prison gates opened and Baudru Désiré +stepped forth--a free man. At first he appeared to be quite embarrassed, +and walked like a person who has no precise idea whither he is going. +He followed the rue de la Santé and the rue Saint Jacques. He stopped in +front of an old-clothes shop, removed his jacket and his vest, sold his +vest on which he realized a few sous; then, replacing his jacket, he +proceeded on his way. He crossed the Seine. At the Châtelet an +omnibus passed him. He wished to enter it, but there was no place. +The controller advised him to secure a number, so he entered the +waiting-room. + +Ganimard called to his two assistants, and, without removing his eyes +from the waiting room, he said to them: + +“Stop a carriage.... no, two. That will be better. I will go with one of +you, and we will follow him.” + +The men obeyed. Yet Baudru did not appear. Ganimard entered the +waiting-room. It was empty. + +“Idiot that I am!” he muttered, “I forgot there was another exit.” + +There was an interior corridor extending from the waiting-room to the +rue Saint Martin. Ganimard rushed through it and arrived just in time to +observe Baudru upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin de Plates omnibus +as it was turning the corner of the rue de Rivoli. He ran and caught +the omnibus. But he had lost his two assistants. He must continue the +pursuit alone. In his anger he was inclined to seize the man by the +collar without ceremony. Was it not with premeditation and by means of +an ingenious ruse that his pretended imbecile had separated him from his +assistants? + +He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his head +rolling from side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredible +expression of stupidity on his blotched face. No, such an adversary was +incapable of deceiving old Ganimard. It was a stroke of luck--nothing +more. + +At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus and took +the La Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann and the +avenue Victor Hugo. Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and, with a +nonchalant air, strolled into the Bois de Boulogne. + +He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retraced his +steps. What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? At the end of +an hour, he appeared to be faint from fatigue, and, noticing a bench, he +sat down. The spot, not far from Auteuil, on the edge of a pond hidden +amongst the trees, was absolutely deserted. After the lapse of another +half-hour, Ganimard became impatient and resolved to speak to the man. +He approached and took a seat beside Baudru, lighted a cigarette, traced +some figures in the sand with the end of his cane, and said: + +“It’s a pleasant day.” + +No response. But, suddenly the man burst into laughter, a happy, +mirthful laugh, spontaneous and irresistible. Ganimard felt his hair +stand on end in horror and surprise. It was that laugh, that infernal +laugh he knew so well! + +With a sudden movement, he seized the man by the collar and looked at +him with a keen, penetrating gaze; and found that he no longer saw the +man Baudru. To be sure, he saw Baudru; but, at the same time, he saw the +other, the real man, Lupin. He discovered the intense life in the eyes, +he filled up the shrunken features, he perceived the real flesh beneath +the flabby skin, the real mouth through the grimaces that deformed it. +Those were the eyes and mouth of the other, and especially his keen, +alert, mocking expression, so clear and youthful! + +“Arsène Lupin, Arsène Lupin,” he stammered. + +Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he seized Lupin by the throat and tried +to hold him down. In spite of his fifty years, he still possessed +unusual strength, whilst his adversary was apparently in a weak +condition. But the struggle was a brief one. Arsène Lupin made only a +slight movement, and, as suddenly as he had made the attack, Ganimard +released his hold. His right arm fell inert, useless. + +“If you had taken lessons in jiu-jitsu at the quai des Orfèvres,” said +Lupin, “you would know that that blow is called udi-shi-ghi in Japanese. +A second more, and I would have broken your arm and that would have been +just what you deserve. I am surprised that you, an old friend whom I +respect and before whom I voluntarily expose my incognito, should abuse +my confidence in that violent manner. It is unworthy--Ah! What’s the +matter?” + +Ganimard did not reply. That escape for which he deemed himself +responsible--was it not he, Ganimard, who, by his sensational evidence, +had led the court into serious error? That escape appeared to him like +a dark cloud on his professional career. A tear rolled down his cheek to +his gray moustache. + +“Oh! mon Dieu, Ganimard, don’t take it to heart. If you had not spoken, +I would have arranged for some one else to do it. I couldn’t allow poor +Baudru Désiré to be convicted.” + +“Then,” murmured Ganimard, “it was you that was there? And now you are +here?” + +“It is I, always I, only I.” + +“Can it be possible?” + +“Oh, it is not the work of a sorcerer. Simply, as the judge remarked at +the trial, the apprenticeship of a dozen years that equips a man to cope +successfully with all the obstacles in life.” + +“But your face? Your eyes?” + +“You can understand that if I worked eighteen months with Doctor Altier +at the Saint-Louis hospital, it was not out of love for the work. I +considered that he, who would one day have the honor of calling himself +Arsène Lupin, ought to be exempt from the ordinary laws governing +appearance and identity. Appearance? That can be modified at will. For +instance, a hypodermic injection of paraffine will puff up the skin at +the desired spot. Pyrogallic acid will change your skin to that of an +Indian. The juice of the greater celandine will adorn you with the most +beautiful eruptions and tumors. Another chemical affects the growth of +your beard and hair; another changes the tone of your voice. Add to that +two months of dieting in cell 24; exercises repeated a thousand times to +enable me to hold my features in a certain grimace, to carry my head +at a certain inclination, and adapt my back and shoulders to a stooping +posture. Then five drops of atropine in the eyes to make them haggard +and wild, and the trick is done.” + +“I do not understand how you deceived the guards.” + +“The change was progressive. The evolution was so gradual that they +failed to notice it.” + +“But Baudru Désiré?” + +“Baudru exists. He is a poor, harmless fellow whom +I met last year; and, really, he bears a certain resemblance to me. +Considering my arrest as a possible event, I took charge of Baudru and +studied the points wherein we differed in appearance with a view to +correct them in my own person. My friends caused him to remain at the +Dépôt overnight, and to leave there next day about the same hour as I +did--a coincidence easily arranged. Of course, it was necessary to have +a record of his detention at the Dépôt in order to establish the fact +that such a person was a reality; otherwise, the police would have +sought elsewhere to find out my identity. But, in offering to them this +excellent Baudru, it was inevitable, you understand, inevitable that +they would seize upon him, and, despite the insurmountable difficulties +of a substitution, they would prefer to believe in a substitution than +confess their ignorance.” + +“Yes, yes, of course,” said Ganimard. + +“And then,” exclaimed Arsène Lupin, “I held in my hands a trump-card: an +anxious public watching and waiting for my escape. And that is the fatal +error into which you fell, you and the others, in the course of that +fascinating game pending between me and the officers of the law wherein +the stake was my liberty. And you supposed that I was playing to the +gallery; that I was intoxicated with my success. I, Arsène Lupin, guilty +of such weakness! Oh, no! And, no longer ago than the Cahorn affair, you +said: “When Arsène Lupin cries from the housetops that he will escape, +he has some object in view.” But, sapristi, you must understand that +in order to escape I must create, in advance, a public belief in +that escape, a belief amounting to an article of faith, an absolute +conviction, a reality as glittering as the sun. And I did create that +belief that Arsène Lupin would escape, that Arsène Lupin would not be +present at his trial. And when you gave your evidence and said: “That +man is not Arsène Lupin,” everybody was prepared to believe you. Had one +person doubted it, had any one uttered this simple restriction: Suppose +it is Arsène Lupin?--from that moment, I was lost. If anyone had +scrutinized my face, not imbued with the idea that I was not Arsène +Lupin, as you and the others did at my trial, but with the idea that I +might be Arsène Lupin; then, despite all my precautions, I should have +been recognized. But I had no fear. Logically, psychologically, no once +could entertain the idea that I was Arsène Lupin.” + +He grasped Ganimard’s hand. + +“Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after our conversation in +the prison de la Santé, you expected me at your house at four o’clock, +exactly as I said I would go.” + +“And your prison-van?” said Ganimard, evading the question. + +“A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wished +to make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without the +concurrence of a number of unusual circumstances. However, I found +it useful to carry out that attempted escape and give it the widest +publicity. An audaciously planned escape, though not completed, gave to +the succeeding one the character of reality simply by anticipation.” + +“So that the cigar....” + +“Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife.” + +“And the letters?” + +“Written by me.” + +“And the mysterious correspondent?” + +“Did not exist.” + +Ganimard reflected a moment, then said: + +“When the anthropological service had Baudru’s case under consideration, +why did they not perceive that his measurements coincided with those of +Arsène Lupin?” + +“My measurements are not in existence.” + +“Indeed!” + +“At least, they are false. I have given considerable attention to +that question. In the first place, the Bertillon system records the +visible marks of identification--and you have seen that they are not +infallible--and, after that, the measurements of the head, the +fingers, the ears, etc. Of course, such measurements are more or less +infallible.” + +“Absolutely.” + +“No; but it costs money to get around them. Before we left America, one +of the employees of the service there accepted so much money to insert +false figures in my measurements. Consequently, Baudru’s measurements +should not agree with those of Arsène Lupin.” + +After a short silence, Ganimard asked: + +“What are you going to do now?” + +“Now,” replied Lupin, “I am going to take a rest, enjoy the best of food +and drink and gradually recover my former healthy condition. It is all +very well to become Baudru or some other person, on occasion, and to +change your personality as you do your shirt, but you soon grow weary of +the change. I feel exactly as I imagine the man who lost his shadow must +have felt, and I shall be glad to be Arsène Lupin once more.” + +He walked to and fro for a few minutes, then, stopping in front of +Ganimard, he said: + +“You have nothing more to say, I suppose?” + +“Yes. I should like to know if you intend to reveal the true state of +facts connected with your escape. The mistake that I made---” + +“Oh! no one will ever know that it was Arsène Lupin who was discharged. +It is to my own interest to surround myself with mystery, and therefore +I shall permit my escape to retain its almost miraculous character. So, +have no fear on that score, my dear friend. I shall say nothing. And +now, good-bye. I am going out to dinner this evening, and have only +sufficient time to dress.” + +“I though you wanted a rest.” + +“Ah! there are duties to society that one cannot avoid. To-morrow, I +shall rest.” + +“Where do you dine to-night?” + +“With the British Ambassador!” + + + + +IV. The Mysterious Traveller + + +The evening before, I had sent my automobile to Rouen by the highway. +I was to travel to Rouen by rail, on my way to visit some friends that +live on the banks of the Seine. + +At Paris, a few minutes before the train started, seven gentlemen +entered my compartment; five of them were smoking. No matter that the +journey was a short one, the thought of traveling with such a company +was not agreeable to me, especially as the car was built on the old +model, without a corridor. I picked up my overcoat, my newspapers and my +time-table, and sought refuge in a neighboring compartment. + +It was occupied by a lady, who, at sight of me, made a gesture of +annoyance that did not escape my notice, and she leaned toward a +gentleman who was standing on the step and was, no doubt, her husband. +The gentleman scrutinized me closely, and, apparently, my appearance did +not displease him, for he smiled as he spoke to his wife with the air +of one who reassures a frightened child. She smiled also, and gave me a +friendly glance as if she now understood that I was one of those gallant +men with whom a woman can remain shut up for two hours in a little box, +six feet square, and have nothing to fear. + +Her husband said to her: + +“I have an important appointment, my dear, and cannot wait any longer. +Adieu.” + +He kissed her affectionately and went away. His wife threw him a few +kisses and waved her handkerchief. The whistle sounded, and the train +started. + +At that precise moment, and despite the protests of the guards, the door +was opened, and a man rushed into our compartment. My companion, who +was standing and arranging her luggage, uttered a cry of terror and fell +upon the seat. I am not a coward--far from it--but I confess that such +intrusions at the last minute are always disconcerting. They have a +suspicious, unnatural aspect. + +However, the appearance of the new arrival greatly modified the +unfavorable impression produced by his precipitant action. He was +correctly and elegantly dressed, wore a tasteful cravat, correct gloves, +and his face was refined and intelligent. But, where the devil had I +seen that face before? Because, beyond all possible doubt, I had seen +it. And yet the memory of it was so vague and indistinct that I felt it +would be useless to try to recall it at that time. + +Then, directing my attention to the lady, I was amazed at the pallor +and anxiety I saw in her face. She was looking at her neighbor--they +occupied seats on the same side of the compartment--with an expression +of intense alarm, and I perceived that one of her trembling hands was +slowly gliding toward a little traveling bag that was lying on the seat +about twenty inches from her. She finished by seizing it and nervously +drawing it to her. Our eyes met, and I read in hers so much anxiety and +fear that I could not refrain from speaking to her: + +“Are you ill, madame? Shall I open the window?” + +Her only reply was a gesture indicating that she was afraid of our +companion. I smiled, as her husband had done, shrugged my shoulders, and +explained to her, in pantomime, that she had nothing to fear, that I +was there, and, besides, the gentleman appeared to be a very harmless +individual. At that moment, he turned toward us, scrutinized both of us +from head to foot, then settled down in his corner and paid us no more +attention. + +After a short silence, the lady, as if she had mustered all her energy +to perform a desperate act, said to me, in an almost inaudible voice: + +“Do you know who is on our train?” + +“Who?” + +“He.... he....I assure you....” + +“Who is he?” + +“Arsène Lupin!” + +She had not taken her eyes off our companion, and it was to him rather +than to me that she uttered the syllables of that disquieting name. +He drew his hat over his face. Was that to conceal his agitation or, +simply, to arrange himself for sleep? Then I said to her: + +“Yesterday, through contumacy, Arsène Lupin was sentenced to twenty +years’ imprisonment at hard labor. Therefore it is improbable that he +would be so imprudent, to-day, as to show himself in public. Moreover, +the newspapers have announced his appearance in Turkey since his escape +from the Santé.” + +“But he is on this train at the present moment,” the lady proclaimed, +with the obvious intention of being heard by our companion; “my husband +is one of the directors in the penitentiary service, and it was the +stationmaster himself who told us that a search was being made for +Arsène Lupin.” + +“They may have been mistaken---” + +“No; he was seen in the waiting-room. He bought a first-class ticket for +Rouen.” + +“He has disappeared. The guard at the waiting-room door did not see him +pass, and it is supposed that he had got into the express that leaves +ten minutes after us.” + +“In that case, they will be sure to catch him.” + +“Unless, at the last moment, he leaped from that train to come here, +into our train.... which is quite probable.... which is almost certain.” + +“If so, he will be arrested just the same; for the employees and guards +would no doubt observe his passage from one train to the other, and, +when we arrive at Rouen, they will arrest him there.” + +“Him--never! He will find some means of escape.” + +“In that case, I wish him ‘bon voyage.’” + +“But, in the meantime, think what he may do!” + +“What?” + +“I don’t know. He may do anything.” + +She was greatly agitated, and, truly, the situation justified, to some +extent, her nervous excitement. I was impelled to say to her: + +“Of course, there are many strange coincidences, but you need have no +fear. Admitting that Arsène Lupin is on this train, he will not commit +any indiscretion; he will be only too happy to escape the peril that +already threatens him.” + +My words did not reassure her, but she remained silent for a time. I +unfolded my newspapers and read reports of Arsène Lupin’s trial, but, as +they contained nothing that was new to me, I was not greatly interested. +Moreover, I was tired and sleepy. I felt my eyelids close and my head +drop. + +“But, monsieur, you are not going to sleep!” + +She seized my newspaper, and looked at me with indignation. + +“Certainly not,” I said. + +“That would be very imprudent.” + +“Of course,” I assented. + +I struggled to keep awake. I looked through the window at the landscape +and the fleeting clouds, but in a short time all that became confused +and indistinct; the image of the nervous lady and the drowsy gentleman +were effaced from my memory, and I was buried in the soothing depths of +a profound sleep. The tranquility of my response was soon disturbed by +disquieting dreams, wherein a creature that had played the part and bore +the name of Arsène Lupin held an important place. He appeared to me +with his back laden with articles of value; he leaped over walls, and +plundered castles. But the outlines of that creature, who was no longer +Arsène Lupin, assumed a more definite form. He came toward me, growing +larger and larger, leaped into the compartment with incredible agility, +and landed squarely on my chest. With a cry of fright and pain, I awoke. +The man, the traveller, our companion, with his knee on my breast, held +me by the throat. + +My sight was very indistinct, for my eyes were suffused with blood. +I could see the lady, in a corner of the compartment, convulsed +with fright. I tried even not to resist. Besides, I did not have the +strength. My temples throbbed; I was almost strangled. One minute more, +and I would have breathed my last. The man must have realized it, for he +relaxed his grip, but did not remove his hand. Then he took a cord, in +which he had prepared a slip-knot, and tied my wrists together. In an +instant, I was bound, gagged, and helpless. + +Certainly, he accomplished the trick with an ease and skill that +revealed the hand of a master; he was, no doubt, a professional thief. +Not a word, not a nervous movement; only coolness and audacity. And I +was there, lying on the bench, bound like a mummy, I--Arsène Lupin! + +It was anything but a laughing matter, and yet, despite the gravity +of the situation, I keenly appreciated the humor and irony that it +involved. Arsène Lupin seized and bound like a novice! robbed as if I +were an unsophisticated rustic--for, you must understand, the scoundrel +had deprived me of my purse and wallet! Arsène Lupin, a victim, duped, +vanquished....What an adventure! + +The lady did not move. He did not even notice her. He contented himself +with picking up her traveling-bag that had fallen to the floor and +taking from it the jewels, purse, and gold and silver trinkets that it +contained. The lady opened her eyes, trembled with fear, drew the rings +from her fingers and handed them to the man as if she wished to spare +him unnecessary trouble. He took the rings and looked at her. She +swooned. + +Then, quite unruffled, he resumed his seat, lighted a cigarette, and +proceeded to examine the treasure that he had acquired. The examination +appeared to give him perfect satisfaction. + +But I was not so well satisfied. I do not speak of the twelve thousand +francs of which I had been unduly deprived: that was only a temporary +loss, because I was certain that I would recover possession of that +money after a very brief delay, together with the important papers +contained in my wallet: plans, specifications, addresses, lists of +correspondents, and compromising letters. But, for the moment, a more +immediate and more serious question troubled me: How would this affair +end? What would be the outcome of this adventure? + +As you can imagine, the disturbance created by my passage through the +Saint-Lazare station has not escaped my notice. Going to visit friends +who knew me under the name of Guillaume Berlat, and amongst whom my +resemblance to Arsène Lupin was a subject of many innocent jests, I +could not assume a disguise, and my presence had been remarked. +So, beyond question, the commissary of police at Rouen, notified by +telegraph, and assisted by numerous agents, would be awaiting the train, +would question all suspicious passengers, and proceed to search the +cars. + +Of course, I had foreseen all that, but it had not disturbed me, as I +was certain that the police of Rouen would not be any shrewder than the +police of Paris and that I could escape recognition; would it not be +sufficient for me to carelessly display my card as “député,” thanks +to which I had inspired complete confidence in the gate-keeper at +Saint-Lazare?--But the situation was greatly changed. I was no longer +free. It was impossible to attempt one of my usual tricks. In one of +the compartments, the commissary of police would find Mon. Arsène Lupin, +bound hand and foot, as docile as a lamb, packed up, all ready to be +dumped into a prison-van. He would have simply to accept delivery of the +parcel, the same as if it were so much merchandise or a basket of fruit +and vegetables. Yet, to avoid that shameful dénouement, what could I +do?--bound and gagged, as I was? And the train was rushing on toward +Rouen, the next and only station. + +Another problem was presented, in which I was less interested, but +the solution of which aroused my professional curiosity. What were the +intentions of my rascally companion? Of course, if I had been alone, he +could, on our arrival at Rouen, leave the car slowly and fearlessly. But +the lady? As soon as the door of the compartment should be opened, the +lady, now so quiet and humble, would scream and call for help. That was +the dilemma that perplexed me! Why had he not reduced her to a helpless +condition similar to mine? That would have given him ample time to +disappear before his double crime was discovered. + +He was still smoking, with his eyes fixed upon the window that was +now being streaked with drops of rain. Once he turned, picked up my +time-table, and consulted it. + +The lady had to feign a continued lack of consciousness in order to +deceive the enemy. But fits of coughing, provoked by the smoke, exposed +her true condition. As to me, I was very uncomfortable, and very tired. +And I meditated; I plotted. + +The train was rushing on, joyously, intoxicated with its own speed. + +Saint Etienne!....At that moment, the man arose and took two steps +toward us, which caused the lady to utter a cry of alarm and fall into +a genuine swoon. What was the man about to do? He lowered the window +on our side. A heavy rain was now falling, and, by a gesture, the man +expressed his annoyance at his not having an umbrella or an overcoat. He +glanced at the rack. The lady’s umbrella was there. He took it. He also +took my overcoat and put it on. + +We were now crossing the Seine. He turned up the bottoms of his +trousers, then leaned over and raised the exterior latch of the door. +Was he going to throw himself upon the track? At that speed, it would +have been instant death. We now entered a tunnel. The man opened the +door half-way and stood on the upper step. What folly! The darkness, the +smoke, the noise, all gave a fantastic appearance to his actions. But +suddenly, the train diminished its speed. A moment later it increased +its speed, then slowed up again. Probably, some repairs were being made +in that part of the tunnel which obliged the trains to diminish their +speed, and the man was aware of the fact. He immediately stepped down to +the lower step, closed the door behind him, and leaped to the ground. He +was gone. + +The lady immediately recovered her wits, and her first act was to lament +the loss of her jewels. I gave her an imploring look. She understood, +and quickly removed the gag that stifled me. She wished to untie the +cords that bound me, but I prevented her. + +“No, no, the police must see everything exactly as it stands. I want +them to see what the rascal did to us.” + +“Suppose I pull the alarm-bell?” + +“Too late. You should have done that when he made the attack on me.” + +“But he would have killed me. Ah! monsieur, didn’t I tell you that he +was on this train. I recognized him from his portrait. And now he has +gone off with my jewels.” + +“Don’t worry. The police will catch him.” + +“Catch Arsène Lupin! Never.” + +“That depends on you, madame. Listen. When we arrive at Rouen, be at the +door and call. Make a noise. The police and the railway employees will +come. Tell what you have seen: the assault made on me and the flight of +Arsène Lupin. Give a description of him--soft hat, umbrella--yours--gray +overcoat....” + +“Yours,” said she. + +“What! mine? Not at all. It was his. I didn’t have any.” + +“It seems to me he didn’t have one when he came in.” + +“Yes, yes.... unless the coat was one that some one had forgotten and +left in the rack. At all events, he had it when he went away, and that +is the essential point. A gray overcoat--remember!....Ah! I forgot. +You must tell your name, first thing you do. Your husband’s official +position will stimulate the zeal of the police.” + +We arrived at the station. I gave her some further instructions in a +rather imperious tone: + +“Tell them my name--Guillaume Berlat. If necessary, say that you know +me. That will save time. We must expedite the preliminary investigation. +The important thing is the pursuit of Arsène Lupin. Your jewels, +remember! Let there be no mistake. Guillaume Berlat, a friend of your +husband.” + +“I understand....Guillaume Berlat.” + +She was already calling and gesticulating. As soon as the train stopped, +several men entered the compartment. The critical moment had come. + +Panting for breath, the lady exclaimed: + +“Arsène Lupin.... he attacked us.... he stole my jewels....I am Madame +Renaud.... my husband is a director of the penitentiary service....Ah! +here is my brother, Georges Ardelle, director of the Crédit +Rouennais.... you must know....” + +She embraced a young man who had just joined us, and whom the commissary +saluted. Then she continued, weeping: + +“Yes, Arsène Lupin.... while monsieur was sleeping, he seized him by the +throat....Mon. Berlat, a friend of my husband.” + +The commissary asked: + +“But where is Arsène Lupin?” + +“He leaped from the train, when passing through the tunnel.” + +“Are you sure that it was he?” + +“Am I sure! I recognized him perfectly. Besides, he was seen at the +Saint-Lazare station. He wore a soft hat---” + +“No, a hard felt, like that,” said the commissary, pointing to my hat. + +“He had a soft hat, I am sure,” repeated Madame Renaud, “and a gray +overcoat.” + +“Yes, that is right,” replied the commissary, “the telegram says he wore +a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar.” + +“Exactly, a black velvet collar,” exclaimed Madame Renaud, triumphantly. + +I breathed freely. Ah! the excellent friend I had in that little woman. + +The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until they ran +blood. Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, an attitude +quite natural in a person who has remained for a long time in an +uncomfortable position, and whose mouth shows the bloody marks of the +gag, I addressed the commissary, in a weak voice: + +“Monsieur, it was Arsène Lupin. There is no doubt about that. If we make +haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of some service to you.” + +The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached from the +train to serve as a mute witness at the official investigation. The +train continued on its way to Havre. We were then conducted to the +station-master’s office through a crowd of curious spectators. + +Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under some pretext +or other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remain there was +dangerous. Something might happen; for instance, a telegram from Paris, +and I would be lost. + +Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in an +unfamiliar country, I could not hope to catch him. + +“Bah! I must make the attempt,” I said to myself. “It may be a difficult +game, but an amusing one, and the stake is well worth the trouble.” + +And when the commissary asked us to repeat the story of the robbery, I +exclaimed: + +“Monsieur, really, Arsène Lupin is getting the start of us. My +automobile is waiting in the courtyard. If you will be so kind as to use +it, we can try....” + +The commissary smiled, and replied: + +“The idea is a good one; so good, indeed, that it is already being +carried out. Two of my men have set out on bicycles. They have been gone +for some time.” + +“Where did they go?” + +“To the entrance of the tunnel. There, they will gather evidence, secure +witnesses, and follow on the track of Arsène Lupin.” + +I could not refrain from shrugging my shoulders, as I replied: + +“Your men will not secure any evidence or any witnesses.” + +“Really!” + +“Arsène Lupin will not allow anyone to see him emerge from the tunnel. +He will take the first road---” + +“To Rouen, where we will arrest him.” + +“He will not go to Rouen.” + +“Then he will remain in the vicinity, where his capture will be even +more certain.” + +“He will not remain in the vicinity.” + +“Oh! oh! And where will he hide?” + +I looked at my watch, and said: + +“At the present moment, Arsène Lupin is prowling around the station at +Darnétal. At ten fifty, that is, in twenty-two minutes from now, he will +take the train that goes from Rouen to Amiens.” + +“Do you think so? How do you know it?” + +“Oh! it is quite simple. While we were in the car, Arsène Lupin +consulted my railway guide. Why did he do it? Was there, not far from +the spot where he disappeared, another line of railway, a station +upon that line, and a train stopping at that station? On consulting my +railway guide, I found such to be the case.” + +“Really, monsieur,” said the commissary, “that is a marvelous deduction. +I congratulate you on your skill.” + +I was now convinced that I had made a mistake in displaying so much +cleverness. The commissary regarded me with astonishment, and I thought +a slight suspicion entered his official mind....Oh! scarcely that, for +the photographs distributed broadcast by the police department were too +imperfect; they presented an Arsène Lupin so different from the one he +had before him, that he could not possibly recognize me by it. But, all +the same, he was troubled, confused and ill-at-ease. + +“Mon Dieu! nothing stimulates the comprehension so much as the loss of a +pocketbook and the desire to recover it. And it seems to me that if you +will give me two of your men, we may be able....” + +“Oh! I beg of you, monsieur le commissaire,” cried Madame Renaud, +“listen to Mon. Berlat.” + +The intervention of my excellent friend was decisive. Pronounced by her, +the wife of an influential official, the name of Berlat became really +my own, and gave me an identity that no mere suspicion could affect. The +commissary arose, and said: + +“Believe me, Monsieur Berlat, I shall be delighted to see you succeed. I +am as much interested as you are in the arrest of Arsène Lupin.” + +He accompanied me to the automobile, and introduced two of his men, +Honoré Massol and Gaston Delivet, who were assigned to assist me. My +chauffer cranked up the car and I took my place at the wheel. A few +seconds later, we left the station. I was saved. + +Ah! I must confess that in rolling over the boulevards that surrounded +the old Norman city, in my swift thirty-five horse-power Moreau-Lepton, +I experienced a deep feeling of pride, and the motor responded, +sympathetically to my desires. At right and left, the trees flew past +us with startling rapidity, and I, free, out of danger, had simply to +arrange my little personal affairs with the two honest representatives +of the Rouen police who were sitting behind me. Arsène Lupin was going +in search of Arsène Lupin! + +Modest guardians of social order--Gaston Delivet and Honoré Massol--how +valuable was your assistance! What would I have done without you? +Without you, many times, at the cross-roads, I might have taken the +wrong route! Without you, Arsène Lupin would have made a mistake, and +the other would have escaped! + +But the end was not yet. Far from it. I had yet to capture the thief and +recover the stolen papers. Under no circumstances must my two acolytes +be permitted to see those papers, much less to seize them. That was a +point that might give me some difficulty. + +We arrived at Darnétal three minutes after the departure of the train. +True, I had the consolation of learning that a man wearing a gray +overcoat with a black velvet collar had taken the train at the station. +He had bought a second-class ticket for Amiens. Certainly, my début as +detective was a promising one. + +Delivet said to me: + +“The train is express, and the next stop is Montérolier-Buchy in +nineteen minutes. If we do not reach there before Arsène Lupin, he can +proceed to Amiens, or change for the train going to Clères, and, from +that point, reach Dieppe or Paris.” + +“How far to Montérolier?” + +“Twenty-three kilometres.” + +“Twenty-three kilometres in nineteen minutes....We will be there ahead +of him.” + +We were off again! Never had my faithful Moreau-Repton responded to +my impatience with such ardor and regularity. It participated in my +anxiety. It indorsed my determination. It comprehended my animosity +against that rascally Arsène Lupin. The knave! The traitor! + +“Turn to the right,” cried Delivet, “then to the left.” + +We fairly flew, scarcely touching the ground. The mile-stones looked +like little timid beasts that vanished at our approach. Suddenly, at a +turn of the road, we saw a vortex of smoke. It was the Northern Express. +For a kilometre, it was a struggle, side by side, but an unequal +struggle in which the issue was certain. We won the race by twenty +lengths. + +In three seconds we were on the platform standing before the +second-class carriages. The doors were opened, and some passengers +alighted, but not my thief. We made a search through the compartments. +No sign of Arsène Lupin. + +“Sapristi!” I cried, “he must have recognized me in the automobile as we +were racing, side by side, and he leaped from the train.” + +“Ah! there he is now! crossing the track.” + +I started in pursuit of the man, followed by my two acolytes, or rather +followed by one of them, for the other, Massol, proved himself to be a +runner of exceptional speed and endurance. In a few moments, he had made +an appreciable gain upon the fugitive. The man noticed it, leaped over +a hedge, scampered across a meadow, and entered a thick grove. When we +reached this grove, Massol was waiting for us. He went no farther, for +fear of losing us. + +“Quite right, my dear friend,” I said. “After such a run, our victim +must be out of wind. We will catch him now.” + +I examined the surroundings with the idea of proceeding alone in the +arrest of the fugitive, in order to recover my papers, concerning which +the authorities would doubtless ask many disagreeable questions. Then I +returned to my companions, and said: + +“It is all quite easy. You, Massol, take your place at the left; you, +Delivet, at the right. From there, you can observe the entire posterior +line of the bush, and he cannot escape without you seeing him, except by +that ravine, and I shall watch it. If he does not come out voluntarily, +I will enter and drive him out toward one or the other of you. You have +simply to wait. Ah! I forgot: in case I need you, a pistol shot.” + +Massol and Delivet walked away to their respective posts. As soon as +they had disappeared, I entered the grove with the greatest precaution +so as to be neither seen nor heard. I encountered dense thickets, +through which narrow paths had been cut, but the overhanging boughs +compelled me to adopt a stooping posture. One of these paths led to a +clearing in which I found footsteps upon the wet grass. I followed them; +they led me to the foot of a mound which was surmounted by a deserted, +dilapidated hovel. + +“He must be there,” I said to myself. “It is a well-chosen retreat.” + +I crept cautiously to the side of the building. A slight noise informed +me that he was there; and, then, through an opening, I saw him. His back +was turned toward me. In two bounds, I was upon him. He tried to fire +a revolver that he held in his hand. But he had no time. I threw him to +the ground, in such a manner that his arms were beneath him, twisted and +helpless, whilst I held him down with my knee on his breast. + +“Listen, my boy,” I whispered in his ear. “I am Arsène Lupin. You are +to deliver over to me, immediately and gracefully, my pocketbook and the +lady’s jewels, and, in return therefore, I will save you from the police +and enroll you amongst my friends. One word: yes or no?” + +“Yes,” he murmured. + +“Very good. Your escape, this morning, was well planned. I congratulate +you.” + +I arose. He fumbled in his pocket, drew out a large knife and tried to +strike me with it. + +“Imbecile!” I exclaimed. + +With one hand, I parried the attack; with the other, I gave him a sharp +blow on the carotid artery. He fell--stunned! + +In my pocketbook, I recovered my papers and bank-notes. Out of +curiosity, I took his. Upon an envelope, addressed to him, I read his +name: Pierre Onfrey. It startled me. Pierre Onfrey, the assassin of the +rue Lafontaine at Auteuil! Pierre Onfrey, he who had cut the throats of +Madame Delbois and her two daughters. I leaned over him. Yes, those were +the features which, in the compartment, had evoked in me the memory of a +face I could not then recall. + +But time was passing. I placed in an envelope two bank-notes of one +hundred francs each, with a card bearing these words: “Arsène Lupin +to his worthy colleagues Honoré Massol and Gaston Delivet, as a slight +token of his gratitude.” I placed it in a prominent spot in the room, +where they would be sure to find it. Beside it, I placed Madame Renaud’s +handbag. Why could I not return it to the lady who had befriended me? +I must confess that I had taken from it everything that possessed any +interest or value, leaving there only a shell comb, a stick of rouge +Dorin for the lips, and an empty purse. But, you know, business +is business. And then, really, her husband is engaged in such a +dishonorable vocation! + +The man was becoming conscious. What was I to do? I was unable to save +him or condemn him. So I took his revolver and fired a shot in the air. + +“My two acolytes will come and attend to his case,” I said to myself, as +I hastened away by the road through the ravine. Twenty minutes later, I +was seated in my automobile. + +At four o’clock, I telegraphed to my friends at Rouen that an unexpected +event would prevent me from making my promised visit. Between ourselves, +considering what my friends must now know, my visit is postponed +indefinitely. A cruel disillusion for them! + +At six o’clock I was in Paris. The evening newspapers informed me that +Pierre Onfrey had been captured at last. + +Next day,--let us not despise the advantages of judicious +advertising,--the _Echo de France_ published this sensational item: + +“Yesterday, near Buchy, after numerous exciting incidents, Arsène Lupin +effected the arrest of Pierre Onfrey. The assassin of the rue Lafontaine +had robbed Madame Renaud, wife of the director in the penitentiary +service, in a railway carriage on the Paris-Havre line. Arsène Lupin +restored to Madame Renaud the hand-bag that contained her jewels, and +gave a generous recompense to the two detectives who had assisted him in +making that dramatic arrest.” + + + + +V. The Queen’s Necklace + + +Two or three times each year, on occasions of unusual importance, +such as the balls at the Austrian Embassy or the soirées of Lady +Billingstone, the Countess de Dreux-Soubise wore upon her white +shoulders “The Queen’s Necklace.” + +It was, indeed, the famous necklace, the legendary necklace that +Bohmer and Bassenge, court jewelers, had made for Madame Du Barry; the +veritable necklace that the Cardinal de Rohan-Soubise intended to give +to Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France; and the same that the adventuress +Jeanne de Valois, Countess de la Motte, had pulled to pieces one evening +in February, 1785, with the aid of her husband and their accomplice, +Rétaux de Villette. + +To tell the truth, the mounting alone was genuine. Rétaux de Villette +had kept it, whilst the Count de la Motte and his wife scattered to the +four winds of heaven the beautiful stones so carefully chosen by Bohmer. +Later, he sold the mounting to Gaston de Dreux-Soubise, nephew and heir +of the Cardinal, who re-purchased the few diamonds that remained in +the possession of the English jeweler, Jeffreys; supplemented them with +other stones of the same size but of much inferior quality, and thus +restored the marvelous necklace to the form in which it had come from +the hands of Bohmer and Bassenge. + +For nearly a century, the house of Dreux-Soubise had prided itself upon +the possession of this historic jewel. Although adverse circumstances +had greatly reduced their fortune, they preferred to curtail their +household expenses rather than part with this relic of royalty. More +particularly, the present count clung to it as a man clings to the +home of his ancestors. As a matter of prudence, he had rented a +safety-deposit box at the Crédit Lyonnais in which to keep it. He went +for it himself on the afternoon of the day on which his wife wished to +wear it, and he, himself, carried it back next morning. + +On this particular evening, at the reception given at the Palais +de Castille, the Countess achieved a remarkable success; and King +Christian, in whose honor the fête was given, commented on her grace +and beauty. The thousand facets of the diamond sparkled and shone like +flames of fire about her shapely neck and shoulders, and it is safe to +say that none but she could have borne the weight of such an ornament +with so much ease and grace. + +This was a double triumph, and the Count de Dreux was highly elated +when they returned to their chamber in the old house of the faubourg +Saint-Germain. He was proud of his wife, and quite as proud, perhaps, +of the necklace that had conferred added luster to his noble house +for generations. His wife, also, regarded the necklace with an almost +childish vanity, and it was not without regret that she removed it +from her shoulders and handed it to her husband who admired it as +passionately as if he had never seen it before. Then, having placed it +in its case of red leather, stamped with the Cardinal’s arms, he passed +into an adjoining room which was simply an alcove or cabinet that had +been cut off from their chamber, and which could be entered only by +means of a door at the foot of their bed. As he had done on previous +occasions, he hid it on a high shelf amongst hat-boxes and piles of +linen. He closed the door, and retired. + +Next morning, he arose about nine o’clock, intending to go to the Crédit +Lyonnais before breakfast. He dressed, drank a cup of coffee, and went +to the stables to give his orders. The condition of one of the horses +worried him. He caused it to be exercised in his presence. Then he +returned to his wife, who had not yet left the chamber. Her maid was +dressing her hair. When her husband entered, she asked: + +“Are you going out?” + +“Yes, as far as the bank.” + +“Of course. That is wise.” + +He entered the cabinet; but, after a few seconds, and without any sign +of astonishment, he asked: + +“Did you take it, my dear?” + +“What?....No, I have not taken anything.” + +“You must have moved it.” + +“Not at all. I have not even opened that door.” + +He appeared at the door, disconcerted, and stammered, in a scarcely +intelligible voice: + +“You haven’t....It wasn’t you?....Then....” + +She hastened to his assistance, and, together, they made a thorough +search, throwing the boxes to the floor and overturning the piles of +linen. Then the count said, quite discouraged: + +“It is useless to look any more. I put it here, on this shelf.” + +“You must be mistaken.” + +“No, no, it was on this shelf--nowhere else.” + +They lighted a candle, as the room was quite dark, and then carried out +all the linen and other articles that the room contained. And, when the +room was emptied, they confessed, in despair, that the famous necklace +had disappeared. Without losing time in vain lamentations, the countess +notified the commissary of police, Mon. Valorbe, who came at once, and, +after hearing their story, inquired of the count: + +“Are you sure that no one passed through your chamber during the night?” + +“Absolutely sure, as I am a very light sleeper. Besides, the chamber +door was bolted, and I remember unbolting it this morning when my wife +rang for her maid.” + +“And there is no other entrance to the cabinet?” + +“None.” + +“No windows?” + +“Yes, but it is closed up.” + +“I will look at it.” + +Candles were lighted, and Mon. Valorbe observed at once that the lower +half of the window was covered by a large press which was, however, so +narrow that it did not touch the casement on either side. + +“On what does this window open?” + +“A small inner court.” + +“And you have a floor above this?” + +“Two; but, on a level with the servant’s floor, there is a close grating +over the court. That is why this room is so dark.” + +When the press was moved, they found that the window was fastened, which +would not have been the case if anyone had entered that way. + +“Unless,” said the count, “they went out through our chamber.” + +“In that case, you would have found the door unbolted.” + +The commissary considered the situation for a moment, then asked the +countess: + +“Did any of your servants know that you wore the necklace last evening?” + +“Certainly; I didn’t conceal the fact. But nobody knew that it was +hidden in that cabinet.” + +“No one?” + +“No one.... unless....” + +“Be quite sure, madam, as it is a very important point.” + +She turned to her husband, and said: + +“I was thinking of Henriette.” + +“Henriette? She didn’t know where we kept it.” + +“Are you sure?” + +“Who is this woman Henriette?” asked Mon. Valorbe. + +“A school-mate, who was disowned by her family for marrying beneath her. +After her husband’s death, I furnished an apartment in this house for +her and her son. She is clever with her needle and has done some work +for me.” + +“What floor is she on?” + +“Same as ours.... at the end of the corridor.... and I think.... the +window of her kitchen....” + +“Opens on this little court, does it not?” + +“Yes, just opposite ours.” + +Mon. Valorbe then asked to see Henriette. They went to her apartment; +she was sewing, whilst her son Raoul, about six years old, was sitting +beside her, reading. The commissary was surprised to see the wretched +apartment that had been provided for the woman. It consisted of one room +without a fireplace, and a very small room that served as a kitchen. The +commissary proceeded to question her. She appeared to be overwhelmed on +learning of the theft. Last evening she had herself dressed the countess +and placed the necklace upon her shoulders. + +“Good God!” she exclaimed, “it can’t be possible!” + +“And you have no idea? Not the least suspicion? Is it possible that the +thief may have passed through your room?” + +She laughed heartily, never supposing that she could be an object of +suspicion. + +“But I have not left my room. I never go out. And, perhaps, you have not +seen?” + +She opened the kitchen window, and said: + +“See, it is at least three metres to the ledge of the opposite window.” + +“Who told you that we supposed the theft might have been committed in +that way?” + +“But.... the necklace was in the cabinet, wasn’t it?” + +“How do you know that?” + +“Why, I have always known that it was kept there at night. It had been +mentioned in my presence.” + +Her face, though still young, bore unmistakable traces of sorrow and +resignation. And it now assumed an expression of anxiety as if some +danger threatened her. She drew her son toward her. The child took her +hand, and kissed it affectionately. + +When they were alone again, the count said to the commissary: + +“I do not suppose you suspect Henriette. I can answer for her. She is +honesty itself.” + +“I quite agree with you,” replied Mon. Valorbe. “At most, I thought +there might have been an unconscious complicity. But I confess that even +that theory must be abandoned, as it does not help solve the problem now +before us.” + +The commissary of police abandoned the investigation, which was now +taken up and completed by the examining judge. He questioned the +servants, examined the condition of the bolt, experimented with the +opening and closing of the cabinet window, and explored the little court +from top to bottom. All was in vain. The bolt was intact. The window +could not be opened or closed from the outside. + +The inquiries especially concerned Henriette, for, in spite of +everything, they always turned in her direction. They made a thorough +investigation of her past life, and ascertained that, during the last +three years, she had left the house only four times, and her business, +on those occasions, was satisfactorily explained. As a matter of fact, +she acted as chambermaid and seamstress to the countess, who treated her +with great strictness and even severity. + +At the end of a week, the examining judge had secured no more definite +information than the commissary of police. The judge said: + +“Admitting that we know the guilty party, which we do not, we are +confronted by the fact that we do not know how the theft was +committed. We are brought face to face with two obstacles: a door and a +window--both closed and fastened. It is thus a double mystery. How could +anyone enter, and, moreover, how could any one escape, leaving behind +him a bolted door and a fastened window?” + +At the end of four months, the secret opinion of the judge was that the +count and countess, being hard pressed for money, which was their normal +condition, had sold the Queen’s Necklace. He closed the investigation. + +The loss of the famous jewel was a severe blow to the Dreux-Soubise. +Their credit being no longer propped up by the reserve fund that such a +treasure constituted, they found themselves confronted by more exacting +creditors and money-lenders. They were obliged to cut down to the quick, +to sell or mortgage every article that possessed any commercial value. +In brief, it would have been their ruin, if two large legacies from some +distant relatives had not saved them. + +Their pride also suffered a downfall, as if they had lost a quartering +from their escutcheon. And, strange to relate, it was upon her former +schoolmate, Henriette, that the countess vented her spleen. Toward +her, the countess displayed the most spiteful feelings, and even openly +accused her. First, Henriette was relegated to the servants’ quarters, +and, next day, discharged. + +For some time, the count and countess passed an uneventful life. They +traveled a great deal. Only one incident of record occurred during that +period. Some months after the departure of Henriette, the countess was +surprised when she received and read the following letter, signed by +Henriette: + +“Madame,” + +“I do not know how to thank you; for it was you, was it not, +who sent me that? It could not have been anyone else. No one but you +knows where I live. If I am wrong, excuse me, and accept my sincere +thanks for your past favors....” + +What did the letter mean? The present or past favors of the countess +consisted principally of injustice and neglect. Why, then, this letter +of thanks? + +When asked for an explanation, Henriette replied that she had received +a letter, through the mails, enclosing two bank-notes of one thousand +francs each. The envelope, which she enclosed with her reply, bore the +Paris post-mark, and was addressed in a handwriting that was obviously +disguised. Now, whence came those two thousand francs? Who had sent +them? And why had they sent them? + +Henriette received a similar letter and a like sum of money twelve +months later. And a third time; and a fourth; and each year for a period +of six years, with this difference, that in the fifth and sixth years +the sum was doubled. There was another difference: the post-office +authorities having seized one of the letters under the pretext that it +was not registered, the last two letters were duly sent according to the +postal regulations, the first dated from Saint-Germain, the other from +Suresnes. The writer signed the first one, “Anquety”; and the other, +“Péchard.” The addresses that he gave were false. + +At the end of six years, Henriette died, and the mystery remained +unsolved. + +* * * * * + +All these events are known to the public. The case was one of those +which excite public interest, and it was a strange coincidence that this +necklace, which had caused such a great commotion in France at the close +of the eighteenth century, should create a similar commotion a century +later. But what I am about to relate is known only to the parties +directly interested and a few others from whom the count exacted a +promise of secrecy. As it is probable that some day or other that +promise will be broken, I have no hesitation in rending the veil and +thus disclosing the key to the mystery, the explanation of the letter +published in the morning papers two days ago; an extraordinary letter +which increased, if possible, the mists and shadows that envelope this +inscrutable drama. + +Five days ago, a number of guests were dining with the Count de +Dreux-Soubise. There were several ladies present, including his two +nieces and his cousin, and the following gentlemen: the president of +Essaville, the deputy Bochas, the chevalier Floriani, whom the count had +known in Sicily, and General Marquis de Rouzières, an old club friend. + +After the repast, coffee was served by the ladies, who gave the +gentlemen permission to smoke their cigarettes, provided they would not +desert the salon. The conversation was general, and finally one of the +guests chanced to speak of celebrated crimes. And that gave the Marquis +de Rouzières, who delighted to tease the count, an opportunity to +mention the affair of the Queen’s Necklace, a subject that the count +detested. + +Each one expressed his own opinion of the affair; and, of course, their +various theories were not only contradictory but impossible. + +“And you, monsieur,” said the countess to the chevalier Floriani, “what +is your opinion?” + +“Oh! I--I have no opinion, madame.” + +All the guests protested; for the chevalier had just related in an +entertaining manner various adventures in which he had participated with +his father, a magistrate at Palermo, and which established his judgment +and taste in such manners. + +“I confess,” said he, “I have sometimes succeeded in unraveling +mysteries that the cleverest detectives have renounced; yet I do not +claim to be Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, I know very little about the +affair of the Queen’s Necklace.” + +Everybody now turned to the count, who was thus obliged, quite +unwillingly, to narrate all the circumstances connected with the theft. +The chevalier listened, reflected, asked a few questions, and said: + +“It is very strange.... at first sight, the problem appears to be a very +simple one.” + +The count shrugged his shoulders. The others drew closer to the +chevalier, who continued, in a dogmatic tone: + +“As a general rule, in order to find the author of a crime or a theft, +it is necessary to determine how that crime or theft was committed, or, +at least, how it could have been committed. In the present case, nothing +is more simple, because we are face to face, not with several theories, +but with one positive fact, that is to say: the thief could only enter +by the chamber door or the window of the cabinet. Now, a person cannot +open a bolted door from the outside. Therefore, he must have entered +through the window.” + +“But it was closed and fastened, and we found it fastened afterward,” + declared the count. + +“In order to do that,” continued Floriani, without heeding the +interruption, “he had simply to construct a bridge, a plank or a ladder, +between the balcony of the kitchen and the ledge of the window, and as +the jewel-case---” + +“But I repeat that the window was fastened,” exclaimed the count, +impatiently. + +This time, Floriani was obliged to reply. He did so with the greatest +tranquility, as if the objection was the most insignificant affair in +the world. + +“I will admit that it was; but is there not a transom in the upper part +of the window?” + +“How do you know that?” + +“In the first place, that was customary in houses of that date; and, +in the second place, without such a transom, the theft cannot be +explained.” + +“Yes, there is one, but it was closed, the same as the window. +Consequently, we did not pay attention to it.” + +“That was a mistake; for, if you had examined it, you would have found +that it had been opened.” + +“But how?” + +“I presume that, like all others, it opens by means of a wire with a +ring on the lower end.” + +“Yes, but I do not see---” + +“Now, through a hole in the window, a person could, by the aid of some +instrument, let us say a poker with a hook at the end, grip the ring, +pull down, and open the transom.” + +The count laughed and said: + +“Excellent! excellent! Your scheme is very cleverly constructed, but you +overlook one thing, monsieur, there is no hole in the window.” + +“There was a hole.” + +“Nonsense, we would have seen it.” + +“In order to see it, you must look for it, and no one has looked. The +hole is there; it must be there, at the side of the window, in the +putty. In a vertical direction, of course.” + +The count arose. He was greatly excited. He paced up and down the room, +two or three times, in a nervous manner; then, approaching Floriani, +said: + +“Nobody has been in that room since; nothing has been changed.” + +“Very well, monsieur, you can easily satisfy yourself that my +explanation is correct.” + +“It does not agree with the facts established by the examining judge. +You have seen nothing, and yet you contradict all that we have seen and +all that we know.” + +Floriani paid no attention to the count’s petulance. He simply smiled +and said: + +“Mon Dieu, monsieur, I submit my theory; that is all. If I am mistaken, +you can easily prove it.” + +“I will do so at once....I confess that your assurance---” + +The count muttered a few more words; then suddenly rushed to the door +and passed out. Not a word was uttered in his absence; and this profound +silence gave the situation an air of almost tragic importance. Finally, +the count returned. He was pale and nervous. He said to his friends, in +a trembling voice: + +“I beg your pardon.... the revelations of the chevalier were so +unexpected....I should never have thought....” + +His wife questioned him, eagerly: + +“Speak.... what is it?” + +He stammered: “The hole is there, at the very spot, at the side of the +window---” + +He seized the chevalier’s arm, and said to him in an imperious tone: + +“Now, monsieur, proceed. I admit that you are right so far, but +now.... that is not all.... go on.... tell us the rest of it.” + +Floriani disengaged his arm gently, and, after a moment, continued: + +“Well, in my opinion, this is what happened. The thief, knowing that the +countess was going to wear the necklace that evening, had prepared his +gangway or bridge during your absence. He watched you through the window +and saw you hide the necklace. Afterward, he cut the glass and pulled +the ring.” + +“Ah! but the distance was so great that it would be impossible for him +to reach the window-fastening through the transom.” + +“Well, then, if he could not open the window by reaching through the +transom, he must have crawled through the transom.” + +“Impossible; it is too small. No man could crawl through it.” + +“Then it was not a man,” declared Floriani. + +“What!” + +“If the transom is too small to admit a man, it must have been a child.” + +“A child!” + +“Did you not say that your friend Henriette had a son?” + +“Yes; a son named Raoul.” + +“Then, in all probability, it was Raoul who committed the theft.” + +“What proof have you of that?” + +“What proof! Plenty of it....For instance---” + +He stopped, and reflected for a moment, then continued: + +“For instance, that gangway or bridge. It is improbable that the child +could have brought it in from outside the house and carried it away +again without being observed. He must have used something close at hand. +In the little room used by Henriette as a kitchen, were there not some +shelves against the wall on which she placed her pans and dishes?” + +“Two shelves, to the best of my memory.” + +“Are you sure that those shelves are really fastened to the wooden +brackets that support them? For, if they are not, we could be justified +in presuming that the child removed them, fastened them together, and +thus formed his bridge. Perhaps, also, since there was a stove, we might +find the bent poker that he used to open the transom.” + +Without saying a word, the count left the room; and, this time, those +present did not feel the nervous anxiety they had experienced the +first time. They were confident that Floriani was right, and no one was +surprised when the count returned and declared: + +“It was the child. Everything proves it.” + +“You have seen the shelves and the poker?” + +“Yes. The shelves have been unnailed, and the poker is there yet.” + +But the countess exclaimed: + +“You had better say it was his mother. Henriette is the guilty party. +She must have compelled her son---” + +“No,” declared the chevalier, “the mother had nothing to do with it.” + +“Nonsense! they occupied the same room. The child could not have done it +without the mother’s knowledge.” + +“True, they lived in the same room, but all this happened in the +adjoining room, during the night, while the mother was asleep.” + +“And the necklace?” said the count. “It would have been found amongst +the child’s things.” + +“Pardon me! He had been out. That morning, on which you found him +reading, he had just come from school, and perhaps the commissary of +police, instead of wasting his time on the innocent mother, would +have been better employed in searching the child’s desk amongst his +school-books.” + +“But how do you explain those two thousand francs that Henriette +received each year? Are they not evidence of her complicity?” + +“If she had been an accomplice, would she have thanked you for that +money? And then, was she not closely watched? But the child, being free, +could easily go to a neighboring city, negotiate with some dealer and +sell him one diamond or two diamonds, as he might wish, upon condition +that the money should be sent from Paris, and that proceeding could be +repeated from year to year.” + +An indescribable anxiety oppressed the Dreux-Soubise and their guests. +There was something in the tone and attitude of Floriani--something more +than the chevalier’s assurance which, from the beginning, had so annoyed +the count. There was a touch of irony, that seemed rather hostile than +sympathetic. But the count affected to laugh, as he said: + +“All that is very ingenious and interesting, and I congratulate you upon +your vivid imagination.” + +“No, not at all,” replied Floriani, with the utmost gravity, “I imagine +nothing. I simply describe the events as they must have occurred.” + +“But what do you know about them?” + +“What you yourself have told me. I picture to myself the life of the +mother and child down there in the country; the illness of the mother, +the schemes of and inventions of the child to sell the precious stones in +order to save his mother’s life, or, at least, soothe her dying moments. +Her illness overcomes her. She dies. Years roll on. The child becomes +a man; and then--and now I will give my imagination a free rein--let +us suppose that the man feels a desire to return to the home of his +childhood, that he does so, and that he meets there certain people who +suspect and accuse his mother.... do you realize the sorrow and anguish +of such an interview in the very house wherein the original drama was +played?” + +His words seemed to echo for a few seconds in the ensuing silence, +and one could read upon the faces of the Count and Countess de Dreux a +bewildered effort to comprehend his meaning and, at the same time, the +fear and anguish of such a comprehension. The count spoke at last, and +said: + +“Who are you, monsieur?” + +“I? The chevalier Floriani, whom you met at Palermo, and whom you have +been gracious enough to invite to your house on several occasions.” + +“Then what does this story mean?” + +“Oh! nothing at all! It is simply a pastime, so far as I am concerned. I +endeavor to depict the pleasure that Henriette’s son, if he still lives, +would have in telling you that he was the guilty party, and that he did +it because his mother was unhappy, as she was on the point of losing +the place of a.... servant, by which she lived, and because the child +suffered at sight of his mother’s sorrow.” + +He spoke with suppressed emotion, rose partially and inclined toward +the countess. There could be no doubt that the chevalier Floriani was +Henriette’s son. His attitude and words proclaimed it. Besides, was it +not his obvious intention and desire to be recognized as such? + +The count hesitated. What action would he take against the audacious +guest? Ring? Provoke a scandal? Unmask the man who had once robbed him? +But that was a long time ago! And who would believe that absurd story +about the guilty child? No; better far to accept the situation, and +pretend not to comprehend the true meaning of it. So the count, turning +to Floriani, exclaimed: + +“Your story is very curious, very entertaining; I enjoyed it much. But +what do you think has become of this young man, this model son? I +hope he has not abandoned the career in which he made such a brilliant +début.” + +“Oh! certainly not.” + +“After such a début! To steal the Queen’s Necklace at six years of age; +the celebrated necklace that was coveted by Marie-Antoinette!” + +“And to steal it,” remarked Floriani, falling in with the count’s mood, +“without costing him the slightest trouble, without anyone thinking to +examine the condition of the window, or to observe that the window-sill +was too clean--that window-sill which he had wiped in order to efface +the marks he had made in the thick dust. We must admit that it was +sufficient to turn the head of a boy at that age. It was all so easy. He +had simply to desire the thing, and reach out his hand to get it.” + +“And he reached out his hand.” + +“Both hands,” replied the chevalier, laughing. + +His companions received a shock. What mystery surrounded the life of +the so-called Floriani? How wonderful must have been the life of that +adventurer, a thief at six years of age, and who, to-day, in search of +excitement or, at most, to gratify a feeling of resentment, had come to +brave his victim in her own house, audaciously, foolishly, and yet with +all the grace and delicacy of a courteous guest! + +He arose and approached the countess to bid her adieu. She recoiled, +unconsciously. He smiled. + +“Oh! Madame, you are afraid of me! Did I pursue my role of +parlor-magician a step too far?” + +She controlled herself, and replied, with her accustomed ease: + +“Not at all, monsieur. The legend of that dutiful son interested me very +much, and I am pleased to know that my necklace had such a brilliant +destiny. But do you not think that the son of that woman, that +Henriette, was the victim of hereditary influence in the choice of his +vocation?” + +He shuddered, feeling the point, and replied: + +“I am sure of it; and, moreover, his natural tendency to crime must have +been very strong or he would have been discouraged.” + +“Why so?” + +“Because, as you must know, the majority of the diamonds were false. The +only genuine stones were the few purchased from the English jeweler, the +others having been sold, one by one, to meet the cruel necessities of +life.” + +“It was still the Queen’s Necklace, monsieur,” replied the countess, +haughtily, “and that is something that he, Henriette’s son, could not +appreciate.” + +“He was able to appreciate, madame, that, whether true or false, +the necklace was nothing more that an object of parade, an emblem of +senseless pride.” + +The count made a threatening gesture, but his wife stopped him. + +“Monsieur,” she said, “if the man to whom you allude has the slightest +sense of honor---” + +She stopped, intimidated by Floriani’s cool manner. + +“If that man has the slightest sense of honor,” he repeated. + +She felt that she would not gain anything by speaking to him in that +manner, and in spite of her anger and indignation, trembling as she was +from humiliated pride, she said to him, almost politely: + +“Monsieur, the legend says that Rétaux de Villette, when in possession +of the Queen’s Necklace, did not disfigure the mounting. He understood +that the diamonds were simply the ornament, the accessory, and that +the mounting was the essential work, the creation of the artist, and +he respected it accordingly. Do you think that this man had the same +feeling?” + +“I have no doubt that the mounting still exists. The child respected +it.” + +“Well, monsieur, if you should happen to meet him, will you tell him +that he unjustly keeps possession of a relic that is the property and +pride of a certain family, and that, although the stones have +been removed, the Queen’s necklace still belongs to the house of +Dreux-Soubise. It belongs to us as much as our name or our honor.” + +The chevalier replied, simply: + +“I shall tell him, madame.” + +He bowed to her, saluted the count and the other guests, and departed. + +* * * * * + +Four days later, the countess de Dreux found upon the table in her +chamber a red leather case bearing the cardinal’s arms. She opened it, +and found the Queen’s Necklace. + +But as all things must, in the life of a man who strives for unity and +logic, converge toward the same goal--and as a little advertising never +does any harm--on the following day, the _Echo de France_ published +these sensational lines: + +“The Queen’s Necklace, the famous historical jewelry stolen from +the family of Dreux-Soubise, has been recovered by Arsène Lupin, who +hastened to restore it to its rightful owner. We cannot too highly +commend such a delicate and chivalrous act.” + + + + +VI. The Seven of Hearts + + +I am frequently asked this question: “How did you make the acquaintance +of Arsène Lupin?” + +My connection with Arsène Lupin was well known. The details that I +gather concerning that mysterious man, the irrefutable facts that I +present, the new evidence that I produce, the interpretation that I +place on certain acts of which the public has seen only the exterior +manifestations without being able to discover the secret reasons or +the invisible mechanism, all establish, if not an intimacy, at least +amicable relations and regular confidences. + +But how did I make his acquaintance? Why was I selected to be his +historiographer? Why I, and not some one else? + +The answer is simple: chance alone presided over my choice; my merit was +not considered. It was chance that put me in his way. It was by chance +that I was participant in one of his strangest and most mysterious +adventures; and by chance that I was an actor in a drama of which he was +the marvelous stage director; an obscure and intricate drama, bristling +with such thrilling events that I feel a certain embarrassment in +undertaking to describe it. + +The first act takes place during that memorable night of 22 June, of +which so much has already been said. And, for my part, I attribute the +anomalous conduct of which I was guilty on that occasion to the unusual +frame of mind in which I found myself on my return home. I had dined +with some friends at the Cascade restaurant, and, the entire evening, +whilst we smoked and the orchestra played melancholy waltzes, we talked +only of crimes and thefts, and dark and frightful intrigues. That is +always a poor overture to a night’s sleep. + +The Saint-Martins went away in an automobile. Jean Daspry--that +delightful, heedless Daspry who, six months later, was killed in such a +tragic manner on the frontier of Morocco--Jean Daspry and I returned +on foot through the dark, warm night. When we arrived in front of +the little house in which I had lived for a year at Neuilly, on the +boulevard Maillot, he said to me: + +“Are you afraid?” + +“What an idea!” + +“But this house is so isolated.... no neighbors.... vacant lots....Really, +I am not a coward, and yet---” + +“Well, you are very cheering, I must say.” + +“Oh! I say that as I would say anything else. The Saint-Martins have +impressed me with their stories of brigands and thieves.” + +We shook hands and said good-night. I took out my key and opened the +door. + +“Well, that is good,” I murmured, “Antoine has forgotten to light a +candle.” + +Then I recalled the fact that Antoine was away; I had given him a +short leave of absence. Forthwith, I was disagreeably oppressed by the +darkness and silence of the night. I ascended the stairs on tiptoe, +and reached my room as quickly as possible; then, contrary to my usual +habit, I turned the key and pushed the bolt. + +The light of my candle restored my courage. Yet I was careful to take my +revolver from its case--a large, powerful weapon--and place it beside +my bed. That precaution completed my reassurance. I laid down and, as +usual, took a book from my night-table to read myself to sleep. Then I +received a great surprise. Instead of the paper-knife with which I had +marked my place on the preceding, I found an envelope, closed with +five seals of red wax. I seized it eagerly. It was addressed to me, and +marked: “Urgent.” + +A letter! A letter addressed to me! Who could have put it in that place? +Nervously, I tore open the envelope, and read: + +“From the moment you open this letter, whatever happens, whatever you +may hear, do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise you are doomed.” + +I am not a coward, and, quite as well as another, I can face real +danger, or smile at the visionary perils of imagination. But, let me +repeat, I was in an anomalous condition of mind, with my nerves set on +edge by the events of the evening. Besides, was there not, in my present +situation, something startling and mysterious, calculated to disturb the +most courageous spirit? + +My feverish fingers clutched the sheet of paper, and I read and re-read +those threatening words: “Do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise, +you are doomed.” + +“Nonsense!” I thought. “It is a joke; the work of some cheerful idiot.” + +I was about to laugh--a good loud laugh. Who prevented me? What haunting +fear compressed my throat? + +At least, I would blow out the candle. No, I could not do it. “Do not +move, or you are doomed,” were the words he had written. + +These auto-suggestions are frequently more imperious than the most +positive realities; but why should I struggle against them? I had simply +to close my eyes. I did so. + +At that moment, I heard a slight noise, followed by crackling sounds, +proceeding from a large room used by me as a library. A small room or +antechamber was situated between the library and my bedchamber. + +The approach of an actual danger greatly excited me, and I felt a desire +to get up, seize my revolver, and rush into the library. I did not rise; +I saw one of the curtains of the left window move. There was no doubt +about it: the curtain had moved. It was still moving. And I saw--oh! I +saw quite distinctly--in the narrow space between the curtains and the +window, a human form; a bulky mass that prevented the curtains from +hanging straight. And it is equally certain that the man saw me through +the large meshes of the curtain. Then, I understood the situation. +His mission was to guard me while the others carried away their booty. +Should I rise and seize my revolver? Impossible! He was there! At the +least movement, at the least cry, I was doomed. + +Then came a terrific noise that shook the house; this was followed +by lighter sounds, two or three together, like those of a hammer that +rebounded. At least, that was the impression formed in my confused +brain. These were mingled with other sounds, thus creating a veritable +uproar which proved that the intruders were not only bold, but felt +themselves secure from interruption. + +They were right. I did not move. Was it cowardice? No, rather weakness, +a total inability to move any portion of my body, combined with +discretion; for why should I struggle? Behind that man, there were ten +others who would come to his assistance. Should I risk my life to save a +few tapestries and bibelots? + +Throughout the night, my torture endured. Insufferable torture, terrible +anguish! The noises had stopped, but I was in constant fear of their +renewal. And the man! The man who was guarding me, weapon in hand. My +fearful eyes remained cast in his direction. And my heart beat! And a +profuse perspiration oozed from every pore of my body! + +Suddenly, I experienced an immense relief; a milk-wagon, whose sound was +familiar to me, passed along the boulevard; and, at the same time, I had +an impression that the light of a new day was trying to steal through +the closed window-blinds. + +At last, daylight penetrated the room; other vehicles passed along the +boulevard; and all the phantoms of the night vanished. Then I put one +arm out of the bed, slowly and cautiously. My eyes were fixed upon the +curtain, locating the exact spot at which I must fire; I made an exact +calculation of the movements I must make; then, quickly, I seized my +revolver and fired. + +I leaped from my bed with a cry of deliverance, and rushed to the +window. The bullet had passed through the curtain and the window-glass, +but it had not touched the man--for the very good reason that there was +none there. Nobody! Thus, during the entire night, I had been +hypnotized by a fold of the curtain. And, during that time, the +malefactors....Furiously, with an enthusiasm that nothing could have +stopped, I turned the key, opened the door, crossed the antechamber, +opened another door, and rushed into the library. But amazement stopped +me on the threshold, panting, astounded, more astonished than I had +been by the absence of the man. All the things that I supposed had been +stolen, furniture, books, pictures, old tapestries, everything was in +its proper place. + +It was incredible. I could not believe my eyes. Notwithstanding that +uproar, those noises of removal....I made a tour, I inspected the walls, +I made a mental inventory of all the familiar objects. Nothing was +missing. And, what was more disconcerting, there was no clue to the +intruders, not a sign, not a chair disturbed, not the trace of a +footstep. + +“Well! Well!” I said to myself, pressing my hands on my bewildered head, +“surely I am not crazy! I heard something!” + +Inch by inch, I made a careful examination of the room. It was in vain. +Unless I could consider this as a discovery: Under a small Persian rug, +I found a card--an ordinary playing card. It was the seven of hearts; +it was like any other seven of hearts in French playing-cards, with this +slight but curious exception: The extreme point of each of the seven red +spots or hearts was pierced by a hole, round and regular as if made with +the point of an awl. + +Nothing more. A card and a letter found in a book. But was not that +sufficient to affirm that I had not been the plaything of a dream? + +* * * * * + +Throughout the day, I continued my searches in the library. It was a +large room, much too large for the requirements of such a house, and the +decoration of which attested the bizarre taste of its founder. The +floor was a mosaic of multicolored stones, formed into large symmetrical +designs. The walls were covered with a similar mosaic, arranged in +panels, Pompeiian allegories, Byzantine compositions, frescoes of the +Middle Ages. A Bacchus bestriding a cask. An emperor wearing a gold +crown, a flowing beard, and holding a sword in his right hand. + +Quite high, after the style of an artist’s studio, there was a large +window--the only one in the room. That window being always open at +night, it was probable that the men had entered through it, by the aid +of a ladder. But, again, there was no evidence. The bottom of the ladder +would have left some marks in the soft earth beneath the window; but +there were none. Nor were there any traces of footsteps in any part of +the yard. + +I had no idea of informing the police, because the facts I had before me +were so absurd and inconsistent. They would laugh at me. However, as I +was then a reporter on the staff of the ‘Gil Blas,’ I wrote a lengthy +account of my adventure and it was published in the paper on the second +day thereafter. The article attracted some attention, but no one took it +seriously. They regarded it as a work of fiction rather than a story +of real life. The Saint-Martins rallied me. But Daspry, who took an +interest in such matters, came to see me, made a study of the affair, +but reached no conclusion. + +A few mornings later, the door-bell rang, and Antoine came to inform +me that a gentleman desired to see me. He would not give his name. I +directed Antoine to show him up. He was a man of about forty years of +age with a very dark complexion, lively features, and whose correct +dress, slightly frayed, proclaimed a taste that contrasted strangely +with his rather vulgar manners. Without any preamble, he said to me--in +a rough voice that confirmed my suspicion as to his social position: + +“Monsieur, whilst in a café, I picked up a copy of the ‘Gil Blas,’ and +read your article. It interested me very much. + +“Thank you.” + +“And here I am.” + +“Ah!” + +“Yes, to talk to you. Are all the facts related by you quite correct?” + +“Absolutely so.” + +“Well, in that case, I can, perhaps, give you some information.” + +“Very well; proceed.” + +“No, not yet. First, I must be sure that the facts are exactly as you +have related them.” + +“I have given you my word. What further proof do you want?” + +“I must remain alone in this room.” + +“I do not understand,” I said, with surprise. + +“It’s an idea that occurred to me when reading your article. Certain +details established an extraordinary coincidence with another case that +came under my notice. If I am mistaken, I shall say nothing more. And +the only means of ascertaining the truth is by my remaining in the room +alone.” + +What was at the bottom of this proposition? Later, I recalled that the +man was exceedingly nervous; but, at the same time, although somewhat +astonished, I found nothing particularly abnormal about the man or the +request he had made. Moreover, my curiosity was aroused; so I replied: + +“Very well. How much time do you require?” + +“Oh! three minutes--not longer. Three minutes from now, I will rejoin +you.” + +I left the room, and went downstairs. I took out my watch. One minute +passed. Two minutes. Why did I feel so depressed? Why did those moments +seem so solemn and weird? Two minutes and a half....Two minutes and +three quarters. Then I heard a pistol shot. + +I bounded up the stairs and entered the room. A cry of horror escaped +me. In the middle of the room, the man was lying on his left side, +motionless. Blood was flowing from a wound in his forehead. Near his +hand was a revolver, still smoking. + +But, in addition to this frightful spectacle, my attention was attracted +by another object. At two feet from the body, upon the floor, I saw +a playing-card. It was the seven of hearts. I picked it up. The lower +extremity of each of the seven spots was pierced with a small round +hole. + +* * * * * + +A half-hour later, the commissary of police arrived, then the coroner +and the chief of the Sûreté, Mon. Dudouis. I had been careful not to +touch the corpse. The preliminary inquiry was very brief, and disclosed +nothing. There were no papers in the pockets of the deceased; no name +upon his clothes; no initial upon his linen; nothing to give any clue +to his identity. The room was in the same perfect order as before. The +furniture had not been disturbed. Yet this man had not come to my house +solely for the purpose of killing himself, or because he considered my +place the most convenient one for his suicide! There must have been a +motive for his act of despair, and that motive was, no doubt, the result +of some new fact ascertained by him during the three minutes he was +alone. + +What was that fact? What had he seen? What frightful secret had been +revealed to him? There was no answer to these questions. But, at the +last moment, an incident occurred that appeared to us of considerable +importance. As two policemen were raising the body to place it on a +stretcher, the left hand thus being disturbed, a crumpled card fell from +it. The card bore these words: “Georges Andermatt, 37 Rue de Berry.” + +What did that mean? Georges Andermatt was a rich banker in Paris, the +founder and president of the Metal Exchange which had given such an +impulse to the metallic industries in France. He lived in princely +style; was the possessor of numerous automobiles, coaches, and an +expensive racing-stable. His social affairs were very select, and Madame +Andermatt was noted for her grace and beauty. + +“Can that be the man’s name?” I asked.--------------- + +The chief of the Sûreté leaned over him. + +“It is not he. Mon. Andermatt is a thin man, and slightly grey.” + +“But why this card?” + +“Have you a telephone, monsieur?” + +“Yes, in the vestibule. Come with me.” + +He looked in the directory, and then asked for number 415.21. + +“Is Mon. Andermatt at home?....Please tell him that Mon. Dudouis wished +him to come at once to 102 Boulevard Maillot. Very important.” + +Twenty minutes later, Mon. Andermatt arrived in his automobile. After +the circumstances had been explained to him, he was taken in to see the +corpse. He displayed considerable emotion, and spoke, in a low tone, and +apparently unwillingly: + +“Etienne Varin,” he said. + +“You know him?” + +“No.... or, at least, yes.... by sight only. His brother....” + +“Ah! he has a brother?” + +“Yes, Alfred Varin. He came to see me once on some matter of +business....I forget what it was.” + +“Where does he live?” + +“The two brothers live together--rue de Provence, I think.” + +“Do you know any reason why he should commit suicide?” + +“None.” + +“He held a card in his hand. It was your card with your address.” + +“I do not understand that. It must have been there by some chance that +will be disclosed by the investigation.” + +A very strange chance, I thought; and I felt that the others entertained +the same impression. + +I discovered the same impression in the papers next day, and amongst +all my friends with whom I discussed the affair. Amid the mysteries that +enveloped it, after the double discovery of the seven of hearts pierced +with seven holes, after the two inscrutable events that had happened in +my house, that visiting card promised to throw some light on the +affair. Through it, the truth may be revealed. But, contrary to our +expectations, Mon. Andermatt furnished no explanation. He said: + +“I have told you all I know. What more can I do? I am greatly surprised +that my card should be found in such a place, and I sincerely hope the +point will be cleared up.” + +It was not. The official investigation established that the Varin +brothers were of Swiss origin, had led a shifting life under various +names, frequenting gambling resorts, associating with a band of +foreigners who had been dispersed by the police after a series of +robberies in which their participation was established only by their +flight. At number 24 rue de Provence, where the Varin brothers had lived +six years before, no one knew what had become of them. + +I confess that, for my part, the case seemed to me so complicated and so +mysterious that I did not think the problem would ever be solved, so +I concluded to waste no more time upon it. But Jean Daspry, whom I +frequently met at that period, became more and more interested in it +each day. It was he who pointed out to me that item from a foreign +newspaper which was reproduced and commented upon by the entire press. +It was as follows: + +“The first trial of a new model of submarine boat, which is expected +to revolutionize naval warfare, will be given in presence of the former +Emperor at a place that will be kept secret until the last minute. An +indiscretion has revealed its name; it is called ‘The Seven-of-Hearts.’” + +The Seven-of-Hearts! That presented a new problem. Could a connection be +established between the name of the sub-marine and the incidents which +we have related? But a connection of what nature? What had happened here +could have no possible relation with the sub-marine. + +“What do you know about it?” said Daspry to me. “The most diverse +effects often proceed from the same cause.” + +Two days later, the following foreign news item was received and +published: + +“It is said that the plans of the new sub-marine ‘Seven-of-Hearts’ were +prepared by French engineers, who, having sought, in vain, the support +of their compatriots, subsequently entered into negotiations with the +British Admiralty, without success.” + +I do not wish to give undue publicity to certain delicate matters which +once provoked considerable excitement. Yet, since all danger of injury +therefrom has now come to an end, I must speak of the article that +appeared in the _Echo de France_, which aroused so much comment at +that time, and which threw considerable light upon the mystery of +the Seven-of-Hearts. This is the article as it was published over the +signature of Salvator: + + “THE AFFAIR OF THE SEVEN-OF-HEARTS. + + “A CORNER OF THE VEIL RAISED. + + “We will be brief. Ten years ago, a young mining engineer, Louis + Lacombe, wishing to devote his time and fortune to certain studies, + resigned his position he then held, and rented number 102 boulevard + Maillot, a small house that had been recently built and decorated + for an Italian count. Through the agency of the Varin brothers of + Lausanne, one of whom assisted in the preliminary experiments and + the other acted as financial agent, the young engineer was + introduced to Georges Andermatt, the founder of the Metal Exchange. + + “After several interviews, he succeeded in interesting the banker + in a sub-marine boat on which he was working, and it was agreed + that as soon as the invention was perfected, Mon. Andermatt would + use his influence with the Minister of Marine to obtain a series of + trials under the direction of the government. For two years, Louis + Lacombe was a frequent visitor at Andermatt’s house, and he + submitted to the banker the various improvements he made upon his + original plans, until one day, being satisfied with the perfection + of his work, he asked Mon. Andermatt to communicate with the + Minister of Marine. That day, Louis Lacombe dined at Mon. + Andermatt’s house. He left there about half-past eleven at night. + He has not been seen since. + + “A perusal of the newspapers of that date will show that the + young man’s family caused every possible inquiry to be made, but + without success; and it was the general opinion that Louis Lacombe-- + who was known as an original and visionary youth--had quietly left + for parts unknown. + + “Let us accept that theory--improbable, though it be,--and let us + consider another question, which is a most important one for our + country: What has become of the plans of the sub-marine? Did Louis + Lacombe carry them away? Are they destroyed? + + “After making a thorough investigation, we are able to assert, + positively, that the plans are in existence, and are now in the + possession of the two brothers Varin. How did they acquire such a + possession? That is a question not yet determined; nor do we know + why they have not tried to sell them at an earlier date. Did they + fear that their title to them would be called in question? If so, + they have lost that fear, and we can announce definitely, that the + plans of Louis Lacombe are now the property of foreign power, and + we are in a position to publish the correspondence that passed + between the Varin brothers and the representative of that power. + The ‘Seven-of-Hearts’ invented by Louis Lacombe has been actually + constructed by our neighbor. + + “Will the invention fulfill the optimistic expectations of those + who were concerned in that treacherous act?” + +And a post-script adds: + + “Later.--Our special correspondent informs us that the preliminary + trial of the ‘Seven-of-Hearts’ has not been satisfactory. It is + quite likely that the plans sold and delivered by the Varin + brothers did not include the final document carried by Louis + Lacombe to Mon. Andermatt on the day of his disappearance, a + document that was indispensable to a thorough understanding of the + invention. It contained a summary of the final conclusions of the + inventor, and estimates and figures not contained in the other + papers. Without this document, the plans are incomplete; on the + other hand, without the plans, the document is worthless. + + “Now is the time to act and recover what belongs to us. It may + be a difficult matter, but we rely upon the assistance of Mon. + Andermatt. It will be to his interest to explain his conduct which + has hitherto been so strange and inscrutable. He will explain not + only why he concealed these facts at the time of the suicide of + Etienne Varin, but also why he has never revealed the disappearance + of the paper--a fact well known to him. He will tell why, during + the last six years, he paid spies to watch the movements of the + Varin brothers. We expect from him, not only words, but acts. And + at once. Otherwise---” + +The threat was plainly expressed. But of what did it consist? What whip +was Salvator, the anonymous writer of the article, holding over the head +of Mon. Andermatt? + +An army of reporters attacked the banker, and ten interviewers announced +the scornful manner in which they were treated. Thereupon, the _Echo de +France_ announced its position in these words: + +“Whether Mon. Andermatt is willing or not, he will be, henceforth, our +collaborator in the work we have undertaken.” + +* * * * * + +Daspry and I were dining together on the day on which that announcement +appeared. That evening, with the newspapers spread over my table, we +discussed the affair and examined it from every point of view with that +exasperation that a person feels when walking in the dark and finding +himself constantly falling over the same obstacles. Suddenly, without +any warning whatsoever, the door opened and a lady entered. Her face was +hidden behind a thick veil. I rose at once and approached her. + +“Is it you, monsieur, who lives here?” she asked. + +“Yes, madame, but I do not understand---” + +“The gate was not locked,” she explained. + +“But the vestibule door?” + +She did not reply, and it occurred to me that she had used the servants’ +entrance. How did she know the way? Then there was a silence that was +quite embarrassing. She looked at Daspry, and I was obliged to introduce +him. I asked her to be seated and explain the object of her visit. She +raised her veil, and I saw that she was a brunette with regular features +and, though not handsome, she was attractive--principally, on account of +her sad, dark eyes. + +“I am Madame Andermatt,” she said. + +“Madame Andermatt!” I repeated, with astonishment. + +After a brief pause, she continued with a voice and manner that were +quite easy and natural: + +“I have come to see you about that affair--you know. I thought I might +be able to obtain some information---” + +“Mon Dieu, madame, I know nothing but what has already appeared in the +papers. But if you will point out in what way I can help you....” + +“I do not know....I do not know.” + +Not until then did I suspect that her calm demeanor was assumed, and +that some poignant grief was concealed beneath that air of tranquility. +For a moment, we were silent and embarrassed. Then Daspry stepped +forward, and said: + +“Will you permit me to ask you a few questions?” + +“Yes, yes,” she cried. “I will answer.” + +“You will answer.... whatever those questions may be?” + +“Yes.” + +“Did you know Louis Lacombe?” he asked. + +“Yes, through my husband.” + +“When did you see him for the last time?” + +“The evening he dined with us.” + +“At that time, was there anything to lead you to believe that you would +never see him again?” + +“No. But he had spoken of a trip to Russia--in a vague way.” + +“Then you expected to see him again?” + +“Yes. He was to dine with us, two days later.” + +“How do you explain his disappearance?” + +“I cannot explain it.” + +“And Mon. Andermatt?” + +“I do not know.” + +“Yet the article published in the _Echo de France_ indicates---” + +“Yes, that the Varin brothers had something to do with his +disappearance.” + +“Is that your opinion?” + +“Yes.” + +“On what do you base your opinion?” + +“When he left our house, Louis Lacombe carried a satchel containing all +the papers relating to his invention. Two days later, my husband, in +a conversation with one of the Varin brothers, learned that the papers +were in their possession.” + +“And he did not denounce them?” + +“No.” + +“Why not?” + +“Because there was something else in the satchel--something besides the +papers of Louis Lacombe.” + +“What was it?” + +She hesitated; was on the point of speaking, but, finally, remained +silent. Daspry continued: + +“I presume that is why your husband has kept a close watch over their +movements instead of informing the police. He hoped to recover the +papers and, at the same time, that compromising article which has +enabled the two brothers to hold over him threats of exposure and +blackmail.” + +“Over him, and over me.” + +“Ah! over you, also?” + +“Over me, in particular.” + +She uttered the last words in a hollow voice. Daspry observed it; he +paced to and fro for a moment, then, turning to her, asked: + +“Had you written to Louis Lacombe?” + +“Of course. My husband had business with him--” + +“Apart from those business letters, had you written to Louis +Lacombe.... other letters? Excuse my insistence, but it is absolutely +necessary that I should know the truth. Did you write other letters?” + +“Yes,” she replied, blushing. + +“And those letters came into the possession of the Varin brothers?” + +“Yes.” + +“Does Mon. Andermatt know it?” + +“He has not seen them, but Alfred Varin has told him of their existence +and threatened to publish them if my husband should take any steps +against him. My husband was afraid.... of a scandal.” + +“But he has tried to recover the letters?” + +“I think so; but I do not know. You see, after that last interview with +Alfred Varin, and after some harsh words between me and my husband in +which he called me to account--we live as strangers.” + +“In that case, as you have nothing to lose, what do you fear?” + +“I may be indifferent to him now, but I am the woman that he has loved, +the one he would still love--oh! I am quite sure of that,” she murmured, +in a fervent voice, “he would still love me if he had not got hold of +those cursed letters----” + +“What! Did he succeed?....But the two brothers still defied him?” + +“Yes, and they boasted of having a secure hiding-place.” + +“Well?” + +“I believe my husband discovered that hiding-place.” + +“Ah! where was it?” + +“Here.” + +“Here!” I cried in alarm. + +“Yes. I always had that suspicion. Louis Lacombe was very ingenious +and amused himself in his leisure hours, by making safes and locks. No +doubt, the Varin brothers were aware of that fact and utilized one of +Lacombe’s safes in which to conceal the letters.... and other things, +perhaps.” + +“But they did not live here,” I said. + +“Before you came, four months ago, the house had been vacant for some +time. And they may have thought that your presence here would not +interfere with them when they wanted to get the papers. But they did not +count on my husband, who came here on the night of 22 June, forced the +safe, took what he was seeking, and left his card to inform the two +brothers that he feared them no more, and that their positions were now +reversed. Two days later, after reading the article in the ‘Gil Blas,’ +Etienne Varin came here, remained alone in this room, found the safe +empty, and.... killed himself.” + +After a moment, Daspry said: + +“A very simple theory....Has Mon. Andermatt spoken to you since then?” + +“No.” + +“Has his attitude toward you changed in any way? Does he appear more +gloomy, more anxious?” + +“No, I haven’t noticed any change.” + +“And yet you think he has secured the letters. Now, in my opinion, he +has not got those letters, and it was not he who came here on the night +of 22 June.” + +“Who was it, then?” + +“The mysterious individual who is managing this affair, who holds all +the threads in his hands, and whose invisible but far-reaching power we +have felt from the beginning. It was he and his friends who entered +this house on 22 June; it was he who discovered the hiding-place of the +papers; it was he who left Mon. Andermatt’s card; it is he who now +holds the correspondence and the evidence of the treachery of the Varin +brothers.” + +“Who is he?” I asked, impatiently. + +“The man who writes letters to the _Echo de France_.... Salvator! Have +we not convincing evidence of that fact? Does he not mention in his +letters certain details that no one could know, except the man who had +thus discovered the secrets of the two brothers?” + +“Well, then,” stammered Madame Andermatt, in great alarm, “he has my +letters also, and it is he who now threatens my husband. Mon Dieu! What +am I to do?” + +“Write to him,” declared Daspry. “Confide in him without reserve. Tell +him all you know and all you may hereafter learn. Your interest and his +interest are the same. He is not working against Mon. Andermatt, but +against Alfred Varin. Help him.” + +“How?” + +“Has your husband the document that completes the plans of Louis +Lacombe?” + +“Yes.” + +“Tell that to Salvator, and, if possible, procure the document for him. +Write to him at once. You risk nothing.” + +The advice was bold, dangerous even at first sight, but Madame Andermatt +had no choice. Besides, as Daspry had said, she ran no risk. If +the unknown writer were an enemy, that step would not aggravate the +situation. If he were a stranger seeking to accomplish a particular +purpose, he would attach to those letters only a secondary importance. +Whatever might happen, it was the only solution offered to her, and +she, in her anxiety, was only too glad to act on it. She thanked us +effusively, and promised to keep us informed. + +In fact, two days later, she sent us the following letter that she had +received from Salvator: + +“Have not found the letters, but I will get them. Rest easy. I am +watching everything. S.” + +I looked at the letter. It was in the same handwriting as the note I +found in my book on the night of 22 June. + +Daspry was right. Salvator was, indeed, the originator of that affair. + +* * * * * + +We were beginning to see a little light coming out of the darkness that +surrounded us, and an unexpected light was thrown on certain points; but +other points yet remained obscure--for instance, the finding of the two +seven-of-hearts. Perhaps I was unnecessarily concerned about those +two cards whose seven punctured spots had appeared to me under such +startling circumstances! Yet I could not refrain from asking myself: +What role will they play in the drama? What importance do they +bear? What conclusion must be drawn from the fact that the submarine +constructed from the plans of Louis Lacombe bore the name of +‘Seven-of-Hearts’? + +Daspry gave little thought to the other two cards; he devoted all his +attention to another problem which he considered more urgent; he was +seeking the famous hiding-place. + +“And who knows,” said he, “I may find the letters that Salvator did not +find--by inadvertence, perhaps. It is improbable that the Varin brothers +would have removed from a spot, which they deemed inaccessible, the +weapon which was so valuable to them.” + +And he continued to search. In a short time, the large room held no more +secrets for him, so he extended his investigations to the other rooms. +He examined the interior and the exterior, the stones of the foundation, +the bricks in the walls; he raised the slates of the roof. + +One day, he came with a pickaxe and a spade, gave me the spade, kept the +pickaxe, pointed to the adjacent vacant lots, and said: “Come.” + +I followed him, but I lacked his enthusiasm. He divided the vacant land +into several sections which he examined in turn. At last, in a corner, +at the angle formed by the walls of two neighboring proprietors, a small +pile of earth and gravel, covered with briers and grass, attracted his +attention. He attacked it. I was obliged to help him. For an hour, under +a hot sun, we labored without success. I was discouraged, but Daspry +urged me on. His ardor was as strong as ever. + +At last, Daspry’s pickaxe unearthed some bones--the remains of a +skeleton to which some scraps of clothing still hung. Suddenly, I turned +pale. I had discovered, sticking in the earth, a small piece of iron cut +in the form of a rectangle, on which I thought I could see red spots. I +stooped and picked it up. That little iron plate was the exact size of a +playing-card, and the red spots, made with red lead, were arranged upon +it in a manner similar to the seven-of-hearts, and each spot was pierced +with a round hole similar to the perforations in the two playing cards. + +“Listen, Daspry, I have had enough of this. You can stay if it interests +you. But I am going.” + +Was that simply the expression of my excited nerves? Or was it the +result of a laborious task executed under a burning sun? I know that +I trembled as I walked away, and that I went to bed, where I remained +forty-eight hours, restless and feverish, haunted by skeletons that +danced around me and threw their bleeding hearts at my head. + +Daspry was faithful to me. He came to my house every day, and remained +three or four hours, which he spent in the large room, ferreting, +thumping, tapping. + +“The letters are here, in this room,” he said, from time to time, “they +are here. I will stake my life on it.” + +On the morning of the third day I arose--feeble yet, but cured. A +substantial breakfast cheered me up. But a letter that I received that +afternoon contributed, more than anything else, to my complete recovery, +and aroused in me a lively curiosity. This was the letter: + + “Monsieur, + + “The drama, the first act of which transpired on the night of 22 + June, is now drawing to a close. Force of circumstances compel me + to bring the two principal actors in that drama face to face, and I + wish that meeting to take place in your house, if you will be so + kind as to give me the use of it for this evening from nine o’clock + to eleven. It will be advisable to give your servant leave of + absence for the evening, and, perhaps, you will be so kind as to + leave the field open to the two adversaries. You will remember + that when I visited your house on the night of 22 June, I took + excellent care of your property. I feel that I would do you an + injustice if I should doubt, for one moment, your absolute + discretion in this affair. Your devoted, + + “SALVATOR.” + +I was amused at the facetious tone of his letter and also at the +whimsical nature of his request. There was a charming display of +confidence and candor in his language, and nothing in the world could +have induced me to deceive him or repay his confidence with ingratitude. + +I gave my servant a theatre ticket, and he left the house at eight +o’clock. A few minutes later, Daspry arrived. I showed him the letter. + +“Well?” said he. + +“Well, I have left the garden gate unlocked, so anyone can enter.” + +“And you--are you going away?” + +“Not at all. I intend to stay right here.” + +“But he asks you to go---” + +“But I am not going. I will be discreet, but I am resolved to see what +takes place.” + +“Ma foi!” exclaimed Daspry, laughing, “you are right, and I shall stay +with you. I shouldn’t like to miss it.” + +We were interrupted by the sound of the door-bell. + +“Here already?” said Daspry, “twenty minutes ahead of time! Incredible!” + +I went to the door and ushered in the visitor. It was Madame Andermatt. +She was faint and nervous, and in a stammering voice, she ejaculated: + +“My husband.... is coming.... he has an appointment.... they intend to +give him the letters....” + +“How do you know?” I asked. + +“By chance. A message came for my husband while we were at dinner. The +servant gave it to me by mistake. My husband grabbed it quickly, but he +was too late. I had read it.” + +“You read it?” + +“Yes. It was something like this: ‘At nine o’clock this evening, be +at Boulevard Maillot with the papers connected with the affair. In +exchange, the letters.’ So, after dinner, I hastened here.” + +“Unknown to your husband?” + +“Yes.” + +“What do you think about it?” asked Daspry, turning to me. + +“I think as you do, that Mon. Andermatt is one of the invited guests.” + +“Yes, but for what purpose?” + +“That is what we are going to find out.” + +I led them to a large room. The three of us could hide comfortably +behind the velvet chimney-mantle, and observe all that should happen +in the room. We seated ourselves there, with Madame Andermatt in the +centre. + +The clock struck nine. A few minutes later, the garden gate creaked upon +its hinges. I confess that I was greatly agitated. I was about to learn +the key to the mystery. The startling events of the last few weeks were +about to be explained, and, under my eyes, the last battle was going to +be fought. Daspry seized the hand of Madame Andermatt, and said to her: + +“Not a word, not a movement! Whatever you may see or hear, keep quiet!” + +Some one entered. It was Alfred Varin. I recognized him at once, owing +to the close resemblance he bore to his brother Etienne. There was +the same slouching gait; the same cadaverous face covered with a black +beard. + +He entered with the nervous air of a man who is accustomed to fear the +presence of traps and ambushes; who scents and avoids them. He glanced +about the room, and I had the impression that the chimney, masked with +a velvet portière, did not please him. He took three steps in our +direction, when something caused him to turn and walk toward the old +mosaic king, with the flowing beard and flamboyant sword, which he +examined minutely, mounting on a chair and following with his fingers +the outlines of the shoulders and head and feeling certain parts of the +face. Suddenly, he leaped from the chair and walked away from it. He had +heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Mon. Andermatt appeared at the +door. + +“You! You!” exclaimed the banker. “Was it you who brought me here?” + +“I? By no means,” protested Varin, in a rough, jerky voice that reminded +me of his brother, “on the contrary, it was your letter that brought me +here.” + +“My letter?” + +“A letter signed by you, in which you offered---” + +“I never wrote to you,” declared Mon. Andermatt. + +“You did not write to me!” + +Instinctively, Varin was put on his guard, not against the banker, but +against the unknown enemy who had drawn him into this trap. A second +time, he looked in our direction, then walked toward the door. But Mon. +Andermatt barred his passage. + +“Well, where are you going, Varin?” + +“There is something about this affair I don’t like. I am going home. +Good evening.” + +“One moment!” + +“No need of that, Mon. Andermatt. I have nothing to say to you.” + +“But I have something to say to you, and this is a good time to say it.” + +“Let me pass.” + +“No, you will not pass.” + +Varin recoiled before the resolute attitude of the banker, as he +muttered: + +“Well, then, be quick about it.” + +One thing astonished me; and I have no doubt my two companions +experienced a similar feeling. Why was Salvator not there? Was he not a +necessary party at this conference? Or was he satisfied to let these two +adversaries fight it out between themselves? At all events, his absence +was a great disappointment, although it did not detract from the +dramatic strength of the situation. + +After a moment, Mon. Andermatt approached Varin and, face to face, eye +to eye, said: + +“Now, after all these years and when you have nothing more to fear, you +can answer me candidly: What have you done with Louis Lacombe?” + +“What a question! As if I knew anything about him!” + +“You do know! You and your brother were his constant companions, almost +lived with him in this very house. You knew all about his plans and his +work. And the last night I ever saw Louis Lacombe, when I parted with +him at my door, I saw two men slinking away in the shadows of the trees. +That, I am ready to swear to.” + +“Well, what has that to do with me?” + +“The two men were you and your brother.” + +“Prove it.” + +“The best proof is that, two days later, you yourself showed me the +papers and the plans that belonged to Lacombe and offered to sell them. +How did these papers come into your possession?” + +“I have already told you, Mon. Andermatt, that we found them on Louis +Lacombe’s table, the morning after his disappearance.” + +“That is a lie!” + +“Prove it.” + +“The law will prove it.” + +“Why did you not appeal to the law?” + +“Why? Ah! Why---,” stammered the banker, with a slight display of +emotion. + +“You know very well, Mon. Andermatt, if you had the least certainty of +our guilt, our little threat would not have stopped you.” + +“What threat? Those letters? Do you suppose I ever gave those letters a +moment’s thought?” + +“If you did not care for the letters, why did you offer me thousands of +francs for their return? And why did you have my brother and me tracked +like wild beasts?” + +“To recover the plans.” + +“Nonsense! You wanted the letters. You knew that as soon as you had the +letters in your possession, you could denounce us. Oh! no, I couldn’t +part with them!” + +He laughed heartily, but stopped suddenly, and said: + +“But, enough of this! We are merely going over old ground. We make no +headway. We had better let things stand as they are.” + +“We will not let them stand as they are,” said the banker, “and since +you have referred to the letters, let me tell you that you will not +leave this house until you deliver up those letters.” + +“I shall go when I please.” + +“You will not.” + +“Be careful, Mon. Andermatt. I warn you---” + +“I say, you shall not go.” + +“We will see about that,” cried Varin, in such a rage that Madame +Andermatt could not suppress a cry of fear. Varin must have heard it, +for he now tried to force his way out. Mon. Andermatt pushed him back. +Then I saw him put his hand into his coat pocket. + +“For the last time, let me pass,” he cried. + +“The letters, first!” + +Varin drew a revolver and, pointing it at Mon. Andermatt, said: + +“Yes or no?” + +The banker stooped quickly. There was the sound of a pistol-shot. The +weapon fell from Varin’s hand. I was amazed. The shot was fired close +to me. It was Daspry who had fired it at Varin, causing him to drop the +revolver. In a moment, Daspry was standing between the two men, facing +Varin; he said to him, with a sneer: + +“You were lucky, my friend, very lucky. I fired at your hand and struck +only the revolver.” + +Both of them looked at him, surprised. Then he turned to the banker, and +said: + +“I beg your pardon, monsieur, for meddling in your business; but, +really, you play a very poor game. Let me hold the cards.” + +Turning again to Varin, Daspry said: + +“It’s between us two, comrade, and play fair, if you please. Hearts are +trumps, and I play the seven.” + +Then Daspry held up, before Varin’s bewildered eyes, the little iron +plate, marked with the seven red spots. It was a terrible shock to +Varin. With livid features, staring eyes, and an air of intense agony, +the man seemed to be hypnotized at the sight of it. + +“Who are you?” he gasped. + +“One who meddles in other people’s business, down to the very bottom.” + +“What do you want?” + +“What you brought here tonight.” + +“I brought nothing.” + +“Yes, you did, or you wouldn’t have come. This morning, you received +an invitation to come here at nine o’clock, and bring with you all the +papers held by you. You are here. Where are the papers?” + +There was in Daspry’s voice and manner a tone of authority that I did +not understand; his manner was usually quite mild and conciliatory. +Absolutely conquered, Varin placed his hand on one of his pockets, and +said: + +“The papers are here.” + +“All of them?” + +“Yes.” + +“All that you took from Louis Lacombe and afterwards sold to Major von +Lieben?” + +“Yes.” + +“Are these the copies or the originals?” + +“I have the originals.” + +“How much do you want for them?” + +“One hundred thousand francs.” + +“You are crazy,” said Daspry. “Why, the major gave you only twenty +thousand, and that was like money thrown into the sea, as the boat was a +failure at the preliminary trials.” + +“They didn’t understand the plans.” + +“The plans are not complete.” + +“Then, why do you ask me for them?” + +“Because I want them. I offer you five thousand francs--not a sou more.” + +“Ten thousand. Not a sou less.” + +“Agreed,” said Daspry, who now turned to Mon. Andermatt, and said: + +“Monsieur will kindly sign a check for the amount.” + +“But....I haven’t got---” + +“Your check-book? Here it is.” + +Astounded, Mon. Andermatt examined the check-book that Daspry handed to +him. + +“It is mine,” he gasped. “How does that happen?” + +“No idle words, monsieur, if you please. You have merely to sign.” + +The banker took out his fountain pen, filled out the check and signed +it. Varin held out his hand for it. + +“Put down your hand,” said Daspry, “there is something more.” Then, to +the banker, he said: “You asked for some letters, did you not?” + +“Yes, a package of letters.” + +“Where are they, Varin?” + +“I haven’t got them.” + +“Where are they, Varin?” + +“I don’t know. My brother had charge of them.” + +“They are hidden in this room.” + +“In that case, you know where they are.” + +“How should I know?” + +“Was it not you who found the hiding-place? You appear to be as well +informed.... as Salvator.” + +“The letters are not in the hiding-place.” + +“They are.” + +“Open it.” + +Varin looked at him, defiantly. Were not Daspry and Salvator the same +person? Everything pointed to that conclusion. If so, Varin risked +nothing in disclosing a hiding-place already known. + +“Open it,” repeated Daspry. + +“I have not got the seven of hearts.” + +“Yes, here it is,” said Daspry, handing him the iron plate. Varin +recoiled in terror, and cried: + +“No, no, I will not.” + +“Never mind,” replied Daspry, as he walked toward the bearded king, +climbed on a chair and applied the seven of hearts to the lower part of +the sword in such a manner that the edges of the iron plate coincided +exactly with the two edges of the sword. Then, with the assistance of +an awl which he introduced alternately into each of the seven holes, he +pressed upon seven of the little mosaic stones. As he pressed upon the +seventh one, a clicking sound was heard, and the entire bust of the King +turned upon a pivot, disclosing a large opening lined with steel. It was +really a fire-proof safe. + +“You can see, Varin, the safe is empty.” + +“So I see. Then, my brother has taken out the letters.” + +Daspry stepped down from the chair, approached Varin, and said: + +“Now, no more nonsense with me. There is another hiding-place. Where is +it?” + +“There is none.” + +“Is it money you want? How much?” + +“Ten thousand.” + +“Monsieur Andermatt, are those letters worth ten thousand francs to +you?” + +“Yes,” said the banker, firmly. + +Varin closed the safe, took the seven of hearts and placed it again on +the sword at the same spot. He thrust the awl into each of the seven +holes. There was the same clicking sound, but this time, strange to +relate, it was only a portion of the safe that revolved on the pivot, +disclosing quite a small safe that was built within the door of the +larger one. The packet of letters was here, tied with a tape, and +sealed. Varin handed the packet to Daspry. The latter turned to the +banker, and asked: + +“Is the check ready, Monsieur Andermatt?” + +“Yes.” + +“And you have also the last document that you received from Louis +Lacombe--the one that completes the plans of the sub-marine?” + +“Yes.” + +The exchange was made. Daspry pocketed the document and the checks, and +offered the packet of letters to Mon. Andermatt. + +“This is what you wanted, Monsieur.” + +The banker hesitated a moment, as if he were afraid to touch those +cursed letters that he had sought so eagerly. Then, with a nervous +movement, he took them. Close to me, I heard a moan. I grasped Madame +Andermatt’s hand. It was cold. + +“I believe, monsieur,” said Daspry to the banker, “that our business is +ended. Oh! no thanks. It was only by a mere chance that I have been able +to do you a good turn. Good-night.” + +Mon. Andermatt retired. He carried with him the letters written by his +wife to Louis Lacombe. + +“Marvelous!” exclaimed Daspry, delighted. “Everything is coming our +way. Now, we have only to close our little affair, comrade. You have the +papers?” + +“Here they are--all of them.” + +Daspry examined them carefully, and then placed them in his pocket. + +“Quite right. You have kept your word,” he said. + +“But---” + +“But what?” + +“The two checks? The money?” said Varin, eagerly. + +“Well, you have a great deal of assurance, my man. How dare you ask such +a thing?” + +“I ask only what is due to me.” + +“Can you ask pay for returning papers that you stole? Well, I think +not!” + +Varin was beside himself. He trembled with rage; his eyes were +bloodshot. + +“The money.... the twenty thousand....” he stammered. + +“Impossible! I need it myself.” + +“The money!” + +“Come, be reasonable, and don’t get excited. It won’t do you any good.” + +Daspry seized his arm so forcibly, that Varin uttered a cry of pain. +Daspry continued: + +“Now, you can go. The air will do you good. Perhaps you want me to show +you the way. Ah! yes, we will go together to the vacant lot near here, +and I will show you a little mound of earth and stones and under it---” + +“That is false! That is false!” + +“Oh! no, it is true. That little iron plate with the seven spots on it +came from there. Louis Lacombe always carried it, and you buried it with +the body--and with some other things that will prove very interesting to +a judge and jury.” + +Varin covered his face with his hands, and muttered: + +“All right, I am beaten. Say no more. But I want to ask you one +question. I should like to know---” + +“What is it?” + +“Was there a little casket in the large safe?” + +“Yes.” + +“Was it there on the night of 22 June?” + +“Yes.” + +“What did it contain?” + +“Everything that the Varin brothers had put in it--a very pretty +collection of diamonds and pearls picked up here and there by the said +brothers.” + +“And did you take it?” + +“Of course I did. Do you blame me?” + +“I understand.... it was the disappearance of that casket that caused my +brother to kill himself.” + +“Probably. The disappearance of your correspondence was not a sufficient +motive. But the disappearance of the casket....Is that all you wish to +ask me?” + +“One thing more: your name?” + +“You ask that with an idea of seeking revenge.” + +“Parbleu! The tables may be turned. Today, you are on top. To-morrow---” + +“It will be you.” + +“I hope so. Your name?” + +“Arsène Lupin.” + +“Arsène Lupin!” + +The man staggered, as though stunned by a heavy blow. Those two words +had deprived him of all hope. + +Daspry laughed, and said: + +“Ah! did you imagine that a Monsieur Durand or Dupont could manage an +affair like this? No, it required the skill and cunning of Arsène Lupin. +And now that you have my name, go and prepare your revenge. Arsène Lupin +will wait for you.” + +Then he pushed the bewildered Varin through the door. + +“Daspry! Daspry!” I cried, pushing aside the curtain. He ran to me. + +“What? What’s the matter?” + +“Madame Andermatt is ill.” + +He hastened to her, caused her to inhale some salts, and, while caring +for her, questioned me: + +“Well, what did it?” + +“The letters of Louis Lacombe that you gave to her husband.” + +He struck his forehead and said: + +“Did she think that I could do such a thing!...But, of course she would. +Imbecile that I am!” + +Madame Andermatt was now revived. Daspry took from his pocket a small +package exactly similar to the one that Mon. Andermatt had carried away. + +“Here are your letters, Madame. These are the genuine letters.” + +“But.... the others?” + +“The others are the same, rewritten by me and carefully worded. Your +husband will not find anything objectionable in them, and will never +suspect the substitution since they were taken from the safe in his +presence.” + +“But the handwriting---” + +“There is no handwriting that cannot be imitated.” + +She thanked him in the same words she might have used to a man in her +own social circle, so I concluded that she had not witnessed the final +scene between Varin and Arsène Lupin. But the surprising revelation +caused me considerable embarrassment. Lupin! My club companion was none +other than Arsène Lupin. I could not realize it. But he said, quite at +his ease: + +“You can say farewell to Jean Daspry.” + +“Ah!” + +“Yes, Jean Daspry is going on a long journey. I shall send him to +Morocco. There, he may find a death worthy of him. I may say that that +is his expectation.” + +“But Arsène Lupin will remain?” + +“Oh! Decidedly. Arsène Lupin is simply at the threshold of his career, +and he expects---” + +I was impelled by curiosity to interrupt him, and, leading him away from +the hearing of Madame Andermatt, I asked: + +“Did you discover the smaller safe yourself--the one that held the +letters?” + +“Yes, after a great deal of trouble. I found it yesterday afternoon +while you were asleep. And yet, God knows it was simple enough! But +the simplest things are the ones that usually escape our notice.” Then, +showing me the seven-of-hearts, he added: “Of course I had guessed that, +in order to open the larger safe, this card must be placed on the sword +of the mosaic king.” + +“How did you guess that?” + +“Quite easily. Through private information, I knew that fact when I came +here on the evening of 22 June---” + +“After you left me---” + +“Yes, after turning the subject of our conversation to stories of crime +and robbery which were sure to reduce you to such a nervous condition +that you would not leave your bed, but would allow me to complete my +search uninterrupted.” + +“The scheme worked perfectly.” + +“Well, I knew when I came here that there was a casket concealed in a +safe with a secret lock, and that the seven-of-hearts was the key +to that lock. I had merely to place the card upon the spot that was +obviously intended for it. An hour’s examination showed me where the +spot was.” + +“One hour!” + +“Observe the fellow in mosaic.” + +“The old emperor?” + +“That old emperor is an exact representation of the king of hearts on +all playing cards.” + +“That’s right. But how does the seven of hearts open the larger safe at +one time and the smaller safe at another time? And why did you open only +the larger safe in the first instance? I mean on the night of 22 June.” + +“Why? Because I always placed the seven of hearts in the same way. I +never changed the position. But, yesterday, I observed that by reversing +the card, by turning it upside down, the arrangement of the seven spots +on the mosaic was changed.” + +“Parbleu!” + +“Of course, parbleu! But a person has to think of those things.” + +“There is something else: you did not know the history of those letters +until Madame Andermatt---” + +“Spoke of them before me? No. Because I found in the safe, besides +the casket, nothing but the correspondence of the two brothers which +disclosed their treachery in regard to the plans.” + +“Then it was by chance that you were led, first, to investigate the +history of the two brothers, and then to search for the plans and +documents relating to the sub-marine?” + +“Simply by chance.” + +“For what purpose did you make the search?” + +“Mon Dieu!” exclaimed Daspry, laughing, “how deeply interested you are!” + +“The subject fascinates me.” + +“Very well, presently, after I have escorted Madame Andermatt to a +carriage, and dispatched a short story to the _Echo de France_, I will +return and tell you all about it.” + +He sat down and wrote one of those short, clear-cut articles which +served to amuse and mystify the public. Who does not recall the +sensation that followed that article produced throughout the entire +world? + +“Arsène Lupin has solved the problem recently submitted by Salvator. +Having acquired possession of all the documents and original plans +of the engineer Louis Lacombe, he has placed them in the hands of +the Minister of Marine, and he has headed a subscription list for the +purpose of presenting to the nation the first submarine constructed from +those plans. His subscription is twenty thousand francs.” + +“Twenty thousand francs! The checks of Mon. Andermatt?” I exclaimed, +when he had given me the paper to read. + +“Exactly. It was quite right that Varin should redeem his treachery.” + +* * * * * + +And that is how I made the acquaintance of Arsène Lupin. That is how +I learned that Jean Daspry, a member of my club, was none other than +Arsène Lupin, gentleman-thief. That is how I formed very agreeable ties +of friendship with that famous man, and, thanks to the confidence +with which he honored me, how I became his very humble and faithful +historiographer. + + + + +VII. Madame Imbert’s Safe + + +At three o’clock in the morning, there were still half a dozen carriages +in front of one of those small houses which form only the side of the +boulevard Berthier. The door of that house opened, and a number of +guests, male and female, emerged. The majority of them entered their +carriages and were quickly driven away, leaving behind only two men who +walked down Courcelles, where they parted, as one of them lived in that +street. The other decided to return on foot as far as the Porte-Maillot. +It was a beautiful winter’s night, clear and cold; a night on which a +brisk walk is agreeable and refreshing. + +But, at the end of a few minutes, he had the disagreeable impression +that he was being followed. Turning around, he saw a man skulking amongst +the trees. He was not a coward; yet he felt it advisable to increase his +speed. Then his pursuer commenced to run; and he deemed it prudent to +draw his revolver and face him. But he had no time. The man rushed at +him and attacked him violently. Immediately, they were engaged in a +desperate struggle, wherein he felt that his unknown assailant had the +advantage. He called for help, struggled, and was thrown down on a pile +of gravel, seized by the throat, and gagged with a handkerchief that his +assailant forced into his mouth. His eyes closed, and the man who +was smothering him with his weight arose to defend himself against an +unexpected attack. A blow from a cane and a kick from a boot; the +man uttered two cries of pain, and fled, limping and cursing. Without +deigning to pursue the fugitive, the new arrival stooped over the +prostrate man and inquired: + +“Are you hurt, monsieur?” + +He was not injured, but he was dazed and unable to stand. His rescuer +procured a carriage, placed him in it, and accompanied him to his house +on the avenue de la Grande-Armée. On his arrival there, quite recovered, +he overwhelmed his saviour with thanks. + +“I owe you my life, monsieur, and I shall not forget it. I do not wish +to alarm my wife at this time of night, but, to-morrow, she will be +pleased to thank you personally. Come and breakfast with us. My name is +Ludovic Imbert. May I ask yours?” + +“Certainly, monsieur.” + +And he handed Mon. Imbert a card bearing the name: “Arsène Lupin.” + +* * * * * + +At that time, Arsène Lupin did not enjoy the celebrity which the Cahorn +affair, his escape from the Prison de la Santé, and other brilliant +exploits, afterwards gained for him. He had not even used the name of +Arsène Lupin. The name was specially invented to designate the rescuer +of Mon. Imbert; that is to say, it was in that affair that Arsène +Lupin was baptized. Fully armed and ready for the fray, it is true, but +lacking the resources and authority which command success, Arsène Lupin +was then merely an apprentice in a profession wherein he soon became a +master. + +With what a thrill of joy he recalled the invitation he received that +night! At last, he had reached his goal! At last, he had undertaken +a task worthy of his strength and skill! The Imbert millions! What a +magnificent feast for an appetite like his! + +He prepared a special toilet for the occasion; a shabby frock-coat, +baggy trousers, a frayed silk hat, well-worn collar and cuffs, all quite +correct in form, but bearing the unmistakable stamp of poverty. His +cravat was a black ribbon pinned with a false diamond. Thus accoutred, +he descended the stairs of the house in which he lived at Montmartre. At +the third floor, without stopping, he rapped on a closed door with the +head of his cane. He walked to the exterior boulevards. A tram-car was +passing. He boarded it, and some one who had been following him took a +seat beside him. It was the lodger who occupied the room on the third +floor. A moment later, this man said to Lupin: + +“Well, governor?” + +“Well, it is all fixed.” + +“How?” + +“I am going there to breakfast.” + +“You breakfast--there!” + +“Certainly. Why not? I rescued Mon. Ludovic Imbert from certain death +at your hands. Mon. Imbert is not devoid of gratitude. He invited me to +breakfast.” + +There was a brief silence. Then the other said: + +“But you are not going to throw up the scheme?” + +“My dear boy,” said Lupin, “When I arranged that little case of assault +and battery, when I took the trouble at three o’clock in the morning, to +rap you with my cane and tap you with my boot at the risk of injuring +my only friend, it was not my intention to forego the advantages to be +gained from a rescue so well arranged and executed. Oh! no, not at all.” + +“But the strange rumors we hear about their fortune?” + +“Never mind about that. For six months, I have worked on this affair, +investigated it, studied it, questioned the servants, the money-lenders +and men of straw; for six months, I have shadowed the husband and wife. +Consequently, I know what I am talking about. Whether the fortune came +to them from old Brawford, as they pretend, or from some other source, +I do not care. I know that it is a reality; that it exists. And some day +it will be mine.” + +“Bigre! One hundred millions!” + +“Let us say ten, or even five--that is enough! They have a safe full +of bonds, and there will be the devil to pay if I can’t get my hands on +them.” + +The tram-car stopped at the Place de l’Etoile. The man whispered to +Lupin: + +“What am I to do now?” + +“Nothing, at present. You will hear from me. There is no hurry.” + +Five minutes later, Arsène Lupin was ascending the magnificent flight +of stairs in the Imbert mansion, and Mon. Imbert introduced him to +his wife. Madame Gervaise Imbert was a short plump woman, and very +talkative. She gave Lupin a cordial welcome. + +“I desired that we should be alone to entertain our saviour,” she said. + +From the outset, they treated “our saviour” as an old and valued friend. +By the time dessert was served, their friendship was well cemented, and +private confidences were being exchanged. Arsène related the story of +his life, the life of his father as a magistrate, the sorrows of his +childhood, and his present difficulties. Gervaise, in turn, spoke of +her youth, her marriage, the kindness of the aged Brawford, the hundred +millions that she had inherited, the obstacles that prevented her from +obtaining the enjoyment of her inheritance, the moneys she had been +obliged to borrow at an exorbitant rate of interest, her endless +contentions with Brawford’s nephews, and the litigation! the +injunctions! in fact, everything! + +“Just think of it, Monsieur Lupin, the bonds are there, in my husband’s +office, and if we detach a single coupon, we lose everything! They are +there, in our safe, and we dare not touch them.” + +Monsieur Lupin shivered at the bare idea of his proximity to so much +wealth. Yet he felt quite certain that Monsieur Lupin would never suffer +from the same difficulty as his fair hostess who declared she dare not +touch the money. + +“Ah! they are there!” he repeated, to himself; “they are there!” + +A friendship formed under such circumstances soon led to closer +relations. When discreetly questioned, Arsène Lupin confessed his +poverty and distress. Immediately, the unfortunate young man was +appointed private secretary to the Imberts, husband and wife, at a +salary of one hundred francs a month. He was to come to the house every +day and receive orders for his work, and a room on the second floor +was set apart as his office. This room was directly over Mon. Imbert’s +office. + +Arsène soon realized that his position as secretary was essentially +a sinecure. During the first two months, he had only four important +letters to recopy, and was called only once to Mon. Imbert’s office; +consequently, he had only one opportunity to contemplate, officially, +the Imbert safe. Moreover, he noticed that the secretary was not invited +to the social functions of the employer. But he did not complain, as he +preferred to remain, modestly, in the shade and maintain his peace and +freedom. + +However, he was not wasting any time. From the beginning, he made +clandestine visits to Mon. Imbert’s office, and paid his respects to the +safe, which was hermetically closed. It was an immense block of iron and +steel, cold and stern in appearance, which could not be forced open +by the ordinary tools of the burglar’s trade. But Arsène Lupin was not +discouraged. + +“Where force fails, cunning prevails,” he said to himself. “The +essential thing is to be on the spot when the opportunity occurs. In the +meantime, I must watch and wait.” + +He made immediately some preliminary preparations. After careful +soundings made upon the floor of his room, he introduced a lead pipe +which penetrated the ceiling of Mon. Imbert’s office at a point between +the two screeds of the cornice. By means of this pipe, he hoped to see +and hear what transpired in the room below. + +Henceforth, he passed his days stretched at full length upon the floor. +He frequently saw the Imberts holding a consultation in front of the +safe, investigating books and papers. When they turned the combination +lock, he tried to learn the figures and the number of turns they made to +the right and left. He watched their movements; he sought to catch their +words. There was also a key necessary to complete the opening of the +safe. What did they do with it? Did they hide it? + +One day, he saw them leave the room without locking the safe. He +descended the stairs quickly, and boldly entered the room. But they had +returned. + +“Oh! excuse me,” he said, “I made a mistake in the door.” + +“Come in, Monsieur Lupin, come in,” cried Madame Imbert, “are you not at +home here? We want your advice. What bonds should we sell? The foreign +securities or the government annuities?” + +“But the injunction?” said Lupin, with surprise. + +“Oh! it doesn’t cover all the bonds.” + +She opened the door of the safe and withdrew a package of bonds. But her +husband protested. + +“No, no, Gervaise, it would be foolish to sell the foreign bonds. They +are going up, whilst the annuities are as high as they ever will be. +What do you think, my dear friend?” + +The dear friend had no opinion; yet he advised the sacrifice of the +annuities. Then she withdrew another package and, from it, she took +a paper at random. It proved to be a three-per-cent annuity worth two +thousand francs. Ludovic placed the package of bonds in his pocket. +That afternoon, accompanied by his secretary, he sold the annuities to a +stock-broker and realized forty-six thousand francs. + +Whatever Madame Imbert might have said about it, Arsène Lupin did not +feel at home in the Imbert house. On the contrary, his position there +was a peculiar one. He learned that the servants did not even know his +name. They called him “monsieur.” Ludovic always spoke of him in the +same way: “You will tell monsieur. Has monsieur arrived?” Why that +mysterious appellation? + +Moreover, after their first outburst of enthusiasm, the Imberts seldom +spoke to him, and, although treating him with the consideration due to +a benefactor, they gave him little or no attention. They appeared to +regard him as an eccentric character who did not like to be disturbed, +and they respected his isolation as if it were a stringent rule on his +part. On one occasion, while passing through the vestibule, he heard +Madame Imbert say to the two gentlemen: + +“He is such a barbarian!” + +“Very well,” he said to himself, “I am a barbarian.” + +And, without seeking to solve the question of their strange conduct, he +proceeded with the execution of his own plans. He had decided that he +could not depend on chance, nor on the negligence of Madame Imbert, who +carried the key of the safe, and who, on locking the safe, invariably +scattered the letters forming the combination of the lock. Consequently, +he must act for himself. + +Finally, an incident precipitated matters; it was the vehement campaign +instituted against the Imberts by certain newspapers that accused +the Imberts of swindling. Arsène Lupin was present at certain family +conferences when this new vicissitude was discussed. He decided that if +he waited much longer, he would lose everything. During the next five +days, instead of leaving the house about six o’clock, according to his +usual habit, he locked himself in his room. It was supposed that he had +gone out. But he was lying on the floor surveying the office of Mon. +Imbert. During those five evenings, the favorable opportunity that he +awaited did not take place. He left the house about midnight by a side +door to which he held the key. + +But on the sixth day, he learned that the Imberts, actuated by the +malevolent insinuations of their enemies, proposed to make an inventory +of the contents of the safe. + +“They will do it to-night,” thought Lupin. + +And truly, after dinner, Imbert and his wife retired to the office and +commenced to examine the books of account and the securities contained +in the safe. Thus, one hour after another passed away. He heard the +servants go upstairs to their rooms. No one now remained on the first +floor. Midnight! The Imberts were still at work. + +“I must get to work,” murmured Lupin. + +He opened his window. It opened on a court. Outside, everything was +dark and quiet. He took from his desk a knotted rope, fastened it to +the balcony in front of his window, and quietly descended as far as the +window below, which was that of the of Imbert’s office. He stood upon +the balcony for a moment, motionless, with attentive ear and watchful +eye, but the heavy curtains effectually concealed the interior of the +room. He cautiously pushed on the double window. If no one had examined +it, it ought to yield to the slightest pressure, for, during the +afternoon, he had so fixed the bolt that it would not enter the staple. + +The window yielded to his touch. Then, with infinite care, he pushed +it open sufficiently to admit his head. He parted the curtains a few +inches, looked in, and saw Mon. Imbert and his wife sitting in front +of the safe, deeply absorbed in their work and speaking softly to each +other at rare intervals. + +He calculated the distance between him and them, considered the exact +movements he would require to make in order to overcome them, one after +the other, before they could call for help, and he was about to rush +upon them, when Madame Imbert said: + +“Ah! the room is getting quite cold. I am going to bed. And you, my +dear?” + +“I shall stay and finish.” + +“Finish! Why, that will take you all night.” + +“Not at all. An hour, at the most.” + +She retired. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed. Arsène pushed the +window a little farther open. The curtains shook. He pushed once more. +Mon. Imbert turned, and, seeing the curtains blown by the wind, he rose +to close the window. + +There was not a cry, not the trace of struggle. With a few precise +moments, and without causing him the least injury, Arsène stunned him, +wrapped the curtain about his head, bound him hand and foot, and did it +all in such a manner that Mon. Imbert had no opportunity to recognize +his assailant. + +Quickly, he approached the safe, seized two packages that he placed +under his arm, left the office, and opened the servants’ gate. A +carriage was stationed in the street. + +“Take that, first--and follow me,” he said to the coachman. He returned +to the office, and, in two trips, they emptied the safe. Then Arsène +went to his own room, removed the rope, and all other traces of his +clandestine work. + +A few hours later, Arsène Lupin and his assistant examined the stolen +goods. Lupin was not disappointed, as he had foreseen that the wealth of +the Imberts had been greatly exaggerated. It did not consist of hundreds +of millions, nor even tens of millions. Yet it amounted to a very +respectable sum, and Lupin expressed his satisfaction. + +“Of course,” he said, “there will be a considerable loss when we come +to sell the bonds, as we will have to dispose of them surreptitiously +at reduced prices. In the meantime, they will rest quietly in my desk +awaiting a propitious moment.” + +Arsène saw no reason why he should not go to the Imbert house the next +day. But a perusal of the morning papers revealed this startling fact: +Ludovic and Gervaise Imbert had disappeared. + +When the officers of the law seized the safe and opened it, they found +there what Arsène Lupin had left--nothing. + +* * * * * + +Such are the facts; and I learned the sequel to them, one day, when +Arsène Lupin was in a confidential mood. He was pacing to and fro in my +room, with a nervous step and a feverish eye that were unusual to him. + +“After all,” I said to him, “it was your most successful venture.” + +Without making a direct reply, he said: + +“There are some impenetrable secrets connected with that affair; some +obscure points that escape my comprehension. For instance: What +caused their flight? Why did they not take advantage of the help I +unconsciously gave them? It would have been so simple to say: ‘The +hundred millions were in the safe. They are no longer there, because +they have been stolen.’” + +“They lost their nerve.” + +“Yes, that is it--they lost their nerve...On the other hand, it is +true---” + +“What is true?” + +“Oh! nothing.” + +What was the meaning of Lupin’s reticence? It was quite obvious that he +had not told me everything; there was something he was loath to tell. +His conduct puzzled me. It must indeed be a very serious matter to cause +such a man as Arsène Lupin even a momentary hesitation. I threw out a +few questions at random. + +“Have you seen them since?” + +“No.” + +“And have you never experienced the slightest degree of pity for those +unfortunate people?” + +“I!” he exclaimed, with a start. + +His sudden excitement astonished me. Had I touched him on a sore spot? I +continued: + +“Of course. If you had not left them alone, they might have been able to +face the danger, or, at least, made their escape with full pockets.” + +“What do you mean?” he said, indignantly. “I suppose you have an idea +that my soul should be filled with remorse?” + +“Call it remorse or regrets--anything you like---” + +“They are not worth it.” + +“Have you no regrets or remorse for having stolen their fortune?” + +“What fortune?” + +“The packages of bonds you took from their safe.” + +“Oh! I stole their bonds, did I? I deprived them of a portion of their +wealth? Is that my crime? Ah! my dear boy, you do not know the truth. +You never imagined that those bonds were not worth the paper they were +written on. Those bonds were false--they were counterfeit--every one of +them--do you understand? THEY WERE COUNTERFEIT!” + +I looked at him, astounded. + +“Counterfeit! The four or five millions?” + +“Yes, counterfeit!” he exclaimed, in a fit of rage. “Only so many scraps +of paper! I couldn’t raise a sou on the whole of them! And you ask me if +I have any remorse. _They_ are the ones who should have remorse and pity. +They played me for a simpleton; and I fell into their trap. I was their +latest victim, their most stupid gull!” + +He was affected by genuine anger--the result of malice and wounded +pride. He continued: + +“From start to finish, I got the worst of it. Do you know the part I +played in that affair, or rather the part they made me play? That of +André Brawford! Yes, my boy, that is the truth, and I never suspected +it. It was not until afterwards, on reading the newspapers, that the +light finally dawned in my stupid brain. Whilst I was posing as his +“saviour,” as the gentleman who had risked his life to rescue Mon. +Imbert from the clutches of an assassin, they were passing me off as +Brawford. Wasn’t that splendid? That eccentric individual who had a +room on the second floor, that barbarian that was exhibited only at a +distance, was Brawford, and Brawford was I! Thanks to me, and to the +confidence that I inspired under the name of Brawford, they were enabled +to borrow money from the bankers and other money-lenders. Ha! what an +experience for a novice! And I swear to you that I shall profit by the +lesson!” + +He stopped, seized my arm, and said to me, in a tone of exasperation: + +“My dear fellow, at this very moment, Gervaise Imbert owes me fifteen +hundred francs.” + +I could not refrain from laughter, his rage was so grotesque. He was +making a mountain out of a molehill. In a moment, he laughed himself, +and said: + +“Yes, my boy, fifteen hundred francs. You must know that I had not +received one sou of my promised salary, and, more than that, she had +borrowed from me the sum of fifteen hundred francs. All my youthful +savings! And do you know why? To devote the money to charity! I am +giving you a straight story. She wanted it for some poor people she was +assisting--unknown to her husband. And my hard-earned money was wormed +out of me by that silly pretense! Isn’t it amusing, hein? Arsène Lupin +done out of fifteen hundred francs by the fair lady from whom he stole +four millions in counterfeit bonds! And what a vast amount of time and +patience and cunning I expended to achieve that result! It was the first +time in my life that I was played for a fool, and I frankly confess that +I was fooled that time to the queen’s taste!” + + + + +VIII. The Black Pearl + + +A violent ringing of the bell awakened the concierge of number nine, +avenue Hoche. She pulled the doorstring, grumbling: + +“I thought everybody was in. It must be three o’clock!” + +“Perhaps it is some one for the doctor,” muttered her husband. + +At that moment, a voice inquired: + +“Doctor Harel .... what floor?” + +“Third floor, left. But the doctor won’t go out at night.” + +“He must go to-night.” + +The visitor entered the vestibule, ascended to the first floor, the +second, the third, and, without stopping at the doctor’s door, he +continued to the fifth floor. There, he tried two keys. One of them +fitted the lock. + +“Ah! good!” he murmured, “that simplifies the business wonderfully. +But before I commence work I had better arrange for my retreat. Let me +see.... have I had sufficient time to rouse the doctor and be dismissed +by him? Not yet.... a few minutes more.” + +At the end of ten minutes, he descended the stairs, grumbling noisily +about the doctor. The concierge opened the door for him and heard it +click behind him. But the door did not lock, as the man had quickly +inserted a piece of iron in the lock in such a manner that the bolt +could not enter. Then, quietly, he entered the house again, unknown to +the concierge. In case of alarm, his retreat was assured. Noiselessly, +he ascended to the fifth floor once more. In the antechamber, by the +light of his electric lantern, he placed his hat and overcoat on one +of the chairs, took a seat on another, and covered his heavy shoes with +felt slippers. + +“Ouf! Here I am--and how simple it was! I wonder why more people do not +adopt the profitable and pleasant occupation of burglar. With a little +care and reflection, it becomes a most delightful profession. Not too +quiet and monotonous, of course, as it would then become wearisome.” + +He unfolded a detailed plan of the apartment. + +“Let me commence by locating myself. Here, I see the vestibule in which +I am sitting. On the street front, the drawing-room, the boudoir and +dining-room. Useless to waste any time there, as it appears that the +countess has a deplorable taste.... not a bibelot of any value!...Now, +let’s get down to business!... Ah! here is a corridor; it must lead to +the bed chambers. At a distance of three metres, I should come to the +door of the wardrobe-closet which connects with the chamber of the +countess.” He folded his plan, extinguished his lantern, and proceeded +down the corridor, counting his distance, thus: + +“One metre.... two metres.... three metres....Here is the door....Mon +Dieu, how easy it is! Only a small, simple bolt now separates me from +the chamber, and I know that the bolt is located exactly one metre, +forty-three centimeters, from the floor. So that, thanks to a small +incision I am about to make, I can soon get rid of the bolt.” + +He drew from his pocket the necessary instruments. Then the following +idea occurred to him: + +“Suppose, by chance, the door is not bolted. I will try it first.” + +He turned the knob, and the door opened. + +“My brave Lupin, surely fortune favors you....What’s to be done now? +You know the situation of the rooms; you know the place in which the +countess hides the black pearl. Therefore, in order to secure the black +pearl, you have simply to be more silent than silence, more invisible +than darkness itself.” + +Arsène Lupin was employed fully a half-hour in opening the second +door--a glass door that led to the countess’ bedchamber. But he +accomplished it with so much skill and precaution, that even had +the countess been awake, she would not have heard the slightest sound. +According to the plan of the rooms, that he holds, he has merely to pass +around a reclining chair and, beyond that, a small table close to the +bed. On the table, there was a box of letter-paper, and the black pearl +was concealed in that box. He stooped and crept cautiously over the +carpet, following the outlines of the reclining-chair. When he reached +the extremity of it, he stopped in order to repress the throbbing of +his heart. Although he was not moved by any sense of fear, he found it +impossible to overcome the nervous anxiety that one usually feels in the +midst of profound silence. That circumstance astonished him, because he +had passed through many more solemn moments without the slightest trace +of emotion. No danger threatened him. Then why did his heart throb like +an alarm-bell? Was it that sleeping woman who affected him? Was it the +proximity of another pulsating heart? + +He listened, and thought he could discern the rhythmical breathing of a +person asleep. It gave him confidence, like the presence of a friend. +He sought and found the armchair; then, by slow, cautious movements, +advanced toward the table, feeling ahead of him with outstretched arm. +His right had touched one of the feet of the table. Ah! now, he had +simply to rise, take the pearl, and escape. That was fortunate, as his +heart was leaping in his breast like a wild beast, and made so much +noise that he feared it would waken the countess. By a powerful effort +of the will, he subdued the wild throbbing of his heart, and was about +to rise from the floor when his left hand encountered, lying on the +floor, an object which he recognized as a candlestick--an overturned +candlestick. A moment later, his hand encountered another object: +a clock--one of those small traveling clocks, covered with +leather.------- + +Well! What had happened? He could not understand. That candlestick, that +clock; why were those articles not in their accustomed places? Ah! what +had happened in the dread silence of the night? + +Suddenly a cry escaped him. He had touched--oh! some strange, +unutterable thing! “No! no!” he thought, “it cannot be. It is some +fantasy of my excited brain.” For twenty seconds, thirty seconds, he +remained motionless, terrified, his forehead bathed with perspiration, +and his fingers still retained the sensation of that dreadful contact. + +Making a desperate effort, he ventured to extend his arm again. Once +more, his hand encountered that strange, unutterable thing. He felt +it. He must feel it and find out what it is. He found that it was hair, +human hair, and a human face; and that face was cold, almost icy. + +However frightful the circumstances may be, a man like Arsène Lupin +controls himself and commands the situation as soon as he learns what it +is. So, Arsène Lupin quickly brought his lantern into use. A woman +was lying before him, covered with blood. Her neck and shoulders +were covered with gaping wounds. He leaned over her and made a closer +examination. She was dead. + +“Dead! Dead!” he repeated, with a bewildered air. + +He stared at those fixed eyes, that grim mouth, that livid flesh, +and that blood--all that blood which had flowed over the carpet and +congealed there in thick, black spots. He arose and turned on the +electric lights. Then he beheld all the marks of a desperate struggle. +The bed was in a state of great disorder. On the floor, the candlestick, +and the clock, with the hands pointing to twenty minutes after eleven; +then, further away, an overturned chair; and, everywhere, there was +blood, spots of blood and pools of blood. + +“And the black pearl?” he murmured. + +The box of letter-paper was in its place. He opened it, eagerly. The +jewel-case was there, but it was empty. + +“Fichtre!” he muttered. “You boasted of your good fortune much too soon, +my friend Lupin. With the countess lying cold and dead, and the black +pearl vanished, the situation is anything but pleasant. Get out of here +as soon as you can, or you may get into serious trouble.” + +Yet, he did not move. + +“Get out of here? Yes, of course. Any person would, except Arsène Lupin. +He has something better to do. Now, to proceed in an orderly way. At +all events, you have a clear conscience. Let us suppose that you are +the commissary of police and that you are proceeding to make an inquiry +concerning this affair----Yes, but in order to do that, I require a +clearer brain. Mine is muddled like a ragout.” + +He tumbled into an armchair, with his clenched hands pressed against his +burning forehead. + +* * * * * + +The murder of the avenue Hoche is one of those which have recently +surprised and puzzled the Parisian public, and, certainly, I should +never have mentioned the affair if the veil of mystery had not been +removed by Arsène Lupin himself. No one knew the exact truth of the +case. + +Who did not know--from having met her in the Bois--the fair Léotine +Zalti, the once-famous cantatrice, wife and widow of the Count +d’Andillot; the Zalti, whose luxury dazzled all Paris some twenty years +ago; the Zalti who acquired an European reputation for the magnificence +of her diamonds and pearls? It was said that she wore upon her shoulders +the capital of several banking houses and the gold mines of numerous +Australian companies. Skilful jewelers worked for Zalti as they had +formerly wrought for kings and queens. And who does not remember the +catastrophe in which all that wealth was swallowed up? Of all that +marvelous collection, nothing remained except the famous black pearl. +The black pearl! That is to say a fortune, if she had wished to part +with it. + +But she preferred to keep it, to live in a commonplace apartment with +her companion, her cook, and a man-servant, rather than sell that +inestimable jewel. There was a reason for it; a reason she was not +afraid to disclose: the black pearl was the gift of an emperor! Almost +ruined, and reduced to the most mediocre existence, she remained +faithful to the companion of her happy and brilliant youth. The black +pearl never left her possession. She wore it during the day, and, at +night, concealed it in a place known to her alone. + +All these facts, being republished in the columns of the public press, +served to stimulate curiosity; and, strange to say, but quite obvious +to those who have the key to the mystery, the arrest of the presumed +assassin only complicated the question and prolonged the excitement. Two +days later, the newspapers published the following item: + +“Information has reached us of the arrest of Victor Danègre, the servant +of the Countess d’Andillot. The evidence against him is clear and +convincing. On the silken sleeve of his liveried waistcoat, which chief +detective Dudouis found in his garret between the mattresses of his bed, +several spots of blood were discovered. In addition, a cloth-covered +button was missing from that garment, and this button was found beneath +the bed of the victim. + +“It is supposed that, after dinner, in place of going to his own room, +Danègre slipped into the wardrobe-closet, and, through the glass door, +had seen the countess hide the precious black pearl. This is simply +a theory, as yet unverified by any evidence. There is, also, another +obscure point. At seven o’clock in the morning, Danègre went to the +tobacco-shop on the Boulevard de Courcelles; the concierge and the +shop-keeper both affirm this fact. On the other hand, the countess’ +companion and cook, who sleep at the end of the hall, both declare that, +when they arose at eight o’clock, the door of the antechamber and the +door of the kitchen were locked. These two persons have been in the +service of the countess for twenty years, and are above suspicion. The +question is: How did Danègre leave the apartment? Did he have another +key? These are matters that the police will investigate.” + +As a matter of fact, the police investigation threw no light on the +mystery. It was learned that Victor Danègre was a dangerous criminal, a +drunkard and a debauchee. But, as they proceeded with the investigation, +the mystery deepened and new complications arose. In the first place, +a young woman, Mlle. De Sinclèves, the cousin and sole heiress of the +countess, declared that the countess, a month before her death, had +written a letter to her and in it described the manner in which the +black pearl was concealed. The letter disappeared the day after she +received it. Who had stolen it? + +Again, the concierge related how she had opened the door for a person +who had inquired for Doctor Harel. On being questioned, the doctor +testified that no one had rung his bell. Then who was that person? An +accomplice? + +The theory of an accomplice was thereupon adopted by the press and +public, and also by Ganimard, the famous detective. + +“Lupin is at the bottom of this affair,” he said to the judge. + +“Bah!” exclaimed the judge, “you have Lupin on the brain. You see him +everywhere.” + +“I see him everywhere, because he is everywhere.” + +“Say rather that you see him every time you encounter something you +cannot explain. Besides, you overlook the fact that the crime was +committed at twenty minutes past eleven in the evening, as is shown +by the clock, while the nocturnal visit, mentioned by the concierge, +occurred at three o’clock in the morning.” + +Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the guilt +of a suspected person, and then distort all subsequent discoveries +to conform to their established theory. The deplorable antecedents of +Victor Danègre, habitual criminal, drunkard and rake, influenced +the judge, and despite the fact that nothing new was discovered in +corroboration of the early clues, his official opinion remained firm and +unshaken. He closed his investigation, and, a few weeks later, the trial +commenced. It proved to be slow and tedious. The judge was listless, +and the public prosecutor presented the case in a careless manner. Under +those circumstances, Danègre’s counsel had an easy task. He pointed out +the defects and inconsistencies of the case for the prosecution, and +argued that the evidence was quite insufficient to convict the accused. +Who had made the key, the indispensable key without which Danègre, on +leaving the apartment, could not have locked the door behind him? Who +had ever seen such a key, and what had become of it? Who had seen the +assassin’s knife, and where is it now? + +“In any event,” argued the prisoner’s counsel, “the prosecution must +prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the prisoner committed the +murder. The prosecution must show that the mysterious individual who +entered the house at three o’clock in the morning is not the guilty +party. To be sure, the clock indicated eleven o’clock. But what of that? +I contend, that proves nothing. The assassin could turn the hands of the +clock to any hour he pleased, and thus deceive us in regard to the exact +hour of the crime.” + +Victor Danègre was acquitted. + +He left the prison on Friday about dusk in the evening, weak and +depressed by his six months’ imprisonment. The inquisition, the +solitude, the trial, the deliberations of the jury, combined to fill +him with a nervous fear. At night, he had been afflicted with terrible +nightmares and haunted by weird visions of the scaffold. He was a mental +and physical wreck. + +Under the assumed name of Anatole Dufour, he rented a small room on the +heights of Montmartre, and lived by doing odd jobs wherever he could +find them. He led a pitiful existence. Three times, he obtained regular +employment, only to be recognized and then discharged. Sometimes, he +had an idea that men were following him--detectives, no doubt, who were +seeking to trap and denounce him. He could almost feel the strong hand +of the law clutching him by the collar. + +One evening, as he was eating his dinner at a neighboring restaurant, +a man entered and took a seat at the same table. He was a person about +forty years of age, and wore a frock-coat of doubtful cleanliness. He +ordered soup, vegetables, and a bottle of wine. After he had finished +his soup, he turned his eyes on Danègre, and gazed at him intently. +Danègre winced. He was certain that this was one of the men who had +been following him for several weeks. What did he want? Danègre tried +to rise, but failed. His limbs refused to support him. The man poured +himself a glass of wine, and then filled Danègre’s glass. The man raised +his glass, and said: + +“To your health, Victor Danègre.” + +Victor started in alarm, and stammered: + +“I!....I!.... no, no....I swear to you....” + +“You will swear what? That you are not yourself? The servant of the +countess?” + +“What servant? My name is Dufour. Ask the proprietor.” + +“Yes, Anatole Dufour to the proprietor of this restaurant, but Victor +Danègre to the officers of the law.” + +“That’s not true! Some one has lied to you.” + +The new-comer took a card from his pocket and handed it to Victor, who +read on it: “Grimaudan, ex-inspector of the detective force. Private +business transacted.” Victor shuddered as he said: + +“You are connected with the police?” + +“No, not now, but I have a liking for the business and I continue to +work at it in a manner more--profitable. From time to time I strike upon +a golden opportunity--such as your case presents.” + +“My case?” + +“Yes, yours. I assure you it is a most promising affair, provided you +are inclined to be reasonable.” + +“But if I am not reasonable?” + +“Oh! my good fellow, you are not in a position to refuse me anything I +may ask.” + +“What is it.... you want?” stammered Victor, fearfully. + +“Well, I will inform you in a few words. I am sent by Mademoiselle de +Sinclèves, the heiress of the Countess d’Andillot.” + +“What for?” + +“To recover the black pearl.” + +“Black pearl?” + +“That you stole.” + +“But I haven’t got it.” + +“You have it.” + +“If I had, then I would be the assassin.” + +“You are the assassin.” + +Danègre showed a forced smile. + +“Fortunately for me, monsieur, the Assizecourt was not of your opinion. +The jury returned an unanimous verdict of acquittal. And when a man has +a clear conscience and twelve good men in his favor--” + +The ex-inspector seized him by the arm and said: + +“No fine phrases, my boy. Now, listen to me and weigh my words +carefully. You will find they are worthy of your consideration. Now, +Danègre, three weeks before the murder, you abstracted the cook’s key +to the servants’ door, and had a duplicate key made by a locksmith named +Outard, 244 rue Oberkampf.” + +“It’s a lie--it’s a lie!” growled Victor. “No person has seen that key. +There is no such key.” + +“Here it is.” + +After a silence, Grimaudan continued: + +“You killed the countess with a knife purchased by you at the Bazar de +la Republique on the same day as you ordered the duplicate key. It has a +triangular blade with a groove running from end to end.” + +“That is all nonsense. You are simply guessing at something you don’t +know. No one ever saw the knife.” + +“Here it is.” + +Victor Danègre recoiled. The ex-inspector continued: + +“There are some spots of rust upon it. Shall I tell you how they came +there?” + +“Well!.... you have a key and a knife. Who can prove that they belong to +me?” + +“The locksmith, and the clerk from whom you bought the knife. I have +already refreshed their memories, and, when you confront them, they +cannot fail to recognize you.” + +His speech was dry and hard, with a tone of firmness and precision. +Danègre was trembling with fear, and yet he struggled desperately to +maintain an air of indifference. + +“Is that all the evidence you have?” + +“Oh! no, not at all. I have plenty more. For instance, after the crime, +you went out the same way you had entered. But, in the centre of the +wardrobe-room, being seized by some sudden fear, you leaned against the +wall for support.” + +“How do you know that? No one could know such a thing,” argued the +desperate man. + +“The police know nothing about it, of course. They never think of +lighting a candle and examining the walls. But if they had done so, they +would have found on the white plaster a faint red spot, quite distinct, +however, to trace in it the imprint of your thumb which you had pressed +against the wall while it was wet with blood. Now, as you are well +aware, under the Bertillon system, thumb-marks are one of the principal +means of identification.” + +Victor Danègre was livid; great drops of perspiration rolled down his +face and fell upon the table. He gazed, with a wild look, at the strange +man who had narrated the story of his crime as faithfully as if he had +been an invisible witness to it. Overcome and powerless, Victor bowed +his head. He felt that it was useless to struggle against this marvelous +man. So he said: + +“How much will you give me, if I give you the pearl?” + +“Nothing.” + +“Oh! you are joking! Or do you mean that I should give you an article +worth thousands and hundreds of thousands and get nothing in return?” + +“You will get your life. Is that nothing?” + +The unfortunate man shuddered. Then Grimaudan added, in a milder tone: + +“Come, Danègre, that pearl has no value in your hands. It is quite +impossible for you to sell it; so what is the use of your keeping it?” + +“There are pawnbrokers.... and, some day, I will be able to get something +for it.” + +“But that day may be too late.” + +“Why?” + +“Because by that time you may be in the hands of the police, and, +with the evidence that I can furnish--the knife, the key, the +thumb-mark--what will become of you?” + +Victor rested his head on his hands and reflected. He felt that he was +lost, irremediably lost, and, at the same time, a sense of weariness and +depression overcame him. He murmured, faintly: + +“When must I give it to you?” + +“To-night---within an hour.” + +“If I refuse?” + +“If you refuse, I shall post this letter to the Procureur of the +Republic; in which letter Mademoiselle de Sinclèves denounces you as the +assassin.” + +Danègre poured out two glasses of wine which he drank in rapid +succession, then, rising, said: + +“Pay the bill, and let us go. I have had enough of the cursed affair.” + +Night had fallen. The two men walked down the rue Lepic and followed +the exterior boulevards in the direction of the Place de l’Etoile. +They pursued their way in silence; Victor had a stooping carriage and a +dejected face. When they reached the Parc Monceau, he said: + +“We are near the house.” + +“Parbleu! You only left the house once, before your arrest, and that was +to go to the tobacco-shop.” + +“Here it is,” said Danègre, in a dull voice. + +They passed along the garden wall of the countess’ house, and crossed a +street on a corner of which stood the tobacco-shop. A few steps further +on, Danègre stopped; his limbs shook beneath him, and he sank to a +bench. + +“Well! what now?” demanded his companion. + +“It is there.” + +“Where? Come, now, no nonsense!” + +“There--in front of us.” + +“Where?” + +“Between two paving-stones.” + +“Which?” + +“Look for it.” + +“Which stones?” + +Victor made no reply. + +“Ah; I see!” exclaimed Grimaudan, “you want me to pay for the +information.” + +“No.... but....I am afraid I will starve to death.” + +“So! that is why you hesitate. Well, I’ll not be hard on you. How much +do you want?” + +“Enough to buy a steerage pass to America.” + +“All right.” + +“And a hundred francs to keep me until I get work there.” + +“You shall have two hundred. Now, speak.” + +“Count the paving-stones to the right from the sewer-hole. The pearl is +between the twelfth and thirteenth.” + +“In the gutter?” + +“Yes, close to the sidewalk.” + +Grimaudan glanced around to see if anyone were looking. Some tram-cars +and pedestrians were passing. But, bah, they will not suspect anything. +He opened his pocketknife and thrust it between the twelfth and +thirteenth stones. + +“And if it is not there?” he said to Victor. + +“It must be there, unless someone saw me stoop down and hide it.” + +Could it be possible that the black pearl had been cast into the mud +and filth of the gutter to be picked up by the first comer? The black +pearl--a fortune! + +“How far down?” he asked. + +“About ten centimetres.” + +He dug up the wet earth. The point of his knife struck something. He +enlarged the hole with his finger. Then he abstracted the black pearl +from its filthy hiding-place. + +“Good! Here are your two hundred francs. I will send you the ticket for +America.” + +On the following day, this article was published in the _Echo de +France_, and was copied by the leading newspapers throughout the world: + + “Yesterday, the famous black pearl came into the possession of + Arsène Lupin, who recovered it from the murderer of the Countess + d’Andillot. In a short time, fac-similes of that precious jewel + will be exhibited in London, St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayres + and New York. + + “Arsène Lupin will be pleased to consider all propositions + submitted to him through his agents.” + +* * * * * + +“And that is how crime is always punished and virtue rewarded,” said +Arsène Lupin, after he had told me the foregoing history of the black +pearl. + +“And that is how you, under the assumed name of Grimaudan, ex-inspector +of detectives, were chosen by fate to deprive the criminal of the +benefit of his crime.” + +“Exactly. And I confess that the affair gives me infinite satisfaction +and pride. The forty minutes that I passed in the apartment of the +Countess d’Andillot, after learning of her death, were the most +thrilling and absorbing moments of my life. In those forty minutes, +involved as I was in a most dangerous plight, I calmly studied the scene +of the murder and reached the conclusion that the crime must have been +committed by one of the house servants. I also decided that, in order +to get the pearl, that servant must be arrested, and so I left the +wainscoat button; it was necessary, also, for me to hold some convincing +evidence of his guilt, so I carried away the knife which I found upon +the floor, and the key which I found in the lock. I closed and +locked the door, and erased the finger-marks from the plaster in the +wardrobe-closet. In my opinion, that was one of those flashes--” + +“Of genius,” I said, interrupting. + +“Of genius, if you wish. But, I flatter myself, it would not have +occurred to the average mortal. To frame, instantly, the two elements of +the problem--an arrest and an acquittal; to make use of the formidable +machinery of the law to crush and humble my victim, and reduce him to a +condition in which, when free, he would be certain to fall into the trap +I was laying for him!” + +“Poor devil--” + +“Poor devil, do you say? Victor Danègre, the assassin! He might have +descended to the lowest depths of vice and crime, if he had retained the +black pearl. Now, he lives! Think of that: Victor Danègre is alive!” + +“And you have the black pearl.” + +He took it out of one of the secret pockets of his wallet, examined it, +gazed at it tenderly, and caressed it with loving fingers, and sighed, +as he said: + +“What cold Russian prince, what vain and foolish rajah may some day +possess this priceless treasure! Or, perhaps, some American millionaire +is destined to become the owner of this morsel of exquisite beauty that +once adorned the fair bosom of Leontine Zalti, the Countess d’Andillot.” + + + + +IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late + + +“It is really remarkable, Velmont, what a close resemblance you bear to +Arsène Lupin!” + +“How do you know?” + +“Oh! like everyone else, from photographs, no two of which are alike, +but each of them leaves the impression of a face.... something like +yours.” + +Horace Velmont displayed some vexation. + +“Quite so, my dear Devanne. And, believe me, you are not the first one +who has noticed it.” + +“It is so striking,” persisted Devanne, “that if you had not been +recommended to me by my cousin d’Estevan, and if you were not the +celebrated artist whose beautiful marine views I so admire, I have no +doubt I should have warned the police of your presence in Dieppe.” + +This sally was greeted with an outburst of laughter. The large +dining-hall of the Château de Thibermesnil contained on this occasion, +besides Velmont, the following guests: Father Gélis, the parish priest, +and a dozen officers whose regiments were quartered in the vicinity and +who had accepted the invitation of the banker Georges Devanne and his +mother. One of the officers then remarked: + +“I understand that an exact description of Arsène Lupin has been +furnished to all the police along this coast since his daring exploit on +the Paris-Havre express.” + +“I suppose so,” said Devanne. “That was three months ago; and a week +later, I made the acquaintance of our friend Velmont at the casino, and, +since then, he has honored me with several visits--an agreeable preamble +to a more serious visit that he will pay me one of these days--or, +rather, one of these nights.” + +This speech evoked another round of laughter, and the guests then passed +into the ancient “Hall of the Guards,” a vast room with a high ceiling, +which occupied the entire lower part of the Tour Guillaume--William’s +Tower--and wherein Georges Devanne had collected the incomparable +treasures which the lords of Thibermesnil had accumulated through +many centuries. It contained ancient chests, credences, andirons and +chandeliers. The stone walls were overhung with magnificent tapestries. +The deep embrasures of the four windows were furnished with benches, and +the Gothic windows were composed of small panes of colored glass set +in a leaden frame. Between the door and the window to the left stood +an immense bookcase of Renaissance style, on the pediment of which, in +letters of gold, was the word “Thibermesnil,” and, below it, the proud +family device: “Fais ce que veulx” (Do what thou wishest). When the +guests had lighted their cigars, Devanne resumed the conversation. + +“And remember, Velmont, you have no time to lose; in fact, to-night is +the last chance you will have.” + +“How so?” asked the painter, who appeared to regard the affair as a +joke. Devanne was about to reply, when his mother mentioned to him to +keep silent, but the excitement of the occasion and a desire to interest +his guests urged him to speak. + +“Bah!” he murmured. “I can tell it now. It won’t do any harm.” + +The guests drew closer, and he commenced to speak with the satisfied air +of a man who has an important announcement to make. + +“To-morrow afternoon at four o’clock, Sherlock Holmes, the famous +English detective, for whom such a thing as mystery does not exist; +Sherlock Holmes, the most remarkable solver of enigmas the world has +ever known, that marvelous man who would seem to be the creation of a +romantic novelist--Sherlock Holmes will be my guest!” + +Immediately, Devanne was the target of numerous eager questions. “Is +Sherlock Holmes really coming?” “Is it so serious as that?” “Is Arsène +Lupin really in this neighborhood?” + +“Arsène Lupin and his band are not far away. Besides the robbery of the +Baron Cahorn, he is credited with the thefts at Montigny, Gruchet and +Crasville. And now it is my turn.” + +“Has he sent you a warning, as he did to Baron Cahorn?” + +“No,” replied Devanne, “he can’t work the same trick twice.” + +“What then?” + +“I will show you.” + +He rose, and pointing to a small empty space between the two enormous +folios on one of the shelves of the bookcase, he said: + +“There used to be a book there--a book of the sixteenth century entitled +‘Chronique de Thibermesnil,’ which contained the history of the castle +since its construction by Duke Rollo on the site of a former feudal +fortress. There were three engraved plates in the book; one of which was +a general view of the whole estate; another, the plan of the buildings; +and the third--I call your attention to it, particularly--the third was +the sketch of a subterranean passage, an entrance to which is outside +the first line of ramparts, while the other end of the passage is here, +in this very room. Well, that book disappeared a month ago.” + +“The deuce!” said Velmont, “that looks bad. But it doesn’t seem to be a +sufficient reason for sending for Sherlock Holmes.” + +“Certainly, that was not sufficient in itself, but another incident +happened that gives the disappearance of the book a special +significance. There was another copy of this book in the National +Library at Paris, and the two books differed in certain details relating +to the subterranean passage; for instance, each of them contained +drawings and annotations, not printed, but written in ink and more or +less effaced. I knew those facts, and I knew that the exact location of +the passage could be determined only by a comparison of the two books. +Now, the day after my book disappeared, the book was called for in the +National Library by a reader who carried it away, and no one knows how +the theft was effected.” + +The guests uttered many exclamations of surprise. + +“Certainly, the affair looks serious,” said one. + +“Well, the police investigated the matter, and, as usual, discovered no +clue whatever.” + +“They never do, when Arsène Lupin is concerned in it.” + +“Exactly; and so I decided to ask the assistance of Sherlock Holmes, +who replied that he was ready and anxious to enter the lists with Arsène +Lupin.” + +“What glory for Arsène Lupin!” said Velmont. “But if our national thief, +as they call him, has no evil designs on your castle, Sherlock Holmes +will have his trip in vain.” + +“There are other things that will interest him, such as the discovery of +the subterranean passage.” + +“But you told us that one end of the passage was outside the ramparts +and the other was in this very room!” + +“Yes, but in what part of the room? The line which represents the +passage on the charts ends here, with a small circle marked with the +letters ‘T.G.,’ which no doubt stand for ‘Tour Guillaume.’ But the tower +is round, and who can tell the exact spot at which the passage touches +the tower?” + +Devanne lighted a second cigar and poured himself a glass of +Benedictine. His guests pressed him with questions and he was pleased to +observe the interest that his remarks had created. Then he continued: + +“The secret is lost. No one knows it. The legend is to the effect that +the former lords of the castle transmitted the secret from father to son +on their deathbeds, until Geoffroy, the last of the race, was beheaded +during the Revolution in his nineteenth year.” + +“That is over a century ago. Surely, someone has looked for it since +that time?” + +“Yes, but they failed to find it. After I purchased the castle, I made a +diligent search for it, but without success. You must remember that this +tower is surrounded by water and connected with the castle only by a +bridge; consequently, the passage must be underneath the old moat. The +plan that was in the book in the National Library showed a series of +stairs with a total of forty-eight steps, which indicates a depth of +more than ten meters. You see, the mystery lies within the walls of this +room, and yet I dislike to tear them down.” + +“Is there nothing to show where it is?” + +“Nothing.” + +“Mon. Devanne, we should turn our attention to the two quotations,” + suggested Father Gélis. + +“Oh!” exclaimed Mon. Devanne, laughing, “our worthy father is fond +of reading memoirs and delving into the musty archives of the castle. +Everything relating to Thibermesnil interests him greatly. But the +quotations that he mentions only serve to complicate the mystery. He +has read somewhere that two kings of France have known the key to the +puzzle.” + +“Two kings of France! Who were they?” + +“Henry the Fourth and Louis the Sixteenth. And the legend runs like +this: On the eve of the battle of Arques, Henry the Fourth spent the +night in this castle. At eleven o’clock in the evening, Louise de +Tancarville, the prettiest woman in Normandy, was brought into the +castle through the subterranean passage by Duke Edgard, who, at the +same time, informed the king of the secret passage. Afterward, the king +confided the secret to his minister Sully, who, in turn, relates the +story in his book, “Royales Economies d’Etat,” without making any +comment upon it, but linking with it this incomprehensible sentence: +‘Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the other eye will lead to God!’” + +After a brief silence, Velmont laughed and said: + +“Certainly, it doesn’t throw a dazzling light upon the subject.” + +“No; but Father Gélis claims that Sully concealed the key to the +mystery in this strange sentence in order to keep the secret from the +secretaries to whom he dictated his memoirs.” + +“That is an ingenious theory,” said Velmont. + +“Yes, and it may be nothing more; I cannot see that it throws any light +on the mysterious riddle.” + +“And was it also to receive the visit of a lady that Louis the Sixteenth +caused the passage to be opened?” + +“I don’t know,” said Mon. Devanne. “All I can say is that the king +stopped here one night in 1784, and that the famous Iron Casket found +in the Louvre contained a paper bearing these words in the king’s own +writing: ‘Thibermesnil 3-4-11.’” + +Horace Velmont laughed heartily, and exclaimed: + +“At last! And now that we have the magic key, where is the man who can +fit it to the invisible lock?” + +“Laugh as much as you please, monsieur,” said Father Gélis, “but I am +confident the solution is contained in those two sentences, and some day +we will find a man able to interpret them.” + +“Sherlock Holmes is the man,” said Mon. Devanne, “unless Arsène Lupin +gets ahead of him. What is your opinion, Velmont?” + +Velmont arose, placed his hand on Devanne’s shoulder, and declared: + +“I think that the information furnished by your book and the book of the +National Library was deficient in a very important detail which you have +now supplied. I thank you for it.” + +“What is it?” + +“The missing key. Now that I have it, I can go to work at once,” said +Velmont. + +“Of course; without losing a minute,” said Devanne, smiling. + +“Not even a second!” replied Velmont. “To-night, before the arrival of +Sherlock Holmes, I must plunder your castle.” + +“You have no time to lose. Oh! by the way, I can drive you over this +evening.” + +“To Dieppe?” + +“Yes. I am going to meet Monsieur and Madame d’Androl and a young lady +of their acquaintance who are to arrive by the midnight train.” + +Then addressing the officers, Devanne added: + +“Gentlemen, I shall expect to see all of you at breakfast to-morrow.” + +The invitation was accepted. The company dispersed, and a few moments +later Devanne and Velmont were speeding toward Dieppe in an automobile. +Devanne dropped the artist in front of the Casino, and proceeded to the +railway station. At twelve o’clock his friends alighted from the train. +A half hour later the automobile was at the entrance to the castle. +At one o’clock, after a light supper, they retired. The lights were +extinguished, and the castle was enveloped in the darkness and silence +of the night. + +* * * * * + +The moon appeared through a rift in the clouds, and filled the +drawing-room with its bright white light. But only for a moment. Then +the moon again retired behind its ethereal draperies, and darkness and +silence reigned supreme. No sound could be heard, save the monotonous +ticking of the clock. It struck two, and then continued its endless +repetitions of the seconds. Then, three o’clock. + +Suddenly, something clicked, like the opening and closing of a +signal-disc that warns the passing train. A thin stream of light flashed +to every corner of the room, like an arrow that leaves behind it a +trail of light. It shot forth from the central fluting of a column that +supported the pediment of the bookcase. It rested for a moment on +the panel opposite like a glittering circle of burnished silver, then +flashed in all directions like a guilty eye that scrutinizes every +shadow. It disappeared for a short time, but burst forth again as a +whole section of the bookcase revolved on a pivot and disclosed a large +opening like a vault. + +A man entered, carrying an electric lantern. He was followed by a second +man, who carried a coil of rope and various tools. The leader inspected +the room, listened a moment, and said: + +“Call the others.” + +Then eight men, stout fellows with resolute faces, entered the room, +and immediately commenced to remove the furnishings. Arsène Lupin passed +quickly from one piece of furniture to another, examined each, and, +according to its size or artistic value, he directed his men to take it +or leave it. If ordered to be taken, it was carried to the gaping mouth +of the tunnel, and ruthlessly thrust into the bowels of the earth. Such +was the fate of six armchairs, six small Louis XV chairs, a quantity +of Aubusson tapestries, some candelabra, paintings by Fragonard and +Nattier, a bust by Houdon, and some statuettes. Sometimes, Lupin would +linger before a beautiful chest or a superb picture, and sigh: + +“That is too heavy.... too large.... what a pity!” + +In forty minutes the room was dismantled; and it had been accomplished +in such an orderly manner and with as little noise as if the various +articles had been packed and wadded for the occasion. + +Lupin said to the last man who departed by way of the tunnel: + +“You need not come back. You understand, that as soon as the auto-van is +loaded, you are to proceed to the grange at Roquefort.” + +“But you, patron?” + +“Leave me the motor-cycle.” + +When the man had disappeared, Arsène Lupin pushed the section of the +bookcase back into its place, carefully effaced the traces of the men’s +footsteps, raised a portière, and entered a gallery, which was the only +means of communication between the tower and the castle. In the center +of this gallery there was a glass cabinet which had attracted Lupin’s +attentions. It contained a valuable collection of watches, snuff-boxes, +rings, chatelaines and miniatures of rare and beautiful workmanship. He +forced the lock with a small jimmy, and experienced a great pleasure in +handling those gold and silver ornaments, those exquisite and delicate +works of art. + +He carried a large linen bag, specially prepared for the removal of +such knick-knacks. He filled it. Then he filled the pockets of his coat, +waistcoat and trousers. And he was just placing over his left arm a +number of pearl reticules when he heard a slight sound. He listened. No, +he was not deceived. The noise continued. Then he remembered that, at +one end of the gallery, there was a stairway leading to an unoccupied +apartment, but which was probably occupied that night by the young lady +whom Mon. Devanne had brought from Dieppe with his other visitors. + +Immediately he extinguished his lantern, and had scarcely gained the +friendly shelter of a window-embrasure, when the door at the top of the +stairway was opened and a feeble light illuminated the gallery. He could +feel--for, concealed by a curtain, he could not see--that a woman was +cautiously descending the upper steps of the stairs. He hoped she would +come no closer. Yet, she continued to descend, and even advanced some +distance into the room. Then she uttered a faint cry. No doubt she had +discovered the broken and dismantled cabinet. + +She advanced again. Now he could smell the perfume, and hear the +throbbing of her heart as she drew closer to the window where he was +concealed. She passed so close that her skirt brushed against the +window-curtain, and Lupin felt that she suspected the presence of +another, behind her, in the shadow, within reach of her hand. He +thought: “She is afraid. She will go away.” But she did not go. The +candle, that she carried in her trembling hand, grew brighter. She +turned, hesitated a moment, appeared to listen, then suddenly drew aside +the curtain. + +They stood face to face. Arsène was astounded. He murmured, +involuntarily: + +“You--you--mademoiselle.” + +It was Miss Nelly. Miss Nelly! his fellow passenger on the transatlantic +steamer, who had been the subject of his dreams on that memorable +voyage, who had been a witness to his arrest, and who, rather than +betray him, had dropped into the water the Kodak in which he had +concealed the bank-notes and diamonds. Miss Nelly! that charming +creature, the memory of whose face had sometimes cheered, sometimes +saddened the long hours of imprisonment. + +It was such an unexpected encounter that brought them face to face in +that castle at that hour of the night, that they could not move, +nor utter a word; they were amazed, hypnotized, each at the sudden +apparition of the other. Trembling with emotion, Miss Nelly staggered to +a seat. He remained standing in front of her. + +Gradually, he realized the situation and conceived the impression he +must have produced at that moment with his arms laden with knick-knacks, +and his pockets and a linen sack overflowing with plunder. He was +overcome with confusion, and he actually blushed to find himself in +the position of a thief caught in the act. To her, henceforth, he was +a thief, a man who puts his hand in another’s pocket, who steals into +houses and robs people while they sleep. + +A watch fell upon the floor; then another. These were followed by other +articles which slipped from his grasp one by one. Then, actuated by a +sudden decision, he dropped the other articles into an armchair, emptied +his pockets and unpacked his sack. He felt very uncomfortable in Nelly’s +presence, and stepped toward her with the intention of speaking to her, +but she shuddered, rose quickly and fled toward the salon. The portière +closed behind her. He followed her. She was standing trembling and +amazed at the sight of the devastated room. He said to her, at once: + +“To-morrow, at three o’clock, everything will be returned. The furniture +will be brought back.” + +She made no reply, so he repeated: + +“I promise it. To-morrow, at three o’clock. Nothing in the world could +induce me to break that promise....To-morrow, at three o’clock.” + +Then followed a long silence that he dared not break, whilst the +agitation of the young girl caused him a feeling of genuine regret. +Quietly, without a word, he turned away, thinking: “I hope she will go +away. I can’t endure her presence.” But the young girl suddenly spoke, +and stammered: + +“Listen.... footsteps....I hear someone....” + +He looked at her with astonishment. She seemed to be overwhelmed by the +thought of approaching peril. + +“I don’t hear anything,” he said. + +“But you must go--you must escape!” + +“Why should I go?” + +“Because--you must. Oh! do not remain here another minute. Go!” + +She ran, quickly, to the door leading to the gallery and listened. No, +there was no one there. Perhaps the noise was outside. She waited a +moment, then returned reassured. + +But Arsène Lupin had disappeared. + +* * * * * + +As soon as Mon. Devanne was informed of the pillage of his castle, he +said to himself: It was Velmont who did it, and Velmont is Arsène Lupin. +That theory explained everything, and there was no other plausible +explanation. And yet the idea seemed preposterous. It was ridiculous to +suppose that Velmont was anyone else than Velmont, the famous artist, +and club-fellow of his cousin d’Estevan. So, when the captain of the +gendarmes arrived to investigate the affair, Devanne did not even think +of mentioning his absurd theory. + +Throughout the forenoon there was a lively commotion at the castle. +The gendarmes, the local police, the chief of police from Dieppe, the +villagers, all circulated to and fro in the halls, examining every +nook and corner that was open to their inspection. The approach of the +maneuvering troops, the rattling fire of the musketry, added to the +picturesque character of the scene. + +The preliminary search furnished no clue. Neither the doors nor windows +showed any signs of having been disturbed. Consequently, the removal of +the goods must have been effected by means of the secret passage. Yet, +there were no indications of footsteps on the floor, nor any unusual +marks upon the walls. + +Their investigations revealed, however, one curious fact that denoted +the whimsical character of Arsène Lupin: the famous Chronique of the +sixteenth century had been restored to its accustomed place in the +library and, beside it, there was a similar book, which was none other +than the volume stolen from the National Library. + +At eleven o’clock the military officers arrived. Devanne welcomed them +with his usual gayety; for, no matter how much chagrin he might suffer +from the loss of his artistic treasures, his great wealth enabled him to +bear his loss philosophically. His guests, Monsieur and Madame d’Androl +and Miss Nelly, were introduced; and it was then noticed that one of the +expected guests had not arrived. It was Horace Velmont. Would he come? +His absence had awakened the suspicions of Mon. Devanne. But at twelve +o’clock he arrived. Devanne exclaimed: + +“Ah! here you are!” + +“Why, am I not punctual?” asked Velmont. + +“Yes, and I am surprised that you are.... after such a busy night! I +suppose you know the news?” + +“What news?” + +“You have robbed the castle.” + +“Nonsense!” exclaimed Velmont, smiling. + +“Exactly as I predicted. But, first escort Miss Underdown to the +dining-room. Mademoiselle, allow me--” + +He stopped, as he remarked the extreme agitation of the young girl. +Then, recalling the incident, he said: + +“Ah! of course, you met Arsène Lupin on the steamer, before his arrest, +and you are astonished at the resemblance. Is that it?” + +She did not reply. Velmont stood before her, smiling. He bowed. She +took his proffered arm. He escorted her to her place, and took his seat +opposite her. During the breakfast, the conversation related exclusively +to Arsène Lupin, the stolen goods, the secret passage, and Sherlock +Holmes. It was only at the close of the repast, when the conversation +had drifted to other subjects, that Velmont took any part in it. Then +he was, by turns, amusing and grave, talkative and pensive. And all +his remarks seemed to be directed to the young girl. But she, quite +absorbed, did not appear to hear them. + +Coffee was served on the terrace overlooking the court of honor and +the flower garden in front of the principal façade. The regimental band +played on the lawn, and scores of soldiers and peasants wandered through +the park. + +Miss Nelly had not forgotten, for one moment, Lupin’s solemn promise: +“To-morrow, at three o’clock, everything will be returned.” + +At three o’clock! And the hands of the great clock in the right wing of +the castle now marked twenty minutes to three. In spite of herself, her +eyes wandered to the clock every minute. She also watched Velmont, who +was calmly swinging to and fro in a comfortable rocking chair. + +Ten minutes to three!....Five minutes to three!....Nelly was impatient +and anxious. Was it possible that Arsène Lupin would carry out his +promise at the appointed hour, when the castle, the courtyard, and the +park were filled with people, and at the very moment when the officers +of the law were pursuing their investigations? And yet....Arsène Lupin +had given her his solemn promise. “It will be exactly as he said,” + thought she, so deeply was she impressed with the authority, energy and +assurance of that remarkable man. To her, it no longer assumed the form +of a miracle, but, on the contrary, a natural incident that must occur +in the ordinary course of events. She blushed, and turned her head. + +Three o’clock! The great clock struck slowly: +one.... two.... three....Horace Velmont took out his watch, glanced at the +clock, then returned the watch to his pocket. A few seconds passed in +silence; and then the crowd in the courtyard parted to give passage +to two wagons, that had just entered the park-gate, each drawn by two +horses. They were army-wagons, such as are used for the transportation +of provisions, tents, and other necessary military stores. They stopped +in front of the main entrance, and a commissary-sergeant leaped from +one of the wagons and inquired for Mon. Devanne. A moment later, that +gentleman emerged from the house, descended the steps, and, under +the canvas covers of the wagons, beheld his furniture, pictures and +ornaments carefully packaged and arranged. + +When questioned, the sergeant produced an order that he had received +from the officer of the day. By that order, the second company of the +fourth battalion were commanded to proceed to the crossroads of Halleux +in the forest of Arques, gather up the furniture and other articles +deposited there, and deliver same to Monsieur Georges Devanne, owner of +the Thibermesnil castle, at three o’clock. Signed: Col. Beauvel. + +“At the crossroads,” explained the sergeant, “we found everything ready, +lying on the grass, guarded by some passers-by. It seemed very strange, +but the order was imperative.” + +One of the officers examined the signature. He declared it a forgery; +but a clever imitation. The wagons were unloaded, and the goods restored +to their proper places in the castle. + +During this commotion, Nelly had remained alone at the extreme end of +the terrace, absorbed by confused and distracted thoughts. Suddenly, she +observed Velmont approaching her. She would have avoided him, but the +balustrade that surrounded the terrace cut off her retreat. She was +cornered. She could not move. A gleam of sunshine, passing through the +scant foliage of a bamboo, lighted up her beautiful golden hair. Some +one spoke to her in a low voice: + +“Have I not kept my promise?” + +Arsène Lupin stood close to her. No one else was near. He repeated, in a +calm, soft voice: + +“Have I not kept my promise?” + +He expected a word of thanks, or at least some slight movement that +would betray her interest in the fulfillment of his promise. But she +remained silent. + +Her scornful attitude annoyed Arsène Lupin; and he realized the vast +distance that separated him from Miss Nelly, now that she had learned +the truth. He would gladly have justified himself in her eyes, or at +least pleaded extenuating circumstances, but he perceived the absurdity +and futility of such an attempt. Finally, dominated by a surging flood +of memories, he murmured: + +“Ah! how long ago that was! You remember the long hours on the deck of +the ‘Provence.’ Then, you carried a rose in your hand, a white rose like +the one you carry to-day. I asked you for it. You pretended you did +not hear me. After you had gone away, I found the rose--forgotten, no +doubt--and I kept it.” + +She made no reply. She seemed to be far away. He continued: + +“In memory of those happy hours, forget what you have learned since. +Separate the past from the present. Do not regard me as the man you saw +last night, but look at me, if only for a moment, as you did in those +far-off days when I was Bernard d’Andrezy, for a short time. Will you, +please?” + +She raised her eyes and looked at him as he had requested. Then, without +saying a word, she pointed to a ring he was wearing on his forefinger. +Only the ring was visible; but the setting, which was turned toward the +palm of his hand, consisted of a magnificent ruby. Arsène Lupin blushed. +The ring belonged to Georges Devanne. He smiled bitterly, and said: + +“You are right. Nothing can be changed. Arsène Lupin is now and always +will be Arsène Lupin. To you, he cannot be even so much as a memory. +Pardon me....I should have known that any attention I may now offer you +is simply an insult. Forgive me.” + +He stepped aside, hat in hand. Nelly passed before him. He was inclined +to detain her and beseech her forgiveness. But his courage failed, and +he contented himself by following her with his eyes, as he had done when +she descended the gangway to the pier at New York. She mounted the steps +leading to the door, and disappeared within the house. He saw her no +more. + +A cloud obscured the sun. Arsène Lupin stood watching the imprints of +her tiny feet in the sand. Suddenly, he gave a start. Upon the box which +contained the bamboo, beside which Nelly had been standing, he saw +the rose, the white rose which he had desired but dared not ask +for. Forgotten, no doubt--it, also! But how--designedly or through +distraction? He seized it eagerly. Some of its petals fell to the +ground. He picked them up, one by one, like precious relics. + +“Come!” he said to himself, “I have nothing more to do here. I must +think of my safety, before Sherlock Holmes arrives.” + +* * * * * + +The park was deserted, but some gendarmes were stationed at the +park-gate. He entered a grove of pine trees, leaped over the wall, +and, as a short cut to the railroad station, followed a path across the +fields. After walking about ten minutes, he arrived at a spot where the +road grew narrower and ran between two steep banks. In this ravine, he +met a man traveling in the opposite direction. It was a man about fifty +years of age, tall, smooth-shaven, and wearing clothes of a foreign cut. +He carried a heavy cane, and a small satchel was strapped across his +shoulder. When they met, the stranger spoke, with a slight English +accent: + +“Excuse me, monsieur, is this the way to the castle?” + +“Yes, monsieur, straight ahead, and turn to the left when you come to +the wall. They are expecting you.” + +“Ah!” + +“Yes, my friend Devanne told us last night that you were coming, and I +am delighted to be the first to welcome you. Sherlock Holmes has no more +ardent admirer than.... myself.” + +There was a touch of irony in his voice that he quickly regretted, for +Sherlock Holmes scrutinized him from head to foot with such a keen, +penetrating eye that Arsène Lupin experienced the sensation of being +seized, imprisoned and registered by that look more thoroughly and +precisely than he had ever been by a camera. + +“My negative is taken now,” he thought, “and it will be useless to use +a disguise with that man. He would look right through it. But, I wonder, +has he recognized me?” + +They bowed to each other as if about to part. But, at that moment, they +heard a sound of horses’ feet, accompanied by a clinking of steel. It +was the gendarmes. The two men were obliged to draw back against the +embankment, amongst the brushes, to avoid the horses. The gendarmes +passed by, but, as they followed each other at a considerable distance, +they were several minutes in doing so. And Lupin was thinking: + +“It all depends on that question: has he recognized me? If so, he will +probably take advantage of the opportunity. It is a trying situation.” + +When the last horseman had passed, Sherlock Holmes stepped forth and +brushed the dust from his clothes. Then, for a moment, he and Arsène +Lupin gazed at each other; and, if a person could have seen them at that +moment, it would have been an interesting sight, and memorable as the +first meeting of two remarkable men, so strange, so powerfully equipped, +both of superior quality, and destined by fate, through their peculiar +attributes, to hurl themselves one at the other like two equal forces +that nature opposes, one against the other, in the realms of space. + +Then the Englishman said: “Thank you, monsieur.” + +“You are quite welcome,” replied Arsène Lupin. + +They parted. Lupin went toward the railway station, and Sherlock Holmes +continued on his way to the castle. + +The local officers had given up the investigation after several hours +of fruitless efforts, and the people at the castle were awaiting the +arrival of the English detective with a lively curiosity. At first +sight, they were a little disappointed on account of his commonplace +appearance, which differed so greatly from the pictures they had formed +of him in their own minds. He did not in any way resemble the romantic +hero, the mysterious and diabolical personage that the name of Sherlock +Holmes had evoked in their imaginations. However, Mon. Devanne exclaimed +with much gusto: + +“Ah! monsieur, you are here! I am delighted to see you. It is a +long-deferred pleasure. Really, I scarcely regret what has happened, +since it affords me the opportunity to meet you. But, how did you come?” + +“By the train.” + +“But I sent my automobile to meet you at the station.” + +“An official reception, eh? with music and fireworks! Oh! no, not for +me. That is not the way I do business,” grumbled the Englishman. + +This speech disconcerted Devanne, who replied, with a forced smile: + +“Fortunately, the business has been greatly simplified since I wrote to +you.” + +“In what way?” + +“The robbery took place last night.” + +“If you had not announced my intended visit, it is probable the robbery +would not have been committed last night.” + +“When, then?” + +“To-morrow, or some other day.” + +“And in that case?” + +“Lupin would have been trapped,” said the detective. + +“And my furniture?” + +“Would not have been carried away.” + +“Ah! but my goods are here. They were brought back at three o’clock.” + +“By Lupin.” + +“By two army-wagons.” + +Sherlock Holmes put on his cap and adjusted his satchel. Devanne +exclaimed, anxiously: + +“But, monsieur, what are you going to do?” + +“I am going home.” + +“Why?” + +“Your goods have been returned; Arsène Lupin is far away--there is +nothing for me to do.” + +“Yes, there is. I need your assistance. What happened yesterday, may +happen again to-morrow, as we do not know how he entered, or how he +escaped, or why, a few hours later, he returned the goods.” + +“Ah! you don’t know--” + +The idea of a problem to be solved quickened the interest of Sherlock +Holmes. + +“Very well, let us make a search--at once--and alone, if possible.” + +Devanne understood, and conducted the Englishman to the salon. In a dry, +crisp voice, in sentences that seemed to have been prepared in advance, +Holmes asked a number of questions about the events of the preceding +evening, and enquired also concerning the guests and the members of the +household. Then he examined the two volumes of the “Chronique,” compared +the plans of the subterranean passage, requested a repetition of the +sentences discovered by Father Gélis, and then asked: + +“Was yesterday the first time you have spoken those two sentences to any +one?” + +“Yes.” + +“You had never communicated then to Horace Velmont?” + +“No.” + +“Well, order the automobile. I must leave in an hour.” + +“In an hour?” + +“Yes; within that time, Arsène Lupin solved the problem that you placed +before him.” + +“I.... placed before him--” + +“Yes, Arsène Lupin or Horace Velmont--same thing.” + +“I thought so. Ah! the scoundrel!” + +“Now, let us see,” said Holmes, “last night at ten o’clock, you +furnished Lupin with the information that he lacked, and that he had +been seeking for many weeks. During the night, he found time to solve +the problem, collect his men, and rob the castle. I shall be quite as +expeditious.” + +He walked from end to end of the room, in deep thought, then sat down, +crossed his long legs and closed his eyes. + +Devanne waited, quite embarrassed. Thought he: “Is the man asleep? Or is +he only meditating?” However, he left the room to give some orders, and +when he returned he found the detective on his knees scrutinizing the +carpet at the foot of the stairs in the gallery. + +“What is it?” he enquired. + +“Look.... there.... spots from a candle.” + +“You are right--and quite fresh.” + +“And you will also find them at the top of the stairs, and around +the cabinet that Arsène Lupin broke into, and from which he took the +bibelots that he afterward placed in this armchair.” + +“What do you conclude from that?” + +“Nothing. These facts would doubtless explain the cause for the +restitution, but that is a side issue that I cannot wait to investigate. +The main question is the secret passage. First, tell me, is there a +chapel some two or three hundred metres from the castle?” + +“Yes, a ruined chapel, containing the tomb of Duke Rollo.” + +“Tell your chauffer to wait for us near that chapel.” + +“My chauffer hasn’t returned. If he had, they would have informed me. Do +you think the secret passage runs to the chapel? What reason have--” + +“I would ask you, monsieur,” interrupted the detective, “to furnish me +with a ladder and a lantern.” + +“What! do you require a ladder and a lantern?” + +“Certainly, or I shouldn’t have asked for them.” + +Devanne, somewhat disconcerted by this crude logic, rang the bell. The +two articles were given with the sternness and precision of military +commands. + +“Place the ladder against the bookcase, to the left of the word +Thibermesnil.” + +Devanne placed the ladder as directed, and the Englishman continued: + +“More to the left.... to the right....There!....Now, climb up.... All the +letters are in relief, aren’t they?” + +“Yes.” + +“First, turn the letter I one way or the other.” + +“Which one? There are two of them.” + +“The first one.” + +Devanne took hold of the letter, and exclaimed: + +“Ah! yes, it turns toward the right. Who told you that?” + +Sherlock Holmes did not reply to the question, but continued his +directions: + +“Now, take the letter B. Move it back and forth as you would a bolt.” + +Devanne did so, and, to his great surprise, it produced a clicking +sound. + +“Quite right,” said Holmes. “Now, we will go to the other end of the +word Thibermesnil, try the letter I, and see if it will open like a +wicket.” + +With a certain degree of solemnity, Devanne seized the letter. It +opened, but Devanne fell from the ladder, for the entire section of the +bookcase, lying between the first and last letters of the words, turned +on a pivot and disclosed the subterranean passage. + +Sherlock Holmes said, coolly: + +“You are not hurt?” + +“No, no,” said Devanne, as he rose to his feet, “not hurt, only +bewildered. I can’t understand now.... those letters turn.... the secret +passage opens....” + +“Certainly. Doesn’t that agree exactly with the formula given by Sully? +Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the other eye will lead to God.” + +“But Louis the sixteenth?” asked Devanne. + +“Louis the sixteenth was a clever locksmith. I have read a book he wrote +about combination locks. It was a good idea on the part of the owner of +Thibermesnil to show His Majesty a clever bit of mechanism. As an aid +to his memory, the king wrote: 3-4-11, that is to say, the third, fourth +and eleventh letters of the word.” + +“Exactly. I understand that. It explains how Lupin got out of the room, +but it does not explain how he entered. And it is certain he came from +the outside.” + +Sherlock Holmes lighted his lantern, and stepped into the passage. + +“Look! All the mechanism is exposed here, like the works of a clock, +and the reverse side of the letters can be reached. Lupin worked the +combination from this side--that is all.” + +“What proof is there of that?” + +“Proof? Why, look at that puddle of oil. Lupin foresaw that the wheels +would require oiling.” + +“Did he know about the other entrance?” + +“As well as I know it,” said Holmes. “Follow me.” + +“Into that dark passage?” + +“Are you afraid?” + +“No, but are you sure you can find the way out?” + +“With my eyes closed.” + +At first, they descended twelve steps, then twelve more, and, farther +on, two other flights of twelve steps each. Then they walked through a +long passageway, the brick walls of which showed the marks of successive +restorations, and, in spots, were dripping with water. The earth, also, +was very damp. + +“We are passing under the pond,” said Devanne, somewhat nervously. + +At last, they came to a stairway of twelve steps, followed by three +others of twelve steps each, which they mounted with difficulty, and +then found themselves in a small cavity cut in the rock. They could go +no further. + +“The deuce!” muttered Holmes, “nothing but bare walls. This is +provoking.” + +“Let us go back,” said Devanne. “I have seen enough to satisfy me.” + +But the Englishman raised his eye and uttered a sigh of relief. There, +he saw the same mechanism and the same word as before. He had merely to +work the three letters. He did so, and a block of granite swung out of +place. On the other side, this granite block formed the tombstone of +Duke Rollo, and the word “Thibermesnil” was engraved on it in relief. +Now, they were in the little ruined chapel, and the detective said: + +“The other eye leads to God; that means, to the chapel.” + +“It is marvelous!” exclaimed Devanne, amazed at the clairvoyance and +vivacity of the Englishman. “Can it be possible that those few words +were sufficient for you?” + +“Bah!” declared Holmes, “they weren’t even necessary. In the chart in +the book of the National Library, the drawing terminates at the left, as +you know, in a circle, and at the right, as you do not know, in a cross. +Now, that cross must refer to the chapel in which we now stand.” + +Poor Devanne could not believe his ears. It was all so new, so novel to +him. He exclaimed: + +“It is incredible, miraculous, and yet of a childish simplicity! How is +it that no one has ever solved the mystery?” + +“Because no one has ever united the essential elements, that is to +say, the two books and the two sentences. No one, but Arsène Lupin and +myself.” + +“But, Father Gélis and I knew all about those things, and, likewise--” + +Holmes smiled, and said: + +“Monsieur Devanne, everybody cannot solve riddles.” + +“I have been trying for ten years to accomplish what you did in ten +minutes.” + +“Bah! I am used to it.” + +They emerged from the chapel, and found an automobile. + +“Ah! there’s an auto waiting for us.” + +“Yes, it is mine,” said Devanne. + +“Yours? You said your chauffeur hadn’t returned.” + +They approached the machine, and Mon. Devanne questioned the chauffer: + +“Edouard, who gave you orders to come here?” + +“Why, it was Monsieur Velmont.” + +“Mon. Velmont? Did you meet him?” + +“Near the railway station, and he told me to come to the chapel.” + +“To come to the chapel! What for?” + +“To wait for you, monsieur, and your friend.” + +Devanne and Holmes exchanged looks, and Mon. Devanne said: + +“He knew the mystery would be a simple one for you. It is a delicate +compliment.” + +A smile of satisfaction lighted up the detective’s serious features for +a moment. The compliment pleased him. He shook his head, as he said: + +“A clever man! I knew that when I saw him.” + +“Have you seen him?” + +“I met him a short time ago--on my way from the station.” + +“And you knew it was Horace Velmont--I mean, Arsène Lupin?” + +“That is right. I wonder how it came--” + +“No, but I supposed it was--from a certain ironical speech he made.” + +“And you allowed him to escape?” + +“Of course I did. And yet I had everything on my side, such as five +gendarmes who passed us.” + +“Sacrableu!” cried Devanne. “You should have taken advantage of the +opportunity.” + +“Really, monsieur,” said the Englishman, haughtily, “when I encounter +an adversary like Arsène Lupin, I do not take advantage of chance +opportunities, I create them.” + +But time pressed, and since Lupin had been so kind as to send the +automobile, they resolved to profit by it. They seated themselves in +the comfortable limousine; Edouard took his place at the wheel, and away +they went toward the railway station. Suddenly, Devanne’s eyes fell upon +a small package in one of the pockets of the carriage. + +“Ah! what is that? A package! Whose is it? Why, it is for you.” + +“For me?” + +“Yes, it is addressed: Sherlock Holmes, from Arsène Lupin.” + +The Englishman took the package, opened it, and found that it contained +a watch. + +“Ah!” he exclaimed, with an angry gesture. + +“A watch,” said Devanne. “How did it come there?” + +The detective did not reply. + +“Oh! it is your watch! Arsène Lupin returns your watch! But, in order to +return it, he must have taken it. Ah! I see! He took your watch! That +is a good one! Sherlock Holmes’ watch stolen by Arsène Lupin! Mon Dieu! +that is funny! Really.... you must excuse me....I can’t help it.” + +He roared with laughter, unable to control himself. After which, he +said, in a tone of earnest conviction: + +“A clever man, indeed!” + +The Englishman never moved a muscle. On the way to Dieppe, he never +spoke a word, but fixed his gaze on the flying landscape. His silence +was terrible, unfathomable, more violent than the wildest rage. At the +railway station, he spoke calmly, but in a voice that impressed one with +the vast energy and will power of that famous man. He said: + +“Yes, he is a clever man, but some day I shall have the pleasure of +placing on his shoulder the hand I now offer to you, Monsieur Devanne. +And I believe that Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes will meet again +some day. Yes, the world is too small--we will meet--we must meet--and +then--” + + ***** + +--The further startling and thrilling adventures of Arsène Lupin will be +found in the book entitled “Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes.”-- + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSÈNE LUPIN *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part +of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project +Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ +concept and trademark. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Maurice Leblanc</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: George Morehead</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 17, 2002 [eBook #6133]<br /> +[Most recently updated: April 8, 2023]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Nathan J. Miller and David Widger</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSÈNE LUPIN ***</div> + +<h1>The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin,<br /> +Gentleman-burglar</h1> + +<h2 class="no-break">By Maurice Leblanc</h2> + +<h3>Translated from the French<br /> +By George Morehead</h3> + +<hr /> + +<h3>Contents</h3> + +<table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. </a></td><td>The Arrest of Arsène Lupin</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. </a></td><td>Arsène Lupin in Prison</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. </a></td><td>The Escape of Arsène Lupin</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. </a></td><td>The Mysterious Traveller</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. </a></td><td>The Queen’s Necklace</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. </a></td><td>The Seven of Hearts</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VII. </a></td><td>Madame Imbert’s Safe</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. </a></td><td>The Black Pearl</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td><a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. </a></td><td>Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late</td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"></a> +I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin</h2> + +<p> +It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most auspicious +manner. The transatlantic steamship ‘La Provence’ was a swift and +comfortable vessel, under the command of a most affable man. The passengers +constituted a select and delightful society. The charm of new acquaintances and +improvised amusements served to make the time pass agreeably. We enjoyed the +pleasant sensation of being separated from the world, living, as it were, upon +an unknown island, and consequently obliged to be sociable with each other. +</p> + +<p> +Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and spontaneity emanate +from these various individuals who, on the preceding evening, did not even know +each other, and who are now, for several days, condemned to lead a life of +extreme intimacy, jointly defying the anger of the ocean, the terrible +onslaught of the waves, the violence of the tempest and the agonizing monotony +of the calm and sleepy water? Such a life becomes a sort of tragic existence, +with its storms and its grandeurs, its monotony and its diversity; and that is +why, perhaps, we embark upon that short voyage with mingled feelings of +pleasure and fear. +</p> + +<p> +But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to the life of +the transatlantic traveler. The little floating island is now attached to the +world from which it was once quite free. A bond united them, even in the very +heart of the watery wastes of the Atlantic. That bond is the wireless +telegraph, by means of which we receive news in the most mysterious manner. We +know full well that the message is not transported by the medium of a hollow +wire. No, the mystery is even more inexplicable, more romantic, and we must +have recourse to the wings of the air in order to explain this new miracle. +During the first day of the voyage, we felt that we were being followed, +escorted, preceded even, by that distant voice, which, from time to time, +whispered to one of us a few words from the receding world. Two friends spoke +to me. Ten, twenty others sent gay or somber words of parting to other +passengers. +</p> + +<p> +On the second day, at a distance of five hundred miles from the French coast, +in the midst of a violent storm, we received the following message by means of +the wireless telegraph: +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, wound right +fore-arm, traveling alone under name of R........” +</p> + +<p> +At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy skies. The +electric waves were interrupted. The remainder of the dispatch never reached +us. Of the name under which Arsène Lupin was concealing himself, we knew only +the initial. +</p> + +<p> +If the news had been of some other character, I have no doubt that the secret +would have been carefully guarded by the telegraphic operator as well as by the +officers of the vessel. But it was one of those events calculated to escape +from the most rigorous discretion. The same day, no one knew how, the incident +became a matter of current gossip and every passenger was aware that the famous +Arsène Lupin was hiding in our midst. +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin in our midst! the irresponsible burglar whose exploits had been +narrated in all the newspapers during the past few months! the mysterious +individual with whom Ganimard, our shrewdest detective, had been engaged in an +implacable conflict amidst interesting and picturesque surroundings. Arsène +Lupin, the eccentric gentleman who operates only in the châteaux and salons, +and who, one night, entered the residence of Baron Schormann, but emerged +empty-handed, leaving, however, his card on which he had scribbled these words: +“Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar, will return when the furniture is +genuine.” Arsène Lupin, the man of a thousand disguises: in turn a +chauffer, detective, bookmaker, Russian physician, Spanish bull-fighter, +commercial traveler, robust youth, or decrepit old man. +</p> + +<p> +Then consider this startling situation: Arsène Lupin was wandering about within +the limited bounds of a transatlantic steamer; in that very small corner of the +world, in that dining saloon, in that smoking room, in that music room! Arsène +Lupin was, perhaps, this gentleman.... or that one.... my neighbor at the +table.... the sharer of my stateroom.... +</p> + +<p> +“And this condition of affairs will last for five days!” exclaimed +Miss Nelly Underdown, next morning. “It is unbearable! I hope he will be +arrested.” +</p> + +<p> +Then, addressing me, she added: +</p> + +<p> +“And you, Monsieur d’Andrézy, you are on intimate terms with the +captain; surely you know something?” +</p> + +<p> +I should have been delighted had I possessed any information that would +interest Miss Nelly. She was one of those magnificent creatures who inevitably +attract attention in every assembly. Wealth and beauty form an irresistible +combination, and Nelly possessed both. +</p> + +<p> +Educated in Paris under the care of a French mother, she was now going to visit +her father, the millionaire Underdown of Chicago. She was accompanied by one of +her friends, Lady Jerland. +</p> + +<p> +At first, I had decided to open a flirtation with her; but, in the rapidly +growing intimacy of the voyage, I was soon impressed by her charming manner and +my feelings became too deep and reverential for a mere flirtation. Moreover, +she accepted my attentions with a certain degree of favor. She condescended to +laugh at my witticisms and display an interest in my stories. Yet I felt that I +had a rival in the person of a young man with quiet and refined tastes; and it +struck me, at times, that she preferred his taciturn humor to my Parisian +frivolity. He formed one in the circle of admirers that surrounded Miss Nelly +at the time she addressed to me the foregoing question. We were all comfortably +seated in our deck-chairs. The storm of the preceding evening had cleared the +sky. The weather was now delightful. +</p> + +<p> +“I have no definite knowledge, mademoiselle,” I replied, “but +can not we, ourselves, investigate the mystery quite as well as the detective +Ganimard, the personal enemy of Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! you are progressing very fast, monsieur.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all, mademoiselle. In the first place, let me ask, do you find +the problem a complicated one?” +</p> + +<p> +“Very complicated.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you forgotten the key we hold for the solution to the +problem?” +</p> + +<p> +“What key?” +</p> + +<p> +“In the first place, Lupin calls himself Monsieur +R———-.” +</p> + +<p> +“Rather vague information,” she replied. +</p> + +<p> +“Secondly, he is traveling alone.” +</p> + +<p> +“Does that help you?” she asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Thirdly, he is blonde.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well?” +</p> + +<p> +“Then we have only to peruse the passenger-list, and proceed by process +of elimination.” +</p> + +<p> +I had that list in my pocket. I took it out and glanced through it. Then I +remarked: +</p> + +<p> +“I find that there are only thirteen men on the passenger-list whose +names begin with the letter R.” +</p> + +<p> +“Only thirteen?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, in the first cabin. And of those thirteen, I find that nine of them +are accompanied by women, children or servants. That leaves only four who are +traveling alone. First, the Marquis de Raverdan——” +</p> + +<p> +“Secretary to the American Ambassador,” interrupted Miss Nelly. +“I know him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Major Rawson,” I continued. +</p> + +<p> +“He is my uncle,” some one said. +</p> + +<p> +“Mon. Rivolta.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here!” exclaimed an Italian, whose face was concealed beneath a +heavy black beard. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Nelly burst into laughter, and exclaimed: “That gentleman can +scarcely be called a blonde.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, then,” I said, “we are forced to the conclusion +that the guilty party is the last one on the list.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is his name?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mon. Rozaine. Does anyone know him?” +</p> + +<p> +No one answered. But Miss Nelly turned to the taciturn young man, whose +attentions to her had annoyed me, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, Monsieur Rozaine, why do you not answer?” +</p> + +<p> +All eyes were now turned upon him. He was a blonde. I must confess that I +myself felt a shock of surprise, and the profound silence that followed her +question indicated that the others present also viewed the situation with a +feeling of sudden alarm. However, the idea was an absurd one, because the +gentleman in question presented an air of the most perfect innocence. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do I not answer?” he said. “Because, considering my +name, my position as a solitary traveler and the color of my hair, I have +already reached the same conclusion, and now think that I should be +arrested.” +</p> + +<p> +He presented a strange appearance as he uttered these words. His thin lips were +drawn closer than usual and his face was ghastly pale, whilst his eyes were +streaked with blood. Of course, he was joking, yet his appearance and attitude +impressed us strangely. +</p> + +<p> +“But you have not the wound?” said Miss Nelly, naively. +</p> + +<p> +“That is true,” he replied, “I lack the wound.” +</p> + +<p> +Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his arm. But +that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his left arm, and I was on the +point of calling his attention to the fact, when another incident diverted our +attention. Lady Jerland, Miss Nelly’s friend, came running towards us in +a state of great excitement, exclaiming: +</p> + +<p> +“My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!” +</p> + +<p> +No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had taken only part +of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond sunbursts, jeweled pendants, +bracelets and necklaces, the thief had taken, not the largest but the finest +and most valuable stones. The mountings were lying upon the table. I saw them +there, despoiled of their jewels, like flowers from which the beautiful colored +petals had been ruthlessly plucked. And this theft must have been committed at +the time Lady Jerland was taking her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom +opening on a much frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to +force open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which was +hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty and remove it from +the mountings. +</p> + +<p> +Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same conclusion; it was the +work of Arsène Lupin. +</p> + +<p> +That day, at the dinner table, the seats to the right and left of Rozaine +remained vacant; and, during the evening, it was rumored that the captain had +placed him under arrest, which information produced a feeling of safety and +relief. We breathed once more. That evening, we resumed our games and dances. +Miss Nelly, especially, displayed a spirit of thoughtless gayety which +convinced me that if Rozaine’s attentions had been agreeable to her in +the beginning, she had already forgotten them. Her charm and good-humor +completed my conquest. At midnight, under a bright moon, I declared my devotion +with an ardor that did not seem to displease her. +</p> + +<p> +But, next day, to our general amazement, Rozaine was at liberty. We learned +that the evidence against him was not sufficient. He had produced documents +that were perfectly regular, which showed that he was the son of a wealthy +merchant of Bordeaux. Besides, his arms did not bear the slightest trace of a +wound. +</p> + +<p> +“Documents! Certificates of birth!” exclaimed the enemies of +Rozaine, “of course, Arsène Lupin will furnish you as many as you desire. +And as to the wound, he never had it, or he has removed it.” +</p> + +<p> +Then it was proven that, at the time of the theft, Rozaine was promenading on +the deck. To which fact, his enemies replied that a man like Arsène Lupin could +commit a crime without being actually present. And then, apart from all other +circumstances, there remained one point which even the most skeptical could not +answer: Who except Rozaine, was traveling alone, was a blonde, and bore a name +beginning with R? To whom did the telegram point, if it were not Rozaine? +</p> + +<p> +And when Rozaine, a few minutes before breakfast, came boldly toward our group, +Miss Nelly and Lady Jerland arose and walked away. +</p> + +<p> +An hour later, a manuscript circular was passed from hand to hand amongst the +sailors, the stewards, and the passengers of all classes. It announced that +Mon. Louis Rozaine offered a reward of ten thousand francs for the discovery of +Arsène Lupin or other person in possession of the stolen jewels. +</p> + +<p> +“And if no one assists me, I will unmask the scoundrel myself,” +declared Rozaine. +</p> + +<p> +Rozaine against Arsène Lupin, or rather, according to current opinion, Arsène +Lupin himself against Arsène Lupin; the contest promised to be interesting. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing developed during the next two days. We saw Rozaine wandering about, day +and night, searching, questioning, investigating. The captain, also, displayed +commendable activity. He caused the vessel to be searched from stem to stern; +ransacked every stateroom under the plausible theory that the jewels might be +concealed anywhere, except in the thief’s own room. +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose they will find out something soon,” remarked Miss Nelly +to me. “He may be a wizard, but he cannot make diamonds and pearls become +invisible.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly not,” I replied, “but he should examine the lining +of our hats and vests and everything we carry with us.” +</p> + +<p> +Then, exhibiting my Kodak, a 9x12 with which I had been photographing her in +various poses, I added: “In an apparatus no larger than that, a person +could hide all of Lady Jerland’s jewels. He could pretend to take +pictures and no one would suspect the game.” +</p> + +<p> +“But I have heard it said that every thief leaves some clue behind +him.” +</p> + +<p> +“That may be generally true,” I replied, “but there is one +exception: Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because he concentrates his thoughts not only on the theft, but on all +the circumstances connected with it that could serve as a clue to his +identity.” +</p> + +<p> +“A few days ago, you were more confident.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but since then I have seen him at work.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what do you think about it now?” she asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, in my opinion, we are wasting our time.” +</p> + +<p> +And, as a matter of fact, the investigation had produced no result. But, in the +meantime, the captain’s watch had been stolen. He was furious. He +quickened his efforts and watched Rozaine more closely than before. But, on the +following day, the watch was found in the second officer’s collar box. +</p> + +<p> +This incident caused considerable astonishment, and displayed the humorous side +of Arsène Lupin, burglar though he was, but dilettante as well. He combined +business with pleasure. He reminded us of the author who almost died in a fit +of laughter provoked by his own play. Certainly, he was an artist in his +particular line of work, and whenever I saw Rozaine, gloomy and reserved, and +thought of the double role that he was playing, I accorded him a certain +measure of admiration. +</p> + +<p> +On the following evening, the officer on deck duty heard groans emanating from +the darkest corner of the ship. He approached and found a man lying there, his +head enveloped in a thick gray scarf and his hands tied together with a heavy +cord. It was Rozaine. He had been assaulted, thrown down and robbed. A card, +pinned to his coat, bore these words: “Arsène Lupin accepts with pleasure +the ten thousand francs offered by Mon. Rozaine.” As a matter of fact, +the stolen pocket-book contained twenty thousand francs. +</p> + +<p> +Of course, some accused the unfortunate man of having simulated this attack on +himself. But, apart from the fact that he could not have bound himself in that +manner, it was established that the writing on the card was entirely different +from that of Rozaine, but, on the contrary, resembled the handwriting of Arsène +Lupin as it was reproduced in an old newspaper found on board. +</p> + +<p> +Thus it appeared that Rozaine was not Arsène Lupin; but was Rozaine, the son of +a Bordeaux merchant. And the presence of Arsène Lupin was once more affirmed, +and that in a most alarming manner. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the state of terror amongst the passengers that none would remain +alone in a stateroom or wander singly in unfrequented parts of the vessel. We +clung together as a matter of safety. And yet the most intimate acquaintances +were estranged by a mutual feeling of distrust. Arsène Lupin was, now, anybody +and everybody. Our excited imaginations attributed to him miraculous and +unlimited power. We supposed him capable of assuming the most unexpected +disguises; of being, by turns, the highly respectable Major Rawson or the noble +Marquis de Raverdan, or even—for we no longer stopped with the accusing +letter of R—or even such or such a person well known to all of us, and +having wife, children and servants. +</p> + +<p> +The first wireless dispatches from America brought no news; at least, the +captain did not communicate any to us. The silence was not reassuring. +</p> + +<p> +Our last day on the steamer seemed interminable. We lived in constant fear of +some disaster. This time, it would not be a simple theft or a comparatively +harmless assault; it would be a crime, a murder. No one imagined that Arsène +Lupin would confine himself to those two trifling offenses. Absolute master of +the ship, the authorities powerless, he could do whatever he pleased; our +property and lives were at his mercy. +</p> + +<p> +Yet those were delightful hours for me, since they secured to me the confidence +of Miss Nelly. Deeply moved by those startling events and being of a highly +nervous nature, she spontaneously sought at my side a protection and security +that I was pleased to give her. Inwardly, I blessed Arsène Lupin. Had he not +been the means of bringing me and Miss Nelly closer to each other? Thanks to +him, I could now indulge in delicious dreams of love and happiness—dreams +that, I felt, were not unwelcome to Miss Nelly. Her smiling eyes authorized me +to make them; the softness of her voice bade me hope. +</p> + +<p> +As we approached the American shore, the active search for the thief was +apparently abandoned, and we were anxiously awaiting the supreme moment in +which the mysterious enigma would be explained. Who was Arsène Lupin? Under +what name, under what disguise was the famous Arsène Lupin concealing himself? +And, at last, that supreme moment arrived. If I live one hundred years, I shall +not forget the slightest details of it. +</p> + +<p> +“How pale you are, Miss Nelly,” I said to my companion, as she +leaned upon my arm, almost fainting. +</p> + +<p> +“And you!” she replied, “ah! you are so changed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just think! this is a most exciting moment, and I am delighted to spend +it with you, Miss Nelly. I hope that your memory will sometimes +revert—-” +</p> + +<p> +But she was not listening. She was nervous and excited. The gangway was placed +in position, but, before we could use it, the uniformed customs officers came +on board. Miss Nelly murmured: +</p> + +<p> +“I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Arsène Lupin escaped from +the vessel during the voyage.” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps he preferred death to dishonor, and plunged into the Atlantic +rather than be arrested.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, do not laugh,” she said. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly I started, and, in answer to her question, I said: +</p> + +<p> +“Do you see that little old man standing at the bottom of the +gangway?” +</p> + +<p> +“With an umbrella and an olive-green coat?” +</p> + +<p> +“It is Ganimard.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ganimard?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, the celebrated detective who has sworn to capture Arsène Lupin. Ah! +I can understand now why we did not receive any news from this side of the +Atlantic. Ganimard was here! and he always keeps his business secret.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then you think he will arrest Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“Who can tell? The unexpected always happens when Arsène Lupin is +concerned in the affair.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” she exclaimed, with that morbid curiosity peculiar to women, +“I should like to see him arrested.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will have to be patient. No doubt, Arsène Lupin has already seen his +enemy and will not be in a hurry to leave the steamer.” +</p> + +<p> +The passengers were now leaving the steamer. Leaning on his umbrella, with an +air of careless indifference, Ganimard appeared to be paying no attention to +the crowd that was hurrying down the gangway. The Marquis de Raverdan, Major +Rawson, the Italian Rivolta, and many others had already left the vessel before +Rozaine appeared. Poor Rozaine! +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps it is he, after all,” said Miss Nelly to me. “What +do you think?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think it would be very interesting to have Ganimard and Rozaine in the +same picture. You take the camera. I am loaded down.” +</p> + +<p> +I gave her the camera, but too late for her to use it. Rozaine was already +passing the detective. An American officer, standing behind Ganimard, leaned +forward and whispered in his ear. The French detective shrugged his shoulders +and Rozaine passed on. Then, my God, who was Arsène Lupin? +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Miss Nelly, aloud, “who can it be?” +</p> + +<p> +Not more than twenty people now remained on board. She scrutinized them one by +one, fearful that Arsène Lupin was not amongst them. +</p> + +<p> +“We cannot wait much longer,” I said to her. +</p> + +<p> +She started toward the gangway. I followed. But we had not taken ten steps when +Ganimard barred our passage. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what is it?” I exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +“One moment, monsieur. What’s your hurry?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am escorting mademoiselle.” +</p> + +<p> +“One moment,” he repeated, in a tone of authority. Then, gazing +into my eyes, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin, is it not?” +</p> + +<p> +I laughed, and replied: “No, simply Bernard d’Andrézy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bernard d’Andrézy died in Macedonia three years ago.” +</p> + +<p> +“If Bernard d’Andrézy were dead, I should not be here. But you are +mistaken. Here are my papers.” +</p> + +<p> +“They are his; and I can tell you exactly how they came into your +possession.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are a fool!” I exclaimed. “Arsène Lupin sailed under the +name of R—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, another of your tricks; a false scent that deceived them at Havre. +You play a good game, my boy, but this time luck is against you.” +</p> + +<p> +I hesitated a moment. Then he hit me a sharp blow on the right arm, which +caused me to utter a cry of pain. He had struck the wound, yet unhealed, +referred to in the telegram. +</p> + +<p> +I was obliged to surrender. There was no alternative. I turned to Miss Nelly, +who had heard everything. Our eyes met; then she glanced at the Kodak I had +placed in her hands, and made a gesture that conveyed to me the impression that +she understood everything. Yes, there, between the narrow folds of black +leather, in the hollow centre of the small object that I had taken the +precaution to place in her hands before Ganimard arrested me, it was there I +had deposited Rozaine’s twenty thousand francs and Lady Jerland’s +pearls and diamonds. +</p> + +<p> +Oh! I pledge my oath that, at that solemn moment, when I was in the grasp of +Ganimard and his two assistants, I was perfectly indifferent to everything, to +my arrest, the hostility of the people, everything except this one question: +what will Miss Nelly do with the things I had confided to her? +</p> + +<p> +In the absence of that material and conclusive proof, I had nothing to fear; +but would Miss Nelly decide to furnish that proof? Would she betray me? Would +she act the part of an enemy who cannot forgive, or that of a woman whose scorn +is softened by feelings of indulgence and involuntary sympathy? +</p> + +<p> +She passed in front of me. I said nothing, but bowed very low. Mingled with the +other passengers, she advanced to the gangway with my Kodak in her hand. It +occurred to me that she would not dare to expose me publicly, but she might do +so when she reached a more private place. However, when she had passed only a +few feet down the gangway, with a movement of simulated awkwardness, she let +the camera fall into the water between the vessel and the pier. Then she walked +down the gangway, and was quickly lost to sight in the crowd. She had passed +out of my life forever. +</p> + +<p> +For a moment, I stood motionless. Then, to Ganimard’s great astonishment, +I muttered: +</p> + +<p> +“What a pity that I am not an honest man!” +</p> + +<p> +Such was the story of his arrest as narrated to me by Arsène Lupin himself. The +various incidents, which I shall record in writing at a later day, have +established between us certain ties.... shall I say of friendship? Yes, I +venture to believe that Arsène Lupin honors me with his friendship, and that it +is through friendship that he occasionally calls on me, and brings, into the +silence of my library, his youthful exuberance of spirits, the contagion of his +enthusiasm, and the mirth of a man for whom destiny has naught but favors and +smiles. +</p> + +<p> +His portrait? How can I describe him? I have seen him twenty times and each +time he was a different person; even he himself said to me on one occasion: +“I no longer know who I am. I cannot recognize myself in the +mirror.” Certainly, he was a great actor, and possessed a marvelous +faculty for disguising himself. Without the slightest effort, he could adopt +the voice, gestures and mannerisms of another person. +</p> + +<p> +“Why,” said he, “why should I retain a definite form and +feature? Why not avoid the danger of a personality that is ever the same? My +actions will serve to identify me.” +</p> + +<p> +Then he added, with a touch of pride: +</p> + +<p> +“So much the better if no one can ever say with absolute certainty: There +is Arsène Lupin! The essential point is that the public may be able to refer to +my work and say, without fear of mistake: Arsène Lupin did that!” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"></a> +II. Arsène Lupin in Prison</h2> + +<p> +There is no tourist worthy of the name who does not know the banks of the +Seine, and has not noticed, in passing, the little feudal castle of the +Malaquis, built upon a rock in the centre of the river. An arched bridge +connects it with the shore. All around it, the calm waters of the great river +play peacefully amongst the reeds, and the wagtails flutter over the moist +crests of the stones. +</p> + +<p> +The history of the Malaquis castle is stormy like its name, harsh like its +outlines. It has passed through a long series of combats, sieges, assaults, +rapines and massacres. A recital of the crimes that have been committed there +would cause the stoutest heart to tremble. There are many mysterious legends +connected with the castle, and they tell us of a famous subterranean tunnel +that formerly led to the abbey of Jumieges and to the manor of Agnes Sorel, +mistress of Charles VII. +</p> + +<p> +In that ancient habitation of heroes and brigands, the Baron Nathan Cahorn now +lived; or Baron Satan as he was formerly called on the Bourse, where he had +acquired a fortune with incredible rapidity. The lords of Malaquis, absolutely +ruined, had been obliged to sell the ancient castle at a great sacrifice. It +contained an admirable collection of furniture, pictures, wood carvings, and +faience. The Baron lived there alone, attended by three old servants. No one +ever enters the place. No one had ever beheld the three Rubens that he +possessed, his two Watteau, his Jean Goujon pulpit, and the many other +treasures that he had acquired by a vast expenditure of money at public sales. +</p> + +<p> +Baron Satan lived in constant fear, not for himself, but for the treasures that +he had accumulated with such an earnest devotion and with so much perspicacity +that the shrewdest merchant could not say that the Baron had ever erred in his +taste or judgment. He loved them—his bibelots. He loved them intensely, +like a miser; jealously, like a lover. Every day, at sunset, the iron gates at +either end of the bridge and at the entrance to the court of honor are closed +and barred. At the least touch on these gates, electric bells will ring +throughout the castle. +</p> + +<p> +One Thursday in September, a letter-carrier presented himself at the gate at +the head of the bridge, and, as usual, it was the Baron himself who partially +opened the heavy portal. He scrutinized the man as minutely as if he were a +stranger, although the honest face and twinkling eyes of the postman had been +familiar to the Baron for many years. The man laughed, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“It is only I, Monsieur le Baron. It is not another man wearing my cap +and blouse.” +</p> + +<p> +“One can never tell,” muttered the Baron. +</p> + +<p> +The man handed him a number of newspapers, and then said: +</p> + +<p> +“And now, Monsieur le Baron, here is something new.” +</p> + +<p> +“Something new?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, a letter. A registered letter.” +</p> + +<p> +Living as a recluse, without friends or business relations, the baron never +received any letters, and the one now presented to him immediately aroused +within him a feeling of suspicion and distrust. It was like an evil omen. Who +was this mysterious correspondent that dared to disturb the tranquility of his +retreat? +</p> + +<p> +“You must sign for it, Monsieur le Baron.” +</p> + +<p> +He signed; then took the letter, waited until the postman had disappeared +beyond the bend in the road, and, after walking nervously to and fro for a few +minutes, he leaned against the parapet of the bridge and opened the envelope. +It contained a sheet of paper, bearing this heading: Prison de la Santé, Paris. +He looked at the signature: <i>Arsène Lupin</i>. Then he read: +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“Monsieur le Baron:<br/> + “There is, in the gallery in your castle, a picture of Philippe de +Champaigne, of exquisite finish, which pleases me beyond measure. Your Rubens +are also to my taste, as well as your smallest Watteau. In the salon to the +right, I have noticed the Louis XIII cadence-table, the tapestries of Beauvais, +the Empire gueridon signed ‘Jacob,’ and the Renaissance chest. In +the salon to the left, all the cabinet full of jewels and miniatures.<br/> + “For the present, I will content myself with those articles that can +be conveniently removed. I will therefore ask you to pack them carefully and +ship them to me, charges prepaid, to the station at Batignolles, within eight +days, otherwise I shall be obliged to remove them myself during the night of 27 +September; but, under those circumstances, I shall not content myself with the +articles above mentioned.<br/> + “Accept my apologies for any inconvenience I may cause you, and +believe me to be your humble servant, +</p> + +<p class="right"> +“Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“P. S.—Please do not send the largest Watteau. Although you paid +thirty thousand francs for it, it is only a copy, the original having been +burned, under the Directoire by Barras, during a night of debauchery. Consult +the memoirs of Garat.<br/> + “I do not care for the Louis XV chatelaine, as I doubt its +authenticity.” +</p> + +<p> +That letter completely upset the baron. Had it borne any other signature, he +would have been greatly alarmed—but signed by Arsène Lupin! +</p> + +<p> +As an habitual reader of the newspapers, he was versed in the history of recent +crimes, and was therefore well acquainted with the exploits of the mysterious +burglar. Of course, he knew that Lupin had been arrested in America by his +enemy Ganimard and was at present incarcerated in the Prison de la Santé. But +he knew also that any miracle might be expected from Arsène Lupin. Moreover, +that exact knowledge of the castle, the location of the pictures and furniture, +gave the affair an alarming aspect. How could he have acquired that information +concerning things that no one had ever seen? +</p> + +<p> +The baron raised his eyes and contemplated the stern outlines of the castle, +its steep rocky pedestal, the depth of the surrounding water, and shrugged his +shoulders. Certainly, there was no danger. No one in the world could force an +entrance to the sanctuary that contained his priceless treasures. +</p> + +<p> +No one, perhaps, but Arsène Lupin! For him, gates, walls and drawbridges did +not exist. What use were the most formidable obstacles or the most careful +precautions, if Arsène Lupin had decided to effect an entrance? +</p> + +<p> +That evening, he wrote to the Procurer of the Republique at Rouen. He enclosed +the threatening letter and solicited aid and protection. +</p> + +<p> +The reply came at once to the effect that Arsène Lupin was in custody in the +Prison de la Santé, under close surveillance, with no opportunity to write such +a letter, which was, no doubt, the work of some imposter. But, as an act of +precaution, the Procurer had submitted the letter to an expert in handwriting, +who declared that, in spite of certain resemblances, the writing was not that +of the prisoner. +</p> + +<p> +But the words “in spite of certain resemblances” caught the +attention of the baron; in them, he read the possibility of a doubt which +appeared to him quite sufficient to warrant the intervention of the law. His +fears increased. He read Lupin’s letter over and over again. “I +shall be obliged to remove them myself.” And then there was the fixed +date: the night of 27 September. +</p> + +<p> +To confide in his servants was a proceeding repugnant to his nature; but now, +for the first time in many years, he experienced the necessity of seeking +counsel with some one. Abandoned by the legal official of his own district, and +feeling unable to defend himself with his own resources, he was on the point of +going to Paris to engage the services of a detective. +</p> + +<p> +Two days passed; on the third day, he was filled with hope and joy as he read +the following item in the ‘Réveil de Caudebec’, a newspaper +published in a neighboring town: +</p> + +<p> +“We have the pleasure of entertaining in our city, at the present time, +the veteran detective Mon. Ganimard who acquired a world-wide reputation by his +clever capture of Arsène Lupin. He has come here for rest and recreation, and, +being an enthusiastic fisherman, he threatens to capture all the fish in our +river.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard! Ah, here is the assistance desired by Baron Cahorn! Who could baffle +the schemes of Arsène Lupin better than Ganimard, the patient and astute +detective? He was the man for the place. +</p> + +<p> +The baron did not hesitate. The town of Caudebec was only six kilometers from +the castle, a short distance to a man whose step was accelerated by the hope of +safety. +</p> + +<p> +After several fruitless attempts to ascertain the detective’s address, +the baron visited the office of the ‘Réveil,’ situated on the quai. +There he found the writer of the article who, approaching the window, +exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Ganimard? Why, you are sure to see him somewhere on the quai with his +fishing-pole. I met him there and chanced to read his name engraved on his rod. +Ah, there he is now, under the trees.” +</p> + +<p> +“That little man, wearing a straw hat?” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly. He is a gruff fellow, with little to say.” +</p> + +<p> +Five minutes later, the baron approached the celebrated Ganimard, introduced +himself, and sought to commence a conversation, but that was a failure. Then he +broached the real object of his interview, and briefly stated his case. The +other listened, motionless, with his attention riveted on his fishing-rod. When +the baron had finished his story, the fisherman turned, with an air of profound +pity, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, it is not customary for thieves to warn people they are about +to rob. Arsène Lupin, especially, would not commit such a folly.” +</p> + +<p> +“But—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, if I had the least doubt, believe me, the pleasure of again +capturing Arsène Lupin would place me at your disposal. But, unfortunately, +that young man is already under lock and key.” +</p> + +<p> +“He may have escaped.” +</p> + +<p> +“No one ever escaped from the Santé.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, he—-” +</p> + +<p> +“He, no more than any other.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yet—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, if he escapes, so much the better. I will catch him again. +Meanwhile, you go home and sleep soundly. That will do for the present. You +frighten the fish.” +</p> + +<p> +The conversation was ended. The baron returned to the castle, reassured to some +extent by Ganimard’s indifference. He examined the bolts, watched the +servants, and, during the next forty-eight hours, he became almost persuaded +that his fears were groundless. Certainly, as Ganimard had said, thieves do not +warn people they are about to rob. +</p> + +<p> +The fateful day was close at hand. It was now the twenty-sixth of September and +nothing had happened. But at three o’clock the bell rang. A boy brought +this telegram: +</p> + +<p> +“No goods at Batignolles station. Prepare everything for tomorrow night. +Arsène.” +</p> + +<p> +This telegram threw the baron into such a state of excitement that he even +considered the advisability of yielding to Lupin’s demands. +</p> + +<p> +However, he hastened to Caudebec. Ganimard was fishing at the same place, +seated on a campstool. Without a word, he handed him the telegram. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what of it?” said the detective. +</p> + +<p> +“What of it? But it is tomorrow.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is tomorrow?” +</p> + +<p> +“The robbery! The pillage of my collections!” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard laid down his fishing-rod, turned to the baron, and exclaimed, in a +tone of impatience: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Do you think I am going to bother myself about such a silly story as +that!” +</p> + +<p> +“How much do you ask to pass tomorrow night in the castle?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not a sou. Now, leave me alone.” +</p> + +<p> +“Name your own price. I am rich and can pay it.” +</p> + +<p> +This offer disconcerted Ganimard, who replied, calmly: +</p> + +<p> +“I am here on a vacation. I have no right to undertake such work.” +</p> + +<p> +“No one will know. I promise to keep it secret.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! nothing will happen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come! three thousand francs. Will that be enough?” +</p> + +<p> +The detective, after a moment’s reflection, said: +</p> + +<p> +“Very well. But I must warn you that you are throwing your money out of +the window.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not care.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case... but, after all, what do we know about this devil Lupin! +He may have quite a numerous band of robbers with him. Are you sure of your +servants?” +</p> + +<p> +“My faith—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Better not count on them. I will telegraph for two of my men to help me. +And now, go! It is better for us not to be seen together. Tomorrow evening +about nine o’clock.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The following day—the date fixed by Arsène Lupin—Baron Cahorn +arranged all his panoply of war, furbished his weapons, and, like a sentinel, +paced to and fro in front of the castle. He saw nothing, heard nothing. At +half-past eight o’clock in the evening, he dismissed his servants. They +occupied rooms in a wing of the building, in a retired spot, well removed from +the main portion of the castle. Shortly thereafter, the baron heard the sound +of approaching footsteps. It was Ganimard and his two assistants—great, +powerful fellows with immense hands, and necks like bulls. After asking a few +questions relating to the location of the various entrances and rooms, Ganimard +carefully closed and barricaded all the doors and windows through which one +could gain access to the threatened rooms. He inspected the walls, raised the +tapestries, and finally installed his assistants in the central gallery which +was located between the two salons. +</p> + +<p> +“No nonsense! We are not here to sleep. At the slightest sound, open the +windows of the court and call me. Pay attention also to the water-side. Ten +metres of perpendicular rock is no obstacle to those devils.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard locked his assistants in the gallery, carried away the keys, and said +to the baron: +</p> + +<p> +“And now, to our post.” +</p> + +<p> +He had chosen for himself a small room located in the thick outer wall, between +the two principal doors, and which, in former years, had been the +watchman’s quarters. A peep-hole opened upon the bridge; another on the +court. In one corner, there was an opening to a tunnel. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe you told me, Monsieur le Baron, that this tunnel is the only +subterranean entrance to the castle and that it has been closed up for time +immemorial?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, unless there is some other entrance, known only to Arsène Lupin, +we are quite safe.” +</p> + +<p> +He placed three chairs together, stretched himself upon them, lighted his pipe +and sighed: +</p> + +<p> +“Really, Monsieur le Baron, I feel ashamed to accept your money for such +a sinecure as this. I will tell the story to my friend Lupin. He will enjoy it +immensely.” +</p> + +<p> +The baron did not laugh. He was anxiously listening, but heard nothing save the +beating of his own heart. From time to time, he leaned over the tunnel and cast +a fearful eye into its depths. He heard the clock strike eleven, twelve, one. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, he seized Ganimard’s arm. The latter leaped up, awakened from +his sleep. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you hear?” asked the baron, in a whisper. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I was snoring, I suppose.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, listen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! yes, it is the horn of an automobile.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well! it is very improbable that Lupin would use an automobile like a +battering-ram to demolish your castle. Come, Monsieur le Baron, return to your +post. I am going to sleep. Good-night.” +</p> + +<p> +That was the only alarm. Ganimard resumed his interrupted slumbers, and the +baron heard nothing except the regular snoring of his companion. At break of +day, they left the room. The castle was enveloped in a profound calm; it was a +peaceful dawn on the bosom of a tranquil river. They mounted the stairs, Cahorn +radiant with joy, Ganimard calm as usual. They heard no sound; they saw nothing +to arouse suspicion. +</p> + +<p> +“What did I tell you, Monsieur le Baron? Really, I should not have +accepted your offer. I am ashamed.” +</p> + +<p> +He unlocked the door and entered the gallery. Upon two chairs, with drooping +heads and pendent arms, the detective’s two assistants were asleep. +</p> + +<p> +“Tonnerre de nom d’un chien!” exclaimed Ganimard. At the same +moment, the baron cried out: +</p> + +<p> +“The pictures! The credence!” +</p> + +<p> +He stammered, choked, with arms outstretched toward the empty places, toward +the denuded walls where naught remained but the useless nails and cords. The +Watteau, disappeared! The Rubens, carried away! The tapestries taken down! The +cabinets, despoiled of their jewels! +</p> + +<p> +“And my Louis XVI candelabra! And the Regent chandelier!...And my +twelfth-century Virgin!” +</p> + +<p> +He ran from one spot to another in wildest despair. He recalled the purchase +price of each article, added up the figures, counted his losses, pell-mell, in +confused words and unfinished phrases. He stamped with rage; he groaned with +grief. He acted like a ruined man whose only hope is suicide. +</p> + +<p> +If anything could have consoled him, it would have been the stupefaction +displayed by Ganimard. The famous detective did not move. He appeared to be +petrified; he examined the room in a listless manner. The windows?.... closed. +The locks on the doors?.... intact. Not a break in the ceiling; not a hole in +the floor. Everything was in perfect order. The theft had been carried out +methodically, according to a logical and inexorable plan. +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin....Arsène Lupin,” he muttered. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, as if moved by anger, he rushed upon his two assistants and shook +them violently. They did not awaken. +</p> + +<p> +“The devil!” he cried. “Can it be possible?” +</p> + +<p> +He leaned over them and, in turn, examined them closely. They were asleep; but +their response was unnatural. +</p> + +<p> +“They have been drugged,” he said to the baron. +</p> + +<p> +“By whom?” +</p> + +<p> +“By him, of course, or his men under his discretion. That work bears his +stamp.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, I am lost—nothing can be done.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing,” assented Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +“It is dreadful; it is monstrous.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lodge a complaint.” +</p> + +<p> +“What good will that do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh; it is well to try it. The law has some resources.” +</p> + +<p> +“The law! Bah! it is useless. You represent the law, and, at this moment, +when you should be looking for a clue and trying to discover something, you do +not even stir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Discover something with Arsène Lupin! Why, my dear monsieur, Arsène +Lupin never leaves any clue behind him. He leaves nothing to chance. Sometimes +I think he put himself in my way and simply allowed me to arrest him in +America.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, I must renounce my pictures! He has taken the gems of my +collection. I would give a fortune to recover them. If there is no other way, +let him name his own price.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard regarded the baron attentively, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, that is sensible. Will you stick to it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes. But why?” +</p> + +<p> +“An idea that I have.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“We will discuss it later—if the official examination does not +succeed. But, not one word about me, if you wish my assistance.” +</p> + +<p> +He added, between his teeth: +</p> + +<p> +“It is true I have nothing to boast of in this affair.” +</p> + +<p> +The assistants were gradually regaining consciousness with the bewildered air +of people who come out of an hypnotic sleep. They opened their eyes and looked +about them in astonishment. Ganimard questioned them; they remembered nothing. +</p> + +<p> +“But you must have seen some one?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can’t you remember?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you drink anything?” +</p> + +<p> +They considered a moment, and then one of them replied: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I drank a little water.” +</p> + +<p> +“Out of that carafe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“So did I,” declared the other. +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard smelled and tasted it. It had no particular taste and no odor. +</p> + +<p> +“Come,” he said, “we are wasting our time here. One +can’t decide an Arsène Lupin problem in five minutes. But, morbleu! I +swear I will catch him again.” +</p> + +<p> +The same day, a charge of burglary was duly performed by Baron Cahorn against +Arsène Lupin, a prisoner in the Prison de la Santé. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The baron afterwards regretted making the charge against Lupin when he saw his +castle delivered over to the gendarmes, the procureur, the judge +d’instruction, the newspaper reporters and photographers, and a throng of +idle curiosity-seekers. +</p> + +<p> +The affair soon became a topic of general discussion, and the name of Arsène +Lupin excited the public imagination to such an extent that the newspapers +filled their columns with the most fantastic stories of his exploits which +found ready credence amongst their readers. +</p> + +<p> +But the letter of Arsène Lupin that was published in the <i>Echo de France</i> +(no once ever knew how the newspaper obtained it), that letter in which Baron +Cahorn was impudently warned of the coming theft, caused considerable +excitement. The most fabulous theories were advanced. Some recalled the +existence of the famous subterranean tunnels, and that was the line of research +pursued by the officers of the law, who searched the house from top to bottom, +questioned every stone, studied the wainscoting and the chimneys, the +window-frames and the girders in the ceilings. By the light of torches, they +examined the immense cellars where the lords of Malaquis were wont to store +their munitions and provisions. They sounded the rocky foundation to its very +centre. But it was all in vain. They discovered no trace of a subterranean +tunnel. No secret passage existed. +</p> + +<p> +But the eager public declared that the pictures and furniture could not vanish +like so many ghosts. They are substantial, material things and require doors +and windows for their exits and their entrances, and so do the people that +remove them. Who were those people? How did they gain access to the castle? And +how did they leave it? +</p> + +<p> +The police officers of Rouen, convinced of their own impotence, solicited the +assistance of the Parisian detective force. Mon. Dudouis, chief of the Sûreté, +sent the best sleuths of the iron brigade. He himself spent forty-eight hours +at the castle, but met with no success. Then he sent for Ganimard, whose past +services had proved so useful when all else failed. +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard listened, in silence, to the instructions of his superior; then, +shaking his head, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“In my opinion, it is useless to ransack the castle. The solution of the +problem lies elsewhere.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where, then?” +</p> + +<p> +“With Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“With Arsène Lupin! To support that theory, we must admit his +intervention.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do admit it. In fact, I consider it quite certain.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, Ganimard, that is absurd. Arsène Lupin is in prison.” +</p> + +<p> +“I grant you that Arsène Lupin is in prison, closely guarded; but he must +have fetters on his feet, manacles on his wrists, and gag in his mouth before I +change my opinion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why so obstinate, Ganimard?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because Arsène Lupin is the only man in France of sufficient calibre to +invent and carry out a scheme of that magnitude.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mere words, Ganimard.” +</p> + +<p> +“But true ones. Look! What are they doing? Searching for subterranean +passages, stones swinging on pivots, and other nonsense of that kind. But Lupin +doesn’t employ such old-fashioned methods. He is a modern cracksman, +right up to date.” +</p> + +<p> +“And how would you proceed?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should ask your permission to spend an hour with him.” +</p> + +<p> +“In his cell?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. During the return trip from America we became very friendly, and I +venture to say that if he can give me any information without compromising +himself he will not hesitate to save me from incurring useless trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +It was shortly after noon when Ganimard entered the cell of Arsène Lupin. The +latter, who was lying on his bed, raised his head and uttered a cry of apparent +joy. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! This is a real surprise. My dear Ganimard, here!” +</p> + +<p> +“Ganimard himself.” +</p> + +<p> +“In my chosen retreat, I have felt a desire for many things, but my +fondest wish was to receive you here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very kind of you, I am sure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all. You know I hold you in the highest regard.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am proud of it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have always said: Ganimard is our best detective. He is +almost,—you see how candid I am!—he is almost as clever as Sherlock +Holmes. But I am sorry that I cannot offer you anything better than this hard +stool. And no refreshments! Not even a glass of beer! Of course, you will +excuse me, as I am here only temporarily.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard smiled, and accepted the proffered seat. Then the prisoner continued: +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu, how pleased I am to see the face of an honest man. I am so +tired of those devils of spies who come here ten times a day to ransack my +pockets and my cell to satisfy themselves that I am not preparing to escape. +The government is very solicitous on my account.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is quite right.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why so? I should be quite contented if they would allow me to live in my +own quiet way.” +</p> + +<p> +“On other people’s money.” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite so. That would be so simple. But here, I am joking, and you are, +no doubt, in a hurry. So let us come to business, Ganimard. To what do I owe +the honor of this visit? +</p> + +<p> +“The Cahorn affair,” declared Ganimard, frankly. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! Wait, one moment. You see I have had so many affairs! First, let me +fix in my mind the circumstances of this particular case....Ah! yes, now I have +it. The Cahorn affair, Malaquis castle, Seine-Inférieure....Two Rubens, a +Watteau, and a few trifling articles.” +</p> + +<p> +“Trifling!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! ma foi, all that is of slight importance. But it suffices to know +that the affair interests you. How can I serve you, Ganimard?” +</p> + +<p> +“Must I explain to you what steps the authorities have taken in the +matter?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all. I have read the newspapers and I will frankly state that you +have made very little progress.” +</p> + +<p> +“And that is the reason I have come to see you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am entirely at your service.” +</p> + +<p> +“In the first place, the Cahorn affair was managed by you?” +</p> + +<p> +“From A to Z.” +</p> + +<p> +“The letter of warning? the telegram?” +</p> + +<p> +“All mine. I ought to have the receipts somewhere.” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène opened the drawer of a small table of plain white wood which, with the +bed and stool, constituted all the furniture in his cell, and took therefrom +two scraps of paper which he handed to Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” exclaimed the detective, in surprise, “I thought you +were closely guarded and searched, and I find that you read the newspapers and +collect postal receipts.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bah! these people are so stupid! They open the lining of my vest, they +examine the soles of my shoes, they sound the walls of my cell, but they never +imagine that Arsène Lupin would be foolish enough to choose such a simple +hiding place.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard laughed, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“What a droll fellow you are! Really, you bewilder me. But, come now, +tell me about the Cahorn affair.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! not quite so fast! You would rob me of all my secrets; expose +all my little tricks. That is a very serious matter.” +</p> + +<p> +“Was I wrong to count on your complaisance?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, Ganimard, and since you insist—-” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin paced his cell two or three times, then, stopping before Ganimard, +he asked: +</p> + +<p> +“What do you think of my letter to the baron?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think you were amusing yourself by playing to the gallery.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! playing to the gallery! Come, Ganimard, I thought you knew me +better. Do I, Arsène Lupin, ever waste my time on such puerilities? Would I +have written that letter if I could have robbed the baron without writing to +him? I want you to understand that the letter was indispensable; it was the +motor that set the whole machine in motion. Now, let us discuss together a +scheme for the robbery of the Malaquis castle. Are you willing?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, proceed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, let us suppose a castle carefully closed and barricaded like that +of the Baron Cahorn. Am I to abandon my scheme and renounce the treasures that +I covet, upon the pretext that the castle which holds them is +inaccessible?” +</p> + +<p> +“Evidently not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Should I make an assault upon the castle at the head of a band of +adventurers as they did in ancient times?” +</p> + +<p> +“That would be foolish.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can I gain admittance by stealth or cunning?” +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then there is only one way open to me. I must have the owner of the +castle invite me to it.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is surely an original method.” +</p> + +<p> +“And how easy! Let us suppose that one day the owner receives a letter +warning him that a notorious burglar known as Arsène Lupin is plotting to rob +him. What will he do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Send a letter to the Procureur.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who will laugh at him, <i>because the said Arsène Lupin is actually in +prison</i>. Then, in his anxiety and fear, the simple man will ask the +assistance of the first-comer, will he not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Very likely.” +</p> + +<p> +“And if he happens to read in a country newspaper that a celebrated +detective is spending his vacation in a neighboring town—-” +</p> + +<p> +“He will seek that detective.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. But, on the other hand, let us presume that, having foreseen +that state of affairs, the said Arsène Lupin has requested one of his friends +to visit Caudebec, make the acquaintance of the editor of the +‘Réveil,’ a newspaper to which the baron is a subscriber, and let +said editor understand that such person is the celebrated detective—then, +what will happen?” +</p> + +<p> +“The editor will announce in the ‘Réveil’ the presence in +Caudebec of said detective.” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly; and one of two things will happen: either the fish—I mean +Cahorn—will not bite, and nothing will happen; or, what is more likely, +he will run and greedily swallow the bait. Thus, behold my Baron Cahorn +imploring the assistance of one of my friends against me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Original, indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course, the pseudo-detective at first refuses to give any assistance. +On top of that comes the telegram from Arsène Lupin. The frightened baron +rushes once more to my friend and offers him a definite sum of money for his +services. My friend accepts and summons two members of our band, who, during +the night, whilst Cahorn is under the watchful eye of his protector, removes +certain articles by way of the window and lowers them with ropes into a nice +little launch chartered for the occasion. Simple, isn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Marvelous! Marvelous!” exclaimed Ganimard. “The boldness of +the scheme and the ingenuity of all its details are beyond criticism. But who +is the detective whose name and fame served as a magnet to attract the baron +and draw him into your net?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is only one name could do it—only one.” +</p> + +<p> +“And that is?” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin’s personal enemy—the most illustrious +Ganimard.” +</p> + +<p> +“I?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yourself, Ganimard. And, really, it is very funny. If you go there, and +the baron decides to talk, you will find that it will be your duty to arrest +yourself, just as you arrested me in America. Hein! the revenge is really +amusing: I cause Ganimard to arrest Ganimard.” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin laughed heartily. The detective, greatly vexed, bit his lips; to +him the joke was quite devoid of humor. The arrival of a prison guard gave +Ganimard an opportunity to recover himself. The man brought Arsène +Lupin’s luncheon, furnished by a neighboring restaurant. After depositing +the tray upon the table, the guard retired. Lupin broke his bread, ate a few +morsels, and continued: +</p> + +<p> +“But, rest easy, my dear Ganimard, you will not go to Malaquis. I can +tell you something that will astonish you: the Cahorn affair is on the point of +being settled.” +</p> + +<p> +“Excuse me; I have just seen the Chief of the Sureté.” +</p> + +<p> +“What of that? Does Mon. Dudouis know my business better than I do +myself? You will learn that Ganimard—excuse me—that the +pseudo-Ganimard still remains on very good terms with the baron. The latter has +authorized him to negotiate a very delicate transaction with me, and, at the +present moment, in consideration of a certain sum, it is probable that the +baron has recovered possession of his pictures and other treasures. And on +their return, he will withdraw his complaint. Thus, there is no longer any +theft, and the law must abandon the case.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard regarded the prisoner with a bewildered air. +</p> + +<p> +“And how do you know all that?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have just received the telegram I was expecting.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have just received a telegram?” +</p> + +<p> +“This very moment, my dear friend. Out of politeness, I did not wish to +read it in your presence. But if you will permit me—-” +</p> + +<p> +“You are joking, Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“My dear friend, if you will be so kind as to break that egg, you will +learn for yourself that I am not joking.” +</p> + +<p> +Mechanically, Ganimard obeyed, and cracked the egg-shell with the blade of a +knife. He uttered a cry of surprise. The shell contained nothing but a small +piece of blue paper. At the request of Arsène he unfolded it. It was a +telegram, or rather a portion of a telegram from which the post-marks had been +removed. It read as follows: +</p> + +<p> +“Contract closed. Hundred thousand balls delivered. All well.” +</p> + +<p> +“One hundred thousand balls?” said Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, one hundred thousand francs. Very little, but then, you know, these +are hard times....And I have some heavy bills to meet. If you only knew my +budget.... living in the city comes very high.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard arose. His ill humor had disappeared. He reflected for a moment, +glancing over the whole affair in an effort to discover a weak point; then, in +a tone and manner that betrayed his admiration of the prisoner, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“Fortunately, we do not have a dozen such as you to deal with; if we did, +we would have to close up shop.” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin assumed a modest air, as he replied: +</p> + +<p> +“Bah! a person must have some diversion to occupy his leisure hours, +especially when he is in prison.” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” exclaimed Ganimard, “your trial, your defense, the +examination—isn’t that sufficient to occupy your mind?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, because I have decided not to be present at my trial.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh!” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin repeated, positively: +</p> + +<p> +“I shall not be present at my trial.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really!” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! my dear monsieur, do you suppose I am going to rot upon the wet +straw? You insult me. Arsène Lupin remains in prison just as long as it pleases +him, and not one minute more.” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps it would have been more prudent if you had avoided getting +there,” said the detective, ironically. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! monsieur jests? Monsieur must remember that he had the honor to +effect my arrest. Know then, my worthy friend, that no one, not even you, could +have placed a hand upon me if a much more important event had not occupied my +attention at that critical moment.” +</p> + +<p> +“You astonish me.” +</p> + +<p> +“A woman was looking at me, Ganimard, and I loved her. Do you fully +understand what that means: to be under the eyes of a woman that one loves? I +cared for nothing in the world but that. And that is why I am here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Permit me to say: you have been here a long time.” +</p> + +<p> +“In the first place, I wished to forget. Do not laugh; it was a +delightful adventure and it is still a tender memory. Besides, I have been +suffering from neurasthenia. Life is so feverish these days that it is +necessary to take the ‘rest cure’ occasionally, and I find this +spot a sovereign remedy for my tired nerves.” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin, you are not a bad fellow, after all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you,” said Lupin. “Ganimard, this is Friday. On +Wednesday next, at four o’clock in the afternoon, I will smoke my cigar +at your house in the rue Pergolese.” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin, I will expect you.” +</p> + +<p> +They shook hands like two old friends who valued each other at their true +worth; then the detective stepped to the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Ganimard!” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” asked Ganimard, as he turned back. +</p> + +<p> +“You have forgotten your watch.” +</p> + +<p> +“My watch?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, it strayed into my pocket.” +</p> + +<p> +He returned the watch, excusing himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me.... a bad habit. Because they have taken mine is no reason why +I should take yours. Besides, I have a chronometer here that satisfies me +fairly well.” +</p> + +<p> +He took from the drawer a large gold watch and heavy chain. +</p> + +<p> +“From whose pocket did that come?” asked Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin gave a hasty glance at the initials engraved on the watch. +</p> + +<p> +“J.B.....Who the devil can that be?....Ah! yes, I remember. Jules +Bouvier, the judge who conducted my examination. A charming fellow!....” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"></a> +III. The Escape of Arsène Lupin</h2> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin had just finished his repast and taken from his pocket an +excellent cigar, with a gold band, which he was examining with unusual care, +when the door of his cell was opened. He had barely time to throw the cigar +into the drawer and move away from the table. The guard entered. It was the +hour for exercise. +</p> + +<p> +“I was waiting for you, my dear boy,” exclaimed Lupin, in his +accustomed good humor. +</p> + +<p> +They went out together. As soon as they had disappeared at a turn in the +corridor, two men entered the cell and commenced a minute examination of it. +One was Inspector Dieuzy; the other was Inspector Folenfant. They wished to +verify their suspicion that Arsène Lupin was in communication with his +accomplices outside of the prison. On the preceding evening, the ‘Grand +Journal’ had published these lines addressed to its court reporter: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur: +</p> + +<p> +“In a recent article you referred to me in most unjustifiable terms. Some +days before the opening of my trial I will call you to account. Arsène +Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +The handwriting was certainly that of Arsène Lupin. Consequently, he sent +letters; and, no doubt, received letters. It was certain that he was preparing +for that escape thus arrogantly announced by him. +</p> + +<p> +The situation had become intolerable. Acting in conjunction with the examining +judge, the chief of the Sûreté, Mon. Dudouis, had visited the prison and +instructed the gaoler in regard to the precautions necessary to insure +Lupin’s safety. At the same time, he sent the two men to examine the +prisoner’s cell. They raised every stone, ransacked the bed, did +everything customary in such a case, but they discovered nothing, and were +about to abandon their investigation when the guard entered hastily and said: +</p> + +<p> +“The drawer.... look in the table-drawer. When I entered just now he was +closing it.” +</p> + +<p> +They opened the drawer, and Dieuzy exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! we have him this time.” +</p> + +<p> +Folenfant stopped him. +</p> + +<p> +“Wait a moment. The chief will want to make an inventory.” +</p> + +<p> +“This is a very choice cigar.” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave it there, and notify the chief.” +</p> + +<p> +Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of the drawer. First he +discovered a bundle of newspaper clippings relating to Arsène Lupin taken from +the <i>Argus de la Presse</i>, then a tobacco-box, a pipe, some paper called +“onion-peel,” and two books. He read the titles of the books. One +was an English edition of Carlyle’s “Hero-worship”; the other +was a charming elzevir, in modern binding, the “Manual of +Epictetus,” a German translation published at Leyden in 1634. On +examining the books, he found that all the pages were underlined and annotated. +Were they prepared as a code for correspondence, or did they simply express the +studious character of the reader? Then he examined the tobacco-box and the +pipe. Finally, he took up the famous cigar with its gold band. +</p> + +<p> +“Fichtre!” he exclaimed. “Our friend smokes a good cigar. +It’s a Henry Clay.” +</p> + +<p> +With the mechanical action of an habitual smoker, he placed the cigar close to +his ear and squeezed it to make it crack. Immediately he uttered a cry of +surprise. The cigar had yielded under the pressure of his fingers. He examined +it more closely, and quickly discovered something white between the leaves of +tobacco. Delicately, with the aid of a pin, he withdrew a roll of very thin +paper, scarcely larger than a toothpick. It was a letter. He unrolled it, and +found these words, written in a feminine handwriting: +</p> + +<p> +“The basket has taken the place of the others. Eight out of ten are +ready. On pressing the outer foot the plate goes downward. From twelve to +sixteen every day, H-P will wait. But where? Reply at once. Rest easy; your +friend is watching over you.” +</p> + +<p> +Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said: +</p> + +<p> +“It is quite clear.... the basket.... the eight compartments.... From +twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o’clock.” +</p> + +<p> +“But this H-P, that will wait?” +</p> + +<p> +“H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way they indicate +strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is an automobile of twenty-four +horsepower.” +</p> + +<p> +Then he rose, and asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Had the prisoner finished his breakfast?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“And as he has not yet read the message, which is proved by the condition +of the cigar, it is probable that he had just received it.” +</p> + +<p> +“How?” +</p> + +<p> +“In his food. Concealed in his bread or in a potato, perhaps.” +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible. His food was allowed to be brought in simply to trap him, +but we have never found anything in it.” +</p> + +<p> +“We will look for Lupin’s reply this evening. Detain him outside +for a few minutes. I shall take this to the examining judge, and, if he agrees +with me, we will have the letter photographed at once, and in an hour you can +replace the letter in the drawer in a cigar similar to this. The prisoner must +have no cause for suspicion.” +</p> + +<p> +It was not without a certain curiosity that Mon. Dudouis returned to the prison +in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy. Three empty plates were +sitting on the stove in the corner. +</p> + +<p> +“He has eaten?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” replied the guard. +</p> + +<p> +“Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and open that +bread-roll....Nothing?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, chief.” +</p> + +<p> +Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the knife—an +ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned the handle to the left; then to +the right. It yielded and unscrewed. The knife was hollow, and served as a +hiding-place for a sheet of paper. +</p> + +<p> +“Peuh!” he said, “that is not very clever for a man like +Arsène. But we mustn’t lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search the +restaurant.” +</p> + +<p> +Then he read the note: +</p> + +<p> +“I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I will go +ahead. Au revoir, dear friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“At last,” cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, +“I think we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on our +part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrest of his +confederates are concerned.” +</p> + +<p> +“But if Arsène Lupin slips through your fingers?” suggested the +guard. +</p> + +<p> +“We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If, however, he +displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much the worse for him! As to his band +of robbers, since the chief refuses to speak, the others must.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +And, as a matter of fact, Arsène Lupin had very little to say. For several +months, Mon. Jules Bouvier, the examining judge, had exerted himself in vain. +The investigation had been reduced to a few uninteresting arguments between the +judge and the advocate, Maître Danval, one of the leaders of the bar. From time +to time, through courtesy, Arsène Lupin would speak. One day he said: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, monsieur, le judge, I quite agree with you: the robbery of the +Crédit Lyonnais, the theft in the rue de Babylone, the issue of the counterfeit +bank-notes, the burglaries at the various châteaux, Armesnil, Gouret, +Imblevain, Groseillers, Malaquis, all my work, monsieur, I did it all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then will you explain to me—-” +</p> + +<p> +“It is useless. I confess everything in a lump, everything and even ten +times more than you know nothing about.” +</p> + +<p> +Wearied by his fruitless task, the judge had suspended his examinations, but he +resumed them after the two intercepted messages were brought to his attention; +and regularly, at mid-day, Arsène Lupin was taken from the prison to the Dépôt +in the prison-van with a certain number of other prisoners. They returned about +three or four o’clock. +</p> + +<p> +Now, one afternoon, this return trip was made under unusual conditions. The +other prisoners not having been examined, it was decided to take back Arsène +Lupin first, thus he found himself alone in the vehicle. +</p> + +<p> +These prison-vans, vulgarly called “panniers à salade”—or +salad-baskets—are divided lengthwise by a central corridor from which +open ten compartments, five on either side. Each compartment is so arranged +that the occupant must assume and retain a sitting posture, and, consequently, +the five prisoners are seated one upon the other, and yet separated one from +the other by partitions. A municipal guard, standing at one end, watches over +the corridor. +</p> + +<p> +Arsène was placed in the third cell on the right, and the heavy vehicle +started. He carefully calculated when they left the quai de l’Horloge, +and when they passed the Palais de Justice. Then, about the centre of the +bridge Saint Michel, with his outer foot, that is to say, his right foot, he +pressed upon the metal plate that closed his cell. Immediately something +clicked, and the metal plate moved. He was able to ascertain that he was +located between the two wheels. +</p> + +<p> +He waited, keeping a sharp look-out. The vehicle was proceeding slowly along +the boulevard Saint Michel. At the corner of Saint Germain it stopped. A truck +horse had fallen. The traffic having been interrupted, a vast throng of fiacres +and omnibuses had gathered there. Arsène Lupin looked out. Another prison-van +had stopped close to the one he occupied. He moved the plate still farther, put +his foot on one of the spokes of the wheel and leaped to the ground. A coachman +saw him, roared with laughter, then tried to raise an outcry, but his voice was +lost in the noise of the traffic that had commenced to move again. Moreover, +Arsène Lupin was already far away. +</p> + +<p> +He had run for a few steps; but, once upon the sidewalk, he turned and looked +around; he seemed to scent the wind like a person who is uncertain which +direction to take. Then, having decided, he put his hands in his pockets, and, +with the careless air of an idle stroller, he proceeded up the boulevard. It +was a warm, bright autumn day, and the cafés were full. He took a seat on the +terrace of one of them. He ordered a bock and a package of cigarettes. He +emptied his glass slowly, smoked one cigarette and lighted a second. Then he +asked the waiter to send the proprietor to him. When the proprietor came, +Arsène spoke to him in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone: +</p> + +<p> +“I regret to say, monsieur, I have forgotten my pocketbook. Perhaps, on +the strength of my name, you will be pleased to give me credit for a few days. +I am Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +The proprietor looked at him, thinking he was joking. But Arsène repeated: +</p> + +<p> +“Lupin, prisoner at the Santé, but now a fugitive. I venture to assume +that the name inspires you with perfect confidence in me.” +</p> + +<p> +And he walked away, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst the proprietor stood +amazed. +</p> + +<p> +Lupin strolled along the rue Soufflot, and turned into the rue Saint Jacques. +He pursued his way slowly, smoking his cigarettes and looking into the +shop-windows. At the Boulevard de Port Royal he took his bearings, discovered +where he was, and then walked in the direction of the rue de la Santé. The high +forbidding walls of the prison were now before him. He pulled his hat forward +to shade his face; then, approaching the sentinel, he asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Is this the prison de la Santé?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wish to regain my cell. The van left me on the way, and I would not +abuse—” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, young man, move along—quick!” growled the sentinel. +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me, but I must pass through that gate. And if you prevent Arsène +Lupin from entering the prison it will cost you dear, my friend.” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin! What are you talking about!” +</p> + +<p> +“I am sorry I haven’t a card with me,” said Arsène, fumbling +in his pockets. +</p> + +<p> +The sentinel eyed him from head to foot, in astonishment. Then, without a word, +he rang a bell. The iron gate was partly opened, and Arsène stepped inside. +Almost immediately he encountered the keeper of the prison, gesticulating and +feigning a violent anger. Arsène smiled and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Come, monsieur, don’t play that game with me. What! they take the +precaution to carry me alone in the van, prepare a nice little obstruction, and +imagine I am going to take to my heels and rejoin my friends. Well, and what +about the twenty agents of the Sûreté who accompanied us on foot, in fiacres +and on bicycles? No, the arrangement did not please me. I should not have got +away alive. Tell me, monsieur, did they count on that?” +</p> + +<p> +He shrugged his shoulders, and added: +</p> + +<p> +“I beg of you, monsieur, not to worry about me. When I wish to escape I +shall not require any assistance.” +</p> + +<p> +On the second day thereafter, the <i>Echo de France</i>, which had apparently +become the official reporter of the exploits of Arsène Lupin,—it was said +that he was one of its principal shareholders—published a most complete +account of this attempted escape. The exact wording of the messages exchanged +between the prisoner and his mysterious friend, the means by which +correspondence was constructed, the complicity of the police, the promenade on +the Boulevard Saint Michel, the incident at the café Soufflot, everything was +disclosed. It was known that the search of the restaurant and its waiters by +Inspector Dieuzy had been fruitless. And the public also learned an +extraordinary thing which demonstrated the infinite variety of resources that +Lupin possessed: the prison-van, in which he was being carried, was prepared +for the occasion and substituted by his accomplices for one of the six vans +which did service at the prison. +</p> + +<p> +The next escape of Arsène Lupin was not doubted by anyone. He announced it +himself, in categorical terms, in a reply to Mon. Bouvier on the day following +his attempted escape. The judge having made a jest about the affair, Arsène was +annoyed, and, firmly eyeing the judge, he said, emphatically: +</p> + +<p> +“Listen to me, monsieur! I give you my word of honor that this attempted +flight was simply preliminary to my general plan of escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not understand,” said the judge. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not necessary that you should understand.” +</p> + +<p> +And when the judge, in the course of that examination which was reported at +length in the columns of the <i>Echo de France</i>, when the judge sought to +resume his investigation, Arsène Lupin exclaimed, with an assumed air of +lassitude: +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, what’s the use! All these questions are of no +importance!” +</p> + +<p> +“What! No importance?” cried the judge. +</p> + +<p> +“No; because I shall not be present at the trial.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will not be present?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I have fully decided on that, and nothing will change my +mind.” +</p> + +<p> +Such assurance combined with the inexplicable indiscretions that Arsène +committed every day served to annoy and mystify the officers of the law. There +were secrets known only to Arsène Lupin; secrets that he alone could divulge. +But for what purpose did he reveal them? And how? +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin was changed to another cell. The judge closed his preliminary +investigation. No further proceedings were taken in his case for a period of +two months, during which time Arsène was seen almost constantly lying on his +bed with his face turned toward the wall. The changing of his cell seemed to +discourage him. He refused to see his advocate. He exchanged only a few +necessary words with his keepers. +</p> + +<p> +During the fortnight preceding his trial, he resumed his vigorous life. He +complained of want of air. Consequently, early every morning he was allowed to +exercise in the courtyard, guarded by two men. +</p> + +<p> +Public curiosity had not died out; every day it expected to be regaled with +news of his escape; and, it is true, he had gained a considerable amount of +public sympathy by reason of his verve, his gayety, his diversity, his +inventive genius and the mystery of his life. Arsène Lupin must escape. It was +his inevitable fate. The public expected it, and was surprised that the event +had been delayed so long. Every morning the Préfect of Police asked his +secretary: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, has he escaped yet?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, Monsieur le Préfect.” +</p> + +<p> +“To-morrow, probably.” +</p> + +<p> +And, on the day before the trial, a gentleman called at the office of the +‘Grand Journal,’ asked to see the court reporter, threw his card in +the reporter’s face, and walked rapidly away. These words were written on +the card: “Arsène Lupin always keeps his promises.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +It was under these conditions that the trial commenced. An enormous crowd +gathered at the court. Everybody wished to see the famous Arsène Lupin. They +had a gleeful anticipation that the prisoner would play some audacious pranks +upon the judge. Advocates and magistrates, reporters and men of the world, +actresses and society women were crowded together on the benches provided for +the public. +</p> + +<p> +It was a dark, sombre day, with a steady downpour of rain. Only a dim light +pervaded the courtroom, and the spectators caught a very indistinct view of the +prisoner when the guards brought him in. But his heavy, shambling walk, the +manner in which he dropped into his seat, and his passive, stupid appearance +were not at all prepossessing. Several times his advocate—one of Mon. +Danval’s assistants—spoke to him, but he simply shook his head and +said nothing. +</p> + +<p> +The clerk read the indictment, then the judge spoke: +</p> + +<p> +“Prisoner at the bar, stand up. Your name, age, and occupation?” +</p> + +<p> +Not receiving any reply, the judge repeated: +</p> + +<p> +“Your name? I ask you your name?” +</p> + +<p> +A thick, slow voice muttered: +</p> + +<p> +“Baudru, Désiré.” +</p> + +<p> +A murmur of surprise pervaded the courtroom. But the judge proceeded: +</p> + +<p> +“Baudru, Désiré? Ah! a new alias! Well, as you have already assumed a +dozen different names and this one is, no doubt, as imaginary as the others, we +will adhere to the name of Arsène Lupin, by which you are more generally +known.” +</p> + +<p> +The judge referred to his notes, and continued: +</p> + +<p> +“For, despite the most diligent search, your past history remains +unknown. Your case is unique in the annals of crime. We know not whom you are, +whence you came, your birth and breeding—all is a mystery to us. Three +years ago you appeared in our midst as Arsène Lupin, presenting to us a strange +combination of intelligence and perversion, immorality and generosity. Our +knowledge of your life prior to that date is vague and problematical. It may be +that the man called Rostat who, eight years ago, worked with Dickson, the +prestidigitator, was none other than Arsène Lupin. It is probable that the +Russian student who, six years ago, attended the laboratory of Doctor Altier at +the Saint Louis Hospital, and who often astonished the doctor by the ingenuity +of his hypotheses on subjects of bacteriology and the boldness of his +experiments in diseases of the skin, was none other than Arsène Lupin. It is +probable, also, that Arsène Lupin was the professor who introduced the Japanese +art of jiu-jitsu to the Parisian public. We have some reason to believe that +Arsène Lupin was the bicyclist who won the Grand Prix de l’Exposition, +received his ten thousand francs, and was never heard of again. Arsène Lupin +may have been, also, the person who saved so many lives through the little +dormer-window at the Charity Bazaar; and, at the same time, picked their +pockets.” +</p> + +<p> +The judge paused for a moment, then continued: +</p> + +<p> +“Such is that epoch which seems to have been utilized by you in a +thorough preparation for the warfare you have since waged against society; a +methodical apprenticeship in which you developed your strength, energy and +skill to the highest point possible. Do you acknowledge the accuracy of these +facts?” +</p> + +<p> +During this discourse the prisoner had stood balancing himself, first on one +foot, then on the other, with shoulders stooped and arms inert. Under the +strongest light one could observe his extreme thinness, his hollow cheeks, his +projecting cheek-bones, his earthen-colored face dotted with small red spots +and framed in a rough, straggling beard. Prison life had caused him to age and +wither. He had lost the youthful face and elegant figure we had seen portrayed +so often in the newspapers. +</p> + +<p> +It appeared as if he had not heard the question propounded by the judge. Twice +it was repeated to him. Then he raised his eyes, seemed to reflect, then, +making a desperate effort, he murmured: +</p> + +<p> +“Baudru, Désiré.” +</p> + +<p> +The judge smiled, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“I do not understand the theory of your defense, Arsène Lupin. If you are +seeking to avoid responsibility for your crimes on the ground of imbecility, +such a line of defense is open to you. But I shall proceed with the trial and +pay no heed to your vagaries.” +</p> + +<p> +He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles and forgeries charged +against Lupin. Sometimes he questioned the prisoner, but the latter simply +grunted or remained silent. The examination of witnesses commenced. Some of the +evidence given was immaterial; other portions of it seemed more important, but +through all of it there ran a vein of contradictions and inconsistencies. A +wearisome obscurity enveloped the proceedings, until Detective Ganimard was +called as a witness; then interest was revived. +</p> + +<p> +From the beginning the actions of the veteran detective appeared strange and +unaccountable. He was nervous and ill at ease. Several times he looked at the +prisoner, with obvious doubt and anxiety. Then, with his hands resting on the +rail in front of him, he recounted the events in which he had participated, +including his pursuit of the prisoner across Europe and his arrival in America. +He was listened to with great avidity, as his capture of Arsène Lupin was well +known to everyone through the medium of the press. Toward the close of his +testimony, after referring to his conversations with Arsène Lupin, he stopped, +twice, embarrassed and undecided. It was apparent that he was possessed of some +thought which he feared to utter. The judge said to him, sympathetically: +</p> + +<p> +“If you are ill, you may retire for the present.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, but—-” +</p> + +<p> +He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range. There is +some mystery about him that I must solve.” +</p> + +<p> +He approached the accused man, examined him attentively for several minutes, +then returned to the witness-stand, and, in an almost solemn voice, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not Arsène +Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplused for a moment, +exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!” +</p> + +<p> +The detective continued: +</p> + +<p> +“At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if you carefully +consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color of skin, you will see that it +is not Arsène Lupin. And the eyes! Did he ever have those alcoholic +eyes!” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to say that we are +trying the wrong man?” +</p> + +<p> +“In my opinion, yes. Arsène Lupin has, in some manner, contrived to put +this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willing accomplice.” +</p> + +<p> +This dramatic dénouement caused much laughter and excitement amongst the +spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sent for Mon. Bouvier, the +gaoler, and guards employed in the prison. +</p> + +<p> +When the trial was resumed, Mon. Bouvier and the gaoler examined the accused +and declared that there was only a very slight resemblance between the prisoner +and Arsène Lupin. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then!” exclaimed the judge, “who is this man? Where +does he come from? What is he in prison for?” +</p> + +<p> +Two of the prison-guards were called and both of them declared that the +prisoner was Arsène Lupin. The judged breathed once more. +</p> + +<p> +But one of the guards then said: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes, I think it is he.” +</p> + +<p> +“What!” cried the judge, impatiently, “you *think* it is he! +What do you mean by that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in my charge in +the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, but laid on his bed with +his face to the wall.” +</p> + +<p> +“What about the time prior to those two months?” +</p> + +<p> +“Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. He was not +in cell 24.” +</p> + +<p> +Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?” +</p> + +<p> +“I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly.” +</p> + +<p> +“And this prisoner is not Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then who is he?” demanded the judge. +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then we have before us a man who was substituted for Arsène Lupin, two +months ago. How do you explain that?” +</p> + +<p> +“I cannot.” +</p> + +<p> +In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressed him in a +conciliatory tone: +</p> + +<p> +“Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became an inmate of +the Prison de la Santé?” +</p> + +<p> +The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm the mistrust and +awaken the understanding of the accused man. He tried to reply. Finally, under +clever and gentle questioning, he succeeded in framing a few phrases from which +the following story was gleaned: Two months ago he had been taken to the Dépôt, +examined and released. As he was leaving the building, a free man, he was +seized by two guards and placed in the prison-van. Since then he had occupied +cell 24. He was contented there, plenty to eat, and he slept well—so he +did not complain. +</p> + +<p> +All that seemed probable; and, amidst the mirth and excitement of the +spectators, the judge adjourned the trial until the story could be investigated +and verified. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The following facts were at once established by an examination of the prison +records: Eight weeks before a man named Baudru Désiré had slept at the Dépôt. +He was released the next day, and left the Dépôt at two o’clock in the +afternoon. On the same day at two o’clock, having been examined for the +last time, Arsène Lupin left the Dépôt in a prison-van. +</p> + +<p> +Had the guards made a mistake? Had they been deceived by the resemblance and +carelessly substituted this man for their prisoner? +</p> + +<p> +Another question suggested itself: Had the substitution been arranged in +advance? In that event Baudru must have been an accomplice and must have caused +his own arrest for the express purpose of taking Lupin’s place. But then, +by what miracle had such a plan, based on a series of improbable chances, been +carried to success? +</p> + +<p> +Baudru Désiré was turned over to the anthropological service; they had never +seen anything like him. However, they easily traced his past history. He was +known at Courbevois, at Asnières and at Levallois. He lived on alms and slept +in one of those rag-picker’s huts near the barrier de Ternes. He had +disappeared from there a year ago. +</p> + +<p> +Had he been enticed away by Arsène Lupin? There was no evidence to that effect. +And even if that was so, it did not explain the flight of the prisoner. That +still remained a mystery. Amongst twenty theories which sought to explain it, +not one was satisfactory. Of the escape itself, there was no doubt; an escape +that was incomprehensible, sensational, in which the public, as well as the +officers of the law, could detect a carefully prepared plan, a combination of +circumstances marvelously dove-tailed, whereof the dénouement fully justified +the confident prediction of Arsène Lupin: “I shall not be present at my +trial.” +</p> + +<p> +After a month of patient investigation, the problem remained unsolved. The poor +devil of a Baudru could not be kept in prison indefinitely, and to place him on +trial would be ridiculous. There was no charge against him. Consequently, he +was released; but the chief of the Sûrété resolved to keep him under +surveillance. This idea originated with Ganimard. From his point of view there +was neither complicity nor chance. Baudru was an instrument upon which Arsène +Lupin had played with his extraordinary skill. Baudru, when set at liberty, +would lead them to Arsène Lupin or, at least, to some of his accomplices. The +two inspectors, Folenfant and Dieuzy, were assigned to assist Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +One foggy morning in January the prison gates opened and Baudru Désiré stepped +forth—a free man. At first he appeared to be quite embarrassed, and +walked like a person who has no precise idea whither he is going. He followed +the rue de la Santé and the rue Saint Jacques. He stopped in front of an +old-clothes shop, removed his jacket and his vest, sold his vest on which he +realized a few sous; then, replacing his jacket, he proceeded on his way. He +crossed the Seine. At the Châtelet an omnibus passed him. He wished to enter +it, but there was no place. The controller advised him to secure a number, so +he entered the waiting-room. +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard called to his two assistants, and, without removing his eyes from the +waiting room, he said to them: +</p> + +<p> +“Stop a carriage.... no, two. That will be better. I will go with one of +you, and we will follow him.” +</p> + +<p> +The men obeyed. Yet Baudru did not appear. Ganimard entered the waiting-room. +It was empty. +</p> + +<p> +“Idiot that I am!” he muttered, “I forgot there was another +exit.” +</p> + +<p> +There was an interior corridor extending from the waiting-room to the rue Saint +Martin. Ganimard rushed through it and arrived just in time to observe Baudru +upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin de Plates omnibus as it was turning the +corner of the rue de Rivoli. He ran and caught the omnibus. But he had lost his +two assistants. He must continue the pursuit alone. In his anger he was +inclined to seize the man by the collar without ceremony. Was it not with +premeditation and by means of an ingenious ruse that his pretended imbecile had +separated him from his assistants? +</p> + +<p> +He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his head rolling from +side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredible expression of stupidity +on his blotched face. No, such an adversary was incapable of deceiving old +Ganimard. It was a stroke of luck—nothing more. +</p> + +<p> +At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus and took the La +Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann and the avenue Victor Hugo. +Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and, with a nonchalant air, strolled into +the Bois de Boulogne. +</p> + +<p> +He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retraced his steps. +What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? At the end of an hour, he +appeared to be faint from fatigue, and, noticing a bench, he sat down. The +spot, not far from Auteuil, on the edge of a pond hidden amongst the trees, was +absolutely deserted. After the lapse of another half-hour, Ganimard became +impatient and resolved to speak to the man. He approached and took a seat +beside Baudru, lighted a cigarette, traced some figures in the sand with the +end of his cane, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a pleasant day.” +</p> + +<p> +No response. But, suddenly the man burst into laughter, a happy, mirthful +laugh, spontaneous and irresistible. Ganimard felt his hair stand on end in +horror and surprise. It was that laugh, that infernal laugh he knew so well! +</p> + +<p> +With a sudden movement, he seized the man by the collar and looked at him with +a keen, penetrating gaze; and found that he no longer saw the man Baudru. To be +sure, he saw Baudru; but, at the same time, he saw the other, the real man, +Lupin. He discovered the intense life in the eyes, he filled up the shrunken +features, he perceived the real flesh beneath the flabby skin, the real mouth +through the grimaces that deformed it. Those were the eyes and mouth of the +other, and especially his keen, alert, mocking expression, so clear and +youthful! +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin, Arsène Lupin,” he stammered. +</p> + +<p> +Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he seized Lupin by the throat and tried to hold +him down. In spite of his fifty years, he still possessed unusual strength, +whilst his adversary was apparently in a weak condition. But the struggle was a +brief one. Arsène Lupin made only a slight movement, and, as suddenly as he had +made the attack, Ganimard released his hold. His right arm fell inert, useless. +</p> + +<p> +“If you had taken lessons in jiu-jitsu at the quai des Orfèvres,” +said Lupin, “you would know that that blow is called udi-shi-ghi in +Japanese. A second more, and I would have broken your arm and that would have +been just what you deserve. I am surprised that you, an old friend whom I +respect and before whom I voluntarily expose my incognito, should abuse my +confidence in that violent manner. It is unworthy—Ah! What’s the +matter?” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard did not reply. That escape for which he deemed himself +responsible—was it not he, Ganimard, who, by his sensational evidence, +had led the court into serious error? That escape appeared to him like a dark +cloud on his professional career. A tear rolled down his cheek to his gray +moustache. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! mon Dieu, Ganimard, don’t take it to heart. If you had not +spoken, I would have arranged for some one else to do it. I couldn’t +allow poor Baudru Désiré to be convicted.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then,” murmured Ganimard, “it was you that was there? And +now you are here?” +</p> + +<p> +“It is I, always I, only I.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can it be possible?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, it is not the work of a sorcerer. Simply, as the judge remarked at +the trial, the apprenticeship of a dozen years that equips a man to cope +successfully with all the obstacles in life.” +</p> + +<p> +“But your face? Your eyes?” +</p> + +<p> +“You can understand that if I worked eighteen months with Doctor Altier +at the Saint-Louis hospital, it was not out of love for the work. I considered +that he, who would one day have the honor of calling himself Arsène Lupin, +ought to be exempt from the ordinary laws governing appearance and identity. +Appearance? That can be modified at will. For instance, a hypodermic injection +of paraffine will puff up the skin at the desired spot. Pyrogallic acid will +change your skin to that of an Indian. The juice of the greater celandine will +adorn you with the most beautiful eruptions and tumors. Another chemical +affects the growth of your beard and hair; another changes the tone of your +voice. Add to that two months of dieting in cell 24; exercises repeated a +thousand times to enable me to hold my features in a certain grimace, to carry +my head at a certain inclination, and adapt my back and shoulders to a stooping +posture. Then five drops of atropine in the eyes to make them haggard and wild, +and the trick is done.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not understand how you deceived the guards.” +</p> + +<p> +“The change was progressive. The evolution was so gradual that they +failed to notice it.” +</p> + +<p> +“But Baudru Désiré?” +</p> + +<p> +“Baudru exists. He is a poor, harmless fellow whom I met last year; and, +really, he bears a certain resemblance to me. Considering my arrest as a +possible event, I took charge of Baudru and studied the points wherein we +differed in appearance with a view to correct them in my own person. My friends +caused him to remain at the Dépôt overnight, and to leave there next day about +the same hour as I did—a coincidence easily arranged. Of course, it was +necessary to have a record of his detention at the Dépôt in order to establish +the fact that such a person was a reality; otherwise, the police would have +sought elsewhere to find out my identity. But, in offering to them this +excellent Baudru, it was inevitable, you understand, inevitable that they would +seize upon him, and, despite the insurmountable difficulties of a substitution, +they would prefer to believe in a substitution than confess their +ignorance.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes, of course,” said Ganimard. +</p> + +<p> +“And then,” exclaimed Arsène Lupin, “I held in my hands a +trump-card: an anxious public watching and waiting for my escape. And that is +the fatal error into which you fell, you and the others, in the course of that +fascinating game pending between me and the officers of the law wherein the +stake was my liberty. And you supposed that I was playing to the gallery; that +I was intoxicated with my success. I, Arsène Lupin, guilty of such weakness! +Oh, no! And, no longer ago than the Cahorn affair, you said: “When Arsène +Lupin cries from the housetops that he will escape, he has some object in +view.” But, sapristi, you must understand that in order to escape I must +create, in advance, a public belief in that escape, a belief amounting to an +article of faith, an absolute conviction, a reality as glittering as the sun. +And I did create that belief that Arsène Lupin would escape, that Arsène Lupin +would not be present at his trial. And when you gave your evidence and said: +“That man is not Arsène Lupin,” everybody was prepared to believe +you. Had one person doubted it, had any one uttered this simple restriction: +Suppose it is Arsène Lupin?—from that moment, I was lost. If anyone had +scrutinized my face, not imbued with the idea that I was not Arsène Lupin, as +you and the others did at my trial, but with the idea that I might be Arsène +Lupin; then, despite all my precautions, I should have been recognized. But I +had no fear. Logically, psychologically, no once could entertain the idea that +I was Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +He grasped Ganimard’s hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after our conversation in +the prison de la Santé, you expected me at your house at four o’clock, +exactly as I said I would go.” +</p> + +<p> +“And your prison-van?” said Ganimard, evading the question. +</p> + +<p> +“A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wished to +make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without the concurrence of a +number of unusual circumstances. However, I found it useful to carry out that +attempted escape and give it the widest publicity. An audaciously planned +escape, though not completed, gave to the succeeding one the character of +reality simply by anticipation.” +</p> + +<p> +“So that the cigar....” +</p> + +<p> +“Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife.” +</p> + +<p> +“And the letters?” +</p> + +<p> +“Written by me.” +</p> + +<p> +“And the mysterious correspondent?” +</p> + +<p> +“Did not exist.” +</p> + +<p> +Ganimard reflected a moment, then said: +</p> + +<p> +“When the anthropological service had Baudru’s case under +consideration, why did they not perceive that his measurements coincided with +those of Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“My measurements are not in existence.” +</p> + +<p> +“Indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +“At least, they are false. I have given considerable attention to that +question. In the first place, the Bertillon system records the visible marks of +identification—and you have seen that they are not infallible—and, +after that, the measurements of the head, the fingers, the ears, etc. Of +course, such measurements are more or less infallible.” +</p> + +<p> +“Absolutely.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; but it costs money to get around them. Before we left America, one +of the employees of the service there accepted so much money to insert false +figures in my measurements. Consequently, Baudru’s measurements should +not agree with those of Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +After a short silence, Ganimard asked: +</p> + +<p> +“What are you going to do now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Now,” replied Lupin, “I am going to take a rest, enjoy the +best of food and drink and gradually recover my former healthy condition. It is +all very well to become Baudru or some other person, on occasion, and to change +your personality as you do your shirt, but you soon grow weary of the change. I +feel exactly as I imagine the man who lost his shadow must have felt, and I +shall be glad to be Arsène Lupin once more.” +</p> + +<p> +He walked to and fro for a few minutes, then, stopping in front of Ganimard, he +said: +</p> + +<p> +“You have nothing more to say, I suppose?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I should like to know if you intend to reveal the true state of +facts connected with your escape. The mistake that I made—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! no one will ever know that it was Arsène Lupin who was discharged. +It is to my own interest to surround myself with mystery, and therefore I shall +permit my escape to retain its almost miraculous character. So, have no fear on +that score, my dear friend. I shall say nothing. And now, good-bye. I am going +out to dinner this evening, and have only sufficient time to dress.” +</p> + +<p> +“I though you wanted a rest.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! there are duties to society that one cannot avoid. To-morrow, I +shall rest.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where do you dine to-night?” +</p> + +<p> +“With the British Ambassador!” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"></a> +IV. The Mysterious Traveller</h2> + +<p> +The evening before, I had sent my automobile to Rouen by the highway. I was to +travel to Rouen by rail, on my way to visit some friends that live on the banks +of the Seine. +</p> + +<p> +At Paris, a few minutes before the train started, seven gentlemen entered my +compartment; five of them were smoking. No matter that the journey was a short +one, the thought of traveling with such a company was not agreeable to me, +especially as the car was built on the old model, without a corridor. I picked +up my overcoat, my newspapers and my time-table, and sought refuge in a +neighboring compartment. +</p> + +<p> +It was occupied by a lady, who, at sight of me, made a gesture of annoyance +that did not escape my notice, and she leaned toward a gentleman who was +standing on the step and was, no doubt, her husband. The gentleman scrutinized +me closely, and, apparently, my appearance did not displease him, for he smiled +as he spoke to his wife with the air of one who reassures a frightened child. +She smiled also, and gave me a friendly glance as if she now understood that I +was one of those gallant men with whom a woman can remain shut up for two hours +in a little box, six feet square, and have nothing to fear. +</p> + +<p> +Her husband said to her: +</p> + +<p> +“I have an important appointment, my dear, and cannot wait any longer. +Adieu.” +</p> + +<p> +He kissed her affectionately and went away. His wife threw him a few kisses and +waved her handkerchief. The whistle sounded, and the train started. +</p> + +<p> +At that precise moment, and despite the protests of the guards, the door was +opened, and a man rushed into our compartment. My companion, who was standing +and arranging her luggage, uttered a cry of terror and fell upon the seat. I am +not a coward—far from it—but I confess that such intrusions at the +last minute are always disconcerting. They have a suspicious, unnatural aspect. +</p> + +<p> +However, the appearance of the new arrival greatly modified the unfavorable +impression produced by his precipitant action. He was correctly and elegantly +dressed, wore a tasteful cravat, correct gloves, and his face was refined and +intelligent. But, where the devil had I seen that face before? Because, beyond +all possible doubt, I had seen it. And yet the memory of it was so vague and +indistinct that I felt it would be useless to try to recall it at that time. +</p> + +<p> +Then, directing my attention to the lady, I was amazed at the pallor and +anxiety I saw in her face. She was looking at her neighbor—they occupied +seats on the same side of the compartment—with an expression of intense +alarm, and I perceived that one of her trembling hands was slowly gliding +toward a little traveling bag that was lying on the seat about twenty inches +from her. She finished by seizing it and nervously drawing it to her. Our eyes +met, and I read in hers so much anxiety and fear that I could not refrain from +speaking to her: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you ill, madame? Shall I open the window?” +</p> + +<p> +Her only reply was a gesture indicating that she was afraid of our companion. I +smiled, as her husband had done, shrugged my shoulders, and explained to her, +in pantomime, that she had nothing to fear, that I was there, and, besides, the +gentleman appeared to be a very harmless individual. At that moment, he turned +toward us, scrutinized both of us from head to foot, then settled down in his +corner and paid us no more attention. +</p> + +<p> +After a short silence, the lady, as if she had mustered all her energy to +perform a desperate act, said to me, in an almost inaudible voice: +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know who is on our train?” +</p> + +<p> +“Who?” +</p> + +<p> +“He.... he....I assure you....” +</p> + +<p> +“Who is he?” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin!” +</p> + +<p> +She had not taken her eyes off our companion, and it was to him rather than to +me that she uttered the syllables of that disquieting name. He drew his hat +over his face. Was that to conceal his agitation or, simply, to arrange himself +for sleep? Then I said to her: +</p> + +<p> +“Yesterday, through contumacy, Arsène Lupin was sentenced to twenty +years’ imprisonment at hard labor. Therefore it is improbable that he +would be so imprudent, to-day, as to show himself in public. Moreover, the +newspapers have announced his appearance in Turkey since his escape from the +Santé.” +</p> + +<p> +“But he is on this train at the present moment,” the lady +proclaimed, with the obvious intention of being heard by our companion; +“my husband is one of the directors in the penitentiary service, and it +was the stationmaster himself who told us that a search was being made for +Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“They may have been mistaken—-” +</p> + +<p> +“No; he was seen in the waiting-room. He bought a first-class ticket for +Rouen.” +</p> + +<p> +“He has disappeared. The guard at the waiting-room door did not see him +pass, and it is supposed that he had got into the express that leaves ten +minutes after us.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, they will be sure to catch him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Unless, at the last moment, he leaped from that train to come here, into +our train.... which is quite probable.... which is almost certain.” +</p> + +<p> +“If so, he will be arrested just the same; for the employees and guards +would no doubt observe his passage from one train to the other, and, when we +arrive at Rouen, they will arrest him there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Him—never! He will find some means of escape.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, I wish him ‘bon voyage.’” +</p> + +<p> +“But, in the meantime, think what he may do!” +</p> + +<p> +“What?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. He may do anything.” +</p> + +<p> +She was greatly agitated, and, truly, the situation justified, to some extent, +her nervous excitement. I was impelled to say to her: +</p> + +<p> +“Of course, there are many strange coincidences, but you need have no +fear. Admitting that Arsène Lupin is on this train, he will not commit any +indiscretion; he will be only too happy to escape the peril that already +threatens him.” +</p> + +<p> +My words did not reassure her, but she remained silent for a time. I unfolded +my newspapers and read reports of Arsène Lupin’s trial, but, as they +contained nothing that was new to me, I was not greatly interested. Moreover, I +was tired and sleepy. I felt my eyelids close and my head drop. +</p> + +<p> +“But, monsieur, you are not going to sleep!” +</p> + +<p> +She seized my newspaper, and looked at me with indignation. +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly not,” I said. +</p> + +<p> +“That would be very imprudent.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course,” I assented. +</p> + +<p> +I struggled to keep awake. I looked through the window at the landscape and the +fleeting clouds, but in a short time all that became confused and indistinct; +the image of the nervous lady and the drowsy gentleman were effaced from my +memory, and I was buried in the soothing depths of a profound sleep. The +tranquility of my response was soon disturbed by disquieting dreams, wherein a +creature that had played the part and bore the name of Arsène Lupin held an +important place. He appeared to me with his back laden with articles of value; +he leaped over walls, and plundered castles. But the outlines of that creature, +who was no longer Arsène Lupin, assumed a more definite form. He came toward +me, growing larger and larger, leaped into the compartment with incredible +agility, and landed squarely on my chest. With a cry of fright and pain, I +awoke. The man, the traveller, our companion, with his knee on my breast, held +me by the throat. +</p> + +<p> +My sight was very indistinct, for my eyes were suffused with blood. I could see +the lady, in a corner of the compartment, convulsed with fright. I tried even +not to resist. Besides, I did not have the strength. My temples throbbed; I was +almost strangled. One minute more, and I would have breathed my last. The man +must have realized it, for he relaxed his grip, but did not remove his hand. +Then he took a cord, in which he had prepared a slip-knot, and tied my wrists +together. In an instant, I was bound, gagged, and helpless. +</p> + +<p> +Certainly, he accomplished the trick with an ease and skill that revealed the +hand of a master; he was, no doubt, a professional thief. Not a word, not a +nervous movement; only coolness and audacity. And I was there, lying on the +bench, bound like a mummy, I—Arsène Lupin! +</p> + +<p> +It was anything but a laughing matter, and yet, despite the gravity of the +situation, I keenly appreciated the humor and irony that it involved. Arsène +Lupin seized and bound like a novice! robbed as if I were an unsophisticated +rustic—for, you must understand, the scoundrel had deprived me of my +purse and wallet! Arsène Lupin, a victim, duped, vanquished....What an +adventure! +</p> + +<p> +The lady did not move. He did not even notice her. He contented himself with +picking up her traveling-bag that had fallen to the floor and taking from it +the jewels, purse, and gold and silver trinkets that it contained. The lady +opened her eyes, trembled with fear, drew the rings from her fingers and handed +them to the man as if she wished to spare him unnecessary trouble. He took the +rings and looked at her. She swooned. +</p> + +<p> +Then, quite unruffled, he resumed his seat, lighted a cigarette, and proceeded +to examine the treasure that he had acquired. The examination appeared to give +him perfect satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +But I was not so well satisfied. I do not speak of the twelve thousand francs +of which I had been unduly deprived: that was only a temporary loss, because I +was certain that I would recover possession of that money after a very brief +delay, together with the important papers contained in my wallet: plans, +specifications, addresses, lists of correspondents, and compromising letters. +But, for the moment, a more immediate and more serious question troubled me: +How would this affair end? What would be the outcome of this adventure? +</p> + +<p> +As you can imagine, the disturbance created by my passage through the +Saint-Lazare station has not escaped my notice. Going to visit friends who knew +me under the name of Guillaume Berlat, and amongst whom my resemblance to +Arsène Lupin was a subject of many innocent jests, I could not assume a +disguise, and my presence had been remarked. So, beyond question, the +commissary of police at Rouen, notified by telegraph, and assisted by numerous +agents, would be awaiting the train, would question all suspicious passengers, +and proceed to search the cars. +</p> + +<p> +Of course, I had foreseen all that, but it had not disturbed me, as I was +certain that the police of Rouen would not be any shrewder than the police of +Paris and that I could escape recognition; would it not be sufficient for me to +carelessly display my card as “député,” thanks to which I had +inspired complete confidence in the gate-keeper at Saint-Lazare?—But the +situation was greatly changed. I was no longer free. It was impossible to +attempt one of my usual tricks. In one of the compartments, the commissary of +police would find Mon. Arsène Lupin, bound hand and foot, as docile as a lamb, +packed up, all ready to be dumped into a prison-van. He would have simply to +accept delivery of the parcel, the same as if it were so much merchandise or a +basket of fruit and vegetables. Yet, to avoid that shameful dénouement, what +could I do?—bound and gagged, as I was? And the train was rushing on +toward Rouen, the next and only station. +</p> + +<p> +Another problem was presented, in which I was less interested, but the solution +of which aroused my professional curiosity. What were the intentions of my +rascally companion? Of course, if I had been alone, he could, on our arrival at +Rouen, leave the car slowly and fearlessly. But the lady? As soon as the door +of the compartment should be opened, the lady, now so quiet and humble, would +scream and call for help. That was the dilemma that perplexed me! Why had he +not reduced her to a helpless condition similar to mine? That would have given +him ample time to disappear before his double crime was discovered. +</p> + +<p> +He was still smoking, with his eyes fixed upon the window that was now being +streaked with drops of rain. Once he turned, picked up my time-table, and +consulted it. +</p> + +<p> +The lady had to feign a continued lack of consciousness in order to deceive the +enemy. But fits of coughing, provoked by the smoke, exposed her true condition. +As to me, I was very uncomfortable, and very tired. And I meditated; I plotted. +</p> + +<p> +The train was rushing on, joyously, intoxicated with its own speed. +</p> + +<p> +Saint Etienne!....At that moment, the man arose and took two steps toward us, +which caused the lady to utter a cry of alarm and fall into a genuine swoon. +What was the man about to do? He lowered the window on our side. A heavy rain +was now falling, and, by a gesture, the man expressed his annoyance at his not +having an umbrella or an overcoat. He glanced at the rack. The lady’s +umbrella was there. He took it. He also took my overcoat and put it on. +</p> + +<p> +We were now crossing the Seine. He turned up the bottoms of his trousers, then +leaned over and raised the exterior latch of the door. Was he going to throw +himself upon the track? At that speed, it would have been instant death. We now +entered a tunnel. The man opened the door half-way and stood on the upper step. +What folly! The darkness, the smoke, the noise, all gave a fantastic appearance +to his actions. But suddenly, the train diminished its speed. A moment later it +increased its speed, then slowed up again. Probably, some repairs were being +made in that part of the tunnel which obliged the trains to diminish their +speed, and the man was aware of the fact. He immediately stepped down to the +lower step, closed the door behind him, and leaped to the ground. He was gone. +</p> + +<p> +The lady immediately recovered her wits, and her first act was to lament the +loss of her jewels. I gave her an imploring look. She understood, and quickly +removed the gag that stifled me. She wished to untie the cords that bound me, +but I prevented her. +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, the police must see everything exactly as it stands. I want them +to see what the rascal did to us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose I pull the alarm-bell?” +</p> + +<p> +“Too late. You should have done that when he made the attack on +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“But he would have killed me. Ah! monsieur, didn’t I tell you that +he was on this train. I recognized him from his portrait. And now he has gone +off with my jewels.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t worry. The police will catch him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Catch Arsène Lupin! Never.” +</p> + +<p> +“That depends on you, madame. Listen. When we arrive at Rouen, be at the +door and call. Make a noise. The police and the railway employees will come. +Tell what you have seen: the assault made on me and the flight of Arsène Lupin. +Give a description of him—soft hat, umbrella—yours—gray +overcoat....” +</p> + +<p> +“Yours,” said she. +</p> + +<p> +“What! mine? Not at all. It was his. I didn’t have any.” +</p> + +<p> +“It seems to me he didn’t have one when he came in.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes.... unless the coat was one that some one had forgotten and +left in the rack. At all events, he had it when he went away, and that is the +essential point. A gray overcoat—remember!....Ah! I forgot. You must tell +your name, first thing you do. Your husband’s official position will +stimulate the zeal of the police.” +</p> + +<p> +We arrived at the station. I gave her some further instructions in a rather +imperious tone: +</p> + +<p> +“Tell them my name—Guillaume Berlat. If necessary, say that you +know me. That will save time. We must expedite the preliminary investigation. +The important thing is the pursuit of Arsène Lupin. Your jewels, remember! Let +there be no mistake. Guillaume Berlat, a friend of your husband.” +</p> + +<p> +“I understand....Guillaume Berlat.” +</p> + +<p> +She was already calling and gesticulating. As soon as the train stopped, +several men entered the compartment. The critical moment had come. +</p> + +<p> +Panting for breath, the lady exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin.... he attacked us.... he stole my jewels....I am Madame +Renaud.... my husband is a director of the penitentiary service....Ah! here is +my brother, Georges Ardelle, director of the Crédit Rouennais.... you must +know....” +</p> + +<p> +She embraced a young man who had just joined us, and whom the commissary +saluted. Then she continued, weeping: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Arsène Lupin.... while monsieur was sleeping, he seized him by the +throat....Mon. Berlat, a friend of my husband.” +</p> + +<p> +The commissary asked: +</p> + +<p> +“But where is Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“He leaped from the train, when passing through the tunnel.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure that it was he?” +</p> + +<p> +“Am I sure! I recognized him perfectly. Besides, he was seen at the +Saint-Lazare station. He wore a soft hat—-” +</p> + +<p> +“No, a hard felt, like that,” said the commissary, pointing to my +hat. +</p> + +<p> +“He had a soft hat, I am sure,” repeated Madame Renaud, “and +a gray overcoat.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, that is right,” replied the commissary, “the telegram +says he wore a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar.” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly, a black velvet collar,” exclaimed Madame Renaud, +triumphantly. +</p> + +<p> +I breathed freely. Ah! the excellent friend I had in that little woman. +</p> + +<p> +The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until they ran blood. +Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, an attitude quite natural in +a person who has remained for a long time in an uncomfortable position, and +whose mouth shows the bloody marks of the gag, I addressed the commissary, in a +weak voice: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, it was Arsène Lupin. There is no doubt about that. If we make +haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of some service to you.” +</p> + +<p> +The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached from the train to +serve as a mute witness at the official investigation. The train continued on +its way to Havre. We were then conducted to the station-master’s office +through a crowd of curious spectators. +</p> + +<p> +Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under some pretext or +other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remain there was dangerous. +Something might happen; for instance, a telegram from Paris, and I would be +lost. +</p> + +<p> +Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in an unfamiliar +country, I could not hope to catch him. +</p> + +<p> +“Bah! I must make the attempt,” I said to myself. “It may be +a difficult game, but an amusing one, and the stake is well worth the +trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +And when the commissary asked us to repeat the story of the robbery, I +exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, really, Arsène Lupin is getting the start of us. My automobile +is waiting in the courtyard. If you will be so kind as to use it, we can +try....” +</p> + +<p> +The commissary smiled, and replied: +</p> + +<p> +“The idea is a good one; so good, indeed, that it is already being +carried out. Two of my men have set out on bicycles. They have been gone for +some time.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where did they go?” +</p> + +<p> +“To the entrance of the tunnel. There, they will gather evidence, secure +witnesses, and follow on the track of Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +I could not refrain from shrugging my shoulders, as I replied: +</p> + +<p> +“Your men will not secure any evidence or any witnesses.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really!” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin will not allow anyone to see him emerge from the tunnel. He +will take the first road—-” +</p> + +<p> +“To Rouen, where we will arrest him.” +</p> + +<p> +“He will not go to Rouen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then he will remain in the vicinity, where his capture will be even more +certain.” +</p> + +<p> +“He will not remain in the vicinity.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! oh! And where will he hide?” +</p> + +<p> +I looked at my watch, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“At the present moment, Arsène Lupin is prowling around the station at +Darnétal. At ten fifty, that is, in twenty-two minutes from now, he will take +the train that goes from Rouen to Amiens.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think so? How do you know it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! it is quite simple. While we were in the car, Arsène Lupin consulted +my railway guide. Why did he do it? Was there, not far from the spot where he +disappeared, another line of railway, a station upon that line, and a train +stopping at that station? On consulting my railway guide, I found such to be +the case.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really, monsieur,” said the commissary, “that is a marvelous +deduction. I congratulate you on your skill.” +</p> + +<p> +I was now convinced that I had made a mistake in displaying so much cleverness. +The commissary regarded me with astonishment, and I thought a slight suspicion +entered his official mind....Oh! scarcely that, for the photographs distributed +broadcast by the police department were too imperfect; they presented an Arsène +Lupin so different from the one he had before him, that he could not possibly +recognize me by it. But, all the same, he was troubled, confused and +ill-at-ease. +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu! nothing stimulates the comprehension so much as the loss of a +pocketbook and the desire to recover it. And it seems to me that if you will +give me two of your men, we may be able....” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I beg of you, monsieur le commissaire,” cried Madame Renaud, +“listen to Mon. Berlat.” +</p> + +<p> +The intervention of my excellent friend was decisive. Pronounced by her, the +wife of an influential official, the name of Berlat became really my own, and +gave me an identity that no mere suspicion could affect. The commissary arose, +and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Believe me, Monsieur Berlat, I shall be delighted to see you succeed. I +am as much interested as you are in the arrest of Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +He accompanied me to the automobile, and introduced two of his men, Honoré +Massol and Gaston Delivet, who were assigned to assist me. My chauffer cranked +up the car and I took my place at the wheel. A few seconds later, we left the +station. I was saved. +</p> + +<p> +Ah! I must confess that in rolling over the boulevards that surrounded the old +Norman city, in my swift thirty-five horse-power Moreau-Lepton, I experienced a +deep feeling of pride, and the motor responded, sympathetically to my desires. +At right and left, the trees flew past us with startling rapidity, and I, free, +out of danger, had simply to arrange my little personal affairs with the two +honest representatives of the Rouen police who were sitting behind me. Arsène +Lupin was going in search of Arsène Lupin! +</p> + +<p> +Modest guardians of social order—Gaston Delivet and Honoré +Massol—how valuable was your assistance! What would I have done without +you? Without you, many times, at the cross-roads, I might have taken the wrong +route! Without you, Arsène Lupin would have made a mistake, and the other would +have escaped! +</p> + +<p> +But the end was not yet. Far from it. I had yet to capture the thief and +recover the stolen papers. Under no circumstances must my two acolytes be +permitted to see those papers, much less to seize them. That was a point that +might give me some difficulty. +</p> + +<p> +We arrived at Darnétal three minutes after the departure of the train. True, I +had the consolation of learning that a man wearing a gray overcoat with a black +velvet collar had taken the train at the station. He had bought a second-class +ticket for Amiens. Certainly, my début as detective was a promising one. +</p> + +<p> +Delivet said to me: +</p> + +<p> +“The train is express, and the next stop is Montérolier-Buchy in nineteen +minutes. If we do not reach there before Arsène Lupin, he can proceed to +Amiens, or change for the train going to Clères, and, from that point, reach +Dieppe or Paris.” +</p> + +<p> +“How far to Montérolier?” +</p> + +<p> +“Twenty-three kilometres.” +</p> + +<p> +“Twenty-three kilometres in nineteen minutes....We will be there ahead of +him.” +</p> + +<p> +We were off again! Never had my faithful Moreau-Repton responded to my +impatience with such ardor and regularity. It participated in my anxiety. It +indorsed my determination. It comprehended my animosity against that rascally +Arsène Lupin. The knave! The traitor! +</p> + +<p> +“Turn to the right,” cried Delivet, “then to the left.” +</p> + +<p> +We fairly flew, scarcely touching the ground. The mile-stones looked like +little timid beasts that vanished at our approach. Suddenly, at a turn of the +road, we saw a vortex of smoke. It was the Northern Express. For a kilometre, +it was a struggle, side by side, but an unequal struggle in which the issue was +certain. We won the race by twenty lengths. +</p> + +<p> +In three seconds we were on the platform standing before the second-class +carriages. The doors were opened, and some passengers alighted, but not my +thief. We made a search through the compartments. No sign of Arsène Lupin. +</p> + +<p> +“Sapristi!” I cried, “he must have recognized me in the +automobile as we were racing, side by side, and he leaped from the +train.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! there he is now! crossing the track.” +</p> + +<p> +I started in pursuit of the man, followed by my two acolytes, or rather +followed by one of them, for the other, Massol, proved himself to be a runner +of exceptional speed and endurance. In a few moments, he had made an +appreciable gain upon the fugitive. The man noticed it, leaped over a hedge, +scampered across a meadow, and entered a thick grove. When we reached this +grove, Massol was waiting for us. He went no farther, for fear of losing us. +</p> + +<p> +“Quite right, my dear friend,” I said. “After such a run, our +victim must be out of wind. We will catch him now.” +</p> + +<p> +I examined the surroundings with the idea of proceeding alone in the arrest of +the fugitive, in order to recover my papers, concerning which the authorities +would doubtless ask many disagreeable questions. Then I returned to my +companions, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“It is all quite easy. You, Massol, take your place at the left; you, +Delivet, at the right. From there, you can observe the entire posterior line of +the bush, and he cannot escape without you seeing him, except by that ravine, +and I shall watch it. If he does not come out voluntarily, I will enter and +drive him out toward one or the other of you. You have simply to wait. Ah! I +forgot: in case I need you, a pistol shot.” +</p> + +<p> +Massol and Delivet walked away to their respective posts. As soon as they had +disappeared, I entered the grove with the greatest precaution so as to be +neither seen nor heard. I encountered dense thickets, through which narrow +paths had been cut, but the overhanging boughs compelled me to adopt a stooping +posture. One of these paths led to a clearing in which I found footsteps upon +the wet grass. I followed them; they led me to the foot of a mound which was +surmounted by a deserted, dilapidated hovel. +</p> + +<p> +“He must be there,” I said to myself. “It is a well-chosen +retreat.” +</p> + +<p> +I crept cautiously to the side of the building. A slight noise informed me that +he was there; and, then, through an opening, I saw him. His back was turned +toward me. In two bounds, I was upon him. He tried to fire a revolver that he +held in his hand. But he had no time. I threw him to the ground, in such a +manner that his arms were beneath him, twisted and helpless, whilst I held him +down with my knee on his breast. +</p> + +<p> +“Listen, my boy,” I whispered in his ear. “I am Arsène Lupin. +You are to deliver over to me, immediately and gracefully, my pocketbook and +the lady’s jewels, and, in return therefore, I will save you from the +police and enroll you amongst my friends. One word: yes or no?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” he murmured. +</p> + +<p> +“Very good. Your escape, this morning, was well planned. I congratulate +you.” +</p> + +<p> +I arose. He fumbled in his pocket, drew out a large knife and tried to strike +me with it. +</p> + +<p> +“Imbecile!” I exclaimed. +</p> + +<p> +With one hand, I parried the attack; with the other, I gave him a sharp blow on +the carotid artery. He fell—stunned! +</p> + +<p> +In my pocketbook, I recovered my papers and bank-notes. Out of curiosity, I +took his. Upon an envelope, addressed to him, I read his name: Pierre Onfrey. +It startled me. Pierre Onfrey, the assassin of the rue Lafontaine at Auteuil! +Pierre Onfrey, he who had cut the throats of Madame Delbois and her two +daughters. I leaned over him. Yes, those were the features which, in the +compartment, had evoked in me the memory of a face I could not then recall. +</p> + +<p> +But time was passing. I placed in an envelope two bank-notes of one hundred +francs each, with a card bearing these words: “Arsène Lupin to his worthy +colleagues Honoré Massol and Gaston Delivet, as a slight token of his +gratitude.” I placed it in a prominent spot in the room, where they would +be sure to find it. Beside it, I placed Madame Renaud’s handbag. Why +could I not return it to the lady who had befriended me? I must confess that I +had taken from it everything that possessed any interest or value, leaving +there only a shell comb, a stick of rouge Dorin for the lips, and an empty +purse. But, you know, business is business. And then, really, her husband is +engaged in such a dishonorable vocation! +</p> + +<p> +The man was becoming conscious. What was I to do? I was unable to save him or +condemn him. So I took his revolver and fired a shot in the air. +</p> + +<p> +“My two acolytes will come and attend to his case,” I said to +myself, as I hastened away by the road through the ravine. Twenty minutes +later, I was seated in my automobile. +</p> + +<p> +At four o’clock, I telegraphed to my friends at Rouen that an unexpected +event would prevent me from making my promised visit. Between ourselves, +considering what my friends must now know, my visit is postponed indefinitely. +A cruel disillusion for them! +</p> + +<p> +At six o’clock I was in Paris. The evening newspapers informed me that +Pierre Onfrey had been captured at last. +</p> + +<p> +Next day,—let us not despise the advantages of judicious +advertising,—the <i>Echo de France</i> published this sensational item: +</p> + +<p> +“Yesterday, near Buchy, after numerous exciting incidents, Arsène Lupin +effected the arrest of Pierre Onfrey. The assassin of the rue Lafontaine had +robbed Madame Renaud, wife of the director in the penitentiary service, in a +railway carriage on the Paris-Havre line. Arsène Lupin restored to Madame +Renaud the hand-bag that contained her jewels, and gave a generous recompense +to the two detectives who had assisted him in making that dramatic +arrest.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"></a> +V. The Queen’s Necklace</h2> + +<p> +Two or three times each year, on occasions of unusual importance, such as the +balls at the Austrian Embassy or the soirées of Lady Billingstone, the Countess +de Dreux-Soubise wore upon her white shoulders “The Queen’s +Necklace.” +</p> + +<p> +It was, indeed, the famous necklace, the legendary necklace that Bohmer and +Bassenge, court jewelers, had made for Madame Du Barry; the veritable necklace +that the Cardinal de Rohan-Soubise intended to give to Marie-Antoinette, Queen +of France; and the same that the adventuress Jeanne de Valois, Countess de la +Motte, had pulled to pieces one evening in February, 1785, with the aid of her +husband and their accomplice, Rétaux de Villette. +</p> + +<p> +To tell the truth, the mounting alone was genuine. Rétaux de Villette had kept +it, whilst the Count de la Motte and his wife scattered to the four winds of +heaven the beautiful stones so carefully chosen by Bohmer. Later, he sold the +mounting to Gaston de Dreux-Soubise, nephew and heir of the Cardinal, who +re-purchased the few diamonds that remained in the possession of the English +jeweler, Jeffreys; supplemented them with other stones of the same size but of +much inferior quality, and thus restored the marvelous necklace to the form in +which it had come from the hands of Bohmer and Bassenge. +</p> + +<p> +For nearly a century, the house of Dreux-Soubise had prided itself upon the +possession of this historic jewel. Although adverse circumstances had greatly +reduced their fortune, they preferred to curtail their household expenses +rather than part with this relic of royalty. More particularly, the present +count clung to it as a man clings to the home of his ancestors. As a matter of +prudence, he had rented a safety-deposit box at the Crédit Lyonnais in which to +keep it. He went for it himself on the afternoon of the day on which his wife +wished to wear it, and he, himself, carried it back next morning. +</p> + +<p> +On this particular evening, at the reception given at the Palais de Castille, +the Countess achieved a remarkable success; and King Christian, in whose honor +the fête was given, commented on her grace and beauty. The thousand facets of +the diamond sparkled and shone like flames of fire about her shapely neck and +shoulders, and it is safe to say that none but she could have borne the weight +of such an ornament with so much ease and grace. +</p> + +<p> +This was a double triumph, and the Count de Dreux was highly elated when they +returned to their chamber in the old house of the faubourg Saint-Germain. He +was proud of his wife, and quite as proud, perhaps, of the necklace that had +conferred added luster to his noble house for generations. His wife, also, +regarded the necklace with an almost childish vanity, and it was not without +regret that she removed it from her shoulders and handed it to her husband who +admired it as passionately as if he had never seen it before. Then, having +placed it in its case of red leather, stamped with the Cardinal’s arms, +he passed into an adjoining room which was simply an alcove or cabinet that had +been cut off from their chamber, and which could be entered only by means of a +door at the foot of their bed. As he had done on previous occasions, he hid it +on a high shelf amongst hat-boxes and piles of linen. He closed the door, and +retired. +</p> + +<p> +Next morning, he arose about nine o’clock, intending to go to the Crédit +Lyonnais before breakfast. He dressed, drank a cup of coffee, and went to the +stables to give his orders. The condition of one of the horses worried him. He +caused it to be exercised in his presence. Then he returned to his wife, who +had not yet left the chamber. Her maid was dressing her hair. When her husband +entered, she asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you going out?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, as far as the bank.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. That is wise.” +</p> + +<p> +He entered the cabinet; but, after a few seconds, and without any sign of +astonishment, he asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Did you take it, my dear?” +</p> + +<p> +“What?....No, I have not taken anything.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must have moved it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all. I have not even opened that door.” +</p> + +<p> +He appeared at the door, disconcerted, and stammered, in a scarcely +intelligible voice: +</p> + +<p> +“You haven’t....It wasn’t you?....Then....” +</p> + +<p> +She hastened to his assistance, and, together, they made a thorough search, +throwing the boxes to the floor and overturning the piles of linen. Then the +count said, quite discouraged: +</p> + +<p> +“It is useless to look any more. I put it here, on this shelf.” +</p> + +<p> +“You must be mistaken.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, it was on this shelf—nowhere else.” +</p> + +<p> +They lighted a candle, as the room was quite dark, and then carried out all the +linen and other articles that the room contained. And, when the room was +emptied, they confessed, in despair, that the famous necklace had disappeared. +Without losing time in vain lamentations, the countess notified the commissary +of police, Mon. Valorbe, who came at once, and, after hearing their story, +inquired of the count: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure that no one passed through your chamber during the +night?” +</p> + +<p> +“Absolutely sure, as I am a very light sleeper. Besides, the chamber door +was bolted, and I remember unbolting it this morning when my wife rang for her +maid.” +</p> + +<p> +“And there is no other entrance to the cabinet?” +</p> + +<p> +“None.” +</p> + +<p> +“No windows?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but it is closed up.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will look at it.” +</p> + +<p> +Candles were lighted, and Mon. Valorbe observed at once that the lower half of +the window was covered by a large press which was, however, so narrow that it +did not touch the casement on either side. +</p> + +<p> +“On what does this window open?” +</p> + +<p> +“A small inner court.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you have a floor above this?” +</p> + +<p> +“Two; but, on a level with the servant’s floor, there is a close +grating over the court. That is why this room is so dark.” +</p> + +<p> +When the press was moved, they found that the window was fastened, which would +not have been the case if anyone had entered that way. +</p> + +<p> +“Unless,” said the count, “they went out through our +chamber.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, you would have found the door unbolted.” +</p> + +<p> +The commissary considered the situation for a moment, then asked the countess: +</p> + +<p> +“Did any of your servants know that you wore the necklace last +evening?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly; I didn’t conceal the fact. But nobody knew that it was +hidden in that cabinet.” +</p> + +<p> +“No one?” +</p> + +<p> +“No one.... unless....” +</p> + +<p> +“Be quite sure, madam, as it is a very important point.” +</p> + +<p> +She turned to her husband, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“I was thinking of Henriette.” +</p> + +<p> +“Henriette? She didn’t know where we kept it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure?” +</p> + +<p> +“Who is this woman Henriette?” asked Mon. Valorbe. +</p> + +<p> +“A school-mate, who was disowned by her family for marrying beneath her. +After her husband’s death, I furnished an apartment in this house for her +and her son. She is clever with her needle and has done some work for +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“What floor is she on?” +</p> + +<p> +“Same as ours.... at the end of the corridor.... and I think.... the +window of her kitchen....” +</p> + +<p> +“Opens on this little court, does it not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, just opposite ours.” +</p> + +<p> +Mon. Valorbe then asked to see Henriette. They went to her apartment; she was +sewing, whilst her son Raoul, about six years old, was sitting beside her, +reading. The commissary was surprised to see the wretched apartment that had +been provided for the woman. It consisted of one room without a fireplace, and +a very small room that served as a kitchen. The commissary proceeded to +question her. She appeared to be overwhelmed on learning of the theft. Last +evening she had herself dressed the countess and placed the necklace upon her +shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +“Good God!” she exclaimed, “it can’t be +possible!” +</p> + +<p> +“And you have no idea? Not the least suspicion? Is it possible that the +thief may have passed through your room?” +</p> + +<p> +She laughed heartily, never supposing that she could be an object of suspicion. +</p> + +<p> +“But I have not left my room. I never go out. And, perhaps, you have not +seen?” +</p> + +<p> +She opened the kitchen window, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“See, it is at least three metres to the ledge of the opposite +window.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who told you that we supposed the theft might have been committed in +that way?” +</p> + +<p> +“But.... the necklace was in the cabinet, wasn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, I have always known that it was kept there at night. It had been +mentioned in my presence.” +</p> + +<p> +Her face, though still young, bore unmistakable traces of sorrow and +resignation. And it now assumed an expression of anxiety as if some danger +threatened her. She drew her son toward her. The child took her hand, and +kissed it affectionately. +</p> + +<p> +When they were alone again, the count said to the commissary: +</p> + +<p> +“I do not suppose you suspect Henriette. I can answer for her. She is +honesty itself.” +</p> + +<p> +“I quite agree with you,” replied Mon. Valorbe. “At most, I +thought there might have been an unconscious complicity. But I confess that +even that theory must be abandoned, as it does not help solve the problem now +before us.” +</p> + +<p> +The commissary of police abandoned the investigation, which was now taken up +and completed by the examining judge. He questioned the servants, examined the +condition of the bolt, experimented with the opening and closing of the cabinet +window, and explored the little court from top to bottom. All was in vain. The +bolt was intact. The window could not be opened or closed from the outside. +</p> + +<p> +The inquiries especially concerned Henriette, for, in spite of everything, they +always turned in her direction. They made a thorough investigation of her past +life, and ascertained that, during the last three years, she had left the house +only four times, and her business, on those occasions, was satisfactorily +explained. As a matter of fact, she acted as chambermaid and seamstress to the +countess, who treated her with great strictness and even severity. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of a week, the examining judge had secured no more definite +information than the commissary of police. The judge said: +</p> + +<p> +“Admitting that we know the guilty party, which we do not, we are +confronted by the fact that we do not know how the theft was committed. We are +brought face to face with two obstacles: a door and a window—both closed +and fastened. It is thus a double mystery. How could anyone enter, and, +moreover, how could any one escape, leaving behind him a bolted door and a +fastened window?” +</p> + +<p> +At the end of four months, the secret opinion of the judge was that the count +and countess, being hard pressed for money, which was their normal condition, +had sold the Queen’s Necklace. He closed the investigation. +</p> + +<p> +The loss of the famous jewel was a severe blow to the Dreux-Soubise. Their +credit being no longer propped up by the reserve fund that such a treasure +constituted, they found themselves confronted by more exacting creditors and +money-lenders. They were obliged to cut down to the quick, to sell or mortgage +every article that possessed any commercial value. In brief, it would have been +their ruin, if two large legacies from some distant relatives had not saved +them. +</p> + +<p> +Their pride also suffered a downfall, as if they had lost a quartering from +their escutcheon. And, strange to relate, it was upon her former schoolmate, +Henriette, that the countess vented her spleen. Toward her, the countess +displayed the most spiteful feelings, and even openly accused her. First, +Henriette was relegated to the servants’ quarters, and, next day, +discharged. +</p> + +<p> +For some time, the count and countess passed an uneventful life. They traveled +a great deal. Only one incident of record occurred during that period. Some +months after the departure of Henriette, the countess was surprised when she +received and read the following letter, signed by Henriette: +</p> + +<p> +“Madame,” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know how to thank you; for it was you, was it not, who sent me +that? It could not have been anyone else. No one but you knows where I live. If +I am wrong, excuse me, and accept my sincere thanks for your past +favors....” +</p> + +<p> +What did the letter mean? The present or past favors of the countess consisted +principally of injustice and neglect. Why, then, this letter of thanks? +</p> + +<p> +When asked for an explanation, Henriette replied that she had received a +letter, through the mails, enclosing two bank-notes of one thousand francs +each. The envelope, which she enclosed with her reply, bore the Paris +post-mark, and was addressed in a handwriting that was obviously disguised. +Now, whence came those two thousand francs? Who had sent them? And why had they +sent them? +</p> + +<p> +Henriette received a similar letter and a like sum of money twelve months +later. And a third time; and a fourth; and each year for a period of six years, +with this difference, that in the fifth and sixth years the sum was doubled. +There was another difference: the post-office authorities having seized one of +the letters under the pretext that it was not registered, the last two letters +were duly sent according to the postal regulations, the first dated from +Saint-Germain, the other from Suresnes. The writer signed the first one, +“Anquety”; and the other, “Péchard.” The addresses that +he gave were false. +</p> + +<p> +At the end of six years, Henriette died, and the mystery remained unsolved. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +All these events are known to the public. The case was one of those which +excite public interest, and it was a strange coincidence that this necklace, +which had caused such a great commotion in France at the close of the +eighteenth century, should create a similar commotion a century later. But what +I am about to relate is known only to the parties directly interested and a few +others from whom the count exacted a promise of secrecy. As it is probable that +some day or other that promise will be broken, I have no hesitation in rending +the veil and thus disclosing the key to the mystery, the explanation of the +letter published in the morning papers two days ago; an extraordinary letter +which increased, if possible, the mists and shadows that envelope this +inscrutable drama. +</p> + +<p> +Five days ago, a number of guests were dining with the Count de Dreux-Soubise. +There were several ladies present, including his two nieces and his cousin, and +the following gentlemen: the president of Essaville, the deputy Bochas, the +chevalier Floriani, whom the count had known in Sicily, and General Marquis de +Rouzières, an old club friend. +</p> + +<p> +After the repast, coffee was served by the ladies, who gave the gentlemen +permission to smoke their cigarettes, provided they would not desert the salon. +The conversation was general, and finally one of the guests chanced to speak of +celebrated crimes. And that gave the Marquis de Rouzières, who delighted to +tease the count, an opportunity to mention the affair of the Queen’s +Necklace, a subject that the count detested. +</p> + +<p> +Each one expressed his own opinion of the affair; and, of course, their various +theories were not only contradictory but impossible. +</p> + +<p> +“And you, monsieur,” said the countess to the chevalier Floriani, +“what is your opinion?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I—I have no opinion, madame.” +</p> + +<p> +All the guests protested; for the chevalier had just related in an entertaining +manner various adventures in which he had participated with his father, a +magistrate at Palermo, and which established his judgment and taste in such +manners. +</p> + +<p> +“I confess,” said he, “I have sometimes succeeded in +unraveling mysteries that the cleverest detectives have renounced; yet I do not +claim to be Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, I know very little about the affair of +the Queen’s Necklace.” +</p> + +<p> +Everybody now turned to the count, who was thus obliged, quite unwillingly, to +narrate all the circumstances connected with the theft. The chevalier listened, +reflected, asked a few questions, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“It is very strange.... at first sight, the problem appears to be a very +simple one.” +</p> + +<p> +The count shrugged his shoulders. The others drew closer to the chevalier, who +continued, in a dogmatic tone: +</p> + +<p> +“As a general rule, in order to find the author of a crime or a theft, it +is necessary to determine how that crime or theft was committed, or, at least, +how it could have been committed. In the present case, nothing is more simple, +because we are face to face, not with several theories, but with one positive +fact, that is to say: the thief could only enter by the chamber door or the +window of the cabinet. Now, a person cannot open a bolted door from the +outside. Therefore, he must have entered through the window.” +</p> + +<p> +“But it was closed and fastened, and we found it fastened +afterward,” declared the count. +</p> + +<p> +“In order to do that,” continued Floriani, without heeding the +interruption, “he had simply to construct a bridge, a plank or a ladder, +between the balcony of the kitchen and the ledge of the window, and as the +jewel-case—-” +</p> + +<p> +“But I repeat that the window was fastened,” exclaimed the count, +impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +This time, Floriani was obliged to reply. He did so with the greatest +tranquility, as if the objection was the most insignificant affair in the +world. +</p> + +<p> +“I will admit that it was; but is there not a transom in the upper part +of the window?” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know that?” +</p> + +<p> +“In the first place, that was customary in houses of that date; and, in +the second place, without such a transom, the theft cannot be explained.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, there is one, but it was closed, the same as the window. +Consequently, we did not pay attention to it.” +</p> + +<p> +“That was a mistake; for, if you had examined it, you would have found +that it had been opened.” +</p> + +<p> +“But how?” +</p> + +<p> +“I presume that, like all others, it opens by means of a wire with a ring +on the lower end.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but I do not see—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, through a hole in the window, a person could, by the aid of some +instrument, let us say a poker with a hook at the end, grip the ring, pull +down, and open the transom.” +</p> + +<p> +The count laughed and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Excellent! excellent! Your scheme is very cleverly constructed, but you +overlook one thing, monsieur, there is no hole in the window.” +</p> + +<p> +“There was a hole.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense, we would have seen it.” +</p> + +<p> +“In order to see it, you must look for it, and no one has looked. The +hole is there; it must be there, at the side of the window, in the putty. In a +vertical direction, of course.” +</p> + +<p> +The count arose. He was greatly excited. He paced up and down the room, two or +three times, in a nervous manner; then, approaching Floriani, said: +</p> + +<p> +“Nobody has been in that room since; nothing has been changed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, monsieur, you can easily satisfy yourself that my explanation +is correct.” +</p> + +<p> +“It does not agree with the facts established by the examining judge. You +have seen nothing, and yet you contradict all that we have seen and all that we +know.” +</p> + +<p> +Floriani paid no attention to the count’s petulance. He simply smiled and +said: +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu, monsieur, I submit my theory; that is all. If I am mistaken, +you can easily prove it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will do so at once....I confess that your assurance—-” +</p> + +<p> +The count muttered a few more words; then suddenly rushed to the door and +passed out. Not a word was uttered in his absence; and this profound silence +gave the situation an air of almost tragic importance. Finally, the count +returned. He was pale and nervous. He said to his friends, in a trembling +voice: +</p> + +<p> +“I beg your pardon.... the revelations of the chevalier were so +unexpected....I should never have thought....” +</p> + +<p> +His wife questioned him, eagerly: +</p> + +<p> +“Speak.... what is it?” +</p> + +<p> +He stammered: “The hole is there, at the very spot, at the side of the +window—-” +</p> + +<p> +He seized the chevalier’s arm, and said to him in an imperious tone: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, monsieur, proceed. I admit that you are right so far, but now.... +that is not all.... go on.... tell us the rest of it.” +</p> + +<p> +Floriani disengaged his arm gently, and, after a moment, continued: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, in my opinion, this is what happened. The thief, knowing that the +countess was going to wear the necklace that evening, had prepared his gangway +or bridge during your absence. He watched you through the window and saw you +hide the necklace. Afterward, he cut the glass and pulled the ring.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! but the distance was so great that it would be impossible for him to +reach the window-fastening through the transom.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then, if he could not open the window by reaching through the +transom, he must have crawled through the transom.” +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible; it is too small. No man could crawl through it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then it was not a man,” declared Floriani. +</p> + +<p> +“What!” +</p> + +<p> +“If the transom is too small to admit a man, it must have been a +child.” +</p> + +<p> +“A child!” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you not say that your friend Henriette had a son?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; a son named Raoul.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, in all probability, it was Raoul who committed the theft.” +</p> + +<p> +“What proof have you of that?” +</p> + +<p> +“What proof! Plenty of it....For instance—-” +</p> + +<p> +He stopped, and reflected for a moment, then continued: +</p> + +<p> +“For instance, that gangway or bridge. It is improbable that the child +could have brought it in from outside the house and carried it away again +without being observed. He must have used something close at hand. In the +little room used by Henriette as a kitchen, were there not some shelves against +the wall on which she placed her pans and dishes?” +</p> + +<p> +“Two shelves, to the best of my memory.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you sure that those shelves are really fastened to the wooden +brackets that support them? For, if they are not, we could be justified in +presuming that the child removed them, fastened them together, and thus formed +his bridge. Perhaps, also, since there was a stove, we might find the bent +poker that he used to open the transom.” +</p> + +<p> +Without saying a word, the count left the room; and, this time, those present +did not feel the nervous anxiety they had experienced the first time. They were +confident that Floriani was right, and no one was surprised when the count +returned and declared: +</p> + +<p> +“It was the child. Everything proves it.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have seen the shelves and the poker?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. The shelves have been unnailed, and the poker is there yet.” +</p> + +<p> +But the countess exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“You had better say it was his mother. Henriette is the guilty party. She +must have compelled her son—-” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” declared the chevalier, “the mother had nothing to do +with it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense! they occupied the same room. The child could not have done it +without the mother’s knowledge.” +</p> + +<p> +“True, they lived in the same room, but all this happened in the +adjoining room, during the night, while the mother was asleep.” +</p> + +<p> +“And the necklace?” said the count. “It would have been found +amongst the child’s things.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pardon me! He had been out. That morning, on which you found him +reading, he had just come from school, and perhaps the commissary of police, +instead of wasting his time on the innocent mother, would have been better +employed in searching the child’s desk amongst his school-books.” +</p> + +<p> +“But how do you explain those two thousand francs that Henriette received +each year? Are they not evidence of her complicity?” +</p> + +<p> +“If she had been an accomplice, would she have thanked you for that +money? And then, was she not closely watched? But the child, being free, could +easily go to a neighboring city, negotiate with some dealer and sell him one +diamond or two diamonds, as he might wish, upon condition that the money should +be sent from Paris, and that proceeding could be repeated from year to +year.” +</p> + +<p> +An indescribable anxiety oppressed the Dreux-Soubise and their guests. There +was something in the tone and attitude of Floriani—something more than +the chevalier’s assurance which, from the beginning, had so annoyed the +count. There was a touch of irony, that seemed rather hostile than sympathetic. +But the count affected to laugh, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“All that is very ingenious and interesting, and I congratulate you upon +your vivid imagination.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, not at all,” replied Floriani, with the utmost gravity, +“I imagine nothing. I simply describe the events as they must have +occurred.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what do you know about them?” +</p> + +<p> +“What you yourself have told me. I picture to myself the life of the +mother and child down there in the country; the illness of the mother, the +schemes of and inventions of the child to sell the precious stones in order to +save his mother’s life, or, at least, soothe her dying moments. Her +illness overcomes her. She dies. Years roll on. The child becomes a man; and +then—and now I will give my imagination a free rein—let us suppose +that the man feels a desire to return to the home of his childhood, that he +does so, and that he meets there certain people who suspect and accuse his +mother.... do you realize the sorrow and anguish of such an interview in the +very house wherein the original drama was played?” +</p> + +<p> +His words seemed to echo for a few seconds in the ensuing silence, and one +could read upon the faces of the Count and Countess de Dreux a bewildered +effort to comprehend his meaning and, at the same time, the fear and anguish of +such a comprehension. The count spoke at last, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you, monsieur?” +</p> + +<p> +“I? The chevalier Floriani, whom you met at Palermo, and whom you have +been gracious enough to invite to your house on several occasions.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then what does this story mean?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! nothing at all! It is simply a pastime, so far as I am concerned. I +endeavor to depict the pleasure that Henriette’s son, if he still lives, +would have in telling you that he was the guilty party, and that he did it +because his mother was unhappy, as she was on the point of losing the place of +a.... servant, by which she lived, and because the child suffered at sight of +his mother’s sorrow.” +</p> + +<p> +He spoke with suppressed emotion, rose partially and inclined toward the +countess. There could be no doubt that the chevalier Floriani was +Henriette’s son. His attitude and words proclaimed it. Besides, was it +not his obvious intention and desire to be recognized as such? +</p> + +<p> +The count hesitated. What action would he take against the audacious guest? +Ring? Provoke a scandal? Unmask the man who had once robbed him? But that was a +long time ago! And who would believe that absurd story about the guilty child? +No; better far to accept the situation, and pretend not to comprehend the true +meaning of it. So the count, turning to Floriani, exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Your story is very curious, very entertaining; I enjoyed it much. But +what do you think has become of this young man, this model son? I hope he has +not abandoned the career in which he made such a brilliant début.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! certainly not.” +</p> + +<p> +“After such a début! To steal the Queen’s Necklace at six years of +age; the celebrated necklace that was coveted by Marie-Antoinette!” +</p> + +<p> +“And to steal it,” remarked Floriani, falling in with the +count’s mood, “without costing him the slightest trouble, without +anyone thinking to examine the condition of the window, or to observe that the +window-sill was too clean—that window-sill which he had wiped in order to +efface the marks he had made in the thick dust. We must admit that it was +sufficient to turn the head of a boy at that age. It was all so easy. He had +simply to desire the thing, and reach out his hand to get it.” +</p> + +<p> +“And he reached out his hand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Both hands,” replied the chevalier, laughing. +</p> + +<p> +His companions received a shock. What mystery surrounded the life of the +so-called Floriani? How wonderful must have been the life of that adventurer, a +thief at six years of age, and who, to-day, in search of excitement or, at +most, to gratify a feeling of resentment, had come to brave his victim in her +own house, audaciously, foolishly, and yet with all the grace and delicacy of a +courteous guest! +</p> + +<p> +He arose and approached the countess to bid her adieu. She recoiled, +unconsciously. He smiled. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Madame, you are afraid of me! Did I pursue my role of +parlor-magician a step too far?” +</p> + +<p> +She controlled herself, and replied, with her accustomed ease: +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all, monsieur. The legend of that dutiful son interested me very +much, and I am pleased to know that my necklace had such a brilliant destiny. +But do you not think that the son of that woman, that Henriette, was the victim +of hereditary influence in the choice of his vocation?” +</p> + +<p> +He shuddered, feeling the point, and replied: +</p> + +<p> +“I am sure of it; and, moreover, his natural tendency to crime must have +been very strong or he would have been discouraged.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why so?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because, as you must know, the majority of the diamonds were false. The +only genuine stones were the few purchased from the English jeweler, the others +having been sold, one by one, to meet the cruel necessities of life.” +</p> + +<p> +“It was still the Queen’s Necklace, monsieur,” replied the +countess, haughtily, “and that is something that he, Henriette’s +son, could not appreciate.” +</p> + +<p> +“He was able to appreciate, madame, that, whether true or false, the +necklace was nothing more that an object of parade, an emblem of senseless +pride.” +</p> + +<p> +The count made a threatening gesture, but his wife stopped him. +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur,” she said, “if the man to whom you allude has the +slightest sense of honor—-” +</p> + +<p> +She stopped, intimidated by Floriani’s cool manner. +</p> + +<p> +“If that man has the slightest sense of honor,” he repeated. +</p> + +<p> +She felt that she would not gain anything by speaking to him in that manner, +and in spite of her anger and indignation, trembling as she was from humiliated +pride, she said to him, almost politely: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, the legend says that Rétaux de Villette, when in possession of +the Queen’s Necklace, did not disfigure the mounting. He understood that +the diamonds were simply the ornament, the accessory, and that the mounting was +the essential work, the creation of the artist, and he respected it +accordingly. Do you think that this man had the same feeling?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have no doubt that the mounting still exists. The child respected +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, monsieur, if you should happen to meet him, will you tell him that +he unjustly keeps possession of a relic that is the property and pride of a +certain family, and that, although the stones have been removed, the +Queen’s necklace still belongs to the house of Dreux-Soubise. It belongs +to us as much as our name or our honor.” +</p> + +<p> +The chevalier replied, simply: +</p> + +<p> +“I shall tell him, madame.” +</p> + +<p> +He bowed to her, saluted the count and the other guests, and departed. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Four days later, the countess de Dreux found upon the table in her chamber a +red leather case bearing the cardinal’s arms. She opened it, and found +the Queen’s Necklace. +</p> + +<p> +But as all things must, in the life of a man who strives for unity and logic, +converge toward the same goal—and as a little advertising never does any +harm—on the following day, the <i>Echo de France</i> published these +sensational lines: +</p> + +<p> +“The Queen’s Necklace, the famous historical jewelry stolen from +the family of Dreux-Soubise, has been recovered by Arsène Lupin, who hastened +to restore it to its rightful owner. We cannot too highly commend such a +delicate and chivalrous act.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"></a> +VI. The Seven of Hearts</h2> + +<p> +I am frequently asked this question: “How did you make the acquaintance +of Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +My connection with Arsène Lupin was well known. The details that I gather +concerning that mysterious man, the irrefutable facts that I present, the new +evidence that I produce, the interpretation that I place on certain acts of +which the public has seen only the exterior manifestations without being able +to discover the secret reasons or the invisible mechanism, all establish, if +not an intimacy, at least amicable relations and regular confidences. +</p> + +<p> +But how did I make his acquaintance? Why was I selected to be his +historiographer? Why I, and not some one else? +</p> + +<p> +The answer is simple: chance alone presided over my choice; my merit was not +considered. It was chance that put me in his way. It was by chance that I was +participant in one of his strangest and most mysterious adventures; and by +chance that I was an actor in a drama of which he was the marvelous stage +director; an obscure and intricate drama, bristling with such thrilling events +that I feel a certain embarrassment in undertaking to describe it. +</p> + +<p> +The first act takes place during that memorable night of 22 June, of which so +much has already been said. And, for my part, I attribute the anomalous conduct +of which I was guilty on that occasion to the unusual frame of mind in which I +found myself on my return home. I had dined with some friends at the Cascade +restaurant, and, the entire evening, whilst we smoked and the orchestra played +melancholy waltzes, we talked only of crimes and thefts, and dark and frightful +intrigues. That is always a poor overture to a night’s sleep. +</p> + +<p> +The Saint-Martins went away in an automobile. Jean Daspry—that +delightful, heedless Daspry who, six months later, was killed in such a tragic +manner on the frontier of Morocco—Jean Daspry and I returned on foot +through the dark, warm night. When we arrived in front of the little house in +which I had lived for a year at Neuilly, on the boulevard Maillot, he said to +me: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you afraid?” +</p> + +<p> +“What an idea!” +</p> + +<p> +“But this house is so isolated.... no neighbors.... vacant +lots....Really, I am not a coward, and yet—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you are very cheering, I must say.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I say that as I would say anything else. The Saint-Martins have +impressed me with their stories of brigands and thieves.” +</p> + +<p> +We shook hands and said good-night. I took out my key and opened the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, that is good,” I murmured, “Antoine has forgotten to +light a candle.” +</p> + +<p> +Then I recalled the fact that Antoine was away; I had given him a short leave +of absence. Forthwith, I was disagreeably oppressed by the darkness and silence +of the night. I ascended the stairs on tiptoe, and reached my room as quickly +as possible; then, contrary to my usual habit, I turned the key and pushed the +bolt. +</p> + +<p> +The light of my candle restored my courage. Yet I was careful to take my +revolver from its case—a large, powerful weapon—and place it beside +my bed. That precaution completed my reassurance. I laid down and, as usual, +took a book from my night-table to read myself to sleep. Then I received a +great surprise. Instead of the paper-knife with which I had marked my place on +the preceding, I found an envelope, closed with five seals of red wax. I seized +it eagerly. It was addressed to me, and marked: “Urgent.” +</p> + +<p> +A letter! A letter addressed to me! Who could have put it in that place? +Nervously, I tore open the envelope, and read: +</p> + +<p> +“From the moment you open this letter, whatever happens, whatever you may +hear, do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise you are doomed.” +</p> + +<p> +I am not a coward, and, quite as well as another, I can face real danger, or +smile at the visionary perils of imagination. But, let me repeat, I was in an +anomalous condition of mind, with my nerves set on edge by the events of the +evening. Besides, was there not, in my present situation, something startling +and mysterious, calculated to disturb the most courageous spirit? +</p> + +<p> +My feverish fingers clutched the sheet of paper, and I read and re-read those +threatening words: “Do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise, you are +doomed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense!” I thought. “It is a joke; the work of some +cheerful idiot.” +</p> + +<p> +I was about to laugh—a good loud laugh. Who prevented me? What haunting +fear compressed my throat? +</p> + +<p> +At least, I would blow out the candle. No, I could not do it. “Do not +move, or you are doomed,” were the words he had written. +</p> + +<p> +These auto-suggestions are frequently more imperious than the most positive +realities; but why should I struggle against them? I had simply to close my +eyes. I did so. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment, I heard a slight noise, followed by crackling sounds, +proceeding from a large room used by me as a library. A small room or +antechamber was situated between the library and my bedchamber. +</p> + +<p> +The approach of an actual danger greatly excited me, and I felt a desire to get +up, seize my revolver, and rush into the library. I did not rise; I saw one of +the curtains of the left window move. There was no doubt about it: the curtain +had moved. It was still moving. And I saw—oh! I saw quite +distinctly—in the narrow space between the curtains and the window, a +human form; a bulky mass that prevented the curtains from hanging straight. And +it is equally certain that the man saw me through the large meshes of the +curtain. Then, I understood the situation. His mission was to guard me while +the others carried away their booty. Should I rise and seize my revolver? +Impossible! He was there! At the least movement, at the least cry, I was +doomed. +</p> + +<p> +Then came a terrific noise that shook the house; this was followed by lighter +sounds, two or three together, like those of a hammer that rebounded. At least, +that was the impression formed in my confused brain. These were mingled with +other sounds, thus creating a veritable uproar which proved that the intruders +were not only bold, but felt themselves secure from interruption. +</p> + +<p> +They were right. I did not move. Was it cowardice? No, rather weakness, a total +inability to move any portion of my body, combined with discretion; for why +should I struggle? Behind that man, there were ten others who would come to his +assistance. Should I risk my life to save a few tapestries and bibelots? +</p> + +<p> +Throughout the night, my torture endured. Insufferable torture, terrible +anguish! The noises had stopped, but I was in constant fear of their renewal. +And the man! The man who was guarding me, weapon in hand. My fearful eyes +remained cast in his direction. And my heart beat! And a profuse perspiration +oozed from every pore of my body! +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, I experienced an immense relief; a milk-wagon, whose sound was +familiar to me, passed along the boulevard; and, at the same time, I had an +impression that the light of a new day was trying to steal through the closed +window-blinds. +</p> + +<p> +At last, daylight penetrated the room; other vehicles passed along the +boulevard; and all the phantoms of the night vanished. Then I put one arm out +of the bed, slowly and cautiously. My eyes were fixed upon the curtain, +locating the exact spot at which I must fire; I made an exact calculation of +the movements I must make; then, quickly, I seized my revolver and fired. +</p> + +<p> +I leaped from my bed with a cry of deliverance, and rushed to the window. The +bullet had passed through the curtain and the window-glass, but it had not +touched the man—for the very good reason that there was none there. +Nobody! Thus, during the entire night, I had been hypnotized by a fold of the +curtain. And, during that time, the malefactors....Furiously, with an +enthusiasm that nothing could have stopped, I turned the key, opened the door, +crossed the antechamber, opened another door, and rushed into the library. But +amazement stopped me on the threshold, panting, astounded, more astonished than +I had been by the absence of the man. All the things that I supposed had been +stolen, furniture, books, pictures, old tapestries, everything was in its +proper place. +</p> + +<p> +It was incredible. I could not believe my eyes. Notwithstanding that uproar, +those noises of removal....I made a tour, I inspected the walls, I made a +mental inventory of all the familiar objects. Nothing was missing. And, what +was more disconcerting, there was no clue to the intruders, not a sign, not a +chair disturbed, not the trace of a footstep. +</p> + +<p> +“Well! Well!” I said to myself, pressing my hands on my bewildered +head, “surely I am not crazy! I heard something!” +</p> + +<p> +Inch by inch, I made a careful examination of the room. It was in vain. Unless +I could consider this as a discovery: Under a small Persian rug, I found a +card—an ordinary playing card. It was the seven of hearts; it was like +any other seven of hearts in French playing-cards, with this slight but curious +exception: The extreme point of each of the seven red spots or hearts was +pierced by a hole, round and regular as if made with the point of an awl. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing more. A card and a letter found in a book. But was not that sufficient +to affirm that I had not been the plaything of a dream? +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Throughout the day, I continued my searches in the library. It was a large +room, much too large for the requirements of such a house, and the decoration +of which attested the bizarre taste of its founder. The floor was a mosaic of +multicolored stones, formed into large symmetrical designs. The walls were +covered with a similar mosaic, arranged in panels, Pompeiian allegories, +Byzantine compositions, frescoes of the Middle Ages. A Bacchus bestriding a +cask. An emperor wearing a gold crown, a flowing beard, and holding a sword in +his right hand. +</p> + +<p> +Quite high, after the style of an artist’s studio, there was a large +window—the only one in the room. That window being always open at night, +it was probable that the men had entered through it, by the aid of a ladder. +But, again, there was no evidence. The bottom of the ladder would have left +some marks in the soft earth beneath the window; but there were none. Nor were +there any traces of footsteps in any part of the yard. +</p> + +<p> +I had no idea of informing the police, because the facts I had before me were +so absurd and inconsistent. They would laugh at me. However, as I was then a +reporter on the staff of the ‘Gil Blas,’ I wrote a lengthy account +of my adventure and it was published in the paper on the second day thereafter. +The article attracted some attention, but no one took it seriously. They +regarded it as a work of fiction rather than a story of real life. The +Saint-Martins rallied me. But Daspry, who took an interest in such matters, +came to see me, made a study of the affair, but reached no conclusion. +</p> + +<p> +A few mornings later, the door-bell rang, and Antoine came to inform me that a +gentleman desired to see me. He would not give his name. I directed Antoine to +show him up. He was a man of about forty years of age with a very dark +complexion, lively features, and whose correct dress, slightly frayed, +proclaimed a taste that contrasted strangely with his rather vulgar manners. +Without any preamble, he said to me—in a rough voice that confirmed my +suspicion as to his social position: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur, whilst in a café, I picked up a copy of the ‘Gil +Blas,’ and read your article. It interested me very much. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you.” +</p> + +<p> +“And here I am.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, to talk to you. Are all the facts related by you quite +correct?” +</p> + +<p> +“Absolutely so.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, in that case, I can, perhaps, give you some information.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well; proceed.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, not yet. First, I must be sure that the facts are exactly as you +have related them.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have given you my word. What further proof do you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“I must remain alone in this room.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not understand,” I said, with surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s an idea that occurred to me when reading your article. +Certain details established an extraordinary coincidence with another case that +came under my notice. If I am mistaken, I shall say nothing more. And the only +means of ascertaining the truth is by my remaining in the room alone.” +</p> + +<p> +What was at the bottom of this proposition? Later, I recalled that the man was +exceedingly nervous; but, at the same time, although somewhat astonished, I +found nothing particularly abnormal about the man or the request he had made. +Moreover, my curiosity was aroused; so I replied: +</p> + +<p> +“Very well. How much time do you require?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! three minutes—not longer. Three minutes from now, I will +rejoin you.” +</p> + +<p> +I left the room, and went downstairs. I took out my watch. One minute passed. +Two minutes. Why did I feel so depressed? Why did those moments seem so solemn +and weird? Two minutes and a half....Two minutes and three quarters. Then I +heard a pistol shot. +</p> + +<p> +I bounded up the stairs and entered the room. A cry of horror escaped me. In +the middle of the room, the man was lying on his left side, motionless. Blood +was flowing from a wound in his forehead. Near his hand was a revolver, still +smoking. +</p> + +<p> +But, in addition to this frightful spectacle, my attention was attracted by +another object. At two feet from the body, upon the floor, I saw a +playing-card. It was the seven of hearts. I picked it up. The lower extremity +of each of the seven spots was pierced with a small round hole. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +A half-hour later, the commissary of police arrived, then the coroner and the +chief of the Sûreté, Mon. Dudouis. I had been careful not to touch the corpse. +The preliminary inquiry was very brief, and disclosed nothing. There were no +papers in the pockets of the deceased; no name upon his clothes; no initial +upon his linen; nothing to give any clue to his identity. The room was in the +same perfect order as before. The furniture had not been disturbed. Yet this +man had not come to my house solely for the purpose of killing himself, or +because he considered my place the most convenient one for his suicide! There +must have been a motive for his act of despair, and that motive was, no doubt, +the result of some new fact ascertained by him during the three minutes he was +alone. +</p> + +<p> +What was that fact? What had he seen? What frightful secret had been revealed +to him? There was no answer to these questions. But, at the last moment, an +incident occurred that appeared to us of considerable importance. As two +policemen were raising the body to place it on a stretcher, the left hand thus +being disturbed, a crumpled card fell from it. The card bore these words: +“Georges Andermatt, 37 Rue de Berry.” +</p> + +<p> +What did that mean? Georges Andermatt was a rich banker in Paris, the founder +and president of the Metal Exchange which had given such an impulse to the +metallic industries in France. He lived in princely style; was the possessor of +numerous automobiles, coaches, and an expensive racing-stable. His social +affairs were very select, and Madame Andermatt was noted for her grace and +beauty. +</p> + +<p> +“Can that be the man’s name?” I asked. +——————— +</p> + +<p> +The chief of the Sûreté leaned over him. +</p> + +<p> +“It is not he. Mon. Andermatt is a thin man, and slightly grey.” +</p> + +<p> +“But why this card?” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you a telephone, monsieur?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, in the vestibule. Come with me.” +</p> + +<p> +He looked in the directory, and then asked for number 415.21. +</p> + +<p> +“Is Mon. Andermatt at home?....Please tell him that Mon. Dudouis wished +him to come at once to 102 Boulevard Maillot. Very important.” +</p> + +<p> +Twenty minutes later, Mon. Andermatt arrived in his automobile. After the +circumstances had been explained to him, he was taken in to see the corpse. He +displayed considerable emotion, and spoke, in a low tone, and apparently +unwillingly: +</p> + +<p> +“Etienne Varin,” he said. +</p> + +<p> +“You know him?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.... or, at least, yes.... by sight only. His brother....” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! he has a brother?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Alfred Varin. He came to see me once on some matter of +business....I forget what it was.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where does he live?” +</p> + +<p> +“The two brothers live together—rue de Provence, I think.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you know any reason why he should commit suicide?” +</p> + +<p> +“None.” +</p> + +<p> +“He held a card in his hand. It was your card with your address.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not understand that. It must have been there by some chance that +will be disclosed by the investigation.” +</p> + +<p> +A very strange chance, I thought; and I felt that the others entertained the +same impression. +</p> + +<p> +I discovered the same impression in the papers next day, and amongst all my +friends with whom I discussed the affair. Amid the mysteries that enveloped it, +after the double discovery of the seven of hearts pierced with seven holes, +after the two inscrutable events that had happened in my house, that visiting +card promised to throw some light on the affair. Through it, the truth may be +revealed. But, contrary to our expectations, Mon. Andermatt furnished no +explanation. He said: +</p> + +<p> +“I have told you all I know. What more can I do? I am greatly surprised +that my card should be found in such a place, and I sincerely hope the point +will be cleared up.” +</p> + +<p> +It was not. The official investigation established that the Varin brothers were +of Swiss origin, had led a shifting life under various names, frequenting +gambling resorts, associating with a band of foreigners who had been dispersed +by the police after a series of robberies in which their participation was +established only by their flight. At number 24 rue de Provence, where the Varin +brothers had lived six years before, no one knew what had become of them. +</p> + +<p> +I confess that, for my part, the case seemed to me so complicated and so +mysterious that I did not think the problem would ever be solved, so I +concluded to waste no more time upon it. But Jean Daspry, whom I frequently met +at that period, became more and more interested in it each day. It was he who +pointed out to me that item from a foreign newspaper which was reproduced and +commented upon by the entire press. It was as follows: +</p> + +<p> +“The first trial of a new model of submarine boat, which is expected to +revolutionize naval warfare, will be given in presence of the former Emperor at +a place that will be kept secret until the last minute. An indiscretion has +revealed its name; it is called ‘The Seven-of-Hearts.’” +</p> + +<p> +The Seven-of-Hearts! That presented a new problem. Could a connection be +established between the name of the sub-marine and the incidents which we have +related? But a connection of what nature? What had happened here could have no +possible relation with the sub-marine. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you know about it?” said Daspry to me. “The most +diverse effects often proceed from the same cause.” +</p> + +<p> +Two days later, the following foreign news item was received and published: +</p> + +<p> +“It is said that the plans of the new sub-marine +‘Seven-of-Hearts’ were prepared by French engineers, who, having +sought, in vain, the support of their compatriots, subsequently entered into +negotiations with the British Admiralty, without success.” +</p> + +<p> +I do not wish to give undue publicity to certain delicate matters which once +provoked considerable excitement. Yet, since all danger of injury therefrom has +now come to an end, I must speak of the article that appeared in the <i>Echo de +France</i>, which aroused so much comment at that time, and which threw +considerable light upon the mystery of the Seven-of-Hearts. This is the article +as it was published over the signature of Salvator: +</p> + +<p class="center"> +“THE AFFAIR OF THE SEVEN-OF-HEARTS.<br/> +“A CORNER OF THE VEIL RAISED. +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“We will be brief. Ten years ago, a young mining engineer, Louis Lacombe, +wishing to devote his time and fortune to certain studies, resigned his +position he then held, and rented number 102 boulevard Maillot, a small house +that had been recently built and decorated for an Italian count. Through the +agency of the Varin brothers of Lausanne, one of whom assisted in the +preliminary experiments and the other acted as financial agent, the young +engineer was introduced to Georges Andermatt, the founder of the Metal +Exchange.<br/> + “After several interviews, he succeeded in interesting the banker in +a sub-marine boat on which he was working, and it was agreed that as soon as +the invention was perfected, Mon. Andermatt would use his influence with the +Minister of Marine to obtain a series of trials under the direction of the +government. For two years, Louis Lacombe was a frequent visitor at +Andermatt’s house, and he submitted to the banker the various +improvements he made upon his original plans, until one day, being satisfied +with the perfection of his work, he asked Mon. Andermatt to communicate with +the Minister of Marine. That day, Louis Lacombe dined at Mon. Andermatt’s +house. He left there about half-past eleven at night. He has not been seen +since.<br/> + “A perusal of the newspapers of that date will show that the young +man’s family caused every possible inquiry to be made, but without +success; and it was the general opinion that Louis Lacombe— who was known +as an original and visionary youth—had quietly left for parts +unknown.<br/> + “Let us accept that theory—improbable, though it be,—and +let us consider another question, which is a most important one for our +country: What has become of the plans of the sub-marine? Did Louis Lacombe +carry them away? Are they destroyed?<br/> + “After making a thorough investigation, we are able to assert, +positively, that the plans are in existence, and are now in the possession of +the two brothers Varin. How did they acquire such a possession? That is a +question not yet determined; nor do we know why they have not tried to sell +them at an earlier date. Did they fear that their title to them would be called +in question? If so, they have lost that fear, and we can announce definitely, +that the plans of Louis Lacombe are now the property of foreign power, and we +are in a position to publish the correspondence that passed between the Varin +brothers and the representative of that power. The +‘Seven-of-Hearts’ invented by Louis Lacombe has been actually +constructed by our neighbor.<br/> + “Will the invention fulfill the optimistic expectations of those who +were concerned in that treacherous act?” +</p> + +<p> +And a post-script adds: +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“Later.—Our special correspondent informs us that the preliminary +trial of the ‘Seven-of-Hearts’ has not been satisfactory. It is +quite likely that the plans sold and delivered by the Varin brothers did not +include the final document carried by Louis Lacombe to Mon. Andermatt on the +day of his disappearance, a document that was indispensable to a thorough +understanding of the invention. It contained a summary of the final conclusions +of the inventor, and estimates and figures not contained in the other papers. +Without this document, the plans are incomplete; on the other hand, without the +plans, the document is worthless.<br/> + “Now is the time to act and recover what belongs to us. It may be a +difficult matter, but we rely upon the assistance of Mon. Andermatt. It will be +to his interest to explain his conduct which has hitherto been so strange and +inscrutable. He will explain not only why he concealed these facts at the time +of the suicide of Etienne Varin, but also why he has never revealed the +disappearance of the paper—a fact well known to him. He will tell why, +during the last six years, he paid spies to watch the movements of the Varin +brothers. We expect from him, not only words, but acts. And at once. +Otherwise—-” +</p> + +<p> +The threat was plainly expressed. But of what did it consist? What whip was +Salvator, the anonymous writer of the article, holding over the head of Mon. +Andermatt? +</p> + +<p> +An army of reporters attacked the banker, and ten interviewers announced the +scornful manner in which they were treated. Thereupon, the <i>Echo de +France</i> announced its position in these words: +</p> + +<p> +“Whether Mon. Andermatt is willing or not, he will be, henceforth, our +collaborator in the work we have undertaken.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Daspry and I were dining together on the day on which that announcement +appeared. That evening, with the newspapers spread over my table, we discussed +the affair and examined it from every point of view with that exasperation that +a person feels when walking in the dark and finding himself constantly falling +over the same obstacles. Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the door +opened and a lady entered. Her face was hidden behind a thick veil. I rose at +once and approached her. +</p> + +<p> +“Is it you, monsieur, who lives here?” she asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, madame, but I do not understand—-” +</p> + +<p> +“The gate was not locked,” she explained. +</p> + +<p> +“But the vestibule door?” +</p> + +<p> +She did not reply, and it occurred to me that she had used the servants’ +entrance. How did she know the way? Then there was a silence that was quite +embarrassing. She looked at Daspry, and I was obliged to introduce him. I asked +her to be seated and explain the object of her visit. She raised her veil, and +I saw that she was a brunette with regular features and, though not handsome, +she was attractive—principally, on account of her sad, dark eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“I am Madame Andermatt,” she said. +</p> + +<p> +“Madame Andermatt!” I repeated, with astonishment. +</p> + +<p> +After a brief pause, she continued with a voice and manner that were quite easy +and natural: +</p> + +<p> +“I have come to see you about that affair—you know. I thought I +might be able to obtain some information—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu, madame, I know nothing but what has already appeared in the +papers. But if you will point out in what way I can help you....” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know....I do not know.” +</p> + +<p> +Not until then did I suspect that her calm demeanor was assumed, and that some +poignant grief was concealed beneath that air of tranquility. For a moment, we +were silent and embarrassed. Then Daspry stepped forward, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Will you permit me to ask you a few questions?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes,” she cried. “I will answer.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will answer.... whatever those questions may be?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you know Louis Lacombe?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, through my husband.” +</p> + +<p> +“When did you see him for the last time?” +</p> + +<p> +“The evening he dined with us.” +</p> + +<p> +“At that time, was there anything to lead you to believe that you would +never see him again?” +</p> + +<p> +“No. But he had spoken of a trip to Russia—in a vague way.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then you expected to see him again?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. He was to dine with us, two days later.” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you explain his disappearance?” +</p> + +<p> +“I cannot explain it.” +</p> + +<p> +“And Mon. Andermatt?” +</p> + +<p> +“I do not know.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yet the article published in the <i>Echo de France</i> +indicates—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, that the Varin brothers had something to do with his +disappearance.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is that your opinion?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“On what do you base your opinion?” +</p> + +<p> +“When he left our house, Louis Lacombe carried a satchel containing all +the papers relating to his invention. Two days later, my husband, in a +conversation with one of the Varin brothers, learned that the papers were in +their possession.” +</p> + +<p> +“And he did not denounce them?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because there was something else in the satchel—something besides +the papers of Louis Lacombe.” +</p> + +<p> +“What was it?” +</p> + +<p> +She hesitated; was on the point of speaking, but, finally, remained silent. +Daspry continued: +</p> + +<p> +“I presume that is why your husband has kept a close watch over their +movements instead of informing the police. He hoped to recover the papers and, +at the same time, that compromising article which has enabled the two brothers +to hold over him threats of exposure and blackmail.” +</p> + +<p> +“Over him, and over me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! over you, also?” +</p> + +<p> +“Over me, in particular.” +</p> + +<p> +She uttered the last words in a hollow voice. Daspry observed it; he paced to +and fro for a moment, then, turning to her, asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Had you written to Louis Lacombe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. My husband had business with him—” +</p> + +<p> +“Apart from those business letters, had you written to Louis Lacombe.... +other letters? Excuse my insistence, but it is absolutely necessary that I +should know the truth. Did you write other letters?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” she replied, blushing. +</p> + +<p> +“And those letters came into the possession of the Varin brothers?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Does Mon. Andermatt know it?” +</p> + +<p> +“He has not seen them, but Alfred Varin has told him of their existence +and threatened to publish them if my husband should take any steps against him. +My husband was afraid.... of a scandal.” +</p> + +<p> +“But he has tried to recover the letters?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think so; but I do not know. You see, after that last interview with +Alfred Varin, and after some harsh words between me and my husband in which he +called me to account—we live as strangers.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, as you have nothing to lose, what do you fear?” +</p> + +<p> +“I may be indifferent to him now, but I am the woman that he has loved, +the one he would still love—oh! I am quite sure of that,” she +murmured, in a fervent voice, “he would still love me if he had not got +hold of those cursed letters——” +</p> + +<p> +“What! Did he succeed?....But the two brothers still defied him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and they boasted of having a secure hiding-place.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well?” +</p> + +<p> +“I believe my husband discovered that hiding-place.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! where was it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here!” I cried in alarm. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I always had that suspicion. Louis Lacombe was very ingenious and +amused himself in his leisure hours, by making safes and locks. No doubt, the +Varin brothers were aware of that fact and utilized one of Lacombe’s +safes in which to conceal the letters.... and other things, perhaps.” +</p> + +<p> +“But they did not live here,” I said. +</p> + +<p> +“Before you came, four months ago, the house had been vacant for some +time. And they may have thought that your presence here would not interfere +with them when they wanted to get the papers. But they did not count on my +husband, who came here on the night of 22 June, forced the safe, took what he +was seeking, and left his card to inform the two brothers that he feared them +no more, and that their positions were now reversed. Two days later, after +reading the article in the ‘Gil Blas,’ Etienne Varin came here, +remained alone in this room, found the safe empty, and.... killed +himself.” +</p> + +<p> +After a moment, Daspry said: +</p> + +<p> +“A very simple theory....Has Mon. Andermatt spoken to you since +then?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Has his attitude toward you changed in any way? Does he appear more +gloomy, more anxious?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I haven’t noticed any change.” +</p> + +<p> +“And yet you think he has secured the letters. Now, in my opinion, he has +not got those letters, and it was not he who came here on the night of 22 +June.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who was it, then?” +</p> + +<p> +“The mysterious individual who is managing this affair, who holds all the +threads in his hands, and whose invisible but far-reaching power we have felt +from the beginning. It was he and his friends who entered this house on 22 +June; it was he who discovered the hiding-place of the papers; it was he who +left Mon. Andermatt’s card; it is he who now holds the correspondence and +the evidence of the treachery of the Varin brothers.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who is he?” I asked, impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +“The man who writes letters to the <i>Echo de France</i>.... Salvator! +Have we not convincing evidence of that fact? Does he not mention in his +letters certain details that no one could know, except the man who had thus +discovered the secrets of the two brothers?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then,” stammered Madame Andermatt, in great alarm, “he +has my letters also, and it is he who now threatens my husband. Mon Dieu! What +am I to do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Write to him,” declared Daspry. “Confide in him without +reserve. Tell him all you know and all you may hereafter learn. Your interest +and his interest are the same. He is not working against Mon. Andermatt, but +against Alfred Varin. Help him.” +</p> + +<p> +“How?” +</p> + +<p> +“Has your husband the document that completes the plans of Louis +Lacombe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell that to Salvator, and, if possible, procure the document for him. +Write to him at once. You risk nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +The advice was bold, dangerous even at first sight, but Madame Andermatt had no +choice. Besides, as Daspry had said, she ran no risk. If the unknown writer +were an enemy, that step would not aggravate the situation. If he were a +stranger seeking to accomplish a particular purpose, he would attach to those +letters only a secondary importance. Whatever might happen, it was the only +solution offered to her, and she, in her anxiety, was only too glad to act on +it. She thanked us effusively, and promised to keep us informed. +</p> + +<p> +In fact, two days later, she sent us the following letter that she had received +from Salvator: +</p> + +<p> +“Have not found the letters, but I will get them. Rest easy. I am +watching everything. S.” +</p> + +<p> +I looked at the letter. It was in the same handwriting as the note I found in +my book on the night of 22 June. +</p> + +<p> +Daspry was right. Salvator was, indeed, the originator of that affair. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +We were beginning to see a little light coming out of the darkness that +surrounded us, and an unexpected light was thrown on certain points; but other +points yet remained obscure—for instance, the finding of the two +seven-of-hearts. Perhaps I was unnecessarily concerned about those two cards +whose seven punctured spots had appeared to me under such startling +circumstances! Yet I could not refrain from asking myself: What role will they +play in the drama? What importance do they bear? What conclusion must be drawn +from the fact that the submarine constructed from the plans of Louis Lacombe +bore the name of ‘Seven-of-Hearts’? +</p> + +<p> +Daspry gave little thought to the other two cards; he devoted all his attention +to another problem which he considered more urgent; he was seeking the famous +hiding-place. +</p> + +<p> +“And who knows,” said he, “I may find the letters that +Salvator did not find—by inadvertence, perhaps. It is improbable that the +Varin brothers would have removed from a spot, which they deemed inaccessible, +the weapon which was so valuable to them.” +</p> + +<p> +And he continued to search. In a short time, the large room held no more +secrets for him, so he extended his investigations to the other rooms. He +examined the interior and the exterior, the stones of the foundation, the +bricks in the walls; he raised the slates of the roof. +</p> + +<p> +One day, he came with a pickaxe and a spade, gave me the spade, kept the +pickaxe, pointed to the adjacent vacant lots, and said: “Come.” +</p> + +<p> +I followed him, but I lacked his enthusiasm. He divided the vacant land into +several sections which he examined in turn. At last, in a corner, at the angle +formed by the walls of two neighboring proprietors, a small pile of earth and +gravel, covered with briers and grass, attracted his attention. He attacked it. +I was obliged to help him. For an hour, under a hot sun, we labored without +success. I was discouraged, but Daspry urged me on. His ardor was as strong as +ever. +</p> + +<p> +At last, Daspry’s pickaxe unearthed some bones—the remains of a +skeleton to which some scraps of clothing still hung. Suddenly, I turned pale. +I had discovered, sticking in the earth, a small piece of iron cut in the form +of a rectangle, on which I thought I could see red spots. I stooped and picked +it up. That little iron plate was the exact size of a playing-card, and the red +spots, made with red lead, were arranged upon it in a manner similar to the +seven-of-hearts, and each spot was pierced with a round hole similar to the +perforations in the two playing cards. +</p> + +<p> +“Listen, Daspry, I have had enough of this. You can stay if it interests +you. But I am going.” +</p> + +<p> +Was that simply the expression of my excited nerves? Or was it the result of a +laborious task executed under a burning sun? I know that I trembled as I walked +away, and that I went to bed, where I remained forty-eight hours, restless and +feverish, haunted by skeletons that danced around me and threw their bleeding +hearts at my head. +</p> + +<p> +Daspry was faithful to me. He came to my house every day, and remained three or +four hours, which he spent in the large room, ferreting, thumping, tapping. +</p> + +<p> +“The letters are here, in this room,” he said, from time to time, +“they are here. I will stake my life on it.” +</p> + +<p> +On the morning of the third day I arose—feeble yet, but cured. A +substantial breakfast cheered me up. But a letter that I received that +afternoon contributed, more than anything else, to my complete recovery, and +aroused in me a lively curiosity. This was the letter: +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“Monsieur,<br/> + “The drama, the first act of which transpired on the night of 22 +June, is now drawing to a close. Force of circumstances compel me to bring the +two principal actors in that drama face to face, and I wish that meeting to +take place in your house, if you will be so kind as to give me the use of it +for this evening from nine o’clock to eleven. It will be advisable to +give your servant leave of absence for the evening, and, perhaps, you will be +so kind as to leave the field open to the two adversaries. You will remember +that when I visited your house on the night of 22 June, I took excellent care +of your property. I feel that I would do you an injustice if I should doubt, +for one moment, your absolute discretion in this affair. Your devoted, +</p> + +<p class="right"> +“S<small>ALVATOR</small>.” +</p> + +<p> +I was amused at the facetious tone of his letter and also at the whimsical +nature of his request. There was a charming display of confidence and candor in +his language, and nothing in the world could have induced me to deceive him or +repay his confidence with ingratitude. +</p> + +<p> +I gave my servant a theatre ticket, and he left the house at eight +o’clock. A few minutes later, Daspry arrived. I showed him the letter. +</p> + +<p> +“Well?” said he. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I have left the garden gate unlocked, so anyone can enter.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you—are you going away?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all. I intend to stay right here.” +</p> + +<p> +“But he asks you to go—-” +</p> + +<p> +“But I am not going. I will be discreet, but I am resolved to see what +takes place.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ma foi!” exclaimed Daspry, laughing, “you are right, and I +shall stay with you. I shouldn’t like to miss it.” +</p> + +<p> +We were interrupted by the sound of the door-bell. +</p> + +<p> +“Here already?” said Daspry, “twenty minutes ahead of time! +Incredible!” +</p> + +<p> +I went to the door and ushered in the visitor. It was Madame Andermatt. She was +faint and nervous, and in a stammering voice, she ejaculated: +</p> + +<p> +“My husband.... is coming.... he has an appointment.... they intend to +give him the letters....” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know?” I asked. +</p> + +<p> +“By chance. A message came for my husband while we were at dinner. The +servant gave it to me by mistake. My husband grabbed it quickly, but he was too +late. I had read it.” +</p> + +<p> +“You read it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. It was something like this: ‘At nine o’clock this +evening, be at Boulevard Maillot with the papers connected with the affair. In +exchange, the letters.’ So, after dinner, I hastened here.” +</p> + +<p> +“Unknown to your husband?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you think about it?” asked Daspry, turning to me. +</p> + +<p> +“I think as you do, that Mon. Andermatt is one of the invited +guests.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but for what purpose?” +</p> + +<p> +“That is what we are going to find out.” +</p> + +<p> +I led them to a large room. The three of us could hide comfortably behind the +velvet chimney-mantle, and observe all that should happen in the room. We +seated ourselves there, with Madame Andermatt in the centre. +</p> + +<p> +The clock struck nine. A few minutes later, the garden gate creaked upon its +hinges. I confess that I was greatly agitated. I was about to learn the key to +the mystery. The startling events of the last few weeks were about to be +explained, and, under my eyes, the last battle was going to be fought. Daspry +seized the hand of Madame Andermatt, and said to her: +</p> + +<p> +“Not a word, not a movement! Whatever you may see or hear, keep +quiet!” +</p> + +<p> +Some one entered. It was Alfred Varin. I recognized him at once, owing to the +close resemblance he bore to his brother Etienne. There was the same slouching +gait; the same cadaverous face covered with a black beard. +</p> + +<p> +He entered with the nervous air of a man who is accustomed to fear the presence +of traps and ambushes; who scents and avoids them. He glanced about the room, +and I had the impression that the chimney, masked with a velvet portière, did +not please him. He took three steps in our direction, when something caused him +to turn and walk toward the old mosaic king, with the flowing beard and +flamboyant sword, which he examined minutely, mounting on a chair and following +with his fingers the outlines of the shoulders and head and feeling certain +parts of the face. Suddenly, he leaped from the chair and walked away from it. +He had heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Mon. Andermatt appeared at the +door. +</p> + +<p> +“You! You!” exclaimed the banker. “Was it you who brought me +here?” +</p> + +<p> +“I? By no means,” protested Varin, in a rough, jerky voice that +reminded me of his brother, “on the contrary, it was your letter that +brought me here.” +</p> + +<p> +“My letter?” +</p> + +<p> +“A letter signed by you, in which you offered—-” +</p> + +<p> +“I never wrote to you,” declared Mon. Andermatt. +</p> + +<p> +“You did not write to me!” +</p> + +<p> +Instinctively, Varin was put on his guard, not against the banker, but against +the unknown enemy who had drawn him into this trap. A second time, he looked in +our direction, then walked toward the door. But Mon. Andermatt barred his +passage. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, where are you going, Varin?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is something about this affair I don’t like. I am going +home. Good evening.” +</p> + +<p> +“One moment!” +</p> + +<p> +“No need of that, Mon. Andermatt. I have nothing to say to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“But I have something to say to you, and this is a good time to say +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let me pass.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, you will not pass.” +</p> + +<p> +Varin recoiled before the resolute attitude of the banker, as he muttered: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then, be quick about it.” +</p> + +<p> +One thing astonished me; and I have no doubt my two companions experienced a +similar feeling. Why was Salvator not there? Was he not a necessary party at +this conference? Or was he satisfied to let these two adversaries fight it out +between themselves? At all events, his absence was a great disappointment, +although it did not detract from the dramatic strength of the situation. +</p> + +<p> +After a moment, Mon. Andermatt approached Varin and, face to face, eye to eye, +said: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, after all these years and when you have nothing more to fear, you +can answer me candidly: What have you done with Louis Lacombe?” +</p> + +<p> +“What a question! As if I knew anything about him!” +</p> + +<p> +“You do know! You and your brother were his constant companions, almost +lived with him in this very house. You knew all about his plans and his work. +And the last night I ever saw Louis Lacombe, when I parted with him at my door, +I saw two men slinking away in the shadows of the trees. That, I am ready to +swear to.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what has that to do with me?” +</p> + +<p> +“The two men were you and your brother.” +</p> + +<p> +“Prove it.” +</p> + +<p> +“The best proof is that, two days later, you yourself showed me the +papers and the plans that belonged to Lacombe and offered to sell them. How did +these papers come into your possession?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have already told you, Mon. Andermatt, that we found them on Louis +Lacombe’s table, the morning after his disappearance.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is a lie!” +</p> + +<p> +“Prove it.” +</p> + +<p> +“The law will prove it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you not appeal to the law?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why? Ah! Why—-,” stammered the banker, with a slight display +of emotion. +</p> + +<p> +“You know very well, Mon. Andermatt, if you had the least certainty of +our guilt, our little threat would not have stopped you.” +</p> + +<p> +“What threat? Those letters? Do you suppose I ever gave those letters a +moment’s thought?” +</p> + +<p> +“If you did not care for the letters, why did you offer me thousands of +francs for their return? And why did you have my brother and me tracked like +wild beasts?” +</p> + +<p> +“To recover the plans.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense! You wanted the letters. You knew that as soon as you had the +letters in your possession, you could denounce us. Oh! no, I couldn’t +part with them!” +</p> + +<p> +He laughed heartily, but stopped suddenly, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“But, enough of this! We are merely going over old ground. We make no +headway. We had better let things stand as they are.” +</p> + +<p> +“We will not let them stand as they are,” said the banker, +“and since you have referred to the letters, let me tell you that you +will not leave this house until you deliver up those letters.” +</p> + +<p> +“I shall go when I please.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be careful, Mon. Andermatt. I warn you—-” +</p> + +<p> +“I say, you shall not go.” +</p> + +<p> +“We will see about that,” cried Varin, in such a rage that Madame +Andermatt could not suppress a cry of fear. Varin must have heard it, for he +now tried to force his way out. Mon. Andermatt pushed him back. Then I saw him +put his hand into his coat pocket. +</p> + +<p> +“For the last time, let me pass,” he cried. +</p> + +<p> +“The letters, first!” +</p> + +<p> +Varin drew a revolver and, pointing it at Mon. Andermatt, said: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes or no?” +</p> + +<p> +The banker stooped quickly. There was the sound of a pistol-shot. The weapon +fell from Varin’s hand. I was amazed. The shot was fired close to me. It +was Daspry who had fired it at Varin, causing him to drop the revolver. In a +moment, Daspry was standing between the two men, facing Varin; he said to him, +with a sneer: +</p> + +<p> +“You were lucky, my friend, very lucky. I fired at your hand and struck +only the revolver.” +</p> + +<p> +Both of them looked at him, surprised. Then he turned to the banker, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“I beg your pardon, monsieur, for meddling in your business; but, really, +you play a very poor game. Let me hold the cards.” +</p> + +<p> +Turning again to Varin, Daspry said: +</p> + +<p> +“It’s between us two, comrade, and play fair, if you please. Hearts +are trumps, and I play the seven.” +</p> + +<p> +Then Daspry held up, before Varin’s bewildered eyes, the little iron +plate, marked with the seven red spots. It was a terrible shock to Varin. With +livid features, staring eyes, and an air of intense agony, the man seemed to be +hypnotized at the sight of it. +</p> + +<p> +“Who are you?” he gasped. +</p> + +<p> +“One who meddles in other people’s business, down to the very +bottom.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“What you brought here tonight.” +</p> + +<p> +“I brought nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, you did, or you wouldn’t have come. This morning, you +received an invitation to come here at nine o’clock, and bring with you +all the papers held by you. You are here. Where are the papers?” +</p> + +<p> +There was in Daspry’s voice and manner a tone of authority that I did not +understand; his manner was usually quite mild and conciliatory. Absolutely +conquered, Varin placed his hand on one of his pockets, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“The papers are here.” +</p> + +<p> +“All of them?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“All that you took from Louis Lacombe and afterwards sold to Major von +Lieben?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Are these the copies or the originals?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have the originals.” +</p> + +<p> +“How much do you want for them?” +</p> + +<p> +“One hundred thousand francs.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are crazy,” said Daspry. “Why, the major gave you only +twenty thousand, and that was like money thrown into the sea, as the boat was a +failure at the preliminary trials.” +</p> + +<p> +“They didn’t understand the plans.” +</p> + +<p> +“The plans are not complete.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, why do you ask me for them?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because I want them. I offer you five thousand francs—not a sou +more.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ten thousand. Not a sou less.” +</p> + +<p> +“Agreed,” said Daspry, who now turned to Mon. Andermatt, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur will kindly sign a check for the amount.” +</p> + +<p> +“But....I haven’t got—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Your check-book? Here it is.” +</p> + +<p> +Astounded, Mon. Andermatt examined the check-book that Daspry handed to him. +</p> + +<p> +“It is mine,” he gasped. “How does that happen?” +</p> + +<p> +“No idle words, monsieur, if you please. You have merely to sign.” +</p> + +<p> +The banker took out his fountain pen, filled out the check and signed it. Varin +held out his hand for it. +</p> + +<p> +“Put down your hand,” said Daspry, “there is something +more.” Then, to the banker, he said: “You asked for some letters, +did you not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, a package of letters.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where are they, Varin?” +</p> + +<p> +“I haven’t got them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where are they, Varin?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. My brother had charge of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“They are hidden in this room.” +</p> + +<p> +“In that case, you know where they are.” +</p> + +<p> +“How should I know?” +</p> + +<p> +“Was it not you who found the hiding-place? You appear to be as well +informed.... as Salvator.” +</p> + +<p> +“The letters are not in the hiding-place.” +</p> + +<p> +“They are.” +</p> + +<p> +“Open it.” +</p> + +<p> +Varin looked at him, defiantly. Were not Daspry and Salvator the same person? +Everything pointed to that conclusion. If so, Varin risked nothing in +disclosing a hiding-place already known. +</p> + +<p> +“Open it,” repeated Daspry. +</p> + +<p> +“I have not got the seven of hearts.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, here it is,” said Daspry, handing him the iron plate. Varin +recoiled in terror, and cried: +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, I will not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind,” replied Daspry, as he walked toward the bearded king, +climbed on a chair and applied the seven of hearts to the lower part of the +sword in such a manner that the edges of the iron plate coincided exactly with +the two edges of the sword. Then, with the assistance of an awl which he +introduced alternately into each of the seven holes, he pressed upon seven of +the little mosaic stones. As he pressed upon the seventh one, a clicking sound +was heard, and the entire bust of the King turned upon a pivot, disclosing a +large opening lined with steel. It was really a fire-proof safe. +</p> + +<p> +“You can see, Varin, the safe is empty.” +</p> + +<p> +“So I see. Then, my brother has taken out the letters.” +</p> + +<p> +Daspry stepped down from the chair, approached Varin, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, no more nonsense with me. There is another hiding-place. Where is +it?” +</p> + +<p> +“There is none.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is it money you want? How much?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ten thousand.” +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur Andermatt, are those letters worth ten thousand francs to +you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said the banker, firmly. +</p> + +<p> +Varin closed the safe, took the seven of hearts and placed it again on the +sword at the same spot. He thrust the awl into each of the seven holes. There +was the same clicking sound, but this time, strange to relate, it was only a +portion of the safe that revolved on the pivot, disclosing quite a small safe +that was built within the door of the larger one. The packet of letters was +here, tied with a tape, and sealed. Varin handed the packet to Daspry. The +latter turned to the banker, and asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Is the check ready, Monsieur Andermatt?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you have also the last document that you received from Louis +Lacombe—the one that completes the plans of the sub-marine?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +The exchange was made. Daspry pocketed the document and the checks, and offered +the packet of letters to Mon. Andermatt. +</p> + +<p> +“This is what you wanted, Monsieur.” +</p> + +<p> +The banker hesitated a moment, as if he were afraid to touch those cursed +letters that he had sought so eagerly. Then, with a nervous movement, he took +them. Close to me, I heard a moan. I grasped Madame Andermatt’s hand. It +was cold. +</p> + +<p> +“I believe, monsieur,” said Daspry to the banker, “that our +business is ended. Oh! no thanks. It was only by a mere chance that I have been +able to do you a good turn. Good-night.” +</p> + +<p> +Mon. Andermatt retired. He carried with him the letters written by his wife to +Louis Lacombe. +</p> + +<p> +“Marvelous!” exclaimed Daspry, delighted. “Everything is +coming our way. Now, we have only to close our little affair, comrade. You have +the papers?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here they are—all of them.” +</p> + +<p> +Daspry examined them carefully, and then placed them in his pocket. +</p> + +<p> +“Quite right. You have kept your word,” he said. +</p> + +<p> +“But—-” +</p> + +<p> +“But what?” +</p> + +<p> +“The two checks? The money?” said Varin, eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you have a great deal of assurance, my man. How dare you ask such +a thing?” +</p> + +<p> +“I ask only what is due to me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you ask pay for returning papers that you stole? Well, I think +not!” +</p> + +<p> +Varin was beside himself. He trembled with rage; his eyes were bloodshot. +</p> + +<p> +“The money.... the twenty thousand....” he stammered. +</p> + +<p> +“Impossible! I need it myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“The money!” +</p> + +<p> +“Come, be reasonable, and don’t get excited. It won’t do you +any good.” +</p> + +<p> +Daspry seized his arm so forcibly, that Varin uttered a cry of pain. Daspry +continued: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, you can go. The air will do you good. Perhaps you want me to show +you the way. Ah! yes, we will go together to the vacant lot near here, and I +will show you a little mound of earth and stones and under it—-” +</p> + +<p> +“That is false! That is false!” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! no, it is true. That little iron plate with the seven spots on it +came from there. Louis Lacombe always carried it, and you buried it with the +body—and with some other things that will prove very interesting to a +judge and jury.” +</p> + +<p> +Varin covered his face with his hands, and muttered: +</p> + +<p> +“All right, I am beaten. Say no more. But I want to ask you one question. +I should like to know—-” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Was there a little casket in the large safe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Was it there on the night of 22 June?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“What did it contain?” +</p> + +<p> +“Everything that the Varin brothers had put in it—a very pretty +collection of diamonds and pearls picked up here and there by the said +brothers.” +</p> + +<p> +“And did you take it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course I did. Do you blame me?” +</p> + +<p> +“I understand.... it was the disappearance of that casket that caused my +brother to kill himself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Probably. The disappearance of your correspondence was not a sufficient +motive. But the disappearance of the casket....Is that all you wish to ask +me?” +</p> + +<p> +“One thing more: your name?” +</p> + +<p> +“You ask that with an idea of seeking revenge.” +</p> + +<p> +“Parbleu! The tables may be turned. Today, you are on top. +To-morrow—-” +</p> + +<p> +“It will be you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hope so. Your name?” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin!” +</p> + +<p> +The man staggered, as though stunned by a heavy blow. Those two words had +deprived him of all hope. +</p> + +<p> +Daspry laughed, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! did you imagine that a Monsieur Durand or Dupont could manage an +affair like this? No, it required the skill and cunning of Arsène Lupin. And +now that you have my name, go and prepare your revenge. Arsène Lupin will wait +for you.” +</p> + +<p> +Then he pushed the bewildered Varin through the door. +</p> + +<p> +“Daspry! Daspry!” I cried, pushing aside the curtain. He ran to me. +</p> + +<p> +“What? What’s the matter?” +</p> + +<p> +“Madame Andermatt is ill.” +</p> + +<p> +He hastened to her, caused her to inhale some salts, and, while caring for her, +questioned me: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what did it?” +</p> + +<p> +“The letters of Louis Lacombe that you gave to her husband.” +</p> + +<p> +He struck his forehead and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Did she think that I could do such a thing!...But, of course she would. +Imbecile that I am!” +</p> + +<p> +Madame Andermatt was now revived. Daspry took from his pocket a small package +exactly similar to the one that Mon. Andermatt had carried away. +</p> + +<p> +“Here are your letters, Madame. These are the genuine letters.” +</p> + +<p> +“But.... the others?” +</p> + +<p> +“The others are the same, rewritten by me and carefully worded. Your +husband will not find anything objectionable in them, and will never suspect +the substitution since they were taken from the safe in his presence.” +</p> + +<p> +“But the handwriting—-” +</p> + +<p> +“There is no handwriting that cannot be imitated.” +</p> + +<p> +She thanked him in the same words she might have used to a man in her own +social circle, so I concluded that she had not witnessed the final scene +between Varin and Arsène Lupin. But the surprising revelation caused me +considerable embarrassment. Lupin! My club companion was none other than Arsène +Lupin. I could not realize it. But he said, quite at his ease: +</p> + +<p> +“You can say farewell to Jean Daspry.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Jean Daspry is going on a long journey. I shall send him to +Morocco. There, he may find a death worthy of him. I may say that that is his +expectation.” +</p> + +<p> +“But Arsène Lupin will remain?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! Decidedly. Arsène Lupin is simply at the threshold of his career, +and he expects—-” +</p> + +<p> +I was impelled by curiosity to interrupt him, and, leading him away from the +hearing of Madame Andermatt, I asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Did you discover the smaller safe yourself—the one that held the +letters?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, after a great deal of trouble. I found it yesterday afternoon while +you were asleep. And yet, God knows it was simple enough! But the simplest +things are the ones that usually escape our notice.” Then, showing me the +seven-of-hearts, he added: “Of course I had guessed that, in order to +open the larger safe, this card must be placed on the sword of the mosaic +king.” +</p> + +<p> +“How did you guess that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Quite easily. Through private information, I knew that fact when I came +here on the evening of 22 June—-” +</p> + +<p> +“After you left me—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, after turning the subject of our conversation to stories of crime +and robbery which were sure to reduce you to such a nervous condition that you +would not leave your bed, but would allow me to complete my search +uninterrupted.” +</p> + +<p> +“The scheme worked perfectly.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I knew when I came here that there was a casket concealed in a +safe with a secret lock, and that the seven-of-hearts was the key to that lock. +I had merely to place the card upon the spot that was obviously intended for +it. An hour’s examination showed me where the spot was.” +</p> + +<p> +“One hour!” +</p> + +<p> +“Observe the fellow in mosaic.” +</p> + +<p> +“The old emperor?” +</p> + +<p> +“That old emperor is an exact representation of the king of hearts on all +playing cards.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s right. But how does the seven of hearts open the larger +safe at one time and the smaller safe at another time? And why did you open +only the larger safe in the first instance? I mean on the night of 22 +June.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why? Because I always placed the seven of hearts in the same way. I +never changed the position. But, yesterday, I observed that by reversing the +card, by turning it upside down, the arrangement of the seven spots on the +mosaic was changed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Parbleu!” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course, parbleu! But a person has to think of those things.” +</p> + +<p> +“There is something else: you did not know the history of those letters +until Madame Andermatt—-” +</p> + +<p> +“Spoke of them before me? No. Because I found in the safe, besides the +casket, nothing but the correspondence of the two brothers which disclosed +their treachery in regard to the plans.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then it was by chance that you were led, first, to investigate the +history of the two brothers, and then to search for the plans and documents +relating to the sub-marine?” +</p> + +<p> +“Simply by chance.” +</p> + +<p> +“For what purpose did you make the search?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mon Dieu!” exclaimed Daspry, laughing, “how deeply +interested you are!” +</p> + +<p> +“The subject fascinates me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, presently, after I have escorted Madame Andermatt to a +carriage, and dispatched a short story to the <i>Echo de France</i>, I will +return and tell you all about it.” +</p> + +<p> +He sat down and wrote one of those short, clear-cut articles which served to +amuse and mystify the public. Who does not recall the sensation that followed +that article produced throughout the entire world? +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin has solved the problem recently submitted by Salvator. +Having acquired possession of all the documents and original plans of the +engineer Louis Lacombe, he has placed them in the hands of the Minister of +Marine, and he has headed a subscription list for the purpose of presenting to +the nation the first submarine constructed from those plans. His subscription +is twenty thousand francs.” +</p> + +<p> +“Twenty thousand francs! The checks of Mon. Andermatt?” I +exclaimed, when he had given me the paper to read. +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly. It was quite right that Varin should redeem his +treachery.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +And that is how I made the acquaintance of Arsène Lupin. That is how I learned +that Jean Daspry, a member of my club, was none other than Arsène Lupin, +gentleman-thief. That is how I formed very agreeable ties of friendship with +that famous man, and, thanks to the confidence with which he honored me, how I +became his very humble and faithful historiographer. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"></a> +VII. Madame Imbert’s Safe</h2> + +<p> +At three o’clock in the morning, there were still half a dozen carriages +in front of one of those small houses which form only the side of the boulevard +Berthier. The door of that house opened, and a number of guests, male and +female, emerged. The majority of them entered their carriages and were quickly +driven away, leaving behind only two men who walked down Courcelles, where they +parted, as one of them lived in that street. The other decided to return on +foot as far as the Porte-Maillot. It was a beautiful winter’s night, +clear and cold; a night on which a brisk walk is agreeable and refreshing. +</p> + +<p> +But, at the end of a few minutes, he had the disagreeable impression that he +was being followed. Turning around, he saw a man skulking amongst the trees. He +was not a coward; yet he felt it advisable to increase his speed. Then his +pursuer commenced to run; and he deemed it prudent to draw his revolver and +face him. But he had no time. The man rushed at him and attacked him violently. +Immediately, they were engaged in a desperate struggle, wherein he felt that +his unknown assailant had the advantage. He called for help, struggled, and was +thrown down on a pile of gravel, seized by the throat, and gagged with a +handkerchief that his assailant forced into his mouth. His eyes closed, and the +man who was smothering him with his weight arose to defend himself against an +unexpected attack. A blow from a cane and a kick from a boot; the man uttered +two cries of pain, and fled, limping and cursing. Without deigning to pursue +the fugitive, the new arrival stooped over the prostrate man and inquired: +</p> + +<p> +“Are you hurt, monsieur?” +</p> + +<p> +He was not injured, but he was dazed and unable to stand. His rescuer procured +a carriage, placed him in it, and accompanied him to his house on the avenue de +la Grande-Armée. On his arrival there, quite recovered, he overwhelmed his +saviour with thanks. +</p> + +<p> +“I owe you my life, monsieur, and I shall not forget it. I do not wish to +alarm my wife at this time of night, but, to-morrow, she will be pleased to +thank you personally. Come and breakfast with us. My name is Ludovic Imbert. +May I ask yours?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, monsieur.” +</p> + +<p> +And he handed Mon. Imbert a card bearing the name: “Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +At that time, Arsène Lupin did not enjoy the celebrity which the Cahorn affair, +his escape from the Prison de la Santé, and other brilliant exploits, +afterwards gained for him. He had not even used the name of Arsène Lupin. The +name was specially invented to designate the rescuer of Mon. Imbert; that is to +say, it was in that affair that Arsène Lupin was baptized. Fully armed and +ready for the fray, it is true, but lacking the resources and authority which +command success, Arsène Lupin was then merely an apprentice in a profession +wherein he soon became a master. +</p> + +<p> +With what a thrill of joy he recalled the invitation he received that night! At +last, he had reached his goal! At last, he had undertaken a task worthy of his +strength and skill! The Imbert millions! What a magnificent feast for an +appetite like his! +</p> + +<p> +He prepared a special toilet for the occasion; a shabby frock-coat, baggy +trousers, a frayed silk hat, well-worn collar and cuffs, all quite correct in +form, but bearing the unmistakable stamp of poverty. His cravat was a black +ribbon pinned with a false diamond. Thus accoutred, he descended the stairs of +the house in which he lived at Montmartre. At the third floor, without +stopping, he rapped on a closed door with the head of his cane. He walked to +the exterior boulevards. A tram-car was passing. He boarded it, and some one +who had been following him took a seat beside him. It was the lodger who +occupied the room on the third floor. A moment later, this man said to Lupin: +</p> + +<p> +“Well, governor?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, it is all fixed.” +</p> + +<p> +“How?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am going there to breakfast.” +</p> + +<p> +“You breakfast—there!” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly. Why not? I rescued Mon. Ludovic Imbert from certain death at +your hands. Mon. Imbert is not devoid of gratitude. He invited me to +breakfast.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a brief silence. Then the other said: +</p> + +<p> +“But you are not going to throw up the scheme?” +</p> + +<p> +“My dear boy,” said Lupin, “When I arranged that little case +of assault and battery, when I took the trouble at three o’clock in the +morning, to rap you with my cane and tap you with my boot at the risk of +injuring my only friend, it was not my intention to forego the advantages to be +gained from a rescue so well arranged and executed. Oh! no, not at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“But the strange rumors we hear about their fortune?” +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind about that. For six months, I have worked on this affair, +investigated it, studied it, questioned the servants, the money-lenders and men +of straw; for six months, I have shadowed the husband and wife. Consequently, I +know what I am talking about. Whether the fortune came to them from old +Brawford, as they pretend, or from some other source, I do not care. I know +that it is a reality; that it exists. And some day it will be mine.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bigre! One hundred millions!” +</p> + +<p> +“Let us say ten, or even five—that is enough! They have a safe full +of bonds, and there will be the devil to pay if I can’t get my hands on +them.” +</p> + +<p> +The tram-car stopped at the Place de l’Etoile. The man whispered to +Lupin: +</p> + +<p> +“What am I to do now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing, at present. You will hear from me. There is no hurry.” +</p> + +<p> +Five minutes later, Arsène Lupin was ascending the magnificent flight of stairs +in the Imbert mansion, and Mon. Imbert introduced him to his wife. Madame +Gervaise Imbert was a short plump woman, and very talkative. She gave Lupin a +cordial welcome. +</p> + +<p> +“I desired that we should be alone to entertain our saviour,” she +said. +</p> + +<p> +From the outset, they treated “our saviour” as an old and valued +friend. By the time dessert was served, their friendship was well cemented, and +private confidences were being exchanged. Arsène related the story of his life, +the life of his father as a magistrate, the sorrows of his childhood, and his +present difficulties. Gervaise, in turn, spoke of her youth, her marriage, the +kindness of the aged Brawford, the hundred millions that she had inherited, the +obstacles that prevented her from obtaining the enjoyment of her inheritance, +the moneys she had been obliged to borrow at an exorbitant rate of interest, +her endless contentions with Brawford’s nephews, and the litigation! the +injunctions! in fact, everything! +</p> + +<p> +“Just think of it, Monsieur Lupin, the bonds are there, in my +husband’s office, and if we detach a single coupon, we lose everything! +They are there, in our safe, and we dare not touch them.” +</p> + +<p> +Monsieur Lupin shivered at the bare idea of his proximity to so much wealth. +Yet he felt quite certain that Monsieur Lupin would never suffer from the same +difficulty as his fair hostess who declared she dare not touch the money. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! they are there!” he repeated, to himself; “they are +there!” +</p> + +<p> +A friendship formed under such circumstances soon led to closer relations. When +discreetly questioned, Arsène Lupin confessed his poverty and distress. +Immediately, the unfortunate young man was appointed private secretary to the +Imberts, husband and wife, at a salary of one hundred francs a month. He was to +come to the house every day and receive orders for his work, and a room on the +second floor was set apart as his office. This room was directly over Mon. +Imbert’s office. +</p> + +<p> +Arsène soon realized that his position as secretary was essentially a sinecure. +During the first two months, he had only four important letters to recopy, and +was called only once to Mon. Imbert’s office; consequently, he had only +one opportunity to contemplate, officially, the Imbert safe. Moreover, he +noticed that the secretary was not invited to the social functions of the +employer. But he did not complain, as he preferred to remain, modestly, in the +shade and maintain his peace and freedom. +</p> + +<p> +However, he was not wasting any time. From the beginning, he made clandestine +visits to Mon. Imbert’s office, and paid his respects to the safe, which +was hermetically closed. It was an immense block of iron and steel, cold and +stern in appearance, which could not be forced open by the ordinary tools of +the burglar’s trade. But Arsène Lupin was not discouraged. +</p> + +<p> +“Where force fails, cunning prevails,” he said to himself. +“The essential thing is to be on the spot when the opportunity occurs. In +the meantime, I must watch and wait.” +</p> + +<p> +He made immediately some preliminary preparations. After careful soundings made +upon the floor of his room, he introduced a lead pipe which penetrated the +ceiling of Mon. Imbert’s office at a point between the two screeds of the +cornice. By means of this pipe, he hoped to see and hear what transpired in the +room below. +</p> + +<p> +Henceforth, he passed his days stretched at full length upon the floor. He +frequently saw the Imberts holding a consultation in front of the safe, +investigating books and papers. When they turned the combination lock, he tried +to learn the figures and the number of turns they made to the right and left. +He watched their movements; he sought to catch their words. There was also a +key necessary to complete the opening of the safe. What did they do with it? +Did they hide it? +</p> + +<p> +One day, he saw them leave the room without locking the safe. He descended the +stairs quickly, and boldly entered the room. But they had returned. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! excuse me,” he said, “I made a mistake in the +door.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come in, Monsieur Lupin, come in,” cried Madame Imbert, “are +you not at home here? We want your advice. What bonds should we sell? The +foreign securities or the government annuities?” +</p> + +<p> +“But the injunction?” said Lupin, with surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! it doesn’t cover all the bonds.” +</p> + +<p> +She opened the door of the safe and withdrew a package of bonds. But her +husband protested. +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, Gervaise, it would be foolish to sell the foreign bonds. They +are going up, whilst the annuities are as high as they ever will be. What do +you think, my dear friend?” +</p> + +<p> +The dear friend had no opinion; yet he advised the sacrifice of the annuities. +Then she withdrew another package and, from it, she took a paper at random. It +proved to be a three-per-cent annuity worth two thousand francs. Ludovic placed +the package of bonds in his pocket. That afternoon, accompanied by his +secretary, he sold the annuities to a stock-broker and realized forty-six +thousand francs. +</p> + +<p> +Whatever Madame Imbert might have said about it, Arsène Lupin did not feel at +home in the Imbert house. On the contrary, his position there was a peculiar +one. He learned that the servants did not even know his name. They called him +“monsieur.” Ludovic always spoke of him in the same way: “You +will tell monsieur. Has monsieur arrived?” Why that mysterious +appellation? +</p> + +<p> +Moreover, after their first outburst of enthusiasm, the Imberts seldom spoke to +him, and, although treating him with the consideration due to a benefactor, +they gave him little or no attention. They appeared to regard him as an +eccentric character who did not like to be disturbed, and they respected his +isolation as if it were a stringent rule on his part. On one occasion, while +passing through the vestibule, he heard Madame Imbert say to the two gentlemen: +</p> + +<p> +“He is such a barbarian!” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well,” he said to himself, “I am a barbarian.” +</p> + +<p> +And, without seeking to solve the question of their strange conduct, he +proceeded with the execution of his own plans. He had decided that he could not +depend on chance, nor on the negligence of Madame Imbert, who carried the key +of the safe, and who, on locking the safe, invariably scattered the letters +forming the combination of the lock. Consequently, he must act for himself. +</p> + +<p> +Finally, an incident precipitated matters; it was the vehement campaign +instituted against the Imberts by certain newspapers that accused the Imberts +of swindling. Arsène Lupin was present at certain family conferences when this +new vicissitude was discussed. He decided that if he waited much longer, he +would lose everything. During the next five days, instead of leaving the house +about six o’clock, according to his usual habit, he locked himself in his +room. It was supposed that he had gone out. But he was lying on the floor +surveying the office of Mon. Imbert. During those five evenings, the favorable +opportunity that he awaited did not take place. He left the house about +midnight by a side door to which he held the key. +</p> + +<p> +But on the sixth day, he learned that the Imberts, actuated by the malevolent +insinuations of their enemies, proposed to make an inventory of the contents of +the safe. +</p> + +<p> +“They will do it to-night,” thought Lupin. +</p> + +<p> +And truly, after dinner, Imbert and his wife retired to the office and +commenced to examine the books of account and the securities contained in the +safe. Thus, one hour after another passed away. He heard the servants go +upstairs to their rooms. No one now remained on the first floor. Midnight! The +Imberts were still at work. +</p> + +<p> +“I must get to work,” murmured Lupin. +</p> + +<p> +He opened his window. It opened on a court. Outside, everything was dark and +quiet. He took from his desk a knotted rope, fastened it to the balcony in +front of his window, and quietly descended as far as the window below, which +was that of the of Imbert’s office. He stood upon the balcony for a +moment, motionless, with attentive ear and watchful eye, but the heavy curtains +effectually concealed the interior of the room. He cautiously pushed on the +double window. If no one had examined it, it ought to yield to the slightest +pressure, for, during the afternoon, he had so fixed the bolt that it would not +enter the staple. +</p> + +<p> +The window yielded to his touch. Then, with infinite care, he pushed it open +sufficiently to admit his head. He parted the curtains a few inches, looked in, +and saw Mon. Imbert and his wife sitting in front of the safe, deeply absorbed +in their work and speaking softly to each other at rare intervals. +</p> + +<p> +He calculated the distance between him and them, considered the exact movements +he would require to make in order to overcome them, one after the other, before +they could call for help, and he was about to rush upon them, when Madame +Imbert said: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! the room is getting quite cold. I am going to bed. And you, my +dear?” +</p> + +<p> +“I shall stay and finish.” +</p> + +<p> +“Finish! Why, that will take you all night.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not at all. An hour, at the most.” +</p> + +<p> +She retired. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed. Arsène pushed the window a +little farther open. The curtains shook. He pushed once more. Mon. Imbert +turned, and, seeing the curtains blown by the wind, he rose to close the +window. +</p> + +<p> +There was not a cry, not the trace of struggle. With a few precise moments, and +without causing him the least injury, Arsène stunned him, wrapped the curtain +about his head, bound him hand and foot, and did it all in such a manner that +Mon. Imbert had no opportunity to recognize his assailant. +</p> + +<p> +Quickly, he approached the safe, seized two packages that he placed under his +arm, left the office, and opened the servants’ gate. A carriage was +stationed in the street. +</p> + +<p> +“Take that, first—and follow me,” he said to the coachman. He +returned to the office, and, in two trips, they emptied the safe. Then Arsène +went to his own room, removed the rope, and all other traces of his clandestine +work. +</p> + +<p> +A few hours later, Arsène Lupin and his assistant examined the stolen goods. +Lupin was not disappointed, as he had foreseen that the wealth of the Imberts +had been greatly exaggerated. It did not consist of hundreds of millions, nor +even tens of millions. Yet it amounted to a very respectable sum, and Lupin +expressed his satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course,” he said, “there will be a considerable loss when +we come to sell the bonds, as we will have to dispose of them surreptitiously +at reduced prices. In the meantime, they will rest quietly in my desk awaiting +a propitious moment.” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène saw no reason why he should not go to the Imbert house the next day. But +a perusal of the morning papers revealed this startling fact: Ludovic and +Gervaise Imbert had disappeared. +</p> + +<p> +When the officers of the law seized the safe and opened it, they found there +what Arsène Lupin had left—nothing. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +Such are the facts; and I learned the sequel to them, one day, when Arsène +Lupin was in a confidential mood. He was pacing to and fro in my room, with a +nervous step and a feverish eye that were unusual to him. +</p> + +<p> +“After all,” I said to him, “it was your most successful +venture.” +</p> + +<p> +Without making a direct reply, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“There are some impenetrable secrets connected with that affair; some +obscure points that escape my comprehension. For instance: What caused their +flight? Why did they not take advantage of the help I unconsciously gave them? +It would have been so simple to say: ‘The hundred millions were in the +safe. They are no longer there, because they have been stolen.’” +</p> + +<p> +“They lost their nerve.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, that is it—they lost their nerve...On the other hand, it is +true—-” +</p> + +<p> +“What is true?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +What was the meaning of Lupin’s reticence? It was quite obvious that he +had not told me everything; there was something he was loath to tell. His +conduct puzzled me. It must indeed be a very serious matter to cause such a man +as Arsène Lupin even a momentary hesitation. I threw out a few questions at +random. +</p> + +<p> +“Have you seen them since?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“And have you never experienced the slightest degree of pity for those +unfortunate people?” +</p> + +<p> +“I!” he exclaimed, with a start. +</p> + +<p> +His sudden excitement astonished me. Had I touched him on a sore spot? I +continued: +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. If you had not left them alone, they might have been able to +face the danger, or, at least, made their escape with full pockets.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you mean?” he said, indignantly. “I suppose you have +an idea that my soul should be filled with remorse?” +</p> + +<p> +“Call it remorse or regrets—anything you like—-” +</p> + +<p> +“They are not worth it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you no regrets or remorse for having stolen their fortune?” +</p> + +<p> +“What fortune?” +</p> + +<p> +“The packages of bonds you took from their safe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! I stole their bonds, did I? I deprived them of a portion of their +wealth? Is that my crime? Ah! my dear boy, you do not know the truth. You never +imagined that those bonds were not worth the paper they were written on. Those +bonds were false—they were counterfeit—every one of them—do +you understand? THEY WERE COUNTERFEIT!” +</p> + +<p> +I looked at him, astounded. +</p> + +<p> +“Counterfeit! The four or five millions?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, counterfeit!” he exclaimed, in a fit of rage. “Only so +many scraps of paper! I couldn’t raise a sou on the whole of them! And +you ask me if I have any remorse. <i>They</i> are the ones who should have +remorse and pity. They played me for a simpleton; and I fell into their trap. I +was their latest victim, their most stupid gull!” +</p> + +<p> +He was affected by genuine anger—the result of malice and wounded pride. +He continued: +</p> + +<p> +“From start to finish, I got the worst of it. Do you know the part I +played in that affair, or rather the part they made me play? That of André +Brawford! Yes, my boy, that is the truth, and I never suspected it. It was not +until afterwards, on reading the newspapers, that the light finally dawned in +my stupid brain. Whilst I was posing as his “saviour,” as the +gentleman who had risked his life to rescue Mon. Imbert from the clutches of an +assassin, they were passing me off as Brawford. Wasn’t that splendid? +That eccentric individual who had a room on the second floor, that barbarian +that was exhibited only at a distance, was Brawford, and Brawford was I! Thanks +to me, and to the confidence that I inspired under the name of Brawford, they +were enabled to borrow money from the bankers and other money-lenders. Ha! what +an experience for a novice! And I swear to you that I shall profit by the +lesson!” +</p> + +<p> +He stopped, seized my arm, and said to me, in a tone of exasperation: +</p> + +<p> +“My dear fellow, at this very moment, Gervaise Imbert owes me fifteen +hundred francs.” +</p> + +<p> +I could not refrain from laughter, his rage was so grotesque. He was making a +mountain out of a molehill. In a moment, he laughed himself, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, my boy, fifteen hundred francs. You must know that I had not +received one sou of my promised salary, and, more than that, she had borrowed +from me the sum of fifteen hundred francs. All my youthful savings! And do you +know why? To devote the money to charity! I am giving you a straight story. She +wanted it for some poor people she was assisting—unknown to her husband. +And my hard-earned money was wormed out of me by that silly pretense! +Isn’t it amusing, hein? Arsène Lupin done out of fifteen hundred francs +by the fair lady from whom he stole four millions in counterfeit bonds! And +what a vast amount of time and patience and cunning I expended to achieve that +result! It was the first time in my life that I was played for a fool, and I +frankly confess that I was fooled that time to the queen’s taste!” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"></a> +VIII. The Black Pearl</h2> + +<p> +A violent ringing of the bell awakened the concierge of number nine, avenue +Hoche. She pulled the doorstring, grumbling: +</p> + +<p> +“I thought everybody was in. It must be three o’clock!” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps it is some one for the doctor,” muttered her husband. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment, a voice inquired: +</p> + +<p> +“Doctor Harel .... what floor?” +</p> + +<p> +“Third floor, left. But the doctor won’t go out at night.” +</p> + +<p> +“He must go to-night.” +</p> + +<p> +The visitor entered the vestibule, ascended to the first floor, the second, the +third, and, without stopping at the doctor’s door, he continued to the +fifth floor. There, he tried two keys. One of them fitted the lock. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! good!” he murmured, “that simplifies the business +wonderfully. But before I commence work I had better arrange for my retreat. +Let me see.... have I had sufficient time to rouse the doctor and be dismissed +by him? Not yet.... a few minutes more.” +</p> + +<p> +At the end of ten minutes, he descended the stairs, grumbling noisily about the +doctor. The concierge opened the door for him and heard it click behind him. +But the door did not lock, as the man had quickly inserted a piece of iron in +the lock in such a manner that the bolt could not enter. Then, quietly, he +entered the house again, unknown to the concierge. In case of alarm, his +retreat was assured. Noiselessly, he ascended to the fifth floor once more. In +the antechamber, by the light of his electric lantern, he placed his hat and +overcoat on one of the chairs, took a seat on another, and covered his heavy +shoes with felt slippers. +</p> + +<p> +“Ouf! Here I am—and how simple it was! I wonder why more people do +not adopt the profitable and pleasant occupation of burglar. With a little care +and reflection, it becomes a most delightful profession. Not too quiet and +monotonous, of course, as it would then become wearisome.” +</p> + +<p> +He unfolded a detailed plan of the apartment. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me commence by locating myself. Here, I see the vestibule in which I +am sitting. On the street front, the drawing-room, the boudoir and dining-room. +Useless to waste any time there, as it appears that the countess has a +deplorable taste.... not a bibelot of any value!...Now, let’s get down to +business!... Ah! here is a corridor; it must lead to the bed chambers. At a +distance of three metres, I should come to the door of the wardrobe-closet +which connects with the chamber of the countess.” He folded his plan, +extinguished his lantern, and proceeded down the corridor, counting his +distance, thus: +</p> + +<p> +“One metre.... two metres.... three metres....Here is the door....Mon +Dieu, how easy it is! Only a small, simple bolt now separates me from the +chamber, and I know that the bolt is located exactly one metre, forty-three +centimeters, from the floor. So that, thanks to a small incision I am about to +make, I can soon get rid of the bolt.” +</p> + +<p> +He drew from his pocket the necessary instruments. Then the following idea +occurred to him: +</p> + +<p> +“Suppose, by chance, the door is not bolted. I will try it first.” +</p> + +<p> +He turned the knob, and the door opened. +</p> + +<p> +“My brave Lupin, surely fortune favors you....What’s to be done +now? You know the situation of the rooms; you know the place in which the +countess hides the black pearl. Therefore, in order to secure the black pearl, +you have simply to be more silent than silence, more invisible than darkness +itself.” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin was employed fully a half-hour in opening the second door—a +glass door that led to the countess’ bedchamber. But he accomplished it +with so much skill and precaution, that even had the countess been awake, she +would not have heard the slightest sound. According to the plan of the rooms, +that he holds, he has merely to pass around a reclining chair and, beyond that, +a small table close to the bed. On the table, there was a box of letter-paper, +and the black pearl was concealed in that box. He stooped and crept cautiously +over the carpet, following the outlines of the reclining-chair. When he reached +the extremity of it, he stopped in order to repress the throbbing of his heart. +Although he was not moved by any sense of fear, he found it impossible to +overcome the nervous anxiety that one usually feels in the midst of profound +silence. That circumstance astonished him, because he had passed through many +more solemn moments without the slightest trace of emotion. No danger +threatened him. Then why did his heart throb like an alarm-bell? Was it that +sleeping woman who affected him? Was it the proximity of another pulsating +heart? +</p> + +<p> +He listened, and thought he could discern the rhythmical breathing of a person +asleep. It gave him confidence, like the presence of a friend. He sought and +found the armchair; then, by slow, cautious movements, advanced toward the +table, feeling ahead of him with outstretched arm. His right had touched one of +the feet of the table. Ah! now, he had simply to rise, take the pearl, and +escape. That was fortunate, as his heart was leaping in his breast like a wild +beast, and made so much noise that he feared it would waken the countess. By a +powerful effort of the will, he subdued the wild throbbing of his heart, and +was about to rise from the floor when his left hand encountered, lying on the +floor, an object which he recognized as a candlestick—an overturned +candlestick. A moment later, his hand encountered another object: a +clock—one of those small traveling clocks, covered with +leather.——— +</p> + +<p> +Well! What had happened? He could not understand. That candlestick, that clock; +why were those articles not in their accustomed places? Ah! what had happened +in the dread silence of the night? +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly a cry escaped him. He had touched—oh! some strange, unutterable +thing! “No! no!” he thought, “it cannot be. It is some +fantasy of my excited brain.” For twenty seconds, thirty seconds, he +remained motionless, terrified, his forehead bathed with perspiration, and his +fingers still retained the sensation of that dreadful contact. +</p> + +<p> +Making a desperate effort, he ventured to extend his arm again. Once more, his +hand encountered that strange, unutterable thing. He felt it. He must feel it +and find out what it is. He found that it was hair, human hair, and a human +face; and that face was cold, almost icy. +</p> + +<p> +However frightful the circumstances may be, a man like Arsène Lupin controls +himself and commands the situation as soon as he learns what it is. So, Arsène +Lupin quickly brought his lantern into use. A woman was lying before him, +covered with blood. Her neck and shoulders were covered with gaping wounds. He +leaned over her and made a closer examination. She was dead. +</p> + +<p> +“Dead! Dead!” he repeated, with a bewildered air. +</p> + +<p> +He stared at those fixed eyes, that grim mouth, that livid flesh, and that +blood—all that blood which had flowed over the carpet and congealed there +in thick, black spots. He arose and turned on the electric lights. Then he +beheld all the marks of a desperate struggle. The bed was in a state of great +disorder. On the floor, the candlestick, and the clock, with the hands pointing +to twenty minutes after eleven; then, further away, an overturned chair; and, +everywhere, there was blood, spots of blood and pools of blood. +</p> + +<p> +“And the black pearl?” he murmured. +</p> + +<p> +The box of letter-paper was in its place. He opened it, eagerly. The jewel-case +was there, but it was empty. +</p> + +<p> +“Fichtre!” he muttered. “You boasted of your good fortune +much too soon, my friend Lupin. With the countess lying cold and dead, and the +black pearl vanished, the situation is anything but pleasant. Get out of here +as soon as you can, or you may get into serious trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +Yet, he did not move. +</p> + +<p> +“Get out of here? Yes, of course. Any person would, except Arsène Lupin. +He has something better to do. Now, to proceed in an orderly way. At all +events, you have a clear conscience. Let us suppose that you are the commissary +of police and that you are proceeding to make an inquiry concerning this +affair——Yes, but in order to do that, I require a clearer brain. +Mine is muddled like a ragout.” +</p> + +<p> +He tumbled into an armchair, with his clenched hands pressed against his +burning forehead. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The murder of the avenue Hoche is one of those which have recently surprised +and puzzled the Parisian public, and, certainly, I should never have mentioned +the affair if the veil of mystery had not been removed by Arsène Lupin himself. +No one knew the exact truth of the case. +</p> + +<p> +Who did not know—from having met her in the Bois—the fair Léotine +Zalti, the once-famous cantatrice, wife and widow of the Count +d’Andillot; the Zalti, whose luxury dazzled all Paris some twenty years +ago; the Zalti who acquired an European reputation for the magnificence of her +diamonds and pearls? It was said that she wore upon her shoulders the capital +of several banking houses and the gold mines of numerous Australian companies. +Skilful jewelers worked for Zalti as they had formerly wrought for kings and +queens. And who does not remember the catastrophe in which all that wealth was +swallowed up? Of all that marvelous collection, nothing remained except the +famous black pearl. The black pearl! That is to say a fortune, if she had +wished to part with it. +</p> + +<p> +But she preferred to keep it, to live in a commonplace apartment with her +companion, her cook, and a man-servant, rather than sell that inestimable +jewel. There was a reason for it; a reason she was not afraid to disclose: the +black pearl was the gift of an emperor! Almost ruined, and reduced to the most +mediocre existence, she remained faithful to the companion of her happy and +brilliant youth. The black pearl never left her possession. She wore it during +the day, and, at night, concealed it in a place known to her alone. +</p> + +<p> +All these facts, being republished in the columns of the public press, served +to stimulate curiosity; and, strange to say, but quite obvious to those who +have the key to the mystery, the arrest of the presumed assassin only +complicated the question and prolonged the excitement. Two days later, the +newspapers published the following item: +</p> + +<p> +“Information has reached us of the arrest of Victor Danègre, the servant +of the Countess d’Andillot. The evidence against him is clear and +convincing. On the silken sleeve of his liveried waistcoat, which chief +detective Dudouis found in his garret between the mattresses of his bed, +several spots of blood were discovered. In addition, a cloth-covered button was +missing from that garment, and this button was found beneath the bed of the +victim. +</p> + +<p> +“It is supposed that, after dinner, in place of going to his own room, +Danègre slipped into the wardrobe-closet, and, through the glass door, had seen +the countess hide the precious black pearl. This is simply a theory, as yet +unverified by any evidence. There is, also, another obscure point. At seven +o’clock in the morning, Danègre went to the tobacco-shop on the Boulevard +de Courcelles; the concierge and the shop-keeper both affirm this fact. On the +other hand, the countess’ companion and cook, who sleep at the end of the +hall, both declare that, when they arose at eight o’clock, the door of +the antechamber and the door of the kitchen were locked. These two persons have +been in the service of the countess for twenty years, and are above suspicion. +The question is: How did Danègre leave the apartment? Did he have another key? +These are matters that the police will investigate.” +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact, the police investigation threw no light on the mystery. It +was learned that Victor Danègre was a dangerous criminal, a drunkard and a +debauchee. But, as they proceeded with the investigation, the mystery deepened +and new complications arose. In the first place, a young woman, Mlle. De +Sinclèves, the cousin and sole heiress of the countess, declared that the +countess, a month before her death, had written a letter to her and in it +described the manner in which the black pearl was concealed. The letter +disappeared the day after she received it. Who had stolen it? +</p> + +<p> +Again, the concierge related how she had opened the door for a person who had +inquired for Doctor Harel. On being questioned, the doctor testified that no +one had rung his bell. Then who was that person? An accomplice? +</p> + +<p> +The theory of an accomplice was thereupon adopted by the press and public, and +also by Ganimard, the famous detective. +</p> + +<p> +“Lupin is at the bottom of this affair,” he said to the judge. +</p> + +<p> +“Bah!” exclaimed the judge, “you have Lupin on the brain. You +see him everywhere.” +</p> + +<p> +“I see him everywhere, because he is everywhere.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say rather that you see him every time you encounter something you +cannot explain. Besides, you overlook the fact that the crime was committed at +twenty minutes past eleven in the evening, as is shown by the clock, while the +nocturnal visit, mentioned by the concierge, occurred at three o’clock in +the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the guilt of a +suspected person, and then distort all subsequent discoveries to conform to +their established theory. The deplorable antecedents of Victor Danègre, +habitual criminal, drunkard and rake, influenced the judge, and despite the +fact that nothing new was discovered in corroboration of the early clues, his +official opinion remained firm and unshaken. He closed his investigation, and, +a few weeks later, the trial commenced. It proved to be slow and tedious. The +judge was listless, and the public prosecutor presented the case in a careless +manner. Under those circumstances, Danègre’s counsel had an easy task. He +pointed out the defects and inconsistencies of the case for the prosecution, +and argued that the evidence was quite insufficient to convict the accused. Who +had made the key, the indispensable key without which Danègre, on leaving the +apartment, could not have locked the door behind him? Who had ever seen such a +key, and what had become of it? Who had seen the assassin’s knife, and +where is it now? +</p> + +<p> +“In any event,” argued the prisoner’s counsel, “the +prosecution must prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the prisoner +committed the murder. The prosecution must show that the mysterious individual +who entered the house at three o’clock in the morning is not the guilty +party. To be sure, the clock indicated eleven o’clock. But what of that? +I contend, that proves nothing. The assassin could turn the hands of the clock +to any hour he pleased, and thus deceive us in regard to the exact hour of the +crime.” +</p> + +<p> +Victor Danègre was acquitted. +</p> + +<p> +He left the prison on Friday about dusk in the evening, weak and depressed by +his six months’ imprisonment. The inquisition, the solitude, the trial, +the deliberations of the jury, combined to fill him with a nervous fear. At +night, he had been afflicted with terrible nightmares and haunted by weird +visions of the scaffold. He was a mental and physical wreck. +</p> + +<p> +Under the assumed name of Anatole Dufour, he rented a small room on the heights +of Montmartre, and lived by doing odd jobs wherever he could find them. He led +a pitiful existence. Three times, he obtained regular employment, only to be +recognized and then discharged. Sometimes, he had an idea that men were +following him—detectives, no doubt, who were seeking to trap and denounce +him. He could almost feel the strong hand of the law clutching him by the +collar. +</p> + +<p> +One evening, as he was eating his dinner at a neighboring restaurant, a man +entered and took a seat at the same table. He was a person about forty years of +age, and wore a frock-coat of doubtful cleanliness. He ordered soup, +vegetables, and a bottle of wine. After he had finished his soup, he turned his +eyes on Danègre, and gazed at him intently. Danègre winced. He was certain that +this was one of the men who had been following him for several weeks. What did +he want? Danègre tried to rise, but failed. His limbs refused to support him. +The man poured himself a glass of wine, and then filled Danègre’s glass. +The man raised his glass, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“To your health, Victor Danègre.” +</p> + +<p> +Victor started in alarm, and stammered: +</p> + +<p> +“I!....I!.... no, no....I swear to you....” +</p> + +<p> +“You will swear what? That you are not yourself? The servant of the +countess?” +</p> + +<p> +“What servant? My name is Dufour. Ask the proprietor.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Anatole Dufour to the proprietor of this restaurant, but Victor +Danègre to the officers of the law.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s not true! Some one has lied to you.” +</p> + +<p> +The new-comer took a card from his pocket and handed it to Victor, who read on +it: “Grimaudan, ex-inspector of the detective force. Private business +transacted.” Victor shuddered as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“You are connected with the police?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, not now, but I have a liking for the business and I continue to work +at it in a manner more—profitable. From time to time I strike upon a +golden opportunity—such as your case presents.” +</p> + +<p> +“My case?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yours. I assure you it is a most promising affair, provided you are +inclined to be reasonable.” +</p> + +<p> +“But if I am not reasonable?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! my good fellow, you are not in a position to refuse me anything I +may ask.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it.... you want?” stammered Victor, fearfully. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I will inform you in a few words. I am sent by Mademoiselle de +Sinclèves, the heiress of the Countess d’Andillot.” +</p> + +<p> +“What for?” +</p> + +<p> +“To recover the black pearl.” +</p> + +<p> +“Black pearl?” +</p> + +<p> +“That you stole.” +</p> + +<p> +“But I haven’t got it.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have it.” +</p> + +<p> +“If I had, then I would be the assassin.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are the assassin.” +</p> + +<p> +Danègre showed a forced smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Fortunately for me, monsieur, the Assizecourt was not of your opinion. +The jury returned an unanimous verdict of acquittal. And when a man has a clear +conscience and twelve good men in his favor—” +</p> + +<p> +The ex-inspector seized him by the arm and said: +</p> + +<p> +“No fine phrases, my boy. Now, listen to me and weigh my words carefully. +You will find they are worthy of your consideration. Now, Danègre, three weeks +before the murder, you abstracted the cook’s key to the servants’ +door, and had a duplicate key made by a locksmith named Outard, 244 rue +Oberkampf.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a lie—it’s a lie!” growled Victor. +“No person has seen that key. There is no such key.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is.” +</p> + +<p> +After a silence, Grimaudan continued: +</p> + +<p> +“You killed the countess with a knife purchased by you at the Bazar de la +Republique on the same day as you ordered the duplicate key. It has a +triangular blade with a groove running from end to end.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is all nonsense. You are simply guessing at something you +don’t know. No one ever saw the knife.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is.” +</p> + +<p> +Victor Danègre recoiled. The ex-inspector continued: +</p> + +<p> +“There are some spots of rust upon it. Shall I tell you how they came +there?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well!.... you have a key and a knife. Who can prove that they belong to +me?” +</p> + +<p> +“The locksmith, and the clerk from whom you bought the knife. I have +already refreshed their memories, and, when you confront them, they cannot fail +to recognize you.” +</p> + +<p> +His speech was dry and hard, with a tone of firmness and precision. Danègre was +trembling with fear, and yet he struggled desperately to maintain an air of +indifference. +</p> + +<p> +“Is that all the evidence you have?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! no, not at all. I have plenty more. For instance, after the crime, +you went out the same way you had entered. But, in the centre of the +wardrobe-room, being seized by some sudden fear, you leaned against the wall +for support.” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know that? No one could know such a thing,” argued the +desperate man. +</p> + +<p> +“The police know nothing about it, of course. They never think of +lighting a candle and examining the walls. But if they had done so, they would +have found on the white plaster a faint red spot, quite distinct, however, to +trace in it the imprint of your thumb which you had pressed against the wall +while it was wet with blood. Now, as you are well aware, under the Bertillon +system, thumb-marks are one of the principal means of identification.” +</p> + +<p> +Victor Danègre was livid; great drops of perspiration rolled down his face and +fell upon the table. He gazed, with a wild look, at the strange man who had +narrated the story of his crime as faithfully as if he had been an invisible +witness to it. Overcome and powerless, Victor bowed his head. He felt that it +was useless to struggle against this marvelous man. So he said: +</p> + +<p> +“How much will you give me, if I give you the pearl?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! you are joking! Or do you mean that I should give you an article +worth thousands and hundreds of thousands and get nothing in return?” +</p> + +<p> +“You will get your life. Is that nothing?” +</p> + +<p> +The unfortunate man shuddered. Then Grimaudan added, in a milder tone: +</p> + +<p> +“Come, Danègre, that pearl has no value in your hands. It is quite +impossible for you to sell it; so what is the use of your keeping it?” +</p> + +<p> +“There are pawnbrokers.... and, some day, I will be able to get something +for it.” +</p> + +<p> +“But that day may be too late.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because by that time you may be in the hands of the police, and, with +the evidence that I can furnish—the knife, the key, the +thumb-mark—what will become of you?” +</p> + +<p> +Victor rested his head on his hands and reflected. He felt that he was lost, +irremediably lost, and, at the same time, a sense of weariness and depression +overcame him. He murmured, faintly: +</p> + +<p> +“When must I give it to you?” +</p> + +<p> +“To-night—-within an hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“If I refuse?” +</p> + +<p> +“If you refuse, I shall post this letter to the Procureur of the +Republic; in which letter Mademoiselle de Sinclèves denounces you as the +assassin.” +</p> + +<p> +Danègre poured out two glasses of wine which he drank in rapid succession, +then, rising, said: +</p> + +<p> +“Pay the bill, and let us go. I have had enough of the cursed +affair.” +</p> + +<p> +Night had fallen. The two men walked down the rue Lepic and followed the +exterior boulevards in the direction of the Place de l’Etoile. They +pursued their way in silence; Victor had a stooping carriage and a dejected +face. When they reached the Parc Monceau, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“We are near the house.” +</p> + +<p> +“Parbleu! You only left the house once, before your arrest, and that was +to go to the tobacco-shop.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is,” said Danègre, in a dull voice. +</p> + +<p> +They passed along the garden wall of the countess’ house, and crossed a +street on a corner of which stood the tobacco-shop. A few steps further on, +Danègre stopped; his limbs shook beneath him, and he sank to a bench. +</p> + +<p> +“Well! what now?” demanded his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“It is there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where? Come, now, no nonsense!” +</p> + +<p> +“There—in front of us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” +</p> + +<p> +“Between two paving-stones.” +</p> + +<p> +“Which?” +</p> + +<p> +“Look for it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Which stones?” +</p> + +<p> +Victor made no reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah; I see!” exclaimed Grimaudan, “you want me to pay for the +information.” +</p> + +<p> +“No.... but....I am afraid I will starve to death.” +</p> + +<p> +“So! that is why you hesitate. Well, I’ll not be hard on you. How +much do you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“Enough to buy a steerage pass to America.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right.” +</p> + +<p> +“And a hundred francs to keep me until I get work there.” +</p> + +<p> +“You shall have two hundred. Now, speak.” +</p> + +<p> +“Count the paving-stones to the right from the sewer-hole. The pearl is +between the twelfth and thirteenth.” +</p> + +<p> +“In the gutter?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, close to the sidewalk.” +</p> + +<p> +Grimaudan glanced around to see if anyone were looking. Some tram-cars and +pedestrians were passing. But, bah, they will not suspect anything. He opened +his pocketknife and thrust it between the twelfth and thirteenth stones. +</p> + +<p> +“And if it is not there?” he said to Victor. +</p> + +<p> +“It must be there, unless someone saw me stoop down and hide it.” +</p> + +<p> +Could it be possible that the black pearl had been cast into the mud and filth +of the gutter to be picked up by the first comer? The black pearl—a +fortune! +</p> + +<p> +“How far down?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“About ten centimetres.” +</p> + +<p> +He dug up the wet earth. The point of his knife struck something. He enlarged +the hole with his finger. Then he abstracted the black pearl from its filthy +hiding-place. +</p> + +<p> +“Good! Here are your two hundred francs. I will send you the ticket for +America.” +</p> + +<p> +On the following day, this article was published in the <i>Echo de France</i>, +and was copied by the leading newspapers throughout the world: +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +“Yesterday, the famous black pearl came into the possession of Arsène +Lupin, who recovered it from the murderer of the Countess d’Andillot. In +a short time, fac-similes of that precious jewel will be exhibited in London, +St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayres and New York.<br/> + “Arsène Lupin will be pleased to consider all propositions submitted +to him through his agents.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +“And that is how crime is always punished and virtue rewarded,” +said Arsène Lupin, after he had told me the foregoing history of the black +pearl. +</p> + +<p> +“And that is how you, under the assumed name of Grimaudan, ex-inspector +of detectives, were chosen by fate to deprive the criminal of the benefit of +his crime.” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly. And I confess that the affair gives me infinite satisfaction +and pride. The forty minutes that I passed in the apartment of the Countess +d’Andillot, after learning of her death, were the most thrilling and +absorbing moments of my life. In those forty minutes, involved as I was in a +most dangerous plight, I calmly studied the scene of the murder and reached the +conclusion that the crime must have been committed by one of the house +servants. I also decided that, in order to get the pearl, that servant must be +arrested, and so I left the wainscoat button; it was necessary, also, for me to +hold some convincing evidence of his guilt, so I carried away the knife which I +found upon the floor, and the key which I found in the lock. I closed and +locked the door, and erased the finger-marks from the plaster in the +wardrobe-closet. In my opinion, that was one of those flashes—” +</p> + +<p> +“Of genius,” I said, interrupting. +</p> + +<p> +“Of genius, if you wish. But, I flatter myself, it would not have +occurred to the average mortal. To frame, instantly, the two elements of the +problem—an arrest and an acquittal; to make use of the formidable +machinery of the law to crush and humble my victim, and reduce him to a +condition in which, when free, he would be certain to fall into the trap I was +laying for him!” +</p> + +<p> +“Poor devil—” +</p> + +<p> +“Poor devil, do you say? Victor Danègre, the assassin! He might have +descended to the lowest depths of vice and crime, if he had retained the black +pearl. Now, he lives! Think of that: Victor Danègre is alive!” +</p> + +<p> +“And you have the black pearl.” +</p> + +<p> +He took it out of one of the secret pockets of his wallet, examined it, gazed +at it tenderly, and caressed it with loving fingers, and sighed, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“What cold Russian prince, what vain and foolish rajah may some day +possess this priceless treasure! Or, perhaps, some American millionaire is +destined to become the owner of this morsel of exquisite beauty that once +adorned the fair bosom of Leontine Zalti, the Countess d’Andillot.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"></a> +IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late</h2> + +<p> +“It is really remarkable, Velmont, what a close resemblance you bear to +Arsène Lupin!” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! like everyone else, from photographs, no two of which are alike, but +each of them leaves the impression of a face.... something like yours.” +</p> + +<p> +Horace Velmont displayed some vexation. +</p> + +<p> +“Quite so, my dear Devanne. And, believe me, you are not the first one +who has noticed it.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is so striking,” persisted Devanne, “that if you had not +been recommended to me by my cousin d’Estevan, and if you were not the +celebrated artist whose beautiful marine views I so admire, I have no doubt I +should have warned the police of your presence in Dieppe.” +</p> + +<p> +This sally was greeted with an outburst of laughter. The large dining-hall of +the Château de Thibermesnil contained on this occasion, besides Velmont, the +following guests: Father Gélis, the parish priest, and a dozen officers whose +regiments were quartered in the vicinity and who had accepted the invitation of +the banker Georges Devanne and his mother. One of the officers then remarked: +</p> + +<p> +“I understand that an exact description of Arsène Lupin has been +furnished to all the police along this coast since his daring exploit on the +Paris-Havre express.” +</p> + +<p> +“I suppose so,” said Devanne. “That was three months ago; and +a week later, I made the acquaintance of our friend Velmont at the casino, and, +since then, he has honored me with several visits—an agreeable preamble +to a more serious visit that he will pay me one of these days—or, rather, +one of these nights.” +</p> + +<p> +This speech evoked another round of laughter, and the guests then passed into +the ancient “Hall of the Guards,” a vast room with a high ceiling, +which occupied the entire lower part of the Tour +Guillaume—William’s Tower—and wherein Georges Devanne had +collected the incomparable treasures which the lords of Thibermesnil had +accumulated through many centuries. It contained ancient chests, credences, +andirons and chandeliers. The stone walls were overhung with magnificent +tapestries. The deep embrasures of the four windows were furnished with +benches, and the Gothic windows were composed of small panes of colored glass +set in a leaden frame. Between the door and the window to the left stood an +immense bookcase of Renaissance style, on the pediment of which, in letters of +gold, was the word “Thibermesnil,” and, below it, the proud family +device: “Fais ce que veulx” (Do what thou wishest). When the guests +had lighted their cigars, Devanne resumed the conversation. +</p> + +<p> +“And remember, Velmont, you have no time to lose; in fact, to-night is +the last chance you will have.” +</p> + +<p> +“How so?” asked the painter, who appeared to regard the affair as a +joke. Devanne was about to reply, when his mother mentioned to him to keep +silent, but the excitement of the occasion and a desire to interest his guests +urged him to speak. +</p> + +<p> +“Bah!” he murmured. “I can tell it now. It won’t do any +harm.” +</p> + +<p> +The guests drew closer, and he commenced to speak with the satisfied air of a +man who has an important announcement to make. +</p> + +<p> +“To-morrow afternoon at four o’clock, Sherlock Holmes, the famous +English detective, for whom such a thing as mystery does not exist; Sherlock +Holmes, the most remarkable solver of enigmas the world has ever known, that +marvelous man who would seem to be the creation of a romantic +novelist—Sherlock Holmes will be my guest!” +</p> + +<p> +Immediately, Devanne was the target of numerous eager questions. “Is +Sherlock Holmes really coming?” “Is it so serious as that?” +“Is Arsène Lupin really in this neighborhood?” +</p> + +<p> +“Arsène Lupin and his band are not far away. Besides the robbery of the +Baron Cahorn, he is credited with the thefts at Montigny, Gruchet and +Crasville. And now it is my turn.” +</p> + +<p> +“Has he sent you a warning, as he did to Baron Cahorn?” +</p> + +<p> +“No,” replied Devanne, “he can’t work the same trick +twice.” +</p> + +<p> +“What then?” +</p> + +<p> +“I will show you.” +</p> + +<p> +He rose, and pointing to a small empty space between the two enormous folios on +one of the shelves of the bookcase, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“There used to be a book there—a book of the sixteenth century +entitled ‘Chronique de Thibermesnil,’ which contained the history +of the castle since its construction by Duke Rollo on the site of a former +feudal fortress. There were three engraved plates in the book; one of which was +a general view of the whole estate; another, the plan of the buildings; and the +third—I call your attention to it, particularly—the third was the +sketch of a subterranean passage, an entrance to which is outside the first +line of ramparts, while the other end of the passage is here, in this very +room. Well, that book disappeared a month ago.” +</p> + +<p> +“The deuce!” said Velmont, “that looks bad. But it +doesn’t seem to be a sufficient reason for sending for Sherlock +Holmes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, that was not sufficient in itself, but another incident +happened that gives the disappearance of the book a special significance. There +was another copy of this book in the National Library at Paris, and the two +books differed in certain details relating to the subterranean passage; for +instance, each of them contained drawings and annotations, not printed, but +written in ink and more or less effaced. I knew those facts, and I knew that +the exact location of the passage could be determined only by a comparison of +the two books. Now, the day after my book disappeared, the book was called for +in the National Library by a reader who carried it away, and no one knows how +the theft was effected.” +</p> + +<p> +The guests uttered many exclamations of surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, the affair looks serious,” said one. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, the police investigated the matter, and, as usual, discovered no +clue whatever.” +</p> + +<p> +“They never do, when Arsène Lupin is concerned in it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly; and so I decided to ask the assistance of Sherlock Holmes, who +replied that he was ready and anxious to enter the lists with Arsène +Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“What glory for Arsène Lupin!” said Velmont. “But if our +national thief, as they call him, has no evil designs on your castle, Sherlock +Holmes will have his trip in vain.” +</p> + +<p> +“There are other things that will interest him, such as the discovery of +the subterranean passage.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you told us that one end of the passage was outside the ramparts and +the other was in this very room!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but in what part of the room? The line which represents the passage +on the charts ends here, with a small circle marked with the letters +‘T.G.,’ which no doubt stand for ‘Tour Guillaume.’ But +the tower is round, and who can tell the exact spot at which the passage +touches the tower?” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne lighted a second cigar and poured himself a glass of Benedictine. His +guests pressed him with questions and he was pleased to observe the interest +that his remarks had created. Then he continued: +</p> + +<p> +“The secret is lost. No one knows it. The legend is to the effect that +the former lords of the castle transmitted the secret from father to son on +their deathbeds, until Geoffroy, the last of the race, was beheaded during the +Revolution in his nineteenth year.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is over a century ago. Surely, someone has looked for it since that +time?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but they failed to find it. After I purchased the castle, I made a +diligent search for it, but without success. You must remember that this tower +is surrounded by water and connected with the castle only by a bridge; +consequently, the passage must be underneath the old moat. The plan that was in +the book in the National Library showed a series of stairs with a total of +forty-eight steps, which indicates a depth of more than ten meters. You see, +the mystery lies within the walls of this room, and yet I dislike to tear them +down.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is there nothing to show where it is?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mon. Devanne, we should turn our attention to the two quotations,” +suggested Father Gélis. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh!” exclaimed Mon. Devanne, laughing, “our worthy father is +fond of reading memoirs and delving into the musty archives of the castle. +Everything relating to Thibermesnil interests him greatly. But the quotations +that he mentions only serve to complicate the mystery. He has read somewhere +that two kings of France have known the key to the puzzle.” +</p> + +<p> +“Two kings of France! Who were they?” +</p> + +<p> +“Henry the Fourth and Louis the Sixteenth. And the legend runs like this: +On the eve of the battle of Arques, Henry the Fourth spent the night in this +castle. At eleven o’clock in the evening, Louise de Tancarville, the +prettiest woman in Normandy, was brought into the castle through the +subterranean passage by Duke Edgard, who, at the same time, informed the king +of the secret passage. Afterward, the king confided the secret to his minister +Sully, who, in turn, relates the story in his book, “Royales Economies +d’Etat,” without making any comment upon it, but linking with it +this incomprehensible sentence: ‘Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the +other eye will lead to God!’” +</p> + +<p> +After a brief silence, Velmont laughed and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, it doesn’t throw a dazzling light upon the +subject.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; but Father Gélis claims that Sully concealed the key to the mystery +in this strange sentence in order to keep the secret from the secretaries to +whom he dictated his memoirs.” +</p> + +<p> +“That is an ingenious theory,” said Velmont. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and it may be nothing more; I cannot see that it throws any light +on the mysterious riddle.” +</p> + +<p> +“And was it also to receive the visit of a lady that Louis the Sixteenth +caused the passage to be opened?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know,” said Mon. Devanne. “All I can say is +that the king stopped here one night in 1784, and that the famous Iron Casket +found in the Louvre contained a paper bearing these words in the king’s +own writing: ‘Thibermesnil 3-4-11.’” +</p> + +<p> +Horace Velmont laughed heartily, and exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“At last! And now that we have the magic key, where is the man who can +fit it to the invisible lock?” +</p> + +<p> +“Laugh as much as you please, monsieur,” said Father Gélis, +“but I am confident the solution is contained in those two sentences, and +some day we will find a man able to interpret them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sherlock Holmes is the man,” said Mon. Devanne, “unless +Arsène Lupin gets ahead of him. What is your opinion, Velmont?” +</p> + +<p> +Velmont arose, placed his hand on Devanne’s shoulder, and declared: +</p> + +<p> +“I think that the information furnished by your book and the book of the +National Library was deficient in a very important detail which you have now +supplied. I thank you for it.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“The missing key. Now that I have it, I can go to work at once,” +said Velmont. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course; without losing a minute,” said Devanne, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Not even a second!” replied Velmont. “To-night, before the +arrival of Sherlock Holmes, I must plunder your castle.” +</p> + +<p> +“You have no time to lose. Oh! by the way, I can drive you over this +evening.” +</p> + +<p> +“To Dieppe?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I am going to meet Monsieur and Madame d’Androl and a young +lady of their acquaintance who are to arrive by the midnight train.” +</p> + +<p> +Then addressing the officers, Devanne added: +</p> + +<p> +“Gentlemen, I shall expect to see all of you at breakfast +to-morrow.” +</p> + +<p> +The invitation was accepted. The company dispersed, and a few moments later +Devanne and Velmont were speeding toward Dieppe in an automobile. Devanne +dropped the artist in front of the Casino, and proceeded to the railway +station. At twelve o’clock his friends alighted from the train. A half +hour later the automobile was at the entrance to the castle. At one +o’clock, after a light supper, they retired. The lights were +extinguished, and the castle was enveloped in the darkness and silence of the +night. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The moon appeared through a rift in the clouds, and filled the drawing-room +with its bright white light. But only for a moment. Then the moon again retired +behind its ethereal draperies, and darkness and silence reigned supreme. No +sound could be heard, save the monotonous ticking of the clock. It struck two, +and then continued its endless repetitions of the seconds. Then, three +o’clock. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly, something clicked, like the opening and closing of a signal-disc that +warns the passing train. A thin stream of light flashed to every corner of the +room, like an arrow that leaves behind it a trail of light. It shot forth from +the central fluting of a column that supported the pediment of the bookcase. It +rested for a moment on the panel opposite like a glittering circle of burnished +silver, then flashed in all directions like a guilty eye that scrutinizes every +shadow. It disappeared for a short time, but burst forth again as a whole +section of the bookcase revolved on a pivot and disclosed a large opening like +a vault. +</p> + +<p> +A man entered, carrying an electric lantern. He was followed by a second man, +who carried a coil of rope and various tools. The leader inspected the room, +listened a moment, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Call the others.” +</p> + +<p> +Then eight men, stout fellows with resolute faces, entered the room, and +immediately commenced to remove the furnishings. Arsène Lupin passed quickly +from one piece of furniture to another, examined each, and, according to its +size or artistic value, he directed his men to take it or leave it. If ordered +to be taken, it was carried to the gaping mouth of the tunnel, and ruthlessly +thrust into the bowels of the earth. Such was the fate of six armchairs, six +small Louis XV chairs, a quantity of Aubusson tapestries, some candelabra, +paintings by Fragonard and Nattier, a bust by Houdon, and some statuettes. +Sometimes, Lupin would linger before a beautiful chest or a superb picture, and +sigh: +</p> + +<p> +“That is too heavy.... too large.... what a pity!” +</p> + +<p> +In forty minutes the room was dismantled; and it had been accomplished in such +an orderly manner and with as little noise as if the various articles had been +packed and wadded for the occasion. +</p> + +<p> +Lupin said to the last man who departed by way of the tunnel: +</p> + +<p> +“You need not come back. You understand, that as soon as the auto-van is +loaded, you are to proceed to the grange at Roquefort.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you, patron?” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave me the motor-cycle.” +</p> + +<p> +When the man had disappeared, Arsène Lupin pushed the section of the bookcase +back into its place, carefully effaced the traces of the men’s footsteps, +raised a portière, and entered a gallery, which was the only means of +communication between the tower and the castle. In the center of this gallery +there was a glass cabinet which had attracted Lupin’s attentions. It +contained a valuable collection of watches, snuff-boxes, rings, chatelaines and +miniatures of rare and beautiful workmanship. He forced the lock with a small +jimmy, and experienced a great pleasure in handling those gold and silver +ornaments, those exquisite and delicate works of art. +</p> + +<p> +He carried a large linen bag, specially prepared for the removal of such +knick-knacks. He filled it. Then he filled the pockets of his coat, waistcoat +and trousers. And he was just placing over his left arm a number of pearl +reticules when he heard a slight sound. He listened. No, he was not deceived. +The noise continued. Then he remembered that, at one end of the gallery, there +was a stairway leading to an unoccupied apartment, but which was probably +occupied that night by the young lady whom Mon. Devanne had brought from Dieppe +with his other visitors. +</p> + +<p> +Immediately he extinguished his lantern, and had scarcely gained the friendly +shelter of a window-embrasure, when the door at the top of the stairway was +opened and a feeble light illuminated the gallery. He could feel—for, +concealed by a curtain, he could not see—that a woman was cautiously +descending the upper steps of the stairs. He hoped she would come no closer. +Yet, she continued to descend, and even advanced some distance into the room. +Then she uttered a faint cry. No doubt she had discovered the broken and +dismantled cabinet. +</p> + +<p> +She advanced again. Now he could smell the perfume, and hear the throbbing of +her heart as she drew closer to the window where he was concealed. She passed +so close that her skirt brushed against the window-curtain, and Lupin felt that +she suspected the presence of another, behind her, in the shadow, within reach +of her hand. He thought: “She is afraid. She will go away.” But she +did not go. The candle, that she carried in her trembling hand, grew brighter. +She turned, hesitated a moment, appeared to listen, then suddenly drew aside +the curtain. +</p> + +<p> +They stood face to face. Arsène was astounded. He murmured, involuntarily: +</p> + +<p> +“You—you—mademoiselle.” +</p> + +<p> +It was Miss Nelly. Miss Nelly! his fellow passenger on the transatlantic +steamer, who had been the subject of his dreams on that memorable voyage, who +had been a witness to his arrest, and who, rather than betray him, had dropped +into the water the Kodak in which he had concealed the bank-notes and diamonds. +Miss Nelly! that charming creature, the memory of whose face had sometimes +cheered, sometimes saddened the long hours of imprisonment. +</p> + +<p> +It was such an unexpected encounter that brought them face to face in that +castle at that hour of the night, that they could not move, nor utter a word; +they were amazed, hypnotized, each at the sudden apparition of the other. +Trembling with emotion, Miss Nelly staggered to a seat. He remained standing in +front of her. +</p> + +<p> +Gradually, he realized the situation and conceived the impression he must have +produced at that moment with his arms laden with knick-knacks, and his pockets +and a linen sack overflowing with plunder. He was overcome with confusion, and +he actually blushed to find himself in the position of a thief caught in the +act. To her, henceforth, he was a thief, a man who puts his hand in +another’s pocket, who steals into houses and robs people while they +sleep. +</p> + +<p> +A watch fell upon the floor; then another. These were followed by other +articles which slipped from his grasp one by one. Then, actuated by a sudden +decision, he dropped the other articles into an armchair, emptied his pockets +and unpacked his sack. He felt very uncomfortable in Nelly’s presence, +and stepped toward her with the intention of speaking to her, but she +shuddered, rose quickly and fled toward the salon. The portière closed behind +her. He followed her. She was standing trembling and amazed at the sight of the +devastated room. He said to her, at once: +</p> + +<p> +“To-morrow, at three o’clock, everything will be returned. The +furniture will be brought back.” +</p> + +<p> +She made no reply, so he repeated: +</p> + +<p> +“I promise it. To-morrow, at three o’clock. Nothing in the world +could induce me to break that promise....To-morrow, at three +o’clock.” +</p> + +<p> +Then followed a long silence that he dared not break, whilst the agitation of +the young girl caused him a feeling of genuine regret. Quietly, without a word, +he turned away, thinking: “I hope she will go away. I can’t endure +her presence.” But the young girl suddenly spoke, and stammered: +</p> + +<p> +“Listen.... footsteps....I hear someone....” +</p> + +<p> +He looked at her with astonishment. She seemed to be overwhelmed by the thought +of approaching peril. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t hear anything,” he said. +</p> + +<p> +“But you must go—you must escape!” +</p> + +<p> +“Why should I go?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because—you must. Oh! do not remain here another minute. +Go!” +</p> + +<p> +She ran, quickly, to the door leading to the gallery and listened. No, there +was no one there. Perhaps the noise was outside. She waited a moment, then +returned reassured. +</p> + +<p> +But Arsène Lupin had disappeared. +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +As soon as Mon. Devanne was informed of the pillage of his castle, he said to +himself: It was Velmont who did it, and Velmont is Arsène Lupin. That theory +explained everything, and there was no other plausible explanation. And yet the +idea seemed preposterous. It was ridiculous to suppose that Velmont was anyone +else than Velmont, the famous artist, and club-fellow of his cousin +d’Estevan. So, when the captain of the gendarmes arrived to investigate +the affair, Devanne did not even think of mentioning his absurd theory. +</p> + +<p> +Throughout the forenoon there was a lively commotion at the castle. The +gendarmes, the local police, the chief of police from Dieppe, the villagers, +all circulated to and fro in the halls, examining every nook and corner that +was open to their inspection. The approach of the maneuvering troops, the +rattling fire of the musketry, added to the picturesque character of the scene. +</p> + +<p> +The preliminary search furnished no clue. Neither the doors nor windows showed +any signs of having been disturbed. Consequently, the removal of the goods must +have been effected by means of the secret passage. Yet, there were no +indications of footsteps on the floor, nor any unusual marks upon the walls. +</p> + +<p> +Their investigations revealed, however, one curious fact that denoted the +whimsical character of Arsène Lupin: the famous Chronique of the sixteenth +century had been restored to its accustomed place in the library and, beside +it, there was a similar book, which was none other than the volume stolen from +the National Library. +</p> + +<p> +At eleven o’clock the military officers arrived. Devanne welcomed them +with his usual gayety; for, no matter how much chagrin he might suffer from the +loss of his artistic treasures, his great wealth enabled him to bear his loss +philosophically. His guests, Monsieur and Madame d’Androl and Miss Nelly, +were introduced; and it was then noticed that one of the expected guests had +not arrived. It was Horace Velmont. Would he come? His absence had awakened the +suspicions of Mon. Devanne. But at twelve o’clock he arrived. Devanne +exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! here you are!” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, am I not punctual?” asked Velmont. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, and I am surprised that you are.... after such a busy night! I +suppose you know the news?” +</p> + +<p> +“What news?” +</p> + +<p> +“You have robbed the castle.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nonsense!” exclaimed Velmont, smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly as I predicted. But, first escort Miss Underdown to the +dining-room. Mademoiselle, allow me—” +</p> + +<p> +He stopped, as he remarked the extreme agitation of the young girl. Then, +recalling the incident, he said: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! of course, you met Arsène Lupin on the steamer, before his arrest, +and you are astonished at the resemblance. Is that it?” +</p> + +<p> +She did not reply. Velmont stood before her, smiling. He bowed. She took his +proffered arm. He escorted her to her place, and took his seat opposite her. +During the breakfast, the conversation related exclusively to Arsène Lupin, the +stolen goods, the secret passage, and Sherlock Holmes. It was only at the close +of the repast, when the conversation had drifted to other subjects, that +Velmont took any part in it. Then he was, by turns, amusing and grave, +talkative and pensive. And all his remarks seemed to be directed to the young +girl. But she, quite absorbed, did not appear to hear them. +</p> + +<p> +Coffee was served on the terrace overlooking the court of honor and the flower +garden in front of the principal façade. The regimental band played on the +lawn, and scores of soldiers and peasants wandered through the park. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Nelly had not forgotten, for one moment, Lupin’s solemn promise: +“To-morrow, at three o’clock, everything will be returned.” +</p> + +<p> +At three o’clock! And the hands of the great clock in the right wing of +the castle now marked twenty minutes to three. In spite of herself, her eyes +wandered to the clock every minute. She also watched Velmont, who was calmly +swinging to and fro in a comfortable rocking chair. +</p> + +<p> +Ten minutes to three!....Five minutes to three!....Nelly was impatient and +anxious. Was it possible that Arsène Lupin would carry out his promise at the +appointed hour, when the castle, the courtyard, and the park were filled with +people, and at the very moment when the officers of the law were pursuing their +investigations? And yet....Arsène Lupin had given her his solemn promise. +“It will be exactly as he said,” thought she, so deeply was she +impressed with the authority, energy and assurance of that remarkable man. To +her, it no longer assumed the form of a miracle, but, on the contrary, a +natural incident that must occur in the ordinary course of events. She blushed, +and turned her head. +</p> + +<p> +Three o’clock! The great clock struck slowly: one.... two.... +three....Horace Velmont took out his watch, glanced at the clock, then returned +the watch to his pocket. A few seconds passed in silence; and then the crowd in +the courtyard parted to give passage to two wagons, that had just entered the +park-gate, each drawn by two horses. They were army-wagons, such as are used +for the transportation of provisions, tents, and other necessary military +stores. They stopped in front of the main entrance, and a commissary-sergeant +leaped from one of the wagons and inquired for Mon. Devanne. A moment later, +that gentleman emerged from the house, descended the steps, and, under the +canvas covers of the wagons, beheld his furniture, pictures and ornaments +carefully packaged and arranged. +</p> + +<p> +When questioned, the sergeant produced an order that he had received from the +officer of the day. By that order, the second company of the fourth battalion +were commanded to proceed to the crossroads of Halleux in the forest of Arques, +gather up the furniture and other articles deposited there, and deliver same to +Monsieur Georges Devanne, owner of the Thibermesnil castle, at three +o’clock. Signed: Col. Beauvel. +</p> + +<p> +“At the crossroads,” explained the sergeant, “we found +everything ready, lying on the grass, guarded by some passers-by. It seemed +very strange, but the order was imperative.” +</p> + +<p> +One of the officers examined the signature. He declared it a forgery; but a +clever imitation. The wagons were unloaded, and the goods restored to their +proper places in the castle. +</p> + +<p> +During this commotion, Nelly had remained alone at the extreme end of the +terrace, absorbed by confused and distracted thoughts. Suddenly, she observed +Velmont approaching her. She would have avoided him, but the balustrade that +surrounded the terrace cut off her retreat. She was cornered. She could not +move. A gleam of sunshine, passing through the scant foliage of a bamboo, +lighted up her beautiful golden hair. Some one spoke to her in a low voice: +</p> + +<p> +“Have I not kept my promise?” +</p> + +<p> +Arsène Lupin stood close to her. No one else was near. He repeated, in a calm, +soft voice: +</p> + +<p> +“Have I not kept my promise?” +</p> + +<p> +He expected a word of thanks, or at least some slight movement that would +betray her interest in the fulfillment of his promise. But she remained silent. +</p> + +<p> +Her scornful attitude annoyed Arsène Lupin; and he realized the vast distance +that separated him from Miss Nelly, now that she had learned the truth. He +would gladly have justified himself in her eyes, or at least pleaded +extenuating circumstances, but he perceived the absurdity and futility of such +an attempt. Finally, dominated by a surging flood of memories, he murmured: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! how long ago that was! You remember the long hours on the deck of +the ‘Provence.’ Then, you carried a rose in your hand, a white rose +like the one you carry to-day. I asked you for it. You pretended you did not +hear me. After you had gone away, I found the rose—forgotten, no +doubt—and I kept it.” +</p> + +<p> +She made no reply. She seemed to be far away. He continued: +</p> + +<p> +“In memory of those happy hours, forget what you have learned since. +Separate the past from the present. Do not regard me as the man you saw last +night, but look at me, if only for a moment, as you did in those far-off days +when I was Bernard d’Andrezy, for a short time. Will you, please?” +</p> + +<p> +She raised her eyes and looked at him as he had requested. Then, without saying +a word, she pointed to a ring he was wearing on his forefinger. Only the ring +was visible; but the setting, which was turned toward the palm of his hand, +consisted of a magnificent ruby. Arsène Lupin blushed. The ring belonged to +Georges Devanne. He smiled bitterly, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“You are right. Nothing can be changed. Arsène Lupin is now and always +will be Arsène Lupin. To you, he cannot be even so much as a memory. Pardon +me....I should have known that any attention I may now offer you is simply an +insult. Forgive me.” +</p> + +<p> +He stepped aside, hat in hand. Nelly passed before him. He was inclined to +detain her and beseech her forgiveness. But his courage failed, and he +contented himself by following her with his eyes, as he had done when she +descended the gangway to the pier at New York. She mounted the steps leading to +the door, and disappeared within the house. He saw her no more. +</p> + +<p> +A cloud obscured the sun. Arsène Lupin stood watching the imprints of her tiny +feet in the sand. Suddenly, he gave a start. Upon the box which contained the +bamboo, beside which Nelly had been standing, he saw the rose, the white rose +which he had desired but dared not ask for. Forgotten, no doubt—it, also! +But how—designedly or through distraction? He seized it eagerly. Some of +its petals fell to the ground. He picked them up, one by one, like precious +relics. +</p> + +<p> +“Come!” he said to himself, “I have nothing more to do here. +I must think of my safety, before Sherlock Holmes arrives.” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p> +The park was deserted, but some gendarmes were stationed at the park-gate. He +entered a grove of pine trees, leaped over the wall, and, as a short cut to the +railroad station, followed a path across the fields. After walking about ten +minutes, he arrived at a spot where the road grew narrower and ran between two +steep banks. In this ravine, he met a man traveling in the opposite direction. +It was a man about fifty years of age, tall, smooth-shaven, and wearing clothes +of a foreign cut. He carried a heavy cane, and a small satchel was strapped +across his shoulder. When they met, the stranger spoke, with a slight English +accent: +</p> + +<p> +“Excuse me, monsieur, is this the way to the castle?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, monsieur, straight ahead, and turn to the left when you come to the +wall. They are expecting you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, my friend Devanne told us last night that you were coming, and I am +delighted to be the first to welcome you. Sherlock Holmes has no more ardent +admirer than.... myself.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a touch of irony in his voice that he quickly regretted, for Sherlock +Holmes scrutinized him from head to foot with such a keen, penetrating eye that +Arsène Lupin experienced the sensation of being seized, imprisoned and +registered by that look more thoroughly and precisely than he had ever been by +a camera. +</p> + +<p> +“My negative is taken now,” he thought, “and it will be +useless to use a disguise with that man. He would look right through it. But, I +wonder, has he recognized me?” +</p> + +<p> +They bowed to each other as if about to part. But, at that moment, they heard a +sound of horses’ feet, accompanied by a clinking of steel. It was the +gendarmes. The two men were obliged to draw back against the embankment, +amongst the brushes, to avoid the horses. The gendarmes passed by, but, as they +followed each other at a considerable distance, they were several minutes in +doing so. And Lupin was thinking: +</p> + +<p> +“It all depends on that question: has he recognized me? If so, he will +probably take advantage of the opportunity. It is a trying situation.” +</p> + +<p> +When the last horseman had passed, Sherlock Holmes stepped forth and brushed +the dust from his clothes. Then, for a moment, he and Arsène Lupin gazed at +each other; and, if a person could have seen them at that moment, it would have +been an interesting sight, and memorable as the first meeting of two remarkable +men, so strange, so powerfully equipped, both of superior quality, and destined +by fate, through their peculiar attributes, to hurl themselves one at the other +like two equal forces that nature opposes, one against the other, in the realms +of space. +</p> + +<p> +Then the Englishman said: “Thank you, monsieur.” +</p> + +<p> + “You are quite welcome, replied Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +They parted. Lupin went toward the railway station, and Sherlock Holmes +continued on his way to the castle. +</p> + +<p> +The local officers had given up the investigation after several hours of +fruitless efforts, and the people at the castle were awaiting the arrival of +the English detective with a lively curiosity. At first sight, they were a +little disappointed on account of his commonplace appearance, which differed so +greatly from the pictures they had formed of him in their own minds. He did not +in any way resemble the romantic hero, the mysterious and diabolical personage +that the name of Sherlock Holmes had evoked in their imaginations. However, +Mon. Devanne exclaimed with much gusto: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! monsieur, you are here! I am delighted to see you. It is a +long-deferred pleasure. Really, I scarcely regret what has happened, since it +affords me the opportunity to meet you. But, how did you come?” +</p> + +<p> +“By the train.” +</p> + +<p> +“But I sent my automobile to meet you at the station.” +</p> + +<p> +“An official reception, eh? with music and fireworks! Oh! no, not for me. +That is not the way I do business,” grumbled the Englishman. +</p> + +<p> +This speech disconcerted Devanne, who replied, with a forced smile: +</p> + +<p> +“Fortunately, the business has been greatly simplified since I wrote to +you.” +</p> + +<p> +“In what way?” +</p> + +<p> +“The robbery took place last night.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you had not announced my intended visit, it is probable the robbery +would not have been committed last night.” +</p> + +<p> +“When, then?” +</p> + +<p> +“To-morrow, or some other day.” +</p> + +<p> +“And in that case?” +</p> + +<p> +“Lupin would have been trapped,” said the detective. +</p> + +<p> +“And my furniture?” +</p> + +<p> +“Would not have been carried away.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! but my goods are here. They were brought back at three +o’clock.” +</p> + +<p> +“By Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +“By two army-wagons.” +</p> + +<p> +Sherlock Holmes put on his cap and adjusted his satchel. Devanne exclaimed, +anxiously: +</p> + +<p> +“But, monsieur, what are you going to do?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am going home.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“Your goods have been returned; Arsène Lupin is far away—there is +nothing for me to do.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, there is. I need your assistance. What happened yesterday, may +happen again to-morrow, as we do not know how he entered, or how he escaped, or +why, a few hours later, he returned the goods.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! you don’t know—” +</p> + +<p> +The idea of a problem to be solved quickened the interest of Sherlock Holmes. +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, let us make a search—at once—and alone, if +possible.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne understood, and conducted the Englishman to the salon. In a dry, crisp +voice, in sentences that seemed to have been prepared in advance, Holmes asked +a number of questions about the events of the preceding evening, and enquired +also concerning the guests and the members of the household. Then he examined +the two volumes of the “Chronique,” compared the plans of the +subterranean passage, requested a repetition of the sentences discovered by +Father Gélis, and then asked: +</p> + +<p> +“Was yesterday the first time you have spoken those two sentences to any +one?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“You had never communicated then to Horace Velmont?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, order the automobile. I must leave in an hour.” +</p> + +<p> +“In an hour?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; within that time, Arsène Lupin solved the problem that you placed +before him.” +</p> + +<p> +“I.... placed before him—” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Arsène Lupin or Horace Velmont—same thing.” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought so. Ah! the scoundrel!” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, let us see,” said Holmes, “last night at ten +o’clock, you furnished Lupin with the information that he lacked, and +that he had been seeking for many weeks. During the night, he found time to +solve the problem, collect his men, and rob the castle. I shall be quite as +expeditious.” +</p> + +<p> +He walked from end to end of the room, in deep thought, then sat down, crossed +his long legs and closed his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +Devanne waited, quite embarrassed. Thought he: “Is the man asleep? Or is +he only meditating?” However, he left the room to give some orders, and +when he returned he found the detective on his knees scrutinizing the carpet at +the foot of the stairs in the gallery. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” he enquired. +</p> + +<p> +“Look.... there.... spots from a candle.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are right—and quite fresh.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you will also find them at the top of the stairs, and around the +cabinet that Arsène Lupin broke into, and from which he took the bibelots that +he afterward placed in this armchair.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you conclude from that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing. These facts would doubtless explain the cause for the +restitution, but that is a side issue that I cannot wait to investigate. The +main question is the secret passage. First, tell me, is there a chapel some two +or three hundred metres from the castle?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, a ruined chapel, containing the tomb of Duke Rollo.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell your chauffer to wait for us near that chapel.” +</p> + +<p> +“My chauffer hasn’t returned. If he had, they would have informed +me. Do you think the secret passage runs to the chapel? What reason +have—” +</p> + +<p> +“I would ask you, monsieur,” interrupted the detective, “to +furnish me with a ladder and a lantern.” +</p> + +<p> +“What! do you require a ladder and a lantern?” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, or I shouldn’t have asked for them.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne, somewhat disconcerted by this crude logic, rang the bell. The two +articles were given with the sternness and precision of military commands. +</p> + +<p> +“Place the ladder against the bookcase, to the left of the word +Thibermesnil.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne placed the ladder as directed, and the Englishman continued: +</p> + +<p> +“More to the left.... to the right....There!....Now, climb up.... All the +letters are in relief, aren’t they?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“First, turn the letter I one way or the other.” +</p> + +<p> +“Which one? There are two of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“The first one.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne took hold of the letter, and exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! yes, it turns toward the right. Who told you that?” +</p> + +<p> +Sherlock Holmes did not reply to the question, but continued his directions: +</p> + +<p> +“Now, take the letter B. Move it back and forth as you would a +bolt.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne did so, and, to his great surprise, it produced a clicking sound. +</p> + +<p> +“Quite right,” said Holmes. “Now, we will go to the other end +of the word Thibermesnil, try the letter I, and see if it will open like a +wicket.” +</p> + +<p> +With a certain degree of solemnity, Devanne seized the letter. It opened, but +Devanne fell from the ladder, for the entire section of the bookcase, lying +between the first and last letters of the words, turned on a pivot and +disclosed the subterranean passage. +</p> + +<p> +Sherlock Holmes said, coolly: +</p> + +<p> +“You are not hurt?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no,” said Devanne, as he rose to his feet, “not hurt, +only bewildered. I can’t understand now.... those letters turn.... the +secret passage opens....” +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly. Doesn’t that agree exactly with the formula given by +Sully? Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the other eye will lead to +God.” +</p> + +<p> +“But Louis the sixteenth?” asked Devanne. +</p> + +<p> +“Louis the sixteenth was a clever locksmith. I have read a book he wrote +about combination locks. It was a good idea on the part of the owner of +Thibermesnil to show His Majesty a clever bit of mechanism. As an aid to his +memory, the king wrote: 3-4-11, that is to say, the third, fourth and eleventh +letters of the word.” +</p> + +<p> +“Exactly. I understand that. It explains how Lupin got out of the room, +but it does not explain how he entered. And it is certain he came from the +outside.” +</p> + +<p> +Sherlock Holmes lighted his lantern, and stepped into the passage. +</p> + +<p> +“Look! All the mechanism is exposed here, like the works of a clock, and +the reverse side of the letters can be reached. Lupin worked the combination +from this side—that is all.” +</p> + +<p> +“What proof is there of that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Proof? Why, look at that puddle of oil. Lupin foresaw that the wheels +would require oiling.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did he know about the other entrance?” +</p> + +<p> +“As well as I know it,” said Holmes. “Follow me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Into that dark passage?” +</p> + +<p> +“Are you afraid?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, but are you sure you can find the way out?” +</p> + +<p> +“With my eyes closed.” +</p> + +<p> +At first, they descended twelve steps, then twelve more, and, farther on, two +other flights of twelve steps each. Then they walked through a long passageway, +the brick walls of which showed the marks of successive restorations, and, in +spots, were dripping with water. The earth, also, was very damp. +</p> + +<p> +“We are passing under the pond,” said Devanne, somewhat nervously. +</p> + +<p> +At last, they came to a stairway of twelve steps, followed by three others of +twelve steps each, which they mounted with difficulty, and then found +themselves in a small cavity cut in the rock. They could go no further. +</p> + +<p> +“The deuce!” muttered Holmes, “nothing but bare walls. This +is provoking.” +</p> + +<p> +“Let us go back,” said Devanne. “I have seen enough to +satisfy me.” +</p> + +<p> +But the Englishman raised his eye and uttered a sigh of relief. There, he saw +the same mechanism and the same word as before. He had merely to work the three +letters. He did so, and a block of granite swung out of place. On the other +side, this granite block formed the tombstone of Duke Rollo, and the word +“Thibermesnil” was engraved on it in relief. Now, they were in the +little ruined chapel, and the detective said: +</p> + +<p> +“The other eye leads to God; that means, to the chapel.” +</p> + +<p> +“It is marvelous!” exclaimed Devanne, amazed at the clairvoyance +and vivacity of the Englishman. “Can it be possible that those few words +were sufficient for you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Bah!” declared Holmes, “they weren’t even necessary. +In the chart in the book of the National Library, the drawing terminates at the +left, as you know, in a circle, and at the right, as you do not know, in a +cross. Now, that cross must refer to the chapel in which we now stand.” +</p> + +<p> +Poor Devanne could not believe his ears. It was all so new, so novel to him. He +exclaimed: +</p> + +<p> +“It is incredible, miraculous, and yet of a childish simplicity! How is +it that no one has ever solved the mystery?” +</p> + +<p> +“Because no one has ever united the essential elements, that is to say, +the two books and the two sentences. No one, but Arsène Lupin and +myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, Father Gélis and I knew all about those things, and, +likewise—” +</p> + +<p> +Holmes smiled, and said: +</p> + +<p> +“Monsieur Devanne, everybody cannot solve riddles.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been trying for ten years to accomplish what you did in ten +minutes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Bah! I am used to it.” +</p> + +<p> +They emerged from the chapel, and found an automobile. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! there’s an auto waiting for us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, it is mine,” said Devanne. +</p> + +<p> +“Yours? You said your chauffeur hadn’t returned.” +</p> + +<p> +They approached the machine, and Mon. Devanne questioned the chauffer: +</p> + +<p> +“Edouard, who gave you orders to come here?” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, it was Monsieur Velmont.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mon. Velmont? Did you meet him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Near the railway station, and he told me to come to the chapel.” +</p> + +<p> +“To come to the chapel! What for?” +</p> + +<p> +“To wait for you, monsieur, and your friend.” +</p> + +<p> +Devanne and Holmes exchanged looks, and Mon. Devanne said: +</p> + +<p> +“He knew the mystery would be a simple one for you. It is a delicate +compliment.” +</p> + +<p> +A smile of satisfaction lighted up the detective’s serious features for a +moment. The compliment pleased him. He shook his head, as he said: +</p> + +<p> +“A clever man! I knew that when I saw him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you seen him?” +</p> + +<p> +“I met him a short time ago—on my way from the station.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you knew it was Horace Velmont—I mean, Arsène Lupin?” +</p> + +<p> +“That is right. I wonder how it came—” +</p> + +<p> +“No, but I supposed it was—from a certain ironical speech he +made.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you allowed him to escape?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course I did. And yet I had everything on my side, such as five +gendarmes who passed us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sacrableu!” cried Devanne. “You should have taken advantage +of the opportunity.” +</p> + +<p> +“Really, monsieur,” said the Englishman, haughtily, “when I +encounter an adversary like Arsène Lupin, I do not take advantage of chance +opportunities, I create them.” +</p> + +<p> +But time pressed, and since Lupin had been so kind as to send the automobile, +they resolved to profit by it. They seated themselves in the comfortable +limousine; Edouard took his place at the wheel, and away they went toward the +railway station. Suddenly, Devanne’s eyes fell upon a small package in +one of the pockets of the carriage. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah! what is that? A package! Whose is it? Why, it is for you.” +</p> + +<p> +“For me?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, it is addressed: Sherlock Holmes, from Arsène Lupin.” +</p> + +<p> +The Englishman took the package, opened it, and found that it contained a +watch. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah!” he exclaimed, with an angry gesture. +</p> + +<p> +“A watch,” said Devanne. “How did it come there?” +</p> + +<p> +The detective did not reply. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! it is your watch! Arsène Lupin returns your watch! But, in order to +return it, he must have taken it. Ah! I see! He took your watch! That is a good +one! Sherlock Holmes’ watch stolen by Arsène Lupin! Mon Dieu! that is +funny! Really.... you must excuse me....I can’t help it.” +</p> + +<p> +He roared with laughter, unable to control himself. After which, he said, in a +tone of earnest conviction: +</p> + +<p> +“A clever man, indeed!” +</p> + +<p> +The Englishman never moved a muscle. On the way to Dieppe, he never spoke a +word, but fixed his gaze on the flying landscape. His silence was terrible, +unfathomable, more violent than the wildest rage. At the railway station, he +spoke calmly, but in a voice that impressed one with the vast energy and will +power of that famous man. He said: +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, he is a clever man, but some day I shall have the pleasure of +placing on his shoulder the hand I now offer to you, Monsieur Devanne. And I +believe that Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes will meet again some day. Yes, +the world is too small—we will meet—we must meet—and +then—” +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="letter"> +—The further startling and thrilling adventures of Arsène Lupin will be +found in the book entitled “Arsène Lupin versus Herlock +Sholmes.”— +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSÈNE LUPIN ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + +Author: Maurice Leblanc + +Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6133] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on November 17, 2002] +[Date last updated: August 17, 2006] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN-BURGLAR *** + + + + +This etext was produced by Nathan J. Miller, NathanJM@MagicalDesk.com. + + + + +Maurice Leblanc + +The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + + + +Table of Contents: +I. The Arrest of Arsene Lupin +II. Arsene Lupin in Prison +III. The Escape of Arsene Lupin +IV. The Mysterious Traveller +V. The Queen's Necklace +VI. The Seven of Hearts +VII. Madame Imbert's Safe +VIII. The Black Pearl +IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late + + + + +I. The Arrest of Arsene Lupin + + +It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most +auspicious manner. The transatlantic steamship `La Provence' was +a swift and comfortable vessel, under the command of a most +affable man. The passengers constituted a select and delightful +society. The charm of new acquaintances and improvised amusements +served to make the time pass agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant +sensation of being separated from the world, living, as it were, +upon an unknown island, and consequently obliged to be sociable +with each other. + +Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and +spontaneity emanate from these various individuals who, on the +preceding evening, did not even know each other, and who are now, +for several days, condemned to lead a life of extreme intimacy, +jointly defying the anger of the ocean, the terrible onslaught of +the waves, the violence of the tempest and the agonizing monotony +of the calm and sleepy water? Such a life becomes a sort of +tragic existence, with its storms and its grandeurs, its monotony +and its diversity; and that is why, perhaps, we embark upon that +short voyage with mingled feelings of pleasure and fear. + +But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to +the life of the transatlantic traveler. The little floating +island is now attached to the world from which it was once quite +free. A bond united them, even in the very heart of the watery +wastes of the Atlantic. That bond is the wireless telegraph, by +means of which we receive news in the most mysterious manner. We +know full well that the message is not transported by the medium +of a hollow wire. No, the mystery is even more inexplicable, more +romantic, and we must have recourse to the wings of the air in +order to explain this new miracle. During the first day of the +voyage, we felt that we were being followed, escorted, preceded +even, by that distant voice, which, from time to time, whispered +to one of us a few words from the receding world. Two friends +spoke to me. Ten, twenty others sent gay or somber words of +parting to other passengers. + +On the second day, at a distance of five hundred miles from the +French coast, in the midst of a violent storm, we received the +following message by means of the wireless telegraph: + +"Arsene Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, wound +right fore-arm, traveling alone under name of R........" + +At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy +skies. The electric waves were interrupted. The remainder of the +dispatch never reached us. Of the name under which Arsene Lupin was +concealing himself, we knew only the initial. + +If the news had been of some other character, I have no doubt that +the secret would have been carefully guarded by the telegraphic +operator as well as by the officers of the vessel. But it was one +of those events calculated to escape from the most rigorous +discretion. The same day, no one knew how, the incident became a +matter of current gossip and every passenger was aware that the +famous Arsene Lupin was hiding in our midst. + +Arsene Lupin in our midst! the irresponsible burglar whose +exploits had been narrated in all the newspapers during the past +few months! the mysterious individual with whom Ganimard, our +shrewdest detective, had been engaged in an implacable conflict +amidst interesting and picturesque surroundings. Arsene Lupin, +the eccentric gentleman who operates only in the chateaux and +salons, and who, one night, entered the residence of Baron +Schormann, but emerged empty-handed, leaving, however, his card on +which he had scribbled these words: "Arsene Lupin, gentleman- +burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine." Arsene +Lupin, the man of a thousand disguises: in turn a chauffer, +detective, bookmaker, Russian physician, Spanish bull-fighter, +commercial traveler, robust youth, or decrepit old man. + +Then consider this startling situation: Arsene Lupin was wandering +about within the limited bounds of a transatlantic steamer; in +that very small corner of the world, in that dining saloon, in +that smoking room, in that music room! Arsene Lupin was, perhaps, +this gentleman....or that one....my neighbor at the table.... +the sharer of my stateroom.... + +"And this condition of affairs will last for five days!" exclaimed +Miss Nelly Underdown, next morning. "It is unbearable! I hope he +will be arrested." + +Then, addressing me, she added: + +"And you, Monsieur d'Andrezy, you are on intimate terms with the +captain; surely you know something?" + +I should have been delighted had I possessed any information that +would interest Miss Nelly. She was one of those magnificent +creatures who inevitably attract attention in every assembly. +Wealth and beauty form an irresistible combination, and Nelly +possessed both. + +Educated in Paris under the care of a French mother, she was now +going to visit her father, the millionaire Underdown of Chicago. +She was accompanied by one of her friends, Lady Jerland. + +At first, I had decided to open a flirtation with her; but, in the +rapidly growing intimacy of the voyage, I was soon impressed by +her charming manner and my feelings became too deep and +reverential for a mere flirtation. Moreover, she accepted my +attentions with a certain degree of favor. She condescended to +laugh at my witticisms and display an interest in my stories. Yet +I felt that I had a rival in the person of a young man with quiet +and refined tastes; and it struck me, at times, that she preferred +his taciturn humor to my Parisian frivolity. He formed one in the +circle of admirers that surrounded Miss Nelly at the time she +addressed to me the foregoing question. We were all comfortably +seated in our deck-chairs. The storm of the preceding evening had +cleared the sky. The weather was now delightful. + +"I have no definite knowledge, mademoiselle," I replied, "but can +not we, ourselves, investigate the mystery quite as well as the +detective Ganimard, the personal enemy of Arsene Lupin?" + +"Oh! oh! you are progressing very fast, monsieur." + +"Not at all, mademoiselle. In the first place, let me ask, do you +find the problem a complicated one?" + +"Very complicated." + +"Have you forgotten the key we hold for the solution to the +problem?" + +"What key?" + +"In the first place, Lupin calls himself Monsieur R-------." + +"Rather vague information," she replied. + +"Secondly, he is traveling alone." + +"Does that help you?" she asked. + +"Thirdly, he is blonde." + +"Well?" + +"Then we have only to peruse the passenger-list, and proceed by +process of elimination." + +I had that list in my pocket. I took it out and glanced through +it. Then I remarked: + +"I find that there are only thirteen men on the passenger-list +whose names begin with the letter R." + +"Only thirteen?" + +"Yes, in the first cabin. And of those thirteen, I find that nine +of them are accompanied by women, children or servants. That +leaves only four who are traveling alone. First, the Marquis de +Raverdan----" + +"Secretary to the American Ambassador," interrupted Miss Nelly. +"I know him." + +"Major Rawson," I continued. + +"He is my uncle," some one said. + +"Mon. Rivolta." + +"Here!" exclaimed an Italian, whose face was concealed beneath a +heavy black beard. + +Miss Nelly burst into laughter, and exclaimed: "That gentleman can +scarcely be called a blonde." + +"Very well, then," I said, "we are forced to the conclusion that +the guilty party is the last one on the list." + +"What is his name?" + +"Mon. Rozaine. Does anyone know him?" + +No one answered. But Miss Nelly turned to the taciturn young man, +whose attentions to her had annoyed me, and said: + +"Well, Monsieur Rozaine, why do you not answer?" + +All eyes were now turned upon him. He was a blonde. I must +confess that I myself felt a shock of surprise, and the profound +silence that followed her question indicated that the others +present also viewed the situation with a feeling of sudden alarm. +However, the idea was an absurd one, because the gentleman in +question presented an air of the most perfect innocence. + +"Why do I not answer?" he said. "Because, considering my name, my +position as a solitary traveler and the color of my hair, I have +already reached the same conclusion, and now think that I should +be arrested." + +He presented a strange appearance as he uttered these words. His +thin lips were drawn closer than usual and his face was ghastly +pale, whilst his eyes were streaked with blood. Of course, he was +joking, yet his appearance and attitude impressed us strangely. + +"But you have not the wound?" said Miss Nelly, naively. + +"That is true," he replied, "I lack the wound." + +Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his +arm. But that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his +left arm, and I was on the point of calling his attention to the +fact, when another incident diverted our attention. Lady Jerland, +Miss Nelly's friend, came running towards us in a state of great +excitement, exclaiming: + +"My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!" + +No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had +taken only part of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond +sunbursts, jeweled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief +had taken, not the largest but the finest and most valuable +stones. The mountings were lying upon the table. I saw them +there, despoiled of their jewels, like flowers from which the +beautiful colored petals had been ruthlessly plucked. And this +theft must have been committed at the time Lady Jerland was taking +her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom opening on a much +frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to force +open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which +was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty +and remove it from the mountings. + +Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same +conclusion; it was the work of Arsene Lupin. + +That day, at the dinner table, the seats to the right and left of +Rozaine remained vacant; and, during the evening, it was rumored +that the captain had placed him under arrest, which information +produced a feeling of safety and relief. We breathed once more. +That evening, we resumed our games and dances. Miss Nelly, +especially, displayed a spirit of thoughtless gayety which +convinced me that if Rozaine's attentions had been agreeable to +her in the beginning, she had already forgotten them. Her charm +and good-humor completed my conquest. At midnight, under a bright +moon, I declared my devotion with an ardor that did not seem to +displease her. + +But, next day, to our general amazement, Rozaine was at liberty. +We learned that the evidence against him was not sufficient. He +had produced documents that were perfectly regular, which showed +that he was the son of a wealthy merchant of Bordeaux. Besides, +his arms did not bear the slightest trace of a wound. + +"Documents! Certificates of birth!" exclaimed the enemies of +Rozaine, "of course, Arsene Lupin will furnish you as many as you +desire. And as to the wound, he never had it, or he has removed +it." + +Then it was proven that, at the time of the theft, Rozaine was +promenading on the deck. To which fact, his enemies replied that +a man like Arsene Lupin could commit a crime without being +actually present. And then, apart from all other circumstances, +there remained one point which even the most skeptical could not +answer: Who except Rozaine, was traveling alone, was a blonde, and +bore a name beginning with R? To whom did the telegram point, if +it were not Rozaine? + +And when Rozaine, a few minutes before breakfast, came boldly +toward our group, Miss Nelly and Lady Jerland arose and walked +away. + +An hour later, a manuscript circular was passed from hand to hand +amongst the sailors, the stewards, and the passengers of all +classes. It announced that Mon. Louis Rozaine offered a reward of +ten thousand francs for the discovery of Arsene Lupin or other +person in possession of the stolen jewels. + +"And if no one assists me, I will unmask the scoundrel myself," +declared Rozaine. + +Rozaine against Arsene Lupin, or rather, according to current +opinion, Arsene Lupin himself against Arsene Lupin; the contest +promised to be interesting. + +Nothing developed during the next two days. We saw Rozaine +wandering about, day and night, searching, questioning, +investigating. The captain, also, displayed commendable activity. +He caused the vessel to be searched from stern to stern; ransacked +every stateroom under the plausible theory that the jewels might +be concealed anywhere, except in the thief's own room. + +"I suppose they will find out something soon," remarked Miss Nelly +to me. "He may be a wizard, but he cannot make diamonds and +pearls become invisible." + +"Certainly not," I replied, "but he should examine the lining of +our hats and vests and everything we carry with us." + +Then, exhibiting my Kodak, a 9x12 with which I had been +photographing her in various poses, I added: "In an apparatus no +larger than that, a person could hide all of Lady Jerland's +jewels. He could pretend to take pictures and no one would +suspect the game." + +"But I have heard it said that every thief leaves some clue behind +him." + +"That may be generally true," I replied, "but there is one +exception: Arsene Lupin." + +"Why?" + +"Because he concentrates his thoughts not only on the theft, but +on all the circumstances connected with it that could serve as a +clue to his identity." + +"A few days ago, you were more confident." + +"Yes, but since I have seen him at work." + +"And what do you think about it now?" she asked. + +"Well, in my opinion, we are wasting our time." + +And, as a matter of fact, the investigation had produced no +result. But, in the meantime, the captain's watch had been +stolen. He was furious. He quickened his efforts and watched +Rozaine more closely than before. But, on the following day, the +watch was found in the second officer's collar box. + +This incident caused considerable astonishment, and displayed the +humorous side of Arsene Lupin, burglar though he was, but +dilettante as well. He combined business with pleasure. He +reminded us of the author who almost died in a fit of laughter +provoked by his own play. Certainly, he was an artist in his +particular line of work, and whenever I saw Rozaine, gloomy and +reserved, and thought of the double role that he was playing, I +accorded him a certain measure of admiration. + +On the following evening, the officer on deck duty heard groans +emanating from the darkest corner of the ship. He approached and +found a man lying there, his head enveloped in a thick gray scarf +and his hands tied together with a heavy cord. It was Rozaine. +He had been assaulted, thrown down and robbed. A card, pinned to +his coat, bore these words: "Arsene Lupin accepts with pleasure +the ten thousand francs offered by Mon. Rozaine." As a matter of +fact, the stolen pocket-book contained twenty thousand francs. + +Of course, some accused the unfortunate man of having simulated +this attack on himself. But, apart from the fact that he could +not have bound himself in that manner, it was established that the +writing on the card was entirely different from that of Rozaine, +but, on the contrary, resembled the handwriting of Arsene Lupin as +it was reproduced in an old newspaper found on board. + +Thus it appeared that Rozaine was not Arsene Lupin; but was +Rozaine, the son of a Bordeaux merchant. And the presence of +Arsene Lupin was once more affirmed, and that in a most alarming +manner. + +Such was the state of terror amongst the passengers that none +would remain alone in a stateroom or wander singly in unfrequented +parts of the vessel. We clung together as a matter of safety. +And yet the most intimate acquaintances were estranged by a mutual +feeling of distrust. Arsene Lupin was, now, anybody and +everybody. Our excited imaginations attributed to him miraculous +and unlimited power. We supposed him capable of assuming the most +unexpected disguises; of being, by turns, the highly respectable +Major Rawson or the noble Marquis de Raverdan, or even--for we no +longer stopped with the accusing letter of R--or even such or such +a person well known to all of us, and having wife, children and +servants. + +The first wireless dispatches from America brought no news; at +least, the captain did not communicate any to us. The silence was +not reassuring. + +Our last day on the steamer seemed interminable. We lived in +constant fear of some disaster. This time, it would not be a +simple theft or a comparatively harmless assault; it would be a +crime, a murder. No one imagined that Arsene Lupin would confine +himself to those two trifling offenses. Absolute master of the +ship, the authorities powerless, he could do whatever he pleased; +our property and lives were at his mercy. + +Yet those were delightful hours for me, since they secured to me +the confidence of Miss Nelly. Deeply moved by those startling +events and being of a highly nervous nature, she spontaneously +sought at my side a protection and security that I was pleased to +give her. Inwardly, I blessed Arsene Lupin. Had he not been the +means of bringing me and Miss Nelly closer to each other? Thanks +to him, I could now indulge in delicious dreams of love and +happiness--dreams that, I felt, were not unwelcome to Miss Nelly. +Her smiling eyes authorized me to make them; the softness of her +voice bade me hope. + +As we approached the American shore, the active search for the +thief was apparently abandoned, and we were anxiously awaiting the +supreme moment in which the mysterious enigma would be explained. +Who was Arsene Lupin? Under what name, under what disguise was +the famous Arsene Lupin concealing himself? And, at last, that +supreme moment arrived. If I live one hundred years, I shall not +forget the slightest details of it. + +"How pale you are, Miss Nelly," I said to my companion, as she +leaned upon my arm, almost fainting. + +"And you!" she replied, "ah! you are so changed." + +"Just think! this is a most exciting moment, and I am delighted to +spend it with you, Miss Nelly. I hope that your memory will +sometimes revert---" + +But she was not listening. She was nervous and excited. The +gangway was placed in position, but, before we could use it, the +uniformed customs officers came on board. Miss Nelly murmured: + +"I shouldn't be surprised to hear that Arsene Lupin escaped from +the vessel during the voyage." + +"Perhaps he preferred death to dishonor, and plunged into the +Atlantic rather than be arrested." + +"Oh, do not laugh," she said. + +Suddenly I started, and, in answer to her question, I said: + +"Do you see that little old man standing at the bottom of the +gangway?" + +"With an umbrella and an olive-green coat?" + +"It is Ganimard." + +"Ganimard?" + +"Yes, the celebrated detective who has sworn to capture Arsene +Lupin. Ah! I can understand now why we did not receive any news +from this side of the Atlantic. Ganimard was here! and he always +keeps his business secret." + +"Then you think he will arrest Arsene Lupin?" + +"Who can tell? The unexpected always happens when Arsene Lupin is +concerned in the affair." + +"Oh!" she exclaimed, with that morbid curiosity peculiar to women, +"I should like to see him arrested." + +"You will have to be patient. No doubt, Arsene Lupin has already +seen his enemy and will not be in a hurry to leave the steamer." + +The passengers were now leaving the steamer. Leaning on his +umbrella, with an air of careless indifference, Ganimard appeared +to be paying no attention to the crowd that was hurrying down the +gangway. The Marquis de Raverdan, Major Rawson, the Italian +Rivolta, and many others had already left the vessel before +Rozaine appeared. Poor Rozaine! + +"Perhaps it is he, after all," said Miss Nelly to me. "What do +you think?" + +"I think it would be very interesting to have Ganimard and Rozaine +in the same picture. You take the camera. I am loaded down." + +I gave her the camera, but too late for her to use it. Rozaine +was already passing the detective. An American officer, standing +behind Ganimard, leaned forward and whispered in his ear. The +French detective shrugged his shoulders and Rozaine passed on. +Then, my God, who was Arsene Lupin? + +"Yes," said Miss Nelly, aloud, "who can it be?" + +Not more than twenty people now remained on board. She +scrutinized them one by one, fearful that Arsene Lupin was not +amongst them. + +"We cannot wait much longer," I said to her. + +She started toward the gangway. I followed. But we had not taken +ten steps when Ganimard barred our passage. + +"Well, what is it?" I exclaimed. + +"One moment, monsieur. What's your hurry?" + +"I am escorting mademoiselle." + +"One moment," he repeated, in a tone of authority. Then, gazing +into my eyes, he said: + +"Arsene Lupin, is it not?" + +I laughed, and replied: "No, simply Bernard d'Andrezy." + +"Bernard d'Andrezy died in Macedonia three years ago." + +"If Bernard d'Andrezy were dead, I should not be here. But you +are mistaken. Here are my papers." + +"They are his; and I can tell you exactly how they came into your +possession." + +"You are a fool!" I exclaimed. "Arsene Lupin sailed under the +name of R---" + +"Yes, another of your tricks; a false scent that deceived them at +Havre. You play a good game, my boy, but this time luck is +against you." + +I hesitated a moment. Then he hit me a sharp blow on the right +arm, which caused me to utter a cry of pain. He had struck the +wound, yet unhealed, referred to in the telegram. + +I was obliged to surrender. There was no alternative. I turned +to Miss Nelly, who had heard everything. Our eyes met; then she +glanced at the Kodak I had placed in her hands, and made a gesture +that conveyed to me the impression that she understood everything. +Yes, there, between the narrow folds of black leather, in the +hollow centre of the small object that I had taken the precaution +to place in her hands before Ganimard arrested me, it was there I +had deposited Rozaine's twenty thousand francs and Lady Jerland's +pearls and diamonds. + +Oh! I pledge my oath that, at that solemn moment, when I was in +the grasp of Ganimard and his two assistants, I was perfectly +indifferent to everything, to my arrest, the hostility of the +people, everything except this one question: what will Miss Nelly +do with the things I had confided to her? + +In the absence of that material and conclusive proof, I had +nothing to fear; but would Miss Nelly decide to furnish that +proof? Would she betray me? Would she act the part of an enemy +who cannot forgive, or that of a woman whose scorn is softened by +feelings of indulgence and involuntary sympathy? + +She passed in front of me. I said nothing, but bowed very low. +Mingled with the other passengers, she advanced to the gangway +with my kodak in her hand. It occurred to me that she would not +dare to expose me publicly, but she might do so when she reached a +more private place. However, when she had passed only a few feet +down the gangway, with a movement of simulated awkwardness, she +let the camera fall into the water between the vessel and the +pier. Then she walked down the gangway, and was quickly lost to +sight in the crowd. She had passed out of my life forever. + +For a moment, I stood motionless. Then, to Ganimard's great +astonishment, I muttered: + +"What a pity that I am not an honest man!" + +Such was the story of his arrest as narrated to me by Arsene Lupin +himself. The various incidents, which I shall record in writing +at a later day, have established between us certain ties....shall +I say of friendship? Yes, I venture to believe that Arsene Lupin +honors me with his friendship, and that it is through friendship +that he occasionally calls on me, and brings, into the silence of +my library, his youthful exuberance of spirits, the contagion of +his enthusiasm, and the mirth of a man for whom destiny has naught +but favors and smiles. + +His portrait? How can I describe him? I have seen him twenty +times and each time he was a different person; even he himself +said to me on one occasion: "I no longer know who I am. I cannot +recognize myself in the mirror." Certainly, he was a great actor, +and possessed a marvelous faculty for disguising himself. Without +the slightest effort, he could adopt the voice, gestures and +mannerisms of another person. + +"Why," said he, "why should I retain a definite form and feature? +Why not avoid the danger of a personality that is ever the same? +My actions will serve to identify me." + +Then he added, with a touch of pride: + +"So much the better if no one can ever say with absolute +certainty: There is Arsene Lupin! The essential point is that the +public may be able to refer to my work and say, without fear of +mistake: Arsene Lupin did that!" + + + +II. Arsene Lupin in Prison + + +There is no tourist worthy of the name who does not know the banks +of the Seine, and has not noticed, in passing, the little feudal +castle of the Malaquis, built upon a rock in the centre of the +river. An arched bridge connects it with the shore. All around +it, the calm waters of the great river play peacefully amongst the +reeds, and the wagtails flutter over the moist crests of the +stones. + +The history of the Malaquis castle is stormy like its name, harsh +like its outlines. It has passed through a long series of +combats, sieges, assaults, rapines and massacres. A recital of +the crimes that have been committed there would cause the stoutest +heart to tremble. There are many mysterious legends connected +with the castle, and they tell us of a famous subterranean tunnel +that formerly led to the abbey of Jumieges and to the manor of +Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII. + +In that ancient habitation of heroes and brigands, the Baron +Nathan Cahorn now lived; or Baron Satan as he was formerly called +on the Bourse, where he had acquired a fortune with incredible +rapidity. The lords of Malaquis, absolutely ruined, had been +obliged to sell the ancient castle at a great sacrifice. It +contained an admirable collection of furniture, pictures, wood +carvings, and faience. The Baron lived there alone, attended by +three old servants. No one ever enters the place. No one had +ever beheld the three Rubens that he possessed, his two Watteau, +his Jean Goujon pulpit, and the many other treasures that he had +acquired by a vast expenditure of money at public sales. + +Baron Satan lived in constant fear, not for himself, but for the +treasures that he had accumulated with such an earnest devotion +and with so much perspicacity that the shrewdest merchant could +not say that the Baron had ever erred in his taste or judgment. +He loved them--his bibelots. He loved them intensely, like a +miser; jealously, like a lover. Every day, at sunset, the iron +gates at either end of the bridge and at the entrance to the court +of honor are closed and barred. At the least touch on these +gates, electric bells will ring throughout the castle. + +One Thursday in September, a letter-carrier presented himself at +the gate at the head of the bridge, and, as usual, it was the +Baron himself who partially opened the heavy portal. He +scrutinized the man as minutely as if he were a stranger, although +the honest face and twinkling eyes of the postman had been +familiar to the Baron for many years. The man laughed, as he +said: + +"It is only I, Monsieur le Baron. It is not another man wearing +my cap and blouse." + +"One can never tell," muttered the Baron. + +The man handed him a number of newspapers, and then said: + +"And now, Monsieur le Baron, here is something new." + +"Something new?" + +"Yes, a letter. A registered letter." + +Living as a recluse, without friends or business relations, the +baron never received any letters, and the one now presented to him +immediately aroused within him a feeling of suspicion and +distrust. It was like an evil omen. Who was this mysterious +correspondent that dared to disturb the tranquility of his +retreat? + +"You must sign for it, Monsieur le Baron." + +He signed; then took the letter, waited until the postman had +disappeared beyond the bend in the road, and, after walking +nervously to and fro for a few minutes, he leaned against the +parapet of the bridge and opened the envelope. It contained a +sheet of paper, bearing this heading: Prison de la Sante, Paris. +He looked at the signature: Arsene Lupin. Then he read: + + "Monsieur le Baron: + + "There is, in the gallery in your castle, a picture of Philippe + de Champaigne, of exquisite finish, which pleases me beyond + measure. Your Rubens are also to my taste, as well as your + smallest Watteau. In the salon to the right, I have noticed the + Louis XIII cadence-table, the tapestries of Beauvais, the Empire + gueridon signed `Jacob,' and the Renaissance chest. In the salon + to the left, all the cabinet full of jewels and miniatures. + + "For the present, I will content myself with those articles that + can be conveniently removed. I will therefore ask you to pack + them carefully and ship them to me, charges prepaid, to the + station at Batignolles, within eight days, otherwise I shall be + obliged to remove them myself during the night of 27 September; + but, under those circumstances, I shall not content myself with + the articles above mentioned. + + "Accept my apologies for any inconvenience I may cause you, and + believe me to be your humble servant, + "Arsene Lupin." + + "P. S.--Please do not send the largest Watteau. Although you + paid thirty thousand francs for it, it is only a copy, the + original having been burned, under the Directoire by Barras, + during a night of debauchery. Consult the memoirs of Garat. + + "I do not care for the Louis XV chatelaine, as I doubt its + authenticity." + +That letter completely upset the baron. Had it borne any other +signature, he would have been greatly alarmed--but signed by Arsene +Lupin! + +As an habitual reader of the newspapers, he was versed in the +history of recent crimes, and was therefore well acquainted with +the exploits of the mysterious burglar. Of course, he knew that +Lupin had been arrested in America by his enemy Ganimard and was +at present incarcerated in the Prison de la Sante. But he knew +also that any miracle might be expected from Arsene Lupin. +Moreover, that exact knowledge of the castle, the location of the +pictures and furniture, gave the affair an alarming aspect. How +could he have acquired that information concerning things that no +one had ever seen? + +The baron raised his eyes and contemplated the stern outlines of +the castle, its steep rocky pedestal, the depth of the surrounding +water, and shrugged his shoulders. Certainly, there was no +danger. No one in the world could force an entrance to the +sanctuary that contained his priceless treasures. + +No one, perhaps, but Arsene Lupin! For him, gates, walls and +drawbridges did not exist. What use were the most formidable +obstacles or the most careful precautions, if Arsene Lupin had +decided to effect an entrance? + +That evening, he wrote to the Procurer of the Republique at Rouen. +He enclosed the threatening letter and solicited aid and +protection. + +The reply came at once to the effect that Arsene Lupin was in +custody in the Prison de la Sante, under close surveillance, with +no opportunity to write such a letter, which was, no doubt, the +work of some imposter. But, as an act of precaution, the Procurer +had submitted the letter to an expert in handwriting, who declared +that, in spite of certain resemblances, the writing was not that +of the prisoner. + +But the words "in spite of certain resemblances" caught the +attention of the baron; in them, he read the possibility of a +doubt which appeared to him quite sufficient to warrant the +intervention of the law. His fears increased. He read Lupin's +letter over and over again. "I shall be obliged to remove them +myself." And then there was the fixed date: the night of 27 +September. + +To confide in his servants was a proceeding repugnant to his +nature; but now, for the first time in many years, he experienced +the necessity of seeking counsel with some one. Abandoned by the +legal official of his own district, and feeling unable to defend +himself with his own resources, he was on the point of going to +Paris to engage the services of a detective. + +Two days passed; on the third day, he was filled with hope and joy +as he read the following item in the `Reveil de Caudebec', a +newspaper published in a neighboring town: + +"We have the pleasure of entertaining in our city, at the present +time, the veteran detective Mon. Ganimard who acquired a world- +wide reputation by his clever capture of Arsene Lupin. He has +come here for rest and recreation, and, being an enthusiastic +fisherman, he threatens to capture all the fish in our river." + +Ganimard! Ah, here is the assistance desired by Baron Cahorn! +Who could baffle the schemes of Arsene Lupin better than Ganimard, +the patient and astute detective? He was the man for the place. + +The baron did not hesitate. The town of Caudebec was only six +kilometers from the castle, a short distance to a man whose step +was accelerated by the hope of safety. + +After several fruitless attempts to ascertain the detective's +address, the baron visited the office of the `Reveil,' situated on +the quai. There he found the writer of the article who, +approaching the window, exclaimed: + +"Ganimard? Why, you are sure to see him somewhere on the quai +with his fishing-pole. I met him there and chanced to read his +name engraved on his rod. Ah, there he is now, under the trees." + +"That little man, wearing a straw hat?" + +"Exactly. He is a gruff fellow, with little to say." + +Five minutes later, the baron approached the celebrated Ganimard, +introduced himself, and sought to commence a conversation, but +that was a failure. Then he broached the real object of his +interview, and briefly stated his case. The other listened, +motionless, with his attention riveted on his fishing-rod. When +the baron had finished his story, the fisherman turned, with an +air of profound pity, and said: + +"Monsieur, it is not customary for thieves to warn people they are +about to rob. Arsene Lupin, especially, would not commit such a +folly." + +"But---" + +"Monsieur, if I had the least doubt, believe me, the pleasure of +again capturing Arsene Lupin would place me at your disposal. +But, unfortunately, that young man is already under lock and key." + +"He may have escaped." + +"No one ever escaped from the Sante." + +"But, he---" + +"He, no more than any other." + +"Yet---" + +"Well, if he escapes, so much the better. I will catch him again. +Meanwhile, you go home and sleep soundly. That will do for the +present. You frighten the fish." + +The conversation was ended. The baron returned to the castle, +reassured to some extent by Ganimard's indifference. He examined +the bolts, watched the servants, and, during the next forty-eight +hours, he became almost persuaded that his fears were groundless. +Certainly, as Ganimard had said, thieves do not warn people they +are about to rob. + +The fateful day was close at hand. It was now the twenty-sixth of +September and nothing had happened. But at three o'clock the bell +rang. A boy brought this telegram: + +"No goods at Batignolles station. Prepare everything for tomorrow +night. Arsene." + +This telegram threw the baron into such a state of excitement that +he even considered the advisability of yielding to Lupin's +demands. + +However, he hastened to Caudebec. Ganimard was fishing at the +same place, seated on a campstool. Without a word, he handed him +the telegram. + +"Well, what of it?" said the detective. + +"What of it? But it is tomorrow." + +"What is tomorrow?" + +"The robbery! The pillage of my collections!" + +Ganimard laid down his fishing-rod, turned to the baron, and +exclaimed, in a tone of impatience: + +"Ah! Do you think I am going to bother myself about such a silly +story as that!" + +"How much do you ask to pass tomorrow night in the castle?" + +"Not a sou. Now, leave me alone." + +"Name your own price. I am rich and can pay it." + +This offer disconcerted Ganimard, who replied, calmly: + +"I am here on a vacation. I have no right to undertake such +work." + +"No one will know. I promise to keep it secret." + +"Oh! nothing will happen." + +"Come! three thousand francs. Will that be enough?" + +The detective, after a moment's reflection, said: + +"Very well. But I must warn you that you are throwing your money +out of the window." + +"I do not care." + +"In that case...but, after all, what do we know about this devil +Lupin! He may have quite a numerous band of robbers with him. +Are you sure of your servants?" + +"My faith---" + +"Better not count on them. I will telegraph for two of my men to +help me. And now, go! It is better for us not to be seen +together. Tomorrow evening about nine o'clock." + +* * * * * + +The following day--the date fixed by Arsene Lupin--Baron Cahorn +arranged all his panoply of war, furbished his weapons, and, like +a sentinel, paced to and fro in front of the castle. He saw +nothing, heard nothing. At half-past eight o'clock in the +evening, he dismissed his servants. They occupied rooms in a wing +of the building, in a retired spot, well removed from the main +portion of the castle. Shortly thereafter, the baron heard the +sound of approaching footsteps. It was Ganimard and his two +assistants--great, powerful fellows with immense hands, and necks +like bulls. After asking a few questions relating to the location +of the various entrances and rooms, Ganimard carefully closed and +barricaded all the doors and windows through which one could gain +access to the threatened rooms. He inspected the walls, raised +the tapestries, and finally installed his assistants in the +central gallery which was located between the two salons. + +"No nonsense! We are not here to sleep. At the slightest sound, +open the windows of the court and call me. Pay attention also to +the water-side. Ten metres of perpendicular rock is no obstacle +to those devils." + +Ganimard locked his assistants in the gallery, carried away the +keys, and said to the baron: + +"And now, to our post." + +He had chosen for himself a small room located in the thick outer +wall, between the two principal doors, and which, in former years, +had been the watchman's quarters. A peep-hole opened upon the +bridge; another on the court. In one corner, there was an opening +to a tunnel. + +"I believe you told me, Monsieur le Baron, that this tunnel is the +only subterranean entrance to the castle and that it has been +closed up for time immemorial?" + +"Yes." + +"Then, unless there is some other entrance, known only to Arsene +Lupin, we are quite safe." + +He placed three chairs together, stretched himself upon them, +lighted his pipe and sighed: + +"Really, Monsieur le Baron, I feel ashamed to accept your money +for such a sinecure as this. I will tell the story to my friend +Lupin. He will enjoy it immensely." + +The baron did not laugh. He was anxiously listening, but heard +nothing save the beating of his own heart. From time to time, he +leaned over the tunnel and cast a fearful eye into its depths. He +heard the clock strike eleven, twelve, one. + +Suddenly, he seized Ganimard's arm. The latter leaped up, +awakened from his sleep. + +"Do you hear?" asked the baron, in a whisper. + +"Yes." + +"What is it?" + +"I was snoring, I suppose." + +"No, no, listen." + +"Ah! yes, it is the horn of an automobile." + +"Well?" + +"Well! it is very improbable that Lupin would use an automobile +like a battering-ram to demolish your castle. Come, Monsieur le +Baron, return to your post. I am going to sleep. Good-night." + +That was the only alarm. Ganimard resumed his interrupted +slumbers, and the baron heard nothing except the regular snoring +of his companion. At break of day, they left the room. The +castle was enveloped in a profound calm; it was a peaceful dawn on +the bosom of a tranquil river. They mounted the stairs, Cahorn +radiant with joy, Ganimard calm as usual. They heard no sound; +they saw nothing to arouse suspicion. + +"What did I tell you, Monsieur le Baron? Really, I should not +have accepted your offer. I am ashamed." + +He unlocked the door and entered the gallery. Upon two chairs, +with drooping heads and pendent arms, the detective's two +assistants were asleep. + +"Tonnerre de nom d'un chien!" exclaimed Ganimard. At the same +moment, the baron cried out: + +"The pictures! The credence!" + +He stammered, choked, with arms outstretched toward the empty +places, toward the denuded walls where naught remained but the +useless nails and cords. The Watteau, disappeared! The Rubens, +carried away! The tapestries taken down! The cabinets, despoiled +of their jewels! + +"And my Louis XVI candelabra! And the Regent chandelier!...And +my twelfth-century Virgin!" + +He ran from one spot to another in wildest despair. He recalled +the purchase price of each article, added up the figures, counted +his losses, pell-mell, in confused words and unfinished phrases. +He stamped with rage; he groaned with grief. He acted like a +ruined man whose only hope is suicide. + +If anything could have consoled him, it would have been the +stupefaction displayed by Ganimard. The famous detective did not +move. He appeared to be petrified; he examined the room in a +listless manner. The windows?....closed. The locks on the +doors?....intact. Not a break in the ceiling; not a hole in the +floor. Everything was in perfect order. The theft had been +carried out methodically, according to a logical and inexorable +plan. + +"Arsene Lupin....Arsene Lupin," he muttered. + +Suddenly, as if moved by anger, he rushed upon his two assistants +and shook them violently. They did not awaken. + +"The devil!" he cried. "Can it be possible?" + +He leaned over them and, in turn, examined them closely. They +were asleep; but their response was unnatural. + +"They have been drugged," he said to the baron. + +"By whom?" + +"By him, of course, or his men under his discretion. That work +bears his stamp." + +"In that case, I am lost--nothing can be done." + +"Nothing," assented Ganimard. + +"It is dreadful; it is monstrous." + +"Lodge a complaint." + +"What good will that do?" + +"Oh; it is well to try it. The law has some resources." + +"The law! Bah! it is useless. You represent the law, and, at +this moment, when you should be looking for a clue and trying to +discover something, you do not even stir." + +"Discover something with Arsene Lupin! Why, my dear monsieur, +Arsene Lupin never leaves any clue behind him. He leaves nothing +to chance. Sometimes I think he put himself in my way and simply +allowed me to arrest him in America." + +"Then, I must renounce my pictures! He has taken the gems of my +collection. I would give a fortune to recover them. If there is +no other way, let him name his own price." + +Ganimard regarded the baron attentively, as he said: + +"Now, that is sensible. Will you stick to it?" + +"Yes, yes. But why?" + +"An idea that I have." + +"What is it?" + +"We will discuss it later--if the official examination does not +succeed. But, not one word about me, if you wish my assistance." + +He added, between his teeth: + +"It is true I have nothing to boast of in this affair." + +The assistants were gradually regaining consciousness with the +bewildered air of people who come out of an hypnotic sleep. They +opened their eyes and looked about them in astonishment. Ganimard +questioned them; they remembered nothing. + +"But you must have seen some one?" + +"No." + +"Can't you remember?" + +"No, no." + +"Did you drink anything?" + +They considered a moment, and then one of them replied: + +"Yes, I drank a little water." + +"Out of that carafe?" + +"Yes." + +"So did I," declared the other. + +Ganimard smelled and tasted it. It had no particular taste and no +odor. + +"Come," he said, "we are wasting our time here. One can't decide +an Arsene Lupin problem in five minutes. But, morbleau! I swear +I will catch him again." + +The same day, a charge of burglary was duly performed by Baron +Cahorn against Arsene Lupin, a prisoner in the Prison de la Sante. + +* * * * * + +The baron afterwards regretted making the charge against Lupin +when he saw his castle delivered over to the gendarmes, the +procureur, the judge d'instruction, the newspaper reporters and +photographers, and a throng of idle curiosity-seekers. + +The affair soon became a topic of general discussion, and the name +of Arsene Lupin excited the public imagination to such an extent +that the newspapers filled their columns with the most fantastic +stories of his exploits which found ready credence amongst their +readers. + +But the letter of Arsene Lupin that was published in the `Echo de +France' (no once ever knew how the newspaper obtained it), that +letter in which Baron Cahorn was impudently warned of the coming +theft, caused considerable excitement. The most fabulous theories +were advanced. Some recalled the existence of the famous +subterranean tunnels, and that was the line of research pursued by +the officers of the law, who searched the house from top to +bottom, questioned every stone, studied the wainscoting and the +chimneys, the window-frames and the girders in the ceilings. By +the light of torches, they examined the immense cellars where the +lords of Malaquis were wont to store their munitions and +provisions. They sounded the rocky foundation to its very centre. +But it was all in vain. They discovered no trace of a subterranean +tunnel. No secret passage existed. + +But the eager public declared that the pictures and furniture +could not vanish like so many ghosts. They are substantial, +material things and require doors and windows for their exits and +their entrances, and so do the people that remove them. Who were +those people? How did they gain access to the castle? And how +did they leave it? + +The police officers of Rouen, convinced of their own impotence, +solicited the assistance of the Parisian detective force. Mon. +Dudouis, chief of the Surete, sent the best sleuths of the iron +brigade. He himself spent forty-eight hours at the castle, but +met with no success. Then he sent for Ganimard, whose past +services had proved so useful when all else failed. + +Ganimard listened, in silence, to the instructions of his +superior; then, shaking his head, he said: + +"In my opinion, it is useless to ransack the castle. The solution +of the problem lies elsewhere." + +"Where, then?" + +"With Arsene Lupin." + +"With Arsene Lupin! To support that theory, we must admit his +intervention." + +"I do admit it. In fact, I consider it quite certain." + +"Come, Ganimard, that is absurd. Arsene Lupin is in prison." + +"I grant you that Arsene Lupin is in prison, closely guarded; but +he must have fetters on his feet, manacles on his wrists, and gag +in his mouth before I change my opinion." + +"Why so obstinate, Ganimard?" + +"Because Arsene Lupin is the only man in France of sufficient +calibre to invent and carry out a scheme of that magnitude." + +"Mere words, Ganimard." + +"But true ones. Look! What are they doing? Searching for +subterranean passages, stones swinging on pivots, and other nonsense +of that kind. But Lupin doesn't employ such old-fashioned methods. +He is a modern cracksman, right up to date." + +"And how would you proceed?" + +"I should ask your permission to spend an hour with him." + +"In his cell?" + +"Yes. During the return trip from America we became very +friendly, and I venture to say that if he can give me any +information without compromising himself he will not hesitate to +save me from incurring useless trouble." + +It was shortly after noon when Ganimard entered the cell of Arsene +Lupin. The latter, who was lying on his bed, raised his head and +uttered a cry of apparent joy. + +"Ah! This is a real surprise. My dear Ganimard, here!" + +"Ganimard himself." + +"In my chosen retreat, I have felt a desire for many things, but +my fondest wish was to receive you here." + +"Very kind of you, I am sure." + +"Not at all. You know I hold you in the highest regard." + +"I am proud of it." + +"I have always said: Ganimard is our best detective. He is +almost,--you see how candid I am!--he is almost as clever as +Sherlock Holmes. But I am sorry that I cannot offer you anything +better than this hard stool. And no refreshments! Not even a +glass of beer! Of course, you will excuse me, as I am here only +temporarily." + +Ganimard smiled, and accepted the proffered seat. Then the +prisoner continued: + +"Mon Dieu, how pleased I am to see the face of an honest man. I +am so tired of those devils of spies who come here ten times a day +to ransack my pockets and my cell to satisfy themselves that I am +not preparing to escape. The government is very solicitous on my +account." + +"It is quite right." + +"Why so? I should be quite contented if they would allow me to +live in my own quiet way." + +"On other people's money." + +"Quite so. That would be so simple. But here, I am joking, and +you are, no doubt, in a hurry. So let us come to business, +Ganimard. To what do I owe the honor of this visit? + +"The Cahorn affair," declared Ganimard, frankly. + +"Ah! Wait, one moment. You see I have had so many affairs! +First, let me fix in my mind the circumstances of this particular +case....Ah! yes, now I have it. The Cahorn affair, Malaquis +castle, Seine-Inferieure....Two Rubens, a Watteau, and a few +trifling articles." + +"Trifling!" + +"Oh! ma foi, all that is of slight importance. But it suffices to +know that the affair interests you. How can I serve you, +Ganimard?" + +"Must I explain to you what steps the authorities have taken in +the matter?" + +"Not at all. I have read the newspapers and I will frankly state +that you have made very little progress." + +"And that is the reason I have come to see you." + +"I am entirely at your service." + +"In the first place, the Cahorn affair was managed by you?" + +"From A to Z." + +"The letter of warning? the telegram?" + +"All mine. I ought to have the receipts somewhere." + +Arsene opened the drawer of a small table of plain white wood +which, with the bed and stool, constituted all the furniture in +his cell, and took therefrom two scraps of paper which he handed +to Ganimard. + +"Ah!" exclaimed the detective, in surprise, "I though you were +closely guarded and searched, and I find that you read the +newspapers and collect postal receipts." + +"Bah! these people are so stupid! They open the lining of my +vest, they examine the soles of my shoes, they sound the walls of +my cell, but they never imagine that Arsene Lupin would be foolish +enough to choose such a simple hiding place." + +Ganimard laughed, as he said: + +"What a droll fellow you are! Really, you bewilder me. But, come +now, tell me about the Cahorn affair." + +"Oh! oh! not quite so fast! You would rob me of all my secrets; +expose all my little tricks. That is a very serious matter." + +"Was I wrong to count on your complaisance?" + +"No, Ganimard, and since you insist---" + +Arsene Lupin paced his cell two or three times, then, stopping +before Ganimard, he asked: + +"What do you think of my letter to the baron?" + +"I think you were amusing yourself by playing to the gallery." + +"Ah! playing to the gallery! Come, Ganimard, I thought you knew +me better. Do I, Arsene Lupin, ever waste my time on such +puerilities? Would I have written that letter if I could have +robbed the baron without writing to him? I want you to understand +that the letter was indispensable; it was the motor that set the +whole machine in motion. Now, let us discuss together a scheme +for the robbery of the Malaquis castle. Are you willing?" + +"Yes, proceed." + +"Well, let us suppose a castle carefully closed and barricaded +like that of the Baron Cahorn. Am I to abandon my scheme and +renounce the treasures that I covet, upon the pretext that the +castle which holds them is inaccessible?" + +"Evidently not." + +"Should I make an assault upon the castle at the head of a band of +adventurers as they did in ancient times?" + +"That would be foolish." + +"Can I gain admittance by stealth or cunning?" + +"Impossible." + +"Then there is only one way open to me. I must have the owner of +the castle invite me to it." + +"That is surely an original method." + +"And how easy! Let us suppose that one day the owner receives a +letter warning him that a notorious burglar known as Arsene Lupin +is plotting to rob him. What will he do?" + +"Send a letter to the Procureur." + +"Who will laugh at him, *because the said Arsene Lupin is actually +in prison.* Then, in his anxiety and fear, the simple man will +ask the assistance of the first-comer, will he not?" + +"Very likely." + +"And if he happens to read in a country newspaper that a +celebrated detective is spending his vacation in a neighboring +town---" + +"He will seek that detective." + +"Of course. But, on the other hand, let us presume that, having +foreseen that state of affairs, the said Arsene Lupin has +requested one of his friends to visit Caudebec, make the +acquaintance of the editor of the `Reveil,' a newspaper to which +the baron is a subscriber, and let said editor understand that +such person is the celebrated detective--then, what will happen?" + +"The editor will announce in the `Reveil' the presence in Caudebec +of said detective." + +"Exactly; and one of two things will happen: either the fish--I +mean Cahorn--will not bite, and nothing will happen; or, what is +more likely, he will run and greedily swallow the bait. Thus, +behold my Baron Cahorn imploring the assistance of one of my +friends against me." + +"Original, indeed!" + +"Of course, the pseudo-detective at first refuses to give any +assistance. On top of that comes the telegram from Arsene Lupin. +The frightened baron rushes once more to my friend and offers him +a definite sum of money for his services. My friend accepts and +summons two members of our band, who, during the night, whilst +Cahorn is under the watchful eye of his protector, removes certain +articles by way of the window and lowers them with ropes into a +nice little launch chartered for the occasion. Simple, isn't it?" + +"Marvelous! Marvelous!" exclaimed Ganimard. "The boldness of the +scheme and the ingenuity of all its details are beyond criticism. +But who is the detective whose name and fame served as a magnet to +attract the baron and draw him into your net?" + +"There is only one name could do it--only one." + +"And that is?" + +"Arsene Lupin's personal enemy--the most illustrious Ganimard." + +"I?" + +"Yourself, Ganimard. And, really, it is very funny. If you go +there, and the baron decides to talk, you will find that it will +be your duty to arrest yourself, just as you arrested me in +America. Hein! the revenge is really amusing: I cause Ganimard to +arrest Ganimard." + +Arsene Lupin laughed heartily. The detective, greatly vexed, bit +his lips; to him the joke was quite devoid of humor. The arrival +of a prison guard gave Ganimard an opportunity to recover himself. +The man brought Arsene Lupin's luncheon, furnished by a +neighboring restaurant. After depositing the tray upon the table, +the guard retired. Lupin broke his bread, ate a few morsels, and +continued: + +"But, rest easy, my dear Ganimard, you will not go to Malaquis. I +can tell you something that will astonish you: the Cahorn affair +is on the point of being settled." + +"Excuse me; I have just seen the Chief of the Surete." + +"What of that? Does Mon. Dudouis know my business better than I +do myself? You will learn that Ganimard--excuse me--that the +pseudo-Ganimard still remains on very good terms with the baron. +The latter has authorized him to negotiate a very delicate +transaction with me, and, at the present moment, in consideration +of a certain sum, it is probable that the baron has recovered +possession of his pictures and other treasures. And on their +return, he will withdraw his complaint. Thus, there is no longer +any theft, and the law must abandon the case." + +Ganimard regarded the prisoner with a bewildered air. + +"And how do you know all that?" + +"I have just received the telegram I was expecting." + +"You have just received a telegram?" + +"This very moment, my dear friend. Out of politeness, I did not +wish to read it in your presence. But if you will permit me---" + +"You are joking, Lupin." + +"My dear friend, if you will be so kind as to break that egg, you +will learn for yourself that I am not joking." + +Mechanically, Ganimard obeyed, and cracked the egg-shell with the +blade of a knife. He uttered a cry of surprise. The shell +contained nothing but a small piece of blue paper. At the request +of Arsene he unfolded it. It was a telegram, or rather a portion +of a telegram from which the post-marks had been removed. It read +as follows: + +"Contract closed. Hundred thousand balls delivered. All well." + +"One hundred thousand balls?" said Ganimard. + +"Yes, one hundred thousand francs. Very little, but then, you +know, these are hard times....And I have some heavy bills to meet. +If you only knew my budget....living in the city comes very high." + +Ganimard arose. His ill humor had disappeared. He reflected for +a moment, glancing over the whole affair in an effort to discover +a weak point; then, in a tone and manner that betrayed his +admiration of the prisoner, he said: + +"Fortunately, we do not have a dozen such as you to deal with; if +we did, we would have to close up shop." + +Arsene Lupin assumed a modest air, as he replied: + +"Bah! a person must have some diversion to occupy his leisure +hours, especially when he is in prison." + +"What!" exclaimed Ganimard, "your trial, your defense, the +examination--isn't that sufficient to occupy your mind?" + +"No, because I have decided not to be present at my trial." + +"Oh! oh!" + +Arsene Lupin repeated, positively: + +"I shall not be present at my trial." + +"Really!" + +"Ah! my dear monsieur, do you suppose I am going to rot upon the +wet straw? You insult me. Arsene Lupin remains in prison just as +long as it pleases him, and not one minute more." + +"Perhaps it would have been more prudent if you had avoided +getting there," said the detective, ironically. + +"Ah! monsieur jests? Monsieur must remember that he had the honor +to effect my arrest. Know then, my worthy friend, that no one, +not even you, could have placed a hand upon me if a much more +important event had not occupied my attention at that critical +moment." + +"You astonish me." + +"A woman was looking at me, Ganimard, and I loved her. Do you +fully understand what that means: to be under the eyes of a woman +that one loves? I cared for nothing in the world but that. And +that is why I am here." + +"Permit me to say: you have been here a long time." + +"In the first place, I wished to forget. Do not laugh; it was a +delightful adventure and it is still a tender memory. Besides, I +have been suffering from neurasthenia. Life is so feverish these +days that it is necessary to take the `rest cure' occasionally, +and I find this spot a sovereign remedy for my tired nerves." + +"Arsene Lupin, you are not a bad fellow, after all." + +"Thank you," said Lupin. "Ganimard, this is Friday. On Wednesday +next, at four o'clock in the afternoon, I will smoke my cigar at +your house in the rue Pergolese." + +"Arsene Lupin, I will expect you." + +They shook hands like two old friends who valued each other at +their true worth; then the detective stepped to the door. + +"Ganimard!" + +"What is it?" asked Ganimard, as he turned back. + +"You have forgotten your watch." + +"My watch?" + +"Yes, it strayed into my pocket." + +He returned the watch, excusing himself. + +"Pardon me....a bad habit. Because they have taken mine is no +reason why I should take yours. Besides, I have a chronometer +here that satisfies me fairly well." + +He took from the drawer a large gold watch and heavy chain. + +"From whose pocket did that come?" asked Ganimard. + +Arsene Lupin gave a hasty glance at the initials engraved on the +watch. + +"J.B.....Who the devil can that be?....Ah! yes, I remember. Jules +Bouvier, the judge who conducted my examination. A charming +fellow!...." + + + +III. The Escape of Arsene Lupin + + +Arsene Lupin had just finished his repast and taken from his +pocket an excellent cigar, with a gold band, which he was +examining with unusual care, when the door of his cell was opened. +He had barely time to throw the cigar into the drawer and move +away from the table. The guard entered. It was the hour for +exercise. + +"I was waiting for you, my dear boy," exclaimed Lupin, in his +accustomed good humor. + +They went out together. As soon as they had disappeared at a turn +in the corridor, two men entered the cell and commenced a minute +examination of it. One was Inspector Dieuzy; the other was +Inspector Folenfant. They wished to verify their suspicion that +Arsene Lupin was in communication with his accomplices outside of +the prison. On the preceding evening, the `Grand Journal' had +published these lines addressed to its court reporter: + +"Monsieur: +"In a recent article you referred to me in most unjustifiable +terms. Some days before the opening of my trial I will call you +to account. Arsene Lupin." + +The handwriting was certainly that of Arsene Lupin. Consequently, +he sent letters; and, no doubt, received letters. It was certain +that he was preparing for that escape thus arrogantly announced by +him. + +The situation had become intolerable. Acting in conjunction with +the examining judge, the chief of the Surete, Mon. Dudouis, had +visited the prison and instructed the gaoler in regard to the +precautions necessary to insure Lupin's safety. At the same time, +he sent the two men to examine the prisoner's cell. They raised +every stone, ransacked the bed, did everything customary in such a +case, but they discovered nothing, and were about to abandon their +investigation when the guard entered hastily and said: + +"The drawer....look in the table-drawer. When I entered just now +he was closing it." + +They opened the drawer, and Dieuzy exclaimed: + +"Ah! we have him this time." + +Folenfant stopped him. + +"Wait a moment. The chief will want to make an inventory." + +"This is a very choice cigar." + +"Leave it there, and notify the chief." + +Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of the +drawer. First he discovered a bundle of newspaper clippings +relating to Arsene Lupin taken from the `Argus de la Presse,' then +a tobacco-box, a pipe, some paper called "onion-peel," and two +books. He read the titles of the books. One was an English +edition of Carlyle's "Hero-worship"; the other was a charming +elzevir, in modern binding, the "Manual of Epictetus," a German +translation published at Leyden in 1634. On examining the books, +he found that all the pages were underlined and annotated. Were +they prepared as a code for correspondence, or did they simply +express the studious character of the reader? Then he examined +the tobacco-box and the pipe. Finally, he took up the famous +cigar with its gold band. + +"Fichtre!" he exclaimed. "Our friend smokes a good cigar. It's a +Henry Clay." + +With the mechanical action of an habitual smoker, he placed the +cigar close to his ear and squeezed it to make it crack. +Immediately he uttered a cry of surprise. The cigar had yielded +under the pressure of his fingers. He examined it more closely, +and quickly discovered something white between the leaves of +tobacco. Delicately, with the aid of a pin, he withdrew a roll of +very thin paper, scarcely larger than a toothpick. It was a +letter. He unrolled it, and found these words, written in a +feminine handwriting: + +"The basket has taken the place of the others. Eight out of ten +are ready. On pressing the outer foot the plate goes downward. +From twelve to sixteen every day, H-P will wait. But where? +Reply at once. Rest easy; your friend is watching over you." + +Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said: + +"It is quite clear....the basket....the eight compartments.... +From twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o'clock." + +"But this H-P, that will wait?" + +"H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way they +indicate strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is an +automobile of twenty-four horsepower." + +Then he rose, and asked: + +"Had the prisoner finished his breakfast?" + +"Yes." + +"And as he has not yet read the message, which is proved by the +condition of the cigar, it is probable that he had just received +it." + +"How?" + +"In his food. Concealed in his bread or in a potato, perhaps." + +"Impossible. His food was allowed to be brought in simply to trap +him, but we have never found anything in it." + +"We will look for Lupin's reply this evening. Detain him outside +for a few minutes. I shall take this to the examining judge, and, +if he agrees with me, we will have the letter photographed at +once, and in an hour you can replace the letter in the drawer in a +cigar similar to this. The prisoner must have no cause for +suspicion." + +It was not without a certain curiosity that Mon. Dudouis returned +to the prison in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy. +Three empty plates were sitting on the stove in the corner. + +"He has eaten?" + +"Yes," replied the guard. + +"Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and open +that bread-roll....Nothing?" + +"No, chief." + +Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the +knife--an ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned the +handle to the left; then to the right. It yielded and unscrewed. +The knife was hollow, and served as a hiding-place for a sheet of +paper. + +"Peuh!" he said, "that is not very clever for a man like Arsene. +But we mustn't lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search the +restaurant." + +Then he read the note: + +"I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I will +go ahead. Au revoir, dear friend." + +"At last," cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, "I +think we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on +our part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrest +of his confederates are concerned." + +"But if Arsene Lupin slips through your fingers?" suggested the +guard. + +"We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If, +however, he displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much the +worse for him! As to his band of robbers, since the chief refuses +to speak, the others must." + +* * * * * + +And, as a matter of fact, Arsene Lupin had very little to say. +For several months, Mon. Jules Bouvier, the examining judge, had +exerted himself in vain. The investigation had been reduced to a +few uninteresting arguments between the judge and the advocate, +Maitre Danval, one of the leaders of the bar. From time to time, +through courtesy, Arsene Lupin would speak. One day he said: + +"Yes, monsieur, le judge, I quite agree with you: the robbery of +the Credit Lyonnais, the theft in the rue de Babylone, the issue +of the counterfeit bank-notes, the burglaries at the various +chateaux, Armesnil, Gouret, Imblevain, Groseillers, Malaquis, all +my work, monsieur, I did it all." + +"Then will you explain to me---" + +"It is useless. I confess everything in a lump, everything and +even ten times more than you know nothing about." + +Wearied by his fruitless task, the judge had suspended his +examinations, but he resumed them after the two intercepted +messages were brought to his attention; and regularly, at mid-day, +Arsene Lupin was taken from the prison to the Depot in the +prison-van with a certain number of other prisoners. They +returned about three or four o'clock. + +Now, one afternoon, this return trip was made under unusual +conditions. The other prisoners not having been examined, it was +decided to take back Arsene Lupin first, thus he found himself +alone in the vehicle. + +These prison-vans, vulgarly called "panniers a salade"--or salad- +baskets--are divided lengthwise by a central corridor from which +open ten compartments, five on either side. Each compartment is +so arranged that the occupant must assume and retain a sitting +posture, and, consequently, the five prisoners are seated one upon +the other, and yet separated one from the other by partitions. A +municipal guard, standing at one end, watches over the corridor. + +Arsene was placed in the third cell on the right, and the heavy +vehicle started. He carefully calculated when they left the quai +de l'Horloge, and when they passed the Palais de Justice. Then, +about the centre of the bridge Saint Michel, with his outer foot, +that is to say, his right foot, he pressed upon the metal plate +that closed his cell. Immediately something clicked, and the +metal plate moved. He was able to ascertain that he was located +between the two wheels. + +He waited, keeping a sharp look-out. The vehicle was proceeding +slowly along the boulevard Saint Michel. At the corner of Saint +Germain it stopped. A truck horse had fallen. The traffic having +been interrupted, a vast throng of fiacres and omnibuses had +gathered there. Arsene Lupin looked out. Another prison-van had +stopped close to the one he occupied. He moved the plate still +farther, put his foot on one of the spokes of the wheel and leaped +to the ground. A coachman saw him, roared with laughter, then +tried to raise an outcry, but his voice was lost in the noise of +the traffic that had commenced to move again. Moreover, Arsene +Lupin was already far away. + +He had run for a few steps; but, once upon the sidewalk, he turned +and looked around; he seemed to scent the wind like a person who +is uncertain which direction to take. Then, having decided, he +put his hands in his pockets, and, with the careless air of an +idle stroller, he proceeded up the boulevard. It was a warm, +bright autumn day, and the cafes were full. He took a seat on the +terrace of one of them. He ordered a bock and a package of +cigarettes. He emptied his glass slowly, smoked one cigarette and +lighted a second. Then he asked the waiter to send the proprietor +to him. When the proprietor came, Arsene spoke to him in a voice +loud enough to be heard by everyone: + +"I regret to say, monsieur, I have forgotten my pocketbook. +Perhaps, on the strength of my name, you will be pleased to give +me credit for a few days. I am Arsene Lupin." + +The proprietor looked at him, thinking he was joking. But Arsene +repeated: + +"Lupin, prisoner at the Sante, but now a fugitive. I venture to +assume that the name inspires you with perfect confidence in me." + +And he walked away, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst the +proprietor stood amazed. + +Lupin strolled along the rue Soufflot, and turned into the rue +Saint Jacques. He pursued his way slowly, smoking his cigarettes +and looking into the shop-windows. At the Boulevard de Port Royal +he took his bearings, discovered where he was, and then walked in +the direction of the rue de la Sante. The high forbidding walls +of the prison were now before him. He pulled his hat forward to +shade his face; then, approaching the sentinel, he asked: + +"It this the prison de la Sante?" + +"Yes." + +"I wish to regain my cell. The van left me on the way, and I +would not abuse--" + +"Now, young man, move along--quick!" growled the sentinel. + +"Pardon me, but I must pass through that gate. And if you prevent +Arsene Lupin from entering the prison it will cost you dear, my +friend." + +"Arsene Lupin! What are you talking about!" + +"I am sorry I haven't a card with me," said Arsene, fumbling in +his pockets. + +The sentinel eyed him from head to foot, in astonishment. Then, +without a word, he rang a bell. The iron gate was partly opened, +and Arsene stepped inside. Almost immediately he encountered the +keeper of the prison, gesticulating and feigning a violent anger. +Arsene smiled and said: + +"Come, monsieur, don't play that game with me. What! they take +the precaution to carry me alone in the van, prepare a nice little +obstruction, and imagine I am going to take to my heels and rejoin +my friends. Well, and what about the twenty agents of the Surete +who accompanied us on foot, in fiacres and on bicycles? No, the +arrangement did not please me. I should not have got away alive. +Tell me, monsieur, did they count on that?" + +He shrugged his shoulders, and added: + +"I beg of you, monsieur, not to worry about me. When I wish to +escape I shall not require any assistance." + +On the second day thereafter, the `Echo de France,' which had +apparently become the official reporter of the exploits of Arsene +Lupin,--it was said that he was one of its principal shareholders-- +published a most complete account of this attempted escape. The +exact wording of the messages exchanged between the prisoner and +his mysterious friend, the means by which correspondence was +constructed, the complicity of the police, the promenade on the +Boulevard Saint Michel, the incident at the cafe Soufflot, +everything was disclosed. It was known that the search of the +restaurant and its waiters by Inspector Dieuzy had been fruitless. +And the public also learned an extraordinary thing which +demonstrated the infinite variety of resources that Lupin +possessed: the prison-van, in which he was being carried, was +prepared for the occasion and substituted by his accomplices for +one of the six vans which did service at the prison. + +The next escape of Arsene Lupin was not doubted by anyone. He +announced it himself, in categorical terms, in a reply to Mon. +Bouvier on the day following his attempted escape. The judge +having made a jest about the affair, Arsene was annoyed, and, +firmly eyeing the judge, he said, emphatically: + +"Listen to me, monsieur! I give you my word of honor that this +attempted flight was simply preliminary to my general plan of +escape." + +"I do not understand," said the judge. + +"It is not necessary that you should understand." + +And when the judge, in the course of that examination which was +reported at length in the columns of the `Echo de France,' when +the judge sought to resume his investigation, Arsene Lupin +exclaimed, with an assumed air of lassitude: + +"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, what's the use! All these questions are of +no importance!" + +"What! No importance?" cried the judge. + +"No; because I shall not be present at the trial." + +"You will not be present?" + +"No; I have fully decided on that, and nothing will change my +mind." + +Such assurance combined with the inexplicable indiscretions that +Arsene committed every day served to annoy and mystify the +officers of the law. There were secrets known only to Arsene +Lupin; secrets that he alone could divulge. But for what purpose +did he reveal them? And how? + +Arsene Lupin was changed to another cell. The judge closed his +preliminary investigation. No further proceedings were taken in +his case for a period of two months, during which time Arsene was +seen almost constantly lying on his bed with his face turned +toward the wall. The changing of his cell seemed to discourage +him. He refused to see his advocate. He exchanged only a few +necessary words with his keepers. + +During the fortnight preceding his trial, he resumed his vigorous +life. He complained of want of air. Consequently, early every +morning he was allowed to exercise in the courtyard, guarded by +two men. + +Public curiosity had not died out; every day it expected to be +regaled with news of his escape; and, it is true, he had gained a +considerable amount of public sympathy by reason of his verve, his +gayety, his diversity, his inventive genius and the mystery of his +life. Arsene Lupin must escape. It was his inevitable fate. The +public expected it, and was surprised that the event had been +delayed so long. Every morning the Prefect of Police asked his +secretary: + +"Well, has he escaped yet?" + +"No, Monsieur le Prefect." + +"To-morrow, probably." + +And, on the day before the trial, a gentleman called at the office +of the `Grand Journal,' asked to see the court reporter, threw his +card in the reporter's face, and walked rapidly away. These words +were written on the card: "Arsene Lupin always keeps his +promises." + +* * * * * + +It was under these conditions that the trial commenced. An +enormous crowd gathered at the court. Everybody wished to see the +famous Arsene Lupin. They had a gleeful anticipation that the +prisoner would play some audacious pranks upon the judge. +Advocates and magistrates, reporters and men of the world, +actresses and society women were crowded together on the benches +provided for the public. + +It was a dark, sombre day, with a steady downpour of rain. Only a +dim light pervaded the courtroom, and the spectators caught a very +indistinct view of the prisoner when the guards brought him in. +But his heavy, shambling walk, the manner in which he dropped into +his seat, and his passive, stupid appearance were not at all +prepossessing. Several times his advocate--one of Mon. Danval's +assistants--spoke to him, but he simply shook his head and said +nothing. + +The clerk read the indictment, then the judge spoke: + +"Prisoner at the bar, stand up. Your name, age, and occupation?" + +Not receiving any reply, the judge repeated: + +"Your name? I ask you your name?" + +A thick, slow voice muttered: + +"Baudru, Desire." + +A murmur of surprise pervaded the courtroom. But the judge +proceeded: + +"Baudru, Desire? Ah! a new alias! Well, as you have already +assumed a dozen different names and this one is, no doubt, as +imaginary as the others, we will adhere to the name of Arsene +Lupin, by which you are more generally known." + +The judge referred to his notes, and continued: + +"For, despite the most diligent search, your past history remains +unknown. Your case is unique in the annals of crime. We know not +whom you are, whence you came, your birth and breeding--all is a +mystery to us. Three years ago you appeared in our midst as +Arsene Lupin, presenting to us a strange combination of +intelligence and perversion, immorality and generosity. +Our knowledge of your life prior to that date is vague and +problematical. It may be that the man called Rostat who, eight +years ago, worked with Dickson, the prestidigitator, was none +other than Arsene Lupin. It is probable that the Russian student +who, six years ago, attended the laboratory of Doctor Altier at +the Saint Louis Hospital, and who often astonished the doctor by +the ingenuity of his hypotheses on subjects of bacteriology and +the boldness of his experiments in diseases of the skin, was none +other than Arsene Lupin. It is probable, also, that Arsene Lupin +was the professor who introduced the Japanese art of jiu-jitsu to +the Parisian public. We have some reason to believe that Arsene +Lupin was the bicyclist who won the Grand Prix de l'Exposition, +received his ten thousand francs, and was never heard of again. +Arsene Lupin may have been, also, the person who saved so many +lives through the little dormer-window at the Charity Bazaar; +and, at the same time, picked their pockets." + +The judge paused for a moment, then continued: + +"Such is that epoch which seems to have been utilized by you in a +thorough preparation for the warfare you have since waged against +society; a methodical apprenticeship in which you developed your +strength, energy and skill to the highest point possible. Do you +acknowledge the accuracy of these facts?" + +During this discourse the prisoner had stood balancing himself, +first on one foot, then on the other, with shoulders stooped and +arms inert. Under the strongest light one could observe his +extreme thinness, his hollow cheeks, his projecting cheek-bones, +his earthen-colored face dotted with small red spots and framed in +a rough, straggling beard. Prison life had caused him to age and +wither. He had lost the youthful face and elegant figure we had +seen portrayed so often in the newspapers. + +It appeared as if he had not heard the question propounded by the +judge. Twice it was repeated to him. Then he raised his eyes, +seemed to reflect, then, making a desperate effort, he murmured: + +"Baudru, Desire." + +The judge smiled, as he said: + +"I do not understand the theory of your defense, Arsene Lupin. If +you are seeking to avoid responsibility for your crimes on the +ground of imbecility, such a line of defense is open to you. But +I shall proceed with the trial and pay no heed to your vagaries." + +He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles and +forgeries charged against Lupin. Sometimes he questioned the +prisoner, but the latter simply grunted or remained silent. The +examination of witnesses commenced. Some of the evidence given +was immaterial; other portions of it seemed more important, but +through all of it there ran a vein of contradictions and +inconsistencies. A wearisome obscurity enveloped the proceedings, +until Detective Ganimard was called as a witness; then interest +was revived. + +From the beginning the actions of the veteran detective appeared +strange and unaccountable. He was nervous and ill at ease. +Several times he looked at the prisoner, with obvious doubt and +anxiety. Then, with his hands resting on the rail in front of +him, he recounted the events in which he had participated, +including his pursuit of the prisoner across Europe and his +arrival in America. He was listened to with great avidity, as his +capture of Arsene Lupin was well known to everyone through the +medium of the press. Toward the close of his testimony, after +referring to his conversations with Arsene Lupin, he stopped, +twice, embarrassed and undecided. It was apparent that he was +possessed of some thought which he feared to utter. The judge +said to him, sympathetically: + +"If you are ill, you may retire for the present." + +"No, no, but---" + +He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said: + +"I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range. +There is some mystery about him that I must solve." + +He approached the accused man, examined him attentively for +several minutes, then returned to the witness-stand, and, in an +almost solemn voice, he said: + +"I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not Arsene +Lupin." + +A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplused +for a moment, exclaimed: + +"Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!" + +The detective continued: + +"At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if you +carefully consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color of +skin, you will see that it is not Arsene Lupin. And the eyes! +Did he ever have those alcoholic eyes!" + +"Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to say +that we are trying the wrong man?" + +"In my opinion, yes. Arsene Lupin has, in some manner, contrived +to put this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willing +accomplice." + +This dramatic denouement caused much laughter and excitement +amongst the spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sent +for Mon. Bouvier, the gaoler, and guards employed in the prison. + +When the trial was resumed, Mon. Bouvier and the gaoler examined +the accused and declared that there was only a very slight +resemblance between the prisoner and Arsene Lupin. + +"Well, then!" exclaimed the judge, "who is this man? Where does +he come from? What is he in prison for?" + +Two of the prison-guards were called and both of them declared +that the prisoner was Arsene Lupin. The judged breathed once +more. + +But one of the guards then said: + +"Yes, yes, I think it is he." + +"What!" cried the judge, impatiently, "you *think* it is he! What +do you mean by that?" + +"Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in my +charge in the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, but +laid on his bed with his face to the wall." + +"What about the time prior to those two months?" + +"Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. He +was not in cell 24." + +Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said: + +"We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape." + +"But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?" + +"I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly." + +"And this prisoner is not Arsene Lupin?" + +"No." + +"Then who is he?" demanded the judge. + +"I do not know." + +"Then we have before us a man who was substituted for Arsene +Lupin, two months ago. How do you explain that?" + +"I cannot." + +In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressed +him in a conciliatory tone: + +"Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became an +inmate of the Prison de la Sante?" + +The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm the +mistrust and awaken the understanding of the accused man. He +tried to reply. Finally, under clever and gentle questioning, he +succeeded in framing a few phrases from which the following story +was gleaned: Two months ago he had been taken to the Depot, +examined and released. As he was leaving the building, a free +man, he was seized by two guards and placed in the prison-van. +Since then he had occupied cell 24. He was contented there, +plenty to eat, and he slept well--so he did not complain. + +All that seemed probable; and, amidst the mirth and excitement of +the spectators, the judge adjourned the trial until the story +could be investigated and verified. + +* * * * * + +The following facts were at once established by an examination of +the prison records: Eight weeks before a man named Baudru Desire +had slept at the Depot. He was released the next day, and left +the Depot at two o'clock in the afternoon. On the same day at two +o'clock, having been examined for the last time, Arsene Lupin left +the Depot in a prison-van. + +Had the guards made a mistake? Had they been deceived by the +resemblance and carelessly substituted this man for their +prisoner? + +Another question suggested itself: Had the substitution been +arranged in advance? In that event Baudru must have been an +accomplice and must have caused his own arrest for the express +purpose of taking Lupin's place. But then, by what miracle had +such a plan, based on a series of improbable chances, been carried +to success? + +Baudru Desire was turned over to the anthropological service; they +had never seen anything like him. However, they easily traced his +past history. He was known at Courbevois, at Asnieres and at +Levallois. He lived on alms and slept in one of those rag-picker's +huts near the barrier de Ternes. He had disappeared from there a +year ago. + +Had he been enticed away by Arsene Lupin? There was no evidence to +that effect. And even if that was so, it did not explain the +flight of the prisoner. That still remained a mystery. Amongst +twenty theories which sought to explain it, not one was +satisfactory. Of the escape itself, there was no doubt; an escape +that was incomprehensible, sensational, in which the public, as +well as the officers of the law, could detect a carefully prepared +plan, a combination of circumstances marvelously dove-tailed, +whereof the denouement fully justified the confident prediction of +Arsene Lupin: "I shall not be present at my trial." + +After a month of patient investigation, the problem remained +unsolved. The poor devil of a Baudru could not be kept in prison +indefinitely, and to place him on trial would be ridiculous. There +was no charge against him. Consequently, he was released; but the +chief of the Surete resolved to keep him under surveillance. This +idea originated with Ganimard. From his point of view there was +neither complicity nor chance. Baudru was an instrument upon which +Arsene Lupin had played with his extraordinary skill. Baudru, when +set at liberty, would lead them to Arsene Lupin or, at least, to +some of his accomplices. The two inspectors, Folenfant and Dieuzy, +were assigned to assist Ganimard. + +One foggy morning in January the prison gates opened and Baudru +Desire stepped forth--a free man. At first he appeared to be quite +embarrassed, and walked like a person who has no precise idea +whither he is going. He followed the rue de la Sante and the rue +Saint Jacques. He stopped in front of an old-clothes shop, removed +his jacket and his vest, sold his vest on which he realized a few +sous; then, replacing his jacket, he proceeded on his way. He +crossed the Seine. At the Chatelet an omnibus passed him. He +wished to enter it, but there was no place. The controller advised +him to secure a number, so he entered the waiting-room. + +Ganimard called to his two assistants, and, without removing his +eyes from the waiting room, he said to them: + +"Stop a carriage....no, two. That will be better. I will go with +one of you, and we will follow him." + +The men obeyed. Yet Baudru did not appear. Ganimard entered the +waiting-room. It was empty. + +"Idiot that I am!" he muttered, "I forgot there was another exit." + +There was an interior corridor extending from the waiting-room to +the rue Saint Martin. Ganimard rushed through it and arrived just +in time to observe Baudru upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin de +Plates omnibus as it was turning the corner of the rue de Rivoli. +He ran and caught the omnibus. But he had lost his two assistants. +He must continue the pursuit alone. In his anger he was inclined +to seize the man by the collar without ceremony. Was it not with +premeditation and by means of an ingenious ruse that his pretended +imbecile had separated him from his assistants? + +He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his head +rolling from side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredible +expression of stupidity on his blotched face. No, such an +adversary was incapable of deceiving old Ganimard. It was a stroke +of luck--nothing more. + +At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus and +took the La Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann and +the avenue Victor Hugo. Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and, +with a nonchalant air, strolled into the Bois de Boulogne. + +He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retraced +his steps. What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? At +the end of an hour, he appeared to be faint from fatigue, and, +noticing a bench, he sat down. The spot, not far from Auteuil, on +the edge of a pond hidden amongst the trees, was absolutely +deserted. After the lapse of another half-hour, Ganimard became +impatient and resolved to speak to the man. He approached and took +a seat beside Baudru, lighted a cigarette, traced some figures in +the sand with the end of his cane, and said: + +"It's a pleasant day." + +No response. But, suddenly the man burst into laughter, a happy, +mirthful laugh, spontaneous and irresistible. Ganimard felt his +hair stand on end in horror and surprise. It was that laugh, that +infernal laugh he knew so well! + +With a sudden movement, he seized the man by the collar and looked +at him with a keen, penetrating gaze; and found that he no longer +saw the man Baudru. To be sure, he saw Baudru; but, at the same +time, he saw the other, the real man, Lupin. He discovered the +intense life in the eyes, he filled up the shrunken features, he +perceived the real flesh beneath the flabby skin, the real mouth +through the grimaces that deformed it. Those were the eyes and +mouth of the other, and especially his keen, alert, mocking +expression, so clear and youthful! + +"Arsene Lupin, Arsene Lupin," he stammered. + +Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he seized Lupin by the throat and +tried to hold him down. In spite of his fifty years, he still +possessed unusual strength, whilst his adversary was apparently in +a weak condition. But the struggle was a brief one. Arsene Lupin +made only a slight movement, and, as suddenly as he had made the +attack, Ganimard released his hold. His right arm fell inert, +useless. + +"If you had taken lessons in jiu-jitsu at the quai des Orfevres," +said Lupin, "you would know that that blow is called udi-shi-ghi in +Japanese. A second more, and I would have broken your arm and that +would have been just what you deserve. I am surprised that you, an +old friend whom I respect and before whom I voluntarily expose my +incognito, should abuse my confidence in that violent manner. It +is unworthy--Ah! What's the matter?" + +Ganimard did not reply. That escape for which he deemed himself +responsible--was it not he, Ganimard, who, by his sensational +evidence, had led the court into serious error? That escape +appeared to him like a dark cloud on his professional career. A +tear rolled down his cheek to his gray moustache. + +"Oh! mon Dieu, Ganimard, don't take it to heart. If you had not +spoken, I would have arranged for some one else to do it. I +couldn't allow poor Baudru Desire to be convicted." + +"Then," murmured Ganimard, "it was you that was there? And now you +are here?" + +"It is I, always I, only I." + +"Can it be possible?" + +"Oh, it is not the work of a sorcerer. Simply, as the judge +remarked at the trial, the apprenticeship of a dozen years that +equips a man to cope successfully with all the obstacles in life." + +"But your face? Your eyes?" + +"You can understand that if I worked eighteen months with Doctor +Altier at the Saint-Louis hospital, it was not out of love for the +work. I considered that he, who would one day have the honor of +calling himself Arsene Lupin, ought to be exempt from the ordinary +laws governing appearance and identity. Appearance? That can be +modified at will. For instance, a hypodermic injection of +paraffine will puff up the skin at the desired spot. Pyrogallic +acid will change your skin to that of an Indian. The juice of the +greater celandine will adorn you with the most beautiful eruptions +and tumors. Another chemical affects the growth of your beard and +hair; another changes the tone of your voice. Add to that two +months of dieting in cell 24; exercises repeated a thousand times +to enable me to hold my features in a certain grimace, to carry my +head at a certain inclination, and adapt my back and shoulders to a +stooping posture. Then five drops of atropine in the eyes to make +them haggard and wild, and the trick is done." + +"I do not understand how you deceived the guards." + +"The change was progressive. The evolution was so gradual that +they failed to notice it." + +"But Baudru Desire?" +"Baudru exists. He is a poor, harmless fellow whom I met last +year; and, really, he bears a certain resemblance to me. +Considering my arrest as a possible event, I took charge of Baudru +and studied the points wherein we differed in appearance with a +view to correct them in my own person. My friends caused him to +remain at the Depot overnight, and to leave there next day about +the same hour as I did--a coincidence easily arranged. Of course, +it was necessary to have a record of his detention at the Depot in +order to establish the fact that such a person was a reality; +otherwise, the police would have sought elsewhere to find out my +identity. But, in offering to them this excellent Baudru, it was +inevitable, you understand, inevitable that they would seize +upon him, and, despite the insurmountable difficulties of a +substitution, they would prefer to believe in a substitution than +confess their ignorance." + +"Yes, yes, of course," said Ganimard. + +"And then," exclaimed Arsene Lupin, "I held in my hands a trump- +card: an anxious public watching and waiting for my escape. And +that is the fatal error into which you fell, you and the others, in +the course of that fascinating game pending between me and the +officers of the law wherein the stake was my liberty. And you +supposed that I was playing to the gallery; that I was intoxicated +with my success. I, Arsene Lupin, guilty of such weakness! Oh, +no! And, no longer ago than the Cahorn affair, you said: "When +Arsene Lupin cries from the housetops that he will escape, he has +some object in view." But, sapristi, you must understand that in +order to escape I must create, in advance, a public belief in that +escape, a belief amounting to an article of faith, an absolute +conviction, a reality as glittering as the sun. And I did create +that belief that Arsene Lupin would escape, that Arsene Lupin would +not be present at his trial. And when you gave your evidence and +said: "That man is not Arsene Lupin," everybody was prepared to +believe you. Had one person doubted it, had any one uttered this +simple restriction: Suppose it is Arsene Lupin?--from that moment, I +was lost. If anyone had scrutinized my face, not imbued with the +idea that I was not Arsene Lupin, as you and the others did at my +trial, but with the idea that I might be Arsene Lupin; then, +despite all my precautions, I should have been recognized. But I +had no fear. Logically, psychologically, no once could entertain +the idea that I was Arsene Lupin." + +He grasped Ganimard's hand. + +"Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after our +conversation in the prison de la Sante, you expected me at your +house at four o'clock, exactly as I said I would go." + +"And your prison-van?" said Ganimard, evading the question. + +"A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wished +to make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without the +concurrence of a number of unusual circumstances. However, I found +it useful to carry out that attempted escape and give it the widest +publicity. An audaciously planned escape, though not completed, +gave to the succeeding one the character of reality simply by +anticipation." + +"So that the cigar...." + +"Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife." + +"And the letters?" + +"Written by me." + +"And the mysterious correspondent?" + +"Did not exist." + +Ganimard reflected a moment, then said: + +"When the anthropological service had Baudru's case under +consideration, why did they not perceive that his measurements +coincided with those of Arsene Lupin?" + +"My measurements are not in existence." + +"Indeed!" + +"At least, they are false. I have given considerable attention to +that question. In the first place, the Bertillon system of records +the visible marks of identification--and you have seen that they are +not infallible--and, after that, the measurements of the head, the +fingers, the ears, etc. Of course, such measurements are more or +less infallible." + +"Absolutely." + +"No; but it costs money to get around them. Before we left +America, one of the employees of the service there accepted so much +money to insert false figures in my measurements. Consequently, +Baudru's measurements should not agree with those of Arsene Lupin." + +After a short silence, Ganimard asked: + +"What are you going to do now?" + +"Now," replied Lupin, "I am going to take a rest, enjoy the best of +food and drink and gradually recover my former healthy condition. +It is all very well to become Baudru or some other person, on +occasion, and to change your personality as you do your shirt, but +you soon grow weary of the change. I feel exactly as I imagine the +man who lost his shadow must have felt, and I shall be glad to be +Arsene Lupin once more." + +He walked to and fro for a few minutes, then, stopping in front of +Ganimard, he said: + +"You have nothing more to say, I suppose?" + +"Yes. I should like to know if you intend to reveal the true state +of facts connected with your escape. The mistake that I made---" + +"Oh! no one will ever know that it was Arsene Lupin who was +discharged. It is to my own interest to surround myself with +mystery, and therefore I shall permit my escape to retain its +almost miraculous character. So, have no fear on that score, my +dear friend. I shall say nothing. And now, good-bye. I am going +out to dinner this evening, and have only sufficient time to +dress." + +"I though you wanted a rest." + +"Ah! there are duties to society that one cannot avoid. To-morrow, +I shall rest." + +"Where do you dine to-night?" + +"With the British Ambassador!" + + + +IV. The Mysterious Traveller + + +The evening before, I had sent my automobile to Rouen by the +highway. I was to travel to Rouen by rail, on my way to visit some +friends that live on the banks of the Seine. + +At Paris, a few minutes before the train started, seven gentlemen +entered my compartment; five of them were smoking. No matter that +the journey was a short one, the thought of traveling with such a +company was not agreeable to me, especially as the car was built +on the old model, without a corridor. I picked up my overcoat, my +newspapers and my time-table, and sought refuge in a neighboring +compartment. + +It was occupied by a lady, who, at sight of me, made a gesture of +annoyance that did not escape my notice, and she leaned toward a +gentleman who was standing on the step and was, no doubt, her +husband. The gentleman scrutinized me closely, and, apparently, my +appearance did not displease him, for he smiled as he spoke to his +wife with the air of one who reassures a frightened child. She +smiled also, and gave me a friendly glance as if she now +understood that I was one of those gallant men with whom a woman +can remain shut up for two hours in a little box, six feet square, +and have nothing to fear. + +Her husband said to her: + +"I have an important appointment, my dear, and cannot wait any +longer. Adieu." + +He kissed her affectionately and went away. His wife threw him a +few kisses and waved her handkerchief. The whistle sounded, and +the train started. + +At that precise moment, and despite the protests of the guards, +the door was opened, and a man rushed into our compartment. My +companion, who was standing and arranging her luggage, uttered a +cry of terror and fell upon the seat. I am not a coward--far from +it--but I confess that such intrusions at the last minute are +always disconcerting. They have a suspicious, unnatural aspect. + +However, the appearance of the new arrival greatly modified the +unfavorable impression produced by his precipitant action. He was +correctly and elegantly dressed, wore a tasteful cravat, correct +gloves, and his face was refined and intelligent. But, where the +devil had I seen that face before? Because, beyond all possible +doubt, I had seen it. And yet the memory of it was so vague and +indistinct that I felt it would be useless to try to recall it at +that time. + +Then, directing my attention to the lady, I was amazed at the +pallor and anxiety I saw in her face. She was looking at her +neighbor--they occupied seats on the same side of the compartment-- +with an expression of intense alarm, and I perceived that one of +her trembling hands was slowly gliding toward a little traveling +bag that was lying on the seat about twenty inches from her. She +finished by seizing it and nervously drawing it to her. Our eyes +met, and I read in hers so much anxiety and fear that I could not +refrain from speaking to her: + +"Are you ill, madame? Shall I open the window?" + +Her only reply was a gesture indicating that she was afraid of our +companion. I smiled, as her husband had done, shrugged my +shoulders, and explained to her, in pantomime, that she had +nothing to fear, that I was there, and, besides, the gentleman +appeared to be a very harmless individual. At that moment, he +turned toward us, scrutinized both of us from head to foot, then +settled down in his corner and paid us no more attention. + +After a short silence, the lady, as if she had mustered all her +energy to perform a desperate act, said to me, in an almost +inaudible voice: + +"Do you know who is on our train?" + +"Who?" + +"He....he....I assure you...." + +"Who is he?" + +"Arsene Lupin!" + +She had not taken her eyes off our companion, and it was to him +rather than to me that she uttered the syllables of that +disquieting name. He drew his hat over his face. Was that to +conceal his agitation or, simply, to arrange himself for sleep? +Then I said to her: + +"Yesterday, through contumacy, Arsene Lupin was sentenced to +twenty years' imprisonment at hard labor. Therefore it is +improbable that he would be so imprudent, to-day, as to show +himself in public. Moreover, the newspapers have announced his +appearance in Turkey since his escape from the Sante." + +"But he is on this train at the present moment," the lady +proclaimed, with the obvious intention of being heard by our +companion; "my husband is one of the directors in the penitentiary +service, and it was the stationmaster himself who told us that a +search was being made for Arsene Lupin." + +"They may have been mistaken---" + +"No; he was seen in the waiting-room. He bought a first-class +ticket for Rouen." + +"He has disappeared. The guard at the waiting-room door did not +see him pass, and it is supposed that he had got into the express +that leaves ten minutes after us." + +"In that case, they will be sure to catch him." + +"Unless, at the last moment, he leaped from that train to come +here, into our train....which is quite probable....which is +almost certain." + +"If so, he will be arrested just the same; for the employees and +guards would no doubt observe his passage from one train to the +other, and, when we arrive at Rouen, they will arrest him there." + +"Him--never! He will find some means of escape." + +"In that case, I wish him 'bon voyage.'" + +"But, in the meantime, think what he may do!" + +"What?" + +"I don't know. He may do anything." + +She was greatly agitated, and, truly, the situation justified, to +some extent, her nervous excitement. I was impelled to say to her: + +"Of course, there are many strange coincidences, but you need have +no fear. Admitting that Arsene Lupin is on this train, he will not +commit any indiscretion; he will be only too happy to escape the +peril that already threatens him." + +My words did not reassure her, but she remained silent for a time. +I unfolded my newspapers and read reports of Arsene Lupin's trial, +but, as they contained nothing that was new to me, I was not +greatly interested. Moreover, I was tired and sleepy. I felt my +eyelids close and my head drop. + +"But, monsieur, you are not going to sleep!" + +She seized my newspaper, and looked at me with indignation. + +"Certainly not," I said. + +"That would be very imprudent." + +"Of course," I assented. + +I struggled to keep awake. I looked through the window at the +landscape and the fleeting clouds, but in a short time all that +became confused and indistinct; the image of the nervous lady and +the drowsy gentleman were effaced from my memory, and I was buried +in the soothing depths of a profound sleep. The tranquility of my +response was soon disturbed by disquieting dreams, wherein a +creature that had played the part and bore the name of Arsene +Lupin held an important place. He appeared to me with his back +laden with articles of value; he leaped over walls, and plundered +castles. But the outlines of that creature, who was no longer +Arsene Lupin, assumed a more definite form. He came toward me, +growing larger and larger, leaped into the compartment with +incredible agility, and landed squarely on my chest. With a cry of +fright and pain, I awoke. The man, the traveller, our companion, +with his knee on my breast, held me by the throat. + +My sight was very indistinct, for my eyes were suffused with +blood. I could see the lady, in a corner of the compartment, +convulsed with fright. I tried even not to resist. Besides, I did +not have the strength. My temples throbbed; I was almost +strangled. One minute more, and I would have breathed my last. The +man must have realized it, for he relaxed his grip, but did not +remove his hand. Then he took a cord, in which he had prepared a +slip-knot, and tied my wrists together. In an instant, I was +bound, gagged, and helpless. + +Certainly, he accomplished the trick with an ease and skill that +revealed the hand of a master; he was, no doubt, a professional +thief. Not a word, not a nervous movement; only coolness and +audacity. And I was there, lying on the bench, bound like a mummy, +I--Arsene Lupin! + +It was anything but a laughing matter, and yet, despite the +gravity of the situation, I keenly appreciated the humor and irony +that it involved. Arsene Lupin seized and bound like a novice! +robbed as if I were an unsophisticated rustic--for, you must +understand, the scoundrel had deprived me of my purse and wallet! +Arsene Lupin, a victim, duped, vanquished....What an adventure! + +The lady did not move. He did not even notice her. He contented +himself with picking up her traveling-bag that had fallen to the +floor and taking from it the jewels, purse, and gold and silver +trinkets that it contained. The lady opened her eyes, trembled +with fear, drew the rings from her fingers and handed them to the +man as if she wished to spare him unnecessary trouble. He took the +rings and looked at her. She swooned. + +Then, quite unruffled, he resumed his seat, lighted a cigarette, +and proceeded to examine the treasure that he had acquired. The +examination appeared to give him perfect satisfaction. + +But I was not so well satisfied. I do not speak of the twelve +thousand francs of which I had been unduly deprived: that was only +a temporary loss, because I was certain that I would recover +possession of that money after a very brief delay, together with +the important papers contained in my wallet: plans, specifications, +addresses, lists of correspondents, and compromising letters. +But, for the moment, a more immediate and more serious question +troubled me: How would this affair end? What would be the outcome +of this adventure? + +As you can imagine, the disturbance created by my passage through +the Saint-Lazare station has not escaped my notice. Going to visit +friends who knew me under the name of Guillaume Berlat, and +amongst whom my resemblance to Arsene Lupin was a subject of many +innocent jests, I could not assume a disguise, and my presence had +been remarked. So, beyond question, the commissary of police at +Rouen, notified by telegraph, and assisted by numerous agents, +would be awaiting the train, would question all suspicious +passengers, and proceed to search the cars. + +Of course, I had foreseen all that, but it had not disturbed me, +as I was certain that the police of Rouen would not be any +shrewder than the police of Paris and that I could escape +recognition; would it not be sufficient for me to carelessly +display my card as "depute," thanks to which I had inspired +complete confidence in the gate-keeper at Saint-Lazare?--But the +situation was greatly changed. I was no longer free. It was +impossible to attempt one of my usual tricks. In one of the +compartments, the commissary of police would find Mon. Arsene +Lupin, bound hand and foot, as docile as a lamb, packed up, all +ready to be dumped into a prison-van. He would have simply to +accept delivery of the parcel, the same as if it were so much +merchandise or a basket of fruit and vegetables. Yet, to avoid +that shameful denouement, what could I do?--bound and gagged, as I +was? And the train was rushing on toward Rouen, the next and only +station. + +Another problem was presented, in which I was less interested, but +the solution of which aroused my professional curiosity. What were +the intentions of my rascally companion? Of course, if I had been +alone, he could, on our arrival at Rouen, leave the car slowly and +fearlessly. But the lady? As soon as the door of the compartment +should be opened, the lady, now so quiet and humble, would scream +and call for help. That was the dilemma that perplexed me! Why had +he not reduced her to a helpless condition similar to mine? That +would have given him ample time to disappear before his double +crime was discovered. + +He was still smoking, with his eyes fixed upon the window that was +now being streaked with drops of rain. Once he turned, picked up +my time-table, and consulted it. + +The lady had to feign a continued lack of consciousness in order +to deceive the enemy. But fits of coughing, provoked by the smoke, +exposed her true condition. As to me, I was very uncomfortable, +and very tired. And I meditated; I plotted. + +The train was rushing on, joyously, intoxicated with its own +speed. + +Saint Etienne!....At that moment, the man arose and took two steps +toward us, which caused the lady to utter a cry of alarm and fall +into a genuine swoon. What was the man about to do? He lowered the +window on our side. A heavy rain was now falling, and, by a +gesture, the man expressed his annoyance at his not having an +umbrella or an overcoat. He glanced at the rack. The lady's +umbrella was there. He took it. He also took my overcoat and put +it on. + +We were now crossing the Seine. He turned up the bottoms of his +trousers, then leaned over and raised the exterior latch of the +door. Was he going to throw himself upon the track? At that speed, +it would have been instant death. We now entered a tunnel. The man +opened the door half-way and stood on the upper step. What folly! +The darkness, the smoke, the noise, all gave a fantastic +appearance to his actions. But suddenly, the train diminished its +speed. A moment later it increased its speed, then slowed up +again. Probably, some repairs were being made in that part of the +tunnel which obliged the trains to diminish their speed, and the +man was aware of the fact. He immediately stepped down to the +lower step, closed the door behind him, and leaped to the ground. +He was gone. + +The lady immediately recovered her wits, and her first act was to +lament the loss of her jewels. I gave her an imploring look. She +understood, and quickly removed the gag that stifled me. She +wished to untie the cords that bound me, but I prevented her. + +"No, no, the police must see everything exactly as it stands. I +want them to see what the rascal did to us." + +"Suppose I pull the alarm-bell?" + +"Too late. You should have done that when he made the attack on +me." + +"But he would have killed me. Ah! monsieur, didn't I tell you that +he was on this train. I recognized him from his portrait. And now +he has gone off with my jewels." + +"Don't worry. The police will catch him." + +"Catch Arsene Lupin! Never." + +"That depends on you, madame. Listen. When we arrive at Rouen, be +at the door and call. Make a noise. The police and the railway +employees will come. Tell what you have seen: the assault made on +me and the flight of Arsene Lupin. Give a description of him--soft +hat, umbrella--yours--gray overcoat...." + +"Yours," said she. + +"What! mine? Not at all. It was his. I didn't have any." + +"It seems to me he didn't have one when he came in." + +"Yes, yes....unless the coat was one that some one had forgotten +and left in the rack. At all events, he had it when he went away, +and that is the essential point. A gray overcoat--remember!....Ah! +I forgot. You must tell your name, first thing you do. Your +husband's official position will stimulate the zeal of the +police." + +We arrived at the station. I gave her some further instructions in +a rather imperious tone: + +"Tell them my name--Guillaume Berlat. If necessary, say that you +know me. That will save time. We must expedite the preliminary +investigation. The important thing is the pursuit of Arsene Lupin. +Your jewels, remember! Let there be no mistake. Guillaume Berlat, +a friend of your husband." + +"I understand....Guillaume Berlat." + +She was already calling and gesticulating. As soon as the train +stopped, several men entered the compartment. The critical moment +had come. + +Panting for breath, the lady exclaimed: + +"Arsene Lupin....he attacked us....he stole my jewels....I am +Madame Renaud....my husband is a director of the penitentiary +service....Ah! here is my brother, Georges Ardelle, director of +the Credit Rouennais....you must know...." + +She embraced a young man who had just joined us, and whom the +commissary saluted. Then she continued, weeping: + +"Yes, Arsene Lupin....while monsieur was sleeping, he seized him +by the throat....Mon. Berlat, a friend of my husband." + +The commissary asked: + +"But where is Arsene Lupin?" + +"He leaped from the train, when passing through the tunnel." + +"Are you sure that it was he?" + +"Am I sure! I recognized him perfectly. Besides, he was seen at +the Saint-Lazare station. He wore a soft hat---" + +"No, a hard felt, like that," said the commissary, pointing to my +hat. + +"He had a soft hat, I am sure," repeated Madame Renaud, "and a +gray overcoat." + +"Yes, that is right," replied the commissary, "the telegram says +he wore a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar." + +"Exactly, a black velvet collar," exclaimed Madame Renaud, +triumphantly. + +I breathed freely. Ah! the excellent friend I had in that little +woman. + +The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until they +ran blood. Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, an +attitude quite natural in a person who has remained for a long +time in an uncomfortable position, and whose mouth shows the +bloody marks of the gag, I addressed the commissary, in a weak +voice: + +"Monsieur, it was Arsene Lupin. There is no doubt about that. If +we make haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of some +service to you." + +The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached from +the train to serve as a mute witness at the official investigation. +The train continued on its way to Havre. We were then conducted to +the station-master's office through a crowd of curious spectators. + +Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under some +pretext or other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remain +there was dangerous. Something might happen; for instance, a +telegram from Paris, and I would be lost. + +Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in an +unfamiliar country, I could not hope to catch him. + +"Bah! I must make the attempt," I said to myself. "It may be a +difficult game, but an amusing one, and the stake is well worth +the trouble." + +And when the commissary asked us to repeat the story of the +robbery, I exclaimed: + +"Monsieur, really, Arsene Lupin is getting the start of us. My +automobile is waiting in the courtyard. If you will be so kind as +to use it, we can try...." + +The commissary smiled, and replied: + +"The idea is a good one; so good, indeed, that it is already being +carried out. Two of my men have set out on bicycles. They have +been gone for some time." + +"Where did they go?" + +"To the entrance of the tunnel. There, they will gather evidence, +secure witnesses, and follow on the track of Arsene Lupin." + +I could not refrain from shrugging my shoulders, as I replied: + +"Your men will not secure any evidence or any witnesses." + +"Really!" + +"Arsene Lupin will not allow anyone to see him emerge from the +tunnel. He will take the first road---" + +"To Rouen, where we will arrest him." + +"He will not go to Rouen." + +"Then he will remain in the vicinity, where his capture will be +even more certain." + +"He will not remain in the vicinity." + +"Oh! oh! And where will he hide?" + +I looked at my watch, and said: + +"At the present moment, Arsene Lupin is prowling around the +station at Darnetal. At ten fifty, that is, in twenty-two minutes +from now, he will take the train that goes from Rouen to Amiens." + +"Do you think so? How do you know it?" + +"Oh! it is quite simple. While we were in the car, Arsene Lupin +consulted my railway guide. Why did he do it? Was there, not far +from the spot where he disappeared, another line of railway, a +station upon that line, and a train stopping at that station? On +consulting my railway guide, I found such to be the case." + +"Really, monsieur," said the commissary, "that is a marvelous +deduction. I congratulate you on your skill." + +I was now convinced that I had made a mistake in displaying so +much cleverness. The commissary regarded me with astonishment, and +I thought a slight suspicion entered his official mind....Oh! +scarcely that, for the photographs distributed broadcast by the +police department were too imperfect; they presented an Arsene +Lupin so different from the one he had before him, that he could +not possibly recognize me by it. But, all the same, he was +troubled, confused and ill-at-ease. + +"Mon Dieu! nothing stimulates the comprehension so much as the +loss of a pocketbook and the desire to recover it. And it seems to +me that if you will give me two of your men, we may be able...." + +"Oh! I beg of you, monsieur le commissaire," cried Madame Renaud, +"listen to Mon. Berlat." + +The intervention of my excellent friend was decisive. Pronounced +by her, the wife of an influential official, the name of Berlat +became really my own, and gave me an identity that no mere +suspicion could affect. The commissary arose, and said: + +"Believe me, Monsieur Berlat, I shall be delighted to see you +succeed. I am as much interested as you are in the arrest of +Arsene Lupin." + +He accompanied me to the automobile, and introduced two of his men, +Honore Massol and Gaston Delivet, who were assigned to assist me. +My chauffer cranked up the car and I took my place at the wheel. A +few seconds later, we left the station. I was saved. + +Ah! I must confess that in rolling over the boulevards that +surrounded the old Norman city, in my swift thirty-five horse-power +Moreau-Lepton, I experienced a deep feeling of pride, and the motor +responded, sympathetically to my desires. At right and left, the +trees flew past us with startling rapidity, and I, free, out of +danger, had simply to arrange my little personal affairs with the +two honest representatives of the Rouen police who were sitting +behind me. Arsene Lupin was going in search of Arsene Lupin! + +Modest guardians of social order--Gaston Delivet and Honore Massol-- +how valuable was your assistance! What would I have done without +you? Without you, many times, at the cross-roads, I might have +taken the wrong route! Without you, Arsene Lupin would have made a +mistake, and the other would have escaped! + +But the end was not yet. Far from it. I had yet to capture the +thief and recover the stolen papers. Under no circumstances must +my two acolytes be permitted to see those papers, much less to +seize them. That was a point that might give me some difficulty. + +We arrived at Darnetal three minutes after the departure of the +train. True, I had the consolation of learning that a man wearing +a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar had taken the train at +the station. He had bought a second-class ticket for Amiens. +Certainly, my debut as detective was a promising one. + +Delivet said to me: + +"The train is express, and the next stop is Monterolier-Buchy in +nineteen minutes. If we do not reach there before Arsene Lupin, he +can proceed to Amiens, or change for the train going to Cleres, +and, from that point, reach Dieppe or Paris." + +"How far to Monterolier?" + +"Twenty-three kilometres." + +"Twenty-three kilometres in nineteen minutes....We will be there +ahead of him." + +We were off again! Never had my faithful Moreau-Repton responded +to my impatience with such ardor and regularity. It participated +in my anxiety. It indorsed my determination. It comprehended my +animosity against that rascally Arsene Lupin. The knave! The +traitor! + +"Turn to the right," cried Delivet, "then to the left." + +We fairly flew, scarcely touching the ground. The mile-stones +looked like little timid beasts that vanished at our approach. +Suddenly, at a turn of the road, we saw a vortex of smoke. It was +the Northern Express. For a kilometre, it was a struggle, side by +side, but an unequal struggle in which the issue was certain. We +won the race by twenty lengths. + +In three seconds we were on the platform standing before the +second-class carriages. The doors were opened, and some passengers +alighted, but not my thief. We made a search through the +compartments. No sign of Arsene Lupin. + +"Sapristi!" I cried, "he must have recognized me in the automobile +as we were racing, side by side, and he leaped from the train." + +"Ah! there he is now! crossing the track." + +I started in pursuit of the man, followed by my two acolytes, or +rather followed by one of them, for the other, Massol, proved +himself to be a runner of exceptional speed and endurance. In a +few moments, he had made an appreciable gain upon the fugitive. +The man noticed it, leaped over a hedge, scampered across a meadow, +and entered a thick grove. When we reached this grove, Massol was +waiting for us. He went no farther, for fear of losing us. + +"Quite right, my dear friend," I said. "After such a run, our +victim must be out of wind. We will catch him now." + +I examined the surroundings with the idea of proceeding alone in +the arrest of the fugitive, in order to recover my papers, +concerning which the authorities would doubtless ask many +disagreeable questions. Then I returned to my companions, and +said: + +"It is all quite easy. You, Massol, take your place at the left; +you, Delivet, at the right. From there, you can observe the entire +posterior line of the bush, and he cannot escape without you seeing +him, except by that ravine, and I shall watch it. If he does not +come out voluntarily, I will enter and drive him out toward one or +the other of you. You have simply to wait. Ah! I forgot: in case +I need you, a pistol shot." + +Massol and Delivet walked away to their respective posts. As soon +as they had disappeared, I entered the grove with the greatest +precaution so as to be neither seen nor heard. I encountered dense +thickets, through which narrow paths had been cut, but the +overhanging boughs compelled me to adopt a stooping posture. One +of these paths led to a clearing in which I found footsteps upon +the wet grass. I followed them; they led me to the foot of a mound +which was surmounted by a deserted, dilapidated hovel. + +"He must be there," I said to myself. "It is a well-chosen +retreat." + +I crept cautiously to the side of the building. A slight noise +informed me that he was there; and, then, through an opening, I saw +him. His back was turned toward me. In two bounds, I was upon +him. He tried to fire a revolver that he held in his hand. But he +had no time. I threw him to the ground, in such a manner that his +arms were beneath him, twisted and helpless, whilst I held him down +with my knee on his breast. + +"Listen, my boy," I whispered in his ear. "I am Arsene Lupin. You +are to deliver over to me, immediately and gracefully, my +pocketbook and the lady's jewels, and, in return therefore, I will +save you from the police and enroll you amongst my friends. One +word: yes or no?" + +"Yes," he murmured. + +"Very good. Your escape, this morning, was well planned. I +congratulate you." + +I arose. He fumbled in his pocket, drew out a large knife and +tried to strike me with it. + +"Imbecile!" I exclaimed. + +With one hand, I parried the attack; with the other, I gave him a +sharp blow on the carotid artery. He fell--stunned! + +In my pocketbook, I recovered my papers and bank-notes. Out of +curiosity, I took his. Upon an envelope, addressed to him, I read +his name: Pierre Onfrey. It startled me. Pierre Onfrey, the +assassin of the rue Lafontaine at Auteuil! Pierre Onfrey, he who +had cut the throats of Madame Delbois and her two daughters. I +leaned over him. Yes, those were the features which, in the +compartment, had evoked in me the memory of a face I could not then +recall. + +But time was passing. I placed in an envelope two bank-notes of +one hundred francs each, with a card bearing these words: "Arsene +Lupin to his worthy colleagues Honore Massol and Gaston Delivet, as +a slight token of his gratitude." I placed it in a prominent spot +in the room, where they would be sure to find it. Beside it, I +placed Madame Renaud's handbag. Why could I not return it to the +lady who had befriended me? I must confess that I had taken from +it everything that possessed any interest or value, leaving there +only a shell comb, a stick of rouge Dorin for the lips, and an +empty purse. But, you know, business is business. And then, +really, her husband is engaged in such a dishonorable vocation! + +The man was becoming conscious. What was I to do? I was unable to +save him or condemn him. So I took his revolver and fired a shot +in the air. + +"My two acolytes will come and attend to his case," I said to +myself, as I hastened away by the road through the ravine. Twenty +minutes later, I was seated in my automobile. + +At four o'clock, I telegraphed to my friends at Rouen that an +unexpected event would prevent me from making my promised visit. +Between ourselves, considering what my friends must now know, my +visit is postponed indefinitely. A cruel disillusion for them! + +At six o'clock I was in Paris. The evening newspapers informed me +that Pierre Onfrey had been captured at last. + +Next day,--let us not despise the advantages of judicious +advertising,--the `Echo de France' published this sensational item: + +"Yesterday, near Buchy, after numerous exciting incidents, Arsene +Lupin effected the arrest of Pierre Onfrey. The assassin of the +rue Lafontaine had robbed Madame Renaud, wife of the director in +the penitentiary service, in a railway carriage on the Paris-Havre +line. Arsene Lupin restored to Madame Renaud the hand-bag that +contained her jewels, and gave a generous recompense to the two +detectives who had assisted him in making that dramatic arrest." + + + +V. The Queen's Necklace + + +Two or three times each year, on occasions of unusual importance, +such as the balls at the Austrian Embassy or the soirees of Lady +Billingstone, the Countess de Dreux-Soubise wore upon her white +shoulders "The Queen's Necklace." + +It was, indeed, the famous necklace, the legendary necklace that +Bohmer and Bassenge, court jewelers, had made for Madame Du Barry; +the veritable necklace that the Cardinal de Rohan-Soubise intended +to give to Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France; and the same that the +adventuress Jeanne de Valois, Countess de la Motte, had pulled to +pieces one evening in February, 1785, with the aid of her husband +and their accomplice, Retaux de Villette. + +To tell the truth, the mounting alone was genuine. Retaux de +Villette had kept it, whilst the Count de la Motte and his wife +scattered to the four winds of heaven the beautiful stones so +carefully chosen by Bohmer. Later, he sold the mounting to Gaston +de Dreux-Soubise, nephew and heir of the Cardinal, who re-purchased +the few diamonds that remained in the possession of the English +jeweler, Jeffreys; supplemented them with other stones of the same +size but of much inferior quality, and thus restored the marvelous +necklace to the form in which it had come from the hands of Bohmer +and Bassenge. + +For nearly a century, the house of Dreux-Soubise had prided itself +upon the possession of this historic jewel. Although adverse +circumstances had greatly reduced their fortune, they preferred to +curtail their household expenses rather than part with this relic +of royalty. More particularly, the present count clung to it as a +man clings to the home of his ancestors. As a matter of prudence, +he had rented a safety-deposit box at the Credit Lyonnais in which +to keep it. He went for it himself on the afternoon of the day on +which his wife wished to wear it, and he, himself, carried it back +next morning. + +On this particular evening, at the reception given at the Palais de +Castille, the Countess achieved a remarkable success; and King +Christian, in whose honor the fete was given, commented on her +grace and beauty. The thousand facets of the diamond sparkled and +shone like flames of fire about her shapely neck and shoulders, and +it is safe to say that none but she could have borne the weight of +such an ornament with so much ease and grace. + +This was a double triumph, and the Count de Dreux was highly elated +when they returned to their chamber in the old house of the +faubourg Saint-Germain. He was proud of his wife, and quite as +proud, perhaps, of the necklace that had conferred added luster to +his noble house for generations. His wife, also, regarded the +necklace with an almost childish vanity, and it was not without +regret that she removed it from her shoulders and handed it to her +husband who admired it as passionately as if he had never seen it +before. Then, having placed it in its case of red leather, stamped +with the Cardinal's arms, he passed into an adjoining room which +was simply an alcove or cabinet that had been cut off from their +chamber, and which could be entered only by means of a door at the +foot of their bed. As he had done on previous occasions, he hid it +on a high shelf amongst hat-boxes and piles of linen. He closed +the door, and retired. + +Next morning, he arose about nine o'clock, intending to go to the +Credit Lyonnais before breakfast. He dressed, drank a cup of +coffee, and went to the stables to give his orders. The condition +of one of the horses worried him. He caused it to be exercised in +his presence. Then he returned to his wife, who had not yet left +the chamber. Her maid was dressing her hair. When her husband +entered, she asked: + +"Are you going out?" + +"Yes, as far as the bank." + +"Of course. That is wise." + +He entered the cabinet; but, after a few seconds, and without any +sign of astonishment, he asked: + +"Did you take it, my dear?" + +"What?....No, I have not taken anything." + +"You must have moved it." + +"Not at all. I have not even opened that door." + +He appeared at the door, disconcerted, and stammered, in a scarcely +intelligible voice: + +"You haven't....It wasn't you?....Then...." + +She hastened to his assistance, and, together, they made a thorough +search, throwing the boxes to the floor and overturning the piles +of linen. Then the count said, quite discouraged: + +"It is useless to look any more. I put it here, on this shelf." + +"You must be mistaken." + +"No, no, it was on this shelf--nowhere else." + +They lighted a candle, as the room was quite dark, and then carried +out all the linen and other articles that the room contained. And, +when the room was emptied, they confessed, in despair, that the +famous necklace had disappeared. Without losing time in vain +lamentations, the countess notified the commissary of police, Mon. +Valorbe, who came at once, and, after hearing their story, inquired +of the count: + +"Are you sure that no one passed through your chamber during the +night?" + +"Absolutely sure, as I am a very light sleeper. Besides, the +chamber door was bolted, and I remember unbolting it this morning +when my wife rang for her maid." + +"And there is no other entrance to the cabinet?" + +"None." + +"No windows?" + +"Yes, but it is closed up." + +"I will look at it." + +Candles were lighted, and Mon. Valorbe observed at once that the +lower half of the window was covered by a large press which was, +however, so narrow that it did not touch the casement on either +side. + +"On what does this window open?" + +"A small inner court." + +"And you have a floor above this?" + +"Two; but, on a level with the servant's floor, there is a close +grating over the court. That is why this room is so dark." + +When the press was moved, they found that the window was fastened, +which would not have been the case if anyone had entered that way. + +"Unless," said the count, "they went out through our chamber." + +"In that case, you would have found the door unbolted." + +The commissary considered the situation for a moment, then asked +the countess: + +"Did any of your servants know that you wore the necklace last +evening?" + +"Certainly; I didn't conceal the fact. But nobody knew that it was +hidden in that cabinet." + +"No one?" + +"No one....unless...." + +"Be quite sure, madam, as it is a very important point." + +She turned to her husband, and said: + +"I was thinking of Henriette." + +"Henriette? She didn't know where we kept it." + +"Are you sure?" + +"Who is this woman Henriette?" asked Mon. Valorbe. + +"A school-mate, who was disowned by her family for marrying beneath +her. After her husband's death, I furnished an apartment in this +house for her and her son. She is clever with her needle and has +done some work for me." + +"What floor is she on?" + +"Same as ours....at the end of the corridor....and I think.... +the window of her kitchen...." + +"Opens on this little court, does it not?" + +"Yes, just opposite ours." + +Mon. Valorbe then asked to see Henriette. They went to her +apartment; she was sewing, whilst her son Raoul, about six years +old, was sitting beside her, reading. The commissary was surprised +to see the wretched apartment that had been provided for the woman. +It consisted of one room without a fireplace, and a very small room +that served as a kitchen. The commissary proceeded to question +her. She appeared to be overwhelmed on learning of the theft. +Last evening she had herself dressed the countess and placed the +necklace upon her shoulders. + +"Good God!" she exclaimed, "it can't be possible!" + +"And you have no idea? Not the least suspicion? Is it possible +that the thief may have passed through your room?" + +She laughed heartily, never supposing that she could be an object +of suspicion. + +"But I have not left my room. I never go out. And, perhaps, you +have not seen?" + +She opened the kitchen window, and said: + +"See, it is at least three metres to the ledge of the opposite +window." + +"Who told you that we supposed the theft might have been committed +in that way?" + +"But....the necklace was in the cabinet, wasn't it?" + +"How do you know that?" + +"Why, I have always known that it was kept there at night. It had +been mentioned in my presence." + +Her face, though still young, bore unmistakable traces of sorrow +and resignation. And it now assumed an expression of anxiety as if +some danger threatened her. She drew her son toward her. The +child took her hand, and kissed it affectionately. + +When they were alone again, the count said to the commissary: + +"I do not suppose you suspect Henriette. I can answer for her. +She is honesty itself." + +"I quite agree with you," replied Mon. Valorbe. "At most, I +thought there might have been an unconscious complicity. But I +confess that even that theory must be abandoned, as it does not +help solve the problem now before us." + +The commissary of police abandoned the investigation, which was now +taken up and completed by the examining judge. He questioned the +servants, examined the condition of the bolt, experimented with the +opening and closing of the cabinet window, and explored the little +court from top to bottom. All was in vain. The bolt was intact. +The window could not be opened or closed from the outside. + +The inquiries especially concerned Henriette, for, in spite of +everything, they always turned in her direction. They made a +thorough investigation of her past life, and ascertained that, +during the last three years, she had left the house only four +times, and her business, on those occasions, was satisfactorily +explained. As a matter of fact, she acted as chambermaid and +seamstress to the countess, who treated her with great strictness +and even severity. + +At the end of a week, the examining judge had secured no more +definite information than the commissary of police. The judge +said: + +"Admitting that we know the guilty party, which we do not, we are +confronted by the fact that we do not know how the theft was +committed. We are brought face to face with two obstacles: a door +and a window--both closed and fastened. It is thus a double +mystery. How could anyone enter, and, moreover, how could any one +escape, leaving behind him a bolted door and a fastened window?" + +At the end of four months, the secret opinion of the judge was that +the count and countess, being hard pressed for money, which was +their normal condition, had sold the Queen's Necklace. He closed +the investigation. + +The loss of the famous jewel was a severe blow to the Dreux- +Soubise. Their credit being no longer propped up by the reserve +fund that such a treasure constituted, they found themselves +confronted by more exacting creditors and money-lenders. They were +obliged to cut down to the quick, to sell or mortgage every article +that possessed any commercial value. In brief, it would have been +their ruin, if two large legacies from some distant relatives had +not saved them. + +Their pride also suffered a downfall, as if they had lost a +quartering from their escutcheon. And, strange to relate, it was +upon her former schoolmate, Henriette, that the countess vented her +spleen. Toward her, the countess displayed the most spiteful +feelings, and even openly accused her. First, Henriette was +relegated to the servants' quarters, and, next day, discharged. + +For some time, the count and countess passed an uneventful life. +They traveled a great deal. Only one incident of record occurred +during that period. Some months after the departure of Henriette, +the countess was surprised when she received and read the following +letter, signed by Henriette: + +"Madame," +"I do not know how to thank you; for it was you, was it not, who +sent me that? It could not have been anyone else. No one but you +knows where I live. If I am wrong, excuse me, and accept my +sincere thanks for your past favors...." + +What did the letter mean? The present or past favors of the +countess consisted principally of injustice and neglect. Why, +then, this letter of thanks? + +When asked for an explanation, Henriette replied that she had +received a letter, through the mails, enclosing two bank-notes of +one thousand francs each. The envelope, which she enclosed with +her reply, bore the Paris post-mark, and was addressed in a +handwriting that was obviously disguised. Now, whence came those +two thousand francs? Who had sent them? And why had they sent +them? + +Henriette received a similar letter and a like sum of money twelve +months later. And a third time; and a fourth; and each year for a +period of six years, with this difference, that in the fifth and +sixth years the sum was doubled. There was another difference: +the post-office authorities having seized one of the letters under +the pretext that it was not registered, the last two letters were +duly sent according to the postal regulations, the first dated from +Saint-Germain, the other from Suresnes. The writer signed the +first one, "Anquety"; and the other, "Pechard." The addresses that +he gave were false. + +At the end of six years, Henriette died, and the mystery remained +unsolved. + +* * * * * + +All these events are known to the public. The case was one of +those which excite public interest, and it was a strange +coincidence that this necklace, which had caused such a great +commotion in France at the close of the eighteenth century, should +create a similar commotion a century later. But what I am about to +relate is known only to the parties directly interested and a few +others from whom the count exacted a promise of secrecy. As it is +probable that some day or other that promise will be broken, I have +no hesitation in rending the veil and thus disclosing the key to +the mystery, the explanation of the letter published in the morning +papers two days ago; an extraordinary letter which increased, if +possible, the mists and shadows that envelope this inscrutable +drama. + +Five days ago, a number of guests were dining with the Count de +Dreux-Soubise. There were several ladies present, including his +two nieces and his cousin, and the following gentlemen: the +president of Essaville, the deputy Bochas, the chevalier Floriani, +whom the count had known in Sicily, and General Marquis de +Rouzieres, and old club friend. + +After the repast, coffee was served by the ladies, who gave the +gentlemen permission to smoke their cigarettes, provided they would +not desert the salon. The conversation was general, and finally +one of the guests chanced to speak of celebrated crimes. And that +gave the Marquis de Rouzieres, who delighted to tease the count, an +opportunity to mention the affair of the Queen's Necklace, a +subject that the count detested. + +Each one expressed his own opinion of the affair; and, of course, +their various theories were not only contradictory but impossible. + +"And you, monsieur," said the countess to the chevalier Floriani, +"what is your opinion?" + +"Oh! I--I have no opinion, madame." + +All the guests protested; for the chevalier had just related in an +entertaining manner various adventures in which he had participated +with his father, a magistrate at Palermo, and which established his +judgment and taste in such manners. + +"I confess," said he, "I have sometimes succeeded in unraveling +mysteries that the cleverest detectives have renounced; yet I do +not claim to be Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, I know very little +about the affair of the Queen's Necklace." + +Everybody now turned to the count, who was thus obliged, quite +unwillingly, to narrate all the circumstances connected with the +theft. The chevalier listened, reflected, asked a few questions, +and said: + +"It is very strange....at first sight, the problem appears to be a +very simple one." + +The count shrugged his shoulders. The others drew closer to the +chevalier, who continued, in a dogmatic tone: + +"As a general rule, in order to find the author of a crime or a +theft, it is necessary to determine how that crime or theft was +committed, or, at least, how it could have been committed. In the +present case, nothing is more simple, because we are face to face, +not with several theories, but with one positive fact, that is to +say: the thief could only enter by the chamber door or the window +of the cabinet. Now, a person cannot open a bolted door from the +outside. Therefore, he must have entered through the window." + +"But it was closed and fastened, and we found it fastened +afterward," declared the count. + +"In order to do that," continued Floriani, without heeding the +interruption, "he had simply to construct a bridge, a plank or a +ladder, between the balcony of the kitchen and the ledge of the +window, and as the jewel-case---" + +"But I repeat that the window was fastened," exclaimed the count, +impatiently. + +This time, Floriani was obliged to reply. He did so with +the greatest tranquility, as if the objection was the most +insignificant affair in the world. + +"I will admit that it was; but is there not a transom in the upper +part of the window?" + +"How do you know that?" + +"In the first place, that was customary in houses of that date; +and, in the second place, without such a transom, the theft cannot +be explained." + +"Yes, there is one, but it was closed, the same as the window. +Consequently, we did not pay attention to it." + +"That was a mistake; for, if you had examined it, you would have +found that it had been opened." + +"But how?" + +"I presume that, like all others, it opens by means of a wire with +a ring on the lower end." + +"Yes, but I do not see---" + +"Now, through a hole in the window, a person could, by the aid of +some instrument, let us say a poker with a hook at the end, grip +the ring, pull down, and open the transom." + +The count laughed and said: + +"Excellent! excellent! Your scheme is very cleverly constructed, +but you overlook one thing, monsieur, there is no hole in the +window." + +"There was a hole." + +"Nonsense, we would have seen it." + +"In order to see it, you must look for it, and no one has looked. +The hole is there; it must be there, at the side of the window, in +the putty. In a vertical direction, of course." + +The count arose. He was greatly excited. He paced up and down the +room, two or three times, in a nervous manner; then, approaching +Floriani, said: + +"Nobody has been in that room since; nothing has been changed." + +"Very well, monsieur, you can easily satisfy yourself that my +explanation is correct." + +"It does not agree with the facts established by the examining +judge. You have seen nothing, and yet you contradict all that we +have seen and all that we know." + +Floriani paid no attention to the count's petulance. He simply +smiled and said: + +"Mon Dieu, monsieur, I submit my theory; that is all. If I am +mistaken, you can easily prove it." + +"I will do so at once....I confess that your assurance---" + +The count muttered a few more words; then suddenly rushed to the +door and passed out. Not a word was uttered in his absence; and +this profound silence gave the situation an air of almost tragic +importance. Finally, the count returned. He was pale and nervous. +He said to his friends, in a trembling voice: + +"I beg your pardon....the revelations of the chevalier were so +unexpected....I should never have thought...." + +His wife questioned him, eagerly: + +"Speak....what is it?" + +He stammered: "The hole is there, at the very spot, at the side of +the window---" + +He seized the chevalier's arm, and said to him in an imperious +tone: + +"Now, monsieur, proceed. I admit that you are right so far, but +now....that is not all....go on....tell us the rest of it." + +Floriani disengaged his arm gently, and, after a moment, continued: + +"Well, in my opinion, this is what happened. The thief, knowing +that the countess was going to wear the necklace that evening, had +prepared his gangway or bridge during your absence. He watched you +through the window and saw you hide the necklace. Afterward, he +cut the glass and pulled the ring." + +"Ah! but the distance was so great that it would be impossible for +him to reach the window-fastening through the transom." + +"Well, then, if he could not open the window by reaching through +the transom, he must have crawled through the transom." + +"Impossible; it is too small. No man could crawl through it." + +"Then it was not a man," declared Floriani. + +"What!" + +"If the transom is too small to admit a man, it must have been a +child." + +"A child!" + +"Did you not say that your friend Henriette had a son?" + +"Yes; a son named Raoul." + +"Then, in all probability, it was Raoul who committed the theft." + +"What proof have you of that?" + +"What proof! Plenty of it....For instance---" + +He stopped, and reflected for a moment, then continued: + +"For instance, that gangway or bridge. It is improbable that the +child could have brought it in from outside the house and carried +it away again without being observed. He must have used something +close at hand. In the little room used by Henriette as a kitchen, +were there not some shelves against the wall on which she placed +her pans and dishes?" + +"Two shelves, to the best of my memory." + +"Are you sure that those shelves are really fastened to the wooden +brackets that support them? For, if they are not, we could be +justified in presuming that the child removed them, fastened them +together, and thus formed his bridge. Perhaps, also, since there +was a stove, we might find the bent poker that he used to open the +transom." + +Without saying a word, the count left the room; and, this time, +those present did not feel the nervous anxiety they had experienced +the first time. They were confident that Floriani was right, and +no one was surprised when the count returned and declared: + +"It was the child. Everything proves it." + +"You have seen the shelves and the poker?" + +"Yes. The shelves have been unnailed, and the poker is there yet." + +But the countess exclaimed: + +"You had better say it was his mother. Henriette is the guilty +party. She must have compelled her son---" + +"No," declared the chevalier, "the mother had nothing to do with +it." + +"Nonsense! they occupied the same room. The child could not have +done it without the mother's knowledge." + +"True, they lived in the same room, but all this happened in the +adjoining room, during the night, while the mother was asleep." + +"And the necklace?" said the count. "It would have been found +amongst the child's things." + +"Pardon me! He had been out. That morning, on which you found him +reading, he had just come from school, and perhaps the commissary +of police, instead of wasting his time on the innocent mother, +would have been better employed in searching the child's desk +amongst his school-books." + +"But how do you explain those two thousand francs that Henriette +received each year? Are they not evidence of her complicity?" + +"If she had been an accomplice, would she have thanked you for that +money? And then, was she not closely watched? But the child, +being free, could easily go to a neighboring city, negotiate with +some dealer and sell him one diamond or two diamonds, as he might +wish, upon condition that the money should be sent from Paris, and +that proceeding could be repeated from year to year." + +An indescribable anxiety oppressed the Dreux-Soubise and their +guests. There was something in the tone and attitude of Floriani-- +something more than the chevalier's assurance which, from the +beginning, had so annoyed the count. There was a touch of irony, +that seemed rather hostile than sympathetic. But the count +affected to laugh, as he said: + +"All that is very ingenious and interesting, and I congratulate you +upon your vivid imagination." + +"No, not at all," replied Floriani, with the utmost gravity, "I +imagine nothing. I simply describe the events as they must have +occurred." + +"But what do you know about them?" + +"What you yourself have told me. I picture to myself the life of +the mother and child down there in the country; the illness of the +mother, the schemes of and inventions of the child sell the +precious stones in order to save his mother's life, or, at least, +soothe her dying moments. Her illness overcomes her. She dies. +Years roll on. The child becomes a man; and then--and now I will +give my imagination a free rein--let us suppose that the man feels a +desire to return to the home of his childhood, that he does so, and +that he meets there certain people who suspect and accuse his +mother....do you realize the sorrow and anguish of such an +interview in the very house wherein the original drama was played?" + +His words seemed to echo for a few seconds in the ensuing silence, +and one could read upon the faces of the Count and Countess de +Dreux a bewildered effort to comprehend his meaning and, at the +same time, the fear and anguish of such a comprehension. The count +spoke at last, and said: + +"Who are you, monsieur?" + +"I? The chevalier Floriani, whom you met at Palermo, and whom you +have been gracious enough to invite to your house on several +occasions." + +"Then what does this story mean?" + +"Oh! nothing at all! It is simply a pastime, so far as I am +concerned. I endeavor to depict the pleasure that Henriette's son, +if he still lives, would have in telling you that he was the guilty +party, and that he did it because his mother was unhappy, as she +was on the point of losing the place of a....servant, by which she +lived, and because the child suffered at sight of his mother's +sorrow." + +He spoke with suppressed emotion, rose partially and inclined +toward the countess. There could be no doubt that the chevalier +Floriani was Henriette's son. His attitude and words proclaimed +it. Besides, was it not his obvious intention and desire to be +recognized as such? + +The count hesitated. What action would he take against the +audacious guest? Ring? Provoke a scandal? Unmask the man who had +once robbed him? But that was a long time ago! And who would +believe that absurd story about the guilty child? No; better far +to accept the situation, and pretend not to comprehend the true +meaning of it. So the count, turning to Floriani, exclaimed: + +"Your story is very curious, very entertaining; I enjoyed it much. +But what do you think has become of this young man, this model son? +I hope he has not abandoned the career in which he made such a +brilliant debut." + +"Oh! certainly not." + +"After such a debut! To steal the Queen's Necklace at six years of +age; the celebrated necklace that was coveted by Marie-Antoinette!" + +"And to steal it," remarked Floriani, falling in with the count's +mood, "without costing him the slightest trouble, without anyone +thinking to examine the condition of the window, or to observe that +the window-sill was too clean--that window-sill which he had wiped +in order to efface the marks he had made in the thick dust. We +must admit that it was sufficient to turn the head of a boy at that +age. It was all so easy. He had simply to desire the thing, and +reach out his hand to get it." + +"And he reached out his hand." + +"Both hands," replied the chevalier, laughing. + +His companions received a shock. What mystery surrounded the life +of the so-called Floriani? How wonderful must have been the life +of that adventurer, a thief at six years of age, and who, to-day, +in search of excitement or, at most, to gratify a feeling of +resentment, had come to brave his victim in her own house, +audaciously, foolishly, and yet with all the grace and delicacy of +a courteous guest! + +He arose and approached the countess to bid her adieu. She +recoiled, unconsciously. He smiled. + +"Oh! Madame, you are afraid of me! Did I pursue my role of parlor- +magician a step too far?" + +She controlled herself, and replied, with her accustomed ease: + +"Not at all, monsieur. The legend of that dutiful son interested +me very much, and I am pleased to know that my necklace had such a +brilliant destiny. But do you not think that the son of that +woman, that Henriette, was the victim of hereditary influence in +the choice of his vocation?" + +He shuddered, feeling the point, and replied: + +"I am sure of it; and, moreover, his natural tendency to crime must +have been very strong or he would have been discouraged." + +"Why so?" + +"Because, as you must know, the majority of the diamonds were +false. The only genuine stones were the few purchased from the +English jeweler, the others having been sold, one by one, to meet +the cruel necessities of life." + +"It was still the Queen's Necklace, monsieur," replied the +countess, haughtily, "and that is something that he, Henriette's +son, could not appreciate." + +"He was able to appreciate, madame, that, whether true or false, +the necklace was nothing more that an object of parade, an emblem +of senseless pride." + +The count made a threatening gesture, but his wife stopped him. + +"Monsieur," she said, "if the man to whom you allude has the +slightest sense of honor---" + +She stopped, intimidated by Floriani's cool manner. + +"If that man has the slightest sense of honor," he repeated. + +She felt that she would not gain anything by speaking to him in +that manner, and in spite of her anger and indignation, trembling +as she was from humiliated pride, she said to him, almost politely: + +"Monsieur, the legend says that Retaux de Villette, when in +possession of the Queen's Necklace, did not disfigure the mounting. +He understood that the diamonds were simply the ornament, the +accessory, and that the mounting was the essential work, the +creation of the artist, and he respected it accordingly. Do you +think that this man had the same feeling?" + +"I have no doubt that the mounting still exists. The child +respected it." + +"Well, monsieur, if you should happen to meet him, will you tell +him that he unjustly keeps possession of a relic that is the +property and pride of a certain family, and that, although the +stones have been removed, the Queen's necklace still belongs to the +house of Dreux-Soubise. It belongs to us as much as our name or +our honor." + +The chevalier replied, simply: + +"I shall tell him, madame." + +He bowed to her, saluted the count and the other guests, and +departed. + +* * * * * + +Four days later, the countess de Dreux found upon the table in her +chamber a red leather case bearing the cardinal's arms. She opened +it, and found the Queen's Necklace. + +But as all things must, in the life of a man who strives for unity +and logic, converge toward the same goal--and as a little +advertising never does any harm--on the following day, the `Echo de +France' published these sensational lines: + +"The Queen's Necklace, the famous historical jewelry stolen from +the family of Dreux-Soubise, has been recovered by Arsene Lupin, +who hastened to restore it to its rightful owner. We cannot too +highly commend such a delicate and chivalrous act." + + + +VI. The Seven of Hearts + + +I am frequently asked this question: "How did you make the +acquaintance of Arsene Lupin?" + +My connection with Arsene Lupin was well known. The details that I +gather concerning that mysterious man, the irrefutable facts that I +present, the new evidence that I produce, the interpretation that I +place on certain acts of which the public has seen only the +exterior manifestations without being able to discover the secret +reasons or the invisible mechanism, all establish, if not an +intimacy, at least amicable relations and regular confidences. + +But how did I make his acquaintance? Why was I selected to be his +historiographer? Why I, and not some one else? + +The answer is simple: chance alone presided over my choice; my +merit was not considered. It was chance that put me in his way. +It was by chance that I was participant in one of his strangest and +most mysterious adventures; and by chance that I was an actor in a +drama of which he was the marvelous stage director; an obscure and +intricate drama, bristling with such thrilling events that I feel a +certain embarrassment in undertaking to describe it. + +The first act takes place during that memorable night of 22 June, +of which so much has already been said. And, for my part, I +attribute the anomalous conduct of which I was guilty on that +occasion to the unusual frame of mind in which I found myself on my +return home. I had dined with some friends at the Cascade +restaurant, and, the entire evening, whilst we smoked and the +orchestra played melancholy waltzes, we talked only of crimes and +thefts, and dark and frightful intrigues. That is always a poor +overture to a night's sleep. + +The Saint-Martins went away in an automobile. Jean Daspry--that +delightful, heedless Daspry who, six months later, was killed in +such a tragic manner on the frontier of Morocco--Jean Daspry and I +returned on foot through the dark, warm night. When we arrived in +front of the little house in which I had lived for a year at +Neuilly, on the boulevard Maillot, he said to me: + +"Are you afraid?" + +"What an idea!" + +"But this house is so isolated....no neighbors....vacant +lots....Really, I am not a coward, and yet---" + +"Well, you are very cheering, I must say." + +"Oh! I say that as I would say anything else. The Saint-Martins +have impressed me with their stories of brigands and thieves." + +We shook hands and said good-night. I took out my key and opened +the door. + +"Well, that is good," I murmured, "Antoine has forgotten to light a +candle." + +Then I recalled the fact that Antoine was away; I had given him a +short leave of absence. Forthwith, I was disagreeably oppressed by +the darkness and silence of the night. I ascended the stairs on +tiptoe, and reached my room as quickly as possible; then, contrary +to my usual habit, I turned the key and pushed the bolt. + +The light of my candle restored my courage. Yet I was careful to +take my revolver from its case--a large, powerful weapon--and place +it beside my bed. That precaution completed my reassurance. I +laid down and, as usual, took a book from my night-table to read +myself to sleep. Then I received a great surprise. Instead of the +paper-knife with which I had marked my place on the preceding, I +found an envelope, closed with five seals of red wax. I seized it +eagerly. It was addressed to me, and marked: "Urgent." + +A letter! A letter addressed to me! Who could have put it in that +place? Nervously, I tore open the envelope, and read: + +"From the moment you open this letter, whatever happens, whatever +you may hear, do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise you are +doomed." + +I am not a coward, and, quite as well as another, I can face real +danger, or smile at the visionary perils of imagination. But, let +me repeat, I was in an anomalous condition of mind, with my nerves +set on edge by the events of the evening. Besides, was there not, +in my present situation, something startling and mysterious, +calculated to disturb the most courageous spirit? + +My feverish fingers clutched the sheet of paper, and I read and re- +read those threatening words: "Do not move, do not utter one cry. +Otherwise, you are doomed." + +"Nonsense!" I thought. "It is a joke; the work of some cheerful +idiot." + +I was about to laugh--a good loud laugh. Who prevented me? What +haunting fear compressed my throat? + +At least, I would blow out the candle. No, I could not do it. "Do +not move, or you are doomed," were the words he had written. + +These auto-suggestions are frequently more imperious than the most +positive realities; but why should I struggle against them? I had +simply to close my eyes. I did so. + +At that moment, I heard a slight noise, followed by crackling +sounds, proceeding from a large room used by me as a library. A +small room or antechamber was situated between the library and my +bedchamber. + +The approach of an actual danger greatly excited me, and I felt a +desire to get up, seize my revolver, and rush into the library. I +did not rise; I saw one of the curtains of the left window move. +There was no doubt about it: the curtain had moved. It was still +moving. And I saw--oh! I saw quite distinctly--in the narrow space +between the curtains and the window, a human form; a bulky mass +that prevented the curtains from hanging straight. And it is +equally certain that the man saw me through the large meshes of the +curtain. Then, I understood the situation. His mission was to +guard me while the others carried away their booty. Should I rise +and seize my revolver? Impossible! He was there! At the least +movement, at the least cry, I was doomed. + +Then came a terrific noise that shook the house; this was followed +by lighter sounds, two or three together, like those of a hammer +that rebounded. At least, that was the impression formed in my +confused brain. These were mingled with other sounds, thus +creating a veritable uproar which proved that the intruders were +not only bold, but felt themselves secure from interruption. + +They were right. I did not move. Was it cowardice? No, rather +weakness, a total inability to move any portion of my body, +combined with discretion; for why should I struggle? Behind that +man, there were ten others who would come to his assistance. +Should I risk my life to save a few tapestries and bibelots? + +Throughout the night, my torture endured. Insufferable torture, +terrible anguish! The noises had stopped, but I was in constant +fear of their renewal. And the man! The man who was guarding me, +weapon in hand. My fearful eyes remained cast in his direction. +And my heart beat! And a profuse perspiration oozed from every +pore of my body! + +Suddenly, I experienced an immense relief; a milk-wagon, whose +sound was familiar to me, passed along the boulevard; and, at the +same time, I had an impression that the light of a new day was +trying to steal through the closed window-blinds. + +At last, daylight penetrated the room; other vehicles passed along +the boulevard; and all the phantoms of the night vanished. Then I +put one arm out of the bed, slowly and cautiously. My eyes were +fixed upon the curtain, locating the exact spot at which I must +fire; I made an exact calculation of the movements I must make; +then, quickly, I seized my revolver and fired. + +I leaped from my bed with a cry of deliverance, and rushed to the +window. The bullet had passed through the curtain and the window- +glass, but it had not touched the man--for the very good reason that +there was none there. Nobody! Thus, during the entire night, I +had been hypnotized by a fold of the curtain. And, during that +time, the malefactors....Furiously, with an enthusiasm that nothing +could have stopped, I turned the key, opened the door, crossed the +antechamber, opened another door, and rushed into the library. But +amazement stopped me on the threshold, panting, astounded, more +astonished than I had been by the absence of the man. All the +things that I supposed had been stolen, furniture, books, pictures, +old tapestries, everything was in its proper place. + +It was incredible. I could not believe my eyes. Notwithstanding +that uproar, those noises of removal....I made a tour, I inspected +the walls, I made a mental inventory of all the familiar objects. +Nothing was missing. And, what was more disconcerting, there was +no clue to the intruders, not a sign, not a chair disturbed, not +the trace of a footstep. + +"Well! Well!" I said to myself, pressing my hands on my bewildered +head, "surely I am not crazy! I hear something!" + +Inch by inch, I made a careful examination of the room. It was in +vain. Unless I could consider this as a discovery: Under a small +Persian rug, I found a card--an ordinary playing card. It was the +seven of hearts; it was like any other seven of hearts in French +playing-cards, with this slight but curious exception: The extreme +point of each of the seven red spots or hearts was pierced by a +hole, round and regular as if made with the point of an awl. + +Nothing more. A card and a letter found in a book. But was not +that sufficient to affirm that I had not been the plaything of a +dream? + +* * * * * + +Throughout the day, I continued my searches in the library. It was +a large room, much too large for the requirements of such a house, +and the decoration of which attested the bizarre taste of its +founder. The floor was a mosaic of multicolored stones, formed +into large symmetrical designs. The walls were covered with a +similar mosaic, arranged in panels, Pompeiian allegories, Byzantine +compositions, frescoes of the Middle Ages. A Bacchus bestriding a +cask. An emperor wearing a gold crown, a flowing beard, and +holding a sword in his right hand. + +Quite high, after the style of an artist's studio, there was a +large window--the only one in the room. That window being always +open at night, it was probable that the men had entered through it, +by the aid of a ladder. But, again, there was no evidence. The +bottom of the ladder would have left some marks in the soft earth +beneath the window; but there were none. Nor were there any traces +of footsteps in any part of the yard. + +I had no idea of informing the police, because the facts I had +before me were so absurd and inconsistent. They would laugh at me. +However, as I was then a reporter on the staff of the `Gil Blas,' I +wrote a lengthy account of my adventure and it was published in the +paper on the second day thereafter. The article attracted some +attention, but no one took it seriously. They regarded it as a +work of fiction rather than a story of real life. The Saint- +Martins rallied me. But Daspry, who took an interest in such +matters, came to see me, made a study of the affair, but reached no +conclusion. + +A few mornings later, the door-bell rang, and Antoine came to +inform me that a gentleman desired to see me. He would not give +his name. I directed Antoine to show him up. He was a man of +about forty years of age with a very dark complexion, lively +features, and whose correct dress, slightly frayed, proclaimed a +taste that contrasted strangely with his rather vulgar manners. +Without any preamble, he said to me--in a rough voice that confirmed +my suspicion as to his social position: + +"Monsieur, whilst in a cafe, I picked up a copy of the `Gil Blas,' +and read your article. It interested me very much. + +"Thank you." + +"And here I am." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, to talk to you. Are all the facts related by you quite +correct?" + +"Absolutely so." + +"Well, in that case, I can, perhaps, give you some information." + +"Very well; proceed." + +"No, not yet. First, I must be sure that the facts are exactly as +you have related them." + +"I have given you my word. What further proof do you want?" + +"I must remain alone in this room." + +"I do not understand," I said, with surprise. + +"It's an idea that occurred to me when reading your article. +Certain details established an extraordinary coincidence with +another case that came under my notice. If I am mistaken, I shall +say nothing more. And the only means of ascertaining the truth is +by my remaining in the room alone." + +What was at the bottom of this proposition? Later, I recalled that +the man was exceedingly nervous; but, at the same time, although +somewhat astonished, I found nothing particularly abnormal about +the man or the request he had made. Moreover, my curiosity was +aroused; so I replied: + +"Very well. How much time do you require?" + +"Oh! three minutes--not longer. Three minutes from now, I will +rejoin you." + +I left the room, and went downstairs. I took out my watch. One +minute passed. Two minutes. Why did I feel so depressed? Why did +those moments seem so solemn and weird? Two minutes and a +half....Two minutes and three quarters. Then I heard a pistol +shot. + +I bounded up the stairs and entered the room. A cry of horror +escaped me. In the middle of the room, the man was lying on his +left side, motionless. Blood was flowing from a wound in his +forehead. Near his hand was a revolver, still smoking. + +But, in addition to this frightful spectacle, my attention was +attracted by another object. At two feet from the body, upon the +floor, I saw a playing-card. It was the seven of hearts. I picked +it up. The lower extremity of each of the seven spots was pierced +with a small round hole. + +* * * * * + +A half-hour later, the commissary of police arrived, then the +coroner and the chief of the Surete, Mon. Dudouis. I had been +careful not to touch the corpse. The preliminary inquiry was very +brief, and disclosed nothing. There were no papers in the pockets +of the deceased; no name upon his clothes; no initial upon his +linen; nothing to give any clue to his identity. The room was in +the same perfect order as before. The furniture had not been +disturbed. Yet this man had not come to my house solely for the +purpose of killing himself, or because he considered my place the +most convenient one for his suicide! There must have been a motive +for his act of despair, and that motive was, no doubt, the result +of some new fact ascertained by him during the three minutes he was +alone. + +What was that fact? What had he seen? What frightful secret had +been revealed to him? There was no answer to these questions. +But, at the last moment, an incident occurred that appeared to us +of considerable importance. As two policemen were raising the body +to place it on a stretcher, the left hand thus being disturbed, a +crumpled card fell from it. The card bore these words: "Georges +Andermatt, 37 Rue de Berry." + +What did that mean? Georges Andermatt was a rich banker in Paris, +the founder and president of the Metal Exchange which had given +such an impulse to the metallic industries in France. He lived in +princely style; was the possessor of numerous automobiles, coaches, +and an expensive racing-stable. His social affairs were very +select, and Madame Andermatt was noted for her grace and beauty. + +"Can that be the man's name?" I asked. + +--------------- + +The chief of the Surete leaned over him. + +"It is not he. Mon. Andermatt is a thin man, and slightly grey." + +"But why this card?" + +"Have you a telephone, monsieur?" + +"Yes, in the vestibule. Come with me." + +He looked in the directory, and then asked for number 415.21. + +"Is Mon. Andermatt at home?....Please tell him that Mon. Dudouis +wished him to come at once to 102 Boulevard Maillot. Very +important." + +Twenty minutes later, Mon. Andermatt arrived in his automobile. +After the circumstances had been explained to him, he was taken in +to see the corpse. He displayed considerable emotion, and spoke, +in a low tone, and apparently unwillingly: + +"Etienne Varin," he said. + +"You know him?" + +"No....or, at least, yes....by sight only. His brother...." + +"Ah! he has a brother?" + +"Yes, Alfred Varin. He came to see me once on some matter of +business....I forget what it was." + +"Where does he live?" + +"The two brothers live together--rue de Provence, I think." + +"Do you know any reason why he should commit suicide?" + +"None." + +"He held a card in his hand. It was your card with your address." + +"I do not understand that. It must have been there by some chance +that will be disclosed by the investigation." + +A very strange chance, I thought; and I felt that the others +entertained the same impression. + +I discovered the same impression in the papers next day, and +amongst all my friends with whom I discussed the affair. Amid the +mysteries that enveloped it, after the double discovery of the +seven of hearts pierced with seven holes, after the two inscrutable +events that had happened in my house, that visiting card promised +to throw some light on the affair. Through it, the truth may be +revealed. But, contrary to our expectations, Mon. Andermatt +furnished no explanation. He said: + +"I have told you all I know. What more can I do? I am greatly +surprised that my card should be found in such a place, and I +sincerely hope the point will be cleared up." + +It was not. The official investigation established that the Varin +brothers were of Swiss origin, had led a shifting life under +various names, frequenting gambling resorts, associating with a +band of foreigners who had been dispersed by the police after a +series of robberies in which their participation was established +only by their flight. At number 24 rue de Provence, where the +Varin brothers had lived six years before, no one knew what had +become of them. + +I confess that, for my part, the case seemed to me so complicated +and so mysterious that I did not think the problem would ever be +solved, so I concluded to waste no more time upon it. But Jean +Daspry, whom I frequently met at that period, became more and more +interested in it each day. It was he who pointed out to me that +item from a foreign newspaper which was reproduced and commented +upon by the entire press. It was as follows: + +"The first trial of a new model of submarine boat, which is +expected to revolutionize naval warfare, will be given in presence +of the former Emperor at a place that will be kept secret until the +last minute. An indiscretion has revealed its name; it is called +`The Seven-of-Hearts.'" + +The Seven-of-Hearts! That presented a new problem. Could a +connection be established between the name of the sub-marine and +the incidents which we have related? But a connection of what +nature? What had happened here could have no possible relation +with the sub-marine. + +"What do you know about it?" said Daspry to me. "The most diverse +effects often proceed from the same cause." + +Two days later, the following foreign news item was received and +published: + +"It is said that the plans of the new sub-marine `Seven-of-Hearts' +were prepared by French engineers, who, having sought, in vain, the +support of their compatriots, subsequently entered into +negotiations with the British Admiralty, without success." + +I do not wish to give undue publicity to certain delicate matters +which once provoked considerable excitement. Yet, since all danger +of injury therefrom has now come to an end, I must speak of the +article that appeared in the `Echo de France,' which aroused so +much comment at that time, and which threw considerable light upon +the mystery of the Seven-of-Hearts. This is the article as it was +published over the signature of Salvator: + + "THE AFFAIR OF THE SEVEN-OF-HEARTS. + + "A CORNER OF THE VEIL RAISED. + + "We will be brief. Ten years ago, a young mining engineer, Louis + Lacombe, wishing to devote his time and fortune to certain studies, + resigned his position he then held, and rented number 102 boulevard + Maillot, a small house that had been recently built and decorated + for an Italian count. Through the agency of the Varin brothers of + Lausanne, one of whom assisted in the preliminary experiments and + the other acted as financial agent, the young engineer was + introduced to Georges Andermatt, the founder of the Metal Exchange. + + "After several interviews, he succeeded in interesting the banker + in a sub-marine boat on which he was working, and it was agreed + that as soon as the invention was perfected, Mon. Andermatt would + use his influence with the Minister of Marine to obtain a series of + trials under the direction of the government. For two years, Louis + Lacombe was a frequent visitor at Andermatt's house, and he + submitted to the banker the various improvements he made upon his + original plans, until one day, being satisfied with the perfection + of his work, he asked Mon. Andermatt to communicate with the + Minister of Marine. That day, Louis Lacombe dined at Mon. + Andermatt's house. He left there about half-past eleven at night. + He has not been seen since. + + "A perusal of the newspapers of that date will show that the + young man's family caused every possible inquiry to be made, but + without success; and it was the general opinion that Louis Lacombe-- + who was known as an original and visionary youth--had quietly left + for parts unknown. + + "Let us accept that theory--improbable, though it be,--and let us + consider another question, which is a most important one for our + country: What has become of the plans of the sub-marine? Did Louis + Lacombe carry them away? Are they destroyed? + + "After making a thorough investigation, we are able to assert, + positively, that the plans are in existence, and are now in the + possession of the two brothers Varin. How did they acquire such a + possession? That is a question not yet determined; nor do we know + why they have not tried to sell them at an earlier date. Did they + fear that their title to them would be called in question? If so, + they have lost that fear, and we can announce definitely, that the + plans of Louis Lacombe are now the property of foreign power, and + we are in a position to publish the correspondence that passed + between the Varin brothers and the representative of that power. + The `Seven-of-Hearts' invented by Louis Lacombe has been actually + constructed by our neighbor. + + "Will the invention fulfill the optimistic expectations of those + who were concerned in that treacherous act?" + +And a post-script adds: + + "Later.--Our special correspondent informs us that the preliminary + trial of the `Seven-of-Hearts' has not been satisfactory. It is + quite likely that the plans sold and delivered by the Varin + brothers did not include the final document carried by Louis + Lacombe to Mon. Andermatt on the day of his disappearance, a + document that was indispensable to a thorough understanding of the + invention. It contained a summary of the final conclusions of the + inventor, and estimates and figures not contained in the other + papers. Without this document, the plans are incomplete; on the + other hand, without the plans, the document is worthless. + + "Now is the time to act and recover what belongs to us. It may + be a difficult matter, but we rely upon the assistance of Mon. + Andermatt. It will be to his interest to explain his conduct which + has hitherto been so strange and inscrutable. He will explain not + only why he concealed these facts at the time of the suicide of + Etienne Varin, but also why he has never revealed the disappearance + of the paper--a fact well known to him. He will tell why, during + the last six years, he paid spies to watch the movements of the + Varin brothers. We expect from him, not only words, but acts. And + at once. Otherwise---" + +The threat was plainly expressed. But of what did it consist? +What whip was Salvator, the anonymous writer of the article, +holding over the head of Mon. Andermatt? + +An army of reporters attacked the banker, and ten interviewers +announced the scornful manner in which they were treated. +Thereupon, the `Echo de France' announced its position in these +words: + +"Whether Mon. Andermatt is willing or not, he will be, henceforth, +our collaborator in the work we have undertaken." + +* * * * * + +Daspry and I were dining together on the day on which that +announcement appeared. That evening, with the newspapers spread +over my table, we discussed the affair and examined it from every +point of view with that exasperation that a person feels when +walking in the dark and finding himself constantly falling over the +same obstacles. Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the door +opened and a lady entered. Her face was hidden behind a thick +veil. I rose at once and approached her. + +"Is it you, monsieur, who lives here?" she asked. + +"Yes, madame, but I do not understand---" + +"The gate was not locked," she explained. + +"But the vestibule door?" + +She did not reply, and it occurred to me that she had used the +servants' entrance. How did she know the way? Then there was a +silence that was quite embarrassing. She looked at Daspry, and I +was obliged to introduce him. I asked her to be seated and explain +the object of her visit. She raised her veil, and I saw that she +was a brunette with regular features and, though not handsome, she +was attractive--principally, on account of her sad, dark eyes. + +"I am Madame Andermatt," she said. + +"Madame Andermatt!" I repeated, with astonishment. + +After a brief pause, she continued with a voice and manner that +were quite easy and natural: + +"I have come to see you about that affair--you know. I thought I +might be able to obtain some information---" + +"Mon Dieu, madame, I know nothing but what has already appeared in +the papers. But if you will point out in what way I can help you. ..." + +"I do not know....I do not know." + +Not until then did I suspect that her calm demeanor was assumed, +and that some poignant grief was concealed beneath that air of +tranquility. For a moment, we were silent and embarrassed. Then +Daspry stepped forward, and said: + +"Will you permit me to ask you a few questions?" + +"Yes, yes," she cried. "I will answer." + +"You will answer....whatever those questions may be?" + +"Yes." + +"Did you know Louis Lacombe?" he asked. + +"Yes, through my husband." + +"When did you see him for the last time?" + +"The evening he dined with us." + +"At that time, was there anything to lead you to believe that you +would never see him again?" + +"No. But he had spoken of a trip to Russia--in a vague way." + +"Then you expected to see him again?" + +"Yes. He was to dine with us, two days later." + +"How do you explain his disappearance?" + +"I cannot explain it." + +"And Mon. Andermatt?" + +"I do not know." + +"Yet the article published in the `Echo de France' indicates---" + +"Yes, that the Varin brothers had something to do with his +disappearance." + +"Is that your opinion?" + +"Yes." + +"On what do you base your opinion?" + +"When he left our house, Louis Lacombe carried a satchel containing +all the papers relating to his invention. Two days later, my +husband, in a conversation with one of the Varin brothers, learned +that the papers were in their possession." + +"And he did not denounce them?" + +"No." + +"Why not?" + +"Because there was something else in the satchel--something besides +the papers of Louis Lacombe." + +"What was it?" + +She hesitated; was on the point of speaking, but, finally, remained +silent. Daspry continued: + +"I presume that is why your husband has kept a close watch over +their movements instead of informing the police. He hoped to +recover the papers and, at the same time, that compromising article +which has enabled the two brothers to hold over him threats of +exposure and blackmail." + +"Over him, and over me." + +"Ah! over you, also?" + +"Over me, in particular." + +She uttered the last words in a hollow voice. Daspry observed it; +he paced to and fro for a moment, then, turning to her, asked: + +"Had you written to Louis Lacombe?" + +"Of course. My husband had business with him--" + +"Apart from those business letters, had you written to Louis +Lacombe....other letters? Excuse my insistence, but it is +absolutely necessary that I should know the truth. Did you write +other letters?" + +"Yes," she replied, blushing. + +"And those letters came into the possession of the Varin brothers?" + +"Yes." + +"Does Mon. Andermatt know it?" + +"He has not seen them, but Alfred Varin has told him of their +existence and threatened to publish them if my husband should take +any steps against him. My husband was afraid....of a scandal." + +"But he has tried to recover the letters?" + +"I think so; but I do not know. You see, after that last interview +with Alfred Varin, and after some harsh words between me and my +husband in which he called me to account--we live as strangers." + +"In that case, as you have nothing to lose, what do you fear?" + +"I may be indifferent to him now, but I am the woman that he has +loved, the one he would still love--oh! I am quite sure of that," +she murmured, in a fervent voice, "he would still love me if he had +not got hold of those cursed letters----" + +"What! Did he succeed?....But the two brothers still defied +him?" + +"Yes, and they boasted of having a secure hiding-place." + +"Well?" + +"I believe my husband discovered that hiding-place." + +"Well?" + +"I believe my husband has discovered that hiding-place." + +"Ah! where was it?" + +"Here." + +"Here!" I cried in alarm. + +"Yes. I always had that suspicion. Louis Lacombe was very +ingenious and amused himself in his leisure hours, by making safes +and locks. No doubt, the Varin brothers were aware of that fact +and utilized one of Lacombe's safes in which to conceal the +letters....and other things, perhaps." + +"But they did not live here," I said. + +"Before you came, four months ago, the house had been vacant for +some time. And they may have thought that your presence here would +not interfere with them when they wanted to get the papers. But +they did not count on my husband, who came here on the night of 22 +June, forced the safe, took what he was seeking, and left his card +to inform the two brothers that he feared them no more, and that +their positions were now reversed. Two days later, after reading +the article in the `Gil Blas,' Etienne Varin came here, remained +alone in this room, found the safe empty, and....killed +himself." + +After a moment, Daspry said: + +"A very simple theory....Has Mon. Andermatt spoken to you since +then?" + +"No." + +"Has his attitude toward you changed in any way? Does he appear +more gloomy, more anxious?" + +"No, I haven't noticed any change." + +"And yet you think he has secured the letters. Now, in my opinion, +he has not got those letters, and it was not he who came here on +the night of 22 June." + +"Who was it, then?" + +"The mysterious individual who is managing this affair, who holds +all the threads in his hands, and whose invisible but far-reaching +power we have felt from the beginning. It was he and his friends +who entered this house on 22 June; it was he who discovered the +hiding-place of the papers; it was he who left Mon. Andermatt's +card; it is he who now holds the correspondence and the evidence of +the treachery of the Varin brothers." + +"Who is he?" I asked, impatiently. + +"The man who writes letters to the `Echo de France'.... +Salvator! Have we not convincing evidence of that fact? Does he not +mention in his letters certain details that no one could know, +except the man who had thus discovered the secrets of the two +brothers?" + +"Well, then," stammered Madame Andermatt, in great alarm, "he has +my letters also, and it is he who now threatens my husband. Mon +Dieu! What am I to do?" + +"Write to him," declared Daspry. "Confide in him without reserve. +Tell him all you know and all you may hereafter learn. Your +interest and his interest are the same. He is not working against +Mon. Andermatt, but against Alfred Varin. Help him." + +"How?" + +"Has your husband the document that completes the plans of Louis +Lacombe?" + +"Yes." + +"Tell that to Salvator, and, if possible, procure the document for +him. Write to him at once. You risk nothing." + +The advice was bold, dangerous even at first sight, but Madame +Andermatt had no choice. Besides, as Daspry had said, she ran no +risk. If the unknown writer were an enemy, that step would not +aggravate the situation. If he were a stranger seeking to +accomplish a particular purpose, he would attach to those letters +only a secondary importance. Whatever might happen, it was the +only solution offered to her, and she, in her anxiety, was only too +glad to act on it. She thanked us effusively, and promised to keep +us informed. + +In fact, two days later, she sent us the following letter that she +had received from Salvator: + +"Have not found the letters, but I will get them. Rest easy. I am +watching everything. S." + +I looked at the letter. It was in the same handwriting as the note +I found in my book on the night of 22 June. + +Daspry was right. Salvator was, indeed, the originator of that +affair. + +* * * * * + +We were beginning to see a little light coming out of the darkness +that surrounded us, and an unexpected light was thrown on certain +points; but other points yet remained obscure--for instance, the +finding of the two seven-of-hearts. Perhaps I was unnecessarily +concerned about those two cards whose seven punctured spots had +appeared to me under such startling circumstances! Yet I could not +refrain from asking myself: What role will they play in the drama? +What importance do they bear? What conclusion must be drawn from +the fact that the submarine constructed from the plans of Louis +Lacombe bore the name of `Seven-of-Hearts'? + +Daspry gave little thought to the other two cards; he devoted all +his attention to another problem which he considered more urgent; +he was seeking the famous hiding-place. + +"And who knows," said he, "I may find the letters that Salvator did +not find--by inadvertence, perhaps. It is improbable that the Varin +brothers would have removed from a spot, which they deemed +inaccessible, the weapon which was so valuable to them." + +And he continued to search. In a short time, the large room held +no more secrets for him, so he extended his investigations to the +other rooms. He examined the interior and the exterior, the stones +of the foundation, the bricks in the walls; he raised the slates of +the roof. + +One day, he came with a pickaxe and a spade, gave me the spade, +kept the pickaxe, pointed to the adjacent vacant lots, and said: +"Come." + +I followed him, but I lacked his enthusiasm. He divided the vacant +land into several sections which he examined in turn. At last, in +a corner, at the angle formed by the walls of two neighboring +proprietors, a small pile of earth and gravel, covered with briers +and grass, attracted his attention. He attacked it. I was obliged +to help him. For an hour, under a hot sun, we labored without +success. I was discouraged, but Daspry urged me on. His ardor was +as strong as ever. + +At last, Daspry's pickaxe unearthed some bones--the remains of a +skeleton to which some scraps of clothing still hung. Suddenly, I +turned pale. I had discovered, sticking in the earth, a small +piece of iron cut in the form of a rectangle, on which I thought I +could see red spots. I stooped and picked it up. That little iron +plate was the exact size of a playing-card, and the red spots, made +with red lead, were arranged upon it in a manner similar to the +seven-of-hearts, and each spot was pierced with a round hole +similar to the perforations in the two playing cards. + +"Listen, Daspry, I have had enough of this. You can stay if it +interests you. But I am going." + +Was that simply the expression of my excited nerves? Or was it the +result of a laborious task executed under a burning sun? I know +that I trembled as I walked away, and that I went to bed, where I +remained forty-eight hours, restless and feverish, haunted by +skeletons that danced around me and threw their bleeding hearts at +my head. + +Daspry was faithful to me. He came to my house every day, and +remained three or four hours, which he spent in the large room, +ferreting, thumping, tapping. + +"The letters are here, in this room," he said, from time to time, +"they are here. I will stake my life on it." + +On the morning of the third day I arose--feeble yet, but cured. A +substantial breakfast cheered me up. But a letter that I received +that afternoon contributed, more than anything else, to my complete +recovery, and aroused in me a lively curiosity. This was the +letter: + + "Monsieur, + + "The drama, the first act of which transpired on the night of 22 + June, is now drawing to a close. Force of circumstances compel me + to bring the two principal actors in that drama face to face, and I + wish that meeting to take place in your house, if you will be so + kind as to give me the use of it for this evening from nine o'clock + to eleven. It will be advisable to give your servant leave of + absence for the evening, and, perhaps, you will be so kind as to + leave the field open to the two adversaries. You will remember + that when I visited your house on the night of 22 June, I took + excellent care of your property. I feel that I would do you an + injustice if I should doubt, for one moment, your absolute + discretion in this affair. Your devoted, + + "SALVATOR." + +I was amused at the facetious tone of his letter and also at the +whimsical nature of his request. There was a charming display of +confidence and candor in his language, and nothing in the world +could have induced me to deceive him or repay his confidence with +ingratitude. + +I gave my servant a theatre ticket, and he left the house at eight +o'clock. A few minutes later, Daspry arrived. I showed him the +letter. + +"Well?" said he. + +"Well, I have left the garden gate unlocked, so anyone can enter." + +"And you--are you going away?" + +"Not at all. I intend to stay right here." + +"But he asks you to go---" + +"But I am not going. I will be discreet, but I am resolved to see +what takes place." + +"Ma foi!" exclaimed Daspry, laughing, "you are right, and I shall +stay with you. I shouldn't like to miss it." + +We were interrupted by the sound of the door-bell. + +"Here already?" said Daspry, "twenty minutes ahead of time! +Incredible!" + +I went to the door and ushered in the visitor. It was Madame +Andermatt. She was faint and nervous, and in a stammering voice, +she ejaculated: + +"My husband....is coming....he has an appointment.... +they intend to give him the letters...." + +"How do you know?" I asked. + +"By chance. A message came for my husband while we were at dinner. +The servant gave it to me by mistake. My husband grabbed it +quickly, but he was too late. I had read it." + +"You read it?" + +"Yes. It was something like this: `At nine o'clock this evening, +be at Boulevard Maillot with the papers connected with the affair. +In exchange, the letters.' So, after dinner, I hastened here." + +"Unknown to your husband?" + +"Yes." + +"What do you think about it?" asked Daspry, turning to me. + +"I think as you do, that Mon. Andermatt is one of the invited +guests." + +"Yes, but for what purpose?" + +"That is what we are going to find out." + +I led the men to a large room. The three of us could hide +comfortably behind the velvet chimney-mantle, and observe all that +should happen in the room. We seated ourselves there, with Madame +Andermatt in the centre. + +The clock struck nine. A few minutes later, the garden gate +creaked upon its hinges. I confess that I was greatly agitated. I +was about to learn the key to the mystery. The startling events of +the last few weeks were about to be explained, and, under my eyes, +the last battle was going to be fought. Daspry seized the hand of +Madame Andermatt, and said to her: + +"Not a word, not a movement! Whatever you may see or hear, keep +quiet!" + +Some one entered. It was Alfred Varin. I recognized him at once, +owing to the close resemblance he bore to his brother Etienne. +There was the same slouching gait; the same cadaverous face covered +with a black beard. + +He entered with the nervous air of a man who is accustomed to fear +the presence of traps and ambushes; who scents and avoids them. He +glanced about the room, and I had the impression that the chimney, +masked with a velvet portiere, did not please him. He took three +steps in our direction, when something caused him to turn and walk +toward the old mosaic king, with the flowing beard and flamboyant +sword, which he examined minutely, mounting on a chair and +following with his fingers the outlines of the shoulders and head +and feeling certain parts of the face. Suddenly, he leaped from +the chair and walked away from it. He had heard the sound of +approaching footsteps. Mon. Andermatt appeared at the door. + +"You! You!" exclaimed the banker. "Was it you who brought me +here?" + +"I? By no means," protested Varin, in a rough, jerky voice that +reminded me of his brother, "on the contrary, it was your letter +that brought me here." + +"My letter?" + +"A letter signed by you, in which you offered---" + +"I never wrote to you," declared Mon. Andermatt. + +"You did not write to me!" + +Instinctively, Varin was put on his guard, not against the banker, +but against the unknown enemy who had drawn him into this trap. A +second time, he looked in our direction, then walked toward the +door. But Mon. Andermatt barred his passage. + +"Well, where are you going, Varin?" + +"There is something about this affair I don't like. I am going +home. Good evening." + +"One moment!" + +"No need of that, Mon. Andermatt. I have nothing to say to you." + +"But I have something to say to you, and this is a good time to say +it." + +"Let me pass." + +"No, you will not pass." + +Varin recoiled before the resolute attitude of the banker, as he +muttered: + +"Well, then, be quick about it." + +One thing astonished me; and I have no doubt my two companions +experienced a similar feeling. Why was Salvator not there? Was he +not a necessary party at this conference? Or was he satisfied to +let these two adversaries fight it out between themselves? At all +events, his absence was a great disappointment, although it did not +detract from the dramatic strength of the situation. + +After a moment, Mon. Andermatt approached Varin and, face to face, +eye to eye, said: + +"Now, after all these years and when you have nothing more to fear, +you can answer me candidly: What have you done with Louis Lacombe?" + +"What a question! AS if I knew anything about him!" + +"You do know! You and your brother were his constant companions, +almost lived with him in this very house. You knew all about his +plans and his work. And the last night I ever saw Louis Lacombe, +when I parted with him at my door, I saw two men slinking away in +the shadows of the trees. That, I am ready to swear to." + +"Well, what has that to do with me?" + +"The two men were you and your brother." + +"Prove it." + +"The best proof is that, two days later, you yourself showed me the +papers and the plans that belonged to Lacombe and offered to sell +them. How did these papers come into your possession?" + +"I have already told you, Mon. Andermatt, that we found them on +Louis Lacombe's table, the morning after his disappearance." + +"That is a lie!" + +"Prove it." + +"The law will prove it." + +"Why did you not appeal to the law?" + +"Why? Ah! Why---," stammered the banker, with a slight display of +emotion. + +"You know very well, Mon. Andermatt, if you had the least certainty +of our guilt, our little threat would not have stopped you." + +"What threat? Those letters? Do you suppose I ever gave those +letters a moment's thought?" + +"If you did not care for the letters, why did you offer me +thousands of francs for their return? And why did you have my +brother and me tracked like wild beasts?" + +"To recover the plans." + +"Nonsense! You wanted the letters. You knew that as soon as you +had the letters in your possession, you could denounce us. Oh! no, +I couldn't part with them!" + +He laughed heartily, but stopped suddenly, and said: + +"But, enough of this! We are merely going over old ground. We +make no headway. We had better let things stand as they are." + +"We will not let them stand as they are," said the banker, "and +since you have referred to the letters, let me tell you that you +will not leave this house until you deliver up those letters." + +"I shall go when I please." + +"You will not." + +"Be careful, Mon. Andermatt. I warn you---" + +"I say, you shall not go." + +"We will see about that," cried Varin, in such a rage that Madame +Andermatt could not suppress a cry of fear. Varin must have heard +it, for he now tried to force his way out. Mon. Andermatt pushed +him back. Then I saw him put his hand into his coat pocket. + +"For the last time, let me pass," he cried. + +"The letters, first!" + +Varin drew a revolver and, pointing it at Mon. Andermatt, said: + +"Yes or no?" + +The banker stooped quickly. There was the sound of a pistol-shot. +The weapon fell from Varin's hand. I was amazed. The shot was +fired close to me. It was Daspry who had fired it at Varin, +causing him to drop the revolver. In a moment, Daspry was standing +between the two men, facing Varin; he said to him, with a sneer: + +"You were lucky, my friend, very lucky. I fired at your hand and +struck only the revolver." + +Both of them looked at him, surprised. Then he turned to the +banker, and said: + +"I beg your pardon, monsieur, for meddling in your business; but, +really, you play a very poor game. Let me hold the cards." + +Turning again to Varin, Daspry said: + +"It's between us two, comrade, and play fair, if you please. +Hearts are trumps, and I play the seven." + +Then Daspry held up, before Varin's bewildered eyes, the little +iron plate, marked with the seven red spots. It was a terrible +shock to Varin. With livid features, staring eyes, and an air of +intense agony, the man seemed to be hypnotized at the sight of it. + +"Who are you?" he gasped. + +"One who meddles in other people's business, down to the very +bottom." + +"What do you want?" + +"What you brought here tonight." + +"I brought nothing." + +"Yes, you did, or you wouldn't have come. This morning, you +received an invitation to come here at nine o'clock, and bring with +you all the papers held by you. You are here. Where are the +papers?" + +There was in Daspry's voice and manner a tone of authority that I +did not understand; his manner was usually quite mild and +conciliatory. Absolutely conquered, Varin placed his hand on one +of his pockets, and said: + +"The papers are here." + +"All of them?" + +"Yes." + +"All that you took from Louis Lacombe and afterwards sold to Major +von Lieben?" + +"Yes." + +"Are these the copies or the originals?" + +"I have the originals." + +"How much do you want for them?" + +"One hundred thousand francs." + +"You are crazy," said Daspry. "Why, the major gave you only twenty +thousand, and that was like money thrown into the sea, as the boat +was a failure at the preliminary trials." + +"They didn't understand the plans." + +"The plans are not complete." + +"Then, why do you ask me for them?" + +"Because I want them. I offer you five thousand francs--not a sou +more." + +"Ten thousand. Not a sou less." + +"Agreed," said Daspry, who now turned to Mon. Andermatt, and said: + +"Monsieur will kindly sign a check for the amount." + +"But....I haven't got---" + +"Your check-book? Here it is." + +Astounded, Mon. Andermatt examined the check-book that Daspry +handed to him. + +"It is mine," he gasped. "How does that happen?" + +"No idle words, monsieur, if you please. You have merely to sign." + +The banker took out his fountain pen, filled out the check and +signed it. Varin held out his hand for it. + +"Put down your hand," said Daspry, "there is something more." +Then, to the banker, he said: "You asked for some letters, did you +not?" + +"Yes, a package of letters." + +"Where are they, Varin?" + +"I haven't got them." + +"Where are they, Varin?" + +"I don't know. My brother had charge of them." + +"They are hidden in this room." + +"In that case, you know where they are." + +"How should I know?" + +"Was it not you who found the hiding-place? You appear to be as +well informed....as Salvator." + +"The letters are not in the hiding-place." + +"They are." + +"Open it." + +Varin looked at him, defiantly. Were not Daspry and Salvator the +same person? Everything pointed to that conclusion. If so, Varin +risked nothing in disclosing a hiding-place already known. + +"Open it," repeated Daspry. + +"I have not got the seven of hearts." + +"Yes, here it is," said Daspry, handing him the iron plate. Varin +recoiled in terror, and cried: + +"No, no, I will not." + +"Never mind," replied Daspry, as he walked toward the bearded king, +climbed on a chair and applied the seven of hearts to the lower +part of the sword in such a manner that the edges of the iron plate +coincided exactly with the two edges of the sword. Then, with the +assistance of an awl which he introduced alternately into each of +the seven holes, he pressed upon seven of the little mosaic stones. +As he pressed upon the seventh one, a clicking sound was heard, and +the entire bust of the King turned upon a pivot, disclosing a large +opening lined with steel. It was really a fire-proof safe. + +"You can see, Varin, the safe is empty." + +"So I see. Then, my brother has taken out the letters." + +Daspry stepped down from the chair, approached Varin, and said: + +"Now, no more nonsense with me. There is another hiding-place. +Where is it?" + +"There is none." + +"Is it money you want? How much?" + +"Ten thousand." + +"Monsieur Andermatt, are those letters worth then thousand francs +to you?" + +"Yes," said the banker, firmly. + +Varin closed the safe, took the seven of hearts and placed it again +on the sword at the same spot. He thrust the awl into each of the +seven holes. There was the same clicking sound, but this time, +strange to relate, it was only a portion of the safe that revolved +on the pivot, disclosing quite a small safe that was built within +the door of the larger one. The packet of letters was here, tied +with a tape, and sealed. Varin handed the packet to Daspry. The +latter turned to the banker, and asked: + +"Is the check ready, Monsieur Andermatt?" + +"Yes." + +"And you have also the last document that you received from Louis +Lacombe--the one that completes the plans of the sub-marine?" + +"Yes." + +The exchange was made. Daspry pocketed the document and the +checks, and offered the packet of letters to Mon. Andermatt. + +"This is what you wanted, Monsieur." + +The banker hesitated a moment, as if he were afraid to touch those +cursed letters that he had sought so eagerly. Then, with a nervous +movement, he took them. Close to me, I heard a moan. I grasped +Madame Andermatt's hand. It was cold. + +"I believe, monsieur," said Daspry to the banker, "that our +business is ended. Oh! no thanks. It was only by a mere chance +that I have been able to do you a good turn. Good-night." + +Mon. Andermatt retired. He carried with him the letters written by +his wife to Louis Lacombe. + +"Marvelous!" exclaimed Daspry, delighted. "Everything is coming +our way. Now, we have only to close our little affair, comrade. +You have the papers?" + +"Here they are--all of them." + +Daspry examined them carefully, and then placed them in his pocket. + +"Quite right. You have kept your word," he said. + +"But---" + +"But what?" + +"The two checks? The money?" said Varin, eagerly. + +"Well, you have a great deal of assurance, my man. How dare you +ask such a thing?" + +"I ask only what is due to me." + +"Can you ask pay for returning papers that you stole? Well, I +think not!" + +Varin was beside himself. He trembled with rage; his eyes were +bloodshot. + +"The money....the twenty thousand...." he stammered. + +"Impossible! I need it myself." + +"The money!" + +"Come, be reasonable, and don't get excited. It won't do you any +good." + +Daspry seized his arm so forcibly, that Varin uttered a cry of +pain. Daspry continued: + +"Now, you can go. The air will do you good. Perhaps you want me +to show you the way. Ah! yes, we will go together to the vacant lot +near here, and I will show you a little mound of earth and stones +and under it---" + +"That is false! That is false!" + +"Oh! no, it is true. That little iron plate with the seven spots +on it came from there. Louis Lacombe always carried it, and you +buried it with the body--and with some other things that will prove +very interesting to a judge and jury." + +Varin covered his face with his hands, and muttered: + +"All right, I am beaten. Say no more. But I want to ask you one +question. I should like to know---" + +"What is it?" + +"Was there a little casket in the large safe?" + +"Yes." + +"Was it there on the night of 22 June?" + +"Yes." + +"What did it contain?" + +"Everything that the Varin brothers had put in it--a very pretty +collection of diamonds and pearls picked up here and there by the +said brothers." + +"And did you take it?" + +"Of course I did. Do you blame me?" + +"I understand....it was the disappearance of that casket that +caused my brother to kill himself." + +"Probably. The disappearance of your correspondence was not a +sufficient motive. But the disappearance of the casket....Is +that all you wish to ask me?" + +"One thing more: your name?" + +"You ask that with an idea of seeking revenge." + +"Parbleu! The tables may be turned. Today, you are on top. +To-morrow---" + +"It will be you." + +"I hope so. Your name?" + +"Arsene Lupin." + +"Arsene Lupin!" + +The man staggered, as though stunned by a heavy blow. Those two +words had deprived him of all hope. + +Daspry laughed, and said: + +"Ah! did you imagine that a Monsieur Durand or Dupont could manage +an affair like this? No, it required the skill and cunning of +Arsene Lupin. And now that you have my name, go and prepare your +revenge. Arsene Lupin will wait for you." + +Then he pushed the bewildered Varin through the door. + +"Daspry! Daspry!" I cried, pushing aside the curtain. He ran to +me. + +"What? What's the matter?" + +"Madame Andermatt is ill." + +He hastened to her, caused her to inhale some salts, and, while +caring for her, questioned me: + +"Well, what did it?" + +"The letters of Louis Lacombe that you gave to her husband." + +He struck his forehead and said: + +"Did she think that I could do such a thing!...But, of course +she would. Imbecile that I am!" + +Madame Andermatt was now revived. Daspry took from his pocket a +small package exactly similar to the one that Mon. Andermatt had +carried away. + +"Here are your letters, Madame. These are the genuine letters." + +"But....the others?" + +"The others are the same, rewritten by me and carefully worded. +Your husband will not find anything objectionable in them, and will +never suspect the substitution since they were taken from the safe +in his presence." + +"But the handwriting---" + +"There is no handwriting that cannot be imitated." + +She thanked him in the same words she might have used to a man in +her own social circle, so I concluded that she had not witnessed +the final scene between Varin and Arsene Lupin. But the surprising +revelation caused me considerable embarrassment. Lupin! My club +companion was none other than Arsene Lupin. I could not realize +it. But he said, quite at his ease: + +"You can say farewell to Jean Daspry." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, Jean Daspry is going on a long journey. I shall send him to +Morocco. There, he may find a death worthy of him. I may say that +that is his expectation." + +"But Arsene Lupin will remain?" + +"Oh! Decidedly. Arsene Lupin is simply at the threshold of his +career, and he expects---" + +I was impelled by curiosity to interrupt him, and, leading him away +from the hearing of Madame Andermatt, I asked: + +"Did you discover the smaller safe yourself--the one that held the +letters?" + +"Yes, after a great deal of trouble. I found it yesterday +afternoon while you were asleep. And yet, God knows it was simple +enough! But the simplest things are the ones that usually escape +our notice." Then, showing me the seven-of-hearts, he added: "Of +course I had guessed that, in order to open the larger safe, this +card must be placed on the sword of the mosaic king." + +"How did you guess that?" + +"Quite easily. Through private information, I knew that fact when +I came here on the evening of 22 June---" + +"After you left me---" + +"Yes, after turning the subject of our conversation to stories of +crime and robbery which were sure to reduce you to such a nervous +condition that you would not leave your bed, but would allow me to +complete my search uninterrupted." + +"The scheme worked perfectly." + +"Well, I knew when I came here that there was a casket concealed in +a safe with a secret lock, and that the seven-of-hearts was the key +to that lock. I had merely to place the card upon the spot that +was obviously intended for it. An hour's examination showed me +where the spot was." + +"One hour!" + +"Observe the fellow in mosaic." + +"The old emperor?" + +"That old emperor is an exact representation of the king of hearts +on all playing cards." + +"That's right. But how does the seven of hearts open the larger +safe at one time and the smaller safe at another time? And why did +you open only the larger safe in the first instance? I mean on the +night of 22 June." + +"Why? Because I always placed the seven of hearts in the same way. +I never changed the position. But, yesterday, I observed that by +reversing the card, by turning it upside down, the arrangement of +the seven spots on the mosaic was changed." + +"Parbleu!" + +"Of course, parbleu! But a person has to think of those things." + +"There is something else: you did not know the history of those +letters until Madame Andermatt---" + +"Spoke of them before me? No. Because I found in the safe, besides +the casket, nothing but the correspondence of the two brothers +which disclosed their treachery in regard to the plans." + +"Then it was by chance that you were led, first, to investigate the +history of the two brothers, and then to search for the plans and +documents relating to the sub-marine?" + +"Simply by chance." + +"For what purpose did you make the search?" + +"Mon Dieu!" exclaimed Daspry, laughing, "how deeply interested you +are!" + +"The subject fascinates me." + +"Very well, presently, after I have escorted Madame Andermatt to a +carriage, and dispatched a short story to the `Echo de France,' I +will return and tell you all about it." + +He sat down and wrote one of those short, clear-cut articles which +served to amuse and mystify the public. Who does not recall the +sensation that followed that article produced throughout the entire +world? + +"Arsene Lupin has solved the problem recently submitted by +Salvator. Having acquired possession of all the documents and +original plans of the engineer Louis Lacombe, he has placed them in +the hands of the Minister of Marine, and he has headed a +subscription list for the purpose of presenting to the nation the +first submarine constructed from those plans. His subscription is +twenty thousand francs." + +"Twenty thousand francs! The checks of Mon. Andermatt?" I +exclaimed, when he had given me the paper to read. + +"Exactly. It was quite right that Varin should redeem his +treachery." + +* * * * * + +And that is how I made the acquaintance of Arsene Lupin. That is +how I learned that Jean Daspry, a member of my club, was none other +than Arsene Lupin, gentleman-thief. That is how I formed very +agreeable ties of friendship with that famous man, and, thanks to +the confidence with which he honored me, how I became his very +humble and faithful historiographer. + + + +VII. MADAME IMBERT'S SAFE + + +At three o'clock in the morning, there were still half a dozen +carriages in front of one of those small houses which form only the +side of the boulevard Berthier. The door of that house opened, and +a number of guests, male and female, emerged. The majority of them +entered their carriages and were quickly driven away, leaving +behind only two men who walked down Courcelles, where they parted, +as one of them lived in that street. The other decided to return +on foot as far as the Porte-Maillot. It was a beautiful winter's +night, clear and cold; a night on which a brisk walk is agreeable +and refreshing. + +But, at the end of a few minutes, he had the disagreeable +impression that he was being followed. Turning around, he saw a +man sulking amongst the trees. He was not a coward; yet he felt it +advisable to increase his speed. Then his pursuer commenced to +run; and he deemed it prudent to draw his revolver and face him. +But he had no time. The man rushed at him and attacked him +violently. Immediately, they were engaged in a desperate struggle, +wherein he felt that his unknown assailant had the advantage. He +called for help, struggled, and was thrown down on a pile of +gravel, seized by the throat, and gagged with a handkerchief that +his assailant forced into his mouth. His eyes closed, and the man +who was smothering him with his weight arose to defend himself +against an unexpected attack. A blow from a cane and a kick from a +boot; the man uttered two cries of pain, and fled, limping and +cursing. Without deigning to pursue the fugitive, the new arrival +stooped over the prostrate man and inquired: + +"Are you hurt, monsieur?" + +He was not injured, but he was dazed and unable to stand. His +rescuer procured a carriage, placed him in it, and accompanied him +to his house on the avenue de la Grande-Armee. On his arrival +there, quite recovered, he overwhelmed his saviour with thanks. + +"I owe you my life, monsieur, and I shall not forget it. I do not +wish to alarm my wife at this time of night, but, to-morrow, she +will be pleased to thank you personally. Come and breakfast with +us. My name is Ludovic Imbert. May I ask yours?" + +"Certainly, monsieur." + +And he handed Mon. Imbert a card bearing the name: "Arsene Lupin." + +* * * * * + +At that time, Arsene Lupin did not enjoy the celebrity which the +Cahorn affair, his escape from the Prison de la Sante, and other +brilliant exploits, afterwards gained for him. He had not even +used the name of Arsene Lupin. The name was specially invented to +designate the rescuer of Mon. Imbert; that is to say, it was in +that affair that Arsene Lupin was baptized. Fully armed and ready +for the fray, it is true, but lacking the resources and authority +which command success, Arsene Lupin was then merely an apprentice +in a profession wherein he soon became a master. + +With what a thrill of joy he recalled the invitation he received +that night! At last, he had reached his goal! At last, he had +undertaken a task worthy of his strength and skill! The Imbert +millions! What a magnificent feast for an appetite like his! + +He prepared a special toilet for the occasion; a shabby frock-coat, +baggy trousers, a frayed silk hat, well-worn collar and cuffs, all +quite correct in form, but bearing the unmistakable stamp of +poverty. His cravat was a black ribbon pinned with a false +diamond. Thus accoutred, he descended the stairs of the house in +which he lived at Montmartre. At the third floor, without +stopping, he rapped on a closed door with the head of his cane. He +walked to the exterior boulevards. A tram-car was passing. He +boarded it, and some one who had been following him took a seat +beside him. It was the lodger who occupied the room on the third +floor. A moment later, this man said to Lupin: + +"Well, governor?" + +"Well, it is all fixed." + +"How?" + +"I am going there to breakfast." + +"You breakfast--there!" + +"Certainly. Why not? I rescued Mon. Ludovic Imbert from certain +death at your hands. Mon. Imbert is not devoid of gratitude. He +invited me to breakfast." + +There was a brief silence. Then the other said: + +"But you are not going to throw up the scheme?" + +"My dear boy," said Lupin, "When I arranged that little case of +assault and battery, when I took the trouble at three o'clock in the +morning, to rap you with my cane and tap you with my boot at the +risk of injuring my only friend, it was not my intention to forego +the advantages to be gained from a rescue so well arranged and +executed. Oh! no, not at all." + +"But the strange rumors we hear about their fortune?" + +"Never mind about that. For six months, I have worked on this +affair, investigated it, studied it, questioned the servants, the +money-lenders and men of straw; for six months, I have shadowed the +husband and wife. Consequently, I know what I am talking about. +Whether the fortune came to them from old Brawford, as they +pretend, or from some other source, I do not care. I know that it +is a reality; that it exists. And some day it will be mine." + +"Bigre! One hundred millions!" + +"Let us say ten, or even five--that is enough! They have a safe +full of bonds, and there will be the devil to pay if I can't get my +hands on them." + +The tram-car stopped at the Place de l'Etoile. The man whispered +to Lupin: + +"What am I to do now?" + +"Nothing, at present. You will hear from me. There is no hurry." + +Five minutes later, Arsene Lupin was ascending the magnificent +flight of stairs in the Imbert mansion, and Mon. Imbert introduced +him to his wife. Madame Gervaise Imbert was a short plump woman, +and very talkative. She gave Lupin a cordial welcome. + +"I desired that we should be alone to entertain our saviour," she +said. + +From the outset, they treated "our saviour" as an old and valued +friend. By the time dessert was served, their friendship was well +cemented, and private confidences were being exchanged. Arsene +related the story of his life, the life of his father as a +magistrate, the sorrows of his childhood, and his present +difficulties. Gervaise, in turn, spoke of her youth, her marriage, +the kindness of the aged Brawford, the hundred millions that she +had inherited, the obstacles that prevented her from obtaining the +enjoyment of her inheritance, the moneys she had been obliged to +borrow at an exorbitant rate of interest, her endless contentions +with Brawford's nephews, and the litigation! the injunctions! in +fact, everything! + +"Just think of it, Monsieur Lupin, the bonds are there, in my +husband's office, and if we detach a single coupon, we lose +everything! They are there, in our safe, and we dare not touch +them." + +Monsieur Lupin shivered at the bare idea of his proximity to so +much wealth. Yet he felt quite certain that Monsieur Lupin would +never suffer from the same difficulty as his fair hostess who +declared she dare not touch the money. + +"Ah! they are there!" he repeated, to himself; "they are there!" + +A friendship formed under such circumstances soon led to closer +relations. When discreetly questioned, Arsene Lupin confessed his +poverty and distress. Immediately, the unfortunate young man was +appointed private secretary to the Imberts, husband and wife, at a +salary of one hundred francs a month. He was to come to the house +every day and receive orders for his work, and a room on the second +floor was set apart as his office. This room was directly over +Mon. Imbert's office. + +Arsene soon realized that his position as secretary was essentially +a sinecure. During the first two months, he had only four +important letters to recopy, and was called only once to Mon. +Imbert's office; consequently, he had only one opportunity to +contemplate, officially, the Imbert safe. Moreover, he noticed +that the secretary was not invited to the social functions of the +employer. But he did not complain, as he preferred to remain, +modestly, in the shade and maintain his peace and freedom. + +However, he was not wasting any time. From the beginning, he made +clandestine visits to Mon. Imbert's office, and paid his respects +to the safe, which was hermetically closed. It was an immense +block of iron and steel, cold and stern in appearance, which could +not be forced open by the ordinary tools of the burglar's trade. +But Arsene Lupin was not discouraged. + +"Where force fails, cunning prevails," he said to himself. "The +essential thing is to be on the spot when the opportunity occurs. +In the meantime, I must watch and wait." + +He made immediately some preliminary preparations. After careful +soundings made upon the floor of his room, he introduced a lead +pipe which penetrated the ceiling of Mon. Imbert's office at a +point between the two screeds of the cornice. By means of this +pipe, he hoped to see and hear what transpired in the room below. + +Henceforth, he passed his days stretched at full length upon the +floor. He frequently saw the Imberts holding a consultation in +front of the safe, investigating books and papers. When they +turned the combination lock, he tried to learn the figures and the +number of turns they made to the right and left. He watched their +movements; he sought to catch their words. There was also a key +necessary to complete the opening of the safe. What did they do +with it? Did they hide it? + +One day, he saw them leave the room without locking the safe. He +descended the stairs quickly, and boldly entered the room. But +they had returned. + +"Oh! excuse me," said, "I made a mistake in the door." + +"Come in, Monsieur Lupin, come in," cried Madame Imbert, "are you +not at home here? We want your advice. What bonds should we sell? +The foreign securities or the government annuities?" + +"But the injunction?" said Lupin, with surprise. + +"Oh! it doesn't cover all the bonds." + +She opened the door of the safe and withdrew a package of bonds. +But her husband protested. + +"No, no, Gervaise, it would be foolish to sell the foreign bonds. +They are going up, whilst the annuities are as high as they ever +will be. What do you think, my dear friend?" + +The dear friend had no opinion; yet he advised the sacrifice of the +annuities. Then she withdrew another package and, from it, she +took a paper at random. It proved to be a three-per-cent annuity +worth two thousand francs. Ludovic placed the package of bonds in +his pocket. That afternoon, accompanied by his secretary, he sold +the annuities to a stock-broker and realized forty-six thousand +francs. + +Whatever Madame Imbert might have said about it, Arsene Lupin did +not feel at home in the Imbert house. On the contrary, his +position there was a peculiar one. He learned that the servants +did not even know his name. They called him "monsieur." Ludovic +always spoke of him in the same way: "You will tell monsieur. Has +monsieur arrived?" Why that mysterious appellation? + +Moreover, after their first outburst of enthusiasm, the Imberts +seldom spoke to him, and, although treating him with the +consideration due to a benefactor, they gave him little or no +attention. They appeared to regard him as an eccentric character +who did not like to be disturbed, and they respected his isolation +as if it were a stringent rule on his part. On one occasion, while +passing through the vestibule, he heard Madame Imbert say to the +two gentlemen: + +"He is such a barbarian!" + +"Very well," he said to himself, "I am a barbarian." + +And, without seeking to solve the question of their strange +conduct, he proceeded with the execution of his own plans. He had +decided that he could not depend on chance, nor on the negligence +of Madame Imbert, who carried the key of the safe, and who, on +locking the safe, invariably scattered the letters forming the +combination of the lock. Consequently, he must act for himself. + +Finally, an incident precipitated matters; it was the vehement +campaign instituted against the Imberts by certain newspapers that +accused the Imberts of swindling. Arsene Lupin was present at +certain family conferences when this new vicissitude was discussed. +He decided that if he waited much longer, he would lose everything. +During the next five days, instead of leaving the house about six +o'clock, according to his usual habit, he locked himself in his +room. It was supposed that he had gone out. But he was lying on +the floor surveying the office of Mon. Imbert. During those five +evenings, the favorable opportunity that he awaited did not take +place. He left the house about midnight by a side door to which he +held the key. + +But on the sixth day, he learned that the Imberts, actuated by the +malevolent insinuations of their enemies, proposed to make an +inventory of the contents of the safe. + +"They will do it to-night," thought Lupin. + +And truly, after dinner, Imbert and his wife retired to the office +and commenced to examine the books of account and the securities +contained in the safe. Thus, one hour after another passed away. +He heard the servants go upstairs to their rooms. No one now +remained on the first floor. Midnight! The Imberts were still at +work. + +"I must get to work," murmured Lupin. + +He opened his window. It opened on a court. Outside, everything +was dark and quiet. He took from his desk a knotted rope, fastened +it to the balcony in front of his window, and quietly descended as +far as the window below, which was that of the of Imbert's office. +He stood upon the balcony for a moment, motionless, with attentive +ear and watchful eye, but the heavy curtains effectually concealed +the interior of the room. He cautiously pushed on the double +window. If no one had examined it, it ought to yield to the +slightest pressure, for, during the afternoon, he had so fixed the +bolt that it would not enter the staple. + +The window yielded to his touch. Then, with infinite care, he +pushed it open sufficiently to admit his head. He parted the +curtains a few inches, looked in, and saw Mon. Imbert and his wife +sitting in front of the safe, deeply absorbed in their work and +speaking softly to each other at rare intervals. + +He calculated the distance between him and them, considered the +exact movements he would require to make in order to overcome them, +one after the other, before they could call for help, and he was +about to rush upon them, when Madame Imbert said: + +"Ah! the room is getting quite cold. I am going to bed. And you, +my dear?" + +"I shall stay and finish." + +"Finish! Why, that will take you all night." + +"Not at all. An hour, at the most." + +She retired. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed. Arsene pushed +the window a little farther open. The curtains shook. He pushed +once more. Mon. Imbert turned, and, seeing the curtains blown by +the wind, he rose to close the window. + +There was not a cry, not the trace of struggle. With a few precise +moments, and without causing him the least injury, Arsene stunned +him, wrapped the curtain about his head, bound him hand and foot, +and did it all in such a manner that Mon. Imbert had no opportunity +to recognize his assailant. + +Quickly, he approached the safe, seized two packages that he placed +under his arm, left the office, and opened the servants' gate. A +carriage was stationed in the street. + +"Take that, first--and follow me," he said to the coachman. He +returned to the office, and, in two trips, they emptied the safe. +Then Arsene went to his own room, removed the rope, and all other +traces of his clandestine work. + +A few hours later, Arsene Lupin and his assistant examined the +stolen goods. Lupin was not disappointed, as he had foreseen that +the wealth of the Imberts had been greatly exaggerated. It did not +consist of hundreds of millions, nor even tens of millions. Yet it +amounted to a very respectable sum, and Lupin expressed his +satisfaction. + +"Of course," he said, "there will be a considerable loss when we +come to sell the bonds, as we will have to dispose of them +surreptitiously at reduced prices. In the meantime, they will rest +quietly in my desk awaiting a propitious moment." + +Arsene saw no reason why he should not go to the Imbert house the +next day. But a perusal of the morning papers revealed this +startling fact: Ludovic and Gervaise Imbert had disappeared. + +When the officers of the law seized the safe and opened it, they +found there what Arsene Lupin had left--nothing. + +* * * * * + +Such are the facts; and I learned the sequel to them, one day, when +Arsene Lupin was in a confidential mood. He was pacing to and fro +in my room, with a nervous step and a feverish eye that were +unusual to him. + +"After all," I said to him, "it was your most successful venture." + +Without making a direct reply, he said: + +"There are some impenetrable secrets connected with that affair; +some obscure points that escape my comprehension. For instance: +What caused their flight? Why did they not take advantage of the +help I unconsciously gave them? It would have been so simple to +say: `The hundred millions were in the safe. They are no longer +there, because they have been stolen.'" + +"They lost their nerve." + +"Yes, that is it--they lost their nerve...On the other hand, it +is true---" + +"What is true?" + +"Oh! nothing." + +What was the meaning of Lupin's reticence? It was quite obvious +that he had not told me everything; there was something he was +loath to tell. His conduct puzzled me. It must indeed be a very +serious matter to cause such a man as Arsene Lupin even a momentary +hesitation. I threw out a few questions at random. + +"Have you seen them since?" + +"No." + +"And have you never experienced the slightest degree of pity for +those unfortunate people?" + +"I!" he exclaimed, with a start. + +His sudden excitement astonished me. Had I touched him on a sore +spot? I continued: + +"Of course. If you had not left them alone, they might have been +able to face the danger, or, at least, made their escape with full +pockets." + +"What do you mean?" he said, indignantly. "I suppose you have an +idea that my soul should be filled with remorse?" + +"Call it remorse or regrets--anything you like---" + +"They are not worth it." + +"Have you no regrets or remorse for having stolen their fortune?" + +"What fortune?" + +"The packages of bonds you took from their safe." + +"Oh! I stole their bonds, did I? I deprived them of a portion of +their wealth? Is that my crime? Ah! my dear boy, you do not know +the truth. You never imagined that those bonds were not worth the +paper they were written on. Those bonds were false--they were +counterfeit--every one of them--do you understand? THEY WERE +COUNTERFEIT!" + +I looked at him, astounded. + +"Counterfeit! The four or five millions?" + +"Yes, counterfeit!" he exclaimed, in a fit of rage. "Only so many +scraps of paper! I couldn't raise a sou on the whole of them! And +you ask me if I have any remorse. THEY are the ones who should +have remorse and pity. They played me for a simpleton; and I fell +into their trap. I was their latest victim, their most stupid +gull!" + +He was affected by genuine anger--the result of malice and wounded +pride. He continued: + +"From start to finish, I got the worst of it. Do you know the part +I played in that affair, or rather the part they made me play? +That of Andre Brawford! Yes, my boy, that is the truth, and I +never suspected it. It was not until afterwards, on reading the +newspapers, that the light finally dawned in my stupid brain. +Whilst I was posing as his "saviour," as the gentleman who had +risked his life to rescue Mon. Imbert from the clutches of an +assassin, they were passing me off as Brawford. Wasn't that +splendid? That eccentric individual who had a room on the second +floor, that barbarian that was exhibited only at a distance, was +Brawford, and Brawford was I! Thanks to me, and to the confidence +that I inspired under the name of Brawford, they were enabled to +borrow money from the bankers and other money-lenders. Ha! what an +experience for a novice! And I swear to you that I shall profit by +the lesson!" + +He stopped, seized my arm, and said to me, in a tone of +exasperation: + +"My dear fellow, at this very moment, Gervaise Imbert owes me +fifteen hundred francs." + +I could not refrain from laughter, his rage was so grotesque. He +was making a mountain out of a molehill. In a moment, he laughed +himself, and said: + +"Yes, my boy, fifteen hundred francs. You must know that I had not +received one sou of my promised salary, and, more than that, she +had borrowed from me the sum of fifteen hundred francs. All my +youthful savings! And do you know why? To devote the money to +charity! I am giving you a straight story. She wanted it for some +poor people she was assisting--unknown to her husband. And my hard- +earned money was wormed out of me by that silly pretense! Isn't it +amusing, hein? Arsene Lupin done out of fifteen hundred francs by +the fair lady from whom he stole four millions in counterfeit +bonds! And what a vast amount of time and patience and cunning I +expended to achieve that result! It was the first time in my life +that I was played for a fool, and I frankly confess that I was +fooled that time to the queen's taste!" + + + +VIII. THE BLACK PEARL + + +A violent ringing of the bell awakened the concierge of number +nine, avenue Hoche. She pulled the doorstring, grumbling: + +"I thought everybody was in. It must be three o'clock!" + +"Perhaps it is some one for the doctor," muttered her husband. + +"Third floor, left. But the doctor won't go out at night." + +"He must go to-night." + +The visitor entered the vestibule, ascended to the first floor, the +second, the third, and, without stopping at the doctor's door, he +continued to the fifth floor. There, he tried two keys. One of +them fitted the lock. + +"Ah! good!" he murmured, "that simplifies the business wonderfully. +But before I commence work I had better arrange for my retreat. +Let me see....have I had sufficient time to rouse the doctor +and be dismissed by him? Not yet....a few minutes more." + +At the end of ten minutes, he descended the stairs, grumbling +noisily about the doctor. The concierge opened the door for him +and heard it click behind him. But the door did not lock, as the +man had quickly inserted a piece of iron in the lock in such a +manner that the bolt could not enter. Then, quietly, he entered +the house again, unknown to the concierge. In case of alarm, his +retreat was assured. Noiselessly, he ascended to the fifth floor +once more. In the antechamber, by the light of his electric +lantern, he placed his hat and overcoat on one of the chairs, took +a seat on another, and covered his heavy shoes with felt slippers. + +"Ouf! Here I am--and how simple it was! I wonder why more people do +not adopt the profitable and pleasant occupation of burglar. With +a little care and reflection, it becomes a most delightful +profession. Not too quiet and monotonous, of course, as it would +then become wearisome." + +He unfolded a detailed plan of the apartment. + +"Let me commence by locating myself. Here, I see the vestibule in +which I am sitting. On the street front, the drawing-room, the +boudoir and dining-room. Useless to waste any time there, as it +appears that the countess has a deplorable taste....not a +bibelot of any value!...Now, let's get down to business!... +Ah! here is a corridor; it must lead to the bed chambers. At a +distance of three metres, I should come to the door of the +wardrobe-closet which connects with the chamber of the countess." +He folded his plan, extinguished his lantern, and proceeded down +the corridor, counting his distance, thus: + +"One metre....two metres....three metres....Here is +the door....Mon Dieu, how easy it is! Only a small, simple bolt +now separates me from the chamber, and I know that the bolt is +located exactly one metre, forty-three centimeters, from the floor. +So that, thanks to a small incision I am about to make, I can soon +get rid of the bolt." + +He drew from his pocket the necessary instruments. Then the +following idea occurred to him: + +"Suppose, by chance, the door is not bolted. I will try it first." + +He turned the knob, and the door opened. + +"My brave Lupin, surely fortune favors you....What's to be +done now? You know the situation of the rooms; you know the place +in which the countess hides the black pearl. Therefore, in order +to secure the black pearl, you have simply to be more silent than +silence, more invisible than darkness itself." + +Arsene Lupin was employed fully a half-hour in opening the second +door--a glass door that led to the countess' bedchamber. But he +accomplished it with so much skill and precaution, that even had +had the countess been awake, she would not have heard the slightest +sound. According to the plan of the rooms, that he holds, he has +merely to pass around a reclining chair and, beyond that, a small +table close to the bed. On the table, there was a box of letter- +paper, and the black pearl was concealed in that box. He stooped +and crept cautiously over the carpet, following the outlines of the +reclining-chair. When he reached the extremity of it, he stopped +in order to repress the throbbing of his heart. Although he was +not moved by any sense of fear, he found it impossible to overcome +the nervous anxiety that one usually feels in the midst of profound +silence. That circumstance astonished him, because he had passed +through many more solemn moments without the slightest trace of +emotion. No danger threatened him. Then why did his heart throb +like an alarm-bell? Was it that sleeping woman who affected him? +Was it the proximity of another pulsating heart? + +He listened, and thought he could discern the rhythmical breathing +of a person asleep. It gave him confidence, like the presence of a +friend. He sought and found the armchair; then, by slow, cautious +movements, advanced toward the table, feeling ahead of him with +outstretched arm. His right had touched one of the feet of the +table. Ah! now, he had simply to rise, take the pearl, and escape. +That was fortunate, as his heart was leaping in his breast like a +wild beast, and made so much noise that he feared it would waken +the countess. By a powerful effort of the will, he subdued the +wild throbbing of his heart, and was about to rise from the floor +when his left hand encountered, lying on the floor, an object which +he recognized as a candlestick--an overturned candlestick. A moment +later, his hand encountered another object: a clock--one of those +small traveling clocks, covered with leather. + +------- + +Well! What had happened? He could not understand. That +candlestick, that clock; why were those articles not in their +accustomed places? Ah! what had happened in the dread silence of +the night? + +Suddenly a cry escaped him. He had touched--oh! some strange, +unutterable thing! "No! no!" he thought, "it cannot be. It is +some fantasy of my excited brain." For twenty seconds, thirty +seconds, he remained motionless, terrified, his forehead bathed +with perspiration, and his fingers still retained the sensation of +that dreadful contact. + +Making a desperate effort, he ventured to extend his arm again. +Once more, his hand encountered that strange, unutterable thing. +He felt it. He must feel it and find out what it is. He found +that it was hair, human hair, and a human face; and that face was +cold, almost icy. + +However frightful the circumstances may be, a man like Arsene Lupin +controls himself and commands the situation as soon as he learns +what it is. So, Arsene Lupin quickly brought his lantern into use. +A woman was lying before him, covered with blood. Her neck and +shoulders were covered with gaping wounds. He leaned over her and +made a closer examination. She was dead. + +"Dead! Dead!" he repeated, with a bewildered air. + +He stared at those fixed eyes, that grim mouth, that livid flesh, +and that blood--all that blood which had flowed over the carpet and +congealed there in thick, black spots. He arose and turned on the +electric lights. Then he beheld all the marks of a desperate +struggle. The bed was in a state of great disorder. On the +floor, the candlestick, and the clock, with the hands pointing to +twenty minutes after eleven; then, further away, an overturned +chair; and, everywhere, there was blood, spots of blood and pools +of blood. + +"And the black pearl?" he murmured. + +The box of letter-paper was in its place. He opened it, eagerly. +The jewel-case was there, but it was empty. + +"Fichtre!" he muttered. "You boasted of your good fortune much too +soon, my friend Lupin. With the countess lying cold and dead, and +the black pearl vanished, the situation is anything but pleasant. +Get out of here as soon as you can, or you may get into serious +trouble." + +Yet, he did not move. + +"Get out of here? Yes, of course. Any person would, except Arsene +Lupin. He has something better to do. Now, to proceed in an +orderly way. At all events, you have a clear conscience. Let us +suppose that you are the commissary of police and that you are +proceeding to make an inquiry concerning this affair----Yes, but +in order to do that, I require a clearer brain. Mine is muddled +like a ragout." + +He tumbled into an armchair, with his clenched hands pressed +against his burning forehead. + +* * * * * + +The murder of the avenue Hoche is one of those which have recently +surprised and puzzled the Parisian public, and, certainly, I should +never have mentioned the affair if the veil of mystery had not been +removed by Arsene Lupin himself. No one knew the exact truth of +the case. + +Who did not know--from having met her in the Bois--the fair Leotine +Zalti, the once-famous cantatrice, wife and widow of the Count +d'Andillot; the Zalti, whose luxury dazzled all Paris some twenty +years ago; the Zalti who acquired an European reputation for the +magnificence of her diamonds and pearls? It was said that she wore +upon her shoulders the capital of several banking houses and the +gold mines of numerous Australian companies. Skilful jewelers +worked for Zalti as they had formerly wrought for kings and queens. +And who does not remember the catastrophe in which all that wealth +was swallowed up? Of all that marvelous collection, nothing +remained except the famous black pearl. The black pearl! That is +to say a fortune, if she had wished to part with it. + +But she preferred to keep it, to live in a commonplace apartment +with her companion, her cook, and a man-servant, rather than sell +that inestimable jewel. There was a reason for it; a reason she +was not afraid to disclose: the black pearl was the gift of an +emperor! Almost ruined, and reduced to the most mediocre +existence, she remained faithful to the companion of her happy and +brilliant youth. The black pearl never left her possession. She +wore it during the day, and, at night, concealed it in a place +known to her alone. + +All these facts, being republished in the columns of the public +press, served to stimulate curiosity; and, strange to say, but +quite obvious to those who have the key to the mystery, the arrest +of the presumed assassin only complicated the question and +prolonged the excitement. Two days later, the newspapers published +the following item: + +"Information has reached us of the arrest of Victor Danegre, the +servant of the Countess d'Andillot. The evidence against him is +clear and convincing. On the silken sleeve of his liveried +waistcoat, which chief detective Dudouis found in his garret +between the mattresses of his bed, several spots of blood were +discovered. In addition, a cloth-covered button was missing from +that garment, and this button was found beneath the bed of the +victim. + +"It is supposed that, after dinner, in place of going to his own +room, Danegre slipped into the wardrobe-closet, and, through the +glass door, had seen the countess hide the precious black pearl. +This is simply a theory, as yet unverified by any evidence. There +is, also, another obscure point. At seven o'clock in the morning, +Danegre went to the tobacco-shop on the Boulevard de Courcelles; +the concierge and the shop-keeper both affirm this fact. On the +other hand, the countess' companion and cook, who sleep at the end +of the hall, both declare that, when they arose at eight o'clock, +the door of the antechamber and the door of the kitchen were +locked. These two persons have been in the service of the countess +for twenty years, and are above suspicion. The question is: How +did Danegre leave the apartment? Did he have another key? These +are matters that the police will investigate." + +As a matter of fact, the police investigation threw no light on the +mystery. It was learned that Victor Danegre was a dangerous +criminal, a drunkard and a debauchee. But, as they proceeded with +the investigation, the mystery deepened and new complications +arose. In the first place, a young woman, Mlle. De Sincleves, the +cousin and sole heiress of the countess, declared that the +countess, a month before her death, had written a letter to her and +in it described the manner in which the black pearl was concealed. +The letter disappeared the day after she received it. Who had +stolen it? + +Again, the concierge related how she had opened the door for a +person who had inquired for Doctor Harel. On being questioned, the +doctor testified that no one had rung his bell. Then who was that +person? And accomplice? + +The theory of an accomplice was thereupon adopted by the press and +public, and also by Ganimard, the famous detective. + +"Lupin is at the bottom of this affair," he said to the judge. + +"Bah!" exclaimed the judge, "you have Lupin on the brain. You see +him everywhere." + +"I see him everywhere, because he is everywhere." + +"Say rather that you see him every time you encounter something you +cannot explain. Besides, you overlook the fact that the crime was +committed at twenty minutes past eleven in the evening, as is shown +by the clock, while the nocturnal visit, mentioned by the +concierge, occurred at three o'clock in the morning." + +Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the +guilt of a suspected person, and then distort all subsequent +discoveries to conform to their established theory. The deplorable +antecedents of Victor Danegre, habitual criminal, drunkard and +rake, influenced the judge, and despite the fact that nothing new +was discovered in corroboration of the early clues, his official +opinion remained firm and unshaken. He closed his investigation, +and, a few weeks later, the trial commenced. It proved to be slow +and tedious. The judge was listless, and the public prosecutor +presented the case in a careless manner. Under those circumstances, +Danegre's counsel had an easy task. He pointed out the defects and +inconsistencies of the case for the prosecution, and argued that the +evidence was quite insufficient to convict the accused. Who had made +the key, the indispensable key without which Danegre, on leaving the +apartment, could not have locked the door behind him? Who had ever +seen such a key, and what had become of it? Who had seen the +assassin's knife, and where is it now? + +"In any event," argued the prisoner's counsel, "the prosecution +must prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the prisoner +committed the murder. The prosecution must show that the +mysterious individual who entered the house at three o'clock in the +morning is not the guilty party. To be sure, the clock indicated +eleven o'clock. But what of that? I contend, that proves nothing. +The assassin could turn the hands of the clock to any hour he +pleased, and thus deceive us in regard to the exact hour of the +crime." + +Victor Danegre was acquitted. + +He left the prison on Friday about dusk in the evening, weak and +depressed by his six months' imprisonment. The inquisition, the +solitude, the trial, the deliberations of the jury, combined to +fill him with a nervous fear. At night, he had been afflicted with +terrible nightmares and haunted by weird visions of the scaffold. +He was a mental and physical wreck. + +Under the assumed name of Anatole Dufour, he rented a small room on +the heights of Montmartre, and lived by doing odd jobs wherever he +could find them. He led a pitiful existence. Three times, he +obtained regular employment, only to be recognized and then +discharged. Sometimes, he had an idea that men were following him-- +detectives, no doubt, who were seeking to trap and denounce him. +He could almost feel the strong hand of the law clutching him by +the collar. + +One evening, as he was eating his dinner at a neighboring +restaurant, a man entered and took a seat at the same table. He +was a person about forty years of age, and wore a frock-coat of +doubtful cleanliness. He ordered soup, vegetables, and a bottle of +wine. After he had finished his soup, he turned his eyes on +Danegre, and gazed at him intently. Danegre winced. He was +certain that this was one of the men who had been following him for +several weeks. What did he want? Danegre tried to rise, but +failed. His limbs refused to support him. The man poured himself +a glass of wine, and then filled Danegre's glass. The man raised +his glass, and said: + +"To your health, Victor Danegre." + +Victor started in alarm, and stammered: + +"I!....I!....no, no....I swear to you...." + +"You will swear what? That you are not yourself? The servant of +the countess?" + +"What servant? My name is Dufour. Ask the proprietor." + +"Yes, Anatole Dufour to the proprietor of this restaurant, but +Victor Danegre to the officers of the law." + +"That's not true! Some one has lied to you." + +The new-comer took a card from his pocket and handed it to Victor, +who read on it: "Grimaudan, ex-inspector of the detective force. +Private business transacted." Victor shuddered as he said: + +"You are connected with the police?" + +"No, not now, but I have a liking for the business and I continue +to work at it in a manner more--profitable. From time to time I +strike upon a golden opportunity--such as your case presents." + +"My case?" + +"Yes, yours. I assure you it is a most promising affair, provided +you are inclined to be reasonable." + +"But if I am not reasonable?" + +"Oh! my good fellow, you are not in a position to refuse me +anything I may ask." + +"What is it....you want?" stammered Victor, fearfully. + +"Well, I will inform you in a few words. I am sent by Mademoiselle +de Sincleves, the heiress of the Countess d'Andillot." + +"What for?" + +"To recover the black pearl." + +"Black pearl?" + +"That you stole." + +"But I haven't got it." + +"You have it." + +"If I had, then I would be the assassin." + +"You are the assassin." + +Danegre showed a forced smile. + +"Fortunately for me, monsieur, the Assizecourt was not of your +opinion. The jury returned an unanimous verdict of acquittal. And +when a man has a clear conscience and twelve good men in his favor--" + +The ex-inspector seized him by the arm and said: + +"No fine phrases, my boy. Now, listen to me and weigh my words +carefully. You will find they are worthy of your consideration. +Now, Danegre, three weeks before the murder, you abstracted the +cook's key to the servants' door, and had a duplicate key made by a +locksmith named Outard, 244 rue Oberkampf." + +"It's a lie--it's a lie!" growled Victor. "No person has seen that +key. There is no such key." + +"Here it is." + +After a silence, Grimaudan continued: + +"You killed the countess with a knife purchased by you at the Bazar +de la Republique on the same day as you ordered the duplicate key. +It has a triangular blade with a groove running from end to end." + +"That is all nonsense. You are simply guessing at something you +don't know. No one ever saw the knife." + +"Here it is." + +Victor Danegre recoiled. The ex-inspector continued: + +"There are some spots of rust upon it. Shall I tell you how they +came there?" + +"Well!....you have a key and a knife. Who can prove that they +belong to me?" + +"The locksmith, and the clerk from whom you bought the knife. I +have already refreshed their memories, and, when you confront them, +they cannot fail to recognize you." + +His speech was dry and hard, with a tone of firmness and precision. +Danegre was trembling with fear, and yet he struggled desperately +to maintain an air of indifference. + +"Is that all the evidence you have?" + +"Oh! no, not at all. I have plenty more. For instance, after the +crime, you went out the same way you had entered. But, in the +centre of the wardrobe-room, being seized by some sudden fear, you +leaned against the wall for support." + +"How do you know that? No one could know such a thing," argued the +desperate man. + +"The police know nothing about it, of course. They never think of +lighting a candle and examining the walls. But if they had done +so, they would have found on the white plaster a faint red spot, +quite distinct, however, to trace in it the imprint of your thumb +which you had pressed against the wall while it was wet with blood. +Now, as you are well aware, under the Bertillon system, thumb-marks +are one of the principal means of identification." + +Victor Danegre was livid; great drops of perspiration rolled down +his face and fell upon the table. He gazed, with a wild look, at +the strange man who had narrated the story of his crime as +faithfully as if he had been an invisible witness to it. Overcome +and powerless, Victor bowed his head. He felt that it was useless +to struggle against this marvelous man. So he said: + +"How much will you give me, if I give you the pearl?" + +"Nothing." + +"Oh! you are joking! Or do you mean that I should give you an +article worth thousands and hundreds of thousands and get nothing +in return?" + +"You will get your life. Is that nothing?" + +The unfortunate man shuddered. Then Grimaudan added, in a milder +tone: + +"Come, Danegre, that pearl has no value in your hands. It is quite +impossible for you to sell it; so what is the use of your keeping +it?" + +"There are pawnbrokers....and, some day, I will be able to get +something for it." + +"But that day may be too late." + +"Why?" + +"Because by that time you may be in the hands of the police, and, +with the evidence that I can furnish--the knife, the key, the thumb- +mark--what will become of you?" + +Victor rested his head on his hands and reflected. He felt that he +was lost, irremediably lost, and, at the same time, a sense of +weariness and depression overcame him. He murmured, faintly: + +"When must I give it to you?" + +"To-night---within an hour." + +"If I refuse?" + +"If you refuse, I shall post this letter to the Procureur of the +Republic; in which letter Mademoiselle de Sincleves denounces you +as the assassin." + +Danegre poured out two glasses of wine which he drank in rapid +succession, then, rising, said: + +"Pay the bill, and let us go. I have had enough of the cursed +affair." + +Night had fallen. The two men walked down the rue Lepic and +followed the exterior boulevards in the direction of the Place de +l'Etoile. They pursued their way in silence; Victor had a stooping +carriage and a dejected face. When they reached the Parc Monceau, +he said: + +"We are near the house." + +"Parbleu! You only left the house once, before your arrest, and +that was to go to the tobacco-shop." + +"Here it is," said Danegre, in a dull voice. + +They passed along the garden wall of the countess' house, and +crossed a street on a corner of which stood the tobacco-shop. A +few steps further on, Danegre stopped; his limbs shook beneath him, +and he sank to a bench. + +"Well! what now?" demanded his companion. + +"It is there." + +"Where? Come, now, no nonsense!" + +"There--in front of us." + +"Where?" + +"Between two paving-stones." + +"Which?" + +"Look for it." + +"Which stones?" + +Victor made no reply. + +"Ah; I see!" exclaimed Grimaudan, "you want me to pay for the +information." + +"No....but....I am afraid I will starve to death." + +"So! that is why you hesitate. Well, I'll not be hard on you. How +much do you want?" + +"Enough to buy a steerage pass to America." + +"All right." + +"And a hundred francs to keep me until I get work there." + +"You shall have two hundred. Now, speak." + +"Count the paving-stones to the right from the sewer-hole. The +pearl is between the twelfth and thirteenth." + +"In the gutter?" + +"Yes, close to the sidewalk." + +Grimaudan glanced around to see if anyone were looking. Some tram- +cars and pedestrians were passing. But, bah, they will not suspect +anything. He opened his pocketknife and thrust it between the +twelfth and thirteenth stones. + +"And if it is not there?" he said to Victor. + +"It must be there, unless someone saw me stoop down and hide it." + +Could it be possible that the back pearl had been cast into the mud +and filth of the gutter to be picked up by the first comer? The +black pearl--a fortune! + +"How far down?" he asked. + +"About ten centimetres." + +He dug up the wet earth. The point of his knife struck something. +He enlarged the hole with his finger. Then he abstracted the black +pearl from its filthy hiding-place. + +"Good! Here are your two hundred francs. I will send you the +ticket for America." + +On the following day, this article was published in the `Echo de +France,' and was copied by the leading newspapers throughout the +world: + + "Yesterday, the famous black pearl came into the possession of + Arsene Lupin, who recovered it from the murderer of the Countess + d'Andillot. In a short time, fac-similes of that precious jewel + will be exhibited in London, St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayres + and New York. + + "Arsene Lupin will be pleased to consider all propositions + submitted to him through his agents." + +* * * * * + +"And that is how crime is always punished and virtue rewarded," +said Arsene Lupin, after he had told me the foregoing history of +the black pearl. + +"And that is how you, under the assumed name of Grimaudan, +ex-inspector of detectives, were chosen by fate to deprive the +criminal of the benefit of his crime." + +"Exactly. And I confess that the affair gives me infinite +satisfaction and pride. The forty minutes that I passed in the +apartment of the Countess d'Andillot, after learning of her death, +were the most thrilling and absorbing moments of my life. In those +forty minutes, involved as I was in a most dangerous plight, I +calmly studied the scene of the murder and reached the conclusion +that the crime must have been committed by one of the house +servants. I also decided that, in order to get the pearl, that +servant must be arrested, and so I left the wainscoat button; it +was necessary, also, for me to hold some convincing evidence of his +guilt, so I carried away the knife which I found upon the floor, +and the key which I found in the lock. I closed and locked the +door, and erased the finger-marks from the plaster in the wardrobe- +closet. In my opinion, that was one of those flashes--" + +"Of genius," I said, interrupting. + +"Of genius, if you wish. But, I flatter myself, it would not have +occurred to the average mortal. To frame, instantly, the two +elements of the problem--an arrest and an acquittal; to make use of +the formidable machinery of the law to crush and humble my victim, +and reduce him to a condition in which, when free, he would be +certain to fall into the trap I was laying for him!" + +"Poor devil--" + +"Poor devil, do you say? Victor Danegre, the assassin! He might +have descended to the lowest depths of vice and crime, if he had +retained the black pearl. Now, he lives! Think of that: Victor +Danegre is alive!" + +"And you have the black pearl." + +He took it out of one of the secret pockets of his wallet, examined +it, gazed at it tenderly, and caressed it with loving fingers, and +sighed, as he said: + +"What cold Russian prince, what vain and foolish rajah may some day +possess this priceless treasure! Or, perhaps, some American +millionaire is destined to become the owner of this morsel of +exquisite beauty that once adorned the fair bosom of Leontine +Zalti, the Countess d'Andillot." + + + +IX. SHERLOCK HOLMES ARRIVES TOO LATE + + +"It is really remarkable, Velmont, what a close resemblance you bear +to Arsene Lupin!" + +"How do you know?" + +"Oh! like everyone else, from photographs, no two of which are +alike, but each of them leaves the impression of a face.... +something like yours." + +Horace Velmont displayed some vexation. + +"Quite so, my dear Devanne. And, believe me, you are not the first +one who has noticed it." + +"It is so striking," persisted Devanne, "that if you had not been +recommended to me by my cousin d'Estevan, and if you were not the +celebrated artist whose beautiful marine views I so admire, I have +no doubt I should have warned the police of your presence in +Dieppe." + +This sally was greeted with an outburst of laughter. The large +dining-hall of the Chateau de Thibermesnil contained on this +occasion, besides Valmont, the following guests: Father Gelis, the +parish priest, and a dozen officers whose regiments were quartered +in the vicinity and who had accepted the invitation of the banker +Georges Devanne and his mother. One of the officers then remarked: + +"I understand that an exact description of Arsene Lupin has been +furnished to all the police along this coast since his daring +exploit on the Paris-Havre express." + +"I suppose so," said Devanne. "That was three months ago; and a +week later, I made the acquaintance of our friend Velmont at the +casino, and, since then, he has honored me with several visits--an +agreeable preamble to a more serious visit that he will pay me one +of these days--or, rather, one of these nights." + +This speech evoked another round of laughter, and the guests then +passed into the ancient "Hall of the Guards," a vast room with a +high ceiling, which occupied the entire lower part of the Tour +Guillaume--William's Tower--and wherein Georges Devanne had collected +the incomparable treasures which the lords of Thibermesnil had +accumulated through many centuries. It contained ancient chests, +credences, andirons and chandeliers. The stone walls were overhung +with magnificent tapestries. The deep embrasures of the four +windows were furnished with benches, and the Gothic windows were +composed of small panes of colored glass set in a leaden frame. +Between the door and the window to the left stood an immense +bookcase of Renaissance style, on the pediment of which, in letters +of gold, was the world "Thibermesnil," and, below it, the proud +family device: "Fais ce que veulx" (Do what thou wishest). When +the guests had lighted their cigars, Devanne resumed the +conversation. + +"And remember, Velmont, you have no time to lose; in fact, to-night +is the last chance you will have." + +"How so?" asked the painter, who appeared to regard the affair as a +joke. Devanne was about to reply, when his mother mentioned to him +to keep silent, but the excitement of the occasion and a desire to +interest his guests urged him to speak. + +"Bah!" he murmured. "I can tell it now. It won't do any harm." + +The guests drew closer, and he commenced to speak with the +satisfied air of a man who has an important announcement to make. + +"To-morrow afternoon at four o'clock, Sherlock Holmes, the famous +English detective, for whom such a thing as mystery does not exist; +Sherlock Holmes, the most remarkable solver of enigmas the world +has ever known, that marvelous man who would seem to be the +creation of a romantic novelist--Sherlock Holmes will be my guest!" + +Immediately, Devanne was the target of numerous eager questions. +"Is Sherlock Holmes really coming?" "Is it so serious as that?" +"Is Arsene Lupin really in this neighborhood?" + +"Arsene Lupin and his band are not far away. Besides the robbery of +the Baron Cahorn, he is credited with the thefts at Montigny, +Gruchet and Crasville." + +"Has he sent you a warning, as he did to Baron Cahorn?" + +"No," replied Devanne, "he can't work the same trick twice." + +"What then?" + +"I will show you." + +He rose, and pointing to a small empty space between the two +enormous folios on one of the shelves of the bookcase, he said: + +"There used to be a book there--a book of the sixteenth century +entitled `Chronique de Thibermesnil,' which contained the history +of the castle since its construction by Duke Rollo on the site of a +former feudal fortress. There were three engraved plates in the +book; one of which was a general view of the whole estate; another, +the plan of the buildings; and the third--I call your attention to +it, particularly--the third was the sketch of a subterranean +passage, an entrance to which is outside the first line of +ramparts, while the other end of the passage is here, in this very +room. Well, that book disappeared a month ago." + +"The deuce!" said Velmont, "that looks bad. But it doesn't seem to +be a sufficient reason for sending for Sherlock Holmes." + +"Certainly, that was not sufficient in itself, but another incident +happened that gives the disappearance of the book a special +significance. There was another copy of this book in the National +Library at Paris, and the two books differed in certain details +relating to the subterranean passage; for instance, each of them +contained drawings and annotations, not printed, but written in ink +and more or less effaced. I knew those facts, and I knew that the +exact location of the passage could be determined only by a +comparison of the two books. Now, the day after my book +disappeared, the book was called for in the National Library by a +reader who carried it away, and no one knows how the theft was +effected." + +The guests uttered many exclamations of surprise. + +"Certainly, the affair looks serious," said one. + +"Well, the police investigated the matter, and, as usual, +discovered no clue whatever." + +"They never do, when Arsene Lupin is concerned in it." + +"Exactly; and so I decided to ask the assistance of Sherlock +Holmes, who replied that he was ready and anxious to enter the +lists with Arsene Lupin." + +"What glory for Arsene Lupin!" said Velmont. "But if our national +thief, as they call him, has no evil designs on your castle, +Sherlock Holmes will have his trip in vain." + +"There are other things that will interest him, such as the +discovery of the subterranean passage." + +"But you told us that one end of the passage was outside the +ramparts and the other was in this very room!" + +"Yes, but in what part of the room? The line which represents the +passage on the charts ends here, with a small circle marked with +the letters `T.G.,' which no doubt stand for `Tour Guillaume.' But +the tower is round, and who can tell the exact spot at which the +passage touches the tower?" + +Devanne lighted a second cigar and poured himself a glass of +Benedictine. His guests pressed him with questions and he was +pleased to observe the interest that his remarks had created. The +he continued: + +"The secret is lost. No one knows it. The legend is to the effect +that the former lords of the castle transmitted the secret from +father to son on their deathbeds, until Geoffroy, the last of the +race, was beheaded during the Revolution in his nineteenth year." + +"That is over a century ago. Surely, someone has looked for it +since that time?" + +"Yes, but they failed to find it. After I purchased the castle, I +made a diligent search for it, but without success. You must +remember that this tower is surrounded by water and connected with +the castle only by a bridge; consequently, the passage must be +underneath the old moat. The plan that was in the book in the +National Library showed a series of stairs with a total of forty- +eight steps, which indicates a depth of more than ten meters. You +see, the mystery lies within the walls of this room, and yet I +dislike to tear them down." + +"Is there nothing to show where it is?" + +"Nothing." + +"Mon. Devanne, we should turn our attention to the two quotations," +suggested Father Gelis. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Mon. Devanne, laughing, "our worthy father is fond +of reading memoirs and delving into the musty archives of the +castle. Everything relating to Thibermesnil interests him greatly. +But the quotations that he mentions only serve to complicate the +mystery. He has read somewhere that two kings of France have known +the key to the puzzle." + +"Two kings of France! Who were they?" + +"Henry the Fourth and Louis the Sixteenth. And the legend runs +like this: On the eve of the battle of Arques, Henry the Fourth +spent the night in this castle. At eleven o'clock in the evening, +Louise de Tancarville, the prettiest woman in Normandy, was brought +into the castle through the subterranean passage by Duke Edgard, +who, at the same time, informed the king of the secret passage. +Afterward, the king confided the secret to his minister Sully, who, +in turn, relates the story in his book, "Royales Economies d'Etat," +without making any comment upon it, but linking with it this +incomprehensible sentence: `Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, +the other eye will lead to God!'" + +After a brief silence, Velmont laughed and said: + +"Certainly, it doesn't throw a dazzling light upon the subject." + +"No; but Father Gelis claims that Sully concealed the key to the +mystery in this strange sentence in order to keep the secret from +the secretaries to whom he dictated his memoirs." + +"That is an ingenious theory," said Velmont. + +"Yes, and it may be nothing more; I cannot see that it throws any +light on the mysterious riddle." + +"And was it also to receive the visit of a lady that Louis the +Sixteenth caused the passage to be opened?" + +"I don't know," said Mon. Devanne. "All I can say is that the king +stopped here one night in 1784, and that the famous Iron Casket +found in the Louvre contained a paper bearing these words in the +king's own writing: `Thibermesnil 3-4-11.'" + +Horace Velmont laughed heartily, and exclaimed: + +"At last! And now that we have the magic key, where is the man who +can fit it to the invisible lock?" + +"Laugh as much as you please, monsieur," said Father Gelis, "but I +am confident the solution is contained in those two sentences, and +some day we will find a man able to interpret them." + +"Sherlock Holmes is the man," said Mon. Devanne, "unless Arsene +Lupin gets ahead of him. What is your opinion, Velmont?" + +Velmont arose, placed his hand on Devanne's shoulder, and declared: + +"I think that the information furnished by your book and the book +of the National Library was deficient in a very important detail +which you have now supplied. I thank you for it." + +"What is it?" + +"The missing key. Now that I have it, I can go to work at once," +said Velmont. + +"Of course; without losing a minute," said Devanne, smiling. + +"Not even a second!" replied Velmont. "To-night, before the +arrival of Sherlock Holmes, I must plunder your castle." + +"You have no time to lose. Oh! by the way, I can drive you over +this evening." + +"To Dieppe?" + +"Yes. I am going to meet Monsieur and Madame d'Androl and a young +lady of their acquaintance who are to arrive by the midnight +train." + +Then addressing the officers, Devanne added: + +"Gentlemen, I shall expect to see all of you at breakfast to- +morrow." + +The invitation was accepted. The company dispersed, and a few +moments later Devanne and Velmont were speeding toward Dieppe in an +automobile. Devanne dropped the artist in front of the Casino, and +proceeded to the railway station. At twelve o'clock his friends +alighted from the train. A half hour later the automobile was at +the entrance to the castle. At one o'clock, after a light supper, +they retired. The lights were extinguished, and the castle was +enveloped in the darkness and silence of the night. + +* * * * * + +The moon appeared through a rift in the clouds, and filled the +drawing-room with its bright white light. But only for a moment. +Then the moon again retired behind its ethereal draperies, and +darkness and silence reigned supreme. No sound could be heard, +save the monotonous ticking of the clock. It struck two, and then +continued its endless repetitions of the seconds. Then, three +o'clock. + +Suddenly, something clicked, like the opening and closing of a +signal-disc that warns the passing train. A thin stream of light +flashed to every corner of the room, like an arrow that leaves +behind it a trail of light. It shot forth from the central fluting +of a column that supported the pediment of the bookcase. It rested +for a moment on the panel opposite like a glittering circle of +burnished silver, then flashed in all directions like a guilty eye +that scrutinizes every shadow. It disappeared for a short time, +but burst forth again as a whole section of the bookcase revolved +on a picot and disclosed a large opening like a vault. + +A man entered, carrying an electric lantern. He was followed by a +second man, who carried a coil of rope and various tools. The +leader inspected the room, listened a moment, and said: + +"Call the others." + +Then eight men, stout fellows with resolute faces, entered the +room, and immediately commenced to remove the furnishings. Arsene +Lupin passed quickly from one piece of furniture to another, +examined each, and, according to its size or artistic value, he +directed his men to take it or leave it. If ordered to be taken, +it was carried to the gaping mouth of the tunnel, and ruthlessly +thrust into the bowels of the earth. Such was the fate of six +armchairs, six small Louis XV chairs, a quantity of Aubusson +tapestries, some candelabra, paintings by Fragonard and Nattier, a +bust by Houdon, and some statuettes. Sometimes, Lupin would linger +before a beautiful chest or a superb picture, and sigh: + +"That is too heavy....too large....what a pity!" + +In forty minutes the room was dismantled; and it had been +accomplished in such an orderly manner and with as little noise as +if the various articles had been packed and wadded for the +occasion. + +Lupin said to the last man who departed by way of the tunnel: + +"You need not come back. You understand, that as soon as the auto- +van is loaded, you are to proceed to the grange at Roquefort." + +"But you, patron?" + +"Leave me the motor-cycle." + +When the man had disappeared, Arsene Lupin pushed the section of +the bookcase back into its place, carefully effaced the traces of +the men's footsteps, raised a portiere, and entered a gallery, +which was the only means of communication between the tower and the +castle. In the center of this gallery there was a glass cabinet +which had attracted Lupin's attentions. It contained a valuable +collection of watches, snuff-boxes, rings, chatelaines and +miniatures of rare and beautiful workmanship. He forced the lock +with a small jimmy, and experienced a great pleasure in handling +those gold and silver ornaments, those exquisite and delicate works +of art. + +He carried a large linen bag, specially prepared for the removal of +such knick-knacks. He filled it. Then he filled the pockets of +his coat, waistcoat and trousers. And he was just placing over his +left arm a number of pearl reticules when he heard a slight sound. +He listened. No, he was not deceived. The noise continued. Then +he remembered that, at one end of the gallery, there was a stairway +leading to an unoccupied apartment, but which was probably occupied +that night by the young lady whom Mon. Devanne had brought from +Dieppe with his other visitors. + +Immediately he extinguished his lantern, and had scarcely gained +the friendly shelter of a window-embrasure, when the door at the +top of the stairway was opened and a feeble light illuminated the +gallery. He could feel--for, concealed by a curtain, he could not +see--that a woman was cautiously descending the upper steps of the +stairs. He hoped she would come no closer. Yet, she continued to +descend, and even advanced some distance into the room. Then she +uttered a faint cry. No doubt she had discovered the broken and +dismantled cabinet. + +She advanced again. Now he could smell the perfume, and hear the +throbbing of her heart as she drew closer to the window where he +was concealed. She passed so close that her skirt brushed against +the window-curtain, and Lupin felt that she suspected the presence +of another, behind her, in the shadow, within reach of her hand. +He thought: "She is afraid. She will go away." But she did not +go. The candle, that she carried in her trembling hand, grew +brighter. She turned, hesitated a moment, appeared to listen, then +suddenly drew aside the curtain. + +They stood face to face. Arsene was astounded. He murmured, +involuntarily: + +"You--you--mademoiselle." + +It was Miss Nelly. Miss Nelly! his fellow passenger on the +transatlantic steamer, who had been the subject of his dreams on +that memorable voyage, who had been a witness to his arrest, and +who, rather than betray him, had dropped into the water the kodak +in which he had concealed the bank-notes and diamonds. Miss Nelly! +that charming creature, the memory of whose face had sometimes +sheered, sometimes saddened the long hours of imprisonment. + +It was such an unexpected encounter that brought them face to face +in that castle at that hour of the night, that they could not move, +nor utter a word; they were amazed, hypnotized, each at the sudden +apparition of the other. Trembling with emotion, Miss Nelly +staggered to a seat. He remained standing in front of her. + +Gradually, he realized the situation and conceived the impression +he must have produced at that moment with his arms laden with +knick-knacks, and his pockets and a linen sack overflowing with +plunder. He was overcome with confusion, and he actually blushed +to find himself in the position of a thief caught in the act. To +her, henceforth, he was a thief, a man who puts his hand in +another's pocket, who steals into houses and robs people while they +sleep. + +A watch fell upon the floor; then another. These were followed by +other articles which slipped from his grasp one by one. Then, +actuated by a sudden decision, he dropped the other articles into +an armchair, emptied his pockets and unpacked his sack. He felt +very uncomfortable in Nelly's presence, and stepped toward her with +the intention of speaking to her, but she shuddered, rose quickly +and fled toward the salon. The portiere closed behind her. He +followed her. She was standing trembling and amazed at the sight +of the devastated room. He said to her, at once: + +"To-morrow, at three o'clock, everything will be returned. The +furniture will be brought back." + +She made no reply, so he repeated: + +"I promise it. To-morrow, at three o'clock. Nothing in the world +could induce me to break that promise....To-morrow, at three +o'clock." + +Then followed a long silence that he dared not break, whilst the +agitation of the young girl caused him a feeling of genuine regret. +Quietly, without a word, he turned away, thinking: "I hope she will +go away. I can't endure her presence." But the young girl +suddenly spoke, and stammered: + +"Listen....footsteps....I hear someone...." + +He looked at her with astonishment. She seemed to be overwhelmed +by the thought of approaching peril. + +"I don't hear anything," he said. + +"But you must go--you must escape!" + +"Why should I go?" + +"Because--you must. Oh! do not remain here another minute. Go!" + +She ran, quickly, to the door leading to the gallery and listened. +No, there was no one there. Perhaps the noise was outside. She +waited a moment, then returned reassured. + +But Arsene Lupin had disappeared. + +* * * * * + +As soon as Mon. Devanne was informed of the pillage of his castle, +he said to himself: It was Velmont who did it, and Velmont is +Arsene Lupin. That theory explained everything, and there was no +other plausible explanation. And yet the idea seemed preposterous. +It was ridiculous to suppose that Velmont was anyone else than +Velmont, the famous artist, and club-fellow of his cousin +d'Estevan. So, when the captain of the gendarmes arrived to +investigate the affair, Devanne did not even think of mentioning +his absurd theory. + +Throughout the forenoon there was a lively commotion at the castle. +The gendarmes, the local police, the chief of police from Dieppe, +the villagers, all circulated to and fro in the halls, examining +every nook and corner that was open to their inspection. The +approach of the maneuvering troops, the rattling fire of the +musketry, added to the picturesque character of the scene. + +The preliminary search furnished no clue. Neither the doors nor +windows showed any signs of having been disturbed. Consequently, +the removal of the goods must have been effected by means of the +secret passage. Yet, there were no indications of footsteps on the +floor, nor any unusual marks upon the walls. + +Their investigations revealed, however, one curious fact that +denoted the whimsical character of Arsene Lupin: the famous +Chronique of the sixteenth century had been restored to its +accustomed place in the library and, beside it, there was a similar +book, which was none other than the volume stolen from the National +Library. + +At eleven o'clock the military officers arrived. Devanne welcomed +them with his usual gayety; for, no matter how much chagrin he +might suffer from the loss of his artistic treasures, his great +wealth enabled him to bear his loss philosophically. His guests, +Monsieur and Madame d'Androl and Miss Nelly, were introduced; and +it was then noticed that one of the expected guests had not +arrived. It was Horace Velmont. Would he come? His absence had +awakened the suspicions of Mon. Devanne. But at twelve o'clock he +arrived. Devanne exclaimed: + +"Ah! here you are!" + +"Why, am I not punctual?" asked Velmont. + +"Yes, and I am surprised that you are....after such a busy night! +I suppose you know the news?" + +"What news?" + +"You have robbed the castle." + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Velmont, smiling. + +"Exactly as I predicted. But, first escort Miss Underdown to the +dining-room. Mademoiselle, allow me--" + +He stopped, as he remarked the extreme agitation of the young girl. +Then, recalling the incident, he said: + +"Ah! of course, you met Arsene Lupin on the steamer, before his +arrest, and you are astonished at the resemblance. Is that it?" + +She did not reply. Velmont stood before her, smiling. He bowed. +She took his proffered arm. He escorted her to her place, and took +his seat opposite her. During the breakfast, the conversation +related exclusively to Arsene Lupin, the stolen goods, the secret +passage, and Sherlock Holmes. It was only at the close of the +repast, when the conversation had drifted to other subjects, that +Velmont took any part in it. Then he was, by turns, amusing and +grave, talkative and pensive. And all his remarks seemed to be +directed to the young girl. But she, quite absorbed, did not +appear to hear them. + +Coffee was served on the terrace overlooking the court of honor and +the flower garden in front of the principal facade. The regimental +band played on the lawn, and scores of soldiers and peasants +wandered through the park. + +Miss Nelly had not forgotten, for one moment, Lupin's solemn +promise: "To-morrow, at three o'clock, everything will be +returned." + +At three o'clock! And the hands of the great clock in the right +wing of the castle now marked twenty minutes to three. In spite of +herself, her eyes wandered to the clock every minute. She also +watched Velmont, who was calmly swinging to and fro in a +comfortable rocking chair. + +Ten minutes to three!....Five minutes to three!....Nelly was +impatient and anxious. Was it possible that Arsene Lupin would +carry out his promise at the appointed hour, when the castle, the +courtyard, and the park were filled with people, and at the very +moment when the officers of the law were pursuing their +investigations? And yet....Arsene Lupin had given her his solemn +promise. "It will be exactly as he said," thought she, so deeply +was she impressed with the authority, energy and assurance of that +remarkable man. To her, it no longer assumed the form of a +miracle, but, on the contrary, a natural incident that must occur +in the ordinary course of events. She blushed, and turned her +head. + +Three o'clock! The great clock struck slowly: +one....two....three....Horace Velmont took out his watch, glanced +at the clock, then returned the watch to his pocket. A few seconds +passed in silence; and then the crowd in the courtyard parted to +give passage to two wagons, that had just entered the park-gate, +each drawn by two horses. They were army-wagons, such as are used +for the transportation of provisions, tents, and other necessary +military stores. They stopped in front of the main entrance, and a +commissary-sergeant leaped from one of the wagons and inquired for +Mon. Devanne. A moment later, that gentleman emerged from the +house, descended the steps, and, under the canvas covers of the +wagons, beheld his furniture, pictures and ornaments carefully +packaged and arranged. + +When questioned, the sergeant produced an order that he had +received from the officer of the day. By that order, the second +company of the fourth battalion were commanded to proceed to the +crossroads of Halleux in the forest of Arques, gather up the +furniture and other articles deposited there, and deliver same to +Monsieur Georges Devanne, owner of the Thibermesnil castle, at +three o'clock. Signed: Col. Beauvel. + +"At the crossroads," explained the sergeant, "we found everything +ready, lying on the grass, guarded by some passers-by. It seemed +very strange, but the order was imperative." + +One of the officers examined the signature. He declared it a +forgery; but a clever imitation. The wagons were unloaded, and the +goods restored to their proper places in the castle. + +During this commotion, Nelly had remained alone at the extreme end +of the terrace, absorbed by confused and distracted thoughts. +Suddenly, she observed Velmont approaching her. She would have +avoided him, but the balustrade that surrounded the terrace cut off +her retreat. She was cornered. She could not move. A gleam of +sunshine, passing through the scant foliage of a bamboo, lighted up +her beautiful golden hair. Some one spoke to her in a low voice: + +"Have I not kept my promise?" + +Arsene Lupin stood close to her. No one else was near. He +repeated, in a calm, soft voice: + +"Have I not kept my promise?" + +He expected a word of thanks, or at least some slight movement that +would betray her interest in the fulfillment of his promise. But +she remained silent. + +Her scornful attitude annoyed Arsene Lupin; and he realized the +vast distance that separated him from Miss Nelly, now that she had +learned the truth. He would gladly have justified himself in her +eyes, or at least pleaded extenuating circumstances, but he +perceived the absurdity and futility of such an attempt. Finally, +dominated by a surging flood of memories, he murmured: + +"Ah! how long ago that was! You remember the long hours on the +deck of the `Provence.' Then, you carried a rose in your hand, a +white rose like the one you carry to-day. I asked you for it. You +pretended you did not hear me. After you had gone away, I found +the rose--forgotten, no doubt--and I kept it." + +She made no reply. She seemed to be far away. He continued: + +"In memory of those happy hours, forget what you have learned +since. Separate the past from the present. Do not regard me as +the man you saw last night, but look at me, if only for a moment, +as you did in those far-off days when I was Bernard d'Andrezy, for +a short time. Will you, please?" + +She raised her eyes and looked at him as he had requested. Then, +without saying a word, she pointed to a ring he was wearing on his +forefinger. Only the ring was visible; but the setting, which was +turned toward the palm of his hand, consisted of a magnificent +ruby. Arsene Lupin blushed. The ring belonged to Georges Devanne. +He smiled bitterly, and said: + +"You are right. Nothing can be changed. Arsene Lupin is now and +always will be Arsene Lupin. To you, he cannot be even so much as +a memory. Pardon me....I should have known that any attention I +may now offer you is simply an insult. Forgive me." + +He stepped aside, hat in hand. Nelly passed before him. He was +inclined to detain her and beseech her forgiveness. But his +courage failed, and he contented himself by following her with his +eyes, as he had done when she descended the gangway to the pier at +New York. She mounted the steps leading to the door, and +disappeared within the house. He saw her no more. + +A cloud obscured the sun. Arsene Lupin stood watching the imprints +of her tiny feet in the sand. Suddenly, he gave a start. Upon the +box which contained the bamboo, beside which Nelly had been +standing, he saw the rose, the white rose which he had desired but +dared not ask for. Forgotten, no doubt--it, also! But how-- +designedly or through distraction? He seized it eagerly. Some of +its petals fell to the ground. He picked them up, one by one, like +precious relics. + +"Come!" he said to himself, "I have nothing more to do here. I +must think of my safety, before Sherlock Holmes arrives." + +* * * * * + +The park was deserted, but some gendarmes were stationed at the +park-gate. He entered a grove of pine trees, leaped over the wall, +and, as a short cut to the railroad station, followed a path across +the fields. After walking about ten minutes, he arrived at a spot +where the road grew narrower and ran between two steep banks. In +this ravine, he met a man traveling in the opposite direction. It +was a man about fifty years of age, tall, smooth-shaven, and +wearing clothes of a foreign cut. He carried a heavy cane, and a +small satchel was strapped across his shoulder. When they met, the +stranger spoke, with a slight English accent: + +"Excuse me, monsieur, is this the way to the castle?" + +"Yes, monsieur, straight ahead, and turn to the left when you come +to the wall. They are expecting you." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, my friend Devanne told us last night that you were coming, +and I am delighted to be the first to welcome you. Sherlock Holmes +has no more ardent admirer than....myself." + +There was a touch of irony in his voice that he quickly regretted, +for Sherlock Holmes scrutinized him from head to foot with such a +keen, penetrating eye that Arsene Lupin experienced the sensation +of being seized, imprisoned and registered by that look more +thoroughly and precisely than he had ever been by a camera. + +"My negative is taken now," he thought, "and it will be useless to +use a disguise with that man. He would look right through it. +But, I wonder, has he recognized me?" + +They bowed to each other as if about to part. But, at that moment, +they heard a sound of horses' feet, accompanied by a clinking of +steel. It was the gendarmes. The two men were obliged to draw +back against the embankment, amongst the brushes, to avoid the +horses. The gendarmes passed by, but, as they followed each other +at a considerable distance, they were several minutes in doing so. +And Lupin was thinking: + +"It all depends on that question: has he recognized me? If so, he +will probably take advantage of the opportunity. It is a trying +situation." + +When the last horseman had passed, Sherlock Holmes stepped forth +and brushed the dust from his clothes. Then, for a moment, he and +Arsene Lupin gazed at each other; and, if a person could have seen +them at that moment, it would have been an interesting sight, and +memorable as the first meeting of two remarkable men, so strange, +so powerfully equipped, both of superior quality, and destined by +fate, through their peculiar attributes, to hurl themselves one at +the other like two equal forces that nature opposes, one against +the other, in the realms of space. + +Then the Englishman said: "Thank you, monsieur." + +They parted. Lupin went toward the railway station, and Sherlock +Holmes continued on his way to the castle. + +The local officers had given up the investigation after several +hours of fruitless efforts, and the people at the castle were +awaiting the arrival of the English detective with a lively +curiosity. At first sight, they were a little disappointed on +account of his commonplace appearance, which differed so greatly +from the pictures they had formed of him in their own minds. He +did not in any way resemble the romantic hero, the mysterious and +diabolical personage that the name of Sherlock Holmes had evoked in +their imaginations. However, Mon. Devanne exclaimed with much +gusto: + +"Ah! monsieur, you are here! I am delighted to see you. It is a +long-deferred pleasure. Really, I scarcely regret what has +happened, since it affords me the opportunity to meet you. But, +how did you come?" + +"By the train." + +"But I sent my automobile to meet you at the station." + +"An official reception, eh? with music and fireworks! Oh! no, not +for me. That is not the way I do business," grumbled the +Englishman. + +This speech disconcerted Devanne, who replied, with a forced smile: + +"Fortunately, the business has been greatly simplified since I +wrote to you." + +"In what way?" + +"The robbery took place last night." + +"If you had not announced my intended visit, it is probable the +robbery would not have been committed last night." + +"When, then?" + +"To-morrow, or some other day." + +"And in that case?" + +"Lupin would have been trapped," said the detective. + +"And my furniture?" + +"Would not have been carried away." + +"Ah! but my goods are here. They were brought back at three +o'clock." + +"By Lupin." + +"By two army-wagons." + +Sherlock Holmes put on his cap and adjusted his satchel. Devanne +exclaimed, anxiously: + +"But, monsieur, what are you going to do?" + +"I am going home." + +"Why?" + +"Your goods have been returned; Arsene Lupin is far away--there is +nothing for me to do." + +"Yes, there is. I need your assistance. What happened yesterday, +may happen again to-morrow, as we do not know how he entered, or +how he escaped, or why, a few hours later, he returned the goods." + +"Ah! you don't know--" + +The idea of a problem to be solved quickened the interest of +Sherlock Holmes. + +"Very well, let us make a search--at once--and alone, if possible." + +Devanne understood, and conducted the Englishman to the salon. In +a dry, crisp voice, in sentences that seemed to have been prepared +in advance, Holmes asked a number of questions about the events of +the preceding evening, and enquired also concerning the guests and +the members of the household. Then he examined the two volumes of +the "Chronique," compared the plans of the subterranean passage, +requested a repetition of the sentences discovered by Father Gelis, +and then asked: + +"Was yesterday the first time you have spoken hose two sentences to +any one?" + +"Yes." + +"You had never communicated then to Horace Velmont?" + +"No." + +"Well, order the automobile. I must leave in an hour." + +"In an hour?" + +"Yes; within that time, Arsene Lupin solved the problem that you +placed before him." + +"I....placed before him--" + +"Yes, Arsene Lupin or Horace Velmont--same thing." + +"I thought so. Ah! the scoundrel!" + +"Now, let us see," said Holmes, "last night at ten o'clock, you +furnished Lupin with the information that he lacked, and that he +had been seeking for many weeks. During the night, he found time +to solve the problem, collect his men, and rob the castle. I shall +be quite as expeditious." + +He walked from end to end of the room, in deep thought, then sat +down, crossed his long legs and closed his eyes. + +Devanne waited, quite embarrassed. Thought he: "Is the man asleep? +Or is he only meditating?" However, he left the room to give some +orders, and when he returned he found the detective on his knees +scrutinizing the carpet at the foot of the stairs in the gallery. + +"What is it?" he enquired. + +"Look....there....spots from a candle." + +"You are right--and quite fresh." + +"And you will also find them at the top of the stairs, and around +the cabinet that Arsene Lupin broke into, and from which he took +the bibelots that he afterward placed in this armchair." + +"What do you conclude from that?" + +"Nothing. These facts would doubtless explain the cause for the +restitution, but that is a side issue that I cannot wait to +investigate. The main question is the secret passage. First, tell +me, is there a chapel some two or three hundred metres from the +castle?" + +"Yes, a ruined chapel, containing the tomb of Duke Rollo." + +"Tell your chauffer to wait for us near that chapel." + +"My chauffer hasn't returned. If he had, they would have informed +me. Do you think the secret passage runs to the chapel? What +reason have--" + +"I would ask you, monsieur," interrupted the detective, "to furnish +me with a ladder and a lantern." + +"What! do you require a ladder and a lantern?" + +"Certainly, or I shouldn't have asked for them." + +Devanne, somewhat disconcerted by this crude logic, rang the bell. +The two articles were given with the sternness and precision of +military commands. + +"Place the ladder against the bookcase, to the left of the word +Thibermesnil." + +Devanne placed the ladder as directed, and the Englishman +continued: + +"More to the left....to the right....There!....Now, climb up.... +All the letters are in relief, aren't they?" + +"Yes." + +"First, turn the letter I one way or the other." + +"Which one? There are two of them." + +"The first one." + +Devanne took hold of the letter, and exclaimed: + +"Ah! yes, it turns toward the right. Who told you that?" + +Sherlock Holmes did not reply to the question, but continued his +directions: + +"Now, take the letter B. Move it back and forth as you would a +bolt." + +Devanne did so, and, to his great surprise, it produced a clicking +sound. + +"Quite right," said Holmes. "Now, we will go to the other end of +the word Thibermesnil, try the letter I, and see if it will open +like a wicket." + +With a certain degree of solemnity, Devanne seized the letter. It +opened, but Devanne fell from the ladder, for the entire section of +the bookcase, lying between the first and last letters of the +words, turned on a picot and disclosed the subterranean passage. + +Sherlock Holmes said, coolly: + +"You are not hurt?" + +"No, no," said Devanne, as he rose to his feet, "not hurt, only +bewildered. I can't understand now....those letters turn....the +secret passage opens...." + +"Certainly. Doesn't that agree exactly with the formula given by +Sully? Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the other eye will +lead to God." + +"But Louis the sixteenth?" asked Devanne. + +"Louis the sixteenth was a clever locksmith. I have read a book he +wrote about combination locks. It was a good idea on the part of +the owner of Thibermesnil to show His Majesty a clever bit of +mechanism. As an aid to his memory, the king wrote: 3-4-11, that +is to say, the third, fourth and eleventh letters of the word." + +"Exactly. I understand that. It explains how Lupin got out of the +room, but it does not explain how he entered. And it is certain he +came from the outside." + +Sherlock Holmes lighted his lantern, and stepped into the passage. + +"Look! All the mechanism is exposed here, like the works of a +clock, and the reverse side of the letters can be reached. Lupin +worked the combination from this side--that is all." + +"What proof is there of that?" + +"Proof? Why, look at that puddle of oil. Lupin foresaw that the +wheels would require oiling." + +"Did he know about the other entrance?" + +"As well as I know it," said Holmes. "Follow me." + +"Into that dark passage?" + +"Are you afraid?" + +"No, but are you sure you can find the way out?" + +"With my eyes closed." + +At first, they descended twelve steps, then twelve more, and, +farther on, two other flights of twelve steps each. Then they +walked through a long passageway, the brick walls of which showed +the marks of successive restorations, and, in spots, were dripping +with water. The earth, also, was very damp. + +"We are passing under the pond," said Devanne, somewhat nervously. + +At last, they came to a stairway of twelve steps, followed by three +others of twelve steps each, which they mounted with difficulty, +and then found themselves in a small cavity cut in the rock. They +could go no further. + +"The deuce!" muttered Holmes, "nothing but bare walls. This is +provoking." + +"Let us go back," said Devanne. "I have seen enough to satisfy +me." + +But the Englishman raised his eye and uttered a sigh of relief. +There, he saw the same mechanism and the same word as before. He +had merely to work the three letters. He did so, and a block of +granite swung out of place. On the other side, this granite block +formed the tombstone of Duke Rollo, and the word "Thibermesnil" was +engraved on it in relief. Now, they were in the little ruined +chapel, and the detective said: + +"The other eye leads to God; that means, to the chapel." + +"It is marvelous!" exclaimed Devanne, amazed at the clairvoyance +and vivacity of the Englishman. "Can it be possible that those few +words were sufficient for you?" + +"Bah!" declared Holmes, "they weren't even necessary. In the chart +in the book of the National Library, the drawing terminates at the +left, as you know, in a circle, and at the right, as you do not +know, in a cross. Now, that cross must refer to the chapel in +which we now stand." + +Poor Devanne could not believe his ears. It was all so new, so +novel to him. He exclaimed: + +"It is incredible, miraculous, and yet of a childish simplicity! +How is it that no one has ever solved the mystery?" + +"Because no one has ever united the essential elements, that is to +say, the two books and the two sentences. No one, but Arsene Lupin +and myself." + +"But, Father Gelis and I knew all about those things, and, +likewise--" + +Holmes smiled, and said: + +"Monsieur Devanne, everybody cannot solve riddles." + +"I have been trying for ten years to accomplish what you did in ten +minutes." + +"Bah! I am used to it." + +They emerged from the chapel, and found an automobile. + +"Ah! there's an auto waiting for us." + +"Yes, it is mine," said Devanne. + +"Yours? You said your chauffeur hadn't returned." + +They approached the machine, and Mon. Devanne questioned the +chauffer: + +"Edouard, who gave you orders to come here?" + +"Why, it was Monsieur Velmont." + +"Mon. Velmont? Did you meet him?" + +"Near the railway station, and he told me to come to the chapel." + +"To come to the chapel! What for?" + +"To wait for you, monsieur, and your friend." + +Devanne and Holmes exchanged looks, and Mon. Devanne said: + +"He knew the mystery would be a simple one for you. It is a +delicate compliment." + +A smile of satisfaction lighted up the detective's serious features +for a moment. The compliment pleased him. He shook his head, as +he said: + +"A clever man! I knew that when I saw him." + +"Have you seen him?" + +"I met him a short time ago--on my way from the station." + +"And you knew it was Horace Velmont--I mean, Arsene Lupin?" + +"That is right. I wonder how it came--" + +"No, but I supposed it was--from a certain ironical speech he made." + +"And you allowed him to escape?" + +"Of course I did. And yet I had everything on my side, such as +five gendarmes who passed us." + +"Sacrableu!" cried Devanne. "You should have taken advantage of +the opportunity." + +"Really, monsieur," said the Englishman, haughtily, "when I +encounter an adversary like Arsene Lupin, I do not take advantage +of chance opportunities, I create them." + +But time pressed, and since Lupin had been so kind as to send the +automobile, they resolved to profit by it. They seated themselves +in the comfortable limousine; Edouard took his place at the wheel, +and away they went toward the railway station. Suddenly, Devanne's +eyes fell upon a small package in one of the pockets of the +carriage. + +"Ah! what is that? A package! Whose is it? Why, it is for you." + +"For me?" + +"Yes, it is addressed: Sherlock Holmes, from Arsene Lupin." + +The Englishman took the package, opened it, and found that it +contained a watch. + +"Ah!" he exclaimed, with an angry gesture. + +"A watch," said Devanne. "How did it come there?" + +The detective did not reply. + +"Oh! it is your watch! Arsene Lupin returns your watch! But, in +order to return it, he must have taken it. Ah! I see! He took +your watch! That is a good one! Sherlock Holmes' watch stolen by +Arsene Lupin! Mon Dieu! that is funny! Really....you must excuse +me....I can't help it." + +He roared with laughter, unable to control himself. After which, +he said, in a tone of earnest conviction: + +"A clever man, indeed!" + +The Englishman never moved a muscle. On the way to Dieppe, he +never spoke a word, but fixed his gaze on the flying landscape. +His silence was terrible, unfathomable, more violent than the +wildest rage. At the railway station, he spoke calmly, but in a +voice that impressed one with the vast energy and will power of +that famous man. He said: + +"Yes, he is a clever man, but some day I shall have the pleasure of +placing on his shoulder the hand I now offer to you, Monsieur +Devanne. And I believe that Arsene Lupin and Sherlock Holmes will +meet again some day. Yes, the world is too small--we will meet--we +must meet--and then--" + + + + +--The further startling and thrilling adventures of Arsene Lupin +will be found in the book entitled "Arsene Lupin versus Herlock +Sholmes."-- + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN-BURGLAR *** + +This file should be named 7arsl10.txt or 7arsl10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 7arsl11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 7arsl10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + +Author: Maurice Leblanc + +Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6133] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on November 17, 2002] +[Date last updated: August 17, 2006] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN-BURGLAR *** + + + + +This etext was produced by Nathan J. Miller, NathanJM@MagicalDesk.com. + + + + +Maurice Leblanc + +The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsne Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + + + +Table of Contents: +I. The Arrest of Arsne Lupin +II. Arsne Lupin in Prison +III. The Escape of Arsne Lupin +IV. The Mysterious Traveller +V. The Queen's Necklace +VI. The Seven of Hearts +VII. Madame Imbert's Safe +VIII. The Black Pearl +IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late + + + + +I. The Arrest of Arsne Lupin + + +It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most +auspicious manner. The transatlantic steamship `La Provence' was +a swift and comfortable vessel, under the command of a most +affable man. The passengers constituted a select and delightful +society. The charm of new acquaintances and improvised amusements +served to make the time pass agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant +sensation of being separated from the world, living, as it were, +upon an unknown island, and consequently obliged to be sociable +with each other. + +Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and +spontaneity emanate from these various individuals who, on the +preceding evening, did not even know each other, and who are now, +for several days, condemned to lead a life of extreme intimacy, +jointly defying the anger of the ocean, the terrible onslaught of +the waves, the violence of the tempest and the agonizing monotony +of the calm and sleepy water? Such a life becomes a sort of +tragic existence, with its storms and its grandeurs, its monotony +and its diversity; and that is why, perhaps, we embark upon that +short voyage with mingled feelings of pleasure and fear. + +But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to +the life of the transatlantic traveler. The little floating +island is now attached to the world from which it was once quite +free. A bond united them, even in the very heart of the watery +wastes of the Atlantic. That bond is the wireless telegraph, by +means of which we receive news in the most mysterious manner. We +know full well that the message is not transported by the medium +of a hollow wire. No, the mystery is even more inexplicable, more +romantic, and we must have recourse to the wings of the air in +order to explain this new miracle. During the first day of the +voyage, we felt that we were being followed, escorted, preceded +even, by that distant voice, which, from time to time, whispered +to one of us a few words from the receding world. Two friends +spoke to me. Ten, twenty others sent gay or somber words of +parting to other passengers. + +On the second day, at a distance of five hundred miles from the +French coast, in the midst of a violent storm, we received the +following message by means of the wireless telegraph: + +"Arsne Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, wound +right fore-arm, traveling alone under name of R........" + +At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy +skies. The electric waves were interrupted. The remainder of the +dispatch never reached us. Of the name under which Arsne Lupin was +concealing himself, we knew only the initial. + +If the news had been of some other character, I have no doubt that +the secret would have been carefully guarded by the telegraphic +operator as well as by the officers of the vessel. But it was one +of those events calculated to escape from the most rigorous +discretion. The same day, no one knew how, the incident became a +matter of current gossip and every passenger was aware that the +famous Arsne Lupin was hiding in our midst. + +Arsne Lupin in our midst! the irresponsible burglar whose +exploits had been narrated in all the newspapers during the past +few months! the mysterious individual with whom Ganimard, our +shrewdest detective, had been engaged in an implacable conflict +amidst interesting and picturesque surroundings. Arsne Lupin, +the eccentric gentleman who operates only in the chateaux and +salons, and who, one night, entered the residence of Baron +Schormann, but emerged empty-handed, leaving, however, his card on +which he had scribbled these words: "Arsne Lupin, gentleman- +burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine." Arsne +Lupin, the man of a thousand disguises: in turn a chauffer, +detective, bookmaker, Russian physician, Spanish bull-fighter, +commercial traveler, robust youth, or decrepit old man. + +Then consider this startling situation: Arsne Lupin was wandering +about within the limited bounds of a transatlantic steamer; in +that very small corner of the world, in that dining saloon, in +that smoking room, in that music room! Arsne Lupin was, perhaps, +this gentleman....or that one....my neighbor at the table.... +the sharer of my stateroom.... + +"And this condition of affairs will last for five days!" exclaimed +Miss Nelly Underdown, next morning. "It is unbearable! I hope he +will be arrested." + +Then, addressing me, she added: + +"And you, Monsieur d'Andrzy, you are on intimate terms with the +captain; surely you know something?" + +I should have been delighted had I possessed any information that +would interest Miss Nelly. She was one of those magnificent +creatures who inevitably attract attention in every assembly. +Wealth and beauty form an irresistible combination, and Nelly +possessed both. + +Educated in Paris under the care of a French mother, she was now +going to visit her father, the millionaire Underdown of Chicago. +She was accompanied by one of her friends, Lady Jerland. + +At first, I had decided to open a flirtation with her; but, in the +rapidly growing intimacy of the voyage, I was soon impressed by +her charming manner and my feelings became too deep and +reverential for a mere flirtation. Moreover, she accepted my +attentions with a certain degree of favor. She condescended to +laugh at my witticisms and display an interest in my stories. Yet +I felt that I had a rival in the person of a young man with quiet +and refined tastes; and it struck me, at times, that she preferred +his taciturn humor to my Parisian frivolity. He formed one in the +circle of admirers that surrounded Miss Nelly at the time she +addressed to me the foregoing question. We were all comfortably +seated in our deck-chairs. The storm of the preceding evening had +cleared the sky. The weather was now delightful. + +"I have no definite knowledge, mademoiselle," I replied, "but can +not we, ourselves, investigate the mystery quite as well as the +detective Ganimard, the personal enemy of Arsne Lupin?" + +"Oh! oh! you are progressing very fast, monsieur." + +"Not at all, mademoiselle. In the first place, let me ask, do you +find the problem a complicated one?" + +"Very complicated." + +"Have you forgotten the key we hold for the solution to the +problem?" + +"What key?" + +"In the first place, Lupin calls himself Monsieur R-------." + +"Rather vague information," she replied. + +"Secondly, he is traveling alone." + +"Does that help you?" she asked. + +"Thirdly, he is blonde." + +"Well?" + +"Then we have only to peruse the passenger-list, and proceed by +process of elimination." + +I had that list in my pocket. I took it out and glanced through +it. Then I remarked: + +"I find that there are only thirteen men on the passenger-list +whose names begin with the letter R." + +"Only thirteen?" + +"Yes, in the first cabin. And of those thirteen, I find that nine +of them are accompanied by women, children or servants. That +leaves only four who are traveling alone. First, the Marquis de +Raverdan----" + +"Secretary to the American Ambassador," interrupted Miss Nelly. +"I know him." + +"Major Rawson," I continued. + +"He is my uncle," some one said. + +"Mon. Rivolta." + +"Here!" exclaimed an Italian, whose face was concealed beneath a +heavy black beard. + +Miss Nelly burst into laughter, and exclaimed: "That gentleman can +scarcely be called a blonde." + +"Very well, then," I said, "we are forced to the conclusion that +the guilty party is the last one on the list." + +"What is his name?" + +"Mon. Rozaine. Does anyone know him?" + +No one answered. But Miss Nelly turned to the taciturn young man, +whose attentions to her had annoyed me, and said: + +"Well, Monsieur Rozaine, why do you not answer?" + +All eyes were now turned upon him. He was a blonde. I must +confess that I myself felt a shock of surprise, and the profound +silence that followed her question indicated that the others +present also viewed the situation with a feeling of sudden alarm. +However, the idea was an absurd one, because the gentleman in +question presented an air of the most perfect innocence. + +"Why do I not answer?" he said. "Because, considering my name, my +position as a solitary traveler and the color of my hair, I have +already reached the same conclusion, and now think that I should +be arrested." + +He presented a strange appearance as he uttered these words. His +thin lips were drawn closer than usual and his face was ghastly +pale, whilst his eyes were streaked with blood. Of course, he was +joking, yet his appearance and attitude impressed us strangely. + +"But you have not the wound?" said Miss Nelly, naively. + +"That is true," he replied, "I lack the wound." + +Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his +arm. But that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his +left arm, and I was on the point of calling his attention to the +fact, when another incident diverted our attention. Lady Jerland, +Miss Nelly's friend, came running towards us in a state of great +excitement, exclaiming: + +"My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!" + +No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had +taken only part of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond +sunbursts, jeweled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief +had taken, not the largest but the finest and most valuable +stones. The mountings were lying upon the table. I saw them +there, despoiled of their jewels, like flowers from which the +beautiful colored petals had been ruthlessly plucked. And this +theft must have been committed at the time Lady Jerland was taking +her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom opening on a much +frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to force +open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which +was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty +and remove it from the mountings. + +Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same +conclusion; it was the work of Arsne Lupin. + +That day, at the dinner table, the seats to the right and left of +Rozaine remained vacant; and, during the evening, it was rumored +that the captain had placed him under arrest, which information +produced a feeling of safety and relief. We breathed once more. +That evening, we resumed our games and dances. Miss Nelly, +especially, displayed a spirit of thoughtless gayety which +convinced me that if Rozaine's attentions had been agreeable to +her in the beginning, she had already forgotten them. Her charm +and good-humor completed my conquest. At midnight, under a bright +moon, I declared my devotion with an ardor that did not seem to +displease her. + +But, next day, to our general amazement, Rozaine was at liberty. +We learned that the evidence against him was not sufficient. He +had produced documents that were perfectly regular, which showed +that he was the son of a wealthy merchant of Bordeaux. Besides, +his arms did not bear the slightest trace of a wound. + +"Documents! Certificates of birth!" exclaimed the enemies of +Rozaine, "of course, Arsne Lupin will furnish you as many as you +desire. And as to the wound, he never had it, or he has removed +it." + +Then it was proven that, at the time of the theft, Rozaine was +promenading on the deck. To which fact, his enemies replied that +a man like Arsne Lupin could commit a crime without being +actually present. And then, apart from all other circumstances, +there remained one point which even the most skeptical could not +answer: Who except Rozaine, was traveling alone, was a blonde, and +bore a name beginning with R? To whom did the telegram point, if +it were not Rozaine? + +And when Rozaine, a few minutes before breakfast, came boldly +toward our group, Miss Nelly and Lady Jerland arose and walked +away. + +An hour later, a manuscript circular was passed from hand to hand +amongst the sailors, the stewards, and the passengers of all +classes. It announced that Mon. Louis Rozaine offered a reward of +ten thousand francs for the discovery of Arsne Lupin or other +person in possession of the stolen jewels. + +"And if no one assists me, I will unmask the scoundrel myself," +declared Rozaine. + +Rozaine against Arsne Lupin, or rather, according to current +opinion, Arsne Lupin himself against Arsne Lupin; the contest +promised to be interesting. + +Nothing developed during the next two days. We saw Rozaine +wandering about, day and night, searching, questioning, +investigating. The captain, also, displayed commendable activity. +He caused the vessel to be searched from stern to stern; ransacked +every stateroom under the plausible theory that the jewels might +be concealed anywhere, except in the thief's own room. + +"I suppose they will find out something soon," remarked Miss Nelly +to me. "He may be a wizard, but he cannot make diamonds and +pearls become invisible." + +"Certainly not," I replied, "but he should examine the lining of +our hats and vests and everything we carry with us." + +Then, exhibiting my Kodak, a 9x12 with which I had been +photographing her in various poses, I added: "In an apparatus no +larger than that, a person could hide all of Lady Jerland's +jewels. He could pretend to take pictures and no one would +suspect the game." + +"But I have heard it said that every thief leaves some clue behind +him." + +"That may be generally true," I replied, "but there is one +exception: Arsne Lupin." + +"Why?" + +"Because he concentrates his thoughts not only on the theft, but +on all the circumstances connected with it that could serve as a +clue to his identity." + +"A few days ago, you were more confident." + +"Yes, but since I have seen him at work." + +"And what do you think about it now?" she asked. + +"Well, in my opinion, we are wasting our time." + +And, as a matter of fact, the investigation had produced no +result. But, in the meantime, the captain's watch had been +stolen. He was furious. He quickened his efforts and watched +Rozaine more closely than before. But, on the following day, the +watch was found in the second officer's collar box. + +This incident caused considerable astonishment, and displayed the +humorous side of Arsne Lupin, burglar though he was, but +dilettante as well. He combined business with pleasure. He +reminded us of the author who almost died in a fit of laughter +provoked by his own play. Certainly, he was an artist in his +particular line of work, and whenever I saw Rozaine, gloomy and +reserved, and thought of the double role that he was playing, I +accorded him a certain measure of admiration. + +On the following evening, the officer on deck duty heard groans +emanating from the darkest corner of the ship. He approached and +found a man lying there, his head enveloped in a thick gray scarf +and his hands tied together with a heavy cord. It was Rozaine. +He had been assaulted, thrown down and robbed. A card, pinned to +his coat, bore these words: "Arsne Lupin accepts with pleasure +the ten thousand francs offered by Mon. Rozaine." As a matter of +fact, the stolen pocket-book contained twenty thousand francs. + +Of course, some accused the unfortunate man of having simulated +this attack on himself. But, apart from the fact that he could +not have bound himself in that manner, it was established that the +writing on the card was entirely different from that of Rozaine, +but, on the contrary, resembled the handwriting of Arsne Lupin as +it was reproduced in an old newspaper found on board. + +Thus it appeared that Rozaine was not Arsne Lupin; but was +Rozaine, the son of a Bordeaux merchant. And the presence of +Arsne Lupin was once more affirmed, and that in a most alarming +manner. + +Such was the state of terror amongst the passengers that none +would remain alone in a stateroom or wander singly in unfrequented +parts of the vessel. We clung together as a matter of safety. +And yet the most intimate acquaintances were estranged by a mutual +feeling of distrust. Arsne Lupin was, now, anybody and +everybody. Our excited imaginations attributed to him miraculous +and unlimited power. We supposed him capable of assuming the most +unexpected disguises; of being, by turns, the highly respectable +Major Rawson or the noble Marquis de Raverdan, or even--for we no +longer stopped with the accusing letter of R--or even such or such +a person well known to all of us, and having wife, children and +servants. + +The first wireless dispatches from America brought no news; at +least, the captain did not communicate any to us. The silence was +not reassuring. + +Our last day on the steamer seemed interminable. We lived in +constant fear of some disaster. This time, it would not be a +simple theft or a comparatively harmless assault; it would be a +crime, a murder. No one imagined that Arsne Lupin would confine +himself to those two trifling offenses. Absolute master of the +ship, the authorities powerless, he could do whatever he pleased; +our property and lives were at his mercy. + +Yet those were delightful hours for me, since they secured to me +the confidence of Miss Nelly. Deeply moved by those startling +events and being of a highly nervous nature, she spontaneously +sought at my side a protection and security that I was pleased to +give her. Inwardly, I blessed Arsne Lupin. Had he not been the +means of bringing me and Miss Nelly closer to each other? Thanks +to him, I could now indulge in delicious dreams of love and +happiness--dreams that, I felt, were not unwelcome to Miss Nelly. +Her smiling eyes authorized me to make them; the softness of her +voice bade me hope. + +As we approached the American shore, the active search for the +thief was apparently abandoned, and we were anxiously awaiting the +supreme moment in which the mysterious enigma would be explained. +Who was Arsne Lupin? Under what name, under what disguise was +the famous Arsne Lupin concealing himself? And, at last, that +supreme moment arrived. If I live one hundred years, I shall not +forget the slightest details of it. + +"How pale you are, Miss Nelly," I said to my companion, as she +leaned upon my arm, almost fainting. + +"And you!" she replied, "ah! you are so changed." + +"Just think! this is a most exciting moment, and I am delighted to +spend it with you, Miss Nelly. I hope that your memory will +sometimes revert---" + +But she was not listening. She was nervous and excited. The +gangway was placed in position, but, before we could use it, the +uniformed customs officers came on board. Miss Nelly murmured: + +"I shouldn't be surprised to hear that Arsne Lupin escaped from +the vessel during the voyage." + +"Perhaps he preferred death to dishonor, and plunged into the +Atlantic rather than be arrested." + +"Oh, do not laugh," she said. + +Suddenly I started, and, in answer to her question, I said: + +"Do you see that little old man standing at the bottom of the +gangway?" + +"With an umbrella and an olive-green coat?" + +"It is Ganimard." + +"Ganimard?" + +"Yes, the celebrated detective who has sworn to capture Arsne +Lupin. Ah! I can understand now why we did not receive any news +from this side of the Atlantic. Ganimard was here! and he always +keeps his business secret." + +"Then you think he will arrest Arsne Lupin?" + +"Who can tell? The unexpected always happens when Arsne Lupin is +concerned in the affair." + +"Oh!" she exclaimed, with that morbid curiosity peculiar to women, +"I should like to see him arrested." + +"You will have to be patient. No doubt, Arsne Lupin has already +seen his enemy and will not be in a hurry to leave the steamer." + +The passengers were now leaving the steamer. Leaning on his +umbrella, with an air of careless indifference, Ganimard appeared +to be paying no attention to the crowd that was hurrying down the +gangway. The Marquis de Raverdan, Major Rawson, the Italian +Rivolta, and many others had already left the vessel before +Rozaine appeared. Poor Rozaine! + +"Perhaps it is he, after all," said Miss Nelly to me. "What do +you think?" + +"I think it would be very interesting to have Ganimard and Rozaine +in the same picture. You take the camera. I am loaded down." + +I gave her the camera, but too late for her to use it. Rozaine +was already passing the detective. An American officer, standing +behind Ganimard, leaned forward and whispered in his ear. The +French detective shrugged his shoulders and Rozaine passed on. +Then, my God, who was Arsne Lupin? + +"Yes," said Miss Nelly, aloud, "who can it be?" + +Not more than twenty people now remained on board. She +scrutinized them one by one, fearful that Arsne Lupin was not +amongst them. + +"We cannot wait much longer," I said to her. + +She started toward the gangway. I followed. But we had not taken +ten steps when Ganimard barred our passage. + +"Well, what is it?" I exclaimed. + +"One moment, monsieur. What's your hurry?" + +"I am escorting mademoiselle." + +"One moment," he repeated, in a tone of authority. Then, gazing +into my eyes, he said: + +"Arsne Lupin, is it not?" + +I laughed, and replied: "No, simply Bernard d'Andrzy." + +"Bernard d'Andrzy died in Macedonia three years ago." + +"If Bernard d'Andrzy were dead, I should not be here. But you +are mistaken. Here are my papers." + +"They are his; and I can tell you exactly how they came into your +possession." + +"You are a fool!" I exclaimed. "Arsne Lupin sailed under the +name of R---" + +"Yes, another of your tricks; a false scent that deceived them at +Havre. You play a good game, my boy, but this time luck is +against you." + +I hesitated a moment. Then he hit me a sharp blow on the right +arm, which caused me to utter a cry of pain. He had struck the +wound, yet unhealed, referred to in the telegram. + +I was obliged to surrender. There was no alternative. I turned +to Miss Nelly, who had heard everything. Our eyes met; then she +glanced at the Kodak I had placed in her hands, and made a gesture +that conveyed to me the impression that she understood everything. +Yes, there, between the narrow folds of black leather, in the +hollow centre of the small object that I had taken the precaution +to place in her hands before Ganimard arrested me, it was there I +had deposited Rozaine's twenty thousand francs and Lady Jerland's +pearls and diamonds. + +Oh! I pledge my oath that, at that solemn moment, when I was in +the grasp of Ganimard and his two assistants, I was perfectly +indifferent to everything, to my arrest, the hostility of the +people, everything except this one question: what will Miss Nelly +do with the things I had confided to her? + +In the absence of that material and conclusive proof, I had +nothing to fear; but would Miss Nelly decide to furnish that +proof? Would she betray me? Would she act the part of an enemy +who cannot forgive, or that of a woman whose scorn is softened by +feelings of indulgence and involuntary sympathy? + +She passed in front of me. I said nothing, but bowed very low. +Mingled with the other passengers, she advanced to the gangway +with my kodak in her hand. It occurred to me that she would not +dare to expose me publicly, but she might do so when she reached a +more private place. However, when she had passed only a few feet +down the gangway, with a movement of simulated awkwardness, she +let the camera fall into the water between the vessel and the +pier. Then she walked down the gangway, and was quickly lost to +sight in the crowd. She had passed out of my life forever. + +For a moment, I stood motionless. Then, to Ganimard's great +astonishment, I muttered: + +"What a pity that I am not an honest man!" + +Such was the story of his arrest as narrated to me by Arsne Lupin +himself. The various incidents, which I shall record in writing +at a later day, have established between us certain ties....shall +I say of friendship? Yes, I venture to believe that Arsne Lupin +honors me with his friendship, and that it is through friendship +that he occasionally calls on me, and brings, into the silence of +my library, his youthful exuberance of spirits, the contagion of +his enthusiasm, and the mirth of a man for whom destiny has naught +but favors and smiles. + +His portrait? How can I describe him? I have seen him twenty +times and each time he was a different person; even he himself +said to me on one occasion: "I no longer know who I am. I cannot +recognize myself in the mirror." Certainly, he was a great actor, +and possessed a marvelous faculty for disguising himself. Without +the slightest effort, he could adopt the voice, gestures and +mannerisms of another person. + +"Why," said he, "why should I retain a definite form and feature? +Why not avoid the danger of a personality that is ever the same? +My actions will serve to identify me." + +Then he added, with a touch of pride: + +"So much the better if no one can ever say with absolute +certainty: There is Arsne Lupin! The essential point is that the +public may be able to refer to my work and say, without fear of +mistake: Arsne Lupin did that!" + + + +II. Arsne Lupin in Prison + + +There is no tourist worthy of the name who does not know the banks +of the Seine, and has not noticed, in passing, the little feudal +castle of the Malaquis, built upon a rock in the centre of the +river. An arched bridge connects it with the shore. All around +it, the calm waters of the great river play peacefully amongst the +reeds, and the wagtails flutter over the moist crests of the +stones. + +The history of the Malaquis castle is stormy like its name, harsh +like its outlines. It has passed through a long series of +combats, sieges, assaults, rapines and massacres. A recital of +the crimes that have been committed there would cause the stoutest +heart to tremble. There are many mysterious legends connected +with the castle, and they tell us of a famous subterranean tunnel +that formerly led to the abbey of Jumieges and to the manor of +Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII. + +In that ancient habitation of heroes and brigands, the Baron +Nathan Cahorn now lived; or Baron Satan as he was formerly called +on the Bourse, where he had acquired a fortune with incredible +rapidity. The lords of Malaquis, absolutely ruined, had been +obliged to sell the ancient castle at a great sacrifice. It +contained an admirable collection of furniture, pictures, wood +carvings, and faience. The Baron lived there alone, attended by +three old servants. No one ever enters the place. No one had +ever beheld the three Rubens that he possessed, his two Watteau, +his Jean Goujon pulpit, and the many other treasures that he had +acquired by a vast expenditure of money at public sales. + +Baron Satan lived in constant fear, not for himself, but for the +treasures that he had accumulated with such an earnest devotion +and with so much perspicacity that the shrewdest merchant could +not say that the Baron had ever erred in his taste or judgment. +He loved them--his bibelots. He loved them intensely, like a +miser; jealously, like a lover. Every day, at sunset, the iron +gates at either end of the bridge and at the entrance to the court +of honor are closed and barred. At the least touch on these +gates, electric bells will ring throughout the castle. + +One Thursday in September, a letter-carrier presented himself at +the gate at the head of the bridge, and, as usual, it was the +Baron himself who partially opened the heavy portal. He +scrutinized the man as minutely as if he were a stranger, although +the honest face and twinkling eyes of the postman had been +familiar to the Baron for many years. The man laughed, as he +said: + +"It is only I, Monsieur le Baron. It is not another man wearing +my cap and blouse." + +"One can never tell," muttered the Baron. + +The man handed him a number of newspapers, and then said: + +"And now, Monsieur le Baron, here is something new." + +"Something new?" + +"Yes, a letter. A registered letter." + +Living as a recluse, without friends or business relations, the +baron never received any letters, and the one now presented to him +immediately aroused within him a feeling of suspicion and +distrust. It was like an evil omen. Who was this mysterious +correspondent that dared to disturb the tranquility of his +retreat? + +"You must sign for it, Monsieur le Baron." + +He signed; then took the letter, waited until the postman had +disappeared beyond the bend in the road, and, after walking +nervously to and fro for a few minutes, he leaned against the +parapet of the bridge and opened the envelope. It contained a +sheet of paper, bearing this heading: Prison de la Sant, Paris. +He looked at the signature: Arsne Lupin. Then he read: + + "Monsieur le Baron: + + "There is, in the gallery in your castle, a picture of Philippe + de Champaigne, of exquisite finish, which pleases me beyond + measure. Your Rubens are also to my taste, as well as your + smallest Watteau. In the salon to the right, I have noticed the + Louis XIII cadence-table, the tapestries of Beauvais, the Empire + gueridon signed `Jacob,' and the Renaissance chest. In the salon + to the left, all the cabinet full of jewels and miniatures. + + "For the present, I will content myself with those articles that + can be conveniently removed. I will therefore ask you to pack + them carefully and ship them to me, charges prepaid, to the + station at Batignolles, within eight days, otherwise I shall be + obliged to remove them myself during the night of 27 September; + but, under those circumstances, I shall not content myself with + the articles above mentioned. + + "Accept my apologies for any inconvenience I may cause you, and + believe me to be your humble servant, + "Arsne Lupin." + + "P. S.--Please do not send the largest Watteau. Although you + paid thirty thousand francs for it, it is only a copy, the + original having been burned, under the Directoire by Barras, + during a night of debauchery. Consult the memoirs of Garat. + + "I do not care for the Louis XV chatelaine, as I doubt its + authenticity." + +That letter completely upset the baron. Had it borne any other +signature, he would have been greatly alarmed--but signed by Arsne +Lupin! + +As an habitual reader of the newspapers, he was versed in the +history of recent crimes, and was therefore well acquainted with +the exploits of the mysterious burglar. Of course, he knew that +Lupin had been arrested in America by his enemy Ganimard and was +at present incarcerated in the Prison de la Sant. But he knew +also that any miracle might be expected from Arsne Lupin. +Moreover, that exact knowledge of the castle, the location of the +pictures and furniture, gave the affair an alarming aspect. How +could he have acquired that information concerning things that no +one had ever seen? + +The baron raised his eyes and contemplated the stern outlines of +the castle, its steep rocky pedestal, the depth of the surrounding +water, and shrugged his shoulders. Certainly, there was no +danger. No one in the world could force an entrance to the +sanctuary that contained his priceless treasures. + +No one, perhaps, but Arsne Lupin! For him, gates, walls and +drawbridges did not exist. What use were the most formidable +obstacles or the most careful precautions, if Arsne Lupin had +decided to effect an entrance? + +That evening, he wrote to the Procurer of the Republique at Rouen. +He enclosed the threatening letter and solicited aid and +protection. + +The reply came at once to the effect that Arsne Lupin was in +custody in the Prison de la Sant, under close surveillance, with +no opportunity to write such a letter, which was, no doubt, the +work of some imposter. But, as an act of precaution, the Procurer +had submitted the letter to an expert in handwriting, who declared +that, in spite of certain resemblances, the writing was not that +of the prisoner. + +But the words "in spite of certain resemblances" caught the +attention of the baron; in them, he read the possibility of a +doubt which appeared to him quite sufficient to warrant the +intervention of the law. His fears increased. He read Lupin's +letter over and over again. "I shall be obliged to remove them +myself." And then there was the fixed date: the night of 27 +September. + +To confide in his servants was a proceeding repugnant to his +nature; but now, for the first time in many years, he experienced +the necessity of seeking counsel with some one. Abandoned by the +legal official of his own district, and feeling unable to defend +himself with his own resources, he was on the point of going to +Paris to engage the services of a detective. + +Two days passed; on the third day, he was filled with hope and joy +as he read the following item in the `Reveil de Caudebec', a +newspaper published in a neighboring town: + +"We have the pleasure of entertaining in our city, at the present +time, the veteran detective Mon. Ganimard who acquired a world- +wide reputation by his clever capture of Arsne Lupin. He has +come here for rest and recreation, and, being an enthusiastic +fisherman, he threatens to capture all the fish in our river." + +Ganimard! Ah, here is the assistance desired by Baron Cahorn! +Who could baffle the schemes of Arsne Lupin better than Ganimard, +the patient and astute detective? He was the man for the place. + +The baron did not hesitate. The town of Caudebec was only six +kilometers from the castle, a short distance to a man whose step +was accelerated by the hope of safety. + +After several fruitless attempts to ascertain the detective's +address, the baron visited the office of the `Reveil,' situated on +the quai. There he found the writer of the article who, +approaching the window, exclaimed: + +"Ganimard? Why, you are sure to see him somewhere on the quai +with his fishing-pole. I met him there and chanced to read his +name engraved on his rod. Ah, there he is now, under the trees." + +"That little man, wearing a straw hat?" + +"Exactly. He is a gruff fellow, with little to say." + +Five minutes later, the baron approached the celebrated Ganimard, +introduced himself, and sought to commence a conversation, but +that was a failure. Then he broached the real object of his +interview, and briefly stated his case. The other listened, +motionless, with his attention riveted on his fishing-rod. When +the baron had finished his story, the fisherman turned, with an +air of profound pity, and said: + +"Monsieur, it is not customary for thieves to warn people they are +about to rob. Arsne Lupin, especially, would not commit such a +folly." + +"But---" + +"Monsieur, if I had the least doubt, believe me, the pleasure of +again capturing Arsne Lupin would place me at your disposal. +But, unfortunately, that young man is already under lock and key." + +"He may have escaped." + +"No one ever escaped from the Sant." + +"But, he---" + +"He, no more than any other." + +"Yet---" + +"Well, if he escapes, so much the better. I will catch him again. +Meanwhile, you go home and sleep soundly. That will do for the +present. You frighten the fish." + +The conversation was ended. The baron returned to the castle, +reassured to some extent by Ganimard's indifference. He examined +the bolts, watched the servants, and, during the next forty-eight +hours, he became almost persuaded that his fears were groundless. +Certainly, as Ganimard had said, thieves do not warn people they +are about to rob. + +The fateful day was close at hand. It was now the twenty-sixth of +September and nothing had happened. But at three o'clock the bell +rang. A boy brought this telegram: + +"No goods at Batignolles station. Prepare everything for tomorrow +night. Arsne." + +This telegram threw the baron into such a state of excitement that +he even considered the advisability of yielding to Lupin's +demands. + +However, he hastened to Caudebec. Ganimard was fishing at the +same place, seated on a campstool. Without a word, he handed him +the telegram. + +"Well, what of it?" said the detective. + +"What of it? But it is tomorrow." + +"What is tomorrow?" + +"The robbery! The pillage of my collections!" + +Ganimard laid down his fishing-rod, turned to the baron, and +exclaimed, in a tone of impatience: + +"Ah! Do you think I am going to bother myself about such a silly +story as that!" + +"How much do you ask to pass tomorrow night in the castle?" + +"Not a sou. Now, leave me alone." + +"Name your own price. I am rich and can pay it." + +This offer disconcerted Ganimard, who replied, calmly: + +"I am here on a vacation. I have no right to undertake such +work." + +"No one will know. I promise to keep it secret." + +"Oh! nothing will happen." + +"Come! three thousand francs. Will that be enough?" + +The detective, after a moment's reflection, said: + +"Very well. But I must warn you that you are throwing your money +out of the window." + +"I do not care." + +"In that case...but, after all, what do we know about this devil +Lupin! He may have quite a numerous band of robbers with him. +Are you sure of your servants?" + +"My faith---" + +"Better not count on them. I will telegraph for two of my men to +help me. And now, go! It is better for us not to be seen +together. Tomorrow evening about nine o'clock." + +* * * * * + +The following day--the date fixed by Arsne Lupin--Baron Cahorn +arranged all his panoply of war, furbished his weapons, and, like +a sentinel, paced to and fro in front of the castle. He saw +nothing, heard nothing. At half-past eight o'clock in the +evening, he dismissed his servants. They occupied rooms in a wing +of the building, in a retired spot, well removed from the main +portion of the castle. Shortly thereafter, the baron heard the +sound of approaching footsteps. It was Ganimard and his two +assistants--great, powerful fellows with immense hands, and necks +like bulls. After asking a few questions relating to the location +of the various entrances and rooms, Ganimard carefully closed and +barricaded all the doors and windows through which one could gain +access to the threatened rooms. He inspected the walls, raised +the tapestries, and finally installed his assistants in the +central gallery which was located between the two salons. + +"No nonsense! We are not here to sleep. At the slightest sound, +open the windows of the court and call me. Pay attention also to +the water-side. Ten metres of perpendicular rock is no obstacle +to those devils." + +Ganimard locked his assistants in the gallery, carried away the +keys, and said to the baron: + +"And now, to our post." + +He had chosen for himself a small room located in the thick outer +wall, between the two principal doors, and which, in former years, +had been the watchman's quarters. A peep-hole opened upon the +bridge; another on the court. In one corner, there was an opening +to a tunnel. + +"I believe you told me, Monsieur le Baron, that this tunnel is the +only subterranean entrance to the castle and that it has been +closed up for time immemorial?" + +"Yes." + +"Then, unless there is some other entrance, known only to Arsne +Lupin, we are quite safe." + +He placed three chairs together, stretched himself upon them, +lighted his pipe and sighed: + +"Really, Monsieur le Baron, I feel ashamed to accept your money +for such a sinecure as this. I will tell the story to my friend +Lupin. He will enjoy it immensely." + +The baron did not laugh. He was anxiously listening, but heard +nothing save the beating of his own heart. From time to time, he +leaned over the tunnel and cast a fearful eye into its depths. He +heard the clock strike eleven, twelve, one. + +Suddenly, he seized Ganimard's arm. The latter leaped up, +awakened from his sleep. + +"Do you hear?" asked the baron, in a whisper. + +"Yes." + +"What is it?" + +"I was snoring, I suppose." + +"No, no, listen." + +"Ah! yes, it is the horn of an automobile." + +"Well?" + +"Well! it is very improbable that Lupin would use an automobile +like a battering-ram to demolish your castle. Come, Monsieur le +Baron, return to your post. I am going to sleep. Good-night." + +That was the only alarm. Ganimard resumed his interrupted +slumbers, and the baron heard nothing except the regular snoring +of his companion. At break of day, they left the room. The +castle was enveloped in a profound calm; it was a peaceful dawn on +the bosom of a tranquil river. They mounted the stairs, Cahorn +radiant with joy, Ganimard calm as usual. They heard no sound; +they saw nothing to arouse suspicion. + +"What did I tell you, Monsieur le Baron? Really, I should not +have accepted your offer. I am ashamed." + +He unlocked the door and entered the gallery. Upon two chairs, +with drooping heads and pendent arms, the detective's two +assistants were asleep. + +"Tonnerre de nom d'un chien!" exclaimed Ganimard. At the same +moment, the baron cried out: + +"The pictures! The credence!" + +He stammered, choked, with arms outstretched toward the empty +places, toward the denuded walls where naught remained but the +useless nails and cords. The Watteau, disappeared! The Rubens, +carried away! The tapestries taken down! The cabinets, despoiled +of their jewels! + +"And my Louis XVI candelabra! And the Regent chandelier!...And +my twelfth-century Virgin!" + +He ran from one spot to another in wildest despair. He recalled +the purchase price of each article, added up the figures, counted +his losses, pell-mell, in confused words and unfinished phrases. +He stamped with rage; he groaned with grief. He acted like a +ruined man whose only hope is suicide. + +If anything could have consoled him, it would have been the +stupefaction displayed by Ganimard. The famous detective did not +move. He appeared to be petrified; he examined the room in a +listless manner. The windows?....closed. The locks on the +doors?....intact. Not a break in the ceiling; not a hole in the +floor. Everything was in perfect order. The theft had been +carried out methodically, according to a logical and inexorable +plan. + +"Arsne Lupin....Arsne Lupin," he muttered. + +Suddenly, as if moved by anger, he rushed upon his two assistants +and shook them violently. They did not awaken. + +"The devil!" he cried. "Can it be possible?" + +He leaned over them and, in turn, examined them closely. They +were asleep; but their response was unnatural. + +"They have been drugged," he said to the baron. + +"By whom?" + +"By him, of course, or his men under his discretion. That work +bears his stamp." + +"In that case, I am lost--nothing can be done." + +"Nothing," assented Ganimard. + +"It is dreadful; it is monstrous." + +"Lodge a complaint." + +"What good will that do?" + +"Oh; it is well to try it. The law has some resources." + +"The law! Bah! it is useless. You represent the law, and, at +this moment, when you should be looking for a clue and trying to +discover something, you do not even stir." + +"Discover something with Arsne Lupin! Why, my dear monsieur, +Arsne Lupin never leaves any clue behind him. He leaves nothing +to chance. Sometimes I think he put himself in my way and simply +allowed me to arrest him in America." + +"Then, I must renounce my pictures! He has taken the gems of my +collection. I would give a fortune to recover them. If there is +no other way, let him name his own price." + +Ganimard regarded the baron attentively, as he said: + +"Now, that is sensible. Will you stick to it?" + +"Yes, yes. But why?" + +"An idea that I have." + +"What is it?" + +"We will discuss it later--if the official examination does not +succeed. But, not one word about me, if you wish my assistance." + +He added, between his teeth: + +"It is true I have nothing to boast of in this affair." + +The assistants were gradually regaining consciousness with the +bewildered air of people who come out of an hypnotic sleep. They +opened their eyes and looked about them in astonishment. Ganimard +questioned them; they remembered nothing. + +"But you must have seen some one?" + +"No." + +"Can't you remember?" + +"No, no." + +"Did you drink anything?" + +They considered a moment, and then one of them replied: + +"Yes, I drank a little water." + +"Out of that carafe?" + +"Yes." + +"So did I," declared the other. + +Ganimard smelled and tasted it. It had no particular taste and no +odor. + +"Come," he said, "we are wasting our time here. One can't decide +an Arsne Lupin problem in five minutes. But, morbleau! I swear +I will catch him again." + +The same day, a charge of burglary was duly performed by Baron +Cahorn against Arsne Lupin, a prisoner in the Prison de la Sant. + +* * * * * + +The baron afterwards regretted making the charge against Lupin +when he saw his castle delivered over to the gendarmes, the +procureur, the judge d'instruction, the newspaper reporters and +photographers, and a throng of idle curiosity-seekers. + +The affair soon became a topic of general discussion, and the name +of Arsne Lupin excited the public imagination to such an extent +that the newspapers filled their columns with the most fantastic +stories of his exploits which found ready credence amongst their +readers. + +But the letter of Arsne Lupin that was published in the `Echo de +France' (no once ever knew how the newspaper obtained it), that +letter in which Baron Cahorn was impudently warned of the coming +theft, caused considerable excitement. The most fabulous theories +were advanced. Some recalled the existence of the famous +subterranean tunnels, and that was the line of research pursued by +the officers of the law, who searched the house from top to +bottom, questioned every stone, studied the wainscoting and the +chimneys, the window-frames and the girders in the ceilings. By +the light of torches, they examined the immense cellars where the +lords of Malaquis were wont to store their munitions and +provisions. They sounded the rocky foundation to its very centre. +But it was all in vain. They discovered no trace of a subterranean +tunnel. No secret passage existed. + +But the eager public declared that the pictures and furniture +could not vanish like so many ghosts. They are substantial, +material things and require doors and windows for their exits and +their entrances, and so do the people that remove them. Who were +those people? How did they gain access to the castle? And how +did they leave it? + +The police officers of Rouen, convinced of their own impotence, +solicited the assistance of the Parisian detective force. Mon. +Dudouis, chief of the Sret, sent the best sleuths of the iron +brigade. He himself spent forty-eight hours at the castle, but +met with no success. Then he sent for Ganimard, whose past +services had proved so useful when all else failed. + +Ganimard listened, in silence, to the instructions of his +superior; then, shaking his head, he said: + +"In my opinion, it is useless to ransack the castle. The solution +of the problem lies elsewhere." + +"Where, then?" + +"With Arsne Lupin." + +"With Arsne Lupin! To support that theory, we must admit his +intervention." + +"I do admit it. In fact, I consider it quite certain." + +"Come, Ganimard, that is absurd. Arsne Lupin is in prison." + +"I grant you that Arsne Lupin is in prison, closely guarded; but +he must have fetters on his feet, manacles on his wrists, and gag +in his mouth before I change my opinion." + +"Why so obstinate, Ganimard?" + +"Because Arsne Lupin is the only man in France of sufficient +calibre to invent and carry out a scheme of that magnitude." + +"Mere words, Ganimard." + +"But true ones. Look! What are they doing? Searching for +subterranean passages, stones swinging on pivots, and other nonsense +of that kind. But Lupin doesn't employ such old-fashioned methods. +He is a modern cracksman, right up to date." + +"And how would you proceed?" + +"I should ask your permission to spend an hour with him." + +"In his cell?" + +"Yes. During the return trip from America we became very +friendly, and I venture to say that if he can give me any +information without compromising himself he will not hesitate to +save me from incurring useless trouble." + +It was shortly after noon when Ganimard entered the cell of Arsne +Lupin. The latter, who was lying on his bed, raised his head and +uttered a cry of apparent joy. + +"Ah! This is a real surprise. My dear Ganimard, here!" + +"Ganimard himself." + +"In my chosen retreat, I have felt a desire for many things, but +my fondest wish was to receive you here." + +"Very kind of you, I am sure." + +"Not at all. You know I hold you in the highest regard." + +"I am proud of it." + +"I have always said: Ganimard is our best detective. He is +almost,--you see how candid I am!--he is almost as clever as +Sherlock Holmes. But I am sorry that I cannot offer you anything +better than this hard stool. And no refreshments! Not even a +glass of beer! Of course, you will excuse me, as I am here only +temporarily." + +Ganimard smiled, and accepted the proffered seat. Then the +prisoner continued: + +"Mon Dieu, how pleased I am to see the face of an honest man. I +am so tired of those devils of spies who come here ten times a day +to ransack my pockets and my cell to satisfy themselves that I am +not preparing to escape. The government is very solicitous on my +account." + +"It is quite right." + +"Why so? I should be quite contented if they would allow me to +live in my own quiet way." + +"On other people's money." + +"Quite so. That would be so simple. But here, I am joking, and +you are, no doubt, in a hurry. So let us come to business, +Ganimard. To what do I owe the honor of this visit? + +"The Cahorn affair," declared Ganimard, frankly. + +"Ah! Wait, one moment. You see I have had so many affairs! +First, let me fix in my mind the circumstances of this particular +case....Ah! yes, now I have it. The Cahorn affair, Malaquis +castle, Seine-Infrieure....Two Rubens, a Watteau, and a few +trifling articles." + +"Trifling!" + +"Oh! ma foi, all that is of slight importance. But it suffices to +know that the affair interests you. How can I serve you, +Ganimard?" + +"Must I explain to you what steps the authorities have taken in +the matter?" + +"Not at all. I have read the newspapers and I will frankly state +that you have made very little progress." + +"And that is the reason I have come to see you." + +"I am entirely at your service." + +"In the first place, the Cahorn affair was managed by you?" + +"From A to Z." + +"The letter of warning? the telegram?" + +"All mine. I ought to have the receipts somewhere." + +Arsne opened the drawer of a small table of plain white wood +which, with the bed and stool, constituted all the furniture in +his cell, and took therefrom two scraps of paper which he handed +to Ganimard. + +"Ah!" exclaimed the detective, in surprise, "I though you were +closely guarded and searched, and I find that you read the +newspapers and collect postal receipts." + +"Bah! these people are so stupid! They open the lining of my +vest, they examine the soles of my shoes, they sound the walls of +my cell, but they never imagine that Arsne Lupin would be foolish +enough to choose such a simple hiding place." + +Ganimard laughed, as he said: + +"What a droll fellow you are! Really, you bewilder me. But, come +now, tell me about the Cahorn affair." + +"Oh! oh! not quite so fast! You would rob me of all my secrets; +expose all my little tricks. That is a very serious matter." + +"Was I wrong to count on your complaisance?" + +"No, Ganimard, and since you insist---" + +Arsne Lupin paced his cell two or three times, then, stopping +before Ganimard, he asked: + +"What do you think of my letter to the baron?" + +"I think you were amusing yourself by playing to the gallery." + +"Ah! playing to the gallery! Come, Ganimard, I thought you knew +me better. Do I, Arsne Lupin, ever waste my time on such +puerilities? Would I have written that letter if I could have +robbed the baron without writing to him? I want you to understand +that the letter was indispensable; it was the motor that set the +whole machine in motion. Now, let us discuss together a scheme +for the robbery of the Malaquis castle. Are you willing?" + +"Yes, proceed." + +"Well, let us suppose a castle carefully closed and barricaded +like that of the Baron Cahorn. Am I to abandon my scheme and +renounce the treasures that I covet, upon the pretext that the +castle which holds them is inaccessible?" + +"Evidently not." + +"Should I make an assault upon the castle at the head of a band of +adventurers as they did in ancient times?" + +"That would be foolish." + +"Can I gain admittance by stealth or cunning?" + +"Impossible." + +"Then there is only one way open to me. I must have the owner of +the castle invite me to it." + +"That is surely an original method." + +"And how easy! Let us suppose that one day the owner receives a +letter warning him that a notorious burglar known as Arsne Lupin +is plotting to rob him. What will he do?" + +"Send a letter to the Procureur." + +"Who will laugh at him, *because the said Arsne Lupin is actually +in prison.* Then, in his anxiety and fear, the simple man will +ask the assistance of the first-comer, will he not?" + +"Very likely." + +"And if he happens to read in a country newspaper that a +celebrated detective is spending his vacation in a neighboring +town---" + +"He will seek that detective." + +"Of course. But, on the other hand, let us presume that, having +foreseen that state of affairs, the said Arsne Lupin has +requested one of his friends to visit Caudebec, make the +acquaintance of the editor of the `Rveil,' a newspaper to which +the baron is a subscriber, and let said editor understand that +such person is the celebrated detective--then, what will happen?" + +"The editor will announce in the `Rveil' the presence in Caudebec +of said detective." + +"Exactly; and one of two things will happen: either the fish--I +mean Cahorn--will not bite, and nothing will happen; or, what is +more likely, he will run and greedily swallow the bait. Thus, +behold my Baron Cahorn imploring the assistance of one of my +friends against me." + +"Original, indeed!" + +"Of course, the pseudo-detective at first refuses to give any +assistance. On top of that comes the telegram from Arsne Lupin. +The frightened baron rushes once more to my friend and offers him +a definite sum of money for his services. My friend accepts and +summons two members of our band, who, during the night, whilst +Cahorn is under the watchful eye of his protector, removes certain +articles by way of the window and lowers them with ropes into a +nice little launch chartered for the occasion. Simple, isn't it?" + +"Marvelous! Marvelous!" exclaimed Ganimard. "The boldness of the +scheme and the ingenuity of all its details are beyond criticism. +But who is the detective whose name and fame served as a magnet to +attract the baron and draw him into your net?" + +"There is only one name could do it--only one." + +"And that is?" + +"Arsne Lupin's personal enemy--the most illustrious Ganimard." + +"I?" + +"Yourself, Ganimard. And, really, it is very funny. If you go +there, and the baron decides to talk, you will find that it will +be your duty to arrest yourself, just as you arrested me in +America. Hein! the revenge is really amusing: I cause Ganimard to +arrest Ganimard." + +Arsne Lupin laughed heartily. The detective, greatly vexed, bit +his lips; to him the joke was quite devoid of humor. The arrival +of a prison guard gave Ganimard an opportunity to recover himself. +The man brought Arsne Lupin's luncheon, furnished by a +neighboring restaurant. After depositing the tray upon the table, +the guard retired. Lupin broke his bread, ate a few morsels, and +continued: + +"But, rest easy, my dear Ganimard, you will not go to Malaquis. I +can tell you something that will astonish you: the Cahorn affair +is on the point of being settled." + +"Excuse me; I have just seen the Chief of the Suret." + +"What of that? Does Mon. Dudouis know my business better than I +do myself? You will learn that Ganimard--excuse me--that the +pseudo-Ganimard still remains on very good terms with the baron. +The latter has authorized him to negotiate a very delicate +transaction with me, and, at the present moment, in consideration +of a certain sum, it is probable that the baron has recovered +possession of his pictures and other treasures. And on their +return, he will withdraw his complaint. Thus, there is no longer +any theft, and the law must abandon the case." + +Ganimard regarded the prisoner with a bewildered air. + +"And how do you know all that?" + +"I have just received the telegram I was expecting." + +"You have just received a telegram?" + +"This very moment, my dear friend. Out of politeness, I did not +wish to read it in your presence. But if you will permit me---" + +"You are joking, Lupin." + +"My dear friend, if you will be so kind as to break that egg, you +will learn for yourself that I am not joking." + +Mechanically, Ganimard obeyed, and cracked the egg-shell with the +blade of a knife. He uttered a cry of surprise. The shell +contained nothing but a small piece of blue paper. At the request +of Arsne he unfolded it. It was a telegram, or rather a portion +of a telegram from which the post-marks had been removed. It read +as follows: + +"Contract closed. Hundred thousand balls delivered. All well." + +"One hundred thousand balls?" said Ganimard. + +"Yes, one hundred thousand francs. Very little, but then, you +know, these are hard times....And I have some heavy bills to meet. +If you only knew my budget....living in the city comes very high." + +Ganimard arose. His ill humor had disappeared. He reflected for +a moment, glancing over the whole affair in an effort to discover +a weak point; then, in a tone and manner that betrayed his +admiration of the prisoner, he said: + +"Fortunately, we do not have a dozen such as you to deal with; if +we did, we would have to close up shop." + +Arsne Lupin assumed a modest air, as he replied: + +"Bah! a person must have some diversion to occupy his leisure +hours, especially when he is in prison." + +"What!" exclaimed Ganimard, "your trial, your defense, the +examination--isn't that sufficient to occupy your mind?" + +"No, because I have decided not to be present at my trial." + +"Oh! oh!" + +Arsne Lupin repeated, positively: + +"I shall not be present at my trial." + +"Really!" + +"Ah! my dear monsieur, do you suppose I am going to rot upon the +wet straw? You insult me. Arsne Lupin remains in prison just as +long as it pleases him, and not one minute more." + +"Perhaps it would have been more prudent if you had avoided +getting there," said the detective, ironically. + +"Ah! monsieur jests? Monsieur must remember that he had the honor +to effect my arrest. Know then, my worthy friend, that no one, +not even you, could have placed a hand upon me if a much more +important event had not occupied my attention at that critical +moment." + +"You astonish me." + +"A woman was looking at me, Ganimard, and I loved her. Do you +fully understand what that means: to be under the eyes of a woman +that one loves? I cared for nothing in the world but that. And +that is why I am here." + +"Permit me to say: you have been here a long time." + +"In the first place, I wished to forget. Do not laugh; it was a +delightful adventure and it is still a tender memory. Besides, I +have been suffering from neurasthenia. Life is so feverish these +days that it is necessary to take the `rest cure' occasionally, +and I find this spot a sovereign remedy for my tired nerves." + +"Arsne Lupin, you are not a bad fellow, after all." + +"Thank you," said Lupin. "Ganimard, this is Friday. On Wednesday +next, at four o'clock in the afternoon, I will smoke my cigar at +your house in the rue Pergolese." + +"Arsne Lupin, I will expect you." + +They shook hands like two old friends who valued each other at +their true worth; then the detective stepped to the door. + +"Ganimard!" + +"What is it?" asked Ganimard, as he turned back. + +"You have forgotten your watch." + +"My watch?" + +"Yes, it strayed into my pocket." + +He returned the watch, excusing himself. + +"Pardon me....a bad habit. Because they have taken mine is no +reason why I should take yours. Besides, I have a chronometer +here that satisfies me fairly well." + +He took from the drawer a large gold watch and heavy chain. + +"From whose pocket did that come?" asked Ganimard. + +Arsne Lupin gave a hasty glance at the initials engraved on the +watch. + +"J.B.....Who the devil can that be?....Ah! yes, I remember. Jules +Bouvier, the judge who conducted my examination. A charming +fellow!...." + + + +III. The Escape of Arsne Lupin + + +Arsne Lupin had just finished his repast and taken from his +pocket an excellent cigar, with a gold band, which he was +examining with unusual care, when the door of his cell was opened. +He had barely time to throw the cigar into the drawer and move +away from the table. The guard entered. It was the hour for +exercise. + +"I was waiting for you, my dear boy," exclaimed Lupin, in his +accustomed good humor. + +They went out together. As soon as they had disappeared at a turn +in the corridor, two men entered the cell and commenced a minute +examination of it. One was Inspector Dieuzy; the other was +Inspector Folenfant. They wished to verify their suspicion that +Arsne Lupin was in communication with his accomplices outside of +the prison. On the preceding evening, the `Grand Journal' had +published these lines addressed to its court reporter: + +"Monsieur: +"In a recent article you referred to me in most unjustifiable +terms. Some days before the opening of my trial I will call you +to account. Arsne Lupin." + +The handwriting was certainly that of Arsne Lupin. Consequently, +he sent letters; and, no doubt, received letters. It was certain +that he was preparing for that escape thus arrogantly announced by +him. + +The situation had become intolerable. Acting in conjunction with +the examining judge, the chief of the Sret, Mon. Dudouis, had +visited the prison and instructed the gaoler in regard to the +precautions necessary to insure Lupin's safety. At the same time, +he sent the two men to examine the prisoner's cell. They raised +every stone, ransacked the bed, did everything customary in such a +case, but they discovered nothing, and were about to abandon their +investigation when the guard entered hastily and said: + +"The drawer....look in the table-drawer. When I entered just now +he was closing it." + +They opened the drawer, and Dieuzy exclaimed: + +"Ah! we have him this time." + +Folenfant stopped him. + +"Wait a moment. The chief will want to make an inventory." + +"This is a very choice cigar." + +"Leave it there, and notify the chief." + +Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of the +drawer. First he discovered a bundle of newspaper clippings +relating to Arsne Lupin taken from the `Argus de la Presse,' then +a tobacco-box, a pipe, some paper called "onion-peel," and two +books. He read the titles of the books. One was an English +edition of Carlyle's "Hero-worship"; the other was a charming +elzevir, in modern binding, the "Manual of Epictetus," a German +translation published at Leyden in 1634. On examining the books, +he found that all the pages were underlined and annotated. Were +they prepared as a code for correspondence, or did they simply +express the studious character of the reader? Then he examined +the tobacco-box and the pipe. Finally, he took up the famous +cigar with its gold band. + +"Fichtre!" he exclaimed. "Our friend smokes a good cigar. It's a +Henry Clay." + +With the mechanical action of an habitual smoker, he placed the +cigar close to his ear and squeezed it to make it crack. +Immediately he uttered a cry of surprise. The cigar had yielded +under the pressure of his fingers. He examined it more closely, +and quickly discovered something white between the leaves of +tobacco. Delicately, with the aid of a pin, he withdrew a roll of +very thin paper, scarcely larger than a toothpick. It was a +letter. He unrolled it, and found these words, written in a +feminine handwriting: + +"The basket has taken the place of the others. Eight out of ten +are ready. On pressing the outer foot the plate goes downward. +From twelve to sixteen every day, H-P will wait. But where? +Reply at once. Rest easy; your friend is watching over you." + +Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said: + +"It is quite clear....the basket....the eight compartments.... +From twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o'clock." + +"But this H-P, that will wait?" + +"H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way they +indicate strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is an +automobile of twenty-four horsepower." + +Then he rose, and asked: + +"Had the prisoner finished his breakfast?" + +"Yes." + +"And as he has not yet read the message, which is proved by the +condition of the cigar, it is probable that he had just received +it." + +"How?" + +"In his food. Concealed in his bread or in a potato, perhaps." + +"Impossible. His food was allowed to be brought in simply to trap +him, but we have never found anything in it." + +"We will look for Lupin's reply this evening. Detain him outside +for a few minutes. I shall take this to the examining judge, and, +if he agrees with me, we will have the letter photographed at +once, and in an hour you can replace the letter in the drawer in a +cigar similar to this. The prisoner must have no cause for +suspicion." + +It was not without a certain curiosity that Mon. Dudouis returned +to the prison in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy. +Three empty plates were sitting on the stove in the corner. + +"He has eaten?" + +"Yes," replied the guard. + +"Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and open +that bread-roll....Nothing?" + +"No, chief." + +Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the +knife--an ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned the +handle to the left; then to the right. It yielded and unscrewed. +The knife was hollow, and served as a hiding-place for a sheet of +paper. + +"Peuh!" he said, "that is not very clever for a man like Arsne. +But we mustn't lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search the +restaurant." + +Then he read the note: + +"I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I will +go ahead. Au revoir, dear friend." + +"At last," cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, "I +think we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on +our part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrest +of his confederates are concerned." + +"But if Arsne Lupin slips through your fingers?" suggested the +guard. + +"We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If, +however, he displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much the +worse for him! As to his band of robbers, since the chief refuses +to speak, the others must." + +* * * * * + +And, as a matter of fact, Arsne Lupin had very little to say. +For several months, Mon. Jules Bouvier, the examining judge, had +exerted himself in vain. The investigation had been reduced to a +few uninteresting arguments between the judge and the advocate, +Matre Danval, one of the leaders of the bar. From time to time, +through courtesy, Arsne Lupin would speak. One day he said: + +"Yes, monsieur, le judge, I quite agree with you: the robbery of +the Crdit Lyonnais, the theft in the rue de Babylone, the issue +of the counterfeit bank-notes, the burglaries at the various +chteaux, Armesnil, Gouret, Imblevain, Groseillers, Malaquis, all +my work, monsieur, I did it all." + +"Then will you explain to me---" + +"It is useless. I confess everything in a lump, everything and +even ten times more than you know nothing about." + +Wearied by his fruitless task, the judge had suspended his +examinations, but he resumed them after the two intercepted +messages were brought to his attention; and regularly, at mid-day, +Arsne Lupin was taken from the prison to the Dpt in the +prison-van with a certain number of other prisoners. They +returned about three or four o'clock. + +Now, one afternoon, this return trip was made under unusual +conditions. The other prisoners not having been examined, it was +decided to take back Arsne Lupin first, thus he found himself +alone in the vehicle. + +These prison-vans, vulgarly called "panniers salade"--or salad- +baskets--are divided lengthwise by a central corridor from which +open ten compartments, five on either side. Each compartment is +so arranged that the occupant must assume and retain a sitting +posture, and, consequently, the five prisoners are seated one upon +the other, and yet separated one from the other by partitions. A +municipal guard, standing at one end, watches over the corridor. + +Arsne was placed in the third cell on the right, and the heavy +vehicle started. He carefully calculated when they left the quai +de l'Horloge, and when they passed the Palais de Justice. Then, +about the centre of the bridge Saint Michel, with his outer foot, +that is to say, his right foot, he pressed upon the metal plate +that closed his cell. Immediately something clicked, and the +metal plate moved. He was able to ascertain that he was located +between the two wheels. + +He waited, keeping a sharp look-out. The vehicle was proceeding +slowly along the boulevard Saint Michel. At the corner of Saint +Germain it stopped. A truck horse had fallen. The traffic having +been interrupted, a vast throng of fiacres and omnibuses had +gathered there. Arsne Lupin looked out. Another prison-van had +stopped close to the one he occupied. He moved the plate still +farther, put his foot on one of the spokes of the wheel and leaped +to the ground. A coachman saw him, roared with laughter, then +tried to raise an outcry, but his voice was lost in the noise of +the traffic that had commenced to move again. Moreover, Arsne +Lupin was already far away. + +He had run for a few steps; but, once upon the sidewalk, he turned +and looked around; he seemed to scent the wind like a person who +is uncertain which direction to take. Then, having decided, he +put his hands in his pockets, and, with the careless air of an +idle stroller, he proceeded up the boulevard. It was a warm, +bright autumn day, and the cafs were full. He took a seat on the +terrace of one of them. He ordered a bock and a package of +cigarettes. He emptied his glass slowly, smoked one cigarette and +lighted a second. Then he asked the waiter to send the proprietor +to him. When the proprietor came, Arsne spoke to him in a voice +loud enough to be heard by everyone: + +"I regret to say, monsieur, I have forgotten my pocketbook. +Perhaps, on the strength of my name, you will be pleased to give +me credit for a few days. I am Arsne Lupin." + +The proprietor looked at him, thinking he was joking. But Arsne +repeated: + +"Lupin, prisoner at the Sant, but now a fugitive. I venture to +assume that the name inspires you with perfect confidence in me." + +And he walked away, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst the +proprietor stood amazed. + +Lupin strolled along the rue Soufflot, and turned into the rue +Saint Jacques. He pursued his way slowly, smoking his cigarettes +and looking into the shop-windows. At the Boulevard de Port Royal +he took his bearings, discovered where he was, and then walked in +the direction of the rue de la Sant. The high forbidding walls +of the prison were now before him. He pulled his hat forward to +shade his face; then, approaching the sentinel, he asked: + +"It this the prison de la Sant?" + +"Yes." + +"I wish to regain my cell. The van left me on the way, and I +would not abuse--" + +"Now, young man, move along--quick!" growled the sentinel. + +"Pardon me, but I must pass through that gate. And if you prevent +Arsne Lupin from entering the prison it will cost you dear, my +friend." + +"Arsne Lupin! What are you talking about!" + +"I am sorry I haven't a card with me," said Arsne, fumbling in +his pockets. + +The sentinel eyed him from head to foot, in astonishment. Then, +without a word, he rang a bell. The iron gate was partly opened, +and Arsne stepped inside. Almost immediately he encountered the +keeper of the prison, gesticulating and feigning a violent anger. +Arsne smiled and said: + +"Come, monsieur, don't play that game with me. What! they take +the precaution to carry me alone in the van, prepare a nice little +obstruction, and imagine I am going to take to my heels and rejoin +my friends. Well, and what about the twenty agents of the Sret +who accompanied us on foot, in fiacres and on bicycles? No, the +arrangement did not please me. I should not have got away alive. +Tell me, monsieur, did they count on that?" + +He shrugged his shoulders, and added: + +"I beg of you, monsieur, not to worry about me. When I wish to +escape I shall not require any assistance." + +On the second day thereafter, the `Echo de France,' which had +apparently become the official reporter of the exploits of Arsne +Lupin,--it was said that he was one of its principal shareholders-- +published a most complete account of this attempted escape. The +exact wording of the messages exchanged between the prisoner and +his mysterious friend, the means by which correspondence was +constructed, the complicity of the police, the promenade on the +Boulevard Saint Michel, the incident at the caf Soufflot, +everything was disclosed. It was known that the search of the +restaurant and its waiters by Inspector Dieuzy had been fruitless. +And the public also learned an extraordinary thing which +demonstrated the infinite variety of resources that Lupin +possessed: the prison-van, in which he was being carried, was +prepared for the occasion and substituted by his accomplices for +one of the six vans which did service at the prison. + +The next escape of Arsne Lupin was not doubted by anyone. He +announced it himself, in categorical terms, in a reply to Mon. +Bouvier on the day following his attempted escape. The judge +having made a jest about the affair, Arsne was annoyed, and, +firmly eyeing the judge, he said, emphatically: + +"Listen to me, monsieur! I give you my word of honor that this +attempted flight was simply preliminary to my general plan of +escape." + +"I do not understand," said the judge. + +"It is not necessary that you should understand." + +And when the judge, in the course of that examination which was +reported at length in the columns of the `Echo de France,' when +the judge sought to resume his investigation, Arsne Lupin +exclaimed, with an assumed air of lassitude: + +"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, what's the use! All these questions are of +no importance!" + +"What! No importance?" cried the judge. + +"No; because I shall not be present at the trial." + +"You will not be present?" + +"No; I have fully decided on that, and nothing will change my +mind." + +Such assurance combined with the inexplicable indiscretions that +Arsne committed every day served to annoy and mystify the +officers of the law. There were secrets known only to Arsne +Lupin; secrets that he alone could divulge. But for what purpose +did he reveal them? And how? + +Arsne Lupin was changed to another cell. The judge closed his +preliminary investigation. No further proceedings were taken in +his case for a period of two months, during which time Arsne was +seen almost constantly lying on his bed with his face turned +toward the wall. The changing of his cell seemed to discourage +him. He refused to see his advocate. He exchanged only a few +necessary words with his keepers. + +During the fortnight preceding his trial, he resumed his vigorous +life. He complained of want of air. Consequently, early every +morning he was allowed to exercise in the courtyard, guarded by +two men. + +Public curiosity had not died out; every day it expected to be +regaled with news of his escape; and, it is true, he had gained a +considerable amount of public sympathy by reason of his verve, his +gayety, his diversity, his inventive genius and the mystery of his +life. Arsne Lupin must escape. It was his inevitable fate. The +public expected it, and was surprised that the event had been +delayed so long. Every morning the Prfect of Police asked his +secretary: + +"Well, has he escaped yet?" + +"No, Monsieur le Prfect." + +"To-morrow, probably." + +And, on the day before the trial, a gentleman called at the office +of the `Grand Journal,' asked to see the court reporter, threw his +card in the reporter's face, and walked rapidly away. These words +were written on the card: "Arsne Lupin always keeps his +promises." + +* * * * * + +It was under these conditions that the trial commenced. An +enormous crowd gathered at the court. Everybody wished to see the +famous Arsne Lupin. They had a gleeful anticipation that the +prisoner would play some audacious pranks upon the judge. +Advocates and magistrates, reporters and men of the world, +actresses and society women were crowded together on the benches +provided for the public. + +It was a dark, sombre day, with a steady downpour of rain. Only a +dim light pervaded the courtroom, and the spectators caught a very +indistinct view of the prisoner when the guards brought him in. +But his heavy, shambling walk, the manner in which he dropped into +his seat, and his passive, stupid appearance were not at all +prepossessing. Several times his advocate--one of Mon. Danval's +assistants--spoke to him, but he simply shook his head and said +nothing. + +The clerk read the indictment, then the judge spoke: + +"Prisoner at the bar, stand up. Your name, age, and occupation?" + +Not receiving any reply, the judge repeated: + +"Your name? I ask you your name?" + +A thick, slow voice muttered: + +"Baudru, Dsir." + +A murmur of surprise pervaded the courtroom. But the judge +proceeded: + +"Baudru, Dsir? Ah! a new alias! Well, as you have already +assumed a dozen different names and this one is, no doubt, as +imaginary as the others, we will adhere to the name of Arsne +Lupin, by which you are more generally known." + +The judge referred to his notes, and continued: + +"For, despite the most diligent search, your past history remains +unknown. Your case is unique in the annals of crime. We know not +whom you are, whence you came, your birth and breeding--all is a +mystery to us. Three years ago you appeared in our midst as +Arsne Lupin, presenting to us a strange combination of +intelligence and perversion, immorality and generosity. +Our knowledge of your life prior to that date is vague and +problematical. It may be that the man called Rostat who, eight +years ago, worked with Dickson, the prestidigitator, was none +other than Arsne Lupin. It is probable that the Russian student +who, six years ago, attended the laboratory of Doctor Altier at +the Saint Louis Hospital, and who often astonished the doctor by +the ingenuity of his hypotheses on subjects of bacteriology and +the boldness of his experiments in diseases of the skin, was none +other than Arsne Lupin. It is probable, also, that Arsne Lupin +was the professor who introduced the Japanese art of jiu-jitsu to +the Parisian public. We have some reason to believe that Arsne +Lupin was the bicyclist who won the Grand Prix de l'Exposition, +received his ten thousand francs, and was never heard of again. +Arsne Lupin may have been, also, the person who saved so many +lives through the little dormer-window at the Charity Bazaar; +and, at the same time, picked their pockets." + +The judge paused for a moment, then continued: + +"Such is that epoch which seems to have been utilized by you in a +thorough preparation for the warfare you have since waged against +society; a methodical apprenticeship in which you developed your +strength, energy and skill to the highest point possible. Do you +acknowledge the accuracy of these facts?" + +During this discourse the prisoner had stood balancing himself, +first on one foot, then on the other, with shoulders stooped and +arms inert. Under the strongest light one could observe his +extreme thinness, his hollow cheeks, his projecting cheek-bones, +his earthen-colored face dotted with small red spots and framed in +a rough, straggling beard. Prison life had caused him to age and +wither. He had lost the youthful face and elegant figure we had +seen portrayed so often in the newspapers. + +It appeared as if he had not heard the question propounded by the +judge. Twice it was repeated to him. Then he raised his eyes, +seemed to reflect, then, making a desperate effort, he murmured: + +"Baudru, Dsir." + +The judge smiled, as he said: + +"I do not understand the theory of your defense, Arsne Lupin. If +you are seeking to avoid responsibility for your crimes on the +ground of imbecility, such a line of defense is open to you. But +I shall proceed with the trial and pay no heed to your vagaries." + +He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles and +forgeries charged against Lupin. Sometimes he questioned the +prisoner, but the latter simply grunted or remained silent. The +examination of witnesses commenced. Some of the evidence given +was immaterial; other portions of it seemed more important, but +through all of it there ran a vein of contradictions and +inconsistencies. A wearisome obscurity enveloped the proceedings, +until Detective Ganimard was called as a witness; then interest +was revived. + +From the beginning the actions of the veteran detective appeared +strange and unaccountable. He was nervous and ill at ease. +Several times he looked at the prisoner, with obvious doubt and +anxiety. Then, with his hands resting on the rail in front of +him, he recounted the events in which he had participated, +including his pursuit of the prisoner across Europe and his +arrival in America. He was listened to with great avidity, as his +capture of Arsne Lupin was well known to everyone through the +medium of the press. Toward the close of his testimony, after +referring to his conversations with Arsne Lupin, he stopped, +twice, embarrassed and undecided. It was apparent that he was +possessed of some thought which he feared to utter. The judge +said to him, sympathetically: + +"If you are ill, you may retire for the present." + +"No, no, but---" + +He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said: + +"I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range. +There is some mystery about him that I must solve." + +He approached the accused man, examined him attentively for +several minutes, then returned to the witness-stand, and, in an +almost solemn voice, he said: + +"I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not Arsne +Lupin." + +A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplused +for a moment, exclaimed: + +"Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!" + +The detective continued: + +"At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if you +carefully consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color of +skin, you will see that it is not Arsne Lupin. And the eyes! +Did he ever have those alcoholic eyes!" + +"Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to say +that we are trying the wrong man?" + +"In my opinion, yes. Arsne Lupin has, in some manner, contrived +to put this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willing +accomplice." + +This dramatic dnouement caused much laughter and excitement +amongst the spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sent +for Mon. Bouvier, the gaoler, and guards employed in the prison. + +When the trial was resumed, Mon. Bouvier and the gaoler examined +the accused and declared that there was only a very slight +resemblance between the prisoner and Arsne Lupin. + +"Well, then!" exclaimed the judge, "who is this man? Where does +he come from? What is he in prison for?" + +Two of the prison-guards were called and both of them declared +that the prisoner was Arsne Lupin. The judged breathed once +more. + +But one of the guards then said: + +"Yes, yes, I think it is he." + +"What!" cried the judge, impatiently, "you *think* it is he! What +do you mean by that?" + +"Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in my +charge in the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, but +laid on his bed with his face to the wall." + +"What about the time prior to those two months?" + +"Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. He +was not in cell 24." + +Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said: + +"We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape." + +"But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?" + +"I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly." + +"And this prisoner is not Arsne Lupin?" + +"No." + +"Then who is he?" demanded the judge. + +"I do not know." + +"Then we have before us a man who was substituted for Arsne +Lupin, two months ago. How do you explain that?" + +"I cannot." + +In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressed +him in a conciliatory tone: + +"Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became an +inmate of the Prison de la Sant?" + +The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm the +mistrust and awaken the understanding of the accused man. He +tried to reply. Finally, under clever and gentle questioning, he +succeeded in framing a few phrases from which the following story +was gleaned: Two months ago he had been taken to the Dpt, +examined and released. As he was leaving the building, a free +man, he was seized by two guards and placed in the prison-van. +Since then he had occupied cell 24. He was contented there, +plenty to eat, and he slept well--so he did not complain. + +All that seemed probable; and, amidst the mirth and excitement of +the spectators, the judge adjourned the trial until the story +could be investigated and verified. + +* * * * * + +The following facts were at once established by an examination of +the prison records: Eight weeks before a man named Baudru Dsir +had slept at the Dpt. He was released the next day, and left +the Dpt at two o'clock in the afternoon. On the same day at two +o'clock, having been examined for the last time, Arsne Lupin left +the Dpt in a prison-van. + +Had the guards made a mistake? Had they been deceived by the +resemblance and carelessly substituted this man for their +prisoner? + +Another question suggested itself: Had the substitution been +arranged in advance? In that event Baudru must have been an +accomplice and must have caused his own arrest for the express +purpose of taking Lupin's place. But then, by what miracle had +such a plan, based on a series of improbable chances, been carried +to success? + +Baudru Dsir was turned over to the anthropological service; they +had never seen anything like him. However, they easily traced his +past history. He was known at Courbevois, at Asnires and at +Levallois. He lived on alms and slept in one of those rag-picker's +huts near the barrier de Ternes. He had disappeared from there a +year ago. + +Had he been enticed away by Arsne Lupin? There was no evidence to +that effect. And even if that was so, it did not explain the +flight of the prisoner. That still remained a mystery. Amongst +twenty theories which sought to explain it, not one was +satisfactory. Of the escape itself, there was no doubt; an escape +that was incomprehensible, sensational, in which the public, as +well as the officers of the law, could detect a carefully prepared +plan, a combination of circumstances marvelously dove-tailed, +whereof the dnouement fully justified the confident prediction of +Arsne Lupin: "I shall not be present at my trial." + +After a month of patient investigation, the problem remained +unsolved. The poor devil of a Baudru could not be kept in prison +indefinitely, and to place him on trial would be ridiculous. There +was no charge against him. Consequently, he was released; but the +chief of the Srt resolved to keep him under surveillance. This +idea originated with Ganimard. From his point of view there was +neither complicity nor chance. Baudru was an instrument upon which +Arsne Lupin had played with his extraordinary skill. Baudru, when +set at liberty, would lead them to Arsne Lupin or, at least, to +some of his accomplices. The two inspectors, Folenfant and Dieuzy, +were assigned to assist Ganimard. + +One foggy morning in January the prison gates opened and Baudru +Dsir stepped forth--a free man. At first he appeared to be quite +embarrassed, and walked like a person who has no precise idea +whither he is going. He followed the rue de la Sant and the rue +Saint Jacques. He stopped in front of an old-clothes shop, removed +his jacket and his vest, sold his vest on which he realized a few +sous; then, replacing his jacket, he proceeded on his way. He +crossed the Seine. At the Chtelet an omnibus passed him. He +wished to enter it, but there was no place. The controller advised +him to secure a number, so he entered the waiting-room. + +Ganimard called to his two assistants, and, without removing his +eyes from the waiting room, he said to them: + +"Stop a carriage....no, two. That will be better. I will go with +one of you, and we will follow him." + +The men obeyed. Yet Baudru did not appear. Ganimard entered the +waiting-room. It was empty. + +"Idiot that I am!" he muttered, "I forgot there was another exit." + +There was an interior corridor extending from the waiting-room to +the rue Saint Martin. Ganimard rushed through it and arrived just +in time to observe Baudru upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin de +Plates omnibus as it was turning the corner of the rue de Rivoli. +He ran and caught the omnibus. But he had lost his two assistants. +He must continue the pursuit alone. In his anger he was inclined +to seize the man by the collar without ceremony. Was it not with +premeditation and by means of an ingenious ruse that his pretended +imbecile had separated him from his assistants? + +He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his head +rolling from side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredible +expression of stupidity on his blotched face. No, such an +adversary was incapable of deceiving old Ganimard. It was a stroke +of luck--nothing more. + +At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus and +took the La Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann and +the avenue Victor Hugo. Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and, +with a nonchalant air, strolled into the Bois de Boulogne. + +He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retraced +his steps. What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? At +the end of an hour, he appeared to be faint from fatigue, and, +noticing a bench, he sat down. The spot, not far from Auteuil, on +the edge of a pond hidden amongst the trees, was absolutely +deserted. After the lapse of another half-hour, Ganimard became +impatient and resolved to speak to the man. He approached and took +a seat beside Baudru, lighted a cigarette, traced some figures in +the sand with the end of his cane, and said: + +"It's a pleasant day." + +No response. But, suddenly the man burst into laughter, a happy, +mirthful laugh, spontaneous and irresistible. Ganimard felt his +hair stand on end in horror and surprise. It was that laugh, that +infernal laugh he knew so well! + +With a sudden movement, he seized the man by the collar and looked +at him with a keen, penetrating gaze; and found that he no longer +saw the man Baudru. To be sure, he saw Baudru; but, at the same +time, he saw the other, the real man, Lupin. He discovered the +intense life in the eyes, he filled up the shrunken features, he +perceived the real flesh beneath the flabby skin, the real mouth +through the grimaces that deformed it. Those were the eyes and +mouth of the other, and especially his keen, alert, mocking +expression, so clear and youthful! + +"Arsne Lupin, Arsne Lupin," he stammered. + +Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he seized Lupin by the throat and +tried to hold him down. In spite of his fifty years, he still +possessed unusual strength, whilst his adversary was apparently in +a weak condition. But the struggle was a brief one. Arsne Lupin +made only a slight movement, and, as suddenly as he had made the +attack, Ganimard released his hold. His right arm fell inert, +useless. + +"If you had taken lessons in jiu-jitsu at the quai des Orfvres," +said Lupin, "you would know that that blow is called udi-shi-ghi in +Japanese. A second more, and I would have broken your arm and that +would have been just what you deserve. I am surprised that you, an +old friend whom I respect and before whom I voluntarily expose my +incognito, should abuse my confidence in that violent manner. It +is unworthy--Ah! What's the matter?" + +Ganimard did not reply. That escape for which he deemed himself +responsible--was it not he, Ganimard, who, by his sensational +evidence, had led the court into serious error? That escape +appeared to him like a dark cloud on his professional career. A +tear rolled down his cheek to his gray moustache. + +"Oh! mon Dieu, Ganimard, don't take it to heart. If you had not +spoken, I would have arranged for some one else to do it. I +couldn't allow poor Baudru Dsir to be convicted." + +"Then," murmured Ganimard, "it was you that was there? And now you +are here?" + +"It is I, always I, only I." + +"Can it be possible?" + +"Oh, it is not the work of a sorcerer. Simply, as the judge +remarked at the trial, the apprenticeship of a dozen years that +equips a man to cope successfully with all the obstacles in life." + +"But your face? Your eyes?" + +"You can understand that if I worked eighteen months with Doctor +Altier at the Saint-Louis hospital, it was not out of love for the +work. I considered that he, who would one day have the honor of +calling himself Arsne Lupin, ought to be exempt from the ordinary +laws governing appearance and identity. Appearance? That can be +modified at will. For instance, a hypodermic injection of +paraffine will puff up the skin at the desired spot. Pyrogallic +acid will change your skin to that of an Indian. The juice of the +greater celandine will adorn you with the most beautiful eruptions +and tumors. Another chemical affects the growth of your beard and +hair; another changes the tone of your voice. Add to that two +months of dieting in cell 24; exercises repeated a thousand times +to enable me to hold my features in a certain grimace, to carry my +head at a certain inclination, and adapt my back and shoulders to a +stooping posture. Then five drops of atropine in the eyes to make +them haggard and wild, and the trick is done." + +"I do not understand how you deceived the guards." + +"The change was progressive. The evolution was so gradual that +they failed to notice it." + +"But Baudru Dsir?" +"Baudru exists. He is a poor, harmless fellow whom I met last +year; and, really, he bears a certain resemblance to me. +Considering my arrest as a possible event, I took charge of Baudru +and studied the points wherein we differed in appearance with a +view to correct them in my own person. My friends caused him to +remain at the Dpt overnight, and to leave there next day about +the same hour as I did--a coincidence easily arranged. Of course, +it was necessary to have a record of his detention at the Dpt in +order to establish the fact that such a person was a reality; +otherwise, the police would have sought elsewhere to find out my +identity. But, in offering to them this excellent Baudru, it was +inevitable, you understand, inevitable that they would seize +upon him, and, despite the insurmountable difficulties of a +substitution, they would prefer to believe in a substitution than +confess their ignorance." + +"Yes, yes, of course," said Ganimard. + +"And then," exclaimed Arsne Lupin, "I held in my hands a trump- +card: an anxious public watching and waiting for my escape. And +that is the fatal error into which you fell, you and the others, in +the course of that fascinating game pending between me and the +officers of the law wherein the stake was my liberty. And you +supposed that I was playing to the gallery; that I was intoxicated +with my success. I, Arsne Lupin, guilty of such weakness! Oh, +no! And, no longer ago than the Cahorn affair, you said: "When +Arsne Lupin cries from the housetops that he will escape, he has +some object in view." But, sapristi, you must understand that in +order to escape I must create, in advance, a public belief in that +escape, a belief amounting to an article of faith, an absolute +conviction, a reality as glittering as the sun. And I did create +that belief that Arsne Lupin would escape, that Arsne Lupin would +not be present at his trial. And when you gave your evidence and +said: "That man is not Arsne Lupin," everybody was prepared to +believe you. Had one person doubted it, had any one uttered this +simple restriction: Suppose it is Arsne Lupin?--from that moment, I +was lost. If anyone had scrutinized my face, not imbued with the +idea that I was not Arsne Lupin, as you and the others did at my +trial, but with the idea that I might be Arsne Lupin; then, +despite all my precautions, I should have been recognized. But I +had no fear. Logically, psychologically, no once could entertain +the idea that I was Arsne Lupin." + +He grasped Ganimard's hand. + +"Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after our +conversation in the prison de la Sant, you expected me at your +house at four o'clock, exactly as I said I would go." + +"And your prison-van?" said Ganimard, evading the question. + +"A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wished +to make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without the +concurrence of a number of unusual circumstances. However, I found +it useful to carry out that attempted escape and give it the widest +publicity. An audaciously planned escape, though not completed, +gave to the succeeding one the character of reality simply by +anticipation." + +"So that the cigar...." + +"Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife." + +"And the letters?" + +"Written by me." + +"And the mysterious correspondent?" + +"Did not exist." + +Ganimard reflected a moment, then said: + +"When the anthropological service had Baudru's case under +consideration, why did they not perceive that his measurements +coincided with those of Arsne Lupin?" + +"My measurements are not in existence." + +"Indeed!" + +"At least, they are false. I have given considerable attention to +that question. In the first place, the Bertillon system of records +the visible marks of identification--and you have seen that they are +not infallible--and, after that, the measurements of the head, the +fingers, the ears, etc. Of course, such measurements are more or +less infallible." + +"Absolutely." + +"No; but it costs money to get around them. Before we left +America, one of the employees of the service there accepted so much +money to insert false figures in my measurements. Consequently, +Baudru's measurements should not agree with those of Arsne Lupin." + +After a short silence, Ganimard asked: + +"What are you going to do now?" + +"Now," replied Lupin, "I am going to take a rest, enjoy the best of +food and drink and gradually recover my former healthy condition. +It is all very well to become Baudru or some other person, on +occasion, and to change your personality as you do your shirt, but +you soon grow weary of the change. I feel exactly as I imagine the +man who lost his shadow must have felt, and I shall be glad to be +Arsne Lupin once more." + +He walked to and fro for a few minutes, then, stopping in front of +Ganimard, he said: + +"You have nothing more to say, I suppose?" + +"Yes. I should like to know if you intend to reveal the true state +of facts connected with your escape. The mistake that I made---" + +"Oh! no one will ever know that it was Arsne Lupin who was +discharged. It is to my own interest to surround myself with +mystery, and therefore I shall permit my escape to retain its +almost miraculous character. So, have no fear on that score, my +dear friend. I shall say nothing. And now, good-bye. I am going +out to dinner this evening, and have only sufficient time to +dress." + +"I though you wanted a rest." + +"Ah! there are duties to society that one cannot avoid. To-morrow, +I shall rest." + +"Where do you dine to-night?" + +"With the British Ambassador!" + + + +IV. The Mysterious Traveller + + +The evening before, I had sent my automobile to Rouen by the +highway. I was to travel to Rouen by rail, on my way to visit some +friends that live on the banks of the Seine. + +At Paris, a few minutes before the train started, seven gentlemen +entered my compartment; five of them were smoking. No matter that +the journey was a short one, the thought of traveling with such a +company was not agreeable to me, especially as the car was built +on the old model, without a corridor. I picked up my overcoat, my +newspapers and my time-table, and sought refuge in a neighboring +compartment. + +It was occupied by a lady, who, at sight of me, made a gesture of +annoyance that did not escape my notice, and she leaned toward a +gentleman who was standing on the step and was, no doubt, her +husband. The gentleman scrutinized me closely, and, apparently, my +appearance did not displease him, for he smiled as he spoke to his +wife with the air of one who reassures a frightened child. She +smiled also, and gave me a friendly glance as if she now +understood that I was one of those gallant men with whom a woman +can remain shut up for two hours in a little box, six feet square, +and have nothing to fear. + +Her husband said to her: + +"I have an important appointment, my dear, and cannot wait any +longer. Adieu." + +He kissed her affectionately and went away. His wife threw him a +few kisses and waved her handkerchief. The whistle sounded, and +the train started. + +At that precise moment, and despite the protests of the guards, +the door was opened, and a man rushed into our compartment. My +companion, who was standing and arranging her luggage, uttered a +cry of terror and fell upon the seat. I am not a coward--far from +it--but I confess that such intrusions at the last minute are +always disconcerting. They have a suspicious, unnatural aspect. + +However, the appearance of the new arrival greatly modified the +unfavorable impression produced by his precipitant action. He was +correctly and elegantly dressed, wore a tasteful cravat, correct +gloves, and his face was refined and intelligent. But, where the +devil had I seen that face before? Because, beyond all possible +doubt, I had seen it. And yet the memory of it was so vague and +indistinct that I felt it would be useless to try to recall it at +that time. + +Then, directing my attention to the lady, I was amazed at the +pallor and anxiety I saw in her face. She was looking at her +neighbor--they occupied seats on the same side of the compartment-- +with an expression of intense alarm, and I perceived that one of +her trembling hands was slowly gliding toward a little traveling +bag that was lying on the seat about twenty inches from her. She +finished by seizing it and nervously drawing it to her. Our eyes +met, and I read in hers so much anxiety and fear that I could not +refrain from speaking to her: + +"Are you ill, madame? Shall I open the window?" + +Her only reply was a gesture indicating that she was afraid of our +companion. I smiled, as her husband had done, shrugged my +shoulders, and explained to her, in pantomime, that she had +nothing to fear, that I was there, and, besides, the gentleman +appeared to be a very harmless individual. At that moment, he +turned toward us, scrutinized both of us from head to foot, then +settled down in his corner and paid us no more attention. + +After a short silence, the lady, as if she had mustered all her +energy to perform a desperate act, said to me, in an almost +inaudible voice: + +"Do you know who is on our train?" + +"Who?" + +"He....he....I assure you...." + +"Who is he?" + +"Arsne Lupin!" + +She had not taken her eyes off our companion, and it was to him +rather than to me that she uttered the syllables of that +disquieting name. He drew his hat over his face. Was that to +conceal his agitation or, simply, to arrange himself for sleep? +Then I said to her: + +"Yesterday, through contumacy, Arsne Lupin was sentenced to +twenty years' imprisonment at hard labor. Therefore it is +improbable that he would be so imprudent, to-day, as to show +himself in public. Moreover, the newspapers have announced his +appearance in Turkey since his escape from the Sant." + +"But he is on this train at the present moment," the lady +proclaimed, with the obvious intention of being heard by our +companion; "my husband is one of the directors in the penitentiary +service, and it was the stationmaster himself who told us that a +search was being made for Arsne Lupin." + +"They may have been mistaken---" + +"No; he was seen in the waiting-room. He bought a first-class +ticket for Rouen." + +"He has disappeared. The guard at the waiting-room door did not +see him pass, and it is supposed that he had got into the express +that leaves ten minutes after us." + +"In that case, they will be sure to catch him." + +"Unless, at the last moment, he leaped from that train to come +here, into our train....which is quite probable....which is +almost certain." + +"If so, he will be arrested just the same; for the employees and +guards would no doubt observe his passage from one train to the +other, and, when we arrive at Rouen, they will arrest him there." + +"Him--never! He will find some means of escape." + +"In that case, I wish him 'bon voyage.'" + +"But, in the meantime, think what he may do!" + +"What?" + +"I don't know. He may do anything." + +She was greatly agitated, and, truly, the situation justified, to +some extent, her nervous excitement. I was impelled to say to her: + +"Of course, there are many strange coincidences, but you need have +no fear. Admitting that Arsne Lupin is on this train, he will not +commit any indiscretion; he will be only too happy to escape the +peril that already threatens him." + +My words did not reassure her, but she remained silent for a time. +I unfolded my newspapers and read reports of Arsne Lupin's trial, +but, as they contained nothing that was new to me, I was not +greatly interested. Moreover, I was tired and sleepy. I felt my +eyelids close and my head drop. + +"But, monsieur, you are not going to sleep!" + +She seized my newspaper, and looked at me with indignation. + +"Certainly not," I said. + +"That would be very imprudent." + +"Of course," I assented. + +I struggled to keep awake. I looked through the window at the +landscape and the fleeting clouds, but in a short time all that +became confused and indistinct; the image of the nervous lady and +the drowsy gentleman were effaced from my memory, and I was buried +in the soothing depths of a profound sleep. The tranquility of my +response was soon disturbed by disquieting dreams, wherein a +creature that had played the part and bore the name of Arsne +Lupin held an important place. He appeared to me with his back +laden with articles of value; he leaped over walls, and plundered +castles. But the outlines of that creature, who was no longer +Arsne Lupin, assumed a more definite form. He came toward me, +growing larger and larger, leaped into the compartment with +incredible agility, and landed squarely on my chest. With a cry of +fright and pain, I awoke. The man, the traveller, our companion, +with his knee on my breast, held me by the throat. + +My sight was very indistinct, for my eyes were suffused with +blood. I could see the lady, in a corner of the compartment, +convulsed with fright. I tried even not to resist. Besides, I did +not have the strength. My temples throbbed; I was almost +strangled. One minute more, and I would have breathed my last. The +man must have realized it, for he relaxed his grip, but did not +remove his hand. Then he took a cord, in which he had prepared a +slip-knot, and tied my wrists together. In an instant, I was +bound, gagged, and helpless. + +Certainly, he accomplished the trick with an ease and skill that +revealed the hand of a master; he was, no doubt, a professional +thief. Not a word, not a nervous movement; only coolness and +audacity. And I was there, lying on the bench, bound like a mummy, +I--Arsne Lupin! + +It was anything but a laughing matter, and yet, despite the +gravity of the situation, I keenly appreciated the humor and irony +that it involved. Arsne Lupin seized and bound like a novice! +robbed as if I were an unsophisticated rustic--for, you must +understand, the scoundrel had deprived me of my purse and wallet! +Arsne Lupin, a victim, duped, vanquished....What an adventure! + +The lady did not move. He did not even notice her. He contented +himself with picking up her traveling-bag that had fallen to the +floor and taking from it the jewels, purse, and gold and silver +trinkets that it contained. The lady opened her eyes, trembled +with fear, drew the rings from her fingers and handed them to the +man as if she wished to spare him unnecessary trouble. He took the +rings and looked at her. She swooned. + +Then, quite unruffled, he resumed his seat, lighted a cigarette, +and proceeded to examine the treasure that he had acquired. The +examination appeared to give him perfect satisfaction. + +But I was not so well satisfied. I do not speak of the twelve +thousand francs of which I had been unduly deprived: that was only +a temporary loss, because I was certain that I would recover +possession of that money after a very brief delay, together with +the important papers contained in my wallet: plans, specifications, +addresses, lists of correspondents, and compromising letters. +But, for the moment, a more immediate and more serious question +troubled me: How would this affair end? What would be the outcome +of this adventure? + +As you can imagine, the disturbance created by my passage through +the Saint-Lazare station has not escaped my notice. Going to visit +friends who knew me under the name of Guillaume Berlat, and +amongst whom my resemblance to Arsne Lupin was a subject of many +innocent jests, I could not assume a disguise, and my presence had +been remarked. So, beyond question, the commissary of police at +Rouen, notified by telegraph, and assisted by numerous agents, +would be awaiting the train, would question all suspicious +passengers, and proceed to search the cars. + +Of course, I had foreseen all that, but it had not disturbed me, +as I was certain that the police of Rouen would not be any +shrewder than the police of Paris and that I could escape +recognition; would it not be sufficient for me to carelessly +display my card as "dput," thanks to which I had inspired +complete confidence in the gate-keeper at Saint-Lazare?--But the +situation was greatly changed. I was no longer free. It was +impossible to attempt one of my usual tricks. In one of the +compartments, the commissary of police would find Mon. Arsne +Lupin, bound hand and foot, as docile as a lamb, packed up, all +ready to be dumped into a prison-van. He would have simply to +accept delivery of the parcel, the same as if it were so much +merchandise or a basket of fruit and vegetables. Yet, to avoid +that shameful dnouement, what could I do?--bound and gagged, as I +was? And the train was rushing on toward Rouen, the next and only +station. + +Another problem was presented, in which I was less interested, but +the solution of which aroused my professional curiosity. What were +the intentions of my rascally companion? Of course, if I had been +alone, he could, on our arrival at Rouen, leave the car slowly and +fearlessly. But the lady? As soon as the door of the compartment +should be opened, the lady, now so quiet and humble, would scream +and call for help. That was the dilemma that perplexed me! Why had +he not reduced her to a helpless condition similar to mine? That +would have given him ample time to disappear before his double +crime was discovered. + +He was still smoking, with his eyes fixed upon the window that was +now being streaked with drops of rain. Once he turned, picked up +my time-table, and consulted it. + +The lady had to feign a continued lack of consciousness in order +to deceive the enemy. But fits of coughing, provoked by the smoke, +exposed her true condition. As to me, I was very uncomfortable, +and very tired. And I meditated; I plotted. + +The train was rushing on, joyously, intoxicated with its own +speed. + +Saint Etienne!....At that moment, the man arose and took two steps +toward us, which caused the lady to utter a cry of alarm and fall +into a genuine swoon. What was the man about to do? He lowered the +window on our side. A heavy rain was now falling, and, by a +gesture, the man expressed his annoyance at his not having an +umbrella or an overcoat. He glanced at the rack. The lady's +umbrella was there. He took it. He also took my overcoat and put +it on. + +We were now crossing the Seine. He turned up the bottoms of his +trousers, then leaned over and raised the exterior latch of the +door. Was he going to throw himself upon the track? At that speed, +it would have been instant death. We now entered a tunnel. The man +opened the door half-way and stood on the upper step. What folly! +The darkness, the smoke, the noise, all gave a fantastic +appearance to his actions. But suddenly, the train diminished its +speed. A moment later it increased its speed, then slowed up +again. Probably, some repairs were being made in that part of the +tunnel which obliged the trains to diminish their speed, and the +man was aware of the fact. He immediately stepped down to the +lower step, closed the door behind him, and leaped to the ground. +He was gone. + +The lady immediately recovered her wits, and her first act was to +lament the loss of her jewels. I gave her an imploring look. She +understood, and quickly removed the gag that stifled me. She +wished to untie the cords that bound me, but I prevented her. + +"No, no, the police must see everything exactly as it stands. I +want them to see what the rascal did to us." + +"Suppose I pull the alarm-bell?" + +"Too late. You should have done that when he made the attack on +me." + +"But he would have killed me. Ah! monsieur, didn't I tell you that +he was on this train. I recognized him from his portrait. And now +he has gone off with my jewels." + +"Don't worry. The police will catch him." + +"Catch Arsne Lupin! Never." + +"That depends on you, madame. Listen. When we arrive at Rouen, be +at the door and call. Make a noise. The police and the railway +employees will come. Tell what you have seen: the assault made on +me and the flight of Arsne Lupin. Give a description of him--soft +hat, umbrella--yours--gray overcoat...." + +"Yours," said she. + +"What! mine? Not at all. It was his. I didn't have any." + +"It seems to me he didn't have one when he came in." + +"Yes, yes....unless the coat was one that some one had forgotten +and left in the rack. At all events, he had it when he went away, +and that is the essential point. A gray overcoat--remember!....Ah! +I forgot. You must tell your name, first thing you do. Your +husband's official position will stimulate the zeal of the +police." + +We arrived at the station. I gave her some further instructions in +a rather imperious tone: + +"Tell them my name--Guillaume Berlat. If necessary, say that you +know me. That will save time. We must expedite the preliminary +investigation. The important thing is the pursuit of Arsne Lupin. +Your jewels, remember! Let there be no mistake. Guillaume Berlat, +a friend of your husband." + +"I understand....Guillaume Berlat." + +She was already calling and gesticulating. As soon as the train +stopped, several men entered the compartment. The critical moment +had come. + +Panting for breath, the lady exclaimed: + +"Arsne Lupin....he attacked us....he stole my jewels....I am +Madame Renaud....my husband is a director of the penitentiary +service....Ah! here is my brother, Georges Ardelle, director of +the Crdit Rouennais....you must know...." + +She embraced a young man who had just joined us, and whom the +commissary saluted. Then she continued, weeping: + +"Yes, Arsne Lupin....while monsieur was sleeping, he seized him +by the throat....Mon. Berlat, a friend of my husband." + +The commissary asked: + +"But where is Arsne Lupin?" + +"He leaped from the train, when passing through the tunnel." + +"Are you sure that it was he?" + +"Am I sure! I recognized him perfectly. Besides, he was seen at +the Saint-Lazare station. He wore a soft hat---" + +"No, a hard felt, like that," said the commissary, pointing to my +hat. + +"He had a soft hat, I am sure," repeated Madame Renaud, "and a +gray overcoat." + +"Yes, that is right," replied the commissary, "the telegram says +he wore a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar." + +"Exactly, a black velvet collar," exclaimed Madame Renaud, +triumphantly. + +I breathed freely. Ah! the excellent friend I had in that little +woman. + +The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until they +ran blood. Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, an +attitude quite natural in a person who has remained for a long +time in an uncomfortable position, and whose mouth shows the +bloody marks of the gag, I addressed the commissary, in a weak +voice: + +"Monsieur, it was Arsne Lupin. There is no doubt about that. If +we make haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of some +service to you." + +The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached from +the train to serve as a mute witness at the official investigation. +The train continued on its way to Havre. We were then conducted to +the station-master's office through a crowd of curious spectators. + +Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under some +pretext or other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remain +there was dangerous. Something might happen; for instance, a +telegram from Paris, and I would be lost. + +Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in an +unfamiliar country, I could not hope to catch him. + +"Bah! I must make the attempt," I said to myself. "It may be a +difficult game, but an amusing one, and the stake is well worth +the trouble." + +And when the commissary asked us to repeat the story of the +robbery, I exclaimed: + +"Monsieur, really, Arsne Lupin is getting the start of us. My +automobile is waiting in the courtyard. If you will be so kind as +to use it, we can try...." + +The commissary smiled, and replied: + +"The idea is a good one; so good, indeed, that it is already being +carried out. Two of my men have set out on bicycles. They have +been gone for some time." + +"Where did they go?" + +"To the entrance of the tunnel. There, they will gather evidence, +secure witnesses, and follow on the track of Arsne Lupin." + +I could not refrain from shrugging my shoulders, as I replied: + +"Your men will not secure any evidence or any witnesses." + +"Really!" + +"Arsne Lupin will not allow anyone to see him emerge from the +tunnel. He will take the first road---" + +"To Rouen, where we will arrest him." + +"He will not go to Rouen." + +"Then he will remain in the vicinity, where his capture will be +even more certain." + +"He will not remain in the vicinity." + +"Oh! oh! And where will he hide?" + +I looked at my watch, and said: + +"At the present moment, Arsne Lupin is prowling around the +station at Darntal. At ten fifty, that is, in twenty-two minutes +from now, he will take the train that goes from Rouen to Amiens." + +"Do you think so? How do you know it?" + +"Oh! it is quite simple. While we were in the car, Arsne Lupin +consulted my railway guide. Why did he do it? Was there, not far +from the spot where he disappeared, another line of railway, a +station upon that line, and a train stopping at that station? On +consulting my railway guide, I found such to be the case." + +"Really, monsieur," said the commissary, "that is a marvelous +deduction. I congratulate you on your skill." + +I was now convinced that I had made a mistake in displaying so +much cleverness. The commissary regarded me with astonishment, and +I thought a slight suspicion entered his official mind....Oh! +scarcely that, for the photographs distributed broadcast by the +police department were too imperfect; they presented an Arsne +Lupin so different from the one he had before him, that he could +not possibly recognize me by it. But, all the same, he was +troubled, confused and ill-at-ease. + +"Mon Dieu! nothing stimulates the comprehension so much as the +loss of a pocketbook and the desire to recover it. And it seems to +me that if you will give me two of your men, we may be able...." + +"Oh! I beg of you, monsieur le commissaire," cried Madame Renaud, +"listen to Mon. Berlat." + +The intervention of my excellent friend was decisive. Pronounced +by her, the wife of an influential official, the name of Berlat +became really my own, and gave me an identity that no mere +suspicion could affect. The commissary arose, and said: + +"Believe me, Monsieur Berlat, I shall be delighted to see you +succeed. I am as much interested as you are in the arrest of +Arsne Lupin." + +He accompanied me to the automobile, and introduced two of his men, +Honor Massol and Gaston Delivet, who were assigned to assist me. +My chauffer cranked up the car and I took my place at the wheel. A +few seconds later, we left the station. I was saved. + +Ah! I must confess that in rolling over the boulevards that +surrounded the old Norman city, in my swift thirty-five horse-power +Moreau-Lepton, I experienced a deep feeling of pride, and the motor +responded, sympathetically to my desires. At right and left, the +trees flew past us with startling rapidity, and I, free, out of +danger, had simply to arrange my little personal affairs with the +two honest representatives of the Rouen police who were sitting +behind me. Arsne Lupin was going in search of Arsne Lupin! + +Modest guardians of social order--Gaston Delivet and Honor Massol-- +how valuable was your assistance! What would I have done without +you? Without you, many times, at the cross-roads, I might have +taken the wrong route! Without you, Arsne Lupin would have made a +mistake, and the other would have escaped! + +But the end was not yet. Far from it. I had yet to capture the +thief and recover the stolen papers. Under no circumstances must +my two acolytes be permitted to see those papers, much less to +seize them. That was a point that might give me some difficulty. + +We arrived at Darntal three minutes after the departure of the +train. True, I had the consolation of learning that a man wearing +a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar had taken the train at +the station. He had bought a second-class ticket for Amiens. +Certainly, my dbut as detective was a promising one. + +Delivet said to me: + +"The train is express, and the next stop is Montrolier-Buchy in +nineteen minutes. If we do not reach there before Arsne Lupin, he +can proceed to Amiens, or change for the train going to Clres, +and, from that point, reach Dieppe or Paris." + +"How far to Montrolier?" + +"Twenty-three kilometres." + +"Twenty-three kilometres in nineteen minutes....We will be there +ahead of him." + +We were off again! Never had my faithful Moreau-Repton responded +to my impatience with such ardor and regularity. It participated +in my anxiety. It indorsed my determination. It comprehended my +animosity against that rascally Arsne Lupin. The knave! The +traitor! + +"Turn to the right," cried Delivet, "then to the left." + +We fairly flew, scarcely touching the ground. The mile-stones +looked like little timid beasts that vanished at our approach. +Suddenly, at a turn of the road, we saw a vortex of smoke. It was +the Northern Express. For a kilometre, it was a struggle, side by +side, but an unequal struggle in which the issue was certain. We +won the race by twenty lengths. + +In three seconds we were on the platform standing before the +second-class carriages. The doors were opened, and some passengers +alighted, but not my thief. We made a search through the +compartments. No sign of Arsne Lupin. + +"Sapristi!" I cried, "he must have recognized me in the automobile +as we were racing, side by side, and he leaped from the train." + +"Ah! there he is now! crossing the track." + +I started in pursuit of the man, followed by my two acolytes, or +rather followed by one of them, for the other, Massol, proved +himself to be a runner of exceptional speed and endurance. In a +few moments, he had made an appreciable gain upon the fugitive. +The man noticed it, leaped over a hedge, scampered across a meadow, +and entered a thick grove. When we reached this grove, Massol was +waiting for us. He went no farther, for fear of losing us. + +"Quite right, my dear friend," I said. "After such a run, our +victim must be out of wind. We will catch him now." + +I examined the surroundings with the idea of proceeding alone in +the arrest of the fugitive, in order to recover my papers, +concerning which the authorities would doubtless ask many +disagreeable questions. Then I returned to my companions, and +said: + +"It is all quite easy. You, Massol, take your place at the left; +you, Delivet, at the right. From there, you can observe the entire +posterior line of the bush, and he cannot escape without you seeing +him, except by that ravine, and I shall watch it. If he does not +come out voluntarily, I will enter and drive him out toward one or +the other of you. You have simply to wait. Ah! I forgot: in case +I need you, a pistol shot." + +Massol and Delivet walked away to their respective posts. As soon +as they had disappeared, I entered the grove with the greatest +precaution so as to be neither seen nor heard. I encountered dense +thickets, through which narrow paths had been cut, but the +overhanging boughs compelled me to adopt a stooping posture. One +of these paths led to a clearing in which I found footsteps upon +the wet grass. I followed them; they led me to the foot of a mound +which was surmounted by a deserted, dilapidated hovel. + +"He must be there," I said to myself. "It is a well-chosen +retreat." + +I crept cautiously to the side of the building. A slight noise +informed me that he was there; and, then, through an opening, I saw +him. His back was turned toward me. In two bounds, I was upon +him. He tried to fire a revolver that he held in his hand. But he +had no time. I threw him to the ground, in such a manner that his +arms were beneath him, twisted and helpless, whilst I held him down +with my knee on his breast. + +"Listen, my boy," I whispered in his ear. "I am Arsne Lupin. You +are to deliver over to me, immediately and gracefully, my +pocketbook and the lady's jewels, and, in return therefore, I will +save you from the police and enroll you amongst my friends. One +word: yes or no?" + +"Yes," he murmured. + +"Very good. Your escape, this morning, was well planned. I +congratulate you." + +I arose. He fumbled in his pocket, drew out a large knife and +tried to strike me with it. + +"Imbecile!" I exclaimed. + +With one hand, I parried the attack; with the other, I gave him a +sharp blow on the carotid artery. He fell--stunned! + +In my pocketbook, I recovered my papers and bank-notes. Out of +curiosity, I took his. Upon an envelope, addressed to him, I read +his name: Pierre Onfrey. It startled me. Pierre Onfrey, the +assassin of the rue Lafontaine at Auteuil! Pierre Onfrey, he who +had cut the throats of Madame Delbois and her two daughters. I +leaned over him. Yes, those were the features which, in the +compartment, had evoked in me the memory of a face I could not then +recall. + +But time was passing. I placed in an envelope two bank-notes of +one hundred francs each, with a card bearing these words: "Arsne +Lupin to his worthy colleagues Honor Massol and Gaston Delivet, as +a slight token of his gratitude." I placed it in a prominent spot +in the room, where they would be sure to find it. Beside it, I +placed Madame Renaud's handbag. Why could I not return it to the +lady who had befriended me? I must confess that I had taken from +it everything that possessed any interest or value, leaving there +only a shell comb, a stick of rouge Dorin for the lips, and an +empty purse. But, you know, business is business. And then, +really, her husband is engaged in such a dishonorable vocation! + +The man was becoming conscious. What was I to do? I was unable to +save him or condemn him. So I took his revolver and fired a shot +in the air. + +"My two acolytes will come and attend to his case," I said to +myself, as I hastened away by the road through the ravine. Twenty +minutes later, I was seated in my automobile. + +At four o'clock, I telegraphed to my friends at Rouen that an +unexpected event would prevent me from making my promised visit. +Between ourselves, considering what my friends must now know, my +visit is postponed indefinitely. A cruel disillusion for them! + +At six o'clock I was in Paris. The evening newspapers informed me +that Pierre Onfrey had been captured at last. + +Next day,--let us not despise the advantages of judicious +advertising,--the `Echo de France' published this sensational item: + +"Yesterday, near Buchy, after numerous exciting incidents, Arsne +Lupin effected the arrest of Pierre Onfrey. The assassin of the +rue Lafontaine had robbed Madame Renaud, wife of the director in +the penitentiary service, in a railway carriage on the Paris-Havre +line. Arsne Lupin restored to Madame Renaud the hand-bag that +contained her jewels, and gave a generous recompense to the two +detectives who had assisted him in making that dramatic arrest." + + + +V. The Queen's Necklace + + +Two or three times each year, on occasions of unusual importance, +such as the balls at the Austrian Embassy or the soires of Lady +Billingstone, the Countess de Dreux-Soubise wore upon her white +shoulders "The Queen's Necklace." + +It was, indeed, the famous necklace, the legendary necklace that +Bohmer and Bassenge, court jewelers, had made for Madame Du Barry; +the veritable necklace that the Cardinal de Rohan-Soubise intended +to give to Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France; and the same that the +adventuress Jeanne de Valois, Countess de la Motte, had pulled to +pieces one evening in February, 1785, with the aid of her husband +and their accomplice, Rtaux de Villette. + +To tell the truth, the mounting alone was genuine. Rtaux de +Villette had kept it, whilst the Count de la Motte and his wife +scattered to the four winds of heaven the beautiful stones so +carefully chosen by Bohmer. Later, he sold the mounting to Gaston +de Dreux-Soubise, nephew and heir of the Cardinal, who re-purchased +the few diamonds that remained in the possession of the English +jeweler, Jeffreys; supplemented them with other stones of the same +size but of much inferior quality, and thus restored the marvelous +necklace to the form in which it had come from the hands of Bohmer +and Bassenge. + +For nearly a century, the house of Dreux-Soubise had prided itself +upon the possession of this historic jewel. Although adverse +circumstances had greatly reduced their fortune, they preferred to +curtail their household expenses rather than part with this relic +of royalty. More particularly, the present count clung to it as a +man clings to the home of his ancestors. As a matter of prudence, +he had rented a safety-deposit box at the Crdit Lyonnais in which +to keep it. He went for it himself on the afternoon of the day on +which his wife wished to wear it, and he, himself, carried it back +next morning. + +On this particular evening, at the reception given at the Palais de +Castille, the Countess achieved a remarkable success; and King +Christian, in whose honor the fte was given, commented on her +grace and beauty. The thousand facets of the diamond sparkled and +shone like flames of fire about her shapely neck and shoulders, and +it is safe to say that none but she could have borne the weight of +such an ornament with so much ease and grace. + +This was a double triumph, and the Count de Dreux was highly elated +when they returned to their chamber in the old house of the +faubourg Saint-Germain. He was proud of his wife, and quite as +proud, perhaps, of the necklace that had conferred added luster to +his noble house for generations. His wife, also, regarded the +necklace with an almost childish vanity, and it was not without +regret that she removed it from her shoulders and handed it to her +husband who admired it as passionately as if he had never seen it +before. Then, having placed it in its case of red leather, stamped +with the Cardinal's arms, he passed into an adjoining room which +was simply an alcove or cabinet that had been cut off from their +chamber, and which could be entered only by means of a door at the +foot of their bed. As he had done on previous occasions, he hid it +on a high shelf amongst hat-boxes and piles of linen. He closed +the door, and retired. + +Next morning, he arose about nine o'clock, intending to go to the +Crdit Lyonnais before breakfast. He dressed, drank a cup of +coffee, and went to the stables to give his orders. The condition +of one of the horses worried him. He caused it to be exercised in +his presence. Then he returned to his wife, who had not yet left +the chamber. Her maid was dressing her hair. When her husband +entered, she asked: + +"Are you going out?" + +"Yes, as far as the bank." + +"Of course. That is wise." + +He entered the cabinet; but, after a few seconds, and without any +sign of astonishment, he asked: + +"Did you take it, my dear?" + +"What?....No, I have not taken anything." + +"You must have moved it." + +"Not at all. I have not even opened that door." + +He appeared at the door, disconcerted, and stammered, in a scarcely +intelligible voice: + +"You haven't....It wasn't you?....Then...." + +She hastened to his assistance, and, together, they made a thorough +search, throwing the boxes to the floor and overturning the piles +of linen. Then the count said, quite discouraged: + +"It is useless to look any more. I put it here, on this shelf." + +"You must be mistaken." + +"No, no, it was on this shelf--nowhere else." + +They lighted a candle, as the room was quite dark, and then carried +out all the linen and other articles that the room contained. And, +when the room was emptied, they confessed, in despair, that the +famous necklace had disappeared. Without losing time in vain +lamentations, the countess notified the commissary of police, Mon. +Valorbe, who came at once, and, after hearing their story, inquired +of the count: + +"Are you sure that no one passed through your chamber during the +night?" + +"Absolutely sure, as I am a very light sleeper. Besides, the +chamber door was bolted, and I remember unbolting it this morning +when my wife rang for her maid." + +"And there is no other entrance to the cabinet?" + +"None." + +"No windows?" + +"Yes, but it is closed up." + +"I will look at it." + +Candles were lighted, and Mon. Valorbe observed at once that the +lower half of the window was covered by a large press which was, +however, so narrow that it did not touch the casement on either +side. + +"On what does this window open?" + +"A small inner court." + +"And you have a floor above this?" + +"Two; but, on a level with the servant's floor, there is a close +grating over the court. That is why this room is so dark." + +When the press was moved, they found that the window was fastened, +which would not have been the case if anyone had entered that way. + +"Unless," said the count, "they went out through our chamber." + +"In that case, you would have found the door unbolted." + +The commissary considered the situation for a moment, then asked +the countess: + +"Did any of your servants know that you wore the necklace last +evening?" + +"Certainly; I didn't conceal the fact. But nobody knew that it was +hidden in that cabinet." + +"No one?" + +"No one....unless...." + +"Be quite sure, madam, as it is a very important point." + +She turned to her husband, and said: + +"I was thinking of Henriette." + +"Henriette? She didn't know where we kept it." + +"Are you sure?" + +"Who is this woman Henriette?" asked Mon. Valorbe. + +"A school-mate, who was disowned by her family for marrying beneath +her. After her husband's death, I furnished an apartment in this +house for her and her son. She is clever with her needle and has +done some work for me." + +"What floor is she on?" + +"Same as ours....at the end of the corridor....and I think.... +the window of her kitchen...." + +"Opens on this little court, does it not?" + +"Yes, just opposite ours." + +Mon. Valorbe then asked to see Henriette. They went to her +apartment; she was sewing, whilst her son Raoul, about six years +old, was sitting beside her, reading. The commissary was surprised +to see the wretched apartment that had been provided for the woman. +It consisted of one room without a fireplace, and a very small room +that served as a kitchen. The commissary proceeded to question +her. She appeared to be overwhelmed on learning of the theft. +Last evening she had herself dressed the countess and placed the +necklace upon her shoulders. + +"Good God!" she exclaimed, "it can't be possible!" + +"And you have no idea? Not the least suspicion? Is it possible +that the thief may have passed through your room?" + +She laughed heartily, never supposing that she could be an object +of suspicion. + +"But I have not left my room. I never go out. And, perhaps, you +have not seen?" + +She opened the kitchen window, and said: + +"See, it is at least three metres to the ledge of the opposite +window." + +"Who told you that we supposed the theft might have been committed +in that way?" + +"But....the necklace was in the cabinet, wasn't it?" + +"How do you know that?" + +"Why, I have always known that it was kept there at night. It had +been mentioned in my presence." + +Her face, though still young, bore unmistakable traces of sorrow +and resignation. And it now assumed an expression of anxiety as if +some danger threatened her. She drew her son toward her. The +child took her hand, and kissed it affectionately. + +When they were alone again, the count said to the commissary: + +"I do not suppose you suspect Henriette. I can answer for her. +She is honesty itself." + +"I quite agree with you," replied Mon. Valorbe. "At most, I +thought there might have been an unconscious complicity. But I +confess that even that theory must be abandoned, as it does not +help solve the problem now before us." + +The commissary of police abandoned the investigation, which was now +taken up and completed by the examining judge. He questioned the +servants, examined the condition of the bolt, experimented with the +opening and closing of the cabinet window, and explored the little +court from top to bottom. All was in vain. The bolt was intact. +The window could not be opened or closed from the outside. + +The inquiries especially concerned Henriette, for, in spite of +everything, they always turned in her direction. They made a +thorough investigation of her past life, and ascertained that, +during the last three years, she had left the house only four +times, and her business, on those occasions, was satisfactorily +explained. As a matter of fact, she acted as chambermaid and +seamstress to the countess, who treated her with great strictness +and even severity. + +At the end of a week, the examining judge had secured no more +definite information than the commissary of police. The judge +said: + +"Admitting that we know the guilty party, which we do not, we are +confronted by the fact that we do not know how the theft was +committed. We are brought face to face with two obstacles: a door +and a window--both closed and fastened. It is thus a double +mystery. How could anyone enter, and, moreover, how could any one +escape, leaving behind him a bolted door and a fastened window?" + +At the end of four months, the secret opinion of the judge was that +the count and countess, being hard pressed for money, which was +their normal condition, had sold the Queen's Necklace. He closed +the investigation. + +The loss of the famous jewel was a severe blow to the Dreux- +Soubise. Their credit being no longer propped up by the reserve +fund that such a treasure constituted, they found themselves +confronted by more exacting creditors and money-lenders. They were +obliged to cut down to the quick, to sell or mortgage every article +that possessed any commercial value. In brief, it would have been +their ruin, if two large legacies from some distant relatives had +not saved them. + +Their pride also suffered a downfall, as if they had lost a +quartering from their escutcheon. And, strange to relate, it was +upon her former schoolmate, Henriette, that the countess vented her +spleen. Toward her, the countess displayed the most spiteful +feelings, and even openly accused her. First, Henriette was +relegated to the servants' quarters, and, next day, discharged. + +For some time, the count and countess passed an uneventful life. +They traveled a great deal. Only one incident of record occurred +during that period. Some months after the departure of Henriette, +the countess was surprised when she received and read the following +letter, signed by Henriette: + +"Madame," +"I do not know how to thank you; for it was you, was it not, who +sent me that? It could not have been anyone else. No one but you +knows where I live. If I am wrong, excuse me, and accept my +sincere thanks for your past favors...." + +What did the letter mean? The present or past favors of the +countess consisted principally of injustice and neglect. Why, +then, this letter of thanks? + +When asked for an explanation, Henriette replied that she had +received a letter, through the mails, enclosing two bank-notes of +one thousand francs each. The envelope, which she enclosed with +her reply, bore the Paris post-mark, and was addressed in a +handwriting that was obviously disguised. Now, whence came those +two thousand francs? Who had sent them? And why had they sent +them? + +Henriette received a similar letter and a like sum of money twelve +months later. And a third time; and a fourth; and each year for a +period of six years, with this difference, that in the fifth and +sixth years the sum was doubled. There was another difference: +the post-office authorities having seized one of the letters under +the pretext that it was not registered, the last two letters were +duly sent according to the postal regulations, the first dated from +Saint-Germain, the other from Suresnes. The writer signed the +first one, "Anquety"; and the other, "Pchard." The addresses that +he gave were false. + +At the end of six years, Henriette died, and the mystery remained +unsolved. + +* * * * * + +All these events are known to the public. The case was one of +those which excite public interest, and it was a strange +coincidence that this necklace, which had caused such a great +commotion in France at the close of the eighteenth century, should +create a similar commotion a century later. But what I am about to +relate is known only to the parties directly interested and a few +others from whom the count exacted a promise of secrecy. As it is +probable that some day or other that promise will be broken, I have +no hesitation in rending the veil and thus disclosing the key to +the mystery, the explanation of the letter published in the morning +papers two days ago; an extraordinary letter which increased, if +possible, the mists and shadows that envelope this inscrutable +drama. + +Five days ago, a number of guests were dining with the Count de +Dreux-Soubise. There were several ladies present, including his +two nieces and his cousin, and the following gentlemen: the +president of Essaville, the deputy Bochas, the chevalier Floriani, +whom the count had known in Sicily, and General Marquis de +Rouzires, and old club friend. + +After the repast, coffee was served by the ladies, who gave the +gentlemen permission to smoke their cigarettes, provided they would +not desert the salon. The conversation was general, and finally +one of the guests chanced to speak of celebrated crimes. And that +gave the Marquis de Rouzires, who delighted to tease the count, an +opportunity to mention the affair of the Queen's Necklace, a +subject that the count detested. + +Each one expressed his own opinion of the affair; and, of course, +their various theories were not only contradictory but impossible. + +"And you, monsieur," said the countess to the chevalier Floriani, +"what is your opinion?" + +"Oh! I--I have no opinion, madame." + +All the guests protested; for the chevalier had just related in an +entertaining manner various adventures in which he had participated +with his father, a magistrate at Palermo, and which established his +judgment and taste in such manners. + +"I confess," said he, "I have sometimes succeeded in unraveling +mysteries that the cleverest detectives have renounced; yet I do +not claim to be Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, I know very little +about the affair of the Queen's Necklace." + +Everybody now turned to the count, who was thus obliged, quite +unwillingly, to narrate all the circumstances connected with the +theft. The chevalier listened, reflected, asked a few questions, +and said: + +"It is very strange....at first sight, the problem appears to be a +very simple one." + +The count shrugged his shoulders. The others drew closer to the +chevalier, who continued, in a dogmatic tone: + +"As a general rule, in order to find the author of a crime or a +theft, it is necessary to determine how that crime or theft was +committed, or, at least, how it could have been committed. In the +present case, nothing is more simple, because we are face to face, +not with several theories, but with one positive fact, that is to +say: the thief could only enter by the chamber door or the window +of the cabinet. Now, a person cannot open a bolted door from the +outside. Therefore, he must have entered through the window." + +"But it was closed and fastened, and we found it fastened +afterward," declared the count. + +"In order to do that," continued Floriani, without heeding the +interruption, "he had simply to construct a bridge, a plank or a +ladder, between the balcony of the kitchen and the ledge of the +window, and as the jewel-case---" + +"But I repeat that the window was fastened," exclaimed the count, +impatiently. + +This time, Floriani was obliged to reply. He did so with +the greatest tranquility, as if the objection was the most +insignificant affair in the world. + +"I will admit that it was; but is there not a transom in the upper +part of the window?" + +"How do you know that?" + +"In the first place, that was customary in houses of that date; +and, in the second place, without such a transom, the theft cannot +be explained." + +"Yes, there is one, but it was closed, the same as the window. +Consequently, we did not pay attention to it." + +"That was a mistake; for, if you had examined it, you would have +found that it had been opened." + +"But how?" + +"I presume that, like all others, it opens by means of a wire with +a ring on the lower end." + +"Yes, but I do not see---" + +"Now, through a hole in the window, a person could, by the aid of +some instrument, let us say a poker with a hook at the end, grip +the ring, pull down, and open the transom." + +The count laughed and said: + +"Excellent! excellent! Your scheme is very cleverly constructed, +but you overlook one thing, monsieur, there is no hole in the +window." + +"There was a hole." + +"Nonsense, we would have seen it." + +"In order to see it, you must look for it, and no one has looked. +The hole is there; it must be there, at the side of the window, in +the putty. In a vertical direction, of course." + +The count arose. He was greatly excited. He paced up and down the +room, two or three times, in a nervous manner; then, approaching +Floriani, said: + +"Nobody has been in that room since; nothing has been changed." + +"Very well, monsieur, you can easily satisfy yourself that my +explanation is correct." + +"It does not agree with the facts established by the examining +judge. You have seen nothing, and yet you contradict all that we +have seen and all that we know." + +Floriani paid no attention to the count's petulance. He simply +smiled and said: + +"Mon Dieu, monsieur, I submit my theory; that is all. If I am +mistaken, you can easily prove it." + +"I will do so at once....I confess that your assurance---" + +The count muttered a few more words; then suddenly rushed to the +door and passed out. Not a word was uttered in his absence; and +this profound silence gave the situation an air of almost tragic +importance. Finally, the count returned. He was pale and nervous. +He said to his friends, in a trembling voice: + +"I beg your pardon....the revelations of the chevalier were so +unexpected....I should never have thought...." + +His wife questioned him, eagerly: + +"Speak....what is it?" + +He stammered: "The hole is there, at the very spot, at the side of +the window---" + +He seized the chevalier's arm, and said to him in an imperious +tone: + +"Now, monsieur, proceed. I admit that you are right so far, but +now....that is not all....go on....tell us the rest of it." + +Floriani disengaged his arm gently, and, after a moment, continued: + +"Well, in my opinion, this is what happened. The thief, knowing +that the countess was going to wear the necklace that evening, had +prepared his gangway or bridge during your absence. He watched you +through the window and saw you hide the necklace. Afterward, he +cut the glass and pulled the ring." + +"Ah! but the distance was so great that it would be impossible for +him to reach the window-fastening through the transom." + +"Well, then, if he could not open the window by reaching through +the transom, he must have crawled through the transom." + +"Impossible; it is too small. No man could crawl through it." + +"Then it was not a man," declared Floriani. + +"What!" + +"If the transom is too small to admit a man, it must have been a +child." + +"A child!" + +"Did you not say that your friend Henriette had a son?" + +"Yes; a son named Raoul." + +"Then, in all probability, it was Raoul who committed the theft." + +"What proof have you of that?" + +"What proof! Plenty of it....For instance---" + +He stopped, and reflected for a moment, then continued: + +"For instance, that gangway or bridge. It is improbable that the +child could have brought it in from outside the house and carried +it away again without being observed. He must have used something +close at hand. In the little room used by Henriette as a kitchen, +were there not some shelves against the wall on which she placed +her pans and dishes?" + +"Two shelves, to the best of my memory." + +"Are you sure that those shelves are really fastened to the wooden +brackets that support them? For, if they are not, we could be +justified in presuming that the child removed them, fastened them +together, and thus formed his bridge. Perhaps, also, since there +was a stove, we might find the bent poker that he used to open the +transom." + +Without saying a word, the count left the room; and, this time, +those present did not feel the nervous anxiety they had experienced +the first time. They were confident that Floriani was right, and +no one was surprised when the count returned and declared: + +"It was the child. Everything proves it." + +"You have seen the shelves and the poker?" + +"Yes. The shelves have been unnailed, and the poker is there yet." + +But the countess exclaimed: + +"You had better say it was his mother. Henriette is the guilty +party. She must have compelled her son---" + +"No," declared the chevalier, "the mother had nothing to do with +it." + +"Nonsense! they occupied the same room. The child could not have +done it without the mother's knowledge." + +"True, they lived in the same room, but all this happened in the +adjoining room, during the night, while the mother was asleep." + +"And the necklace?" said the count. "It would have been found +amongst the child's things." + +"Pardon me! He had been out. That morning, on which you found him +reading, he had just come from school, and perhaps the commissary +of police, instead of wasting his time on the innocent mother, +would have been better employed in searching the child's desk +amongst his school-books." + +"But how do you explain those two thousand francs that Henriette +received each year? Are they not evidence of her complicity?" + +"If she had been an accomplice, would she have thanked you for that +money? And then, was she not closely watched? But the child, +being free, could easily go to a neighboring city, negotiate with +some dealer and sell him one diamond or two diamonds, as he might +wish, upon condition that the money should be sent from Paris, and +that proceeding could be repeated from year to year." + +An indescribable anxiety oppressed the Dreux-Soubise and their +guests. There was something in the tone and attitude of Floriani-- +something more than the chevalier's assurance which, from the +beginning, had so annoyed the count. There was a touch of irony, +that seemed rather hostile than sympathetic. But the count +affected to laugh, as he said: + +"All that is very ingenious and interesting, and I congratulate you +upon your vivid imagination." + +"No, not at all," replied Floriani, with the utmost gravity, "I +imagine nothing. I simply describe the events as they must have +occurred." + +"But what do you know about them?" + +"What you yourself have told me. I picture to myself the life of +the mother and child down there in the country; the illness of the +mother, the schemes of and inventions of the child sell the +precious stones in order to save his mother's life, or, at least, +soothe her dying moments. Her illness overcomes her. She dies. +Years roll on. The child becomes a man; and then--and now I will +give my imagination a free rein--let us suppose that the man feels a +desire to return to the home of his childhood, that he does so, and +that he meets there certain people who suspect and accuse his +mother....do you realize the sorrow and anguish of such an +interview in the very house wherein the original drama was played?" + +His words seemed to echo for a few seconds in the ensuing silence, +and one could read upon the faces of the Count and Countess de +Dreux a bewildered effort to comprehend his meaning and, at the +same time, the fear and anguish of such a comprehension. The count +spoke at last, and said: + +"Who are you, monsieur?" + +"I? The chevalier Floriani, whom you met at Palermo, and whom you +have been gracious enough to invite to your house on several +occasions." + +"Then what does this story mean?" + +"Oh! nothing at all! It is simply a pastime, so far as I am +concerned. I endeavor to depict the pleasure that Henriette's son, +if he still lives, would have in telling you that he was the guilty +party, and that he did it because his mother was unhappy, as she +was on the point of losing the place of a....servant, by which she +lived, and because the child suffered at sight of his mother's +sorrow." + +He spoke with suppressed emotion, rose partially and inclined +toward the countess. There could be no doubt that the chevalier +Floriani was Henriette's son. His attitude and words proclaimed +it. Besides, was it not his obvious intention and desire to be +recognized as such? + +The count hesitated. What action would he take against the +audacious guest? Ring? Provoke a scandal? Unmask the man who had +once robbed him? But that was a long time ago! And who would +believe that absurd story about the guilty child? No; better far +to accept the situation, and pretend not to comprehend the true +meaning of it. So the count, turning to Floriani, exclaimed: + +"Your story is very curious, very entertaining; I enjoyed it much. +But what do you think has become of this young man, this model son? +I hope he has not abandoned the career in which he made such a +brilliant dbut." + +"Oh! certainly not." + +"After such a dbut! To steal the Queen's Necklace at six years of +age; the celebrated necklace that was coveted by Marie-Antoinette!" + +"And to steal it," remarked Floriani, falling in with the count's +mood, "without costing him the slightest trouble, without anyone +thinking to examine the condition of the window, or to observe that +the window-sill was too clean--that window-sill which he had wiped +in order to efface the marks he had made in the thick dust. We +must admit that it was sufficient to turn the head of a boy at that +age. It was all so easy. He had simply to desire the thing, and +reach out his hand to get it." + +"And he reached out his hand." + +"Both hands," replied the chevalier, laughing. + +His companions received a shock. What mystery surrounded the life +of the so-called Floriani? How wonderful must have been the life +of that adventurer, a thief at six years of age, and who, to-day, +in search of excitement or, at most, to gratify a feeling of +resentment, had come to brave his victim in her own house, +audaciously, foolishly, and yet with all the grace and delicacy of +a courteous guest! + +He arose and approached the countess to bid her adieu. She +recoiled, unconsciously. He smiled. + +"Oh! Madame, you are afraid of me! Did I pursue my role of parlor- +magician a step too far?" + +She controlled herself, and replied, with her accustomed ease: + +"Not at all, monsieur. The legend of that dutiful son interested +me very much, and I am pleased to know that my necklace had such a +brilliant destiny. But do you not think that the son of that +woman, that Henriette, was the victim of hereditary influence in +the choice of his vocation?" + +He shuddered, feeling the point, and replied: + +"I am sure of it; and, moreover, his natural tendency to crime must +have been very strong or he would have been discouraged." + +"Why so?" + +"Because, as you must know, the majority of the diamonds were +false. The only genuine stones were the few purchased from the +English jeweler, the others having been sold, one by one, to meet +the cruel necessities of life." + +"It was still the Queen's Necklace, monsieur," replied the +countess, haughtily, "and that is something that he, Henriette's +son, could not appreciate." + +"He was able to appreciate, madame, that, whether true or false, +the necklace was nothing more that an object of parade, an emblem +of senseless pride." + +The count made a threatening gesture, but his wife stopped him. + +"Monsieur," she said, "if the man to whom you allude has the +slightest sense of honor---" + +She stopped, intimidated by Floriani's cool manner. + +"If that man has the slightest sense of honor," he repeated. + +She felt that she would not gain anything by speaking to him in +that manner, and in spite of her anger and indignation, trembling +as she was from humiliated pride, she said to him, almost politely: + +"Monsieur, the legend says that Rtaux de Villette, when in +possession of the Queen's Necklace, did not disfigure the mounting. +He understood that the diamonds were simply the ornament, the +accessory, and that the mounting was the essential work, the +creation of the artist, and he respected it accordingly. Do you +think that this man had the same feeling?" + +"I have no doubt that the mounting still exists. The child +respected it." + +"Well, monsieur, if you should happen to meet him, will you tell +him that he unjustly keeps possession of a relic that is the +property and pride of a certain family, and that, although the +stones have been removed, the Queen's necklace still belongs to the +house of Dreux-Soubise. It belongs to us as much as our name or +our honor." + +The chevalier replied, simply: + +"I shall tell him, madame." + +He bowed to her, saluted the count and the other guests, and +departed. + +* * * * * + +Four days later, the countess de Dreux found upon the table in her +chamber a red leather case bearing the cardinal's arms. She opened +it, and found the Queen's Necklace. + +But as all things must, in the life of a man who strives for unity +and logic, converge toward the same goal--and as a little +advertising never does any harm--on the following day, the `Echo de +France' published these sensational lines: + +"The Queen's Necklace, the famous historical jewelry stolen from +the family of Dreux-Soubise, has been recovered by Arsne Lupin, +who hastened to restore it to its rightful owner. We cannot too +highly commend such a delicate and chivalrous act." + + + +VI. The Seven of Hearts + + +I am frequently asked this question: "How did you make the +acquaintance of Arsne Lupin?" + +My connection with Arsne Lupin was well known. The details that I +gather concerning that mysterious man, the irrefutable facts that I +present, the new evidence that I produce, the interpretation that I +place on certain acts of which the public has seen only the +exterior manifestations without being able to discover the secret +reasons or the invisible mechanism, all establish, if not an +intimacy, at least amicable relations and regular confidences. + +But how did I make his acquaintance? Why was I selected to be his +historiographer? Why I, and not some one else? + +The answer is simple: chance alone presided over my choice; my +merit was not considered. It was chance that put me in his way. +It was by chance that I was participant in one of his strangest and +most mysterious adventures; and by chance that I was an actor in a +drama of which he was the marvelous stage director; an obscure and +intricate drama, bristling with such thrilling events that I feel a +certain embarrassment in undertaking to describe it. + +The first act takes place during that memorable night of 22 June, +of which so much has already been said. And, for my part, I +attribute the anomalous conduct of which I was guilty on that +occasion to the unusual frame of mind in which I found myself on my +return home. I had dined with some friends at the Cascade +restaurant, and, the entire evening, whilst we smoked and the +orchestra played melancholy waltzes, we talked only of crimes and +thefts, and dark and frightful intrigues. That is always a poor +overture to a night's sleep. + +The Saint-Martins went away in an automobile. Jean Daspry--that +delightful, heedless Daspry who, six months later, was killed in +such a tragic manner on the frontier of Morocco--Jean Daspry and I +returned on foot through the dark, warm night. When we arrived in +front of the little house in which I had lived for a year at +Neuilly, on the boulevard Maillot, he said to me: + +"Are you afraid?" + +"What an idea!" + +"But this house is so isolated....no neighbors....vacant +lots....Really, I am not a coward, and yet---" + +"Well, you are very cheering, I must say." + +"Oh! I say that as I would say anything else. The Saint-Martins +have impressed me with their stories of brigands and thieves." + +We shook hands and said good-night. I took out my key and opened +the door. + +"Well, that is good," I murmured, "Antoine has forgotten to light a +candle." + +Then I recalled the fact that Antoine was away; I had given him a +short leave of absence. Forthwith, I was disagreeably oppressed by +the darkness and silence of the night. I ascended the stairs on +tiptoe, and reached my room as quickly as possible; then, contrary +to my usual habit, I turned the key and pushed the bolt. + +The light of my candle restored my courage. Yet I was careful to +take my revolver from its case--a large, powerful weapon--and place +it beside my bed. That precaution completed my reassurance. I +laid down and, as usual, took a book from my night-table to read +myself to sleep. Then I received a great surprise. Instead of the +paper-knife with which I had marked my place on the preceding, I +found an envelope, closed with five seals of red wax. I seized it +eagerly. It was addressed to me, and marked: "Urgent." + +A letter! A letter addressed to me! Who could have put it in that +place? Nervously, I tore open the envelope, and read: + +"From the moment you open this letter, whatever happens, whatever +you may hear, do not move, do not utter one cry. Otherwise you are +doomed." + +I am not a coward, and, quite as well as another, I can face real +danger, or smile at the visionary perils of imagination. But, let +me repeat, I was in an anomalous condition of mind, with my nerves +set on edge by the events of the evening. Besides, was there not, +in my present situation, something startling and mysterious, +calculated to disturb the most courageous spirit? + +My feverish fingers clutched the sheet of paper, and I read and re- +read those threatening words: "Do not move, do not utter one cry. +Otherwise, you are doomed." + +"Nonsense!" I thought. "It is a joke; the work of some cheerful +idiot." + +I was about to laugh--a good loud laugh. Who prevented me? What +haunting fear compressed my throat? + +At least, I would blow out the candle. No, I could not do it. "Do +not move, or you are doomed," were the words he had written. + +These auto-suggestions are frequently more imperious than the most +positive realities; but why should I struggle against them? I had +simply to close my eyes. I did so. + +At that moment, I heard a slight noise, followed by crackling +sounds, proceeding from a large room used by me as a library. A +small room or antechamber was situated between the library and my +bedchamber. + +The approach of an actual danger greatly excited me, and I felt a +desire to get up, seize my revolver, and rush into the library. I +did not rise; I saw one of the curtains of the left window move. +There was no doubt about it: the curtain had moved. It was still +moving. And I saw--oh! I saw quite distinctly--in the narrow space +between the curtains and the window, a human form; a bulky mass +that prevented the curtains from hanging straight. And it is +equally certain that the man saw me through the large meshes of the +curtain. Then, I understood the situation. His mission was to +guard me while the others carried away their booty. Should I rise +and seize my revolver? Impossible! He was there! At the least +movement, at the least cry, I was doomed. + +Then came a terrific noise that shook the house; this was followed +by lighter sounds, two or three together, like those of a hammer +that rebounded. At least, that was the impression formed in my +confused brain. These were mingled with other sounds, thus +creating a veritable uproar which proved that the intruders were +not only bold, but felt themselves secure from interruption. + +They were right. I did not move. Was it cowardice? No, rather +weakness, a total inability to move any portion of my body, +combined with discretion; for why should I struggle? Behind that +man, there were ten others who would come to his assistance. +Should I risk my life to save a few tapestries and bibelots? + +Throughout the night, my torture endured. Insufferable torture, +terrible anguish! The noises had stopped, but I was in constant +fear of their renewal. And the man! The man who was guarding me, +weapon in hand. My fearful eyes remained cast in his direction. +And my heart beat! And a profuse perspiration oozed from every +pore of my body! + +Suddenly, I experienced an immense relief; a milk-wagon, whose +sound was familiar to me, passed along the boulevard; and, at the +same time, I had an impression that the light of a new day was +trying to steal through the closed window-blinds. + +At last, daylight penetrated the room; other vehicles passed along +the boulevard; and all the phantoms of the night vanished. Then I +put one arm out of the bed, slowly and cautiously. My eyes were +fixed upon the curtain, locating the exact spot at which I must +fire; I made an exact calculation of the movements I must make; +then, quickly, I seized my revolver and fired. + +I leaped from my bed with a cry of deliverance, and rushed to the +window. The bullet had passed through the curtain and the window- +glass, but it had not touched the man--for the very good reason that +there was none there. Nobody! Thus, during the entire night, I +had been hypnotized by a fold of the curtain. And, during that +time, the malefactors....Furiously, with an enthusiasm that nothing +could have stopped, I turned the key, opened the door, crossed the +antechamber, opened another door, and rushed into the library. But +amazement stopped me on the threshold, panting, astounded, more +astonished than I had been by the absence of the man. All the +things that I supposed had been stolen, furniture, books, pictures, +old tapestries, everything was in its proper place. + +It was incredible. I could not believe my eyes. Notwithstanding +that uproar, those noises of removal....I made a tour, I inspected +the walls, I made a mental inventory of all the familiar objects. +Nothing was missing. And, what was more disconcerting, there was +no clue to the intruders, not a sign, not a chair disturbed, not +the trace of a footstep. + +"Well! Well!" I said to myself, pressing my hands on my bewildered +head, "surely I am not crazy! I hear something!" + +Inch by inch, I made a careful examination of the room. It was in +vain. Unless I could consider this as a discovery: Under a small +Persian rug, I found a card--an ordinary playing card. It was the +seven of hearts; it was like any other seven of hearts in French +playing-cards, with this slight but curious exception: The extreme +point of each of the seven red spots or hearts was pierced by a +hole, round and regular as if made with the point of an awl. + +Nothing more. A card and a letter found in a book. But was not +that sufficient to affirm that I had not been the plaything of a +dream? + +* * * * * + +Throughout the day, I continued my searches in the library. It was +a large room, much too large for the requirements of such a house, +and the decoration of which attested the bizarre taste of its +founder. The floor was a mosaic of multicolored stones, formed +into large symmetrical designs. The walls were covered with a +similar mosaic, arranged in panels, Pompeiian allegories, Byzantine +compositions, frescoes of the Middle Ages. A Bacchus bestriding a +cask. An emperor wearing a gold crown, a flowing beard, and +holding a sword in his right hand. + +Quite high, after the style of an artist's studio, there was a +large window--the only one in the room. That window being always +open at night, it was probable that the men had entered through it, +by the aid of a ladder. But, again, there was no evidence. The +bottom of the ladder would have left some marks in the soft earth +beneath the window; but there were none. Nor were there any traces +of footsteps in any part of the yard. + +I had no idea of informing the police, because the facts I had +before me were so absurd and inconsistent. They would laugh at me. +However, as I was then a reporter on the staff of the `Gil Blas,' I +wrote a lengthy account of my adventure and it was published in the +paper on the second day thereafter. The article attracted some +attention, but no one took it seriously. They regarded it as a +work of fiction rather than a story of real life. The Saint- +Martins rallied me. But Daspry, who took an interest in such +matters, came to see me, made a study of the affair, but reached no +conclusion. + +A few mornings later, the door-bell rang, and Antoine came to +inform me that a gentleman desired to see me. He would not give +his name. I directed Antoine to show him up. He was a man of +about forty years of age with a very dark complexion, lively +features, and whose correct dress, slightly frayed, proclaimed a +taste that contrasted strangely with his rather vulgar manners. +Without any preamble, he said to me--in a rough voice that confirmed +my suspicion as to his social position: + +"Monsieur, whilst in a caf, I picked up a copy of the `Gil Blas,' +and read your article. It interested me very much. + +"Thank you." + +"And here I am." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, to talk to you. Are all the facts related by you quite +correct?" + +"Absolutely so." + +"Well, in that case, I can, perhaps, give you some information." + +"Very well; proceed." + +"No, not yet. First, I must be sure that the facts are exactly as +you have related them." + +"I have given you my word. What further proof do you want?" + +"I must remain alone in this room." + +"I do not understand," I said, with surprise. + +"It's an idea that occurred to me when reading your article. +Certain details established an extraordinary coincidence with +another case that came under my notice. If I am mistaken, I shall +say nothing more. And the only means of ascertaining the truth is +by my remaining in the room alone." + +What was at the bottom of this proposition? Later, I recalled that +the man was exceedingly nervous; but, at the same time, although +somewhat astonished, I found nothing particularly abnormal about +the man or the request he had made. Moreover, my curiosity was +aroused; so I replied: + +"Very well. How much time do you require?" + +"Oh! three minutes--not longer. Three minutes from now, I will +rejoin you." + +I left the room, and went downstairs. I took out my watch. One +minute passed. Two minutes. Why did I feel so depressed? Why did +those moments seem so solemn and weird? Two minutes and a +half....Two minutes and three quarters. Then I heard a pistol +shot. + +I bounded up the stairs and entered the room. A cry of horror +escaped me. In the middle of the room, the man was lying on his +left side, motionless. Blood was flowing from a wound in his +forehead. Near his hand was a revolver, still smoking. + +But, in addition to this frightful spectacle, my attention was +attracted by another object. At two feet from the body, upon the +floor, I saw a playing-card. It was the seven of hearts. I picked +it up. The lower extremity of each of the seven spots was pierced +with a small round hole. + +* * * * * + +A half-hour later, the commissary of police arrived, then the +coroner and the chief of the Sret, Mon. Dudouis. I had been +careful not to touch the corpse. The preliminary inquiry was very +brief, and disclosed nothing. There were no papers in the pockets +of the deceased; no name upon his clothes; no initial upon his +linen; nothing to give any clue to his identity. The room was in +the same perfect order as before. The furniture had not been +disturbed. Yet this man had not come to my house solely for the +purpose of killing himself, or because he considered my place the +most convenient one for his suicide! There must have been a motive +for his act of despair, and that motive was, no doubt, the result +of some new fact ascertained by him during the three minutes he was +alone. + +What was that fact? What had he seen? What frightful secret had +been revealed to him? There was no answer to these questions. +But, at the last moment, an incident occurred that appeared to us +of considerable importance. As two policemen were raising the body +to place it on a stretcher, the left hand thus being disturbed, a +crumpled card fell from it. The card bore these words: "Georges +Andermatt, 37 Rue de Berry." + +What did that mean? Georges Andermatt was a rich banker in Paris, +the founder and president of the Metal Exchange which had given +such an impulse to the metallic industries in France. He lived in +princely style; was the possessor of numerous automobiles, coaches, +and an expensive racing-stable. His social affairs were very +select, and Madame Andermatt was noted for her grace and beauty. + +"Can that be the man's name?" I asked. + +--------------- + +The chief of the Sret leaned over him. + +"It is not he. Mon. Andermatt is a thin man, and slightly grey." + +"But why this card?" + +"Have you a telephone, monsieur?" + +"Yes, in the vestibule. Come with me." + +He looked in the directory, and then asked for number 415.21. + +"Is Mon. Andermatt at home?....Please tell him that Mon. Dudouis +wished him to come at once to 102 Boulevard Maillot. Very +important." + +Twenty minutes later, Mon. Andermatt arrived in his automobile. +After the circumstances had been explained to him, he was taken in +to see the corpse. He displayed considerable emotion, and spoke, +in a low tone, and apparently unwillingly: + +"Etienne Varin," he said. + +"You know him?" + +"No....or, at least, yes....by sight only. His brother...." + +"Ah! he has a brother?" + +"Yes, Alfred Varin. He came to see me once on some matter of +business....I forget what it was." + +"Where does he live?" + +"The two brothers live together--rue de Provence, I think." + +"Do you know any reason why he should commit suicide?" + +"None." + +"He held a card in his hand. It was your card with your address." + +"I do not understand that. It must have been there by some chance +that will be disclosed by the investigation." + +A very strange chance, I thought; and I felt that the others +entertained the same impression. + +I discovered the same impression in the papers next day, and +amongst all my friends with whom I discussed the affair. Amid the +mysteries that enveloped it, after the double discovery of the +seven of hearts pierced with seven holes, after the two inscrutable +events that had happened in my house, that visiting card promised +to throw some light on the affair. Through it, the truth may be +revealed. But, contrary to our expectations, Mon. Andermatt +furnished no explanation. He said: + +"I have told you all I know. What more can I do? I am greatly +surprised that my card should be found in such a place, and I +sincerely hope the point will be cleared up." + +It was not. The official investigation established that the Varin +brothers were of Swiss origin, had led a shifting life under +various names, frequenting gambling resorts, associating with a +band of foreigners who had been dispersed by the police after a +series of robberies in which their participation was established +only by their flight. At number 24 rue de Provence, where the +Varin brothers had lived six years before, no one knew what had +become of them. + +I confess that, for my part, the case seemed to me so complicated +and so mysterious that I did not think the problem would ever be +solved, so I concluded to waste no more time upon it. But Jean +Daspry, whom I frequently met at that period, became more and more +interested in it each day. It was he who pointed out to me that +item from a foreign newspaper which was reproduced and commented +upon by the entire press. It was as follows: + +"The first trial of a new model of submarine boat, which is +expected to revolutionize naval warfare, will be given in presence +of the former Emperor at a place that will be kept secret until the +last minute. An indiscretion has revealed its name; it is called +`The Seven-of-Hearts.'" + +The Seven-of-Hearts! That presented a new problem. Could a +connection be established between the name of the sub-marine and +the incidents which we have related? But a connection of what +nature? What had happened here could have no possible relation +with the sub-marine. + +"What do you know about it?" said Daspry to me. "The most diverse +effects often proceed from the same cause." + +Two days later, the following foreign news item was received and +published: + +"It is said that the plans of the new sub-marine `Seven-of-Hearts' +were prepared by French engineers, who, having sought, in vain, the +support of their compatriots, subsequently entered into +negotiations with the British Admiralty, without success." + +I do not wish to give undue publicity to certain delicate matters +which once provoked considerable excitement. Yet, since all danger +of injury therefrom has now come to an end, I must speak of the +article that appeared in the `Echo de France,' which aroused so +much comment at that time, and which threw considerable light upon +the mystery of the Seven-of-Hearts. This is the article as it was +published over the signature of Salvator: + + "THE AFFAIR OF THE SEVEN-OF-HEARTS. + + "A CORNER OF THE VEIL RAISED. + + "We will be brief. Ten years ago, a young mining engineer, Louis + Lacombe, wishing to devote his time and fortune to certain studies, + resigned his position he then held, and rented number 102 boulevard + Maillot, a small house that had been recently built and decorated + for an Italian count. Through the agency of the Varin brothers of + Lausanne, one of whom assisted in the preliminary experiments and + the other acted as financial agent, the young engineer was + introduced to Georges Andermatt, the founder of the Metal Exchange. + + "After several interviews, he succeeded in interesting the banker + in a sub-marine boat on which he was working, and it was agreed + that as soon as the invention was perfected, Mon. Andermatt would + use his influence with the Minister of Marine to obtain a series of + trials under the direction of the government. For two years, Louis + Lacombe was a frequent visitor at Andermatt's house, and he + submitted to the banker the various improvements he made upon his + original plans, until one day, being satisfied with the perfection + of his work, he asked Mon. Andermatt to communicate with the + Minister of Marine. That day, Louis Lacombe dined at Mon. + Andermatt's house. He left there about half-past eleven at night. + He has not been seen since. + + "A perusal of the newspapers of that date will show that the + young man's family caused every possible inquiry to be made, but + without success; and it was the general opinion that Louis Lacombe-- + who was known as an original and visionary youth--had quietly left + for parts unknown. + + "Let us accept that theory--improbable, though it be,--and let us + consider another question, which is a most important one for our + country: What has become of the plans of the sub-marine? Did Louis + Lacombe carry them away? Are they destroyed? + + "After making a thorough investigation, we are able to assert, + positively, that the plans are in existence, and are now in the + possession of the two brothers Varin. How did they acquire such a + possession? That is a question not yet determined; nor do we know + why they have not tried to sell them at an earlier date. Did they + fear that their title to them would be called in question? If so, + they have lost that fear, and we can announce definitely, that the + plans of Louis Lacombe are now the property of foreign power, and + we are in a position to publish the correspondence that passed + between the Varin brothers and the representative of that power. + The `Seven-of-Hearts' invented by Louis Lacombe has been actually + constructed by our neighbor. + + "Will the invention fulfill the optimistic expectations of those + who were concerned in that treacherous act?" + +And a post-script adds: + + "Later.--Our special correspondent informs us that the preliminary + trial of the `Seven-of-Hearts' has not been satisfactory. It is + quite likely that the plans sold and delivered by the Varin + brothers did not include the final document carried by Louis + Lacombe to Mon. Andermatt on the day of his disappearance, a + document that was indispensable to a thorough understanding of the + invention. It contained a summary of the final conclusions of the + inventor, and estimates and figures not contained in the other + papers. Without this document, the plans are incomplete; on the + other hand, without the plans, the document is worthless. + + "Now is the time to act and recover what belongs to us. It may + be a difficult matter, but we rely upon the assistance of Mon. + Andermatt. It will be to his interest to explain his conduct which + has hitherto been so strange and inscrutable. He will explain not + only why he concealed these facts at the time of the suicide of + Etienne Varin, but also why he has never revealed the disappearance + of the paper--a fact well known to him. He will tell why, during + the last six years, he paid spies to watch the movements of the + Varin brothers. We expect from him, not only words, but acts. And + at once. Otherwise---" + +The threat was plainly expressed. But of what did it consist? +What whip was Salvator, the anonymous writer of the article, +holding over the head of Mon. Andermatt? + +An army of reporters attacked the banker, and ten interviewers +announced the scornful manner in which they were treated. +Thereupon, the `Echo de France' announced its position in these +words: + +"Whether Mon. Andermatt is willing or not, he will be, henceforth, +our collaborator in the work we have undertaken." + +* * * * * + +Daspry and I were dining together on the day on which that +announcement appeared. That evening, with the newspapers spread +over my table, we discussed the affair and examined it from every +point of view with that exasperation that a person feels when +walking in the dark and finding himself constantly falling over the +same obstacles. Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the door +opened and a lady entered. Her face was hidden behind a thick +veil. I rose at once and approached her. + +"Is it you, monsieur, who lives here?" she asked. + +"Yes, madame, but I do not understand---" + +"The gate was not locked," she explained. + +"But the vestibule door?" + +She did not reply, and it occurred to me that she had used the +servants' entrance. How did she know the way? Then there was a +silence that was quite embarrassing. She looked at Daspry, and I +was obliged to introduce him. I asked her to be seated and explain +the object of her visit. She raised her veil, and I saw that she +was a brunette with regular features and, though not handsome, she +was attractive--principally, on account of her sad, dark eyes. + +"I am Madame Andermatt," she said. + +"Madame Andermatt!" I repeated, with astonishment. + +After a brief pause, she continued with a voice and manner that +were quite easy and natural: + +"I have come to see you about that affair--you know. I thought I +might be able to obtain some information---" + +"Mon Dieu, madame, I know nothing but what has already appeared in +the papers. But if you will point out in what way I can help you. ..." + +"I do not know....I do not know." + +Not until then did I suspect that her calm demeanor was assumed, +and that some poignant grief was concealed beneath that air of +tranquility. For a moment, we were silent and embarrassed. Then +Daspry stepped forward, and said: + +"Will you permit me to ask you a few questions?" + +"Yes, yes," she cried. "I will answer." + +"You will answer....whatever those questions may be?" + +"Yes." + +"Did you know Louis Lacombe?" he asked. + +"Yes, through my husband." + +"When did you see him for the last time?" + +"The evening he dined with us." + +"At that time, was there anything to lead you to believe that you +would never see him again?" + +"No. But he had spoken of a trip to Russia--in a vague way." + +"Then you expected to see him again?" + +"Yes. He was to dine with us, two days later." + +"How do you explain his disappearance?" + +"I cannot explain it." + +"And Mon. Andermatt?" + +"I do not know." + +"Yet the article published in the `Echo de France' indicates---" + +"Yes, that the Varin brothers had something to do with his +disappearance." + +"Is that your opinion?" + +"Yes." + +"On what do you base your opinion?" + +"When he left our house, Louis Lacombe carried a satchel containing +all the papers relating to his invention. Two days later, my +husband, in a conversation with one of the Varin brothers, learned +that the papers were in their possession." + +"And he did not denounce them?" + +"No." + +"Why not?" + +"Because there was something else in the satchel--something besides +the papers of Louis Lacombe." + +"What was it?" + +She hesitated; was on the point of speaking, but, finally, remained +silent. Daspry continued: + +"I presume that is why your husband has kept a close watch over +their movements instead of informing the police. He hoped to +recover the papers and, at the same time, that compromising article +which has enabled the two brothers to hold over him threats of +exposure and blackmail." + +"Over him, and over me." + +"Ah! over you, also?" + +"Over me, in particular." + +She uttered the last words in a hollow voice. Daspry observed it; +he paced to and fro for a moment, then, turning to her, asked: + +"Had you written to Louis Lacombe?" + +"Of course. My husband had business with him--" + +"Apart from those business letters, had you written to Louis +Lacombe....other letters? Excuse my insistence, but it is +absolutely necessary that I should know the truth. Did you write +other letters?" + +"Yes," she replied, blushing. + +"And those letters came into the possession of the Varin brothers?" + +"Yes." + +"Does Mon. Andermatt know it?" + +"He has not seen them, but Alfred Varin has told him of their +existence and threatened to publish them if my husband should take +any steps against him. My husband was afraid....of a scandal." + +"But he has tried to recover the letters?" + +"I think so; but I do not know. You see, after that last interview +with Alfred Varin, and after some harsh words between me and my +husband in which he called me to account--we live as strangers." + +"In that case, as you have nothing to lose, what do you fear?" + +"I may be indifferent to him now, but I am the woman that he has +loved, the one he would still love--oh! I am quite sure of that," +she murmured, in a fervent voice, "he would still love me if he had +not got hold of those cursed letters----" + +"What! Did he succeed?....But the two brothers still defied +him?" + +"Yes, and they boasted of having a secure hiding-place." + +"Well?" + +"I believe my husband discovered that hiding-place." + +"Well?" + +"I believe my husband has discovered that hiding-place." + +"Ah! where was it?" + +"Here." + +"Here!" I cried in alarm. + +"Yes. I always had that suspicion. Louis Lacombe was very +ingenious and amused himself in his leisure hours, by making safes +and locks. No doubt, the Varin brothers were aware of that fact +and utilized one of Lacombe's safes in which to conceal the +letters....and other things, perhaps." + +"But they did not live here," I said. + +"Before you came, four months ago, the house had been vacant for +some time. And they may have thought that your presence here would +not interfere with them when they wanted to get the papers. But +they did not count on my husband, who came here on the night of 22 +June, forced the safe, took what he was seeking, and left his card +to inform the two brothers that he feared them no more, and that +their positions were now reversed. Two days later, after reading +the article in the `Gil Blas,' Etienne Varin came here, remained +alone in this room, found the safe empty, and....killed +himself." + +After a moment, Daspry said: + +"A very simple theory....Has Mon. Andermatt spoken to you since +then?" + +"No." + +"Has his attitude toward you changed in any way? Does he appear +more gloomy, more anxious?" + +"No, I haven't noticed any change." + +"And yet you think he has secured the letters. Now, in my opinion, +he has not got those letters, and it was not he who came here on +the night of 22 June." + +"Who was it, then?" + +"The mysterious individual who is managing this affair, who holds +all the threads in his hands, and whose invisible but far-reaching +power we have felt from the beginning. It was he and his friends +who entered this house on 22 June; it was he who discovered the +hiding-place of the papers; it was he who left Mon. Andermatt's +card; it is he who now holds the correspondence and the evidence of +the treachery of the Varin brothers." + +"Who is he?" I asked, impatiently. + +"The man who writes letters to the `Echo de France'.... +Salvator! Have we not convincing evidence of that fact? Does he not +mention in his letters certain details that no one could know, +except the man who had thus discovered the secrets of the two +brothers?" + +"Well, then," stammered Madame Andermatt, in great alarm, "he has +my letters also, and it is he who now threatens my husband. Mon +Dieu! What am I to do?" + +"Write to him," declared Daspry. "Confide in him without reserve. +Tell him all you know and all you may hereafter learn. Your +interest and his interest are the same. He is not working against +Mon. Andermatt, but against Alfred Varin. Help him." + +"How?" + +"Has your husband the document that completes the plans of Louis +Lacombe?" + +"Yes." + +"Tell that to Salvator, and, if possible, procure the document for +him. Write to him at once. You risk nothing." + +The advice was bold, dangerous even at first sight, but Madame +Andermatt had no choice. Besides, as Daspry had said, she ran no +risk. If the unknown writer were an enemy, that step would not +aggravate the situation. If he were a stranger seeking to +accomplish a particular purpose, he would attach to those letters +only a secondary importance. Whatever might happen, it was the +only solution offered to her, and she, in her anxiety, was only too +glad to act on it. She thanked us effusively, and promised to keep +us informed. + +In fact, two days later, she sent us the following letter that she +had received from Salvator: + +"Have not found the letters, but I will get them. Rest easy. I am +watching everything. S." + +I looked at the letter. It was in the same handwriting as the note +I found in my book on the night of 22 June. + +Daspry was right. Salvator was, indeed, the originator of that +affair. + +* * * * * + +We were beginning to see a little light coming out of the darkness +that surrounded us, and an unexpected light was thrown on certain +points; but other points yet remained obscure--for instance, the +finding of the two seven-of-hearts. Perhaps I was unnecessarily +concerned about those two cards whose seven punctured spots had +appeared to me under such startling circumstances! Yet I could not +refrain from asking myself: What role will they play in the drama? +What importance do they bear? What conclusion must be drawn from +the fact that the submarine constructed from the plans of Louis +Lacombe bore the name of `Seven-of-Hearts'? + +Daspry gave little thought to the other two cards; he devoted all +his attention to another problem which he considered more urgent; +he was seeking the famous hiding-place. + +"And who knows," said he, "I may find the letters that Salvator did +not find--by inadvertence, perhaps. It is improbable that the Varin +brothers would have removed from a spot, which they deemed +inaccessible, the weapon which was so valuable to them." + +And he continued to search. In a short time, the large room held +no more secrets for him, so he extended his investigations to the +other rooms. He examined the interior and the exterior, the stones +of the foundation, the bricks in the walls; he raised the slates of +the roof. + +One day, he came with a pickaxe and a spade, gave me the spade, +kept the pickaxe, pointed to the adjacent vacant lots, and said: +"Come." + +I followed him, but I lacked his enthusiasm. He divided the vacant +land into several sections which he examined in turn. At last, in +a corner, at the angle formed by the walls of two neighboring +proprietors, a small pile of earth and gravel, covered with briers +and grass, attracted his attention. He attacked it. I was obliged +to help him. For an hour, under a hot sun, we labored without +success. I was discouraged, but Daspry urged me on. His ardor was +as strong as ever. + +At last, Daspry's pickaxe unearthed some bones--the remains of a +skeleton to which some scraps of clothing still hung. Suddenly, I +turned pale. I had discovered, sticking in the earth, a small +piece of iron cut in the form of a rectangle, on which I thought I +could see red spots. I stooped and picked it up. That little iron +plate was the exact size of a playing-card, and the red spots, made +with red lead, were arranged upon it in a manner similar to the +seven-of-hearts, and each spot was pierced with a round hole +similar to the perforations in the two playing cards. + +"Listen, Daspry, I have had enough of this. You can stay if it +interests you. But I am going." + +Was that simply the expression of my excited nerves? Or was it the +result of a laborious task executed under a burning sun? I know +that I trembled as I walked away, and that I went to bed, where I +remained forty-eight hours, restless and feverish, haunted by +skeletons that danced around me and threw their bleeding hearts at +my head. + +Daspry was faithful to me. He came to my house every day, and +remained three or four hours, which he spent in the large room, +ferreting, thumping, tapping. + +"The letters are here, in this room," he said, from time to time, +"they are here. I will stake my life on it." + +On the morning of the third day I arose--feeble yet, but cured. A +substantial breakfast cheered me up. But a letter that I received +that afternoon contributed, more than anything else, to my complete +recovery, and aroused in me a lively curiosity. This was the +letter: + + "Monsieur, + + "The drama, the first act of which transpired on the night of 22 + June, is now drawing to a close. Force of circumstances compel me + to bring the two principal actors in that drama face to face, and I + wish that meeting to take place in your house, if you will be so + kind as to give me the use of it for this evening from nine o'clock + to eleven. It will be advisable to give your servant leave of + absence for the evening, and, perhaps, you will be so kind as to + leave the field open to the two adversaries. You will remember + that when I visited your house on the night of 22 June, I took + excellent care of your property. I feel that I would do you an + injustice if I should doubt, for one moment, your absolute + discretion in this affair. Your devoted, + + "SALVATOR." + +I was amused at the facetious tone of his letter and also at the +whimsical nature of his request. There was a charming display of +confidence and candor in his language, and nothing in the world +could have induced me to deceive him or repay his confidence with +ingratitude. + +I gave my servant a theatre ticket, and he left the house at eight +o'clock. A few minutes later, Daspry arrived. I showed him the +letter. + +"Well?" said he. + +"Well, I have left the garden gate unlocked, so anyone can enter." + +"And you--are you going away?" + +"Not at all. I intend to stay right here." + +"But he asks you to go---" + +"But I am not going. I will be discreet, but I am resolved to see +what takes place." + +"Ma foi!" exclaimed Daspry, laughing, "you are right, and I shall +stay with you. I shouldn't like to miss it." + +We were interrupted by the sound of the door-bell. + +"Here already?" said Daspry, "twenty minutes ahead of time! +Incredible!" + +I went to the door and ushered in the visitor. It was Madame +Andermatt. She was faint and nervous, and in a stammering voice, +she ejaculated: + +"My husband....is coming....he has an appointment.... +they intend to give him the letters...." + +"How do you know?" I asked. + +"By chance. A message came for my husband while we were at dinner. +The servant gave it to me by mistake. My husband grabbed it +quickly, but he was too late. I had read it." + +"You read it?" + +"Yes. It was something like this: `At nine o'clock this evening, +be at Boulevard Maillot with the papers connected with the affair. +In exchange, the letters.' So, after dinner, I hastened here." + +"Unknown to your husband?" + +"Yes." + +"What do you think about it?" asked Daspry, turning to me. + +"I think as you do, that Mon. Andermatt is one of the invited +guests." + +"Yes, but for what purpose?" + +"That is what we are going to find out." + +I led the men to a large room. The three of us could hide +comfortably behind the velvet chimney-mantle, and observe all that +should happen in the room. We seated ourselves there, with Madame +Andermatt in the centre. + +The clock struck nine. A few minutes later, the garden gate +creaked upon its hinges. I confess that I was greatly agitated. I +was about to learn the key to the mystery. The startling events of +the last few weeks were about to be explained, and, under my eyes, +the last battle was going to be fought. Daspry seized the hand of +Madame Andermatt, and said to her: + +"Not a word, not a movement! Whatever you may see or hear, keep +quiet!" + +Some one entered. It was Alfred Varin. I recognized him at once, +owing to the close resemblance he bore to his brother Etienne. +There was the same slouching gait; the same cadaverous face covered +with a black beard. + +He entered with the nervous air of a man who is accustomed to fear +the presence of traps and ambushes; who scents and avoids them. He +glanced about the room, and I had the impression that the chimney, +masked with a velvet portiere, did not please him. He took three +steps in our direction, when something caused him to turn and walk +toward the old mosaic king, with the flowing beard and flamboyant +sword, which he examined minutely, mounting on a chair and +following with his fingers the outlines of the shoulders and head +and feeling certain parts of the face. Suddenly, he leaped from +the chair and walked away from it. He had heard the sound of +approaching footsteps. Mon. Andermatt appeared at the door. + +"You! You!" exclaimed the banker. "Was it you who brought me +here?" + +"I? By no means," protested Varin, in a rough, jerky voice that +reminded me of his brother, "on the contrary, it was your letter +that brought me here." + +"My letter?" + +"A letter signed by you, in which you offered---" + +"I never wrote to you," declared Mon. Andermatt. + +"You did not write to me!" + +Instinctively, Varin was put on his guard, not against the banker, +but against the unknown enemy who had drawn him into this trap. A +second time, he looked in our direction, then walked toward the +door. But Mon. Andermatt barred his passage. + +"Well, where are you going, Varin?" + +"There is something about this affair I don't like. I am going +home. Good evening." + +"One moment!" + +"No need of that, Mon. Andermatt. I have nothing to say to you." + +"But I have something to say to you, and this is a good time to say +it." + +"Let me pass." + +"No, you will not pass." + +Varin recoiled before the resolute attitude of the banker, as he +muttered: + +"Well, then, be quick about it." + +One thing astonished me; and I have no doubt my two companions +experienced a similar feeling. Why was Salvator not there? Was he +not a necessary party at this conference? Or was he satisfied to +let these two adversaries fight it out between themselves? At all +events, his absence was a great disappointment, although it did not +detract from the dramatic strength of the situation. + +After a moment, Mon. Andermatt approached Varin and, face to face, +eye to eye, said: + +"Now, after all these years and when you have nothing more to fear, +you can answer me candidly: What have you done with Louis Lacombe?" + +"What a question! AS if I knew anything about him!" + +"You do know! You and your brother were his constant companions, +almost lived with him in this very house. You knew all about his +plans and his work. And the last night I ever saw Louis Lacombe, +when I parted with him at my door, I saw two men slinking away in +the shadows of the trees. That, I am ready to swear to." + +"Well, what has that to do with me?" + +"The two men were you and your brother." + +"Prove it." + +"The best proof is that, two days later, you yourself showed me the +papers and the plans that belonged to Lacombe and offered to sell +them. How did these papers come into your possession?" + +"I have already told you, Mon. Andermatt, that we found them on +Louis Lacombe's table, the morning after his disappearance." + +"That is a lie!" + +"Prove it." + +"The law will prove it." + +"Why did you not appeal to the law?" + +"Why? Ah! Why---," stammered the banker, with a slight display of +emotion. + +"You know very well, Mon. Andermatt, if you had the least certainty +of our guilt, our little threat would not have stopped you." + +"What threat? Those letters? Do you suppose I ever gave those +letters a moment's thought?" + +"If you did not care for the letters, why did you offer me +thousands of francs for their return? And why did you have my +brother and me tracked like wild beasts?" + +"To recover the plans." + +"Nonsense! You wanted the letters. You knew that as soon as you +had the letters in your possession, you could denounce us. Oh! no, +I couldn't part with them!" + +He laughed heartily, but stopped suddenly, and said: + +"But, enough of this! We are merely going over old ground. We +make no headway. We had better let things stand as they are." + +"We will not let them stand as they are," said the banker, "and +since you have referred to the letters, let me tell you that you +will not leave this house until you deliver up those letters." + +"I shall go when I please." + +"You will not." + +"Be careful, Mon. Andermatt. I warn you---" + +"I say, you shall not go." + +"We will see about that," cried Varin, in such a rage that Madame +Andermatt could not suppress a cry of fear. Varin must have heard +it, for he now tried to force his way out. Mon. Andermatt pushed +him back. Then I saw him put his hand into his coat pocket. + +"For the last time, let me pass," he cried. + +"The letters, first!" + +Varin drew a revolver and, pointing it at Mon. Andermatt, said: + +"Yes or no?" + +The banker stooped quickly. There was the sound of a pistol-shot. +The weapon fell from Varin's hand. I was amazed. The shot was +fired close to me. It was Daspry who had fired it at Varin, +causing him to drop the revolver. In a moment, Daspry was standing +between the two men, facing Varin; he said to him, with a sneer: + +"You were lucky, my friend, very lucky. I fired at your hand and +struck only the revolver." + +Both of them looked at him, surprised. Then he turned to the +banker, and said: + +"I beg your pardon, monsieur, for meddling in your business; but, +really, you play a very poor game. Let me hold the cards." + +Turning again to Varin, Daspry said: + +"It's between us two, comrade, and play fair, if you please. +Hearts are trumps, and I play the seven." + +Then Daspry held up, before Varin's bewildered eyes, the little +iron plate, marked with the seven red spots. It was a terrible +shock to Varin. With livid features, staring eyes, and an air of +intense agony, the man seemed to be hypnotized at the sight of it. + +"Who are you?" he gasped. + +"One who meddles in other people's business, down to the very +bottom." + +"What do you want?" + +"What you brought here tonight." + +"I brought nothing." + +"Yes, you did, or you wouldn't have come. This morning, you +received an invitation to come here at nine o'clock, and bring with +you all the papers held by you. You are here. Where are the +papers?" + +There was in Daspry's voice and manner a tone of authority that I +did not understand; his manner was usually quite mild and +conciliatory. Absolutely conquered, Varin placed his hand on one +of his pockets, and said: + +"The papers are here." + +"All of them?" + +"Yes." + +"All that you took from Louis Lacombe and afterwards sold to Major +von Lieben?" + +"Yes." + +"Are these the copies or the originals?" + +"I have the originals." + +"How much do you want for them?" + +"One hundred thousand francs." + +"You are crazy," said Daspry. "Why, the major gave you only twenty +thousand, and that was like money thrown into the sea, as the boat +was a failure at the preliminary trials." + +"They didn't understand the plans." + +"The plans are not complete." + +"Then, why do you ask me for them?" + +"Because I want them. I offer you five thousand francs--not a sou +more." + +"Ten thousand. Not a sou less." + +"Agreed," said Daspry, who now turned to Mon. Andermatt, and said: + +"Monsieur will kindly sign a check for the amount." + +"But....I haven't got---" + +"Your check-book? Here it is." + +Astounded, Mon. Andermatt examined the check-book that Daspry +handed to him. + +"It is mine," he gasped. "How does that happen?" + +"No idle words, monsieur, if you please. You have merely to sign." + +The banker took out his fountain pen, filled out the check and +signed it. Varin held out his hand for it. + +"Put down your hand," said Daspry, "there is something more." +Then, to the banker, he said: "You asked for some letters, did you +not?" + +"Yes, a package of letters." + +"Where are they, Varin?" + +"I haven't got them." + +"Where are they, Varin?" + +"I don't know. My brother had charge of them." + +"They are hidden in this room." + +"In that case, you know where they are." + +"How should I know?" + +"Was it not you who found the hiding-place? You appear to be as +well informed....as Salvator." + +"The letters are not in the hiding-place." + +"They are." + +"Open it." + +Varin looked at him, defiantly. Were not Daspry and Salvator the +same person? Everything pointed to that conclusion. If so, Varin +risked nothing in disclosing a hiding-place already known. + +"Open it," repeated Daspry. + +"I have not got the seven of hearts." + +"Yes, here it is," said Daspry, handing him the iron plate. Varin +recoiled in terror, and cried: + +"No, no, I will not." + +"Never mind," replied Daspry, as he walked toward the bearded king, +climbed on a chair and applied the seven of hearts to the lower +part of the sword in such a manner that the edges of the iron plate +coincided exactly with the two edges of the sword. Then, with the +assistance of an awl which he introduced alternately into each of +the seven holes, he pressed upon seven of the little mosaic stones. +As he pressed upon the seventh one, a clicking sound was heard, and +the entire bust of the King turned upon a pivot, disclosing a large +opening lined with steel. It was really a fire-proof safe. + +"You can see, Varin, the safe is empty." + +"So I see. Then, my brother has taken out the letters." + +Daspry stepped down from the chair, approached Varin, and said: + +"Now, no more nonsense with me. There is another hiding-place. +Where is it?" + +"There is none." + +"Is it money you want? How much?" + +"Ten thousand." + +"Monsieur Andermatt, are those letters worth then thousand francs +to you?" + +"Yes," said the banker, firmly. + +Varin closed the safe, took the seven of hearts and placed it again +on the sword at the same spot. He thrust the awl into each of the +seven holes. There was the same clicking sound, but this time, +strange to relate, it was only a portion of the safe that revolved +on the pivot, disclosing quite a small safe that was built within +the door of the larger one. The packet of letters was here, tied +with a tape, and sealed. Varin handed the packet to Daspry. The +latter turned to the banker, and asked: + +"Is the check ready, Monsieur Andermatt?" + +"Yes." + +"And you have also the last document that you received from Louis +Lacombe--the one that completes the plans of the sub-marine?" + +"Yes." + +The exchange was made. Daspry pocketed the document and the +checks, and offered the packet of letters to Mon. Andermatt. + +"This is what you wanted, Monsieur." + +The banker hesitated a moment, as if he were afraid to touch those +cursed letters that he had sought so eagerly. Then, with a nervous +movement, he took them. Close to me, I heard a moan. I grasped +Madame Andermatt's hand. It was cold. + +"I believe, monsieur," said Daspry to the banker, "that our +business is ended. Oh! no thanks. It was only by a mere chance +that I have been able to do you a good turn. Good-night." + +Mon. Andermatt retired. He carried with him the letters written by +his wife to Louis Lacombe. + +"Marvelous!" exclaimed Daspry, delighted. "Everything is coming +our way. Now, we have only to close our little affair, comrade. +You have the papers?" + +"Here they are--all of them." + +Daspry examined them carefully, and then placed them in his pocket. + +"Quite right. You have kept your word," he said. + +"But---" + +"But what?" + +"The two checks? The money?" said Varin, eagerly. + +"Well, you have a great deal of assurance, my man. How dare you +ask such a thing?" + +"I ask only what is due to me." + +"Can you ask pay for returning papers that you stole? Well, I +think not!" + +Varin was beside himself. He trembled with rage; his eyes were +bloodshot. + +"The money....the twenty thousand...." he stammered. + +"Impossible! I need it myself." + +"The money!" + +"Come, be reasonable, and don't get excited. It won't do you any +good." + +Daspry seized his arm so forcibly, that Varin uttered a cry of +pain. Daspry continued: + +"Now, you can go. The air will do you good. Perhaps you want me +to show you the way. Ah! yes, we will go together to the vacant lot +near here, and I will show you a little mound of earth and stones +and under it---" + +"That is false! That is false!" + +"Oh! no, it is true. That little iron plate with the seven spots +on it came from there. Louis Lacombe always carried it, and you +buried it with the body--and with some other things that will prove +very interesting to a judge and jury." + +Varin covered his face with his hands, and muttered: + +"All right, I am beaten. Say no more. But I want to ask you one +question. I should like to know---" + +"What is it?" + +"Was there a little casket in the large safe?" + +"Yes." + +"Was it there on the night of 22 June?" + +"Yes." + +"What did it contain?" + +"Everything that the Varin brothers had put in it--a very pretty +collection of diamonds and pearls picked up here and there by the +said brothers." + +"And did you take it?" + +"Of course I did. Do you blame me?" + +"I understand....it was the disappearance of that casket that +caused my brother to kill himself." + +"Probably. The disappearance of your correspondence was not a +sufficient motive. But the disappearance of the casket....Is +that all you wish to ask me?" + +"One thing more: your name?" + +"You ask that with an idea of seeking revenge." + +"Parbleu! The tables may be turned. Today, you are on top. +To-morrow---" + +"It will be you." + +"I hope so. Your name?" + +"Arsne Lupin." + +"Arsne Lupin!" + +The man staggered, as though stunned by a heavy blow. Those two +words had deprived him of all hope. + +Daspry laughed, and said: + +"Ah! did you imagine that a Monsieur Durand or Dupont could manage +an affair like this? No, it required the skill and cunning of +Arsne Lupin. And now that you have my name, go and prepare your +revenge. Arsne Lupin will wait for you." + +Then he pushed the bewildered Varin through the door. + +"Daspry! Daspry!" I cried, pushing aside the curtain. He ran to +me. + +"What? What's the matter?" + +"Madame Andermatt is ill." + +He hastened to her, caused her to inhale some salts, and, while +caring for her, questioned me: + +"Well, what did it?" + +"The letters of Louis Lacombe that you gave to her husband." + +He struck his forehead and said: + +"Did she think that I could do such a thing!...But, of course +she would. Imbecile that I am!" + +Madame Andermatt was now revived. Daspry took from his pocket a +small package exactly similar to the one that Mon. Andermatt had +carried away. + +"Here are your letters, Madame. These are the genuine letters." + +"But....the others?" + +"The others are the same, rewritten by me and carefully worded. +Your husband will not find anything objectionable in them, and will +never suspect the substitution since they were taken from the safe +in his presence." + +"But the handwriting---" + +"There is no handwriting that cannot be imitated." + +She thanked him in the same words she might have used to a man in +her own social circle, so I concluded that she had not witnessed +the final scene between Varin and Arsne Lupin. But the surprising +revelation caused me considerable embarrassment. Lupin! My club +companion was none other than Arsne Lupin. I could not realize +it. But he said, quite at his ease: + +"You can say farewell to Jean Daspry." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, Jean Daspry is going on a long journey. I shall send him to +Morocco. There, he may find a death worthy of him. I may say that +that is his expectation." + +"But Arsne Lupin will remain?" + +"Oh! Decidedly. Arsne Lupin is simply at the threshold of his +career, and he expects---" + +I was impelled by curiosity to interrupt him, and, leading him away +from the hearing of Madame Andermatt, I asked: + +"Did you discover the smaller safe yourself--the one that held the +letters?" + +"Yes, after a great deal of trouble. I found it yesterday +afternoon while you were asleep. And yet, God knows it was simple +enough! But the simplest things are the ones that usually escape +our notice." Then, showing me the seven-of-hearts, he added: "Of +course I had guessed that, in order to open the larger safe, this +card must be placed on the sword of the mosaic king." + +"How did you guess that?" + +"Quite easily. Through private information, I knew that fact when +I came here on the evening of 22 June---" + +"After you left me---" + +"Yes, after turning the subject of our conversation to stories of +crime and robbery which were sure to reduce you to such a nervous +condition that you would not leave your bed, but would allow me to +complete my search uninterrupted." + +"The scheme worked perfectly." + +"Well, I knew when I came here that there was a casket concealed in +a safe with a secret lock, and that the seven-of-hearts was the key +to that lock. I had merely to place the card upon the spot that +was obviously intended for it. An hour's examination showed me +where the spot was." + +"One hour!" + +"Observe the fellow in mosaic." + +"The old emperor?" + +"That old emperor is an exact representation of the king of hearts +on all playing cards." + +"That's right. But how does the seven of hearts open the larger +safe at one time and the smaller safe at another time? And why did +you open only the larger safe in the first instance? I mean on the +night of 22 June." + +"Why? Because I always placed the seven of hearts in the same way. +I never changed the position. But, yesterday, I observed that by +reversing the card, by turning it upside down, the arrangement of +the seven spots on the mosaic was changed." + +"Parbleu!" + +"Of course, parbleu! But a person has to think of those things." + +"There is something else: you did not know the history of those +letters until Madame Andermatt---" + +"Spoke of them before me? No. Because I found in the safe, besides +the casket, nothing but the correspondence of the two brothers +which disclosed their treachery in regard to the plans." + +"Then it was by chance that you were led, first, to investigate the +history of the two brothers, and then to search for the plans and +documents relating to the sub-marine?" + +"Simply by chance." + +"For what purpose did you make the search?" + +"Mon Dieu!" exclaimed Daspry, laughing, "how deeply interested you +are!" + +"The subject fascinates me." + +"Very well, presently, after I have escorted Madame Andermatt to a +carriage, and dispatched a short story to the `Echo de France,' I +will return and tell you all about it." + +He sat down and wrote one of those short, clear-cut articles which +served to amuse and mystify the public. Who does not recall the +sensation that followed that article produced throughout the entire +world? + +"Arsne Lupin has solved the problem recently submitted by +Salvator. Having acquired possession of all the documents and +original plans of the engineer Louis Lacombe, he has placed them in +the hands of the Minister of Marine, and he has headed a +subscription list for the purpose of presenting to the nation the +first submarine constructed from those plans. His subscription is +twenty thousand francs." + +"Twenty thousand francs! The checks of Mon. Andermatt?" I +exclaimed, when he had given me the paper to read. + +"Exactly. It was quite right that Varin should redeem his +treachery." + +* * * * * + +And that is how I made the acquaintance of Arsne Lupin. That is +how I learned that Jean Daspry, a member of my club, was none other +than Arsne Lupin, gentleman-thief. That is how I formed very +agreeable ties of friendship with that famous man, and, thanks to +the confidence with which he honored me, how I became his very +humble and faithful historiographer. + + + +VII. MADAME IMBERT'S SAFE + + +At three o'clock in the morning, there were still half a dozen +carriages in front of one of those small houses which form only the +side of the boulevard Berthier. The door of that house opened, and +a number of guests, male and female, emerged. The majority of them +entered their carriages and were quickly driven away, leaving +behind only two men who walked down Courcelles, where they parted, +as one of them lived in that street. The other decided to return +on foot as far as the Porte-Maillot. It was a beautiful winter's +night, clear and cold; a night on which a brisk walk is agreeable +and refreshing. + +But, at the end of a few minutes, he had the disagreeable +impression that he was being followed. Turning around, he saw a +man sulking amongst the trees. He was not a coward; yet he felt it +advisable to increase his speed. Then his pursuer commenced to +run; and he deemed it prudent to draw his revolver and face him. +But he had no time. The man rushed at him and attacked him +violently. Immediately, they were engaged in a desperate struggle, +wherein he felt that his unknown assailant had the advantage. He +called for help, struggled, and was thrown down on a pile of +gravel, seized by the throat, and gagged with a handkerchief that +his assailant forced into his mouth. His eyes closed, and the man +who was smothering him with his weight arose to defend himself +against an unexpected attack. A blow from a cane and a kick from a +boot; the man uttered two cries of pain, and fled, limping and +cursing. Without deigning to pursue the fugitive, the new arrival +stooped over the prostrate man and inquired: + +"Are you hurt, monsieur?" + +He was not injured, but he was dazed and unable to stand. His +rescuer procured a carriage, placed him in it, and accompanied him +to his house on the avenue de la Grande-Arme. On his arrival +there, quite recovered, he overwhelmed his saviour with thanks. + +"I owe you my life, monsieur, and I shall not forget it. I do not +wish to alarm my wife at this time of night, but, to-morrow, she +will be pleased to thank you personally. Come and breakfast with +us. My name is Ludovic Imbert. May I ask yours?" + +"Certainly, monsieur." + +And he handed Mon. Imbert a card bearing the name: "Arsne Lupin." + +* * * * * + +At that time, Arsne Lupin did not enjoy the celebrity which the +Cahorn affair, his escape from the Prison de la Sant, and other +brilliant exploits, afterwards gained for him. He had not even +used the name of Arsne Lupin. The name was specially invented to +designate the rescuer of Mon. Imbert; that is to say, it was in +that affair that Arsne Lupin was baptized. Fully armed and ready +for the fray, it is true, but lacking the resources and authority +which command success, Arsne Lupin was then merely an apprentice +in a profession wherein he soon became a master. + +With what a thrill of joy he recalled the invitation he received +that night! At last, he had reached his goal! At last, he had +undertaken a task worthy of his strength and skill! The Imbert +millions! What a magnificent feast for an appetite like his! + +He prepared a special toilet for the occasion; a shabby frock-coat, +baggy trousers, a frayed silk hat, well-worn collar and cuffs, all +quite correct in form, but bearing the unmistakable stamp of +poverty. His cravat was a black ribbon pinned with a false +diamond. Thus accoutred, he descended the stairs of the house in +which he lived at Montmartre. At the third floor, without +stopping, he rapped on a closed door with the head of his cane. He +walked to the exterior boulevards. A tram-car was passing. He +boarded it, and some one who had been following him took a seat +beside him. It was the lodger who occupied the room on the third +floor. A moment later, this man said to Lupin: + +"Well, governor?" + +"Well, it is all fixed." + +"How?" + +"I am going there to breakfast." + +"You breakfast--there!" + +"Certainly. Why not? I rescued Mon. Ludovic Imbert from certain +death at your hands. Mon. Imbert is not devoid of gratitude. He +invited me to breakfast." + +There was a brief silence. Then the other said: + +"But you are not going to throw up the scheme?" + +"My dear boy," said Lupin, "When I arranged that little case of +assault and battery, when I took the trouble at three o'clock in the +morning, to rap you with my cane and tap you with my boot at the +risk of injuring my only friend, it was not my intention to forego +the advantages to be gained from a rescue so well arranged and +executed. Oh! no, not at all." + +"But the strange rumors we hear about their fortune?" + +"Never mind about that. For six months, I have worked on this +affair, investigated it, studied it, questioned the servants, the +money-lenders and men of straw; for six months, I have shadowed the +husband and wife. Consequently, I know what I am talking about. +Whether the fortune came to them from old Brawford, as they +pretend, or from some other source, I do not care. I know that it +is a reality; that it exists. And some day it will be mine." + +"Bigre! One hundred millions!" + +"Let us say ten, or even five--that is enough! They have a safe +full of bonds, and there will be the devil to pay if I can't get my +hands on them." + +The tram-car stopped at the Place de l'Etoile. The man whispered +to Lupin: + +"What am I to do now?" + +"Nothing, at present. You will hear from me. There is no hurry." + +Five minutes later, Arsne Lupin was ascending the magnificent +flight of stairs in the Imbert mansion, and Mon. Imbert introduced +him to his wife. Madame Gervaise Imbert was a short plump woman, +and very talkative. She gave Lupin a cordial welcome. + +"I desired that we should be alone to entertain our saviour," she +said. + +From the outset, they treated "our saviour" as an old and valued +friend. By the time dessert was served, their friendship was well +cemented, and private confidences were being exchanged. Arsne +related the story of his life, the life of his father as a +magistrate, the sorrows of his childhood, and his present +difficulties. Gervaise, in turn, spoke of her youth, her marriage, +the kindness of the aged Brawford, the hundred millions that she +had inherited, the obstacles that prevented her from obtaining the +enjoyment of her inheritance, the moneys she had been obliged to +borrow at an exorbitant rate of interest, her endless contentions +with Brawford's nephews, and the litigation! the injunctions! in +fact, everything! + +"Just think of it, Monsieur Lupin, the bonds are there, in my +husband's office, and if we detach a single coupon, we lose +everything! They are there, in our safe, and we dare not touch +them." + +Monsieur Lupin shivered at the bare idea of his proximity to so +much wealth. Yet he felt quite certain that Monsieur Lupin would +never suffer from the same difficulty as his fair hostess who +declared she dare not touch the money. + +"Ah! they are there!" he repeated, to himself; "they are there!" + +A friendship formed under such circumstances soon led to closer +relations. When discreetly questioned, Arsne Lupin confessed his +poverty and distress. Immediately, the unfortunate young man was +appointed private secretary to the Imberts, husband and wife, at a +salary of one hundred francs a month. He was to come to the house +every day and receive orders for his work, and a room on the second +floor was set apart as his office. This room was directly over +Mon. Imbert's office. + +Arsne soon realized that his position as secretary was essentially +a sinecure. During the first two months, he had only four +important letters to recopy, and was called only once to Mon. +Imbert's office; consequently, he had only one opportunity to +contemplate, officially, the Imbert safe. Moreover, he noticed +that the secretary was not invited to the social functions of the +employer. But he did not complain, as he preferred to remain, +modestly, in the shade and maintain his peace and freedom. + +However, he was not wasting any time. From the beginning, he made +clandestine visits to Mon. Imbert's office, and paid his respects +to the safe, which was hermetically closed. It was an immense +block of iron and steel, cold and stern in appearance, which could +not be forced open by the ordinary tools of the burglar's trade. +But Arsne Lupin was not discouraged. + +"Where force fails, cunning prevails," he said to himself. "The +essential thing is to be on the spot when the opportunity occurs. +In the meantime, I must watch and wait." + +He made immediately some preliminary preparations. After careful +soundings made upon the floor of his room, he introduced a lead +pipe which penetrated the ceiling of Mon. Imbert's office at a +point between the two screeds of the cornice. By means of this +pipe, he hoped to see and hear what transpired in the room below. + +Henceforth, he passed his days stretched at full length upon the +floor. He frequently saw the Imberts holding a consultation in +front of the safe, investigating books and papers. When they +turned the combination lock, he tried to learn the figures and the +number of turns they made to the right and left. He watched their +movements; he sought to catch their words. There was also a key +necessary to complete the opening of the safe. What did they do +with it? Did they hide it? + +One day, he saw them leave the room without locking the safe. He +descended the stairs quickly, and boldly entered the room. But +they had returned. + +"Oh! excuse me," said, "I made a mistake in the door." + +"Come in, Monsieur Lupin, come in," cried Madame Imbert, "are you +not at home here? We want your advice. What bonds should we sell? +The foreign securities or the government annuities?" + +"But the injunction?" said Lupin, with surprise. + +"Oh! it doesn't cover all the bonds." + +She opened the door of the safe and withdrew a package of bonds. +But her husband protested. + +"No, no, Gervaise, it would be foolish to sell the foreign bonds. +They are going up, whilst the annuities are as high as they ever +will be. What do you think, my dear friend?" + +The dear friend had no opinion; yet he advised the sacrifice of the +annuities. Then she withdrew another package and, from it, she +took a paper at random. It proved to be a three-per-cent annuity +worth two thousand francs. Ludovic placed the package of bonds in +his pocket. That afternoon, accompanied by his secretary, he sold +the annuities to a stock-broker and realized forty-six thousand +francs. + +Whatever Madame Imbert might have said about it, Arsne Lupin did +not feel at home in the Imbert house. On the contrary, his +position there was a peculiar one. He learned that the servants +did not even know his name. They called him "monsieur." Ludovic +always spoke of him in the same way: "You will tell monsieur. Has +monsieur arrived?" Why that mysterious appellation? + +Moreover, after their first outburst of enthusiasm, the Imberts +seldom spoke to him, and, although treating him with the +consideration due to a benefactor, they gave him little or no +attention. They appeared to regard him as an eccentric character +who did not like to be disturbed, and they respected his isolation +as if it were a stringent rule on his part. On one occasion, while +passing through the vestibule, he heard Madame Imbert say to the +two gentlemen: + +"He is such a barbarian!" + +"Very well," he said to himself, "I am a barbarian." + +And, without seeking to solve the question of their strange +conduct, he proceeded with the execution of his own plans. He had +decided that he could not depend on chance, nor on the negligence +of Madame Imbert, who carried the key of the safe, and who, on +locking the safe, invariably scattered the letters forming the +combination of the lock. Consequently, he must act for himself. + +Finally, an incident precipitated matters; it was the vehement +campaign instituted against the Imberts by certain newspapers that +accused the Imberts of swindling. Arsne Lupin was present at +certain family conferences when this new vicissitude was discussed. +He decided that if he waited much longer, he would lose everything. +During the next five days, instead of leaving the house about six +o'clock, according to his usual habit, he locked himself in his +room. It was supposed that he had gone out. But he was lying on +the floor surveying the office of Mon. Imbert. During those five +evenings, the favorable opportunity that he awaited did not take +place. He left the house about midnight by a side door to which he +held the key. + +But on the sixth day, he learned that the Imberts, actuated by the +malevolent insinuations of their enemies, proposed to make an +inventory of the contents of the safe. + +"They will do it to-night," thought Lupin. + +And truly, after dinner, Imbert and his wife retired to the office +and commenced to examine the books of account and the securities +contained in the safe. Thus, one hour after another passed away. +He heard the servants go upstairs to their rooms. No one now +remained on the first floor. Midnight! The Imberts were still at +work. + +"I must get to work," murmured Lupin. + +He opened his window. It opened on a court. Outside, everything +was dark and quiet. He took from his desk a knotted rope, fastened +it to the balcony in front of his window, and quietly descended as +far as the window below, which was that of the of Imbert's office. +He stood upon the balcony for a moment, motionless, with attentive +ear and watchful eye, but the heavy curtains effectually concealed +the interior of the room. He cautiously pushed on the double +window. If no one had examined it, it ought to yield to the +slightest pressure, for, during the afternoon, he had so fixed the +bolt that it would not enter the staple. + +The window yielded to his touch. Then, with infinite care, he +pushed it open sufficiently to admit his head. He parted the +curtains a few inches, looked in, and saw Mon. Imbert and his wife +sitting in front of the safe, deeply absorbed in their work and +speaking softly to each other at rare intervals. + +He calculated the distance between him and them, considered the +exact movements he would require to make in order to overcome them, +one after the other, before they could call for help, and he was +about to rush upon them, when Madame Imbert said: + +"Ah! the room is getting quite cold. I am going to bed. And you, +my dear?" + +"I shall stay and finish." + +"Finish! Why, that will take you all night." + +"Not at all. An hour, at the most." + +She retired. Twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed. Arsne pushed +the window a little farther open. The curtains shook. He pushed +once more. Mon. Imbert turned, and, seeing the curtains blown by +the wind, he rose to close the window. + +There was not a cry, not the trace of struggle. With a few precise +moments, and without causing him the least injury, Arsne stunned +him, wrapped the curtain about his head, bound him hand and foot, +and did it all in such a manner that Mon. Imbert had no opportunity +to recognize his assailant. + +Quickly, he approached the safe, seized two packages that he placed +under his arm, left the office, and opened the servants' gate. A +carriage was stationed in the street. + +"Take that, first--and follow me," he said to the coachman. He +returned to the office, and, in two trips, they emptied the safe. +Then Arsne went to his own room, removed the rope, and all other +traces of his clandestine work. + +A few hours later, Arsne Lupin and his assistant examined the +stolen goods. Lupin was not disappointed, as he had foreseen that +the wealth of the Imberts had been greatly exaggerated. It did not +consist of hundreds of millions, nor even tens of millions. Yet it +amounted to a very respectable sum, and Lupin expressed his +satisfaction. + +"Of course," he said, "there will be a considerable loss when we +come to sell the bonds, as we will have to dispose of them +surreptitiously at reduced prices. In the meantime, they will rest +quietly in my desk awaiting a propitious moment." + +Arsne saw no reason why he should not go to the Imbert house the +next day. But a perusal of the morning papers revealed this +startling fact: Ludovic and Gervaise Imbert had disappeared. + +When the officers of the law seized the safe and opened it, they +found there what Arsne Lupin had left--nothing. + +* * * * * + +Such are the facts; and I learned the sequel to them, one day, when +Arsne Lupin was in a confidential mood. He was pacing to and fro +in my room, with a nervous step and a feverish eye that were +unusual to him. + +"After all," I said to him, "it was your most successful venture." + +Without making a direct reply, he said: + +"There are some impenetrable secrets connected with that affair; +some obscure points that escape my comprehension. For instance: +What caused their flight? Why did they not take advantage of the +help I unconsciously gave them? It would have been so simple to +say: `The hundred millions were in the safe. They are no longer +there, because they have been stolen.'" + +"They lost their nerve." + +"Yes, that is it--they lost their nerve...On the other hand, it +is true---" + +"What is true?" + +"Oh! nothing." + +What was the meaning of Lupin's reticence? It was quite obvious +that he had not told me everything; there was something he was +loath to tell. His conduct puzzled me. It must indeed be a very +serious matter to cause such a man as Arsne Lupin even a momentary +hesitation. I threw out a few questions at random. + +"Have you seen them since?" + +"No." + +"And have you never experienced the slightest degree of pity for +those unfortunate people?" + +"I!" he exclaimed, with a start. + +His sudden excitement astonished me. Had I touched him on a sore +spot? I continued: + +"Of course. If you had not left them alone, they might have been +able to face the danger, or, at least, made their escape with full +pockets." + +"What do you mean?" he said, indignantly. "I suppose you have an +idea that my soul should be filled with remorse?" + +"Call it remorse or regrets--anything you like---" + +"They are not worth it." + +"Have you no regrets or remorse for having stolen their fortune?" + +"What fortune?" + +"The packages of bonds you took from their safe." + +"Oh! I stole their bonds, did I? I deprived them of a portion of +their wealth? Is that my crime? Ah! my dear boy, you do not know +the truth. You never imagined that those bonds were not worth the +paper they were written on. Those bonds were false--they were +counterfeit--every one of them--do you understand? THEY WERE +COUNTERFEIT!" + +I looked at him, astounded. + +"Counterfeit! The four or five millions?" + +"Yes, counterfeit!" he exclaimed, in a fit of rage. "Only so many +scraps of paper! I couldn't raise a sou on the whole of them! And +you ask me if I have any remorse. THEY are the ones who should +have remorse and pity. They played me for a simpleton; and I fell +into their trap. I was their latest victim, their most stupid +gull!" + +He was affected by genuine anger--the result of malice and wounded +pride. He continued: + +"From start to finish, I got the worst of it. Do you know the part +I played in that affair, or rather the part they made me play? +That of Andr Brawford! Yes, my boy, that is the truth, and I +never suspected it. It was not until afterwards, on reading the +newspapers, that the light finally dawned in my stupid brain. +Whilst I was posing as his "saviour," as the gentleman who had +risked his life to rescue Mon. Imbert from the clutches of an +assassin, they were passing me off as Brawford. Wasn't that +splendid? That eccentric individual who had a room on the second +floor, that barbarian that was exhibited only at a distance, was +Brawford, and Brawford was I! Thanks to me, and to the confidence +that I inspired under the name of Brawford, they were enabled to +borrow money from the bankers and other money-lenders. Ha! what an +experience for a novice! And I swear to you that I shall profit by +the lesson!" + +He stopped, seized my arm, and said to me, in a tone of +exasperation: + +"My dear fellow, at this very moment, Gervaise Imbert owes me +fifteen hundred francs." + +I could not refrain from laughter, his rage was so grotesque. He +was making a mountain out of a molehill. In a moment, he laughed +himself, and said: + +"Yes, my boy, fifteen hundred francs. You must know that I had not +received one sou of my promised salary, and, more than that, she +had borrowed from me the sum of fifteen hundred francs. All my +youthful savings! And do you know why? To devote the money to +charity! I am giving you a straight story. She wanted it for some +poor people she was assisting--unknown to her husband. And my hard- +earned money was wormed out of me by that silly pretense! Isn't it +amusing, hein? Arsne Lupin done out of fifteen hundred francs by +the fair lady from whom he stole four millions in counterfeit +bonds! And what a vast amount of time and patience and cunning I +expended to achieve that result! It was the first time in my life +that I was played for a fool, and I frankly confess that I was +fooled that time to the queen's taste!" + + + +VIII. THE BLACK PEARL + + +A violent ringing of the bell awakened the concierge of number +nine, avenue Hoche. She pulled the doorstring, grumbling: + +"I thought everybody was in. It must be three o'clock!" + +"Perhaps it is some one for the doctor," muttered her husband. + +"Third floor, left. But the doctor won't go out at night." + +"He must go to-night." + +The visitor entered the vestibule, ascended to the first floor, the +second, the third, and, without stopping at the doctor's door, he +continued to the fifth floor. There, he tried two keys. One of +them fitted the lock. + +"Ah! good!" he murmured, "that simplifies the business wonderfully. +But before I commence work I had better arrange for my retreat. +Let me see....have I had sufficient time to rouse the doctor +and be dismissed by him? Not yet....a few minutes more." + +At the end of ten minutes, he descended the stairs, grumbling +noisily about the doctor. The concierge opened the door for him +and heard it click behind him. But the door did not lock, as the +man had quickly inserted a piece of iron in the lock in such a +manner that the bolt could not enter. Then, quietly, he entered +the house again, unknown to the concierge. In case of alarm, his +retreat was assured. Noiselessly, he ascended to the fifth floor +once more. In the antechamber, by the light of his electric +lantern, he placed his hat and overcoat on one of the chairs, took +a seat on another, and covered his heavy shoes with felt slippers. + +"Ouf! Here I am--and how simple it was! I wonder why more people do +not adopt the profitable and pleasant occupation of burglar. With +a little care and reflection, it becomes a most delightful +profession. Not too quiet and monotonous, of course, as it would +then become wearisome." + +He unfolded a detailed plan of the apartment. + +"Let me commence by locating myself. Here, I see the vestibule in +which I am sitting. On the street front, the drawing-room, the +boudoir and dining-room. Useless to waste any time there, as it +appears that the countess has a deplorable taste....not a +bibelot of any value!...Now, let's get down to business!... +Ah! here is a corridor; it must lead to the bed chambers. At a +distance of three metres, I should come to the door of the +wardrobe-closet which connects with the chamber of the countess." +He folded his plan, extinguished his lantern, and proceeded down +the corridor, counting his distance, thus: + +"One metre....two metres....three metres....Here is +the door....Mon Dieu, how easy it is! Only a small, simple bolt +now separates me from the chamber, and I know that the bolt is +located exactly one metre, forty-three centimeters, from the floor. +So that, thanks to a small incision I am about to make, I can soon +get rid of the bolt." + +He drew from his pocket the necessary instruments. Then the +following idea occurred to him: + +"Suppose, by chance, the door is not bolted. I will try it first." + +He turned the knob, and the door opened. + +"My brave Lupin, surely fortune favors you....What's to be +done now? You know the situation of the rooms; you know the place +in which the countess hides the black pearl. Therefore, in order +to secure the black pearl, you have simply to be more silent than +silence, more invisible than darkness itself." + +Arsne Lupin was employed fully a half-hour in opening the second +door--a glass door that led to the countess' bedchamber. But he +accomplished it with so much skill and precaution, that even had +had the countess been awake, she would not have heard the slightest +sound. According to the plan of the rooms, that he holds, he has +merely to pass around a reclining chair and, beyond that, a small +table close to the bed. On the table, there was a box of letter- +paper, and the black pearl was concealed in that box. He stooped +and crept cautiously over the carpet, following the outlines of the +reclining-chair. When he reached the extremity of it, he stopped +in order to repress the throbbing of his heart. Although he was +not moved by any sense of fear, he found it impossible to overcome +the nervous anxiety that one usually feels in the midst of profound +silence. That circumstance astonished him, because he had passed +through many more solemn moments without the slightest trace of +emotion. No danger threatened him. Then why did his heart throb +like an alarm-bell? Was it that sleeping woman who affected him? +Was it the proximity of another pulsating heart? + +He listened, and thought he could discern the rhythmical breathing +of a person asleep. It gave him confidence, like the presence of a +friend. He sought and found the armchair; then, by slow, cautious +movements, advanced toward the table, feeling ahead of him with +outstretched arm. His right had touched one of the feet of the +table. Ah! now, he had simply to rise, take the pearl, and escape. +That was fortunate, as his heart was leaping in his breast like a +wild beast, and made so much noise that he feared it would waken +the countess. By a powerful effort of the will, he subdued the +wild throbbing of his heart, and was about to rise from the floor +when his left hand encountered, lying on the floor, an object which +he recognized as a candlestick--an overturned candlestick. A moment +later, his hand encountered another object: a clock--one of those +small traveling clocks, covered with leather. + +------- + +Well! What had happened? He could not understand. That +candlestick, that clock; why were those articles not in their +accustomed places? Ah! what had happened in the dread silence of +the night? + +Suddenly a cry escaped him. He had touched--oh! some strange, +unutterable thing! "No! no!" he thought, "it cannot be. It is +some fantasy of my excited brain." For twenty seconds, thirty +seconds, he remained motionless, terrified, his forehead bathed +with perspiration, and his fingers still retained the sensation of +that dreadful contact. + +Making a desperate effort, he ventured to extend his arm again. +Once more, his hand encountered that strange, unutterable thing. +He felt it. He must feel it and find out what it is. He found +that it was hair, human hair, and a human face; and that face was +cold, almost icy. + +However frightful the circumstances may be, a man like Arsne Lupin +controls himself and commands the situation as soon as he learns +what it is. So, Arsne Lupin quickly brought his lantern into use. +A woman was lying before him, covered with blood. Her neck and +shoulders were covered with gaping wounds. He leaned over her and +made a closer examination. She was dead. + +"Dead! Dead!" he repeated, with a bewildered air. + +He stared at those fixed eyes, that grim mouth, that livid flesh, +and that blood--all that blood which had flowed over the carpet and +congealed there in thick, black spots. He arose and turned on the +electric lights. Then he beheld all the marks of a desperate +struggle. The bed was in a state of great disorder. On the +floor, the candlestick, and the clock, with the hands pointing to +twenty minutes after eleven; then, further away, an overturned +chair; and, everywhere, there was blood, spots of blood and pools +of blood. + +"And the black pearl?" he murmured. + +The box of letter-paper was in its place. He opened it, eagerly. +The jewel-case was there, but it was empty. + +"Fichtre!" he muttered. "You boasted of your good fortune much too +soon, my friend Lupin. With the countess lying cold and dead, and +the black pearl vanished, the situation is anything but pleasant. +Get out of here as soon as you can, or you may get into serious +trouble." + +Yet, he did not move. + +"Get out of here? Yes, of course. Any person would, except Arsne +Lupin. He has something better to do. Now, to proceed in an +orderly way. At all events, you have a clear conscience. Let us +suppose that you are the commissary of police and that you are +proceeding to make an inquiry concerning this affair----Yes, but +in order to do that, I require a clearer brain. Mine is muddled +like a ragout." + +He tumbled into an armchair, with his clenched hands pressed +against his burning forehead. + +* * * * * + +The murder of the avenue Hoche is one of those which have recently +surprised and puzzled the Parisian public, and, certainly, I should +never have mentioned the affair if the veil of mystery had not been +removed by Arsne Lupin himself. No one knew the exact truth of +the case. + +Who did not know--from having met her in the Bois--the fair Lotine +Zalti, the once-famous cantatrice, wife and widow of the Count +d'Andillot; the Zalti, whose luxury dazzled all Paris some twenty +years ago; the Zalti who acquired an European reputation for the +magnificence of her diamonds and pearls? It was said that she wore +upon her shoulders the capital of several banking houses and the +gold mines of numerous Australian companies. Skilful jewelers +worked for Zalti as they had formerly wrought for kings and queens. +And who does not remember the catastrophe in which all that wealth +was swallowed up? Of all that marvelous collection, nothing +remained except the famous black pearl. The black pearl! That is +to say a fortune, if she had wished to part with it. + +But she preferred to keep it, to live in a commonplace apartment +with her companion, her cook, and a man-servant, rather than sell +that inestimable jewel. There was a reason for it; a reason she +was not afraid to disclose: the black pearl was the gift of an +emperor! Almost ruined, and reduced to the most mediocre +existence, she remained faithful to the companion of her happy and +brilliant youth. The black pearl never left her possession. She +wore it during the day, and, at night, concealed it in a place +known to her alone. + +All these facts, being republished in the columns of the public +press, served to stimulate curiosity; and, strange to say, but +quite obvious to those who have the key to the mystery, the arrest +of the presumed assassin only complicated the question and +prolonged the excitement. Two days later, the newspapers published +the following item: + +"Information has reached us of the arrest of Victor Dangre, the +servant of the Countess d'Andillot. The evidence against him is +clear and convincing. On the silken sleeve of his liveried +waistcoat, which chief detective Dudouis found in his garret +between the mattresses of his bed, several spots of blood were +discovered. In addition, a cloth-covered button was missing from +that garment, and this button was found beneath the bed of the +victim. + +"It is supposed that, after dinner, in place of going to his own +room, Dangre slipped into the wardrobe-closet, and, through the +glass door, had seen the countess hide the precious black pearl. +This is simply a theory, as yet unverified by any evidence. There +is, also, another obscure point. At seven o'clock in the morning, +Dangre went to the tobacco-shop on the Boulevard de Courcelles; +the concierge and the shop-keeper both affirm this fact. On the +other hand, the countess' companion and cook, who sleep at the end +of the hall, both declare that, when they arose at eight o'clock, +the door of the antechamber and the door of the kitchen were +locked. These two persons have been in the service of the countess +for twenty years, and are above suspicion. The question is: How +did Dangre leave the apartment? Did he have another key? These +are matters that the police will investigate." + +As a matter of fact, the police investigation threw no light on the +mystery. It was learned that Victor Dangre was a dangerous +criminal, a drunkard and a debauchee. But, as they proceeded with +the investigation, the mystery deepened and new complications +arose. In the first place, a young woman, Mlle. De Sinclves, the +cousin and sole heiress of the countess, declared that the +countess, a month before her death, had written a letter to her and +in it described the manner in which the black pearl was concealed. +The letter disappeared the day after she received it. Who had +stolen it? + +Again, the concierge related how she had opened the door for a +person who had inquired for Doctor Harel. On being questioned, the +doctor testified that no one had rung his bell. Then who was that +person? And accomplice? + +The theory of an accomplice was thereupon adopted by the press and +public, and also by Ganimard, the famous detective. + +"Lupin is at the bottom of this affair," he said to the judge. + +"Bah!" exclaimed the judge, "you have Lupin on the brain. You see +him everywhere." + +"I see him everywhere, because he is everywhere." + +"Say rather that you see him every time you encounter something you +cannot explain. Besides, you overlook the fact that the crime was +committed at twenty minutes past eleven in the evening, as is shown +by the clock, while the nocturnal visit, mentioned by the +concierge, occurred at three o'clock in the morning." + +Officers of the law frequently form a hasty conviction as to the +guilt of a suspected person, and then distort all subsequent +discoveries to conform to their established theory. The deplorable +antecedents of Victor Dangre, habitual criminal, drunkard and +rake, influenced the judge, and despite the fact that nothing new +was discovered in corroboration of the early clues, his official +opinion remained firm and unshaken. He closed his investigation, +and, a few weeks later, the trial commenced. It proved to be slow +and tedious. The judge was listless, and the public prosecutor +presented the case in a careless manner. Under those circumstances, +Dangre's counsel had an easy task. He pointed out the defects and +inconsistencies of the case for the prosecution, and argued that the +evidence was quite insufficient to convict the accused. Who had made +the key, the indispensable key without which Dangre, on leaving the +apartment, could not have locked the door behind him? Who had ever +seen such a key, and what had become of it? Who had seen the +assassin's knife, and where is it now? + +"In any event," argued the prisoner's counsel, "the prosecution +must prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the prisoner +committed the murder. The prosecution must show that the +mysterious individual who entered the house at three o'clock in the +morning is not the guilty party. To be sure, the clock indicated +eleven o'clock. But what of that? I contend, that proves nothing. +The assassin could turn the hands of the clock to any hour he +pleased, and thus deceive us in regard to the exact hour of the +crime." + +Victor Dangre was acquitted. + +He left the prison on Friday about dusk in the evening, weak and +depressed by his six months' imprisonment. The inquisition, the +solitude, the trial, the deliberations of the jury, combined to +fill him with a nervous fear. At night, he had been afflicted with +terrible nightmares and haunted by weird visions of the scaffold. +He was a mental and physical wreck. + +Under the assumed name of Anatole Dufour, he rented a small room on +the heights of Montmartre, and lived by doing odd jobs wherever he +could find them. He led a pitiful existence. Three times, he +obtained regular employment, only to be recognized and then +discharged. Sometimes, he had an idea that men were following him-- +detectives, no doubt, who were seeking to trap and denounce him. +He could almost feel the strong hand of the law clutching him by +the collar. + +One evening, as he was eating his dinner at a neighboring +restaurant, a man entered and took a seat at the same table. He +was a person about forty years of age, and wore a frock-coat of +doubtful cleanliness. He ordered soup, vegetables, and a bottle of +wine. After he had finished his soup, he turned his eyes on +Dangre, and gazed at him intently. Dangre winced. He was +certain that this was one of the men who had been following him for +several weeks. What did he want? Dangre tried to rise, but +failed. His limbs refused to support him. The man poured himself +a glass of wine, and then filled Dangre's glass. The man raised +his glass, and said: + +"To your health, Victor Dangre." + +Victor started in alarm, and stammered: + +"I!....I!....no, no....I swear to you...." + +"You will swear what? That you are not yourself? The servant of +the countess?" + +"What servant? My name is Dufour. Ask the proprietor." + +"Yes, Anatole Dufour to the proprietor of this restaurant, but +Victor Dangre to the officers of the law." + +"That's not true! Some one has lied to you." + +The new-comer took a card from his pocket and handed it to Victor, +who read on it: "Grimaudan, ex-inspector of the detective force. +Private business transacted." Victor shuddered as he said: + +"You are connected with the police?" + +"No, not now, but I have a liking for the business and I continue +to work at it in a manner more--profitable. From time to time I +strike upon a golden opportunity--such as your case presents." + +"My case?" + +"Yes, yours. I assure you it is a most promising affair, provided +you are inclined to be reasonable." + +"But if I am not reasonable?" + +"Oh! my good fellow, you are not in a position to refuse me +anything I may ask." + +"What is it....you want?" stammered Victor, fearfully. + +"Well, I will inform you in a few words. I am sent by Mademoiselle +de Sinclves, the heiress of the Countess d'Andillot." + +"What for?" + +"To recover the black pearl." + +"Black pearl?" + +"That you stole." + +"But I haven't got it." + +"You have it." + +"If I had, then I would be the assassin." + +"You are the assassin." + +Dangre showed a forced smile. + +"Fortunately for me, monsieur, the Assizecourt was not of your +opinion. The jury returned an unanimous verdict of acquittal. And +when a man has a clear conscience and twelve good men in his favor--" + +The ex-inspector seized him by the arm and said: + +"No fine phrases, my boy. Now, listen to me and weigh my words +carefully. You will find they are worthy of your consideration. +Now, Dangre, three weeks before the murder, you abstracted the +cook's key to the servants' door, and had a duplicate key made by a +locksmith named Outard, 244 rue Oberkampf." + +"It's a lie--it's a lie!" growled Victor. "No person has seen that +key. There is no such key." + +"Here it is." + +After a silence, Grimaudan continued: + +"You killed the countess with a knife purchased by you at the Bazar +de la Republique on the same day as you ordered the duplicate key. +It has a triangular blade with a groove running from end to end." + +"That is all nonsense. You are simply guessing at something you +don't know. No one ever saw the knife." + +"Here it is." + +Victor Dangre recoiled. The ex-inspector continued: + +"There are some spots of rust upon it. Shall I tell you how they +came there?" + +"Well!....you have a key and a knife. Who can prove that they +belong to me?" + +"The locksmith, and the clerk from whom you bought the knife. I +have already refreshed their memories, and, when you confront them, +they cannot fail to recognize you." + +His speech was dry and hard, with a tone of firmness and precision. +Dangre was trembling with fear, and yet he struggled desperately +to maintain an air of indifference. + +"Is that all the evidence you have?" + +"Oh! no, not at all. I have plenty more. For instance, after the +crime, you went out the same way you had entered. But, in the +centre of the wardrobe-room, being seized by some sudden fear, you +leaned against the wall for support." + +"How do you know that? No one could know such a thing," argued the +desperate man. + +"The police know nothing about it, of course. They never think of +lighting a candle and examining the walls. But if they had done +so, they would have found on the white plaster a faint red spot, +quite distinct, however, to trace in it the imprint of your thumb +which you had pressed against the wall while it was wet with blood. +Now, as you are well aware, under the Bertillon system, thumb-marks +are one of the principal means of identification." + +Victor Dangre was livid; great drops of perspiration rolled down +his face and fell upon the table. He gazed, with a wild look, at +the strange man who had narrated the story of his crime as +faithfully as if he had been an invisible witness to it. Overcome +and powerless, Victor bowed his head. He felt that it was useless +to struggle against this marvelous man. So he said: + +"How much will you give me, if I give you the pearl?" + +"Nothing." + +"Oh! you are joking! Or do you mean that I should give you an +article worth thousands and hundreds of thousands and get nothing +in return?" + +"You will get your life. Is that nothing?" + +The unfortunate man shuddered. Then Grimaudan added, in a milder +tone: + +"Come, Dangre, that pearl has no value in your hands. It is quite +impossible for you to sell it; so what is the use of your keeping +it?" + +"There are pawnbrokers....and, some day, I will be able to get +something for it." + +"But that day may be too late." + +"Why?" + +"Because by that time you may be in the hands of the police, and, +with the evidence that I can furnish--the knife, the key, the thumb- +mark--what will become of you?" + +Victor rested his head on his hands and reflected. He felt that he +was lost, irremediably lost, and, at the same time, a sense of +weariness and depression overcame him. He murmured, faintly: + +"When must I give it to you?" + +"To-night---within an hour." + +"If I refuse?" + +"If you refuse, I shall post this letter to the Procureur of the +Republic; in which letter Mademoiselle de Sinclves denounces you +as the assassin." + +Dangre poured out two glasses of wine which he drank in rapid +succession, then, rising, said: + +"Pay the bill, and let us go. I have had enough of the cursed +affair." + +Night had fallen. The two men walked down the rue Lepic and +followed the exterior boulevards in the direction of the Place de +l'Etoile. They pursued their way in silence; Victor had a stooping +carriage and a dejected face. When they reached the Parc Monceau, +he said: + +"We are near the house." + +"Parbleu! You only left the house once, before your arrest, and +that was to go to the tobacco-shop." + +"Here it is," said Dangre, in a dull voice. + +They passed along the garden wall of the countess' house, and +crossed a street on a corner of which stood the tobacco-shop. A +few steps further on, Dangre stopped; his limbs shook beneath him, +and he sank to a bench. + +"Well! what now?" demanded his companion. + +"It is there." + +"Where? Come, now, no nonsense!" + +"There--in front of us." + +"Where?" + +"Between two paving-stones." + +"Which?" + +"Look for it." + +"Which stones?" + +Victor made no reply. + +"Ah; I see!" exclaimed Grimaudan, "you want me to pay for the +information." + +"No....but....I am afraid I will starve to death." + +"So! that is why you hesitate. Well, I'll not be hard on you. How +much do you want?" + +"Enough to buy a steerage pass to America." + +"All right." + +"And a hundred francs to keep me until I get work there." + +"You shall have two hundred. Now, speak." + +"Count the paving-stones to the right from the sewer-hole. The +pearl is between the twelfth and thirteenth." + +"In the gutter?" + +"Yes, close to the sidewalk." + +Grimaudan glanced around to see if anyone were looking. Some tram- +cars and pedestrians were passing. But, bah, they will not suspect +anything. He opened his pocketknife and thrust it between the +twelfth and thirteenth stones. + +"And if it is not there?" he said to Victor. + +"It must be there, unless someone saw me stoop down and hide it." + +Could it be possible that the back pearl had been cast into the mud +and filth of the gutter to be picked up by the first comer? The +black pearl--a fortune! + +"How far down?" he asked. + +"About ten centimetres." + +He dug up the wet earth. The point of his knife struck something. +He enlarged the hole with his finger. Then he abstracted the black +pearl from its filthy hiding-place. + +"Good! Here are your two hundred francs. I will send you the +ticket for America." + +On the following day, this article was published in the `Echo de +France,' and was copied by the leading newspapers throughout the +world: + + "Yesterday, the famous black pearl came into the possession of + Arsne Lupin, who recovered it from the murderer of the Countess + d'Andillot. In a short time, fac-similes of that precious jewel + will be exhibited in London, St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayres + and New York. + + "Arsne Lupin will be pleased to consider all propositions + submitted to him through his agents." + +* * * * * + +"And that is how crime is always punished and virtue rewarded," +said Arsne Lupin, after he had told me the foregoing history of +the black pearl. + +"And that is how you, under the assumed name of Grimaudan, +ex-inspector of detectives, were chosen by fate to deprive the +criminal of the benefit of his crime." + +"Exactly. And I confess that the affair gives me infinite +satisfaction and pride. The forty minutes that I passed in the +apartment of the Countess d'Andillot, after learning of her death, +were the most thrilling and absorbing moments of my life. In those +forty minutes, involved as I was in a most dangerous plight, I +calmly studied the scene of the murder and reached the conclusion +that the crime must have been committed by one of the house +servants. I also decided that, in order to get the pearl, that +servant must be arrested, and so I left the wainscoat button; it +was necessary, also, for me to hold some convincing evidence of his +guilt, so I carried away the knife which I found upon the floor, +and the key which I found in the lock. I closed and locked the +door, and erased the finger-marks from the plaster in the wardrobe- +closet. In my opinion, that was one of those flashes--" + +"Of genius," I said, interrupting. + +"Of genius, if you wish. But, I flatter myself, it would not have +occurred to the average mortal. To frame, instantly, the two +elements of the problem--an arrest and an acquittal; to make use of +the formidable machinery of the law to crush and humble my victim, +and reduce him to a condition in which, when free, he would be +certain to fall into the trap I was laying for him!" + +"Poor devil--" + +"Poor devil, do you say? Victor Dangre, the assassin! He might +have descended to the lowest depths of vice and crime, if he had +retained the black pearl. Now, he lives! Think of that: Victor +Dangre is alive!" + +"And you have the black pearl." + +He took it out of one of the secret pockets of his wallet, examined +it, gazed at it tenderly, and caressed it with loving fingers, and +sighed, as he said: + +"What cold Russian prince, what vain and foolish rajah may some day +possess this priceless treasure! Or, perhaps, some American +millionaire is destined to become the owner of this morsel of +exquisite beauty that once adorned the fair bosom of Leontine +Zalti, the Countess d'Andillot." + + + +IX. SHERLOCK HOLMES ARRIVES TOO LATE + + +"It is really remarkable, Velmont, what a close resemblance you bear +to Arsne Lupin!" + +"How do you know?" + +"Oh! like everyone else, from photographs, no two of which are +alike, but each of them leaves the impression of a face.... +something like yours." + +Horace Velmont displayed some vexation. + +"Quite so, my dear Devanne. And, believe me, you are not the first +one who has noticed it." + +"It is so striking," persisted Devanne, "that if you had not been +recommended to me by my cousin d'Estevan, and if you were not the +celebrated artist whose beautiful marine views I so admire, I have +no doubt I should have warned the police of your presence in +Dieppe." + +This sally was greeted with an outburst of laughter. The large +dining-hall of the Chteau de Thibermesnil contained on this +occasion, besides Valmont, the following guests: Father Glis, the +parish priest, and a dozen officers whose regiments were quartered +in the vicinity and who had accepted the invitation of the banker +Georges Devanne and his mother. One of the officers then remarked: + +"I understand that an exact description of Arsne Lupin has been +furnished to all the police along this coast since his daring +exploit on the Paris-Havre express." + +"I suppose so," said Devanne. "That was three months ago; and a +week later, I made the acquaintance of our friend Velmont at the +casino, and, since then, he has honored me with several visits--an +agreeable preamble to a more serious visit that he will pay me one +of these days--or, rather, one of these nights." + +This speech evoked another round of laughter, and the guests then +passed into the ancient "Hall of the Guards," a vast room with a +high ceiling, which occupied the entire lower part of the Tour +Guillaume--William's Tower--and wherein Georges Devanne had collected +the incomparable treasures which the lords of Thibermesnil had +accumulated through many centuries. It contained ancient chests, +credences, andirons and chandeliers. The stone walls were overhung +with magnificent tapestries. The deep embrasures of the four +windows were furnished with benches, and the Gothic windows were +composed of small panes of colored glass set in a leaden frame. +Between the door and the window to the left stood an immense +bookcase of Renaissance style, on the pediment of which, in letters +of gold, was the world "Thibermesnil," and, below it, the proud +family device: "Fais ce que veulx" (Do what thou wishest). When +the guests had lighted their cigars, Devanne resumed the +conversation. + +"And remember, Velmont, you have no time to lose; in fact, to-night +is the last chance you will have." + +"How so?" asked the painter, who appeared to regard the affair as a +joke. Devanne was about to reply, when his mother mentioned to him +to keep silent, but the excitement of the occasion and a desire to +interest his guests urged him to speak. + +"Bah!" he murmured. "I can tell it now. It won't do any harm." + +The guests drew closer, and he commenced to speak with the +satisfied air of a man who has an important announcement to make. + +"To-morrow afternoon at four o'clock, Sherlock Holmes, the famous +English detective, for whom such a thing as mystery does not exist; +Sherlock Holmes, the most remarkable solver of enigmas the world +has ever known, that marvelous man who would seem to be the +creation of a romantic novelist--Sherlock Holmes will be my guest!" + +Immediately, Devanne was the target of numerous eager questions. +"Is Sherlock Holmes really coming?" "Is it so serious as that?" +"Is Arsne Lupin really in this neighborhood?" + +"Arsne Lupin and his band are not far away. Besides the robbery of +the Baron Cahorn, he is credited with the thefts at Montigny, +Gruchet and Crasville." + +"Has he sent you a warning, as he did to Baron Cahorn?" + +"No," replied Devanne, "he can't work the same trick twice." + +"What then?" + +"I will show you." + +He rose, and pointing to a small empty space between the two +enormous folios on one of the shelves of the bookcase, he said: + +"There used to be a book there--a book of the sixteenth century +entitled `Chronique de Thibermesnil,' which contained the history +of the castle since its construction by Duke Rollo on the site of a +former feudal fortress. There were three engraved plates in the +book; one of which was a general view of the whole estate; another, +the plan of the buildings; and the third--I call your attention to +it, particularly--the third was the sketch of a subterranean +passage, an entrance to which is outside the first line of +ramparts, while the other end of the passage is here, in this very +room. Well, that book disappeared a month ago." + +"The deuce!" said Velmont, "that looks bad. But it doesn't seem to +be a sufficient reason for sending for Sherlock Holmes." + +"Certainly, that was not sufficient in itself, but another incident +happened that gives the disappearance of the book a special +significance. There was another copy of this book in the National +Library at Paris, and the two books differed in certain details +relating to the subterranean passage; for instance, each of them +contained drawings and annotations, not printed, but written in ink +and more or less effaced. I knew those facts, and I knew that the +exact location of the passage could be determined only by a +comparison of the two books. Now, the day after my book +disappeared, the book was called for in the National Library by a +reader who carried it away, and no one knows how the theft was +effected." + +The guests uttered many exclamations of surprise. + +"Certainly, the affair looks serious," said one. + +"Well, the police investigated the matter, and, as usual, +discovered no clue whatever." + +"They never do, when Arsne Lupin is concerned in it." + +"Exactly; and so I decided to ask the assistance of Sherlock +Holmes, who replied that he was ready and anxious to enter the +lists with Arsne Lupin." + +"What glory for Arsne Lupin!" said Velmont. "But if our national +thief, as they call him, has no evil designs on your castle, +Sherlock Holmes will have his trip in vain." + +"There are other things that will interest him, such as the +discovery of the subterranean passage." + +"But you told us that one end of the passage was outside the +ramparts and the other was in this very room!" + +"Yes, but in what part of the room? The line which represents the +passage on the charts ends here, with a small circle marked with +the letters `T.G.,' which no doubt stand for `Tour Guillaume.' But +the tower is round, and who can tell the exact spot at which the +passage touches the tower?" + +Devanne lighted a second cigar and poured himself a glass of +Benedictine. His guests pressed him with questions and he was +pleased to observe the interest that his remarks had created. The +he continued: + +"The secret is lost. No one knows it. The legend is to the effect +that the former lords of the castle transmitted the secret from +father to son on their deathbeds, until Geoffroy, the last of the +race, was beheaded during the Revolution in his nineteenth year." + +"That is over a century ago. Surely, someone has looked for it +since that time?" + +"Yes, but they failed to find it. After I purchased the castle, I +made a diligent search for it, but without success. You must +remember that this tower is surrounded by water and connected with +the castle only by a bridge; consequently, the passage must be +underneath the old moat. The plan that was in the book in the +National Library showed a series of stairs with a total of forty- +eight steps, which indicates a depth of more than ten meters. You +see, the mystery lies within the walls of this room, and yet I +dislike to tear them down." + +"Is there nothing to show where it is?" + +"Nothing." + +"Mon. Devanne, we should turn our attention to the two quotations," +suggested Father Glis. + +"Oh!" exclaimed Mon. Devanne, laughing, "our worthy father is fond +of reading memoirs and delving into the musty archives of the +castle. Everything relating to Thibermesnil interests him greatly. +But the quotations that he mentions only serve to complicate the +mystery. He has read somewhere that two kings of France have known +the key to the puzzle." + +"Two kings of France! Who were they?" + +"Henry the Fourth and Louis the Sixteenth. And the legend runs +like this: On the eve of the battle of Arques, Henry the Fourth +spent the night in this castle. At eleven o'clock in the evening, +Louise de Tancarville, the prettiest woman in Normandy, was brought +into the castle through the subterranean passage by Duke Edgard, +who, at the same time, informed the king of the secret passage. +Afterward, the king confided the secret to his minister Sully, who, +in turn, relates the story in his book, "Royales Economies d'Etat," +without making any comment upon it, but linking with it this +incomprehensible sentence: `Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, +the other eye will lead to God!'" + +After a brief silence, Velmont laughed and said: + +"Certainly, it doesn't throw a dazzling light upon the subject." + +"No; but Father Glis claims that Sully concealed the key to the +mystery in this strange sentence in order to keep the secret from +the secretaries to whom he dictated his memoirs." + +"That is an ingenious theory," said Velmont. + +"Yes, and it may be nothing more; I cannot see that it throws any +light on the mysterious riddle." + +"And was it also to receive the visit of a lady that Louis the +Sixteenth caused the passage to be opened?" + +"I don't know," said Mon. Devanne. "All I can say is that the king +stopped here one night in 1784, and that the famous Iron Casket +found in the Louvre contained a paper bearing these words in the +king's own writing: `Thibermesnil 3-4-11.'" + +Horace Velmont laughed heartily, and exclaimed: + +"At last! And now that we have the magic key, where is the man who +can fit it to the invisible lock?" + +"Laugh as much as you please, monsieur," said Father Glis, "but I +am confident the solution is contained in those two sentences, and +some day we will find a man able to interpret them." + +"Sherlock Holmes is the man," said Mon. Devanne, "unless Arsne +Lupin gets ahead of him. What is your opinion, Velmont?" + +Velmont arose, placed his hand on Devanne's shoulder, and declared: + +"I think that the information furnished by your book and the book +of the National Library was deficient in a very important detail +which you have now supplied. I thank you for it." + +"What is it?" + +"The missing key. Now that I have it, I can go to work at once," +said Velmont. + +"Of course; without losing a minute," said Devanne, smiling. + +"Not even a second!" replied Velmont. "To-night, before the +arrival of Sherlock Holmes, I must plunder your castle." + +"You have no time to lose. Oh! by the way, I can drive you over +this evening." + +"To Dieppe?" + +"Yes. I am going to meet Monsieur and Madame d'Androl and a young +lady of their acquaintance who are to arrive by the midnight +train." + +Then addressing the officers, Devanne added: + +"Gentlemen, I shall expect to see all of you at breakfast to- +morrow." + +The invitation was accepted. The company dispersed, and a few +moments later Devanne and Velmont were speeding toward Dieppe in an +automobile. Devanne dropped the artist in front of the Casino, and +proceeded to the railway station. At twelve o'clock his friends +alighted from the train. A half hour later the automobile was at +the entrance to the castle. At one o'clock, after a light supper, +they retired. The lights were extinguished, and the castle was +enveloped in the darkness and silence of the night. + +* * * * * + +The moon appeared through a rift in the clouds, and filled the +drawing-room with its bright white light. But only for a moment. +Then the moon again retired behind its ethereal draperies, and +darkness and silence reigned supreme. No sound could be heard, +save the monotonous ticking of the clock. It struck two, and then +continued its endless repetitions of the seconds. Then, three +o'clock. + +Suddenly, something clicked, like the opening and closing of a +signal-disc that warns the passing train. A thin stream of light +flashed to every corner of the room, like an arrow that leaves +behind it a trail of light. It shot forth from the central fluting +of a column that supported the pediment of the bookcase. It rested +for a moment on the panel opposite like a glittering circle of +burnished silver, then flashed in all directions like a guilty eye +that scrutinizes every shadow. It disappeared for a short time, +but burst forth again as a whole section of the bookcase revolved +on a picot and disclosed a large opening like a vault. + +A man entered, carrying an electric lantern. He was followed by a +second man, who carried a coil of rope and various tools. The +leader inspected the room, listened a moment, and said: + +"Call the others." + +Then eight men, stout fellows with resolute faces, entered the +room, and immediately commenced to remove the furnishings. Arsne +Lupin passed quickly from one piece of furniture to another, +examined each, and, according to its size or artistic value, he +directed his men to take it or leave it. If ordered to be taken, +it was carried to the gaping mouth of the tunnel, and ruthlessly +thrust into the bowels of the earth. Such was the fate of six +armchairs, six small Louis XV chairs, a quantity of Aubusson +tapestries, some candelabra, paintings by Fragonard and Nattier, a +bust by Houdon, and some statuettes. Sometimes, Lupin would linger +before a beautiful chest or a superb picture, and sigh: + +"That is too heavy....too large....what a pity!" + +In forty minutes the room was dismantled; and it had been +accomplished in such an orderly manner and with as little noise as +if the various articles had been packed and wadded for the +occasion. + +Lupin said to the last man who departed by way of the tunnel: + +"You need not come back. You understand, that as soon as the auto- +van is loaded, you are to proceed to the grange at Roquefort." + +"But you, patron?" + +"Leave me the motor-cycle." + +When the man had disappeared, Arsne Lupin pushed the section of +the bookcase back into its place, carefully effaced the traces of +the men's footsteps, raised a portiere, and entered a gallery, +which was the only means of communication between the tower and the +castle. In the center of this gallery there was a glass cabinet +which had attracted Lupin's attentions. It contained a valuable +collection of watches, snuff-boxes, rings, chatelaines and +miniatures of rare and beautiful workmanship. He forced the lock +with a small jimmy, and experienced a great pleasure in handling +those gold and silver ornaments, those exquisite and delicate works +of art. + +He carried a large linen bag, specially prepared for the removal of +such knick-knacks. He filled it. Then he filled the pockets of +his coat, waistcoat and trousers. And he was just placing over his +left arm a number of pearl reticules when he heard a slight sound. +He listened. No, he was not deceived. The noise continued. Then +he remembered that, at one end of the gallery, there was a stairway +leading to an unoccupied apartment, but which was probably occupied +that night by the young lady whom Mon. Devanne had brought from +Dieppe with his other visitors. + +Immediately he extinguished his lantern, and had scarcely gained +the friendly shelter of a window-embrasure, when the door at the +top of the stairway was opened and a feeble light illuminated the +gallery. He could feel--for, concealed by a curtain, he could not +see--that a woman was cautiously descending the upper steps of the +stairs. He hoped she would come no closer. Yet, she continued to +descend, and even advanced some distance into the room. Then she +uttered a faint cry. No doubt she had discovered the broken and +dismantled cabinet. + +She advanced again. Now he could smell the perfume, and hear the +throbbing of her heart as she drew closer to the window where he +was concealed. She passed so close that her skirt brushed against +the window-curtain, and Lupin felt that she suspected the presence +of another, behind her, in the shadow, within reach of her hand. +He thought: "She is afraid. She will go away." But she did not +go. The candle, that she carried in her trembling hand, grew +brighter. She turned, hesitated a moment, appeared to listen, then +suddenly drew aside the curtain. + +They stood face to face. Arsne was astounded. He murmured, +involuntarily: + +"You--you--mademoiselle." + +It was Miss Nelly. Miss Nelly! his fellow passenger on the +transatlantic steamer, who had been the subject of his dreams on +that memorable voyage, who had been a witness to his arrest, and +who, rather than betray him, had dropped into the water the kodak +in which he had concealed the bank-notes and diamonds. Miss Nelly! +that charming creature, the memory of whose face had sometimes +sheered, sometimes saddened the long hours of imprisonment. + +It was such an unexpected encounter that brought them face to face +in that castle at that hour of the night, that they could not move, +nor utter a word; they were amazed, hypnotized, each at the sudden +apparition of the other. Trembling with emotion, Miss Nelly +staggered to a seat. He remained standing in front of her. + +Gradually, he realized the situation and conceived the impression +he must have produced at that moment with his arms laden with +knick-knacks, and his pockets and a linen sack overflowing with +plunder. He was overcome with confusion, and he actually blushed +to find himself in the position of a thief caught in the act. To +her, henceforth, he was a thief, a man who puts his hand in +another's pocket, who steals into houses and robs people while they +sleep. + +A watch fell upon the floor; then another. These were followed by +other articles which slipped from his grasp one by one. Then, +actuated by a sudden decision, he dropped the other articles into +an armchair, emptied his pockets and unpacked his sack. He felt +very uncomfortable in Nelly's presence, and stepped toward her with +the intention of speaking to her, but she shuddered, rose quickly +and fled toward the salon. The portiere closed behind her. He +followed her. She was standing trembling and amazed at the sight +of the devastated room. He said to her, at once: + +"To-morrow, at three o'clock, everything will be returned. The +furniture will be brought back." + +She made no reply, so he repeated: + +"I promise it. To-morrow, at three o'clock. Nothing in the world +could induce me to break that promise....To-morrow, at three +o'clock." + +Then followed a long silence that he dared not break, whilst the +agitation of the young girl caused him a feeling of genuine regret. +Quietly, without a word, he turned away, thinking: "I hope she will +go away. I can't endure her presence." But the young girl +suddenly spoke, and stammered: + +"Listen....footsteps....I hear someone...." + +He looked at her with astonishment. She seemed to be overwhelmed +by the thought of approaching peril. + +"I don't hear anything," he said. + +"But you must go--you must escape!" + +"Why should I go?" + +"Because--you must. Oh! do not remain here another minute. Go!" + +She ran, quickly, to the door leading to the gallery and listened. +No, there was no one there. Perhaps the noise was outside. She +waited a moment, then returned reassured. + +But Arsne Lupin had disappeared. + +* * * * * + +As soon as Mon. Devanne was informed of the pillage of his castle, +he said to himself: It was Velmont who did it, and Velmont is +Arsne Lupin. That theory explained everything, and there was no +other plausible explanation. And yet the idea seemed preposterous. +It was ridiculous to suppose that Velmont was anyone else than +Velmont, the famous artist, and club-fellow of his cousin +d'Estevan. So, when the captain of the gendarmes arrived to +investigate the affair, Devanne did not even think of mentioning +his absurd theory. + +Throughout the forenoon there was a lively commotion at the castle. +The gendarmes, the local police, the chief of police from Dieppe, +the villagers, all circulated to and fro in the halls, examining +every nook and corner that was open to their inspection. The +approach of the maneuvering troops, the rattling fire of the +musketry, added to the picturesque character of the scene. + +The preliminary search furnished no clue. Neither the doors nor +windows showed any signs of having been disturbed. Consequently, +the removal of the goods must have been effected by means of the +secret passage. Yet, there were no indications of footsteps on the +floor, nor any unusual marks upon the walls. + +Their investigations revealed, however, one curious fact that +denoted the whimsical character of Arsne Lupin: the famous +Chronique of the sixteenth century had been restored to its +accustomed place in the library and, beside it, there was a similar +book, which was none other than the volume stolen from the National +Library. + +At eleven o'clock the military officers arrived. Devanne welcomed +them with his usual gayety; for, no matter how much chagrin he +might suffer from the loss of his artistic treasures, his great +wealth enabled him to bear his loss philosophically. His guests, +Monsieur and Madame d'Androl and Miss Nelly, were introduced; and +it was then noticed that one of the expected guests had not +arrived. It was Horace Velmont. Would he come? His absence had +awakened the suspicions of Mon. Devanne. But at twelve o'clock he +arrived. Devanne exclaimed: + +"Ah! here you are!" + +"Why, am I not punctual?" asked Velmont. + +"Yes, and I am surprised that you are....after such a busy night! +I suppose you know the news?" + +"What news?" + +"You have robbed the castle." + +"Nonsense!" exclaimed Velmont, smiling. + +"Exactly as I predicted. But, first escort Miss Underdown to the +dining-room. Mademoiselle, allow me--" + +He stopped, as he remarked the extreme agitation of the young girl. +Then, recalling the incident, he said: + +"Ah! of course, you met Arsne Lupin on the steamer, before his +arrest, and you are astonished at the resemblance. Is that it?" + +She did not reply. Velmont stood before her, smiling. He bowed. +She took his proffered arm. He escorted her to her place, and took +his seat opposite her. During the breakfast, the conversation +related exclusively to Arsne Lupin, the stolen goods, the secret +passage, and Sherlock Holmes. It was only at the close of the +repast, when the conversation had drifted to other subjects, that +Velmont took any part in it. Then he was, by turns, amusing and +grave, talkative and pensive. And all his remarks seemed to be +directed to the young girl. But she, quite absorbed, did not +appear to hear them. + +Coffee was served on the terrace overlooking the court of honor and +the flower garden in front of the principal faade. The regimental +band played on the lawn, and scores of soldiers and peasants +wandered through the park. + +Miss Nelly had not forgotten, for one moment, Lupin's solemn +promise: "To-morrow, at three o'clock, everything will be +returned." + +At three o'clock! And the hands of the great clock in the right +wing of the castle now marked twenty minutes to three. In spite of +herself, her eyes wandered to the clock every minute. She also +watched Velmont, who was calmly swinging to and fro in a +comfortable rocking chair. + +Ten minutes to three!....Five minutes to three!....Nelly was +impatient and anxious. Was it possible that Arsne Lupin would +carry out his promise at the appointed hour, when the castle, the +courtyard, and the park were filled with people, and at the very +moment when the officers of the law were pursuing their +investigations? And yet....Arsne Lupin had given her his solemn +promise. "It will be exactly as he said," thought she, so deeply +was she impressed with the authority, energy and assurance of that +remarkable man. To her, it no longer assumed the form of a +miracle, but, on the contrary, a natural incident that must occur +in the ordinary course of events. She blushed, and turned her +head. + +Three o'clock! The great clock struck slowly: +one....two....three....Horace Velmont took out his watch, glanced +at the clock, then returned the watch to his pocket. A few seconds +passed in silence; and then the crowd in the courtyard parted to +give passage to two wagons, that had just entered the park-gate, +each drawn by two horses. They were army-wagons, such as are used +for the transportation of provisions, tents, and other necessary +military stores. They stopped in front of the main entrance, and a +commissary-sergeant leaped from one of the wagons and inquired for +Mon. Devanne. A moment later, that gentleman emerged from the +house, descended the steps, and, under the canvas covers of the +wagons, beheld his furniture, pictures and ornaments carefully +packaged and arranged. + +When questioned, the sergeant produced an order that he had +received from the officer of the day. By that order, the second +company of the fourth battalion were commanded to proceed to the +crossroads of Halleux in the forest of Arques, gather up the +furniture and other articles deposited there, and deliver same to +Monsieur Georges Devanne, owner of the Thibermesnil castle, at +three o'clock. Signed: Col. Beauvel. + +"At the crossroads," explained the sergeant, "we found everything +ready, lying on the grass, guarded by some passers-by. It seemed +very strange, but the order was imperative." + +One of the officers examined the signature. He declared it a +forgery; but a clever imitation. The wagons were unloaded, and the +goods restored to their proper places in the castle. + +During this commotion, Nelly had remained alone at the extreme end +of the terrace, absorbed by confused and distracted thoughts. +Suddenly, she observed Velmont approaching her. She would have +avoided him, but the balustrade that surrounded the terrace cut off +her retreat. She was cornered. She could not move. A gleam of +sunshine, passing through the scant foliage of a bamboo, lighted up +her beautiful golden hair. Some one spoke to her in a low voice: + +"Have I not kept my promise?" + +Arsne Lupin stood close to her. No one else was near. He +repeated, in a calm, soft voice: + +"Have I not kept my promise?" + +He expected a word of thanks, or at least some slight movement that +would betray her interest in the fulfillment of his promise. But +she remained silent. + +Her scornful attitude annoyed Arsne Lupin; and he realized the +vast distance that separated him from Miss Nelly, now that she had +learned the truth. He would gladly have justified himself in her +eyes, or at least pleaded extenuating circumstances, but he +perceived the absurdity and futility of such an attempt. Finally, +dominated by a surging flood of memories, he murmured: + +"Ah! how long ago that was! You remember the long hours on the +deck of the `Provence.' Then, you carried a rose in your hand, a +white rose like the one you carry to-day. I asked you for it. You +pretended you did not hear me. After you had gone away, I found +the rose--forgotten, no doubt--and I kept it." + +She made no reply. She seemed to be far away. He continued: + +"In memory of those happy hours, forget what you have learned +since. Separate the past from the present. Do not regard me as +the man you saw last night, but look at me, if only for a moment, +as you did in those far-off days when I was Bernard d'Andrezy, for +a short time. Will you, please?" + +She raised her eyes and looked at him as he had requested. Then, +without saying a word, she pointed to a ring he was wearing on his +forefinger. Only the ring was visible; but the setting, which was +turned toward the palm of his hand, consisted of a magnificent +ruby. Arsne Lupin blushed. The ring belonged to Georges Devanne. +He smiled bitterly, and said: + +"You are right. Nothing can be changed. Arsne Lupin is now and +always will be Arsne Lupin. To you, he cannot be even so much as +a memory. Pardon me....I should have known that any attention I +may now offer you is simply an insult. Forgive me." + +He stepped aside, hat in hand. Nelly passed before him. He was +inclined to detain her and beseech her forgiveness. But his +courage failed, and he contented himself by following her with his +eyes, as he had done when she descended the gangway to the pier at +New York. She mounted the steps leading to the door, and +disappeared within the house. He saw her no more. + +A cloud obscured the sun. Arsne Lupin stood watching the imprints +of her tiny feet in the sand. Suddenly, he gave a start. Upon the +box which contained the bamboo, beside which Nelly had been +standing, he saw the rose, the white rose which he had desired but +dared not ask for. Forgotten, no doubt--it, also! But how-- +designedly or through distraction? He seized it eagerly. Some of +its petals fell to the ground. He picked them up, one by one, like +precious relics. + +"Come!" he said to himself, "I have nothing more to do here. I +must think of my safety, before Sherlock Holmes arrives." + +* * * * * + +The park was deserted, but some gendarmes were stationed at the +park-gate. He entered a grove of pine trees, leaped over the wall, +and, as a short cut to the railroad station, followed a path across +the fields. After walking about ten minutes, he arrived at a spot +where the road grew narrower and ran between two steep banks. In +this ravine, he met a man traveling in the opposite direction. It +was a man about fifty years of age, tall, smooth-shaven, and +wearing clothes of a foreign cut. He carried a heavy cane, and a +small satchel was strapped across his shoulder. When they met, the +stranger spoke, with a slight English accent: + +"Excuse me, monsieur, is this the way to the castle?" + +"Yes, monsieur, straight ahead, and turn to the left when you come +to the wall. They are expecting you." + +"Ah!" + +"Yes, my friend Devanne told us last night that you were coming, +and I am delighted to be the first to welcome you. Sherlock Holmes +has no more ardent admirer than....myself." + +There was a touch of irony in his voice that he quickly regretted, +for Sherlock Holmes scrutinized him from head to foot with such a +keen, penetrating eye that Arsne Lupin experienced the sensation +of being seized, imprisoned and registered by that look more +thoroughly and precisely than he had ever been by a camera. + +"My negative is taken now," he thought, "and it will be useless to +use a disguise with that man. He would look right through it. +But, I wonder, has he recognized me?" + +They bowed to each other as if about to part. But, at that moment, +they heard a sound of horses' feet, accompanied by a clinking of +steel. It was the gendarmes. The two men were obliged to draw +back against the embankment, amongst the brushes, to avoid the +horses. The gendarmes passed by, but, as they followed each other +at a considerable distance, they were several minutes in doing so. +And Lupin was thinking: + +"It all depends on that question: has he recognized me? If so, he +will probably take advantage of the opportunity. It is a trying +situation." + +When the last horseman had passed, Sherlock Holmes stepped forth +and brushed the dust from his clothes. Then, for a moment, he and +Arsne Lupin gazed at each other; and, if a person could have seen +them at that moment, it would have been an interesting sight, and +memorable as the first meeting of two remarkable men, so strange, +so powerfully equipped, both of superior quality, and destined by +fate, through their peculiar attributes, to hurl themselves one at +the other like two equal forces that nature opposes, one against +the other, in the realms of space. + +Then the Englishman said: "Thank you, monsieur." + +They parted. Lupin went toward the railway station, and Sherlock +Holmes continued on his way to the castle. + +The local officers had given up the investigation after several +hours of fruitless efforts, and the people at the castle were +awaiting the arrival of the English detective with a lively +curiosity. At first sight, they were a little disappointed on +account of his commonplace appearance, which differed so greatly +from the pictures they had formed of him in their own minds. He +did not in any way resemble the romantic hero, the mysterious and +diabolical personage that the name of Sherlock Holmes had evoked in +their imaginations. However, Mon. Devanne exclaimed with much +gusto: + +"Ah! monsieur, you are here! I am delighted to see you. It is a +long-deferred pleasure. Really, I scarcely regret what has +happened, since it affords me the opportunity to meet you. But, +how did you come?" + +"By the train." + +"But I sent my automobile to meet you at the station." + +"An official reception, eh? with music and fireworks! Oh! no, not +for me. That is not the way I do business," grumbled the +Englishman. + +This speech disconcerted Devanne, who replied, with a forced smile: + +"Fortunately, the business has been greatly simplified since I +wrote to you." + +"In what way?" + +"The robbery took place last night." + +"If you had not announced my intended visit, it is probable the +robbery would not have been committed last night." + +"When, then?" + +"To-morrow, or some other day." + +"And in that case?" + +"Lupin would have been trapped," said the detective. + +"And my furniture?" + +"Would not have been carried away." + +"Ah! but my goods are here. They were brought back at three +o'clock." + +"By Lupin." + +"By two army-wagons." + +Sherlock Holmes put on his cap and adjusted his satchel. Devanne +exclaimed, anxiously: + +"But, monsieur, what are you going to do?" + +"I am going home." + +"Why?" + +"Your goods have been returned; Arsne Lupin is far away--there is +nothing for me to do." + +"Yes, there is. I need your assistance. What happened yesterday, +may happen again to-morrow, as we do not know how he entered, or +how he escaped, or why, a few hours later, he returned the goods." + +"Ah! you don't know--" + +The idea of a problem to be solved quickened the interest of +Sherlock Holmes. + +"Very well, let us make a search--at once--and alone, if possible." + +Devanne understood, and conducted the Englishman to the salon. In +a dry, crisp voice, in sentences that seemed to have been prepared +in advance, Holmes asked a number of questions about the events of +the preceding evening, and enquired also concerning the guests and +the members of the household. Then he examined the two volumes of +the "Chronique," compared the plans of the subterranean passage, +requested a repetition of the sentences discovered by Father Glis, +and then asked: + +"Was yesterday the first time you have spoken hose two sentences to +any one?" + +"Yes." + +"You had never communicated then to Horace Velmont?" + +"No." + +"Well, order the automobile. I must leave in an hour." + +"In an hour?" + +"Yes; within that time, Arsne Lupin solved the problem that you +placed before him." + +"I....placed before him--" + +"Yes, Arsne Lupin or Horace Velmont--same thing." + +"I thought so. Ah! the scoundrel!" + +"Now, let us see," said Holmes, "last night at ten o'clock, you +furnished Lupin with the information that he lacked, and that he +had been seeking for many weeks. During the night, he found time +to solve the problem, collect his men, and rob the castle. I shall +be quite as expeditious." + +He walked from end to end of the room, in deep thought, then sat +down, crossed his long legs and closed his eyes. + +Devanne waited, quite embarrassed. Thought he: "Is the man asleep? +Or is he only meditating?" However, he left the room to give some +orders, and when he returned he found the detective on his knees +scrutinizing the carpet at the foot of the stairs in the gallery. + +"What is it?" he enquired. + +"Look....there....spots from a candle." + +"You are right--and quite fresh." + +"And you will also find them at the top of the stairs, and around +the cabinet that Arsne Lupin broke into, and from which he took +the bibelots that he afterward placed in this armchair." + +"What do you conclude from that?" + +"Nothing. These facts would doubtless explain the cause for the +restitution, but that is a side issue that I cannot wait to +investigate. The main question is the secret passage. First, tell +me, is there a chapel some two or three hundred metres from the +castle?" + +"Yes, a ruined chapel, containing the tomb of Duke Rollo." + +"Tell your chauffer to wait for us near that chapel." + +"My chauffer hasn't returned. If he had, they would have informed +me. Do you think the secret passage runs to the chapel? What +reason have--" + +"I would ask you, monsieur," interrupted the detective, "to furnish +me with a ladder and a lantern." + +"What! do you require a ladder and a lantern?" + +"Certainly, or I shouldn't have asked for them." + +Devanne, somewhat disconcerted by this crude logic, rang the bell. +The two articles were given with the sternness and precision of +military commands. + +"Place the ladder against the bookcase, to the left of the word +Thibermesnil." + +Devanne placed the ladder as directed, and the Englishman +continued: + +"More to the left....to the right....There!....Now, climb up.... +All the letters are in relief, aren't they?" + +"Yes." + +"First, turn the letter I one way or the other." + +"Which one? There are two of them." + +"The first one." + +Devanne took hold of the letter, and exclaimed: + +"Ah! yes, it turns toward the right. Who told you that?" + +Sherlock Holmes did not reply to the question, but continued his +directions: + +"Now, take the letter B. Move it back and forth as you would a +bolt." + +Devanne did so, and, to his great surprise, it produced a clicking +sound. + +"Quite right," said Holmes. "Now, we will go to the other end of +the word Thibermesnil, try the letter I, and see if it will open +like a wicket." + +With a certain degree of solemnity, Devanne seized the letter. It +opened, but Devanne fell from the ladder, for the entire section of +the bookcase, lying between the first and last letters of the +words, turned on a picot and disclosed the subterranean passage. + +Sherlock Holmes said, coolly: + +"You are not hurt?" + +"No, no," said Devanne, as he rose to his feet, "not hurt, only +bewildered. I can't understand now....those letters turn....the +secret passage opens...." + +"Certainly. Doesn't that agree exactly with the formula given by +Sully? Turn one eye on the bee that shakes, the other eye will +lead to God." + +"But Louis the sixteenth?" asked Devanne. + +"Louis the sixteenth was a clever locksmith. I have read a book he +wrote about combination locks. It was a good idea on the part of +the owner of Thibermesnil to show His Majesty a clever bit of +mechanism. As an aid to his memory, the king wrote: 3-4-11, that +is to say, the third, fourth and eleventh letters of the word." + +"Exactly. I understand that. It explains how Lupin got out of the +room, but it does not explain how he entered. And it is certain he +came from the outside." + +Sherlock Holmes lighted his lantern, and stepped into the passage. + +"Look! All the mechanism is exposed here, like the works of a +clock, and the reverse side of the letters can be reached. Lupin +worked the combination from this side--that is all." + +"What proof is there of that?" + +"Proof? Why, look at that puddle of oil. Lupin foresaw that the +wheels would require oiling." + +"Did he know about the other entrance?" + +"As well as I know it," said Holmes. "Follow me." + +"Into that dark passage?" + +"Are you afraid?" + +"No, but are you sure you can find the way out?" + +"With my eyes closed." + +At first, they descended twelve steps, then twelve more, and, +farther on, two other flights of twelve steps each. Then they +walked through a long passageway, the brick walls of which showed +the marks of successive restorations, and, in spots, were dripping +with water. The earth, also, was very damp. + +"We are passing under the pond," said Devanne, somewhat nervously. + +At last, they came to a stairway of twelve steps, followed by three +others of twelve steps each, which they mounted with difficulty, +and then found themselves in a small cavity cut in the rock. They +could go no further. + +"The deuce!" muttered Holmes, "nothing but bare walls. This is +provoking." + +"Let us go back," said Devanne. "I have seen enough to satisfy +me." + +But the Englishman raised his eye and uttered a sigh of relief. +There, he saw the same mechanism and the same word as before. He +had merely to work the three letters. He did so, and a block of +granite swung out of place. On the other side, this granite block +formed the tombstone of Duke Rollo, and the word "Thibermesnil" was +engraved on it in relief. Now, they were in the little ruined +chapel, and the detective said: + +"The other eye leads to God; that means, to the chapel." + +"It is marvelous!" exclaimed Devanne, amazed at the clairvoyance +and vivacity of the Englishman. "Can it be possible that those few +words were sufficient for you?" + +"Bah!" declared Holmes, "they weren't even necessary. In the chart +in the book of the National Library, the drawing terminates at the +left, as you know, in a circle, and at the right, as you do not +know, in a cross. Now, that cross must refer to the chapel in +which we now stand." + +Poor Devanne could not believe his ears. It was all so new, so +novel to him. He exclaimed: + +"It is incredible, miraculous, and yet of a childish simplicity! +How is it that no one has ever solved the mystery?" + +"Because no one has ever united the essential elements, that is to +say, the two books and the two sentences. No one, but Arsne Lupin +and myself." + +"But, Father Glis and I knew all about those things, and, +likewise--" + +Holmes smiled, and said: + +"Monsieur Devanne, everybody cannot solve riddles." + +"I have been trying for ten years to accomplish what you did in ten +minutes." + +"Bah! I am used to it." + +They emerged from the chapel, and found an automobile. + +"Ah! there's an auto waiting for us." + +"Yes, it is mine," said Devanne. + +"Yours? You said your chauffeur hadn't returned." + +They approached the machine, and Mon. Devanne questioned the +chauffer: + +"Edouard, who gave you orders to come here?" + +"Why, it was Monsieur Velmont." + +"Mon. Velmont? Did you meet him?" + +"Near the railway station, and he told me to come to the chapel." + +"To come to the chapel! What for?" + +"To wait for you, monsieur, and your friend." + +Devanne and Holmes exchanged looks, and Mon. Devanne said: + +"He knew the mystery would be a simple one for you. It is a +delicate compliment." + +A smile of satisfaction lighted up the detective's serious features +for a moment. The compliment pleased him. He shook his head, as +he said: + +"A clever man! I knew that when I saw him." + +"Have you seen him?" + +"I met him a short time ago--on my way from the station." + +"And you knew it was Horace Velmont--I mean, Arsne Lupin?" + +"That is right. I wonder how it came--" + +"No, but I supposed it was--from a certain ironical speech he made." + +"And you allowed him to escape?" + +"Of course I did. And yet I had everything on my side, such as +five gendarmes who passed us." + +"Sacrableu!" cried Devanne. "You should have taken advantage of +the opportunity." + +"Really, monsieur," said the Englishman, haughtily, "when I +encounter an adversary like Arsne Lupin, I do not take advantage +of chance opportunities, I create them." + +But time pressed, and since Lupin had been so kind as to send the +automobile, they resolved to profit by it. They seated themselves +in the comfortable limousine; Edouard took his place at the wheel, +and away they went toward the railway station. Suddenly, Devanne's +eyes fell upon a small package in one of the pockets of the +carriage. + +"Ah! what is that? A package! Whose is it? Why, it is for you." + +"For me?" + +"Yes, it is addressed: Sherlock Holmes, from Arsne Lupin." + +The Englishman took the package, opened it, and found that it +contained a watch. + +"Ah!" he exclaimed, with an angry gesture. + +"A watch," said Devanne. "How did it come there?" + +The detective did not reply. + +"Oh! it is your watch! Arsne Lupin returns your watch! But, in +order to return it, he must have taken it. Ah! I see! He took +your watch! That is a good one! Sherlock Holmes' watch stolen by +Arsne Lupin! Mon Dieu! that is funny! Really....you must excuse +me....I can't help it." + +He roared with laughter, unable to control himself. After which, +he said, in a tone of earnest conviction: + +"A clever man, indeed!" + +The Englishman never moved a muscle. On the way to Dieppe, he +never spoke a word, but fixed his gaze on the flying landscape. +His silence was terrible, unfathomable, more violent than the +wildest rage. At the railway station, he spoke calmly, but in a +voice that impressed one with the vast energy and will power of +that famous man. He said: + +"Yes, he is a clever man, but some day I shall have the pleasure of +placing on his shoulder the hand I now offer to you, Monsieur +Devanne. And I believe that Arsne Lupin and Sherlock Holmes will +meet again some day. Yes, the world is too small--we will meet--we +must meet--and then--" + + + + +--The further startling and thrilling adventures of Arsne Lupin +will be found in the book entitled "Arsne Lupin versus Herlock +Sholmes."-- + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN-BURGLAR *** + +This file should be named 8arsl10.txt or 8arsl10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, 8arsl11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, 8arsl10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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