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diff --git a/old/7arsl10.txt b/old/7arsl10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d38700 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7arsl10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8140 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar +by Maurice Leblanc + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. 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 Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar + + + +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 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: "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 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: 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 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 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 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: + +"It 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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." + +"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?" + +"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 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-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," 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. + +"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 +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? 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 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 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 + 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 Valmont, 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 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 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." + +"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. 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 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 Gèlis, "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 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. 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 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. 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 +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 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." + +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 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, 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 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 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 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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