813. Arsene Lupine Series - Maurice LeblancLupine began to laugh heartily.
- But think about it, Mr. Director, my only excuse for being in prison is... that I want to get out!
The argument did not seem to please Mr. Borély. He made an effort to laugh in turn.
- A forewarned man makes two.
- That's what I want, answered Lupin. Take all precautions, Mr. Director, do not neglect anything, so that, later, no one will have anything to reproach you for. On the other hand, I will arrange things in such a way that, whatever trouble you will have as a result of my escape, your career, at least, will not suffer. That's all I had to say, Mr. Director. Now you can leave.
And, while Mr. Borély was leaving, disturbed by this extraordinary prisoner and very restless because of the events that were being prepared, the prisoner threw himself on his bed, murmuring:
- What impudence, Lupin, old man, what impudence! Really, anyone would think you have any idea how to get out of this!
The eight strikes of the clock. The Arsene Lupine Series - Maurice LeblancThe newspapers will also talk tomorrow about a discovery that the Bureau of Detectives has just made, learning that Dalbrèque was the author of an assassination that made a lot of news last year, that of the jeweler Bourguet.
- It's about something else, said Rénine.
- About what?
- About a kidnapping committed by him on Saturday, September 19.
- Ah! do you know
- Know.
- In this case, declared the inspector, who made up his mind, let's let him go! On Saturday, September 19, indeed, in Le Havre, in the middle of the street, in broad daylight, a woman who was shopping was kidnapped by three bandits whose car sped away. The newspapers reported the incident, but without giving the name of the victim, nor those of the aggressors, and that for a pretty good reason: because nothing was known. Only yesterday, going to Le Havre with a few people, I managed to identify one of the bandits. The theft of twenty-five thousand francs, the theft of the car, the kidnapping of the young woman, the same origin. Only one culprit: Dalbrèque. As for the young woman, no information. All our research was in vain.
The girl with the green eyes. The Arsene Lupine Series - Maurice LeblancHe held out his hand. She lets him squeeze hers. She would have wanted to speak and, without a doubt, tell him that she thanked him, that she trusted him... But she must have understood the futility of such words, because she remained silent. They left and crossed the thermal resort and the old village of Royat. The church clock struck half past eight. It was on a Saturday, August 15. The mountains rose under a bright sky. They did not exchange a single word. But Raoul did not stop apostrophizing it, gently, to himself. "Well, don't you hate me anymore, young lady with green eyes? Have you forgotten the offense the first time? And I have so much respect for you, that I don't want to remember her when I'm close to you. Come on, smile a little, because now you have the habit of thinking of me as your kindred spirit. You smile at your good spirit." She wasn't smiling. But he felt friendly and very close.
The woman with the double smile. The Arsene Lupine Series - Maurice LeblancAnd, in an instant, the stairwell door opened. A man, two men appeared, then Gorgeret, with his revolver ready to fire, shouting:
- Hands up! The first mover...
He fired an intimidation shot. Three of his agents let themselves slide to the foot of the stairs and shouted, in their turn:
- Hands up!
Forty individuals had submitted, facing the agents. But the push towards the counter of those trying to escape was so violent that the English jockey, although the first to stand up, could not make his way to the Great Paul. The patron had protested in vain, her counter was overturned. This masks a secret door through which the fugitives disappeared one by one, in that chaos and chaos. There was a sudden stop for a few seconds: two of them, desperate, were fighting to pass first. The English jockey, mounted on a chair, recognized the Arab and the Great Paul.
The hand-to-hand combat was frighteningly brutal. Neither one nor the other wanted to be caught by the advancing agents. Then the Arab fell to his knees. Great Paul disappeared into the black hole of the exit and closed the door behind him, just as the agents intervened.
The Island of the Thirty Coffins. The Arsene Lupine Series - Maurice LeblancHe walked up to twenty meters from the figure and counted, with his arm outstretched:
– One... two... Are you ready, Conrad? Fire!
The two bullets were fired at the same time.
There was a cry of pain. The figure seemed to collapse. The two men were hurrying in there.
- Aha, there you are, scoundrel! I'll show you what dough Vorski is made of! Snapanul, you kind of ran me over! Well, now I've got you covered!
After the first steps, he slowed down, for fear of a surprise. The figure does not move; and Vorski, approaching, saw that he had the inert and deformed appearance of a dead man, of a corpse. He had nothing else to do but jump on her. So Vorski did, laughing and joking:
- Good hunting, Conrad. Let's go get the game.
But he was very surprised, taking the game, to feel in his hands nothing but an almost impalpable prey, consisting, in fact, in a white robe, without any man in it, the wearer of the robe fleeing in time, after having caught it in the thorns of a bush. As for the dog, it had disappeared.