And, 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.
MAURICE LEBLANC
Chapter I. The mysterious wound / 5
Chapter II. Blonde Clara / 12
Chapter III. The gentleman from the mezzanine / 18
Chapter IV. The gentleman from the first floor / 28
Chapter V. Robbery / 40
Chapter VI. The first shock / 50
Chapter VII. Castle for sale / 57
Chapter VIII. A strange collaborator / 67
Chapter IX. In pursuit of Paul the Great / 79
Chapter X. Cancer Bar / 87
Chapter XI. The Blue Casino / 95
Chapter XII. The two smiles / 107
Chapter XIII. Trap / 118
Chapter XIV. Rivalry / 126
Chapter XV. Crime / 138
Chapter XVI. Zozotte / 148
Chapter XVII. Restlessness / 158
Chapter XVIII. The two smiles are explained / 165
Chapter XIX. Gorgeret loses his head / 177
Chapter XX. Austerlitz? Waterloo? / 189
Chapter XXI. Raoul acts and speaks / 198
Chapter XXII. Perseus's murder / 211