The Duke stared at the pendant, his eyes full of wonder and pity.
Poor little girl! he said softly under his breath.
He put the pendant carefully away in his waistcoat-pocket and stood staring thoughtfully out of the window.
The door opened softly, and Sonia came quickly into the room, closed the door, and leaned back against it. Her face was a dead white; her skin had lost its lustre of fine porcelain, and she stared at him with eyes dim with anguish.
In a hoarse, broken voice, she muttered: "Forgive me! Oh, forgive me!"
A thief—you? said the Duke, in a tone of pitying wonder.
Sonia groaned.
You mustn't stop here, said the Duke in an uneasy tone, and he looked uneasily at the door.
Ah, you don't want to speak to me any more, said Sonia, in a heartrending tone, wringing her hands.
Guerchard is suspicious of everything. It is dangerous for us to be talking here. I assure you that it's dangerous, said the Duke.
What an opinion must you have of me! It's dreadful—cruel! wailed Sonia.
For goodness' sake don't speak so loud, said the Duke, with even greater uneasiness. "You MUST think of Guerchard."
What do I care? cried Sonia. "I've lost the liking of the only creature whose liking I wanted. What does anything else matter? What DOES it matter?"
We'll talk somewhere else presently. That'll be far safer, said the Duke.
No, no, we must talk now! cried Sonia. "You must know.... I must tell ... Oh, dear! ... Oh, dear! ... I don't know how to tell you.... And then it is so unfair.... she ... Germaine ... she has everything," she panted. "Yesterday, before me, you gave her that pendant, ... she smiled ... she was proud of it.... I saw her pleasure.... Then I took it—I took it—I took it! And if I could, I'd take her fortune, too.... I hate her! Oh, how I hate her!"
What! said the Duke.
Yes, I do ... I hate her! said Sonia; and her eyes, no longer gentle, glowed with the sombre resentment, the dull rage of the weak who turn on Fortune. Her gentle voice was harsh with rebellious wrath.
You hate her? said the Duke quickly.
I should never have told you that.... But now I dare.... I dare speak out.... It's you! ... It's you— The avowal died on her lips. A burning flush crimsoned her cheeks and faded as quickly as it came: "I hate her!" she muttered.
Sonia— said the Duke gently.
Oh! I know that it's no excuse.... I know that you're thinking 'This is a very pretty story, but it's not her first theft'; ... and it's true—it's the tenth, ... perhaps it's the twentieth.... It's true—I am a thief. She paused, and the glow deepened in her eyes. "But there's one thing you must believe—you shall believe; since you came, since I've known you, since the first day you set eyes on me, I have stolen no more ... till yesterday when you gave her the pendant before me. I could not bear it ... I could not." She paused and looked at him with eyes that demanded an assent.
I believe you, said the Duke gravely.
She heaved a deep sigh of relief, and went on more quietly—some of its golden tone had returned to her voice: "And then, if you knew how it began ... the horror of it," she said.
Poor child! said the Duke softly.
Yes, you pity me, but you despise me—you despise me beyond words. You shall not! I will not have it! she cried fiercely.
Believe me, no, said the Duke, in a soothing tone.
Listen, said Sonia. "Have you ever been alone—alone in the world? ... Have you ever been hungry? Think of it ... in this big city where I was starving in sight of bread ... bread in the shops .... One only had to stretch out one's hand to touch it ... a penny loaf. Oh, it's commonplace!" she broke off: "quite commonplace!"
Go on: tell me, said the Duke curtly.
There was one way I could make money and I would not do it: no, I would not, she went on. "But that day I was dying ... understand, I was dying ....I went to the rooms of a man I knew a little. It was my last resource. At first I was glad ... he gave me food and wine ... and then, he talked to me ... he offered me money."
What! cried the Duke; and a sudden flame of anger flared up in his eyes.
No; I could not ... and then I robbed him.... I preferred to ... it was more decent. Ah, I had excuses then. I began to steal to remain an honest woman ... and I've gone on stealing to keep up appearances. You see ... I joke about it. And she laughed, the faint, dreadful, mocking laugh of a damned soul. "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she cried; and, burying her face in her hands, she burst into a storm of weeping.
Poor child, said the Duke softly. And he stared gloomily on the ground, overcome by this revelation of the tortures of the feeble in the underworld beneath the Paris he knew.
Oh, you do pity me ... you do understand ... and feel, said Sonia, between her sobs.
The Duke raised his head and gazed at her with eyes full of an infinite sympathy and compassion.
Poor little Sonia, he said gently. "I understand."
She gazed at him with incredulous eyes, in which joy and despair mingled, struggling.
He came slowly towards her, and stopped short. His quick ear had caught the sound of a footstep outside the door.
Quick! Dry your eyes! You must look composed. The other room! he cried, in an imperative tone.
He caught her hand and drew her swiftly into the further drawing-room.
With the quickness which came of long practice in hiding her feelings Sonia composed her face to something of its usual gentle calm. There was even a faint tinge of colour in her cheeks; they had lost their dead whiteness. A faint light shone in her eyes; the anguish had cleared from them. They rested on the Duke with a look of ineffable gratitude. She sat down on a couch. The Duke went to the window and lighted a cigarette. They heard the door of the outer drawing-room open, and there was a pause. Quick footsteps crossed the room, and Guerchard stood in the doorway. He looked from one to the other with keen and eager eyes. Sonia sat staring rather listlessly at the carpet. The Duke turned, and smiled at him.
Well, M. Guerchard, he said. "I hope the burglars have not stolen the coronet."
The coronet is safe, your Grace, said Guerchard.
And the paper-knives? said the Duke.
The paper-knives? said Guerchard with an inquiring air.
The wedding presents, said the Duke.
Yes, your Grace, the wedding presents are safe, said Guerchard.
I breathe again, said the Duke languidly.
Guerchard turned to Sonia and said, "I was looking for you, Mademoiselle, to tell you that M. Formery has changed his mind. It is impossible for you to go out. No one will be allowed to go out."
Yes? said Sonia, in an indifferent tone.
We should be very much obliged if you would go to your room, said Guerchard. "Your meals will be sent up to you."
What? said Sonia, rising quickly; and she looked from Guerchard to the Duke. The Duke gave her the faintest nod.
Very well, I will go to my room, she said coldly.
They accompanied her to the door of the outer drawing-room. Guerchard opened it for her and closed it after her.
Really, M. Guerchard, said the Duke, shrugging his shoulders. "This last measure—a child like that!"
Really, I'm very sorry, your Grace; but it's my trade, or, if you prefer it, my duty. As long as things are taking place here which I am still the only one to perceive, and which are not yet clear to me, I must neglect no precaution.
Of course, you know best, said the Duke. "But still, a child like that—you're frightening her out of her life."
Guerchard shrugged his shoulders, and went quietly out of the room.
The Duke sat down in an easy chair, frowning and thoughtful. Suddenly there struck on his ears the sound of a loud roaring and heavy bumping on the stairs, the door flew open, and M. Gournay-Martin stood on the threshold waving a telegram in his hand.
M. Formery and the inspector came hurrying down the stairs behind him, and watched his emotion with astonished and wondering eyes.
Here! bellowed the millionaire. "A telegram! A telegram from the scoundrel himself! Listen! Just listen:"
A thousand apologies for not having been able to keep my promise about the coronet. Had an appointment at the Acacias. Please have coronet ready in your room to-night. Will come without fail to fetch it, between a quarter to twelve and twelve o'clock.
Yours affectionately,
ARSENE LUPIN.
There! What do you think of that?
If you ask me, I think he's humbug, said the Duke with conviction.
Humbug! You always think it's humbug! You thought the letter was humbug; and look what has happened! cried the millionaire.
Give me the telegram, please, said M. Formery quickly.
The millionaire gave it to him; and he read it through.
Find out who brought it, inspector, he said.
The inspector hurried to the top of the staircase and called to the policeman in charge of the front door. He came back to the drawing-room and said: "It was brought by an ordinary post-office messenger, sir."
Where is he? said M. Formery. "Why did you let him go?"
Shall I send for him, sir? said the inspector.
No, no, it doesn't matter, said M. Formery; and, turning to M. Gournay-Martin and the Duke, he said, "Now we're really going to have trouble with Guerchard. He is going to muddle up everything. This telegram will be the last straw. Nothing will persuade him now that this is not Lupin's work. And just consider, gentlemen: if Lupin had come last night, and if he had really set his heart on the coronet, he would have stolen it then, or at any rate he would have tried to open the safe in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom, in which the coronet actually is, or this safe here"—he went to the safe and rapped on the door of it—"in which is the second key."
That's quite clear, said the inspector.
If, then, he did not make the attempt last night, when he had a clear field—when the house was empty—he certainly will not make the attempt now when we are warned, when the police are on the spot, and the house is surrounded. The idea is childish, gentlemen—he leaned against the door of the safe—"absolutely childish, but Guerchard is mad on this point; and I foresee that his madness is going to hamper us in the most idiotic way."
He suddenly pitched forward into the middle of the room, as the door of the safe opened with a jerk, and Guerchard shot out of it.
What the devil! cried M. Formery, gaping at him.
You'd be surprised how clearly you hear everything in these safes—you'd think they were too thick, said Guerchard, in his gentle, husky voice.
How on earth did you get into it? cried M. Formery.
Getting in was easy enough. It's the getting out that was awkward. These jokers had fixed up some kind of a spring so that I nearly shot out with the door, said Guerchard, rubbing his elbow.
But how did you get into it? How the deuce DID you get into it? cried M. Formery.
Through the little cabinet into which that door behind the safe opens. There's no longer any back to the safe; they've cut it clean out of it—a very neat piece of work. Safes like this should always be fixed against a wall, not stuck in front of a door. The backs of them are always the weak point.
And the key? The key of the safe upstairs, in my bedroom, where the coronet is—is the key there? cried M. Gournay-Martin.
Guerchard went back into the empty safe, and groped about in it. He came out smiling.
Well, have you found the key? cried the millionaire.
No. I haven't; but I've found something better, said Guerchard.
What is it? said M. Formery sharply.
I'll give you a hundred guesses, said Guerchard with a tantalizing smile.
What is it? said M. Formery.
A little present for you, said Guerchard.
What do you mean? cried M. Formery angrily.
Guerchard held up a card between his thumb and forefinger and said quietly:
The card of Arsene Lupin.
The millionaire gazed at the card with stupefied eyes, the inspector gazed at it with extreme intelligence, the Duke gazed at it with interest, and M. Formery gazed at it with extreme disgust.
It's part of the same ruse—it was put there to throw us off the scent. It proves nothing—absolutely nothing, he said scornfully.
No; it proves nothing at all, said Guerchard quietly.
The telegram is the important thing—this telegram, said M. Gournay-Martin feverishly. "It concerns the coronet. Is it going to be disregarded?"
Oh, no, no, said M. Formery in a soothing tone. "It will be taken into account. It will certainly be taken into account."
M. Gournay-Martin's butler appeared in the doorway of the drawing-room: "If you please, sir, lunch is served," he said.
At the tidings some of his weight of woe appeared to be lifted from the head of the millionaire. "Good!" he said, "good! Gentlemen, you will lunch with me, I hope."
Thank you, said M. Formery. "There is nothing else for us to do, at any rate at present, and in the house. I am not quite satisfied about Mademoiselle Kritchnoff—at least Guerchard is not. I propose to question her again—about those earlier thefts."
I'm sure there's nothing in that, said the Duke quickly.
No, no; I don't think there is, said M. Formery. "But still one never knows from what quarter light may come in an affair like this. Accident often gives us our best clues."
It seems rather a shame to frighten her—she's such a child, said the Duke.
Oh, I shall be gentle, your Grace—as gentle as possible, that is. But I look to get more from the examination of Victoire. She was on the scene. She has actually seen the rogues at work; but till she recovers there is nothing more to be done, except to wait the discoveries of the detectives who are working outside; and they will report here. So in the meantime we shall be charmed to lunch with you, M. Gournay-Martin.
They went downstairs to the dining-room and found an elaborate and luxurious lunch, worthy of the hospitality of a millionaire, awaiting them. The skill of the cook seemed to have been quite unaffected by the losses of his master. M. Formery, an ardent lover of good things, enjoyed himself immensely. He was in the highest spirits. Germaine, a little upset by the night-journey, was rather querulous. Her father was plunged in a gloom which lifted for but a brief space at the appearance of a fresh delicacy. Guerchard ate and drank seriously, answering the questions of the Duke in a somewhat absent-minded fashion. The Duke himself seemed to have lost his usual flow of good spirits, and at times his brow was knitted in an anxious frown. His questions to Guerchard showed a far less keen interest in the affair.
To him the lunch seemed very long and very tedious; but at last it came to an end. M. Gournay-Martin seemed to have been much cheered by the wine he had drunk. He was almost hopeful. M. Formery, who had not by any means trifled with the champagne, was raised to the very height of sanguine certainty. Their coffee and liqueurs were served in the smoking-room. Guerchard lighted a cigar, refused a liqueur, drank his coffee quickly, and slipped out of the room.
The Duke followed him, and in the hall said: "I will continue to watch you unravel the threads of this mystery, if I may, M. Guerchard."
Good Republican as Guerchard was, he could not help feeling flattered by the interest of a Duke; and the excellent lunch he had eaten disposed him to feel the honour even more deeply.
I shall be charmed, he said. "To tell the truth, I find the company of your Grace really quite stimulating."
It must be because I find it all so extremely interesting, said the Duke.
They went up to the drawing-room and found the red-faced young policeman seated on a chair by the door eating a lunch, which had been sent up to him from the millionaire's kitchen, with a very hearty appetite.
They went into the drawing-room. Guerchard shut the door and turned the key: "Now," he said, "I think that M. Formery will give me half an hour to myself. His cigar ought to last him at least half an hour. In that time I shall know what the burglars really did with their plunder—at least I shall know for certain how they got it out of the house."
Please explain, said the Duke. "I thought we knew how they got it out of the house." And he waved his hand towards the window.
Oh, that!—that's childish, said Guerchard contemptuously. "Those are traces for an examining magistrate. The ladder, the table on the window-sill, they lead nowhere. The only people who came up that ladder were the two men who brought it from the scaffolding. You can see their footsteps. Nobody went down it at all. It was mere waste of time to bother with those traces."
But the footprint under the book? said the Duke.
Oh, that, said Guerchard. "One of the burglars sat on the couch there, rubbed plaster on the sole of his boot, and set his foot down on the carpet. Then he dusted the rest of the plaster off his boot and put the book on the top of the footprint."
Now, how do you know that? said the astonished Duke.
It's as plain as a pike-staff, said Guerchard. "There must have been several burglars to move such pieces of furniture. If the soles of all of them had been covered with plaster, all the sweeping in the world would not have cleared the carpet of the tiny fragments of it. I've been over the carpet between the footprint and the window with a magnifying glass. There are no fragments of plaster on it. We dismiss the footprint. It is a mere blind, and a very fair blind too—for an examining magistrate."
I understand, said the Duke.
That narrows the problem, the quite simple problem, how was the furniture taken out of the room. It did not go through that window down the ladder. Again, it was not taken down the stairs, and out of the front door, or the back. If it had been, the concierge and his wife would have heard the noise. Besides that, it would have been carried down into a main street, in which there are people at all hours. Somebody would have been sure to tell a policeman that this house was being emptied. Moreover, the police were continually patrolling the main streets, and, quickly as a man like Lupin would do the job, he could not do it so quickly that a policeman would not have seen it. No; the furniture was not taken down the stairs or out of the front door. That narrows the problem still more. In fact, there is only one mode of egress left.
The chimney! cried the Duke.
You've hit it, said Guerchard, with a husky laugh. "By that well-known logical process, the process of elimination, we've excluded all methods of egress except the chimney."
He paused, frowning, in some perplexity; and then he said uneasily: "What I don't like about it is that Victoire was set in the fireplace. I asked myself at once what was she doing there. It was unnecessary that she should be drugged and set in the fireplace—quite unnecessary."
It might have been to put off an examining magistrate, said the Duke. "Having found Victoire in the fireplace, M. Formery did not look for anything else."
Yes, it might have been that, said Guerchard slowly. "On the other hand, she might have been put there to make sure that I did not miss the road the burglars took. That's the worst of having to do with Lupin. He knows me to the bottom of my mind. He has something up his sleeve—some surprise for me. Even now, I'm nowhere near the bottom of the mystery. But come along, we'll take the road the burglars took. The inspector has put my lantern ready for me."
As he spoke he went to the fireplace, picked up a lantern which had been set on the top of the iron fire-basket, and lighted it. The Duke stepped into the great fireplace beside him. It was four feet deep, and between eight and nine feet broad. Guerchard threw the light from the lantern on to the back wall of it. Six feet from the floor the soot from the fire stopped abruptly, and there was a dappled patch of bricks, half of them clean and red, half of them blackened by soot, five feet broad, and four feet high.
The opening is higher up than I thought, said Guerchard. "I must get a pair of steps."
He went to the door of the drawing-room and bade the young policeman fetch him a pair of steps. They were brought quickly. He took them from the policeman, shut the door, and locked it again. He set the steps in the fireplace and mounted them.
Be careful, he said to the Duke, who had followed him into the fireplace, and stood at the foot of the steps. "Some of these bricks may drop inside, and they'll sting you up if they fall on your toes."
The Duke stepped back out of reach of any bricks that might fall.
Guerchard set his left hand against the wall of the chimney-piece between him and the drawing-room, and pressed hard with his right against the top of the dappled patch of bricks. At the first push, half a dozen of them fell with a bang on to the floor of the next house. The light came flooding in through the hole, and shone on Guerchard's face and its smile of satisfaction. Quickly he pushed row after row of bricks into the next house until he had cleared an opening four feet square.
Come along, he said to the Duke, and disappeared feet foremost through the opening.
The Duke mounted the steps, and found himself looking into a large empty room of the exact size and shape of the drawing-room of M. Gournay-Martin, save that it had an ordinary modern fireplace instead of one of the antique pattern of that in which he stood. Its chimney-piece was a few inches below the opening. He stepped out on to the chimney-piece and dropped lightly to the floor.
Well, he said, looking back at the opening through which he had come. "That's an ingenious dodge."
Oh, it's common enough, said Guerchard. "Robberies at the big jewellers' are sometimes worked by these means. But what is uncommon about it, and what at first sight put me off the track, is that these burglars had the cheek to pierce the wall with an opening large enough to enable them to remove the furniture of a house."
It's true, said the Duke. "The opening's as large as a good-sized window. Those burglars seem capable of everything—even of a first-class piece of mason's work."
Oh, this has all been prepared a long while ago. But now I'm really on their track. And after all, I haven't really lost any time. Dieusy wasted no time in making inquiries in Sureau Street; he's been working all this side of the house.
Guerchard drew up the blinds, opened the shutters, and let the daylight flood the dim room. He came back to the fireplace and looked down at the heap of bricks, frowning:
I made a mistake there, he said. "I ought to have taken those bricks down carefully, one by one."
Quickly he took brick after brick from the pile, and began to range them neatly against the wall on the left. The Duke watched him for two or three minutes, then began to help him. It did not take them long, and under one of the last few bricks Guerchard found a fragment of a gilded picture-frame.
Here's where they ought to have done their sweeping, he said, holding it up to the Duke.
I tell you what, said the Duke, "I shouldn't wonder if we found the furniture in this house still."
Oh, no, no! said Guerchard. "I tell you that Lupin would allow for myself or Ganimard being put in charge of the case; and he would know that we should find the opening in the chimney. The furniture was taken straight out into the side-street on to which this house opens." He led the way out of the room on to the landing and went down the dark staircase into the hall. He opened the shutters of the hall windows, and let in the light. Then he examined the hall. The dust lay thick on the tiled floor. Down the middle of it was a lane formed by many feet. The footprints were faint, but still plain in the layer of dust. Guerchard came back to the stairs and began to examine them. Half-way up the flight he stooped, and picked up a little spray of flowers: "Fresh!" he said. "These have not been long plucked."
Salvias, said the Duke.
Salvias they are, said Guerchard. "Pink salvias; and there is only one gardener in France who has ever succeeded in getting this shade—M. Gournay-Martin's gardener at Charmerace. I'm a gardener myself."
Well, then, last night's burglars came from Charmerace. They must have, said the Duke.
It looks like it, said Guerchard.
The Charolais, said the Duke.
It looks like it, said Guerchard.
It must be, said the Duke. "This IS interesting—if only we could get an absolute proof."
We shall get one presently, said Guerchard confidently.
It is interesting, said the Duke in a tone of lively enthusiasm. "These clues—these tracks which cross one another—each fact by degrees falling into its proper place—extraordinarily interesting." He paused and took out his cigarette-case: "Will you have a cigarette?" he said.
Are they caporal? said Guerchard.
No, Egyptians—Mercedes.
Thank you, said Guerchard; and he took one.
The Duke struck a match, lighted Guerchard's cigarette, and then his own:
Yes, it's very interesting, he said. "In the last quarter of an hour you've practically discovered that the burglars came from Charmerace—that they were the Charolais—that they came in by the front door of this house, and carried the furniture out of it."
I don't know about their coming in by it, said Guerchard. "Unless I'm very much mistaken, they came in by the front door of M. Gournay-Martin's house."
Of course, said the Duke. "I was forgetting. They brought the keys from Charmerace."
Yes, but who drew the bolts for them? said Guerchard. "The concierge bolted them before he went to bed. He told me so. He was telling the truth—I know when that kind of man is telling the truth."
By Jove! said the Duke softly. "You mean that they had an accomplice?"
I think we shall find that they had an accomplice. But your Grace is beginning to draw inferences with uncommon quickness. I believe that you would make a first-class detective yourself—with practice, of course—with practice.
Can I have missed my true career? said the Duke, smiling. "It's certainly a very interesting game."
Well, I'm not going to search this barracks myself, said Guerchard. "I'll send in a couple of men to do it; but I'll just take a look at the steps myself."
So saying, he opened the front door and went out and examined the steps carefully.
We shall have to go back the way we came, he said, when he had finished his examination. "The drawing-room door is locked. We ought to find M. Formery hammering on it." And he smiled as if he found the thought pleasing.
They went back up the stairs, through the opening, into the drawing-room of M. Gournay-Martin's house. Sure enough, from the other side of the locked door came the excited voice of M. Formery, crying:
Guerchard! Guerchard! What are you doing? Let me in! Why don't you let me in?
Guerchard unlocked the door; and in bounced M. Formery, very excited, very red in the face.
Hang it all, Guerchard! What on earth have you been doing? he cried. "Why didn't you open the door when I knocked?"
I didn't hear you, said Guerchard. "I wasn't in the room."
Then where on earth have you been? cried M. Formery.
Guerchard looked at him with a faint, ironical smile, and said in his gentle voice, "I was following the real track of the burglars."
M. Formery gasped: "The real track?" he muttered.
Let me show you, said Guerchard. And he led him to the fireplace, and showed him the opening between the two houses.
I must go into this myself! cried M. Formery in wild excitement.
Without more ado he began to mount the steps. Guerchard followed him. The Duke saw their heels disappear up the steps. Then he came out of the drawing-room and inquired for M. Gournay-Martin. He was told that the millionaire was up in his bedroom; and he went upstairs, and knocked at the door of it.
M. Gournay-Martin bade him enter in a very faint voice, and the Duke found him lying on the bed. He was looking depressed, even exhausted, the shadow of the blusterous Gournay-Martin of the day before. The rich rosiness of his cheeks had faded to a moderate rose-pink.
That telegram, moaned the millionaire. "It was the last straw. It has overwhelmed me. The coronet is lost."
What, already? said the Duke, in a tone of the liveliest surprise.
No, no; it's still in the safe, said the millionaire. "But it's as good as lost—before midnight it will be lost. That fiend will get it."
If it's in this safe now, it won't be lost before midnight, said the Duke. "But are you sure it's there now?"
Look for yourself, said the millionaire, taking the key of the safe from his waistcoat pocket, and handing it to the Duke.
The Duke opened the safe. The morocco case which held the coronet lay on the middle shell in front of him. He glanced at the millionaire, and saw that he had closed his eyes in the exhaustion of despair. Whistling softly, the Duke opened the case, took out the diadem, and examined it carefully, admiring its admirable workmanship. He put it back in the case, turned to the millionaire, and said thoughtfully:
I can never make up my mind, in the case of one of these old diadems, whether one ought not to take out the stones and have them re-cut. Look at this emerald now. It's a very fine stone, but this old-fashioned cutting does not really do it justice.
Oh, no, no: you should never interfere with an antique, historic piece of jewellery. Any alteration decreases its value—its value as an historic relic, cried the millionaire, in a shocked tone.
I know that, said the Duke, "but the question for me is, whether one ought not to sacrifice some of its value to increasing its beauty."
You do have such mad ideas, said the millionaire, in a tone of peevish exasperation.
Ah, well, it's a nice question, said the Duke.
He snapped the case briskly, put it back on the shelf, locked the safe, and handed the key to the millionaire. Then he strolled across the room and looked down into the street, whistling softly.
I think—I think—I'll go home and get out of these motoring clothes. And I should like to have on a pair of boots that were a trifle less muddy, he said slowly.
M. Gournay-Martin sat up with a jerk and cried, "For Heaven's sake, don't you go and desert me, my dear chap! You don't know what my nerves are like!"
Oh, you've got that sleuth-hound, Guerchard, and the splendid Formery, and four other detectives, and half a dozen ordinary policemen guarding you. You can do without my feeble arm. Besides, I shan't be gone more than half an hour—three-quarters at the outside. I'll bring back my evening clothes with me, and dress for dinner here. I don't suppose that anything fresh will happen between now and midnight; but I want to be on the spot, and hear the information as it comes in fresh. Besides, there's Guerchard. I positively cling to Guerchard. It's an education, though perhaps not a liberal education, to go about with him, said the Duke; and there was a sub-acid irony in his voice.
Well, if you must, you must, said M. Gournay-Martin grumpily.
Good-bye for the present, then, said the Duke. And he went out of the room and down the stairs. He took his motor-cap from the hall-table, and had his hand on the latch of the door, when the policeman in charge of it said, "I beg your pardon, sir, but have you M. Guerchard's permission to leave the house?"
M. Guerchard's permission? said the Duke haughtily. "What has M. Guerchard to do with me? I am the Duke of Charmerace." And he opened the door.
It was M. Formery's orders, your Grace, stammered the policeman doubtfully.
M. Formery's orders? said the Duke, standing on the top step. "Call me a taxi-cab, please."
The concierge, who stood beside the policeman, ran down the steps and blew his whistle. The policeman gazed uneasily at the Duke, shifting his weight from one foot to the other; but he said no more.
A taxi-cab came up to the door, the Duke went down the steps, stepped into it, and drove away.
Three-quarters of an hour later he came back, having changed into clothes more suited to a Paris drawing-room. He went up to the drawing-room, and there he found Guerchard, M. Formery, and the inspector, who had just completed their tour of inspection of the house next door and had satisfied themselves that the stolen treasures were not in it. The inspector and his men had searched it thoroughly just to make sure; but, as Guerchard had foretold, the burglars had not taken the chance of the failure of the police to discover the opening between the two houses. M. Formery told the Duke about their tour of inspection at length. Guerchard went to the telephone and told the exchange to put him through to Charmerace. He was informed that the trunk line was very busy and that he might have to wait half an hour.
The Duke inquired if any trace of the burglars, after they had left with their booty, had yet been found. M. Formery told him that, so far, the detectives had failed to find a single trace. Guerchard said that he had three men at work on the search, and that he was hopeful of getting some news before long.
The layman is impatient in these matters, said M. Formery, with an indulgent smile. "But we have learnt to be patient, after long experience."
He proceeded to discuss with Guerchard the new theories with which the discovery of the afternoon had filled his mind. None of them struck the Duke as being of great value, and he listened to them with a somewhat absent-minded air. The coming examination of Sonia weighed heavily on his spirit. Guerchard answered only in monosyllables to the questions and suggestions thrown out by M. Formery. It seemed to the Duke that he paid very little attention to him, that his mind was still working hard on the solution of the mystery, seeking the missing facts which would bring him to the bottom of it. In the middle of one of M. Formery's more elaborate dissertations the telephone bell rang.
Guerchard rose hastily and went to it. They heard him say: "Is that Charmerace? ... I want the gardener.... Out? When will he be back? ... Tell him to ring me up at M. Gournay-Martin's house in Paris the moment he gets back.... Detective-Inspector Guerchard ... Guerchard ... Detective-Inspector."
He turned to them with a frown, and said, "Of course, since I want him, the confounded gardener has gone out for the day. Still, it's of very little importance—a mere corroboration I wanted." And he went back to his seat and lighted another cigarette.
M. Formery continued his dissertation. Presently Guerchard said, "You might go and see how Victoire is, inspector—whether she shows any signs of waking. What did the doctor say?"
The doctor said that she would not really be sensible and have her full wits about her much before ten o'clock to-night, said the inspector; but he went to examine her present condition.
M. Formery proceeded to discuss the effects of different anesthetics. The others heard him with very little attention.
The inspector came back and reported that Victoire showed no signs of awaking.
Well, then, M. Formery, I think we might get on with the examination of Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, said Guerchard. "Will you go and fetch her, inspector?"
Really, I cannot conceive why you should worry that poor child, the Duke protested, in a tone of some indignation.
It seems to me hardly necessary, said M. Formery.
Excuse me, said Guerchard suavely, "but I attach considerable importance to it. It seems to me to be our bounden duty to question her fully. One never knows from what quarter light may come."
Oh, well, since you make such a point of it, said M. Formery. "Inspector, ask Mademoiselle Kritchnoff to come here. Fetch her."
The inspector left the room.
Guerchard looked at the Duke with a faint air of uneasiness: "I think that we had better question Mademoiselle Kritchnoff by ourselves," he said.
M. Formery looked at him and hesitated. Then he said: "Oh, yes, of course, by ourselves."
Certainly, said the Duke, a trifle haughtily. And he rose and opened the door. He was just going through it when Guerchard said sharply:
Your Grace—
The Duke paid no attention to him. He shut the door quickly behind him and sprang swiftly up the stairs. He met the inspector coming down with Sonia. Barring their way for a moment he said, in his kindliest voice: "Now you mustn't be frightened, Mademoiselle Sonia. All you have to do is to try to remember as clearly as you can the circumstances of the earlier thefts at Charmerace. You mustn't let them confuse you."
Thank you, your Grace, I will try and be as clear as I can, said Sonia; and she gave him an eloquent glance, full of gratitude for the warning; and went down the stairs with firm steps.
The Duke went on up the stairs, and knocked softly at the door of M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom. There was no answer to his knock, and he quietly opened the door and looked in. Overcome by his misfortunes, the millionaire had sunk into a profound sleep and was snoring softly. The Duke stepped inside the room, left the door open a couple of inches, drew a chair to it, and sat down watching the staircase through the opening of the door.
He sat frowning, with a look of profound pity on his face. Once the suspense grew too much for him. He rose and walked up and down the room. His well-bred calm seemed to have deserted him. He muttered curses on Guerchard, M. Formery, and the whole French criminal system, very softly, under his breath. His face was distorted to a mask of fury; and once he wiped the little beads of sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. Then he recovered himself, sat down in the chair, and resumed his watch on the stairs.
At last, at the end of half an hour, which had seemed to him months long, he heard voices. The drawing-room door shut, and there were footsteps on the stairs. The inspector and Sonia came into view.
He waited till they were at the top of the stairs: then he came out of the room, with his most careless air, and said: "Well, Mademoiselle Sonia, I hope you did not find it so very dreadful, after all."
She was very pale, and there were undried tears on her cheeks. "It was horrible," she said faintly. "Horrible. M. Formery was all right—he believed me; but that horrible detective would not believe a word I said. He confused me. I hardly knew what I was saying."
The Duke ground his teeth softly. "Never mind, it's over now. You had better lie down and rest. I will tell one of the servants to bring you up a glass of wine."
He walked with her to the door of her room, and said: "Try to sleep—sleep away the unpleasant memory."
She went into her room, and the Duke went downstairs and told the butler to take a glass of champagne up to her. Then he went upstairs to the drawing-room. M. Formery was at the table writing. Guerchard stood beside him. He handed what he had written to Guerchard, and, with a smile of satisfaction, Guerchard folded the paper and put it in his pocket.
Well, M. Formery, did Mademoiselle Kritchnoff throw any fresh light on this mystery? said the Duke, in a tone of faint contempt.
No—in fact she convinced ME that she knew nothing whatever about it. M. Guerchard seems to entertain a different opinion. But I think that even he is convinced that Mademoiselle Kritchnoff is not a friend of Arsene Lupin.
Oh, well, perhaps she isn't. But there's no telling, said Guerchard slowly.
Arsene Lupin? cried the Duke. "Surely you never thought that Mademoiselle Kritchnoff had anything to do with Arsene Lupin?"
I never thought so, said M. Formery. "But when one has a fixed idea ... well, one has a fixed idea." He shrugged his shoulders, and looked at Guerchard with contemptuous eyes.
The Duke laughed, an unaffected ringing laugh, but not a pleasant one: "It's absurd!" he cried.
There are always those thefts, said Guerchard, with a nettled air.
You have nothing to go upon, said M. Formery. "What if she did enter the service of Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin just before the thefts began? Besides, after this lapse of time, if she had committed the thefts, you'd find it a job to bring them home to her. It's not a job worth your doing, anyhow—it's a job for an ordinary detective, Guerchard."
There's always the pendant, said Guerchard. "I am convinced that that pendant is in the house."
Oh, that stupid pendant! I wish I'd never given it to Mademoiselle Gournay-Martin, said the Duke lightly.
I have a feeling that if I could lay my hand on that pendant—if I could find who has it, I should have the key to this mystery.
The devil you would! said the Duke softly. "That is odd. It is the oddest thing about this business I've heard yet."
I have that feeling—I have that feeling, said Guerchard quietly.
The Duke smiled.
They were silent. The Duke walked to the fireplace, stepped into it, and studied the opening. He came out again and said: "Oh, by the way, M. Formery, the policeman at the front door wanted to stop me going out of the house when I went home to change. I take it that M. Guerchard's prohibition does not apply to me?"
Of course not—of course not, your Grace, said M. Formery quickly.
I saw that you had changed your clothes, your Grace, said Guerchard. "I thought that you had done it here."
No, said the Duke, "I went home. The policeman protested; but he went no further, so I did not throw him into the middle of the street."
Whatever our station, we should respect the law, said M. Formery solemnly.
The Republican Law, M. Formery? I am a Royalist, said the Duke, smiling at him.
M. Formery shook his head sadly.
I was wondering, said the Duke, "about M. Guerchard's theory that the burglars were let in the front door of this house by an accomplice. Why, when they had this beautiful large opening, did they want a front door, too?"
I did not know that that was Guerchard's theory? said M. Formery, a trifle contemptuously. "Of course they had no need to use the front door."
Perhaps they had no need to use the front door, said Guerchard; "but, after all, the front door was unbolted, and they did not draw the bolts to put us off the scent. Their false scent was already prepared"—he waved his hand towards the window—"moreover, you must bear in mind that that opening might not have been made when they entered the house. Suppose that, while they were on the other side of the wall, a brick had fallen on to the hearth, and alarmed the concierge. We don't know how skilful they are; they might not have cared to risk it. I'm inclined to think, on the whole, that they did come in through the front door."
M. Formery sniffed contemptuously.
Perhaps you're right, said the Duke. "But the accomplice?"
I think we shall know more about the accomplice when Victoire awakes, said Guerchard.
The family have such confidence in Victoire, said the Duke.
Perhaps Lupin has, too, said Guerchard grimly.
Always Lupin! said M. Formery contemptuously.
There came a knock at the door, and a footman appeared on the threshold. He informed the Duke that Germaine had returned from her shopping expedition, and was awaiting him in her boudoir. He went to her, and tried to persuade her to put in a word for Sonia, and endeavour to soften Guerchard's rigour.
She refused to do anything of the kind, declaring that, in view of the value of the stolen property, no stone must be left unturned to recover it. The police knew what they were doing; they must have a free hand. The Duke did not press her with any great vigour; he realized the futility of an appeal to a nature so shallow, so self-centred, and so lacking in sympathy. He took his revenge by teasing her about the wedding presents which were still flowing in. Her father's business friends were still striving to outdo one another in the costliness of the jewelry they were giving her. The great houses of the Faubourg Saint-Germain were still refraining firmly from anything that savoured of extravagance or ostentation. While he was with her the eleventh paper-knife came—from his mother's friend, the Duchess of Veauleglise. The Duke was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of it, and his delighted comments drove Germaine to the last extremity of exasperation. The result was that she begged him, with petulant asperity, to get out of her sight.
He complied with her request, almost with alacrity, and returned to M. Formery and Guerchard. He found them at a standstill, waiting for reports from the detectives who were hunting outside the house for information about the movements of the burglars with the stolen booty, and apparently finding none. The police were also hunting for the stolen motor-cars, not only in Paris and its environs, but also all along the road between Paris and Charmerace.
At about five o'clock Guerchard grew tired of the inaction, and went out himself to assist his subordinates, leaving M. Formery in charge of the house itself. He promised to be back by half-past seven, to let the examining magistrate, who had an engagement for the evening, get away. The Duke spent his time between the drawing-room, where M. Formery entertained him with anecdotes of his professional skill, and the boudoir, where Germaine was entertaining envious young friends who came to see her wedding presents. The friends of Germaine were always a little ill at ease in the society of the Duke, belonging as they did to that wealthy middle class which has made France what she is. His indifference to the doings of the old friends of his family saddened them; and they were unable to understand his airy and persistent trifling. It seemed to them a discord in the cosmic tune.
The afternoon wore away, and at half-past seven Guerchard had not returned. M. Formery waited for him, fuming, for ten minutes, then left the house in charge of the inspector, and went off to his engagement. M. Gournay-Martin was entertaining two financiers and their wives, two of their daughters, and two friends of the Duke, the Baron de Vernan and the Comte de Vauvineuse, at dinner that night. Thanks to the Duke, the party was of a liveliness to which the gorgeous dining-room had been very little used since it had been so fortunate as to become the property of M. Gournay-Martin.
The millionaire had been looking forward to an evening of luxurious woe, deploring the loss of his treasures—giving their prices—to his sympathetic friends. The Duke had other views; and they prevailed. After dinner the guests went to the smoking-room, since the drawing-rooms were in possession of Guerchard. Soon after ten the Duke slipped away from them, and went to the detective. Guerchard's was not a face at any time full of expression, and all that the Duke saw on it was a subdued dulness.
Well, M. Guerchard, he said cheerfully, "what luck? Have any of your men come across any traces of the passage of the burglars with their booty?"
No, your Grace; so far, all the luck has been with the burglars. For all that any one seems to have seen them, they might have vanished into the bowels of the earth through the floor of the cellars in the empty house next door. That means that they were very quick loading whatever vehicle they used with their plunder. I should think, myself, that they first carried everything from this house down into the hall of the house next door; and then, of course, they could be very quick getting them from hall to their van, or whatever it was. But still, some one saw that van—saw it drive up to the house, or waiting at the house, or driving away from it.
Is M. Formery coming back? said the Duke.
Not to-night, said Guerchard. "The affair is in my hands now; and I have my own men on it—men of some intelligence, or, at any rate, men who know my ways, and how I want things done."
It must be a relief, said the Duke.
Oh, no, I'm used to M. Formery—to all the examining magistrates in Paris, and in most of the big provincial towns. They do not really hamper me; and often I get an idea from them; for some of them are men of real intelligence.
And others are not: I understand, said the Duke.
The door opened and Bonavent, the detective, came in.
The housekeeper's awake, M. Guerchard, he said.
Good, bring her down here, said Guerchard.
Perhaps you'd like me to go, said the Duke.
Oh, no, said Guerchard. "If it would interest you to hear me question her, please stay."
Bonavent left the room. The Duke sat down in an easy chair, and Guerchard stood before the fireplace.
M. Formery told me, when you were out this afternoon, that he believed this housekeeper to be quite innocent, said the Duke idly.
There is certainly one innocent in this affair, said Guerchard, grinning.
Who is that? said the Duke.
The examining magistrate, said Guerchard.
The door opened, and Bonavent brought Victoire in. She was a big, middle-aged woman, with a pleasant, cheerful, ruddy face, black-haired, with sparkling brown eyes, which did not seem to have been at all dimmed by her long, drugged sleep. She looked like a well-to-do farmer's wife, a buxom, good-natured, managing woman.
As soon as she came into the room, she said quickly:
I wish, Mr. Inspector, your man would have given me time to put on a decent dress. I must have been sleeping in this one ever since those rascals tied me up and put that smelly handkerchief over my face. I never saw such a nasty-looking crew as they were in my life.
How many were there, Madame Victoire? said Guerchard.
Dozens! The house was just swarming with them. I heard the noise; I came downstairs; and on the landing outside the door here, one of them jumped on me from behind and nearly choked me—to prevent me from screaming, I suppose.
And they were a nasty-looking crew, were they? said Guerchard. "Did you see their faces?"
No, I wish I had! I should know them again if I had; but they were all masked, said Victoire.
Sit down, Madame Victoire. There's no need to tire you, said Guerchard. And she sat down on a chair facing him.
Let's see, you sleep in one of the top rooms, Madame Victoire. It has a dormer window, set in the roof, hasn't it? said Guerchard, in the same polite, pleasant voice.
Yes; yes. But what has that got to do with it? said Victoire.
Please answer my questions, said Guerchard sharply. "You went to sleep in your room. Did you hear any noise on the roof?"
On the roof? How should I hear it on the roof? There wouldn't be any noise on the roof, said Victoire.
You heard nothing on the roof? said Guerchard.
No; the noise I heard was down here, said Victoire.
Yes, and you came down to see what was making it. And you were seized from behind on the landing, and brought in here, said Guerchard.
Yes, that's right, said Madame Victoire.
And were you tied up and gagged on the landing, or in here? said Guerchard.
Oh, I was caught on the landing, and pushed in here, and then tied up, said Victoire.
I'm sure that wasn't one man's job, said Guerchard, looking at her vigorous figure with admiring eyes.
You may be sure of that, said Victoire. "It took four of them; and at least two of them have some nice bruises on their shins to show for it."
I'm sure they have. And it serves them jolly well right, said Guerchard, in a tone of warm approval. "And, I suppose, while those four were tying you up the others stood round and looked on."
Oh, no, they were far too busy for that, said Victoire.
What were they doing? said Guerchard.
They were taking the pictures off the walls and carrying them out of the window down the ladder, said Victoire.
Guerchard's eyes flickered towards the Duke, but the expression of earnest inquiry on his face never changed.
Now, tell me, did the man who took a picture from the walls carry it down the ladder himself, or did he hand it through the window to a man who was standing on the top of a ladder ready to receive it? he said.
Victoire paused as if to recall their action; then she said, "Oh, he got through the window, and carried it down the ladder himself."
You're sure of that? said Guerchard.
Oh, yes, I am quite sure of it—why should I deceive you, Mr. Inspector? said Victoire quickly; and the Duke saw the first shadow of uneasiness on her face.
Of course not, said Guerchard. "And where were you?"
Oh, they put me behind the screen.
No, no, where were you when you came into the room?
I was against the door, said Victoire.
And where was the screen? said Guerchard. "Was it before the fireplace?"
No; it was on one side—the left-hand side, said Victoire.
Oh, will you show me exactly where it stood? said Guerchard.
Victoire rose, and, Guerchard aiding her, set the screen on the left-hand side of the fireplace.
Guerchard stepped back and looked at it.
Now, this is very important, he said. "I must have the exact position of the four feet of that screen. Let's see ... some chalk ... of course.... You do some dressmaking, don't you, Madame Victoire?"
Oh, yes, I sometimes make a dress for one of the maids in my spare time, said Victoire.
Then you've got a piece of chalk on you, said Guerchard.
Oh, yes, said Victoire, putting her hand to the pocket of her dress.
She paused, took a step backwards, and looked wildly round the room, while the colour slowly faded in her ruddy cheeks.
What am I talking about? she said in an uncertain, shaky voice. "I haven't any chalk—I—ran out of chalk the day before yesterday."
I think you have, Madame Victoire. Feel in your pocket and see, said Guerchard sternly. His voice had lost its suavity; his face its smile: his eyes had grown dangerous.
No, no; I have no chalk, cried Victoire.
With a sudden leap Guerchard sprang upon her, caught her in a firm grip with his right arm, and his left hand plunged into her pocket.
Let me go! Let me go! You're hurting, she cried.
Guerchard loosed her and stepped back.
What's this? he said; and he held up between his thumb and forefinger a piece of blue chalk.
Victoire drew herself up and faced him gallantly: "Well, what of it?—it is chalk. Mayn't an honest woman carry chalk in her pockets without being insulted and pulled about by every policeman she comes across?" she cried.
That will be for the examining magistrate to decide, said Guerchard; and he went to the door and called Bonavent. Bonavent came in, and Guerchard said: "When the prison van comes, put this woman in it; and send her down to the station."
But what have I done? cried Victoire. "I'm innocent! I declare I'm innocent. I've done nothing at all. It's not a crime to carry a piece of chalk in one's pocket."
Now, that's a matter for the examining magistrate. You can explain it to him, said Guerchard. "I've got nothing to do with it: so it's no good making a fuss now. Do go quietly, there's a good woman."
He spoke in a quiet, business-like tone. Victoire looked him in the eyes, then drew herself up, and went quietly out of the room.
"One of M. Formery's innocents," said Guerchard, turning to the Duke.
The chalk? said the Duke. "Is it the same chalk?"
It's blue, said Guerchard, holding it out. "The same as that of the signatures on the walls. Add that fact to the woman's sudden realization of what she was doing, and you'll see that they were written with it."
It is rather a surprise, said the Duke. "To look at her you would think that she was the most honest woman in the world."
Ah, you don't know Lupin, your Grace, said Guerchard. "He can do anything with women; and they'll do anything for him. And, what's more, as far as I can see, it doesn't make a scrap of difference whether they're honest or not. The fair-haired lady I was telling you about was probably an honest woman; Ganimard is sure of it. We should have found out long ago who she was if she had been a wrong 'un. And Ganimard also swears that when he arrested Lupin on board the Provence some woman, some ordinary, honest woman among the passengers, carried away Lady Garland's jewels, which he had stolen and was bringing to America, and along with them a matter of eight hundred pounds which he had stolen from a fellow-passenger on the voyage."
That power of fascination which some men exercise on women is one of those mysteries which science should investigate before it does anything else, said the Duke, in a reflective tone. "Now I come to think of it, I had much better have spent my time on that investigation than on that tedious journey to the South Pole. All the same, I'm deucedly sorry for that woman, Victoire. She looks such a good soul."
Guerchard shrugged his shoulders: "The prisons are full of good souls," he said, with cynical wisdom born of experience. "They get caught so much more often than the bad."
It seems rather mean of Lupin to make use of women like this, and get them into trouble, said the Duke.
But he doesn't, said Guerchard quickly. "At least he hasn't up to now. This Victoire is the first we've caught. I look on it as a good omen."
He walked across the room, picked up his cloak, and took a card-case from the inner pocket of it. "If you don't mind, your Grace, I want you to show this permit to my men who are keeping the door, whenever you go out of the house. It's just a formality; but I attach considerable importance to it, for I really ought not to make exceptions in favour of any one. I have two men at the door, and they have orders to let nobody out without my written permission. Of course M. Gournay-Martin's guests are different. Bonavent has orders to pass them out. And, if your Grace doesn't mind, it will help me. If you carry a permit, no one else will dream of complaining of having to do so."
Oh, I don't mind, if it's of any help to you, said the Duke cheerfully.
Thank you, said Guerchard. And he wrote on his card and handed it to the Duke.
The Duke took it and looked at it. On it was written:
Pass the Duke of Charmerace.
J. GUERCHARD.
It's quite military, said the Duke, putting the card into his waistcoat pocket.
There came a knock at the door, and a tall, thin, bearded man came into the room.
Ah, Dieusy! At last! What news? cried Guerchard.
Dieusy saluted: "I've learnt that a motor-van was waiting outside the next house—in the side street," he said.
At what time? said Guerchard.
Between four and five in the morning, said Dieusy.
Who saw it? said Guerchard.
A scavenger. He thinks that it was nearly five o'clock when the van drove off.
Between four and five—nearly five. Then they filled up the opening before they loaded the van. I thought they would, said Guerchard, thoughtfully. "Anything else?"
A few minutes after the van had gone a man in motoring dress came out of the house, said Dieusy.
In motoring dress? said Guerchard quickly.
Yes. And a little way from the house he threw away his cigarette. The scavenger thought the whole business a little queer, and he picked up the cigarette and kept it. Here it is.
He handed it to Guerchard, whose eyes scanned it carelessly and then glued themselves to it.
A gold-tipped cigarette ... marked Mercedes ... Why, your Grace, this is one of your cigarettes!
But this is incredible! cried the Duke.
Not at all, said Guerchard. "It's merely another link in the chain. I've no doubt you have some of these cigarettes at Charmerace."
Oh, yes, I've had a box on most of the tables, said the Duke.
Well, there you are, said Guerchard.
Oh, I see what you're driving at, said the Duke. "You mean that one of the Charolais must have taken a box."
Well, we know that they'd hardly stick at a box of cigarettes, said Guerchard.
Yes ... but I thought ... said the Duke; and he paused.
You thought what? said Guerchard.
Then Lupin ... since it was Lupin who managed the business last night—since you found those salvias in the house next door ... then Lupin came from Charmerace.
Evidently, said Guerchard.
And Lupin is one of the Charolais.
Oh, that's another matter, said Guerchard.
But it's certain, absolutely certain, said the Duke. "We have the connecting links ... the salvias ... this cigarette."
It looks very like it. You're pretty quick on a scent, I must say, said Guerchard. "What a detective you would have made! Only ... nothing is certain."
But it IS. Whatever more do you want? Was he at Charmerace yesterday, or was he not? Did he, or did he not, arrange the theft of the motor-cars?
Certainly he did. But he himself might have remained in the background all the while, said Guerchard.
In what shape? ... Under what mask? ... By Jove, I should like to see this fellow! said the Duke.
We shall see him to-night, said Guerchard.
To-night? said the Duke.
Of course we shall; for he will come to steal the coronet between a quarter to twelve and midnight, said Guerchard.
Never! said the Duke. "You don't really believe that he'll have the cheek to attempt such a mad act?"
Ah, you don't know this man, your Grace ... his extraordinary mixture of coolness and audacity. It's the danger that attracts him. He throws himself into the fire, and he doesn't get burnt. For the last ten years I've been saying to myself, 'Here we are: this time I've got him! ... At last I'm going to nab him.' But I've said that day after day, said Guerchard; and he paused.
Well? said the Duke.
Well, the days pass; and I never nab him. Oh, he is thick, I tell you.... He's a joker, he is ... a regular artist—he ground his teeth—"The damned thief!"
The Duke looked at him, and said slowly, "Then you think that to-night Lupin—"
You've followed the scent with me, your Grace, Guerchard interrupted quickly and vehemently. "We've picked up each clue together. You've almost seen this man at work.... You've understood him. Isn't a man like this, I ask you, capable of anything?"
He is, said the Duke, with conviction.
Well, then, said Guerchard.
Perhaps you're right, said the Duke.
Guerchard turned to Dieusy and said, in a quieter voice, "And when the scavenger had picked up the cigarette, did he follow the motorist?"
Yes, he followed him for about a hundred yards. He went down into Sureau Street, and turned westwards. Then a motor-car came along; he got into it, and went off.
What kind of a motor-car? said Guerchard.
A big car, and dark red in colour, said Dieusy.
The Limousine! cried the Duke.
That's all I've got so far, sir, said Dieusy.
Well, off you go, said Guerchard. "Now that you've got started, you'll probably get something else before very long."
Dieusy saluted and went.
Things are beginning to move, said Guerchard cheerfully. "First Victoire, and now this motor-van."
They are indeed, said the Duke.
After all, it ought not to be very difficult to trace that motor-van, said Guerchard, in a musing tone. "At any rate, its movements ought to be easy enough to follow up till about six. Then, of course, there would be a good many others about, delivering goods."
You seem to have all the possible information you can want at your finger-ends, said the Duke, in an admiring tone.
I suppose I know the life of Paris as well as anybody, said Guerchard.
They were silent for a while. Then Germaine's maid, Irma, came into the room and said:
If you please, your Grace, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff would like to speak to you for a moment.
Oh? Where is she? said the Duke.
She's in her room, your Grace.
Oh, very well, I'll go up to her, said the Duke. "I can speak to her in the library."
He rose and was going towards the door when Guerchard stepped forward, barring his way, and said, "No, your Grace."
No? Why? said the Duke haughtily.
I beg you will wait a minute or two till I've had a word with you, said Guerchard; and he drew a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and held it up.
The Duke looked at Guerchard's face, and he looked at the paper in his hand; then he said: "Oh, very well." And, turning to Irma, he added quietly, "Tell Mademoiselle Kritchnoff that I'm in the drawing-room."
Yes, your Grace, in the drawing-room, said Irma; and she turned to go.
Yes; and say that I shall be engaged for the next five minutes—the next five minutes, do you understand? said the Duke.
Yes, your Grace, said Irma; and she went out of the door.
Ask Mademoiselle Kritchnoff to put on her hat and cloak, said Guerchard.
Yes, sir, said Irma; and she went.
The Duke turned sharply on Guerchard, and said: "Now, why on earth? ... I don't understand."
I got this from M. Formery, said Guerchard, holding up the paper.
Well, said the Duke. "What is it?"
It's a warrant, your Grace, said Guerchard.
What! ... A warrant! ... Not for the arrest of Mademoiselle Kritchnoff?
Yes, said Guerchard.
Oh, come, it's impossible, said the Duke. "You're never going to arrest that child?"
I am, indeed, said Guerchard. "Her examination this afternoon was in the highest degree unsatisfactory. Her answers were embarrassed, contradictory, and in every way suspicious."
And you've made up your mind to arrest her? said the Duke slowly, knitting his brow in anxious thought.
I have, indeed, said Guerchard. "And I'm going to do it now. The prison van ought to be waiting at the door." He looked at his watch. "She and Victoire can go together."
So ... you're going to arrest her ... you're going to arrest her? said the Duke thoughtfully: and he took a step or two up and down the room, still thinking hard.
Well, you understand the position, don't you, your Grace? said Guerchard, in a tone of apology. "Believe me that, personally, I've no animosity against Mademoiselle Kritchnoff. In fact, the child attracts me."
Yes, said the Duke softly, in a musing tone. "She has the air of a child who has lost its way ... lost its way in life.... And that poor little hiding-place she found ... that rolled-up handkerchief ... thrown down in the corner of the little room in the house next door ... it was absolutely absurd."
What! A handkerchief! cried Guerchard, with an air of sudden, utter surprise.
The child's clumsiness is positively pitiful, said the Duke.
What was in the handkerchief? ... The pearls of the pendant? cried Guerchard.
Yes: I supposed you knew all about it. Of course M. Formery left word for you, said the Duke, with an air of surprise at the ignorance of the detective.
No: I've heard nothing about it, cried Guerchard.
He didn't leave word for you? said the Duke, in a tone of greater surprise. "Oh, well, I dare say that he thought to-morrow would do. Of course you were out of the house when he found it. She must have slipped out of her room soon after you went."
He found a handkerchief belonging to Mademoiselle Kritchnoff. Where is it? cried Guerchard.
M. Formery took the pearls, but he left the handkerchief. I suppose it's in the corner where he found it, said the Duke.
He left the handkerchief? cried Guerchard. "If that isn't just like the fool! He ought to keep hens; it's all he's fit for!"
He ran to the fireplace, seized the lantern, and began lighting it: "Where is the handkerchief?" he cried.
In the left-hand corner of the little room on the right on the second floor. But if you're going to arrest Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, why are you bothering about the handkerchief? It can't be of any importance, said the Duke.
I beg your pardon, said Guerchard. "But it is."
But why? said the Duke.
I was arresting Mademoiselle Kritchnoff all right because I had a very strong presumption of her guilt. But I hadn't the slightest proof of it, said Guerchard.
What? cried the Duke, in a horrified tone.
No, you've just given me the proof; and since she was able to hide the pearls in the house next door, she knew the road which led to it. Therefore she's an accomplice, said Guerchard, in a triumphant tone.
What? Do you think that, too? cried the Duke. "Good Heavens! And it's me! ... It's my senselessness! ... It's my fault that you've got your proof!" He spoke in a tone of acute distress.
It was your duty to give it me, said Guerchard sternly; and he began to mount the steps.
Shall I come with you? I know where the handkerchief is, said the Duke quickly.
No, thank you, your Grace, said Guerchard. "I prefer to go alone."
You'd better let me help you, said the Duke.
No, your Grace, said Guerchard firmly.
I must really insist, said the Duke.
No—no—no, said Guerchard vehemently, with stern decision. "It's no use your insisting, your Grace; I prefer to go alone. I shall only be gone a minute or two."
Just as you like, said the Duke stiffly.
The legs of Guerchard disappeared up the steps. The Duke stood listening with all his ears. Directly he heard the sound of Guerchard's heels on the floor, when he dropped from the chimney-piece of the next room, he went swiftly to the door, opened it, and went out. Bonavent was sitting on the chair on which the young policeman had sat during the afternoon. Sonia, in her hat and cloak, was half-way down the stairs.
The Duke put his head inside the drawing-room door, and said to the empty room: "Here is Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, M. Guerchard." He held open the door, Sonia came down the stairs, and went through it. The Duke followed her into the drawing-room, and shut the door.
There's not a moment to lose, he said in a low voice.
Oh, what is it, your Grace? said Sonia anxiously.
Guerchard has a warrant for your arrest.
Then I'm lost! cried Sonia, in a panic-stricken voice.
No, you're not. You must go—at once, said the Duke.
But how can I go? No one can get out of the house. M. Guerchard won't let them, cried Sonia, panic-stricken.
We can get over that, said the Duke.
He ran to Guerchard's cloak, took the card-case from the inner pocket, went to the writing-table, and sat down. He took from his waist-coat pocket the permit which Guerchard had given him, and a pencil. Then he took a card from the card-case, set the permit on the table before him, and began to imitate Guerchard's handwriting with an amazing exactness. He wrote on the card:
Pass Mademoiselle Kritchnoff.
J. GUERCHARD.
Sonia stood by his side, panting quickly with fear, and watched him do it. He had scarcely finished the last stroke, when they heard a noise on the other side of the opening into the empty house. The Duke looked at the fireplace, and his teeth bared in an expression of cold ferocity. He rose with clenched fists, and took a step towards the fireplace.
Your Grace? Your Grace? called the voice of Guerchard.
What is it? answered the Duke quietly.
I can't see any handkerchief, said Guerchard. "Didn't you say it was in the left-hand corner of the little room on the right?"
I told you you'd better let me come with you, and find it, said the Duke, in a tone of triumph. "It's in the right-hand corner of the little room on the left."
I could have sworn you said the little room on the right, said Guerchard.
They heard his footfalls die away.
Now, you must get out of the house quickly. said the Duke. "Show this card to the detectives at the door, and they'll pass you without a word."
He pressed the card into her hand.
But—but—this card? stammered Sonia.
There's no time to lose, said the Duke.
But this is madness, said Sonia. "When Guerchard finds out about this card—that you—you—"
There's no need to bother about that, interrupted the Duke quickly. "Where are you going to?"
A little hotel near the Star. I've forgotten the name of it, said Sonia. "But this card—"
Has it a telephone? said the Duke.
Yes—No. 555, Central, said Sonia.
If I haven't telephoned to you before half-past eight to-morrow morning, come straight to my house, said the Duke, scribbling the telephone number on his shirt-cuff.
Yes, yes, said Sonia. "But this card.... When Guerchard knows ... when he discovers.... Oh, I can't let you get into trouble for me."
I shan't. But go—go, said the Duke, and he slipped his right arm round her and drew her to the door.
Oh, how good you are to me, said Sonia softly.
The Duke's other arm went round her; he drew her to him, and their lips met.
He loosed her, and opened the door, saying loudly: "You're sure you won't have a cab, Mademoiselle Kritchnoff?"
No; no, thank you, your Grace. Goodnight, said Sonia. And she went through the door with a transfigured face.
The Duke shut the door and leant against it, listening anxiously, breathing quickly. There came the bang of the front door. With a deep sigh of relief he left the door, came briskly, smiling, across the room, and put the card-case back into the pocket of Guerchard's cloak. He lighted a cigarette, dropped into an easy chair, and sat waiting with an entirely careless air for the detective's return. Presently he heard quick footsteps on the bare boards of the empty room beyond the opening. Then Guerchard came down the steps and out of the fireplace.
His face wore an expression of extreme perplexity:
I can't understand it, he said. "I found nothing."
Nothing? said the Duke.
No. Are you sure you saw the handkerchief in one of those little rooms on the second floor—quite sure? said Guerchard.
Of course I did, said the Duke. "Isn't it there?"
No, said Guerchard.
You can't have looked properly, said the Duke, with a touch of irony in his voice. "If I were you, I should go back and look again."
No. If I've looked for a thing, I've looked for it. There's no need for me to look a second time. But, all the same, it's rather funny. Doesn't it strike you as being rather funny, your Grace? said Guerchard, with a worried air.
It strikes me as being uncommonly funny, said the Duke, with an ambiguous smile.
Guerchard looked at him with a sudden uneasiness; then he rang the bell.
Bonavent came into the room.
Mademoiselle Kritchnoff, Bonavent. It's quite time, said Guerchard.
Mademoiselle Kritchnoff? said Bonavent, with an air of surprise.
Yes, it's time that she was taken to the police-station.
Mademoiselle Kritchnoff has gone, sir, said Bonavent, in a tone of quiet remonstrance.
Gone? What do you mean by gone? said Guerchard.
Gone, sir, gone! said Bonavent patiently.
But you're mad.... Mad! cried Guerchard.
No, I'm not mad, said Bonavent. "Gone! But who let her go?" cried Guerchard.
The men at the door, said Bonavent.
The men at the door, said Guerchard, in a tone of stupefaction. "But she had to have my permit ... my permit on my card! Send the fools up to me!"
Bonavent went to the top of the staircase, and called down it. Guerchard followed him. Two detectives came hurrying up the stairs and into the drawing-room.
What the devil do you mean by letting Mademoiselle Kritchnoff leave the house without my permit, written on my card? cried Guerchard violently.
But she had your permit, sir, and it WAS written on your card, stammered one of the detectives.
It was? ... it was? said Guerchard. "Then, by Jove, it was a forgery!"
He stood thoughtful for a moment. Then quietly he told his two men to go back to their post. He did not stir for a minute or two, puzzling it out, seeking light.
Then he came back slowly into the drawing-room and looked uneasily at the Duke. The Duke was sitting in his easy chair, smoking a cigarette with a listless air. Guerchard looked at him, and looked at him, almost as if he now saw him for the first time.
Well? said the Duke, "have you sent that poor child off to prison? If I'd done a thing like that I don't think I should sleep very well, M. Guerchard."
That poor child has just escaped, by means of a forged permit, said Guerchard very glumly.
By Jove, I AM glad to hear that! cried the Duke. "You'll forgive my lack of sympathy, M. Guerchard; but she was such a child."
Not too young to be Lupin's accomplice, said Guerchard drily.
You really think she is? said the Duke, in a tone of doubt.
I'm sure of it, said Guerchard, with decision; then he added slowly, with a perplexed air:
But how—how—could she get that forged permit?
The Duke shook his head, and looked as solemn as an owl. Guerchard looked at him uneasily, went out of the drawing-room, and shut the door.
How long has Mademoiselle Kritchnoff been gone? he said to Bonavent.
Not much more than five minutes, said Bonavent. "She came out from talking to you in the drawing-room—"
Talking to me in the drawing-room! exclaimed Guerchard.
Yes, said Bonavent. "She came out and went straight down the stairs and out of the house."
A faint, sighing gasp came from Guerchard's lips. He dashed into the drawing-room, crossed the room quickly to his cloak, picked it up, took the card-case out of the pocket, and counted the cards in it. Then he looked at the Duke.
The Duke smiled at him, a charming smile, almost caressing.
There seemed to be a lump in Guerchard's throat; he swallowed it loudly.
He put the card-case into the breast-pocket of the coat he was wearing. Then he cried sharply, "Bonavent! Bonavent!"
Bonavent opened the door, and stood in the doorway.
You sent off Victoire in the prison-van, I suppose, said Guerchard.
Oh, a long while ago, sir, said Bonavent.
The van had been waiting at the door since half-past nine.
Since half-past nine? ... But I told them I shouldn't want it till a quarter to eleven. I suppose they were making an effort to be in time for once. Well, it doesn't matter, said Guerchard.
Then I suppose I'd better send the other prison-van away? said Bonavent.
What other van? said Guerchard.
The van which has just arrived, said Bonavent.
What! What on earth are you talking about? cried Guerchard, with a sudden anxiety in his voice and on his face.
Didn't you order two prison-vans? said Bonavent.
Guerchard jumped; and his face went purple with fury and dismay. "You don't mean to tell me that two prison-vans have been here?" he cried.
Yes, sir, said Bonavent.
Damnation! cried Guerchard. "In which of them did you put Victoire? In which of them?"
Why, in the first, sir, said Bonavent.
Did you see the police in charge of it? The coachman?
Yes, sir, said Bonavent.
Did you recognize them? said Guerchard.
No, said Bonavent; "they must have been new men. They told me they came from the Sante."
You silly fool! said Guerchard through his teeth. "A fine lot of sense you've got."
Why, what's the matter? said Bonavent.
We're done, done in the eye! roared Guerchard. "It's a stroke—a stroke—"
Of Lupin's! interposed the Duke softly.
But I don't understand, said Bonavent.
You don't understand, you idiot! cried Guerchard. "You've sent Victoire away in a sham prison-van—a prison-van belonging to Lupin. Oh, that scoundrel! He always has something up his sleeve."
He certainly shows foresight, said the Duke. "It was very clever of him to foresee the arrest of Victoire and provide against it."
Yes, but where is the leakage? Where is the leakage? cried Guerchard, fuming. "How did he learn that the doctor said that she would recover her wits at ten o'clock? Here I've had a guard at the door all day; I've imprisoned the household; all the provisions have been received directly by a man of mine; and here he is, ready to pick up Victoire the very moment she gives herself away! Where is the leakage?"
He turned on Bonavent, and went on: "It's no use your standing there with your mouth open, looking like a fool. Go upstairs to the servants' quarters and search Victoire's room again. That fool of an inspector may have missed something, just as he missed Victoire herself. Get on! Be smart!"
Bonavent went off briskly. Guerchard paced up and down the room, scowling.
Really, I'm beginning to agree with you, M. Guerchard, that this Lupin is a remarkable man, said the Duke. "That prison-van is extraordinarily neat."
I'll prison-van him! cried Guerchard. "But what fools I have to work with. If I could get hold of people of ordinary intelligence it would be impossible to play such a trick as that."
I don't know about that, said the Duke thoughtfully. "I think it would have required an uncommon fool to discover that trick."
What on earth do you mean? Why? said Guerchard.
Because it's so wonderfully simple, said the Duke. "And at the same time it's such infernal cheek."
There's something in that, said Guerchard grumpily. "But then, I'm always saying to my men, 'Suspect everything; suspect everybody; suspect, suspect, suspect.' I tell you, your Grace, that there is only one motto for the successful detective, and that is that one word, 'suspect.'"
It can't be a very comfortable business, then, said the Duke. "But I suppose it has its charms."
Oh, one gets used to the disagreeable part, said Guerchard.
The telephone bell rang; and he rose and went to it. He put the receiver to his ear and said, "Yes; it's I—Chief-Inspector Guerchard."
He turned and said to the Duke, "It's the gardener at Charmerace, your Grace."
Is it? said the Duke indifferently.
Guerchard turned to the telephone. "Are you there?" he said. "Can you hear me clearly? ... I want to know who was in your hot-house yesterday ... who could have gathered some of your pink salvias?"
I told you that it was I, said the Duke.
Yes, yes, I know, said Guerchard. And he turned again to the telephone. "Yes, yesterday," he said. "Nobody else? ... No one but the Duke of Charmerace? ... Are you sure?... quite sure?... absolutely sure? ... Yes, that's all I wanted to know ... thank you."
He turned to the Duke and said, "Did you hear that, your Grace? The gardener says that you were the only person in his hot-houses yesterday, the only person who could have plucked any pink salvias."
Does he? said the Duke carelessly.
Guerchard looked at him, his brow knitted in a faint, pondering frown. Then the door opened, and Bonavent came in: "I've been through Victoire's room," he said, "and all I could find that might be of any use is this—a prayer-book. It was on her dressing-table just as she left it. The inspector hadn't touched it."
What about it? said Guerchard, taking the prayer-book.
There's a photograph in it, said Bonavent. "It may come in useful when we circulate her description; for I suppose we shall try to get hold of Victoire."
Guerchard took the photograph from the prayer-book and looked at it: "It looks about ten years old," he said. "It's a good deal faded for reproduction. Hullo! What have we here?"
The photograph showed Victoire in her Sunday best, and with her a boy of seventeen or eighteen. Guerchard's eyes glued themselves to the face of the boy. He stared at it, holding the portrait now nearer, now further off. His eyes kept stealing covertly from the photograph to the face of the Duke.
The Duke caught one of those covert glances, and a vague uneasiness flickered in his eyes. Guerchard saw it. He came nearer to the Duke and looked at him earnestly, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
What's the matter? said the Duke. "What are you looking at so curiously? Isn't my tie straight?" And he put up his hand and felt it.
Oh, nothing, nothing, said Guerchard. And he studied the photograph again with a frowning face.
There was a noise of voices and laughter in the hall.
Those people are going, said the Duke. "I must go down and say good-bye to them." And he rose and went out of the room.
Guerchard stood staring, staring at the photograph.
The Duke ran down the stairs, and said goodbye to the millionaire's guests. After they had gone, M. Gournay-Martin went quickly up the stairs; Germaine and the Duke followed more slowly.
My father is going to the Ritz to sleep, said Germaine, "and I'm going with him. He doesn't like the idea of my sleeping in this house to-night. I suppose he's afraid that Lupin will make an attack in force with all his gang. Still, if he did, I think that Guerchard could give a good account of himself—he's got men enough in the house, at any rate. Irma tells me it's swarming with them. It would never do for me to be in the house if there were a fight."
Oh, come, you don't really believe that Lupin is coming to-night? said the Duke, with a sceptical laugh. "The whole thing is sheer bluff—he has no more intention of coming tonight to steal that coronet than—than I have."
Oh, well, there's no harm in being on the safe side, said Germaine. "Everybody's agreed that he's a very terrible person. I'll just run up to my room and get a wrap; Irma has my things all packed. She can come round tomorrow morning to the Ritz and dress me."
She ran up the stairs, and the Duke went into the drawing-room. He found Guerchard standing where he had left him, still frowning, still thinking hard.
The family are off to the Ritz. It's rather a reflection on your powers of protecting them, isn't it? said the Duke.
Oh, well, I expect they'd be happier out of the house, said Guerchard. He looked at the Duke again with inquiring, searching eyes.
What's the matter? said the Duke. "IS my tie crooked?"
Oh, no, no; it's quite straight, your Grace, said Guerchard, but he did not take his eyes from the Duke's face.
The door opened, and in came M. Gournay-Martin, holding a bag in his hand. "It seems to be settled that I'm never to sleep in my own house again," he said in a grumbling tone.
There's no reason to go, said the Duke. "Why ARE you going?"
Danger, said M. Gournay-Martin. "You read Lupin's telegram: 'I shall come to-night between a quarter to twelve and midnight to take the coronet.' He knows that it was in my bedroom. Do you think I'm going to sleep in that room with the chance of that scoundrel turning up and cutting my throat?"
Oh, you can have a dozen policemen in the room if you like, said the Duke. "Can't he, M. Guerchard?"
Certainly, said Guerchard. "I can answer for it that you will be in no danger, M. Gournay-Martin."
Thank you, said the millionaire. "But all the same, outside is good enough for me."
Germaine came into the room, cloaked and ready to start.
For once in a way you are ready first, papa, she said. "Are you coming, Jacques?"
No; I think I'll stay here, on the chance that Lupin is not bluffing, said the Duke. "I don't think, myself, that I'm going to be gladdened by the sight of him—in fact, I'm ready to bet against it. But you're all so certain about it that I really must stay on the chance. And, after all, there's no doubt that he's a man of immense audacity and ready to take any risk."
Well, at any rate, if he does come he won't find the diadem, said M. Gournay-Martin, in a tone of triumph. "I'm taking it with me—I've got it here." And he held up his bag.
You are? said the Duke.
Yes, I am, said M. Gournay-Martin firmly.
Do you think it's wise? said the Duke.
Why not? said M. Gournay-Martin.
If Lupin's really made up his mind to collar that coronet, and if you're so sure that, in spite of all these safeguards, he's going to make the attempt, it seems to me that you're taking a considerable risk. He asked you to have it ready for him in your bedroom. He didn't say which bedroom.
Good Lord! I never thought of that! said M. Gournay-Martin, with an air of sudden and very lively alarm.
His Grace is right, said Guerchard. "It would be exactly like Lupin to send that telegram to drive you out of the house with the coronet to some place where you would be less protected. That is exactly one of his tricks."
Good Heavens! said the millionaire, pulling out his keys and unlocking the bag. He opened it, paused hesitatingly, and snapped it to again.
Half a minute, he said. "I want a word with you, Duke."
He led the way out of the drawing-room door and the Duke followed him. He shut the door and said in a whisper:
In a case like this, I suspect everybody.
Everybody suspects everybody, apparently, said the Duke. "Are you sure you don't suspect me?"
Now, now, this is no time for joking, said the millionaire impatiently. "What do you think about Guerchard?"
About Guerchard? said the Duke. "What do you mean?"
Do you think I can put full confidence in Guerchard? said M. Gournay-Martin.
Oh, I think so, said the Duke. "Besides, I shall be here to look after Guerchard. And, though I wouldn't undertake to answer for Lupin, I think I can answer for Guerchard. If he tries to escape with the coronet, I will wring his neck for you with pleasure. It would do me good. And it would do Guerchard good, too."
The millionaire stood reflecting for a minute or two. Then he said, "Very good; I'll trust him."
Hardly had the door closed behind the millionaire and the Duke, when Guerchard crossed the room quickly to Germaine and drew from his pocket the photograph of Victoire and the young man.
Do you know this photograph of his Grace, mademoiselle? he said quickly.
Germaine took the photograph and looked at it.
It's rather faded, she said.
Yes; it's about ten years old, said Guerchard.
I seem to know the face of the woman, said Germaine. "But if it's ten years old it certainly isn't the photograph of the Duke."
But it's like him? said Guerchard.
Oh, yes, it's like the Duke as he is now—at least, it's a little like him. But it's not like the Duke as he was ten years ago. He has changed so, said Germaine.
Oh, has he? said Guerchard.
Yes; there was that exhausting journey of his—and then his illness. The doctors gave up all hope of him, you know.
Oh, did they? said Guerchard.
Yes; at Montevideo. But his health is quite restored now.
The door opened and the millionaire and the Duke came into the room. M. Gournay-Martin set his bag upon the table, unlocked it, and with a solemn air took out the case which held the coronet. He opened it; and they looked at it.
Isn't it beautiful? he said with a sigh.
Marvellous! said the Duke.
M. Gournay-Martin closed the case, and said solemnly:
There is danger, M. Guerchard, so I am going to trust the coronet to you. You are the defender of my hearth and home—you are the proper person to guard the coronet. I take it that you have no objection?
Not the slightest, M. Gournay-Martin, said Guerchard. "It's exactly what I wanted you to ask me to do."
M. Gournay-Martin hesitated. Then he handed the coronet to Guerchard, saying with a frank and noble air, "I have every confidence in you, M. Guerchard."
Thank you, said Guerchard.
Good-night, said M. Gournay-Martin.
Good-night, M. Guerchard, said Germaine.
I think, after all, I'll change my mind and go with you. I'm very short of sleep, said the Duke. "Good-night, M. Guerchard."
You're never going too, your Grace! cried Guerchard.
Why, you don't want me to stay, do you? said the Duke.
Yes, said Guerchard slowly.
I think I would rather go to bed, said the Duke gaily.
Are you afraid? said Guerchard, and there was challenge, almost an insolent challenge, in his tone.
There was a pause. The Duke frowned slightly with a reflective air. Then he drew himself up; and said a little haughtily:
You've certainly found the way to make me stay, M. Guerchard.
Yes, yes; stay, stay, said M. Gournay-Martin hastily. "It's an excellent idea, excellent. You're the very man to help M. Guerchard, Duke. You're an intrepid explorer, used to danger and resourceful, absolutely fearless."
Do you really mean to say you're not going home to bed, Jacques? said Germaine, disregarding her father's wish with her usual frankness.
No; I'm going to stay with M. Guerchard, said the Duke slowly.
Well, you will be fresh to go to the Princess's to-morrow night. said Germaine petulantly. "You didn't get any sleep at all last night, you couldn't have. You left Charmerace at eight o'clock; you were motoring all the night, and only got to Paris at six o'clock this morning."
Motoring all night, from eight o'clock to six! muttered Guerchard under his breath.
Oh, that will be all right, said the Duke carelessly. "This interesting affair is to be over by midnight, isn't it?"
Well, I warn you that, tired or fresh, you will have to come with me to the Princess's to-morrow night. All Paris will be there—all Paris, that is, who are in Paris.
Oh, I shall be fresh enough, said the Duke.
They went out of the drawing-room and down the stairs, all four of them. There was an alert readiness about Guerchard, as if he were ready to spring. He kept within a foot of the Duke right to the front door. The detective in charge opened it; and they went down the steps to the taxi-cab which was awaiting them. The Duke kissed Germaine's fingers and handed her into the taxi-cab.
M. Gournay-Martin paused at the cab-door, and turned and said, with a pathetic air, "Am I never to sleep in my own house again?" He got into the cab and drove off.
The Duke turned and came up the steps, followed by Guerchard. In the hall he took his opera-hat and coat from the stand, and went upstairs. Half-way up the flight he paused and said:
Where shall we wait for Lupin, M. Guerchard? In the drawing-room, or in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom?
Oh, the drawing-room, said Guerchard. "I think it very unlikely that Lupin will look for the coronet in M. Gournay-Martin's bedroom. He would know very well that that is the last place to find it now."
The Duke went on into the drawing-room. At the door Guerchard stopped and said: "I will just go and post my men, your Grace."
Very good, said the Duke; and he went into the drawing-room.
He sat down, lighted a cigarette, and yawned. Then he took out his watch and looked at it.
Another twenty minutes, he said.