III. The Escape of Arsene Lupin
Arsene Lupin had just finished his repast and taken from hispocket an excellent cigar, with a gold band, which he wasexamining with unusual care, when the door of his cell was opened.He had barely time to throw the cigar into the drawer and moveaway from the table. The guard entered. It was the hour forexercise.
"I was waiting for you, my dear boy," exclaimed Lupin, in hisaccustomed good humor.
They went out together. As soon as they had disappeared at a turnin the corridor, two men entered the cell and commenced a minuteexamination of it. One was Inspector Dieuzy; the other wasInspector Folenfant. They wished to verify their suspicion thatArsene Lupin was in communication with his accomplices outside ofthe prison. On the preceding evening, the `Grand Journal' hadpublished these lines addressed to its court reporter:
"Monsieur:"In a recent article you referred to me in most unjustifiableterms. Some days before the opening of my trial I will call youto account. Arsene Lupin."
The handwriting was certainly that of Arsene Lupin. Consequently,he sent letters; and, no doubt, received letters. It was certainthat he was preparing for that escape thus arrogantly announced byhim.
The situation had become intolerable. Acting in conjunction withthe examining judge, the chief of the Surete, Mon. Dudouis, hadvisited the prison and instructed the gaoler in regard to theprecautions necessary to insure Lupin's safety. At the same time,he sent the two men to examine the prisoner's cell. They raisedevery stone, ransacked the bed, did everything customary in such acase, but they discovered nothing, and were about to abandon theirinvestigation when the guard entered hastily and said:
"The drawer....look in the table-drawer. When I entered just nowhe was closing it."
They opened the drawer, and Dieuzy exclaimed:
"Ah! we have him this time."
Folenfant stopped him.
"Wait a moment. The chief will want to make an inventory."
"This is a very choice cigar."
"Leave it there, and notify the chief."
Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of thedrawer. First he discovered a bundle of newspaper clippingsrelating to Arsene Lupin taken from the `Argus de la Presse,' thena tobacco-box, a pipe, some paper called "onion-peel," and twobooks. He read the titles of the books. One was an Englishedition of Carlyle's "Hero-worship"; the other was a charmingelzevir, in modern binding, the "Manual of Epictetus," a Germantranslation published at Leyden in 1634. On examining the books,he found that all the pages were underlined and annotated. Werethey prepared as a code for correspondence, or did they simplyexpress the studious character of the reader? Then he examinedthe tobacco-box and the pipe. Finally, he took up the famouscigar with its gold band.
"Fichtre!" he exclaimed. "Our friend smokes a good cigar. It's aHenry Clay."
With the mechanical action of an habitual smoker, he placed thecigar close to his ear and squeezed it to make it crack.Immediately he uttered a cry of surprise. The cigar had yieldedunder the pressure of his fingers. He examined it more closely,and quickly discovered something white between the leaves oftobacco. Delicately, with the aid of a pin, he withdrew a roll ofvery thin paper, scarcely larger than a toothpick. It was aletter. He unrolled it, and found these words, written in afeminine handwriting:
"The basket has taken the place of the others. Eight out of tenare ready. On pressing the outer foot the plate goes downward.From twelve to sixteen every day, H-P will wait. But where?Reply at once. Rest easy; your friend is watching over you."
Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said:
"It is quite clear....the basket....the eight compartments....From twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o'clock."
"But this H-P, that will wait?"
"H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way theyindicate strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is anautomobile of twenty-four horsepower."
Then he rose, and asked:
"Had the prisoner finished his breakfast?"
"Yes."
"And as he has not yet read the message, which is proved by thecondition of the cigar, it is probable that he had just receivedit."
"How?"
"In his food. Concealed in his bread or in a potato, perhaps."
"Impossible. His food was allowed to be brought in simply to traphim, but we have never found anything in it."
"We will look for Lupin's reply this evening. Detain him outsidefor a few minutes. I shall take this to the examining judge, and,if he agrees with me, we will have the letter photographed atonce, and in an hour you can replace the letter in the drawer in acigar similar to this. The prisoner must have no cause forsuspicion."
It was not without a certain curiosity that Mon. Dudouis returnedto the prison in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy.Three empty plates were sitting on the stove in the corner.
"He has eaten?"
"Yes," replied the guard.
"Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and openthat bread-roll....Nothing?"
"No, chief."
Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and theknife--an ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned thehandle to the left; then to the right. It yielded and unscrewed.The knife was hollow, and served as a hiding-place for a sheet ofpaper.
"Peuh!" he said, "that is not very clever for a man like Arsene.But we mustn't lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search therestaurant."
Then he read the note:
"I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I willgo ahead. Au revoir, dear friend."
"At last," cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, "Ithink we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy onour part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrestof his confederates are concerned."
"But if Arsene Lupin slips through your fingers?" suggested theguard.
"We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If,however, he displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much theworse for him! As to his band of robbers, since the chief refusesto speak, the others must."
* * * * *
And, as a matter of fact, Arsene Lupin had very little to say.For several months, Mon. Jules Bouvier, the examining judge, hadexerted himself in vain. The investigation had been reduced to afew uninteresting arguments between the judge and the advocate,Maitre Danval, one of the leaders of the bar. From time to time,through courtesy, Arsene Lupin would speak. One day he said:
"Yes, monsieur, le judge, I quite agree with you: the robbery ofthe Credit Lyonnais, the theft in the rue de Babylone, the issueof the counterfeit bank-notes, the burglaries at the variouschateaux, Armesnil, Gouret, Imblevain, Groseillers, Malaquis, allmy work, monsieur, I did it all."
"Then will you explain to me---"
"It is useless. I confess everything in a lump, everything andeven ten times more than you know nothing about."
Wearied by his fruitless task, the judge had suspended hisexaminations, but he resumed them after the two interceptedmessages were brought to his attention; and regularly, at mid-day,Arsene Lupin was taken from the prison to the Depot in theprison-van with a certain number of other prisoners. Theyreturned about three or four o'clock.
Now, one afternoon, this return trip was made under unusualconditions. The other prisoners not having been examined, it wasdecided to take back Arsene Lupin first, thus he found himselfalone in the vehicle.
These prison-vans, vulgarly called "panniers a salade"--orsalad-baskets--are divided lengthwise by a central corridor from whichopen ten compartments, five on either side. Each compartment isso arranged that the occupant must assume and retain a sittingposture, and, consequently, the five prisoners are seated one uponthe other, and yet separated one from the other by partitions. Amunicipal guard, standing at one end, watches over the corridor.
Arsene was placed in the third cell on the right, and the heav
yvehicle started. He carefully calculated when they left the quaide l'Horloge, and when they passed the Palais de Justice. Then,about the centre of the bridge Saint Michel, with his outer foot,that is to say, his right foot, he pressed upon the metal platethat closed his cell. Immediately something clicked, and themetal plate moved. He was able to ascertain that he was locatedbetween the two wheels.
He waited, keeping a sharp look-out. The vehicle was proceedingslowly along the boulevard Saint Michel. At the corner of SaintGermain it stopped. A truck horse had fallen. The traffic havingbeen interrupted, a vast throng of fiacres and omnibuses hadgathered there. Arsene Lupin looked out. Another prison-van hadstopped close to the one he occupied. He moved the plate stillfarther, put his foot on one of the spokes of the wheel and leapedto the ground. A coachman saw him, roared with laughter, thentried to raise an outcry, but his voice was lost in the noise ofthe traffic that had commenced to move again. Moreover, ArseneLupin was already far away.
He had run for a few steps; but, once upon the sidewalk, he turnedand looked around; he seemed to scent the wind like a person whois uncertain which direction to take. Then, having decided, heput his hands in his pockets, and, with the careless air of anidle stroller, he proceeded up the boulevard. It was a warm,bright autumn day, and the cafes were full. He took a seat on theterrace of one of them. He ordered a bock and a package ofcigarettes. He emptied his glass slowly, smoked one cigarette andlighted a second. Then he asked the waiter to send the proprietorto him. When the proprietor came, Arsene spoke to him in a voiceloud enough to be heard by everyone:
"I regret to say, monsieur, I have forgotten my pocketbook.Perhaps, on the strength of my name, you will be pleased to giveme credit for a few days. I am Arsene Lupin."
The proprietor looked at him, thinking he was joking. But Arsenerepeated:
"Lupin, prisoner at the Sante, but now a fugitive. I venture toassume that the name inspires you with perfect confidence in me."
And he walked away, amidst shouts of laughter, whilst theproprietor stood amazed.
Lupin strolled along the rue Soufflot, and turned into the rueSaint Jacques. He pursued his way slowly, smoking his cigarettesand looking into the shop-windows. At the Boulevard de Port Royalhe took his bearings, discovered where he was, and then walked inthe direction of the rue de la Sante. The high forbidding wallsof the prison were now before him. He pulled his hat forward toshade his face; then, approaching the sentinel, he asked:
"It this the prison de la Sante?"
"Yes."
"I wish to regain my cell. The van left me on the way, and Iwould not abuse--"
"Now, young man, move along--quick!" growled the sentinel.
"Pardon me, but I must pass through that gate. And if you preventArsene Lupin from entering the prison it will cost you dear, myfriend."
"Arsene Lupin! What are you talking about!"
"I am sorry I haven't a card with me," said Arsene, fumbling inhis pockets.
The sentinel eyed him from head to foot, in astonishment. Then,without a word, he rang a bell. The iron gate was partly opened,and Arsene stepped inside. Almost immediately he encountered thekeeper of the prison, gesticulating and feigning a violent anger.Arsene smiled and said:
"Come, monsieur, don't play that game with me. What! they takethe precaution to carry me alone in the van, prepare a nice littleobstruction, and imagine I am going to take to my heels and rejoinmy friends. Well, and what about the twenty agents of the Suretewho accompanied us on foot, in fiacres and on bicycles? No, thearrangement did not please me. I should not have got away alive.Tell me, monsieur, did they count on that?"
He shrugged his shoulders, and added:
"I beg of you, monsieur, not to worry about me. When I wish toescape I shall not require any assistance."
On the second day thereafter, the `Echo de France,' which hadapparently become the official reporter of the exploits of ArseneLupin,--it was said that he was one of its principalshareholders--published a most complete account of this attemptedescape. The exact wording of the messages exchanged between theprisoner and his mysterious friend, the means by which correspondencewas constructed, the complicity of the police, the promenade on theBoulevard Saint Michel, the incident at the cafe Soufflot,everything was disclosed. It was known that the search of therestaurant and its waiters by Inspector Dieuzy had been fruitless.And the public also learned an extraordinary thing whichdemonstrated the infinite variety of resources that Lupinpossessed: the prison-van, in which he was being carried, wasprepared for the occasion and substituted by his accomplices forone of the six vans which did service at the prison.
The next escape of Arsene Lupin was not doubted by anyone. Heannounced it himself, in categorical terms, in a reply to Mon.Bouvier on the day following his attempted escape. The judgehaving made a jest about the affair, Arsene was annoyed, and,firmly eyeing the judge, he said, emphatically:
"Listen to me, monsieur! I give you my word of honor that thisattempted flight was simply preliminary to my general plan ofescape."
"I do not understand," said the judge.
"It is not necessary that you should understand."
And when the judge, in the course of that examination which wasreported at length in the columns of the `Echo de France,' whenthe judge sought to resume his investigation, Arsene Lupinexclaimed, with an assumed air of lassitude:
"Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu, what's the use! All these questions are ofno importance!"
"What! No importance?" cried the judge.
"No; because I shall not be present at the trial."
"You will not be present?"
"No; I have fully decided on that, and nothing will change mymind."
Such assurance combined with the inexplicable indiscretions thatArsene committed every day served to annoy and mystify theofficers of the law. There were secrets known only to ArseneLupin; secrets that he alone could divulge. But for what purposedid he reveal them? And how?
Arsene Lupin was changed to another cell. The judge closed hispreliminary investigation. No further proceedings were taken inhis case for a period of two months, during which time Arsene wasseen almost constantly lying on his bed with his face turnedtoward the wall. The changing of his cell seemed to discouragehim. He refused to see his advocate. He exchanged only a fewnecessary words with his keepers.
During the fortnight preceding his trial, he resumed his vigorouslife. He complained of want of air. Consequently, early everymorning he was allowed to exercise in the courtyard, guarded bytwo men.
Public curiosity had not died out; every day it expected to beregaled with news of his escape; and, it is true, he had gained aconsiderable amount of public sympathy by reason of his verve, hisgayety, his diversity, his inventive genius and the mystery of hislife. Arsene Lupin must escape. It was his inevitable fate. Thepublic expected it, and was surprised that the event had beendelayed so long. Every morning the Prefect of Police asked hissecretary:
"Well, has he escaped yet?"
"No, Monsieur le Prefect."
"To-morrow, probably."
And, on the day before the trial, a gentleman called at the officeof the `Grand Journal,' asked to see the court reporter, threw hiscard in the reporter's face, and walked rapidly away. These wordswere written on the card: "Arsene Lupin always keeps hispromises."
* * * * *
It was under these conditions that the trial commenced. Anenormous crowd gathered at the court. Everybody wished to see thefamous Arsene Lupin. They had a gleeful anticipation that theprisoner would play some audacious pranks upon the judge.Advocates and magistrates, reporters and men of the world,actresses and society women were crowded together on the benchesprovided for the public.
It was a dark, sombre day, with a steady downpour of rain. Only adim light pervaded the courtroom, and the spectators caught a veryindistinct view of the prisoner when the guards brought him in.But his heavy, shambling walk, the manner in which he droppe
d intohis seat, and his passive, stupid appearance were not at allprepossessing. Several times his advocate--one of Mon. Danval'sassistants--spoke to him, but he simply shook his head and saidnothing.
The clerk read the indictment, then the judge spoke:
"Prisoner at the bar, stand up. Your name, age, and occupation?"
Not receiving any reply, the judge repeated:
"Your name? I ask you your name?"
A thick, slow voice muttered:
"Baudru, Desire."
A murmur of surprise pervaded the courtroom. But the judgeproceeded:
"Baudru, Desire? Ah! a new alias! Well, as you have alreadyassumed a dozen different names and this one is, no doubt, asimaginary as the others, we will adhere to the name of ArseneLupin, by which you are more generally known."
The judge referred to his notes, and continued:
"For, despite the most diligent search, your past history remainsunknown. Your case is unique in the annals of crime. We know notwhom you are, whence you came, your birth and breeding--all is amystery to us. Three years ago you appeared in our midst asArsene Lupin, presenting to us a strange combination ofintelligence and perversion, immorality and generosity.Our knowledge of your life prior to that date is vague andproblematical. It may be that the man called Rostat who, eightyears ago, worked with Dickson, the prestidigitator, was noneother than Arsene Lupin. It is probable that the Russian studentwho, six years ago, attended the laboratory of Doctor Altier atthe Saint Louis Hospital, and who often astonished the doctor bythe ingenuity of his hypotheses on subjects of bacteriology andthe boldness of his experiments in diseases of the skin, was noneother than Arsene Lupin. It is probable, also, that Arsene Lupinwas the professor who introduced the Japanese art of jiu-jitsu tothe Parisian public. We have some reason to believe that ArseneLupin was the bicyclist who won the Grand Prix de l'Exposition,received his ten thousand francs, and was never heard of again.Arsene Lupin may have been, also, the person who saved so manylives through the little dormer-window at the Charity Bazaar;and, at the same time, picked their pockets."
The judge paused for a moment, then continued:
"Such is that epoch which seems to have been utilized by you in athorough preparation for the warfare you have since waged againstsociety; a methodical apprenticeship in which you developed yourstrength, energy and skill to the highest point possible. Do youacknowledge the accuracy of these facts?"
During this discourse the prisoner had stood balancing himself,first on one foot, then on the other, with shoulders stooped andarms inert. Under the strongest light one could observe hisextreme thinness, his hollow cheeks, his projecting cheek-bones,his earthen-colored face dotted with small red spots and framed ina rough, straggling beard. Prison life had caused him to age andwither. He had lost the youthful face and elegant figure we hadseen portrayed so often in the newspapers.
It appeared as if he had not heard the question propounded by thejudge. Twice it was repeated to him. Then he raised his eyes,seemed to reflect, then, making a desperate effort, he murmured:
"Baudru, Desire."
The judge smiled, as he said:
"I do not understand the theory of your defense, Arsene Lupin. Ifyou are seeking to avoid responsibility for your crimes on theground of imbecility, such a line of defense is open to you. ButI shall proceed with the trial and pay no heed to your vagaries."
He then narrated at length the various thefts, swindles andforgeries charged against Lupin. Sometimes he questioned theprisoner, but the latter simply grunted or remained silent. Theexamination of witnesses commenced. Some of the evidence givenwas immaterial; other portions of it seemed more important, butthrough all of it there ran a vein of contradictions andinconsistencies. A wearisome obscurity enveloped the proceedings,until Detective Ganimard was called as a witness; then interestwas revived.
From the beginning the actions of the veteran detective appearedstrange and unaccountable. He was nervous and ill at ease.Several times he looked at the prisoner, with obvious doubt andanxiety. Then, with his hands resting on the rail in front ofhim, he recounted the events in which he had participated,including his pursuit of the prisoner across Europe and hisarrival in America. He was listened to with great avidity, as hiscapture of Arsene Lupin was well known to everyone through themedium of the press. Toward the close of his testimony, afterreferring to his conversations with Arsene Lupin, he stopped,twice, embarrassed and undecided. It was apparent that he waspossessed of some thought which he feared to utter. The judgesaid to him, sympathetically:
"If you are ill, you may retire for the present."
"No, no, but---"
He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said:
"I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range.There is some mystery about him that I must solve."
He approached the accused man, examined him attentively forseveral minutes, then returned to the witness-stand, and, in analmost solemn voice, he said:
"I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not ArseneLupin."
A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplusedfor a moment, exclaimed:
"Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!"
The detective continued:
"At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if youcarefully consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color ofskin, you will see that it is not Arsene Lupin. And the eyes!Did he ever have those alcoholic eyes!"
"Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to saythat we are trying the wrong man?"
"In my opinion, yes. Arsene Lupin has, in some manner, contrivedto put this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willingaccomplice."
This dramatic denouement caused much laughter and excitementamongst the spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sentfor Mon. Bouvier, the gaoler, and guards employed in the prison.
When the trial was resumed, Mon. Bouvier and the gaoler examinedthe accused and declared that there was only a very slightresemblance between the prisoner and Arsene Lupin.
"Well, then!" exclaimed the judge, "who is this man? Where doeshe come from? What is he in prison for?"
Two of the prison-guards were called and both of them declaredthat the prisoner was Arsene Lupin. The judged breathed oncemore.
But one of the guards then said:
"Yes, yes, I think it is he."
"What!" cried the judge, impatiently, "you _think_ it is he! Whatdo you mean by that?"
"Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in mycharge in the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, butlaid on his bed with his face to the wall."
"What about the time prior to those two months?"
"Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. Hewas not in cell 24."
Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said:
"We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape."
"But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?"
"I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly."
"And this prisoner is not Arsene Lupin?"
"No."
"Then who is he?" demanded the judge.
"I do not know."
"Then we have before us a man who was substituted for ArseneLupin, two months ago. How do you explain that?"
"I cannot."
In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressedhim in a conciliatory tone:
"Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became aninmate of the Prison de la Sante?"
The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm themistrust and awaken the understanding of the accused man. Hetried to reply. Finally, under clever and gentle questioning, hesucceeded in framing a few phrases from which the following storywas gleaned: Two months ago he had been taken to the Depot,examined and released. As he was leaving the building, a freeman, he was seized by two guards and placed in th
e prison-van.Since then he had occupied cell 24. He was contented there,plenty to eat, and he slept well--so he did not complain.
All that seemed probable; and, amidst the mirth and excitement ofthe spectators, the judge adjourned the trial until the storycould be investigated and verified.
* * * * *
The following facts were at once established by an examination ofthe prison records: Eight weeks before a man named Baudru Desirehad slept at the Depot. He was released the next day, and leftthe Depot at two o'clock in the afternoon. On the same day at twoo'clock, having been examined for the last time, Arsene Lupin leftthe Depot in a prison-van.
Had the guards made a mistake? Had they been deceived by theresemblance and carelessly substituted this man for theirprisoner?
Another question suggested itself: Had the substitution beenarranged in advance? In that event Baudru must have been anaccomplice and must have caused his own arrest for the expresspurpose of taking Lupin's place. But then, by what miracle hadsuch a plan, based on a series of improbable chances, been carriedto success?
Baudru Desire was turned over to the anthropological service; theyhad never seen anything like him. However, they easily traced hispast history. He was known at Courbevois, at Asnieres and atLevallois. He lived on alms and slept in one of those rag-picker'shuts near the barrier de Ternes. He had disappeared from there ayear ago.
Had he been enticed away by Arsene Lupin? There was no evidence tothat effect. And even if that was so, it did not explain theflight of the prisoner. That still remained a mystery. Amongsttwenty theories which sought to explain it, not one wassatisfactory. Of the escape itself, there was no doubt; an escapethat was incomprehensible, sensational, in which the public, aswell as the officers of the law, could detect a carefully preparedplan, a combination of circumstances marvelously dove-tailed,whereof the denouement fully justified the confident prediction ofArsene Lupin: "I shall not be present at my trial."
After a month of patient investigation, the problem remainedunsolved. The poor devil of a Baudru could not be kept in prisonindefinitely, and to place him on trial would be ridiculous. Therewas no charge against him. Consequently, he was released; but thechief of the Surete resolved to keep him under surveillance. Thisidea originated with Ganimard. From his point of view there wasneither complicity nor chance. Baudru was an instrument upon whichArsene Lupin had played with his extraordinary skill. Baudru, whenset at liberty, would lead them to Arsene Lupin or, at least, tosome of his accomplices. The two inspectors, Folenfant and Dieuzy,were assigned to assist Ganimard.
One foggy morning in January the prison gates opened and BaudruDesire stepped forth--a free man. At first he appeared to be quiteembarrassed, and walked like a person who has no precise ideawhither he is going. He followed the rue de la Sante and the rueSaint Jacques. He stopped in front of an old-clothes shop, removedhis jacket and his vest, sold his vest on which he realized a fewsous; then, replacing his jacket, he proceeded on his way. Hecrossed the Seine. At the Chatelet an omnibus passed him. Hewished to enter it, but there was no place. The controller advisedhim to secure a number, so he entered the waiting-room.
Ganimard called to his two assistants, and, without removing hiseyes from the waiting room, he said to them:
"Stop a carriage....no, two. That will be better. I will go withone of you, and we will follow him."
The men obeyed. Yet Baudru did not appear. Ganimard entered thewaiting-room. It was empty.
"Idiot that I am!" he muttered, "I forgot there was another exit."
There was an interior corridor extending from the waiting-room tothe rue Saint Martin. Ganimard rushed through it and arrived justin time to observe Baudru upon the top of the Batignolles-Jardin dePlates omnibus as it was turning the corner of the rue de Rivoli.He ran and caught the omnibus. But he had lost his two assistants.He must continue the pursuit alone. In his anger he was inclinedto seize the man by the collar without ceremony. Was it not withpremeditation and by means of an ingenious ruse that his pretendedimbecile had separated him from his assistants?
He looked at Baudru. The latter was asleep on the bench, his headrolling from side to side, his mouth half-opened, and an incredibleexpression of stupidity on his blotched face. No, such anadversary was incapable of deceiving old Ganimard. It was a strokeof luck--nothing more.
At the Galleries-Lafayette, the man leaped from the omnibus andtook the La Muette tramway, following the boulevard Haussmann andthe avenue Victor Hugo. Baudru alighted at La Muette station; and,with a nonchalant air, strolled into the Bois de Boulogne.
He wandered through one path after another, and sometimes retracedhis steps. What was he seeking? Had he any definite object? Atthe end of an hour, he appeared to be faint from fatigue, and,noticing a bench, he sat down. The spot, not far from Auteuil, onthe edge of a pond hidden amongst the trees, was absolutelydeserted. After the lapse of another half-hour, Ganimard becameimpatient and resolved to speak to the man. He approached and tooka seat beside Baudru, lighted a cigarette, traced some figures inthe sand with the end of his cane, and said:
"It's a pleasant day."
No response. But, suddenly the man burst into laughter, a happy,mirthful laugh, spontaneous and irresistible. Ganimard felt hishair stand on end in horror and surprise. It was that laugh, thatinfernal laugh he knew so well!
With a sudden movement, he seized the man by the collar and lookedat him with a keen, penetrating gaze; and found that he no longersaw the man Baudru. To be sure, he saw Baudru; but, at the sametime, he saw the other, the real man, Lupin. He discovered theintense life in the eyes, he filled up the shrunken features, heperceived the real flesh beneath the flabby skin, the real mouththrough the grimaces that deformed it. Those were the eyes andmouth of the other, and especially his keen, alert, mockingexpression, so clear and youthful!
"Arsene Lupin, Arsene Lupin," he stammered.
Then, in a sudden fit of rage, he seized Lupin by the throat andtried to hold him down. In spite of his fifty years, he stillpossessed unusual strength, whilst his adversary was apparently ina weak condition. But the struggle was a brief one. Arsene Lupinmade only a slight movement, and, as suddenly as he had made theattack, Ganimard released his hold. His right arm fell inert,useless.
"If you had taken lessons in jiu-jitsu at the quai des Orfevres,"said Lupin, "you would know that that blow is called udi-shi-ghi inJapanese. A second more, and I would have broken your arm and thatwould have been just what you deserve. I am surprised that you, anold friend whom I respect and before whom I voluntarily expose myincognito, should abuse my confidence in that violent manner. Itis unworthy--Ah! What's the matter?"
Ganimard did not reply. That escape for which he deemed himselfresponsible--was it not he, Ganimard, who, by his sensationalevidence, had led the court into serious error? That escapeappeared to him like a dark cloud on his professional career. Atear rolled down his cheek to his gray moustache.
"Oh! mon Dieu, Ganimard, don't take it to heart. If you had notspoken, I would have arranged for some one else to do it. Icouldn't allow poor Baudru Desire to be convicted."
"Then," murmured Ganimard, "it was you that was there? And now youare here?"
"It is I, always I, only I."
"Can it be possible?"
"Oh, it is not the work of a sorcerer. Simply, as the judgeremarked at the trial, the apprenticeship of a dozen years thatequips a man to cope successfully with all the obstacles in life."
"But your face? Your eyes?"
"You can understand that if I worked eighteen months with DoctorAltier at the Saint-Louis hospital, it was not out of love for thework. I considered that he, who would one day have the honor ofcalling himself Arsene Lupin, ought to be exempt from the ordinarylaws governing appearance and identity. Appearance? That can bemodified at will. For instance, a hypodermic injection ofparaffine will puff up the skin at the desired spot. Pyrogallicacid will change your skin to that of an I
ndian. The juice of thegreater celandine will adorn you with the most beautiful eruptionsand tumors. Another chemical affects the growth of your beard andhair; another changes the tone of your voice. Add to that twomonths of dieting in cell 24; exercises repeated a thousand timesto enable me to hold my features in a certain grimace, to carry myhead at a certain inclination, and adapt my back and shoulders to astooping posture. Then five drops of atropine in the eyes to makethem haggard and wild, and the trick is done."
"I do not understand how you deceived the guards."
"The change was progressive. The evolution was so gradual thatthey failed to notice it."
"But Baudru Desire?""Baudru exists. He is a poor, harmless fellow whom I met lastyear; and, really, he bears a certain resemblance to me.Considering my arrest as a possible event, I took charge of Baudruand studied the points wherein we differed in appearance with aview to correct them in my own person. My friends caused him toremain at the Depot overnight, and to leave there next day aboutthe same hour as I did--a coincidence easily arranged. Of course,it was necessary to have a record of his detention at the Depot inorder to establish the fact that such a person was a reality;otherwise, the police would have sought elsewhere to find out myidentity. But, in offering to them this excellent Baudru, it wasinevitable, you understand, inevitable that they would seizeupon him, and, despite the insurmountable difficulties of asubstitution, they would prefer to believe in a substitution thanconfess their ignorance."
"Yes, yes, of course," said Ganimard.
"And then," exclaimed Arsene Lupin, "I held in my hands a trump-card:an anxious public watching and waiting for my escape. Andthat is the fatal error into which you fell, you and the others, inthe course of that fascinating game pending between me and theofficers of the law wherein the stake was my liberty. And yousupposed that I was playing to the gallery; that I was intoxicatedwith my success. I, Arsene Lupin, guilty of such weakness! Oh,no! And, no longer ago than the Cahorn affair, you said: "WhenArsene Lupin cries from the housetops that he will escape, he hassome object in view." But, sapristi, you must understand that inorder to escape I must create, in advance, a public belief in thatescape, a belief amounting to an article of faith, an absoluteconviction, a reality as glittering as the sun. And I did createthat belief that Arsene Lupin would escape, that Arsene Lupin wouldnot be present at his trial. And when you gave your evidence andsaid: "That man is not Arsene Lupin," everybody was prepared tobelieve you. Had one person doubted it, had any one uttered thissimple restriction: Suppose it is Arsene Lupin?--from that moment, Iwas lost. If anyone had scrutinized my face, not imbued with theidea that I was not Arsene Lupin, as you and the others did at mytrial, but with the idea that I might be Arsene Lupin; then,despite all my precautions, I should have been recognized. But Ihad no fear. Logically, psychologically, no once could entertainthe idea that I was Arsene Lupin."
He grasped Ganimard's hand.
"Come, Ganimard, confess that on the Wednesday after ourconversation in the prison de la Sante, you expected me at yourhouse at four o'clock, exactly as I said I would go."
"And your prison-van?" said Ganimard, evading the question.
"A bluff! Some of my friends secured that old unused van and wishedto make the attempt. But I considered it impractical without theconcurrence of a number of unusual circumstances. However, I foundit useful to carry out that attempted escape and give it the widestpublicity. An audaciously planned escape, though not completed,gave to the succeeding one the character of reality simply byanticipation."
"So that the cigar...."
"Hollowed by myself, as well as the knife."
"And the letters?"
"Written by me."
"And the mysterious correspondent?"
"Did not exist."
Ganimard reflected a moment, then said:
"When the anthropological service had Baudru's case underconsideration, why did they not perceive that his measurementscoincided with those of Arsene Lupin?"
"My measurements are not in existence."
"Indeed!"
"At least, they are false. I have given considerable attention tothat question. In the first place, the Bertillon system of recordsthe visible marks of identification--and you have seen that they arenot infallible--and, after that, the measurements of the head, thefingers, the ears, etc. Of course, such measurements are more orless infallible."
"Absolutely."
"No; but it costs money to get around them. Before we leftAmerica, one of the employees of the service there accepted so muchmoney to insert false figures in my measurements. Consequently,Baudru's measurements should not agree with those of Arsene Lupin."
After a short silence, Ganimard asked:
"What are you going to do now?"
"Now," replied Lupin, "I am going to take a rest, enjoy the best offood and drink and gradually recover my former healthy condition.It is all very well to become Baudru or some other person, onoccasion, and to change your personality as you do your shirt, butyou soon grow weary of the change. I feel exactly as I imagine theman who lost his shadow must have felt, and I shall be glad to beArsene Lupin once more."
He walked to and fro for a few minutes, then, stopping in front ofGanimard, he said:
"You have nothing more to say, I suppose?"
"Yes. I should like to know if you intend to reveal the true stateof facts connected with your escape. The mistake that I made---"
"Oh! no one will ever know that it was Arsene Lupin who wasdischarged. It is to my own interest to surround myself withmystery, and therefore I shall permit my escape to retain itsalmost miraculous character. So, have no fear on that score, mydear friend. I shall say nothing. And now, good-bye. I am goingout to dinner this evening, and have only sufficient time todress."
"I though you wanted a rest."
"Ah! there are duties to society that one cannot avoid. To-morrow,I shall rest."
"Where do you dine to-night?"
"With the British Ambassador!"