IV. The Mysterious Traveller
The evening before, I had sent my automobile to Rouen by thehighway. I was to travel to Rouen by rail, on my way to visit somefriends that live on the banks of the Seine.
At Paris, a few minutes before the train started, seven gentlemenentered my compartment; five of them were smoking. No matter thatthe journey was a short one, the thought of traveling with such acompany was not agreeable to me, especially as the car was builton the old model, without a corridor. I picked up my overcoat, mynewspapers and my time-table, and sought refuge in a neighboringcompartment.
It was occupied by a lady, who, at sight of me, made a gesture ofannoyance that did not escape my notice, and she leaned toward agentleman who was standing on the step and was, no doubt, herhusband. The gentleman scrutinized me closely, and, apparently, myappearance did not displease him, for he smiled as he spoke to hiswife with the air of one who reassures a frightened child. Shesmiled also, and gave me a friendly glance as if she nowunderstood that I was one of those gallant men with whom a womancan remain shut up for two hours in a little box, six feet square,and have nothing to fear.
Her husband said to her:
"I have an important appointment, my dear, and cannot wait anylonger. Adieu."
He kissed her affectionately and went away. His wife threw him afew kisses and waved her handkerchief. The whistle sounded, andthe train started.
At that precise moment, and despite the protests of the guards,the door was opened, and a man rushed into our compartment. Mycompanion, who was standing and arranging her luggage, uttered acry of terror and fell upon the seat. I am not a coward--far fromit--but I confess that such intrusions at the last minute arealways disconcerting. They have a suspicious, unnatural aspect.
However, the appearance of the new arrival greatly modified theunfavorable impression produced by his precipitant action. He wascorrectly and elegantly dressed, wore a tasteful cravat, correctgloves, and his face was refined and intelligent. But, where thedevil had I seen that face before? Because, beyond all possibledoubt, I had seen it. And yet the memory of it was so vague andindistinct that I felt it would be useless to try to recall it atthat time.
Then, directing my attention to the lady, I was amazed at thepallor and anxiety I saw in her face. She was looking at herneighbor--they occupied seats on the same side of the compartment--withan expression of intense alarm, and I perceived that one ofher trembling hands was slowly gliding toward a little travelingbag that was lying on the seat about twenty inches from her. Shefinished by seizing it and nervously drawing it to her. Our eyesmet, and I read in hers so much anxiety and fear that I could notrefrain from speaking to her:
"Are you ill, madame? Shall I open the window?"
Her only reply was a gesture indicating that she was afraid of ourcompanion. I smiled, as her husband had done, shrugged myshoulders, and explained to her, in pantomime, that she hadnothing to fear, that I was there, and, besides, the gentlemanappeared to be a very harmless individual. At that moment, heturned toward us, scrutinized both of us from head to foot, thensettled down in his corner and paid us no more attention.
After a short silence, the lady, as if she had mustered all herenergy to perform a desperate act, said to me, in an almostinaudible voice:
"Do you know who is on our train?"
"Who?"
"He....he....I assure you...."
"Who is he?"
"Arsene Lupin!"
She had not taken her eyes off our companion, and it was to himrather than to me that she uttered the syllables of thatdisquieting name. He drew his hat over his face. Was that toconceal his agitation or, simply, to arrange himself for sleep?Then I said to her:
"Yesterday, through contumacy, Arsene Lupin was sentenced totwenty years' imprisonment at hard labor. Therefore it isimprobable that he would be so imprudent, to-day, as to showhimself in public. Moreover, the newspapers have announced hisappearance in Turkey since his escape from the Sante."
"But he is on this train at the present moment," the ladyproclaimed, with the obvious intention of being heard by ourcompanion; "my husband is one of the directors in the penitentiaryservice, and it was the stationmaster himself who told us that asearch was being made for Arsene Lupin."
"They may have been mistaken---"
"No; he was seen in the waiting-room. He bought a first-classticket for Rouen."
"He has disappeared. The guard at the waiting-room door did notsee him pass, and it is supposed that he had got into the expressthat leaves ten minutes after us."
"In that case, they will be sure to catch him."
"Unless, at the last moment, he leaped from that train to comehere, into our train....which is quite probable....which isalmost certain."
"If so, he will be arrested just the same; for the employees andguards would no doubt observe his passage from one train to theother, and, when we arrive at Rouen, they will arrest him there."
"Him--never! He will find some means of escape."
"In that case, I wish him 'bon voyage.'"
"But, in the meantime, think what he may do!"
"What?"
"I don't know. He may do anything."
She was greatly agitated, and, truly, the situation justified, tosome extent, her nervous excitement. I was impelled to say to her:
"Of course, there are many strange coincidences, but you need haveno fear. Admitting that Arsene Lupin is on this train, he will notcommit any indiscretion; he will be only too happy to escape theperil that already threatens him."
My words did not reassure her, but she remained silent for a time.I unfolded my newspapers and read reports of Arsene Lupin's trial,but, as they contained nothing that was new to me, I was notgreatly interested. Moreover, I was tired and sleepy. I felt myeyelids close and my head drop.
"But, monsieur, you are not going to sleep!"
She seized my newspaper, and looked at me with indignation.
"Certainly not," I said.
"That would be very imprudent."
"Of course," I assented.
I struggled to keep awake. I looked through the window at thelandscape and the fleeting clouds, but in a short time all thatbecame confused and indistinct; the image of the nervous lady andthe drowsy gentleman were effaced from my memory, and I was buriedin the soothing depths of a profound sleep. The tranquility of myresponse was soon disturbed by disquieting dreams, wherein acreature that had played the part and bore the name of ArseneLupin held an important place. He appeared to me with his backladen with articles of value; he leaped over walls, and plunderedcastles. But the outlines of that creature, who was no longerArsene Lupin, assumed a more definite form. He came toward me,growing larger and larger, leaped into the compartment withincredible agility, and landed squarely on my chest. With a cry offright and pain, I awoke. The man, the traveller, our companion,with his knee on my breast, held me by the throat.
My sight was very indistinct, for my eyes were suffused withblood. I could see the lady, in a corner of the compartment,convulsed with fright. I tried even not to resist. Besides, I didnot have the strength. My temples throbbed; I was almoststrangled. One minute more, and I would have breathed my last. Theman must have realized it, for he relaxed his grip, but did notremove his hand. Then he took a cord, in which he had prepared aslip-knot, and tied my wrists together. In an instant, I wasbound, gagged, and helpless.
Certainly, he accomplished the trick with an ease and skill thatrevealed the hand of a master; he was, no doubt, a professionalthief. Not a word, not a nervous movement; only coolness andaudacity. And I was there, lying on the bench, bound like a mummy,I--Arsene Lupin!
It was anything but a laughing matter, and yet, despite thegravity of the situation, I keenly appreciated the humor and ironythat it involved. Arsene Lupin seized and bound like a novice!robbed as if I were an unsophisticated rustic--for, you mustunderstand, the scoundrel had deprived me of my purse and wallet!Arsene Lupin, a victim, duped, vanquished....What an adventure!
/> The lady did not move. He did not even notice her. He contentedhimself with picking up her traveling-bag that had fallen to thefloor and taking from it the jewels, purse, and gold and silvertrinkets that it contained. The lady opened her eyes, trembledwith fear, drew the rings from her fingers and handed them to theman as if she wished to spare him unnecessary trouble. He took therings and looked at her. She swooned.
Then, quite unruffled, he resumed his seat, lighted a cigarette,and proceeded to examine the treasure that he had acquired. Theexamination appeared to give him perfect satisfaction.
But I was not so well satisfied. I do not speak of the twelvethousand francs of which I had been unduly deprived: that was onlya temporary loss, because I was certain that I would recoverpossession of that money after a very brief delay, together withthe important papers contained in my wallet: plans, specifications,addresses, lists of correspondents, and compromising letters.But, for the moment, a more immediate and more serious questiontroubled me: How would this affair end? What would be the outcomeof this adventure?
As you can imagine, the disturbance created by my passage throughthe Saint-Lazare station has not escaped my notice. Going to visitfriends who knew me under the name of Guillaume Berlat, andamongst whom my resemblance to Arsene Lupin was a subject of manyinnocent jests, I could not assume a disguise, and my presence hadbeen remarked. So, beyond question, the commissary of police atRouen, notified by telegraph, and assisted by numerous agents,would be awaiting the train, would question all suspiciouspassengers, and proceed to search the cars.
Of course, I had foreseen all that, but it had not disturbed me,as I was certain that the police of Rouen would not be anyshrewder than the police of Paris and that I could escaperecognition; would it not be sufficient for me to carelesslydisplay my card as "depute," thanks to which I had inspiredcomplete confidence in the gate-keeper at Saint-Lazare?--But thesituation was greatly changed. I was no longer free. It wasimpossible to attempt one of my usual tricks. In one of thecompartments, the commissary of police would find Mon. ArseneLupin, bound hand and foot, as docile as a lamb, packed up, allready to be dumped into a prison-van. He would have simply toaccept delivery of the parcel, the same as if it were so muchmerchandise or a basket of fruit and vegetables. Yet, to avoidthat shameful denouement, what could I do?--bound and gagged, as Iwas? And the train was rushing on toward Rouen, the next and onlystation.
Another problem was presented, in which I was less interested, butthe solution of which aroused my professional curiosity. What werethe intentions of my rascally companion? Of course, if I had beenalone, he could, on our arrival at Rouen, leave the car slowly andfearlessly. But the lady? As soon as the door of the compartmentshould be opened, the lady, now so quiet and humble, would screamand call for help. That was the dilemma that perplexed me! Why hadhe not reduced her to a helpless condition similar to mine? Thatwould have given him ample time to disappear before his doublecrime was discovered.
He was still smoking, with his eyes fixed upon the window that wasnow being streaked with drops of rain. Once he turned, picked upmy time-table, and consulted it.
The lady had to feign a continued lack of consciousness in orderto deceive the enemy. But fits of coughing, provoked by the smoke,exposed her true condition. As to me, I was very uncomfortable,and very tired. And I meditated; I plotted.
The train was rushing on, joyously, intoxicated with its ownspeed.
Saint Etienne!....At that moment, the man arose and took two stepstoward us, which caused the lady to utter a cry of alarm and fallinto a genuine swoon. What was the man about to do? He lowered thewindow on our side. A heavy rain was now falling, and, by agesture, the man expressed his annoyance at his not having anumbrella or an overcoat. He glanced at the rack. The lady'sumbrella was there. He took it. He also took my overcoat and putit on.
We were now crossing the Seine. He turned up the bottoms of histrousers, then leaned over and raised the exterior latch of thedoor. Was he going to throw himself upon the track? At that speed,it would have been instant death. We now entered a tunnel. The manopened the door half-way and stood on the upper step. What folly!The darkness, the smoke, the noise, all gave a fantasticappearance to his actions. But suddenly, the train diminished itsspeed. A moment later it increased its speed, then slowed upagain. Probably, some repairs were being made in that part of thetunnel which obliged the trains to diminish their speed, and theman was aware of the fact. He immediately stepped down to thelower step, closed the door behind him, and leaped to the ground.He was gone.
The lady immediately recovered her wits, and her first act was tolament the loss of her jewels. I gave her an imploring look. Sheunderstood, and quickly removed the gag that stifled me. Shewished to untie the cords that bound me, but I prevented her.
"No, no, the police must see everything exactly as it stands. Iwant them to see what the rascal did to us."
"Suppose I pull the alarm-bell?"
"Too late. You should have done that when he made the attack onme."
"But he would have killed me. Ah! monsieur, didn't I tell you thathe was on this train. I recognized him from his portrait. And nowhe has gone off with my jewels."
"Don't worry. The police will catch him."
"Catch Arsene Lupin! Never."
"That depends on you, madame. Listen. When we arrive at Rouen, beat the door and call. Make a noise. The police and the railwayemployees will come. Tell what you have seen: the assault made onme and the flight of Arsene Lupin. Give a description of him--softhat, umbrella--yours--gray overcoat...."
"Yours," said she.
"What! mine? Not at all. It was his. I didn't have any."
"It seems to me he didn't have one when he came in."
"Yes, yes....unless the coat was one that some one had forgottenand left in the rack. At all events, he had it when he went away,and that is the essential point. A gray overcoat--remember!....Ah!I forgot. You must tell your name, first thing you do. Yourhusband's official position will stimulate the zeal of thepolice."
We arrived at the station. I gave her some further instructions ina rather imperious tone:
"Tell them my name--Guillaume Berlat. If necessary, say that youknow me. That will save time. We must expedite the preliminaryinvestigation. The important thing is the pursuit of Arsene Lupin.Your jewels, remember! Let there be no mistake. Guillaume Berlat,a friend of your husband."
"I understand....Guillaume Berlat."
She was already calling and gesticulating. As soon as the trainstopped, several men entered the compartment. The critical momenthad come.
Panting for breath, the lady exclaimed:
"Arsene Lupin....he attacked us....he stole my jewels....I amMadame Renaud....my husband is a director of the penitentiaryservice....Ah! here is my brother, Georges Ardelle, director ofthe Credit Rouennais....you must know...."
She embraced a young man who had just joined us, and whom thecommissary saluted. Then she continued, weeping:
"Yes, Arsene Lupin....while monsieur was sleeping, he seized himby the throat....Mon. Berlat, a friend of my husband."
The commissary asked:
"But where is Arsene Lupin?"
"He leaped from the train, when passing through the tunnel."
"Are you sure that it was he?"
"Am I sure! I recognized him perfectly. Besides, he was seen atthe Saint-Lazare station. He wore a soft hat---"
"No, a hard felt, like that," said the commissary, pointing to myhat.
"He had a soft hat, I am sure," repeated Madame Renaud, "and agray overcoat."
"Yes, that is right," replied the commissary, "the telegram sayshe wore a gray overcoat with a black velvet collar."
"Exactly, a black velvet collar," exclaimed Madame Renaud,triumphantly.
I breathed freely. Ah! the excellent friend I had in that littlewoman.
The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until theyran blood. Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, anattitude quite natural in a person
who has remained for a longtime in an uncomfortable position, and whose mouth shows thebloody marks of the gag, I addressed the commissary, in a weakvoice:
"Monsieur, it was Arsene Lupin. There is no doubt about that. Ifwe make haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of someservice to you."
The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached fromthe train to serve as a mute witness at the official investigation.The train continued on its way to Havre. We were then conducted tothe station-master's office through a crowd of curious spectators.
Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under somepretext or other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remainthere was dangerous. Something might happen; for instance, atelegram from Paris, and I would be lost.
Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in anunfamiliar country, I could not hope to catch him.
"Bah! I must make the attempt," I said to myself. "It may be adifficult game, but an amusing one, and the stake is well worththe trouble."
And when the commissary asked us to repeat the story of therobbery, I exclaimed:
"Monsieur, really, Arsene Lupin is getting the start of us. Myautomobile is waiting in the courtyard. If you will be so kind asto use it, we can try...."
The commissary smiled, and replied:
"The idea is a good one; so good, indeed, that it is already beingcarried out. Two of my men have set out on bicycles. They havebeen gone for some time."
"Where did they go?"
"To the entrance of the tunnel. There, they will gather evidence,secure witnesses, and follow on the track of Arsene Lupin."
I could not refrain from shrugging my shoulders, as I replied:
"Your men will not secure any evidence or any witnesses."
"Really!"
"Arsene Lupin will not allow anyone to see him emerge from thetunnel. He will take the first road---"
"To Rouen, where we will arrest him."
"He will not go to Rouen."
"Then he will remain in the vicinity, where his capture will beeven more certain."
"He will not remain in the vicinity."
"Oh! oh! And where will he hide?"
I looked at my watch, and said:
"At the present moment, Arsene Lupin is prowling around thestation at Darnetal. At ten fifty, that is, in twenty-two minutesfrom now, he will take the train that goes from Rouen to Amiens."
"Do you think so? How do you know it?"
"Oh! it is quite simple. While we were in the car, Arsene Lupinconsulted my railway guide. Why did he do it? Was there, not farfrom the spot where he disappeared, another line of railway, astation upon that line, and a train stopping at that station? Onconsulting my railway guide, I found such to be the case."
"Really, monsieur," said the commissary, "that is a marvelousdeduction. I congratulate you on your skill."
I was now convinced that I had made a mistake in displaying somuch cleverness. The commissary regarded me with astonishment, andI thought a slight suspicion entered his official mind....Oh!scarcely that, for the photographs distributed broadcast by thepolice department were too imperfect; they presented an ArseneLupin so different from the one he had before him, that he couldnot possibly recognize me by it. But, all the same, he wastroubled, confused and ill-at-ease.
"Mon Dieu! nothing stimulates the comprehension so much as theloss of a pocketbook and the desire to recover it. And it seems tome that if you will give me two of your men, we may be able...."
"Oh! I beg of you, monsieur le commissaire," cried Madame Renaud,"listen to Mon. Berlat."
The intervention of my excellent friend was decisive. Pronouncedby her, the wife of an influential official, the name of Berlatbecame really my own, and gave me an identity that no meresuspicion could affect. The commissary arose, and said:
"Believe me, Monsieur Berlat, I shall be delighted to see yousucceed. I am as much interested as you are in the arrest ofArsene Lupin."
He accompanied me to the automobile, and introduced two of his men,Honore Massol and Gaston Delivet, who were assigned to assist me.My chauffer cranked up the car and I took my place at the wheel. Afew seconds later, we left the station. I was saved.
Ah! I must confess that in rolling over the boulevards thatsurrounded the old Norman city, in my swift thirty-five horse-powerMoreau-Lepton, I experienced a deep feeling of pride, and the motorresponded, sympathetically to my desires. At right and left, thetrees flew past us with startling rapidity, and I, free, out ofdanger, had simply to arrange my little personal affairs with thetwo honest representatives of the Rouen police who were sittingbehind me. Arsene Lupin was going in search of Arsene Lupin!
Modest guardians of social order--Gaston Delivet and Honore Massol--howvaluable was your assistance! What would I have done withoutyou? Without you, many times, at the cross-roads, I might havetaken the wrong route! Without you, Arsene Lupin would have made amistake, and the other would have escaped!
But the end was not yet. Far from it. I had yet to capture thethief and recover the stolen papers. Under no circumstances mustmy two acolytes be permitted to see those papers, much less toseize them. That was a point that might give me some difficulty.
We arrived at Darnetal three minutes after the departure of thetrain. True, I had the consolation of learning that a man wearinga gray overcoat with a black velvet collar had taken the train atthe station. He had bought a second-class ticket for Amiens.Certainly, my debut as detective was a promising one.
Delivet said to me:
"The train is express, and the next stop is Monterolier-Buchy innineteen minutes. If we do not reach there before Arsene Lupin, hecan proceed to Amiens, or change for the train going to Cleres,and, from that point, reach Dieppe or Paris."
"How far to Monterolier?"
"Twenty-three kilometres."
"Twenty-three kilometres in nineteen minutes....We will be thereahead of him."
We were off again! Never had my faithful Moreau-Repton respondedto my impatience with such ardor and regularity. It participatedin my anxiety. It indorsed my determination. It comprehended myanimosity against that rascally Arsene Lupin. The knave! Thetraitor!
"Turn to the right," cried Delivet, "then to the left."
We fairly flew, scarcely touching the ground. The mile-stoneslooked like little timid beasts that vanished at our approach.Suddenly, at a turn of the road, we saw a vortex of smoke. It wasthe Northern Express. For a kilometre, it was a struggle, side byside, but an unequal struggle in which the issue was certain. Wewon the race by twenty lengths.
In three seconds we were on the platform standing before thesecond-class carriages. The doors were opened, and some passengersalighted, but not my thief. We made a search through thecompartments. No sign of Arsene Lupin.
"Sapristi!" I cried, "he must have recognized me in the automobileas we were racing, side by side, and he leaped from the train."
"Ah! there he is now! crossing the track."
I started in pursuit of the man, followed by my two acolytes, orrather followed by one of them, for the other, Massol, provedhimself to be a runner of exceptional speed and endurance. In afew moments, he had made an appreciable gain upon the fugitive.The man noticed it, leaped over a hedge, scampered across a meadow,and entered a thick grove. When we reached this grove, Massol waswaiting for us. He went no farther, for fear of losing us.
"Quite right, my dear friend," I said. "After such a run, ourvictim must be out of wind. We will catch him now."
I examined the surroundings with the idea of proceeding alone inthe arrest of the fugitive, in order to recover my papers,concerning which the authorities would doubtless ask manydisagreeable questions. Then I returned to my companions, andsaid:
"It is all quite easy. You, Massol, take your place at the left;you, Delivet, at the right. From there, you can observe the entireposterior line of the bush, and he cannot escape without you seeinghim, except by that ravine, and I shall watch it. If he
does notcome out voluntarily, I will enter and drive him out toward one orthe other of you. You have simply to wait. Ah! I forgot: in caseI need you, a pistol shot."
Massol and Delivet walked away to their respective posts. As soonas they had disappeared, I entered the grove with the greatestprecaution so as to be neither seen nor heard. I encountered densethickets, through which narrow paths had been cut, but theoverhanging boughs compelled me to adopt a stooping posture. Oneof these paths led to a clearing in which I found footsteps uponthe wet grass. I followed them; they led me to the foot of a moundwhich was surmounted by a deserted, dilapidated hovel.
"He must be there," I said to myself. "It is a well-chosenretreat."
I crept cautiously to the side of the building. A slight noiseinformed me that he was there; and, then, through an opening, I sawhim. His back was turned toward me. In two bounds, I was uponhim. He tried to fire a revolver that he held in his hand. But hehad no time. I threw him to the ground, in such a manner that hisarms were beneath him, twisted and helpless, whilst I held him downwith my knee on his breast.
"Listen, my boy," I whispered in his ear. "I am Arsene Lupin. Youare to deliver over to me, immediately and gracefully, mypocketbook and the lady's jewels, and, in return therefore, I willsave you from the police and enroll you amongst my friends. Oneword: yes or no?"
"Yes," he murmured.
"Very good. Your escape, this morning, was well planned. Icongratulate you."
I arose. He fumbled in his pocket, drew out a large knife andtried to strike me with it.
"Imbecile!" I exclaimed.
With one hand, I parried the attack; with the other, I gave him asharp blow on the carotid artery. He fell--stunned!
In my pocketbook, I recovered my papers and bank-notes. Out ofcuriosity, I took his. Upon an envelope, addressed to him, I readhis name: Pierre Onfrey. It startled me. Pierre Onfrey, theassassin of the rue Lafontaine at Auteuil! Pierre Onfrey, he whohad cut the throats of Madame Delbois and her two daughters. Ileaned over him. Yes, those were the features which, in thecompartment, had evoked in me the memory of a face I could not thenrecall.
But time was passing. I placed in an envelope two bank-notes ofone hundred francs each, with a card bearing these words: "ArseneLupin to his worthy colleagues Honore Massol and Gaston Delivet, asa slight token of his gratitude." I placed it in a prominent spotin the room, where they would be sure to find it. Beside it, Iplaced Madame Renaud's handbag. Why could I not return it to thelady who had befriended me? I must confess that I had taken fromit everything that possessed any interest or value, leaving thereonly a shell comb, a stick of rouge Dorin for the lips, and anempty purse. But, you know, business is business. And then,really, her husband is engaged in such a dishonorable vocation!
The man was becoming conscious. What was I to do? I was unable tosave him or condemn him. So I took his revolver and fired a shotin the air.
"My two acolytes will come and attend to his case," I said tomyself, as I hastened away by the road through the ravine. Twentyminutes later, I was seated in my automobile.
At four o'clock, I telegraphed to my friends at Rouen that anunexpected event would prevent me from making my promised visit.Between ourselves, considering what my friends must now know, myvisit is postponed indefinitely. A cruel disillusion for them!
At six o'clock I was in Paris. The evening newspapers informed methat Pierre Onfrey had been captured at last.
Next day,--let us not despise the advantages of judiciousadvertising,--the `Echo de France' published this sensational item:
"Yesterday, near Buchy, after numerous exciting incidents, ArseneLupin effected the arrest of Pierre Onfrey. The assassin of therue Lafontaine had robbed Madame Renaud, wife of the director inthe penitentiary service, in a railway carriage on the Paris-Havreline. Arsene Lupin restored to Madame Renaud the hand-bag thatcontained her jewels, and gave a generous recompense to the twodetectives who had assisted him in making that dramatic arrest."