CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
OPEN SESAME!
In spite of his usual facility for sleep, Don Luis slept for three hoursat most. He was racked with too much anxiety; and, though his plan ofconduct was worked out mathematically, he could not help foreseeing allthe obstacles which were likely to frustrate that plan. Of course, Weberwould speak to M. Desmalions. But would M. Desmalions telephone toValenglay?
"He is sure to telephone," Don Luis declared, stamping his foot. "Itdoesn't let him in for anything. And at the same time, he would berunning a big risk if he refused, especially as Valenglay must havebeen consulted about my arrest and is obviously kept informed of allthat happens."
He next asked himself what exactly Valenglay could do, once he was told.For, after all, was it not too much to expect that the head of thegovernment, that the Prime Minister, should put himself out to obey theinjunctions and assist the schemes of M. Arsene Lupin?
"He will come!" he cried, with the same persistent confidence. "Valenglaydoesn't care a hang for form and ceremony and all that nonsense. He willcome, even if it is only out of curiosity, to learn what the Kaiser'sfriend can have to say to him. Besides, he knows me! I am not one ofthose beggars who inconvenience people for nothing. There's alwayssomething to be gained by meeting me. He'll come!"
But another question at once presented itself to his mind. Valenglay'scoming in no way implied his consent to the bargain which Perenna meantto propose to him. And even if Don Luis succeeded in convincing him, whatrisks remained! How many doubtful points to overcome! And then thepossibilities of failure!
Would Weber pursue the fugitive's motor car with the necessary decisionand boldness? Would he get on the track again? And, having got on thetrack, would he be certain not to lose it?
And then--and then, even supposing that all the chances were favourable,was it not too late? Taking for granted that they hunted down the wildbeast, that they drove him to bay, would he not meanwhile have killed hisprey? Knowing himself beaten, would a monster of that kind hesitate toadd one more murder to the long list of his crimes?
And this, to Don Luis, was the crowning terror. After all thedifficulties which, in his stubbornly confident imagination, he hadmanaged to surmount, he was brought face to face with the horrible visionof Florence being sacrificed, of Florence dead!
"Oh, the torture of it!" he stammered. "I alone could have succeeded; andthey shut me up!"
He hardly put himself out to inquire into the reasons for which M.Desmalions, suddenly changing his mind, had consented to his arrest, thusbringing back to life that troublesome Arsene Lupin with whom the policehad not hitherto cared to hamper themselves. No, that did not interesthim. Florence alone mattered. And the minutes passed; and each minutewasted brought Florence nearer to her doom.
He remembered a similar occasion when, some years before, he waited inthe same way for the door of his cell to open and the German Emperor toappear. But how much greater was the solemnity of the present moment!Before, it was at the very most his liberty that was at stake. This timeit was Florence's life which fate was about to offer or refuse him.
"Florence! Florence!" he kept repeating, in his despair.
He no longer had a doubt of her innocence. Nor did he doubt that theother loved her and had carried her off not so much for the hostage ofa coveted fortune as for a love spoil, which a man destroys if hecannot keep it.
"Florence! Florence!"
He was suffering from an extraordinary fit of depression. His defeatseemed irretrievable. There was no question of hastening after Florence,of catching the murderer. Don Luis was in prison under his own name ofArsene Lupin; and the whole problem lay in knowing how long he wouldremain there, for months or for years!
It was then that he fully realized what his love for Florence meant. Heperceived that it took the place in his life of his former passions, hiscraving for luxury, his desire for mastery, his pleasure in fighting, hisambition, his revenge. For two months he had been struggling to win herand for nothing else. The search after the truth and the punishment ofthe criminal were to him no more than means of saving Florence from thedangers that threatened her.
If Florence had to die, if it was too late to snatch her from the enemy,in that case he might as well remain in prison. Arsene Lupin spending therest of his days in a convict settlement was a fitting end to the spoiltlife of a man who had not even been able to win the love of the onlywoman he had really loved.
It was a passing mood and, being totally opposed to Don Luis's nature,finished abruptly in a state of utter confidence which no longer admittedthe least particle of anxiety or doubt. The sun had risen. The cellgradually became filled with daylight. And Don Luis remembered thatValenglay reached his office on the Place Beauveau at seven o'clock inthe morning.
From this moment he felt absolutely calm. Coming events presented anentirely different aspect to him, as though they had, so to speak, turnedright round. The contest seemed to him easy, the facts free fromcomplications. He understood as clearly as if the actions had beenperformed that his will could not but be obeyed. The deputy chief mustinevitably have made a faithful report to the Prefect of Police. ThePrefect of Police must inevitably that morning have transmitted ArseneLupin's request to Valenglay.
Valenglay would inevitably give himself the pleasure of an interview withArsene Lupin. Arsene Lupin would inevitably, in the course of thatinterview, obtain Valenglay's consent. These were not suppositions, butcertainties; not problems awaiting solution, but problems already solved.Starting from A and continuing along B and C, you arrive, whether youwish it or not, at D.
Don Luis began to laugh:
"Come, come, Arsene, old chap, remember that you brought Mr. Hohenzollernall the way from his Brandenburg Marches. Valenglay does not live as faras that, by Jove! And, if necessary, you can put yourself out alittle.... That's it: I'll consent to take the first step. I will go andcall on M. de Beauveau. M. Valenglay, it is a pleasure to see you."
He went gayly to the door, pretending that it was open and that he hadonly to walk through to be received when his turn came.
He repeated this child's play three times, bowing low and long, as thoughholding a plumed hat in his hand, and murmuring:
"Open sesame!"
At the fourth time, the door opened, and a warder appeared.
Don Luis said, in a ceremonious tone:
"I hope I have not kept the Prime Minister waiting?"
There were four inspectors in the corridor.
"Are these gentlemen my escort?" he asked. "That's right. Announce ArseneLupin, grandee of Spain, his most Catholic Majesty's cousin. My lords, Ifollow you. Turnkey, here are twenty crowns for your pains, my friend."
He stopped in the corridor.
"By Jupiter, no gloves; and I haven't shaved since yesterday!"
The inspectors had surrounded him and were pushing him a little roughly.He seized two of them by the arm. They groaned.
"That'll teach you," he said. "You've no orders to thrash me, have you?Nor even to handcuff me? That being so, young fellows, behave!"
The prison governor was standing in the hall.
"I've had a capital night, my dear governor," said Don "Your C.T.C. roomsare the very acme of comfort. I'll see that the Lockup Arms receives astar in the 'Baedeker.' Would you like me to write you a testimonial inyour jail book? You wouldn't? Perhaps you hope to see me again? Sorry, mydear governor, but it's impossible. I have other things to do."
A motor car was waiting in the yard. Don Luis stepped in with the fourdetectives:
"Place Beauveau," he said to the driver.
"No, Rue Vineuse," said one of the detectives, correcting him.
"Oho!" said Don Luis. "His Excellency's private residence! His Excellencyprefers that my visit should be kept secret. That's a good sign. By theway, dear friends, what's the time?"
His question remained unanswered. And as the detectives had drawn theblinds, he was unable to consult the clocks in the street.
* * * * *
It was not until he was at Valenglay's, in the Prime Minister's littleground-floor flat near the Trocadero, that he saw a clock on themantelpiece:
"A quarter to seven!" he exclaimed. "Good! There's not been muchtime lost."
Valenglay's study opened on a flight of steps that ran down to agarden filled with aviaries. The room itself was crammed with booksand pictures.
A bell rang, and the detectives went out, following the old maidservantwho had shown them in. Don Luis was left alone.
He was still calm, but nevertheless felt a certain uneasiness, a longingto be up and doing, to throw himself into the fray; and his eyes kept oninvoluntarily returning to the face of the clock. The minute hand seemedendowed with extraordinary speed.
At last some one entered, ushering in a second person. Don Luisrecognized Valenglay and the Prefect of Police.
"That's it," he thought. "I've got him."
He saw this by the sort of vague sympathy perceptible on the oldPremier's lean and bony face. There was not a sign of arrogance, nothingto raise a barrier between the Minister and the suspicious individualwhom he was receiving: just a manifest, playful curiosity and sympathy,It was a sympathy which Valenglay had never concealed, and of which heeven boasted when, after Arsene Lupin's sham death, he spoke of theadventurer and the strange relations between them.
"You have not changed," he said, after looking at him for some time."Complexion a little darker, a trifle grayer over the temples,that's all."
And putting on a blunt tone, he asked:
"And what is it you want?"
"An answer first of all, Monsieur le President du Conseil. Has DeputyChief Weber, who took me to the lockup last night, traced the motor cabin which Florence Levasseur was carried off?"
"Yes, the motor stopped at Versailles. The persons inside it hiredanother cab which is to take them to Nantes. What else do you ask for,besides that answer?"
"My liberty, Monsieur le President."
"At once, of course?" said Valenglay, beginning to laugh.
"In thirty or thirty-five minutes at most."
"At half-past seven, eh?"
"Half-past seven at latest, Monsieur le President."
"And why your liberty?"
"To catch the murderer of Cosmo Mornington, of Inspector Verot, and ofthe Roussel family."
"Are you the only one that can catch him?"
"Yes."
"Still, the police are moving. The wires are at work. The murderer willnot leave France. He shan't escape us."
"You can't find him."
"Yes, we can."
"In that case he will kill Florence Levasseur. She will be thescoundrel's seventh victim. And it will be your doing."
Valenglay paused for a moment and then resumed:
"According to you, contrary to all appearances, and contrary to thewell-grounded suspicions of Monsieur le Prefet de Police, FlorenceLevasseur is innocent?"
"Oh, absolutely, Monsieur le President!"
"And you believe her to be in danger of death?"
"She is in danger of death."
"Are you in love with her?"
"I am."
Valenglay experienced a little thrill of enjoyment. Lupin in love! Lupinacting through love and confessing his love! But how exciting!
He said:
"I have followed the Mornington case from day to day and I know everydetail of it. You have done wonders, Monsieur. It is evident that, butfor you, the case would never have emerged from the mystery thatsurrounded it at the start. But I cannot help noticing that there arecertain flaws in it.
"These flaws, which astonished me on your part, are more easy tounderstand when we know that love was the primary motive and the objectof your actions. On the other hand, and in spite of what you say,Florence Levasseur's conduct, her claims as the heiress, her unexpectedescape from the hospital, leave little doubt in our minds as to the partwhich she is playing."
Don Luis pointed to the clock:
"Monsieur le Ministre, it is getting late."
Valenglay burst out laughing.
"I never met any one like you! Don Luis Perenna, I am sorry that I am notsome absolute monarch. I should make you the head of my secret police."
"A post which the German Emperor has already offered me."
"Oh, nonsense!"
"And I refused it."
Valenglay laughed heartily; but the clock struck seven. Don Luis began togrow anxious. Valenglay sat down and, coming straight to the point, said,in a serious voice:
"Don Luis Perenna, on the first day of your reappearance--that is tosay, at the very moment of the murders on the Boulevard Suchet--Monsieurle Prefet de Police and I made up our minds as to your identity. Perennawas Lupin.
"I have no doubt that you understood the reason why we did not wish tobring back to life the dead man that you were, and why we granted you asort of protection. Monsieur le Prefet de Police was entirely of myopinion. The work which you were pursuing was a salutary work of justice;and your assistance was so valuable to us that we strove to spare you anysort of annoyance. As Don Luis Perenna was fighting the good fight, weleft Arsene Lupin in the background. Unfortunately--"
Valenglay paused again and declared:
"Unfortunately, Monsieur le Prefet de Police last night received adenunciation, supported by detailed proofs, accusing you of beingArsene Lupin."
"Impossible!" cried Don Luis. "That is a statement which no one is ableto prove by material evidence. Arsene Lupin is dead."
"If you like," Valenglay agreed. "But that does not show that Don LuisPerenna is alive."
"Don Luis Perenna has a duly legalized existence, Monsieur le President."
"Perhaps. But it is disputed."
"By whom? There is only one man who would have the right; and to accuseme would be his own undoing. I cannot believe him to be stupid enough--"
"Stupid enough, no; but crafty enough, yes."
"You mean Caceres, the Peruvian attache?"
"Yes."
"But he is abroad!"
"More than that: he is a fugitive from justice, after embezzling thefunds of his legation. But before leaving the country he signed astatement that reached us yesterday evening, declaring that he faked up acomplete record for you under the name of Don Luis Perenna. Here is yourcorrespondence with him and here are all the papers establishing thetruth of his allegations. Any one will be convinced, on examining them,first, that you are not Don Luis Perenna, and, secondly, that you areArsene Lupin."
Don Luis made an angry gesture.
"That blackguard of a Caceres is a mere tool," he snarled. "The otherman's behind him, has paid him, and is controlling his actions. It's thescoundrel himself; I recognize his touch. He has once more tried to getrid of me at the decisive moment."
"I am quite willing to believe it," said the Prime Minister. "But as allthese documents, according to the letter that came with them, are onlyphotographs, and as, if you are not arrested this morning, the originalsare to be handed to a leading Paris newspaper to-night, we are obliged totake note of the accusation."
"But, Monsieur le President," exclaimed Don Luis, "as Caceres is abroadand as the scoundrel who bought the papers of him was also obliged totake to flight before he was able to execute his threats, there is nofear now that the documents will be handed to the press."
"How do we know? The enemy must have taken his precautions. He may haveaccomplices."
"He has none."
"How do we know?"
Don Luis looked at Valenglay and said:
"What is it that you really wish to say, Monsieur le President?"
"I will tell you. Although pressure was brought to bear upon us byCaceres's threats, Monsieur le Prefet de Police, anxious to see allpossible light shed on the plot played by Florence Levasseur, did notinterfere with your last night's expedition. As that expedition led tonothing, he determined, at any rate, to profit by the fact that Don Luishad placed himself at our dispos
al and to arrest Arsene Lupin.
"If we now let him go the documents will certainly be published; andyou can see the absurd and ridiculous position in which that will placeus in the eyes of the public. Well, at this very moment, you ask forthe release of Arsene Lupin, a release which would be illegal, uncalledfor, and inexcusable. I am obliged, therefore, to refuse it, and I dorefuse it."
He ceased; and then, after a few seconds, he added:
"Unless--"
"Unless?" asked Don Luis.
"Unless--and this is what I wanted to say--unless you offer me inexchange something so extraordinary and so tremendous that I couldconsent to risk the annoyance which the absurd release of Arsene Lupinwould bring down upon my head."
"But, Monsieur le President, surely, if I bring you the real criminal,the murderer of--"
"I don't need your assistance for that."
"And if I give you my word of honour, Monsieur le President, to returnthe moment my task is done and give myself up?"
Valenglay struck the table with his fist and, raising his voice,addressed Don Luis with a certain genial familiarity:
"Come, Arsene Lupin," he said, "play the game! If you really want to haveyour way, pay for it! Hang it all, remember that after all this business,and especially after the incidents of last night, you and FlorenceLevasseur will be to the public what you already are: the responsibleactors in the tragedy; nay, more, the real and only criminals. And it isnow, when Florence Levasseur has taken to her heels, that you come andask me for your liberty! Very well, but damn it, set a price to it anddon't haggle with me!"
"I am not haggling, Monsieur le President," declared Don Luis, in a verystraightforward manner and tone. "What I have to offer you is certainlymuch more extraordinary and tremendous than you imagine. But if it weretwice as extraordinary and twice as tremendous, it would not count onceFlorence Levasseur's life is in danger. Nevertheless, I was entitled totry for a less expensive transaction. Of this your words remove all hope.I will therefore lay my cards upon the table, as you demand, and as I hadmade up my mind to do."
He sat down opposite Valenglay, in the attitude of a man treating withanother on equal terms.
"I shall not be long. A single sentence, Monsieur le President,will express the bargain which I am proposing to the Prime Ministerof my country."
And, looking Valenglay straight in the eyes, he said slowly, syllableby syllable:
"In exchange for twenty-four hours' liberty and no more, undertaking onmy honour to return here to-morrow morning and to return here either withFlorence, to give you every proof of her innocence, or without her, toconstitute myself a prisoner, I offer you--"
He took his time and, in a serious voice, concluded:
"I offer you a kingdom, Monsieur le President du Conseil."
The sentence sounded bombastic and ludicrous, sounded silly enough toprovoke a shrug of the shoulders, sounded like one of those sentenceswhich only an imbecile or a lunatic could utter. And yet Valenglayremained impassive. He knew that, in such circumstances as the present,the man before him was not the man to indulge in jesting.
And he knew it so fully that, instinctively, accustomed as he was tomomentous political questions in which secrecy is of the utmostimportance, he cast a glance toward the Prefect of Police, as though M.Desmalions's presence in the room hindered him.
"I positively insist," said Don Luis, "that Monsieur le Prefet de Policeshall stay and hear what I have to say. He is better able than any oneelse to appreciate the value of it; and he will bear witness to itscorrectness in certain particulars."
"Speak!" said Valenglay.
His curiosity knew no bounds. He did not much care whether Don Luis'sproposal could have any practical results. In his heart he did notbelieve in it. But what he wanted to know was the lengths to which thatdemon of audacity was prepared to go, and on what new prodigiousadventure he based the pretensions which he was putting forward so calmlyand frankly.
Don Luis smiled:
"Will you allow me?" he asked.
Rising and going to the mantelpiece, he took down from the wall asmall map representing Northwest Africa. He spread it on the table,placed different objects on the four corners to hold it in position,and resumed:
"There is one matter, Monsieur le President, which puzzled Monsieur lePrefet de Police and about which I know that he caused inquiries to bemade; and that matter is how I employed my time, or, rather, how ArseneLupin employed his time during the last three years of his service withthe Foreign Legion."
"Those inquiries were made by my orders," said Valenglay.
"And they led--?"
"To nothing."
"So that you do not know what I did during my captivity?"
"Just so."
"I will tell you, Monsieur le President. It will not take me long."
Don Luis pointed with a pencil to a spot in Morocco marked on the map.
"It was here that I was taken prisoner on the twenty-fourth of July. Mycapture seemed queer to Monsieur le Prefet de Police and to all whosubsequently heard the details of the incident. They were astonished thatI should have been foolish enough to get caught in ambush and to allowmyself to be trapped by a troop of forty Berber horse. Their surprise isjustified. My capture was a deliberate move on my part.
"You will perhaps remember, Monsieur le President, that I enlisted in theForeign Legion after making a fruitless attempt to kill myself inconsequence of some really terrible private disasters. I wanted to die,and I thought that a Moorish bullet would give me the final rest forwhich I longed.
"Fortune did not permit it. My destiny, it seemed, was not yet fulfilled.Then what had to be was. Little by little, unknown to myself, the thoughtof death vanished and I recovered my love of life. A few rather strikingfeats of arms had given me back all my self-confidence and all my desirefor action.
"New dreams seized hold of me. I fell a victim to a new ideal. From dayto day I needed more space, greater independence, wider horizons, moreunforeseen and personal sensations. The Legion, great as my affection wasfor the plucky fellows who had welcomed me so cordially, was no longerenough to satisfy my craving for activity.
"One day, without thinking much about it, in a blind prompting of mywhole being toward a great adventure which I did not clearly see, butwhich attracted me in a mysterious fashion, one day, finding myselfsurrounded by a band of the enemy, though still in a position to fight, Iallowed myself to be captured.
"That is the whole story, Monsieur le President. As a prisoner, I wasfree. A new life opened before me. However, the incident nearly turnedout badly. My three dozen Berbers, a troop detached from an importantnomad tribe that used to pillage and put to ransom the districts lying onthe middle chains of the Atlas Range, first galloped back to the littlecluster of tents where the wives of their chiefs were encamped under theguard of some ten men. They packed off at once; and, after a week's marchwhich I found pretty arduous, for I was on foot, with my hands tiedbehind my back, following a mounted party, they stopped on a narrowupland commanded by rocky slopes and covered with skeletons moulderingamong the stones and with remains of French swords and other weapons.
"Here they planted a stake in the ground and fastened me to it. Igathered from the behaviour of my captors and from a few words which Ioverheard that my death was decided on. They meant to cut off my ears,nose, and tongue, and then my head.
"However, they began by preparing their repast. They went to a well closeby, ate and drank and took no further notice of me except to laugh at meand describe the various treats they held in store for me.... Anothernight passed. The torture was postponed until the morning, a time thatsuited them better. At break of day they crowded round me, uttering yellsand shouts with which were mingled the shrill cries of the women.
"When my shadow covered a line which they had marked on the sand thenight before, they ceased their din, and one of them, who was to performthe surgical operations prescribed for me, stepped forward and ordered meto put out my tongue. I did so
. He took hold of it with a corner of hisburnous and, with his other hand, drew his dagger from its sheath.
"I shall never forget the ferocity, coupled with ingenuous delight, ofhis expression, which was like that of a mischievous boy amusing himselfby breaking a bird's wings and legs. Nor shall I ever forget the man'sstupefaction when he saw that his dagger no longer consisted of anythingbut the pommel and a harmless and ridiculously small stump of the blade,just long enough to keep it in its sheath. His fury was revealed by asplutter of curses and he at once rushed at one of his friends andsnatched his dagger from him.
"The same stupefaction followed: this dagger was also broken off at thehilt. The next thing was a general tumult, in which one and allbrandished their knives. But all of them uttered howls of rage.
"There were forty-five men there; and their forty-five knives weresmashed.... The chief flew at me as if holding me responsible for thisincomprehensible phenomenon. He was a tall, lean old man, slightlyhunchbacked, blind of one eye, hideous to look upon. He aimed a hugepistol point blank at my head and he struck me as so ugly that I burstout laughing in his face. He pulled the trigger. The pistol missed fire.He pulled it again. The pistol again missed fire....
"All of them at once began to dance around the stake to which I wasfastened. Gesticulating wildly, hustling one another and roaring likethunder, they levelled their various firearms at me: muskets, pistols,carbines, old Spanish blunderbusses. The hammers clicked. But themuskets, pistols, carbines, and blunderbusses did not go off!
"It was a regular miracle. You should have seen their faces. I neverlaughed so much in my life; and this completed their bewilderment.
"Some ran to the tents for more powder. Others hurriedly reloaded theirarms, only to meet with fresh failure, while I did nothing but laugh andlaugh! The thing could not go on indefinitely. There were plenty of othermeans of doing away with me. They had their hands to strangle me with,the butt ends of their muskets to smash my head with, pebbles to stone mewith. And there were over forty of them!
"The old chief picked up a bulky stone and stepped toward me, hisfeatures distorted with hatred. He raised himself to his full height,lifted the huge block, with the assistance of two of his men, above myhead and dropped it--in front of me, on the stake! It was a staggeringsight for the poor old man. I had, in one second, unfastened my bonds andsprung backward; and I was standing at three paces from him, with myhands outstretched before me, and holding in those outstretched hands thetwo revolvers which had been taken from me on the day of my capture!
"What followed was the business of a few seconds. The chief now beganto laugh as I had laughed, sarcastically. To his mind, in the disorderof his brain, those two revolvers with which I threatened him couldhave no more effect than the useless weapons which had spared my life.He took up a large pebble and raised his hand to hurl it at my face.His two assistants did the same. And all the others were prepared tofollow his example.
"'Hands down!' I cried, 'or I fire!' The chief let fly his stone. At thesame moment three shots rang out. The chief and his two men fell dead tothe ground. 'Who's next?' I asked, looking round the band.
"Forty-two Moors remained. I had eleven bullets left. As none of the menbudged, I slipped one of my revolvers under my arm and took from mypocket two small boxes of cartridges containing fifty more bullets. Andfrom my belt I drew three great knives, all of them nicely tapering andpointed. Half of the troop made signs of submission and drew up in linebehind me. The other half capitulated a moment after. The battle wasover. It had not lasted four minutes."