The Washington herald., 1915-05-09
By
Maurice Leblanc

hollow voice
| They went along the ratings OF the
garden, and crossed street OF which
the corner was formed by the tobac-
conist's shop. Dancgrc stopped
few PAGES farther on. His legs reclcd
under him. He dropped on bench.
"Well'' asked his companion.
Its there"
ITS there? What arc you talking
about"
"Gcs, there, in front OF US
"In front OF uso Look here, Dane
gre, you had better not"
81 tell you, it's there"
"Wherc3"
, Between two paving stones.
(Which two2"
( Look and see"
(Which two" repeated Grimas.
! dan.
Victor did not reply.
! "Ah, ! see, you're trying to hood
wink me, arc YOU"
"No-but-l shall die of starva-
tom"
And so you're Eestating? Well,
I'll be generous with you. How much
do you want
Enough to pay my passage to
America"
agreed"
And hundred-franc note for cN-
penses"
You shall have two. And now
speak"
Count the coolies to the right OF
the drain. It's between the twelfth
and the thirteenth"
I'm the gutter
Eyes. just below the curbstonc."
Grimaudan looked around him.
Tram cars were passing, people were
passing on foot. But, pooh. Who
would suspect
He opened his pocket knife and
thrust it between the twelfth and
thirteenth cobblestones.
And if it's not there"
''If no one saw me stoop and push
it in, it must be there still"
Could it be there? The black pearl
flung into the mud of gutter for the
first passerby to pick up! The black
pearl-a fortune!
How far down"
About three inches"
He made an opening in the moist
earth. The point OF his knife struck
agains. something He widened the
hole with his fingers.
The black pearl was there.
Here, take your two hundred
francs. I'll send you your ticket for
America"
The next evening the Echo de
France published the following para
graph. which was copied by the press
OF TIE whole world.
Yesterday the famous black pearl
fell into the hands of Arsene Lupin.
who recovered it from the murderer
of the Comtesse d'Andillot. Facsim-
lies of this valuable jewel will shortly
be exhibited in London, St. Peters
burg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayrcs and
New York
"Arsene Lupin is prepared to receive
offers from his correspondents at home
and abroad"
And that is how crime is ALWAYS
punished and virtue rewarded" con-
cluded Arsene Lupin, after he had re-
vealed 20 me the unknown side of
the story.
see; that is how. under the name
OF Grimaudan, an ex-detective-in-
spcctor. you were selected by fate to
deprive the criminal OF the fruits OF
his crimC.'
"Exacily. And I confess that il is
one OF the adventures OF which | am
most proud. The forty minutes which
spent in the countess fiat, after
verifying her death. number among
the most astonishing and the most
momentouS in my life. Caught in an
apparently incxtricablc situation. in
forty minutes | had reconstructed the
crime, and, thanks to a few signs.
acquired the certainty that the muir
derer could be none other than one Of
the countess servants. Lastly. I saw
that If | was to have the pearl, the
man must be arrested, and so I left
the waistcoat button. But that there
must not be any irrefutable proofs OF
his guilt. picked up the knife which
he had left on the carpet. took away
the key which he had left in the lock,
double locked the door and removed
the finger marks on the plaster of the
wardrobe closet. In my opinion, this
was one of those flashes"
"Of genius | put in.
"Of genius, if you like, which would
not have lit up the brain OF the first
conner. ! hit. in one second, upon the
two terms OF the problem-an arrest