The Washington herald., 1915-04-11

The guard of the train confirmed
my superstition. He had seen a man
scrambling down the embankmcnt
at two hundred yards from the sta
ton.
There he is! 80 Look! 49, At
the level crossing!"
l darted in pursuit followed by nv
two satellites, or. rather, by one OF
them, for the other, Massol, turned
out to be an uncommonly fast sprint
er, gifted with both speed and stay
ing power. In a few seconds the dis
tancc between him and the fugitive
was greatly diminished. The man
saw him. jumped hedge, and scam
pered off toward slope, which he
climbed. We saw him, father still,
entering little wood.
When we reached the wood we
found Massol waiting for us. He had
thought it no use to 60 on, lest he
should lose us.
OH were quite right, my dear fell
low" ] said After a run like this
our friend must be exhausted. We've
got him"
] examined the skirts of the wood
while thinking how | could best pro-
coed alone TO ;-Trest the fugitive. in
order myself to effect certain rccov-
eries which the law, no doubt, would
only have allowed after a number OF
disagreeable inquiries Then / re-
turned to my companions.
Look here, it's very easy. You,
Massol, take up your position on the
left. You, Delivet. on the right. From
there you can watch the whole rear
OF the wood, and he can't leave it I'M
seen by you except by this hollow,
where | shall stand. If he does not
come out, I'll go in and force him
back toward one or the other of you
You have nothing to do, therefore,
but wait. Oh, ! was forgetting-in
case of alarm, III fire shot"
Massol and Delivet moved off, each
to his own side. As soon as they were
out of sight ! made my way into the
wood with infinite precautions, so
as neither to be seen nor heard. 1t
consisted of close thickets, contrivcd
for the shooting, and intersected by
very narrow paths, in which it was
only possible to walk by STOPPING, as
though in a leafy tunnel.
One of these ended in glade,
where the damp grass showed the
marks of footsteps. ! followed them,
taking care to steal through the I'M
derwood. They led me to the bottom
of a little mound, crowned by a tuu-
bledown 1ath-and-plaster howell
HE must be there" l thought. "He
has selected good post of observa-
ton"
l crawled close up to the building.
A slight sound warned me of his pres
ence, and, in fact, / caught sight of
him through an opening with his back
turned toward me.
Two bounds brought me upon him.
He tried to point the revolver which
he held in his hand. l did not give
him time, but pulled him to the
ground in such a way that his two
arms were twisted and caught under
him, while I held him pinned down
with my knee upon his chest.
Listen to me, old chap" I whis-
pered in his ear. 81 am Arsene Lu-
pin. You've got to give me back, this
minute and without any fuss, my peck
etbook and the lady's wristbag -
in return for which I'll save you from
the clutches of the police and en-
roll you among my friends. Which
is it to be-yes or no"
YES" he muttered.
That's right. Your plan of this
was clevcrly thought out.
We shall be good friends"
l got up. He fumbled in his pocket.
fetched out a great knife and tried
to strike me with it.
"You ass" l cried.
With one hand I parried the at
.ack. With the other l caught him a
violent blow on the carotid artery,
the blow which is known as "the caro-
lid hook" He fell back stunned.
In my pocketbook l found my pa
pers and banknotcs. I took his own
put of curiosity. On an envelope ad-
dressed to him | read his name
Pierre Onfrey.
| gave a start Pierce Onfrey, the
of the murder in the Rue
Lafontaine at Auteui1i Pierce Onfrey.
he man who had cut the throats OF
Mime Delbois and her two daugh-
ters. I bent over him. Yes, that was
he face which. in the railway car
.iage, had aroused in me the memory
Of features which | had seen before.
But time was passing. | placed two
franc notes in an envelope,
with visiting card bearing these
words:
"Arsenc Lupin to his worthy as
'istants, Honore Massol and CASTOR
Oelivet. with his best thanks"
| laid this where it could be seen,
n the middle of the room. Beside it
placed Nine. Renaud's wristbag.
Why should it not be restored to the
lind friend who had rescued me,
confess, however, that | took from
t everything that seemed in any way
interesting, leaving only a tortoire-
hell comb. stick of lip salve and an
Empty purse Business is business.
when all is said and done! And, be-
ides, her husband followed such a
lisreputable occupation!
There remained the man. He was
beginning to move. What was l to
10? l was not qualified either to save
n to condemn him.
| took away his weapons, and fired
ny revolver in the air.
THAT will bring the two Others"
thought "He must find way out of
lis own difficulties. Let fate take its
curse"
And l went down the hollow road
t run.
Twenty minutes later a cross-road
which I had noticed during our pur-
uit brought me back to my car.