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of! … And this time it’s a murder! … It’s a fight between you and me now, Master Lupin!”
    M. Formerie had not forgotten the strange adventure of the Princesse de Lamballe’s diadem, nor the wonderful way in which Lupin had tricked him a few years before. The thing had remained famous in the annals of the law-courts. People still laughed at it; and in M. Formerie it had left a just feeling of resentment, combined with the longing for a striking revenge.
    “The nature of the crime is self-evident,” he declared, with a great air of conviction, “and we shall have no difficulty in discovering the motive. So all is well … M. Lenormand, how do you do? … I am delighted to see you …”
    M. Formerie was not in the least delighted. On the contrary, M. Lenormand’s presence did not please him at all, seeing that the chief detective hardly took the trouble to disguise the contempt in which he held him. However, the magistrate drew himself up and, in his most solemn tones:
    “So, doctor, you consider that death took place about a dozen hours ago, perhaps more! … That, in fact, was my own idea … We are quite agreed … And the instrument of the crime?”
    “A knife with a very thin blade, Monsieur le Juge d’Instruction,” replied the surgeon. “Look, the blade has been wiped on the dead man’s own handkerchief …”
    “Just so … just so … you can see the mark … And now let us go and question Mr. Kesselbach’s secretary and man-servant. I have no doubt that their examination will throw some more light on the case.”
    Chapman, who together with Edwards, had been moved to his own room, on the left of the sitting-room, had already recovered from his experiences. He described in detail the events of the previous day, Mr. Kesselbach’s restlessness, the expected visit of the Colonel and, lastly, the attack of which they had been the victims.
    “Aha!” cried M. Formerie. “So there’s an accomplice! And you heard his name! … Marco, you say? … This is very important. When we’ve got the accomplice, we shall be a good deal further advanced …”
    “Yes, but we’ve not got him,” M. Lenormand ventured to remark.
    “We shall see … One thing at a time … And then, Mr. Chapman, this Marco went away immediately after M. Gourel had rung the bell?”
    “Yes, we heard him go.”
    “And after he went, did you hear nothing else?”
    “Yes … from time to time, but vaguel … The door was shut.”
    “And what sort of noises did you hear?”
    “Bursts of voices. The man …”
    “Call him by his name, Arsène Lupin.”
    “Arsène Lupin must have telephoned.”
    “Capital! We will examine the person of the hotel who has charge of the branch exchange communicating with the outside. And, afterward, did you hear him go out, too?”
    “He came in to see if we were still bound; and, a quarter of an hour later, he went away, closing the hall-door after him.”
    “Yes, as soon as his crime was committed. Good … Good … It all fits in … And, after that?”
    “After that, we heard nothing more … The night passed … I fell asleep from exhaustion … So did Edwards … And it was not until this morning …”
    “Yes, I know … There, it’s not going badly … it all fits in …”
    And, marking off the stages of his investigation, in a tone as though he were enumerating so many victories over the stranger, he muttered thoughtfully:
    “The accomplice … the telephone … the time of the murder … the sounds that were heard … Good … Very good … We have still to establish the motive of the crime … In this case, as we have Lupin to deal with, the motive is obvious. M. Lenormand, have you noticed the least sign of anything being broken open?”
    “No.”
    “Then the robbery must have been effected upon the person of the victim himself. Has his pocket-book been found?”
    “I left it in the pocket of his jacket,” said Gourel.
    They all went into the sitting-room, where M. Formerie