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But so far we have only hypothetical suppositions, or rather certainties which are personal to myself. We shall never intercept the guillotine with those. Ah, if we could only find the bank-notes! Given the bank-notes, M. Dudouis would act. Without them, he will laugh in my face." "What then?" murmured Hortense, in anguished accents. He did not reply.
Dudouis returned to the prison in the evening, accompanied by Inspector Dieuzy. Three empty plates were sitting on the stove in the corner. "He has eaten?" "Yes," replied the guard. "Dieuzy, please cut that macaroni into very small pieces, and open that bread-roll....Nothing?" "No, chief." Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the knife an ordinary knife with a rounded blade.
For we shall see M. Dudouis at the prefecture, shall we not?" "Yes, he'll be there at three o'clock." "Well, you'll be convinced, Mr. Inspector! I tell you here and now that you will be convinced." Renine was chuckling like a man who feels certain of the course of events.
Rest easy; your friend is watching over you." Mon. Dudouis reflected a moment, then said: "It is quite clear....the basket....the eight compartments.... From twelve to sixteen means from twelve to four o'clock." "But this H-P, that will wait?" "H-P must mean automobile. H-P, horsepower, is the way they indicate strength of the motor. A twenty-four H-P is an automobile of twenty-four horsepower."
Au revoir, dear friend." "At last," cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, "I think we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on our part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrest of his confederates are concerned." "But if Arsene Lupin slips through your fingers?" suggested the guard. "We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that.
The chief will want to make an inventory." "This is a very choice cigar." "Leave it there, and notify the chief." Two minutes later Mon. Dudouis examined the contents of the drawer. First he discovered a bundle of newspaper clippings relating to Arsene Lupin taken from the `Argus de la Presse, then a tobacco-box, a pipe, some paper called "onion-peel," and two books.
"Have you a telephone, monsieur?" "Yes, in the vestibule. Come with me." He looked in the directory, and then asked for number 415.21. "Is Mon. Andermatt at home?....Please tell him that Mon. Dudouis wished him to come at once to 102 Boulevard Maillot. Very important." Twenty minutes later, Mon. Andermatt arrived in his automobile.
A half-hour later, the commissary of police arrived, then the coroner and the chief of the Surete, Mon. Dudouis. I had been careful not to touch the corpse. The preliminary inquiry was very brief, and disclosed nothing. There were no papers in the pockets of the deceased; no name upon his clothes; no initial upon his linen; nothing to give any clue to his identity.
"The man from the prefecture will be here," he said, "in twenty minutes at latest." "And if no one comes?" Hortense objected. "That would surprise me. Of course, if I had sent a message to M. Dudouis saying, 'Aubrieux is innocent, I should have failed to make any impression.
"And suppose you are wrong?" "I have no choice. Besides, it is too late. There's a knock. Oh, one word more! Whatever I may say, don't contradict me. Nor you, M. Dutreuil." He opened the door. A thin man, with a red imperial, entered: "Prince Renine?" "Yes, sir. You, of course, are from M. Dudouis?" "Yes." And the newcomer gave his name: "Chief-inspector Morisseau."
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