“Come! Come!” he exclaimed, with a sort of feverish haste, in harmony with his action. “Come! Quicker than that.”
But he stopped suddenly. Alice Demun was following them.
“What are you doing, Mademoiselle? You need not come. You must not come!”
It was Lupin who replied:
“You will notice, monsieur, that she is not coming of her own free will. I am holding her wrist in the same tight grasp that you have on mine.”
“Why?”
“Because I wish to present her also. Her part in the affair of the Jewish lamp is much more important than mine. Accomplice of Arsène Lupin, accomplice of Bresson, she has a right to tell her adventure with the Baroness d’Imblevalle—which will deeply interest Monsieur Gilett as an officer of the law. And by introducing her also, you will have carried your gracious intervention to the very limit, my dear Sholmes.”
The Englishman released his hold on his prisoner’s wrist. Lupin liberated Mademoiselle.
They stood looking at each other for a few seconds, silently and motionless. Then Sholmes returned to the bench and sat down, followed by Lupin and the girl. After a long silence, Lupin said: “You see, monsieur, whatever we may do, we will never be on the same side. You are on one side of the fence; I am on the other. We can exchange greetings, shake hands, converse a moment, but the fence is always there. You will remain Herlock Sholmes, detective, and I, Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar. And Herlock Sholmes will ever obey, more or less spontaneously, with more or less propriety, his instinct as a detective, which is to pursue the burglar and run him down, if possible. And Arsène Lupin, in obedience to his burglarious instinct, will always be occupied in avoiding the reach of the detective, and making sport of the detective, if he can do it. And, this time, he can do it. Ha-ha-ha!”
He burst into a loud laugh, cunning, cruel and odious.
Then, suddenly becoming serious, he addressed Alice Demun:
“You may be sure, mademoiselle, even when reduced to the last extremity, I shall not betray you. Arsène Lupin never betrays anyone—especially those whom he loves and admires. And, may I be permitted to say, I love and admire the brave, dear woman you have proved yourself to be.”
He took from his pocket a visiting card, tore it in two, gave one-half of it to the girl, as he said, in a voice shaken with emotion:
“If Monsieur Sholmes’ plans for you do not succeed, mademoiselle, go to Lady Strongborough—you can easily find her address—and give her that half of the card, and, at the same time, say to her: Faithful friend. Lady Strongborough will show you the true devotion of a sister.”
“Thank you,” said the girl; “I shall see her to-morrow.”
“And now, Monsieur Sholmes,” exclaimed Lupin, with the satisfied air of a gentleman who has fulfilled his duty, “I will say good-night. We will not land for an hour yet, so I will get that much rest.”
He lay down on the bench, with his hands beneath his head.
In a short time the high cliffs of the English coast loomed up in the increasing light of a new-born day. The passengers emerged from the cabins and crowded the deck, eagerly gazing on the approaching shore. Austin Gilette passed by, accompanied by two men whom Sholmes recognized as sleuths from Scotland Yard.
Lupin was asleep, on his bench.
Originally published in 1908
Cover design by Andrea Worthington
ISBN: 978-1-4976-7943-6
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Introduction
CHAPTER I: LOTTERY TICKET NO. 514.
CHAPTER II: THE BLUE DIAMOND.
CHAPTER III: HERLOCK SHOLMES OPENS HOSTILITIES.
CHAPTER IV: LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.
CHAPTER V: AN ABDUCTION.
CHAPTER VI: SECOND ARREST OF ARSÈNE LUPIN.
CHAPTER VII: THE JEWISH LAMP.
CHAPTER VIII. THE SHIPWRECK.
Copyright
Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes Page 21