Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes Read Free Page B

addressed to  M. Ars. Lup . Mon. Gerbois had not replied to Arsène Lupin’s letter. That was the declaration of war.
    That evening the newspapers announced the abduction of Mlle. Suzanne Gerbois.
    The most entertaining feature in what might be called the Arsène Lupin dramas is the comic attitude displayed by the Parisian police. Arsène Lupin talks, plans, writes, commands, threatens and executes as if the police did not exist. They never figure in his calculations.
    And yet the police do their utmost. But what can they do against such a foe—a foe that scorns and ignores them?
    Suzanne had left the house at twenty minutes to ten; such was the testimony of the servant. On leaving the college, at five minutes past ten, her father did not find her at the place she was accustomed to wait for him. Consequently, whatever had happened must have occurred during the course of Suzanne’s walk from the house to the college. Two neighbors had met her about three hundred yards from the house. A lady had seen, on the avenue, a young girl corresponding to Suzanne’s description. No one else had seen her.
    Inquiries were made in all directions; the employees of the railways and street-car lines were questioned, but none of them had seen anything of the missing girl. However, at Ville-d’Avray, they found a shopkeeper who had furnished gasoline to an automobile that had come from Paris on the day of the abduction. It was occupied by a blonde woman—extremely blonde, said the witness. An hour later, the automobile again passed through Ville-d’Avray on its way from Versailles to Paris. The shopkeeper declared that the automobile now contained a second woman who was heavily veiled. No doubt, it was Suzanne Gerbois.
    The abduction must have taken place in broad daylight, on a frequented street, in the very heart of the town. How? And at what spot? Not a cry was heard; not a suspicious action had been seen. The shopkeeper described the automobile as a royal-blue limousine of twenty-four horse-power made by the firm of Peugeon & Co. Inquiries were then made at the Grand-Garage, managed by Madame Bob-Walthour, who made a specialty of abductions by automobile. It was learned that she had rented a Peugeon limousine on that day to a blonde woman whom she had never seen before nor since.
    “Who was the chauffeur?”
    “A young man named Ernest, whom I had engaged only the day before. He came well recommended.”
    “Is he here now?”
    “No. He brought back the machine, but I haven’t seen him since,” said Madame Bob-Walthour.
    “Do you know where we can find him?”
    “You might see the people who recommended him to me. Here are the names.”
    Upon inquiry, it was learned that none of these people knew the man called Ernest. The recommendations were forged.
    Such was the fate of every clue followed by the police. It ended nowhere. The mystery remained unsolved. Mon. Gerbois had not the strength or courage to wage such an unequal battle. The disappearance of his daughter crushed him;, he capitulated to the enemy. A short announcement in the  Echo de France  proclaimed his unconditional surrender.
    Two days later, Mon. Gerbois visited the office of the Crédit Foncier and handed lottery ticket number 514, series 23, to the governor, who exclaimed, with surprise:
    “Ah! You have it! He has returned it to you!”
    “It was mislaid. That was all,” replied Mon. Gerbois.
    “But you pretended that it had been stolen.”
    “At first, I thought it had … but here it is.”
    “We will require some evidence to establish your right to the ticket.”
    “Will the letter of the purchaser, Monsieur Bessy, be sufficient?”
    “Yes, that will do.”
    “Here it is,” said Mon. Gerbois, producing the letter.
    “Very well. Leave these papers with us. The rules of the lottery allow us fifteen days’ time to investigate your claim. I will let you know when to call for your money. I presume you desire, as much as I do, that this affair should