Eight Strokes of the Clock

Eight Strokes of the Clock, by
Maurice Le Blanc

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Title: The Eight Strokes of the Clock
Author: Maurice Le Blanc

Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7896] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on May 31, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
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STROKES OF THE CLOCK ***

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[Illustration: The girl gasped as Renine (Arsene Lupin) drew forth the
mysterious telescope.]
THE EIGHT STROKES OF THE CLOCK
BY
MAURICE LE BLANC

AUTHOR'S NOTE
These adventures were told to me in the old days by Arsène Lupin, as
though they had happened to a friend of his, named Prince Rénine. As
for me, considering the way in which they were conducted, the actions,
the behaviour and the very character of the hero, I find it very difficult
not to identify the two friends as one and the same person. Arsène
Lupin is gifted with a powerful imagination and is quite capable of
attributing to himself adventures which are not his at all and of
disowning those which are really his. The reader will judge for himself.

M. L.

CONTENTS
I ON THE TOP OF THE TOWER
II THE WATER BOTTLE
III THE CASE OF JEAN LOUIS
IV THE TELL-TALE FILM
V THÉRÈSE AND GERMAINE
VI THE LADY WITH THE HATCHET
VII FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW
VIII AT THE SIGN OF MERCURY

I
ON THE TOP OF THE TOWER
Hortense Daniel pushed her window ajar and whispered:
"Are you there, Rossigny?"
"I am here," replied a voice from the shrubbery at the front of the
house.
Leaning forward, she saw a rather fat man looking up at her out of a
gross red face with its cheeks and chin set in unpleasantly fair whiskers.
"Well?" he asked.

"Well, I had a great argument with my uncle and aunt last night. They
absolutely refuse to sign the document of which my lawyer sent them
the draft, or to restore the dowry squandered by my husband."
"But your uncle is responsible by the terms of the marriage-settlement."
"No matter. He refuses."
"Well, what do you propose to do?"
"Are you still determined to run away with me?" she asked, with a
laugh.
"More so than ever."
"Your intentions are strictly honourable, remember!"
"Just as you please. You know that I am madly in love with you."
"Unfortunately I am not madly in love with you!"
"Then what made you choose me?"
"Chance. I was bored. I was growing tired of my humdrum existence.
So I'm ready to run risks.... Here's my luggage: catch!"
She let down from the window a couple of large leather kit-bags.
Rossigny caught them in his arms.
"The die is cast," she whispered. "Go and wait for me with your car at
the If cross-roads. I shall come on horseback."
"Hang it, I can't run off with your horse!"
"He will go home by himself."
"Capital!... Oh, by the way...."
"What is it?"

"Who is this Prince Rénine, who's been here the last three days and
whom nobody seems to know?"
"I don't know much about him. My uncle met him at a friend's shoot
and asked him here to stay."
"You seem to have made a great impression on him. You went for a
long ride with him yesterday. He's a man I don't care for."
"In two hours I shall have left the house in your company. The scandal
will cool him off.... Well, we've talked long enough. We have no time
to lose."
For a few minutes she stood watching the fat man bending under the
weight of her traps as he moved away in the shelter of an empty avenue.