The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar

Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar

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Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar
Author: Maurice Leblanc
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Maurice Leblanc
The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar

Table of Contents: I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin II. Arsène Lupin in Prison III. The
Escape of Arsène Lupin IV. The Mysterious Traveller V. The Queen's Necklace VI. The
Seven of Hearts VII. Madame Imbert's Safe VIII. The Black Pearl IX. Sherlock Holmes
Arrives Too Late

I. The Arrest of Arsène Lupin
It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most auspicious manner.
The transatlantic steamship `La Provence' was a swift and comfortable vessel, under the
command of a most affable man. The passengers constituted a select and delightful
society. The charm of new acquaintances and improvised amusements served to make the
time pass agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant sensation of being separated from the world,
living, as it were, upon an unknown island, and consequently obliged to be sociable with
each other.
Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and spontaneity emanate from
these various individuals who, on the preceding evening, did not even know each other,
and who are now, for several days, condemned to lead a life of extreme intimacy, jointly
defying the anger of the ocean, the terrible onslaught of the waves, the violence of the
tempest and the agonizing monotony of the calm and sleepy water? Such a life becomes a
sort of tragic existence, with its storms and its grandeurs, its monotony and its diversity;
and that is why, perhaps, we embark upon that short voyage with mingled feelings of
pleasure and fear.
But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to the life of the
transatlantic traveler. The little floating island is now attached to the world from which it
was once quite free. A bond united them, even in the very heart of the watery wastes of
the Atlantic. That bond is the wireless telegraph, by means of which we receive news in
the most mysterious manner. We know full well that the message is not transported by
the medium of a hollow wire. No, the mystery is even more inexplicable, more romantic,
and we must have recourse to the wings of the air in order to explain this new miracle.
During the first day of the voyage, we felt that we were being followed, escorted,
preceded even, by that distant voice, which, from time to time, whispered to one of us a
few words from the receding world. Two friends spoke to me. Ten, twenty others sent
gay or somber words of parting to other passengers.
On the second day, at a distance of five hundred miles from the French coast, in the midst
of a violent storm, we received the following message by means of the wireless
telegraph:

"Arsène Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, wound right fore-arm, traveling
alone under name of R........"
At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy skies. The electric waves
were interrupted. The remainder of the dispatch never reached us. Of the name under
Arsène Lupin was concealing himself, we knew only the initial.
If the news had been of some other character, I have no doubt that the secret would have
been carefully guarded by the telegraphic operator as well as by the officers of the vessel.
But it was one of those events calculated to escape from the