The Crystal Stopper [71]
This morning he had his luggage taken to the Gare de --- and telephoned to reserve a berth in the sleeping-car --- for ---
"I do not know when the train starts. But I shall be at the station all the afternoon. Come as soon as you can, all three of you. We will arrange to kidnap him."
"What next?" said the Masher. "At which station? And where's the sleeping-car for? She has cut out just the words we wanted!"
"Yes," said the Growler. "Two snips with the scissors in each place; and the words which we most want are gone. Who ever saw such a thing? Has Mme. Mergy lost her head?"
Lupin did not move. A rush of blood was beating at his temples with such violence that he glued his fists to them and pressed with all his might. His fever returned, burning and riotous, and his will, incensed to the verge of physical suffering, concentrated itself upon that stealthy enemy, which must be controlled then and there, if he himself did not wish to be irretrievably beaten.
He muttered, very calmly: "Daubrecq has been here."
"Daubrecq!"
"We can't suppose that Mme. Mergy has been amusing herself by cutting out those two words. Daubrecq has been here. Mme. Mergy thought that she was watching him. He was watching her instead."
"How?"
"Doubtless through that hall-porter who did not tell us that Mme. Mergy had been to the hotel, but who must have told Daubrecq. He came. He read the letter. And, by way of getting at us, he contented himself with cutting out the essential words."
"We can find out... we can ask... "
"What's the good? What's the use of finding out how he came, when we know that he did come?"
He examined the letter for some time, turned it over and over, then stood up and said:
"Come along."
"Where to?"
"Gare de Lyon."
"Are you sure?"
"I am sure of nothing with Daubrecq. But, as we have to choose, according to the contents of the letter, between the Gare de l'Est and the Gare de Lyon,* I am presuming that his business, his pleasure and his health are more likely to take Daubrecq in the direction of Marseilles and the Riviera than to the Gare de l'Est." ________________________________________________________________________
*These are the only two main-line stations in Paris with the word de in their name. The others have du, as the Gare du Nord or the Gare du Luxembourg, d' as the Gare d'Orleans, or no particle at all, as the Gare Saint-Lazare or the Gare Montpamasse. - Translator's Note. ________________________________________________________________________
It was past seven when Lupin and his companions left the Hotel Franklin. A motor-car took them across Paris at full speed, but they soon saw that Clarisse Mergy was not outside the station, nor in the waiting-rooms, nor on any of the platforms.
"Still," muttered Lupin, whose agitation grew as the obstacles increased, "still, if Daubrecq booked a berth in a sleeping-car, it can only have been in an evening train. And it is barely half-past seven!"
A train was starting, the night express. They had time to rush along the corridor. Nobody... neither Mme. Mergy nor Daubrecq...
But, as they were all three going, a porter accosted them near the refreshment-room:
"Is one of you gentlemen looking for a lady?"
"Yes, yes,... I am," said Lupin. "Quick, what is it?"
"Oh, it's you, sir! The lady told me there might be three of you or two of you.... And I didn't know... "
"But, in heaven's name, speak, man! What lady?"
"The lady who spent the whole day on the pavement, with the luggage, waiting."
"Well, out with it! Has she taken a train?"
"Yes, the train-de-luxe, at six-thirty: she made up her mind at the last moment, she told me to say. And I was also to say that the gentleman was in the same train and that they were going to Monte Carlo."
"Damn it!" muttered Lupin. "We ought to have taken the express just now! There's nothing left but the evening trains, and they crawl! We've lost over three hours."
The wait seemed
"I do not know when the train starts. But I shall be at the station all the afternoon. Come as soon as you can, all three of you. We will arrange to kidnap him."
"What next?" said the Masher. "At which station? And where's the sleeping-car for? She has cut out just the words we wanted!"
"Yes," said the Growler. "Two snips with the scissors in each place; and the words which we most want are gone. Who ever saw such a thing? Has Mme. Mergy lost her head?"
Lupin did not move. A rush of blood was beating at his temples with such violence that he glued his fists to them and pressed with all his might. His fever returned, burning and riotous, and his will, incensed to the verge of physical suffering, concentrated itself upon that stealthy enemy, which must be controlled then and there, if he himself did not wish to be irretrievably beaten.
He muttered, very calmly: "Daubrecq has been here."
"Daubrecq!"
"We can't suppose that Mme. Mergy has been amusing herself by cutting out those two words. Daubrecq has been here. Mme. Mergy thought that she was watching him. He was watching her instead."
"How?"
"Doubtless through that hall-porter who did not tell us that Mme. Mergy had been to the hotel, but who must have told Daubrecq. He came. He read the letter. And, by way of getting at us, he contented himself with cutting out the essential words."
"We can find out... we can ask... "
"What's the good? What's the use of finding out how he came, when we know that he did come?"
He examined the letter for some time, turned it over and over, then stood up and said:
"Come along."
"Where to?"
"Gare de Lyon."
"Are you sure?"
"I am sure of nothing with Daubrecq. But, as we have to choose, according to the contents of the letter, between the Gare de l'Est and the Gare de Lyon,* I am presuming that his business, his pleasure and his health are more likely to take Daubrecq in the direction of Marseilles and the Riviera than to the Gare de l'Est." ________________________________________________________________________
*These are the only two main-line stations in Paris with the word de in their name. The others have du, as the Gare du Nord or the Gare du Luxembourg, d' as the Gare d'Orleans, or no particle at all, as the Gare Saint-Lazare or the Gare Montpamasse. - Translator's Note. ________________________________________________________________________
It was past seven when Lupin and his companions left the Hotel Franklin. A motor-car took them across Paris at full speed, but they soon saw that Clarisse Mergy was not outside the station, nor in the waiting-rooms, nor on any of the platforms.
"Still," muttered Lupin, whose agitation grew as the obstacles increased, "still, if Daubrecq booked a berth in a sleeping-car, it can only have been in an evening train. And it is barely half-past seven!"
A train was starting, the night express. They had time to rush along the corridor. Nobody... neither Mme. Mergy nor Daubrecq...
But, as they were all three going, a porter accosted them near the refreshment-room:
"Is one of you gentlemen looking for a lady?"
"Yes, yes,... I am," said Lupin. "Quick, what is it?"
"Oh, it's you, sir! The lady told me there might be three of you or two of you.... And I didn't know... "
"But, in heaven's name, speak, man! What lady?"
"The lady who spent the whole day on the pavement, with the luggage, waiting."
"Well, out with it! Has she taken a train?"
"Yes, the train-de-luxe, at six-thirty: she made up her mind at the last moment, she told me to say. And I was also to say that the gentleman was in the same train and that they were going to Monte Carlo."
"Damn it!" muttered Lupin. "We ought to have taken the express just now! There's nothing left but the evening trains, and they crawl! We've lost over three hours."
The wait seemed