813 by Maurice Leblanc - “Santé Palace” 09

813 by Maurice Leblanc - “Santé Palace” 09

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of eight thirteen eight thirteen by Maurice le
Blin Chapter nine Sante Palace, there was one wild burst
of laughter over the whole face of the world. True,
the capture of Arsene Lupey made a big sensation, and
the public did not grudge the police the praise which

(00:20):
they deserved for this revenge so long hoped for and
now so fully obtained. The great adventurer was caught. That extraordinary, genial,
invisible hero was shivering like any ordinary criminal between the
four walls of a prison cell, crushed in his turn
by that formidable power which is called the law, and
which sooner or later, by inevitable necessity, shatters the obstacles

(00:43):
opposed to it, and destroys the work of its adversaries.
All this was said, printed repeated in discussed ad nauseum.
The prefect of police was created, a Commander Monsieur Webber,
an officer of the Legion of Honor. The skill and
courage of their humblest coadjutors were extolled to the skies,
Cheers were raised, and peans of victory struck up. Articles

(01:06):
were written and speeches made very well. But one thing
nevertheless rose above the wonderful concert of praise, these noisy
demonstrations of satisfaction, and that was an immense, spontaneous, inextinguishable
and tumultuous roar of laughter. Arsene Lupey had been chief
of the Detective service for four years. He had been

(01:28):
chief detective for four years, and really legally he was
chief Detective still with all the rights which the title confers,
enjoying the esteem of his chiefs, the favor of the government,
and the admiration of the public. For four years, the
public peace and the defense of property had been entrusted
to Arsend l Pey. He saw that the law was
carried out. He protected the innocent and pursued the guilty.

(01:52):
And what services he had rendered, never was order less disturbed,
Never was crime discovered with greater certainty and rapidity. The
reader need but take back his mind to the Denizue case,
the robbery at the Crenzillionet, the attack on the Orleans Express,
the murder of Baron Dorf, forming a series of unforeseen
and overwhelming triumphs, of magnificent feats of prowess, fit to

(02:14):
compare with the most famous victories of the most renowned detectives.
Not so very long before. In his speech delivered at
the time of the fire at the Louver and the
capture of the incendiaries, Vaalanglis, the Prime Minister had said,
speaking in defense of the somewhat arbitrary manner in which
Monsieur Lenormant had acted on that occasion, with his great

(02:35):
powers of discernment, his energy, his qualities of decision and execution,
his unexpected methods, his inexhaustible resources, Monsieur Lenormanin reminds us
of the only man who, if he were still alive,
could hope to hold his own against him. I mean
arsen le Pey. Monsieur Lenormand is an Arseneupe in the
service of society and lo and behold, Monsieur Lenormand was

(02:59):
none other then Larsen Lupey. That he was a Russian
prince who cared Lupainn was an old hand at such
changes of personality as that. But Chief Detective, what a
delicious irony, what a whimsical humor in the conduct of
that extraordinary life, Monsieur le Norman arsen Nupe. People were

(03:19):
now able to explain to themselves the apparently miraculous feats
of intelligence which had quite recently bewildered the crowd and
baffled the police. They understood how his accomplice had been
juggled away in the middle of the pelagistics itself, in
broad daylight, and on the appointed day, had he himself
not said, my process is so ingenious and so simple,

(03:40):
How surprised people will be on the day when I
am free to speak? Is that all I shall be asked?
That is all? But it had to be thought of.
It was indeed childishly simple. All you had to do
was to be chief of the detective Service. Well, Lupey
was chief of the Detective Service, and every police officer
beying his orders had made himself the involuntary and unconscious

(04:03):
accomplice of Ersain Dupey. What a comedy, what admirable bluff.
It was the monumental and consoling force of these drab
times of ours. Lupaye in prison, Lupaye, irretrievably conquered, was,
in spite of himself, the great conqueror. From his cell
he shone over Paris. He was more than ever the idol,

(04:24):
more than ever the master. When Arsindupey awoke next morning
in his room at the Sante Palace, as he at
once nicknamed it. He had a very clear vision of
the enormous sensation which would be produced by his arrest.
Under the double name of Surnon and Lenorment, and the
double title of Prince and Chief of the Detective Service,
he rubbed his hands and gave vent to his thoughts.

(04:46):
A man can have no better companion in his loneliness
than the approval of his contemporaries. Oh, fame the sun
of all living men. Seen by daylight his cell pleased
him even better than at night. The window, placed high
up in the wall, afforded a glimpse of the branches
of a tree, through which peeped the blue of the
sky above. The walls were white. There was only one

(05:08):
table and one chair, both fastened to the floor, but
everything was quite nice and clean. Come, he said, a
little rest cure here will be rather charming. But let
us see to our toilet. Have I all I want? No?
In that case, ring twice for the chambermaid, he pressed
the button of an apparatus beside the door, which released
a signaling disc in the corridor. After a moment, bolts

(05:32):
and bars were drawn outside, A key turned in the lock,
and a warder appeared. Hot water, please, said Lupee. The
other looked at him with an air of mingled amazement
and rage. Oh, said Lupee. And a bath towel. By jove,
there's no bath towel. The man growled. You're getting at me,
aren't you. You'd better be careful. He was going away

(05:53):
when Dupee caught him roughly by the arm. Here a
hundred francs if you'll post a letter for me. He
took out a hundred frank note, which he had concealed
during the search, and offered it to him. Where's the letter,
said the warder, taking the money, Just give me a
moment to write it. He sat down at the table,
scribbled a few words in pencil on a sheet of paper,

(06:14):
put it in an envelope, and addressed the letter to
Monsieur s B forty two Pastrestont, Paris. The warder took
the letter and walked away. That letter, said Dupeto himself,
will reach destination as safely as if I delivered it myself.
I shall have the reply in an hour at latest,
just the time I want to take a good look

(06:34):
into my position. He sat down on his chair and
in an undertone, summed up the situation as follows. When
all is said and done, I have two adversaries to fight.
At the present moment. There is first society, which holds
me and which I can afford to laugh at. Secondly,
there is a person unknown who does not hold me,
but whom I am not inclined to laugh at in

(06:55):
the very least. It is he who told the police
that I was Surnine. It was he who guessed that
I was Monsieur le normand it was he who locked
the door of the underground passage, and it was he
who had me clapped into prison. A Saint Lupe reflected
for a second and then continued, so at long last,
the struggle lies between him and me, and to keep

(07:16):
up that struggle, that is to say, to discover and
get to the bottom of the Kesselbach case. Here am
I a prisoner, while he is free, unknown and inaccessible,
and holds the two trump cards which I considered mine,
Pierre le Duc and old Steinweg. In short, he is
near the goal after finally pushing me back a fresh

(07:36):
contemplative pause followed by a fresh soliloquy. The position is
far from brilliant on the one side, everything on the
other nothing opposite me, a man of my own strength,
or stronger, because he has not the same scruples that
hamper me, and I am without weapons to attack him with.
He repeated the last sentence several times in a mechanical voice,

(08:00):
and then stopped, and, taking his forehead between his hands,
sat for a long time, wrapped in thought. Come in,
mister governor, he said, seeing the door open. Were you
expecting me? Why I wrote to you, mister governor, asking
you to come. I felt certain that the warder would
give you my letter. I was so certain of it
that I put your initials S B and your age

(08:22):
forty two on the envelope. The governor's name, in point
of fact, was Stanislas Borelli, and he was forty two
years of age. He was a pleasant looking man with
a very gentle character, who treated the prisoners with all
the indulgence possible. He said to Lupin your opinion of
my subordinate's integrity was quite correct. Here is your money.

(08:42):
It shall be handed to you at your release. You
will now go through the searching room again. Lupainn went
with Monsieur Barelli to the little room reserved for this purpose,
undressed and while his clothes were inspected with justifiable suspicion,
himself underwent a most fastidious examination. He was then taken
back to his cell and Monsieur Borelli said, I feel easier.

(09:03):
That's done, and very well done, mister Governor. Your men
perform this sort of duty with a delicacy, for which
I should like to thank them by giving them a
small token of my satisfaction. He handed a hundred franc
note to Monsieur Borelli, who jumped as though he had
been shot. Oh but where does that come from? No

(09:24):
need to rack your brains, mister Governor. A man like
myself leading the life that I do is always prepared
for any eventuality, and no mishap, however painful, not even imprisonment,
can take him unawares. Seizing the middle finger of his
left hand between the thumb and forefinger of the right,
he pulled it off smartly and presented it calmly to
Monsieur Borelli. Don't start like that, mister Governor. This is

(09:47):
not my finger, but just a tube made of gold
beaters skin and cleverly colored, which fits exactly over my
middle finger and gives the illusion of a real finger.
And he added with a laugh, in such a way,
of course, as to conceal a third hundred franc note.
What is a poor man to do. He must carry
the best purse he can and must needs make use
of it on occasions. He stopped at the sight of

(10:10):
Monsieur Bearelly's startled face. Please don't think, mister Governor, that
I wished to dazzle you with my little parlor tricks.
I only wanted to show you that you have to
do with a client of a rather special nature, and
to tell you that you must not be surprised if
I venture now and again to break the ordinary rules
and regulations of your establishment. The Governor had recovered himself.

(10:32):
He said, plainly, I prefer to think that you will
conform to the rules and not compel me to resort
to harsh measures which you would regret to have to enforce.
Isn't that it, mister Governor. That's just what I should
like to spare you by proving to you in advance
that they would not prevent me from doing as I please,
from corresponding with my friends, from defending the grave interests
confided to me outside these walls, from writing to the

(10:55):
newspapers that accept my inspiration from pursuing the fulfillment of
my plans, and lastly from preparing my escape. Your escape,
Lupey began to laugh heartily. I think, mister Governor, my
only excuse for being in prison is to leave it.
The argument did not appear to satisfy Monsieur Borelli. He

(11:17):
made an effort to laugh in his turn. Forewarned is forearmed,
He said, that's what I wanted. Loupey replied, take all
your precautions, mister Governor, neglect nothing so that later they
may have nothing to reproach you with. On the other hand,
I shall arrange things in such a way that whatever
annoyance you may have to bear in consequence of my escape,

(11:40):
your career at least shall not suffer. That is all
I had to say to you, mister Governor. You can go.
And while Monsieur Borelli walked away, greatly perturbed by his
singular charge and very anxious about the events in preparation,
the prisoner threw himself on his bed, muttering, what cheek, Lupey,
old fellow, what cheek? Really? Any one would think that

(12:00):
you had some idea as to how you were going
to get out of this. The Sante prison is built
on the Star plan. In the center of the main
portion is a round hall upon which all the corridors converge,
so that no prisoner is able to leave his cell
without being at once perceived by the overseers posted in
the glass box, which occupies the middle of that central hall.

(12:21):
The thing that most surprises the visitor who goes over
the prison is that at every moment he will meet
prisoners without a guard of any kind, who seem to
move about as though they were absolutely free in reality.
In order to go from one point to another, for instance,
from their cell to the van waiting in the yard
to take them to the pellagist cyst for the magistrate's examination,
they pass along straight lines, each of which ends in

(12:43):
a door that is opened to them by a warder.
The sole duty of the warder is to open and
shut this door and to watch the two straight lines
which it commands. And thus the prisoners, while apparently at
liberty to come and go as they please, are sent
from door to door, from eye to eye, like so
many parcels passed from hand to hand. Outside municipal guards

(13:04):
received the object and packet into one of the compartments
of the salad basket. This is the ordinary routine. In
Lupain's case, it was disregarded entirely. The police were afraid
of that walk along the corridors. They were afraid of
the prison van. They were afraid of everything. Mister Webber
came in person, accompanied by twelve constables, the best he

(13:26):
had picked, men armed to the teeth, fetched the formidable
prisoner at the door of his cell and took him
in a cab, the driver of which was one of
his own men, with mounted municipal guards trotting on each
side in front and behind. Bras Vaux cried, lupey, I
am quite touched by the compliment paid me a guard
of honor. By Jove, Weber, you have the proper hierarchical instinct.

(13:49):
You don't forget what is due to your immediate chief.
And tapping him on the shoulder, Weber, I intend to
send in my resignation. I shall name you as my successor.
It's all most done, said Webber. That's good news. I
was a little anxious about my escape. Now I am
easy in my mind. From the moment when Weber is
chief of the detective service. Mister Webber did not reply

(14:12):
to the gibe. At heart, he had a queer complex
feeling in the presence of his adversary, a feeling made
up of the fear with which Lupeye inspired him, the
deference which he entertained for Prince Surnin, and the respectful
admiration which he had always shown to Monsieur le noormand
all this was mingled with spite, envy, and satisfied hatred.
They arrived at the Pealegistice at the foot of the

(14:35):
mouse trap. A number of detectives were waiting, among whom
mister Webber rejoiced to see his best two lieutenants, the
brother's Dudville. Has Monsieur Fontri come, He asked, yes, Chief
Monsieur le geurgesen Net Frixien was in his room. Misieur
Webber went up the stairs, followed by Loupagne, who had
the Dudvilles on either side of him. Cenvieve whispered, The

(14:55):
prisoner saved, where is she with her grandmother missus kell
Sobach in Paris? At the Bristol Suzanne disappeared. Steinweg released,
what has he told you? Nothing? Won't make any revelations
except to you. Why we told me ode is released
to you. Newspaper's good this morning, excellent good. If you

(15:17):
want to write to me, here are my instructions. They
had reached the inner corridor on the first floor, and
Loupage slipped a pellet of paper into the hand of
one of the brothers. Monster fau Marie uttered a delicious
phrase when Lupene entered his room accompanied by the deputy chief. Ah,
there you are. I knew we should lay hands on
you some day or other, So did I, Monsieur le

(15:39):
geues Denstrixien, said Lupayne. And I am glad that you
have been marked out by fate to do justice to
the honest man that I am. He's getting at me,
thought Monsieur fon Marie, and in the same ironical and
serious tone as Loupegne, he retorted, the honest man that
you are, sir, will be asked what he has to
say about three hundred and forty four separate cases of larceny, burglary,

(16:01):
swindling and forgery, blackmail, receiving and so on. Three hundred
and forty four What is that all? Cried Lupee. I
really feel quite ashamed. Don't distress yourself. I shall discover more,
but let us proceed in order. Arsendupey, in spite of
all our inquiries, we have no definite information as to

(16:21):
your real name. How odd no more have I. We
are not even in a position to declare that you
are the same Arsendupey who was confined in the Sante
a few years back, and from there made his first escape.
His first escape is good? And does you credit it?
So happens? In fact, continued Monsieur Fonbrie, that the arsendu
Pey card in the measuring department gives a description of Arsendupayn,

(16:43):
which differs at all points from your real description. How
more and more odd different marks, different measurements, different finger prints.
The two photographs even are quite unlike. I will therefore
ask you to satisfy us as to your exact idea identity.
That's just what I was going to ask you. I
have lived under so many distinct names that I have

(17:06):
ended by forgetting my own. I don't know where I am,
so I must enter a refusal to answer an inability.
Is this the thought out plan? Am I to expect
the same silence and reply to all my questions very nearly,
and why Lupayne struck a solemn attitude and said, Monsieur
le gues destrixien, my life belongs to history. You have

(17:29):
only to turn over the annals of the past fifteen
years and your curiosity will be satisfied. So much for
my part as to the rest, it does not concern me.
It is an affair between you and the murderers at
the palace hotel at send n Pey. The honest man
that you are will have to day to explain the
murder of Master Altenheim. Ullo, this is new, is the

(17:49):
idea yours, monsieur le dies destrixien. Exactly very clever upon
my word, monster fomery you're getting on the position in
which you were captured leaves no doubt none at all.
Only I will venture to ask you this, what sort
of wound did Aldenheim die of? Of a wound in
the throat caused by a knife? And where is the knife?

(18:12):
It has not been found? How could it not have
been found if I had been the assassin? Considering that
I was captured beside the very man whom I am
supposed to have killed, who killed him? According to you,
the same man that killed mister Kesselbach, Chapman and Budeaux.
The nature of the wound is a sufficient proof. How
did he get away through a trap door which you
will discover in the room where the tragedy took place?

(18:35):
Monster foon Marie assumed an air of slyness. And how
was it that you did not follow that useful example.
I tried to follow it, but the outlet was blocked
by a door which I could not open. It was
during this attempt that the other one came back to
the room and killed his accomplice, for fear of the
revelations which he would have been sure to make. At
the same time, he hid in a cupboard, where it

(18:56):
was subsequently found the parcel of clothes which I had prepared.
What were those clothes for to disguise myself when I
went to the Glucine. My plan was this to hand
Altenheim over to the police, to suppress my own identity
as Prince Sernine, and to reappear under the features of
Monsieur Lenoma. I suppose exactly no what. Monsieur Fon Marie

(19:19):
gave a knowing smile and wagged his forefinger from left
to right and right to left. No, he repeated, what
do you mean by know that story about Missu Leinoma.
Well we'll do for the public, my friend, but you
won't make Monsieur Fonbrie swallow that Lupee and Lenoma were
one and the same man. He burst out, laughing. Loupe,

(19:42):
Chief of the Detective Service, No, anything you like, but
not that there are limits. I'm an easy going fellow.
I'll believe anything, but still come between ourselves. What was
the reason of this fresh hoax? I confess I can't see.
Lupaye looked at him in astonishment. In spite of all

(20:02):
that he knew of Monsieur fon Marie, he could not
conceive such a degree of infatuation and blindness. There was
at that moment only one person in the world who
refused to believe in Prince Sernine's double personality, and that
was Monsieur fon Marie. Du Painne turned to the deputy chief,
who stood listening, open mouthed, my dear Weber, I fear
your promotion is not so certain as I thought. For

(20:25):
you see, if Monsieur Leanorma is not myself, then he exists,
And if he exists, I have no doubt that Monsieur
fon Marie, with all his acumen, will end by discovering him,
in which case we shall discover him. All right, Monsieur
leu Paint, cried the examining magistrate. I'll undertake that, and
I tell you that when you and he are confronted,

(20:45):
we shall see some fun. He chuckled and drummed with
his fingers on the table, now amusing, Oh once, never
bored when you're there that I'll say for you. So
you're Monsieur Leanorman, and it's you who arrested your accomplice Marco.
Just so, wasn't it my duty to please the prime
minister and save the cabinet? The fact is historical. Monster

(21:07):
fir Marie held his side. Ah, I shall die of laughing,
I know, I shall, Lord, what a joke that answer
will travel round the world. So, according to your theory,
it was with you that I made the first inquiries
at the Palace Hotel after the murder of mister Casselbaugh.
Surely it was with me that you investigated the case

(21:29):
of the stolen coronet when I was Duc de Chemrass,
retorted Lupagne in a sarcastic voice, Monsieur fir Marie gave
a start. All his merriment was dispelled by that odious recollection.
Turning suddenly grave, he asked, so you persist in that
absurd theory? I must, because it is the truth. It
would be easy for you to take a steamer to Cochin,

(21:50):
China and to find it, Saigone, the proofs of the
death of the real Monsieur Leanoma, the worthy man whom
I replaced, and whose death certificate I can show you
hum bug upon my word, Monsieur le Gees des Frixien.
I don't care one way or the other. If it
annoys you that I should be Monsieur le n'armin, don't
let's talk about it. We won't talk about myself. We

(22:10):
won't talk about anything at all if you prefer. Besides,
of what use can it be to you? The Kesselbas
case is such a tangled affair that I myself don't
know where I stand. There's only one man who might
help you. I've not succeeded in discovering him, and I
don't think that you what's the man's name. He's an
old man, a German called Steinweg. But of course you've

(22:31):
heard about him Weber, and the way in which he
was carried off in the middle of the pelagists is
Monsieur fon Marie threw an inquiring glance at the deputy chief.
Monsieur Webber said, I undertake to bring that person to you,
Monsieur le ges de Strixien. So that's done, said Monsieur
fon Marie, rising from his chair. As you see, Lupayne,
this was merely a formal examination to bring the two

(22:52):
duellists together. Now that we have crossed swords, all that
we need is the necessary witness of our fencing match.
Your counsel, tat is it indispensable? Indispensable employ counsel in
view of such an unlikely trial you must. In that
case I'll choose Matre Quembelle, the president of the Corporation

(23:14):
of the Bar. You are wise, you will be well defended.
The first sitting was over, mister Webber led the prisoner
away as he went down the stairs of the mouse trap.
Between the two, Dudville Lupey said, in short imperative sentences,
watch Steinweg. Don't let him speak to anybody. Be there
to morrow. I'll give you some letters, one for you

(23:34):
important downstairs. He walked up to the municipal guards surrounding
the taxi cab home boys. He exclaimed, and quick about it,
I have an appointment with myself for two o'clock. Precisely,
there were no incidents during the drive. On returning to
his cell, Lupayn wrote a long letter full of detailed
instructions to the brother's Dudville and to two other letters.

(23:56):
One was for Genvieve. Genvieve, you now know who I am.
I am, and you will understand why I concealed from
you the name of him who twice carried you away
in his arms when you were a little girl. Genvieve,
I was your mother's friend, a distant friend of whose
double life she knew nothing, but upon whom she thought
that she could rely. And that is why, before dying

(24:16):
she wrote me a few lines asking me to watch
over you. Unworthy as I am of your esteem, Genvieve,
I shall continue faithful to that trust. Do not drive
me from your heart entirely, Arsendupe. The other letter was
addressed to Dolores Kesselbach. Prince Sernin was led to seek
missus Kesselbach's acquaintance by motives of self interest alone, but

(24:36):
a great longing to devote himself to her was the
cause of his continuing it. Now that Prince Sernine has
become merely Arsendleupe, he begs Missus Kesselbach not to deprive
him of the right of protecting her at a distance,
and as a man protects one whom he will never
see again. There were some envelopes on the table. He
took up one, and took up a second. Then when

(24:57):
he took up the third, he noticed a sheet of
white paper, the presence of which surprised him, and which
had words struck upon it, evidently cut out of a newspaper.
He read, you have failed in your fight with the baron.
Give up interesting yourself in the case, and I will
not oppose your escape. L M. Once more, Lupay had
that sense of repulsion and terror with which this nameless

(25:18):
and fabulous being always inspired him, a sense of disgust
which one feels at touching a venomous animal, a reptile.
He again, he said, even here that also scared him.
The sudden vision which he at times received of this
hostile power, a power as great as his own, and
disposing of formidable means. The extent of which he himself

(25:40):
was unable to realize yet once suspected his warder. But
how had it been possible to corrupt that hard featured,
stern eyed man. Well, so much the better, after all,
he cried, I have never had to do except with dullards.
In order to fight myself, I had to chuck myself
into the command of the detective service. This time I
have some one to deal with. Here is a man

(26:01):
who puts me in his pocket by slight of hand.
One might say, if I succeed from my prison cell
in avoiding his blows and splashing him, in seeing old Steinweg,
and dragging his confession from him, and setting the Kesselbach
case on its legs, and turning the whole of it
into cash, in defending Missus Kesselbach, and winning fortune and
happiness for Genevieve, well, then Leupagn will be Lupeny. Still

(26:24):
eleven days passed. On the twelfth day, Leupagne woke very
early and exclaimed, let me see if my calculations are correct,
and if the gods were on my side, there will
be some news to day. I have had four interviews
with fam Marie. The fellow must be worked up to
the right point. Now and the Dudville on their side
must have been busy. We shall have some fun. He

(26:46):
flung out his fists to right and left, brought them
back to his chest, then flung them out again and
brought them back again. This movement, which executed thirty times
in succession, was followed by a bending of his body
backwards and forwards. Noxt came an alternate lifting of the legs,
and then an alternate swinging of the arms. The whole
performance occupied a quarter of an hour, the quarter of

(27:07):
an hour which he devoted every morning to Swedish exercises
to keep his muscles in condition. Then he sat down
to his table, took up some sheets of white paper
which were arranged in numbered packets, and folding one of them,
made it into an envelope, a work which he continued
to do with a series of successive sheets. It was
the task which he had accepted and which he forced
himself to do daily, the prisoners having the right to

(27:29):
choose the labor which they preferred, sticking envelopes, making paper fans,
mental purses and so on. And in this way, while
occupying his hands with an automatic exercise and keeping his
muscles supple with mechanical bendings. Dupe was able to have
his thoughts constantly fixed on his affairs, And his affairs
were complicated enough in all conscience. There was one, for instance,

(27:51):
which surpassed all the others in importance, and for which
he had to employ all the resources of his genius.
How was he to have a long, quiet conversation with
old Stuttinbg. The necessity was immediate. In a few days
Steinweg would have recovered from his imprisonment, would receive interviews,
might blab to say nothing of the inevitable interference of
the enemy the other one. And it was essential that

(28:14):
Steinweg's secret, Pierre lu Duc's secret, should be revealed to
no one but Lupee. Once published, the secret lost all
its value. The bolts grated, the key turned noisily in
the lock ah. It's you, most excellent of jailer's. Has
the moment come for the last toilet? The hair cut
that precedes the great final cut of all magistrate's examination,

(28:36):
said the man laconically. Lupey walked through the corridors of
the prison and was received by the municipal guards, who
locked him into the prison. Van he reached the pelagistics.
Twenty minutes later. One of the Dudvilles was waiting near
the stairs. As they went up, he said to Lupaine
he'll be confronted to day. Everything settled, yes, Webber busy elsewhere.

(29:00):
Lupeye walked into Monsieur fon Marie's room and at once
recognized old Steinweg sitting on a chair, looking ill and wretched.
A municipal guard was standing behind him. Monster fon Marie
scrutinized the prisoner attentively, as though he hoped to draw
important conclusions from his contemplation of him, and said, you
know who this gentleman is why Steinweg. Of course, yes,

(29:22):
thanks to the active inquiries of Monsieur Webber and of
his two officers, the brother's Dudville, we have found mister Steinwegg, who,
according to you, knows the ins and outs of the
Kesselbach case, the name of the murderer, and all the
rest of it. I congratulate you, monsie le ge justes
de Strixien. Your examination will go swimmingly. I think so.
There is only one but mister Steinwagg refuses to reveal

(29:45):
anything except in your presence. Well, I never how odd
of him does ar sende Pey inspire him with so
much affection and esteem. Not arsende Pey, but Prince Surnin,
who he says saved his life, and Monsieur le Normins,
with whom he says he began a conversation at the
time when I was chief of the detective service dupainn

(30:05):
broke in. So you consent to admit, mister Steinbeg, said
the magistrate. Do you recognize Monsieur le Normand No, but
I know that d'arcin leu pay and he are one.
So you consent to speak? Yes, but we are not alone.
How do you mean there is only my clerk here
in the guard, Monsieur le Geurs des srixiell. The secret

(30:27):
which I am about to reveal is so important that
you yourself would be sorry. Guard go outside, please, said
Monsieur foon Marie. Come back at once if I call.
Do you object to my clerk Steinbegg, No, no, it
might be better. But however then speak For that matter,
nothing that you reveal will be put down in black

(30:47):
on white. One word more. Though I asked you for
the last time, is it indispensable that the prisoner should
be present at this interview. Quite indispensable. You will see
the reason for yourself. He drew the chair up to
the magistrate's desk. Lu Pay remained standing near the clerk,
and the old man, speaking in a loud voice, said,
it is now ten years since a series of circumstances

(31:09):
which I need not enter into, made me acquainted with
the extraordinary story in which two persons are concerned. Their
names please, I will give the names presently for the moment,
let me say that one of these persons occupies an
exceptional position in France, and that the other an Italian,
or rather a Spaniard, Yes, a Spaniard. A bound across

(31:31):
the room, followed by two formidable blows of the fist.
Lupayn's two arms had darted out to right and left
as though impelled by springs, and his two fists, hard
as cannon balls, caught the magistrate and his clerk on
the jaw just below the ear. The magistrate and the
clerk collapsed over their tables in two lumps without a moan.
Well hit, said Lupey. That was a neat bit of work.

(31:55):
He went to the door and locked it softly, then
returning Steinwick had chloroform. Are you quite sure that they
have fainted? Asked the old man, trembling with fear. What
do you think? But it will only last for three
or four minutes, and that is not long enough. The
German produced from his pocket a bottle and two pads
of cotton wool ready prepared. Lupayne uncorked the bottle, poured

(32:18):
a few drops of the chloroform on the two pads,
and held them to the noses of the magistrate and
his clerk. Capital. We have ten minutes of peace and
quiet before us. That will do. But let's make haste
all the same, and not a word too much, old man?
Do you hear he took him by the arm. You
see what I am able to do here? We are
alone in the very part of the pelegist cis because

(32:39):
I wished it, yes, said the old man. So you
are going to tell me your secret? Yes? I told
it to Kesselbach because he was rich and could turn
it to better account than anybody I knew. But prisoner
and absolutely powerless though you are, I consider you a
hundred times as strong as Kesselbach with his hundred millions.
In that case, speak and let us take things in

(33:01):
their proper order, the name of the murderer. That's impossible.
How do you mean impossible? I thought you knew it
and were going to tell me everything, everything, but not that.
But later on you're mad? Why I have no proofs? Later,
when you are free, we will hunt together. Besides, what's

(33:21):
the good? And then, really, I can't tell you you're afraid
of him? Yes, very well, said Lupey. After all, that's
not the most urgent matter. As to the rest. You've
made up your mind to speak without reserve. Well, then
answer who is Pier lu dic Hermann, the fourth Grand
Duke of Swaiborlt and Veldenz, Prince of Barncastle, Count of Fitzingen,

(33:45):
Lord of Wiesbaden and other places. Lupeye felt a thrill
of joy at learning that his protege was definitely not
the son of a pork butcher the devil. He muttered,
So we have a handle to our name, as far
as I remember. The Grand Duchy of Schweiburk and Veldanz
is in Prussia. Yes, on the Moselle. The house of

(34:06):
Veldenz is a branch of the Palatin House of Fibrouken.
The Grand Duchy was occupied by the French after the
Peace of Luneville and formed part of the Department of Montenner.
In eighteen fourteen it was restored in favor of Hermann
the First, the great grandfather of Pierre lu Duc. His son,
Herman the Second, spent a riotous youth, ruined himself, squandered

(34:26):
the finances of his country, and made himself impossible to
his subjects, who ended by partly burning the old castle
at Veldenz and driving their sovereign out of his dominions.
The Grand Duchy was then administered and governed by three
regents in the name of Herman the Second, who by
a curious anomaly did not abdicate, but retained his title
as reigning Grand Duke. He lived rather short of cash

(34:47):
in Berlin. Later he fought in the French War by
the side of Bismarck, of whom he was a friend.
He was killed by a shell at the Siege of Paris,
and in dying entrusted Bismarck with the charge of his son, Hermann,
that is, Herman the third, the father therefore of our
de dic, said Lupey. Yes, the Chancellor took a liking
to Herman the third, and used often to employ him

(35:08):
as a secret envoy to persons of distinction abroad. At
the fall of his patron, Herman the Third left Berlin,
traveled about and returned and settled in Dresden. When Bismarck died,
Herman the Third was there. He himself died two years later.
These are public facts known to everybody in Germany. And
that is the story of the three Hermanns, grand Dukes
of Thubrooke and Veldens in the nineteenth century. But the fourth, Herman,

(35:32):
the fourth, the one in whom we are interested, we
will speak of him presently. Let us now pass on
to unknown facts, facts known to you alone, said Lupey,
to me alone, and to a few others. How do
you mean a few others? Hasn't the secret been kept? Yes? Yes,
the secret has been well kept by all who know it.
Have no fear. It is very much to their interest.

(35:53):
I assure you not to divulge it. Then, how do
you know it? Through an old servant and private secretary
of the Grand Duke, Hermann the last of the name.
This servant, who died in my arms in South Africa,
began by confiding to me that his master was secretly
married and had left a son behind him. Then he
told me the great secret, the one which you afterwards

(36:13):
revealed to Kesselbach. Yes, one second, will you excuse me?
Lupagne bent over. Monsieur fon Marie satisfied himself that all
was well and the heart beating normally, and said, go
on steinbeg resumed. On the evening of the day on
which Bismarck died, the Grand Duke Hermann the third and
his faithful man servant, my South African friend, took a

(36:36):
train which brought them to Munich in time to catch
the express for Vienna. From Vienna, they went to Constantinople,
then to Cairo, then to Naples, then to Tunis, then
to Spain, then to Paris, then to London, to Saint Petersburg,
to Warsaw. And in none of these towns did they stop.
They took a cab, had their two bags put on
the top, rushed through the streets, hurried to another station

(36:58):
or to the landing stage, and once more took the
train or the steamer. In short, they were being followed
and were trying to put their pursuers off the scent.
As Sendupenk concluded, one evening, they left the city of
trev dressed in workmen's caps and linen jackets, each with
a bundle slung over his shoulder at the end of
a stick. They covered on foot the twenty two miles
to Veldenz, where the old castlet's fibrooken stands, or rather

(37:21):
the ruins of the old castle no descriptions please. All
day long they remained hidden in a neighboring forest. At
night they went up to the old walls. Hermann ordered
his servant to wait for him, and himself scaled the
wall at a breach known as the Wolf's Gap. He
returned in an hour's time. In the following week, after
more peregrinations, he went back home to Dresden. The expedition

(37:43):
was over, and what was the object of the expedition?
The Grand Duke never breathed a word about it to
his servant, but certain particulars and the coincidence of facts
that ensued enabled the man to build up the truth,
at least in part. Quicksteinbig time is running short now,
and I am eager to know. A fortnight after the expedition,
Count van Valdemar, an officer in the Emperor's bodyguard and

(38:06):
one of his personal friends called on the Grand Duke,
accompanied by six men. He was there all day, locked
up with the Grand Duke in his study. There were
repeated sounds of altercations, of violent disputes. One phrase even
was overheard by the servant who was passing through the
garden under the windows. Those papers were handed to you,
His Imperial Majesty is sure that if you refuse to

(38:27):
give them to me of your own free will. The
rest of the sentence, the meaning of the threat, and
for that matter, the whole scene can be easily guessed
by what followed. Hermann's house was ransacked from top to bottom.
That is against the law. It would have been against
the law if the Grand Duke had objected, but he
himself occupied the count in his search. And what were

(38:47):
they looking for? The chanceless memoirs? Something better than that.
They were looking for a parcel of secret documents which
were known to exist owing to indiscretions that had been committed,
and which were known for certain to have been trusted
of the Grand Duke Hermann's keeping. Lupegn muttered excitedly. Secret
documents and very important ones, no doubt, of the highest

(39:10):
importance the publication of those papers would lead to results
which it would be impossible to foresee, not only from
the point of view of home politics, but also from
that of Germany's relations with the foreign powers. Oh, said Lupey,
throbbing with emotion, Oh, can it be possible. What proof
have you? What proof? The evidence of the Grand Duke's wife,

(39:32):
the confidences which she made to the servant after her
husband's death. Yes, yes, stammered Lupege. We have the evidence
of the Grand Duke himself. Better still, said Steinweg. What
a document, a document written in his own hand, signed
by him, and containing containing what a list of the

(39:53):
secret papers confided to his charge? Tell me in two words,
in two words, that can't be done. The document is
a very long one, scattered all over with annotations and
remarks which are sometimes impossible to understand. Let me mention
just two titles, which obviously refer to two bundles of
secret papers. Original Letters of the Crown Prince to Bismarck

(40:15):
is one. The dates show that these letters were written
during the three months of the reign of Frederick the third.
To picture what the letters may contain, you have only
to think of the Emperor Frederic's illness, his quarrels with
his son. Yes, yes, I know. And the other title
photographs of the letters of Frederic the Third and the
Empress Victoria to the Queen of England. Do you mean

(40:37):
to say that that's there, asked Lupayne in a choking voice.
Listen to the Grand Duke's notes text of the treaty
with Great Britain in France, and these rather obscure words alsace, Lorraine, colonies,
limitation of naval armaments. It says that, blurted Lupagne. And
you call that obscure? Why the words are da with light? Oh?

(41:02):
Can it be possible? And what next? What next? As
he spoke, there was a noise at the door. Some
one was knocking. You can't come in, said ne Peg.
I am busy, go on steinbegg, but said the old
man in a great state of alarm. The door was
shaken violently, and Lupeye recognized Webber's voice. He shouted a

(41:23):
little patience, Webber, I shall have done in five minutes.
He gripped the old man's arm and in a tone
of command, be easy and go on with your story.
So according to you, the expedition of the Grand Duke
and his servant to Valden's castle had no other object
than to hide those papers. There can be no question
about that very well. But the Grand Duke may have

(41:44):
taken them away, since no, he did not leave Dresden
until his death. But the Grand Duke's enemies, the men
who had everything to gain by recovering them and destroying them,
can't They have tried to find out where the papers were.
They have tried. How do you know? You can understand
that I did not remain inactive, and that my first
care after receiving those revelations was to go to Veldenz

(42:06):
and make inquiries for myself in the neighboring villages. Well,
I learned that on two separate occasions, the castle was
invaded by a dozen men who came from Berlin, furnished
with credentials to the regents. Well, well, they found nothing.
For since that time the castle has been found closed
to the public. But what prevents anybody from getting in?

(42:26):
A garrison of fifty soldiers who keep watch day and night,
soldiers of the Grand Duchy, no soldiers drafted from the
Emperor's own bodyguard. The din in the passage increased open
the door. A voice cried, I order you to open
the door. I can't, weber, old Chap. The lock is stuck.

(42:46):
If you take my advice, you had better cut the
door all round the lock. Open that door? And what
about the fate of Europe which we are discussing, He
turned to the old man. So you are not able
to enter the castle? No, but you are persuaded that
the papers in question are hidden there. Look here. Haven't
I given you proofs enough? Aren't you convinced? Yes, yes,

(43:10):
muttered Lupaint. That's where they are hidden. There's no doubt
about it. That's where they are hidden. He seemed to
see the castle, He seemed to conjure up the mysterious
hiding place and the vision of an inexhaustible treasure. The
dream of chests filled with riches and precious stones could
not have excited him more than the idea of those
few scraps of paper watched over by the Kaiser's guards.

(43:32):
What a wonderful conquest to embark upon, and how worthy
of his powers, and what a proof of perspicacity and
intuition he had once more given by throwing himself at
a venture upon that unknown track outside the men were
working at the lock. Lu Painne asked of old Steinweg,
what did the grand Duke die of an attack of

(43:52):
pleurisy which carried him off in a few days. He
hardly recovered consciousness before the end. And the horrible thing
appears to have been that he was seen to make
violent efforts between his fits of delirium to collect his
thoughts and utter connected words. From time to time he
called his wife, looked at her in a desperate way,
and vainly moved his lips in a word he spoke,

(44:12):
said Lupege, cutting him short, for the working at the
lock was beginning to make him anxious. No, he did
not speak, but in a comparatively lucid moment, he summoned
up the energy to make some marks on a piece
of paper, which his wife gave him. Well, those marks,
they were illegible for the most part, for the most part,
but the others, asked Lupang greedily the others. There were

(44:37):
first three perfectly distinct figures, an eight, A one and
a three, yes, eight thirteen I know. And next and
next there were some letters, several letters of which all
that can be made out for certain are a group
of three followed immediately after by a group of two letters,
A poe on Is that it? Oh? So you know?

(45:00):
The lock was yielding. Almost all the screws had been
taken out. Lupagne, suddenly, alarmed at the thought of being interrupted,
asked so that this incomplete word A poe on and
the number eight thirteen are the formulas which the grand
Duke bequeaths to his wife and son to enable them
to find the secret papers. Yes, what became of the
grand Duke's wife? She died soon after her husband of grief,

(45:23):
one might say. And was the child looked after by
the family? What family? The Grand Duke had no brothers
or sisters. Moreover, he was only more ganatically and secretly married. No,
the child was taken away by Hermann's old man servant,
who brought him up under the name of Pierre le duc.
He was a bad type of boy, self willed, capricious,
and troublesome. One day he went off and was never

(45:45):
seen again. Did he know the secret of his birth? Yes?
And he was shown the sheet of paper on which
Hermann the third had written the letters and figures. And
after that this revelation was made to no one but yourself.
That's all, and you confided only in mister KESSI yes,
but out of prudence, while showing him the sheet of
letters and figures and the list of which I spoke

(46:06):
to you, I kept both those documents in my own possession.
Events have proved that I was right. Dupainn was now
clinging to the door with both hands. Webber, he roared,
you're very indiscreet. I shall report you Steinbeck. Have you
those documents? Yes? Are they in a safe place? Absolutely?

(46:26):
In Paris? No, so much the better. Don't forget that
your life is in danger and that you have people
after you. I know the least false step, and I
am done for exactly. So take your precautions, throw the
enemy off the scent, go and fetch your papers, and
await my instructions. The thing is cut and dried. In
a month at latest, we will go to Valden's castle together.

(46:48):
Suppose I'm in prison, I will take you out, can
you the very day after I come out myself? No,
I'm wrong. The same evening an hour later. You have
the means since the last ten minutes an infallible means.
You have nothing more to say to me. No, Then
I'll open the door. He pulled back the door, and

(47:09):
bowing to Monsieur Webber, My poor old Webber, I don't
know what excuse to make. He did not finish his sentence.
The sudden inrush of the deputy chief and three policemen
left him no time. Mister Webber was white with rage
and indignation. The sight of the two men lying outstretched
quite unsettled him. Did it? He exclaimed? Not a bit

(47:30):
of it, Not a bit of it, chuckled Liupagne, only asleep.
Fam Marie was tired out. So I allowed him a
few moments. Rest enoffer this humbug, shouted Monsieur Webber, and
turning to the policeman, take him back to the sante
and keep your eyes open. Damn it. As for this visitor,
lu Paye learned nothing more as to Webber's intentions. With

(47:51):
regard to Old Steinweg, a crowd of municipal guards and
police constables hustled him down to the prison van. On
the stairs, Doodville whispered had a line to warn him.
It told him to mind the confrontation and to be
on his guards with Steinbeg. The note was signed L M.
But Lupage hardly bothered his head about all this. What
did he care for the murderer's hatred or old Steinbeg's fate.

(48:14):
He possessed Rudolf Kesselbach's secret end of Chapter nine,