813 by Maurice Leblanc - The Man in Black 14

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fourteen of eight thirteen eight thirteen by Maurice le Blanc,
Chapter fourteen, The Man in Black. At that moment, Arsen
Dupey felt the impression the certainty that he had been
drawn into an ambush by means which he had not
the time to perceive, but of which he guessed the
prodigious skill and address. Everything had been calculated, everything ordained,

(00:26):
the dismissal of his men, the disappearance or treachery of
the servants, his own presence in Missus Kesselbach's house. Clearly,
the whole thing had succeeded exactly as the enemy wished,
thanks to circumstances almost miraculously fortunate. For after all, he
might have arrived before the false message had sent his
friends away, but then there would have been a battle

(00:46):
between his own gang and the Altenheim gang. And du
pay Remembering Malraich's conduct the murder of Altenheim the poisoning
of the mad girl at Valden's, Dupey asked himself whether
the ambush was aimed at him alone, or whether Aelhraich
had not contemplated the possibility of a general scuffle involving
the killing of accomplices who had by this time become

(01:07):
irksome to him. It was an intuition, rather a fleeting
idea that just passed through his mind. The hour was
one for action. He must defend Dolores, the abduction of
whom was, in all likelihood the first and foremost reason
of the attack. He half opened the casement window on
the street and leveled his revolver a shot, rousing and

(01:28):
alarming the neighborhood, and the scoundrels would take to their heels. Well, no,
he muttered, No, it shall not be said that I
shirked the fight. The opportunity is too good. And then
who says that they would run away? There are too
many of them to care about the neighbors. He returned
to Dolores's room. There was a noise downstairs. He listened, and,

(01:48):
finding that it came from the staircase, he locked the door.
Dolores was crying and throwing herself about the sofa. He
implored her, are you strong enough? We're on the first floor,
could help you down. We can lower the sheets from
the window. No, no, don't leave me. I'm frightened. I
haven't the strength. They will kill me. Oh protect me.

(02:12):
He took her in his arms and carried her to
the next room, and, bending over her, don't move and
keep calm. I swear to you that not one of
those men shall touch you as long as I am alive.
The door of the first room was tried. Dolores, clinging
to him with all her might, cried, Oh, there they
are there, they are They will kill you. You are alone.

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Eagerly he said, no, I am not alone. You are here.
You are here beside me. He tried to release himself.
She took his head in her two hands, looked him
deep in the eyes, and whispered, where are you going?
What are you going to do? No, you must not die.
I won't have it. You must live, you must. She

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stammered words which he did not catch, and which she
seemed to stifle between her lips lest he should hear them.
And I Having spent all her energy. Exhausted, she fell
back unconscious. He leaned over her and gazed at her
for a moment. Softly, lightly, he pressed a kiss upon
her hair. Then he went back to the first room,
carefully closed the door between the two, and switched on

(03:15):
the electric light. One second, my lads, he cried, you
seem in a great hurry to get yourself smashed to pieces.
Don't you know that Lupeg's here. I'll make you dance.
While speaking, he unfolded a screen in such a way
as to hide the sofa on which Missus Kesselbach had
been lying, and he now spread dresses and coverings over it.

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The door was on the point of giving way under
the blows of the men outside. Here, I am coming.
Are you ready now, gentlemen? One at a time, he
briskly turned the key and drew the bolt. Shouts, threats,
a roar of infuriated animals came through the open doorway,
yet none of them dared come forward before rushing at Dupagne.

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They hesitated, seized, with alarm, with fear. This was what
he had reckoned on. Standing in the middle of the room,
full in the light. With outstretched arm, he held between
his fingers a sheaf of bank notes, which he divided,
counting them one by one into seven equal shares, and
he calmly said, three thousand francs reward for each of

(04:18):
you if Lupay is sent to his last account. That's
what you were promised, isn't it. Here's double the money.
He laid the bundles on the table within reach of
the scoundrels. The broker roared, um bump, he's trying to
gain time. Shoot him down. He raised his arm, his
companions held him back, and Dupay continued. Of course, this

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need not affect your plan of campaign. You came here
first to kidnap missus Kesselbach and secondly to lay hands
on her jewels. Far be it from me to interfere
with your laudable intentions. Look here, what are you driving at?
Growled the broker, listening in spite of himself. Aha, broker,
I'm beginning to interest you, am I? Come in, old chap,
Come in, all of you. There's a draft at the

(05:01):
top of those stairs, and such pretty fellows as you
mustn't run the risk of catching cold. What are we afraid?
Why I'm all by myself. Come pull yourself together, my lambs.
They entered the room puzzled and suspicious. Shut the door, broker,
We shall be more comfortable, thanks, old man. Oh, by
the way, I see the notes are gone. Therefore we're agreed.

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How easy it is for honest men to come to terms? Well?
And next next, Well, as we're partners, partners, why haven't
you accepted my money. We're working together, old man, and
we will carry off the young women together first, and
carry off the jewels after. The broker grinned. Don't want
you for that, Yes you do, old man. Why because

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you don't know where the jewels are hidden? And I do.
We'll find out to morrow, not to night. Well, let's
hear what do you want my share of the jewels?
Why didn't you take the lawn? As you know where
they are. Can't get at them by myself. There's a
way of doing it, but I don't know it. You're here,
so I'm making use of you. The broker hesitated. Share

(06:09):
the jewels, Share the jewels, a few bits of glass
and brass. Most likely, you fool, there's more than a
million's worth. The men quivered under the impression made upon them.
Very well, said the broker. But suppose the Kesselbach gets away.
He's in the next room, isn't she. No, she's in here,
Lupayne for a moment, pulled back one of the leaves

(06:31):
of the screen, revealing the heap of dresses and bedclothes
which he had laid out on the sofa. She's here, fainting,
But I shan't give her up till we're divided. Still.
You can take it or leave it. I don't care
if I am alone. You know what I'm good for,
So please yourselves. The men consulted with one another, and
the broker said, where is the hiding place you're talking of?

(06:54):
Under the fireplace? But when you don't know the secret,
you must first lift up the whole chimney piece, looking glass, marble,
and all in a lump. It seems it's no easy job. Pooh,
we're a smart lot. We are just you wait and see.
In five minutes, he gave his orders, and his pals
at once set to work with admirable vigor and discipline.

(07:14):
Two of them, standing on chairs, tried to lift the mirror.
The four others attacked the fireplace itself. The broker, on
his knees, kept his eyes on the hearth and gave
the word of command, cheerly, lads, altogether, if you please
look out one, two, ah, there it's moving. Standing behind
them with his hands in his pockets, Lupeye watched them affectionately,

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and at the same time reveled with all his pride
as an artist and master in this striking proof of
his authority, of his might, of the incredible sway which
he wielded over others. How could those scoundrels for a
second accept that improbable story and lose all sense of
things to the point of relinquishing every chance of the
fight in his favor. He took from his pockets two great,

(07:58):
massive and formidable revolvers, and, calmly, choosing the first two
men whom he would bring down and the two who
would fall next, he aimed as he might have aimed
at a pair of targets in a rifle gallery. Two
shots together, and two more loud yells of pain. Four
men came tumbling down, one after the other, like dolls
at a cockshy four from seven leaves. Three, said du pey,

(08:21):
Shall I go on? His arms remained outstretched, leveled at
the broker and his two pals. You swine, growled the broker,
feeling for a weapon, hands up, cried the pey. Or
I fire. That's it? Now, you two take away his toys.
If not, the two scoundrels, shaking with fear, caught hold

(08:41):
of their leader and compelled him to submit. Bind him,
Bind him, confounded, what difference does it make to you?
Once I'm gone. You're all free. Come along. Have you
finished the wrists first with your belts and the ankles?
Hurry up. The broker, beaten and disabled, made no further resistance.
While his pals were binding him. Dupaine stooped over them

(09:03):
and dealt them two terrific blows on the head with
the butt end of his revolver. They sank down in
a heap. It's a good piece of work, he said,
taking breath. Pity there are not another fifty of them.
I was just in the mood, and all so easily
done with a smile on one's face. Would you think
of it? Broker, the scoundrel ay, cursing, Dupayn said, cheer up,

(09:25):
old man, console yourself with the thought that you are
helping in a good action, the rescue of missus Kesselbach.
She will thank you in person for your gallantry. He
went to the door of the second room and opened it.
What's this, he said, stopping on the threshold, taken aback, dumbfounded,
the room was empty. He went to the window, saw
a ladder leaning against the balcony, a telescopic steel ladder,

(09:48):
and muttered. Kidnapped, kidnapped Louis de Malreich, Oh the villain.
He reflected for a minute, trying to master his anguish
of mine, and said to himself that, after all, as
Missus Kesselbach seemed to be in no immediate danger, there
was no cause for alarm. But he was seized with

(10:08):
a sudden fit of rage and flew at the seven scoundals,
gave a kick or two to those of the wounded,
who stirred, felt for his bank notes and put them
back in his pocket. Then gagged the men's mouths and
tied their hands with anything that he could find. Blind cords,
curtain loops, blankets, and sheets reduced to strips. Lastly, laid
in a row on the carpet in front of the sofa,

(10:29):
seven bundles of humanity, packed tight together and tied up
like so many parcels mummies, unt toast. He chuckled a
dainty dish for those who like that sort of thing,
You pack of fools, How does this suit you? Eh?
There you are like corpses at the morgue. Serves you
right for attacking Loupaine Loupainne, the protector of the widow
and orphan. Are you trembling quite unnecessary? My lambs. Lupagne

(10:53):
never hurt a fly. Yet only Lupainne is a decent man.
He can't stand vermin and the Loupayne knows his duty.
I ask you, is life possible with a lot of
scamps like you about? Think of it? No respect for
other people's lives, no respect for property, for laws, for society,
no conscience, no anything? What are we coming to? Lord?

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What are we coming to? Without even taking the trouble
to lock them in, he left the room, went down
the street, and walked until he came to his taxi.
He sent the driver in search of another, and brought
both cabs back to missus Kesselback's house a good tip
paid in advance, avoided all tedious explanations. With the help
of the two men, he carried the seven prisoners down

(11:36):
and plumped them anyhow on one another's knees into the cabs.
The wounded men yelled and moaned. He shut the doors, shouting,
mind your hands. He got up beside the driver of
the front cab where to asked the man thirty six
Kitty zolfevre the detective office. The motors throbbed, The driver
started the gear and the strange procession went scooting down

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the slopes of the Trakadero. In the streets they passed
a few vegetable carts, men carrying long poles returning out
the street lamps. There were stars in the sky. A
cool breeze was wafted through the air. Du Painne sang
aloud the place de la com called the louver in
the distance, the dark bulk of Notre Dame. He turned

(12:19):
round and half opened the door, having a good time, mates,
so am I thank you. It's a grand night for
a drive, and the air's delicious. They were now bumping
over the ill paved quet, and soon they arrived at
the Palaes de Justice and the door of the detective office.
Wait here, said du Page to the two drivers, and
be sure you look after your seven fairs. He crossed

(12:40):
the outer yard and went down the passage on the
right leading to the rooms of the central office. He
found the night inspectors on duty. A bag, gentlemen, he said,
as he entered, A fine bag too, is Monsieur Webber here.
I am the new Commissary of Police for Autay. Monsieur
Webber is in his flat. Do you want him sent
For just one second? I'm in a hurry, I'll leave

(13:00):
a line for him. He sat down at a table
and wrote, my dear Weber, I am bringing you the
seven scoundrels composing Altenheim's gang, the men who killed Gourrel
and plenty of others, and who killed me as well,
under the name of Monsieur le normand that only leaves
their leader unaccounted for. I'm going to effect his arrest
this minute. Come and join me. He lives in the

(13:21):
Rue de Laisements at Nellis and goes by the name
of Leon Massier. Kind regards yours arseen Lupey, chief of
the detective service. He sealed the letter. Give that to
Monsieur Webber. It's urgent now I want seven men to
receive the goods I left them on the quais. On
going back to the taxis, he was met by a
chief inspector. Ah, it's you, Monsieur le Boeuf. He said,

(13:45):
I've made a fine haul the whole of Altenheim's gang.
They're there in the taxi cabs. Where did you find them?
Hard at work kidnapping missus Kesselback and robbing her house.
But I'll tell you all about it when the time comes.
The Chief Inspector took him aside, and with the air
of surprise, I beg your pardon, monsieur, but I was
sent for to see the Commissary of Police for Autrey.

(14:05):
And I don't seem to whom have I the honor
of addressing somebody who is making you a handsome present
of seven hooligans of the finest quality. Still I should
like to know my name, Yes, Arsen Nupee. He nimbly
tripped the Chief Inspector up ran to the Rue de Rivoli,
jumped into a passing taxi cab and drove to the

(14:26):
Pont de Tennes. The Rue de la Revolt was close by.
He went to number three. For all his coolness and
self command, ar said, Lupey was unable to control his excitement.
Would he find Alores Casselbach. Had Louis Malreich taken her
either to his own place or to the broker's shed.
Lupey had taken the key of the shed from the broker,

(14:47):
so that it was easy for him, after ringing and
walking across the different yards, to open the door and
enter the lumber shop. He switched on his lantern and
took his bearings a little to the right was the
free space in which he had seen the accompli hold
her last confabulation. On the sofa mentioned by the broker,
he saw a black figure. Dolores lay wrapped in blankets

(15:07):
and gagged. He helped her up. Oh it's you, it's you,
she stammered. I haven't touched you, and rising and pointing
to the back of the shop. There he went out
that side. I heard him. I'm sure you must go. Please,

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I must get you away first. He said, no, never
mind me, go after him. I I treat you strike
him fear. This time, instead of dejecting her, seemed to
be giving her unwonted strength, and she repeated, with an
immense longing to place her terrible enemy in his power.
Go after him first. I can't go on living like this.

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You must save me from him. I can't go on living.
He unfastened her bonds, laid her carefully on the sofa,
and said, you are right. Besides, you have nothing to
fear here. Wait for me. I shall come back. As
he was going away, she caught hold of his hand.
But you yourself well, if that man, It was as

(16:14):
though she dreaded for Dupayne, the great final contest to
which she was exposing him, and as though at the
last moment she would have been glad to hold him back,
he said, thank you, have no fear. What have I
to be afraid of? He is alone. In leaving her,
he went to the back of the shed. As he expected,
he found a ladder standing against the wall, which brought

(16:34):
him to the level of the little window through which
he had watched the scoundrels hold their meeting. It was
the way by which Malrak had returned to his house
in the Rue de Liiseman. He therefore took the same road,
just as he had done a few hours earlier, climbed
into the loft of the other coach house and down
into the garden. He found himself at the back of
the villa occupied by Malraich. Strange to say, he did

(16:56):
not doubt for a moment that Malgrek was there. He
would meet him inevitably. The formidable battle which they were
waging against each other was nearing its end. A few
minutes more, and one way or another, all would be over.
He was amazed, on grasping the handle of a door,
to find that the handle turned and the door opened
under his pressure. The villa was not even locked. He

(17:19):
passed through a kitchen, a hall, and up a staircase,
and he walked deliberately, without seeking to deaden the sound
of his footsteps on the landing. He stopped. The perspiration
streamed from his forehead, and his temples throbbed under the
rush of his blood. Nevertheless, he remained calm, master of himself,
and conscious of his least thoughts. He laid two revolvers

(17:40):
on a stair no weapons, he said to himself, my hands,
only just the effort of my two hands. That's quite enough.
That will be better. Opposite him were three doors. He
chose the middle one, turned the handle, and encountered no obstacle.
He went in. There was no light in the room,
but the rays of the night entered through the wide

(18:00):
open window, and amid the darkness he saw the sheets
and the white curtains of the bed, and somebody was
standing beside it. He savagely cast the gleam of his
lantern upon that form, Malraich, the pallid face of Malraich,
his dim eyes, his cadaverous cheek bones, his scraggy neck,

(18:20):
and all this stood motionless opposite him. At five steps distance,
and he could not have said whether that dull face,
that death face, expressed the least terror or even a
grain of anxiety. Leu Pagne took a step forward, and
a second and a third. The man did not move.

(18:41):
Did he see, did he understand? It was as though
the man's eyes were gazing into space, and that he
thought himself possessed by a hallucination rather than looking upon
a real image. One more step, he will defend himself,
thought dupag. He is bound to defend himself, and Lupayne
thrust out his arms. The man did not make a movement,

(19:05):
he did not retreat. His eyelids did not blink. The
contact took place, and it was lou Payne, scared and bewildered,
who lost his head. He knocked the man back upon
his bed, stretched him at full length, rolled him in
the sheets, bound him in the blankets, and held him
under his knee like a prey. Whereas the man had
not made the slightest movement of resistance, Ah, shouted Lupagne,

(19:31):
drunk with delight and satisfied hatred. At last, I have
crushed you, you odious brute. At last I am the master.
He heard a noise outside in the ride delisman men
knocking at the gate. He ran to the window and cried,
is that you Webber? Already well done? You are a
model servant. Break down the gate, old chap and come

(19:53):
up here. Delighted to see you. In a few minutes,
he searched his prisoner's clothes, got hold of his pocket book,
cleared the papers out of the drawers of the desk
and the davenport, flung them on the table, and went
through them. He gave a shout of joy. The bundle
of letters was there, the famous bundle of letters which
he had promised to restore to the Emperor. He put

(20:13):
back the papers in their place and went to the window.
It's all finished, Weber, you can come in. You will
find mister Kesselbach's murderer in his bed, already tied up.
Good bye, Webber and Lupayne, tearing down the stairs, ran
to the coach house and went back to Dolores Kesselbach.
While Webber was breaking into the villa single handed, he
had arrested Altenheim's seven companions, and he had delivered to

(20:36):
justice the mysterious leader of the gang, the infamous monster
Luis de Malreich. A young man sat writing at a
table on a wide wooden balcony. From time to time
he raised his head and cast a vague glance toward
the horizon of hills, where the trees stripped by the
autumn were shedding their last leaves, over the red roofs
of the villas and the lawns of the gardens. Then

(20:58):
he went on writing. Presently, he took up his paper
and read aloud, no jour sa voi la derive comet
porti peren courras gilispous vernrive oulon la bald came morains.
Our days go by a drift, a drift borne along
by current, swift that urges them towards the strand, where
not until we die we land. Not so bad, said

(21:21):
a voice behind him. Madame Ma mabe le test you
might have written that, or missus Felicia Hemans. However, we
can't all be byrons or la Martine's you you, stammered
the young man in dismay. Yes, I poet, I myself
arseen Lupey come to see his dear friend Pierre Duc.

(21:42):
Pierlu Duc began to shake, as though shivering with fear.
He asked in a low voice. See hour come, Yes,
my dear pielou Duc, the hour has come for you
to give up, or rather to interrupt the slack poet's
life which you have been needing for months at the
feet of Genevieve El the mowent Missus Casselbach, and to
perform the part which I have allotted to you in
my play. Oh, a fine play, I assure you, thoroughly

(22:06):
well constructed according to all the canons of art, with
top notes comic relief and gnashing of teeth galore. We
have reached the fifth act. The grand finale is at hand,
and you, Pierlouduc, are the hero. There's fame for you.
The young man rose from his seat, and suppose I refuse, idiot, Yes,

(22:27):
suppose I refuse? After all? What obliges me to submit
to your will? What obliges me to accept a part
which I do not know, but which I loathe in
advance and feel ashamed of? Idiot, repeated lipee, and forcing
pier Luduc back into his chair. He sat down beside him, and,
in the gentlest of voices, you quite forget, my dear
young man, that you are not Pierloduc but Gerra Beaubray,

(22:51):
that you bear the beautiful name of pier lu Diuc
is due to the fact that you, Gerra Baubray, killed
Pierreluduc and robbed him of his individuality. The young man
bounded with indignation. You are mad. You know as well
as I do that you conceived the whole plot. Yes
I know that, of course, but the law doesn't know it.
And what will the law say when I come forward

(23:12):
with proof that the real Pierlu Duc died a violent
death and that you have taken his place? The young man,
overwhelmed with consternation, stammered, No, No, no one will believe you.
Why should I have done that with what object? Idiot?
The object is so self evident that Weber himself could

(23:33):
have perceived it. You lie when you say that you
will not accept a part which you do not know.
You know your part quite well. It is the part
which Pela Duc would have played were he not dead.
But Pierrel Duc to me, to everybody, was only a name.
Who was he? Who am I? What difference can that
make to you? I want to know. I want to

(23:55):
know what I am doing. And if you know, will
you go straight ahead? Yes, if the object of which
you speak is worth it. If it were not, do
you think I would take all this trouble? Who am I?
Whatever my destiny, you may be sure that I shall
prove worthy of it, But I want to know who
am I av send neu Paint took off his hat,

(24:16):
bowed and said herm on the fourth, Grand Duke of
Swabuk and Veldenz, Prince of Barncastle, Elector of Treve and
Lord of all sorts of places. Three days later, arsendeu
Paine took missus kesselback away in a motor car in
the direction of the frontier. A journey was accomplished in silence.
Lupey remembered with emotion Dolores's terrified conduct and the words

(24:38):
which she spoke in the house in the ruedy e
ving when he was about to defend her against Altenheim's accomplices.
And she must have remembered also, for she remained embarrassed
and evidently perturbed in his presence. In the evening, they
reached a small castle, all covered with creepers and flowers,
rooved with an enormous slate cap, and standing in a
large garden full of ancestral trees. Here, missus Kesselbach found

(25:01):
Genvieve already installed after a visit to the neighboring town,
where she had engaged a staff of servants from among
the country people. This will be your residence, Madame, said Lupey.
You are at Bligen Castle. You will be quite safe here.
While waiting the outcome of these events, I have written
to pierlu Diuc, and he will be your guest from tomorrow.
He started off again. At once drove to Valden's and

(25:23):
handed over to Count van Valdemar the famous letters which
he had recaptured. You know my conditions, my dear Valdemar,
said Lupey. The first and most important thing is to
restore the House of five Book in Veldenz and to
reinstate the Grand Duke erm On the fourth in the
Grand Duchy. I shall open negotiations with the Council of
Regency to day. According to my information it will not

(25:43):
be a difficult matter. But this Grand Duke Kermann, his
Royal Highness, is at present staying at Bligen Castle under
the name of Pier lu Diuc. I will supply all
the necessary proofs of his identity that same evening, Lupagne
took the road back to Paris with the intention of
actively hurrying on the trial of Malreich and the seven scoundrels.

(26:04):
It would be wearisome to recapitulate the story of the case.
The facts, down to the smallest details, are in the
memory of one and all. It was one of those
sensational events which still form a subject of conversation and
discussion among the weather beaten laborers in the remotest villages.
But what I wish to recall is the enormous part
played by Lupainne in the conduct of the case and
in the incidents appertaining to the preliminary inquiry. As a

(26:28):
matter of fact, it was he who managed the inquiry
from the very start. He took the place of the authorities,
ordering police searches, directing the measures to be taken, prescribing
the questions to be put to the prisoners, assuming the
responsibility for everything. We can all remember the universal amazement
when morning after morning we read in the papers those
letters so irresistible in their masterly logic, signed by turns

(26:52):
asenlu Paint examining Magistrate Assene Lupin, public prosecutor A Senelupe
Minister of Justice. As spin copper, he flung himself into
the business with a spirit an ardor of violence, even
that was astonishing in one usually so full of light
hearted chaff, and when all was said, so naturally disposed

(27:12):
by temperament to display a certain professional indulgence. No, this
time he was prompted by hatred. He hated Louis de Maalraich,
that bloodthirsty scoundrel, that foul brute of whom he had
always been afraid, and who, even beaten even in prison,
still gave him that sensation of dread and repugnance which
one feels at the sight of a reptile. Besides, had

(27:33):
not Malreik had the audacity to persecute Dolores. He has
played and lost, said Lupaine. He shall pay for it
with his head. That was what he wanted for his
terrible enemy, the scaffold, the bleak, dull morning, when the
blade of the guillotine slides down and kills it was
a strange prisoner whom the examining magistrate questioned for months

(27:55):
on end. Between the four walls of his room, a
strange figure, that bony man with a skeleton face, and
the lifeless eyes. He seemed quite out of himself. His
thoughts were not there but elsewhere, and he cared so
little about answering. My name is Leon Massier. That was
the one sentence to which he confined himself, and Loupene retorted,

(28:18):
Lie Leon Massier born at Perigeu, left fatherless at the
age of ten, died seven years ago. You took his papers,
but you forgot his death certificate. Here it is, and
Loupagne sent a copy of the document to the public prosecutor.
I am Leon Massier, declared the prisoner. Once again, you lie,
replied Liupagne. You are Louis de Malraich, the last surviving

(28:41):
descendant of a small French noble who settled in Germany
in the eighteenth century. You had a brother who called
himself Parbury and Duberna and Altenheim. By turns, you killed
your brother. You had a sister, Isilda la Marraich. You
killed your sister. I am Leon Massier. You lie. You
are Malraich. Here is your birth certificate. Here are your

(29:02):
brothers and your sisters. In Lupay set the three certificates.
Apart from the question of his identity, Malrae crashed no
doubt by the accumulation of proofs brought up against him,
did not defend himself. What could he say? They had
forty notes written in his own hand. A comparison of
the handwritings established the fact, written in his own hand

(29:22):
to the gang of his accomplices, forty notes which he
had omitted to tear up after taking them back. All
these notes were orders relating to the Kesselbach case, the
capture of Monsieur le Normand and Gurrel, the pursuit of
old Steinbegg, the construction of the underground passages at Gash,
and so on. What possibility was there of a denial?
One rather odd thing baffled the law officers. The seven scoundrels,

(29:46):
when confronted with their leader, all declared that they did
not know him, because they had never seen him. They
received his instructions either by telephone or else in the dark,
by means of those same little notes which Malrae slipped
into their hands without a word. But for the rest
was not the existence of the communication between the villa
and the Rie de Laisment and the broker's shed an
ample proof of complicity. From that spot Malrach saw and

(30:10):
heard from that spot the leader watched his men discrepancies
apparently irreconcilable facts. Lupey explained them all away in a
celebrated article published on the morning of the trial. He
took up the case from the start, revealed what lay
beneath it, unraveled its web, showed Malraich, unknown to all,
living in the room of his brother, the sham Major Parbury,

(30:33):
passing unseen along the passages of the Palace Hotel and
murdering mister Kesselbach, murdering Beudeaux, the floor waiter, murdering Chapman,
the secretary. The trial lingers in the memory. It was
both terrifying and gloomy. Terrifying because of the atmosphere of
anguish that hung over the crowd of onlookers, and the
recollection of crime and blood that obsessed their minds. Gloomy, heavy, darksome,

(30:56):
stifling because of the tremendous silence observed by the prisoner.
Not a protest, not a movement, not a word, a
face of wax that neither saw nor heard, an awful
vision of impassive calmness. The people in court shuddered, their
distraught imaginations conjured up a sort of supernatural being rather
than a man, a sort of genie out of the

(31:18):
Arabian knights, one of those Hindu gods who symbolize all
that is ferocious, cruel, sanguinary and pernicious. As for the
other scoundrels, the people did not even look at them,
treated them as insignificant supors, overshadowed by that stupendous leader.
The most sensational evidence was that given by Missus Kesselbach,

(31:38):
to the general astonishment and to Lupainn's own surprise, Dolores,
who had answered none of the magistrate's summonses, and who
had retired to an unknown spot. Dolores appeared a sorrow
stricken widow to give damning evidence against her husband's murderer.
She gazed at him for many seconds and then said, simply,
that is the man who entered my house in the
ride ving, who carried me off, and who locked me

(32:00):
up in the broker's shed. I recognize him on your oath.
I swear it before God and man. Two days later,
Luis de Malraich alias Leon Massier, was sentenced to death,
and his overpowering personality may be said to have absorbed
that of his accomplices to such an extent that they
received the benefit of extenuating circumstances. Luis de Malrai, have

(32:24):
you nothing to say, asked the presiding judge. He made
no reply. One question alone remained undecided in le Payn's eyes.
Why had Malrai committed all those crimes? What did he want?
What was his object? Lu Payne was soon to understand,
and the day was not far off when, gasping with horror,

(32:45):
struck mortally smitten with despair, he would know the awful truth.
For the moment, although the thought of it constantly hovered
over his mind, he ceased to occupy himself with the
Malrach case, resolved to get a new skin, as he
put it, reassured on the other hand, as to the
fate of Missus Kesselbach and Genvieve, over whose peaceful existence

(33:05):
he watched from afar, and lastly kept informed by Jean Dudville,
whom he had sent to Veldenz, of all the negotiations
that were being pursued between the Court of Berlin and
the Regent of his five book in Veldenz employed all
his time in winding up the past and preparing for
the future. The thought of the different life which he
wished to lead under the eyes of Missus. Kesselbach filled
him with new ambitions and unexpected sentiments in which the

(33:28):
image of Dolores played a part, without his being able
to tell exactly how or why. In a few weeks
he got rid of all the proofs that could have
compromised him sooner or later, all the traces that could
have led to his ruin. He gave each of his
old companions a sum of money sufficient to keep them
from want for the rest of their lives, and said
good bye to them, saying that he was going to
South America. One morning, after a night of careful thought

(33:51):
and a deep study of the situation, he cried, it's done.
There's nothing to fear now. The old du Paint is dead.
Make way for the young one. His man brought him
a telegram from Germany. It contained the news for which
he had been waiting. The Council of Regency, greatly influenced
by the Court of Berlin, had referred the question to
the electors, and the electors, greatly influenced by the Council

(34:13):
of Regency, had declared their unshaken attachment to the old
dynasty of the Veldens count van Valdemar was deputed, together
with three delegates selected from the nobility, the army and
the law, to go to bruden Castle carefully to establish
the identity of the Grand Duke erm On the fourth,
and to make all the arrangements with his Royal Highness
for his triumphal entry into the principality of his father's,

(34:34):
which was to take place in the course of the
following month. This time I've pulled it off, said du
Paine to himself. Mister Kesselbach's great scheme is being realized.
All that remains for me to do is to make
Valdemar swallow pierrel dick. That is child's play. The bands
between Genevieve and Pierre should be published to morrow, and
it should be the Grand Duke's a fine spride that

(34:56):
will be presented to Valdemar. Full of glee, he started
in his motor for bulliden Castle. He sang in the car,
he whistled, He chatted to his chauffar Octave. Do you
know whom you have the honor of driving the master
of the world? Yes, old man, that staggers you, eh,
just so, But it's the truth. I am the master
of the world. He rubbed his hands and went on

(35:18):
soliloquizing all the same. It was a long job. It's
a year since the fight began. True, it was the
most formidable fight I ever stood to win or lose.
By Jupiter, what a war of giants, And he repeated,
But this time I've pulled it off. The enemies are
in the water. There are no obstacles left between the
goal and me. The sight is free. Let us build

(35:39):
upon it. I have the materials at hand, I have
the workmen. Let us build, l pay and let the
palace be worthy of you. He stopped the car at
a few hundred yards from the castle, so that his
arrival might create as little fuss as possible, and said
to Octave, wait here for twenty minutes until four o'clock,
and then drive in. Take my bags to the little
chaleis at the end of the park. That's where I

(36:00):
shall sleep. At the first turn of the road, the
castle appeared in sight, standing at the end of a
dark avenue of lime trees. From the distance, he saw
Genviev passing on the terrace. His heart was softly stirred. Chenviev, Genvieve,
he said fondly Genvieve. The vow which I made of
the dying mother is being fulfilled as well. Chenvieve a

(36:23):
grand Duchess, and I in the shade, watching over her
happiness and pursuing the great schemes of varsen Repey. He
burst out, laughing, sprang behind a cluster of trees that
stood to the left of the avenue, and slipped along
the thick shrubberies. In this way he reached the castle
without the possibility of his being seen from the windows
of the drawing room or the principal bedrooms. He wanted

(36:46):
to see Dolores before she saw him, and pronounce her
name several times as he had pronounced Genvieve, but with
an emotion that surprised himself. Dolores Delores. He stole along
the passages and reached the dining room. From this room,
through a glass panel, he could see half the drawing room.
He drew nearer Dolores was lying on a couch, and

(37:09):
Pierrela Duc on his knees before her, was gazing at
her with eyes of ecstasy. End of Chapter fourteen.