Our excited imaginations attributed to him miraculous
and unlimited power. We supposed him capable of assuming the most
unexpected disguises; of being, by turns, the highly respectable
Major Rawson or the noble Marquis de Raverdan, or even--for we no
longer stopped with the accusing letter of R--or even such or such
a person well known to all of us, and having wife, children and
servants.
The first wireless dispatches from America brought no news; at
least, the captain did not communicate any to us. The silence was
not reassuring.
Our last day on the steamer seemed interminable. We lived in
constant fear of some disaster. This time, it would not be a
simple theft or a comparatively harmless assault; it would be a
crime, a murder. No one imagined that Arsene Lupin would confine
himself to those two trifling offenses. Absolute master of the
ship, the authorities powerless, he could do whatever he pleased;
our property and lives were at his mercy.
Yet those were delightful hours for me, since they secured to me
the confidence of Miss Nelly. Deeply moved by those startling
events and being of a highly nervous nature, she spontaneously
sought at my side a protection and security that I was pleased to
give her.
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