"
"P. S.--Please do not send the largest Watteau. Although you
paid thirty thousand francs for it, it is only a copy, the
original having been burned, under the Directoire by Barras,
during a night of debauchery. Consult the memoirs of Garat.
"I do not care for the Louis XV chatelaine, as I doubt its
authenticity."
That letter completely upset the baron. Had it borne any other
signature, he would have been greatly alarmed--but signed by Arsene
Lupin!
As an habitual reader of the newspapers, he was versed in the
history of recent crimes, and was therefore well acquainted with
the exploits of the mysterious burglar. Of course, he knew that
Lupin had been arrested in America by his enemy Ganimard and was
at present incarcerated in the Prison de la Sante. But he knew
also that any miracle might be expected from Arsene Lupin.
Moreover, that exact knowledge of the castle, the location of the
pictures and furniture, gave the affair an alarming aspect. How
could he have acquired that information concerning things that no
one had ever seen?
The baron raised his eyes and contemplated the stern outlines of
the castle, its steep rocky pedestal, the depth of the surrounding
water, and shrugged his shoulders.
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