"
"No, no, but---"
He stopped, looked sharply at the prisoner, and said:
"I ask permission to scrutinize the prisoner at closer range.
There is some mystery about him that I must solve."
He approached the accused man, examined him attentively for
several minutes, then returned to the witness-stand, and, in an
almost solemn voice, he said:
"I declare, on oath, that the prisoner now before me is not Arsene
Lupin."
A profound silence followed the statement. The judge, nonplused
for a moment, exclaimed:
"Ah! What do you mean? That is absurd!"
The detective continued:
"At first sight there is a certain resemblance, but if you
carefully consider the nose, the mouth, the hair, the color of
skin, you will see that it is not Arsene Lupin. And the eyes!
Did he ever have those alcoholic eyes!"
"Come, come, witness! What do you mean? Do you pretend to say
that we are trying the wrong man?"
"In my opinion, yes. Arsene Lupin has, in some manner, contrived
to put this poor devil in his place, unless this man is a willing
accomplice."
This dramatic denouement caused much laughter and excitement
amongst the spectators. The judge adjourned the trial, and sent
for Mon.
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