Ah! the excellent friend I had in that little
woman.
The police agents had now released me. I bit my lips until they
ran blood. Stooping over, with my handkerchief over my mouth, an
attitude quite natural in a person who has remained for a long
time in an uncomfortable position, and whose mouth shows the
bloody marks of the gag, I addressed the commissary, in a weak
voice:
"Monsieur, it was Arsene Lupin. There is no doubt about that. If
we make haste, he can be caught yet. I think I may be of some
service to you."
The railway car, in which the crime occurred, was detached from
the train to serve as a mute witness at the official investigation.
The train continued on its way to Havre. We were then conducted to
the station-master's office through a crowd of curious spectators.
Then, I had a sudden access of doubt and discretion. Under some
pretext or other, I must gain my automobile, and escape. To remain
there was dangerous. Something might happen; for instance, a
telegram from Paris, and I would be lost.
Yes, but what about my thief? Abandoned to my own resources, in an
unfamiliar country, I could not hope to catch him.
"Bah! I must make the attempt," I said to myself.
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