"About ten centimetres."
He dug up the wet earth. The point of his knife struck something.
He enlarged the hole with his finger. Then he abstracted the black
pearl from its filthy hiding-place.
"Good! Here are your two hundred francs. I will send you the
ticket for America."
On the following day, this article was published in the `Echo de
France,' and was copied by the leading newspapers throughout the
world:
"Yesterday, the famous black pearl came into the possession of
Arsene Lupin, who recovered it from the murderer of the Countess
d'Andillot. In a short time, fac-similes of that precious jewel
will be exhibited in London, St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Buenos Ayres
and New York.
"Arsene Lupin will be pleased to consider all propositions
submitted to him through his agents."
* * * * *
"And that is how crime is always punished and virtue rewarded,"
said Arsene Lupin, after he had told me the foregoing history of
the black pearl.
"And that is how you, under the assumed name of Grimaudan,
ex-inspector of detectives, were chosen by fate to deprive the
criminal of the benefit of his crime."
"Exactly.
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