Omaha daily bee., February 23, 1913, THE Semi-MONTHLY MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 4, Image 40

About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922

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4
THE SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE SECTION
CONFIDENCES
OF AR.SENE LUPIN i
4m
EDITH SWAN-NECK
BY MAURICE LEBLANC Jttmirttion AJrieQiackfeit
RSENE LUPIN, wlint's your real
opinion ot Inspector Oanimard? "
"A very high one, my dear fel
low." "A very high one? Then, why
do you nover miss a chanco of turn
ing mm into ridicule?"
"It 'h n bad habit ; and I 'm sorry for it. Hero 'h
a decent detective; bore's a whole heap of decent
men, who Bland for lnw and order, who protect us
againBt the apaches, who risk their lives for honest
pcoplo liko you and me; and wo have nothing to
give thorn in return but llouU and gibes. It's a
shamo."
"Bravo, Lupin J you 'ro talking liko n respectable
ratepayer 1"
"Wlint elso am It I may lmvo peculiar views
about other people's property; but I assure you
that it 's very different when my own 's at stake.
Then, I 'm out for blood. I havo tlio soul of a con
servative, my dear fellow, the instincts of a retired
tradesman and a duo respect for every sort of tra
dition nnd authority. And that is why Oanimard
inspires mo with no littlo gratitude and esteem."
"Hut not much admiration."
"Plenty of admiration, too. Over and above the
dauntless courage which comes naturally to every
member of tho force at the Criminal Investigation
Department, Oanimard possesses sterling qualities;
decision, insight and judgment. I havo watched
him at work. lie 's somebody, when all 's said.
Do you know tho Edith Swan-Neck story, as it was
called?"
"I know us much as everybody knows.'.'
"That means that you don't know it at all. Well,
that job was, I daro say, tho ono which I thought
out most cleverly, tho ono which I shrouded in the
greatest darkness and mystery, tho one which it
took tho biggest generalship to carry through. And
yet, Oanimard ended by unraveling tho knot.
Thanks to him, they know tho truth today at head
quarters." "May I hopo to hear tho story?"
"Certainly . . . ono of these days . . . when I
havo tinio . . . But tho Bruuelli is dancing at the
Opera to-night; and, if sho were not to see mo in
my stall . . . 1"
I do not meet Lupin often. Il'o confesses only
when it suits him. It was gradually, by snatches,
by odds and cuds of confidences, that I was ablo
to obtain tho different incidents and to picco the
story together in all its details.
Tho main features arc well known and I will
merely mention tho facts.
THREE YEARS ago, when tho train from Brest
arrived at Renncs, tho door of ono of tho bag
gage vans was found to bo smashed in. This van
had been booked by Colonel Sparmiento, n rich
Brazilian, who was traveling with his wife in the
same train. It contained a completo'sct of tnpestry
hangings. Tho case in which ono of theso was
packed had been broken open, and tho tapestry
had disappeared.
Colonel Sparmiento started proceedings ugainst
tho railroad company, claiming heavy damages, not
only for tho stolen tapestry, but also for tho loss in
value that tho wholo collection suffered in conse
quenco of the theft.
Tho polico institute inquiries. Tho company of
fered a largo reward. A fortnight later, a letter
was intercepted by tho authorities, which revealed
tho fact that tho theft had been carried out under;
tho direction of Arseno Lupin and that a package
was to leave next day. for the United States. That
samo evening, tho tapestry was discovered in a
triink deposited in tho cloak-room at tho railroad
depot.
So, tho schemo had miscarried. Lupin felt the
disappointment so much tlmt he vented his ill-
humor in a communication to Colonel Sparmiento,
ending with tho following words, which were clear
enough for any ono:
"It was very conslderato of me to take only ono. Next
tlmo, I shall tako tho wholo twelve. Vcrhum aji. "A. h."
Colonel Sparmiento had been living for some
months in a house standing at tho end of a small
garden at tho corner of tho Hue do la Faisandcrie
and tho Hue Dufresnoy. Ho was a rather thickset,
broad-shouldered man with black hair and a
swarthy skin, always well and quietly dressed. Ho
was married to an extremely pretty, but delicate
Englishwoman, who was much upset by tho busi-
ncss of t ho tapestries. From the first, sho implored
her husband to sell them for what they would fetch.
Tho colonel had much too forcible and dogged a
nature to yield to what he had every right to de
scribe as a woman's fancies. He sold nothing; but
ho adopted every measure to protect himself against
an attempt at burglary.
To begin with, so that ho might confine his watch
to tho garden-front, ho walled up all the windows
on tho ground floor and tho lirst floor, overlooking
tho line Dufresnoy. Next, lie enlisted the services
of a firm that made a specially of protecting pri
vate houses against robberies of all soils.. Every
window of the gallery in which tho tapestries were
hung was fitted with invisiblo burglar-alarms, the
position of which was known to none but himself.
hated Lupin like poison. As for the servants, the
colonel had known them for years and was ready
to vouch for them.
After taking all these steps and organizing the
defence of the house as if it were a fortress, the
colonel gave a great housewarming, a sort of pri
vate view, to which he invited the members of both
his clubs, as well as a limited number of ladies,
journalists, art-patrons and critics.
They felt, as they passed through the garden
gate, much as if they were walking into a prison.
The three private detectives, posted at the foot of
the stairs, asked for each visitor's invitation card
and eyed him up nnd down suspiciously, making
him feel as if they were going to search his pockets
or lake his finger-prints.
THE colonel, who received his guests on the first
floor, made laughing apologies and seemed de
lighted at tho opportunity of explaining the ar
rangements which he had invented to secure tho
safety of his hangings. His wife stood by him, look
ing charmingly young and pretty, fair-haired, pale
and sinuous, with a sad and gentle expression, the
expression, of resignation often worn by those who
arc threatened by fate.
When all the guests had come, the garden gates
and tho hall doors were closed. Then, everybody
filed into the middle gallery, which was reached
through two steel dioors, while its windows, with
their huge shutters, were
protected by iron bars.
This was where the twelve
tapestries were kept.
They wore matchless
works of art and, taking
their inspiration from the
famous Bayeux Tapestry,
The gueiU were bit in enthmlmm over the beauty of thU Upettry
These, at the least touch, switched on all the electric
lights and set a wholo system of bells and gongs
ringing.
In addition to this, tho insurance companies to
which ho applied refused to grant policies to any
..considerable amount unless he consented to let
three men, supplied by the companies but paid by
himself, occupy the ground floor of his house every
night They selected for tho purpose three ex-detectives,
tried and trustworthy men, all of whom
attributed to Queen Matilda, they represented the
story of the Norman Conquest. They had been
ordered in the fourteenth century by the descend
ant of a man-at-arms in William the Conqueror's
train; were executed by Jehan Qosset, a famous
Arras weaver; and were discovered, Ave hundred
years later, in an old Breton manor-house. On
hearing of this, the colonel had struck a bargain for
fifty thousand francs. They were worth ten times
the monev.
V