The Arrest of Arsène Lupin — Part 2
Arsène Lupin is somewhere onboard the SS La Provence. But which passenger sailing to New York is really the ‘gentleman thief’?
Monsieur Rozaine did not appear at dinner. A rumour quickly spread that the Captain had detained the young man.
We all relaxed and went back to playing charades and dancing in the saloon. I was pleased to note that Miss Nelly did not seem perturbed by Roazaine’s absence.
The next morning we learned that the Captain had released Rozaine. The young man apparently had papers that appeared to prove he indeed the son of a wealthy Bordeaux merchant.
My rival was free but many passengers doubted his innocence. “We all know that Arsène Lupin often travels with forged documents.
“But Rozaine was seen on deck at the time of the theft!” claimed others. “How do your explain that?”
At lunch there was an announcement: Louis Rozaine offers a reward of 1000 francs to whoever locates the stolen jewels.
Ms Nelly said “I think they will find them,” she said. “Even a wizard like Lupin can’t make diamonds and pearls invisible.”
“You are right,” I said. “They just need to search all our possession. The jewels are very small. You could hide them in the lining of a hat. Or even in a camera case like this one.”
I had one of those new portable Kodak cameras. I used it to take photographs of Miss Nelly — her every move and expression.
“It’s the perfect cover for the thief,” I said. “If you pretend to take photos then nobody suspects anything.”
The next afternoon the captain’s watch disappeared. We laughed when it was soon found — in the second officer’s cabin! Then on the eve of our arrival in New York there was another astonishing development.
The nightwatchman was patrolling the ship when he heard strange groans coming from the darkest area of the passenger deck. Investigating, he discovered a man tied-up and lying at full stretch.
It was Rozaine and there was a card pinned to his clothes. Arsène thanks M. Rozaine for his reward of ten thousand francs.
Again, many suspected a trick. But how could Rozaine have tied himself up? And the handwriting on the note matched that we had seen of Lupin’s in newspaper reproductions.
Nobody was laughing now. The passengers no longer dared to stay alone in their cabins. They huddled together in the public areas as terrifying rumours spread around the ship.
I confess that I was neither anxious nor upset. Rather, I was delighted to spend my last hours on the ship with Nelly Underdown. Shy by nature, she seemed to look to me for guidance and reassurance.
In my heart I thanked Arsène Lupin for bringing us together.
We remained side by side as the SS La Provence sailed into the Port of New York. With our elbows resting on the guard rail, we watched the coastline of America loom larger. I looked longingly at Miss Nelly and she smiled back at me. Her soft voice gave me hope.
The cabin crew abandoned the search for the jewels. We were coming into port and it was all hands on deck. Nelly leaned on my arm.
“What a magical moment this is!” I said, but her attention was distracted by the lowering of the gangplank. Men in uniform were coming abroad.
Nelly sighed. “I think they are too late,” she said. “Arsène Lupin has somehow escaped during our voyage.”
“How? Did he jump overboard? And look over there!” I said. “The little old man standing by the gang plank.”
“In the green coat? With the umbrella?”
“Yes, that’s Ganimard, the famous detective. He has sworn that he will personally arrest Arsène Lupin. And here he is! Waiting here on the other side of the ocean.”
“Then surely he will arrest Lupin. Oh, how exciting!”
“Ganimard has only seen him in disguise,” I cautioned. “And if Lupin has seen his enemy-”
“I hope Ganimard does arrest him,” she said. “I would love to see it.”
The passengers began to cross the gang planks. Ganimard paid no attention to those crowding past between the two handrails. A ship’s officer stood behind him. At one point the officer whispered in the detective’s ear.
Many familiar faces went past. One of them was Rozaine. “I still think it was him!” said Nelly.
“Do you want to take a photograph of Rozaine and Ganimard together? Then you can check the evidence later.”
“Yes!” she said and took my camera.
The officer again whispered in the ear of Ganimard. Miss Nelly lifted the camera. Ganimard shrugged, making no attempt to stop Rozaine from passing.
“If Rozaine is not Arsène Lupin?” said Nelly in English. “Then who is?”
There were very few passengers left. “We cannot wait any longer,” I said.
She nodded and walked towards the gang plank. Suddenly Ganimard stepped in front of us.
I laughed and reached for my papers. “Not me, Monsieur! I am Bernard d’Andrezy.
“That gentleman died in Greece, three years ago,” said the detective. Turning to to Miss Nelly, he added. “You may go on, Mademoiselle.”
I hesitated a moment. Then he hit me a sharp blow on the right arm, which caused me to utter a cry of pain. He had struck the wound, still unhealed, referred to in the telegram. Miss Underwood stared at me, her face a deathly white.
“Your luck has finally run out, Lupin,” said Ganimard. “Let’s go.”
I turned to Miss Nelly, glancing down at the camera she was still holding. Hidden inside the Kodak were Lady Gerland’s jewels and Rozaine’s twenty thousand francs.
Miss Nellie moved past me. I gave her a silent low bow. She continued walking, unsteadily and half way across the gang plank stumbled. Her momentum carried her into the rail and the camera tumbled out of her hand and overboard.
The camera disappeared into the sea. Miss Nellie kept on walking and a moment later was out of sight.
Ganimard was fastening my handcuffs and saw nothing of this. “Where are the stolen items, Lupin? You can save us the trouble of searching for them.”
“I regret I cannot locate them for you, Monsieur,” I said. “There are beautiful things that once lost will never be found again.”
