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Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar, by Maurice Leblanc

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Title: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar

Author: Maurice Leblanc

Posting Date: March 18, 2009 [EBook #6133]
Release Date: July, 2004

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES ***

Produced by Nathan J. Miller

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ARSENE LUPIN, GENTLEMAN-BURGLAR

By Maurice Leblanc

Table of Contents:

I. The Arrest of Arsene Lupin
II. Arsene Lupin in Prison
III. The Escape of Arsene Lupin
IV. The Mysterious Traveller
V. The Queen's Necklace
VI. The Seven of Hearts
VII. Madame Imbert's Safe
VIII. The Black Pearl
IX. Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late

I. The Arrest of Arsene Lupin

It was a strange ending to a voyage that had commenced in a most
auspicious manner. The transatlantic steamship `La Provence' was a swift
and comfortable vessel, under the command of a most affable man. The
passengers constituted a select and delightful society. The charm of
new acquaintances and improvised amusements served to make the time pass
agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant sensation of being separated from
the world, living, as it were, upon an unknown island, and consequently
obliged to be sociable with each other.

Have you ever stopped to consider how much originality and spontaneity
emanate from these various individuals who, on the preceding evening,
did not even know each other, and who are now, for several days,
condemned to lead a life of extreme intimacy, jointly defying the anger
of the ocean, the terrible onslaught of the waves, the violence of the
tempest and the agonizing monotony of the calm and sleepy water? Such
a life becomes a sort of tragic existence, with its storms and its
grandeurs, its monotony and its diversity; and that is why, perhaps,
we embark upon that short voyage with mingled feelings of pleasure and
fear.

But, during the past few years, a new sensation had been added to the
life o