"

Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his arm.
But that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his left arm, and
I was on the point of calling his attention to the fact, when another
incident diverted our attention. Lady Jerland, Miss Nelly's friend, came
running towards us in a state of great excitement, exclaiming:

"My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!"

No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had taken
only part of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond sunbursts,
jeweled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief had taken, not
the largest but the finest and most valuable stones. The mountings were
lying upon the table. I saw them there, despoiled of their jewels, like
flowers from which the beautiful colored petals had been ruthlessly
plucked. And this theft must have been committed at the time Lady
Jerland was taking her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom opening
on a much frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to
force open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which
was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty and
remove it from the mountings.

Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same conclusion; it
was the work of Arsene Lupin.

That day, at the dinner table, the seats to the right and left of
Rozaine remained vacant; and, during the evening, it was rumored that
the captain had placed him under arrest, which information produced a
feeling of safety and relief. We breathed once more. That evening, we
resumed our games and dances. Miss Nelly, especially, displayed a spirit
of thoughtless gayety which convinced me that if Rozaine's attentions
had been agreeable to her in the beginning, she had already forgotten
them. Her charm and good-humor completed my conquest. At midnight, under
a bright moon, I declared my devotion with an ardor that did not seem to
displease her.

But, next day, to our general amazement, Rozaine was at liberty.
We learned that the evidence against him was not sufficient. He had
produced documents that were perfectly regular, which showed that he
was the son of a wealthy merchant of Bordeaux. Besides, his arms did not
bear the slightest trace of a wound.

"Documents! Certificates of birth!" exclaimed the enemies of Rozaine,
"of course, Arsene Lupin will furnish you as many as you desire. And as
to the wound, he never had it, or he has rem