silence and
the darkness.

"No," he said, "I was mistaken... Besides, it's absurd... They can't hit
us here."

"Who would hit us?"

"No one... no one... it was a silly notion..."

He groped about till he found the uprights of the ladder; then he said:

"There, here's the ladder. It is fixed in the bed of the river. A friend
of mine is looking after it, as well as your cousins."

He whistled:

"Here I am," he said, in a low voice. "Hold the ladder fast." And, to
Daubrecq, "I'll go first."

Daubrecq objected:

"Perhaps it would be better for me to go down first."

"Why?"

"I am very tired. You can tie your rope round my waist and hold me...
Otherwise, there is a danger that I might..."

"Yes, you are right," said Lupin. "Come nearer."

Daubrecq came nearer and knelt down on the rock. Lupin fastened the
rope to him and then, stooping over, grasped one of the uprights in both
hands to keep the ladder from shaking:

"Off you go," he said.

At the same moment, he felt a violent pain in the shoulder:

"Blast it!" he said, sinking to the ground.

Daubrecq had stabbed him with a knife below the nape of the neck, a
little to the right.

"You blackguard! You blackguard!"

He half-saw Daubrecq, in the dark, ridding himself of his rope, and
heard him whisper:

"You're a bit of a fool, you know!... You bring me a letter from my
Rousselot cousins, in which I recognize the writing of the elder,
Adelaide, but which that sly puss of an Adelaide, suspecting something
and meaning to put me on my guard, if necessary, took care to sign with
the name of the younger sister, Euphrasie Rousselot. You see, I tumbled
to it! So, with a little reflection... you are Master Arsene Lupin, are
you not? Clarisse's protector, Gilbert's saviour... Poor Lupin, I fear
you're in a bad way... I don't use the knife often; but, when I do, I
use it with a vengeance."

He bent over the wounded man and felt in his pockets:

"Give me your revolver, can't you? You see, your friends will know at
once that it is not their governor; and they will try to secure me...
And, as I have not much strength left, a bullet or two... Good-bye,
Lupin. We shall meet in the next world, eh? Book me a nice flat, with
all the latest conveniences.

"Good-bye, Lupin. And my best thanks. For really I don't know what I
should have done without you. By Jove, d'Albufex was hitting me hard!
It'll be a joke to meet the beggar again!"

Daubrecq had completed his