complice?"

Ganimard gave a little chuckle.

"Exactly, Arsene Lupin's accomplice!... That explains everything. During
the night, while the three detectives were downstairs watching, or
sleeping rather, for Colonel Sparmiento had given them champagne to
drink and perhaps doctored it beforehand, the said colonel took down the
hangings and passed them out through the window of his bedroom. The room
is on the second floor and looks out on another street, which was not
watched, because the lower windows are walled up."

M. Dudouis reflected and then shrugged his shoulders:

"It's preposterous!" he repeated.

"Why?"

"Why? Because, if the colonel had been Arsene Lupin's accomplice, he
would not have committed suicide after achieving his success."

"Who says that he committed suicide?"

"Why, he was found dead on the line!"

"I told you, there is no such thing as death with Lupin."

"Still, this was genuine enough. Besides, Mme. Sparmiento identified the
body."

"I thought you would say that, chief. The argument worried me too. There
was I, all of a sudden, with three people in front of me instead of one:
first, Arsene Lupin, cracksman; secondly, Colonel Sparmiento, his
accomplice; thirdly, a dead man. Spare us! It was too much of a good
thing!"

Ganimard took a bundle of newspapers, untied it and handed one of them
to Mr. Dudouis:

"You remember, chief, last time you were here, I was looking through the
papers.... I wanted to see if something had not happened, at that
period, that might bear upon the case and confirm my supposition. Please
read this paragraph."

M. Dudouis took the paper and read aloud:

"Our Lille correspondent informs us that a curious incident has
occurred in that town. A corpse has disappeared from the local
morgue, the corpse of a man unknown who threw himself under the
wheels of a steam tram-car on the day before. No one is able to
suggest a reason for this disappearance."

M. Dudouis sat thinking and then asked:

"So ... you believe ...?"

"I have just come from Lille," replied Ganimard, "and my inquiries leave
not a doubt in my mind. The corpse was removed on the same night on
which Colonel Sparmiento gave his house-warming. It was taken straight
to Ville d'Avray by motor-car; and the car remained near the
railway-line until the evening."

"Near the tunnel, therefore," said M. Dudouis.

"Next to it, chief."

"So that the body which was found is mere