the theft of the best of them, so as
to draw attention to himself, Lupin, and divert it from himself,
Sparmiento. Next, he brings about, in full view of the gaping public, a
noisy contest between Lupin and Sparmiento or Sparmiento and Lupin,
plots and gives the house-warming party, terrifies his guests and, when
everything is ready, arranges for Lupin to steal Sparmiento's tapestries
and for Sparmiento, Lupin's victim, to disappear from sight and die
unsuspected, unsuspectable, regretted by his friends, pitied by the
public and leaving behind him, to pocket the profits of the swindle...."

Ganimard stopped, looked the chief in the eyes and, in a voice that
emphasized the importance of his words, concluded:

"Leaving behind him a disconsolate widow."

"Mme. Sparmiento! You really believe....?

"Hang it all!" said the chief-inspector. "People don't work up a whole
business of this sort, without seeing something ahead of them ... solid
profits."

"But the profits, it seems to me, lie in the sale of the tapestries
which Lupin will effect in America or elsewhere."

"First of all, yes. But Colonel Sparmiento could effect that sale just
as well. And even better. So there's something more."

"Something more?"

"Come, chief, you're forgetting that Colonel Sparmiento has been the
victim of an important robbery and that, though he may be dead, at least
his widow remains. So it's his widow who will get the money."

"What money?"

"What money? Why, the money due to her! The insurance-money, of course!"

M. Dudouis was staggered. The whole business suddenly became clear to
him, with its real meaning. He muttered:

"That's true!... That's true!... The colonel had insured his
tapestries...."

"Rather! And for no trifle either."

"For how much?"

"Eight hundred thousand francs."

"Eight hundred thousand?"

"Just so. In five different companies."

"And has Mme. Sparmiento had the money?"

"She got a hundred and fifty thousand francs yesterday and two hundred
thousand to-day, while I was away. The remaining payments are to be made
in the course of this week."

"But this is terrible! You ought to have...."

"What, chief? To begin with, they took advantage of my absence to
settle up accounts with the companies. I only heard about it on my
return when I ran up against an insurance-manager whom I happen to know
and took the opportunity of drawing him out."

The chief-detective was silent for some time, not knowing