zement, Fantomas no longer stood before him, but an officer in
the uniform of the Queen's lancers.

Juve was not taken in by this quick change, and was on the point of
firing again when suddenly his eyes were filled with a blinding powder,
burning and blistering the pupils. He had been blinded by pepper.
Instinctively he put his hands to his face, and in that moment he felt
himself enveloped in the long cloak in which Fantomas had entangled him.
Falling to the ground in agony he then heard the cry:

"Help! Help!"

By the sudden and growing noise, he realized that the crowd was drawing
near. When he had struggled to a sitting posture, he found himself a
prisoner.

The sudden change from darkness to bright light increased the pain in
his eyes, but with a superhuman effort he was enabled to pick out the
superb uniform of the false lancer. Pointing to him, he cried:

"Arrest him, why don't you arrest him!"

Brutally, he was told to keep quiet.

The noise of the theft spread rapidly and the greatest confusion reigned
in the Palace. Many of the women fainted. Finally M. Heberlauf arrived.
He appeared immensely important, and confided to a group his opinion of
the affair, adding this restriction:

"At any rate, that is what my wife believes."

Mme. Heberlauf had, in fact, after an interview with one of the
officers, announced it as her opinion that the thief so providentially
arrested was no other than the world-famous and unseizable Fantomas.

And then a queer thing happened. When the Grand Duchess Alexandra heard
this sinister name spoken, when she knew that Fantomas had been
arrested, she staggered as though struck to the heart and fell fainting
into the arms of her friends.

"Fantomas!" she murmured, "Fantomas arrested! Can it be possible?"

Juve was taken away tightly bound. He seemed indifferent to the clamor
of the crowd and constantly looked from side to side as though searching
for something or somebody. Suddenly, as he passed the group surrounding
the Grand Duchess Alexandra, he made a violent effort and dragged his
captors close enough to enable him to see the fainting woman's features.
One look was enough, and then without further resistance he allowed
himself to be marched away. He had found out what he wanted to know; he
had recognized in the Grand Duchess the mistress of Fantomas, the
accomplice of his most dreadful crimes. He had seen Lady Beltham!

CHAPTER XVII

ON THE RIGHT TRAIL

"