The men quivered under the impression made upon them.

"Very well," said the Broker. "But suppose the Kesselbach gets away?

She's in the next room, isn't she?"

"No, she's in here."

Lupin for a moment pulled back one of the leaves of the screen, revealing the heap of dresses and bed-clothes which he had laid out on the sofa:

"She's here, fainting. But I shan't give her up till we've divided."

"Still ..."

"You can take it or leave it. I don't care if I am alone. You know what I'm good for. So please yourselves... ."

The men consulted with one another and the Broker said:

"Where is the hiding-place you're talking of?"

"Under the fireplace. But, when you don't know the secret, you must first lift up the whole chimneypiece, looking-glass, marble and all in a lump, it seems. It's no easy job."

"Pooh, we're a smart lot, we are! Just you wait and see. In five minutes ..."

He gave his orders and his pals at once set to work with admirable vigor and discipline. Two of them, standing on chairs, tried to lift the mirror. The four others attacked the fireplace itself. The Broker, on his knees, kept his eyes on the hearth and gave the word of command:

"Cheerily, lads! ... Altogether, if you please! ... Look out! ...

One, two ... ah, there, it's moving! ..."

Standing behind them, with his hands in his pockets, Lupin watched them affectionately and, at the same time, revelled with all his pride, as an artist and master, in this striking proof of his authority, of his might, of the incredible sway which he wielded over others. How could those scoundrels for a second accept that improbable story and lose all sense of things, to the point of relinquishing every chance of the fight in his favor?

He took from his pockets two great massive and formidable revolvers and, calmly, choosing the first two men whom he would bring down and the two who would fall next, he aimed as he might have aimed at a pair of targets in a rifle-gallery.

Two shots together and two more... .

Loud yells of pain... . Four men came tumbling down, one after the other, like dolls at a cockshy.

"Four from seven leaves three," said Lupin. "Shall I go on?"

His arms remained outstretched, levelled at the Broker and his two pals.

"You swine!" growled the Broker, feeling for a weapon.

"Hands up," cried Lupin, "or I fire! ... That's it... . Now, you two, take away his toys... . If not ... !"

The two scoundrels, shaking with fear, caught hold of their leader and compelled him to submit.

"Bind him! ... Bind him, confound it! ... What difference does it make to you? ... Once I'm gone, you're all free... . Come along, have you finished? The wrists first ... with your belts... . And the ankles... . Hurry up! ..."

The Broker, beaten and disabled, made no further resistance. While his pals were binding him, Lupin stooped over them and dealt them two terrific blows on the head with the butt-end of his revolver. They sank down in a heap.

"That's a good piece of work," he said, taking breath. "Pity there are not another fifty of them. I was just in the mood... . And all so easily done ... with a smile on one's face... . What do you think of it, Broker?"

The scoundrel lay cursing. Lupin said:

"Cheer up, old man! Console yourself with the thought that you are helping in a good action, the rescue of Mrs. Kesselbach. She will thank you in person for your gallantry."

He went to the door of the second room and opened it:

"What's this?" he said, stopping on the threshold, taken aback, dumfounded.

The room was empty.

He went to the window, saw a ladder leaning against the balcony, a telescopic steel ladder, and muttered:

"Kidnapped ... kidnapped ... Louis de Malreich... . Oh, the villain! ..."

He reflected for a minute, trying to master his anguish of mind, and said to himself that, after all, as Mrs. Kesselbach seemed to be in no immediate danger, there was no cause for alarm.

But he was seized with a sudden fit of rage and flew at the seven scoundrels, gave a kick or two to those of the wounded who stirred, felt for his bank-notes and put them back in his pocket, then gagged the men's mouths and tied their hands with anything that he could find--blind-cords, curtain-loops, blankets and sheets reduced to strips--and, lastly, laid in a row on the carpet, in front of the sofa, seven bundles of humanity, packed tight together and tied up like so many parcels:

"Mummies on toast!" he chuckled. "A dainty dish for those who like that sort of thing! ... You pack of fools, how does this suit you, eh?

There you are, like corpses at the Morgue... . Serves you right for attacking Lupin, Lupin the protector of the widow and orphan! ... Are you trembling? Quite unnecessary, my lambs! Lupin never hurt a fly yet!

... Only, Lupin is a decent man, he can't stand vermin; and the Lupin knows his duty. I ask you, is life possible with a lot of scamps like you about? Think of it: no respect for other people's lives; no respect for property, for laws, for society; no conscience; no anything! What are we coming to? Lord, what are we coming to?"

Without even taking the trouble to lock them in, he left the room, went down the street and walked until he came to his taxi. He sent the driver in search of another and brought both cabs back to Mrs. Kesselbach's house.

A good tip, paid in advance, avoided all tedious explanations. With the help of the two men, he carried the seven prisoners down and plumped them anyhow, on one another's knees, into the cabs. The wounded men yelled and moaned. He shut the doors, shouting:

"Mind your hands!"

He got up beside the driver of the front cab.

"Where to?" asked the man.

"36, Quai des Orfevers: the detective-office."

The motors throbbed, the drivers started the gear and the strange procession went scooting down the slopes of the Trocadero.

In the streets, they passed a few vegetable-carts. Men carrying long poles were turning out the street-lamps.

There were stars in the sky. A cool breeze was wafted through the air.

Lupin sang aloud:

The Place de la Concorde, the Louvre... . In the distance, the dark bulk of Notre Dame... .

He turned round and half opened the door: