hout
deigning to pursue the fugitive, the new arrival stooped over the
prostrate man and inquired:

"Are you hurt, monsieur?"

He was not injured, but he was dazed and unable to stand. His rescuer
procured a carriage, placed him in it, and accompanied him to his house
on the avenue de la Grande-Armee. On his arrival there, quite recovered,
he overwhelmed his saviour with thanks.

"I owe you my life, monsieur, and I shall not forget it. I do not wish
to alarm my wife at this time of night, but, to-morrow, she will be
pleased to thank you personally. Come and breakfast with us. My name is
Ludovic Imbert. May I ask yours?"

"Certainly, monsieur."

And he handed Mon. Imbert a card bearing the name: "Arsene Lupin."

* * * * *

At that time, Arsene Lupin did not enjoy the celebrity which the Cahorn
affair, his escape from the Prison de la Sante, and other brilliant
exploits, afterwards gained for him. He had not even used the name of
Arsene Lupin. The name was specially invented to designate the rescuer
of Mon. Imbert; that is to say, it was in that affair that Arsene
Lupin was baptized. Fully armed and ready for the fray, it is true, but
lacking the resources and authority which command success, Arsene Lupin
was then merely an apprentice in a profession wherein he soon became a
master.

With what a thrill of joy he recalled the invitation he received that
night! At last, he had reached his goal! At last, he had undertaken
a task worthy of his strength and skill! The Imbert millions! What a
magnificent feast for an appetite like his!

He prepared a special toilet for the occasion; a shabby frock-coat,
baggy trousers, a frayed silk hat, well-worn collar and cuffs, all quite
correct in form, but bearing the unmistakable stamp of poverty. His
cravat was a black ribbon pinned with a false diamond. Thus accoutred,
he descended the stairs of the house in which he lived at Montmartre. At
the third floor, without stopping, he rapped on a closed door with the
head of his cane. He walked to the exterior boulevards. A tram-car was
passing. He boarded it, and some one who had been following him took a
seat beside him. It was the lodger who occupied the room on the third
floor. A moment later, this man said to Lupin:

"Well, governor?"

"Well, it is all fixed."

"How?"

"I am going there to breakfast."

"You breakfast--there!"

"Certainly. Why not? I rescued Mon. Ludovic Imbert from certain death
at your hands. Mon.