the burglars had confined their attention to
the two drawing-rooms. They found no traces of them; and they did not
find Victoire. The concierge could throw no light on her disappearance.
He and his wife had been taken by surprise in their sleep and in the
dark.

They had been gagged and bound, they declared, without so much as
having set eyes on their assailants. The Duke and the inspector came
back to the plundered drawing-room.

The inspector looked at his watch and went to the telephone.

"I must let the Prefecture know," he said.

"Be sure you ask them to send Guerchard," said the Duke.

"Guerchard?" said the inspector doubtfully.

"M. Formery, the examining magistrate, does not get on very well with
Guerchard."

"What sort of a man is M. Formery? Is he capable?" said the Duke.

"Oh, yes--yes. He's very capable," said the inspector quickly. "But he
doesn't have very good luck."

"M. Gournay-Martin particularly asked me to send for Guerchard if I
arrived too late, and found the burglary already committed," said the
Duke. "It seems that there is war to the knife between Guerchard and
this Arsene Lupin. In that case Guerchard will leave no stone unturned
to catch the rascal and recover the stolen treasures. M. Gournay-Martin
felt that Guerchard was the man for this piece of work very strongly
indeed."

"Very good, your Grace," said the inspector. And he rang up the
Prefecture of Police.

The Duke heard him report the crime and ask that Guerchard should be
sent. The official in charge at the moment seemed to make some demur.

The Duke sprang to his feet, and said in an anxious tone, "Perhaps I'd
better speak to him myself."

He took his place at the telephone and said, "I am the Duke of
Charmerace. M. Gournay-Martin begged me to secure the services of M.
Guerchard. He laid the greatest stress on my securing them, if on
reaching Paris I found that the crime had already been committed."

The official at the other end of the line hesitated. He did not refuse
on the instant as he had refused the inspector. It may be that he
reflected that M. Gournay-Martin was a millionaire and a man of
influence; that the Duke of Charmerace was a Duke; that he, at any
rate, had nothing whatever to gain by running counter to their wishes.
He said that Chief-Inspector Guerchard was not at the Prefecture, that
he was off duty; that he would send down two detectives, who were on
duty, at once, and summon Chief-Inspector Guerc