FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  
of the Hotel Franklin, a small family-hotel near the Trocadero. Mme. Mergy had not yet written to him. "Oh," he said, "I can trust her! She will hang on to Daubrecq until she is certain." However, toward the end of the afternoon, he began to grow impatient and anxious. He was fighting one of those battles--the last, he hoped--in which the least delay might jeopardize everything. If Daubrecq threw Mme. Mergy off the scent, how was he to be caught again? They no longer had weeks or days, but only a few hours, a terribly limited number of hours, in which to repair any mistakes that they might commit. He saw the proprietor of the hotel and asked him: "Are you sure that there is no express letter for my two friends?" "Quite sure, sir." "Nor for me, M. Nicole?" "No, sir." "That's curious," said Lupin. "We were certain that we should hear from Mme. Audran." Audran was the name under which Clarisse was staying at the hotel. "But the lady has been," said the proprietor. "What's that?" "She came some time ago and, as the gentlemen were not there, left a letter in her room. Didn't the porter tell you?" Lupin and his friends hurried upstairs. There was a letter on the table. "Hullo!" said Lupin. "It's been opened! How is that? And why has it been cut about with scissors?" The letter contained the following lines: "Daubrecq has spent the week at the Hotel Central. This morning he had his luggage taken to the Gare de --- and telephoned to reserve a berth in the sleeping-car --- for --- "I do not know when the train starts. But I shall be at the station all the afternoon. Come as soon as you can, all three of you. We will arrange to kidnap him." "What next?" said the Masher. "At which station? And where's the sleeping-car for? She has cut out just the words we wanted!" "Yes," said the Growler. "Two snips with the scissors in each place; and the words which we most want are gone. Who ever saw such a thing? Has Mme. Mergy lost her head?" Lupin did not move. A rush of blood was beating at his temples with such violence that he glued his fists to them and pressed with all his might. His fever returned, burning and riotous, and his will, incensed to the verge of physical suffering, concentrated itself upon that stealthy enemy, which must be controlled then and there, if he himself did not wish to be irretrievably beaten. He muttered, very calmly: "Daubrecq has been here." "
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141  
142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
letter
 

Daubrecq

 

friends

 

Audran

 

scissors

 
proprietor
 
station
 

sleeping

 
afternoon
 

telephoned


Masher

 

kidnap

 
Central
 

luggage

 
contained
 

morning

 
starts
 
reserve
 

arrange

 

concentrated


suffering

 

stealthy

 

physical

 

returned

 

burning

 

riotous

 

incensed

 

muttered

 

beaten

 

calmly


irretrievably

 
controlled
 

pressed

 

Growler

 

violence

 
temples
 

beating

 
wanted
 

jeopardize

 
caught

terribly
 

limited

 
longer
 
battles
 

written

 

Trocadero

 
Franklin
 

family

 
anxious
 

fighting