r shot quickly drove back the passengers
and Juve, furious with the imbecile Wulf for having disarmed him, was
obliged to take cover with the others.

The train passed through the Station de la Trinite, shot through Saint
Lazare without heed to signal and tore along at headlong speed. And
then, in a moment, the train was plunged into total darkness and a cry
of rage escaped from the Primitive Man. The detective understood in a
flash.

The Nord-Sud had had the happy idea of cutting off the power, and Juve
noticed that this occurred just as the train had passed the Station de
la Concorde and entered the tube beyond. Ah! this time the Primitive Man
was in a tight corner. His revolver would be less dangerous in the
darkness.

Juve rose carefully, prepared to advance, when a spark was seen,
succeeded by a terrific explosion. A shower of matter fell upon the
train, shattering the windows and throwing the passengers pell-mell
upon each other.

Then ... silence....

* * * * *

The red lights of torches gradually lighted up the tunnel in which the
tragic accident, still unaccounted for, had occurred. Juve, unconscious
for ten minutes, came to his senses and realized with a sense of relief
that he was unhurt, and that the men directing the rescue were the Paris
firemen. Many persons had been wounded, but by an apparent miracle not
one had been killed.

The Primitive Man had disappeared.

Juve, in quest of clues which might lead to the discovery of the
explosion, climbed upon the train to where an immense hole in the roof
of the tube had showered down bits of asphalt and broken earth. He
noticed quickly that communication had been opened with the Place de la
Concorde. By dint of hoisting and scrambling he succeeded at length in
gaining the surface of the ground.

Vague groanings came from the mass of stones piled not far away. As he
approached these noises, they became more distinct. Finally, he
discovered the body of a man wedged between two large blocks and covered
with a piece of gas-pipe.

The body was begrimed with soot and mud. Juve, after hauling his burden
to the open air, where he was greeted with cheers by the crowd, dipped
his handkerchief in the water from the fountain and wiped the man's
face. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees with a cry:

"Fandor! It's Fandor!"

CHAPTER XXVIII

INNOCENT OR GUILTY?

Juve and Doctor Gast were talking in low tones in the dining-