The Hollow Needle Maurice Leblanc (good short books .txt) đ
- Author: Maurice Leblanc
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Beautrelet seemed more and more surprised. He said very prettily:
âI was not prepared for thisâ âyou speak so funnily! Itâs so different from what I expected! Yes, I thought you were not a bit like that! Why this display of anger? Why use threats? Are we enemies because circumstances bring us into opposition? Enemies? Why?â
Lupin appeared a little out of countenance, but he snarled and, leaning over the boy:
âListen to me, youngster,â he said. âItâs not a question of picking oneâs words. Itâs a question of a fact, a positive, indisputable fact; and that fact is this: in all the past ten years, I have not yet knocked up against an adversary of your capacity. With Ganimard and Holmlock Shears I played as if they were children. With you, I am obliged to defend myself, I will say more, to retreat. Yes, at this moment, you and I well know that I must look upon myself as worsted in the fight. Isidore Beautrelet has got the better of ArsĂšne Lupin. My plans are upset. What I tried to leave in the dark you have brought into the full light of day. You annoy me, you stand in my way. Well, Iâve had enough of itâ âBrĂ©doux told you so to no purpose. I now tell you so again; and I insist upon it, so that you may take it to heart: Iâve had enough of it!â
Beautrelet nodded his head:
âYes, but what do you want?â
âPeace! Each of us minding his own business, keeping to his own side!â
âThat is to say, you free to continue your burglaries undisturbed, I free to return to my studies.â
âYour studiesâ âanything you pleaseâ âI donât care. But you must leave me in peaceâ âI want peace.â
âHow can I trouble it now?â
Lupin seized his hand violently:
âYou know quite well! Donât pretend not to know. You are at this moment in possession of a secret to which I attach the highest importance. This secret you were free to guess, but you have no right to give it to the public.â
âAre you sure that I know it?â
âYou know it, I am certain: day by day, hour by hour, I have followed your train of thought and the progress of your investigations. At the very moment when BrĂ©doux struck you, you were about to tell all. Subsequently, you delayed your revelations, out of solicitude for your father. But they are now promised to this paper here. The article is written. It will be set up in an hour. It will appear tomorrow.â
âQuite right.â
Lupin rose, and slashing the air with his hand,
âIt shall not appear!â he cried.
âIt shall appear!â said Beautrelet, starting up in his turn.
At last, the two men were standing up to each other. I received the impression of a shock, as if they had seized each other round the body. Beautrelet seemed to burn with a sudden energy. It was as though a spark had kindled within him a group of new emotions: pluck, self-respect, the passion of fighting, the intoxication of danger. As for Lupin, I read in the radiance of his glance the joy of the duellist who at length encounters the sword of his hated rival.
âIs the article in the printerâs hands?â
âNot yet.â
âHave you it thereâ âon you?â
âNo fear! I shouldnât have it by now, in that case!â
âThenâ ââ
âOne of the assistant editors has it, in a sealed envelope. If I am not at the office by midnight, he will have set it up.â
âOh, the scoundrel!â muttered Lupin. âHe has provided for everything!â
His anger was increasing, visibly and frightfully. Beautrelet chuckled, jeering in his turn, carried away by his success.
âStop that, you brat!â roared Lupin. âYouâre forgetting who I amâ âand that, if I wishedâ âupon my word, heâs daring to laugh!â
A great silence fell between them. Then Lupin stepped forward and, in muttered tones, with his eyes on Beautreletâs:
âYou shall go straight to the Grand Journal.â
âNo.â
âTear up your article.â
âNo.â
âSee the editor.â
âNo.â
âTell him you made a mistake.â
âNo.â
âAnd write him another article, in which you will give the official version of the AmbrumĂ©sy mystery, the one which everyone has accepted.â
âNo.â
Lupin took up a steel ruler that lay on my desk and broke it in two without an effort. His pallor was terrible to see. He wiped away the beads of perspiration that stood on his forehead. He, who had never known his wishes resisted, was being maddened by the obstinacy of this child. He pressed his two hands on Beautreletâs shoulder and, emphasizing every syllable, continued:
âYou shall do as I tell you, Beautrelet. You shall say that your latest discoveries have convinced you of my death, that there is not the least doubt about it. You shall say so because I wish it, because it has to be believed that I am dead. You shall say so, above all, because, if you do not say soâ ââ
âBecause, if I do not say soâ â?â
âYour father will be kidnapped tonight, as Ganimard and Holmlock Shears were.â
Beautrelet gave a smile.
âDonât laughâ âanswer!â
âMy answer is that I am very sorry to disappoint you, but I have promised to speak and I shall speak.â
âSpeak in the sense which I have told you.â
âI shall speak the truth,â cried Beautrelet, eagerly. âIt is something which you canât understand, the pleasure, the need, rather, of saying the thing that is and saying it aloud. The truth is here, in this brain which has guessed it and discovered it; and it will come out, all naked and quivering. The article, therefore, will be printed as I wrote it. The world shall know that Lupin is alive and shall know the reason why he wished to be considered dead. The world shall know all.â And he added, calmly, âAnd my father shall not be kidnapped.â
Once again, they were both silent, with their eyes still fixed upon
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