The Hollow Needle Maurice Leblanc (good short books .txt) đ
- Author: Maurice Leblanc
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He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.
The contrast was delicious between the venerable appearance of this elderly Massiban and the schoolboy ways and accent which Lupin was putting on. Beautrelet could not help laughing.
âHeâs laughed! Heâs laughed!â cried Lupin, jumping for joy. âYou see, baby, what you fall short in is the power of smiling; youâre a trifle serious for your age. Youâre a very likeable boy, you have a charming candor and simplicityâ âbut you have no sense of humor.â He placed himself in front of him. âLook here, bet you I make you cry! Do you know how I was able to follow up all your inquiry, how I knew of the letter Massiban wrote you and his appointment to meet you this morning at the ChĂąteau de VĂ©lines? Through the prattle of your friend, the one youâre staying with. You confide in that idiot and he loses no time, but goes and tells everything to his best girl. And his best girl has no secrets for Lupin.â âWhat did I tell you? Iâve made you feel, anyhow; your eyes are quite wet!â âFriendship betrayed: that upsets you, eh? Upon my word, youâre wonderful! I could take you in my arms and hug you! You always wear that look of astonishment which goes straight to my heart.â âI shall never forget the other evening at Gaillon, when you consulted me.â âYes, I was the old notary!â âBut why donât you laugh, youngster? As I said, you have no sense of a joke. Look here, what you want isâ âwhat shall I call it?â âimagination, imaginative impulse. Now, Iâm full of imaginative impulse.â
A motor was heard panting not far off. Lupin seized Beautrelet roughly by the arm and in a cold voice, looking him straight in the eyes:
âYouâre going to keep quiet now, arenât you? You can see thereâs nothing to be done. Then whatâs the use of wasting your time and energy? There are plenty of highway robbers in the world. Run after them and let me beâ âif not!â âItâs settled, isnât it?â
He shook him as though to enforce his will upon him. Then he grinned:
âFool that I am! You leave me alone? Youâre not one of those who let go! Oh, I donât know what restrains me! In half a dozen turns of the wrist, I could have you bound and gaggedâ âand, in two hours, safe under lock and key, for some months to come. And then I could twist my thumbs in all security, withdraw to the peaceful retreat prepared for me by my ancestors, the Kings of France, and enjoy the treasures which they have been good enough to accumulate for me. But no, it is doomed that I must go on blundering to the end. I canât help it, we all have our weaknessesâ âand I have one for you. Besides, itâs not done yet. From now until you put your finger into the hollow of the Needle, a good deal of water will flow under the bridges. Dash it all, it took me ten days! Me! Lupin! You will want ten years, at least! Thereâs that much distance between us, after all!â
The motor arrived, an immense closed car. Lupin opened the door and Beautrelet gave a cry. There was a man inside and that man was Lupin, or rather Massiban. Suddenly understanding, he burst out laughing. Lupin said:
âDonât be afraid, heâs sound asleep. I promised that you should see him. Do you grasp the situation now? At midnight, I knew of your appointment at the castle. At seven in the morning, I was there. When Massiban passed, I had only to collect himâ âgive him a tiny prick with a needleâ âand the thingâ âwas done. Sleep old chap, sleep away. Weâll set you down on the slope. Thatâs itâ âthereâ âcapitalâ âright in the sun, then you wonât catch coldâ âgood! And our hat in our hand.â âSpare a copper, kind gentleman!â âOh, my dear old Massiban, so you were after ArsĂšne Lupin!â
It was really a huge joke to see the two Massibans face to face, one asleep with his head on his chest, the other seriously occupied in paying him every sort of attention and respect:
âPity a poor blind man! There, Massiban, hereâs two sous and my visiting-card. And now, my lads, off we go at the fourth speed. Do you hear, driver? Youâve got to do seventy-five miles an hour. Jump in, Isidore. Thereâs a full sitting of the Institute today, and Massiban is to read a little paper, on I donât know what, at half-past three. Well, heâll read them his little paper. Iâll dish them up a complete Massiban, more real than the real one, with my own ideas, on the lacustrine inscriptions. I donât have an opportunity of lecturing at the Institute ever day!â âFaster, chauffeur: weâre only doing seventy-one and a half!â âAre you afraid? Remember youâre with Lupin!â âAh, Isidore, and then people say that life is monotonous! Why, lifeâs an adorable thing, my boy; only one has to knowâ âand I knowâ â. Wasnât it enough to make a man jump out of his skin for joy, just now, at the castle, when you were chattering with old VĂ©lines and I, up against the window, was tearing out the pages of the historic book? And then, when you were questioning the Dame de Villemon about the Hollow Needle! Would she speak? Yes, she wouldâ âno, she wouldnâtâ âyesâ âno. It gave me gooseflesh, I assure you.â âIf she spoke, I should have to build up my life anew, the
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