Valenglay muttered:
"Yes, strictly speaking, that is possible. . . . And, according to you, did he find the documents?"
"He did not find the box, because it was not there; but he found the black morocco note-case. So that Lupin and . . . the other are in the same position. Each knows as much as the other about the Kesselbach scheme."
"That means," remarked the premier, "that they will fight."
"Exactly. And the fight has already begun. The murderer, finding a card of Arsène Lupin's, pinned it to the corpse. All the appearances would thus be against Arsène Lupin . . . therefore, Arsène Lupin would be the murderer."
"True . . . true," said Valenglay. "The calculation seemed pretty accurate."
"And the stratagem would have succeeded," continued M. Lenormand, "if in consequence of another
