III The Sign of the Shadow"I received your telegram and here I am," said a gentleman with a grey moustache, who entered my study, dressed in a dark–brown frock–coat and a wide–brimmed hat, with a red ribbon in his buttonhole. "What's the matter?"
Had I not been expecting Arsène Lupin, I should certainly never have recognized him in the person of this old half–pay officer:
"What's the matter?" I echoed. "Oh, nothing much: a rather curious coincidence, that's all. And, as I know that you would just as soon clear up a mystery as plan one…."
"Well?"
"You seem in a great hurry!"
"I am … unless the mystery in question is worth putting myself out for. So let us get to the point."
"Very well. Just begin by casting your eye on this little picture, which I picked up, a week or two ago, in a gr
