24 
LAND & WATER 
March 22, 1917 
(Continued from page 22) 
and that man was your father, Patrice ; he was Armand 
Belval ! Now do you understand ? " 
Patrice did not understand. Don Luis' words fell uncom- 
prehended ; not one of them ht up the darkness of Patrice's 
brain. However, one thought msistently possessed him ; 
and he stammered : 
" J hat was my fatlier ? I heard his voice, you say ? Then 
it was he who called to me ? " 
" Yes, Patrice, your father." 
" And the man who killed him . . . ? " 
" Was this one," said Don Luis, pointing to Simron. 
The old man remained motionless, wild-eyed, like a felon 
awaiting sentence of death. Patrice, quivering with rage, 
stared at h.m fixedly : 
" Who you are ? W'ho are you ? " he asked. And, turning 
to Don Luis, " Tell me his name, I beseech you. I want to 
know his name, before I destroy him." 
" His name .' Haven't you guessed it yet ? Why, from 
the very first day, I took it for granted ! After all, it was 
the only possible theory." 
There was a long silence between the two men, as they 
stood close together, looking into each other's eyes. Then 
Lupin let fall these four syllables : 
■ Essares Bey." 
Patrice felt a shock that ran through him from head to foot. 
Not for a second did he try to understand by what prodigy 
(his revelation came to be merely an expression of the truth. 
He instantly accepted this truth, as though it were undeniable 
and proved by the most evident facts. The man was Essares 
Bey and had killed his father. He had killed him, so to speak, 
twice over ; first j'ears ago, in the lodge in the garden, taking 
from him all the light of fife and any reason for living ; and 
again the other day, in the library, when Armand Belval had 
telephoned to his son. 
Tliis time Patrice was determined to do the deed-. His eyes 
e.xpressed an indomitable resolution. His father's murderer. 
Corahes murderer, must die then and there. His duty was 
clear and precise. The terrible Essares was doomed to die 
by the hand of the son and the bridegroom. 
" Say your prayers," said Patrice, coldly. " In ten seconds 
t'ou will be a dead man." 
He counted out the seconds and, at the tenth, was about to 
fire, when his enemy, in an access of mad energy proving that 
under the outward appearance of old Simeon, there was hidden 
a man still yoiing and vigorous, shouted with a violence 
extraordinary that it made Patrice hesitate : 
" Very well, kill me ! . . . Yes, let it be finished ! 
. . . . I am beaten : I accept defeat. But it is a victory 
all the same, because Coralie is dead and my gold is saved ! 
. . . . I shall die, but nobody shall have either one 
•or the other, the woman whom I love or the gold that 
was my hfe. Ah, Patrice, Patrice, the woman whom we 
both loved to distraction is no longer alive ... or else 
she is dying without a possibility of saving her now. If I 
cannot have her, you shall not have her either, Patrice. My 
revenge has done its work. Coralie is lost ! " . 
He had recovered a fierce energy and was shouting and 
stammering at the same time. Patrice stood opposite him, 
holding him covered with the revolver, ready to act, but still 
waiting to hear the terrible words that tortured him. 
" She is lost, Patrice ! " Simeon continued, raising Ids 
voice still louder. " Lost 1 There's nothing to be done ! 
And you will not find even her body, in the bowels of the earth 
where I buried her with the bags of gold. Under the tomb- 
stone ? No, not such a fool ! No, Patrice, you will never 
find her. The gold is stifling her. She's dead ! CoraUe is 
dead ! Oh, the dehght of throwing that in your face ! " 
" Don't shout so, you'll wake her," said Don Luis, calmly. 
The brief sentence was followed by a sort of stupor which 
paralysed the two adversaries. Patrice's arms dropped to his 
sides. Simeon turned giddy and sank into a chair. Both of 
them, knowing the things of which Don Luis was capable, 
knew what he meant. 
But Patrice wanted something more than a vague sentence 
that might just as easily be taken as a jest. He wanted 
•certainty. 
" Wake her ? " he asked, in a broken voice. 
" Well, of course ! " said Don Luis. " When you shout too 
loud, you wake people up." 
" Then she's ahve ? " 
" You can't wake the dead, whatever people may say. 
You can only wake the living." 
■ Coralie is alive ! Corahe is aUve ! " Patrice repeated, 
in a sovt of rapture that transfigured his features. "Can it 
be possible ? But then she must be here ! Oh, I beg of you, 
say you're in earnest, give me your word . . ." 
" Let me answer you, captain, as I answered that wretch 
just now. You are admitting that it is possible for me to 
abandon my work before completing it. How httle you know 
me ! What I undertake to do I do. It's one of my habits 
and a good one at that. That's why 1 cUng to it. Now 
watch me." 
He turned to one side of the room. Opposite xhe hanging 
that covered the door by which Patrice had entered was a 
second curtain, conceahng another door. He Ufted the 
curtain. 
" No, no, she's not there," said Patrice, in an almost 
inaudible voice. " I dare not believe it. The disappointment 
would be too great. Swear to me . . .'' 
" I swear nothing, captain. Y'ou have only to open your 
eyes. By Jove, for a French officer, you're cutting a pretty 
figure! Why, you're as white as a sheet! Of course it's 
she ! It's Little Mother Coralie ! Look, she's in bed asleep, 
vrith two nurses to watch her. But there's no danger ; she s 
not wo. ndeJ. A 1 it of temperature, that's all, am extren e 
weakness. Poor Little Mother Coralie ! I never could have 
imagined her in such a state of exhaustion and coma." 
Patrice had stepped forward, brimming over with joy. 
Don Luis stopped him : 
" That will do, captain. Don't go any nearer. I brought 
her here, instead of taking her home, because I thought a 
change of scene and atmosphere essential. But she must have 
no excitement. She's had her share of that ; and you might 
spoil everything by showing yourself." 
" You're right," said Patrice. " But are you sure . , . ? " 
" That she's ahve ? " asked Don Luis, laughing. " She's 
as much ahve as you or I and quite ready to give you the 
happiness you deserve and to change her name to Mme. 
Patrice Belval. You must have just a httle patience, that's 
all. And there is yet one obstacle to overcome, captain, 
for remember she's a married woman ! " 
He closed the door and led Patrice back to Essar&s Bey : 
" There's the obstacle, captain. Is your mind made uj) 
now ? This wretch still stands between you and your Coralie." 
Essares had not even glanced into the next room, as thougli 
he knew that there could be no doubt about Don Luis' word. 
He sat shivering in his chair, cowering, weak and helpless. 
" You don't seem comfortable," said Don Luis. " What's 
worrying you ? You're frightened, perhaps ? What for ? 
I promise you that we will no nothing except by mutual con- 
sent and until we are all of the same opinion. That ought 
to cheer you up. We'll be your judges, the three of us, here 
and now. Captain Patrice Belval, Arsene Lupin and old 
Simeon will form the court. Let the trial begin. Does any- 
one wish to speak in defence of the prisoner at the bar. 
Essares Bay ? No one. The prisoner at the bar is sentenced 
to death. Extenuating circumstances ? No notice of appeal ? 
No. Commutation of sentence ? No. Reprieve ? No. 
Immediate execution ? Yes. You see, there's no delay. 
What about the means of death ? A revolver shot ? That 
will do. It's clean, quick work. Captain Belval, your bird. 
The gun's loaded. Here you are." 
Patrice did not move. He stood gazing at the foul brute 
who had done him so many injuries. His whole being 
seethed with hatred. Nevertheless he rephed : 
" I will not kill that man! " 
" I agree, captain. Your scruples do you honour. Y'ou 
have not the right to kill a man whom you know to be the 
husband of the woman you love. It is not for you to remove 
the obstacle. Besides, you hate taking hfe. So do I. This 
animal is too filthy for words. And so, my good man, there's 
no one left but yourself to help us out of this dehcate position." 
Don Luis ceased speaking for a moment and leant over 
Essares. Had the wretched man heard ? Was he even ahve ? 
He looked as if he were in a faint, deprived of consciousness. 
Don Luis shook him by the shoulder. 
" The gold," moaned Essares, " the bags of gold . . ." 
" Oh, you're thinking of that, you old scoundrel, are you ? 
You're still interested ? The bags of gold are in my pocket 
. . . . if a pocket can contain eighteen hundred bars 
of gold." 
" The hiding place ? " 
"Your hiding place? It doesn't exist, so far as I'm 
concerned. I needn't prove it to you, need I, since Corahe s 
here ? As Coralie was buried amongst the bags of gold, 
you can draw your ovm conclusion. So you're nicely done. 
The woman you wanted is free and, what is worse still, free 
by the side of the man whom she adores and whom she will 
never leave. And on the other hand your treas ire is 
discovered. So it's all finished, eh ? We are agreed ? 
Come, here's the toy that will release you. One httle effort, 
one little movement . . ." 
He handed him the revolver. 
That httle movement the miscreant made. Hardly know- 
ing what he did, he pulled the trigger. The shot rang through 
the room ; and Essares fell forward, with his knees on the 
floor. Don Luis had to spring to one side to escape the 
blood that trickled from the man's shattered head. 
{To be continued). 
