20 
LAND & WATER 
April 5, 1917 
{Continued from page 18) 
concern us. What matters is that you should be of my 
opinion." 
" I don't know that I am of your opinion. But I consider 
that this makes no difference. And that is what I was tclhng 
you, my dear Masseron. It's not a question of knowmg 
whether you ought to discuss this gentleman's conditions. 
It's a question of accepting them or refusing them witliout 
discussion. There's no bargain to be driven in the circum- 
stances. A bargain presupposes that each party has some- 
thing to offer. Now we have no offer to make, whereas this 
gentleman comes with his offer in his hand and says, ' Would 
you like three hundred million francs in gold ? In that case 
you must do so-and-so with it. If that doesn't suit you, 
good-evening.' That's tlie position, isn't it, Masseron ? " 
" Yes, monsieur le president." 
" Well, can you dispense with our friend here ? Can you 
without his assistance, find the place where the gold is hidden. 
Observe that he makes things very easy for you, by bringing 
you to the place and almost pointing out the exact spot to 
you. Is th^t enough ? Have you any hope of discovering 
the secret which you have been seeking for weeks and 
months ? " 
M. Masseron was very frank in his reply : 
" No, monsieur le president," he said, plainly and without 
hesitation. 
It was a solemn moment. The four men were standing 
close together, like acquaintances who have met in the course 
of a walk and who stop for a minute to exchange their news. 
Valenglay, leaning with one arm on the parapet overlooking 
the lower quay, had his face turned to the river and kept 
raising and lowering his cane above a sand-heap. Patrice 
and M. Masseron stood silent, with faces a Uttle set. 
Don Luis gave a laugh : 
" Don't be too sure, monsieur le president," he said, " that 
1 shall make the gold rise from the ground with a magic 
wand or show you a cave in which the bags lie stacked. I 
always thought those words, 'The Golden Triangle, ' misleading, 
because they suggest something mysterious and fabulous. 
Now, according to me it was simply a question of the space 
containing the gold, which space would have the shape of a 
triangle. The Golden Triangle, that 's it : bags of gold arranged 
in a triangle, a triangular site. The reahty is much simpler, 
therefore ; and you will perhaps be disappointed." 
" I shan't be," said Valenglay, " if you put me with my face 
towards the eighteen hundred bags of gold." 
" You're that now, sir ! " 
" What do you mean ? " 
" Exactly what I say. Short of touching the bags of gold, 
it would be difficult to be nearer to them than you are." 
For all his self-control, Valenglay could not conceal his 
surprise : 
" You are not suggesting, I suppose, that I am walking on 
gold and that we have only to lift up the flags of the pave- 
ment or to break down this parapet ? " 
" That would be removing obstacles, sir, whereas there is no 
obstacle between you and what you are seeking." 
" No obstacle 1 " 
" None, monsieur le president, for you have only to make 
the least little movement in order to touch the bags." 
" The least little movement 1 " said Valenglay, mechanically 
repeating Don Luis' words. 
" I call a little movement what one can make without an 
effort, almost without stirring, such as dipping one's stick 
into a sheet of water, for instance, or. . . ." 
" Or what ? " ' 
" Well, or a heap of sand." 
Valenglay remained silent and impassive, with at most a 
alight shiver passing across his shoulders. He did not make 
the suggested movement. He had no need to make it. He 
understood. 
The others also did not speak a word, struck dumb by the 
simpUcity of the amazing truth which had suddenly flashed 
upon them like hghtning. And, amid this silence, unbroken 
by protest or sign of incredulity, Don Luis went on quietly 
talking : 
" If you had the least doubt, monsieur le president — and I 
see that you have not — you would dig your cane, no great 
distance, twenty inches at most, and you would then 
encounter a resistance which would compel you to stop. 
That is the bags of gold. There ought to be eighteen hun- 
dred of them ; and, as you see, they do not make an enormous 
heap. A kilogram of minted gold represents three thousand 
one hundred francs. Therefore, according to my calculation, 
a bag containing approximately fifty kilograms, or one hun- 
dred and fifty-five tliousand francs done up in rouleaux of a 
thousand francs, is not a very large bag. Piled one against 
the other and one on top of the other, the bags represent a 
bulk of about fifteen cubic yards, no more. If you shape the 
mtss roughly like a triangular pyramid you will have a base 
each of whose sides would be three yards long at most, and 
three yards and a half allowing for the space lost between 
the rouleaux of coins. The height will be that of the wall 
nearly. Cover the whole with a layer of sand and you have 
the heap which lies before your eyes . . ." 
Don Luis paused once more before continuing : 
" And which has been there for months, monsieur le 
pri^sident, safe from discovery not only by those who were 
looking for it, but also by accident on the part of a casual 
passer-by. Just think, a heap o- sand ! Who would dieam 
of digging a hole in it to see what is going on in^^ide ? The 
dogs sniff at it, the children play beside it and make mud- 
pies, an occasional tramp lies down against it and takes a 
snooze. The rain softens it, the sun hardens it, the snow 
whitens it all over ; but all this happens on the surface, in 
the part that shows. Inside reigns impenetrable mystery, 
darkness unexplored. There is not a hiding place in the 
world to equal the inside of a sand heap exposed to view 
in a public place. The man who thought of using it to hide 
three hundred millions of gold, monsieur le president, knew 
what he was about." 
The late prime minister had listened to Don Luis' ex- 
planation without interrupting him. When Don Luis had 
finished, Valenglay nodded his head once or twice and said : 
" He did indeed. But there is one man who is cleverer 
still." 
" I don't beheve it." 
" Yes, there's the man who guessed that the heap of sand 
concealed the three hundred million francs. That man is 
master, before whom we must all bow." 
Flattered by the compliment, Don Luis raised his hat. 
Valenglay gave him his hand : 
" I can think of no reward worthy of the service which 
you liave done this country." 
" I ask for no reward," said Don Luis. 
" I daresay sir, but I should wish you at least to be thanked 
by voices that carry more weight than mine." 
" Is it really necessary, monsieur le president ? " 
" 1 consider it essential. May I also confess that I am 
curious to learn how you discovered the secret ? I should 
be glad, therefore, if you would call at my department in 
an hour's time." 
" I am sorry, but I shall be gone in fifteen minutes." 
" No, no, you can't go hke this," said Valenglay. 
After a very civil bow, M. Valenglay walked away to his 
car, twirling his stick and escorted by M. Masseron. 
" Well, on my soul ! chuckled Don Luis. " There's a 
character for you ! In the twinkling of an eye, he accepts 
three hundred millions in gold, and orders the arrest of 
Arsene Lupin ! " 
" What do you mean ? " cried Patrice, startled out of his 
life. " Your arrest ? " 
" Well, he orders me to appear before him, to produce 
my papers and the devil knows what." 
'" But that's monstrous ! " 
" It's the law of the land, my dear captain. We mi«t 
bow to it." 
" But . . ." 
" Captain, believe me when I say that a few Uttle worrifc, 
of this sort deprive me of none of the whole-hearted satis- 
faction which I feel at rendering this great service to ray 
country. I wanted, during the war, to do something for 
France and to make most of the time which I was able to 
devote to her during my stay. I've done it. And then I 
have another reward : the four milhons. For I think highly 
enough of your Coralie to believe her incapable of wisliing 
to touch this money ... which is really her property." 
" I'll go bail for her over that." 
" Thank you." And you may be sure that the gift will 
be well employed. So everything is settled. I have still 
a few minutes to give you. Let us turn them to good 
account. M. Masseron is collecting his men by now. To 
simplify their task and avoid scandal, we'll go down to the 
lower quay, by the sand-heap. It'll be easier for him to 
collar me there." 
" I accept your few minutes," said Patrice, as they went 
down the steps. " But first of all I want to apologise . . ." 
" For what ? For behaving a httle treacherously and 
locking me into the studio of the lodge ? You couldn t help 
yourself ; you were trying to assist your Coralie. For think- 
ing me capable of keeping the treasure on the day when 
I discovered it ? You couldn't help that either : how could 
you imagine that Arsfene Lupin would despise three hundred 
million francs ? " ^ 
" Very well, no apologies," said Patrice, laughing. ' But 
all my thanks." „ .' 
■' For what ? For saving your life and saving CoraJie's ? 
Don't thank me. It's a hobby of mine, saving people." 
[To be concluded). 
