"Lupin! Lupin! Everybody has Lupin on the brain!" said M. Formery
impatiently. "I'm sick of hearing his name. This letter and these
signatures are just as likely to be forgeries as not."

"I wonder if Guerchard will take that view," said the Duke.

"Guerchard? Surely we're not going to be cluttered up with
Guerchard. He has Lupin on the brain worse than any one else."

"But M. Gournay-Martin particularly asked me to send for Guerchard
if I arrived too late to prevent the burglary. He would never
forgive me if I had neglected his request: so I telephoned for him--
to the Prefecture of Police," said the Duke.

"Oh, well, if you've already telephoned for him. But it was
unnecessary--absolutely unnecessary," said M. Formery sharply.

"I didn't know," said the Duke politely.

"Oh, there was no harm in it--it doesn't matter," said M. Formery in
a discontented tone with a discontented air.

He walked slowly round the room, paused by the windows, looked at
the ladder, and scanned the garden:

"Arsene Lupin," he said scornfully. "Arsene Lupin doesn't leave
traces all over the place. There's nothing but traces. Are we going
to have that silly Lupin joke all over again?"

"I think, sir, that this time joke is the word, for this is a