The Hollow Needle by Maurice Leblanc (best book clubs .txt) 📕

a disappointment! Under Louis XI, under Henry IV, under Richelieu, the five bowls were full. But think of Louis XIV, the folly of Versailles, the wars, the great disasters of the reign! And think of Louis XV, the spendthrift king, with his Pompadour and his Du Barry! How they must have drawn on the treasure in those days! With what thieving claws they must have scratched at the stone. You see, there’s nothing left.”

He stopped.

“Yes, Beautrelet, there is something⁠—the sixth hiding-place! This one was intangible. Not one of them dared touch it. It was the very last resource, the nest-egg, the something put by for a rainy day. Look, Beautrelet!”

He stooped and lifted up the lid. An iron box filled the bowl. Lupin took from his pocket a key with a complicated bit and wards and opened the box.

A dazzling sight presented itself. Every sort of precious stone sparkled there, every color gleamed, the blue of the sapphires, the red of the rubies, the green of the emeralds, the yellow of the topazes.

“Look, look, little Beautrelet! They have squandered all the cash, all the gold, all the silver, all the crown pieces and all the ducats and all the doubloons; but the chest with the jewels has remained intact. Look at the settings. They belong to every period, to every century, to every country. The dowries of the queens are here. Each brought her share: Margaret of Scotland and Charlotte of Savoy; duchesses of Austria: Éléonore, Élisabeth, Marie-Thérèse, Mary of England and Catherine de Médicis; and all the arch-Marie Antoinette. Look at those pearls, Beautrelet! And those diamonds: look at the size of the diamonds! Not one of them but is worthy of an empress! The Pitt Diamond is no finer!”

He rose to his feet and held up his hand as one taking an oath:

“Beautrelet, you shall tell the world that Lupin has not taken a single one of the stones that were in the royal chest, not a single one, I swear it on my honor! I had no right to. They are the fortune of France.”

Below them, Ganimard was making all speed. It was easy to judge by the reverberation of the blows that his men were attacking the last door but one, the door that gave access to the knicknack-room.

“Let us leave the chest open,” said Lupin, “and all the cavities, too, all those little empty graves.”

He went round the room, examined some of the glass cases, gazed at some of the pictures and, as he walked, said, pensively:

“How sad it is to leave all this! What a wrench! The happiest hours of my life have been spent here, alone, in the presence of these objects which I loved. And my eyes will never behold them again and my hands will never touch them again⁠—”

His drawn face bore such an expression of lassitude upon it that Beautrelet felt a vague sort of pity for him. Sorrow in that man must assume larger proportions than in another, even as joy did, or pride, or humiliation. He was now standing by the window, and, with his finger pointing to the horizon, said:

“What is sadder still is that I must abandon that, all that! How beautiful it is! The boundless sea⁠—the sky.⁠—On either side, the cliffs of Étretat with their three natural archways: the Porte d’Armont, the Porte d’Aval, the Manneporte⁠—so many triumphal arches for the master. And the master was I! I was the king of the story, the king of fairyland, the king of the Hollow Needle! A strange and supernatural kingdom! From Caesar to Lupin: what a destiny!” He burst out laughing. “King of fairyland! Why not say King of Yvetot at once? What nonsense! King of the world, yes, that’s more like it! From this topmost point of the Needle, I ruled the globe! I held it in my claws like a prey! Lift the tiara of Saitapharnes, Beautrelet.⁠—You see those two telephones? The one on the right communicates with Paris: a private line; the one on the left with London: a private line. Through London, I am in touch with America, Asia, Australia, South Africa. In all those continents, I have my offices, my agents, my jackals, my scouts! I drive an international trade. I hold the great market in art and antiquities, the world’s fair! Ah, Beautrelet, there are moments when my power turns my head! I feel intoxicated with strength and authority.”

The door gave way below. They heard Ganimard and his men running about and searching.

After a moment, Lupin continued, in a low voice:

“And now it’s over. A little girl crossed my path, a girl with soft hair and wistful eyes and an honest, yes, an honest soul⁠—and it’s over. I myself am demolishing the mighty edifice.⁠—All the rest seems absurd and childish to me⁠—nothing counts but her hair⁠—and her wistful eyes⁠—and her honest little soul⁠—”

The men came up the staircase. A blow shook the door, the last door⁠—

Lupin seized the boy sharply by the arm:

“Do you understand, Beautrelet, why I let you have things your own way when I could have crushed you, time after time, weeks ago? Do you understand how you succeeded in getting as far as this? Do you understand that I had given each of my men his share of the plunder when you met them the other night on the cliff? You do understand, don’t you? The Hollow Needle is the great adventure. As long as it belongs to me, I remain the great adventurer. Once the Needle is recaptured, it means that the past and I are parted and that the future begins, a future of peace and happiness, in which I shall have no occasion to blush when Raymonde’s eyes are turned upon me, a future⁠—”

He turned furiously toward the door:

“Stop that noise, Ganimard, will you? I haven’t finished my speech!”

The blows came faster. It was like the sound of a beam that was being hurled against