"Possibly."

"For how much? Five hundred thousand francs?"

"Five hundred thousand . . . yes."

"Only, here's the rub: how are we to make the exchange? A cheque? No, you'd swindle me . . . or else I'd swindle you. . . . Listen. On the day after to-morrow, go to the Crédit Lyonnais in the morning, draw out your five hundred bank-notes of a thousand each and go for a walk in the Bois, on the Auteuil side. . . . I shall have the diamonds in a bag: that's handier. . . . The box shows too much. . . ."

Kesselbach gave a start:

"No, no . . . the box, too. . . . I want everything. . . ."

"Ah," cried Lupin, shouting with laughter, "you've fallen into the trap! . . . The diamonds you don't care about . . . they can be replaced. . . . But you cling to that box as you cling to your skin. . . . Very well, you shall have your box . . . on the word of Arsène . . . you shall have it to-morrow morning, by parcel post!"

He went back to the telephone:

"Marco, have you the box in front of you? . . . Is there anything particular about it? . . . Ebony inlaid with ivory. . . . Yes, I know the sort of thing. . . . Japanese, from the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. . . . No mark? . . . Ah, a little round label, with a blue border and a number! . . . Yes, a shop-mark . . . no importance. And is the bottom of the box thick? . . . Not very thick. . . . Bother! No false bottom, then? . . . Look here, Marco: just examine the ivory inlay on the outside . . . or, rather, no, the lid." He reveled with delight. "The lid! That's it, Marco! Kesselbach blinked his eyes just now. . . . We're burning! . . . Ah, Kesselbach, old chap, didn't you see me squinting at you? You silly fellow!" And, to Marco, "Well, what do you see? . . . A looking-glass inside the lid? . . . Does it slide? . . . Is it on hinges? . . . No! . . . Well, then, break it. . . . Yes, yes, I tell you to break it. . . . That glass serves no purpose there . . . it's been added since!" He lost patience. "Mind your own business, idiot! . . . Do as I say! . . ."

He must have heard the noise which Marco made at the other end of the wire in breaking the glass, for he shouted, in triumph.