"We told him he owed his release to you."
"Newspapers good this morning?"
"Excellent."
"Good. If you want to write to me, here are my instructions."
They had reached the inner corridor on the first floor and Lupin slipped a pellet of paper into the hand of one of the brothers.
M. Formerie uttered a delicious phrase when Lupin entered his room accompanied by the deputy-chief:
"Ah, there you are! I knew we should lay hands on you some day or other!"
"So did I, Monsieur le Juge d'Instruction," said Lupin, "and I am glad that you have been marked out by fate to do justice to the honest man that I am."
"He's getting at me," thought M. Formerie. And, in the same ironical and serious tone as Lupin, he retorted, "The honest man that you are, sir, will be asked what he has to say about three hundred and forty-four separate cases of larceny, burglary, swindling and forgery, blackmail, receiving and so on. Three hundred and forty-four!"