"But what does it all mean?"
"You see the taller of those two men who have just come in? Well, I want you to keep on my left as we go out, to prevent his seeing me."
"The one sitting behind you?..."
"Yes.... For personal reasons, I prefer.... I'll tell you why outside...."
"But who is it?"
"Holmlock Shears."
He made a violent effort to overcome his agitation, as though he felt ashamed of it, put down his napkin, drank a glass of water and then, quite recovered, said, with a smile:
"It's funny, isn't it? I'm not easily excited but this unexpected meeting...."
"What are you afraid of, seeing that no one can recognize you under all your transformations? I myself, each time I see you, feel as if I were with a new person."
"He will recognize me," said Arsène Lupin. "He saw me only once,[1] but I felt that he saw me for life and that what he saw was not my appearance, which I can always alter, but the very being that I am.... And then ... and then ... I wasn't prepared.... What a curious meeting!... In this little restaurant!..."