The chief-inspector seemed staggered:

“But you spoke to me of a man called Nicole, monsieur le secrétaire;-général.”

“Well?”

“The warrant is in the name of Arsène Lupin.”

“Arsène Lupin and the Nicole man are one and the same individual.”

FOOTNOTES:

[E] The department of the French excise which holds the monopoly for the manufacture and sale of tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and matches.—Translator’s Note.

[F] The cross of Lorraine is a cross with two horizontal lines or bars across the upper half of the perpendicular beam.—Translator’s Note.

CHAPTER XII

THE SCAFFOLD