“A woman was looking at me, Ganimard, and I loved her. Do you fully understand what that means: to be under the eyes of a woman that one loves? I cared for nothing in the world but that. And that is why I am here.”
“Permit me to say: you have been here a long time.”
“In the first place, I wished to forget. Do not laugh; it was a delightful adventure and it is still a tender memory. Besides, I have been suffering from neurasthenia. Life is so feverish these days that it is necessary to take the ‘rest cure’ occasionally, and I find this spot a sovereign remedy for my tired nerves.”
“Arsène Lupin, you are not a bad fellow, after all.”
“Thank you,” said Lupin. “Ganimard, this is Friday. On Wednesday next, at four o’clock in the afternoon, I will smoke my cigar at your house in the rue Pergolese.”
“Arsène Lupin, I will expect you.”
They shook hands like two old friends who valued each other at their true worth; then the detective stepped to the door.
“Ganimard!”
“What is it?” asked Ganimard, as he turned back.
“You have forgotten your watch.”