“Yes, you know him as one knows somebody whose history one has read.”

“No,” protested Ya-Bon.

“Do you know him personally?”

“Yes.”

“Get out, you silly fool! Arsène Lupin is dead. He threw himself into the sea from a rock;[2] and you pretend that you know him?”

[2] 813. By Maurice Leblanc. Translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.

“Yes.”

“Do you mean to say that you have met him since he died?”

“Yes.”

“By Jove! And Master Ya-Bon’s influence with Arsène Lupin is enough to make him come to life again and put himself out at a sign from Master Ya-Bon?”