A burst of strident laughter, infernal and diabolical, reached Fandor, who now guessed the horrible truth.
"If it isn't Juve who is speaking, who is it?" he cried. "For the love of God, who are you?"
"The person speaking to you ... is Fantômas."
"Fantômas!"
Staggering, terrified, Fandor screamed:
"Fantômas! Fantômas!... It can't be possible! Fantômas has been arrested! Fantômas is in the hands of Juve!"
"Fantômas arrested?... Fantômas can't be arrested! He will never be caught! He is above and beyond every attack, every menace! Fantômas is Death, Eternal Death, Pitiless Death, King Death! Good-bye!"
A long silence followed. Fandor was stunned by the awful reality. He experienced all the sensations of a man buried alive, condemned to death with torture. And then another thought flashed through his mind:
"The papers spoke of Fantômas's arrest. But if Fantômas is at liberty, it must mean that Juve has been beaten! Juve went to Glotzbourg to arrest him. A man has been arrested under the name of Fantômas. That man must be Juve himself!"