"Beyond the possibility of a mistake and without the least feeling of
hesitation."

The Prefect of Police, with a laugh, hinted:

"You recognize Private Perenna, whom the men, carried away by a sort of
astounded admiration of his exploits, used to call Arsène Lupin?"

"Yes, Monsieur le Préfet," replied the major sharply, "the one whom the
men called Arsène Lupin, but whom the officers called simply the Hero,
the one who we used to say was as brave as d'Artagnan, as strong as
Porthos...."

"And as mysterious as Monte Cristo," said the Prefect of Police,
laughing. "I have all this in the report which I received from the Fourth
Regiment of the Foreign Legion. It is not necessary to read the whole of
it; but it contains the unprecedented fact that Private Perenna, in the
space of two years' time, received the military medal, received the
Legion of Honour for exceptional services, and was mentioned fourteen
times in dispatches. I will pick out a detail here and there."

"Monsieur le Préfet, I beg of you," protested Don Luis. "These are
trivial matters, of no interest to anybody; and I do not see the
reason...."

"There is every reason, on the contrary," declared M. Desmalions. "You
gentlemen are here not only to hear a will read, but also to authorize
its execution as regards the only one of its clauses that is to be
carried out at once, the payment of a legacy of a million francs. It