"No, chief."

Mon. Dudouis examined the plates, the fork, the spoon, and the
knife--an ordinary knife with a rounded blade. He turned the
handle to the left; then to the right. It yielded and unscrewed.
The knife was hollow, and served as a hiding-place for a sheet of
paper.

"Peuh!" he said, "that is not very clever for a man like Arsene.
But we mustn't lose any time. You, Dieuzy, go and search the
restaurant."

Then he read the note:

"I trust to you, H-P will follow at a distance every day. I will
go ahead. Au revoir, dear friend."

"At last," cried Mon. Dudouis, rubbing his hands gleefully, "I
think we have the affair in our own hands. A little strategy on
our part, and the escape will be a success in so far as the arrest
of his confederates are concerned."

"But if Arsene Lupin slips through your fingers?" suggested the
guard.

"We will have a sufficient number of men to prevent that. If,
however, he displays too much cleverness, ma foi, so much the
worse for him! As to his band of robbers, since the chief refuses
to speak, the others must."