But one of the guards then said: 

 “Yes, yes, I think it is he.” 

 “What!” cried the judge, impatiently, “you *think* it is he! What do you mean by that?” 

 “Well, I saw very little of the prisoner. He was placed in my charge in the evening and, for two months, he seldom stirred, but laid on his bed with his face to the wall.” 

 “What about the time prior to those two months?” 

 “Before that he occupied a cell in another part of the prison. He was not in cell 24.” 

 Here the head gaoler interrupted, and said: 

 “We changed him to another cell after his attempted escape.” 

 “But you, monsieur, you have seen him during those two months?” 

 “I had no occasion to see him. He was always quiet and orderly.” 

 “And this prisoner is not Arsène Lupin?” 

 “No.” 

 “Then who is he?” demanded the judge. 

 “I do not know.” 

 “Then we have before us a man who was substituted for Arsène Lupin, two months ago. How do you explain that?” 

 “I cannot.” 

 In absolute despair, the judge turned to the accused and addressed him in a conciliatory tone: 

 “Prisoner, can you tell me how, and since when, you became an inmate of the Prison de la Santé?” 

 The engaging manner of the judge was calculated to disarm the mistrust and awaken the understanding of the accused man. He tried to reply. Finally, under clever and gentle questioning, he succeeded in framing a few phrases from which the following story was gleaned: Two months ago he had been taken to the Dépôt, examined and released. As he 

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