(1) The transatlantic steamship 'La Provence' was a swift and comfortable vessel. The passengers…

(1) The transatlantic steamship 'La Provence' was a swift and comfortable vessel. The passengers constituted a select and delightful society. The charm of new acquaintances helped the time pass agreeably. We enjoyed the pleasant sensation of being separated from the world, living upon an unknown island. (2) On the second day, at a distance of 500 miles from the French coast, in the midst of a violent storm, we received the following message by wireless telegraph. (3) 'Arsène Lupin is on your vessel, first cabin, blonde hair, a wound on right fore-arm, travelling alone under name of R...' (4) At that moment, a terrible flash of lightning rent the stormy skies. The electric waves were interrupted. The remainder of the message never reached us. Of the name under which Arsène Lupin was concealing himself, we knew only the initial. (5) If the news had been of some other character, the secret would have been carefully guarded by the telegraphic operator and the officers. But it was one of those events calculated to escape from the most rigorous discretion. Now every passenger was aware that Arsène Lupin was hiding in our midst! (6) He was the infamous burglar whose exploits had been narrated in all the newspapers during the past few months. He was the mysterious individual with whom Ganimard, our best detective, had been engaged in a never-ending conflict amidst interesting and picturesque surroundings. One night, the eccentric burglar entered the residence of Baron Schormann but emerged empty-handed, leaving, however, his card on which he had scribbled these words: 'Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine.' Arsène Lupin was a man of a thousand disguises: in turn a chauffeur, detective, bookmaker, Russian physician, Spanish bull-fighter, commercial traveller, robust youth, or old man. (7) 'It is unbearable! I hope he will be arrested!' exclaimed Miss Nelly, next morning. Then, addressing me, she added: 'Monsieur d’Andrézy, you know the captain; surely you heard something?' (8) I should have been delighted if I possessed any information that would interest Miss Nelly. Just then, her friend, Lady Jerland, came running towards us in a state of great excitement, exclaiming: 'My jewels, my pearls! Someone has stolen them all!' (9) No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had taken only a part of them, a very curious thing. Of the diamonds, jewelled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief had taken not the largest but the finest and most valuable stones. The mountings were lying upon the table. I saw them there, despoiled of their jewels, like flowers from which the beautiful coloured petals had been ruthlessly plucked. This theft must have been committed at the time Lady Jerland was taking her tea in the restaurant. Moreover, the thief had forced opened the door of the room, searched for the jewel-case, which was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, opened it, and removed it from the mountings. (10) Of course, all the passengers instantly reached the same conclusion: it was the work of Arsène Lupin. Adapted from: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar By Maurice Leblanc