Maurice Leblanc

“ What was loose and vague becomes more compact. Incoherent crime turns into logical punishment. We have no longer blind obedience to Brother Thomas' doggerel, but the submission to common sense, the rigorous method of a man who knows what he wants and who has no time to lose. Really, the ancient Druid deserves all our admiration.
“The ancient Druid, whom we may call either Don Luis Perenna or Arsene Lupin — you suspect that, don't you? — knew very little of the story when the periscope of his submarine, the Crystal Stopper, emerged in sight of the coast of Sarek at mid-day yesterday.” ”

“ A halt is called. Vorski spouts and holds forth. The last scene is at hand. Soon we shall rush to the assault and Veronique will be delivered.
“But here an incident occurs which will amuse you, Vorski. Yes, we make a strange discovery, my friends and I: we find a woman prowling round the dolmen, who hides as we come up. We seize her. Stephane recognizes her by the light of an electric torch. Do you know who it was, Vorski? I give you a hundred guesses. Elfride! Yes, Elfride, your accomplice, the one whom you meant to crucify at first! ”

“ The only obstacle to their happiness is yourself. Therefore, as you are a perfect little gentleman, you will not like to... But I need not go on. I rely on your good manners to die as soon as you can. Good-bye, old fellow, I won't offer you my hand, but my heart's with you. Otto, in ten minutes, unless you hear to the contrary, release your employer. You'll find the boat at the bottom of the cliff. Good luck, my friends!”
It was finished. The battle between Don Luis and Vorski was ended: and the issue had not been in doubt for a single instant. ”

“ Vorski, from the moment when he became aware of this document, had interpreted the two lines in his own fashion. Being, in fact, unable at that time to dispose of Veronique, for whom he has vainly been hunting all over France, he temporizes with the decrees of destiny. The fourth woman to be tortured shall be a wife, but she shall be his first wife, Elfride. And this will not be absolutely contrary to the prophecy, which, if need be, can apply to the mother of Cain just as well as to the mother of Abel. ”

“ Maguennoc continues his journey. But in an hour or two he is seized with intolerable pain and dies, almost immediately, on the bank by the road-side. Elfride and Conrad come up and go through his pockets. They find nothing, no gem, no precious stone. Vorski's hopes have not been realized. All the same, the corpse is there. What are they to do with it? For the time being, they fling it into a half-demolished hut, which Vorski and his accomplices had visited some months before. Here Veronique d'Hergemont discovers the body... ”

“ After succeeding in the entire execution of his plan, after attaining and surpassing his object, he, the master of events, in the moment of victory, found himself suddenly strung up on the tree of torture ”

“ The prophecy doesn't mention such a thing. In any case, Vorski goes to work at random. At Sarek he carries off Francois and Stephane Maroux and then, both as a measure of precaution and in order to cross the island without attracting attention and to enter the Priory more easily, he dresses himself in Stephane's clothes, while Raynold puts on Francois'. The job before them is an easy one. The only people in the house are an old man, M. d'Hergemont, and a woman, Marie Le Goff. As soon as these are got rid of, the rooms and Maguennoc's in particular will be searched. ”

“ At that moment, that is when he returns to Sarek, Vorski's bag numbers twenty-four victims. Stephane and Francois are prisoners, guarded by Otto. The rest consists of four women reserved for crucifixion, including the three sisters Archignat, all locked up in their wash-house. It is their turn next. Veronique d'Hergemont tries to release them, but it is too late. Waylaid by the band, shot at by Raynold, who is an expert archer, the sisters Archignat are wounded by arrows (for arrows, see the prophecy) and fall into the enemy's hands. ”

“ Exploration of the island. Meeting with Otto and Conrad. The enemy burns the footbridge. It is six o'clock in the evening. Query: how to get to the Priory? Stephane suggests, by the Postern path. The ancient Druid returns to the Crystal Stopper. They circumnavigate the island under the direction of Stephane, who knows all the channels — and besides, my dear Vorski, the Crystal Stopper is a very docile submarine. She can slip in anywhere; the ancient Druid had her built to his own designs — and at last they land at the spot where Francois' boat is hanging. ”

“ And the prophecy likewise demands that she shall suffer beyond expression and that Vorski shall be subtle in doing evil. 'A cruel prince,' he puts marks on the two combatants; and, when Abel is on the point of being defeated, he himself wounds Cain so that Cain may be killed.
“The monster is mad. He's mad and drunk. The climax is close at hand. He drinks and drinks; for Veronique d'Hergemont's martyrdom is to take place that evening:
“'By thousand deaths and lingering agony,
His wedded wife one night of June hath slain.'
“The thousand deaths Veronique has already undergone ”