The moment arrived at which she must act; and thereupon she concocted her plot and proceeded to put it into execution. Leon lived in the Rue Delaizement. She ordered her accomplices to take up their quarters in the street that backed on to it. And she herself told me the address of Dominique the head-waiter, and put me on the track of the seven scoundrels, knowing perfectly well that, once on the track, I was bound to follow it to the end, that is to say, beyond the seven scoundrels, till I came up with their leader, the man who watched them and who commanded them, the man in black, Leon Massier, Louis de Malreich. . . . As a matter of fact, I came up with the seven scoundrels first. Then what would happen? Either I should be beaten or we should all destroy one another, as she must have hoped, that night in the Rue des Vignes. In either case Dolores would have been rid of me. But what really happened was this: I captured the seven scoundrels. Dolores fled from the Rue des Vignes. I found her in the Broker's shed. She sent me after Leon Massier, that is to say, Louis de Malreich. I found in his house the Emperor's letters, _which she herself had placed there_, and I delivered him to justice and I revealed the secret communication, _which she herself had caused to be made_, between the two coach-houses, and I produced all the evidence _which she herself had prepared_, and I proved, by means of documents _which she herself had forged_, that Leon Massier had stolen the social status of Leon Massier and that his real name was Louis de Malreich. . . . And Louis de Malreich was sentenced to death. . . . And Dolores de Malreich, victorious at last, safe from all suspicion once the culprit was discovered, released from her infamous and criminal past, her husband dead, her brother dead, her sister dead, her two maids dead, Steinweg dead, delivered by me from her accomplices, whom I handed over to Weber all packed up, delivered, lastly, from herself by me, who was sending the innocent man whom she had substituted for herself to the scaffold, Dolores de Malreich, triumphant, rich with the wealth of her millions and loved by Pierre Leduc, Dolores de Malreich would sit upon the throne of her native grand-duchy. . . . Ah," cried Lupin, beside himself with excitement, "that man shall not die! I swear it as I live: he shall not die!" "Look out, governor," said Octave, scared, "we are near the town now. . . . the outskirts . . . the suburbs. . . ." "What shall I care?" "But we shall topple over. . . . And the pavement is greasy . . . we are skidding. . . ." "Never mind." "Take care. . . . Look ahead. . . ." "What?" "A tram-car, at the turn. . . ." "Let it stop!" "Do slow down, governor!" "Never!" "But we have no room to pass!" "We shall get through." "We can't get through." "Yes, we can." "Oh, Lord!"