Produced by Suzanne Shell, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE FANTOMAS DETECTIVE NOVELS A ROYAL PRISONER BY PIERRE SOUVESTRE AND MARCEL ALLAIN NEW YORK BRENTANO'S 1918 COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY BRENTANO'S CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. A ROYAL JAG 3 II. MOTHER CITRON'S TENANTS 12 III. THE TRAGEDY OF THE RUE DE MONCEAU 21 IV. WHO DO THEY THINK I AM? 33 V. BY THE SINGING FOUNTAINS 42 VI. THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS 49 VII. THE KING RECEIVES 63 VIII. MARIE PASCAL 69 IX. A PARTY OF THREE 76 X. WULFENMIMENGLASCHK 86 XI. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN STATIONS 98 XII. CAMOUFLAGE 110 XIII. THE KINGDOM OF HESSE-WEIMAR 118 XIV. QUEEN HEDWIGE RECEIVES 127 XV. THE MYSTERIOUS PRISON 137 XVI. THE THEFT OF THE DIAMOND 146 XVII. ON THE RIGHT TRAIL 155 XVIII. A SLEEPER 165 XIX. FREE! 174 XX. FREDERICK-CHRISTIAN 180 XXI. HORRIBLE CERTAINTY 190 XXII. BETWEEN US THREE--FANTOMAS! 195 XXIII. OFFICIAL OPINIONS 210 XXIV. JUVE'S LIES 218 XXV. "I WANT TO LIVE!" 224 XXVI. THE ACCUSING WAISTCOAT 227 XXVII. THE EXPLOSION OF THE NORD-SUD 234 XXVIII. INNOCENT OR GUILTY? 243 XXIX. COMPROMISING DISCOVERIES 250 XXX. SHADOWED 256 XXXI. THE DEATH WATCH 264 XXXII. THE ARREST OF FANTOMAS 270 A ROYAL PRISONER CHAPTER I A ROYAL JAG "After all, why not celebrate? It's the last day of the year and it won't come again for twelve months." It was close upon midnight. Jerome Fandor, reporter on the popular newspaper, _La Capitale_, was strolling along the boulevard; he had just come from a banquet, one of those official and deadly affairs at which the guests are obliged to listen to interminable speeches. He had drowsed through the evening and at the first opportunity had managed to slip away quickly.