The Hollow Needle quotes
The lines readers remember from The Hollow Needle, by Maurice Leblanc.
19 quotes · About the book
Standout lines
I know nothing more exciting than to see all the facts coming up out of the shadow, clustering together, so to speak, and gradually forming the probable truth.
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“And which is so stimulating, Monsieur le Juge d’Instruction!
I know nothing more exciting than to see all the facts coming up out of the shadow, clustering together, so to speak, and gradually forming the probable truth.
”
A picture is false because it is false; and I consider that it is not even necessary to examine these four.
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“I have no proof to give.
A picture is false because it is false; and I consider that it is not even necessary to examine these four.
”
Everything above the average deserves our admiration. And this man soars above everything.
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“One can’t be carried away too much, monsieur, when one has to do with people like that.
Everything above the average deserves our admiration. And this man soars above everything.
There is in his flight a wealth of imagination, a force and power, a skill and freedom that send a thrill through me!”
Am I the sort of man who dies? Do you think I would die like that, shot in the back by a girl?
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“It can’t be I, because I’m dead, eh?” he retorted. “And because you don’t believe in ghosts.” He laughed again. “
Am I the sort of man who dies? Do you think I would die like that, shot in the back by a girl?
Really, you misjudge me! As though I would ever consent to such a death as that!”
Ah, Isidore, and then people say that life is monotonous! Why, life’s an adorable thing, my boy; only one has to know—and I know—.
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I don’t have an opportunity of lecturing at the Institute ever day!—Faster, chauffeur: we’re only doing seventy-one and a half!—Are you afraid? Remember you’re with Lupin!—
Ah, Isidore, and then people say that life is monotonous! Why, life’s an adorable thing, my boy; only one has to know—and I know—.
Wasn’t it enough to make a man jump out of his skin for joy, just now, at the castle, when you were chattering with old Vélines and I, up against the window, was tearing out the pages of the historic book?
A door is made to open; and, as this one has no lock, that means that there is a secret way of opening it.
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“
A door is made to open; and, as this one has no lock, that means that there is a secret way of opening it.
”
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I: The Shot
He spoke softly, in a tone of infinite politeness.
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“I beg to remark, Monsieur le Juge d’Instruction, that you asked me nothing when I came in, and that therefore I had nothing to say. Besides, it never struck me that your inquiry was secret, when everybody was admitted—including even one of the criminals!”
He spoke softly, in a tone of infinite politeness.
He was quite a young man, very tall, very slender and dressed without the least attempt at fashion, in a jacket and trousers both too small for him.
I know nothing more exciting than to see all the facts coming up out of the shadow, clustering together, so to speak, and gradually forming the probable truth.
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“And which is so stimulating, Monsieur le Juge d’Instruction!
I know nothing more exciting than to see all the facts coming up out of the shadow, clustering together, so to speak, and gradually forming the probable truth.
”
The great thing is to reflect. Facts very seldom fail to carry their own explanation!
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“That is because you have not had time to reflect, Monsieur le Juge d’Instruction.
The great thing is to reflect. Facts very seldom fail to carry their own explanation!
”
II: Isidore Beautrelet, Sixth-Form Schoolboy
A picture is false because it is false; and I consider that it is not even necessary to examine these four.
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“I have no proof to give.
A picture is false because it is false; and I consider that it is not even necessary to examine these four.
”
III: The Corpse
Everything above the average deserves our admiration. And this man soars above everything.
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“One can’t be carried away too much, monsieur, when one has to do with people like that.
Everything above the average deserves our admiration. And this man soars above everything.
There is in his flight a wealth of imagination, a force and power, a skill and freedom that send a thrill through me!”
IV: Face to Face
Am I the sort of man who dies? Do you think I would die like that, shot in the back by a girl?
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“It can’t be I, because I’m dead, eh?” he retorted. “And because you don’t believe in ghosts.” He laughed again. “
Am I the sort of man who dies? Do you think I would die like that, shot in the back by a girl?
Really, you misjudge me! As though I would ever consent to such a death as that!”
Arsène Lupin’s years count for ten times as much as another man’s.
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“It was ten years ago,” he declared. “
Arsène Lupin’s years count for ten times as much as another man’s.
”
There are no doors for me, as you know. I wanted your flat and I came in.
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“
There are no doors for me, as you know. I wanted your flat and I came in.
”
VII: The Treatise of the Needle
You’re a very likeable boy, you have a charming candor and simplicity—but you have no sense of humor.
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“He’s laughed! He’s laughed!” cried Lupin, jumping for joy. “You see, baby, what you fall short in is the power of smiling; you’re a trifle serious for your age.
You’re a very likeable boy, you have a charming candor and simplicity—but you have no sense of humor.
” He placed himself in front of him. “Look here, bet you I make you cry!
Ah, Isidore, and then people say that life is monotonous! Why, life’s an adorable thing, my boy; only one has to know—and I know—.
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I don’t have an opportunity of lecturing at the Institute ever day!—Faster, chauffeur: we’re only doing seventy-one and a half!—Are you afraid? Remember you’re with Lupin!—
Ah, Isidore, and then people say that life is monotonous! Why, life’s an adorable thing, my boy; only one has to know—and I know—.
Wasn’t it enough to make a man jump out of his skin for joy, just now, at the castle, when you were chattering with old Vélines and I, up against the window, was tearing out the pages of the historic book?
VIII: From Caesar to Lupin
“The kings of France carry secrets that often decide the fate of towns!”
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and these two are King Henry IV, who laid siege to Rouen and won the battle of Arques, near Dieppe, and Francis I, who founded the Havre and uttered that suggestive phrase:
“The kings of France carry secrets that often decide the fate of towns!”
Rouen, Dieppe, the Havre: the three angles of the triangle, the three large towns that occupy the three points. In the centre, the Caux country.
Between Lupin and me, it’s a fight—a fight to the death.
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“No matter! I have dropped all my cases. This is the only one I care about.
Between Lupin and me, it’s a fight—a fight to the death.
”
IX: Open, Sesame!
Without the Hollow Needle, Lupin is incomprehensible, a myth, a character in a novel, having no connection with reality.
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He needs other, more material resources. He needs a sure place of retreat, he needs the certainty of impunity, the peace that allows of the execution of his plans.
Without the Hollow Needle, Lupin is incomprehensible, a myth, a character in a novel, having no connection with reality.
Master of the secret—and of such a secret!—he becomes simply a man like another, but gifted with the power of wielding in a superior manner the extraordinary weapon with which destiny has endowed him.
“There’s no such thing as luck with ‘him,’ ”
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“Pooh!” he said. “Luck has served me.”
“There’s no such thing as luck with ‘him,’ ”
declared the inspector, who always spoke of Lupin in a solemn tone and without mentioning his name.
A door is made to open; and, as this one has no lock, that means that there is a secret way of opening it.
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“
A door is made to open; and, as this one has no lock, that means that there is a secret way of opening it.
”
X: The Treasures of the Kings of France
The copies are in Madrid, my dear fellow, in Florence, Venice, Munich, Amsterdam.
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“What! Copies! You must be mad!
The copies are in Madrid, my dear fellow, in Florence, Venice, Munich, Amsterdam.
”
I was the king of the story, the king of fairyland, the king of the Hollow Needle!
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How beautiful it is! The boundless sea—the sky.—On either side, the cliffs of Étretat with their three natural archways: the Porte d’Armont, the Porte d’Aval, the Manneporte—so many triumphal arches for the master. And the master was I!
I was the king of the story, the king of fairyland, the king of the Hollow Needle!
A strange and supernatural kingdom! From Caesar to Lupin: what a destiny!” He burst out laughing. “King of fairyland! Why not say King of Yvetot at once? What nonsense! King of the world, yes, that’s more like it!
The Hollow Needle is the great adventure. As long as it belongs to me, I remain the great adventurer.
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Do you understand how you succeeded in getting as far as this? Do you understand that I had given each of my men his share of the plunder when you met them the other night on the cliff? You do understand, don’t you?
The Hollow Needle is the great adventure. As long as it belongs to me, I remain the great adventurer.
Once the Needle is recaptured, it means that the past and I are parted and that the future begins, a future of peace and happiness, in which I shall have no occasion to blush when Raymonde’s eyes are turned upon me, a future—”
The seaweed stood up on end like a heavy, dark vegetation and the deep currents made it wave gracefully, stretching and billowing like floating hair.
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They skimmed over the rocky bed.
The seaweed stood up on end like a heavy, dark vegetation and the deep currents made it wave gracefully, stretching and billowing like floating hair.
Another shadow, a longer one.
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