The Lone Wolf · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Lone Wolf by Louis Joseph Vance.

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Chapter 1
Troyon's
This chapter introduces the early life of Michael Lanyard, originally known as Marcel Troyon, a boy raised in the Hôtel Troyon under harsh conditions. It details his self-education through reading, his development into a petty thief, and his encounter with the Irish criminal Bourke. Bourke takes him under his wing, teaching him the skills of a professional cracksman and imparting the philosophy of the 'Lonesome Road.' The chapter ends with Bourke's death in 1910, leaving Lanyard alone and remembering.
Chapter 2
Return
Lanyard returns to Paris from London after two successful coups, including the theft of the Huysman plans and the Omber affair. He spots Roddy and a Préfecture agent at the Gare du Nord but avoids detection. A taxi skid and flat tire lead him to impulsively change his destination to Troyon's, where he again encounters Roddy.
Chapter 3
III: A Point of Interrogation
Lanyard dines at Troyon's, observing the Scotland Yard detective Roddy and a party including Comte Remy de Morbihan and an American man and his daughter. He learns the restaurant has changed management and staff, losing all trace of the boy Marcel. Lanyard's suspicions about Roddy's interest in De Morbihan grow, and he decides to take a room at Troyon's to avoid arousing suspicion.
Chapter 4
A Stratagem
Lanyard selects the room next to Roddy's at Troyon's to surveil him, but grows uneasy about De Morbihan's possible identification of him as the Lone Wolf. After dressing and feigning departure, he stealthily returns to find his room door ajar and discovers, instead of Roddy, the girl from the restaurant inside.
Chapter 5
Anticlimax
Lanyard returns to his room at Troyon's to find Lucia Bannon there, having mistakenly entered due to sleepwalking. After a tense and embarrassing exchange, she explains her somnambulism, and Lanyard reassures her before she returns to her own room. He then inspects his room for any disturbance and listens to Roddy's breathing next door, but finds nothing amiss.

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Troyon's

Return

III: A Point of Interrogation

A Stratagem

Anticlimax