The Golden Triangle · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Golden Triangle by Maurice Leblanc.
Chapter 1
I: Coralie
On the evening of April 3, 1915, crippled soldiers gather in a square near the Musée Galliéra. Captain Patrice Belval, disguised as an officer with a wooden leg, observes a nurse, Coralie, leaving a hospital. She is followed by a motor car and two men who attempt to kidnap her. Belval and his fellow soldiers intervene, rescuing Coralie. The Senegalese soldier Ya-Bon captures one of the assailants, but the man is later found strangled by his accomplices. Coralie, shaken, begs not to be involved with the police, and Belval agrees to handle the situation discreetly.
Chapter 2
II: Right Hand and Left Leg
Patrice Belval and Ya-Bon dispose of Mustapha's body after his murder by accomplices. Belval declares his love for Coralie, who reveals she is married and insists they must not meet again. A rosary with amethyst beads sparks a mysterious connection.
Chapter 3
III: The Rusty Key
Patrice Belval recounts his childhood and military service, his love for Coralie, and his determination to protect her. He witnesses a brutal torture of Essarès Bey by Bournef and others, and discovers Coralie also watching in horror. Later, he investigates a shower of sparks with Ya-Bon, suspecting a connection to the threats against Coralie.
Chapter 4
Before the Flames
Patrice Belval witnesses the torture of Essarès Bey by Colonel Fakhi and his accomplices in Essarès's own home, while Coralie secretly observes from a gallery. Fakhi attempts to force Essarès to share his fortune, but Essarès manages to shoot Fakhi dead with a hidden revolver. Fakhi's dying words reveal a letter that will expose Essarès's treason, leaving the remaining conspirators in disarray.
Chapter 5
V: Husband and Wife
Coralie, driven by hatred and a desire for revenge, nearly stabs her bound husband Essarès Bey but ultimately spares him and cuts his bonds. Essarès immediately telephones an accomplice named Grégoire, instructing him to retrieve four million francs hidden by Bournef and his gang, who have just fled after torturing Essarès and stealing the money. Coralie listens defiantly as Essarès plans his next moves.
Chapter 6
Nineteen Minutes Past Seven
Patrice Belval, unable to sleep, recounts the chaotic events of the past twelve hours to Ya-Bon, revealing his deep anxiety for Coralie's safety. He receives a mysterious telephone call at 7:19 PM from a man who mentions a key, a letter, and an amethyst pendant before cries and a click suggest a murder. Patrice rushes to the Essarès house, where Coralie has been summoned by a servant, and discovers a group of police and magistrates gathered around something shocking.
Chapter 7
VII: Twenty-Three Minutes Past Twelve
Patrice Belval is questioned by M. Masseron, a retired magistrate who insists that Essarès Bey's death was an accident—a fall into the fireplace—rather than murder. Patrice grows suspicious of a private understanding between Coralie and Masseron to hush up the affair, recalling Essarès' own prophecy that the matter would be suppressed. Old Siméon warns that danger still threatens Coralie.
Chapter 8
Essarès Bey’s Work
Patrice Belval confronts an assassination attempt on Coralie and old Siméon, then reflects on his own limitations and the inadequacy of the police. Ya-Bon suggests summoning Arsène Lupin to help.
Chapter 9
IX: Patrice and Coralie
After Essarès Bey's funeral, Home No. 2 is established in the Rue Raynouard with Coralie as matron and Patrice and his seven wounded men living there. M. Masseron investigates the missing gold but finds no trace in the house or garden. Patrice and Coralie discover a hidden garden with a tombstone inscribed with their names and the date April 14, 1895, suggesting a mysterious connection to their past.
Chapter 10
X: The Red Cord
Patrice and Coralie discover that the tomb in the garden belongs to their parents, both murdered on April 14, 1895. Patrice learns that the lodge was bought by his father and later sold to Siméon Diodokis, who has been their secret protector. Siméon, now mad, leads Patrice to Bournef, who reveals a letter from Siméon warning of danger to Coralie. Patrice rushes home to find Ya-Bon wounded and Coralie strangled with a red silk cord, but she survives, terrified for Patrice's life.
Chapter 11
On the Brink
Patrice and Coralie discover a sealed room in the lodge that replicates the tragic fate of their parents. Patrice devises a plan to trap the enemy by pretending Coralie is dead. After an attack on Coralie and Ya-Bon, Patrice investigates and finds clues leading to the lodge, where they confront the past and the present danger.
Chapter 12
XII: In the Abyss
Patrice and Coralie find themselves trapped in a sealed room, reliving the same horrors that Patrice's father and Coralie's mother experienced twenty years earlier. They discover a hidden inscription revealing that Essarès was the one who imprisoned their parents. Old Siméon appears at the skylight and lowers a rope-ladder with a note demanding Coralie's surrender. Patrice fires a shot, but the threat remains. They uncover more of the parents' written account, which mirrors their own despair and vows of vengeance.
Chapter 13
XIII: The Nails in the Coffin
Patrice and Coralie face a dire ultimatum: Coralie must leave Patrice to save her own life, or both will die. Coralie chooses to stay, declaring her love. They attempt escape via a ladder, but the enemy sabotages it and seals them in. Gas is released, and they resign themselves to death, embracing as their parents did before them.
Chapter 14
A Strange Character
Patrice and Coralie, having survived a murder attempt by Siméon, are rescued by a mysterious stranger who reveals himself to be Arsène Lupin, operating under the alias Don Luis Perenna. Lupin explains how he deduced Siméon's method of suffocation and saved them, and now has Siméon under surveillance. Patrice, initially bewildered, begins to feel hope as Lupin's powerful will and resources turn the tide against their enemy.
Chapter 15
XV: The Belle Hélène
Patrice and Don Luis pursue Siméon, who has fled with the gold aboard the barge Belle Hélène. Don Luis realizes Siméon has laid a false trail, and the gold is not on the barge. They race back to Paris, fearing for Coralie's safety. Don Luis deduces a woman accomplice is involved, possibly Grégoire in disguise.
Chapter 16
The Fourth Act
Patrice Belval is in despair after learning that Siméon Diodokis is his father. Don Luis Perenna pieces together events from the barge cabin, deducing that Ya-Bon fought Siméon and his female accomplice, killed her, and left a clue. M. Vacherot reveals that Armand Belval (Siméon) survived the 1895 murder attempt and devoted his life to revenge and uniting Patrice and Coralie.
Chapter 17
Siméon Gives Battle
After Ya-Bon's death, Don Luis and Patrice confront Siméon Diodokis, who reveals his paternal relationship to Patrice. Siméon leads Patrice to a hidden tomb where Coralie is imprisoned, while Don Luis remains skeptical of Siméon's motives.
Chapter 18
XVIII: Siméon’s Last Victim
In a tense confrontation, Siméon (revealed to be Essarès Bey) taunts Patrice by declaring Coralie dead, but Don Luis calmly reveals she is alive and sleeping in the next room. Don Luis then exposes Siméon as the sole criminal who murdered Patrice's father, Armand Belval. Patrice prepares to execute him but hesitates; Don Luis forces Siméon to turn the revolver on himself, leading to his suicide.
Chapter 19
XIX: Fiat Lux!
Patrice meets Don Luis and M. Masseron on the Quai de Passy, where Don Luis reveals the full truth of the conspiracy: Siméon Diodokis was actually Patrice's father, Armand Belval, who was murdered by Essarès Bey. Essarès then disguised the body as his own and assumed Siméon's identity to evade capture and stay near the gold and Coralie. Don Luis explains the transformation and the timeline of events, resolving the mystery of the golden triangle.
Chapter 20
Endnotes
The endnotes provide references to other works by Maurice Leblanc, including The Confessions of Arsène Lupin, 813, and The Teeth of the Tiger, noting that 'Luis Perenna' is an anagram of 'Arsène Lupin.'
