A ROMANCE FROM A DETIECTIVE'S CASE-BOOK.

“Did you seal the box yoursell 77

“Yes. In the presence of one of my partners and two of my clerks, and of Mr. Prince, head of the banking firm of Prince, Halford & Payne, in whose hands the gem had been placed for safety. But, I bescech you, tell me, has the stonc not reached its destination ? "

“ It has not,” T answered. has been stolen.”

• Tmpossible !"

exclaimed Mr. Jecheboy,perfectly aghast. Then he

“ The stone

119

[ now felt perfectly satistied in my own mind that the great cat's-cye had duly left the island in the care of Mr. Ashburton, and that it had been purlomed between that time and the date of the arrival of the box in London. By whom I had yct to learn ; but it was clear that the thiet must have had a knowledge that the gem was on board. How did he get that knowledge ? Mr. Ashburton was not the man to openly proclaim his errand to

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added quickly, *“ If that 1s true, the agentleman — Mr.

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Ashburton — who took it away must have stolen it

“Why do you think so?"” 1 asked, wishing to know whecther his opinion was mere- ly the suspicion begotten by cir- cumstances.

“\Who clsce could have done it ?” he exclaimed, with the air of @ man who fclt sure that he was right.

“ Ah, that 1s the problem. Lateron [ may be able to glve you an an- swer. At present I cannot do so. In the meantime I should like to sce your partner, your clerks, and Mr. Prince.”

Goosh and the clerks I saw at once, as they were on the premises ; and they con- firmed, in the most cmphatic manner, the statecment of the head of the firm—that the stone was safely in the box when the box was scaled.

Having finished my business so far with the firm of Jecheboy, ILalam, Goosh & Co., I waited on Mr. Prince at his residence, a very handsome bungalow on the outskirts of the town. He was no less surprised than everyone else had been when he heard that the cat's-cye had been stolen ; and, if possible, he was even more emphatic than Jecheboy and Goosh were in stating that the gem was in the box when the box was scaled up.

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EXCLAIMED MR. JEEHEBOV.' —A band of COIlSpil‘atOl‘S

anyonc ; but then great publicity had been given to the inding of the stone, and its purchase by Lord Middlewick. That part of the story had long been public property, and the inference [ drew was this :

had lcaguced themsclves together to steal the precious gem. Isay *a band of conspirators,” because I was quite sure that no person single-handed could have carricd out the robbery. And I was no less sure that one or more of the conspira- tors must have been well acquainted with the way in which the box was scaled up, and, morc than that, they must have been provided with the means for closely imita- ting the scal of Mr. Jecheboy's firm. The line of argument I pursued suggested at once that a system of espionage had been instituted, and Mr. Ashburton had been closely watched.

This process of ratiocination determined me to make the most searching inquiries as to the strangers who were staying in Colombo at the time Mr. Ashburton was there ; and these inquirics brought forth the following suggestive facts—