stone
was missing. The suspect, not pretending to misunderstand the veiled
accusation, became at once abusive and threatened to have us thrown out.
"Sit
down!" thundered my client. "You are accusing yourself of I don't know
what. It is, after all, not uncommon when a man shows goods that he
leaves a stone behind by mistake. But your attitude forces me to
remind you, monsieur, that I know your reputation as well as you know
mine. If you do not produce the stone at once I shall knock you down
and turn the place upsidedown until I find my property. And you know
that I am a man of my word."
There
was no doubt that he was ready to carry out his threat with interest.
The other man sat for a moment and weighed up his chances.
"Curse
you," he said, glaring with rage. "If you had only telephoned to ask me
if the stone had got inadvertently into one of my parcels when I was
comparing quality, I should have taken no offence."
"You compared nothing," I broke in.
"Where is the stone?" demanded my client inexorably.
Well, we did not come away without it, anyhow. When my client had it safely in his wallet he turned to the thief and said:
"Our silence respecting this matter can be bought by a donation of five hundred francs to such and such a charity."
The other went to his safe, and as though it were the most ordinary transaction in the world, laid five notes on
