"Well," she said, unwrapping the paper, "we found this in Number 20
this morning--it was lying under the dressing-table. The girl that
found it brought it to me, and I thought it was a bit of glass, but
Walters, he says as how he shouldn't be surprised if it's a diamond.
And since we found it, the waiter who took the whisky up to 20, after
Mr. Marbury came in with the other gentleman, has told me that when he
went into the room the two gentlemen were looking at a paper full of
things like this. So there?"

Spargo fingered the shining bit of stone.

"That's a diamond--right enough," he said. "Put it away, Mrs.
Walters--I shall see Rathbury presently, and I'll tell him about it.
Now, that other gentleman! You told us you saw him. Could you recognize
him--I mean, a photograph of him? Is this the man?"

Spargo knew from the expression of Mrs. Walters' face that she had no
more doubt than Webster had.

"Oh, yes!" she said. "That's the gentleman who came in with Mr.
Marbury--I should have known him in a thousand. Anybody would recognize
him from that--perhaps you'd let our hall-porter and the waiter I
mentioned just now look at it?"

"I'll see them separately and see if they've ever seen a man who
resembles this," replied Spargo.

The two men recognized the photograph at once, without any prompting,
and Spargo, after a word or two with the landlady, rode off to the
Atlantic and Pacific Club, and found Ronald Breton awaiting him on the