"I will respond as briefly as possible, Mr. Carter," Venner quickly
rejoined, as they took chairs around the office table. "I do not fancy
being robbed in this scurvy fashion, sir, and you may go to any
reasonable expense to discover and arrest the thieves. Now, Detective
Carter, your questions?"

"To begin with," asked Nick, with a steadfast scrutiny of Venner's
darkly attractive face, "what is the value of the stolen diamonds?"

"About four thousand dollars."

"Ten in number, I was told."

"Precisely."

"Are they of uniform value?"

"Nearly so. They are splendid gems, and perfectly matched, and are worth
about four hundred dollars each. I wanted them for a special purpose,
which--"

"Which I will presently arrive at," Nick courteously interposed. "I
understand, Mr. Venner, that you called yesterday at the store of Thomas
Hafferman and made some inquiries about these stones?"

"I did, and also examined them."

"In what part of Hafferman's store were you at the time?"

"In his private office."