Three out of the Captain's second term of six weeks had nearly come to
an end when on a certain evening, as he and Platzoff sat together in the
smoke-room, the latter broached a subject which Ducie would have wagered
all he possessed--though that was little enough--that his host would
have been the last man in the world even to hint at.

"I think I have heard you say that you have a taste for diamonds and
precious stones," remarked Platzoff. Ducie had hazarded such a remark on
one or two occasions as a quiet attempt to draw Platzoff out, but had
only succeeded in eliciting a little shrug and a cold smile, as though
for him such a statement could have no possible interest.

"If I have said so to you I have only spoken the truth," replied Ducie.
"I am passionately fond of gems and precious stones of every kind. Have
you any to show me?"

"I have in my possession a green diamond said to be worth a hundred and
fifty thousand pounds," answered the Russian quietly.

The simulated surprise with which Captain Ducie received this
announcement was a piece of genuine comedy. His real surprise arose from
the fact of Platzoff having chosen to mention the matter to him at all.

"Great heaven!" he exclaimed. "Can you be in earnest? Had I heard such a
statement from the lips of any other man than you, I should have
questioned either his sanity or his truth."

"You need not question either one or the other in my case," answered
Platzoff, with a smile. "My assertion is true to the letter. Some