out the diamonds on the cafe table; I could not believe they were
real. I twisted the necklace between my fingers and crushed it between
my palms and tossed it up in the air. I believe I almost kissed it.
The women in the cafe stood tip on the chairs to see better, and
laughed and screamed, and the people crowded so close around me that
the waiters had to form a bodyguard. The proprietor thought there was
a fight, and called for the police. I was so happy I didn't care. I
laughed, too, and gave the proprietor a five-pound note, and told him
to stand every one a drink. Then I tumbled into a fiacre and galloped
off to my friend the Chief of Police. I felt very sorry for him. He
had been so happy at the chance I gave him, and he was sure to be
disappointed when he learned I had sent him off on a false alarm.

"But now that I had found the necklace, I did not want him to find the
woman. Indeed, I was most anxious that she should get clear away, for
if she were caught the truth would come out, and I was likely to get a
sharp reprimand, and sure to be laughed at.

"I could see now how it had happened. In my haste to hide the diamonds
when the woman was hustled into the carriage, I had shoved the cigars
into the satchel, and the diamonds into the pocket of my coat. Now
that I had the diamonds safe again, it seemed a very natural mistake.
But I doubted if the Foreign Office would think so. I was afraid it
might not appreciate the beautiful simplicity of my secret
hiding-place. So, when I reached the police station, and found that
the woman was still at large, I was more than relieved.

"As I expected, the Chief was extremely chagrined when he learned of
my mistake, and that there was nothing for him to do. But I was
feeling so happy myself that I hated to have any one else miserable,