death, it didn't strike me as imminent when I had a conversation with
him yesterday."

"Yesterday? Is he here in London, then?"

"Yes; he has come over to disentangle the mystery about the diamonds."

"And what is the mystery? You take a dreadful long time to tell a story,
Mr. Hardwick."

"The story is important, and it must be told in detail, otherwise you
may go on a long journey for nothing. Are you taking down what I say in
shorthand? That is right, and if you are wise you will not transcribe
your notes so that anyone can read them; they are safer in that form.
The von Steinheimer family have two residences, a house in Vienna and an
ancient castle in the Tyrol, situated on the heights above Meran, a most
picturesque place, I understand; but very shortly you will know more
about it than I do, because the _Bugle_ expects you to go there as its
special correspondent. Here the diamond robbery took place something
like two months ago, and the affair is still as great a mystery as ever.
The Princess was to open the season at Meran, which is a fashionable
resort, by giving a fancy dress ball in Schloss Steinheimer, to which
all the Austrian and foreign notables were invited. It was just before
the ball began that the diamonds were first missed--in fact, the
Princess was about to put them on, she representing some gorgeously
decorated character from the Arabian Nights, when the discovery was made
that the diamonds were gone. She was naturally very much upset over her
loss, and sent at once for the Prince, her husband, insisting that the
police should be notified immediately and detectives called in, as was
perfectly natural. Now here comes a strange feature of the affair, and