“I can describe him to you perfectly well.  He was tall, but somewhat sparely built, very sunburnt—­which would be accounted for by his long residence in the East—­his hair was streaked with grey, he had dark eyes, and a singularly sharp nose.”

“Did he wear a beard?”

“No, only a moustache.  The latter was carefully trimmed, and, I think, waxed.  Of this, however, I am not quite certain.”

“And his name?”

“He would not tell us that.  We pressed him to disclose it, but he obstinately refused to do so.  He said that if his name became known it might lead to the discovery of his mine, and that he was naturally anxious that such an event should not occur.”

“But what guarantee had you that the stones were not stolen?”

“None whatever—­but it is most unlikely.  In the first place, they are uncut; in the second, we have had them in our possession for some time, and you may be sure have made the closest inquiries.  Besides, there are few such stones in Europe, and what there are, are safely in the possession of their owners.  Surely you are not going to tell me that they were stolen?”

In the man’s voice there was a perceptible note of alarm.

“I don’t think you need be afraid,” I said.  “They were stolen by the man from his two partners, and all they want is to get hold of him in order to make him disgorge their share of what he got for them.”

“I am glad indeed to hear that,” was the reply.  “I was beginning to grow uneasy.  And now is there any other way in which I can serve you?  If so, I shall be only too pleased to do it.”

I informed him that, if I had anything else to ask him I would call upon him again, and then took my departure.  While I was in a great measure satisfied with the information I had gained, I was not altogether easy in my mind.  The question to be answered was, was the man I was after the same individual who had sold Jacob and Bulenthall the stones?  The description given me varied in several particulars to that furnished me by Kitwater.  My client declared him to possess black hair; the merchant had said grey; the one had declared that Hayle possessed a beard, the other that he had only a waxed moustache.  The figure, however, was in both cases identically the same.

Having satisfied myself that he had no more to tell me, I thanked him for his courtesy and left the office.  A fresh idea had occurred to me which I thought might lead to something, and I resolved to put it into practice without any further waste of time.

CHAPTER IV