“There certainly has been a robbery,” I replied, “and the stones may have been offered to you, but not in the way you mean.  The fact of the matter is, I want to discover whether or not a large consignment of uncut rubies and sapphires of great value have been placed upon the market within the last two months.”

“Uncut rubies and sapphires are being continually placed upon the market,” he observed, leaning back in his chair and rattling his keys.

“But not such stones as those I am looking for,” I said, and furnished him with the rough weights that had been supplied to me.

“This is interesting—­decidedly interesting,” he remarked.  “Especially since it serves to offer an explanation on a certain matter in which we have been interested for some little time past.  On the sixteenth of last month, a gentleman called upon us here, who stated that he had lately returned from the Far East.  He had had, so he declared, the good fortune to discover a valuable mine, the locality of which he was most careful not to disclose.  He thereupon showed my partner and myself ten stones, consisting of five rubies and five sapphires, each of which weighed between fifty-five and sixty carats.”

“And you purchased them?”

“We did, and for a very heavy sum.  I can assure you the vendor was very well aware of their value, as we soon discovered, and he was also a good hand at a bargain.  Would you care to see the stones?  I shall be pleased to show them to you if you would.”

“I should like to see them immensely.”  I replied.

Thereupon he crossed the room to a safe in the corner, and, when he had unlocked it, took from it a wash-leather bag.  Presently ten superb gems were lying before me on the table.

“There they are,” he said, waving his hands towards them, “and as you can see for yourself, they are worthy of being set in the crown of an emperor.  It is not often that we are enthusiastic in such matters, but in this case we have very good reason to be.  When they are properly cut, they will be well nigh priceless.”

“Do you happen to know whether he sold any more of a similar kind in London?” I asked, as he returned them to their place in the safe.

“I know that he sold fifteen smaller ones to Henderson and Soil, and three almost as large as those I have just shown you to a firm in Amsterdam.”

“If he is the man I want to get hold of, that accounts for twenty-eight,” I said, making a note of the fact as I spoke.  “Originally he had ninety-three in his possession.”

“Ninety-three?” the merchant replied, as if he could scarcely believe his ears.  “Why, his mine must be a source of unlimited wealth.  I wish I had known this before.”

“So do I,” I said.  “And now perhaps you can go further and furnish me with a description of the man himself.  I shall then be able to tell you whether my gentleman and your customer are one and the same person.”