hat!" Surprise jerked the exclamation from me; but I kept my voice
subdued.

"Fact,"--Stodger nodded his round head impressively,--"Alfred Fluette."

Here indeed was the promise of a pretty state of affairs!

CHAPTER V

THE HIDDEN SAFE

I left the four reporters to Stodger's tender mercies--his instructions
did not include any such extreme measures as Maillot had
suggested--confident that he was the proper person to relieve me of
this unwelcome intrusion. It has always been hard for me to talk to
these sharp-eyed, alert young chaps of the press, without saying
something I had no business to say. Even if I did n't say it, some one
of them would be sure to make a pretty shrewd guess, sometimes causing
me no end of trouble. Stodger knew nothing of my intentions; therefore
he could let nothing slip that might in any way affect my future
movements.

Maillot's note despatched, I directed my attention to ascertaining just
what Alexander Burke meant by his reference to the ruby.

His explanation in itself was simple enough. He had heard of the ruby,
of course--who had n't?--and during his wanderings through the house
the previous night, while he waited for Maillot to finish his business
with Mr. Page, he had paused now and then in the vicinity of the
library door. Twice he had heard the gem mentioned by those within.

Maillot accepted this statement with an offensive incredulity which was
plainly deliberate.

"The house was very quiet," Burke made haste to add.

"Perhaps," Maillot spoke with sneering emphasis, his look frankly
hostile, "perhaps you could have heard us; I 'm ignorant of the degree
of acuteness to which your hearing has been developed; _but_"--turning
to me--"I want to say, Swift, that during the whole time Mr. Page and I
were engaged in this room, our voices were not once raised so that a
person beyond the closed door could have heard us intelligibly. I
think, Burke, I see the imprint of a keyhole on your ear."

"Temper your language, Maillot," said the other, with a touch of
asperity. Instantly Maillot was upon his feet.

"Shut up!" he thundered. "Don't you talk to me, you scamp!"

"Here, don't quarrel," I interposed pacifically, pressing the angry,
glaring lawyer back into his chair with a persuasive hand upon his
shoulder. I then said to him:

"You might appropriately relate what your business last night with Mr.
Page was."

"I will"--bluntly--"to you."

The proposal being