arkness he will come
and spring out on you. You had better give back the diamond, and live.
If you give it back I promise you your life."

He paused, and the Jew noticed that his face had changed, and in place
of the sardonic good-humor which had before possessed it, was now
distorted by a devilish malice. His eyes gleamed coldly, and he snapped
them quickly as he spoke.

"Well, what do you say?" he demanded.

"This," said the Jew.

He leant over the counter, and, taking the brown man's skinny throat
in his great hand, flung him reeling back to the partition, which shook
with his weight. Then he burst into a laugh as the being who had just
been threatening him with a terrible and mysterious death changed into
a little weak old man, coughing and spitting as he clutched at his
throat and fought for breath.

"What about your servant, the devil?" asked the Jew maliciously.

"He serves when I am absent," said the brown man faintly. "Even now I
give you one more chance. I will let you see the young fellow in your
shop die first. But no, he has not offended. I will kill--"

He paused, and his eye fell on the cat, which at that moment sprang up
and took its old place on the counter. "I will kill your cat," said the
brown man. "I will send the devil to worry it. Watch the cat, and as its
death is so shall yours be--unless--"

"Unless?" said the Jew, regarding him mockingly.

"Unless to-night before ten o'clock you mark on your door-post two
crosses in chalk," said the other. "Do that and live. Watch your cat."

He pointed his lean, brown finger at the animal, and, still feeling at
his throat, stepped softly to the door and passed out.

With the entrance of other customers, the pawnbroker forgot the
annoyance to which he had been subjected, and attended to their wants
in a spirit made liberal by the near prospect of fortune. It was certain
that the stone must be of great value. With that and the money he had
made by his business, he would give up work and settle down to a life of
pleasant ease. So liberal was he that an elderly Irishwoman forgot their
slight differences in creeds and blessed him fervently with all the
saints in the calendar.

His assistant being back in his place in the shop, the pawnbroker
returned to the little sitting-room, and once more carefully looked
through the account of the sailor's murder. Then he sat still trying to
work out a problem; to hand the murderers over to the police without
hi