fears. Yes, the man had arrived with the note from Miss Larue
something over an hour ago, and they had promptly handed him over
the original jewels. Not all of them, of course, but those which
they had finished duplicating and of which they had sent the
replicas to the theatre by their own messenger that morning. Surely
that was what Miss Larue meant by the demand, was it not? No other
explanation seemed possible after they had sent her the copies
and--Good Lord! hadn't heard about it? Meant the imitations?
Heavens above, what an appalling mistake! What was that? The man?
Oh, yes; he took the things after Mr. Trent, senior, had removed
them from the safe and handed them over to him, and he had left
Mr. Trent's office directly he received them. Miss Larue could
ascertain exactly what had been delivered to him by examining the
duplicates their messenger had carried to the theatre.

Miss Larue did, discovering, to her dismay, that they represented a
curious ruby necklace, of which the original had been lent her by the
Duchess of Oldhampton, a stomacher of sapphires and pearls borrowed
from the Marquise of Chepstow, and a rare Tudor clasp of diamonds
and opals which had been lent to her by the Lady Margery Thraill.

In a panic she rushed from the theatre, called a taxi, and, hoping
against hope, whirled off to her rooms at Portman Square. No Mr.
James Colliver had been there. Nor did he come there ever. Neither
did he return to the squalid home where his dead wife lay; nor did
any of his cronies nor any of his old haunts see hide or hair of
him from that time. Furthermore, nobody answering to his description
had been seen to board any train, steamship, or sailing-vessel
leaving for foreign parts, nor could there be found any hotel,
lodging-house, furnished or even unfurnished apartment into which
he had entered that day or upon any day thereafter.

In despair, Miss Larue drove to Scotland Yard and put the matter
into the hands of the police, offering a reward of L1,000 for the
recovery of the jewels; and through the medium of the newspapers
promised Mr. James Colliver that she would not prosecute, but would
pay that L1,000 over to _him_ if he would return the gems, that she
might restore them to their rightful owners.

Mr. James Colliver neither accepted that offer nor gave any sign that
he was aware of it. It was then that Scotland Yard, in the person
of Cleek, stepped in to conduct the search for both man and jewels