ou that your
affectations of outraged probity are lost on me, seeing that I know
all about the stolen treaty which--"

"Enough, M. Jean Duval," I said with a dignity equal, if not greater,
than his own; "do not, I pray you, misunderstand me. I am ready to do
you service. But if you will deign to explain how I am to break open
an iron safe inside a crowded building and extract therefrom a
trinket, without being caught in the act and locked up for
house-breaking and theft, I shall be eternally your debtor."

"The extracting of the trinket is your affair," he rejoined dryly. "I
will give you five hundred francs if you bring the bracelet to me
within fourteen days."

"But--" I stammered again.

"Your task will not be such a difficult one after all. I will give you
the duplicate key of the safe."

He dived into the breast pocket of his coat, and drew from it a
somewhat large and clumsy key, which he placed upon my desk.

"I managed to get that easily enough," he said nonchalantly, "a couple
of nights ago, when I had the honour of visiting Mademoiselle in her
dressing-room. A piece of wax in my hand, Mademoiselle's momentary
absorption in her reflection while her maid was doing her hair, and
the impression of the original key was in my possession. But between
taking a model of the key and the actual theft of the bracelet out of
the safe there is a wide gulf which a gentleman cannot bridge over.
Therefore, I choose to employ you, M.--er--er--Ratichon, to complete
the transaction for me."

"For five hundred francs?" I queried blandly.

"It is a fair sum," he argued.

"Make it a thousand," I rejoined firmly, "and you shall have the
bracelet within fourteen days."

He paused a moment in order to reflect; his steel-grey eyes, cool and
disdainful, were fixed searchingly on my face. I pride myself on the
way that I bear that kind of scrutiny, so even now I looked bland and
withal purposeful and capable.

"Very well," he said, after a few moments, and he rose from his chair
as he spoke; "it shall be a thousand francs, M.--er--er--Ratichon, and
I will hand over the money to you in exchange for the bracelet--but it
must be done within fourteen days, remember."

I tried to induce him to give me a small sum on account. I was about
to take terrible risks, remember; housebreaking, larceny, theft--call
it what you will, it meant the _police correctionelle_ and a couple of
years in New Orleans for sure. He finally gave me fif