ll this, the old professor said not a word, though there was a
grim twinkle in his eye as he noted the spread of the quarrel.

Aided by Dick, he had now finished attending to the dying man, whom
they had taken into the professor's tent, and who lay gasping
painfully, with the air whistling through the hole Junes' bullet had
made in his lungs. He whispered something hoarsely and painfully to the
professor.

"Come, Herr wachtmeister," the latter called to the big sergeant, "the
man has but little time, and would make a statement."

The sergeant came and knelt by the dying man. "Where are the diamonds,"
he asked, pencil in hand.

"Nein, ich wissen nicht," gasped Grosman, "stoop lower, and I will tell
all ... I know."

"He lies," said Gilderman and Jelder together, crowding near to the
bed. "Herr wachtmeister, why listen to him he lies!"

"Silence," stormed the wachtmeister fiercely, "your time will come to
speak, stand back. And how know you if he lies before he speaks? Back!"
And he forced them to do so, whilst in short, sobbing gasps, the dying
man told of the whole knavery: how they had been bribed to do the
actual salting, how each day Gilderman and Jelder had given them a
certain number of stones to strew in likely places, and find
ostentatiously in sight of the professor, how he and Junes had
conceived the idea of stealing the diamonds and burying them where they
could find them later, and how, when that morning they had overslept
and entered the tent late and seen the strong box lying there empty,
each had instantly suspected the other of stealing a march upon him.
But dying he, Grosman, swore he knew nothing of the stones nor did he
now believe that Junes did!

"Those thieves, those men who first put temptation in our way, they
know, ask them, curse them!" he concluded, whilst the sergeant
peremptorily demanded silence from the accused men, who were storming
angrily at the dying man's denunciation.

"Brietmann," he called to his comrade, "search all the tents
everything! I arrest you all, let no man move till a search has been
made. Now," he continued, rising from the dying man's side, and turning
on them, "which of you has the diamonds?"

"Why should we steal them, why believe the tale of this thief who owns
he meant to steal them, why believe him against us?" they demanded,
united again now, in their efforts to discredit Grosman.

"One at a time," said the wachtmeister angrily, "and silence, you
othe