'I'm no wiser in the
matter of address, however.' And then I told him the purport of the
letters in the fewest words possible.

'Do you know,' said Dave, when I had finished my recital, 'I don't
like that Voisin, not even a little bit. I think he's a bad lot.'

I smiled at this. There was not a jot of romance in Dave Brainerd's
make-up, and not a great depth of imagination; but he was the keenest
man on a trail, and the clearest reasoner among a large number of
picked and tried detectives. It amused me to think that both had been
similarly impressed by this man as he had been set before us; but I
made no comment, and to draw away from a subject which I felt it
beyond our province to discuss I asked:

'Dave, what did you mean this afternoon, when we opened that bag, by
saying that the owner was a clever woman? Upon what did you found that
remark?'

'Why, upon the fact that she did not put her purse in that convenient,
but conspicuous, little bag; in consequence of which she is, or was,
only slightly annoyed, instead of being seriously troubled at its
loss. By the way, or rather to go out of the way, do you know that
they have in the French Government Building a very fine and complete
exhibition of the Bertillon identification system? I want to get to it
bright and early in the morning.'

I moved to his side and sat down upon the bed. We were both admirers
of this fine system, and for some moments we discussed it eagerly, as
we had done more than once before; and when I put my head upon my
pillow at last, it was with J. J. and her interests consigned to a
secondary place in my mind, the first being given over to this
wonderful French system, the pride of the Paris police and terror of
the French criminal.

But we little know what a day, or a night, may bring forth.

Someone rapped at our door at an unpleasantly early hour, and the
summons brought Dave out of bed with a bound, and in another moment
had put all thought of the previous night out of our heads.

'Will you come to the captain's office at once, gentlemen?' said a
voice outside, and I caught a glimpse of a guard's blue uniform
through the half opened door. 'There's been a big diamond robbery
right under our noses, and they're calling out the whole force.'

CHAPTER V.

'IT'S ALL A MIRACLE.'

It was even as the summoning guard had said, and the Secret Service
Bureau was in a very active condition when Brainerd and myself
arrived.

Already t