who represented
the great foreign house so neatly defrauded, 'Ah! if I had not come
down this morning, not one othair would haf know. I am the one only
expairt. See! I am praisant wen the plaice is un-cloase. I stant near,
wen soomsing make a beeg chock'--he meant shock or jar--'ant richt
town falls out the klass. Wen I haf zeen it, I go queek ant look at
doze shems. Ach! I know it awal--'tis fawlze awal--effery stonzes!'

That was the story. They had found the glass cut, and false gems in
place of the true.

When we had stemmed the tide of this foreign eloquence, which was not
for some time, I asked:

'How many know of this?'

'Nopotty at all onlee----'

'Not more than half a dozen,' broke in the chief of the bureau. 'Of
course it wouldn't do! These are not the things that we like to let
the public into. It wouldn't harmonize.'

'Ah-h-h!' aspirated the little man. 'It would trive away awal the
tiamont mershants togetheer! U-u-og!'

'Right you are,' murmured Dave; and then in a louder tone, 'Can you
trust your people to keep silent?'

'Ah! neffear fe-ur; tay know it is for tare goo-et.'

'Where are they?'

'The attendants?' queried the captain. 'Two are in charge of the
pavilion, which remains closed. Lausch here was very clever; he sent
for me at once, meantime keeping everything under cover; and when I
saw how the land lay, I ordered close mouths all around, and put up a
card "Closed for repairs." Then I sent for you, and we came back here.
Of course you will want to see the place.'

'The place and the people,' I said, somewhat impatiently; 'and we
can't get it over too quick.'

We spent three of the long morning hours in viewing, first the case
where the real gems had been, and next the shams that had taken their
place; then the surroundings, and last, and one by one, the people
engaged about the Lausch pavilion. They were all Viennese, speaking
the English language fairly well, far better than Mr. Lausch himself;
and after we had questioned them closely and carefully, we closeted
ourselves together and discussed the few 'points' so far gathered, if
points, upon investigation, they proved to be.

'Carl,' chuckled my friend when we were at last alone, 'one of our
missions here at the great Columbian Exposition was to hunt diamond
thieves--eh!'

Of course his meaning was plain to me, but I chose to differ with him;
there was no better way of rousing his wits.

'Of all the expert thieves on the two