ured the crystal,
and when he saw it in my hand, his joy knew no bounds.

"Now it is all easy," said he, "and I shall soon be free. This is a
Magic Crystal, and by wishing very hard to see any particular object and
gazing at it steadily for a moment or two, you will see just what you
wish to see reflected in it. Now I'm just going to wish
to--er--to--er--er--o--o-h! I'm going to vanish! To think that I've been
here all this time hoping every day that I should be able to disappear,
and now, just as I was about to get myself free--I--good-bye--!"

And to my horror, the little Yellow Dwarf suddenly faded away, and I was
left alone in the dungeon.

I say to my horror, for what was I to say when the jailer appeared? How
was I to account for the prisoner's escape? I was just puzzling about
these things when the door opened and the jailer hurriedly came to tell
me the time allowed for my visit was up.

He saw at once that Shin Shira was not there, and in a great state of
excitement plied me with questions.

I felt, however, that the best thing to do was to preserve silence: it
would at least gain time; so I shook my head and pretended not to
understand a word of what he was saying in his broken English.

The man doubly locked the door and hurried off to inform his superior
officers, and I was left alone once more.

My eyes fell upon the crystal, and I suddenly thought of what Shin Shira
had said. Holding it carefully in my hands, I wished to see the real
thief who had stolen the crown jewel.

A vague mist spread over the crystal, which gradually cleared away, and
I distinctly saw revealed the features of--Mustapha. Then I wished to
see what he had done with the stone, and after gazing a moment or two
longer, I saw him take it down to a cellar under his shop and bury it in
a tin box under a stone, which he lifted up from the floor.

That was enough for me. When the jailer and the other officers came
hurrying back I was ready for them.

"Where is the prisoner?" they demanded.

"He has escaped," I replied coolly.

"What!" they exclaimed. "You dare to admit this, and that you assisted
him to do so? You shall take his place here, and will no doubt receive
the punishment which was intended for him."

"He is an innocent man," said I calmly, "and ought never to have been
imprisoned. He did not steal the diamond."

"How can you say that when we found it upon him? Why, he was actually
impudent enough to go walking about