have the slightest sign of proof against the
festive Prince."

"And you--you did all that 'on a bluff'?" gasped the other.

"Do I understand you to say that you have no evidence against Gabriel?"
asked Halfont, dumbfounded.

"Not a particle."

"But you said his confederate had confessed," protested Dangloss.

"I didn't know that he had a confederate, and I wasn't sure that he
was guilty of the crime," boasted Anguish, complacently enjoying the
stupefaction.

"Then why did you say so?" demanded Dangloss, excited beyond measure.

"Oh, I just guessed at it!"

"God save us!" gasped Baron Dangloss, Chief of Police.

"Guessed at it?" cried Mizrox.

"That's it. It was a bold stroke, but it won. Now, I'll tell you this
much. I was morally certain that Gabriel killed the Prince. There was
no way on earth to prove it, however, and I'll admit it was intuition
or something of that sort which convinced me. He had tried to abduct the
Princess, and he was madly jealous of Lorenz. Although he knew there was
to be a duel, he was not certain that Lorenz would lose, so he adopted
a clever plan to get rid of two rivals by killing one and casting
suspicion on the other. These deductions I made soon after the murder,
but, of course, could secure no proof. Early this morning, at the hotel,
I made up my mind to denounce him suddenly if I had the chance, risking
failure but hoping for such an exhibition as that which you saw. It was
clear to me that he had an accomplice to stand guard while he did the
stabbing, but I did not dream it was Berrowag. Lorry's sensational
appearance, when I believed him to be far away from here, disturbed me
greatly but it made it all the more necessary that I should take the
risk with Gabriel. As I watched him I became absolutely convinced of his
guilt. The only way to accuse him was to do it boldly and thoroughly, so
I rang in the accomplice and the witness features. You all know how the
'bluff' worked."

"And you had no more proof than this?" asked Dangloss, weakly.

"That's all," laughed the delighted strategist.

Dangloss stared at him for a moment, then threw up his hands and
walked away, shaking his head, whether in stupefied admiration or utter
disbelief, no one knew. The others covered Anguish with compliments, and
he was more than ever the hero of the day. Such confidence paralyzed
the people. The only one who was not overcome with astonishment was his
countryman.

"You did it well," he s