Brady. "I've got La Croix!"

"You've cheated me!" snarled the inspector, furiously.

"Bless your heart, you've got the matter twisted. It was you interfering
with our game. We've been after this man two months. And you ain't going to
skim the cream off our hard work, I can tell you."

"You lie, Brady--"

An angry light sparkled in the old detective's eyes at this insult and he
doubled up his fist, strode over to the inspector and struck him in the
face.

"Don't you dare insult me, you cur!" he exclaimed.

Gibson reeled back swearing, and seeing the old detective coming at him
again, he rushed from the room shouting wildly:

"I'll pay you off for that blow!"

CHAPTER XVII.

RECOVERING THE DIAMONDS.

When Harry ran from La Croix's room, he passed Andrew Gibson in the hall,
and smiled when he thought of the man's coming surprise.

Racing downstairs, the boy made inquiries at the different entrances to the
hotel, for information about the girl smuggler.

A man had seen her go out the Vesey street door.

As he was interested in her pretty face, he watched her a few moments and
had seen her go hurrying over to Broadway.

She had kept on the west side of the street and was evidently going
downtown on foot in the dense crowd thronging the street.

With this meagre clew to follow, Harry hurried away.

"She had the gems," he muttered. "Perhaps she had an idea of selling them
quick to raise money to aid her parents, both of whom she now knows are in
trouble. She's a wise girl, and must certainly know that she would be
helpless to aid them without money. Money will give her power. It's
possible, therefore, that she's heading for the jewelry district, which is
near by. As the street is crowded with vehicles and she'd have to cross to
reach Maiden Lane or John street, she must have gone over under the
protection of a policeman. He would remember her and might post me. I'll
try all the big cops from here down to Wall street, if necessary."

Harry knew that the largest part of the time of these officers was spent at
escorting people across the crowded street.

He therefore began with the policeman at Fulton street, giving him an
accurate description of Clara, but the officer had not seen her.

On the corner of Dey street he met with the same result.

At Cortlandt street he gained a clew.

The officer there had piloted a girl over who answered her description and
said she had gone down the Lane on the no