"But you have not the wound?" said Miss Nelly, naively.
"That is true," he replied, "I lack the wound."
Then he pulled up his sleeve, removing his cuff, and showed us his
arm. But that action did not deceive me. He had shown us his
left arm, and I was on the point of calling his attention to the
fact, when another incident diverted our attention. Lady Jerland,
Miss Nelly's friend, came running towards us in a state of great
excitement, exclaiming:
"My jewels, my pearls! Some one has stolen them all!"
No, they were not all gone, as we soon found out. The thief had
taken only part of them; a very curious thing. Of the diamond
sunbursts, jeweled pendants, bracelets and necklaces, the thief
had taken, not the largest but the finest and most valuable
stones. The mountings were lying upon the table. I saw them
there, despoiled of their jewels, like flowers from which the
beautiful colored petals had been ruthlessly plucked. And this
theft must have been committed at the time Lady Jerland was taking
her tea; in broad daylight, in a stateroom opening on a much
frequented corridor; moreover, the thief had been obliged to force
open the door of the stateroom, search for the jewel-case, which
was hidden at the bottom of a hat-box, open it, select his booty
and remove it from the mountings.
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