ead of a few months."

Mr. Haydon had insisted on Jack accompanying him on this visit. "It
was in their offices that you vowed to begin your quest, Jack," he
said; "and in their offices you shall end it, as far as the great
stone is concerned."

They were expected, and were at once shown up to Mr. Lane. The latter
sprang forward and greeted Mr. Haydon and Jack most warmly.

"Welcome home," he said, "welcome home. I am delighted to see you safe
and sound in England once more, Mr. Haydon."

"And I am very pleased to see you, Mr. Lane," said the famous expert,
"and glad to say that I have brought home in safety, after all, that
big stone, an account of which I cabled to you."

He drew from his pocket the great ruby still wrapped in the fragment
cut from U Saw's girdle, and laid it before Mr. Lane. The latter gazed
spell-bound at its size and beauty.

"A marvellous stone, Mr. Haydon!" he murmured at last. "A marvellous
stone! Ah," he went on, "I wonder what Baumann would say to-day if he
were confronted with this wonderful proof of his folly in leaving us."

"Mr. Baumann is no longer your partner?" cried Thomas Haydon.

"No," said Mr. Lane. "We disagreed, and he withdrew from the
partnership." Mr. Lane had too much delicacy to say that the quarrel
had arisen over their respective opinions as to Thomas Haydon's
honesty. Finding that he could not induce the senior partner to make
public what he believed to be the theft of the great jewel, Baumann
had broken off his connection with the firm.

"I have a long story to tell you, but this is not the time to tell
it," said Jack's father. "You are too busy."

"Will you both dine with me to-night?" cried the great merchant. "Then
we can have a good talk over things," and the invitation was accepted.

As Jack and his father walked away from the offices, the former
remarked, "In one way I was much disappointed that Baumann was not
there. It would have been a cheerful arrangement to make him eat his
words. But on the whole it just caps the affair nicely to find that he
won't benefit by it. Now we'll turn our parcel of rubies into cash and
set up Jim and Buck with a good banking account apiece."

His father nodded absently. Between his fingers he held the piece of
shining, delicate silk in which the great ruby had been wrapped.

"I see you've brought the scrap of U Saw's girdle with you," said
Jack.

"Yes, my boy," returned his father. "I shall never part with this
patch