rson or concealed in the room of Adelaide Meerckenloo, the second
chambermaid. I happened to overhear her whispering to Natalie
Nishovich, the first chambermaid, last night, about some 'diamonds,'
and they abruptly stopped talking, and acted greatly embarrassed, when
I came into the room where they were."

"Is that all you know about it?" said Holmes.

"Well, I should think it was enough. That Adelaide is a regular old
cat, and I am positive she stole the diamond cuff-buttons. If you
don't want to take my word for it, then don't!" And the Spanish lady
walked out with a toss of her head.

"Everybody accuses everybody else. This is getting to be a joke," said
Holmes, with a scowl at me, which was quite undeserved, as I hadn't
been doing anything.

"Bring in the next victim, the first chambermaid," he snapped.

Eustace Thorneycroft, who had been acting as a sort of bailiff for
Holmes's court of inquisition, now brought in a girl with the same
sort of lack of intelligence on her face as had distinguished the
Russian Galetchkoff.

"What's your name, there?" said Holmes.

"Natalie Nishovich, and I used to work in King Alexander of Servia's
royal palace in Belgrade before his sudden death nine years ago."

"Well, Natalie, have you seen the diamond cuff-buttons lying around
loose anywhere?"

"No, sir; but I have an idea that that conceited Spanish girl that
just walked out of here stole them,--Teresa Olivano, I mean."

"Hum, have you overheard her talking about the diamonds, or is it just
on general principles?" asked Holmes, as Tooter frowned severely at
the chambermaid.

"Just on general principles. I don't like her at all."

"All right. Good-by. You've said enough. Call in the next one,"
ordered Holmes; adding: "They all seem to belong to the 'I-used-to-be'
club. You certainly have combed the world looking for variegated
characters, Earl. I suppose the next one will be a Chinaman or a
Patagonian."

But it wasn't; only a Belgian girl, with dark eyes that couldn't look
Holmes straight in the face as he questioned her.

"What's your name, previous place of employment, and opinion as to the
present location of the stolen cuff-buttons?"

"My name is Adelaide Meerckenloo, and I used to be maid to the late
Queen of Belgium. I think the man who stole the Earl's diamonds is
Peter Van Damm, Lord Launcelot's valet. He used to work for a diamond
firm in Amsterdam, Holland; so he would know best how to dispose of
them