an accidental crossing of perfectly harmless wires to Darcy's lathe
with the city's electric light circuit may have caused the two
accidents. That is a point I have yet to consider. But we have
settled something regarding the watch, anyhow. Now, Jack, I want to
talk to you about Harry King."

"He needs to be talked about," was the response. "I don't say he had
anything to do with the murder--especially not after what you have said
about Singa Phut. But Harry King needs watching."

"I agree with you. You say he and Larch have been looking at a packet
of diamonds?"

"Yes; diamonds wrapped in those little squares of white paper that
jewelers use. Looks like they'd been robbing a gem store."

"You don't know of any diamonds missing from Mrs. Darcy's stock, do
you?" asked the colonel of Mr. Kettridge. "Mr. Young and I talked of
this before but didn't settle it."

"No. But then she may have had a private stock of which Darcy nor I
knew nothing. It is a point worth looking into."

"I agree with you. So stick to Harry, Jack, my boy."

"He won't require much sticking to at present. He and Larch are both
so well pickled that they'll easily keep until morning."

"Well, watch them after that. Maybe you'd better put up at the
Homestead."

"I will, though I guess it won't be the Homestead long."

"Why not?"

"Well, Larch is going to lose it, I hear. It's mortgaged up to the
roof and he can't meet his payments. The old place has gone to the
bow-wows since he started drinking, gambling, speculating and since his
wife left him. All the decent crowd stopped coming."

"Yes, I suppose so," agreed the colonel. "Well, keep watch of Harry
King. He may provide us with a clew that will make it possible to
prove Darcy innocent more directly than by the inference of Singa Phut."

"And do you think Singa Phut killed his partner with the watch also,
Colonel?" asked Jack.

"No. I imagine they quarreled over the possession of the watch, and
Shere Ali, perhaps forgetting the deadly nature of it, or knowing the
time mechanism was set not to go off for some hours, grabbed it away
from Singa. Then came a quarrel and the killing with the candlestick.
However I don't want to speculate too far afield. We have certain
matters settled at any rate."

"Yes, and I'll get back to the Homestead and watch King," observed Jack
Young with a laugh.

"And I must get back to the shop," said Mr. Kettridge. "I have some
work to