wrong safe I guess, but anyhow they
took this cross. Had a fight over it, too, and it got stepped on, or
banged up in some way, Spotty says. Then they heard a noise and
skipped. Spotty kept the cross, and thought he'd have enough salted
down, when he sold it, to live easy for a while.

"He and Ike met out West and tried to sell the diamond cross to a fence
and got pinched as suspicious characters by the bulls who were making
their regular round of the pawnshops. Ike squealed on Spotty for
another job after they give him the third degree, and when Spotty heard
of that it made him sore, as it would anybody. Then when the two bulls
who pinched Spotty and Ike tested the diamonds in the cross and found
they was phoney--as they might have guessed coming from a department
store--Spotty was fit to be tied, he was so wild! So he up and
confessed. Said he knew you wanted him for the job and was sorry he
made so much trouble. To send word to you that he'd come on and stand
trial."

"But, stars and stripes! I didn't want him for this little robbery
job!" cried the colonel, "I didn't even know he did it! I was after
him for the murder of Mrs. Darcy, where I thought he got the diamond
cross. And to think the jewels are paste!" and the colonel looked at
them sparkling in the electric light as bravely as though they were
worth a fortune instead of being what a poor shop girl might wear to a
bricklayer's ball.

"Well, that's all I know about it," said Basset. "Spotty wanted me to
tell you he'd confessed, and he's dead sore on Blue Ike."

For several seconds the colonel said nothing, and then he shook his
head as a dog might on emerging from deep water, and remarked:

"Well, I've got to take another tack, I guess. Tell Spotty I'll
arrange to have him bailed. It'll be easy on a mere theft charge. But
how in thunder am I going to get Darcy off if I haven't any one to
offer--"

The tinkle of the telephone bell interrupted the colonel's half-aloud
musing.

"Hello," he said into the transmitter. "Oh, that you, Jack? Well,
what's up now?"

For a moment the colonel listened intently, many emotions flashing
across his face. Basset toyed idly with the jeweled cross, which
sparkled as bravely as the real stones might have done.

"Yes--yes," said the colonel impatiently. "Go on, Jack!"

And in a few more seconds the colonel added:

"All right! I'll get right after him! Out toward Pompey you say? All
right, I'l