is no more, Mr. Hewitt! Quite enough, don't you think?
There is no more--I am robbed!"

"But when you found the empty room, and the case, what did you do? Send
for the police?"

The Jew's face clouded slightly. "No, Mr. Hewitt," he said, "not for the
police, but for you. Reason plain enough. The police make a great fuss,
and they want to arrest the criminal. Quite right--I want to arrest him,
and punish him too, plenty. But most I want the tiamonts back, because
if not it ruins me. If it was to make choice between two things for me,
whether to punish Denson or get my tiamonts, then of course I take the
tiamonts, and let Denson go--I cannot be ruined. But with the police, if
it is their choice, they catch the thief first, and hold him tight,
whether it loses the property or not; the property is only second with
them--with me it is first and second, and all. So I take no more risks
than I can help, Mr. Hewitt. I have sent for you to get first the
stones--afterwards the thief if you can. But first my property; you can
perhaps find Denson and make him give it up rather than go to prison.
That would be better than having him taken and imprisoned, and perhaps
the stones put away safe all the time ready for him when he came out."

"Still, the police can do things that I can't," Hewitt interposed; "stop
people leaving or landing at ports, and the like. I think we should see
them."

Samuel was anxiously emphatic. "No, Mr. Hewitt," he said, "certainly not
the police. There are reasons--no, _not_ the police, Mr. Hewitt, at any
rate, not till you have tried. I cannot haf the police--just yet."

Martin Hewitt shrugged his shoulders. "Very well," he said, "if those
are your instructions, I'll do my best. And so you sent for me at once,
as soon as you discovered the loss?"

"Yes, at once."

"Without telling anybody else?"

"I haf tolt nobody."

"Did you look about anywhere for Denson--in the street, or what not?"

"No--what was the good? He was gone; there was time for him to go
miles."

"Very good. And speaking of time, let me judge how far he may have gone.
How long were you kept waiting?"

"Two hours and a quarter, very near--within five minutes."

"By your watch?"

"Yes--I looked often, to see if it was so long waiting as it seemed."

"Very good. Do you happen to have a piece of Denson's writing about
you?"

Samuel looked round him. "There's nothing about here," he said, "but
perhaps we can find--oh here--here