h Whitey Mack's
clothes--"ah, here it is"--the thin metal case was in his hand--"a
little article that belongs to me, and whose loss, I am free to admit,
caused me considerable concern until I was informed that he had only
found it without having the slightest idea as to whom it belonged.
It made quite a difference!" He had opened the case carelessly before
Lannigan's eyes. "'The Gray Seal!' I'll say it for you," said Jimmie
Dale whimsically. "This is what probably put the idea into his head,
after first, in some way, having discovered old Max Diestricht's hiding
place; and, if I had given him time enough, he would probably have stuck
one of these seals, in clumsy imitation of that little eccentricity of
mine, on the wall over there to stamp the job as genuine. You begin to
get it, don't you Lannigan? Pretty sure-fire as an alibi, eh? And he'd
have got away with it, too, as far as you were concerned. He had only
to fire that shot, smash the window, tuck his false beard, mustache, and
peaked cap into his pocket, put on his own hat that you see there on the
floor--and yell that the man had escaped. He'd help you chase the thief,
too! Rather neat, don't you think, Lannigan? And worth the risk, too,
considering the howl that would go up at the theft of those stones, and
that, known as the slickest diamond thief in the country, he would be
the first to be suspected--except that the police themselves, in the
person of Inspector Lannigan of headquarters, would be prepared to prove
a perfectly good alibi for him."

Lannigan's head was thrust forward; his eyes, hard, were riveted on
Whitey Mack.

"My God!" he said again under his breath. Then fiercely: "He'll get his
for this!"

It was a moment before Jimmie Dale spoke; he was musingly examining the
automatic in his hand.

"I am going now, Lannigan," he observed quietly. "I require, say,
fifteen minutes in which to effect my escape. It is, of course, obvious
that an alarm raised by you might prove extremely awkward, but a piece
of canvas from that bench there, together with a bit of string, would
make a most effective gag. I prefer, however, not to submit you to that
indignity. Instead, I offer you the alternative of giving me your word
to remain quietly where you are for--fifteen minutes."

Lannigan hesitated.

Jimmie Dale smiled.

"I agree," said Lannigan shortly.

Jimmie Dale stepped back. The electric-light switch clicked. The place
was in darkness. There was a mo