all may better understand the circumstances, I must go to
what I might call the beginning. Years ago certain circumstances in my
earlier life gave me an intimate acquaintance with the methods used by
detectives, and I then acquired the idea which led me into this
undertaking,--that where the criminal has succeeded in escaping actual
watching during the commission of his crime, so that there is no
witness to the act, the detective is almost powerless until he learns
the object for which the crime was undertaken. Am I not right, Mr.
Barnes?"

"To know the object of a crime, of course, is a great assistance, but
much would depend upon the attendant circumstances."

"True. The object then is important. From this point I reached the
conclusion that if a man approached another, totally unknown to him, at
night in a lonely neighborhood, struck him on the head, killing him, and
then, unseen, reached his own home, it would rest entirely with himself
whether or not he would ever be caught. I wanted a chance to try this
experiment; that is, to commit a crime solely to test the ability of the
detectives to discover me afterwards. The difficulty was that a
gentleman of honor would scarcely wish to engage in such a reprehensible
piece of business. For years, therefore, I could think of no way to have
my wish, till the merest chance threw the opportunity within my grasp.
Waiter, fill up the glasses."

He paused a moment while this was being done. The men went around with
champagne, and when Mr. Thauret was reached he asked to have his
Burgundy glass filled also. Mr. Mitchel was again speaking when the
waiter returned with the red wine, and did as requested. Mr. Barnes also
presented his glass for the same liquor, saying in an undertone to Mr.
Thauret, "I cannot take too much champagne."

"One of my hobbies," continued Mr. Mitchel, "as you all know, is the
collection of jewels. A few years ago I heard that a magnificent set
was offered for sale. A rich East Indian nobleman, so the story goes,
had procured the gems as a present to his wife. They were of the
choicest quality, and of each exactly two, matched precisely in size,
cutting, and coloration. In time he had two daughters, twins, the mother
dying at their birth. Eventually these girls grew up and were married,
the ceremony being a double wedding. The father took the set of jewels
and divided them, giving to each girl, one of each. This greatly
diminished their value, for the