ad come to America was Emanuel
Sard, a Levantine diamond broker of New York, Quintana's agent in
America.

* * * * *

Now, as the October days passed without any report of Quintana's
detention, Darragh, known as Hal Smith at Clinch's dump, began to
suspect that Quintana had already slid into America through the meshes
of the police.

If so, this desperate international criminal could be expected at
Clinch's under some guise or other, piloted thither by Emanuel Sard.

So Hal Smith, whose duty was to wash dishes, do chores, and also to
supply Clinch's with "mountain beef" -- or deer taken illegally -- made
it convenient to prowl every day in the vicinity of the Ghost Lake road.

He was perfectly familiar with Emanuel Sard's squat features and parrot
nose, having robbed Mr. Sard of Quintana's cipher and of $4,000 at
pistol point. And one morning, while roving around the guide's quarters
at Ghost Lake Inn, Smith beheld Sard himself on the hotel veranda, in
company with five strangers of foreign aspect.

During the midday dinner Smith, on pretense of enquiring for a guide's
license, got a look at the Inn ledger. Sard's signature was on it,
followed by the names of Henri Picquet, Nicolas Salzar, Victor
Georgiades, Harry Beck, and Jose Sanchez. And Smith went back through
the wilderness to Star Pond, convinced that one of these gentlemen was
Quintana, and the remainder, Quintana's gang; and that they were here to
do murder if necessary in their remorseless quest of "The Flaming
Jewel." Two million dollars once had been offered for the Flaming
Jewel; and had been refused.

Clinch probably possessed it. Smith was now convinced of that. But he
was there to rob Clinch of it himself. For he had promised the little
Grand Duchess to help recover her Erosite jewel; and now that he had
finally traced its probably possession to Clinch, he was wondering how
this recovery was to be accomplished.

To arrest Clinch meant ruin to Eve Strayer. Besides he knew now that
Clinch would die in prison before revealing the hiding place of the
Flaming Jewel.

Also, how could it be proven that Clinch had the Erosite gem? The
cipher from Quintana was not sufficient evidence.

No; the only way was to watch Clinch, prevent any robbery by Quintana's
gang, somehow discover where the Flaming Jewel had been concealed, take
it, and restore it to the beggared young girl whose only financial
resource now lay in the possible recovery of this