ter one of her evil tricks that very evening.

Cervera had arrived at the diamond plant less than an hour before, and
had hurriedly told her confederates the whole story of her crime and her
adventure with Nick.

Crime was too common with these outlaws, however, and loyalty to one
another too natural, for Kilgore to censure his only female confederate
very severely. Yet as Kilgore now proceeded to explain, her crime had
rendered their situation decidedly more alarming.

"I'll tell you why these Carters are now to be seriously feared," said
he, nodding grimly at his hearers. "This last move of Cervera has hurt
us severely."

"In what way?" demanded Spotty Dalton, the pock-marked chap who had
relieved Venner's partner of the Hafferman diamonds about two weeks
before. "I don't see just how, Dave."

"No more do I," put in Matt Stall.

"You'll see," replied Kilgore, "when I run over a few facts which led
to our being here, and at work on our present game."

"Well, Dave, we're listening."

"One year ago we three were in Amsterdam, Holland, weren't we?"

"Sure."

"At work on a different kind of a game?"

"Yes."

"Only we three were then in the gang."

"That's right, Dave. Now there are seven of us, counting Venner and his
partner."

"It was in Amsterdam that we first met her nibs," continued Kilgore,
with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of Cervera, who was so engaged
with Pylotte that neither heeded the talk at the table.

"Yes, Dave, we met her just a year ago," nodded Dalton.

"She was then doing her dances in a theater there, and we naturally got
our peepers onto her diamonds," Kilgore went on to narrate. "You fellows
already know the scheme by which we tried to relieve her of them, which
we came so near doing."

"Well, rather," grinned Dalton, as if the reminiscence was amusing.

"Then we learned from her own lips, and greatly to our surprise, that
her sparks were not the real thing," smiled Kilgore. "At first we could
not believe it. The goods deceived even us, old hands though we are. It
was only when she told us about Pylotte, and the secret process by
which he makes such extraordinary imitations, that we could believe
her."

"That's right, Dave."

"She had stumbled by chance upon this clever French chemist and diamond
cutter, and was working him to the extent of her ability. She even had
got wise to his secret, and he was loading her with his marvelous gems
in return for her affection. B