He grinned with a fine flash
of even teeth. "What do you want me to say?"

"Why, stupid, the adventures of Harry Cressy, Esquire. How did you
feel?"

"Thirsty."

"Oh, Harry!" She glanced about, as if for a missile to threaten him
with.

"Upon my word! But look here--wait a minute!" he arrived deliberately at
what was required of him. "Never mind how I felt; but if you want to
know the way it happened--here's your Maple Room." He began a diagram
with forks on the cloth before him, and Clara, who had watched their
sparring from her point of vantage in the background, now leaned
forward, as if at last they were getting to the point.

"This is the case, furthest from the door." He planted a salt-cellar in
his silver inclosure. "I come in very early, at half-past two, before
the crowd; fail to meet you there." He made mischievous bows to right
and left. "I go out again. But first I see this ring."

"What was it like?" Flora demanded.

"Like?" Harry turned a speculative eye to the dull glow of the
candelabrum, as if between its points of flame he conjured up the
vision of the vanished jewel. "Like a bit of an old gold heathen god
curled round himself, with his head, which was mostly two yellow
sapphires, between his knees, and a big, blue stone on top. Soft, yellow
gold, so fine you could almost dent it. And carved! Even through a glass
every line of it is right." He paused and ran the tip of his finger
along the silver outline of his diagram, as if the mere memory of the
precious eyes of the little god had power to arrest all other
consideration. "Well, there he was," he pulled himself up, "and I can't
remember when a thing of that sort has stayed by me so. I couldn't seem
to get away from it. I dropped into the club and talked to Buller about
it. He got keen, and I went back with him to have another look at it.
Well, at the door Buller stops to speak to a chap going out--a crazy
Englishman he had picked up at the club. I go on. By this time there's a
crowd inside, but I manage to get up to the case. And first I miss the
spot altogether. And then I see the card with his name; and then,
underneath I see the hole in the velvet where the god has been."

Flora gave out a little sigh of suspense, and even Clara showed a gleam
of excitement. He looked from one to the other. "Then there were
fireworks. Buller came up. The detective came up. Everybody came up.
Nobody'd believe it. Lots of 'em thought they had seen it only