Part 5

"No! now you don't say so!"

Just at this interesting point of the conversation we heard the kitchen door open.

Madame Reierson left me, and quickly disappeared.

Then began a lively conversation in almost a whisper, but the door was rickety and my hearing sharp; it was Madame Reierson's voice and another woman's voice. I recognized it; it was her daughter's.

"--Not home?--not come home yet, do you say?--been out the whole night--"

I heard the mother mumble something, that "he" must soon come home.

"And he has not even left any message? He promised that I should meet him at ten o'clock to-day.--A strange gentleman, do you say, whom Miss Frick has recommended to come to you--?"

The mother must have spoken of my presence, but the daughter seemed to have a legitimate suspicion about the recommendation from Miss Frick. Perhaps she was inquisitive, and wanted to see the phenomenon who came to Madame Reierson with his washing; for the door immediately opened, and I stood face to face with Evelina, the lady's-maid.

She stood there, tall and erect, pretty and tastefully dressed as usual. When she recognized me, her pale face became still paler, and it seemed to me she tottered a little. She only pressed her thin lips together and looked calmly at me.

"Are you here? I did not know the police were here." She looked at my garb and smiled a little scornfully.

At these words, Madame Reierson forced herself past her daughter and surveyed me angrily.

"Police, do you say? Does he belong to the police? Well, I might have guessed it, since he sneaked in here and began to talk of the stolen diamond and suchlike."

I looked at the daughter, but her features were immovable. Either she had nothing to do with the diamond robbery, or she had a stronger will power than most people.

"You forget, Madame Reierson," said I, "that it was you who began to talk to me of the robbery at Mr. Frick's."

Was I mistaken, or was it really so? It seemed to me that the young girl's look was directed for a second or two at her mother with great displeasure.

"Well, if it was I who began the talk, it must have been because you fooled me on to do it," said Madame Reierson, jumping up from her chair; "else why did you come here? Perhaps you fancy we have stolen Frick's diamond! Be so kind as to look for yourself, and see if it is to be found in my house."

The worthy dame began to pull out her chest of drawers, and to open her cupboards, while her tongue went on with startling rapidity.

"I hadn't thought of making any investigations in your house, my dear madame," said I, trying to pacify her; "I came really to find out a little about your lodger, the actor, Frederiksen."

This time the daughter's self-control did not serve her; for some seconds her face was overspread with a deep flush, and she went away and looked out of the window.

"Frederiksen is old enough to answer for himself," said Mrs. Reierson, curtly. "He is not at home now, and I don't know when he is likely to be."

As I had nothing further to do there, I took my hat, nodded to the woman, and left without ceremony. The young girl still stood at the window, and did not turn round when I went out. Either she did not notice it, or she did not wish to show her face.

When I had descended to the next floor, I heard the sound of heavy steps coming up. First of all a ruffled silk hat appeared on the stairs, afterward a pale, dissipated-looking face, with clean-shaven cheeks, luxuriant curly hair under the brim of the hat, a black frock coat of faultless cut but with spotted silk revers, light trousers somewhat frayed at the bottoms, and cracked patent-leather shoes with large bows. The apparition stared at me stupidly and disappeared through the door leading to his apartments. It was Ludwig Frederiksen, who had little or no reputation as an actor, but was well known as a Don Juan, now somewhat on the decline, but worshipped, nevertheless, by the fair sex, not only of the better classes, but also of the demi-monde.

He possessed the happy gift of being able to easily forget unpleasantness, for at this moment he evidently did not recognize me, while less than a month before we had had a not very pleasant conversation at my office.

The cause of this conversation was a respectful application from the artist for a loan of some thousand of kroners, directed to one of the merchants of the town. This document the merchant in question found best to deliver into the hands of the police, although the bewitching artist had offered to deposit, as security, several pink and perfumed notes, billets-doux, from the merchant's own daughter to the owner of the curly locks.

"We shall probably have another interesting conversation," I thought, as my eyes followed the form of the artist as he mounted upward and disappeared; "but not now."

The fact was that in the course of the last half hour, certain ideas, which earlier had begun to dawn in my mind, now assumed a more solid form, and fitted together, so that they formed a chain.

I thought I had hold of one end of the chain, and I was determined to fumble my way to the other end; or perhaps it would be better with a resolute pull to try and grasp it without fumbling at all.

The chain had, however, begun to link itself in this way, and when I left Mrs. Reierson's parlour, I felt convinced that Evelina knew something about the diamond, and very likely her mother also.

As I had passed through the little kitchen my elbow knocked against a dirty coffee-service which stood there,--a pot and two cups with dried-up grounds at the bottom. This accident was sufficient to set going a train of thoughts which, no doubt, had already been unconsciously developing in my mind; but which would never have been started into active life if Mrs. Reierson's objectionable coffee-cups had not been standing there.

They brought to my mind an expression in Evelina's explanation the other day:--

"I went home to my mother as soon us I had served the coffee in the museum."

She had served the coffee in the museum; she had seen that the diamond had been shown about; had seen Jurgens's imbecile greediness to become possessed of it; she had heard him bid ten thousand kroners for it! Later on she had passed the museum, when all were gone, and seeing the door standing open, knew she had only to stretch out her hand to become possessed of a large sum of money.

Perhaps she had some use or another for the latter, of which I, as yet, had no certain knowledge,--but of which I had a suspicion.

If this train of thought was correct, then Mr. Jurgens had now the diamond in his possession.

The improbability that this worthy old man should have become the receiver of stolen goods did not concern me. I knew that the mania for collecting sweeps away all moral considerations like chaff before the wind, especially when second childhood has already begun to obscure the mind.

*CHAPTER VII*

*LAWYER JURGENS*

My decision was taken. I would pay a visit to the lawyer without loss of time. The difficulty lay in getting the old man to speak out the truth, if he really was in possession of the black tortoise.

I dared not use strong means; it was a weakly old man I had to do with, but to get the better of him was not so easy. He was possessed of not a little cunning, and his firmness, when it was a question of preserving any of his treasures, was quite incredible; of this I was already aware.

Mr. Jurgens knew me well. I had had to do with him twice before on official business, when some one had tried to rob him. Besides, we had met each other several times at Frick's, and finally, I had now and then gone, like so many other interested people in the town, to see if he had any remarkable increase in his line collection.

Of course you know the Jurgens collection in the national museum? It has a whole department to itself. Some time before his death he presented all of it to the public.

While I called at my lodgings to change clothes I laid my plan of campaign.

It was neither particularly subtle nor cunningly conceived--only a common trick, as you will see; but, as you will also see, it was good enough for the occasion.

I rang at Mr. Jurgens's house in Munkedam Road. He lived on the first floor.

At the back lay a kitchen and servants' room, where his cook and housekeeper lived; on the other side of the hall was a room which belonged to the servant-man. Jurgens himself lived in a room looking out on the street, and the remaining three rooms, which likewise looked to the street, gave him ample space for his collection of antiquities and other curiosities.

By my advice, he had taken a lot of precautions to protect himself against thieves. There were strong doors provided with patent locks, iron bars before the windows, and some fire-proof iron safes as a place of deposit for the most costly articles.

The man-servant opened the door to me. The reason why the lawyer had a man-servant was, as I have already mentioned, because his feet were almost lame. He could just manage to get along from one room to another, with much difficulty; but in the street he was obliged to be wheeled in a chair. Otherwise the lawyer was a man of small pretensions, and notwithstanding his large fortune, was very economical. That is to say, in everything possible, except what concerned his collection. In this respect he was, as already mentioned, irresponsibly extravagant.

The old lawyer got up with difficulty from his armchair and tottered toward me.

He shook me by the hand, fumbling a long gold chain, which he wore round his neck, with the other hand, and himself began the conversation.

His voice was a little shaky, and he seemed to be uneasy when he saw me; but it was difficult to say if these symptoms were a natural consequence of the man's age, or if he really had something to hide, and felt uneasy at my appearance.

"Well, really, Mr. Monk," he said, "it is a long time since I had the honour of seeing you at my house. May I perhaps have the pleasure of showing you some rare curiosities which I have lately acquired? You have generally so little time that I believe you have really never seen my collection properly."

These words proved to me that if the old man had the diamond in his possession, he had it in a safe hiding place, and of these there were plenty. The old furniture was full of the most extraordinary corners, secret places, drawers, and such-like.

"Many thanks, Mr. Jurgens," I answered promptly, "but this time I am here on official business, and have still less time than usual."

"What a pity," grumbled the old fellow, letting himself fall back into his chair, and taking a pinch of snuff with his shaky hands. "Any snuff? No, young fellows nowadays don't take snuff; but take a seat, Mr. Monk, take a seat!"

"Thanks!" I brought a chair forward in front of the old man and leaned toward him. "The fact is, that an audacious robbery has been committed; an unusually costly article has been stolen, and the superintendent has sent me to inquire about it."

"You don't suppose I buy stolen goods, sir?"

The lawyer's eyes blinked, and his hands and shrivelled fingers moved up and down the watch chain.

"No, of course not; but you know that it has happened once or twice before, that stolen goods have been offered to you for sale, and that you have been of inestimable value to us in giving the thief's description; therefore--"

"No, this time I cannot help you; no, not at all!"

"But you haven't yet heard what it is."

"No--but--but--I have not bought anything for a long time; nothing of consequence, or anything that could be of interest to you."

"That is tiresome--most tiresome! Our last hope is gone; if only the bracelet is not sent abroad! It would then be very difficult to get."

"Bracelet, you say; was it a bracelet, you said?"

"Yes, it was a bracelet, an uncommonly costly bracelet, set with precious stones, which disappeared from Adelina Patti's dressing-room in the theatre yesterday. You know she is appearing here for a few days. She had had it given her by the Emperor of Brazil."

"Indeed! What a pity! But as I said, no one has tried to sell anything of the kind to me lately."

There was no doubt that the old fellow felt very much relieved. He took hold of the bell rope and ordered his man-servant to bring in wine and cigars.

"Take a glass of wine with me, sir; both old and young need a good glass of wine, and you'll not get better than this: I brought it myself from Oporto in '47."

We each drank a glass, and I must admit that the wine was good.

The lawyer had hastily left the subject of the stolen gem, and had begun upon several interesting reminiscences from the year 1820 or so.

But it was not my plan to let him have his own way; I had opened my trenches, and I wished to advance to the attack.

"It is a nuisance," said I, "all these robberies of curiosities and costly jewels, which have taken place in the town of late. No one knows what bother they cause the police."

"I can understand," said the lawyer, unwilling again to approach the same theme; and he filled the glasses again with a shaking hand.

"Yes," I continued, "every one who possesses such things should be just as careful as old Frick of Drammen Road."

On hearing old Frick's name, the old fellow almost jumped out of his chair, but I continued mercilessly.

"This last robbery at old Frick's is a laughable affair." I then burst into long and hearty laughter, which evidently affected Jurgens's nerves in the most unpleasant manner.

"Haven't you heard about it? Well, as you know, old Frick possesses a whole lot of curiosities, and many of them are of gold, silver, and precious stones, and all are very valuable. People are always coming there, some as guests of the house, and some to visit his collection. Old Frick got tired of always having to watch them so carefully, and so he had imitations made of all his most valuable objects,--gilt-brass mounts instead of gold, and glass instead of precious stones. This is, however, a great secret, so much so, that even his best friends think they are the real things they see, while these are lying securely in the cellar of the bank."

"Eh, what do you say?" The old fellow stretched out his neck like a vulture.

"Yes, indeed--but listen: a few days ago the most costly of all his curiosities disappeared; I fancy it was a black diamond in gold setting. It was called the 'black tortoise.' We expect the thief has gone abroad with his treasure. Ha! ha! just sixpenny worth of brass, and half a crown's worth of cut glass!"

I again burst into a peal of hearty laughter. The old man sank back, but tried to raise himself, gasping for breath. I thought he was going to have a fit, and in a minute I got his necktie undone, and rang for the servant.

We soon brought him round again; he was a tough old bit of humanity, that I must admit.

I knew now what I wanted to know; the lawyer had the diamond in one of his hiding places. The difficulty was to get him to give it up without being obliged to resort to unpleasant means.

For this reason I took leave, as soon as I saw he had got over his little attack, and without suggesting anything as to what the cause might be.

The servant followed me into the hall to open the door for me.

Having reached the hall, I asked hastily, "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, sir, you are Inspector Monk," answered the man in surprise, and somewhat tardily.

"All right, let me then remain here in the hall, but open the door and then shut it, so that your master can hear it and think I am gone."

The man hesitated a little and looked doubtfully at me.

"Quick! What I do, I do in the name of the law, but I have no time for further explanations. Now then!"

He did as I told him and went in again to his master.

Everything happened as I had foreseen. The servant came out soon afterward, sent away by his master, and disappeared at a sign from me into his own room.

I took off my shoes and opened the door stealthily to the lawyer's room. As I had expected, he had gone into one of the other rooms, where he kept his collection.

Without making any noise I followed him.

In the innermost room the old man stood before the open door of one of his iron safes. His shaky hands were busy trying to adjust a pair of spectacles with round glasses to his nose.

I took my time, until he had taken out from a secret drawer an object which he held close up to his eyes. The next minute my hand lay on his shoulder, and immediately after the black tortoise was safe in my pocket!

I led the old fellow carefully across the room to a chair. He had never uttered a word.

He remained seated, gasping for breath with half-shut eyes, and his withered hands dancing up and down in his lap.

I made him drink a glass of wine, and after a little while he found his speech again.

"What right have you to sneak in upon me and take my property? The diamond is mine--I have honestly bought it--" and he stretched out his hands, as if to get it back.

"The diamond is stolen property," I said, "and will be delivered by me into the hands of the authorities. I am sorry I have been obliged to play a trick upon you to get it from you; but I understood at once that you wouldn't give it up of your own free will."

"I have bought it and paid for it, and it is not stolen property; your conduct will cost you dear, Mr. Monk."

"No more talk about that, if you please, Mr. Jurgens," I said firmly. "From whom did you buy the diamond?"

"I bought the diamond from Miss Frick, and she got it from her uncle."

The old man could not say another word, for my hands were round his throat. Only for a moment, however. I remembered myself, and let go my hold, but remained standing in front of him quivering with rage.

"What is it you dare say about the young lady, about Sigrid, about my--I mean about Mr. Frick's niece? Mr. Frick himself has given information of the robbery, and now you say that Miss Frick has sold the diamond to you; that is the same as saying that she has stolen it. You can thank your stars that you are an old man, otherwise--"

The old man stretched out his hand, as if to ring; but no bell was near. His eyes wandered wildly.

Then it stood clearly before me that I had nearly frightened the life out of him, and I at once became calmer.

"Be sensible, sir, and take the matter quietly. It was imprudent of you to buy the diamond, but we all know, of course, that you did it in good faith. But it will be necessary that you give a truthful account of how you got it, and from whom. If not, it may become a disagreeable business for you. That you can well understand."

"I only understand that I have bought the diamond from a young lady and given five thousand kroners for it. She did not ask for more," said the old man, trembling, while his eyes began to look brighter. "When you say it was not Miss Frick, perhaps, after all, it was not she; but then it must have been the other young girl in the house. I believe they call her Evelina. Yes, it was she, if you absolutely must know it."

"Well, that is far more probable, sir," I said encouragingly, for I felt a little ashamed of my violent conduct to the old man, "and you must excuse me if I was a little rough with you."

I rang myself for the servant, and with him as a witness, I gave the lawyer a receipt for the tortoise, which I took with me, and left.

* * * * *

The superintendent was not a little surprised when I put the diamond before him on the table; and when I had given my report, he congratulated me at the result, and complimented me on the manner in which I had conducted the affair.

I found it unnecessary to mention Jurgens's wretched attempt to prove that it was Miss Frick who had sold him the diamond.

The superintendent did not lay much stress on the part Jurgens had played in the matter.

"The man must soon be pronounced incapable of managing his own affairs, and be placed under proper control. He will, of course, be declared irresponsible by the court, if the public prosecutor should proceed against him."

In this I fully concurred. Then I gave the superintendent a detailed account of my visit to Mrs. Reierson, and of how the actor's name was mentioned, and of my hurried meeting with the latter.

"Do I understand you aright," said the superintendent, "that you have a suspicion that the pretty maid and the fascinating actor are intimate?"

"Yes, I have."

"And you go still farther; in this, you seek the reason why the unhappy girl has committed the robbery, isn't that so?"

"Yes, indeed, I cannot deny that something of the sort was in my mind; only it seemed strange to me that a girl like Evelina, who not only has the best of characters from Miss Frick, as a good and honest girl, but who, after all I have been able to ascertain, also possesses a certain amount of character and love of truth, can have fallen in love with such a man, or given herself into his power!"

"Why, my dear Monk!" broke in the superintendent, with a smile, which could have made those who did not know him take him for a heartless cynic, "do you, after so many years in the police service, still nourish illusions with regard to the fair sex?"

"I have, of course, in my day seen a good deal of--"

"Yes, you have seen a good deal; which shows you that the greatest Don Juan is also the greatest liar, and that a man with a smooth face, who can flatter and deceive, has greater power over the fair sex than any honest man whatsoever. Isn't that so?"

I was accustomed to my superior's humorous exaggerations, and could not deny that my experiences as a detective in the police force to a considerable degree went in the same direction.

"Well," continued the superintendent, "when you have been in the police force for a generation, you will certainly not have much respect for women's ideals. But let us return to this affair about the diamond. You shall at once have a warrant, and then you had better arrest the young girl as soon as possible. The sooner it's done the greater the prospect of getting back the money which she got from the lawyer."

"Pardon me, sir," I answered, "Evelina is most probably at this moment at Mr. Frick's house, and will remain there over night. It would be very unpleasant for the Fricks if the arrest took place in the house. Have you any objection to my waiting until to-morrow? Then she will probably visit her mother, and we can avail ourselves of the opportunity and make a domiciliary visit at the same time. If Mrs. Reierson is an accomplice, we might succeed in taking her by surprise, and in getting her to give up the money. I have an idea that it will be easier to take her than the daughter by surprise."

"But are you not afraid that one of them can make use of the time to get the money out of the way, if it has not already been taken to some place or other?"

"On the contrary, I believe it will be of advantage to leave them in peace to-night. I shall have them watched by some of my best men meanwhile."

"And the actor?"

"He is already in good hands. Detective Kolstad has orders to follow him like a shadow, and arrest him if he should attempt to leave the town."

"Well, that will do! Do as you think right, Monk. I begin to think you are the better detective of us two. If you should meet old Frick to-night, give him my compliments, and tell him I shall keep his diamond until the case has been settled in court; but in the meantime it will be in good hands."

It was not with a light heart, however, that I walked along the Drammen Road, after having given the constable the necessary orders. I knew that the news I had to bring would greatly distress both old Frick and Sigrid.