Old Frick was patrolling to and fro at the gate, when I returned.
"Nobody has got over the fence to-day," said I.
"No," he answered thoughtfully; "that has been my belief the whole time.
I fear that we must have thieves in the house,--but here comes Sigrid!"
He was quite right, for there was the dear girl walking at a rapid pace
toward the gate.
A warm blush overspread her face when she saw me, but it disappeared
quickly, and I noticed she looked very pale and fatigued.
We opened the gate for her, and I gave a sign, to Frick that I wished
first to speak with her.
I went up to her, took her hand, and whispered some words which had
nothing to do with the theft. Then, as we came nearer her uncle, I
remarked aloud and as carelessly as possible:--
"Your uncle cannot find the black tortoise; he thinks he must have
mislaid it in some place or another."
I said this purposely to arouse her attention, in case the diamond
really had been mislaid. I was afraid that if I mentioned at once that
it might have been stolen, she would have become too excited to think
quietly over the matter.
"But, dear me, isn't it in the cupboard? I myself saw you put it in its
place before we followed Mr. Jurgens through the garden."
I could not help noticing that Sigrid spoke in a very absent-minded
manner; she looked fagged out, like a person who had gone through some
physical or mental exertion.
We told her not to mention anything for the present to the servants
about the disappearance of the diamond, and then she left us and went
into the house. It struck me as remarkable that the affair should
interest her so little.
The next thing I did was to telephone to the police station, and order
two of my men to come out immediately to Villa Ballarat. I then asked
old Frick to take a walk with me in the garden until they arrived; in
this way we could see that nobody went in or out of the house without
our knowledge.
"Where is Mr. Howell?" I asked. I suddenly began to wonder why I had
not seen or heard anything of this gentleman.
"Oh, he went by rail to Osterdalen this afternoon. He was invited by a
man called Varingson, I think, who owns large forests up there. They
are going to shoot capercailzie; it is only four days, I think he said,
before close time begins."
"What time in the afternoon did he go?"
"He had sent his luggage down to the station before mid-day; but the
train was not going before six or seven. We can hear from Iverson when
he left. Besides, you know, everybody goes and comes as they like in
this house."
Iverson was Frick's trusted man; he was formerly a sergeant in the army,
an unusually trustworthy and clever fellow, whom Frick had taken into
his service at my recommendation. He was generally known as the
gardener, but he took his turn as gatekeeper, and with the coachman he
kept the yard in order; was joiner, smith, and many other things, and
received from old Frick a very liberal salary. Both he and the coachman
were unmarried; they lived in quite a small lodge near the gate, but had
their meals up at the house.
In the meantime my two men arrived at the gate, and I gave them my
instructions. One of them was to keep watch outside the villa and
arrange that he should be relieved, so that the house and garden should
not be unwatched. If the diamond was still within the iron railings,
the thief would at once try to get it out of the house.
The other constable got orders to instruct pawnbrokers and all others to
whom the diamond might be offered that, should this occur, they must
inform the police without loss of time, and that the person bringing it
must be followed and watched.
At supper I received a long detailed account from old Frick and Sigrid
of all that occurred in the house that day. Their statement as to time,
etc., corroborated exactly. Sigrid had, however, a bad headache, and
looked very poorly. Both Frick and I advised her to go to bed, which
she did, soon after.
Then I had a conference with Iverson. The coachman was away for the
day.
Lastly, I had a talk with the housemaid and cook. Sigrid's maid,
Evelina, had been away that afternoon to visit her mother. She had,
however, been at Villa Ballarat about six o'clock, but had gone out
again immediately, and not yet returned.
What results or conjectures I arrived at after all these investigations,
I shall later on return to; for the present, I can only add they were
not very satisfying; I began to be afraid that this affair would cause
me more trouble and worry than any other business of the kind had
hitherto done.
Before I parted from old Frick I got him to write an official
notification of the robbery to the police; without this I could not take
up the case in earnest.
*CHAPTER V*
*AT THE POLICE STATION*
The next morning at eleven o'clock I stood in the police
superintendent's office; he had told me to be there at that hour.
I had, for some weeks, figured as chief of the detective department,
during my superior's holiday. The latter was applying for a position in
another department, and I had had the chief superintendent's assurance
that I would be appointed in his place. "I have already spoken to the
Minister of the Interior about it, and you can consider the matter as
good as settled," were the words with which my superior officer, some
days before, had concluded a conversation which had given me great
satisfaction. It was soon after I had been fortunate enough in clearing
up the celebrated Bjornernd case, and in getting the murderer arrested.
My chief had always been very friendly to me, and treated me, especially
of late, almost as a comrade; that is to say, as far as his
old-fashioned dignified and solemn manners would allow of it.