"As you may know, sir, there was a guest at the house yesterday to
dinner. It was old Jurgens, the lawyer; you know him, his collection
and his mania for collecting! I have heard that his relations are
trying to prove that he is incapable of looking after his own affairs.
He is getting imbecile from old age, and is squandering his large
fortune by buying up all the world's curios.
"But he is still sharp enough not to let any one pawn off any trash upon
him; but if there is an object of real value, one way or another, then
he will pay the largest sums without blinking.
"He dined with old Frick. He came, of course, only to see his
collection, and he nearly worried the life out of Frick with his
importunate requests to be allowed to buy this and that.
"The party at dinner consisted of Jurgens, Frick, Miss Frick, and Mr.
Howell. Young Frick had gone away two days before. There were in the
house, besides, the cook, the housemaid, and the gardener. The coachman
was on a visit to his family at Moss. I have already telephoned to the
police there and ascertained that he reached there in the morning and
left by the evening train at eight o'clock.
"Miss Frick's maid, Evelina, was also away during the afternoon; she had
got permission to go home to her mother, who was ill.
"After dinner they all went into the museum, as the people of the house
call the building which I told you about some time ago,--the one which
Mr. Frick, upon my advice, had erected out in the garden between the
main building and the Drammen Road.
"When they have guests at Villa Ballarat, it is often the custom to
serve the coffee in the museum, especially when the guests wish to see
the curiosities.
"Jurgens, the lawyer, had then for the twentieth time asked to see the
black tortoise, and was persistently pressing Frick to sell it him.
"'I will pay L500 cash for it!' shouted the old man.
"'In the first place it is worth four times as much, my dear Jurgens,'
old Frick had replied, 'and besides, I wouldn't sell it at any price.'
"Jurgens then had to relinquish all hopes of obtaining the diamond; but
he continued asking to be allowed to buy some of the other curiosities.
He was especially struck with a little elephant carved in ivory with a
clock in its forehead. The clock-works lie in the animal's body, and
the trunk acts as the pendulum. The swinging backward and forward of
the trunk has a most comical effect.
"He had no better success with the elephant than he had had with the
tortoise; and it was rather a relief to the family when the tiresome old
man was taken away by his servant. You know he has some difficulty in
walking, and has to be carried about in a wheeled chair, pushed by his
servant.
"Frick said good-by to Mr. Jurgens, and was just going to lock the
cases, after having put everything in its place, when a cry was heard
outside.
"The clumsy servant, who had apparently been drinking, had nearly upset
the old man on to one of the flower beds.
"All rushed out from the museum into the garden.
"After having got Mr. Jurgens righted again, and safely outside the
gate, they all went into the house. Thus it came about that old Frick
forgot to lock both the cupboard with the iron shutters and the door to
the museum.
"It was then exactly five o'clock in the afternoon.
"Old Frick went up to his room and took his after-dinner nap. Miss
Sigrid went out for a walk; she had been suffering from headache the
whole day.
"At six o'clock they met again; she had been back a quarter of an hour,
and awaited her uncle with afternoon tea in the sitting-room.
"The two sat together till seven o'clock, drank tea, and went through
Sigrid's household accounts.
"At seven the young girl went again for a little walk, as her headache
was no better.
"When Frick had seen her to the gate, he suddenly remembered that the
door of the museum was not locked, and then he made the discovery that
the diamond was gone.
"The gate-keeper Iverson had spent the time between five and half-past
seven in the little lodge; he had been busy with some carpentering, and
stood at the windows, which looked out on the gate and the road.
"I asked him if any one had passed in or out during that time. The key
to the gate hung in the room where he was working, and he had himself
let every one in and out.
"Yes, first there was Miss Sigrid, who went out at five and came home in
about half an hour or three quarters.
"About six Evelina came home, but went out again at about half-past six.
"About seven o'clock Mr. Howell went out; he had a gun and game-bag, and
took a four-wheeler which was passing at the time.
"Soon after, Miss Sigrid again went out, accompanied to the door by Mr.
Frick.
"The cook and the housemaid had been in the kitchen or their bedroom the
whole time."
"I must say yours is a model of a preliminary report, Mr. Monk; you seem
to have got it all by heart, and not even to have made any notes."
"I believe I have a special talent in that respect, sir. I only get
confused, if I take down anything except what is absolutely necessary.
I can see it much clearer when I've got it in my head."
"Yes, oh yes, each one has his own method! It is at any rate a very
useful talent for a detective. But tell me one thing; how can you be so
sure that the different times you mention are correct? It is not always
that the people in a house are so exact in regard to time."
"As it happens, my statements have been confirmed on that point. Old
Frick has a remarkably good pocket chronometer, and he takes a pride in
always keeping it correct to the minute.
"Just before Jurgens left, a remark was made how correctly the little
watch in the elephant's head kept time. It stands on a shelf just over
the cupboard where the diamond had its place. Although it had not been
regulated for a long while, it showed the right time to a minute; which
was verified by comparing it with the chronometer.
"And thus we have a safe starting-point: the time was five minutes past
five.
"Then Mr. Frick takes his afternoon tea precisely at six each day. The
servants have got into the habit of being most exact in that respect, as
the old man is very particular.
"Finally, Iverson looked at the clock when Mr. Howell left, to see if he
would be in time for the train. Mr. Howell had made the remark as he
was passing out that the time was ten minutes to seven, which agreed
exactly with Iverson's watch.
"As you see, the different times which I have mentioned cannot be far
wrong--not more than a minute or two."
"Yes, I see that. I suppose your inquiries at the pawnbrokers' and
jewellers' have been so far without result?"
"Yes; up till now they have led to no result, and I think they never
will."
The superintendent nodded. Neither of us said as much, but we were both
agreed that the thief who could steal an article like the tortoise,
which would be so difficult to dispose of, whilst he had plenty of other
salable articles to select from, must have had his special reasons, and
would not have rushed to his own destruction by trying to dispose of the
stolen jewel to a pawnbroker.
"Of course I know," said the superintendent, cheerily, "that you haven't
by a long way finished with your investigations. But it would really be
interesting to make a few guesses as to who could have taken the
diamond. Who can have taken it, do you think?"
I saw that my august superior wanted to discuss the case; and I could
not refuse, although I had no mind for it at this stage of the inquiry.
"As far as I can see," I answered, "there are only five persons who
could have taken the diamond; the gardener Iverson, Mr. Howell, the maid
Evelina, the cook, or the housemaid. All these people had the entry to
the garden between five and half past-seven, and also into the museum."
"You forget two people, Mr. Monk."