I
Nobody understood how Jose Quintana had slipped through the Secret
Service net spread for him at every port.
The United States authorities did not know why Quintana had come to
America. They realised merely that he arrived for no good purpose; and
they had meant to arrest and hold him for extradition if requested; for
deportation as an undesirable alien anyway.
Only two men in America knew that Quintana had come to the United States
for the purpose of recovering the famous "Flaming Jewel," stolen by him
from the Grand Duchess Theodorica of Esthonia; and stolen from Quintana,
in turn, by a private soldier in an American Forestry Regiment, on leave
in Paris. This soldier's name, probably, was Michael Clinch.
One of the men who knew why Quintana might come to America was James
Darragh, recently of the Military Intelligence, but now passing as a
hold-up man under the name of Hal Smith, and actually in the employment
of Clinch at his disreputable "hotel" at Star Pond in the North Woods.
The other man who knew why Quintana had come to America was Emanuel
Sard, a Levantine diamond broker of New York, Quintana's agent in
America.
* * * * *
Now, as the October days passed without any report of Quintana's
detention, Darragh, known as Hal Smith at Clinch's dump, began to
suspect that Quintana had already slid into America through the meshes
of the police.
If so, this desperate international criminal could be expected at
Clinch's under some guise or other, piloted thither by Emanuel Sard.
So Hal Smith, whose duty was to wash dishes, do chores, and also to
supply Clinch's with "mountain beef"--or deer taken illegally--made it
convenient to prowl every day in the vicinity of the Ghost Lake road.
He was perfectly familiar with Emanuel Sard's squat features and parrot
nose, having robbed Mr. Sard of Quintana's cipher and of $4,000 at
pistol point. And one morning, while roving around the guide's quarters
at Ghost Lake Inn, Smith beheld Sard himself on the hotel veranda, in
company with five strangers of foreign aspect.
During the midday dinner Smith, on pretense of enquiring for a guide's
license, got a look at the Inn ledger. Sard's signature was on it,
followed by the names of Henri Picquet, Nicolas Salzar, Victor
Georgiades, Harry Beck, and Jose Sanchez. And Smith went back through
the wilderness to Star Pond, convinced that one of these gentlemen was
Quintana, and the remainder, Quintana's gang; and that they were here to
do murder if necessary in their remorseless quest of "The Flaming
Jewel." Two million dollars once had been offered for the Flaming Jewel;
and had been refused.
Clinch probably possessed it. Smith was now convinced of that. But he
was there to rob Clinch of it himself. For he had promised the little
Grand Duchess to help recover her Erosite jewel; and now that he had
finally traced its probable possession to Clinch, he was wondering how
this recovery was to be accomplished.
To arrest Clinch meant ruin to Eve Strayer. Besides he knew now that
Clinch would die in prison before revealing the hiding place of the
Flaming Jewel.
Also, how could it be proven that Clinch had the Erosite gem? The cipher
from Quintana was not sufficient evidence.
No; the only way was to watch Clinch, prevent any robbery by Quintana's
gang, somehow discover where the Flaming Jewel had been concealed, take
it, and restore it to the beggared young girl whose only financial
resource now lay in the possible recovery of this almost priceless gem.
* * * * *
Toward evening Hal Smith shot two deer near Owl Marsh. To poach on his
own property appealed to his sense of humour. And Clinch, never dreaming
that Hal Smith was the James Darragh who had inherited Harrod's vast
preserve, damned all millionaires for every buck brought in, and became
friendlier to Smith.