"There's one consolation--it will break Grady."

"But, G.o.dfrey," I said, "if you could have seen those diamonds--those beautiful diamonds--and to think he should be able to get away with them from right under our noses!"

"It's pretty bad, isn't it? But there's no use crying over spilt milk. Lester," he added, in another tone, "I want you to be in your office at noon to-morrow--or rather, to-day."

"All right," I promised; "I'll be there."

"Don't fail me. There is one act of the comedy still to be played."

"I'll be there," I said again. "But I'm afraid the last act will be an anti-climax. Look here, G.o.dfrey...."

"Now go to bed," he broke in; "you're talking like a somnambulist.

Get some sleep. Have you arranged for that vacation?"

"G.o.dfrey," I said, "tell me...."

"I won't tell you anything. Only I've got one more bomb to explode, Lester, and it's a big one. It will make you jump!"

I could hear him chuckling to himself.

"Good-night," he said, and hung up.

CHAPTER XXVII

THE LAST ACT OF THE DRAMA

I overslept, next morning, so outrageously that it was not until I had got a seat in a subway express that I had time to open my paper.

My first glance was for the big head that would tell of the diamond robbery; and then I realised that no morning paper would have a word of it. For the robbery was only a few hours old--and yet, it seemed to me an age had pa.s.sed since that moment when G.o.dfrey had rushed in upon Grady and me. So the city moved on, as yet blissfully unconscious of the sensation which would be sprung with the first afternoon editions, and over which reporters and artists and photographers were even now, no doubt, labouring. I promised myself a happy half hour in reading G.o.dfrey's story!

It was then that I remembered the appointment for twelve o'clock. The last act of the drama was yet to be staged, G.o.dfrey had said, and he had also spoken of a bomb--a big one! I wondered what it could be, One thing was certain: if G.o.dfrey had prepared it, its explosion would be startling enough!

There were a number of things at the office demanding my attention, and I was so late in getting there and the morning pa.s.sed so rapidly that when the office-boy came in and announced that Mr. Grady and Mr.

Simmonds were outside and wished to see me, I did not, for a moment, connect their visit with G.o.dfrey. Then I looked at my watch, saw that it was five minutes to twelve, and realised that the actors were a.s.sembling.

"Show them in," I said, and they entered together a minute later.

Grady was evidently much perturbed. His usually florid face was drawn and haggard, his cheeks hung in ugly lines, there were dark pouches under his eyes, and the eyes themselves were blood-shot. I guessed that he had not been to bed; that he had spent the night searching for Crochard--and it was easy enough to see that the search had been unsuccessful. Simmonds, too, was looking rather shaky, and no doubt still felt the after-effects of that whiff of poison.

"I'm glad to see you are better, Simmonds," I said, shaking hands with him. "That was a close call."

"It certainly was," Simmonds agreed, sinking into a chair. "If I had got a little more of it, I'd never have waked up."

"Do you remember anything about it?"

"Not a thing. One minute we were sitting there talking together as nice as you please--and the next thing I knew was when I woke up in the bank."

"Where's that man G.o.dfrey?" broke in Grady.

"He said he'd be here at noon," I said, and glanced at my watch.

"It's noon now. Were you to meet him here?"

Grady glanced at me suspiciously.

"Don't you know nothing about it?" he asked.

"I only know that G.o.dfrey asked me to be here at noon to-day. What's up?"

"Blamed if I know," said Grady sulkily. "I got word from him that I'd better be here, and I thought maybe he might know something. I'm so dizzy over last night's business that I'm running around in circles this morning. But I won't wait for him. He can't make me do that!

Come along, Simmonds."

"Wait a minute," I broke in, as the outer door opened. "Perhaps that's G.o.dfrey, now."

And so it proved. He came in accompanied by a man whom I knew to be Arthur Shearrow, chief counsel for the _Record_.

G.o.dfrey nodded all around.

"I think you know Mr. Shearrow," he said, placing on my desk a small leather bag he was carrying. "This is Mr. Lester, Mr. Shearrow," he added, and we shook hands. "The object of this conference, Lester,"

he concluded, "is to straighten out certain matters connected with the Michaelovitch diamonds--and incidentally to give the _Record_ the biggest scoop it has had for months."

"I ain't here to fix up no scoop for the _Record_", broke in Grady.

"That paper never did treat me right."

"It has treated you as well as you deserved," retorted G.o.dfrey. "I'm going to talk plainly to you, Grady. Your goose is cooked. You can't hold on for an hour after last night's get-away becomes public."

"We'll see about that!" growled Grady, but the fight had evidently been taken out of him.

"I understand you wouldn't let Simmonds telephone for me last night?"

queried G.o.dfrey.

"That's right--it wasn't none of your business."

"Perhaps not. And yet, if I had been there, the cleverest thief in Paris, if not in the world, would be safe behind those chrome-nickle steel bars at the Twenty-third Street station, instead of at liberty to go ahead and rob somebody else."

"You're mighty c.o.c.ksure," retorted Grady. "It's easy to be wise after it's all over."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with you," said G.o.dfrey. "I admit it was a good disguise, and a clever idea--but, just the same, you ought to have seen through it. That's your business."

Grady mopped his face.

"Oh, of course!" he sneered. "I ought to have seen through it! I ought to have suspected, even when I found you tryin' to interview him; even when I got him off the boat myself; even when I went through his papers and found them all right--yes, even to the photograph on his pa.s.sport! That's plain enough now, ain't it! If people only had as good foresight as they have hindsight, how easy it would be!"

"Look here, Grady," said G.o.dfrey, more kindly, "I haven't anything against you personally, and I admit that it was foolish of me to stand there talking to Crochard and never suspect who he was. But that's all beside the mark. You're at the head of the detective bureau, and you're the man who is responsible for all this. You're energetic enough and all that; but you're not fit for your job--it's too big for you, and you know it. Take my advice, and go to the 'phone there and send in your resignation."

Grady stared at him as though unable to believe his ears.