"You've notified the police that--Chavigny, isn't it?--is in the city?"
He smiled. "I didn't have to. About two hours after I arrived, I heard that Kerth--he's the Director of Central Intelligence's best man--had got wind of Chavigny's presence and was trying to ferret him out. That relieved me of the responsibility of reporting Chavigny."
"And you still have the copy of the Pearl Scarf?"
"But is it right to keep it?" This with a flickering deep in the brown eyes.
"Oh, I'll not keep it; only for a while. If I can get Chavigny, then--well, there's no telling what might happen. Too, I'd like to beat that devilishly clever Kerth. You see, Dana, this is a big affair, much bigger than I thought at first. The Secret Service is trying to keep the lid on it, but of course it's leaked out. On the same night the robbery occurred at Indore, similar robberies took place in several other cities. And in every instance it was royal loot! The Gaekwar of Baroda has one of the finest collections of diamonds in India, the famous 'Star of the Deccan' among them--and a rug, a _rug_, Dana, ten by six, made of pearls and rubies and diamonds! Think of it--and stolen! Scindia of Gwalior, the Rajah of Alwar, the Nawab of Bahawalpur, and, oh, others, too! And they all happened on the same night. Does it mean there's a band of thieves at work, with Chavigny at the head? If so, why, great Scott, it's the most colossal thing that's ever been staged! But I can't understand how they intend to get away with the booty. The borders and the coast are closed as tight as a drum, and they can't dispose of the jewels in India."
Dana sighed. "To think of all that happening, Alan, just as I arrive! Wouldn't it be marvelous if--"
"Well, if I were to wake up and find myself in the midst of something of that sort; one of the players, not just an onlooker." Another sigh. "I'd like to see a really notorious thief, Alan."
He laughed. "You may; for Chavigny's in a close quarter now. But here we are at the hotel."
The carriage drew up and a turbaned porter took her bags. The proprietor, an Eurasian, met them under the great front arch of the building and conducted them to their rooms.
"Oh!" gasped the girl, drawing aside the bamboo blinds.