About ten days or a fortnight after Fraser met his sad fate, I was summoned to the private room of the chief.

"Have you anything particular in hand?" he asked.

"Nothing, chief," I replied.

"Then you are really disengaged? The matter I am going to entrust you with must be inquired into with the utmost circumspection."

"I will be extra careful."

"Lady B—— has been here this morning in a great state of agitation. A diamond, known as the 'Rajah,' and worth something like twenty-five thousand pounds, has disappeared from her jewel-box, which is really a safe built in the wall, with two keys—one held by Lady B——, and the other by her husband."

"Yes, chief, it would be difficult to dispose of a stone of that value."

"Impossible; and no one at Amsterdam would risk cutting it without the highest references. The stone is well known, and is said to have been the eye of an idol in India. Occasionally it has been set to wear at Court, but when it disappeared it was quite loose."

"And when was it missed? Yesterday?"

"No; a week ago."

"As long as that?"

"Yes. You see Lady B—— was of opinion that the stone would be replaced in the safe."

"How could that possibly happen?"

"As you may have heard, Lord B—— is rather eccentric. He is a great connoisseur of precious stones, and he may have taken out the 'Rajah' diamond to admire it, and forgotten to return it."

"But why not ask him?"

"That is what we want to avoid. Her ladyship's object in coming here is to get us to trace the stone without his knowing anything about it. He is in such delicate health, the disappearance of his much-prized diamond might be very hurtful."

"Her ladyship could give you no clue?"

"None whatever; but you will see her yourself. She is at the town mansion to-day, but leaves for their place in Norfolk to-morrow. The jewel-box is at the Norfolk house. You must arrange with Lady B—— to be quartered in the house as sanitary inspector, or something of that kind. As a sanitary inspector you can roam all over the house without suspicion."

"I will do my best, chief."

There was a slight difference in the ages of Lady B—— and her husband; she was twenty-three, and he would never see sixty-five again. Lord B—— was not always the wealthy man he is now; an elder brother conveniently died without family, and an unusually rich seam of coal was discovered on his property. All at once his income rose from a few hundreds to twenty thousand per annum—that was on the death of his brother—and it is now said to exceed thirty thousand. A man who had such a splendid income was bound to have a pretty wife, and in Miss M— he met the belle of two seasons, admired by everyone, from the prince to the peasant. Envious tongues did not hesitate to say that this union of May and December would not be lasting, and that because a near female relative had gone wrong, Lady B—— would soon give occasion for scandal. These wiseacres were disappointed for once. Lady B—— proved herself an exemplary wife, and there were two children, a boy and a girl, born of the marriage.

Arrayed in frock coat and a tall hat, I presented myself at the town house at four o'clock.

"Her ladyship in?" I asked.

"I will see," replied the man servant. "What name?"

I produced my card—

"Mr. Robert Charrington,
Sanitary Inspector,"

and on it in writing, "By appointment."

"Her ladyship does not recollect your name, but will you walk upstairs?"

On being ushered into Lady B—— 's presence and when the footman had retired, she came forward and said—

"I expected someone—from Scotland Yard."

"Quite right, my lady; here is a note from my chief."

"Of course you understand that this is quite a private matter at present. I think the stone has been mislaid—not stolen."

"Does your ladyship suspect no one?"

"Only my husband. He has the jewellery out frequently to dust, and he is a little forgetful."

"Does no one assist his lordship on these occasions?"

"He is either alone or I am with him."

"There are two keys, I believe; can the safe be opened without the production of both?"

"One is sufficient, but you must have the 'word.'"

"The 'word,' madam?"

"Yes, it is a French idea, I think, and Milner had to pay money to use it. There are three small discs, each surrounded with the letters of the alphabet, on the door of the safe, and the diminutive hands on the discs have to be set to a certain word before the keys are of any use. When the diamond disappeared the word was 'war;' one hand had to be pointing to 'w,' the second to 'a,' and the third to 'r.' When the safe is locked the hands on the discs are, of course, turned to any of the letters of the alphabet but the right ones. Although you held the key, it would be perfectly useless to you without knowing the exact word, and you might go through the whole dictionary without discovering it."

"Have you any system in changing the 'word?'"

"I generally alter it every month; this is effected through the clock-work on the back of the lid—but although I always acquaint my husband with the secret it soon escapes his memory, and he has invariably to come to me for the information."

"Can the diamond have fallen into wrong hands?"

"That will be for you to discover; there is one thing certain, it is not in the safe nor in Lord B—— 's possession. My maid and I have made a thorough search."

"Then the loss of this stone is well known in your ladyship's household?"

"On the contrary, it is quite a secret."

"Your maid knows?"

"Ann Gregory does not count; she can be trusted. She has been in the family all her life, first with my father, and on my marriage she came with me."

"I understand that the knowledge of the loss has been withheld from his lordship; have you any reason to suppose that he is aware of the fact?"

"Any sudden shock might seriously affect Lord B——, and until all my efforts to find the 'Rajah' had failed, I did not propose to mention the matter to him; still I am not quite sure that he does not know the diamond has disappeared. Since I first missed the stone, a week ago yesterday, Lord B—— has been to the safe twice, and, although he said nothing, after these visits he appeared much depressed."

"When did your ladyship last see the diamond?"

"Exactly ten days ago. I wore it at Court, and on my return to Norfolk I put it in the safe myself. Lord B—— happened to be present, and with a pair of pincers he took the stone out of its setting, after which I placed it in the case marked 'Rajah.'"

"Such a valuable diamond must be found. If your ladyship will kindly give me a line to your butler I will go down to Norfolk as a sanitary inspector, and when I have any good news to communicate, I will ask to see you."

"Certainly. I return to-morrow, and will remain in Norfolk three weeks. I need not say to you that the recovery of a stone worth £25,000 will meet with a suitable acknowledgment."

"Thanks from you, my lady, would be a sufficient reward."

I am no Communist, and am quite satisfied with my position in life; but only imagine a stone which I could easily slip into my waistcoat pocket being worth such a large sum of money. Will one of your chartered accountants please compute how many individuals could be made independent if not happy for life with the amount mentioned? One hundred cottages could, I suppose, be built for something like £25,000.

On reaching the Norfolk house my letter to the butler received every attention, and I was soon installed in a good room of the bachelors' quarter, and I arranged to have my meals served in an adjoining sitting-room. I had some ground plans with me, borrowed for the occasion, which I took care to leave open on the table for the inspection of inquisitive servants.

There was a large staff of servants, male and female, and I took steps to satisfy myself that the "Rajah" had not been accidentally hidden amongst their belongings. This was a work of care and time. How did I manage it? That is my secret. No dresses were left rumpled nor coats unfolded, and not one of the servants was a whit the wiser.

From the time the diamond was replaced in the safe to the day of its disappearance there had been no visitors in the house, and Lord B—— had not been from home.

As the opportunity occurred, I made a minute search in the room occupied by his lordship, but without any success.

"Rather dull here," I said to Lord B—— 's confidential servant one day. "You could do with a little amusement."

"That we could, sir," he said. "Times are changed since his lordship became an invalid."

"You were not accustomed in former times to let the grass grow under your feet?"

"That we did not. We went the pace and no mistake."

"You have been a long time with Lord B——?"

"Going on now for twenty years; and although his lordship has been a good master to me, I don't think if his life were published it would be suitable for family reading."

"Gay, eh?"

"Downright fact, sir. The pranks we played in London and Paris would shock a quiet gentleman like yourself. The farmers down here used to send their daughters out of the way when they heard of our coming."

"Lord B—— must now find time hang heavily on his hands. How does he amuse himself?"

"When he is able, he walks a great deal. If the day is at all fine, he generally goes as far as Oakshot Farm."

"An old flame?"

"People said so," he replied, with a laugh.

Next morning found me at Oakshot Farm, and I was made welcome by a bold-faced, handsome woman, about thirty. I was tired after my long walk, at least I said so, and asked the favour of a glass of milk. The woman hastened to get the milk, and we were soon in the full swing of a big conversation.

"What makes you think Lord B—— is failing rapidly?" I asked.

"Why he says and does such uncommon things; for instance, being our landlord, my husband and I thought we could not do wrong in calling our last baby after him. We asked his permission, which he generously gave us, and said he would give the youngster a handsome present."

"Well?"

"A year elapsed, and we saw nothing of the promised gift. One day recently—he comes often here—he asked me which of the children was named Gerald, and when I pointed out baby to him on the floor, he pulled out a piece of glass—fancy a bit of glass—and put it into his fingers, saying something about its being a talisman against all the ills of life. What could he mean?"

"A little wrong," and I touched my forehead.

"Just what I thought."

"Is that the bit of glass?" I asked, taking up the glittering morsel, which was being thrown from one child to the other.

"It is; a shilling would have been of more use."

"The children shall not be disappointed. I will give them a shilling each for it."

"You are robbing yourself, sir," she said, "and I am sure you are welcome to the milk."

In this extraordinary manner did I manage to recover the great "Rajah" diamond, which now rests more securely at Lord B—— 's banker's than it did at the house in Norfolk.