The Triumphs of Eugène Valmont | Page 6

brief authority, as the English poet says, were looked
upon as the epitome of wisdom.
'I advise you strongly not to hand over the necklace as has been requested,' I went on.
'Why?' he asked.
'Because I am convinced the bidder is a criminal.'
'If you have proof of that, arrest him.'
'I have no proof at the present moment, but I request you to delay the delivery of the
goods.'
'That is absurd,' he cried impatiently. 'The necklace is his, not ours. The money has
already been transferred to the account of the Government; we cannot retain the five
million francs, and refuse to hand over to him what he has bought with them,' and so the
man left me standing there, nonplussed and anxious. The eyes of everyone in the room
had been turned on us during our brief conversation, and now the official proceeded
ostentatiously up the room with a grand air of importance; then, with a bow and a flourish
of the hand, he said, dramatically,--
'The jewels belong to Monsieur.'
The two Americans rose simultaneously, the taller holding out his hand while the
auctioneer passed to him the case he had apparently paid so highly for. The American
nonchalantly opened the box and for the first time the electric radiance of the jewels burst
upon that audience, each member of which craned his neck to behold it. It seemed to me
a most reckless thing to do. He examined the jewels minutely for a few moments, then
snapped the lid shut again, and calmly put the box in his outside pocket, and I could not
help noticing that the light overcoat he wore possessed pockets made extraordinarily
large, as if on purpose for this very case. And now this amazing man walked serenely
down the room past miscreants who joyfully would have cut his throat for even the
smallest diamond in that conglomeration; yet he did not take the trouble to put his hand
on the pocket which contained the case, or in any way attempt to protect it. The
assemblage seemed stricken dumb by his audacity. His friend followed closely at his
heels, and the tall man disappeared through the folding doors. Not so the other. He turned
quickly, and whipped two revolvers out of his pockets, which he presented at the
astonished crowd. There had been a movement on the part of every one to leave the room,

but the sight of these deadly weapons confronting them made each one shrink into his
place again.
The man with his back to the door spoke in a loud and domineering voice, asking the
auctioneer to translate what he had to say into French and German; he spoke in English.
'These here shiners are valuable; they belong to my friend who has just gone out. Casting
no reflections on the generality of people in this room, there are, nevertheless, half a
dozen "crooks" among us whom my friend wishes to avoid. Now, no honest man here
will object to giving the buyer of that there trinket five clear minutes in which to get
away. It's only the "crooks" that can kick. I ask these five minutes as a favour, but if they
are not granted I am going to take them as a right. Any man who moves will get shot.'
'I am an honest man,' I cried, 'and I object. I am chief detective of the French Government.
Stand aside; the police will protect your friend.'
'Hold on, my son,' warned the American, turning one weapon directly upon me, while the
other held a sort of roving commission, pointing all over the room. 'My friend is from
New York and he distrusts the police as much as he does the grafters. You may be twenty
detectives, but if you move before that clock strikes three, I'll bring you down, and don't
you forget it.'
It is one thing to face death in a fierce struggle, but quite another to advance coldly upon
it toward the muzzle of a pistol held so steadily that there could be no chance of escape.
The gleam of determination in the man's eyes convinced me he meant what he said. I did
not consider then, nor have I considered since, that the next five minutes, precious as they
were, would be worth paying my life for. Apparently everyone else was of my opinion,
for none moved hand or foot until the clock slowly struck three.
'Thank you, gentlemen,' said the American, as he vanished between the spring-doors.
When I say vanished, I mean that word and no other, because my men outside saw
nothing of this individual then or later. He vanished as if he had never existed, and it was
some hours before we found how this had been