Between his feet
stood an open hat-box; in one hand he held the sleeve of his
sealskin great-coat; in the other a formidable knife, with which he
had just slit up the lining of the sleeve. Mr. Rolles had read of
persons carrying money in a belt; and as he had no acquaintance
with any but cricket-belts, he had never been able rightly to
conceive how this was managed. But here was a stranger thing
before his eyes; for John Vandeleur, it appeared, carried diamonds
in the lining of his sleeve; and even as the young clergyman gazed,
he could see one glittering brilliant drop after another into the
hat-box.
He stood riveted to the spot, following this unusual business with
his eyes. The diamonds were, for the most part, small, and not
easily distinguishable either in shape or fire. Suddenly the
Dictator appeared to find a difficulty; he employed both hands and
stooped over his task; but it was not until after considerable
manoeuvring that he extricated a large tiara of diamonds from the
lining, and held it up for some seconds' examination before he
placed it with the others in the hat-box. The tiara was a ray of
light to Mr. Rolles; he immediately recognised it for a part of the
treasure stolen from Harry Hartley by the loiterer. There was no
room for mistake; it was exactly as the detective had described it;
there were the ruby stars, with a great emerald in the centre;
there were the interlacing crescents; and there were the pear-
shaped pendants, each a single stone, which gave a special value to
Lady Vandeleur's tiara.
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