"
II
"The necklace was a present from the Queen of England to the Czarina
of Russia," began the Queen's Messenger. "It was to celebrate the
occasion of the Czar's coronation. Our Foreign Office knew that the
Russian Ambassador in Paris was to proceed to Moscow for that
ceremony, and I was directed to go to Paris and turn over the
necklace to him. But when I reached Paris I found he had not expected
me for a week later and was taking a few days' vacation at Nice. His
people asked me to leave the necklace with them at the Embassy, but I
had been charged to get a receipt for it from the Ambassador himself,
so I started at once for Nice. The fact that Monte Carlo is not two
thousand miles from Nice may have had something to do with making me
carry out my instructions so carefully.
"Now, how the Princess Zichy came to find out about the necklace I
don't know, but I can guess. As you have just heard, she was at one
time a spy in the service of the Russian Government. And after they
dismissed her she kept up her acquaintance with many of the Russian
agents in London. It is probable that through one of them she learned
that the necklace was to be sent to Moscow, and which one of the
Queen's Messengers had been detailed to take it there.
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