I twisted the necklace between my fingers and crushed it
between my palms and tossed it up in the air. I believe I almost
kissed it. The women in the cafe stood up on the chairs to see
better, and laughed and screamed, and the people crowded so close
around me that the waiters had to form a body-guard. The proprietor
thought there was a fight, and called for the police. I was so happy
I didn't care. I laughed, too, and gave the proprietor a five-pound
note, and told him to stand everyone a drink. Then I tumbled into a
fiacre and galloped off to my friend the Chief of Police. I felt very
sorry for him. He had been so happy at the chance I gave him, and he
was sure to be disappointed when he learned I had sent him off on a
false alarm.
"But now that I had found the necklace, I did not want him to find
the woman. Indeed, I was most anxious that she should get clear away,
for, if she were caught, the truth would come out, and I was likely
to get a sharp reprimand, and sure to be laughed at.
"I could see now how it had happened. In my haste to hide the
diamonds when the woman was hustled into the carriage, I had shoved
the cigars into the satchel, and the diamonds into the pocket of my
coat.
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