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252 article went on to say that, in the opinion of the police and others, more or less au courant of the criminal world, the daring burglar was none other than the notorious Chu-Chu le Tondeur. Everything went to establish this identity—the physical appearance of the thief, his superhuman strength and activity, and his cleverness in escaping unseen except for a waiter, who caught a glimpse of him as he plunged into the shrubbery; the speed and skill with which he had done his work, for the door of the strong-box was on the point of being pierced, though Numas said that he had waited for only about five minutes in the corridor before trying to seize him, and had then made the attempt single-handed, as he was afraid to cry out or to leave the spot in search of help, fearing that the burglar might escape. When, after what had seemed to him not over ten minutes at the outside, he had decided to tackle the thief single-handed, the hole into the lock was already drilled.

The most significant fact, however, was that the object of the robbery was to steal a valuable diamond tiara which had been purchased by Monsieur le Baron von Hertzfeld as a gift for a friend. Intercepting gems in this way was known to be a specialty of le Tondeur's; and so on.

I laid the paper down, smiling to myself. Then it struck me all at once that here I had interfered with Ivan's schemes again, and I stopped smiling. Yes, come to think of it, the grin had better be kept for another time. Ivan was neutral so far as Chu-Chu's and my feud went; but breaking up trade was another business. Ivan had, no doubt, put Chu-