"A natural question，"said Le Drieux，after a moment of hesitation."I know you well by reputation，Mr.Merrick，and believe I am justified in speaking frankly to you and your niece，provided you regard my statements as strictly confidential.A year ago I received notice from my friend in Austria that the young man had gone to America and he was anxious I should meet him.At the time I was too busy with my own affairs to look him up，but I recently came to California for a rest，and noticed the strong resemblance between the boy，A.Jones，and the portrait sent me.So I hunted up this picture and compared the two.In my judgment they are one and the same.What do you think，sir ？""I believe there is a resemblance，"answered Uncle John，turning the card over."But here is a name on the back of the photograph：'Jack Andrews.'""Yes；this is Jack Andrews，"said Le Drieux，nodding."Have you ever heard the name before？""Never.""Well，Andrews is noted throughout Europe，and it is but natural he should desire to escape his notorietya by assuming another name out here.Do you note the similarity of the initials ？'J.A.'stand for Jack Andrews.Reverse them and 'A.J.'stand for A.Jones.By the way，what does he claim the'A'means ？Is it Andrew ？""It means nothing at all，"said Patsy."He told us so.""I see.You caught him unprepared.That isn't like Jack.He is always on guard."Both Patsy and Uncle John were by this time sorely perplexed.They had a feeling common to both of them，that the subject of this portrait and A.Jones were two separate and distinct persons；yet the resemblance could not be denied，if they were indeed the same，young Jones had deliberately lied to them，and recalling his various statements and the manner in which they had been made，they promptly acquitted the boy of the charge of falsehoodb.
"For what was Jack Andrews noted throughout Europe？"inquired Mr.Merrick，after silently considering these things."Well，he was a highflier，for one thing."answered LeDrieux."He was known as a thorough 'sport'and，I am told，a clever gambler.He had a faculty of making friends，even among the nobility.The gilded youthc of London，Paris and Vienna cultivated his acquaintance，and through them hemanaged to get into very good society.He was a guest at the splendid villa of Countess Ahmberg，near Vienna，when her magnificent collection of pearls disappeared.You remember that loss，and the excitement it caused，do you not？""No，sir；I have never before heard of the Countess ofAhmberg or her pearls.""Well，the story filled the newspapers for a couple of weeks.The collection embraced the rarest and most valuable pearls known to exist.""And you accuse this man，Andrews，of stealing them？"asked Uncle John，tapping with his ？nger the portrait he still held.
"By no means，sir；by no means ！"cried Le Drieuxhastily."In fact，he was one of the few guests at the villa to whom no suspicion attached.From the moment the casket of pearls was last seen by the countess until their loss was discovered，every moment of Andrews'time was accounted for.His alibia was perfect and he was quite prominent in the unsuccessful quest of the thief.""The pearls were not recovered，then？""No.The whole affair is still a mystery.My friend in Vienna，a pearl merchant like myself，assisted Andrews in his endeavor to discover the thief and，being much impressed by the young man's personality，sent me this photograph，asking me to meet him，as I have told you，when he reachedAmerica.""Is his home in this country？""New York knows him，but knows nothing of his family or his history.He is popular there，spending money freely and bearing the reputation of an all—around good fellow.On his arrival there，a year ago，he led a gay life for a few days and then suddenly disappeared.No one knew what had become of him.When I found him here，under the name of A.Jones，the disappearance was solved.""I think，"said Uncle John，"you are laboring under aserious，if somewhat natural，mistake.The subject of this picture is like A.Jones，indeed，but he is older and his expression more—more—""Blasea and sophisticated，"said Patsy.
"Thank you，my dear；I am no dictionary，and if those are real words they may convey my meaning.I feel quite sure，Mr.Le Drieux，that the story of Andrews can not be the story of young Jones."Le Drieux took the picture and replaced it in his pocket."To err is humanb，"said he，"and I will admit the possibilityof my being mistaken in my man.But you will admit the resemblance？""Yes.They might be brothers.But young Jones has said he has no brothers，and I believe him."Le Drieux sat in silence for a few minutes.Then he said：
"I appealed to you，Mr.Merrick，because I was not thoroughly satisfied，in my own mind，of my conclusions.You have added to my doubts，I must confess，yet I cannot abandon the idea that the two men are one and the same.As my suspicion is only shared by you and your niece，in con？dence，I shall devote myself for a few days to studying young Jones and observing his actions.In that way I may get aclue that will set all doubt at rest.""We will introduce you to him，"said Patsy."and then you may question him as much as you like.""Oh，no；I prefer not to make his acquaintance until Iam quite sure，"was the reply."If he is not Jack Andrews he would be likely to resent the insinuation that he is here trading under a false name.Good night，Mr.Merrick.Good night，Miss Doyle.I thank you for your courteous consideration."He had risen，and now bowed and walked away.
"Well，"said Patsy."what was he after？And did he learn anything from us？""He did most of the talking himself，"replied Uncle John，looking after Le Drieux with a puzzled expression."Of course he is not a jewel merchant.""No，"said Patsy，"he's a detective，and I'll bet a toothpickato a match that he's on the wrong scent.""He surely is.Unfortunately，we cannot warn Ajo against him.""It isn't necessary，Uncle.Why，the whole thing is absurd.Our boy is not a gambler or roisterera，nor do I think he has ever been in Europe.Mr.Le Drieux will have to guess again！"