"I am a sort of messenger，"he continued，placidly."When valuable consignmentsa of jewels are to be delivered，I am the carrier instead of the express companies.The method is safer.In twenty—six years of this work I have never lost a single jewel.""One ？rm employs you exclusively，then？""One ？rm.But it has many branches.""It is a trust ？""Oh，no；we have many competitors；but none very important.Our closest rival，for instance，has headquarters on this very coast—in San Francisco—but spreads，as we do，over the civilized world.Yet Jephson's—that's the ？rm—do not claim to equal our business.They deal mostly in pearls.""Pearls，eh ？"said Arthur，musingly."Then it was your ？rm that lost the valuable collection of pearls you mentioned toMr.Merrick ？""No.They were the property of Countess Ahmberg，of Vienna.But we had sold many of the finest specimens to the countess and have records of their weight，size，shape and color.The one you are now wearing，sir，"pointing to Uncle John's scarf pin，"is one of the best black pearls ever discovered.It was found at Tremloe in 1883and was originally purchased by our ？rm.In 1887I took it to Tiffany，who sold it to Prince Godesky，of Warsaw.I carried it to him，with other valuable purchases，and after his death it was again resold to our firm.It was in October，1904，that I again became thebearera of the pearl，delivering it safely to Countess Ahmberg at her villa.It was stolen from her，together with 188other rare pearls，valued at a half million dollars，a little over a year ago.""This pearl，sir，"said Uncle John stiffly，"is not the one you refer to.It was found on the shores of the island of Sangoa，and you have never seen it before."Le Drieux smiled sweetly as he brushed the ashes from his cigar.
"I am seldom mistaken in a pearl，especially one that Ihave handled，"said he."Moreover，a good pearl becomes historic，and it is my business to know the history of each and every one in existence.""Even those owned by Jephson's ？"asked Arthur.
"Yes；unless they were acquired lately.I have spoken in this manner in order that you may understand the statements Iam about to make，and I beg you to listen carefully：Three daring pearl robberies have taken place within the past two years.The ？rst was a collection scarcely inferior to that of the Countess Ahmberg.A bank messenger was carrying it through the streets of London one evening，to be delivered to LadyGrandison，when he was stabbed to the heart and the gemsstolen.Singularly enough，Jack Andrews was passing by and found the dying messenger.He called for the police，but when they arrived the messenger had expired.The fate of the pearls has always remained a mystery，although a large reward has been offered for their recovery.""Oh；a reward.""Naturally，sir.Four months later Princess Lemoine lost her wonderful pearl necklace while sitting in a box at the Grand Opera in Paris.This was one of the cleverest thefts that ever baf？ed the police，for the necklace was never recovered.We know，however，that Jack Andrews occupied the box next to that of the princess.A coincidence—perhaps.We now come to the robbery of the Countess Ahmberg，the third on the list.Jack Andrews was a guest at her house，as I have explained to you.No blame has ever attached to this youthful adventurer，yet my ？rm，always interested in the pearls they have sold，advised me to keep an eye on him when he returned to America.I did so.""Now，Mr.Merrick，I will add to the tale I told you the other night.Andrews behaved very well for a few weeksafter he landed at New York；then he disposed of seven ？ne pearls and—disappeared.They were not notable pearls，especially，but two of them I was able to trace to the necklace of Princess Lemoine.I cabled my ？rm.They called attention to the various rewards offered and urged me to follow Andrews.
That was impossible；he had left no clue.But chance favoredme.Coming here to Los Angeles on business，I suddenly ran across my quarry：Jack Andrews.He has changed a bit.The mustache is gone，he is in poor health，and I am told he was nearly drowned in the ocean the other day.So at first I was not sure of my man.I registered at this hotel and watched him carefully.Sometimes I became positive he was Andrews；at other times I doubted.But when he began distributing pearls to you，his new friends，all doubt vanished.There，gentlemen，is my story in a nutshella.What do you think of it ？"Both Mr.Merrick and young Weldon had listened with raptb interest，but their interpretation of the tale，which amounted to a positive accusationc of A.Jones，showed the difference in the two men's natures.
"I think you are on the wrong trail，sir，"answeredMr.Merrick."Doubtless you have been misled by a casual resemblance，coupled with the fact that Andrews is suspected of stealing pearls and Jones is known to possess pearls—thepearls being of rare worth in both cases.Still，you are wrong.For instance，if you have the weight and measurement of the Tremloe black pearl，you will ？nd they do not ？t the pearl I am now wearing."Le Drieux smiled genially.
"It is unnecessary to make the test，sir，"he replied."The pearl Andrews gave to Miss Doyle is as unmistakable as your own.But I am curious to hear your opinion，Mr.Weldon.""I have been suspicious of young Jones from the ？rst，"said Arthur；"but I have been studying this boy's character，and he is positively incapable of the crimes you accuse him of，such as robbery and murder.In other words，whatever Jones may be，he is not Andrews；or，if by chance he proves to be Andrews，then Andrews is innocent of crime.All your theories are based upon a desire to secure rewards，backed by a chain of circumstantiala evidence.""A chain，"said Le Drieux，grimly，"that will hold JackAndrews fast in its coils，clever though he is.""Circumstantial evidence，"retorted Mr.Merrick，"doesn't amount to shucks！It is constantly getting good people into trouble and allowing rascals to escape.Nothing but direct evidence will ever convince me that a man is guilty."Le Drieux shrugged his shoulders.
"The pearls are evidence enough，"said he.
"To be sure.Evidence enough to free the poor boy ofsuspicion.You may be a better messenger than you are a detective，Mr.Le Drieux，but that doesn't convince me you are a judge of pearls."The agent rose with a frown of annoyance.
"I am going to have Jack Andrews arrested in the morning，"he remarked."If you warn him，in the meantime，I shall charge you with complicitya."Uncle John nearly choked with anger，but he maintainedhis dignity.
"I have no knowledge of your Jack Andrews，"he replied，and turned his back.