An Artist in Crime

by Rodrigues Ottolengui

  CHAPTER XII.

  THE HISTORY OF THE RUBY.

  During the next two weeks there were numerous references to the rubyrobbery in the daily papers. Interviews were published purporting tohave been held with every one of note who had been present. The policewere twitted with their inability to discover the thief. The detectivesfrom the central office came and went mysteriously, and were silent toall questioners, the while maintaining an expression which plainly said,"We could an' if we would." One or two persons were even arrested, onlyto be promptly discharged when brought before the committingmagistrates. So that interest in the affair soon died out. Another crimeoccurred, and all New York had something else to talk of. The Remsenruby was forgotten by the masses.

  Mr. Barnes, however, thought of little else. He racked his brain for apromising starting-point, and the more he thought, the more he wastempted to make a trip to New Orleans, to unravel this, as he had manyother mysteries, "from the other end." Yet he hated to leave the scenewhere were the chief actors in the drama, and, as he felt certain, theprincipal in one or all of the crimes. At last he resolved to make amove, hoping little from it, yet unwilling longer to rest actually idlein this case. He wrote the following letter:

  "MR. ARTHUR RANDOLPH:

  "DEAR SIR--Since you have engaged me to undertake to prove that Mr. Mitchel himself stole the ruby on the night of the festival, I presume that you will consent to give me some assistance in the matter. In the first interview that I had with you you may recall that you stated that your friend, in your opinion, is somewhat insane on the subject of celebrated jewels. You said, in effect, that if he were pressed a little on this line he would drift off into the narration of tales of gems and crimes committed to obtain them. I would much like to hear Mr. Mitchel talk upon his hobby, but, as you know, he is on the defensive with me. Can you in some way arrange to have a talk with him yourself and draw him out, whilst I should be secreted where I could overhear the conversation? I should wish you to mention the loss of the ruby, to suggest, if not charge outright, that he himself has taken the gem; and when he denies it, as he surely will, ask him whether there is any peculiar story connected with it--that is, whether it has ever been stolen before. From such a conversation I might get a hint, which, seeming as nothing to you, might be valuable to me. Will you do this? Remember you yourself said that 'all is fair,' etc. "Yours truly, "J. BARNES."

  In reply to this he received a note asking him to meet Mr. Randolph athis club on the following evening.

  The next afternoon Mr. Mitchel called at the Hoffman House and went upto the room occupied by Mr. Thauret, finding that gentleman at home. Mr.Thauret advanced to meet him, and the two shook hands cordially.

  "Thauret," began Mr. Mitchel, "I want to talk to you seriously aboutthat jewel robbery."

  "I am all attention," said Mr. Thauret, lighting a cigarette anddropping into a comfortable rocking-chair.

  "To begin with, let me recapitulate. I will go back to our partnershiparrangement. You and I became, in a way, secret partners, or, perhaps,'gambling pals' would be more accurate. At that time I agreed to furnishthe capital for our operations up to a certain point. I believe I havedone so, in spite of the fact that our losses have been rather heavy,and the further fact that you confidentially told me that you had amethod, or a system, by which losses could be avoided, or at leastcontrolled. Am I accurate?"

  "Quite so, my friend. You have proven yourself an admirable silentpartner, since you have allowed me to have my own way, paying the billsand asking no questions, till now. Am I to understand that the lossesannoy you, and that you wish an explanation?"

  "You may give me one in a moment. There is another point. You promisedto drop Adrian Fisher."

  "Well?"

  "You have not done so. I requested you to wear the Ali Baba costume theother night, and yet you chose to give it to Fisher. Why was that?"

  "It will be more simple to explain about the losses first, and come toFisher later. As you perhaps know, that detective Barnes has chosen toplace a spy at my heels. Under the circumstances, I thought it wise toplay the spy upon my spy. Several times I have gone to the club, andthen placed myself where I could watch my man. In this way I soondiscovered that he had become intimate with one of the club servants.One day I called this fellow, and partly by threatening to have himdischarged, but mainly by using money, I got out of him what thedetective was asking about me. This was chiefly whether I lose or winwhen I play cards. I found that the result of every game that I playedwas being reported. Consequently after that I made it a rule to lose."

  "To lose my money!"

  "To lose our money, since we are partners. You are simply advancing thefunds till I get remittances from Paris. You have my I.O.U.'s. If youare tired of the arrangement, I will pay you at once, though it would beinconvenient."

  "No, the money is of no consequence. But tell me, why did you think itbest to lose?"

  "It is very simple. From the fact that the detectives are investigatingthis point, it is evident that they had heard of the winnings which Imade when Fisher played with me. They may have concluded that I am acard sharper. I wish to dispel that idea."

  "Naturally. But now tell me about Fisher. What has this to do withhim?"

  "As you know, I did not design to attend the festival. You went toPhiladelphia, were taken ill, and sent me a letter asking me to takeyour place, and wear your dress, which I was to obtain by presentingyour note to the costumer. I did this, fully intending to carry out yourwishes."

  "Then how was it that Fisher wore my costume?"

  "I am coming to that. Just before leaving for the affair, who shouldcall here but the costumer, who informed me that a man had been to hisplace, and had catechised him about me, explaining that he was adetective hunting down a celebrated criminal. He showed the fellow yournote. Afterwards he regretted having done so, and came to notify me, ashe expressed it, 'so that I might not get into any trouble.' I saw atonce that this meant that Barnes would be at the festival, or, at anyrate, one of his men."

  "You were right in that. He was there."

  "Yes, but I was not sure of it till after the robbery, when allunmasked. He wore one of the Forty Thieves dominos, and I failed to seethrough the disguise. With the knowledge thus obtained, I determined tohave some amusement at the expense of your great detective, and decidedto wear one of the dominos instead of your dress. It was essential,however, that some one should impersonate Ali Baba in order that thetableaux might not be interrupted. Fisher was the only man I could askto assume the _role_. He acquiesced, and that is all there was to that.I have not taken him up again, I assure you."

  "Very good. That is satisfactory. You must pardon my questioning; butafter all, I did not understand, and had a right to do so. Tell me, wereyou near when the robbery occurred? Did you see it done?"

  "I must have been near, but I did not see it. I was awaiting to kiss thehand of the Scheherezade when Mr. Barnes suddenly cried out that arobbery had been committed, and ordered masks off. I slipped out of mydomino, and went to him as soon as the lights were on."

  "You might have suggested to him to search everybody, as he did on thetrain."

  "By George! that is just what I did, but he declined. I guess that trainexperience made him dubious as to the value of that sort of thing."

  At this both men laughed heartily, as though enjoying the discomfitureof the detective.

  "It seems," said Mr. Mitchel, "that Barnes suspected that the ruby wasto be stolen, and informed Mr. Rawlston early in the evening that therewould be thieves in the audience."

  "Did he, indeed? Too bad that, with all his shrewdness, he was not ableto catch the thief, or thieves rather, eh?"

  Once more they both laughed. Then Mr. Mitchel suggested that they shouldgo to the club, and thither they went. Upon entering, the doorkeeperinformed Mr. M
itchel that Mr. Randolph was in the parlor and desired tosee him. He and Mr. Thauret therefore went into the greatreception-room. Mr. Randolph arose as they appeared.

  "Good-evening, Randolph," said Mr. Mitchel. "You wish to see me?"

  "Oh, nothing special. I came in to dine here, and told the doorman tosend you to me in case you should turn up. I wanted company, that isall."

  "Don't like to eat alone, eh?"

  "That is it. Eating is a nuisance, made tolerable only by goodcompanionship. Mr. Thauret, shall I have a place set for you, also?"

  "If you desire, I shall be most happy," said Mr. Thauret.

  "Very well," said Mr. Randolph. "I will attend to it. I have someletters to write now, if you will excuse me. Meet me promptly at sevenin the private dining-room."

  Mr. Randolph left the apartment, and went to the floor above. Here hejoined Mr. Barnes, who was awaiting him.

  "Well," said the detective, "can you manage it?"

  "Everything is arranged. Mitchel is here, and he has brought Thauretwith him. I don't understand the intimacy that has sprung up betweenthose two, but that is not to the point. They will dine with me in ourprivate dining-room. I shall arrange that our meal shall be served at atable immediately next to the large _portiere_ that separates theprivate dining-room from the main saloon. I shall also order a dinnerfor you at a table just on the other side of the curtain. If you havegood ears, you should hear all that passes with little difficulty."

  "I am satisfied with your arrangement and shall undoubtedly be able tohear at least the greater part of what occurs."

  "Very well. Now go to the library, and at the farther end, hidden behinda newspaper file, you will be safe from the observation of prying eyes.Promptly at seven, I and my guests will take our seats. Five minuteslater your own place will be in readiness, and you can take it insafety."

  Mr. Barnes followed these instructions, and Mr. Randolph went to thedining-room to perfect his arrangements. At seven, on the minute, he wasjoined by his invited guests, and the three sat at table. Shortly afterthe noise of dishes on the other side of the _portiere_ indicated thatMr. Barnes was being served.

  About the third course Mr. Randolph endeavored to lead the conversationin the desired direction.

  "I trust," said he, addressing Mitchel, "that you have entirelyrecovered from that unfortunate illness that prevented you fromattending the affair at Rawlston's."

  "Oh, yes," said Mitchel, "it was but a temporary matter. The onlyserious result was that I was kept from the festival. I think I mighthave saved Miss Remsen from the annoyance of losing her ruby."

  "But, Mitchel," said Mr. Randolph, "whilst of course one does not liketo lose so valuable a gem, at the same time you can safely replace it."

  "What makes you think so?"

  "Why, you have so many jewels. Do you know I was saying only recentlythat any one who, like you, would hoard up rare gems, keeping themlocked in a vault where no one can see them, is in a way insane. I wasglad when you gave that ruby to Miss Remsen, and took it as a symptom ofreturning lucidity that you should unearth one of your hidden treasures.I have no doubt that you have others like it buried in some corner ofyour safe. Why not get one out and present it to the lady?"

  "You are mistaken, Randolph. I cannot so easily produce a mate to thatruby."

  "Why not? Was there anything peculiar about it?"

  "Yes, but we will not talk of it."

  This curt way of dismissing the subject was a surprise to Mr. Randolph,for, however little Mr. Mitchel cared to show his gems, he had neverbefore been unwilling to embrace any opportunity to talk about them. Mr.Randolph started in a new direction, remembering the hints of thedetective.

  "Mitchel," said he, "I would almost be willing to wager that you notonly can give Miss Remsen as good a ruby, but that you could actuallygive her the same one."

  "I hope to do so," was the quiet reply.

  "You don't understand me. I mean that I half believe that your sicknessin Philadelphia was all a farce; that you came over, and yourself stolethe gem."

  "Indeed? And what leads you to such a preposterous deduction?"

  "I think that this is your way of endeavoring to win your wager. Ithink that no one but yourself could have taken the pin from MissRemsen's hair, as for no one else would she have submitted."

  "Randolph, your repeated allusions to Miss Remsen, in this connection,and especially your insinuation that I would ask her to be an accomplicein such a piece of duplicity, and that she would consent, aredistasteful to me in the extreme. If you will pardon my saying so, it isa poor entertainment to offer a guest."

  "Oh, I meant no offence, old man, I assure you. We will drop the subjectof course."

  This was followed by a silence. Mr. Randolph was at his wits' end tofind a way to force Mr. Mitchel to talk. He felt that nothing had beenaccomplished. Mr. Barnes, however, thought differently, for he had atlast come to a positive conclusion. From Mr. Mitchel's tone of voice andthe words of his last speech, the detective felt certain that whateverpart Mr. Mitchel himself may have played in the robbery Miss Remsen wasinnocent. He also wondered whether the conversation would now drift backto the ruby. Perhaps it would not have done so had not Mr. Thauret, whoup to this point had scarcely spoken during the progress of the meal,once more broached the subject.

  "I beg pardon, Mr. Mitchel," said he, "but your remark just now, thatthere is something special about the lost ruby, has greatly excited mycuriosity. Unless you have some private reason for not doing so, I begthat you will tell us the history of the gem, if it has one."

  There was a pause, during which Mr. Mitchel looked at his plate andseemed as though studying a problem. Mr. Randolph was delighted that Mr.Thauret had come to his assistance in this unexpected way, and as heobserved Mr. Mitchel's hesitation it seemed to him that there was acontest going on in his mind, between a powerful desire to talk on hishobby, and some prudential whisper that silence would be better. Thedetective also waited with some anxiety, a piece of a sweetbread on hisfork, carried but half-way to his mouth.

  "Well, gentlemen," at last said Mr. Mitchel, "I will tell you thestory." Mr. Barnes took the tidbit from his fork with a smile thatshowed his teeth as they bit it incisively. "First join me in a glass,"continued Mr. Mitchel; "drink this ruby-colored wine and pledge me thatyou will not repeat what I say. This only because I do not wish toattain the unenviable reputation of being a romancer, as I certainlyshould if some reporter should hear and publish the story now, whilstthe loss of the gem is fresh in the memory of all."

  The pledge was given, and Mr. Mitchel continued.

  "That you might better appreciate this stone, I might begin with adissertation on rubies, explaining to you the difference between thetrue Oriental gem, which is rare of any magnitude, and the poorerspecimens, known as spinels. However, you would only accuse me ofventilating knowledge which has come to me through the study of myhobby. I will come at once to the story of the lost jewel. Just where itwas first found is not accurately known, and of its earlier history Ican only tell you what has been told to me. You may believe as much oras little as you like. The history then begins with the finding of Mosesin the bulrushes, and the subsequent gift to him of this ruby by thedaughter of Pharaoh. Thus we hear of it first in the royal house of theEgyptians. There was another gem, the exact counterpart to it. This,Pharaoh had amongst his treasures, and wore upon state occasions. Withthe exodus of Moses and the Israelites the ruby passed out of Egypt.From that time, for many centuries, its history is not marked by anygreat event, save that we learn that it was kept by the high priests ofthe Synagogue and so passed down from generation to generation. One oddfact I must not forget. The deep red color as you know is the mostprized. The color of this ruby at the present time is the most perfectin existence. Yet, so the story goes, at first the matched pair of gemswere of a pale rose color."

  "Do you mean us to believe," interrupted by Mr. Randolph, "that thecolor has deepened with time?"

  "I do not ask you to
believe anything. But it is not time that issupposed to have improved the color. With the conquest of Jerusalem thisjewel fell into the hands of the Romans, and so in time came into thepossession of Caesar. In his courtship of Cleopatra he soon discoveredthat extraordinary woman's passion for resplendent jewels, and he wasaudacious enough to present it to her. Fearing that this might bereadily traced to him, when the jewel was missed as it would surely be,he told her secretly of his purpose, and then tied it about the neck ofa pigeon, which flew with it directly to the palace of Cleopatra, whoawaited the arrival of the bird on the roof-tops. The pigeon, whennearly home, was attacked by a hawk and Cleopatra ordered one of herarchers to slay the larger bird with his arrow. This the man attempted,but struck the pigeon, which fell bleeding and dead at the queen's feet.She at once removed the gem, which was covered with blood and dyed withit a rich red."

  "But, Mr. Mitchel," said Mr. Thauret, "surely a ruby could not absorbblood?"

  "It is the history of the gem." Mr. Mitchel spoke in so odd a tone thatone almost thought that, carried away by his love of precious stones, hehad imbibed some of the superstition connected with them. He spoke asthough he believed the tale. Mr. Barnes began to understand better whatMr. Randolph had meant when he said that perhaps the desire to possess arare stone might tempt this gentleman to commit a crime. Mr. Mitchelcontinued:

  "I need not follow the story of Cleopatra. It is too well known. Butthere is an incident that has not been written in the general history ofher career. There was an Egyptian priest who was madly in love with her,and in a moment of impulse he dared to tell her of his attachment oneday when alone with her. She seemed slightly amused at his ardor, andasked what he, a poor priest, could offer her, who had rich rulers ather feet. In desperation he answered that he could give his life. TheQueen laughed and said: 'That is mine already. But you priests claim tobe all-wise. Find me the mate to my great ruby, and perhaps I willlisten to your love pleadings.' To her intense surprise the man replied:'That I could do, if I dared. The gem which you have has but returned toits proper place. It was once Pharaoh's. He also had the mate to it,which from him descended through kings to Rameses the Great. It isburied in his coffin.' 'Get it for me,' was the terse reply ofCleopatra, given now as a command rather than a request.

  "In fear the priest went into the pyramid and stole the jewel. When hepresented it to Cleopatra she cried out at him: 'What fool's trick isthis? Do you think this pale stone a match to mine?' The priestexplained that hers had been dyed red in the blood of the pigeon. 'Ah,so!' she replied; 'then this one shall be also a richer red. Youpromised me your life once. I claim it, and in your blood this stoneshall be steeped till it matches the other in color.' She carried outher threat, and the two stones were once more mates."

  "What an absurdity!" exclaimed Mr. Randolph.

  "Do not say so," said Mr. Thauret; "we cannot tell what may happen inthis world."

  "The next change of owners was when Cleopatra killed herself. One of herhandmaidens stole the two rubies, but she herself was taken a slave toRome and sold. Her purchaser discovered the rubies, took them from her,and then secretly murdered her lest she might tell that he had them.From this time on they have gone by the name of 'The Egyptian Gems.' Ineed not give you the whole list of robberies and murders that have beenconnected with the two stones, though I have the written recordcomplete, with names of all the victims. Suffice it to say that foryears no one was the gainer by getting possession of them. They havealways been impossible to sell, until I bought this one, which is thefirst time either ever was offered honestly in the market. Before this,each new owner had obtained the jewels either by theft or murder, anddared not admit that he had them. Another curious thing is that no onehas ever succeeded in hiding the jewels, so that they could not befound. They have been secreted between the stones of a wall, they havebeen sewn under the hide of an ass, and hidden in other equally obscureplaces, yet always the next thief has found and taken them."

  "Ah, that is interesting," said Mr. Thauret. "But tell us frankly, sincewe are pledged not to repeat what we hear, do you suppose there is anypower inherent in the stone which attracts persons to their discovery?"

  "I cannot say, but that is one of the claims. This seems to besubstantiated by recent events too."

  "How so?"

  "Well, my usual interest in large gems led me to police head-quarterswhen that woman Rose Mitchel was killed after having been robbed. Thejewels you remember had been quickly recovered and are still in thehands of the police. I was allowed to see them, and the ruby in that lotis undoubtedly the mate to mine."

  "You think that it was the presence of that stone which led to thediscovery by the police of the satchel containing the jewels?"

  Mr. Thauret seemed much interested, but Mr. Mitchel merely shrugged hisshoulders for answer, though it seemed plain that he did hold thatopinion. Mr. Barnes wondered whether Mr. Thauret's interest was due tothe fact that, having stolen the jewels, he was astonished to hear of sostrange an explanation of their recovery from the hotel where he hadhidden them. Yet the man's next words seemed to dispel such an idea. Hesaid:

  "You may believe in that sort of thing, Mr. Mitchel, but I, who haveonly modern ideas, cannot accept any such theory. The fact that thestones have always been discovered when hidden has led those who knowthe history to mistake a chain of coincidences for evidence ofsupernatural power within the stones themselves. I think I can readilyaccount for the series of hidings and findings."

  "I should be pleased to have you do so," said Mr. Mitchel.

  "Have you never read Edgar Poe's tale, the one where a letter is stolenand hidden? The detectives failed to find it, though it was in plainsight all the time, but another man did find it. He went upon thecorrect theory that the thief, knowing that a search would be made, andguessing that all obscure places would be explored first, would hide itin some commonplace manner. He visited the apartments, and found theletter in the letter-rack. Now this is ingenious, but Mr. Poe here givesus a bit of special pleading and a curious anomaly at the same time. Hewished to show that an obscure corner would be a bad hiding-place, andso worked out his result. At the same time he draws a skilful thief whobaffled expert police, and yet who hid his letter where the first manwith brains easily found it. This is the anomaly. Where the article issmall, as is the case with this lost ruby, there is but one safe placefor the thief to hide his stolen property."

  "And that place is?" asked Mr. Mitchel, himself betraying interest.

  "Upon his own person, where at all times he could be on the alert tothwart the searching committee."

  "Ah, you are forgetting," said Mr. Mitchel, "that idea was notoverlooked by Edgar Poe. In the tale, the man was waylaid by officers indisguise, who bound him and then searched him. If the letter had beenabout him, it would have been found."

  "Not at all. The letter was placed in an envelope, which had beenturned, and then mailed so that on the reverse it received the postalimprint. This foiled the detectives when they examined the letter-rack.It would have fooled them in exploring his pockets, if found with otherletters similarly addressed. On the other hand, had it been in hispocket, the man who finally obtained it could not have done so bycreating a confusion in the street which attracted the man to thewindow. It would have been difficult for him even to guess that it wasin the pocket. Besides, with the ruby it would be simple, since it is anarticle that can be disposed of at a moment's notice."

  "Very true," said Mr. Mitchel, "but----" Here he paused for a moment,and seemed abstracted. Quickly recovering, he said: "What was I saying?I have lost the thread of our conversation."

  "Mr. Thauret suggested that the thief could keep the ruby about him,"replied Mr. Randolph.

  "Ah, exactly. Now I remember. Well, I should say that it would be ahazardous undertaking. I believe had I stolen the gem, as, by the way,Randolph, you suggested, I could do better than that."

  "Ah," said Mr. Randolph, "this is getting interesting. Come, tell us;how should you hide the jew
el, supposing that you had taken it?"

  "That is a leading question," said Mr. Mitchel. "I prefer not to answerit. Walls have ears, you know." He said this in a significant way thatmade Mr. Randolph uncomfortable for a moment. Mr. Mitchel at oncecontinued: "I will say this, however, that the thief, whoever he is,cannot profit by his theft."

  "Why not?" asked Mr. Thauret.

  "Because there is not another gem in existence save those two which areso absolutely perfect in color. In fact, they are the standards by whichrubies are valued. It is claimed that the expression 'pigeon-blood ruby'owes its existence to the staining of one of these gems in the mannerdescribed. Dealers sometimes cut a pigeon's throat to compare the bloodwith the color of a gem being appraised. The significance of this is,that the stolen gem cannot be sold as it is, because it would berecognized, and I have notified all the great dealers in the world thatmy 'Egyptian Gem' has been stolen. If it were attempted to have it cutup, the lapidary would at once report the matter, as the reward offeredby me is greater than could be earned by recutting the stone."

  "Suppose that the thief himself is a gem cutter?" asked Thauret.

  "Even then the perfect color would at once tell the first dealer to whomhe applied that the 'Egyptian Gem' had been recut."

  "The thief might be a patient man, and all things come to him whowaits," replied Mr. Thauret.

  "True," said Mr. Mitchel. "But mark my words, the 'Egyptian Gem' willnot be sold by the person who has it now."

  "Especially if that person is yourself," said Mr. Randolph.

  "Just so," answered Mr. Mitchel.

  The conversation now drifted to other things, and shortly after, thedinner being over, the three men separated.

  As Mr. Barnes was about to leave the main dining-room, one of theservants handed him a note. Supposing it to be from Mr. Randolph, heopened it at once, and was surprised and chagrined to read:

  "When Mr. Barnes next plays the eavesdropper he should be careful to observe whether a mirror reflects both sides of a _portiere_ which he might suppose would conceal him. "MITCHEL."

  "The devil take it," muttered Mr. Barnes. "I wonder at what point hediscovered my presence. Was that last part, about his having warned allthe dealers, thrown in gratuitously for my benefit, and to lead me tosuppose that some one else stole the stone? If so, why does he now letme know that he saw me?"