by Robert Barr
CHAPTER IV. JENNIE LEARNS ABOUT THE DIAMONDS OF THE PRINCESS.
"What about the diamonds of the Princess?" asked Miss Baxter, hercuriosity piqued by the remark of the editor.
"That is rather a long story," replied Mr. Hardwick, "and before I beginit, I would like to ask you one or two questions. Can you manipulate atypewriter?"
"That depends on what make it is. The ordinary typewriter I understandvery thoroughly."
"Good. Have you any knowledge of shorthand?"
"A workable knowledge; I can write about one hundred words a minute."
"Admirable! admirable! Your coming to this office was indeed aninspiration, as Mr. Hempstead remarked. You are just the person I havebeen looking for."
"You didn't seem to think so yesterday, Mr. Hardwick," said the girlwith a sly glance at him.
"Well, many things have happened since yesterday. We are now dealingwith to-day, and with the Princess von Steinheimer."
"She is a German princess, of course?"
"An Austrian princess, but an American woman. She was a Miss Briggs ofChicago; a daughter of Briggs, the railway millionaire, worth somewherebetween twenty and twenty-five millions--dollars, of course. A year ortwo ago she married Prince Konrad von Steinheimer; you may rememberhaving read about it in the papers?"
"Oh, yes; the usual international match--the girl after the title, heafter the money."
"I suppose so; but be that as it may, she is the only daughter of oldBriggs, and had spent a good deal of her time in Europe, but she spentmore than time; she spent the old man's money as well, so during herstay in Europe she accumulated a vast stock of diamonds, some of themvery notable stones. I don't know what the whole collection is worth,some say a million dollars, while others say double that amount. Howeverthat may be, Miss Briggs became the Princess von Steinheimer, andbrought to Austria with her a million dollars in gold and the diamonds,which her father gave as dowry; but, of course, being an only child, shewill come in for the rest of his money when the railway magnate dies."
"Is he likely to die soon? I don't suppose the Prince gave himself awayfor a mere million."
"Oh, you forget the diamonds. As to the likelihood of old Briggs'sdeath, it didn't strike me as imminent when I had a conversation withhim yesterday."
"Yesterday? Is he here in London, then?"
"Yes; he has come over to disentangle the mystery about the diamonds."
"And what is the mystery? You take a dreadful long time to tell a story,Mr. Hardwick."
"The story is important, and it must be told in detail, otherwise youmay go on a long journey for nothing. Are you taking down what I say inshorthand? That is right, and if you are wise you will not transcribeyour notes so that anyone can read them; they are safer in that form.The von Steinheimer family have two residences, a house in Vienna and anancient castle in the Tyrol, situated on the heights above Meran, a mostpicturesque place, I understand; but very shortly you will know moreabout it than I do, because the _Bugle_ expects you to go there as itsspecial correspondent. Here the diamond robbery took place somethinglike two months ago, and the affair is still as great a mystery as ever.The Princess was to open the season at Meran, which is a fashionableresort, by giving a fancy dress ball in Schloss Steinheimer, to whichall the Austrian and foreign notables were invited. It was just beforethe ball began that the diamonds were first missed--in fact, thePrincess was about to put them on, she representing some gorgeouslydecorated character from the Arabian Nights, when the discovery was madethat the diamonds were gone. She was naturally very much upset over herloss, and sent at once for the Prince, her husband, insisting that thepolice should be notified immediately and detectives called in, as wasperfectly natural. Now here comes a strange feature of the affair, andthis is that the Prince positively forbade any publicity, refusing hissanction when she demanded that the police should be informed, and yetthe Prince knew better than anyone else the very considerable value ofthe stones."
"What reason did he give for his refusal?" asked Miss Baxter, looking upfrom her notes.
"I am not quite certain about that; but I think he said it was _infradig._ for the Steinheimers to call in the police. Anyhow, it was anexcuse which did not satisfy the Princess; but as guests were arriving,and as it was desirable that there should be no commotion to mar theoccasion, the Princess temporarily yielded to the wish of her husband,and nothing was said publicly about the robbery. The great ball was thetalk of Meran for several days, and no one suspected the private troublethat was going on underneath this notable event. During these severaldays the Princess insisted that the aid of the police should be invoked,and the Prince was equally strenuous that nothing should be said or doneabout the matter. Then, quite unexpectedly, the Prince veered completelyround, and proclaimed that he would engage the best detectives inEurope. Strange to say, when he announced this decision to his wife, shehad veered round also, and opposed the calling in of the detectives asstrenuously as he had done heretofore."
"What reason did she give for her change of front?" asked Miss Jennie.
"She said, I believe, that it was now too late; that the thieves,whoever they were, had had time to make away with their plunder, andthere would merely be a fuss and worry for nothing."
"Do you know, I am inclined to agree with her," asserted the girl.
"Are you? Then tell me what you think of the case as far as you have got."
"What do _you_ think?"
"I sha'n't tell you at this stage, because I know of further particularswhich I will give you later on. I merely want your opinion now, so thatI may see whether what I have to tell you afterwards modifies it in anyway."
"Well, to me the case looks decidedly dark against the Prince."
"That is what Mr. Briggs thinks. He imagines his Highness has thejewels."
"Where did you get all these particulars?"
"From Mr. Briggs, who, of course, got them by letter from his daughter."
"Then we have, as it were, a one-sided statement."
"Oh, quite so; but still you must remember the Princess does not in theleast suspect her husband of the theft."
"Well, please go on. What are the further particulars?"
"The further particulars are that the Prince made some quietinvestigations among the servants, and he found that there was a manwho, although he was a friend of his own, was much more the friend ofthe Princess, and this man had, on the day the ball was given, theentire freedom of the castle. He is a young officer and nobleman.Lieutenant von Schaumberg, and the Prince knew that this young man wasbeing hard pressed for some debts of honour which he did not appear tobe in a position to liquidate. The young man went unexpectedly to Viennathe day after the ball, and on his return settled his obligations. ThePrincess, from one of her women, got word of her husband's suspicion.She went to the Prince at once, and told him she had come to hisown opinion with regard to the lost diamonds. She would, in nocircumstances, have detectives about the place. Then he told her that hehad also changed his mind, and resolved to engage detectives. So herethey were at a deadlock again. She wrote to her father with greatindignation about the Prince's unjust suspicions, saying von Schaumbergwas a gentleman in every sense of the word. I gather that relationsbetween herself and her husband are somewhat strained, so I imaginethere is much more in this matter than the lost diamonds."
"You imagine, then, that she is shielding the Lieutenant?"
"Candidly, I do."
"And you are of opinion he stole the diamonds?"
"Yes, I am."
"I don't agree with you. I still think it was the Prince, and I thinkbesides this, that he dexterously managed to throw suspicion on theLieutenant. Have they called in the detectives yet?"
"No, they are at a deadlock, as I remarked before."
"Well, what am I expected to do?"
"Mr. Briggs cabled to his daughter--he never writes a letter--thathe would come over and straighten out the tangle in fifteen minutes.He is certain the Prince stole the diamonds, b
ut he did nottell his daughter so. He informed her he was bringing her apresent of a new typewriting machine, and also a young woman fromChicago who could write shorthand and would look after the Princess'scorrespondence--act as secretary, in fact; for it seems the Princesshas a larger correspondence than she can reasonably attend to, and sheappears therefore to yearn for a typewriter. The old man tells me she isvery careless about her letters, never being able to find anythingshe wants, and leaving them about a good deal, so he thinks she needssomeone to look after her affairs; and I have a suspicion that herfather fears she may leave some compromising letter about, so he wishesto ward off a divorce case."
"No, I fancy you are mistaken there. The father hasn't the slightestidea that there can be anything wrong with his daughter. It is probablethe Princess has written some libellous statements about her husband,and it is quite likely the Prince is a brute and that young vonSchaumberg is a most charming person."
"Well, as I was saying," continued Hardwick, "the old man cabled hisdaughter that he is bringing her a secretary and a typewriter. Heengaged a female Pinkerton detective to enter the castle as secretary tothe Princess and, if possible, to solve the diamond mystery. She is ayoung woman who, when she left Chicago, was very anti-English, butshe became acquainted on the steamer with a young Englishman who wastremendously taken with her, and so at Liverpool she quite calmly brokeher engagement with the old man and fulfilled a new engagement she hadmade with the young man by promptly marrying him--special license, I amtold. Old Briggs has therefore a new typewriting machine on his hands,and so I was going to propose to you that you take the place of theChicago Pinkerton person. Briggs has become so disgusted with all thesedetective women that he abandoned the idea of sending a female detectivewith the machine, and doesn't imagine that whoever is sent will beeither a detective or a newspaper woman. I was introduced to him theother day by one of those lucky chances which sometimes put interestingitems of news in our way, and he told me the whole story, requesting meto recommend someone who wrote shorthand and understood the typewriter.I am to dine with him this evening, and I shall cordially recommend you.I may say that Briggs has gone to that celebrated London detective Mr.Cadbury Taylor, and has engaged him to solve the diamond mystery. Soyou see you will have a clear field. If you can leave for the castleto-morrow night, you may have the pleasure of Mr. Cadbury Taylor'scompany. He isn't visiting the castle, but goes straight to Vienna; soif you work your cards rightly, you can be in the same carriage withhim as far as Munich, and during that time you may find out perhaps whathe thinks about the case. I know only this much about his theory, andthat is he thinks the right place to begin is in Vienna, where some, atleast, of the stones are supposed to have been pawned."
"Oh, this is a delightful case, and I shall enjoy it. Has there beenanything published yet with reference to the robbery?"
"Not a word; nobody knows anything about it, except the Prince andPrincess, Briggs, myself and yourself, and perhaps one or two of theservants in the castle--oh, yes, and Cadbury Taylor."