Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West
All this will require several
days' time, so you see we are in no hurry to conclude the examination."
"I see." said Arthur. "Is it, then, your intention to accompany the
prisoner to Vienna?"
"Of course. I have not mentioned the fact to you before, but I hold a
commission from the Chief of Police of Vienna authorizing me to arrest
Jack Andrews wherever I may find him, and deliver him up for trial. My
firm procured for me this commission, as they are very anxious to recover
the lost pearls."
"Why?"
"Well, to be frank, sir, the countess still owes our firm a large sum for
purchases. She had almost her entire fortune tied up in that collection,
and unless it is recovered--."
"I can well appreciate the anxiety of your firm. But aside from that, Mr.
Le Drieux, I suppose a big reward has been offered?"
"Not big; just a fair amount. It will repay me, quite handsomely, for my
trouble in this affair; but, of course, my firm gets half of the reward."
"They are not too generous. You deserve it all."
"Thank you. It has been an interesting episode, Mr. Weldon."
"It has been more than that. I consider this escapade of Andrews quite a
romance; or is it more of a tragedy, in your opinion?"
"It will be a tragedy for Andrews, before he's through with it," replied
Le Drieux grimly. "They're pretty severe on the long-fingered gentry,
over there in Europe, and you must remember that if the fellow lives
through the sentence they will undoubtedly impose upon him in Vienna, he
has still to answer for the Paris robbery and the London murder. It's all
up with Andrews, I guess; and it's a good thing, too, for he is too
clever to remain at large."
"I do not consider him so clever as his captor," said Arthur smoothly.
"It did not take you long to discover where he had hidden. Why, he has
only returned to America about fifteen months ago."
"Eleven months ago--even less than that, I think," retorted Le Drieux,
with much pride. "Let me see," taking out a notebook, "Andrews landed
from the _Princess Irene_ on the twenty-seventh of January last.
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There was once an honest journeyman tailor, by name Labakan, who learned his trade with an excellent master in Alexandria. It could not be said that Labakan was unhandy with the needle; on the contrary, he could make excellent work: moreover, one would have done him injustice to have called him lazy. Nevertheless, his companions knew not what to make of him, for he would often sew for hours together so rapidly that the needle would glow in his hand, and the thread smoke, and that none could equal him.
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