XXI
MAX SCHIMMEL DOES SOME EXPLAINING
Max Schimmel bubbled suppressedly. It seemed, indeed, that his interest in the disappearance of the Surakarta had been a wholly impersonal and scientific interest, and that now he felt himself able to show how the emerald had been taken, he had quite forgotten the vital interest his hearers had in the actual recovery of the gem. He sobered himself after an instant, but it seemed only in deference to the questioning and suspicious gaze of the police officer.
"It iss not necessary to look at me, Mr. Boliceman," he commenced, "because the very first thing that I knew about this rob-
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