XXII
MAX MAKES FURTHER EXPLAINING UNNECESSARY
The police captain glared at Max Schimmel belligerently, but after an instant he seemed to reflect.
"If you have anything else to say, I'll listen to it," he admitted grudgingly.
Max smiled. "You will delay for that efen search for the acgomplices? That iss very kind. There wass indeed one acgomplice—the Javanese from whose room the bolice brought here the dublicate box. It iss possible too there iss some adherent of the Princess Alarna among the suite of Mr. Baraka, because the suitcase could not haf been left long in the room of Baraka for fear he would try to open it. It must indeed haf been carried in when Baraka wass very nearly ready for bed, and it must haf been carried out at once in the confusion after the stealing of the emerald. But that acgomplice, whoever he wass, did not know very much of what was being done—I will show you that he did not efen know that he wass helping to steal the Surakarta. He wass no doubt acgustomed, like many orientals, to do whatefer he wass told, without reasoning what it wass he wass doing; and I wass not at all thinking of him just now. But I wass thinking of the very strange cirgumstances of the dublicate box."
"You have explained about the dublicate box, Schimmel," the police captain interfered.
"Yes; but I haf not explained all—because at first I wass not able to explain it to myself. I haf said the dublicate box should haf been destroyed, but also I haf said that, in spite of that, I found the dublicate box."
The police captain appeared not to comprehend.
"My friendt," said Max to Hereford, "when I found that dublicate box, then indeed I wass perplexed. How wass it that there wass still this dublicate box? The monkey they would keep—a monkey iss not evidence. But the box—no; as soon as the emerald was stolen, they would destroy the dublicate box which was so incgriminating against themselves! Well, I could understand out of it only this—that the monkey must be in the suitcase which wass carried by the Javanese. So then a plan came into my head which afterward in Lincoln Park I carried out; and the plan wass to get a suitcase like the suitcase of the Javanese and steal the suitcase of the Javanese by putting that other in its place. So first I came here to the Tonty and, with the clever Mr. McAdams' help I saw what the suitcase in Baraka's room wass like—because I had not seen very plainly the suitcase of the Javanese which I knew this was like."
"I understand, Max," Hereford nodded to the little German's gesture of interrogation.
"Yes, my friendt; and that night there wass in Baraka's rooms a fire. All the time, my friendt, I had been thinking I was rather shmart; but now I proved that I wass not shmart but wass thinking too much about the monkey. It wass not until after many hours that I wass suddenly like one struck, and said to myself, 'Max, you are a fool! It iss because there had to be still a dublicate box that there had to be also a fire! That is why, my friendt, I said the acgomplice in Baraka's suite could not know much. He could be trusted to carry in a suitcase; he could be trusted to set a fire so that the room of Baraka would be left empty and someone else could get in; but he could not be trusted to know that the liddle monkey had failed!"
Hereford started to his feet in excitement, but the German stopped him with a gesture.
"But, Max—!" Hereford exclaimed.
"Yes; at once I came to the Hotel Tonty. But still I had to wait, the Javanese would not be out of their rooms till six. I had plenty of time, before I could get in, to think how the liddle wounded monkey had gone up the tapestry, how from there he must haf gone along the wide moulting close to the ceiling—"
"You were here in this room, Max, at six o'clock last night?" Hereford broke out.
The German gravely nodded. "Yes, my friendt; I wass in this room at six o'clock last night, as soon as it wass left empty by the Javanese. I wass here, and with a chair to stand upon I poked eferywhere along the wide mouldting which iss at the top by the wall, until I found that of which I wass in search—that same thing for which you and Mr. Annis one hour later fought, not knowing Max had come already and had got it. Haf I not been right to feel all day around me the walls of the jail when I had not yet got the monkey to show how it had been done and still had—this?"
As he spoke, he had thrust his hand into his pocket. He brought it out now and displayed upon the palm a glistening, sparkling, flaming green stone—so large that his fingers, when closed, could not entirely conceal it, while it shot out its scintillating green fire—the great green stone of Java, the hereditary royal stone of Surakarta! But Max, now that he had freed himself of responsibility for it seemed to look at it with no other sort of interest than he would have shown toward one of his dried sea-urchins or an impaled beetle.
"You will see,"—he unnecessarily directed their attention to it—"that, as the man once told me, it has indeed a flaw in it—very shmall, it iss true, but opservable as I hold it to the light. That iss so with almost all these great stones."
Hereford looked to his ward, and found her look met his, filled with a happy light. Page 369
For the first seconds, the sight had seemed to paralyze Baraka, as it amazed the others; but now suddenly he galvanized into action. His dark hand closed over Max Schimmel's, as, almost with a shriek, he clutched the stone and hugged it to him. His feet, as if of themselves, left the floor, and, while he hugged the emerald tighter and tighter against him, he half leaped, half danced up and down.
Hereford looked to his ward, and found her look met his, filled with a happy light.