“Imakemyinterestsyours，andyoumakeyourinterestsmine。
Isn’tthatso，Pugh？“
“Tress，what——whatwasinthebox？“
“Iwillbefrankwithyou，Pugh。Iftherehadbeensomethinginthebox，wouldyouhavebeenwillingtogohalveswithmeinmydiscovery？“
“Gohalves！Inyourdiscovery，Tress！Givemewhatismine！“
“Withpleasure，Pugh，ifyouwilltellmewhatisyours。“
“If——ifyoudon’tgivemewhatwasintheboxI’ll——I’llsendforthepolice。“
“Do！ThenIshallbeabletohandtothemwhatwasintheboxinorderthatitmayberestoredtoitsproperowner。“
“Itsproperowner！I’mitsproperowner！“
“Excuseme，butIdon’tunderstandhowthatcanbe；atleast，untilthepolicehavemadeinquiries。Ishouldsaythattheproperownerwasthepersonfromwhomyoupurchasedthebox，or，moreprobably，thepersonfromwhomhepurchasedit，andbywhom，doubtless，itwassoldinignorance，orbymistake。Thus，Pugh，ifyouwillonlysendforthepolice，weshallearnthegratitudeofapersonofwhomweneverheardinourlives——Ifordiscoveringthecontentsofthebox，andyouforreturningthem。“
AsIsaidthis，Pugh’sfacewasastudy。Hegaspedforbreath。Heactuallytookouthishandkerchieftowipehisbrow。
“Tress，I——Idon’tthinkyouneedtouseatonelikethattome。
Itisn’tfriendly。What——whatwasinthebox？“
“Letusunderstandeachother，Pugh。Ifyoudon’thandoverwhatwasintheboxtothepolice，Igohalves。“
Pughbegantodanceaboutthefloor。
“WhatafoolIwastotrustyouwiththebox！IknewIcouldn’ttrustyou。“Isaidnothing。Iturnedandrangthebell。“What’sthatfor？“
“That，mydearPugh，isforbreakfast，and，ifyoudesireit，forthepolice。Youknow，althoughyouhavebreakfasted，Ihaven’t。
PerhapswhileIambreakingmyfast，youwouldliketosummontherepresentativesoflawandorder。“Bobcamein。Iorderedbreakfast。ThenIturnedtoPugh。“Isthereanythingyouwouldlike？“
“No，I——I’vebreakfasted。“
“Itwasn’tofbreakfastIwasthinking。Itwasof——somethingelse。
Bobisatyourservice，if，forinstance，youwishtosendhimonanerrand。“
“No，Iwantnothing。Bobcango。“Bobwent。Directlyhewasgone，Pughturnedtome。“Youshallhavehalf。Whatwasinthebox？“
“Ishallhavehalf？“
“Youshall！“
“Idon’tthinkitisnecessarythatthetermsofourlittleunderstandingshouldbeexpresslyembodiedinblackandwhite。I
fancythat，underthecircumstance，Icantrustyou，Pugh。I
believethatIamcapableofseeingthat，inthismatter，youdon’tdome。Thatwasinthebox。“
Iheldoutthecrystalbetweenmyfingerandthumb。
“Whatisit？“
“ThatiswhatIdesiretolearn。“
“Letmelookatit。“
“Youarewelcometolookatitwhereitis。Lookatitaslongasyoulike，andasclosely。“
Pughleanedovermyhand。Hiseyesbegantogleam。Heishimselfnotabadjudgeofpreciousstones，isPugh。
“It’s——it’s——Tress！——isitadiamond？“
“ThatquestionIhavealreadyaskedmyself。“
“Letmelookatit！Itwillbesafewithme！It’smine！“
Iimmediatelyputthethingbehindmyback。
“Pardonme，itbelongsneithertoyounortome。Itbelongs，inallprobability，tothepersonwhosoldthatpuzzletothemanfromwhomyouboughtit——perhapssomeweepingwidow，Pugh，orhopelessorphan——thinkofit。Letushavenofurthermisunderstandinguponthatpoint，mydearoldfriend。Still，becauseyouaremydearoldfriend，Iamwillingtotrustyouwiththisdiscoveryofmine，onconditionthatyoudon’tattempttoremoveitfrommysight，andthatyoureturnittomethemomentIrequireyou。“
“You’re——you’reveryhardonme。“Imadeamovementtowardmywaistcoatpocket。“I’llreturnittoyou！“
Ihandedhimthecrystal，andwithitIhandedhimmypocketlens。
“WiththeaidofthatglassIimaginethatyouwillbeabletosubjectittoamoreacuteexamination，Pugh。“
Hebegantoexamineitthroughthelens。Directlyhedidso，hegaveanexclamation。Inafewmomentshelookedupatme。Hiseyeswereglisteningbehindhisspectacles。Icouldseehetrembled。
“Tress，it’s——it’sadiamond，aBrazildiamond。It’sworthafortune！“
“I’mgladyouthinkso。“
“GladIthinkso！Don’tyouthinkthatit’sadiamond？“
“Itappearstobeadiamond。UnderordinaryconditionsIshouldsay，withouthesitation，thatitwasadiamond。ButwhenI
considerthecircumstancesofitsdiscovery，Iamdriventodoubts。
Howmuchdidyougiveforthatpuzzle，Pugh？“
“Ninepence；thefellowwantedashilling，butIgavehimninepence。
Heseemedcontent。“
“Ninepence！Doesitseemreasonablethatweshouldfindadiamond，which，ifitisadiamond，isthefineststoneIeversawandhandled，inaninepennypuzzle？Itisnotasthoughithadgotintothethingbyaccident，ithadevidentlybeenplacedtheretobefound，and，apparently，byanyonewhochancedtosolvethepuzzle；witnessthewritingonthescrapofpaper。“
Pughre-examinedthecrystal。
“Itisadiamond！I’llstakemylifethatit’sadiamond！“
“Still，thoughitbeadiamond，Ismellarat！“
“Whatdoyoumean？“
“Istronglysuspectthatthepersonwhoplacedthatdiamondinsidethatpuzzleintendedtohaveajokeattheexpenseofthepersonwhodiscoveredit。WhatwastobethenatureofthejokeismorethanIcansayatpresent，butIshouldliketohaveabetwithyouthatthemanwhocompoundedthatpuzzlewasaningeniouspracticaljoker。Imaybewrong，Pugh；weshallsee。But，untilIhaveprovedthecontrary，Idon’tbelievethatthemaddestmanthateverlivedwouldthrowawayadiamondworth，apparently，shallwesayathousandpounds？“
“Athousandpounds！Thisdiamondisworthagooddealmorethanathousandpounds。“
“Well，thatonlymakesmycasethestronger；Idon’tbelievethatthemaddestmanthateverlivedwouldthrowawayadiamondworthmorethanathousandpoundswithsuchutterwantonnessasseemstohavecharacterizedtheactionoftheoriginalownerofthestonewhichIfoundinyourninepennypuzzle，Pugh。“
“Therehavebeensomeeccentriccharactersintheworld，someveryeccentriccharacters。However，asyousay，weshallsee。IfancythatIknowsomebodywhowouldbequitewillingtohavesuchadiamondasthis，andwho，moreover，wouldbewillingtopayafairpriceforitspossession；Iwilltakeittohimandseewhathesays。“
“Pugh，handmebackthatdiamond。“
“MydearTress，Iwasonlygoing——“
Bobcameinwiththebreakfasttray。
“Pugh，youwilleitherhandmethatatonce，orBobshallsummontherepresentativesoflawandorder。“
Hehandedmethediamond。Isatdowntobreakfastwithaheartyappetite。Pughstoodandscowledatme。
“JosephTress，itismysolemnconviction，andIhavenohesitationinsayingsoinplainEnglish，thatyou’reathief。“
“MydearPugh，itseemstomethatweshoweverypromiseofbecomingacoupleofthieves。“
“Don’tbracketmewithyou！“
“Notatall，youareworsethanI。Itisyouwhodeclinetoreturnthecontentsoftheboxtoitsproperowner。Putittoyourself，youhaveSOMEcommonsense，mydearoldfriendI——doyousupposethatadiamondworthmorethanathousandpoundsistobeHONESTLY
boughtforninepence？“
Heresumedhisoldtrickofdancingabouttheroom。
“Iwasafoolevertoletyouhavethebox！Ioughttohaveknownbetterthantohavetrustedyou；goodnessknowsyouhavegivenmesufficientcausetomistrustyou！Overandoveragain！Yourcharacterisonlytoonotorious！Youhaveplunderedfriendandfoealike——friendandfoealike！Asfortherubbishwhichyoucallyourcollection，ninetenthsofit，Iknowasapositivefact，youhavestolenoutandout。“
“WhostolemySirWalterRaleighpipe？Wasn’titamannamedPugh？“
“Lookhere，JosephTress！“
“I’mlooking。“
“Oh，it’snogoodtalkingtoyou，nottheleast！You’re——you’redeadtoallthepromptingsofconscience！MayIinquire，Mr。
Tress，whatitisyouproposetodo？“
“IPROPOSEtodonothing，exceptsummontherepresentativesoflawandorder。Failingthat，mydearPugh，Ihadsomefaint，vague，veryvagueideaoftakingthecontentsofyourninepennypuzzletoacertainfirminHattonGarden，whoaredealersinpreciousstones，andtolearnfromthemiftheyaredisposedtogiveanythingforit，andifso，what。“
“Ishallcomewithyou。“
“Withpleasure，onconditionthatyoupaythecab。“
“Ipaythecab！Iwillpayhalf。“
“Notatall。Youwilleitherpaythewholefare，orelseIwillhaveonecabandyoushallhaveanother。Itisathree-shillingcabfarefromheretoHattonGarden。Ifyouproposetosharemycab，youwillbesogoodastohandoverthatthreeshillingsbeforewestart。“
Hegasped，buthehandedoverthethreeshillings。TherearefewthingsIenjoysomuchasgettingmoneyoutofPugh！
OntheroadtoHattonGardenwewranglednearlyalltheway。IownthatIfeelacertainsatisfactioninirritatingPugh，heissuchanirritableman。HewantedtoknowwhatIthoughtweshouldgetforthediamond。
“Youcan’texpecttogetmuchforthecontentsofaninepennypuzzle，noteventhepriceofacabfare，Pugh。“
Heeyedme，butforsomeminuteshewassilent。Thenhebeganagain。
“Tress，Idon’tthinkweoughttoletitgoforlessthan——thanfivethousandpounds。“
“Seriously，Pugh，Idoubtwhether，whenthewholeaffairisended，weshallgetfivethousandpenceforit，or，forthematterofthat，fivethousandfarthings。“
“Butwhynot？Whynot？It’samagnificentstone——magnificent！
I’llstakemylifeonit。“
Itappedmybreastwiththetipsofmyfingers。
“There’sawarningvoicewithinmybreastthatoughttobeinyours，Pugh！Somethingtellsme，perhapsitistheunusuallystrongveinofcommonsensewhichIpossess，thatthecontentsofyourninepennypuzzlewillbefoundtobeamagnificentdo——aningeniouspracticaljoke，myfriend。“
“Idon’tbelieveit。“
ButIthinkhedid；atanyrate，Ihadunsettledthefoundationsofhisfaith。
WeenteredtheHattonGardenofficesidebyside；inhisanxietynottoletmegetbeforehim，Pughactuallyclungtomyarm。Theofficewasdividedintotwopartsbyacounterwhichranfromwalltowall。Iadvancedtoamanwhostoodontheothersideofthiscounter。
“Iwanttosellyouadiamond。“
“WEwanttosellyouadiamond，“interpolatedPugh。
IturnedtoPugh。I“fixed“himwithmyglance。
“Iwanttosellyouadiamond。Hereitis。Whatwillyougivemeforit？“
TakingthecrystalfrommywaistcoatpocketIhandedittothemanontheothersideofthecounter。Directlyhegotitbetweenhisfingers，andsawthatitwasthathehadgot，Inoticedasuddengleamcomeintohiseyes。
“Thisis——thisisratherafinestone。“
Pughnudgedmyarm。
“Itoldyouso。“IpaidnoattentiontoPugh。“Whatwillyougivemeforit？“
“Doyoumean，whatwillIgiveyouforitcashdownuponthenail？“
“Justso——whatwillyougivemeforitcashdownuponthenail？“
Themanturnedthecrystaloverandoverinhisfingers。“Well，that’sratheralargeorder。Wedon’toftengetachanceofbuyingsuchastoneasthisacrossthecounter。Whatdoyousayto——well——
totenthousandpounds？“
Tenthousandpounds！Itwasbeyondmywildestimaginings。Pughgasped。Helurchedagainstthecounter。
“Tenthousandpounds！“heechoed。