Monk blushed slightly.
"No, this time it is not the detective. But it is my duty to justice and to my wife to get at the bottom of the diamond affair. Remember that more than half of what we believe we have discovered is only the fruits of guesswork and putting two and two together."'
"You are right. I shall come with you. May I ask how you intend to proceed in the matter against the Englishman? There are not, I suppose, sufficient proofs to get a warrant of arrest?"
"No, I am afraid not; and I haven't got my plans quite ready yet. But I fancy we must content ourselves with compelling him to give us a complete proof of Sigrid's innocence, and letting him off from any further unpleasantness. It is hard; but Sigrid is now very nervous, and shudders at the thought of appearing before the court, and all that kind of thing, you know."
"Well, let us start to-morrow evening on the west coast steamer. I shall be ready. But are you sure to meet him there?"
"Yes, my agent in London writes that he has already sailed from England in his yacht Deerhound, and is bound for the Ryfylke fjord to fish for salmon, but in Stavanger he'll await a party which will arrive here by the mail steamer in a few days."
* * * * *
It was on a morning in the beginning of June that the steamer glided into Stavanger harbour. We had had rain and southerly wind the whole way, and the night outside Jædren had been anything but pleasant, although neither Monk nor I suffered from seasickness.
Toward the morning, the wind sprung around to the north, and drove rain, fog, and clouds in front of it, out into the North Sea. The sun shone on the small rippling billows, which merrily splashed against the gaudily painted coasting vessels and warehouses in the harbour.
Among the ships in the harbour, there were two which attracted our attention. One was a pretty English cutter—her blue flag flying at her stern. She had only one mast, although her tonnage must have been about fifty; but the lofty lower mast and the big boom betrayed that she, on this one mast, could carry a sail, the mainsheet of which would be no easy matter to haul in, when the wind had filled it. She seemed to have a numerous crew in proportion to her size—for six or eight men were seen busily engaged in hoisting the wet sails to be dried. She was riding by one of her anchors, and had boats hanging on their davits; while only a small jolly-boat was lying at her stern.