"No," he answered thoughtfully; "that has been my belief the whole time. I fear that we must have thieves in the house,—but here comes Sigrid!"
He was quite right, for there was the dear girl walking at a rapid pace toward the gate.
A warm blush overspread her face when she saw me, but it disappeared quickly, and I noticed she looked very pale and fatigued.
We opened the gate for her, and I gave a sign, to Frick that I wished first to speak with her.
I went up to her, took her hand, and whispered some words which had nothing to do with the theft. Then, as we came nearer her uncle, I remarked aloud and as carelessly as possible:—
"Your uncle cannot find the black tortoise; he thinks he must have mislaid it in some place or another."
I said this purposely to arouse her attention, in case the diamond really had been mislaid. I was afraid that if I mentioned at once that it might have been stolen, she would have become too excited to think quietly over the matter.
"But, dear me, isn't it in the cupboard? I myself saw you put it in its place before we followed Mr. Jurgens through the garden."
I could not help noticing that Sigrid spoke in a very absent-minded manner; she looked fagged out, like a person who had gone through some physical or mental exertion.
We told her not to mention anything for the present to the servants about the disappearance of the diamond, and then she left us and went into the house. It struck me as remarkable that the affair should interest her so little.