“I could say you stole them.”
“Not good enough. I can prove any amount of alleybys. I could prove there couldn’t be no other way they could ’ave got into my ’ands except through Bellaby.”
“I could say he stole them, and you were the receiver.”
“Yes, so you could,” agreed Mr. Dobb; “and we wouldn’t ’alf ’ave a chatty time in the dock explaining ’ow it all really came about. They wouldn’t overlook your trying to deceive ’em, as you ’ave done, in a ’urry.”
“So, I’m to buy the shandyleary to prevent the truth coming out, am I?” said Mr. Bindley, not without admiration. “It’s pretty smart, but not smart enough.”
“You’ve been smart enough in your time, from what they tells me about you,” returned Mr. Dobb. “You ought to be smart enough now to see you’re cornered. Why, I’ve got you any number of ways. I could sue you for the reward, for example, if I went about the thing carefully.”
“Well, couldn’t I deny they were the jewels? They won’t agree exact with the description, you know.”
“Ah, I thought you might say that! That’s my trump card. You say they ain’t ’er jewels? Very well, I hexibits the ’ole jolly collection in the very front of my window, and pastes the reward bill over ’em, and writes a paper beside ’em what says: ‘These jewels ’ave been found and ’ave not been claimed by anyone. They are all false, and Miss Margureety Delafayne says they ain’t ’ers.’ That’ll start people putting two and two together, won’t it?”
“Let ’em!” cried Mr. Bindley, forcefully. “Before ever I’ll be blackmailed out of—”
“Easy enough to talk like that,” said Mr. Dobb, reproachfully. “But ’aven’t you any consideration for ’er? Why soon as ever the story gets round the town, she’ll be the laughing-stock of the place. ’Er and ’er false jewellery will be ’eld up to ridicule wherever she goes. Besides, a little bird ’as told me that you and ’er are doing a bit of courting. Well, if what I’ve ’eard of ’er temper is true, she’ll ’ave something to say to you for allowing ’er to be made ridic’lous like that, when you could ’ave prevented it. Straight, if I was you, Bindley, I wouldn’t lose a fiancy like that and a bargain of a shandyleary for thirty-nine paltry quid!”