My eyes fell upon the crystal, and I suddenly thought of what Shin Shira had said. Holding it carefully in my hands, I wished to see the real thief who had stolen the crown jewel.
A vague mist spread over the crystal, which gradually cleared away, and I distinctly saw revealed the features of—Mustapha. Then I wished to see what he had done with the stone, and after gazing a moment or two longer, I saw him take it down to a cellar under his shop and bury it in a tin box under a stone, which he lifted up from the floor.
That was enough for me. When the jailer and the other officers came hurrying back I was ready for them.
"Where is the prisoner?" they demanded.
"He has escaped," I replied coolly.
"What!" they exclaimed. "You dare to admit this, and that you assisted him to do so? You shall take his place here, and will no doubt receive the punishment which was intended for him."
"He is an innocent man," said I calmly, "and ought never to have been imprisoned. He did not steal the diamond."
"How can you say that when we found it upon him? Why, he was actually impudent enough to go walking about in the street with it boldly stuck in his turban."
"The stone he was wearing was his own, and he had every right, to wear it where and how he liked," I replied steadily.
"His own! Pooh! a likely story. Where is the missing jewel then? Can you tell me that?"