"Und if we don'd solve him, Laadham, ve'll haf to do vatever as he says," Mr. Schultze continued slowly. "Und ve may haf to do vatever as he says, anywhow."
"Put one hundred million dollars into diamonds in one year—just the five of us?" demanded the other. "It's preposterous."
"Id iss brebosterous," the German agreed readily; "but das iss no argument." He was silent for a little while. "Vere does he ged dem? Vere does he ged dem?" he repeated thoughtfully. "Do you believe, Laadham, it vould be bossible to smuggle in dwenty, d'irty, ein hundred million dollars of diamonds?"
"Certainly not," was the reply.
"Den, if dey were nod smuggled in, dey are somewhere on der records of der Custom House, ain'd id?"
Mr. Latham snapped his fingers with a sudden realization of this possibility.
"Schultze, I believe that is our clew!" he exclaimed keenly. "Certainly they would have been listed by the customs department; and come to think of it, the tariff on them would have been enormous, so enormous that—that—" and he lost the hopeful tone—"so enormous that we must have heard of it when it became a matter of public record."
"Yah," Mr. Schultze agreed. "Diamonds like dose dupligates of der Koh-i-noor, der Orloff und der Regent could never haf passed through der Custom House, Laadham, mitoud attracting attention, so?"
Mr. Latham acquiesced by a nod of his head; Mr. Schultze sat regarding him through half-closed eyelids.
"Und if dey are nod on der Custom House records," he continued slowly, "und dey are nod smuggled in, den, Laadham, den—Mein Gott, man, don'd you see?"