Some change, sudden as it was pronounced, came over the chief, and his whole attitude altered. He dropped into a chair near the door.
"Have a seat, Mr. Wynne," he invited courteously, "and let's understand this thing clearly. Over there, please," and he indicated a chair partly facing that in which Mr. Czenki sat.
Mr. Wynne sat down.
"Now you don't seem to believe," the chief went on pleasantly, "that
Czenki here killed Mr. Kellner?"
"Well, no," the young man admitted.
Mr. Czenki glanced at him quickly, warningly. The chief was not looking, but he knew the glance had passed.
"And why don't you believe it?" he continued.
"In the first place," Mr. Wynne began without hesitation, "the diamonds were worth only about sixty thousand dollars, and Mr. Czenki here draws a salary of twenty-five thousand dollars a year. The proportion is wrong, you see. Again, Mr. Czenki is a man of unquestioned integrity. As diamond expert of the Henry Latham Company he handles millions of dollars' worth of precious stones each year, and has practically unlimited opportunities for theft, without murder, if he were seeking to steal. He has been with that company for several years, and that fact alone is certainly to his credit."
"Very good," commented the chief ambiguously. He paused an instant to study this little man with an interest aroused by the sum of his salary. "And what of Haney's description? His accusation?" he asked.
"Haney might have lied, you know," retorted Mr. Wynne. "Men in his position have been known to lie."