Nick gazed at him quite intently.

“I really don’t know,” he replied.

“Don’t know?”

“Not yet.”

“You mean——”

“Only what I say—that I don’t know,” Nick put in, smiling. “I must consider the matter. I must determine what best can be done. I must visit your store and size up the opportunities for such wholesale robbery, before I can say what I will do. You can hardly expect more of me at present, Mr. Goulard.”

“Very true, perhaps,” Goulard admitted, with signs of reluctance. “We are up against such a costly game, however, and have found the efforts of other detectives so entirely useless, that I really wondered what steps you would take to discover the thieves.”

“I wonder, too, since hearing Mr. Mantell’s statements,” Nick replied, smiling again. “It appears like a difficult problem, Mr. Goulard.”

“It does, indeed, and you must keep me informed of your progress.”

“I will make it a point to do that.”