“They were delivered to me yesterday, at the residence of my uncle, up the Hudson,” replied Charley. “I heartily wish I had never set eyes on them.”
“A present?” asked Nick.
“My inheritance from my father,” was the reply. “As you know, he was a globe trotter from his youth up. It seems that during a visit to South Africa he became the possessor of the gems which were stolen last night. How he came by them I have no idea. I only know that there are some very fine stones in the collection, and that they were delivered to me yesterday afternoon. Now they are gone, my uncle lies dead in the house, my aunt is prostrated with grief, besides suffering severely from a blow dealt by a brutal assassin, and my cousin, Anton Sawtelle, lies wounded in his bed. It is a sad house this morning, Mr. Carter.”
“There was a struggle, then?” asked Nick. “The robbers were discovered at their work and fought for the booty?”
“That is the strangest part of the case,” said the young man. “The diamonds were stolen from a trunk in my room on the second floor of the house, and yet I heard nothing of the struggle which must have taken place. It seems that the burglars entered by way of Anton’s room and searched the entire floor. Why they should have visited the apartments of my uncle and aunt is more than I can understand. I am not a heavy sleeper, yet I heard nothing of the affair until this morning.”
“Was no one able to give the alarm until this morning?” asked Nick. “Where were the servants? Surely they must have been aroused.”
“They were not,” was the reply, “and the first intimation I had of the murder of my uncle and the loss of my diamonds was when informed by Anton of the happenings of the night.”
Nick walked the floor of his room for a moment.
“What did Anton tell you?” he finally asked.
“He said that he heard a noise during the night and arose from his bed. As he stepped out in the direction of the door opening into the hall, he was struck a savage blow, from the effects of which he did not recover until after daylight.”