"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment.
"Not believe you?"
"I hardly think so."
"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile.
"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied. "The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two artificial diamonds."
"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What is your name, my man?"
"Jean Pylotte, sir."
"Who are you, and where do you live?"
"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain size and quality."
"Then you are a judge of diamonds?"