"When was that?"
"Not very long ago."
"I hadn't heard," said Clinch.
"Well, you hear it now, don't you? All right. All right; I'm going after him."
As he started again across the marsh, Clinch called out in a guarded voice: "Take good care of that packet if you catch them rats. It belongs to Eve."
"I'll take such good care of it," replied Smith, "that its proper owner need not worry."
* * * * *
II
The "proper owner" of the packet was, at that moment, on the Atlantic
Ocean, travelling toward the United States.
Four other pretended owners of the Grand Duchess Theodorica's jewels, totally unconscious of anything impending which might impair their several titles to the gems, were now gathered together in a wilderness within a few miles of one another.