"How so?"
Her gaze avoided me now.
"Mr. Cavanagh, he has staked everything upon securing the slipper — and the Hashishin were too clever for him. His hand — those Eastern fiends cut off his hand! But he would not give in. He made another bid — and lost again. It left him almost penniless."
She spoke of Earl Dexter's felonious plans as another woman might have spoken of her husband's unwise investments! It was fantastic hearing that confession of The Stetson Man's beautiful partner, and I counted the interview one of the strangest I had ever known.
A sudden idea came to me. "When did Dexter first conceive the plan to steal the slipper?" I asked.
"In Egypt!" answered Carneta. "Yes! You may as well know! He is thoroughly familiar with the East, and he learned of the robbery of Professor Deeping almost as soon as it became known to Hassan. I know what you are going to ask—"
"Ahmad Ahmadeen!"
"Yes! He travelled home as Ahmadeen — the only time he ever used a disguise. Oh! the thing is accursed!" she cried. "I begged him, implored him, to abandon his attempts upon it. Day and night we were watched by those ghastly yellow men! But it was all in vain. He knew, had known for a long time, where Hassan of Aleppo was in hiding!"
And I reflected that the best men at New Scotland Yard had failed to pick up the slightest clue!
"The Hashishin, of whom that dreadful man is leader, are rich, or have supporters who are rich. The plan was to make them pay for the slipper."