"You were quite correct about the diamonds, Bobby," I said. "Manning found them without the least difficulty."
I pointed to the fireplace, and with a queer exclamation Campbell strode across the room and peered into the recess.
"Are you serious, man?" he demanded. "D'ye mean to say he's got them?"
"Yes," I said, "he's got them all right, and it's only by the mercy of God and her own pluck that he hasn't got Christine as well."
"When did this happen?"
Campbell shot the question at me so savagely that it sounded like the bark of a dog.
"Twenty minutes ago," I said.
"And where is he now?" This latter from Bobby.
"Unless he's mad," I replied, "he's probably half a mile down the estuary on his way to Rotterdam."
There was a moment of pregnant silence.