I had no need to read the article which followed, for I saw in a
flash what had occurred. I saw, too, why Crochard had retained the
paste jewels--he had a use for them! How or where the substitution
had been made, I could only guess; but one thing was certain: the two
weeks which had elapsed before the theft was discovered had given him
ample opportunity to dispose of his plunder. I felt sorry for the
Grand Duke; sorrier still for that admirable M. Pigot; but, after
all, one could not but admire the cleverness of the man who had
despoiled them.
Who, I wondered, had bought the Mazarin? Surely there was a diamond
most difficult to sell.
It could, of course, be cut up--- but that would be sacrilege!
That question was answered, before long, in an unexpected way--a way
which filled many columns in the papers, which delighted the
comedy-loving French, and which gave Crochard a unique advertisement.
One morning, in the personal column of _Le Matin_, appeared a notice,
of which this is the English:
"To M. the Director of the Museum of the Louvre:
"It has been my good fortune to come into possession of the
rose-diamond known as the Mazarin.
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