“I've had deeper cuts that didn't bleed a drop,” said he. “If you must have the truth, Dorothy, I'll confess the fellow gave me a rather nasty slash, and I don't blame him, He had to do it, and he's just as lucky as I am, perhaps, that it was no worse. I wish to compliment your Brussels police, too, on being veritable bloodhounds. I observed as I came in that they have at last scented the blood on the pavement in front of the house and have washed away the stain fairly well.” “Wasn't the story in the morning paper ridiculous? You were very brave. I almost cried when I saw how the horrid detectives criticised you.” “I'm glad to hear you say that, because I was afraid you'd think like the rest--that I was a blundering idiot.” “You did not fear anything of the kind. Do you really think he was one of those awful diamond robbers who are terrorizing the town? I could not sleep another wink if I thought so. Why, last spring a rich merchant and his wife were drugged in one of the cafes, taken by carriage to Watermael, where they were stripped of their valuables and left by the roadside.” “Did you see an account of the affair in your morning paper?” “Yes--there were columns about it.” “Then I think eight-tenths of the crime was committed at a city editor's desk. It's my opinion these diamond thieves are a set of ordinary pickpockets and petty porch climbers. A couple of New York policemen could catch the whole lot in a week.” “But, really, Phil, they are very bold and they are not at all ordinary. You don't know how thankful we are that this one was discovered before he got into the house. Didn't he have a knife? Well, wasn't it to kill us with if we made an outcry?” She was nervous and excited, and he had it on the tip of his tongue to allay her fears by telling what he thought to be the true object of the man's visit. “Well, no matter what he intended to do, he didn't do it, and he'll never come back to try it again. He will steer clear of this house,” he said, reassuringly.