"No! No!" gasped La Croix, imploringly. Reaching his side, the detective handcuffed him. Just then a boy knocked at the hall door. "Who's there?" cried the old detective. "Boy, sir." "What do you want?" "Mr. Gibson wants to see you, sir." "Send him up." "Yes, sir." Just then the door between the two rooms was flung open and Harry strode through with a puzzled look upon his face. "No one in here," he announced. A pleased smile crossed La Croix's face. Observing it, Old King Brady exclaimed: "Your daughter was in that room, wasn't she?" "She was," admitted La Croix, "but she hear ze attack and escape." "You warned her by yelling our names?" "I deed, Monsieur." "Confound you! Where are those diamonds?" "Clara has got zem." "Don't lie." "Sairch ze place an' you see." The Bradys complied, but failed to find the missing diamonds. "I'll go after her!" cried Harry, hastily, and he rushed out. A few moments after he had gone, Gibson came in, and a look of mingled surprise, rage and jealousy crossed his face when he saw the situation of affairs. "How are you, Gibson?" laughed Old King Brady. "I've got La Croix!" "You've cheated me!" snarled the inspector, furiously. "Bless your heart, you've got the matter twisted. It was you interfering with our game. We've been after this man two months. And you ain't going to skim the cream off our hard work, I can tell you." "You lie, Brady--" An angry light sparkled in the old detective's eyes at this insult and he doubled up his fist, strode over to the inspector and struck him in the face. "Don't you dare insult me, you cur!" he exclaimed. Gibson reeled back swearing, and seeing the old detective coming at him again, he rushed from the room shouting wildly: "I'll pay you off for that blow!" CHAPTER XVII. RECOVERING THE DIAMONDS. When Harry ran from La Croix's room, he passed Andrew Gibson in the hall, and smiled when he thought of the man's coming surprise. Racing downstairs, the boy made inquiries at the different entrances to the hotel, for information about the girl smuggler. A man had seen her go out the Vesey street door. As he was interested in her pretty face, he watched her a few moments and had seen her go hurrying over to Broadway. She had kept on the west side of the street and was evidently going downtown on foot in the dense crowd thronging the street. With this meagre clew to follow, Harry hurried away.