“A whole year has elapsed since then, but the real necklace has never been traced or found; so Mr. Kidd has paid, with absolute quixotic chivalry, the sum of £10,000 to Miss Morgan, and thus he has completely cleared the firm of Kidd and Co. of any suspicion as to its integrity.” Chapter III “But then, what in the world is the explanation of it all?” I asked bewildered, as the funny creature paused in his narrative and seemed absorbed in the contemplation of a beautiful knot he had just completed in his bit of string. “The explanation is so simple,” he replied, “for it is obvious, is it not, that only four people could possibly have committed the fraud?” “Who are they?” I asked. “Well,” he said, whilst his bony fingers began to fidget with that eternal piece of string, “there is, of course, old Mr. Kidd; but as the worthy jeweller has paid £10,000 to prove that he did not steal the real necklace and substitute a false one in its stead, we must assume that he was guiltless. Then, secondly, there is Mr. Howard Dennis.” “Well, yes,” I said, “what about him?” “There were several points in his favour,” he rejoined, marking each point with a fresh and most complicated knot; “it was not he who bought the roses, therefore it was not he who, clad in a blue domino, entered Miss Morgan’s dressing-room directly after Knight left it. “And mark the force of this point,” he added excitedly. “Just before the curtain rang up for the second act, Miss Morgan had been in her room, and had then undone the packet, which, in her own words, was just as she had received it from Mr. Kidd’s hands. “After that Miss Knight remained in charge, and a mere ten seconds after she left the room she saw the blue domino carrying the roses at the door. “The flower-girl’s story and that of George Finch have proved that the blue domino could not have been Mr. Dennis, but it was the loafer who evidently stole the false necklace. “If you bear all this in mind you will realise that there was no time in those ten seconds for Mr. Dennis to have made the substitution _before_ the theft was committed. It stands to reason that he could not have done it afterwards. “Then, again, many people suspected Miss Knight, the dresser, but this supposition we may easily dismiss. An uneducated, stupid girl, not three-and-twenty, could not possibly have planned so clever a substitution. An imitation necklace of that particular calibre and made to order would cost far more money than a poor theatrical dresser could ever afford; let alone the risks of ordering such an ornament to be made. “No,” said the funny creature, with comic emphasis, “there is but one theory possible, which is my own.” “And that is?” I asked eagerly. “The workman, Rumford, of course,” he responded triumphantly. “Why! it jumps to the eyes, as our French friends would tell us. Who, other than he, could have the opportunity of making an exact copy of the necklace which had been entrusted to his firm?