“Well,” said the assistant, “you’ve got a leading rôle, according to the programme we found, and you must have a fine dressing room. Wait! I’ll just scout around and find a room with your stage costume in it. If I make a mistake no one will wonder at it, while they would suspect something at once if you got into the wrong room. “There,” said Patsy, returning in a moment. “I’ve located the place and the rig. I hope you’ll make a hit in your part to-night! You wear a wig and all that, so no one will suspect you. What luck! Sure I don’t play anything? Well, then, I’ll be your servant for the night, and sit in the dressing room and watch.” Nick dressed in the costume he wore in the play, and went out on the stage. Half a dozen of the members were there, and he nodded at them all, giving the sign with the left hand. They were all too busy with their own affairs to pay special attention to him. Presently a dressing-room door opened, and a woman stepped out, clad in silks and blazing with diamonds. She approached Nick, who was glad that at the moment he stood in the shadow of a scene ready for adjustment. The girl was Bernice Bouvé. She looked more beautiful than ever in her costume. In a moment Anton Sawtelle stood at her side. “Where is Stella?” asked Bernice, laying a hand on Nick’s arm. “She should have been here long ago.” “Now, who is Stella?” wondered Nick. “She must be the clever woman who captured me this evening. I’ll take a chance. “She left me soon after leaving the Cumberland,” he said, “saying that she would be here on time. You look superb in those diamonds!” Bernice smiled and Anton grinned. “You always admired the Maynard collection,” she said. Here was another puzzle for the detective. Had the thieves the nerve to present the stolen diamonds at the rehearsal? Could it be possible that no member of the club, outside those who belonged to the syndicate, knew of the true situation of affairs, of the murder of Townsend and the assault on Maynard? “It strikes me,” thought Nick, “that this dramatic club is composed principally of members of the Great Diamond Syndicate.” The detective shuddered as Bernice touched him, but he remained in conversation with her for a long time. “There comes the chief,” she said presently, pointing to a brisk-appearing man just stepping on the stage. He was accompanied by a young fellow Nick had no difficulty in recognizing as the alleged reporter who had led him to the syndicate headquarters. There was no doubt that the man referred to as the chief was the same one who had planned his death the previous evening. In looking over the members of the club, Nick saw that it was indeed composed mostly of members of the syndicate. The few outsiders who were there were the lambs of the organization. They had either diamonds, money, or social position to thank for their admission. Nick now saw clearly what the club really was, an annex to the syndicate.