"Come, now, why are you so sure? Tell me what you know, and we will soon have you back at the Brunswick Hotel. Had you told the men in the corridor that all the contessa's jewelry was sham?" "I know nothing of--" "Wait!" said Quarles. "Think before you speak. You do not realize how much we know about the men in the corridor. The contessa saw them, remember." The girl began to sob. Very gently Quarles drew the story from her. One of the men was her brother. She had been glad to come to England to see him, but she found he had got into bad hands. She had helped him a little with money. She had talked about the contessa, and when he had spoken about her wonderful jewels she had told him they were sham. "Did he believe you?" "No, monsieur, he laughed at me because I did not know the real thing from paste. I said I did, and, to prove it, mentioned the pearls." "Was this before you knew he had fallen into bad hands?" "Yes, monsieur. On the afternoon the pearls were stolen he came to see me at the hotel with a friend. How they got to our rooms I do not know. I opened the door, thinking it was the contessa. My brother laughed at my surprise, and said he and his friend wanted to see whether the contessa's pearls were real--they had a bet about them. He thought I was a fool, but I was quickly thinking what I must do. 'She is here,' I said. 'Come in five minutes, when she is gone.' This was unexpected for them, and they stepped back, and I shut the door. To get the door shut was all I could think of. I was afraid. I waited; then I went to the bell, but I did not ring. After all, he was my brother. Then Nella called out from my room; I was on my way to fetch a clean frock for her from the contessa's room when my brother came. Now I fetched it, and as I came out of the room the contessa came in. It was a great relief." "Did she say anything about the men in the corridor?" "Not then--not until afterwards, when she found the pearls had been stolen." "And you said nothing?" "No, it was wrong, but he was my brother. How he got the pearls I do not know." "Where is he now?" "I do not know." "But you are sure he stole the pearls?" "Who else?" and she began to sob again. "Perhaps when he hears you have been arrested, he will tell the truth." "No, no, he has become bad in this country. I do not love England." "Anyhow, we will soon have you out of this," said Quarles, patting her shoulder in a fatherly manner. "I am afraid your brother is not much good, but perhaps the affair is not so bad as you imagine." We left her sobbing. "A woman of resource," said Quarles. "Very much so," I answered. "You do not think the arrest was a mistake now, I presume?" "Perhaps not; no, I am inclined to think it has helped us. It is not every woman who would have got rid of two such blackguards so dexterously." "It is the very thinnest story I have ever heard," I laughed. We walked on in silence for a few moments.