He drank a sip or two out of his glass; he was beginning to get agitated again. “Take your time,” said the superintendent. “Tell us everything, mind.” “Yes, I will. When my wife and I went to bed that night it was late—after twelve. I took the little box containing the stones with me—I have a small safe in our bedroom. Before I put them away the thought struck me that I would count them. To my horror, there were only thirty-one—one of the largest was missing. You must remember that these stones are worth a considerable sum, and I only hold them as agent—but I am responsible for them. My wife and I talked it over, and came to the conclusion that I must have left one stone in the bag when I emptied them out the second time. I was in a dilemma. For all I knew, Templeton might be off with the tide very early the next morning—he hadn’t told me his movements. Then I looked out of the window—you can see across the estuary over the trees. I could make out a light. Now, I know the position of the lights there, and I knew at once it couldn’t be the inn or the house in which—what’s his name?—the old retired cigar merchant lives. Yes?” Colson had sprung to an upright position on his chair. “What’s that you say?” he asked. “A cigar merchant? Who?” “Why—he lived in the house opposite the ‘Mariner’s Arms’—ah—Proctor’s his name. Didn’t you know?” “Was he in the cigar trade?” “Yes—till about two years ago. I knew him slightly up here; in fact, it was I who told him about that house of his being for sale.” Colson gave a low whistle and exchanged glances with the superintendent. “Sorry I interrupted. Go on, Mr. Moss.” “Well, from the position of the light, I guessed it must be on Templeton’s yacht, and that he had not yet turned in. I didn’t know, as I told you, whether he might not be off—even soon, for the tide would be on the turn between one and two. And I hadn’t the slightest idea how to get hold of him if he left, so I said to my wife, ‘I’ll get that stone now. Templeton’s evidently on his yacht.’ ‘How?’ she asked. ‘Why,’ I replied, ‘it’s quite simple; it’s only a question of pulling over in the boat.’ At first she was rather inclined to dissuade me, but she saw how anxious I was to get the stone back, so at last she said, ‘Well, hurry up, then, Isaac, and get it over. I want to go to sleep—and don’t stop gossiping with Mr. Templeton.’” “And you went?” put in the superintendent. Moss nodded, took a drink and went on. “I did. It wasn’t so easy as I thought. The tide was running in hard, and I’m not much of a hand with a boat. I had to pull with all my might, and when I got to the calmer water, where the yacht lay, I still pulled so hard that I ran into her with a bit of a bump. I was rather surprised that no one took any notice; it must have shaken her.”