“I do not know,” said he at last, and there was one in the room who knew that he did not know, for Jim Farren had seen and heard what passed between George Benson and the Jew, and knew that this young man was a victim of their conspiracy, but for his own sake he dared not speak, for there would be a chance for him if he stood in with the old Jew, but he knew that there would be nothing done if he should try to aid the young sailor. * * * * * A few words would not be amiss about this young man Jim Farren. Brought up in one of the toughest parts of New York, he had had no influence to aid him into a better life. He would steal and then lie out of it, but this time he had been caught in his own trap. What a fool he had been to go to that shop after pawning a watch which of course would be identified. He was thus thinking when he heard the sailor say stoutly: “Well, whether you believe me or not, I did not steal those gems,” and for the first time in his life Jim Farren had an impulse to say, “He did not, for I saw the thief.” * * * * * The next day the papers were full of the robbery and the skilful catching of the thief. George Benson went and shook hands with the pawnbroker, and said: “If we had not worked this fellow off of our hands we would have been in a pickle just now.” When George got home he found that his uncle had sent his lawyer to the inner closet in the library, giving him a design of the room, and the attorney found that the jewels were gone. It was in this way that the detectives took up the case, and they were located in a pawnshop which belonged to one Nathans. It gave the name of Tom Cooper, and old Mr. Benson turned upon his pillow with a groan when he found that the boy he had loved and taken care of from a baby had been the serpent that stung him in a most vital place, for had not his Helen, his wife and beloved, worn these precious diamonds about her neck, and had not his daughter, whom he loved, also had them close to her beating heart? For many hours after this revelation was made to him he said nothing, and then he opened his lips. “It is dreadful to be treated thus. I loved this boy, and was on the eve of sending for him to find out the truth of the matter of a few months ago, but if these gems were found upon him then there can be no excuse for him.” It was strange that the old invalid did not think it about time to send his nephew from his home, especially after the terrible confession George had made about his daughter, but Benson felt that George was his own flesh and blood, and how could he find it in his heart to turn him away? He had grown more tender since the leaving of his Annie. He would put all the worry out of his mind, with the exception of thoughts of Annie, and for her he would wish until the very air produced vibrations that would bring her back to him.