Harry had scarcely comprehended this insulting address before the
General was down upon him with another.

"And in the meantime," said that personage, "follow me before the
nearest Inspector of Police. You may impose upon a simple-minded

soldier, sir, but the eye of the law will read your disreputable
secret. If I must spend my old age in poverty through your

underhand intriguing with my wife, I mean at least that you shall
not remain unpunished for your pains; and God, sir, will deny me a

very considerablesatisfaction if you do not pick oakum from now
until your dying day."

With that, the General dragged Harry from the apartment, and
hurried him downstairs and along the street to the police-station

of the district.
Here (says my Arabian author) ended this deplorable business of the

bandbox. But to the unfortunate Secretary the whole affair was the
beginning of a new and manlier life. The police were easily

persuaded of his innocence; and, after he had given what help he
could in the subsequent investigations, he was even complemented by

one of the chiefs of the detective department on the probity and
simplicity of his behaviour. Several persons interested themselves

in one so unfortunate; and soon after he inherited a sum of money
from a maiden aunt in Worcestershire. With this he married

Prudence, and set sail for Bendigo, or according to another
account, for Trincomalee, exceedingly content, and will the best of

prospects.
STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN IN HOLY ORDERS

The Reverend Mr. Simon Rolles had distinguished" target="_blank" title="a.卓越的，著名的">distinguished himself in the
Moral Sciences, and was more than usually proficient in the study

of Divinity. His essay "On the Christian Doctrine of the Social
Obligations" obtained for him, at the moment of its production, a

certain celebrity in the University of Oxford; and it was
understood in clerical and learned circles that young Mr. Rolles

had in contemplation a considerable work - a folio, it was said -
on the authority of the Fathers of the Church. These attainments,

these ambitious designs, however, were far from helping him to any
preferment; and he was still in quest of his first curacy when a

chance ramble in that part of London, the peaceful and rich aspect
of the garden, a desire for solitude and study, and the cheapness

of the lodging, led him to take up his abode with Mr. Raeburn, the
nurseryman of Stockdove Lane.

It was his habit every afternoon, after he had worked seven or
eight hours on St. Ambrose or St. Chrysostom, to walk for a while

in meditation among the roses. And this was usually one of the
most productive moments of his day. But even a sincere appetite

for thought, and the excitement of grave problems awaiting
solution, are not always sufficient to preserve the mind of the

philosopher against the petty shocks and contacts of the world.
And when Mr. Rolles found General Vandeleur's secretary, ragged and

bleeding, in the company of his landlord; when he saw both change
colour and seek to avoid his questions; and, above all, when the

former denied his own identity with the most unmovedassurance, he
speedily forgot the Saints and Fathers in the vulgar interest of

curiosity.
"I cannot be mistaken," thought he. "That is Mr. Hartley beyond a

doubt. How comes he in such a pickle? why does he deny his name?
and what can be his business with that black-looking ruffian, my

landlord?"
As he was thus reflecting, another peculiar circumstance attracted

his attention. The face of Mr. Raeburn appeared at a low window
next the door; and, as chance directed, his eyes met those of Mr.

Rolles. The nurseryman seemed disconcerted, and even alarmed; and
immediately after the blind of the apartment was pulled sharply

down.
"This may all be very well," reflected Mr. Rolles; "it may be all

excellently well; but I confessfreely that I do not think so.
Suspicious, underhand, untruthful, fearful of observation - I

believe upon my soul," he thought, "the pair are plotting some
disgraceful action."

The detective that there is in all of us awoke and became clamant
in the bosom of Mr. Rolles; and with a brisk, eager step, that bore

no resemblance to his usual gait, he proceeded to make the circuit
of the garden. When he came to the scene of Harry's escalade, his

eye was at once arrested by a broken rosebush and marks of
trampling on the mould. He looked up, and saw scratches on the

brick, and a rag of trouser floating from a broken bottle. This,
then, was the mode of entrance chosen by Mr. Raeburn's particular

friend! It was thus that General Vandeleur's secretary came to
admire a flower-garden! The young clergyman" target="_blank" title="n.牧师；教士">clergyman whistled softly to

himself as he stooped to examine the ground. He could make out
where Harry had landed from his perilous leap; he recognised the

flat foot of Mr. Raeburn where it had sunk deeply in the soil as he
pulled up the Secretary by the collar; nay, on a closer inspection,

he seemed to distinguish the marks of groping fingers, as though
something had been spilt abroad and eagerly collected.

"Upon my word," he thought, "the thing grows vastly interesting."
And just then he caught sight of something almost entirely buried

in the earth. In an instant he had disinterred a dainty morocco
case, ornamented and clasped in gilt. It had been trodden heavily

underfoot, and thus escaped the hurried search of Mr. Raeburn. Mr.
Rolles opened the case, and drew a long breath of almost horrified

astonishment; for there lay before him, in a cradle of green
velvet, a diamond of prodigiousmagnitude and of the finest water.

It was of the bigness of a duck's egg; beautifully shaped, and
without a flaw; and as the sun shone upon it, it gave forth a

lustre like that of electricity, and seemed to burn in his hand
with a thousand internal fires.

He knew little of precious stones; but the Rajah's Diamond was a
wonder that explained itself; a village child, if he found it,

would run screaming for the nearest cottage; and a savage would
prostrate himself in adoration before so imposing a fetish. The

beauty of the stone flattered the young clergyman" target="_blank" title="n.牧师；教士">clergyman's eyes; the
thought of its incalculable value overpowered his intellect. He

knew that what he held in his hand was worth more than many years'
purchase of an archiepiscopal see; that it would build cathedrals

more stately than Ely or Cologne; that he who possessed it was set
free for ever from the primal curse, and might follow his own

inclinations without concern or hurry, without let or hindrance.
And as he suddenly turned it, the rays leaped forth again with

renewed brilliancy, and seemed to pierce his very heart.
Decisive actions are often taken in a moment and without any

conscious deliverance from the rational parts of man. So it was
now with Mr. Rolles. He glanced hurriedly round; beheld, like Mr.

Raeburn before him, nothing but the sunlit flower-garden, the tall
tree-tops, and the house with blinded windows; and in a trice he

had shut the case, thrust it into his pocket, and was hastening to
his study with the speed of guilt.

The Reverend Simon Rolles had stolen the Rajah's Diamond.
Early in the afternoon the police arrived with Harry Hartley. The

nurseryman, who was beside himself with terror, readily discovered
his hoard; and the jewels were identified and inventoried in the

presence of the Secretary. As for Mr. Rolles, he showed himself in
a most obliging temper, communicated what he knew with freedom, and

professed regret that he could do no more to help the officers in
their duty.

"Still," he added, "I suppose your business is nearly at an end."
"By no means," replied the man from Scotland Yard; and he narrated

the second robbery of which Harry had been the immediate victim,
and gave the young clergyman" target="_blank" title="n.牧师；教士">clergyman a description of the more important

jewels that were still not found, dilating particularly on the
Rajah's Diamond.

"It must be worth a fortune," observed Mr. Rolles.
"Ten fortunes - twenty fortunes," cried the officer.

"The more it is worth," remarked Simon shrewdly, "the more
difficult it must be to sell. Such a thing has a physiognomy not

to be disguised, and I should fancy a man might as easily negotiate
St. Paul's Cathedral."

"Oh, truly!" said the officer; "but if the thief be a man of any
intelligence, he will cut it into three or four, and there will be

still enough to make him rich."
"Thank you," said the clergyman" target="_blank" title="n.牧师；教士">clergyman. "You cannot imagine how much your