Maud, however, as soon as she saw Le Drieux, asked Arthur Weldon to interview the man and endeavor to obtain from him the exact date when Jack Andrews landed in New York.  Uncle John had already wired to Major Doyle, Patsy’s father, to get the steamship lists and find which boat Andrews had come on and the date of its arrival, but no answer had as yet been received.

Arthur made a pretext of buying a cigar at the counter and then strolled aimlessly about until he came, as if by chance, near to where Le Drieux was sitting.  Making a pretense of suddenly observing the man, he remarked casually: 

“Ah, good evening.”

“Good evening, Mr. Weldon,” replied Le Drieux, a note of ill-suppressed triumph in his voice.

“I suppose you are now content to rest on your laurels, pending the formal examination?” said Arthur.

“I am, sir.  But the examination is a mere form, you know.  I have already cabled the commissioner of police at Vienna and received a reply stating that the Austrian ambassador would make a prompt demand for extradition and the papers would be forwarded from Washington to the Austrian consul located in this city.  The consul has also been instructed to render me aid in transporting the prisoner to Vienna.  All this will require several days’ time, so you see we are in no hurry to conclude the examination.”

“I see.” said Arthur.  “Is it, then, your intention to accompany the prisoner to Vienna?”

“Of course.  I have not mentioned the fact to you before, but I hold a commission from the Chief of Police of Vienna authorizing me to arrest Jack Andrews wherever I may find him, and deliver him up for trial.  My firm procured for me this commission, as they are very anxious to recover the lost pearls.”

“Why?”

“Well, to be frank, sir, the countess still owes our firm a large sum for purchases.  She had almost her entire fortune tied up in that collection, and unless it is recovered—.”

“I can well appreciate the anxiety of your firm.  But aside from that, Mr. Le Drieux, I suppose a big reward has been offered?”

“Not big; just a fair amount.  It will repay me, quite handsomely, for my trouble in this affair; but, of course, my firm gets half of the reward.”

“They are not too generous.  You deserve it all.”

“Thank you.  It has been an interesting episode, Mr. Weldon.”

“It has been more than that.  I consider this escapade of Andrews quite a romance; or is it more of a tragedy, in your opinion?”

“It will be a tragedy for Andrews, before he’s through with it,” replied Le Drieux grimly.  “They’re pretty severe on the long-fingered gentry, over there in Europe, and you must remember that if the fellow lives through the sentence they will undoubtedly impose upon him in Vienna, he has still to answer for the Paris robbery and the London murder.  It’s all up with Andrews, I guess; and it’s a good thing, too, for he is too clever to remain at large.”