He had no intention of disposing of the crescents—­he simply wished to tell him that he had himself concluded to purchase them, and then ask the privilege of depositing them in Mr. Arnold’s safe for a few days; for they were to be his gift to the woman he loved, if she received his suit with favor.

The gentleman was in, and his eyes lighted as his glance fell upon the case which Mr. Cutler laid upon the show-case, for he believed that, in purchasing the crescents, he was going to get an unusually good bargain.

“Ah,” he remarked, “the lady has decided to dispose of the stones?”

“Yes; but—­” Mr. Cutler began, when he suddenly stopped, and gazed, astonished, at the man.

He had taken the case, opened it, and started in dismay as he saw what were within, while a look of blank consternation overspread his face.

Then he turned sternly, almost fiercely, upon the young man.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, in a threatening tone.  “Did you imagine you could cheat me in this miserable way?  You have got hold of the wrong customer if you did.”

“What do you mean, sir?” inquired Mr. Cutler, amazed, but flushing angrily at being addressed so uncivilly.

“These are not the stones you brought to me yesterday,” said Mr. Arnold, who was also very angry.

“Sir!” exclaimed Justin Cutler, aghast, but with haughty mien.

“They are nothing but paste,” continued the jeweler, eyeing the beautiful crescents with disdain; “and,” he added, menacingly, “I’ve a mind to have you arrested on the spot for attempting to obtain money under false pretenses.”

Mr. Cutler grew pale at this with mingled anger and a sudden fear.

He reached across the counter and took the case from Mr. Arnold’s hand.

He turned the stones to the light.

At the first glance they seemed to be all right—­he could detect nothing wrong; for aught that he could see the crescents were the same which he had submitted to the merchant the day before.  But as he studied them more closely the gleam of the gems was entirely different—­the fire of the genuine diamond was lacking.

“Can it be possible that I have been duped, swindled?” he exclaimed, with white lips and a sinking heart.

“I should say, rather, that you were attempting to dupe and swindle some one else,” sarcastically retorted the diamond dealer.  “The stones are a remarkably fine imitation, I am free to confess, and would easily deceive a casual observer; but if you have ever tried and succeeded in this clever game before, you are certainly caught this time.”

“Mr. Arnold, I assure you that I am blameless in this matter—­that I honestly believed the jewels to be the same that I brought to you yesterday,” the young man said, with an earnest directness which convinced the gentleman that he spoke the truth.  “I see now,” he continued, “that they are not; and”—­a feeling of faintness almost overpowering him as he realized all that this experience would cost him, aside from his pecuniary loss—­“I have been outrageously deceived and hoodwinked, for I have already advanced the sum you named to the woman who wished to dispose of the diamonds.”