“The crowd following me had increased in size, and at last two enormous men in uniform came up and seized me by my arms, and I was immediately surrounded by a throng of curious faces.

“‘Where did you get that diamond?’ demanded one of my captors, pointing to my turban, in which, as you know, I always wear the jewel which the Princess gave me.

“’Oh that!  That was given to me many years ago by a friend—­a Princess—­who has been dead now for many hundreds of years,’ I said.

“‘Many hundreds of years?  And you say she was a friend of yours?’ exclaimed the man.  ‘Absurd!’

“‘Preposterous!’ declared the other.  ’Look here!  If you can’t give us some more reasonable explanation than that, we shall take you off at once to the Chief Magistrate, and charge you with having stolen it.’

“‘But why?’ I gasped.  ‘Why should you think that I have stolen it?’

“’A diamond of exactly that size and colour has disappeared from amongst the Crown jewels, and it strikes me very forcibly that this is the very one.’

“It was in vain for me to protest.  I was taken before the Magistrate, and experts were called to examine the jewel.

“They weighed it and examined it carefully through powerful magnifying glasses, and finally unanimously agreed that it was indeed the missing jewel.

“I was closely cross-questioned as to how it came into my possession, and also as to my movements during the past six months.  My explanations were considered most unsatisfactory, and no one would believe me; consequently I was thrown into prison and condemned to death.  It was only by the most earnest pleading that I managed to gain time for you to get here, as I assured them that you would be able to put everything right, and explain matters to their entire satisfaction.”

“I?” I stammered.  “I am very, very sorry for you, my poor friend, and I would do anything to help you, but what am I to say or do which will convince them when you tell me that you have failed to do so?”

“It is easy—­easy,” declared Shin Shira hopefully.  “Now attend carefully to what I say.  I am of course not allowed outside the prison walls, and there is no one here whom I would dare to trust with an important commission.

“Now I want you to go at once to the Bazaar, and find a man named Mustapha, a dealer in old curiosities; and, without letting him know whom it is for, purchase from him a large round crystal which you will find in his shop.  He will probably want a lot of money for it, but whatever he asks offer him just half, and you will find that after a lot of argument he will let you have it at that.  These Oriental shopkeepers are all like that.  And then, having secured the crystal, hurry back here and the rest will be easy.”

Although I could not in the least see what Shin Shira wanted the crystal for, I was careful to execute his commission to the letter.