"I am delighted to see you, Harry. You were the friend in need, old man," said Lorry, wringing the other's hand. Yetive gave him her hand, her blue eyes overflowing.
"Mr. Anguish had just begun to tell us how he--how he--" began Dagmar, but paused helplessly, looking to him for relief.
"Go ahead, Countess; it isn't very elegant, but it's the way I said it. How I 'got next' to Gabriel is what she wants to say. Perhaps your Highness would like to know all about the affair that ended so tragically. It's very quickly told," said Anguish.
"I am deeply interested," said the Princess, eagerly.
"Well, in the first place, it was all a bluff," said he, coolly.
"A what!" demanded Dagmar.
"Bluff," responded Harry, briefly; "American patois, dear Countess."
"In what respect," asked Lorry, beginning to understand.
"In all respects. I didn't have the slightest sign of proof against the festive Prince."
"And you--you did all that 'on a bluff'?" gasped the other.
"Do I understand you to say that you have no evidence against Gabriel?" asked Halfont, dumbfounded.
"Not a particle."
"But you said his confederate had confessed," protested Dangloss.
"I didn't know that he had a confederate, and I wasn't sure that he was guilty of the crime," boasted Anguish, complacently enjoying the stupefaction.
"Then why did you say so?" demanded Dangloss, excited beyond measure.
"Oh, I just guessed at it!"
"God save us!" gasped Baron Dangloss, Chief of Police.
"Guessed at it?" cried Mizrox.
"That's it. It was a bold stroke, but it won. Now, I'll tell you this much. I was morally certain that Gabriel killed the Prince. There was no way on earth to prove it, however, and I'll admit it was intuition or something of that sort which convinced me. He had tried to abduct the Princess, and he was madly jealous of Lorenz. Although he knew there was to be a duel, he was not certain that Lorenz would lose, so he adopted a clever plan to get rid of two rivals by killing one and casting suspicion on the other. These deductions I made soon after the murder, but, of course, could secure no proof. Early this morning, at the hotel, I made up my mind to denounce him suddenly if I had the chance, risking failure but hoping for such an exhibition as that which you saw. It was clear to me that he had an accomplice to stand guard while he did the stabbing, but I did not dream it was Berrowag. Lorry's sensational appearance, when I believed him to be far away from here, disturbed me greatly but it made it all the more necessary that I should take the risk with Gabriel. As I watched him I became absolutely convinced of his guilt. The only way to accuse him was to do it boldly and thoroughly, so I rang in the accomplice and the witness features. You all know how the 'bluff' worked."