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Suspicion fell upon the maid of the Princess, who was an Italian, and it was proved that she had a brother in London, but we failed to trace any connection between them.

The maid's name was Lucretia Venucci, and there is no doubt in my mind that this Pietro who was murdered two nights ago was the brother.

I have been looking up the dates in the old files of the paper, and I find that the disappearance of the pearl was exactly two days before the arrest of Beppo for some crime of violence, an event which took place in the factory of Gelder and Co., at the very moment when these busts were being made.

Now you clearly see the sequence of events, though you see them, of course, in the inverse order to the way in which they presented themselves to me.

Beppo had the pearl in his possession.

He may have stolen it from Pietro, he may have been Pietro's confederate, he may have been the go-between of Pietro and his sister.

It is of no consequence to us which is the correct solution.

"The main fact is that he HAD the pearl, and at that moment, when it was on his person, he was pursued by the police.

He made for the factory in which he worked, and he knew that he had only a few minutes in which to conceal this enormously valuable prize, which would otherwise be found on him when he was searched.

Six plaster casts of Napoleon were drying in the passage.

One of them was still soft.

In an instant Beppo, a skilful workman, made a small hole in the wet plaster, dropped in the pearl, and with a few touches covered over the aperture once more.

It was an admirable hiding-place.

No one could possibly find it.

But Beppo was condemned to a year's imprisonment, and in the meanwhile his six busts were scattered over London.

He could not tell which contained his treasure.

Only by breaking them could he see.

Even shaking would tell him nothing, for as the plaster was wet it was probable that the pearl would adhere to it - as, in fact, it has done.

Beppo did not despair, and he conducted his search with considerable ingenuity and perseverance.

Through a cousin who works with Gelder he found out the retail firms who had bought the busts.

He managed to find employment with Morse Hudson, and in that way tracked down three of them.

The pearl was not there.

Then, with the help of some Italian EMPLOYE, he succeeded in finding out where the other three busts had gone.

The first was at Harker's.

There he was dogged by his confederate, who held Beppo responsible for the loss of the pearl, and he stabbed him in the scuffle which followed."

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