He must have discovered
that he was being followed, and then tried to do me up."
Nick observed the speaker's faltering manner, and it increased his
curiosity.
"Why do you wish to know where he lives?" he demanded.
Pylotte hesitated, and shrugged his shoulders.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said he, after a moment.
"Not believe you?"
"I hardly think so."
"Suppose you tell me, and see," suggested Nick, with a faint smile.
"I have no objection to telling you, none at all," Pylotte now replied.
"The man I spoke of, John David, swindled me yesterday with two
artificial diamonds."
"Ah! is that so?" cried Nick, with a significant glance at Chick. "What
is your name, my man?"
"Jean Pylotte, sir."
"Who are you, and where do you live?"
"I am a Frenchman by birth, and arrived in New York only this week. My
home is in Denver. I am a diamond cutter by trade, and came here to buy
some gems for a Denver woman of wealth, who wishes to obtain a certain
size and quality."
"Then you are a judge of diamonds?"
"One of the best," Pylotte modestly admitted, with a faint smile. "I am
an expert judge of diamonds, and so it happened that I discovered the
swindle of which I am a victim.
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