"Sorry," returned Trent. "I'm leaving for Benares early in the morning. I'll be occupied to-night. Orders from Delhi."
Manlove withdrew a cigarette case from under his tunic, opened it, took out a smoke and placed it between his lips before he spoke.
"Temporarily detached; special service. You and Conningsby will have to take charge while I'm away." He smiled. "Been reading the papers lately?"
Manlove lighted his cigarette, glancing furtively at Trent. The latter was staring into the blue haze of smoke, half humorously, as though he found something amusing in the vaporous clouds.
Manlove smiled to himself. He hadn't lived in the same house with Arnold Trent for fourteen months without learning _something_ about him. The old sphinx, he thought good-humoredly.
"Nothing important"--briefly. "However, I understand, from Granville, that the Department believes an international thief--Chavigny's his name--mixed up in it."
"Oh, rumors are plentiful, especially at stations like this where everybody's chief occupation is talk."
Manlove nodded and said nothing, for he knew Trent.
"Have you approximated the value of the stolen gems?" queried the latter, then went on: "Millions of pounds! And have you wondered how the devil they're going to hide the loot, or get it out of India? Such well known jewels can't be sold--"
"Unless they're re-cut," put in Manlove. He smiled wisely. "By Kali and all the other deities, you don't mean that you, expert in cholera and dysentery, are about to--" He chuckled. "Well, I'm damned!"
Trent moved to a desk in a corner of the room, unlocked it and took out a long, official-looking document. This he handed to Manlove, then resumed his seat. The latter unfolded it and let his eyes travel down the sheet.
"Has the heat gone to their heads at Delhi?" he demanded when he had finished. "Almighty God, why detach a perfectly good doctor, when they have a whole list of Secret Service men?"
Trent only smiled. The younger man waved his hand toward the paper.
"You know as much as I do. I leave in the morning for Benares. At the hotel I'm to meet a fellow called Kerth--"
"Euan Kerth," Manlove interrupted, his eyes upon the document. "You've heard of him, haven't you? He's the best of his sort in India. He's been in Tibet; was one of Younghusband's interpreters in nineteen-four. Speaks Hindustani, Burmese, mandarin Chinese, Tibetan, and God knows what else! You and he ought to hit it off fairly well together. But go on."