“It was while the clerk was removing the fictional price tag from the necklace that a surprising thing happened. Another clerk came along behind him, and as my man pressed close to the counter to let the other pass, he said something in a foreign tongue. Right in the middle of that string of strange sounds, two English words stood out like a house afire. He said ‘Jim Everhard’ as clearly and distinctly as a radio announcer.
“My heart stood still. The other man paused, as though he were idly curious, and looked toward the door. No one was there. I had to get busy at once with travelers’ checks, and when I handed them over, I said casually to the man with the drooping eyelid: ‘You know Jim Everhard, too?’ That was where I made my big mistake. I should have said it before he got his hands on
