"Have you the ring here, madame?"
"Yes."
"Will you kindly let me see it?"
He took it, and examined it closely.
"Just as I suspected: it is a manufactured diamond."
"A manufactured diamond?"
"Yes; a new process which consists in submitting diamond dust to a tremendous heat until it melts and is then molded into a single stone."
"But my diamond is genuine."
"Yes, your diamond is; but this is not yours."
"Where is mine?"
"It is held by Arsène Lupin."
"And this stone?"
"Was substituted for yours, and slipped into Herr Bleichen's tooth–powder, where it was afterwards found."
"Then you think this is false?"
"Absolutely false."
The Countess was overwhelmed with surprise and grief, while her husband scrutinized the diamond with an incredulous air. Finally she stammered:
"Is it poss
