Chapter 4
Partners in Crime
Mr Rolles was terrified because John Vandeleur was in the same carriage. He became even more afraid after he saw how the carriage was divided.
There were three compartments in the carriage. Each compartment was separated by only a sliding door. There were no locks on the doors, so John Vandeleur could easily get into Mr Rolles's compartment.
'I'm sure he's going to find out I have the Rajah's Diamond,' thought Mr Rolles.
Mr Rolles put the diamond in the inside pocket of his jacket, and then put on his coat. He was determined not to go to sleep and sat listening for any noise coming from John Vandeleur's compartment.
A few hours passed. The train was almost halfway to Edinburgh when Mr Rolles started to feel sleepy. He tried to fight sleep, but it was very difficult. His last thought before finally closing his eyes was of his terrifying neighbour.
After some time, Mr Rolles opened his eyes. Everything was dark, except for a small light. The train was travelling very fast. Now fully awake, Mr Rolles suddenly sat up. He was very afraid because he had a bad dream. He felt under his clothes to make sure the diamond was still there. It was.
Now Mr Rolles felt a little better. But he could not fall asleep again. His hat was pulled over his eyes. He stared at the sliding door. Everything was quiet, except for the noise of the train.
Suddenly, he noticed the door moving a little, then a little more. Finally, it moved enough for him to see John Vandeleur's head. He felt that John Vandeleur was looking at him. He kept very still. After some time, John Vandeleur moved his head back. Then he closed the door.
Mr Rolles did not know why, but he thought John Vandeleur was afraid of him.
'Maybe he just came to see if I'm asleep,' thought Mr Rolles.
This made him feel brave enough to go and open the door himself. He got up and slowly made his way to the sliding door separating his and John Vandeleur's compartment. When he got there, he opened the door just enough to see what John Vandeleur was doing. He was shocked by what he saw! John Vandeleur had a knife in his hand!
'He's using it to cut the sleeve of his coat! But why?' thought Mr Rolles.
He soon saw the reason. There were diamonds in the sleeve of his coat, and John Vandeleur was taking them out and letting them drop into a hatbox on the floor. After the diamonds, John Vandeleur took from the sleeve a magnificent tiara – Lady Vandeleur's tiara. It was exactly as the police inspector described it.
'So, John Vandeleur is a diamond thief too!' thought Mr Rolles. This made him feel brave.
Without thinking, he opened the door completely, and said, 'I take a great interest in diamonds. I see you do as well. I have something here that might interest you.'
John Vandeleur was very surprised and angry.
Mr Rolles quietly took the diamond box out. He opened it and showed Mr Vandeleur the Rajah's Diamond. John Vandeleur could do nothing but stare at it in shock.
'I see we have diamonds from the same collection,' said Mr Rolles.
'I don't understand. Aren't you a priest?' asked John Vandeleur.
'I'm a student of theology, but don't judge me so quickly. I'll tell you how I found the diamond. You'll understand why I did what I did,' answered Mr Rolles.
Then he told John Vandeleur about his visit to his landlord's garden and how he met Harry Hartley. Mr Rolles ended his story with these words, 'When I saw Lady Vandeleur's tiara, I knew that we see the world in the same way. I showed you the diamond because I hope you'll help me. Of course, you may have half of what I make.'
John Vandeleur didn't think twice about his answer. He said: 'You're certainly a very brave man, Mr Rolles. You're also better at crime than you think. I can see this is the right job for you. Of course I'll help you sell the Rajah's Diamond! We must go to Paris together. But first, I just have to do something in Edinburgh for my brother. Then we can go to Paris. Before the end of the month we'll be rich, Mr Rolles!'
That was how the two men agreed to work together to sell the diamond. But to find out what happened to the Rajah's Diamond, you must first read the story of a young man named Francis Scrymgeour.