"Anything?" "Get the best apples and bananas!" "That's Hoffberg's car." "That's Hoffberg, and that's our man..." "Van Braks." "All right, let Hoffberg go inside." "No call to alarm him." "Right." "Henrik Van Braks, we have a warrant for your arrest on the charge of receiving gemstones, knowing them to be stolen." "Rubbish." "Never you mind about rubbish." "You're coming with us." "Miss Lemon?" "Ah." "Miss Lemon, I have the cakes... ah, and the blue and gold plates, I think, with perhaps a little flower." "Flower?" "No?" "No, Mr. Poirot." "Very well." "But arranged symmetrically." "Marie Marvelle, she's the great artiste." "Where is Captain Hastings?" "He's not back from lunch yet." "What is he thinking of?" "It is half past 3:00." "Well, he was lunching at his club." "Bah!" "That club." "Thank you, Constable." "Now, Mr. Van Braks, you have no objection to being searched, I take it?" "I would have the strongest possible objection," "Chief Inspector, without the attendance of my lawyer." "And why, might I ask, would you need a lawyer if you're as innocent as you make out?" "You are not dealing with some bumpkin, Chief Inspector." "I am a man not without influence, even in your country." "Oh, really?" "What's cooking?" "Nothing is cooking, Hastings." "The cook is waiting for you to finish your nice game of billiards at your club." "Marie Marvelle is coming to tea." "Who?" "Ohh!" "What's up?" "You do not know who is Marie Marvelle?" "Can't say I do, no." "These look good, Poirot." "Dah!" "Marie Marvelle is the greatest film star" "Belgium has ever produced!" "I should think she's the only film star" "Belgium's ever produced." "You do not remember "La Tendresse Religieuse"?" "The what?" "And "Drôle de Coeur"?" "I didn't even know they made films in Belgium." "Why is it the fate of Hercule Poirot to live among such Philistines?" "Hastings, Marie Marvelle and her husband, Gregorie Rolf, are stars of international renown." "They have made " "Uh." "That was Miss Marvelle." "She can't come." "But..." "Can you call on her at her hotel instead?" "Come, Hastings." "Well, I'll do that, sir." "Yes, sir." "Right." "Well, there seems to be some procedural difficulty about this." "You can go for now, Mr. Van Braks." "Thank you, Chief Inspector." "What did the commissioner say?" "Never you mind what the commissioner said." "Marie Marvelle has conquered the world, mon ami, and now she wishes to consult Hercule Poirot." "Well, it is the natural progression." "Because, you see, Hastings, the ladies, they always seek Poirot for help." "Because Poirot, you understand, has this particular sensitivity." "Mademoiselle Marvelle..." "Hercule Poirot." "Arthur Hastings." "I apologize for not coming to your office, but I did not dare to leave the hotel... after the last of these arrived this afternoon." "Merci." "Mm, cheap paper, with her name and address carefully printed." ""The great diamond, which is the left eye of the god, must return whence he came."" "The second one's exactly the same." "Ah, but not the third." ""You have not obeyed." "Now the diamond will be taken from you." "At the full of the moon, the two diamonds which are the left and the right eye of the god, shall return." "So it is written."" "Strong stuff." "Mademoiselle, these letters, they did not come by post?" "No." "They were delivered downstairs by a Chinaman." "Well, that is what frightens me." "It was from a Chinaman in San Francisco that Gregorie bought the stone three years ago." "A reputable diamond merchant?" "No." "He approached Gregorie in a restaurant." "Well, Gregorie said he seemed terrified." "And he only asked about a tenth of its value." "He said it was called the Western Star." "This story seems of a romanticism almost unbelievable." "And, yet, who knows, huh?" "When is the next full of the moon?" "Friday." "I looked it up." "Three days' time?" "Mm." "Mademoiselle, this belle histoire, it may be a hoax, but it may not." "Therefore, I counsel you to place the diamond in my keeping until after Friday." "Then we can take what steps we please." "That is not possible." "We're going to Yardley Chase for the weekend." "Pardon, if I am dense, mademoiselle, but surely it is possible for you to go to Yardley Chase without taking the diamond with you." "I want to wear it there." "I've just remembered." "It was in the Tatler last week about Lady Yardly having a diamond called the Eastern Star, and how it was meant to be one eye of some Chinese god." "And the Western Star was the other, and it belonged to a film star." "Mademoiselle, could we be permitted to see the Western Star?" "Me and my husband are in negotiation with Lord Yardly." "We want to make a film at Yardley Chase." "It's a beautiful place." "Mm-hmm." "We shoot the film entirely on location at the house." "Elizabethan Sussex." "Essex." "Well, same thing." "So you are acquainted already with Lord and Lady Yardly?" "Gregorie met them when he was in California a few years ago." "Thank you, madam." "Merci." "I do not believe the diamonds are twins." "I do not believe the diamond of Lady Yardly is as good as mine." "Without a flaw." "You will leave it with Papa Poirot?" "Good morning." "Gregorie is here." "Darling." "So, this is the famous M. Poirot." "Enchanté, monsieur." "I am Gregorie Rolf." "Enchanté." "This is my associate, Captain Hastings." "How do you do?" "Enchanté." "Well, so what does M. Poirot think of our little problem?" "As one big joke, as I do?" "I have advised your wife, monsieur, not to take the jewelry with her when she visits Yardley Chase on Friday." "I agree, monsieur." "But a woman is a woman, you know." "She can't bear the idea of another woman outshining her in the jewelry department." "That's nonsense." "My dear lady, I have given my advice." "I can do no more." "I've been after him for months." "So, M. Van Braks is of interest to you?" "Trouble is, I don't lay a finger on him." "Is he one of the Van Braks armament family?" "He is the Van Braks armaments family, and he's got this little hobby -- more like an obsession." "He collects diamonds." "I did not know that." "Well, no, not many people do because he's not too particular how they're come by, if you take my meaning." "What they call a secret collection." "He's mixed up with this dealer called Hoffberg in Hatton Garden." "There's something going on." "I know there is." "If I lay a finger on Van Braks, the commissioner will be down on me like a ton of bricks." "Oh, it all sounds too complicated for me, mon ami." "What were you doing at The Magnificent anyway?" "Just purely the social call." "Mademoiselle Marie Marvelle, the great Belgian film star, she stays there." "Belgian film star?" "Mm." "Ha ha ha." "You're pulling my leg." "No, Chief Inspector." "Poirot does not pull the legs." "I'm sure you have much more important business to which you must attend." "All right, I can take a hint." "I'll be seeing you." "Ah, M. Bennet." "After you cut my hair last week," "I went home and I measured each sideburn." "As I suspected, the left one was 3 millimeters longer than the right." "Let us make the effort, M. Bennet, not to make a similar travesty today." "A haircut is a partnership, M. Bennet." "It is a joint venture." "I bring to it my hair, you, your undoubted skills." "Captain Hastings." "What?" "!" "What?" "!" "I've got Lady Yardly in my office." "She wants to see Mr. Poirot." "Well, we better -- good Lord." "He's not back from the barber's yet." "No." "Show her in." "I'll deal with it." "Will you come this way, please?" "Lady Yardly, sir." "How do you do, Lady Yardly?" "I'm Arthur Hastings." "I know why you've come here." "You know?" "You've received blackmailing letters about the diamond." "Do sit down." "You know?" "How?" "Logic, Lady Yardly." "If Marie Marvelle has had warning letters..." "Marie Marvelle has been here?" "And if she, as holder of one of the twin diamonds, has received a series of anonymous letters delivered by a Chinaman threatening to steal them at the next full moon, it logically follows that you would have received similar missives." "That's amazing." "Ice... cold..." "logic, Lady Yardly." "The deductive process." "As a matter of fact," "I remembered as soon as I saw Rolf." "When he was out in Hollywood," "Lord and Lady Yardly were there, too." "Yardly put money into some film, lost a lot, I think." "But there was gossip about Lady Yardly and your friend Rolf being seen a lot together." "And the letters of Lady Yardly, they were also delivered by the Chinaman?" "No, I asked her about that." "They came by post." "But she said they smelt strongly of jasmine oil." "Jasmine oil?" "It's a kind of Chinese scent." "Are they symmetrical, Hastings?" "Oh, what, the sideburns?" "Yes, I think so." "You can be frank with me, Hastings." "I am being frank." "Yardly Hall." "Hastings, why did Lord Yardly not come to see us?" "He doesn't take the letters seriously, it appears." "Thank you." "Well, I can't make head or tail of this." "Marie Marvelle's been getting these odd letters, too, you say." "What does it all mean?" "That, Lord Yardly, is what we must discover." "But, tell me, this story of the origins of the diamond -- it is true?" "No, it's all damn nonsense." "Nothing to do with China at all." "My grandfather brought it back from India." "And this business of making a film at Yardley Chase -- that's all fixed up between you and Mr. Rolf?" "Well, no, there's nothing settled yet." "Nice chap, mind, for an actor." "But no definite deal?" "Look..." "I might as well get this straight." "I've been an ass in many ways, Captain Hastings." "I'm head over ears in debt." "But now we've got the children," "I want to get things straightened out." "Rolf is offering a lot of money, but not enough to set me on my feet again." "So you must sell the Star of the East." "That's it." "I've been to see Hoffberg, the Hatton Garden man about it, and he's trying to find a buyer for me." "I comprehend." "Look here, M. Poirot, do you think these letters are serious?" "I must confess, it sounds like a lot of tosh to me." "To Poirot also it sounds like the tosh." "But I think there is happening something mysterious." "Perhaps you should be on your guard." "Shall I take them?" "Just a little longer, Nanny." "Very well, madam." "One of the wheels is bent." "Can you straighten it, Mummy?" "Uh, this is M. Poirot, my dear." "Oh." "How do you do, Mr. Poirot?" "Enchanté, Lady Yardly." "It was yesterday that you were fortunate enough to meet my associate, Captain Hastings." "Hello." "Oh, yes." "About those silly letters -- perhaps I took them too seriously." "Mm, perhaps." "Oh, it's all damn nonsense." "I never heard there were two diamonds before, anyway." "Star of the West, indeed." "Don't forget the signal, Harry." "The diamond of the great Belgian film star Marie Marvelle is fully worthy of the name." "You've seen it?" "Oh, yes." "Perhaps it would be possible to see its partner?" "Why not?" "Why don't you wear it at dinner tonight, Maude?" "Oh, uh..." "It's set in one of the most hideous necklaces you've ever seen." "George is always promising to have the stone reset, but it's never been done." "You'll have to wind that up again, now, you hear?" "But, Daddy, Harry won't give me the key." "He keeps hiding it." "Thank you, Mullings." "You ought to know about this, Mr. Poirot." "It's from Hoffberg." "He's sending a man down tonight to have a look at the stone." "I wish you wouldn't sell it, George." "It's been in the family so long." "Now, Maude." "All right." "Very well, since it is the last time I shall be able to do so," "I shall wear the Star of the East to dinner tonight." "Excuse me." "Who's the fellow who's coming down?" "Oh, uh, sounds foreign." "Mr. Henrik Van Braks." "Thank you." "Vino for you, M. Poirot?" "No, merci." "Amontillado, s'il vous plaît." "I believe the aperitif should be a pleasure rather than a penance." "Ah." "Behold the sacrifice." "C'est magnifique." "No, no, wait till I turn the main light on." "Then you may feast your eyes on the ugliest necklace in England." "Aah!" "Maude!" "What happened?" "!" "Maude!" "Maude!" "Maude!" "Hastings, the lights!" "Where are they?" "Maude!" "Oh, my God!" "Darling, what happened?" "The Chinaman." "What?" "Side door." "Where is it?" "There, that one." "It's here!" "They didn't get away with it." "Well done, Captain Hastings." "They must have dropped it in their panic." "No." "What?" "Look at it carefully, Hastings." "The Star of the East, it's gone!" "Oh, my God!" "That door's always kept locked." "It's not locked now." "Poirot, look at this." "A piece of silk from the Chinaman's robe." "Mullings, look after her ladyship and call the police." "Come on." "They can't have gone far." "Be careful." "There may be more than one of them." "Yardly Hall." "I was just about to turn on the other light when a man sprang on me from behind." "Thank you." "He tore the necklace from my neck with such force that I was pulled over." "As I fell," "I saw him disappearing through the side door." "I realized by his pigtail and his embroidered robe that he must be Chinese." "Oh, got away." "I heard something." "Oh, George." "Come on, old girl." "Had a bit of a shock." "Drink that, darling." "Mr. Van Braks to see you, my lord." "He says that you expect him." "Oh, good Lord, I shall have to explain to him, I suppose." "I'll talk to him in the library, Mullings." "Very good, sir." "Oh, no sign of the police yet?" "Not yet, sir." "Will you excuse me a moment, my dear?" "Of course." "Excuse me." "I think I'll just go up to my room and lie down for a while." "I'll be all right." "Look here, Poirot, don't you think we ought to get back to London?" "Do you think so, Hastings?" "Why?" "Well, the other diamond -- Marie Marvelle's." "They've got one." "Now they're bound to go for the other one." "Tiens, but your brain marches to a marvel, mon ami." "Figure for yourself." "Poirot never thought of that." "Yes, Hastings, we must go back to London... immediately." "Good evening, Mr. Mullings." "Evening." "M. Poirot, goodbye." "Thank you so much." "Au revoir, my lord." "Captain Hastings, thank you." "Goodbye." "Pleasant journey." "Poirot!" "Who is that?" "It's Japp!" "Why do you lurk, Chief Inspector?" "I've just trailed Van Braks down here." "You're mixed up with this diamond business, aren't you?" "Diamond business?" "Don't come the old acid with me, Poirot." "Qu'est-ce que c'est "the old acid," Chief Inspector?" "Who are you?" "What's going on?" "I'll ask the questions, sonny, if you don't mind." "Scotland Yard." "Twigez-vous?" "Oh, uh, very sorry, sir." "Just doing my job, sir." "We had a report of a diamond stolen." "What?" "Do you know about this?" "Yes, it was 20 minutes ago." "20 minutes ago?" "Darn it." "Can't have been Van Braks then." "He'd only just got off the train." "No, it was some Chinaman." "All right, Sergeant, get on with it." "Thank you very much, sir." "Good night, sir." "Come on, lad." "Now, what the hell is going on?" "There is nothing you can do here, Chief Inspector." "Come back with us, and on the way, I will tell you all that I know." "Here we are, sir." "I have the honor to remain..." "It's all over the papers." "...yours sincerely, Hercule Poirot." "Good morning, Hastings." "Morning." ""The curse of the Eastern Star " "Oriental intruder attacks viscountess." "Informed sources were last night speculating that religious fanatics were responsible."" "Thank you, Hastings." "I have already read the newspapers." "It beats me how they get into print so quickly." "They make it up, Hastings." "You think so?" "Mm." "Well, are we going to The Magnificent?" "We should have been there last night." "Well, to warn Marie Marvelle." "I mean, obviously, her diamond is going to be next on the list." "She will have seen the newspapers, Hastings." "Besides, it is not yet the full of the moon." "Well, they didn't wait for the full moon last night." "Yes?" "Yes, Miss Lemon." "Yes, of course." "Put him through." "Bonjour, Chief Inspector." "Yes." "We will come over immediately." "Goodbye." "Come, Hastings." "The Western Star, it has been stolen." "What?" "At The Hotel Magnificent." "Well, what about the full moon now?" "When did this happen?" "This morning, I understand." "If only you'd listened to me, Poirot." "Take this straight up to Room 606." "Here we go again." "Sinister Chinaman, little yellow god, threatening letters." "No, it's all true." "Oh, yes." "As true as I'm riding this bicycle." "Van Braks is mixed up in it somewhere." "How was the diamond stolen?" "You better come and hear it from the horse's mouth." "I came on duty at 8:00." "We weren't all that busy, and I noticed particularly that Mr. Rolf left the hotel at about 11:15." "Why did you go out?" "You did not have to go out." "You want me to be a prisoner in the hotel?" "!" "Why did you not give the diamond to M. Poirot for safekeeping?" "Uh, recriminations are not very helpful, Mr. Rolf." "Go on, sir." "At about half past 11:00, a gentleman comes in." "I mean, I thought it was Mr. Rolf." "He was dressed like him." "He looked like him." "He's blind, I tell you." "Blind!" "Well, this man, whoever he was, asked for Mme. Rolf's jewel case from the safe." "And you gave it to him?" "Yes." "I thought it was Mr. Rolf." "I gave him the receipt to sign, and he signed it." "Chief Inspector, do we have the form?" "Here we are, sir." "Thank you." "M. Rolf... is this your usual signature?" "Nothing like." "He's blind!" "I told you, he's blind!" "All right, Mr. Rolf." "Well, I looked at the signature, and it looked all right to me." "And he said, "I've been getting threatening letters from a Chinaman, and the worst of it is I look rather like one myself."" "Well, I looked at him." "I saw what he meant." "His eyes slanted up at the corners like an Oriental's." "I never noticed it before." "Of course you've never noticed it before." "Do you notice it now?" "!" "I'm holding your hotel responsible for this!" "Please, Mr. Rolf, I'm trying to conduct an investigation." "And, as a matter of interest, where were you at the time of the robbery?" "I was nowhere near the hotel." "Why should I steal my own diamond?" "Is this the famous Scotland Yard talking?" "It's for you, Mr. Poirot." "A word in your ear, Mr. Rolf, if you don't mind." "Thank you." "Poirot." "Lady Yardly is here to see you, Mr. Poirot." "She says it's urgent." "How does she seem?" "She seems terribly upset." "Thank you, Miss Lemon." "Now it begins." "Have you seen the papers?" "The more lies I tell, the more I get enmeshed in them." "The Eastern Star was not stolen last night." "It was taken from me three years ago." "By M. Gregorie Rolf?" "You know?" "I am a detective, Lady Yardly." "When we met in California, he was such fun." "He was so..." "I was never more than indiscreet, M. Poirot, I swear." "But I wrote him some letters." "And he blackmailed you?" "Yes." "But you got back the letters." "Only in return for the Eastern Star." "And then your husband throws a hammer into the works when he tells you he wishes to sell the diamond." "I was frantic." "Gregorie had arranged for Mr. Hoffberg to make this paste replica." "But I knew that an expert would spot it immediately." "What happened then?" "I came here two days ago to tell you all this." "You came here to tell us that you were being blackmailed?" "And about M. Gregorie Rolf?" "Why did you not?" "I didn't know Marie had already been to see you." "And when Captain Hastings assumed I'd come for the same reason as her," "I just lost my nerve." "Well, I, uh, assumed." "Gregorie had concocted a plan." "He was to write those mysterious, threatening letters, and then we were each to stage a robbery." "Which you did last night." "But that was the Chinaman." "No, Hastings, there was no Chinaman." "Lady Yardly merely turned out the light, she screamed, removed the paste stone, and threw the necklace along the corridor." "But what about the piece of silk from the Chinaman's robe?" "I had put that in the door earlier." "Gregorie Rolf's diamond was stolen as well." "That was the Chinaman." "No, no, Hastings." "That was stolen by M. Gregorie Rolf... with the aid of a little gum at the corner of the eyes." "Good Lord, why would he go to all that trouble?" "He could have taken it at any time." "There had to be a performance." "People would be suspicious if there wasn't a proper theft." "And the insurance company, too, would be quite doubtful," "I think." "But he won't give it back to me." "He says I can claim the insurance on the diamond now, so why should he give it up?" "But it's not insured." "So, a small problem, hein?" "A terrible problem, M. Poirot." "Perhaps." "May I keep this, madam?" "I'm an impatient man, Mr. Hoffberg." "The diamond is on the market now, I happen to know." "It didn't come to me yet." "It will, Mr. Van Braks." "Have no fear." "You have the money?" "I'm ready to move at a moment's notice." "Don't worry." "M. Rolf, bonjour." "Asseyez-vous, s'il vous plaît." "M. Poirot, I am a very busy man." "This morning I had the pleasure of a visit from Lady Yardly." "So?" "She told me everything -- how you blackmailed her for the Star of the East, how you sent the letters to your own wife." "I don't know what you are talking about." "That woman, no?" "There is something wrong with her." "Oh." "She chased me all over California." "She hasn't stopped chasing me." "She tells these stories about me." "M. Rolf, do not tell any more lies." "Do not anymore blacken the name of Lady Yardly." "You will return the Star of the East to her immediately." "You're as mad as she is." "Farewell." "Reception." "I may be leaving the hotel at very short notice." "Would you have my bill ready, waiting for me?" "Certainly, sir." "I will see to it personally, Mr. Van Braks." "Thank you." "Thank you." "And what can I do for you?" "You made this for M. Gregorie Rolf three years ago?" "I think you know what I want, M. Hoffberg." "If you do not assist, the Chief Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard will be pleased to hear how you are acting as a dishonest broker between Van Braks and M. Gregorie Rolf." "Mr. Rolf to see you, Mr. Hoffberg." "I'll..." "I'll come out." "Thanks very much." "Wait a moment." "Van Braks." "Hello?" "Van Braks, it's Gregorie Rolf." "Yes." "Look, I've got the article in question." "I've just seen Hoffberg, and, well, he's behaving strangely." "He doesn't want to handle it." "This is nonsense." "Why has he changed his mind?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I haven't got time to waste." "I've got to get to Croydon Airport." "Can you meet me there?" "I shall do my best." "All right." "Right." "Let's go." "I thought you were going to be in there all night." "M. Rolf, Hastings, where did he go?" "Croydon Aerodrome." "How do you know?" "He kept a taxi waiting." "I asked the driver." "Good, Hastings." "The simplicity, huh?" "Was he alone in the taxi?" "Yes." "I must go back to The Hotel Magnificent at once." "I have a sad duty to perform." "Taxi!" "Get Lady Yardly and take her to the flat." "Wait for me there." "Hotel Magnificent, s'il vous plaît." "Taxi!" "I'd like a taxi now, please." "Yes, sir." "Taxi!" "Croydon Airport -- quick as you can, please." "Yes, sir." "All right, stay with him." "Very good, sir." "Ah, M. Poirot." "Mademoiselle." "May I please come in?" "But of course." "Merci." "Have you any news?" "About the diamond?" "No." "You do not pack, mademoiselle?" "Why should I be packing?" "No, merci." "Oh, you mean to go to Yardley Chase." "We don't go till tomorrow." "Ah." "I don't know if we shall go at all." "Mademoiselle..." "J'ai de mauvaises nouvelles pour vous." "Keep the change." "Thank you, sir." "I think it's your turn." "Johannesburg flight." "Yes." "Weight." "180 pounds." "Luggage?" "No, no luggage." "No luggage?" "Johannesburg flight." "Weight." "164 pounds." "Luggage?" "Thank you." "Il est parti maintenant." "...a fini." "Oui." "C'est fini." "How long till we get to the aerodrome?" "Oh, only 5 minutes now, gov." "Change that sign." "This is police business." "Ohh." "Come on, come on." "Ah." "Lady Yardly." "I have news for you." "I need good news, M. Poirot." "Perhaps." "Oh, M. Poirot!" "Is it the real one?" "Yes, Hastings, it is the real Eastern Star." "However, at this moment," "M. Gregorie Rolf is waiting at Croydon Aerodrome, believing that the paste stone in his pocket is the real one." "But where did you get it?" "From M. Hoffberg." "I ascertained that he was acting as the go-between for Van Braks and M. Gregorie Rolf, but I managed to persuade him to refuse to go any further with the business." "But while he was examining it, to palm it and substitute it with the other." "I can never thank you enough." "Never." "Ladies and gentlemen, the Imperial Airways flight to Johannesburg is about to leave." "Will any remaining passengers please board immediately?" "Passengers for Johannesburg, this way, please." "Wait a minute." "You think I'm mad?" "This is paste." "No, don't try that, Van Braks." "I took this from my wife's jewelry case myself." "It's still paste." "You've been wasting my time." "Van Braks, I need this money." "Me too." "You need to see Hoffberg with it." "Stop him!" "Police!" "Police!" "Stop him!" "Let me go!" "Well, well, well, if it isn't Van Braks." "Right, come on." "All right, all right." "Close the door!" "I don't think your friends in high places will be able to get you out of this one, Mr. Van Braks." "Really?" "I'm charged with what?" "Carrying my own money?" "And you're going to charge Mr. Rolf with being in possession of an imitation diamond worth £3.10." "Good." "I shall enjoy this." "Let's go to Scotland Yard, shall we?" "Wait a minute, wait a minute." "The veal, it is good, Hastings?" "Hmm?" "Oh, very good, yeah." "It has marinated in a mixture of white wine, brandy, and the seeds of the fennel." "Excellent." "You know, you say you've got this particular sensitivity to women and all that, Poirot." "It seems to me that all you've done for Marie Marvelle is to lose her her husband." "Her blackmailing, adulterous husband, who is also the thief?" "That is such a great loss, Hastings?" "How little you understand the feminine psychology and feminine needs, Hastings." "Well, you're right there." "Hastings?" "Yes, old chap?" "I have worked hard, Hastings, to prepare for you the delicious dinner." "I have searched the shops for the exotic herbs." "I have argued with the butcher, who is a fool." "I have beaten your scallops with a little mallet until my arm, it aches." "And you sit there shoveling food in your mouth and writing in your little book." "Oh, I'm sorry." "You're always rotting at me about order and method, so I've started to keep this notebook." "I've got two columns." "The first is to write down all the things I don't understand." "Then the second is to write down the explanation." "What is it that you write now?" "Well, the first thing is, if Lady Yardly's got the real diamond now and the other one was imitation, who's got the other eye of the Chinese god?" "Hastings... there was no Chinese god." "There was no connection with China whatsoever." "Now, close your little book and eat your dinner."