"Can I help you?" "Yes, I'm looking for an authentic Franklin Roosevelt." "I have several." "I want just the initials FDR, in his own hand." "They are hard to get." "I only have one." "It's on the flyleaf of a book." "Would that be acceptable?" "If it's in ink." "It is." "You'll excuse me, I have some work to do in the back." "Good morning, Mr Briggs." "The man you're looking at is Henrik Durvard." "He seized power in Lombuanda, a small country on the Gulf of Guinea and has given himself the title of Prime Minister." "He is, in fact, a dictator who rules with an iron hand, keeping two million natives half-starved with no schools, hospitals, or any voice in government." "Recently, native tribesmen in the northern part of the country discovered a natural diamond that is rumoured to be the largest ever found." "Nearly 27,000 karats, worth about $30 million." "Durvard has confiscated the stone and intends to sell it, using the proceeds to take over other independent tribal areas." "Your mission, Dan, should you decide to accept it, is to stop Durvard and return the diamond to its rightful owners." "As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." "Please dispose of this tape by the usual means." "Good luck, Dan." "It is fantastic." "I have never seen a stone to compare with it." "Even the picture is exciting." " Is that an enlargement, Dan?" " No." "Actual size." "That's what I call a girl's best friend." "How much will it weigh, Mr Van Meer?" "It is about 27,000 karats." "I would say seven or eight pounds." " Did you bring the jewels?" " Oh, yes, right here." "Cinnamon, take a look." "They're lovely." " Try them on." "Get comfortable in them." " With pleasure." " What's happening with the machine?" " It arrived in London this morning." " Dan, what about McCloud?" " We're meeting him in London." "Rollin, when is Durvard supposed to make" " his appearance at the diamond mart?" " Day after tomorrow." "He just arrived." "Gentlemen," "I'm certain you're all aware of the recent find in my country." "So that you may be able to judge the quality of the diamond" "I have had Mr Henks cut and polish a small gem from the mother stone." "Thank you." "This stone is perfect." "Blue-white, flawless." " Would you care to examine it?" " Very much." " Magnificent." " May I?" "I've never seen a more perfect diamond." " Is there a diamond scope available?" " Yes, over here, sir." "Excuse me." "Thank you." "Classic blue-white." "Thank you." "Henks." "Gentlemen, you have had an opportunity to appraise the quality of our find." "As you may have guessed, the mother stone is to be offered for sale." "Cable bids will be accepted by Government House in Lombuanda." "The highest bid will be announced in 72 hours." "I thank you." "Your Excellency, I must have a moment to talk to you." "No, madam, forgive me." "I have an engagement." "A moment worth half a million dollars." "Half a million dollars?" "I represent a small private syndicate." "It is imperative that we meet with you before the sealed bids are opened." "I'm leaving London in the morning." "My associate will be at your hotel in half an hour." "You seem to be quite sure of yourself." "Not at all." "We simply had nothing to lose by being prepared." "May I ride with you?" "Very well." "Yes, I am able to match it." "What about the colour?" "Well, that will be a little more difficult than cutting a paste imitation, but I could add a little colour that would last for maybe a day or two days." "Get started." "You'd better get over to Durvard's hotel." "Right." "I really don't quite understand this hush-hush attitude of yours, Miss Carter." "We are selling diamonds, not atomic secrets." "My associate prefers to present his proposition to you personally." "Hand me your gun, slowly." "I'll take that, too, and those." "Move." "Thanks, lady." "I'll drive you to the nearest police station." "No, no, no." "Don't." "But your jewels?" "It's more important that we get to the hotel." "We must not miss that meeting." "Ah, Josefine." "Bonjour, Josefine." " That's a beautiful cat." " Yes, she is." "Come here." "Yes, come in." "Excellency, Miss Carter's associate is here." " All right." "Show him in." " Yes, sir." "Sir." " Your Excellency, Mr Hand." " Oh, hello." "Excuse me for not getting up, but Josefine cannot be disturbed." "Please, sit down." "Now, tell me about this mysterious proposition of yours that seems to be so urgent." "In 72 hours, you will open the bids and announce which is the highest." "That's correct." "Ours must be the winning bid." "You surprise me, Mr Hand." "You're at liberty to bid along with everyone else." "We don't intend to bid, Your Excellency." "I'm afraid I don't quite follow you." "We're prepared to guarantee, here and now, that we will top your highest bid by $500,000." "Half a million dollars?" "You'll recall that's the sum that I mentioned." "So you did, so you did." "That's a great deal of money." "Oh, yes, there..." "There is one other stipulation." "I thought there might be." "When you announce that our syndicate has submitted the highest bid and won the diamond, you will also make one other announcement." "Yes?" "That subsequent digging in the area where this present diamond was found has revealed another diamond deposit as of yet undetermined size." "And that our syndicate has already contracted to buy all diamonds that this new find may produce." "You know there is no second find, nor is one likely." "Lombuanda is not a diamond-producing country." "We know that." "Interesting proposition." "As a matter of fact, why don't you join me for coffee tomorrow morning?" "Let's say 10:00?" "We'll be here." "May I?" " Did you hear?" " Yes." "What do you make of them?" "I'm not sure, but the girl did lose a fortune in gems when you were held up, and yet she did not go to the police." "One possible explanation is that they are jewel thieves looking for a way to market stolen diamonds." "That would account for the girl's actions." "Yes, of course." "She can't go to the police if her jewels are stolen." " We're almost there." " Looks good." "What about Willy?" "He went directly to the hotel." "That's where the tools are." "Take a look." "Perfect." " Room service, sir." " Come in." "Sounds quiet." "Henks is in bed." "His watchdog's still reading the newspaper." "The guard dropped his newspaper." "He's asleep now." "Good." "That's enough gas." "What is it?" "It's a cat." "Why hasn't the anaesthetic put him out by now?" "Because it rises, and he's too low." "Hand me that nozzle." "That's enough." "You can't tell this one from the fake." "No, not if you don't look too closely." "Would you like some more coffee?" "Please." "I'll admit you..." "Your proposition intrigues me, Mr Hand." "Then we have a deal, Your Excellency." "We might if you stop playing games and tell me what it's all about." "There's nothing to tell." "We're merely offering you $500,000 more than the highest bidder for the mother stone." "Do you know what I think?" "I think that you're more interested in buying a source of diamonds than the actual diamond itself." "I beg your pardon?" "Yes?" "It's an inspector from Scotland Yard for Miss Carter." "Oh, yes." "I asked him to reach me here if there was any news of my jewels." "Then you did report the robbery." "Well, of course I did, after our meeting." "Show the inspector in, please." "Sir." " Good morning, Miss Carter." " Morning." " Good morning, sir." " Good morning." "Gentlemen." " Please, sit down." " Thank you." "We've recovered some jewels that seem to answer your description." "Yes, they're all here." "You're lucky this time." "If I were you, I'd be more careful in the future." "Did you catch the thieves?" "No, but we will." "They're such amateurs they tried to pawn the jewellery." "The pawnbroker got a good description of them." "I'm afraid I'll have to insist that you stay on in London until we pick them up, so you can identify them." "Oh, yes, of course, Inspector." "Now if you'll just sign this receipt, I'll be on my way." "Thank you." "Thank you very much, Inspector." "I suggest you put those in the hotel safe right away." "I shall." " And thank you again, Inspector." " Not at all." "Good day." "Excuse me." "May I?" "I don't understand this." "These stones seem to be identical." "They're just well-matched." "Henks." "Henks, would you look at these two stones, please?" " What are you doing?" " What's the purpose of this?" "That's what I intend to find out." "Well?" "They're identical." "They can't be, but they are." " If you don't mind, sir." " Please." "What's the matter, Henks?" "I'll admit you had me fooled." "Miss Carter's reluctance to go to the police convinced me that you were thieves." "I thought you wanted the Lombuanda stone to provide you with a source through which you could legitimise the sale of stolen diamonds." "But, apparently, it was a little more complicated." "Wasn't it, gentlemen?" "Two identical stones?" "Stains on your hands, carbon stains." "It can only mean one thing." "Have you truly found a method for synthesizing diamonds, flawless stones?" "Assuming for the moment we have, are you interested in our proposition?" "I cannot answer that until I see it done." "No." "My process must be kept a secret." "Then we have nothing further to discuss." "Just a moment." "Very well, Your Excellency." "You'll have your wish." "You will see it." "It is my process." "I developed it." "And you promised me it would be kept a secret." "Mr Briggs, it will be our secret." "A secret that will make Lombuanda one of the richest nations on Earth." "What's the internal heat?" " 3,800 degrees." " Let's cool it off and have a look." "Magnificent." "They are all perfect, Excellency." "Well, convinced?" " There's one more thing." " What?" "The diamond." "This is the one stone in the world I know has no duplicate." " Make another one." " It'll involve making a mould, first." " Then make a mould." " Well, I..." " Can't you do it?" " Of course he can do it." "Put it in the moulding compound." "Place it right in the centre." "Remove your stone." "What is he doing with it?" "This process took 10 years to develop." "It's mine, and it'll remain mine." "A perfect duplicate." "Perfect." "I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes, Mr Briggs." "May I compare them?" " May I?" " Yeah." "All right." "Yes, perfect." "Too perfect." "Are you out of your mind?" "The entire diamond world knows there is only one such stone." "A duplicate would expose our entire plan, Your Excellency." "You are right." "You must only duplicate uncut stones which will be individually cut into original gemstones." " Starting with the Lombuanda." " Exactly, Mr Hand." "And you will move all this to my country, to Lombuanda, the source of the greatest diamond find of all time." "In Lombuanda, you will find everything you want." "You'll be treated like royalty." "You'll be rich beyond your wildest expectations." "Welcome to Lombuanda, gentlemen." "I wonder if all this security is to keep people out or us in." "I'd say both." "There we are." "Well, I think you'll find this place fits your specifications." "Ample space, all the electric power you need and all the workers you will require." "Looks more like a concentration camp than a factory." "Surely you remember what we will produce in this factory." "Absolute security must be maintained." "So from this moment, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the factory area" " without a pass from me." " What about us?" "Well, surely you want to live close to the factory." "I've provided you with most comfortable quarters directly in the compound." "And Miss Carter, I've arranged for her to stay..." "Miss Carter will not be coming." "Her job is finished." "Up, clumsy fool!" "Gentlemen, will you follow me, please?" "All right, hoist away!" "Well, seems all right." "I intend the process to remain my secret." "That was our bargain." "You will have to leave." "We are partners, Mr Briggs." "Why should we have secrets from each other?" "No one knows my process, and no one ever will." "Now, if you will leave, we'll get underway." "Once the machine is in operation, we have no further use for them." "Your Excellency?" "Yes, what is it?" "Well, there's still another load at the airport." "I'll need a pass." "All right." " You all right?" " A little stiff." "What do you think?" " Right about here." " Good." "Dan." " Okay?" " Yeah." "I got a pass." "Well, we may have to change the time and the date." " No problem." " Then we're ready." "Check the distance and move this panel into position." " Okay." " Good." " Has the machine been tested?" " It's working perfectly." "Very good." "Let's get on with it." "Gentlemen, the Lombuanda diamond." "$30 million." "All right." "Give the mould about three minutes to harden." "I never tried to duplicate a stone this size before, and I want the mould to harden perfectly." "Watch what he's doing." "You'll be doing it next." "Pressure's rising in the rear heating element." "I'll take a look." " What's wrong?" " I don't know." "The pressure's building." "But the diamond." "Let's get it out of the mould!" "Yes, get it out." "Dan!" "I need you back here!" " We can't get it open!" " The hydraulic system's jammed." "If anything happens to that diamond..." "Dan!" "Let him go!" "The diamond won't be damaged, but if this machine blows, we won't have a chance." "Turn off the main valve." "I can't." "It won't budge." " Keep trying." " I'm doing everything I can." "Help me with this panel." "It's red-hot." "You've got to do something." "We won't be able to stand it in here much longer." "Let's try the valve one more time." "I've got to get out." "I can't stand this heat." "Let's go." "If that pressure keeps building, the whole machine will go!" "The line's blown!" "We've got to get out!" "We can't!" "The steam!" " I'm kind of sorry." " Why?" "Well, for a while there," "I almost believed it really could produce diamonds." "It did, the one we were after."