That night Ducie's mind was too excited to allow of sleep. He was about
to be shown the great Diamond; but would the mere fact of seeing it
advance him one step towards obtaining possession of it? Would Platzoff,
when showing him the stone, show him also the place where it was
ordinarily kept? His confidence in Ducie would scarcely carry him as far
as that. In any case, it would be something to have seen the Diamond,
and for the rest, Ducie must trust to the chapter of accidents and his
own wits. On one point he was fully determined--to make the Diamond his
own at any cost, if the slightest possible chance of doing so were
afforded him. He was dazzled by the magnitude of the temptation; so much
so, indeed, that he never seemed to realise in his own mind the foulness
of the deed by which alone it could become his property. Had any man
hinted that he was a thief, either in act or intention, he would have
repudiated the term with scorn--would have repudiated it even in his own
mind, for he made a point of hoodwinking and cozening himself, as though
he were some other person whose good opinion must on no account be
forfeited.
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