The person who had brought the glorious gem had watched his opportunity, and, soft-footed as a cat, had stolen forward in the darkness to drop the precious parcel on the floor of the sentry box.
There the man had found it by the feel of his feet, when he stepped in some time later to escape a shower.

But what time had elapsed from the placing of the parcel to its discovery by the sentry it was impossible to say.

It must, however, as Random calculated, have been within the hour, since, before then, it would not have been dark enough to hide the approach of the person, whether male or female, who carried a king's ransom in the brown paper parcel.
At first Random was inclined to place the sentry under arrest for having failed so much in his duty as to allow anyone to approach so near the Fort; but, as he had already reprimanded the man, and, moreover, wished to keep the fact of the recovered jewel quiet, he simply dismissed him.
When alone, he sat down before the fire, wondering who could have dared so very greatly, and for what reason the emerald had been handed to him.

If it had been sent to Don Pedro, or even to Professor Braddock, it would have been much more reasonable.
It first occurred to him that Mrs.Jasher, out of gratitude for the way in which he had treated her, had sent him the jewel.

Remembering his former experience, he smelt the parcel, but could detect no sign of the famous Chinese scent which had proved a clue to the letter.