Show f S. S t I L LiF I II 1 i t N Q 4 9 yG 4 iF c t V F r i W 4 a A i Y R IA Y r ws p rr l 9 r fJ tt y 4 f Y t L t-r t 1 m r ia t p ii t. t a me Shrewdest Detectives x 7 let S' S of the Scotland Yard ar Force area 6 1 i l ai h Y fc 1 1 4 Encounters the Hardest L t f. f 4 i h SO ri r F bi 4 IV IVri rs it i t 1 i Mt t i Problem o of a Long on and P A 4 t i rf 1 i 6 4 A fps She pointed to a picture at the head of the bed a picture of a at t girl with lazuli lapis eyes and chestnut hair f rn T HE E crook has Qs called into being heing heinga a new of type detective The older type the type the butt of those thole brilliant amateurs I that fiction has created in such numbers numbers numbers-is is tb 4 incapable of dealin dealing with the educated educated- and often otten scientific criminal who has taken the place of Fagin and Sykes In civil life lICe few would have bale suspected Detective Inspector Murchison of his call call- r ing He lIe rarely f talked about Jt It and very easily passed as an ordinary s suburban burli n gen gen- l' l tieman But Dut h he possessed one one of the coolest minds in the Yard and was a man marked id r out by sheer merit for lor the highest honors rr In the Criminal Invest Investigation galIon Division th the official nam name of Scotland Yard He made mistakes there mistakes there is no no detective In the world who does not not hot but no man in inthe inthe the department was more feared by the crooks Perhaps his greatest asset was was his imperturbable temper his nerves never betraYed betrayed betrayed be- be be be- him Most people at the Yard knew that Y Murchison was in n charge of the investigations necessitated by the exploits of the 4 a burglar whom the i press called the Knave of Diamonds jam and nd most of them were sorry h for him The spectacular nature of these exploits r had earned for the Knave a wonderful publicity pub pub- which which is one of the worst worst things that 5 5 5 can happen from a detectives detective's point of view ii To become a public ch character is to achieve a kind of halo balo in the underworld to become a a hero And it is difficult to find people to give rive a hero away r Murchison could find no one who had ever seen Been the Knave of Diamonds in the flesh at nt least not with sufficient clearness dearness to give 4 a description of him Lady Whitton's maid v vh h insisted that he be was very dark But Dut a as a chloroform pad was over oer h her r mouth and t nose when she was looking at him bim her account ac ae- J count wa was not altogether reliable particularly particularly J as she went on to assert that he reminded reminded reminded re re- re- re minded her of Rudolph udolph Valentino She had 1 interrupted him while he was rifling her mistress mistress' jewel cases He got away on Ls that chat th t occasion with nearly worth and the only trace he left was a card a card a Knave of Diamonds taken apparently from an ordinary ordinary t nary pack Murchison iad five file of these cards in his possession The Knave had left one at the scene of each of his successful robberies as asa asa a a sort of visiting card but beyond them the detective had bad nothing whatever to work on There Thera were no finger marks on an them rI unless one counts the one that turned out outto 4 to belong to the constable who found it on pa the neatly opened safe of Mr Ir Levinstein THE usual sources of information were rr L dry A certain stall coffee-stall keeper Inthe in inthe inthe the West End who often helped the po police ce cehe he he was the most valuable nark in London Lon Lon- don volunteered don volunteered the opinion that the chap who had occasionally b been n seen with TIed Reds H Haired ired Maisie might be the one Murchison was after afler On the other hand band he might not I haven't seen fleen Red Haired Maisie about lit at all for some time said the the tired look seedy individual to whom the stall stall- keeper was talking She was was with him him if if that chop is him the the night he be pinched Mrs Irs pearls Busk Smith you Smith you know im said im said aid aided ed seen n em in a taxi in Shaftesbury ave ave- nue Laughin away a like billy o e said they were Very late late it it was Its It's my v. v opinion opinion for for what its it's worth worth the the pearls was in the taxi t too o. o The Criminal Investigation Division knew a great deal about Maisie but very little of it was to her credit She was a member i 4 of f every Brooks Brooks' Jok club in London and one of Cue he e most picturesque figures in the under under- till world She wore a bobbed mop of dull k chestnut hair and her eyes yes were vivid id lapis r. r lazuli She had been a model in various Chelsea studios in in her earlier and more w reputable days and although the police had nothing definite against her they knew she S had bad been mixed up in several of the most i L r daring duing crimes of recent years rears Murchisons Murchison's suspicion that Maisie could tell him a great deal den I about th the Knave if she wished to was strengthened by bythe bythe the burglary that took place in Charges i street t a w week k or so later It was in a flat a occupied by Hilary whose vath father ather i A. A r J r l j had bad made an enormous fortune out of canned cannell salmon in British Co Columbia Mr l was of a le less leIs s strenuous 5 type than his father and had achieved such fame as liS he e possessed as a patron of bf the arts It was as his pleasant habit to buy a picture which pleased him no no matter how unknown the tIle artist Usually he tired of ia a picture aft after r a while hile If it were good enough h he w. w would uld present it to one of the provincial galleries galleri s if his taste tast had bad erred he would give the picture to his man Selwyn and it would make its way by devious evious routes routes' to toa a second hand furniture shop He lie was a bachelor and might perhaps have spent his money to worse purpose His flat was not of the type that one would expect to attract the Knave of Diamond Diamonds For one thing pictures es are the least negotiable of nil all valuables valuable and for another r. r one could with safety assume that with the exception of a few articles of personal je jewelry elry of no great value alue there were few portable things in th the flat worth the time of a burglar as eminent as as' the Knave But Dut an evening or so after fter Murchisons Murchison's chat W with Ul the stall coffee-stall keeper Mr Ir son returned from one o of the Chelsea r r to find that his bis flat ha had bad been ransacked Balanced Baland upon the te head of a bronze e statue of the Shy Model Iodel he be found a Knave of Diamonds H HE E rang up up the Yard and the inspector on duty Jn in n turn rang up Murchison It was wat long past midnight when Murchison son arrived in Charges street He examined the flat with a methodical care which rather irritated its its' owner and then then wi with h equal care care the list of stolen articles What is the value of the stolen property property property prop prop- erty he be asked Mr at length Not more than if If that That little picture picture under the electric light there is a Corot cOrot and i is worth several thousands The burglar burlar is is' evidently not nota not nota a connoisseur What was wa's was the picture hes he's taken The subject I I mean It was was was' an oil by a young painter called Rice nice Walter Rice nice An ex excellent piece of work Of no great value though The subject subject subject sub sub- I think it was cali called d Daphne A girls girl's face Yes With very beautiful hair Reddish chestnut Rice nice painted several from the same model what he be came for announced Murchison He Ille would get about 20 20 from froma a fence for worth of stolen property and 20 20 is neither here nor there to the Knave Do you happen to know where I Ican Ican Ican can find Mr Rice Probably in St. St Ives He lIe usually spends September there His studio F is in John street street treet Chelsea lIe He rang up the studio in John street the next morning and found that Mr Ir Rice nice Was was not expected back from Cornwall until the following lu Tuesday Jay a THE fIE strange happening in in- inthe the little street behind on the Monday to Mr Ir Rices Rice's return was not not definitely definitely definitely linked up with the Knave lle of Diamonds Diamonds Dia Dia- monds for some time after it occurred but even at at the time Murchison was was' was fairly certain that the man he was after was at atthe atthe atthe the bottom of it The house honse had been entered by a second floor back window as was the case with two of the Knaves Knave's previous affairs affairs irs To reach the yard ard the burglar had to climb a 11 ten-foot ten wall and as on oil several previous occasions Murchison son noticed that the Knave must be something something something some some- thing of an acrobat Moreover as the police suspected almost almost t to the point of certainty Mr Ir Muller the proprietor of the burgled shop was a fence If the police were right he was the second fen fence e the Knave had raided But Dut on this occasion Mr Muller had been too smart for the burglar whoever he was lIe He was a II v very ry light sleeper and a a sound from the shop had hall waked him li His revolver revolver re re- re- re volver olver accompanied him downstairs From this point his evidence becomes a little untrustworthy and Murchison doubted whether he be was telling all ho be knew Men Ien of his type are i instinctively reticent and andare andare andare are not usually anxious to place too much Information information in the hands of the police Mr r. r Muller indeed asserted that nothing had been stolen stolen that he lIe had heard the intruder almost as soon as he be entered his bis premises I t. t V 1 t J l J. J f 1 f ij v. v lI z iti fi i t suc Successful Career Career When He Hun Hunts Down the Knave of Diamonds I in In his statement t to the police he described L how bow lie jl tad had d crept crept downstairs how the man m n in the shop had hall sP sprung rune g ti upon i on him from behind a packing case case in the little room at the bask and stunned him with t the blow of a a metal bar As he fell Jell the the- revolver be he carried had bad gone off and fright frightened Qed by the noise the thief hall had taken to his bis heels heels- A constable arrived on the scene a ill minute minute min min- ute ute or so later and nd wh while he was superintending superintending tending tending Mr Muller's return to to consciousness conscious conscious- ness the burglar made g good his escape He disco discovered red however when he lIe proceeded to investigate that the bullet had hit th the burglar for there were were bloodstains on the floor The police J have ale means of learning very very quickly about gunshot gunshot- wounds for which the aid of a hospital or a doctor is sought but the hours went by with no information information tion forthcoming It might of course have halo been a slight wound even though it had obviously bled considerably A more likely explanation was vas that the injured man had consulted one of those doctors on the fringe of ot the underworld whose fees are high but who give nothing away to the police On Tuesday evening Murchison called on Walter Rice nice who gave him what little information was as as in his possession I remember the picture quite well of course he said I painted it three years ago Mr Ir bought it My model u used ed to be very well known in Chelsea Maisie we called her ber I never nevel knew her ber other name name You haven't seen her of late Not for a 11 long longtime time Hair like sunlight sunlight sunlight sun sun- light on old mahogany Beautiful hair 1 Can Oan you put me into touch louch with anyone anyone anyone any any- one who knows her Or knew her E Everybody in Chelsea knew her ller She was was' very CrY poor at one time I I have an idea she came from Battersea originally but no one knew much muc about her She's quite d dropped out I heard vaguely once that she had gone wrong Ive I've got it 1 Willy Lampart would know about her if it any anyone anyone anyone one would She Sho was his model for or months Ill I'll Ill I'll take you over to his studio 1 1 t tWILLIE WILLIE ILLIE LAMPART AnT proved pro to be a gray gray- haired painter and equally willing to assist the detective But his information was ait even een vaguer than Rices Rice's until h he be mentioned men men- Maisie's sister I suppose her sister wouldn't be of any u use I Sh She's s 's in in inva a tobacco shop near near Vic Vie Vietoria toria I 1 discovered the relationship quite accidentally She has has very similar hair bair to tober her ber sister and I was in the shop one day and acid mentioned my model to her I dont don't think she approved of Maisie He lie described the location of the shop to the detective and half an an hour later Murchison Murchison Mur Mur- chison was purchasing cigarettes in the shop itself There was no mistaking the girl h her girl her r hair was far too distinctive She was not pretty in spite of her ller hair and se seemed med very willing to chat with Murchison By Dy Jove he said baid suddenly Ive got It 1 Ive I've been trying to place you I I used to knows know a girl in Chelsea a 11 few years ago who was awfully like you Maisie her name was my sister the girl said Youre not the first to notice the likeness Hows she getting on I haven't seen her ber for years I r 1 dont don't know I dont don't hold with her herway herway herway way of life I dont don't see her often oCten I I 1 used to be very ery keen on her She dropped I out of everything suddenly though I i often wondered if she the were married think so so Maisie isn't the marrying kind Wh What t name shall I say kay say if I see her Wilkinson said Murchison Russell nusse Wilkinson She Shell She'll ll remember me T To this day I owe her a pair of of silk stockings bet other Id Ill like ike some silly or to send them to her if you had the address had bad a 11 dozen different addresses addresses' since I sa saw w her last Ill I'll warr warrant n t. t To tell you the truth I dont don't know anything about her And I dont don't know as I want toShes toShes to She She's not my sort lort The last time I saw her she went went by this very ry shop in a motor as large as lif life Six Sis months ago I should hould think The next nest evening however howe he met Maisie herself He lIe had hall seen her s several leral times before on during a raid on oil a club in Soho It was in Old ComptO Comp Comp- tO ton l street within a few yards of this same club that he met her She was alone and went into inlo one ono of the innumerable little restaurants there Murchison followed her lier lIe He sat at a n table near the door from which he hI was leas able to watch her u unobtrusively obtrusively She She ordered her dinner and so far as h her outward bearing was concerned there was I X 0 i o 1 f ti i i b J no DO quieter or m more e discreet girl girt in fn th the e restaurant lIe He finished his hi's enl and waited for or her r under the cover of a newspaper ne shop a n afew few do doors rs from rpm the restaurant She looked looke d dt I up up and d down wn the road rond when she came ou out ut t as if she were uncertain where she mean meant mant t to to go In the end she turned turne toward Oxford Oxford Ox Ox- ford street and and very ery casually he be strolled after her She stopped at the corner comer of a B street in Soho Square and Murchison wa was s i for forced d. d to overtake her He sauntered b by y without looking at her As he be passed sh she e turned into the street lIe He went on for a 8 afew ad few yards before he turned back back to to fin find d that she had disappeared Murchison knew Soho Sobo intimately There was no turning out of the street for a hundred hundred hundred hun hun- hun hun- dred yards and as she had only been out of his sight for |