Show ow JACQUES f T L P fy b v COPYRIGHT 1908 b THE associated bunday COPYRIGHT ty THE MERfel LL SYNOPSIS count dl di Ros itil tha ithe italian ambas mador la at dinner with in tho the national tai when a messenger bayr bringal a noto note d directing ct ing III him 1 TI to come to the at once ite hero re a beautiful young woi woman 1 inn asks that site ile bo ave riven n ticket hoke it to the embassy ball tho the ta ticket la Is isido out in fit tile paine of ailes Is aliel thorne chief campbell of tile service and mr air grimm lila hin head detective are warned that mat a plot of the r itan races against the ho speaking races Is brewing in and grimm goes to the bull for information in a conservatory ills his nt fit la Is called to mag aliss isabel thorne who with tier lier companion soon noon ilkay coara A revolver Is im lie arti und I 1 I 1 and arlem hasten lown down the lie hall to tan find 1 I that benor alvarez of the mexican legation has been shot A woman did it and grimm la is assured nasu reil it waa vas bilms alha thorne lie he visits tier her demanding knowledge knowl edse of tho affair and there arrests ft A man named pietro ret na miss thorne Th orria visits an oli old man luigi 1 ulal apparently it bomb maker n and I 1 they speak of a wonderful tn fifty thousand do lints in rold gow is 3 stolen from froin the ofelea or benor the minister from venezuela ach whilo 0 detectives are In invests vesti ettling tho the robbery mini thorne tip appears pears SH 84 8 el ft kliest of the legation CHAPTER X r A safe opening together they entered the adjoining room which was small compared to tho one they hey had just left senor 11 used it as aa a vitto office ulf hta desk was on their right between two windows overlooking tho the sanio same pleasant little garden which was vis llila ible from tho the suite sul teof of tiny drawing rooms farther along the sate safe a formidable looking receptacle of blade black enameled steel stood at their left closed and locked tho the remaining wall space amoco of the room was given over to oak cabinets evidently a storage place iaco for the less important legation papers las any one besides yourself been in abis room today air orlum GrIn iiii inquired enquired not a soul senar was the reply mr air grimm went over anti and examined tile windows they were both locked inside inaldo and there were no marks of any sort on oil tho the bills they tire ro just as I 1 left them last night nighal tL explained senor rodriguez 1 I have not touched them today and theros theroa only one door mused mr grimm meaning that by which they had entered so it 11 would appear that whoever was waa here last night entered through that room loom very well llo ife walked around tile the room once opening and shutting the doors of the mhd cabinets as he passed and finally ilia paused used in front of the safe what are the first and second figures of the combination he asked thirty six then back to ten mr grimm set act the ho dial at thirty six Ix and aften with his bis ear pressed closely tile the polished door turned the ir dial slowly back senor abood looking on oil helplessly but none tho the less intently the pointer read ten then nine eight soven seven five mr air cramm gazed at it thoughtfully after which he did it all over again placidly and without haste now well look inside please he re queued rising senor rodriguez unlocked the safe tho while mr air grimm respectfully turned hla his eyes eyed away then pulled the door wide open tho the books had been f t ale piled done one on top of another and thrust k into various pigeon holes at the top mr air grimm understood that this bisor darwas tho the result of making room at tile ho bottom for the ho bulk of gold and ask asked eLrio no questions instead in stead ho he sat down upon the floor ag again aln tho the lock on this private compartment part ment at tho the top Is broken he be remarked ked after a moment sl senor the diplomatist agreed evidently the robbers were not content with only fifty thousand dollars in gold they imagined that some tiling else of value was hidden there was thero there asked mr grimm naively ile ho look around nothing of monetary value the senor explained thorn there were some important state papers in there they t T are a re there yet lut but no money none of the papers was stolen 1 no senor benor there were only nine p packets ackels they are there yet f contents all right yes yea I 1 personally looked them biver over mr hir grimm drew out the packets of papers 4 pers ono one by one they were wera all unsealed save eave the last when he je reached ached for that senor rodriguez tp ado a quick involuntary motion toward it with his hand band this ones sealed commented mr air grimm it happen that you opened it and sealed it again senor rodriguez stood staring at him blankly for a moment then somo a udden budden ap apprehension was aroused tor for a startled look camo came into hla his eyes and again he reached for the packet dios he ha exclaimed lot mo me seo see senor going to open it asked mr grimm yes senor I 1 bad not thought of it before senor rodriguez opened it with nervous nerv oua twitching fingers mr air grimm had turned toward tho safe again but ho heard the crackle of parchment as some document was waa drawn out of tho the envelope and then came a deep sigh of relief having satisfied his sudden fears for the safety of the paper whatever it was tho the senor benor placed it in III an other envelope and sealed it again with elaborate care mr air grimm dropped into the swivel chair at tho the desk senor he inquired pleasantly your daughter and miss alles thorne were in this room yesterday afternoon yes replied tho the diplomatist as aa if surprised at tho the question what time please about three they were going out driving why and just where please alc plc ase did you that handkerchief continued mr air grimm handkerchief repeated tho the diplomatist lo you liean mean miss handkerchief lie he paused anil and re carded mr jr grimm keenly senor what am I 1 to understand from that question it was plain enough replied mr air grimm where did you find that handkerchief there was silence for an instant in this room yes replied senor rodriguez at last near the safe mr air grimm persisted yes zaino caino the slow reply again just here and ho he indicated a spot a little to the left of tho the sate safe and when did you find it yesterday afternoon last night this morning this morning and without any apparent reason the diplomatists face turned deathly white but senor senor you are mistaken I 1 there can bo be nothing I 1 A domant woman two hundred pounds of gold I 1 senor mr air grimm was still pleasant about it his bis curiosity was was absolutely impersonal his eyes grown listless again were turned straight into the others face it that handkerchief had been there last night senor lis lia resumed quietly you havo noticed it when you placed the gold old in the afe senor stared at him a longtime long time 1 I dont know he be said at last he dropped back into la choir chair with hla his face in hla his hands senor he burst out suddenly impetuously after a moment if the gold Is not recovered I 1 am ruined you understand that bet ter than I 1 can tell you its tho the kind of thing that could not bo be explained to my government ile ho rose suddenly aud and faced the impassive young man with merciless determination in hla his faco face you roust must find that gold senor ile be eald no mattor matter who may be who may suffer inquired mr air grimm find the gold senor 1 very well commented mr air grimm without moving do me the favor please to regain beghin possession of the handkerchief you just returned to miss thorne thorna and to send to me here your your secretary senor benor diaz and your servants ono one by one I 1 shall question them alono alone no dont be alarmed unless they know of tho the robbery they shall get no inkling of it from me first be good enough to replace tho the packet in the safe and lock it senor benor rodriguez replaced the pack et without quei question tion afterward locking the door then went out A moment later inter senor diaz appeared he remained with w ith mr air grimm for just eight minutes senor rodriguez entered again as aa his bis secret secretary try passed on and laid a lace handkerchief on the leek desk mr air grimm stared at it curiously for a long time its the sanio band handkerchief herchler herch lef st sl senor theres no doubt whatever about it no senor I 1 got it byr by r 11 its of no consequence interrupted mr air grimm brimm now tho the servants please the men first the first of the men servants was in the lio room two minutes tho the second the butler was there five minutes one of the women was not questioned at all the oth other er remained ton ten minutes mr air grimm followed tier her into the hall senor rodriguez stood there impatient gg y L I 1 L U A T the lock on this private compartment at the top Is broken well lie demanded eagerly im going out a little while replied mr grimm pi placidly acidly no one has even arr an intimation of the affair please keep the matter absolutely to yourself until I 1 return that was all the irbe door opened and closed and ho he was gone a at the end of an hour ho returned passed on through to tho the diplomatists private office sat down in front of the locked sato safe again and set the dial at thir thirty i ty six senor rodriguez looked on astonished as mr air grimm pressed the soft rubber sounder bounder of a stethoscope against the safe door and began be gan turning the dial back toward ten slowly slowly thirty five minutes later the lock clicked mr air grimm rose turned the handle and pulled the safe cafe door open how tt it was done he ex to the amazed diplomatist and now please have a servant hand baud my card to miss altos thorne CHAPTER XI T the lace handkerchief still wearing the graceful prace ful filmy morning gown with an added touch of scarlet in her hair a single red rose miss thorne came into the drawing room where mr grimm sat walting waiting 1 I believe bul levo said slowly without preliminaries this to la your tL andker ch chief left lie ile offered the lacy trifle odd in design unique in workmanship obviously y of foreign texture aud and she ahe accepted it yes she agreed rel readily dily 1 I mu must t have dropped it again that its Is tile the one handed to you by senor rodriguez mr air grimm told her 1 I think you said you lost it in his office yesterday afternoon yes sho nodded inquiringly it may interest you to know tant senor butler positively gentines den tines it as one ho he restored to you twice at dinner last evening between seven and nine mr grimm went on dispassionately indeed Inde edl exclaimed miss thorne the senor identities it as one he found this morning in hla his office mr air grimm explained explain etl obligingly during the night fifty thousand dollars in gold were stolen from his safe aless thorne sat motionless waiting all this means what she ahe inquired nt at length ill trouble you please to return the money requested mr air grimm courteously I 1 no reason appears why you yon should have taken it but im not seeking reasons nor urn am I 1 seeking disagreeable publicity only the money it seems to me you attach undue importance to the handkerchief she objected a matter of opinion mr air G grimm remark remarked dd it would be useless even tedious to attempt to disprove a burglar theory but against it la Is the difficulty of entrance the weight of the gold the ingenious method of opening the sato safe and the assumption that not moro more than six elx persons knew the money was in the safe while a person in the house might have learned it in any of a dozen ways and in addition Is the fact that the handkerchief Is odd t therefore 11 ere noticeable A lace expert assures me ine theres probably not another like 1 it in the world lie ho stopped miss thorn Thor thorns nos 0 8 eyes sparkled and a smile seemed to bo be tugging at the corners of her mouth she spread out the handkerchief on her knees you buld identity identify this again ol of course she queried yes she tho crumpled cr up chril bit of lare lapp in both hands bands then opened them there were two handkerchief now they were identical which Is it please she asked if mr air grimm was disappointed there was not a trace of it on his face she laughed outright gleefully mockingly then demurely pardon niel rue you see its absurd the handkerchief the butler restored to mo me at dinner after I 1 lost one ona in the dehors senora oance might have been either of these or one of ten other duplicates in my room all given to me by aher her maj I 1 mean she corrected quickly by a friend in europe she was was silent for a moment lis Is that all no replied mr air grimm gravely decisively im not satisfied 1 I shall insist upon the return of the money and if it is not forthcoming I 1 dare say count dl di rosint the italian ambas ambassador Ba would be pleased to give his bis personal bonal check rather than have the matter become public p she started to interrupt but he be went on in any event you will bo be requested to leave leava the country TO BE CONTINUED |