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Show JwMi&CtV BARBER , sPW OTs:4:m will Im a complete vindication of your fiancee. My best wishes for your hap- . pltll'SS." Hrltz then turned to Mrs. Mlssloner. "An for the prisoner, Grlswold. Mrs. . Mlssloner," he said. "It makes little difference dif-ference to him that ho was not arrest- . ed for I he lhft of your diamonds. The directors of the Iroquois Trust Corn- pany have a case against him strong enough to send him up the river for i Ion whllo. I trtiHt, Mr. Sands," Hrltz added significantly, "that In your new found happiness you will forget ' the momentary unpleaaiintnev bctweep ; us. After all, you see. I wan acting In jour Interests." The rare smile the millionaire flatihed at the lieutenant as with a pro-prbtnry pro-prbtnry air he took Ifcirls Mlssloner' hand In his was as eloquent an expression expres-sion of friendly gratitude as anyone In Koclety or "the Street" would expect of "Silent" Sands. TUB EST). I added In a voice laden with the vlu dl'-tlveness she felt, i The semicircle of listeners contract i ed until Mrs. Mlssloner, Miss llol . comb. Sands, and Fitch were close tc . Hrltz. The detective, turning to th( , others, said: "1 have had the good fortune to re cover the Maharanee diamond for you Mrs. Mlssloner, and It remains only to truce the other jewels of the necklace I dare say I'rlnce Kannnda can tell u where they are." "As I told you over the telephone, Lleutenunt Hrltz." Mrs. Mlssloner answered, an-swered, "1 have recovered my Jewels." "All?" asked the detective, slightly astonlNhed. "All," replied the widow. "Moreover. I do not care to prosecute anyone connected con-nected with their disappearance." "Not the Hindoos who were responsible respon-sible for their second disappearance-is disappearance-is It possible you do not wish them to be punished?" Hrltz expostulated. "I do not," said Mrs. Mlssloner quietly. "I understand their connection connec-tion w ith the mystery .thoroughly. In spite of the drastic methods they pur sued, I do not blame them. They did not seek the lesser stones of the neckluce. In fact, those gems were returned re-turned to me this morning by one of the Orientals a man of scholarly attainment at-tainment and high character, whom I met In the Kast. These devotees-fanatics, devotees-fanatics, If you will have braved death and Imprisonment to recover a Jewel which I take It Is precious In their eyes as was the Holy Grail to the Crusaders. It Is a question not merely of religion, but of extreme piety with them. I'nder such circumstances circum-stances I cannot consent to appear against them, nor to countenance any attempt to punish them. Hesldes, there was a mistake In the acquisition of the Maharanee diamond. It belongs to these men of the East. They are free to take It. I surrender all claim Uon It." With an air of unmistakable respect Hrltz turned toward the widow. "In the eyes of the law," he said, extending ex-tending the big Maharanee, "this stone Is yours. You may do with It as you choose." Mrs. Mlssloner accepted the stone, permitting her eyes to linger a nio-nent nio-nent on Its blazing splendor. Then she wheeled abruptly and passed the diamond to the I'rlnce. "It Is yours," she said. "Take It." Kannnda's eager fingers closed or the gem- "Mrs. Mlssloner haa restored your property," Hrltz said, turning to the Oriental, "and I dare say the Chief will agree with me that It la not necessary neces-sary for us to take your case as far as he District Attorney's office. You and your fellow countrymen are at liberty to go. I advise you to go quickly before be-fore I get to thinking too strongly about that little upside-down ride you gave me In Riverside drive. I have the honor to wish Your Koyal Highness High-ness a very gxd morning!" He made a mock obeisance as the Hindoos, released from their shining steel bonds, filed silently out of the room. "Miss Holcomb," said Drltz, "Chief Manning will procure your release In Just about the time It takes us to go from here to the court. You will be discharged at once. Yes, doctor, that Elm limn iiimj i. i i i hwwp SYNOPSIS. Th story nn Willi a srin from ?iiitliy Mnrrli In Hi up ln of Mr MiMt.miir. a ,-t 1 1 1 1 v ulilow. It In -fHHu.til wlin M im Miloiirr's nerslar rrAlM. m at HTIliK III illlllnoli'lil llll lint ' !hr floor ('mil (iilnwoM Mini Hunt. .11 in.lx, immIi-iv mm In lv with Mn Ml-mii Ml-mii r. Kiilhi-r U' It'" Kin. (litnwo. h u .n wliHt In mipp'im"! In tin lh i l-i.rm.'l l-i.rm.'l MuhiirMii ami rriixliin II. A lltn-ku lltn-ku ii -r-liir- It wim mil Hi K'-niilm' An ripiri IhIit pronoiim Mil !h tns ll,sHlilt- fur th oil Kl Hi I till of III" mli!TiK ij'iimiinil In foiifnl 111 ttin room nt l.llimr llnl. .mill, rmilll'iitltil loinpitn-tnn loinpitn-tnn tit Mr MIhsIoimt. Hli I arrti"l, xil w iiliHiHiiitliiK Mr. Mission- r n hill.-f n fii-r lnii.iri ti. il. I M-(lv HrlU takc ip Id ens. II Rkii III ro-optrallon of Jir Klirli. Kllnnr's lium-c. In runiiiii town Hi Tfn irimlnnl llrltx l-rn Hull 1iiilli-at of Mm MIhMmii' r ilhitmniil w.-r iiihiI- In 1'iiriM mi th urd-T c.f 1-;iin.r lliil.-.nnh Wlillf wnlklinf Hill In -i7(1, ImiiiiiiI 11ml Kiii:ul t.v MiihI'iom. H n Ihiii 'Imnif-il In a l i..Tti'l iKiiim'. hut fimkm Lin m'i. Drill! illnrvrs n In-ini In-ini itUiimii'l -xHit whom h ImIivii ni.l"il hv i-lilur Kanilii T i!il--wuM In milk 1 oiinii.rf.-iln of Hi Mixulmi-r Mixulmi-r S'-nin Ti lllmtiiiM ImrKlarUi' lli nr of Hun. Ik sn.l ar i Hptur-i hy firiti 1 1n rn of tlii'in )i tlnilN n not. NU'iit-il tr "Mil!l.-..nl" hihI iii.ihii.I to "I'lirtln " Drill lonttfn 11 wmnitii iihiihmI M.llli i-nl t ii-l iroi'ti. to whom i.rlrtuohl Ynn hfn pln miiiki'il iilii-ni lurm Tli Hwunit t -n. R hull ill ,Mt MlKKliim-r's himie, hut 1aiin tini'iiiK fnrtlii-r hhout lh ill-inmifN ill-inmifN Itrtlx illi.:ilU.l HH ft lhlf. vUltn tm 11 en riii" nl of MIII11 lit. II tlii'l" A tMm Dial om-f rontiOm-l tli rnlKlu lln-iioim'i lln-iioim'i t.iit It N m 1 1 1 v . Tli ili." i .-in. luih h Unit tin' IIiimIooh linv Mntlrl-ml.-il him In tli ri-ovi-ry of the Jewels. II vlwltf lhlr uuartiT nml han an 4-ltlriit -Kji-f ii'iiri- u-lth h sntik. Th wfliiil ri'iurin all Hi rnl illnmomU to Xr MImhIoiut. pn.ipt tli M.iluiriin.'. wti'i h h I'ih'mIh nii'Ni h rlnrni'l to th.. 4i'itiiU In Imlhi, vi h..n- ti wh hi nil' ri I'.ilu kKih hln lh''..r'. to Hi rhlf of io llr. tViovi-4ni; how 1 3 rl s wi'lil hum ih-vln'-il tliii Wtlol" llol. pi O'illK th hluini- nil l.liiior Tin- il.'t.rllvii .iiiiiiri Hi Uln-1iw Uln-1iw jiiHt nM thi'v iir hImhiI to Kill for In-hs on of thint him th Mah'trim.' nit i-'H"i! In hiii I. UrUwol l ami Mis. it'l.troi h r wrri'iiti'iJ. CHAPTER XXVI. (Continued.) "I" ' I'irer!" fhe screamed. "Liar! Inntn'e! Thief!" J':n h word was like the unrip of a UKh t' tit brought a wliu Ing Mart from r.riswtild as If a Mack unake whip I nil Mutig h'm. He Mretrhed bis rmtiils townrd her Imploringly. "Mllllec-nt!" he cried. , "Never call tee by that name again." 1 whe almost screamed. "I wish I could forget every occasion on which you tiave dared to utler It. You wretch!" and she wrung her hands finitely, as f she would like to clasp them about Ms throat. Fitch opened the door softly and " toolu-d In. Hehlnd him slood Elinor IIoltTimb and Detective Williams. At flgn from Hrltz, they entered the imow noiselessly and stood beside the tor. Ilefore Williams could close it pon them. Mrs. "Mlssloner and Hrux-jd Hrux-jd Sands appeared on the threshold. Ira. Delaroche turned to Hrltz In cold fury, an Icy reaction from her olcanlc rage of the moment before. '"I will tell you all you wish to know, lieutenant." she said. "I will 'tell you all ! know about Mr. Grls- "wold. He Is the man," Mrs. Dela-rwhe Dela-rwhe continued, "who stole Mrs. Mis-toner's Mis-toner's diamonds!" The wealthy widow, standing near the door, put her hand to her heart as Jf about to faint from the shock. ' Bunds, bis only thought being to sup-port sup-port lier In such a trying moment, forgot for-got the presence of all the others, sind passed his arm about her shoul-Vrs shoul-Vrs to steady her slightly swaying Torm Elinor, with a little sigh, turned lo Fitch and clasped both his hunds rlth unmistakable tenderness. Then her hoad sunk upon bis shoulder, and the doctor, bolder than Sands, encircled en-circled her waist with bis arm. Hrlt., without making a move to Interrupt In-terrupt Mrs. Isdaroche, stretched one hand behind him and prised a button that communicated with the room where Gordon and Hicks waited with the four Hindoos. The connecting door opened and the Orientals could be seen within. Mrs. Ix-laroche, absorbed ab-sorbed In her own grievances. Intent only upon vengeance that should shatter shat-ter Curtis Grlswold to the very foundation founda-tion of the man, again fixed her eyes upon him as she continued her denunciation de-nunciation to the detective. Hrltz and Mainlng listened alertly. Gordon. In th adjoining room, whipped out a not 'book and began taking In shorthand short-hand everything the woman said. "Yes, you stole tho Jewels," sntd Mrs. Delaroche to the crouching dub-man dub-man In his chair. "I didn't know It when you gave them to me, and fool that I was, the suspicions I might have had were kept aloof by my affection af-fection for you. You wooed me for a long time. You told me I was the only woman In the world. You swore you never had a single thought of any other. And all that time. It seems, you were courting this Mrs. Mlssloner Mlsslon-er ou were seeking to win her for her wealth, I suppose - it matters not for what. And even while you were In her house as a recognized, even an accepted suitor, you robbed the very woman you really Intended to marry!" Turning with a panther's speed and with Its steely strength, she addressed ad-dressed herself again to Hrltz. "Mr. Grlswold!" she said, "gave me a necklace a few weeks ago a diamond dia-mond necklace. It was contained In the Jewel case you found In my room, lie told me he had purchaked It for me, and that It was to lie his bridal gift, I wondered at the munificence of tho present, but he assured mo he was a man of much greater wealth than was generally supposed, and that when we were wed, we would live In luxury equaling that of anyone In New York society. I believed him. Ho explained that he wished me to take charge of the necklace at once as he feared to keep It In bta own apartment, apart-ment, and for business reasons did not wish to Intrust it to a safe deposit company, When the news of the Mlssloner Mls-sloner diamond jobbery was published In the newspapers, I commented upon It to the man I supposed to be my fiance, and expressed wonder as to whether Mrs. Mlssloner's diamonds were as beautiful as those he had given me. He asked me to say nothing noth-ing about my possession of the necklace neck-lace until our wedding day. He said he did not wish the directors of tie Iroquois Trust Compnny to know he had laid out such a large sum of money yet awhile, "When you. Mr. Hrltz, tried to steal the necklace from my room; when. In fact, you did take the case that had contained them, I supposed yon to be an ordinary burglar. Naturally I became be-came exclled at the thought of loslrg such magnificent gems. How the Jewels were ever taken ft 0111 my custody cus-tody I do not yet know I have no Idea where they are All I do know Is that Curtis Grlswold stole them, and that. In turn, they were stolen from him. "As for you," and she turned upon Grlawold anew, "I pray , Heaven I shall never hear your name again unless It be under circumstances that will give me further opportunity to revenge myself upon you!" Silence followed the theatrical outburst out-burst of tho woman. Grlswold stood with clasped hands, his eyes on the floor. Mrs. M l.-isldticr, her eyes resolutely reso-lutely averted from his crouching form, gazed at Hrltz expectantly, hiluor, her fine womanhood athrlll with sympathy In eplla of her weeks of suffering - more, keenly because uf It, perhaps soutjit to soothe the notation no-tation of Mrs. Delaroche, who was close to collapse. Fitch, too, strove to calm the woman. As a man he pitied her; as a physician, he felt some alarm for her because of the great excitement to which she had wrought herself excitement plainly beyond the endurance of her emotional emo-tional nature. A feeling akin to Indignation In-dignation stirred him when, glancing toward Hrltz, he saw a sarcastic smile on tho detective's face. His hands In his pockets, he was rocking gently on his hi'i'ls, and watching Mrs. Delaroche Dela-roche as oe would concentrate his vision on a great tragedienne near the grand finale of her performance. "Hravo!" said the lieutenant detective de-tective at last. "HiavlHsimo, Mrs. Delaroche! if It were not for detaining detain-ing our good friends, I'd Insist upon an encore. Keally, you know, you're entitled to any number of curtain calls for that." The heroine of tho Renaissance burglary flashed furious eyes upon him. Fitch, despite all he know Hrltz had done for Elinor, could not conceal con-ceal his anger. Even Miss Holcomb was Indlgnnnt. Mrs. Mlssloner and Sands looked at the detective expectantly. expect-antly. Manning's face was Impassive. He was prepared for any surprise from his Shrewd lieutenant. "You behold In Mrs. Delaroche," said Hrltz, Including everybody In a swef-p of his hand, "one of the most talented actresses In America. True, she Isn't on the singe, but that'a otily because the managers haven't discovered discov-ered her. If any of the big managers saw such an example of her art as this, he'd engage her on the spot." "I don't understand you, Mr. Hrltz," said Mrs. Mlssloner Inquiringly. "Mrs. Delaroche understands me, Mrs. Mlssloner," returned the sleuth. "She knows exactly what I mean. Don't you, Mrs. Delaroche?" "No!" said the woman from the Renaissance so sharply the word waa like a poniard thrust. "No?" retorted the detective. "How truly unfortunate! Surely you are mistaken, madam; surely you recall what happened In Paris? It can't be you've forgotten how you obtained possession of the Mlssloner necklace the one with the Muharanee diamond, dia-mond, you know?" She clung to sllenco as to a rock of refuge. Hrltz, still rocking lightly on his heels, raised a finger warnlng-ly warnlng-ly and looked at her with that same sarcastic smile. "You know as well as I do, Mrs. iJelnroche," ho went on, "that Curtis Grlswold didn't steal the Maharanee necklace. Whatever other crimes are upon him, he Is guiltless of that In act, at any rate." The woman kept her eyes on the floor, her face partly turned away. All the others stared at Hrltz In amazement, not excepting the Chief of the Detective Hureau. "Lets run through the pages of history, Mrs. Iniaroehe," continued the lieutenant. "I'ersonal history, of course the history of clever little Miss Vincent, one of the brightest young women In Farls. You remember remem-ber her when she was an art student there, getting along as well as she could on a New England Income In the latln Quarter. A bright, clever tittle girl she was, to be sure, and It waa too bad she had such a bard strugglo to realize her artistic dreams!" All his hearers listened attentively Mrs. IK-Iaroche, In spite of resolute effort to appear Indifferent, full as faithfully as th.i other. I'rlnce Kansnda moved forward until un-til he stood within several feet of Mrs. Delaroche. She turned her head sllxhtly and saw him. A glance of mutual recognition passed between them, but so quickly that It was un-obst un-obst Ad by the others. The I'rlnce eyed her steadily, with malignant gaze, a of a man who has been tricked. A wild fear leaped Into her eye and khe moved away, edging closer to Hrltz "It Isn't to be wonderd at," said Hrltz sympathetically, "when you recall re-call the many hardships Mis Vincent Vin-cent endured when you remember on how many mornings she had te trudge to her copying work In the louvre without even the poor consolation con-solation of a French breakfast, that she permitted a young Hindoo gentle, man to spend a little money upon her. It wasn't exactly In line with New England conventionality, of course, but the aristocratic Easterner had been Introduced to her formally enough, hi behavior was always re (ectfuL and she well, she wa very lonely and very blue and often very hungry." I Mr. Delaroche bit her Hp and turned on Drltt a look of such re- Sintmetit that Mrs. Mlssloner and Miss Holcomb shrank away a little. "And It needn't astonish us," Hrlti cout triued, "that when tho polished Oriental brought about her acquaintance acquaint-ance with an American multimillionaire multimillion-aire she accepted friendly little courtesies cour-tesies from the rich man, even going go-ing so far as to dlnu with him In several sev-eral of the luxurious cafes for which I'arls Is famous. Tho American was a man from her own country a big! good natured. whole-souled chup, thoroughly thor-oughly satisfied with bis fortune and himself. "Therefore, why shouldn't the lonely, lone-ly, starving Miss Vincent j-njoy gay little dinners and. perhaps, gayer little lit-tle suppers with him? She was always al-ways chaperoned. Hy whom? Hy the Hindoo, of course. Hesldes, the millionaire's mil-lionaire's wife knew there was a dash of romance In her husband that made him delight In these excursions Into the realm of the unusual." Mrs. Delaroche sat with those brilliant bril-liant eyes of hers bent rigorously on the rug. The other women glanced at her curiously. Manning with suspicion, suspi-cion, Kanatida with a glitter In his eyes that seemed to command silence. si-lence. Hut she did not look at the I'rlnco. "However," ran the detective's monologue, mon-ologue, "you'll have to admit, Mrs. Delaroche, that It wasn't exactly grateful on Miss Vincent's part to listen to the Hindoo when he offered her n large bribe to shall we say, steal a certain rare and verv beautiful beauti-ful diamond from the multimillionaire." multimillion-aire." , Mrs. Delaroche's breath came In a series of soft gasps almost in sobs. A rose film seemed to spread over her exquisite complexion. The famoua detective paused for a moment and looked accusingly at her. When he spoke, It was with finality. "Mrs. Diiarocho, yon were Miss Vincent," he satd; "you were the Impoverished Im-poverished girl artist of the Latin Qunrter. You have been married since, and now you are a divorcee but you were Miss Vincent." She recovered her poise for a moment mo-ment and gazed at him defiantly. Then her courage broke again, and she answered: "It Is true. How you have learned It I cannot guess, but It I true." Doris Mlssloner, despite the suggestion sug-gestion conveyed In the lieutenant' revelations, gazed at Mllllcent Delaroche Dela-roche commlseratlngly. Elinor' pity wa more open. "And now." Hrlti went on, "Mr. Delaroche either stole thoe Jewel in I'arls or In New York. If they were stolen In I'arls, the authorities of this city have no Jurisdiction In the case. On the other hand, we can prove the necklace was In her possession only a day or two ago, and If the crime was committed In this country, we will call In tho District Attorney." He turned abruptly toward the woman. "Mrs. Delaroche," Hrltz said, "I do not believe Mrs. Mlssloner ill call on the French authorities to act. If the crime was committed In their Jurisdiction. If the Jewels were taken here, Mrs. Mlssloner will have no choice In tho matter." She seized at the bait. Turning her flashing eye on the detective, she burst forth: "The Jewels were stolen In Tarls." A tense silence wa broken by Hrltz. "You'll have to how me," he snapped. "It your last chance to tell the truth." "1 stole the collarette from Mr. Mis-loner," Mis-loner," ahe admitted. "It wa hort-ly hort-ly before hi death, a long time ago The plot had all been laid. Grlswold and I'rlnce Kananda got me to do it. I met Grlswold through Mr. Mlssloner. Ho made love to me. made me believe he wanted to marry me. Then, one dcy, he proposed the plan to steal the Jewel. It almost made m laugh, for I wa already trying to get them for the I'rlnce. HI plan wa to have me Induce Mr. Mlssloner to let me wear then one night and disappear with the collarette about my throat. I had agreed to do this, when Grls-wU"he Grls-wU"he cast a withering look at the clubman "brought me the substitute. sub-stitute. He didn't know, of course, that I wa In the pay of the Prince, and I didn't inform him of It. Well, one night Mr. Mlssloner. after much urging on my part, took the collarette from his wife' Jewel box and let me wear It at a little auf per party. It was thn I made the substitution." "What did you do with the ral necklace?" Manning Interjected. I Kept it," Mrs. IH-Iaroche returned with a bland mlte. "I Informed the I'rlnce that I had changed my mind about committing the robbery, and I told Mr. Grlswold that I had been unable un-able to make the substitution." "Hut the paste jewel he had given you what did you tell him In rega-d to them?" Hrlti asked. "I simply told him I had lost them," she replied. "The fact of the matter is. I fooled both the Prince and Mr. (irtiwold. Of course, when Mr. Mlssloner Mls-sloner discovered th robbery, Mr Grlswold guessed what I had done, and since then he ha been urging rue 'o turn th real jewels over to nlm. Hut ! was determined Dot to let him have them until our marlrtge." sh autism Permitting Her Eye te L;egr a Moment on It Blazing Splendor. tip -Yes, Yon Stole th Jewel." |