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Show fiv) MARCflV BARBER , v ftp 'It1 Tift, I : , Hi II. I ml 111 1 ill .J! Hli Pliant Hands Had Been Plunged Many Timet Into a Dough Like Lump. CHAPTER XVI. The Assistant District Attorney. While Hrltz wan struggling with the tangled thrcmla of contradictory circumstances cir-cumstances that constituted the fabric fab-ric of the diamond mystery, the district dis-trict attorney's office won not Inactive. Willi tho slow steultMnoss of a rat approaching It prey It combined tho disconnected fragments of evidence gathered by the police Into tho semblance sem-blance of a perfect ram', and prepared to present It to a Jury. Tim grand Jury had indicted Kllnor llolromb, and again she wan dragged Into thn glare of a courtroom, thin tlnio to plead to thn indictment. There remained only tho verdict of a petit Jury to open the gates of state's prison for her. Her lawyer was nerved with the fateful notice of trial, and arm wnn made to realize tho Kroat struggle wo about to Ix-Kln, Assistant District Attorney Mott wan takliiK a last survey of the depositions depo-sitions In the case, mentally picturing the curtain of gilt ho would weave be-fore be-fore the Jury. To hla mind the evidence evi-dence wan conclusive. It pointed Irresistibly Irre-sistibly to MIhm Holcomh aa tho thief. And yet, the prosecutor felt there wan something strangely lacking la the structure, something that made It appear hollow and unreal. No other reasonable explanation of tho disappearance disap-pearance of Mrs. Mlssloner'a necklace neck-lace offered Itself, and mill It an hard to conceive Miss Holcomh aa tho thief. Mott knw that the auino uncertainty un-certainty In the mind of the Jurora would Inevitably result In a verdict of acquittal. The benefit of any reason-ablo reason-ablo doubt an to her guilt must go to her, atid he realized ho had yet to eliminate that hint ttllm possibility of a verdict favorable to tho prisoner. Were It an ordinary larceny tiutn he would be content to offer the testl-mony testl-mony at hand and leave the verdict to tho conscience of the Jurora. Hut till trial would flit thousands of newspaper news-paper column. The press of the entire en-tire country waa on the alert for It. It meant much to a struggling assist-ant assist-ant to obtain a conviction In fco fa-nioua fa-nioua a rime. To lohe, he feared, would reflect on hla own competence. Tho entrance of Hrltai brought tho prosecutor out of hla ... "JurI the man 1 wanted to see," be greeted. 4 "And I'm equally glad to find you In," tho detective returned. "I've got tho evidence down pat," Mott responded. "It seems complete; and et, somehow, I feel that It la not entirely convincing. I want to get something to clinch It. It's a pretty tough proposition at beat to get a conviction con-viction on circumstantial evidence when the defendant la a woman of good appearance, and I don't want to slip up on this cane. We haven't got much tlmo left. Tho cbh in on the calendar for next Monday." "That's what I came to aee you about," Informed Hrltx. "I want to get you to adjourn the trial a month." "New faclB?" anxlotiHly Inquired the proaerutor. "Yea." "Who do you think did tho trick?" suddenly questioned Mott. "Sands, (irlswold or the Indian nerr-ant," nerr-ant," canto Irout the detective's heal-tant heal-tant llpa. The prosecutor' hand went above hi head In a despairing geature. "la that bn far aa you've arrived? Three atiHpecla, and you've no Idea which one you want! What aort of weak stuff In In your poKHctoilon that you don't know whom you're after?" "The circle la narrowing very quickly," quick-ly," HrlU olmerved. "In tho next few day I'll know who committed the ro!ilery, how It waa committed, and where the Jewels were taken. Hut I have got to have the Decennary time" "All right," agreed the prosecutor. He called a clerk and directed Mm to Inform MIhh llolcomb's lawyer that the raae bad been withdrawn from the calendar for a month. The detective was reaching for his hat when Ikinnelly and Carson burst Into the room. lionnelly'a face was ttuehed with the newa of a great discovery. dis-covery. Carson waa smiling approvingly approv-ingly on hi partner. (TO PK rONTINl'Kn ) ed by a swift search of the detective's face on the part of the old man's sunken eyes. "Hather Interring work you're doing," do-ing," pursued the detective. Thereupon Mr. Martin rejoined: "It la the only work that can Interest Inter-est me. I have given my life to It." "Find It profitable?" Inquired the sleuth. For an Instant those gray fingers paused In their manipulation of the clay pellets. "Well, It depends on what yon call profitable, young man," answered the ward of the State. "There are things more Important than monetary gain." "Oh, yes. I know, I know," said the detective hastily. "I suppose your work Is purely scientific?" "It la more than science," answered Martin. "It Is art. philosophy, philanthropyeverything. philan-thropyeverything. It Is the crystallization crystal-lization of the beautiful. Love Is beauty, beau-ty, and beauty la life. All mankind needs Is beauty In grstr menKiire and higher degree to attain perfection of happiness." "And you are engaged In forwarding forward-ing that theory?" "Ye," said the old mhn simply. "I have taken upon myself the task of glorifying every home In the world with the prisoned sunshine of the centuries. cen-turies. Every abode of man, however bumble, should be Illuminated by the light of diamonds. The diamond la the most exq:lnlte expression of creative crea-tive love we have. Tho only trouble la that we have not enough of them. It has remained for me it has remained re-mained for tho poor old student of mysteries to find the key to the true Jewel wealth of the universe. For thousands of years men have been seeking diamonds In the ground. I take them from the air." In similar vein he ran on, his words betraying the strange groping of a clouded mind that In Its time had been nearer the truth than moat men's. There was something extraordinary about the little old -fellow's brain. It had not cracked; rather, it had been attenuated by overstrain. It was after a process of patient questioning covering cov-ering so long a time that It ended In tho twilight, that Itrltz led the tireless worker back to days before his arrival In the a j him. The protracted Inquiry taxed all the detective's skill in word-handling. word-handling. Fitch, sclentlnt though he was, long conversant w ith the phenomena of the mind aa he had been, marveled at the Headquarters man's adroitness. Long before Itrltz had finished bin task, the doctor, In sheer weariness dropped Into a chair and stayed there In silent attention. Hut the detective remained remain-ed on his feet, Immutable as the Incarnation In-carnation of will Itself, and slowly, cautiously, persistently piloted that darkened intelligence out of Its depths buck to at leant a gloaming of coherent coher-ent memory. So guided, so aided and lifted along the difficult backward path, Martin's mind reverted to Instances In-stances that hung like stalactites from the cavern celling of restrospectlon. It was In a flash of lntelllj"" '"'yf-V '"'yf-V ruminated aa a twinkle of daylight seen from the recesses of a cave, that the old man recalled the great '.rlumpb of his strange craft. "I have made diamonds, yea," he said In renponne to a query from the detective, swift and searching ss a rapier thrust, "beautiful enough to hang about the neck of a princess; brilliant enough to glorify the hut of a toller In the fields; but there was one ah!" Ills recollection reveled In widening circles until Its force was spent. For a long time, hi hands motionless again, he sat gazing Into the past. Hrltz, feeling that he waa on the edge of an Important disclosure, disclos-ure, waited patiently. Fitch scarcely breathed. "I mind nie," the onetime curio denier resumed, "of the one great diamond dia-mond that came as the grand reward of all my labor. Ah, that wan a diamond! dia-mond! Hut though It was a wonderful achievement, I dishonored myself In Jhe making of it for " and a faint flush deepened on bin parchment face, "I fashioned It for gain!" Without an Instant's warning he SYNOPSIS. ' TtiK story opens with a srram from forothy March In tlia opra bos of Mr. MlMlmier. a Wealthy widow. It I ne-muloiifd ne-muloiifd when Mrs. Mlnsl.iner' necklace reuKs, Hi-atterlns th diamonds nil over 1h floor, t'urtln (!rlwotd and Hruxton ftandn. society men In lov with Mm, Mln-onrr, Mln-onrr, aatloT up the gems, ttrlswold steps on what la upped to he the cele- rated Maharanee mid crushes It. A llln-an llln-an declares It wan not the genuine. An tfiert Inter pronounces all the stonea substitutes for the orlsinal. One of the mlsslnr diamonds Is found In the room f Ellnnr Holcomh, confidential companion compan-ion of Mrs. Mlssloner. She In arrented otwllhstandltia Mrs. Mlssloner's belief In her limocetire. Meantime, In an uptown up-town nun stun, two Hindoos, who are In America f reeover the Maharanee, discuss dis-cuss the arrest. Selective Hrlts takes wp the rase. He anka the co-operation of IT. Fitch, Elinor's fiance, In running town the reaj criminal. Hrlls learns that "upllcaten of llr. Mlssloner s diamonds were made In l'arln on the order of KlltMir Holcomh. While wnlklnir Ilrlti In elxed. hound and gassed by Hindoos. He la Imprisoned In a deserted house, hut ennkea hla escape. He Is convinced that 1he Hindoos are materially Interested In the case. Pretending to be a reporter, Frit Interviews tho Hwnml as to the rare liunionds of India. Hrits learns of an Insane In-sane diamond exc-ert on Ward'a Island nd decides to Intirvlew him. CHAPTER XV. At Ward'a Island. "It's rather a remarkable) coincidence, coinci-dence, I'll admit," aald Hrltz to Fitch, m they stood on the deck of the little ferry boat that bore them toward the . Island; "but It's possible your little Id friend had something to do with th making of the imitation Mahara-see Mahara-see diamond. You realize thoroughly, Tm sure, the Importance of that link tn our chain of evidence. It may be difficult to fasten the responsibility for manufacturing all the other fraud-lent fraud-lent diamonds of the necklace upon the guilty person, because diamonds of that size can be imitated In any one of several large cities; but the nan who made the fake Maharanee Is a past master of hla craft; a man so skillful that even the most expert artificers of Europe and America do ot pretend they can equal hlra." "What makes you think the curio stealer had anything to do with it?" asked Fitch. "How could it be done? I thought the Maharanee waa made quite recently?" "I don't know how long It'a been," the detective replied. "It may have been only a few months, and the diamond, dia-mond, it is possible, may have been copied any tlruiwlthln the past year, rtiat Mg ithc)ulldlng has been lees than a yea" " construction, and it'a well within the bounds of fact that the curio dealer received tho commission commis-sion for the work twelve months ago, r possibly more." "Oh," said the physician, "there la one flaw In your theory. He was not a fakir. All the information I gleaned about him convinced me he waa not engaged in the manufacture of bogus Jewels. Ills grand purpose in life waa to make real diamonds." "Precisely," said Iiritz. "It la that fact, much more than anything else, that leads me to think he may be in the employ of the persona we are trailing. Doesn't It occur to you that the false Maharanee, in order to deceive de-ceive Mrs. Mlssloner and all ber Irlenda for so long a time, must have boon such a beautiful piece of work that It could not have been Intended as an imitation? In other words, Mdn't the man who made the imitation imita-tion Maharanee believe he was manufacturing manu-facturing a genuine diamond?" The little boat grated Its none against the Island pier, and the two Investigators sprang ashore. As soon as they entered the asylum grounds, their positions were reversed. Fitch Became the mentor, nrltz tho willing pupil, for In that abode of darkened reason were medical men whose hour-ly hour-ly association with that phase of existence ex-istence made them welcome gladly Tlaltora from the outer world especially espe-cially members of their own profession. profes-sion. Fitch, aa he ran up the steps of the rlsltors' - entrance, was received royally In the office by three or four physicians and surgeons who bad tnown him in his Hellevue days. There waa no Jealouay of hla success among them. He had shot ahead of several f them, and It waa pretty well understood un-derstood among the Island doctor that Lawrence Fitch waa rapidly forg-tng forg-tng to the fore aa a fashionable physician. What waa more Important tn their eyes was the fact that he had gained real distinction In bis profession. profes-sion. Several minor but helpful discoveries dis-coveries of his had been recorded graUfylngly In the "Ijtneet." and more than once his name had been mentioned mention-ed with flattering recognition at meetings meet-ings of the County Medical Society. Fitch was now In his element He grasped warmly the bands held out to him. clapped two or three of his closer cronlee on the back, and presented pre-sented Hrltx to the little group with few words of Introduction that wol respect for the man from Mulberry Street. "Got patient here, Larry?" they asked him Jokingly. "No." said Fitch, "not exactly a patient; pa-tient; but It's possible you have ease here I'm a little bit Interested ta." He recited the history of the curio dealer, with an urgent request ttat everything in connection with the aid man be reveajed 10 him. Hriii. ae-eostomed ae-eostomed aa be waa to glean his facts tDOaomely, waa unmistakably sur-rtted sur-rtted by the readiness with which vch of Fltch'a friends promised aid. and hastened to put their promise Into execution. One of the younger doctors showed himself familiar with the old diamond dia-mond maker's cane, and seemed thoroughly thor-oughly to understand hla delusion. "He Is now in my ward," he said. "He has been there six months; rather rath-er unusual case; harmless but hopeless. hope-less. Can't rid himself of the Idea that diamonds are banked up all around htm, and that all he has to do Is to make one with his own hands to poeness the whole of that wealth In Jewels. He does his best to make It, too. Unfortunately the Ingredients be demands includo several dangerous chemicals, and of course he cannot be trusted to go pounding away with a pestle and mortar when hla brain Is so for gone that he Is likely to forget for-get the combination." The other medical men looked Interested. In-terested. "What do you do with him, doctor?" asked Fitch. "Oh, I substitute. harmless things a little bismuth and sodium phosphate, and a dash of French chalk, and he thinks he haa everything he needs. All the atuff he wants that la not dangerous dan-gerous I let him have. He Is happy enough mixing and mashing the paste and hammering away all day long. He rolls the mass Into dirty little gray balls, and thinks they are diamonds." "Let ua have a look at hlra," aald Fitch. "Sure thing! You don't mind If I don't go with you? I have an amputation ampu-tation on In about ten minutes, and as there is a green nurse helping me, I don't want to take any chances in letting let-ting her monkey with the ether cone. Ho you won't mind, will you. If I ask you to run right along by yourself? Stay aa long as you like." Hrltz and Fitch were glad enough of an opportunity to question the old man without an auditor, and with a brief, "So long!" to bis colleagues, the doctor piloted the detective through dreary stretches In that home of hopelessneas to the ward where the curio dealer was found. In a sunny corner of the long, bleak room, the barrenness of which waa relieved re-lieved slightly by a few boxes and pots of geraniums and fuchsias on the window sill, seated at a bench covered cover-ed with oMrklna; leather, waa the little oid man the physician and the Headquarters sleuth sought. In the patient's face was a rapt look that told them he waa aa far away from hla preaent environment aa If he had been In the little dingy curio shop where young Dr. Fitch first had seen him. His pliant hands had been plunged mony times into a dough-like lump plastic aa a sculptor's clay at one end of the bench. A row of Jors at the back of the bench waa flanked flank-ed by a phalanx of vials. An earthern bowl half full of water stood at hla right hand. Directly tn front of him, scattered In workmanlike confusion, were several palette knives and mixing mix-ing brushea. Ceaselessly his fingers plucked tiny pellets from the plastic lump, rolled and patted them, dipped them In tho bowl of water, coated them with the many-colored contents of the vials and Jars, then trundled them upon tho board with fndimtry purposeful of performance, but purposeless pur-poseless of achievement. At times a spectral smile seemed to glow upon his cadaverous features a faint gleam like the specter of a eorpselight. The sunlight, reflected from the rows of Jars and bottles, play-ed play-ed queer tricks with the countour of bis face and gave his tireless hands a ghost like appearance. He was a poor little shriveled remnant of a man, the dried core of what had been a dabbler dab-bler in the occult, and which along normal channels might have been a distinguished scientist. No one looking look-ing at him could ever have pictured him as possessed of the greed of gain. Hrltz, though he made no pretense of being a psychologist, comprehended at a glance the outer vision of the former curiosity shop proprietor conveyed con-veyed little to bis distraught scientific scien-tific mind. Heyond doubt, the old man, as Fitch bad said, bad run the shop merely as a means to an end. Fitch and Hrltz stood looking at him for a few momenta before he became aware of their presence. When at last he glanced up. a shade of perplexity perplex-ity flitted across his face, hla flngera halted, but they did not stop in their studious task, and he looked at them Inquiringly. With a alight shake of his head he apparently gave up the atternpt to puzzle out their Identity, and once more bent his eyes on the bench he firmly regarded as the threshold thres-hold to Oolconda. "Ouena you don't remember me. Mr. Martin," said the doctor. The old man appeared not to hear. Hrltz and Fitch exchanged glancea, and the detective took up the attempt to awaken a response re-sponse from the aged Inmate's mental vacuum. "Pretty buay man. eh?" said Hrltz. He had touched the right chord. Any reference to the Industry tbat ab-sorbed ab-sorbed his fading aenses waa aure to arouae the Intelligence of the old curio dealer. He nodded briskly, and went on with hla work more zealously than before. Dot to finish a contract on time?" the Headquarter man purauod. Another vigorous little nod. follow- pushed away the bench, dropped his face Into bin hands and gave way to grief that moved equally tho man long hardened to dissection of the body and the veteran ciiuie hunter accustomed accus-tomed to vivisection of the soul. Few things are more terrible than to see an old man weep. It is dual surrender, sur-render, for tears are the prerogative of youth and womanhood. Hilt, ami Fitch with difficulty controlled their own emotions Just for a moment, for tears streamed over the ashen countenance coun-tenance of the broken umateur alchemist, al-chemist, and his wasted form writhed and rocked in convulsive sobs. "I have had my punishment," said Martin when at last the tempest had spent Itself; "but, oh, the long years tho long years of remorse! I'rged by poverty, that enemy of seekers after aft-er truth and beauty, I succumbed to the temptation the stranger held out to me. 1 made tho great diamond as ho denlred and I gave it to him for his gold!" The doctor Rlanced swiftly at the detective and started to speak. Hrltz raised a warning hand, and Fitch checked his exclamation. Seating himself for tho first tlmo tho Central Office man the prober of mysteries laid his hand eticournglngly on the diamond maker's rhoulder, and said: "There now; don't let It distress you so much. Other men have done things far worse than that!" "Nothing could bo worse," screamed Martin, springing from tho low stool on which ho sat and facing hla visitors visi-tors In an ngony of abasement. "I sold the delight of my eyes, the light of my llfo, tho star of my soul the queen of all jewels, the purest, truest, most beautiful diamond the world has ever known!" "Yes." said tho detective, "but don't forget it was yours to sell. You had a right to do an you pleased with It." "I had no such rlKht." cried the alchemist. al-chemist. "That diamond was the product of my laboring hours. I brought It forth from the air, the sunshine, sun-shine, the fllver water, tho milk of the moon, aa an Aphrodite in fashioned fashion-ed of dew and mist. It waa not a mere stone; It had thought and sense and s'oul; It waa a microcosm of the marvelous!" FU' li could not hide his afilonlsh-ment afilonlsh-ment at the learning and poeiry the fearfully agitated old man displayed. Hrltz himself, had not hla thoughts been focused rigorously on his purpose, pur-pose, would have stopped to wonder at them. Aa it waa ho struck the Iron of the alchemist's remorse at white hent. "What did tho stranger want with It?" demanded tho detective. "I don't know," said Martin. Ills voice still trembled, his features worked, his hands fluttered and knotted knot-ted themselves In the Intensity of his emotion. "He came to mo a stranger; h went nwny the same, and with til in went my queen of Jewels, my beautiful, beauti-ful, beiuliful diamond of diamonds! Hut I will find Mm," bo shrieked. "For centuries I have been upon his pat h. He thought all things ended between ns when ho lured me Into parting with my treasure. He said beiausn be had suggested thn outline ninl color of the slone he had a right to make me give It to him for hie money; but It was I I who thrust Into the center of tho glorious gem the flro front heaven. I penned the sunbursts sun-bursts In the priceless prism, and H In mine. It In mine by right of creation!" crea-tion!" Thin outburst excited the old man, but In a little while there was another an-other outburst of his emotions. lie fairly shouted: "I will have Mm, though. I will come up with him yet, and when I do, I will give Mm back hla money and make htm return tho diamond to me. He thought he left nothing to tell me who bo In. He thought I never would be able to find hltr In this big town. He felt sure the old curiosity dealer would not venture far enough away from hU shop to track such a fine gentleman. Hut he forgot one thing. I have kept it all these years, and through It I will And Mm yet!" Abstractedly he thrust his hand Into an Inner pocket and fibbed out a bit of cardboard. Kxeltedly he waved It In front of the detective's eyes. Hrltz fefclstcl for a moment the Impulse to snatch it from bin grasp, but be gripped himself sharply. Awaiting development de-velopment was one of the detective's istrong poln'a. As he expected, the old alchemist was In a state of mind to share his knowledge with anybody. any-body. Aft'-r a few more flourtshis, Mnnin laid In Hrltz' hand a man e visiting vis-iting card, face down. Studiously avoiding any appearance of baate. Hrltz turned It up and read the single line engraved upon It. Without the tremor of a muscle, and with only one swift significant look, he pasted the card to Fitch. Tho doctor, a little less self restrained re-strained than the detective, looked steadily at a drawing on the back, gazed earnestly at the Inscription on the face, then wonderlngly, before the card fluttered from his flager. be read the line aloul. f MR. BRUXTON SANDS. I xi2 l But I Have Cot U Her the Ncetary Time." |