OCR Text |
Show jrr-r - - -r BIAMOM) if CUT DIAMOHD & Jane Bunker Copyright -Tto Pohb-HarrUl Co. CHAPTER XVI-Continued. 19 "But the diamonds?" said I, meaning to test her attitude, since she'd had n chance to think over what I'd told her about monsieur's claims on them and particularly as he'd gone to her himself: him-self: "Will you take them home with you 7" She recoiled from me. "I can't now how can I?" she gasped. "Oh, you're going to help me, aren't you?" She had caught hold of me and looked positively frightened as she spoke, glancing over her shoulder at the door to see that It was tight shut and that we could not be overheard. "I depend on you I trust you. If I lose those diamonds oh, you can't guess what I shall lose! I wouldn't lie to you I tell you that man De Ravenol Is a thief. I get it clairaudi-ently clairaudi-ently every time he comes near me. I see the word, as I told you yesterday, over his head in white letters. My spirit guides wouldn't give it to me if It weren't true." There was both scorn and appeal In her tone. I saw the moment was not ripe for a discussion of the Tibetan mahatma question. Nor did her renewed re-newed expressions of confidence In me and her obvious need of help in the present difficulties lessen the complications compli-cations that now entangled me. Before Be-fore I could think of anything suitable to say, she burst out : "You'll not desert de-sert me, will you? now that I need you worse than ever !" And what, could I say but, "No I'll stand by you though the heavens fall 1" and wonder what new bizarre line of conduct I was committing myself my-self to? I didn't try to think, but told her Billy was here and suggested that she meet him particularly since he'd T.nnn l,n hnlnl ei n H Tl-oo nil TTI-fMlo-ll- up over Claire's mysterious departure. Mrs. Delario demurred, but I overruled her and presented Billy. Billy's relief and joy at the rediscovery rediscov-ery of Claire were quite touchingly amusing and he made himself correspondingly corre-spondingly agreeable to Claire's chaperon. chap-eron. He seemed conveniently to forget for-get his dictum of a couple of hours ago that said chaperon was crazy. The only point we any of us attempted to elucidate was the new man's connection connec-tion with the case which we felt was somehow the key to monsieur's sudden fell I Presented Billy. I disappearance and I was not , little surprised to hear Billy ask her seriously: seri-ously: "Can't you get something about him, clairvoyantly?" She told him she couldn't at the moment mo-ment the conditions weren't right she was too worried too confused. "Of course," he agreed. "It's like everything else takes your beSt powers." pow-ers." "Ah I Bee you understand," she replied re-plied gratefully, and it seemed to me with a little emphasis on the "you" that set him apart from me ; and that, I have always thought, was the precise point at which they began to draw together to-gether in a friendship that made him her warm partisan, even against me; for the nest time he saw me alone he told me he had decided she had better keep the diamonds. "Of course," he agreed again. "And I can see how you couldn't fee! equal to it after what you've been through this morulng." This was artfully hinted hint-ed to lead back to Clair. They might have continued their interchange in-terchange of opinlims on Claire and her father for the next half-hour Judging by the way they seemed to be enjoying it but I brought them to earth with the question : "How are we going to protect Claire from the new man? He's probably determined to see her and find out something about her father's whereabouts." "The deuce !" cried Billy. "I'd forgotten for-gotten him. Don't let him see her, if he comes back, whatever you do '." This to Mrs. Delario. "It would be simply too dreadful for her." "I know. Still, I can't keep her a prisoner in hor room. You wouldn't suggest that, would you?" "Heavens, no !" Billy rapped out. "I should say not I Hasn't she been through about enough already?" "But suppose the man has already traced her there and has the house watched the same as her father did?" I Hung in. "That's one of the important things I came to see you about " Mrs. Delario De-lario turned to me. "If the house is watched and I feel it is, or will be before the day Is over Claire Is virtually vir-tually a prisoner. I won't dare to let her go out alone." "The deuce!" cried Billy, jumping up and snatching his hat off the table as though he were about to run to the rescue. Then he turned as red as a beet and signaled me with his eyes and a couple of gestures which she did not see "Help me out, can't you? Make her ask me to go home with her." For he had the wit to see, before be-fore he'd let himself in with a word, that he couldn't force himself on a woman like Mrs. Delario without placing plac-ing himself before both of us in the position of an officious pup and very likely getting a snub that would spoil his chances. A i-iitij eu lu ma oigiiai hum uu bushel of gratitude from both sides. "Won't you let Mr. Rivers go home with you and find out how Claire is and come back and tell me?" I asked her artlessly ; and to him, "You'll do that for me, won't you, Billy?" "Oh, will you,- Mr. Rivers?" she asked, in great relief, rising as she spoke and preparing to hurry off. Billy's eyes were popping and his feet were almost dancing. I presented present-ed him with a frown unseen by her that said : "Now, look out, young man, how you play your cards !" "What a relief to have Mr. Rivers !" she cried with feeling, and took my hand. Then she affectionately kissed me for the first time in her life. I saw her and Billy to the elevator, pushing my hall door flat against the wall to keep it from blowing shut on me, and waited, idly waving a good-by and watching her till the car had sunk out of sight. I had just stepped Into my hall again and laid my hand on the doorknob, when I heard a sharp imperative im-perative "Wait !" I jumped and wheeled. A man stepped out from the stairs back of the elevator shaft. His face was concealed con-cealed in a pulled-up collar and a pulled-down hat. With three quick strides he was within the doorway. He pushed me out of the way and seized and slammed the door on us. Then he carefully put up the chain-bolt. chain-bolt. As he did it, he held up his free hand with a "Ssh I" No need of warning I was paralyzed para-lyzed ! It had taken him just four seconds to make me his prisoner. CHAPTER XVII. A Little Scheme. I had been too completely stunned by the suddenness with which my imprisonment im-prisonment had been effected even to think who my visitor might be, and it was not until he turned from bolting bolt-ing the door and apologized politely, "Pardon zis intrusion, madame," that I recognized De Ravenol. And then he removed his nat ana motionea me to precede him along the hall. "Madame, I ask a sousand pardons," he began suavely. "Unfortunate or rnzzer, unforeseen circumstances, rendered ren-dered zis Intrusion necessary and I feared if you closed ze door since you had had interview wis your friend Madame Delario you might perhaps be tempted not to speak wis me and a delay to speak wis me might spoil all our plans." While he talked I felt my courage come back, and in a voice I felt was not obviously shaky, I replied: "Oh, certainly. I understand. I was expecting ex-pecting you." "Kxpectlng me?" He seemed surprised sur-prised that I should be expecting him at that time and asked why, at the same time motioning me to take a chair by my study table and showing me he would sit In the other. To gain time on my side, I went on : "I fear you worried about Claire, when she did not come. I should have telephoned tele-phoned you, but my telephone seems to be ont of order." I had a malicious pleasure In re minding him that he was the one to suffer for It and a frown passed over hls-face, but was gone in an Instant as he said : "It Is of no consequence," and then plunged into the matter at hand. "While I wait for ze lift to pass down Just now, I sink I recognize ze voice of Madame Delario. She is here a moment since, Is she not?" "Yes she was here." He paused as if In hopes that 1 would tell him what she had come for, but I had taken quick stock of the situation and decided to let him do all the talking. "Zen she have probably told you zat I have seen her last evening?" "Yes she mentioned it, I believe." "Bien zat helps me to explain. You see, I feel it necessary to have some words wis her after she have talked wis you and before she can see you and communicate her ideas wis you. Hence I am oblige to put you to some trouble for which I ask one sousand pardons in order zat I accomplish ac-complish it. Zerefore I arrange It zat I leave my daughter to entertain you and Mr. Rivers while I make a brief call on Madame Delario and see what she have to say for herself about zoze diamonds. And for zis reason : When I see you last evening, I am In positive command of information zat proves her to have ze diamonds." I fear I gave a start at this information, informa-tion, for he threw himself back with a self-satisfied smile as much as to say, "I thought that would astonish you," and drew a cardcase from his pocket, removing a clipping torn from the "Personals" in the Herald and pointing point-ing to one notice, marked with pencil on the margin. I read it : "Large reward for name of person recently offering special set of matched stones. State number and color. Box 32, Herald Office." I returned it to him without comment com-ment I tried to appear ignorant of what it might mean. "I have insert it sree times," he went on smugly. "I do so because 1 argue to myself as follows: Ze diamonds dia-monds are find by Madame Delario and she say to herself : 'Probably somebody some-body play a joke on me 'zey are not real, zeze jewels zey are paste. Still, zey may be worse somsesing even so, and I will take zem to a dealer and find out.' " He paused to laugh and under cover of it gave me a look with his beady eyes which I fancy told him nothing. noth-ing. "Now zen, I ask myself where does she take zem first? Probably to Tiffany. Tif-fany. I have myself inquire zere, but wisout result. And I realize I cannot interview every denier m ze city also it is not w:ell for me to be seen too much looking for zoze stones. Zerefore ' I have insert ze notice and I receive more zan fifty replies. All worseless but one " He produced a shabby scrap of paper, pa-per, saying it was a veritable clue, and gave it to me to read. "I can give you name and address of party offering seven large red stones last Saturday. Address by letter only, Haskins, 1861 Third avenue, Bos 7." "I see at once I have somesing of value. I have receive zis on Saturday morning. But. before zat, I have received re-ceived some uzzer letters" he gave a little shrug to Indicate that he referred to the decoy letters he had received from Billy and me "and I sink I have not only ze clue, but zat I can obtain ze diamonds wisout to inquire of zis Haskins. So I make my endeavor as you know wis ze result " He stopped a moment and I saw he was making an effort to keep down his mortification and probably his hate and I hastened to help him do both by telling him cordially: "I'm really awfully sorry, monsieur, but then what else could I do?" "Ah, madame, it is no more to mention men-tion between us," he returned gallantly. gallant-ly. "But you American ladies ! So energetic ! One knows not how to take you !" "I suppose we are puzzling to foreigners." for-eigners." "Puzzling! I have sink I know some-sing some-sing of ze ladies and of ze Americans, since my wife is herself American, but I find since I am come to zis country I have much to learn. Oui !" and he gave me a little laugh, showing he meant me to take this in a complimentary compli-mentary way. "And now I may tell you zat I have ze name and ze address of ze one who have zoze diamonds in his possession: It Is Mr. Eugene Delario ze young son of Madame Delario who offers or at least seeks to have valued zoaff diamonds last Saturday at a dealer's deal-er's on Maiden Lane." It has always been a mystery to me that I managed to control or think I did every facial expression that might have shown him I already knew what he told me. But monsieur went on, apparently not noticing anything about me : "You know ze son of Madame Delario? De-lario? Monsieur Eugene?" "I have never met him no." "Well it is of no consequence I know of a certainty it is ze son of Ma-dame Ma-dame Delario who have shown zoze diamonds last Saturday and he don't know zey are diamonds! Oui! And after I have zis information, I argue zis way : Since I have her so positive denial, It is her son who have accidentally accident-ally discover zoze diamonds unknown to her and he says nossing! You see? All is now explained." "But, monsieur, are you sure of this man Haskins?" I questioned. "Are you sure be wasn't lying for the. reward? that all he told you wasn't a mere coincidence?" co-incidence?" "Bah !" he cried in a tone of disgust ami some contenii'l fur me. "Coirici-di-nce I Madame, you must know zat when you find more lan sree coincidences coinci-dences in a case yon have circumstantial circum-stantial evidence! When you have suf- ficient circumstantial evidence you i have proof. And when you have ze , proof of a crime you can act !" i He shot this off in a fierce determin- j ed tone and I saw be was ready to i spring the mine under the Delarios, i mother and son. To gain time, I asked ask-ed : "But are these coincidences sufficient? suffi-cient? are they evidence?" "Bah!" he cried again. "Zey are j sufficient for any court'" He leaned a little nearer to me and spoke In a more confidential way, as if he expected expect-ed me to agree with him: "Ze chain of evidence is complete. Ze same house ze house in which zoze diamonds are known to go in zat slipper; ze son of ze lady who owns zat slipper; ze date on which zey are shown not before zey have arrive in America, but some five days after; ze seven stones. And ze man Haskins have even describe ze same box ! Oui Monsieur Eugene does not take zoze diamonds out of zat box to show zem ! a small white box, about ze size " Monsieur glanced over my table and his eye fell on the box with the diamonds dia-monds ! " about ze size of zis," and he picked pick-ed it up. My heart stopped beating. With a tremendous effort I raised my eyes I 111 My Heart Stopped Beating. from it to his face, just as he took hold of the elastic and snapped it. "Ze chain of evidence is perfect !" he cried, pulling up the elastic and it broke with a sharp report. The sound went through me like a pistol-shot. I jumped half out of my chair and exclaimed, "Oh !" and fell back again. I had heard the pens rattle. rat-tle. I thought, "Suppose he opens it suppose he drops it ! Heavens ! What shall I do? How shall I get it out of his hands and not betray myself?" It took about a second for these words to flash through me, and before I had decided or had need to decide, he exclaimed: "Pardon me, madame did I frighten you?" and laid the box back on the table. For a moment I was unable to speak. The tension of those few seconds, while he actually held the diamonds in his hands, had paralyzed me. I realized that I was pressing my hand to my heart ! I stopped that and stammered, "Y yes, I am a little nervous," nerv-ous," - He waited a momept for me to recover re-cover my self-possession and then went on briskly: "Madame, I wish to say immediately immediate-ly before we proceed anozzer step zat I appreciate your position. It is irfbst difficult most difficult for a lady such as yourself. You are ze friend of Madame Delario, is it not?" "Yes, I am and you must realize " He stopped me. "Oui- perfectly. And it is as her friend zat I approach you now and ask your continued help." "No, monsieur, you must let me withdraw now from all further connection con-nection with the case. I have done all I can I truly have " "I know I appreciate," he cut in. "Now attend, madame, to i-y argument argu-ment : Sree sings must be considered." He checked them off on his fingers. "First, she confesses she has zoze diamonds dia-monds and will return zem to zeir rightful owner. Second, madame will deny absolutely zat she have ever si zoze diamonds. It may be ze truse it may not be ze point is, zat she denies de-nies all knowledge. You and Monsieur Rivers have already told me ze difficulty diffi-culty I meet here if she have find zem and deny It. Or, sird she confesses con-fesses to you everysing about ze finding find-ing of zoze diamonds, but you nre her friend she induces you not to betray be-tray her secret you promise her you will not. A most difficult position for you, madame, if zat last is ze case, Is it not?" "Decidedly,'' I remarked dryly. "Oui. And now I beg you to appreciate appre-ciate zis evidence of my esteem for yvirself I wish to spare you all pos-sltrle pos-sltrle humiliation, and yet to reiain your co-operation wis me. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |