OCR Text |
Show Matrimonial Adventures Birth Stones EY George Kibbe Turner Anthor of "The Taskmasters," "Memories of a roctor,'f "The. Lest Christian," "Hagrar'i Hoard," "AVhlto jhou3ders,"oUi. Copyright by United Feature Syndicate 1 GEORGE KIBBE TURNER i . T George Kibbe Turner started his J literary career when he first came out of college. He Joined the staff i 4 of the Springfield Republican at a 7 very modest salary. His next step ? i was to the Black Cat, in that day ? 4 a thin little magazine which print- j t ed surprisingly interesting stories. ? Then one day, as the phrase is, " 4 but quite different in fact, Mr. i Turner wrote a novel for McClure's 4 Magazine. It had a New England setting, and a political angle, and 4 it received wide and important 4 comment. Thereafter for nine t years Mr. Turner was one of the 7 literary staff of McClure's Maga- ' i zine and he wrote both articles 4 and fiction on a great variety of , ? subjects. 1 f Mr. Turner is the author of many 4 books, short stories, and articles, 1 but "Hagar's Hoard," a story of 4 the yellow fever epidemic In Mem- phis, Tenn., filled with fact and dramatic incident, and "White ' i Shoulders" are guaranteed to keep 4 Mr. Turner conspicuously to the , t front in our literature. In the story that follows, written 4 for the Star Author Series of Matri- j monlal Adventures, the husband Is ! t drawn as only a man keen in un- - i derstanding of men could picture I him. The side of marriage that 4 Mr. Turner presents In "Birth !! 4 Stones" is novel and at the same time universally appealing. ' I MART STEWART CUTTING, ,JR. ' & ..-. 4 These jewel brokers are all over the city in Maiden Lane, on the Bowery, up around Fifth avenue all kinds, for all kinds of business buying or selling! They're a wdse crowd. They have to be. They get some dangerous propositions put up to them and some wild ones, particularly in hard tines. They had some extra wild ones In that financial cave-in after the war especially the Fifth avenue ones. Half the upper West side was fighting to drive the wolf from the new limousine door. It was a year ago last March at the worst of it when this one I'm-telling I'm-telling you of , drifted into Harry Volpe's place on Fifth avenue in the late afternoon. Volpe was alone In the office, staring down out of his second-story window on the two streams of automobile tops on the avenue. "You the proprietor?" asked this stranger back of him at the entrance a big, red-faced husky, with big shoulders and a small nose and a red necktie. Volpe figured him right away then as some sort of a contractor. con-tractor. "Sure," he said, coming over, dust-1 dust-1 lng his hands. "What'll you have?" "My name's Coogan Dan Coogan," Bald the big man, introducing himself. "Glad to know you," said Harry Volpe, sizing him up. "What can I Jo for you?" "What would you say this was worth?" said the stranger, reaching in and dragging out a big diamond necklace neck-lace that seemed to be lying loose, without any case, in the right-hand lower pocket of his coat. "What you paid for It or what you could realize?" Volpe asked him, still sizing him up the way you have to In that business. And went over It with his glass and told him what he might probably get If he got a buyer. "But you'd have hard work finding one just now for anything as big as that I know I wouldn't buy it not now I" "You couldn't not if you wanted to I" said the other man. "I wouldn't sell it for all the money in Wall street." And he looked as if he meant It. "But here's the thing I want to know," he said. "Could you pull out enough stones from this to stand for a pledge for a ten thousand-dollar loan ?" "Why yes probably," said Volpe. "Though we don't generally want to handle unset stones. Because you know !" "They're apt to be stolen, huh? Is that it?" said the big man. "Yeah. They break them up out of their settings, so they can't be identified." identi-fied." "But you've got your setting here." j "I wasn't talking about this," said I Volpe. "I was just telling you." I "Well, about how many would you a.v?" the customer asked him. And he told him about a third of i them. "Now the next thing," said the man, I satisfied apparently, "is could you take this ; could you take that amount j of stones out of their settings, and put back substitutes In their place-good place-good ones, so they wouldn't be noticed?" no-ticed?" "Why yes probably. If I had the time." "Xow then another thing," he said, fixing bis little blue-gray eyes on him as if this was Important. "How long would be the shortest time you could do It In If you had everything all ready and waiting to do It with? Take these out of their settings and put the phoney ODes in? Could you do it In a day?" "I might," said Volpe, looking them over, seeing they were a good standard stand-ard cut. . "What'll it cost the whole thing? Ten thrusand for three months." asked' the man, his eyes boring in still. And Volpe figured out a good thing on it and told him what he'd do. "But now it's understood," said the man "you'll have to have it all done in' a day when I bring it in !" "Why what's the great hurry?" asked Volpe, looking at him, starting wondering a little then. "It's my wife. She'll want to wear them. You know how women are!" Volpe nodded. He knew some things about the women and their freaks and whims. You do, handling jewelry. "And don't call me up at the apartment, apart-ment, either. I'll bring them in some day soon I can't be sure just when. But I don't want you calling up my wife. You know how women are about such things !" he said again, looking nervous Volpe noticed at the time. He noticed that. You keep your eyes open in that business and the deal was queer on the face of it. But it was no queerer than others he'd had. And of course, if anything suspicious sus-picious came up when he came in again, that next week, Volpe would be right there watching before any money passed. But next week when the big man showed up again with his big necklace neck-lace in his pocket, to get his money and have the substitution made, Volpe was surer than ever of the thing for one reason from the way he acted about the stones that were coming out to lie there as a pledge for the ten thousand. "You'll have them all here the Identical same ones when I come after them?" he asked looking red and anxious. "There's no danger they'll get mixed up any way?" "Not a danger," Volpe told him. "For It would mean something to me If there was a mix-up on thls-" he said. "They're our luck." "Lucky stones, huh?" said Volpe, and smiled to himself when he had gone surer than ever about the thing though curious naturally on what It was all about. About two weeks afterward the man showed up again and wanted another ten thousand on another third of the stones. That was different "I thought you said ten thousand was all you'd need," said Volpe studying study-ing him, thinking fast. r'l thought it was myself. And It will be this time. But you know how the contracting business is especially now. Up and down. Mostly down ! But it will be all right this time I con promise yon that." "I guess you can when you get it 1" said Volpe to himself getting under way behind that soft, sweet jewelry salesman's smile. "Have you got them with you?" he asked him, smiling. "No," said the other man getting red and bringing in a new idea now. "And I've got to get you to do something some-thing else tills time. I've got to have you make that next substitution of stones for me some night" "Some night !" said Volpe after him. "Yes," he said, getting redder still. "You know how women are when they get an idea in their head." "What's this?" said Volpe to himself, him-self, with a sudden sinking spell wondering what it was he had run Into. "All right," he said aloud smiling more sweetly than ever. "Bring them In." "What night?" asked Volpe, more and more polite. "I'll call you up this evening just before six o'clock, and tell you," he said, "I might be able to get in tonight. to-night. I hope so." "How'd he strike you?" Volpe asked his stenographer. She was about as wise as he was, seeing them coming in and going out. "He's like the rest of them all over the lot like the dandelions. He's got something on his' mind all right. But he's straight enough, I'll say. He's too thick to be anything else. "Will he be back again?" Volpe asked her. "He sure will. The battle fleet couldn't chase him away. He's got to have that money. Right now !" Volpe thought the same. And the man still looked honest to him, somehow. some-how. "But why at night?" he said to himself, him-self, when the girl was gone. "And why this stall about the woman having hav-ing to have them? Does she wear them at breakfast?" He sat and flipped away a lot of cigarettes out the front window into the avenue looking down, thinking, as the lights came on waiting for six o'clock. And then he jumped up on his feet with a new Idea. "Here," he said, getting hot In the head. "Suppose this wife business was all a stall ! Suppose he was somewhere in a museum, or a store, where he could have this thing Just so long. And had to get It back at such a time! That might be It!" "He might Just have time enough to have Just so many changes made In the setting at night for instnnce. like this and have it back when things opened up in the morning. And then later he'd take another bite of it.'" said Volpe to himself, staring at his cigarette starting figuring the ! chances of getting nny of that ten j thousand dollars back If It was stolen goods and they traced them back to him. lie might pet a chance to dicker too if he got Mrn back In there and made him give up where It had come from get some reward in advance for fuming up a sixty or seventy thousand-dollar gem robbery. We was all up in the air on the thing and It was getting every minute min-ute nearer six o'clock. He was just about to take up the telephone and call the detective bureau when the bell rang just before six and this Coogan's voice came, saying he'd be down around nine o'clock as nearly as he could and to have everything ready. Ill have everything ready, don't fret!" said Volpe which be did down to the detective from police headquarters that he planted in the next room. "You'll find probably he's a bad one," said the detective, "most likely." "He don't look so," said Volpe, "at that And we can't afford to force tilings not till we know." "I know." "And he's a big husky brute, you want to take that Into consideration." "Well, he don't want to get too gay," said this McConnell this detective detec-tive from the headquarter's squad, who was quite heavy around the shoulders himself. And just then the elevator door clacked and their man's step came echoing down the hallway to the door. He came in a hurry still looking anxious and excited, wiping off his forehead with his handkerchief. "Well,, I'm here," he said to Volpe, as if he'd had a hard time getting there. Volpe looked at him again anxious about him, always, when he was out of sight ; and puzzled more, when he showed up again. He didn't look like a jewelry thief anything-but I 'And yet you can't tell some of the best of them are that way. Innocence is their stock In trade. "Got It with you?" asked Volpe and got the thing In his hands again. It was all the same as he had left It the same fake stones, among the real the same odd setting everything! every-thing! "Now, I tell you," said Volpe, starting start-ing after it. "I haven't had time to get that ten thousand yet. It was too late when I got around to the bank." . "You can give me your check for It," said the man gazing at him, "can't you?" "I wight, yes," he answered, working work-ing along. "Only my balance won't let me not Just now. I'll have to go and get the money myselftomorrow, maybe." "Tomorrow! Maybe!" said Coogan after him, his voice rising. "And besides," said Volpe, "there's another thing come up. My workman didn't show up that I counted on coming com-ing to do the resettling for me." "Didn't show up?" said the big man, looking ugly now. "So I can't pull -the thing off for you tonight." "Not tonight !" said the man. 'Tve got to have it tonight! That's all!" "Say, listen," said Volpe next. "What's the hurry in this thing?" "I've got to have the money, right off that's what in my business! Or I go broke. Right now. Tomorrow 7" "I understand," said Volpe. "That's all right. That's 'easy on that necklace, neck-lace, If everything is the way it looks on the surface. But what I mean is what's the hurry about this work of mine on the necklace? Why must I have it back always on the minute?" And he got no answer. "In other words," said Volpe, coming com-ing stronger, "what's the idea of your sliding In here by night with this thing, and having it to take away with you in the morning?" "It's iny wife," said the big man finally. "Your wife!" "I wouldn't have her know about this now not for the world !" "What Is it hers, and not yours?" said Volpe. "No. It's mine. That Is, I paid for it, and gave it to her !" "Oh !" said Volpe. "And just as soon as collections come right In my business I'll straighten it all out." "Maybe you will. Maybe you won't." "What do you mean?" '"I mean we'll know better when we put that up to her I" "But you won't put It up to her !" snld the big man, sticking out his jaw. "You'll let me have It back now 1" And Volpe stepped away from him. "You'll let me have it." said the big husky stepping toward him. "Now I" J "Yes, I will. Yes," said Volpe raising rais-ing his voice, so the detective in the next room would get It. "When you put my ten thousand back In my hand." "Youl! let me have It Right now!" said the big man getting red and reaching over and starting to break off the hand Volpe had It in, at the wrist. That was the one for the detective In the neirt room. "Just a minute 1" he said, stepping out. And the big rongh-neck looked back at him over his shoulder. "What are you" said McConnell. "getting threatening?" 'Who are you?" sold the roan who claimed he owned the necklace, set- ting his small blue eyes on him. j And the officer showed him. j He stopped there, after a minute 1 his breath coming hard, and his face retting mottled the way those full-blooded full-blooded ones do. "Now, what's your game?" said the officer. "You slip In here with seven- ty-five thousand dollars' worth of jew- ! elry loose in your side pocket. And j you want to have it replaced by other i fake stuff. All In a night! So yon can f.ke these substitutes right back. I And when this man asks you for an I explanation you beat him over the head and start taking it away from him to run off with. What's the idea?" The big man looked up at him. with liij little eyes red . like a cornered bull's, and said nothing in answer. "Xow listen," said McConneil, the detective. "You can do one of two things. It's up to you. You can show us take us around to your wife now. at home. Or you -can come with me, and have her give her explanation to headquarters !" And the big fellow gave a groan, too loud, almost, to be natural. "I won't. I can't," he said. "It might kill her. She don't know anything any-thing about this. She thinks we're on the top of the world yet instead of jtrst scraping bankruptcy !" "There's others," said the detective, watching him, "th&x have had to hear it before !" "Not the way she is," said the man. who had introduced himself as Coogan, Coo-gan, and went on and told them how It was with her. "I can't have her know," he said, "I won't. Not till she's over it !" "At that," said McConnell, giving Volpe a look again, "there's other women have gone through with it without being millionaires!" "I know," he came back, "but It's the sudden bump, coming just now when she's been thinking up to date everything is going wonderful for us. And then all at once a fall from the top of the world ! I can't have it riot now. You know yourself how women are on luxury, and all that ! How much more it means to them and all that. "And then you've got to remember another thing," he said, going on when nobody answered arguing, with the sweat pouring down his face. "You know how it Is with the first one! They're scared to death, afraid they'll die!" "What does the doctor say?" asked McConnell, the detective. "He don't see It quite so bad as she does. But he admits himself we've got to be careful. Help all we can ! You see you see bow I'm fixed," he said, arguing. "I wouldn't take a chance with that little girl for the world !" And then he stopped for a minute. "But where do the diamonds come in?" McConnell, the detective, asked him. "The necklace?" "That's our luck, she claims." "Your luck?" "Our lucky stones I You know how women are about things like that! "Superstitious all of them. I never knew one that wasn't yet. And especially es-pecially now now at times like this. And then her father was a sporting man too. A kind of a high-class sporting man." "I see," said McConnell, keeping his face still. "And so?" "So you see, don't you? You know how women are-over anniversaries and all that. Diamonds were her birthstone. So naturally I gave her diamonds. WThen I was way up ! I gave her this this necklace. Just to show her and the rest of the world how she stood with me. You know how women are how they've got to show the neighbors the other women If things are going right If you're prosperous. And what their husbands hus-bands think of them ! "And there Is another turn to It that she worked out In her head, besides be-sides what It meant to her good luck and all that !" "And that was?" said McConnell. "That was that I was born la April, too." "April!:' "You know. Diamonds are the birthstone for April." "No," said McConnell, the detective. "I guess they forgot to tell me about that'." "And then again," he was going along. "You know. Next montli I That'll be April, too." "I get you," said the detective, giving giv-ing Volpe another look. "So there's three times It's said to be our lucky tone. You know the way they figure the women on things like that!" And the detective and Volpe swapped looks again. "So that's how It is about the necklace. neck-lace. It's her mascot. She's got to have It with her all the time now. From now on especially ! That's why I've had to come sneaking In here, when I saw the chance." "Oh, that's it," said McConnell, the detective, giving Volpe a comical side look. "For she's got to have It with her. And more and more every day now, of course. And then, naturally, she's got to have it on her or she'll just naturally natural-ly die." "Well, she can have it, can't she if yon can prove tills up?" snld the detective, de-tective, looking over at Volpe. "Sure," said Volpe. "Whnt good will that do after she knew? She might as well have glass bottles," said the man, and wiped the sweat from his face. And McConnell looked at Volpe and Volpe looked back. "That's a new one," said McConnell. McCon-nell. "Don't you believe It?" said the big one. bristling up. "I might, end then again I might not. But that don't make any difference differ-ence what I believe. I dun't hnvo to believe. It's simpler than that." "Simpler?" "I'll know soon enough when I see her !" ''!i:t you won't se her!" said the big man. "Not If I know It." "Ob. yes. I wlll--e!ther with yon "ith me friendly; or with you down t headquarters whichever you like best !" "You'll kill her," he hollered. "That's all." "I'l-obably I will," said McConnell. the detective, looking at Volpe, "If there's anybody there to kill !" But the big man took no notice of that crack. "And if you do if you hurt her any way," be went on, "if you barm her any way. I'l1 get you I'll smash you some day, If I spend my life at It !" "Come on," said McConnell, the detective. de-tective. "Don't start getting careless again. You're not fixed right to get rough. It's up to you. You can start a war, or we can all stroll over like friends." "But she's In bed, with a headache." "She'll have to get up then," said McConnell, the detective. And finally he gave up, and the three went over on the bus to Riverside River-side and up into the apartment all parties watching their step, not knowing know-ing Just what was coming. It was all right so far. It was his place all right and he had it fixed up in style, too servants and all that! "Tell your mistress I've got to have her come out. Dress and come out and see a couple of friends," he said to the maid almost choking over the last word. For McConnell, the detective, wouldn't listen, naturally, to his going go-ing In to seeing her alone to frame up any story between them. And finally, after some talk, she came out all silk, and ribbons one of those light-hearted, henna-haired ones, that roll their own. But her eyes kind of scared at that. "Oh Dan," she said, "what Is it? Is anything wrong?" "No, Hon," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "No. Just some friends," he said, choking on the word again. "All it is, I want you to Just tell them about your necklace." "But what what " she said, chasing her big brown eyes from one to the other. "It's all right, Hon," said the big fellow, calming her and looking over at the other two with red murder In his eyes. "You go ahead and I'll explain ex-plain to you later." So she told them finally about the necklace and showed them the bill of sale, and the check she'd paid for It. Her check he'd given her the money ! And they saw finally they were in wrong. She stood facing them looking like a frightened kid. "But who are you?" she wanted to know. And her husband told her looting first-degree murder at them while he talked, for she acted now as if she was going to pieces. And they were afraid they'd got in a mess especially especial-ly McConnell, the detective. And suddenly she broke down seemed to throwing her arms around the big man's neck. "Don't, Honey," snld the big contractor, con-tractor, patting her with his big fingers. fin-gers. "We'll be all right We'll make it all back again." "Sure," said Volpe, stepping forward, for-ward, with the necklace In his hand trying to fix it up with them. "And if he wants the money the extra ten thousand it will be all right !" And she didn't say anything, but just buried her head deeper in the big boy's shoulders and murder burning redder and redder In his eyes as he looked at them and patted her. -"And if you want it the neckjace to use to wear nny time!" snld Volpe, holding ft, toward her, like candy to a kid, "you can have It ! We can Jlx l( up ali right If you want to wear it as your mascot!" He held it up to her and touched her and she pushed It away. "I don't want it !" she said. "Take it away! I wouldn't wear the darn thing on a bet !" And all the three stood waiting for her. "Don't cry," said the big man, like somebody talking to some young kid. "Don't cry. It's nil right." At that she looked up, and she wasn't crying nt all. She looked up, hanging onto the back of his neck, staring Into his eyes. "Did you do all that for me?" she said, staring. "What wouldn't I do for you, Hon!" "Take the chance of going broke and all that?" "But he won't " said Volpe, breaking break-ing In again. "He'll be all right. And for the necklace," he said, offering It to her again "we'll fix " "Take It away I" she said, pushing It off again. "The darn thing. I never want to see it again !" And the big man looked queer. "How foolish you were," she snld In a kind of a sharp voice. "How crazy, to take a chance like that Just to keep me satisfied with that fool thing!" she said in a kind of a hnrsh voice. "I never wnnt to see It again !" Then before they got over that, all at once while they stood around looking, she threw herself on him again, nnd started crying as If her heart would break! And he patting her. and trying to comfort her to keep her from tearing herself to pieces. "Don't 1 Don't I" he said. "There's nothing to cry about any more." And all of a sudden she stopped and 'looked up again! "I'm riot crying " sne said, "that way !" "That way?" he Raid, looking down nt her like a mnn In a trance. "I'm the happiest woman In the world," he said, nnd started In crying ncaln for the right apparently! Mate With Those of Same Age. if every thousand men who marry, 57U wed women of the same age as themselves. |