Show 7 y by J S illustrations by cwm taj MYERS mi b by altra alfred A knopf inc W N X tj service 11 THE STORY mervyn holt la is engage d by a man calling himself bl azaroff as an a traveling companion after a short tour they put up at the woodcock lyn ign on Marras dalo moor they meet easu casually aily mr mrs Elphin elphinstone stona and shella herchl sort aon Alli mazaroff Maza tells holt hole they are hla his wife and daughter and that hla his real name la Is Merch laon that night bl azaroff falls to return to tits lh inn and hi lappe Brance Is unexplained holt meets shella sheila and tells her of Mazar blazar offs disappearance pe arance holt 49 questioned by pollee police sergeant bl manners anners and a reporter bownas Max arona murdered body Is found crole lawyer and W maythorne 31 private detective adrae arrive valuable diamonds that mazaroff blaza usually carried are missing A gun stolen from blus grae Is found at tile the scene of the murder evidence at the inquest proves bla macaroff Mai aroff garoff was Merc hlson his will leaves all to holt her man Kloop close friend 0 of f ma Is in london prom from him it Is learned that mazaroff Ma zaron possessed two remarkable diamonds CHAPTER V continued conti in aed 9 well about a month or five weeks ago I 1 was called to the telephone one afternoon and found sir samuel speaking beenk ins to me ne he wanted me to go round to park lane there and then to look at and estimate the value of a diamond that had been offered tolila to him I 1 found sir samuel and lady boeke in their library nry they had with them a str stranger alliger whose appearance as I 1 recollect it corresponds with the description of mazaroff Mazaro fr given ela in 1 the newspapers I 1 particularly remember the cast in the left eye he was not introduced to me by name it appeared that the he stranger was one who was interested in diamonds in a large way had heard of sir samuel and his big wife as possible buyers and was will ing to sell them something of veri very special value to wit a remarkable pair of blue diamonds of which he bad one to id his pocket it was this that thai I 1 was asked to see he tod me that it was wag one of a pair the other nas equally one fine lie ile further said that he had bad been in the diamond trade tor for some gome years in south africa had now retired and this would be his big last deal what the doekes wanted to get at was what were the two diamonds worth I 1 the would be vendor and myself had a good deal of talk about the matter ile he was very fair and reasonable and he and I 1 eventually come came to a decision as ag to a proper price tor for the pair and what might that be asked crole eagerly ac well answered Frob eulna we agreed that a fair price would be a hundred and sixty thou thousand saud pounds crole let out an exclamation of its as ment one hundred and sixty thousand pounds for a couple of diamonds I 1 he sal sail whew ft a bit excel tion alInt it I 1 you have to bear in mind that the diamonds are exceptional answered Fro frobenius bealus the sum we agreed upon was a reasonable price not an ex trava gant one 11 and w hat happened asked maythorne was the deal carried out that I 1 do not know replied fro bealus 1 I perceived that after having agreed with the seller as to what would be a fair price pric pricely emy my part was played and I 1 left seller and buyer talking the matter over youve heard nothing since inquired crola crete nothing I 1 seen sir samuel locke boeke nor lady locke since that afternoon said the jeweler and of course I 1 seen the blue diamond man but I 1 feel sure that he was the mancho to Is referred to lo in the news 1 papers as Mazaro fr 1 I dont think theres much doubt about that assented crole well now wed better get in touch with these locke people he continued glancing at me and maythorne park lane you said mr Frob frobenius entus gave us the exact address of sir samuel lopke and left us crole and L I 1 as it if by common impulse looked at our well said raid crola Vh ats maythorne asking hims himself elfr maythorne looked up from a pattern which he was mechanically tracing on the tablecloth only one tiling thing to ask at present he be said did macaroff sell those dla dia mends to sir samuel boeke 1 it if he well demanded crole then in that case Armin trades got them in a my opinion and the job will be to prove that lie he has where have we got the slightest clew to what we want to establish that he and mazaroff wet met on that first day after mazaroff Maza rolt and holt arrived at the woodcock but were getting at something and it all points to ar now levs lets see this sir samuel MOM man and net get a step further we chartered charte Kd a taxicab and were driven to park lane lace where wa we pulled up in front of an imposing Impo mansion at th the door of which we nere IK OUI by toot foot mesi mc whose li veries verles were rather more gorgeous than thi ri mv run of things in that way the room into which we were ushered after we find bad split sent in our cards looked as it 1 some very high class upholsterer had been given carte blanche to wreak his own will and fancy on it A little opple apple checel rotund man who wore mutton chop whiskers and a ready smile clime came bustling in a bis big hit half if smoked cf cigar nr in one pudgy hand 1 I know what you chaps have leave come fort he declaimed beaming from froin one to the hie other of us this macaroff Max lilay aroff affair 1 jve ive read it all in the papers and our names too same as what I 1 see gee on your cards just so now then it all about gentlemen its a queer business I 1 think what youre aware of it then sir samuel suggested crole well up in things as far as gone who evel exclaimed almed sir samuel been beed plenty in ID the papers anyway of course me and her ladyships lady ships read all we could set our eyes to it was waa only this morning she glie says to me SH sam ni V slie she says ns as sure as fate some bodall be coming to us about this here a affair fair I 1 and there you are cut but ill tell you what come this way gentlemen and then her ladyship can hear bear till all youve youse got to say we followed sir samuel out of the cold grandeurs grandeury gran deurs rf ct our first haven into the less formal and more inore comfortable harbor of 0 another and smaller room where we found lady locke she was as rotund ns as her husband it her er aress was of the latest fashion slid ond she had many rings on her ter fingers fin gens and it struck me that she was as somewhat sharper of intellect than sir Sai samuel nuel not quite so open and infinitely more watchful of course I 1 knew we should have inquiries made here she observed in a slightly affected tone 1 I said so this morning to sir samuel As ive just told em cm said sir samuel though to be sure ive no idea as yet ns to how they got here nobody knows about our transactions with makaroff Maza rolT outside bursel ourselves V es so 0 far as I 1 know of course mazaroff aroff may have talked cut but now how did you come to hear of us my dear sir samuel replied crole solemnly there are mysteries within mysteries lesl I 1 A man of your position and your knowledge of the world will understand me when I 1 say that Is a big thing youve already read a good deal about it now to be brief what ahat can you tell us sir samuel settled himself la in a chair well he said with a glance at lady locke tills this mr mazaroli Maza rolt called here one day just as youve done and introduced himself as a man that had find had big dealings in diamonds and the like in south africa hed heard so he tod us of lady locke as a likely purchaser of something exceptional in diamonds and hed thought shed like to see a particularly fine bit of pro property lerty that hed got in that line ol 01 0 goods then lie he told me it was a pair of very line flue and rare blue diamonds and d lie produced one only one inquired maythorne only one the other continued sir samuel he said vi was in the lie possession of his agent a mr Armin trade of batik bank who alio was just then ihen away auy holiday mal making ing I 1 in a northumberland thum berland lie he said he should be seeing mr ArmIn trade lery iery soon goon and be would get the fellow diamond from hi him unless interrupted lady locke there was an unless about it so there was lis admitted sir sam uel yes unless Armin trade had got a definite offer from some gome other cus imm div tomer he be said had had the first blue diamond in fit his possession for or some months and might have found an advantageous customer for the thon then you buyl buy asked may thorne ano so we buy reeled sir samuel what we did was tills this I 1 telephoned our regular jeweler fro bealus and got him to come here and examine the diamond that mazaroff Maz had with him they agreed that a reasonable price for such it a pair ot of blue diamonds would be a hundred find and sl sixty ty thou thousand and pounds after fro bealus had gone mazaroff Maz and I 1 came to this agreement tf if tits his agent ar min mintrude trade got a better offer or made some arrangement arrange mint to which they were committed mazaroli Maza rolt rott was to get the second blue diamond from armin trade and on ills ilia return to london ill n g 16 s I 1 17 J ay Z unless interrupted lady looks there was wa an unless Un les about it show me and her ladyship the pair if then we decided to buy we were to have the pair at the price ive just mentioned to you and of course where it ended weve never seen the diamonds since did you ever see mazaroff after t that hat first call asked maythorne oh yes we did answered sir samuel readily enough ile he was mas a very friendly sociable pleasant sort of man and we asked win him to come and dine with us had you any other guests sir samuel maythorne ilay thorne asked no we that night replied sir samuel leastwise there was her ladyships lady ships nephew young jim mallison Mall lson but we dont reckon him a guest nobody else and you never saw him film again after that asked maythorne neer met him anywhere about london no never dever saw nor heard of him again replied sir samuel until we saw an ah this in the papers 1 your nephew mr james Ma Illson I 1 think you said remarked may thorne did you ever hear him mention seeing mazaroff in town after that dinner sir samuel looked at tits his wife 1 11 I nener neer heard jim mention that he answered to he be sure jim knocks about a good deal in places and so on lies hes away just now 4 S i S S 4 or he could tell cell you himself put but I 1 never heard him speak of meeting mazaroff again did you maria no I 1 never heard him say anything of that replied lady locke we had a little more conversation with this worthy couple and then left them I 1 was anxious to got out of tile the house I 1 had tin an announcement to make which I 1 could not make before 1 I say I 1 exclaimed seizing my companions elbows you remember that tills this morning I 1 spoke of se seeing eln g Maza mazaroff rolf in conversation with a m man i i who was a stranger to me but whom mazaroff el evidently dently knew we adl it theres a photograph of that man the very man on lady lockes mantelpiece tel piece the two men stopped staring at me crole with an ordinary glare of 0 surprise but maythorne w till a sudden flash of the eye and an alertness that I 1 had never noticed before in him it was as if my remark had acted as an illumination the man I 1 saw talking to mazaroff at huntingdon and again at york I 1 asserted 1 I recognized the photograph instantly the probability Is that the nephew we heard about mallison allison Al said maythorne lets see he was wag referred to as lady doekes nephew and sir samuel spoke of him as knowing tits his way about town pretty well now then where here are we wel mattison Mall lson according to what weve just heard met mazaroff at lockes house Ma Illson heard about and saw one of the blue diamonds it if the photograph Is that of mallison as you assert holt Afa illson Is tile the man to whom you saw Maza mazaroff Mazaro fC talking first at huntingdon and then at york tork so does docs mattison Mall lson know anything about this affair to find out when we can come across mattison Mall lson ile he paused for a moment in the middle of the sidewalk hands plunged in hla his trousers pockets eyes staring at the pavement suddenly he be looked up signaled to a passing taxicab and motioned us to follow him into it come to my offee tie he said ive a chap there my confidential clerk who possesses one of the sharpest brains and most retentive memories in europe uell knowl May office was in conduit street so we were there in a few minutes at each end of the room we entered stood a table desk at that at the further end sat when we walked in a young man who rho would have attracted tr acted my attention wherever I 1 had met him ile he was a smallish sized chap and his person was arrayed in a tweed suit of very large checks be wore a hunting stock instead of au an ordinary collar and its folds were gathered together by a gold horseshoe pin he might indeed have been a head stable boy as far as this sort of thing went but he had the bliar sharpest pest and queerest pair of blue eyes I 1 have ever seen the most inquisitive nose and the straightest line of lip above the squarest and most obstinate of chins and yet these things were not severally or callec alvel the most remarkable of his features the thing that ones eye went to first was the fellows red hair absolutely genuinely red it a veritable flame of 0 color I 1 dont know what crole thought of him he be tind had doubtless seen him before perhaps often but my on oa mind immediately crys sed its impressions into a thord at sight of the vivid poll the sharp nose the general aspect of ready watchfulness ferret Cotting leyl 1 maythorne borne said going nIght st straight to the subject without preface do we know the name mattison mallason Mall lson I 1 saw a swift hash flash of light in the red beaded ones queer eyes it was as if a lamp had find suddenly been lighted some somewhere here behind them we do mallison Mall lson james maill son the creatures voice was as odd as ha appearance it waa as a sort of subdued falsetto piping maythorne nodded 11 1 I t thought bought remember cot tingley in what connection now Wel minster square affair no direct co with him OP ore of our clients was in it though mattison his name was in the ohp list memo hem prized it james Ma Illson no occupation address park lane lady locke boches nephew who halll son Is and that Wel minster square affair flot tingley gambling business it 1111 police olice raid in a private gambling house in Wel minster square about three or tour four months ago Thir thirty or forty arrests Ma mallason Mall lson Illson was one of the men on the premises if you remember one of our clients was there come to 10 you in a blue funk nothing like the scrapbook maythorne borne nodded his head and held out a liand hand and the clerk turning to a big table that stood lo in the center of the room took up a solidly bound volume wilca prore proved rl to contain newspaper cutE cuttings lOrg and with almost uncanny celet celerity itY found a page find and handed the book over Slay maythorne Mayth thorne irne glanced lit at the extrac ex estr trat kt ond and twisted the vI alume uTne bovard crole and me TO ITO bill BB |