The Forrest City times., 1891-07-10
A DETECTIVES STORY,


 he had unsuccessfully devoted all the observations and opportunity at his command to discover the whereabouts of Lady Mertons jewels, and of the man or woman who had stolen them.
 James Blayne was a promising young member of the detective force, on the lookout for the lucky step that should lift him above the level of his compeers, and when the Merton robbery was intrusted to his care he thought he had got his chance at last.
 It certainly was rather interesting case.
 About three weeks before the day on which we record Mir. Blayne's loss of temper, pretty Lady Merton, as might have been gathered subsequent ly from the newspaper reports, was spending q solitary evening in her house on Brook Street. Sir Robert was dining with an old friend some little way out of town, and not re turning till morning, and my lady had intended going to the play with some friends. But late in the afternoon she altered her plan's dis patched note begging to be excused on account of a severe headache from joining the party, and with a curious feminine idea of comfort and in- diligence, told her maid that she would not 90 down stairs again, but would have some dinner 'on a tray" in her boudoir at 1s3o. At 10 o'clock she rang her bedroom bell, and dismissed her maid, requiring nothing more that night. Before leaving. the maid asked II she should go to the jewellers the next morning early, Us had been ar ranged, to take there for repair a diamond brooch of her mistress $. "Ies. adding, as the maid opened the jewel case to take out the brooch, "Oh, leave it till the morning.
 The box was relocked and the key put in it's usual place in one of the stated that at l0.30 the house was shut up. and every one went to bed.
 The next morning Laay Merton, finding her headache no better, kept her room darkened till after 10 o'clock, when some tea was brought her by her maid. The latter went to tine jewel ease for the broken brooch, and finding the box unlocked. with the key lying near, hastily opened it, and cried out her discovery oi the rob bcry to her mistress.
 This was the story that in twenty four hours was known to most news paper readers in the country, and this was the story that about three weeks later was trying Mr. James Blayne's temper. Again and again he reviewed the lew heads of the case
 On July 25 Lady Merton went to bed between 10 and lo.30P. NJ. The jewels were then in their places, and she, seeing the box opened, told her maid not to disturb them till the morn ing. The maid locked the box. re- placed the key in a drawer, and short iy, went to her own room, fasten- ing the door-this last fact being attested to by the housemaids, who slspt in an outer room. The butler swore to turning out the lights and shutting up" at lo;3o. Lady Merton slept little and restlessly till l2.30, when she got up and stirred the tire--this fact attested by the cook, who slept in the room above and was aroused by the sound of the poker. At 10 the next morning the jewels were missing, and the jewel case stood in the dressing room within and only ap- proachable through Lady Merton s bedroom.
 Robbery from without Blayne re- lected. after due examination, as an impossibility. From within, by a man. well nigh impossible, owing to the position of the jewel case and to Lady Merton's restless state during the night It seemed a case of chex la femme, and Blayne had sought ceas- lessly: chiefly among the women of the house, of course. though here al so the great difficulty of crossing Lady Merton's bedroom unperceived by her was with him more strong ly in their favor than their excel lent characters from their employers. The lady's maid seemed his only chance as, of course, she was fully ac- quainted with the situation in all it's senses; and her foot fall, which Ae proved to be light and to which, of course, Lady Merton, was accustome would disturb her less than any oi any other visitors. But the lady. while suggesting no other solution of the problem, rejected this last theory with some indignation, declaring that she had the utmost confidence in her maid, and that she had scarcely closed her eyes before midnight, after which hour the housemaids pronounced 1t an impossibility for the lady's maid to have crossed their room unnoticed.
 So Mir Blayne was little out of temper with his tagging luck, and he decided to get two or three days leave, and then, having rested his riddle a bit, to start afresh at reading 1t. Thus he found himself on the after noon of August 13-his request for leave of absense having been granted talking to pretty neat looking glrl m small semi-detatched villa on the outskirts oi the new and fashionable watering-p place, Stonelay
 So you've been getting on pretty well, eh, Nellygn he asked.
 70, yes, Jem, very. The air seems to De qulte setting mo up, so l fancy l had been working bit too hard, though always said it was mothers nonsense. It's true it's rather dull here, but then often gointo stonelay and have look at thesmart visitors: so even 1t aunt Sarah Is snappy at times, don't mind. She's kind enough,