Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-02-12
By '. G. BETHUNE
Copyright, lSS. by American Press Associa-
 tion.l
CHAPTER VIII. 'THCSE FELLOWS PLAYED IT ON YOU MIGHTY FINE"

&AF Mar. those f,U"rrS rIdUCd it on yo,i Highty fine. Detective Manson waS dumfoundcd, ! and sitting alone that evening with Chief ] Narick he made known his perpleXity, ] giving rhr particulars of his strange OK ! pcricucc after being put on the case of ! the rliahs ruby. The chief listened 1 with his usual impasSiveness, but did ! not allow a syllable of the story to es- l cal4, him. Once or twice he smiled at some portions of the narrative and occa- | sionally asked an incisive question. Did il not strike you as singular" he ! asked. that those two men. natives of India. as they doubtless were, should be gin talking in the English tongue after reaching their room at the hotel in Wing field:"
 .Ycs, it did seem odd. but I did not attach much weight to it. Since the language was of great use to them in | this country. it would have been natural to practice 1T when alone" Did they seem to be in need of much practice: In other words. did you find any difficulty in understanding them:'
 None at all"
 "Would it not have appeared moro natural for them. when they found themselves alone, to Use the tongue i'll which they could express their thoughts the Ilorc rca'Hly:"
 'IyS. except for the reason l have named"
 And then il seems they were talking about this wonderful gem, the very ob- j,yt cf which vcu were seeking informa- tion"
 fiat WAS the most natural thing ill tl.c world. since they had travelled half WAY around the globe to steal it.
 ''Pussihly. but in their brief convrrsl- tion thcy were kind enough to give you the precise information you were seek ing. Can you conceive it possible that they suspected you were listening at the dour:'
 \ d;Sa-rrcabIe light began breaking in upon the mind of Max Manson.
 Il understand you to intimate that the whole thing WAS gotten up for my bene- iii. CT rather my iniury:'
 Don't you think it has that look? Thosr people are cunning mighty cum ming. They suspected you the moment vou entered the hotel where they were stopping. They were convinced that you were after the raiah'S ruby. Fearing that you might take extreme measures against them and cause their detention, they sought only to gain time. 50 as to be able tn slip away undctcctcd. They therefore adopted a course intended to make yuu believe you had actually re- cov,rrl the gem. calculating that the in tvrv;I I,tWcrn that and the knowledge of ', IF ,rror would give them the oppor- tunity th,v needed. and 1t looks aS if they w,.r.. rut much off in their calculations" ."
 ''E'lr that false ruhy-that bit of col ur,d @laeS:
 ''Nrr yuu not aware that that artiticc k a Very common one: All exceptionally valuable gems have their duplicates or limitations. mainly designed to baffle covetous thieves. The owner of q noted jewel keeps it securely locked up in some unsuSp"cted place perhaps, while the comparatively worthless imitation iS left where the burglar is most likely to look for it. Many time the lady who appears at some grand entertainment finds her jewels the envy and admira- tiun of all eyes. when i'll truth the real ones are at home locked in the safe or at the bank, while the crowd are feasting their vision on the clever limitations"
 But whence came this counterfeit iajahs ruby"
 Chief Narick shrugged his shoulders
 Il can only guess, They may have brought 1t with them from India for the purlssc of putting it to the very use zy-hI..r fl..,Y, well NrbIla fbaN- made haste out of the coudtrv with the -,vnuin" -S,m. or it may have been that tn" late Miss LivcrnOre received the counterfeit with the genuine from her ancestors. and those cunning Asiatics werr themselves trickel by clever arti- fee. Always lrrading visit from bur glars. and especially so after receiving ihc w"-uiru; letter which came into the hands uf Simpson, it surely would have been natural for her to put it forward where the sSamps would be likely to lay their bands on it with little trouble"
 ''BUt why didn't she place the real one in some bank or safe deposit company askel Max Manson. impatient at the growing certainty of the trick that had been played on him.
 "You are asking me questions which should more properly be addressed to the men whom 1 sent to Ellenville," was the pointed response of the chief
 Well. I confess that more than one feature of this confOunded business per pleZcs me. Simpson strongly suspects that Dr. Mailhoff is mixed up in it."
 Il suspect the same"
 If his connection is n guilty one, he must have been aware of the false ruby"
 Not necessarily, for We are not cer- tain those two natives did not bring it with them from India"
 But if the counterfeit has been the companion of the genuine for many years, then the doctor has aided in de- ceiving them. and the part he played was a commendatOry one"
 Undoubtedly, if your premises are correct; but, if may be allowed to haz- ard guess, it is that the doctor sold the real gem to the fellows, and they have used the imitation for their own secur- itv. Bear in mind, however, that this is only a guess on my part, inspired per haps by the knowledge which l used to have of Dr. Maidhoff years ago, when he and were classmates in college. It may be that Simpson has made discov- cries which will completely change the faca of affairs I am expecting A dis