The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-01-26
have been better if l had consulted some

Or1lllAllC 1O00 SCruCK m0-Iu Oupdu
ion was just the one to decide. I would
ask her opinion. 1t was not too late to
change the necklace for something else
if she thought it not suitable. l was
sure she would tell me candidly just
what she thought.
"Unbuttoning my coat, l drew the
package from my pocket and laid it on
my lap. Removing the wrappings, l
opened the little blue casket. For a mo-
ment I could not believe my eyes-it
was empty!
II turned quickly to MY companion.
She was leaning forward motionless,
breathless. her face pale and in her eyes
a look that l shall never forget. One
hand was passed oonvulsively over her
heart. She had removed her gloves,
worn the night before, and on II finger
blazed a diamond-the II I had seen
the previous day at the jewelers.. In
an instant / saw it all. I sprang for
ward and grasped her wrist-roughly,
I am afraid.
"'Give me back that necklace, you
thief! l cried. I know you. You stood
by my side yesterday in the jewelers.
shop on the Avenue de l'Opera. l re.
member that ring and your voice. You
heard me say that I was going to Nice
by this train. The liquor you gave me
was drugged, and you thought to es-
cape before your theft was discovered.
It was a very clever scheme, but it has
failed. Give me the necklace, or 1 shall
turn you over to the police
tT k,%oLoI o,k WV oo~l 4ki~1yis,p
that, seeing the folly Of further con-
cealment and the uselessness Of denial,
she would return the stolen property. l
was wrong. She drew herself up haugh-
tily and looked me full in the face.
When she spoke, it was in a voice that
showed no trace Of the sweetness which
had at first attracted me.
"'You have brought a serious charge
against me, she said, and one Of which
I am innocent. I am alone and a wom-
an this with a momentary tremor in
her voice that somehow made me
ashamed of the way I had spoken to her.
If, as you say, you have lost a neck
lace, your only reason for accusing me
of having stolen it is that we have been
the only occupants Of this compartment.
The instant you opened the box and
found it empty I saw the position l was
placed in. Fortunately, however, l can
prove my innocence
"'Perhaps you may hesitate before
again attempting to blackmail an I'M
protected woman. AS soon as we arrive
at Nice I shall insist on going at once
: to the police station, where a thorough
t search Of my baggage and person shall
be made. I shall then ask you to prove
that you ever had a necklace. This re.
mark was accompanied by a smile that
( was not pleasant to see. Until we
: reach Nice you will not address ms
r again.
"She leaned back in her seat and
turned her face toward the window.
9 felt rather than saw that she was crying.
: II began to feel uncomfortable. What
if, after all, I had been too ready tt
> jump at conclusions and had been mis-
, taken? Was it not possible that the boz
might have been empty when l received
it from the jewelers.? I had not seer
the necklace after it was left to be re
Q paired, as the box was wrapped up whe1
. l called for it. My companion had in
sisted ON an investigation that nigh
I prove her innocence-an investigation
that a guilty woman would never hav'
d proposed. Besides this she had ex
pressed a doubt as to the existence 0
d the necklace and had accused me of al
Il attempt to b!ackmail. The more
p thought Of it the more unpleasant m,
l. position became.
"Suddenly my eyes fell on something
l. bright on the floor of the carriage.
10 stopped and picked it up. It proved t
10 be the little heart shaped paddock I hat
3 noticed the night before on the poodle
collar. Like a flash a thought cam t
Y me. Here might be the solution Of tn
|. problem. At any rate, l would put it
the test. No time should be lost, as W
were just entering the station, and in
moment more the guard would open tn
10 carriage door.
ID Reaching across the seat with
quick motion, I drew the sleeping an.
ID NAL to my side. The woman sprang fol
ii ward to prevent me-, but she was to
8, late. I had already torn the collar frol
% the dogs neck and was holding it
the light that entered dimly throug
W the windows from the station.
OF II breathed a sigh of relief. The il
as side of the collar contained a hollo'
Id groove, and in this groove, securely ia
10 tened, lay the missing necklace. I turf
ed triumphantly to my companion. TT
10 door was open. She was gone.
9. "That morning as I entered Edith
t. parlor the little poodle trotted conten
L odl- hu vou S;lo oD1 instead ~ tho m