The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1895-01-18

hand was passed convulsively over her
heart She had removed her gloves,
worn the night before, and on one finger
blazed diamond-the one I had seen
the previous day at the jewelers.. In
an instant I saw it all. l sprang for
ward and grasped her wrist-roughly,
I am afraid.
" Give me back that necklace, you
theft l cried. I know you You stood
by my side yesterday in the jewelers.
shop on the Avenue dc lOpera. 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 drpgged, and you thought to es-
cape before your theft was discovered.
It was very clever scheme, but it has
failed. Give me the necklace, or I shall
turn you over to the police
''I stretched out my hand, thinking
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 i'll a voice that
showed no trace Of the sweetness which
had at first attracted me.
"'You have brought serious charge
against me, she said, and one of which
I am innocent. | am alone and q wom-
Rn, this with a momentary tremor i'll
her voice that somehow made me
ashamed Of the way l had spoken to her
If, as you say, you have lost 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 saw the position I was
placed in. Fortunately, however, l can
prove my innocence.
'''Perhaps you may hesitate before
again attempting to blackmail an un-
protected woman. As soon as we arrive
at Nice l shall insist on going at once
to the police station, where q thorough
search of my baggage and person shall
be made. I shall then ask you to provo
that you ever had necklace. This re-
mark was accompanied by a smile that
was not pleasant to see. Until we
reach Nice you will not address me
again.
"She leaned back in her seat and
turned her face toward the window. |
felt rather than saw that she was crying.
81 began to feel uncomfortable What
If, after all, ] had been too ready to
Jump at conclusions and had been mis-
taken? Was it not possible that the box
might have been empty when | received
it from the jewelers. S? I had not seen
the necklace after it was left to be re-
paired, as the box was wrapped up when
called for it. My companion had in
sisted on ali investigation that might
prove her innoCenCe-an investigation
that guilty woman would never have
proposed Besides this she had ex-
pressed doubt as to the existence of
the necklace and had accused me of an
attempt to blackmail The more l
thought of it the more unpleasant my
position became.
Suddenly my eyes fell on something
bright on the floor Of the carriage. l
stopped and picked it up. 1t proved to
be the little heart shaped paddock had
noticed the night before on the poodIe's
SOil.tl' j1iLC a Iittsl1 a lIlOuSllU CdIilG w
me. Here might be the solution Of the
problem. AT any rate, 1 would put it to
the test. No time should be lost, as we
were just entering the station, and in a
moment more the guard would open the
carriage door.
"Reaching across the seat with q
quick motion, drew the sleeping ami
NAL to my side. The woman sprang for
ward to prevent me, but she was too
late. had already torn the collar from
the dogs neck and was holding j to
the light that entered dimly through
the windows from the station.
81 breathed a sigh of relief The in
side OF the collar contained a hollow
groove, and in this groove, securely fas-
tened, lay the missing necklace. turn
ed triumphantly TO my companion. The
door was open. She was gone.
''That morning as | entered Edith's
parlor the little poodle trotted content
edly by my side, and instead of the col
lar he wore the necklace. AS for the
woman, never saw her again. - Kate
Fields Washington.