Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-04-01

NO. II.
not leave her seat, nevertheless when
the lamps were lighted again she was
sitting in different place"
"That might mean anything or moth
ing"
Exactly. But we are not deducing
values yet. Mr.. bennett Moore came to
me next, and he is a straightforward,
honest man, If I ever saw one. he de-
clared that the whole affair was great
mystery to him and that while or
dinarily he would not care anything
about it he could not but be somewhat
interested because he thought that one
Of the ladies, he could. not say which
one, suspected him. Mr.. Livingstone
also impressed me favorably, in spite Of
the fact that he did not remove his
cigarette from his mouth throughout
the whole Of my interview with him.
He declined to name the person suspect
ed by him, though he admitted that he
could do so. he made this significant
remark:
"'You are a detective Of experience,
MIR. Barnes, and ought to be able to
decide which man among Us could place
his arms around Mrs. Gray's neck with
out causing her to cry out. But il your
imagination fails you suppose you In
quire into the financial standing Of all
Of us and see which one would be most
likely to profit by thieving. Ask Mr..
Cortlandt.
Evidently Mr.. Livingstone knows
more than he tells"
eyes; he told enough for one to guess
his suspicion and to understand the deli
cacy which prompted him to say no
more. he, however, gave me good
point upon which to question Mr. Cort-
landt. When I asked that gentleman Il
any of the men happened to be ip Pc
cuniary difficulties. he became grave at
once. I will give you his answer"
"'Mr. Livingstone and Mr.. Moore
are both exceedingly wealthy men, and
I am millionaire in very satisfactory
business circumstances at present But
I am very sorry to say that, though our
host Mr.. Gray Is also distinctly rich
man, he has met with some reverses re-
Gently, and I can conceive that ready
money would be useful to him. But for
all that it is preposterous to believe
what your question evidently indicates.
None of the persons in this party is q
thief, and least of all could we suspect
Mr.. Gray. I am sure that II he wished
his wife's opal she would give 1t to him
cheerfully. No, Mr.. Barnes, the opal is
in some crack or crevice which we have
overlooked. It Is lost, not stolen. %
"That ended the interviews with the
several persons present, but ] made one
or two inquiries from which elected
at least two significant facts. First Of
all, it was Mr.. Gray himself who had
indicated the course by which the yacht
was steered that night, and which ran
her over the sand bar; second, some one
had nearly emptied the oil from the
lamps, so that they would have burned
out In q short time, even though the
yacht had not touched.
"These are your facts? And from
these you have solved the problem?
Well, Mr.. Barnes, who stole the opal9"
"Mr. Mitchell, I have told you all
that know, but I wish you to work out
q solution before ! reveal my own opin-
ion."
"I have already done 30, Mr.. Barnes.
Here. I will write my suspicion ON q
bit of paper. So Now tell me yours,
and You shall know mine afterward. I"
"Why, to my mind, 1t Is very simple.
Mr.. Gray, failing to obtain the opal
from his wife by fair means, resorted to
trick. he removed the oil from the
lamps and charted out course for his
yacht which would take her over q sand
bar, and when the opprtune moment
came he stole the jewel Bis actions
since then have been merely to cover his
crime by shrouding the affair in mys-
terry. By insisting upon a thorough
search, and even sending for detective,
he makes it impossible for those who
were present to accuse him hereafter.
Undoubtedly Mr.. Cortlandt's opinion
will be the one generally adopted Now,
what do you think"
"I think I will go with you at once
and board the yacht Idler.
But you have not told me whom You
suspect" said Mr.. Barnes, slightly r.
ritated.
"Oh, that is immaterial, said Mr..
Mitchell, calmly preparing for the street.
"I do not suspect Mr.. Gray, so II you
are correct you will have shown more
ability than L Come. let us hurry"
TO BE CONCLUDED FRIDAY.