Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-04-01
"Her opol3' asked Mr.. Mttchel.

Upud uohOtS Dufs lkkSSSfsSS . ..
have discovered and have appropriated
It on the following morning, had he
been able to enter the salon. But MIR.
Gray had locked the doors No servant,
however bold, would have been able to
take the opal from the lady's neck. 7"
"I think your reasoning Is good, and
we will confne ourselves to the original
seven"
"After my interview with Mr.. Gray,
asked to have Mrs Gray sent In to
me. She came in, and at once I noted
that she placed herself on the defensive
Women frequently adopt that manner
with detective. Her story was very
brief. The main point was that she was
aware of the theft before the lamps were
rehghted In fact, she felt some ones
arms steal around her neck, and knew
when the opal was taken. asked why
she had made no outcry, and whether
she suspected any special person. To
these questions she replied that she sup
posed it was merely joke perpetrated
in the darkness, and therefore had made
no resistance. She would not name any
one as suspected by her, but she was
willing to tell me that the arms were
bare, as she detected when they touched
her neck. I must say here, that al
though Miss Livingstone's dress was not
cut low in the neck, it was practically
sleeveness, and Mrs. Cortlandt's had no
sleeves at all One other significant
statement made by this lady was that
her husband had mentioned to her your
offer of $25, 900 for the opal and had
urged her to permit him to sell it, but
she had refused. ;"
$50 it was madam that would not
sell. The plot thickens. "
"You will observe, Of course, the
point about the naked arms Of the thief.
I therefore sent for Mrs. Cortlandt She
had curious story to tell. Unlike her
sister, she was quite willing to express
her suspicious Indeed she plainly in
timated that she supposed that Mr.. Gray
himself had taken the jewel I will en-
deavor to repeat her words:
"'Mr. Barnes said she, the affair
is very simple. Gray is miserly old
skinfint. A Mr.. Mitchell, a crank who
collects gems, offered to buy that opal,
and he has been bothering my sister for
it ever since. When the lamps went out,
he took the opportunity to steal it I do
not think this-I know it. Howp Well,
he made a mistake in our relative posi-
tions in the dark, and he put his arms
around my neck and deliberately felt
for the opal did not understand what
he was about at the time and said moth
ing, but now it is very evident what he
was after.
":Yes, madam, said I, but how do
you know it was Mr.. Gray?'
"'Why I grabbed his hand, and before
he could pull it away felt the large
cameo ring on his little finger. Oh,
there is no mistake whatever.
II asked her whether MIR. Gray had
his sleeves rolled up, and though she
could not understand the purport Of my
inquiry she said no. Next I had Miss
Livingstone come in. She is slight,
tremulous young Lady who cries at the
slightest prvocation. During the inter
view, brief as it was, it was only by
the greatest diplomacy that I avoided q
scene of Mysteries. She tried very hard
to convince me that she knew absolute
ly nothing. She had not left her seat
during the disturbance, Of that she was
sure. So how could she know anything
about it, and at this her agitation
reached such a climax that I was obliged
to let her CO."
"You CLEANED very little from her, I
should say?"
"In case of this kind, Mr.. Mitchell,
where the criminal is surely one of a
very few persons, we cannot fail to gain
something from each PERSONS story. A
significant feature here was that, though
Miss Livingstone assures us that she did