The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-04

turned his attention to Selkirk's sis
ter. He scarce knew what he expected
to gain i'm that quarter. but the wo-
man had been mentioned as the bosom
friend of Mrs. Twinkleton, and he
thought to consume time If nothing
else while some other theory formulat-
ed i'm his tortuous brain AS luck
would have it, Miss Selkirlts maid was
an acquaintance of one of his opera
tives. This young man was bright and
inrusitive and had natural talent for
} investigation where scandal was in
volved. About the rrst thing SharriEh' \
operative did was to give her an ink
ling Of the matter in hand.
Diamonds changed" she exclaimed.
why, that is nothing. 1t is done in a
great many aristocratic families. A
number Of persons who are supposed
to sparkle with gems really wear paste,
while the genuine Jewels are taken
care Of by safety deposit company.
Miss Selkirk has n full set of paste
| gems to match her diamonds"
Indeed" remarked Sharpigh's S
young man.
Yes, indeed. and ! shouldn't won
! der if Mrs. TwinkletOn had adopted
| the custom, Men are such fools. you
know, and jump to wrong conclusions.
This point was quickly conveyed to
| Sharpigh, who pretended that he knew
| OF 1t all the time, so that the operative
might not get too big an opinion OF
| his work. Inquiries soon disclosed
| that all Miss Selkirk's gems did not re
| pose in deposit vaults. Several of them
| had found their way to the very pawn :
| brokers' shop where Mrs. Twnkleton's
| genuine bracelet had been discovered.
And come to think of it," was the
| pawnbrokers comment on this strange
| coincidence. "the man who sold or
| pledged Miss Selkirks jewelry, and
who had used the name of Alfred Sell
kirk, when he disposed of the diamond
bracelet, was the one and the sa,ae
! fellow"
"Why, I'm shrewder than I thought
! was Sharpigh congratulated himself
| on learning this fact. II will have the
! mystery solved in no time now"
For once the detective was right. He
| called upon Miss Selkirk and worhieG
| rather an ugly secret out of her-.a
secret that had a remarkable bearing
| upon the domestic peace of his client.
| But Sharpigh. who delights in discre-
! tion, took his own method of acquains-
| ing Mr. Twinkleton with the final out
| come of his investigation. He sent for
| him to come to the agency. ana as
soon as the unhappy man had present
! ed himself in the private office began
MIR. Twinkleton, ! am sorry to say
| that | can furnish you no evidence
| which will be of use in a divorce suit
| The facts as i have discovered them
| do not warrant such an action. / am
sorry to say that / shall have to lay
| positive proof of your wife's innocence
| before you"
sorry roared Twinkleton. Sorry,
| did you say? Why, you blamed fool
I'll give you a thousand dollars extra
| if you prove her innocence"
why, don't you want a divorce"
| asked Sharpigh, in amazement.
| Divorce! No! Not from an inno-
cent woman. | wanted the mystery
cleared up. If the collusion proved
guilt that was another thing. But go
on with your story. | feel better than
| | have felt for weeks"
The story is briefly told" continued
\ Sharpigh. ALFRED Selliirk was not
|
| is there the slightest evidence to show
| that he is other than a friendly ac-
quaintance of your wife"
Thank God for that" calculated
| Twinkleton, fervently.
Miss Selkirk has a lover unknown to
| her family, a member of the gambling
| fraternity, who has runs of i'll luck,
| when he has no hesitation in accepting
assistance from his sweetheart His
| bad runs have been frequent of late,
| and the fellow has taught her the trick
of having her jewels initiated and al
| lowing him toIpledge the genuine dia-
| monds to help him out of his difficult
| ties. After she had given him all her
| jewels she started to play confidence
game on your wife. She borrowed the
| bracelet Snd had an imitation one
made, which your wife received at her
| hands as the genuine article, your
wedding gift. The original found its
| way TO the pawnshOp. The evidence is
complete, and the fate of Miss Selkirk
and her accomplice rests in your
| hands"
is this true, Sharpigh?" said Twin
| kleton, suspiciously.
"As true as gospel: | have the wo-
| mans written confession"
| "Hurrah"' cried TWinkletOn. excited
| ly. D. the girl and her lover. |
am a happier than | have been for
many a day. Make out your bill. and
| put 81 900 on top of it. And mind, not
| a hint anywhere. Close all the cracks
| and crannies. | was lucky not to
speak my mind to Gertrude, God bless
| her! How to make amends for unjust
suspicion is what bothers me now"
But, about the culprts?" pressed
| Sharpigh.
Let them go hang Themselves if
they like. | want nothing more to do
with the affair. There has been suf-
! fering enough on my part and on the
part of that wronged woman at home
to expiate a dozen crimes. Let them
alone"
What happened at the Twnkleton
household that night has never been
told But making amends" had not
h-en so ditficut after all. The SER
wants noticed a radical change in the
morning. Husband and wife had taken
| on the old looks of peace and joy, and
their voices rang with mutual conf
dence again. Old friends come and go
now as they did before the estrange-
mCnt. and McGinness, the bachelor,
chuckles over his diagnosis of the
| trouble as an ordinary connubial tiff,
which has to occur before newly mar
led people settle down to proper
| understanding of each other. But
| Mary. the housemaid, is the only one
who has rightly explained this sudden
return to happiness,
| "Thc Green-eNod monstcr." She said