The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-19

it had been, but now he saw that it was
not so. A gold scent-bottle had been up
set, and the screw-top. with its huge tur
quoise, almost as big as a robins egg,
lay beside 1t, in little patch of fragrant
moisture. But this was not the only
change In the inventory Of valuables
taken by the captain Of the port: "Six
rings-diamond, emerald, ruby, pearl, sap
phre. opal, in small gold dish on. lady's
dressing table," were among the items
high on the list. Dick remembered the
entry, to which he had certified. and he
remembered the rings. Now, three were
missing. = - ill.,. ~
Rapidly he ran his eye over the other
jewels, and so far as he could remember,
everything else was there, He went into
the next stateroom. once occupied by the
owner of the yacht. and found all as 1t
should be- But Dick was greatly per
picked, and having left the little heap
Of silks and satins and chiffons taken
from the wardrobe. in the cabin he mad
selected for himself he went up on deck
His two official companions were stand
ing near the bow, talking together. and
he joined them. (Which one Of you was
down below lately?' he asked.
Both men looked at him in apparent sur
prise. Neither Of us have been below
lately, sir returned the elder Of the two.
We've been where we are now for the
last half hour or more.
You are sure OF that? inquired LICK.
Sure, sir 49,.
mo one could have sneaked on board,
1 suppose, without your knowledge:
mot possible, sir. May we ask Why?'
Dick determined to say nothing to the
men about the rings, but to tell the cap
tain of the port in the morning what had
happened. 80. I thought I heard some
one moving about in the saloon or one OF
the staterooms a few minutes ago, that's
ALL he said, aloud.
The two men looked at each other, eS-
changing a peculiar glance.
There was little sleep for Dick that
night, partly perhaps because 1t was MS
first on board the Xenia (not counting the
moonlit hours of that strange visit or
exploratory and partly because he had
many things Of which to think. He de-
cided to make a parcel Of the spoil filched
from the wardrobe, and send them to-
morrow to Lucette with a carefully word
ed letter of inquiry. He would nave
liked to take them himself, but it would
be impossible to leave the yacht at pres
ent. and he was not patient OF delay.
If the French dressmaker In Naples, VINO
did business as Lucette ct Gle, was able
to recall the names Of the customers who
had ordered these costumes from her,
she would also be able to state the fact
in black and white-and answer various
questions on paper as well as by word OF
mouth.
E1ndlnS AlmSeI undOle 10 Steep LII
| thinking Of things which he had left I'M
done. and other things yet to do, he could
| no longer bear to lie tossing In his berth.
| 1t had occurred to him that, if evening
| clothes should be hanging In the ward
| robe of the missing owner Of the Xen1a,
! it would help to prove his theory that the
| last meal eaten on board had not been
dinner but luncheon. Besides, he had not
yet looked at the mans clothing to find
! the tailor's name.
The stateroom was next but one to the
cabin he now occupied He turned on the
light there: found the evening things,
as he had hoped to do, but was surprised
and disappointed at the absence Of the
| tailor's name in every coat which he ex-
amined. Inside the collar Of each, in
place of the usual loop with the name Of
the maker. a small silver chain had been
| inserted, and there was no clue to the
maker Of the neatly folded and we'll
laundered shirts in the drawers OF a tall
| chiffonnier.
| When there was nothing more which
the wardrobe Of the vanished owner could
| tell him, Dick switched off the electricity
| and stepped out Of the stateroom to go
back to his own. 1t was dark, and as
he had neglected to turn on the light in
his cabin before starting out, he CROPPED
in dead blackness. feeling his way along
the wall. He had just reached his own
door, when, quick as the rustic Of some
little night creature scuttling through the
grass, came the sly, silky sound he had
heard few hours ago. Instantly he put
out his hand, and his cropping fingers
touched a soft, slippery thing which
darted away from under them almost be-
fore he was sure of it's reality. Dick
followed in the direction it seemed to
have taken until suddenly he was brought
up against a table. Then he realized
that it was useless to continue chase
in the dark He came upon door. opened
it, and switched on the light discover
; ing that he had stumbled into his own
stateroom. BY means Of this illumination
he found the electric switch in the saloon,
and soon had a brilliant light; but the
; rustling Mystery was still invisible, and
though angry and bewildered he left no
Granny UNEMPLOYED, he discovered moth
ing which could account for his expert
ence. One Of the men was audibly asleep
in the first officers cabin. the other was
on the bridge. There Dick saw him, and
satisfied that neither he nor his com =
panion had been concerned in the rnys-
ferrous affair, returned to his own state
room. s~.-- .. T.
| h.