Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-04
THE BLOOD RED CROSS.
sYNOPsIA

SYNOPSIS
Geo. Rowland ,'e owner ne ' Of fass old heirloom IN
the shape Of a magnificent pean necklace. ROW.
b saa I about whom little { 5U .ho
persfsteBtly refuses to appear IN iesening dress
81 G n% sara that SARA .
dss ADMIT. the se Daee
Sara has removed leaving her Geek bandaged.
vandeleur discovers from Mmp. sara,s maid that
derer Willie removinx "ia e mole Nine sara has
written this fact on Miss Rpeys neck with nitrate
the light they wi win turn black. Nine; Sara has
made cross Of large red earbnneis which en- covers
ne %oras ana when me sse I give MISS
But the child will not know that. The
terror OF madame's cruel story will be upon
her and she will exchange the pearls for
the cross. $3.50
II think not, for shall be there to pre-
vent it. Now, bruce, have told you all
that is necessary. Go to bed and sleep
comfortably"
The next morning dawned dtll and sullen,
but the fierce storm Of the night before
was over. The ravages which had taken
place, however, In the stately old park were
very manifest, for trees had been torn up
by their roots and some of the stateliest
and largest of the oaks had been deprived
of their best branches.
Little Miss Ripley did not appear at all
that day. l was not surprised her alb
sence. The time had come when doubtless
madame found it necessary to divulge her
awful scheme to the unhappy child. In the
midst of that gay houseful Of people no
one specially missed her. even Row
land was engaged with many necessary
matters and had little time to devote to his
future wife. The ball room, decorated with
real flowers, was a beautiful sight.
Vandeleur, our host and paced up and
down the long room. Rowland was In
great excitement, making many sugges-
tons, altering this decoration and the
other. The flowers were too profuse in one
place, too scanty In another. The lights,
too, were not bright enough.
by all means have the bah room well
lighted" said Vandeleur. In room like
this, SO large, and with so many doors
leading into passages and sltting.out
rooms, it is well to have the light as
brilliant as possible. You will forgive my
suggestion, Mr.. Rowland, when say l
speak entirely from the point of view of
a man who has some ACQUAINTANCE with
the treacherous dealings of crime.
Rowland started.
Are you afraid that an attempt will be
made here tonight to steal the necklace"
he asked, suddenly.
I'VE won't talk of it," replied Van
deleur. Act on my suggestion and you
will have nothing to fear"
Rowland shrugged his shoulders, and,
crossing the room gave some directions
to several men who were putting in the
final touches.
Nearly a hundred guests were expected
to arrive from the surrounding country,
and the house was as full it could pos
sibly hold. Rowland was to open the ball
with little Antonio,
There was no late dinner that day, and
as evening approached Vandeleur sought
me.
Il say, bruce, dress as early as you
can and come down and meet me in our
hosts study
l looked at him in establishment, but
did not question him. l saw that he was
intensely excited His face was cold and
stern; it Invariably wore that expression
when he was most moved
/ hurried into my evening clothes and
came down again. Vandeleur was stand
ing in the study talking to Rowland. The
guests We're beginning to arrive. The
musicians were tuning up in the adjacent
ball room and signs of hurry and fes-