The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-20

| oI ones right hand may certainly
 DC said to be out of place"
 | Don't be surprised.'' her husband i admonished. If some anarchistic-iook-
 ing rufnan stops you on the street and | asks Tor the countersign.''
 Mrs- Osgood laughed again. Deep in ner heart she did feel a little uneasi- | ness, but. as she wore the ring evening arter eve ming and the prophecy of her
 lord and master was never fulfilled | even this slight fear left her On the 1 nrst night of the Conried season she
 selected the ornament from a large number of others and carried it so far | Into society as D Left, in the Metro | politan opera house. There it excited f considerable attention, particularly ! from thin, nervous woman in a loud | gown and the adjoining seat
 The thin. nervous woman proved to be anything but an agreeable neighh- Dor. She f1dgeted restlessly in her chair and expressed her annoyance at the contact of Mrs. Osgood's opera cloak, which had been thrown care lessly over the space of seat back be- tween them, by frequently plucking at it's soft folds. At first Mrs Osgood
 laid these gaucheries to semi-intoxica- . ton, an opinion born of her husband's s
 laughing remark: She goes out after every act and is worse every time she comes back" Subsequently. however,
 1t was agreed that the offender prob ably was merely "an outsider" who didn't know how to conduct herself. There isn't any bar in the foyer, is there?" Mrs. Osgood asked during one of the intermissions.
 MT Osgood said there wasn't. Well, them" returned Mrs. Osgood, adding: Besides, I noticed that she
 simply walks about. Perhaps this is
 the first time she has ever been among really nice people, poor thing" Whether the proximity mentioned had an incbriating effect or whetheI the vexatious person was merely tired, she came so near to embracing the oc- cupant of D 3 Left. after her last tour, | that Mrs Osgood was much ruffied and | ejacuiated angrily. Do be carefull' 'oh. that's all right" whispered the I outsider" impudently, and Mrs. Os- | good turned her attention to the stage | and Marguerite, who was in the very act of going to heaven.
 | There was some pushing and crowd ] ing on the way out of the theatre, the audience, as usual, quitting the house
 under the apparent conviction that il | would be consumed by fire within the | next five minutes. Mrs. Osgood. not
 being robust, was rather long in reach I ing the last row of orchestra seats. When she did emerge from the aisle, | she was confronted by a bulky police | officer, who effectually blocked her | passage. will you step over here
 maam?" inquired that gentleman. "Pd l like to have a word wid you" Mrs. Osgood, who considered mem- bers of the force out of place except on | Fifth Avenue, was about to reply that | she entertained no similar sentiment | toward him, when her husband. real | izing that something was wrong, took
 her arm and drew her to one side 1 Now" he said, when they got out of the crowd. what Is the matter?" | The tone of authority awed the po-
 liceman into an apologetic attitude | Some kind of a mistake, I guess" he
 answered, but this lady's lost her | brooch and she says she seen 1t on ! that lady"
 "This lady" was a stout dowager | standing near by with her son. Ii
 seems unnecessary to explain that | that lady" was Mrs. Osgood.
 "NonsenseI' exclaimed the spouse of
 the accused. Why. my wife is Mrs. | Duncan Osgoodr'
 That ought to have settled the mat | ter. but 1t didn't
 | The dowager was persistent in urg- | ing her case--a distinct advantage since Mrs. Osgood, pendulatIng violent | ly between amazement and indignation
 for once in her life was quite deprived of speech.
 When this woman put on her cloak
 I saw my brooch pinned to the lining" | explained the complainant. T was so
 sure it was my brooch that involunta- rily I put my hand up to my throat. Sure enough, my jewels were gone. demand that this officer do his duty! | she concluded dramatically, gIaring a
 stony defiance at MT. osgood. Despite the fact that all the persons concerned
 were some distance from the route to the exits. an interested crowd had gathered and the affair was becoming more embarrassing every moment. Mir, | Osgood was reused to action. | Tt is perfect idiocy to accuse my wife of theft" he said with dignity. Your brooch probably came unfast-
 ened and fell to the floor. Doubtless
 it has already been found and turned
 in at the box office"
 The dowager sniffed, looking, in the
 process, uncommonly like a Japanese
 That being true" continued MT. | OsEood, and this scene being most humiliating, you will oblige me, off, | cer. by permitting us to pass. The policeman wavered. There's | been a lot of complaints this evening,
 he objected. T don't know just what to do."
 This was so obvious that immediate Iy everybody began making sugges- | tions. Mrs. Osgood, however, had come to herself in the interval Her pres | ence of mind returned.
 Wait" she commanded, the iciness of her tone instantly silencing those
 about her. We will put stop to this foollshness at once. The old lady says
 she saw her brooch on my cloak Now
 she can examine the cloak herself and see her mistake"
 With a gesture of superb disdain, she
 pulled the garment from her shoulders
 and held 1t up for inspection. There
 was a chorus of gasps. Mrs. Osgood
 glanced at the cloak and then fell back against her husband. The chiffon in- terIining of the wrap was fairly ablaze
 with gems Not only was the missing
 brooch visible. fastened securely near the collar but there were sunbursts
 and crescents and Mercury wings and stick pins galore. Diamonds shone
 along the hem, opals clung lovingly to
 the lace ruffles, and emeralds peeped
 out from the folds.
 MT. Osgood was the first of the as
 tonished group to recover his senses
 and to realize that this latest develop ment carried the incident beyond him "It seems" he observed, that Mrs. Os- good has been made the scapegoat of thief I think we had all better accom- panv this officer to the station house until some conclusion can be reached" He struck out determinedly for the
 door. Mrs. Osgood clinging to his arm,
 the dowager and her son following after, the dazed policeman close be-
 Aln