Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-22

from rooms occupied by visitors to the Croft. The first case occurred some months ago-nearly year ago, in fact Last night there was another. but l think you had better get the details on the spot. Sir James has told me to telegraph if you are coming, so that he may meet you himself at the station, and must hurry, as his drive to the station will be rather a long one. Then take 1t you will go, MT. Hewitt? Twyford is the station" "Yes, shall come and by the 11.30 Are you going by that train yourselfy'
 "No; I have several things to attend to now am in town. Good morning. I shall wire at once." ...@ Martin Hewitt locked the drawer of his table and sent his clerk for cab.
 At Twyford station Sir James Norris was waiting with dogcart Sir James was tall, florid man of fifty or thereabouts, known away from home as something of county historian and nearer his own parts as great sup porter of the hunt and gentleman much troubled with poachers.
 T have sent for you, as Lloyd proba- ply told you, because of a robbery at my place last evening. It appears, as far as can guess, to be one of three by the same hand or by the same gang. Late yesterday afternoon"--
 Pardon me, Sir James," Hewitt in- terrupted. 'but think I must ask you to begin at the first robbery -
 "Very well. Eleven months ago or thereabouts I had rather large party of visitors and among them Colonel Heath and Mrs. Heath-the lady being a rela- tive of my own late wife. Colonel Heath has not been long retired, you know-used to be political resident in an Indian native state. Mrs. Heath had rather a good stock of jewelry of one sort and another, about the most valuable piece being a bracelet set with particularly fine pearl.
 Tt was a very noticeable bracelet, the gold setting being mere feather weight piece of native filigree work, all most too fragile to trust on the wrist, and the pearl being, as have said, of a size and quality not often seen. We'll, Heath and his wife arrived late one evening, and after lunch the following day, most of the men being of by themselves - shooting, I think - my ct hn fe .ff down here, and Mrs. Heath took it into their heads to go walking-fern hunting. and so on. My sister was rather long dressing. and while they waited my daughter went into Mrs Heath's room. where Mrs. Heath turn ed over all her treasures to show her, as women do, you know. When my sis- ter was at last ready, they came straight awny, leaving the things It. tering about the room rather than stay longer to pack them up. The bracelet, with other things, was on the dressing table then"
 "one moment. As to the door7"
 'They locked 1t. As they came away my daughter suggested turning the key, as we had one or two new servants about"
 And the windowT
 "That they left open. as was going to tell you. We'll. they went on their walk and came back with Lloyd, whom they had met somewhere. carrying their ferns for them. It was dusk and almost dinner time. Mrs. Heath went straight to her room and-the bracelet was gone"
 Was the room disturbed?"
 Not bit. Everything was precise ly where 1t had been left except the bracelet"
 You called the police, of course"
 "Yes, and had man from Scotland Yard down in the morning. He seem- ed a pretty smart fellow, and the first thing he noticed on the dressing table, within an inch or two of where the bracelet had been, was a match which had been lit and thrown down. Now, nobody about the house had had occa- sion to use a match in that room that day and If they had certainly wouldn't have thrown 1t on the cover of the dressing table. So that. presumlng the thief to have used that match, the robbery must have been committed when the room was getting dark, im- mediately before Mrs. Heath returned. in fact. The thief had evidently struck the match. passed 1t hurriedly over the various trinkets lying about and taken the most valuable"
 Nothing else was even movedT
 Nothing at all. Then the thief must have escaped by the window, al. though 1t was not quite clear how. The walking party approached the house with a full view of the window, but saw nothing. although the robbery must have been actually taking place a moment or two before they turned up.
 There was no water pipe within any practicable distance of the window. but q ladder usually kept Tn the stable yard was found lying along the edge of the lawn The gardener explained, however, that he had put the ladder there after using 1t himself early in the afternoon
 '1Of course it might easily have been used again after that and put back
 "Just what the Scotland Yard man said He was pretty sharp. too. on the gardener. but very soon decided that he knew nothing of 1t No stranger had been seen Ia the neighborhood. and 6 stranger could scarcely have known enough fn Ro sfraight tn fhe rnrn