The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-25

what Jne VOID, Martini? He turned
angrily to the stout man in the chair.
F1outs you, was the response, in a
tone almost awestruck
"FlOuts me-" snapped Shone. affect
ing an explanation and an introduction
IN one by adding: Mr.. Samuel Mar
TN, my literary helpmeet, and-er-''
Advertising agent?" l could not re-
s1st mildly suggesting. for somehow
this man chafed me with his airs of
superiority.
Historian Shone corrected me in
turn, with a scowl LAS l was saw
ing, the duchess declines to accept nv
theory-fouts me, as Martin puts it
because my discoveries run counter to
her personal regards and will hang the
son Of her pet parson. Here it is in
a nutshell"
The expert swung himself onto the
table and sat there. dangling his long
legs while he plunged into his nara
tive. Martin watched him with a
strange mixture of nervousness and
alteration. And I-well, l am only an
official. and no genius, as you know.
so l simply listened
On the previous day, in response to
an urgent wire, Shone had arrived at
the Abbey about noon, had been in
formed by the duchess that the rubies
which she kept in a locked drawer in
her sleeping apartment, were missing,
and had at once started his investiga-
ton by questioning her grace's maid.
The woman, by name Larraway, in
formed him that she had seen the
duchess place the rubies in the drawer
three days since and lock it with a
key which she wore night and day on
a chain round her neck. I.arraway
had also been present that morning
when the duchess had unlocked the
drawer and had discovered that the
gems were missing.
The lock had not been tempered with
and the key had never left the duchess
person, so Shone naturally concluded
that false or skeleton key had been
used to open the drawer.
From the maid he had turned his at
tention to the other inmates of the alb
hey, but without being able to connect
any of them directly with the robbery.
Direct evidence not being available, he
had searched for that of the circum-
stantial kind, and had ELECTED the fact
that the governess of the Younger
children, Miss Madeline PercivaI, had
lover in the impecunious son of the
vicar Of the parish. The young people
had recently become engaged but
without any prospect of an early mar
riage.
There was, of course, no proof of the
crime in this. but it had fixed the at
tention of Shone on Miss Percival, and
from his own showing he must have
handled her pretty severely-so much
so that the girl seemed to have lost
control of her temper. Though he
didn't say so. I ascertained afterward
that she had called him all kinds of
fool, which must have been CALLING to
a person of his eminence.
Compensation. however, was in store
for him, from the mouth of the very
next witness he examined-Lupin. the
French tutor. This individual, pressed
hard by Shone. had furnished, with
every show of reluctance, clue con-
firming the experts suspicious, Two
nights previously he had been sitting
late at his bedroom window. after put
ting out his light, to smoke final Gig
arctic. Suddenly he had seen a man.
whom he had recognized in the moon
beams as Harold Sterling, the wears
son, creep from the shrubbery and sta
ton himself under Miss Percival's win
dow in the opposite wing. In q little
while Lupin had seen the governess
open her window softly and throw
down small parcel, with which young
Sterling made off
And what more do you want? ?"
Shone demanded, rolling his eyes as if
he suspected me of collision with the
thieves.
Getting warm" 1 admitted, none too
readily. for 1 liked Harold Sterling.
and had sympathized with his lack of
prospect-still more with the cause.
He had thrown up a good billet in the
city to go out to the war with the yeo-
many, and had not been reinstated.
WARM" Shone flung at me with
sniff of contempt. 81 call it conclusive.