The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1907-06-06
Marshall Third stretched out slim

seated, Lady Borrodaile. am, as
you see, an invalid"
Lady Borrodaile, pretty, we'll
dressed woman of five-and-thirty,
took the proffered hand and discreet
ly yelled the establishment she could
not help feeling that this man of
whom she had heard such wonderful
things should be helpless and a
cripple.
you got my note asking for an
appointments" she asked. Il know
your time is valuable. but the fact is,
my jewels, about thirty thousand
pounds worth, have been stolen, and
Sir Francis Ramon, whom | think
you know, advised me to come
straight to you and waste no time
The Vigilant sat upright.
Thirty thousand pounds! That's
very large sum. When did you first
miss them? Perhaps you had better
tell the story in your own way" he
added, hastily.
My husband and l live at Dun
croft, a few miles from Hartford /"
began Lady Borrodaile. 1T is a two
story house, standing in about four
acres of ground. The main road
passes the drive gates in front. At
the back and sides of the garden are
grazing grounds and farm land. We
live very quietly when we are there
and only keep five indoor servants,
all of whom have been with us for
Y at least seven or eight years. My
Jewels are kept in Casa red mo-
rocco box, with trays and compart-
ments. The case measures, roughly.
twenty inches long by half as much
across and in depth. This case is
always locked, and l myself keep the
key on gold chain round my neck
here it is. The case stands on my
dressing table to the right of the
window. l sketch a little, by the
way-and have brought you draw
Ing of the house. thought it might
be of use. There. you see those two
windows marked with a cross, those
are in my room.
I'm the country I wear little or no
5ewelry. The last occasion on which
used that in the case was at a ball
In town over a month ago. I re-
placed them myself the next day and
locked the case. Since then l never
touched it till yesterday morning,
when thought I would take cut a
tiara which needed resetting. | tried
the key, which would not turn, and
becoming alarmed / got my husband
to force open the lid. Not only were
the jewels not there, but the case,
which was identical with mine out
side, was not my case at all; yet on
the outside it had my monogram,
and was exactly the same even down
to a deep scratch in the left-hand
corner"
Have you it with your"
"Yes."
Third just glanced at it, and put
1t down on the table.
Did you replace the jewels in
town or when you got homer"
mot till I got home. I only used
a portion of them-those l carried
in separate cases in my dressing bag.
returned on the 2Sth, the day after
the ball, and locked them up some
time that evening""
That leaves period of thirty
two days in which the robbery might
have been effected" He placed the
case before him, and examined it
carefully with a glass. This was
made in Paris, / see, and for such an
expensive article it is easy to see that
tn "
lining is very roughly finished, and
some of the leather work is bad. It
has been made quite recently, too.
The signs of wear on the outside and
on the edges are purely artificial, yet
well enough done to deceive a casual
observer. The monogram die was, of
course, cut from tracing of your
own-ail of which means that the
robbery had been planned and settled
on at least five days before it was
carried out. probably longer. Where
was the ball to which you went on
the last occasion of wearing your
jewels?"
AT Mrs. Endover's. in Carlton
House terrace"
Marshall Thirds pupils contracted
to pinpoint, as they always did when
he was thinking hard and quickly.
Among your jewels, if my mem
DRY serves me Alright, there was a
ruby known as the Mairoda ruby-a
stone with a strange history?"
Lady Borrodaile nodded.
Yes, that is so. though how you
knew THE fact is, very few people
know Of its existence. It has a tragic
story connected with 1t, and my hus-
band has asked me not to speak Of ii
to my friends not to talk about It
at all. In fact I hardly ever
wear it.
Marshall Third moved chessman
thoughtfully across the board IN 4
long diagonal