The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-09


IL pressed against the kcyhole. Then,
letting the diamonds drop into her lap,
she flung back her head and laughed
and cried together.
"Oh. Ivor. Ivor!" she painted. be-
tween her sobs and hyaterical gusts
Of laughter. THE agony of it---the
ngony-and the JOY now! You're Won
derful. Good, precious Ivor--dear
friend-saint."
At this laughed too, partly 70
calm her. and patted gently the hands
with which she had nervously clutchcd
my sleeve.
"Heaven knows I don't deserve ono
of those epithets," l said, "Ill Just
stick to friend"
mot deserve them?" she repeated
Not deserve them, when you've saved
mel don't yet understand how--from
a horror worse than death-oh but IL
thousand times worse, for 1 wanted to
die. meant to die. II they had
found 1t I shouldn't have lived to
see tomorrow morning. Tell i..e-
how did you work such 4 mirace7
How did you get this necklace, that
meant so much to me (and TO one
lovc). and how did you hide the-other
thing?"
Il don't know anything about this
necklace" I answered, stupidly, IT
didn't bring it"
"You-didn't bring it?'
NO. At least, that red leather thing
isn't the case carried. When the
fellow pulled It out from the sofa,
! saw it wasn't what I'd had. so I
thanked our lucky stars and would
have tried to let You know that all
hope wasn't over, if I'd dared to catch
your eye or make a signal"
Maxine was suddenly calm. Ths
tears had dried on her cheeks, and her
eyes were fever bright.
"Ivor you can't know what you arc
| talking about" she said in changed
voice. THAT red leather case is what
| YOU took out of your breast pocket and
! handed to mo when / first came int1
| the room. At the sound of the knock
pushed 1T down as far as l could
] between the seat and back of the sofa,
| and then ran off to a distance before
| the door opened. You did bring tho
necklace, knowingly or not; and as 1T
/ was the cause OF all my trouble in the
! beginning. ! needn't tell you of tho
| Joy / had in seeing 1t, apart from tho
! heavenly relief of being spared dis
! oovery OF the thing ] feared Now
when you've given mo the other pack
1 ct, which you hid so marvelously.
can go away happy"
| | stared at her. feeling more than
I ever like, one in a dream.
II gave you the only thing l
brought" said cit was in my breast
| pocket inside my coat. took it out.
/ and put it in your hands. There was
4 no other thing. Look again in tha
sofa. II must be there stlll. This ret.
/ case is something else we can try Co
| account for it later. 1t all came thru :gh
the lights not working. If II hadn't
1 been SO dark, you would have seen that
gave you DARK. green leather le;-
ter case-quite different rom this.
| though OF about the same length
| rather less thick. and
F'rantically she began ransacking the
crevice between the seat and back of
the sofa. but nothing was there We
/ might have known there would be
/ nothing or The commissary of Police
\ would have been before us. With n
/ cry she cut me short at last, throwing
up her hands in despair. She was
deathly pale again, and all the light
i had gone out OF her eyes, leaving thea
dull, as If she had been sick with some
long Illness.
what will become of ne?" she
4 stammered The Treaty lost! Ny Goa
/ what shall do? 1vor, you are kill
ing me. Do you know--you are kills
ing me?"
The word treaty was new to me ia
this connection, for the Foreign Sec
rotary had not thought it necessary
that his messenger should be wholly
II in his secrets--and Maxine's. Yet
hearing tho word brought no great
surprise. l knew that had been
cat spaw in some game of high stakes,
But 1T was of Maxine ! thought now.
and the Importance Of the loss to her.
4 not the national disaster which II
might well be also.
Wait" I said don't despair yet.
!, There's some mistake Perhaps We
shall be able to see light when movG
, thrashed this out and talked it over.
i know l had a green letter-case IT
never left my pocket l thought OF
it and guarded it every moment.
d Could those diamonds have been inside
it? Could the Foreign Secretary had
given me the necklace, instead OF
, what you eXpected?"
mo, no." she answered with des-
. perate impatience. "fIe knew tha the
only thing which could save me was
the document I'd sent him. wired
that must have it back again imme-
| diatey, for my own sake-for his
, for the sake of England Ivor! Ink
again Do you want me to go mad?"
81 will think" said, trying to speak
, reassuringly. GIVE me moment-a
quiet moment"
ITO be Continued)