The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-09-10
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E CHAPTER v.-Contlnued.

quiet moment" she repeated
bitterly. when for me each second ,s
an hour! It's late, and this is the
night of my new play. Soon. 1 must
be at the theatre. for the makeup
and dressing of this part for the first
act are heavy business. I don't want
all Paris TO know that Maxine de
Renzie has been ruined by her enc
mics. Let us keep the secret while
we can, for others sake and so gain
time for our own. IL all's not lost--if
You believe still that there's any hopa.
Oh, save me, Ivor-somehow. My
whole life is in this"
Let your understudy take your part
tonight while we think. and work"
/ suggested. You cannot go to the
theatre in this state"
For an actress there's no such word
as cannot" she said bitterly. 81
could play part to the finish. and
crawl of the stage to die the next
instant; yet no one would have guessed
that was dying. have no under
study. What use to have one? What
audience would stop in the theatre
after an announcement that their Max
ines understudy would take her place?
Every man and woman would walk
out and get his money back. No. for
the sake of the man L love better than
my life, or twenty 1ives-the man
I've either saved or rnined-I'll play
tonight, IL I go mad or kill myself
tomorrow. Don't think quietly. lvor.
Think out aloud and let ME follow
the workings of your mind. We may
help each other, so. Let us go over
together everything that happened to
you from the minute you took the
letter-case from the Foreign Secretary
up to the minute l came into this
ROOM
I obeyed. beginning at the very be-
ginning and telling her all, except the
part that had to do with Diana For
rest She had no concern in that I
told her how had slept with the green
letter-case under my pillow, and had
waken to feel and look for it once or
twice an hour. How. when morning
came. had been late In getting to
the train; how ! had struggled with
the two men who tried to keep me
out of the reserved compartment into
which they We're intruding. How the
man who had right to 1t, after wish
ing to prevent my entering, helped me
in the end. rather than be alone with
the pair who had forced themselves
upon him. How he had stumbled al
most into my arms In panic. during
the confusion after the false alarm on
the boats gangway. How he had
walked beside me and seemed on the
point of speaking. later, In the Care
du Nord. How I had avoided and
lost sight of him: but how had many
times covertly touched my pocket to
be sure that, through all, the letter
case was still safe there.
Maxine grew calmer. thought not, I
think. more hopeful as / talked: and
at last she folded up the diamonds
neatly in the red case which she gave
to me. "Put that into the same pock-
ct" she said, and then pass your hand
over your coat, as you did often be-
fore. Now. does 1t feel 5exactly as If
1t Were the green letter-case with
which you startd out?"
Eyes, / think 1t does I answered,
doubtfully. I'm afraid l shouldn't
know the difference. This may he a
little thicker than the other. butt
can't be sure. And, you see. never
| once had chance to unbutton my
| coat and look at the thing I had in
| this inner pocket. 1t would have at
| tracted too much attention to risk that;
and. as a matter of fact, ! was es-
pecially warned not to do It. ] could
| trust only to the touch. But, even
! granting that, by a skill almost clever
enough for slieght of thand-a skill
which only the smartest pick-pocket
/ In Europe could possess--why should
a thief who had stolen my letter-case
\ give me instead string Of diamonds
worth many thousands OF pounds? II
1he wanted TO put something into my
pocket of much the same size and
shape as the thing he stole, so that
| shouldn't suspect my loss, why didn't
| he slip In the red case empty, instead
or containing the necklace2n
Wrhs necklace, too Of all things IN
the world!n murmured Maxine. lost IN
the mystery. tits like dream. Yet
hereby some niracle--it is, IN our
hands, And the treaty Is gone
"The treaty is gone" I repeated
miserably.
1T was Maxine herself who had
spoken the words which merely
echoed, yet it almost killed her to hear
4 them from me, No doubt It gave the