Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-09
The Spitfire
Continued from page II

rom page II
trembling violently 1t was fortunate indeed
that the rest of the company were so engrossed
on the fateful gems, for otherwise they must
have marked her agitation: but, as it CHANGED.
there was only one who noticed, and. strangely,
that one was Morson-Brown.
Girard seated himself in pleasant anticipa-
ton, carefully spread handkerchief before
him, and then iovfully emptied the contents
of the morocco case on it. 1t was really
fine collection-an almost f1awleSs collection
of dried beans!
Marcus Girard forgot himself and swore.
Ormond looked at Tracy. and Tracy looked at
the crack in the dining room door and looked
at Morson-Brown Morson-Brown himself
looked at Valda. and Valda turned her head
away and looked fixedly on the floor. Captain
Joe looked at his capstan bar and waited tor to;
further orders. The mate looked thoughtfully
at Marcus Girard, and the wide eyed, minis
through the galley door The situation, to
tell the honest truth, looked puzzling.
For a full minute there was an utter silence
of establishment; then some one laughed: and,
strangely, that some one was Morson-Brown.
XVHI.-In the Absence of Sherlock Holmes
CONSIDERATIONS reigned in the Spitfres
- main saloon. That some unknown party
had distracted the gems and substituted
handful of dried beans. was perfectly clear to
all present 1t was likewise clear that some
one present was guilty of the profitable swap:
though EACH when questioned. denied all
knowledge of the affair in varying degrees of
v1rtuOuS ScOrn.
Ormond and Tracy Immediately offered up
their sacred persons to the humiliation OF being
searched; in fact, they seemed tritie eager.
Girard awaited himself of the opportunity,
went through them thoroughly-and found
nothing of Importance. The cabin occupied
by these men sIas also overhauled but with
out success. Morson-Brown. and that portion
of the yacht hitherto honored by his slurn bers,
received the most intimate attention. A blank
was scored. The three women elevated their
respective noses to the Hottest angle of SUI
preme scorn and threw open their state room
doors for customs house inspection The IN
yitation was declined. Lima Jewett. the one
woman S maid on board, offered her open trunk
and her resignation from service at one and
the same instant. Furthermore, she was
DESTROYS of having her plump person patted
all over by Girard himself (who was elderly
and noncombustible), in proof that no sus-
picious Jumps were lurking beneath her snug
attire. The privilege was waived.
Everyone on board seemed anxious to aid
in the hunt for. the missing gems: Beasley IN
sisted that his own quarters receive share OF
scrutiny, and sat with his Jaw on ms palm
while his lockers were being rummaged. Even
the seamen were willing and eager to prove
their innocence: while the ministerial Miggs
wept openly as he led the way to his immacu-
late galley demanding that every pot ana pan
be examined microscopically. Captain Joe
turned all his pockets inside out and asked
facetiously:
Who's got the thimble:"
And thus, for time. it ended. The yacht
was ransacked from stem to stern: but not one
gem, genuine otherwise, was brought to
light. with the exception of various trinkets
belonging to various virtuous individuals. But
the search was not easy matter. The Spit
fire was wallowing aimlessly about in the
trough of heavy sea while her tail shaft was
being packed: and that swearful operation
continued until three in the afternoon. Thus.
hunting round for pearls and emeralds became
an exercise quite similar to a " Tub of Love
at Coney Island; yet it seemed to prove one
fact conclusively: the gems were lost.
NOV, in the absence of Sherlock Holmes.
the reader must become his own deductor,
while the writer is just anxious as any OF the
other rascals to lend his aid in the solution of
the problem.
To begin with then. it must be remembered
that sometime during the previous night tall,
slim figure appeared in the main saloon, and,
like the moonbeam. firted with the little nickel
plated dial with numbers on it. First step
the safe. Next who was the tall and slender
man?
On careful selection. this interloper might be
Morson-Brown or Beasley or Ormond or the