Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-03-29
The Argus Daily Short Story
How Won-By Lawrence Foster.
Copyrighted. 1910. by Associated Literary PresA

One winter when congress was In
session I was invited to the national
capital to spend a week with my
friend Jim Treusdail in company with
others. forming a very pleasant house
party. Jim had not been long mar
ried, and ! was a bachelor I have
always thought that his wife got up
the affair especially for my benefit
and that of Miss Mildred Sweet, Mrs
Jim desiring to make a match between
US. If she did she had no trouble, so
far as was concerned. for 1 had not
been acquainted with Miss Sweet ten
minutes before / remarked to myself,
That's the girl l am looking for"
l have theory that a good way to
win girl Is to conjure up something
in which you and she may have a
mutual interest. Fortune favored me
in this wise:
One evening at dinner Mrs. Jim show
ed plainly that something had hap
pened. She said nothing to any of the
guests and when they spoke to her
replied in monosyllables. Treusdail
labored hard to keep a certain amount
of life In the party, but was not sue
cessful.
After dinner Jim took me up to a
little den he used to hide away in
and told me what was the matter.
His wife had lost a diamond as big
as a hickory nut. 1t had been handed
down to her for five generations and
been turned over to her on her wed
ding day. She had taken it out OF
its receptacle to wear it that evening
at reception that was TO occur at
the White House and had left it on
her bureau while giving some direc-
lions about the dinner.
He had no sooner told me this than
1t REQUIRED to me to make detective
of myself for the purpose Of discover
ing the thief and to take Miss Sweet
into the business with me. By inter
esting her in the case hoped eventual
ly to turn that interest from the gem
to myself.
I asked Jim a good many questions,
but only elected the information that
every servant in the house during his
wife's absence from her room was
downstairs and quite busy, most or
them with the preparations for the
dinner. The men guests were all in
the billiard room. Two of the women
guests were dressing in their rooms
for dinner and after that the function
at the White House. A third, q wild
ow, Mrs. Jernegan, with little daugh-
ter, five years old, had finished her
toilet and was assisting her nurse to
put the child to bed.
Mrs. Jernegan was my first choice
for the thief. Women who are not
dressed don't run about in another
persons house, and Mrs. Jernegan was
the only person on the floor at the
time the stone was lost. 1 went to
the White House reception with Miss
Sweet and during the evening told her
about the loss aud began to excite her
curiosity as to who could have been
the thief.
'It would be nice thing" said.
''if you and I. working together, could
recover the stone and turn it back to
the rightful owner"
Indeed it would" she said, ~but
how can we do that?"
81 don't know that we can. but we
can try"
SOAhNC0 " Acr luot c1SPS~tCA
Mrs. Jernegan. She did not especial
ly fancy the widow, but could hardly
bring herself to feel that, she had
stolen the diamond told Miss Sweet
that she. being a woman, could keep
an eye on the suspect better than l.
and she agreed to do So,
had a little scheme up my sleeve
to compel Mrs. Jernegan to show her
colors IL she were guilty. OF course
that was not proving her guilty or get
ting back the stone, but 1t wonld
serve for n clew. I invited q party.
including Mrs. Jernegan. to visit the