The Washington herald., 1910-06-19

| idiotic wager thaE had done Il. He had
/ made two or three conciliatory remarks
| but no one would speak to him. His
antics were so queer, however, that We
were all watching him. and when ne had
felt over the rug with his hands, and
raised the edges, and tried to lift out the
ehair-seats. and had shaken out Dals
shoes Che said people often hid things
/ and then forgot about it,, he made a
I proposition.
If you viii take that Internal furnace
| from around my neck, I'll undertake
| either TO find the Jewels or to show UP
/ the thief" he said quietly And, of
| course, with all the people In the house
/ under suspicion. every one had to hail
| the suggestion with JOY, and 10 offer his
assistance, and Jimmy had to take Maxs
share Of the furnace. So they took the
seullery slip downstairs to the policeman,
and gave jim MaXs share of the fur
mace. (Yes, ! had broken the policeman
to them gently. Of course. Anne said at
once that ne was the thief, but they
found him tucked in and sound asleep
with his back against the furnace.)
In the first place" Max said, stand
Ing Importantly In the middle of the
room. we retired between and 3
nearer 3. So the theft occurred between
and 5, when ANIME woke up. Was
your door locked, Dal?'
mo. The door into the hall was. but
the door into the dressing-room was
open, and we found the door from there
into the hall open this morning"
From until s." Max repeated. WAS
any one out OF his room during that
timer
I was" said Tom HARRISON, promptly,
from the foot OF the bed Il was prowl-
Ing all around somewhere about search
ing"-he glanced at me-"for a drink of
water. But as l don't know a pearl from
glass bead, / hope you exonerate me- -
Everybody laughed and said, "'Of
course" and Sure, old man." and
changed the subject quickly. While that
excitement was on 1 got Jim 70 one side
and told him about Bella His good-na-
tured face was radiant at first
Il suppose she did come to see Taxa
hiro. Ell, Kit?'' he asked delicately. "She
didn't say anything about me?"
Nothing good. She said the house was
IN disgraceful condition." I said heart
lessly. And her diamond bracelet was
stolen while she took a nap on the kitch-
en- table"-he groaned-'a nd--oh. Jim.
you are such a goosei II I could only
manage my own affairs the way I could
my friendsi She's too sure of you. Jim
my. She knows you adore her, and
how brutal could you be, Jim?'
Fair" he said. Il may have undis-
covered depths of brutality that l have
peyer had occasion to use. However,
might try Why?"
Listen. Jim." I urged 1T was al
ways Bella who did things here; she
managed the house, she tyrannized over
her friends, and she bullied you. Yes.
she did. Now she's here. without your
invitation, and she has to stay. It's your
turn TO bully, TO dictate terms TO be
coldly civil or politely rude. Make her
furious at you. If she is Jealous, so
much the better"
How far would you sacrifice yourself
on the altar Of friendship" he asked.
You may pay me all the attention YOU
like, in public" I replied. and after we
shook hands we went together TO BELLA.
Ihere was an oninous pause when we
went into the den. Bella was sittinsr nv
the register. with her furs on, and after
one glance over her shoulder at us she
looked away again without speaking.
Bella" Jim said, appealingly. And
then l pinehed his arm. and he drew
himself up and looked properly outraged
Bella" he said. coldly this time. AZ
can't imagine why you have put yourself
have"
She turned on him IN a fury.
Put myself In this posltion!" ShA was
frantic. It's a plot, wretched tricl. of
yours, this quarantine, to keep me herel,
Jim gasped, but l gave him a warning
glance, and he swallowed hard
On the contrary" he said. with mad
dening quiet, u would be the last per-
son In the world to wish to perpetusts an
indiscretion Of yours. For II was hardI1,
discreet. was it. TO visit a bachelor es.
tablishment alone at 10 o'clock ct night