The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-01-27
The Halliday
Enleralds
A Story of Their Quick
Recovery
By CLARTSSA MACKIE
Copyright by american Press Asso-
citation, 1911.
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

wildly beating heart. Costly gems
sparl1led from every velvet lined COM
partment but one. The white nest
that had contained the famous emer-
aid necklace, the Halliday heirloom.
was empty.
She rang the bell, and after awhile a
strange maid appeared.
"Will you send Louise. my maldT'
asked Elsie.
81 do not think she is here. miss, "
| returned the girl bluntly. II saw her
running across the lawn shortly after
| your arrival. She went toward the
| river
Elsie's eyes sparkied dangerously at
this evidence of the perfdy of the
trusted Louise She turned to the
staring servant with a gesture of dis
missal and when she was alone pro
! ceeded to dress for the approaching
| meal.
| When her golden hair was gathered
! into its customary soft knot and she
had slipped into the white chiffon
| dress Elsie drew forth the string Of
pearls and clasped it about her slender
throat without pausing to admire the
charming effect she made care
| full search Of the room. The chair
near the open window must furnish
the first clew, and Elsie was not dis
appointed
There was tattered bit of lace evi
IDENTIFY torn from cheap handkerchief
"a fragment from which dangled q
bit of gold set with q drop Of emerald
| greenland the lace smelled of that
dreadful French scent which Louise
persisted in using.
On the floor near the chair was a
white silk handkerchief twisted into
loose knot. Elsie lifted it gingerly
and inspected few Japanese charac
ters in dead black across one corner
The characters were too large for 8
laundry mark and must represent the
owners name, and that owner was
probably a Japanese. Elsie recollect
ed that the Ormonds had butler OF
that nationality.
Last of all, on the seat of the chaiI
was mans pearl cuff link, on the
fiat surface of which a golden initia
was finely inlaid. Elsie studied the
twisted "V' with a little puzzled
frown knitting her brows Why hat
Harvey Ventnor's name sprung s,
quickly to her mind in such an un
pleasant connection. Perhaps it was
because he was never far from hcl
thoughts or for the reason that there
are few names that begin with thu
letter V, not that for one instant he
might be associated with anythins
that was dishonorable
The dinner bell rang then, and ELSIE
obeyed its summons, first taking pain!
to hide her jewel case in the rem0tes
corner of her wardrobe. She went re
luctantly down the broad stairs con
scious that this visit she had antici
pated must be inaugurated by the un
pleasant features surrounding a iewe
robbery. While she realized that thu
thief must be making a successful es
cape and that every moment los
strengthened the difficulty of capture
Elsie hesitated to disturb the egua
nimity of her genial host, now il
one of the happiest moods. Neal
the drawing room door two men wer
talking in low tones, and as Elsi,
passed one of them was saying: :"
heard Ventnor was hard hit today
That drop in y. and H. must have
crippled him."
Elsie bit her trembling lips in al
angry effort to gain composure. Sh
. hated herself for the lightnin,
, thought that had connected Ventnor'
pecuniary difficulties with the pear
, cuff link and the missing emeralds
. In that instant she vowed to seek n
further for the thief. The Hallida.
emeralds must go.
''You look troubled, dear" whispere
Mabel Ormond in her ear. HAS any
thing gone wrongY
Everything is lovely" smiled Elsi
= brightly. How dear of you to Civ
! me the rose room"
81 knew you were charmed with /
5 last year. All, Katuru is a little lat
tonight. Rather unusual in our in
peccable Japanese"
! 1t was not Harvey Ventnor VIII
5 took Elsie in to dinner; she heard hi
l voice at the end of the procession a
she walked in beside young Fred o.
3 mond, Dicks brother. When she sa
down Ventnor was opposite, listenin
I attentively to the chatter of som
strange girl Elsie's swift glanc
noted his slightly disheveled appear
ance, and then she saw with a sinl
ing of the heart that the sleeve lin
l. was gone from one of his cuffs-th
left one. The other, plainly visibl,
was of pearl inlaid with gold.
Ventnor, watching her now an
then, seemed to be aware of her sue
den GOODNESS toward him. A har
look settled around his pleasant lip'
d and his sunny eyes clouded.
To Elsie it was a miserable dinneI
J. and 1t dragged to a tedious close Will
+ her overstrained nerves seemed on tn
point of giving way altogether. Sh
resolved to plead illness and return I
New York the next morning. Ven
d nor's presence made it impossible fC
her to remain