Bisbee daily review., 1911-05-20
cHAPTERx xv.
susnlcion and piseord.

Suspicion and Discoro.
 Every one was nasty the next morn ing. Aunt Selina declared that her feet, were frost-bitten and Kept Bella rubbing them with Ice water all morn ing. And Jim was impossible. He re- fused to speak to any of us, and he watched Bella furtively. as if he sus- pected her of trying to get him out of the house.
 When luncheon time came around and he had shown 10 indication of go ing to the telephone and ordering 1t. we had a conclave, and Max was chosen to remind him of the hour. Jim was shut in the studio, and we waited together in. the hall while Max went up. When he came down he was somewhat ruffed.
 He wouldn't open, the door," he reported. "and when I told him it was meal time. he said he wasn't hun gTy and he didn't give whoop about the rest of us. He had asked us here to dinner; he hadn't proposed to adopt us"
 So we finally ordered luncheon our selves, and about two o'clock Jim came downstairs, sheepishly. and ate what was left. Anne declared that Bella had been scolding him in the upper han, but I doubted it. She WIS never seen to speak to him unneces- sarily.
 The excitement of the escape over. MT. Harbison and remained on terms of armed neutrality. And Max still hunted for Anne's pearls, using them, the men declared, as a good excuse to avoid tinkering with the furnace or repairing the durlb-waiteT. which took the queerest notions, and stopped once halfway up from the kitchen. for an hour, with the dinner on it, Anyhow. Max was searching the house syste- matically, armed with a copy of Poe's ''Purloined Letter and Gaboriaus Monsieur Lecoq." He went through the seats of the chairs with batpins tore up the beds, and lifted rugs, until the house was in a state of confusion. And the next day, the fourth. he found something-not much. but 1t was curious. He had been in the studio. poking around behind the dusty pictures, with Jimmy expostulating every time he moved anything and the rest standing around watching him.
 Max was strutting.
 We get it by eliminations," he said. importantly. "The pearls be ing nowhere else in the house. they must be here in the studio. Three parts of the studio having yielded nothing, they must be in the fourth. Ladies and gentlemen, let me have your attention for one moment. l tap this canvas with my wand-there is nothing up my sleeve. Then l pre- pare to move the canvas-so. And ] put my hand in the pocket of this dis reputable velvet coat, so. Beholdi"
 Then he gave a low exclamation and looked at something he held in his hand. Every one stepped forward, and on his palm was the small diamond clasp from Ar-'- collari Jimmy w- getic. He tried to smile. but did. i Well. IT ,ergasted!" he said. q sa ple. you don't think for that I put that thing therec .ay. haven't worn that coat for a month. It's-it's a i trick of yours, Max"
 ] But Max shook his head; he looked stupeaed, and stood gazing from the clasp to the pocket of the old painting coat. Betty dropped on a folding stool, that promptly collapsed with her and created a welcome diversion { while Anne bounced on the clasT greedily, with a little cry. We will find 1t all now,g she said excitedly. Did you look iE the other I pockets. Maxi"
 Then. for the first time. l was con scious of an ar of constraint among the men. Dallas was whistling softly and Mir. Harbison. having rescued Betty, was standing silent and aloof watching the scene with non-commit tai eyes. It was Max who spoke first after a hurried inventory of the othei pockets.
 Nothing else" he said, constrained Iy. "Pn move the rest of the can vases"
 But Jim interfered. to every One'l surprise.