The Huttig news., 1911-11-25
CHAPTER |.
In the Diamond Horseshoe.

. oOuS, anu III a bHc mSllOFoll-
tan Opera House was in confusion.
! The cry, half suppressed, broke the
spell peculiar to a t'Faust" night. The
somewhat portly Marguerite, her
voice soaring Ike a cage-born bird
suddenly freed, was decking her ma
tnre person with the giistening stage
gems left On her scenic doorstep by
the suavest of devils. AS the singer
hung about her neck the rope of pearls
with which Mephisto planned to fet-
ter her soul, Mrs. Missioner. swinging
her fan with a freer motion, struck
the slenderest part of her diamond
coilarette. The blow was sharp. The
golden thread on which the choicest
of the Missioner jewels in their per
forated settings were strung. snapped
Instantly most of the freed drops OF
frozen fire that constituted Mrs. Mis-
sioner's magnificent necklace-the
one with the Maharanee diamond
were rolling on the floor of the box.
Mrs. Missioner, as the little scream
broke from Dorothy March, a debu-
tante she had taken under her wing
for the evening, clutched at the few
diamonds that fell into her lap. Miss
March drew her skirts tightly about
her ankles and shrank into a corner
of the box, making room for the man
who sprang to Mrs Missiener's aid.
Before another moment sped, Curtis
Griswold was on his knees scooping
together the scattered jewels with
snow gloved hands. Bruxton Sands,
slower of movement, bent with more
dignity to the task. In the next box,
separated from Mrs Missioners only
! by low velvet rail, a man of Orien-
tai features and complexion turned
to watch the scramble for the jewels.
Though he did not stir from his place,
his hawk-like face seemed to thrust
itself into the center of the excited
| group.
Continue, CONTINUED" the singer
urged, as she bent her gaze from the
box to the conductor
Whats the matter? Go on, Go
on" the stage <aanager cried in I'M
dertones from the wings. Ushers in
the back of the house sought to cover
the confusion with ill-timed applause.
4 hC liiOhIShA " 1S biS Win pONChiiot
tragedy. One cry of Fret might
have sent those thousands of startled
women and men battling along the
aisles in an elemental fury of self
preservation. Mere prolongation OF
the situation without that terri
bic tocsin might have ended in
smaller panic. But the liquid tones
of the soprano soaring again in the
pyrotechnics of the Jewel Song re-
| claimed the attention of the audience.
The conductor, evidently eager to hide
his own momentary loss of poise. fair
| ly lifted his men through the intri-
| caeies of the accompaniment.
| Promptness of action by the stage
manager restored order behind the
scenes
Nothing of all those incidents struck
the sense of anyone in the Missioner
| box. All four of its occupants were
| concerned for the immediate recovery
Of the diamonds that had sprung from
Mrs Missioner's neck to her lap, and
| then stamreded across the floor.
Griswold. still on his knees, rescued
the greater number Sands, a man of
action as we'll as of millions, picked
up the larger gems. Miss March
shrank further into her corner of the
box. and dragged her petticoats ever
more closely until her immature form
seemed chiseled in tulle.
Look in all the corners-look
everywhere" Mrs, Missioner urged.
There's one behind the chair" she
pointed
There's another. cried Dorothy,
pointing at Griswold's feet. A glance
from the dark stranger in the next
box directed the searcbers toward
still another part of the floor, and
every move was rewarded by the re-
covery of cleaning stone One by
| ore. by twos, by threes. the diamonds
were gathered, and still the search
went on. Fast as they scooped them
/ up. Sands and Griswold poured the
| glittering treasure into Mrs. Mis-
sioner's lap.
Are they all there" asked the
millionaire.
No, no" answered the widow.
There are several more. Please look
HRdiI--iDOk every NHtie DDiOtuS,
help me count them"
Griswo'd and Sands renewed their
search. reering into the remotest cor
ners. pushing chairs about looking.
reaching. gasping with the zeal of
Klondikers, urged again and again
by the owner of the jewels.
The glittering horseshoe of the Met
ropoiitan deserves its name. The
Kafirs of Kimberly, the pearl-divers
of Polynesia, the gold-seekers of the
Klondike, the diggers into earth's Sc
crets the world over toll cease essly
! to maintain the brillianee of that big
jewel show They send their dia-
mcnds and rubies and emera,ds and
sapphires, their pearls and opals and
/ gold, to CLEAN on the heads and
breasts and gowns of women whom
the industry of one generation, or the
stock market luck of another, has
crowned with riches. A night at the
opera is parade of the wonders