Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-12-08

N'h '
Delaroche shivered as the sharp ques-
ton bored it's way to her inner con
seriousness. It was now her turn to be
silent. She looked at the Headquar-
ters nan as If he held In his hand her
life, liberty, and whatever chance re-
manned to her of happiness. A CLEAN
of appeal glowed in her beautiful eyes
for a moment. Plainly, If she did not
speak 1t was not for lack of will. Her
words were as frozen as the normal
condition of her thoughts. b put
her hands to her breast and gazed at
! the Central Office man as ~piteously as
a woman of her ~Junoesque charms
could be expected to DO. The ingenue
role was impossible to Mrs. Delaroche;
but had it not been so, undoubtedly
she would have assumed 1t In this emer-
gency.
Answer me, madam; this calls for
an immediate explanation. You old
this man these jewels belonged to you.
How does 1t come you have the dia-
monds everybody in New York knows
as the M%aharanee necklace OF Mrs.
Doris Missioner"
Mrs. D%elaroche still struggled family
for speech. Her lids quivered; her eyes
alternately closed and then were fixed
upon the detective, and a tremor, be-
ginning at the crown Of her adorable
head, moved in waves to her perfect
feet. She sank into a chair and let her
head fall upon her arms as they
stretched inertly across a little table.
There was no smallest streak of pity
in the look Detective Britt bent upon
her. He lac dealt with women of her
type before many times, he told him
self, and now that he was so near the
heart of the great Missioner mystery,
1T was not his purpose to be Influenced
In the slightest degree by he distress
of a Diana, to say nothing of an Aphro-
dite. Dry sobs choked the woman
Her eyes strained at Their tendons SO
painfully that tears would have been a
divine relief. Whether she was gr1eved
or frightened was not so apparent as
that h was sorely distressed. Min
utes passed before she lifted her face
and once more looked at the detective.
The house sleuth INC his porter had
retreated a yard or more, and the
erstwhile pajama squad, now an as
An lSASS VI Ian
in a varied array of dressing gowns
and bathrobes, looked and listened in
hushed expectancy.
Come, Mrs. Delaroche," said Britz,
sternly. You really must not waste
any more of my time. l have spent an
hour in getting these jewels away
from you, and l don't intend to put i in
many more words in getting the facts
from you You have got to answer
soon or late, and you may Is well do
it at once"
If there was to be any third degree
in her case, the detective was deter
mined to apply it then and there.
They were given to me-" said the
woman family.
"By whom"
"By-by a friend of NINE" she re-
piled.
and his name?" inquired the detec-
tive CURLY.
Il do not care to tell his NAME" said
Mrs. Delaroche, who had recovered a
little of her calmness.
you must tell it," Britt insisted.
81 cannot" she said.
But l tell you you must" returned
the detective. Don't you see you have
got to tell it to square yourself?" .
What do yOu mean, Sir?" she asked
with a pretty show of indignation.
Nov, don't try any Of those games
on me- said Britt. In his impatience,
he was descending close to the meth
DDS of Donnelly I'd Carson. He re-
membered that in a moment and re-
sumed more persuasively:
1T will ave you a great deal of
trouble for you, Mrs. Delaroche, If you
tell me the truth, and tell it at once,
without holding anything back You
understand, 1 am a detective from Po-
lice Headquarters, and I was assigned
weeks ago to find Mrs. Missioner's dia
monds. 1 have found the diamonds,
and now I must find the thief"
Mrs. Delaroche shivered, and started
| slowly to her feet. She turned a dis
dainful glance on the group at the door,
then faced Britz once nor and in a
voice little more thar a whisper, she
said:
Whatever you may think, l did not
know the jewels were stolen. l did not
know they ever belonged to Mrs. Mis-
SlO1ST- L never uGdIu Ol MIS-. MlSSlOu-
er before tonight, except through the
papers. l did not know that any of my
acquaintances knew her. l was not
aware she had lost her diamonds.
What you tell me about the theft of a
necklace from Mrs. Missioner is en-
tirely new to me. / seldom read the
papers, and when l do, l do not read
accounts of crime"
"All you say may be true" Britt per-
sisted, but you may take my word for
1.-THE jewels are Mrs. M~issioner's;
they were stolen from her, and you
must tell me the name Of the person
who gave them to you"
The beautiful woman's distress at
this time vas SO sincere that the
| Headquarters man involuntarily dealt
more gently with her. He urged her
to be seated again, and then for the
first time apparently remembered his
hands still were gripped by the bands
of steel the house detective had snap
ped upon them.
Madam. l must insist once more