Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09


at your mercy, Mrs Hazard" he said. Il
deny nothing" And he didn't have the
least bit of accent
Hap looked at Mrs. Hazard, Mrs. Hazard
looked at John, John looked at the Duke,
and the Duke looked at -appealingly,
thought 10 and | really were the cause of
his downfall Poor little Duke! | was aw-
fully sorry for him.
Il think, in all the circumstances, John
said slowly at last, for he was holding in his
temperate was awfully angry about 10 be
ing abducted. -"that if his Grace returns
everything that has been stoen-I think we
are prepared to let the matter drop |
could have kissed him for that. He has
been called to Europe suddenly, and he will
decide to remain there for all time!"
And the others?' Thomas queried. "If
either i, brought to trial, the effect will be
the same
Il mean all of them said John.
Chapter XVIII.
A FTER all, our mystery was simple when
we had the key. which was knowing
who the thieves were. And it was SO easy
to all how Mrs. Cutler had stolen those first
bracelets-at the Abercrombies' and Mrs.
Lorings, and also the ruby pendant. But
there were great many things we never did
know about that we had to leave to con-
lecture. For instance, we never did know
exactly how those duplicates of the older
masterpieces were made. Count Felix Won
Drummer who, by the way, happened to be
Mrs. Henry Dykeman's German Count
tried to explain his theories of the substitu-
ton. There were photographs made, and
the measurement of the pictures taken; then
all depended upon the skill of the copyist.
But we never did find out how they repro
duced the colors SO accurately without copy
ing from the picture itself After all, though,
the colorS were not very accurate. When
the originals were brought back from cot
tage in the wood where 10 had been hidden,
and placed alongside, the substitutes were
SO palpably fakes that it S wonder we had
not discovered it long before. Count Won
Drummer, whom we had the pleasure of well
coming to Lone Oak, waved his hand dis
gustedly at the lot.
"Ach!" he exclaimed. "Dey would not
deceive little child yet"
But then none of us knew so much about
art as he did.
Natalie explained her part of the story to
us. She had suspected Winthrop of taking
the Jewels as he had had the opportunity
at Mrs. Loring's, the Abercrombies', and
the reception. She had refused to answer
those questions the ponce put because the
answers must necessarily have implicated
Winthrop. How we had misunderstood her!
The first suspicion of the real truth came
to her the night of Winthrop's arrest, when
she and his Grace had been alone on the
terrace. His Grace had tried to embrace
her. She was wearing only a brooch that
evening; but it was a very handsome one.
Something in the attitude of his Grace, she
said, aroused her suspicious. She knew she
had the brooch when she came upon the
terrace; she put up her hand after the en-
brace, and the brooch was gone. Then she
remembered that it had happened before
twice before at Lone Oak and before that in
town.
Once her suspicious were aroused she
could connect his Grace with everything she
had missed except the ruby, the bracelet
missing at the Abercrombies, and the very
first missing bracelet stolen at Mrs Loring's.
She came to me Immediately after the Incl
dent on the terrace with an apology If she
had only confided in me then what lot of
trouble would have been averted.
That night came Winthrop's arrest, and
finally the red headed reporter who took her
to the police station, where she identified
Winthrop's emerald bracelet as her own.
That threw everything into confusion again.
n H.