Semi-weekly herald., 1911-09-11

He stirred the contents of the box
idly. Nothing else remained to be
searched. He had ransaoked the init
MAJ fsanctity of the girls room. He
felt baffled and sorely irritated. At
the thought of failure. he thrust his
fingers into the box with such vio-
lence that everything f. held fell to
the floor Carson stopped to pick np
the scattered jewelry. placing 1t In
Donnelly's hand to be returned to the
box. After recovering several bits of
Jewelry he laid In his big colleagues
greedy clutch a small. round object
wrapped in silk tissue.
Hello, what's thisi" exclaimed Don.
nelly, rolling the fairy parcel between
finger and thumb. You won't mind
If I peep in the paper young lady?
OF course you won't. And this is only
a-say. what the mischief is It?
oh. glory"
Even Carson was startled Into an
echoing oh" and the three women
almost screamed. For. nesting In the
folds of the tissue, its facets twink.
ling in the insistent green glow of the
vacuum lights, flashed diamond-an
unmistakable diamond-which Mrs.
Missioner and Dorothy and Elinor rec
ognized as one of the lesser gems
from the Maharanee necklace-much
smaller than the Maharanee diamond,
but twice the size of an ordinary
stone. And 1t was diamond even
novice could tell was genuine,
All the blood left Elinor's face. The
muscles of her throat leaped and knot
ted as If she were strangling. She
swayed for moment, then took n
long step toward the detective and
stood trembling, covering her faco
with quivering hands. Donnelly, hold
Ing the diamond to the light, was
about to speak-in what words, what
manner, one can guess. But the mis-
cry in the girls attitude struck the
triumphant grin from hfs face, and
there was momentary compassion in
the tone In which he said:
Wed better go back to the library,
] Raess. VIII you go with my side
partner. Miss Holcomb?"
Carson's advance to the secretary's
side was checked by the violence with
which she whirled toward Mrs Mis-.
s5ner. again with outstretched hands.
This time the widow was slower in
meeting the appeal She was stunned
by the detectives discovery. All the
finer sensibilitles of her womanhood
were benumbed. Astonishment, large
and compelling, was all she could feel
for the moment. Still, she took FL
ipor's imploring hands in hers and
S1 tionless, listening to the
isfrl's passionate entreaty not to be-
lieve the evidence of her eyes, not to
believe her kindness could be out
ragged In such way, not to believe
that Elinor for all the jewels in the
mines of the world could be tempted
from the high honor in which she had
been reared Clasping the younger
woman's locked fingers in her own
soft palm, she slipped her arm about
Elinor's waist and walked with her
to the lift. Dorothy. crying almost
childishly, controlled her voice once
or twice long enough to beg Elinor
not to give way to such torturing
emotion.
But Elinor Holcomb, Shaking, sob
bling. wildly beseeching. was oblivious
to the silent watchfulness of the cent
raj office men, the covert glances from
Blodgett's mask-like countenance, the
amazed stare of the liveried youth in
the elevator. All the way to the room
in which Sands and Griswold and
Ranscome waited. all the way across