Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-06-16
Under the Rose
THE SOCIETY
BUCCANEER
By FREDERIC REDDALE
(C0pyright ~ W. Q. Chapnanl


linked with. that of a girl In his own
set. Miss Norine Pasmore, whose blood
was as blue as his own but who was
as poor as the traditional church
mouse. Smart gossip also opined that
they could never marry. for financial
reasons. and that latterly Roslyn Ca
wanna had been casting sleeps eyes
at certain Kate Rysdale whose mil
lions were in inverse ratio to the
rapid rise of her Steel Trust papa.
Finney Valentine owed his sue
cesses to one trait among many 9TH
ers: he kept an open and unbiased
mind In the face of facts that would
have unduly influenced another man;
be was never one 20 formulate a the
ory and then make the facts At; rath-
er he built up his cases bit by BIT, line
by line, until there was but one In
evitable conclusion. Then he struck,
and struck hard. So. In the matter Of
Roslyn Cavanna, he merely decided
that the man would bear watching
and arranged to be on the spot In flu
ture,-a guest at every social function
where a repetition of the jewel rob-
berries might be expected to occur
should such move prove advisable.
Although, as narrated already, the
losers had refrained from calling In
either the police or an ordinary detec-
tive agency. some stiff rewards had
been offered through the daily prints
to be paid by Messrs. Dakin & Meelxin,
the well-known jewellers on Fifth ave-
nue.. through whom many of the bau-
bles had been purchased in the first
instance.
To Dakin & Meekin. then, went Fin
ney Valentine, ostensibly to inquire IL
any article had ever been recovered
In that wayne knew otherwise-but
really to mouse around in search of
chance information. This visit led to
momentous results. But in order to
complete clarity of narrative we must
revert for moment to the last great
jewel robbery some six weeks before
at Newport.
There the chief booty was a magni-
ficent necklace of matched pearls,
forty-nine in number, worth at least
fifty thousand dollars, which the fair
owner had carelessly left in an I'M
locked case on her dressingtable du-
ring dinner. While she and her maid
were absent from the suite the neck
lace vanished into thin air!
Strolling through the aisles of show
cases in Dakin & Meekin's, waiting
for chance to speak with either of
the partners. Valentine saw the door
of the private ONCE open and young
man emerge with Dakin at his side.
The man was Roslyn Cavanna, hand
some, debonair, and fautlessly dressed.
He was evidently valued customer,
for Dakin accompanied him almost the
length Of the store to the entrance.
On his brisk way back. Finney Val
entine buttonholed him and made
known his errand.
Nothing doing. I'm sorry to say"
was Dakin's response to the query
whether any of the Jewels had ever
been recovered through the medium
of the firm. "Of course. they're good
for business in way-those robber-
les, mean-for everything had to be
replaced, you know. and some OF the
losers are among our best customers.
WAS that one Of them-the good
clients. meant saw you with Just
now2 Young Cavanna. you know"
Daki1 laughed.
"Well-er-not exactly. His spend
ing days were over some years ago,
I'm afraid. But we're always glad to
see him; his father was a good GUS
toner. Things are on the mend with
Roslyn Cavanna; he's expecting to be
married, he tells me. In fact, Mr..
Valentine, we are to make HIS wedding
gift He called to see us about it,
BY this time they had reached the
door Of the private office, where Nee
kin, the other member, sat at table
with tray of pearls before him. Fac
ing, on the other side Of the table,
stood an excitabIe French workman
talking volubly, with many typical
gestures of the hands and shrugs Of
the shoulders.
But tell you, Meestaire Meekin."
he was saying, II am not mistake
me, Pierre Danser. Mont Re pearls
are identique--vat you call pairfait
match? Re shape, re weight, re coul-
curl Nom de la noml Did I not as
semble re fairst necklace for Madame
Batterman? Pouf. In such mattairs
you cannot fool. Pierre Danser." And
the little foreigner struck Napoleon
ic attitude. nodding his head violently.
"Tutl Tut Pierre" said Mr.. Nee
kin. you must be mistaken. There
may be resemblance. of course. but.
that's merely an accident. We've got
a lot Of other matchable stones in the
safe at this moment, but that doesn't |
argue they've been stolen"
Whats the trouble?" here inquired
Dakin, nudging his partner to be eau
tious In the presence Of third per-
son.
Why" said Meekin. Pierre has a
notion that Mr.. Cavanna's pearls are
the lot that Mrs. Batterman lost IN
that Newport robbery last month. Of |
course it's ridiculous, and so I told |
him" Perfectly absurd" assented
Mr.. Dakin. Lets have no more fool
fish talk, Pierre We know what we're
about"
To indicate that the discussion was |