The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-10-28

him TO the Palais d'Orsay.
Fifteen minutes later he walked into ihe
Blondell suite and was greeted by iaihcr
and daughter with the eager question::
"Well2 Have you got the Royal Rrhy2'
for something in his usually impenetrable
face bore trace Of success. rf
"Tm not cutie certain he answered,
stepping to the center table and taking The
ong-stemmed clay pipe from his pocket.
Before the astonished eyes of the watchers
he tapped the bowl Of the pipe against his
palm and some of the tobacco dropped out.
At the second tap a glittcring stcne rolled
from the big bowl. Poe picked it up and
handed it to Mss Blordell.
"The Royal Rubw" she cried.
"Quite intact he answered, 'tin spite
of being carried in rat S mouth, and hidden
in a pipe bowl. An ingenious gentleman,
your thief
They pressed him for explanations.
"WelI, said Christopher Poe, with some
hesitation, running slim hand through his
fluffy hair, in a characteristic movement,
II didn't have time to ask for the details.
But here are a few rough suggestions.
Your imagination will supply easily any
thing that may be missing. Tdrche, q con-
cert performer, with wonderful trained rat,
has,an exacting mistress Of criminal record.
She reads that the Royal Ruby is to be
worn at the Chateiet. Together the ralr
evolve a scheme to secure the jewel Tor The
vanity OF Nlignon, the mistress.
"Ycs," the Blondells brcathed eagerly.
"1hey have forty-eight hours in which to
train tic rat to pouncc at once on nyround,
glittering, red thing. Torche has trained
him to retrieve by smell and sight, before.
A rats sense OF smell is stronger than its
sight but this one has heen taught TO dls-
tinguish colors in performing
"T'orche goes to the Chatelet easily learns
which is the Blondels' box and secures
the one next to it. Tonight, the rat hcirg
lettcr-perfect he takes him in the packet
built in one baggy trousers leg, as he carries
him continually, on and of the stage. lie
goes early to the performance, waits for the
Blondell carriage, stumbles against Mr.
Blondell and, with a sleight-of-hand motion,
cleverly clips the chain showing above your
scarf Knowing that you will have secured
the scarf so the stone will not drop until you
remove it, or seeing your hand over the
stone and realizing the folly Of getting away
with it in the crowd, he hurries ahead Of you
into the opera-house and is just in time to
drop the well-trained rat beside the curtain
to your box, which joins that to bis, and
push the animal in with dcxterous shove
of his foot, himself concealed from the
audience by the plush curtain. The rat
seeks the dark corner by the stage; Torohc
has practised the thing well by dropping the
rat in the closet to his own room and throw
ing cherry first, and then paste ruby in to
him, teaching the animal to seize the glitter
ing bit OF red at the signal of low whistle
which he uses on the stage The rat grabs
the jewel and runs for its home in Torches
trousers leg guided by sense Of smell. ,
But that sounds impossible!' cried Miss
Blondell.
"Notwhcn one considers that the rat has i
been trained for years and was particularly
instructed for this performance. OF course,
Torche took big chance at failure all
around His chances of success were about
one in six, but there was slight danger Of
detection, and the game was worth the
candle. The very boldness Of the plan
made it successful"
How did you find out all this?' cried
Blondell his eyes bulging with interest.
What was the clue you picked up from the
floor in the box?"
"Only splinter from chair leg, with
few hairs clinging toit, = smiled Poe When
the rat made his hasty exit he bumped
against the chair and several of his hairs
were torn off and held by the splinter. II
they were the hairs of a small
animal and on examining them felt certain,
by the color and bristly texture, that they
were the hairs Of a rat or mouse So put
two and two together, secured list of con-
cert performers from theatrical friend.
and found one who had trained mice and a
rat took chance and called on him,
after asking the description Of the performer
and finding that it tailed exactly with the
man in the box next to yours, whose strange
whistle | had noticed and connected with
The peculiar signals usually given by animal
trainers to their pets.
T" 1t was all quite too simple found the
nan Torche and used the bait Of offering an
knowing that he would be
slad OF work, TO avert possible suspicion
rom himself. 1t was quite too easy.
hough little out of the banking line
Even Torche felt that had seen through
he game and tried to knife me when. re-
erred to his rat. Poor fellow, he prob
Ibly get life sentence for trying to satisfy
dlgnon's vanity. 1t was the folly Of a
over. The stone would have been traced
time, anyway, unless they intended to
ut 1t Up and sell it. You can be quite sure.
here Is always a woman behind ever, jewel
nystery.o.