Semi-weekly herald., 1912-02-05

mona, put 1 10 know they're willing
to go pretty close to the electric chair
to get 1t. ! understand It was not
really bought from the wife OF an In
dian prince, as Missioner told his
wife It was. My best Information IL
that 1t came from a Hindoo temple.
You know those savaGes set great
store by their idols. At any rnte
from hslf-dozen to . dozen Indians
Of various degrees came hero from
Calcutta some time ago and camped
on the trail OF tho Mahsranee dis-
mond. They played waiting game
and. apparently, they were on the point
Of making grand effort to get the
stone when the head OF this organiza-
ton happened to be In the box next to
Mrs. Missioner At tho Metropolitan
Opera House on the night whom the
necklace turned out to be a fake. He
then learned that the original dia.
monds were not In the widows keep
ing any longer.
"Griswold also was In the Mission.
or box that night. as you know. and
he must have noticed the Oriental
who butted In during the search for
the diamonds"
Britz paused little, and then re.
sumed:
These Hindoos worked about as
fast as l did. They must have made
up their minds pretty early In the
game that Miss Holcomb knew moth.
ing about the necklace. and. of course.
nobody would be foolish enough to
friends from the East concentrated
their attention ON Griswold and
Sands. For long time, All had been
in Mrs. Missloner's employ. He
wasn't, however. Mrs Mlssloner's en-
ploye In the true sense OF the word
He WIS there as one of the subor-
dinates OF this Swami chap, along
with the other Oriental fellows, one
of whom calls himself Prince Kanau.
da. In fact, All WAS on the job from
the day he became member OF Mrs.
Missioner's household He was sent
there for the precise purpose of pip
ing of the place. and either getting
the big diamond himself. or tipping
the Swami and all the rest of them
when 1t would be safe for them to
make try. 1t stands to reason Mrs
Missioner watched her Jewels pretty
closely, and that her safe was i'm.
dandy, since that necklace In all
those long months could not be lifted
by the Hindoo servant He would
have been perfectly willing to throt
reasonably sure of q getaway as
easily after murder as after a rob
berry"
"You must have been reading about
All Paba and the Forty Thieves.
Britz.' said Manning with another
harsh laugh This sounds altogeth-
er too much like the Arabian Nights
to be the goods"
We'll. there weren't as many as
| forty of the thieves. and the All in
this case wasn't an honest man. I'm
| giving # to you straight. Chief.
haven't worked day and night on this
| proposition for nothing You'll find 1t
| Just as I'm telling 1t 10 you. and II
you'll suspend judgment until get
through. I'll deliver the goods all
right"
II think" remarked Fitch to Man
ming. we shall find that Lieutenant
| Britz comes pretty near knowing
what he is talking about. I've seen
him work on this case. and | know
something of the facts he has dis
covered. If you have ever studied
the ways OF Orientals you1l be sur
prised at nothing they do. They look
at life from altogether differen,
angle. Life is about the cheapest
thing In life TO them"
| Very good" said Manning I'm
willing to be convinced, but 1t seems
hard to believe that woman worth
hundred millions could live for
months with death hanging over her
head In her own household. and ye,
know nothing about It. What's the
use OF being multi-millionaire II
you're no safer than In an eighteen
dollar nat? For my part. don't take
much stock In your Hindoos."
| You'll take a lot OF stock In them
before the morning is over. Chief, Il
| you stay with us" Britz retorted. I'm
going to show you not only the Hin
doos in the act OF attempting to get
away. but I'll turn up the goods In
their possession. They have the dia
mond now. but I'll have both them
and the diamond In . very few
hours!"
II believe you" Fitch chimed In
You see. Chief" he explained "a
Manning, this Lieutenant Of yourl
has made the capture Of the Hindoos
more or less of personal matter"
A choppy laugh from the detective
J interrupted the physician.
YES" he agreed, Il don't mind tell
Ing you that I'm almost as eager tc
get those fellows as I am to recover
the widows Jewels. They got Just q
little BIT too gay with me for their
own good" He flushed slightly az
he recalled how utterly he had been
at the mercy OF the Hindoos when he
lay like a holiday turkey on the floor
| Of that bare room in the unoccupied
uptown apartment
THE Hindoos.' said Britz, went
through the apartments Of Sands and
Griswold with what Sam Weller
would call q ble-million-magnify.
lp~ r.f,rog,Ana Thay 1tSnr, I.o.x 4.