Arizona republican., 1912-03-08
The Vaurigard
 Diamond
 BY HORACE HAZELTlNE.
(Copyrieht, 1910, by the Pearson
 Publishing Co.)
BY HORACE HAZELTlNE.

\ z tell me his story-proye his property, so to speak"
 The young man looked at her sharp,
 y. again No, that phrase could hardly be just a coincidence
 Very well,' he said, drawing the loosely wrapped slipper from his pock. ct. and placing it in her hand. And I'll go with you. Can't l ring in as fellow reporter, artist. or something?'
 She seemed delighted. Her dark eyes shone.
 oh, dandyi" she exclaimed.
 Together they took the elevator tt the seventh floor A chsmbermaid dt rected them to the suite they sought.
 Before Miss Williams rapped lightly she secreted her small parcel in hel large handbag. A slight, dapper. clean shaven youth. evidently a valet, re sponded to her summons, and admitted them to conventionally furnished ho tel suite parlor.
 Tn just one moment, miss" he said: and disappeared into room beyond.
 Van Braun walked to a window, and stood looking out across the tree tops of Central Park. When be turned, il was at the sound of mans voice, and 10 see a rather fiorid, dissipated-look' ing young man. with bristling waxed mustaches, lowing in the exaggerated foreign manner to the newspaper wo man.
 My advertisement" Van Braun heard him say. was Intentionally a little misleading. I offered no reward, for instance, because I did not wish ta be called upon to examine scores of old slippers. And l widened the boun. ! daries of locality, in order that 1 might by a single question discover whether the slipper was being returned by the actual finder, or at second hand"
 But you, sir?" Mss Williams re turned. How am I to be sure that you represent the loser?"
 The forid man smiled 'I will tel you just how the slipper came to be lost Then, if you know the circum- ! stances under which it was found, we | shall both, l maintain, have established
 our temporary right to its possession. | My sister and I had been attending a 1 dance at Sherry's, where, unfortunate l ly. she chanced to sprain her ankle. In
 our car she removed her slipper, and | handed it to me to hold. My hand, in
 which it rested lightly, lay loosely
 along the top of the lowered window,
 when a sudden jolt of the car-there | must have been an awkward hole in | the roadway-sent the slipper flying. | I wished to return for it; but on ac- | count of her aching ankle, she would | listen to no delay. l had a whim,
 nevertheless, to recover it; and hence
 the advertisement"
 He paused, and the newspaper wo- man began fumbling with the catch Of
 her handbag.
 Now, where did you find it?" he
 asked.
 q saw it fly from the window ot
 your car" she answered. You had ! not yet crossed Forty-second Street. Van Braun, listening, realized the cleverness of the deduction. And yet he questioned whether the answer was ; so obtained. He turned sufficiently tc
 see her pass the slipper to the claimant ' You recognize it?" she asked. He was turning it about in his hands; gloatingly, it seemed to th' watcher; when. abruptly the door iron he passage was swung wide, and twt burIy men rudely invaded the room. Without a word of explanation O } apology and before any one of the oc 3 cupants was able even to conjectur { their object. the leader had flung him $ self upon the young man of the waxe' ! mustaches. and snatched the slippe } from his surprised fingers. Customs oficers," Van Braun mul { mured. And they have probabl ! heard every word
 } The ensuing conversation verifle his conjecture.
 { I'm sorry, sir" was the conclusio of the officer who was thrusting tn slipper into his pocket, but I'll hay } to ask you to go along down town wit me"
 { But why?" ranted the accused $ What is the charge? You surely don ! accuse me of stealing- } You are accused of being part ] to an attempt to smuggle into tf < United States one of the most famo' and valuable gems in all Europe--tt
 Vaurigard red diamond. which is hi g den in the heel of this slipper" " But my dear man" was the a # swering protest 'l give you my vol IF that
 ,- Gramercy Van Braun, stepping fc IS ward, joined the group. And 1t VI le at sight of him that the speaker he ,, tated
 ar That slipper belongs to my sist'
 | ,,:a. rd;,h Ja FoutainP he COnclud6