The Huttig news., 1912-01-27
SYNOPSIS.

CHAPTER 1.-THE story opens With a
scream from Dorothy Marche. a charm
ing debuiante, in the opera box of the
wealthy widow, Mrs Doris Missioner, at
the Metropolitan Opera House in New
York City. 1t is occasioned by Mrs Mis-
sioner's diamond necklace breaking and
scattering the string of rare and costly
gems all over the floor. Curtis eriswold
both OF whom love Mrs Missioner gather
up some OF the diamonds, but the gem
or the collection, the celebrated Mahar-
anee, is missing. Griswoid steps on the
under his heel. A Hindoo comes from an
adjoining box. and picking up q fake of
me crushed gem pronounces il a fraud,
not the genuine Maharanee. but-naste
CHAPTER 1.-The entire party proceed
10 the elegant mansion of Mrs Missioner
Where SIZE takes them to Il room having
a safe containing other diamonds She
afterwards sends for Mr.. Rascome, an
expert VINO pronounces the stones all
copies. supstitGdons. of the original gems.
CHAPTER III-Bruxton Sands. teie-
phones police headquarters and two de-
tectives, Donnelly and Carson. arrive on
the scene. They examine the safe and
decide that the theft of the orignal dia-
Inonds was accomplished by some one In
the house. The servants are questioned
but without result. Then they learn that
Miss Ellnor Holcomb, the confidential
companion of Mrs. Missioner, has a dupli-
cate key to the safe and they send for
her
CHAPTER IV-The detectives incline to
the belief that Mss Holcomb is involved
in the robbery They search her room
and in a cabinet. wrapped in tissue pa
per they find one of the original dia-
monds. Mrs. Missioner protests that
ElinoT is guiitless. but the delicate girl
liz marched off to prison.
CHAPTER y-Meantime. in an up-town
mansion the HindoO of the theater episode
who is knoWa as the Swami and Hindoo
prince. kananda. discuss the arrest They
are In the United States to recover the
Mahafdnee, which is a sacred relic of
India, and are puzzled al the discovery
of the imitation.
CHAPTER VI-Detective Britt. an ex-
pert OF the police force, now takes up the
case. He interviews Elinor who is pros
trated by the cloud resting on her The
cent.
CHAPTER vII-Dr. Lawrence Fitch.
the nance of Elinor, visits her In prison.
She is remanded for trial on suspicion of
being the thief Britt talks encourag inglv
to FITCH and ASKS his cooperation in
running down the real criminal
CHAPTER VIII-The detective advises
that EHnof does not seek bail until they
have located the real culprit. He makes
a close. investigation of affairs al the
home of Mrs. Missioner.
Much as he depored his enforced
inactivity, he nevertheless had faith
in the final outcome. A quick mental
survey of the case convinced him that
the first necessity was to find the
maker of the paste stones. Whoever
made the duplicate Maharanee would
surely recall having done SO. There
were few Europeon firms that could
have made the stone. 1t was doubtful
whether any American manufacturer
could have turned out a substitute tic
fool the eyes of Mrs. Missioner, even
for a night. 1t is hard enough to get
the compact hrilliance of the diamond
IN a small paste gem; infinitely more
difficult is it to manufacture a coun-
terfeit Maharanee. Britt knew that
whoever copied the cut and luster of
that marvellous stone was an expert
of high caiber No faint simmer of
GAS could have awaited to deceive
Mrs. Missioner. The laboratory fire
that cleaned from the duplicate was
the work of years of experiment and
only in Paris Britt believed. was the
art of manufacturing paste gems suf-
fciently deve oped to bring forth a
satisfactory duplicate of the Malaria
nee.
Three weeks, at least, must elapse
before word would come from Logan.
The emissary sent abroad was himself
a diamond expert. Before entering
the Detective Bureau. he had been a
foreign agent of the United States
Treasury Department. If the dupli-
cate necklace was manufactured
abroad, Logan would find the manu-
facturer without delay. Britt had
patiently though three weeks of tor
nent for the first cablegram. 1t came
fually and he opened 1t with nervous
fingers.
Missioner necklace manufactured
from drawings by three firms. Orig
inal never in possession of manufac-
turers.'
Rritz let the telegram futter to the
floor.
Il knew tt" he burst forth They
wouldn't have dared to take the orig
inal out of the safe without immedi-
ately replacing It with the duplicate. Z"
He picked up the message and
burst into the Chiefs room.
Read it," he exclaimed.
tn. Chiefs eyes drank in the
words, but his brain failed to grasp
their underlying meaning
L don't see that this proves any
thing" he remarked.
"Tt proves everything" volleyed
Britt. 1T proves that the thief was a
clever draughtsman. It proves that
he spent weeks sketching the neck
lace, stone by stone, and it proves
too, that he went to Paris to have the
duplicate made"
1T proves all that" agreed the
Chief But who had the opportunity
to see the necklace suff cieut num-