The Washington times., 1912-01-17
CHAPTER XIV.
The Inquiry.
.HE Serpent dc FORTH and his com.
panion had easily fallen into ths

-HE Serpent do FORTH and his COM
panion had easily fallen into the
trap that CASTOR Dufreny for
some time had been preparing for
them. The late dairyman had been won
by the help Of q small gratuity. and as
to Father Larifa--he was one Of the
numerous nun subsidiaries whom the police
Now that the two thieves were ar
rested the inquiry relative to the crime
at the villa des Roses could advance.
beverly. her maid, nerese. and Mile.
Gisele Provins. They were to meet that
day at M. de Montelberg's office. There
i had been some difficulty in reaching
position with q rich South American
Biaritz.
just struck Q. The Judge was in his
private office with Dufreny and Pousse-
Pousse. On his desk. within reach Of
MS hand. were the Jewels that had been
We shall assuredly make some prog
ress this morning." said M. de Montei-
berg berg: But i do not think that we shall
sfar stt vsrW the nm1ys;teery several things are
The two sleuths listened in silence.
Pouse-Pouse looked at his great fists,
winch. to him. represented his best
chance Of succeeding while Dufreny
OF course. Dufreny," said the magis-
trate, Ito get at the truth you have had
resource to some of your tricks, which
DO more honor to your talents as a
hity they somewhat rub
Monsieur, said Dufreny, 'if l had
not disguised myself as a cafe concert
singer l could not have got the Jewels
II may have gone at 1t the wrong way,
but the end justifies the means"
Jewels"
The MAGISTRATE took from his pocket
beautiful lens, with Louis XVI set
ting Of chased gold, and began to min
utely inspect the ornaments.
Monsieur" said Dufreny, "a careful
examination , Of these jewels has con-
long time they have not been worn,
especially the pendant"
'Ah!"
Yes. not only does the gold and plati-
mum mounting lack the polish Of jewels
OF this small chain show q piece that
must have been broken for q long time:
1t would have been imprudent, II not
impossible, to wear 1t as It is"
What do you draw from that?'
Simply that Nine. beverly has not
worn the ornaments for long time"
That's nothing extraordinary. Nine.
beverly was In fairly modest position,
ana IL Is very strange tnat She ShOulo
possess such a valuable ornament"
And them continued Dufreny, "a
noticeable thing Is that the diamonds,
rubies. sapphires, and emeralds compos-
ing this pendant are old, the beZel dates
at least seventy years back. These
claws which hold the stones in the
crown are OF the Louis Philippe epoch"
"Ah. so you are a connoisseur. mon
cher Dufreny?" said the magistrate,
smiling. MY compliments"
"Observant, more or less, monsieur"
said Dufreny modestly. But to con-
tinue-then this mounting and the stones
are old. they show this slight dimness
which disappears with rubbing, while
this great pearl Is extraordinarily alive.
and after examining 1t with q micro
scope, l am convinced that II has had q
prolonged and recent contact with the
sea-
Then what do you draw from these
facts?'
Absolutely nothing. do not permit
myself to draw conclusions. / submit
these facts to your sagacity. that is
all
NJ. de Montelberg appeared very salts
fed with Dufreny's reply.
Good" he said. Sherlock Holmes
laurels prevent you from going to
sleep. Probably you are right. And
now I want you both to stay around