The Washington herald., 1912-12-29

me to meet the sight," murmured she,
casting her eyes up to the ceiling.
Il will show you my heart"
"Oh, Monsieur cried the baroness,
still laughing, 1T is useless, for ! have
left my magnifying glass at home"
Il will do, Madame, for your wit
and beauty what would not do for
money"
"Oh, Monsieur, beware of promising
the impossible
81 viii explain to you this affair.
First of all. | admit that the police
have visited your house"
"Gernainl' cried the baroness -Ho
there, Gernainl Are you listening p
De Sartines held up his hand.
Information reached the police that
thief was in your house They went
in search of him; they arrived too
late"
why did you not tell me this at
once?" asked she, more to gauge De
Sartines' capacity for lying than for
any other reason.
Because, Madame, it is rule at
AAAC bAAlNou VI POlANN " say hOlAAAlAS VI
the work of the Office Had you been
able to assist us, you would have been
appraised of the affair. And that re-
minds me; now that you are here and
have given this information, ! must
ask you for an exact list of all these
jewels you say you have lost"
He watched her narrowly as he said
this, but her fac did not alter in the
least.
with pleasure, Monsieur: take a
seat and pen and | will dictate"
De Sartines, amazed at her aplomb
and GOODNESS, took his seat at his desk
and a pen.
"A necklace of forty-one diamonds.
set in two rows of twenty each, each
diamond divided from its fellows by a
double chain of old; the hasp formed
of single diamond set in heavy gold
and with my initials S. L. on the
gold; value at the very least, forty
thousand francs"
Forty thousand francs" murmured
De Sartines, completing the sentence.
"Yes, Madame; proceed"
she described all with such minutia
that the unfortunate De SartineS,
whom she had turned into a scrivener
more hardly driven than those of the
palace of justice. began to ask himself
If, after all, her tale might not be true.
But only for a second-there was mirth
in her voice, laughter scarcely disguised.
1t was no part of her plan, seemingly,
10 delude her enemy whom she was
keeping busily employed with the tale
of her fictitious jewels
The righteousness of Dc Sartincs
was well known.
We'll, Madame" said De Sartines
as he finished writing. that is all,
and the total amounts to one hundred
and twenty thousand francs
81 will forego the twenty thousand
francs" replied she; "and now, Mon
Sieur, that we have set the account
between US on a definite footing, may
l ask you one question? Were you
of the search-party that visited my
house this afternoon"
81, Madame! |, the Comic de Sar-
tines. seeking for thieves in person
Madame. do you Know 20 whom You
ATE speaking
Yes, Monsieur. to the owner OF
this handkerchief" She took the hand
kerchief from her pocket and held ii
toward him.
De Sartines clapped his hand to his
pocket.
My handkerchief"
Left at my house"
De Sartines saw i'll a fash the tolls
in which she held him. He could not
seize her or take the handkerchief
from her by force; accredited as she
was by the court of Vienna, violence
and bullying were out of the question
She would doubtless back her asser-
ton of the robbery of the jewels by
false witnesses. produce the handker-
chief, and no doubt accuse him OF the
theft.
Now, absurd as such an accusation
might seem. his thousand enemies in
Paris and at Versailles would seize on
it.
The very knowledge that it was
false would make them more ferocious
in their ridicule; there would be a
public inquiry De Maupeou, the vice
chancellor, who hated him; the court
iers. who hated him; the people, who
hated him: the philosophers; the bal
lad-mongers; the rag-pickers-he saw
them all arrayed against him His
imaginative mind saw the ballads that
would be written round the dropped
handkerchief of Monsieur de Sar-
tines" Confident of his own position
and power. he had no fear of the re-
suit. He would bring as many false
witnesses as his antagonist; but he
did not desire the scandal of the affair
and the laughter. Therefore he tenn
ported. Besides, an idea had come to
him. He laughed.