Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-02-17

sion 1 concluded to spend some time
| abroad. 1 reached Naples I'm January
and stayed there long enough to visit
: Pompeii, climb Vesuvius and pass
great deal of time in the National mu-
| scum. containing the exhumed treas
! ures of the buried cities.
During my stny in Naples 1 met on
several occasions a family consisting
of a father, a mother, daughter about
nineteen and a boy of twelve. l often
heard them talk together. They spoke
| English, and L knew by their accent
| that they were Americans. 1 would
| have liked to make their acquaintance.
| Indeed, / endeavored to do so one day
when 1 was near the father in the
National museum by addressing him
| remark. But he did not respond very
cordially, and l refrained from another
| attempt.
NV object in making this family's
acquaintance was that 1 wished for
companionship with my own country
men, especially the young lady, about
| whom there was something to me very
| attractive. While her complexion had
| little color, the combination of eyes,
hair and skin made up peculiar style
OF DeduIy, Tic eyes Ohh n
| brown and the hair what is usually
called Titan from the fact that the
! artist used it so often in his pictures.
Having seen the sights at Naples.
| took my departure for Rome, where
occupied rooms on the Via Nazionale.
opposite the Piazza Venetia. l had
been there but a few days when I saw
at dinner the American family 1 have
them 1 think 1 should have made an
other attempt to form their acquaint-
ance, but as soon as dinner was over
they retired to their rooms and the
next morning went sightseeing in one
direction, while I went on Il like err
rand in another.
My bed at the hotel was uncomforta-
BILE, and after tossing on small hum
mocks one night on arising in the morn
ing I thought 1 would have look at
the mattresses to see what was the
matter. Throwing back the top mat
tress, there on the one beneath it was
a brooch set with valuable gems.
There We're many supposable reasons
for the brooch to be where it was.
First. some guest of the hotel might |
have put it there temporarily for safe |
keSPlAS lolSOltCh Dub inns |
was not probable, for I had occupied |
the room for a week. and the maid |
who made the bed would surely have |
discovered it. The most likely cause |
for its being there was that some one |
had stolen it and placed it there tenn
porarily till he or she could remove it.
1 took it up and, the morning being
dark. carried it to n window to have
better look at it Feeling something 1
could not see tickle the back of my
hand. 1 felt for it with the other hand
and clasped a hair between my fingers.
1t was clinging to the brooch, and. dis
engaging it. 1 held it up between me
and the window. 1t seemed to be yell
low or golden, and. lighting a gas jet,
saw that there was a tinge of red
about it, Further examination showed |
me that it was very like the hair Of
the young lady whose acquaintance I
was DESTROYS of making.
Could the brooch have been stolen
from her? If so l might come to know
her in either favorable or an unfavor-
able light. II could restore her prop
erty / would have an advantage; if 1
should stand in the position of the
thief I might be landed in Jail. 1t
would seem that there was not the
slightest risk of my reporting my find
to the Office Of the hotel. But while
my profession-the law-I
had attended a number of criminal
trials whereby 1 had learned that it
might be very easy matter for one
perfectly innocent to be placed in the
position of a thief. I was In posses
sion of a valuable piece of jewelry.
md I was the only person, except the
thief, who knew that had not stolen it.
Quite probably the chambermaid was
the thief. She would make up the bed
Turing the morning and, if my suppo-
sition was correct, would look for the
she had placed between the
If she did not find it there
she would suppose 1 had taken it.
What would she do? What might she
10? One Of the things she might do ]
vas to direct the person who had lost
he brooch to me rs the probable thief
must keep her from making the bed
ill 1 had determined what course to
pursue. [
I detached the hair from the brooch !
ind put it In an envelope. Then I put
he brooch back between the mattress
Is where I had found it and got into 7
'ed again. After an hour had passed lst
md had come to no decision what to ,
10 in the matter 1 rang for waiter
md told him to bring up my break
asst. So long as the stolen property
vas where it had been placed by the
hief he or she would not be likely TO
axe any action involving me.
OF course there was but one thing I
or me to do-to ring for the landlord
nd show him the brooch between the q
mattresses. But my Judgment was a
warped by finding the hair that made
ne suspect the property belonged to d
he American girl I have referred 10.
wished TO return the brooch to her $
Myself since this would give me the e
cquaintance I desired and put her
nder some obligation to me. BY such !
course i was liable to get info from