The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1914-04-13

uldu, she auueu. IL Deen the
dream of my life to own them
In handfuls."
II was this incident that start
ed us talking gems and gem val
ues, a subject that had been my
pet delight and of which l had ac-
quired an amateur knowledge
equal to that of many an expert.
Claire hung about me a good
deal. yet she seemed to be fond
of Mrs. Delairo and to feel a
certain confidence in my good
opinion of that lady. though the
child confessed to me privately
that she couldn't make her out,
exactly"
1t was because of our common
interest in Claire that saw a
great deal more of Mrs. Delairo
that | otherwise should have
done. The child seemed to be
worrying about reaching America
and the thought that perhaps her
mother might not meet her, and
she repeatedly asked both of us
what she should do alone in New
York In that event.
1t was something Mrs. Delairo
herself hadn't thought to ask
monsieur the father, and Claire's
fears had taken hold of the lady
pretty seriously and she came to
talk 1t over with me. 1t was
then-on the last day out-that
she first mentioned her own chill
dren to me: Lila, a girl of thir-
teen in a boarding-school, and
Eugene.
Its the grief of my life-and
of Eugene's-that he detests my
profession So" she said.
Your profession! What is
your profession?" | exclaimed. 1t
had never occurred to me she was
anything but a woman of means
and idleness.
I'm a clairvoyant," she an
swered.
Mrs. Delairo was not at dinner
that night and Claire left the
table after the soup, and as | was
busy packing | saw neither OF
them until morning when all was
hustle and excitement at the
dock. And soon | heard Claire,
in an agonized voice: Mama isn't
meeting mel"
Claire began to cry, not bois-
terously, but in dreadfully pa
thetic, lost-child way, and all
the customs inspectors gathered
about her and she asked them
each in turn If he'd seem mama
and described mama. and he
shook his head and told her he'd
help her look for mama in a min
ute as soon as he got the baggage
inspected.
Mrs. Delario and I got our suit
cases opened and made Claire
open her bags and her trunk and
we implored the inspectors to
look at our meager belongings in
hurry and the inspectors were
all too busy asking Claire what
hCi icohCu
Finally | managed to induce an
inspector to take his eyes off
Claire for a minute and devote
them to the baggage of a middle
aged person - myself - and he
cast a glance over my suit case
and Mrs. Delario's, which was
open on a bench beside mine,
and said, That's all right"
Now Just moment before he
said these words, | noticed that
of the two pairs of turquoise
studded slippers one had fallen
between the two suit cases. | pick
ed it up and ! was on the point of
asking Mrs. Delario IL it be-
onged to her when Claire col
lapsed, and three seconds later I
saw my cousin, who should have
met me, coming up on the trot.
Claire's eyes went straight to
his heart, but in spite of his
being smitten on the spot, he
made the first sensible suggestion
that had been offered = that as
Mrs. Delario had Claire in charge
she'd better take the child home
with her and cable to the father
for instructions.
The slipper was all this while
in my hand and without giving it
another thought | stuffed 1t in
among some clothes in my own
suit case and shut the lid and
away we went.
Now when l unpacked I found
tho slipper, but even then it
didn't occur to me that 1t WASH t
mine-I merely wondered how
I'd lost the mate, and 1t was a
couple of days before l got to the
bottom of the other suit case and
found my own pair neatly done
up in tissue paper.
or course, / knew instantly that
the odd slipper was Mrs. Del