The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-16

monds came forward and signed { witnessed the signatures, and Godfreys with more eagerness than he had shown in the whole affair, caught up the paper and sprang with 1t to the door.
 Get that down to the office as quick as you can,'' he said to man outside. 'I'n phone instructions. That he added, closing the door and turning back to us, 'is my reward for all this, or, rather, the Records reward And now, gentlemen, MT. Shearrow has his car below, and think we would better drive around to some safe deposit box with this plunder.''
 
 It. was perhaps ten days afterward that Godfrey dropped in to. see me one evening. Lester he said, q am going to claim that cabinet. .''s
 Ion what grounds ?' I demanded.
 "BecaIise the man who owned it gave it to me-" and he got paper out of his pocketbook and handed it across. to me.
 I opened it and recognized the deli cate and feminine writing which had seen once before.
 My Dear Sir-I find that I made the mis- take of underestimati ting yous and I pre- sent you my sincere apologies. Il trust that at some future time it may be my privilege to be- again engaged with you The result is certain to be most interest ing. But at present I find that I must return to Europe by La Bretagne, since after the trouble have taken it is i'm possible that should consent to part with the brilliants of his highness the grand duke. As a slight souvenir of my high re- gard I trust you will be willing to accept -fs7ir f1ef good M sLester will surrender to you if you show to him this letter. The cabinet is not only interesting in itself. but will be doubly so to you because of the part it has played in our little comedy. And l should like to know that 1t adorns a cor ner of your home.
 Till we meet again, dear sir, believe ma
 CRocHARD.
 The Invincible. 'sHe's a good sport, isn't hep asked Godfrey, as ! silently handed the let ter back to him. 'sWhat do you say about the cabinet?p
 'sI suppose there is no doubt that < Crochard bought It. I said.
 sSo that 1t is mine now ?''
 tsYes; when did La Bretagne sail?'' "A week ago today. She is due at Havre in the morning.
 Did you warn them2'
 "yVarn them of what?"
 tgThat Crochard is after the dia- monds They went back on La Ere tagne, I suppose ?''
 esYes-and Pigot went with them. So why should I warn any one? Surely they know that Crochard will get those diamonds if he can. It has be- come a sort of point of honor with him. imagine It is up to them to take care of them
 sHThat oughtn't to be difhcult," said, .'The strong room Of a liner is about the safest nlace on earth"
 "Yes,'' Godfrey agreed and blew meditative ring toward the ceiling.
 And presently he went away with out saying anything more. Two weeks later black headline caught my eye.
 MIcHAELovITCH JEWELS FALSE. French Detective Takes Back Paste Iin-
 itations From America Fraud Discovered When the Grand Duke
 to Be Reset
 had no need to read the article which followed, for I saw in a flash what had occurred. saw, too, why Crochar6 had retained the paste jew eIs-he had use for them How or where the substitution had been made could only guess.
 Who, I wondered, had bought the Mazarin? Surely there was a diamond most difficult to sell It could, of course, be cut up. But that would be sacrilege One morning in the personal column of Le Matin appeared a notice, of which this is the English To M. the Director Of the Museum of the Louvre:
 It has been my good, fortune to come into possession of the rose diamond known the Mazarin It is my wish to restore it to your collection in order that it may no longer be necessity to delude the pub lie with imitation of colored glass. It will give great pleasure to present this brilliant to you with my com ailments pro- vided his highness the Grand Duke Mi chael, who preceded me in possession of the diamond, will join me in the gift Should he refuse it will be nay melancholy duty to cleaye the diamond into num- Der or smaller stones. as it is too large for my use But hope that he will not refuse. GROCHARD,
 The Invincible What could the grand duke do? To have refused, would have made him the butt of the boulevards- Besides. he was. after all, losing nothing which he had not already lost. So, with better grace than one might have ex- pected he consented to join in the res toration. Two days later the direc- tor of the Louvre discovered packet , upon his desk He opened 1t and found within the Mazarin. When yo1 visit the Louvre. you will see it in the place of honor in the glass case in the center of the gallery of Apollo, with an attendant on guard beside it.
 And CTochard? do not know. Each morning, read first the news from Paris, searching for the "InyincibIe'' in some new incarnation.
 THE END.