The daily Alaskan., 1915-01-15
Told While Waiting For
 A rain By EDITH V. ROSS
By EDITH V. ROSS

| about. Can't you give me one "Due we're waiting for the tralnf"
 Bentley looked at his watch. The train was due at 12:15, and 1t was just 12:O5.
 '"The only one can think of that Is short enough to get into ten minutes is q case wherein a valuable sapphire had been stolen. The thief was known, and all there was to do was to get the property. A jewel Is so small that It can be easily got away with, or If necessary to the thIefs safety 1t can
 be lost either where 1t can be found by him or where it can never be re- covered.
 "A man of the name of Prichard and stolen the stone from one who saw him take it Therefore there was no doubt about it. was telephoned for immediately and was with the owner 1 five minutes after the theft. He de sCribcd the thief to me-a man with red head, striped waistcoat and tuft of beard on his chin. He had gone up the street was to find him and recover the property
 Not much chance, chr That's just what it was-chance. 1 hurried up the street and had the good luck to See man as described coming out of jew eler's. That was enough for me. He might have sold the sapphire to the iewclr. If so !t would keep; if not it was my job to get 1t. followed him to another jewellers and, going in after him, waited for him to offer the article for sale. But he gave me suspicious look, asked the jeweler to show him some scarfpins and went out without betraying himself. "Of course l followed him. Being quite sure from his having entered the second store that he had not yet parted with the stone and believing that he had 1t on hIs person, shadowed him, or. rather kept close to him, in order that he might not drop it without my seeing him do it. Of course this gave me awuy to him, and 1t was not long
 
 though ! fancy he wondered how got on to him so quickly and possibly how got on to him at all, for he did not know that he was seen to take the property.
 "The problem with him now was how he could cludc me, if not how he could get rid of the gem ill way that would admit of his getting it again, or, If this also was impossible. how he might drop | if where it would be lost to him. He lodged into alleys, cut Into back yards, | went through buildings, but kept not over twenty yards behind him. Then he look a trolley ear. boarded 1t and took a seat opposite him, but the car
 was so crowded that If had attempt ed to take the sapphire from him he might have been able to lose 1t with out my knowledge.
 He stuck to the car till it reached the
 terminal which was on the outskirts of the town. There were few houses where the car stopped, beyond that open ground. My quarry set off walk ing on a road till he came to a fork. There he hesitated which road to take, and l made up my mind that he was losing his nerve.
 "IIe didn't take either road, but, stOop- ing. picked up several stones. l knew what they were for and drew my re- volvcr. Suddenly he turned and stood at bay. The next thing knew a stone grazed my cheek. called on him to stop throwing stones and give himself up. producing my revolver to enforce my demand. Whether or not he believ- cd l wouldn't shoot, he kept on throw Ing such stones as he picked up on the road, some large, some small. At last fired q shot to miss. and this brought him to terms.
 "I want q valuable sapphire you have in your possession l said.
 "T uInt got no sapphire,' was the dOgged reply,
 "I advanced and arrested him. Tax ing him back to the trolley terminal near which was a police station, I took him to the latter and searched him.
 'sThe sapphire was not to be found.
 "He had beaten me after all The only course left me was to drop him, putting another man on to him to shad- ow him with a view to being on hand when he regaIned the stolen property that is, if he had got rid of 1t where he could find 1t again. So held him till l had got q man from the agency, then let him go. I took trolley car back to town, and the thief took the same car; also the man had directed to shadow him.
 "Prichard on the way home abused me soundly, declaring that l had in- tended to rob him and he would have me arrested and sent up. paid no at tentIon to him, buying an evening newspaper and reading It. When we reached the city left him in charge of my deputy and went home to dln. Ter.
 "The next morning when I went to the office there was Prichard In charge of a policeman. My shadower had watched all night before the house where he had slept and in the morn