The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-14

INSPECTOR GRIMsBY called upon
me one evening, and I saw he wore
a great Guinness of countenance.

me one evening, and l saw he wore
a great guinness of countenance
Look here" said he, I'm in bit
of a corner. You'll have heard that a
committee of commercial magnates has
been formed to buy. and on behalf of
the city of London present to the
Crown. the big Indian diamond?"
1 nodded. and pushed the box of
cigarettes toward him.
Well" he continued, thoughtfully
selecting one, they are meeting In
Moorgate Street tomorrow morning to
complete the deal and formally take
over the stone. Sir Michael Cayley'
the Lord Mayor. will be present, and
he's received letter. which has been
passed on to me-"
He fumbled for his pocket case.
Here you are" he said. and quiet
ly passed a letter to me- II read as
follows:
ITO the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor
of London.
My Lord: Beware that the Blue
Rajah is not stolen on Wednesday
the 18th inst. Do not lose sight of it
for one moment
Your Lordship's obedient servant,
morris KLAw."
81 suppose Sir Michael regards this
note with Suspicion
when l told him that Klaw had a
theory about the Cycle of Crime. and
his letter probably meant that. ac-
cording to that theory. on Wednes-
day the thirteenth the Blue Rajah
was due TO be lifted. so to speak, he
laughed. Finally. he suggested that
/ should find out what the warning
meant exactly. But 1 couldn't get TO
see Klaw; his daughter said he was
out"
Il suppose every precaution will be
taken. You seem to be watching the
stone pretty closely"
Like a cat watches a mouse!" he
raped. IF any one steals the Blue
Rajah tomorrow. he'll be a clever
fellow"
Basinghall House. Moorgate street,
is built around a courtyard As mat
ter of fact, Basinghall House was de-
signed for a hotel, but subsequently
was rented in suites of chambers
The offices of Anderson & Bros. are
on the left as you enter, and from
the window of the chiefs sanctum you
may look down into the courtyard
The room chosen for the meeting
on Wednesday morning, however, was
one opening OF this. In common with
the adjoining office-as 1 have said,
that of the chief-it had q second
door. opening on a corridor.
This latter door, however. was
never used and was always kept dou-
BILE locked. Thus, the doorway from
the other office was really its only
means of entrance or egress- A large
window offered a prospect OF the
courtyard.
At a quarter to eleven on Wednes-
day morning Mr.. Anderson Zone OF the
city aldermen) entered his own pri-
waite Office from the corridor. He was
accompanied by Sir John Carron, MI.
Gautami CHIME and Inspector Grims-
by. These three had come with him
from the safe-deposit vaults. Mr.. An
derson had possession OF the case con-
tanning the diamond.
In the Office, already awaiting the
party, were Sir Michael Cayley the
Lord Mayor, Mr.. Morrison Dell, or
the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Com
pany, Sir Vernon Rankin (ex-Lord
Mayor, Mr.. Werner of the great en-
gineering firm. and Mr.. Anderson. jr
we are all present. gentlemen
I
proceed to the business which brings
us here, we will enter the inner room
where we shall be quite private"
Accordingly the party of eight pass
ed through the doorway and Mr.. An
derson, sr, entering last, relocked the
door behind him. Inspector Grimsby
remained alone in the private ONCE.
The company being seated, Mr. An
derson, by the table. rose and said:
Gentlemen, our business this morn
ing can be briefly dealt with. I have
here"-he produced a leather case,
opened il. and placed it on the table
before him-''the diamond known as
the Blue Rajah."
He paused. raising the diamond from
its receptacle, and holding 1t in his
hand. The sunlight, pouring in through
the window, struck fame-spears
from the wonderful thing.
In fact, gentlemen" he concluded.
the Blue Rajah is a fitting offering
for the city of London to make to the
Crown"
Hear, hear chorused the others,
and the diamond was passed from
hand to hand.
The formal business of making over
the stone to the committee was then
transacted. A huge check was placed
in the pocket case of Mr.. Gautami
CHIME, autographs were affixed to two
formidable documents, and the Blue
Rajah became the property of the
loyal city of London.
You see," said Sir John Carron,
holding the stone daintily between
thumb and forefnger and pointing,
lecturer fashion. the diamond is per-
fectly proportioned. being a full
three-fifths as deep as it is broad"
Sir John turned and tenderly laid
the diamond in its case. At that mo-
ment exactly arose a blood-curdling
scream in the courtyard. below.
Good Lord" cried Mr.. Werner.
What is that?"
There was a crowded rush to the
window-those in the second rank
peering over the heads and shoulders
of those in the first. The hortid cries
continued in a choking yet shrill ere
scendo.
"Ah! God in heaven. You are kill
ing me! No! No. Mercy-mercy-
mercy"
1T is some one in the archway"
said Sir Vernon Rankin. excitedly.
Can any of you see him."
No one could. though all craned
necks vigorously.
Unfortunately the window cannot
be opened" cried Mr.. Anderson. The
catch has jammed in some way. 1 am
having il removed Immediately"
The cries ceased. People were run
ming about below, and the blue uni
form OF city constable showed
among the group in the archway.
"Fll run down and see what has
happened said Mr.. Chime. stepping
TO the door which opened on the cor
ridor Hello II is locked