The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-09-19
A Royal
Gem
1t Was a Bone of
Contention
By F. A. mitchell

AsaesasesesFsfses
One morning was aroused by tele-
phone from my bed by my chief and
directed to go to the house of a Mr..
Ackley. l was to apply at the base
ment door, where l would be admit
ted by the gentleman himself.
l found a residence that indicated
Its occupant was wealthy Mr.. Ackley
was waiting for me at the basement
door He gave me the points in the case.
Not long before, while travelling
abroad, he had purchased a sapphire
which had originally been In the crown
of a Balkan sovereign Whether It
had been stolen or purchased by the
person who sold it to Mr.. Ackley he
! did not himself know He was told,
however, that his majesty was In flnan-
cial straits and had parted with it for
ready money. At any rate, the king
now desired to regain it. He had sent
an agent who had bargained for It,
offering a very low price for It, basing
his offer on the theory that it was
stolen property. Ackley preferred not
to sell 1t at any price, but, not being
willing to keep it from its original
owner, offered to exchange it for a
price equal to what he had paid for
1t, which, though less than its value,
was considerable. This offer was de-
clined, and the agent withdrew from
{ further negotiations.
Not long after his withdrawal a
Frenchman named Du Pierris brought
Q letter Of Introduction to Ackley from
a gentleman the latter had met In
Rome, member Of the court of Victor
Emmanuel. Du Pierris proved so at
tractive to Ackley that he had invited
the Frenchman to visit him in hts own
house. Du Pferris had become Ack-
ley's guest, and Ackley had introduced
him to society.
The Balkan sapphire Ackley kept In
his own house In a safe where many
of his valuables were deposited. One
night while lying awake he decided to
go downstairs for bite and a glass of
wine, as he often did when wakeful,
hoping that he might thus regain slum-
Der. On such visits to the larder he
usually turned on the electric light in
the hall after leaving his room, but on
this occasion he saw a mans silhouette
against the window at the other end Of
the hall. The safe was located midway
between Ackley and this window. He
paused and waited and watched. But
he dare not turn on light for fear of
soaring the person away and could see
nothing more Of the figure. Presently
he heard family sound that resem-
bled the closing Of a safe door, then
saw the silhouette between him and
the window. The silhouette vanished,
probably entering one of the rooms on
the hall
Ackley went back to his room and,
after waiting awhile, stole down into
the hall with an electric lamp, flashed
it against the safe lock, opened the
door and looked about for his valu-
ables. The sapphire was gone.
Closing the safe as gently as possible,
he returned to his ROOM
Only members Of the family and
guests slept on the floor in question
None Of the family would steal any
thing, and the guests, excepting Du
Pierrfs, were old and long tried friends.
1t suddenly flashed upon the host that
the Frenchman was an agent of the
former royal owner of the sapphire and
that he had imposed upon Ackley's
Roman friend and secured thesletter of
introduction in order that he might be-
come intimate with him and steal the
GEM.
If this theory were correct the next
move on the part of Du Pierris would
be to get away with the gem, and he
would not likely allow much time to
elapse before doing So Aekley decided
to forestall him, SO, putting on a gown
and slippers, went downstairs to the
telephone booth and called up our Of
fee, where he had before applied for
detective service.
Such were the facts gi EN- me by Mr..
Ackley, who added that so far as fixing
the theft on Du Pierris was concerned |
that was very simple. If he were the |
thief he would either disappear with
out bidding his host goodby or he !
would offer an excuse for departing i'm
mediately. To this 1 assented. / asked |
Mr.. Ackley for description Of the
stone, for might have to leave him |
at any moment to follow Du Pierris. |
1t was of that variety Of sapphire call
ed astoria, or star stone, the color be-
ing a reddish violet, with an opalescent |
ulster. Mr. Ackley had scarcely given |
me this when we heard a step descend
ing the grand staircase as Of some
one treading softly. The steps were of |
wood and uncarpeted or we would not !,
have heard It. Ackley put his finger |
to his lips and. moving noiselessly to |
the door Of the room, peeped. Then he |
turned and by a meaning look assured |
me that it was our quarry But be- |
fore any action could be taken Du |
Pierris had opened the front door and |
passed out. Ackley hurried me to a
window, and I saw a man with a
pointed beard and waxed mustache |
hurrying away, carrying suit case
There was no time for another word |
between us. | hurried to the trent |
door and when | saw the Frenchman {
turn a corner ran after him kept him |
In sight till he entered an unpretentious
hotel. Not daring to follow him in at |
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