The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-07-03
Stolen
Diamond
A Case of Double Detective
Work.
By DONALD CHAMBERLlN

One winter when congress was II
session l was invited to the national
capital to spend a week with my
| friend Jim Treusdail In company with
others, forming very pleasant house
party Jim had not been long mar
rted, and was a bachelor. / have
always thought that his wife got UP
the affair especially for my benefit and
that Of Miss Mildred Sweet, Mrs. jim
desiring to make a match between us
If she did she had no trouble, so far
as | was concerned, for I had not
been acquainted with Miss Sweet ten
minutes before / remarked to myself
That's the girl am looking for"
have theory that good way ia
win girl is to conjure up something
in which you and she may have mu
! tual interest. Fortune favored me In
this wise:
One evening at dinner Mrs Jim show.
ed plainly that something had hap.
pened. She said nothing to any Of the
guests and when they spoke to her
replied In monosyllables. Treusdai
labored hard to keep certain amount
Of life In the party. but was not sue.
cessful.
After dinner jim took me I'D to q
little den he used to hide away 70
and told me what was the matter
His wife had lost 9 diamond as big
as a hickory nut. It had been handed
down to her from five generations and
been turned over to her on her wed.
ding day. She had taken It out OF
It's receptacle to wear 1t that evening
at reception that was to occur al
the White House and had left It on
her bureau while giving some direc.
lions about the dinner.
He had no sooner told me this thar
1t required to me to make a detective
Of myself for the purpose Of discover
ing the thief and to take Miss Sweet
into the business with me. By inter
esting her in the case hoped eventu
ally to turn that interest from the
gem to myself.
asked Jim good many questions
but only elected the information tha
every servant in the house during hi
wife's absence from her room wal
downstairs and quite busy, most d
them with the preparations for the
dinner. The men guests were all II
the billiard room. Two of the womer
guests were dressing In their rooms
for dinner and after that the function
at the White House. A third, a wild
/ ow, Mrs. Jernegan, with a little daugh
ter, FIVE years old, had finished hel
toilet and was assisting her nurse tt
put the child to bed.
I Mrs. Jernegan was my first choice
for the thief. Women who are MOI
dressed don't run about in another
PERSONS house, and Mrs. Jernegan wai
the only person on the floor at the
time the stone was lost. l went K
the White House reception with Miss
Sweet and during the evening told hel
about the loss and began to excite hel
| curiosity as to who could have beer
/ the thief
1T would be q nice thing" said
If you and l, working together, coult
recover the stone and turn 1t back tt
the rightful owner"
Indeed, 1t would" she said, "but
how can we do thatT'
II don't know that we can, but we
can try"
confded to her that I suspected
Mrs. Jernegan. She did not especially
fancy the widow, but could hardly
bring herself to feel that she ha(
stolen the diamond / told Miss Swee
that she, being a woman, could keel
an eye on the suspect better than
and she agreed to do so.
! had little scheme up my sleeve
to compel Mrs. Jernegan to show hel
cOlors if she were guilty. OF course
that was not proving her guilty OF
getting back the stone, but 1t would
serve for a clew. / invited a party
including Mrs. Jernegan, to visit thu
capitol. Miss Sweet was, Of course
with us. After showing the part
through the building l took them W
into the dome. There is a whispering
gallery In this dome In which voice
speaking on one side can be heard a
the other. Leaving the widow on one
side of the dome, took Miss Ewee
! halfway round the semicircle, and
watching till Mrs. Jernegan was sep
arated from the others, l suggested Il
Miss Sweet to put her mouth near tn,
wall and whisper the words, What dix
you do with it?'
She did so, and the effect was In
Simultaneous and unmistakable Tn,
widow stagge-ed, turned pale and look
| ed hurriedly about her. When sh,
turned her eyes upon us we were look
ing down on to the marble floor IA
below
My companion was delighted will
the success Of my device. She seeme(
to be struck with surprise and admira
ton at what she was pleased to cal
my ingenuity. / was more interested
in Miss Sweet than in the thief l dis
claimed any great shrewdness-inde
thus far / was simply lucky. But
must keep up the Illusion. / must fin,
some method of learning from the wild
( ow what she had done with the die
mond.
And here / showed that instead o
being an experienced detective l was
mere bungler. / permitted the widow
to discover by keeping a watch ovel
her that l suspected her. 1 knew thai
she was aware that l did suspect her
for she showed me plainly that she
feared me. Doubtless she would have
taken or sent away the diamond If she
had it,, but Treusdail, at my sugges
ton, would not permit any one to leav'
the place without being searched, thu
guests volunteering to submit to thu
ordeal If they were obliged to leav'
before the gem was found.
l held long deliberations with Mis-
Sweet, who was now profoundly In
terested in the case These delibera
lions, besides giving us something II
common, enabled me to be a good dea
with her. l hoped, If made any fur
IHoI pIOSitss, u fcuu my oSSAStqAS y
think that it was her ingenuity q
perceptive faculty that was doing tn
work and not mine.
II have made discovery" saiC
Miss Sweet to me one day, with grea
glee.
you don't mean It'll" l replied
Have you found where the gem 1
concealed?"
"No. l have discovered that Mrs
Jernegan's nursemaid shares her sc
cret with her."
How so"
'"They know that we are watching
them. Whenever the nurse sees m
looking at her she quails."