The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1917-07-13

DeIore the gem was found.
l held long deliberations with Miss
sweet, who was now profoundly in
terested in the case. These delibera-
lions, besides giving us something in
common, enabled me to be good deal
with her. hoped, if made any fur
thef progress, to lead my assistant to
think that it was her ingenuity or
perceptive faculty that was doing the
work and not mine.
Il have made discovery" said
Miss Sweet to me one day, with great
glee.
You don't mean it." replied.
Have you found where the gem is
concealed%
mo. l have discovered that Mrs.
Jernegan's nursemaid shares her Sc
cret with her."
How SOP
"They know that we are watching
them. Whenever the nurse sees me
looking at her she quails."
Its two against two, isn't it?"
"Yes, and Wen beat them yet"
"No doubt of it."
Have you anything to suggest?"
well, no; not just now"
We saw the nurse 60 out with her
charge and knew that every afternoon
she took the child to a little park In
the neighborhood Treusdail should
not have permitted this, but he said
that it wouldn't do to keep the little
girl in the house. 1 proposed to Miss
Sweet that We walk out, follow the
nurse to the park and see If we could
learn anything. She consented, and,
getting her hat and wraps, we sailed
forth.
We soon saw the nurse walking
slowly, the child trotting alone either
beside or behind her, carrying toy
balloon. We measured our pace to
suit theirs, and they entered the park
without knowing that we were near
them. A moment later the nurse turn
ed and, suddenly seeing us, gave an
involuntary start.
THE plot thickens," I remarked to
my companion. I'll bet that this
nurse, being permitted to leave the
house, will get rid of the diamond"
Suppose she has it with her now?"
said Miss Sweet.
Its possible"
II have never seen her so agitated
as when she turned and saw us be-
hind her."
"You are on the track. You made
hn %6nN CHI
with her mistress. Suppose we let her
see by our acts and the expressions of
our faces that we are watching her.
1t may drive her into doing something
that will expose her."
By this time the nurse had taken a
seat on bench, while the child played
about with her balloon. On several oc-
casions she let go the string, the bal
loon rose, and the nurse caught it only
in time to save it. We walked by the
woman and as we did so stared at her
OminOusly. She trembled like leaf.
We walked on short distance and
turned. The child's balloon had es-
capped and was caught in the branches
Of tree overhanging the seat where
the nurse sat. The child was crying
for her toy, and the nurse was trying
to quiet her.
"I'll buy you another, dearie," she
said. ''That one has gone where one
can't get it."
The nurse spoke the truth. Only a
long ladder would enable any one to
reach the toy. 1t had lodged some
thirty feet from the ground. AS 1
walked past the tree looked up at it.
noticed that the string attached to it
hung straight. suggested nothing at
first, but presently asked my COM
panion:
do you notice how straight that
string hangs? Is it caught on branch,
and does the balloon keep it taut?"
''NO; the balloon is against bough.
But there is something small
tied to the end Of the string"
$50 there is"
l glanced at the nurse, who knew
we were talking about the balloon, and
saw she was holding her breath from
suspense. 1 called some boys who
were playing near and offered any Of
them quarter who would climb the
tree and bring down the balloon. One
Of the boys took my offer, and in
few minutes was In possession of the
toy. At the end of the string was
bit of tissue paper. In the paper was
the diamond.
I looked around for the nurse She
had vanished.
The delight both of myself and Miss
Sweet may be imagined. We started
to the house with the little girl Far
down the street we saw the nurse run
ming ahead of us. 1t did not occur to
us what she was going to the house for
till we got there, when we discovered
that she had warned her mistress and
gone on. Before saying a word to any
one l took the stone to Treusdail, and
we had long consultation. We had
no proof against the widow, and since
she was connection Of Jim's he de-
cided to tell her that her maid had
stolen the diamond and not intimate
to her that she herself was supposed
to have been an accomplice. This
would avoid any unpleasantness.
When the matter was given out to