Evening star., 1917-11-04


More than that" he replied. you
several things likely to be on the table
They were not there, as you Nigh,
have seen II you had the picture before
YOU. That was test Of the suscepti-
bility to suggestion OF the chef Fran.
co.'s may not mean to lie. but I'm afraid
we'll have to get along without him In
getting to the bottom Of the case. You
see. before we go any further we know
that he is unreliable-to say the least
It may be that nothing at all happened
in the kitchen to tho mushrooms. Well
never discover 1t from him. We must
Ret 1t elsewhere"
'-The next thing I'd like to see." asked
Kennedy; Re me; when 7, nv, we re'oined Miss Grey
She led the way down the hall and
into an anteroom to Mansfelds part
of the suite. The safe itself was a
comparatively, simple affair inside 9
been seriously designed to be burglar
proof. Rather 1t was merely protec-
t.on against IRE.
Have you any suspicion about when
the robbery took placer" asked Ken
nedy. as we peered into the empty
compartment
NO" she replied: 'I don't know
whether 1t happened before or after
Mr. Mansfield was discovered SO Ill by
his valet"
"But at least you can give me some
idea Of when the Jewels were placed IN
"1t must have been before the sup
theater."
"so?" considered Kennedy. why did
he place them in the safe 80 soon, in
stead OF wearing them the rest Of the
why, when we came home from ths
theater 1 remember II had been sc
warm that Mr.. Mansneld's collar was
wilted and his dress shirt rumpled. He
excused himself and when he returned
he was not wearing the diamonds. We
noticed it, and Miss Hargrave expressed
a wish that she might wear the big
diamond at the opening night OF The
Astor Cup Mr.. Mansfield promised tina,
about 1t"
Did you notice anything else at the
dinner--no matter how trtvial?" asked
Kennedy.
were given ostensibly to Miss Hargrave
But-lately-I have thought he was
paying quite as much attention to Nina
Leitch.''
While he had been questioning he,
Kennedy had been examining the wal
safe. particularly with reference to 1t:
accessibility from the rest of the apart
ment. There appeared to be no reason
why ono could not have got at Il from
the hallway as we'll as from Mansheld's
room.
The safe itself seemed to yield no clue
and Kennedy was about to turn away
when he happened to glance down al
the dark interior Of the closet floor. He
stopped down. When he rose he hR6
something in his hand. 1t was just 6
little thin piece Of something that gilt
tered iridescently.
"a spangle from a sequin Dress" h
Miss Grey: Did any one wear such a
dress last nfght%
Helen Grey looked positively fright
ened. Miss Hargrave"! she murmured
simply.
Just then we heard voices in the hail
But. Murray, l don't see why can,
see him." said one.
What good will 1t do. Lewis?" re-
turned the other. which I recognised as
Fleming Lewis whispered Miss
Grey.
moment later DR.. Murray and Levi.
had joined US.
could see that there was some feel.
Ing between the two men. AS Miss
Grey introduced us, l glanced hastily
out OF the corner OF my eye at Kennedy
Involuntarily his hand which held the
telltale sequin had sought his waist
coat pocket. as though to hide 1t. Then
I saw him check the action and delib-
erately examine the piece Of tinsel be-
tween his thumb and forefinger.
DR.. Murray saw 1t. too. and his eyes
were riveted on 1t, as though instantly
he saw its significance.
What do you think-Jack as sick as
a dog. and robbed. too, and yet Murray
says I oughtn't to see him." complained
evils. for the moment oblIvious to the
fact that all our eyes were riveted on
the spangle between kennedy's fingers
And then, slowly 1t seemed to dawn on
him what it was. Madeline's!" he ex-
claimed, quickly. $50 Nina did tear It.
after ali. when she stepped on the train ''
train"
Kennedy watched the faces before US
keenly. No one said anything. 1t was
evident tha. some such incident had
happened. But had Lewis, with a quick
dash of genius. sought to cover UP
something, protect somebody?
Looks to me as though this robbery
was an inside affair."" remarked Lewis
living room. DO you suppose one OF
the servants could have been planted
for the purpose Of pulling it off?'
The idea was plausible enough Yet
plausible as the suggestion might SEEM
Il took no account Of the other circum
stances of the case. l could not believe
that the illness Of Mansfield was merely
an unfortunate coincidence.
Fleming Lewis unguarded and blunt
tendency to blurt out whatever seemed
uppermost in his mind soon became q