The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1917-05-31
CHAPTER ll-continued,
ccpyriytt BY
y IouiI Joseph Vance

and aft; but there were no other pas
sengers within earshot, and the ports
behind them, though alight, were shut
and sound-tight. Betty Merrilees,"
she said.
you're, warm--as the children say
In hide-and-seek." :,
"Aha!" the lady cried in triumph.
swell, then! Betty doesn't mean to
try to beat the customs. She told me
so herself. J'he row that man Loeb
has kicked up about smuggling has
scared her so that she's made up her
mind to declare every blessed trlnket.
SO you see, Quoin you're simply vast
ing your time trailing Betty Merri-
lees"
Quoin smiled vaguely at his finger
tips. "No, I'm not" he contradlcted.
! Mrs. Beggarstaff shifted suspicious
Iy. "Tve guessed wrong"
"For once in way. The truth Is, l
don't care whether Mrs. Merrilees de-
over year since l left the secret
service. / don't ike the work-too
tame-and having learned all it could
teach me, quietly dropped out and
returned TO my old field"
"private Investigation, eh?"
There's some fun in that" Quo.n
said with mild enthusiasm. "Odd
jobs--I love 'em. They're generally
so very odd-unexpected besides"
"Quoin." the lady inquired with a
change of tone, ''you remember the
Joachim collectionT
do 1 remember it," Quoin protest
ed with reproachful sincerity. 81
wish l might hope ever to be repaid
for the sleep lost on that caseV
"You never got a clueT"
"Never one. That was a mastery
job"
HAS none of the stuff ever turned
upT
"Oh, plenty of it, here and there
mostly In Europe. In fact, I'm told
that Joachim has reassembled most
of the collection; but it has cost him
five times his original outlay"
"Thefe are, of course, pieces still
missing?"
"Ok, naturallyw
"Well, then" said the lady delib
erately, Il don't mind telling you that
there's one piece 1 distinctly remem
Der, on board this ship-a magniIicen
sardonyx cameo"
"Truly"
"would you care to see it? Then
look!"
Mrs. Beggarstaif Enclosed her lef
hand. In its palm lay Miss Cartereti
brooch
With wondering exclamation
Quoin bent forward to examine tn
cameo, while Mrs. BeggarstaR regard
ed with triumphant smile his ben
head 1t was something to have star
tied the greatest living detective
which was precisely the distinction tn
keen-witted old woman accorded thi
man.
'Take 1t to the light and have
good look"
"Thank you" said Quoin, rising in
stantly and moving forward TO tn
lighted companionway, where he lin
gered long minute, intently inspect
ing the brooch with small magnify
ing glass.
"Unquestionably one of the missin
pieces" he declared fatty, returning
''and, If I'm not mistaken, one OF tn
finest in the collection. How did 20
come by 1t, please"
TITS the property Of the young pc
son who shares my cabin; name, Luc
Carteret. She's an American, aboi
twenty, and has lived abroad all ht
life. Now she's going to New York
Join her father, who-she says-ga'
he- this on her fifteenth birthday"
"The question is, Who is Carter
perez"
I'm not psychic" Mrs. Beggarsta
objected. ''The woods are full of Ca
terets; but know none that this chi
resembles in any way. Besides, 81
has denied every relationship I've su
gested so far"
"But we mustn't forget that. wh'
found, this paternal Carteret w
probably prove to be perfectly no
est bourgeois who picked up the cam
casually in some out-of-the-way sho
Mt home or abroad. I've often thong
thut the WiuespiSHH ulstrlDutlOn
that loot might be taken as pretty go'
evidence in support Of something L
always contended was popular cl
mera-the existence of regular {
ganlzation of social freebooters. You
going?" he added as Mrs. Beggarst,
stirred and sat up, preparatory TO r
ing.
"The present owner Of this baut
is asleep-and l want to replace
before she wakes up
"One minute, If you don't mind. P'
haps you can tell me something
"On one condition" the old lady ST
ulated firmly. "You must let me
on the ground floor. I'll not lift l
hand to help you In anything that's
mystery to me-"