The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-04-14
:.
AUTHOR Of THE ONE
WOLF" THE BRASS
BOWL,"ETC
COPYRIGHT By LOUIS JOSEPH Vance

Mt lfkN0l DI LOUD DOOEPN fNNGk
keen-witted old woman accorded this
man.
Take it to the light and have a
good look"
Thank you," said Quoin, rising in
stantly and moving forward to the
lighted companionway. where he lin
gered a long minute, intently inspect
ing the brooch with a small magnify
Ing glass.
"Unquesionably one of the missing
pieces" he declared fatty, returning,
and, IL I'm not mistaken, one of the
hnest In the collection. How did you
come by 1t, pleased"
Its the property Of the young per-
son who shares my cabin name, Lucy
Carteret. She's an American, about
twenty, and has lived abroad all her
life. Now she's going to New York to
Join her father, who-she says-gave
her this on her fifteenth birthday"
'srhe question Is, Who Is Carteret
perez"
I'm not psychic" Mrs. Beggarstar
objected. 'The woods are full Of Car
~terets; but / know none that this child
resembles In any way. Besides, she
has denied every relationship I've sug-
gested so far"
But we mustn't forget that, when
found, this paternal Carteret will
probably prove to be a perfectly hon.
est bourgeois who picked up the cameo
casually in some out-of-the-way shop,
at home or abroad. I've often thought
that the widespread distribution OF
that loot might be taken as pretty good
evidence In support of something I've
always contended was a popular CHI
mera-the existence Of a regular or
ganizauon Of social freebooters. You're
goingY' he added as Mrs. Beggarstan
stirred and sat up. preparatory to ris-
Ing.
"The present owner Of this bauble
Is asleep-and / want to replace II
before she wakes up"
"One minute, If you don't mind. Per
haps you can tell me something"
"On one condition." the old lady stip-
ulated firmly. "You must let me in
on the ground floor. I'll not lift my
hand to help you In anything that's a
mystery to me-"
81 don't mind telling you In the least.
This isn't a case-just simple curiosity
on my part. Did you ever know any
body by the name Of Hicks-Lorrimer-
In Londonf
"Bless my incomer" exclaimed Mrs.
Beggarstaff Indignantly. "Noi Who
Is he-or she7'
II don't know; that's why I asked
you-who know everybody. One ques-
ton more What do you know about
your friend Mr.. CravenY'
"Tad Craven?" exclaimed the Dowa-
ger Dragon in blank amazement
whats he been doingT"
Nothing very desperate: only max
she'll marry him?"
Couldn't say. She's a fiighty crea-
ture, and Tad's tremendously amusing.
What concern is 1t Of yoursT"
"None whatever. You haven't told
me what you know about him."
"Why--of course what the world
knows. He's an entertaining little
man who came out of nowhere to cheer
us up about fifteen years ago. Never
was heard of before M fine morning
when we all woke up to find he be-
longed. No money, so far as / know
or Just enough to enable him to live
well without working o hard. Nova
days New York teens with just this
type OF u~naccountable persons-de-
cent, diverting, well-bred, and three
quarters idle. That's all-except /
like the man."
you never heard he was marriedf"
"He isn'tr" Mrs. B~eggarstaf ex-
claimed, dumfounded.
II don't say so. / only wonder. OF
course. If you never heard he vas mar
ried, you never suspected him Of hav-
ing a daughter-you're too pure
minded"
THANK you for nothing. What are
you driving att"
"And II he hasn't a daughter, who
In thunderation is Lydiaf"
'Quoin," said the Dowager Dragon
solemnly, 81 warn you, II you keep me
on tenterhooks another instant"
"Here you are, them" the detective
interposed hastily; "but keep 1t to
yourself. Yesterday afternoon, when
l was killing time in the wireless
house, a message came in which
read over the operators shoulder as
he wrote 1t down. 1t was for Craven,
and ran something like this: Lydia
disappeared. What shall i dot Await
ing advice before notifying police.
Signed, sHicks-Lorrimer.' And after
a while Craven's reply was brought in
for transmission, Keep away from po-
lice. If girl doesn't return. wire me
New York Saturday Addressed
'Hicks-Lorrimer. eleven King Charles
49, -A- yu.A 49, w-AA a.