The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-04-14
LoWSJoSEpH
VANCE

stood in the shelter of a Jog near the
entrance to the forward promenade
deck eompanionway-a most advan-
taseous coign for the sincere student
OF s~eafaring humanity. Here. after
q hurried dinner, Mrs. Beggarstaf
mounted guard In the blue cleaning,
narrowly reviewing the postprandial
parade with eyes whose brightness
vas as Jet undimmed by age.
At length she sat up with q quick
movement and called im~peratively,
~Quo1nf 7"
A a who, walking alone, had been
on the point Of passing. jerked a ciga-
rette stub over the rail, and moved to
the lady's side.
"Sit down. Three mortal days I've
been moping round the saloons with
my tongue hanging out, parched for a
bit Of scandal-and you never came
hear mel"
But I hate to disappoint; I'd moth
ing on tap high enough for your sea-
soned palate"
Don't be impudent, Quoin. What
are you doing on this boati II you
answer. Crossing the Atlantic I'll for
get I'm a lady"
Quoin chuckled. I'm combining
business with pleasure, IL you must
know. Nothing pleases me more than
to be cooped up for a few days with
an unsuspicious subject. In such cir
cumstances your humble sleuth learns
a lot about human nature"
Then you're sleuthingl / know It'll
But on whose trailf"
Afraid I dassen't tell, Mrs. Beggar-
STAFF"
what II I known
That wouldn't surprise me; you
certainly do contrive to know a sur
prising number Of things that don't
concern YOU"
I'm not sure whether that's fattery
or impertinence."
'The man who could flatter your om-
niscience, madam. wouldn't hesitate
to-ah-tackle the job of teaching a
New York head-waiter the gentle art
Of being insolent."
Mrs. Beggarstaf laughed aloud.
"But suppose I do know what game
you're stalking and can lend q help
ing handT"
Charmed to humor your within.
Consider me q docile little supposer.
And thenf"
The Dowager Dragon glanced fore
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 the children say
In hide-and-seek."
"Aha 7" the lady cried In triumph.
"Well, thenl Betty doesn't mean to
try to beat the customs. She told me
SO herself. The row that man Loeb
has kicked up about smuggling has
scared her so that she's made up her
mind to declare every blessed trinket.
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 contradicted.
Mrs. B~eggarstaff shifted suspicious
". 'Tve guessed wrongf"
"For ono In q way. The truth Is, I
don't care whether Mrs. Merrilees de-
frauds the government or not It's
over a year since / left the secret
service. I don't like the work-too
tame-and having learned all 1t could
teach me. I quietly dropped out and
returned to my old field"
private investigation. ehr"
There's some fun In that" Quotn
said with mild enthusiasm. "Odd
jobs-I love EN-. They're generally
30 very odd-unexpected besides"
"Quoin." the lady inquired with a
change of tone, you remember the
Joachim collectionr"
do I remember It'll" Quoin protest.
ed with ~reproachful sincerity. Il
wish I might hope ever TO be repaid
for the sleep I lost on that easel"
"You never got a cluef"
"Never one. That was q mastery
Job"
HAS none Of the stuff ever turned
upT"
ooh. plenty Of II, here and there
mostly In Europe. In fact I'm told
hat Joachim has reassembled most
of the collection; but II has cost him
Ave times his original outlay"
ssThere are. Of course. pieces stn
missingf
"Oh. naturally"
sWeIl, then" said the lady delib-
erately, 81 don't mind telling you that
there's one piece I distinctly remem-
Der, on board this ship magnificent
sardonyx cameo"
'sTrulyr"
would you care to see lit Then
look !"
Mrs. Beggarstaf Enclosed her left
hand. In It's palm lay Miss Carteret's
broochi
With a wondering exclamation,
Quoin bent forward to examine the
ramao while Mrs BegQarstaH regard