The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-06-20

l lmuculdtely d1teT uo udu IetuIheS
from Les Ambassadors. She was al
the moment admiring her aunt's neck
lace, and hurriedly showed 1t into heI
dressing table drawer when the butlel
entered.
Had Pat observed the gleam in the
buffers eyes, she might have pre-
vented subsequent events; and, as II
was, she was a bit suspicious of his
actions. That evening, during the ball
her aunt was giving, the girl had rea-
son to recall the buffers nervous con-
duct-for when her aunt went to the
wall-safe and discovered the Jewels
missing, Pat observed the butler
stealthily leaving her boudoir at al
most the same moment.
Hurriedly searching in the drawer
Of her dressing table, Pat discovered
that the jewels were gone. Her plan
to furnish Sphinx Kelly with some
thing to do had worked beyond her
own anticipations.
Mrs. Van Nuys was reporting the
robbery to Sphinx Kelly when Pat
Joined the group.
ut is so fortunate you are here. Mr..
Kelly" said Mrs. Van Nuys. "Now
you can go at once to work upon the
case. I'll reward you well If you re-
cover the Jewels"
"You are SO wonderfully clever, Mr..
Kelly, am sure you will find the jew
els" said Pat.
II wonder If you mean that" was
Kelly's only reply, as he hurried away
to examine the wall-safe and conduct
an investigation.
Pat, meanwhile, began to do some
detective work on her own account.
Donning a light wrap to cover her eve
pjng gown. the girl left by an. infre-
quently used door and was soon in the
gardens, where bright moonlight
made the surroundings almost as light
as day. Pat hurried around to the
servants entrance, and waited, hidden
by the shrubbery, until her vigil was
rewarded by the appearance of
Jacques, the butler, who hastened
along the pathway to a remote cor
ner Of the gardens.
Pat followed speedily, but with
great caution, and nearly ran into
Kelly who had, likewise, started to
investigate the grounds. Kelly lodged
into a summer house, while Pat con-
tinued on her way cautiously among
the trees. The girl was crossing a
rustic bridge, when she heard voices
below.
AT the Cafe Chat Noir, in one hour"
Pat heard in a voice she realized was
Jacques. And as she listened her
eyes fell upon a man standing behind
a tree, who was likewise interested in
the conversation that was being car.
ried on under the rustic bridge.
"We'll be there" said the voice
strange to Pat. "I'll take the swag and
we will dispose of 1t there"
The girl crouchel low behind the
guard-rail Of the bridge. The voices
ceased, and Pat knew the confab be-
tween the crooks was at an end. She
watched the man behind the tree, AZ
he disappeared amid the undeEgrowth.
Then Pat hurried back to the house.
Excusing herself on the plea Of slight
illness,' Pat reassured her aunt that
her Jewels would surely be recovered.
Then entering her boudoir. she
changed her evening gown to street
dress, and unobserved, left the Van
Nuys home, in q cab, bound for the Cafe
Chat Noir. go '+
"This will be quite an adventure.
I'm thinking" Pat said, hslf aloud,
communing with herself while the cab
ratified along the deserted streets.
There was another cab hurrying by
another route to the Cafe Chat Noir.
Kelly's assistant had reported to his
chief, in the summer-house, the con-
versation he had heard between the
Apaches under the rustic bridge. And
Kelly's detective instinct, suspicious Of
everybody, led him to expect that the
pretty girl with the big blue eyes,
who had taunted him in their subtle
glances, might not be far away.
When Pat alighted from her cab.
at the door of the notorious resort,
she made her driver fulfill the final
part Of his bargain-she could not en-
ter without an escort, and the cab
man led her through the door. The
unusual sight that met her gaze made
Pat somewhat abashed for the mo-
ment.
Apaches in their oddly distinctive
suits danced with denizens Of the un-
derworld.
Pat and her companion moved
about, the girl leading the way among
the tables. Dancers bumped against
them and whirled onward taking the
collisions as a matter to be expected.
Searching the crowd as she moved
about, Pats eager gaze disclosed
Jacques at a table near the edge Of
the space cleared for dancing.
The girl urged her strange escort
to dance, and doing all the guiding
herself, Pat noted as she whirled past
the table where Jacques sat, that he
was showing, half concealed in the