The Washington times., 1919-02-13


''Yes. IN the corners. Ton can
make no mistake In giving them
Luck viii favor rs again this year.
Bah!' he added, laughing. ~ths sx-
celient cocktails prepared By my
care will console those whom fii-
fortune persistently pursuesE'
HDo you remember. Nam. during
our round Of the swiss hotels. that
game Of poker which lasted four
days, and. in the course of which
Juliette, disguised as Princess Vol
hourski, relieved three young Ger
mans OF the nice little sum Of two
hundred and forty-five thousand
francsT'
"a clever trick. they were au
madly in love! One would have
thought they gave up their money
TO be agreeable 70 her. Be mere
prudent here Don't have one of
those extraordinary runs of good
fortune that open the most innocent
eyes! When the haul Is not impoEs
tant don't be afraid to lose IL
though not without adroitly calling
attention to the fact The me
pigeon to be plucked win appear
some day. just when we least sx-
pect Ii! Now I'll have the terrace
decorated with flowers, and q. hand
some awning stretched over It 10
attract people the frame must bo
pretty"
Then. returning to his oDsequiOus.
tone. he added:
shall bring up your hot water
for shaVingZ''
Yes" replied the other, als0 re-
h.. III -
tween them. "And then. Nam, PSF
out white flannel suit. with mauVs
socks. and a tie and silk handksr-
chief to match"
very well, sir"
The Hindoo retired. while the
comte, resting his elbows on the
balustrade and looking at the sex
murmured in a weary tone:
work! Always work! When viii
It. end?"
Two raps on. the door OF his room
suddenly made him start.
"Oome iniV
Nam appeared, carrying a teIo-
gram on a silver waiter.
The comte carelessly opened II
But he had scarcely read the con-
tents when he uttered a low oath.
what is it," asked the HindOo
anxiously.
The other held out the blue
sheet:
'Rsad itr'
The telegram contained these
words:
Comte AbazoIi-Viscosa.
Villa Atlantis, Cabourg.
Safe opened during the night -
waif-cutters Jewels stolen No
trace OF criminals. Please return
Immediately to state value OF rob-
. CI.AMART
Chief Of Detective Bureau.
''The dsucew exclaimed ths Him
doc. amazed in. his t.lrn.
For an instant the two men
looked at each other in silence,
apparently wondering il they were
dreaming.
What did all this mean2
"WelI?'' the comte asked az last.
'Well," replied Nam, shaking his
head, what do you want me te
say to you? I don't understand
anything about it-unless Wa are
to suppose II Is a disagreeable tess
on the baron's part
THE baron is too serious a
man to condescend to such child
ish nonsense. No-in my opinion,
this telegram really does come from
the head OF the detective bureau
our house was entered 4ur-
ing the night and our safe has
been broken open
"A burglar-proof safe!"
"Are you ignorant that there are
tools strong enough to cut through.
without difficulty. the thickest
steel plates? Only the criminals
have had merely their trouble for
their pains; the safe was empty"
Empty? No-You forget that .
man was shut up in itF'
The eomte struck his forehead
That is true-but then
He read over the telegram which
he still held in his hand:
But this Is very plain-Jewels
stolen, state value Of robbsrg.
Nothing about any man IN ther8
so they did not find him!"
Because he was no lonsO
here! And, as the door was o9sa.
he probably escaped through It."
But who opened that door,
''He!'
The comts threw up his arms.
"Come. that's impossible! How
could he have done. it? He isn't
the deviIr'
Evidently. But" the HIndoo
calmly continued, what Is the use
OF making all these conjectu=es?
The simplest thing to do Is
to telephone to the janitress In
the Rue Vezelay for mora ex-
act infoFmation-then we will con
sult-wait a minute!"
And he ran TO the drawing room
to ask for connection with Paris.
while his companion. with his eyes
fixed upon the bit OF blue paper,
pondered for a long time.
But for what purpose should he
make conjectures? The most ex-
traordinary afforded no expTana-
tion. The truth alone could bring
little clearness into the obscure
problem which he was vainly trying
to solve.
Just at this moment Nam en-
tered, saying with a bitter laugh:
st am offered orty-eight-that iB
about three hours to wait. Oh.
when one Is in a hurry, the tele-
phone is an excessively practical
method OF communication Well"
he added, inteTrupting himself
"here you are plunged again in
gloomy meditations. What's the
matter nOw?"
"All this seems to me so extFaor-
dinaFy," murmured the comte-T
am wondering II this dispatch
might not be a trap Of the chief %
the detective bureau TO make as re-
frrrr - Daria aud arraaF ~ yzyffk,erk