The Taney County republican., 1919-12-11
Diamond
Cut
Diamond
aseszA 9 = = 9 9 . 9 2 . 1855
BY JANE BUNKER

BY JANE BUNKER
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Copyright by the Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Copyright py the Bopbs-MerriIl company.
Still even Jacques Lerolls wasn't so
wonderful as young girl in Paris
she brought stones covered with drip
ping scaweeds out Ct the bottom of
the ocean, and she he'd once brought a
live bird into a locked room during
seance ard had put it-after II had
fluttereG all about and everybody saw
it-intO q closed cage-"Gcmaterial-
lied it twice in one evening" said Mrs.
Delario. This girl had only just be-
gun to develop naturalization as one
of her phases.
confess it struck me as Mrs. Della
rio talked and told me how she'd been
trying to make arrangements for one
of these persons to come over with her
that she was getting up new turns in
her own shows much as vaudeville
manager hunts up new performers for
his. She asked me to visit her In New
York, not professionally but as
friend, and still, If l were interested
and would undertake some investlga.
tions, she'd be glad to help me, and
l couldn't refrain from saying, "That
Is, you'll put me next to some first
class spooksf'
think this rather hurt her, for she
answered little tartly, "You may lot
be interested nOw--but you will be.
The occult is coming into your life and
you can't prevent 1t. You'll get mani
festatlOns that wlll-at least that may
drive you almost insane II you're
net prepared for them and don't know
how to handle the forces that are
already at work about you" And with
that parting shot--ttat, of course, any.
body might fire into you In self-defense
or just TO be q little nasty--she went
sway to Claire. And I'm going to con.
fess right here that 10 spite of my
skeptlcism / felt creepy.
/ also felt clearer in my own mind
on many little things I'd noticed about
Claire: her coming to my stateroom
that time; her constant hanging about
me, even when she rust have seen 1t
was incOnvenient for me to have her:
and the way she seemed so much OF
the latter part of the voyage to be
trying to keep away from Mrs. Della
rio, staying by herself In her state
room. Had there been manifestations
occurring In the staterOOmI Or had
Mrs. DeIarlo been telling Claire things
till she got the child so nervous the
doctor was really serious over herr
Mrs. DelarIo was not at dinner that
night and Claire left the table after
the soup, and MS was busy packing
saw neither of them until morning
when all was hustle and excitement
for we'd passed the Statue of Liberty
and were steaming up the bay and
would be on dry land almost before we
knew il. And then we were hanging
over the rail and looking down at the
friends Of the passengers on the dock,
and l heard Claire, in an agonized
voice: Mamma isn't meeting meI''
Claire began to cry, not boisterously
but In a dreadfully pathetic, lost.chlld
way, ints n very beautiful French en-
broldered handkerchief, and all the
customs inspectors gathered about her
and she asked them each In turn II
he'd seen mamma and described NAM
ma, and he shook HIS head and told
her he'd help her look for mamma In a
minute as soOn as he got the baggage
inspected; and Mrs. Delario and got
our sulteases opened and made Claire
open her bags and her trunk and we
implored the inspectors TO look at Our
meager belongings IN hurry and the
inspectors were all too busy asking
Claire what her mother looked like
and what hotel she stayed at; and
Claire would use her exquisite hand
kerchlef on her more exquisite eyes
and say she supposed It was Hotel
dAngleterTe-they always stopped at
d'Angleterres when they travelled.
Finally / managed TO induce an inspec-
tor to take his eyes off Claire for a
minute and devote them 70 the bag
gage Of a middleaged person--my.
self--and be cast a glance over my
suitcase and Mrs. DelariO's, which was
open on bench beside mine, and said,
"That's all right. Where does the
young lady GENE from, and Isn't II
awful her mother isn't here, and may
be she's met with an accident on the
way and been killed"
Claire heard him-and almost faint
ed into Mrs. Delarlos arms.
Now Just moment before he said
these words noticed that one Of the
two pair Of turquolse-studded slippers
had fallen between the two suitcasee
picked 1t up and I was on the point
of asking Mrs. Delario IL 1t belonged
to her when Claire collapsed, end three
seconds later i saw my cousin, who
should have met me, coming up on the
frnk