Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-22

AmeTICd. ana sdt tHeTC
ing Mrs. Obden- Belpont for exactly
thirty five minutes. was still wait
ing with my watch in my hand, like
a timekeeper at a track side, when a
quick rustic of silk made me look up.
saw myself being inspected by
thin and nervous woman with narrow
cheek bones and an iron duke nose.
She was at least fifty. And I knew at
once that / was face to face with Mrs.
Obden- Belpont.
You're the young lady from the
police department." she demanded.
She spoke briskly. pausing only mo-
ment. apparently to digest her shock
at finding q hireling Of the law in
splendid frock and the latest style of
hat.
Scarcely" ] amended. screening my
real feelings behind a rather languid
smile.
Then who?" she began slightly
elevating her thinly penciled eye
brows.
I'm Miss Rymal" ! said. And
was sent here from the Protective AL
lance Office.
But you were to come on the 2:55
train and Hoskins was sent to meet
you" she announced with a note of
latent reproof.
YES" ] smilingly retorted. But,
you see, 1t was with the servants
carryall And l rather fancied that
you'd overlook that might be crowd
ing the new second cook and the car
wiper"
had the satisfaction Of seeing her
start, as j had intended to make her
start, at the none too muffled rebuke
Of mine.
But in q moments time she was
completely mistress OF herself. Miss
Blanchan attends to those things"
she explained. Miss Blanchan is my
secretary"
Then she ought to be dismissed"
promptly announced.
81 can give you precisely fifteen
minutes" was the unruffled statement
of Mrs. Obden- Belpont.
That will be sufficient, I think"
told her, still smiling. Having scored
a point l could afford to be mag
unanimous.
Then how did you get from the
station?" asked the still abstracted-
eyed woman.
"A very kind old gentleman in fan
nels seemed to waken to the humor Of
the situation and brought me here in
a tan-colored canoe-roadster. That,
! might add, was exactly three-quar-
ters Of an hour ago"
That must have been Ferrie" she
meditatively observed, and then-"Ad-
miral Trevor Ferris. And crowding q
rear admiral must have seemed more
Of q novelty than a cook In a wagon
ette."
had the qualified satisfaction of
knowing I'd forced the claws through
the velvet.
But this isn't what we're here to
talk over. Is it?" suggested my host
ess. 80 will you be good enough to
tell me what you know of this case?"
ia prefer that you tell me-" I
countered.
I'll explain it very briefly. My
daughter Natalie is to be married here
at 'Miramar' next Friday at high noon.
She is to marry Capt. Lloyd Sherwin.
The arrangements are not, Of course,
simple. One robbery has already oc-
Cured"
Then you are anticipating an
other?"
That is scarcely how I should
phrase It," corrected the lady. "I'd
prefer stating that I'm extremely
anxious to prevent any such occur
renee being repeated. can't have
Natalie worried by knowing about
this. She Is an extremely delicate
girl and Is already under what / con-
slider quite sufficient strain"
Then who knows about it?'
MY husband. Of course, and Miss
Blanchan and Admiral Trevor Ferris
and Benchley. my butler. The we'd
ding gifts have, Of course, been COM
Ing here. Earlier in the week, I'm
afraid, we were more careless than
We should have been. A number of
things had been laid out on the top of
grand piano in the music room.
They were even left alone there for a
Few moments. When I went to ask
Benchley and Miss Blanchan to re-
store them to the wall safe the Medici
diamond was missing"
What was its value?"
ITO thief merely q few hundred
dollars at the most. But its historic
value is quite another matter. 1t was
an antique Florentine ring, once in