The Jasper news., 1919-10-30

tined because of Ii. If | could in any
way have replaced the slipper I'd have
done so and never said word about II.
Meantime Il remembered that
hadn't communicated with Mrs. Della
rio since my return-though I had the
slipper all that time. Then came q
letter asking me would | do her
great, a very great favor-woud |
come to her house that Sunday eve
ming at eight o'clock? The letter ar
rived on Sunday morning, special de-
livery.
went, but | never once mentioned
the slippers-slippers were the last
things In my mind as rang the bell
Mrs. Delario herself admitted me,
npologizing that her maid was away
for her Sunday evening out. and what
between welcoming handshakes and
Mrs. Delarlo's tnking off my coat and
insisting on my taking off my hat aud
being comfy" and my declining. and
her leading me into the seance room
Claire had told me about, and my as
tonishment at seeing 1t. slippers didn't
occur to me and the chance to sneak
OF them went by.
Ihe seance room was as queer to
my eve as 1t seemed to have been to
Claire's. think the impression upper.
most In my mind was the soundless-
ness of the place. It seemed as re-
mote from the bustllng life of the
great city In the midst of which It was
us If 1t had been In the heart of a
desert.
But Mrs. Delario left me but little
time for observation; merely remark
ing that this was the seance room, she
asked If I'd seen Claire and what |
thought of her.
WE'LL thought great deal of her
and many things about her, and while
was considering my answer Mrs.
Delarlo propounded question that
fairly stunned me: do you think the
girl could be theft"
"Oh, never-never In the world.
What-Claire /" / cried hotly, and the
picture of the high-bred girl came be-
fore me. / could as soon have thought
my own sister thief. Nevertheless !
was soon at loss 10 explain the cpl
sodcs Mrs. Delario told me.
On the steamer, for instance, she
had twice caught Claire turning over
things In her-Mrs. Delario's-suit-
case. Claire excused 1t once by say
Ing she'd accidentally put some of her
own toilet articles In 1t by mistake
while she "was too sick to notice."
But what finally brought about the
crisis was this: A sitter had given
| Mrs. Delario ten-dol!ar bill in pay.
ment for a reading, and she had gone
hastily to her room for change, and
returning had left her bedroom door
ajar and a quantity of bills lying on
the bureau which she hadn't stopped to
put back Into her purse. The moment
she had shown the sitter out she went
back TO replace her purse and found
Claire in her room. Claire was in the
act of closing the wardrobe door ant
said she was looking for her muff
And why her muff in Mrs Delario',
wardrobe?
but did she steal any money!"
demanded, almost In fenr of the reply
A'i D. iDSIui loOh llllDt 10 uD
swer, and this Is what she said: "Yor
know I'm so fond of the child II
rather think / made a mistake thar
that she robbed me. / had two FIVE
dollar bills-a lot of twos and onet ant
several tens-and what ! think J dlt
was to take five and a two-se''e 'er
dollars-and rush downstairs. Hu
what | might have done was taken thu
two fives-a five instead of a two
and give them to the lady. She didu'
look at them. Anyway, the other fiv,
was gone"
1t was this sort of thing about he
that made me like Mrs. Delarlo 81
much-her willingness to excuse ant
to wait for final proofs of peoples de
linquencies. She hadn't even men
toned her suspicion to Claire; at tn
same time the incident decided he