Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-01-07
CHAPTER xI.-continued.

WIS obiiSeu 10 SPIN eOfHe SOTl Oh u
plausible yarn TO save appearances.
and when handed him my letter with
the dime and begged him TO mail IT
for me | knew was saved. BUT
have never yet attempted to count up
The lies those diamonds cost me!
II was now little after ten and
there was nothing or me TO do but
wait and SILVER. | began to think co.
herentiy-to appreciate what monsieur
himself would be getting into by call
Ing the police or the customs authOri
ties TO help him steal Mrs. DelariO's
diamonds.
And vet ! saw perfectly he could do
it, Where he had her wss that she'd
struggled the stones He knew i'll
knew it-Claire knew 1t. And If he
We're hold enough to steal them from
her In just that way ] wasn't sure but
she was timid enough TO let him do IT..
suddenly remembered what George
had told me about his renting the fiat
why, the man was here before we
werer" ! exclaimed. He took faster
Steamer-he was all ready 10 carry
through the job when we landed 2"
And with that | suddenly remembered
another thing that had entirely slipped
MY mind: while our baggage was being
eXamined-or rather not examined
and Claire was weeping-and every
body was flying round and asking ev-
ersbOdy if he'd seen her mofher-an
elderly man in q big fur automobile
coat. the collar up about his face and
his cap down over his brow-a man
with a flowing white beard and fash
ing. black. heady eyeS--a man on
crutcheS-had stood opposite us.
watching. As ! locked at him | had
the quick impression that there was
something wrong about him-that he
was there, perhaps. "a steal from The
incoming baggage in the confusion.
The next moment my eye fell on a
iurquOise-beaded slipper - hers or
NINE, | didn't know which-that had
fallen down between our suitcaseS.
The old gentleman had his eye on il
also. ! saw his hand come out of his
big pocket and reach, cautiously, SLOW
~. Ny own hand shot out and grabbed
the slipper from under his nose. and
gave him douhle-barreled glare.
hadn't finished the care when my
cousin came hurrylng TO tell me TO he
quick, our baggage was through.
had. as ! say, forgotten the whole
incident. hut-THE MAN IN DIS.
GUISE WAS MONSIEUR DE RAVE.
MOL.
knew IL then--he confessed II
later; he had expected to get those
diamonds into his clutches while they
were actually going through the Gus.
toms Inspection bounced out of my
chair with one glad whoop-"Eure-
ka - have found it, and pranced
to my bedroom. had The key TO the
whole puzzIe--"one of those slippers y
When ! asked Mrs. Delario that aft
ernoon over the telephone how she got
the diamonds through the customs
house she replied. zone of those slip
pers we got In Paris is lost" Those
were the words she said: what she
really communicated was a. one
of those slippers we gOi in Paris
is lost" The tones of her voice--the
Significant pauses-had been ignored
rs me then. But add lin and drop
"iS lost" and she answered my ques-
tion-She told me as plain MS plain
could he that she Dad Struggled the
diamonds through the customs house
''in one of the slippers"
Easy enough snatche-l them from
beside my bed, Easy enough-wiih
those high insteps. So that was how
she did IL!
Claire had been shopping tilI she
found out where the diamonds were
that ras what her father sent her over
for. Ru she was not to steal The dia-
mOnds her elf--the risk of her heing
caught with he goods was too great
NAT was her fathers job i; she was 10
give the Sienal--he was 10 get the
stones. AND why hadn't her mother
met her. unless 10 create the confu-
sion for Mrs. Delario and me that
would make II POSSIBLE for him to lurn
the trick? Why had he come over by
q faster steamer except TO he ready
for IL?
It's precisely what ne did. learned
It all later. He came over ahead of
us. passed himself off 10 disguise and
forged credentials as an Italian gov
eminent secret service agent tracing
an old master that had been recently
stolen from one of the Italian museums
and that was known TO he coming to
America - struggled. of course - in
charge of Il certain woman. whom he
knew by sight
TO carry out this pose he had al
rsady met several incoming steamers
Ad he was prepared TO step up to
Sis DeIariu demand 10 search her
baggaQ, and hen--One turn of his
hand ana he could have walked of
with her diamonds in his pocket shed
his disguise and let her whistle for
them Instead Of that he got II glare
from me one twist of my hand and
| had one Of those slippers
didn't know which and he didn't dare
to speak for fear I'd recognize him!
Aud thus his whole plot fell to the
ground-alse an my interesting occult
mystery about three rotating slippers
that foed the wall Of their own accord
after they'd been SET heel 10 the wall
and then walked out Of locked fat
and then came home and hid In my