Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1920-03-10


was amused-so much amused that ]
had forgotten my crouch on Mrs. Della
rio and that 1 had the diamonds and
meant to take them to the president.
welfare you going down to see
how she is?" demanded Billy, wheel
ing and planking himself in front OF
me.
Dear auntie-sweet auntie,"
jibed. please put on your camePs
hair shawl and bunnit and haste away
to Beauty-in-Distress that l may in
stantly know how she bore up under
the strain of meeting the hero and
how she liked his pink, round cheeks"
Billy gave me vicious grunt and
strobe across the room-he wanted to
say something ugly to me but he didn't
dare, seeing how I held his fate in my
hands.
"oh, BilIy!" I cried. suddenly re
Numbering the latest news, "she
brought back the diamonds last
night"
"Claire came back? Good heavens
he sank into the chair.
"Claire? OF course not. Mrs. Della
RIO" And I told him how she'd
whipped in and out like a spook while
he and Claire were going down in the
elevator. Then for the first time ]
showed him the diamonds.
"Love and pumpkins" he ejacu-
lated, overcome by. the sight. "Well,
if this doesn't beat the Arabian
Nights! Are they real-real? Not
paste? Why, if they're real they're
worth about a million dollarsw
"And haven't been telling you that
all alongw 1 asked testify. Billy's
words and tone gave it pretty well
away that he. hadn't believed it all
along, no matter what I'd said and
he'd pretended.
ayes. L think you have" he admit
ted. rather stammeringly. "But Of
course-you realize that a million dol
lars is a-er-a pretty big order for a
chap in New York to eat at a sitting"
He spread them out on his hand, NUT
tering to himself. Finally he brought
out: "And you've got these-here =
all alone in the fiat with you! Well,
save my sh0estrings! l don't wonder
your nerves are on edge!"
let this pass about my nerves and
gave him the story she'd told me Sun
day morning = about the mahatma
sending her these diamonds through
the air and putting them in her Slip
per; and how she claimed them, abb
solutely, religiously, as hers.
'The woman's crazy" was the curt
way he disposed of her, and added,
to mitigate this harsh judgment, "Or
else she's a thief"
"She's neither one thing nor the
other" I defended sharply. "She's
merely deluded-the same as tens of
thousands of other people have been
deluded about things they believed
in"
"Crazy," he repeated with convic-
ton.
l could only shrug-aH I've ever
been able to do; that was her incor-
rigible belief! wasted no more time
on it then, for our question was what
to do next, and went on to tell him
how I'd decided to take his advice and
lay the matter before the president.
To my establishment, instead of the
warm commentator I'd expected from
on both my duty and my common
sense not forty-eight hours before
and remember, I'd barely restrained
him from rushing off on the midnight
train-he popped out of his chair and
began excitedly pacing the floor. His
first words were, "Why, you can't do
that!''
"Oh, l see all the risks I'm running
of getting there alive"
"Risks?" he. echoed. as if he hadn't
aiven them a thought. 'But how
much are you going to tell about this
AFFAIR.""
Everything, Of course-I mean ev-
erything know The government will
have to undertake to find out the
rest
He plunked himself in front of me
and demanded, "You aren't going to
let MISS uS IldtSHOl get uIdSSSd AhLO
a mess like this, are youg
/ didn't answer Immediately, and he
ramped on, II ask you-are you going
to do it? Are you going to be party
to such a-such an outraged"
IF don't put the case to the presi-
dent what am 1 to do2 Here / am
saddled with the diamonds"
"Well, just keep them yourself" he
bluntly offered. as his solution of the
difficulty. Keep them-put them in
the safe deposit-and let things take
their course"
For a minute / was really angry,
and raped out, eff | thought you
were serious, Billy, I'd ask you to
leave the house. Your suggestion is
that I frankly become a thief, and
your solution is not only criminal
but-idiotic. What would it accom-
plish? -with so many people know
ing?"
'Well-Say-DromiSe me one thing -