The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1920-04-09
Jane Bunker

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knew nothing about them, and he then
requested her-as the proof Of her
noncomplicity-tO let him lock her In
her room and send for mel And she
! didn't dare to refuse!
And there you have. simple as
simple could be, the whole of it.
had her side of the story when l saw
her Sunday morning as nOnsieurs
messenger. But l had enough OF the
story before l went to her to feel
pretty well chagrined yet sad, too, as
i thought of the disappointment ! had
in store for her when / told her that
Emperor William owned her find"
and how the diamonds came to be in
her slipper.
l confess ] didn't like very much the
way she'd lied to me about the uncle
abroad who had left them to her.
Still-it was an understandable lie
since she'd found the diamonds and
didn't know who owned them she felt
they belonged to her as much as II
| they'd been left her in q will.
Mrs. Delario herself admitted me
gave a gasp when she saw who it was,
and whirled me into the seance oom
and locked the door on us before we
exchanged a syllable.
We sank into chairs. l felt as II q
tidal wave had swept from under me
and left me not even hanging up in a
coconut tree but sitting still in peace
ful security. 1t was she who got rs
down from the high peaks to the levels
where conversation can go afOOt with
out falling of, by asking. And how
are you-after it allT to which 1 70
piled, but how are you-after it alr
and We both laughed.
Her laugh died away into an indig-
nant frown. You v heard any
thing like it," she cried. II cane
here with a detective-and it wasn't
five minutes after you got out OF the
house, Nonday-and accused ine-
me !-Of stealing Claire's braceletsr
"Bracelets?" l echoed.
"Yes-me."
| said "Oh," slowly. / hadn't ex-
pected shed grind the word jewels
quite 20 fine.
Did you yer hear anything quite
so OutrageOus?' she rushed N. TO
come here and say l robbed his child
Of jeweiry! l don't believe she had
any jewelry, anyway-it was all a
trumped-up story to get something out
of me; but l was so indignant" and
she poured out the whole tale.
well, it's all over" she concluded.
81 didn't care how much monsieur
Searched-I knew | hadn't robbed
Claire, and I knew that so long as
you had my diamonds they were safe.
| didn't worry after the first day
or So"
She said "my diamonds" and
[ had to tell her!
Mrs. Delario there seems to be
! misunderstanding about those dia-
monds," l began suavely.
She gave a start and asked, How,
misunderstanding? You mean they're
not worth all you said? Well-you
iidn't tell me positively they were
korth-that." She seemed to hesitate
1t "a million dollars" which is what
I said.
'Oh, yes-I still stick to that-that.s
lhe worst of it: they are worth it
that's what made them shining targets
for that thief"
'srhiefr" she cried. "You say
thief too! Then he was, after ALL"
She was very much excited, and re-
peated the word several times with q
kind of joy and ran on rapidly: Il
wouldn't tell you what ! thought about
him, but / knew he was a thief. l
knew 1t in Paris-I knew it In Ant
werp-it was in Antwerp-after I'd
made all the arrangements to bring
CIuire over-that l heard 1t clairaudi-
entity, DE Ravenol is a thief l knew
1t herein this very room-the first
time he came" And then she smiled
at me benignantly: "And thanks to
you he didn't get my diamonds, so
we're safe-Claire's safe-she1l never
know the truth about her father from
me.
claire never had any jewelry-the
whole accusation was trumped up to
get the chance to rob me But how
under the sun did he know / had those
diamOnds7"
"He says he put them Thereon at
least Claire did-in your slipper" I
blurted.
Her hands few to her heart.
"Never I" she cried. "Never In the
"And he says they're his" l persist
ed, feeling I'd got my opening at last.
I put it that way partly to disabuse
her mind Of the idea that monsieur
was a thief; partly to saw her from
the too sudden shock Of the Emperor
William. l saw I'd have to let her
down gradually.
They're mine," she returned vehe-
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