The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-07-31
CHAPTER lII.-continued.

| dined in q little restaurant in one
of the side streets and walked home.
Immediately on entering the apart
ment l decided to put my money in
the wall safe. There would be less
temptatiOn for me to spend it If l
carried only little in my pocket.
AS l opened the safe by means Of
the combination I made the astOund-
ing discovery that one of the jewel
cases had disappeared.
And now stood hesitating at the
telephone. Self-protectiOn babe me
notify neither the superintendent nor
the police. Yet l must do something.
The jewels entrusted to my care had
been stolen. The thief must be found
and the pearls recovered.
Why should not myself play the
detective? l had abundant leisure
now. My great-uncle had informed
me that there was something wrong
in the house and had charged me to
discover what it was. Here was the
opportunity for me to fulfill the trust
he had imposed on me.
The thought flashed across my mind,
too, that perhaps the crafty old gen.
tleman had deliberately planned the
disappearance of the gems. Perhaps
he had devised an elaborate test to
see if l was honest, if l was of the
right caliber to be his heir. Maybe he
and his wife had not gone to Maine
at all, They might even be quartered
| in another apartment in this very
house, surreptitiously entering when
they knew | was absent. There real
Nv had been no necessity for them to
give me the combination of the safe.
They need not have told me anything
about the pearls. l wondered If they
themselves might not have taken away
the level box just to see if l would
discover the loss and to ascertain
what l would do about it.
Another theory suggested itself. My
aunt evidently priced her jewels high
ly. After they had started she NIGH
have repented having left them behinc
and have sent the old colored butler
back to get them. He of course
would have key to admit him, ant
they would have supplied him will
the safe combination, as they had me
Probably he had been told to leave
some message for me and had forgot
ten to do so. More than likely in {
day or two I would receive lette
from old Rufus that would explain
everything.
was glad now / had not notified
the superintendent nor the police. NJ
second theory surely was far more log
zeal than the first. 1t seemed prepos
ferrous that they would risk hundred
Of thousands of dollars worth of gem
just to test my honesty.
. Still, / determined to make thor
ough investigation. If they had bee
, stolen. l would set about in scier
tific way to discover the method 0
, the theft and to bring about restore
ton. / would keep my investigator
. secret, and if 1t turned out that tn
pearls were safe, no one would kno'
of my fright about the matter. | b.
gan outlining my work as a detectivt
First, / would examine the SAT
knob for possible finger prints.
Second. | would interrogate Mr.
Burke. would watch her CAREFUL
for any appearance of guilt. woul
try, without arousing her suspicion
} to ascertain if she had let her Ike
. out of her possession.
} Third, | would insert an advertis
ment offering a reward for the retur
of the Jewels, so Worded that only Il
thief and myself would understan
n Fourth, 1 would try to locate Il
y Gastons and would question the ha
a, bows and telephone girl as to wheth'
t, they had surreptitiously returned.
j. Fifth, l must try and discover VIII
was in the mysterious letter that hi
led to my discharge. While this d
not seem to have any connection wi
o. the other affairs that were troubliI
c. me. if / was to remain in New Yo
ID and become better acquainted wi
n. Barbara Bradford, as | fondly hope
h I meant to have nothing hanging ov
Il me.
| was about to get into bed, h
turned out the light, in fact, when
!. recalled the errand that had led me
IN open the wall safe. Ind more tn
te two hundred dollars in my trouse
ID pocket and | purposed putting
&c where 1t would be safe. With
feeling that If the jewels had dis