The Ordway new era., 1920-05-07
By JANE BUNKER

iiuu IOfSOtteu NY Siouth oh WI .. Dci"
rio and that / had the diamonds and
meant to take them to the president.
"Well-are you going down to see
how she Isl" demanded Billy, wheel
ing and planking himself in front OF
me.
''Dear auntie-sweet auntie,"
jibed. please put on your camel's
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, Billyw I cried. suddenly re-
membering 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 1 told him how she'd
whipped in and out like spook while
he and Claire were going down in the
elevator. Then for the first time !
showed him the diamonds.
"Love and pumpliins!" he ejacu-
lated, overcome by the sight. "Well.
If this doesn't beat the Arabian
Nightsl' Are they real-real? Not
paste? Why, If they're real they're
worth about million dollarsi'
"And haven't been telling you that
all along?" l asked testify. Billy's
words and tone gave 1t pretty well
away that he hadn't believed 1t all
along, no matter what I'd said and
he'd pretended.
'Y-yes think you have" he admit
ted. rather stammeringly. But of
course-you realize that million dol.
lars Is a-er-a pretty big order for n
chap In New York to eat at n 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'll Well,
save my shoestrings! don't wonder
your nerves are on edge!"
let this pass about my nerves and
gave him the story she'd told me Sum
dny morning about the mahatma
sending her these diamonds through
the air and putting them In her slip
per; and how she claimed them. alb.
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 thief"
| A.
other" 1 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-
tion.
| l could only shrug-all I've ever
been able to do; that was her incor-
rlgible belief! wasted no more time
on it then, for our question was what
to do next, and I went on to tell him
lny the matter before the president.
To my asionishment. instead of the
warm commendation I'd expected from
Billy at taking the advice he'd urged
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
ihat!"
of getting there alive"
"Rlsks?" he echoed, rs If he hadn't
| given them thought. "But how
much are you going to tell about this
nffair7"
Everything of course-I mean ev-
erything l know. The government will
have to undertake to find out the
rest"
lie plunked himself in front of me
and demanded. "You aren't going to
let Miss de Ravenol get dragged into
mess like this, are your"
l didn't answer Immediately. and he
| ramped on, II ask you-are you going
to do 1t? Are you going to be party
to such a-such an outrage?"
"1f don't put the case to the presI-
dent what am to do? Here 1 am
| saddled with the diamonds"
swell. 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 minute was really angry,
and raped out, "If thought you
were serious, Billy, I'd ask you to
leave the house. Your suggestion Is
that 1 frankly become thief. and
your solution Is not only criminal
but-idiotic. What would 1t accom-
plish? with SO many people know
ingT
"Well-say-promise me one thing"
L he rlanlnd stYoli,lI x,raif-...,,, ,..o.,,