Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1920-01-01
CHAPTER xI.-Continued.


f,r me | knew | was saved. But l
have never yet attempted TO count up
mo lies those diamonds cost me!
II was now a little after ten and
tbere was nothing for me TO do but
,.oit and SILVER. | began to think CO.
harently-to appreciate what monsieur
himself would be getting into by call
ing the police or the customs authori-
Ties 10 help him steal Mrs. Delario's
diamonds.
And vet saw perfectly he could do
III Where he had her was that she'd
Struggled the stones. He knew 1T
knew it-Claire knew ii. And If he
were bold enough to steal them from
her in lust that way wasn't sure but
she was timid enough to let him do II.
I suddenly remembered what George
had told me about his renting the fiat.
"Why the man was here before we
were ~ | exclaimed HE took faster
steamer-he was all ready 10 carry
through the lob when we landed !"
And with that / suddenly remembered
another thing that had entirely slipped
nv mind while our baggage was being
qxamlned-or rather not examined
and Claire was weeping-and every
body was flying round and asking ev-
prvhody if he'd seen her mother-an
elderly man in a big fur automobile
coat the collar up about his face and
his cap down over his brow--a man
with q flowing white beard and flash
ing. black, beady eyes-a man on
crutches-had stood opposite us,
watching. As / looked at him | had
the quick impression that there was
something wrong about him-that he
was there, perhaps, to steal from the
incoming baggage In the confusion.
The next moment my eye fell on
turquoise-beaded slipper - hers or
mine, / didn't know which-that had
fallen down between our suitcases.
The old gentleman had his eye on 1t
also / saw his hand come out of his
big pocket and reach, cautiously, slow
~. My own hand shot out and grabbed
the slipper from under his nose, and /
Il
hadn't finished the glare when my
cousin came hurrying to tell me to be
quick, our baggage was through.
had, as l say, forgotten the whole
incident, but-THE MAN IN DIS
GUISE WAS MONSIEUR DE RAVE
MOL.
! knew il then-he confessed 1t
later; lie had expected to get those
diamonds into his clutches while they
We're actually going through the Gus
toms inspection! / bounced out of my
chair with one glad whoop-"Eure-
LA i have found it," and pranced
10 my bedroom. | had the key to the
whole puzzle-"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 q. one
of those slippers we got in Paris :.
is lost" The tones of her voice-the
significant pauses--had been ignored
by me then. But add "ln" and drop
sis lost" and she answered my ques-
ltOn-she told me as plain as plain
could be that she had struggled the
diamonds through the customs house
"in one of the slippers"
Easy enough ! snatched them from
beside my bed Easy enough-with
those high insteps. So that was how
she did It'll
Claire had been shopping till she
found out where the diamonds we're
that was what her father sent her over
for But she was not 10 steal the dia-
m0nds herself-the risk of her being
caught with the goods was too great
that was her fathers job; she was to
give the signal-he was to get the
stones. And why hadn't her mother
met her, unless to create the confu-
sion for Mrs. Delario and me that
would make it possible for him TO turn
the trick? Why had he come over by
a faster steamer except to be ready
for Il?
IL precisely what he did. learned
II all later. He came over ahead of
MS, passed himself off In 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 10 be coming to
America - Struggled, of course - In
charge Of n certain woman, whom he
knew by sight.
To carry out this pose he had al
ready met several incoming steamers
and he was prepared 10 step up to
Mrs. Delario, demand TO search her
baggage and then-one turn Of his
hand and he could have walked off
with her diamonds in his pocket, shed
ills disguise and let her whistle for
Them. Instead of that he got glare
rom me l--one twist Of my hand and
had zone Of those slippers
oidnt know which and he didn't dare