Evening star., 1921-08-25
Continued from Yesterdays star:)
What do you mean?" Inspector Druet
demanded.

What do you mean?" Inspector Druet
demanded.
'T made a dummy of herr she replied
with evident satisfaction. There wasn't
a place you could hide cat in my
rooms and 1 was at my wits end when
all at once I thought Of the form-the
figure, you know, that l drape dresses
on. Quick as a wink whipped that wed
ding dress OF 1t. dragged 1t over and
stuck 1t in the closet and made Mrs.
Hildreth stand straight up on the
skirt-measuring platform. 1 don I
know how I ever got that wedding
dress on her. for it was an awful
tight fit. her being so big. but man.
down over her feet and throwing a
sheet over the top of her. like l al
ways do over dresses on the form 10
keep them clean. When the police
my rooms was sitting on the floor.
stitching away at the hem OF tnat
skirt and they never SO much as lifted
a corner Of the sheet"
NrcCarty coughed. but the inspector
avoided his eye and asked hastily:
.What happened after they had
Eone:' ,o,,,
off the platform and told me who she
waz and the story she's come mere 70
tell YOU now and nobody knew she
was in my rooms until now. Ever
since she read In the papers yesterday
afternoon that her husband had been
arrested for that murder she was near .
craxy, and this morning she couldn I
stand it any longer. for she knew ne
would never speak and give away
where she was: he'd go to the cha1f
first. She made up her mind to some
down here to you and nothing could
stop her" ,.,+o-
turned once more to the woman be-
S..~ hyro ga re vo,1 the wife OF Frank
yves, sir; have brought with me
my'marriage certificate: 1t Is most
certainly true that my husband was
at home with me at the time the mur
derwas committed and true also that
/ did not touch the jewels OF MRS.
Creyeling. 1 told all that 1 knew
about that when I was first arrested
butlwhat I suspect" she shrugged.
who would listen or believer?
Wen listen to you. al right, ans .ns
teli:me everything. You are Swedish
andIcalled yourself lisa HelWig' didn
yo% when you went to work at the
Yes, Sir. it is my name. I am OF
German parents. but always l nave
went as housemaid to the Crevelingss,
and. In January I married FRANK.
She paused, and then added: Il have
so many times before told my story
of what happened the afternoon the
emsfa1ds disappeared. but perhaps you
do Hot know. As Mrs. Crevel1ng testi-
fedIiI was summoned to help her dress
forthe pageant and had unpacked her
costume when she came into the room
with the Jewel case in her hand. Sne
put it down, upon her dressing taoIe
and then Rollins came to say tha'
ao.ue one wanted her on the tele-
phone. I had all day such head
ache was nearly crazy and thought
E ! would have time to slip away 70 my
room and take powder BEFORE MRS
Creyeling returned. 1 did go up TO
my room, sir. not down stairs: as M, M:
= Creveiing swore: I did not touch the
Jewel case But who would believe?
"Did you go directly back to Mrs
Creveling's dressing room a1ter you
took your medicine?
Yes, but she had already returned
when she opened the jewel case and
It was empty, but II never thought
that I should be accused. lit
stunned me. I was for time like
one dead. and then I began to think
and so did Frank"
She paused once more and the IN
speetor said impatiently.
"Well, what did you think?"
Mr. Creveling Is dead. sir, and II
Is not well to speak against those
who are gone, but why Should ne
have sworn to lie about me?' the
try to fasten on me the theft instead
of doing all he could to find out who
really took the emeralds unless ne
knew the truth and must hide 1t. no
matter who suffered? Yet he could
not have been all bad. that man. fol
for my bond?"
The inspector bent forward over his
desk. :,
you think that creveling himself
took his wife's emeralds?" he cried
''WI1 you swear that neither you mol
your husband know where the ter
thousand came from for your bail?'
"1 swear 1t, sir! 1t happened ex.
actly as my lawyers told: Frank ane
had suspected from the time Mr
Creveling said that which was mo-
true about me. and he did not wan
me prosecuted from the beginning
you know. That was Mrs. Creveling'.
doing: she is Of ice. that lady. 1cs
and iron.-but it does not matter
about me. I can prove nothing
do with me as she wishes. You have
heard my good friend here: her wore
has cleared my husband Of the mur
der charge. has 1t not? Oh, will yot
set him free?'
The Inspector sent for Martin and
commissioner. Then for the first tim'
he addressed McCarty:
What do you think, Mac?"
McCarty cast a warning glanc'
toward the two women who were con
versing together in the corner and re
piled In low, quick tones:
"rm thinking I'd like to go to tn
Tombs with the paper that lets Hill
out and have q talk with him.
An hour later. as he made his wa.
over to the gloomy, turreted pile o
gray stone, McCarty went carefully II
retrospection through the account o
the theft which Mrs. Creveling ha
given him. That she herself had con
spired with her husband to max
away with her own jewels and plac
the blame upon the girl was unthink
able, but that Creveling might hav
abstracted them from the Jewel cas-
. in the temporary absence Of both mis-
tress and maid was another matter.
But surely. in spite Of his partner
statement as to the shrinkage Of hi
capital. Creveling could not hav
been brought SO low financially tina
he must steal his own wife's trinkets
Then sudden though