The Lamar register., 1921-05-25

his Probably Lakington possessed
letter of hers or something. and she
wanted him to get 1t back. OF course
he would, even II he had to thrash the
swine TO within an inch OF his life.
.Weil" The girls voice cut into
his train of thought and he hurriedly
pulled himself together.
THE last thing | want II for the
Incident TO fnish," he said fervently.
"Why-it's only just begun"
'Thcn youll help meY'
That's what FIN here for" With Z
smile Drummond lit another cigarette.
Tell me all abour IT.
The trouble" she began after d mo-
ment. ''is that there Is not very Lluch
to tell. AT present II is largely guess
work. and guess work without much of
q clue. However. TO start with. l had
better tell you what sort OF men you
are up against. Firstly. Henry Lax
ington-the man who spoke to me. He
was. believe. one of the most brilliant
scientists who has ever been up at
oxford. There was nothing. in his
own line which would not have been
open to him. had lie run straight But
he didn't He deliberately chose To
turn his brain To crime. Not vulgar
common sorts OF criIne-but the big
thugs, calling for master criminal
He has always had enough money 10
allow him 10 take his time over any
coup-to perfect his details. And
that's what he loves. He IL quite un-
scrupulous: he is only concerned In
pitting himself against the world aud
winning"
AN engaging f.llah." said Hugh.
"what particular form Of crime does
he favorf"
Anything that calls for brain. iron
nerve. and refinement OF detail" she
answered principally. up 10 date,
burglary on u big scale, and murder"
My dear soul :" said Hugh incredu-
lousy. How can you be sure; And
why don't you tell the pOlicef'
She smiled weariiy. Because I've
got no proof. and even II ! had :"
She gave little -hudder, and left her
sentence unfinished. But one day. my
father and | were In his house, and.
by accident. got into room I'D new
er been In before ON desk lay
some miniatures. and. without think
ing. l picked them up and looked at
them. ] happen 10 know something
about miniatures. and. to my horror. |
recognized them. Do you remember
the theft of the celebrated Vatican
miniatures belonging TO the duke OF
Melbourney"
Drummond nodded; he was begin
ming to feel Interested.
They were the ones l was holding
In my hand" she said quietly. And
Just as WAS wondering what on earth
to do. the man himself walked into
the ROOM
Awkward - deuced awkward"
Drummond pressed out his cigarette
and leaned forward expectsntiy.
-what did he do;'
"'Admiring my treasuresr he re-
marked. Pretty things. aren't theyr
l couldnr speak a word: / just put
them back on the table.
Wonderful copies he went on. of
the duke Of Melbourne's lost mtnia-
lures. 1 think they would deceive
most people.
They deceived me- / managed to
get out.
"All the time he was staring at me.
q cold. merciless stare that seemed to
freeze my brain. Then he went over
TO one Of the safes and unlocked IT..
Come here. Miss Benton. he said.
There are lot more-copies.'
81 only looked inside for a moment.
but / have never seen OF thought Of
such a sight. Beautifully arranged on
black velvet shelves were ropes Of
pearls. a gorgeous diamond tiara. and
a whole heap Of loose. uncut stones.
And In one corner l caught glimpse
Of the most wonderful gold chsliced
cup-just ike the one for which Sam.
uel Levy. the Jew moneylender. was
still Offering Il reward. Then he shut
the door and locked It, and again
stared at me In silence.
IAN copies he said quietly. won
derfui copies. And should you ever be
tempted to think otherwlse-ask your
father. Miss Benton. Be warned By