Evening journal., 1922-10-03
Episode One
Eve
CHAPTER /

nrsy TO attend TO Mike Clinch-
HBut now his turn was coming
ffe Eternal Sequence of things TT
snare in their courses indicated Il
6Sc-nning of the undoing OF Nil
.Clinch.
From Esthonia a refugee Counte
wrote to James Darragh in Ne
York:
After two years we have
discovered that it was Jose
3 Quintana's band of international
thieves that robbed Riccs- Quin-
tana has disappeared.
= "A Levantine diamond broker
4 In New York, named Emanuel
sard, may be in communion
|. ton with him
"Ricca and I are going TO
!. America as soon as possible.
l. VALENTINE"
I. The day Darragh received the let
kr he started TO look up Sard.
- But that very morning Sard ha'
received a curious letter from Rot
itfrdam. This was the letter:
"Sardius Tourmaline -
II Aragonite - Rhodonlte Por-
Il phyry - Obsdian Nugget
& Gold - Diaspore Novaculite
T. Yu Nugget Silver - Amber =
= Matrix Turquoise - Elaeolite
Ivory - Sardonyx Moonstone
= Iceland Spar - Kalpa Zlrcon
Eye Agate celonite - Lapis
- Iolite Nephrite - Chal-
oedony - Hydrolite Hegolite
- Amethyst Selenite Fire
Opal - Labradorite Aqua
marine Malachite Iris
Stone - Natrolite Garnet
jade - Emerald - Wood opal
-Essonite Lazuli Epidote
- Ruby - Onyx - Sapphire -
Indicolite - Topaz - Euelase
Indian Diamond Star Sap
phire African Diamond
Iceland Spar - Lapis Crucifer
Abalone - Turkish Turquoise
Old Mine Stone Natrolite -
Cats Eye - Eiectrum :. . is
e."
That afternoon young Darragh To-
Gated Sards Office and presented
himself as customer. The weasel
faced clerk behind the wicket laid
pistol handy and informed Darragh
that Sard was away on a business
trip.
Darragh looked cautiously around
the small ofldb:
I have important news concern
ing lose ouintana," whispered Oar
sagh; Where is Sard?-
why. he had a letter from Quin-
hama this very morning." replied the
clerk in a low. uneasy voice. mr.
Sard left for Albany on the one
O'Clock train. Is there any trouble ?"
Darragh bored him through with I
( his dark stare:
I Mind your business" he said.
; That night in Albany Darraeh /
picked up Sard's trail. Il led to a /
dealer in automobiles. sard had
bought comet>six. paying cash,
md had started north
Through Schenectady, Fonda, and |
afayheld. the following day. OAR
r7gh traced a brand new Comet Six
containing one short, dark Levan-
tine with a parrot nose. In North
vile Darragh- hired a Ford.
At Lake Pleasant Sard's. car wentl
wrong Darragh missed him by ten
minutes: but he learned that Sard
had inquired the way 70. Ghost Lake
Inn.
That was sufficient Darragh
bought an axe, drove as far as Har-
W III liNAof u4<llAcctu Alt II NIut
and walked into a forest entirely
familiar to him.
He aemerged in half an hour on a
wood road two miles farther on.
Here he felled tree across the road
and sat down in the bushes to
await events.
Toward sunset, hearing a car COM
ing. he tied his handkerchief over /
his face below the eyes. and took I
an automatic from his pocket.
Sard's car stopped and Sard got g
out to inspect the obstruction. Oar {
ragh -fauntered out of the bushes, {
poked his pistol against Mr.. Ssrd's !
fat abdomen. and leisurely and thor I
oughly robbed him.
In an agreeable spot near a brook E
Darragh lighted his pipe and sat him !
GSwns to examine the booty in de- (
tail Two pistols. a stiletto, and 2
blackjack composed the arsenal OF Z
Mr.. Sard. A large wallet disclosed
more than four thousand dollars in
Treasury notes-eomething 10 REIN ?
burse Ricca when che arrived. he I
thought.
Among sard's papers he discov-
cred a cipher letter from Rotterdam I
probably from Quintana. Cipher
was rather IN Darrsgh's line.
But Quaintana's cipher proved TO
be only an easy acrostic-the very
simplest OF secret messages. With /.
tn an hour Darragh had & penciled
out. r
Cipher
TAKE notice; IL
e'-sfar Pond. n y
Name IS Mike Clinch. 4.
! Has Flaming Jewel i.
Erosite ! sail at
once Ouintana" ,
Having served in Russia as an 4
ofhcer in the Military Intelligence a
Department attached 70 the Amsri-
can Expeditionary Forces. Dsrrsgh a.
had sittle trouble with Quintana's O
letter. Even the signature was not 1
difficult the fraction Is was easily 2
translated Quint; and the familiar c
prescription symbol a spelled ana /
which gave Quintana's name in full. z
He had heard of Erosite as the
-arest and most magnificent OF all
gems. Only three were known. The
young Duchess Theodorica OF Es-
thonia has possessed one.
Ia oh was I'm m cafv amused ~