Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1922-02-04
True
Detective Stories
THE DEVONSHIRE
DIAMONDS

TAD Lady Alberta Devon not yield
ed to temptation az the last mo-
ment and stepped ont Of her
bOudoir 10 secure her sisters OPINION
upon the effect of her latest Partisan
creation II IS quite possible that IN
spec1or John Sweeney Of Scotland
Yard would not have had the eppor-
tunity Of proving his detective genius
in & peculiarly striking manner.
Lady Alberta was absent from her
room for less than ten minutes: but
during thar time occurred an event
which, for several hours, threatened
10 disrupt several Of the highest social
circles in England.
Il was the night Of the Devon ball.
held in the big old-fashioned house in
the center Of the Devon estate. As
was only TO be expected. the list Of
guests read like a section rom Burke's
Peerage-a fact which made Inspector
Sweeney's work distinctly more diff
cult when the loss Of the famous neck
lace Of .Deyonshire was reported 10
Scotland Yard.
Early in the evening Lady Alberta
had dismissed her maid with the state
ment that she would complete her toll
lette herself. bat, just as she was alsut
to p8t OIL her necklace-an heirloom
whica had greatly increased in value
because 81 its historic connections
she thought it would ae well 10 secure
an unbiased opinion as to the effect
Of her gown, which had just arrived
from Paris. When she returned from
her sisters room few minutes later
she reached for the necklace only TO
discover that it had vanished.
Positive that she had had it in her
hands less than ten minutes before. she
searched the room and then summoned
her husband, whom she told Of the
mysterious loss.
There is only one thing to do" de-
clared his lordship. after verifying his
wife's statement that the jewels We're
missing, and that is TO notify the po-
lice.
Inspector Sweeney reached the Devon
house shortly after midnight, while the
ball was still in progress, and secured
the meager details Of the case directly
from her ladyship.
did you notice any one in the hall
as you passed through on the way TO
your sisters ro0mF" Sweeney asked.
NO one at all"
How long has your maid been with
your
Less than two mouths-but she
came well recommended
Finally, IN spite Of protests. the op-
eratlye from Scotland Yard gave or
ders that no one was to leave the
grounds 81 the Devon estate without
his permission. and as the ball formed
part Of q week 5 festivities, it was pos
sible TO arrange this without mention
ing the reason for the request to the
guests. Armed with a list Of those
present, with their servants, Sweeney
then repaired TO Lady Devon's boudOir
to commence active Investigations.
His knowledge Of London society
was sufficient to inform him that at
least three of the guests despite their
titles, might easily have been guilty OF
lifting the necklace If the opportunity
had presented Itself.
The question is" unused Sweeney,
who could have known that Lady
Devon would have been out of the
room for just those few moments? She
wasn't summoned 10y any message and
it would therefore appear that some
one was hiding in the hope that an OPP
portunity would present Itself. That
would seem to eliminate the guests
but not the servants"
Working along this line, Sweeney
made a careful examination Of the
toilet articles on the dressing table
where the diamonds bad been placed.
After q thorough scrutiny Of the per-
fume bottles, pieces Of silver and other
articles when were highly polished,
the detective made his way downstairs
and sent word to Lady Devon that he
would like to speak TO her for mo-
ment-
your ladyship.r he said, "will you
kindly press the tips of your fingers
lightly on this" aud he held out one Of
the hand mirrors from the boudoir
NO" he added. I'm not suspecting
You Of making away with your own
diamonds merely wish To discover
which fuEer-prfnrs are yours"
Then. a moment later. Thank you.
! thought As much
Now" lie continued, y want Won "a
Instruct your hutleF-whom / under
stand has been with sou for number
Of years-to secure tie prints Of all
the servants under your roof. Tell him
70 make any excuse for ii that he
wants to. but I must secure "a complete
collection. Kindly have them sent tc
rny room the first thing in The morning
Meanwhile, don't worry. II my in
struetious are riSldly carried out. your
necklace should be discovered before
zine O'Clock"
But Sweeney underestimate by
some two hours Il was eleven O'Clock
on the following morning before he re
celyed tile complete set Of finger