The Holbrook news., 1922-03-31
True Detective Stories TRIANGULAR FLAW

was apparent immediately rom HIS
 monocle and his spats. Every shop
 keeper along the Via Shiaia in Naples
 knew his lordship, and every one of them admitted that a more repre- sentative member of the British aris- tocracy had never visited Italy. Lord Herbert was not only lavish
 with his money, but it was whispered around the Grand Hotel al Napoli that his daughter, Sylvia, soon was to be married to one of the richest men in England.
 Therefore when the English noble man wandered into the establishment of the largest jeweler ill Naples some two months after his arrival in the city and asked to be shown some dia mond necklaces, there was an immedi- ate scurry to wait upon him. Finally the proprietor himself requested Lord Herbert to come into his private of flee while he took from the safe necklace valued at 450,000 francs, the property of client who was ill finan- cial straits.
 Noulu llht lO pul CliuSc SolHClhiiS to give my daughter for a wedding present" explained the Englishman, and the jeweler nodded, for the rumOrS of the engagement had already reached his ears. I'm afraid, though" con tinued his lordship, 'that this neck lace is little more expensive than can afford at the moment. 1 don't doubt its value but I'll have to have a little time to think it Over." Certainly" agreed the jeweler. q
 will be pleased to hold it as long as you wish and, should you desire to
 see and examine it again, I will be
 very glad to bring it to the hotel at your convenience"
 That would be excellent" assented | the visitor, but l naturally do not wish my daughter to know anything | about the transaction. The whole mat | ter is to be a surprise to her" A few days later, in response to Lord Sheffield's request, the jeweler | took the necklace to the Grand hotel and found the Englishman alone in
 the room. After a very careful ex- | animation of the diamonds terms were
 agreed upon and Lord Sheffield had | just produced his letter of credit from ! his wallet when a girls voice was | heard in the corridor, just outside the | door,
 | My daughter!' exclaimed the Eng | lishman. "She mustn't know any | is, ha ho necklace and the wallet into the draw | CT of the desk before which he sat. A
 moment later Sylvia Sheffield came in | and announced that her fathers tailor | had arrived and wished to see him at
 once. Excusing himself with the state | ment that he would be back very
 shortly, Lord Herbert left the room
 and his daughter followed him imme-
 diately.
 When half an hour had passed the jeweler began to wonder what was de- | taining his client, but he didn't worry
 in the least because his necklace and
 his lOrdship's wallet were there in the
 drawer of the desk, right under his | hand. The transaction involved too l much money to warrant any impa-
 tience, so it was not until two hours
 had slipped by before the jeweler rang | for the hotel clerk and requested to know what was detaining Lord Shef- | field.
 His lordship and Miss Sylvia left
 the hotel nearly two hours ago." was
 the reply. "They had received cable | gram from England"
 Sensing that he had been robbed, the | jeweler tugged at the drawer of the | desk only to find that it was locked,
 but a moments examination of the
 next room sufficed to show that the
 wall against which the desk was
 placed had been pierced and that the
 whole procedure had been a plot to l lift the necklace and make a quick 1 getaway.
 | Lvigi BOnfi, one of the shrewdeSt
 detectives in Naples, was immediately
 placed in charge of the case and tele- | graphed to Rome to have the pair ar
 rested. Sheffield, anticipating such 2
 move, had planted two cOnfederates in 1 the capital, and by the time that the | police had found that their alibi was
 ironclad the real criminals were well
 on their way nOrthward. Then fol
 lowed one of the longest chases in
 continental detective history. | Finally, after more than eight
 months. he located them in London, | n hn hx-t ha irrht io1 of the Englishman that he had ever
 used the name of Sheffield or had ever | been in Naples. He accounted for his | possession of a number of unset dia-
 mOnds by the statement that he had
 bought them in the Argentine and ex-
 hibited bill of sale covering the
 gems.
 | To this Bonfi made no reply, but | whipped out jewellers magnifying
 glass and commenced to examine the
 diamonds, one by one.
 Then, before the Englishman knew
 what he was doing, he leaned forward
 and snapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
 Bills of sale" said the Italian de-
 tectlve. 'are easy enough to forge, but
 you can't forge diamond-and one of
 those in your possession has triangu-
 lar flaw in precisely the same place as | did one of those in the MOntori neck | laceI'
 Lord Sheffield" spent the next
 twelve years in prison. The girl es- | capped.