The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-01-11
CHAPTER "
q THE POLICE STATION.

The next morning at eleven o'clock |
stood in the police superintendent's
Office; he had told me to be there at that
hour
had, for some weeks, figured as
chief of the detective department, dur
ing my super{or's holiday The latter
was applying for position in another
department, and | had had the chief
superintendent assurance that would
be appointed in his place. Il have al
ready spoken to the Minister of the In
terror about it, and you can consider the
matter as good as settled, were the
words with which my superior officer,
some days before, had concluded a con-
versation which had given me great sat
isfaction. 1t was soon after had been
fortunate enough in clearing up the cele-
brated Bjornernd case, and in getting
the murderer arrested.
My chief had always been very friend
ly to me, and treated me, especially of
late, almost as comrade; that is to say,
as far as his old fashioned, dignihed
and solemn manners would allow of it.
Tic SHOOk .lllC W ttiC Adilu d. SOO4A d.
/ came in, and said:
Good morning, take a seat" He
beckoned to a constable standing stiff7y
in one corner, who then pushed large
armchair toward me. "You can go into
the anteroom for the present, Struk
stad; | have something to talk over
with Mr.. Monk
''You are a lucky fellow, Monk, to
have got another interesting affair in
hand. | mean the diamond robbery at
old Frick's, in Drammen Road. If l
know you rightly, you have already
made up your mind about the case. From
what l have heard you are friend of
the family. Indeed, if l am not very
{ much mistaken, it is not only the dia-
mond which attracts you to the house"
l must confess / was much surprised
that my chief should know secret
which |, like all other people in love,
believed to be well guarded.
Naturally, I did not enter upon that
part of the story, neither did my SUI
perior seem to expect it; but | began,
as shortly and briefly as possible, to
explain to him little about the state of
affairs in the house, and among the &C.
cupants.
afterward gave him an account Of
the previous days events.
'As you may know, SIR, there was a
guest at the house yesterday to dinner.
1t was old Jurgens, the lawyer you know
him, his collection and his mania for
collecting | have heard that his rela-
tons are trying to prove that he is in
capable of looking after his own affairs.
He is getting imbecile from old age, and
is squandering his large fortune by
buying up all the worlds curios.
But ne is still sharp enough not to
let any one pawn off any trash upon
him. but if there is an object of real
value, one way or another, then he will
pay the largest sums without blinking.
He dined with old Prick. He came, of
course, only to see his collection, and he
nearly worried the life OUT of Frick with
his importunate requests to be allowed
to buy this and that.
The party at dinner consisted of Jur-
gems, Prick, Miss Prick, and Mr.. Howell.
Young Prick had gone away two days
before. There were in the house, be-
sides, the cook, the housemaid, 'and the
gardener. The coachman was on visit
10 his family at Moss. have already
telephoned to the police there. and ascer-
tanned that he reached there in the morn
ing and left by the evening train at eight
o'clock
Miss Frick's maid Evelina, was also
away during the afternoon: she had got
permission to go home to her mother,
who was Ill.
AFTER dinner they all went into the
museum, as the people Of the house call
the building which I told you about
some time ago--the one which Mr..