The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-01-04

asked him NOT to speak so loudly aid
to explain the matter. 1t was relief
for me to hear that it was nothing
worse. Little did / suspect that any
thing worse could have happened.
There is no one about who can hear
u.s. said Frick. 1T is as | say the
black tortoise ..4s been stolen again, and
within the last few hours. Since FIVE
o'clock
looked at my watch; it was exactly
twenty-five minutes to eight
How can you be sure it happened
after FIVE o'clock? Didn't the black tor
toise lie in the case with the iron shut
ters, in the museum
Eyes, of course; but now you shall
hear Old Jurgens, the lawyer, you
know him, of course? He who has that
collection of curios, the old IDIOT Well,
he dined with us, and afterward we
drank our coffee out in the museum, as
we often do. AT FIVE O'Clock Jrrgers
left, and we all went over to the~house.
For some reason, as | shall presently
explain, forgot to lock the door of
the museum and cupboard. In about
half an hours time suddenly remem-
bered this | then had look into the
cupboards before locked them, and so
discovered that the tortoise was gone"
s'Are you sure it was there at FIVE
O'clock"
yes; we had been looking at it just
before we all left the museum; | was
the last who went out, and had put it
in its place before left"
Have you told any one that the tor
toise is gomez
mo; the first thing | did when | was
sure of what bad happened was to tele-
phone to you since then have watched
and seen that no one has gone in or out
OF the gate.
A long life rich in changes and events
had taught this old man expediency and
presence of mind.
He had done just the right thing, and
his information and answers were clear
er than nine-tenths of those which de
tectives are accustomed to get under
similar conditions.
is Miss Sigrid or your nephew at
home?"
"No; Einar went to Hamburg on bust
ness for me the day before yesterday
he will be there about week, and Sigrid
went for walk about half an hour ago.
1t was while accompanying her to the
gate that came to remember the door
of the museum wasn't locked"
Haven't you missed anything else in
the museum but the tortoise"
mot so far as can see; in any case,
there are still number of small and
costly articles which would be much
easier to turn into ready money than the
tortoise. 1t could not have been any
ordinary thief, or if so, it must have
been an unusually stupid one"
HAS the black tortoise any special
value to you or to any one else apart
from the worth of the gold and the
stone ?"
mo, that can gladly swear You
mean, suppose, is there anything about
this diamond, as one reads of in the
English detective stories, where black
and yellow people sneak about with dag
gers in their belts and vengeance in their
eyes! No! there is nothing of that kind
in this case We found it in the cavern,
as told you, together with all the other
diamonds Man has not set foot there
for thousands of years; and the negroes
who live thereabcut do not care fig for
diamonds For that reason they let
Davis keep the bag, which he took with
him when he escaped in the night. 1t
10 only when negroes have learned to
know the blessing of civilization that
they get taste for diamonds.
"Ons thing must be DONE" said,
while it Is yet ligAt. Will you take
care that NO one passes in or out
through the gate, while | meanwhile find
out if any one has got into the garden
over the railinGs"