Phoenix tribune., 1924-02-27
True
Detective Stories
THE DEVONSHIRE
DIAMONDS

ment and stepped out of her
boudoir to secure her sisters opinion
upon the effect Of her latest Partisan
creation 1t is quite possible that In
spector John Sweeney of Scotland
Yard would not have had the oppor-
tunity of proving his detective genius
In peculiarly striking manner.
Lady Alberta was absent from her
room for less than ten minutes; but
during that time occurred an event
which, for several hours, threatened
to disrupt several of the highest social
circles In England.
1t 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 from Burke's
Peerage-a fact which made Inspector
Sweeney's work distinctly more diff
cult when the loss of the famous neck
lace Of Devonshire was reported to
Scotland Yard.
Early in the evening Lady Alberta
had dismissed her maid with the state
ment that she would complete her toi-
lette herself, but, just as she was about
to put on her necklace-an heirloom
which had greatly increased in value
because of its historic connections
she thought 1t would be well to secure
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 1t had vanishedI
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 were
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 room?" Sweeney asked.
mo one at ALL"
How long has your maid been with
you"
LESS than two months--but she
came well recommended"
Finally, In spite of protests, the op-
erative from Scotland Yard gave or
ders that no one was to leave the
grounds Of the Devon estate without
his permission, and, as the ball formed
part of weeks festivities, 1t 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" mused Sweener,
'who could have known that Lady
Devon would have been out of the
room for just those few moments2 She
wasn't summoned by any message and
1t would therefore appear that some
one was hiding in the hope that an op-
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 had been placed.
After thorough scrutiny of the per-
fume bottles, pieces of silver and other
articles which were highly polished,
the detective made his way downstairs
and sent word to Lady Devon that he
would like to speak to her for a mo-
ment.
"Your ladyship," he said, Twill you
kindly press the tips Of your fingers
lightly on this" and he held out one of
the hand mirrors from the boudoir.
NO." he added, "rm not suspecting
you of making away with your own
diamonds merely wish to discover
which finger-prints are yours"
"Then, a moment later, ''Thank you.
1 thought as much"
"Now," he continued, 81 want you to
instruct your butler-whom / under
stand has been with you for a number
of years-to secure the prints Of all
the servants under your roof. Tell him
to make any excuse for it that he
wants to, but must secure complete
collection. Kindly have them sent to
my room the first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile, don't worry. If my in
structions are rigidly carried out, your
necklace should be discovered before
nine o'clock"
But Sweeney underestimated by
some two hours. 1t was eleven o'clock
on the following morning before he re-
ceived the complete set of finger
prints, and ten minutes later pair of
handouts was dangling from the wrists
Of William Sinclair, valet of one of the
titled guests and as IL afterwards de-