San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-04-11
CONTINUED from Page IS)

d.
the game when you're so fright
fully up against it."
ut happened last Thursday,
Comstock went drearily on. az,
been up to town to Wodderleigh'
to collect your stones. I'd go
them with me in a bag. When
turned up at Monks Yielding sh,
was in the hall. l looked a bi
surprised, and very charmingl!
she gave me to understand tina
she was the new owner.
81 fell for that girl, Peter
Don't imagine a typical vamp
Think of a dainty, airy-fairy-Liliar
sort of girl, unworldly to all ap'
pearances - rather the clinging
type.
"She told me very prettily that
she knew she was behaving in an
abominable manner-that she only
begged to be allowed to look at
the place and then would run
away. | wasn't on any accountsto
inconvenience myself, and so on.
Il showed her over the place,
wondering why she had bought it
if she had never seen it, but |
couldn't very we'll ask her. g.
She has that sort of little air that
doesn't encourage questions. |
did, however, nerve myself to the
point of asking her name. She
smiled and was prettily mysterious
about it. We were destined to meet
again, she informed me, and
would | be a dear man and let her
spring her little surprise on me
when the time came.
Eyes, l know, old man. But
you have started off by thinking
about her as a shrewd crook with
a very lucky appearance and
very lucky voice and very lucky
manner. ! kicked off by thinking
about her as a dear, quaint little
girl I'd have loved to see with my
sister, if I'd had one. You can
see that by the time we got to the
gun-room and my gadgets, wo-
man like that had no difficulty in
getting me to open that bag and
show her your stones-some eight
thousand pounds worth of them,
| should think, though l never had
a chance to make a detailed ex-
animation.
at must have been a little
harder to get me out of the room
and leave those things unprotected,
but she pulled it off all right.
when I'd done seeing her off
and assuring her it would be the
most convenient thing in the world
for me to clear out of the place
at breakneck speed, | went back
to the gunroom. Not in a hurry.
There was no one in the house;
/ only used to occupy three rooms
and when your old Mrs. Haddow
had cleaned them and cooked lunch
she laid out a cold supper and
went back to the lodge. AS /
opened the door of the gunroom,
! said to myself-'Hullo-Old
Knee-bagsr
Hes got a rather individual
smell, you know. Chaps like that
often have. As | don't smoke, I'm
rather extra sensitive. And | smelt
Old Knee-bags. | tell you, man,
] was positively pleased. | want
ed to show Knee-bags the stones.
"Well, / don't want to work to
the climax. Smell of Knee-bags-
diamonds gone"
DO you mean to say the GOO
goo eyes business prevented you
from sending for the police"
"Of course | sent for the DO
lice and did all the usual things"
said COmstock. Nothing happen
ed. | gave them the correct times
when my train arrived and so
on: The police are great on times.
Sos WodderlHgh."
But you told them"
"DO you think ! told the local
superintendent of Police that I'd
smelt Old Knee-bags? Think |
told him that I'd been bulldozed by
the girl who'd bought Monks
Yielding? What was the use?
They'd have suspected me at once
and done simply nothing. Where
as, by giving them a commonsense
account Of the affair they at least
did a bit Of intelligent nosing,
though they've found nothing. OF
course, I've led up to getting them
to suspect Brummelton. WOd-
derleigh's turned nasty almost at
once"
"Wodderleigh's can't think that
# you'd wanted to pinch those
things you'd have done it in such a
tOm-foOl way as that-a way in
which you'd have been certain to
be found out"
The theory Of the crime"
Comstock YEARLY, "is
that was relying on the standing
of the firm for the insurance com
pany to pay up without any fuss"
What about the girl? She has
holt"d. ] suppose"
you're assuming that the dia-
monds are all she wants. You've
forgotten the digging in the copse.
I'm convinced she's after the
manganese. I've no doubt she'll
take up residence in Monks Yield
ing in a day or twO-together with
Old knee-bags. What the devil
can | prove? Pm not going to tell
the jury that ! was bulldOzed by
the girl. She'll smile at the jury
and III get a bit extra for bein0