Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1926-02-26
THE
BURGLAR
BRIDEGROOM
By cAILy RyLArD


" gloves In his hand, Bobby
Tunstall stood waiting for
his bride The room In which he ex-
ercised his patience was blazing with
electric lights, which repeated them
selves in myriad reflections in the
gorgeous display Of gold. silver and
eut-Elass gifts strewn about the apart
ment in careless profusion. Bobby re
volved slowly and looked about him.
"whew l" he said, under his breath
"A small fortune In themselves
He looked Up quickly as step
sounded IN the hall outside, but It
was only a maid. bringing In Miss
Laura's" hand bag to wait beside his
own, and he turned again to his sur
vey Of the costly wedding compli-
ments.
A magnificent necklace Of pearls
and diamonds lay in an open case be-
fore him. and he picked It up and
stared at II.
"Not less than twenty thousand"
be said. and sighed.
n was long since he had held the
equivalent Of such a sum In his hand.
His mind rapidly reviewed the past
few months. How distinctly he re-
membered the first evening Jack
Tarieton had brought him to this very
room, to call upon Miss Bridges, How
long ago II seemed, and yet how short
the time since he had realized that he
was desperately In love. How sicken-
ing the qualm OF conscience when he
discovered that he was his old friends
successful rival; how elated he had
been when the adored one promptly
accepted him.
Bobby was a generous soul. as his
rapidly dwindlIng funds showed In the
radient days that followed. and the
few crisply folded bills which he was
now cngering nervously in his pocket
were the sole means for q wedding
Journey.
Mot a very brilliant prospect for a
lavish honeymoon" he murmured. and
again his eye fell on the glltterIng
necklace.
which Of the Three Tricky Sisters
suddenly extingulshed the electric
iightsi Only for two seconds, but
when they flashed up again with a
little sizEle of renewed energy Bobby
found the diamond necklace In his
hand-how, he could not tell.
A light step on the stair. and the
necklace slipped into his pocket and
rs case into a convenient wastebas-
ket, while Bobby turned with smile
to greet his bride. who stood blushlng
In the doorway.
Following a prevalent fad. Mr.. and
Mrs. Bobby Tunstall refused to d.
vulge to family or friends the plan
for their wedding journey, and so II
was not until they were discussing
their first dinner In their coy little
home-one of the wedding presents
that they were made acquainted with
the loss Of the necklace.
Bobby turned white, as Laura's sis
ter, Agnes. told with dramatic effect
the tragic tale, and Laura said, giving
his hand a little surreptitlous squeeze
under the table: 81 really believe you
feel the loss more keenly than do,
darling"
Il am sure do" said Bobby.
All that evening the necklace hung
about his neck like the Ancient Mari
ner's albatross, and at night It was
securely tucked away into his sponge
bag, for. he argued. that would be the
last place burglar would ever think
Of searching for valuables.
Although. through skllIful manage
ment. he had been able to bring the
necklace home without pledgIng
pearl for the purpose which had i'm
PEELED him to purloin II, his heart
sank at the futile devices OF his brain
for returning 1t to its rightful owner.
At FIRST he thought OF making a Joke
of the whole affair with his wife. but
when he learned from Agnes the enor-
nous excitement the matter had Gre
ated, and was told that detectives
were at work on the case. he gave up
that scheme. As for going to Mr.
Bridges, he preferred to imagine
rather than experience a father-In-
laws wrath. All night he was tor
mented by dreadful dreams. in which
sponge bags played leading parts. and
a necklace Of millstones hung about
his neck.
But the newspaper by his plate at
breakfast brought him the first easy
moment he had known for weeks, for
In a prominent place he read this ad-
vertisement:
$1,000 REWARD
The above reward will be paid,
and no questions asked, for the
return Of the necklace taken on
the night Of January 10, from the
residence of R. c. Bridges, to that
address, or to so Broadway.
"No questions askedl" The phrase
shone from the page rosy with the
light of hope. Laura was amazed at
the change in her husbands appear