Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-03


R; JUST LOOK, WILL YOU. PLEA
shoulder and spoke to him, and ]
might quite as we'll have removed
them from his pocket at that time,
| sir.
QUARTER, you will recall. was
~ serving liqueur to Mr.. Mindaton
at the time and was intimately adjacent
| to the pocket also. What wish to say,
SIR, is that Carter and l are not sit
uated as YOU ladies and gentlemen
are; our livings depend on our reputa-
| ton, if l may say SO, and | feel that
| it is hardly fair to us to put the bowl
| on the table. Even should the pearls
| be returned to the bowl. we would re-
main under suspicion, sir. l ask that
we be searched, sir"
| Mrs. Branch clapped her hands.
Hear, Hear" she cried. They're
right; it's only fair, Noble"
And l wish to ask, Mr.. Haitian,
| sad Riggs, that a search be made or
| all articles into which we might have
dropped the pearls, Carter or |. All
| the dishes we have removed from the
| table are still in the buffers pantry. l
! give you my word, sir.
| The last statement was so inSenu-
| Gus that it seemed to establish the in
nocence of Riggs, if not of Carter
also; and Haitian was willing that the
| two men should be searched, since
| they desired it, He chose Sam Ordner
and William Turnbridge to do this.
and they were about to go behind the
| screen when Haitian said, But where
IS Carter"
II am here, sir" said Carter, step
ping from behind the screen.
Ibid you hear what Riggs said?"
Haitian asked him.
NO, Mr.. Haitian"
"Where have you been?"
"Why, nowhere, sir" said Carter,
with an air of innocence that was
almost too perfect; ''only in the pan
try, sir"
Haitian walked around to the
screen.
zone minute, your said Ed Minda.
ton. You don't go behind that
screen alone; you are in this beat with
the rest of u.s.
"Ordner," said Haitian coldly, come
with me-
They went behind the screen and
moment later they moved it to cor
ner.
1.-The door into the pantry was not
locked" said Haitian grimly; the door
into the kitchen was not locked; the
whole house can be reached from the
Kitchen"
Garter hasn't the pearls" said Ada
Mindaton. "Oh. don't waste time with
Carter! Find my pearls, Noble; find
my pearls!"
Sam Ordner and William Turn
bridge now went behind the screen
with Riggs, Carter and Ed Mindaton
and the three were searched with
thoroughness, but when they emerged
Sam Ordner announced that the pearls
had not been found. Ed Mindaton
slumped into his chair dispiritcdly.
Before they took their seats Sam Ord
ner had brief word with Will Turn
bridge.
This is bad, WILL" he said. We've
seen the last of those pearls
You mean-?" Turnbridge asked.
"Ada's bridge debts" said Ordner.
MARY tells me they run into tens of
thousands. My notion is that Car
ter"
They were interrupted by Haitian.
who had been studying the faces of
those at the table. He was convinced
now that if Riggs and Carter were
innocent-and the police could handle
them If they were guilty-Cameo
Merdin had taken the pearls, if, in
deed. Mindaton had not given them to
her. meaning her to keep them.
OF Cameo Merdin he knew rather
more than Cameo possibly suspected;
in fact, he had in his safe at that
moment II letters Ed Mindaton had
written her and which had been sold
to Ada Mindaton by Canoes maid,
FO n,-I A.
she was-was a jealous woman. She
loved Ed and she would have gone
to any length to keep him, and her
only object in putting the letters in
Hattan's hands was to brighten Ed
into ending what seemed to her to be
his affair with Cameo.
HAITIAN believed that Cameo
u Merdin might not be above a will
ingness to profit by chance to black
mail Mindaton. He had a suspicion
she might have meant to bIackmail
him by using the letters. but now the
letters were gone. Might she not
have secreted the pearls, meaning to
make Ed buy them back the next day,
while suspicion rested on Riggs or
Carter and while Ed was still un-
aware his letters were out of her keep
ing? Haitian, watching her, believed
she had now had such scare that
she would be only too glad to drop
the pearls in the bowl If she were
given the chance.
The thing to do, Haitian saw, now
that every one was frightened. was
to work the count-one-hundred scheme
and allow the pearls to be dropped
into the bowl in the dark.
Attention. air. he said, rapping on
the table, and he announced. as Min
daton had. the count-one- hundred plan
as about to begin.
he said, that If the pearls are not |
returned to the bowl while we are |
walking around the table and before |
the lights flash on, every person !
here must submit to personal |
search, and that if the pearls are not |
then found we will have the police |
in. The pearls must be found! Are |
you ready now? Riggs, turn out the |
lights. One--two---"
All began fling around the table.
'"Threa - four - five - Haitian |
counted slowly. as he moved around |
the table. Mrs. Branch laughed |
rather Historically.
please hold your hands out over
the bowl as you pass it, Haitian said.
"Six-seven-eight---
"All around the raspberry bush,"
said Mrs. Branch, and laughed.
Thirty ve-thirty.six--'
,v,ivrtf&n IIoftax, Oh nnIYaR