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

lie udU T6dO itO DOOhSt lldN liA
IL been busy making a million
dollars: but now he had dis
covered books. and he was reading
them with delight.
This book of the eX-ambassadort
memoirs was like a visit TO newt!
discovered country. He had an amaz
ing respect for the writer and keeI
interest in the incidents set down.
AS Ed Mindaton read the page or
which his attention was set he began
TO smile. then he chuckled, and finally
as he reached the point of the incident
the ex-ambassador was detailing, ne
laughed heartily. He looked into the
distance, playing with an amusing
idea of his own.
The book Ed Mindaton was readlhe
was a book of memoirs entitled The
DAYS Before Yesterday" and he had
been attracted to it by the fact that
The author was a lord-Lord Fred
erick Hamilton. The episode he mao
Just read had to do with costly neck
lace of pearls. the property OF the
wife of a diplomat assigned to the
capital of a small Balkan nation. AT
dinner party at the British legation
in this nameleSS state one OF the
Balkanese gentleman admired the
necklace, and the lady passed her
the way around, the pearls disappear
I'd. Evidently some one of the Balkan
csc was a souvenir hunter! But the
ambassador thought he knew his bal
kans.
As in many other stories-although
Ed Mindaton had never heard them
the ambassador locked the doors or
the room. He then placed small
silver bowl in the center of the din
ner table. II am now going to switch
off all the lights" he said. land count
TO 10 slowly. When I have reached
10 shall turn on the lights again. and
prestoi Nine. de IS necklace VIII
be found lying in that silver bowl.
The room was plunged in darkness
the ambassador counted slowly up 10
10. The lights blazed again: there
was no necklace; but the silver bowl
had also vanished!
It was certainly an amusing tale.
Ed Mindaton began to chuckle again.
He walked to the mantel and took
from it bowl slightly smaller than
a finger bowl. a beautiful carved at
fair. set with rare gems, and-like
the bowl in the ambassador party
pure silver. Still smiling. Ed Minda-
ton walked across to the dining room.
He moved one of the articles on the
mantel there and put the silver bowl
in it's place. Then he returned to
the library.
MRS. ADA MINDATON. his wife,
AVA was giving. the next night one
of the somewhat grand dinners to
which she had become addicted. She,
too, had a pearl necklace. Ed had
paid $4,000 for it, which included
the diamond clasp, and his wife in
yaria bly, wore it at her dinners.
Mindaton recalled that his wife had
told him she was placing Mrs. Tulk-
ington Orr at his right and Mrs.
Branch at his left. He could not re-
call whether Mrs. Branch wore
necklace, but Mrs. Orr's diamond
neekland was famous, and she would
Re, sure to wear it-she always did.
He remembered-and grinned-that
at, the last dinner given by Ada the
Orr necklace had become unclasped,
falling inside Mrs. Orr's bodice ana
causing considerable amusement, and
this would give him a reasonable ex-
cpse, at the coming dinner, for speak
ing of necklace clasps.
He could ask Ada to let them see.
the patent arrangement that was part
of the clasp of her pearls. The pearls
would be passed up the table and, sup
posedly. down the other side, but they
would disappear! Ed would then do
ms ethe ambassador had done. He
would place the silver bowl in the
middle of the table, lock the doors,
turn out the lights, count 10 and
then, when the lights were turned on
again, there would be screams of
la1ighter-the necklace would not be
in the bowl, but the silver bowl also
would be gonei
THE pearls he could slip into the
tail pocket of his coat easily enough,
but the bowl he could not reach from
where he would sit at the head Of the
long table. He decided that, when the
lights were turned out, the guests
must be asked to walk around the
table, thus giving each a chance to
reach the bowl. 1t would also give
him the chance to take the bowl from
the table and drop it out of sight.
Mindaton crossed to the dining room
again to choose a hiding place for the
silver bowl. The best place was be-
hind the Japanese screen that hid the
door to the buffers pantry. The
cafpet was thick and would deaden
the sound OF bowl dropped behind
the screen.
The dinner, the next evening, pro.
ceeded excellently for Eds purpose,
except In one respect. Almost at the
last minute Mrs. Orr had telephcued
that one Of her children seemed to
have fever and that she and Mr..
Orr could not be present, and Mrs.
Mindaton in this emergency seated
Cameo Merdin at Eds right. This
eliminated Mrs. Orr's diamond neck
land, and Cameo Merdin was wearing
no necklace, but Mrs. Branch. on Eds
other side, did have one--a string of
blue beads, perhaps of some value.
possibly merely interesting.
THE time chosen by Ed for his jest
n was while coffee was being served,
coffee always accompanied by glasses
Of liqueuer at Ada's dinners. BY the
time dessert was served every one
was pleasantly informal and Mrs.
Branch, who was a large and cheer
fully noisy woman, was laughing al
most too loudly and talking in
shrill, laughter-bubbling voice. 1t
was in the midst of the dessert that
Ed turned to Mrs. Branch and spoke
OF her necklace.
ooh, this is nothing she said.
"Chinese melon beads; they didn't cost
anything. Pretty color"
What kind of a clasp do they
have?" Ed Mindaton asked.
'gThey don't have clasps, they go
over the head Here, look at them
IL they interest you. Ed.
She placed the beads in his hand
and turned to Noble Haitian, young
lawyer sitting at her left: ,,ous,x
MAY l see them?" Cameo Merdin
asked.
yes" Ed said, and he placed the
heads in Canoes hand. They have
no clasp. Now, my wife's pearls have
a patent clasp"
what sort of a clasp" asked
Cameo MerG.n. Something new"
Ed caught Ada's eye.
Ada" he said. will you let us see