Evening star., 1928-04-25
The Inn of the
Hawk and Raven
By
George Barr
McCutcheon
Copyright 1928. by Metropolitan Newspaper Service


1rdinary--er-well We will say, the Or
dinary business Of being a gentleman OF
leisure. 1t Is no secret that he Is lucky
at cards. Corpaz."
THAT is his reputation, sir"
His visits to the Riviera are seldom
in vain, believe" went on the baron
He usually returns from
Monte Carlo and Paris and Biarritz and
we'll other health resorts, If l may
so describe them-with more money
than he had when he left Edelweiss.
He Is very successful at the tables. He
could. I fancy. maintain three such es-
as the one in Prince Ru-
dovic street on his winnings"
THE jewels of the countess are cell
ebrated for their quality and-shall
remind you-their quantity, Baron? She
adds to them every year, I am told"
Quite so. It is lucky for her that hs
is lucky at cards Now. what have you
got into that stupid head Of yours, Cor
paz?"
Something more than stupidity.
Baron" replied the other, seriously.
Suppose I we're 70 say TO you, in all
good faith, that the Count Jabassy. in
stead of winning huge sums at Monte
Carlo and elsewhere. has been steady
loser for the last ten years, at least?"
FIRST, should doubt your statement:
secondly, I should ask you how you
happen to know all this"
Instead Of playing for large stakes.
he has risked very little at any OF these
places. Therefore. It is only fair to say
that his loSings have been comparative
ly small. The point make, sir. is that
he has never collected anything like the
amounts he processes to have won. We
know that ne returns from these trips
with large sums Of money he claims -
have won at the tables. There is no
secret. / believe. as TO the size of his
and the countess balances in the Bank
Of Graustark. They are fairly large. But
they also have accounts with banks in
Paris, st. Petersburg. and. I under
stand. in London"
Il repeat. how do you happen 70
know all this. CorpaZ?"
Two months ago l was in Monte
Carlo, as you know. had much busi-
ness to transact and vas aided by lie
Blanc. the shrewdeSt Of police detec-
tiVes. You know him, sir happen 10
mention the Count and Countess Jab-
assy. He knows them well by sight and
reputation. 1t was ne who set me right
in regard 10 their play. He gave me a
great surprise. can tell you. He knows
for a fact that they are what he de-
scribes as small potatoes That is their
IePutdI4oll. 4Aey play OCCdSlOA4dAyp Dus
never risk more than a few hundred
francs. And they seldom win. Now, sir,
what should like you to tell me is this:
If JabaSsy does not make these big
killings at cards or on the wheel. how
can he live as he does and where do
the countess jewels and wardrobe come
from?"
Baron DangloSs was impressed. If
this is true, Corpaz-and know you to
be careful man-then there is some
thing queer about the business"
1T set me to wondering. sir" went
on CorpaZ "On my own initiative-to
municated with men know in Biarritz
and Nice. They substantiate lie Blanc's
statements. The JabasSys have won
little or nothing at those places"
"Hm-m!" unused the baron.
Corpaz considered his next remark
for some time before venturing. You
have seen the blue diamond she wears
on rare occasions. take it? Perhaps
you also remember that five years ago
a stone OF great size and value-So large
that it was notable one-was reported
as having been taken. with other things.
from Russian princess while she was
passing through the Inn Of the Hawk
and Raven. II was"
Il have seen the stone you mention,
CorpaZ. Countess JabaSSy wears 1t as q
pendant. 1t has been IN her possession
less than six months"
so am told. sir" said the detective
significantly.
II Judge by your tone. Corpaz. that
you consider it not unlikely she may
have had the blue diamond for years.
instead Of months"
1T may seem ridiculous. Baron Dam
gloss. but such thing Is poSSlole-I
will not go so far as to say probable"
Good heavens, man, you-you are
not intimating that JabaSSy and Ess
wife are connected in any way with tns
robbers OF Droon Forest?" said thu
baron. lowering his voice almost 10 .
whisper
We have had many surprises in our
time. sir
But. this is-prepoSterouS
The JabaSSys have about four thou
sand between them" nuSsd the other.
They live at the rate of ten thousand.
at the very lowest. They do not win vast
sums by gaming And We are positive
that Jon!fer Davos has confederatss IN
this city. We know that he possesses
the most accurate information concern
ing the transportation Of valuableS over
the highway: he knows the movements
of travellers. This information could
come only from persons belonging 10 a
class in constant touch with-weH.
wealth is the word TO use. suppose.
We ali believe that some one high up
in the social or business world is Dawes
agent here. 1t may even be rue. sir.
that Dawes Is the agent and a respected.
honored citizen Of EoelweiSs is his en-
ployer. No matter. II should so with
cut saying that the go-netween does
not work for nothing. Whoever he may
be, he receives a share of the SpoilS. And
the spoilS are large Baron DargloSS,
Again let me remind YOU that the rareSt
single gem ever taken by Jonifer Dawes
was a blue diamond Of such surprising
rarity that lapidarleS claim there IS
not another one like IL in the world
You are expecting me TO say that
will sleep over this matter, eh. CcrpaSs"
The man smiled. "No, sir I know YOU
too we'll for that. You are NOT IN the
habit Of sleeping over such things.
am sorry 20 say that fear you are IN
for long stretch Of absolutely sleep
less nights"
Come in tomorrow morning / ike
nothing better than 70 be able 70 com
plain 70 q Sympathetle listener about
my insomnia. Have YOU ever been
cursed with insomnia, my friends IT is
a dreadful afflietion."
Very well. sir will be here se-
morrow morning--for orders"
Continued in Tomorrow'S Starl