Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-01
Continued from Yesterdays Starr
IT LIT upon the cache by accident"
said Steel. Finding things were

M LIT upon the cache by accident"
~ said Steel. Finding things were
q little dull, I was making q
i loafer's examination of the big
idol In the alcove. II you re-
member, Capt. Shannon, this god or
niumbo- Jumbo or whatever he Is, Is
supported on each side by bronze
animal that looks something between q
cat and panther. I'd often wondered
whether they were there as ornaments
or whether they had any special use.
This afternoon ] gave one an extra
strong tug to see II 1t was firmly fixed,
and, to my surprise, 1t began to turn
by itself with a noise that suggested
that I'd started some sort Of clock
work machinery on grand scale.
Nothing happened, however, ex-
cept that the cat turned half right-she
had previously been facing squarely into
the room. I tried the other cat in the
same way and exactly the same thing
happened.
whether touched a spring or
whether that jerk sets the machinery
moving, don't know. At any rate, the
cat on the left Of the figure turned half
left; and the moment 1t stopped an ex-
traordinary thing happened. The up
per part Of the statue has starved
look about the ribs: all the bones show
1T looks as though they had been
nodded on over the figure. The mo-
ment the cat stopped the chest Of the
idol opened In the center like double
doors. got UP on to the pedestal and
you the body Is half filled with stones
as big as, and bigger than, any of
these! took handful and put them
in my pocket and came straight away
to see you. ! didn't dare to telephone
for fear somebody would cut In and
hear more than I wanted them to
know"
Dick was examining the diamonds
Each bore little red seal that showed
the place Of its origin.
"Malpas must have had q good haul"
said Steel, but what I can't under
stand Is why he didn't get rid Of this
stuff"
II think can explain that" said
Dick. There's been q pretty bad
slump In the last few years In the dia-
mend trade; the market Is so loaded
with stones that prices are down to
their minimum. That kind Of slump
often occurs In diamonds. His supply
was greater than his opportunities for
disposal. There is another thing to be
Observation-Disclosures are an invest
ment and the most portable form Of
wealth. A man who contemplated
hurried retirement from the country
could have no better form of swag-
he could carry a couple Of millions in
handbag. Have you closed the door OF
the idol
Steel nodded
Fortunately, there was nobody in
the room but myself at the time. The
inspector was on the landing outside
talking to the two men.
Il pushed the cats back Ii their po-
sitions and the doors closed"
Shannon picked up the diamonds and,
pouring them into a prosaic sugar.
bowl, locked the vessel away In his safe.
The other stones must be removed
tonight" he said. Wen collect them
put them in a bag and take every stone
TO the Yard"
Audrey had been silent and amazed
audience and Shannon had almost for
gotten that she was present,
You will come along. won't you
Audrey? You'd like 10 see what MIL
lion pounds worth Of diamonds looks
like?"
She stood undecided.
Il don't know that want to see that
TCOIn again, she Salu, DuL curiosity ID
one Of my weaknesses
Giving strict instructions to his serv-
ant to remain in the sitting room and
not to move until he returned, Dick
piloted his party downstairs and, call
ing a taxi from the rank in the mid
die Of the road. entered it with the
girl and his assistant.
The drive up Regent street was unre-
lieved by any kind Of conversation
Each was busy with his or her thoughts
For some extraordinary reason, the
hodkin with the corkscrew handle oc-
CURED and required to Dick Saannon's
mind, without his being able to explain
what association that instrument had
with the discovery Of the evening.
He had brought with him a stout