Evening star., 1932-12-29
INSTALLMENT XVII.

- r EANWHILE, Armand de Pas
-NN was in the act of producing
N Mrs. Savers rubies. AS usual,
whenever the safe was opened,
he was accompanied by the
surate and A. second clerk, in this case
Etienne Lejarre, a trusted employee VINO
had been with the house of Piron Tor
several years The envelopes bearing
Mrs. Savers name were soon locateo
and checked and then LeJarre was
called away to attend to client Whlie'
Armand and the detective en-,
tered the private room where Santlm
and Mrs Savers were waiting for them.
:: There was something breathless IN
the attitude Of the little group which
gathered around the table when Ar
mand began opening the packages.
Rubies are an exciting jewel at any
time. and this was probably the I'M
est collection of its kind in the worad.
As the flaming mass of stones was
spread upon the strip OF gray velVet
before him, Santlnl gioateo tfo Win ,Iars sa a
huge success; their fire and color were
superb and would deceive practically
anyone, particularly when backed by
the psychological setting of private
room in a world-famouS jeWelry estab-
lishment. Armand was laying the
the stones one by one, upon the etched
design for the new setting, using a
delicate pair of tweezers so as not TO
dim their brightness, and the eIIect
of the proposed arrangement was mag
uificent. Santini, reconSlderng part
G. his plan, decided then and there
to abandon his intention OF creating
suspicion If Mrs. SayerS accepted the
substitute stones without question, so
Z In fny hn
resetting received her sanction and
they walked out of that room in few
minutes time without any adverse COM
ment, all would be smooth sailing.
Santini watched her face intently as
she leaned over the patterns. a lorg-
nette at her nose. Would she be de-
ceived? For several moments it seemed
she would be and then suddenly she
frowned
That's odd said Kate Savers, sharp
ly. When your plier slipped just then 1t
made a scratch on that large center
stone, M. Armand In public she
always addressed him in this for
NAL manner Armand looked aghast as
he followed her pointing finger. Sure
enough. there was faint scratch across
the face of one of the largest Of the
rubieS.
Mrs Sayers!" he exclaimed, peni-
tently I'm most ghastly sorry! I'm
afraid you're right-there is a mark. I
wouldn't have had that happen for
anything. I will have it repolished, OF
course
Kate Savers looked at him intently
from under her beaded laShes. Since
the night of their first meeting there
had always been a slight doubt about
him in her mind, and now it f1ared up
anew.
Don't you know" she said. slowly,
'that real rubies don't scratch as easily
as all that?"
Armand shook his head and Grim
soned slightly at her tone.
II know they are delicate stones,
he said, and I was clumsy. am most
sorry it happened"
Let. me see that one in the day
light" said the woman briefly. Pick
ing it up, she carried it to the window
and held it in the hollow of her hand,
examining it through jewelers. glass
which Armand handed her in silence.
Kate Sayers, like many ugly women,
had made precious stones her hobby.
She loved them with a passionate de-
votion and perhaps secretly relied on
them to lend her some potency of
charm. What was more, she had
studied them to very considerable
degree and while dealers welcomed
her as a large purchaser, they also
feared her keenness in detecting the
slightest flaw. Now she took quite
five minutes to examine the ruby be-
fore handing down her verdict, and
when she laid the stone back on the
table her expression was distinctly un-
pleasant.
viii you please send for NJ. Piron?'
she said evenly. There is something
wrong here" Then as Armand started
for the door she stopped him with a
gesture. No, you go!" she said to the
detective L want M Armand to re-
main" The detective tiptoed out with
a frightened look and Mrs. Sayers
to control herself, but palpably upset.
What seems to be the trouble?"
asked Armand, anxiously. Il hope !
have not ruined your stone? To tell
the truth. l am still bit of an anna
teur about these things"
That's quite evident" said Kate
Savers shortly.
But, dear lady, the stone can surely
be polished?" Santini protested sooth-
ingly. Don't worry so! I cannot en-
dure to see you suffer- To his amaze
ment and secret delight, she turned
on him furiously.
OIl, S1lub utJ, llcoO! oAlC ShlAl Ill
patiently. You don't know anything
about jewels: you wouldn't know bit
of onyx from a chocolate caramel!'
He shrugged his shoulders deprecat-
ingly.
Il admit it." he said. Il have a
nice taste for pretty things and that
is all But don't excite yourself so. or
you will be quite worn out!'
She was about to administer second
L4 nI tn ody
M Piron and the detective, The for
haste but he came forward with
smile and outstretched hands.
My. dear Nine. Sayers, bon jour!
he beamed. Forgive me for keeping
you waiting, but 1 was Just talking on
the telephone to my friend the prefet
de police. He is coming around to
see me on a personal matter but l
but I have told them downstairs he
must wait until have finished my little
visit with you. And what can do to
help you?"
some mistake" she said gravely. Be
cause these are not my rubies. This
large stone is a fake" The old jeweler
looked at her with an expression OF
childlike amazement, as though he
had not heard Alright,
Would you mind repeating that re-
mark, madame?" he asked.
II said it was a fake, an imitation?'
said Mrs. Sayers, emphatically. M.
Piron, these stones are the exact dupli-
cate in shape and in size of the ones
I brought here for resetting, but they
are not mine"
But. madame, such an accusation
Is absurd" the old man protested
Nevertheless, he picked up the jewel
she indicated and examined it through
the glass. little beads of perspiration
starting out on the edges of his white
hair as he did so. The pearl necklace
which Alacia had returned to him only
that morning was still in his breast
pocket. and this challenge. coming inn