Evening star., 1932-12-27
INSTALLMENT XVI.

only AIMAuo WOulO 90 "! Al
Nash Alacia remembered that he
was to see the prefet de police
i that evening. Perhaps he would
find out some definite reason
which could be used to stop Santini.
But Santini was scheduled to start
south that very night. Alacia glanced
| at her watch and saw that 1t was just
3 o'clock. There was not moment to
be lost. AT the thought she went i'm
mediately to the telephone and called
the number of Piron's shop. Then.
otter one Of those interminable waits
which make the telephone service of
Paris infamous throughout the world.
the operator announced that the num-
Ter did not answer.
But, madame, that is impossible!"
Alacia protested. ITS place Of busi-
nesS!"
lie numero dix-huit vingt-neuf ne
repond pas!" the operator replied, and
Alacia abruptly found herself on
dead line. 1t was exasperating. After
a few minutes of impatient waiting, she
tried again. The operator grumbled.
Hadn't she already Informed the client
client was obdurate about trying again,
but for an interminable period nothing
happened. Then with q startling sud-
dC1A1Coo tAASAC Woo y A&4ocNA4AAV sOASS 49,
her ear.
"Allo!" it said. "Oui, oui, alloi"
want to speak to M. de Pas, please"
said Alacia, hastily.
m. de Pas cannot come to the tele-
rhone," said the voice
Il know it's. against the rules"
Alacia apologized, hastily, but this is
very important. It's client Of the
house speaking"
Il regret" said the voice. "but he
cannot come. 1t is quite impossible"
Well, II he's busy with customer"
said Alacia, patiently, please ask him
to call me the moment he's through
Il regret very much" the voice said.
still courteous. but I do not think it
possible M. de Pas can call you this
afternoon.
Alacia was both annoyed and alarmed.
There was certainly something very pc
culiar in the voice Of the unseen man.
and without any real Justification. it
made her uneasy.
Look here" she said firmly. "YOu
take my message to NJ. de Pas
immediately! Tell him to call Miss
Sayers the moment he is at liberty!
A chuckle, quickly smothered. came over
the wire, and then the voice, coolly
polite again:
HE will not be at liberty this after
noon." said the man. 1T IS quite i'm
possible"
but, why?" Alacia demanded. "Why
is it impossible?"
m. de Pas is no longer with
u.s." said the man, astonishingly. and
hung up.
Aiacia slammed the instrument onto
its hook In a rare burst OF fury. OF
all nations, she decided, the French
were certainly the most infuriating over
a telephone. Any one would think they
believed the instrument bewitched, and
at that, perhaps this particular one
was! Last night Armand had been in
Pirons employ This morning, when
she and Piron had talked in the de-
serted reception room OF the Ritz.
Armand was certainly still working in
the shop. But since then She
remembered the pearls What had hap
pened? Had the old jeweler deliber-
Of the robbery before suspicion came
to the ears Of the other employees?
Perhaps that was it. But why so sud-
denly and without any warning to
her? Alacia put her hand to her throat
to ease the throbbing which had started
there so painfully. Somehow the idea
Of Armand's dismissal filled her with
fear OF what? She could not answer
the absurd question, yet she was sick
with forboding.
The watch on her wrist said q quar-
ter to 1. 1t was ghastly that just now.
when her need of him was so great, she
did not even know where to look for
him. She knew that there was no tele-
phone at the chateau, he belonged to
no clubs, and there were no bars which
bo fron,,epfad sufficiently RI warrant
her hoping to catch him at one Of
them. She did not even know the
name of an acquaintance whose house
she might telephone. Suddenly she
thought Of Col. Bradley, and after an
other frantic struggle with the tele-
phone, managed to get the Crillion on
the wire only to learn that Col. Brad
ley was not in his room, nor In the bar,
nor anywhere about the lobby.
Alacia left message asking him to
call, and then racked her brains anew.