Evening star., 1932-12-30
81 rsa&&& : 2 s =. q
X& by NINA WILCOX PUTNAM
hv NINAWuCW PUTNAM

shakily. M. Piron. deeply moved. did
ss he was asked, and emptied a string
Of fabulous pearls upon the table be-
fore him. Then he looked at Armand
with pain and incredulity in his eyes.
But the boy only shook his head with
| = crooked little smile.
please 20 on with the yearchl" he
said quietly. But there was nothing
more to be found. Then with glance
which asked permission De Pas slipped
into his clothes again. and stood wait
spoke first.
where did these pearls come from2"
mot from this establishment" said
Armand, you can easily check up on
that"
Are they yours?"
mo"
Them whose are they?"
I am not at liberty to tell you" was
the astonishing reply. "They were in
trusted to me by some one. They are,
I think, imitation" M. Piron, who had
been running the necklace through his
hands. shook his head.
They are real pearls" he said, Every
valuable, real pearls. Armand, under
the circumstances you simply must
|
I'm sorry" said Armand duly. but
I cannot However. did not steal
them, neither from this shop nor from
any other. Their being in my posses
sion is a purely personal matter"
Armand, my boy said the prefet
firmly. II have known you almost as
I have my own sons When you say
these pearls we're given to you. realize
that you are speaking the truth. and
under ordinary circumstances I would
not press you further. But we are
faced with a serious situation. Before
the matter Of the missing rubies came
the theft Of a pearl necklace from this
shop. You were involved in it,
II was involvedl" exclaimed Armand
unmistakably mortified. But how?"
THE necklace you sold Miss Sayers
for a thousand francs, has since proved
to have been real" said Piron Armand,
you must explain. We are determined
Jessant and to give you every possible
chance. But If you won't help us, there
may be serious consequences, don't you
see?" Armand shook his head.
Il cannot understand it!"' he mutter-
ed Il swear to you on my word OF
honor that I am as much in the dark
as you are. But neither can I tell
/ Wl1ClC tllAS ICChldSC (dulC ~
is point Of honor"
Hes shielding some woman" ex-
claimed Piron, "or I spent my youth
without learning anything" The prefet
nodded.
But what can we do?" he asked
"If he will not clear the matter up.
will have to make an arrest. Mon Dieu,
Armand. do you realize what position
you are in?' Armand smiled ruefully.
More than you Think he replied.
But you will have great difficulty in
proving your charge against me, because
I've done nothing"
And I make no charged" said Piron
quickly. Il am already familiar with
the pearl necklaces in stock and can
assure you that we have had nothing
clasp is of American manufacture and
the string on which the pearls are
strung, is frayed and stained with wear.
The owner Of this collier has worn it
for number Of years. It Is perfectly
evident to me that he Is shielding
woman, mon vieux."
Il trust you are right, Piron," said
the chief sadly "At best 1t Is an un-
pleasant mix up. But I have my duty
to perform, none the less
Half an hour later M. Piron descend
ed to his private office where Santini
and Mrs Savers were waiting with
growing impatience.
Have the rubies been found? Did
the boy have them?" cried Mrs. Sayers.
Piron shook his head.
"No!" he said YEARLY. your rubies
have not been found. madame. But
an unfortunate circumstance has aris-
en-, and M. Jessant has been forced
to make an arrest"
"De Pas?" asked Santini quickly.
He has placed De Pas under techni-
cal arrest Piron informed them. IT
may add, however, that owing to the
fact that both M. le Prefet and myself
have known the boys character for
years. we are Arranging a bond. I
him and he will be in my personal
charge pending further developments.
He will stay at my apartment on the
Quai dOrsay tonight. tell you this,
madame, because your daughter may
be able to throw some light on the
matter"
"Alacia?" gasped her mother But
how? Good heavens, NJ Piron, can
this thing be kept out of the news
papers? It would be horrible If :"
THE French police do not begin a
man hunt by advertising 1t in the
newspapers" he told her. II think
you can count on a complete lack
Of publicity for the moment, at least.
But it is important that I see your
daughter, and I think it would be less
conspicuous If you would allow her to
come to my apartment-preferably
alone"
(To he continued