Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1920 — Diamond Cut Diamond [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Diamond Cut Diamond

By JANE BUNKER

rtujrW by the Bobb»-M«nfll Cmumw a Knew it men —ne confessed it later; he had expected to get those diamonds into his clutches- while-they were actually going through the enotom* inspection! I bounced out of my chair with one glad whoop—“Eureka!—l have found it 1” and pranced to my bedroom. I had the 1 key to the whole puzzle—“one of those slippers 1” When I asked Mrs. Delario that afternoon over the telephone how she got the diamonds through the customs house she replied, “One of those slippers we got in Paris is lost.” Thosh were the words she said; what she wetly communicated was . i one of those slippers we got in Paris . . . is lost" The tones of her voice—the slgnlAeant pauses—had been ignored hy ma then. But add “in” and drop “is lost” and she answered my auestlon—ehe told me as plain as plain cduld be that she had smuggled the diamonds through the customs house “in one.of the slippers.” Easy enough 1 I snatched them from beside my bed. Easy enough—with those high insteps. So that was how she did it!

Qalre had been snooping till she found out where the diamonds were—that was what her father sent her over for. But she was not to steal the diamond* herself—the risk of her being CWnyht with the goods was too great—♦hat waa her father's job; she waa-td ghr* the signal—he was to get the Ktonfui And why hadn’t her mother met her, unless to create the confusion for Mrs. Delario and me that would make it possible for him Id turn the trick? Why bad he come oyer br a fturter steamer except to be ready forlt?

It’s precisely what he did. I learned It tfl later. He came over ahead of ua, passed himself off In disguise, Mid forged credentials as an Italian government secret service agent* tracing an old master that had been recently Atoien from one of the Italian museums .and that waa known to be coming to' America — smuggled, of course —in Charge as a certain woman, whom be .knew by sight. To carry out this pose he had already met several incoming steamers and he was prepared to step up to Mra. Delario, demand to search her haffraae and then—one torn of his band and he could have walked off with her diamonds in his pocket, shed hta disguise and let her whistle for them. Instead of that he got a glare from me I—one twist of my hand and I had “one of those slippers”—he didn’t know which and he didn’t dare to speak for fear I’d recognize him! And < thnn Sila whole plot fell to the ground-«iao' all my interesting occult mystery about three rotating slippers that toed the wall of their own accord after they’d been set heel to the wraß and then walked but of a locked flat and then came home and hid in my wardrobe.

Monsieur had turned the slippers when he set them down hurriedly—the suggestion of all the other slippers, toe to the wall, had been too strong for his memory of three slippers heel to the wall after he had picked them up. That Was his one inexcusable blunder in the whole affair —it had set me watching. But Claire a thief! —or the accomplice of a thief! That high-bred girl—that rare, accomplished child! I couldn't believe It—l wouldn’t believe it She was acting in good faith whatever she did. Perhaps he had convinced her that the diamonds were

h«T omt Mrs. Ddarto was rubbing Mm! I felt ft then tits boldest clevereat plot I bad ever heard of—l actually adaMmd Mm ter the daring and the intellectuality of 15-es a feat it

Tea, once havingthe k«y io H A the slipper, I saw the whole plkAas plain as day; the one point pusSHng me was: how did monsieur know I had the diamonds now? I couldn’t make that out at an not if I behovod Mrs. Delarlo hadn’t told Mm, aid X thought she was the only other Hying person who know It Well, I had them, and rd keep them for all of monsieur until I retarnod them to her. At a quarter after six on thereabouts I heard the front bell ifefttM two* rd . told BHly Bivers to use as Ms signal, end I skimmed along ths halt in my Eureka frame of mind osier once thought of precautions or Of calling through first and making sure It was Billy—and flung the door open'wide. As the door flew back I realised the fool tiring rd done; and then without even looking to see who it was I eaught the door and tried to shut it again. But he pushed. I looked, then cried “Billy 1” and grabbed him by the arm. I knew I didn’t deserve it—lt ought by the rights of romance to have been the villain. “Oh, Billy—my deliverer—you dear 1" I gasped the minute the door was shut. “I declare you’re good enough to kiss!” and with that—l up and did it! Billy was embarrassed. He appraised my salutation at, “Aw—«ay—” and a sheepish grin; sb I felt obliged to add, as I dragged him along the hall, “But I used to kiss you years and years ago.” “Why, so you did—in my Stone age,” acknowledged BHly, his tone implying that he’d passed through some eons of civilization since; and with that he thrust a big package In my hands, saying laconically, “Some eats.” “Some eatk!” I gurgled, remembering suddenly that I was starving. “Billy—l could kiss you again—” “Aw—say—” he parried, and grabbed the package and began tearing off the wrapper. “It’s so sudden —but thank you ever so much, and for heaven’s sake tell me what’s happened! I’ll bust if you don’t” *Tve run Off With a mOMon dollars’ worth of diamonds, that’s all.” For a minute Billy looked as if he thought Td run off with my senses; then he observed in that soothy, condensed tone a vary sane young person uses to a respected elder whose mind is wandering: “I think you’d better eat something—lmmediately.” (Full period here—it says, “We’ll talk about what ails you when you’re feeling more yourself.”) “Where’s your can opener?” I was sb hungry at the sight of food that little panicky pains ran round my insides and up my throat, and I pranced into the kitchen for tha an one* Puma, *~«y w taar what he pleased about my mental state. I had the wit, though, to tell him “Ssh I”

Just at that moment Mrs. Thing-down-stairs began her rapper-time performances. Little had I-ever dreamed that) her daily torture of aa otherwise inoffensive piano would sometime prove a blessing to me. Bmy whimpered hoarsely, “What's that? The villain trying to get in?" I said, “Mrs. Thing-down-stairs Relieves it’s music, lucky for us—we can now breathe out loud without fear of the villain. He may be listening at the front door—but he’ll hear nothing while she operates." Billy forked a lot of chicken onto ' my plate and commanded me to go to It, and I grabbed a roll out of his box andsald:

"BHly, he trie* to murder/me." "That man—he was waiting for me with a dagger that night—look here"— I jumped up and got the dagger from my penholder tray—“he dropped ft on the floor.” "Gee wlila!” he cried, taking the dagger from me? arid>then he demanded, "Who?" “That man—De BavenoL""De Ravenol?—you mean that man in Paris who wanted you to bring the pretty daughter over with you and you wouldn’t?” "Yes—that’s the one. Ho was a diamond thief—that’s what ho waft" 1 blew off. "He was In the act of stealing a million dollars’ worth of diamonds. And I foiled him I” “Wow! You did?" "I should say I did! And what's more, I’ve got the diamonds hers — there—behind you In those hyacfiHie * “Wow I” he whooped, and before I knew what he was doing he was out of bls chair, Ms hand on the glass. "Don’t touch them 1" I shrieked. “Wow!” be cried, dropping his hand and jumping back. "Do they bite?" “No—they sting. They pisen your very souL: But, Billy—stop wowing— Tm watched." He sat down with the command, ’Divulge the dread secret," add between bites I told him the whole story up to Eureka, and brought in the slipper to prove It. He was still staring when I got tfarough and asked him, "And now hew am I going to get those beastly tMngs out of the house add where am I going to get them to? She doesn’t dare to have them at her house—" "Oh, I can take these away mto hide ’em, if that’s all you want," he .answered carelessly. "It isn’t all,* I retorted. » Mt Indir nant. “IPs only the beginning of a nbw chapter of misery for tbe teoH of tie—lt’s throwing the responsibility on you without getting ano out of the not- it won’t eave me from being kidnaped and searched and maybe murdered to keep my mouth shut " BIHy nodded at that and said, Ho took* cigarette* tot of Ms case and with a short, “May ir lighted up and began to blow rings, gtolng at. them abstractedly. I wthßted

dgarette, I repeated my question and told him, “We’ve got to do something right off —now—tonight" “Of course.” Ho smoked aaither quarter and threw the cigarette with energy Into the empty chicken tin, bouncing up as bo spoke. “What are we going to dor he gave forth masterfully. “We’re going to trap that bold man an by our Uttio own selves—you and L And we’ll givo Mm eno nice lesson on stealing diamonds from defenseless women—and threatening you.” “But we've got to hurry,” I urged. “I cant live this way much longer—it’s simply killing me!” . “Sure," BHly agreed, suppressing a smile at me. Tm hurrying all I can. I eaMulate to’hhve your ‘moeeoo’ to frandeuffir Wiorrew night” And he UniOlaru DIS piut ana a wiiriru uiw it with fervor. The trirth Is Billy and I wore having the fun of our Ilves. The scheme was to decoy monsieur to the flat by a letter from Mra. Delo* rlo indicating where the diamonds were Hidden: we banked on his somemberlng the one place bo hadn’t seafltoed—the hyactaths; and if ho got the tip we bMlevedlMSd return the seement I went out After some discussion Billy and I decided not to take Mrs. Delarlo tote our confidence, not knowing how she’d act tn the crisis, which necessitated our imitating her writing. The only sample of her writing' we had was her address In my notebook and some titles of books on spiritualism she’d wished me touted. 'But the sample did us, and the joint literary efforts of myself and BHly produced the foOewtag—this purporting to bo from mo to her: My Dw Mn. Delarlo: Staoe ba eeareboS •verythinr but the bunch at byaotaths as I toM you over the talephono TiuSal (Ito atnak mo as an exantettoty neat, oeavtator touch, for his detective must have reported both that I telephoned and the uumbw St the call)—I thourht the sasm »laoo WMte ooatlauo safe in ease of a some tavutoa. X rot a fresh bwwh. ao you will know whets haMOfiO fito State. M. AMM MM set them at onoe; break tn the Sat if you nave to. I m rotas to try to see yOu Outwear aiSht far Susi arrangements if I eaa sHo out botw ossa. MU»ssc mr besuom WM aad tea. Se auro to be alaao eaa talk. 1 atm hold to my jritosi » sat third to you if you *m hol» am to tousw St gum-dropa. “Gum drops” was Billy’s Web fro declared frat fi mossoo” would road It “diamonds” sure as anything. Abd this, purporting to be fruortor to hiss:

ax urax staasoa, I feel she to fooflah to OF OHMS oa. owm to mini w warn win etW" bouse tonight, aad the trouble wfll bo over

typed my owirmwr whm « mhrv copy while Billy laboriously pfodaMfi the One BwwhDeloria.^. : monsieur was staying. The rustic* owytaa wawlWl HIM? w<» •aiak r upstairs aid, got lnM u Oo flat; I was then to put on my wraps, go down In the elevator, teffltagfltedrge I wan going out for the evuntaff-bO be’d tvport it te nsocMteer; wlt-lb the tower hall for a mythical autams Mio I till George went w wtih Ao Ah and then «reep »P tit® “This time tomorrow night Fn«go»seut you with rnW *nramotf to bnafr cuftM,” affirmed Bniy eohfidtetty. “fluppooe be doesn’t come? Or suppose he murders me tonight?" “Oh, titozguns t” Wo- snatehed .gp Ms omdttt and dlvM’tato thkftofcti. ne laid two retotvW on the taMn, saying cheerfully : “He will come and he Mffi*t murder «yon-*«iot If * wbw your wits about sou. Thejrretodded.Ho slipped the coat en. Howes gohigh foatKo>:'itttwy bostt ‘Sank at the prospect of another night and’ that man lurking in the house. “Koop upper IhHWbtoe-df tfibi greatest diamond robbery of the century r he bantered. “TH bo here Mt sto tMMUNUWT BO jWffirtMl

•mat. "Oh, FmaH right,” I returned now chalairtty, fMfflng suddenly kaockkneed yet determined I'd not lot Billy suspect It. I rang tor tow and wMIe the car was rumbling up Billy gUdod away -to the darkness of the stairs back es it. Hemurttarve reectod (toy the first turn when I heard>Ma» ton claim, "Ohl Excuse me! Ineverssw y<«t" Followed the word. "Pardon!" and I fi&ognlzed monshrarii voice ? - ~ I had* the prrissica of mnaFto QIR my curiosity and sllp baek tato w Bat, noiselessly shutting the door. Whs he merely coming to lock mo to, or, had he been listening? My forebodings every moment increased, Ito U* to one o’clock—when I wont ho hadtoiled to lock me in. /TO rcvrrrrro-n)

Billy Was Embarrassed.