THE STJNDAT OREGOXIAN, POKTLAJTD, JtTLT 7, 1907..
rrt'?7.- ; totwmi .
1 ' III J ' l : 1 ! I' rTrV' Jcs-1; i C
J' r i
t ' " 'J"'" y. -i
l! P ' i i nf Tic
-".all nKftMUKUM 1 IIIUKftllll 111 ilUI!!)ll:Illllilil(llH lit 1 V All
-g-a -te,,t ,'? .a r ."- 4. - ..- . J tyf
Jr .....The.....
m Kleptomaniac
41
Sk f! h fill timiiMmMm i It '
v- 1 PIllBPl 11 1
' 1 !i 1 1 ii i i 1 1! ! t ! i
a little old man with a warty face,
hooked nose, wide mouth, stooping
shoulders, small beady black eyes,
and a generally Inferior presence, but
nevertheless with decision of character
In his manner, to one who could see be
neath, the surface, walked swiftly up the
iteps of police station IS and accosted the
first man In uniform he met.
"There has been the most unheard of
crime" he began. '
"Speak to the lieutenant!" the officer
Interrupted, nodding toward the desk be
hind the high network iron railing.
The ugly little man advanced to the
pigeonhole window, through which he
could see the upper part of the night desk
man.
"I have just been robbed in the most
monstrous way," he said, speaking rap
Idly, but with no sign of excitement,
"and I wish no publicity "
"I'll tako care of that. We don't need
tnv advice from you" began the lieu
tenant. But he stopped there to glance at
the visiting card which the little man
placed before him, and when he raised
bin eyes again to his caller's face he also
raised his body . from his chair and
bowed, touching his round silk office cap.
"Excuse me, Mr. Emmons," he said. "1
didn't know It was you. We have to be
pretty .short here with strangers, or
they'd ride right over us. But with the
richest man in the district Step In this
way. sir, please."
He swung wide the gate in the railing.
The richest man In the district walked
m and stated himself In the chair that
the cftlcer drew up for him In a retired
corner. .
"Now, for, no "publicity, you say? Very
well! We'll do ail we can."
He waited with respectful attention for
the story. - " -.
"It's a queer matter," began Mr. Em
mons at onto. In the Incisive voice, which,
coming from such an insignificant ap
puaring personality, always excited sur
prise It. a listener and drew his atten
tion. 'It the first place I must tell you
that a few days ago our firm became pos
sessed, In the way of business, of one of
the moil valuable diamonds in the world.
It has a name famous In history but no
matter about that. The chief thing la
that !t is worth well, say er " He
paused with the shrewd glint In his eye
that was known among his business ac
quaintance as the sure sign that he was
not going tj commit himself, and then
added, "thousands." as evenly as If the
word were 'hundreds.'" The lieutenant
could not restrain an exclamation.
"Ah!" he' breathed, his face flushing
with the thought of fat rewards.
"This diamond," went on the great
jeweler, with no hint, either in voice or
manner, of the terrific surprise he was
about to give his listener, "was swal
lowed this evening by my wife's pet mon
key, and In less than two minutes after
ward the monkey was stolen!"
The officer's full, round face became
almost anoDletic,
"A mo-monkey!" he stammered.
"I will give you the main points of the
case so that you may know how to start
the Investigation intelligently," continued
the jeweler. In a clear, rapid, matter of
fact tone. They were odd traits, this clar
ity of head and speech, this Iciness and
poise, which nothing could melt or dis
turb, in a man o such an Inferior as
pect, never falling to evoke In a stranger,
and often in everyday acquaintances as
well, the same stare of wonderment with
which the policeman was now regarding
him as he went on:
"For reasons of a strictly private na
ture I took this valuable diamond home
this evening. Two other men, well-known
diamond cutters, were the only living per
aons who knew I had it In the house.
Jt was to show it to them, and consult
with them about it, that I brought it
there. We three had been examining it
for ten minutes perhaps, and I was hold
ing it up to the light between my thumb
and fintrer, when the monkey leaped in at
iie door like a flash of lightning,
natched the stone, and swallowed it. It
nearly choked him, and. Jabbering and
wisting In pain, he ran to his mistress
iur doors away. I followed him Imme
diately and found him whimpering in my
ife's arms. I thought at first of giving
im an emetic to make him vomit it
id, but Mrs. Emmons suggested that it
o:iJd be safer to call a physician, and
hu I decided on doing that. -We might
have to cut the animal open. So caution
ing her to hold on to him and not let
him escape I hastened to the telephone
closet, but before I could get the physi
cian's number I heard my wife scream,
and, hurrying back to her room, I found
her collapsed on the floor, crying out that
a woman had suddenly rushed In. grabbed
Bruno, and fled out of the door with him
In her arms.
"That Is practically the case. Of course,
we searched the premises Inside and out
at once, but to no purpose. The stone,
the monkey, and the thief had vanished
as if by spontaneous combustion. Now
ask your questions, for I suppose you
have soma to ask?"
The lieutenant indeed had; but he was
almost too much astonished to speak. If
the narrator of this queer story had not
been the richest man-in the district he
would have thought him either a practi
cal Joker or a lunatic. Finally he found
his voice.
"T here was no chance for either
those men you were showing it to "
of
"Not the slightest. I was always be
tween them and my wife's room, even
when I was at the telephone. In fact. In
the telephone closet I stood fating them,
and could see them afl the time through
the doorway. Until Mrs. Emmons
screamed they never moved from their
seats, though then they ran with me to
her room. Besides, the thief was seen,
and was a woman.",
"Is the telephone fixture near Mrs. Em
mons" room?"
"Yes; but the walls are circular In
shape, rounding outward into the hall, so
that a person coming from the rear of
the house, keeping close to the north
partition, might enter her door without
being seen by one In the telephone
closet."
"Hm-m!" The lieutenant cleared his
throat. "Why do. you wish to keep the
matter quiet, Mr. Emmons? It seems to
me the more publicity that is given"
"To the lpss of a monkey, doubtless the
better yes. But nothing must be known
about the diamond. We should be sure
never to see it again."
"Yes. yes of course. We will work qui
etly. Every night man in the city shall be
notified as soon as possible to be on the
lookout for the monkey. If you will write
a description of him I'll see that It Is
given to the men. A little reward, now"
He looked inquiringly at Mr. Emmons,
who nodded.
"A hundred dollars," he said. "Great
family pet. Worth nothing to anybody
but the owners. I think it should be put
that way."
"Could Mrs. Emmons say . how the
woman looked?"
She saw her very plainly. She
was short, plump, red-cheeked, with
black - eyes that seemed to strike
out sparks as she snatched the
animal, and " with 'hair so white that
the contrast between It and her fresh
than startling. We knew nobody of that j
our friends
description, neither, among
nor among the servants and tradespeople.
Her dress, too, was the oddest imagina
ble a yachting cap of blue, with a small
visor worn sldewise over her ear. a short
Eton Jacket. ..and flowing out from under
It a voluminous train of salmon colored
satin, over white, high heeled shoes. This
train she threw over her arm, covering
Bruno completely and hiding him from
sight as she rushed from the room.. Her
appearance was so wild that Mrs. Em
mons took ner lor a crazy perstm unu
had escaped from some hospital. That Is
what frightened her so. An
orainary
woman romlne- In on her In that manner
" " ,1 .. " . - .o.U fr Mrs .
wou a uul lit. c ft " L "'J
, t, n, miirir 1
I'.II 1 1 1 K 1 1 1 R IS Ul V O " " " ' "
never in her life came so near fainting." roI"v" "8 b",U houfl h9
"You saw nothing of the woman 7" ( TroIea " e "-nger of his great disap
4o" thTdoor Jas beyond my view. E?'n'm ; I ' th mood hi. mind was
She must have come and gone ne a
flash of lightning, as Mrs. Emmons said.
sh didn't know she was In the room un
til she saw her eyes sparkling Into her
own and felt Bruno being pulled out of
her lap."
"But where could she have come from
and where could she disappear to so sud
Honlv?" said the lieutenant, staring at
him Tt sounds like witcncran. iiom
guess can you make, Mr. Emmons?" was a bigger absurdity still to suppose it
Mr. Emmons threw out his hands. possible that a crazy woman from outside
"None at all," he said. "She simply or any kind of a woman could be
could not get Into the house by the back t there at just the opportune moment that
way, through a gate and two doors, all all these various queer things could hap
of which were fastened, pass among eight pen at the same time. In short. Emmons
servants at least, mount two-flights of! had that princely stone himself, and for
stairs, and appear on the scene at the f BOme reason wished it believed that It
very instant of time necessary to ccom- i nad Btolen. The great mystery was
tial. hat. rtiirnnKft. And if She COUldn t i that A man nf hi. -. i
get in she couldn't get out. By the front
. . - 1 i . .1 a naa mA
way she would be obliged to pass me.
None ot the servants saw nerj
"No That Is. one of them, a half Imbe
cile came to the conclusion that she ha
distinguished what looked like a dark
shape running down the back stairs to the
lweAmont hilt Sne am vv -
" ... i Jt l..A nt that
conclusion until """""" on and ;
something r;ttou. 3n roa
that she would be rarded as a heroine
"fhatTer denials we the
Zffrut? Th. Jest "a, a vlv!d fancy."
m m'" The lieutenant, who had
m other iSTuVn1" "d.C " j
v Sa mn '"Every little straw shows !
nf the wind's direction. Mr. I
something Of tne wma u
EmTnonB, -nr cd t a and !
he saia. i""'
the doors found fastened all right after
tne theft as before it?" .
Come 10 lliai 'f . j ,,(. ,fr
vim tutu . , . , tn ,rv-
. i.'.tTriini!- around all the time be-
Yes; all locKea up ., " L'
tween them and the stairs with plenty of
in the daytime.
light on-lighter man
rh e was absolutely no chance for even
a mouse to leave the place unseen in that
direction or enter iu
inH the roof?"
hould certainly have seen anybody i
"I sh
. ., nn that way. The toot
X thr.t.W was not ten feet away from
th. room in which the crime was done
and I commanded a full view of tnem
every instant I was absent from my
WThe officer looked up from his notes
ouickly. Then he scratched his head. He
did not like to contradict a man worth
so much money as Mr. Claggett Emmons
was? hut It was certain, from the descrip
tion already given of the rooms and halls
thai if a person in the telephone closet
cou d see the two men in the front room
in order to do so he would necessarily
turn his back on 4he stairway in the rear.
A thrill of exultation shot through the
lieutenant's breast as he realised that
this stairway must be the key to the
mvstery. The foot of it was only ten
feet away from tlie'door of the room in
which Mrs. Emmonds sat; while Mr. Em
mons was walking to the- telephone his
back must have been turned on It; while
he was in the closet his back must have
been turned on it also, if he could see the
men . who sat in the front room: and,
without a particle of doubt, the woman,
who had been waiting above, seized this
opportunity to accomplish her purpose.
She would have plenty of time if she had
acted so quickly as she seemed to have
done. It was perfectly plain. She had
escaped as she had entered by way of
the roof. It was strange that a man with
Mr. Emmons' perspicacity should over
look so palpable a' truth: but he had done
so. and it was a matter of warm self
gratulation to the officer that he should
prove so much sharper than this man of
heavy affairs, and that. too. regarding
the arrangement of his own house. But
be would say nothing about it. It was a
case for action rather than words, and af
ter he had made the capture and received
the reward
At this point in the jubilant flow of his
thoughts he was struck with a sudden
chill. Reward? What was it? A hundred
dollars! He had been dreaming of thou
sands! "I suppose," he ventured, tapping his
book with his pen handle carelessly, "that
if anyone in the secret erer who knew
about the diamond, I mean should find
and return it., the reward "
The little old man glanced keenly at
hiin. "Of course," he said, nodding. "I
understand that. A thousand eh? And
Influence supposing the finder needed it.
Oh, of course all that sort of thing.'"
The lieutenant breathed freer. A. thou
sand! It was not so vast a sum as his
dreams had pictured, but it would do very
well. There were ways he knew of mak
ing It all his, dividing only the hundred
for the monkey with whomsoever he
might be obliged to call upon for assist
ance In his search. He could already feel
the crisp, delightful crinkling of the bank
notes In his fingers. That woman was
simply a lunatic he was sure of It who
had escaped from her home In some
neighboring house by way of the roof,
entered by the scuttle oh. It was ail
plain. A few minutes searching among
the families In the block. But he must
not let it be seen that he was getting his
money too easily. He would explore the
Emmons mansion first, to give some color
of labor to his easy task, pretend then
with much scientific figuring to evolve a
solution of the great mystery, the only
solution that could be possible Under all
the conditions, walk out with the decla
ration that he would return In ten minutes
with the diamond, according to the most
approved methods of detectives In the
fiction thrillers, and then would keep his
word, just as they do;- and the next morn
ing he would be In all the papers Just
as they are, with J10.O0O In his Inside
pocket which none of them ever yet got,
except to give away, being too delicate of
soul to work for mere money!
But when in company with a Mr. Em
monds and a man from the office, he en
tered the hall of the Emmons house, a
few minutes later, he grew pale green
with chagrin. In his mental plan of the
floor he had figured on straight walls and
staircases, while In fact there was scarce
ly a straight line In sight, and circles.
semi-circles, ovals and spirals predom
inated to such -an extent that there
"" i unaccustomed eye to be a
perfect witches' dance of them, turning
topsy-turvy all hU Ideas of Interior archi
tecture. He stepped into the telephone
closet, and saw that, owing to these sur
prising shapes, Mr. Emmons had really
been right about facing both the back
stairway and the front room at the same
time, if the ability to see one of these
objects out of one eye and the other, out
of the other eye might be called "facing."
It was near enough to It for practical
purposes, at all events, for the walls were
so deeply concave on the telephone side
and so highly convex on the other, that
Close.
uie cioset, while It was between the
sf Alr an
Blairs and the room
was far enough back
" "l ouoyiuiun, ana.
from the certainty that he could In no
may explain the robbery, he passed at
one bound to the doubt that any robbery
had been committed. It was a foolish
thing, come to think of It, to say that a
monkey snatched that diamond and swal
lowed it! Who ever heard of such an
absurdity? It was a lie on the face of It.
jhu svBn granting mat absurd lie. it
. gnoulJ nave mvent(j Bucn ciumay story
I. .......
j to explain its disappearance.
fiavuis rcacnea mis conclusion, tne
lieutenant assumed a magisteial expres
sion of countenance and asked to see Mrs.
Emmons. The lady received him with an
eager smile on her keen old face, in the
expression of which the officer saw at
once a close resemblance to that of her
husband, and Invited him to be seated,
..oh dear, . ,n exclaimed. "I do so
hope you will find out about all this! It
trying-and such a queer thing! I
ver . heard of anything like it in my
would not sit. but stood before her,
asking every question touching the case
that he could conjure up. All in vain,
F-mmnn. M him .,- .l.
. v..cauJ.,
and thA mnst sMrrhlnv rmK.riiiAatnnfno-
failed to elicit anythln
tmct, as already give,
failort in HMt onHilnr n .It..
en. She was much
more prolix than her husband had been,
going into every detail with volubility and
minuteness.
But the sum of her testi
mony was that the strange woman had
pounced upon her. snatched the monkey
and disappeared, apparently into nothing-
ness.
The two visiting jewelers during all this
time had remained, after their first hurry
Into Mrs. Emmons' room, where they
heard her scream, where they were sit
ting at the moment the monkey seized
the diamond, locked in. This was by
their own request, Mr. Emmons said, for
in the circumstances they felt that to
leave would Invite suspicion of collusion
on their part with the thief, and that
they would better remain until the dia
mond should be found, or some definite
course decided on. These men the officer
now questioned as closely as he had
Mrs. Emmons, but with no better result.
They had seen a black thing shoot In
the door, snatch the stone, swallow It,
and scamper out, and almost immediately,
hearing a scream, and seeing Mr. Em
mons running across the hall from the
telephone, they had Jumped up and has
tened with him to his wife's door, where
they heard her story of the thief. They
acknowledged that the whole matter had
a queer look, and they wished they were
well out of it. But they could not give
any information. It certainly would be
impossible for anybody to pass along the
hall toward the front of the house with
out their seeing him, and they had seen
nobody. The .thief must have gone to
the rear, and if she were not one of the
servants disguised, and in conspiracy with
the rest of them, they could not imagine
how she was able to escape that way.
There was, in fact, no possible chanoe
for a person to do what, it seemed, had
been done. The problem was too big for
them.
The suggestion of disguised servant
infused a little hope into the officer's
mind. He had now become convinced
that it was as absurd to suspect Mr.
Emmons, as he had formerly thought it
was to suppose that the bast snould
swallow the stone. These men vowed
they had seen the swallowing, and hon
esty and distress were too evident in
their words and manners to be disputed.
Besides, even if this very rich man were
not above secreting the diamond his in
tellect certainly was above concocting
such a paltry scheme for doing tt. On
the notion of a servant In disguise he
based his last hope, and asked to have ,
them every one, men and women, sum
moned before him." . -
But at the very first view of thein
this last hope vanished. The thief was
short and stout, and by the same ac
cursed spite of fate which seemed to
have met the lieutenant at each turn and
crossing of this case, every man and
woman among these servants was thin
and tall! The butler, it seemed, who
hired all the help, was a lath in shape
himself', and, maintaining that short,
stout people were usually drinkers and
always slow, if not downright lazy, he
would have none of them. The officer in
disgust motioned them away. A short
person may by the exercise of skill and
taste be made up to resemble a taller one,
hut the reverse metamorphosis is out of
the question. Monsieur Lococq himself
never could have turned a tall spindle
shanks into a chunky sawed-off.
With this wise reflection the officer
made a few notes, ostensibly 'of great
importance, but really only for appear
ance sake, and promising Mr. Emmons
that every effort should be made for
the apprehension of the thief was about
to take his departure with his assist
ant, when he thought of the servant
who claimed to have seen the dark
shape gliding down the basement stairs.
So he had her brought back to him, and
put her through such a rigorous exam
ination ' that she suddenly burst out
crying, supposing that he was charging
her with the theft. It was plain that
she was a woman who could see shad
ows anywhere. He gave her up for a
fool, and then it occurred to him to ex
plore the back way and see things down
there for, himself. He did so, but
learned nothing except that it would be
absolutely impossible for anybody to
come in that way unseen by the serv
ants. Finally he searched Mrs. Em
mons' room, she giving him full liberty
to do so, pulling out drawers for him
herself and moving tables and sofas
around, till not a square Inch in the
apartment remained unseen by him.
Then he went away. Though he left
encouraging words behind him for the
benefit of the husband and wife he felt
that as far as he was concerned the
case was closed. I
"Docther Fur-rnivall, sor-r," said
Sergeant Nulty, with red face and bulg
ing eyes, "c'n a monkey swally a rooty
baggey ter-rnip?" "
"What's that?" said Dr. Furnlvall,
wheeling around in his chair. Seeing
Sergeant Nulty's head, helmetless,
sticking around the" edge of the door,
he smiled a welcome. "Come in, ser
geant," he invited. "What's up now?"
"Well, noo, J;ls wan shtrange thing,"
answered the sergeant, stepping care
fully over the polished floor to the
chair the doctor Indicated. "Here's wan
mon cooms rhunnin' f th' shtatlon wid
blood In hfs eye, an' he says, says he,
'B'yes,' he says, "here's a tousan' dol
lars," he says, 'fer a woman an' a mon
key, an' she swalleyed it,' he says, 'b't
'twas a dimont.' he says, 'an' th' wom
an swiped it off me,' he says, 'an' 'twas
noi me own, b't me wbife's," he says,
'an',' he says, 'Oi'll give," he says, 'a
tousan' dollars fer her an' she's th'
sotze of a rooty bagy tur-rnip, or
mabbe a car-rtwheel,' he says."
"That Is rather strange," says the
doctor dryly. "Aren't you somewhat
excited Nulty?"
"Well, mebbe!" The sergeant, with
a deep breath relaxed himself, and pro
ceeded more calmly: "Has a monkey
a t'roat on him. like a whale, an' c'n he
swally a dimont. Just as big as him
sel', an' walk off wid it unbeknownst,
an' thin swally himsel' forby an' dhrop
out of th' wor-rld at wanct, loike tbim
moving picthures off th' shtage? Be
cos, af he c'n do that same, he's a won
dher, an' af he cannot, the's a t'ousan'
dollars in ut, an' ayther way aboot he's
afther bein' a val'able craythur, what
iver, an' wort' th' throuble. jlst, or OI
mips me guess intirely."
It required some minutes of hard
work on the doctor's part to arrive at
the excited sergeant's meaning, but
finally he succeeded, end was in pos
session of toe strange tale of Mr. Em
mons' loss. The sergeant had a theory,
and wished Ir. Furnlvall's aid in work
ing it out. He believed that Emmons
had the diamond, that the whole thing
was a conspiracy between Emmona, his
wife, and the two Jewelers, and that
Dr. Furnlvall. with his hypnotism,
could get at the troth of the matter in
two minutes by interviewing Emmons.
He basec bis conclusions on two facta
tne lmpossioimy oi; a monjtey s swai-
lowing such a
nothing cf th
an enormous stone, to say
beast's miraculous dis
appearance, and the self-evident truth
that no thief could have escaped in the
circumstances as this alleged one had
done. As for the first. Dr. Furnlvall
asked him:
"Did Emmons say how big the dia
mond was?"
"He did, begob 'twas wort' t'ousan's
of dollars!"
"Oh. I see! Because it was worth
thousands it must be as big as a cart
wheel?" "Shure! Thy, me woife has wan wid
twlnty-seven pearls set round ut that
cost $4, th" soixe of a pratie bs.U, an'
phwat wud fifty t'onsaner be loike?"
He was deeply chagrined to learn
his mistake thct the value of precious
stones depends on quality as well as
size; that the capacities of different
monkeys' throats vary aa widely as
those of the human family, some mem
bers of which cannot take a pill, while
others can swallow a handful of
swords; and" that therefore It was qii
within the bounds of belief that this
animal had done as represented, or
could do so. The second point of the
sergeant's theory Dr. Furnlvall admit
ted. But, then, what of ft?
"Why should I mix ut In this af
fair?" the doctor said. "Nothing is p.t
stake, no innocent person is accuseJ;
it is a trivial affair, of no interest
whatever to me. What is the philo
sophic or scientific value of the fact
that a rich Jeweler has lost a diamond,
or has stolen one?"
The sergeant looked disappointed.
He moved uneasily In his chair, and
ruffled his mustache with a quick rub
of his hand. Then a shrewd beam
flicked into his blue eyes."
'"Shure, docther." he said. depre-
catingly, "i'c wud not lave thim su. J
yex is bate, an' th' job is wan too much
for yez!"
"Dr. Furnivall regarded him tolerant
ly through his colored spectacles.
"Nulty," he returned, with Just a hint
of sharpness in his voice, "no doubt
you have set many persons by the ears
in your time by that sort of argu
ment! A 'stump yer' or 'dare' may
work with children and imbeciles, but
I didn't suppose you were ass enough
to think it would have any effect on
me."
"B't, docther! Jist luk at it, now!
How th' quare woman wlnt oop in
air kn" th' monkey. Jlst phwere wes
th' chanct fer him "
"Nulty, out with it, now, and no
more evasions! What Is the real rea
son why you wish me to take up this
matter?"
The Sergeant's face grew violently
red. and he looked sheepishly at the
floor.
"Well, thin, docther, dear," he said,
slowly. "OJ,, knows Ol c'n kape nothing
at all fr'm yez b't b't f tell th' trut',
me woife is ailin' an' nades th' couni
thry air, an' shure Oi'm near broke,
phwat wid wan thing an' anither. an"
this an' that, an' I tort th' reward, or
me own share of ut "
"You should have said so at once.
That adds just the touch of human
interest to the case which alone makes
anything worth while "
"Will yez talke it, docther?" cried
Nulty, jumping up with glistening eyes.
"Faith, I'll rhun out f th' tilephone an'
tell Maggie t' pack oop fer free mont's
in th' counthry tomorry wornin' on th'
tln-twinty that laves at noon "
"Don't get rattled again, Nulty. I
thought something was wrong with you
when you came in. and I am sorry to
learn that it is your wife's sickness
that troubles you. But say nothing un
til you get your money. We haven't
found the diamond yet "
Nulty curled his lip in disdain.
"As good as as good as!" he said.
"An', by gob, Oi hov th' reward all
spint! 'Tis something fine, Oi tell yez,
docther, f splnd ut wanst before yez
git ut an' wanst afther, an' thin.lf
yez do not git ut at all, phy, thin yez
hov lost nothing, an' av yez do git ut
yez c'ti put ut in th' bank."
Dr. Furnivall, during this lucid for
mulationjof a-philosophy as old as the
beginnings of poverty, was selecting an
Instrument or two from his surgical
case and preparing an emetic. With
these in his pocket he took his hat and
told Nulty to lead the way to the Em
mons house.
"I won't venture any theory yet,
though I have the threads of one in ray
mind," he said as they walked along. "I
know nothing whatever of the charac
ters of these different persons who figure
in the case. I have never seen any of
them even, that I am aware of. The right
beginning, however, is- with Emmons,
and if we find him at home"
"Shure we will thot!" said the ser
geant. " Twes" wid an eye fer his hours,
just, that Ol coom fer ye. Oi knows thim
well. He's wid his woife this minute."
And so they found him. Dr. Furnival
talked with them both a few minutes and
then drew the husband aside.
"Mr. Emmons." he said, regarding him
through his spectacles, "have you no the
ory of this matter?"
The little man stooped forward, his
beady black eves growing even smaller
and more brilliantly black, and crossed
his wrist over his walHtband.
"I had none but on thinking it all over
I believe I have," he answered, incisve-
ir.
T understand that there is a reward,
offered by you, of J1000 for the recovery
of the diamond.
"That Is correct." he returned, in the
same tone.
"No matter who is hit by the detection
of the guilty person V
"None whatever. If you are the great
Dr. Furnival, the hypnotist, who can read
men's souls like an open book, you
should have no need to ask that ques
tion." "I can read no man's eoul- Neither
would, I care to do so if I could. But I
can read some things, and one of them is
that you would sooner see this person of
whom we both speak humiliated than
any one else. In fact, you know well who
has the stone, and you are Irritated al
most to insanity because you can't force
the possessor to give it up."
Mr.- Emmons bowed coldly.
"I honor your perspicacity," he said,
ironically. "Perhaus if you had my rea
sons you would feel aa I do."
" "I have no doubt of it. Still, you are
wrong. The whole difficulty is as much
your fault aa hers. Kleptomania is a dis
ease, anfl should be treated as such. It
sticks out all over her."
"All I want is the diamond," he said,
adding quickly, "and to know how she
managed the business." '
"We will arrange that on one condl-
The 11000?" he interrupted, with irony.
Dr. Furnlvall went on:
"It is that when you have received this
information and recovered the stone you
will call in the physician for your , wife
that I shall name to you."
The ugly little man hesitated. A brignt
color flowed into his cheeks, as of burning
anger, but he etlll held to his coldness of
manner.
"Very well: I agree on condition that
you fulfill your promise." he finally said.
It was plain that he was doubtful of this
alleged hpynotlc power; and. Indeed, he
added, as Dr. Furnlvall removed his spec
tacles and started toward Mrs. Emmons:
"I think you'll find your match there."
She was not a promising spectacle to
one who fondly looked upon softness and
loveahility as the distinguishing charac
teristics of the sex. Small, wrinkled, pet
tish with nerves of fire and a will that
lay cold in her glittering little beads of
eyes, unbreakable, not to foe bent, and
merciless as fate, she resembled her Kffs
band so strongly that one would say they
were brother and!sister. rather than hus
band and wife. But Dr. Furnlvall was
Interested only in her disease, the indlca
ations of which he saw in her eyes and
around the homely, quivering month and
pointed chin, as well as in the shape of
her head. The strength of ber will would
be a help to him in his hypnotism, rather
than an obstacle: and with Sergeant
Nulty standing a little behind her on one
side of her chair, scarcely able. to refrain
from dancing in Jubilation over the com
ing fruition of his hopes; and Mr. Em
mons on the other side, darkly attentive,
the doctor looked her in the eye and
talked "with her easily a moment or two
about the strange robbery. And when he
saw the various inevitable changes pass
over her keen. hard, nervous face, sur
prise at first, then excitement, running
swiftly into earnestness and ending in
fixed introspection, he ssked:
"Mrs. Emmans. where Is the diamond?"
'Ia Bruno's stomach!" she answered,
at once, in a voice like that of a deaf per
son who cannot hear himself speak.
"And where is Bruno?" .
"In the closet."
"What closet V
Mr. Emmons darted up to her upon this,
and probably for the first time In many
years, if not the first in his adult life, a
look of wonder crept into his usually
steady eyes. "Closet!" he repeated, as
one stupefied, "Cioset!"
She gave him no attention, did not even
see him. Her eyes were on Dr. Furni
vall's, and she answered:
"The closet where I. keep my things
the things I take."
"Where is it?"
"In the corner of this room, down low,
in the wainscot, by the large table."
Emmons and the sergeant stared in
amaze. The corner was as bare as a
wall could be. There was. not the slight
est indication of any closet there. But
Emmons, after a moment's thought,
seemed satisfied and bestowed his atten
tion again on the examination. ,
"It Is plain now," said Dr. Furnlvall to
him, still holding Mrs. Emmons' eyes with
his own, "how the monkey was made to
disappear so suddenly, and unless you
wish to hear more we will find the
closet at once "
"Let her tell the whole story," he in
terrupted grimly.
Dr. Furnlvall therefore went on:
"Mrs. Emmons, how did it happen that
the monkey should seize the diamond?"
"Why. you see, I suppose it was this
way: There is a kind of bon-bon that he
is very fond of, and I always hold it up
for him to leap for. It Is astonishing how
far he can Jump and how swiftly, when
he sees one of them in my fingers, or in
deed anywhere. They are round, and
sparkling like rock candy, and I suppose
he thousht the diamond was one of them.
So he snatched it and swallowed it. But
it hurt him and he has been sick over it."
"You had no idea of his doing such a
thing until your husband told you it waJ
done?"
The Lost Rivers of the West
Mysterious Streams That Play Hide and Seek.
0;
N THE American continent there are
no natural phenomena of more mys
terious and fascinating interest than- the
"lost rivers" of the Far West. These
hide-and-seek streams as a rule head in
mountainous areas and rush downward
into bow-like valleys, where they Incon
tinently vanish. Some of them reappear
miles from the vanishing point, while
others are lost forever and no man knows
what becomes of their waters.
The floors of th valleys Into which
they flow generally are comparatively
level and are built up of loose sands and
gravels washed down from the rocky
and forest-clad slopes which absorb the
water and through which it percolates
slowly beneath the surface. When the
slow-moving underground current en
counters an obstruction, a it often does,
in the shape of a natural dike or the
rocky rira of the lower end of the valley
the water Is forced to the surface and
the stream is born again.
Sinks and Rises Often. -
Thus the Santa Ana River In Califor
nia sinks in the wash above Redlands,
rtees to the surface above Bunker Hill
"dike," sinks below It, rises from River
side to Bedrock Canyon below El Rlncon.
sinks In the wash above Santa Ana, and
finally partly rises again In the large
peat land springs above Talbert. The
San Gabriel and the Ijos Angeles Rivers
exhibit the same characteristic, but dis
appear and reappear less often in their
much shorter coarse to the sea. At some
points th'ese sunken rivers flow for long
distances under a wide stratum of Im
pervious material where the water Is
under considerable pressure. When wells
are driven through this stratum an ar
tesian flow results. The discovery of
this fact added many thousands of acres
to the cultivated area of California, most
of which is in oranges, lemons, grapes,
and other high-priced products.
New Mexico Truant Stream. .
This wonderful lava bed is nature's
regulator. It swallows up the floods that
come down the steep slopes. It absorbs
the rains and jsnows and then releases
them slowly through a filter miles and
miles in length Into the Deschutes. In
fact, there are no floods at all. Day af
ter day and year after year Its flow Is
uniform and its waters sparkling and
clear. For this reason, probably, it is
the finest trout stream in America.
New Mexico also has a truant stream
the Rio Mimbres. It drains many miles
of mountain country in the southern part
of the territory, and for a time is a
stream of importance. Then, as if tired
of existence, it flows out upon the plains
near Deming and is lost forever, swal
lowed up in the loose sand and gravel.
The Pecos, too. Is a truant at time, and
seeks seclusion beneath the surface, com
ing up miles below In artesian Bprlngs of
great volume and flow.
Utterly Desolate Now.
Ages ago, when the earth was young,
the great Snake River Plain in Idaho,
now a scene of utter desolation, was a
semi-tropical garden. Countless streams
crossed it and lengthwise through It
flowed the mighty Snake. In the forest
primeval and over the verdure clad plains
roamed the mastodon, the mammoth, the
camel, a queer kind of horse, and many
other species of prehistoric animals. We
know all this to be true by reason of the
discovery of the remains of these extinct
anlmaLs in the recent excavations made
at Menldoka Rapids.
A great, catastrophe overwhelmed this
valley. On seven different occasions the
lofty Tetons, which frame its eastern
boundary, and which were then active
"No, indeed, of course not!"
Emmons' face softened the merest
shade at this. He had evidently believed
that In some way the theft had been pre
meditated. "And when you found that he hai.
wallowed the diamond you resolved to
hide him?"
"Yes. I did not propose to have my
pet- cut open, or even given an emetic"
"Was that the onv reason?''
"No, I wanted the diamond. Dia
monds . are so pretty! I always tak
them wherever I see them. If I can do
so unobserved. I have a, lot of them in
the closet."
"And you made up the story of the
strange woman in order to send suspi
cion astray?"
"Yes."
"I think," said Dr. Furnlvall to Mr.
Emmons, "that that is all we want to
know, isn't it? it was the description of
the alleged thief's appearance that put
me immediately on the track. Such a
description could emanate only from a
mind disordered in some way, and, enn
sldeiing all the circumstances. I at ones
suspected kleptomania."
But Mr. Emmons was already pound
ing the wainscot In search of the closet.
When finally It was laid open it was
found to be a small cavity behind th
sheathing used to round the corners of
the circular room, the door of which
was perfectly hidden, and fitted in tight
ly without lock or spring. The floor wai
littered with many valuables, stolen by
the kleptomaniac, among them a srood
handful of diamonds of various hapea
and degrees of beauty.
Stretched in the midst of the glitter
ing .array the poor monkey lay dead, suf
focated. The diamond was recovered, and Ser
geant Nulty received the reward from
Dr. Furnlvall, to whom alone Emmons
would pay it.
(Copyright, 1907, by W. O. Chapman-)
volcanoes, erupted and poured forth a sea
of lava, which swept downward and
westward, covering the beautiful valley
with a blanket of fiery liquid more than
SCO feet thick. In the cataclysm ail the
teeming life was annihilated. The rivers
were burned up and their channels ob
literated. Most Wonderful Canyon.
The Snake River cut its way through
the lava sheet, carving for ltsfilf one of
the most wonderful canyons in the West:
other streams from the South persisted
and finally Joined the parent stream. On
the north the rivers encountered the wall
of lava, but did not cut through it. Tt
is a striking hydrographic feature of the
valley that for hunderds of miles not a
river crosses it from the north.
Among the streams which flow south
ward from the range of snow-capped
mountains on the northern edge of the
valley two are especially interesting, the
Big and Little Lost Rivers. In that long
ago before the mountains belched forth
fire these ' rivers formed an important
tributary of the Snake, but the channel
was obliterated by successive layers of
lava which flowed over it.
Today the floods of these rivers flow
fbr a short distance on the surface of the
plain and then disappear In fissures, crev
ices, or in the softer and looser forma
tions. Both are truly lost rivers, for
they never appear again as streams.
It Is more than 100 miles from where
they lose themselves In the lav-a to the
canyon of Snake River. Yet it is believed
that a part of the waters of these rivers,
passing through subterranean channels
hundreds of feet below the surface, fi
nally reach their former confluent. Shep
herds and herdsmen who graze their
flocks in Winter on this broad plain have
long insisted that at several places where
there were yawning chasms In the lava
the rushing waters could be heard dis
tinctly. Further evidence of the soundness of
this theory Is found in the huge sprinas
which break out along the northern walls
of Snake Canyon.
One group of these near the head of
Hagerman Valley Is the most remarka
ble in the world. They are known as
Thousand springs. It is as difficult to
describe them as it is to find words with
whloh to portray Niagara.
Conceive, If you can, more than half
a mile of precipitous canyon, with black
and frowning face nearly ?00 feet high.
Then imagine 1000 geysers gushing forth
under tremendous pressure, the water,
white with foam, describing a perfect
parabola and then falling sheer JOO feet,
to be dashed into spray on the rocks
below. The roar of all these cataracts
is deafening. In the spray which rises
the bright sun paints Innumerable rain
bows of Indescribable coloring and beau
ty. More than 900.000 gallons of water pours
out of fountains every minute in the year.
You can travel for ten miles down the
canyon and never be out of sightr of a
dozen waterfalls.
More than half the normal flow of the
river at thto point is supplied by these
springs, which have their source proba
bly hundreds of miles to the north, and
which are drawn from some underground
reservoir beneath the treeless plain.
Wasps Taste In Files.
London Telegraph.
Wasps prey on flies a fact which
is well-known in Italy. On any Sum
mer or early Autumn day in the Tus
can country parts, when the luncheon
table is blackened by flies, one may
see a wasp sail in at the open window,
eelect fly, roll it over, curl It up and
carry it out into the sunshine and soon
return for another.