Ti(konicIes J-
MR. TAUBERY'S
DIAMOND
(Continued.) '
"Tet, It Is presumable that the guest
who came with an Imitation diamond
In his pocket Is the man who started
a discussion which resulted In Mr.
Taubery producing his latest treas
ure." "So It Is, by Jove!" cried the col
onel; "I never thought of it. Clever
work, Inspector, eh?"
"Exactly," said . Peace, blandly.
"And now, as regards the place In
which the robbery was committed."
"I locked the door," answered the
colonel, smacking his trousers' pocket
"Please let me have the key. Thank
you. , And now as to the windows.
Were they closed and fastened T"
"I saw to it myself."
"After the search In the library, did
any of the guests return to the dining
room?'.'
"I am no fool, Inspector. I left old
Julius there to see to that. No one
went back. When I had finished
aearchlng I joined Julius, and we
locked up together. The butler had
called in the policeman on the beat
and I left him sitting In the passage
watching the door and drinking beer."
"I must go to Portland place. What
Is the number?"
"I will drive yott there with all the
pleasure In the world, Inspector," said
the colonel, cheerfully. "Come along."
I left them at the foot of the stairs,
obtaining a whispered promise from
the detective that he would give me a
call that night If it was not too late
when he returned.
I spent a disconsolate evening at
the club. Never did I play a more de
graded hand at bridge, though I
should certainly have taken exception
to the remarks of my partner under
more ordinary circumstances. There
la a point at which fair criticism ends
and deliberate insult begins.
By ten o'clock 1 was back again In
my rooms, where I loitered, amongst
my books and pictures, In restless ex
pectation. It was chiming midnight
when there came a discreet tap at my
onter door, and Addlngton Peace
walked in. He sat himself down In
the easy chair 1 offered, and permitted
me to mix him a whisky and soda.
"Tell me, have you found the dia
mond?" "No."
"Nor the thief?"
"I know him to be one of five men
that is all."
"Five? And how do you make that
out?"
"It is very simple. The real dia
mond was examined by Professor En
dicott; it was an Imitation that
reached Sir Andrew Carlhon. There
fore It Is reasonable that one of the
five who sat between them changed
the one for the other."
"So you strike out the professor and
Sir Andrew?"
"If -either of them had been Impli
cated they would hardly have raised
the quarrel that resulted In the dis
covery of the theft"
"And this Suspected five who are
they?"
"Our friend Colonel Gun ton, Mr.
Thomas Craddpck, a clerk In the war
office'; tb Hon. George Carstalrs, Lor
Wlntone's brother; Mr. Abel Field ol
Orey and Field, car manufacturers;
and the Rev. Aubrey Power, a minor
canon r.of Westminster Abbey. I have
made some light inquiries and find
nothing agalnrt ; them. , Carstalrs,
Craddock and Power are men of mod
erate Income, the other two are rich.
"Tet this gives us one' Important
conclusion. -The actual thief Is an .am
ateur In crime. So far as anyone
knows this la his first offense.-. But It
was not a sudden temptation to which
he yielded. " On the contrary, he was
carrying out- his share in a plot that
had been long and carefully prepared.
He substituted an Imitation diamond
for the original as It passed through
bis hands an easy matter; but who
thought out the scheme, who had this
admirable Imitation made, who knew
that Taubery was leaving the country
and that the diamond was to be sent
Immediately to strong room of a
bank, where th substitution that had
taken place might not be discovered
for month, perhaps years?
"Who, In short, bad the clever
brain, the far-sighted judgment, the
familiarity with jewels and those who
itl In them, all of which would be re
quired In the originator of suoo a
fraud? , Not OuhIoe, nor Craddock,
smr Carstalrs, nor Field, nor the Rev.
tubrey Power.' Thero Is soma one
who has Influence over one of these
men some one pnM" the strings be-
hind the curtain... I shall consider tt
an honor to make that person's arrest
Mr. Phillips." '
Inspector Addlngton Peace beamed
upon me as he concluded his deduc
tion concerning the theft of Julius
jauuery g aiamona, with an , expres
sion of hopeful enthusiasm, and lit a
cigarette at my reading lamp.
"This unknown criminal genius has
got the diamond, anyway," I said.
I am not so sure of that. Consider
the position of the actual thief on the
discovery that the stope was false. He
must have been in a state of blind ter.
ror. If we may suppose that Colonel
Gunton Is Innocent, the bellowing of
that worthy gentleman must have
frightened him the more. To be
searched, discovered, and actually dls
graced a pleasant prospect, surely!
We may take It that he was heartily
sorry for the part he had played; that
he wished the diamond a thousand
miles away. To get rid of It previous
to the ordeal before the colonel and
Professor Endlcott in the library
that would be his object. '
"Tet here I am met by the simple
difficulty that I cannot .find the dia
mond. I have made the closest Inves
tigation without result. As Colonel
Gunton told us, Mr. Taubery remained
In the dining room to see that none
of the guests returned after they had
been searched. The door was subse
quently locked and a policeman eta'
uonea in the passage outside; the
windows were fastened. Therefore
the thief could not come back to re
cover what he had temporarily hidden.
All of which might seem to prove that,
though Colonel Guntbn affirms that he
went through the guests with an ex
pert nana, one of them managed to
keep the diamond about him and carry
It away. Tet such an achievement
suggests rather the professional than
we amateur criminal. And, If for
that reason alone, I believe that the
stone Is still In the house. We ought
to be able to decide that point within
a week."
"I can't see why. Peace," I said.
not Then, pray don't trouble
about It And really. Mr. PhllllDs. as
I have a long day's work before me. It
is time i was off to bed. Do you know
it is one o'clock?"
I knew how useless It was to ques
tion the little man when he thought
ne naa told enough. So I bade him
good night with the best grace that
disappointment would permit It had
been kind of him to trouble about me,
alter ail.
Three days went by, and I had not
naa tne cnance of asking Peace for
news. For two nights, as I discovered
by inquiry, he slept out, only appear
ing for an hour about noon to change
ais linen; for he was most careful of
hi. -
" MitMuce ana as cleanly as a
cat Indeed, I had a secret belief that
his nails were regularly manicured In
Bond street. When I did see him it
was by accident, and, to be frank,
nothing he had done gave me greater
surprise.
I was walking through Kensington
gardens about eleven o'clock on a
visit to a friend whose studio lay to
the north of the park. It was charm
ing weather. The fresh leaves on the
smoke-black boughs, the flower beds
rich. In variegated coloring, the deep
throated coo of the pigeons, the chat
ter of Innumerable sparrows, all told
that winter had passed and spring waa
calling a welcome to summer... I had
Just turned from a long shrub-walled
walk Into an ppen space when I came
upon the amazing spectacle of Ad
dlngton Peace flirting with a very
pretty nursemaid.
Whatever the little inspector had
been, whatever he was, there . was
nothing of the Don Juan In his com
position. I had already noticed that
he .took pains to avoid 'the opposite
sex, with that uneasy consciousness
of their presence ' which marks the
bachelor with principles. Tet there
he eat, 'sharing the same bench and
talking earnestly Into her ear, while
before them a little boy pedalled In
dustriously up and down upon a trl-cycle-horse.
a long-maned, long-tailed
toy set on three wheels and propelled
by Indifferent pedals. It was Idyllic,
domestic, but distinctly surprising.
As I passed the bench, Peace stared
at me without a glimmer of recogni
tion In his keeu gray eyes.
I had just finished my breakfast
next morning when In walked the In
spector. I laughed: Indeed I could hot
help It; and he answered me with a
quick glance, half annoyance, half re
proach. "Something is going to happen to
day In the matter or the diamond." ha
said. "But I warn you, Mr. Philips,
that If you Intend to mk fun of me
you shan't know a word about it "
"Ton . entirely misjudge me,"l said.
sucking my nose into my coffee cup
to hide a grin.
"Very welL There Is a sale of fur
niture today at the house of Mr. Ju
lius Taubery, No. 204 Portland place,
the 'property of a gontleman going
abroad for the benefit of hla health,'
as the catalogue has It I should ad
vise you to be there a little before four
o'clock this afternoon."
"I am very much obliged to you.
Peace," I said, making a note of the
number on my shirt cuff. -
He nodded, with a faint shadow of a
smile at the corners of his mouth,
shook a finger of warning, and trotted
out of the room.
I was punctual at my appointment
and shouldered my way through the
crowd of chattering dealers Into the
big dining room of No. 204.' A private
auction to me always seems a melan
choly business. True, I knew that In
this case the owner was a rich man,
that his furniture and carpets and fit
tings had been bought only a year or
two before, and were not the loved col
lection of years. But the tumbled dis
order, the mud of many feet upon the
floor, the noise of the bidders answer
ing the raucous voice of the auction
eer, were all an Insult to the peace,
the privacy and the hospitable mem
ories of a stately home.- It was with
relief that I saw Colonel Gunton's
eyeglass Shining near the window, and
elbowed my way towards him. He had
a little boy with him, whom he car
ried perched on bis shoulder, well out
of the way of the crowd.
'.'Hello,' Phillips," he shouted. In a
tone that successfully competed with
the auctioneer's. "Come to see the
last of old Taubery's household gods,
eh? Confound those dealers, what a
noise they make bidding for that ta
ble. 'Pon my soul, when I think how
many gqod dinners I've had with my
toes underneath it, I feel quite senti
mental, I do, Phillips, strike me."
To emphasize his sensations he
glared ferociously at a weak Individ
ual who was pressed against him by a
swirl In the crowd, and asked him
what In thunder be thought be was
doing.
The great table was bought, the last
of the .heavy furniture; and there
only remained a few details that were
auctioned, some separately, some In
oddly assorted lots. It was during
their sale that my talk with the col
onel was Interrupted by the .little boy
upon his shoulder.
"Oh, father," he cried, , "there's
George's bicycle horse! Won't you buy
me George's bicycle horse?"
A long-tailed, long-maned toy 'was
raised by one of the auctioneer's men,
who grinned under a running tire of
chaff. I had an idea that I had seen
that gallant charger, before, though
where I could not remember.
"Who 1b George?" I asked the col
onel. "It's Taubery's grandson. His
daughter's a widow, you know; she
and the boy live with the old people.
HI, there! ten shillings."
A gray-haired man In an overcoat
who stood near by nodded his head at
the auctioneer,
"Eleven shillings going at eleven
shillings."
"Fifteen." bawled the colonel.
"One pound," said the gray-haired
man. '
. I had no idea what the cost of such
toy 8 might be; but the price, second
hand,' seemed high. Several of the
dealers gathered about the chair on
which the auctioneer was standing
WHAT SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE
Odd Superstitions That Are Prevalent
Among the Inhabitants of Euro
pean Countries.
In Spain the wedding Is spoiled If
one of the guests appears entirely In
black or If the bride looks Into a mir
ror after orange blossoms and veil
are fastened In her headdress.
When a person's hair ends split It Is
taken by the superstitious for a sign
that she is either a witch or has been
bewitched. As blond hair splits more
readily than dark hair, all witches,
sprites and sorceresses have blond or
red hair, according to popular belief.
Likewise, according to the standard of
art
On the marriage eve there is often
much good natured rivalry between
the groom, and the bride in the Slav
countries as to who shall blow out the
candle, for the person who does will
be "first to die." It is Impossible to
trace the origin of this superstition,
yet It prevails in aristocratic society
as well as In the peasant's hut, even
as like this, that "to Insure the life
and health of the children" .the wom
an must occupy the right side of the
bed. In addition, she must not smoke
before her forty-fifth. yr.
There la a superstition In this coun
try and many others against burning
a broom. The bud of birch broom
Is used In southern Germany as a pre
ventive againit erysipelas. These
buds, a piece of yellow wax and soma
looked back at us over their shoul
ders. "Confound those dealers!" cried
the colonel. "If an outside buyer
wants anything they try to squeeze
him out They're all In league. - It
ought to be stopped. It's a monstrous
shame. It's Iniquitous. Twenty-live
shillings to you, sir."
"Thirty," .said the gray-halre'd man.
'"Two pounds."
As the bids Increased the temper
of the colonel grew worse and worse.
Those who were well' out of his reach
began to chuckle, and. finally to laugh
outright At four pounds ten he hesi
tated. With a supreme effort he made
It five.
"Guineas," said the gray-haired man.
I am sorry to say that the colonel
swore. In one stupendous oath be de
nounced all who dealt in second-hand
goods of any description whatsover.
Then, with the little boy sobbing on
his shoulder, he surged through the
crowd like a battleship In a head soa,
and disappeared amid a burst of disre
spectful laughter. It was before the
auctioneer had sufficiently recovered
from his surprise that I felt a gentle
touch on m arm. It was Addlngton
Peace.
'There Is a four-wheeled cab watt
ing about thirty yards up the Street,"
he whispered, "Go and get Into It I
will Join you presently."
(CHRONICLES TO BE CONTINUED.)
Honesty In London.
Montenegro has a law ordaining
that any found valuable shall be
placed where the loser can find It
The fact suggests an anecdote told of
Garibaldi's grandfather In Dickens'
life of the famous clown. On one of
his visits to Leadenhall market with
nearly $2,000 in gold and-silver upon
him, "he found that his shoe had be
come unbuckled, and taking from his
pocket the bag, he placed It upon a
neighboring poBt, and then proceeded
to adjust his buckle." Having after
ward to pay for a purchase, he missed
his bag of gold, and hurried back to
the post where he had buckled his
shoe. Although more than three
quarters of an hour had elapsed
. . . there It remained safe and un
touched "on the top of a post in the
open street!" That was In eighteenth
century London.
One Way With Late Husbands.
At Stelnach, Canton of St. Gall,
Switzerland, a young married woman
whose husband was unable to tear
himself away from his favorite cafe
in the evenings and was always very
late, for dinner, took the dinner and
"planted" it before her husband and
friends while, they were playing cards
In the cafe. (
"Continue your game as long as
you like, but don't return home and
disturb me, for I am going to bed,"
she said, and walked out of the cafe.
The young husband had to Dasa the
night in the streets, as his wife re-
tusea to anow mm to enter tne house
Baby a Real Midget.
The montn-oia cnua of a gypsy,
which was the subject of an inquest
at Wandsworth, England, not long
since, was described by a doctor as
the smallest baby he had ever known.
It only weighed 3 pounds 14 ounces.
instead of the normal 7V4 pounds, and
Its length was only 1 foot 5 Inches.
as compared with the average 2 feet
3 Inches.
other articles, are Inclosed In a pink
silk bag, secured with red silk and
worn on the back of the neck. The
person must change his shirt every
Friday.
One That He Forgot.
Two black-faced mlnBtrels , were
giving an entertainment on the sands
of a certain seaside holiday resort
recently. While one of them was
telling funny stories about the hum
ors of boarding house landladies, the
other went among the crowd making
a collection. He at length went up
to a stern looking woman, who
promptly snatched the tambourine
from bis hand and poured the con
tents Into her. lap. As she returned
the empty tambourine to the tatoav
lshed mlnlstrel she- exclaimed: -
"Tell your friend who knows so
much about landladies that rtn the
one he forgot to pay the last timet he
waa here I" Weekly Telegraph
Proper Yellow Feeling.
One of John Quincy Adam's clients,
whose case was to be tried on a cer
tain morning, fonnd that he could not
get his counsel to leave his flshlna
boat except long enough to write a
note to the Judge, which read: "Dear
Judge: For the sake of old Izaab
Walton, please continue my case un
til Friday. The smelt are biting, ana
I can't leave," And the Judge, bar
ing read the note, announced to the
court: "Mr. Adams is detained on
Important business." ,'
GOOD CELERY RECIPES
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER SUCCU
LENT VEGETABLE COOKED.
iream Soup an Appetizing and Nour
ishing Dish Boiled With Flour
and Butter Excellent Pre
pared In Italian Style.
Cream of . Celery Soup Melt one
fourth of a cupful of butter and add
one-fourth cupful of flour. When
thoroughly blended add two cupfuls
of cold milk and cook until thick.
Cook a large head of celery, cut fine.
in boiling water until tender, and rub
through a sieve. Measure the pulp
and add enough of the water In which
It was cooked to make two cupfuls.
Add to the thickened milk, season
with salt and pepper, and, if too thick,
dilute with boiling milk to the proper
consistency.
Boiled Celery Tie cleaned and
trimmed stalks of celery In bunches
with string. Cover with boiling salt
ed water, add a chopped onion, a lit
tle mace, and two or three pepper
corns. Cook Blowly until done, re
move the strings and arrange on a
serving dish. Strain the liquid and
reserve enough to make a sauce.
Thicken with flour cooked in but
ter, take from the fire and add the
yolk of an egg beaten with the Juice
of a lemon. Pour over the celery
and serve. Less lemon Juice may be
used, if desired.
Fried Celery Cut cleaned celery
stalks into four-Inch lengths and .boll
until tender In salted water to cov
er. Drain, cool and dry. Beat to
gether three eggs and two cupfuls of
milk, and add enough bread crumbs
to make a thick, smooth batter. Dip
each piece of celery twice into the bat
ter, and fry brown, in deep fat Serve
with the following tomato sauce.
Brown a tablespoonful of flour In but
ter, add a cupful of stewed tomatoes,
salt, pepper, grated onion, a teaBpoon
ful of beef extract, and one-half cup
of water. Cook until smooth and
thick, strain over the fried celery and
serve.
Escalloped Celery Chop celery
very flne or cut Into half Inch lengths
and cook until tender in boiling salt
ed water to ' cover. Drain and re
heat in cream sauce. Put into a but
tered baking dish In layers, sprinkling
each layer with grated cheese, or
crumbs, or both crumbs and grated
cheese. Have crumbs and cheese on
top, dot with butter and brown In
the oven.
Celery a 1'ltallenne Trim the tops
and roots from four heads of celery,
and cut the stalks Into short lengths.
Parboil, drain and reheat with a cup
ful of white stock, a tablespoonful
each of butter and chopped ham, sea
soned with salt and pepper. When
tender strain the sauce and arrange
the celery on pieces of toast Add a
tablespoonful of grated cheese to the
seuce and th beaten yolk of an egg.
Pour the sauce over the celery and
bake until brown.
Scalloped Potatoes.
Peel, wash and slice small potatoes,
place a layer In a baking dish, season
with salt and pepper, then a dash of
flour and small bits of butter. Con
tinue the layers until the dish Is full.
Nearly fill the dish with milk and
bake In the oven until potatoes are
tender and browned on top. Grated
cheese, bits of ham or slices of bard
cooked eggs may be put between the
layers of potatoes. Woman's World.
Original Lemon Pie.
Having previously baked a rich
crust I put one and two-thirds cups of
toilk in double boiler, reserving
enough milk to dissolve two heaping
tablespoons of corn starch, yolks of
two eggs, saving the whites for frost
ing, one large cup sugar, grated rind
of one lemon and Jule of one and one
half. Beat the whites Btlff, adding
one or two' tablespoons of sugar and
return to oven to brown.
Rich Pancakes.
Sift together one pint of flour, one
teaspoonful sugar, a saltspoonful of
salt and a teaspoonful and a half of
baking powder sifted with the flour.
Beat one egg thoroughly and stir It
Into a cup and a quarter of milk. Turn
this on two cupfuls of cold boiled rice
and beat with a fork until the rice is
free from lumps. Add to the prepared
flour and beat to a smooth batter.
Have the griddle well heated and
greased and cook the batter in large,
thin cakes, browning nicely on both
sides. Serve with maple syrup.
Bannocks.
Beat up one egg, add a pint of milk
and stir in a heaped up teacup of oat
meal and one-quarter teaspoon each of
salt and baking soda. Have ready
a hot griddle, rub it over with fat
and drop the mixture on to this in
spoonfuls. When covered with bub
bles on the top, turn and cook on tha
other side.
Cranberry Cup.
A combination of cranberry sauce
and frappe Is delicious served with a
turkey dinner. -
4 .'
I