Lincoln County leader., May 08, 1913, Image 3

A. .. .
644
ChJuAormAAConanDoye of
MR. TAUBERY'S
DIAMOND
(Contlnued.)
Quite half an hour bad dragged by
when the cab door was swung opei.
and the detective sprang In. At the
same time I noticed a covered cart
with a black pony in the shafts pass
the other window at a leisurely pace.
Our driver must have had his orders,
for he turned his horse and followed
in the same direction. --,-.. ,
Peace remained silent, so I left him
alone and contented myself with star
ing out of the window. We were
going northward towards Hampstead.
The lines of houses broke up Into sep
arate villas. Lilac and laburnum
bushes peeped over the garden walls.
The throng of traffic grew thinner, the
pavement less crowded. It was past
five when we drew up at a little pub
llo house. Peace toddled out, and 1
followed at his heels.
"He Is unloading his cart In Ashley
treet, yonder," said the driver, lean
ing from the box, as he pointed with
hi whip to a side road. "Do you want
me to wait, slrT"
The inspector nodded and disap
peared through the Inn door, leaving
me on the pavement. As he bad given
me no orders I strolled back to the
corner and peeped down the road,
which ran at right angles to the one
In which I was.
About forty yards awav utood th
little covered cart with the gray
uairea aeaier of the auction room
talking to a lad beside It. Presently
the lad crawled under the , canvas
hood and handed down the Identical
long-tailed horse that had brought
about the public discomfiture of the
gallant Colonel Gunton. The dealer
pushed It across the stone pavement
into a little furniture shop, and the
boy, whipping up the black pony,
drove quickly away.
I turned back to find the detective
at my elbow.
"Peace," I said, "what Is your Inter
est In that bicycle horse?"
- "It happens to play the comedy part
in our nttie mystery." '
"What do you mean?"
"Only that it has a hole In the sad
die for a pommel should a Mttia rin
ride In It, and the hole leads down to
a noiiow inside. Do you guess what
it was that dropped into the hollow
inside 7'
"Not Mr. Taubery's diamond?"
"Exactly. Yet we . have still to
find out the man who put it there."
"But, In the meantime the old dealer
may"
"Tut, tut, Mr. Phillips.- The old
dealer has nothing to do with It, He
la only obeying an order to buy the
toy whatever it cost, and to keep it
until called for. We may have to
waste some time, so I have ordered a
steak and fried potatoes in an upper
room that conveniently overlooks the
ooor oi nis shop Let me show you
the way."
We passed through a long Dar ai
which a dingy assemblage lounged
and smoked, and so upstairs Into a
private room, the windows of which
commanded Ashley street We ate our
meal In relays one watching at the
window, while the other disposed of
his section of stringy steak and
heavy beer. The daylight softly faded,
the gas Jets sprang out along the
treet, the tramp of home-coming
fathers dropped into silence but there
was still no caller at. 'he furniture
shop. The shutters had been' put up
for the night It seemed plain to me
that nothing would happen for that
evening at least, though Peace did not
seem to despond.
Nine o'clock ten o'clock ten
thirty, and the customer arrived.
I had watched his cab come rattling
down the. street with a casual interest,
for many had come and gone since we
first mounted .guard. It had passed
the little shop and was almost be
neath us, when a bead was thrust out
of the window and a voice cried irri
tably to the cabman. A street lamp
showed him to me clearly a white
faced youth with a straggly, brown
mustache and 'an Indecisive chin.
The cab turned about, and pulled up
opposite the shop door. The Inspector
touched my arm, and we walked down
the stairs, picked up our driver, who
was smoking In the bar, and so bun
dled l"to our own vehicle. A few
whispered. Instructions, and we drove
slowly round the corner Into Ashley
street. ' . j
The customer bad been ' expected.
As we passed the shop at a walking
pace I coulfi see that the dealer and
Is assistant were hoisting the bicycle
lfc Mourn tie jerriiUfa
horse to the root of the waiting cab.
Fifty yards more and we drew up ny
the pavement '
Peace kept the windows closed, so
that I could not look back along the
road; but through the glass in front
I could see that our driver was quietly
taking note of affairs. It was not the
first time that the Inspector had em
ployed him, as I learnt afterwards,
and the man knew his business..'
Suddenly our cab whisked round
and set off at a rapid pace. The stran
ger had selected a fast horse, that
was evident. We swung through a
mase of narrow streets, tugged up a
long hill, skirted, a stretch of open
common a part of Hampstead Heath,
I believe and finally stopped In the
shade of some tall trees. As I got out
I saw the lights of the chaise station
ary at some distance up the road.
"There may be trouble, Mr. Phil
Hps," whispered the little detective.
"I'm not certain I ought to bring you
along. If anything"
"Nonsense!" I Interrupted, glancing
down at him with some amusement.
"Well, take this, anyway. I had It
from a German burglar."
He thrust a strip of hardened rub
ber Into my hand, about eighteen
inches In length by two In thickness.
"It will stun a man without leaving
a mark," be said gently.
The four-wheeler that we had fol-
lowed was waiting before a green door
set in a high brick wall. Without any
attempt at concealment, Peace walked
to the door and tried the handle. It
was not locked, and we passed into a
iair-sized garden, set about with flow
er beds and clumps of laurel. In the
middle I could see the outline of a
square gray house. Two of the ground
floor rooms glowed behind their cur
tains; the rest was darkness.
We crossed a corner of the lawn,
and stopped behind a patch of bushes
directly in front of the entrance
porch. The night was very still and
silent What desperate men wr
gathered Ip that quiet place? How
could we hope to arrest them flushed
wuu we mumpn oi so splendid a
prize? To be truthful, I began to feel
a certain anxiety . for our nnnitinn-
though upon Peace's face, showing
white In the gloom, was a look of per
feet serenity a look that I could nnt
understand.
"Mercy, oh, mercy!"
It was a trembling wall of torrnr .
wall that was suddeniv blotter! m, k
a roar like the challenge of a bull.
From within the house came the crush
of overturned chairs and the jingle of
breaking glass. And all the time the
shrieks and hoarse ravings drew near
er and louder, until, with a imM h...
the hall door was flung open and a
man tumbled down the steps as If
thrown from a catapult His assail
ant In black silhouette
hall lights, hesitated for a moment
suck in hand. Tben, with a shout of
rage, he sprang forward and stru at
the moaning wretch who squirmed on
toe gravel at nis feet
Now.. Jack Steadman. thnf la tiff
enough," said the Inspector, pushing
his way through the laurels.
"And who may you be?" erind tn.
other, wltb a furious oath.
"My name is Addington Peace of the
criminal Investigation department ,of
Scotland Yard, and I arrest you both
lor being concerned In the robbery of
a vaiuaDie diamond, the property of
Mr. Julius Taubery."
"Stolen a diamond I" he bellowed.
"Do yon call that a diamond V
He flung down a stone that sparkled
In the lights behind him, and stamped
It Into the gravel with his heel.
"I am aware that It Is the . imita
tion," said the Inspector. "But It was
not your fault that you missed the
real thing. I have a cab waiting. You
bad better come with me quietly. And
I warn you, Steadman, that anything
you say will be used In evidence
against you."
It was after two in the morning be
fore the Inspector tapped at the door
of my rooms. I had made the fourth
of that odd cab load to the nearest
police station; for, though Mr. Jack
Steadman had blustered, and the Hon.
George Carstalrs had groveled and
whined thither, they had consented to
go at last. And there I had left the
detective and his prisoners, driving to
my rooms to await his return.
"The case was not quite so difficult
as you suppose, Mr. Phillips," he
said, in answer to my question. "You
remember that I believed the diamond
to be still in the house?"
"Certainly."
"It would be hard to Imagine a more
useful bait It was certain that the
thieves would have another bite at
It; it was also certain that I ought to
be able to hook them when they did.
Yet I very nearly lost the diamond,
after all. Taubery, Gunton and the
servants had am declared that, since
the robbery, nothing had been moved
from the dining room, passage or li
brary. There they made a mistake.
"Taubery's little grandson, George,
happened to leave his toy horse in the
passage from the dining room, and
Into the hole made for the pommel
that poor creature. Carstalrs, had
dropped the diamond with a last de
spairing effort to get rid of It before
Colonel Gunton. searched him. Ten
TACK STEADMAN.
fOUITE ENOUGH."
minutes afterwards the little boy
went out for a walk with his nurse,
taking the horse with him. When he
returned it was left as usual, In the
servants' quarters at the back. I
never set eyes on it until a day later.
Even then J. should not have suspect
ed what It contained had not the
nurse complained to me of a man who
followed her when ahe took George
for his dally airing In the park. That
was the sign for which I had been
looking. I accompanied the pair on
the following mornlngT I saw the
man, but did not recognize him.
"Neither the nurse nor the boy
could well be carrying the diamond
about with them. There remained the
This Receptacle for All Manner -of
Things Has Been Used 8lnce
Time Immemorial.
Nobody knows who Invented the
barrel. It has been used since time
immemorial.
Barrels are used for all manner of
articles, solid and liquid. There are
barrels for holding sugar, salt, apples,
potatoes, and so on; for all aorta of
oils, from the heaviest lubricants to
the most volatile products of petro
leum; for beers, wines, and all sorts
of beverages. It is contended that
the barrel Is the strongest structure
of Its size that can be made from an
equal amount of wood. Its contents
are frequently the strongest that can
be made from liquids.
The barrel has tremendous power
ORIGIN OF BARREL UNKNOWN!
borae. Than night 1 extracted the real
diamond, and not wishing to spoil my
bait for the shy fish, I dropped the Im
itation stone Into Its plaee.
"The toy was watched by night and
day. It was through a hint from mt
that It was Included In the sale. Poor
Colonel Gunton! t admit that his ec
centric bidding startled me for a mo
ment "You can understand Steadman's
fury when, after all his plots and risks
and expenditure, his silly dupe brought
him back the Identical imitation stone
that had been made to deceive old
Taubery. I don't believe that the Tro
jans could have been more astonished
when the Greeks emerged from the
wooden horse than was Steadman
when he took out the diamond from
the toy and found It to be the Imita
tion!" -
"And who was Steadman?"
"A very dangerous fellow, Mr. Phil
lips. I recognized him the moment he
appeared at the door. For years be
was a bookmaker in Paris, but left
when the place got too hot for him.
As a card player be Is well known and
avoided. He has been In low water
lately. So has his dupe, Carstalrs, as
I now discover. ' Lord Wlntone, the
young man's brother, set him up as a
coffee planter in Ceylon, but he spent
all the' money given him and re
turned six months ago. Carstalrs was
a distant connection of Mrs. Taubery's
and both she and her husband had
been very kind to him. He was al
ways loafing about the house, getting
free meals and now and then borrow
ing a fiver. He must have beard of
the new diamond and mentioned It to
Steadman; for Steadman hatched the
plot there is no doubt about that
Carstalrs was merely a dupe and a
foolish, vicious dupe at that he never
had the ability to rise higher in crime.
How the two became acquainted I do
not know; but tbey have been seen
together several times lately. You
may take my word for It, that the
public will be well rid of them for a
year or two."
(CHRONICLES TO BE CONTINUED.)
Resourceful.
In the club they were comparing
the resourcefulness of their wives
in difficult social situations. The man
who lives in a Harlem flat had been a
good listener, but he finally found an
opening.
"Yes," said he, "my wife isn't bad
at that sort of thing. We were hav
ing some people to luncheon one
Sunday last spring, and just at an
hour when all the delicatessens were
closed she discovered that she needed
some mustard and didn't have a grain
of It in the kitchen. And she isn't
the sort that will borrow from peo
ple next door that she doesn't know.
It was a bad fix, all right But she
got mustard enough."
"Went to the delicatessen man's
house and routed him out, I suppose?"
suggested a member from the Bronx.
"Not much. Just went to the medi
cine closet, got down a box of ready
made mustard plasters, put 'em to
soak, and squeezed enough of the hot
stuff off."
"Good night," said the man from
the Bronx. New York Globe.
His Art Instincts.
Jones had invited a friend to dinner
and- asked him to carve a chicken that
was placed before him. The guests
set to work with a good will, but after
a deal of muscular exercise was com
pelled to acknowledge himself beaten.
"Where In the name of leather did
you get that bird?"
"I don't know," replied the host
"unless It should prove to be the off
spring of some hard boiled egg."
Chicago News.
Willing to Be Frightened.
They were seated in the dim light
of a conservatory. She was playing
with her fan, and he was murmuring
soft speeches in her ear. Suddenly he
leaned forward and impressed a kiss
on her soft cheek.
"Oh, Charlie," she cried, "how you
frightened me!'
Then after a few minutes she said:
"Frighten me again, Charlie."
of resistance to pressure from within
and from without. A barrel set on
end will, it Is claimed, support half
the weight of a railway car while the
truck Is taken from beneath for re
pairs. Yet the primitive barrel is put
together without .nails, screws, bolts,
or pins It Is entirely self-fastened.
The barrel Is smaller at Its ends
than it is in Its middle, so that the
wooden hoops, self-locking, may be
driven on, tightening the staves and
pressing the heads Into the chines.
Although not calked, barrels are water-tight
A small barrel Is a keg, a
big barrel Is a cask, and a still bigger
barrel Is a hogshead.
Enough of the Real Thing.
"This portrait I have painted of
your wife, Mr. Enpecque, is a speak,
ing one."
i "Then I don't want If
LOAFING A FINE ART
ACCOMPLISHMENT HARD TO ONE
NOT BORN TO IT.
Everyone Should Set Apart Some
Time for Absolute Relaxation Is
Woman's Secret of Peren
nial Youth.
Most of us need a snail of loafing
now and then, but few of us know
now to loat Indeed I don't think
It Would bn at nil a. hnrl titan, tn hold
classes In loafing all over this hus
tling country of ours, says a writer in
the Rehoboth Rnnrtnv Hnra.ld. It
comes so hard to any one who Isn't
born a loafer and the born loafer
doesn't count Ha AYarenrates what
should be a recreation, and occasion
al indulgence, into a habit, thereby
spoiling both HfA and loaf and inci
dentally throwing an excellent thing
into pad repute.
No one who wouldn't rather work
than loaf is in actual need of loafing,
but there are really few of us who
don't prefer working at something,
useful or useless, to doing nothing.
And he or she who loves work most
requires to learn loafing.
You can't loaf properly If you are
worrying over negected work or an
ticipated work to come. You must be- -gin
to loaf In your mind first of all,
letting it work from inside out, until
you are loafing all over. Just sitting
around and not working isn't loafing.
I have seen a woman waiting in the
reception room of an office till her
turn came to go in to tho hallowed
precincts beyond, sitting there tense
wun wont, thrashing things over,
quivering with imnntfenco wAartng
herself out to no purpose at all. Now,
u sne had studied the art of loafing,
she would have had a fine, refreshing
half hour and enjoyed herself thor
oughly besides.
When you loaf you must be filled
with a sense of utter peace, a com
plete escape from the least notion of
labor of any sort, a deep content In
the large leisure of the hour. No
faintest desire to "make time pass"
must be allowed an entrance. "Loaf
and Invite your soul," goeB the say
ing, but it Is rather your soul that In
vites you. It takes you into the re
gions of eternity, where time Is not,
and gives you splendid Idle dreams
and surrounds you with vast spaces.
What good Is there in that? Hard
ly one American woman gets enough
of It. We may be idle, many of us,
but we don't know how to loaf. Yet
loafing of the right sort creates a calm
of the spirit, a composure of the body,
eminently good for us. Into our
crowded, nervous lives It breathes
sweetly, as might the piping of a
shepherd from vanished Arcady. A
spell of loafing will take the knots
and snarls out of your nervous sys
tem as nothing else can. It will soothe
your irritability and restore your equi
librium. A woman who cultivates the art of
loafing as one of her possessions will
be mistress of the secret of peren
nial youth. Even when she Is work
ing her hardest the soothing lnfluencn
of her Just loafing Indulgence will ex
tend Its balm over her, keeping off
the fidgets, giving her a sense of
breadth and ease.
You can loaf but five minutes or
Ave months, according" to circum
stances and necessity. It Isn't a ques
tion of time, but a state of being. But
acquire the power to do it when you
need It, and life will be a brighter
thing to you.
His Only Satisfaction.
Smith Have you taken in the auto
show ?
Jones Sure! I never miss 'em.
Smith You don't own a car. Why
are you so Interested?
Jones 'Well, once a year I like to
look at a bunch of 'em I don't have to
dodge. Judge.
Liberal Provision.
Gibson I haven't heard of old
Scadds giving any house and lot to
bis daughter, who just married Speed
er. Bromley He did better than that
by the happy pair. He agreed to
keep their machine in tires and gasot
line the first year. Judge.
Readiness Explained.
Sponger You don't happen to have
a half-dollar you can spare, do you,
old chap?
Smart Well, yes; here's one.
Sponger (examining it) But, I say,
this Is counterfeit
Smart Exactly; that's why I can
spart It Boston Transcript
Correct Comment.
"Here's a famous British doctor
who is coming across the Atlantic
Just to lecture on vertigo."
"What a dizzy notion!"
The Dlrecteit Tax.
Knlcker What should be a good
way for the state to raise money?
Bocker Levy a tax on the introduc
tion of fool bills. New York Sua.