lfl
Bvr CKAWTOHD
'tiMACJNGS&l , "
QY QRflWFORD
Mr. Van Torp's Solid Arms Slipped Into the Sleeves.
SYNOPSIS.
Baraka , a Tartur girl , became enamored
of a golden boarded stranger who was
prospecting and studying herbs In the
vicinity of her home In central Asia , and
revealed to him the location of a mlno
'of rubles hoping that the .stranger would
love her In return for her disclosure.
\ They were followed to the cave by the
I Blrl's relatives , who blocked up the on-
II trance , and drew off the water supply.
I. leaving the couple to die. BaraUa's cousin
' ' Saad , her betrothed , attempted to climb
1 down ft cliff overlooking the mine ; but
the traveler shot him. The stranger was
revived from a water gourd Saad car
ried , dug his way out of the tunnel , and
departed , deserting the girl and carrying
a bag of rubles. Baruka gathered all the
gems she could carry , and started In pur-
BUtt. Margaret Donno ( Margarita da
Cordova ) , a famous prlma donna , became
engaged in London to Konstantln Ix > -
Kothetl , a wealthy Greek financier. Her
Intimate friend was Countess Leven.
known as Lady Maud , whose husband
had- been Ulllcd by a bomb In St. Peters
burg ; and Lady Maud's most Intimate
friend was Rulutt Van Torp. an Ameri
can , who had become one of the richest
men in the world. Van Torp was In love
with Margaret , and rusicd to London as
soon as ho heard of her betrothal. lie
offered La civ Maud $3,000,000 for her pet
charity if she would aid him in winning
the Binger from Logothctl. Baraka approached
preached Logothr > tl at Versailles with
rubles to sell. Tie presented a ruby to
Margaret. Van Torp bought a yaoht and
cent it to Venice. Ho was visited by
Baraka In male attire. Slip gave him a
ruby after the American had told her of
having seen In the United States a man
answering the description of the ono she
loved. The American followed Margaret
to the Beyrouth "Parsifal" festival. Mar
garet took a liking to Van Torp , who pre
sented her with the ruby Baraka had
given him.
CHAPTER VI. Continued.
"Stomp , " he asked , as he threw off
his coat and kicked off his dusty
shoes , "were you ever sea-sick ? "
"Yes , sir , " answered the admirable
valet , but he offered no more informa
tion on the subject.
During the silence that followed ,
neither wasted a second. It is no Joke
to wash and get Into evening dress In
six minutes , even with the help of a
body-servant trained to do his work
at high speed.
"I mean , " said Van Torp , when he
\vas already fastening his collar , "are
you sea-sick nowadays ? "
"No , sir , " replied Stemp , in precise
ly the same tone as before.
"I don't mean on a 20,000-ton liner.
Black cravat. Yes. I mean on a
yacht. Fix it behind. Right. Would
you bo sea-sick on a steam yacht ? "
"No , sir. "
"Suro ? "
"Yes , sir. "
"Then I'll take you. Tuxedo. "
"Thank you , sir. "
Stomp hold up the dinner-jacket ;
Mr. Van Torp's solid arms slipped
Into the sleeves , he shook his sturdy
shoulders , and pulled the jacket down
In front while the valet "settled" the
back. Then ho faced round suddenly ,
like a soldier at drill.
"All right ? " ho inquired.
Stemp looked him over carefully
from head to foot in the glare of the
electric light.
"Yes , sir. "
Van Torp left the room at once. Ho
found Mrs. Rushmore slowly moving
about the suppor-tablo , moro Imposing
than ever in a perfectly now black
tea-gown and an extremely smart wid
ow's cap. Mr Van Torp thought she
was a very line old lady indeed. Mar
garet had not entered yet ; a waiter
with smooth yellow hair stood by a
portable sideboard on which there
were covered dishes. There were pop
ples and corn-flowers in a plain white
jar on the table. Mrs. Ilushmore
smiled at the ilnancier ; it would hard
ly be an exaggeration to say that she
beamed upon him. They had not met
alone since his first visit on the
previous afternoon.
"Miss Donne is a little late , " she
said , as if the fact were very pleas
ing. "You brought her back , of
course. "
"Why , certainly , " said Mr. Van
Torp with an amiable smile.
"You can hardly have come straight
from the theater , " continued the lady ,
"for I heard the other people in the
hotel coming in fully 20 minutes before -
fore you did. "
"We walked home very slowly , "
said Mr , Van Torp , still smiling ami
ably.
"Ah , I see ! You went for a little
walk to get some air ! " She seemed
delighted.
"Wo walked home very slowly in
order to breathe the air , " said Mr.
Van Torp "to breathe the air , as you
say. I have to thank you very much
for giving me your seat , Mrs. Rush-
more. "
"To tell the truth , " replied the good
lady , "I was very glad to let you take
my place. I cannot say I enjoy that
sort of music myself. It gives me a
headache. "
Margaret entered at this point in a
marvelous "creation" of Chinese
crape , of the most delicate shade of
heliotrope. Her dressmaker called it
a tea-gown , but Mr. Van Torp would
have thought it "quite appropriate"
" " Bar Harbor.
for a "dinner-dance" at
"My dear child , " said Mrs. Rushmore -
more , "how long you were in getting
back from the theater ! I began to
fear that something had happened ! "
"We walked homo very slowly , "
said Margaret , with a pleasant smile.
"Ah ? You went for a little walk
to got some air ? "
"We just walked homo very slowly ,
in order to breathe the air , " Margaret
answered innocently.
It dawned on Mr. Van Torp that the
dignified Mrs. Rushmore was not
quite devoid of a sense of humor. It
also occurred to him that her repeti
tion of the question to Margaret , and
the latter's answer , must have re
vealed to her the fact that the two
had agreed upon what they would
say , since they used identically the
same words , and that they therefore
had an understanding about some
thing they preferred to conceal from
her. Nothing could have given Mrs ,
Rushmore such profound satisfaction
as this , and It revealed itself in her
bright smiles and her anxiety that
both Margaret and Van Torp should ,
If possible , over-eat themselves with
the excellent things she had boon at
pains to provide for them and for her
self. For she was something of an
epicure and her dinners In Versailles
were ot good fame , even In Paris.
Orcat appetites are generally silent ,
like the 'Slncercst affections. Marga
ret was very hungry , and Mr. Van
Torp was both hungry and very much
In lovo. Mrs. Rushmore was neither ,
and she talked pleasantly while tast
ing each delicacy with critical satis
faction.
"By the by , " she said at last , when
she saw mat tno millionaire was
backing his foretopsall to come lo an
chor , as Capt. Brown might have ex
pressed It , "I hope you have not had
any trouble about your rooms , Mr.
Van Torp. "
"Nono at all , that I know of , " an
swered the latter. "My man told mo
nothing. "
"Tho Russian prince arrived this
evening while you were at the thea
ter , and threatened the director with
all sorts of 'legal consequences be
cause the rooms ho had ordered wore
occupied. Ho turns out to bo only a
count after all. "
"You don't say so , " observed Mr.
Van Torp , in an encouraging tone.
"What became of htm ? " Margaret
asked , vwlthout much interest.
"Did Potts not tell you , my dear ?
Why , Justine assisted at the whole In
terview and came and told mo at
once. "
Justine was Mrs. Rushmore's Paris
ian maid , who always know every
thing. *
"What happened ? " Inquired Marga
ret , still not much interested.
"Ho arrived In an automobile , " an
swered Mrs. Rushmore , and she
paused.
"What old Griggs calls a sudden-
death-cart , " Mr. Van Torp put in.
"What a shocking name for it ! "
cried Mrs. Rushmore. "And you are
always In them , my dear child ! " She
looked at Margaret. "A sudden-death-
cart ! It quite makes mo shiver. "
"Griggs says that all his friends
either kill or get killed in them , " ex
plained the American.
"My throat-doctor says motoring is
very bad for' the voice , so I've given
It up , " Margaret said.
"Really ? Thank goodness your pro
fession has been of some use to you
at last , my dear ! "
Margaret laughed.
"Toll us about the Russian count , "
she said. "lias ho found lodgings , or
is ho going to sleep in his motor ? "
"My dear , ho's the most original
man you ever heard ot ! First , ho
wanted to buy the hotel and turn us
all out , and offered any price for it ,
but the director said it was owned by
a company in Munich. Then ho sent
his secretary about trying to buy a
house , while ho dined , but that didn't
succeed either. Ho must bo very
wealthy or else quite mad. "
"Mad , I should say , " observed "Mr.
Van Torp , slowly peeling a peach.
"Did you happen to catch his name ,
Mrs. Rushmore ? "
"Oh , yes ! We heard nothing else
all the afternoon. Ills name is Kra-
Husky Count Kralinsky. "
Mr. Van Torp continued to peel his
peach scientifically and economically ,
though ho was aware that Margaret
was looking at him with sudden curi
osity.
"Kralinsky , " ho said slowly , keepIng -
Ing his eyes on the silver blade of the
knife as ho finished what he was do
ing "It's not an uncommon name , I
believe. I've heard It before. Sounds
Polish , doesn't it ? "
lie looked up suddenly and showed
Margaret the peeled peach on his
fork. Ho smiled as he met her eyes ,
and she nodded so slightly that Mrs.
Rushmore did not notice the move
ment.
"Did you ever see that done hotter ? "
he asked with an air of triumph.
" " answered.
"Ripping ! - Margaret
"You're a dandy dab at It ! "
"My dear child , what terrible
slang ! "
"I'm sorry , " said Margaret. "I'm
catching all sorts of American expres
sions from Mr. Van Torp , and when
they get mixed up with my English
ones the result is Babel , I suppose ! "
"I've not heard Mr. Van Torp use
any slang expressions yet , my dear , "
said Mrs. Rushmore , almost severely.
"You will , " Margaret retorted with
a laugh. "What became of Count Kra
linsky ? I didn't mean to spoil your
story. "
"My dear , he's got the pastor to
give up his house , by offering him
a hundred pounds for the poor hero. "
Van Torp left them soon after sup
per , and gave himself up to Stomp ,
pondering over what ho had accom
plished in two days , and also about
another question which had lately pre
sented itself. When he was ready to
send his valet to bed ho sat down at
his table and wrote a telegram :
"If you can find Barak , please ex
plain that I was mistaken. Kralinsky
Is not in New York , but hero In Bay-
routh for some days , lodging at the
pastor's house. "
This message was addressed to Lo
gothoti at his lodgings in London , and
Van Torp signed it and gave It to
Stemp to bo sent at once. Logothoti
never wont to bed before two o'clock ,
as ho knew , and might very possibly
get the telegram the same night.
When his man was gone , Van Torp
drew his chair to the open window
and sat up a long time thinking about
what he had just done ; for though ho
held that all was fair In such a con
test , ho did not mean to do anything
which ho himself thought "low down. "
Ono proof of this odd sort of Integ
rity was that the telegram Itself was
a fair warning of his presence In Bay-
rnuthhoro Logothetl know that
Margaret \\as still stopping.
As for the rest , ho was qulto con
vinced that It was Kralinsky himself ,
the ruby merchant , who had suddenly
appeared at Bayreuth , and that this
man was no other tluhi the youth ho
had met long ago as a cow-boy In the
west , who used to whlntlo "Parsifal"
with his companion In oxllo , and who ,
having grown rich , had lost no time
In coming to Europe for the very pur
pose of hearing the music ho had al
ways loved so well. And that this
man had robbed the poor Tartar girl ,
Mr. Van Torp had no manner of
doubt ; and ho believed that ho had
probably promised her marrlago and
abandoned her ; and if this were true ,
to help her to find Kralinsky was In
Hnelf a good action.
CHAPTER VII.
When Van Torp and Logothoti loft
Mr. Plnney's shop , the old jeweler
meant to have a good look at the
ruby the Greek had brought him , and
was going to weigh It , not merely as
a matter of business , for he weighed
every stone that passed through his
hands from crown diamonds to sparks ,
but with genuine curiosity , because In
a long experience he had not seen
very many rubles of such a size , which
were also of such line quality , and ho
wondered whore this one had been
found.
Just then , however , two well-dressed
young men entered the shop and
came up to him. lie had never seen
either of them before , but their looks
Inspired him with confidence ; and
when they spoke , their tone was that
of English gentlemen , which all oth
er Englishmen llnd it practically Im
possible to Imitate , and which had
been extremely familiar to Mr. Pln
ney from his youth. Though he was
the great jeweler himself , the wealthy
descendant of live of his name In suc
cession , and much better off than half
his customers , ho was alone in his
shop that morning. The truth was
that his only sou , the sixth Plnney
and the apple of his eye , had just
been married and was gone abroad
for a honeymoon trip , and the head
shopman , who was Scotch , was having
his month's holiday at Ayrshire , and
the second man had been sent for , lo
clean and restrlng the duchess ot Bar-
Chester's pearls at her grace's house
in Cadogan Gardens , as was always
done after the season , and a couple of
skilled workmen for whom Mr. Pln
ney found occupation all the year
round were in the workshop at their
tables ; wherefore , out of lour re
sponsible and worthy men who usual
ly were about , only the great Mr. Pln
ney himself was at his post.
Ono of the two well-dressed custom
ers asked to see some pins , and the
other gave his advice. The first
bought a pin with a small sapphire sot
In sparks , for ten guineas , and gave
only ten pounds for it because ho
paid cash. Mr. Plnney put the pin into
its little morocco case , wrapped it up
neatly and handed it to the purchaser.
The latter and his friend said good-
morning in a civil and leisurely man
ner , sauntered out , took a hansom a
few steps farther down the street ,
and drove away.
The little paper twist containing Lo-
gotheU's ruby was still exactly where
Mr. Plnney had placed It on the coun
ter , and ho was going to examine the
stone and weigh It at last , when two
more customers entered the shop , evi
dently foreigners , and moreover of a
sort unfamiliar to the good Jeweler ,
and especially suspicious.
The two wore Baraka and her inter
preter and servant , whom Logothoti
had called a Turk , and who was real
ly a Turkish subject and a Mohamme
dan , though as to race , he was a half-
bred Greek and Dalmatian. Now
Dalmatians are generally honest ,
truthful , and trustworthy , and the low-
claps Greek of Constantinople Is us
ually extremely sharp , If ho Is nothing
more definitely reprehensible ; and
Baraka's man was a cross between
the two , as I have said , and had been
brought up as a Musulman In a rich
Turkish family , and recommended to
Baraka by the Persian merchant in
whose house she had lived. He had
been originally baptized a Christian
under the name of Splro , and had
been subsequently renamed Salim
when ho was made a real Moslem at
12 years old , so ho used whichever
name suited the circumstances In
which ho was placed. At present he
was Splro.
The Interpreter spoke broken but
intelligible English. Ho called Ba
raka his master and explained that
the latter wished to scesomorubles , if
Mr. Plnney had any , cut or uncut. The
young gentleman , ho said , did not
speak English , but .was a good Judge
of stones.
For one moment the jeweler forgot
the little paper twist as ho turned
towards his safe , pulling out his keys
at the same time. To reach the safe
ho had to walk the whole length of
the shop , behind the counter , and
before ho had gone half way ho re
membered the stone , turned , came
back and slipped It Into his waistcoat
pocket. Then ho went and got the
little japanned strong-box with a pat
ent lock , in which ho kept loose stones ,
some wrapped up in little pieces of
paper , and some in pill boxes. Ho
brought it to his customers , and
opened It before thorn.
They stayed a long time , and Splro
asked many questions for Baraka ,
chiefly relating to the sliding scale of
prices which is regulated by the
weight of the stones where their qual
ity is equally good , and Baraka made
J
A
"Merciful Providence ! " Cried Mr. Plnney.
notes of some sort in a little Eng
lish memorandum book , as If she had
done It all her llfo ; but Mr. Plunoy
could not see what she wrote. lie wan
careful , and watched the stones when
she took them In her lingers and held
them it ] ) against the light , or laid
them on a sheet of white paper to
look at them critically.
She bought nothing , and when filio
had seen all he had to show her , she
thanked him very much through Splro ,
bald she would rome back another
day , and went out with a leisurely ,
oriental gait , as if nothing in the
world could hurry her. Mr. Plnnoy
counted the stones again , and was goIng -
Ing to lock the box , when his second
man came in , having finished string
ing the duchess * pearls. At the same
moment , It occurred to Mr. Plnnoy
that ho might as well go to luncheon ,
and that ho had better put Logothetl's
ruby into the little strong-box and
lock it up In the safe until ho at last
had a chance to weigh it. Ho ac
cordingly took the screw of paper
from his waistcoat pocket , and as a
matter of formality ho undid it once
more.
"Merciful Providence ! " cried Mr.
Plnney , for ho was a religious man.
The screw of paper contained a bit
of broken green glass. Ho throw his
keys to his shopman without another
word , and rushed out Into the street
without his hat , his keen old face
deadly pale , and his beautiful frock-
coat Hying in his wake.
Ho almost hurled himself upon a
quiet policeman.
"Thief ! " he cried. "Two foreigners
In gray clothes ruby worth ten thou
sand pounds just gone I'm Plnney
the jeweler ! "
You cannot astonish a London po-
Hcoman. The one Plnney had caught
looked quietly up and down the
street , and then glaced at his Inter
locutor to be sure that It was he , for
he know him by sight.
"All right , " he said quickly , but very
quietly. "I'll have them in a minute ,
sir , for they're In sight still. Better
go in while I take them , sir. "
Ho caught them in less tha. . a min
ute without the slightest dllllculty ,
and by some odd coincidence two oth
er policemen suddenly appeared quite
close to him. There was a little stir
In the street , but Haraka and Splro
wore too sensible and too sure of
themselves to offer any useless resis
tance , and supposing there was some
misunderstanding they walked back
quietly to Mr. Plnney's shop between
two of the policemen , while the third
went for a four-wheeler at the nearest
stand , which happened to bo the cor
ner of Brook street and Now Bond
street.
Mr. Plnney recognized his late cus
tomers without hesitation , and went
with thorn to the police station , whom
ho told his story and showed the
piece of green glass. Splro tried to
speak , but was ordered to hold his
tongue , and as no rubles were found
in their pockets ho and Baraka wore
led away to bo ' moro thoroughly
Eearched.
ljut now , at last , Daraka resisted ,
and with such tremendous energy
that Micro would have been serious
trouble If Splro had not called out
something which at once changed the
aspect of matters. .
"Master is lady ! " ho yelled. "Lady ,
man clothes ! "
"That makes a pretty bad case , "
observed the sergeant , who was uupor-
Intondlng. "Send for Mrs. Mowlo. "
Baraka did not resist when she saw
the matron , and went quietly with her
to a cell at the back of the station. In
less than ten minutes Mrs. Mowlo
came out and locked the door / ' or
her. She was a cheery little person ,
very neatly dressed , and she had rest-
loss' bright eyes like a ferret , She
brought a little bag of soft deerskin
in her hand , and a stool bodkin with
a. wrought silver handle , such as
southern Italian women used to wear
In their hair before such weapons
were prohibited. Mrs. Mowlo gave
both objects to the ofllcer without
comment.
"Any scars or Littoo-marks , Mra.
Mowlo ? " ho inquired In his businesslike -
like way.
"Not a one , " answered Mrs. Mowlo ,
who had formerly taken in washing
at homo and was the * widow of a
bravo policeman , killed In doing his
duty.
In the bag there wore several
screws of paper , which wore found to
contain uncut rubles of different alzca
to a largo value. But there was one ,
much larger than the others , which
Mr. Van Torp had not seen that morn-
ing. Mr. Plnney looked at it very
carefully , held it to the light , laid it
on a sheet of paper , and examined it
long In every aspect. Ho was a con
scientious man.
"To the best of my belief , " he de
posed , "this Is the stone that was on
my counter half an hour ago , and for \
which this piece of green glass wan
subsvUted.It is the property of n
customer of mine , Mons. Konslantln
Logothoti of Paris , who brought It tome
mo this morning to bo cut. I think it
may bo worth between nine and ten
thousand pounds , I can say nothing
as to the Identity of the paper , for
"
tissue paper Is very much alike evory-
where. "
"Tho woman , " observed the officer
in charge of the station , "appears to
steal nothing but rubles. It looks llko
a queer case. We'll lock up the two ,
Mr. Pinncy , and If you will bo kind
enough to look In to-morrow morning ,
I'm sure the magistrate won't keep you
waiting for the case. "
Vastly relieved and comforted , Mr.
Plnnoy roturncd to his shop. For
mality required that the ruby Itself ,
with the others in the bag , 'should re
main In the keeping of the pollco till
the magistrate ordered it to bo re
turned to Its rightful owner , the next
morning ; but Mr. Plnney felt quite as
sure of its safety as if It wore in the
japanned strongbox In his own safe ,
and possibly oven a little moro sure ,
for nobody could steal It from tha po
llco station.
( TO BE CONTtNUEDO
