CHAPTER VII. LAWYER JURGENS, ! My decision was taken. I would pay a visit to the lawyer without loss of time. The difficulty lay in getting the old man to speak out the truth, if he really was in possession of. the black tortoise. I dared not use strong means; it was a weakly old man I had to do with, but to get the better of him was not so easy. He was possessed of not a little cunning, and his firmness, when it was ' a question of preserving any of his treasures, was quite incredible; of this I was already aware. Mr. Jurgens knew me well. I had had to do with him twice before on official business, when some one had tried to rob him. Besides, we had met each other several times at Frick’s, and finally, I had now and then gone, like so many other interested people in the town, to see if he had any remarkable increase in his fine colléction. Of course you know the Jurgens col- lection in the national museum? It has a whole department to itself. Some time before his death he presented all of it to the public. While I called at my lodgings to change clothes, I laid my plan of cam- paign. It was neither particularly subtle nor ! cunningly conceived—only a common ! trick, as you will see; but, as you will also see, it was good enough for the occasion. 1 rang at Mr. Jurgens's house in | Munkedam Road. He lived on the first floor. . ' At the back lay a kitchen and ser- vants’ room, where his cook and house- keeper lived; on the other side of the ! hall was a room which belonged to the | servant-man. Jurgens himself lived in a room looking out on the street, and the remaining three rooms, which like- ! ¢ street, gave him le space for his collection of anti- quities and other curiosities. By my advice, he had taken a lot of precautions to protect himself against thieves. There were strong doors pro- vide® with patent locks, iron bars before | the windows, and some fire-proof iron safes as a place of deposit for the most costly articles. The man-servant opened the door to me. man-servant was, as I have already men- , tioned, because his feet were almost . Jame. He could just manage to get along from one room to another, with obliged to be wheeled in a chair. Other- wise the lawyer was a man of small pre- tensions, and notwithstanding his large fortune, was very etonomical. to say, in everything possible, except what concerned his collection. In this respect he was, as already mentioned, irresponsibly extravagant. The old lawyer got up with difficulty from his armchair and tottered toward me. He shook me by the hand, fumbling a long gold chain, which he wore round his neck, with the other hand, and him- self began the conversation, His voice was a little shaky, and he seemed to be uneasy when he saw me; but it was difficult to say if these symp- toms were a natural consequence of the man’s age, or if he really had some- thing to hide, and felt uneasy at my appearance. “Well, really, Mr. Monk,” he said, “it is a long time since I had the honor of seeing you at my house. May I perhaps have the pleasure of showing you some rare curiosities which I have lately ac- quired? You have generally so little time that I believe you have really never seen my collection properly.” These words proved to me that if the old man had the diamond in his pos- session, he had it in a safe hiding place, and of these there were plenty. The old furniture was full of the most ex- traordinary corners, secret places, draw- ers, and such like. “Many thanks, Mr. Jurgens,” I an- swered promptly, “but this time I am here on official business, and have still less time than usual” “What a pity,” grumbled the old fel- low, letting himself fall back into his chair, and taking a pinch of snuff with his shaky hands. “Any snuff? No, young fellows nowadays don’t take snuff; but take a seat, Mr. Monk, take a seat!” “Thanks!” I brought a chair for- ward in front of the old man and leaned toward him. “The fact is, that an au- dacious robbery has been committed; an unusually costly article has been stolen, and the superintendent has sent me to inquire about it.” “You don’t suppose I buy stolen goods, sir?” The lawyer's eyes blinked, and his hands and shrivelled fingers moved up and down the watch chain. : “No, ot course noc; bur you Know that it has happened once or twice be- fore, that stolen goods have been of- | fered to you for sale, and that you have been of inestimable value to us in giv- ing the thief’s description; therefore—" “No, this time I cannot help you; no, not at all!” : oa you haven't yet heard what it is. “No—but—but—I have not bought anything for a long time; nothing of i consequence, or anything that could be : of interest to you.” “That is tiresome—most tiresome! Our last hope is gone; if only the brace- | let is not sent abroad! be very difficult to get.” “Bracelet, you say; was it a bracelet, ! you said?” “Yes, it was a bracelet, an uncom- | monly costly bracelet, set with precious stones, which disappeared from Adelina Patti’s dressing-room in the theatre yesterday. You know she is appearing here for a few days. She had had it given her by the Emperor of Brazil.” “Indeed! what a pity! But as I said, no one has tried to sell anything of the kind to me lately.” There was no doubt that the old fel- It would then hold of the bell rope and ordered his man-servant to bring in wine and cigars. “Take a glass of wine with me, sir; both old and young need a good glass of wine, and you'll not get better than this: I brought it myself from Oporto in ’ ” We each drank a glass, and I must admit that the wine was good. The lawyer had hastily left the sub- ject of the stolen gem, and had begun upon several interesting reminiscences from the year 1820 or so. But it was not my plan to let him have his own way; I had opened my trenches, and I wished to advance to the attack. robberies of curiosities and costly jewels, which have taken place in the town of late. cause the police.” The reason why the lawyer had a | That is “I can understand,” said the lawyer, unwilling again to approach the same , theme; and he filled the glasses again with a shaking hand. “Yes,” I continued, “every one who possesses such things should be just as careful as old Frick of Drammen Road.” On hearing old Frick’s name, the old fellow almost jumped out of his chair, but I continued mercilessly. “This last robbery at old Frick’s is a laughable affair.” I then burst into long and hearty laughter, which evidently affected Jurgens’s nerves in the most unpleasant manner. “Havent you heard about it? Well, as you know, old Frick possesses a whole lot of curiosities and many of them are of gold, silver, and precious stones, and all are very valuable. Peo- ple are always coming there, some as guests of the house, and some to visit his collection. Old Frick got tired of always having to watch them so care- fully, and so he had imitations made of all his most valuable objects, —gilt-brass' mounts instead of gold, and glass in- stead of precious stones. This is, how- ever, a great secret, so much so, that even his best friends think they are the real things they see, while these are lying securely in the cellar of the bank.” “Eh, what do you say?” The old fel- low ‘stretched out his neck like a wvul- ture. ’ “Yes, indeed—but listen; a few days ago the most costly of all his curiosities disappeared; I fancy it was a black dia- mond in gold setting. It was called the ‘black tortoise.” We expect the thief has gone abroad with his treasure. Hal r ; ha! just sixpenny worth of brass, and much difficulty; but in the street he was half a crown’s worth of cut glass!” I again burst into a peal of hearty laughter. The old man sank back, but tried to raise himself, gasping for breath. I thought he was going to have a fit, and in a minute I got his necktie un- done, and rang for the servant. We soon brought him round again; he was a tough old bit of humanity, that I must admit. . I knew now what I wanted to know; the lawyer had the diamond in one of his hiding places. The difficulty was to get him to give it up without being obliged to resort to unpleasant means. tack, and without suggesting anything as to what the cause might be. The servant followed me into the hall to open the door for me. tily, “Do you know who I am?” “Yes, sir, you are Inspector Monk,” answered the man in surprise, and some- what tardily. “All right, let me then remain here in the hall, but open the door and then shut it, so that your master can hear it and think I am gone.” doubtfully at me. “Quick! What I do, I do in the name of the law, but I have no time for fur- ther explanations. Now then!” He did as I told him and went in again to his master. Everything happened as I had fore- seen. The servant came out soon after- ward, sent away by his master, and dis- appeared at a sign from me into his own room. I took off my shoes and opened the door stealthily to the lawyer's room. As I had expected, he had gone into one of the other rooms, where he kept his collection. Without making any noise I followed him. In the innermost room the old man stood before the open door of one of his iron safes. His shaky hands were busy trying to adjust a pair of spectacles with round glasses to his nose. I took my time, until he had taken out from a secret drawer an object which he held close up to his eyes. The next minute my hand lay on his shoul- der, and immediately after the black tor- toise was safe in mv nocketd low felt very much relieved. He took ' “It is a nuisance,” said I, “all these No one knows what bother they ° For this reason I took leave, as soon , as I saw he had got over his little at- | Having reached the hall, I asked has- The man hesitated a little and looked I led #e old fellow carefully across the room to a chair. He had never ut- tered a word. He remained seated, gasping for breath with half-shut eyes, and his with- ered hands dancing up and down in his lap. I made him drink a glass of wine, and after a little while he found his speech ! again. “What right have you to sneak in upon me and take my property? The diamond is mine—I have honestly bought it—” and he stretched out his hands, as if to get it back. “The diamond is stolen property,” I said, “and will be delivered by me into the hands of the authorities. I am sorry I have been obliged to play a trick upon you to get it from you; but I under- stood at once that you wouldn't give it up of your own free will.” “T have bought it and paid for it, and it is not stolen property; your con- duct will cost you dear, Mr. Monk.” “No more talk about that, if you please, Mr. Jurgens,” I said firmly. “From whom did you buy the dia- mond?” “I bought the diamond from Miss Frick, and she got it from her uncle.” The old man could not say another word, for my hands were round his throat. Only for a moment, however. I remembered myself, and let go my hold, but remained standing in front of him quivering with rage. “What is it you dare say about the young lady, about Sigrid, about my—I mean about Mr. Frick’s niece? Mr. Frick himself has given information of the robbery, and now you say that Miss Frick has sold the diamond to you; that is the same as saying that she has stolen it. You can thank your stars that you are an old man, otherwise—" The old man stretched out his hand, as if to ring; but no bell was near. His eyes wandered wildly. Then it stood clearly before me that I had nearly frightened the life out of him, and I at once became calmer. “Be sensible, sir, and take the matter quietly. It was imprudent of you to buy the diamond, but we all know, of course, : that you did it in good faith. But it will be necessary that you give a truthful ac- count of how you got it, and from whom. 1f not, it may become a disagreeable business for you. That you can well understand.” : “I only understand that I have bought the diamond from a young lady and given five thousand kroners for it. She’ did not ask for more,” said the old man, trembling, while his eyes began to look brighter. “When you say it was not Miss Frick; perhaps, after all, it was not she; but then it must have been the other young girl in the house. I believe they call her Evelina. Yes, it was she, if you absolutely must know it.” “Well, that is far more probable, sir,” I said encouragingly, for I felt a little ashamed of my violent conduct to the old man, “and you must excuse me if I was a little rough with you.” I rang myself for the servant, and - with him as a witness, I gave the lawyer a receipt for the tortoise, which I took with me, and left. -—ie x = * * The superintendent was not a little surprised when I put the diamond be- fore him on the table; and when I had given my report, he congratulated me at | the result, and complimented me on the manner in which I had conducted the affair. 1 found it unnecessary to mention Jus gens’s wretched attempt to prove that it was Miss Frick who had sold him the diamond: The superintendent did not lay much stress on the part Jurgens had played in the matter. “The man must soon be pronounced incapable of managing his own affairs, and be placed under proper control. He will, of course, be declared irresponsible by the court, if the public prosecutor should proceed against him.” In this I fully concurred. Then I gave the superintendent a detailed ac- | count of my visit to Mrs. Reierson, and of how the actor’s name was men- tioned, and of my hurried meeting with the latter. “Do I understand you aright,” said the superintendent, “that you have a suspicion that the pretty maid and the fascinating actor are intimate?” “Yes, I have.” “And you go still farther; in this, you seek the reason why the unhappy girl has committed the robbery, isn’t that so?” “Yes, indeed, I cannot deny that something of the sort was in my mind; only it seemed strange to me that a girl _ like Evelina, who not only has the best of characters from Miss Frick, as a . good and honest girl, but who, after all I have been able to ascertain, also possesses a certain amount of character : and love of truth, can have fallen in love with such a man, or given herself into his power!” “Why, my dear Monk!” broke in the superintendent, with a smile, which could have made those who did not know him take him for a heartless cynic, “do you, after so many years in the po- lice service, still nourish illusions with . regard to the fair sex?” : “I have, of course, in my day seen a ~ good deal of—" . “Yes, you have seen a good deal; Juan is also the greatest liar, and that a man with a smooth face, who can flatter and deceive, has greater power over the fair sex than any honest man whatsoever. Isn’t that so?” I was accustomed to my superior’s humorous exaggerations, and could not deny that my experience as a detective in the police force to a considerable de- gree went in the same direction. “Well,” continued the superintendent, “when you have been in the police force for a generation, you will certainly not have much respect for women’s ideals. But let us return to this affair about the diamond. You shall at once have a { the young girl as soon as possible. The which shows you that the greatest Don | warrant, and then you had better arrest i sooner Its gone tne great€l tne prospeee of getting back the money which she got from the lawyer.” “Pardon me, sir,” I answered, “Eve- fina is most probably at this moment at Mr. Frick’s house, and will remain there over night. It would be very unpleas- ant for the Fricks if the arrest took place in the house. Have you any ob- jection to my waiting until to-morrow? Then she will probably visit her mother, and we can avail ourselves of the oppor- tunity and make a domiciliary visit. at the same time. If Mrs. Reierson is an accomplice, we might succeéd in taking her by surprise, and in getting her to give up the money. I have an idea that it will be easier to take her than the daughter by surprise.” “But are you not afraid that one of them can make use of the time to get the money out of the way, if it has not already been taken to some place or other?” : “On the contrary, I believe it will be of advantage to leave them in peace to- night. I shall have them watched by some of my best men meanwhile.” “And the actor?” “He is already in good hands. De- tective Kolstad has orders to follow him like ‘a shadow, and arrest him if he should attempt to leave the town.” “Well, that will do! Do as you thiuk right, Monk. I begin to think you are the better detective of us two. If you should meet old Frick to-night, give him my compliments, and tell him I shall keep his diamond until the case has been settled in court; but in the meantime it will be in good hands.” It was not with a light heart, how- ever, that I walked along the Drammen Road, after having given the constable the necessary orders. I knew that the news I had to bring would greatly dis- tress both old Frick and Sigrid. After having proceeded some distance, it struck me that after all I had nothing to do at Villa Ballarat that night. It ought not to be known in the house ‘that the diamond had been found—not so long as Evelina was there. Old Frick and Sigrid would naturally ask me if I had any news, and. I should be obliged to tell a lie and keep back from them what had happened. Although I was very anxious to see Sigrid, yet I was sensible enough to turn back, and, after having had some supper at a café, I went home to my lodgings. 1 telephoned to the police office, and asked if there was any news from the constables who had to watch the three persons before mentioned. No, there was no news. Evelina was quite safe inside Villa Ballarat, and the house was being watched. 1 lighted a cigar, and gave myself up to thinking over the day’s events. I had been successful in everything, and yet I felt far from satisfied ; it must have been due to a certain feeling of pity for poor Evelina, and the concern it would occasion her master and mistress. Or—? 1f you believe in presentiment, or that great misfortunes—without our being able to divine the cause—throw their shadows before, you will have to at- : spas it to such a cause. But enough, —1 felt unwell and depressed, and when I had lain down it was a long time be- fore I went to sleep. CHAPTER VIIL THE ARREST. “THE actor has vanished, sir!” These were the words with which 1 was awakened at seven o'clock next morning. | Before the bed stood my trusty com= stable, Kolstad, with a face considerably longer than usual. | “What do you say? Have you let him slip through your fingers? That was 1 “Yes; but who could possibly imagine that—" “All right, go into the next room a bit and get yourself a cup of coffee; I shall make haste and get dressed,” and then we can talk it over.” It was not long before I had finished dressing and was ready to continue the discussion. My landlady had in the meanwhile tried to serve the worthy officer with a good breakfast, but disappointment had evidently taken away his appetite; it was impossible to get him to continue | his meal after my appearance. “It is just as well that I give my re- port at once, sir, and tell you how shamefully I have been made a fool of. Yes; that such a pomatummed lady- | killer should befool me—I who have been in the service of the police these twenty-seven years!” “Don’t trouble yourself about that, Kolstad,” I said reassuringly, for the man was so excited that he apparently had some difficulty in explaining him- self; “we shall soon get hold of him if we want him. I am sure it is not your | fault that he has disappeared temporar- ily ; have another cup of coffee, and let | us hear about it.” “No, thanks, no more coffee; but here | is the report, sir. You remember that it was yesterday, at dinner time, that I got orders to watch the actor and arrest him if he should try and leave the town? Well, it was not difficult to keep my eye on him for the first few hours, for he was sitting in a room on the first floor of the Tivoli Restaurant, together with eightor ten other actors and actresses. They had the best dinner one could get and drank so much champagne that it was simply disgusting to see all the empty bottles being taken out—I know the head waiter there, you see, and went and spoke to him while the carousing was going on. Frederiksen paid for it all” “You are sure it was he who paid?” “Yes, that I am; the head waiter showed me the bill: it was 142 kroners. by that I knew, sir, that you, as usual, | were on the right track. If only I had not been so stupid, well—you must ex- cuse be, sir, if I am a little excited—it is the first time it has ever happened to me ‘that—but—" “Now, now, let us come to the point, my good Kolstad,” I answered, with as- sumed severity, as the best means of “bringing him to.” it helped, for he pulled himself to- gether, and from then on he did not at- tempt to diverge from the dry style of an ordinary report. “Well, sir, I telephoned to the station for assistance, and got one of our new men. We took it in turn to keep watch while the actors were eating and drink- ing. After dinner they had coffee and all kinds of liquors, and went on like that until six o'clock in the evening. Then Frederiksen went home to No. 44 Russelok Street, and there he remained till nine o'clock. He must have slept during that time, for he looked quite sober when he came out again, and he had been not a little muddled when he got home after the carousal at the Tiv- oli. He had a large hand-bag in his hand, but no other luggage. He wore the same clothes he had had on in the afternoon.” “Was the hand-bag new?” “Yes, it was brand new; and now you shall hear how sly the fellow was. “He went up to the cab-stand at the corner of Drammen Road, and there he took a carriage. I and the young offi- cer took another carriage and drove after him. Whether he knew that any one was following him or not, I can’t say. We were obliged to keep a little behind, so that he should not be sus- picious. “He drove to the Victoria Hotel, and there we saw him go in at the door, and the carriage drive away empty. Soon after 1 went in and asked the porter what was the name of the gentleman who had just entered the hotel, and what room he had obtained. The por- ter, who was a new man and not one of my acquaintances, answered that the ser- vant was just then upstairs with the visitor's book, but that the new arrival had taken room No. 47. He had not said anything about how long he intend- ed to remain, or anything of signifi- cance. “Now, for the time being, I felt en- tirely sure of my bird. After telling him who I was, I got the porter to promise to telephone to me if the strang- er should be getting ready to leave; then I set my young officer to watch outside, and went home to take a nap. “Jt was just about half-past ten when the porter rang up and said that the gen- tleman in No. 47 had just ordered.a car- riage, as he was going by the midnight train to Sweden. As you know, sir, the train goes eleven five, so I had only just | time to dress and go to the station; but 1 was, of course, sure that the young officer would follow the actor so that we could arrest him together. the station seven minutes before eleven; but there was no sign of the actor or the officer. “A minute before the train started, I went for the last time through all the carriages and had a railway official with me. In the first class there sat only one per- sonage. It was Mr. D , the am- bassador from Paris, said the official. I went in and looked at him—yes, quite right, it was he.” “Do you know the ambassador, then?” “Yes, of course, I know him by sight; it is he who is so like Peer Gynt i on the stage,—not, perhaps, in the be- binning of the piece, but in the third and fourth acts.” I couldn’t help laughing. “There, you see, Kolstad! it’s not an easy thing to have to do with an actor. It was just by playing his old role of Peer Gynt in the fourth act that the actor made a fool of you!” “Yes, of course it was; but who the | devil could imagine—" “No, you are right there; but how | was it that your assistznt didn’t follow him from the hotel?” “Well, it happencc lke this. carriage from the stand. He went up to the servant and asked who was go- ! ing away. It was Mr. D. , the ama bassador, he answered, and when the constable saw a fine old gentleman with grey whiskers step into the carriage he suspected nothing, but continued to keep * his watch outside, as before.” “That is all right, so far; but I can’t understand that the man’s hand-bag did not betray him. Both- you and your as- sistant knew it well. Besides, it seems to me that the porter must have been astonished to see a young,smooth-shav- en man come into the hotel, and-then leave it as a ‘fine oid gentleman,” as you say, ‘with grey whiskers.”” “Yes; but I have not yet told you all, sir. You shall hear how clever the ras- cal was. Inside the large hand-bag which he carried, he had another suit, a false beard, and all his apparatus, be- sides a smaller travelling bag to carry in the hand. that he transformed himself into an am- bassador; the hood was well pulled down, as it rained a little. The hotel | porter had, therefore, only seen him as the elderly gentleman the whole time; and we, who only saw him step out of the carriage with his back toward us, several hundreds of yards off,could have | but T don’t wish my punishment to be | lessened. no idea that he had thus changed his appearance. It did not enter into our minds to ask the porter about the ap- pearance of the man whom we had fol- lowed the whole time.” “But the large hang-bag?” “Well, he let that remain in the car- riage, and gave the coachman orders to take it back to his lodgings early to- day. I got hold of the driver at last, and heard how all had happened. He himself thought it was a little strange that the man should disguise himself during the drive; but as far as I could understand, he was a little tipsy on this occasion, and as he got two kroners as a tip he presumed it was no business of his. Now you know all, sir, and can see how cleverly I was taken in by that vagabond of an actor; only—" 1 did not let him dilate further upon this subject, but sent him away. I had heard enough. It will also be sufficient for this nae rative, if I explain that the actor, om the same day, after telegraphic instruee tions from us, was arrested at Gothene burg, where he arrived next morning, and that he, when arrested, was only in? possession of a very small sum of money. He was taken back to Chris- tiania, and it was soon ascertained that he had been or was engaged to Evelina. Also, that the day before his journey he had been very flush with his money; but it was impossible to prove any complic= ity in the theft, and he was set free in a few days, with the warning not to leave town, as he would have to appear as witness at the trial of Evelina Reiersom. * * * In the meantime I must return to my account of what happened later on that day, which began with the melancholy apparition of the disappointed constable beside my bed. As I have already stated, it was my intention to have Evelina arrested that day. There was no longer anything to wait for after the actor had disappeared; and when I, in addition, received infor- mation from one of my men that she had left Villa Ballarat to visit her | mother, I decided to avail myself of the before mentioned, I the atrest taking opportunity. As wished to prevent place at old Frick’s. I have no liking for this sort of work, but this time I decided to take it in hand myself, for several reasons. It appeared to me, beyond all doubt, that Evelina’s motive for the robbery must be sought for in her relations to the actor. - In any case, I felt she de- served some pity, and I wished there= fore to make the arrest myself in order that it might be effected as gently and considerately as possible. It occured to me to be quite likely that the mother might be an accomplice, or in any case be cognizant of the crime and the place where Jurgens’s money was to be found. To get hold of this was now my chief aim, and I hoped to take the woman by surprise and get her to reveal it. I got to There was not a sign of the actor! i 3] The | constable saw a servant beckoning for a It was not later than nine o'clock im the morning when 1 drove to Russelok Street with a policeman in plain clothes. We told the driver to wait outside the gate; the constable remained behind in the:yard, and I went up alone. I stopped outside Mrs. Reierson’s door and listened. TI heard voices within, but very indistinctly. As I opened the door, I saw the first room was empty; then I heard the voices still more plainly in the inner room, although the door was shut. “You should have done as your moth= er told you, you unlucky child; then we should have been able to take things as easy as any one—but—" It was Mrs. Reierson’s shrill angry voice. It was interrupted by a sound of suppressed sobbing, and then by a youth- ful voice rendered hoarse by passion and sorrow. 1 stepped nearer to the door and listened, although the task before me was most repulsive to my feelings. “Don’t talk to me any more, mother! you know that what you wanted me to do I could never have done, never in this world! and what I already have done cannot now be undone—I have nothing more to do now but to put an end to myseli—if only I had the strength to—" Here the unhappy girl's words were interrupted by loud sobbing, and some angry exclamations from her mother. Soon after the door was opened, and the ugly old woman appeared in the doorway, while her daughter could be seen lying across the bed with her head buried in the pillows. 1 have seldom felt so uncomfortable. The mother's shrill imprecations against the police in general, and me in particular, passed me by unheeded. I only saw the young girl's deadly pale tace, as she lifted it to me, and the hope- less expression of her eyes. She was gifted, however, with a strength of mind which few persons pos- sess. She got up hurriedly, stroked back her hair from her face, and was the first to speak. Her voice was low, but wonderfully calm; every drop of blood seemed to have fled from her lips. “You have come to arrest me, Mr. Monk, because I have stolen Mr. Frick’s | diamond. Well, I have been expecting it both yesterday and to-day. Yester- day I should probably have denied it, but to-day I don’t. I have stolen the diamond—Ilet me be taken to prison and be sentenced as soon as possible, only let it be done quickly.” Her mother had become purple in the face on hearing what her daughter said, and tried several times to interrupt her; but tuere was a dignity in her daugh- ter’s words and bearing which stayed her. “Don’t lose courage, Evelina,” I said, It i (Sh : | and I hope my voice was sympathetic. was in the carriage | «There are probably extenuating cir- cumstances which may make your guilt less than it seems. If you are only frank, and confess all, your punishment: will be less,—perhaps even—" The young girl interrupted me. Thank you very much for your kind- ness, Mr. Monk. You are a good man; I have told you I have stolen the diamond. More than that I shall not’say, even if you put me on the rack.” “For God’s sake don't talk like that, Evelina.” Her mother could now control herself no longer, and began :— “What are you saying, Evelina, you stupid fool! Just fancy!—That one should hear one’s own flesh and blood tell lies about herseli and get herself convicted! You can see very well, sir, that she is out of her senses, and doesn’t Know what she is saying.” “You had better look after yourself, ' Mrs. Reierson, and help us to get a full confession and the money back. The diamond has been sold for five thousand kroners, and perhaps you have got the money yourself.” 1 shan’t weary you by recalling the scene which followed; suffice it to say that the mother raged like a fury, and | denied knowing anything whatever \ about the diamond or the money. The { young girl did ‘not utter a single word (To be Continued.)
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