The Hollis Tribune (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, November 17, 1911 Page: 3 of 12
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SYNOPSIS.
The story opens with a scream from
Dorothy March In the opera box of Mrs.
Mlsstoner, a wealthy widow. It Is oc-
casioned when Mrs Missioner 8 ncvklace
breaks, scatiering the dfainonds all over
the rtoor. Curtis Grisvvold
Bands, Boclety men in love with Mrs- Mls-
eloner, gather up the gems. ( rl8wold
steps on what is supposed to be the cele-
brated Maharanee and crushes it. A Hin-
doo declares it was not the genuine. An
expert later pronounces all the «t°nes
substitutes for the original. One of the
missing diamonds Is found in the room
of Elinor Holcomb, confidential compan-
ion of Mrs. Missioner. She is arrested,
notwithstanding Mrs. Missioners belief
in her innocence. Detective Brits takes
uo the case. He asks the co-operation of
Dr Fitch, Elinor's fiance, In running
down the real criminal. Britz learns that
duplicates of Mrs. Missioners diamonds
were made In 1'arls on the order of
Elinor Holcomb. Y\ hlle walklng Krlt* Is
seized, bound and gagged by Hindoos. He
Is imprisoned in a deserted house, but
makes his escape. Britz discovers[ an, in-
sane diamond expert whom be!lleves
was employed by either Sands or oris-
wold to make counterfeits of the Mission-
er gems. Two Hindoos kurKlarUe the
home of Sands and are captured by Britz
On one of them he finds a "ot® Blffu "
by "Mlllicent" and addressed to Curtis.
Britz locates a woman named
Delaroche, to whom Qriswold has bei n
paying marked attentions. The Swami at-
tends a ball at Mrs. Missioner s home, but
learns nothing further about the dia-
monds. Britz disguised as a thief, visits
the apartment of Mlllicent. He finds a
box that once contained themissing dia
monds. but it Is empty. The detective
concludes that the Hindoos have antici-
pated him In the recovery of the Jewels.
He visits their quarters and has an ex-
citing experience with a snake.
CHAPTER XXII.—Continued.
True enough. The fifth bullet had
passed between the gaping jaws of
the reptile and taken off the greater
part of that darting scarlet thread
as neatly as a sharp instrument could
enuff a candle. While the wound
doubtless caused agony to the snake,
It did not lessen its anger. The poi-
son-charged fangs remained in Its
mouth, and the cutting off of its
tongue swelled its fury to the ultimate
d6gr66.
Britz dropped the pistol on the chif-
fonier and thrust both hands in his
pockets. „ ..
"Up a tree for fair," he said. Noth-
ing more doing in the artillery line.
"That was your last cartridge.
Britz bent his head affirmatively.
An expression of slow wrath gathered
force in the Headquarters man's face,
as he stared at the swaying serpent
euch a short distance below. One
could see he was angry enough to
take the desperate chance of spring-
ing from his perch and trying to
strike the cobra with his heels, or,
failing that, seizing it by the neck,
seeking to throttle it. The instinct of
self-preservation, however, was
Btronger than rage. Britz was willing
enough to risk his life in the fulfill-
ing of his duty, so long as the risk
meant a fighting chance to him He
was too sensible absolutely to throw
his life away, and something told him
that in spite of all the courage in tBe
world, no man would have an appreci-
able percentage of opportunity in a
battle at close quarters with so ven-
omous a serpent. Yet he must get
out of that house. He felt he was the
onlv man on the police force who
could be sure of heading off the Ori-
entals. In that very moment they
might be beyond the city's limits,
bearing the booty he had pursued for
weeks. It was more than his self-
poise could stand. He gave rein to
his anger, and for the first time in all
the doctor's acquaintance with him he
swore hard and fast and long. His
flow of profanity stopped as suddenly
as it had commenced. He drew one
hand from his pocket, and slowly, as
if he hardly dared to trust his senses,
held up his fingers and looked at what
they clasped. Then he held the ob-
Ject out triumphantly for the physi-
clan to see. It was a loaded cartridge
forgotten when last he emptied his
pockets of their supply of extra am-
munition! „
"We'll make no miss with this one,
said the sleuth. "Don't you think you
can use It better, doc?"
"No," said Fitch, "I am not in your
class when it comes to snuffing out
serpents' tongues. You may fire when
you are ready, lieutenant.
Britz grinned, shook the empty
shells out of the revolver, slipped the
full cartridge into one of the cham-
bers and twirled it until it paralleled
the barrel. Then, once more using
his arm as a rest, he took careful aim,
and was about to pull the trigger,
when the door was flung open and the
uniformed policeman stood on the
threshold.
"Well," said the bluecoat, "excuse
me for butting in, but I thought some-
thing might have—"
Fitch checked him with an upraised
hand, and the patrolman's eyes al-
most burst in their sockets as, lower-
ing his gaze, he saw the up-reaching
death covered by the Headquarters
man's pistol. For a second's space,
none of the three men moved. Then a
metallic click broke the suspense
the patrolman from what would un-
doubtedly have been a foolhardy act
of courage. Hastily breaking his re-
volver open, he made a swift exam-
ination of the cartridge, saw that its
rim was not dented by the hammer,
and, concluding an accident for which
the shell was not to blame had pre-
vented an explosion, set the chamber
once more, and fired again. This
time a crack followed. The great
cobra shot into the air, and then fell
squirming to the floor. Its coils un-
bent as at full length it writhed in its
death agony. Britz leaped to the l'ar
side of the table, seized a heavy book
and hurled It on the serpent's head.
That soon ended the reptile's strug-
gles; but the doctor, brave enough un-
der ordinary conditions, was not con-
tent until with a dagger-like paper cut-
ter he snatched from the table he
severed the snake's head from its
twisting body.
Britz, Fitch and the patrolman took
deep breaths as they stood on the
porch. The detective lost little time
in recuperating, though, and after hur-
ried instructions to the bluecoat, he
and the doctor jumped Into the coupe.
The uniformed patrolman climbed to
the box, turning the horse's head
westward. He drove the weary brute
at high speed to a taxicab 6tand,
where the detective and physician en-
tered a horseless vehicle in which
they were whirled to Headquarters,
where Britz had a short but impor-
tant conference with the Chief.
r
\u&*
Metallic Click Broke the Suspense.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Mrs. Missioner's Visitor.
Mrs. Missioner, after the ball, took
in the fag-end of a bridge party, and
stayed so late that when she returned
to her home the east was striped with
dawn, and the maid who had waited
up for her was sleeping soundly in a
chair. The widow was not yet dis-
posed for slumber. It had been an
exciting night. Her fancy had been
stimulated so greatly by her brief
talk with the Swami in the ballroom
that she was unable to turn it from
the mysterious Oriental history of
the Maharanee diamond. She knew
no more of the jewel's past than she
had related to the sage, for her hus-
band had not acquainted her with all
the details connected with his acquisi-
tion of it. Something in the Swami's
manner caused her to regard the stone
with more or less aversion. She be-
gan to doubt the purity of its record.
Fond though she was of gems, even
to the point of being a jewel worship-
er, she was American to her finger-
tips, and would shrink In terror from
any bauble that came to her stained
with the tiniest drop of human blood.
She had loved her husband in a
way; at any rate, she had always re-
spected and admired him. It seemed
impossible he would be a party to
wrongdoing. Yet she could not shake
off a sensation of dread whenever she
remembered how intimately the jewel
had nestled in the snows of her throat,
and rivaled the brightness of her eyes.
Could it be she had worn a gem whose
Are was more suited to the glow of an
inferno than to the Eden of a good
woman's loveliness?
Drawing about her shoulders a soft,
warm shawl, she took a seat at a win
dow In her boudoir and sat gazing into
a sky pink and gray with daybreak
trying to solve her real feelings in
regard to the recovery of the Mahara-
nee diamond. She was in the midst
of her meditation when she heard the
faint ringing of a bell at the other end
of her big house. In a little while,
a footman rapped on the door of her
boudoir. It awakened her maid, and
the girl, her eyes swollen with sleep,
approached the widow with a card
bearing no name, but inscribed with
the message:
"It is important that I be permitted
to see you at once."
At such an hour? Mrs. Missioner
was astonished by the request. Who
could her early visitor be? Surely no
one in her own circle of acquaintances
would venture upon such a liberty. If
it were a question of life or death,
there was still the telephone. Secre-
cy was indicated by the attempt of
the person to see her face to face.
Haste breathed in every word of the
scholarly scrawl. Mrs. Missioner was
not ultraconventional, but the request
for an interview at that time of day—
an hour that almost might be called
a time of night—was beyond the scope
of even her liberal views. However,
curiosity conquered, as it has been do-
ing in the cases of women, jewels, and
apples since the world began, and she
informed her maid she would see the
visitor in the library.
She controlled her eagerness for
understanding of the request, never-
theless, so well that when in a leisure-
ly wav she reached the big room on
another "instant j the main floor, visitor was already
sioner had not cultivated in this part
of the world.
He waited until she was close) to
the hearthrug before he turned, and
said with a profound bow:
"Madam, my Intrusion is excused
by the fact that I can restore your
jewels."
"Is it possible!" she exclaimed.
"It is more than possible. It is a
fact accomplished," he answered.
Taking from an inner pocket a pack-
age in silk tissue, he extended it
toward her with the words:
"You will find in this parcel, madam,
all* the diamonds of your necklace,
with the exception of the largest—
the Maharanee."
"But the big diamond of the whole
necklace—the Maharanee!" cried Mrs.
Missioner. "How did you find these
and not find that?"
"I have not said that I did not re-
cover it," said the Swami. "On the
contrary, I confess to you that I
gained possession of the Maharanee
i at the time when I got these; but it
must not, cannot, be restored to you "
I am grateful for what you have
done," the widow said gently; "but I
am unable to understand your atti-
tude in regard to the missing stone.
Why should I not have that, too? It
is mine."
"Madam," said the Oriental, in the
courtliest way, "I would not for the
world say anything to disturb your
faith in your husband. There is no
need of doing so. Your faith is war-
ranted, Mr. Missioner, when he said
that, thought he was telling the truth.
Unfortunately for you, as well as for
many others, he was not speaking the
truth. The renegade who sold that
jewel to your husband did not buy it
from a Maharanee. He did not buy It
from anyone. He stole it!"
"Stole it!" the widow cried, with a
little wail in her voice. "Impossible!"
"Pardon me once more, madam. It
is so far from being impossible that
it is the strict truth. Nor was the
theft the only crime of which the man
was guilty. In stealing that jewel, he
committed a dreadful sacrilege."
Mrs. Missioner was so overcome by
her emotions that she was obliged, in
spite of her intention, to sit down,
and therefore to extend to her visitor
an invitation to be seated also, before
she could get herself well enough in
hand to follow the Swami's narrative
calmly.
"That diamond," continued the sage,
once blazed in the forehead of the
great Buddha, in the Temple of Delhi.
It was revered by thousands, hundreds
of thousands, by millions, as the most
sacred work of the god; for tradition
says it was the undisputed property
of Buddha himself when he walked
the earth in his latest incarnation."
Mrs. Missioner's lips were parted.
Her eyes were fixed upon the Orien-
tal's in the intensity of her interest.
"One night," the sage went on,
"when a band of militant priests as-
signed to guard the shrine of Buddha
in the great Delhi temple relaxed its
vigilance, a sacrilegious wretch—on
whose head be all the curses of all
the centuries!—made his way Into
the heart of the sacred building, and
wrested the diamond from the brow
of the god. That he was not blasted
in his tracks by the lightning of divine
wrath proves that the mind of the
god at that moment was shrouded in
meditation for the benefit of his chil-
dren. The stone was missed at dawn.
Within the hour, armed men were
scouring the city for the apostate
thief. No trace of him was found.
The Maharajah of that kingdom, lax
though he had been in certain ob-
servances of the faith, was too true a
son of the Temple to let the careless
cree was promulgated, the effect of
which Is that none of those unhappy
captives is to see the light of day un-
til the diamond Is returned to its place
In Buddha's forehead. The temple
was draped in the mourning colors of
the east, and those colors still deck
Its lonely walls. No true believer's
foot may be seen within its portals
while the great stone is missing. The
brethren of the priesthood languish
In dungeons, hoping against hope that
Buddha may manifest his mercy by
causing the gem to bo regained and
replaced upon his brow. Untended,
unworshiped, the god sits upon his
throne within the shrine, waiting for
the restoration of his own."
Mrs. Missioner was thrilled by the
narrative. She was somewhat at a
loss, however, to account for the depth
of the Swami's interest in the recap-
ture of the great diamond. Until he
unfolded his story further, she did not
know how personal that Interest was.
"How does this affect you?" she
asked. "Why should you be at such
pains to find and restore the diamond?
And to return these other stones to
me?"
"You will need no further explana-
tion, madam," said the scholar, with
utmost courtesy, "when I tell you that
the priests who He in that Easteru
prison are my brethren."
"But how Is it you are not among
them?"
"By a special dispensation of mercy
on the part of the Maharajah," he an-
swered "When five years, as you
count them, had flown and still the
diamond was missing-when all the
other servants of the kingdom had
searched India, the rest of the Orient.,
and even Europe for it, His Majesty
relented far enough to direct that
the imprisoned priests choose one of
their number to girdle the earth in
quest of (he stone. I, being the young-
est of the priesthood, was selected for
the task. For the priests themselves,
though prisoners of woe, are more
concerned to have the stain wiped out
than to return to the world from
which they have been exiled. They
chose the youngest that the searcher
might have as long a time as nature
permitted to carry out the quest."
The Swami paused an instant, and
then continued:
"So you see that not only do a hun-
dred human lives hang upon the re-
turn of that single jewel to the place
whence it was stolen, but that the
faith, the religion, the very hope of
eternity of millions of persons, are
equally dependent upon It. Until the
gem gleams again in Buddha's brow,
no prayer for redemption can be
breathed with any hope of response
In the most remote part of the
Maharajah's kingdom. Can you won
der that I would sell life itself to
achieve this task?"
Mrs. Missioner did not wonder. She
clasped between her hands the packet
containing the other stones of her
peckiace, and gazed dreamily Into the
fire.
"What Is it, then, you wish?" she
asked. "What can I do for you? Is
it a question of a reward?"
"Not in that sense," said the Swami
quickly. "I want no recompense for
returning to you that which belongs
CHAPTER XXIV.
priests go unpunished. By his order
they were seized, a hundred of them, j to you. Those stones are yours. It
and thrown into prison. A royal de- ,J
only to leave it in
more taut tha„ - .
alized the cartridge had missed fire, ing into a street
The bluecoat's hand reached for his I self behind - ""
rlnh Panic-stricken though he had I glances
been at first sight of the cobra, he had I not until the second glance that she
^ nluck common to the humblest recognized the Swami She was not
fpr of "the finest" and he plain- only astonished, but startled by the
lv meditated faking the serpent from ' recognition. What could this mysteri-
l ; HP would not trust to His ous student of the occult want with
the [ lit h s afm spoiled by the her' What could possibly be the ,b-
lntensUv of the situation, should fly ject of his visit to her home at such
Llgh and hit one of the two refuges an hour? H, was an old acquaint-
itoc the chifT' nier. But Britz saved ance in a sense
rl shielding hlm-
in from chance
As his head was bare, it was
ince that she
She was not
but one Mrs
1
would be as wicked for me to keep
them, according to the light of my
faith, as in the moral intelligence of
yours. But I do want a reward in a
1 ask your permission to return
my native land, and I request that
you cause all further efforts to re-
cover the big diamond to end at once."
"How can I do that?" Inquired the
widow.
"The matter is now in the hands of
the police. You can say truthfully
to the police," the Swami replied,
"that your diamonds have been re-
turned to you; that you are satisfied
with the explanation of their disap-
pearance that accompanied their
restoration, and that you wish all
further activity on the part of the
authorities to cease."
"I will consider it."
"I trust your consideration will not
cover many hours," said the Swami, I
rising "If you come to a decision
quickly and a favorable one, you will
avert a very strong possibility of I
bloodshed."
Mrs. Missioner started.
"The Maharanee diamond, as yon
call it, is in the keeping of my col-
league." the Swami continued. "That
man Britz, the detective from Head-
quarters, who has been most active
in the hunt for your necklace, is close
upon his heels. It Is impossible for
my comrade to escape from the city
unless you express a desire to have
the police cordwt now surrounding us
withdrawn. He will not give up the
jewel while he retains the slightest
spark of life with which to fight for It.
And neither will he stop at what your
I phase of civilization would call mur-
! der. if it becomes at all necessary fpr
I the defense of the stone."
A little shudder ran through Mrs.
j Missioner.
"I will come for your decision at
noon." said the Swami. "It Is the
safest time for me to pass through
the streets, as they are then at their
busiest. Think well upon my request,
if you please, madam
Britz Shows His Hand.
Following the talk between Brlti
and Manning In the office of the chief
of detectives, the lieutenant hastened
to his own room, where Fitch was
awaiting him. He excused himself to
the physician and entered a telephone
booth at the far end of his office in
which he was accustomed to conduct
his more private wire conversations.
Through the glass of the silence parti-
tion, Fitch saw the detective's eyei
sparkle as he listened to what the
man at the other end of the wire was
saying. While Britz still was talking.
Manning came in. glanced inquiringly
at the doctor, and settled himself In
a big chair as if for a further and
more protracted interview with hlr
able lieutenant.
"How does it look to you, doctor,
now?" said the Chief of Fitch, eyeing
him closely meanwhile.
"It looked for awhile as if we had
run Into a hornets' nest," Fitch an-
swered.
"Pretty exciting experience you had
uptown, eh?" The Chief laughed.
"Well, just a little." said the doctor.
"One doesn't expect to encounter a
cobra In a well-regulated brown-
stone front."
"Think the hunt Is getting any
closer?"
"Britz seems to think so His opln
Ion carries weight with me."
"No doubt, In your mind, he will
catch the thief, then?" asked the
Chief.
Thief, or thieves," said the medical
man quietly. "I am convinced he will
run them down soon or late, If they're
anywhere on the face of the earth."
Thank you, doctor," Britz inter-
rupted, coming out of the booth.
Your confidence Is not misplaced.
The thieves are as good as caught
now."
Manning looked up with an air of
surprise.
Yes." continued Britz, addressing
his chief, "I've Just been talking to
Oordon. Had him out all day on a
special trail. Turns out to be the right
lead. We know where the second
batch of thieves can be found after
the next hour or so."
"Where are they?" asked Manning
eagerly.
"I'll take you to them, Chief," Brits
replied. "If you don't mind, I'll ask
you to wait a little whtie until I can
do so Meanwhile, let's gather up the
loose ends."
"Do you mean you have solved ths
Missioner mystery?" Fitch Inquired,
trembling slightly as he reflected
what the answer might mean to the
woman of his heart.
"There isn't any mystery now,"
Britz responded cheerily. "There
hasn't been any in my mind for sev-
eral hours."
"Let's have It!" exclaimed the Chlo
Impatiently.
Just for an instant Britz stiffened
under his excellently controlled ex-
terior. He believed In discipline. He
was known favorably to his superiors
from the commissioner down for the
obedience and respect he always
showed them. But there lurked be-
neath his departmental sense of duty
the independence of a man who felt
ho could always stand on his own two
feet, and that he could work alone, If
need be. to accomplish the most diffi-
cult task. Ills impulse of revolt last-
ed scarce a second's space, however,
and with a military salute that per-
haps was meant to remind him of
Manning's rank, he slid into his re-
volving chair and looked intently at
first one and then the other of the
men, who waited tensely for his
words.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
How Artificial Purs Are Made.
The raw pieces are frozen and the
skin carefully shaved off, thawed and
send to the tanneries to be made into
leather. The frozen fur which re-
mains is allowed to thaw slightly at
the bottom, so that a small part of the
hair is freed from ice. This thawpd
portion is then covered with a solu-
tion of rubber, which is allowed to set
The result is that large seamless
pieces of fur are obtained much
cheaper than those which come with
the natural skin. These same artifi-
cial furs are said to be more lasting
than the real, because they are im-
hune from the attacks of moths.
Dumas' Quiet Rebuke.
During Victor Hugo's exile, Dumas
went to Guernsey, where Hugo re-
ceived him kindly, and took him to
breakfast on a veranda overlooking
the ocean It did not take Dumas long
to discover that Hugo was already
posing as the proscribed prophet, and
when the poet said, with an Olympian
wave of his hand: "You see me, my
dear Dumas, on my rock of exile like
the proscribed one of antiquity."
"Never mind," said Dumas, with his
mouth full, "the butter is far better
here than in Paris. There is no dis-
puting that."
lissinriAr Did Nat Wonder.
In His Own Defense.
The Prisoner at the Bar—Now, I
asks yer. gents of the jury. If I'd
got away with all that swag, like
Let not the ibey say I did, d' yer s'pose I'd have
acred stone°go back to its shrine with Hired this here little $15 lawyer f
Western blood upon it." defend me. Puck.
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Williams, H. H. The Hollis Tribune (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, November 17, 1911, newspaper, November 17, 1911; Hollis, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc234082/m1/3/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.