Wandering
Pearls
(Continued From Page 8).
"Fanni Fanni!" she cried out. to her woman, who stood goggle- eyed behind her chair. "What aro! you gaping at? Make me my cho- colate at once! The Princess
Matthilde. "When did you say your birthday was? June the sixth? Don't say another word! I know: I'll like you 1 like you already! You can come here on June. the sixth and wear, the pearls all day long There now! Bring some cream buns. Schranz. We'd like Home with our chocolate, yes, Matthilde?".
In the course of nature; having worn the Ravensburg pearls for three successivé Junes, Matthilde met a young man, Toni Brauner, by hume, an architçet, and fell in love. with him. He was a good-looking | young man, with tough yellow curly hair and knobbly knees, all scratch- ed from shinning up mountain- aldes. He was not a Ravensburg or anything like it, so he was much more excited about Matthilde being |
Rayensburg than, Matthilde was, He also got a thrill from the fact that Matthilde was going to inherit the Ravensburg pearls, when Marin had no more use for them.
He had not been in attendance, however, at Maria Florian's court more than three or four times, when he began to feel quite strong- ly that, Matthilde would inherit no necklace at all, unless something were done about it quickly. It was astonishing the necklace was not 'stolen already. Numbered amongst the courtiers were a rather. non- descript lot of people including`a school-master 'with red hair, an ex- colonel without any, a commercial traveller and even a tram-driver.
. It was during a hunt for the necklace on June the sixth that the idea first occurred to Toni. "They're probably stolen already. They're quite certainly stolen al- ready!" he said to himself with misery and fury. "But by God, if 'they 'turn up this, Lime. Matthilde | will have to. Damn it, they're here, aren't they? At least Bey're go- Jng to bet So she'll dami well have to!"
Then the pearls were found at last, Then Funni fastened them round Matthilde's throat, like a lady-in-waiting or a high pricatena. Then despite the things Matthilde felt about them when they were not round her throat, it all suddenly be- came different again, now that they actually were. And she looked love-
ly and in a way translucent, as if lights had been put behind her skin. It took Toni quite, a long time to .win Matthilde over to his scheme. The least part of his trouble was to convince her that it was not the vulgar financial value of the pearls that worrled him. The real diffi- culty was Matthilde's genuine in- difference to the fate of the pearls.) (Excepting during those odd mo- ments when she actually had them round her neck. And she liked to forget about that the moment she took them off).
Eventually, however, Toni got Matthilde to join in the conspiracy. But it was importaat to get Aunt Marin in, to, without Aunt Maria knowing anything about it, of course. The object aimed at was to get possession of the necklace for a few hours. Old. Schreiber, the jeweller, who had a shop on the Marintheresienstrasse, Was sure that it could be managed in a few hours. (Old Schreiter had to bel brought in, of course. But he was as safe as houses. He would have faked the Imperial Crown Jewels If Matthilde had asked him)..
There was no necessity to fake the clasp, an exquisite affair of gold and silver and tiny diamonds; it could be transferred quite simply from the real article to the false." Matthilde didn't find it easy to go up to Aunt Maris, and say: "Hello, auntie! Do you think I could bor raw the necklace for half a day while I get a fake one made?" Nor was it feasible to drop it into the pocket and come back casually with another one six hours later, as if one had just slipped round" the corner for a newspaper. You never knew when Maria would order the pearls to be brought out of the cheroot-box and hung round her neck
It was the old lady berolf who helped them out of the difficulty, Just two or three months later, when June the sixth came round again, and with It Matthilda's birth- day. The dutiful niece, presented herself for the annual cerotnony,
"(Continued on Paga 13)
GRACIOUS-
IS THAT JIGGS. VOICE ?:
Rosie's
BEAU
GED MANUS
I'M GOING OUT. AND DONT THINK FOR ONE MOMENT THAT YOU ARE -ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? DON'T SIT THERE: LIKE A DUMMY --ANSWER.
ME!
THE CHINA MAIL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1935
Bringing Up Father
'VE BEEN LISTENIN' TO YOU FER YEARS- AN IF YOU'D ONLY. LET ME GO OUT: 1 WOULDN'T HAVE TO THINK. ABOUT IT-
ILL HAVE. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN I SPEAK-IT'S
FINAL SIT DOWN!
DO YOU HEAR
ME? SIT
DOWN!
COME HERE! DON'T FIDDLE AROUND LIKE THAT WHEN I'M TALKIN' TO YOU-?
HELP! HELP!
WE'LL NEVER: QUARREL AGAIN - WILL WE, DEAR
• ROSIE?
1 Registered U. S Patent Office;'
YES, DARLING » AND IT WON'T BE LONG-1 EXPECT LA RAISE IN SALARY SOON-
THEN WE'LL BE MARRIED AND AWAY WE WILL GO O
"OH, ARCHIE ISN'T THE WORLD JUST WONDERFUL ?
WHAT SHADE AND WHAT.
SIZE DO YOU WISH, MADAM ?
NO. DARLING-AND SOME DAY- WE'LL BE TAKING
A TRIP TO EUROPE ON- A BIG BOAT LIKE THIS-. WONT WE BABY
·BOY ? WON'T ST
BE GREAT ?
WE'LL VISIT EVERY CITY IN EUROPE, SUGAR-PLUM -
OH, ME -TO THINK I USED TU BOSS A HUNDRED MEN AN' FIGHT AT THE DROP OF THE HAT-AN NOW MAGGIE MAKES ME CRAWL LIKE A LITTLE
PUPPY
OH, DEAR ME = | FORGOT TO BRING ALONG THE
PATTERN-I'LL
HAVE TO ab
HOME AND GET
IT
I'M GOIN' TO 'CALL UP DINTY MOORE AN' HAVE HIM HERE FOR DINNER AN'
YOU'RE GOIN' TO COOK THE CORNED BEEF
AN" CABBAGE !
WHAT DO YOU"
'KNOW ABOUT THAT ?!
I THOUGHT SHE WAS OUT SHOPPING -
ALL
ASHORE THAT'S GOING
AND WE'LL SEE EVERY- THING WORTH- WHILE - WONT WE, DEAR ?
WHERE IS MY MANHOOD ? 1 SHOULD BE MASTER IN ME OWN HOUSE-J. WONDER HOW MY VOICE WOULD
·SOUND GIVIN' ORDERS: AROUND “HERE 7 I'LL TRY IT WHILENA MAGGIE IS OUT-
HAVE MERCY-- DONT STRIKE ME- PLEASE FORGIVE ME
MAGGIE! GO GET MY HAT 'AN BE QUICK ABOUT IT!
THINGS HAVE COME TO A PRETTY PASS!
NOW YOU LISTEN
TO ME SHUT UP! I'LL DO THE TALKIN'!
YOU?
HURRAY (I'VE ASSERTED MYSELF - I'M BOSS AT LAST /
CONTINUED.
1933, King
***3, Tate, Grest Britain rights reserved.
12-3
SHORE!!
·AND IT LOOKS AS IF THEY ARE" GOING TO AS THE
BOAT IS ON" ITS.
WAY-
HOW TO KEEP FROM GETTING OLD
JOHN-GET UP! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE TOLD YOU NOT TO : SMOKE IN BED-ITS"
ON FIRE