1938-12-16 — Page 11

THE CHINA MAIL FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT, December 16, 1938

FAST WORK

(Continued from Page 1)

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real jewels to him. I shall be there about two-thirty o'clock.. If you like to come along and meet me there I'll tell you anything else you want to know.

"Good wishes, Inspector, you ought to be very grateful to me. I have not only saved the necklace, but I have put you on to the three, crooks who endeavoured to steal it, but of course we must all do our best to help our splendid police force.

"Au revoir,

Sincerely,

H. E. Marquand.”

*

**

***

Next day, at four o'clock in the afternoon. Chief Detective In- spector Fergus Latimer was 'de- lighted to receive a telephone call from the Southampton Police. "Slim" Peters, Jimmy Fells, and the woman Marie Cartoule had been arrested attempting to board a boat for America. Latimer

smiled and caught the next train. At eight o'clock that night he ar- rived at the Southampton Police Station.

"Slim" Peters looked at him with disgust.

I

"What's the game?" he asked. What's the pinch for?. There's going to be some trouble about this, I can tell you."

"Don't bluff, Slim," said Lia- timer. "Why don't you make it easy for yourselves. I'm charging you with breaking and entering and attempted robbery. *The Glenisdale necklace you've got is the fake one. Mr. Marquand was too clever for you."

Peters grinned.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," he said. "Am' I

don't know anything about the Glenisdale necklace or Mr. Mar quand-whoever he may be--but then I haven't read the papers. Anyway, Jimmy. and' Marie an' I have been stayin' down here for the last five days an' we can prove it, an' how do you like that?"

Latimer checked up. He found what Peters said was true. He didn't like it at all!

Back at the Police Station he looked at Peters glumly.

"Listen, Mr. Latimer," said that worthy, "what's it all about? Somebody has pulled a fast one. Who put you on to us?”

Latimer explained. He told Peters about Mr. Marquand's letter.

Peters broke into a roar of laughter. He continued laughing, and when, eventually, he decided to stop, he addressed Latimer with a certain amount of satisfaction..

"That's Alonzo Green," he said, · "He's taken you for a ride, like he took the French Police an' the

Austrian Police for a ride!. Don't you get it? He broke into the; Glenisdale House. He pinched the real pearls and put the fake necklace in their place. He knew the family was away. Then he went home an' next morning he wrote you that hooey about a woman at the coffee stall under the name of Marquand-an' you fell for it!

"An' then what does he do? He tells you he's goin' to be round there to hand back the mecklace at two-thirty o'clock in the afternoon, an' then he'll meet you there. But he don't do

ît. He goes round. there right away, hands old

Glenisdale back the necklace (an* gets a reward out of the old boy--. I bet he got $500-well, about it?"

what

he

Latimer nodded. "You're dead right, Slim,” said. "When I got round there at three Lord Glenisdale told me he'd been there at twelve o'clock, had ́pulled a sob-story on the old boy, who'd given him an open cheque for £600-Glenisdale was going to offer a reward of £1,000 any- way."

He sighed heavily.

Peters lit a cigarette.

"I wish I had his brains," he said. "Struth! He's a knockout! Why, look what he's done to you!

You got nothin' on him. You couldn't even bring a charge. You couldn't prove he broke into that house an' switched the necklaces.

The Hoop-La stall at the M.C.L. Children's Fair sold out early.

You couldn't prove that he didn't .the think he recognised us as fake butler, the fake Lord Glenis- dale, and the fake woman at the coffee stall. You couldn't prove

that he wrote the letter signed by Marquand.

He's gone off with £600 an' he's laughin' at you. An' he'll laugh some more when I get

through with you for malicious arrest just when we was goin' to America!"

"I can tell

WHITE HORSE

blindfold

Members of the Muirmaids Softball team snapped during a week-end

match.

•

it's equal to a fine liqueur"

Sole Agents for South China: JARDINE MATHESON AND COMPANY LTD.