1950-12-09 — Page 6

THE CHINA MAIL. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1950.

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SIR PATRICK HASTINGS CASE-BOOK

• •

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES

AND BUSINESS RECORDS IN A HERRING-HALL-MARVIN SAFE

CHAPTER 12

The Astonishing Tale

Of The Stolen Pearls

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NE of the most excit not possibly have been the work

of one nata.

There must have been a gang of skilful thieves working in collaboration.

The

tale

came to my notice

the astonishing of the stolen pearls.

was

of

It had all the drama a first-rate detective story, plus a tragi-comic climax and a "punch" ending.

This was the way of it: Mr Max Meyer, of Hatton-

"

garden, one of the largest whole- Sale dealers in pearls in Britain, made a large and important pur chase from a firm of pearl mer- chants in Paris, and the pearls were sent to him by poat

were packed in They

small parcel,

than a Uttle bigger match-box, and, of course, regis- tered as well as heavily insured. In due cou.so the parcel was delivered at Mr Mever's office, but when opened it was found to contain nothing but pleces of dis- The pearls bad sugar. weared.

The case presented many un-, usual features. The French firm, equally with Mr Meyer, were beyond suspicion. The pearls had been safely packed, the parcel sealed and registered and duly suspatched.

Seals intact Investigation In Paris satisfed Mr Price, senior

partner in Price and Gibbs, the assessors to Lloyd's Underwriters, who in

Within

a few minutes

Mr

with

the the

Mr Price's plan to meet these dimculties Was delightfully Price was told that the plan had simple-the informer was to be failed. His emissary could give robbed of the pearls as he car no explanation beyond the ried them away from the hotel. fact that the man

had crossed It was decided that he should handkerchief

to carry

avoid the pearls in the right road, obviously hund pocket of his overcoat and meeting. that, for the purpose of identi- fication, he should display a ultimate handkerchiet

packet.

careful organisation of the theft showed that the thieves were not only extremely clever in arranging the actual theft, but probably equally astute in their plans for the disposal of the pearls, for which they would expect to receive a

No clue

In

Nobody had seen the infooner throw the paris into the gutter, his breast Mr Price thought he had been

tricked. Immediately a net was spread for the informer and, found. At Arst he was after some dificulty, he was

He was to walk down Holborn and turn into Hatton-garden at

both

furious and frightened and all he would say was that the

Search party

large slim was discovered suffi- Precisely ave minutes to three cient to afford the slightest hope walking on the left-hand pave- of tracing the robbers, and the ment. on the expedient Underwriters were thrown back At the same moment another pearls had been thrown away.

of offering a man, wearing a carnation in his reward to any person willing to buttonhole, would enter Halton-

leading to the garden from the other end. give evidence

The two men, walking at

Nobody believed such a story, recovery of the jewels.

normal pace, would

pass each

ch but a search party was seat to Plan devised other about half-way down the Hatton-garden and the gutter

street and, an they passed, the was raked from end to end. man with the carnation

would

could be At first nothing his hand into the informer's slip pockel, abstract the pearls, and found, but at last, on the edge continue his walk as

of drain, was found one soll- tary pearl. nothing had happened.

The plan was duly carried out up to a point.

and

Mr Price suggested that the reward should be large immediate. The

Underwriters agreed, and £10,000 was offered for the recovery of the pearls.

the on

scene

who

though

What had happened appeared only too clear the remainder had fallen down the drain and been swept away in the sewer.

All Mr Price's work had been had A large fortune useless. been lost, merely because

nary ard.

to step Hatton-garden at ave minutes

After the advertisement ap- peared there was nothing to do except walt, but almost immediately Mr Price received hotel, and the pearls, together The meeting took place at the information that a person hac

with his instructions, were appeared claimed to be able to return the handed to the informer who he proceeded slowly down Holborn. property, provided was satisfied that he would re three, entered

and, precisely at five minutes to

Hatton-garden. celve the reward and that ho would

The pearls were then in a parcel run no possible risk either from the police or more in the right-hand pocket of his to three on that very afternoon. important—from his erstwhile greatcont.

stoich

LIPSvestigated the theft, that the frienda.

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pearls were safe when they were handed over to the French Post Ofee

The parcel was examined with meticulous care. The sends had been intact on arrival and there was not the slightest evidence of any tampering willr the package.

flow and when the theft took place remained a mystery.

By a process of elimination Mr Price concluded that the pearls must have been stolen in transit, and that the theft could

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From such inquiries as he was able

to make Mr Price was satisfied that his informant was genuine, and he devised a plan to recover the pearls and re- move the informer's fears.

At

Went wrong

tho

had handling police officer

WAS.

Inta

11

But chance intervened unce more, only this time it was Invourable. Within a few hours

Price

told

from the an unexpected same moment

source that with the carnation might be a good thing if he paid gentlemETI entered Hatton-garden from the a visit to a certain public-house opposite end. The informer in the vicinity of Hation-garden ntoved slightly to the left to and take a look at a bead neck.

that his How the plan was devised, and ensure

right-hand lace adorning the neek of the what means of communication pocket was easily accessible; no barmaid in the public bar.

employed, I was

never doubt the prospective pickpocket told, but the informer was satis- soxed his fingers in anticipa

with the promises made to tion. him for he told hiz story frankly.

were

The pearls had been stolen in transit and there were several persons involved as. Mr Price had guessed. The pearls were to be taken abroad for dispossi and the informer himself was to

take them.

Το

be robbed

Not very hopefully, Mr Price drove to the public-house and Round her saw the barmaid. neck were the missing pearls.

Simple story

Imagine that the galt of each man grew more and more non- chulant as the distance between them decreased. And then,

without warning. The story was quite simple. the plan went wrong.

A roadman who was a regular policeman in uniform customer of the house had been supcrossed into Hatton-garden garden when he came across a out of a side-turning sweeping the gutter in Hatton-

between

group

of beads. Immediately the Informer

They were no use to him, and jumped to the conclusion that

apparently of no

value. but he he had been betrayed. He was had put them into his pocket. to be arrested with the missing and when he went into the

for his jewels on him. He would be sent public-house

evening

and

them

The Anol arrangements for his journey, he said, were to be made that doy in Holborn hotel, where the pearls would be to prison as the thief and the refreshment he had casually handed over to him with com- Underwriters would get their given them to the barmaid as a picte and detailed instructions as pearls without paying the Pres had thought they looked to how and where he was to ward. At any rate that should travel.

not happen!

rather pretty, so she strung

* joke.

The informer would give no in A Hash the pearls were in them on a piece of cotton and further Information, beyond his hand, the parcel was burst hung them round her neck, saying that he was unable to open and every pearl thrown thinking the whole affair to be hand the pearls over to Mr into the gutter behind his back. Price as he was certain that his

Ho crossed the road, movement every

would

at a be the carnation bearer watched. This statement was distance, and disappeared. The WH confirmed by the fact that it uniformed policeman. who Was was obvious that he was terri- merely an ordinary officer on his fled lest his confederates should usual patrol-duty passed on, un- suspect that he was betraying aware that anything untoward

had. happened.

them.

But in truth the Joke had been worth the best part of £100,000, and for a short time that barmaid had worn a king's ransom round her neck.

(ANOTHER CHAPTER

ON MONDAY)

THEY'RE SURE TO CALL

EVEREST MOUNT STALIN

NEW DELHI

By Alwyn Tebbitt

have succeeded in climbing the Chinese Com- Mount Stalin." Imunits the Ifhet, the

surveyors are

The mala reason for the difficulty is scientifle: the re- The discovery that Peak Xy fraction of light. As it is impossi world's mountaineers will as the highest in the world is ble to get near Everest to make

credited to a young Indian com- calculations the have to give up their ambi- puter in the Calcutta office of about 100 miles away and light forced 10 work from stations tion of conquering the the Survey of India Department,

refraction Radimnath pinys tricks on

that distance world's highest mountain, Chlor Computer

men and ~ Mount Everest.

Everest's name has caused a rent deal of trouble over the

Sikhdar.

Radhanath Sikhdar had never Discovered almost exact seen the mountaic, but his job

at

XV had any Penk

local name.

suitable

ly 100 years ago, Mount was to correlate all the calcula- past 100 years. After the world's Everest, named after atlons sent info the office by the highest point was discoverca man who had never seen it, into the Himalayas to survey. the f

"Bold men," the men who went the Survey of India tried to find has not only baffled the makalve peaks. world's greatest climbers but has also baffled some of the world's leading sclezi- tists.

One of the must attractive, but LIGHT REFRACTION.

Tibetan not very suitable, is a namic, mitt gull chapu longnga, After days of dealing with which means "you cannot see the mass of figures that wer the summit from near it, but

office No one

knows exactly how daily pouring into the high it in, and

from the survey team, Radhanath teas and a bird that dies ab anth you can see it from nine diree- .no on knowa shder suddenly found, he was whether it really hao a name

as. the summit goce With o peak of un- of No own.

name Gauri Sanken Galabed hla calculations. ho

Survey Department.is

in the "world"

hire

Peak XV129 Everest in usual proportions. When he had after two Indian gods-WAD India known to the Government of rushed into his chief omca used for a long time on English

and German

owing to a mistake. A

German technically in Nepal, but B and exclalined: "Sir, I have dis-

scientist to considered Imposible, la muke, covered the highest mountain. named Schlaginwelt came

after the And india

had heot

feet is generally accepted; to make some observations. OTT 1 However, -it' in almost certain, though certain experts: clatini, the now mountain, maka an

that sohasi munde after tha that it is 2P,149 feet, which, was The German returned to the cure given by. The Chimies: Turons with sketches he had

tho ascent from the Nepalone... from Tibet

side and au

all climbe ste, made At present a height of 29,097 given to the world, and decided

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