As there were two good men on duty that night, I did not see why I
should remain at my desk, even though there was an unusual stir created
in our small town by the grand ball given at The Evergreens.
But just as I was preparing to start for home, an imperative ring called
me to the telephone and I heard:
"Halloo! Is this the police-station?"
"It is."
"Well, then, a detective is wanted at once at The Evergreens. He can not
be too clever or too discreet. A valuable jewel has been lost, which
must be found before the guests disperse for home. Large reward if the
matter ends successfully and without too great publicity."
"May I ask who is speaking to me?"
"Mrs. Ashley."
It was the mistress of The Evergreens and giver of the ball.
"Madam, a man shall be sent at once. Where will you see him?"
"In the butler's pantry at the rear. Let him give his name as Jennings."
"Very good. Good-by."
"Good-by."
A pretty piece of work! Should I send Hendricks or should I send Hicks?
Hendricks was clever and Hicks discreet, but neither united both
qualifications in the measure demanded by the sensible and
quietly-resolved woman with whom I had just been talking. What
alternative remained? But one; I must go myself.
It was not late--not for a ball night, at least--and as half the town
had been invited to the dance, the streets were alive with carriages. I
was watching the blink of their lights through the fast falling snow
when my attention was drawn to a fact which struck me as peculiar. These
carriages were all coming my way instead of rolling in the direction of
The Evergreens. Had they been empty this would have needed no
explanation, but, as far as I could see, most of them were full, and
that, too, with loudly talking women and gesticulating men.
Something of a serious nature must have occurred at The Evergreens.
Rapidly I paced on and soon found myself before the great gates.
A crowd of vehicles of all descriptions blocked the entrance. None
seemed to be passing up the driveway; all stood clustered at the gates,
and as I drew nearer I perceived many an anxious head thrust forth from
their quickly opened doors and heard many an ejaculation of
disappointment as the short interchange of words went on between the
drivers of these various turnouts and a man drawn up in quiet resolution
before the unexpectedly barred entrance.
Slipping round to this man's side, I listened to what he was saying. It
was simple but very explicit.
"Mrs. Ashley asks everybody's pardon, but the ball can't go on
to-night. Something has happened which makes the reception of further
guests impossible. To-morrow evening she will be happy to see you all.
The dance is simply postponed."
This he had probably repeated forty times, and each time it had probably
been received with the same mixture of doubt and curiosity which now
held the lengthy procession in check.
Not wishing to attract attention, yet anxious to lose no time, I pressed
up still nearer, and, bending toward him from the shadow cast by a
convenient post, uttered the one word:
"Jennings."
Instantly he unlocked a small gate at his right. I passed in and, with
professional _sang-froid_, proceeded to take my way to the house through
the double row of evergreens bordering the semicircular approach.
As these trees stood very close together and were, besides, heavily
laden with fresh-fallen snow, I failed to catch a glimpse of the
building itself until I stood in front of it. Then I saw that it was
brilliantly lighted and gave evidence here and there of some festivity;
but the guests were too few for the effect to be very exhilarating and,
passing around to the rear, I sought the special entrance to which I had
been directed.
A heavy-browed porch, before which stood a caterer's wagon, led me to a
door which had every appearance of being the one I sought. Pushing it
open, I entered without ceremony, and speedily found myself in the midst
of twenty or more colored waiters and chattering housemaids. To one of
the former I addressed the question:
"Where is the butler's pantry? I am told that I shall find the lady of
the house there."
"Your name?" was the curt demand.
"Jennings."
"Follow me."
I was taken through narrow passages and across one or two store-rooms to
a small but well-lighted closet, where I was left, with the assurance
that Mrs. Ashley would presently join me. I had never seen this lady,
but I had often heard her spoken of as a woman of superior character and
admirable discretion.
She did not keep me waiting. In two minutes the door opened and this
fine, well-poised woman was telling her story in the straight-forward
manner I so much admire and so seldom meet with.
The article lost was a large ruby of singular beauty and great
value--the property of Mrs. Burton, the senator's wife, in whose honor
this ball was given. It had not been lost in the house nor had it been
originally missed that evening. Mrs. Burton and herself had attended the
great foot-ball game in the afternoon, and it was on the college campus
that Mrs. Burton had first dropped her invaluable jewel. But a reward of
five hundred dollars having been at once offered to whoever should find
and restore it, a great search had followed, which ended in its being
picked up by one of the students and brought back as far as the great
step leading up to the front door, when it had again disappeared, and
in a way to rouse conjecture of the strangest and most puzzling
character.
The young man who had brought it thus far bore the name of John Deane,
and was a member of the senior class. He had been the first to detect
its sparkle in the grass, and those who were near enough to see his face
at that happy moment say that it expressed the utmost satisfaction at
his good luck.
"You see," said Mrs. Ashley, "he has a sweetheart, and five hundred
dollars looks like a fortune to a young man just starting life. But he
was weak enough to take this girl into his confidence; and on their way
here--for both were invited to the ball--he went so far as to pull it
out of his pocket and show it to her.
"They were admiring it together and vaunting its beauties to the young
lady friend who had accompanied them, when their carriage turned into
the driveway and they saw the lights of the house flashing before them.
Hastily restoring the jewel to the little bag he had made for it out of
the finger-end of an old glove,--a bag in which he assured me he had
been careful to keep it safely tied ever since picking it up on the
college green,--he thrust it back into his pocket and prepared to help
the ladies out. But just then a disturbance arose in front. A horse
which had been driven up was rearing in a way that threatened to
overturn the light buggy to which he was attached. As the occupants of
this buggy were ladies, and seemed to have no control over the plunging
beast, young Deane naturally sprang to the rescue. Bidding his own
ladies alight and make for the porch, he hurriedly ran forward and,
pausing in front of the maddened animal, waited for an opportunity to
seize him by the rein. He says that as he stood there facing the beast
with fixed eye and raised hand, he distinctly felt something strike or
touch his breast. But the sensation conveyed no meaning to him in his
excitement, and he did not think of it again till, the horse well in
hand and the two alarmed occupants of the buggy rescued, he turned to
see where his own ladies were, and beheld them looking down at him from
the midst of a circle of young people, drawn from the house by the
screaming of the women. Instantly a thought of the treasure he carried
recurred to his mind, and dropping the rein of the now quieted horse, he
put his hand to his pocket. The jewel was gone. He declares that for a
moment he felt as if he had been struck on the head by one of the hoofs
of the frantic horse he had just handled. But immediately the importance
of his loss and the necessity he felt for instant action restored him to
himself, and shouting aloud, 'I have dropped Mrs. Burton's ruby!' begged
every one to stand still while he made a search for it.
"This all occurred, as you must know, more than an hour and a half ago,
consequently before many of my guests had arrived. My son, who was one
of the few spectators gathered on the porch, tells me that there was
only one other carriage behind the one in which Mr. Deane had brought
his ladies. Both of these had stopped short of the stepping-stone, and
as the horse and buggy which had made all this trouble had by this time
been driven to the stable, nothing stood in the way of his search but
the rapidly accumulating snow which, if you remember, was falling very
thick and fast at the time.
"My son, who had rushed in for his overcoat, came running down with
offers to help him. So did some others. But, with an imploring gesture,
he begged to be allowed to conduct the search alone, the ground being in
such a state that the delicately-mounted jewel ran great risk of being
trodden into the snow and thus injured or lost. They humored him for a
moment, then, seeing that his efforts bade fair to be fruitless, my son
insisted upon joining him, and the two looked the ground over, inch by
inch, from the place where Mr. Deane had set foot to ground in alighting
from his carriage to the exact spot where he had stood when he had
finally seized hold of the horse. But no ruby. Then Harrison (that is my
son's name) sent for a broom and went over the place again, sweeping
aside the surface snow and examining carefully the ground beneath,--but
with no better results than before. No ruby could be found. My son came
to me panting. Mrs. Burton and myself stood awaiting him in a state of
suspense. Guests and fete were alike forgotten. We had heard that the
jewel had been found on the campus by one of the students and had been
brought back as far as the step in front and then lost again in some
unaccountable manner in the snow, and we hoped, nay expected from moment
to moment, that it would be brought in.
"When Harrison entered, then, pale, disheveled and shaking his head,
Mrs. Burton caught me by the hand, and I thought she would faint. For
this jewel is of far greater value to her than its mere worth in money,
though that is by no means small.
"It is a family jewel and was given to her by her husband under special
circumstances. He prizes it even more than she does, and he is not here
to counsel or assist her in this extremity. Besides, she was wearing it
in direct opposition to his expressed wishes. This I must tell you, to
show how imperative it is for us to recover it; also to account for the
large reward she is willing to pay. When he last looked at it he noticed
that the fastening was a trifle slack and, though he handed the trinket
back, he told her distinctly that she was not to wear it till it had
been either to Tiffany's or Starr's. But she considered it safe enough,
and put it on to please the boys, and lost it. Senator Burton is a hard
man and,--in short, the jewel must be found. I give you just one hour in
which to do it."
"But, madam--" I protested.
"I know," she put in, with a quick nod and a glance over her shoulder to
see if the door was shut. "I have not finished my story. Hearing what
Harrison had to say, I took action at once. I bade him call in the
guests, whom curiosity or interest still detained on the porch, and seat
them in a certain room which I designated to him. Then, after telling
him to send two men to the gates with orders to hold back all further
carriages from entering, and two others to shovel up and cart away to
the stable every particle of snow for ten feet each side of the front
step, I asked to see Mr. Deane. But here my son whispered something into
my ear, which it is my duty to repeat. It was to the effect that Mr.
Deane believed that the jewel had been taken from him; that he insisted,
in fact, that he had felt a hand touch his breast while he stood
awaiting an opportunity to seize the horse. 'Very good,' said I, 'we'll
remember that, too; but first see that my orders are carried out and
that all approaches to the grounds are guarded and no one allowed to
come in or go out without permission from me.'
"He left us, and I was turning to encourage Mrs. Burton when my
attention was caught by the eager face of a little friend of mine, who,
quite unknown to me, was sitting in one of the corners of the room. She
was studying my countenance in a sort of subdued anxiety, hardly
natural in one so young, and I was about to call her to my side and
question her when she made a sudden dive and vanished from the room.
Some impulse made me follow her. She is a conscientious little thing,
but timid as a hare, and though I saw she had something to say, it was
with difficulty I could make her speak. Only after the most solemn
assurances that her name should not be mentioned in the matter, would
she give me the following bit of information, which you may possibly
think throws another light upon the affair. It seems that she was
looking out of one of the front windows when Mr. Deane's carriage drove
up. She had been watching the antics of the horse attached to the buggy,
but as soon as she saw Mr. Deane going to the assistance of those in
danger, she let her eyes stray back to the ladies whom he had left
behind him in the carriage.
"She did not know these ladies, but their looks and gestures interested
her, and she watched them quite intently as they leaped to the ground
and made their way toward the porch. One went on quickly, and without
pause, to the step, but the other,--the one who came last,--did not do
this. She stopped a moment, perhaps to watch the horse in front, perhaps
to draw her cloak more closely about her, and when she again moved on,
it was with a start and a hurried glance at her feet, terminating in a
quick turn and a sudden stooping to the ground. When she again stood
upright, she had something in her hand which she thrust furtively into
her breast."
"How was this lady dressed?" I inquired.
"In a white cloak, with an edging of fur. I took pains to learn that,
too, and it was with some curiosity, I assure you, that I examined the
few guests who had now been admitted to the room I had so carefully
pointed out to my son. Two of them wore white cloaks, but one of these
was Mrs. Dalrymple, and I did not give her or her cloak a second
thought. The other was a tall, fine-looking girl, with an air and
bearing calculated to rouse admiration if she had not shown so very
plainly that she was in a state of inner perturbation. Though she tried
to look amiable and pleased, I saw that she had some care on her mind,
which, had she been Mr. Deane's _fiancee_, would have needed no
explanation; but as she was only Mr. Deane's _fiancee's_ friend, its
cause was not so apparent.
"The floor of the room, as I had happily remembered, was covered with
crash, and as I lifted each garment off--I allowed no maid to assist me
in this--I shook it well; ostensibly, because of the few flakes clinging
to it, really to see if anything could be shaken out of it. Of course, I
met with no success. I had not expected to, but it is my disposition to
be thorough. These wraps I saw all hung in an adjoining closet, the door
of which I locked,--here is the key,--after which I handed my guests
over to my son who led them into the drawing-room where they joined the
few others who had previously arrived, and went myself to telephone to
_you_."