A FEW PEARLS
The next morning Patsy, Beth and Louise met in earnest conference over
the important proposition made them by young Jones, and although Uncle
John and Arthur Weldon were both present the men took no part in the
discussion.
"Some doubt has been expressed," said Beth judicially, "that Ajo is
really able to finance this big venture. But he says he is, and that he
will carry it through to the end, so I propose we let him do it."
"Why not?" asked Louise. "If he succeeds, it will be glorious. If he
fails, we will suffer in no way except through disappointment."
"Well, shall we accept this offer, girls?"
"First," said Louise, "let us consider what we will have to do, on our
part, when the twenty theatres are built and the film factory is in
operation."
"We are to be the general managers," returned Patsy. "We must select the
subjects, or plots, for the pictures, and order them made under our
direction. Then we must see that all of our theatres present them in a
proper manner, and we must invite children to come and see the shows. I
guess that's all."
"That will be enough to keep us busy, I'm sure," said Beth. "But we will
gladly undertake it, and I am sure we shall prove good managers, as soon
as we get acquainted with the details of the business."
"It will give us the sort of employment we like," Patsy assured them.
"Our first duty will be to plan these theatres for children, and make
them as cosy and comfortable as possible, regardless of expense. Ajo will
pay the bills, and when all the buildings are ready we will set to work
in earnest."
So, when A. Jones appeared he was told that the girls would gladly accept
his proposition. The young man seemed greatly pleased by this verdict. He
appeared to be much better and stronger to-day and he entered eagerly
into a discussion of the plans in detail. Together they made a list of a
string of twenty theatres, to be built in towns reaching from Santa
Barbara on the north to San Diego in the south. The film factory was to
be located in the San Fernando Valley, just north of Hollywood.
This consumed the entire forenoon, and after lunch they met a prominent
real estate man whom Jones had summoned to the hotel. This gentleman was
given a copy of the list of locations and instructed to purchase in each
town the best site that could be secured for a motion picture theatre.
This big order made the real estate man open his eyes in surprise.
"Do you wish me to secure options, or to purchase the land
outright?" he asked.
"Be sure of your locations and then close the deals at once," replied
Jones. "We do not wish to waste time in useless dickering, and a location
in the heart of each town, perhaps on the main street, is more important
than the price. You will, of course, protect me from robbery to the best
of your ability; but buy, even if the price is exorbitant. I will this
afternoon place a hundred thousand dollars to your credit in the bank,
with which to make advance payments, and when you notify me how much more
is required I will forward my checks at once."
"That is satisfactory, sir. I will do the best I can to guard your
interests," said the man.
When he had gone the girls accompanied Ajo in a motorcar to Los Angeles,
to consult an architect. They visited several offices before the boy, who
seemed to estimate men at a glance, found one that satisfied him. The
girls explained with care to the architect their idea of a luxurious
picture theatre for children, and when he had grasped their conception,
which he did with enthusiasm, he suggested several improvements on their
immature plans and promised to have complete drawings ready to submit to
them in a few days.
From the architect's office they drove to the German-American Bank, where
Ajo gave his check for a hundred thousand dollars, to be placed to the
credit of Mr. Wilcox, the real estate agent. The deference shown him by
the cashier seemed to indicate that this big check was not the extent of
A. Jones' credit there, by any means.
As they drove back to Hollywood, Patsy could not help eyeing this
youthful capitalist with wonder. During this day of exciting business
deals the boy had behaved admirably, and there was no longer a shadow of
doubt in the minds of any of Uncle John's nieces that he was both able
and anxious to carry out his part of the agreement.
Patsy almost giggled outright as she thought of Le Drieux and his
ridiculous suspicions. One would have to steal a good many pearls in
order to acquire a fortune to match that of the Sangoan.
He was speaking of Sangoa now, in answer to a question of Beth's.
"Yes, indeed," said he, "Sangoa is very beautiful, and the climate is
even more mild than that of your Southern California. The north coast is
a high bluff, on which is a splendid forest of rosewood and mahogany. My
father would never allow any of these magnificent trees to be cut, except
a few that were used in building our house."
"But how do your people live? What is the principal industry of your
islanders?" asked Beth.
"My people are--fishermen," he said, and then the automobile drew up
before the hotel entrance and the conversation ended.
It was on the following afternoon, as they all met in the hotel lobby
after lunch, that a messenger handed young Jones a neat parcel, for which
a receipt was demanded. Ajo held the parcel in his hand a while,
listening to the chatter of the girls, who were earnestly discussing
plans for the new picture enterprise. Then very quietly and unobtrusively
he unwrapped the package and laid upon the table beside him several small
boxes bearing the name of a prominent jeweler.
"I hope," said he, taking advantage of a pause caused by the girls
observing this action, and growing visibly confused by their involuntary
stares of curiosity; "I--I hope that you, my new friends, will pardon a
liberty I have taken. I wanted to--to present those who were instrumental
in saving my life with--with a--a slight token of my gratitude--a sort
of--of--memento of a brave and generous act that gave me back the life I
had carelessly jeopardized. No," as he saw surprise and protest written
on their faces, "don't refuse me this pleasure, I implore you! The
little--eh--eh--mementos are from my own Island of Sangoa, with the
necessary mountings by a Los Angeles jeweler, and--please accept them!"
As he spoke he handed to each of the girls a box, afterward giving one to
Uncle John and another to Arthur. There remained upon the table three
others. He penciled a name upon the bottom of each and then handed them
to Patsy, saying:
"Will you kindly present these, with my compliments, to the Misses
Stanton, and to their aunt, when they return this evening? Thank you!"
And then, before they could recover from their astonishment, he turned
abruptly and fled to his room.
The girls stared at one another a moment and then began laughing. Arthur
seemed crestfallen, while Uncle John handled his small box as gingerly as
if he suspected it contained an explosive.
"How ridiculous!" cried Patsy, her blue eyes dancing. "And did you
notice how scared poor Ajo was, and how he skipped as fearfully as though
he had committed some crime? But I'm sure the poor boy meant well. Let's
open our boxes, girls, and see what foolishness Ajo has been up to."
Slipping off the cover of her box, Beth uttered a low cry of amazement
and admiration. Then she held up a dainty lavalliere, with a pendant
containing a superb pearl. Louise had the mate to this, but the one Patsy
found had a pearl of immense size, its color being an exquisite shade of
pink, such as is rarely seen. Arthur displayed a ring set with a splendid
white pearl, while Uncle John's box contained a stick pin set with a huge
black pearl of remarkable luster. Indeed, they saw at a glance that the
size and beauty of all these pearls were very uncommon, and while the
others expressed their enthusiastic delight, the faces of Mr. Merrick and
Patsy Doyle were solemn and perplexed. They stared at the pearls with
feelings of dismay, rather than joy, and chancing to meet one another's
eyes they quickly dropped their gaze to avoid exchanging the ugly
suspicion that had forced itself upon their minds.
With a sudden thought Patsy raised her head to cast a searching glance
around the lobby, for although their party was seated in an alcove they
were visible to all in the big room of which it formed a part. Yes, Mr.
Isidore Le Drieux was standing near them, as she had feared, and the
slight sneer upon his lips proved that he had observed the transfer of
the pearls.
So the girl promptly clasped her lavalliere around her neck and openly
displayed it, as a proud defiance, if not a direct challenge, to that
detestable sneer.
Arthur, admiring his ring in spite of his chagrin at receiving such a
gift from a comparative stranger, placed the token on his finger.
"It is a beauty, indeed," said he, "but I don't think we ought to accept
such valuable gifts from this boy."
"I do not see why," returned his wife Louise. "I think these pretty
tributes for saving Mr. Jones' life are very appropriate. Of course
neither Beth nor I had anything to do with that affair, but we are
included in the distribution because it would be more embarrassing to
leave us out of it."
"And the pearls came from Sangoa," added Beth, "so all these precious
gifts have cost Ajo nothing, except for their settings."
"If Sangoa can furnish many such pearls as these," remarked Arthur,
reflectively, "the island ought to be famous, instead of unknown. Their
size and beauty render the gems priceless."
"Well," said Patsy soberly, "we know now where A. Jones got his money,
which is so plentiful that he can build any number of film factories and
picture theatres. Sangoa must have wonderful pearl fisheries--don't you
remember, girls, that he told us his people were fishermen?--for each of
these specimens is worth a small fortune. Mine, especially, is the
largest and finest pearl I have ever seen."
"I beg your pardon!" sternly exclaimed Uncle John, as he whirled swiftly
around. "Can I do anything for you, sir?"
For Mr. Le Drieux had stealthily advanced to the alcove and was glaring
at the display of pearls and making notes in a small book.
He bowed, without apparent resentment, as he answered Mr. Merrick: "Thank
you, sir; you have already served me admirably. Pardon my intrusion."
Then he closed the book, slipped it into his pocket and with another low
bow walked away.
"What rank impertinence!" cried Arthur, staring after him. "Some
newspaper reporter, I suppose. Do you know him, Uncle John?"
"He forced an introduction, a few evenings ago. It is a pearl
merchant from New York, named Le Drieux, so I suppose his curiosity
is but natural."
"Shall we keep our pearls, Uncle?" asked Beth.
"I shall keep mine," replied the little man, who never wore any ornament
of jewelry. "It was generous and thoughtful in young Jones to present
these things and we ought not offend him by refusing his 'mementos,' as
he calls them."
Perhaps all the nieces were relieved to hear this verdict, for already
they loved their beautiful gifts. That evening the Stanton girls and
their Aunt Jane received their parcels, being fully as much surprised as
the others had been, and their boxes also contained pearls. Flo and Maud
had lavallieres, the latter receiving one as large and beautiful as that
of Patsy Doyle, while Mrs. Montrose found a brooch set with numerous
smaller pearls.
Patsy urged them all to wear the ornaments to dinner that evening, which
they did, and although Jones was not there to observe the effect of the
splendid pearls, Mr. Le Drieux was at his place in the dining room and
made more notes in his little book.
That was exactly what Patsy wanted. "I can't stand the suspense of this
thing," she whispered to Uncle John, "and if that man wants any
information about these pearls I propose we give it to him. In that way
he will soon discover he is wrong in suspecting the identity of Jack
Andrews and A. Jones."
Mr. Merrick nodded absently and went to his corner for a smoke. Arthur
soon after joined him, while Aunt Jane took her bevy of girls to another
part of the loge.
"Le Drieux will be here presently," said Uncle John to young Weldon.
"Oh, the fellow with the book. Why, sir?"
"He's a detective, I think. Anyhow, he is shadowing Jones, whom he
suspects is a thief."
He then told Arthur frankly of his former conversation with Le Drieux,
and of the puzzling photograph.
"It really resembles the boy," he admitted, with a frown of perplexity,
"yet at the same time I realized the whole thing was absurd. Neither
Patsy nor I can believe that Jones is the man who robbed an Austrian
countess. It's preposterous! And let me say right now, Arthur, that I'm
going to stand by this young fellow, with all my influence, in case those
hounds try to make him trouble."
Arthur did not reply at once. He puffed his cigar silently while he
revolved the startling accusation in his mind.
"Both you and Patsy are staunch friends," he observed, after a while,
"and I have noticed that your intuition as regards character is seldom
at fault. But I advise you, in this instance, not to be hasty, for--"
"I know; you are going to refer to those pearls."
"Naturally. If I don't, Le Drieux will, as you have yourself prophesied.
Pearls--especially such pearls as these--are rare and easy to recognize.
The world does not contain many black-pearls, for instance, such as that
you are wearing. An expert--a man with a photograph that strongly
resembles young Jones--is tracing some stolen pearls of great value--a
collection, I think you said. We find Jones, a man seemingly unknown
here, giving away a number of wonderful pearls that are worthy a place in
any collection. Admit it is curious, Uncle John. It may be all a
coincidence, of course; but how do you account for it, sir?"
"Jones has an island in the South Seas, a locality where most of the
world's famous pearls have been found."
"Sangoa?"
"Yes."
"It is not on any map. This man, Le Drieux, positively stated that there
is no such island, did he not?"
Uncle John rubbed his chin, a gesture that showed he was disturbed.
"He was not positive. He said he thought there was no such island."
"Well, sir?"
"If Jones could lie about his island, he would be capable of the theft of
those pearls," admitted Mr. Merrick reluctantly.
"That is conclusive, sir."
"But he isn't capable of the theft. Le Drieux states that Jack Andrews is
a society swell, an all-around confidence man, and a gambler. Jones is a
diffident and retiring, but a very manly young fellow, who loves quiet
and seems to have no bad habits. You can't connect the two in any
possible way."
Again Arthur took time to consider.
"I have no desire to suspect Jones unjustly," he said. "In fact, I have
been inclined to like the fellow. And yet--his quaint stories and his
foolish expenditures have made me suspicious from the first. You have
scarcely done justice to his character in your description, sir. To us he
appears diffident, retiring, and rather weak, in a way, while in his
intercourse with Goldstein he shows a mailed fist. He can be hard as
nails, on occasion, as we know, and at times he displays a surprising
knowledge of the world and its ways--for one who has been brought up on
an out-of-the-way island. What do we know about him, anyway? He tells a
tale no one can disprove, for the South Seas are full of small islands,
some of which are probably unrecorded on the charts. All this might
possibly be explained by remembering that a man like Jack Andrews is
undoubtedly a clever actor."
"Exactly!" said a jubilant voice behind them, and Mr. Isidore Le Drieux
stepped forward and calmly drew up a chair, in which he seated himself.
"You will pardon me, gentlemen, for eavesdropping, but I was curious to
know what you thought of this remarkable young man who calls himself
'A. Jones.'"
Arthur faced the intruder with a frown. He objected to being startled in
this manner. "You are a detective?" he asked.
"Oh, scarcely that, sir," Le Drieux replied in a deprecating way. "My
printed card indicates that I am a merchant, but in truth I am a special
agent, employed by the largest pearl and gem dealers in the world, a firm
with branches in every large European and American city. My name is Le
Drieux, sir, at your service," and with a flourish he presented his card.
The young rancher preferred to study the man's face.
"I am a sort of messenger," he continued, placidly. "When valuable
consignments of jewels are to be delivered, I am the carrier instead of
the express companies. The method is safer. In twenty-six years of this
work I have never lost a single jewel."
"One firm employs you exclusively, then?"
"One firm. But it has many branches."
"It is a trust?"
"Oh, no; we have many competitors; but none very important. Our closest
rival, for instance, has headquarters on this very coast--in San
Francisco--but spreads, as we do, over the civilized world. Yet
Jephson's--that's the firm--do not claim to equal our business. They deal
mostly in pearls."
"Pearls, eh?" said Arthur, musingly. "Then it was your firm that lost the
valuable collection of pearls you mentioned to Mr. Merrick?"
"No. They were the property of Countess Ahmberg, of Vienna. But we had
sold many of the finest specimens to the countess and have records of
their weight, size, shape and color. The one you are now wearing, sir,"
pointing to Uncle John's scarf pin, "is one of the best black pearls ever
discovered. It was found at Tremloe in 1883 and was originally purchased
by our firm. In 1887 I took it to Tiffany, who sold it to Prince Godesky,
of Warsaw. I carried it to him, with other valuable purchases, and after
his death it was again resold to our firm. It was in October, 1904, that
I again became the bearer of the pearl, delivering it safely to Countess
Ahmberg at her villa. It was stolen from her, together with 188 other
rare pearls, valued at a half million dollars, a little over a year ago."
"This pearl, sir," said Uncle John stiffly, "is not the one you refer
to. It was found on the shores of the island of Sangoa, and you have
never seen it before."
Le Drieux smiled sweetly as he brushed the ashes from his cigar.
"I am seldom mistaken in a pearl, especially one that I have handled,"
said he. "Moreover, a good pearl becomes historic, and it is my business
to know the history of each and every one in existence."
"Even those owned by Jephson's?" asked Arthur.
"Yes; unless they were acquired lately. I have spoken in this manner in
order that you may understand the statements I am about to make, and I
beg you to listen carefully: Three daring pearl robberies have taken
place within the past two years. The first was a collection scarcely
inferior to that of the Countess Ahmberg. A bank messenger was carrying
it through the streets of London one evening, to be delivered to Lady
Grandison, when he was stabbed to the heart and the gems stolen.
Singularly enough, Jack Andrews was passing by and found the dying
messenger. He called for the police, but when they arrived the messenger
had expired. The fate of the pearls has always remained a mystery,
although a large reward has been offered for their recovery."
"Oh; a reward."
"Naturally, sir. Four months later Princess Lemoine lost her wonderful
pearl necklace while sitting in a box at the Grand Opera in Paris. This
was one of the cleverest thefts that ever baffled the police, for the
necklace was never recovered. We know, however, that Jack Andrews
occupied the box next to that of the princess. A coincidence--perhaps. We
now come to the robbery of the Countess Ahmberg, the third on the list.
Jack Andrews was a guest at her house, as I have explained to you. No
blame has ever attached to this youthful adventurer, yet my firm, always
interested in the pearls they have sold, advised me to keep an eye on him
when he returned to America. I did so.
"Now, Mr. Merrick, I will add to the tale I told you the other night.
Andrews behaved very well for a few weeks after he landed at New York;
then he disposed of seven fine pearls and--disappeared. They were not
notable pearls, especially, but two of them I was able to trace to the
necklace of Princess Lemoine. I cabled my firm. They called attention to
the various rewards offered and urged me to follow Andrews. That was
impossible; he had left no clue. But chance favored me. Coming here to
Los Angeles on business, I suddenly ran across my quarry: Jack Andrews.
He has changed a bit. The mustache is gone, he is in poor health, and I
am told he was nearly drowned in the ocean the other day. So at first I
was not sure of my man. I registered at this hotel and watched him
carefully. Sometimes I became positive he was Andrews; at other times I
doubted. But when he began distributing pearls to you, his new friends,
all doubt vanished. There, gentlemen, is my story in a nutshell. What do
you think of it?"
Both Mr. Merrick and young Weldon had listened with rapt interest, but
their interpretation of the tale, which amounted to a positive
accusation of A. Jones, showed the difference in the two men's natures.
"I think you are on the wrong trail, sir," answered Mr. Merrick.
"Doubtless you have been misled by a casual resemblance, coupled with
the fact that Andrews is suspected of stealing pearls and Jones is known
to possess pearls--the pearls being of rare worth in both cases. Still,
you are wrong. For instance, if you have the weight and measurement of
the Tremloe black pearl, you will find they do not fit the pearl I am
now wearing."
Le Drieux smiled genially.
"It is unnecessary to make the test, sir," he replied. "The pearl Andrews
gave to Miss Doyle is as unmistakable as your own. But I am curious to
hear your opinion, Mr. Weldon."
"I have been suspicious of young Jones from the first," said Arthur; "but
I have been studying this boy's character, and he is positively incapable
of the crimes you accuse him of, such as robbery and murder. In other
words, whatever Jones may be, he is not Andrews; or, if by chance he
proves to be Andrews, then Andrews is innocent of crime. All your
theories are based upon a desire to secure rewards, backed by a chain of
circumstantial evidence."
"A chain," said Le Drieux, grimly, "that will hold Jack Andrews fast in
its coils, clever though he is."
"Circumstantial evidence," retorted Mr. Merrick, "doesn't amount to
shucks! It is constantly getting good people into trouble and allowing
rascals to escape. Nothing but direct evidence will ever convince me that
a man is guilty."
Le Drieux shrugged his shoulders.
"The pearls are evidence enough," said he.
"To be sure. Evidence enough to free the poor boy of suspicion. You may
be a better messenger than you are a detective, Mr. Le Drieux, but that
doesn't convince me you are a judge of pearls."
The agent rose with a frown of annoyance.
"I am going to have Jack Andrews arrested in the morning," he remarked.
"If you warn him, in the meantime, I shall charge you with complicity."
Uncle John nearly choked with anger, but he maintained his dignity.
"I have no knowledge of your Jack Andrews," he replied, and turned his
back.