DARLING OF DESTINY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 112, 13 May 1926, Page 22

DARLING OF DESTINY.

BY MILDRED BARBOUR. { . I CHAPT-P. XIV. j Several Interesting Discoveries. I Sue found herself in the most beauti-1 ful shop she had ever seen or imagined. I Tt had a lofty vaulted ceiling, and a great sweep of skylight through which the sun shone down on show cases and struck fire fro.a their jewvhel contents. A3- she stood looking about, her in uncertainty, an immaculately-attired individual approached her. She extracted the newspaper clipping} fiom her purse. '•I saw this in the paper this morning; ! I think perhaps I can give you some information about the necklace.'' i lie scrutinised ■ her keenly for- a I moment. "Allow mc to take you to our manager; this way, madam..'* He led her down the aisle between t'i! flittering show ca-33», and nsherd her into a small room in the rear, where another man rose to greet them. She told her story of the pearls in her possession simply and frankly. He \ had small, keen eyes, and they studied; her closely. When she had finished, he touched a button on the edge of his jdesk, and when a secretary answered nis ring he gave a brief order, which she did not catch; then he turned to her again. j "I am quite convinced. Miss Drum,hiond. that the pearls in your possession are the ones we are looking for. You understand that they do not i»elong to us; we are merely acting as the agents for the owner, from whom they were Stolen some time ago. They were purchased originally from our agent abroad, who secured them at great expense and effort. Since you say you have not been in London long, you probably have not heard of the Pemberton jewel theft, which created such a furore, and it is not necessary to go into the details now. Most of the jewels have been recovered, but the missing necklace was the most valuable of the lot. The woman you describe, who met you on the train, was arrested that night on her arrival in London. She has long been suspected as a notorious jewel thief, but, unfortunately, the police found nothing on her; she was clever enough to slip her plunder to you. Again, unfortunately, ahe succeeded in getting away, and we have detectives scouring London trying to find her." Sue shuddered involuntarily. "It's rather a frightful thought —being •0 close to a thief and having stolen goods in one's possession, isn't it?'' she appealed to hinj. He beamed upon her patronisin^iy. "It is not your fault in the least, and I you must not feel bad about it. You have done us a tremendous favour in coming to us .o ijuu-h'v, nil you iiav-« proved your honesty. .Miss Dmmmond, in returning pearls whose value, if I fiheuid tell you, wou'.i astonish yc>i. If the pearls are the ones we are looking for, you will come into a tidy little sum (or a reward." "But 1 shouldn't claim a reward for being honest,"' protested .Sue. "Nonsense." lie scoffed. "When you •ay things like that, you prove your unfamiDarity with London. Now, I luggrst that you allow one of our representatives to acoinpany you to your residence. He is qualified to identify the pearls we are looking for. My car is at your disposal." -Sue hesitated for a moment. - ''You understand, of course, that I hay.. not mentioned tbe finding of th« necklace to my relatives." He eyed her keenly for a moment, but lie saw only wide blue eyes and a pure, oval face framed in pale gold hair. It was a reassuring sight, apparently, for he said: "XatiirnlTy. I understand. My representative will not annoy you at all. I dare say you can manage, to bring the necklace to him without exciting curiosity." It was a tribute which Sue aeknowI .edged with one of her demurest smiles. I Within ten minutes she was on her ~i,' back with .1 very correctly tailored ' young man, who mi slit have been the scion of one of the best families. At the Blanehard's, fortune favoured her, because Mrs. Blanchard was attending a bridge party, and there was no one at home but the servants. Leaving the young man in the car. Sue went up to her room and took the pearls from their hiding place in the hag. Seeing them for the first time with, their enhanced value, she held them up to the light, and all her women's love of beauty revelled in their lustrous sheen. Some queer intuitive force prompted her to search again the dressing case in which she had found \ them before she turned it. too, over to ! the jeweller's representative. Deep down in an inside pocket, which i she had hitherto overlooked, she discovered a sheet of note paper written in I a dashing, individual hand. It bore no date or salutation, and was unsigned. It read: ''Come tack as soon as you can. The danger is past. Something else offers." Sue slipped the note into her dresser drawer. Then 9he placed the pearls in ' thp bag where she had found them, and : took it down to the man waiting in the car. i CHAPTER XV. An Eligible Suitor. ' Sue was dressing for dinner in tho evening of the day when she had turned over the pearls lo the jeweller's representative. Mrs. Blanchard came to her room and looked with disapproval at the simple frock spread across the foot of the bed. I *'We are having guests for dinner, my dear. I think you'd better wear something a little'more formal. There is a little last summer's gown of Josephine's i which I think you could wear quite well. I'll send it in to you. and will you let mv maid do your hair. "Is this going to be a real party?" Sue asked. : "No, just a few good friends, but there is one man who is anxious to meet you; -he adores Highland' girls. I want you to be especially nice to him; we are all so fond.of him, and moreover." she broke otY with a little nervous "well—he is very wealthy, and therefore very eligible." When she had gone, Sue sat staring at her reflection in the dressing glass. So, she thought, it had come—the thing which Haskins has prophesied. Slie was expected to. relieve the Blanchards of her care at the first possible opportunity. She was to,make the most of her "visit. apparently, either that or "go back to deadly monotony, with only old Aunt Sally for company, and an occasional ride with Tom Sheldon for diversion. , i

She was still considering the situation when Mrs. Blanchard's maid came in with a wisp of rose-coloured chiffon over her arm. "Mrs. Blanchard sent this gown for I you, miss. l"d better do your hair |-before yon put it on. j Sue looked at it aghast; she had | never seen anything so scant, but she made no comments and submitted her I hair to the deft fingers of the maid. j V.'hen the task was completed and the rosy garment had been slipped over her smooth white shoulders, she had to own that the result was undeniably attractive. Though she felt: abashed and frightfully unclad, she gave no sign of it. when she entered the drawing room and was presented to the guests already assembled there. Mrs. Blachard had failed to mention i the name of the man to whom Sue must Ibe especially nice, but she had no diffij culty in picking him out. He was introi duced as a Sir. Hinkamp, and she thought him the most unattractive person she had ever met. He was small and blond, and inclined to baldness; under a little fuzzy moustache he showed front teeth like tablets; tlicy .gave to his mouth a perpetual expression of surprise. Before she had talked with I him five minutes, she discovered that his ! conversation consisted of banalities, and that he giggled. I She made herself very charming, howI ever, and before dinner was half over i the admirable Mr. Hinkamp was cap- | tivated. Mrs. Blanchard beamed her I approval, and the Colonel. v,ell pleased with the situation, was moved to open a precious bottle of old Sauterne. Joan excused, herself shortly after dinner on the pW of a headache, and j Roger, muttering about an engagement Jin town, departed also. Mrs. Blanchard looked after him with a worried expresi | sion, and sought the Colonel's eye sigII nificant.lv, but he was staring raptly at . the amber contents of his glass and ■ failed to notice. , Sue never quite knew how it happened. ; but she was left alone with the Hinkamp i man. She listened to bim politely and ; with apparent interest for two tiresome , hours before he took a reluctant depari ttire. When she was finally released and , went wearily upstairs to bed. she re- , called with tin pleasant distinctness , that she had promised to motor and i have tea with him on the following day. i and that the rest of the week was filled , I with tentative engagements with the ; ! same tiresome man. I Long after she had turned out her . light she lay in the darkness analysing the situation, turning over in her mmdi , i the possibility of evading her relatives'l ! determination to settle her matrimonial 1 ; future for her. Site thought of telling them that she was engaged to Tom I Sheldon, but realised clearly how little ; ' weight a youthful engagement with an impecunious young farmer in the fariauay north would have to a worldly j family like the Blanehards. She wonI dered if perhaps the colonel needed i money, and an alliance with Hinkamp would bring about financial assistance. She felt suddenly very lonely and forlorn and friendless there in the dark. , a stranger in a strange land with no one who really cared to whom to turn for comfort or succour. She would have : liked to put her head down on someone's ; shoulder and cry and be tenderly comforted; but despite her appearance, she ' was not the type for tears. She had : never really had anyone to help her in i her heartbreaking moments. So, stilling her tendency to emotion. ■ she switched on the bedside lamp, and -• selecting a book from the rack beside • her, she plunged resolutely into its 'pages, scarcely noting its title or its ' author. I Long afterward*, learned to look ! back with amazement on the significance i <;f this simple act. The Fate-that led her i to choose this particular volume came I near to breaking her in the'months that, ,! followed. . ! (To be continued daily.)