The Jade Token

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 424, 15 November 1930, Page 12

The Jade Token

Serial Story

(By

Ralph Trevor)

(Author of “Under Suspicion,” etc.) (All Rights Reserved)

INSTALMENT SIX.

SYNOPSIS. A murder is committed in the surgery of Dr. Wallace Langley, he being decoyed from the place at the time. The police find the murdered man, named Conrad Ricks, has come from South .America, and had recently asked Jules Conn, an antique dealer, to.value a piece of jade set with a valuable ruby and inscribed with a hieroglyphics. This jade token is now missing.

Scotland Yard have been perplexed by a series of daring jewel robberies. Curtis Burke, a brilliant young detective, who is given control of the case, connects these robberies with the murder of Conrad Ricks.

Inspector Ames, an elderly detective. assists Burke. Ames is hostile to Dr. Langley, and feeling that, he is under suspicion, Langley consults Sir Garvicc Walkin, a great criminal lawyer. Langley is engaged to Sonia Cranston, a niece of Sir Garvice.

Sir Garvicc tells the young dntcor that, there is something suspicious about Inspector Ames.

Sir Garvice Watkin invites Burke to his country house for the week-end. and he there meets Ann Marvin, a friend of Sonia Cranston.

There is an atmosphere of mystery about Ann Marvin and Burke, although attracted to her, suspects her of being a criminal.

A gold crucifix belonging to Sir Garvice is stolen during the night. Looking for clues Burke finds a black bone button of an unusual type. There was only one man he knew who wore buttons like that, and that was Detective Inspector Ames, of Scotland Yard.

CHAPTER V.— Continued. The dog’s howl was taken up by his companions. The detective’s senses were equally alert. Something was happening down there on the dark lawn, something that defied analysis or description. Burke was glad that his own room was in darkness and so far as he could see, no lights were burning anywhere within the old house, for just then another shadow moved from out of the darkness that bad held Burke’s eyes prisoner for so many minutes, a shadow that moved with the stealth of a panther across tiie close-cropped turf towards the house almost immediately beneath his window.

Whether that nebulous shadow was a man or a woman, Burke could not tell, it seemed heavily cloaked. There was nothing clean-cut about it. Burke leaned out of his open window in the hopes of catching a further glimpse of this mysterious intruder, but he found that three feet below him a moulded cornice of the house projected shutting off his view of the perpendicular.

Softly he turned from the window. Something was going on down-stairs that interested him, something with a mysterious import.

Cautiously he turned back the key that stood in the lock of his bedroom door and opened it a few inches. A yellow-shaded light burned at the farther end and Burke thought this strange. He glanced at the luminous dial of the watch on his wrist. It needed but a few minutes to three o’clock, and he seemed surprised that the time had slipped past so quickly.

The stairs leading down to the hail were at the end of the corridor where the dim light was still burning. He felt in his pocket until his fingers touched the chill steel of the handy automatic revolver he invariably carried. Everywhere the big house was singularly quiet. Even the dogs down in the kennels had ceased their barking, evidently satisfied that the alarm had been a false one.

But Burke was In no hurry. He was still standing half inside the open doorway of bis room listening when he drew back hurriedly into the shadows. Someone had mounted the stairs from the hall below and was standing at the head of them apparently listening like himself and that someone was a woman.

Burke took a tight grip upon himself. Eagerly he look a second look around the angle of the door jamb as the soft pad of footsteps came to his ears and there, coming towards him along the corridor was .Ann Marvin, fully dressed in her costume of serviceable tweeds and a deep green felt hat pulled down over her face. She was walking unconcernedly towards him as though it was customary with her to wander about other people’s houses al. three o’clock in the morning.

Burke remembered that Ann’s room was further along down the corridor from his own and that to reach it she must pass his door. Quickly, yet softly be closed it and stood with his ear pressed against it, listening and holding his breath lest, it should betray him to the woman in the corridor. His keen ears heard the soft footfalls coming nearer and then, outside the door of his room they paused. Burke had an almost uncontrollable impulse to fling open his door and confront her. But of what avail would that be? She might easily laugh at him and make him look foolish. What right had he to demand any explanation of her. She was a guest in this house and presumably knew the conventions as well as he did. Also she was a friend of Sonia Cranston and might it not be possible that these two had. for some unaccountable reason, decided upon a nocturnal perambulation. All these thoughts Hashed in disconcerting sequence through his mind. It would probably be better for him to hold his hand for a while—to wait and see what, the morning might bring forth; so still in the dark Curls undressed and tumbled into bed.

The next morning Burke was early astir in spite of the lateness of the hour at which he had gone to sleep. Going downstairs, he was surprised to find Sir Garvice an early riser like himself.

‘’Good-morning, Burke,” greeted the lawyer. ‘‘l’m rather glad you’re on the premises. Someone paid us a visit last night, and went off with a rather valuable gold crucifix of which 1 was extremely fond.’’

CHAPTER VI. The Clue of The Button.

Curtis Burke was not quite so amazed at Sir Garvlce’s announcement as the lawyer might have suspected and if the latter thought anything at all about It as he led the way Into his study he probably imagined that such things were after all Burke’s job and that there was no reason why he should display any unnecessary enthusiasm.

Burke dropped into a chair and accepted a cigarette. ’’ I should like to know something about 11,” he said eagerly.

“ Jeeves came io my room wilh the news half an hour ago,” began Sir Garvice wilh characteristic directness.

‘ Told me that the crucifix was missing. I dressed quickly—too quickly for a man of my habits —and found what he had said was true. Someone got into the house last, night, and took just that. So far as we can ascertain nothing else was touched. It. was a definite single job. 1 don’t, know how an ’ entry was effected That’s for you io decide, but I’m damn sore about that crucifix.”

“In what room was it?” asked Burke.

Sir Garvice elevated his bushy eycbrovys in surprise at Burke's question. ’* You were in here yourself yesterday afternoon, Mr. Burke,” said the lawyer, drily, *• and yet you ask a question like that. Don’t, they teach observation at the Yard these days?”

Burke coloured under the intentional lash of the man’s words.

*’ It was at the far end of the room,” Burke told him, unmoved. ‘‘lt was a solid gold crucifix with a large ruby set in the centre of the horizontal, it, stood on that, table over there and was supported by two small blocks of polished ebony which had been specially prepared to lit the base of the perpendicualr On either side of the ruby—a curious device for a crucifix —were two words in obsolete Spanish which, I believe mean ‘Behold Me.’ Am I right, Sir Garvicc.’ ”

Sir Garvice Watkin pulled himself out of his chair and held out his hand.

'* I’m sorry, Burke,” he smiled, grimly. *’ That will teach me never to gibe al a detective again. Yes, you’re right—dead right. But let me tell you this. The door of this room was locked last night by my own hand. There is only one key and at the time the robbery' was commited it was with others on a key-ring under my pillowThe windows were all fastened and none of them shows any signs of having been tampered with. 1 shall know better next time. 1 shall never display a treasure like that again.”

Burke did not. heed the lawyer’s rather fulsome praise. Instead he *’ If the Containing the key of this room was under your pillow. Sir Garvice, how was it that Jeeves was able to tell you about the missing crucifix?” “Ab, 1 was forgetting,” supplied the lawyer. “ When Jeeves brings me a glass of hot water to my room every morning at six-thirty, 1 hand dim my bunch of keys in order that he can open up the house.” Burke grunted and rising from hie chair crossed over to the window Ilfl uhq nnf nll nirn fhu >» ealicflprl with

Burke grunted and rising from hie chair crossed over to the window He was not altogether satisfied with Sir Garvlce’s statement. Someone must have got the keys. But how?

“ You didn’t leave your key-ring lying about, by any chance?” asked Burke, turning swiftly from the window he had been examining. “ Not that 1 am aware of. Do you suspect someone in this house?” In an instant Burke had a vision o! Ann Marvin as he had seen her at three o’clock that morning stealing quietly along the corridor and he asked himself the question. Could Ann Marvin give a satisfactory account of her movements last night after the bridge party broke up? Burke was inclined to think that her story might lack the fire of conviction, but he did not want to think about it at all.

Turning once again to the third window, Burke noticed that it had been opened not long ago, for Sir Garvice had had the decorators in quite recently and the outside of Rio Court had been newly painted.

‘‘Can you remember whether this window has been open much since you had the place painted?” Burke’s voice was almost casual.

The lawyer crossed over to Burke before speaking. ’’That window has not been open since last summer,” he announced, decisively.

‘‘Then it was open last night,’’ said Burke, “and It was opened from the inside because there is no other way of releasing that patent spring catch. 1 think I’ll have a look round outside.”

“Breakfast is at nine, sharp,” warned Sir Garvice, as if the incident of the stolen crucifix had suddenly been banished from his mind.

“I’ve got a good three-quarters of an hour, then,’’ smiled the detective, glancing at the dock on the table. “By the way, Sir Garvice, you won’t let anyone leave until after breakfast, will you?”

“No one will be leaving, young man,” answered the lawyer, bluffly.

Burke left Sir Garvice in his study. He had gone to his desk again and taken from it a sheaf of legal looking documents fastened about with tiie usual narrow red tape, for Sir Garvice was no idler and believed that an hour before breakfast was often worth three afterwards.

Burke crossed over the hall and touched a bell that he knew would bring Jeeves to him.

When the old man arrived, Burke explained that Sir Garvice had told him about the burglary the night before.

“What made you notice that the crucifix had disappeared?” asked Burke, watching the old man's face intently. T presume you would do little more than unlock the door, open it and leave it at that.”

The butler did not reply for the moment. He seemed strangely embarrassed.

‘T would be bound to notice il, sir,” lie begun, rather nervously, “because, sir, I’m something of a religious man, sir, and every morning 1 stand in front uf that crucifix and. . . and. . .try to find guidance, sir. When 1 found it was gone it was like losing a friend.” (To be oondaued.)