OUR NEW SERIAL. THE KING DIAMOND.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 25 June 1928, Page 8

OUR NEW SERIAL. THE KING DIAMOND.

By

FRED M. WHITE.

CHAPTER XXVI. (Continued.)

Whereupon Putress made a clean breast of it. He told Paradine how he had taken the stone with the intention of dazzling the little chorus girl and how he had allowed himself to be persuaded to give her the loan of

it for one evening. Then he went on to describe the pitiful story that Cora Lee had poured into his ear after that

night at the Babylon Club. „ “Ah, now we shan’t be very long, Paradine said. "It is, a great pity you didn’t tell me this before, because it would have saved a good deal of un-

necessary trouble. ' If you will give me the address of your little actress friend, I will go round to her and hear her side of l the business. But one thing I must impress upon you, Mr Putress. Not a word of this must pass your lips. I will impress the same thing upon Miss Lee. I want you both to behave as if nothing had happened, and let Cleopatra imagine that she has got away with the plunder and I will see that she hands it over to the pro-

per quarter when the times comes. Paradine went away, leaving Putress looking very small and foolish but, at the same time, considerably easier in his mind. If the worst came to the worst, the firm would have to pay, but the firm could stand that and anything was better than a public scandal for an ambitious young man who was just beginning to climb his way into really exalted society. It was quite an easy job that Paradine had with Cora Lee. He had only to proclaim his name and business to have her sobbing bitterly as she told all that happened on that dramatic evening in the Babylon Club. Her tale was so straightforward and convincing that Paradine believed every word of it.

“I hope this will be a lesson to you,” he said in conclusion. “Now, there is one thing you must do, or rather, one thing you must not do. You must not say a word of this to anybody. Go on as if nothing had happened and if you meet Cleopatra, behave to her just as usual. That is all. It was - an hour or two later that Lionel Bly walked into Paradine’s office at Scotland Yard. „ “Well, is there any further news, he asked. “Oh, quite a lot,” Paradine said. “Not that I am much further with regard to the Slaney business, but I do know where the' missing diamond is, and all the mysterious adventures that stone has had during the last few W “The deuce you do,” Bly said. “Have you got it?” “No, I haven’t,” Paradine said. "But Cleopatra has.” , “What, again?” Bly exclaimed. That is a most amazing woman. Tell me all about it.”

Paradine related the story of the last few days, to which Bly listened with close attention. At any rate, they knew where the stone was now and where to put their hands upon it when the psvehological moment arrived. “I think we can leave it where it is,” Bly said. “Now, what about the

(To be continued).

Slaney side of the business? Have I convinced you at last that the poor old man was murdered?” “I am coming round to that view,” . Paradine confessed. “So much so that I am seriously contemplating taking out a warrant for Zambra’s arrest on the off-chance of forcing a confession out of him. There is plenty of evidence to justify me in so doing. But

where is the proof and how' was it done?" “I don’t know, but I almost think I can tell you,” Bly-said. “I have been talking the matter over with a medical friend of mine and he has given me some startling information. And yet quite a simple solution of the problem. I suppose there is no chance of us being overheard here.” Paradine gave the desired assurance and Bly spoke earnestly for a few crisp moments. Then Paradine jumped to his feet and smote his fist vigorously on the table. “The very thing,” he cried. “You’ve got it! There is only one link and we ought to be able to supply that. I w’ill take out a warrant for Zambra’s arrest this very afternoon.” But though Paradine duly carried out his decision and obtained his warrant in the course of an hour or so, seek high, seek low, Zambra was nowhere to be found. CHAPTER XXVII.

There was no question that Zambra had vanished in a neat and artistic manner which left Paradine fairly guessing. Probably the man had slipped out of the country by some obscure route, Jersey for example; at any rate he was nowhere to be found and the authorities were left to make the best of the problem. So far as Paradine

could see, there was no reason whatever why Zambra should disappear just at that particular moment. Indeed, on the contrary, he had every inducement to remain in England, because Paradine could not see a criminal of Zambra’s type quietly, allowing the King Diamond to remain in Cleopatra’s possession. There was no process out against him either, and it was impossible that Zambra could have had even

the smallest inkling of the net which the police were busily engaged in weaving around him. Possibly if Paradine had gone .to Cleopatra, she might have told him something useful. On the other hand,

again, she might not. Paradine was shrewd enough to see that it was greatly to Cleopatra’s interest to have Zambra out of the way. She had got the King Diamond back with every intention of keeping it. And so long as Zambra was hanging about, there was always a chance of her failing to retain her hold on the treasure. But if she could once drive Zambra out of the country and make it too hot to hold him, then she could snap her fingers at the master criminal so long as she remained in England. It was just likely, with her' intimate I knowledge, that she had dropped a hint < to somebody of whom Zambra stood in mortal dread and thus force him to seek shelter and safety a long way off.

And in this Paradine was not far wrong. .Cleopatra, happjTin the knowledge that she had regained possession of the great stone, and feeling that nobody would ever learn how she had achieved the desired end, had not failed to realise the peril in which she stood so long as Zambra remained in London. With her intimate knowledge of his past, it was not difficult for her to drop a hint in a certain quarter which she proceeded to do by means of an anonymous letter. She knew that within an hour or two the information would be conveyed to certain people in London who were in touch with the South African police and, once this was done, she felt easier in her mind.

She had little or no ready money and her salary was already more or less mortgaged. But on the other hand, she had the King Diamond so that the loss of all the cash invested in City speculations was a matter of no great moment. She had rid herself of the peril that hung over her so she put Zambra out of her mind with an easy conscience. She had done with him for ever and hoped that she might never hear of him again. Meanwhile, Zambra had had a warning from another and altogether unexpected quarter. It so happened that about the time that Cleopatra had posted her anonymous letter, Zambra was partaking of a modest meal in an obscure restaurant which fitted in with his present limited resources. He had nearly finished when a shabby-looking individual slid furtively into the place and came up to the table where the adventurer was seated. Zambra looked up with a scowl of anger on his face. “ Well,” he said, “ what do you want? Clear out of this at once. I cannot afford to be .seen even here with a scarecrow like you. And if you want money, Lurcher, you can’t have it. You ought to know that you wouldn’t find me in a place like this if I had as much as a five-pound note in my pocket.”