"THE GILLINGHAM RUBIES,"

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 44, Issue 13589, 13 July 1918, Page 7

"THE GILLINGHAM RUBIES,"

(By Edgar Jepson.)

(COPYKIGHT.)

CHAPTER XXl.—Continued,

in such trouble of mind it wus no wonder that Barbara was slow in recovering her strength of body. Then one day she did feel stronger and she used her strength to press Dr. Urquhart to tell her the truth about her injury. He tried to esctipe from th 0 painful tusk, but Barbara would not be gainsaid; she was resolved to know the truth, and at last he admitted that she \yould have to use crutches, and added "for a time/ in a ton 0 with so little hope in it that Barbara made up her mind to the worst. When he had gone she lay for v long time too wretched to think. Josephine was in the room, but she could find no comfort to offer, and she said nothing. The idea that her mistress should be a cripple was hideous to her. She contented herself with gently bathing Barbara's temples with can de cologne. At last Barbara said m a hopeless tone, "Well, this is the end of everything.'-' 'But, no, mademoiselle,' ** cried .Josephine quickly. "You must not lose heart." "It's no. use shutting one's eyes to the facts," said Barbara. "A cripple and penniless—it's the end of everything." "But you are not penniless—not at all, mademoiselle. Thero are tlie rubies," said Josephine. "The rubies are sai'e as far as I am concerned. I've done with them," said Barbara. "I've done with all that. I wish —I wish I'd never begun it." "But it is impossible to be done with it," said Josephine quickly. 'Mademoiselle has the rubies." Barbara raised herself on her elbow and stared at her. "What on earth do you mean?" she said. Josephine laughed—a gentle, joyous, rippling laugh, a laugh full of gleeful mischief aud triumph. "It wa.s the big, red idiot boast! " , she said. "He sent m e that night, after the docto rhad reduced the deeslocation —to get the red Avig and hide it more safely. And I had the keys —tho keys of the safe. I took them from you, mademoiselle, when you were on the sofa, insensible. And I went downstairs with my little bag, and I found the wig under the bush —where the big, red, idiot beast had told me. I vut the wig in the bag, mid I came back through the, Blue Room. I think to myself, '"Why not;' Why lose the chance ■'*' There was no hurry. Everyone was sleeping so sound. They had been disturbed, look you. 1 go into the little room behind the panel; I open the safe —so easily, and I take the rubies —oh, but they are marvellous! —out of the cages, and I put them into niy bag. I come upstairs and put them in my trunk —quite "Well—well, I said you wore a trea. sure!'' said Barbara faintly. Josephine laughed again her rivvliug, mischievous laugh, and went on: "And on the Monday—the day I left you so long, mademoiselle —M. Leroux drove mo in one of the motor cars of the Marquess to Claybury; I catch the rapide to London, and put the rubies in madenioiscU'g bank —just iv time before it close. I come back to Claybury by rapide also, and M. Leroux drove me back. So mademoiselle has the rubies in the bank." Barbara sank back on the pillow with her mind in a whirl; here was salvation —salvation for Sibyl. Her face was transfigured with relief and joy. But slowly it clouded aud grew darker and darker. On that bed of suffering she had come to see things in other proportions. Presently she said: "It's no good, Josephine; I can't have the rubies." "Not have them? But how, You have them, mademoiselle!" cried Josephine in a tone of utter amazement. "It's no good," said Barbara wearily. '' Lying here, thinking aud thinking, has made things seem different. The rubies must be restored to the Marquess. It's the only right thing to do, and I've got to do it." She spoke wearily, but in a tone of unalterable resolution. Josephine argued with her and implored ami entreated her. But in vain. Not even Josephine's tears at the idea of the thought that Sibyl must suffer, moved her from her resolve. At last Josephine abandoned the effort and said in a tone of resignation: "Bien, mademoiselle." Then she added: "C'est magniilque, mais cc nest pas la vie." "No; but it's got to be," said Barbara. "The question is, how are we to restore them to their rightful owner?" "He is such an imbecile, tho good Marquess," said Josephine sadly. "We can't help that; he was born so," said Barbara with conviction. She cudgelled her brains for a while, [ then suddenly sho smile dand said: ! "Kitty Meredith shall do it. Look, Josephine, you have never played the part of Kitty Meredith. It is only right that for the last time it should be played by you, the last time and the only time that that young woman plays a noble part. You'll go to town with the red wig in your bag. You'll go to my bank and take the rubies out of it; then you'll go to the flat and disguise yourself as Kitty Meredith. You'll never get those brown eyes green enough, but I think you'll get them greenish. Then you take the rubies to the Marquess's bank, hand them over to the manager, and tell him to inform the Marquess that they have been safely received. You won't have to say much. It isn't as though you were trying to get something out of the bank." Josephine laughed and clapped her hands. "Oh, but it will be fun, mademoiselle!" she cried. The next morning Josephine went up to London by an early train. Neither she nor Barbara was aware that the Marquess had discovered that the rubies had gone at about the very same hour at which Barbara had learnt that they were in the vaults of her bank. The Marquess had been reticent; he had told ' no one. Josephine got the rubies out of Barbara's bank, went to the fiat and disguised herself as much like Kitty Meredith as her dark eyes would allow, and betook herself to the bank of the j Marquess, with the rubies neatly wrap- ' ped up in a brown paper parcel. 1 She was not afflicted by any nervous tremours; to her the fact that she was carrying about the streets of London a hundred thousand pounds' worth of stolen rubies appeared an excellent joke and nothing more; and she came into the bank smiling joyously, - with Barbara's careful instructions very clear in her head. She handed; the nearest clerk the brown paper parcel, and said that tho Marquess of Gillingham had asked her

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT A UIiILLIANT STOKY OF SOCIETY SENSATION

1o leave it at the bank for him to be taken caro of in its vaults. She received a receipt, made out to Miss Kitty Meredith, for the brown paper parcel, and having asked that the Marquess should be informed that it had been safely received, bade tho bank official who had attended to her a blithe goodday, and came cheerfully out of the bank rather less than live minutes after entering it. She returned to the i!at, and, as Barbara had bidden her, destroyed the red wig. As Josephine came down the steps of the bank Absalom was ascending the stairs to the tlat of Jasper Forbes in Jermyn street. He went up them smiling grimly, with tho light of battle in his eyes, lie was prepared to make the purchase of the rubies a peaceful transaction; but his hope was. that the explorer would make a fight for it. He was even more angry with him for encouraging Barbara in her war on society than ho had been with Ferdinand Ferrer. Ferrer was a worm, and all his training had probably been of a nature to develop his wormy instincts. lint Jasper Forbes had been at Eton and Christehurch; he had had the chance to learn better.' Moreover, the matter of the stolen kiss rankled in his mind. He found the explorer lying back in an easy chair, smoking v. cigar and studying a price list. lie, gave Absalom a look of very keen enquiry as his man ushered him into the room, but he said carelessly enough: "Hullo, Gommc; how are you? You'll find that chair comfortable." And he nodded to the easy chair which faced that on which he was sitting. "How are you?" said Absaolm, sitting down in it, and they eyed on© another keenly as the man closed the door. "I've come to buy the Gillingham rubies of you at Ferrer's price," said Absalom, who saw no point in beating about the bush. He thought that the look of surprise on the explorer's face was very well done. "Is this humour —American humour?" drawled Jasper Forbes in a, tone meant to irritate.

(To be Continued.)