A ROMANCLE 1RO A DETECTIVES CASE-BOOK.

diamond pendant worth nearly a thousand pounds. Of course, she most mdignantly denied it. But the shopman insisted on agiving her o charge.”

“And was the pendant found cither in the brougham or on her person?”

“Oh, dear, no. Miss Artors begeed that the policeman and the shopman would get into the brougham, and that they should drive straight to Scotland Yard. "This was done ; and though the young lady and the brougham were alike scarched, the pendant was not forthcoming. Nevertheless, the shopman persisted 1 his accusation, and so there was no alternative but to place Miss Artots under arrest.”

“This 1s a very remarkable story,” 1 answered, “and may prove a very serious business indeed for the firm of jewcellers af they cannot justify their charge.”

“They will never be able to do that,” said

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Kingsley, warmly, “and you may depend upon it, they will have to pay dearly for their error. They mamntain, however, that they have certainly lost the jewel; that no one clse could possibly have taken it except Miss Artois; and that she must have managed to secrete 1t in some way. The whole charge, however, is preposterous, and I owish you to thoroughly prove the young lady's innocence m order that an action may be commenced against Whitney, Blake, and Montague.”

Promising my visitor that T would do my utmost in his interests, he took his departure, and then, highting a cigar, 1 fell to pondering on this --as I had to admit to mysclf—very remarkable case, assuming that all the facts were as stated by Mr. Kingsley.

It was too latc to take any steps that

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night, but immediately after breakfast the following morning I jumped into a hansom and drove to Whitney, Blake, and Montague’s place. As cveryone knows, they are a firm of world-wide renown, and I could not mmagine them committing such a grave error as to accuse a lady of theft, unless they had very strong reason for believing they werc right. 1 requested an interview with Mr. Whitney, and his version of the affair was substantially the same as that told to me by Mr. Kingsley.

“Of course,” added Mr. Whitney, “ we rely entirely upon the statement of our manager, Mr. John Coleman, who attended to the lady. Mr. Coleman, I may inform you, has been with the firm since he was seventeen years of age, and he 1s now over fifty. And as he 1s a partner in the firm, our faith in him s justified. However, you shall see Coleman and judge for yourself.”

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"HEE AFFAIR.

Mr. Whitneysounded his bell and requested that Mr. Coleman would come to the room. In a fcw mimutes Coleman entered. He at once struck me as being a very shrewd, keen-cyed man of business. And without any unnccessary verbiage he gave me his account of the affair ; according to which he devoted special attention to the young lady, as he thought she was going to be a good customer. There were other customers in the shop at the time, but he conducted her to one end of the counter where there was no one else. She caused him a good deal of trouble, and looked at a large number of things, but did not secem to know her own mind ; and at last went away without purchasing anything.

For some few moments just before she