Evening Star Newspaper, September 21, 1930, Page 95

D. C, SEPTEMBER 21, 1930. rious . Pearl Robbery vrhumwmwm. The wire was dead. Doll found herself sitting in he gray dawn, _helpless. Impulsive love or her detective had drawn her into state- ments which might work the min of Mrs. Fro gham. *» Then the thunder and lightning intervened so that the whole truth had peen throttled in the telling. s Bud's morning laughter aroused her. She gave him his bteafkast. Her nerves were taut s she hugged him good-by and hurried to the She dismissed her taxi a half block beyond Crossman’s - and walked past the store, pre- ending not to see several brawny men, pacing b and forth. She got a block beyond the cene of action. By now her stray thoughts had crystallized into a purpSse. Doll was giddy with relief when Mrs. Froth- ngham herself opened the door of her apart- ent.- She was wearing her hat and coat. “Don’t go to Crossman’s now, Mrs. Froth- gham,” Doll begged as she glided in. Pride flashed over the older woman's face. vhy should I be going to Cressman's?” “Because,” said Doll breathlessly, “you want o get the Dewchester pearls out of the tray here you dropped them yesterday afternoon.” The effect was sudden, pitiful. Mrs. Froth- ngham was shriveling to a very old woman. boll hurried on, “Don’t go. A dozen detectives waiting to grab you. I know, because I'm detective myself ——" . Mrs. Frothingham settled weakly into a hall hair. “F must go. I can't let Rose suffer or my crime. 1 just sent her to buy all the earls in the tray——" % _“Listen, Mrs. Frothingham. Leave things to . I'm here to help you.” “Because I know you're incapable of doing nything like that unless you had a heavenly on for it. But you've got to tell me in a it I'm to do any good. I can't see how pu came to do it—why did you need to——" “You've been telling me about your boy, my ; * If he called for your help, is there any ime you wouldn't commit to save him;” Doll sat an instant, thinking of Bud. “I'd o anything,” she confessed and Mrs. Froth- gham resumed: “My boy Ralph. I wanted him to succeed h the law, but he choose to wander. He's een unfortunate, that's all. About four years o I found him a secretarvship in a benevo- nt society. Ralph did so well they made him easurer.” In a monotone she told the story. How iph had come to her, panic stricken, and ed to a misappropriation of many thou- of dollars. He had speculated, lost. In pe weeks his books would be examined. Mrs. Frothingham flew blindly to the task of storing her son to the world of honest men. pr two mad weeks she cudgled her brain, ving to invent some quick device for raising pusands. She discharged all her maids ex- pt Rosa; such jewels, silver and furniture she still possessed she began parting with for hat she could get. A lecture manager, who d a contract for her forthcoming tour, con- nted to advance her $2,000. : AD she been given more time, she might have raised the entire sum. She had ad- rtised her apartment for remt and evolved crazy plan of offering what was left of her piture as a premium for cash down. Things working out, but with cruel slowness. She had now a sum which lacked $8,000 of r Then Judge Landseer him at Fontelle's and pearls for his daugh- Judge Landseer was trustee estate, which was held trust until the widow's death. Several times Mrs. Frothingham had thought of borrowing om . the invested ecapital, but this would have re- guired the consert of Landseer. And how could she explain wanting $8,000 above her regular income? Nevertheless, on the morning of the theft at Fontelle’s she had decided to take a desperate chance and ask Judge Landseer's approval of her loan. . “I had no intention of taking the pearls. When I—I got them—I intended to pawn a few and get them back when my money came in. I've pawned four pearls already.” “But how did you get hold of them in the first place?” asked Doll. A “Judge Landseer and I had just gone into Fontelle's when that curiously dressed couple pushed their way up to Mr. Ryan- and asked for pearls.” “Then Mrs. Browning fainted,” supplied Doll. “Yes. As she fell she must have brushed her arm across the counter, for a string of pearls fell almost at. my feet. They were like an in- vitation. I picked them up, dropped them in my pocket. I seemed to be another person. And when I asked your detective to search me I knew they wouldn't. Fontelle is such a snob. So I went out of the store—protected by my own respectability. “I wore that string under my clothes day and night. It seemed to hurt me. And with all my pawning I hadn’t enough yet. I went right on with my public life; when I talked I felt that somebody was always behind me. And yester- day at Meeting Place Club I suddenly recog- nized you and knew what you were after. I had intended to pawn two more pearls that afternoon—that would have given me all I wanted. But when I saw you I only thought of running away. 5 “I asked Mrs. Vandermont to take me to Crossman’s. I wanted to get rid of the pearis in some way 80 I could get them back. I saw that tray of beads——" “I know,” sald Doll. “I shouldn't have sent Rosa to get them” Mrs. Frothingham whispered. “I'm going to give myself up.” “You'll do nothing of the sort.” Doll had risen and laid a firm hand ‘on a drooping shoulder. “I know the way detectives behave, and theyll be coming up here next. Now listen. I want you to admit nothing. .Be surprised at the very idea.” Then she whis- pered something in her ear. An impatient ring at the bell spelled Hector. It was Doll who opened the door to behold her husband, flanking the weeping Rosa on one side while a large detective guarded her on the other. In his right hand Hec held a paper bag. “Don’t stand there with that you-here ex- pression,” Doll commanded. “Is Mrs. Frothingham here?” “yes.” “What's got into you this moming?” L3 asked, and followed Doll into the drawing room, where Mrs. Frothingham sat. “This is my husband,” said Doll. Mrs. Prothingham smiled. “How do you do, “Mr. Stoat,” he corrected. “Oh, ' detectives’ wives have their noms de guerre, haven't they?” With concern Doll noted that Hectors air was forbidding. operators followed you to Crossman's yester- day afternoon and watched you go to the bar- gain jewel counter——" “But, Mr. Stoat——" JDOLL caught Mrs. Prothingham on the verge of a foolish denial and broke in: “Yes, Hec. 1 told you. She went to the tray of $3.97 pearls. Didn't you, Mrs. Frothingbam?” 13 By Wallace Irwin “Certainly, my dear.” Mrs. Frothingham’s face was stonily calm. “Just to help us, Mrs. Frothingham,” Hector resumed, “we’'d like you to answer a few gues- tions. Why did you buy a $3.97 string of pearls at Crossman’s yesterday?” “I wanted them——" G “She's having & fancy dress gown made for her daughter-in-law,” supplied Doll. “She wanted a sample.” “1 see.” Hec’s brows came down. ‘“Was that any reason, Mrs. Frothingham, why you should have stolen another cheap string?”’ “Steal?” Mrs. Frothingham straightened up. “If you wish to remain here, please avoid such offensive words.” “Well,” Hector had keyed his voice down, “the word may be offensive. But our operator re- ported that you took two of the cheap strings and paid for one. It's easy enough to see you were dropping the Dewchester string in the tray as a substitute’ for the cheap one. you bought. Then yoiu: stole another so that the saleslady wouldn't find one too many when she counted them. 4 “Mrs. Frothingham,” he went on, “we caught your servant this morning buying up the whole tray. You sent her o that you could get the Dewchesters back, but we seized the lot and we brought them here for identification. The Dewchester string is among those in this bag.” He opened the bag, dumped several strings on a table. “There are nine strings here Mrs. Frothing- ham,” he said, “and you'd help us by pointing out the Dewchesters among them.” Slowly, Mrs. Frothingham went over them. - “They all Jook exactly alike to me,” she de- edded calmly. “Very well then,” said Hector. “We've prought along Mr. Sullivan, our jewel expert. Marry, give these the once-over.” Then Harry went to work in a most original way. He rubbed the pearls against his teeth. “That’s the Oriengal test,” he grinned. “Real pearls are gritty on the teeth. Phony ones are smooth.” v " 0 string is gritty?” asked Heéctor a bit feverishly . “They’r: all smooth as a china plate,”. said Harry. “Fither the Dewchester pearls are fakes or they'r< not in that collection.” “I hor : you’ll forgive us, Mrs. Frothingham,” Doll s-'d, her hucband’s apology not being forthc ming. Mr . Frothingham’s handshake with Doll was alm- _t painfully tense. Y.hen the Stoats were driving away, Doll’s h.art reflected the hurt in her detective’s eyes. He mumbled something about failure. “Honey lamb,” she cried, “I started it all and I wanted to finish it.” “But why did my Doll imagine that Mrs, Frothingham was the thief?” . “Because she is—she was—no, she isn’t. Listen, Hec. She just borrowed the Dewchester pesris—she was going to send them back. But she needed money. To keep her out of jail.” "“Doll, are you trying to shield her?” She tried to brush the mist from her eyes. “I'm afraid so, dear.” “Do you know where the Dewchesters are now?” “Hec,” she was calm again, “if I tell you, are you going to sic the police on Mrs. Prothing- ham?” “That’s the last thing I'd think of. All Foge telle wants is his pearls back. And he’s such a snob he'd rather die than make trouble for Mrs. Prothingham. Say, Doll—" ¢ SH!.‘ opened her handbag and brought out the famous Dewchester string. Like a tiger Hee sprang on it. “Where did you get 'em, Doll?"” “At Crossman’s for $3.97. Just as soon as Mrs. Frothingham went out of there yesterday afternoon I went to the counter and asked to see the tray. I don't know a thing about pearls but T bought this string because it was shorter than the others and didn’'t have any price tag on it.” “You're a genius,” he muttered. “I'm a shopper,” she smiled. “I tried to tell you I had ’em when you phoned me—but the horrid thunder got in the way.” “There are four missing,” he decided. “Those are the ones she pawned.” Then irrelevantly, “How much reward is Fontelle go- ing to give us?” “Pifteen thousand.” “Grand! Get the money before noon, can you? We can get those four pearls out of hock and lend Mrs. Prothingham a couple of thou- sand more.” Hec looked at her quizzically. “Doll, why didn’t you tell me a lot of this before I acted that farce at Mrs. Prothingham’s just now?™ “I wanted to save her pride, my dcar. If I'd shown you the Dewchesters, then she’d have confessed everything.” All this was rather hysterical; but when Hector took her in his arms and told her she was the sweetest and queerest detective in the world, the cried a little, then slappd his cheek gently and said, “But you needn’t give me that fur I bet on Mr. Ryan.” (Copyright, 1990.) Strange Death Trap. Continued from Tenth Page of the Pacific was like that of the Atlantic, are wrong. Heretofore the same general laws were believed to apply to the movements of the water of both oceans. The Atlantic has been more carefully studied and it was taken for granted that, in general, what had been learned of the Atlantic would apply to the Pacific. “If we look at a map of the waters around the Antarctic continent we will realize that there is a tremendous amount of water in the Antarctic Ocean. It is believed at the present time that waters of the Antarctic affect the movement of the waters of the other oceans much more than the Arctic Ocean does. “This water in the Antarctic has an east-to- west movement, due to the rotation of the earth. When that portion of the waters to the south of the Atlantic reaches the coast of South America and the South Shetland Islands in their westward swing, they are driven by these land obstructions up along the east coast of South America. The warm waters of the At- lantic rush down to take their place. There is, therefore, in the Atlantic, a rapid exchange of water between the tropics and the Antarctic, and no water masses remain as subsurface strata for any length of time. “BUT consider how different are the condi- tions in the Pacific! As the Antarctic waters swing westward on the Pacific side of the Antarctic continent, there is no land mass to stop their progress and divert them north- * ward. Consequently, such exchange as does take place between the tropics and the Ant- arctic is very sluggish. However, the warm surface water from the tropics is light and tends to spread itself toward the south, and must be repiaced by Antarctic water moving very slowly toward the central part of the ocean. “There is not sufficient circulation to bring ° them rapidly to the surface, where they might take on a fresh supply of oxygen from the air, as the surface water does. As a result, this heavy Antarctic water becomes oxygenless, Jife- less. The Pacific, too, is in general deeper than the Atlantic—a fact which would tend to retard the movement of the lower strata of water. which has moved along in i Arctic, and where the two “But please remember,” Dr. Sverdrup csu- tioned as a parting shot, “that this explanation is merely an idea, a theory which has not yet been proved. In a few more years information may come to hand which will give this idea support or will furnish a different solution of the mystery.” " . {Copyright, 1930.) In the White House. Continued fnvm Third Page dent in the south grounds of the White House. This gives those who have traveled far to see the Chief Executive a glimpse of him and they are able to take home the treasured pictures. This procedure is easier for the President and seems to satisfy the visitors. As Mr. Akerson, secretary to the President, Yecently said regarding the position of the Chief Executive: “He must be protected from the smaller details and non-essentials, and yet he must be accessible to all those who are partici- pating with him in the conduct of the Govern- ment.” That means that 96 Senators and 435 Repre- sentatives, the members of the Ilegislative branch, must be able to ¢onfer with him at any time that they desire. Fortunately, the major- ity in both houses realize the tremendous bur- dens of the presidency and come to see the Chief Executive only on urgent business. Some persons have come to the White House who received an interview with the President - because of their ess and appeal. Not ago a Boy Scout from Rhode Island came office of the Executive Mansion and asked President's secretary. “I want to shake hands with the President. That's what I came to Washington for, with money I earned myself.” That boy was taken in to Mr. Hoover. He didn’'t need a Senator nor a Representative to introduce him, as is customary when visitors in the Capital wish to meet the President. It may be said without fear of dispute that no business man in the country works so hard, is so restricted and carries greater responsibili- ties. None has such little leisure and freedom to enjoy life. None earns such little -ppreel,. tion and reward, If the average American visiting Washington will contrast this sketchy view of the inside with the outside glamour of the presidency, he will go away a more appreciative and a wiser American, 4 (Copyright, 1930.) Some Ox. Willie entered the butcher shop g dressed the butcher. 4 o “Ma wants another ox tail,” he said. "And says the last oné you sent her was very ,"'wwtnm