"Where"s Kitty?"
He started to his feet. "She hasn"t got back from the opera yet.
She"ll be the death of me, one of these fine days. You know her. Like as not she"s stepped out of her cab to see what"s going on, and has lost herself."
"But the Crawfords were with her."
"Would that make any difference with Kitty if she wanted to get out? I told her not to wear any jewels, but she wouldn"t mind me. She never does. I haven"t any authority except in my offices. You and Kitty. . . ."
"Don"t scold!"
"All right; I won"t. But, all the same, you and the girl need checking."
"Daniel, it was only because I wanted something to occupy myself with.
It"s no fun for me to sit still in my house and watch everybody else work. The butler orders the meals, the housekeeper takes charge of the linen, the footman the carriages. Why, I can"t find a b.u.t.ton to sew on anything any more. I only wanted something to do."
Killigrew did not smile this time. Here was the whole matter in a nutsh.e.l.l: she wanted something to do. And there were thousands of others just like her. Man-like, he forgot that women needed something more than money and attention from an army of servants. He had his offices, his stock-ticker, his warfare. Not because she wanted to vote, but because she wanted and needed something to do.
"Molly, old girl, I begin to see. I"m going to finance a home-bureau of charity. I mean it. Fifty thousand the year to do with as you like. No hospitals, churches, heathen; but the needy and deserving near by. You can send boys to college and girls to schools; and Kitty"ll be glad to be your lieutenant. I never had a college education. Not that I ever needed it,"--with sudden truculence in his tone. "But it might be a good thing for some of the rising generations in my tenements. I"ll leave the choice to you. And when it comes to voting, why, tell me which way to vote, and I"ll do it. I"ll be a bull moose, if you say so."
"You"re the kindest man in the world, Dan, and I"m an old fool of a woman!"
Kitty burst into the room, star-eyed, pale. "Mother!" She sped to her mother"s side. "Oh, I felt it in my bones that something was going to happen!"
"Think of it, Kitty dear; your mother, fighting with a policeman! Oh, it was frightful!"
"Never mind, mumsy," Kitty soothed. She rang for the maid, a thing her father had not thought to do. And when her mother was snug in bed, her head in cooling bandages, her face and hands bathed in refreshing cologne, Kitty returned to her father, "Dad, you mustn"t say a word to mother about it, but I"ve been robbed."
"What?"
"My necklace. And I could not identify the thief if he stood before me this very minute. The interior light was out of order. He entered, pretending he had made a mistake. He called me Enid and told me to put up my collar; touched my neck with his hands. I was so astonished that I could not move. Finally I managed to explain that he had made a mistake. He apologized and got out; and it is quite evident that the necklace went with him."
"Can"t you remember the least thing about him?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing."
"Where were the Crawfords?"
"I did not wait to see them. My cab was ahead of theirs. What shall we do?"
"Notify the police; it"s all we can do. They cost me an even ten thousand, Kitty. And I told you not to wear them on a night like this.
I"m discouraged. I want to get out of this blasted country. I"m hoodooed." Killigrew walked the floor. He took out a cigar, eyed it thoughtfully, and returned it to his pocket. "Because they happen to be born in this smoke, they think the way they do things is the last word on the subject. I"d like to show them."
"Dad,"--with a bit of a smile,--"I know what the trouble is. You want to go home."
"And that"s the truth. This is the first trip abroad I ever took with you and your mother, and it"s going to be the last. I can"t live out of my element, which is hurry and bustle and getting things done quickly. I"m a fish out of water. I want to go home; I want to see the Giants wallop the Cubs; and I want my two-weeks" ba.s.s fishing. But I"ll hang on till the end of June as I promised. Ten thousand in sapphires you couldn"t match in a hundred years, and Molly coming in banged up like a prize-fighter! . . . Someone at the door."
It proved to be Crawford.
"Glad you got back safely," he said relievedly.
"Had her necklace stolen," replied Killigrew briefly.
"You don"t mean to say. . . ."
Kitty recounted her amazing adventure.
"And my wife"s ruby is gone." Crawford made the disclosure simply. He was a quiet man; he had learned the futility of gestures, of wasting words in lamentation.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Kitty.
"The windows of the cab were down. I stood outside, smoking to pa.s.s the time. Suddenly I heard Mrs. Crawford cry out. A hand had reached in from the off side, clutched the pendant, twisted it off, and was gone. All quicker than I can tell it. I tried to give chase, but it was utter folly. I couldn"t see anything two feet away. Mrs. Crawford is a bit knocked up over it. Rather sinister stone, if its history is a true one: the Nana Sahib"s ruby, you know. For the jewel itself I don"t care. I never liked to see her wear it."
Killigrew threw up his hands. "And this is the London you"ve been bragging about to me! How much was the ruby worth?"
"Don"t know; n.o.body does. It"s one of those jewels you can"t set a price on. He will not be able to dispose of it in its present shape.
He"ll break it up and sell the pieces, and that"s the shame of it.
Think of the infernal cleverness of the man! Two or three hundred vehicles stalled in the street, fog so thick you couldn"t see your hand before your face. Simple game for a man with ready wit. And the police busy at the two ends of the block, trying to straighten out the tangle. Mrs. Crawford says that the hand was white, slender and well kept. It came in swiftly and accurately. The man had been watching and waiting. She was so unprepared for the act that she didn"t even try to catch the hand. I have notified Scotland Yard. But you can"t hunt down a hand. I"m willing to wager that we"ll neither of us ever see the gems again."
"He must have come directly from your carriage to mine," said Kitty.
"I am heart-broken."
"One of the tricks of fate. Glad you got back all right. We were mightily worried. Come over across the hall at nine to-morrow, all of you, for breakfast. Don"t fuss up. And we"ll talk over the affair and plan what"s to be done. Good night."
"I like that young man," declared Killigrew emphatically. "He"s the real article. American to the backbone; a millionaire who doesn"t splurge. Well," sighing regretfully, "he was born to it, and I had to dig for mine. But I can"t get it through my head why he wants to excavate mummies when he could dig up potatoes with some profit."
"Dad, find me an earl or a duke like Mr. Crawford, and I"ll marry him just as fast as you like."
"Kittibudget, I"m not so strong for dukes as I was. Your mother will have a black eye in the morning, or I don"t know a shindy when I see it. Now, hike off to bed. I"m all in."
"You poor old dad! I worry you to death."
She threw her lovely arms about his neck and kissed him.
"Well, you"re worth it. Kitty, I"ve had a jolt to-night. You marry whom you blame please. I"ve been doing some tall thinking. Make your own romance, duke or dry-goods clerk. You"d never hook up with anything that wasn"t a man. You"re Irish. If he happens to be made, all well and good; if not, why, I"ll undertake to make him. And that"s a bargain. I don"t want any alimony money in the Killigrew family."
She kissed him again and went into her bedroom. Kind-hearted, impulsive old dad! In a week"s time he would forget all about this heart-to-heart talk, and shoo away every male who hadn"t a t.i.tle or a million, or who wasn"t due to fall heir to one or the other.
Nevertheless, she had long since made up her mind to build her own romance. That was her right, and she did not propose to surrender it to anybody. Her weary head on the pillow, she thought of the voices in the fog. "A wager"s a wager."
The next morning the fog was not quite so thick; that is, in places there were holes and punctures. You saw a man"s face and torso, but neither hat nor legs. Again, you saw the top of a cab bowling along, but no horse: phantasmally.
Breakfast in Crawford"s suite was merry enough. Misfortune was turned into jest. At least, they made a fine show of it; which is characteristic of people who bow to the inevitable whenever confronted by it. Crawford was pa.s.sing his cigars, when a page was announced.
The boy entered briskly, carrying a tray upon which reposed a small package.
"By special messenger, sir. It was thought you might be liking to have it at once, sir." The page pocketed the shilling politely and departed.
"That"s the first bit of live work I"ve seen anybody do in this hotel,"
commented Killigrew, striking a match.
"I have stopped here often," said Crawford, "and they are familiar with my wishes. Excuse me till I see what this is."