CHAPTER XV
A FEW PEARLS
The next morning Patsy, Beth and Louise met in earnest conference overthe important proposition made them by young Jones, and although UncleJohn and Arthur Weldon were both present the men took no part in thediscussion.
"Some doubt has been expressed," said Beth judicially, "that Ajo isreally able to finance this big venture. But he says he is, and that hewill carry it through to the end, so I propose we let him do it."
"Why not?" asked Louise. "If he succeeds, it will be glorious. If hefails, we will suffer in no way except through disappointment."
"Well, shall we accept this offer, girls?"
"First," said Louise, "let us consider what we will have to do, on ourpart, when the twenty theatres are built and the film factory is inoperation."
"We are to be the general managers," returned Patsy. "We must select thesubjects, or plots, for the pictures, and order them made under ourdirection. Then we must see that all of our theatres present them in aproper manner, and we must invite children to come and see the shows. Iguess that's all."
"That will be enough to keep us busy, I'm sure," said Beth. "But we willgladly undertake it, and I am sure we shall prove good managers, as soonas we get acquainted with the details of the business."
"It will give us the sort of employment we like," Patsy assured them."Our first duty will be to plan these theatres for children, and makethem as cosy and comfortable as possible, regardless of expense. Ajo willpay the bills, and when all the buildings are ready we will set to workin earnest."
So, when A. Jones appeared he was told that the girls would gladly accepthis proposition. The young man seemed greatly pleased by this verdict. Heappeared to be much better and stronger to-day and he entered eagerlyinto a discussion of the plans in detail. Together they made a list of astring of twenty theatres, to be built in towns reaching from SantaBarbara on the north to San Diego in the south. The film factory was tobe located in the San Fernando Valley, just north of Hollywood.
This consumed the entire forenoon, and after lunch they met a prominentreal estate man whom Jones had summoned to the hotel. This gentleman wasgiven a copy of the list of locations and instructed to purchase in eachtown the best site that could be secured for a motion picture theatre.This big order made the real estate man open his eyes in surprise.
"Do you wish me to secure options, or to purchase the landoutright?" he asked.
"Be sure of your locations and then close the deals at once," repliedJones. "We do not wish to waste time in useless dickering, and a locationin the heart of each town, perhaps on the main street, is more importantthan the price. You will, of course, protect me from robbery to the bestof your ability; but buy, even if the price is exorbitant. I will thisafternoon place a hundred thousand dollars to your credit in the bank,with which to make advance payments, and when you notify me how much moreis required I will forward my checks at once."
"That is satisfactory, sir. I will do the best I can to guard yourinterests," said the man.
When he had gone the girls accompanied Ajo in a motorcar to Los Angeles,to consult an architect. They visited several offices before the boy, whoseemed to estimate men at a glance, found one that satisfied him. Thegirls explained with care to the architect their idea of a luxuriouspicture theatre for children, and when he had grasped their conception,which he did with enthusiasm, he suggested several improvements on theirimmature plans and promised to have complete drawings ready to submit tothem in a few days.
From the architect's office they drove to the German-American Bank, whereAjo gave his check for a hundred thousand dollars, to be placed to thecredit of Mr. Wilcox, the real estate agent. The deference shown him bythe cashier seemed to indicate that this big check was not the extent ofA. Jones' credit there, by any means.
As they drove back to Hollywood, Patsy could not help eyeing thisyouthful capitalist with wonder. During this day of exciting businessdeals the boy had behaved admirably, and there was no longer a shadow ofdoubt in the minds of any of Uncle John's nieces that he was both ableand anxious to carry out his part of the agreement.
Patsy almost giggled outright as she thought of Le Drieux and hisridiculous suspicions. One would have to steal a good many pearls inorder to acquire a fortune to match that of the Sangoan.
He was speaking of Sangoa now, in answer to a question of Beth's.
"Yes, indeed," said he, "Sangoa is very beautiful, and the climate iseven more mild than that of your Southern California. The north coast isa high bluff, on which is a splendid forest of rosewood and mahogany. Myfather would never allow any of these magnificent trees to be cut, excepta few that were used in building our house."
"But how do your people live? What is the principal industry of yourislanders?" asked Beth.
"My people are--fishermen," he said, and then the automobile drew upbefore the hotel entrance and the conversation ended.
It was on the following afternoon, as they all met in the hotel lobbyafter lunch, that a messenger handed young Jones a neat parcel, for whicha receipt was demanded. Ajo held the parcel in his hand a while,listening to the chatter of the girls, who were earnestly discussingplans for the new picture enterprise. Then very quietly and unobtrusivelyhe unwrapped the package and laid upon the table beside him several smallboxes bearing the name of a prominent jeweler.
"I hope," said he, taking advantage of a pause caused by the girlsobserving this action, and growing visibly confused by their involuntarystares of curiosity; "I--I hope that you, my new friends, will pardon aliberty I have taken. I wanted to--to present those who were instrumentalin saving my life with--with a--a slight token of my gratitude--a sortof--of--memento of a brave and generous act that gave me back the life Ihad carelessly jeopardized. No," as he saw surprise and protest writtenon their faces, "don't refuse me this pleasure, I implore you! Thelittle--eh--eh--mementos are from my own Island of Sangoa, with thenecessary mountings by a Los Angeles jeweler, and--please accept them!"
As he spoke he handed to each of the girls a box, afterward giving one toUncle John and another to Arthur. There remained upon the table threeothers. He penciled a name upon the bottom of each and then handed themto Patsy, saying:
"Will you kindly present these, with my compliments, to the MissesStanton, and to their aunt, when they return this evening? Thank you!"
And then, before they could recover from their astonishment, he turnedabruptly and fled to his room.
The girls stared at one another a moment and then began laughing. Arthurseemed crestfallen, while Uncle John handled his small box as gingerly asif he suspected it contained an explosive.
"How ridiculous!" cried Patsy, her blue eyes dancing. "And did younotice how scared poor Ajo was, and how he skipped as fearfully as thoughhe had committed some crime? But I'm sure the poor boy meant well. Let'sopen our boxes, girls, and see what foolishness Ajo has been up to."
Slipping off the cover of her box, Beth uttered a low cry of amazementand admiration. Then she held up a dainty lavalliere, with a pendantcontaining a superb pearl. Louise had the mate to this, but the one Patsyfound had a pearl of immense size, its color being an exquisite shade ofpink, such as is rarely seen. Arthur displayed a ring set with a splendidwhite pearl, while Uncle John's box contained a stick pin set with a hugeblack pearl of remarkable luster. Indeed, they saw at a glance that thesize and beauty of all these pearls were very uncommon, and while theothers expressed their enthusiastic delight, the faces of Mr. Merrick andPatsy Doyle were solemn and perplexed. They stared at the pearls withfeelings of dismay, rather than joy, and chancing to meet one another'seyes they quickly dropped their gaze to avoid exchanging the uglysuspicion that had forced itself upon their minds.
With a sudden thought Patsy raised her head to cast a searching glancearound the lobby, for although their party was seated in an alcove theywere visible to all in the big room of which it formed a part. Yes, Mr.Isidore Le Drieux was standing near them, as she had feared, and theslight sneer up
on his lips proved that he had observed the transfer ofthe pearls.
So the girl promptly clasped her lavalliere around her neck and openlydisplayed it, as a proud defiance, if not a direct challenge, to thatdetestable sneer.
Arthur, admiring his ring in spite of his chagrin at receiving such agift from a comparative stranger, placed the token on his finger.
"It is a beauty, indeed," said he, "but I don't think we ought to acceptsuch valuable gifts from this boy."
"I do not see why," returned his wife Louise. "I think these prettytributes for saving Mr. Jones' life are very appropriate. Of courseneither Beth nor I had anything to do with that affair, but we areincluded in the distribution because it would be more embarrassing toleave us out of it."
"And the pearls came from Sangoa," added Beth, "so all these preciousgifts have cost Ajo nothing, except for their settings."
"If Sangoa can furnish many such pearls as these," remarked Arthur,reflectively, "the island ought to be famous, instead of unknown. Theirsize and beauty render the gems priceless."
"Well," said Patsy soberly, "we know now where A. Jones got his money,which is so plentiful that he can build any number of film factories andpicture theatres. Sangoa must have wonderful pearl fisheries--don't youremember, girls, that he told us his people were fishermen?--for each ofthese specimens is worth a small fortune. Mine, especially, is thelargest and finest pearl I have ever seen."
"I beg your pardon!" sternly exclaimed Uncle John, as he whirled swiftlyaround. "Can I do anything for you, sir?"
For Mr. Le Drieux had stealthily advanced to the alcove and was glaringat the display of pearls and making notes in a small book.
He bowed, without apparent resentment, as he answered Mr. Merrick: "Thankyou, sir; you have already served me admirably. Pardon my intrusion."
Then he closed the book, slipped it into his pocket and with another lowbow walked away.
"What rank impertinence!" cried Arthur, staring after him. "Somenewspaper reporter, I suppose. Do you know him, Uncle John?"
"He forced an introduction, a few evenings ago. It is a pearlmerchant from New York, named Le Drieux, so I suppose his curiosityis but natural."
"Shall we keep our pearls, Uncle?" asked Beth.
"I shall keep mine," replied the little man, who never wore any ornamentof jewelry. "It was generous and thoughtful in young Jones to presentthese things and we ought not offend him by refusing his 'mementos,' ashe calls them."
Perhaps all the nieces were relieved to hear this verdict, for alreadythey loved their beautiful gifts. That evening the Stanton girls andtheir Aunt Jane received their parcels, being fully as much surprised asthe others had been, and their boxes also contained pearls. Flo and Maudhad lavallieres, the latter receiving one as large and beautiful as thatof Patsy Doyle, while Mrs. Montrose found a brooch set with numeroussmaller pearls.
Patsy urged them all to wear the ornaments to dinner that evening, whichthey did, and although Jones was not there to observe the effect of thesplendid pearls, Mr. Le Drieux was at his place in the dining room andmade more notes in his little book.
That was exactly what Patsy wanted. "I can't stand the suspense of thisthing," she whispered to Uncle John, "and if that man wants anyinformation about these pearls I propose we give it to him. In that wayhe will soon discover he is wrong in suspecting the identity of JackAndrews and A. Jones."
Mr. Merrick nodded absently and went to his corner for a smoke. Arthursoon after joined him, while Aunt Jane took her bevy of girls to anotherpart of the loge.
"Le Drieux will be here presently," said Uncle John to young Weldon.
"Oh, the fellow with the book. Why, sir?"
"He's a detective, I think. Anyhow, he is shadowing Jones, whom hesuspects is a thief."
He then told Arthur frankly of his former conversation with Le Drieux,and of the puzzling photograph.
"It really resembles the boy," he admitted, with a frown of perplexity,"yet at the same time I realized the whole thing was absurd. NeitherPatsy nor I can believe that Jones is the man who robbed an Austriancountess. It's preposterous! And let me say right now, Arthur, that I'mgoing to stand by this young fellow, with all my influence, in case thosehounds try to make him trouble."
Arthur did not reply at once. He puffed his cigar silently while herevolved the startling accusation in his mind.
"Both you and Patsy are staunch friends," he observed, after a while,"and I have noticed that your intuition as regards character is seldomat fault. But I advise you, in this instance, not to be hasty, for--"
"I know; you are going to refer to those pearls."
"Naturally. If I don't, Le Drieux will, as you have yourself prophesied.Pearls--especially such pearls as these--are rare and easy to recognize.The world does not contain many black-pearls, for instance, such as thatyou are wearing. An expert--a man with a photograph that stronglyresembles young Jones--is tracing some stolen pearls of great value--acollection, I think you said. We find Jones, a man seemingly unknownhere, giving away a number of wonderful pearls that are worthy a place inany collection. Admit it is curious, Uncle John. It may be all acoincidence, of course; but how do you account for it, sir?"
"Jones has an island in the South Seas, a locality where most of theworld's famous pearls have been found."
"Sangoa?"
"Yes."
"It is not on any map. This man, Le Drieux, positively stated that thereis no such island, did he not?"
Uncle John rubbed his chin, a gesture that showed he was disturbed.
"He was not positive. He said he thought there was no such island."
"Well, sir?"
"If Jones could lie about his island, he would be capable of the theft ofthose pearls," admitted Mr. Merrick reluctantly.
"That is conclusive, sir."
"But he isn't capable of the theft. Le Drieux states that Jack Andrews isa society swell, an all-around confidence man, and a gambler. Jones is adiffident and retiring, but a very manly young fellow, who loves quietand seems to have no bad habits. You can't connect the two in anypossible way."
Again Arthur took time to consider.
"I have no desire to suspect Jones unjustly," he said. "In fact, I havebeen inclined to like the fellow. And yet--his quaint stories and hisfoolish expenditures have made me suspicious from the first. You havescarcely done justice to his character in your description, sir. To us heappears diffident, retiring, and rather weak, in a way, while in hisintercourse with Goldstein he shows a mailed fist. He can be hard asnails, on occasion, as we know, and at times he displays a surprisingknowledge of the world and its ways--for one who has been brought up onan out-of-the-way island. What do we know about him, anyway? He tells atale no one can disprove, for the South Seas are full of small islands,some of which are probably unrecorded on the charts. All this mightpossibly be explained by remembering that a man like Jack Andrews isundoubtedly a clever actor."
"Exactly!" said a jubilant voice behind them, and Mr. Isidore Le Drieuxstepped forward and calmly drew up a chair, in which he seated himself."You will pardon me, gentlemen, for eavesdropping, but I was curious toknow what you thought of this remarkable young man who calls himself'A. Jones.'"
Arthur faced the intruder with a frown. He objected to being startled inthis manner. "You are a detective?" he asked.
"Oh, scarcely that, sir," Le Drieux replied in a deprecating way. "Myprinted card indicates that I am a merchant, but in truth I am a specialagent, employed by the largest pearl and gem dealers in the world, a firmwith branches in every large European and American city. My name is LeDrieux, sir, at your service," and with a flourish he presented his card.
The young rancher preferred to study the man's face.
"I am a sort of messenger," he continued, placidly. "When valuableconsignments of jewels are to be delivered, I am the carrier instead ofthe express companies. The method is safer. In twenty-six years of thiswork I have never lost a single jewel."
"One firm employs you exclusively,
then?"
"One firm. But it has many branches."
"It is a trust?"
"Oh, no; we have many competitors; but none very important. Our closestrival, for instance, has headquarters on this very coast--in SanFrancisco--but spreads, as we do, over the civilized world. YetJephson's--that's the firm--do not claim to equal our business. They dealmostly in pearls."
"Pearls, eh?" said Arthur, musingly. "Then it was your firm that lost thevaluable collection of pearls you mentioned to Mr. Merrick?"
"No. They were the property of Countess Ahmberg, of Vienna. But we hadsold many of the finest specimens to the countess and have records oftheir weight, size, shape and color. The one you are now wearing, sir,"pointing to Uncle John's scarf pin, "is one of the best black pearls everdiscovered. It was found at Tremloe in 1883 and was originally purchasedby our firm. In 1887 I took it to Tiffany, who sold it to Prince Godesky,of Warsaw. I carried it to him, with other valuable purchases, and afterhis death it was again resold to our firm. It was in October, 1904, thatI again became the bearer of the pearl, delivering it safely to CountessAhmberg at her villa. It was stolen from her, together with 188 otherrare pearls, valued at a half million dollars, a little over a year ago."
"This pearl, sir," said Uncle John stiffly, "is not the one you referto. It was found on the shores of the island of Sangoa, and you havenever seen it before."
Le Drieux smiled sweetly as he brushed the ashes from his cigar.
"I am seldom mistaken in a pearl, especially one that I have handled,"said he. "Moreover, a good pearl becomes historic, and it is my businessto know the history of each and every one in existence."
"Even those owned by Jephson's?" asked Arthur.
"Yes; unless they were acquired lately. I have spoken in this manner inorder that you may understand the statements I am about to make, and Ibeg you to listen carefully: Three daring pearl robberies have takenplace within the past two years. The first was a collection scarcelyinferior to that of the Countess Ahmberg. A bank messenger was carryingit through the streets of London one evening, to be delivered to LadyGrandison, when he was stabbed to the heart and the gems stolen.Singularly enough, Jack Andrews was passing by and found the dyingmessenger. He called for the police, but when they arrived the messengerhad expired. The fate of the pearls has always remained a mystery,although a large reward has been offered for their recovery."
"Oh; a reward."
"Naturally, sir. Four months later Princess Lemoine lost her wonderfulpearl necklace while sitting in a box at the Grand Opera in Paris. Thiswas one of the cleverest thefts that ever baffled the police, for thenecklace was never recovered. We know, however, that Jack Andrewsoccupied the box next to that of the princess. A coincidence--perhaps. Wenow come to the robbery of the Countess Ahmberg, the third on the list.Jack Andrews was a guest at her house, as I have explained to you. Noblame has ever attached to this youthful adventurer, yet my firm, alwaysinterested in the pearls they have sold, advised me to keep an eye on himwhen he returned to America. I did so.
"Now, Mr. Merrick, I will add to the tale I told you the other night.Andrews behaved very well for a few weeks after he landed at New York;then he disposed of seven fine pearls and--disappeared. They were notnotable pearls, especially, but two of them I was able to trace to thenecklace of Princess Lemoine. I cabled my firm. They called attention tothe various rewards offered and urged me to follow Andrews. That wasimpossible; he had left no clue. But chance favored me. Coming here toLos Angeles on business, I suddenly ran across my quarry: Jack Andrews.He has changed a bit. The mustache is gone, he is in poor health, and Iam told he was nearly drowned in the ocean the other day. So at first Iwas not sure of my man. I registered at this hotel and watched himcarefully. Sometimes I became positive he was Andrews; at other times Idoubted. But when he began distributing pearls to you, his new friends,all doubt vanished. There, gentlemen, is my story in a nutshell. What doyou think of it?"
Both Mr. Merrick and young Weldon had listened with rapt interest, buttheir interpretation of the tale, which amounted to a positiveaccusation of A. Jones, showed the difference in the two men's natures.
"I think you are on the wrong trail, sir," answered Mr. Merrick."Doubtless you have been misled by a casual resemblance, coupled withthe fact that Andrews is suspected of stealing pearls and Jones is knownto possess pearls--the pearls being of rare worth in both cases. Still,you are wrong. For instance, if you have the weight and measurement ofthe Tremloe black pearl, you will find they do not fit the pearl I amnow wearing."
Le Drieux smiled genially.
"It is unnecessary to make the test, sir," he replied. "The pearl Andrewsgave to Miss Doyle is as unmistakable as your own. But I am curious tohear your opinion, Mr. Weldon."
"I have been suspicious of young Jones from the first," said Arthur; "butI have been studying this boy's character, and he is positively incapableof the crimes you accuse him of, such as robbery and murder. In otherwords, whatever Jones may be, he is not Andrews; or, if by chance heproves to be Andrews, then Andrews is innocent of crime. All yourtheories are based upon a desire to secure rewards, backed by a chain ofcircumstantial evidence."
"A chain," said Le Drieux, grimly, "that will hold Jack Andrews fast inits coils, clever though he is."
"Circumstantial evidence," retorted Mr. Merrick, "doesn't amount toshucks! It is constantly getting good people into trouble and allowingrascals to escape. Nothing but direct evidence will ever convince me thata man is guilty."
Le Drieux shrugged his shoulders.
"The pearls are evidence enough," said he.
"To be sure. Evidence enough to free the poor boy of suspicion. You maybe a better messenger than you are a detective, Mr. Le Drieux, but thatdoesn't convince me you are a judge of pearls."
The agent rose with a frown of annoyance.
"I am going to have Jack Andrews arrested in the morning," he remarked."If you warn him, in the meantime, I shall charge you with complicity."
Uncle John nearly choked with anger, but he maintained his dignity.
"I have no knowledge of your Jack Andrews," he replied, and turned hisback.