The Yellow Face

by Fred M. White

There was nothing for it now but to wait and see what time would bring forth. Lord Barmouth was not yet down; indeed, his man said that he would not appear till after luncheon. But there was no lack of animated conversation in the drawing-room, and the discussion was continued till the gong rang for lunch.

"I tell you what I think the best thing to do," Lady Barmouth said, as Jack held the drawing-room door open for her. "You are a barrister, and accustomed to deal with legal matters. If those stones fail to arrive by half-past two, I will give you my written authority, and you shall take it to the bank and insist upon something definite being done."

Luncheon was a thing of the past, and it was getting on towards three o'clock, when a cab drove up to the door, and a footman announced the fact that a gentleman from the City and Provincial Bank desired to see Lady Barmouth. She returned presently, beaming with smiles, and announced that Jack had been mistaken; for the gems had not only been delivered, but had also been handed over to the speaker's maid.

Slightly taken aback, Jack expressed a natural curious desire to see the stones in question. Lady Barmouth rang the bell, and presently a smart French maid appeared, bearing four shabby-looking cases in her hand. They were laid on the table, and Jack suggested that Lady Barmouth should open one of them.

"I see you are still suspicious," she smiled. "Evidently things were not so desperate with Mr. Carrington as you appear to imagine. What do you think of those?"

With pardonable pride, Lady Barmouth lifted the cover of one of the cases and displayed the flashing contents to Claire's admiring eyes. A livid stream of flame dazzled and blinked in the sunshine. Claire's cry of delight was echoed by an exclamation of astonishment from Lady Barmouth.

"There is some extraordinary mistake here," she said . "I admit that these stones are exceedingly beautiful, but, unfortunately, they are not mine at all. They look to me much more like the property of the Duchess of Birmingham. I have no pearls or emeralds--my jewels are all diamonds and sapphires. The cases must have been changed; a mistake easily accounted for, as they are both green wraps."

But Jack was not in the least convinced. This was some desperate expedient to lull Lady Barmouth's suspicions to sleep for the time. And doubtless Carrington had gone off hot foot to Anstruther, and implored him to find some way out of the terrible difficulty. Another idea occurred to Jack, but this he did not dare to mention for the present--it was too suggestive of a situation from some melodrama.

"I think I can explain the whole thing," he said. "But, first of all, I should like to take Lord Barmouth's opinion on the matter. Probably he has finished his own lunch by this time. Will you see if he is ready to receive me?"

Lord Barmouth was glad enough to see Jack, and welcomed him quite cordially. Then Jack laid the jewel cases upon the table, and proceeded to relate once more the story of last night's happenings. He concluded with a description of his visit to Carrington, and epitomized the incident of the changed jewels.