The Chase of the Golden Plate

happening. Briefly, this was that a thief, cunningly disguised as a Burglar with dark lantern and revolver in hand, had surreptitiously attended the masked b

eryone's knowledge,

oking room connected, by a corridor, with a small dining room where the Randolph gold plate was kept in ostentatious seclusion. As the servant entere

ce, valued roughly at $15,000, were missing. He informed Mr. Randolph. The information, nat

the West. It was established that, when she left him in the conservatory, she went out the front door. There she was joined by the Burglar, and then came their sensational fli

e went into the smoking-room, then into the dining-room, dropped the gold plate into a sack and threw the sack out of a window. It was beautifully simple. Just

hey had chosen was admittedly the fastest of the scores there, the night was pitch-dark, and, besides, a Burglar like that was liable to

ity. This fell to the lot of Detective Mallory, who represented the Supreme Police Intelligence of the Metropolitan District, happily combining a No. 11 shoe and a No. 6 ha

who had attended the ball in costume, and the statements of the servants. After all this Mr. Mallory chewed his ci

lligence at last, "each invitation-card presented at the door by

plied Mr.

detective shrewdly.

asked Mr. Randolph of the servant

rther value, sir, and they wer

ry was cr

Burglar on the evening of the masked ball at Seven Oaks b

ticularly because the gentl

emember t

, s

r it if you saw it

ked at Mr. Rand

I would, sir,

d you notice the

es wore wraps when they came in, and her costume wo

tful for another few minutes. At la

nly one man at that ball dre

lph fervently. "If there'd been anothe

Intelligen

dressed like a West

f Spirit-of-th

oman there wore

ponded Mr

ed the two

w many invitations wer

ouse," Mr. Randolph apologised, "and

you suppose actuall

now. Three hun

Mallory th

lly, and his satellites hung on his words eagerly. "It has every ear-mark of it. They perhaps plan

ointed an accusing finge

iting on the card the Burg

Not part

in any way from the handwriting on the othe

think it

n would you ha

ht hav

ll the invitation-cards by t

wife's se

ced back and forth across the

forged, but stolen from someone to whom they had been

entence, "is to find from whom the card or cards were stolen,

ressively. Mr. Randolph's face was perfect

lar and the Girl escaped in. Cunningham, you go to Seven Oaks and look over the premises. See particularly if the Girl left a wrap-she didn't wear one away from there-and follow that up. Blanton

weeks!" comp

lligence turned

nton wrinkled up in the baleful glow of his superior's scorn. "A

planned against the