Newspaper Page Text
The Long Arm of Uncle Sam--V--Phyllis Dodge, Smuggler Extraordinary
Copyright, 1919, by the Wheeler Syn
. dicate, Inc.
ILL QUINN tossed aside his
B evening paper and, cocking his
5 feet upon a convenient chair,
remarked that now that peace was
finally signed, sealed and dellvered,
there ought to be a big boom in the
favorite pastime of the idle rich,
“Meaning what?” I inquired.
“Smuggling, of course,” said Quinn,
¢ whe only retired from seéret service
/ when an injury received in action
~ forced him to do so.
“Did you ever travel on a lner
when four out of .every five people onj
board didn't admit that they were’
trying to beat the customs offlcldu"
one way 6r another—and the only
reason the other one didn’t follow suit !
was because he knew enough to keep |
his mouth shut. That's how Uncle
Sam's detectives pick up a lot of
clues. The amateur crook never
realizes that silence is golden and
: that oftentimes speech leads to a
~ heavy fine,
“Now that the freedom of the seas
is an accomplished fact the whole
crew of would-be smugglers will
doubtless get to work agaln, only to
. be nabbed in port. Inasmuch as ocean
. travel has gone up with the rest of
© the cost of ilving, it'll probably be a
sport confined to the comparatively
rich for a couple of years anyhow.
l “It was different in the old days.
Every steamer that came in was load
.. ed to the eyes and you never knew
* when you were golng to spot a hidden
necklace or a packet of diamonds that
- wasn't destined to pay duty. There
+ were thrills to the game, too, belleve
% me,
? ““Why, just take the case of Phyllss
+ Dodge.”
Mrs. Dodge—Quinn continned, after
I’_‘-‘:- had packed his pipe to a condi
. ““ <here it was reasonably sure to
tion ‘hted for some time—was,
remail\ vat least, a widow. Her
theoret) 4|t appeared on many
full na s during the early part
. Passengek J(rs, Mortimer C. Dodge
of 11313, Ohio. When the cus
, ©f Clevelgiy came to look into the
toms of¢y weren't able to find any-
Makloleveland who knew her, but
qivs no penal offense to give the
' er a wrong address, or even a
rong name for that matter,
While there may have been doubts
about Mrs, Dodge's widowhood-—or
whether she had ever been married,
- for that matter—there could be none
about her beauty. In the language of
. the classics, she was there, Black
+ hair, brown eyes, a peaches-and
cream complexion that came and
went wlteoxou watched it and a fig
ure that 1d have made her fortune
*lm the Follies. Joe Gregory said after
" ward that trailing her was one of
. the easiest things he had ever done.
: EXTRAORDINARY.
To get the whole story of Phyllis
- and her extraordinary cleverness—
extraordinary because it was 8o per
fectly obvious—we'll have to cut back
. @ few months before she came on the
scene,
For some time the treasury depart
ment had been well aware that a
. number of precious stones, principally
~ pearl necklaces, were being smuggled
into the country. Agents abroad--
the department maintains a regular
force in Paris, London, Rotterdam
and other European points, you know
+«~had reported the sale of the jewels
. &nd they had turned up a few weeks
later in New York or Chicago. But
. the customs service never considers:
- it wise to trace stones back from their
. owners on this side. There are too
~ many ramifications to any well plan
- ned smuggling schieme and it is too
easy for someone to claim that he had
- found them in_a long forgotten chest
in the attic or some such story as
~ that. The burden of proof rests upon
' the government in a case of this kind
and, except in the last extremity, it
" always tries to follow the chase from
~ the other. end—to nab the smuggler
“ in the act and thus bufld up a jury
' proof case. |
! Reports of the smuggling cases had
' been filtered into the department half
" & dozen times in as many months and
* the matter finally got on the chief's
nerves to such a degree that he deter
" mined to thrash it out If it took every
~man he had,
In practically every case the pro
_ cedure was the same-—though the
only principals known were different
each time.
: Rotterdam, for example, would re
port: “Pearl necklace valued at $40,.
000, sold today to man named Silver
burg. Have reason to believe it is
destingd for States”—and then would
follow a technical description of g¢he
necklace. Anywhere from six weeks
to three months later, the necklace
would turn up in the possession of
« & jeweler who bore a shady reputa
. tion. Sometimes the article wouldn't
. appear at all, which might have been
. due to the fact that they weren't
. brought into this country or that the
. receivers had altered them beyond
~ recognition. However, the European
advices pointed to the latter supposi
. ton-—~which didn’t soothe the chief's
, herves the least bit.
. Finally, along in the middle of the
. #pring of 1913, there came a cable
. from Paris, announcing the sale of
. the famous Yquem emerald—a gor-.
. §eous stone that you couldn't help
~ recognizing once you got the descrip
} a:. The purchaser was reported to
an American named Willlamson,
He paid cash for it, 5o his references
and his antecedents were not investi
gated at the time,
Sure enough, it wasn't two months
later when a report came in from
Chicago that a pork-made millionaire
bad added to hiy collection a nmnol
"*\l? erdlind 1o the description of
she Yquem emerald.
m we go after it from this end,
. ‘& one of the men on
the job in ngton. “We oan make
he got it and then sweat the rest of
the game out of the go-betweens
the man who bought it tell us where
“Yes,” snorted the Chief, “and bho
laughed out of ocourt on some
trumped-up story framed by a well
. baid Jawyer, Not a chance! ll'm
®olng to land those birds and lan!
m with the goods. We can't afford
© 0 Make any chances with this crowd
Bl @A cvidently got money and
g B combination that you've got
" MW awake nights to beat. NO-=
L \ o R
(=2 A a“i ,M \ i l“*,?" b
@7 7y N t‘7’[//“\\ eO gt ©
AN i\ ///\\\ . o/3P R
| (WA /////A\\ |- Lel 17
\ /[’ [,f Z )/4/ /¥ N 4{ of Ms\ R \\\ v 0
‘ ‘W‘ / (s'.‘:' -4// //Z/’K‘x/"&'\\i‘\&_fi N J_:;. ""\"\.“.h \\A\E/\ '‘ ‘
/el N DLATRN i
'//e | 4 ///// VY ;A ) S’/ ,}\\\l.
-{ =" /1// e /\“‘ i “.f'\.\‘iv"'{\\\‘-\ R(N
/ /";__:: /‘///// | \\"‘”\". ; g \\"\f\» S— ‘M “\ S |
~ // — ey o T \l“{h ‘\\/,,-.(" - W\ AW
/ AT\ ST AT NG i |
>Lo ‘ NPTy T EMIOMNGS g -
/// _— \\ W Y [ap | J
(}7/ \ \\)\ o A ‘\ " 3 I[l/' @
/; //// . {//; \2 b '\\L“Q
) I T e
17, 9 i (M) f
| //i/ , ‘l‘ufi!fl wm{ l I
N L Qe A
AN 9| e
\ - 4 ;
T . & : \{ \s:\
we'll nail 'em in New York Just as
they're bringing the stones in. '
. “Send a wire to Ggegory to get on
the job at once and xll New York to
turn loose every man they've got—
though they've been working on the
case long enough, Heaven knows'”
The next morning when Gregory
and his soclety manner strolled into
the customs house in New York he
found the place buzzing. Evidently
the instructions from Washington had
‘been such as to make the entire force
fear for their jobs unless the smug
gling combination was broken up
quickly. It didn't take Joe very long
to get the details. They weren't many
and he immediately discarded the
idea of possible collusion between the
buyers of the stones abroad, It looked
to be a certainty on the face of ft,
but, once you had discovered that,
what good dld it do you? It wasn't
possible to jail a man just because
he bought some jewels in Europe—
and, besides, the orders from Wash
ington were very clear that the case
was to be handled strictly from this
side-—at least the final arrest was to
be made on American soll to avoid
extradition complications and the
like,
JEWELS PURCHASED.
So when Joe got all the facts they
simply were that some valuable jew
els had been purchased in Burope and
had turned up in America, without
going through the formality of visit
ing the customs house, anywhere from
six weeks to three months later,
“Not much to work on,” grumbled
Gregory, “and 1 suppose, as usual,
that the chief will be as peevish as
hades if we don’t nab the guilty party
within the week."
“It's more than possible,” admitted
one of the men who had handled the
case,
Gregory studies the dates on which
the jewels had been purchased and
those on which they had been located
in this country for a few moments in
silence. Then:
“Get me coples of the passenger
lsts of every steamer that has docked
here in the past year,” he directed.
“Of course it's possible that these
things might have been landed at
Boston or Philadelphia, but New
York's the most likely port"™
When the lists had heen secured
Gregory stuffed them into his suit
case and started for the door,
“Where're you going?™ inquired
McMahon, the man in charge of the
New York office,
“Up to the Adirondacks for a few
days,” Gregory replied.
~ “What's the idea? Think the stuff
{8 being brought over by airplane and
landed inland? Liners don't dock up-
State, you know ™
. “No,” sald Gregory, “but that's
where I'm going to dock until 1 ean
digest this stuff,” and he tapped his
suit case, “Somewhere in this bunch
of booklets there's a clue to this case
and it's up to me to spot it. Good
by."
Five days later when he sauntered
back into the New York office the
suit case was surprisingly light. Ap
ntly every one of the passenger
m had vanished. As a matter of
fact they had been bolled down to
three names which were carefully in
scribed in Joe's notebook.
“Did you pick up any jewels in the
Catskillg?" was the question that
greeted him when he enpered.
“Wasn't In the Catakills” he
growled. “Went up to a camp In the
Adirondacks—coldern’ blazes. Any
more stuff turn up?™
“No, but a wire came from Wash«
ington just after you left to watch
out for a SIOO,OOO string of pearis sold
at a private auction in London lng
week (0 an American named ....,."
THE PEARL NECKLACE.
“l don't care what his name was"
Gregory cut in. “What was the date
they were sold ™
“Tthe 16th.” '
Gregory glanced at the ealendar.
“And today Is the 224" he mused.
‘What boats are due in the next
hree dl):l.’"
“The €eltic docks this afternoon
and the Tasmania ought to get in to-
HEARST'S SUNDAY AMERICAN — A Newspaper for People Who Think .— SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 1919
Grecory Cau_ht up with her. * * * “What've got in the bag there?”
morrow. That'll be all until the end
of the week.”
“Right!” snapped Gregory. *“Don't
let a soul off the Celtic until I've had
a look at her passenger list. It's too
late to go down the harbor now, but
not a person’s to get off that ship un
til I've had a chance to look 'em over.
Also cable for a copy of the Tasma
nia's passenger list. Hurry it up!”
lLess than ten minutes after he had
sHpped on board the Cretic, however,
Grcgory gave the signal which per
mitted the gangplank to be lowered
and the passengers to proceed as us
ual--except for the fact that the lug
gage of every one ms the persons of
not a few were seafched with more
than the average carefulness. But not
a trace of the pearls was found, as
Joe had anticipated. A careful in
spection of the passenger list and a
few moments with the purser had
convinced him that none of his three
suspects were on board.
Shortly after he returned to the
office, the list of the Tasmania's
passengers began to come over the
cables. L.ess than half a page had
been received when Gregory uttered
a sudden exclamation, reached for his
notebook, compared a name in it with
one which appeared on the cabled
report and indulged in the luxury of a
deep-throated chuckle.
“(Gireg’s got a nibble somewhere,”
commented one of the bystanders.
“Yes,” admitted his companion, “but
landin’ the fish is a different mat
ter. Whoever's on ‘the other end of
that line is a mighty cagey Individ
ual.”
But, though he undoubtedly over
heard the remark, Gregory didn't
seem so be the least bit worried. In
fact, his hat was at a more rakish
angle than usual and his cane fairly
whistled through the air as he wan
dered up the Avenue half an hour
later,
The next the customs force heard
of him was when he boarded the
quarantine boat the next morning,
clambering on the liner a little later
with all the skill of a pilot,
“You have a passenger on board by
the pame of Dodge,"” he informed the
purser, after he had shown his
badge. “Mrs. Mortimer C, Dodge.
What do you know about her?” :
“Not a thing in the world" eaid
the purser, “except that she is a most
beautitul and apparently attyactive
woman, Crossed with uwe once be
fore"
“Twice,” eorrected Gregory. “Came
gvn'r( fn January and went right
ack."”
“That's right,” said the purser, “so
she did, I'd forgotten that., But, be
yond that fact, there isn't anything
that T can add”
“Seem to be familiad with any one
on board "
“Not particularly, Mixes with the
vounger married set and I've noticed
her on deck with the Mortons quite
frequently. Probably met them on
her return trip last winter. They
were along then, if I remember
rightly."
“Thanks.” sald the customs opera
tive. “You needn't mention anything
about my inquiries, of conrs=" and
he mixed with the throng of news
paper reporters who werg pieking up
news in various sections of the big
vessel, .
When the Tasmania docked
Gregory was the first one off,
“Search Mrs. Mortimer C. Dodge
to the skin,” he directed the matron.
“Pake down her halr, tap the heels
of her shoes and go through all the
usual stunts, but. be as gentle as you
can about it. Say that we've received
word that some uncut diamonds—not
pearls, mind you-—are concealed on
the Tasmania and that orders have
been given to go over everybody
thoroughly. Pass the word along the
line to give out the same information,
s 0 she won't be suspicious, I don't
think you'll find anything, but you
fever can tell,”
At that, Joe was right. The ma
tron didn't locate a. blessed thing out
of the way. Mrs, Dodge *tad brought
in a few dutiable trinkets, but they
were all down on her declaration
and, within the hour, she was hud-{
ed uptown in a taxi, accompanied by
a maild who had met her as she
stepped out of the customs office.
TRAILED IN TAXLI.
Not far behind them trailed an
other taxi, top up and Gregory's eyes
yivlued to the window behind the chauf.
eur,
The first machine finally drew up
at the Astor and Mrs, DoGage and the
maid went .n, followed by a pile of
luggage which had been searched an
til it was a moral certainty that not
a rlleedle would have been concealed
in it
Gregory waited until they were out
of sight, and then followed.
In answer to his inquiries at the
desk, he learned that Mrs. Dodge had
stopped at the hotel several times
before and the house detective as
sured him that there was nothing sus
picious about her conduct.
“How about the maid?” inquired
Gregory.
“Don’'t know a thing about her,
either, except that she is the same
she had before. Pretty little thing,
too—though not as good looking as
her mistress.”
For the next three days Joe hung
around the hotel or followed the lady
from the Tasmania wherever she
went, Something in the backß of his
head-—call {t intuition or a hunch or
whatever you please, but it's the feel
ing that a good operative gets when
be's on the right trail—told him that
he was “warm,” as the kids say. Ap
pearances seemed to deny that fact.
Mrs. Dodge went only to the most
natural places—a few visits, to the
stores, a coup'e to fashionable mo
distes and milliners, and some drives
through the park, always in the most
sedate and open manner,
But, on the evening of the third
day, the house detective tipped Joe
off that his prey was leaving in the
morning.
. "Guess she's going back to Eu
rope,” reported the house man. “Gave
orders to have a taxi ready at 9 and
her trunks taken down to the docks
before them. Better get busy if you
want to land her”
“I'm not ready for that just yet"
Gregory admitted with a scowl,
When Mrs. Dodge's taxi drove off
the following mornin, Joe wasn't far
away and, acting on orders which he
had delivered over the phone, no less
than half a dozen operatives watched
the lady and the mald very closely
when they reached the dock.
Not a thing came of it, however,
Both of them went to the state
room which had been reserved and
the maid remained to help with the
vopacking untll the “All ashore
that're going ashore” was bhellowed
through the boat. Then she left and
stood on the pier until the ship had
cleared the dock.
“It beats me.,” muttered Gregory.
“But I'm willing to gamble my job
that I'm right.” And that night he
wired to Washington to keep a clouel
lookout for the London pearls, adding
that he felt certain they would turn
up before long.
“In that case.” muttered the chief
dt the other end of the wire, “why In |
heaven's name didn't he get them
when they came in?" ‘
Sure enough, not a fortnight had|
passed before St Louls repnrted that|
a string of pearls, perfectly matched,
snswering to the description of the
missing Jewels, had been offered for
sele there thraugh mt‘nte channels,
The first reaction Yas a telegram
to Gregory that fairly bhurned the
wires, short, bwflm the point: “Fither |
the man who ugeled that neckiace
or your fob In ten days” it read,
And Gregory replied: “Give me
three weeks and yoft'll have one or
the other” Y
Meanwhile, he had been far from
inactive. Still playing his hunch that
Phyllis Dodge had something to do
with the smuggling game, he had put
in time cultivating the only person
on this side that appeared to know
her—the mald,
It was far from a thankless task,
for Alyce-—-ghe spelled it with a “y".-
was pretty and knew {t. Furthermore,
the appeared to be entirely out of her
element in a cheap poom in Twenty
fourth street, Most of the time she
spent in wandering up the avenue and
-
it was there that Gregory made her
acquaintance—through the expedient
of bumping her bag out of her hands
and restoring it with one of his court
ly bows. The next minute he was
strolling alongside *emarki{mg-+on the
beauty of the weather, ' ;
But, although he svun got to know
Alyce well 'enough to take her to the
theater and to the cabarets, it didn’t
seem to get him anywhere. She was
The Other News Columns
Out of the tangle of daily happenings your paper relates
the outstanding incidents, the things that tell of progress
in the'world of events. That is the news everybody reads.
But the knowing person reads the other news columns
as well. Here are related the significant affairs of the
more intimate world of buying and selling.
A New household invention, a
better soap, a more economical
food, a more durable fabric—these
are the events that guide our per
sonal expenditures. Such news is
found in the advertising eolumns,
together with reminders of the
faithful service rendered by more
familiar products. "
Advertising is a guide to you; it is
a declaration of faith on the part
of the advertiser. His faith in his
goods prompts him to invest
money in addressing a public that
The Atlanta Georgian and Sunday American
Clean, Wholesome Newspapers for Southern Homes
perfectly frank about her position.
Said she was a hair dresser by trade
and that she acted as lady’s maid to a
Mrs. Dodge who spent the better part
of her time abroad.
“In fact,” she said, “Mrs. Dodge is
only here three or four days every
two months or so.”
“And she pays you for your time in
between?”
“Oh, yes,” Aylce replied, “she's more
than generous.” .
“I should say she was,” Gregory
thought to himself—but he considered
\ it best to change the subject.
~ During the days that followed, Joe
exerted every ounce of his personal
ity in order to make the best possible
impression. Posing as a man who had
made money in the West, he took
Alyce everywhere and treated her
royally. Finally, when he considered
the time ripe, he injedted a little love
into the equation and ‘hinted that he
thought it was about time to settle
down and that he appeared to have
found, the proper person to settle
with,
But there, for the first time, Alyce
balkedq. She didn’t refuse him, but she
stated in so many words that she had
a place that suited her for the time
being and that, until the fall at least,
she preferred to keep on with it. |
“That suits me all right,” declared‘
Gregory. “Take your time about it.
Meanwhile we'll continue to be good‘
friends and trail around together,
eh?" .
“Certainly,” said Aylice, "Er—thatl
is—until Tuesday.”
"Truesday?"' inquired Joe. ‘“What's
coming off Tuesday?”
“Mrs. Dodge will arrive on the At
lamtic,” was the reply, “and I'll havel
to be with her for three days, at
least.” , |
“Three days——" commenced Greg
ory, and halted himself. It wasn't
wise to show too much interest. But
that night he called the chief on long
distance and inquired if there had
been any recent reports of suspicious
jewel sales abroad. “Yes' came the
voicg from Washington, “pearls again. |
Loose ones, this time. And your three
weeks’ grace is up at noon Saturday.”
The click that followed as the re
ceiver hung up was finality itself.
The same procedure, altered in a
few minor details, was followed when
Mrs. Dodge landed. Again she was
searched to the skin; ‘again her lug
gage was gone over with microscopic
care and again nothing was found.
This time she stayed at the Knick
‘erbocker, but Alyce was with her as
usnal,
Deprived of his usual company and
left to hig own davices, Gregory took
a long walk up the drive and tried to
thrash out the problem.
“C‘omes over on a different boat al
most every trin.” he thought. “so that
eliminates collusion with any of the
crew. Doesn’t stay at the same hotel
two time« running, so there's nothing
there. Has the same maid and al
wavs returns——"
Then it was that motorists on Riv
eside drive were treated to the sight
of a young and extremely prepos
seseing man, dressed in the height of
fashion. throwing his hat in the air
and uttering a yell that conld be
heard for blocks. After which he dis
appeared hurriedly in the direction of
the nearest drug store,
A hasty search through the phone
‘book gave him the number he wanted
—the offices of the Black Star Line.
“Is Mr. MacPherson, the purser of
the Atlantie, there?” he inquired.
Then: “Hello, Mr. MacPherson. This
is Gregory, customs division. You re
member me, don't you? Worked on
the Maitland diamond case with you
two years ago. * * °* Wonder if
vou could tell me something 1 want
to know—is Mrs. Mortimer C. Dodge
booked to go back with you tomor
row She is? What's the number
of her stateroom? And—er—what was
the number of the room she had com
ing over? * * I thank you.”
If the motorists whom Gregory had
startled on the drive had seen him
emerge from the phone booth, they
would have marveled at he look of
keen satisfaction and relief that was
spread over his face. The cat that
swallowed the canary ‘was tired of
life, compared to Joe at that moment.
GREAT SURPRISE.
Next morning the customs opera
tives were rather surprised to see
‘Gregory stroll down to the Atlantic’s
dock about 10 o'clock. |
“Thought you were somewhere up
town on the chief's pet case,” said one
of them, i
“So I was,” answered Joe. “But
that's practically cleaned up.” ‘
With that he went aboard and no
one saw him until just before the
“All-ashore” call. Then he took up
his place beside the gangplank, with
three other men placed near by in
case of aceident. ‘
“Follow my lead,” he directed. "I'll‘
speak to the girl. Two of you stick
here to make certain that she doesn’t
get away and you, Bill, beat it on
board then and tell the captain thal
the boat’s not to clear until we give
the word. We won’t delay him more
than ten minutes at the outside.”
When Alyce came down the gang
plank a few minutes later, in the
midst of people who had been saying
good-by to friends and relatives, she
spotted -Joe waiting for her and start
ed to move hurriedly away. Greg
ory caught up with her before she
had gone a dozen feet.
“Good morning, Aylice,” he said.
“Thought I'd come down to meet you.
What've you got in the bag there-"
indicating her maid’'s handbag.
“Not—not a thing,” said the girl,
flushing. Just then the matron joined
the party, as previously arranged, and
Joe's tone took on its official hard
ness. “Hurry up and search her! We
don't want to keep the boat any
longer than we have to.”
Less than a minute later the matron
thrust her head out’of the door long
enough to report: “We found 'em—
the pearls. She had ’em in the front
of her dress.”
Gregory was up the gangplank in
a single bound. A moment later he
was knocking at the door of Mrs. |
Dodge’'s state room. The instant the
knob turned he was inside, inform
ing Phyllis that she was under arrest
on a charge of bringing jewels into
the United States without the for
mality of paying duty. Of course,
the lady protested—but the Atlantic
sailed, less than ten minutes behind
schedule time, without her.
Promptly at 12, the phone on the
constantly demands honest mer
chandise. It is through the adver
tising columns that you get in
touch with such straightforward
manufacturers.
Consistent advertising is pretty
clear evidence of trustworthy
quality. The futility of advertis
ing poor quality was realized long
ago.
A few minutes’ daily reading of
the advertisements brings the
knowledge so necessary for care
ful buying. .
desk of the chief of the customs di
vision in Washington buzzed noisily.
“Gregory speaking,” came through
the receiver. “My time's up—and I've
got the party you want, Claims to
be from Cleveland and sails under
the name of Mrs. Mortimer D. Dodge
—first name Phyllis. She’s confessed
and promises to turn state's evidence
'if we'll go light with her.”
“That,” added Quinn, “was the fin=
ish of Mrs, Dodge, so far as the gov
ernthent was coacerned. In order to
land the whole crew—the people who
were handling the stuff on this side
as well as the ones who were mixed
up in the scheme abroad—they let her
go scott free, with the proviso that
she's to be rushed to Atlanta if she
ever pokes her nose into the United
States again. The last I heard of her
sha was in Monaco, tangled up in a
blackmail case there.
“Gregory told me all about it some=
time later. Said that the first hunch
had come to him when he studied the
passengers’ lists in the wilds of the
Adirondacks., Went there to be alone
and concentrate, He found that of all
the people listed, only three—two men
and a Mrs. Dodge—had made the trip
frequently in the past six months.
The frequency of Mrs. Dodge’s travel
evidently made it impracticable for
her to use different alias. Some one
'would be sure to spot her.
“But it wasn’t until that night on
}Riverside Drive that the significance
of the data struck him. Each time she
‘took the same boat on which she had
come over! Did she have the same
‘state room? The phone call to Mac-
Pherson established the fact that she
did—this time at least. The rest was
almost as obvious as the original plan,
The jewels were brought abroad,
passed on to Phyllis and she tucked
them away somewhere in her state
room. Her bags and her person
could, of course, be searched with per
fect safety. Then, what was more
natural than that her maid should
accompany her on board when she
was leaving? Nobody ever pays any
attention to people who board the
boat at this end, so Alyce was able
to walk off with the stuff under the
very eves of the customs authorities
—and they found later that she had
the nerve to place it in the hands of
the govérnment for the next twenty
four hours. She sent it by registere(?
mail to Pittsburg and it was passed
along through an underground ‘fence’
channel until a prospective purchaser
appeared.
“Perfectly obvious and perfectly
simple—that’s why the plan succeed
ed until Gregory began to make love
to Alyce and got the idea that Mrs.
Dodge was going right back to Surope
hammered into his head. It had oc
curred to him before, but he hadn't
placed much value on it. . . .
“0-0-0-0," yawned Quinn. “I'm get
ting dry. Trot out some grape juice
and put on that Kreisler record—
Drigo’s Serenade. T love to hear it.
Makes me think of the time when
they landed that scoundrel Weimar.,”
(“A Matter of Record,” the sixth of
the “LLong Arm of Uncle Sam” stories,
will appear next.)
-