Memories of Mr. Pointz' youth rose in his
mind.
"Half a dozen pairs of gloves," he said. "Gloves," cried Eve disgustedly. "Who wears gloves?" "Well--do you wear silk stockings?" "Do I not? My best pair laddered this morning.'' "Very well, then. Half a dozen pairs of the finest silk stockings--"
10 Agatha Christie
"Oo-er," said Eve blissfully. "And what about you?"
"Well, I need a new tobacco pouch."
"Right. That's a deal. Not that you'll get your tobacco pouch. Now I'll tell you what you've got to do. You must hand it round like you did last night--"
She broke off as two waiters entered to remove
the plates. When they were starting on the next course of chicken, Mr. Pointz said:
"Remember this, young woman, if this is to represent a real theft, I should send for the police and you'd be searched."
"That's quite O.K. by me. You needn't be quite so lifelike as to bring the police into it. But Lady Marroway or Mrs. Rustington can do all the searching you like."
"Well, that's that then," said Mr. Pointz. "What are you setting up to be? A first class jewel thief?"
"I might take to it as a career--if it really paid."
"If you got away with the Morning Star it would pay you. Even after recutting that stone would be worth over thirty thousand pounds."
"My!" said Eve, impressed. "What's that in dollars?"
Lady Marroway uttered an exclamation.
"And you carry such a stone about with you?" she said reproachfully. "Thirty thousand pounds." Her darkened eyelashes quivered.
Mrs. Rustington said softly: "It's a lot of
money And then there's the fascination of the stone itself It's beautiful."
THE REGATTA MYSTERY
"Just a piece of carbon," said Evan Llewellyn. "I've always understood it's the 'fence' that' the difficulty in jewel robberies," said Sir Georg "He takes the lion's share--eh, what?"
"Come on," said Eve excitedly. "Let's star Take the diamond out and say what you said la night."
Mr. Leathern said in his deep melancholy voic
"I do apologize for my offspring. She ge kinder worked up--"
"That'll do, Pops," said Eve. "Now then, M Pointz--"
Smiling, Mr. Pointz fumbled in an inne pocket. He drew something out. It lay on the pale
of his hand, blinking in the light.
A diamond ....
Rather stiffly, Mr. Pointz repeated as far as h could remember his speech of the previous evenin on the Merrirnaid.
"Perhaps you ladies and gentlemen would Ilk to have a look at this? It's an unusually beautift stone. I call it the Morning Star and it's by way c being my mascot--goes about with me anywhere Like to see it?"
He handed it to Lady Marroway, who took i exclaimed at its beauty and passed it to Mr. Leatl
ern who said, "Pretty good--yes, pretty good," i a somewhat artificial manner and in his tur, passed it to Llewellyn.
The waiters coming in at that moment there wa a slight hitch in the proceedings. When they hat gone again, Evan said, "Very fine stone" ant passed it to Leo Stein who did not trouble to mak, any comment but handed it quickly on to Eve.
12 Agatha Christie
"How perfectly lovely," cried Eve in a high affected voice. "Oh!" She gave a cry of consternation as it slipped from her hand. "I've dropped it." She pushed back her chair and got down to grope under the table. Sir George at her right, bent also. A glass got swept off the table in the confusion. Stein, Llewellyn and Mrs. Rustington all helped in the search. Finally Lady Marroway joined in.
Only Mr. Pointz took no part in the proceedings.
He remained in his seat sipping his wine and smiling sardonically. "Oh, dear," said Eve, still in her artificial manner. "How dreadful! Where can it have rolled to? I can't find it anywhere." One by one the assistant searchers rose to their feet. "It's disappeared all right, Pointz," said Sir George, smiling. "Very nicely done," said Mr. Pointz, nodding approval. "You'd make a very good actress, Eve. Now the question is, have you hidden it somewhere or have you got it on you?" "Search me," said Eve dramatically. Mr. Pointz' eye sought out a large screen in the corner of the room. He nodded towards it and then looked at Lady Marroway and Mrs. R.ustington. "If you ladies will be so good--" "Why, certainly," said Lady Marroway, smiling. The two women rose. Lady Marroway said,
THE REGATTA MYSTERY 13
"Don't be afraid, Mr. Pointz. We'll vet her properly."
The three went behind the screen.
The room was hot. Evan Llewellyn flung open the window. A news vender was passing. Evan
threw down a coin and the man threw up a paper. Llewellyn unfolded it.
,'Hungarian situation none too good," he said.
"That the local rag?" asked Sir George. "There's a horse I'm interested in ought to have run at Haldon today--Natty Boy."
"Leo," said Mr. Pointz. "Lock the door: We don't want those damned waiters popping in and out till this business is over."
"Natty Boy won three to one," said Evan.
"Rotten odds," said Sir George.
"Mostly Regatta news," said Evan, glancing over the sheet.
The three young women came out from the screen.
"Not a sign of it," said Janet Rustington.
"You can take it from me she hasn't got it on her," said Lady Marroway.
Mr. Pointz thought he would be quite ready to take it from her. There was a grim tone in her voice and he felt no doubt that the search had been thorough.
"Say, Eve, you haven't swallowed it?" asked 'i Mr. Leathern anxiously. "Because maybe that
wouldn't be too good for you." "I'd have seen her do that," said Leo Stein
quietly. "I was watching her. She didn't put any-thing in her mouth."
14 Agatha Christie
"I couldn't swallow a great thing all points like that," said Eve. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Mr. Pointz. "What about it, big boy?" she asked.