THE CORBIN NECKLACE The Corbin Necklace By HENRY KITCHELL WEBSTER AUTHOR OF “The Innocents,” “Joseph Greer and His Daughter,” “Mary Wollaston,” “The Thoroughbred,” etc. [Illustration] A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by arrangement with The Bobbs-Merrill Company Printed in U. S. A. COPYRIGHT, 1926 BY THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY _Printed in the United States of America_ COPYRIGHT, 1926 BY LIBERTY WEEKLY, INCORPORATED CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I PUNCH--AND JUDY 1 II SHOAL WATER 20 III FRUSTRATION OF PUNCH 35 IV SOMETHING BEHIND 51 V THE LEGS OF A SUIT OF PAJAMAS 77 VI REWARD OF MERIT 91 VII IN THE SUMMER-HOUSE 102 VIII EXPERT CONSIDERATION 115 IX MYSTIFICATION OF EAGLE-EYE 139 X TRANSFORMATION SCENE 155 XI WHEN I CAME IN 168 XII AN EXCURSION INTO ARCADY 180 XIII STUNG! 196 XIV A POINT OF HONOR 212 XV BLACK LOOKS 220 XVI THE GENTLE ART 234 XVII SOME MUST WATCH 253 XVIII PEACOCK FEATHERS 268 XIX THE AUTOCRAT 288 THE CORBIN NECKLACE THE CORBIN NECKLACE CHAPTER I PUNCH--AND JUDY “How much do you suppose it’s really worth?” Punch wanted to know. “Your grandmother’s necklace?” I inquired. It had been ten minutes or so since we’d mentioned it. Evidently, though, it was still on his mind. “Oh, something fabulous,” I told him. But I saw at once that the reply hadn’t passed muster. It had struck him, apparently, as a typically adult remark, frivolous, or ignorant--or both. I don’t like being a typical adult to Punch so I tried to do better. “I don’t know much about pearls,” I said. “They’re a special subject. And I haven’t even seen the necklace since your mother wore it at some ball or other--oh, pre-war. Perhaps a dozen years ago. But you can put it at this, safely enough. If it were sold and the money it brought invested, even conservatively, it would produce an income one could live on.” “If you had to sell it to a fence, though,” Punch observed, “you wouldn’t get near so much for it. And a regular jeweler would know where it came from, if you’d stolen it, and call up the police. I suppose the way to do would be to break the string and sell the pearls one or two at a time. Even that would be pretty hard to do.” “You aren’t planning to steal the necklace yourself, are you?” I inquired. He smiled politely, by way of acknowledging the joke, but without losing his thoughtful air. “It was horribly silly putting it in the paper, anyhow.” “Putting what in the paper?”