Queen of the Flaming Diamond Part 2

"Turn out that d.a.m.ned light," he shouted. "Now--about that fox woman.

Walt Disney oughta' pay...."

Puffy had braced his feet and placed his stocky arms behind his back.

"It wasn't any dream," he said calmly.

"Yea, I know. I was drunk."

"It wasn't a dream," Puffy said stubbornly. "That girl you saw really was a fox. At least she turned into one. Oh! d.a.m.n!"

He tossed the morning paper on the bed.

"Read what the _Star_ had to say about your dream," he said. "They got the story straighter than I did. We took a lady for a ride, Cinderella, and she turned into a silver fox."

Drake sat up stiffly. The foolish look of surprise was gone. He reached for the _Morning Star_. In huge headlines he read:

DARING HOLDUP AT NEW NIGHT CLUB

World's Largest Diamond Stolen From Under Eyes of Police

Sober as a lord now, Drake sent his eyes wavering along the column of newsprint:

Chicago, May 6.--A group of daring jewel thieves last night stole the Lardner diamond, largest gem of its kind in the world, from beneath the eyes of an armed guard.

The stone was a perfect cut, p.r.o.nounced priceless only last week when it was first seen by Tiffany experts.

George Lardner, the owner of the Owl Limb, one of the city's newest night spots, had taken it from a private vault to display in a special dance.

Miss Sylvia Fanton, who danced with the gem has also disappeared, but Lardner insists that she was well known to him and could have had no hand in the robbery.

This story is feasible, as the gown Miss Fanton was wearing at the time has been discovered badly torn in a State Street alley. Murder of the dancer is suspected.

Drake tossed the paper across the room.

"Rubbis.h.!.+" His eyes were clear and snapping now. The night of adventure was thrown from his mind. "It couldn't happen, Puffy. We were seeing things."

Adams picked up the _Star_ carefully, thumbed toward the last page and held the news sheet where Drake could see another, much smaller caption.

"Look at this," he begged. "You'll sing another song."

Jim took the sheet again, as though afraid he _would_ believe the impossible. This story was short, and wedged in at the bottom of a last page.

ZOO OFFICIALS CAPTURE FOX RUNNING WILD IN CITY STREET

Captured while trotting calmly down a State Street alley early today, a perfect silver fox has found its home at Wildwood Zoo.

Keepers chuckled when asked for a statement to the press.

They expect a fox farm to place a claim on the valuable animal within twenty-four hours.

The fox was in perfect condition, with a deep, rich black coat, tufted with snow white tips on each hair.

The Mayor has already offered to convert the pelt into a cape for his wife, should an owner fail to claim the animal.

Jim Drake shuddered.

"I was drunker than I had any business being last night," he said finally. "Did it all happen, what I saw?"

Puffy Adams grinned woefully. He drew his arm from behind his back and displayed a clean, bandaged wrist.

"I got teeth marks an inch deep in my wrist," he said. "What do you think?"'

Drake was out of bed in one bound. He pulled his slippers on hurriedly.

"Plenty of hot water for a shower?"

"Coming up!"

Puffy retreated toward the bathroom door. Over his shoulder he asked.

"Going to the zoo?"

"I'm crazy," Jim admitted. "But if they found a girl's dress a block from where we parked, and there's a silver fox at the zoo this morning, I want to know why."

Puffy's stout figure was hidden behind the gla.s.s door. Water started its inviting swish from the shower. His voice came out with a hollow ring.

"Well, Cinderella," he said whimsically, "we're on the make again, but the odds are against us. If that dame can bite my arm and turn into an animal in the same night she'll make a h.e.l.l of a mate for Jimmy."

Drake was already halfway across the room, knotting the sash of his robe with long brown fingers.

"It's the call of the wild," he shouted above the hiss of the shower.

"We all have to answer it some time."

Half way out of town Jim Drake drew the coupe skillfully to the curb and turned off the motor. He had parked opposite the city library.

Drake felt much better this morning. The sobering effect of the _Morning Star_ had made a new man of him in short order. Dressed neatly in a brown sport suit, clean white s.h.i.+rt and white shoes, Jim looked his type perfectly. Young bachelor with cash to burn, yet with a certain dissatisfaction in himself that had etched little wrinkles around the clear brown eyes.

He pushed the door open and tapped Puffy Adams lightly on the shoulder. Exhausted from the events of the night before, Adams was cat-napping peacefully.

He sat up stiffly under Drake's touch and his face reddened.

"Huh?"

"This is where you get out," Jim grinned. "You're going to do some reading this afternoon."

Puffy was dumbfounded. His only a.s.sociation with the printed page was the _Morning Star_ and the _Police Gazette_.