The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories

Young Llewellyn--he seemed a bit quiet. Looked as though he had something on his mind. Hard up, probably. These writing fellows usually were. Looked as though he might be keen on Janet Rustington. A nice woman--attractive and clever, too. But she didn't ram her writing down your throat. Highbrow sort of stuff she wrote but

you'd never think it to hear her talk. And old Leo! He wasn't getting younger or thinner. And bliss-fully

unaware that his partner was at that moment thinking precisely the same thing about him, Mr. Pointz corrected Mr. Leathern as to pilchards being connected with Devon and not Cornwall, and prepared to enjoy his dinner.

"Mr. Pointz," said Eve when plates of hot mackerel had been set before them and the waiters had left the room.

"Yes, young lady."

"Have you got that big diamond with you right now? The one you showed us last night and said

you always took about with you?"

Mr. Pointz chuckled.

"That's right. My mascot, I call it. Yes, I've got it with me all right."

"I think that's awfully dangerous. Somebody

THE REGATTA MYSTERY

might get it away from you in the crowd at the fair. ' ' "Not they," said Mr. Pointz. "I'll take good care of that." "But they might," insisted Eve. "You've got gangsters in England as well as we have, haven't you?" "They won't get the Morning Star," said Mr. Pointz. "To begin with it's in a special inner pocket. And anyway--old Pointz knows what he's about. Nobody's going to steal the Morning Star." Eve laughed. "Ugh-huh--bet I could steal it!" "I bet you couldn't," Mr. Pointz twinkled back at her. "Well, I bet I could. I was thinking about it last night in bed--after you'd handed it round the table for us all to look at. I thought of a real cute way to steal it." "And what's that?" Eve put her head on one side, her fair hair wagged excitedly. "I'm not telling you--now. What do you bet I couldn't?"

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