MY LADY AND HER LIPSTICK.

Shannon News, 19 October 1926, Page 3

MY LADY AND HER LIPSTICK.

COST HER A NECKLACE. DOGS TRAINED AS THIEVES. OAving to the smartness of a German detective, a discovery has been made Avhich may possibly be the solution of many mysterious robberies on the Orient Express. The other day the Countess Belmonte, the wife o,f a Avell-known French nobleman, was travelling home to Paris from Angora. When near Budapest she suddenly discovered that a pearl necklace worth £I,OOO was missing from her handbag. As it sped along, the train was searched from end to end, but the valuable necklet could not be found.

A telegram' was sent ahead, and Avhile the train wais on German territory a well known detective joined it. He made himself pleasant to a number of passengers, and his attention Avas specially claimed by' a fashionably drdssed American, Silas K. Zweek, Avho, with two delightful Japanese toy dogs, occupied a sleeping compartment. The detective and the soon good friends.

On th e following morning he took them for a scamper along the corridor to the restaurant car. There he noticed that on e of them jumped on a chair where a lady had left her handbag, noised it open, took out a bangle, and ran along to its master with the booty. At the next station the detective called several police officials on board, and had the American’s baggage thoroughly examined. The missing pearl necklace was found together with several other things which had not been missed up -to that time by the persons from whom they had been stolen.

The American >was arrested, and soon confessed. He declared that he was a circus “artist,” who had trained many dogs. Finally, when out of a job it occurred to him to train a couple of dogs as thieves. He was in Japan at the time, and there ho bought two lap dogs, “Tok” and “Jon” by name, and trained them to do the trick which had been observed by the detective. With Tok and Jou he had, he declared, travelled all over Europe and America, and had done well out of the booty obtained, by the two anlmals.“ In hotels they were especially successful. The Countesls had been greatly “taken” with them, and when one day she was sitting with him in the restaurant car she laid down her handbag to use her lipstick. Tok saw its opportunity, extracted the necklace which was hanging out of the bag, and made off with it to its master’s compartment.