lack Pearls

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

The Baron was engaged to Lady Angela of Alpine Castle. Everything was convenient for both of them. The Baron’s castle was just three miles away also on the shores of Castle Lake. Both families knew each other and got along well. The Baron and Lady Angela grew up together in Lilliland.

On day, as Lady Angela was dressing for a royal ball at Lilliland Castle in honor of a visiting dignitary, she could not find her string of black pearls. The Baron especially liked the black pearls and asked Lady Angela to wear them on special occasions. But no matter where Lady Angela looked she could not find the necklace.

For the next few days following the ball, she looked everywhere again to find the missing black pearls. The security staff concluded that they must have been stolen.

Lady Angela’s personal maid was away on vacation and another woman, who came highly recommended, had taken her place for two weeks. A search of her living quarters revealed some similar in length, tan-colored costume pearls, but not the black pearls.

Everyone was about to give up when the Baron decided to call in his chief advisor Professor Hamblin. The Professor asked to see the tan-colored pearls found in the maid’s room.

After carefully looking at the tan pearls the Professor decided to take them to a chemist. The chemist looked at the tan pearls and analyzed them. The chemist discovered that the necklace had a coating on it that when soaked in a mild solution for a few hours would come off. The black pearls were under the coating.

After the black pearl necklace was reclaimed by Lady Angela and the maid who stole it was taken into custody, the Baron began to think further on the incident. Was there someone else involved who knew how to hide the pearls without damaging them? The woman finally confessed that her brother thought up the scheme and told her how to do it. The brother was arrested and it turned out that he was a wanted jewel thief from France. The French police were called and were very happy to have this criminal in custody and thanked the Baron the police of Lilliland for their fine work.

Lady Angela wore the black pearl necklace at the very next royal ball and that made the Baron very happy.