Looters

The wind blew cool over a little, wrapped head lying on the lawn; serpentinely swayed a rope dangling from above, its lower end knotted about the lady's slender alabastine neck. No moon shone on that July night last week.

Police clustered, clamored, unfastened the rope, scampered to the gloomy room above in the Detroit

Institute of Arts, where a scene of crime was revealed. Against the open window lay a woman, painted by Franz Hals, worth $40,000. Torn bodily from its place, disappeared, was an early Persian-silk animal rug, priceless example of its type and period. It, as well as the bust of the alabastine lady below, was the gift to the museum of Mr. and Mrs. Edsel Ford.

Next day they had grasped one of the felons, tossed the pirate in the gaol. He confessed, said that he had been hired by a "master mind" to steal a half million dollars' worth of the art treasures; his employer probably intended to use them as models for commercial imitations.