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Show "Matrix ) rSzA corrmtnr nor erje ufHHttrt ro L )Lj-"v,r-?5r n&USTRATGD BY RAT WAJJTERS "". SYNOPSIS. Throo girls Elizabeth, QabrlcllQ nnd KINp Hlurtod for Canada to spend the punitner there. On board steamer thoy were frightened by nn apparently domont-ed domont-ed stranger, who Ilndlug a bag belonging to oat- of them, took enjoyment In scrutinizing scru-tinizing n photo of the trio. Kllaa shared hor stateroom with a Mrs. Graham, also bound for Canada. The young women on a sightseeing tour met MrH. Grnlinm, anxiously awaiting her husband, who hud a m.iiilii for sailing. They were Introduced Intro-duced to Lord Wilfrid and Lady Edith. A cottage by tho ocean was rented by the trio for the summer. Ellznboth learned that a friend of her father's was to call. Two men culled, one of then) being the queer-acting stranger op tho steamer. The Klrls were "not nt home,' but discovered by tho cards loft that ono of the men was Elizabeth's . father's ' friend. The men proved to be John C. Ulake nnd Gordon Dennett. Tho party was told of the senrch for smuKKlers In the vicinity of tho cottage. Ellso visited Mrs. Graham to nnd that her life was not tho hnpplest. She learned that tho Grahams anil Lady Edith wero acquainted. acquaint-ed. A wisp of yellow lmlr from Mr. Gra-linm'a Gra-linm'a pocket fell Into the bunds of Ellso. Mrs. Graham's hair was black. During a. storm tho young women heard a crash in tho basement of tho cottage and a moment mo-ment later Mary Anne, their woman sorv-nnt, sorv-nnt, entered, her nrm bleeding. To ns-Biiro ns-Biiro thorn there wns no danger, Mary Anne descended to tho basement alono and quieted their fears. CHAPTER VI. It was a very henutlful world which greoted us in tho morning nftor tho storm, all swept nnd garnished nnd freshly painted for our delectation. I wish I could descrlbo it, ns wo stood upon our veranda drinking In tho life-giving ozono and feasting our oyos upon tho lnndscnpo. Perhaps if I wero nn artist I could better express tho bright azure of tho sky, tho deeper deep-er bluo of tho sparkling ocean rippling with white-capped waves, tho wonderful wonder-ful clenrness of tho atmosphere, and tho glorious sunlight gliding everything every-thing until the commonest objects wero endowed with a charm hlthorto unsuspected. I had wakoncd tired and un refreshed, re-freshed, and both Gabrlollo and Elizabeth Eliza-beth looked rathor palo and heavy-eyed, heavy-eyed, so wo decided to spend tho day at homo, and established ourselves upon tho veranda for ono of the long, lnzy mornings in which wo frequently Indulged. Lady Edith Campbell soon Joined us, fresh nnd dninty In her pretty morning costume nnd simple hat, and wo greeted hor with enthusiasm. "Wilfrid has gone fishing," sho ro-ninrked, ro-ninrked, as sho removed hor hat, "and as ho moans to ho away all dny, I Bhall not bo missed. How very cozy you nil look, and what a wondorful morning, Is it not?" "If storms bring days like this," reft marked Gabrlolle, from tho hammock, "I shall not caro how often thoy como." "Oh, shall you not?" replied Lady Edith, with a llttlo shiver. "I do. not hellovo I ngreo with you. Last night was terrible even in tho vlllngoj what it must hnvo been In this exposed place I cannot Imagine. I am always afraid of tho wind, nnd then, too " Sho paused uncertainly nnd looked at us. "Such n dreadful thing happened! Do you caro to hoar hotel gossip?" Wo hastened to nssuro hor that wo lovod all gossip, hotel or otherwise, and sho resumed. "Well, last night Mrs. Hundy, tho fat old lady who had tho tablo next to ours, you know " "Who wore a diamond Bunburst on hor forefinger nnd headlights in hor ears," Interrupted Gubrlollo. "And canio to breakfast In a velvet tcagown, with an emerald necklace," supplemented Elizabeth. "Of course wo remember her. Did sho dlo of apoplexy or anything?" "Sho was robbed," said Lady Edith gravely. "All hor jowols wero taken, and thoy wero very valuable. Poor old woman! Wns It not dreadful? Sho Is In a stnto of hysterical collapso this morning, and who can wonder?" "Robbed!" I exclaimed, lncredu-louly. lncredu-louly. "Yes, robbed. It mnkes ono very uncomfortable, does It not? Thoy say It is tho work of an export, nnd hnvo put tho matter into tho hnuds of the police, hoping to recover tho Jewels." "Whom do thoy suspect?" "I do not know;" sho hesitated a momont, then resumed qulotly: "You see, tho hotel wus crowded last nlffht with strangers storm-hound on tho Island, and It will bo difficult to form an opinion. Mrs. Hundy wns alnrmcd at tho storm, and spent most of the night In her daughter's room. It Is probablo tho thief got In then, or when sho was at dlnnor." "Hut," objected Ellznboth, "it must hnvo been some ono who know sho had thoni. It could not havo boon a stranger." "Ono can novor toll," said Lady Edith, thoughtfully. "Uut I confess it lias mado mo nervous. I did not bring many JowoIb, fortunately, hut I havo my mothor's poarlB and a fow othor trinkets I would not care to loso, and I do not know what to do with thoni, since It nppoars unsafo to trust things In onb's room, ovqu 'if thov aro so- curoly put away. Mrs. Hundy Insisted that sho locked up hor omernlds with her own hands, and hnd tho key on a ribbon around her neck." "I nm glad wo loft when wo did," I remarked ns she paused. "Not that I am burdened with Jewels, hut It must ho awfully unploasanl." "It Is," she ngreed: "ono Is Inclined to look suspiciously at one's neighbors, not to mention servants. As for. mo, I have put my treasures in this box and carried It with mo overywhero this morning. I would not oven trust my maid, who has been with mo for years. I do not know what in the world to do with them, nnd am tuoro than half Inclined In-clined to dig a hole and bury them deep nnd safe." Sho gave a vexed llttlo laugh ns alio spoke, nnd raised a box wrapped in white paper which sho hold on Iter lap, and which hnd appeared to contain con-tain bonbons. "I'll toll you," snld Elizabeth. Impulsively. Im-pulsively. "Leavo them hero. Thoro is n llttlo Iron safe under the china cloKot In tho dining room. I can't imagine why it wns put there, for it I 1b not big enough to hold much silver, I oven if we ' ad anything hut tho most obvious plate; but It possesses two padlocks, nnd you could lock it and keep tho keys." "Do you renlly mean It?" said Lady Edith, Incredulously. "Yes why not? I'm sure wo won't he pursued for our valuables, and, If you will take nil responsibility for leaving leav-ing tlicm, you are more than wolcomo to tho oxclusivo uso of tho safe Isn't alio, glrlB?" Of courso we ngreed willingly, nnd wero qulto repaid by (ho look of roUef in her big brown oyos and tho protty, eager manner with which sho endeavored endeav-ored to express her gratitude. "Let us put them away at onco and get them off our minds," suggested Gabrlollo, springing from the hnin-mock hnin-mock and leading tho way to tho dining din-ing room. So wo opened tho door which looked like nn ordinary wooden pnnol below tho corner closet nnd disclosed tho little Iron safe with ltB two padlocks pad-locks both so rusty from dlsuso that It took all tho strength I possessed to turn tho keys. "There!" I remarked, handing them to Lady Edith and closing tho outer wooden door. "Now you can rest in poaco." "You havo removed an incubus from my ahouldors," sho said, with a quick displny of dimples, "and I nm more grateful than 1 can express. I should not havo had an easy mlnuto after Mrs. Hundy's oxporlonco, nlthough I am Inclined to bollovo It was ono of the strango men who spont tho night hero, rather than a guest or servant of tho hotel. .1 would rnther think so. "And do you know," sho continued, thoughtfully, "my mnid says that sov-oral sov-oral of those men left very early, without with-out wnlting for breakfast as soon as it was light, In fact. That In Itself seems susplotous, under tho circumstances, circum-stances, but then, ns I said, ovory ono Is Inclined to suspect evory ono else, and It Is nil very horrid and uncomfortable uncom-fortable Now, do let us go outside ngaln, nnd not waste this glorious day." Wo had n delightful morning? for our guest wns ovon moro charming than usual. Thoro was a subdued exhilaration ex-hilaration In her manner, and an ox-uberanco ox-uberanco of spirit wo had nover seen beforo; her cheeks wore softly' pink, nud her oyos shone, ns sho chatted merrily of various tjilngs nfter tho fashion of girls the world ovor. In her sol toned mood, with tho grando dame mnnner laid aside, sho wns qulto irresistible, and I found mysolf wondering won-dering why her left hand bore nolther wedding nor engagement ring, and whothor sho as well as her brother had nn unhappy romanco to bo lived down and forgotten. Sho did not, however, convoy tho Impression of a lovelorn damsel, for n more radiant cronturo I havo novor seen. 13 y tho time lunch wus over wo folt as though we had known hor al ways, and wore planning a summer nbroad, part of which was to ho spent at her father's castlo In Scotland. "I hope," she added, "that Wilfrid will havo qulto recovered his poise boforo you como ovor, nnd you can seo him ns ho really Is such a dear follow! fol-low! And then, who knows what might happen? Ono of you might bo Induced to stay in tho old world, for wo hnvo many friends, and American girls aro very popular, you know." After lunch Elizabeth declnrcd her Intention of going down tho cellar to seo what It was like, saying that It made hor very uucomfortublo not to know what sho lived ovor; hut sho returned re-turned Immediately, with a most disgusted dis-gusted expression. "Mary Anno Is scrubbing," sho nn-nouncod, nn-nouncod, "nnd tho whole place is ns wet as tho ocean. I'll havo to wait until to-morrow. Just now I would need a boat." "What's tho uso of bothering?" inquired in-quired Gabrlollo, placidly. "It would not worry mo If 1 never explored tho collar. Just so I know It's thoro, I don't caro what 14 looks like," "Well, I do," returned Elizabeth, "and I'm going down thoro tho first thing' in tho morning, if I tlon't forgot for-got it." "Suppose wo walk down td th'u nfll wharf In tho village" suggested Lady iliH Edith, "and meot Wilfrid. Wo might If H induce him to tnke us for u mill." .1 Hut I still felt very Indolent nud raPI preferred tho hummock, with Its many ' ?iH pillows nnd cool breeze, to thetong, I 11 hot walk to tho village, bo thct'-other three started cheerfully off, leaving irfl mo to my own devices. ; CH For u while 1 swung Idly to nnd fro, Vl watching the dancing water and ud- "lH miring tho effect of tho sunlight on IHjl tho occasional sail which ventured ' around tho point from the Island col- ony on tho other side. I wns thinking iH in a desultory way of poor Mrs. Hundy Jl nnd hor lost emeralds, nnd of Lndy fil Edith nud her mother's pearls, and iil wishing she hnd opened tho box and ' ,ttH shown them to us before locking them away, when I hoard a step upon tho ill gravel path, and Gordon Honnelt lifted his cap nnd smiled umlcnbly upun me, Pll as though ho wero qulto In tho habit 91 of paying us dally visits. I 'ijH I I noticed then whnt whlto teeth ho TH had and how lie smiled with his eyes iifl ns well ns his lips, but this is an unltn ' portnnt digression. IH "I npologlzo for coming so often," . ho remarked, appropriating n com- fortnblo chnlr. "My oxcuso Is that I v. wish to return your property. I for- SiHi got It yesterday." jl lie drew Gabrlello's bag from his 'H pocket as ho spoke, and regarded it nf- i fcctiouately. "At last," ho continued, "I supposo it bolongs to ono of you; I found it on tho steamer coming up, you know, Just whero you had been .sitting." I acknowledged our ownership of tho property, and extended my hand for it, hut ho hold It thoughtfully, ns though unwilling to relinquish It. "Would you mind," ho snld nt last, with somo hesitation, "telling mo why . H when 1 started to bring you this hag, that night on tho steamer, you nil turned nnd iled ns though I hnd been a carnivorous nntmnl?" Thoro was n twinkle In his oya which mndo mo hotly resentful, nl though I tried to presorve n cool and lndlfforont manner. "Would you really llko to know?" "Pining to bo told; I hnvo lost val , r uable sleep trying to work It out." "Well, wo thought you woro crazy." "Why, plcnso?" His volco was genuinely nstonlshcd, nnd I plunged at onco into nn explain tiou I hoped would be satisfactory. "You see, It was those chairs you throw overboard. It was such an ex traordlnnry thing to do. And Gabrlolle ( said you muttered when you did It." "Is that nil? relief and atnusomont. " struggled for supremacy In his volco, and I felt mysolf Hushing uncom- fortahly. "I think It's quite enough," I ro- , turned, irritably. "No men In tliclt senses go around throwing chairs over- 1 fl "And Is thnt why I got tho cold shoulder when I called?" Mr. Gordon Uonnett laughed then as ho has nover dared laugh since when referring to thnt subject, for we don't llko to talk about it, as It. makes us nppenr rnther foolish. (TO ma CONTINUED.) .H |