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Show THE RUBY NECKLACE. 4 I "Come! Come! TVTiat the mischief!" I could say bo more as I slid rapidly down the steps under the fmpetus of a 'vigorous shove from the man Just coming- out of the' club. I arose with wrath in my eyes, and then "Harry!"- ' ; - . : "FredJ TVelC this la a surprise-thought surprise-thought you j were in Switzerland.".' , "Returned en last steamer. Very bad news Aunt Jessica died last Wednesday Wednes-day week. . .You heard of it, I suppose?" sup-pose?" ' ' . i . ; : . . ; No, I hadn't; I had been in Florida, 1 and Just returned. - - "Very mysterious case, altogether, old fellow." said Fred, afen w had adjourned to! the smoking-room. "I don't mean Aunt Jessica's aeatli, although al-though that ' was very sudden about her property, I mean,- I am. the only heir." i "Let me congratulate" "No. don't! It isn't worth while. The fact is. there is no property." "You surprise me! I - thought -your aunt was wealthy." "So did I,"; said Fred, gloomily; "we were not on very good terms, and I didn't know much about her affairs, but thought , she was worth at least sixty thousand. Well. I find a house and some pretty fair furniture, pictures and so forth, say ten thousand, all told, and not a trace of the remainder." "Hidden .in an old stocking," I suggested, sug-gested, "or in the family Bible or secret se-cret panel; I've read of such things." "So have I," replied Fred, with a sickly smile,! "and I've nearly torn the house to pieces in the last" three days, in my mad search." e "Don't give it up," I said encourag- "Why not. Indeed," I assented very blandly. "But why?" - "About the you know what." said Fred, checking himeelf as he. caught Henry's inquiring eyes. "Would it be out of place, Henry, if I were to make a call dn your wife say today?" "No, san," replied Henry; "proud, of de ho nan, sah. If you wait till six, gemmen. Til 'scort you thar." "Agreed," said Fred, as he dropped a dollar into Henry's nimble palm, and we arose from the table and sought the smoking-room. ' Fifteen minutes past six found us in the neat sltting-rofcm of Henry's home, confronted Vlth Eliza and four coffee-colored coffee-colored children. We both knew Eliza, so no introduction was necessary. neces-sary. "Lavd bless you, sah!" she exclaimed In response to the first question, "'deed an' I wor wid her, an' I mus say, sah, dat she wor very tryln' very much tryln onto a pusson's narves. Slch complaints, an'- fault-flndin'! Well, sah, I earned my money, 'deed I did." "I don't doubt it," said Fred, sympathetically. sym-pathetically. "But tell me, did you notice anywhere in the room before or after my aunt's death, a a necklace of ! rubles?" "No, sah." answered Eliza, decidedly; "never ed no slch thing." - "You know what rubles are?" "Law! yes, 'deed, sah, I do," replied Eliza, with some haughtiness -of manner. man-ner. "Car's mighty few things I don't know. I wor in de best ov sassiety before. I was married to. Henry," .and that, individual, in the corner of the-room, the-room, grinned approval of this speech which might have been construed urft favorable to him. "It's no use," I whispered to Fred. "It's a blind trail." "So It Is," said Fred, despairingly. "Let us go now.". But we were detained by Henry, who always .had an eye to the main chance.' "Don't either of you gentlemen want to buy a dog?" he asked suddenly. The question was so unexpected and so ludicrous, under the circumstances, that we fairly roared. Fred was the first one to recover himself, and, wiping wip-ing his eyes, said . . "Yes, I suppose so. Trot him out, Henry." Henry disappeared Into an adjoining room, and returned leading a little bull-pup. the nastiest creature imaginable. imagin-able. He held it out to Fred, and to my surprise. It was eagerly snatched. "How much?" asked Fred, hoarsely. "Fiv seven dollars," said Henry, noting not-ing his eagerness. In two seconds Fred has the money in Henry's hands. Then, with an ai-parent ai-parent effort to be calm, and at th0 same time covering . the animal with his top coat, he asked "Where did you buy tho collar?" "Dat wor mine," put in Eliza, grinning. grin-ning. "I foun' it on the ftur ov yer aunt's room purty little beads, sah, but them's no 'count. We don't charge fur de collar, do we Henry?" "Not a cent, sah," said Henry, loftily. lof-tily. Once in the open air, Fred grasped me by the arm. and, holding up the bull-pup bull-pup to my view, said in an awe-struck voice - "Look at his collar. It Is the ruby necklace!" -.-. : ... "So you are to be married next month?" ' i "Yes; 'you will come to the wedding, of course, old chappie ?; "Your present to the bride will be, I suppose, a ruby necklace?'.', . . ; "No can't afford to carry round so much Idle capital, and I've converted the rubles into cash. Violet will wear diamonds. Rubles are unlucky that Is, they very nearly proved so to me." mgiy. "1 won't," said Fred. "Help me, old 'fellow, will you?" I said I would and of cours I did. Fred and I went over Aunt JessIcaJs house from cellar to garret, turned every blessed thing inside out, explored ex-plored every nook that could by any possibility contain gold, sliver or bank notes, and even ripped up the floor in a dozen places. Nothing. I was In despair; so was Ffed. "Aunt Jessica's fortune is a myth," I said decidedly. "You had better believe be-lieve it, Fred; it will make it easier to bear." I i , Fred thought so likewise, and so we parted, but the very next day he suddenly sud-denly rushed, Into my office ablaze with excitement, i -"I am on the trail!" he shouted. "Sit down,!' -I said, shoving a chair near him. TWhere is it buried?" "Nowhere- he answered 6avagely. "It is spent! "Worse and worse!" I cried in dismay. dis-may. "Do you mean to say that your aunt squandered fifty thousand dollars in a year?" ! "Listen, -wDl you." reared Fred, "and stop guessing. You know Mrs. Car-brook Car-brook ? Violet Carbrook beautiful girl very dashing sort, of a companion com-panion to Aunt Jessica? Yes, well I met her by chance last night, and she cleared up the mystery In ten minutes. It seems that aunt, about six months ago, converted nearly all her property Into cash and realized over forty thousand thou-sand dollars; Then she bougbV-you cannot guess what she bAught?" "A ship?") "Nonsense-a necklace of rubies!" ' "What In the name of common sense did she wan, with such' a thing?" . , "It Is my private opinion," said Fred, earnestly, "that she did It with the Intention In-tention of kerping your hurrfble servant out of her property, and she succeeded admirably." "You meaa that the rubies have disappeared?" dis-appeared?" I queried. "Entirely."' "Fred," said I, with a gasp, "this is a remarkable yarn! Who ever saw this necklace?" "Miss Carbrook," replied Fred, very promptly; "she describes It as composed com-posed of thirty stones of the finest wateras wa-teras I can very well imagine from the prices farty-five thousand dollars." "Did youraunt ever wear it?" "Never; Fhe kept it in her dressing-case. dressing-case. Just like any common trinket." "Was she the last one who saw it MIfs Carbrook, I mean?" "I suppose so. but see here! with great violence "do you mean to insinuate insin-uate that she " "No, no',"! I said hastily; "certainly not; if it has got to that stage I don't dare to suggest anything. Let us suppose the', earth has opened and swallowed them." "It may be a Joke for you," said Fred, with a groan, "but it's a very serious matter to me." "I know i(," said I, soothingly, "and I'll go and ! help you pull down the house any time you say the word. In the meantime Jet us go down to the club and take' dinner," and Fred's perceptible per-ceptible glqom began to fade under the Influence or good fare. Presently jhe looked up and caught the waiter's eye. ,"Mr. Spofford, how do, sah?" said the sable attendant, with a grin. "Glad to see you, sah! Hope you 'Joyed yur sup, sah!" i "Ah, Henry, you rascal," said Fred, "I thought you had been hung long ago for your impudence." No, sah!" laughed Henry. "Jess the same old Ifenry, sah; no betta, no wuss." j . "How's the family, Henry? Wife all well? and the children three, Henry?" "Fou now; sah, an' all fust rate, sah, fust rate, pe madam's doln' e'r nus-sin". nus-sin". off an' cn. Wor In 'tendance on yer aunt, sah, in her last illness," She was'.T cried Fred, with a start. "Perhaps perhaps pshaw! what's the use!" j . "What has hit you now?" I-ventured to inquire, glancing curiously at him. "An idea,'; said Fred, ."brilliant or otherwise, remains to be seen. In my present situation I cannot afford to let any clue drop. Why not see Mrs. Henry?" j ' '.',' ' |