Show it 9VEl II W U of Baffled Qrime x B v 1 CHAPTER r H I f you GO to England tomorrowr I I I was on the point of leaving India i and returning to England when he sent I for me At least to be accurate and I am nlways accurate I va not quite on tho point but nearly for I was going to startby the mail on the following day r had been up io Government house to take my leave few days before but Sir John had been too i to seo me or at last he had said he was And now he was much wors dying it seemed from all accounts and he had sejitdown a native na-tive servant in the noonday heat with a I note written in his shaking old hand begging mo tocqme up as soon as it became be-came cooler Ho said he had a commission commis-sion which he was anxious I should do for hhnjn England I I Of COurse T went It was not very convenient because I had borrow one of our fellows traps a 8 I had sold my own and none of them had the confi dence in my driving which had myself I was also obliged to leave the packing of my collection of Malay krises and Indian dian kookeriesto my bearer j I wondered as I drove along why Sir John had sent for me Worse was he 1 Dying and without a friend Poor old man He had done pretty well in this world but I was airajd he would not be up to lUC pnco ho was out of it and now it seemed he was going felt sorry for him I felt more sorry when I saw him when thp stnll long faced A D C took mo > into hisroom and left us Yes Sir John was certainly going There wasno mistake about t it It was writtenjn every line of his drawn fever worn face and in his wide fever lit and in tber clutch of his eyes t Is long yellow yel-low hand upon his tussore silk dressing gown He looked a very sick bad old I man as he lnythere on his low couch placed so as to court the air from without cooled Toy its passagfe through damped I grass screens aijd o receive the full t strength of tr punk h pulled by an invisible in-visible hand outside I You go fto England tomorrow he asked sharply It was written eyen in the change of i voice whicli vas harsh atf of old but with all the strength gone out of it By tomorrows mail I said I should have liked to > say something more something sympathetic about his being be-ing ill and not likely to get better but he had always jreyteflme discourteously when he was well and I could not open out all at once now that he was ill Look here Middleton ho went on I am dying and I know it I dont suppose you imagined I had sent for you to bid you a last farewell before dep rt ing to my long home I am not in such a hurry to depart as all that I can tell you but there is something ant done that want you to do for me meant to have done it myself but I am down now find I must trust somebody I know better than to trust a clever man AD honest fool but 1 am digressing from tho case in ppint 1 have never trusted anybody all my life so you may feel honored I have a small parcel I which want tou to take to England for I me Hero it is I j His long lean hands went searching I in his dressing gowh alicl presently I produced an old brown joag held together I to-gether at tie udckby astring Soc hpreWHasaid nijuh0 pushed the I 1Itllp glasses and vljfeiS ttsl < Vfifoni the table near him lid htd the siring Then he craned for afslt tf look1 abqiij him lay j ing aspasmodacvOliiVoifmebng Im watched 1 l Ov IjuiJ jwatchcll he c said in u whisnerHispSe eyes turning I slowly in etfr lrj J shall be killed for them if I kecsp them much longer and 1 wont be ihtrflc f into my 1 1 I gaVe Ill take inyown tiine 1 1 I Thero is no one here 1a 0id and no onp in sight except Catiicart smoking in the veranda and > I cati ohly tea his legs so ho cant seo11 Ho seemed to recover himself and liiughed I hadnever lilted his laugh especially when as had often happened it had been directed against myself but Ilk d it stilllcBSi now i See here ho repeated chuckling and ho turned the bag inside out upon the table t4o I Such jewels I had never seen They I f Pit cut finn upon thbmarbto table recn and red and burnin1iith green nn1 tei burning twhite A largo diamond roll d mud fell upon the floor I picked it up and put i back among the confused bldzo of precious stiiifos too niiiQh astonished a mon mo-n to speak il Beautiful arent they tho old man chuckled passing his wasted hands over tem You wont < match thdt necklaco in any jewelers in England I tore it off an old she devil of t Ehaneos neck after the mutiny and got a bite in tho arm for myiiouble But shell tell no tales1 HeJiehe I dont mind say ingvMiow i how I got them lam a hum Christian now I am so near heaven eh Middleton He ho You dont like to contradict Look at those cOltr tt mo emeralds emer-alds The hasp is broken but it makes apretty bracelet I dont thihk Ill tell how the hasp got broken little accident as JLhe lodylwho wore it gave it to me Battier brown isnt i o one side But it will come oflf No you need not be afraid j of touching it it isnt wet He hoi < Andtnia frescwit Look at those Diamonds I JSrdncfieS3 would b proud I I I Qf t4 J H fom 1Jn Ml I 1 S l lj v j t 1 1 c t r a I J11 Vr Jf > l t J F dicr I gave him top for theSi Daar me how the sight of them brings back old times But I wont leave them out any longer We must put them away put them away And the glittering mass was gathered up and shoveled back into the old brown bag He looked into it onco with hungry eyes and then he pulled the string and pushed it over to me Take it ho said Put it away now Pat it away he repeated as I hesitated I put tho bag into my pocket Ho gave a long sigh as h3 watched it disappear Now what you have got to do with that bag ho said a moment afterward is to take it to Ralph J anvera the second sec-ond son of Sir George Danvers of Stoke More ton in Dshire Sir Georgo has got two sons I have never neon him or his sons but I dont mean the eldest to have them Ho is a spendthrift They are all for Ralph who is a steady fellow fel-low and going to marry a nice girlat least I suppose she is a nice girl Girls who are going to be married always are nice Those jewels will sweeten matri mony for Mrs Ralph and if she is like other women it will need sweetening There now you have got them aLd that is what you have got to do with them Thero is the address written on this card With my compliments you perceive per-ceive He he dont suppose they will remember who I am Have you relations I asked for I I am always strongly of opinion that i property should be bequeathed to relatives I rela-tives especially near relatives rather than to entire I entro strangers None he replied not even poor relations re-lations I have no deserving nephew or Scotch cousin I 1 had they would be here at this moment smoothing the pillow low of the departing saint and wondering wonder-ing how much they would get You may mako your mind easy on that score I Then who i this Ralph whom you have never seen and to whom you are leaving so much I asked with my usual desire for information Ho glared at mo for a moment and then he turned his face away I Dn it What does it matter now Im dying he said And then he added hoarsely 11 know his mother I could not speak but involuntarily I put out my hand and took his leaden one and held it He scowled at me and then the words came out as i in spite of t himself I Sheif she had married me who J I I knows what might murre she married I I mar-ried Danvers She called her second I son Ralph My first name is Ralph Then with a sudden change of tone I pulling away his hand There now you know all about it Edifying isnt I i These deathbed scenes always have an element of interest havent they I I Good evening ringing the bell at his 1 elbowI cant say I hope wo shall meet again it would be impolite No i dont let me keep you Goodby again Goodby Sir John 1 said talcing impatient hand and shaking it gently God bless you I Thankee grinned the old man with a sardonic chuckle I anything could I I by do me good that will Im sure Good byAs byA I breakfasted next morning previously previ-ously to my departure I cod not help reflecting on the different position in which I was now returning to England as a colonel on long leave to that in I I which I had left it many I do not care I to think how many years ago the youngest ensign in the regiment It was curious to remember that in my youth I had always been considered the fool of the family most unjustly so con1 titTered when I look back at my quick promotion owing to casualties and at my long and prosperous career in India which I cannot but regard as the result of high principles and abilities to say the least of it of not tho meanest order On the point of returning to England the trust Sir John had with his usual shrewdness ness reposed in me was an additional proof if proof were needed of the confi dence I had inspired in hima confi dence which seemed to have ripened suddenly at the end of his life after many years of hardly concealed mockery and derision Just as I was finishing my reflections and my breakfast Dickson one of tho last joined subalterns came in Tins is very awful he said so gravely grave-ly that I turned to look him What is awful I Dont you know ho replied Havent you heard about Sir John i last night I 1 Dead asked I He nodded and than hg said i Murdered i the night Cathcart heard a noise and went in and stumbled over him on the floor As he came in he saw the lamp knocked over and a figure rush out through tho veranda The moon was bright and ho saw a man run across a clear space in the moonlight si tall slightly built man in native dress > but not a native Cathcart said that he would take his oath on by his build He roused tho house but the man got clean off of course And Sir John jSiI John was quite dead when Cath crt got back to him He found him I lying l on his face His arms were spread out dud his dressing gown was1 torn as if he had struggled hard His pockets had beta turned inside out his writing table drawers forced open the whole room had been ransacked Yet the old mans gold watch had not been touched and some money mono of tho drawers had not been taken What on earth is the meaning of it al flaid young Diok son below his breath What was the thief after In a moment the truth flashed across my brain I put two and two together sis quickly as most men I fancy The jewels Some one had got wind of the jewels which at that moment were reposing re-posing on my own person in their old brown bag Sir John had been only justin just-in time tI What was ho looking for continued Dickson walkdaj up and down ° The old man must haro had eonio paper or other about him that the wanted t get hold of But what Cathcart says that nothing whatever hasbeen taken a far I aa he can e6 at present i v 5 s t tH t n f d r I > I I was perfectly Sent It is notevery I a who would have been so i my place but I va I know when to hold my tongue thank heaven Pw ntj the others came in all full of the same tubject and then suddenly I remembered that it was getting late and there was a bustle and a leave taking tak-ing and I had to pest off before I could hear more Not however that thero was much more to hear for everything I seemed to be in the greatest confusion I I and every species of conjecture was afloat a to the real criminal and the mctivo I for the crime I I had not much time to think d anything I any-thing tb9 fifst board I during ft day on yet I busy ni I was in arranging andrearrang ing my things poor Old Sir John never seemed quite absent from my mind His image a I had last seen him constantly rose before and the hoarse ros me whisper I was forever sounding in my ear Im i watched I know Tin watched could 1 not get him out of my head I was unable un-able to sleep the first night I was onboard on-board and as the long hours woro on I always seemed to see the pale searching eyes of the dead man and above the I i manifold noises of the steamer and the perpetual lapping of tho calm water I against my ear came the whisper Im I watched I know Im watched CHAPTER H hh = = = 1 I AF j1 They will look lovely set In gold as a bracelet on her an I was all right next day I suppose J had had what women call nerves J never knew what nerves meant before because no two women I ever met seemed to have the same kind I it is slamming a door that upsets one wom ans nerves it may be coming in on tiptoe that will upset anothers You never can tell But I am sure it was nerves with me that first night I know I have never felt so queer since Oh I yes I have though once I was forgetting for-getting but I have not come to that yet Wo had a splendid passage home Most of the passengers were in good spirits at the thought of seeing England again and even tho children were not so troublesome as I have known them I soon made friends with some of the nicest people for I generally make friends easily I do not know how I do it but I always seem to know what people peo-ple really are at first sight I always was rather a judge of character I There was one man on board whom I I took a great fancy to from the ft HeWS He-WS a young American traveling about as Americans do to see the world I forget I I for-get where he had come fromthough I believe he told meor why he was going to London but a nicer young fellow I never met Ho was rather simple and unsophisticated and with less knowledge of the world than any man I ever knew but he did not mind owning to it and was a grateful as possible for any little hints which a an older man who had not gone through life with his eyes shut I was of course ablE to give him He was of a shy disposition I could see and wanted drawing out but he soon took to me and in a surprisingly short time we became friends He was in the next cabin to mine and evidently wished so much to have been with me that I tried to get another man I to exchange but he was grumpy about I it and I had to give it up much to yOung m Cars disappointment Indeed ho was I qmtp silent and morose for a whole day I about it poor fellow Ho was a tall j handsome young man slightly built I with tho kind of sallow complexion that j I women admire and I wondered at his preferring my company to that of tho J womankind on board who were certainly ly very civil to him One evening when I was rallying him on the subject as we were leaning over the side for though it was December it was hot enough in the Bed Sea to lounge I on deck he told me that ho was engaged en-gaged to be married to a beautiful young i American gl I forgot her name but I remember he told it me Dnlcima I something but if i of no consequence U quite understood then I always car ca-r enter into the feelings of others so entirely en-tirely I know when I was engaged myself my-self once long ago I 1 did not seemto I care to talk to any one but her She did i not feel the same about it which perhaps per-haps accounted for her marrying someone I some-one else which was quite a blow to met me-t thotime But still I could fully enter into young Caps fClns especiaUy I when ho vent ou to expatiate on le perfections Nothing he averred was too good for her At last he damped his voice and after looking about him i in tljo dusk to make sure he was not overheard he said I have picked up a few stones for heron her-on my travels a few sapphires of consid erablo value I dont care to have it generally known that I have jewels about me but I dont mind teljing you I My dear fellow I replied laying my hand on his shoulder apd sing my voice t a whisper not a soul on board j this vessel snspectsit but so have I Ifc was too dark fQr me to see his face I wa < but I felt that ho was much impressed j by what I had told him Then you will know where I had bet ter keep mine ho said a moment later with Irs impulsive boyish confidence How fortunate I told you about them Some are of considerable value and and I dont know where to put them that they will be absolutely safe I never carried about jewels with me before be-fore and I am nervous about losinir them you understand And he nodded significantly at me Now where would you advise no to keep them On you I said significantly sgcaty But where where He was simpler than even I could have believed lily dear boy I said hardly able to refrain from laughing do a I cIaput them in a bag with string to i Put the string around your neck and wear th tmg under your clothes night an t dayAt S ut night as well he asked anxiously Of course Yon aro just a likely to foso them jts you a itinjthenight 1 as zt a r in the day Z u I a very much obliged t You hi replied I will take your adV thit very night I say he added suddenly uyou would not care to see them wore you I would not have any one elsa catch sight of them for a good deal bull I would show them you in a momenta Everyone else is on deck just now ia you cabin would like to come down into mj I hardly know one stone from another and never could ti a diamond fm paste but he seemed s anxious to show ms what he had that I did not like toi refuse beloIt By all means I said And wo went belo-It was very dark in Carrs cabin and after he had let me inha locked the door carefully before he struck a light Ho looked quite pale in thought of the lamp after the red dusk of the warm evening on deck I dont want to have other fellows coming in he said in a whisper nodding ding at the door He stood looking at me for a moment a i irresolute and then ho suddenly seemed to arrive at some decision for ho pulled small parcel out of his pocket puel pet and began to open it They really were not much to look atv though I would not havo told him so for I worlds There were a few spphires i I one of a considerable size but uncut and some handsome turquoises but not of perfect color He turned them over I with evident admiration will look lovely set in They wi gold a I a bracelet on her arm he said softly He was very much in love poor fellow And then ho added humbly But I dare say they are nothing to yours I I chuckled to myself at the thought of his astonishment when ho should actually behold them but I only said i i Would you like t seo them and judge for yourself i Oh if it is not giving you too much trouble he exclaimed gratefully with gatefuy shining eyes Its very kind of you I did not like to ask Have you got them i with you j I nodded and proceeded to unbutton coat mv At that moment a voice was heard shouting down the companion ladder Carr I say Carr you are wanted and in another moment some one was hammering on the door Carr sprang to his feet looking posi tively i savage Carr shouted the voice again I Come out I say you are wanted Button up your coat he whispered scowling suddenly and with an oath ho opened < the door coor Poor Carr He was quite put out I could < see though he recovered himself in i a moment and went off laughing with the 1 man who had been sent for him to take his part in a rehearsal which had been suddenly resolved on for theatricals theatri-cals i had been brewing fpr some time and he had promised to act in them I had not been asked t join so I saw no more of him that night The following morning as 1 was taking an early turn on deck he joined me and said with a smile as he linked his arm in mine I was put out last wasnt if But you got over it in a moment I replied 1 quite admired you and after all you know some other time No he said smiling still not some other time 1 dont think will see them thanks all the same They might put me out of conceit with what I have picked up for my little girl which are the best I can afford He seemed to have lost all interest i the subject for he began to talk of England and of London about which he appeared to have that land of vague half and half knowledge which so often to newl f proves misleading young men newly launched into town life When he found out as he soon did that I was to a certain extent familiar with the metropolis me-tropolis he began to question me minutely < mi-nutely and ended by making me promise prom-ise t dine with him at the Criterion of which he had actually never heard and go with him afterward to the best of the theatres the day after we arrived in London He wanted me to go with him the very evening we arrived but on that point I firm sister Jane who liv was frm My was lv ing with a hen canary called Bob after before its known in small me sex was kow a sal house in Kensington would naturally hurt if I did not spend my first evening in England with her after an absence of so many years Carr was much interested to hear that I had a sister and asked innumerable tions about her Was she questions young and lovely or was she getting on Did she live all herself and I al by herel was going to stay with her for long Was not Kensington Ken-sington was that the name of the street rather out of the world etc 1 I was pleased with the interest he took in any particulars about myself and my relations People so seldom care to hear about the concerns of others Indeed I have noticed as I advance in life such a general want o interest on the part of my acquaintance in the minutis of my personal affairs that of late I have a most cease t speak of them at any length Car however who was of what I should call a truly domestic turn of character showed such genuine pleas urein hearing about myself and my relations re-lations that I asked h to call i London Lon-don i order to make Janes acquaintance and accordingly gave him her address whi h he took down at once in his note book with evident satisfaction Our passage was long but it proved most uneventful and except for a occasional oc-casional dance and the theatricals before be-fore mentioned it would have been dull in tho extreme The theatricals certainly tainly were a great success mainly owing ow-ing to the splendid acting young Car who became afterward a more special object of favor even than he was before I was bitterly cold when we landed early in January at Southampton and my native land seemed have retired from view behind a thick veil of fog Wo had a wretched journey up to London packed as tight a sardines i a tin much to tho disgust of Carr who accompanied mo to tow and who with ccompanie h usual thoughtfulness had in vain endeavored to keep the carriage to ourselves selves by liberal tips t guards and porter por-ter When we at last arrived in London Lon-don he insisted on getting me a cab and seeing my luggage onto it before ho looked after his own at all It was only when had given the cabman my s gv ters address that ho finally took h le V9 anddisappsared amongthothrong of people who were jostling each other near the luggage vans Curiously eftough w en I arrived at mydestination a odd thing happened t I I got out at the green door of 28 Su TO BE CONTINUED |