Show The Th e Man M an at t the t h e Next No NoI NoT ext I Table T a bI e I I I Author The By ROBERT Red of Republic The W King CHAMBERS A in King Yellow and anda I II i a Few Dukes etc Copyright 1896 by G P Sons Entered Ente cd at Stationers Hall London I The caricaturist t is a freebooter PuNIc Public tolerance grants him letters of marque Marmaduke Humphrey M rien ne zie EG EO a passe rien do ment et doux que qU dans dens notre ame ameI I It was high noon In the th city of oC Ant Antwerp n erp rp From slender steeples floated the mellow music of the Flemish bells and In the spire of the great cathedral arross across the square the cracked chimes clashed dashed discords until my ears ached When the fiend In the tho cathedral had jerked the last tuneless clang from the th I removed my fingers from my myram ram cars irs and an sat down at one of the iron tables In the court A k waiter with his fare fa shaved blue brought me a bottle of ot Rhine wine a tumbler of cracked ice and anti a siphon Does Monsieur desire detre anything else els he Inquired Yes the head of the cathedral bell bellr r bring It with vinegar and po pot t I said bitterly Then I began tj t ponder on my and the Crimson Diamond Thc The white walls of the Hotel St An Ant tf t ine rose In a rectangle around the tho sunny Bunny court casting long Shadows fross ross the th basin of the fountain The strip of blue overhead was as cloudless Sparrows twittered under the eaves ves the tile yellow awnings fluttered the flow flowers flower ers er rg swayed In the summer breeze and the thc jet of the fountain splashed among the th water plants On the sunny side of the piazza the tables were vacant on 01 It the shady l had side I was lazily aware t vat at the th tables behind me were occur r I 1 1 but I was indifferent as to their o 0 partly because I shunned all tourists partly because I was think 1 hg is of my m Most old ladles ladies are eccentric but there is a limit and my m had lied overstepped It I J had believed her to tofee tobe tobe be fee wealthy she died bankrupt Still StillI 1 I knew there thero was one thing she did possess and that was the famous I Crimson Diamond Now of course j ji Tiow who my m was j the and the Regent this enormous and unique stone was as everybody knows the most gem in existence Any ordinary person would have placed that diamond lamond In a My Iy great did nothing of the kind She kept It ir Ar ira a small velvet elvet bag which she carried about her het neck She never took it off oft but wore It dangling openly on ler hr heavy silk gown In this same bag she also al carried c nEd rIEd catnip leaves of which she was as fond Nobody but myself her ter only living relative knew that the Crimson Diamond lay among the sprigs of f catnip in the little velvet elvet bag Harold she would say sa do you Im a fool If I place the Crim Crimson Crimson son Diamond in any vault in J 1 New Neu Nt York somebody would teal It sooner or later Then she would nib We be a l prig of catnip and peer cun cuni i J at me I loathed the odor of l i a a up p and she knew It I also loathed I c its tR This also she knew and of or course I c with a dozen Po r rId cd Id d lad lady lOn the tue 1st day of March Marchi i 05 she was found dead dOUd In her bed 1 1 T her het apartments at the Waldorf The Doctor said she died from natural I uses us The only other occupant of her keeping room was a cat The cat fled fied hen n we ie E broke open the door and I IJ IJ IJ J J pa tai eal that she was received and cher J hel i bv by b some people In a neighboring Now although my death deaths was nas s due to purely natural causes there T as l ont one very Ery startling and disagree bit feature of the tho case The velvet elet ITS I ig containing the Crimson Diamond 1 iW ad disappeared Every inch of the was searched the floors torn tp Lp I tho th walls dismantled but the Crim Crimson Crimson son ron Diamond had bad vanished Chief of Police PoTice onlin four of his host best rT n on the case and ami as I had nothing Letter better to do I enrolled myself as a volunteer I also offered 2 reward for the th recovery of the gem All New NewYork NewYork NewYork York was agog The case hopeless enough al although although though there were five of us after the thief McFarlane was In London and 1 lad ld ad been for a month but Scotland i 1 ard ird could couFf give him no help and the I heard hear of him he was roaming trough ugh Surrey after a man with a spot In his hair hall Harrison had gone gotie to Paris He Ho kept writing me that f lues were plenty and the scent ent hot lut as Dennet Delmet in Berlin and Clancy in ui Vienna wrote me the same thing I began to doubt these abil ability abilIty abilIty ity You say sa I answered Harrison that the fellow Is a Frenchman and that he Is now concealed in Paris but Dennet writes me by the same mail mall that the thief Is undoubtedly a German ind r was waa seen Jeen yesterday In Berlin To Today Today Today day I received a letter from Clancy as assuring assuring suring m ma that Vienna holds the sul suI suIT sulI T I nt and that he is an Austrian from Trieste Now for heavens sake I ended let me alone and stop writing j re e letters until you ou have something in vi write about The night clerk of the Waldorf had tarnished furnished us UI with our first clue On the night of my aunts death he had seen se h a tall man hurriedly I ve the hotel As the man passed the desk he removed his hat and mopped I 1 s forehead and the night clerk no not noted t ted ed d that in the middle of his head hend t tere tf ere was a patch of hair hall as white as ass s fF Eo ow We worked this clue for all aU It was v orth rth and a month later I received a dispatch from Paris saying that a man answering to the description tion of the Waldorf suspect t had offered an all enormous crimson diamond for sale salet t it a Jeweller jEWE UE r In the Palais Royal Un Unfortunately fortunately the fellow took fright and andI I before the jeweller could send for the police and since that time McFarlane in London Harrison in Paris Patis Dennet In Berlin and Clancy Chancy in Vienna Vianna had been chasing men with white patches on their hair hall until no patriarch In Europe was free from suspicion I myself had sleuthed thed It through England France Holland and aUd Belgium and now I found in Antwerp at the Hotel St Antonle Antonie without a clue that promised premised anything except another outrage on some soma respectable citizen The case ease seemed hopeless enough un unless unless less the thief tried again to sell sail the I gem Here was our only hope for unless he cut the stone into smaller enes nes he had no more chance of selling It than he ha would have had if he lie had stolen the tha Venus Venua of oC Milo and peddled her ber about the Ole rue de Seine Even Eyen were he heto to cut up the tha stone no respectable le lege gem gerli ge collector or jeweller would buy buya a 7 Crimson diamond without first no notifying not t me mo for although a few red slopes es are known to collectors the col cal color or of the Crimson Diamond was waa absolutely absolu lu IY unique and there wa wag little probability pr of an honest bonest mistake Thinking of t all an these things I sat sipping my Rhine wine In the shadow of the yellow awnings A large white cat eat came caine sauntering by and stopped in front of me to perform her toilet until I wished she would go away Af After After After ter a while she sat up licked her whis whiskers his kers kors yawned once or twice and was about to stroll on when catching sight of me she stopped short and looked me squarely In the face I re returned returned returned turned the a antion with a scowl be because because because cause I wished to discourage any ad advances advances advances vances towards social Intercourse which she might contemplate but after atter a while her steady gaze disconcerted me and I turned to my Rhine wine A Afew Afew Afew few minutes Inter later I looked up again The cat was still eyeing me meNow meNow Now what the th devil Is the matter with the animal I muttered does she recognize in me a relative Perhaps observed a man at the next table What hat do you ou mean by that I de demanded demanded demanded What hat I i say replied the man at the next table I looked him full fun In the face He was old and bald and appeared ed ad His age protected prot his impudence I turned my back on him Then my eyes ees fell on the cat again She was still sun gazing earnestly at me Disgusted that she should take such pointed public notice of me I wonder wondered ed id whether other people saw It I won wonder der derd d whether there vas was anything pe peculiar peculiar culiar in my own personal appearance How hard the creature stared It was most embarrassing What has got Into that cat I thought Its sheer Impudence Its an intrusion and I wont stand for it The cat did not move I tried to stare her out of coun It was useless There was aggressive inquiry in her yellow eyes A sensation of uneasiness began beg n to steal over me mea a sensation of embar embarrassment embarrassment not unmixed with awe All AH cats looked alike to me and yet there was something about this one that bothered me something that I could not explain to myself but which be began began began gan to occupy me meShe meShe meShe She looked familiar this Antwerp cat catAn catAn catAn An odd sense of having seen her be before fore of having been well acquainted with her in former years slowly settled in my mind and although I could never remember the time when I had hadnot hadnot not detested cats I was almost con convinced convinced vinced that my relations with this Ant Antwerp Antwerp Antwerp tabby had once been Intimate i inot if not cordial I looked more closely at the animal Then an idea struck me mean mean mean an Idea which persisted and took def definite definite mite shape In spite of me I strove t to escape from It to evade it to stifle stille anc and r It an inward struggle ensued which brought the perspiration In beads upon my cheeks a struggle short sharp decisive It was useless useless to try tr to put it from me methis this idea so wretchedly so grotesque and fantastic so utterly Inane it was use useless Useless less to deny that the cat bore a distinct resemblance to my m I gazed at her In horror What enor enormous enormous enormous eyes the creature had Blood is thicker than water said the man at the next table What does he mean by that I mut muttered muttered angrily swallowing a tumbler o of Rhine wine and seltzer But I did no not turn What was the use Chattering old imbecile I added to tom myself m self and struck a match for my ci cigar cigar gar gay was out but as I raised the match mate to relight it I encountered the cats eyes eos again I could not enjoy my m cigar with the animal staring at me but I Iwas Iwas Iwas was justly Indignant and I did not in intend Intend Intend tend to be routed The idea forced to leave for a cat I sneered we will see who will be the one to go I tried to give her a jet of seltzer from the siphon but the bottle was too nearly empty to carry far Then I attempted to lure lur her nearer calling her liar in French Ger German German German man and English En but she did not stir I did lid not know the Flemish for cat got a name and wont come comeI I thought Now what under the sun can I call caU her Aunty suggested the man at the Ule next table I sat perfectly still Could that man manhave manhaC manhave have haC answered my thoughts for I had bad hadnot not spoken aloud Of course not n tIt It was wasa a coincidence but a very disgusting one Aunty I repeated mechanically aunty aunty aunt good gracious how hor hoe horribly horribly human that cat eat looks Then somehow or other words crept into my head and I found my myself myself self repeating the soul of his grandam might happily Inhabit a bird the sou soul of oC his grandam might happily Inhabit a bird the soul of nonsense I growled It printed correctly On One might possibly say speaking in poet poe poetical leal ical metaphor that the soul of a bIrd hire might happily inhabit ones grandam I stopped short flushing painfully What awful rot I murmured anc and lighted another cigar The cat was still stil staring the cigar went out I grew more and more nervous What hat rot roU rotI I repeated Pythagoras must have been an ass but I Ido do believe that there are plenty of oC asses alive alle today who swallow that sort of thing Who knows sighed the man at th the next table and I sprang to my feet and wheeled about But I only caught a glimpse of a pair of frayed coat tails tail and a bald head vanishing into the din dining dInIng dining ing room I sat down again thorough thoroughly ly indignant A moment later the ca cagot cat got up and went away IL IT Daylight was fading in the city o of oC Antwerp Down into the sea sank th the sun tinting the vast horizon with flakes flake of crimson and touching with rich deep undertones the tossing waters of the th ScheIdt Its glow fell feU like a rosy man mantie mantle mantIe tie tle over roofs roots and meadows and through the haze the spires o of twenty churches pierced the air lik like sharp flames To the west wet am and south the green plains over oyer which th the Spanish armies tramped so long ago stretched away awa until they the met the sky the enchantment of the afterglow ha had turned old Antwerp Into fairyland anc and sea and sky and plain were beautiful and vague as the night mists floating in inthe Inthe Inthe the moats below belou Along the sea wall from the Rubens Ruben Gate all aU Antwerp strolled 1 and chat chattered chattered chattered and flirted and sipped their Flem FlemIsh FlemIsh ish wines from slender Flemish glasses glasse or gossiped over of foaming beer From the ScheIdt came the cries o of sailors the of cordage and th the puff purt puff of the ferry boats On th the bastions of the fortress opposite a bugler was standing Twice the mellow notes of the bugle came faintly over ove the water then a great gun thundered from the ramparts and the Belgian flag fluttered along the lanyards to th the ground I leaned listlessly on the sea wall am and looked down at the ScheIdt below A battery batte ry of ot artillery was embarking fo for forthe forthe l the fortress transport lay hIssing and whistling in the slip sUp and the he stamping horses the rumbling of ot gun un and caisson and the sharp cries of the he officers came plainly to the ear When the last caisson was aboard and stowed towed and the last trooper had sprung jingling to the deck the transport puffed out into the ScheIdt and I turned away through the throng of irs and found a little table on n the terrace Just outside of the pretty cafe afe caf And as I sat down I became aware ware of a girt ginat at the next table tablea a girl aU all 11 in white the most ravishingly and dl pretty girl that I had ever seen een In the agitation of ot the moment I forgot that I was a woman hater I forgot my m name my fortune my aunt and nd the Crimson Diamond all these I forgot in a purely purel human impulse to see clearly learly and to that end I removed my monocle from my loft left eye Some mo moments moments ments meats later I came to myself and fee feebly feebly feebly bly replaced it It was too late the mischief was done I was not aware at first of the exact state of my feelings for or I had never been in love but I did know that at her request I would have be been een proud poud to stand s standon nd on o my r head or 01 turn a into the Ule ScheIdt I did not stare at her but I managed to 0 see her most of the time when her eyes yes were in 11 another direction I found myself drinking something which a waiter brought presumably upon an or order order order der which I did not remember having given Later I noticed that it was a loathsome drink which the Belgians call American grog g but bul I r swallowed it and lighted a cigarette As the fragrant cloud rose in |