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Show If I ' " ipv 1 9 TILT tl 1 The Pursuit of the jm ' N!' Jewel Mysteries From a Dealer s NotepooJLggggl; Ii i ..' I was struggling heroically to force I my arms through the sleeves of a woll-I woll-I . i starched ahlrt, when the man knocked 1 ' "' upon the door of my bedroom for the I ; second time. I had heard him faintly I 1 ' five minutes before when my head was j' . as far In a basin as the limitations of Parisian toilet-ware would allow It to go; but now he knocked Imperiously, and when I opened to him he stood hesitatingly hesita-tingly with a foolish leor upon his face, and that which he meant for discretion upon his Hps. "Well." said I, "what the devil do you i want?. Can't you see I'm dressing?" i ' At this he looked with obvious pity I for me towards the basin, but quickly recovered himself. ,- "Dame," said ho. with a fino Gascon accent, "there Is a lady waiting for monsieur mon-sieur in tho salon." ' "A lady!" cried I with surprise, "who Is she?" " I am out three days In Paris." rc-, rc-, . , piled he. "and she Is a stranger to me. If monsk-ur prefers it, 1 will ask her lomo Questions." "You will please do nothing of the sort, did she- give her name?" "I seem to remember that she did, but it has escaped me. I shall say that you . ' are engaged, and will seo her tomorrow; I monsieur leaves Parts at o'clock hcln? ' ' He said this with another vulgar leer, but I turned round upon him fiercely, for I , I had begun to brush what was left of 1 1 my hair. "You Impudent poltroon!" exclaimed I; "leave the room Instantly, and tell the 1 lady that I will be with her in five mln-t mln-t utcs." , I "Ah." said he. "It Is like that then? i v Very good; I shall safeguard your in-I in-I '. forests; trust In me. May I be permitted to light the candles?" lie said this with a fine eye to the bill; but I sent him away after some .11 1 - r . 1.hI.1i.-.I mv rlr.tcQ- il Ing quickly, wondering all the time who 1 the woman was, and what she wanted of i mo . Although I have lived in Paris nigh I ' as much as in London. I have cultivated I few acquaintances thcro other than those I ' ' arising in ihc path of business. The do- R mestie side of Parisian life has never ap- I A pealed to me; I am equally callous to the H ,. vaunted attractions of the dismal halls M of light and twaddle with which the w' 'i foreigner usually boasts acquaintance. It f ,: was, therefore not only with profound , ' surprise, but also with piquant curiosity, that I fell to. speculating upon the Iden- ft ' ! iity qf my visitor, and the mission which F . i brought her to me. f .'; At the time of this occurrence I had : been in the French capital for one week. I being carried there by the announcement V .'.! of the sale of the Countess Boccalinl s I Jewels. After my usual custom. I had II I engaged rooms in the little Hotel dc I ' Bard, which Is almost the neighbor of the I I . Grand hotel, and had passed the week I - t in the haggling and disputation which , arc the salt of life to a Jeweler. The re- J ?i suit was the purchase of a superb ncck- L - lace of brilliants, which subsequently I I , sold here for nine thousand pounds, and H of a quantity of smaller stones, and of I , chrysoprase. the gem which is now bc- I t ' coming exceedingly fashionable in Lon- I ' ' . don. But on the night of which I am I writing, my trading was done, and a B ridiculous promise to go to the opera I ball alone kept me in Paris. How the I . Dromlso came to be given to my friend U I Tussal I cannot remember: but he had H assured me that the ball was the event I of April and that my education would 1 remain imperfect, until I had gazed upon II the spectacle of calicols and flaneurs U ' rioting In the great house which Gamier I designed and Dclaunay painted. And so I -; pressing was he, and so largely did I I ' trade with him. that I yielded at last I V to his solicitations and agreed to accept l-i a scat In his box. i By the terms of his invitation I was d o meet him at tho Grand cafe at mld-,'H mld-,'H night, and thence was to proceed to t'r the opera house ut half-past twelve. I k -. ; had determined to dino quietly at my i . . own hotel and afterwards to spend the li 1 4 intervening hours at the Theater do la '! Porte St. ".Martin; for which .purpose 1 dressed at a comparatively early hour: r nnd dressing, received tho stiff-necked . Gascon's message'- that . a lady wished lo see me. Yet for what purpose she ' came, or who she might be, I had not an Idea; and I turned over a hundred ' 1 theories In my mind as 1 descended to the little reception room of the hotel. .. . and thc,re found her sitting by the un- ' , . covered table with a railway guide be- , :' fore her. but, obviously agitated, and. as I obviously Drettv. I ' "When looking back upon the extraor- , : dlnnry mystery' of whfcli this childish girl was for me the center. I have t - ' 01 ten remembered that sho was one of r t iio fnw Frenchwomen T liave met I' '.. who had a thoroughly English face, j '. Her skin was white and pink, nn- touched bv that olive tint which is so prevalent In Pails; her eyes were won- ' d'rouslv blue; she had rich brown hair shol with golden tresses, which gave ' lo the whole a magnificent luster; sho ' , was entirely free from that restless ges- , , ture which Is the despair. of a man of . nerves. As I llrst saw her. she Wore a ' captivating apology for a bonnet which seemed lo consist of a spray of Jet and a hairpin; but her "hands' wro . '' gloved, as only a Frenchwoman's hands ? are. and a long cloak of steel-gray tt cloth edged with fur fell about her i , ,t shoulders, yet permitted one to sec an t-S- exquisite outline of figure beneath. In- 'i.r deed, she made-a perfect little picture r. and her exceeding prcttlncss lost notliing r; 1 for the rush of color to her cheeks when i ' . j": , I spoke to her. ti ;ffjf am Bernard Sutton," said I; "If It J Is possible that I can be of any service li'lj to you, the privilege Is mine " i ftjii "Thank you., .a thousand times." said 1 m she. s'pouklng with an accent which added if:r to the charm of her Enclish. "I have j ' , hoard of you often from Madam Carmalo- : ''i!!, vllch, whose husband owned the famous it')-' opal; you wero vefy kind to her" ' ( . "I was exceedingly sorry for her." I 1 j tti j replied; "are you a relation or hers?" H 't "Oh. no!" she exclaimed; "I am 1V Mademoiselle .ISdlJe Bernior.- and 1 live j i f,i with my mother at SU, Rue Boisfliere. . ; Si jft Y'.ou will laugh to hear why I came to .'Kill l'u. It is about something you alone I P. ', S can advise me upon, and, of course l !j you will guess It at once." ; - i t ft "I won't waste your time by being am- i jV blgnOuH." said I; "you have come to consult me about some JowcIh; pray let me seo them." There was no ono oiso In the salon at that tlmo, tho fow people in the hotw being at dinner. The girl had, therefore, there-fore, no hesitation in opening a bracelet casc. which sho had carried under her cloak, and showing mo a plain band of gold which served as a mount for a small circle of turquoise and an exceedingly largo rose-pink topaz, which possessed all the luster of a diamond. I saw at once that the gem was from Brazil, and was large enough and rich enough to be worth a considerable sum, but I have never known hunger for the topaz myself, my-self, and whon J had taken one look at the bracelet I handed It back to her. "It's exceedingly pretty." said I, and your stones are very good. There Is a little green at the base of tho largei turquoises, but you will hardly match the topaz In Paris. Arc you seeking to know tho value of It?" "I would never ask that, she answered an-swered quickly; "It was a gift from my fiance. Mons. Georges Barre. whom you may know by name." I vow It was very bewitching to watch the rosy blush which auffusod her check whon she made tills confession, "icl she spoke, with the ring of prldo In her voice, and I replied to her encouragingly while sho put her treasure beneath her cloak, as though she foared that othor eyes than hers should rest eien upon the case f"Mons. Barro Is well known to mo by name," said I; "his bust of Victor Hugo from last year's salon Is at this moment the chief ornament of my library. 1 must now congratulate him for tho second sec-ond time." , , , At this she laughed, but the ripples died away quickly upon her face, and the look of haunting fear again troubled her eyes. I observed that she was reticent In spoaKing piainiy to me, aim mu ni. best to help her out with it. "You have not yet put to mo, said I, "the precise question which brought you here. It concerns the bracelet, of course?" "Ye yes." said she, "but I am very much afraid you will laugh at me. I wanted to ask you if. In your Judgment that Is. with your experience there Is anv reason why 1 should not wear my present at the Opera ball tonight?" Her confusion, when thus she had unburdened un-burdened herself, was overwhelming. She scarco dared to lift hor eyes to mine as she spoke, and one of her hands played restlessly with tho railway guide wliile the other was closed firmly about her bracelet. Nor did I. who know tho potencv of woman's superstition In the matter of their Jewels, feel the touch of a desire to draw amusement from her dilemma. "Come." said I. with all tho gentleness of voice I could command; "you have been reading something silly. The topaz is tho emblem of fidelity. It Is also a traditional tra-ditional cure for Indigestion. In other words, the ancients wore wise enough to know that love and good cooking aro not so far apart after all. Wear your Jewel at the opera by all means, and regard It as an antidote to tho confetti you will consume." Sho heard me thus far with a restrained re-strained smile upon her face, and indeed she half rose,, as though to end tho interview; in-terview; but the evidence of fear was still about her eyes, nnd there was tho note of unsatisfied questioning In hor voice when sho said: "1 was sure you would tell mo that but I am keeping you from your dinner, and have already troubled you too much I fear." Myanswer to this appeal was to close the door of the salon, which had been open during our Interview, and to draw a chair close to hers. "Mademoiselle Bornicr," said T. "the most Important part of the intelligence vou meant to bring to me remains unspoken. un-spoken. Lot me encourage you to tell me everything freely, and bo assured that without your oxpross permission nothing you. may say will be remembered by me." . , , "Thank vou very much. she said quietly, evidently regaining complete confidence, "but I have nothing to conceal. con-ceal. A week ago. Mons. Barre gave me this bracelet with the stipulation that I should wear It at the ball tonight Two days ago I received this letter, which I hesitated to show even to you. lest It should be an injustice lo the man I love." Sho passed, with her words, a dirty scrap of a note to me. the leaf of a sheet of the commonest lined scribbling paper; pa-per; and 1 read upon it. written In very bad French, the warning: "Mndcmoiscllo. If you wear the topaz bracelet at the Opera ball tonight you carry death ipon' your arm." Thrice I road this; and as I read the words, tho third time aloud, I saw, shaping about the simplicity of the girl, a mystery which seemed as deep, and at first sight as unfathomable, as any that I had known. As for the momentary victim vic-tim of it she sat watching me while I, all amazed, held the paper still in my hand, and did not hide my surprise, . or, Indeed, attempt to. "Mademoiselle," said I. "you speak to me of very deep matters. I fear. But, of course, you have onowri this letter to vour relatives?" "I have- but one relative In the world," said she. "my mother.- who Is a paralytic. paraly-tic. I dare not mention such a thing to her; she would die of fear." "And you yourself have no suspicion, no faint idea of the cause of such a letter let-ter as that?" "I cannot even attempt to guess at it." "There aro nqno of your lady friends who would hazard a Joke with you?" "Oh, no; they could not think of such a joke as that, and my few friends love me, I believe." I had jiow begun to pace up and down the room, being, in a very whirl of theory the-ory and conjecture. And, in truth, the problem presented so many possibilities that it mJght well have troubled a man whose whole occupation was tho solution solu-tion of mysteries. Not that I lacked any cluo. for my knowledge, such as it is. of tho heartburnings, tlie Jealousies, and the crimes which hover over the possession pos-session of precious stones at onco compelled com-pelled me to the conclusion, either that M. Georges Barre had been the victim of. a previous affaire du coeur. or that ills llancoo had been won only over trampled tram-pled hopes and vain rivalries. In cither case (tho case of the woman who resented resent-ed tho man's marriage, or tho man who resented the woman's) was there ample warranty for such a loiter as Mademoiselle Mademoi-selle Bornier had received? Yet was, too slow to venture the question with her, and did so at last, in sheer pity for her childlshneKs. "Tell me," said I. slopping of a sudden before her, "whar led yon td mo? "Madam Carmalovltch," said she. I went to hor first, but sho know you were In Paris, and would not rest until I hud consented to see you. Sho would have come with me. bin Is latterly almost al-wavs al-wavs unable to face the night air. "Vou have no one else you would enro lo consult In such a ease?" "NTo one, ' said she. "And If you go to the ball tonight wlth-out wlth-out your bracelet ?" watching mo rather closely, upon which 1 had a good look at him: but ho turned away sharply to tho coffee room, while I wont to my dinner In as fine a stato of bewilderment as I have known. Never in my long years' work had I come across such a case, or one to which a clue, save on tho hypothesis of Jealousy, was so completely wanting. Yot if Jealousy were the motive of tho warning, how. I asked came the bloodstains upon the bracelot? And If the gem had any connection con-nection with a previous affair of Barrc's, whv did he give It to his fiancee? Tho latter supposition seemed. In Itself, sufficient suf-ficient to upset the whole suggestion, nor could I find another; but I determined to call upon the sculptor at once, and to iiso every device at my comm.'ind In the Interests of the helpless girl who had called upon me, It was now noar to 10 o'clock, and. hav-Ing hav-Ing dined hastily. I passed through the ' She looked up at me with tears in her eyes when she answered: "Georges would never forgive inc." "Gould vou make no excuso to remain at horn?"-. ' , , "Oh. don't ask mo to do that," she exclaimed ex-claimed pitifully. "1 have lived for the ball since the beginning of the year!" It was a woman's plea, and not to be resisted. I saw at once that she would go to the dance whatever words fell from me. and I turned from ihc subject lo one more important. Since you are determined to bo there, tonight, '' said 1, "perhaps you will give me Mons. Georges Burro's address?" "Oh, for the love of God. don't tell him!" she cried: "he would never forgive me If I distrusted his present." "Mv dear voting lady. 1 quite understand under-stand that. Realiy. you credit me with being a very poor diplomatist. When I eo him I doubt If 1 shall even mention men-tion your name to him." "You promise mo that?" "I promise you, at least, that ho shall never know of your coming to me. But I must, exact another promise from you it Is that you will not wear tho topaz until you have my permission." "But Georges expects me lo wear It at tho ball." - , "He would not expect you to risk your life. And there Is no reason, so far as I can see, why 1 should not be able to give you permission, or to refuse It, by II o'clock. You do not go to tho opera until midnight, I presume?'' "Mons. Barre has promised to call j.n the Rue Boissiere at a quarter past 12. He has an appartcmcnt In the Hotel Scribe. I can scarco go with him and leave his gift al home." 'Of courcf you can't, but I would sug gest lliai, uniuas yuu nuur mini iii-j uj midnight, you carry it beneath your cloak as you do now. I shall meet you In the opera house, at any rate. Meanwhile. 1 have one more question to put to you. forglvo it from a man who Is nearly old enough to bo your father. Before you became the Ilancco of Mons. Barre was there well, was there any other In your thoughts?" She looked at me with frankness shining shin-ing clearly from her eyes, when she said; "Never for a moment, I was in a convent con-vent until last year, and J have not spoken to six men since I left." "That Is all I want to know. We will both dine now; but llrst let mo look at your bracelet once more." Sho handed me tho case again; and I. leaving her for a moment to fetch my glass, put the Jewel under tho strong light of the "chandelier, and examined every inch of It within and without. I discovered then that which had escaped mc upon first acquaintance with it. In one of the crevices of the clasp there was a bloodstain, unmistakable, oven fresh, yet so concealed by tho embossment emboss-ment of the Jewels thai. I did not wonder won-der sho had remained In Ignorance of It. But when I gave It to her again I doubt not that I was very serious, and this she observed, and made comment upon. "You seo somotlilng now which you did not see ten minutes ago;" she cried; "you will surely tell mo?" "I seo a very pretty pink topaz." said I, forcing a smile, ''and a young lady who Is missing her dinner. Come, have some confidence In me, and put all thoso thoughts out of your mind until I ask you to remember them again." "I will." said she, "and can never thank you enough: you do not know what a trouble you have taken from, my mind." Here was the end of pur interview, for we had come to the door of the courtyard as we spoke, and I put her at once into the nmL little brougham which vas waiting for her. There wore but two other men, the concierge, and a short, exceedingly dark mun In evening even-ing dress, about the plaCo al that time; and aH the brougham drove away it occurred oc-curred to me that the latter fellow was. courtyard on my way (o tho Hotel Scribe. There I saw, to my surprise, that tho lll-vlsaged Italian for so 1 judged ho was still loitered about the place; but again he appeared to avoid scrutiny. Tills second appearance of his seemed to mc 1 knew not why as tho shaping of a story from the air; but I had no courage then to speak to him, and I walked on down the boulevard, perceiving per-ceiving as I went that flambeaus already lighted the great opera house, and that tho canaille wero preparing for the riot. When at last I came to Ihc hotel, and sent up my card, the answer was that Mons. Barre had Just left, and was not expected to return until the next morning. morn-ing. How completely this answer undid my purpose I could never set down. The man was my only possible hope. In the haste of my conclusions I had never found time to remombor that I might not catch him; that every flaneur was hither and thither like a wlll-o'-the-wlsp on such a night. In vain I asked, nay, implored, for Information they could give Mc none; and when further Importunity Impor-tunity was plainly a farce, I had no alternative al-ternative but to go to the Rue Bolssicro, In the ultimate hope that Banc's destination desti-nation was there, and that ho had called upon his fiancee beforo the hour of the appointment. But upon this I was determined, de-termined, that until I had found him Mademoiselle Bernicr should not wear the bracelet, though I stood at her side from that hour to midnight. My first attempt culminating unfrult-fully, unfrult-fully, I quitted the passage of the hotel, being still bent upon the journey to the Rue Boissiere, and was again upon the pavement before the cafe, when I saw tho Italian for the third time. He stood upon the very edge of the curbstone, un-dlsguiscdly un-dlsguiscdly waiting for me. so that upon up-on a sudden Impulse, which had wisdom In It. I walked over to him, and tills time he did not turn away. "Forgive the question," said I, in my miserable French, "but you are betraying an Interest in my movements which is unusual; In fact, you havo followed me from my hotel, I think?" "Exactly," he replied, having even less of the tongue than I had though I make no attemnt to reproduce the vagaries of his idiom. "I followed you hero, as vou say " "For what purnosc, may I ask?" "To warn you!" "To warn me!" "Certainly, since you carry in your pocket tho topaz bracelet." "Oh," said I, taken aback at ills false conclusion, "it is that. Is It? I o.m much obliged lo you. but I don't happen to possess such a thing." "Mon DIeu!" said he; "then she did not soli it to you?" "Sho certalnlv did not!" "And she will wear it at the ball to-nldht?" to-nldht?" "Of course'" "Mother of God! she Is n dead woman then." It is often possiblo to tell from the chord of voice a man strikes In conversation conver-sation whether he bo friend or enemy I know from the sympathetic noto In this earnest exclamation that I had to do with one who wished well to Mademoiselle Madem-oiselle .Bornicr; but the very sorrow of the words struck mc chill with fear. It was plain that I must shapo a bold course If I would learn tho wholo moment of tho mystery, and observing that tho stranger was a man of much Bhabblness and undoubted poverty If that might, be Judged by his dross I played tho only possiblo card, at onco. "Look here." said I. "this Is no lime for words llko this. Come Into the cafe with mo and I will pay you fifty pounds for what you know,. It shall be worth a hundred If you convince me that you have done a substantial kindness to Mademoiselle Hornier." He looked at his watch beforo he made answer. Then ho said: "The offer In a fair one, but I do not seek your money. We havo two hours In which to save her but before I go with you you shall ewoar to mo that anything I may tell you will never bo used against mc here or In any other country"" , "Of course." said I, "you don t think I am a policeman, do you? I have no other interest but that of the -lady. "N'or I," said he; and lie followed mo into the cafo, but the place was so intolerably in-tolerably full that K bado him come with me to a little wine shop In the Rue Lafayette, and thero wo found a vacant tabic, and I ordered his absinthe ab-sinthe and a 'glass of coffee for mysoli-Scarcely, mysoli-Scarcely, howover, had he lighted his cigarette before he began to talk of the matter wo had come upon. "First." said he. "tell mo, did ma-demolnello ma-demolnello speak of a letter sho had re-1 re-1 eclved?" . Mill 1 "She not only spoke of It. but she gave it to me to read." I replied. "Well." said ho "I wrote It." "I gathered that from your words." said I next; "and of course you wrote It for very good reasons?" "You shall hear them," said he, sipping sip-ping freely of his drink. "That bracelet brace-let was worn al the Ml-Careme ball in Marseilles, by a girl named Berthc Duval. Du-val. She was carried from the ball stabbed horribly, at ono o'clock in the morning. She died in my arms, for in one week she was to have been my wife." "And the assassin?" T asked. "Was hunted for by tho police in vain." ho continued. "I myself offered every shilling that I had to find him. but, do-, spite the activity of us ali. he was never so much as named. Let us go back another an-other year It Is painful enough for mo because such a retrogression recalls to me the one passion of my life a passion beside which tho affair at Marseilles Is not to be spoken of. God knows that tho memory of the woman I refer to is at this momont eating out my heart. She was an Italian girl, 10 years old when she died, and I think why should I not? that the world has never hold a more beautiful beau-tiful creature. Well, she wore the braco-let. braco-let. now about twenty-six months ago. at the MardI Gras ball in Savona. and she fell dead before my very eyes ten minutes after she had entered the ballroom. ball-room. Sho had drunk poisoned coffee, and no man but one knew by whoso hand the death had come to her." "You say no man but one; that one was " "Myself!" "Then you knew who killed the other victim nt Marseilles?" "I knew, as you say: but to know and to arrest aro different things." "Have you any idea as to the man's whercaboutB now?" "Evory Idea; lie was In Paris throe days ago he was In Paris today, I should Judge It more than likely that he will be at the Opera ball tonight." Before he could say moro I rose from my chair and summoned the head waiter of tho place to me. Then I wrote an urgent message upon a leaf of mv notebook note-book and dispatched It by a cab to 32 Rue Boissiere. Tho message Implored Mademoiselle Bernler, as she valued her life, to leave the bracelet at home for this night at any rate. "Now." said I. "we can talk still at our leisure. You have taken me back to Marseilles fourteen months ago; lot ub have the chapter In your life which precedes pre-cedes that one." He finished oft his ahslntho, and called for another glass before he would answer me. At last he said; "You ask me to speak of things which I would well forget. I have sufficient confidence In you, however, to trust niv safety In your hands. The story is not a long one. Three years ago I was a struggling painter In Savona. giving half my life to a study of the pictures in tho cathedral you may know the work of Antonio Semlnl there and the other half to the worship of Paulino dl Chlgl, the daughter of a silversmith who lives over against the Hotel Royal. Needless to tell you of my poverty, or of my belief In mv-Bclf. mv-Bclf. I lived then in the day-dreams which come at tho seed-time of art; they were broken only by the waywardness wayward-ness of the girl, by her womanly fickleness, fickle-ness, by the riches of the men who sought her. It would weary you to hear of my long nights of agony following the momentary success of this man or that one who wooed her. of my curses upon my own poverty, of my bitterness, and sometimes even of my hopelessness. There is something of this sort In the life of every jioor man. but the romance will scarce bear the light of other eyes; it has a place In my story only In so far ns it prompted me to steal Uie topaz, If stealing Is the word for the. act which gave mo Its possession. "But orrlvons! In tho end of the January Janu-ary of last year. I. struggling to erabraco a career In wh ch I have fallen occ"-;-a commission from the Dominican monks t Vi-ivo trnnitiy and no talent, otnainij Lhgo'togthe "valley of San Bernardo and to take un my res denco tlieie retouchedUPSome of the more modern and more faded pictures .nctZ of Nostra SIgnora dl Mlsoilcordla. ino shrine and vlilago lie in tho mountains five miles above Savona. Tho former Is now regaining its splendor, though grievously pillaged by the trench and by later vandals. The work would have been recreation to mo had It not been for Pauline, whom I left to the persecution of a fat and soulless trader, and to i the solicitations of her father that she should marry him. The new lover loaded her with presents and with tho follies of speech which a middle-aged man who Is amorous can bo guilty of. I could give her nothing but the promise of fulr0, and that being without market va ue did not convince her. While she would make . nrtlnn fnr mo When WO uiaiunau ui .,t, were alone, she did nothing- to "pulse the other. Thus I left Savona with her kisses on my lips, and rage of her wantonness wan-tonness in my heart; and for three weeks I labored patiently in the mountainj.il-lage; mountainj.il-lage; and my art lifted mo oven beyond the spell of the girl. , "It was at the end of the third week that mv thoughts were ardently recalled to her by a circumstance which cannot fall to appear remarkable to you. Iwjs walking In the late afternoon of the Sunday Sun-day In tho path which leads one high amongst the mountains, here rising green and purple, and afar with snowcaps aboo this lovely spot; and. chancing l5 .turn aside from the road and toplungo Into a shrubbery I sat at last upon the log oi a tree perched at the side of as wild a glen as I have seen In Italy. Below mc were 'rocks of marble-black, yellow, red all colors; aloe trees nourished abundantly, abundant-ly, springing from every cranny of tie doll; and though the reign of winter was not done, flowers blossomed eviyherc, and multitudinous shrubs were rich In green and buds. Hero I sat for an hour burled In my musings, and when at Iasl I left it was by an overgrown path across tho dingle. I found then that the opposite oppo-site side of the place was vast y steeper than th" ono by which I had descended. In fact. I mounted it with difficulty; and when near the summit. I clung to the sanllnjn? and the branches for sheer foot hold. This action brought an my uom u., for of a sudden. Just as I had con e to he top a shrub to which I was hoIdln& . Bao at the roots and. sent me lolling lo the bottom again with a great quan Utv of soft earth all about me and my bones achlnf? indescribably. "For some minutes I sal. being dizzy and shaken, on the soft grass. hen I could look around me I saw a strange thing. In a mound of the mold which had fallen there was a crucifix of gold. Thickly covered with the clammy earth as It was, dulled and tarnished with ioiio burial the value of the thing was ; unmistakable. unmis-takable. Rub es were sot in the hands for blood, there was a crown of diamonds for thorns: the whole was ornamented wHh a Sprinkling pf Jewels whose fire was brilliant even through the pasO claj which clung upon the cross. I need . sc. rce tell you that all the curiosity which is a nart of me was whetted at this un-?xpPeacted un-?xpPeacted sight: and believing that J had come upon a very mine of insure. i shook tho mo d off mo and went nujcKlj by the easier path to the hill-top and the place of the landslip. jhmuch "Twilight was now rushing tnrougn the mountains, and a steely light soon to turn into darkness, fell upon the ravine, ra-vine, yet I was able still to see clearly enough for my purpose-and for my disappointment. dis-appointment. It is true that the slip or the earth from the hillside disclosed a cavernous hole which had been dug . no doubt, many years ago, hut of the kind of treasure whose Image had leaped nto mv mind I saw Utile. The few bright things that lay about In the part of ll o trough which remained were entirely such vessels as serve priests in the mass There was a pyx in silver, a paten In gold, and two smaller ones; a. monstrance with some exceedingly fine d,ml"d!na"?1 the topaz In it. and a gold chalice much Indented. I Judged at once that these things had been burled either when the French plunderers came to Italy, or attor tho trouble of '70. It was equally clear that they were the property of the Dominicans Do-minicans whose houso was hard to . and either that their present hid ng place was unknown, or that they had been left in conccalmont for some reason or diplomacy. In any case, the value of the stones in the monstrance tas questionable; ques-tionable; but I am an Italian, as you see, and I believed then, as now, In nothing but omens. For a long while no thought of touching these things, scarce even o handling them so strong In human fiosh Is the grain of early superstltlon-came to me. 1 sat thcro gazing at them and watching the light of the topaz sparkling even above the radiance of the smaller diamonds-sat, In fact, until It was quite dark and the miasma rose from the valley val-ley Then, In one of those Hashes or thought which often mean much to a man. I had it in my mind that both the diamonds and the topaz above them would sit well upon the arms of Pauline: I even saw her in my fancy coquetting to me for the present. 1 began to laugh aloud at the other thoughts, to call tnem echoes of chlidlsii scnooiing, io chalice and the ring of Jew-els. and to tell myself that there would bo no bigger fool In Europe if I did not take them. Need I tell vou that the reasoning convinced con-vinced me? and quickly, as the cold of the mist grew more Intense, I took the baubles in my hand, still lacking tho courage to secure tho chalice and the crucifix, and rose to leave the place. "Now. for the first time. I think, you aro beginning to see the point of my storv. The strangest part of It yet remains. re-mains. I have told you that dark had fallen upon the ravine as I rose to quit it. and that mists rose thick from the .valley with the early night. You will, therefore, easily understand my discomfiture discom-fiture when, reflected upon the white curtain of fog, I saw the dancing light of a lantern. In the next moment a man. young but ragged, with a full-bearded full-bearded face, and the cape of a priest about his shoulders, stood swinging his lantern before mc, and looking down at the tomb of the Jewels by our feet. I know not why, but there was something of such power and command writ upon the monk's face that I have never called him by any other name than tho Christ. With what feelings he Inspired mc I cannot tell you. Terror, human terror. Is no word for my experience; my whole being seemed stricken with an apprehension appre-hension which tortured me and made my brain burn. God! the memory shakes me evon now, and I have seen him thrice since, and tho fear .Is greater every time I lnru upon his face. "Thus I stood facing the man when be opened his Hps to curse me. I believe be-lieve now nnd shall always believe, that he Is nothlnir but a madman, whose brain has failed from lone fasting. Be that as it may. his words ring vet In my ears. If you search thf world through rend the curse upon Tlarbnrossa, and all the volumes of anathema, vou will never find such a blasting accusation as the man spoke when h saw the monstrance mon-strance In mv hand. So dreadful was It that 1 reeled beforo him, nnd, losing all command I struck him down with mv stick nnd fled the place. The next day- I quitted tho volley of San Bernardo and in a week Paulino wns wearing tho topnz. set by hor father as a bracelet nnd the dinmonds sparkled upon hor fingers. fin-gers. She covered io with kisses for the sift, and In her embraces I forgot the madman of the hills and my melancholy pnsp?d, "The rest of my story you know. Paulino Paul-ino wore the topaz at the Mardi Gra ball, and died ton minutes after she had entered the room. A year later, having .led from Italy; I became encased por E?mr l0AtcmPs ? Hcrthe Duval at Mar-bcillcs. Mar-bcillcs. A man has main- lovo affairs, w ti,E in.6. n;?S8,on- I was not in love k! 1 i'Jcr.' but she was rich, and troubled tewlf t0 51 smatterlnc of art-talk !Cl!J?ed mol .ne dnv she found mo Sim hi 7y 8tUtUo and S1 ft Of m n Sno dI?rl ns '" have board: nnd I. poor as always, and now pursued by ine thrt cur3Cl camo t0 Paris, sell-Ing sell-Ing the topaz on my wny here to M Georges Barro. I have nover ceased to itStho llZt,.Wh,ich 1 d,d5 1 ha lamented it the most since I saw the oxciulsite creature who is to he his wlfe'V -vlid when, three days ago, I discovered the madman who had cursed m. 'BpI nardo In the very RUo SitJH-Madomolsello SitJH-Madomolsello Bender lives fHfc to save her though the dVfl'Mr i confession and my liberty '-i He had ceased to anoalf off the remainder MhL'.IW his amazing story, which r2P way believe, went whirling brain, and yot gave mo nA VR ly. At the first I WM ied ho was the madman, an i r,V sitting there, and hearing d I nary narration he hart rSB there was something In fiR' which forbade any lone the assumption; and A.?,m ure to bring critical aemtuSHfc action11 lmpresaed me "Come." said I, "prnsumin::flp picture Is not highly coIoriK tlmo we wero at the oth-A- fi'w half past twelve now. vJM women are. MademolnoHo nSEf wear the bracelet In tlip r.TfH thing I havo said; and i uK in i mi wiui you tnat t Iff naM ' her to do so. -B "God forbid that she shnukHfi and with that we wcnl out The weather at that tWE and cheerless: a bleak wind iB the corners of the streets-aiKJRf which Illuminated the ncritK great building swayed and flkEf lapping tongues of red and vTK once Inside, the glow of lIchriKf passed description. Here WhlHfB lng. dancing, leaping, the muB almost drowning with thelrB blare of the band; the BuntrB was ablaze with the Hash ofYoH els and shining raiment tK queens, knights and courtlctK and clowns, swarmed im thB staircase, struggling. soreamlK regardless of everything but ttiB of the scene within, it wiTHS greatest, difficulty that I reacSflK box, and therefrom looklnjrTB' the wild carnival, sgbIdk itK but a medley of form and colJHi less horde of dancers, crltdH herdesscs. over whose hcaiH hurtled, or the snlralcs whldvB loved. What with the dugtJH scream of voices, and the choH thousand tongues, and the UH of the tiddlers, It was alroojtH to locate anything or anvoJH Italian, readier than I, p'oiK mc at last the one we mhK observed her sitting in a batH to us, where she seemed (ttH all a girl's esprit to the youH at her side. A fairer spectacSH than that of this childlitHH quaintly dressed In a rfmpljH white and black, with a necUH about her throat, and a bouimjB in her hand, but the very tfB turned me sick with fear. forV upon her arm the cursed topaiH could sec the light of it huH house. The Italian and I percclvcdH at the one time; indeed, vvH our scats together. JB "For the love of Heaven nH said he; "tell the whole staHj of them; she may not have tH Ho had need to say no mot In the foyer as ho spoke; buffH 1 opened the door of Barre' jH was upon the ground floor, ilH level of the dancers wlieaTaH scream rose up even above HkH the throng. Lor one momentB quaking with my fears, and MHJ lo draw back. I saw nolhlng'H of while smoke, a vision OfH and black form3, and sharpsrH all. the figure of Barre hlmsH over the body of the lnscnslblfH amidst the babbling of vqImH sobbing of women, and the'H man, which was the most". Imaginable. I heard the words.-'B student In the black cloak-4wM madomolsclle!" .H But the girt lay dead, nlH through her heart! Tho tragedy at the operajH talk for many days In FanH assassin was never taken, heard of. The police IncllcH theory that some masqueradiM charged a pistol by accident ! of the riot; and to tills theorrH pie Inclined. But there vraJH svmpathy for M. Georges BarnH near to death for many wceWB shock, and who quitted te'cB sequcntly to take up his reH London. I told him the storrB had narrated to mc so soon'M well enough to hear it: but, jM lice of Paris, who had It see that he did not believe ajM He sold mc the topaz oraeti and I have It to this day. V courage to sell It. iiiB Of the Italian I never neariM saw him last immediately afwM of the ball, when ho lurched M me. wringing his hands PluftH me to tell his story to uie.JB crying that a curse waswM I take It. in conjunction wltnM slon. as a littlo curious tiiM described as an ccclcslasut should have thrown hlrollB train In the Garc du Now tM the death of Madcmolsello !H (Next week: "The RlpenlnjH |
