Show 14 the lost ring A story I 1 containing an easter lesson I 1 by REGINALD D HAVEN I 1 had devoted myself during the winter to marjorie and marjorie bad had accepted my devotion indeed her preference for me was very plain I 1 remember that on one occasion at a meeting of our assembly an assoria tion filmed for dancing when having been absent from the tile city I 1 had not be secured cured partners marjorie deliberate ly turned down two men on her list and gave their places to me neither of them grumbled for she was consid ered as my best girl when lent came and all gayety ceased I 1 took marjorie to theaters and other amusements and the only rea son I 1 didn dian t propose to her was that I 1 didn dian t quite see my way clear to sup port a wife mite I 1 thought I 1 would best let the matter run on as long as I 1 could manage to do so without mis understanding or danger of losing her foi fol I 1 had made a start in my probes slon sion and expected my clientele and my fees to steadily increase one of our set ed darby invited a dozen of us to spend the week end in eluding easter sunday at his fathers place in the suburb of enfield marjo rie and I 1 to be of the party easter Is a favorite season with me as it is with most persons especially when the spring opens as it usually does at eastel for after a long winter when the days are very short and the sun stands small and to low in the south the opening of spring Is delicious I 1 love it best when certain green things like the be crocuses break through the last snow left on the ground as though they wait for it to get out of the way so we all anticipated a joy ful three days at darby s I 1 1 arrived 1 rr 1 ved about 7 clock too late to drel dress s f for or dinner ed sent me to my room where I 1 tidied up a bit and passing a lavatory on my way down stairs I 1 concluded to go in and get the dirt off my bands while standing by the bowl I 1 saw on the slab a diamond ring how many are there of us who have not at some time or times done some thing that afterward made us won der how in the world we could have been so foolish I 1 was or believed myself on the threshold of a delightful visit I 1 had just made a very large tee fee enough to furnish a house and had decided to propose to marjorie who I 1 did not doubt would accept me for a partner and I 1 was brimming 0 over ver with happiness some girl had left her diamond ring in the lavatory and I 1 would take it keep her on the anxious seat for a time thinking it had been stolen then spring a surprise on her by producing her ring I 1 admit that in nine cases in ten or if you like ninety nine in a hundred such an innocent joke would come to no harm but it Is to be remembered that during the time of taking the property and producing it something may happen to place the joker in the position of a thief one wouldn t think of taking a thousand dollar bill at a bank for sport and he should no more take tale a diamond ring in the same spirit I 1 slipped my find in my vest pocket and went down to dinner A jolly corn com pany was assembled and after saint ing and being saluted by them I 1 waited for some girl to suddenly start and ex claim good gracious where s my ring but the dinner proceeded with out any intimation that the property was missed and after awhile the mat ter slipped my mind during the even ing it occurred to me several times that I 1 would better not wait for the ring to be missed before producing it on each occasion something oc burred to di distract my attention the consequence was that when we sep sel stated for the night and I 1 went to my room I 1 found it in my vest pocket where I 1 had placed it before going down to dinner then for the first time it occurred to me that perhaps the loser of the ring might have gone to the lavatory for it had not found it and supposing some one bad appropriated it without publishing the fact had taken steps to detect the thief I 1 have never since ceased to wonder why I 1 did not go at once to darby s room hand band him the ring and tell him how I 1 had bad found it I 1 would surely have done so but I 1 didn dian t know where his room was what has since surprised me Is why I 1 didn dian t rouse roue the whole household rath er than go to sleep with a piece of property in my possession that I 1 was liable to be accused of having stolen had I 1 known what had occurred I 1 would hae haie been in terror miss ash ton the owner of the ring remember ed while at the table of having taken it off her finger jn the lavatory while she washed her bands hands and ald it occurred to her that she had not put it on again feeling for it she found it not in its place on her finger but being one of those girls who are timid about doing anything unusual she refrained from leaving the table to go for her property till after dinner when she did so and found it gone after tP thinking inking the matter over she the lobs au to darby he sus bus pecking at that the ring had been apro a printed by a servant and not caring to give the thief time to get away with the property telephoned for a detec 1 tv e to come at once W hile we were all making merry during the evening in the drawing room ed was consult ing with the detective in the basement and the detective proposed a plan which ed reluctantly accepted I 1 say reluctantly for detectives are demo cratic era tic judt as liable to look foi a perpetrator of crime among those of ah as well as low degree considering m abat bat was hanging ovel me I 1 slept soundly the first thing I 1 did in the morning was to go to the vest that I 1 had bung hung on the back of a chair the night before and put my hand in the to be sure the ring was there I 1 was thunderstruck to find it gone though I 1 knew just where I 1 had placed it I 1 felt in all the pockets of the vest and in all the pock ets in the suit I 1 had worn the night before the ring was in none of them the stupidity of my action in taking the ring and not producing it at once now rushed upon me filling me with wonder I 1 a man twenty six years old in full possession of all my bacul ties a lawyer familiar with the dan gers of placing oneself in a position of suspicion of having violated the law to have deliberately appropriated a valuable diamond ring and kept it in in my y possession all night made me doubt but tint thit I 1 had been suddenly trans formed into some one else and that person had been born a fool but what should I 1 do what could ido I 1 do I 1 should have gone to the host at once and made a clean breast of it all had I 1 known what had occurred I 1 have done so but though I 1 ap precia predated ted the position I 1 was in of lla ila billay to be accused of stealing my was largely occupied with my cespon responsibility for the lost property and having to spend a large sum to replace it we lawyers learn not to give away eur our cases by precipitate action and I 1 went down to breakfast determined to keep mi own counsel till the proper moment ed darby was on hand and instead of greeting me cheerily he barely spoke to me marjorie who sat op to me tried to greet me as usual but seemed constrained and looked troubled the meal passed with very little said by any one darby appear ed to be striving to be cheery to the others but took no notice ol 01 me I 1 don dont t know how I 1 appeared ipp eared but have no doubt that I 1 made a splendid pic pie ture of a convicted thief though ana an bracing up on my part under a clear conscience was doubtless taken ba b those who knew what happened for callousness in crime I 1 made up my mind that as soon a as breakfast was over I 1 would go to dar by and have a talk with him in order to find out what had developed but he forestalled me as soon as we left the dining room and were alone together beckoning me to follow him he ile took me to his ills bedroom shut the door and locked it then for the first gave way to his feelings he ile opened on me by saying that he had been con founded by proving conclusively that a man he had considered his friend ws WIS a common thief then he told me that during dating the night a detective had enter ed mine and other rooms and had found a valuable ring that belonged to one of f his guests in my vest pocket my professional habit led me now that the worst was known to proceed deliberately I 1 asked him how man of the party knew what had occurred and he said most of them bad had heard of it and the rest would learn about it at once from those who knew I 1 assured him that I 1 was innocent but would like a little time to prepare my defense to this ibis be replied that I 1 could have as long as I 1 wanted for in any event I 1 would not be prosecuted under the law I 1 would only suffer in the opinion of those present since he would exact a promise from all to refrain from speaking of it realizing Keall zing that my only defense was the story of my taking and keeping the ling as I 1 have told it here I 1 asked darby to assemble his guests in the drawing room and I 1 would make my explanation he ile did so and I 1 made as good an effort as I 1 am capable of making indeed I 1 doubt it if I 1 could have made as good a one in favor of a client under the same circumstances the effect on my hearers bearers was like playing on different musical instruments some will give out harmonious strains oth era ers are to the touch send ing back discords but the response that burst upon me like the tones of an organ on an easter morning was given oven me by Marj marjorie orle when I 1 con eluded with the words with this I 1 must leave each and all of you still to believe me an honorable man or a 8 thief she advanced from the far end of the room where she had taken post tion screened by others moved direct ly toward me and put out her hand from the moment I 1 decided upon my course till this action of marjories marjorie s I 1 had felt hardened to bear what was in store for me when I 1 felt the pres sure of her hand and looked into her confiding eyes despite all my will pow er my own eyes became moist she had turned the scale in my favor those who believed my story first fol lowed her example and drew in their wake those who did not and the ion ton soon became unanimous I 1 had made up my iny mind whatever the result would be to leave at once but every one present gathered round me and begged meto ma to remain but not till they sent marjorie to me to add her influx ence enee to theirs did I 1 consent on easter morning we all attended divine service together and I 1 think the incident in which I 1 had been the prin cipal actor added a feivor to our de lotions the case u dif feied somewhat from the teachings of the church in that instead of there having been some thing to be forgiven there was some thing to be bellei believed ed the latter pay may not occur as often as the former but it Is none the less divine neil bonner donner is a in salt lake mrs walter auensen and the ch eh id ren ten are no v in in provo where they to spend the rema rider of the summer mer i W W south forth who recently jur ur chased the hagen hassell stock 0 at mammoth from the utah on of credit men has sold the grocery sio sto j k to D C forsey the rhe balance of the sto k mil ill be closed out as soon aa as possible and at borsey will occupy the hagen hassell building dr C P marveille Har is back in salt 9 t bake again after a few we weeks v its ab sence ile aas feeling the need of a vacation and consequently he ac the salt lake baseball team on its trip north acting as treasured trea surel ii and assisting in the man argement of the club th team had a most successful trip aai and managed to hold its pos t on at th head 0 he league lea guc k W 11 shriver past exalted ruler of tintic gintic lodge no left th s for rochester rochester Roch epter to attend the rand lodge e session as 0 01 th elks lie ile vill will probably sael be ej als absent ent f for r a couple of weeks week while e away mr bli benver river intends to pa p A some little t me in us is ting the larga lam cloth n ng luring turing estabi in new york chicago ph ladelphia and other east ern arn cities ng his orders direct these firms for fall delivery at salt lake last week mrs el en taylor stewardson was granted a divorce from thomas stewardson n lieu of al mony extending over a period of time mrs stewardson was m as given 50 in a lump sum the court gave her an interlocutory decree which will become effective in one year in her complaint mrs stew ardson alleged ta fa lure to provide the rhe parties made their homin this eity for several years mrs august ekman who is in ail at salt lake charged with mur der in the first degree for the kill ing ng of her 12 year old daughter is known in tintic gintic the akmans and the girl who was murdered at salt lake made their home in eureka a few years ago their home life was anything buz but pleasant and the local officers recall the arrest oe of ekman at the request of his wife mrs ekman afterwards refused to prose cute him and the case was dropped miss agnes nolan who was a teacher in the eureka public schools during the season of 1911 1912 was married at the home of her brother in berkeley cal on june 18 to wil wit liam L fitzgerald the many tintic gintic frit rids of the bride bridd will be pleased to extend best wishes and cong ratu athons according to the cards which have been received here mr and mrs fitzgerald will make their home at kalamazoo michigan mr fitzgerald is engaged in business at that place |