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Show imml "Tiib'diamond from the" sky" jll CHAPTER LVlll. I King Arthur Marrioj Quean Esther. Hf !A JJISTRESS of Stanley Hull. : Wl Esther, my ta to be. I M JL M Ml'Xu .voul" said Arthur In ( I deep earncstues-i us Iiu drew ) If Estlicrtor.ini. "?oo lung have you been l III clientcd of yot.r blrthrUht. 1 ntn not 1 j Bullty of uny wioni: excepts you, and 1 I j you linvo forgiven uiu. llliilr Stanley I Is BUllty of the death of Dr. Leo,-and i 1 1 I feel sure that Blnko lias the proofs. I "The time lin.s come when, for your 1 J sake, the truth must bo known, and l j you (must take your place In this state- I fl , ly home of your people, whore I dwelt HI ho long 1111 impostor to foster the nmbl iW U011K of the dead and to augment their mm 1 fends mid hatreds.' n U V UVicv shuddered and threw herself F I Into lil- arms. "No. Arthur!" she cried. U It "I have never been happy here! Let the fj U de.ul nnd their becrets reir In the grave. h U "Hleh and of position, you know no 111 happiness, nor would I. It was not ) your dying mother's wish, I know. jilW looking Into thu faeo of death, sho saw !jf clearly. All she desired was that itu .fan should be huppy together. j ' t "When Hit within this gloomy houso , I jj with her 1 asked for n sign, and it was M given to inc. And I repeat this to you H as wo repeated It together that night: W " 'Entreat me not to leave theo or to H return from following after theo, for I ffl hither thou goest I will go, and C , Vivian and Blair Mako Merry In Lon- don. W t where thou Iodgest I will lodge. Thy E ' pcoplo (.hall be my people and thy Cod K ( my God.' " j i And as the twilight turned to d.ir!; Ijr ness thos-u two rode uway fiom S,uii In, ley hall to dwell unknown, objure. B among the simple gypsy people vhu jfi loed them. H Hero the astute Tom ISInke of Rich I mond found them, and here he lirougM I a copy or the proofs of lllalr's guilt f the linger print markings from the 1 murder kcene. the library where Blair 1 had slain the kind old doctor. Henrj 1 Lee, In his (irst attempt to ga.n th 1 diamond from the sky. I Bhike pleaded with Arthur to hn't 1 Ululr "In the hour of his supposed trl I umph. but Esther nnd Arthur refused W "Let IUalr havo the Powell millions 1 let him have Stanley Hall; let hlin li.nu 1 tlio earldom In England and the ilia I mond from the sky." said Aithur. "Wo I 1 have moie than all these things, for m I ' casting them aside wo have found I i love and happiness!" I j "Your mother. Ilagnr Harding, was R my best friend. Sho gae mo my stnrt I j In life." ismtl Elako huskily. "I will I j abide by your wish. Abo Illoom sus i I ' pects much, bat knows llrtlo regarding 1 I ( Hlnlr Stanley. I "Bloom daro not movciinlcvi I say so I I 1 and I can hold him quiet. Even ten I ' Fulrfus you will never be recognued 1 1 ! ' the gypsy. Arthur Hnrdlni;. by ttie I . copIo who knew you as Arthur Stan I ' lcy" 'Ttio fow short years hao changei: II I you, but It Is dllTeient with Miss l.s 11 thor Stanley here. Who could not tell jj ' her? You cannot keep tho t.cr-ret on I 1 1 this account. I know." I I "This Is n sheltered plneo which onlj 1 tho gypsies know tho way to. only the 1 gypsies, with the exception of your- M , self," replied Arthur. "You know the U , way because my mother taught you, i.' nnd you know the Romany password I that admits you past the outer vans. I I "This is tin- old rendezvous of my mother. Tho gypsies own tho very - lnnd. Wo will not be hero long only for our wedding, which will be n gypsy one. None but n Romany can be n't i tho wedding none but ou, for you wcro adopted Into tho trlbu as a lny. I am told." "Yes, 1 was picked up by your moth cr a starved and wretched lad. n runaway run-away from a miserable almshouse In tho mlddlo west." replied Illako softly "I was adopted Into Ilagar's tribe, fed. clothed nnd educated by your mother I. "Rut I cnnimt come to the wedding I I think you aro wrong, nnd I could not ; bear to see the mistress of Stnulo.i i j hall wedded as a gypsy when she I ' Miould bo wedded as her mother waa- 1 I tho way her people, have been. I j "You will paidon me for Hpenklnu il from my heart?" If Esther smiled. "You are too serious I Mr. Blake." sho nald. "It Is the only cl way I wpuhl be wed. You ninv Im nil ' adopted gypsy, nnd Arthur id 1,. bt a jl horn one. but of us three 1 nm tho II real Romany, nnd I will have the wed J ding of n gypsy queen nnd none other!' ijjIHk I'nt lit tho privacy of his sanctum tu Continued from Pago Soven his Richmond agency the next day Hlnke smiled to himself us he said: "Will" Stanley, you destroyed one set of pronto rv-Iicit you strurk down Ilagnr Ila-gnr and wrested them from her. Ar thur dcstioyed the set t toot; to him. but Tom III. lie had the originals!" Then he sighed nnd gazed at n por trait of Ilagnr that hung upon the wall of his sanetum. The picture was Inscribed from linear to Illake. The eyes of tho portrait seemed living ones In the earnest guso of tho detective. "You ure dead." ho said, "but your spirit lives, I know. Wli-Hover was the wish of your steadfast heart that thing shall be accomplished, nnd perhaps per-haps I yet shall be tho instrument of It!" lie spoke prophetically. In far uway London the ilncerely faithful lawyer Smythe writhed In secret protest at tho title having come to IUalr nnd Vivian while the two dine nnd make merry in London's famous testaurauis. Smythe had teen lllalr take his scat In the house of lords, mid no word came from Illake, although he laid cabled ca-bled the Richmond detective to scud proofs of lllalr's guilt nnd secure 11 requisition. Itlnkc now went to this latter task. But, Influential as he was, he found tho Virginia Jurists were averse to moving lu (lie matter. After long delay de-lay ho secured with all the secrecy possible a warrant for Hlnlr and 11 requisition to return him to America, and this he sent to Smythe. Meanwhile in the fastness of the IHuo Itidgo there Is n royal wedding, tho nuptials of royalty In Romany King Arthur marries Queen Esther, and gypsies from nil over tho hind hnvo gathered for the event. There Is n maypole, and there Is music, nnd there arc garlands. The vans are garlanded; the little children strew flowers nnd the elder gypsies bear branches of blossoms to form n flower nrchway for tho royul young couple. The goats nnd horses nre gurlnnded. Quubba wears u garland gar-land and a big bridal favor nnd leads the gypsy musicians, who play nil the while tho merry Romany wedding btrnlns. Clarence, tho moukcy, has n wedding favor nnd wears u gnrlnnd nnd Is mado to beat the triangle, though, tu sooth, Clarence is cynically Indifferent, being n bachelor by Instinct. And so tho mnypolo ribbons nre twined, and so tho wedding dance goes on, and so at eunset the royul pair, King Arthur nnd Queen Ksther, Jump oer tho gypsy broomstick held by Qunbba and so they are mnrrled. Hut because Esther Is 11 Stanley of tho blood n minister. Is brought from Richmond to uinrry tlictn In the conventional con-ventional manner also. And thu mln Istor cornea and goes nnd wonders. Then tho happy, dancing gypsies light them to the roynl van with flam beaux and return to dance nnd drink nnd sing beneath the moonlight by the mnypole. Hut tin royal pair steal away unseen and clamber up tho shear hillside, nnd And 80 King Arthur Marries Queen Esther. from n great rock pinnacle they sit embraced nnd watch tho moon, llko 11 shield of silver on the wall of heaven, hang over tho dim vnlo bcltfw. On such a night the dapper Count de Vnux, once "ktmvo of clubs of tho diamond dia-mond pack." sits In his bachelor chambers cham-bers in London nnd reads again the coronation story that tells that on the morrow George V. and Queen Mary lluill bo crowned with pomp lu Westminster West-minster Abbey. Ho rends that Hlnlr. earl of Stanley, and his countess, who was Vivian Mnrston, will bo nmong the privileged high born present. Tho American earl, bo pays tho Lon don newspaper, will wear the famous Virginia Jowel. tho diamond from the hky. which, aceordl'ir to family tradition, tradi-tion, v is found lu a fallen meteor by 11 colonial ancestor. "The Karl and Countess of Stnnle nro residing In Loudon at Stanley IIou, Mnyfnlr." concludes tho article And tho dapper De Vnux (nys nslde tho paper and goes out IIo takes a cab nnd rides to tho neighborhood of Stanley House, Mnyfnlr It fronts I Regent's park nnd Is n detached old edtQco of Tudor architecture. Dismissing the cab. Do Vnux watches nnd loiters till lute. He flees against 11 window shade of Milady Stanley's chamber the silhouetted reflection re-flection of his noble lord, the carl, clasping the diamond fiom the sky around the shapely throat or the Countess Coun-tess of Stanley! Tho next day the earl mid .tils lady' are up early, attiring tlienisfhcs In their coronation robes, for the crush will be great, nnd they must be lp their state conch to the abbey In due time. Lawyer Smythe In his Gothic chamber cham-ber lu the otd hom-c Is not hupp.K Ho has received his conge frum tho noble carl, my lord Hlnlr. and. besides, ho has not heard from llful.e. the Richmond Rich-mond detective. "I long In my foul." muses the eccentric ec-centric lawyer, "to hnve his lordship nrrested In the very doorway of the abbey and dragged to Newgate In fetters! fet-ters! Though that would make the dead nnd gone earls of Stanley turn lu their stately graves!" As If In nnswer to his wishes n flunkey flun-key tnps nt his chamber door and nn-nounces nn-nounces that tho postmnn Is below with a registered package for him; nnd, taking his hat, without which In; Lawyor Smythe la Not Happy. never stirs outdoors, Smytho descends to the portals of Stanley house. Called to my lady's boudoir as he passes In the corridor, tho lackey Informs In-forms the questioning lord of the registered reg-istered mnll package for Smythe. Tearful of some bitter disappointment, disappoint-ment, fearful of his criminal past In America. Hlnlr. curl of Stanley, lenv-. Ing tho lackey to do some service for tho Countess Vivian nt her tiring, hurries hur-ries down In the grent Gothic stairway to Intercept any III omened tuossngc that may have come from America to Smythe. On his breast there gleams the diamond dia-mond from tho sky that the American earl would wear into his earldom, as tho ancestral finder hnd decreed. Tho flunkeys usually loitering In tho hnll Imvo been drawn by curiosity to follow tho family lawyer out. to the mall muu waiting with receipt book nnd tho registered package. As Hlalr, ninth curl of Stanley, rench-cs rench-cs tho last landing of the Gothic stairway stair-way the nrraor of Sir Geoffrey Staii ley of Aglncourt Is behind him. Then tho mailed nrm Is silently uplifted and then It descends, bringing the buttlo mnco It holds down with crushing force upon tho yet uncoroneted head of tho American earl. Down the stricken man falls headlong. head-long. The clattering figure lu armor treads down tho steps and bends over the crumpled, bleeding figure tu the robes of nil carl and from the ermlncd breast of tho prostrate lllalr a mailed hand draws uwuy the diamond from tho fcky! TO nn CONTINUED. |