The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-11-15

come away, come away, Matte; the
moonlight has made you daft
II wish that it had" cried, bitter
". "Oh, l wish that it had"
Jacob picked up his hat, which lay
upon the shore.
Come, Matte" he said, "let us 60
down that way again; it's some i'll
shadow, l doubt, has unsettled your
nerves. Conner
He took me by the arm. not roughly,
but hastily, and hurried me up the road
ut a breathless pace. It was not long
before we came to the great shadow of
the rock where had seen the figure ly-
ing. But it was not on the spot where
| had left it. A strange relief, the
lightness from terrible load, came to
my heart-it almost seemed as if l had
really been dreaming.
Jacob laughed. "You fairly scared
me, little woman" he said.
At that moment l heard a rustling in
the bushes fringing the foot of the rock.
and turning my strained eyes thither, l
saw figure sitting there. Itmade the
blood tingle in my veins, that sight, for
this dropping recumbent shape was a
living man, at least.
1t was, indeed, Stephen Risdale, and
when Jacob awkwardly but determined
ly drew near, we saw that he was
stunned and bruised, that the frill of
his shirt was torn, and the splendid
diamond was gone from his breast.
Looking down from the rocks at that
moment saw the broad warped face
of Jigger Jim. He nodded to me
knowingly, putting his finger to his
lips, then uttering one of his ear-split-
ting yells, scrambled out of sight.
"What sort of idiots are all you peo-
pie here,' gasped the victim, as the
ape-like figure disappeared, "that you
let a crazy dog like that prowl around
without a keeper?''
Jacob made some gentle answer. He
was thinking. perhaps, of the hard
words he had spoken that evening. He
touched the injured man tenderly with
his strong hands, and helped him to
his feet.
"We are all idiots, more or less, l
believe" said Jacob.
Stephen looked about him warilv.
:" He was coming back to finish the job,
l suppose, if You had not come to the
rescue"
We took Stephen Risdale to our own
house that night and cared for him ten
derby.
1t was long before he fully recovered,
but nursing him was a real pleasure to
me. Twas full of rejoicing. This man
who might have been vision of terror
to me all my life, this man whom we
had SO strangely and unwittingly res
cued--this was but man after all,
and not tiend. Sickness cleared away
some fogs from his brain, and rendered
his mental vision clearer. He had done
wrong; he was willing to make restitu-
ton. That acquisitivenessw which is the
normal condition of shrewd business
man melts like frost in the fever of ill
ness.
Stephen swore that he would have
Jigger shut up from further harm-do-
ing, and he did so. But the diamond
which Jigger had secretcd baffied all
search. 1t was only by long maneuv-
ering and craftiness rivaling his own
that it was finally recovered.
One day, with secret trembling (al-
though knew that Jacob and Stephen
were following within calD, l allured
him up among the crags overhanging
the water; and there, with frantic ges-
and inarticulate mouthings
and idiotic shouts of laughter, the jewel
was delivered to my keeping, and car
ried it home like Princess, Jigger Jim
clapping his hands with satisfaction to
see it flashing on my breast. He had
stolen the gem for me, poor Jigger, and
[ was sorry to reward him SO treacher-
ously. He had stolen it for me, and
Stephen Risdale declared it should be
mine forever.
1t is mine. l see it shining now in
harvest of plenty from our restored
acres. l see it flashing in Jacobs glad
bright eyes. Stephen Risdale, when he
came up this fall, declared ours was the
brightest little place he ever was in.
And well it may be, for there is no
shadow nowhere never will be again
between Jacob and myself. -Har-
Der'S Weekly.