Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-06-29
ter it? And how will she have dropped
1t into the sea? ~


He handed card and a piece of pa
per to the professor, whose last hopes
faded away as he read the minute de
scription of his treasure. He knitted
his brows to gain time.
"Of course, said the young man, 81
must have become injured from being
in the sea-"
Though man of theories, the pro
fessor was candid.
Gam satisfied, young sir, | was mis-.
taken" said he, resuming his ordinary
manner. "And now may / ask, who
was the lady who lost il?"
"The lady-oh, well, sir, the lady
who sent me here, | will tell you be-
tween ourselves, is my sister," Mr.
Henderson redeemed again.
And, sir, YOU will not, l hope, mind
ing my asking you to keep this to your
self. There are reasons"
Say no more, M. Henderson; say
no more; you may be sure / will not
be ready to tell my mistake. Pretorian
here, Pretorian there. There's no lack
of Eddie Ochiltrees, though the kings
bedsmen are extinct"
He opened the drawer and taking
out the bracelet surveyed it rather
ruefully.
Eyes, that is it," said Mr.. Henderson,
'but it is good deal the worse for
water. don't wonder, sir, you were
misled. 1t looks as old as the hills"
The professor slowly wrapped it in
paper and said, as he handed it to the
young man:
"And will the lady have dropped il
into the sea, young sir?"
"Well, she knew it was hers directly
she read the paragraph, and"
well, I'm not asking to know more,
said the older man.
"And now / must be off, sir, with
many thanks from my sister and
myself for your Kindness; first
you must be good enough to let
me know what | owe YOU / know what
these fishing fellows are, and how they
swindle one"
The professor, however, obdurately
refused to satisfy Mr.. Hendersop's
curiosity on this point, and he found
1t impossible to urge the matter
further. 1t might have been that he
now blushed to own to having given q
sum which at the time seemed mod
crate, but anyway the professor would
only restore the bracelet as a gift to
Miss Henderson.
1t pleased him evidently to have his
way on this point. And if he was left
alone with shattered theory, she was
not without compromising CLEAN of
modern interest.
81 liked the laddie," thought he, as
he again watched the tossing boat,
"and if his sister had been as wise like,
she would not have lost her jewels in
the sea-"
Our friend the professor did not al
ways take his holiday in Scotland.
There are other parts of the world in
which the remains are undoubted' v
Roman, and in which, if there is moth
ing for an antiquarian to prove, there
is everything for him to enjoy. Such
a place the good professor found the
land of Provence, where he was dis
posed to linger about sixteen months
after the date of his interview with Mr..
Henderson. He arrived at Mines one
day, having with great difficulty torn
himself away from Arles-Arles, where
the pagan relics confirm, as it were,
the Christian tradition, being of neces-
sity so much older.
He had been-low be it spoken-to
a cour de taureaux on Sunday in the
amphi-theater; he had inspected st.
Tropheme, and done justice TO the
Forum. He had fingered yet longer
for the sake of the library of Mont
Majeur but on the evening of hot
day in May he found himself at Mines,
too late for anything in the way of
sightseeing, but in time for the table
dhote. The places on his right hand
were empty; that on his left was occu-
pied by 8 French gentleman who spoke
such good English that he and the pro-
lessor were soon engaged in a discuss
ion on the language of Provence. Be-
tween discussing this topic and discuss
ing his dinner, he was for some time
so deeply engaged that he hardly no
tlced that the seats next to him bad
become filled, and that his immediate
neighbor was a lady, until his friend,
finding one of his assertions disputed
by a specialized savant opposite, burst
into stream of French so fluent,
rapid, imperative, and idiomatic that
the professor lost the thread. Not till
then, say. did our friend become con-
scious of memory-not altogether
pleasant-the memory of mistake.
Even as he set down his glass of vim
erdinaire, what was it that made him
recall what he had so long forgotten
Mr.. Henderson, Eddie Ochiltree, Pre-
torian here, Pretorian there?
1t was only bracelet. What was it
that Immediately convinced the pro-
fessor that it was the bracelet K
hardly know, unless it was the sensi-
tiveness of the antiquarian conscience.
From whatever cause it arose, it is GER
tain that he at once jumped to a con-
clusion, and glanced behind the lady,
who was so composedly taking her
SOM. to her companion.