The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-01-23

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200 years.
Mrs. Anstruther wrung her hands
wildly as she pleaded, and chung to me
when I would have risen from my
chair.
MADAM, you will never see your
diamonds more, if the return OF them
depends on me-" said l.
"You ~ungrateful boyl" cried Mrs.
Anstruther.
/ smiled.
After all Ihave done for you"
II am aware that / owe Mrs Anstru-
Their one debt which it will be impossi-
BILE for me ever to repay"
"Do you mean Lucy, sir? Give me
back my diamonds, and you shall even
have her" ;
Madame values her diamonds at a
curious price,"
"Do you mean to keep them in the
face of everything? What good will
they ever do you now?"
Madame forgets that there is a limit
TO durance vile, even for stealing dia-
monds. Many a nan has toiled longer
for a fortune than that"
Mrs. Anstruther thought 1 was in
earnest. Her face whitened and she
trembled with agitation.
well, then, Felix" she said, "f you
are so hard as that, I must leave you to
the law. / should have liked to save
the diamonds, and avoid the disgrace to
the family. But you will not permit
me-"
"Mrs. Anstruther," said 1, putting a
OBTAINING hand on her arm as she was
going, edo you honestly believe 1 know
anything about your diamonds"
She stopped, andlooked at mt in odd
perplexity.
who else could?"
"When did you first miss them, Mrs.
Anstruther?"
"In the morning after you went
away"
when did you see them last before
that?"
II always look for them before I
sleep. I did so that night"
"And you did not retire, of course,
till after your guests. Did they stop
dancing any before 1872"
II dent know about that, but it was
after 2 o'clock before / got to bed. /
remember noticing it was so late as that
before I sent Lucy away. / had her In
my room, and talked to her pretty
plainly about you"
"Pray, Mrs. Anstruther, what time is
the night express due at Grover"
"Oh, at / o'clock you know"
She came to a sudden stop; her face
turned red and white in a minute.
"'Wha q horrible wretch / ami" she
cried covering he face with her hands,
and then holding them both out to me
"Why, you must have been miles and
miles away before ! told Lucy good
night. Felix. / am ashamed of myself.
Can you ever forgive me?"
'It is no consequence, madam" l
said, frigidly.
Indeed it is, but will make it up to
you. You shall see that / will, Felix"
I was duly restored to honorable air
again, and went back to the Grove with
Mrs. Anstruther on the first train there
after. But / had not forgotten her.
We had arranged that a detective
should 90 down to the Grove on the
same train with US, though not in COM
pany, to avoid suspicion.
Mrs. Anstruther looked grave and
anxious during all that homeward ride.
She was thinking of her diamonds, and
I almost believe she would have been
willing that the family should have
been disgraced by my stealing them for
| the sake Of finding them again.
We reached the Grove at dark, and
when the / o'clock express came fro a
the opposite direction the detective
made his appearance, pretending to be
a new guest.
Lucy met me like a woman i had
not asked Mrs. Anstruther about her,
and whatever her lovely speaking face
might have said to me, If / had given If
opportunity TO express itself, it said
nothing now but what my owa did, and
that was as cold and stern as / could
make it.
We were mostly at breakfast when
Mrs. Anstruther's new guest came
down, and was introduced to III IS MIR.
Clemens,
By the merest chance In the world,
my eyes were on Count Leopold Keirst
as his fell for the first time IN Mr..
Clemens. An instantaneous change
flashed over his c~ountenance, q swift
~momentary pallor that left his very
Hips white.
He sat near the Door, and when
again looked in his direction, after Mr..
Clemens had taken his seat. he had van
ished.
Making a scarcely audible excuse tc
Mrs. A~nstruther, I Quilted the room
also and passed noiselessly UP the car
peted stairway whieh led to the counts
apartment. But before 7 reached it
heard the door open, and, drawing back
a step, heard him pass along to the OPP
posite extremity of the hall, where 3
glass door opened upon the garden. As