Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-25

II was bv this time thoroughly light. we
must have been out for nearly half an hour
and as vet had done nothing hut climb palmgS
and get our feet very wet. Still, It certainly
seemed that there might I've some meth"d m
this madn,~s and - nn We went, NOR" slowly
now, owing Ia the hrushwpI. which happily
was not very thick Suddenly tn" professor
stopped, in decided manner that could
not hut think II p,r>>lbl,' that "" were near the
oh iect uf cur s,'arrh He was Ht the moment
lust opposite IA thick laurel bush. looked
hastily at Harold, who Appeared ns confident
a. mySrlf that we must have come Ia some
thing Ia Caus.' such IA decided ami prolonged
stop. 4 few minutes Ot NlrnCe and suSITn~''
pasS..d like hours: then, a step forward, and
the professor commenced to stop slowly
downward when We heard IA rustlIng among
the laurel leaves and a fox skunk out from the
other side OF the bush and mad" utt through
the wool This dis acterl my attention for a
moment, and when lnpkei round the pro
fessnr had resumed his usual still hacked Httl-
tudc We waited for full five minutes
What had gone wrong, Where was the pro
ft-sSor's promisr' Was there nothing in the
bush after all
He slowly relaxed Mrs Cargilrs hand: 1T
il no u.s. gentlemen, "an do nothing more
lust now" But why: What WAS the rca-
soni Why stop himself just nS discovery ap
pear,I oertaln' The professor could under
stand it no more than we. Il came here, hc
said, guided by Mrs. CarEills thought. l
don't know WHERE | am. had the diamond
or the Clew to 1t, five minutes ago; now it is
lost Whether Mrs. Cargill had ccaSed to as
sist me or not | cannot tell. But know |
can do nothing more just now"
Ii seemed best, il We wished tO preserve any
secrecy in the matter, to make our way home
a. quick as We could. | gave the professor
his boot, and Mrs. Cargill twhn was some
thing exhausted my arm; and We returned
gloumily, almost as We had come, that is tC
ssv. by the shortest and most direct way
We were all too diSguSted with the professor
to be able u discuss the matter amicably with
him at the moment, We parted quietly and
like guilty creatures in the hall to court the
sleep which We all began to feel would Ia
beneficial
His explanations later in the day made the
matter no clearer He was certain that he
haf been ON the track and it certainly had
looked like it, but the reason for the sudden
stop he could not tell Still. i'll the end, he
managed to talk us over, and Mrs. Carglll
was induced to go through the experiment
again; hut this time were To start where
We had left of One thing alone the pro
fcssor would swear to; the diamond could not
bo in the house, els. he would never have gone
outside Also he informed Us that his foot,
notwithstanding his thick stocking, was CON
siderably the worse for wear.
The hour at length came again Harold
and had decided to dispense with sleep. Mrs
Cargill and the professor turned up very pune
tually within a few seconds Of one another.
The morning was clear and frosty. We
walked 10 the laurel bush, where, having
blindfolded the professor as before, Mrs. Car
cill took his hand He soon started of. tax
ing no notice of the laurel bush, hut away
through the wood. We must have been walk
ing for several minutes, and at a pretty quick
pace when, like an evil omen, a fox tpruba-
bly, the one We had seen on the previous highs
sprang out of clump OF underwood and van
iShed among the trees.
1t was the same story over again. Our
leaders pace slackened, then he stopped
Could it lie that fox was, as it were, u non
conducting agent | put the question To the
professor; nay, | further limited that perhaps,
when in a meSmeric state the sense of smell
might H. 50 heightened that ne had heen fol
cessiun, this evil denizen of the wonIs. He
put the suggestion aside with scOrn, but the
more thought the more felt there might IT,
something in it, and Harold 50 far agreed
with me as to question the learned professor
next day as to whether he had ever been fond
of hunting.
We had gone home as before nOnpuSSed
We had retired to our rooms, slumbered late
/ 4. L. 4,
pose Mrs Cargill wished To give up the at
tempt and call i'll the detectives. Harold AMI
were inclined somewhat ignominiously TO
agree. But We had forgotten the professor;
his blood was up: our taunts on the subject
of fox hunting had aggravated him more
than we had fancied Prove himself right he
would; his honor, he insisted, was at stake; he
must be SuCceSSful in the end. He appealed
TO Mrs Cargill to stand by him, and the long
and the short Of it was that she agreed to
! ruake third and last trial, the professor
on his side promising that it should lie the
very last.
Ii rained bard all the evening, and at day
break when we met il was damp, dreary
and misty that we all felt relieved when the
professor asked us 10 leave matters alone for
a day and give his last attempt every possible
chance.
All this time things in the household had
been going on quietly enough, and it seemed
as though the servants had quite made up
their minds that no further search was in
tended The only fresh circumstance that
! came To light was that the gardeners kennel,
formerly occupied by a tame fox for which
he had great affection, was observed TO bc
empty The man affirmed that the animal
had slipped its collar the day before We
could only question him casually on the sub
ject, but it seemed likely that the animal,
whose scent had proved too strong for the pro
fesSor, was the one which the gardener affirmed
only TO have escaped on the previous day.
The animal, he said, was bound TO come back
for its meals sooner or later, but We did not
altogether agrce with him on that point
Daybrcak next morning saw again As
>emhied in the dining room, and we left th''
house 10 re~S nImence business in the woH;
where we had last stoppeL 1t was a fine,
| clear morning, ru,d gave promise of a glorious
day. The professor was on his mettle. lie
had said 10 lis: Il will succeed tomorrow,
and to succeed he evidently intended.
He stood for few minutes, blindfolded a.
usual, before h" took Mrs. Cargill's hand. and
opposite direction To that he had been taEin.;
when he had lost the clew before. On he went,
| and on, right through the wood, till the affair
began to grow tiresome He was going well
to-day certainly; he had kept us at it a good
long time; but if we were only going TO get a
few hundred yards every night, and perhaps
not find the stone after all, we might as we'll
give the matter up entirely. Harold appeared,
from the frown upon his face, to have begun
10 consider matters in this light too. when the
professor, who had been going at fair pace,
suddenly stopl.d. 1t seemed to me only
natural that, aS he had gone further than he
had ever gone before he should stop. His i'm
heCile mind could stand the strain no longer
After considerable hesitation, however, BE-
turned slowly 10 the left, bent over some
thick brushwnod and gradually Stretced out
his hand Its that fox again TO Il certain
ty," whispered Harold To me: the professor ;
as mad H. a March hare" No signs of the
fox, though, and the professor was well into
the bush: if the diamond was there, surely "a
sudden flash of thought would assist him; but
/ yyaS unt IiEalp T., -, thar. any r,pr.. than